A police car decorated as a public memorial is seen outside Dallas police headquarters in Dallas, the United States, July 8, 2016. Five police officers were killed and seven others injured as two snipers opened fire during a protest against officer-involved shootings across the United States on Thursday night. [Photo/Xinhua]

MADRID - US President Barack Obama will cut short his visit in Spain and travel to Texas where five policemen were killed on Thursday night, Spanish state TV network RTVE has reported, quoting a White House spokesman.

The shootings in Dallas have forced a change to the schedule for Obama, who is the first US President to make an official visit to Spain in 15 years. Obama will visit Dallas early next week.

Obama will cancel his planned visit to Seville, where he was due to arrive shortly before midnight on Saturday.

Obama's original schedule was to travel from Seville to the U.S. military base of Rota in southwest Spain, before arriving in Madrid on Sunday night. According to the original arrangements, Obama will have lunch with Spanish King Felipe VI at the Royal Palace on Monday and hold meetings with Spanish political leaders and young Spaniards. Now, he has to cancel his visit to Seville and several meetings.

"The President will leave (Poland, where he is attending the NATO summit) to Madrid, Spain where he will spend the (Saturday) night," informed the White House spokesman, Josh Earnest, who added that on Sunday Obama would meet acting Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and "other government officials."

Obama will then travel from Madrid to Rota and from there, "return to Washington on Sunday night, a day earlier than planned," according to the spokesman.
Excavation of the Philistine cemetery by the Leon Levy Expedition to Ashkelon. (Tsafrir Abayov/Leon Levy Expedition)

JERUSALEM, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Archeologists said Sunday they discovered the first Philistine cemetery in Israel's southern Mediterranean shore, hoping the discovery would solve the longstanding biblical question: Where did the ancient Philistine come from?

The cemetery, dated to the 11th-8th centuries BC, was found in the coastal city of Ashkelon in southern Israel, once one of five city states of the Philistine in a region which is nowadays the Palestinian Gaza Strip and southern Israel.

The discovery, hailed by the researchers as "groundbreaking," was made as part of a 30-year excavation work in the Ashkelon National Park by the Leon Levy Expedition, which was organized by Harvard University, Boston College, Wheaton College and Troy University in the United States.

Scholars, who study the ancient Mediterranean, have long been puzzled by the elusive origins of the Philistines. The discovery of the cemetery could offer a key to this mystery, the archeologists told a press conference in Jerusalem on Sunday.

They said they are now running DNA and radiocarbon tests on samples taken from the site in order to help ascertain the Philistines' origin.

10th-9th century BC burial in the excavation of the Philistine cemetery by the Leon Levy Expedition to Ashkelon. (Tsafrir Abayov/Leon Levy Expedition)

The plethora of findings in the cemetery includes ceramics, jewelry and weapons, as well as the remains of 145 individuals.

"That's going to give us the ability to talk about men and women and children, how their lives were similar and different," co-director of the expedition Daniel Master of Wheaton College in Illinois told Xinhua.

"We're getting a feel for the Philistines that we've never had before. We're finally seeing them face-to-face," Master said.

The ancient Israelis saw the Philistines as their archenemy, and accordingly, the Hebrew Bible depicts them as uncivilized people.

But the researchers say the Philistines' bad reputation as savage people is unjustified.

"One of the things that we know from the Hebrew Bible is that the Philistines were looked down upon by the Israelites. They were thought to be the worst of the worst," said Master.

But that is only what their enemies said about them, Mater noted. "Now we get a chance to hear their side of the story... By hearing their story directly from them and not from their enemies, we're learning a whole bunch about them," he said.
File photo taken on March 1, 2016 shows Narcisa Claveria, an 88-year-old "comfort woman" survivor, speaks during a protest in front of the Japanese Embassy in Pasay City, the Philippines. (Xinhua Photo by Rouelle Umali)

MANILA, July 10 (Xinhua) -- "Wartime sex slavery happened. The victims have come forward to tell their brutal stories. So, we want their stories, written or in art form, to be remembered forever," said Rechilda Extremadura, director of a Philippine organization for wartime sex slaves.

Extremadura, executive director of the Lila Pilipina (League of Filipino Women), a nongovernmental organization assisting the elderly former Philippine "comfort women," said her group, along with other support groups of former sex slaves from China, Japan and the Netherlands have jointly asked the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to include documents related to wartime sex slavery in the UN body's Memory of the World Register.

"These documents must be registered on the UNESCO list. This will preserve the official records and prove that Asian women were indeed forced into Japanese military brothels during World War II," she told Xinhua.

"We should not allow Japan to delete its wartime aggression in Asia. We did not make this up. Sex slavery existed and these documents will prove their existence in the Philippines, the Korean Peninsula, China and Indonesia," she said.

The group took two years to collate the necessary data. "The process was tedious and meticulous," she said.

Extremadura said the group has decided to keep the idea under wraps to make sure that Japan will not do anything to derail the plan.

"We had to do it very discreetly because we expect Japan to thwart our move. No announcements were made; no press releases. (Tokyo) only learned about it when we filed the application," she said.

Japan is a major donor to UNESCO. Last year, Tokyo threatened to halt or slash its funding to the UN body after UNESCO included China's documents about the Nanjing Massacre in its Memory of the World list.

Extremadura stressed the significance of the move, saying most of the victims are dying.

File photo taken on March 8, 2016 shows Yongsoo Lee (front), survivor of Japanese military sexual slavery, leaves after a press conference with President of Washington Coalition for Comfort Women Issue Jungsil Lee (L, rear), and President of Korean American Civic Empowerment Dongchan Kim (R, rear), at the United Nations headquarters in New York. (Xinhua Photo by Li Muzi)

"Many of them are getting sick. Time is running out," she said, adding that many of the victims are now in their late 80s and 90s. "Many have passed away without seeing justice."

According to Extremadura, it's very important to preserve the memories of those women who suffered under the hands of the Japanese imperial army during WWII. If those documents will make it to the list then it will be accessible to those people interested in the subject.

"When these documents are registered, the memory of comfort women will last forever. This will ensure that these significant records will last even beyond the times of the Lolas (grandmothers)," she added.

Talking about the Japanese government's official and continuous denial of the existence of a "comfort system," Extremadura said: "After being victims of Japanese war crimes, comfort women are now being made victims of historical distortion."

Accusing the Japanese government of "sweeping the comfort women issue under the rug to deny their existence altogether," the director emphasized that people, especially parties concerned, cannot allowJapan to distort history.

"The scar of war is there. We cannot allow Japan to simply erase that scar and pretend the war crimes didn't happen," she said.

"There may not be many comfort women left to hear the apology or personally receive compensation should Japan, by a miracle, suddenly agree to it. But historical inclusion will give justice even to the Lolas who have died fighting for their cause."
TEHRAN, July 10 (Xinhua) -- The Iranian senior lawmaker, Heshmatollah Falahat Pisheh, survived an assassination attempt on Sunday, state IRIB TV reported.

Four armed men opened fire at the convoy of the parliament member and his entourage after blocking their path near Rijab, a village bordering Iraq in Dalahu county in western Kermanshah province, but he narrowly escaped the assassination attempt, the report said.

In the incident, Falahat Pisheh, the governor of Dalahu county Faramarz Akbari, and the province's head of Fisheries Organization Farzad Afzali suffered serious injuries, deputy governor of Kermanshah province Yusuf Shah Hosseini told private Tasnim news agency.

The driver of the convoy, and the head of Kermanshah Veterinary Organization were killed, the report said.

Following the shooting, the gunmen set their own car ablaze and ran to the border region, Tasnim news agency reported.

The identity and affiliation of the attackers were not disclosed by Iranian officials, but local reports said the assault is under investigation and the results will be announced accordingly.

Falahat Pisheh is a member of the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission.

Iran's western borders, inhabited mostly by the ethnic Kurds, have recently witnessed many bloody conflicts between Iran's security forces and armed Kurdish militants, who claim to be fighting for the Kurds' civil rights.
NAIROBI, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on Sunday called on South Sudan's leaders to end hostilities in Juba, suggesting heavy weaponry be moved out of civilian areas of the capital city where clashes have escalated in the past three days.

State House spokesman Manoah Esipisu told journalists in Nairobi that President Kenyatta had contacted President Salva Kiir over the clashes between rival army factions in Juba.

Heavy exchanges of fire erupted in Juba early Sunday following Friday's clashes between forces loyal to President Kiir and his deputy Riek Machar outside the presidential palace in which more than 100 soldiers were killed.

"It is with profound regret that we have observed the renewed fighting unravel in South Sudan," President Kenyatta said in a statement.

Kenya and other East African countries facilitated peace talks between President Kiir and former rebel leader Machar during more than two years of civil war in South Sudan that erupted in late 2013.

"We join the region, and the global community, in calling for a cessation to these brutal actions that endanger the lives of ordinary citizens," President Kenyatta said.

There was no immediate word on casualties in Sunday's gun battle. A spokesman for Machar said Machar-led forces had been attacked by troops of President Kiir.

President Kenyatta expressed grave concern about the fighting in Juba in the past days and urged South Sudan's government to take immediate steps to restore calm.

"We hope stability will soon be restored for the sake of the people of South Sudan," President Kenyatta said.

He urged Kiir and Machar to play their leadership roles during this critical time by working closely together to resolve the latest crisis.

He suggested heavy weaponry and huge contingents of soldiers urgently be moved out of civilian areas of the capital Juba.

South Sudan descended into civil war in December 2013 after fighting between forces loyal to President Kiir and his then sacked deputy Machar in Juba. Machar denied he was planning a coup but then mobilized a rebel force. Tens of thousands were killed in the war.

A peace deal signed by the two men last August under UN pressure led to the formation of a national unity government in April, with Machar returning to his old post.
KATHMANDU, July 10 (Xinhua)-- The Nepalese government, on Sunday decided to give two pairs of one-horned rhinoceros to China as a goodwill gift, a government spokesman said here in Kathmandu on Sunday.

A meeting of the Council of Ministers of the government made the decision, government spokesman Sherdhan Rai told media.

"We have decided to gift the two pairs of rhinoceros to Chinese government in order to help carrying out research studies on rhinoceros conservation in China," the government spokesman said.

There are currently 645 rhinoceros in the Himalayan nation, according to Kathmandu Post Online. Of the total rhinoceros, 605 of them are in Chitwan National Park located in the Central Nepal. The rhinos to be gifted to China will also be selected from the park, the Kathmandu Post Online report further said.
LAGOS, July 10 (Xinhua) -- The Nigerian Army has confirmed the killing of at least 16 Boko Haram insurgents during an attack on their base at Rann, Kala Balge Local Government Area of northeast state of Borno.

The insurgents stormed the troops location on Friday carrying different sophisticated arms and ammunition including Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), military spokesperson Col. Sani Usman said in a statement reaching Xinhua on Sunday.

He said the exchange of fire lasted for some hours before they were overwhelmed by the troops firepower.

Usman added that quite a number of the insurgents escaped with gun shot wounds. Two soldiers died while five others sustained varying degrees of injuries.

He said the troops recovered a General Purpose Machine Gun, Rocket Propelled Grenade, ammunition while two terrorists were captured alive.
ARUSHA, Tanzania, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Tanzania has unveiled new sets of fresh footprints believed to belong to earliest human beings who could have walked in Ngorongoro area in northern Tanzania nearly 4 million years ago.

"The new discovery is another milestone in boosting the country's historical, cultural and science-based tourism," said Jumanne Maghembe, Tanzania's Minister for Natural resources and Tourism.

Maghembe said on Sunday here that the new footprints and imprints were found at the Laetoli archaeological site within the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority.

According to Maghembe, the new discovery places Tanzania at the forefront of human origin research.

The new development is the results of thorough work by two Tanzanian scientists -- Prof. Fidelis Masao, a researcher and senior lecturer of archaeology, and his colleague Dr. Elgidius Ichumbaki from the University of Dar es Salaam.

Fidelis Masao said the footprints were located about 60 meters from the site where similar humanoid prints were found in 1976.

Experts led by Tanzanian archaeologist Prof Charles Musiba are still working in the area to trace the hominid footprint and trackway to see whether there could be more pre-historic human trails.

But as far as Dr. Charles Musiba is concerned, discovering humanoid trails is one thing, preserving the same is the most challenging and if ultimate care wasn't taken, the prints may disappear faster than the time taken to expose them.

So far, Tanzania is the only country in the world boasting the oldest marks of human beings in the form of hominid footprints found in Laetoli area, of Ngorongoro. These are reported to be 3.7 million years old.

Neighbouring Kenya also reported to have discovered similar footprints a few years ago, but those ones date back just 1.5 million years ago. Tanzania also has other imprints at Lake Natron shores, in Ngorongoro District, dating back some 200,000 years.
GUIYANG, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Over fears of adulterated or substandard food, many Chinese rely on word-of-mouth to find safe groceries, but officials and technicians say it is time to take a more scientific approach and use big data to address food safety concerns.

A popular trend currently is ugly vegetables, as many take this as an indication of limited artificial interference.

Guizhou Vice Governor He Li spoke about this, and other trends besides, during a food safety discussion at the Eco Forum Global Annual Conference concluded Sunday in the provincial capital Guiyang, calling it ill-informed and misleading.

"When I was small, peach-shaped cakes were in vogue. We all went mad for the little red decoration on top of the cake," said the 57-year-old.

"The decoration was full of additives, but this was taken as a sign of industrialization and was quite novel. However, more and more Chinese are trying to avoid additives, even though many are harmless and, quite often, necessary for preservation," He said.

Big data could be used to ease the public's concerns, He said.

Guizhou, a pioneer of China's big data economy, allows consumers to access food inspection data with their cell phones.

HANDY ACCESS

Previously, consumers had to search the official web sites of food safety watchdogs. Now, all this information is at their finger tips thanks to the "Shi-An-Ce" (test for safe food) app, which scans bar codes to bring up all the available data on that product.

The data includes inspection reports, and reports by the food safety watchdog. User can also submit an inspection request.

"We hope the software will promote food safety," said Teng Jiacai, deputy director of China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA).

According to him, the CFDA has made public all its inspection reports since 2014, involving millions of products available at shopping malls, supermarkets, convenience stores and small stores.

"Next, we will integrate the inspection data from the food and drug authorities at the local level, and data from agricultural and customs departments and make this available to the public. So, it will also improve the food safety supervising mechanism," he said.

Food safety is a major concern in China, although official data shows the proportion of food products up to standards rose from 79 percent in 1980s to 96.8 percent last year.

The biggest concerns voiced by shoppers is expired food, bad service and pesticide or veterinary drug residue, according to Qiu Baochang, executive vice president of Beijing Consumers Rights and Interests Protection Law Society.

"Ironically, few consumers take producers to court," said Qiu.

The Food Safety Law stipulates that those found guilty by a court of law will be slapped with a fine several times higher than the selling price. Despite this, however, some Chinese continue to sell shoddy products, to their detriment.

In one case, a dealer of fake ginseng went bankrupt after being ordered to pay compensation of 700,000 yuan (around 105,000 U.S. dollars) to a regular customer, according to Qiu.

In the opinion of Teng Jiacai, the public need to be made more aware.

"With data being much more accessible, consumers should vote with their wallets, forcing producers and distributors to obey our laws and regulations," he said.

POTENTIAL RISKS

Apart from the app, Guizhou is also developing a food safety big data platform.

Operated by Guizhou Academy of Testing and Analysis under the provincial government, Food Safety Cloud involves more than 20,000 enterprises and hundreds of testing agencies, and has amassed data on 35,551 products since it was set up in 2014.

The plan is for the app to include data from the farm to the dining table, including storage and transportation, according to Zhang Laiwu, chairman of China Society of Soft Science and former deputy minister of science and technology who is involved in the project.

This, however, has its own risks. "When you have a substantial amount of data, security and reliability become major concerns," he said.

At the forum, dozens of food producers inked an integrity proposal while a national credibility alliance was established by agencies engaged in third-party food safety testing and analysis.

Yue Guojun, COFCO chief engineer, China's leading agri-product supplier, also Academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering, read the proposal, which called on food producers to enforce the Food Safety Law and build "a great wall of credibility."

"Food safety is related to public sentiment and changes over time. Therefore, there is always room for improvement," he said.

Chu Xiaogang, executive chairman of the national alliance, said that all members of the alliance must sign an integrity agreement, and those who fabricate or modify data will face dismissal.

Some fear that data generation might increase the expenses born by consumers.

Deng Wei, chairman of the board of directors of the Bright Oceans Corp., (BOCO) dismissed this, citing Wuchang rice, which is grown in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang.

Using satellite data from the land resources department in Wuchang, BOCO investigated the product and found that the annual output of Wuchang Rice is just over 700,000 tonnes. Wuchang-brand rice, however, had more than 10 million tonnes on sale annually, meaning 90 percent of the product on the market was fake, Deng said.

In a game-changing move in 2014, BOCO began to issue bar codes to be included on Wuchang Rice packaging, so consumers could find out about the product while still at store. Wuchang City government also continued to crackdown on fake Wuchang rice. Within 12 months, a fair pricing system was established, ensuring the interests of both the farmers and consumers.

As data allows producers to track each product, Deng predicts that consumer data will also grow.

"If there is enough end-user data, should the products be defective, producers can recall and compensate much easier," he said.

Teng Jiacai said that the power of big data lies in its potential to incubate new business ideas and provide new solutions, not just for safety control but also modern farming.
DAMASCUS, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Syrian political experts have stressed that China has a full right of sovereignty over the South China Sea territories, pointing out that the United States works to create "tension spots" with its allies to affect China politically and economically.

Washington has always emerged as a power supporting separatist movements in Tibet and Taiwan, even though indirectly, with the aim of tightening the noose on China economically, given the economic importance of the contested islands in the South China Sea.

Osama Danura, a political analyst who holds a PhD in political science, told Xinhua that the issue of the South China Sea constitutes an important strategic risk system the United States is working to get China busy with.

"The risk system is related to the competition in the South China Sea in terms of the contested islands, the eastern Turkestan region, and the U.S. support to the separatist movement in Taiwan," further explained Danura, who is also a member of the government negotiating delegation to the Syrian talks in Geneva.

He said the importance of the South China Sea emanates from being a hub where one third of the World's maritime cargo passes through, adding that the U.S. influence in that area could pose an economic risk to China.

"China has a historic right in these contested islands and water. It's a fixed right mentioned in the history books, which is irrefutable," he said.

He added that Washington, through its allies such as Japan, repeats its "strategic provocations" in that area to annoy China and create a severe dispute in that area to exhaust China diplomatically, strategically and economically.

"China is serious in drawing redlines in the face of any attempt by the U.S. to capitalize on the situation in this area," he said, noting that the South China Sea issue could be "concocted by the United States, but interfering in it could expose the U.S. to a hot fire."

Resolving the issue, Danura noted, could be done by "finding direct partnership mechanisms among the contesting countries in that region, which are disputing over the regional water, the economic and vital atmosphere as well as the contested islands."

For his part, Omar al-Mekdad, a Syrian journalist and expert in the Chinese affairs, told Xinhua that the crisis in the South China Sea is one of the most important international crisis, as the trade volume that passes through the area has an economic value of 5,000 billion U.S. dollars annually.

"The United States is always behind any crisis that erupts in the world," al-Mekdad charged.

On Tuesday, a decision will be made by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague over who has legitimate rights over the disputed waters.

China has recently stressed that the only way out of the dispute is through bilateral talks and friendly dialogue, warning the Philippines that it does not accept or recognize any decision by the tribunal.

Hong Lei, China's foreign ministry spokesperson, told a news conference recently that "China will never accept nor recognize whatever ruling the tribunal may produce, and China does not accept any proposal or action by any country based on the ruling."

Meanwhile, al-Mekdad expected the decision that will be given in The Hague to be "politicized and taken without observing the facts about China's rightful claim in the South China Sea territory."

Last week, Syria's state-run SANA news agency published a statement by the National Progressive Front (NPF), which is a political alliance of parties in Syria that supports the ruling al-Baath party in Syria, in which the NPF stressed full backing to China in the case of the South China Sea.

"These islands cannot be parted from the Chinese territories, and the disputes that have been created around this issue are fomented when some countries took over the islands in a way that runs counter to the laws and norms adopted in the relations between countries," the statement read.

Resolving these disputes should take place far from any foreign interventions, it said, noting that rules and mechanisms for reaching plausible and proper solutions must be put in motion.
NAIROBI, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Kenya on Sunday afternoon on the final leg of his four-nation Africa tour after visiting Tanzania, Mozambique and South Africa.

Kenya's State House spokesman Manoah Esipisu told journalists that Modi was scheduled to hold talks with President Uhuru Kenyatta and that the two leaders would address a joint press conference on Monday.

"The two heads of government will discuss a wide range of issues of mutual interest at the bilateral, continental and multilateral levels. Our focus will be on the areas in which there has already been consultation, and where we can expect concrete results to be announced," Esipisu said.

Modi is accompanied by a delegation of some 80 businessmen.

Esipisu said the two nations would sign a revised Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement during Modi's two-day visit, and seek to deepen their cooperation in information and communications technology.

Esipisu said the government would encourage the two countries' chambers of commence and industry to renew their relations so that Kenya and India can benefit from each other's expertise, experience and investment.

"Kenya will also urge that our goods be granted preferential status by the Indian authorities," Esipisu said.

He said the Indian diaspora in Kenya was an integral part of the nation as it played a significant role in the economy and continued to strengthen trade and cultural relations between the two nations.

According to Esipisu, Modi is due to speak to the Indian diaspora at a stadium in Nairobi.

Esipisu added there were other agreements currently under consideration, among them a draft deal on cooperation in health.

"Every Kenyan knows that both countries have long worked together in healthcare. We expect to make progress in formalizing and deepening that cooperation," he said.

The Indian government has committed cooperation with the African Union in sectors including tele-education, tele-medicine and e-commerce under the Indian-Africa Forum Summit initiative.

Modi's visit comes after President Kenyatta's visit to India in October 2015 during which he attended the third India-Africa Forum Summit.
Photo taken on April 5, 2016 shows the lighthouse on Zhubi Reef of Nansha Islands in the South China Sea, south China. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli)

BUCHAREST, July 9 (Xinhua) -- The South China Sea dispute can only be settled by seeking positive and constructive methods, said former Romanian ambassador to China Romulus Ioan Budura.

Undoubtedly, the Philippines made a serious mistake by unilaterally initiating an arbitration case against China in 2013 over the dispute at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Budura told Xinhua in a recent interview.

Budura believes the dispute should be tackled by diplomatic talks instead of arbitration.

The arbitration initiated unilaterally by the Philippines doesn't help solve the dispute, said Budura, adding that the intervention of outside forces will make the issue more complicated and lead to the escalation of unstable regional situation.

Budura pointed out that taking the South China Sea dispute to arbitration is against the consensus between China and the Philippines to settle disputes through friendly consultations and negotiations.

It is also against the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), signed by China and ASEAN countries in 2002, the former ambassador said.

He stressed that the disputes over the territorial sovereignty and maritime delimitation in the South China Sea should be resolved through consultation and negotiation by sovereign states directly concerned, adding that peace and stability in the South China Sea should be maintained jointly by China and the ASEAN members.

Budura expressed his support for the position persistently held by China that territorial sovereignty disputes should be resolved through consultations between concerned parties.

According to him, China's sovereignty over the South China Sea islands has been explicitly stated in the 1943 Cairo Declaration and the 1945 Potsdam Proclamation, both of which were signed by the allied powers including the United States. For a long time after World War II, none of the countries in the South China Sea area raised any objection to China's sovereignty over the islands.

Nor did the United States dispute China's sovereignty over the South China Sea islands between early 1970s, when the two sides began the process of the normalization of Chinese-U.S. ties, and 1979, when the two countries formally established diplomatic relations, said Budura.

He pointed out that as a sovereign state, China's building of infrastructure for civilian and defense use on its own territory in the South China Sea is incontrovertible, as many other countries had done the same before.

Budura was in China for study in early 1950s and was posted as Romanian ambassador to China between 1990 and 1996. He has long been engaged in China- and Asia-related work and research, and once served as an advisor to then Romanian President Ion Iliescu in 1990s.

Budura recalled that in summer 1964 when he, then a second secretary at the Romanian embassy in China, was tasked with drafting a document on the Romanian government's supporting China's territorial integrity, the document in particular stressed that China has indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea islands.

He told Xinhua that he hopes negotiations would resume between China and the Philippines earlier, in a bid to solve disputes bilaterally and within the framework of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC).

Even if some issues could not be settled satisfactorily for the moment, both sides still could work towards making the South China Sea a maritime area featuring peaceful development and common prosperity by upholding the principle of shelving differences while seeking joint development, Budura said.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg addresses a press conference in Warsaw, Poland, July 9, 2016. (Xinhua/Shi Zhongyu)

WARSAW, July 10 (Xinhua) -- During the two-day Warsaw Summit, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) took a series of decisions aimed at increasing security both in its eastern and southern flank.

The second day of the Summit focused on the southern flank security, and included decision on support for EU anti-human trafficking mission, counteracting the Islamic State (IS) and terrorism.

NATO will provide more support for its partner countries in counteracting extremism, an example of which is sending airborne warning and control AWACS planes to provide support for the anti-IS coalition and commencing military training for the soldiers in Iraq.

The AWACS planes will fly over international and Turkish airspace. Meanwhile, talks with Turkey are being conducted regarding the expansion of the Alliance activity in this region.

NATO will also "increase its cooperation with Jordan to establish a stable island in this region and ensure efficient fight against the Islamic State", according to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

For the sake of NATO's southern flank security, the Alliance will also increase support for anti-IS coalition, train military forces and launch capacity-building program in Iraq. The main goal is to ensure local forces are capable of maintaining peace and safety.

Another important step is the launch of new NATO operation "Sea Guardian" on the Mediterranean Sea.

It will be based on "Active Endeavour" mission held in the Strait of Gibraltar region, aimed at protecting civil vessels from terrorist attacks.

The mission against terrorists will also support the EU "Sophia" operation against human trafficking, commenced by the EU in summer 2015, as a result of which, thousands of castaways have been rescued so far and dozens were arrested.

US Army soldiers take part in Rapina Urban Battle drill held in Southern Estonia on May 13, 2016. Estonia Defense forces along with NATO allies took part in a military drill at Rapina city in Southern Estonia. This is a part of a series of NATO drills in the spring of 2016. (Xinhua/Sergei Stepanov)

NATO also decided to extend its Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan after 2016, continue to train, advise and aid the security forces in Afghanistan. Moreover, NATO allies have promised at the summit to fund Afghan forces about 1 billion U.S. dollars annually over the next three years.

The second day also brought the confirmation of NATO's support for Ukraine, its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The first session of the North Atlantic Council on Friday brought decisions of strengthening NATO's eastern flank in Poland and Baltic states, one element of a more comprehensive adaptation of NATO deterrence and defense.

Four multinational battalions are to be deployed in four host countries, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Poland, led by respectively Canada, Germany, Britain and the United States. Apart from a thousand men battalion, the headquarters of American Armored Brigade will be located in Poland. Another 150 soldiers will be sent to the country by Britain.

On the same day, the first day of the Summit, NATO also regarded cyberspace as a new operational domain and acknowledged the initial operational readiness of the anti-missile shield.

Acknowledging the initial operational readiness of the anti-missile shield in fact means that NATO can officially take over control over the component of the missile defense system, located in Romania (Aegis Ashore). The system is aimed at efficient protection and reacting to the threats from outside Europe.

The Alliance also pledged to strengthen its collective defensive in all of the fields, including increasing their cybernetic protection and information exchange.
A girl stands in her tent in a refugee camp at the outskirts of Arbil, capital of Kurdistan, northern Iraq, Feb. 21, 2015. (Xinhua/Yaser Jawad)

MADRID, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Federico Trillo, the Spanish Ambassador to the United Kingdom, has said that information over supposed weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in Iraq ahead of the Iraq war of 2003 was "neither complete nor true".

Trillo, who was the Spanish Minister of Defense in the government of Jose Maria Aznar when the Iraq war began in 2003, spoke to Spanish radio station Onda Cero on Thursday in the wake of the publication of the Chilcot Report, which criticized the then UK government of Tony Blair for many failings, such as starting the conflict before "everything possible had been done to avoid war."

The former Spanish defense minister insisted that "the weapons (of mass destruction) were there, but they were not in Iraq," which he insisted, "is where they told us they were."

"The Russian minister, who everyone knows was not in favor of the war in Iraq, said to me later, 'I don't understand the debate there is now: they didn't find the weapons, but they did exist," said Trillo, who also denied that Spain had taken part "as a combatant" in the Iraq war.

The declaration comes despite the fact that 1,300 Spanish troops spent 10 months in Iraq and suffered 11 deaths, while two Spanish journalists Julio Anguita and Jose Couso lost their lives in the conflict: the last of the two when a U.S. tank fired a shell into the Bagdad hotel where he was staying.

Meanwhile Spain's El Pais newspaper also published images of Spanish soldiers supposedly mistreating Iraqi prisoners in their base of Diwaniya.

Former Spanish prime minister Aznar was a prime mover for the war along with Bush and Blair and took part of a three-way meeting in the Azores on March 16 2003, just four days before the invasion of Iraq began.

The Chilcot report shows Aznar to have been close to Bush, while also working to persuade Chile and Mexico, UN Security Council seat holders at the time, to support the war, adding that Aznar and Blair worked on a communications strategy to show they were doing everything possible to avoid a conflict.

Trillo insisted Spain had only "given humanitarian aid" and support to the allies.

"We didn't fire a shot and neither did we do anything behind Parliament's back," said Trillo.

The Spanish Congress, which in 2003 was controlled by a majority government of Aznar and Trillo's People's Party, voted to support Aznar's position over the war with the opposition of every other party and with public opinion in Spain firmly against the conflict.

"Spain decided not to be a combatant but it did decide to give aid to its allies," said Trillo, who admitted the conflict had produced "very serious direct, but not collateral damage."
JUBA, July 10 (Xinhua) -- South Sudan's Health Ministry has confirmed 271 people were killed in Friday's clashes between rival army factions outside the presidential palace in the capital Juba and there is renewed heavy fighting on Sunday.

In a statement, the Health Ministry said those killed included 32 civilians, 5 police officers, 44 government troops and 190 soldiers of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-In Opposition (SPLM-IO) led by Vice President Riek Machar.

"The death toll is expected to rise as these are preliminary figure," the statement said.

It added 34 government soldiers, five police officers and at least 27 civilians were being treated in hospital.

The clashes between government troops and SPLM-IO forces on Friday afternoon were the most serious since the reconciliation between President Salva Kiir and former rebel leader Machar in April.

Kiir and Machar on Friday evening called for calm after the clashes. They said they were holding a meeting at the presidential palace when the gun battle broke out.

However, fighting erupted again early Sunday in Juba, and gunfire and artillery shelling could be heard.

The UN Mission in South Sudan said the fighting had prompted about 1,000 internally displaced people in a UN Protection of Civilian (PoC) site to flee to the UN base in Jebel area.

The statement from the Health Ministry didn't speak about the Sunday fighting which has also forced hundreds of civilians to seek protection at UN bases.

William Gatjiath Deng, a SPLM-IO spokesman, said government troops attacked their base in Jebel early Sunday with three helicopter gunships bombing their camps.

Sources told Xinhua there were also fighting near Vice President Machar's residence.

Meanwhile, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in South Sudan, Ellen Margrethe Loj, on Sunday urged all parties to immediately restrain their forces, engage in dialogue to find a political solution to the crisis.

"For the safety and security of those displaced civilians, the United Nations urges all parties to respect the civilian nature of the PoC sites," Loj said.

The renewed violence has raised fears that the war-torn country could descend into conflict again.

Civil war erupted in South Sudan in December 2013 after fighting between forces loyal to President Kiir and his then sacked deputy Machar in Juba. Machar denied he was planning a coup but then mobilized a rebel force.

A peace deal signed by the two men last August under UN pressure led to the formation of a national unity government in April, with Machar returning to his old post.

Tens of thousands of people were killed in the civil war.
WASHINGTON, July 10 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Police officers were targeted in at least three separate shooting incidents on Friday as the country was still reeling from three deadly shootings in four days which threatened to pit the country's African-American community and law enforcement officials against each other.

According to local authorities in Georgia, one police officer was ambushed on Friday after he was dispatched in response to a report of a break-in Valdosta, Georgia.

The officer was shot multiple times after being lured to the scene by the gunman, said Valdosta Police Chief Brian Childress at a press conference.

Both the officer and gunman were wounded in the exchange of fire, and local authorities said both were expected to survive.

The officer is white, and the suspect was identified by authorities as an Asian male.

In another shooting incident in Atlanta, Georgia, a gunman in a passing car shot multiple times at one police officer on patrol before he was arrested. The officer was not hit, said local authorities.

The officer is white, and the race of the suspect was not available at the moment.

Also in St, Louis, Missouri, a motorist shot an officer three times on Friday as the officer was walking back to his car during a traffic stop, said local authorities.

The race of both the suspect and the officer was not available at the moment.

The shooting incidents targetting police officers came hours after a gunman shot dead five police officers in an ambush-style shooting on Thursday night during a protest against police brutality in Dallas, Texas.

According to local authorities, the gunman, a black U.S. military veteran of the Afghan war, told authorities during negotiations that he was "upset at white people" and wanted to "kill white people, especially white officers."

The shooting spree in Dallas came one day after a police officer shot dead an African-American man in Falcon Heights, Minnesota during a routine traffic stop that derived from a broken taillight.

According to initial investigation, a police officer shot Philando Castile, a 32-year-old African-American, several times when the latter sat in his car.

Castile's girlfriend Diamond Reynolds then live-streamed online the aftermath of the police shooting, recording a gruesome scene where her bloody boyfriend slumping next to her.

According to a video released on the website of The New York Times on Thursday in which Reynolds recounted the incident to others, Castile was shot when reaching for his driver's license and registration as required by the officer.

Reynolds said Castile had told the police officer that he was carrying a weapon but was licensed to do so.

The deadly encounter in Minnesota happened only one day after another police shooting killed another African-American man, Alton Sterling, in Baton Rouge, the capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana.

Sterling was selling compact discs outside a food store when he was gunned down following an altercation with two police officers early Tuesday morning, according to the state's daily newspaper The Times-Picayune.

The Justice Department had already launched a civil rights investigation into Sterling's death.
JERUSALEM, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said Sunday in an official visit to Israel that Israelis and the Palestinians must resume peace talks before their decades-long conflict escalates.

Shoukry arrived in Israel on the same day, in a first visit by an Egyptian foreign minister to Israel since 2007, and made the statements to reporters prior to his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"My visit comes amid the vision of President (Abdel Fattah al-) Sisi to achieve peace between the Israeli and Palestinian people and to bring this conflict to an end," Shoukry told reporters.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said in May that there's a "real chance" to resume peace talks and achieve a deal between Israel and the Palestinians, with the mediation of Arab countries, led by Egypt.

The Egyptian initiative is based on the 2002 Saudi Peace Initiative, according to which Arab states will sign peace deals with Israel if it ends its conflict with the Palestinians with a peace accord.

The latest round of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians ended in April 2014 without results.

The Egyptian official also said that the peace process is at a "critical juncture" as the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians continues for more than half a century, and after a ten-month wave of violence killed 34 Israelis and 214 Palestinians.

"The current situation can shatter the hopes of the Palestinians for a Palestinian state, with a capital in east Jerusalem, and smash the ambitions of millions of Israelis to live in peace and security," Shoukry said.

He added that peace between Israelis and Palestinians "would have dramatic and positive results and on the situation in the entire Middle East," and warned of maintaining the status quo, which might ignite further escalation.

Israel occupied the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza Strip territories in the 1967 Mideast War. Those territories are where millions of Palestinians live and wish to establish a Palestinian state.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on his end, welcomed once more Sisi's statements from May and his "efforts to pursue peace with the Palestinians," which he agreed would have positive effects on the region as a whole.

Netanyahu called upon the Palestinians to resume direct negotiations, adding that it is "the only way in which we could discuss all the outstanding issues between us and turn the vision of peace based on the two-state solution a reality."

Shoukry's visit was orchestrated by Netanyahu's confidant Isaac Molcho, who traveled to Egypt in recent weeks and met with Egyptian officials, the Ha'aretz daily reported.

Netanyahu and other Israeli officials have expressed their appreciation of Al-Sisi's statements from May and stressed the importance of involvement of Arab states in the region in attempts to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in recent months.

These statements are made amid a French peace initiative to hold an international conference later this year to restart peace talks.

Israel rejects the initiative, saying that an international forum would enable Palestinians to "allude" direct talks, whereas the Palestinians support the French plan and say Israel wants to stall time in endless negotiations.

Israel and Egypt signed a peace treaty in 1979. The countries had since cooperated on security and diplomatic affairs.

However, relations of the two countries soured in 2012, when Israel embarked on a military operation in the Gaza Strip enclave, ruled by the Hamas Islamist Group.

Egypt, then ruled by Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammad Morsi, recalled its ambassador from Israel in protest of the country's moves.

The situation changed since al-Sisi took power, with a new Egyptian ambassador presented his credentials to the Israeli President in place in February. Enditem
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) shakes hands with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry after giving a joint statement prior to their meeting at his Jerusalem office on July 10, 2016. (Xinhua/AFP Photo)

JERUSALEM, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said Sunday in an official visit to Israel that Israelis and the Palestinians must resume peace talks before their decades-long conflict escalates.

Shoukry arrived in Israel on the same day, in a first visit by an Egyptian foreign minister to Israel since 2007, and made the statements to reporters prior to his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"My visit comes amid the vision of President (Abdel Fattah al-) Sisi to achieve peace between the Israeli and Palestinian people and to bring this conflict to an end," Shoukry told reporters.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said in May that there's a "real chance" to resume peace talks and achieve a deal between Israel and the Palestinians, with the mediation of Arab countries, led by Egypt.

The Egyptian initiative is based on the 2002 Saudi Peace Initiative, according to which Arab states will sign peace deals with Israel if it ends its conflict with the Palestinians with a peace accord.

The latest round of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians ended in April 2014 without results.

The Egyptian official also said that the peace process is at a "critical juncture" as the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians continues for more than half a century, and after a ten-month wave of violence killed 34 Israelis and 214 Palestinians.

"The current situation can shatter the hopes of the Palestinians for a Palestinian state, with a capital in east Jerusalem, and smash the ambitions of millions of Israelis to live in peace and security," Shoukry said.

He added that peace between Israelis and Palestinians "would have dramatic and positive results and on the situation in the entire Middle East," and warned of maintaining the status quo, which might ignite further escalation.

Israel occupied the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza Strip territories in the 1967 Mideast War. Those territories are where millions of Palestinians live and wish to establish a Palestinian state.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on his end, welcomed once more Sisi's statements from May and his "efforts to pursue peace with the Palestinians," which he agreed would have positive effects on the region as a whole.

Netanyahu called upon the Palestinians to resume direct negotiations, adding that it is "the only way in which we could discuss all the outstanding issues between us and turn the vision of peace based on the two-state solution a reality."

Shoukry's visit was orchestrated by Netanyahu's confidant Isaac Molcho, who traveled to Egypt in recent weeks and met with Egyptian officials, the Ha'aretz daily reported.

Netanyahu and other Israeli officials have expressed their appreciation of Al-Sisi's statements from May and stressed the importance of involvement of Arab states in the region in attempts to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in recent months.

These statements are made amid a French peace initiative to hold an international conference later this year to restart peace talks.

Israel rejects the initiative, saying that an international forum would enable Palestinians to "allude" direct talks, whereas the Palestinians support the French plan and say Israel wants to stall time in endless negotiations.

Israel and Egypt signed a peace treaty in 1979. The countries had since cooperated on security and diplomatic affairs.

However, relations of the two countries soured in 2012, when Israel embarked on a military operation in the Gaza Strip enclave, ruled by the Hamas Islamist Group.

Egypt, then ruled by Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammad Morsi, recalled its ambassador from Israel in protest of the country's moves.

The situation changed since al-Sisi took power, with a new Egyptian ambassador presented his credentials to the Israeli President in place in February.
Photo taken on July 21, 2015 shows the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) flag during the IGAD-Plus peace process meeting in Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia. The meeting which was held here on Tuesday was aimed at deliberating over a newly developed document by the IGAD on how to reinforce the peace process, to put the crises in South Sudan an end. (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)

ADDIS ABABA, July 11 (Xinhua) -- The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) has urged concerned parties to refrain from violent acts in South Sudan.

It is with deep sadness that IGAD learnt of the eruption of fresh violence in Juba, South Sudan, on July 8 during which forces allied to the different factions of the unity government engaged in deadly armed battles, said a statement from the East African bloc on Sunday.

"IGAD condemns in the strongest terms possible these violent acts which have once again placed the long suffering people of South Sudan in unspeakable harm's way," said the statement.

South Sudanese President Salva Kiir (R) and South Sudanese first Vice-President Riek Machar (L) sing the national anthem in Juba, capital of South Sudan, April 26, 2016. Riek Machar was sworn in as South Sudan's first vice president, hours after his return to the capital Juba on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Denis Elamu)

"IGAD abhors the loss of lives and fears for civilian casualties if the situation is not contained immediately, and urges all concerned to exercise restraint and demonstrate true leadership by doing all they can to stop the violence."

The leaders of South Sudan should honor the promise they made to the people of South Sudan five years ago on July 9, 2011 when the country became independent, said the statement, it was then declared that peace would prevail and development and democracy would be guaranteed.

Participants attend the mediation peace process of South Sudan peace negotiation in Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia, Aug. 6, 2015. Under the mediation of theIGAD-Plus, the South Sudan peace negotiation kicked off here on Thursday. The East African bloc, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), has been mediating the peace process of South Sudan towards ending the crisis erupted since mid-December in 2013 in the world's youngest nation. (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)

IGAD hopes that these noble pledges will be honored and the leaders would close ranks with the peace-loving citizens of South Sudan whose only wish is for the bloodshed to stop immediately, said the statement.
First Vice President Riek Machar (L) delivers a speech to journalists next to South Sudan President Salva Kiir (C) and Vice President James Wani Igga (R) prior to the shooting outside the presidential palace in Juba on July 8, 2016. Gunfire erupted near the presidential palace in South Sudan's capital Juba on July 8, further straining a shaky ceasefire the day after five soldiers were killed. / AFP PHOTO / Charles Atiki Lomodong

JUBA, July 11 (Xinhua) -- South Sudan's Health Ministry has confirmed 271 people were killed in Friday's clashes between rival army factions outside the presidential palace in the capital Juba and there is renewed heavy fighting on Sunday.

In a statement, the Health Ministry said those killed included 32 civilians, 5 police officers, 44 government troops and 190 soldiers of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-In Opposition (SPLM-IO) led by Vice President Riek Machar.

"The death toll is expected to rise as these are preliminary figure," the statement said.

It added 34 government soldiers, five police officers and at least 27 civilians were being treated in hospital.

The clashes between government troops and SPLM-IO forces on Friday afternoon were the most serious since the reconciliation between President Salva Kiir and former rebel leader Machar in April.

Kiir and Machar on Friday evening called for calm after the clashes. They said they were holding a meeting at the presidential palace when the gun battle broke out.

However, fighting erupted again early Sunday in Juba, and gunfire and artillery shelling could be heard.

The UN Mission in South Sudan said the fighting had prompted about 1,000 internally displaced people in a UN Protection of Civilian (PoC) site to flee to the UN base in Jebel area.

The statement from the Health Ministry didn't speak about the Sunday fighting which has also forced hundreds of civilians to seek protection at UN bases.

South Sudanese President Salva Kiir (R) and South Sudanese first Vice-President Riek Machar (L) sing the national anthem in Juba, capital of South Sudan, April 26, 2016. Riek Machar was sworn in as South Sudan's first vice president, hours after his return to the capital Juba on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Denis Elamu)

William Gatjiath Deng, a SPLM-IO spokesman, said government troops attacked their base in Jebel early Sunday with three helicopter gunships bombing their camps.

Sources told Xinhua there were also fighting near Vice President Machar's residence.

Meanwhile, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in South Sudan, Ellen Margrethe Loj, on Sunday urged all parties to immediately restrain their forces, engage in dialogue to find a political solution to the crisis.

"For the safety and security of those displaced civilians, the United Nations urges all parties to respect the civilian nature of the PoC sites," Loj said.

The renewed violence has raised fears that the war-torn country could descend into conflict again.

Civil war erupted in South Sudan in December 2013 after fighting between forces loyal to President Kiir and his then sacked deputy Machar in Juba. Machar denied he was planning a coup but then mobilized a rebel force.

A peace deal signed by the two men last August under UN pressure led to the formation of a national unity government in April, with Machar returning to his old post.

Tens of thousands of people were killed in the civil war.
Visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at a joint press conference after holding talks with his Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinisto in Naantali, Finland, on July 1, 2016. (Xinhua/Li Jizhi)

MOSCOW, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Russia's Foreign Ministry on Sunday slammed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) for its anti-missile deployment in Europe, saying the bloc continued to deliberately ignore the action's negative consequences and risks for the entire Euro-Atlantic security system.

The ministry's spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused the United States and NATO in a statement of "deliberate actions to change the existing balance of force, including the forced implementation of the U.S./NATO anti-missile plans in Europe."

"Contrary to the objective interests of maintaining peace and stability in Europe, as well as the need for uniting all responsible international players to fight real and not contrived modern challenges, the alliance focuses on the containment of a non-existent 'threat from the East,'" Zakharova said, commenting on the NATO summit held in Warsaw on July 8-9.

There have been "completely exaggerated" attempts at demonizing Russia in order to justify the steps taken toward a military buildup in Europe and divert attention from NATO's "destructive role" in provoking crises and instability across the world, she said.

"We expect NATO's detailed explanations regarding its enforcement in all directions during the upcoming Russia-NATO Council's meeting at the level of permanent representatives due July 13," the spokeswoman said.

On the first day of the Warsaw summit, NATO acknowledged the initial operational readiness of the anti-missile shield, which in fact means that NATO can officially take command of the component of the missile defense system, located in Romania.
First Vice President Riek Machar (L) delivers a speech to journalists next to South Sudan President Salva Kiir (C) and Vice PresidentJames Wani Igga (R) prior to the shooting outside the presidential palace in Juba on July 8, 2016. Gunfire erupted near the presidential palace in South Sudan's capital Juba on July 8, further straining a shaky ceasefire the day after five soldiers were killed. (Xinhua/AFP Photo)

KHARTOUM, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir urged the two parties in the conflict in South Sudan to exercise self-restraint and stop the fighting which started last week in the capital Juba, official SUNA news agency reported Sunday.

Al-Bashir made the remarks during telephone conversations with South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit and First Vice-President Riek Machar, the report said.

The president reiterated the importance of ending the bloodshed so as not to drag the area to tribal and political conflicts that would cripple the procession of peace and development of South Sudan.

Last Thursday, violent clashes broke out between forces loyal to president Kiir and Machar respectively around the Presidential Palace in Juba and extended to neighborhoods around and places near the airport.

On Sunday the UN reported the use of mortars, rocket-propelled grenades and heavy ground assault weaponry, and a helicopter gunship was also reported above Juba.

Machar's spokesman James Gatdet Dak was said to have blamed the government troops for the fighting.

"Our forces have been attacked at Jebel base," said Dak, pointing out that the attack had been repulsed.
SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Clashes in Indian-controlled Kashmir between protesters and government forces continued for the second straight day Sunday despite curfew, pushing death toll to 21 including a policeman, officials said.

The latest killing took place in the evening at Tengpora in Srinagar, where policemen fired upon a youth. A senior health official at SKIMS Medical College Bemina Dr Reyaz Untoo told media the youth was brought dead to the hospital.

"He had bullet injuries in abdomen," Untoo said.

The clashes and violent anti-India demonstrations triggered following the killing of a popular militant commander Burhan Muzaffar Wani in a gunfight. Wani was killed along with two associates on Friday.

"There has been no respite in the ongoing clashes and we have information that so far 21 people (20 protesters and one policeman) were killed since yesterday," an official said. "The policeman was killed due to drowning after the vehicle he was driving was pushed into river by protesters."

Officials said the armoured police vehicle was pushed into river by angry protesters at Sangam village in southern district of Anantnag.

Meanwhile, local government spokesman Nayeem Akhtar appealed people not to agitate and sought the support of the mainstream and separatist political parties to restore calm in the restive region.

"The cabinet which met under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti expressed grief and anguish over the loss of precious human lives and made a fervent appeal to all shades of political opinion, including the mainstream and the separatists, to help restore calm as the violence has neither served any purpose in the past nor is it going to do so in the prevailing circumstances," Akhtar said.

Akthar, who is also a minister in the local government walked out of the press conference and refused to answer questions from media.

Reports of fresh clashes were received from several places of Anantnag, Kulgam, Pulwama, Budgam and Srinagar districts with many reported injured. Officials said about 200 people were injured during the two days of violence. The irate youth threw rocks and brickbats on contingents of Indian troops and police, who responded by firing tear smoke shells, pellets and bullets.

Police officials said protesters attacked several police and paramilitary posts in the region. According to police, around 90 policemen were also injured in the crowd control.

Police describes Wani's killing as a "major setback" to local militants and see it as "success".

Sensing trouble the authorities soon after Wani's killing suspended cellphone, internet and train services in the region, and indefinitely halted an annual Hindu pilgrimage to Amarnath. The pilgrimage to the mountain cave attracts about half a million people every year.

Thousands of Indian troops and policemen in riot gears carrying automatic rifles have been deployed across towns and villages in the region to prevent protests.

India's state-run broadcaster - All India Radio (AIR) said a reinforcement of 12 companies of paramilitary troopers have been rushed for deployment in southern districts.

Local newspaper reports said heath officials at Srinagar's main hospital -SMHS have declared a medical emergency in wake of increasing number of injured admitted at the hospital, with majority of them admitted with firearm wounds. The hospital authorities have cancelled routine surgeries in the hospital because of rush of injured people.

The 22-year-old Wani was poster boy of of HM, region's indigenous militant outfit. He had featured in videos - wearing combat fatigues and brandishing automatic weapons - circulated on social networking websites aimed at encouraging new generation of Kashmiris to join militant groups and warning policemen to confine themselves in police stations.

The fresh killings are likely to fuel further anger in the volatile region. Enditem
A file photo of Kenya Airways' first Boeing 787 Dreamliner at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, capital of Kenya. (Xinhua/Meng Chenguang)

NAIROBI, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Kenya Airways says it has suspended its flights to South Sudan's capital Juba where renewed fighting between rival army factions erupted on Sunday.

The airline said in a statement that its daily flights to Juba would remain halted until the situation there normalized.

Sunday's fighting between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and Vice President Riek Machar came less than two days after clashes between the rival factions outside the presidential palace killed at least 271 people.

South Sudan President Salva Kiir looks on during a press conference prior to the shooting outside the presidential palace in Juba on July 8, 2016.

Gunfire erupted near the presidential palace in South Sudan's capital Juba on July 8, further straining a shaky ceasefire the day after five soldiers were killed. / AFP PHOTO / Charles Atiki Lomodong

A spokeman for Vice President Machar earlier said there was heavy fighting at Juba International Airport while there are unconfirmed reports that Machar's forces have taken control of the airport.

Kiir and Machar called for calm after the Friday clashes. They said they were meeting at the presidential palace over a previous shootout between their troops that left five soldiers killed when the gun battle broke out.

There is no word on casualties in Sunday's fighting.
by Larry Neild

LONDON, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair faced mounting pressure Sunday in the wake of the devastating Chilcot report into the 2003 Iraq war.

Lord John Prescott, who served under Blair as his deputy prime minister, said Sunday the 2003 invasion of Iraq by military forces from Britain and the United States was illegal.

Labour politician Prescott, said he would live with the catastrophic decision for the rest of his life.

"A day doesn't go by when I don't think of the decision we made to go to war. Of the British troops who gave their lives or suffered injuries for their country. Of the 175,000 civilians who died from the Pandora's Box we opened by removing Saddam Hussein," said Prescott.

The veteran politician, who now serves in the House of Lords, outlined his views in his column in the Sunday Mirror newspaper.

Meanwhile, leading Conservative MP David Davis said Sunday he plans to submit a motion to the House of Commons on Thursday to hold Blair in contempt of Parliament over the Iraq war. Such moves are rare in the British parliament.

Davis' move could provoke a debate in the House of Commons to discuss whether Blair had misled parliament.

Following the release of the long awaited report last week into the war, Blair apologized, but said he stands by his decision to join the United States in the campaign which saw the toppling of Iraq's president Saddam Hussein.

Most of Britain's national newspapers focused after the report on a message Blair sent to U.S. president Bush before the invasion saying "I am with you, whatever..."

In his article Sunday, Prescott described that statement by Blair as devastating, with Prescott adding he agreed with the former UN secretary general of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, that the war was illegal.

The troubles within Britain's main opposition Labour party continued with embattled leader Jeremy Corbyn responding Sunday to the proposed challenge to his leadership by Labour MP Angela Eagle. Corbyn urged Eagle to think again about mounting her challenge, which she is scheduled to do Monday morning local time. Instead he called for the party to unite.

Eagle said deputy party leader Tom Watson, party chief whip Rosie Winterton and Parliamentary Labour Party chairman John Cryer had all tried to get Corbyn to stand down, but he had refused.

Virtually all of Corbyn's shadow cabinet resigned after a vote of no confidence by his own MPs, making it difficult to fill all of the vacancies in his front bench team.

A critical moment could come later this week when the Labour Party's ruling body, its NEC, meet to decide whether Corbyn should automatically see his name on a leadership ballot paper, or whether, like Eagle, he will need to win backing from a percentage of Labour MPs and MEPs (Members of the European Parliament).

Corbyn insisted Sunday his name would automatically go forward as serving leader, adding he would challenge a decision that stated he needed to be nominated.

Political commentators said Sunday that the civil war between Corbyn and his Labour MPs could threaten the future of Britain's so called working class political party.

Meanwhile, in the governing Conservative Party it is not all sweetness and roses, with one of the contenders for the leadership of that party under fire.

Home Secretary Theresa May and energy minister Andrea Leadsom are involved in a head-to-head for the leadership, with the winner becoming Britain's second ever female prime minister.

A furious row has erupted after mother-of-three Leadsom was accused of saying that having children made her a better choice of leader. Her rival, May, has no children.

Some Conservatives have called on Leadsom to quit the leadership race in view of the comments she made.

The Sunday Times reported Sunday that around 20 MPs are ready to form a breakaway party if Leadsom is elected as Conservative leader.

Leadsom supporter, former cabinet minister Iain Duncan Smith commented: "Project Fear from the EU referendum campaign has morphed into 'Project Smear'." He said in one interview: "The establishment are ganging up... it's all about 'let's gang up on Andrea'."
UNITED NATIONS, July 10 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council is expected to meet behind closed doors on Sunday afternoon in an emergency session to discuss the current situation in South Sudan, where fighting in the capital Juba has left more than 110 soldiers killed.

The 15-nation UN body is scheduled to start the closed-door meeting at 4:30 p.m. EDT (2030GMT) on Sunday at UN Headquarters in New York, the UN Spokesperson's Office told reporters here.

On Saturday, the Security Council "strongly condemned" the fighting in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, between soldiers loyal to the president and first vice president of the world's youngest country.

"The members of the Security Council acknowledged the formation of an investigation committee and urged the Transitional Government of National Unity to quickly investigate these attacks, take steps to end the fighting, reduce tensions, and hold those responsible for the attacks to account," said a press statement issued by the 15-nation UN body.

South Sudan has canceled this year's independence celebrations due to the economic crunch resulting from more than two years of civil conflict. It won independence on July 9 2011 from Sudan after more than two decades of war that ended in a bitter divorce.

The country again plunged into conflict in December 2013 after President Salva Kiir accused his deputy Riek Machar of plotting a coup, which the latter denied, leading to a cycle of retaliatory killings.

President Kiir and former rebel leader and now First Vice President Machar signed a peace deal in August that paved way for the formation of the transitional unity government to end more than two years of civil conflict.
ISTANBUL, July 10 (Xinhua) -- The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) vowed on Sunday to protect the world's cultural values and heritages against the increasing threat of terrorism and wars more than ever.

"We must stand together for unity, for humanity as a single community," Irina Bokova, UNESCO's director general, said at the opening ceremony of the 40th session of the World Heritage Committee in Istanbul.

Bokova noted that the committee's meeting will be an important message to the world confronting with extremists who are targeting human rights and cultural diversity.

"It is also an important message when we see extremists seeking to divide communities, manipulating the culture to fuel xenophobia and fear," she added.

Turkey's Prime Minister Binali Yildirim called on the UNESCO and the international community to take a bigger responsibility in passing the world's heritages to the next generations.

"The world needs the UNESCO more than ever as the wars in many places around the globe destroy historical, natural and cultural values," the premier said in a video message.

The participants emphasized the importance of promoting the creation of art objects around the world while paying respect to ethnic and cultural diversities as an answer to terrorism and wars.

At its 11-day session, the World Heritage Committee will discuss ways to prevent terrorists from smuggling and destroying cultural relics around the globe.

Since 2014, the Islamic State group has been deliberately destroying cultural heritages in Syria, Iraq and Libya, targeting various places of worship and historical artifacts.

The illegal trafficking in cultural relics in the region via Turkey is on the rise as well.

Turkey's Ministry of Culture and Tourism has prepared an emergency red list that includes the images of Syria's historical artifacts with a view to preventing their illegal trafficking via Turkey.

At its Istanbul session, the heritage committee will also review the nominations of 29 new sites to the prestigious World Heritage List, including nine natural, 16 cultural and four mixed ones.

In addition, 156 sites already on the list and those on the List of World Heritage in Danger will be subjected to the committee's examination.

As of now, the World Heritage List has 1,031 sites in more than 160 countries.

Some 2,000 people from around the world are participating in the annual session of the heritage committee, which was formed in 1977 to enforce the World Heritage Convention and manage the heritage list created based on the convention. Enditem
KHARTOUM, July 10 (Xinhua) -- The Sudanese government expressed deep concern Sunday over the conflicts in South Sudan, declaring its participation in an emergency meeting scheduled in the Kenyan capital Nairobi on Monday.

"Sudan government would like to express its deep concern over the recent unfortunate events which took place in the sisterly Republic of South Sudan, and which led to military clashes that resulted in the killings of a great number of people from both parties in the conflict, disturbed the security and created a state of instability," said Sudan's Foreign Ministry in a statement.

"Based on Sudan's great keenness on the security in South Sudan, the Sudanese President made telephone conversations with South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit and First Vice-President Riek Machar, and urged them exercise self-restraint and contain the situation to achieve stability and peace in the South," it added.

Meanwhile, the ministry said it has made intensive contacts with the international partners involved in implementing the peace deal in South Sudan to contain the situation.

Sudan's Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour is to take part in an emergency meeting of the IGAD foreign ministers in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi on Monday, the statement said.

Last Thursday, violent clashes broke out between forces loyal to president Kiir and Machar respectively around the Presidential Palace in Juba and extended to neighborhoods around and places near the airport.

On Sunday, the UN reported the use of mortars, rocket-propelled grenades and heavy ground assault weaponry, and a helicopter gunship was also reported above Juba.

Machar's spokesman James Gatdet Dak was said to have blamed the government troops for the fighting.

"Our forces were attacked at Jebel base," said Dak, pointing out that the attack has been repulsed. Enditem
DAR ES SALAAM, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday his country was considering an additional 500 million U.S. dollars concessional credit to Tanzania for water projects.

"India is willing to consider an additional $500 million line of concessional credit," Modi told a joint press conference with his host, Tanzanian President John Magufuli.

Speaking on his second day official visit to the east African nation, Modi said the loan will finance water projects in the country.

At the same time, India and Tanzania signed several agreements, including a loan of 92 million dollars for water projects in Zanzibar islands, and Modi said his government was ready to offer additional financing for other water projects in the country.

Tanzanian President's office said in March the country expected to receive 380 million dollars in loans from India to finance two major water projects in Dar es Salaam and elsewhere in the country.

"President Magufuli and I agreed to deepen India-Tanzania ties in agriculture, food security, trade, natural gas and other vital sectors," said Modi after bilateral talks with President Magufuli at State House in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam.

Modi, who arrived in Tanzania late on Saturday from South Africa as part of his Africa tour, was also due to visit Kenya on Sunday.

Modi promised support to Tanzania to other development projects in health, agriculture and ICT.

The two leaders witnessed the signing of five agreements, including two on water supply and water resource management. Enditem
LAGOS, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Nigeria's main militant group in oil rich Niger Delta region, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) on Sunday said it has set up a peace broker committee to mediate between them and the government.

Jomo Gbomo, the group's spokesperson, said in a statement reaching Xinhua that the government has two-week ultimatum to commence dialogue with its "Aaron Team," including a repentant militant leader, High Chief Government Ekpemupolo, aka Tompolo, to end the bombing of oil installations and Niger Delta militancy.

MEND declared that the dialogue must not be coordinated by the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), since most of the issues surrounding the Niger Delta question were on the exclusive legislative list and the proposed dialogue was not an interrogatory session.

The group described members of the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) as criminals, who had been holding the Nigerian government to ransom and forcing concessions.

The NDA members, according to MEND, also engage in militancy for their own personal aggrandizement.

The militant group expressed displeasure that successive governments and the International Oil Companies (IOCs) operating in the crude oil and gas-rich Niger Delta had repeatedly reneged on agreements entered into with the people of the region and also owing the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) billions of naira in withheld funds.

The group also stated that it stopped attacks on oil installations more than two years ago, when the group unilaterally declared a ceasefire of hostilities on May 30, 2014 against Nigeria's key economic and strategic interests.

According to MEND, since it declared ceasefire, it had relentlessly sought to engage the government in a sincere dialogue on the release of those it described as "Prisoners of Conscience," including Henry and Charles Okah, as well as addressing the root issues bedeviling the Niger Delta, without success.

The militant group also hoped that the government would reach out to the Aaron Team Leader, to signal government's intention to commence the dialogue.

MEND added that if after the two-week ultimatum and it did not hear from the Nigerian government, the militant group would assume that the Mohammad Buhari's administration was truly not sincere about dialogue on the Niger Delta question, but would prefer to respond only to the threat of violence or industrial action.

The group has been known for carrying out attacks on international oil companies in the Niger Delta, engaging in actions including sabotage, theft, property destruction, guerrilla warfare and kidnapping.

In June 2009, the Nigerian government offered amnesty to gunmen in the oil rich Niger Delta region, urging them to lay down their weapons by Oct. 4 in a bid to end unrest, which has cost Africa's top oil exporter billions of dollars in lost revenue.

Scores of Nigerian armed youth gave up their weapons and embraced amnesty offered by the Nigerian government in the most concerted effort yet to end years of fighting in the oil-rich producing region.

The Niger Delta is an unstable area where inter-ethnic clashes are commonplace. Access to oil revenue is the trigger for the violence. Over 300 foreigners have been seized in the Niger Delta since 2006. Almost all have been released unharmed after paying a ransom.

The unrest in the region has forced many international firms to flee the area. The government mobilized the Nigerian army and coast guard in an anti-banditry operation. Enditem
by Jamal Hashim

BAGHDAD, July 10 (Xinhua) -- "I wonder if it is enough for British and U.S. officials to say that they regret the invasion of Iraq as it was only a mistake. How about my family's life which was turned miserable by the war? How about my husband and sons who lost their lives in the chaos and bloody violence?" Um Ibrahim said.

The woman in her 50s lives with her two daughters and a seven-year-old grandson, struggling for survival after she lost her husband in a battle between the U.S. troops and Iraqi insurgents about 11 years ago in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad.

Later in 2006, she lost her two sons when militia took them away from their house in the northern neighborhood of Hurriyah in Baghdad and shot them. The deaths of civilians were frequently seen after 2006 in the country as the U.S.-led invasion destroyed the political system and sparked sectarian strife.

In 2006, a group of gunmen bombed the Askari shrine, one of the most sacred Shiite shrines in the city of Samarra, 120 km north of Baghdad, sparking waves of sectarian violence across Iraq, including the capital.

Um Ibrahim's family was forced to leave their house, joining some 300 Sunni families, who were also forced to flee the predominantly Shiite neighborhood of Hurriyah.

More than 100 people were killed at that time and at least five Sunni mosques were burned during a five-month turmoil in the neighborhood.

"My family and I used to live in peace there. I've never expected that one day they would kill my sons. They had been friends," Um Ibrahim said at her small vegetable stall at a marketplace in the mainly Sunni neighborhood of Ghazaliyah in western Baghdad.

"We used to have difficulties in our life before the invasion, mainly due to the embargo on Saddam's regime, but lived in peace and happiness and I remember that my husband and I had hopes and dreams about how my sons and daughters will grow up and what will they be in the future," she said.

"But everything has gone. Now we are starving, displaced and yearning for safety."

"They killed my two sons because they refused to leave that neighborhood. I begged them to leave, I begged them," she muttered, wiping her face with handkerchief as tears rolled down her cheek, immersed in the painful memory.

The invasion of Iraq in 2003 by the U.S., Britain and other coalition countries was catastrophic for most of Iraqis. According to Iraqi government data, hundreds of thousands of civilians were killed in conflicts after the 2003 invasion, while unofficial tallies put the toll from military actions and sectarian strife at over one million.

The war also left some 3.4 million people displaced inside Iraq and more than two million outside a country with a population of over 34 million.

A long-awaited report by Sir John Chilcot was released on Wednesday, which revealed that the invasion led by the U.S. and Britain was planned on flawed intelligence and lack of adequate preparation for the post-war governance.

Britain followed the U.S. to invade Iraq in March 2003 on two allegations: first, the war on former Iraqi President Saddam Hussien was a reaction to the 9/11 attack as Saddam had relations with the al-Qaida; second, Saddam was developing weapons of mass destruction which could threat the Middle East and the whole world as well.

However, the seven-year inquiry by the British team and similar investigations conducted by U.S. experts after 2003 concluded that there was no evidence of Saddam possessing any nuclear weapons, neither the evidence of any cooperation between Saddam and al-Qaida.

At Um Ibrahim's house in Ghazaliyah neighborhood, the walls of the living room were randomly planted with wires. She got electricity from two sources, from the government which supplies electricity about 15 hours a day, and a large generator in the neighborhood of which the owner sells electricity.

As the temperature in summer in Iraq reaches some 50 degrees, Um Ibrahim would find it harder to provide further amount of power from the private generator to operate her old refrigerator.

"Some people in the neighborhood are so kind to me. They paid money to the owner of generator for me, because I can't afford it with my income," she said.

Her daughters, Maha and Shahad, are living with their mother. Maha, who lost her husband in one of Baghdad bombing attacks, found a new job as seamstress with a salary that can barely provide for the family.

Shahad, who graduated from the management institute last year, is looking for a job, but has to wait for a long time as the unemployment rate in the country rises sharply in recent years.

Um Ibrahim said all the tragedy and misery of her family was caused by the invasion by former U.S. President George W. Bush and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

"It is very simple; they should apologize for what they did. But that would not bring back my sons and husband, as well as hundreds of thousands of innocent people, and certainly won't change my life and the lives of my family members," she said.
Romulus Ioan Budura, former Ambassador of Romania to China, senior sinologist, gives an interview to Xinhua in his apartment in northwestern Bucharest, Romania, June 17, 2016. (Xinhua/Chen Jin)

BUCHAREST, July 10 (Xinhua) -- The South China Sea dispute can only be settled by seeking positive and constructive methods, said former Romanian ambassador to China Romulus Ioan Budura.

Undoubtedly, the Philippines made a serious mistake by unilaterally initiating an arbitration case against China in 2013 over the dispute at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Budura told Xinhua in a recent interview.

Budura believes the dispute should be tackled by diplomatic talks instead of arbitration.

The arbitration initiated unilaterally by the Philippines doesn't help solve the dispute, said Budura, adding that the intervention of outside forces will make the issue more complicated and lead to the escalation of unstable regional situation.

Budura pointed out that taking the South China Sea dispute to arbitration is against the consensus between China and the Philippines to settle disputes through friendly consultations and negotiations.

It is also against the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), signed by China and ASEAN countries in 2002, the former ambassador said.

He stressed that the disputes over the territorial sovereignty and maritime delimitation in the South China Sea should be resolved through consultation and negotiation by sovereign states directly concerned, adding that peace and stability in the South China Sea should be maintained jointly by China and the ASEAN members.

Budura expressed his support for the position persistently held by China that territorial sovereignty disputes should be resolved through consultations between concerned parties.

According to him, China's sovereignty over the South China Sea islands has been explicitly stated in the 1943 Cairo Declaration and the 1945 Potsdam Proclamation, both of which were signed by the allied powers including the United States. For a long time after World War II, none of the countries in the South China Sea area raised any objection to China's sovereignty over the islands.

Nor did the United States dispute China's sovereignty over the South China Sea islands between early 1970s, when the two sides began the process of the normalization of Chinese-U.S. ties, and 1979, when the two countries formally established diplomatic relations, said Budura.

He pointed out that as a sovereign state, China's building of infrastructure for civilian and defense use on its own territory in the South China Sea is incontrovertible, as many other countries had done the same before.

Budura was in China for study in early 1950s and was posted as Romanian ambassador to China between 1990 and 1996. He has long been engaged in China- and Asia-related work and research, and once served as an advisor to then Romanian President Ion Iliescu in 1990s.

Budura recalled that in summer 1964 when he, then a second secretary at the Romanian embassy in China, was tasked with drafting a document on the Romanian government's supporting China's territorial integrity, the document in particular stressed that China has indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea islands.

He told Xinhua that he hopes negotiations would resume between China and the Philippines earlier, in a bid to solve disputes bilaterally and within the framework of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC).

Even if some issues could not be settled satisfactorily for the moment, both sides still could work towards making the South China Sea a maritime area featuring peaceful development and common prosperity by upholding the principle of shelving differences while seeking joint development, Budura said.
JERUSALEM, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Israel's Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit announced Sunday he had ordered to open an initial probe amid criminal allegations against Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The attorney general did not specify the nature of the probe, and stressed the examination is an initial probe and not a criminal investigation.

"I wish to inform you that in light of information received regarding affairs that pertain to the prime minister, among others...the attorney general has conducted a number of discussions...decided to instruct that an examination of the matter be opened," the Attorney General's office said in a statement.

The statement also said that recent reports by Israeli media outlets on the matter were not accurate.

On Friday, Channel 2 news reported that the new affair involved the transfer of large sums of money to Netanyahu's family member for non-political purposes.

Channel 10 news reported that Netanyahu and a senior official in the judiciary establishment were involved in a corruption affair, possibly involving money laundering.

"In recent days, many reports - which are inaccurate, to say the least - have been published in the media. Naturally, we will not be able to refer to these reports or to elaborate as to the process of the examination at this stage," the statement added.

A spokesperson for the prime minister said in a statement to the press that allegations against the prime minister are unfounded.

"As was the case in previous affairs, when things that turned out to be baseless were attributed to Netanyahu, there will be nothing here as well, because there is nothing," the statement said.

This is not the first time Prime Minister Netanyahu and his wife have allegations surface against them.

Israeli authorities have embarked last month on investigating Netanyahu's alleged connections with French businessman Arnaut Mimran, who was recently found guilty by a French court over a massive fraud case.

The attorney general ordered to open a probe into the French businessman's claim, made during the trial, that he gave Prime Minister Netanyahu about one million euros (1.1 million U.S. dollars) in 2009 for campaigning. Such sums are considered as a violation of Israel's campaign finance law.

In May, the Israeli police recommended to the Jerusalem prosecution to file an indictment against Sara Netanyahu, the prime minister's wife, for alleged improprieties at the family residence, including fraud charges. Enditem
Yemen's President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi is escorted by special forces during a visit to the country's northern province of Marib July 10, 2016. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

ADEN, Yemen, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi vowed Sunday to liberate the country's capital Sanaa from the control of the Iran-backed Houthi rebels with a Saudi-backed military offensive.

In a surprising move, Hadi arrived in northern Marib province about 170km east of Sanaa along with his vice-president General Ali Muhsen and other ministers as pro-government forces creep into several Houthi-controlled provinces.

Hadi said during a meeting with high-ranking military commanders and government officials in Marib that "we will foil any attempt to create a Persian state in Yemen."

He also declared in his first visit to the headquarters of Saudi-backed government forces that "we will be in the capital Sanaa soon."

Media outlets affiliated with the Saudi state announced that the purpose of Hadi's visit to Marib is to supervise the all-out military operation to recapture the capital Sanaa and liberate other provinces from the control of Houthi rebels.

An army officer said that heavy military reinforcements backed by dozens of Saudi-led armored vehicles arrived at the same time with Hadi's arrival in Marib.

A source close to Hadi confirmed to Xinhua that "the President asked the government delegation to boycott the UN-facilitated peace talks in Kuwait if partnership with Houthis will be imposed on us."

According to the source President Hadi strongly rejected the latest UN vision that suggested to form a coalition government with Houthis and considered it as "attempts to legitimize the coup."

The UN-facilitated peace negotiations aimed at ending Yemen's civil war were officially halted late last month and are scheduled to resume on Friday in Kuwait after a two-week break.

On June 29, the Special UN Envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh said "talks will embark on a new phase in the next weeks. Delegations will meet their leaderships in coming two weeks and will return to Kuwait on 15 July."

Ould Cheikh added that "delegations must return with practical steps based on the recommendations of the previous discussions they had in Kuwait."

Yemeni political observers said that the UN-brokered peace talks that kicked off in Kuwait City on April 11 failed to reach any tangible breakthroughs after two months of negotiations.

Delegates of the government strongly insist that they represent Yemen's sole legitimate governing authority, and call for the full implementation of last year's UN Security Council Resolution 2216.

The resolution orders Houthi militias to withdraw from Sanaa and all other cities occupied earlier, hand back weapons and release political prisoners before forming new sharing transitional government.

However, the Houthis and their allies, for their part, say that they represent the country's de facto rulers and urged to form a new transitional government before discussing withdrawal from cities and the other topics.

The Houthi top leaders have also reaffirmed their demand for a consensus president to lead the transition in any peace deal, but government delegates have firmly rejected and insist on implementation of the UN resolution first.

The civil war has drawn in Saudi-led coalition on March 2015, in response to Yemen's President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi's call to restore his internationally recognized government to the capital, Sanaa.

The civil war has killed more than 6,000 people, half of them civilians, injured more 35,000 others, and displaced over two millions, according to humanitarian aid agencies.

Yemen's conflict began after 2011 massive popular protests that demanded end to the 33-year rule of then President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
NAIROBI, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Foreign ministers from member states of East African bloc IGAD are due to meet in the Kenyan capital Nairobi on Monday over renewed fighting in South Sudan's capital Juba.

An official from Kenya's foreign ministry told Xinhua on Sunday the ministers would discuss ways of ending the fighting between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and his deputy Riek Machar.

The rival factions clashed in Juba on Friday, killing at least 271 people, among them 32 civilians and 234 soldiers from both sides. Heavy fighting resumed on Sunday but the scale of casualties is not yet known.

The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) groups Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan and Uganda.

In another development, Paul Malong Awan, Chief of General Staff of Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) -- the government troops, on Sunday warned all armed groups in Juba against attacking civilians.

Malong said the army would not tolerate such activities and would act accordingly to protect civilians.

"The SPLA is hereby giving this stern warning that any group or individual found in a position to carry such barbaric actions or acts will be dealt with in the harshest term possible," Malong said.

The international community has condemned the resurgence of violence amid reports that situation in Juba has calmed down. Enditem
By Xu Jing

CHICAGO, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Wendy Xu beamed as she was posing for a picture with her internship mentor, office director Brandy Renfro at the podium of the Senate Gallery.

Wendy has just concluded her month-long internship program at the Communications Office of Illinois Senate President John Cullerton.

Wendy, a native of Chengdu, capital of Southwest China' s Sichuan Province, is a student from University of Hong Kong on an exchange program at Harvard University. Her work at the Senate President' s communication office is diverse: doing research on President Cullerton' s news and business information for senators in different districts; reading news articles; and analyzing and organizing data by day for the casual forecasting program.

"This is my first time working in the U.S. government, it' s been a really great experience," Wendy told Xinhua. "During the past 5 weeks, I met a lot of great people and learned a lot of useful skills."

Wendy said that by reading the news articles, she knew what' s happening in the United States and what' s happening in the other parts of the world. Most of all, she got to know how the U.S. government office works. "The experience is really valuable and important to me."

Renfro, Wendy' s mentor, is very satisfied with her work, saying "her first project included getting addresses and names of businesses in Senator Bush' s district to mail some items, and she had to cross-reference district boundaries with the map and the businesses." "It usually takes our staff about a week to do and she did it in one day, that was pretty impressive," Renfro said.

Wendy was not alone in her internship, Jiaxin Yang and Jiayun Li, both Chinese postgraduate students at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, worked as interns at Illinois State Treasurer' s Office at the same time.

Jiaxin worked at the Portfolio Operation of Illinois State Treasurer, a division that invests in a variety of different instruments in the capital market system, U.S. treasury, bills and notes, U.S. agency bills and notes, and corporate commercial paper. Jiaxin' s work is compiling information daily by going to different news sources, reading articles, summarizing those articles, and sending them to the portfolio operation team.

Robert Holley, portfolio manager and Director of Portfolio operations of Illinois State Treasurer, was pleased with Jiaxin' s work. "It (the information she provided) was very thorough, and a testament to what she' s learned not only at the university throughout her studies, but also hopefully what she' s picked up working with us in our fund, the Illinois fund," Holley said.

Jiayun worked at the Unclaimed Property of the Treasurer' s Office, where she set up claims to identify property, and reconcile dividends claims and the brokerage accounts. She also spent a lot of time dealing with the securities and reporting.

"I am very lucky to have this opportunity as an intern," Jiayun told Xinhua, saying the month at Springfield State Treasurer' s office has been a unique experience to her. "During this month of work, I learned to be delicate, patient and I also learned new ways of communication and cooperation skills," she said.

Jiayun compared her work at the treasurer' s office with that in a company. "I do feel the work here is a little stricter that what I had before in a company."

James Xue, initiator of the Chinese students' internship program at U.S. government agencies, told Xinhua the internships are designed to help students find careers in government agencies; help Chinese students increase knowledge, enrich experiences and enhance ability.

Xue said that the three points are essential to talents with a world vision. Besides knowledge and experiences, talents should also have the ability of trans-cultural collaboration.

Chinese students participating in the program are not limited to Chinese students now studying in the U.S., Chinese college students on the Chinese mainland can also apply for an internship.

Under the intership program, now in its third year of its initiation, a total of 100 Chinese students has so far been enrolled as interns in Illinois State Government, Chicago City Government and the U.S. Federal Government. Enditem
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu walks to welcome the Egyptian foreign minister prior to their meeting at his Jerusalem office on July 10, 2016. (Xinhua/AFP Photo)

JERUSALEM, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Israel's Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit announced Sunday he had ordered to open an initial probe amid criminal allegations against Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The attorney general did not specify the nature of the probe, and stressed the examination is an initial probe and not a criminal investigation.

"I wish to inform you that in light of information received regarding affairs that pertain to the prime minister, among others...the attorney general has conducted a number of discussions...decided to instruct that an examination of the matter be opened," the Attorney General's office said in a statement.

The statement also said that recent reports by Israeli media outlets on the matter were not accurate.

On Friday, Channel 2 news reported that the new affair involved the transfer of large sums of money to Netanyahu's family member for non-political purposes.

Channel 10 news reported that Netanyahu and a senior official in the judiciary establishment were involved in a corruption affair, possibly involving money laundering.

"In recent days, many reports - which are inaccurate, to say the least - have been published in the media. Naturally, we will not be able to refer to these reports or to elaborate as to the process of the examination at this stage," the statement added.

A spokesperson for the prime minister said in a statement to the press that allegations against the prime minister are unfounded.

"As was the case in previous affairs, when things that turned out to be baseless were attributed to Netanyahu, there will be nothing here as well, because there is nothing," the statement said.

This is not the first time Prime Minister Netanyahu and his wife have allegations surface against them.

Israeli authorities have embarked last month on investigating Netanyahu's alleged connections with French businessman Arnaut Mimran, who was recently found guilty by a French court over a massive fraud case.

The attorney general ordered to open a probe into the French businessman's claim, made during the trial, that he gave Prime Minister Netanyahu about one million euros (1.1 million U.S. dollars) in 2009 for campaigning. Such sums are considered as a violation of Israel's campaign finance law.

In May, the Israeli police recommended to the Jerusalem prosecution to file an indictment against Sara Netanyahu, the prime minister's wife, for alleged improprieties at the family residence, including fraud charges.
MADRID, July 10 (Xinhua) -- President of the United States Barak Omaba met King Felipe VI of Spain and acting Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Sunday during his brief visit to Spain.

Obama, who landed in Madrid late on Saturday night, visited the King for a reception at the Royal Palace in the center of Madrid at 10:30 a.m. local time.

The pair made a short appearance for the press, with Felipe stressing that the United States was "a friend and a decisive nation on the world," and that Spain and the U.S. shared "principals, values and interests."

In response Obama said that America and Spain "were not just allies, but countries which had the same ideals, among them, freedom and respect for the rule of law," a sentiment he would later repeat following his reunion with Prime Minister Rajoy at his official residence, the Palacio de la Moncloa.

Following discussions lasting around an hour, Obama and Rajoy made declarations which were beamed to the press room in Moncloa via a TV screen.

The pair said they had discussed Brexit and Obama expressed hope that, "negotiations can be managed in a way that does not have adverse effects for Europe and the UK."

"If you believe the exchange of trade, culture and ideas can be a good thing, then it has to be accompanied with policies which ensure workers have fair wages and that the social system is strengthened for the 21st century and addresses environmental issues," Obama said.

Rajoy said Spain would "have a constructive attitude in negotiations with the UK," and that the two leaders had also spoken about "refugees and the problems of Libya and Syria and the need to resolve them as soon as possible.

Both highlighted the close ties between Spain and the United States, which were strengthened by the large "Spanish speaking community" in America.

After concluding his meeting with Rajoy, Obama flew from the military airport of Torrejon, just outside of Madrid, to the U.S. military base at Rota in the southwest of Spain.

There he addressed the 3,000 U.S. troops and civilians living there, telling them the U.S. "couldn't ask for a better ally than Spain," before taking off to return to Washington DC at 8 p.m. local time.

The schedule of Obama's visit to Spain was changed at short notice on Saturday as a result of the shooting of 5 police officers in Dallas. As a result he was in Spain for less than 24 hours and was forced to drop a planned visit to the city of Seville.

Security measures were high during Obama's brief time in the country, but that didn't stop protestors from environmental group Greenpeace hanging a large banner protesting against TTIP negotiations from a building on Madrid's Gan Via.
President of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party Shinzo Abe (3rd L) sticks the sign of victory on a board at LDP headquarters, Tokyo, Japan, July 10, 2016. (Xinhua/Ma Ping)

by Yan Lei, Liu Tian

TOKYO, July 11 (Xinhua) -- The Japanese ruling camp led by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has won a majority in Sunday's upper house election, which means Abe's coalition and like-minded parties managed to take the two-thirds majority needed to try to revise the nation's post-war pacifist Constitution.

The victory, though came as no surprise to the public, could pose a danger to Japan and regional stability, as it means Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will snatch more power and put Japan's Constitution in jeopardy.

The ruling coalition's "victory" in Sunday's election is considered more as a result of a lack of better choices and the electorate resorting to maintaining the status quo, rather than any actual comment on the advantage of Abe's policies.

Abe's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) fell short of winning a simple majority.

For one thing, Abe has been touting the so-called "achievements" of his economic policies dubbed "Abenomics", referring only to favorable economic data, while being evasive about his true political agenda which is to revise the pacifist Constitution, a strategy that successfully disarmed many voters who are against constitutional revision.

For another, the voters, though discontent with Abe's policies, felt a lack of better choices, as they are equally dissatisfied with the opposition parties, which seemed to have also failed to offer feasible solutions to the problems that Japan is faced with. Many people, therefore, chose to vote to keep the status quo, or even refused to vote.

The ruling bloc's victory falls in line with a number of recent polls conducted by local media before the election. But as Abe sweeps away obstacles to his political ambition, including his long-cherished goal of changing the pacifist Constitution, what may now be facing Japan is cause for alarm.

In the past three years, Abe has been firmly pushing forward his political agenda and gradually overturning seventy years of pacifism in Japan, despite any opposition inside or outside his party, or massive protests from the general public.

One typical example is that Abe, on the back of the ruling LDP and its coalition partner Komeito Party's combined majority in parliament, pushed through and enacted controversial security laws, which enabled Japan's Self-Defense Forces to fight wars overseas for the first time since the end of World War II and made it possible for Japan to intervene militarily in regional conflicts.

Under Abe's administration, Japan's military spending has been consistently on the rise each year, with the latest military budget for fiscal 2016 1.5 percent higher than the previous year, amounting to 5.05 trillion yen (50.21 billion U.S. dollars) and marking a record high.

As Japan's foreign policies go, Abe's administration, trying to cement its alliance with the U.S. and meddling in issues that Japan is not a concerned part with, such as the South China Sea issues, serves to only hype up tensions and damages regional stability, which adds to trouble rather than pushing for peace.

Now, with Abe's ruling bloc grabbing more power in parliament, although he avoided talking about it on his campaign trail, his political goal of revising the Constitution is coming closer and closer to fruition, while an uninformed public continue to wait in vain for his latest Abenomics economic miracle.

With Japan's pacifist Constitution at serious stake and Abe's power expanding, it is alarming both for Japan's Asian neighbors, as well as for Japan itself, as Japan's militarization will serve to benefit neither side.

For Japan, it is worth noting that Japan owes its rapid development and economic prosperity in the past decades before the lost years, partly to its promise of peace after its defeat in World War II. Any deviation from the peaceful path may cost the country heavily in economic terms, as well as its relationship with neighboring countries.

And as Japan becomes more involved in overseas military conflicts, it will also make Japan less secure, instead of safer as Abe's ruling party advocates, for the Japanese might suffer the risk of becoming target of terrorist attacks.

As for Japan's Asian neighbors, due to historical reasons, they have been paying close attention to Japan's security policies and moves. Now, Japan's re-militarization as well as Abe gaining more power, will become new causes for alarm for them.
Duke on disorderly charge

The charges arose out of an incident on Friday afternoon at the Tobago Regional Health Authority (TRHA) in Scarborough, Tobago where Duke had to be removed from the offices by police officers after he and a group of protesting workers refused to leave the compound despite the officers repeated requests.

Police said during Fridays protest, Duke was approached by several police officers who asked him to leave the premises as the offices were about to be closed for the day but he refused and challenged them to arrest him saying he was there to resolve a back pay issue affecting the TRHA workers since 2011. Following repeated requests to leave, the PSA president was arrested and taken to the Scarborough Police Station.

After complaining of feeling unwell, Duke was taken to the Scarborough Hospital for observation. Following his discharge yesterday afternoon, Cpl Taylor of the Scarborough Police Station laid the charges of disorderly behaviour and trespassing against Duke.

On Friday, Duke led a protest at the THRA declaring the workers were fed up of having to wait for their outstanding back pay. He further contended that the workers felt disrespected by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, who is from Tobago.
Female bartender shot in face

Melissa Lucas, of Old St Margarets Road, St Margaret remains warded in serious but stable condition at San Fernando General Hospital.

The bullet is said to have gone through Lucass left cheek and remains lodged behind her right ear. She is expected to undergo surgery to have the bullet removed.

Police are now searching for the gunman who, according to reports, calmly walked to the bar counter and without saying a word shot Lucas in the face before grabbing just over $1,000 in cash she was counting at the time.

He also made off with her cellphone. Police report that, at about 9 pm on Friday, Lucas was at work at Tropical Bar, Southern Main Road, St Margarets when a man, described as six feet tall, wearing a Marvin Gaye hat and a bandanna over his face, went to the counter and pointed a gun in her face and shot her. He grabbed her cellphone and cash and made good his escape on foot. Sunday Newsday was told the bar was not very busy on Friday night.

Doctors said she is lucky the bullet didnt do much damage, her distraught common-law husband Jason Andall said yesterday.

The family had just returned from the hospital.

Thank God she is a praying person but I still dont understand why the gunman had to shoot her because he got what he came looking for. Investigators have linked the wanted gunman to several armed robberies in the district including the incident in May in which Curtis Junior Pierre, 16, was beaten by a vigilante group after he and his accomplice beat and robbed two Chinese nationals at a bar in Springvale, Claxton Bay. The teenager subsequently succumbed to his injuries at hospital.

They believe the gunman is Pierres accomplice who managed to escape the angry mob that day. Investigations are continuing.
Woman, 21, charged for mans stabbing death

Danielle Young went before Chief Magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar on Friday to to answer the charge of St Roses murder. St Rose of Simeon Road, Petit Valley, died after being stabbed during an altercation with two women on June 19 on Wrightson Road in the city.

Following instructions from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions on Thursday last, PC Bennet of the Homicide Investigation Region One laid the charge against Young.

When she appeared in court on Friday, Young was not called upon to plead as the charge was laid indictably.

She was remanded in custody to re-appear in court on August 5.

According to police reports, at about 9.40 pm on June 19, St Rose was in a white car with two women, who had picked him up at his Petit Valley home earlier in the evening, travelling along Wrightson Road, Port-of-Spain, when he got into an altercation with them.

During the fracas, the car crashed into another vehicle.

When the driver of the second car got out of his vehicle he reportedly saw St Rose and the two women scuffling.

St Rose is reported to have received stab wounds about the body during the melee as he tried to defend himself.

In an attempt to escape his attackers, St Rose got out of the car, which had come to a stop at the corner of French Street, but he fell on the side of the road, covered in blood and died at the scene while the car he was in sped off.

Eyewitnesses contacted the police and a Rapid Response Unit found St Rose on the side of the road. He was pronounced dead by District Medical Officer Dr Sengali.

Relatives told police subsequently he had $6,000 in cash on him along with jewellery and a a cellphone
The essence of Essenese

This is the philosophy that has underpinned Essenese Samburys life and career, one which took her from rural Indian Walk, Moruga, to some of the most fashionable destinations in the world.

She is the untiring founder and managing director of the Caribbean School of Cosmetology but regards the school as much more than a place of learning.

It is a centre for transformation for all of the young people that come here, Sambury tells Sunday Newsday.

In fact, Samburys vision is to establish an institution that is not only dedicated to the art of cosmetology and beauty culture but one which can impact positively the lives of her students.

The school is about giving young people the opportunity to make a difference, said Sambury, who was part of the team which brought world renowned, Kenyan- born trichologist Muli Musyoka, to Trinidad and Tobago, one year ago.

The formal opening of the Caribbean School of Cosmetology took place last week, at its Eastern Main Road, Curepe, headquarters.

And, as a means of commemorating the occasion, Sambury is offering a host of concessions to her students, some of whom come from underprivileged backgrounds.

We are giving each student a grant of 50 per cent off on their school fees in order to make it affordable, she said.

Several corporate citizens have also come on board to assist the students, and Sambury said the Caribbean School of Cosmetology has subsidised 100 percent of its initial intake of students to the tune of $225,000.

The decision to bear the costs comes about because f our dedication to changing lives and empowering young people, she said.

This school is about creating and nurturing entrepreneurs. It is about giving persons chances to become leaders.

We need to build a society that is service-oriented and the Caribbean School of Cosmetology can achieve that. Sambury, who took in her first batch of 30 students on April 4, said the school was all about giving back.

She also praised the work of her dedicated staff in helping to fulfil her dream.

Samburys journey to success began in the village of Indian Walk, Moruga., where, despite, her parents lack of finances, she relentlessly pursued her dream of becoming a hair dresser/cosmetologist.

I knew what I wanted to be early in life. I was just a little girl with big dreams and now I am a brand, she said with pride..

Outside of having an eye for beauty and a knack for business, Sambury said she was also a peoples person who created avenues by which she could achieve her fullest potential.

The glamorous businesswoman sang the praises of the former youth camp system, which she regarded as a God-sent to many disadvantaged young people during the 1970s and 80s. She eventually graduated at the top of her beauty culture class.

The feat earned her a Government grant which eventually propelled her into the international spotlight.

As a tutor and beauty practitioner, with some 37 years in the beauty business, Samburys work continues to receive wide acclaim in the Caribbean, North and South America and other parts of the world.

She said the establishment of the Caribbean School of Cosmetology, her latest project, was yet another avenue to refine her brand and give back to others that which has made her successful.

The school is not just about beauty. It is about life skills and changing mindsets, Sambury said.

Once you change your mindset, you can change your life. So, this is what makes the school unique. If you act like a professional you will be treated like a professional and you will get professional results.

A lawyer and doctor get the respect and they studied just as my students are studying. What makes the difference is how they carry their business. So, if you carry your business in a professional manner, that is how you get the respect. Sambury said one of the highlights of todays official opening will be the presentation of certificates in the area of styling and cutting to 12 students from her previous batch of participants.

While she is generally pleased with the success of her students over the years, Sambury is hoping that more men would get involved in her programme and embrace opportunities to impact the industry.

She also wants more corporate citizens to support the students at the school.

My ultimate dream, though, is to access grants from organisations all over the world so that the students can come to the school for free, Sambury said.
Eudines new vision

And while many observed that Eudine Job-Davis has had a noticeable hiatus from politics following her somewhat abrupt departure from the corridors of power, almost a decade ago, the former parliamentarian countered that she was never far from the fray but found it necessary to stay away from the national spotlight...until now.

Last month, Job-Davis launched the Movement For Transformation (MFT), a political organisation which, she says, embodies the principles and practices of sustainable development and good governance, in order to transform the Tobago society. It was launched in the throes of the PNMs Tobago Council election campaign, a party to which Job-Davis once belonged and one that has been a dominant force on the islands landscape since making a clean sweep in the January 2013 Tobago House of Assembly (THA) election.

The PNM also won the two Tobago seats in last years general election, ensuring the partys triumphant return to Government after its loss to the Peoples Partnership, more than five years ago.

Job-Davis, who first entered the Parliament as the Tobago East MP in 2001, under a Patrick Manning- led PNM government, turns a blind eye to these developments, insisting that the island needed a political entity that was uniquely Tobagonian.

My feeling reflects that of many Tobagonians who believe that it is opportune to birth a political entity that is domiciled in Tobago, has no links to a party in Trinidad, and is all inclusive; that is one that respects the right of every Tobagonian resident and citizen alike, to live, work and enjoy the benefits from a society that is ethical, impartial and rational. Everyone must feel that they have a stake in this place, she told Sunday Newsday, when asked if Tobago is ready for another political party.

Contrary to those who may view the MFT as the new kid on the block, Job-Davis said the party was actually conceptualised in 2008.

I was convinced that this is what I had to do, but instead of actualising the conviction, I tried to associate myself with other entities; somehow those did not bear fruit, she says.

I also believed that there had to be a growth period and engaged in the mental and spiritual activities, but even then I tried to escape from establishing the MFT. The former Bishops High School student said after listening to the whispers of the people, many of whom were afraid to openly voice their fears and concerns, the decision was clear.

She recalled that one Tobagonian man, a Windward resident, referred to the situation on the island as Hitler days, of not knowing who to talk with and whom to trust. After copious prayers, I decided to launch this movement as the instrument to become the voice of the voiceless, and whose members are sufficiently courageous to stand in defence of those who have been victimised and ostracised by the Tobago administration of the PNM, Job-Davis said.

Job-Davis, who once served as Minister of Culture and Tourism, said the MFT also will provide an alternative administration for Tobagonians, one that is all-inclusive and sees only people; not political affiliation or the colour of the jersey, but human beings.

We must become, in word and deed, our brothers keepers, she added.

According to Job-Davis, leadership is the biggest challenge confronting Tobagonians.

Persons who are elevated to serve the needs of their constituents tend to forget their obligations and responsibilities and abrogate unto themselves the trappings of office, sometimes relinquishing their identities to become the position, she observed.

This attitude defines behaviour and consequentially results in unsurpassed arrogance. With a few exceptions, this became the norm in the politics of the day. Asked how the MTF was prepared to address this challenge, Job-Davis prefaced her response with an observation that Tobago is in dire need of help.

We are living and operating in an environment that is subject to the vagaries of global economic dynamics, and the problems we are experiencing did not start yesterday, since in most circumstances there is a time lapse - sometime a huge one - between cause and effect, and decisions and outcomes, she said.

What is very clear, is that these problems cannot be solved by the persons who created them, but require a different level of thinking, than when they were generated.

It is, therefore, opportune to birth, and present, an organisation that is domiciled in Tobago, whose members understand the issues facing us as a people, as an Island, and who are prepared to take affirmative actions that would help to resolve our worsening situation. Job-Davis said the MFT was about transformational, innovative, dynamic and passionate leadership.

We operate from the premise that we are an organised vehicle to lead the process of change in Tobago by using all available resources at our disposal  human, natural, financial, historical and manmade, she said.

Her partys goal is to also stop corruption and nepotism and build a solid foundation for Tobago.

Our policies and programmes will be designed with this in mind.

We will embrace everyone and anyone who is committed to making Tobago the capital of paradise, a phrase so often quoted, but which is meaningless to so many of us, Job-Davis added.

Optimistic that Tobago will thrive with the MFT at the helm, Job-Davis said the party intends to contest next years THA election.

The party plans to mobilise supporters through affirmative and purposeful actions for participation in developmental activities, Job-Davis said, noting the MFT also will establish a Council of Elders comprising persons who have walked the path of public service.

The MFT, she said, will also be pushing for the right to recall for errant Assemblymen and specified term limits for Chief Secretarie
Farewell my friend

As he told the congregation that his friendship with Manning started when they were students at UWIs Mona Campus in Jamaica in the 1960s, Gonsalves struggled at times to remain composed.

Casting a glance in the direction of Mannings wife Hazel and his sons Brian and David, Gonsalves said Manning, was my dear friend and comrade...I loved him very much. Recalling his last visit with Manning at the San Fernando General Hospital last week, Gonsalves said, It was a joyous visit. He said they talked about their past, the present and, mused about their future. Saying he will celebrate his 70th birthday on August 8, Gonsalves said he was sad that Manning did not live to celebrate his 70th birthday on August 17.

Gonsalves said he was also saddened that Manning was unable to visit St Vincent in person, after he demitted office as prime minister.

Now, he will visit in spirit...

through Hazel, Brian and David, he said.

Gonsalves lightened the atmosphere in the cathedral when he told the congregation of a bet he made with Manning regarding a tenor pan he used to play when they were students. He said Manning thought the pan had 27 notes but he told Manning the pan had 28 notes with an F sharp in the middle. Gonsalves said Manning started to argue with him and told me he will bet me an oilfield to prove he was right.

So I said, well the bet is on, he said, recalling that he advised Manning to consult a local steelband leader, Gonsalves said Manning subsequently called him and confirmed he was right.

The congregation laughed when Gonsalves said he told Manning, I coming for my oilfield. Gonsalves said Manning laughed and told him, that bet is unenforceable in contract. He also said as students in Jamaica, both Manning and himself, were tear-gassed by the police and army when they participated in a student protest against the Jamaican governments decision to debar Guyanese political activist, Walter Rodney from entering Jamaica. Gonsalves said while that was not the last time he was tear-gassed, it was Patricks last. Waxing biblical, Gonsalves said Manning was unfairly criticised for his achievements, and some of those critics were the very same people Manning had helped.

However Gonsalves said because Manning lived a life of no malice, he forgave them all. As Caricom colleagues, Gonsalves said no two Caricom prime ministers were ever as close as he and Manning were. We were real tight political buddies, he declared. Gonsalves said many people dont know that Manning asked him to lead a TT mission to Colombia and other Latin American countries when this country was lobbying to be the headquarters for the Free Trade Area of the Americas.

Saying that Manning was never a man concerned with the accumulation of wealth, Gonsalves said his legacy will be forever etched into the hearts and minds of the people of TT. As he mentioned there is a village in St Vincent called Manning Village, Gonsalves said the fact that the people of this country know and respect Manning for his efforts to build TT is more important than any monument that could ever be erected to honour him.

Caricom Secretary-General Irwin La Rocque said Caricom leaders were deeply saddened by the news of Mannings passing, before the start of their Heads of Government Conference in Guyana on July 4.

Describing Manning as the quintessential Caribbean integrationist, La Rocque said many of Mannings initiatives have left Caricom stronger today. He cited the Caricom Petroleum Fund, security institutions and Mannings championing of non communicable diseases in the region as examples. Other Caricom dignitaries attending the funeral in Port of Spain yesterday included St Lucias Prime Minister Allan Chastanet, Dr Keith Mitchell Prime Minister of Grenada, and former prime ministers Tillman Thomas of Grenada, and Hubert Ingraham of the Bahamas.

In a statement issued on Friday, Ingraham said he was fortunate to have interacted with Manning in the 1990s.

He echoed La Rocques sentiments about Manning being a champion of regional integration.

His was an important voice and he will be missed, Ingraham said.

Minister Luke Quamina of the Open Bible Standard Churches said he got to know Manning over the last four years.

Quamina said his interactions with the former prime minister showed him that Manning, had taken up his cross for a life of service. He said despite his many health concerns, Manning always remained positive in spirit. Quamina also said Manning was one who always liked a good laugh.

He remembered that when he visited Manning at the San Fernando General Hospital, his wife Hazel was dressed in a yellow surgical gown.

Quamina recalled Manning remarked on that visit to his wife, Hazel...You looking good in that yellow.
Tracing system for students

Minister in the Ministry of Education Dr Lovell Francis disclosed this at a news conference last Friday at the ministrys head office, Hayes Street, St Clair.

Francis said this was a method the ministry had adopted to identify students and follow their progress through their academic life.

We want to do this so we can track what kind of educational value our secondary schools are adding to them, Francis said.

We want to trace students who were at the medium level and also those who constitute the lower level. Francis added, We do not want to forget about them. We want to know that they are adding educational value to them. This would be where we could determine where there were students who need intervention in literacy and numeracy or social intervention, are getting the kind of assistance they need, and give us a better sense of how our system is functioning. Francis also suggested that to say that denominational and private schools were outperforming government schools was a misnomer.

The list of the top 200 students (in the Secondary Entrance Assessment exam), quite a number of them come from government primary schools.

Where that disparity really comes marked was at the secondary level.

We have to fix the problem at the older level, he said He also noted: We have to be careful in making generalisations, so it is not an issue of all boys doing badly because there are boys doing just as well as girls. Chief Education Officer Harrilal Seecharan admitted there were several areas which they need to address to increase school performance across the board.

Seecharan said further, We have been looking into operations at schools for some time now and we have identified a key to the improvement of any system was teacher development and training, which are areas we are addressing now. Seecharan added, It is not just about just teaching, but identifying and addressing individual students needs. We will be looking at focussing assessment for formative purposes as opposed to just getting scores.
Praises for Mannings leadership

He demonstrated that he believed in the philosophy of caring and sharing not just for Trinidad and Tobago (TT), but for the Caribbean. The Energy, Education and Social Development Ministries were beneficiaries of his visionary leadership. He was also willing to learn from his mistakes and had an abiding trust in God, Tobias said in a statement on Friday He said on behalf of the 230,000 Seventh- Day Adventist members in the Caribbean, legally called the Caribbean Union Conference of Seventh- Day Adventists, they extend their deepest sympathy to Hazel Manning, their two sons, relatives, friends and citizens of TT.

Also, in a release, president of the Council and Officers of the Joint Consultative Council for the Construction Industry, Dr James Armstrong also offered our sincerest condolence to the family. May he enjoy eternal peace and rest. And the government of Venezuela, in a statement, commended Mannings leadership in the region.

Patrick Manning was a leader with extraordinary political vision in leading his country as well as in promoting the integration in the Caribbean region, a release from the Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela stated on Friday. No doubt, his departure is a great loss for the Patria Grande Latino Caribbean. We express our deepest sympathy to his family and the people of Trinidad and Tobago.
Hart wants PNM to get closer

He was speaking with the media at City Hall, Port-of-Spain following the funeral for Manning at Trinity Cathedral and was one of a number of former PNM MPs and former ministers in attendance.

All the beautiful things that have been said about Mr Manning I am in support of that, Hart said.

I spent 15 years there he gave me the opportunity to serve in a marginal seat which is Tunapuna and Mr Manning led from in front. As a Member of Parliament he was unbeatable.

That is why the people in San Fernando loved him so much. He really served his constituency and the people on board now should do their best to try to emulate him - that gentleman. He continued: Is a tremendous loss to the country but the younger folks I should say got to try their best and give it their best shot.

Thats all I could say at this point in time.

Because you hearing all sorts of things on the ground. You have a new Prime Minister and you hearing all sorts of things. I am hoping that everybody put their shoulder to the wheel and bring back this country to what it used to be.

Asked what he was hearing on the ground Hart responded, a lot of people impatient.

Expectations were high if we win the election. So as soon as they go to their MP and the MP cannot deliver at this point in time I want a house, I want a work, I want to work in the corporation and from there they gone in the snackette boy not me and this PNM again. I not voting again. That sadden my heart. You understand.

(Prime Minister Dr) Keith (Rowley) have a real job on his hands.

And the new MPs have a real big task. We might not even know.

We might only hear some of the things.

But we know we not hearing all the things that took place for the last five years. So I am hoping that this passing of our dearly beloved Mr Patrick Manning would even bring the party closer together, he said.

Former social development minister Dr Amery Browne told the media he was very moved and touched by the service.

I thought Mr Manning was sent off in dignity and with class as he carried himself with dignity and class.

A very good example to all of Trinidad and Tobago especially the young people who he had a special concern for, he said.

He continued: Some of the tributes, particularly the Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines (Dr Ralph Gonsalves), I mean he spoke as only someone who genuinely loved and was close to Mr Manning.

And I thought he did justice to this occasion and to Mr Mannings service. Fellow former social development minister Anthony Roberts told Sunday Newsday a fitting tribute to Manning would be if we understand his legacy we try to live it - is the best tribute you could give to him.

We first have to understand what he wanted for Trinidad and Tobago. A lot of us doubted him when he was alive. But now that some of us now buy into the vision we should try to live it.

And that would be the best tribute, he added.

A few trade union leaders were also in attendance including Movement for Social Justice leader David Abdulah who spoke with reporters.

I think people came out today very genuinely to recognise and appreciate his service to country. He gave more than 40 years of his life to public service.

He sought public office not for private gain nor for personal enrichment but for service to his fellow human being and to country.

And whether one agreed or disagreed with his policies that was the overarching theme and we therefore say, thank you to Mr Manning for giving us an example of dedicated public service to his fellow citizens, to the people of the Caribbean, he said.

Asked about a fitting tribute, Abdulah pointed to the suggestions from his son during the eulogy.

I think in circumstances like this, one would want to say to the Government that they should try and honour the familys wishes in this regard.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) held its largest [battalion level] ever battle simulation against Hezbollah using its newest, most cutting edge weapons systems.

The simulation included soldiers from the Golani Brigade, the IDF 7th Tank Brigade, a tactical drone unit, IDF combat engineers and more.

The majority of the new fighting systems being tested out in these simulators are still works in progress, and are top secret. However, one of the systems which are allowed to be written about is the Spark. The Spark is a next generation anti-tank missile which is expected to replace the Gil missile which is currently in used by the IDF. There are many benefits to the Spark which include an upgraded targeting system and a considerable reduction in weight, thereby enabling greater ease of maneuverability by ground forces.

There was also the testing of a brand new, first of its kind precision GPS guided mortar, a command and control ground forces system which enables ground forces to coordinate directly with air force pilots in the air, and small observation balloons which are expected to be used by all ground forces in the coming years.

The soldiers trained taking over Hezbollah controlled villages, and fought against Hezbollah platoons  but via giant plasma screens, keyboards, joysticks, virtual reality goggles, and various other simulators. It was like a giant war videogame, with over 150 soldiers online, around the clock, for two days.

The simulators which were used in the drill were developed by Ground Forces Command programmers, many of whom are 19-year-old computer geniuses, and were based on games such as Call of Duty and Battlefront. However, the graphics and 3D imagery in these simulators would put even the most advanced videogames to shame.

Outside the labs where the fighting is taking place, the head of the IDF 7th tank brigade, Col. Dan Newman, already knows what he wants out of the new weapons.

We need a lot more lethality with fast rates of fire and at high speeds. As a commander of a combined brigade, I want more (intel) collection capabilities and more accurate attack capabilities so that I wont need to chase after some terrorist on a motorcycle.
The French Senate issued recently a report accusing Algeria of complicity over a host of sorts of arms and goods trafficking in the Sahel and Saharan region.

The report dubbed, Rethinking Public Development Aid in The Sahel, says Algeria turns a blind eye to arms trafficking originating from Libya and transiting through its territories to reach other countries in the Sahel.

The raging civil war in Libya and the porous borders offer propitious conditions for traffickers to transit not only light arms but also heavy weapons through Algeria to other African countries and even beyond to Europe, notes the report.

The French Senate document accuses Algeria of blackmailing the Tuaregs through subsidized goods which are daily trafficked through its southern and eastern borders.

In this regard, the document indicates that 4,640 Tons of Algerian subsidized products are illegally transported by 180 trucks on a weekly basis to northern Malian regions with a Touareg majority.

The report points out to the impediments to development in the Sahel and puts forward recommendations on the need for a comprehensive approach combining military, humanitarian and development aid in the face of the crisis plaguing the region.
Zambia announced the withdrawal of its recognition of the Polisarios self-proclaimed republic, the same day the separatist group announced the election of Algerias henchman Ibrahim Ghali as a new Secretary General and president of the auto-proclaimed SADR.

The decision was announced by Zambias Foreign Minister Harry Kalaba, who said, following talks with Moroccan officials in Rabat, that his country will withdraw recognition of the Polisario and severe all diplomatic ties with the Algeria-backed separatist group.

Zambia thus joins a host of African countries that revoked recognition of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), much to the despair of the Polisario and its mentor Algeria which has been using its oil bonanza to influence some African states and buy their support to the separatist thesis in the Sahara provinces.

This decision is of great significance as it was taken by a socialist-led government in Zambia which belongs to English speaking southern Africa, an area where Algeria and South Africa continue to put pressure in order to maintain support for the separatist groups, whereas Morocco has been more successful in gaining support from French speaking African countries.

Zambias support for Moroccos territorial integrity comes at a pertinent moment as Lusaka prepares to take the rotating presidency of the African Union, turned by Polisarios supporters, namely Algeria, Nigeria and South Africa into a stronghold to propagate the separatist thesis taking advantage of Moroccos absence, after the Kingdom withdrew in 1984 from the then Organisation of African Unity on grounds of the lack of neutrality of the pan-African body which accepted the membership of a separatist entity.

While denying any involvement in the Sahara issue, Algeria paradoxically continues to fund and support diplomatically and militarily the Polisario militias which it hosts in the region of Tindouf since the early 1970s. The Polisario front has been using Algerian territories as a rear base for their guerilla warfare against Morocco until the UN-brokered ceasefire agreement in 1991. In 2007, Morocco put forward the autonomy initiative after the organization of a referendum proved to be unfeasible in view of disagreements over who is eligible to vote.

Morocco offers the autonomy initiative, which has been internationally endorsed as a credible solution, as a basis for negotiations by offering the Sahara exclusive powers with regards to managing local affairs within the framework of Moroccos sovereignty and territorial integrity. Rounds of UN-brokered talks have not ended the stalemate. The Polisario and its mentor Algeria continue to stick to obsolete positions reminiscent of the Cold War era leading to the perpetuation of the conflict and thus prolonging the suffering of the Saharan population held in the Polisario-run camps in southwestern Algeria in a regional context marked by the surge of terrorism and all sorts of trafficking.
Morocco has called for consolidating humanism, mutual understanding, mutual respect and tolerance in the Mediterranean, a meeting point of cultures and civilizations and an area that played such a decisive part in the history of mankind.

The Mediterranean must become, once again, an area of lasting peace and shared prosperity. It should, once again, stand for sharing, mutual respect, tolerance and diversity, said King Mohammed VI in a message read out on his behalf at the first Mediterranean Concert, held at the Geneva Palace of Nations on Saturday, at the initiative of Morocco, the United Nations and the ONUART Foundation.

We must reassert our human values and restore the greatness and splendor of the Mediterranean, the Sovereign said in the message that was read out by his youngest sister, Princess Lalla Hasna.

To celebrate the Mediterranean is to celebrate Humanity and the ideals of peace, tolerance, justice, equality and liberty that are enshrined in the United Nations Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, he underscored.

the King went on to say that in order to face up the fear-mongers and isolationists who feed on extremist ideologies, we must show courage and resolve in order to talk to one another, listen to each other, understand and accept each other, and act together for the sake of all we have in common.

Yet, the Sovereign conceded that there are many perilous fault lines in the Mediterranean, ranging, he said, from the much desired but constantly postponed peace in the Middle East, the upsurge in violence, terrorism, extremism and inward-looking, isolationist attitudes, the migration tragedies, the management of common resources and environmental protection.

For King Mohammed VI holding this concert today in the tragic, deteriorating environment prevailing in the Mediterranean provides an opportunity to celebrate, if only momentarily, our most exhilarating values  those of humanism, tolerance, freedom, dignity and mutual respect.

Underlining the role artists have to play to make sure that the legacy inherited from the Mediterranean remains alive; that interaction with the Mediterranean is peaceful and refined, King Mohammed VI said, more than ever, it will be incumbent on us to embrace our Mediterranean identity and to reclaim the spirit of the Mediterranean thanks to which that sea has played such a decisive part in the history of mankind.

The Sovereign expressed hope that Mediterranean countries will embrace the Mediterranean Concert and similar cultural initiatives by mobilizing their thinkers and their artists to face up the proponents of reclusiveness, intolerance and extremism, and stressed the need to reclaim the Mediterranean as a meeting point of cultures and civilizations.

Several outstanding figures attending the concert have paid tribute to King Mohammed VI for his initiatives to promote understanding and dialogue between civilizations, particularly at the level of the Mediterranean.

The Mediterranean concert translates the North African countrys unwavering commitment to free the Mediterranean from the demons of intolerance, xenophobia, and rejection of the others, said the UN high representative for the Alliance of civilizations, Nasser Abdelaziz Al-Nasser.

He underlined Moroccos role as a bridge between the East and the West at a time the region is challenged by hate rhetoric, blind violence and extremism.

Chairman of ONUART Foundation, former Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos, said the concert initiative translates again the Moroccan Sovereigns clear-sightedness.

Moratinos hailed the Moroccan Kings efforts to make of culture a leverage for dialogue, respect and tolerance in the Mediterranean area that is prey to war, misery and despair.
Barrio was the first professional matador to be killed in the ring in more than three decades. Photo: Screencap/Castilla La Mancha TV via AP

Victor Barrio, the matador who died after a goring in a Spanish bullring yesterday afternoon, had that calm, serene look when I met him briefly last summer. He had just emerged from the capilla, or chapel, a room thats built into the backside of bullrings for matadors and their cuadrilla, or helpers, to pray in. As per custom, I nodded his way (bullfighters dont like to talk in the fearful moments before they enter the ring) and admired his long face, the embodiment of ambitious youth, which I had just gazed at in an oil painting at a nearby restaurant only a few hours earlier.

That bullfight was held in Cantalejo, a town in the province of Segovia, north of Madrid, where Barrio was from. His family and friends had filled the seats of the tiny, third-class plaza: Barrio was still struggling to find his breakout moment as a professional, during a time when the ancient taurine industry was struggling against modern forces. Protests and the collapse of the Spanish economy in recent years had resulted in a dwindling number of bullfights, forcing younger talents like Barrio to risk more daring passes to stand out.

We had followed Barrios cousin to the performance from Casa Roman, an old-school taverna owned by Barrios family near Sepulveda, the town where he was raised, which specialized in cordero lechal, a suckling lamb native to the area. In the stately dining room upstairs that afternoon sat a table of other young matadors, friends of Barrio from Seville. He had invited them to his region to watch him perform, and there was a giddy, jubilant energy floating around the dining room. On the tables were decanters filled with the remnants of costly wine bottles, cigar ash, and lamb bones.

Laughter burst out as one retired picador emerged from his seat and circled the room to tell jokes like a Spanish Henny Youngman. Rotund and jolly, as if he had stepped out of a Botero painting, the picador told us why he had stopped using shampoo after reading the label.

Because it adds body and volume, he said in Spanish, laughing and patting his belly.

Then we were off to see Barrio, the local-boy-turned-hero, one of the dwindling and courageous few who still dream of being and train to become bullfighters in a modern world that rejects them. Bullfighting is not a sport: Its a modern sacrifice, a commercialized relic that has its roots in the pagan religion of the ancient world. The bulls were considered gods back then, and those who sacrificed the gods were high priests. The goal of modern matadors is to achieve a kind of union and closeness with the bull, to symbolically face and unify themselves with death, to deliver a cathartic moment the audience can feel and live through. Young talents like Barrio are faced with enormous pressure  financially, culturally, spiritually.

Barrio, being chased by a bull during a bullfight of the San Isidros fair in Madrid in 2011. Photo: Daniel Ochoa de Olza/AP

Its the placing on a pedestal of a child who can redeem the rest of us, Allen Josephs, the author of Ritual and Sacrifice in the Corrida and a longtime Spanish and bullfighting scholar, told me recently about the role a young matador plays in Spanish life.

Its a religious construct, he said. When the taurine world discovers the new kid who is going to be the savior of bullfighting, they actually refer to him as the savior and the messiah. The matador is also part of the sacrifice. What greater glory is there for the family but to offer up their son as hero and victim? Joseph went on, recalling biblical passages. What is it, John 3:16? For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. Thats what the Spanish family is doing. Theyre nurturing the sacrifice of their son. Not on a conscious level, but surely they know what can happen.

Barrios death yesterday  the first death of a matador in a bullring in decades, and a moment captured live on Spanish television  has turned all the symbolic talk of ancient sacrifice tragically real. The goring Barrio suffered could have happened to any bullfighter. He had traveled to Teruel, a typical small Spanish town between Madrid and Valencia, and had been attempting a naturale, or left-handed pass, the most dangerous kind. Holding the cloth with only one hand and keeping his helper sword behind his back, Barrio was exposing his lithe frame to the horns, a statuesque gesture matadors consider pure and honest, as opposed to tricks used to energize the crowd.

One flick of the horn. Barrio landed in the sand on his back, according to the videos of the incident, and in a dangerous place. Often, when a fighting bull looks to toss and attack a fallen matador in front of them, the horns can strike bone or muscle tissue, rip a vein or artery, tear a scrotum apart, or simply rip their traje de luces, or suit of lights, apart.

Its all luck, Antonio Barrera, the most injured matador in history, told me during the filming of Gored, a forthcoming documentary which I co-produced. Not even 26 horn rounds and countless broken bones and tears had slowed him down. Some matadors get up from the sand and dust themselves off, unscathed. Other matadors feel the burn of the horns entering their body, and get dragged off to the bullring infirmary.

Barrio never got up. Even as his handlers carried him to seek medical care, his body was slumping heavily in their arms. In videos, the most ominous sight was the white of Barrios eyes, his face lifeless against the bullring sand  a sign that the bulls horns had found their way inside his chest and into his heart, arguably the only wound that modern bullring surgeons cannot fix.

Barrios funeral is tomorrow his hometown of Sepulveda, according to bullfighting blogs. The ceremony will be held in the old church at the center of the town, where the capote, a yellow-and-pink cape, has been draped over a balcony with a black ribbon. Tomorrow, the old streets of the ancient Roman settlement will likely be filled with a procession of pallbearers carrying Barrios casket slowly around the town for many to see  like the Virgin Mary during Semana Santa  a flock of townspeople behind.

The procession is likely to pass Casa Roman, the restaurant where Barrios friends and fans made jolly toasts in his honor one afternoon last summer, where his long face was rendered like a saint in that oil painting hanging by the front door. Now, with one horn wound, the painting has become a sacrificial shrine.
Photo: Facebook

Disturbing details are emerging about the lone gunman who perpetrated a deadly ambush on Dallas police officers last week. In a CNN interview on Sunday, Dallas police chief David Brown said that 25-year-old Micah Xavier Johnson sung to, taunted, and laughed at police negotiators during a two-hour standoff, and cryptically wrote the letters RB and other markings in his own blood on a wall of the parking garage where he holed up after the ambush, likely after being wounded from the battle with police. In addition, based on the arsenal police found at Johnsons home, Brown believes that this suspect had been practicing explosive detonations and that the materials were such that it was large enough to have devastating effects throughout our city and our North Texas area. He said that the recent police shootings of black men in Minnesota and Louisiana seemed to have just sparked his delusion to fast-track plans for what may have been a larger attack once he saw the protest in Dallas as an opportunity to begin wreaking havoc on our officers.

Investigators dont yet understand what the messages scrawled in blood mean. In addition, after searching the shooters home in nearby Mesquite, Texas, police found that Johnson kept an extensive journal containing quite a bit of rambling that is hard to decipher, according to Brown. Johnson, an Army Reserve veteran who served in Afghanistan until being sent home following an accusation that he sexually harassed a female soldier, also wrote about combat and sniper tactics in the journal, according to the New York Times. In particular, Johnson studied and practiced what are called shoot-and-move tactics, a battle technique used by military special forces. Judge Clay Jenkins, Dallas Countys chief executive and director of homeland security and emergency management, told the Times that the tactics deal with ways to fire on a target and then move quickly and get into position at another location to inflict more damage on targets without them being able to ascertain where the shots are coming from.

As ABC News reports, the shooter also trained at the Academy of Combative Warrior Arts, a private self-defense school in the Dallas area which teaches tactics like shooting on the move, and Johnson practiced military-style drills in his backyard, according to a neighbor. Police also found bomb-making materials, ballistic vests, rifles, and ammunition in Johnsons home, and friends say he had long been interested in heavy-duty weaponry and the military, as far back as high school, according to the Dallas Morning News.

Mesquite police stand watch outside the home of Micah Johnson, which is set amidst a diverse neighborhood in the Dallas suburbs. Photo: Laura Buckman/AFP/Getty Images

Johnson clearly put his tactical knowledge to use during Thursday nights attack, confusing the officers he was firing upon, who at first believed they were facing multiple gunmen. Jenkins says that Johnson seemed well-prepared for the ambush, during which he used a high-powered, semiautomatic SKS rifle and high-capacity handgun. He seemed to be an excellent marksman [who] was calmly shooting, as opposed to someone whos just holding a gun up and aiming it and pulling the trigger in the direction of where they think people are.

Using his military training, Johnson was able to kill five police officers in the attack and wound another seven, as well as two civilians. Johnson was ultimately killed inside the parking garage when police detonated a C-4 explosive near him using a remote-controlled robot. Police Chief Brown explained on Sunday that they used the remote explosive because they believed the shooter was determined to hurt more officers and would have if they hadnt found a way to end the standoff. It was the deadliest single attack on U.S. law enforcement personnel since 9/11.

As previously reported, Johnson told police negotiators following the attack that he was angry over the Black Lives Matter movement and the recent shooting deaths of black men at the hands of police, and was upset at and wanted to specifically kill white people, especially white police officers. Johnson also said he was acting alone, and wasnt a part of any group.

Members of an FBI evidence response team search the area near where the ambush occurred. Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Police Chief Brown told CNN that investigators were still going through Johnsons laptop and cell phone to determine if anyone else was complicit in the attack, though U.S. Department of Homeland Security secretary Jeh Johnson told Fox News Sunday that all evidence thus far has pointed to a single perpetrator. He confirmed that investigators had found no links between Johnson and any international terrorist groups.

So far, the only reported previous interaction between Johnson and police was one month after he had been discharged from the military, when he was reported as a suspicious person while sitting with three other men in an SUV near a strip mall in Dallas. Police officers responded and Johnson told them he had just gotten out of a martial-arts class and was waiting for his dad to arrive and pick up his brother, according to the police report. The interaction lasted about ten minutes.

Johnson had also recently taken an interest in black nationalism, expressing support for the ideology on social media and attending some social meetings of the Dallas-area Peoples New Black Panther Party, which, as the Washington Post points out, is considered a virulently racist and anti-Semitic organization by the Southern Poverty Law Center, an organization that monitors hate groups. An affiliated group holds semi-regular demonstrations in the Dallas areas, where members dress in military apparel and carry long guns, but so far it does not seem that Johnson ever participated in those demonstrations. Some members of the Peoples New Black Panther Party marched with their firearms in the protest Johnson attacked on Thursday night, but ran for cover like everyone else when the shooting started. On May 25, Johnson changed his Facebook profile photo to one in which he was wearing a dashiki and holding his fist in the air in a black-power salute. He had apparently gone to a Malcolm X film festival a few days prior.

Mourners stand before a growing memorial for the fallen officers outside Dallas Police headquarters. Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Those who knew Johnson have been expressing their shock in media reports and via their social-media accounts. So far, it doesnt seem that anyone had any sense that he was capable of, or planning, such an attack. But one family friend described Johnson as more withdrawn following his return from Afghanistan, and that he had given up religion and become more interested in guns. Others have reportedly called him a loner. Many of those who knew Johnson have told reporters that law-enforcement officers have asked them not to speak to the media while the investigation is ongoing  so any full picture of the shooter, his mentality, and motives will likely remain unclear until more information is available.

Regarding Johnsons 2015 discharge from the Army, a lawyer who represented him said that it was related to a female soldier accusing Johnson of sexual harassment and seeking an order of protection against him. The lawyer believes that the way Johnson was treated during the ordeal showed that he was very much disliked by his command, as typically sexual harassment accusations lead to a recommendation for counseling, which was the solution the female soldier had sought. Instead, Johnson was sent home and eventually discharged (although not dishonorably). It does not appear that Johnson saw any combat while in Afghanistan.

After being discharged, Johnson was employed at a social-service agency called Touch of Kindness, which serves adults and children with intellectual disabilities. and also may have worked at a Dallas-area office for General Dynamics, though that employment record remains unconfirmed, according to the Morning News.
This movie still hasn't come out yet? I figured it went straight to VOD after all the negative press when the trailer dropped, lol

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Same tbh

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my names ray and no I'm not a trans :P

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"not a trans"

- yikes

- no one cares

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Uh, what the hell?

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No .... I've been checking like everyday

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where do you check, if you don't mind me asking? do you just search torrents or is there like an updating website somewhere?

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are you still sending? because me please :)

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Like, transitioning is hard enough so I really don't have faith in this movie if the filmmaker says dumbass shit like that and intentionally misgenders characters she fucking created. Like, what? Did she even talk to transgender people before writing her movie?



Edited at 2016-07-09 11:11 pm (UTC)

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The interview said Ray was initially written as a lesbian woman and she changed it cause an acquaintance had a son that was transitioning so I'm guessing no.

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mte

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just let it die

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Weinstein spent $6 million just on the rights lol.

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would you mind sharing the link with me too? it'd be so appreciated

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woops wrong thread, sorry

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like stonewall, i hope this flops. I know that director was actually gay but he is still racist and erased pioneering trans activists.



Do you thing elle will respond to criticism during the press rounds for the movie?

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Maybe it will be like a Zoe Saldana/Nina situation where she pretends it doesn't exist and doesn't do press for it.

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feel free to tell me if this a dumb or ignorant question, but why is this movie getting backlash and not even a release date and that movie with Eddie Redmayne got so much praise? Aren't they both about transitioning and both have cis people as leads?

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The second sentence in the post explains why there was so much backlash, or rather more than usual. The writer and director said some really dumb and ignorant shit before its release. The Danish Girl also got backlash, Hollywood just didn't care in that case. Award bait etc.

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that's definitely nagl and makes things worse, at least I don't remember Tom Hooper being this transphobic. Still, those are two movies I have no interest in seeing and make me side-eye everyone involved.

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There was a lot of backlash to that too. I read a ton of op-eds last awards season heavily criticizing the movie and a lot of people I know really hated it. Unfortunately the Focus Features publicity machine and the fact that it was a "prestige" picture kind of drowned that out. Also the Oscar voting body is kind of delusional and operates on it's own and doesn't care about that. There was backlash against Jared Leto playing a trans women too and he won an Oscar.

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there was a lot backlash against that shit movie but because it was pure awards bait hollywood decided not to care

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There was a lot of backlash, but Eddie was pretty respectful and acknowledged he was playing a female character, and I assume the director wasn't a complete idiot. He also did a fantastic job in the film, but my opinion was that Alicia was really weak in it, and she won the oscar so idk.

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TDG was criticised for that as well. But Eddie and co. were fairly respectful/acknowledged the issues with it vs. this director's messy interview up there. This only got pushed back after she made those comments. It was on track to have a properly supported release until then.

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I don't understand the director at all. Was the quote Google translated from another language?

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"The part is a girl and she is a girl who is presenting in a very ineffectual way as a boy"



jfc.







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keep it

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"The part is a girl and she is a girl who is presenting in a very ineffectual way as a boy"



oh





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"The part is a girl and she is a girl who is presenting in a very ineffectual way as a boy"



What the absolute fuck? I hope the movie bombs.

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Holy FUCK is that quote for real?

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Yes it is, I think I remember sometime when the movie was spiraling around other social media outlets that the director was actually defending their quote.

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The use of that specific word makes me wonder whether the movie isn't going to be 95% from the perspective of the grand/parent. "Ineffectual" sounds like the judgment call of an outside observer rather than a word someone would use to describe something they are working on themselves.

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Cis people (even cis queers like myself*) continue to fuck shit up for our trans siblings. actual solidarity imho would have been financially supporting the creation of a film by and about trans characters and the various experiences they face in a transphobic/transmisogynist world.





* I mention this bc cis queers are so quick to separate ourselves from cishets when trans antagonism is called out when we are just as fucked up.

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I hate myself for expecting more from susan sarandon bc of her calling out woody allen. Shame on me. Im a flop.

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Well, to be fair she did produce and raise funds for a documentary about a young transgender man living in rural NC (and it was made before HB2 even passed too). So, that's something.

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Susan didn't make those comments, the director did

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yeah but she's in the film. its clear the director is shit and i wish she didnt take the role

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"The part is a girl and she is a girl who is presenting in a very ineffectual way as a boy"







woooooowwwww woooooowwwww

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totally my reaction

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Ugh, I am 4 episodes behind. First season I finished in a day, but for some reason I was having a harder time getting into this season :( I do want to catch up tho. Even my dad was texting me like "GREAT EPISODE!!!" NO SPOILERS, DAD.

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THE LAST FOUR EPISODES ARE THE BEST. SERIOUSLY. They really shifted gears and the last four were so good, I was worried they had lost their mojo.

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catch up!

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I disagree with the showrunner because I needed that person deader than a doornail.

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I HATED him. But when he actually died, I was like. Oh. Bummer. It was very strange.

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People love Simon Callow. I would have liked to see more from the actor.

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ya his death was amazingly satisfying.



seems like he is speaking from a place of "oh this character was so fun to write" and "oh I like this actor so much it was sad to lose him" or something. but nah, that character needed to fucking DIE and I was so fucking over his ~behind the scenes~ string pulling just fucking kill him already.



and man was that a DEATH SCENE, yas.

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mte his death was amazing

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It took everything in me not to cry! Everyone's acting was great this episode.

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I didn't even know the show was back. oops.

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That episode was seriously amazing. So amazing.

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[ Spoiler (click to open) ] pushed her backwards into the stones The scene where Jamie, OH MY GOD I WAS UGLY CRYING SO HARD.

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Yes. The way they were holding on to each other tightly...wow. Such an incredible scene. That one tear in his eye.



Also, Cait was seriously amazing this entire season.

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I wish she'd get an Emmy not, but I'm not holding my breath. 

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ikr i was dying

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[ Spoiler (click to open) ] was reaching her hand out to the stone with that tear in his eye



And as much as I liked what the actor brought to that character, watching Murtagh deal justice was awesome.



Edited at 2016-07-10 03:33 am (UTC) When he, I lost it. I was thankful they managed to keep as much of the book in the episode as they could.And as much as I liked what the actor brought to that character, watching Murtagh deal justice was awesome.

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That scene was SO emotional. I don't know how they got through it. It was so beautifully shot.

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I watched the episode this morning and was like "its nine in the morning, too early for ugly crying."

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I'm going to be sad about losing the Scottish cast from here on out.

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I was so psyched to see my queen of the fucking bbqs again. <3



Roger and Bree were cute. The music was great. And Cait fucking killed it this entire season.

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I fist pumped so hard when I heard her voice. I love that crazy witch so much.



Edited at 2016-07-10 03:45 am (UTC)

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im so excited for fat, middle aged crazy ass Geillis in Jamaica #praisebe

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as soon as she was walking up the stairs...i was like "i know who is gonna be up there!"



amazing

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I nearly died when Roger said it smelled "like a fucking barbecue"

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I am SO HAPPY they left that line in. that line with the "I'll have one thing to weigh against all the rest" then he said that...in the book it gutted me right in the feels. romantic and sentimental and visceral and sexy all at once. so happy they put it in.

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I don't even care for Jamie/Claire & yet I keep coming back. I blame it on the costumes.

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The 1960s costumes were so gorgeous. I wanted everything Claire and Brianna wore.

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I love how the '60s were handled. People were always going to be watching for Mad Men-esque style callbacks but we didn't see much of the cliched history stuff.

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Roger was perfect. Very Stan Rizzo.



This episode missed a detail that seems crucial but doesn't seem like it'll come up in the future. The whole France plot was about making sure that Charles didn't get money for the rebellion. For a while it seems like the rebellion will fizzle out but then Charles gets his money and no one knows where it came from.



We now know Gillian went back in time on purpose, and as seen last season, she miscalculated and landed ten years too early. She occupied herself by collecting enough money (and killing more husbands) to fund the rebellion. She gave this money to Dougal before her execution. She's the reason why the rebellion continued and why Culloden happened.



In case anyone was wondering about the whole point of the jaunt to France and also about why Geillis was brought back.



I HAVE TO GO BACK. What an odd writing choice (not in the books). Seems odd to refer to another time travel show's signature line. But is Henry Ian Cusick going to show up???? PLEASE.

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Non-book reader here, but in the show don't they say the Prince got his money from the Duke S? All the politics were kind of confusing, I'll need to do an entire season re-watch.

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It's possible...the show's depiction of the France plot didn't stick with me. I guess I can understand why they did it that way (the money plot was already super complicated) but it completely negates the entire point of the Geillis character.

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I just did some www-ing. The duke is the one holding G's money and he's the one who hands it over.

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I gave on the book halfway through, so I had no idea the money came from her. I knew she had been raising the money and that's what Dougal was doing, but didn't realize it actually got to the prince...

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oh, that's interesting

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I can't believe she found out she was pregnant and got an abortion in one episode...usually that'll be at least a three episode story. And the scene with the actual procedure, and the blood. Oh my God.

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When who got an abortion?

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THIS IS NOT THE TIME TO TROLL.

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LMFAO STOPPPP

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yeah sophie skelton can't act for shiiiiiiiiit and it's hella distracting. maybe she'd be better if they had let her keep her english accent.

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Her acting was not good. I don't think the show will remain as good if a heavier amount of story emphasis is put on her.

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I'm so glad I'm not the only one annoyed by her acting! I couldn't decide if it was just jarring to me because she was speaking with an American accent when no one else was, but that's not it at all. Richard was so much better than her.

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Brianna is annoying as shit in the books so the fact the actress was annoying me seemed like a good casting choice lmao.



I hate brianna.

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for that reason exactly I was very distracted this episode I could not get over her flat performance. I am not a book reader, but if the plot will relay heavily on her, I hope she gets better for season 3

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on the positive side, 60s claire was hot af, roger was cute, fergus is a precious prince and murtagh is the best friend anyone could ever ask for.



can't wait to see how gross old jaime looks lolllllllllllll. all they've gotta do is push sam heughan's hair back & they'll lose half their viewers. i thought this episode was weak tbh. the exposition was so fucking clunky & brianna is terrible. i want geillis to #burnthemall on the positive side, 60s claire was hot af, roger was cute, fergus is a precious prince and murtagh is the best friend anyone could ever ask for.can't wait to see how gross old jaime looks lolllllllllllll. all they've gotta do is push sam heughan's hair back & they'll lose half their viewers.

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i mean i figured they'd reunite but !!!! at these spoilers lmao



when does season 3 come back? now i need to read the books

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I want Murtagh to be in the next season! I haven't read the books, so I hope he doesn't die. And even if he did in the book, they should just keep him anyway. He's just the best.

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all they've gotta do is push sam heughan's hair back & they'll lose half their viewers.



i. am. screaming. lmaooo



also, as a non-book reader i am disappointed to learn that we're gonna have old!jamie and old!claire from now on, but at least she still looks flawless

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Murtagh is so ride or die, I fucking love him

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I CAN"T

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jesus.. now watch that be shared as a meme among all the conservative fuckfaces on facebook. i know the wapo isn't the pinnacle of journalism but they couldn't have done 2 minutes of research on deray before posting anything???



i'm so fucking tired of this. westboro baptist church shows up to picket every funeral "peacefully" and i don't see them getting arrested. educate me if they have been but i don't recall any of them getting arrested

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1st the cops claimed he was in the street but then when u call the jail clerk says he was arrested for being on someones private property, im sure the popo saw the video that proved he wasnt in the street and then changed the story



BRPD are just pissed cause they know they are under fire for what happened to Alton

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the wbc is the fucking worst, but they are literally a pack of lawyers who push everything right to line of legality. they taunt police and the public in hopes they will wrongfully arrest or assault them in order to sue for $.

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that actually.. makes a lot of sense. fucking white people, man. the fact they can get away with all of that without a scratch and we've got black people out here being killed for selling cds or making one wrong movement.

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Years ago, I remember they tried to come up into Canada to "protest" the funeral of a man who was murdered horrifically (beheaded on a public bus). It was really the first I'd heard of them and couldn't imagine how people could be so cruel. Where are their hearts? Empathy? They aren't even human, imo. It was great to see people in our community come together to block them from the event, but in all seriousness, the world would be a better place without them (and people like that).

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And posting a wrong picture makes that person very vulnerable of an attack of a crazy killer.

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i can't recall a time anyone in WBC was arrested, especially since they have a ton of lawyers both in the phelps family and in the organization in general and they sue the shit out of anyone who tries to impede their protests, so the cops probably wouldn't want to risk the shitstorm even if they did want to arrest them. :/

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The Wa Post changed the tweet after Chescaleigh called them out on it, that was hella messy. And Deray said their were about 33 other protesters not the 99 + that was being said.



Alot of cis-het black men are showing their asses about Deray being gay. The whole situation is crazy. Since its Sunday he probably wont get a bail hearing til Monday morning.

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I had no idea that he was gay till today.

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All the founders of the movement are lgbt people. They should have mobilized themselves earlier if theyre so damn set in their homophobia. Instead they twiddled their thumbs and watched Ferguson, Baltimore, etc burn. That James Baldwin quote about white gays also applies to cishet black men (and white women) too

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what quote? lmao straight people stay not being shit.



nvm found it and it's right



Edited at 2016-07-10 04:18 pm (UTC)

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Not lgbt people, lesbian and queer black women.



Edited at 2016-07-10 04:35 pm (UTC)

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I'm going to a rally in Cincinnati today and I was thinking of making a sign, I just can't think of anything.

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saying BLACK LIVES MATTER would be efficient, unless ur trying to have a memorable photograph or something ....not that u are or anything like that but just you being there and saying why is enough you dont have to be poetic

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I don't care about being photographed, I might just make a BLM sign or go without one, it makes it easier to move when you aren't holding anything.

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I went to a demo yesterday, I just made a simple Black Lives Matter sign



Edited at 2016-07-10 11:41 pm (UTC)

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police violence against citizens is a problem for every race, FR its so out of hand I have seen some white people take some serious blows ......that aside its worse for blacks if i find any articles i will definitely try to link 4 u

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yeah thats what i was thinking the country has a way larger white population than black. but the percentage within the population of black ppl must be a lot higher

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It's really just basic maths and knowing the population of the US. I told a girl on twitter that proportions matter since there are about 200 million white Americans (excl. Hispanic Whites) and she blocked me. lol

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http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2015/jun/01/the-counted-police-killings-us-database# This isn't exactly what you are looking for, but this is pretty poignant. Especially take a look at 2015.

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EVERYONE LISTEN TO HER #DallasPoliceShooting  pic.twitter.com/qxGr6zNavk  Common White Girl (@girlhoodposts) July 8, 2016







this tweet has a good video sorry idk how to embed stuff this tweet has a good video sorry idk how to embed stuff

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I'm going to times square to protest and I'm very nervous.

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are you joking with this question? of course everybody going to a pro-black protest should be worried... even if nothing happens, just the fact that something could still very much happen is scary. even protesters got hurt at the dallas shooting and that was intended for the police

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what an ignorant/insensitive thing to say when protests/demonstrations all over the country are resulting in injuries, murders, and pointless arrests. congrats on not getting shit on!! but u rly shouldnt tell ppl to not be afraid. are u srs? lol

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Why???



Are you trolling?

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I have to go to court to pay my traffic ticket on aug. 3rd and asked my dad to go with me (i'm a 25 year old baby) but now I'm scared to have him with me b/c i'm scared for my dad to go anywhere...like he hasn't lived this reality for 58 years.

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Wake up ONTD!!!! New World Order is in full effect. Martial Law is coming!!! More ish is about to go down. Youtube: Crisis Actors, False Flags, Sandy Hook children singing at the Superbowl with Jennifer Hudson! Wake up!!!!

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why the fuck haven't you been banned yet? xtina would condemn you if she read any of your comments. i know you think you're louis ck in every post but this really isn't the time.



it says right in the ontd rules:

- Troll accounts get banned. So do accounts you've created because you're butt-hurt over being banned. Ignorantia juris non excusat, yo.



so can somebody PLEASE ban this person?? it's long overdue



Edited at 2016-07-10 03:43 pm (UTC)

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you have to PM a mod with screenshots. it says in the rules that troll accounts are banned but they are only really banned when they break the other rules like no racism, no personal attacks, etc. at least from what i've seen

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I reported this person for a personal attack and NOTHING happened. Sigh.

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go away

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"It's easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled."



Mark Twain

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Dad, is that you?

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you sound like my NRA-loving coworkers

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wasn't even read his rights.

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also wapo ain't shit just like CNN isn't shit for giving that domestic terrorist joe walsh a platform after threatening the sitting president of this country. the President's head speechwriter called them out.

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I have a white bf and I was trying to have a serious conversation with him about this entire situation and he just brushed me off so now I'm seriously reconsidering our relationship.



His entire family is full of conservative rednecks and he's always been more liberal but his thinking was extremely flawed. He thinks these videos showing the brutality and people getting shot and arrested aren't what we should follow on and that we should get the full story. He doesn't get why I get involved because it's not in our state (despite that we literally are ten minutes from where trayvon martin was killed) and that it's not doing anything because it hasn't in the past.



He could tell I was really pissed so he tried to backtrack by saying he doesn't know how I feel and this type of situation would never happen to him so he doesn't have to worry about it. I asked what if it happened to me and he went silent.

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dump him.

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when people are murdered by white men there's always, always a rush to "don't judge! both sides! get the full story!"



but if the positions were reversed the shooter would be 1000% condemned no question



the full story is just a fancy way of saying they're trying to find a "reason" that an innocent person deserved to get murdered

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seriously. trevor noah brought this up on the daily show recently, too, where he said that if we had video of someone blatantly stealing from a cash register, police officers wouldn't be like "well, we don't know the full story, we can't see everything that happened from this video alone, so we don't know if they actually did that!"-- they'd be arresting that person for robbing from a store.



the fact that cops who are caught on camera acting unlawfully aren't held to that same standard is endlessly infuriating.





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I agree, dump him. I'm white, I haven't lived that reality, but I understand that people do and it pisses me off. It should piss anyone off that is capable of empathy.

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girl he better at least have a good D.



but either way, run

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I had to have a serious talk with my fiance about white privilege. I think he thought I was making it up until I sent him about 20 articles for his "homework" and asked him to give me an opinion once he read it. He's not 100% savvy on what's going on (he's a brit and thinks that guns should go away plus he's a bit naive) but he's now keeping track of what's going on with the movement.



I told him he's marrying a black woman, this is the facts of what's going on and what's affecting ME and my family personally so if he wants to stay with me, he needs to STAND with me. Maybe you need to take that approach? Maybe show him articles and statistics and shit?

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There are lots of problems here, but I am concerned about that last line particularly. If it won't happen to him directly he doesn't have to worry about it? I am white, but I worry about what happens to other people all the time. I worry about other human beings, my friends, my colleagues, other lives. Is he not worried about you? Am I misunderstanding that line? Like, I can't imagine living a life where I genuinely believe the only stuff I should worry about or care about are things that directly affect me.

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I know there's white people who understand their privledge but your example is why I could never see myself ever settling down with a white guy. There's just SO much that they just can't understand. I'm not saying that every white person is bad and racist, but there's just no way for them to understand the stuggle the way a person of color can.

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Yikes. I'm white and I couldn't be with someone who was so careless about the whole issue. But I like the idea someone said about at least trying to educate him. Even if it ends up not working out perhaps you could leave him with a better understanding about why he should care. Personally, I don't think it should just depend on what would happen if it were you.

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that's disheartening. i'm sorry you have to deal with that. what on earth does he think would be the full story? delusional.

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yikes, man. i'd have been gone, tbh.

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echoing the other users. i don't think its worth it. ignorance or indifference is just as bad as bigotry and its not worth it to have to convince someone your in a relationship with to care about your people being murdered by police. we deal with too much shit outside, i wouldn't want to deal with it at home as well

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I asked what if it happened to me and he went silent



that's fucking scary. this is a much larger issue than just respecting opinions

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If he's not willing to learn aND open up then he's not worth it. If he's willing get to try and you're willing to do the extra work to teach him then it's not hopeless for yall.

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...love yourself

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ia with everyone else, you should dump him

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dump him and run far away



you deserve so much better then that ,keep us posted

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ya u should probably dump him. i know this is a dumb point to make but like, what if u had a child w/ this man?? if he can't see what's going on with POC in this country then he really has no business putting a black child into this world when he can't sympathize with their struggles. wtf.

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It's up to you, TBH.



He grew up in a completely different doctrine than you. He's shown past willingness to embrace a new paradigm, but he's not all the way there yet, and the unfortunate truth is he might never be. Coming to terms with the idea that the police really are, consciously or otherwise, out to get certain segments of the population is not an easy concept for someone raised to respect & obey police officers to accept.



Whether you decide to stay with him and put in the work to bring him around to your point of view, or leave him and seek out someone who already shares your perspective on the world, it's really about what the best option is for you.



Either option could end up leaving you really frustrated and disappointed.



Regardless of what you choose, anyone who judges you for your decision is an asshole, and you should pay them no mind



Edited at 2016-07-10 04:24 pm (UTC)

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its crazy how people havent learned from ww2. staying out of shit until it becomes your problem on your doorstep doesn't mean innocent people arent dying elsewhere.



even if you dont do anything or cant do anything about it at least have an opinion on the matter.

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I asked what if it happened to me and he went silent.



He sounds like a spineless piece of shit, tbh.

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the pain of breakup is far less than the long term psychological damage of being in his presence

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Having been in similar situations, and it really came down to this for me: if your partner isn't scared for you while knowing the types of things that can happen to you at the hands of racists and the police, how much do they actually care about you? It's a hard question to have to ask yourself, but like... there's no reason why anyone who legitimately cares about you enough to be worth sticking around with would be so blase about the possibility of harm coming to you.



tl;dr: you deserve better bb dump that asshole.

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I will never understand this "full story" bullshit. We have the full story. White men can wave guns around and actually shoot at cops without getting killed while black men are gunned down regularly. That's the full story.

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Also: do you want to be someone's unpaid racism teacher in perpetuity? I know that one of the points of a relationship is for both people to make eachother better and to learn from one another, but I've always found the balance of teaching and learning to be heavily lopsided towards the black person doing all the teaching in black/white interracial relationships. There are some times when you just want to come home and grieve with a partner who cares, and you'll never really be able to have closure if that time and energy is spent trying to convince them why they should care in the first place.

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Whenever whites start about 'the FULL story!!!', that means they're going to trot out any excuse to make the dead look guilty.



Tell him that the FULL STORY is that you are dumping his ass.

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I have experienced similar things with my boyfriend (although I am not black) and it also made me stop and think about things but I came to the conclusion that if you truly love each other you don't have to 100% agree on even big things like this, as long as you can have calm rational discussions. People don't change their minds over night but I would bet money what you said to him will make him really think and, eventually, his mind will slowly change. At least that's what has happened with my relationship. We have both learned a lot from each other because we were willing to talk about fundamental ideas that we disagreed on.

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I dont think this is as easy as just dump him but you guys should have more serious conversations about it. if anything you need to let him know that he needs to hear you and that the world isnt so black-and-white. if he isnt willing to compromise thats gonna cause a lot of problems in the future. Trust me i dated someone from a very conservative background (he was libertarian ugh) and this definitely came up a lot and caused a lot of issues.

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:( I had a white boyfriend who kept trying to school me on what it's like to be my race (East Asian). It was exhausting to be constantly discounted and told I was wrong when he had no fucking clue.



Your last sentence is chilling... Your life, but I'd walk at this point.

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Better to dump him now before the relationship becomes too serious, tbh. Plus, idk if you plan on kids, but you should think about what it would be like to raise them with him AND his family. I wouldn't want them growing up in that kind of environment. Also, things are only going to get worse before they get better, so this will be a topic for a while. Do you really want to keep having this argument? It's draining and stressful, and it's bad for your mental health, tbh. Good luck on whatever you decide!

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this relationship is not worth it.

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My boyfriend is also white and we've been able to talk about these situations. He has listened to my frustrations, held me as I cried, gotten angry on behalf of me, and tried his best to understand my fears and frustration. He is well aware that as a white man he will never really 'get' it and has his own struggles dealing with being the primary beneficiary of a racist system. But he tries his hardest to understand, to sympathize, and to care about the things that are hurting ME and my people.



His views are angering at best and I've unfriended people on FB for saying those exact things, but the most frightening thing is that he can't or doesn't want to understand how it affects YOU or sympathize with YOUR feelings. That lack of empathy in a relationship would be hard to deal with, in my opinion. Unless he comes back after having thought it over more and expresses an apology/change in views, I don't know that I would stay either.

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I am married to a white man (Swedish from Sweden, not American) and he had no fucking clue about privilege or what it's like for poc ANYWHERE, period. We had a lot of serious discussions early on in our relationship about it, where I shared with him how I grew up, the world I lived in, as a woc (I am Hispanic), and it literally opened his eyes to an entire world he did not know existed.



If he had chosen to assert ignorance rather than consider experiences that were unlike his own, I would have dumped him.



Edited at 2016-07-10 05:34 pm (UTC)

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he sounds selfish af. dumb him (15)

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Red flags errywhere. And there's a 90% chance if you dump him that he'll say you played a race card rather than assessing his own actions.

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take out the trash

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UPDATE: I was fully ready to dump his ass until he came over this afternoon and immediately wanted to discuss what we talked about.



First he apologized to me for being so dismissive and blamed it on his lack of education on the subject. When I talked about it happening to me and mentioned Sandra Bland he said he looked up her case and started to look at more cases and put two and two together. He also said he realized he was wrong after seeing several family members he's distanced himself from say pretty much the same things on Facebook which made him take a look at his thoughts.



He still says he can't understand what I'm going through because he's not African American but that he feels that he never will and it isn't his job to. His job is to help me and other family members feel safe and protected and know that the system is fucked up towards minorities. He asked me how he can help, I sent him the Anton Sterling fund link.



He's still clearly got a lot to learn but the discussion we had today opened up a lot of doors and I was really surprised.

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girl... dump him. you deserve better.

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you need to leave tbh. it's going to really fuck with your head because he isn't going to get it and i don't think you want to waste your time with a person like that. it's one of the reasons why i broke up with a person i used to date. and it changed my entire perspective when it came to dating people who aren't woke or even worse faux woke.

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Dump dat ass. You cannot afford to be with a person that is so careless and blase when it comes to things affecting your race.



EDIT: I just saw your post about him being willing to learn and doing the reading himself. If he had continued with the silence, I would have stuck with my original thought that you should dump him but he's willing to work and put in the effort so keep him pending for now. But watch him.



Edited at 2016-07-10 09:28 pm (UTC)

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fuck no. dump his white ass. that wack backtracking makes him look even more like an asshole too

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Ur 1st mistake was dating a white guy, dump him

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"Black Lives Matter leader" - what in the nine hells? Is like when the idiots thought they had caught the "Anonymous group leader"

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"The Hacker Known as 4Chan"

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lmao! i saw a tv special by some news channel about "the 4chan/anonymous" and it was hilarious

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Googling as hard as they can lmao

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The Washington Post went WAY down hill after the CEO of Amazon bought them. They used to be a pretty neutral and well-respected news source. Now, they're complete garbage.

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My first thought was "hopefully he's known enough to not suffer an "accident"/"suicide" during arrest". Which is some.. Police state 1984 bullshit, and shouldn't be a possibility.

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mte

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I saw a screencap of one of Trump's campaign people saying that Deray should be "disappeared" by the police. So fucked up.

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Fucking hell

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jesus christ D:

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I went through that account and am pretty certain it's a troll account. I googled the name King Robbo and it's the name of a deceased graffiti artist who had a feud with Banksy that was actually the subject of documentary in the UK!

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wtf :/ that's scary

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that's horrifying

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The OnMilwaukee Summer Festivals Guide is presented by Potawatomi Hotel & Casino. Create your summer story by participating in casino wide promotions with the chance to win big. This summer I will own it! Click here for more details.

Death Cab for Cutie has proven themselves to be one of the truly idiosyncratic talents of indie rock. Through their nearly 20 years together, theyve released eight albums, four EPs, two live EPs, one live album and been nominated for a remarkable eight Grammy awards.

The groups sound is an exquisite mix of melodic lyrics and soft rhythms. A prime example of their musical style is the poignant poetic ballad "I Will Follow You into the Dark" from 2005s "Plans." They were the epitome of the early 2000s emo scene where emotionally captivating lyrics from bands such as Dashboard Confessional, Fall Out Boy, Simple Plan and various others overtook the rock genre. Theyre the band the high schooler in you adores  and the adult in you continues to appreciate.

However, since 2008s "Narrow Stairs," theyve begun to embrace a slightly more upbeat sound while still sticking with their impassioned lyrics. Their newest album, "Kintsugi," took it to the next level with loads of guitar and fast beats rejecting their signature sound.

So where would their Summerfest set land?

Death Cabs set at the Miller Lite Oasis stage began at 10:15 p.m. with a thunderous riff from "New Year." This began the set on a good pace by increasing the sound and tempo that they impressively continued throughout a greater portion of the show. For example, they added an electric guitar solo at the end of "Marching Bands of Manhattan" and "Tranatlanticism," songs that typically lean heavily acoustic.

The rest of the set list delivered a great variety of songs spanning seven of their eight albums. Out of the 17 songs they performed, only five were from the same album ("Narrow Stairs"), which oddly enough isnt even their newest album. For "Company Calls," Gibbard had to inform the audience that it was from their prior fame 2001 album, "We Have The Facts and We're Voting Yes," proving Death Cab caters to all fans. As an older fan, I was ecstatic to be able to hear my favorites from "Plans" and "Transatlanticism" live.

Apart from the variety of tracks, vocalist Ben Gibbard was constantly bopping his head and shaking his body, bringing great energy to the performance. He had the audience eating out of the palm of his hand. Gibbard and the audience made a true connection when both collectively sang "Ill Follow You into the Dark" in its entirety. Other crowd favorites were "The Ghosts of Beverly Drive," "You Are a Tourist," "I Will Possess Your Heart" and "Soul Meets Body."

Death Cab for Cutie is a band that I would never have expected to provide such a powerful live performance from their vast majority of mellow tracks. I was glad they proved me wrong.

Set list

"The New Year"

"Crooked Teeth"

"Why Youd Want to Live Here"

"Black Sun"

"The Ghosts of Beverly Drive"

"Grapevine Fires"

"No Sunlight"

"Company Calls"

"Brothers on a Hotel Bed"

"I Will Follow You into the Dark"

"I Will Possess Your Heart"

"You Are a Tourist"

"Doors Unlocked and Open"

"Cath..."

"Soul Meets Body"

"Marching Bands of Manhattan"

"Transatlanticism"
Reprinted from Code Pink

Co-written by Alice Slater



The Flag Of The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

(Image by dreamstime.com) Details DMCA



Donald Trump angered the D.C. establishment when he said that NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance, may be obsolete and the U.S. should reassess its spending on the alliance. Hillary Clinton has used Trump's comments as another example that he is a dangerous, loose cannon. But Trump has brought up an issue worth exploring and this month, when NATO will hold its Annual Summit in Warsaw, Poland on July 8-9, is an excellent opportunity to do so. Indeed, activists are planning to show up on in Warsaw during the Summit and in New York City there will be a demonstration on July 9 in Times Square.

Formed in the early years of the Cold War, 1949, with the United States, Canada, Portugal, Italy, UK, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, and France, by 1952 this post-WWII alliance included Greece and Turkey, and had rejected the Soviet Union's request to join. In 1956, when West Germany was admitted to NATO membership, the USSR formed the Warsaw Pact in response and the Cold War was then on, full-blown. Missiles and nuclear weapons from each side pointed menacingly at each other, with the United States parking nuclear weapons in five NATO countries (Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Italy and Turkey), where they remain to this day. NATO doctrine provides that nuclear weapons will be used if necessary, at will, on behalf of all its members.

After the Berlin wall fell in 1989 and Gorbachev miraculously let go of all the Soviet-occupied Eastern European countries, dissolving the Warsaw Pact without a shot, the U.S. promised Gorbachev that if he didn't object to East Germany's inclusion in NATO, we would never expand NATO further eastward. Russia had lost 27 million people to the Nazi onslaught during World War II and had good cause to fear a military alliance on its borders. Despite U.S. assurances to Gorbachev, today NATO has expanded to include 12 new countries in eastern and central Europe, including Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, Albania and Croatia. NATO now extends right up to Russia's border, and has even been discussing membership with Georgia and the Ukraine.

One can only imagine what the response would be in the United States if Russia were to invite Canada and Mexico into its military alliance. Let us not forget how close we came to war when the Soviet Union put missiles in Cuba. And part of the deal President Kennedy made with President Khrushchev for their removal was to take US missiles out of Turkey. Then George H.W. Bush turned around and put the missiles back in Turkey in 1991, and they were only removed this year after huge objections from Russia.

Meanwhile, in 1991 the U.S. government withdrew from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty we had signed with the Soviets in 1972 and put new missile bases in Poland and Romania. Although NATO took no military action during the Cold War, during the first Gulf War it deployed forces for the first time, and then acted unlawfully when it bombed Yugoslavia without UN authorization. The UN Charter, devoted to preventing "the scourge of war," allows nations to use force only in self-defense when under threat of imminent attack, or when authorized by the Security Council, neither of which had occurred when NATO bombed Yugoslavia in the 1999 Kosovo war. Since then NATO has taken part in many military actions, including in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya. But this year it has been particularly aggressive and provocative, conducting massive military maneuvers on Russia's borders.

It is totally unacceptable to be taking these provocative measures when the U.S. and Russia have nearly 2,000 nuclear warheads on hair-trigger alert, loaded on missiles, submarines and airplanes, poised and ready to fire in minutes. Next year, the Pentagon plans to quadruple military spending in Europe to $3.4 billion and begin rotating an armored brigade through Eastern Europe -- in addition to extra NATO forces to be deployed to Poland and the Baltics. The U.S., the main force behind NATO, is already in a deadly proxy war in eastern Ukraine.

In June NATO launched the largest war games since the Cold War, involving hundreds of tanks and jets, as well as 31,000 troops from 24 countries. The war games in Poland included air-ground assaults and electronic warfare scenarios. Airborne units, infantrymen, medics, military police and aviation units have operated jointly throughout the exercise, which culminated in a massive live-fire event led by the U.S. military. A naval exercise involving NATO forces has just begun in Finland. Meanwhile, there is an ongoing "Saber Strike" operation in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

One can only wonder how, 25 years after the end of the Cold War, we find ourselves rattling our sabers, nuclear and conventional, in this untenable dilemma. Surely President Eisenhower's prescient warning way back in 1961 that "we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex" is a potent warning for today, more than half a century later.

The time has come to spread the word about the dangerous mischief NATO is causing on Russia's border. With the recent breakup of the old paradigm after the UK just left the European Union, there may be a new opening for change. It has been reported that Germany and France have been talking about ending the sanctions on Russia imposed after the Ukraine events and are now recommending a less aggressive posture for NATO. America too, could do its share to make good on the UN promise to "end the scourge of war" by ratcheting down the hostilities towards Russia and working for the abolition of NATO.

You don't have to be a Donald Trump supporter to recognize that it is time to rethink NATO.
JanStephen James Cavanaugh was born in 1943 in Canada, the oldest of eight raised to run the family farms, but a dream changed all that and in 1964 he expatriated to the United States of America to study for Roman Catholic priesthood. Not accepted for first level vows he chose in 1967 to go to South Vietnam to work for International Voluntary Services on agricultural projects. If there is a civilian version of missing in action (MIA), he became one during Tet 1968. His mother to her dying breath will not speak of the shock upon receiving a U.S. State Department letter saying that her number one son was missing in Vietnam at a time of intense war. In 1969 he repatriated to the United States of America, married, naturalized, and in 1982 completed doctoral work in the philosophy and psychology of human development at Pennsylvania State University. His post-doctoral work encompasses academic, private, non-profit, and corporate and government practices. Every now and then to get out of his head and into his body he takes to the road as a CDL Class A driver. Nothing like the thrill of 80,000 pounds on the shifter at 80 miles per hour and signs of "Steep Hill Ahead" to focus the mind, body and soul! Particularly on a stormy night at three in the morning! For those who care he is a Gemini. He is a citizen of the United States of America by choice and he believes strongly in the liberal principles of limited government, separation of church and state, human rights and individual dignity as outlined by the founding fathers of our great Constitution. In his view within that framework can be the template for the next order of global human governance. He fears that the current course of U.S.A. policy, foreign and domestic, plays to the advantage of our enemies. He dreams we are on the Titanic of Modernity and we face heavy seas and hot headwinds in the dark of night. There are some us on stern bracing against the winds of war pointing at the fast rising tide to our stern. The captain does not hear our voices; he stares straight ahead. What happens next always wakes him in a sweat. He has two dreams yet unfulfilled: To promote the voice and work of peace full-time. To counsel presidents and kings in matters of war and law.
by NW Spotlight

A poll conducted in Oregon in late June found that IP28 currently enjoys majority support, Hillary Clinton has a double-digit, 14-point lead over Donald Trump, and Governor Brown takes a 7-point lead into the summer against Bud Pierce. The poll was conducted by icitizen.

Key findings for 2016 November General Election Races:

Democratic candidates currently lead four of the marquee races, but some leads are slim and there are sizeable percentages of swing voters at this stage in the race. Among registered voters:

Hillary Clinton owns the most commanding advantage over Donald Trump, 14-points, due in large part to her consolidation of the Democratic base (89% of Democrats currently support her compared to 70% of Republicans for Donald Trump). Independents are split. Clinton outpaces party identification in the state by three points. The ballot stands at 46% Clinton, 32% Trump, and 22% undecided.

Governor Kate Brown (D) leads Bud Pierce (R) by seven points, which is four points behind party ID (D+11). Governor Brown converts 84% of Democrats (to Pierces 76% of Republicans), but trails independents by 10 points  which contributes to the single-digit lead overall. The ballot stands at 42% Brown, 35% Pierce, and 23% undecided.

Democrat Brad Avakian has a slim 4-point lead over Republican Dennis Richardson in the race for Secretary of State (36% to 32%, with 32% undecided).

In the race for State Treasurer, Democrat Tobias Read leads a three-way race over Republican Jeff Gudman and Independent Chris Telfer (26% to 19% to 14%), but with 41% undecided the race is very fluid.

Key findings for 2016 ballot measures:

Initiative Petition 28 (IP28) which would increase the gross receipts tax on high-sales businesses in the state, is supported by two-thirds of Oregonian registered voters (65% favor, 19% oppose, 16% unsure). When provided with messaging in support and against the measure, support dips to 55%  underscoring the potential for shifting perspectives on this issue.

Initiative Petition 49 (IP49) which has not qualified for the ballot as of this writing, would amend the Oregon Constitution to require a two-thirds supermajority vote in the legislature to declare an emergency that accelerates a laws effective date, and thereby removes the option of a referendum on that law. A plurality (39%) are unsure compared to 35% who support and 26% who oppose.

Polling Methodology

The survey was conducted online from June 23-27 among 603 adults statewide, including 555 registered voters. In order to achieve an accurate demographic representation of the public, the data were sampled and weighted to U.S. Census benchmarks for gender, age, region, education, income, and race. In addition, the registered voter sub-sample was weighted by party registration to the May, 2016 Oregon Secretary of State voter registration statistics.

icitizen is a nonpartisan civic engagement app where citizens easily promote and stay informed on important issues, and vote in polls.
Ringing Bells, the Noida-based firm that ran into controversy after announcing a Rs 251 phone five months back, on Friday claimed it will start shipping the cheapest smartphone ever, from Friday.

In February, the company announced the Freedom 251 phone which saw a mad rush of over 70 million people jostling to register but when the prototype was presented to media it turned out to be produced by another manufacturer with its logo covered.

This led to protests from buyers and consequent inquiries by police and tax officials, forcing the company to stop sale of the product and offer refunds to those who had booked the phone.

The Freedom 251 prototype touts a quad-core processor, a 4-inch screen and front and back cameras, priced at an astonishingly low rate of Rs 251.

ALSO READ: Now, Freedom-251 maker Ringing Bells seeks 50,000 crore from Narendra Modi



Ringing Bells Director Mohit Goel, who had last week stated that his company will soon start shipping 200,000 smartphones to buyers picked by lottery, today said deliveries will start as early as tomorrow.

"We will start delivery of 5,000 Freedom 251 phones in the first phase from tomorrow," he told reporters at an event organised to unveil new models as well as an LED TV priced at Rs 9,990.

Ringing Bells had last month stated that it will start deliveries for 2 lakh handsets from June 30 initially, then mentioned 10,000 devices will be given to customers in 19 states, and has now brought it down to 5,000 devices.

Goel said the first batch of 5,000 'Freedom 251' devices will be out for delivery from July 8 and buyers will have to pay Rs 291, including Rs 40 as delivery charges.

He had previously stated that Ringing Bells faced Rs 930 loss on each phone, which cost Rs 1,180 and the parts were imported from Taiwan. He had claimed that Rs 700-800 will be recovered from app developers and advertisement revenue.

When the phone was announced in February, about 30,000 people paid in advance for booking the phone and over 7 crore people registered for it, which is equivalent to the phones Samsung and Apple sell in an entire year.

Today, Goel claimed that the company is ready to ship 2 lakh units of the smartphone for Rs 251 each, but "only if it gets government support". He, however, said that Ringing Bells will ship two lakh units to people who registered for it even if the company doesn't get government support but it will take time.

The company also unveiled four new feature phones in the range of Rs 699-999 and two budget Android smartphones that are priced between Rs 3,999 and Rs 4,499.

It also unveiled three power banks, and a 31.5-inch HD LED TV priced at Rs 9,900 that will be launched on August 15.
The Gambia and Tanzania have banned child marriage, with tough penalties for those who breach the rulings.



Gambia's President Yayha Jammeh announced that anyone marrying a girl below 18 would be jailed for up to 20 years.



In Tanzania, the high court imposed a landmark ruling outlawing marriage under the age of 18 for boys and girls.



Some 30% of underage girls are married in The Gambia, while in Tanzania the rate is 37%.



Before the Tanzania ruling, girls as young as 14 could marry with parental consent, while it was 18 for boys.



The BBC's Tulanana Bohela in Dar es Salaam says this is a big win for child rights groups and activists, who will now have an easier time rescuing girls from child marriage.



The case was brought by lobby group Msichana Initiative.



Gambia's President speaking at the Eid-ul-Fitr celebrations at the end of Ramadan, said parents and imams who perform the ceremonies would also face prison.



"If you want to know whether what I am saying is true or not, try it tomorrow and see," he warned.



Women's rights campaigners have welcomed the ban, however some say that it would be better to engage with local communities to try to change attitudes towards child marriage instead of threatening families with prison sentences,



"I don't think locking parents up is the answer... it could lead to a major backlash and sabotage the ban," Isatou Jeng of the women's rights organisation Girls Agenda told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone from the Gambian capital, Banjul.



In December last year, Mr Jammeh also outlawed female genital mutilation (FGM), with a prison sentence of up to three years for those that ignored the ban.



He said the practice had no place in Islam or in modern society.



Three-quarters of women in the mostly Muslim country have had the procedure, according to Unicef.

Source: Daily Graphic









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DAYTONA BEACH, Florida  Prudence Prudy Rose Longdaue Douglas passed away peacefully at Halifax Hospice Center on Friday, May 13, 2016, at the age of 81. Her family was at her side.

Prudy was predeceased by her parents Ernest and Rose (Weaver) Longdaue; brother, Ernest; sister, Ada; infant twin sons; and daughter, Carilynn Nickell.

Prudy is survived by her husband, Edward Douglas, of 60 years. They were married in North Argyle on Oct. 14, 1955.

Prudy was born in North Argyle on Feb. 12, 1935. She graduated from Argyle Central School in 1952, and went to work for Glens Falls Insurance Company until she and Ed moved to Virginia, when he went to work for the federal government. In 1961, the family was transferred to Berlin, Germany and lived there two years. Upon return to the States in 1963, they settled again in Manassas, Virginia. In 1968, the family returned to the area and she went back to the Glens Falls Insurance Company, now named Continental Insurance Company. She and Ed owned a small mobile home park, using their talents to renovate units for rent. She also was a great cook, serving lunch daily to many when they owned the Last Chance Bar on East St., Fort Edward, in the 1970s. She then went on to be successful doing home parties, Tupperware, and then later, basket parties.

She was a supportive, loving wife and mother. Her family always came first and she made simple things special for her children. She was a really good decorator (on a dime), good cook and a great sewer, even making a wedding dress. She was always available to her kids and their friends, who loved her too. There was nothing more special to her grandkids than to spend the night and be pampered by grandma. She loved traveling, especially to the beach. She and Ed were fortunate to have traveled to Hawaii, England, Scotland, Wales, France, Italy as well as several places in the United States, before settling in Daytona Beach, Florida in retirement. She suffered a stroke in 1999, which ended most of the things she loved to do, but was still a central role in the family. She will be sorely missed.

Prudy is lovingly remembered by her daughter, Marilynn and son-in-law, Roger Curtis of Chestertown; her sons John of Daytona Beach, Florida, and David and daughter-in-law, Chong of Dumfrees, Virginia; and son-in-law David Nickell of Port Orange, Florida. Grandchildren are Jessica(Curtis) and Clayton Johnson of Wilton, Connecticut, Jared Curtis of Chestertown, Matthew Douglas and wife, Joann, Erika(Douglas) and Brandon Bintliff of Dumfries, Virginia, Brian Nickell of Colorado Springs and Phillip Douglas of Dumfries, Virginia. She is also survived by six great-grandchildren.

Prudence was cremated in Florida.

There will be notice for a memorial service to be held later this summer, tentatively Aug. 27, 2016, in her hometown of Argyle, New York.
The second suspect in the strangulation death of Glens Falls resident Kevin J. Jenks was arrested late Saturday in central New York and jailed Sunday.

Robert M. Henry, 45, of Ilion, was arrested in the Utica area without incident and brought back to Glens Falls by Glens Falls Police detectives. He was charged with second-degree murder and first-degree robbery and sent to Warren County Jail without bail after arraignment Sunday before Glens Falls Judge Nikki Moreschi.

Court records show he is accused of acting in concert with Kevin S. Chapman, the 49-year-old Ilion man who was arrested earlier Saturday and charged with second-degree murder and first-degree burglary in connection with Jenks death.

The two are accused of causing Jenks death by strangulation during an attempt to steal unspecified items from his 70 Dix Ave. home. Credit cards and other valuables were stolen, and some of them were sold to a pawn shop in central New York, officials said.

Authorities said the two admitted to police that they were at Jenks home but have pointed fingers at each other as to which one actually killed Jenks.

Police said Henry knew Jenks and had arranged to meet him Wednesday night at his home to hang out. But he brought Chapman with him, with the intent to steal from Jenks, and a struggle ensued, police said.

Glens Falls Police Chief Tony Lydon said Henry was charged with robbery and not burglary after a review of the facts with the Warren County District Attorneys Office.

Officials said Henry was aware he was being sought and was negotiating a surrender late Saturday, but it was unclear whether he was located by officers first. An all-points bulletin had been issued for him, and State Police, as well as police in central New York, were actively seeking him.

Chapman was arrested at a motel in Ilion early Saturday. He was arraigned and sent to Warren County Jail without bail on Saturday.

Neither suspect would comment on the case after their arraignments, and their lawyers, through the Warren County Public Defenders Office, had no comment.

Jenks Cadillac sedan, which was stolen from his home, was recovered at a Wal-Mart in the Ilion area.

Jenks, 58, was found dead in his home Thursday afternoon by a relative, but police did not initially suspect foul play because there were no obvious injuries. An autopsy performed Friday at Albany Medical Center led to the conclusion that his death was homicide.

Neither suspect appears to have lived in the Glens Falls region recently, though Henry previously lived in Glens Falls and had been arrested by Glens Falls Police.

Lydon said police planned to release more information about the investigation on Monday.

Chapman is a two-time felon with a prior burglary conviction, and Henry is a four-time felon, having served three separate state prison sentences for robbery convictions in New York City, state corrections records show.

Jenks worked at CR Bard Co.s medical device plant in Queensbury and had tended bar at numerous taverns in the region over the years. He was known for a giving spirit and frequently helped others, including loaning his vehicles to acquaintances. Neighbors said he was always willing to help them whenever asked.

He was the father of one and grandfather of three, having lost another son in 2003.

Both Henry and Chapman are due back in Glens Falls City Court on Tuesday morning. Warren County District Attorney Kate Hogan said her office planned to have a grand jury review the case this week.
LAKE GEORGE  Fishermen from around the region and the country descended on Lake George this weekend for the second annual King George Fishing Derby.

Proceeds from the event will be donated to the organization Stop Invasives from Entering Lake George Partnership, or SAVE, a group that works to limit the spread of invasive species in the lake.

According to SAVE, the most common way in which invasive species are introduced into new bodies of water is through boating. The partnership works to promote careful boat inspections on the lake prior to launch, to ensure no invasive species are introduced.

This year, the event raised approximately $6,300, according to Dave Decker, director of the Lake George Watershed Coalition.

Decker said the purpose of the event is to raise funds and awareness about the threat posed by invasive species. He said being mindful of the effect boats can have on the lake is important.

(The derby funds) will go toward supporting the new boat inspection program, he said.

Most of the funds came from registration fees, Decker said, and because of local support from businesses and government, every cent will be donated to support the initiative.

The county, as well as a lot of municipalities, have contributed prize money, Decker said.

The issue of invasive species has been a growing concern in recent years. Once introduced, invasive species often push out indigenous life because they have no natural predators to keep them in check. The effect on the ecosystem can be catastrophic.

Decker said dealing with these invaders is a lot harder once they have made it into an ecosystem.

Our feeling is that prevention is a lot better than trying to treat them once they are already in the water, he said.

Participants in the derby were permitted to fish between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Saturday and 6 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Sunday. Each day, the top contestants were named in each division and presented with prizes.

Contestants could enter lake trout, smallmouth bass and largemouth bass for consideration. Each species was judged separately.

The top five entrants in the adult division with the heaviest fish of each species received cash prizes. The top finisher received $2,500.

In the junior division  anyone younger than 16  the top five finishers in each category received merchandise prizes.

Andrea Hutchings and her son Cainan said their family began both days of fishing at 6 a.m. and went straight through the day. The family said they went out with a local charter boat Captain, Darren Marino, and Andrea said they were lucky enough to see a family of bald eagles while they fished.

Cainan said it was a great experience, and the fishing kept them busy.

We caught like 80, he said.

The Hutchings said they have their own special way of catching the fish but would not reveal their secret. Cainan won third prize for smallmouth bass in the junior division.

For Mike Giarausso the weekend was made all the more special by having a relative from Massachusetts join him on the lake. He said it has been his best summer memory so far.

Decker said he was pleased with this years turnout and said they hope to bring the derby back for a third year. He said the weather did hurt them, as it meant fewer last-minute registrations, but he said the numbers were up from last years 110 participants.

Of the 141 participants at this years derby, Decker said 126 were entered in the adult division with 15 in the junior division. He said if they bring the derby back next year, he hopes they will be able to get more kids involved in the event.
Turn on the tap and the water pours out.

Want to cool off on a hot day? The region abounds with beautiful lakes for jumping in, starting with one of the most beautiful  Lake George.

Want to take a paddle in a canoe or kayak or a spin in a motorboat? The Hudson River snakes its way through and around our local towns and villages, meandering south to the Atlantic Ocean.

We possess a treasure of abundant fresh water in this region, but as we have seen with the drinking water scares in Flint, Michigan, and Hoosick Falls; and with the proliferation in local lakes of invasive species; and the continuing pollution of waterways from industrial, agricultural and residential sources, we cannot take this treasure for granted.

Because water is so basic to life, and so ubiquitous, its hard to know where to start in protecting it. As one of the people we interviewed for our recent series on water said, everything that goes on the land ends up in the water.

What goes into the air, too, ends up in the water, as we have experienced with the acid rain that poisoned Adirondack lakes but was caused by sulfurous emissions from power plants hundreds of miles away.

But acid rain has lessened over the past few decades, because of government regulations, and Adirondack lakes have recovered as a result. The acidification and recovery of these lakes is one example among many that environmental regulations work and environmental damage can, with time, be reversed.

What we found in investigating the state of the water in our area was hopeful. Tests of the drinking water in our local communities show it is clean and free of contaminants such as the lead that got into the water in Flint and the perfluorooctanoic acid that infiltrated Hoosick Falls water supply.

Government regulations allow anyone to review the toxic releases inventory online. It is searchable by chemical, by industrial site and by zip code, and we would encourage all local residents to familiarize themselves with it. If you spend some time with it, you realize that, even when emissions stay within legal limits, a large amount of toxic chemicals can be released into our environment.

That is true locally, where Finch Paper continues to be listed among the biggest polluters in the state while still meeting legal standards. While the pollution coming from Finch may be legal, that doesnt make it healthy.

We realize you cant have industry without some pollution, however, and Finch, while continuing to run a large operation that employs hundreds of people, has cut down on its chemical releases, and even eliminated some, such as formaldehyde.

In 2006, the company released 81,000 pounds of ammonia into the Hudson River; in 2014, it released 41,000 pounds. Finch reuses 4.5 million pounds of chemicals a year, particularly ammonia and carbon dioxide. This is going in the right direction.

As EPA spokesman John Martin said, One of the best indicators that the TRI program has been a success is the steady and significant decline in releases since 1988.

The water of Lake George has gotten less clear over the past few decades, although it is still very clean. The lake benefits from its geography  surrounded by steep hills, its watershed is relatively small and undeveloped.

Nonetheless, the lake has suffered from residential and commercial development, and the decline in water quality, evidenced by widespread algae growth, is obvious. We will discuss what can be done about that decline in another editorial.

We have so much fresh water here, its easy to take for granted. But we have to work at preventing its contamination to make sure we dont end up like other communities have, with a terrible problem that we lack the resources to solve.

Local editorials represent the opinion of The Post-Star editorial board, which consists of Publisher Terry Coomes, Editor Ken Tingley, Projects Editor Will Doolittle, Controller/Operations Director Brian Corcoran and citizen representative Tom Portuese.
It was created to represent the voices of overseas Papuans, who may still have Indonesian citizenship and many who have renounced their citizenship.

The United Liberation Movement for West Papuas (ULMWP) continuing disruptive and destructive practices in the MSG process are dangerous for its unity and integrity.

It is making the region more economically integrated while sustaining its Melanesian cultural identity. However, one issue threatens the groups core interests and imperils the whole MSG project.

IN ALMOST one decade of its existence, the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) has shown its potential to be the strong man of the South Pacific.

The Movement does not represent the almost four million residents of Papua and West Papua provinces of Indonesia. As a democracy, the residents directly elect their real leaders in fair and transparent elections.

The ULMWPs lone agenda of taking territories away from a sovereign country sets a grave precedent.

The MSG may be showing symptoms of a sick man. By allowing the ULMWP to hijack the groups agenda, the MSG is unintentionally sending the wrong message. It is saying that it is okay for other political organizations to join the group and demand a chunk of a countrys territories for themselves.

It is saying that it is fine to betray the agreed principles of cooperation of the MSG: "the principles of respect of each other's sovereignty". It is also saying that it is acceptable to alienate a large portion of the Melanesian population in the Pacific.

It is an undeniable demographic and geographic reality that eleven million people of Melanesian ancestry live in the five Indonesian provinces of East Nusa Tenggara, Maluku, North Maluku, Papua and West Papua.

It is hard to achieve the groups goal of cultural solidarity and a greater voice for the Melanesian people if the voices of more than half of the Melanesian population are not welcomed, which is precisely the ambition of the ULMWP.

Ambassador Mickey Roy Joy, Vanuatus top representative in Brussels the capital of the European Union, said recently to Vanuatu Daily Post: the MSG has been too politicized by the member leaders and the MSG has tarnished its integrity. He further elaborated that international organizations around the world are asking about the image of the MSG in Melanesia and the Pacific region.

There are millions of Non-governmental organizations or non-profits in the world. One thing that these NGOs have in common is their laser-focus on addressing all sorts of issues including poverty alleviation, womens rights, human rights, social justice and other matters.

These non-profits, especially the international NGOs, conduct research, advocacy and carry out effective engagement at many international institutions. In the process, as noted by the Global Policy Forum, they create public goods that normally are not produced by the for-profit second sector and fill the gap that may have been left by the government or the first sector.

The ULMWP stand apart from all those public goods creating NGOs. Instead of delivering services or creating public goods useful for the population, the ULMWP's negative propaganda stirs division among member countries. Its activities encourage other NGOs to exploit the MSG to advance their political agenda, weakening the Groups capacity to deliver on its original mandate.

It is time for the MSG to shift its focus back to what matters: cultural solidarity and development of the Melanesian people.

With an inclusive approach that welcomes the more than half the Melanesian population living in the eastern parts of Indonesia, the MSG can truly engage in initiatives that strengthen the bonds of cultural solidarity among Melanesians.

Last month, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu agreed to a new and more comprehensive trade agreement. Dubbed as the MSGTA3, this agreement covers both commodity and trade in services, labor mobility and investment.

By extending this agreement to include all countries that have a significant Melanesian population, for instance, trade and investment among members of the agreement will significantly grow.

MSG members largely produce similar exports, which offset the benefits of the free trade agreement. By trading with other countries that produce a variety of goods that are somewhat different from what the members produce, the MSG will gain from a more extensive trade and investment.

An increased foreign trade will boost the economic growth of MSG members. Residents of Honiara, Port Vila, Port Moresby and Jayapura will enjoy greater variety of goods and services.

Greater international trade will introduce better methods of production and promotes efficiency that lowers the costs for consumers. As the market widens for each member, more jobs will be created to cater new demands for products and services.

An increased international trade will also foster goodwill, mutual understanding and closer cultural connection among all the countries involved.

As the MSG leaders meet in Honiara, Solomon Islands this 14 July 2016, the choice is stark. Does the MSG want the presence of the ULMWP to unravel the achievements and institutional framework painstakingly built over the years? Does it want to distance itself from a large portion of the Melanesian population?

The stakeholders of MSG, its members, the Melanesian population and the region will be better off when the Group refocuses its energy on what really matters.

On locking cultural solidarity for all Melanesians. On facilitating the delivery of goods and services affordable to all. On helping to create jobs and raise prosperity for all Melanesians in the region.

* Sade Bimantara, is a spokesperson for the Indonesian Embassy in Canberra
Radio New Zealand International

THE vice chancellor of Papua New Guinea's University of Technology says critics of his management need to substantiate their claims.

Dr Albert Schram was speaking after works minister Frances Awesa repeated demands for the university management and local police to be replaced after the murder of a student and the burning of university buildings two weeks ago.

Mr Awesa says they had failed to do enough to avoid the violence.

But Dr Schram says the standing committee of the university's council has endorsed the actions taken by him and his officials.
During the final weekend of the campaign for the Democratic nomination in the 24th Congressional District, Colleen Deacon, Eric Kingson and Steve Williams had plenty to contend with.

High school graduations. Warm weather. People (read: voters) beginning their summer vacations or prepping for Fourth of July, which was less than a week after the June 28 primary.

The participation reflected the interest  or lack thereof  in the election. Nearly 9 percent of active Democrats in the 24th District voted in the primary, according to the results from Cayuga, Onondaga, Oswego and Wayne counties.

Williams, D-Baldwinsville, called turnout "abysmal."

"It's a terrible time to have a primary," he said in a phone interview Friday.

The date was set by a federal judge, in part, because of the state Legislature's failure to establish a new date for federal primaries. The state must comply with a federal law called the MOVE Act, which seeks to give more time for military servicemembers and voters living overseas to cast their absentee ballots.

State legislators have attempted to consolidate the federal, state and local primaries, but an agreement has been elusive. The Democratic-led Assembly has advocated for a June primary date, while the Senate Republican majority prefers August.

That set the stage for this year, when New York has four elections  the presidential primary in April, the federal primary in June, the state and local primaries in September and the general election in November.

Kingson, D-Manlius, said holding four different elections, including three separate primary dates, is a waste of taxpayer dollars.

"Putting aside the politics, it doesn't make sense," he said. "It's expensive and in (the 24th District primary), the proof is in the pudding. Getting 12,000 people out for a Democratic primary is really awful, and I say that with  and I mean it real appreciation for everybody who voted."

But Kingson does think he benefited from the late June primary. He believes the timing of the election gave him an opportunity to compete. He got off to a slow start, but picked up momentum when Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders endorsed him in early June.

On the Friday before the primary, Sanders headlined a rally for Kingson at the OnCenter in Syracuse.

"It probably, overall, was an advantage that it was (on June 28) because I had a chance, as you could see, to peak," he said.

For Deacon, the view is different. She won the primary and received nearly 50 percent of the vote. She didn't offer a critique of when the primary was held, but would've liked to see better turnout.

"Having more people vote is always a better thing that we should work towards," she said.

She suggested several policy changes to boost turnout, including early voting hours, extended hours on Election Day, no excuse absentee voting and same-day voter registration.

Many of those proposals have been introduced in the state Legislature, but they haven't advanced.

So if not June, then when should the federal primary be held?

Williams suggested moving it to the spring, possibly April. Making it earlier in the election year, he said, would help candidates, especially challengers who are taking on incumbents.

"It would make it easier for the person who wins the primary to muster the resources necessary to mount the kind of campaign they need to win," he said.
READ MORE:

Woyome has been in the news since 2012 for allegedly putting in false claims to defraud the state to the tune of GH51.2 million, but the High Court and the Court of Appeal have cleared him of any wrongdoing.

However, the Supreme Court has directed him to refund the money, as a result of which the Attorney-Generals office has put in processes to recover the money.

Carrying out the orders of the court, the Attorney-General confiscated properties of Alfred Agbesi Woyome in order to redeem the money owed the state.

This appears to be the reason why the traditional rulers of Agave are angry about the Attorney-Generals actions.

Their sentiments, captured in a press statement said:

We are outraged by the brutal and stubborn determination of the Attorney-General of the Republic of Ghana, Mrs Marietta Brew Appiah-Opong, to resort to every means possible to frustrate and criminalise our son, Consul Alfred Agbesi Woyome, even though the High Court (Criminal Division) and the Appeal Court have cleared him of all and/or any criminal charges as brought against him by the state.

The civil aspect on which the Supreme Court (Review Bench) ruled and directed that monies be refunded to the state on the face of Article 181 (5) of Ghanas Constitution is a matter the Attorney-General could have been civil in negotiating without the constant media drama and abuse of court processes.
I completed my first 2016 stint at the CIViC History Center this afternoon. The center is located on Route 34 just south of the village of Cato. It is a remarkable resource of history, genealogy and artifacts of our central New York ancestors. It was a rather quiet time, but I had two interesting visitors. Both the museum and the brick schoolhouse are open from 1 to 5 each Sunday afternoon throughout the summer. Both are free and fascinating. I learn something new every time I am "on duty."

Coming up is an occasion not to be missed. On Sunday, July 24, the 35th anniversary of the formation of CIViC Heritage Society will be celebrated. This society of four townships  Cato, Ira, Victory and Conquest  honors the shared past of our rural towns. Together, we have preserved and celebrated much of our history, and with the help of our communities we will continue to share our past, commemorate our present and prepare for our future.

As you read this, the 2016 Conquest Fire Department Car Show is but an echo. The celebration has included marvelous exhibits of old and classic automobiles, sometimes fireworks and, this year, a surely incredible performance by our favorite Prison City Rockers! Each year, the show features our exclusive trophies, some of the best barbecue and baked goods in central New York, and the fellowship of enthusiasts who enjoy unique automobiles and those of us who just share memories.

In these somewhat divisive times, we continue to volunteer. Alexis De Tocqueville, in his treatise on America, really could not understand the impulses and energies of these "upstart" Americans who spend hours and hours caring for the sick and indigent. I have seen Americans making great and sincere sacrifices for the key common good and a hundred times I have noticed that, when needs be, they almost always gave each other faithful support," he said. This European traveler particularly noted the volunteer fire brigades in every small settlement: farmers and shopkeepers who would drop their tasks to quell a structure fire or tame a grass fire. I think never in the history of the world have so many taken care of so many  not for remuneration but because it is the right thing to do, and because we can.

My dad and my husband both served as volunteers in their local fire departments. Many, many family dinners, holidays, birthdays or relaxing evenings were interrupted by the siren, monitor or beeper. I am so proud to be part of a community, county and country that continue to give back and pay it forward. It is not just the lifesaving moments but also the seemingly endless fundraising efforts to provide better, safer and newer equipment. Thank you, thank you volunteer firefighters, EMTs and rescue personnel. Please continue to support the barbecues, pancake breakfasts and raffles that help keep our communities safe and healthy, and if you are so inclined, consider joining your local unit. And speaking of raffles, the Conquest Fire Department is sponsoring a unique opportunity to own a one-of-a-kind vehicle. See any Conquest firefighter or auxiliary member for tickets!

2017 is the bicentennial of the Erie Canal. Part of the celebration may be local presentations of Clintons Ditch, a dramatic retelling of the Erie Canal story. If you would like to be part of this epic drama, please give me a call  we will need actors, of course, but also support folks in costuming, hospitality, technical expertise, carpentry and fundraising. It would be a grand adventure! As I reflect on years spent in producing and directing, the shows that concurrently warm my heart and give me goosebumps are the historical dramas such as I Never Saw Another Butterfly and Orphan Train. This is our opportunity to tell New Yorks story and how we cemented (literally, with limestone) our place in Americas history.
New information reaching Pulse.com.gh reveals that the unionized workers are planning a more extensive strike action if all the entire 640 acres of land belonging to the Authority are not returned.

READ MORE:

According to the workers the seizure of the lands has made it difficult for the Authority to install emergency equipment for the effective delivery of mandated services to stakeholders.

The Lands Minister, Nii Osah Mills after a meeting with the workers allocated the 20 acre land for the installation of the 600,000 equipment, adding that the allocated lands should be enough for the installation of the emergency equipment.

However, the workers of the GCA disagree. They rejected the offer and in protest embarked on a strike Saturday to register their displeasure.
But Magdalene did what almost 4000 of her countrypeople did not: she survived Ebola.

Sierra Leones President Ernest Bai Koroma honoured Magdalene for her efforts during the crisis.

But the nurse, who has returned to work at Freetowns Connaught Hospital, is among those who still face stigma, rejection and segregation as a result of their survivor status.

The outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease in West Africa in 2014 was the first in the region, and the worst in history. There were more than 15,000 laboratory-confirmed cases, and more than 11,000 deaths.

The majority of the dead were women. In Sierra Leone, the figure reported was 59 per cent. In neighbouring Liberia, women comprised 75 per cent of the death toll.

Fatou Wurie was working as a gender consultant and communications specialist for the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response, when it became clear that despite the number of women affected, the Sierra Leonean government and international NGOs grappling with the crisis were ignoring their needs.

As primary caretakers of the young, elderly and ill, performers of traditional rites for the dead, as well as occupying the majority of nursing positions, women were perhaps doomed to fare worst in the Ebola crisis.

Wurie had seen firsthand the crisis catastrophic effect on mothers-to-be.

An article published in The Lancet in March last year said: without emergency maternity care or family planning services available and immunisation programmes halted, the Ebola crisis could quickly erase the gains Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea had made in maternal healthcare.

The countries, the article stated, were already among the worst places to be a mother.

Six months into the crisis, Wuries friends and colleagues in the diaspora, worried about pregnant family and friends, requested her help. Where public hospitals were overrun or shutting down, Wurie referred the women to private hospitals, paying for their care.

As the crisis wore on, groups of survivors began attending conferences held at fancy hotels, where they received a free meal, a new mattress, and a few hundred dollars. Then, they were sent back into the world.

The prevalence of illiteracy in the population, traditional mindsets and ill-founded rumours about how Ebola spread meant communities were reluctant to accept survivors back.

Wurie says faces at these conferences soon became familiar; the women did not know where else to turn for support.

Wuries assessment is stark. As a UN response, we failed Sierra Leonean women.

The reason, Wurie writes, was the scattered approach to reintegration, resulting from poor data collection. Even today, the numbers of men, women, children and health workers who died in the epidemic have not been made public.

Wurie gathered 20 of these survivors  the familiar faces  who ranged in age from 14 to 52. They were students, orphans, traders, widows, nurses, heroes. Together, they are sisters in the Survivor Dream Project.

Wurie says her organisation is the only one to have provided holistic, consistent psycho-social, entrepreneurial survivor reintegration in the country.

The women, from rural and urban communities in Sierra Leones Western Area, began meeting in safe spaces established to discuss their experiences. Soon, a picture of their lives as Ebola survivors emerged.

One of the girls had failed the exams she was required to pass to stay in her prestigious government school. Shed taken the test a month after being cleared of the disease.

Another womans husband had been a health worker during the crisis, and unknowingly contracted the virus. The woman survived the disease that killed her husband, but was left homeless, ostracised by a community who threatens to kill her if she returned.

Another survivor, a healthcare worker, became suicidal after a patient refused her touch. She had returned to work four days after discharge from an Ebola Treatment Unit.

Wurie says despite efforts of community groups, government and international NGOs, the stigma surrounding survivors was inevitable.

The term itself is complicated, she says.

Youve gone through something horrible, yes youve survived, but what does that really mean?

For me, the project is being able to look at what surviving looks like, and dream about superseding that.

One of the first meetings involved a makeover and photo shoot.

The explanation given was simple.

Today were going to remind you that youre beautiful, Wurie told the survivors.

Your pictures are going to show you at your best, because you have been dealing at your lowest for a long time.

It was almost like, youre not allowed to be happy again because youre diseased, youre othered, you dont deserve this.

Wurie says before the makeover, some of the women hadnt been touched in more than a year.

Some people didnt even know what lipstick was anymore because they didnt feel the need to be beautiful.

For the past year, Wurie and her team have been brokering tension in schools, workplaces and communities, where survivors have been made to feel unwelcome to return. The Survivor Dream Project is the only organisation to compile a directory of services available to survivors.

In addition to sharing their stories with each other, Wurie encouraged the women to share their stories with the world.

The women were given access to an iPhone, and asked to photograph what mattered to them. Bread, a bus station, where their children were playing, a funeral procession  quiet scenes, emotive in their authenticity.

A collection of the photos, curated by the survivors, was exhibited at a swanky Freetown restaurant in May.

Attendees, who included the WHO country director for Sierra Leone, were asked to wear white, symbolising a blank slate.

Still, unease lingered.

Among the expatriates and Sierra Leoneans in attendance, some had never seen an Ebola survivor.

Can you imagine? Wurie says.

They had lived in Sierra Leone throughout the [epidemic] and had never seen a survivor. And they would come to me and say, can I sit near them?

Im like, are you kidding me?

Wurie says the women in the programme will continue to be supported.

When traders graduate from business training this month, they will be given access to a seed fund. The programmes seven school-age girls will be supported until college.
The cure of HIV has been a burden for over the years since 2006 it was discovered. This is a dangerous virus that the world needs to kick out completely. I am able to cure HIV within 120 hours and that is within five days and I have a report with me, the doctor told 3news.com.

I have a traditional centre where I treat people and that is a different thing from the research I conducted in South Africa.

There are two reports I have and they contain evidence of two reports from two different people I cured from HIV.

We have a system to smoke the viruses from the human body that is why they say there is no known cure because when you take the ARVs the viruses run through the tissues and its difficult to detect them.

The drug I have is not on the market yet but its being tried in South Africa but the process of getting it on the market is with the Foods and Drugs Authority and we are still on.

Im just telling the world about what we have been able to achieve as far as our research is concerned.

Over the years, several people, including some health professionals have claimed to have found a cure for HIV/AIDS, a disease which can be passed on to another person through several means such as sexual intercourse and blood transfusion.
Seven standpipes have also been provided at vantage points of the town for the people to fetch water. President Mahama encouraged the people to connect the water to their homes.The small town water system is provided for communities with a population of not less than 5,000.

READ MORE: Accounting to the people President Mahama in Wa

President Mahama said 76 per cent of Ghanaians had access to clean drinking water, the highest in West Africa. The Ghana Water Company Limited estimates that the country will attain 100 per cent access to potable water by 2025.

President Mahama said 400 small town water systems were being constructed across the country with 61 of the projects already completed.

He described the socio-economic development that the government had achieved as phenomenal.

In education, water, roads and healthcare infrastructure among other projects, the President said the achievements of his government were incredible.
Premium Times reports that Ajimobi also ordered that the 17 schools that participated in the protest march be shut till they apologise.

It is not clear if the Oyo state Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) will recall their members to resume work.

Speaking on behalf of the Governor, the Oyo state Commissioner for Information, Toye Arulogun, said Considering the need for strong character moulding and to emphasize the importance of good conduct and acceptable behaviour for the leaders of tomorrow, the students must tender a written apology to the government through the school management.

The Government of Oyo State wishes to reiterate its commitment to ensuring the security and safety of lives and property within the state.

Arulogun also said Government property and those of individuals and corporate bodies by students and teachers of some schools in Oyo State.

This violent activity threatened the peace and security of the state and endangered the lives of the students who participated in this breach of peace and affront on constituted authority.

Consequently, the Oyo State Government was constrained to shut down public schools throughout the State to safeguard the lives of the students and protect the lives and property of the citizenry; a decision that was taken in the line of its primary duty of ensuring peace and safety in the state.
Those of you in the senior years of life would probably be acquainted with Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen. His name was in the news recently due to the request to remove his body from the crypt of St. Patrick Cathedral in New York City to St. Marys Cathedral in Peoria, Illinois, his birthplace. This all has to do with the process of canonization.

Fulton John Sheen, born May 8, 1895, in El Paso, Illinois, was ordained a priest in 1919 for the Diocese of Peoria at the age of 24. Following his ordination, Sheen earned a doctorate in philosophy in 1923 from The Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium. Upon returning to America, he taught theology and philosophy at The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC.

Archbishop Sheen was best known for reaching up to 30 million viewers each week as the host of the television show Life Is Worth Living, which ran from 1951 to 1957. It can be said that he was the first televangelist.

In the fall of 1966, Sheen was named bishop of the Diocese of Rochester. After nearly three years, he resigned in 1969 and was named an archbishop by Pope Paul VI. This allowed Sheen the flexibility to continue preaching throughout the country. He died on Dec. 9, 1979.

Archbishop Sheen had a gift for communicating the word of God in the most pure, simple way. He inspired people to live a God-centered life with the joy and love that God intended. His timeless messages continue to have great relevance today.

His cause for canonization as a saint was officially opened by the Diocese of Peoria in 2002. In June 2012, Pope Benedict XVI recognized a decree from the Vaticans Congregation for the Causes of Saints stating that Archbishop Sheen lived a life of "heroic virtues"  a major step towards beatification. Sheen is now referred to as "venerable. In March, a panel of Vatican medical experts certified a miracle attributable to him.

What do we mean when a person is proclaimed a saint, and how is that person so recognized by the Catholic Church? Catholicisms 2,000-year history has seen the process develop significantly. The concept of honoring Christian men and women and developing cults in their memory started as a direct result of the Roman persecutions perpetrated on the early followers of Jesus. Public veneration of many of these martyrs was in evidence as early as the second century. In that era, spontaneous reputation for sanctity could lead to sainthood.

The medieval period of Church history saw a significant centralization of the procedures for declaring men and women of heroic virtue as saints. Greater control was deemed necessary in order to eliminate local abuses and move toward universal standards. Heroic virtue, reputation for holiness and martyrdom are now the three principle criteria for investigation of a cause.

Today, the process of canonization proceeds in three phases. It begins with a local diocesan bishop who wishes to raise a cause for canonization. This inquiry collects information concerning the life, heroic virtue and reputation of sanctity, as well as proof of any possible miracles associated with the person.

Second, the information is sent to the Vaticans Congregation for the Causes of Saints, which conducts a study of the case, concluding with a position paper. Lastly, the congregation discusses and passes judgment on the merits of the cause leading, with the approval of the pope, to beatification and canonization.

In recent years, we have seen the canonization of Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II. In September, we will see the canonization of Mother Theresa. In the not-too-distant future, perhaps we will see the beatification and canonization of Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen.

A disclosure: As bishop of Rochester, Bishop Sheen ordained me a priest on June 3, 1967 at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Rochester. And, later on as a priest, from 1981 to 1989, I worked in Belgium on the staff of The American College, a seminary sponsored by the United States Bishops, located at The Catholic University of Louvain, where the then-Rev. Sheen had earned his doctorate in philosophy. It is the hope and prayer of many of us ordained by Archbishop Sheen that he be declared a saint during our lifetime.
Other former military chiefs who will benefit from the plea bargain, include former Airforce Chief of Accounts and Budgeting, Air Vice Marshal Jacob Adigun and a former Director of Finance and Budget, Air Commodore Olugbenga Gbadebo.

A source who spoke to Punch said We will not want to rock the boat because negotiations are still ongoing. However, since Amosu, Adigun and Gbadebo have opted for plea bargain, we expect them to permanently forfeit all the properties linked to them.

Afterwards, they will enter a guilty plea and receive a reduced sentence. This was what we did for the Managing Director of the defunct Oceanic Bank, Mrs. Cecilia Ibru, who was jailed after she pleaded guilty and forfeited 103 choice houses and shares in 77 companies in Nigeria in 2010.

It is the standard practice worldwide and it will save everybodys time.

Reports say over N3b has been recovered from Amosu and the other military chiefs.

Mrs. Lara Amosu was reportedly arrested by the EFCC because N3b was allegedly traced to her bank account.

The sums of N180m, N101m and N100m, were reportedly recovered from three different bank accounts of a company connected to Mrs. Amosu.
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The Army spokesman, Colonel Sani Kukasheka Usman said the terrorists attacked the troops on Saturday, July 9, 2016, around 5:00pm.

The Army spokesman also said 5 soldiers were injured during the attacks, adding that the troops morale is high.

Usman said Yesterday evening remnants of Boko Haram terrorists in their numbers attacked our troops location at Rann, Kala Balge Local Government Area of Borno State.

The terrorists came with Motorcycles Borne Improvised Explosive Devices (MCBIED), Anti-Aircraft Guns and other weapons at about 5.00pm and the exchange of fire lasted for some hours before they were overwhelmed by the troops firepower.

Unfortunately, one of the terrorists suicide bomber detonated himself at a gun truck killing the driver and the gunner. The truck and the mounted weapon were also damaged beyond repairs. In addition 2 soldiers were wounded in action while 3 others sustained minor injuries."

Adding that The troops killed 7 of the attackers instantly while quite a number escaped with gunshot wounds. During clearance operations this morning, the troops discovered 9 more Boko Haram terrorists dead bodies in the surrounding areas. Therefore the total number of terrorists killed was 16.

The troops also recovered a General Purpose Machine Gun, Rocket Propelled Grenade, ammunitions and captured 2 of the terrorists alive.

The bodies of the two fallen heroes and the wounded in action soldiers have been evacuated to Maiduguri, while reinforcement was sent from Gomboru Ngala.

In a related development, troops have also discovered and safely detonated 2 Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) planted along Gomboru-Rann road. It is believed that the IEDs were planted yesterday to prevent troops reinforcement to Rann while the attack lasted.

The Commanding Officer of 3 Battalion has visited the troops and held durbar with them. He commended them for their doggedness during attack and also urged them not to lower their guards.

Despite the incident, troops morale remains very high and they have continued with their clearance operations.
Ekweremadu is on trial, along with the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, for allegedly forging the Senate standing order.

Daily Post reports that they said this during a protest in Awgu, Enugu state on Saturday, July 9, 2016.

The protesters also said they would hold the President responsible for anything that happens to the Deputy Senate President, adding that they will resist any attempt by the All Progressives Congress to remove him from office.

They also marched to the house of a lawmaker in the state, Hon. Toby Okechukwu, where they issued a communique saying:

We, the people of Enugu-West Senatorial District of Enugu State, in a massively attended stakeholders rally in Awgu, headquarters of Enugu-West Senatorial District, today, July 9, 2016, reviewed the state of the nation, especially the politics of bitterness, nepotism, hate and crushing economic hardship, which a narrow cabal in the All Progressive Congress (APC), has unleashed on Nigerians since assuming the reins of power at the center.

In particular, we reviewed the recent politically-motivated trial of the Deputy President of the Senate and former Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Distinguished Senator Ike Ekweremadu, PhD, CFR, on trumped-up charge of forgery, which has added yet another disturbing dimension to the APC-led Federal Governments unabashed determination to continually harass and overrun our illustrious son and representative.

We noted, with dismay, that:

a) Since the re-election of Senator Ekweremadu as the Deputy President of the 8th Senate on 9th June 2015, the APC has neither hidden its hatred and disgust for the revered Senator nor its declared intention to get rid of him by all means, not minding that the process, which produced him and, which was watched live by Nigerians on live television, was credible and transparent.

b) Many high-ranking members of the APC, including the incumbent Minister of Labour and Productivity, had at various times, while speaking about Ekweremadus emergence, boasted that they have so many ways to kill a rat.

c) While the current political trial did not come to us as a surprise, therefore, the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) is yet to tell the world how he generated the name of Senator Ekweremadu and Senator Bukola Saraki for trial when the petitioners, all Senators and National Assembly bureaucrats interrogated by the police, and indeed the police report itself did not mention or indict him and Senator Bukola Saraki in any way.

d) This kangaroo trial, which the Federal High Court, Abuja, on 28th June 2016, described as an abuse of legal process, and which the great constitutional lawyer and elder statesman, Prof. Ben Nwabueze (SAN), has described as a flagrant breach of separation of powers caused by ignorance poses a grave danger to our democracy and national unity.

e) That this kangaroo trial has continued, although Hon. Justice Justice Gabriel Kolawole of the Federal High Court, Abuja, has expressed shock at the desperate haste to file criminal charges against the presiding officers of the Senate on 10th June 2016 in contempt of a subsisting suit (FHC/ABJ/CS/646/15) filed by Senator Gilbert Nnaji against the Inspector-General of Police and AGF, challenging the constitutionality of their action in prying into the internal affairs of the Senate.

f) That the AGF, Mr. Abubakar Malami, was a counsel to the defedants before his appointment as the AGF.

g) the learned judges perception of this impunity as steps taken which are beyond serving the public interest by the commencement of a criminal trial in the FCT High Court in order to subvert the pending suits in the Federal High Court one of which has been fixed for 6/7/16.

h) The failure of Nigerias security agencies to investigate the 17th November 2015 assassination attempt on Senator Ekweremadu, the nations Number 5 citizen and the only son of the South East occupying any substantive position in Federal Government even though it was duly reported to them.

Following the above sad observations, we hereby:

1) Declare that Senator Ike Ekweremadu is a Senator of the Federal Republic, elected with an overwhelming mandate of his people and has remained one of Nigerias brightest lawmakers who enjoys the confidence of his colleagues; on account of which he was re-elected the Deputy Senate President for an unprecedented third time.

2) Declare that his re-election into that position did not violate any known convention, practice, and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

3) Declare that the desperation of this cabal within the APC-led Federal Governments desperation to get rid of Senator Ekweremadu by all means is hugely counter-productive and hold ramifying consequences for Nigerias political stability and unity.

4) Declare that we will hold the APC-led Federal Government squarely responsible should anything untoward happen to Senator Ike Ekweremadu.

5) Condemn, in the strongest terms, this kangaroo trial of the Senate presiding officers and National Assembly bureaucracy in continued contempt for the rule of law, revered democratic principle of separation of power, court orders, which constitute a dangerous muscling of the judiciary, and abuse of legal process (in the words of Justice Kolawole) by the APC-led Federal Government.

6) Call on the APC-led Federal Government to, as a matter of urgency, refrain from this culture of political persecution and take immediate steps to arrest the unprecedented hardships faced by Nigerians in the past thirteen months, the nosedive of the naira, the menace of herdsmen who have turned every part of southern and Middle Belt of Nigeria to killing, raping, and maiming fields; the resurgence of restiveness in various parts of the country; the rising culture of inconclusive and poorly conducted elections; and the disturbing fast-diminishing of human rights and political freedoms.

7) Call on the international community to stop playing the ostrich in the face of this dangerous slide to dictatorship and anarchy as against the expected rule of law and democratic freedoms expected in the democracy, which they helped Nigerians to enthrone on 29th May 1999.

Conclusion

In standing up to be counted at this critical juncture in our national life, we want to aver that our observations, resolutions, and declarations, are anchored on a genuine sense of moral justice, patriotism, democratic ethos, and the verdict of history.

In more ways than one, our democracy is on trial, and we call on all patriotic lovers of democracy in this country and beyond to rise to the occasion and reject this cabals determination to foist a reign of impunity

Upon Nigeria.

As our people say, let the kite perch, and let the eagle perch. But any, which wants to undo the other, may the almighty God break and clip its wings.
The state government also said the team, which will be led by ACP Olusola Oke, who is also from Isan Ekiti, the hometown of the Minister of Solid Minerals, Kayode Fayemi has assembled at Alagbon, waiting for orders.

The Special Assistant to Governor Ayo Fayose on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, also said they plan to arrest Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftains and members of the state House of Assembly in the state.

Olayinka said in a statement that We have been reliably informed that the latest onslaught against the PDP government of Mr Ayodele Fayose is to begin on Monday, using the police to arrest top government officials, PDP leaders across the 16 local government areas and members of the House of Assembly.

ACP Olusola Oke, who is to lead the over 20 policemen to carry out the operation is said to be a native of Isan Ekiti, hometown of the Minister of Solid Minerals, Dr Kayode Fayemi. ACP Olusola Oke is equally the immediate past Assistant Commissioner in charge of Operations and now the AC X-Squad, FCID, Abuja.

The state government also called on the All Progressives Congress (APC) not to destabilise democracy by their actions.

Olayinka also said The operation is allegedly being funded by a former governor from the South South while a prominent aide of President Mohammadu Buhari is said to be directly coordinating.

ACP Olusola Oke will be accompanied by CSP Ayodele, CSP Enang, four Inspectors and others.
Adesina who made an appearance on Raypower Abuja on Friday, July 8, 2016, said that "only few Nigerians" are complaining about Nigeria's economic situation.

"Yes, you need to give me the statistics of those complaining. We [government officials] are in the midst of the people and we can feel the pulse of the people.

I maintain that the people who are complaining are in the minority. I can tell you that the support base of this government is still enormous. Yes, we know some people are complaining but, they are still in the minority, Adesina said.

Irked by Adesina's comment, some Nigerians took to social media throwing tantrums at him.

Similarly, Dele Sobowale, a popularly public affairs analyst dismissed Adesinas comments calling him a victim of "Aso Rock Sickess." He condemned Adesina for his "elitist comment" and decried the widespread poverty, starvation, and desperation among ordinary Nigerians.

Sobowale warned that if something urgent is not done to address the looming famine, that parents would start eating their children for food.

Meanwhile, in a recent interview published by Premium Times, Adesina said Buhari still creates time for his grandchildren, who enjoy jumping on him.
Vanguard reports that the herdsmen attacked the village on Saturday, July 9, 2016 around 9:00 am.

The attackers came into the village with dangerous weapons and shot sporadically in the air, according to reports.

The Benue Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Assistant Superintendent, ASP, Moses Yamu, said he is yet to get the details of the attack.

An eyewitness who spoke to Vanguard said like the cases before now, this latest attack was unprovoked, the armed herdsmen stormed the settlements shooting sporadically and singing at the same time.

People started running for their lives but unfortunately about five persons were gunned down and several persons sustained machete cuts and bullet wounds.

As if that was not enough, after chasing the people away, they took over and occupied the affected settlements while some houses and huts were also set ablaze as I speak with you.

That is the situation we have found ourselves in this part of the country; we are completely helpless, our women and children are being tormented almost on a weekly basis. Maybe the herdsmen want us to vacate Benue State for them.

At the moment most of our people are also moving in their numbers from villages nearest to the attacked communities. Majority of them are fleeing to Anyii, the local government headquaters where most of the wounded are also receiving medical attention.
According to Punch, the list is made up of prominent Nigerians who have made their mark in the country. They are:

The militant group said We therefore hope that the Federal Government shall reach out to the Aaron Team Leader, Mr. Odein Ajumogobia, to signal government intention to commence the dialogue. If after two weeks from the date of publication of this Right of Reply, we dont hear from the Federal Government, MEND shall safely assume that the government is truly not sincere about the dialogue on the Niger Delta question and responds only to the threat of violence or industrial action.
AUBURN  The heroin epidemic isn't just a media induced frenzy, it's a real thing and it's right here in Cayuga County. And after losing loved ones to its effects, a group of concerned citizens has begun the fight to rid the drug from the community.

H.E.A.L (Heroin Epidemic Action League) of Cayuga County, which began in September 2015, is making strides in bringing awareness and help for the epidemic within the community by hosting meetings at their headquarters located on Hoffman Street in Auburn and hosting family friendly events within the community.

This awareness was colorfully brought to Casey Park on Saturday evening when the group hosted the first of what organizers hope will be many more Color Dash 5k run/walk.

"We need to get awareness out there," said the events organizer JoLynn Mulholland. "This is a fun and healthy way to do it."

And awareness is what they have received with more than 70 volunteers signing up to help with the event as well as a couple of hundred registrants for the walk/run.

The family event began with registration for the walk/run all the while enjoying music, a bounce house, face painting and photos with Cinderella while they waiting for the main event to begin.

Registrants walked or ran the track at Casey Park being bombarded with a safe colorful UV powder at three points during the track with a final color explosion at the finish line causing them to glow brightly under the black lights that bathed the park. And finished the colorful night with a DJ dance party that was also under the glow of the black lights.

The event served a duel purpose for Brittany Slobe and Gretchen Wiggins. The two friends and mothers of small children took the walk with their children for a family fun evening as well as to support a cause.

"It's becoming more and more of a problem," Slobe said. "Things like this bring people out to have a fun evening with the kids as well as educates people."

Cayuga County Sheriff David Gould joined the event, and although he did not join the run through the park he did vow to fight this epidemic until it was nonexistent within the community.

"This is an epidemic  a disease  and its invaded our community," he said. "The only way to solve this problem is through education and treatment. I am a member of H.E.A.L. and I will be right here fighting to get the help that is needed until this disease is no longer within our county."

It is the goal of H.E.A.L of Cayuga County to raise necessary funding to open a treatment crises center within Cayuga County.

"We are well on our way," Mulholland said.
Reports say President Buhari might have changed his mind about the dialogue with militants in the troubled oil rich region.

According to observers, the Niger Delta Avengers bombing of five offshore facilities was a sign that they had become weary of waiting to be called to the table.

The sacking of the Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Ibe Kachikwu, who made moves of initiating talks with militants, also dampened hopes.

You will recall that Kachikwu visited Gbaramatu village to hold talks with the militants, reportedly on the instance of Mr. President.

Most Nigerians alleged that the former NNPC GMDs sin might have been his over-zealousness in ensuring that the Niger Delta trouble makers, as they are seen in some quarters, have a juicy slice of the well buttered Nigerian cake.

Is Kachikwu paying for the sin of publicly challenging the Federal Government's ministerial Agbero - synonym (Tout,Thug)? In the voice of African China, If I say O- You say P - Another man say C, Na you sabi.

There are unconfirmed reports that the Federal Government in its wisdom, has hired some Saudi mercenaries to flush out the Niger Delta Avengers. These mercenaries were allegedly paid over $200m to come to Nigeria and chase the creek crawlers out of their domain.

How funny! Na visitor go come show me road to my kitchen when NEPA abi na PHCN take light?

Vanguard reported that Buhari's new song differs from the sweet tune of plea he sang, when he called on the Niger Delta Avengers to please stop bombing pipelines.

His new release goes thus: We have to concentrate on the militants to try to know how many of them, in terms of groupings, try to get in touch with their leadership to try to persuade them to please give Nigeria a chance. I assure them that when were very junior officers, we were told by the Head of State, who was General Gowon, that to keep Nigeria one is a task that must be done, we never thought of oil.

What we were after is one Nigeria. Please, pass the message to the militants that one Nigeria is not negotiable. And I pray they better accept it. The constitution is very clear as to what they should get and I assure them that there would be justice.

Well, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) seems to be true faith filled militants as they have gone ahead to release a undefinedto dialogue with the Federal Government. From biblical story, Aaron was just following the main man-Moses about, doing all he was asked to do.

Why did they even name them the Aaron team? Is it because the name starts with A, as in first letter of the English alphabet? Wish Frank Donga or Lagos Class Captain was here to pose the question.

Pray Buhari has their time and stretches his rod of favour to them, since MEND says it

Will the NSA even have their time, this one that he is fighting for turf in Aso Rock with the DSS boss? People have been asking why President Buhari has not settled the issue all this while. Okay! Is it not when they speak loud that BABA will hear what is happening. These guys have been whispering around the Villa.

Advice to those who will be negotiating for MEND PLEASE SPEAK UP when you meet with BABA, because he is very impatient with people expect him to strain his newly repaired, or is it replaced pair of glass ears. Talk about buy Nigeria and grow the economy.

That's true, how come MEND did not call the so called Twitter lion, Ben Murray Bruce?

Abeg! It is good sef. As his family member, though my GSM was busy when AMCON visited, I will advise him to "REMEMBER WHOSE SON HE IS".

PROTECT YOUR GALLERY(IA) broda Bruce!

Well, here is wishing all parties in the proposed dialogue well, with seven Hallelujahs, because the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) dialogue did not yield any result Oh!
Amaechi said this while paying a condolence visit to the family of the late Author, Captain Elechi Amadi.

He said It is too early to assess Nyesom Wike. It is too early to assess him; it is just one year. You cannot be comparing his one year to my one year, lets allow him. Maybe, he will achieve it in his second year; maybe, he will achieve it in his third year.

But, the number of people that have been killed so far, the number of people that have been beheaded, in my first term; I didnt see anybody beheaded, neither did I see anybody killed by these criminals.

Wike took over from Amaechi on May 29, 2015 after a keenly contested election that saw many people lose their lives.

The minister also said he was not happy about the number of lives that have been lost in the state since 2015.
The visit is Obama's first to Spain as president. White House officials said it was important for Obama to make the trip, because Spain was the only major European country he had not traveled to during his term.

Obama was supposed to spend two days in Spain after attending a NATO summit in Warsaw earlier this week. At the summit, the United States, Spain and the other allied nations pledged to stand united in the face of threats from Russia and fall out from Britain's vote to leave the European Union.

But, after a sniper killed five police officers in Dallas on Thursday following the fatal shootings earlier in the week of two black men by police in Louisiana and Minnesota, the White House decided to cut the trip short so Obama could go to Dallas.

Plans for sightseeing in Seville and a town hall meeting with Spanish citizens were canceled. Instead Obama, who landed in Madrid late on Saturday night, will squeeze in sessions with King Don Felipe and acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Sunday.

He will also address troops at Naval Station Rota, before heading back to the United States on Sunday night.

In an interview with Spain's El Pais published on Saturday, Obama called Spain "an indispensable European partner."

"Spain is a strong NATO ally, we're grateful for Spain's many decades of hosting U.S. forces, and we're major trading partners," Obama said in the interview. "That's why the United States is deeply committed to maintaining our relationship with a strong, unified Spain."
Dawn has always been restless.

The 18-month-old lab mix loves going under furniture, in cabinets and even on top counters  and she wont stop until she gets what she wants.

Soon, her drive could save lives  by unearthing drugs and guns among other things with the Davenport Police Department.

This year, Modern Woodmen of America Chapter 26 is partnering with the Davenport Police Department for its annual fundraiser in hopes of donating a K-9 officer to the department's Tactical Operations Bureau, said Cody Kiroff, assistant counsel of the Rock Island-based Modern Woodmen.

The bureau, Kiroff said, previously indicated its need for a single-purpose drug dog to help counter local drug crimes. The tactical unit focuses on gang, prostitution, drug and gun crimes.

Theres been a lot of crimes in the Quad-Cities recently, a lot of shooting and gang-related violence. And a lot of that stems from drug-related violence. So we have a pretty big drug problem, he said. Our community needed this, so we thought lets put our money where our mouth is.

In order to raise necessary funds, Chapter 26 will host a trivia night on July 22 at the Rock Island Holiday Inn. The group also is using a web platform called Generosity for its fundraiser, Kiroff said.

Through Generosity, the local chapter is hoping to raise $12,000, an amount that will cover the cost of the dog, training for the K-9 officer and its handler, associated costs such as food, veterinarian bills, indoor and outdoor crates, a fenced-in run and an armored vest, he said.

Dawn is the K-9 officer that Modern Woodmen hopes to bring to Davenport. She is one of many dogs trained at North Iowa K-9, a fully licensed company that trains police service dogs throughout the country.

Initially, Dawn was housed at a shelter in Virginia after her previous owners couldnt deal with how energetic she was, said Paul Samuelson, Dawns handler at North Iowa K-9. After seeing how driven she was, Samuelson decided to take on the training of Dawn.

My little diamond in the rough, he said.

Because of a dogs acute sense of smell, Dawn is able to detect nine different illegal odors, such as marijuana, cocaine, heroin and ecstasy, to name a few, Samuelson said.

From impartial package searches, to something going on in the mail, to a traffic stop in the car, to hotel and apartment door sniffs, there are just so many things these dogs can do when it comes to drug work, he said.

Besides acting as locating tools during searches, K-9 officers also are social animals. Samuelson said K-9 dogs are very influential in their community and both children and adults love them.

They dont necessarily remember our names, but they sure as heck will remember that dogs name, he said. They (dogs) are kind of like little rock stars because everybody knows them.

Samuelson, who has been handling dogs for 17 years, added that K-9 dogs can be costly, with money necessary for both the well-being of the dog and its handler.

Lt. Jason Smith, commander at the Davenport Police Departments Tactical Operations Bureau, said having a K-9 officer is beneficial because it could be another tool to combat local drug trafficking.

Well utilize the dogs on search warrants and drug investigations that we develop through the Tactical Operations Bureau at the unit, he said.

According to the departments 2014 annual report, the Bureau conducted 196 search warrants, recovered 89 guns and seized an estimated $3.2 million in illegal drugs and $307,470 in cash.

Smith said Davenports geographic location between big cities, such as Chicago, Des Moines and Kansas City, makes it an easier target for drug trafficking.

We even see it (drug trafficking) through the mail system, UPS. The ease of transportation is very prevalent, he said.

Smith noted that community members can assist law officers in combating drug violence by reporting drug crimes to officials, adding that if you see something, say something.
A former Moline man who admitted to strangling his girlfriend to death in 2007 wants to take back his guilty plea or have his 45-year prison sentence reconsidered.

If a judge approves his post-conviction relief petition, Osbaldo Jose-Nicolas, 31, will be able to file motions to do just that.

Jose-Nicolas, who has been in the Illinois Department of Corrections system for the past eight years for the death of Christina Mejia, was back in a Rock Island County courtroom Friday for a hearing on the petition filed by his attorney, Nate Nieman.

Jose-Nicolas pleaded guilty in March 2008 to first-degree murder and concealment of a homicidal death. Prosecutors say he strangled Mejia, 22, on Nov. 18, 2007, in her Rock Island apartment because he thought she was having a relationship with another man.

After strangling Mejia, Jose-Nicolas took her body to his and his siblings' apartment in Moline where they briefly tried to revive her, according to prosecutors. They then put the body in trash bags and dumped it off a rural road north of Cordova, Ill. Later that day, they went back and buried the body, according to prosecutors.

In exchange for his guilty plea, prosecutors recommended a capped maximum recommended sentence of 40 years on the murder charge.

On June 19, 2008, Judge Walter Braud sentenced him to 40 years on the murder charge and five years on the concealment charge. The judge ordered the sentences to run back-to-back.

Because of the partially negotiated plea, Jose-Nicolas had 30 days from the sentencing date to file a motion to vacate the guilty plea before filing a motion to reconsider the sentence.

Post-conviction relief proceedings are civil actions that challenge constitutional errors that occurred at the trial court level and on appeal.

The most common claim alleged in post-conviction relief proceedings is ineffective assistance of counsel.

Jose-Nicolas testified Friday through a Spanish-speaking interpreter that after the sentencing hearing, he told his attorney, former public defender Vince Lopez Jr., that he wanted to retract the guilty plea and set the case for trial.

Lopez, Jose-Nicolas testified, told him that he faced life in prison or the death penalty if he was convicted at trial. Despite that, he insisted that Lopez file the motion.

He also testified that neither Lopez nor the interpreter properly informed him of the sentence he could receive if he pleaded guilty.

Lopez testified Friday that Jose-Nicolas never asked him to file a motion to take back the guilty plea and that he explained the penalty range he faced.

Jose-Nicholas testified that he sent Lopez a letter several months later asking about the status of the motion and received a letter back telling him that it had been denied.

Lopez testified that after receiving the letter, he filed a motion to reconsider the sentence. Although filed past the deadline, Lopez said he did not think it was a frivolous motion.

He said he thought Jose-Nicolas was a young man who made a mistake and that the sentence was excessive.

Nieman argued that Lopez erred when he did not file a motion to vacate the plea, which he was required to do before filing a motion to reconsider the sentence.

He said that if Lopez himself thought the sentence was excessive, he should have filed the motions within 30 days, regardless of whether his client directed him to do so.

You would think that a first-degree murder case in which a defendant receives 45 years, there would have been some effort to reduce that, especially given the fact that is clear from the record that there were a number of errors that could have gotten traction on appeal, Nieman said.

Rock Island County States Attorney John McGehee argued that there was no evidence that Jose-Nicolas ever asked his attorney to file the motion and that he was responsible for making sure the motions were filed.

Instead, Jose-Nicolas sat in prison for several months before deciding to "renege on his deal."

"This is someone who has buyer's remorse," he said.

After the nearly two-hour hearing, Judge Richard Zimmer said he would rule on a later date. A status hearing is scheduled Friday.
Davenport police are investigating a shooting late Saturday at a liquor and convenience store on East River Drive in which one man suffered minor injuries.

The victim and his son were at Riverside Liquor Store, 826 E. River Drive, when some type of altercation occurred. Another person brandished a handgun and began shooting at the vehicle the victim was driving, police said.

The incident occurred about 10:33 p.m., and police have not arrested suspect in the shooting.

The vehicle, a Ford Flex, according to police, was struck multiple times, with one of the .40-caliber bullets going through the drivers side door, splintering and striking the victim in the leg. The fragment did not penetrate the mans leg, police said.

The man drove the car to his Davenport home and did not request medical treatment, police said.

Police located 11 shell casings in the parking lot of the convenience store, according to a media release from police.

During the investigation, the victims adult son, Austin Lee Young, 23, was arrested on two outstanding arrest warrants in Muscatine County, police said. Young also had a small amount of drugs in his pocket and spat on police after his arrest, police said. He was charged with possession of a controlled substance and assault on a police officer.

Young was released early Sunday from the Scott County Jail on a $325 cash-only bond and secured bonds totaling $1,975.

The incident remains under investigation.
Five police officers (Brent Thompson, Michael Krol, Patrick Zamarriga and two others), killed in Dallas. Alton Sterling, killed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Philando Castile, killed in St. Anthony, Minnesota. We are losing too many lives, too many people. We hurt. And we ask, Have we lost our way?

The five police officersand others--were protecting a public protest that arose because other lives were lost. Somehow, this makes it feel even worse. If we hurt from the loss of life, and we express our grief in public protestpeaceful, lawful public protest--and officers come out to protect that peaceful protest, how can we then have an attack on those officers? How can we have and express our pain, if we cannot find a safe place, for ourselves, our expression and our peace officers?

I have some doubt and despair, but I will not give in. We have too much to do, and cannot give in to doubt or despair.

First, we must mourn these lives, and all the lives that have been lost. Then, we must reflectand act wisely.

Reflection begins with investigations. These investigations must be prompt, honest and open, and they will be. After investigation, then we can make judgments, wise judgments.

Our officers have to be safe, if we are to be safe. If we ask our officers to go toward trouble, at our request and on our behalf, then we must assure their safety. When officers approach us on the street, we must assure their safety. When officers come to protect us, we must assure their safety. We must teach and reteach the ways to do this, beginning with respect.

And officers are relearning respect for our people. There is more training, with more emphasis on community policing, working more closely with the community that is served.

I could write in detail about the use of force and community policing and how people should approach the police, but the present question is more basic: Can we find a way forward? The answer is yes, we have to find our way. We do want a safe place, for ourselves, for our officers, for our children, for our future, and we are willing to work together  peacefully  to go forward.
This past week, I was again reminded of how helpless we as farmers can feel sometimes. I was awakened at 2:30 a.m. by an approaching severe thunderstorm in the distance. A quick check of the weather radar on my phone showed a big line of red and purple storms headed for us. I went downstairs to check the TV, and sure enough, the weather man was predicting dangerous winds up to 65 mph with torrential downpours and possible hail.

As I sat nervously in the dark, listening to the storm approach, I prayed that our crops would be spared damage from the winds and that the storm would not be as bad as predicted. In the end, despite two hours of worrying as lightning and thunder and rain rolled through, the damaging winds did not materialize. The storm front passed, leaving only a drenching rain and a brief period of high winds. It was too late to really go back to bed, so I was awake for the rest of the day.

Summer storms are a farmers nightmare. We now have standing corn thats more than six feet tall. Its getting ready to pollinate, and you may see tassels on many of the corn plants in the fields. However, the tall corn is at great risk of being toppled by high winds or damaged by hail. High winds can make corn stalks lean over badly or even snap them off at the ground. Leaning corn is unable to pollinate properly, as the pollen will not fall straight down from the tassels onto the awaiting corn silks. Instead, it falls on green leaves and the ground. Broken corn stalks result in no crop at all. Yes, we do worry when the storms roll through; we worry a lot sometimes.

Yes, it was great to get the rain that we so desperately needed, but I wish it didnt come all at once. Farmers are accused of never being happy with the weather, and I suppose its true. What we wish for is a gentle one inch of rain every week, with sunshine and hot weather in between, and no winds or hail to be found. If only such a world were possible. Instead, we deal with whatever the good Lord sends us, and we hope that its enough to grow a crop to provide an income for our family. It can make one feel pretty insignificant sometimes.

Interesting factoid for the day: Did you know that every single silk strand in a corn cob produces a single corn kernel? Think about that the next time you start husking sweet corn. All those little silks that get in your teeth actually do have a purpose.

Be sure to mark your calendars for our annual Farm Open House on Sunday, July 31. Its the day after the Quad-City Times Bix 7 race. Come on out to our farm at 10386 130th St. in Davenport between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. We will have lots of farm equipment for the kids to climb on, people to answer questions about farming and maps to see a couple of other farms belonging to our friends in the area. Watch for road signs to guide you. Hope to see you then.
SYRACUSE  More than 3,000 New York Army National Guard soldiers are headed for three weeks of training in Louisiana.

The troops depart Saturday for Fort Polk to begin an exercise at the Army's Joint Readiness Training Center.

The center allows Army units to conduct combat training in a realistic environment, which features a well-trained opposing force, civilian role-players on the battlefield, high-tech systems which monitor the action, and observer-controllers to evaluate unit actions.

Participating soldiers are assigned to the 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team headquartered in Syracuse. The unit last deployed to the Joint Readiness Training Center in 2001.

Another 2,300 soldiers from other state Army guard units, the Active Army, and the Army Reserve will also be part of the exercise.
NATION

U.S. releases prisoner from Gitmo

A Yemeni prisoner at Guantanamo Bay was released and sent to Italy after more than 14 years in custody, the Pentagon said Sunday.

The release of Fayiz Ahmad Yahia Suleiman reduced the number of men held at the U.S. base in Cuba to 78. He was among about two dozen low-level Guantanamo prisoners expected to be released in the coming weeks.

"The United States is grateful to the Government of Italy for its humanitarian gesture and willingness to support ongoing U.S. efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility," the Defense Department said in a statement.

Military records show Suleiman, who is about 40, was suspected of fighting with al-Qaida against U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan. He was never charged, and officials cleared him for release in 2010. But the U.S. does not send Yemeni prisoners to their homeland because of instability there and had to find another country to accept him for resettlement.

Deput shot, suspect dead after standoff

An east Alabama sheriff's deputy was shot and a suspect has been found dead after a standoff with law enforcement.

Police say the deputy should make a full recovery and the case is not related to police shootings in other states.

A statement from Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Senior Trooper Chuck Daniel says the case began as a domestic situation Saturday afternoon and escalated when escalated when the suspect shot at a deputy. The standoff ended after the suspect died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The Randolph County deputy was released from UAB Hospital Saturday evening. The identities of the deputy and suspect have not been released.

Probe shows different medal count for American Sniper

The number of medals slain Navy Seal and "American Sniper" author Chris Kyle received has been corrected following a military investigation, a Navy spokeswoman said Sunday.

Lt. Jackie Pau told the Associated Press that the investigation and review of Kyle's discharge paperwork, known as a DD214 form, determined he had earned one Silver Star and four Bronze Stars with combat "V'' for valor.

In his best-selling book, Kyle wrote he had received two Silver Stars and five Bronze Stars.

It's unclear if Kyle knew of the discrepancy when he wrote his book, which was made into a hit movie. Kyle, regarded as the deadliest sniper in U.S. military history, was fatally shot at a Texas shooting range in 2013. A former Marine was convicted in his death.

WORLD

Merkel expects U.K. to leave E.U.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she expects Great Britain to leave the European Union after a majority there voted leave, even though an online petition calling for a second referendum attracted more than 4 million signatures.

The validity of some of the signatures has been questioned.

Merkel said in her annual summer interview to public broadcaster ZDF on Sunday that "I'm dealing with the realities and I very strongly believe that this application (to leave the EU) will be made."

West Bank settlements to get more money

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his government will fund a $12.9 million plan to strengthen two Israeli settlements in the southern West Bank.

Netanyahu said Sunday that funding will go to Kiryat Arba and to Israeli settlers in the adjacent Palestinian city of Hebron. The announcement came after a Palestinian fatally stabbed a 13-year-old Israeli in her bed in Kiryat Arba in late June.

Since September, Palestinians have killed 34 Israelis in dozens of attacks. At least 200 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the same period. Israel says most were assailants.

Last week Netanyahu authorized hundreds of new homes for Israelis in the West Bank and east Jerusalem as a response to Palestinian violence.

Palestinians say Israeli settlement construction is an obstacle to peace.
MIAMI | Ten cities tentatively won government approval to schedule commercial air service between the United States and Havana, Cuba, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced Thursday.

The cities approved for a combined 20 daily non-stop flights are Atlanta; Charlotte, N.C.; Houston; Los Angeles; Newark, N.J.; New York City; and Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Orlando and Tampa in Florida.

The DOT wrote in a fact sheet that it hopes to have a final decision by the end of the summer, which allows for a 30-day public comment period. The proposed airlines could begin flights as early as the fall  within 90 days of the decision being finalized.

"Today we take another important step toward delivering on President Obama's promise to reengage Cuba," U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in a release. "Restoring regular air service holds tremendous potential to reunite Cuban American families and foster education and opportunities for American businesses of all sizes."

Eight airlines  Alaska, American, Delta, Frontier, JetBlue, Southwest, Spirit and United  would carry out the 20 daily round-trip flights to Havana's Jose Marti International Airport under the agreement. In total, a dozen airlines applied for about 60 daily flights.

Commercial air service between the U.S. and Cuba has been embargoed since 1960. In December 2014, President Barack Obama eased travel restrictions to allow travel agents and carriers to book flights there without permission from the U.S. government.

Last month, the department announced the approval of six airlines to begin scheduling service to nine cities in Cuba.

Travel to Cuba is allowed only for 12 reasons, including visiting family or religious, educational or cultural reasons. Tourism is still not an acceptable reason to go to Cuba.
Cora Olmstead Corneliuson is looking for a volunteer.

She remembers vandals toppling some old gravestones at the Mountain View Cemetery in Rapid City maybe over 20 years ago. One such stone, that of William B. Smith, a member of Company C, 1st South Infantry during the Spanish-American War, was broken in two, she wrote the Journal.

This headstone tells us that Sergeant Smith was killed on February 23, 1899, during the Battle of the Trenches, and the marker was erected by his comrades of Company C.

That touched a chord because her fathers military marker had been pulled out of the ground. He served in Company C, 1st South Dakota Infantry and was a comrade of Smith, she said. While Smith died in battle, Sgt. Olmstead survived the war.

Fast forward to Memorial Day this year. Her family decorated graves with flowers and American flags at Mountain View and at the Black Hills National Cemetery near Sturgis. When we were at my fathers grave, we looked westward and saw that, again, William B. Smiths stone was broken in two pieces. Since the stone is over a hundred years old, I felt, that probably, none of his family would still be in the area, and consequently there was no one to take care of his grave. I wanted to do something.

She wrote the newspaper hoping to bring attention to the damage.

As of Friday, the marker remained in pieces. A monument to a fallen national defender waiting for someone to step up and do good.

School supplies sought

Members of Thrivent Financial are forming an Thrivent Action Team in Rapid City.

Donations of school supplies will be accepted at Thrivents office, 2210 Jackson Blvd., and at First Interstate Bank, 333 W. Blvd., Suite 100. Items needed include: pencils, pens, notebooks, loose lined paper, markers, crayons, colored pencils, glue sticks, pencil boxes, erasers, highlighters, and pocket folders.

The team will be packing backpacks with school supplies for students in need on Aug. 28. Collection of school supplies will run through Aug. 26.

If you would like to start a collection at your place of business or worship, contact Kari Cole at 605-399-9373 to arrange for a collection bin to be dropped off.
A warm smile came across Nancy Rosenbrahns face on Saturday as she took in the scene around her in a Rapid City park filled with feelings of both pride and hope.

A wide diversity of people breezed through the music-filled air and the rainbow of colors in the scattering of sunlight through the trees in Wilson Park.

Hows it going? Rosenbrahn asked rhetorically as she stood within the annual Black Hills Pride Fest. Look around.

The Black Hills Pride Fest has grown over the years, and this year was one of the biggest yet, with about 300 people attending.

Groups of people wandered in and out of the sprawl of stands and tents erected in Wilson Park, browsing the paintings, hand-crafted jewelry, and other local wares for sale. All told, there were about 60 different booths set up in the park, 15 more than last year, said Rosenbrahn, who organized the event that celebrates mutual acceptance and highlights the rights of those in the LGBTQ community in the Black Hills.

This is our Fourth of July, Rosenbrahn said.

Lawrence Novotny, the chairman of Equality South Dakota, manned the booth for his group, handing out educational pamphlets about the narrowly averted proposals in the state legislature last spring to restrict which public restrooms transgender persons can use.

Its grown since the beginning, Novotny said of the festival. Theres more people willing to come out and walk around. He added that more progress is being made regarding the LGBTQ community on the legislative level, but there is still much work that needs to be done in educating people.

This is the first year the pride fest has had corporate sponsors, Rosenbran said. Both Safeway and Wells Fargo contributed funds to get the event off the ground.

The Black Hills has hosted annual pride fests since 1985, sponsored by the Black Hills Center of Equality, a local center that provides support, outreach and education about LGBTQ issues. Rosenbrahn is the vice president of the board.

She and her wife, Jennie, had been together for 30 years, and were married in Minneapolis before their marriage was finally recognized in South Dakota last year. The two were among five other LGBTQ couples in South Dakota who sued the state for what was eventually decided in a federal court to be an unconstitutional ban on same-sex marriage. The decision struck down a 1996 state law and a 2006 constitutional amendment that banned gay marriage.

That victory, along with the U.S. Supreme Courts decision last summer to make gay marriage a right nationwide, contributed to the larger-than-usual turnout at pride fest this weekend. Though the mood was bright and celebratory, a pall still hung over the event: The shooting in an Orlando gay night club that claimed the lives of 49 people this spring.

What people dont understand about Orlando, is that when Im out in public, (Jennie) and I think before giving each other a peck on the cheek, Rosenbrahn said. You never know whos around, and people sometimes tell you youre not normal, that you cant do that. The club is the safe place where I can give her a peck on the cheek. And our community members died in that (Orlando) club.

Wrapping ones fellow human beings in the support and love of that community is the appropriate response to the acts of violence that occurred in Orlando, festival attendees said. Last weeks police-involved killings in Baton Rouge and Minnesota, and the attack that left five officers dead in Dallas have only made the need for acceptance and togetherness more pressing for America, Rosenbrahn said.

As a woman I can hide, she said. You could look at me and not know Im gay. But a black person cant hide.

During the event, Rosenbrahn offered words of solidarity and support, not only for members of BlackLivesMatter, but for the nations law enforcement community, particularly the officers with the Rapid City Police Department, who provided security for the pride fest.

We get what its like to be 'the other,' she said. Our line is, its hard to hate one when you know one.
Back in 1965, South Dakota School of Mines & Technology chemistry professor Dr. John W. Willard had hopes, but no real evidence, to show how much his chance discovery might change the world.

Half a century ago he found a complex formula of minerals that change ordinary waters ability to deliver nutrients to cell tissue. That led him to start CAW (Catalyst Altered Water) Industries, the maker of Dr. Willard's Water. His product has since been the subject of dozens of research projects, congressional hearings and even a spot on "60 Minutes," the CBS news magazine.

Now, Willards grandson, also named John, hopes to cement his grandfathers legacy by helping the worlds agriculture industry produce more food while using less water and fertilizer.

If the legacy he leaves is that hes increasing profitability for farmers, helping them get out of poverty, maybe feeding the world a little bit, itll be a hell of a legacy, said the third-generation John Willard, who took over CAW Industries after the 2005 retirement of his father, John Willard Jr., and the death of an uncle, Bill, in 2009.

Willard served as a staffer for then-South Dakota Senators Tom Daschle and Tim Johnson, and worked in the U.S. Department of Agriculture. After resettling in Rapid City with his wife, Christine, he decided to take a long look at the company, its products and its mission.

That re-examination recently led him to Africa, where he hopes to eventually establish markets for Dr. Willard Waters proprietary formula of silica salts and lignite extracts called PlantCatalyst.

Bolstered by five years of research, including a just-completed study by South Dakota State biologist R. Neil Reece, demonstrating PlantCatalysts positive effect on seed germination and overall plant growth, Willard decided to test the product in Zambia and Mozambique through the help of international nonprofit organizations.

Willard and an international business development consultant, Joe Miklosi of Denver, spent more than two weeks last month in central and western Africa setting up research projects.

The Zambian project is funded by the United States Agency for International Development through its Feed The Future program.

Willard said the PlantCatalyst formula will be tested by the Agricultural Cooperative Development International/Volunteers in Overseas Cooperative Assistance (ACDI/VOCA) and the Zambia Agriculture Research Institute (ZARI).

The ACDI/VOCA field trials will chart the growth of maize (corn) and soybeans, while the ZARI researchers will conduct trials on irrigated plots of maize, tomatoes, lettuce, soybeans and red onions.

Willard said the Zambian government is particularly interested in the potential of PlantCatalyst cutting the amount of fertilizer used by the nations small cooperative farms.

That is a really big deal for them when theyre spending $200 million per year subsidizing fertilizer, he said.

In Mozambique, Willards product will be put through its paces in greenhouse germination trials and used with a private seed company on both a small irrigated farm and a larger commercial operation growing piri piri peppers, a popular local crop.

Willard said the goals of the projects are the same  to raise yield and profit per acre and cut the need for additional fertilizer by at least 30 percent.

Because both countries are south of the equator, field trials wont begin until their summer months of November and December.

Willard said he needed four days to recover from a 36-hour flight from Mozambique, which included stops in Dublin, Los Angeles and Denver, returning to Rapid City on June 25.

Results from the Africa crop tests will take far longer.

We wont know how it works for another year, he said.

If it does, Willard believes his grandfather, who died in 1991 at age 84, would be pleased to see his discovery help the world become a better place.

It sounds kind of cheesy, but that appeals to me as well, Willard said.
The annual Arizona Highland Celtic Festival is a Northern Arizona Celtic Heritage Society tradition in the lofty Arizona north country. With that arrives the 19th year of Highland Games, workshops, dance demonstrations and live music that all offer an exceptional taste of home.

And while the festival is a must-see for families, the taste that truly complements a refined palette is a robust sampling of spirits of the Celtic regions  perfect for the 21-and-over connoisseurs and folks new to the trend.

The Celtic Festival takes place July 16 and 17 at Foxglenn Park, 4200 E. Butler Ave. Saturdays events last from 9 a.m.-6 p.m., and Sunday from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Ticket prices vary. Learn more at www.Nachs.info.

Brews by region

Celtic Festival organizer and NACHS President Jude McKenzie noted many festivals around the country concentrate their celebrations on Scotland, Ireland and perhaps Wales. Yet Flagstaffs elevates eight Celtic regions including Asturias and Galicia in Spain and Brittany in France.

Each Celtic region is known for signature beers, wines and spirits. Scotland and Ireland are both especially lauded for flavorful whiskies, and Wales is a favorite among beer drinkers. But there are a number of unique libations like Brittanys Calvados  French apple brandy.

I wouldnt say its necessarily something youd have with dessert, but its not syrupy, McKenzie explained. Its rich and different than a liqueur. You get your nose right in there.

But with Asturian ciders, McKenzie said your palette is in charge rather than your nose. The two brands featured at the festival sport a label with a man playing the gaitas, or bagpipes. Traditionally, the drink is poured two or three feet down into the glass to aerate the cider.

Festival firsts

Far more than just a palatable treat, the spirit tasting is a chance to get to know each beverage and the tradition behind it. A special, free workshop this year represents a first for the festival. Both mornings at 10 a.m., Ian Anderson of Uptown Pubhouse will discuss the history of whiskey, which includes a tasting paired with assorted facts.

Another first for the festival is the first-ever Scottish gin tasting, featuring Caorunn (pronounced ka-roon), one of few varieties distilled on the Scottish mainland.

For Caorunns Gin Master Simon Buley, the handcrafted process begins with six traditional gin botanicals and five locally foraged, wild botanicals from the Scottish Highlands. In small batches, the spirit is vaporized through the worlds only functioning copper berry chamber  one built in the 1920s.

People have discovered gin is a drink that even whiskey drinkers would enjoy, McKenzie said, noting the heather (Calluna vulgaris) is what sets this gin apart. You can almost touch it when you taste the Caorunn. Its amazing.

And of course the pubs will feature an array of Scotch whiskey, too, from single-malt Glenfiddich to blended varieties, and lectures from Glenfiddich brand ambassador Ray Pearson. Tasting of four Irish whiskeys will be led by Doug Lintner.

Drink and merriment

Food and drink have been staples in the fabric of society since the first fermented beverage was  as the history books document  accidentally brewed.

Spirits, especially, were integral in the evolution of medicine for pain and ceremonial purposes, and have imprinted themselves on rich cultural traditions like that of the Celts. McKenzie noted pairing the festival with a spirit tasting is not about slamming down a whiskey at all.

Its something that people used medicinally; it kept them going. One of the greatest distillery managers, Jim McEwan, who just retired and started out at age 14 as a hooper making the barrels, said that the most important part of whiskey is the people who make it, McKenzie said of the Scotch whiskey legend.

The knowledgeable hands at a whiskey still not only weave together the flavor profile with mash ingredients (Scotch, for instance, has are only three). They infuse the barley with the land itself, like from the peat-rich island of Islay where McEwan worked for 52 years. And thats only one process. The land and briny sea or the pine-scented forests  these forces of nature flavor the culture along with the honey-colored liquid.

And with the newest generation ready to dive into the world of whiskey and Celtic spirits, the traditions are thriving. McKenzie noted the spirits influences: Thats why the people, the weather and the land  its so important. You cant make that up.
STURGIS | Saturday was a busy day for the Sturgis Volunteer Fire Department.

They had at least four fire calls. Two were reported Saturday afternoon north of Bear Butte. Both were caused by lightning, according to Sturgis VFD Chief Tom Trigg.

One burned about 24 acres near the new Full Throttle or Pappy Hoel Campground on Highway 79 north.

The second burned about 14 acres off Big Horn Road.

Sturgis received mutual aid from both Vale and Whitewood Fire Departments on the Big Horn Fire, and it was 100 percent contained as of 8 p.m., according to Trigg.

Earlier in the day crews were dispatched to a fire off the Whitewood Service Road, but it was quickly extinguished.

Another in Boulder Canyon near the Camp 5 Area at Boulder Creek was started from a campfire and burned just a tenth of an acre.

Trigg was concerned because Sunday, temperatures are expected to reach 100 degrees, with low humidity and a chance for thunderstorms with dry lighting.

Areas of northeast Wyoming, the Black Hills and southwest South Dakota are under a Red Flag Warning issued by the National Weather Service in Rapid City.

The fire weather message issued at 2:43 p.m. today stated: "Isolated thunderstorms possible today and Sunday. Erratic and strong winds are possible in the vicinity of the thunderstorms along with localized dry lightning."
PIERRE | We can say this much for our states three Republicans in Congress and our two Republicans at the top of state government. They are taking political responsibility for Indian Health Service in South Dakota and nationally.

Its fair to ask where theyd been before the past two years or so. But its also fair to ask where all of our past members of Congress and governors and lieutenant governors had been before this, too.

The problems in the Indian Health Service didnt start during the presidency of Barack Obama.

Nor under George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan, nor Jimmy Carter, nor Gerald Ford and Richard Nixon, nor Lyndon Johnson and John F. Kennedy, nor Dwight D. Eisenhower.

The importance now is leaders from a state with many of the poorest counties in the nation, many in Indian Country, want changes for the benefit of the American citizens who receive Indian Health Service care.

Gov. Dennis Daugaard and Lt. Gov. Matt Michels with some of their Cabinet members and tribal chairmen and tribal health officials across South Dakota set the direction with the health-care solutions coalition.

The coalition members have worked the past two years toward several purposes:

They want better care in the Indian Health Service system in South Dakota;

They want to eliminate the co-pay that state government has been required to pay for Indian Health Service patients who receive care outside the IHS system;

And they want to see whether the savings would cover the cost of Medicaid expansion to cover more lower-income working households.

The Obama administration agreed with one of the goals, by setting a new national policy on the co-pay matter.

The Daugaard administration and the coalition lost one of their best arguments for expanding Medicaid. Republican conservatives in the Legislature such as Rep. Don Haggar, R-Sioux Falls, were proven right. Eliminating the co-pay for state government didnt have to be tied to Medicaid expansion.

In recent weeks, the governor declared he wouldnt seek a special legislative session on the Medicaid expansion. He can count votes.

By waiting until the 2017 regular session of the Legislature, the governor can gather more data on the actual savings and better estimate the possible savings.

Then he and legislators can set a course for deciding the new purposes for that money, such as higher reimbursement amounts for Medicaid providers and their often-underpaid employees.

Meanwhile, our three members of Congress seem unified in opposing Medicaid expansion for South Dakota.

They are using the problems in federal handling of veterans services and the Indian Health Service as arguments against the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, of which Medicaid expansion would be a piece.

U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds, who made his career in insurance, called for a major audit of the Indian Health Service during the past week. The former governors request was specific.

Meanwhile, Democratic challenger Paula Hawks is pushing Republican U.S. Rep. Kristi Noem on the broader issue of past votes related to the Indian Health Service.

All are challenges to the status quo. This would seem to lead only toward better.
WASHINGTON | Black lives matter. Blue lives matter. Both statements must be made true if the heartbreaking loss of life in Dallas is to have any meaning.

The killing spree that left five police officers dead and seven others wounded should be classified as an act of domestic terrorism. The shooter, identified as 25-year-old Micah Xavier Johnson, apparently believed he was committing an act of political violence. Our duty, to honor the fallen, is to ensure that Johnson's vile and cowardly act has the opposite impact from what he sought.

Johnson, who was captured on video shooting one officer in the back, was killed when police, who had tried unsuccessfully to negotiate his surrender, sent a robot his way bearing an explosive device. Enough about him, except this one thing: He said he was motivated by hatred over the deaths of two more black men  Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minnesota  at the hands of police.

The slain police officers were protecting a lawful, peaceful demonstration to protest those same deaths. As the crowd, perhaps more than 800 strong, marched through downtown Dallas, there was anger but no real tension. Certainly there was no sense of danger; police were not wearing riot gear or riding in armored vehicles. Instead, officers chatted and took selfies with the demonstrators. They had no fear of encounter and dialogue.

The great irony is that Dallas is something of a model. Mayor Mike Rawlings was right when he told reporters that Dallas is "one of the premier community policing cities in the country."

Since Police Chief David Brown took over in 2010, complaints of excessive force by officers have dropped by nearly two-thirds. Police shootings have been halved, from 23 in 2012 to just 11 in 2015  and only one so far this year, according to Police Department data.

Brown happens to be African-American, but that's not the most significant thing about him. What's important is that Brown was quick to understand that the chasm between police officers and young men of color was real  and that it could be bridged.

His officers undergo training in how to de-escalate conflicts rather than heat them up; they learn to speak calmly when approaching suspects instead of immediately barking orders. When there is a police shooting, uniformed presence around the scene is ramped down as soon as possible. The department, unlike many others, keeps track of police shootings and publishes the figures on the city's website. And Brown keeps looking for new ways to improve relations between police and the community, realizing that diversity is not a destination but a shared journey.

The Dallas Police Department is not perfect, of course. But its efforts to improve the way officers interact with citizens stand in contrast to the appalling police work we saw in the cellphone videos recording the deaths that prompted protests around the country.

Sterling was on the ground in front of a convenience store, restrained by officers and posing no apparent threat, when he was shot to death. Castile, pulled over in a traffic stop, was apparently reaching for his identification to hand it to the officer who shot him.

The video of Castile's final moments was streamed on the internet by his girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds. In her narration, she says Castile informed the officer that he was licensed to carry a firearm. It is no stretch to imagine that to the officer, this meant Castile was an armed and dangerous black man. Which leads me to a question I shouldn't have to ask: Does the Second Amendment apply to African-Americans too? Where is the National Rifle Association statement decrying the fact that an American citizen might have been killed for exercising his constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms?

But the solution is not more guns. The solution is to end the undervaluing of lives, both black and blue.

Poor, troubled, crime-ridden communities are those that most want and need effective policing. But the paradigm cannot be us versus them. It has to be us with us  a relationship of mutual respect.

I hope police officers around the nation see how rapidly and completely the people of Dallas  including those in the Black Lives Matter movement  have rallied around their city's bereaved Police Department. I hope they understand that compassion for Sterling, Castile and others killed by police in no way mitigates the nation's profound sorrow for the brave officers killed in Dallas. Such tragedy is beyond color.
The Welding Tech program at Bitterroot College is taking enrollment for fall classes, with a scholarship available if applied for by Aug. 5.

The one-year program results in a certificate of applied sciences (CAS), which qualifies graduates for professional employment as a welder. It is in its third year and uses the training facilities at Hamilton High School with evening classes.

Roch Turner, director of Workforce Programs and development at Bitterroot College, said the program requires 35 credits, with the cost of $1,172 per semester or $2,344 for the program, plus tools, equipment and books.

Turner said tools come in a range of prices and quality from $225 to $890.

You can get really nice equipment that will last a decade or you can get entry level stuff that will get you through the class, Turner said. Once you get a job you may want higher level stuff. It just depends on what people want to do. They may want a career in welding and will spend $900 on the nice gear. Other people just dont have the money.

If students meet a certain income requirement, a PELL grant may cover all their expenses.

We also have a scholarship from the Gianforte Family Foundation and thats $1,000, Turner said. If someone wants that scholarship, they have to be signed up and registered for classes by Aug. 5.

Turner said for more training, a second year is available by transferring to the Missoula College.

There are benefits to that, but in terms of immediate employment, in terms of our industry partners, a CAS is what is needed, Turner said. There is a high demand for welders in Montana and elsewhere.

This class teaches basic welding. Turner said 16 students have completed the program at the Bitterroot College.

We have had students weld bikes, trailers, work on the pipeline in the oil field, Turner said. You can go just about anyplace. As you work your way up in experience and education credentials there is more you can do. This program gets you ready so you can go to work.

Turner said enrollment is open. He predicts the welding program will fill up quickly this month with only five spots remaining.

He said people choose a career in welding for good pay and great opportunities.

The pay is good. There is a demand so lots of jobs, he said. For some people it is access to a well paid job. For others it is to fulfill their artistic abilities. You should see some of the stuff people do with steel. It is amazing.

The welding program was started in response to a Department of Labor grant called Rev Up Montana.

Rev Up is a $25 million grant that the state received about two and a half years ago, the grant is almost finished now, Turner said. It was designed to expand manufacturing and energy related training.
Guwahati : Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Friday called on Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and drew his attention on a wide spectrum of areas including NRC, on-going peace talks, counter-insurgency operations and so on and so forth.

Sonowal who is on a three day tour to New Delhi to hammer out the solutions of the issues that the State is confronting with, met Home Minister Rajnath Singh and sought Centreas help in tackling the issues. *

Sonowal apprised the Home Minister of the progress made by the State in updating NRC.

Sonowal moreover, drew attention of the Union Home Minister about the fund crunch that the NRC exercise is facing with and demanded financial assistance.

The Assam CM also apprised the Home Minister that the revised requirement of Rs 793.89 crores sent by the State Government has still not been approved.

Sonwoal also stressed on the need to consider release of a temporary advance of Rs 150 crores to meet the immediate requirements to ensure that the NRC updation exercise doesn't come to a standstill. *

Sonowal requested the Union Home Minister to expedite talks with the 13 extremist groups who are under ceasefire or Suspension of Operations agreements.

The Assam CM also requested for early consideration of the State Government's proposal for enhancement of stipend amount to the cadres from Rs. 3000 to Rs. 10,000.

Sonowal apprised the Home Minister that Counter- Insurgency Operations under Unified Command with Army and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) alongside Assam Police and central and state intelligence agencies

operating together, has been successful to a large extent in improving the law and order situation.

However, after the recently concluded Assembly Elections, 75 companies of CAPF were withdrawn from Assam and sought the Home Minister's intervention to restore these 75 companies.

They also discussed on jihadi threats in the State and ways and means to counter it.

Moreover, Sonowal sought the Centre's assistance for modernisation of police in the State to tackle all forms of crimes and their manifestations.

The Assam CM said that in Assam altogether 100 Foreigners Tribunals are functioning and to improve their functioning additional support in terms of logistics is required.

Sonowal sought Centre's assistance in this regard. Chief Minister also raised the issue of constructing Detention Centres for the persons declared as foreigners by the Foreigners' Tribunals.

Sonowal also stated that the Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of External Affairs should take up the matter with the Government of Bangladesh for a fast-track deportation mechanism to address the problem.

Sonowal drew attention of the Union Home Minister to the fact that the security related expenditure which is to be re-imbursed by MHA has not been released regularly and requested for restoration of the earlier system of

fund allocation to Assam.

The Assam CM also requested for MHA's intervention to desist Nagaland Government's attempt in encouraging encroachers while the issue is awaiting Hon'ble Supreme Court's judgement.

Sonowal requested the Home Minister to take all necessary steps for sealing the Indo-Bangla border and revamp border infrastructure.

The issue of the proposed 133 km long border road on Indo- Bhutan border also found space in their discussion.

The Assam CM met Union Minister for Urban Development, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation M. Venkaiah Naidu and discussed on a host of issues.

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)
Drive out Lake Mary Road and just beyond town, a dirt road branches off to the right. Travel down that road, take a left at the Y and go a bit farther until another road leads to a scattered group of tents and RVs. Theres a bike tied to a tree near one tent belonging to Kevin Andrew who is trying to get back on his feet after going through an alcohol recovery program. Theres a table and chairs set up outside the RV owned by Cindy Samuelson, a former Forest Service employee staying here for the summer to be close to her aging father. Farther down, theres a small cook grill outside the van of a man named Doug, a Vietnam War veteran who prefers the quiet of the forest to a hotel room in town.

These three, like many others, have made the forest outside Flagstaff a temporary home for anywhere from a few days to several weeks.

Rick Brust, with the nonprofit Catholic Charities PATH program, visits these temporary residents as part of its mission to assist people with serious mental illness who are experiencing homelessness. Brust talks with anyone he can find, trying to identify people who could qualify for the program while also providing plastic jugs of water, picking up trash and handing out daily living supplies like tents, sleeping bags and bus passes.

The organization provides a much-needed helping hand to dozens of people experiencing homelessness, but it also enables them to stay in the forest longer, which goes against at least two Forest Service rules against camping for longer than 14 days within any month period and using the forest for residential purposes.

Its a situation that the Forest Service has been forced to confront with a balance of strict policy and practicality. Those living in the forest for extended periods of time create undue trash, human waste, enforcement and wildfire risk impacts.

At the same time, people who make a temporary home in the forest say they keep a watchful eye over the area and help clean it up. And for their part, PATH employees provide a much-needed service of cleaning up campsites, keeping trash picked up, bringing water that can be used to help put out campfires and monitoring the campers to mitigate environmental damage and medical emergencies. PATH employees teach people how to stir campfires to effectively put them out, try to help them locate in areas away from dense vegetation and inform them about fire bans, Brust said.

We want to make sure they are being good stewards and following the rules of forest, he said.

BURDEN ON THE FOREST

Theres no doubt that long term campers, many coming up from the states desert communities, make a big impact on northern Arizonas forests, said Jon Nelson, patrol captain with the Coconino National Forest.

The problems with long-term camping include sanitation and sewage issues from individuals going to the bathroom in the forest or RVs dumping their wastewater among the trees. Wildfire starts from campfires become a bigger worry and interpersonal conflicts seem to spring up more frequently, said Michael Loughton, a law enforcement officer on the Coconino who patrols the area.

We get disturbing the peace calls from various camps and a variety of other issues and complaints from residents and forest users, he said.

So far in 2016, the Coconino National Forest has issued 23 warnings, four incident reports and three mandatory citations to people using the forest for residential use or overstaying the 14 day limit. In 2015 the Forest Service issued 96 warnings, 44 incident reports and 12 mandatory citations for those violations.

In an effort to mitigate some of those problems, this spring Brust handed out papers for longer term campers to put in their windows that stated their affiliation with Catholic Charities and their commitment to being respectful of other people and the forest. PATH hasnt yet received phone calls from the Forest Service or the Sheriff's Office to complain about people with those papers, many of whom are staying at the Lake Mary road site, Brust said. Several other campers said they havent had any negative run-ins with a law enforcement agent and said they would leave if told to.

What Brust emphasizes and tries to make clear to campers is that PATH doesnt have the authority nor does it have any formal arrangement with the Forest Service to allow people to stay in the forest.

Its not a partnership in any way or form, I guess its more built on goodwill. Its totally up to forest rangers in these areas, they have all the power, he said.

When asked about PATHs work, Nelson said he didnt know much about it. He said any formal Forest Service relationship with the organization would be up to his superiors.

If an officer finds someone who looks to be violating the 14-day limit or the residential restrictions, its up to the individual to determine whether a citation is appropriate, Nelson said.

Similarly, if a forest ranger tells someone to leave, they need to leave, Brust said. If that does happen, PATH tries to help people find another place to go, he said.

SEARCHING FOR THE BEST SOLUTION

Loughton said his view is that while PATH may be doing temporary good, facilitating people staying longer than allowed in the forest is shortsighted.

We have talked to Catholic Charities on previous occasions saying you can't house people on the forest, then force law enforcement contacts because of their actions, Loughton said. I know its a difficult situation and there are not a whole lot of options, but its a temporary solution for something that is a much bigger social issue.

Brush emphasized that the forest is one of the only options for people who cant handle the dynamics of other shelters, families who want to stay together, or people who have pets and vehicles that they want to keep with them.

Andrew, for example, who received a bike and a tent from the PATH program, said hes doing his best to stay away from the shelter.

Everybody is drunk there and fighting, he said. He said he has never had an issue with a forest ranger asking him to leave his campsite and recently helped one clean up a couple abandoned campsites.

Several others in the forest suggested the Forest Service consider a long-term camping option like whats available on BLM land in southern Arizona and California. The sites have gray and black water dumping services, trash removal and restroom facilities, and for a $180 permit, people can stay at the site long term between September and April.

Brust would like to create a similar area locally that doesnt have limits on camping.

The problem of homelessness is immediate, he said, and in a place like Flagstaff there are only so many options.

We don't want to create a bad relationship with anybody but at the same time there is homelessness out there and where is everybody going to go if we're surrounded by an entire forest? he said.
Kathmandu, Nepal: Senior orthopedic surgeon Dr Govinda KC of the Institute of Medicine (IoM) has started fast-unto-death strike from Sunday putting forth various demands including the impeachment against Chief Commissioner at the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), Lokman Singh Karki.

It is eighth hunger strike of Dr.

Organizing a press conference on Saturday at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH), Dr. KC said that he will continue the fast-unto-death until his demands are addressed.
Sushila Karki, nominated for the vacant position of Chief Justice of Nepal, faces the parliamentary hearing, at the Parliamentary Hearing Special Committee meeting, in Kathmandu, on Sunday, July 10, 2016. Photo: RSS

Kathmandu, Nepal: The Parliamentary Hearing Special Committee (PHSC) has on Sunday endorsed the nomination of Acting Chief Justice Sushila Karki as Chief Justice (CJ).

With the endorsement from the PHSC, the way is paved to appoint Karki as the CJ. As per the constitutional provision, the president will appoint Karki CJ as per the recommendation from the Nepal government.

At the meeting of the PHSC, Karki made clear about the complaints filed against her. Six complaints were registered at the committee against Karki. Almost all the complaints were registered questioning about her competency in the post of CJ.

Though Constitutional Council had recommended Karki to the post on April 10, the hearing was not held due to the absence of the PHSC, thanks to the differences among the political parties over the structure of the PHSC.

Responding to the concerns of the lawmakers, Karki had made clear that she will adopt a policy of zero tolerance against corruption.

After the appointment of Karki as the CJ, she will be the 26th Chief Justice and the first female in the post in Nepal's history.

Karki will remain in the post about 14 months as she will have to retire on June 7, 2017, due the age limitation.

Karki had entered in the Supreme Court on January 22, 2009 as ad-hoc justice and appointed as permanent justice on November 18, 2010.

Karki had born in Biratnagar on June 7, 1952. She has completed a bachelor's degree in law from Tribhuvan University in 1978.
Outlook Magazine, 11 July 2016

The Colonial Roots Of Hindutva aNationalisma

Indian nationalismas anti-colonial, and inclusive, origins are increasingly being trampled underfoot by votaries of Hindu majoritarianism. In this essay, Romila Thapar shows how the cant of Hindutva was built on the myopic and tendentious tradition of colonial history-writing.

Romila Thapar

[N On Nationalism by Romila Thapar , A.G. Noorani , Sadanand Menon Publisher: Aleph | Pages: 162 | Price: Rs 399 ]

For Indians of my age who grew up on the cusp of Independence, nationalism was in the air we breathed. NatAionalism was not something problematic. It was an identity with the nation and its society. The identity and consciousness of being Indian did not initially need to be defined. We understood nationalism to be Indian nationalism and not Hindu or Muslim or any other kind of religious or other nationalism, and a clear distinction was made between nationalism and other loyalties. Nationalism could only be Indian. And Indian meant that which was above all the smaller loyalties to religion, caste, ethnicity and region. Nationalism meant differentiating between the natAion and the state, and it was clear that no government could take upon itself the rights of a nation. Sovereignty resides with the nation and not with the government. A nation refAerred to the people that inhabited a territory who saw themselves as an evolved community, one that was created by drawing upon the range of communities that existed prior to the nation. It was based on a shared history, interests and aspAirations frequenAtly expressed in a common culture that in turn drew from multiple cultures.

At the most visible level, a nation is identified with territory. For the Indian this was the territory of British India that the colony hoped to inherit on becoming a nation. This had to be bifurcated with Partition in 1947, and that was problematic when identified with the erstwhile territory of British India. So the territory of what constituted India had to be redefined.

Nevertheless, the subcontinent remained the framework when thinking about India in historical terms. We learnt from history that through the centuries there was a constant changing of boundaries and the coexistence of many political units within the subcontinent. This raised the question of whether a permanent boundary of a nation-state was feasible, but for the purposes of nationalism it was assumed to be as permanent as possible, with the caveat that it could change.

This also turned our attention to the real entity of nationalism and that was the people who inhabited the territory. This was meant literally and it included all the people, irrespective of their sub-identities of religion, caste, language, region and such like. There was an axiomatic belief that the priAmary concern of nationalism was to ensure the welfare of the entire society, and of all its citizens. This was defined as establishing the equality of all citizens and their entitlement to human rights. National interest meant ensuring that every citizen lived with dignity. This reqAuired both economic growth and social justice as fundamental to the establishing of a nation. These essAentials of a nation were discussed exteAnsively, especially in universities and resAearch centres, in the first couple of decades after Independence.

***

Nationalism had, and has, much to do with understanding oneas society and finding oneas identity as a member of that society. It cannot be reduced merely to waving flags and shouting slogans and penalising people for not shouting slogans like aBharat mata ki jaia. This smacks of a lack of confidence among those making the demand for slogans. Nationalism requires a far greater commitment to attending to the needs of the nation than mere sloganeering, and that too with slogans focusing on territory or ones that have a limited acceptability. As was recently said, it is indeed ironic that an Indian who refuses to shout this slogan is immediately decAlAaAred as anti-national, but an Indian who has deliberately not paid his taxes or stashed away black money is not declared as such.

The question of what is national and what is anti-national does depend on what is understood by nationalism. A commitment to the nation if it encourages concern for and an ethical attitude towards other citizens of the same nation is always commended. However, this should not be expressed by vicious hostility towAards neighbouring nations. Hostility, in particular situations, has to be tempered with reason and this is one difference between good governance and bad. Nationalism, therefore, cannot be without its limits and the limits have to be carefully worked out.

Colonial histories claimed to apply the criteria of Enlightenment rationality, but was imposing a history not divorced from justifying dominance.

The question is sometimes asked whether there was nationalism in pre-modern times. Historians would think not. Internal distinctions are part of the stratification of every society. Yet, as an entity, a society differentiates itself from others. Societies in the past were more often known by the characteristics of their elite. An example is the defining of civilisations. Indian civilisatAion was located in the territory of British India, its language was said to be Sanskrit and its religion Hindu. This definition was of course the contribution of colonial scholarship that we have dutiAfully appropriated, without giving attention to other significant features that went into the making of the civilisation, or questioning whether this was all that was required for defining a civilisation. The culture of the elite went into defining civAAilisation. Non-elites and their cultural patterns, especially in rural areas, were hardly recognised. They had a circumscribed existence. Even within this very limited definition of civilisation, physical boundaries constantly changed, languages changed, religions mutated, as did the cultural identity and what was recAorded as history. These again pertained more to the elites than to others.

Nationalism as it evolved historically was inclusive and drew on the idea of the unification of diverse groups to form a new community of citizens. Nevertheless, there were, and are, some ideologies that claim to be nationalisms but where the identity gives priority to only one group, and this acts as a force of divisiveness. This has led to identifying genuine nationalism as a form of unification. It does not require the cultural idiom of a specific community and often creates new idioms. More correctly, therefore, conAAcepts of nations based on a single excAlusive identityareligious, linguistic, ethAAnic etcaare actually pseudo-nationalisms and should be precluded from being called a nationalism, without the accompanying qualifier of their identity.

Thus, in India, we distinguish between secular, anti-colonial nationalism that was the mainstay of the national freedom movement, and the other movements that called themselves nationalisms but were doubtful as such and were more correctly religious or communal nationalisms that drew their identity from individual religions, such as the Muslim, Hindu and Sikh nationalisms. Many historians would refrain from calling these nationalisms. The rise of such categories can, if one chooses to be charitable, be called subnationalisms, although some may hesitate to use any association with nationalism for such groups.

Historians see the nation as a modern concept and do not trace it to antiquity. It emerges at a specific point of time that dates to the post-Enlightenment period in Europe. It coincides with a major change, namely the emergence of societies out of the earlier feudal or similar systems into what became the interrelation of industrialisation with the growth of capitalism and an economy based on both capitalism and colonialism. As a universalising concept, it lent itself to asserting a new form of political power and that became the direction taken by most nationalisms.

The nation is different from the state and from government. The state can have different forms of government, as it did in the pre-modern past. The use of the term anation-statea qualifies the kind of state. Nationalism is a function of the nation. Conceptually, it consolidates aspects of the nation such as democracy, territory and power and endorses the value systems that ensure equal rights and justice. The nation is generally not centrally and dirAectly ruled by a dynasty, it is the representatives of the people who govern it in a democratic system. In other words, ultimately, it is the people who determine the nation. Unfortunately, this definition is not appreciated by the many who think nationalism is only about shouting slogans and keeping the territory unchanged. The question of nationalism and anti-nationalism when it hovers over territory is not as central when compared to the other aspAects of a nation that all its citizens share, even if territory does on occasion become the focus.

A few decades ago, there was much discussion on what goes into the making of nationalism. The discussion was varied, since natAionalism is an abstract concept. Benedict Anderson, the political scientist and historian, referred in his influential book Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism to an imagined community as constructed by people who think of themselves as a community with common perceptions that unite them. The unity was more feasible in modern times than in earlier periods because of the spread of literacy with the assistance of the printing press and the reading of newspapers, etc. To this one could add, if so desired, the influence of television and the cinema as sustaining or even assisting in creating a national feeling.

In Nations and Nationalism (1983), Ernest Gellner, the British social anthAropologist and a leading thinker on the subject of nationalism, linked it more closely to a new society that grew out of an earlier society and differed from it in various ways. It permitted the growth of an impersonal society where individuals were bonded through defAining a shared culture and learning a shared history. Again, to this one could add that the observance of the same code of laws was also a binding factor.

The inclusiveness of the anti-colonial nationalism is discarded. In claiming legitimacy from the past, it is made into an assemblage of whatas most desired now.

Eric J. Hobsbawm, the British thiAnker and historian, made a connection in Nations and Nationalism since 1780 (1990) between history and nationalism and explained how history is reconstructed in a way that suits the ideology of nationalism and is essential to the construction of nationalism. It is essential to the making of a state and this incorporates not just the elite but also the less privileged. NatAionalism may begin with ideas among the elite but its propagation involves having mass support. Initially, anti-colonial Indian natAionalism had a more limited role as compared to what it becAame when converted into a mass movement in the 20th century. History plays a crucial role in both creating the basis of the unity and for sustaining it. Hobsbawm compares the role of history to nationalism with that of the poppy to the heroin addict.

This is one explanation for why history in India has become the arena of struggle between the secular nationalists and those endAorsing varieties of religious or pseudo-nationalisms. Nationalist historical writing visualised history as supportive of the interlinking of the communities that constituted Indian socAiety. Occasionally there were deviations from this when a particular religious community was given greater centrality than was appropriate to a nationalist perspective. Differences among historians arise when the pseudo-nationalisms exaggerate the importance of a single history of one religious community as being the pre-eminent history of the nation, and denigrate and distort the history of other communities. The public historical confrontations today are between secular historians and those who write history from the perspective of communal anationalismsa. Needless to say, the discipline of history has moved well beyond this debate, but the latter are oblivious of this since they are grounded in their political agenda.

We have seen this clearly in the nationalist history written by historians who were part of the anti-colonial nationalist movement with their emphasis on understanding Indian society in terms of its continuity and common characteristics. As a contrast to this is the ahistorya as written by the RSS and Hindutva ideologues for whom the past has only to do with Hindu history of the early period and the victimisation of Hindus under Muslim tyranny in the medieval period. They speak of Hindus being enslaved for a thousand years by Muslim rule, but do not pause for a moment to give thought to at least two facts.

One is that caste Hindus victimised the other castes, Dalits and adivasis for two thousand or more years, and most caste Hindus, with a few exceptions, regarded it as quite legitimate. Some continue to do so. Secondly, that some of the more powerful propagation of Hindu religious sects dates to the last thousand yearsasuch as the Bhakti and Tantric traditions in northern Indiaaand these characterise the kind of Hinduism that is practised by the larger number of people currently called Hindu in census reports.

The bhajans of Mira and Surdas and the poetry of Kabir and Tukaram, as well as the many renderings of the RamAAayana, such as by Tulsidasa and Krittivasa, were composed in this perAiod. Their popularity was so immense among various communities that phrAases and verses from them became idioms in the languages of their comAAAApAAosition such as Hindi, Bengali and Marathi. This was parAalleled in other languages of the subcontinent.

Furthermore, some of the most notAable achievements in knowledge of various kinds, from literature to mathematics, can be ascAAribed to Hindu scholars during this period. Among these achievements were some singular traditions of Hindu culture as well as some highly creative interfacing with other religions and cultures. Far from being victimised, Hindu culture flourished along with other cultures in these centuries. This is demonstrated in texts such as Madhavaas SarAvaAdAaArsAhAaAnAaAsangraha on the prevailing schools of philosophy and SamaAyaAsuAndaraas ArtharAatAnavali on linguistic explorations and belief systems. Sayana wrote his renowned exposition of the Rigveda in the fourteenth century. Commentaries on, and digests of, earlier social codes and the Dharmashastras reflected new situations. Some incorporated discussions on the status of those converted to Islam. Others debated the status of the now greatly empowered temple priests who were performers of rituals as well as administrators in the many wealthy temples that became a part of the urban scene.

Intensely devotional poetry was written by poets, some of whom were in fact born Muslim but worshipped Hindu deities. One of the best known among them was Sayyad Ibrahim, popularly referred to as Raskhan, whose dohas and bhajans dedicated to the deity Krishna were widely recited in the sixteenth century and are still remembered by devotees of Krishna and others. The intermingling of cultures is also evident in the new kinds of classical music that was composed and sung at the courts of this period. Best known among these was the creation and evolution of Dhrupad, regarded by many as the finest form of Hindustani classical music. The Mughal court became the most impressive patron of the translation of many Sanskrit religious texts into Persian. Among these the Mahabharata (translated as the Razmnamah) and the Bhagavad Gita hold pride of place. Brahmana priests worked together with Persian scholars on these translations encouraged by Hindu and Muslim noblemen at the courts.

This was also the period when the gurus, pirs and sants wandered from place to place, preached their understanding of religion, founded sects and sometimes settled somewhere that became a place of pilgrimage. They were people of every possible religious background and their teachings were often a religious melange that defied identification with a particular religion. Some were localised and others spread across the subcontinent, like the Nathapantha. They ranged from informal religious sects to well-established formal sects with large bodies of followers. Such sects crossed religious and social barriers without a thought and none could stop them because their followings were so large. When they became well-AAestablished, even royal patrons received them cordially. They were the opinion-makers of their times.

This does not support the idea of victimised Hindus but rather of people of different cultures investigating their cultures in order to find points of integration or of disagreement. Nor should this be taken as an indication of complete harmony among the various cultures. Since there were inequalities, there would have been points of dislocation and confrontation, as indeed are only too evident in the pre-Islamic history of India. But to speak of victimisation is merely to try and impose a particular kind of image of the past onto our present perceptions so as to propagate communal hostility. The purpose of historical research is to try and understand the interface between the cultures of the past and explain the different kinds of relationships they may have had. But if history is subjected to fabrication in order to make it the excuse for aggAression against another community in contemporary times, then we cannot expect it to provide an understanding and an explanation of what happened in the past and why.

Religious nationalism, or communalism as some prefer to call it, both Muslim and Hindu, was marginal to the mainstream of the anti-colonial movement. They did not confront the colonial power, focused as the two communalisms were on attacking each other in the intAerests of establishing an Islamic and a Hindu state. The catalyst in many anti-colonial nationalisms was the focus on removing the colonial power which was seen as exploiting the colony, accAompanied by the colonised wanting the rights of representation in what was ideally seen as a democratic system still to be established. Both were essential to how the middle class saw its role and this was prior to its own eventual success that led it on occasion to curb these rights.

What we take to be nationalism can be a positive force if it calls for the unification of communities, but it can be a divisive and negative force if it underlines exclusive rights for one community on the basis of a single identifying factor. Weave seen a very severe example of negative nationalism in the case of Germany in the 1930s when the Nazis propagated the idea of the purity of the Aryan race and the origin of European Aryans. This was central to the Fascist understanding of European society and crucial to German Fascism and was not absent in Italian Fascism either.

The Aryans were said to be superior racially and culturally and were not only given priority of place in German society, but it was even argued that the purity of German society could be achieved by annihilating non-Aryans. The non-Aryans were the Jews and the Gypsies, who were not merely excluded but were physically annihilated. This began with segregating and abusing them and ended with taking them forcibly, trainload by trainload, to special camps where they were gassed and killed. This was done through the Holocaust and the literal decimation of the Jewish population in Germany, using up-to-date scientific techniques. Liberal thinkers and intellectuals were special targets of attack and many among them had to flee Germany, although many more were gassed in the concentration camps. The irony was that the Jews were so well integrated into German society that they were major contributors to German culture, science and intAellectual life. Those that did manage to escAape became catalysts in the enriAchment of intellectual life in Europe and the US in the post-World War II period. The loss was that of the Fascist countries. I am referring to this because these kinds of sentiments of excluding minorities is what we often hear in our own society and in other societies, with reference to people who are, for obnoxious reasons, regarded as unwanted.

However, where nationalism has been inclusive, the effect has tended to be positive, at least iniAtially. For example, the kind of nationalism we seldom refer to but whose ideology is pertinent to the Indian situationaAfrican nationalismawas based on the idea of what came to be called Negritude. This emerged as an ideology from the Caribbean countries in the 1930s and through contact with Africans in other places, and its immediate context was French colonialism. Aime Cesaire, Leopold Senghor and Leon Damas formulated the idea. This brought together an African consciousness that stretched from Africa to the Caribbean to North America. It was an inclusive nationalism of a very extraordinary kind and I think we would do well to study it some more.

The main thrust of Negritude was that it was an anti-colonial nationalism initially critiquing French colonialism as an example of European dominance. It celebrated black African identity and brought together black critics of imperialism. The derogatory term, negre (black), to mean black people, was deliberately turned on its head and given a positive meaning of black identity. This in a sense also caused it to challenge and oppose the popular arace sciencea of the time in Europe and the notion that Africans are primitive and savage. Negritude became a major literary and philosophical movement among black writers, many of whom wrote from a secular perspective. Although the reinterpretation of religion was a subject of interest, culture was not defined as religion but as the articulation at many levels of the groups that constituted black societies in these various countries. As a precursor to decolonisation in Africa and the Caribbean, and because of its association with the anti-slavery movement in the US, it became crucial to black nationalism.

Religious nationalism wasnat anti-colonial. They sought to use history as given by colonial scholarship to legitimise their political ideology.

In later years it, too, was critiqued when it was thought that the racial identity had become too singular in the definition. In areas where Negritude was influential, the population was not limited to Africans, especially in the Caribbean. Jean-Paul Sartre, the French philosopher who was appreciative of Negritude, referred to it as anti-racist racism. Later, some African writers were oppAosed to it because it accepted distinctive racial cultures and their characteristics. This was regarded as complicit with colonial thought. Other theories entered the discussion on Negritude, questioning whether it drew on biological or cultural roots in arguing for a difference. The point that I would like to make is that any term used in one historical context can be differently used in another. Therefore, the historical context is significant in discussing the term. Further, what goes by the name of nationalism can be used in various ways and it is necessary to seek out the historical context of each to grasp its political and cultural function in the society to which it refers.

But let me return to the Indian situation and the evolution of nationalist ideas in India. This was tied to colonialism. All of us in the Indian subcontinent, not to mention other ex-colonies, have faced the same questions of how to define ourselves as citizens of a new nation. This relates to the question of identity or identities. We in India thought the answer was simpleait was the single identity of being Indian. But the reality on the ground has turned it into a complex question without a simple answer because even a single identity can subsume others. The utopia that we had wished for has retreated in the face of identities in conflict.

History, as we were taught in school and even later, was a representation of the past based on information that we had gathered from the past. In the case of colonies such as India, colonial scholars claimed that they were writing the history of the colony since there was supposedly an absence of historical writing in the cultures of the colony. Therefore, a history had to be constructed for the region by colonial scholars and this they proceeded to do. But when this history was used to construct identities relevant only to the present but with claims of having roots in the past, it became necessary for more contemporary historians to unpack the past to discover the actual roots. In this process of unpacking, one realises that the past registers changes that could alter its representation. The past does not remain static.

In examining the construction of the past in the form in which we had inherited it from colonial scholarship, it was further seen that aspects of nationalist thinking had borrowed from this colonial legacy. The colonial reconstruction of the past in India was the poppy of which Hobsbawm speaks. Nationalism was built by coalescing many identities and aspiring to be inclusive of the entire society. It inevitably opposed the defining of the nation on the basis of a single identity projected as superior to the rest. For this claim to superiority, an imagined history is put forth endorsing the dominance of the supposedly superior group. IncAlusiveness is undoubtedly problematic since every society since early times has overlooked the need for equality and has acquiesced in the dominance of some and the subordination of others. These frequently become the issues of conflict. Inequality is thus predictable and results in multiple identities competing for visibility. Yet the wish for an egalitarian society, or one relatively so, has been a feature in envisioning future utopias.

In our present post-colonial times in India, the multiple identities of the period contemporary with nationalism have surfaced and become visible. But the historical context is constantly changing. Each identity demands priority for itself and asks to be treated as exclusive, and this becomes an agency for mobilisation. The inclusiveness of the earlier anti-colonial nationalism is set aside. In claiming legitimacy from the past, that past itself is converted into an assemblage of what is most desired in the present. Separating what might actually have happened from the fantasies of political ideologues masquerading as specialists in religion makes it necessary to understand historical knowledge.

***

Among our current idenAtities in India, the more prominent ones go back to colonial times and were usually construcAted with links to pre-Amodern history. Examples of this are identities of race, language, caste, tribe and religion. Economic poverty and inequality of a new kind is the colonial heritage for large segments of the population. In the couple of centuries just prior to colonisation, India and China were leading economies. This changed with the coming of colonialism. The identities constructed by colonialism in the nineteenth century became the prisms through which Europe viewed the past of India. The history of the colony was of prime concern to the colonial ruler in order to govern its strange peoples and to exploit its wealth and, to some extent, to understand its culture, so alien to European eyes.

Some of this concern resulted in path-breaking work on deciphering scripts, revealing tangible history through excavations, and investigating language through philologyaanalysing its linguistic components. Much effort was made to collect data thrAough archaeological excavations, linguistic surveys, and a sysAAAAtematic programme of collecting texts. The oral traditions of bardic compositions were also part of this effort. Ancient scripts, such as Brahmi, were deciphered so that inscriptions could now be read, thereby providing fresh information, not alwAAays in conformity with the normative and sacred texts, and therefore presenting an interesting alternative picture of society. All this data had to be organised and interpreted. The organisation was efficient but the interpretation reinforced colonial theories. Nevertheless, as Lord Curzon, the viceroy of India from 1899 to 1905, stated, all this was athe necessary furniture of Empirea .

Three arguments were foundational to the colonial interpretation of Indian history. The first was periodisation. James Mill in The History of British India (1817-1826), almost two hundred years ago, argued for three periods, labelled in accordance with the religion of the rulers: Hindu civilisation, Muslim civilisation and the British period. The divisions were endorsed by the assAumption that the units of Indian society have always been monolithic religious communitiesaprimarily the Hindu and the Muslimawhich were mutually hostile. Religion was believed to have superseded all other authority.

On the basis of their numbers in the Census of 1872 and subsequently, the Hindus came to be called the majority community, and the Muslims and others were the minority communities. It was argued that there was an absence of historical change in India, therefore all institutions were static until the coming of the colonial power. The only thing that changed was the religion of the ruling dynasties. This periodisation became axiomatic to the intAerpretation of Indian history. It also had a major political fallout effect in the twentieth century when the subcontinent was partitioned on the basis of the supposed two nations defined by religion. Although discarded by historians, those that still hold to the theory continue to support the required hostility between Hindus and Muslims.

The second assertion was that the pre-colonial political economy conformed to the model of what was called oriental despotism. This again assAumed a static society, characterised by an absence of private property in land, despotic and oppressive rulers and, therefore, endemic poverty. This pattern, commonly applied to Asian societies, did not envisage any marked economic change. A static society also meant that it lacked a sense of history.

The third aspect was that Hindu socAiety had always been divided into four main caste groupingsathe varnas. This division, it was argued, was based on Indian society being a collection of segregated races, with caste as the mechanism that controlled segregation through a code of regulations that determined how it was to function. Therefore, it remained unchanging through history. Racial identity was at the forefront in discussions on society at that time with the prevalence of what was called arace sciencea in Europe. This notAion of caste was derived by colonial scholars largely from what they saw as the Aryan foundations of Indian civilisation, both as a race and a language. The earlier people were labelled as Dravidian because of its being another ancient language group with a distinct geographical locAation and substantial numbers of speakers. Dravidian became the counterpoint to the Aryan. Sanskrit was viewed as the dominant language of the Aryan civilisation; the hegemonic religion was Vedic Brahmanism. In all three descriptions, India was projected as the alien, the aOthera of Europe. Europe had to be projected as unique and Asia as lacking in characteristics of European civilisation.

Colonial interpretations claimed to be applying the criteria of Enlightenment rationality to their interpretation of the history of the colony. But, in effect, they were imposing a history that was not divorced from justifying colonial dominance. These preconceptions, together with a focus on chronology and the narrative of dynasties, governed routine history. Colonial historians drew on texts encapsulating the elite-caste perspectives of Indian socAiety and extended it to the whole of society. Indian historians writing on ancient India came from the newly emerged middle class and were of the privileged castes and therefore familiar with these texts. There may have been some hesitation in analysing their contents critically in the manner required by historical resAearch, as among the texts were those often regarded as sacred. The colonial routine continued.

Nevertheless, a debate did emerge, especially among historians influenced by nationalist ideas and opposed to some colonial preconceptions. The colonial periodisation was generally accAepted. A few changed the nomenclature to Ancient, Medieval and Modern, borrowed from Europe and thought to be more secular, although the markers remained the same and there was no effective change. Oriental despotism as a theory that explained the pre-modern political economy of India had few takers. Nationalist Indian historians largely rejected it. However, alternative hypAotheses on the early Indian political economy and society were limited. This would have meant critiquing the normative texts and giving greater credence to non-religious texts. Social history in standard works largely reiterated the description of the four varnas as given in the normative textsathe codes of caste society known as the DharmaAshastrasaregistering little recognition of deviations, leave alone explaining them. Even where there was a conflict between the sacred text and inscriptional evidence, the conflict was not analysed and the textual statements were taken as correct. That the system need not have worked precisely as described in theory was not generally envisaged. Other ways of looking at the past were not admitted to the forefront of historical writing.

The predominant form of nationalism, described as anti-colonial and secular, was beginning to be imprinted on Indian historical writing in the early 20th century. This was the nationalism of the majority of the Indian population. But parallel to this, and initially less apparent in historical writing, were emerging the two religious anationalismsaaHindu and Muslimamuch encouraged by the colonial version of the Indian past. These were not essentially anti-colonial, since their agenda lay in their political ambition of establishing separate religion-based nation-states. They were less interAested in researching alternate paradigms and explanations of history and more in seeking to use history as given by colonial scholarship to legitimise their political ideology and the mobilisation that they sought. There was an even greater insistence that religious identity had always been the seminal identity in the past and continued to be so in the present. They argued that this identity of Hindu and Muslim would define the character of the nation-states in contemporary times, even if it meant establishing two separate nations. Religion for them was more important than democracy and human rights. In the case of Hindu nationalism, the religion referred to is the religion of the elite castes, and that in effect was the religion of the minority group within the count of those that called themselves Hindus.

From these two perspectives, the project of history was directed towards justifying what was to be the outcome of independenceathe partition of India into two states, one upholding Islam and the other encapsulating the struggle between those wanting a secular democracy and those proposing a Hindu state. The colonial view of Indian history was being echoed in these ideas. The argument that if the one came, the other was inevitable was only held by those who accepted the colonial version of Indian history, as did the areligiousa nationalists, although they never admit to their sources. Post-colonial mainstream nationalism, as different from the religious nationalisms, still insisted that the state of India should be a secular democracy and that is essentially what Indian nationalists had fought for.

***

Where nationalism based on a specific religious, linguistic or ethnic identity has been successful in creating a nation-state, it is used to justify identity politics. The identities that fail to be dominant take on the characteristics of a kind of sub-Anationalism until such time as they too aspire to the making of yet another nation, or else fall by the wayside. Identity need not always be derived from religion. With Bangladesh it was language. More recent but unsuccessful demands for nationhood, such as that of Khalistan among the Sikhs, stemmed again from religion within the context of a larger nation that is multi-religious.

Secessionist movements are not unkAnown even to well-established nationsasuch as Scottish nationalismabut they need not be violent or identified with an extremist ideology, although Irish nationalism, for obvious reasons, was different. In India, there have been trends in that direction with language-based movements in the south and demands for regional autonomy. MovAements oriented more to ethnicity are known from the Northeast.

The colonial inheritance, where it remains unquestioned, persists, and religious nationalisms appropriate it and build on it. It dominates the thinking of those that regard themselves as defAending all things Indian, by which they often mean Hindu, or else defending the religion they support and oppose the minority community from which non-compliance is feared. This is an expAlicit continuation of James Millas two-nation theory, with its insistence on the innate hostility between Hindus and Muslims, and the theory of the victimisation of Hindus by Muslim rulers. So, the counterpart to Pakistan has to be a Hindu India according to some, even if a secular India is more viable, given the nationas history (and current reality) of multiple cultures and the plurality of religious beliefs.

The argument that a religion-based state, drawing on majority and minority religious communities as its units, militates against democracy is of little concern to such opinion. The undemocratic intentions of religion-Abased nationalisms are brushed aside by them and more so now that we are enmeshed in a neoliberal market economy that reiterates hierarchies of inequality. Movements from below demanding equal rights are described as threats to the state. Muslim religious natAionalism demanded a separate state using the colonial argument of two nations and, according to some, such a state could have been the core of a rejuvenated Islamic world. Not all Muslim organisations in pre-Partition India supported this argument, and some opposed it; but it claimed, as religious nationalisms have to, that it had the majorityas supAAport.

History as viewed by Hindu religious nationalism, in its incAarnation as Hindutva, is a narrative of Hindus having been the original inhabitants of the land later known as British India, and thus the rightful inheritors of the past. It is said that the Hindus once had a great and glorious past that was destroyed by Muslim conquerors. Consequently, the creation of a Hindu state is projected as a legitimate return to a rightful inheritance. The unbroken descent of Hindu ancestry and relAAiAAgion (pitribhumi and punyabhumi) from earliest times, according to this schAool of thought, legitimises the primacy of Hindus in the present. It combines with this the construction by F.M. Mueller, the Orientalist and philologist, of a superior Aryan culture and the Aryan foundations of Indian (read Hindu) civilisation.

Interestingly, it was the Theosophists, and in particular Colonel H.S. Olcott, the organisationas co-founder, who were initially the major propagators of this theory in the nineteenth century. Olcott argued that the Aryans were indigenous to India and took civilisation from India to the West, an idea that is promoted by HinAdutva, but with no reference to its colonial origins. The Theosophists were close to the Arya Samaj before they fell out.

The advantage of the Aryan theory of origins was that the elite castes claimed an Aryan descent and thereby also an unbroken lineage of dominance since the beginning of the establishment of civilisation. They also claimed close kinship with the British, who were geographically at the other end of the aAryana spread across Eurasia. The existence of the Harappan civilisation, discovered in the 1920s, questions this narrative. But by maintaining that the Harappans were also Aryans, this questioning is disallowed. However, there is as yet no evidence for this argument. Both the two-nation theory and the theory of Aryan origins are rooted in the nineteenth-century colonial interpretation of Indian history. These theories become a form of nurturing and continuing colonial explanations of Indian history, while claiming them as indigenous Indian history.

Most historians have questioned these and other theories formulated, for instance, by the trilogy of Mill-Macaulay-Mueller, the authors of the more established colonial construction of the Indian past. (Thomas Babington Macaulay was a British politician and administrator and the author of the infamous 1835 Minute on Indian Education that dismissed the awhole native literature of India and Arabiaa as worthless.) Ironically, the historians who have questioned these colonial theories are the ones who are accused by the Hindutva-vadis of being anti-national, the children of Macaulay, and aMarxista. The contemporary historical moment is that of a post-colonial state, an independent nation, and the conflict is over the immense change in power relations this entails. The conflict is dressed up in the clothes of religion and the slogan is that the pre-eminence of Hindutva has to be established.
Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samitee (MANS) Head Office: Tarangan, Kunda Smriti Kendra, 12 United Western Bank Colony, Shahu Nagar, Gadoli, Satara a 415001 office: Bhaskar 68, Kalika Devi Nagar, Sanghama Chowk, Golibar Tekdi Road, Dhule a 424001 Mobile : 9422790610, 8975130609 E Mail : avinashpatilmans@gmail.com

Date: 1 July 2016

CHALO JANTAR MANTAR, NEW DELHI

PROTEST on Wednesday 20 July 2016 at 11 AM

1) To demand fast investigation of the murder cases 2) To demand an inquiry into the terrorist activities of Sanatan Sanstha and Hindu Janajagaran Samitee and request for taking appropriate action against them

20th July to 20th August: Campaign aAgainst Violence, Towards Humanitya

Hon. All,

the like minded Organisations, Political Parties, Institutions, Colleagues, Members, Friends, Comrades,

You are well aware that renowned rationalist and founder Chairman of Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samitee (MANS) Dr. Narendra Dabholkar was brutally murdered in Pune on 20th August 2013. Soon after this murder, Comrade Govind Pansare, one more social activist and progressive thinker, was shot at on 16 th February 2015 and died later on 20th February, 2015. A period of almost 17 month has lapsed thereafter. One more intellectual, Prof. Mr. M. M. Kalburgi was murdered on 30th August 2015. The investigation of this case is being done by Karnataka State CID.

It is regretted that there is a very little progress, after the arrest of a suspect each in Pansare and Dr. Dabholkar Murder case. In Kalburgi case, there is no progress at all. Arrested both the prime suspects in Dr Dabholkar and Pansare case are Dr. Ravindrasinh Tawde and Sameer Gaikwad, members of Sanatan Sanstha and Hindu Janajagaran Samitee (HJS). However, state Government and Central Government has neither taken any stand nor announced any policy, so far, about these organizations, apparently engaged in terrorist activities.

MANS is strongly protesting against this apathy, irresponsible and insensitive approach of the Government and the Investigating Agencies. Because, even after lapse of about 34 months period after Dr. Dabholkars murder, the investigation has not reached to any convincing logical conclusion. We condemn Sanatan Sanstha and Hindu Janajagaran Samitee, fundamentalist, right wing Hindu organisations who are spreading hatred and are reportedly engaged in terrorist activities like Goa blast and murders of progressive thinkers.

So, we are organising protest campaign aAgainst Violence, Towards Humanitya at national and international level which will commence at Delhi on 20th July 2016 and will continue upto 20th August 2016. This programme will conclude on 20th August 2016 at Pune, with a mass protest, which, all the like minded organisations will join. Let us participate in this protest programme with full strength.

What you can do:

1) Can conduct morning walks/rally/agitations/demonstrations all over Maharashtra and other states and submit the statements to Chief Minister of Maharashtra State, through District Collector, Tehsildar, Police Superintendent.

2) Can display the photographs of absconded suspects of 2009 Bomb Blast and also the suspects in Dr. Dabholkar murder case.

3) Demand an inquiry into the terrorist activities of Sanatan Sanstha and Hindu Janajagaran Samitee and request for taking appropriate action against them.

Thank you,
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The National Weather Service is issuing a Red Flag Warning for Sunday across most of northern Coconino, Navajo and Apache counties.

Strong winds could gust to 40 mph across the region, and humidity will be low. Temperatures will climb above 90 degrees for most of the area north and east of Flagstaff.

The Red Flag Warning starts at 11 a.m. and will run through 8 p.m.

No rain is in the forecast for the region through Sautrday.
After beating out 120,000 other actresses for the part, newcomer Jelly Lin made her film debut as the title character in comedy legend Stephen Chows latest box-office record breaker, The Mermaid. In town to receive the New York Asian Film Festivals Star Asia Rising Star award, the charming, lovely Lin chatted with me about her days on a Chow set, the pressures of instant fame and costarring with superstars Deng Chao and Show Luo.

The Lady Miz Diva: How do you feel being in New York to receive the Star Asia Rising Star award?

Jelly Lin: I feel very thankful. I feel very honored. I will work hard in the future to be better in my career.

LMD: You have such a remarkable story, but first Id like to know is what its like being on a Stephen Chow set?

JL: Sometimes when we are shooting something really funny, sometimes he will laugh out really loud. And then on the set, he is the only one who was so immersed in all the acting, so immersed in all the story and writing. He is just really intense, always.

LMD: What was some of the best advice director Chow gave you about creating Shan, the mermaid?

JL: So you know how I had to walk like a penguin in the movie? Stephen Chow was the big penguin, while I was the little penguin, so he would walk in front of me.

LMD: What other research did you do for the role? Did you read the Hans Christian Andersen fairytale of THE LITTLE MERMAID?

JL: Stephen Chow is a special director and he has his own thing going on. He would ask me to do a lot of different things, like walking around and imitating Bruce Lee and dancing. I didnt know exactly what that was for when I was shooting it, however, after I watched the whole film after it was edited, then I could tell, Oh, this is how he planned everything thats in the picture.

While we were shooting, he asked me to do different things and then I acted accordingly and we would try and shoot different things. Director Chow had his own control and his own plan for what he was doing and I would just react fast on the spot.

LMD: You mentioned Bruce Lee. Everyone knows that Stephen Chow is a huge Bruce Lee fan and THE MERMAID opens with the theme from THE BIG BOSS. Where did you feel the Bruce Lee connection was here?

JL: Stephen Chow is the biggest fan of Bruce Lee ever, and he would connect everything he could to Bruce Lee.

LMD: Did you watch Stephen Chows earlier films to help you prepare to make this movie?

JL: You cannot really tell any real personal traits from his films. He has all these different films and every single film is different.

LMD: The cast for your film is amazing. You have your first screen kiss with superstar Show Luo, your main lead is Deng Chao, a gigantic star in China, and you even have an appearance from Wu Yi Fan {Kris Wu}, who was a huge pop star in Korea and China. Please talk about your experience with these established actors and what you learned from them?

JL: They passed along a lot of acting experience to me. They taught me a lot about how to act as a film actress. They also helped me a lot with how to deal with the stress that I was facing as a first-time actress. Also, I was really nervous because I didnt have training beforehand and I got onto the set and started filming this huge film. I was feeling nervous about the process. So Deng Chao spent a lot of time telling me how to handle this. So we were like brother and sister.

LMD: So much of the fun of THE MERMAID comes from the crazy CGI effects. Since everything is new to you as first time actress, what was it like to act against the green screen? Tell us about the process of filming the visual effects.

JL: There is a dynamic between the director and also the CG group. Because of those dynamics, they sometimes have different ideas of what to do and what is better, and that means I have to take more takes. It made my shooting more work, because I had to try different things, so that they can communicate with each other which is better.

LMD: While THE MERMAID is hilarious, there is a serious message in the film about the environment. What did you take away regarding the environment or the plight of the oceans that perhaps you didnt know before you started making this film?

JL: Its not only about the environment alone, its about life. Think about the fur products, like fur coats. You have a lot of life on this earth that is not only human beings, and we are all a family, globally, every single type of existence.

LMD: Is there anyone you look to and say, this is who Id like to model myself after?

JL: I like the Two Broke Girls! I like badass humor like that. They dont have limits, thats what I like about them. Its a really badass and unlimited sense of humor.

LMD: So you want to pursue that type of comedy in future films?

JL: I want to do everything - anything.

LMD: What are some of your most heartfelt memories of making THE MERMAID and being on the set?

JL: There was sequence in the movie where I ask Deng Chaos character, Liu Xuan, What would you do if you only had one minute to live on this earth? He said, I would just look at you. I really love that scene because no matter if the guy was saying something real or not, Shan Shan was really innocent and she believed everything he said and then she found that true love does exist on this earth.

I felt like when Zhang Yuqis evil villainess character was chasing after me and trying to kill me, Deng Zhaos character said, If anyone wants to do anything to her, you should do it to me first. I was really moved by that, as well.

LMD: The story of your beating 120,000 other actresses for the role is amazing. How did your friends and family react when you found out you were cast?

JL: I didnt tell them to begin with. I was worried that Id be replaced in the middle of the process, so I didnt tell my family and friends. After half a month of shooting, it was obvious to everyone that I was chosen, so I came clean to everyone. They were surprised. They didnt believe me. {Laughs}

LMD: The film is about to play here before a wide variety of people of all different cultures and backgrounds. Are you interested in watching the movie with the New York audience?

JL: Because there are a lot of different cultural backgrounds, as you said, and this film is very Chinese, per se; Stephen Chow is Chinese, so there is a very strong Chinese romantic comedy feeling to the film and I dont know how the audience will react. I would like to see more of their reactions after they see the film.

LMD: What is next for you?

JL: My upcoming project hasnt really been decided yet, but I want to play a female villain. I also want to play romantic stories on campus like a student {Laughs}.

This interview is cross-posted on my own site, The Diva Review. Please enjoy additional content, including exclusive photos there.
With a career that has included some of South Koreas biggest hits, including Joint Security Area, A Bittersweet Life, The Good, the Bad and the Weird and his latest record-breaker, Inside Man, Lee Byung-hun is simultaneously carving a place for himself in Hollywood with appearances in GI Joe and the upcoming Magnificent Seven. Before receiving the New York Asian Film Festivals Star Asia award for his lifetime of work, Lee chatted with me about walking the balance between South Korea and Hollywood.



The Lady Miz Diva: I loved the character of Ahn Sang-goo in INSIDE MEN

Lee Byung-hun: You even know the name! {Laughs}

LMD: He is a study of contradictions; hes very flamboyant, but hes very closed. Hes very wild and off the cuff, but he feels deeply. Did Director Woo Min-ho allow you to interpret him as you wished?

LB-h: In the beginning, I was actually more interested in the character that the actor Baek Yoon-sik portrayed; the op-ed columnist, however, the director told me that he wanted me to play the role of Ahn Sang-goo. In the original screenplay, Ahn Sang-goo was portrayed as a very stereotypical, rough-and-tumble gangster, but I really wanted to bring a bit more of nuance and layer into this character.

Also, because the story moves along in such an intense way, I really wanted for the audience to be able to have some moments where they could be relieved, where they could actually have a laugh. So, I feel like the character, Ahn Sang-goo, sometimes it looks like hes at loose ends, then at other times, hes intense, sometimes hes funny, but I really feel that that is actually what human beings are like in real life. Were very complex and there is not just one facet to our humanity and we can never be defined in just one singular way. So I thought, as long as I preserve the core of my character, I will be able to give a bit more layers to that character, and I also feel that is actually a more realistic way of acting and playing a character.

LMD: Youve been working constantly in Hollywood, so Im curious if part of the allure of coming back to Korea to make INSIDE MEN was that you would be able to create this character from the ground up?

LB-h: I would like to say that the most important thing that I consider when choosing my projects is really the story; even more so than the character. So, for me, if the story resonates and leaves a lasting impression on me, that is the reason why I choose to participate in a project. Even if there are some dissatisfying moments for the character, that is the way I choose. I think that is what really drew me to Inside Men because the story was really excellent.

LMD: Many times actors Ive interviewed discuss how their real lives have enriched their work and added layers to the roles they play. My favorite scene in INSIDE MEN is when Sang-goo is at the home of the prosecutors father and he reflects on his own family life and regrets having disappointed his father. You are now a father. Does this new life experience add to the layers you now have to give a character?

LB-h: Id like to tell you a story about how I came upon a screenplay that was adapted from a famous Chinese novel, and because I was such a fan of the Chinese novel, I was really excited to read the screenplay. Its a very long story, and it deals with a father who has many children. It basically spans from his twenties into his sixties. I really, really loved the screenplay, but I asked the director, Can you just give me five more years? Because at the time, I was still single and I felt that I would not be able to inhabit or express the emotions that a father would have.

So, a lot of things changed with that project; the director changed, so that didnt happen. But recently, I just finished working on a project called Single Rider and I am a father who has a five-year-old son. And from the moment I read the screenplay, through all the period of filming this film, I really felt that, if I had done this film before actually having a child, my performance would have been unrealistic and unbelievable. So, I really do feel there is a crucial difference. However much I use my imagination or my craft to express these emotions, really having the first-hand experience of being a father has, I feel, really made a difference.

LMD: In preparing for this interview, I found something interesting about your filmography; of your last seven films, only two are Korean.

LB-h: Oh really? {Looks over at manager who nods agreement}

LMD: On behalf of fans of your Korean work, I must ask whether we have to worry about losing you to Hollywood?

LB-h: {Laughs.} Wow! This is so weird! {Laughs.} I never imagined to get this kind of question from an American.

LMD: But thats a good sign, isnt it?

LB-h: Yeah, thats a good sign, but I didnt mean it. The ideal is half-and-half for me. But sometimes I do more Hollywood films, sometimes I do more of Korean films. It depends.

I have four movies I have to show this year. From the beginning of September til the end of December, I have four movies opening. Three of them are Korean.

LMD: So, it is your intention to always make Korean films?

LB-h: Of course, of course. You know, thats what I can do the best - in Korean, with Korean culture. I think sometimes I feel so sad and mad when Im filming an American film. Sometimes I feel like Im just trying to follow someone. To be similar with some kind of American actor. Because its really, really hard to act in a different country with a different language and a different culture. Its very hard, so Im still trying to get adjusted.

LMD: Im guessing that one US film is the MAGNIFICENT SEVEN remake coming up with Denzel Washington. Tell us who your character Billy Rocks is meant to be in comparison to the 1960 movie.

LB-h: Who Billy Rocks is meant to be in the John Sturges film is James Coburn, with the knives.

LMD: My last question is about a mutual friend, Kim Jee-woon

LB-h: {Laughs}

LMD: As youre receiving the New York Asian Film Festivals Star Asia award for your body of work, I would be remiss in not asking about your collaboration with Director Kim. I think many people in the West may have first noticed you in the films you did with him like A BITTERSWEET LIFE, THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE WEIRD, or I SAW THE DEVIL. Tell us about your relationship with him and whether we will see another collaboration?

LB-h: I actually met Kim Jee-woon just the day before coming here to New York, and I do understand that a lot of fans of A Bittersweet Life and The Good, the Bad and the Weird are waiting for another project where we work together. The same goes for me as well; I would love to collaborate with him on whatever project. And I feel because we know each other so well now, and that in itself can also be a vice, but it actually feels more of our synergy because we do know each other so well.

So, the long time that has passed for us not working together, I feel like thats a period of actually preparing for a bigger and better collaboration in the future.

This interview is cross-posted on my own site, The Diva Review. Please enjoy additional content, including exclusive photos there.


Seguin, TX (78155)

Today

Sunshine and a few afternoon clouds. High 83F. Winds SE at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms early, then mainly cloudy overnight with thunderstorms likely. Low 66F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%.
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A group of several hundred Black Lives Matter protesters attempted all Saturday afternoon and into the early evening to get onto several freeway on-ramps and disrupt traffic going to and from the Bay Bridge. The succeeded in creating some heavy gridlock downtown, as CBS 5 reports, and at one point were blocking cars from exiting the bridge on the Fremont Street off-ramp.

The Chronicle reports that the group peaked at around 500 people, marching through various parts of downtown and briefly blocking the entrances to the Westfield mall, but the protest began with about 100 young protesters, mostly African American and recent high school graduates, outside the Hall of Justice on Bryant Street.

Police were a step ahead of the group most of the day, as KRON 4 tells us, and their intention to get onto the I-80 freeway had been broadcast on social media. Police managed to keep the protesters from getting onto the freeway at the Fifth and Bryant on-ramp, and also at the Essex Street on-ramp further downtown, where things got more heated as the group of marchers became a bit smaller.

One protester who grew up in the Mission District told the Chron that their purpose was both to get people to hear their message and to "make them feel discomfort."

The Fremont Street ramp reopened around 6:30 p.m., and the protest began winding down shortly thereafter.

Previously: Peaceful March Against Police Killings Culminates In Rally At City Hall
MILFORD, Iowa -- Veterinarian Angela Ascherl says the Fourth of July weekend occupancy at Boji Bark -- the overnight dog boarding and day camp facility she and her husband, Tim, opened here on April 1 -- exceeded all expectations, by far.

We were booked to capacity -- with just under 50 dogs in for boarding or doggie day camp. And, we had a waiting list of about 20 more, she said Tuesday afternoon while checking out the last dozen of her guests.

While most of Boji Barks weekend guests were out-of-town canines that boarded for the weekend, several were regular day campers, like Todd, a 10-month-old goldendoodle pup. Todd has become the unofficial ambassador to both large and small dogs and their human companions.

Luanne and Joe Giesler live in the Wynstone Development in North Sioux City, and have a second home at Millers Bay. Joe Giesler, a former executive at Terra Industries, said last week, Its really a great idea. All the dogs play well together.

In contrast to the goldendoodle, the Gieslers' dog Rudy is a mini-whoodle who, he said, enjoys playing with all the other dogs. I feel comfortable when we take Rudy up there -- that the big dogs arent going to whoop up on him. It provides an opportunity for us to have our life and know that we can get our dog taken care of.

Susan and Ron Rensink, who call Sheldon, Iowa, their home, also have a lake home at Okoboji -- and a westie named Tucker, who has been both a boarder and a day camper at Boji Bark.

Tucker loves it there and loves to play. They actually do things with the dogs. Hes very tired when he gets home. Its very good for Tucker because he doesnt get to be around other dogs very often, Susan Rensink said.

Boji Bark is in a 5,500-square-foot building that had been a welding shop. It was redesigned be efficient, with special flooring and individual sleeping suites and elevated beds for each dog (or dog family), all constructed with materials designed for easy maintenance.

Our biggest expenditures were for efficient suites and the HVAC system. The suites cost too much to be called cages. We spent a lot of money on them. But in return we expect that they will be as good in 10 to 15 years as they are today. And we can exchange 100 percent of the air in about an hour, Tim Ascherl said.

Dog owners are invited to bring favorite foods, treats, toys and bedding for their pets.

There are even televisions in the boarding area -- not so much for the dogs to watch, but to provide white noise. The pets even become video stars in their own right, as their owners are able to watch their play activities on their smartphones.

We send regular email or text messages to the owners, as well. One dog owner is getting her campers notes in France, Angela Ascherl said.

Tim Ascherl says dogs attend day camp for many different reasons. Some clients are professionals who live here and work out of town. Until now their dogs were just home sitting on the couch. We give the dogs a chance to play with other dogs in a controlled environment. Some dogs come in for a day just to get worn out before a long car trip," he said.

We also have clients who want their dogs to be socialized. Otherwise they just stay home alone and never meet other dogs except on a leash. They also behave better at home after time here socializing. Other people just bring their dogs in when theyre going out of town for business appointments," he said.

Vacationing dog owners can visit with their pets who may not be allowed in area motels or condos. Many take them out for bike or boat rides. This way they can stay later having their dogs here at the lakes instead of needing to be home in the early afternoon to pick up their animals," he said.

In the off season well pull from a 60-mile radius because theres nothing else like this in Northwest Iowa.
In a week when law enforcement generated daily headlines, the Flagstaff Police Department also made the front page.

On Wednesday, there was a photo of Officer Dave Saurer doing a cartwheel during the Fourth of July Parade. The caption said the crowd went wild with appreciation.

We dont begin to think that a police officer turning cartwheels is as newsworthy in a global sense as five killed in Dallas or two others involved in civilian shootings in Louisiana and Minnesota.

But in Flagstaff, maybe he is. The police are the most visible representatives of the city on a daily basis, and in Flagstaff they are known for their participation in community events, their neighborhood partnerships and their transparency.

They still hand out speeding tickets, take domestic abusers to jail and, on rare occasions, fire their weapons. Last month they killed an armed suspect after a foot chase, and last year they buried one of their own, killed during a routine domestic violence house call.

COMPASSIONATE POLICING

But with a police chief who is not afraid to use the word compassionate in the same phrase with policing, the FPD doesnt generate headlines about excessive force, much less lethal encounters with minority motorists. It gives out Better Bucks to the homeless to help them stay away from alcohol, has officers specially trained to deal with behavioral and mental health problems in suspects and works to keep undocumented residents in touch with police, not in jail.

And when the courts seek to also divert from jail alcoholic offenders, the nonviolent mentally ill and veterans, the FPD is all in. The fact that the force has high turnover is due mainly to the high cost of living, and city officials are addressing that with pay raises and a housing down payment assistance program.

So as we sit in Flagstaff looking out at a national landscape of broken community-police relations, it is hard to relate. We are reminded regularly of our good fortune by the headlines made by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who has made a political career out of an us-vs.-them attitude  you are either with the police 100 percent or against them. Equipped with military hardware and a grab bag of prisoner humiliation tricks, Arpaio thrives on the fear he stirs up between different groups. If community policing is the new professional standard in law enforcement, why is Arpaio still sheriff?

MORE RIDE-ALONGS

But even in communities without a professional wedge driver like Arpaio, police and minorities could still benefit from more direct interaction before it comes to a traffic stop. What about two-hour minority ride-alongs and walk-alongs as the police do their jobs? And why not build a minority community contact quota into every 40-hour week for an officer  they get to choose the event, structured or informal. A barbecue at Killip with police in civilian clothes, tutoring GED students, sitting in on substance abuse recovery sessions at the jail  maybe Flagstaff police are already doing those things, and if so, our hats are off to them.

The takeaway for Flagstaff from such a lethal week in police-community relations elsewhere is that prejudice and ignorance in general can be corrosive, even if not deadly. If a social setting or your Facebook friends photos all look like you, ask why that happens in a city where the Hispanic and Native American populations combine for more than 30 percent. And NAUs Mountain Campus adds even more to the diversity.

DELIBERATE INTEGRATION

Flagstaff doesnt have to mirror the deep divisiveness and rancor of police-minority relations in other cities to still benefit from a more deliberate and structured approach to integrating all facets of community life. We need not be afraid to bring up the subject of prejudice and discrimination  minorities can help whites understand it, and whites need to seek out affiliations and experiences that deepen that understanding.

While other cities work just to stem the violence and address the seemingly intractable problems of deep poverty and joblessness, Flagstaff has some breathing room. We can grieve for the victims and urge elected leaders to support policies and programs that at least protect the safety of all. But in Flagstaff, the groundwork has been laid to achieve much more. Lets not squander the opportunity.
GRANITE, Iowa | Hundreds of years ago, the area along Blood Run Creek near here was a hub of activity, home to some 10,000 people from various Indian tribes who developed a robust trading center.

They left behind dozens of earthen mounds, still visible under the tall prairie grass. Whether they are burial mounds or served some ceremonial purpose is not fully known, but they are evidence of the importance Blood Run once served and still represents to tribal descendants.

State, local and tribal leaders would like to see the area come alive once again. They picture a new state park allowing visitors to learn about the history of Blood Run and the culture of the people who lived here.

"I think everybody's really enthused about it. It's a long-overlooked site," said Jim Zangger, a Lyon County Historical Society member. "There's been awareness of it for a number of years, but it's been slow."

Awareness has picked up the past two years, since the Iowa Legislature appropriated $2 million to state agencies to study the possibility of a bi-state park with South Dakota, which has begun development of Good Earth State Park at Blood Run on its side of the Big Sioux River.

On Friday, after more than a year of research and gathering public input, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs will present the final Iowa Blood Run Cultural Landscape Master Plan at Grand Falls Casino Resort in Larchwood.

"We've started really looking into what activities a state park could provide," said Todd Coffelt, the DNR's state parks bureau chief.

Because of the cultural and historical significance of the area, a vision for a park with minimal development and an emphasis on preservation is emerging.

"The direction it's going is one that everyone's kind of in agreement on," said Shannon Wright, historic preservation officer of the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska, one of the tribes that once called the area home. "We would like to keep it preserved without doing any more archaeology that is ground-disturbing."

From about 1500-1700, the Ponca, Omaha, Oto, Ioway and other tribes settled in the Blood Run area. These early dwellers established a commerce center, trading the pipestone found nearby to other tribes and settlers.

They left their mark with the mounds, some as high as 6 feet. Over time, many were destroyed when land was cleared for farming and railroads, but about 70-80 remain in the area.

In 1970, 844 acres straddling the Big Sioux River were designated as the Blood Run National Historic Landmark.

"It's probably taken for granted. It is a beautiful site as well as being historic. I think it's kind of a hidden gem," said Emily Ostrander, a Lyon County Conservation Board naturalist who gives tours of Blood Run to school children and civic groups.

The DNR hopes the area's not taken for granted much longer.

Coffelt said that during a year of gathering input, many people in Lyon County agree on Blood Run's significance. He envisions a park including an interpretive center, historical preservation and limited outdoor recreation, such as trails.

Preservation has emerged as a key component. Wright said that tribes involved in the master planning are interested in learning more about what's buried beneath the mounds, but only through the use of ground-penetrating radar and other technology that doesn't require digging.

Sensitivity to excavation in the area briefly halted construction of an oil pipeline through Lyon County. The pipeline route travels through a site nearby that may contain ancient burial grounds. Construction was allowed to continue after the developer agreed to bore deeper through the ground underneath the land in question, rather than dig a trench for the pipeline.

Despite the potential to learn more about their ancestors through archaeological digs in Blood Run, tribes prefer the land be left undisturbed.

"Our biggest goal out here right now is to preserve the area," Wright said.

The master planning process has included 30 landowners in the study area, some 4,000 acres that include crop land as well as property not being farmed. The key to future development is finding the right location for amenities and getting funding to buy land to add to the 183 already owned by the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs. It's a process that could take several years, Coffelt said.

Lyon County Economic Development director Steve Simons is eager to hear what's included in the master plan on Friday. A new state park would attract tourists who would frequent Lyon County businesses, he said, but also expand their knowledge and appreciation of the extreme northwest corner of the state and a unique historical site.

"The obvious impact is people coming to enjoy the site, learning about the culture, the history," Simons said. "It is a beautiful part of the country."
IRENE, S.D. -- The South Dakota Highway Patrol has identified the man who died and the passenger who was seriously injured in a motorcycle-deer collision Saturday morning northwest of Irene in Yankton County.

According to a Highway Patrol news release, at 11:47 a.m. Saturday, 55-year-old Scot Brockmueller was driving a 2006 Harley Davidson south on 448th Avenue near 295th Street with a female passenger, 59-year-old Vickie Brockmueller, also of Irene, when a deer entered the roadway.

Brockmueller tried to avoid the deer, but the motorcycle collided with it, and both riders of the motorcycle were thrown by the impact.

Scot Brockmueller was pronounced dead at the scene, the release said.

Vickie Brockmueller was transported by helicopter to a Sioux Falls hospital with serious injuries not believed to be life-threatening, the release said.

Neither occupant was wearing a helmet.

The Highway Patrol is continuing to investigate. Assisting at the scene were the Yankton County Sheriff's Office, Yankton EMS, Irene EMS and the Irene Fire Department.
This election is a choice between taking our government back from the special interests or surrendering our last scrap of independence to their total and complete control. We, the voters, can choose the status quo which has led us down this path or a new agenda with big dreams, bold ideas and enormous possibilities for the American people.

Hillary Clinton believes that she is entitled to the presidency, and her campaign slogan is Im with her. She thinks that the presidency is exclusively about Hillary Clinton. But shes wrong  this election is about the people, and Donald Trump is with them.

We cant solve any of the problems facing our country by relying on the politicians, like Hillary Clinton, who created them.

Hillary Clinton has perfected the politics of personal profit and theft, running the State Department like her own personal hedge fund  doing favors for oppressive regimes and many others in exchange for donations to her personal foundation.

Hillary Clintons reckless decisions unleashed ISIS barbarism in Syria, Iraq and Libya, all while putting Iran on the path to nuclear weapons, and yet she refuses to recognize the threat of radical Islamic terrorism. The only winners from Hillarys State Department tenure are the Clinton bank account and our foreign enemies. - Sandra Fry, Bronson, Iowa
DES MOINES | An influential bloc of Iowa religious conservatives - turned off by a 2016 presidential matchup between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton - were urged Saturday to "think bigger" in leading a spiritual revival that would transform American culture to embrace pro-family, pro-church policies.

"Our vision is a revived America that honors God and blesses people," Bob Vander Plaats, president and CEO of The Family Leader Foundation, told about 1,200 attendees - including 400 pastors and their spouses - at the organization's fifth annual leadership summit on Saturday.

"We don't need the church to be political. But we do need the church to be biblical and to be culturally relevant so the people in the pews know what to do when they get involved in the government and in the politics," he told the assemblage. "If we elect the right people, we will get the right policy."

Previous summits have featured Republican presidential hopefuls wooing evangelical Christians who have become foot soldiers for GOP conservatives at election time.

But Vander Plaats said there was concern the organization was "going too far political" and needed to "recalibrate" its vision to "keep the main thing, the main thing" in following God's mission for church, family and government.

Vander Plaats said tragic events in Dallas, Orlando, San Bernardino and other places are emblematic of "a culture that is in a dead sprint away from the heart of God."

"This culture doesn't need more sound bites, more rhetoric, more inflammatory comments," he said. "This culture needs the gospel of Jesus Christ, that will change hearts, that will change minds, that's when we think bigger.

"We pray fervently for a Holy Spirit-led revival when this country would experience a third great awakening like none other, and I think right now that's what we need more than ever," Vander Plaats told the summit attendees. "We believe if that happens, guess what, we will impact elections."

Even though he said this year's summit would not "get into presidential politics," Vander Plaats at one point said he needed to "address the elephant in the room" in writing "Trump" on a display board.

"We don't know if that's an elephant yet, but that's the elephant in the room. We have Trump and over here we have Hillary," he said. "I don't know about you, but I have never seen an election at this stage divide so many people. I've never seen it. Families are divided; ministries are divided; husbands and wives are divided on this issue; churches are divided.

"Here is my concern: good Christian men and women, brothers and sisters in Christ, the body of believers, some are coming up with different answers as it relates to this. That might be OK, but what I'm going to ask, what I'm going to encourage you is think bigger than 2016," he added. "Is 2016 important? I would argue, yes, it is important, but I think we shouldn't be distracted from the main thing."

Chuck Hurley, a former state legislator who is Family Leader vice president, said the intent is not to withdraw from the political arena, but not to get caught up in the "political illusion" that civics and government power is the answer.

"Admittedly, it is not what we would like - the situation for president," Hurley noted, but he said he expected many religious conservatives would get involved in down-ballot Iowa campaigns that hold more promise than a presidential race in which he speculated "not too many" of Saturday's attendees would actively engage.
A first year law school student wrote a complaint about her professor having worn a Black Lives Matter T-shirt during class. The professors response is priceless.

Scans of the original letters were uploaded to the internet as images here. Ive transcribed them below.

To: REDACTED

From: Concerned Students

Dear REDACTED,

We write this letter to you with concern about your inappropriate conduct at REDACTED Law School.

Specifically, you have presented yourself on campus, on at least one occasion, wearing a Black Lives Matter t-shirt. We believe this is an inappropriate and unnecessary statement that has no legitimate place within our institution of higher learning. The statement you represented and endorsed is also highly offensive and extremely inflammatory. We are here to learn the law. We do not spend three years of our lives and tens of thousands of dollars to be subjected to indoctrination or personal opinions of our professors.

REDACTED Law School has prided itself on the diverse demographics represented within the student body. Your actions however, clearly represent your View that some of those demographics matter more than others. That alienates and isolates all non-black groups.

As someone who is charged to teach criminal law, it should be abundantly clear to you and beyond any question that ALL lives matter, as it is expressed unequivocally in the law. Furthermore, the Black Lives Matter statement is racist and anti-law enforcement and has been known to incite violence in this country. As someone who is paid to teach the law, you should be ashamed of yourself.

Your willingness to wear such an advertisement can only lead us to believe that you are completely ignorant of and uninformed about the social ramifications and implications surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement. People who support that message have robbed, rioted and burned innocent businesses and attacked law abiding peace officers who were charged with protecting ALL the demographics you've succeeded in isolating.

While we can appreciate your sacred right to the freedom of speech, we would strongly urge you to seriously reconsider your actions. You should exercise a little bit of respect and restraint. This is not a political science class or college. We are a law school. We have undertaken the very solemn duty to learn and respect the law. We do not need the mindless actions of our professors to distract and alienate us.

Just as our personal beliefs have no place in law exams, your personal beliefs have no place in the classroom.

REDACTED Law School is experiencing an unprecedented decline in bar passage rate. It is imperative that you utilize energy to actually teach law instead of continue to express hateful messages.

Unfortunately, we feel that we must deliver this message to you anonymously. It is clear that the opinions expressed within this letter are not welcome. If student body opinions go against the school or faculty we fear there will be retaliation. In fact, REDACTED Law School administration and faculty, including you, have shown no shame in displaying appalling levels of discrimination.

We are hopeful the new administration will rectify these abysmal failings and shortcomings. There is a lot of work to be done to rectify situations such as these.

Professor REDACTED



Response to Concerned Students Memo



I am accepting the invitation in your memo, and the opportunity created by its content, to teach you. I would prefer to do it through a conversation, or especially through a series of conversations. Because I dont know who you are. This isnt possible. And there is an even more important reason for putting this in writing for the entire law school community. The larger issues that underlie your anger are timely, and they touch the entire law school community and transcend it.

This response to your memo is in two parts. Part I addresses the substantive and analytical lessons that can be learned from the memo. Part II addresses the lessons about writing that can be learned from the memo.



PART I

When your argument is based on a series of premises, you should be aware of them. You should also be aware that if any of these premises are factually flawed or illogical, or if the reader simply doesnt accept them, your message will collapse from lack of support. Here is a short list of some of the premises in your memo, and my critique of them.



Premise: You have purchased, with your tuition dollars, the right to make demands upon the institution and the people in it and to dictate the content of your legal education.

Critique: I do not subscribe to the consumer model of legal education. As a consequence, I believe in your entitlement to assert your needs and desires even more strongly than you do. You would be just as entitled to express yourself to us if the law school were entirely tuition free This is because you are a student, not because you are a consumer. Besides, the natural and logical extension of your premise IS that students on a full scholarship are not entitled to assert their needs and desires to the same extent as other students (or maybe even at all). So, as you can see, arguments premised on consumerism are not likely to influence me. On the contrary, such a premise causes me to believe that you have a diminished view of legal education and the source of our responsibility as legal educators. This allows me to take any criticism from such a perspective less seriously than I otherwise would.



Premise: You are not paying for my opinion.

Critique: You are not paying me to pretend I dont have one.



Premise: There is something called Law that is objective, fixed, and detached from and unaffected by the society in which it functions.

Critique: Law has no meaning or relevance outside of society. It both shapes and is shaped by the society in which it functions. Law is made by humans. It protects, controls, burdens, and liberates humans, non-human animals, nature, and inanimate physical objects. Like the humans who make it, Law is biased, noble, aspirational, short-sighted, flawed, messy, unclear, brilliant, and constantly changing. If you think that Law is merely a set of rules to be taught and learned, you are missing the beauty of Law and the point of law school.



Premise: You know more about legal education than I do.

Critique: You don't.



Premise: There is an invisible only in front of the words Black Lives Matter.

Critique: There is a difference between focus and exclusion. If something matters, this does not imply that nothing else does. If l say Law Students Matter it does not imply that my colleagues, friends, and family do not. Here is something else that matters: context. The Black Lives Matter movement arose in a context of evidence that they dont. When people are receiving messages from the culture in which they live that their lives are less important than other lives, it is a cruel distortion of reality to scold them for not being inclusive enough.

As applied specifically to the context in which I wore my Black Lives Matter shirt, I did this on a day in Criminal Procedure when we were explicitly discussing violence against the black community by police.

There are some implicit words that precede Black Lives Matter, and they go something like this:

Because of the brutalizing and killing of black people at the hands of the police and the indifference of society in general and the criminal justice system in particular. It is important that we say that

This is, of course, far too long to fit on a shirt.

Black Lives Matter is about focus, not exclusion. As a general matter, seeing the world and the people in it in mutually exclusive, either/or terms impedes your own thought processes. If you wish to bear that intellectual consequence of a constricting ideology, thats your decision. But this does not entitle you to project your either/or ideology onto people who do not share it.



Premise: Saying Black Lives Matter is an expression of racist hatred of white people.

Critique: Black Lives Matter is not a statement about white people. It does not exclude white people. It does not accuse white people, unless you are a specific white person who perpetrates, endorses, or ignores violence against black people. If you are one of those people, then somebody had better be saying something to you. (I am using you here in the general sense as a substitute for one, and not as in you memo writers.)



Premise: History doesnt matter. Therefore sequences of cause and effect can be ignored (or even inverted).

Critique: To assert that the Black Lives Matter movement is about violence against the police is to ignore (and invert) the causal reality that the movement arose as an effect of police violence. Yes, the movement is about violence, in that it is about the subject of violence, but it is not about violent retaliation against the violence that it is about. It is a tragic fact that rage as a consequence of racial injustice sometimes gets enacted as violence (although not nearly as often as we might expect. Given the longstanding causes of that rage). We can all lament the fact that violence begets violence. But we cant even do that if we ignore the violence that has done, and is doing, the begetting.



Premise: What you think something means is the same as what it actually means.

Critique: We are all entitled to (and should make every effort to) discern meaning. There can be reasonable differences of opinion about what something means. Something can even carry a meaning that has a larger life of its own, regardless of the meaning ascribed to it by a particular person. For example, the flag of the Confederacy carries the meaning of white supremacy. Even if a particular person thinks it only means tradition. One person, or even a group of people, cannot take away the flags odious meaning just by declaring that it means something else. Similarly, ascribing a negative meaning where none exists does not bring that meaning into being.

Unless you speak for the Black Lives Matter movement you have no authority to say what those words mean to the people in it. You certainly have no authority to say (and apparently not even any knowledge of) what it means to me. Your interpretation of something and your reaction to it based on that interpretation are not the some as what something actually means. Things in the world have meanings that exist outside of you.

The point I am making here is different from the points above that address your misunderstanding of the movement and the three words that embody it. This is a point about aggrandizement, not accuracy.



Part II

Because a long time ago (in a law school far, faraway) I was a teacher of legal writing, and because I still care about it very much, I will make some points relevant to formal and persuasive writing.

When you are writing to someone who has a formal title (e.g., Doctor, Professor, Dean, Judge, Senator) you should address him or her using that title. To do otherwise appears either ignorant or disrespectful. Whether or not you actually have any respect for the person is completely irrelevant. I take that back. It might be more important to follow the formal writing conventions when you don't respect the individual person. Otherwise, you are risking trading the credibility of your entire message for the momentary satisfaction derived from communicating your disdain.

When you embed a statement in a dependent clause, you are signaling to the reader that it is of lesser importance (e.g. While we can appreciate your sacred right o the freedom of speech, ). If this was intentional, it undermines your message. If it was not intentional, it obscures it.

Frame the issue precisely and then focus on it. Dont overgeneralize. You begin by stating that the issue is my inappropriate conduct, which sounds very general. Then you narrow the issue to specifically one event that occurred on a particular day last semester. Your use of hyperbolic rhetoric throughout the memo suggests that you really are angry about more than just a T-shirt. If it really is about just he T-shirt, then by overgeneralizing from a specific occurrence, your message is swamped by exaggeration. If it really is about other conduct on my part, I cant tell what that is. By the end of the memo you have lost focus completely, generalizing (in statements that are unexplained and inexplicable) about bar passage and about the faculty and administration of the entire law school.

Be as clear as you can about everything, including the remedy you are seeking. You are not required to want anything specific, but I cant tell whether you do or not. Perhaps you are demanding that I simply cease and desist from wearing a Black Lives Matter shirt. If that is it, the demand could have been stated clearly. Instead, it is mired in the generalities and the threatening and overblown rhetoric that I referred to above.

DO NOT YELL AT THE READER. The power of your message should come from carefully chosen words that have been thoughtfully assembled, not from the size of your fonts. Capitalizing words does not make them more powerful. It just makes you look angry.



In conclusion, I believe that every moment in life (and certainly in the life of law school) can be an occasion for teaching and learning. Thank you for creating an opportunity for me to put this deeply held belief into practice.
KHANKE, Iraq | The advertisement on the Telegram app is as chilling as it is incongruous: A girl for sale is "Virgin. Beautiful. 12 years old. ... Her price has reached $12,500 and she will be sold soon."

The posting in Arabic appeared on an encrypted conversation along with ads for kittens, weapons and tactical gear. It was shared with The Associated Press by an activist with the minority Yazidi community, whose women and children are being held as sex slaves by the extremists.

While the Islamic State group is losing territory in its self-styled caliphate, it is tightening its grip on the estimated 3,000 women and girls held as sex slaves. In a fusion of ancient barbaric practices and modern technology, IS sells the women like chattel on smart phone apps and shares databases that contain their photographs and the names of their "owners" to prevent their escape through IS checkpoints. The fighters are assassinating smugglers who rescue the captives, just as funds to buy the women out of slavery are drying up.

The thousands of Yazidi women and children were taken prisoner in August 2014, when IS fighters overran their villages in northern Iraq with the aim to eliminate the Kurdish-speaking minority because of its ancient faith.

Since then, Arab and Kurdish smugglers managed to free an average of 134 people a month. But by May, an IS crackdown reduced those numbers to just 39 in the last six weeks, according to figures provided by the Kurdistan regional government.

Mirza Danai, founder of the German-Iraqi aid organization Luftbrucke Irak, said in the last two or three months, escape has become more difficult and dangerous.

"They register every slave, every person under their owner, and therefore if she escapes, every Daesh control or checkpoint, or security force - they know that this girl ... has escaped from this owner," he said, using the Arabic acronym for the group.

U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby told the AP that the U.S. continues "to be appalled by credible reports that Daesh is trafficking in human beings, and sex slavery in particular."

"This depravity not only speaks to the degree to which Daesh cheapens life and repudiates the Islamic faith, it also strengthens our resolve to defeat them," he said.

The AP has obtained a batch of 48 head shots of the captives, smuggled out of the IS-controlled region by an escapee, which people familiar with them say are similar to those in the extremists' slave database and the smartphone apps.

Lamiya Aji Bashar tried to flee four times before finally escaping in March, racing to government-controlled territory with Islamic State group fighters in pursuit. A land mine exploded, killing her companions, 8-year-old Almas and Katherine, 20. She never learned their last names.

The explosion left Lamiya blind in her right eye, her face scarred by melted skin. Saved by the man who smuggled her out, she counts herself among the lucky.

"I managed in the end, thanks to God, I managed to get away from those infidels," the 18-year-told the AP from a bed at her uncle's home in the northern Iraqi town of Baadre. "Even if I had lost both eyes, it would have been worth it, because I have survived them."

IS SELLS WOMEN, GIRLS

The Sunni extremists view the Yazidis as barely human. The Yazidi faith combines elements of Islam, Christianity and Zoroastrianism, an ancient Persian religion. Their pre-war population in Iraq was estimated around 500,000. Their number today is unknown.

Nadia Mourad, an escapee, has appeared before the U.S. Congress and the European Parliament to appeal for international help.

"Daesh is proud of what it's done to the Yazidis," she said to Parliament. "They are being used has human shields. They are not allowed to escape or flee. Probably they will be assassinated. Where is the world in all this? Where is humanity?"

IS relies on encrypted apps to sell the women and girls, according to an activist is documenting the transactions and asked not to be named for fear of his safety.

The activist showed AP the negotiations for the captives in encrypted conversations as they were occurring in real time.

The postings appear primarily on Telegram and on Facebook and WhatsApp to a lesser degree, he said.

Both Facebook-owned WhatsApp and Telegram use end-to-end encryption to protect users' privacy. Both have said they consider protecting private conversations and data paramount, and that they themselves cannot access users' content.

"Telegram is extremely popular in the Middle East, among other regions," said Telegram spokesman Markus Ra. "This, unfortunately, includes the more marginal elements and the broadest law-abiding masses alike." He added the company is committed to prevent abuse of the service and that it routinely removes public channels used by IS.

In addition to the posting for the 12-year-old in a group with hundreds of members, the AP viewed an ad on WhatsApp for a mother with a 3-year-old and a 7-month old baby, with a price of $3,700. "She wants her owner to sell her," read the posting, followed by a photo.

"We have zero tolerance for this type of behavior and disable accounts when provided with evidence of activity that violates our terms. We encourage people to use our reporting tools if they encounter this type of behavior," said Matt Steinfeld, a spokesman for WhatsApp.

Like the Bible, some passages of the Quran implicitly condone slavery, which was widespread when the holy book emerged. It also allows men to have sex with both their wives and "those they possess with their right hands," taken by interpreters to refer to female slaves.

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, most Muslim scholars backed the banning of slavery, citing Quranic verses that say freeing them is a blessing. Some hard-liners, however, continued to insist that under Shariah sex slavery must be permitted, though the Islamic State group is the first in the modern era to bring it into organized practice.

In the images obtained by AP, many of the women and girls are dressed in finery, some in heavy makeup. All look directly at the camera, standing in front of overstuffed chairs or brocade curtains in what resembles a shabby hotel ballroom. Some are barely out of elementary school. Not one looks older than 30.

One of them is Nazdar Murat, who was about 16 when she was abducted two years ago  one of more than two dozen young women taken away by the extremists in a single day in August 2014. Her father and uncles were among about 40 people killed when IS took over the Sinjar area, the heart of the Yazidi homeland.

Inside an immaculately kept tent in a displaced persons camp outside the northern Iraqi town of Dahuk, Nazdar's mother said her daughter managed to call once, six months ago.

"We spoke for a few seconds. She said she was in Mosul," said Murat, referring to Iraq's second-largest city. "Every time someone comes back, we ask them what happened to her and no one recognizes her. Some people told me she committed suicide."

The family keeps the file of missing Yazidis on a mobile phone. They show it to those who have escaped the caliphate, to find out if anyone has seen her, and to other families looking for a thread of hope they'll see their own missing relatives again.

The odds of rescue, however, grow slimmer by the day. The smuggling networks that have freed the captives are being targeted by IS leaders, who are fighting to keep the Yazidis at nearly any cost, said Andrew Slater of the non-profit group Yazda, which helps document crimes against the community and organizes refuge for those who have fled.

Kurdistan's regional government had been reimbursing impoverished Yazidi families who paid up to $15,000 in fees to smugglers to rescue their relatives, or the ransoms demanded by individual fighters to give up the captives. But the Kurdish regional government no longer has the funds. For the past year, Kurdistan has been mired in an economic crisis brought on by the collapse of oil prices, a dispute with Iraq's central government over revenues, and the fallout from the war against the Islamic State.

Even when IS retreats from towns like Ramadi or Fallujah, the missing girls are nowhere to be found.

"Rescues are slowing. They're going to stop. People are running out of money, I have dozens of families who are tens of thousands of dollars in debt," Slater said. "There are still thousands of women and kids in captivity but it's getting harder and harder to get them out."

PAYING TO ESCAPE

Lamiya was abducted from the village of Kocho, near the town of Sinjar, in the summer of 2014. Her parents are presumed dead. Somewhere, she said, her 9-year-old sister Mayada remains captive. One photo she managed to send to the family shows the little girl standing in front of an IS flag.

Five other sisters all managed to escape and later were relocated to Germany. A younger brother, kept for months in an IS training camp in Mosul, also slipped away and is now staying with other relatives in Dahuk, a city in the Iraqi Kurdish region.

Sitting very still and speaking in a monotone, Lamiya recounted her captivity, describing how she was passed from one IS follower to another, all of whom beat and violated her. She was determined to escape.

She said her first "owner" was an Iraqi IS commander who went by the name Abu Mansour in the city of Raqqa, the de-facto IS capital deep in Syria. He brutalized her, often keeping her handcuffed.

She tried to run away twice but was caught, beaten and raped repeatedly. After a month, she said, she was sold to another IS extremist in Mosul. After she spent two months with him, she was sold again, this time to an IS bomb-maker who Lamiya said forced her to help him make suicide vests and car bombs.

"I tried to escape from him," she said. "And he captured me, too, and he beat me."

When the bomb-maker grew bored with her, she was handed over to an IS doctor in Hawija, a small IS-controlled Iraqi town. She said the doctor, who was the IS head of the town hospital, also abused her.

From there, after more than a year, she managed to contact her relatives in secret.

Her uncle said the family paid local smugglers $800 to arrange Lamiya's escape. She will be reunited with her siblings in Germany, but despite everything, her heart remains in Iraq.

"We had a nice house with a big farm ... I was going to school," she said. "It was beautiful."
For the Week of July 11, 2016

Can the love of soapy drama serve as a guide to teach the world how to get along?

My dear readers, if you have been with me for any length of time, you will know I can't just write a GH column and not address the swirling madness in our country right now.

There is fear, violence, mistrust, anger, rage, sorrow, and many more powerful emotions dancing down the streets of America, and we all feel powerless to change it.

And then, I look at us, this big diverse community of soap fans. I have been writing this column for over a decade, and I get letters from soap fans all across America. Black, White, Asian, Latino, Gay, Straight, Republican, Democrat, Christian, Muslim, Atheist, etc. Here we are, in harmony, united in one soapy, sudsy little community. Sure, we sometimes bicker about the fate of our beloved characters.

What do we have that we can take into the world? A common love. We all love watching General Hospital, and we are invested in the crazy characters and their hijinks around Port Charles.

Will getting the whole country to watch GH solve our problems? Probably not, but there is a lesson here: if people find the thing they have in common, they don't fear each other anymore. "Oh, you like soaps? So do I!" Our common affection for this silly soap opera binds us into a family of sorts, of all different races, religions, age groups, sexual orientations, and party affiliations -- and we don't even ask each other the divisive questions that are tearing our country apart. Sure, there are a few bad eggs that write hateful things on the message board. Just stop engaging with them. But there is a sense of community here, and I think we have something to teach America.

My challenge to everyone reading these words is to go into the world this week, find what you have in common with your neighbors, and don't let fear take hold of your hearts. Love each other. Shine your light. Walk in peace.

Sermon over. Now to the mess that erupted in Port Charles this week.

If you follow me on Twitter, you will have seen this "Fact: I loathe the #GH writers today with the heat of 1000 suns burning in my chest. #Julexis is toast."

When I tweeted that, it clearly struck a chord with many of you, and my mailbox began filling up with comments of solidarity.

It kind of seems to me like ABC has said, "Hey, let's get out of the soap game and kill GH." Alexis and Julian are a very popular couple. Why would the writers completely destroy them otherwise? I know soap writers purposely create tension in relationships to give the story some depth, but having Julian with a knife to Alexis' throat, planning to murder her, is something you can't come back from. I don't care what fancy writing moves you have up your sleeve; I can never root for Julian and Alexis again now that you've shown me he is abusive and prone to murder.

I won't accept a Franco-like brain tumor as an excuse. I won't accept Alexis waking up in August like on Dallas and saying it was all a dream. The writers just effectively ruined their most popular couple for no discernable reason.

I could have accepted Julian dipping his toe back into the mob to save Ava and having Alexis find out and fight with him about it, but letting her take the fall for his crime and then trying to kill her? Nope. I'm out.

Sonny swept in and saved Alexis' life, even after he swore she was dead to him. There are some readers who get angry when I write nice things about Sonny, but you have to admit, he was a hero on Friday. Is he a hero overall? No, of course not. He's a criminal, but there is good in him, and Maurice Benard plays Sonny's internal struggle between the light and dark side of the force that burns within him well.

Why did Sonny have to save Alexis? Because Jordan, Paul, and Anna are incompetent at their jobs. Are there any cops in the audience out there? If so, I have to know -- after Julian confessed to killing Carlos, couldn't they have run in and arrested him at that exact moment, knowing the person wearing the wire to get that confession was in danger?

Instead, they waited for Jordan to drive across town on the Fourth of July and try to obtain a warrant. I mean, seriously, is that a thing? If a cop is out on the street and someone confesses a crime to them, do they have to go get a warrant, or can they just cuff them on the spot? I honestly don't know.

You know what else I don't know? Why the writers couldn't wait for Kirsten Storms to return to introduce Claudette. (OLTL's Bree Williamson) They have been dangling her name in front of us for months, and Maxie has been trying to track her down.

Then, the instant Ms. Storms leave, they bring Claudette in and cheat us out of the moment we have been waiting for. GH has a history of that, and I have a long memory. One of the times it truly infuriated me was when Michael was kidnapped (Carly was then played by Tamara Braun), and we saw Carly crying for months over her kidnapped son. Then, she leaves GH, and about three days later, Michael comes home to have his happy reunion with the Carly (Jennifer Bransford) that only lasted about six months.

Little known fact, I used to tour in a repertory theatre group in the 80s. Do you know what we could do? Change things on the fly. As in "We were going to do this scene, but this guy isn't here tonight, so let's do this scene instead." So, let's assume the actors in question gave GH a two-week notice of their plans. "Oh, Kirsten Storms is leaving at the end of June for a few weeks? Then let's shoot this scene with Claudette today instead of next week." And since Kirsten Storms is already back at work now, they could have postponed it for a week, too. It's certainly not earth shattering, just slightly anticlimactic.

I think Claudette is going to be trouble, yet I already kind of like her. I am just waiting for the day when she discovers Griffin Munro is also in town. Or does she already know? My hunch is she is going to be a Britt type of girl, which is the type of conniving, feisty girl who always livens up a soap.

I like Molly Burnett, the replacement Maxie, aside from the fact that she's a brunette. And before you write me hate letters and assume I hate people with brown hair, I'm merely saying if an actor is temporarily filling in for someone else, they should at least have the same hair color as the person they are replacing, in my humble opinion. Mind you, she can't replace our beloved Kirsten Storms, but knowing she is just filling in for a bit for a health issue makes me less inclined to reject her. Haha.

On to other fill-ins. Over in Greece at Cassadine Island, Nick Stabile, the temporary fill-in for Tyler Christopher has his hands full. His plan to fake his death and slink away was ruined the minute Ava sat next to him on the flight and took an "ussie."

To add to his problems, Jason and Sam found him and are planning to tell the authorities he is alive and well, thereby exonerating Jason of murder charges.

Readers, what do you think? Is Helena still alive? If not, who is roaming about on Cassadine Island, conking people on the head in the wine cellar? Man, it sure would be great if it were Luke who had taken over her lair, but sadly, I haven't heard any whispers about Tony Geary coming out of retirement.

Again, while Nick Stabile is doing an okay job filling in for Nikolas, I would prefer to have Tyler Christopher back in the saddle as soon as possible. This absence was first said to be the result of contract negotiations and then it became "personal" reasons. Is Tyler being a divo and asking for something unreasonable? Is ABC being greedy? I guess we'll have to wait and see.

In other Helena-related news, Sonny tracked down a woman named Ramona to try to get Carly info on Josslyn's kidney donor. She lied to Carly and said Helena was the person who paid her and arranged for the kidney. Immediately after that conversation, we saw Ramona calling someone she is in cahoots with to let them know Carly bought their lie. Who was she talking to? Did Jax himself arrange for the kidney for Joss? My husband, who pretends not to watch GH, said he thinks it's Heather, since she told Franco she had a large sum of money in the bank. What do you think?

In other Cassadine lies, Spencer has been busted for having a second secret cell phone. Readers, I just absolutely adore Nicholas Bechtel. That kid makes my heart happy. I wish I was his Nana. I would buy him oodles of toys.

I'm really enjoying Kristina (the fantastic Lexi Ainsworth) and her new boyfriend Aaron (John DeLuca). When she finally tells him Parker is a woman, will he be able to handle it, or will he run away in fear? I hope he has the character to hear her out and listen to her story. Although, with Ashley Jones off of maternity leave and heading back to Port Charles, I am not sure Parker is actually in Kristina's past.

My heart has gone out to the two youngest Davis girls this week as they waited for news on their mother. Both Haley Pullos and Lexi Ainsworth are such strong performers, and I love watching their sisterly bond. Molly has been sounding the alarm about Julian for months, and now her predictions came true. I think Molly should call her Daddy Ric home to console her and his ex Alexis. Mostly, this is a selfish wish just because I really miss Ric. But I do remember the sweetness of the relationship between Alexis and Ric back in the day, and since Julian should end up in prison for a long time, I wouldn't complain if Ric became Alexis' friend with benefits.

What will happen tomorrow, dear readers? Will Kiki's bullet hole scar disappear in a few months like Maxie's heart transplant scar? When everyone comes home from Greece, will Ava fight Hayden for Nikolas' affection? Will Laura and Dr. Collins get back to decoding Helena's creepy message after they realize Spencer doesn't need consoling? Will gossipy Nurse Amy find out that Hayden is sneaking in to get drugs for John Mc... Silas... er, Hamilton Finn? Will Franco bring Heather a bag of Kelly's BLTs to get her to hand over her fortune to him? Will Heather be the new manager of Kelly's when she next escapes, since no one is running it since Shawn went to jail?

Only tomorrow knows, dear readers, and I will tune in tomorrow as long as there are tomorrows.

Tamilu
Civil war broke out in South Sudan in late 2013 between the country's government and opposition forces after President Salva Kiir Mayardit accused opposition leaders Riek Machar and Pagan Amum of planning a coup. Tensions between the Dinka and Nuer ethnic factions in the Presidential Guard escalated into hostilities in the nations capital, Juba, before spilling over to other areas.

In August 2015, Kiir and Machar signed a peace deal for the formation of the Transitional Government of National Unity.

Over 10,000 people had died by early 2015 as a result of the fighting, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project. Almost two million civilians had been displaced by mid-2015, according to the United Nations.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  During the fighting in Juba between the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), loyal to Kiir, and SPLA in Opposition, which is supporting Machar, at least 150 soldiers were reportedly killed.

"The situation in Juba has significantly deteriorated. There is serious ongoing fighting between government and opposition forces, including near the airport, UNMISS locations, Jebel and elsewhere throughout Juba. U.S. citizens in Juba should remain vigilant. You should shelter in a safe location, preferably away from doors and windows, and avoid non-essential movements," the statement posted on Facebook reads.

The South Sudan armed ethnic conflict erupted in December 2013, a year-and-a-half after the nation gained independence from Sudan, when President Kiir blamed First Vice President Machar of preparing a military coup. The conflict forced more than a million people to flee their homes.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  On Tuesday, France24 broadcaster, citing Gaddafi son's attorney, reported that he was released from a prison in Libya in line with the amnesty issued by the Tobruk-based Council of Deputies. On Friday, authorities of the Libyan western city of Zintan refuted media reports, claiming that Islam was behind bars.

GNA stressed in a statement that Saif Islam had been considered guilty of perpetrating the crimes against humanity, and these crimes could not be a subject to amnesty. GNA also expressed dissatisfaction with the rumors on Islam's release and called these statements "irresponsible."

In July 2015, a court in the capital Tripoli in absentia found Saif Islam Gaddafi guilty of committing war crimes during the 2011 unrest and sentenced him and a number of then-high-ranking Libyan officials to death by firing squad.
Nonetheless, as recently as Thursday the two leaders  Vice President Machar and President Salva Kiir implored the warring factions to come together in peace for the good of the country leaving many to wonder whether the attack on the VPs residence was coordinated with the consent of the government or was undertaken against its wishes.

On Sunday, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that Kiir and Machar need to take "decisive action" to regain control of the security situation in Juba and urged each to order their forces to withdraw to their base until tensions subside.

"I am deeply frustrated that despite commitments by South Sudans leaders, fighting has resumed," Ban said in a statement. "This senseless violence is unacceptable and has the potential of reversing the progress made so far in the peace process."
But then terror struck home for Saudi Arabia last week with the horrific attacks at the Prophets Mosque in Medina, the second most holy site in Islam, in the waning hours of the holy month of Ramadan  a perversion so obtuse that Riyadh must face the reality that out of al-Qaeda came Daesh, but while both take life with impunity, the latter hardly even pretends to adhere to religion and is instead a cancerous metastasization rather than a proxy army.

While residents were deep in prayer on Ramadan, suicide bombers struck the US Consulate in Jeddah, three terrorists triggered blasts near a mosque in Qatif, and an apprehended terrorist in front of the Prophets Mosque blew himself up with an explosive vest resulting in civilian and security guard deaths.

"Such conduct contradicts the upright innate character, the principles of our Islamic religion and the pillars and values of our Islamic societies," said King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz following the attacks. "The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is determined, God willing, to strike with an iron fist whoever targets the minds, ideas, thoughts and trends of our youth. Society should be aware that it is a partner of the state in its efforts and policies to counter this deviant thought, as we, all of us, following the teachings and instructions of our Islamic religion, which clearly forbids bloodshed."
Fact 2

The camp was the first resort for young pioneers  the Soviet equivalent of Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts. Unlike other children's recreational facilities, Artek is open not only in summer, but all year round. So children can go to the camp not only during the holidays, but also when they have health problems and need a break from stressful everyday life. There is a school designed for 1,224 students at the camp so that the children are able to continue their education while at the same time getting some much needed rest.
The first attempt to demolish the mall was forcefully stopped as it met public protests, but the board officials returned this Saturday accompanied by police, administrative officials and army jawans.

According to the city officials, property owners were given three hours to make sure there were no people inside the building by the time the razing begins. But apparently no proper check was conducted.

A disaster response crew rushed to the scene when it turned out the mall wasn't empty. The crew identified 4 people killed as members of one family. As the tragedy unfolded, residents of Meerut gathered around the site shouting in anger and alleging negligence.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The parliamentary elections are being held every three years in Australia. The voters regularly elect 150 legislators of the lower chamber and 38 out of 76 lawmakers of the upper chamber. After the upper chamber legislators dismissed two draft bills proposed by the government, incumbent Prime Minister Turnbull dissolved both chambers, thus making all 226 seats in parliament eligible for election.

"This is a great day today. We have resolved this election and have done so peacefully. It's something we should celebrate and not take for granted," Turnbull told reporters, as cited by the ABC broadcaster.

Earlier in the day, Bill Shorten, the leader of the opposition Australian Labor Party, admitted his party's elections defeat, promising to work towards bipartisanship whenever possible and to strive towards having a functioning parliament.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The seventh patient infected by Zika virus is discovered nine days after his return to the country from Guatemala, the Seoul-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was cited by South Korea's Yonhap News Agency as confirming.

The the 52-year-old man whose identity was not disclosed is showing only minor symptoms of the disease and will be allowed to return to Guatemala where he had lived since 2010 later in July, the media said.
According to the ministry, other four terrorist were injured in the operation, while Afghan army lost two soldiers. The army also destroyed two terrorists' underground hideouts and seized ammunition.

Afghanistan is in a state of political and social turmoil, due to the continuing Taliban insurgency, which has expanded its activities in Afghanistan to major cities. At the same time, Kabul faces challenges from other extremist groups, most notably Daesh, outlawed in many countries including Russia and the United States.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  On Friday, South Korea and the United States announced they agreed to deploy the THAAD system with the US military stationed in South Korea to counter North Korea's missile threat. The THAAD system is designed to intercept short, medium and intermediate ballistic missiles at the terminal incoming stage.

Some 3,000 residents in Chilgok County, one of the most likely sites for the deployment, started the protest on Saturday, Korea Times newspaper reported.

Local politicians are sharing the resentment with county chief Baek Seon-gi saying "we oppose THAAD in our region. THAAD will also jeopardize the region's economy as well."
These cranes are working on the development of the Khorgos dry port, a project to construct one of the worlds largest ports in a place furthest away from any ocean.

Such are the ironies of globalization.

Once the port is fully operational, new industrial areas and cities will start to emerge along the trade routes, taking advantage of new infrastructure, low labor costs and growing industrial specialization between different economic regions, Politico reported.

The area is predominantly attractive to Chinese manufacturers, who are starting to settle in Kazakhstan to avoid paying duties to enter the Russian market.

At first glance, the construction of a network of railways, highways, energy and digital infrastructure, which will connect Europe and China, is extremely useful. Today, the delivery of goods from Chinese ports to Europe requires 36 days, the new route will shorten the period to up to ten days.

But the new Silk Road will do more than that. The project risks upsetting old geopolitical dynamics and reigniting a 19th-century world of great-power rivalry, a race for power at the heart of the greatest landmass on earth, Macaes noted.

The Silk Road Economic Belt is one of the most ambitious infrastructure projects in Eurasia. The initiative is one of the top priorities for the Chinese government.

The project is more than just a group of new transportation corridors linking China with Europe. In fact, the New Silk Road is a new model of economic partnership in Eurasia.

The initiative includes several transit corridors from western China to Europe which can be divided into three groups  the Northern Route, Sea Route, and the Southern Route.

The Northern Route is considered the most promising among the others. It would go via Kazakhstan and Russia. The Sea Route would include transit routes via Kazakhstan as well as ports of the Caspian Sea for transit to Turkey. The Southern Route would bypass Russia via Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran and Pakistan with an access to the Indian Ocean.
In addition, the EU imposed individual restrictions over the situation in Ukraine and introduced sanctions against Crimea. In particular, European companies have been banned from investing and running tourist business in Crimea.

European sanctions have also affected the defense industry and products of dual use (that can be used in both civil and military industries). The restrictions backfired at the French aviation industry, Crozet said.

According to a report by the French CEPII research institute, the countries that imposed anti-Russian sanctions lost over $60 billion between early 2014 and mid-2015 in export losses.

"We estimate this loss at $60.2 billion from 2014 until mid-2015. Interestingly, we find that the bulk of the impact stems from products that are not directly targeted by Russian retaliations," the report read.

Crozet underscored that for France losses from a Russian responsive food embargo were less than export losses, including the service sector and luxury goods.

Between January 2014 and June 2015, France was losing an average of $176.94 million per month, which accounted for 22.22 percent of the trade potential. As for products under the Russian food ban, losses reached over 50 percent of the trade potential.

At the same time, Ukraine and Germany were hit the most by sanctions, Crozet said. For example, Germany sustained 27 percent of all losses while France only 5.6 percent.
On Saturday's evening, up to 2,000 activists staged a protest against eviction of a so-called alternative residential project on Rigaer Strasse 94, which in Berlin usually means squatting.

The demonstration which began peacefully turned violent when extremists among the protesters started throwing stones, bottles and fires into police, breaking windows in nearby houses and damaging police cars.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The poster with the inscription "Yes, We Can Stop the TTIP" in English, written on the yellow background of 60 square meters (646 square feet), is put up the Metropolis building, located in the center of the Spanish capital, Greenpeace Espana said in a statement published on the website.

Obama started his visit to Spain on Saturday. His visit is marked by several NGOs and associations' protest actions. Participants of the protest actions are voicing their opposition to the TTIP, as well as to US troops' deployment at Spanish bases.

"While Mr. Obama would like to have the agreement signed prior to the expiry of its term, [US] presidential elections will be in November, and all the indications show that this will not be possible The US president, Mr Obama, is worried. And he has all the reasons to be [worried], because he knows that 'We can stop the TTIP.' And we will do it," the Greenpeace said.
MADRID (Sputnik)  Obama started his visit to Spain on Saturday. His arrival is marked by several NGOs and associations' protest actions in many cities, including Seville, Cadiz and Cordoba, in addition to those held in the capital. Participants of the rallies are voicing their opposition to the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) agreement between the European Union and the United States, as well as to US troops' deployment at Rota Naval Base and Moron Air Base.

"We want to demonstrate our indignation because of the visit of the "emperor," who imposes his deals on us in order to turn us into [his] servants," one of the protesters told RIA Novosti.
BERLIN (Sputnik)  Around 3,500 people took to the streets on Saturday to protest against Berlin authorities' efforts to clear a squat in the east of the city. More than 1,800 officers were deployed to monitor the protest.

According to the police, protesters, including members of left movements, were throwing bottles and stones at the officers.

"From around 1,800 security officers 123 were injured during the operation," the police said in a statement.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  According to the organizers, in 2016, the number of country pavilions has increased to 22 with the participation of Austria, Brazil, Republic of Ireland and South Korea.

Furthermore, this year, the military delegations programme will have a presence from over 45 countries. Among the highlights at the show is the first appearance of new US Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II stealth multirole fighters.

US aircraft manufacturing company Boeing have a pavilion to celebrate their 100th anniversary.
UAF's air defense unit personnel flipped over the machine after a military parade in Konotop city in northern Ukraine, the Inspector General of local police department told media. The parade was held to mark 357 years since Ukrainian Cossacks won in the battle of Konotop.

Resident of the city Spartak Sergiyenko saw the 9K35 Strela-10 lying gracefully in the middle of the street and immediately posted photographs of the capsized machine on his Facebook page.

"How is this possible?" He wrote. "What a party it must have been."
Irish MEP Brian Hayes warned this week that any attempt by the bureaucrats in Brussels to force a higher corporate tax rate against the will of the Irish voters would be met with an immediate decision by the country to leave the European Union.

"This is the absolute red line issue. Any attempt to cajole us, as far as Im concerned, were out the door," said Hayes. "We cannot be tied into an anti-business, anti-growth pact while the Brits are allowed to move on. We have a lot more to lose than anybody else."

Several other countries with non-traditional tax systems, such as Greece, may quickly join behind them when the inevitable assault on their democratic choice comes to fruition.

Still, the Irish people remain thoroughly rooted in European culture with a friendly view towards migration, an appreciation of free trade, and a clamoring to remain enmeshed with Europes other cultures.
The majority of those killed were women, including five underage girls. Eleven victims were reportedly members of the same family.

Four people were injured, the official added.
Waldir Maranhao faced significant pressure from his political allies who called for his ouster if he impeded the impeachment proceedings and the leader of the countrys senate, Renan Calheiros, said that he did not accept Maranhaos authority to annul the vote saying the impeachment vote would resume over his objections. The acting lower house leader quickly rescinded the bold overture for justice in light of this political reality.

Cunha has widely been called the Brazilian Frank Underwood, the character played by Kevin Spacey in the TV series "House of Cards," for his ability to whip up desired results through a series of questionable means and methods.

The notoriously corrupt lawmaker was much more subdued on Thursday as he announced his resignation, however, acknowledging that "only my resignation will put an end to the instability."

He also blamed the impeachment proceedings for his fate implying that he is less of a predatory "golpista" (leader of a coup) and instead the victim of political persecution.
Heddo told Sputnik that there were no PKK militants present in Syria, calling such media reports devoid of truth.

Turkish Interior Ministry, which considers the PKK  a separatist movement fighting for Kurdish self-determination in southeastern Turkey  a terrorist organization, has put Huseyin in the red category of the most wanted list.
"Over the past few days, there has been no ceasefire on the ground," Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr said. "On the ground, there is no truce and the violence continues."

The Syrian Foreign Ministry filed a letter to the UN Security Council and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, slamming the Western powers for supporting moderate opposition groups that constantly attack the city despite the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the truce agreement, SANA news agency reported Saturday.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The Yemeni president made a surprise visit to the governorate of Marib, south of the capital, during the preparations of the government forces for the operation to liberate the capital.

"We will soon celebrate the liberation of Sanaa and other provinces," Hadi said, as quoted by Sky News Arabia, making a promise that he will "clear the country of rebels" and "fly the Yemeni flag" over Saada, their main stronghold.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Militants set five oil wells close to Qayyarah refinery in Nineveh Governorate on fire and mined roads in the area, Shafaq News reported.

It comes a day after the Iraqi troops liberated the Qayyarah airbase some 60 miles south of Mosul from Daesh militants.

Iraqi forces are carrying out operations in Nineveh in preparation for an assault on Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city that has been under Daesh control since 2014.
BEIRUT (Sputnik)  On July 3, the Syrian army regained control over the Mallah farms on the northeastern edge of Aleppo, cutting off jihadist groups' key supply route between Syria and Turkey.

"Terrorists from Jabhat al-Nusra, Jaish al-Islam and smaller militant groups made a joined attempt to break through the encirclement in the area around the Castillo track in the Mallah farms. The artillery and air support helped us a lot. The attack was very massive, and we would not be able to hold our position without the support," the source in Aleppo's militia added.

According to the source, the terrorists began the breakout attempt late on Saturday. Over 20 militants and four militia members were killed in the fight.
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MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011, with government forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad fighting numerous opposition factions and extremist groups.

"'Silence regime', which had been established in the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic, has been prolonged by 72 hours until 23.59 on July 11, 2016," the ministry said in a daily bulletin posted on its website.

The Russian center for Syrian reconciliation at the Hmeimim airbase registered two violations of the ceasefire regime in Syrian Province of Damascus in the last 24 hours, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon has tried to present the F-35 in the most favorable light.

Earlier this week, Deputy Commandant for Aviation at the US Marine Corps, Lt. Gen. Jon Davis, described the F-35 as a "state-of-the-art, game-changing, war-winning" aviation platform in a testimony to the US House Armed Services Committee.

Davis also compared the single-seat, single-engine, all-weather stealth multirole fighter to a powerful dinosaur.

"The F-35's  twenty-four to zero kill ratio  killed all the targets," he said. "It was like Jurassic Park, watching a velociraptor  kills everything, does really well. We can't get that airplane fast enough into the fleet."
On Sunday, top US Air Force officials urged the US government to speed up its review of long-standing bids by Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain to buy American fighter jets citing growing frustration among key US allies in the Gulf about delays in procurement that threaten to undermine the mission in Syria.

Air Force Deputy Undersecretary Heidi Grant expressed that she found herself in a bind attempting to reassure countries that Washingtons refusal to approval billions of dollars in US arms sales was not an indication of a weakening of the bilateral air force-to-air force relationships that exist.

Although Grant expressed that she "would like to see a decision soon" in an interview with Reuters on the eve of the Farnborough Airshow in England, the procurement process to the Gulf states with systematic records of human rights abuses presents a troubling legal and ethical conundrum for the United States.
Lockheed Martin has said that if Canada were to conduct business with Boeing for their fighter jets that the company would remove all of its operations from the country resulting in roughly 10,000 high paying jobs being outsourced creating substantial economic dislocation for factory workers.

Canada tried to level with Lockheed Martin suggesting that instead of making a decision on the fighter jet based on currently available information, that instead the country should conduct a competition to see which fighter jet meets Ottawas defense needs. Lockheed immediately balked saying the clock is ticking before they walk out the door  an apparent acknowledgement of the F-35s inferiority.
MADRID (Sputnik)  The interview is published as US President Barack Obama's started his visit to Spain on Saturday. On Sunday, the US leader is scheduled to meet with Spain's acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and heads of three major Spanish parties, namely the center-left Socialist Workers' Party, the left-wing Podemos and the liberal Citizens.

I believe that American leadership is indispensable to the security and prosperity of the world. Thats why were leading the global coalition to destroy ISIL [Daesh], working tirelessly for a diplomatic solution to the Syrian civil war, contributing more humanitarian assistance than any other nation, and mobilizing a global refugee summit this fall to mobilize new commitments. At the same time, its clear that no one nation  even one as powerful as the United States  can solve these kinds of transnational challenges alone, Obama said, as quoted by the El Pais newspaper.

The US leader said he expects that the next Spanish government will be just as committed to a strong relationship with the United States and Europe.
Still Russia's emerging love affair with Greece, built on centuries of historical ties, could well be viewed as a "poke in the eye of NATO," Mark B. Baldwin, who has a master's degree in Russian language and literature, wrote for CounterPunch. But if NATO's leadership wants to blame someone for these developments, it should apparently look in the mirror.

"Having expanded the number of member countries to encircle Russia since the collapse of the Warsaw Pact, NATO has been working overtime to reignite old Cold War tensions by complaining of Russian aggression and demonizing Putin," he narrated.

Yet it is the activities of the North Atlantic Alliance that have "created a refugee crisis causing millions to flee for their lives," the analyst added. "The war on Libya has benefited the oil interests of powerful NATO countries, but left a disproportionate burden on the shoulders of Greece who is left to rescue thousands of desperate Libyans from the sea every week."
The US and its allies launched a military operation against Iraq's late strongman Saddam Hussein on March 20. It took Washington less than a year to determine that the Iraqi leadership did not possess weapons of mass destruction and, hence, did not pose a threat.

Yet Britain's disappointment with a foreign policy course that London has pursued for more than two decades (and the campaign against Iraq was part of it) has surfaced recently, the analyst said.

During this period "Britain lost its foreign policy self-dependence and chose to follow Washington's lead, hoping to receive benefits," Shurygin observed. "It turned out that [Great Britain] only paid a 'blood tax' for these years and the Brits essentially received nothing in return."
SHANGHAI (Sputnik)  The G20 Trade Ministers Meeting was completely successful and was held in a positive atmosphere, Chinese Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng said Sunday.

"This meeting was held in a positive atmosphere, expected results were achieved, and it was a complete success. The meeting became a good training ground at the trade and economic front for the G20 summit which will be held in September this year," Gao told reporters speaking on the results of the two-day meeting that wrapped up in the Chinese city of Shanghai earlier in the day.

The G20 trade growth strategy has been adopted as a result of the meeting, along with recommendations on the global investment policy, as well as the decision to establish a Working Group on Trade and Investment.
The main goal on the party's agenda is to declare independence from the industrialized northern regions of Italy from the agrarian south. Thus, members of the party mostly pay attention to the economic situation in the regions, which have significantly worsened since the introduction of anti-Russian sanctions and the subsequent food embargo from Russia.

The negative impact of the sanctions has been repeatedly mentioned by representatives of the movement. For instance, in an interview with Sputnik, the head of the faction Lega Nord in Tuscany's Parliament, called the sanctions "crazy" and stressed Russia's importance for Tuscany as a partner.

"If we lose these connections, then it will be difficult to restore them again. Russia is Tuscany's main partner in the field of tourism, exchange of goods and culture. It is a partner we shouldn't lose," he stated.

Head of the faction "Lega Nord" in Liguria, Alessandro Piana, also noted that the sanctions are harmful both for Italy and Russia.

"Liguria historically had close relations with Russia, especially in the tourism sector. Russians are attracted to our nature, Mediterranean cuisine, our agricultural products. And it is agriculture that has been hit by the sanctions most of all, not to mention the reduction of the tourist inflow," Piana said.
"It is very important not to overestimate Erdogans apology. This was official protocol. Russia has a set of requirements to Turkey, first of all an apology for the killed pilot. The first requirement has been fulfilled. Now, dialogue can begin. But its impossible to re-write history, pretending that there were no tensions. Both countries should work out their further steps," political analyst Dmitry Kulikov told Radio Sputnik.

"Its too early to say that the current thaw will stay for long. There a number of informal issues creating problems for bilateral ties, first of all Syria," the article read.

The incident with the downed Russian bomber only triggered the conflict but the conflict itself was actually rooted in contradictions between Moscow and Ankara, including on Syria, Iraq, Iran, Israel, Crimea, and Armenia and Azerbaijan.

"Moreover, there may be third parties trying to undermine the normalization of ties between Russia and Turkey," according to the article.

Kulikov underscored that the main difficulty is that Moscow and Ankara will have to establish all over again cooperation on a wide range of issues.

According to Hurriyet, in the current environment, cooperation would serve the interests of both Russia and Turkey.

"Turkey is fighting terrorism thus it should not set itself against such a significant player as Russia. At the same time, Russia is trying to strengthen its role in the Middle East, but it will not succeed in Syria without cooperation with Turkey," the article read.
According to the politician, the decision to deploy a missile defense system is premature and inappropriate, taking into account the fact that Moscow perceives this move as a provocation.

"Russia takes this NATO decision as directed against it, and has all reasons for this," he said.

From the perspective of the SPD, NATO countries should seek dialogue with Russia in accordance with international rules and reach an agreement on missile defense instead of starting the next stage of the arms race. According to him, the West should find a balance between ensuring military security and maintaining cooperation with Moscow.
Chairman of the Association of Soldiers against War and Retired Colonel Jiri Bures told Sputnik that the bloc's task and its activities are currently aimed at "stopping the Russian 'expansion.'" The North Atlantic Alliance carries out missions that "help further Washington's geostrategic interests," he added.

NATO has adopted several major measures aimed at responding to what it believes is Russia's "aggressive" behavior. These include a 5,000-strong high-readiness "Spearhead Force" to complement its Response Force (NRF), enhanced war-gaming, prepositioning military equipment and increased military spending.

In addition, the bloc plans to deploy four battle groups to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland in 2017. They will stay in Eastern Europe and the Baltic region on a rotational basis. Mikhaylov referred to the latest initiative as "symbolic measure and an act of propaganda."

Moscow has been worried about NATO's increasing assertiveness in Europe and particularly on Russia's doorstep. According to Bures, it has reasons to be concerned.

If NATO continues with its current strategy, then "any attempts to improve the situation will become more remote," the Czech anti-war activist added, referring to the already strained relations between the bloc and Russia. "In the end, the Euro Atlantic territory will expand to Russia's borders, possibly leading to ever-escalating tensions in Europe."
Reporter Wu Liming was most likely referring to voices in Eastern Europe and the Baltic region who have claimed that Russia is becoming increasingly "aggressive" to a point that their wellbeing could be at risk. He added that it was "aggressive and restless" NATO that posed a threat to European security, urging Europeans "to be cautious."

The media outlet compared NATO's current policies to a game of chess, saying that the United States is behind it. Xinhua also referred to European nations as a "pawn" that helps to promote America's national interests.

Those in Europe, who "blindly follow" the US policy of "booing Russia" are in fact "quenching thirst with poison," the news agency warned, pointing that this could end in them "eventually becoming cannon fodder."
In particular, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu confirmed that Ankara would take efforts to reach a compromise with Moscow over the Syrian crisis settlement.

"Even when we had different points of view in solving the Syrian issue, we did not interrupt dialogue and made efforts to bring closer our positions," the minister said in late-June.

Turkish journalist Murat Yetkin suggests that "due to the fact that Erdogan has proposed working together with Putin on 'regional crises and terrorism,' Syria might come into picture" following the Russo-Turkish thaw.

"Erdogan and the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government seem to be trying to recover from the diplomatic regression in recent years, which has resulted in Turkey losing friends in the neighborhood," Yetkin wrote in an article for the Hurriyet Daily News.

Moreover, in June, the Algerian newspaper Al Watan reported that Ankara and Damascus have been in contact mediated by the Algerian government.

Then, Turkish military's former intelligence chief Ismail Hakki confirmed to Sputnik Turkey that the government of Syria and Turkey were engaged in dialogue and both sides expressed willingness to negotiate their differences.

"We have been systematically working to normalize relations between Turkey and Syria for a long time, and came up with an initiative to provide the necessary basis for dialogue between the Turkish and Syrian leadership," he said.
The leaders of these states have repeatedly expressed fears of alleged "Russian aggression" and called for the increase of NATO's presence on their territories which will actually happen by 2017, following arrangements made during the recent summit in Warsaw.

Nevertheless, Schroderism has quite a powerful influence in German political circles  mostly among Social Democrats, but also among other politicians. Although Merkel publicly adheres to the extension of economic sanctions against Russia, it might as well be that behind the scenes her stance is gradually changing as well.

"As so often in German foreign policy, however, one never quite knows to what extent different positions within the same government reflect a genuine difference of view and to what extent they are a good cop-bad cop routine," Foreign Policy wrote.

According to German magazine Der Spiegel, the chancellery has gradually been changing its position and planning a step-by-step withdrawal of sanctions against Moscow.
A month ago, the French Senate passed a non-binding resolution calling to gradually ease sanctions against Russia. However, France supported the extension of sanctions until January 2017.

At the same time, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi visited an international economic forum in St. Petersburg in June. President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker also participated in the forum. The event proved that despite sanctions Western companies are interested in running business in Russia.

According to the article, the Kremlin does not seem to be very concerned about sanctions. Moreover, Russia is not waiting for a "call from Brussels" to talk about sanctions.
Blair comes out of it funnily enough looking a bit better than other people because what we have intended to do through the whole Chilcot process and particularly today is to hold Blair up as singularly responsible for the disaster of the Iraq war, Brendan O Neil told Radio Sputnik.

We forget the 244 labor MPs voted for the war. We forget that 139 conservative MPs voted for the war. We forget that from 1997 when Blair came to power through to 2003 when he invaded Iraq there was huge support in the liberal media, his whole idea of humanitarian interventionism in other states affairs.

He further said that it is important not to forget all the other people who either directly supported the war or gave Blair confidence to interfere in other states affairs.
In late-June, The Washington Post reported that the White House offered Russia a deal to increase military cooperation against terrorist targets in Syria, in exchange for stopping airstrikes against pro-Western rebel forces.

The offer proposes to share targets and coordinate an extended bombing campaign against the al-Nusra Front militant group.

"This would be one of the biggest shifts in strategy since the start of the Syrian civil war. The risks of a wider clash with Russia would significantly diminish, and the rebel movement would be weakened. Most important, Moscow would have an opening to both secure its interests in Syria and break its geopolitical isolation," analysts of the American think-tank Stratfor commented on the proposed deal.

If Russia accepts the offer it could lead to broader cooperation between Moscow and Washington for the political transition in Syria, according to LA Times.

Five years ago, Obama insisted that Assad must go but US attempts to topple the Syrian president have failed. Now, Washington admits that the end of the fighting in Syria and defeating Daesh and al-Nusra Front are more important than Assads resignation, the article read.

"Frustrating as it may be, exploring the possibility of cooperation with Moscow in Syria is still preferable to trying to oust Assad through US military action," the article added.
The politician has long been known as a pro-Russian lone voice in the US Congress, with his colleagues criticizing him for defending the interests of Moscow.

Rohrabacher earlier told Sputnik that the United States has adopted an "irrational" approach to Russia.

"Whoever the next president is, [the new US president] will have a new policy towards Russia and hopefully it will be one that is much more aimed at cooperation rather than trying to be confrontational and standoffish," the politician said.
The suspect was killed after a US special forces (SWAT) team arrived at the scene, the media reported.

The deputy has reportedly been transported to a hospital for treatment.
The PAC-3 MSE was fired at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico and has marked the completion the Post Deployment Build Eight test program.

The MSE is an improved version of Lockheed Martin PAC-3 missile, a high-velocity rocket that uses hit-to-kill technology allowing it to intercept ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and aircraft. Compared to its predecessor, PAC-3 MSE has a larger dual-pulse solid rocket motor, larger control fins and renewed support system, which nearly double its range of reach, the manufacturer said.

Commenting on the tests, Lockheed said it was "proud" of its creations "overmatch capability," stressing that the upgraded missile was successful in "detecting, tracking, engaging and intercepting an aircraft."
"This has happened before. When George W. Bush was re-elected we had a high spike in calls," said Eddie Kadri, an Ontario based immigration lawyer in an interview with Global News. "Americans were angry and frustrated, but that subsided over time. There was a very small number that I experienced that actually applied for immigration and followed through."

In 2016, the calculus may be altogether different for Americas best and brightest who have begun flooding Canadian colleges where they can attend at substantially reduced tuition rates. Between 2000 and 2011, there was already a 50% increase in the number of students enrolling at Canadian colleges and since 2011 more than 10,000 American students attend college in Canada annually according to the Canadian Embassy in Washington. In 2000, by comparison, only 2,300 Americans fled to Canada to get their higher education.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  In the video, reportedly published by al-Qaeda's media wing As-Sahab, Hamza bin Laden allegedly vowed to target the United States for their oppression of Muslims around the globe while the revenge for his father would be in fact a revenge for all martyrs of Islam.

Osama bin Laden was killed on May 2, 2011 in Abbottabad, Pakistan during a US Navy SEAL special operation following a 10-year manhunt. The manhunt was initiated in part as a response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States that killed some 3,000 people.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  About 50 people were detained after they blocked a freeway in the city of St. Paul on the Saturday night, Star Tribune reported, citing police spokesman Steve Linders. The individuals were "throwing rocks, bottles, fireworks and bricks," he specified.

The newspaper said that other 50 protesters had been detained near Grand Avenue and Dale Street in St. Paul, however, they were released subsequently.

"This is the first time in my 28 years we have observed this level of violence toward our public servants. It's really a disgrace I am absolutely disgusted, [and] I am not going to tolerate it," St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell was quoted as saying by the daily.
The situation unraveled further with Thursdays attack at a Black Lives Matter protest in Dallas that left five officers dead and nearly a dozen others wounded when a lone gunmen decided to take matters into his own hands to avenge the deaths of unarmed black men at the hands of police throughout the country.

RT America (@RT_America) July 9, 2016

While Dallas once again received the news on Saturday with a false alarm report of a man in a gas mask preparing for another attack on the citys police and with bomb threats circulating throughout the metropolitan area, the frontline of a movement for black empowerment and equal justice under the law was Baton Rouge, Louisiana where the actions of police against protesters looked like something out of the 1960s digitally remastered for color television.

Brandon Friedman (@BFriedmanDC) July 10, 2016

Black Lives Matter protester Deray McKesson was arrested along with hundreds of others including Krystal Muhammad of the New Black Panther Party for simply videotaping acts of police brutality against the protesters.

deray mckesson (@deray) July 10, 2016

The actions by the police, who came out in full riot gear to handle the protests, was in no small part shaped by the FBI issuing a warning of an unsubstantiated social media threat of a 'police purge' to 'kill all police' in Baton Rouge and other cities around the country explained Loud & Clear host Brian Becker who felt that the nations top cops gave local police license to suppress free speech and crackdown on peaceful assembly.

Lin Trump Volunteer (@lhenegar) July 10, 2016

"It is a reign of terror in Louisiana," said Becker explaining details of firsthand accounts by protesters who were locked up before they were able to complete their march onto the airline highway in Baton Rouge to shutdown commerce and make their voices heard.

17-year-old protester Chris Hollins who says that police "ambushed" him at the protest.

"I was calling my mom cause they started to arrest people, then saw my sister about to run in the streets," said Hollins. "I stopped her (and) dropped my phone. I picked up my phone and two officers ambushed me."

"Basically they ambushed us and tackled us for now reason," said Hollins in a text message at 12:26am. "They never read me my rights and Im only 17 years old with no record."

Trymaine Lee (@trymainelee) July 7, 2016

Pictures from the scene show police with automatic rifles and tactical gear threatening the lives of peaceful dissenters if they did not immediately disperse.

Of course, a Trump social media aide with the handle King Robbo reminded us that America in 2016 appears to be approaching a 1960s-style divide in hyperbole and race relations.

"Who else is hoping that @deray gets 'disappeared' by the good old boys at #BatonRouge PD? Come on boys, be HEROES! #BlueLivesMatter," said the staffer in a Tweet before quickly deleting it.

The good old boys is a reference to white racist cops prior to the civil rights movement who would often make people "disappear," or kill them with their bodies appearing under strange circumstances, prior to the age of social media where the whole world is monitoring abuse of government power.

More protests are scheduled in Baton Rouge and throughout the country on Sunday.
Donald Trump appears to be set on the choice of Flynn as his running mate despite grievous objections by his advisers who worry that by adding a lifelong Democrat to his ticket, the candidate risks alienating the entire conservative and Evangelical Christian base that he will desperately need in November.

The candidate and the Lt. General have a long standing relationship, however, with Flynn serving as the campaigns chief foreign policy adviser with Trump reportedly liking the idea of a businessman and a general coming to Washington to stick it to the outsiders.

Unlike Hillary Clinton, Michael Flynn not only foresaw the rise of Daesh describing intricately in a report ignored by President Obama and the State Department that the conditions were ripe for a fundamentalist Islamic terror group worse and more hardline than al-Qaeda to emerge from the group of US-backed rebels. Flynn routinely opposed the Obama administrations policy of arming rebel groups against Bashar al-Assad and ominously warned that ousting Gadhafi in Libya would open Pandoras box.
"Such steps lead to tension and disruption. Europe is splitting, the world is splitting. This is a wrong path for the global community" He said. "There are too many global and individual crises to abandon cooperation. It is essential to revive the dialogue."

According to the ex Soviet President, by irresponsibly deploying four multinational battalions to Russian borders, "within shooting distance", the alliance draws closer another Cold War and another Arms Race.

"There are still ways toavoid military action." Gorbachev stressed. "I would say that UN should be called upon on that matter."

He also called on Moscow not to respond to provocations but to come to the negotiating table.

"In the current situationall political, economic, diplomatic and cultural forces should be engaged to pacify the world. Mind you, the next war will be the last."
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Earlier on Sunday, UN reported fierce clashes between the forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar in the capital.

"The members of the Security Council strongly condemned the fighting in Juba, South Sudan between soldiers of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) and the SPLA in Opposition July 7-8 <> The members of the Security Council acknowledged the formation of an investigation committee and urged the Transitional Government of National Unity to quickly investigate these attacks," the UNSC statement said.

During the fighting in Juba between SPLA, loyal to Kiir, and SPLA in Opposition, which is supporting Machar, at least 110 soldiers were reportedly killed.
If you like trotters then the place to be on Saturday evening was Georgian Downs. The Innisfil oval hosted seven OSS divisions for two-year-old trotting colts and geldings - three for Gold Series students and a four-pack for Grassrooters.

Mass Production was a front-stepping winner for trainer/driver Rick Zeron in the first of the $70,000 Gold Series divisions. The son of Muscle Mass-All Time Favourite got away second, but brushed to the top in the backstretch and trotted away from the competition. The colt drew clear to win by 2-3/4 lengths over Lucys Man in 1:59. Northern Major rounded out the top three finishers.

I was very confident in my colt, said Zeron after the front-end victory. Hes been a great colt since the day we put the harness on him. Hes very versatile I can do whatever I like with him; I can go to the front with him, I can race him out of a hole, whatever it is, he just responds so well, hes like driving a four-year-old horse.

Zeron shares ownership on the youngster with Jim Walker of Port Perry and Bruno Dipoce of Wasaga Beach, Ont. Sent off as the 2-5 choice, Mass Production is now 2-for-2 to start his career. The $32,000 purchase from last years Canadian Yearling Sale has banked $42,000 to date.

Im very pleased with him and I know he will step up in the near future and trot in 1:55, added Zeron. Im quite pleased with him and Im real happy for my partners Jim Walker and Bruno Dipoce, really happy for them, because, you know, its a long winter when you buy your yearlings and you take your time.

Rose Run Speedster took the next Gold Series division in 2:00.1 for Team MacDonald. Anthony MacDonald got away sixth with the son of Windsong Espoir-Padam Hall, and they remained in that position until shortly past the half. The colt picked up a position at both the three-quarter pole and then the top of the stretch before unleashing :29.2 speed over the closing quarter of the contest. He won by 1-1/2 lengths over Life Well Lived and race favourite Uknow What To Do.

This colt has never had a shortage of speed, and has never had to be shown how to win, said MacDonald. Im very excited to race this colt all summer.

Amy MacDonald trains the rookie for Rose Run Speedster Stable of Guelph, Ont, one of the fractional ownership groups in the couples new business venture, thestable.ca. It was the first lifetime tally for the freshman who was a $14,000 purchase from last falls Harrisburg Yearling Sale.

Obviously Amy and I are very pleased to see thestable.ca get its first major stakes win, said the Guelph resident. Rose Run Speedster was inexpensive in Harrisburg at $14,000, but he has shown just why fractional ownership is so important for horse racing  a large group of owners at the track and in the winners circle who would have otherwise been at home tonight.

Speedycrest went gate-to-wire in the final Gold Series division. Trainer/driver Luc Ouellette sliced out splits of :29, :58.4 and 1:29.4 with his new recruit, who then used a :29.1 kicker to win by six lengths over One Of The Few in 1:59. Rounding out the Triactor ticket was race favourite Clarion Hall.

He minded his manners tonight, because hes shown a couple times that at the gate he could make a mistake, but I guess hes learning, said Ouellette. He went a good mile, were real happy with him.

The gelded son of Angus Hall-Incredible Iam has manufactured a 1-1-0 record from just two trips to the track for owner Ecuries Richelieu Inc. of Venise-En-Quebec, QC. Speedycrest learned his early lessons under the tutelage of Joliette, QC resident Claude Beausoleil. After a pair of qualifiers and one overnight test at Hippodrome Trois-Rivieres, making a break behind the gate and being pulled up on May 28, scoring a 2:00.3 win on June 14, and recovering from an early break to be second on June 26, Beausoleil sent Speedycrest to Ouellettes Campbellville, ON facility.

Theyve been mentioning to me for the last two months how good hes been training, and they were saying that he would do well in the first Gold, and they were right. They sent him, and he was ready, and he did well in the first Gold, said Ouellette. He got here 10 days ago and hes done nothing but nice things, hes one of those horses that whatever you want to do, hes game for.

I think hes just learning all the time and good experiences will lead to better things, added the horseman.

The first of the four $18,000 OSS Grassroots divisions went to Tycoon Seelster, who recovered nicely following a miscue getting away from the starting gate. That error sent the colt to the back of the bus, but he got his act together and rallied from eighth for driver Paul MacDonell. The Scott McEneny pupil fired home in :29.2 to win by three-quarters of a length over Pennant Seelster. Rounding out the Triactor ticket was Kitarro.

Sent off as the 6-5 favourite, Tycoon Seelster was making his first lifetime start for owner Chris Storms of Picton, Ont. The $23,000 purchase from last years Forest City Yearling Sale has banked $9,000 to date.

Next up was Mr Marshmellow who front-stepped to a 2:02.1 victory in his division for owner/trainer/driver Ondrej Gois of Rockwood, Ont. The son of Federal Flex-Ultra Chic laid down fractions of :30.3, 1:02.1 and 1:32.2 before scooting home in :29.4 to win by 5-3/4 lengths over LMC Mass Gem. My Big Kadillac grabbed the show dough.

The first-timer has banked $9,000 to date.

Rosberg passed his first test with flying colours thanks to a 2:02.2 triumph in the third division. In rein to Jack Moiseyev, the colt got away fourth before rushing to the lead on the way to the half. He zipped through middle splits of 1:02 and 1:32.4 before stepping home in :29.3 to post the win. He cruised to a two-length triumph over More Than Majestic, with Motown Jackpot taking home third prize.

Trainer Julie Walker co-owns the son of Manofmanymissions-Locksweeper with Ronald Piers and Layhoon Chan Brunner. The partners shelled out $13,000 to purchase the colt from last years Lexington Select Yearling Sale.

The final division went to Themanofmydreams and driver Denis St. Pierre in 2:02.3. The colt got away second before marching to the top in the second quarter. On the lead through panels of 1:02 and 1:32.4, the youngster then fired home in :29.4 to win by 4-3/4 lengths over Critical Mass. Yo Yo Mass rounded out the top three finishers.

Trainer Tiffanee Staley co-owns the son of Muscle Mass-Uneeda Dream with Alexandre Pilon, Christian Pilon and Jesse Legault. It was a winning debut for the $22,000 purchase from last years Canadian Yearling Sale.

To view results for Saturday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Saturday Results  Georgian Downs.

(with files from OSS)
Glassine Hanover powered to the lead at the quarter and continued to pour it on, winning her division of a $190,036 Pennsylvania Sires Stake at The Meadows in a stake-record 1:52.

Saturdays event for freshman pacing fillies, known as the Sand Tart, was contested over four divisions, with Idyllic Beach, Watch What You Say and Keystone Rampage also taking $47,509 splits.

Although Glassine Hanover launched her career with a 1:52.4 score on the bigger track at Hoosier Park, she had little trouble adjusting to The Meadows five-eighths-mile oval. Once Trace Tetrick sent her to the front, she brooked no serious challenge, downing Bettors Up by three-quarters of a length. Caviart Ally earned show. The time knocked a tick from the previous stake mark held jointly by Podges Lady and Call Me Queen Be. It also is the fastest this year by a freshman filly pacer on a five-eighths-mile track.

Tetrick indicated that at this point in her career, Glassine Hanover is more advanced than any other freshman filly hes driven.

Shes got the right tools, he said. Shes very willing and wants to do it. Its just about management now.

Trent Stohler trains the daughter of Dragon Again-Gifted Yankee, a $27,000 yearling acquisition, for Trent Stohler Stable, Benjamin Graber, Tim Graber and Dolne Farm Services.

Idyllic Beach vacated the pocket before the quarter, made an easy lead and cruised home for Yannick Gingras in 1:53, remaining undefeated in her two-race career. The first-over Agent Q was three lengths back in second in her career debut while Inverse Hanover recovered from an early break to complete the ticket.

Theres a bunch of good two-year-olds out there, but shes definitely one of them, Gingras said. She did it really easy today, all on her own. I would have been happy to follow cover if it worked out that way. Shes all-around nice.

Jimmy Takter conditions Idyllic Beach, a daughter of Somebeachsomewhere-Idyllic, for Christina Takter, John Fielding, Brixton Medical and Marvin Katz.

Coming off a maiden-breaking score in a PA All Stars division, Watch What You Say got just the trip winning driver Brett Miller didnt want for her: out most of the opening quarter, chasing the leader, Someomensomewhere, first up. But the daughter of Well Said-Bettor Beware overcame the arduous journey, holding off Someomensomewhere by three-quarters of a length in 1:54. Sapphire Breeze Finished third.

If shed lost today, it would have been my fault, and I almost got her beat, Miller said. That was definitely not the trip I was looking to give her. She actually wasnt getting over the track that good. Right past the half I almost lost here. She almost made a break at the top of the backstretch. From then on, I never could turn her loose. Good thing shes a really good filly.

Michael Hall trains Watch What You Say for CTC Stable, Bradley Grant and Howard Taylor.

Live racing at The Meadows resumes Monday when the card features six divisions of a $120,000 PA Stallion Series event for two-year-old filly trotters. First post is 1 p.m.

(The Meadows)
Northfield Park will host 13 Ohio Sires Stakes divisions this coming Monday and Tuesday, spotlighting two-year-old pacing and trotting colts and geldings. Post time each night is 6 p.m.

On Monday, July 11, eight divisions of freshman pacers vying for $320,000 in purses will be contested, with each division carrying a purse of $40,000. A total of 70 pacing colts and geldings will line up behind the Northfield starting gate in leg II of this series.

In the first OSS division (Race 1), Sunnys Bro tries for his second OSS winhaving captured Leg I at Scioto Downs on July 4 in a front-stepping 1:56 for driver Greg Grismore. Doug Hinklin conditions the son of Big Bad John for the Parent Racing Stable of Holland, Ohio. Sunnys Boy was bred by Midland Acres.

Mcthriller looks for a repeat OSS victory as well in OSS division two (Race 3) Monday night. The Brian Brown-trained son of Mcardle won his OSS Leg I on July 4 at Scioto Downs in a come-from-behind effort in 1:55.2 for driver Ronnie Wrenn, Jr. Bred by GBN Breeding Farm, Mcthriller is owned by NR Holdings, TLP Stable and Howard Taylor.

Scotch Mcewan vies in this same divisions for trainer Bill Dailey and owner Carl Atley of Xenia, Ohio. Bred by Rebecca Ewing of Ohio, this bay son of Mcardle roared to a 1:55.2 victory on July 4 at Scioto Downs with Josh Sutton aboard, devastating his rivals by nearly five lengths.

The strikingly-handsome youngster Air Raid starts from post two in the third OSS division (Race 4). This son of The Panderosa scored a 1:57 triumph in his career debut at Scioto Downs on July 4. Trained by Mike Roth, Air Raid was bred by Spring Haven Farm and is owned by Alan Keith and Joe Sbrocco.

Mcraven, the fastest OSS Leg I winner returns to vie from post nine in the fourth OSS division (Race 6). Trainer Brian Brown harnessed the son of Mcardle to a sparkling 1:53.3 triumph on July 4 at Scioto Downs, winning by nearly five lengths in his career debut. Bred by the Parent Racing Stable, Mcraven is owned by Country Club Acres and L&H Management Services.

OSS Leg I winners Drunk On Your Love and Stanley K are set to battle in the fifth OSS division (Race 7) from posts one and two respectively. Both won their Leg I tests one week ago at Scioto Downs. Drunk On Your Love, a son of Foreclosure N posted a wire-to-wire 1:54.3 clocking with Danny Noble at the lines for trainer Bill Dailey. Bred by the Bauder Family of Ohio, Drunk On Your Love is owned by Richard Lombardo, Carl & Melanie Atley and Josh Green. Stanley K is a son of Mcardle who is owned, trained and was bred by the father-son team of Daryl and Kent Sherman. He won his OSS Leg I test in a handy 1:56.1.

Barnabasan OSS Leg I winner in 1:56nabbed the coveted rail slot in the sixth OSS division (Race 9) for driver Chris Page and trainer Brian Brown. The son of Mcardle was bred by Kevin Greenfield and is owned by the Ohio-based partnership of Country Club Acres, Joe Sbrocco, Richard Lombardo and William Robinson.

Brian Brown harnesses OSS Leg I victor Corner Con Artist in the eighth OSS division (Race 14). Driven by Ronnie Wrenn, Jr., the Art Official gelding paced to a 1:55.3 clocking on July 4 at Scioto Downs for owner/breeder Stephen Sexton of Xenia, Ohio.

On Tuesday evening, 44 trotting colts will go postward in five $40,000 OSS divisions, in Leg II of this series. In the first OSS division (Race 1), the quartet of Leg I winners, Just Plain DJ, Speed Lane, Full Surge and Buckeye Boss will slug it out.

Just Plain DJ is a Dejarmbro gelding conditioned by Scott Cox for Ohioans Jughead Stable, Peters and Lindsey, who will start from post one. Bred by the Double Spring Farm, Just Plain DJ trotted to a 2:01.1 victory in his pari-mutuel debut on July 4 at Scioto Downs with Danny Noble in the sulky.

Bill Dailey will harness Speed Lane from post two for owners Kim Dailey, Randy Leopard and Tim Homan. Bred by Conquest Acres of Indiana, the black Dejarmbro gelding won his first OSS trophy at Scioto Downs on July 4 in a snappy 1:59.1.

Full Surgewho scored a 1:59.4 triumph in his OSS Leg I test on July 4 at Scioto Downshails from co-owner and trainer Marty Wollams stable. The bay son of Full Count won his pari-mutuel debut for the Ohio partnership of AN Fusco, RR Wollam and RR Roll. Full Surge was bred by Marlon A. Miller of Ohio.

Buckeye Boss will leave from post seven for trainer Chris Beaver, who owns the Triumphant Caviar colt in partnership with breeder Marion Beach and Synerco Ventures, Inc. This colt will be trying for his third consecutive victory in as many trieshaving won a Scioto Downs overnight on June 21 in 1:59.4 before taking his OSS Leg I event in 1:59 on July 4 at Scioto Downs.

Fraser Ridge heads up the second OSS division (Race 2) from post eight for trainer Brian Brown and driver Aaron Merriman. Bred by Kentuckys Steve Stewart, the Triumphant Caviar son trotted to a commanding 1:59 victory at Scioto Downs on July 4 in Leg I of this OSS series. This robust colt is owned by Beaver, Robinson, and Mondillo of Ohio and by RBH Ventures of New York, NY.

The third OSS division (Race 3) features eight trotting youngsters who are looking for their maiden wins. The most likely to accomplish this feat is Always A Good Timeanother Chris Beaver-trained son of Triumphant Caviar who was second by a neck to the winning Speed Lane in his OSS Leg I test on July 4 at Scioto Downs. Always A Good Time was clocked in 1:59.1 for his effort with Aaron Merriman at the lines.

In the fourth OSS division (Race 4), Dejarmbros Yankee will be looking to make amends from his second place finish in his OSS Leg I contest on July 4 at Scioto Downs. He appears poised for his first career victory for trainer-driver Ed Greeno, Jr. Dejarmbros Yankee, a gelded son of Dejarmbro, was bred by Mervin Schmucker of Indiana, and was bested by a length by Just Plain DJ in 2:01.2 last week. The youngster is owned by EG Trot of Findlay, Ohio.

The fifth and final OSS trotting division (Race 6) of the July 12 card features a field of nine diagonally-gaited youngsters looking to capture their first OSS contest.

Rose Run Spanky was second in 1:59.2 on July 4 at Scioto Downs in OSS Leg I for driver Danny Noble and trainer Bill Dailey. The bay altered son of And Away We Go starts from post one for these same connections. He was bred by the Rose Run Farm of Ohio.

Winning Memoriestrained by Danny Collins for Michael Lewis, Joe Sbrocco and Mary McLoughlin, makes his pari-mutuel debut in this same division. Bred by Robert Miller of Kentucky, the son of Dejarmbro qualified at Scioto Downs on July 5 in 2:03, scoring by 15 lengths with Ryan Holton in the sulky and looks like a solid threat against his rivals.

(OSDF)
COTO DE CAZA, Calif.  Tangled is not a verb you want to use when youre a skydiver telling the story  just one of the stories  about the time you nearly died.

But there is 71-year-old Luena Garrison Sharma sitting at her dining room table at her stylish home in Coto de Caza, pointing to the white streak of skin encircling her neck from an incident 47 years ago at about 12,000 feet above the Kern County city of Taft, Calif. It looks like I tried to hang myself, she said with a smile.

But really what happened is we got tangled, she said.

Garrison Sharma is one of the newest members of the Hall of Fame of Parachuting, and her name is engraved in rock at the Museum of History in Granite in Felicity, a desert community just across the state line from Yuma, Ariz.

She was a pioneer in a sport not known for its female participants, and, on July 27, 1969, she was a part of the first-ever eight-woman skydiving star formation.

She is a very charming lady, said Nancy Gruttman-Tyler, a skydiving enthusiast from Anaheim who nominated Garrison Sharma and her seven collaborators for the Hall of Fame. You would never believe she was a pioneer in skydiving.

It was considerably more challenging and dangerous than it is today.

Garrison Sharma hasnt jumped out of an airplane in more than 45 years.

Contributing to her decision to stop was the time her diving partner popped open his parachute sooner than she expected.

She was soaring directly above him at the time. And one of his straps wound its way around her neck, leaving a permanent scar.

She was able to open her parachute, slow her fall, wriggle free and breathe again.

She was a hippie chick who loved the Moody Blues and the Rolling Stones and defied death in 363 jumps from 1964 to 1971.

Her parachuting career ended when she began searching for a higher plane.

Her last jump  June 13, 1971  was done in the presence of Yogi Sharma, who was, at the time, her yoga instructor and later became her husband.

He was a passenger in the small plane she was about to jump from and she could see by the way he gripped his seat that he was scared to death.

I became interested in finding a more enlightening path, she said.

She sold all her gear and took up meditation, which see still does for an hour every day. I want to develop my inner peace, my inner light, she said.

Luena Garrison is the little sister of noted skydiver Willard Skratch Garrison, who was a part of the first 10-man formation in U.S. history (1967) and has made more than 3,500 jumps in his career.

The Garrisons grew up in North Carolina, but Skratch was always looking for good places to jump.

In 1964, Luena asked her brother if she could jump. He took her to the drop zone in Orange, Mass.

It looked exciting, she said. It seemed thrilling, and it sparked my interest. It was a wonderful experience.

For the seven years she jumped, Garrison Sharma was at the top of her game. The governing body of skydiving, which was in France, didnt even have a category for women in the eight-point-star formation when Garrison Sharmas group made the jump.

It was all about the anticipation, the anxiety and the total focus, she said.

She dated skydiver/cameraman Carl Boenish, who later died in a skydiving accident and was the subject of the documentary Sunshine Superman.

Garrison Sharma broke her leg in a dive in Lake Elsinore in 1970.

Her main parachute wouldnt open, and she was dangerously close to the ground when she opened her reserve parachute.

Garrison Sharma got a degree in biology from North Carolina State. She moved to California and worked in blood banks at both Kaiser and Hoag hospitals in her 40-year career.

Her life changed when she met Yogi Sharma. They were married on Feb. 27, 1985. He died last July.

The house they shared in Coto de Caza is full of Hindu trinkets  brass elephants, incense holders, pictures of Shiva and Ganesh. She has a meditation room.

In meditation, she tries to balance myself and learn to remain calm in times of stress, she said.

In March, she got a phone call from Gruttman-Tyler, who informed her that she would be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Garrison Sharma, still grieving over the loss of her husband, hesitated before deciding to go to the ceremony.

I wanted to reconnect with old friends, she said. So she went.

She was offered the chance for one last parachute jump.

She declined.

Im at a different stage in my life, she said. I dont want to risk breaking a leg.
Randy Howe was excited when his silky fishing line suddenly tightened.

This was going to be a big one, and his fishing buddy, 5-year-old Chase Hopkins, knew it, too.

Howe began reeling in his line, then handed the pole off to Chase, who was crouched beside him on the sloped edge of the concrete fish pond.

Chase grasped the pole and supported it against his tummy.

Hold it! Keep reelin! Hold it tight! encouraged Chases grandpa, Ross Merritt.

Never give up! yelled his grandma, Claudia Merritt.

When the reeling became too difficult for Chase, he handed the rod back to Howe to finish the job.

Get the net! Get the net! Chase yelled as Howe pulled the fat rainbow trout close to shore.

When the fish was finally tame and on shore, Chase rushed to stroke its blush pink belly. It was his favorite part of the day, Chase said: Touching the fishs slimy smooth scales.

It also was one of the few moments that Chase concentrated so intently, said his grandma Claudia Merritt of Washougal. Chases autism can make it difficult for him to focus, his grandma said, but when he was fishing at Merwin Special Kids Day on Saturday, that problem was temporarily conquered.

Its giving him a love for something new. We see thats hes really engaged. You never know what theyll love, Claudia Merritt said. Its teaching him concentration.

Chase was one of more than 170 kids participating in the 18th annual event, sponsored by Pacific Power and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, at the Lake Merwin trout hatchery.

The two rearing ponds teemed with 3,200 rainbow trout, raised over the last two and half years specifically for Saturdays event. The event gives kids and young adults with special needs a chance to learn how to fish, get outdoors and, most importantly, gain that sense of accomplishment that comes with catching the elusive big one. Its not every day that a fisherman catches a nine-pound trout like Chases.

Each fisherman could bag up to five fish, which were cleaned, gutted and scaled by event volunteers.

Theyre doing something everyone else can do, said hatchery manager Kevin Young.

And its fun to watch.

When they pull those fish out of the water, when they see them jump, to see the awe in their faces (is wonderful), said Pacific Power regional business manager Sheila Holden.

A.J. Wagner of Longview fished Saturday with his sister, Cheyenne, and fellow special Olympics athlete Stanley Stimson. A.J. Wagner, 21, and Stimson, 21, have been friends since they were 13 years old, and on Saturday the partnership was apparent. They cheered each other on when either caught a fish, laughed together when A.J. struggled to get a floppy fish under control and swapped toothy grins when they talked about their day of success.

I like fishing because I can help everybody. I can string (the fish), A.J said.

So what will they do with the fish when they get home?

Eat it! A.J. and Stimson say, grinning in unison.

This is probably one of the biggest joys theyve had, other than playing sports, said A.J.s dad Tony Wagner.

Amanda Winn of Ridgefield said its been hard at times to get her 24-year-old son, Ryan, who has Down syndrome, to participate in activities. But with fishing, Winn said her son seems more at peace. Theyve attended Saturdays event for the last seven years.

Sitting atop a cooler, eagerly clutching his net, Ryan watched as dad Mark Winn and sister Katie reeled in fish after fish. When his father brought one ashore, they paused for a photo. Wrapped in his dads arms, Ryan grinned sweetly with pride for a photo with his dad, the two holding a hefty trout by the mouth.

I tear up when I talk about it. Its such a great family event, Amanda Winn said. Its a day we look forward to.
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The IIT Bombay and IIT Madras will collaborate with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to conduct research and develop products related to critical aerospace technologies as part of the "Make In India" initiative. The DRDO signed an agreement by which a bi-nodal "Centre for Propulsion Technology" (CoPT) will be established at the IIT Bombay and IIT Madras campuses.

The agreement was inked by DRDO D-G S. Christopher, Secretary, Department of Defence R&D, Devang Khakhar, Director, IIT Bombay, and B. Ramamurthi, Director, IIT Madras here on Saturday morning. Assuring the DRDO's full support for the CoPT, Christopher said it would attract talent to the field and urged it to maintain a result-oriented approach.

Khakhar called for utilising the investment in the field for gaining knowledge leadership in these areas and motivate Gen-Next to enter this exciting area of research. Ramamurthi hailed it as an opportunity to generate enthusiasm and energy for new research and provide an apt environment where young minds could grow and contribute in this field.

The CoPT will evolve mechanisms to facilitate execution of programmes pertaining to propulsion technology and engage the two IITs and other research institutions to take up advanced collaborative research in areas of critical defence technologies.

It would facilitate and undertake research in areas like futuristic aero engines, hypersonic propulsion for long duration flights, solid propellant combustion modelling and morphing aircraft technologies. The CoPT will further strengthen the DRDO's alliances with IITs and other research bodies in the country and enhance interaction with the academia and researchers. The CoPT is envisaged to emerge as a centre of excellence for conducting basic and applied research in aero-propulsion technologies and get recognition as among the best in the world.

IANS
hidden

Facing investigation over his speeches that are believed to have "inspired" two of the Bangladeshi cafe attackers, controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik on Saturday sought support from the Muslim community against the "media trials" through his new Twitter handle "@drzakirofficial".

https://twitter.com/zakirnaikirf/status/751769326844248064

"I, Dr Zakir Naik, Call upon all my Muslim Brothers & Sisters to Support me against the "Media Trials" and Let Justice Prevail," Naik tweeted. Naik, founder of Mumbai-based Islamic Research Foundation, introduced his new Twitter handle @drzakirofficial on his Facebook page also.

In another tweet, Naik said: "I appeal to all people worldwide to work together on the causes, ways and solutions to eliminate TERRORISM FROM OUR MIDST." Naik is banned in Britain and Canada for his hate speeches against other religions.

Within an hour of Naik's appeal for support on Saturday, his Facebook post had over 6,000 likes. The government has launched a multi-pronged investigation into controversies around Naik's speeches and "online sermons". Apart from an investigation by the Home Ministry, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry is looking into issues concerning the telecast of his speeches.

According to reports, some of the Indian youth who have taken to militancy are believed to have been "inspired" by Naik's speeches. On Friday, supporters of Naik took out a solidarity march in Srinagar to condemn any action that might be taken against him. Over a dozen supporters gathered in Srinagar and shouted slogans in favour of Zakir Naik.

Born on October 18, 1965, Zakir Naik is better known as a Mumbai-based "preacher". He is a medical doctor by education. Internet also describes him as a Founder of Peace TV, Peace TV Bangla and Peace TV Urdu.

IANS
India to send experts to probe BD terror attacks

Staff Reporter :

India will send within a week National Security Group (NSG) bomb experts to Bangladesh to help investigate the two terror attacks in the country, says Indian media.

The team will 'analyse and study' the bombings at an Eid prayer gathering in Kishoreganj on Thursday and the terror siege at a Dhaka cafe last Friday, NDTV reports quoting officials.

A group of attackers hurled homemade bombs at a police team and

attacked them with machetes, triggering an exchange of fire near a mass gathering for Eid prayers in Kishoreganj on Thursday morning. Two policemen and a housewife died in the attack. A suspected attacker was also killed and another was captured with bullet wounds. The attack comes days after terrorists shot and hacked to death 20 people, mostly foreigners, at a Dhaka cafe.

Two policemen, who tried to enter the cafe in the initial hours of the siege, died from bombs hurled by the attackers.

After the cafe attack, a highly-placed source in the government said Bangladesh was taking the help of a friendly country in the investigation into the carnage.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal has also said the country was taking the help of a friendly neighbouring country to control militancy.
Biswal in city to discuss security concerns

US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Nisha Desai Biswal arrived here on Sunday morning on a two-day visit to discuss security issues with Bangladesh after the deadliest terrorist attack on a Dhaka cafe. During her stay here, Biswal will meet Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan and Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali to discuss "issues of shared concerns". While in Dhaka, the Assistant Secretary will also offer US assistance to Bangladeshi government's efforts to counter terrorism and violent extremism, according to the US Department of State. She will meet the embassy community, local business, and other diplomatic representatives. Foreign Secretary M Shahidul Haque will have a meeting with her over lunch at State guesthouse Padma on Sunday. Deputy Assistant Secretary for South Asia Manpreet Singh Anand is accompanying her, A diplomatic source said Biswal has a plan to meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, but nothing is finalised yet. Biswal will then travel to Colombo where she will meet senior government officials, political leaders, and civil society representatives to discuss bilateral economic cooperation as well as democratic governance and reconciliation. Biswal visited Dhaka on May 5 and 6 last after the brutal murder of USAID staff Xulhaz Mannan in Dhaka on April 25. Meanwhile, 22 people, including nine Italians, seven Japanese, one Indian national and two policemen were killed inside and outside the cafe during the attack on July 1. Later on the morning of on July 2, six people along with five attackers were also killed during a commando operation. Thirteen of the hostages were rescued alive in the operation. On Friday afternoon, blood-soaked young man Shawon who was detained from outside the Holey Artisan Bakery during the hostage standoff died at a city hospital. --Dhaka, July 10 (UNB)
Govt stops transmission of Peace TV

UNB, Dhaka: The government has stopped the transmission of Peace TV, a satellite channel which broadcasts speeches of controversial preacher Zakir Naik, in the country, said Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu on Sunday. Amu briefed reporters about the decision after a special meeting of the cabinet committee on law and order at the Home Ministry. In the wake of recent militant attacks in different parts of the country a number decisions were taken at the meeting, the minister said. About the meeting outcome, he said it was decided that all the unauthorised establishments, including schools, colleges and restaurants, will be removed from the diplomatic zone-Gulshan and Banani areas--and police patrol will be increased there to prevent militant activities. Besides, he said, the people from all walks of life will be involved in checking militant activities and eradicating militants from the country through raising their awareness. These days, the children of affluent families are going missing and they are being pushed towards danger through motivation and injecting (specialised) drugs, said the minister adding, We must raise public awareness against militants to root out militancy. Besides, police and intelligence agencies have been asked to monitor mosques to know the types of speeches being delivered during Jumma prayers every Friday, he added. Security will also be provided to export-oriented industrial units and EPZ areas if the authorities want to, Amu said. The meeting was informed that security has already beefed up in the organisations where foreigners work. Besides, necessary measures have been taken to raise the efficiency of police and detectives to prevent militancy, said Amu. The meeting was also informed that chargesheets in 14 cases, including those of Japanese national Kunio Hoshi and Italian national Cesare Tavella killing cases, out of 45 cases filed in connection with targeted killings, have been submitted, he added. The meeting thanked members of police and other security forces who have demonstrated their capability in facing the two incidents at Holey Artisan Bakery cafe of Gulshan and another near Sholakia Eidgah in Kishoreganj district. Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed, Tourism Minister Rashed Khan Menon, Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu, Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan, Water Resources Minister Anisul Islam Mahmud, among others, attended the meeting.
Is a referendum a valid tool for democracy?

Roberto Savio :

William Shakespeare would have loved to witness the Brexit. Many of his themes are evidently present: friendship and treason; truth and lies; deception and betrayal.

David Cameron invents a referendum as a trick to get more power from the EU, and unify the Tory party under his leadership. He ends up instead out of Europe, with a possible Scottish cessation, and problems with North Ireland. His friend Boris Johnson, who turns anti EU to get Cameron's job, has betrayed him. But Johnson does not wish to run for Prime Minister because his friend Michael Gove has betrayed him. And the Brexit has as a collateral damage - the leader of the other party, the Labour, with the majority of its parliamentarians asking Jeremy Corbin to go. He rejects, claiming that the majority of the party members are with him. But then, do not the parliamentarians represent the electorate?

The Brexit provides a strange show of the British political system, considered always the best example of parliamentarian democracy. A referendum is not the basis of a parliamentarian system, where elections are based on parties, with a strong identity and history. Labour electors vote Labour. But a referendum becomes a transversal issue, and in Brexit one third of them voted against the position of the Trade Unions and of the party, which stood for the Remain.

The same has happened with the Tories. At least 35% voted against the Cameron campaign for the Remain. In fact, people voted according to what they felt was their identity. So London along with other cosmopolitan citizens, voted for Remain. Those from the rural world, those who felt left out, voted massively for the Brexit.

Enough has been written about this. And how this kind of neoliberal globalization has failed, creating a growing angry and destitute population . What should we now debate: is referendum a tool for democracy? Let us examine what were the arguments for the Brexit that brought 17 million people to vote to leave the EU. Well, they were false, as the main campaigners for the Brexit themselves, Nigel Farage, and Boris Johnson have admitted.

The argument that the UK was giving Brussels 350 million pounds per week, and this money could instead go to the National Health System, was a fraud. The net contribution to the EU of 150 million pounds a year is net of what the UK receives from the EU. Brussels's silence on this issue mainly to avoid meddling in internal politics, was a grave mistake .

Also the argument that by leaving EU, the UK would recover "its independence", as Johnson said in his closing speech, and the control of its borders was also clearly false. Any future relations with the EU, that would keep UK exports to Europe without customs duty (that is 44% of total British exports), will entail free circulation of European citizens (180.000 in 2015, out of a total of 330.000). Britain already has control over the extra Europeans.

To make tall his credible, the tabloids, which are the real winners of Brexit, launched a campaign indicating that 70 million Turks could invade Britain. This was yet another fraud. Turkey is not a member of the EU, and just one vote from any member country could block an admission request. This was the usual Germany line, until Merkel asked the Turkish leader, Recep Erdogan to help block migrants, by giving the EU the responsibility to pay 3 billion euro.

At the time of the vote, 45% thought it was imminent. Tabloids also announced that after the Brexit, criminals and terrorists would be immediately deported to their country of origin, and of course nobody talks about this any longer. And it was also a fraud to assure that all the subsidies coming from the EU would be substituted by government funds. So for instance, voters from the small town of 18.000 people, Ebbw Vale in Wales, had the highest vote for Brexit: 63%. With an unemployment rate of 40%, the only real income was from the EU development fund. Ebbw Vale received 420 million euro for its industrial development; 40.5 millions for a professional institute, with 29.000 students; 36 million for a new train line; 96 million for upgrading roads: and 14.7 million that citizens did receive at different times. There were very few immigrants. EU did commit to Wales 2.200 million euro within 2020. Will now the government replace these ?

In fact, the referendum has created a dramatic inter-generational problem. The people over 55 years did vote at nearly 70% for the Brexit. Those under 25, voted 75 % for Remain. But only 50% of them went to vote, vis a vis 68% of the older citizens. Therefore, the older people have decided the future of the younger ones. In a progressively ageing world, with fewer young people, this should have us all thinking.

So the question is: with poorly informed people, manipulated by a campaign of fear and lies, is a yes or no referendum a tool of democracy?

But things are more complicated. We live in an era of post ideologies and post parties. To be on the left or on the right is becoming increasingly irrelevant. Without ideologies, discarded with the collapse of Berlin's wall, politics is becoming just an act of administrative action, where differences disappear. Parties without ideologies carry little motivation and identity. Gone are the times when they were based on strong membership, with a vibrant youth wing. Parties are becoming just movements of opinions, which mobilizes citizens only to vote in a temporary campaign, where hired experts of marketing tools and other instruments of mass communication, have replaced debates on visions and values.

This costs more money than volunteers and corrupts politics. More important yet, Internet and new technologies have changed how people relate to politics. The relation between the parties and voters is not any longer direct, and vertical, as it was at the time of the radio and TV. Let us take the last important elections in Europe: those for electing mayors in Italy. A tide of young and untested mayors took over from an older generation.

A research in Rome conducted by Pragma Sociometrica has found that 36% of voters still use the TV as their primary instrument of information, but 26% use the net. Friends and relatives account for just 5%. And for deciding the vote, 46% made their own judgment via Internet on Virginia Raggi, the new young lady mayor of Rome, and only 18% used Internet and voted the oldest candidate, Giachetti. Dialogue with the candidates on Internet is preferred by 58% of the voters; followed by 48% for videos and 33 % by Facebook. And finally, 30 % by photos. Clearly, the great popular meetings filling public squares are something of the past

The American website "Vox technology" has published an article: "How Internet is destroying politics". Web Amazon has decimated libraries ITunes and Pandora with on line music and have uprooted the power of recording houses. On the transportation side, Uber is challenging the taxi's monopoly. Now is the time of the political system, is the article's thesis.

The net is progressively reducing the power of the traditional system of information, and cites the progressive candidate Bertie Sanders as an example. No media or any Democrat guru, like Paul Krugman, supported Sanders policies and denounced these as unrealistic. Yet Sanders has been immune to this campaign. Why? Because Sanders supporters did not read papers, but went on the net and created their own circle, immune to the traditional information's system, where Clinton was overwhelming.

According to the pollster from El Pais, the Brexit in the recent Spanish elections, pushed people to take less risks, reinforcing the governing Popular Party (regardless of a string of corruption cases) and reducing the appeal of Podemos, the party of alternative. Yet Marine Le Pen, the French rightist leader, called a press conference to welcome Brexit, as did Donald Trump, Gehert Wilders and all the leaders of the xenophobic, nationalist and populist parties which are growing everywhere. They are already in power in Poland, Hungary, and Slovakiaand if Brexit has a domino effect (as many fear), the future is not going to be helpful for democracy. Already several of them has been calling for their national referendum, convinced that they would all be like BrexitCampaign of fear will run through all Europe.

We now have an unexpected observatory coming up soon. Austrian elections, where the extreme right wing lost by only 30.000 votes, have been annulled for irregularities, and new ones are due. This time victory should be clearer. If the extreme right wing wins, this will have a strong impact on the coming elections in France and Germany. And then, the destiny of Europe as a political project will be sealed.

Will the traditional political elite be able to take lessons from the reality, and change austerity for growth, banks as a priority of youth, come back to a debate of ideas and visions, values and ideals? Begin to discuss at least social remedies in the face of the disasters of an unregulated globalization? Or will it repeat the Byzantines discussing about the angel's sex, while the Turks were entering Costantipolis?



(Roberto Savio is founder and president emeritus of the Inter Press Service (IPS) news agency and publisher of Other News).
Fatalities on Eid journey

NEWS reports said over 100 people died so far in road accidents and launch mishaps this week on their way home to Eid vacation and returning to city while hundreds of others faced injuries on roads and highways. This Eid festival was special to many due to long public holidays over nine days. More people took the journey to village homes to celebrate the holy Eid. But many of them were met with accidents, death and disabilities to turn the occasion of festivity to sad event. We must say that the Roads and Highways authorities can't skip the responsibilities, as there were evidently neglect and also gap in monitoring vehicles fitness and drivers reckless driving. Reports said most transport vehicles; which were dilapidated and in poor condition were put on Roads and Highways to carry passengers. Politically powerful people exploited the opportunity with support of the traffic police. It appears that untrained drivers got licenses with pressures of union leaders and patronization of political quarters. Some BRTA officials are responsible as they issued licenses without verification of drivers' skills and experience to handle vehicles on busy highways. At time unfit vehicles and unskilled drivers become cause of terrible accidents but BRTA authorities seem to have no responsibility once they have issued licenses. Mobile Courts make their presence in namesake when they track unfit vehicles and collect undue tolls for breaking the rules. The same is applicable for launches operating in river routes. Vessels' inspectors issue fitness certificates sitting in their office as a recent news reports said without pondering what tragedy may befall upon home-goers if the vessels meet with accidents. Several such accidents have been reported on Dhaka-Barisal route over the past few days. As things appear management of Roads and Highways, Railways and Waterways needs to be far better to make people's journey safe not only during Eid festivities but also round the year. There must be distinct road signals at dangerous turning points to avoid head-on collision. Road dividers must be at market places where vehicles must move slow. Roads must be widened at other points to avoid accidents. Deaths in road accidents are not taken seriously as if those who are becoming victims deserve to die and reckless driving is not a concern. This is not acceptable.
Where are they now?

Over 120 joined militant outfits, security agencies fear

Ten youths out of over 120 missing or out of touch from families for long.

Gazi Anowarul Hoque :Over 120 youths, mostly University students, have reportedly been missing for months. Security officials fear that they might have been recruited by militant outfits in the meantime.The law enforcement agencies are trying to track the missing youngsters, allegedly involved in militancy, by sending their photographs and details to all police stations, immigration centres as well as different airports, seaports and river ports in the country.Sources in an Intelligence Agency said they have received a number of complaints from their worried parents, classmates and friends, and these were being used to verify their identities and current locations. After establishing their identities, their photographs and details would be sent to the local police stations and to all the border and immigration points in order to nab them. The law enforcement and intelligence agencies are also keeping in vigil on some private universities and English medium educational institutions, including North South University, where some students have already been identified with militant leanings, the sources said.Inspector General of Police (IGP) AKM Shahidul Haque recently said that the guardians of missing youngsters should give their details to the concerned police stations for saving themselves along with innocent people. Echoing the same message, Director General of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) Benazir Ahmed recently asked parents to inform law enforcement agencies if any of their children goes missing. He also called upon people to share any information of militant activities in blogs, twitter and other social media websites.Intelligence and law enforcement agencies have already identified at least 10 such missing youngsters, who are allegedly involved in militant activities, and sent their photographs and details to all concern authorities in the country.The 10 youths are: Mohammad Basharuzzaman from Tejgaon in Dhaka, Zunaid Khan from Badda (Passport No: AF7493378), Nazibullah Ansari from Chanpainawabganj, Ashraf Mohammad Islam from Dhaka(Passport No: 525841625), Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury from Sylhet(Passport No: L0633478), Ibrahim Hasan Khan from Dhaka(Passport No: AF7493378), ATM Tajuddin from Lakkhipur(Passport No: F0585568), Ibaidur Rahim from Dhanmondi in Dhaka(Passport No:E1047719), Mohammad Saifullah Ojaki from Sylhet (Passport No:TK8099860) and Junnun Shikder(Passport No: BE0949172). Talking to The New Nation on Sunday, a senior police official requesting not to be named said that they might have joined different militant groups such as Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), Hizb-ut-Tahrir, Jamaatul Mujahideen of Bangladesh (JMB) and Harkat-ul-Jihad (Huji).The perpetrators of the recent attacks in city's Spanish Cafe at Gulshan and the entrance of Sholakia Eidgah in Kishoreganj have been identified as young militants missing without any communication with their families for some time.Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said, "We urge the people to inform the local police stations about unknown and suspicious persons in their respective areas to preclude untoward incidents." "We also request all parents to monitor their children as well as their activities. The guardians should inform the local police stations if they find any abnormal behaviour in their children," the Minister said.
Judges need to be rigid in granting bail to militants: Anisul

Staff Reporter :

Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Anisul Huq on Sunday urged the judges to be 'rigid' in granting bail to the militants.

The minister said it amid tension of militant attacks that took place at Gulshan on July 1 and Sholakia on the Eid Day.

The Minister was talking to the reporters after attending an inaugural session of the newly recruited Assistant Judges Training Programme held at the Judicial Administration Training Institute (JATI) in the city.

Anisul Huq urged the judges to be more rigid and to remember their duty to the judicial system in granting bail to the accused in militancy-related cases considering the law and order situation in the country.

In response to a query, the minister said that the judiciary is independent. They can grant bail.

"We can ask the prosecution to present their argument impeccably so that the judges won't be able to grant bails to the accused in militancy-related cases," he said.

Judges interpret law and apply it judiciously. So, they should be tougher in dealing with the militants.

Another reporter drew his attention to the weak charge-sheets and asked whether the Law Ministry would issue any directive in this matter. The minister said, "We believe in cooperation. Everything works in a system. We will work to ensure there are no loopholes in the important cases.

The Minister responding to a query regarding the Attorney General's office's lacking in producing evidence in challenging bail pleas of the accused in many cases, the Minister said that the ministry always assists the Attorney General's office whenever they seek it.

However, the Minister asked the reporters not to ask any question regarding the progress of the investigation of Gulshan terror attack which killed 22 people, including 17 foreigners and two police officials.

When the reporters wanted to know about the progress of the Ramna Batamul bomb blast case and August 21 grenade attack on a Awami League rally on the Bangabandhu Avenue, the minister said that first one is in High Court and the other in lower court.


Protests spread across US cities

Police officers in riot gear moved in to break up a group of marchers as hundreds took to the streets to protest in Phoenix yesterday.

Protests continue to spread across US cities against the killing of black men by police, following recent deaths in Minnesota and Louisiana.Roads were blocked and missiles thrown in Minnesota, while armed New Black Panther Party members confronted police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Dozens of arrests have been made but the rallies were mostly peaceful. The situation is also tense in Dallas, where five officers were killed by a black man during a protest rally. Security levels were raised at the police HQ after anonymous threats were received but an all clear was given after a search of a car park for a "suspicious person".The protests against police killings were sparked by the deaths of Philando Castile in Minnesota and Alton Sterling in Louisiana. In St Paul, Minnesota, overnight, fireworks, bottles and rocks were thrown at police as the demonstration closed a main interstate highway, causing gridlock.This is the fifth night of protests in Baton Rouge where there is not just anger, there is rage.Each night the gathering has intensified and police have responded with officers in riot gear. The two sides faced each other, often blocking the main highway outside police headquarters. Occasionally the force would line up and rush into the crowd to make several arrests. Earlier, hundreds marched to the Louisiana State Capitol and stood on the steps with clenched fists raised up high - a salute to black power.Read more from Baton Rouge and St Paul: US police protests near boiling pointPolice said some officers had been hurt by fireworks and a number of arrests made. Demonstrators said police fired tear gas and rubber bullets.In Baton Rouge, several hundred protesters gathered outside the police department shouting "No justice! No peace!" and also at the convenience store where Alton Sterling was shot.There was also tension as armed members of the New Black Panther Party stood face to face with officers in riot gear. Louisiana law allows weapons to be carried openly. Dozens of people were reported to have been arrested and at least two firearms confiscated. Among those held was DeRay Mckesson, who has become a national voice for the Black Lives Matter movement, and two journalists. Baton Rouge protester Marie Flowers told Associated Press: "Black boys are being killed and this is just the culmination of what has been going on for decades."Several hundred protesters blocked roads and bridges in San Francisco and Fresno in California, hundreds more protested peacefully in West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Miami in Florida. In New York, at least 20 people were arrested as hundreds of protesters marched through Manhattan. Protester Lorena Ambrosio told Reuters: "I'm feeling very haunted, very sad and just angry that black bodies just keep piling and piling up." A "Weekend of Rage" called in Philadelphia saw a six-hour march by a multi-racial crowd. One protester told an officer: "Without the uniform and badge, you are just like us," AP reported.Other protests took place in Nashville, Indianapolis and Washington DC.Relation to original Black Panther Party: None. The Black Panthers, founded in 1966, were a militant, socialist organisation advocating black nationalism but also had community programmes. They largely disbanded in the mid-1970s. Co-founder Bobby Seale has called the NBPP's rhetoric "xenophobic" and "absurd" The protests have continued despite an effort by President Barack Obama to soothe the tension. On a trip to Europe, he said: "First of all, as painful as this week has been, I firmly believe that America is not as divided as some have suggested. "When we start suggesting that somehow there's this enormous polarisation, and we're back to the situation in the 60s, that's just not true. You're not seeing riots, and you're not seeing police going after people who are protesting peacefully." On Thursday, five white police officers were shot dead by a black man, Micah Johnson, during a protest rally against the police killings. Seven other officers and two civilians were injured.Johnson, who was himself killed during the assault, supported black militant groups who encouraged violence against police. Dallas police chief David Brown said Johnson had told a negotiator that he had wanted to kill white people, especially white police officers, because he was angry about the recent shootings of black men by police. Johnson, 25, who officials say acted alone, was killed by remotely detonated explosives that were sent into a car park where he had taken refuge after the shootings.
BD, US agree to face global challenge

UNB, Dhaka :Recognising the shared threats, Bangladesh and the United States have agreed to jointly address the global challenge in countering violent extremist groups, including Da'esh (ISIL) and Al Qai'da."Bangladesh and the USA recognise the shared threats they face and that countering violent extremist groups, including Da'esh (ISIL) and Al Qai'da, constitutes a global challenge that must be addressed jointly," according to joint statement of the fifth US-Bangladesh partnership dialogue.In light of the global circumstances and in recognition of the threats posed by terrorism and violent extremism around the world, the two countries have demonstrated their shared commitment to broadening and deepening their partnership, including on security and counter-terrorism and countering violent extremism.The Partnership Dialogue between the two countries was held on June 23-24 in Washington, D.C. However, the Bangladesh Embassy in Washington issued the joint statement on Saturday. US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas Shannon and Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque led their respective sides at the dialogue. "As a way to deepen our cooperation, we're announcing Bangladesh's participation in the US Counterterrorism Partnerships Fund (CTPF), which will enable Bangladesh and the United States to expand our bilateral counterterrorism partnership and support program to advance the collaboration," the statement reads.The CTPF-supported programmes would strengthen Bangladesh-US cooperation in responding to evolving radicalisation and terrorist threats, help improve partnerships between the civilian-led counterterrorism elements, and address the conditions that give a rise to extremism.It said, cooperation on security seeks to reinforce Bangladesh's ability to improve community policing, and provide training on counter-messaging, among others. "We're also developing career civil servant prosecutors that can specialise in bringing violent extremists to justice, and prevent, address, and counter transnational crime," the statement reads. Additional assistance includes security training to demonstrate our shared commitment of the two countries to promote and protect human rights.This cooperation is a tangible demonstration of the two countries' firm resolve to counter violent extremism in the region and beyond. The United States welcomed the Bangladesh Navy's 2016-2018 Chairmanship of the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium. The two countries look forward to the upcoming Security Dialogue, where the two sides will discuss future opportunities for defence and security collaboration.
272 killed in South Sudan as fighting erupts in capital

Reuters, Juba :

At least 272 people have died in fighting between South Sudan's rival factions in the capital Juba, including 33 civilians, a government source said on Sunday, as heavy gunfire erupted again in the city and many residents sought shelter at a U.N. base. The fighting first broke out on Thursday and Friday between troops loyal to President Salva Kiir and soldiers who support vice president Riek Machar. The violence raises fears South Sudan could slide back into conflict after emerging from a two-year civil war, which began in December 2013 after Kiir sacked Machar as vice president.

Neighboring Kenya called for urgent action by the two leaders to move troops away from civilians and end the crisis. A government spokesman later said the situation had been brought under control. "At present the situation is calm," Michael Makuei, minister of information, said in a broadcast by South Sudanese TV.

He said the government was calling on people to go back to their homes and that the situation was under control. On Saturday Juba had been calm, but on Sunday a Reuters witness and residents said gunfire was heard in Gudele and Jebel suburbs of Juba, near the military barracks that hosts troops loyal to Machar.

"For about 30 to 40 minutes we heard sounds of heavy artillery in the direction of Jebel area," an aid worker based in Juba who did not want to be named told Reuters.

One resident, Daniel Samson, said he had seen a "massive migration" of people fleeing to calmer districts when there was a lull. "The gun shooting has stopped now," he said.

Another resident, who only gave his name as Steven, said he had seen hundreds heading to a U.N. compound. "I saw dead bodies of civilians and others ... moving with blood on their bodies," he told Reuters by telephone.

Officials at the U.N. South Sudan mission UNMISS could not immediately be reached for comment.

One eye witness saw soldiers apparently involved in looting, by entering a neighbor's shop and leaving with merchandise. It was not clear if those troops supported Kiir or Machar. A Health Ministry source told Reuters early on Sunday that at least 272 people had been killed, including 33 civilians, so far. There was no official statement on the death toll. Kenya called on Kiir and Machar to resolve the latest crisis and urgently to move heavy weaponry and huge contingents of soldiers out of civilian spaces of the capital Juba, Kenyan presidential spokesman Manoah Espisu told a briefing. He said Kenya was ready to support law enforcement in Juba.

Kenya Airways suspended flights to Juba. South Sudan's civil war was fought largely along ethnic lines with Kiir, a Dinka, and Machar, a Nuer, drawing support from their respective tribes.

A peace agreement last August ended the war but Kiir and Machar spent months after that wrangling over details and have yet to integrate their forces, a key part of the peace deal.

Machar returned to Juba in April, which as seen as a step to end fighting. But experts said the failure to move swiftly to implement other aspects of the peace deal, such as re-integrating or demobilizing rival forces, risked a new conflict. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Friday the latest violence highlighted a lack of commitment to the peace process and urged the country's leaders to discipline military leaders and work together to implement the peace deal. On Friday, shooting had erupted even as Machar and Kiir were in talks to defuse tensions. Both called for calm and said they did not know what sparked the flare up, raising concerns about their ability to control their respective troops. The violence initially began late on Thursday, when soldiers loyal to Kiir demanded to search vehicles of Machar supporters. That stand-off led to clashes.
US imported terrorism to M-E: Philippines President

RT News :Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has accused the US of importing terror to the Middle East through its interventions, pointing to Iraq, Libya and Syria as examples.Speaking at an event being held in honor of the holy Islamic day of Eid'l Fit'r in Davao City on Friday, the leader challenged the narrative that the Middle East is the root of terrorism. "It is not that the Middle East is exporting terrorism to America; America imported terrorism (to the Middle East)," he said.Duterte slammed the US and UK for presenting Saddam Hussein as a dictator in order to justify the Iraq war of 2003, and for failing to admit their mistakes after the fact. "They forced their way into Iraq," he told the Muslim crowd."After almost 10 years of investigation, it turned outthere was no legal basis to declare war against Iraq. You see, it's a useless war," he explained. "Look at Iraq now. Look what happened to Libya. Look what happened to Syria. Even children are being doused with gasoline. They were pushed to the wall for the failed promises," he added.The Philippines is not without its own issues of unrest, as groups in the country's minority Muslim regions have been fighting for autonomy in the largely Christian country since the late '60s.Duterte wants to hold peace talks between groups in the region, the Moro National Liberation Front, and its offshoot, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, in order to work out details of an autonomy agreement reached in 2014. He urged the leaders to focus on peace. "Let us build a nation that will be founded on peace and understanding," he said."It will not come overnight. Certainly, it will not come next year. Probably, it will be something about two to three years from now. But I assure you that something will change before I end my term."Duterte also said he would not call the Abu Sayyaf rebel group criminals, as they were "driven to desperation," thanks to failed promises and a lack of governance. "That's why they were pushed to the wall," he said. "They were radicalized."The group have been called terrorists and bandits due to their kidnappings and assassinations, and the Philippine government has fought them for years. In April, the group reportedly pledged allegiance to terrorist group Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL).Duterte, a former Davao City mayor, was elected president in June 2016, after an outspoken campaign promising to crack down on crime. Soon after his term as president started, his military chief said they would engage in a "shock and awe" tactic to tackle the rebel group that has pledged allegiance to IS.Nine Abu Sayyaf members and a soldier were killed on Thursday in clashes between armed forces and the group in southern Philippines, al Jazeera reports.Duterte drew comparisons with his own country's brush with colonialism, pointing to the fact that everyone was "natives of the sultanes" until Spanish colonialism which brought with it Christianity."So although religion is a very sensitive issue, let us not really do something that will inflame or agitate trouble about religion. We all believe in the same God." he added. The new president has said his foreign policy will not be dependant on the US, with whom the Philippines enjoy a defense partnership, and will "be a line that is not intended to please anybody but the Filipino interest."He has spoken about engaging in talks with long-term rival China over the disputed South China Sea, a conflict over which Washington and Beijing have been clashing for years.
SL man slaughtered in Sylhet

UNB, Sylhet :A local Swechchhasebak League activist was slaughtered by his landlord at Pathantula in the city on Sunday.The deceased was identified as Abdullah Antar, 34, an activist of the district unit of Swechchhasebak League, hailing from Rajshahi.Quoting victim's friend Ali, police said Antar had a dispute with Sunny, owner of the house where he used to live, over rent. As a sequel to the dispute, Sunny called Antar over his mobile phone to his house around 2:30 pm where he along with his associates beat him mercilessly and slit the throat. Meanwhile, no one was arrested in this connection.
Peace TV banned

Law enforcers will monitor Khutba in Jumma prayers: Police to be well-armed, highly trained: No unauthorized establishment in diplomatic enclave

Sagar Biswas :The Bangladesh government has decided to ban broadcast of Peace TV, a 24-hour channel run by India-based controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, in the wake of allegations of inspiring Islamist militants.The Cabinet committee on law and order on Sunday took the decision in a special meeting held at Secretariat in the backdrop of two major terrorist attacks in a span of only one week-one at Gulshan on July 1 and another at Sholakia on July 7. Earlier, allegations were raised from different quarters that one of the attackers in Gulshan carnage was inspired by the speech Dr Zakir Naik, a 50-year-old Indian preacher, who is also banned in Malaysia. The terrorist had followed Naik regularly through social media networks, including twitter. Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu, head of the Cabinet Committee, disclosed the decision of the ban on Peace TV after the meeting. He said several other crucial decisions were also taken in the meeting with a view to curbing militancy.Besides the Industries Minister, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed, LGRD Minister Khandakar Mosharraf Hossain, Water Resources Minister Anisul Islam Mahmud, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu, Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan, Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Rashed Khan Menon and Expatriate Welfare Minister Nurul Islam took part in the meeting.Heads of different security and intelligence agencies, including Inspector General of Police AKM Shahidul Haque and Dhaka Metropolitan Commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia, among others, were also present. Just two days ago, Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu had hinted about the banning. "We've got some allegations about Peace TV. These will be thoroughly investigated," he said.The Peace TV is owned by Islamic Research Foundation [IRF], a Mumbai-based charity organization, which was founded by Naik. He is also president of IRF. The Peace TV did not get license to broadcast in India. Its contents are broadcasted from Dubai in English, Urdu and Bangla apparently to catch followers in the subcontinent.Dr Naik, however, on Saturday claimed that no Bangladesh government official had said that he inspired the act of terrorism, PTI reported. "I spoke to Bangladeshi government people. They told me that they do not believe I inspired these Bangladeshi terrorists to do this act of killing innocent people. That is a different issue that he was my fan," Naik said.It is also alleged that some Indian youths went to Syria to join ISIS [Indian State of Iraq and Syria]. After getting the news, the Indian government took hard stance against Dr Naik and his Peace TV. According to media reports, Indian authorities have found Naik's speeches to be provocative and objectionable. Besides, his explanations had ignited controversies in many places. Dr Naik is also banned from entering the UK and Canada.Recently, the provincial government of Maharashtra initiated an investigation about the matter. Later, law enforcers were deployed around his Mumbai office. "I saw the speeches made by him [Naik] and also the telecast of the particular channel [Peace TV]. Today, I made enquiries with my officers. It is a matter concerning security of our country and social harmony," India's Union Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Friday told The Indian Express.Meanwhile, the cabinet committee meeting adopted a motion of condolence following the recent militant attacks one after another in the country. It also conveyed thanks to the members of law enforcement agencies for their expertise and performance to resist recent militant attacks. At the same time, the meeting laid emphasis on providing latest weapons and training to increase law enforcers' capability."The meeting decided to keep vigil on the 'khutba' [delivering religious speech] during Jumma prayers in the mosques. The security agencies will also see whether the religious personalities, who conduct 'khutba', are following real religious norms, or not. Besides, the waj mahfil will also be brought under close monitoring," Amir Hossain Amu said. He said: "The meeting also decided to give stress on social consciousness to eliminate and control militancy. For that, it needs to initiate a movement involving the people from all walks of life. Besides, the police patrol duty must be increased."About the security measures regarding foreigners, Amu said, "The security of foreigners and export organizations must be increased, if they want. The meeting also asked the concerned departments to close unauthorized schools, colleges, hotels and restaurants in Gulshan diplomatic enclave." Official sources said the meeting sharply criticized US-based international television channel CNN [cable news network] for its live telecast of Gulshan terror attack for over 36 hours. The committee members observed that CNN intentionally continued the telecast. On behalf of the police, it was told the meeting that charge-sheets of 14 militancy cases, including Japanese national Hoshi Konio and Italian citizen Cesare Tavella, have already been submitted. The rest 23 cases are under investigation, the sources said.
US offers BD expertise in building counter-terrorism capabilities

The United States has offered US expertise and technical supports in building Bangladesh's counterterrorism capabilities as the country experienced the worst-ever terrorist attack on July 1, targeting mainly foreign nationals.Visiting US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Nisha Biswal came up with the offer during her meeting with Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali and Foreign Secretary M Shahidul Haque at State guesthouse Padma on Sunday. Secretary Haque briefed the media after their meetings with Biswal that focused on Bangladesh's bilateral relations with the United States and the security situation."They proposed supports at various levels which will further be discussed. The discussion has just started," he told reporters. The Foreign Secretary said they focused on areas, include training, and finding out new strategies in countering terrorism. Responding to a question, Haque said the government is positive in accepting supports from willing countries but the question is what will be the modalities.He said, there had been discussion on technical support in the past, too and their expert teams are continuing to help Bangladesh. "We discussed how these efforts can be made deeper." The Foreign Secretary said the US side at the meeting reiterated their commitment to stay beside Bangladesh and its people. "We discussed how the current problem can be addressed." He said Biswal will hopefully meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and there will be more discussions till Monday. US Ambassador to Bangladesh Marcia Bernicat and US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Manpreet Anand were also present.The Assistant Secretary offered her condolences for the victims of the recent terrorist attacks. "We share the grief of our Bangladeshi partners," said Assistant Secretary Biswal adding that their commitment to Bangladesh remains as robust as ever. She said they will continue their assistance in combating the global threat of terrorism that two countries both confront. Biswal arrived here on Sunday morning on a two-day visit to discuss security issues with Bangladesh after the deadliest terrorist attack on a Dhaka cafe.She will meet the embassy community, local business, and other diplomatic representatives before leaving Dhaka on Monday. Biswal will then travel to Colombo where she will meet senior government officials, political leaders, and civil society representatives to discuss bilateral economic cooperation as well as democratic governance and reconciliation. She visited Dhaka on May 5 and 6 last after the brutal murder of USAID staff Xulhaz Mannan in Dhaka on April 25. Meanwhile, 22 people, including nine Italians, seven Japanese, one Indian national and two policemen were killed inside and outside the cafe during the attack on July 1. Later on the morning of on July 2, six people along with five attackers were also killed during a commando operation. Thirteen of the hostages were rescued alive in the operation.On Friday afternoon, blood-soaked young man Shawon who was detained from outside the Holey Artisan Bakery during the hostage standoff died at a city hospital.
PM vows tough action against militancy

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday vowed that she would be tough as much as needed to eradicate militancy from the country. "We'll surely eradicate militancy and will be tough as much as needed," she said.The Prime Minister was speaking at a programme arranged to exchange Eid greetings with the PMO officials and review the activities of her office. PM's Press secretary Ihsanul Karim briefed reporters after the meeting.Sheikh Hasina said, it will not be possible to derail the country from the spirit of Liberation War and foil the trial of war criminals with this social menace of militancy.The Prime Minister said her government will also deal with natural disasters along with manmade calamities. "I always rely on people, we have to complete the development programmes fast," she said. Hasina mentioned that Bangladesh will have to march forward defying militancy and terrorism. "We will have to take our country forward."About Gulshan terror attack, the Prime Minister said such attacks also take place in various developed countries like Japan, the UK, India, France and Belgium.She said, a section of people in the country have an attitude to appease oneself by criticizing the country abroad.The Prime Minister slammed a section of newspapers which are criticizing the commando operation of law enforcers during the Gulshan incident although it was successful.She congratulated all concerned for carrying out the successful commando operation.Regarding the reports of human rights organisations which are vocal about missing people, she said these organisations never come up with reports on those who remain missing willfully. "What type of research these organisations do that they cannot provide any report on such willful missing?" she questioned. Expressing her surprise at the involvement of highly educated youths in militant activities, Hasina said, "I can't think how highly educated youths could be bigotsmass people are pious, not fanatics!" She also said, a section of people are now engaged in killing refraining from practicing religion. "What type of persons they were who launched the brutal attacks on Gulshan cafe and near the Sholakia Eidgah in Kishoreganj by skipping Esha and Tarbih prayers and Eid prayers?" Hasina emphasised strengthening surveillance on militancy alongside raising awareness among mass people in this regard. She stressed finding out the teachers who are patronising militancy in the country, and urged guardians to always keep watch on their children.Hasina called upon teachers and guardians to inform the authorities concerned if any student remains missing.Blaming BNP-Jamaat for sowing seeds of terrorism and militancy in the country, she said the BNP-Jamaat terrorists killed 24 Awami League leaders and activists by carrying out a grisly grenade attack on Bangabandhu Avenue. "They were involved in the killing of SAMS Kibria and Ahsanullah Master as well as serial bomb blasts that took place at 500 places across the country during their misrule," she said.Advisers to the Prime Minister and the Principal Secretary and senior officials of the PMO were present at the programme.
Taking excess bus fare protested

Reza Mahmud :

The ticket selling agents in different bus terminals collected excess fare from the passengers, who were returning to the capital city on Saturday after celebrating the Eid with their relatives at towns and village homes.

Although there was protest, the countermen paid no heed, rather threatened of stopping sale of tickets, said a passenger named Shamimur Rahman. He returned from Madhukhali in the district of Faridpur.

Ticket seller of a bus company demanded

Tk 400 from me though the actual fare was Tk 150. When I said: Why do you demand excess fare? He said: Our bus will return from Dhaka almost empty. As such, we are realizing surplus fare to cover the would-be loss.

As I have no second option, I paid the demanded amount and got a ticket. The salesman smiled and said: Thank you. This was not the single case, but one among many. The ferry shortage and continuous rain in the river of Padma also caused sufferings.

"We had to wait for additional three to four hours after reaching Daulatdiya ferry ghat in Rajbari district on account of ferry scarcity. Thus, thousands of passengers gathered bitter experience," said, Kaisar Khalid, a resident of Boalmari upazali in the district of Faridpur, after reaching Gabtoli bus terminal of the capital city on Sunday.

Some of the passengers from Khulna and Jessore said that they had waited a long time at Aricha after crossing the river Padma by launch. The company's another bus was very late to arrive at Aricha in Manikganj district from Dhaka which will return to the capital.

Launch passengers also suffered at Sadarghat terminal on account of the management crisis. The jam packed launches were unable to anchor at terminal due to occupation by the empty launches. As a result, many of the passengers passed few hours in the river though a small number risked to reach the terminal by small boats paying money..

The auto-rickshaw drivers also realised excess fair from the passengers at Kamlapur railway station, Sadarghat launch terminal, Gabtoli, Mohakhali, and Saidabad bus terminals. They demanded an additional amount of Tk 20 to 50 above the meter rate.

The sufferings intensified due to continuous rains. A resident of Pabna town said over cell phone that rains added misery to the passengers.

However, the government, the semi-government and some of the private business offices reopened on Sunday after Eid vacation.

But attendance was quite thin, which has become a tradition on the part of the office employees and officers regardless of the length of holiday.
Our terrorism can`t be disconnected from internal situation of anger and frustration

Symptom of negative effect on national economy is becoming visible gradually after terrorist attacks at Gulshan and Sholakia. One foreign buyer establishment already has cancelled its scheduled meeting at Dhaka and preferred to transfer it at Delhi. They informed concerned Bangladeshi entrepreneurs that no buyer on behalf of them was ready to come to Bangladesh due to security concern. Most of the buyer establishments are now eager to shift their scheduled meetings to Hong Kong, Singapore and India. At the same time Uniqlo and some other famous garment retailers of Japan have postponed their activities in Bangladesh. A national Bangla daily has published two alarming reports on this issue on Sunday. These reports say, after deadly terrorist attacks at Gulshan and Sholakia negative message has gone abroad about the situation prevailing in Bangladesh. As a result Bangladeshi economy may have to face adverse effects and in particular the export sector would be hard-hit. The businessmen are troubled by the destabilised situation. We are not being honest about the connection between our internal democracy denial politics and terrorism. The reality of the internal situation of anger and frustration can be suppressed only to the detriment of our own future. We cannot ignore that young ones are affected by the general socio-political conditions prevailing. To be honest, terrorists are taking advantage of occupation of politics with police power and the anger and frustration prevailing among all sections of people other than those in power. The situation in the country is too dangerous to seek a solution without understanding the politics of conflict which is deepening in the country. Terrorism is not isolated from internal politics. To come out of the dangerous crisis we have to recognise the truth and not be deceptive when our children are becoming victims of terrorism. Complications of politics based on police power has to be honestly understood if we want to save our children and the people. Evidence of wrong politics is clear from the fact that under the incumbent government terrorism has become a nationwide danger. What is more worrisome is that the government is not accepting the truth for an effective solution. The power struggle does not remain one-sided. The crisis we are facing now is not an ordinary law and order failure, but it is totally a deep political crisis. We can overcome it only if we act politically. No government can survive without caring for the country's economy.
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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 of 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."
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:
Press Release:

1. North Carolina's drug abuse epidemic has gotten worse under Roy Cooper

2. Mismanagement at the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI)

3. Under Roy Cooper, the state crime lab has been plagued with backlogs and unsound practices

4. Roy Cooper refused to stand up for North Carolina families and seniors of fixed incomes struggling with high power bills

5. Roy Cooper refused to defend North Carolina farmers from excessive Washington, D.C. regulations

6. Roy Cooper refused stand up for consumers and fight Obamacare

7. Roy Cooper's inaction led to Coal Ash spill

Contact: The Pat McCrory Committee

The Pat McCrory Committee media@patmccrory.com

Roy Cooper's first television ad tries to reintroduce himself to the voters of North Carolina, claiming he has been a 'national leader' as attorney general of North Carolina. But upon closer look, the ad uses old, dated headlines from as far back as 2000 - before Roy Cooper was even sworn in as attorney general - to try and convince voters he is something that he is not.The truth is that North Carolina has not had an attorney general for a long time. For the last 16 years, Roy Cooper has failed to do his job and has consistently failed to defend the people of North Carolina.Here are 7 ways Roy Cooper has failed as Attorney General:Roy Cooper's ad tries to convince North Carolinians that he has taken on North Carolina's drug epidemic as attorney general. And while law enforcement officers across the state fight to lower drug abuse in our communities, the reality is that Roy Cooper has failed to effectively take on this challenge. Methamphetamine makers have been increasingly moving to North Carolina cities and suburbs, and our state is now in the top 10 list of states for meth production. (Martha Quillian & lauren Carroll, "Meth labs moving into North Carolina's suburbs," The News & Observer, 8/9/2012)Roy Cooper's Department of Justice was managed so poorly over the years that the SBI was removed from his control. In 2010, an audit of his department found more than 200 instances where they had withheld blood test results in cases in North Carolina to favor prosecutions and "robbed defendants of justice." (Mandy Locke, Joseph Neff & J. Andrew Curliss, "Scathing SBI audit says 230 cases tainted by shoddy investigations," The News & Observer, 8/12/2010)A 2011 CNN documentary titled "Rogue Justice" chronicled the long-standing problems at the State Bureau of Investigation, which led to potentially innocent people being prosecuted, put behind bars for crimes they didn't commit or even executed. (Chris Swecker & Michael Wolf, "An Independent Review of The SBI Forensic Laboratory," 8/18/2010)In 2002, then State Senator Kay Hagan found that the SBI failed to investigate as many as 20,000 rape kits, and since then the problems haven't been resolved. Law enforcement still complains of issues with the state crime lab holding up investigations. Unless there was a known suspect, the SBI refused to process the rape kits, leaving many victims waiting to find their perpetrators. Despite a person's right to a speedy trial, the backlog of cases has even lead to canceled or delayed prosecutions. ("Rape's evidence gathers dust," The Associated Press, 11/9/2002; "Officials: Backlog at NC crime lab leads to canceled prosecutions," Fox 8 1/12/2015)When the Obama administration's Environmental Protection Agency drew up new regulations that would cause the average North Carolina family's utility bill to go up by $400, Cooper has refused to defend North Carolina against the EPA's overreach. (Mark Barrett, "Cooper: NC should develop air plan instead of suing," Asheville Citizen-Times, 8/12/2015; "Energy market impacts of recent federal regulations on the electric power sector, Energy Ventures Analysis, 11/2014)When the Obama administration wanted to assert more control over North Carolina streams, rivers, ponds and waterways, Roy Cooper has failed challenge the federal government's overreach. These overreaching water regulations would be devastating for North Carolina farmers and the agriculture community in North Carolina, exposing them to excessive fees. (Brent Kendall, "Governors' Attorneys General at odds over Obama policies," The Wall Street Journal 10/8/2015)Roy Cooper failed to join a bipartisan coalition 26-state lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Obamacare, and families are paying the price for it today. Premiums are skyrocketing because of Obamacare and Roy Cooper took no action to stop it. In fact, he still supports it. (Jon Camp, "NC Republicans challenge health care reform," ABC11, 1/27/201; "Insurance commissioner blames ACA for industry woes," The News & Observer, 2/3/2016)Despite his responsibility in enforcing environmental law and his role in setting environmental policy, Roy Cooper and his allies willingly ignored the coal ash problem in North Carolina, letting it fester over his 16-year tenure as attorney general.Roy Cooper may try and use the millions of dollars he has raised from trial lawyers and out-of-state special interests to rewrite history, but his record as Attorney General shows he has been a 'national leader' in not doing his job.
The sextoy market is growing quite rapidly in India right now.

Although it is not a big trend, it is a hot topic on the internet as it is secretly expanding its market.

In this article, we will focus on sextoy and introduce recommended sextoy for Indian beginners of sextoy by gender.

India, the birthplace of the Kama Sutra, is very strict about sex.

Also, premarital sex is basically not allowed. Therefore, there are many people who are sexually restricted.

But what happens when you continue to be sexually restricted?

Frustration may build up and you may end up taking your sexual stress out on your partner.

If you are able to adopt sextoy in a timely manner, you can get rid of those problems.

I want to have more exciting sex than Im having now.

I want more variation in masturbation

I want to get even stronger pleasure than I do on my own.

If you have any of these problems, please stay with me until the end.

What is sex toys for Indian?

Sextoy, as the name implies, is a toy used during sex and masturbation.

It is a generic term for vibrators, Egg-vibrators, Electric massagers, dildo, handcuffs and condoms.

They are used to make regular sex more exciting or to make masturbation more pleasurable.

Because sextoy is very stimulating, it can help you to get rid of the problems and frustrations of being in a rut of sex with your partner for a long time, or if you are unhappy with the lack of pleasure in sex with your partner.

The ability to satisfy your desires with movement, texture, and size, which cannot be done by a normal human being, can help you to be satisfied with sex and, as a result, improve your relationship with your partner.

It is also said to help improve sexual dysfunction (inability to get an erection or ejaculate) and difficulty in feeling during sex (insensitivity), which is attracting more attention than in the past.

In recent years, the demand for sextoy has increased due to the spread of smartphones and the Internet and the increasing number of people using online shopping.

Even those who are concerned about the appearance of sextoy (and find it difficult to purchase) can now easily obtain it by using mail order.

In the case of online shopping, most of the stores have taken steps to ensure that the contents of the products delivered to you are not revealed, so you can purchase them without your family members knowing.

Until a while ago, you had to go to the store where the adult goods were sold to buy them, so it was quite a hurdle to overcome.

Also, many people may have an image that sextoy is somehow embarrassing to own.

But nowadays, some of them are so stylish and cute that you cant believe they are sextoy at a glance.

More and more people are using them for travel and outdoor use because they are not too bulky and are suitable for carrying around.

Sextoy situation in India

Before introducing the recommended sextoy for Indians, lets talk about one of the sextoy situations in India in recent years.

In India, due to the high concentration of population, the following six cities have particularly high sales of sextoy in India.

Mumbai

Kolkata

Bangalore

Delhi

Chennai

Hyderabad

These cities account for roughly 70 percent of sextoy sales in India.

In the future, the percentage of sextoy use will gradually increase in other cities in India as well.

If you never talk about sextoy publicly, that girl in your neighborhood might be a sextoy user too.

If you are interested in sextoy, you dont have to suppress your desire for it.

What are Sextoys for beginner?

Among all sextoys, sextoy for beginners are vibrators, dildo, masturbators, Sex Lubricants, and condoms.

Sex Lubricants and condoms, which are familiar to people who have had sex, are also a great beginners sextoy.

I will explain the details of each toy later, but there are many sextoy products that are painful to use and can only be used after some anal expansion.

I assume that the Indian readers of this article are people who have not had much experience with sextoy.

If such people use professional sextoy suddenly, they are at risk of injury or trauma.

Therefore, to introduce sextoy, you need to start with a beginners version and gradually become familiar with it.

Advantages of using sextoy for Indians

There are three advantages of using sextoy for Indians

You can masturbate in a wide variety of ways.

Can have stimulating sex

Can develop new sexual zones

If you try to masturbate with your own fingers or hands, it tends to be a pattern.

However, with sextoy, you can easily masturbate in a variety of ways.

You will definitely be fascinated by the attraction of new stimulation.

Also, your daily sex life will be more exciting than ever.

There are many things in sextoy that are visually stimulating and give you a strong and intense feeling of pleasure.

This allows you to see your partners promiscuity in a way that you wouldnt normally see it.

When you are in a relationship, sex with your partner may become a pattern, but it can also eliminate these problems.

It can also lead to the development of new sexual zones (which is the training of sexual stimulation to allow you to feel orgasms).

For more information on the development of new sexual zones, see the following articles

[Women's Erogenous Zone]How to find and develop, 7 hidden sexual zones !![In India] In this issue, we will dissect the female erogenous zone! ..." Many of you may be like that. Men, in particular, shou...

Thus, the use of sextoy can only be a good thing for the men and women of India.

Sextoy for beginner men in India

So, lets continue with the recommended goods for Indian sextoy beginners.

For ease of understanding, we will introduce them by gender. Lets start with the men!

The following five goods are recommended for novice Indian sextoy men

Masturbator

Cock rings

Love Doll

Sex Lubricants

Toys for the prostate

Lets check each one in detail.

Masturbator

The masturbator is a sextoy for men that elaborately reproduces a womans vagina, mouth, and anus, and is one of the most popular sextoy products.

It is used by men to masturbate, and it is popular because it provides stronger stimulation and pleasure more easily than using hands.

Most are made of good quality silicone, and their softness is something that cannot be achieved with ones own hands.

They can provide stronger pleasure than a real womans vagina, so be careful not to overuse them. (You wont be able to have an orgasm in a womans vagina anymore.)

Again Male masturbators are a wonderful toy. I do not need any favourite timing, bothersome bargaining. You do not have to worry too much.

Revolutionize your masturbation time! ! !

Made in Japan is a wonderful kinky toy.#sextoysindia #SexToyIndia #Japanhttps://t.co/4k70QGzoTP pic.twitter.com/tRVdxTKPpa   SEXToys India PR  (@SextoysIndia) November 12, 2018

Some of them are disposable, while others can be washed and used over and over again, so its fun to buy a few to use depending on your mood.

If you want to know more about masturbator, please click here

Really pleasant male masturbation and how to do it Are you in a rut with your daily masturbation routine? I'm going to show you five ways men masturbate that you might ...

[For Beginners] How to choose and use a male masturbator without fail Gentlemen.Have you ever used a masturbator? The person who sees this article is probably the one who has not experien...

Cock Ring

A cock ring is literally a ring-shaped sextoy that is worn on a mans penis.

It maintains an erection by binding the penis with a ring of rubber and blocking blood flow.

It is sometimes used as an accessory to be worn on the penis, and may be made of metal or plastic as well as rubber.

In some cases, cock rings have parts or vibrators attached to them that stimulate the vagina, so they kill two birds with one stone, giving a woman pleasure while maintaining an erection.

Cock rings are also sometimes used to treat erectile dysfunction.

It can help with erectile dysfunction, where the penis doesnt get hard when you get an erection or doesnt last long when you try to insert it.

Men who are prone to breakage or who are unsure of the hardness and size of their erections can use a cock ring to increase the size of their penis and maintain an erection for a longer period of time.

Cock rings vary in price from around RS700 to over RS2000 with a vibrator function.

Some of them do not fit your penis, so you should check the size of the cock ring before you buy.

You should know the size of your partners or your own penis when it is erect.

[Penis enlargement] What is a cock ring? Types and usage Cock rings can make your penis bigger and harder. It also makes sex with women more fulfilling and increases your sat...

Love Doll

Love dolls, also known as Dutchwives, are dolls with the appearance of a woman who can experience simulated sex.

There are dolls that look like a woman, but they have no face and only have their breasts and lower torso cut off, and some dolls are so realistic that they can actually be mistaken for real women.

Some expensive dolls can cost more than 1 million yen, and the quality of the doll is easily influenced by the price.

The higher the price, the higher the quality of the doll will be, the closer it will be to the real woman, and the cheaper the doll will be, the less elaborate it will be, making it look like a real doll! Something is wrong! That is also true.

You cant go wrong if you choose a balance between price and taste.

There are stores that allow you to make custom-made love dolls, so you can create a girl of your choice.

You can make a girl of your choice. You can start with inexpensive love dolls at first, and once you get used to it, you can try custom-made love dolls.

If you want to know more about Love doll, please click here

Thorough explanation of the charm of sex dolls! Have you ever heard of sex dolls that are used primarily for pseudo-sex purposes? It is a doll that is quite close to...

Sex lubricants

Sex lubricants are used as a substitute for lubricating fluid during sex or as a lubricant for men to use masturbator rules.

It is not uncommon for women to have difficulty getting wet, depending on their physical condition, or to have difficulty getting wet due to their constitution.

Forcing the penis into the vagina at such times can cause painful intercourse.

There are various types of Sex Lubricants, some with a warming effect, some with a cooling effect, and some with a scent.

Changing the Sex Lubricant used during play is recommended as a good sex accent.

If you want to learn more about Sex Lubricants, click here.

What is sex lubricant?Explain the difference and usage of each ingredient The word "sex toy" may seem like a hurdle to overcome, but lotion is actually one of the most familiar sex toys. Many...

Toys for the Prostate

Another sextoy for men is prostate toys.

The most famous prostate toys include Enemagra, which was originally a prostate massager developed by an American urologist to treat an enlarged prostate line.

Modern prostate toys are imitations of Enemagra that have spread as sextoy for men.

Many people think of prostate toys as being used by gay men, but in fact they are often used by straight men.

What is the prostate?

The prostate is an organ found only in men. It is a walnut-sized organ located deep in the pelvis, just below the bladder, and its primary role is to protect and nourish sperm.

You cannot touch the prostate gland from outside the body, but you can touch it by inserting a finger or sextoy through the anus.

By inserting a finger or sextoy through the anus and touching the prostate and developing it, you can feel intense orgasms.

Orgasms felt in the prostate are mainly dry orgasms, which are orgasms that do not involve ejaculation. (You can also feel orgasms with ejaculation through prostate stimulation.)

The prostate is called the male G-spot, and dry orgasms can be much more intense than ejaculation.

Therefore, men who are able to develop a prostate can become addicted to the pleasure.

sextoy for beinner women in India

The following are the recommended goods for Indian women who are new to sextoy.

The following three are recommended for use by women who are new to sextoy.

Vibrator.

Dildo

Electric Masserger

Lets check out what each one is in detail.

If you want to check out womens toys, click here.

[BEST25]Sex Toys for Women in IndiaThat Can Help You Have an Orgasm There are many women who pretend to feel orgasm during sex. But don't worry, you don't have to pretend to feel orgasm...

Vibrators

A vibrator is a sextoy that vibrates with an Egg-Vibrator to provide stimulation and is often referred to simply as a vibrator.

Some vibrate as well as rotate, and there are many variations of sextoy.

It is quite a popular sextoy, and is well recognized by people who do not know much about sextoy.

Its usage is similar to that of a massager, but it is more compact and easier to carry than a massager, and many of them look as cute as a lipstick or a macaroon, so they are popular among women.

For a while, a famous influencer on twitter said, This is good! You may have heard of the topic of this article by introducing the recommended vibrators.

Vibrators are great for women to use on their own, but they are also recommended for men who have difficulty satisfying women with sex.

Since it is powered by electricity, it is far less tiring than moving your hands by yourself.

This makes it easier to satisfy a woman with sex because you can caress her for longer than usual.

Vibrators are mainly used on the female side, but they can also be used on men.

When used on men, they are used to attack the nipples and glans, and in both cases it is recommended to wear a condom for hygiene reasons.

Introducing how to use the vibrator, its purpose, and how to choose it! Vibrator uses the vibrations caused by the rotation of the motor to provide stimulation. It is one or two of the most...

Dildo

A dildo is a model sextoy made to mimic a male penis.

It can be made of silicone, elastomer (think of it as a material similar to PVC), metal or glass.

A dildo can be used by a man for his female partner during sex, or by a woman for masturbation to get pleasure from it.

They are mainly inserted into women, but some can be used in the male anus as well.

It is sometimes used synonymously with vibrators, but the vibrator is not the same thing as a vibrating device.

A model of a penis that does not vibrate is a dildo.

Some of them have suction cups that can be attached to the floor or wall so that you can enjoy realistic masturbation without using your hands.

For fun, there is a dildo made in the shape of your partners penis.

This one is also popular as a gift, and if youve been together for a long time and are having trouble finding a gift for your partner, you might want to pick one.

To learn more about dildo, please click here.

What is Dildo: Orgasms with Dildos for Men and Women A dildo is a model of a male organ that is used by women for masturbation and by men to stimulate the prostate gland. Th...

Electric Masserger

A Electric Masserger is a hand-held electric massager, also known as a handheld massager, and can usually be purchased at electronics stores.

It was originally designed to relieve stiff shoulders and back pain, so the hurdle of buying one in a physical store is quite low.

Many people may have seen or used it in some form or another, as it is often installed in leisure hotels.

Such a massager is highly recommended for beginners because it is easy for women to get pleasure from it when they use it during masturbation.

It is larger than Egg-Vibrator and vibrations are stronger than those of Egg-Vibrators and vibrators, so even just hitting the clitoris can give you a great deal of pleasure.

For those women who have never had an orgasm during sex with their man, the massager may be a good way to get a feel for what it feels like to have an orgasm.

It looks and feels like an electric massager, so you wont have to feel awkward if your roommate finds out.

If you are in a rut of having sex with your partner, if you want to feel an orgasm through masturbation, or if you are thinking of using a sextoy, why dont you try it from a simple massager?

To learn more about Electric Masserger, click here.

What is a massager? Introducing types, selection methods, and usage Originally, the Magic-wand vibrator and the massage machine were sold as a home massage machine used for the back and th...

How to choose a sextoy for Indian

Now that weve covered the different types of sextoy, heres how to choose one.

Especially if you are trying sextoy for the first time, pay attention to the following three points:  Does the size fit you (the partner)?

Does the size fit you (your partner)?

Is the environment able to produce sound without problems?

Price range

First of all, the choice of size is quite important.

Most sextoy are used against or inserted into the genitals, but the genitals are very delicate organs for both men and women.

For this reason, using an inappropriate size may cause damage.

Secondly, the environment should be able to produce sound without problems.

Some sextoys not only wear, but also rotate and vibrate. Its easier to get pleasure from something that moves than something that doesnt, but the fact that it moves means that the internal rotors make some noise.

If you live in a house with thin walls or if you have roommates, you may not be able to concentrate because of the noise, so it is best to choose one that is silent or has a low noise level.

Especially in India, where many people live with their families, it is very important that you dont have to worry about sound when you use it.

Finally, there is the price range.

The price range of sextoy ranges widely, from around RS500 at the cheapest to RS10,000 or more at the highest.

Its good to consider how much money you can afford and how much you want to buy.

Do you want your family to not find out about sextoy?

I live with my family and want to use sextoy without them finding out! If you are a man, you should buy a camouflage sextoy that does not look like a sextoy at first glance.

For men, there are many masturbators that do not look like a sextoy, and for women, there are vibrators that only look like cosmetics.

If you choose such a type, youll be safe in case your family members find out.

How to buy sextoys in India

The best way to purchase sextoy is through online shopping.

For more information on how to purchase sextoy, please see the article below.

Sextoy is one of them.

Therefore, you can easily get sextoy in India by using online shopping.

SexToysINDIA is a long established and stable sextoy store and you can have sextoy delivered to any place in India.

They also offer cash on delivery, so those who are worried about shopping with a credit card do not have to worry.

Of course, the latest security is in place, so your information will not be taken out when you use your credit card.

To begin with, many people may be concerned about whether they are legally allowed to purchase sextoy.

ikmAs it turns out, its not illegal.

Right now, it is not open to the public because the Indian adult market is still in the development stage, but it will gradually spread from now on.

Take advantage of sextoy and open the door to new pleasures and culture.

Cautions for Indians using sextoy

When using sextoy, keep the following three things in mind

Keep sex toys clean

Watch out for electrical leakage

Beware of the heat generated by the body while using a sex toy

As I mentioned earlier, many sextoy products are used for the delicate zone.

Therefore, it is most important to keep the sextoy itself clean. It is very important to keep the sextoy itself clean, because if a slight scratch is created by friction, bacteria can enter and breed there.

It is safe to wear a condom when using the masturbator, just in case.

In addition, many sextoy devices are powered by a power source, so if they are not waterproof, there is a possibility of electric shock or malfunction due to wetness.

Some may even develop heat during continuous use. If the fever becomes too much, you may get burned, so be careful.

If you get a fever during use, stop driving the sextoy immediately and refrain from using it.

You will enjoy sex more if you keep it safe and use it correctly.

Summary

What did you think?

In this article, we have introduced the recommended sextoy for the beginners of sextoy in India.

The sextoy market is growing rapidly in India and it will continue to grow steadily in the future.

As India is a rather closed-minded country, it can be difficult to be open about ones sexual habits and values.

However, being faithful to ones desires by properly dissolving ones sexual desire is very effective for ones physical and mental health.

If this is your first time to learn about sextoy, or if you are interested in using sextoy, why not give it a try?

Indian Sextoys for ur best! will introduce you to sextoy and other trivia about sextoy, sexuality, and sexuality for men and women.

I want to read more! If you think its a great idea, please bookmark it.
The American Red Cross, Coad Chevrolet-Buick-Ford and Southern Illinois Electric Cooperative are teaming up for a blood drive by donating blood from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. July 20 at Coad Chevrolet-Buick-Ford in Anna.

The community is invited to take part to help boost the blood supply and ensure blood products are on the shelves for patients this summer. All presenting donors will receive a $5 off oil change coupon. In addition, presenting donors who are SIEC members, will receive a $10 utility bill credit.

The summer months can be among the most challenging times of the year for blood donations as many are vacationing and participating in summer activities, said Garry Allison, director of donor recruitment, American Red Cross Tennessee Valley Blood Services Region, in a news release.

Make an appointment to donate blood by downloading the free Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting redcrossblood.org or calling 800-733-2767.

 The Southern
MURPHYSBORO  Murphysboro's next city council meeting will focus on some city residents and an employee: the celebration of one, the welcoming aboard of another and the acknowledgement of the eventual resignation of another.

The city council members will award this year's Russell Breading Memorial Community Service Award, named for a former city businessowner; see the appointment of a community resident to fill a board vacancy; and accept the resignation of Brian Hollo, the city's police chief.

The meeting begins at 7 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall Council Chambers, 202 N. 11th St., Murphysboro.

Mayor Will Stephens plans to appoint Linda Porter-Smith as the new Ward 3 alderman, filling a seat previously held by former Alderman Mark Costa, who resigned from the post.

Stephens said he chose Porter-Smith for the post because she ran against Costa in the past election, coming within a few votes of Costa. The mayor said he liked that Porter-Smith already had some buy-in from some of her constituents in Ward 3.

He also plans to accept the resignation of Hollo, who plans to leave the department Oct. 7. Before assuming the chief's post in Murphysboro a few years ago, Hollo was a district commander for the Illinois State Police.

The mayor said a search will be conducted for Hollo's successor.

"I think its good to get plenty of applications and fully vet them through an interview process," Stephens said. "Just because its a mayoral appointment doesnt mean Im going to arbitrarily push something through."

The department has 16 full-time officers and about a dozen part-time officers and several auxiliary officers who help out at various events, the mayor said.

During the meeting, the board also plans to present its Russell Breading Memorial Community Service Award. That award goes to a city resident "who has done something good for the city," Stephens said.

In other business, the city council members plan to approve moving to two council meetings a month, on the second and fourth Tuesdays at 7 p.m. The change will allow the city council to be more efficient with actions it votes upon in committee and will help with the impression some visitors might get that the council is not fully considering various agenda items. Those items are typically discussed in committee meetings, he said.

"If they havent been to a committee meeting, it would leave the impression that were just rubberstamping everything," Stephens said. "I think it would just be better for the public."

Additionally, the council plans include voting on non-union department head raises of two percent and an ad for surplus properties and to discuss flooding on Roberta Drive.
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MURPHYSBORO  Three years ago, Murphysboro Middle School teacher Julie Wittenborn-Sikorski was encouraged to have her class submit a request to astronauts aboard the International Space Station.

The encouragement came from Paige Graff, who works for the NASA Astromaterials Acquisitions and Curation in Houston.

Wittenborn-Sikorski was hopeful that the astronauts would actually get to take pictures of the Big Muddy River and its confluence with the Mississippi River near Grand Tower from space, but when that didn't happen, she moved on, as did that year's class.

Conditions apparently finally became right and on Friday, June 25, the astronauts finally took the pictures, resulting in 17 shots of the Big Muddy area near Murphysboro that are part of the International Space Station catalog of pictures.

Seventeen pictures were taken and uploaded to the site.

"To me, that is just thrilling," she said. "I dont know that the kids realize what a big deal it is, but the grown-ups do.

The students who worked on that project three years ago are now in high school, she said.

She came to know about that project from a former student teacher who wanted to do a unit on the planets and found an online webinar about this project. That's how she came to know Graff.

"It's a field trip to Houston without ever leaving the boro," she said.

In looking at the images, she said she was surprised to see Illinois 13 between Carbondale and Murphysboro curve like it did.

I am not an expert on any of this, Im just a middle school teacher who is really curious about different things," she said. "I want my kids to learn things and take risks, but it was a good experience in just finding out what our longitude and latitude are and talking about magnification of lenses "

"These images seem to have given folks a sense of pride and awe to see our little towns in photos taken from space," she wrote in an email. "I don't think most people think much about the fact that there are six people living and working on the International Space Station and that it is orbiting the earth 15 or 16 times a day  every 92 minutes! "
The John A. Logan College Board of Trustees has named current Dean for Instructional Services Melanie Pecord to the position of Acting Vice President for Instruction, according to a news release from the college.

Pecord began her new role on July 1, replacing Dr. Laurel Klinkenberg who recently accepted the position of Vice President for Instruction at John Wood College.

The release states that Pecord began her career at the college in 1994 as a term faculty instructor in business and computer information systems. She became a full-time instructor in 1996 and department chair for business in 2010. She was appointed Dean for Instructional Services in 2015. As dean she has worked to improve class scheduling and communication between divisions. She plans to hit the ground running when she steps into her new role as the college prepares for the start of the fall semester.

We have challenges ahead of us, and I am looking forward to the opportunity to help the college move forward, Pecord said in the news release. The one thing I have stressed during my time as dean and that I plan to carry over has been to remove silos from our organizational structure. It is important that we are about being one college and not about divisions.

JALC President Dr. Ron House is looking forward to working with Pecord in her new position.

The board and administration are extremely pleased to have Melanie Pecord as the Acting Vice President for Instruction, House said. She has many years of service here. She has been a department chair and a very effective dean for the last year. She is very energetic and certainly brings a lot to the position.
BENTON  Administrators at Franklin Hospital are refuting recent comments that implied the facility is on the brink of bankruptcy.

Benton Mayor Fred Kondritz, watchdog group leader Rocky Morris and Dr. Tim Morthland raised concerns about the hospitals debt in a story published by the Southern last Sunday.

Chief Operating Officer Derek Johnson and Chief Financial Officer Jim Johnson contend that those comments were misleading and based on inaccurate information.

We are very similar to other Critical Access Hospitals: very dependent on Medicaid, Medicare and government reimbursement, said Derek Johnson. And with the state of Illinois budget fiasco  they owe us a lot of money and we do struggle here, but it doesnt mean were going bankrupt or closing the doors.

Morthland, who is the hospitals former chief of medical staff, recently announced his intention to build a not-for-profit, $40 million hospital facility in Benton. His proposal to overtake management of the current hospital and begin a process to privatize it has been under review by the hospitals board of directors.

At a board meeting in June, Jim Johnson said the hospital was $5.7 million in debt. Some rejected that figure: Morthland said the debt was $14 million, and the Pointman watchdog group placed it at $10 to $12 million.

The reality isnt quite so dire, Jim Johnson says. Recent audits show that the hospitals total liabilities are at $8.9 million; $5.7 million of that is long-term debt. Franklin also has about $6 million in assets, putting the overall deficit at about $2.5 million. As of May 31, the net equity is $626,501.

If you have positive net equity, youre not going bankrupt anytime soon, Jim Johnson said. The real struggle here is the state not paying us.

Derek Johnson said that many of the hospitals financial challenges stem from its near-closure in 2002, when SIH announced it would terminate a management agreement with the hospital. Hervey Davis became CEO at that time, and he is largely credited with saving the hospital by securing a $4 million loan. (Davis announced his retirement on June 28.)

Here we are 14 years later, and weve been paying down on that loan and sort of digging ourselves out of the hole, Derek Johnson said.

Jim Johnson said the hospital served 25,000 patients at rural health clinics and other clinics last year, a 150 percent increase from the previous year.

Were really trending toward profitability. The last few years, weve added some good physicians here, and things are rolling, he said.
The lack of an Illinois budget for an entire fiscal year and passage of a six-month stopgap budget for the current fiscal year has greatly impacted the ability of local organizations to provide services for substance abuse and addiction, according to John Markley, CEO of Centerstone.

As you can imagine, it has made services less available for different reasons, Markley said during an interview on Wednesday in Carbondale.

Not only is the state of Illinois not funding these services or paying its bills, Centerstone received a three-percent rate increase this year. It was the first increase in reimbursements that they have seen in 20 years, so Centerstone loses money on every service they provide.

In addition, getting the licensed staff to for each of those services is a significant challenge here in Southern Illinois, Markley said.

He competes for staff with places that do not have budget woes, such as St. Louis and Indianapolis, and with larger managed care companies.

In this industry we have a very difficult time keeping people as funding is inadequate and the long term viability of these programs is in danger from lack of legislative and financial support, Markley said.

Markley added that it just does not make any sense because when you look at the outcomes of these treatments, they save money in other systems. For example, people who can no longer go to the Crisis Center in Carterville will end up in hospital emergency rooms and work with primary care providers who are not used to dealing with mental health issues.

Those providers will see an emergency and will schedule an appointment. Maybe the patient will show up, maybe he wont -- about 50 percent of the time they will not show up.

We will end up seeing them again, Markley said.

In terms of the care and access to care, a facility like the Crisis Center just provides a better environment for care, better quality care and care that addresses a patients needs more thoroughly. The center saved taxpayers $4 million in the first year it was open and worked with the hospitals to provide better quality of care to the individuals who received care, according to Markley.

It seems like what we are not considering is the value of the services, the value of keeping people within the community, and the quality of care that is provided, Markley said. That doesnt seem to enter into the equation when we are talking about funding.

The budget crisis has really taken its toll on Centerstone staff and the people they provide receiving services. Markley said it is very difficult to watch the dismantling of services and infrastructures that have been put into place the past 40 or 50 years in community mental health.

It will literally take years to rebuild, Markley said. I wish there was a different story.
SUBSTANCE ABUSE RECOVERY

SAMHSA Treatment Locator Tool: https://findtreatment.samhsa.gov/locator

Centerstone: Locations in Franklin, Jackson and Williamson counties, www.centerstone.org. Contact Kathryn Sime at 618-319-4836 or Kathryn.sime@centerstone.org.

The Fellowship House: North Main Street, Anna, Adult inpatient treatment, 618-833-2194; adolescent outpatient treatment, 618-833-4465, www.thefellowshiphouse.com.

Gateway Foundation Alcohol and Drug Treatment Centers: 1080 E. Park St., Carbondale, 618-529-1151, www.recovergateway.org.

Alcoholics Anonymous  Southern Illinois: Hotline, 800-307-6600; for a list of meetings and information visit District 17 and 4 at www.southernillinoisaa.org, District 7 at www.district7aa.info/home.html or Area 21 at www.aa-sia.org.

Al-Anon: For friends and family of problem drinkers, visit www.siafg.org.

Celebrate Recovery: Christ-centered 12-step recovery program that uses eight principles found in the Bible, www.celebraterecovery.com.

Narcotics Anonymous  Southern Illinois: 24 Hour Help Line, 618-322-3178; for a list of local meetings visit river2riverna.org.

SMOKING

Illinois Tobacco Quitline: 1-866-QUIT-YES (1-866-784-8937)

Family Counseling Center: Vienna, 618-658-2755

Janet Treece: 106 Tippy Road, Carterville, 618-985-4047

The Lighthouse: Metropolis, 618-524-5210

SIU Counseling Center: 374 E. Grand Ave. Carbondale, 618-5371

Washington County Vocational Workshop: 781 E. Holzhauer Drive, Nashville, 618-327-4461

GAMBLING

The Fellowship House: North Main Street, Anna, specific treatment for problem or compulsive gamblers, 618-833-2194

Gamblers Anonymous: Paducah, Ky., 7 p.m. Thursday, first Christian Church, 415 Audubon Drive, room 116 (Library), enter through West double doors; Belleville, 7:30 p.m. Monday and Thursday, Union United Methodist Church, 721 E. Main St., second floor, enter on East Main Street.

Many private counselors and insurance companies also offer help with addictions and substance abuse.

 The Southern
The following was submitted by regular letter-writer Daryl Ice of Benton:

All white southern Baptists are either members or supporters of the Ku Klux Klan and all Catholic priests are pedophiles.

Before you decide to use this column for a ceremonial torch to light a fire, or contact this paper to vent your disgust and contempt, read on. If you can count to 10 without hesitating, you know that these claims listed above go beyond absurd.

So why is it that some want to classify all members of a religion that has a following of approximately 1.5 billion as sympathizers of a group of murderous lunatics? Of course I'm speaking of ISIS, and the Islamic religion which they use as an excuse for genocide against their own people as well as a perverted belief that anyone with views contrary to their own should be eliminated from this planet.

I believe it's safe to say that 99.9 percent of Muslims worldwide would just like to see this evil wildfire extinguished, so that they could go on with their lives in a constructive and peaceful existence. Thousands of Muslims in the Middle East have been killed at the hands of ISIS. Many Muslim Iraqi soldiers have met the same fate.

This brings us to the presidential race of 2016. Up front and foremost, Donald Trump. You could write an entire book on his unlikely rise to the Republican nomination by insulting Mexicans, women, the handicapped, P.O.W.s, the list goes on. His obnoxious strategy has resulted in two past presidents, George H.W. and George W. Bush, the 2012 presidential nominee Mitt Romney and Illinois U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk, all Republicans, refusing to endorse him. This is unprecedented.

One of Mr. Trump's exploitations of fear is proposing a ban on Muslims entering the country. He used the horrendous tragedy in Orlando as an example. The problem with this is that the shooter was a citizen born in New York.

So, I ask the readers of this commentary to do one simple thing. The next time that you visit a hospital or medical clinic, check out the list of doctors posted on the building directory. Note how many that have Middle Eastern names. It's likely that many are of the Islamic faith. It's also possible that they may some day save your life if they haven't already.

Guilt by association is nothing new. Franklin Roosevelt, who I consider the greatest president of the last century, fell prey to this temptation. He approved instituting the setup of internment camps (temporary prisons) for Japanese-Americans. Most were legal citizens of multiple generations. It's ironic that his most famous quote was, "The only thing that we have to fear is fear itself."
Twins are weird. These two sisters (who were born 11 minutes apart) gave birth at the exact same date and time (in their respective time zones).

Some scientists from the University of Zurich in Switzerland are developing AI that can track a target in real time, which according to them will help create a generation of automatons that will be able to round up shopping carts at grocery stores, or bring your luggage to you at the airport, or make self-driving cars work better ... or allow autonomous machines to track and destroy prey easily. Hiyo!

"Punching therapy" is not only a real thing, it's also exactly what it sounds like. And a woman in China has gone nearly blind after two years of weekly (and sometimes more) therapeutic beatings about the face. When her eyesight began to get fuzzy, her therapist allegedly suggested more punches. A real doctor told her she was developing cataracts. Go figure.

The first reports of a developing pandemic have arrived. Out-of-breath nerds with sore legs abound after the initial onslaught of Pokemon Go the first large-scale, mainstream augmented reality game. The epidemic will be known as "PokeFever." Prices for Ben Gay, crutches and wheelchairs will undoubtedly skyrocket before next weekend.

In case you didn't know: Smoking pot makes exercising awesome. And a couple of folks in CA plan to open a gym where you can smoke weed while you work out. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Citizens Against Legalizing Marijuana said, "theres zero evidence that marijuana helps you focus. There is evidence that it makes you dopey," meaning she's obviously never tried it.
With a focus on recovery, the Southern Illinoisans series on sin concludes today.

For the past six weeks our reporters have delved into the sins of tobacco, alcohol, sex, gambling and fireworks and the revenue generated by businesses selling those commodities.

First, lets set the record straight. We are not implying that polishing off a cold one or betting five bucks on a Cardinals-Cubs game is sinful or immoral, but simply referring to sin taxes generated by these pursuits.

The reality society has grappled with for centuries is where exactly morality and the rights of businesses intersect. Nearly all of us have opinions on the matter, and those opinions are wildly divergent.

Baby boomers remember Blue Laws that restricted the sale of alcohol on Sundays. Indeed, remnants of those laws remain. Some communities cut off alcohol sales at 7 p.m. on Sunday. West Frankfort just recently amended its ordinances to extend the hours and locations of Sunday alcohol sales.

Most municipalities limit the number of liquor licenses that can be issued.

Is it worth it? Does it work?

Both questions are problematic for those who believe they have the right to dictate morality to their fellow citizens.

Taxes generated by alcohol, liquor and gambling are considerable. Most taxes generated by these sins are earmarked for specific educational and rehabilitation programs  as they should be. The Illinois lottery, for example, has generated millions for education in the state. Unfortunately, the General Assembly has undercut that noble idea by diverting general fund monies that had previously gone to schools.

That leaves the second, more troubling, question. Can morality be legislated?

History says no.

Those from the Judeo-Christian background know the story of Moses coming down Mount Horeb with the Ten Commandments. Those tablets contained the most basic societal rules. How many of us can say weve never violated those rules?

More recently, the United States tried to enforce prohibition. The attempt was a miserable failure. More recently, our country has spent billions of dollars fighting a losing war on drugs.

That isnt to say all regulation is bad. Obviously, laws prohibiting the use of alcohol and other substances by minors serve an important purpose.

But, as a society should we impose limits on licenses on drinking and gambling establishments?

No one is forced to walk into a bar. No one is forced to slide a dollar into a slot machine. No one is forced to rent an X-rated video. As citizens of a free society, we have the right to make those decisions on our own.

The argument for regulation is that reducing the number of licenses will limit the sinful behavior.

Facts dont seem to bear this out. When a new gambling establishment is opened, there is normally a corresponding drop in revenue at nearby casinos. And, lets not kid ourselves, West Frankforts limits on Sunday alcohol sales did mean people drank less in town one day a week.

Most communities find an equilibrium when it comes to drinking and gaming establishments. The market will quickly determine when enough is too much.
Disappointments under the dome

Missteps in education

Teacher bonuses: The budget provided $4.3 million for a two-year teacher pilot program that will pay teachers $50 (up to $2,000 a year) for each student who takes either Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate courses and achieves certain minimum scores on College Board tests. However, the value and validity of AP and IB courses have been called into question for years. The prevalence of AP and IB courses also increases the College Board's already heavy influence on what is taught and tested in North Carolina classrooms.

The budget also provided $500,000 to reimburse UNC-Chapel Hill for penalties it was charged because the campus exceeded the 18 percent cap on out-of-state students. The reimbursement undercuts the authority of the UNC Board of Governors to set tuition policy, is a slap in the face to North Carolina taxpayers and sets a dangerous precedent of treating one UNC campus differently than others.

Legislation lowered performance grades scores from a 10-point scale to a 15-point scale for the next three years. The legislation widens the band for each letter grade but also lowers the floor for failure from 60 to 40 percent. Lowering the score on failure is never a good thing.

Ominous trends

$5.5 billion - This was the size of the state budget 30 years ago, a drop in the bucket compared to the $22.3 billion for this year's budget plan. The state budget is now four times larger than it was 30 years ago. And this cannot be explained away by the state's population growth or inflation, as we'll see in the next point.

This was the size of the state budget 30 years ago, a drop in the bucket compared to the $22.3 billion for this year's budget plan. The state budget is now four times larger than it was 30 years ago. And this cannot be explained away by the state's population growth or inflation, as we'll see in the next point. 42 percent - This is the increase in per capita, inflation-adjusted state spending growth over those 30 years. In other words, the state budget now spends 42 percent more money per person in North Carolina compared to 30 years ago - even after adjusting for inflation. Keep this in mind next time a liberal progressive insists that state government has been "cut to the bone." And this does not account for the even more rapid growth in federal government dollars flowing into the state.

This is the increase in per capita, inflation-adjusted state spending growth over those 30 years. In other words, the state budget now spends 42 percent more money per person in North Carolina compared to 30 years ago - even after adjusting for inflation. Keep this in mind next time a liberal progressive insists that state government has been "cut to the bone." And this does not account for the even more rapid growth in federal government dollars flowing into the state. 66 percent - The share of General Fund spending devoted to state worker salary, benefits and retiree pensions and benefits. (This amounts to roughly $14.5 billion). If you want to know where your state tax dollars go, two-thirds of every dollar goes to pay state government workers and retirees. Health care expenses for workers and retirees, along with growing pension liabilities, are rising rapidly and represent a growing recurring spending commitment.

The current legislative session has been hailed in most quarters as a success, yet much remains to be done. A look at what happened (or didn't happen) will highlight issues that conservatives must continue to address. And that includes long-term fiscal trends.Of course, it all must be kept in perspective. The Short Session is meant to focus on budget updates, so other measures may not make it to the finish line. Nevertheless, areas of concern include the following.First, the General Assembly failed to rein in excessive regulation, a real burden on the state's economy. The foremost of the bills considered was HB 169, the Regulatory Reduction Act of 2016. But the House and Senate couldn't agree on a final version of such reforms, ending hopes of cutting government red tape this year.Also falling by the wayside was a bill to put three constitutional amendments up for a referendum vote. HB 3 would have allowed voters to choose whether to put a 5.5 percent cap on the state income tax, set limits on eminent domain, and affirm the right to hunt and fish in the state.Many conservatives were interested in these ideas. Lower taxes promote greater job growth and economic prosperity - opportunities especially beneficial to low-skilled, lower-income people on the margins of employment. Eminent domain power has been abused in the past and can unfairly compel people to give up their private property. And hunting and fishing are traditional pastimes in the Old North State.However, the measure was sent to the House Rules Committee, which is generally a graveyard for legislation, and that proved to be the case here.Conservatives also were disappointed that the legislature weakened a cap on state funding for mass transit projects, which forces people all over the state to pay for boondoggles that serve limited areas. The legislature raised the cap on state funding for such schemes from a flat $500,000 to 10 percent of the costs.Second Amendment supporters were frustrated about the failure of a proposed bill that would have taken steps toward eliminating the need for a permit to conceal a handgun.HB 1148, sponsored by Rep. Larry Pittman (R-Cabarrus), would have authorized a referendum on whether to open up concealed carry in the state to any U.S. citizen who is 21 years old and meets the qualifications for obtaining a concealed handgun permit. But that measure also died in the House Rules Committee.A Senate-passed bill that the House left untouched was a bill to give teeth to an existing state law requiring local governments to work with the federal governments on immigration violation investigations.The bill would have penalized "sanctuary cities" by withholding Powell Bill and school construction funds if the cities and counties are stonewalling federal immigration authorities.During the shuffling between committee meetings and holding session, some promising education reforms failed to pass. This included a bill that would have given students the opportunity to choose between a traditional mathematics sequence Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, or the Common Core math now taught in public schools. Also disappointing was the failure of legislation requiring background checks on prospective teachers.Although the final budget addressed the thorny problem of teacher pay, three other legislative actions in education were less defensible:Finally, to look at the big picture, here are three numbers you likely didn't see in news coverage that you should keep in mind:These are ominous trends that sooner or later must be addressed. The General Assembly gets its next shot at doing so in January.
Diane Rufino: Above.

In his song "American Skin," Bruce Springsteen writes:



"Lena gets her son ready for school

She says, "On these streets, Charles

You've got to understand the rules

If an officer stops you, promise me you'll always be polite

And that you'll never ever run away

Promise Mama you'll keep your hands in sight"

In a deliberate, calculated act of racism, a black man ambushed and gunned down five Dallas police officers and injured seven more. I watched on TV how the police community and concerned citizens responded. They honored each officer in a moving tribute that highlighted their life stories, the families they leave behind, their service to our country, and their acts of kindness to their communities. They came together to offer assistance to the families of the fallen officers - establishing funds to pay their mortgages and send their children to college. They reminded everyone of the dangerous job that police officers willingly accept - serving and protecting their communities, and now, since the Black Lives Matter movement ("What do we want? Dead cops. When do we want them? NOW!"), being open targets simply for wearing their uniform. Did the community call for violence against the Black Lives Matter movement and its leaders? Has it encouraged police officers to take aggressive action in their patrolling of their areas? Has it suggested that police officers withdraw from black communities and let their violence consume them?No. On the other side, however, we witness a response that has become predictable and consistent. When a member of the black community dies at the hands of police custody, which includes being stopped, subdued, transported, arrested, or incarcerated, the response is rioting, destruction, and violence. At the center of almost all of the unfortunate incidents - and they are all unfortunate - we find a black man who has a gun, who has broken the law, or who was resisting the police (even though the police had probable cause to stop him). Simply cooperating with the police would have prevented each of the deaths.The responses from each side are strikingly different and they speak volumes.Instead of the accusations against police and the insinuations of blatant racism, why aren't we asking the more important questions: Why are young black men walking around carrying guns? Why are they breaking the law? Where are their parents to teach them right from wrong? Where are their parents to keep an eye on them and to know what they are up to? And most importantly, why aren't they teaching their children that when they are stopped by police, they must politely cooperate. I believe that officers respond to guns, not race.The song was inspired by an incident involving the New York City Police Department and a West African immigrant named Amadou Diallo in February 1999. Diallo exactly fit the profile of a rapist who committed several crimes in the Bronx area, and when police caught up with him in a stairwell, they instructed Diallo to show his hands. Instead, he reached into his pockets. Police assumed he was going for a gun, but it turns out he was only reaching for his wallet. But it was too late. Police shot him dead. While the song is an indictment of the rush to judgement on the part of police, Springsteen acknowledges that "these streets" are not safe. Police patrol areas that are not safe. At the heart of the problem in this country at this present time is the fact that are our streets not safe. And yes, certain areas (and I don't need to spell it out) are much less safe than others. We have to be honest in solving that problem first and not be afraid to be politically incorrect, because yes, too many young black lives are being lost. Let's address that root cause first, and the other issues will fall away.We are not in the 1960's. Yet, when we watch the news, it certainly seems like we've gone back in time. I don't mean to sound insensitive to the concerns of the black community when it comes to their history with police, but I'm tired of the dialogue that is so intentionally, overwhelmingly, politically-sensationalized one-sided. Government - all 4 branches (legislative, executive, judicial, and the Maintream Media media) - has got to stop with the political correctness and stop pandering to violence, and start acting responsibly. We have a code of conduct in this country that transcends race, religion, and ethnicity and it's called civility and the Rule of Law. We conduct ourselves within the boundaries of the law, we respect each other's lives, liberty, and property, we respect each other as individuals, and we contribute in a positive way to our communities. We don't harass one another, we don't harm one another, we don't intimidate one another, and we don't make others feel unsafe. Everywhere I go, I see signs reading "coexist." I imagine it stands for an organization or movement urging social cohesion and peaceful coexistence. For my entire life, I have been taught this. We have been reminded at every instance to live a colorblind life. Our schools have taught it, our human resource departments give training sessions on it, our government has put laws and policies in place to ensure it, and courts have come up with remedies to mandate it. Yet, when we watch the news, read the newspaper, and listen to our president and US Justice Department speak, you would think that racism is widespread in this country and most notably, is rampant and endemic in our police forces.I have a good friend in town who happens to be a white police officer. As he faithfully posts reports of all those officers across the country who have been killed or injured by those supporting the Black Lives Matters movement, he clearly fears for his safety and the safety of his officers. Nevertheless, he is the epitome of public service. He says this fear will never prevent him from doing his job nor, as far as he believes, will prevent the others from doing the same. My friend is assigned to what is called the West quadrant, which is the "black section of town." The West quadrant is racked with violent crime - murders, random shootings, stabbings, drug crimes, and domestic assaults. Someone asked him if, in light of the growing Black Lives Matter movement, wouldn't he be better off transferring to a different quadrant and perhaps having black officers cover the West quadrant. He said he would never request a transfer and has every intention of remaining there. When asked why, he answered: "Because I am needed there." He said he didn't enlist to protect just quiet, safe neighborhoods; he enlisted to keep everyone safe.I believe most officers feel this way. And sadly, the Black Lives Matter movement has been responsible for the senseless murders of exactly these types of officers.In my adult life, I've seen only three acts of blatant, intentional racism. In 2010, Black Panther leader King Samir Shabazz intimidated white voters at a polling location in Philadelphia and publicly advocated the killing of white babies. Last year, Dylann Roof, a young white man, opened fire in a black Methodist church in Charleston, killing nine. And then two days ago, July 7, a black man, Micah Johnson, set out with the express intention of killing as many white police officers as he could at a Black Lives Matter protest that was planned in Dallas. He also supported or belonged to the New Black Panther movement which advocates violence against whites. Ironically, all these events occurred during the time when our President was jumping to conclusions and crying racism at every instance a black man was confronted by police, beginning with an instance in July 2009 when black Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. was stopped by a white police officer for suspicious activity.In that incident, police received a call of a possible burglary; the woman was concerned that a man (no mention of race) appeared to be trying to break into a house in a respected Cambridge, Massachusetts neighborhood. A white officer, Sgt. Jams Crowley, was dispatched to the house and found Gates who had already opened the door. Gates told the police it was his house and Crowley asked to see identification. Gates refused and instead, flew into a verbal rage and accused the officer of racial profiling. He was arrested for disorderly conduct. President Obama learned of the incident and before knowing the facts of the case, he felt he needed to make a public statement regarding Gates' treatment. To a country that had no idea of the incident, Obama said that Sgt. Crowley actedHe went further and said this was an example of how vulnerable poor people and minorities areHe continued: "This man clearly was a rogue policeman." Without knowing the facts, President Obama slandered Crowley's good name to an entire country. As it turns out, Crowley was - is - a decorated officer, an expert on racial profiling, and an instructor on that subject for many years at the Lowell Police Academy. The police commissioner of the Cambridge Police Department commented that his department was deeply maligned by Obama's statement.To an audience that looks for instances of racism, Obama's comments were just what they wanted to hear. Victimhood is a powerful position. And that was only the tip of the iceberg. And others would follow, each situation being termed a "racial" incident, implying culpability only on the police officer or police department.I blame the Obama administration for amplifying the voice of the Black Lives Matter movement and for 8 long years, helping to fuel charges of racism in this country. The administration, at every chance, legitimized their claims and encouraged their militant responses. The administration is guilty of criminal solicitation - creating the atmosphere in this country that sadly led to this tragic shooting.[I use the terms "white" and "black" not in any derogatory way but merely as an emphasis to the racial divide that has overtaken our country, particularly with respect to law enforcement].
COLUMBIA  South Carolina is the first state in the nation to become fully certified as work ready, according to Gov. Nikki Haley.

Haley announced that the final two counties, Jasper and Richland, have received certification through the South Carolina Work Ready Communities initiative.

All 46 counties have met the specified workforce and education goals.

Being fully certified will assist all regions of South Carolina in their efforts to attract and retain international business development due to its commitment to economic growth and development of a robust workforce pipeline, according to Haley.

We couldnt be more excited to announce that South Carolina is the first state in the nation to have every county become certified work ready. Team South Carolinas is paying off  we have seen our state become one of the most competitive environments for business development in the world, and were just getting started, Haley said.

The South Carolina Work Ready Community initiative provides a framework to strengthen economic development using a community-based approach, grounded in certifying counties as work ready.

Today is a day to celebrate as South Carolina becomes the first state in the nation to have every county certified work ready, said Cheryl M. Stanton, executive director of the S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce.

"With our commitment to the Work Ready initiative and the continued development of a skilled workforce, it is not surprising that employment numbers have been at historic highs over the last year, and companies continue to expand and choose South Carolina as the place to do business.

To become a South Carolina Work Ready Community, each county had to reach or exceed goals in earning National Career Readiness Certificates (achieved through WorkKeys testing), had to meet or exceed the three-year graduation rate average or improvement percentage, and had to engage business support.

South Carolina Chamber of Commerce President Ted Pitts said the designation is significant.

Gov. Haley and our state and county leaders all deserve a lot of credit for being focused on improving our states workforce. Being the first fully certified Work Ready state in the nation is a big deal and I can guarantee that business leaders around the world looking to locate their operations and grow will consider this another important indication that the Palmetto State is the best place in the country to do business.

Orangeburg and Calhoun counties were certified as Work Ready Communities in September 2015. Bamberg County was certified in 2014.

In addition to meeting its goals for having certified employees, Orangeburg County also reached a 70 percent-plus average graduation rate over three years. The county's current graduation rate is 70.7 percent.

Calhoun County also met its goals, including reaching a graduation rate of 82 percent, exceeding the 73.1 percent goal.

Haley came to Orangeburg in 2012 to announce the launch of the South Carolina Certified Work Ready Community Initiative during a press conference at Zeus Industrial Products Inc.
NEWBERRY  Orangeburg County students Hunter Dyches and Alexander Hooper were among 47 rising high school juniors and seniors from across South Carolina who recently participated in the South Carolina Farm Bureau Federations 2016 Youth Leadership Conference in Newberry.

The conference, held on the campus of Newberry College June 12-15, allowed students to gain leadership skills, and a better understanding of S.C. agriculture and of the South Carolina legislative process.

Our Youth Leadership Conference, sponsored by the SCFB Womens Leadership program, allows students to explore opportunities within agriculture while developing their skills to be leaders in the industry, SCFB Ag Literacy Director Vonne Knight, said.

The conference operates on a two-year curriculum cycle where students learn about agricultural marketing and promotion one year and about government relations and agricultural advocacy the next. This years conference focused on legislative action in South Carolina.

Students were addressed by industry professionals on leadership, goal setting and legislative history.

Dr. Nathan Saunders, curator of manuscripts at the University of South Carolinas South Caroliniana Library, discussed with participants the history of South Carolina legislation and how they can become involved in the legislative process.

The director of organizational training and leadership development for SCFB, Jessica Cabrera, engaged participants in leadership activities essential for students to develop personally and professionally.

2016 SCFB Youth Ambassador Dalton Stalvey said, Youth Leadership Conference is a great way to meet people from all across South Carolina who share a passion for agriculture. We were able to build leadership skills while expanding our network and agricultural knowledge.

The Newberry County Young Farmers and Ranchers also hosted the annual Ag Olympics competition for the conference attendees.

South Carolinas agricultural industry is a vital part of the states economy, SCFB President Harry Ott said. We advocate so our children and grandchildren can farm long after we are gone. Educating our youth on opportunities available to them within the agriculture industry is the first step in involving students so they can have a lasting voice in todays issues.
In conjunction with its new blockbuster exhibit, "RACE: Are We So Different?," the South Carolina State Museum will hold a Multicultural Day and Community Health Fair from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, July 16.

South Carolina is home to many diverse ethnic groups and reflects a true melting pot of culture. The Multicultural Day and Community Health Fair will include a number of cultural organizations showcasing their traditional customs, dance and music. Community health groups from the midlands will be available for free screenings, as well as panel discussions addressing health disparities in South Carolina.

Guests will experience a world of culture under one roof during Multicultural Day, from the Halau Hula ke Alohalani Hawaiian dancers and Irish step dancers, Rince na hEireann, to West African drumming with Bolokada Conde from Greenville. Aunt Pearlie Sue of Beaufort will excite visitors with her thrilling Gullah storytelling and Lee Ann Kornegay, along with Bolokada Conde, will give a hands-on workshop on drumming. Other performances will include, The Swedish Lady, Lisa Bachan, Palmetto Pipes and Drums as well as a full Mexican fashion parade by the Miss Columbia Latina project.

The museum also will play host to a community health fair throughout the day with the Office of Community Services and the Office of Diversity Inclusion at Palmetto Health. Free health screenings will be offered. Guests will also be able to get wellness information from other health organizations like the Palmetto Project, Good Samaritan Clinic, S.C. Autism Society, Eat Smart Move More SC, Nurse Family Partnership and more. A panel discussion on health disparities in South Carolina and access to affordable health care will also be open to the public at 2:30 p.m. in the museums Gervais Street room.

Children will be able to join in on the fun with interactive learning activities throughout the day. From a cultural IQ test that will showcase how different cultures classify specific items differently, to All In the Family, an activity that will help participants see the differences within their own families.

Guests will also be able to classify themselves by census categories of the past. From a 1790 U.S. census form all the way to the 2000 census, participants will understand that classifying ethnicities in categories is tricky.

The Multicultural Day and Community Health Fair event is free with general admission to the museum and is free for museum members. General admission to the museum is $6.95 for children 12 and under, $7.95 for seniors and $8.95 for adults. Visit scmuseum.org to learn more.
The Orangeburg County Library recently served as host to free workshops designed to teach teens computer programming and coding skills. The workshops were taught by Eddie Massey III, founder of the nonprofit organization Artificial Intelligence in Action. The nonprofit focuses on advancing technology skills among women, minorities and underprivileged youth.

There will be 1.3 million more mathematical and technical jobs by 2020 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics , Massey said. We have to make sure that our students are adequately prepared to take these jobs or our entire community will suffer.

Massey founded AIA after transferring to Claflin University from Case Western University in Cleveland, Ohio. After transferring, he said he noticed the lack of technological opportunities available for youth in the community.

After seeing such disparities in education in my community, I wanted to make sure our community is on the forefront of technical innovation not just for the region, but the world. I believe that the next life-changing technologies will come right out of Orangeburg, Massey said.

Orangeburg County Library Director Anna Zacherl said, Access to these workshops and other programs we offer at the library have the potential to change the trajectory of a childs life.

Partnering with a non-profit company like AI-IA was a no-brainer. We are both working to improve access to technology. We want to set our kids up for success. We want them to be able to compete on not just a national stage, but a global one as well," she added.

Working with AIA, we can provide quality technology programming to our young users that they can actually use. They are building websites, learning the fundamentals of computer hardware and software as well as actually building devices and even programming drones."

Through funding from the South Carolina Education Lottery, the kids were able to use a mobile laptop unit purchased by the library as well.

Without such valuable resources, our children are going to be continually limited. It is our job to help bridge that divide and close that gap, Zacherl said.

Some of the students, including Danny Fisher, an eighth grader at Orangeburg Preparatory School, commented on the benefit of having local technological opportunities.

I've taken online classes, but this is the first time I've gone to an actual physical workshop in Orangeburg, Fisher said. I think the fact that towns like this don't get computer classes is sad because no matter how small the town is, the kids and adults there should be able to learn computer programming or anything else they enjoy."

He said his favorite part of the workshop "has been getting to work on the website and having Eddie instruct me on how to format my pictures and put them on a web page."

"When you're being a computer programmer, it's important to know every little detail about HTML, CSS and Java script to do your job effectively, and this class helps with that, Fisher said.

Justin Simpson, a fourth grader at Sheridan Elementary School, said, The workshop has helped me to achieve my goal of being an app developer by taking me step by step and teaching me to be an app designer ... . I've learned how to build websites and put images together. I've learned how HTML works, using the headers, and how to link images together to make one website ... "

Massey was pleased with the teens' response to the OCL workshops.

Their enthusiasm and passion for learning is heartwarming," he said. "It gives me hope that great things will come out of our community.
The Montana Family Medicine Residency graduated eight physicians on June 30. With the class of 2016, Montanas oldest doctor training program has 113 alumni. Seventy-six are working in Montana, including 25 in Billings.

Most of our residents come from out of state; they fall in love with Montana and stay with us, said Dr. James Guyer, residency program director.

Dr. Frank Michels, a Billings family doctor and residency founder, helped convince the Montana Legislature to invest in the states first medical residency 20 years ago.

We advertised with the Legislature that 70 percent of the residents would be retained in Montana, Michels said at the July 1 celebration of the residencys 20th anniversary. The state provided a relatively small, but important, amount of funding. Gov. Marc Racicot was a strong supporter, Michels said.

From the beginning, the doctor training program worked to bring Montana medical students back to Montana and tried to fill needs in rural communities. In the past two decades, many graduates have gone to work in small towns.

The bulk of funding for the residency and for most residencies in the United States comes through Medicare, and it was a struggle to get that money 20 years ago. Congress put a moratorium on funding new residencies. Montana Sens. Max Baucus and Conrad Burns were successful in changing the law so that Montana became the 49th state to start training doctors.

Montana teaching model

The Montana Family Medicine Residency was launched as a collaboration of Billings Clinic, St. Vincent Healthcare and RiverStone Health. The hospitals put substantial money into the new program. RiverStones community health center needed more doctors, the residency needed lots of patients. At that time, medical residencies were based at hospitals, not community clinics. The Montana family residency blazed a trail for the clinic residency model that has been replicated across the nation. The Affordable Care Act includes a program to support residencies in community health centers, the idea that came from Billings.

They perfectly prepared me for the patients I see, Dr. Stephanie Thomas said of the Montana Family Medicine Residency. A Hysham native, Thomas graduated from residency in 2015 and now practices at St. Vincents clinic in the Heights.

Dr. Kirsten Morissette celebrated the 10th anniversary of her graduation as the residency marked its 20th. She found her lifes calling in practicing medicine in her hometown of Hardin where she is one of two residency graduates at the St. Vincent clinic. Morissette now teaches advanced life support and obstetric care to medical residents.

The only way we will solve the physician shortage is continuing the residency training, Morissette said. Where physicians will practice is where the residencies are.

Billings Clinic residency

The Montana Family Medicine Residency is now one of three doctor training programs in the state. Billings Clinics internal medicine residency began its third year on June 23 by presenting white coats to 11 new residents. Next summer, the program will graduate its first class of doctors trained in adult primary care. Another family medicine residence has started in Missoula.

Billings Clinic invested millions to get the internal medicine residence started. Clinic leadership knew that the investment would take years to recoup, but recognized the urgency of increasing the medical workforce for this region.

Most of Montanas vast territory and much of its population has always been short of doctors. The shortage is likely to intensify in coming years because Montanas population is aging fast and other states are short of doctors.

The only way to get more of the doctors Montanans need is to train them to practice medicine in our beautiful, welcoming state.

When the medical residencies present their funding request to the 2017 Legislature, lets remember the payoff: The first residency kept its promise of training doctors for Montana. Our state has more people and lots more senior citizens than it did when that first funding pitch was made. Now the state must do its part to support the three residencies that are preparing the doctors who will take care of us for the next 35 years.

Doctors are good for Montanas economy, too. The annual economic impact of adding just one family doctor in a community is $1.9 million, according to a study conducted by a Missoula consultant. That one-year impact is double what it costs for the three-year residency training.
Music, laughter, love and family have filled their life together with happy memories, according to Paul and Peggy Holt of Bowman.

For more than 66 years, the two have performed and forged friendships with some of the Southeasts most prominent country and bluegrass musicians, including Ralph Stanley, who recently died at the age of 89.

Stanley and his brother, Carter, formed the Clinch Mountain Brothers band in 1946 after they got out of the service. Ralph played the five-string banjo and Carter played the guitar. She and Paul met them around 1960, Peggy Holt said.

Ralph and Carter Stanley were such plain, simple mountain people and they lived a mountain life, Paul said.

After Carter died in 1966, it was some time before Ralph was able to go on alone, Peggy said.

You would never know he was the big star he was, Paul said. Ralph had a doctorate and he was a member of the Bluegrass Hall of Fame, but talking to him was just like talking to any next-door neighbor, he said.

A lot of bands become jealous of each other, but not the Stanleys; they werent like that, Paul noted.

If you were playing somewhere and you had a guitar player that couldnt make it, one of them would grab his guitar and fill in so that youd sound good, he said. Thats the kind of people they were. There wasnt a jealous bone in their bodies.

He and Peggy spent many times at festivals with Stanley, Paul said, adding that hey all sat around playing music, drinking coffee and waiting on the next group to go on. Ralph talked a lot about music and the gospel, he. He was very religious and he always loved to talk about the gospel end of music, Paul said.

Ralph and Carter loved their home and their family, especially their mom, he said. She taught them to play their musical instruments, and they credited her with everything they accomplished, Paul said.

During his time away from the music circuit, Ralph spent time farming, Peggy said.

It was something he always did from being a young man and on up, she said, noting that Ralph loved Hereford cows and would come to North, S.C., to buy them.

Peggy and Paul never gained the fame the Stanley brothers did, but they performed with many country music greats and had their own following of fans.

They met at one of many bluegrass cow pasture festivals around 1950, Paul said.

I had a band and she liked to sing, Paul said. After that, we performed together all over the Southeast.

In North Carolina, there was a cow pasture on just about every farm, Peggy said. We jokingly said, 'Watch where you walk.' "

One of the most popular festivals was at Union Grove, North Carolina, Peggy said. Thats one place they met with Ralph, Bill Monroe and Snuffy Jenkins.

Over the years, Paul and Peggy opened shows for greats like Porter Wagner, Bill Anderson and Ernest Tubbs.

One time, Paul was supposed to play about 20 minutes and bring Ernest Tubbs on, Peggy said. But the audience was having such a good time and they kept clapping so Paul kept on playing, she said. Then she saw Tubbs standing at the back of the stage motioning with his hands to drag out more applause from the crowd, Peggy said.

They wound up being really close friends with Ernest, Paul said.

Paul and Peggy performed for several years at Knoxvilles WNOX Jamboree.

Just about everybody that made it to the Opry made it by way of the East Tennessee Barn Dance at WNOX in Knoxville -- Carl Smith, Roy Acuff, the Osborne brothers, Peggy said. Dolly Parton started out on that radio station when she was 10 years old.

One Saturday afternoon they were getting ready to play when the station manager, Lowell Blanchard, sent them to Nashville to be on the WSM Midnight Jamboree, Paul recalled.

Lowell come out and he said, 'I dont need you tonight, but I tell you what. Y'all got time enough to drive to Nashville. Go up there to the Midnight Jamboree on WSM and tell them that Lowell Blanchard sent you,' " he said.

They went on to Nashville and met Hawkshaw Hawkins, who was in charge of the Jamboree. Paul said he told Hawkins that Blanchard had sent them, and Hawkins responded, Dont say no more. Youre going on.

Thats the way it was with Lowell Blanchard, Paul said. If he sent you, you didnt have to try out. We played there several times, he said.

I reckon that was our biggest boost, Peggy said.

Paul went on to perform as a guest at the Grand Ole Opry, while Peggy was home with their four children.

Over the years, they performed at many interesting places including the Hell Hole Swamp Festival, Peggy said. They also performed at local festivals, including 16 years at Branchvilles Raylrode Daze and Salleys Chitlin Strut.

Anytime they played at Hell Hole Swamp or anywhere in that vicinity, Gov. Robert McNair and his wife were there, Paul said.

No matter where we were playing at, I guarantee theyd be there," he said.

Both Paul and Peggy worked on Orangeburgs WDIX with Pa Johnson, Mayor of Caw Caw Swamp.

He always hollered for me when he wanted some information about an artist, said Peggy, whos a walking encyclopedia of country music folk and lore.

She has a house full of pictures, music and books shes collected over the past 60 years.

Paul and Johnson put on a show, Pa Johnson, Paul Holt and the King Cotton Playboys, on Columbias WNOK television in the early '60s.

By that time, their children were grown, and Peggy got her shot at fame.

She took over Pa Johnsons show on WDIX while he was out having eye surgery and kept on working with him after he came back, she said. She picked out records and did advertisements and the news, Peggy noted.

After Johnson quit, she took over the show for a couple of years. In the 1980s, she went to work at WJBS in Holly Hill, which played country music, bluegrass and the news.

Musics always been his and Peggys love and priority, Paul said. During his working years, he ran his own garage so it wouldnt interfere with their music.

Even though their working days are over, they havent given up their music, Paul says.

Were getting up in age, but we still aint quit with music, he said. There aint a day or night passes we dont pick up a banjo or guitar and try to sing awhile."

They perform at revivals and nursing homes. On Tuesday nights, they join musical friends at Bill Wises home and on Fridays, they get together with a group near Swansea.

Hardly a day passes that they dont play some music, Paul said.

Music is a great thing, Peggy says. Theres a song that fits everything -- whatever youre longing for, whatever attitude youve got, whatever youve got on your mind.

But todays country music isnt what it was back in the early days, she said.

I like hillbilly music because I dont like what they call country music today  I cant go with that, Peggy said.

Paul and Peggy celebrated their 64th anniversary on July 3.

And they said it wouldnt last, Peggy said. Well, we showed em!"

The only thing is, the ones who told them it wouldnt last arent here any longer, she said.

The Holts are now 80 and 85 years of age, but with a sparkle in her eye and a grin on her face, Peggy declares she cant be that old yet.

They say Im 80, but I think somebody lied, she said. I always told people somebody made a mistake on my birth certificate, but nobody believes me.

They wouldnt change much if they could go back and do it again, the Holts say.

Really and truly, I cant think of a think I would have changed, Paul said.

But theres one thing hes proud of after being in the business all those years.

We can still say that we have never tasted beer, whiskey, wine and liquor -- no kind of drugs. Weve never tasted it, Paul said.

Peggy says she never wanted anything that would alter her brain, noting, I need all I got -- all the help I can get. I dont need anything to change it for the worst.

The one thing shed like to change would be to hang on to their original band members. They were like family, she said. They all had kids and would go camping together.

Peggy adds Sometimes I get mad at them because they died and left us."
State Rep. Justin Bamberg, D-Bamberg, represents the families of people whove died at the hands of police.

But he is also the son of law enforcement officers and knows how it feels to be in a household "with parents who could get called out 2 a.m. or 3 a.m. in the morning."

"I would be up scared as hell on whether mama was going to come home. It's a dangerous profession and there are inherent risks associated with it," Bamberg said.

The attorney represents the family of 37-year-old Alton Sterling, a black man who was shot and killed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Tuesday as he wrestled with two white officers. He also works for the family of Walter Scott, a black man who was shot and killed by a white North Charleston police office

On Thursday, five officers were killed and seven others were injured in Dallas during a protest over officer-involved shootings. Two civilians were also injured in the Dallas shootings.

Bamberg condemned the killing of police officers in Dallas as "absolutely horrible."

"It should never have happened, Bamberg said. He called the perpetrator a maniac, but I don't have any reason or information that would lead me to believe that this is something that will be ongoing.

Bamberg said, "We have a problem, and the problem is that there are people who don't appreciate the value of human life. It's disturbing to me, and it's one reason I even get involved in some of these types of situations.

"We need more prayer and more action from good people. We need citizens to support law enforcement, people who are doing good and work to address those that are doing bad. And we need law enforcement to support citizens, he said. "Stop killing people who legally or otherwise don't deserve to be killed."

The legislator said he hopes his work both in the State House and courtroom will create positive policy changes.

"We can't fix problems if we stand by and don't address them. In doing this work, I've seen that it has positioned me to be at a point where I can address a problem and create positive policy changes that rebuild the relationship between law enforcement and citizens," he said.
WASHINGTON -- Black lives matter. Blue lives matter. Both statements must be made true if the heartbreaking loss of life in Dallas is to have any meaning.

The killing spree that left five police officers dead and seven others wounded should be classified as an act of domestic terrorism. The shooter, identified as 25-year-old Micah Xavier Johnson, apparently believed he was committing an act of political violence. Our duty, to honor the fallen, is to ensure that Johnson's vile and cowardly act has the opposite impact from what he sought.

Johnson, who was captured on video shooting one officer in the back, was killed when police, who had tried unsuccessfully to negotiate his surrender, sent a robot his way bearing an explosive device. Enough about him, except this one thing: He said he was motivated by hatred over the deaths of two more black men -- Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minnesota -- at the hands of police.

The slain police officers were protecting a lawful, peaceful demonstration to protest those same deaths. As the crowd, perhaps more than 800 strong, marched through downtown Dallas, there was anger but no real tension. Certainly there was no sense of danger; police were not wearing riot gear or riding in armored vehicles. Instead, officers chatted and took selfies with the demonstrators. They had no fear of encounter and dialogue.

The great irony is that Dallas is something of a model. Mayor Mike Rawlings was right when he told reporters that Dallas is "one of the premier community policing cities in the country."

Since Police Chief David Brown took over in 2010, complaints of excessive force by officers have dropped by nearly two-thirds. Police shootings have been halved, from 23 in 2012 to just 11 in 2015 -- and only one so far this year, according to Police Department data.

Brown happens to be African-American, but that's not the most significant thing about him. What's important is that Brown was quick to understand that the chasm between police officers and young men of color was real -- and that it could be bridged.

His officers undergo training in how to de-escalate conflicts rather than heat them up; they learn to speak calmly when approaching suspects instead of immediately barking orders. When there is a police shooting, uniformed presence around the scene is ramped down as soon as possible. The department, unlike many others, keeps track of police shootings and publishes the figures on the city's website. And Brown keeps looking for new ways to improve relations between police and the community, realizing that diversity is not a destination but a shared journey.

The Dallas Police Department is not perfect, of course. But its efforts to improve the way officers interact with citizens stand in contrast to the appalling police work we saw in the cellphone videos recording the deaths that prompted protests around the country.

Sterling was on the ground in front of a convenience store, restrained by officers and posing no apparent threat, when he was shot to death. Castile, pulled over in a traffic stop, was apparently reaching for his identification to hand it to the officer who shot him.

The video of Castile's final moments was streamed on the internet by his girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds. In her narration, she says Castile informed the officer that he was licensed to carry a firearm. It is no stretch to imagine that to the officer, this meant Castile was an armed and dangerous black man. Which leads me to a question I shouldn't have to ask: Does the Second Amendment apply to African-Americans too? Where is the National Rifle Association statement decrying the fact that an American citizen might have been killed for exercising his constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms?

But the solution is not more guns. The solution is to end the undervaluing of lives, both black and blue.

Poor, troubled, crime-ridden communities are those that most want and need effective policing. But the paradigm cannot be us versus them. It has to be us with us -- a relationship of mutual respect.

I hope police officers around the nation see how rapidly and completely the people of Dallas -- including those in the Black Lives Matter movement -- have rallied around their city's bereaved police department. I hope they understand that compassion for Sterling, Castile and others killed by police in no way mitigates the nation's profound sorrow for the brave officers killed in Dallas. Such tragedy is beyond color.
A year ago, the nation was focused on South Carolina and its removal of the Confederate battle flag from the Statehouse grounds following the slaying of nine people at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston in June.

On that day in 2015, there seemed to be a new spirit of unity in South Carolina, one that transcended long-standing political divisions and longtime polar-opposite stands on the Confederate banner flying at the Statehouse. South Carolina was showing the nation the high road.

Since then, divisions across the nation are wider than ever amid a presidential campaign that has featured all manner of ugliness and promises still more between now and Election Day. It seems even horrible events -- from a deadly attack on police in Dallas during a protest over the nationwide deaths of black men at the hands of police, to the Orlando nightclub massacre -- only serve to further inflame the national debate over the differences among Americans rather than the common bonds we share.

Look back to 2015 in South Carolina. Even a day before the Emanuel AME shootings that appeared to have been carried out in the name of white supremacy by a person draping himself in the Confederate banner, no one would have thought removal of the flag from the Statehouse grounds was possible.

Lawmakers on both sides of the issue were not anxious to revisit the flag battle that was settled a decade and half earlier with a compromise removing the banner from its place atop the Statehouse and situating it in a display adjacent to the Confederate memorial statue in front of the capitol.

All of that changed with realization the flag was too often being used as the very symbol of hate and division that its proponents so adamantly argue it is not. Very many Southerners with no racist intent revere the flag as a symbol of history and a memorial to those who died in the Civil War.

Previously an advocate of the compromise, Republican Gov. Nikki Haley took the lead in standing up to say the time had come to remove the flag from its legally mandated official display  and as a de facto official symbol of state government. She was not alone in taking the stand, but her place in history as the catalyst for the flags removal is forever secure.

As shown by emails released this past week by her office, Haley received thousands of communications about the flag in the wake of the Emanuel AME massacre. They ranged from South Carolinians pleading with her to remove a symbol of division to those threatening her political future if she sided with taking down the flag. Out-of-staters said South Carolina would never be on their list of travel sites even as others from afar urged her to stay the course in the name of preserving Confederate history.

In the end, she made the right decision to call a news conference five days after the Emanuel AME killings and state: "The fact that people are choosing to use it (the flag) as a sign of hate is something we cannot stand. The fact that it causes pain to so many is enough to move it from the Capitol grounds. It is, after all, a Capitol that belongs to all of us."

On this anniversary of the day when thousands gathered to observe the honor guard lowering the Confederate flag from a 30-foot pole on Statehouse grounds, our hope is the spirit of unity that emerged a year ago did not come down with the banner.

There remains great need for understanding that bigotry and racism are not at the root of all divisions. And that means acceptance that a majority of Confederate flag proponents are sincere in their concern about preserving history every bit as much as foes want aspects of Southern history such as slavery to be rightfully and forever condemned.
Psalm 34:14  Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.

So, this is where we have come as a nation of people, black, white, Hispanic, etc.

I awoke Friday morning to the news of the Dallas police officer killings, apparently in response to the highly publicized white-officer-on-black-citizen killings of the recent past, climaxed by the events in Louisiana and Minnesota. To say I am stunned, saddened, even upset over what this nation has fallen into would be an understatement. I suppose a more accurate description of where I am at this moment is simply numbed.

Who among us is not afraid to go to the store for a gallon of milk? Perhaps take our kids to the park? Enjoy a date night with our spouse? Who among us now wonders when we are driving our vehicles if someone has a scope focused upon our foreheads?

Who among us, being a true law-abiding citizen, is not dismayed by both the yet-explained actions of certain law enforcement and the easily verifiable actions of a mob of people chanting that just their lives matter, and no one else's?

Yet people are cheering the events of Dallas. Our country has fallen into the gutter at such a rapid pace these past eight years one cannot fully grasp the decline. Who among us really looks to celebrate the "eye for an eye" attitude and actions demonstrated by others simply because we have a different color of skin? Who among us feels they are justified in retaliating not against the actual perpetrator of your anger, but against those in the same profession, thousands of miles away in a different location?

Perhaps I am blind to the extent of racism in our country. I chose many years ago to distant myself from anyone who embraced any form of racism. In this country where we are ALL free, I have the ability to choose my response to any attempt to subject myself, or anyone of my family, to racism. I walk away, I go elsewhere.

I don't mean to sound as if I have never witnessed racism, because I have. My grandfather was a proud member of the Klan, although like most cowards, he kept it a secret.

When I was younger, working in the fields tossing watermelons and cantaloupes, I can remember how at lunch time I ate a big meal, while the "help" ate bologna sandwiches outside, under the shade.

I recall how I got to use the indoor shower to bathe before going to the farmers market, while the "help" used a water hose.

Yet during those times I never witnessed the hostility people of race hold against one another today. Perhaps back in the 70s, people of color didn't feel as emboldened as they are today.

Could I have been that blind? Could my "whiteness" privilege have shielded me from what was before my very eyes? Is this why perhaps I have been called a "racist" at one time or another? Simply because I am white coupled with the perceived attitude of being uncaring or unsympathetic?

Yet what of Chicago? Where is this outcry against the racism being perpetrated against its own people? What of Detroit? Why is it seemingly okay for those astronomical daily murders to be committed, yet no one seems to be bothered with that? Where is the president of the United States when it comes to "his" people killing "his" people? Where is Al Sharpton? Jessie Jackson?

Nonetheless, racism is the ugliest word ever created by man. There are individuals in this world who use it to keep people separated, who use it to make a profit, who use it to keep people from having the courage to dream of a better place for them and their family. Unfortunately, these maggots upon society will be rushing to the forefront once again, that is after the shooting has ceased, of course, to spread their cause, and not the cause of the people they claim to represent.

I am in no way proud of my grandfathers affiliation with the Klan, and I demonstrated my disdain by distancing my children from that influence. I don't know if he ever broke his affiliation with that group. That is now between him and God almighty, the judge of us all, racists included.

I so wish others would follow my lead in that one area, removing themselves from anyone in their lives, regardless of how close of kin, who wants to be a racist more so than a brother or sister. Why won't we surround ourselves with those wanting to see all of man achieve peace, harmony and success, and the pursuit of Jesus Christ?

I don't know about you, but as for myself, I do not want to live in the nation we have become as it is today. How do we get past the color of one's skin? How do we as a person, not a people, muster the courage to trust someone who looks different than us and develop a relationship with them, knowing them more than skin-deep?

How do we get to the point of being arm in arm, firmly believing that all lives matter, and living accordingly?

2 Chronicles 7:14
The Lawton brothers have come back to their hometown of Savannah after the death of their Uncle Joe.

During the reunion, Kendrick, Jeff, Carl, Akeem and Patrick come face-to-face with the pain of their past. The scars of their childhood resurface, leaving each of the brothers to reflect on the man staring back at them in the mirror.

Their journey takes several twists and turns as they grapple with the reality of their circumstances and cope the best way they know how. At times, the brothers turn to violence, alcohol and women to deflect from the real issues at hand. Its not until the five men and their father peel back the layers of anger, distrust and recycled trauma and abuse that true healing can take place.

The Lawton brothers are fictional characters in the soon-to-be released short film "Wounded," which was written and directed by Orangeburg native and 2011 Claflin University graduate Alan Brooks, who also stars in it. He says any one of these men could be your neighbor, co-worker, friend, family member or son.

Brooks said the film deals with what he says is the code of silence and stigma associated with the M word, or molestation, in any community, but in particularly the African-American community.

Everyone has a story, Brooks noted. Some stories are a little darker than others, and for that reason, he said he wants his first short film to be a conversation starter -- a bridge and maybe the hope someone needs to seek help.

It was after the completion of his senior project, "Struggles," as a mass communication student that Brooks, now 27, said he knew film was how he would make his mark in the world.

He recently received a Master of Fine Arts in film and television from the Savannah College of Art and Design. While at SCAD, Brooks financed his first short-film, "Peer Pressure," which won the award for Best Student Film at the 100 Words Film Festival.

He used the prize money and his renewed confidence as a writer and director to bring "Wounded" from paper to production.

Tommy Ford, best known for his role as Tommy Strawn in the hit 1990s TV series "Martin" and for his role alongside Eddie Murphy as Tommy Smalls in the movie "Harlem Nights," was cast as Father Lawton, the patriarch of the family in "Wounded."

Up-and-coming actors also starring in the short film are D. James Jones of TV Ones documentary series "Fatal Attraction" and Foxs "Shots Fired," who plays Kendrick; Charlie Johnson of CWTV's "Vampire Diaries," who plays Jeff; actor/wrestler Elijah The Pope Burke of "WWE Raw Wrestling" and "TNA Impact Wrestling;" and Jarryn Bingham of "9-2-5."

In the film, Brooks portrays the youngest Lawton brother, Patrick.

Drawing inspiration from Robert Townsend, Spike Lee and Tyler Perry, all of whom Brooks said he admires for their ability to wear multiple hats in front of and behind the camera, he put himself to the test.

Patrick is the most vulnerable, Brooks said. When I wrote the film, I knew I wanted to star in it as well.

Acting and directing in your own film is not an easy task. Once you snap out of character, there is so much more work to do as a director. But I enjoy a challenge, he said.

Investing in his dream came with its own set of challenges, Brooks said.

I would set aside money for my film with each paycheck or revenue from online campaigns, but only after I paid my tithes and offering and personal expenses, he said.

The principle of sowing and reaping rewards itself, Brooks noted.

If you give your talent and treasure to God, you can expect him to move on your behalf," he said.

Brooks said his mother, Cynthia Simmons, has been a constant source of support, along with his family; his friend and executive producer, Marlette Green and his associate producer, Maketa Ruffin.

"Wounded" is set to premiere this summer at several state and regional film festivals. Brooks is also planning for local premieres in Orangeburg and Columbia.

Whether it is a film, music video, documentary, or commercial, pleasing God is my aim," he said. "I trust that everything else will fall into place.

For more information about Brooks, go to https://alanmbrooks88.wix.com/films.
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Recently the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works committee spent valuable time and taxpayer money to hold a hearing, which appeared to be yet another attempt to interfere with the implementation of the Clean Power Plan, which would reduce carbon pollution from power plants. We deplore this continued obstruction of meaningful action to address climate change.

The U.S. Congress is likely the only national legislature on Earth where the majority of the members of a major party question the existence of human-caused climate change. According to recent research from the Center for American Progress Action Fund, 59 percent of the Republican U.S. House caucus and 70 percent of Republicans in the U.S. Senate deny the scientific consensus on the existence of human-caused climate change. Not only is this a stain on our national character, it is a mortal threat to the lives of millions of people and jeopardizes our most basic responsibility to pass on a livable planet to our children.

According to a recent study published in the Bulletin of Science, Technology and Society, more than 99.99 percent of published climate scientists accept that global warming is caused by human activity. In other words, its approaching unanimity and for policy purposes the threshold has long since been passed for decisive action. In fact that threshold was passed 26 years ago when the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned of this threat to humanity and the grave consequences which would ensue if we failed to reduce carbon emissions from fossil fuel burning.

No one should be surprised that we are now risking the collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet which would flood coastal cities worldwide, leaving a planet of chaos and despair to our children.

Cry for justice

Here in Montana, we face the immediate reality that the fire season in the American West is an average 78 days longer than in 1970 and the number of acres burned in a typical year is double what it was in 1980. Climate scientists have established a link between climate change and more frequent large wildfires and longer fire seasons, especially here in the northern Rockies.

We are guided by the simple principle that we are all Gods children and we all inhabit the same beautiful, but fragile planet. As faith leaders we must always strive to uphold the Golden Rule: Treat others as you would wish to be treated. The Carbon Vulnerability Monitor reports that climate change is already killing 400,000 people a year; this figure includes hundreds of children per day. We must heed the cry for climate justice by taking action at the scale and speed required. We also note that the crisis should never have been allowed to reach this point of extremity. The earth is teaching us a moral lesson.

U.S. must lead

The United States has contributed far more of the historic carbon pollution that triggered the climate crisis than any other nation. The moral burden to address this crisis falls most heavily on our own country. The greatest task before us as Americans is to ensure that our country leads and fully participates in efforts to address the climate crisis. Fortunately, a majority of American Republicans, Democrats and independents want government action to address climate change. Its time the U.S. Congress joined them.

We wish to be crystal clear with our members of Congress from Montana on how we view your responsibilities regarding the climate crisis. As faith leaders we implore the U.S. Congress to move with maximum speed to craft, introduce and pass comprehensive, science-based climate legislation that moves us, in concert with the family of nations, as swiftly as possible to a 100 percent renewable energy system in Montana, across the country and around the world. The Clean Power Plan is a step in that direction and we demand that Republicans in the U.S. Congress stop obstructing its implementation.
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has attended a session of Heads of State and Government of Afghanistan and Allies and their Resolute Support Operational Partners as part of the NATO Summit in Warsaw.

President Ilham Aliyev addressed the session.

The head of state said:

Mr. Secretary General,

Colleagues,

Security and sustainable development of Afghanistan is vital for the regional and global stability.

Azerbaijan, as a reliable NATO partner and friend of Afghanistan, will continue its significant troop contribution to the Resolute Support Mission and provide a multi-modal transit.

Azerbaijan has already several times made substantial donations to the Afghanistan National Army (ANA) Trust Fund. We will continue to support this Fund financially in line with the pledges we made.

We remain committed to a long-term political partnership and a practical cooperation with Afghanistan. After conclusion of the Resolute Support Mission, we envisage contribution through the enhanced Enduring Partnership.

Azerbaijans contribution to the stability and development of Afghanistan goes well beyond our involvement in NATO operations. We support Afghanistan bilaterally on its path of reforms towards self-reliant future by providing practical assistance in the areas of military training, education, infrastructure, transportation, investments, and increasing the role of women in society.

Azerbaijan has made substantial financial and technical contribution to the implementation of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project to be completed in the nearest future. This project will connect European and Asian railroads through Azerbaijan. Afghanistan can also join this vital transportation network. Construction of the biggest international trade seaport in the Caspian region in our country provides new opportunities for cooperation in Eurasia. I am sure Afghanistan will also benefit from this project. Azerbaijan-NATO partnership is based upon the principles of international law and indivisibility of security. Regretfully, there are still violations of these principles. The continued use of force against Azerbaijan by Armenia, whose armed forces occupied almost 20% of Azerbaijans territories, ethnically cleansed about one million Azerbaijanis, and committed war crimes, not only undermines the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan but also represents a grave threat to regional security.

For more than twenty years, Armenia refuses to implement the relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council, which demand immediate, full and unconditional withdrawal of Armenian troops from Azerbaijan. We support the statements of the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group as well as the Chairman-in-Office of the OSCE saying that status-quo is not acceptable. Changing the status-quo means beginning of de-occupation of the territories of Azerbaijan. We appreciate the renewed commitment by NATO to support Azerbaijans territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty, as reiterated in Warsaw Summit Declaration.
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has met with President of the French Republic Francois Hollande in Warsaw.

At the meeting, the sides had a broad exchange of views on the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The presidents stressed the appropriateness of a negotiated solution to the conflict. The French President said he would actively support the settlement of this issue.

They discussed the current state and prospects of the bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
Heads of state and government participating in the meeting of the North Atlantic Council in Warsaw July 8-9 2016 have issued Warsaw Summit Communique, NATO said on its website.

We continue to support the right of all our partners to make independent and sovereign choices on foreign and security policy, free from external pressure and coercion, the communique reads. NATO remain committed in its support for the territorial integrity, independence, and sovereignty of Azerbaijan, according to the communique.

In this context, we continue to support efforts towards a peaceful settlement of the conflicts in the South Caucasus, as well as in the Republic of Moldova, based upon these principles and the norms of international law, the UN Charter, and the Helsinki Final Act, the document said. We urge all parties to engage constructively and with reinforced political will in peaceful conflict resolution, within the established negotiation frameworks.

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.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has announced he will visit Georgia this autumn.

Today at the second day of Warsaw Summit, NATO leaders agreed a set of decisions to project stability beyond the Alliances borders, RIA Novosti reported.

"We have recognized the progress Georgia has achieved on its path to membership, Stoltenberg said.
The global economic situation is grim and major economies must lead the way in tackling problems including sluggish growth and weak trade, China's trade minister Gao Hucheng said on Saturday.



Gao made the remarks at the start of a two-day meeting of trade ministers from G20 economies in Shanghai, as uncertainty hangs over the outlook for a slow-growing global economy now beset by post-Brexit reverberations.



The global economic recovery remained "complicated and grim", Gao said.



"Global trade is dithering, international investment has yet to recover to levels before the financial crisis, the global economy has yet to find the propulsion for strong and sustainable growth.



"In the current circumstances, the international community expects the G20 to show leadership in resolving the prominent problems we are facing and inject impetus for recovery and growth," he said.



In April, the International Monetary Fund cut its 2016 global growth forecast for the fourth time in a year, to 3.2 percent from 3.4 percent, amid weakening global demand and geopolitical risks. A fifth straight global growth markdown by the IMF looks almost certain.



The World Trade Organization (WTO) expects 2016 to be the fifth consecutive year of less than 3 percent growth in global trade, and Director-General Roberto Azevedo said on Friday trade would remain sluggish going into the third quarter of the year.



The ministers meeting in Shanghai were likely to agree to a set of non-binding principles to enhance investment as well as a declaration on protectionism, South Africa's Minister for Trade and Industry Rob Davies told Reuters.



"The bigger context of course is there has been a very sharp reduction in trade growth," he said. "We heard from the WTO today that it has been well below the rates of GDP growth, which are in any case fairly depressed."



The spectre of protectionism also hangs over the meetings in Shanghai.



China's huge but struggling steel sector has relied on exports to offset the impact of slowing domestic demand, but it has been accused of using unfair pricing to push foreign competitors out of business.



Chinese trade officials have repeatedly stressed that the country has been the victim of overzealous anti-dumping actions by foreign countries, which fail to take into account Chinese efficiency or its low labour and production costs.



Davies said ministers had not yet reached consensus on how to handle overcapacity and rising protectionism in the steel sector, which remains a "contested space".



"It's not that it is not important, but a number of us don't feel a comprehensive discussion has taken place ... A lot of the European countries and the United States want to see something, but what exactly is going to be said is still an issue."



Uncertainty over Britain's vote to leave the European Union will dampen near-term economic growth for Britain and the rest of Europe and will affect output globally, according to the IMF.



British and EU representatives in Shanghai on Saturday were at pains to stress that they would come up with a "sensible and mature new arrangement", Davies said.  Reuters
Daikin Industries, a global leader in the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) sector, said its VRV IV Series has received the Quality Conformity Council (QCC) certification from the Abu Dhabi government.



The product was earlier honoured with the Green Product of the Year award by Emirates Green Building Council, said a statement from Daikin.



Daikin's VRV IV has become even smarter; not only is it especially equipped to handle the sizzling heat of the Middle East, but with its unique VRT technology, it constantly monitors ambient temperature and continuously adjusts not only the refrigerant flow like typical VRF systems, but also the refrigerant temperature to achieve maximum efficiency and minimum power consumption, remarked Geoff Watson, the deputy general manager for Daikin (Middle East and Africa).



The QCC certification and Emirates GBC Award were announced during the Daikins annual dealer meeting held recently. The ceremony awarded over 73 Daikin dealers across UAE for their sales performance in FY15.



We congratulate all the dealers and will continue our collaboration together, along with a fully fledge new product range that not only suits the high ambient temperature of the region but also meets the highest level of efficiency and compliance with regional regulators such as: Esma, Estidama, QCC, Saso, Mew and others, stated Watson.



With more than 60,000 employees worldwide, Daikin is engaged primarily in the development, manufacture, sales and aftermarket support of air conditioning, heating, ventilation, refrigeration equipment, refrigerants and other chemicals, as well as oil hydraulic products.



The company, which has its headquarters in Osaka, Japan, boasts more than 80 global production bases, and presence in more than 145 countries.-TradeArabia News Service
UAE-based Prime Hospital said it has been granted accreditation by the Joint Commission International (JCI), a globally-recognized healthcare organisation, in recognition of its patient care and safety standards.



It is part of Prime Healthcare Group which has been working with Dubais health authorities to help meet international standards in healthcare services as part of the emirate's Health Strategy 2021.



The JCI accreditation is the gold standard for hospitals when it comes to maintaining a high level of patient care and safety, said a statement from the UAE healthcare group.



The JCI standards are more focused on areas that directly impact patient care such as access to care, patients experiences and feedback, infection control, patient and family rights and education and awareness initiatives.



To be accredited, hospitals must also be evaluated in their performance in areas of facilities management and safety, medical expertise and staff qualifications, efforts to improve the quality of services, organizational leadership and effective communication management.



Dr Jamil Ahmed, the managing director, said: "Once again, Prime Healthcare Group has achieved a major milestone in its efforts to elevate the level of healthcare standards in the UAE by successfully obtaining the JCIs stamp of quality healthcare standards."



"The JCI accreditation is testament to our commitment to be part of Dubais quest to put the UAE in the world map of achieving excellence and providing international-level quality healthcare to its citizens and residents," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
Science fiction often speculates about robots that are virtually indistinguishable from humans. However, while there are examples of humanoid robots being developed, the majority of robots will not take after their creators, says GlobalData.
The family of American journalist Marie Colvin who died in Syria in 2012 has filed a wrongful death lawsuit in a US court, accusing the Syrian government of deliberately killing her, the New York Times reported on Saturday.



Colvin and French photographer Remi Ochlik were killed in the besieged Syrian city of Homs in 2012 while reporting on the Syrian conflict, now in its sixth year.



The lawsuit, filed in Washington, said Syrian officials deliberately targeted rockets against a makeshift broadcast studio where Colvin and other reporters were living and working.



The lawsuit, to which the New York Times article provides an online link, said the attack was part of a plan orchestrated at the highest levels of the Syrian government to silence local and international media "as part of its effort to crush political opposition".



Advocacy group Reporters Without Borders said it supported the lawsuit.



The group's secretary-general, Christophe Deloire, said the group "hopes these efforts will help to expose the truth, namely that these journalists were deliberately targeted and killed because they were providing information about the Syrian army's crimes against civilians."



A murder and attempted murder investigation was launched in France in 2012 into the death of Ochlik and wounding of another journalist, Edith Bouvier, in the same attack.



Reporters Without Borders, as an interested party in the case, said it will submit the Colvin family's U.S. lawsuit to the judge in charge of the French investigation on Monday.



Colvin and Ochlik were both prize-winning reporters of wars in the Middle East, Asia and elsewhere. The Britain-based Colvin, who lost an eye while working in Sri Lanka in 2001, was working for the Sunday Times at the time of her death.-Reuters
Low taxes, low regulation and skilled labour will ensure the UK retains its position as an attractive business and financial centre in a post-Brexit world, according to a London Business School expert.



Alex Edmans, professor of Finance, London Business School, said that while uncertainty reigns, there are rational reasons to be optimistic.



Firms invest in the UK for many reasons. London is uniquely attractive due to the English language, low taxes, low regulation, skilled labour and expertise in accounting and law, explained Professor Edmans.



The immediate downturn in the stock market was triggered largely by uncertainty about what lies next, noted Professor Edmans, rather than the conviction that a post-Brexit world will lead to disaster.



Negativity is self-fulfilling, but so is positivity, said Professor Edmans. Many patients beat illnesses because of a positive mind-set. Leicester City or Iceland punch way above their weight due to self-belief. Its the same with the economy.



What John Maynard Keynes referred to as animal spirits, others label as business confidence according to Professor Edmans.



If companies stop investing, if skilled workers emigrate, if consumers stop spending, then we will indeed have a nightmare scenario  but brought on by our own doing, not by Brexit.



Under World Trade Organization rules, the UK has most favoured nation status with the EU and is, therefore, entitled to the best deal that the EU gives to any other country. With two years to negotiate a trade deal, the UK will continue to benefit from the Single Market until a new deal is agreed, said Professor Edmans.



There will not be a sudden impact on trade. Additionally, the UK can start negotiating trade deals with many countries which the EU never had trade deals with, he added.  TradeArabia News Service
Around half of 18 outlets at Dragon Citys Dining Village in Bahrain are set to open by the end of the year, reported the Gulf Daily News, our sister publication.



To read further, please visit GDNonline.






Oil watchers had become increasingly confident of crudes trajectory since prices slumped to a 13-year low in February. Robust demand and falling supply had some forecasters in a bullish mood.

But the United Kingdoms vote to leave the European Union has clouded crudes outlook. Prices have seesawed since the decision two weeks ago, declining sharply, then recovering lost ground before falling once again. Crude prices are down 10 percent since the vote.

Brexit has created a divide among analysts. In one camp are those who argue the move could slow economic growth in Europe. Investors, wary of the uncertainty resulting from the decision, may stay on the sidelines, hampering business activity.

Global oil demand could fall by 100,000 barrels a day, according to projections from Barclays.

Previous events also offer some context. European crude demand slumped last year after Greek voters rejected a bailout package from Brussels, noted Phil Flynn, an analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago. A similar thing could happen this year, he said.

Prior to July 4, energy demand in Europe was on a upward trajectory. It ground to a halt with that vote, Flynn said.

Others were less certain, saying oils recent slump is more reflective of market factors. The summer driving season, a time of year when gasoline inventories typically decline, are bulging following a strong refinery runs in the spring.

June oil contracts closed lower than May levels. And prices have now slumped below levels in the immediate wake of the Brexit selloff.

The long-term fundamentals havent changed, but the market mood is being driven by these variables, said John Saucer, an analyst at Mobius Risk Group in Houston.

Indeed, many analysts remained upbeat over long-term projections. U.S. production is down by 1.1 million barrels per day year-over-year, creating the potential for a supply deficit.

The disagreement comes over when markets will normalize. Large inventories of gasoline and crude continue to weigh on prices. The 524.4 million barrels of oil in storage is a record for this time of year.

I think were going to sideways for a while longer, said David Neuhauser, managing director of Livermore Partners, a Chicago-based hedge fund specializing in energy.

Questions also remain on the demand side. Economic growth in Japan remains tepid, German exports are declining and China remains a question mark, said John Kilduff, managing partner at Again Capital in New York.

My theory at the moment is that were going to continue to slide to the mid-30s, Kilduff said. But I think the bounce off the upcoming slide will lead to some fundamental structural changes.
Monday support meetings

Alcoholics Anonymous: 6:30 a.m., 917 N. Beech; 8:30 a.m., 500 S. Wolcott; 10 a.m., 328 E. A St.; 10 a.m., 500 S. Wolcott, Ste. 200; 6 p.m., 500 S. Wolcott, Ste. 200; 7 p.m., Glenrock, 615 W. Deer St. (downstairs); 7:30 p.m., 500 S. Wolcott, Ste. 200, closed; 7:30 p.m., Douglas, 628 E. Richards; 8 p.m., 328 E. A St. Unless otherwise noted, all meetings are open. Casper info: 266-9578; Douglas info: (307) 351-1688.

Al-Anon: Noon, 701 S. Wolcott, St. Marks Church.

Narcotics Anonymous: Noon, 500 S. Wolcott, 12-24 Club; 7 p.m., 302 E. 2nd, Methodist Church; 8 p.m., 4700 S. Poplar (church basement). Web site: http://www.urmrna.org.

Teen Addiction Anonymous: 3:30-4:30 p.m., Boys & Girls Club Teen Center. Info: 258-7439.

Adult Children of Alcoholics: 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., 12-24 Club, 500 S. Wolcott St., Suite 200.

TOPS Weight Loss: 5:30 p.m., Weight Loss Support Group TOPS #246, Wyoming Oil & Gas Building, 2211 King Blvd. Motivational speakers and programs. Use NE door entry. Info: 265-1486.

Career workshop focuses on public sector

The Casper Workforce Center is hosting a career symposium from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. If you are considering a career in the public sector field, working for law enforcement, fire, the federal government, or other agency, then you are encouraged to attend. Representatives will be on hand to answer questions and give out information. The event is free to the public. The Casper Workforce Center is located at 851 Werner Court. For more information, call 234-4591.

Low vision support meets

The Casper Area Low Vision Support Group meeting is at 10 a.m. at the Casper Senior Citizen Center. A discussion will be held on Organizing Your Home Office for Low Vision Persons. For a ride, call Howard at 234-5867.

Rotary hears about rabies

Dr. Karl Musgrave will address Rotarians and guests at a noon luncheon meeting of the Casper Rotary Club at the Parkway Plaza. Musgrave, the Wyoming state public health veterinarian, will cover the disease rabies and the most recent human exposure and subsequent death in the state of Wyoming in 2015. He will bring education about human and pet exposure to wild animals that are carriers of the rabies virus, especially during spring and summer months. Musgrave received his veterinary degree in 1988 from CSU and his MPH from Harvard in 1989. He served in the Centers for Disease Controls Epidemic Intelligence Service from 1990 to 1992.

Soroptimists meet

Jeff Jones was the winner of the Soroptimists of Central Wyoming Fishing Trip Raffle held June 13. Jeff won a half-day guided float trip on the North Platte River for two people with Wyoming Fly Fishing. The Soroptimists would like to thank Ryan and Liz Anderson with Wyoming Fly Fishing for assisting them with the fishing trip.

Proceeds from the raffle with help support the local Live Your Dream Scholarship. The Live Your Dream awards give monetary assistance to women who provide the primary source of financial support for their families.

The Soroptimists of Central Wyoming meet a noon on the second and fourth Mondays of each month. The July business meeting will be held at noon July 11 at the Casper Petroleum Club, and a program meeting will be held July 25 at the Central Wyoming Senior Center. All women are invited to come and learn more about the Soroptimists.

Soroptimist means Best for Women. SICW is a volunteer non-profit organization which strives to improve the lives of women and girls through community-based and international projects. In addition offering the annual Live Your Dream award for women seeking higher education or job training, SICW provides gift baskets and holiday meals to Seton House, gift baskets to the Transformation Center, and supports Children of Peace International with sewing projects.

For more information about the monthly meetings or the Soroptimists, please contact Ann Davin at 251-1088 or find SICW on Facebook.

Tai Chi for arthritis class

Tai Chi for Arthritis Part 1 is not just for those with arthritis. Tai chi is an ancient practice proven to reduce pain and improve your mental and physical well-being. This series of Tai Chi for Arthritis was developed by Dr. Paul Lam. The form uses gentle Sun style tai chi postures that are safe, easy to learn, and suitable for every fitness level. This form can be done standing or seated. The practice of tai chi will help you to reduce stress, increase balance and flexibility, and improve your overall feeling of wellness. Preregistration for the workshop is required. The cost is $122 for 16 consecutive sessions, meeting Mondays and Wednesdays from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., starting July 11 and ending Aug. 31 for the next session. This workshop class will be located at the Healthy Life Studio in the Sunrise Shopping Center. You can register online at www.healthylifestudio.com or call 472-1962.

Tween Minute to Win It

The Natrona County Library will host an afternoon of Minute to Win It games for tweens entering grades 4-6 from 2 to 3 p.m. Come have some fun playing short, competitive games. They only take a minute, but be careful, you may get messy! Call 577-READ ext. 5 for more information.

Photographers meet

The July meeting for the Casper Photography Association will be held at the Casper Mountain cabin of Harry Buhler at 6 p.m. The cabin is located at 1795 East End Road (north side). There will be a flag to mark the destination. Please bring a sack dinner, chairs and your submission for the quarterly challenge entitled Horses.

Carnival open

The Crabtree Central at the Central Wyoming Fair & Rodeo is open 6 p.m. to midnight on Monday; noon to midnight on Tuesday; 4 p.m. to midnight on Wednesday and Thursday; and noon to midnight on Friday and Saturday. Discounted passes and armbands are on sale at all Casper and Douglas HOMAX locations through noon Tuesday only. Daily armbands available for $31.

Fair festivities

The free rodetto starts at 7:30 a.m., in the Arena. Rabbit showmanship starts at 9 a.m., market goats at 1 p.m., and alpacas at 4 p.m., all in the Arena. At 7 p.m., watch contestants compete in the Voice of Casper on the free midway stage.

Summer classes at learning circle

The Bart Rea Learning Circle hosts classes every day of the week during the summer. The circle is located inside Amoco Park, 1007 W. First Street, along the Platte River Trails: just west of West First and Poplar intersection; and just east of The Tate Pump House. All classes are free with a canned food donation to Wyoming Food for Thought. No classes on holidays or during inclement weather. For more information visit The Bart Rea Learning Circle on Facebook.

Monday, 5:30 p.m.: Fail Free Drum Circle: Learn the gift of drumming. We all start out as drummers from the moment we begin to hear our mothers steady heartbeat. Bring a drum if possible and your mat or seat. Primary instructor: Brett Governanti.

Funday Monday at Elks

Funday Monday is going on though the summer at the Casper Elks Lodge. Come down for a burger and beer for only $7, serving from 6 to 7 p.m., and buy a ticket and win some money.
VBS at Prince of Peace

A summer kids event called Expedition Norway VBS will be hosted from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Aug. 1-4 at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church. Expedition Norway is like taking a trip to Norway. Kids will sing catchy songs, play high-energy games, dig into yummy Norwegian treats, experience cool Bible adventures, collect Bible memory makers and explore what daily life is like for kids in Norway. Plus, kids get to watch a video visit with real kids in Norway each day. Every day concludes with a closing celebration that gets everyone involved in living what theyve learned. Family members and friends are encouraged to join in at 8:10 p.m. daily for this special time.
RIVERTON  Reports of grizzly-bear sightings around Dubois have prompted wildlife officials to advise Fremont County residents to be vigilant about securing garbage, bird seed and animal feed.

Brian DeBolt, large carnivore conflict coordinator with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, said he has received several calls about grizzly bears recently.

We had a couple bears that have kind of been poking through the neighborhoods east of Dubois for the last two weeks, DeBolt said. Theyve been real sporadic (and) never in the same place twice.

Dubois is a town of about 1,000 residents in northwest Fremont County.

If any bears begin to congregate in the area, Game and Fish workers will try to capture the animals and relocate them, DeBolt said. For now though, he said the grizzlies simply seem to be migrating through the region.

I got four or five more reports today, he said. They made their rounds last night, (but theyre) just moving through.

Its been a busy year for bear activity so far, which DeBolt attributes to the growing population of both black and grizzly bears.

It used to be when you had a bad food year you had more bear conflicts. But any more there are so many bears that they just occupy these lower habitats that are inhabited by people anyway, he said. Thats why you have so many conflicts even on a good food year.

When a black bear is involved, he said, Game and Fish can recruit a hunter with the appropriate license to remove the animal.

That option isnt available for grizzlies, which still are protected by the federal Endangered Species Act. So DeBolt said there tend to be more conflicts involving grizzly bears in northwest Wyoming.
The three Republicans seeking the Wyoming legislative seat that represents central Casper each said they are undecided about whether the state should expand Medicaid to 20,000 low-income Wyomingites under the Affordable Care Act.

Donald Bellamy, Jerry Obermueller and Ronna Boril all noted the issue is complicated, and they are continuing to learn more.

The office they seek, House District 56, includes Wyoming Medical Center, which recently laid off over 50 people. WMC officials said the reductions wouldnt have been as severe had the Legislature taken the federal money for Medicaid, since it would have covered many low-income people who show up in the hospitals emergency room.

HD56 is roughly between Poplar and Beech streets, and from Interstate 25 to neighborhoods south of Outer Drive.

The victor in the Aug. 16 GOP primary will face Democrat Dan Neal in the Nov. 8 general election.

Bellamy

The 23-year-old said he is running because too many people in his generation just complain about the issues, he said.

And theyre not really educating themselves on how to change things, he said. Theyre going with the status quo and saying, This is horrible, and not really standing up. I want to represent my generation and create the change we want to see.

Bellamy is a customer service manager at Walmart. He graduated from Casper College with an associates in political science in May and is working on a bachelors in communication from the University of Wyoming at Casper College.

He opposes the Affordable Care Act because of fines imposed upon people who do not have health insurance, when many of the folks who forgo purchasing insurance simply cannot afford it, he said.

Although he disagrees with Obamacare, it doesnt mean hes written off expansion.

The state is in an economic crunch, since energy prices are down. Expansion could help, especially as state government continues to be cut, Bellamy said.

If we admit to yourselves we dont have money, which we are admitting by approving these budget cuts, then we have to admit to ourselves its not morally right to leave these 20,000 who are being penalized by this Obama tax, he said.

Obermueller

Obermueller, 68, is a certified public accountant who retired in December, which has freed up time to apply his skillset to help the public, he said. He owned his own firm.

Obermueller showed up to an interview at the Star-Tribune with a stack of IRS forms and an independent auditors report of Wyoming Medical Center. While it may seem like a foreign language to many people, he is comfortable in the world of complex financial information, budgets, projections and taxes  the very topics being discussed in Cheyenne these days, he said.

Overall, I see the issues as more horizontal than vertical in terms of priorities in the state, he said. So I see businesses and jobs on one side of that and safety net issues on the other side of that. The question becomes how to find some middle ground to balance all that out under current situations  People are coming to these issues from various perspectives and (lawmakers must) sort through that (financial information) and find what the truth is in terms of the impact it has on the affected parties.

Obermueller said he doesnt have an ideological bent on Medicaid expansion and many other issues affecting the state budget. But he is strong in his opinions in support of the Second Amendment and against abortion, he said.

House District 56 is diverse  from downtown businesses, education and medical interests, to North Casper and the foothills of Casper Mountain.

My goal is to be aware of and respond in a fair manner to all concerns, he said.

Boril

Wyoming is a lightly populated state where lawmakers can make more of a difference. Thats what Ronna Boril, 65, said spurred her to run.

Boril has been a licensed real estate broker since 1975 and has built homes, specializing in places for boomers and empty nesters. She also has developed land and managed property.

The budget is one of the biggest challenges confronting the state. Its easy to spend when money is ample, and harder when the money dries up, she said.

Ive been through at least four economic dips in Wyoming, she said. Ive managed my business through those dips and weve stayed in business. I understand a budget. I understand living in a budget. I understand not spending money you dont have.

If revenues continue to drop below economists projections, more cuts to the state budget may be necessary. Shes willing to do the hard work of examining the budget, she said.

There are no easy answers to Medicaid expansion, Boril said.

The first thing I would say is its not a sound bite issue, and its not an emotional issue, she said. I think it has to be carefully considered from a lot of different angles. And I am spending a lot of time studying the numbers, studying the budgets, the different angles that are involved in that program.

Wyoming Medicaid is an expensive program for the state, costing hundreds of millions of dollars a year, Boril noted. It will be more costly if the state expands under Obamacare.

The Health Department receives roughly a third of the general fund budget, she said. Thats huge.
CHEYENNE  Wyoming is still wrestling with how to pay for rising costs for court-ordered mental health and substance abuse services while still providing for those who need help.

The issue was discussed at a Thursday meeting of the Legislatures Joint Subcommittee on Title 25 Issues. The subcommittee is tasked with reviewing the Title 25 program, including funding and entry issues.

Title 25 refers to the state program that allows law enforcement or medical professionals to involuntarily commit people if they are a danger to themselves or others or if they cant care for themselves.

If officials see a need to commit someone for more than 72 hours, a court can order a patient hospitalized for longer, at which point they are transferred to the Wyoming Department of Health.

Counties are responsible for costs during the first 72 hours, and the state is responsible for amounts beyond that.

The committee heard Thursday from department representatives, as well as officials and professionals around the state.

Because each county is responsible for Title 25 patients for the first 72 hours, the process  and solutions for keeping costs down  can vary by county.

Traditionally, Title 25 patients have been housed at the Wyoming State Hospital in Evanston.

However, an increase in the number of Title 25 patients through the years has required the Department of Health to contract with private health-care providers to house patients the State Hospital doesnt have room to take.

That increase has resulted in a correlated increase in costs to the department.

In fact, the department has spent almost three times its biennial 2015-16 budget for housing Title 25 patients in facilities other than the State Hospital.

The department was allotted $4.4 million in its budget for that timeframe but will spend about $12.9 million more than the budgeted amount.

Department of Health Director Tom Forslund said he is able to move money within the departments budget to cover those expenses. But he said he wont be able to cover another expected shortfall for the 2017-18 budget, which began July 1.

Thats due, in part, to a $90 million budget cut faced by the department in response to statewide revenue shortfalls.

Forslund said Thursday he will likely ask the Legislature for a supplemental budget increase this winter.

Some counties have implemented methods to keep the number of Title 25 patients low while still getting residents help.

Campbell County, for example, diverts some people to community resources, rather than committing them to a facility, said Carol Seeger, a deputy attorney for that county.

Seeger said of those who are detained under Title 25, only a handful of patients are sent to the State Hospital.

People dont have to be committed because they have a (mental health condition), she said.

Seeger told lawmakers it may be better to devote more resources to mental health as prevention for people ending up committed under Title 25.

Other counties have implemented gatekeepers, whether formally or informally. Those gatekeepers help decide whether a person is better suited for Title 25 or another mental health service.

Still, not all who are seeking help are getting it.

At the invitation of Rep. Eric Barlow, R-Gillette, a Converse County couple told lawmakers of their efforts to try to have a relative committed, but without success.

They also spoke about the difficulties of mental health-care access in Wyoming.

Heidi and Malcolm Gray said they have tried to have a relative under their guardianship committed after the relative had already been declared dangerous to himself and others and could not care for himself.

We havent today still gotten help for him that he needs, Heidi said, adding, There is no placement for him currently in the state. We live behind a locked door, and nobody would help us.

The couple said they have wrangled with the legal system, but without much success.

The system is ridiculous; the whole mental health system is ridiculous, Malcolm said. Weve been through everything; weve gone to everyone about one person, my brother. We cant get no help from no one.

Barlow said stories like the Grays need to be considered when lawmakers make decisions.

He said he hopes the committee can help address more of the systematic issues with mental health care.

The committee directed the Department of Health to draft recommendations for any legislative or policy fixes in time for the committees next meeting Aug. 30.

Some suggestions were also offered by professionals in the state, like Jodi Darrough, a deputy Fremont County attorney.

Darrough said some definitions with Title 25 should be changed, and she said she would also like to see some transportation issues addressed.

Committee members hope to have any proposed bills ready for the 2017 legislative session.
Wyoming has had more than its share of difficult news lately, but that isnt the whole story.

Admittedly, the headlines are hard to miss: Gov. Matt Mead recently announced $248 million in state spending cuts, along with almost 700 private-sector layoffs. The Casper City Council axed almost 40 percent of its budget. University of Wyoming President Laurie Nichols recently announced a financial crisis on campus. Plans for a new coal gasification plant near Medicine Bow, once heralded as the future of coal, have been suspended.

Those are all serious issues, without a doubt, and we must treat them as such while we work to overcome them.

But thats not the whole story of whats happening in Wyoming. We cant let the bright spots become lost in the darkness, and upon closer examination those positives are certainly there. We just have to look.

In the energy industry, the numbers are easy to gauge. Government data shows that weekly coal shipments are up 26 percent across the nation since bottoming out at 10.3 million tons in early April. Oil prices have climbed since hitting a 13-year low earlier this year. Natural gas prices recently hit a high for the year thanks to a heat wave in California, which is welcome news to beleaguered producers. Powder River Basin coal is also well-positioned to capitalize on that increase. U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz recently told a crowd gathered in Jackson that fossil fuels would remain an important part of the nations energy mix. All that is promising news for Wyoming.

Other factors are harder to measure but just as important. Maybe most essential of all, Wyoming is home to creative, caring people who are committed to making this state a wonderful place to live, visit and do business. Food pantries and other nonprofits have rushed to fill the gaps that have emerged in the wake of spending cuts and layoffs. That spirit makes this a place worth calling home. Our educational institutions are finding ways to help laid-off miners transition into the next phase of their working lives. Many former energy workers are already finding second careers, such as in the corrections department. The National Park Service, celebrating its 100th year, is expecting a lucrative summer for Yellowstone, Grand Teton and the surrounding communities, and people are working hard to keep those visitors happy and safe. All around us, neighbors are helping neighbors out of tough situations.

Thats no small achievement. Its easy to feel overwhelmed and discouraged in the face of a spate of difficult news. Instead, Wyomingites have wisely pulled together. We will face tough questions about our financial future, and we will emerge stronger because we did.

Thats the ultimate bright spot.
Railway Credit Union gets award

Railway Credit Union of Mandan received the Champion Award from the Credit Union Association of the Dakotas.

Railway Credit Union received the award for donating the highest percentage over goal to the credit union political and legislative action committees.

Landscape work brings awards

McKenzie Lawler of Dakota OutdoorScapes, Bismarck, received the commercial division top award in the North Dakota Nursery and Greenhouse Associations landscape awards program.

Cody Wilhelm of Dakota Impressions in Bismarck received an award of merit in the residential-backyard division.

Kevin Hollatz and Plant Perfect of Bismarck received an award of merit in the display contest sponsored by the association.

Midco achieves in technology use

Midco was among 175 companies worldwide that received a Special Achievement in GIS award at the 2016 Esri User Conference in San Diego. The award recognizes outstanding work with geographic information system technology.

Midco has used the technology to create interactive maps of its fiber-optic network and coaxial cable networks.

Tax, accounting practice shifted

Neil Person, formerly with Person and Bush, has transitioned his tax and accounting practice to Tschider & Smith in Bismarck

At Tschider & Smith, Person will perform financial and income tax consulting services.

Tschider & Smith, a full-service law firm and accounting firm, was founded more than 30 years ago. Person is a certified public accountant licensed in North Dakota and has done financial and income tax consulting since 1969.

Dutch Mill repeats with Teleflora

Dutch Mill Florist has been recognized as a top 500 florist in the Teleflora organization for the third consecutive year.

Dutch Mill Florist is owned by Jane Grabs and Marilee Toman.
PHOENIX  Three Mexican gray wolves have been found dead in Arizona and New Mexico and wildlife managers say they're investigating.

The latest monthly report on the status of the endangered predators shows a male wolf belonging to the Marble Pack was found dead in New Mexico. In Arizona, a female from the Hoodoo Pack and a single male were also found dead in June.

The Arizona Game and Fish Department didn't release any further details about the deaths in the report released Friday. The agency partners with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on the wolf reintroduction program.

Illegal shootings, politics and legal battles have hampered the program over the years. Environmentalists want more captive wolves released, but ranchers and some local leaders are concerned about livestock losses and public safety.
The creation of a spaceport south of Tucson International Airport has won broad political and business support as a potential driver of local economic development.

But a recent meeting of the Tucson Airport Authority board raised some questions and concerns from airport stakeholders  including initial opposition from one of the airports biggest airline carriers.

Pima County is developing the spaceport site, about a mile and a half southwest of Tucson International Airports main runway, and is already constructing a building for World View to lease for balloon manufacturing and payload preparation. The county owns the property and building and will lease it to World View, which will also manage the launch pad under contract to the county.

World View is in a pre-application process with the Federal Aviation Administration for licenses to operate a launch site and commercial manned vehicles.

At a Tucson Airport Authority board study session Wednesday, World View principals Jayne Poynter and Taber MacCallum explained the companys plans for Spaceport Tucson and asked the TAA board for a resolution of support.

World View set several records for a high-altitude human jump when it flew Google executive Alan Eustace to the stratosphere and back in 2014.

The company intends to eventually offer human flights as part of the experience market, but it already is running a commercial business launching stratollites  small vehicles that can loiter over the Earths atmosphere for days or months at a fraction of the cost of an orbiting space satellite.

The company already has launched more than 50 stratollites for commercial customers from sites such as small regional airports.

Were already flying these unmanned systems commercially for various companies and government agencies, Poynter said, citing customers including NASA, Northrop Grumman and Boeing.

As World Views plans move forward, the company expects to eventually employ 400 workers, and perhaps more, Poynter said.

If approved, Spaceport Tucson would be the closest to a commercial airport than any of the 10 current FAA-approved space launch sites, with the launch pad about 8,500 feet or 1 miles from the south end of TIAs main runway.

MacCallum said the spaceport location is ideal because it will be in clear view of TIAs new air-traffic control tower, under construction west of the runway and expected to open in 2017.

Its really the safest way to do these sites, he said.

A lot of our unmanned flights are now done at regional airports where we dont have the same level of separation services and situational awareness with air-traffic control.

But that proximity also raised some concerns over how spaceport flights would affect other air operations, which besides commercial air service and general aviation includes daily flights by F-16 fighter jets from the Arizona Air National Guard 162nd Wing at TIA.

MacCallum said World View operations would be merged into TIAs traffic flow much like any general-aviation flight, typically departing between about 4 a.m. and 7:30 a.m., launching vertically and leaving the airports controlled airspace after about four minutes.

World Views balloon craft are remotely piloted, adjusting ballast as needed to reach winds that track in a desired direction, before being guided to landing in a predesignated, typically remote area.

Well be woven in just like any other general-aviation flight, MacCallum said.

I dont see us being any more of an interruption to the flow than other flights  its a very controlled process, when we release into the flow.

MacCallum said the company will continue to launch from various sites, perhaps averaging one per week from Spaceport Tucson once operations begin here.

But some participants in the nearly two-hour TAA study session were leery.

An official of Southwest Airlines said the airline  TIAs biggest passenger carrier until the recent merger of American and US Airways  is opposed to the spaceport.

This may be a great opportunity, but putting it next to a commercial airport is a terrible idea, said Perry Clausen, manager of air-traffic systems for Southwest Airlines flight operations.

It erodes safety and erodes the commercial attractiveness of the Tucson airport.

Joe Hughes, regional director of government affairs for American Airlines, said most participants share the same goals in assuring safe operations, but the airlines input is important.

I think were all on the same page, we just need to sit at the same table, Hughes said.

Stacy Howard, regional representative for the National Business Aviation Association, said her organization is especially concerned about the retrieval of the used balloons.

The launch process doesnt sound duly restrictive, Howard said. Were more concerned with the retrieval process, and the large gas balloons descending back to Earth and how that might affect traffic.

Poynter noted that similar balloons have been flown for years without incident. MacCallum said both the balloons and the vehicles they propel are equipped with the latest transponders and are tracked until they are recovered, typically in a remote area.

The board asked World View to gather more input from airlines and other stakeholders and return for a vote on a supportive resolution on Aug. 3.

TAA President and CEO Bonnie Allin said the airport will be part of the FAA licensing process, which will include airlines as key stakeholders in a process requiring detailed safety and environmental studies under federal law.

Our concern is to get everyone who has a stake in safe operation of this airport at the table and be part of the process and have their voices be heard, Allin said.

MacCallum said he recently heard of meetings at the FAA in Washington where Tucson has been portrayed as unsupportive of the spaceport.

The project is the target of a pending lawsuit filed by the Goldwater Institute against Pima County, challenging the use of taxpayer money to finance development of the World View property.

The appearance is the board is against the spaceport, and thats damaging to us and damaging to the community, MacCallum said.

TAA board member Bill Assenmacher said that makes it all the more important to settle any issues and get all airport stakeholders behind the spaceport.
Nathan becomes VP at community foundation

Sandra Y. Nathan has joined the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona as vice president of community investment.

Nathan has more than two decades of philanthropic, nonprofit and government leadership experience.

She most recently was executive director for the Aids and Breast Cancer Emergency Fund in San Francisco, and has served as vice president of grants and loans at the Marin Community Foundation, senior vice president of Economic Security Social Impact Group at the National Council on Aging, president/CEO of the Richmond Community Foundation and deputy county executive of Santa Clara County.

She holds a masters degree in public administration from National University in San Diego, and a bachelors degree from the University of San Diego.

She is a member of the Council on Foundations, and sits on a number of boards including Grantmakers in Aging.

Geico names Wheeler assistant VP of claims

Geico has named Shane Wheeler assistant vice president of claims at its regional office in Tucson. Wheeler will oversee Geicos claims operations in Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah, Oregon and Washington.

He joined the company in 1999 as a management intern in San Diego, went on to work in liability claims, and was promoted to a liability claims manager at the Tucson regional office in 2007.

He most recently served as a liability director at Geicos regional office in Dallas.

He holds an MBA from the University of Arizona and Chartered Casualty Property Underwriter and Senior Claims Law Associate designations.

Housing-development corp. promotes three executives

PMHDC / PPEP Microbusiness & Housing Development Corp. has promoted three executives:

Jay Diallo has been named executive director of PMHDC, after two years as a loan-review committee member there. He previously worked for Bank of Tucson, beginning as a teller and moving up to an assistant vice president for commercial lending.

Diallo holds a bachelors degree in political science, with a minor in economics, from Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California, and a masters degree in banking and leadership from Pacific Coast Banking School in Seattle.

He is current president of the Rotary Club of Tucson Sunrise and board chairman of the PPEP Inc. Foundation, and is the founder and CEO of the nonprofit Global Childrens Fund.

Roxana Gonzalez has been named executive director of PPEP Integrated Care. She has worked with PPEP for 14 years as a behavioral health clinical director and clinician.

Gonzalez previously was a supervisor with Southeastern Arizona Behavioral Health Services, managing outpatient clinics, and she also held behavioral health management posts at Native Images and with the Pascua Yaqui tribe.

She is a state-licensed substance abuse counselor who holds a masters from the University of Arizona in special education and rehabilitation counseling, and a UA bachelors degree in psychology. She received a Certificate of Achievement from the UA Hispanic Association and was a four-year recipient of the Gebbler Memorial Scholarship.

Jacob Herrington is now executive director of property, insurance and housing for PPEP. He was named the Administrative PPEP Employee of the Year in 2012.

Herrington began his career in the multifamily property management industry in Tucson, working for 25 years in on-site management.

In 2008, he was one of two finalists for Manager of the Year awarded by the Arizona Multihousing Association.
Gentlemen, get ready to start your engines  and ladies, too.

Autobahn Indoor Speedway opened Friday to much anticipation from riders eager to strap into one of more than 50 European electric karts for racing enthusiasts.

The East Coast companys first foray into the southwestern market is Tucson, and final occupancy permits were secured last week, said Joel Lipp, general manager of the 63,000-square-foot site downtown, at 300 S. Toole Ave.

The market was ready, Lipp said. It was an opportunity to go west to a community with a college population.

Autobahn has eight locations across the country, and its primary demographic has been men ages 18 to 40, Lipp said.

Last week, its Tucson staff was continuing to train and zipped around the two tracks in karts that can go up to 50 miles per hour.

There are 44 adult karts, and 11 kids carts that go up to 35 miles per hour. Children must be at least 8 years old to drive.

The races are 14 laps, and an overhead monitor shows the time of each kart. The races are designed to register fastest time, instead of racing others, Lipp said.

Staff will closely monitor drivers and have the ability to shut down a vehicles motor if a driver is acting erratically or aggressively.

Autobahn hired 40 employees.

Customers will sign in at an iPad bank and will be required to watch a safety video and listen to a briefing from employees before getting into a kart.

A $6 annual membership covers the cost of helmets and head socks but doesnt cover racing. A single arrive and drive ticket is $20 per race, and bulk purchases with discounts will be available.

The track will be open seven days a week, all year long except Thanksgiving Day. It will also be closed on days when there is a special event that requires use of the entire facility.

Along with lunchtime and midweek specials, there will be a ladies night on Fridays, Lipp said.

Closed-toe shoes are required, but Crocs are available for customers who need to change footwear.

Aside from the racing itself, Autobahn sites host corporate events and private parties.

One large meeting room and a smaller room with a window view of the track can host team building events for companies or birthday parties for the kids, said Sean Superville, Autobahns event sales manager here.

Theres nothing like this in Tucson, he said. Im sure every weekend were going to be packed.

There is a snack bar on site, but no alcohol will be served. Customers who show up intoxicated will be denied driving privileges, Lipp said.

Autobahn opens only one facility per city and is considering sites in New Mexico for another location, Superville said.
A kerfuffle erupted last week between Benson city leaders and the state parks department over how a massive development proposed in the tiny Cochise County town could affect one of the countys biggest tourist draws, Kartchner Caverns State Park.

Following a furious letter from Bensons city manager to Gov. Doug Ducey  who appoints the director of the Arizona State Parks  a parks official initially backed away from the agencys demands for assurance that the Villages at Vigneto wont harm the caverns fragile ecosystem.

Jim Keegan, deputy director of Arizona State Parks, said in an interview Thursday that the city has already addressed the agencys concerns  including Kartchners water levels, water quality and traffic patterns  aired last week at a public hearing.

The vast majority of it has all been cleared up, he said.

But Arizona State Parks director Sue Black said Friday that the parks department is still negotiating with developer El Dorado Holdings and Benson city leaders over protections for the caverns.

Its a work in progress right now, she said. Im just pleased theres collaboration and cooperation.

The proposed master planned community could bring 28,000 homes and 70,000 people to Benson. Opponents worry the projects groundwater pumping could harm precarious ecosystems in and around the federally protected San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area.

Environmentalists say too much is still unknown about Vignetos potential impact on Kartchner for all water concerns to have been addressed.

Geologist Norm Mick Meader has studied the caverns alongside Kartchner park scientist Bob Casavant. He said the statement given at the Benson meeting doesnt really do justice to (Casavants) scientific acumen. The statement, prepared by other park officials, was alarmist in its suggestion that the park might shut down, undermining Casavants valid concerns about the caverns vulnerability, Meader said.

NEW REPORT

Meader, co-president of the Cascabel Conservation Association, which is involved in a lawsuit related to Vigneto, recently released a report on the relationship between Kartchner Caverns and the development.

While Vigneto pumping would not directly affect the caverns by draining water from them  it could indirectly do so by affecting the water table beneath them, the report said.

But without further research, its impossible to know how Vigneto would affect the caves, Meader said.

Benson City Manager Bill Stephens said the city has committed to connecting Kartchner Caverns State Park with city water lines that would be extended to the Vigneto development, so the park wouldnt have to draw from the same aquifer that feeds the caverns.

That would make the park system more resilient and better able to withstand possible water losses from Vigneto, Meader said.

That addresses one of the central concerns that we can do something about, he said. The biggest threats to Kartchners water supply are the effects of climate change, such as the ongoing drought, and groundwater pumping from the park itself, he said.

STIPULATIONS

FOR SUPPORT

The dust-up started July 5, when three parks officials voiced concerns about Kartchners future during a Benson zoning commission public hearing on the Vigneto project. The commission ultimately recommended that the City Council vote to approve the project, which could happen on July 18.

Park officials listed six stipulations they said should be added to the final master plan for Vigneto before the parks department would support the project, including assurance that Vignetos groundwater pumping wouldnt affect water levels and water quality at the caverns.

Some Benson officials were outraged by the public way in which the parks department presented its concerns.

They blindsided us, City Councilman Jeff Cook said. Im in agreement with everything theyre saying. I just dont think it falls firmly in our jurisdiction.

Water issues are regulated by the state departments of environmental quality and water resources, he said.

On Wednesday, Benson City Manger Stephens wrote in a letter to Gov. Ducey that the park officials presentation was an ambush. Presenters ignored intergovernmental courtesy and embarrassed the city by failing to discuss their concerns with city leaders before the public meeting, he wrote.

By Thursday, tensions had cooled. Stephens told the Star that Benson leaders met with park officials to fill them in on how some of the parks concerns had already been addressed, such as traffic concerns that the city worked out with the department of transportation.

Stephens said he plans to send another letter to Ducey saying the parties are now on good terms.

UNKNOWN IMPACT

Vigneto supporters tout the projects expected economic benefits, which developer El Dorado Holdings says could spur unprecedented economic activity in Benson. El Dorado spokesman Mike Reinbold would not comment on the concerns about Kartchner.

Kartchner Caverns is one of the few living caves that is accessible to the public. It contains still-growing formations  created by water seepage leaving behind mineral deposits  that reach up from the caverns floors and down from the ceiling.

The caverns are also an economic engine for Cochise County, said Kartchner scientist Casavant. A 2015 economic impact report found that visitors to Kartchner brought nearly $10 million to Cochise County in fiscal year 2014.

The sprawling limestone caverns  a maternity roost for throngs of bats every summer  are about six miles upstream from the planned Vigneto development and the two are separated by a ridge.

But surface topography does not reflect whats going on underground, Casavant said. The parks internal research indicates the fractured, water-holding bedrock surrounding the caverns is connected to other underground limestone caverns throughout the area.

Our models show were linked more than people think, even to areas downstream, he said.

Kartchners latest research hasnt been included in any scientific evaluations of the potential impacts of Vigneto, Casavant said.

A recent study commissioned by the Center for Biological Diversity  which opposes the development  didnt incorporate Kartchners models. The study concluded Vigneto could harm the St. David Cienega, but was unlikely to affect Kartchner because its water system appears isolated.

The study was spot-on in many aspects, but youll notice in that report it excludes Kartchner, because the literature out there is outdated, Casavant said.

A U.S. Geological Survey study that would have explored how groundwater pumping affects the San Pedro River was defunded in 2010. It could take $1 million to finish the study.
This time of year, the sound of cicadas does it for me.

That droning buzz reminds me of where I am, the reality of a Tucson neighborhood in the baking summer.

Its a good place to be.

Its the reality outside the internet, outside the cable-news channels, a place where normal people are living, generally within the loose bounds of our society. Theyre not shooting anybody. Theyre not getting shot.

Its where spadefoot toads squawk on wet nights, where kids ride bikes, where friends say hello and strangers driving by at least dont flip you off.

Strange that this normal world feels so unusual these days. It is our reality, right around us, but its one that, for me at least, as someone engrossed in the news, is almost intangible at times. It feels unreal even though its my immediate reality.

Of course thats because the world around us has drawn so close thanks to social media and the news media. Its the reality of videotaped shootings by police and of police, and a political reality where those who incite get all the attention and those with insight are ignored.

We share the blame  the industry I work in, the news media. Although in newspapers we tend to be a little more staid, we still focus on whats unusual. That makes sense: Ancient journalistic wisdom says that its not news when a dog bites a man, but when a man bites a dog, its a story: Man bites dog.

The wisdom ceases making sense when you become so saturated with extreme and agitating content from the news and social media that the whole world seems filled with men biting dogs: Police recklessly shooting citizens, citizens ambushing police, provocative protesters, violent counter-protesters.

Man-bites-dog makes sense until a newspaper shamefully declares on its front page that we are in a Civil War, as the New York Post did Friday after the Dallas shootings. Thats a man-bite-dog story so wild and irresponsible that its simply, obviously not true.

We are not in a civil war. We are not in a race war. We are not even in a war on black men or a war on police. We are in a volatile, tense period, grappling with some of our oldest problems in a new communications environment that not even the news media mediates.

This isnt to whitewash our problems. The killings by police in Minnesota and Louisiana last week were deeply disturbing. The killing by Tucson police of a man Friday night raises issues of police violence again, though not involving possible racism.

On Friday evening, a Tucson officer killed a mentally disturbed man wielding a knife and a shard of broken mirror. No doubt the killing will be considered justified under police standards, but it is discouraging that even officers trained in responding to mentally ill people sometimes end up killing them. That outcome is still too common.

It can be a tough city and a tough country, but now, dealing with these deep-rooted problems, our news is unnecessarily dominated by inciters, dividers and extremists, instead of the wise and cool-headed people who know how to seek redress without retribution.

On Friday, a Phoenix civil-rights charlatan, the Rev. Jarrett Maupin, announced he planned to lead a protest against police brutality, but the mayor and others asked that he hold off.

Their request made some sense: Not only were five officers killed in Dallas, among the 12 shot at that protest on Thursday, but three other officers have been ambushed in separate incidents across the country since then. Its an unsafe time for them, and the volatility now makes it less safe for protesters, too.

An example: In Portland on Thursday, before the mayhem in Dallas, a gun-rights activist known for his anti-liberal rants online showed up at a protest against police violence  a white man confronting mostly black protesters. As marchers came toward him, he drew a gun and swept it across the crowd. After his arrest, he said hed felt threatened, but of course he showed up just to incite such a situation: He had an extended magazine in the Glock and was carrying many more.

Maupin, who was convicted in 2009 of falsely reporting to police that Mayor Phil Gordon was a child molester, went ahead with the protest Friday night. Not only that, he tried to lead a blockade of Interstate 10. Thankfully, the police repelled the effort with pepper spray and tear gas.

In a time of dangerous volatility, someone needs to stand up to incitement, even if the anger is justified.

Of course, the chief inciter, who bears great responsibility for this years explosive political environment, is Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

With his appeals to hatred and grievance, he has helped split the country in a way I didnt think was possible. So many people are drawn to his agitation against Mexicans and Muslims that I wonder at times whether there are enough Americans left willing to uphold even our societys loose norms: basic respect and decency.

When youre in the internet world, or the cable-news world, or at a Trump rally, youll feel thats all gone. In fact, you may stoop to disrespect or even hatred yourself. I know I have at times.

But if you remove yourself from that unhealthy fray, listen to the cicadas, and deal with people around you, youll find respect and decency are still alive. And if youve lost those qualities, you may find them again. Lets put them to work.
Tucson police have identified the 30-year-old man shot and killed by an officer during a mental-health call on Friday.

Abraham Smith was armed with a piece of broken glass from a mirror in one hand and a 10 to 12-inch kitchen knife in the other, when he was shot by a Tucson Police officer, said Sgt. Kimberly Bay, a department spokesman.

Members of a countywide Mobile Acute Crisis team that deal with mental illness situations went to Smith's mobile home, located in the area of West Grant Road and North Stone Avenue. The team was there to serve Smith a court-ordered emergency mental health petition, Bay said.

The crisis team requested the assistance of the police department's Mental Health Support Team, which is made up of officers who are trained to intervene in crisis situations regarding mentally-ill individuals, Bay said.

When officers arrived, they were advised that Smith was mute and communicated through writing and gestures. The officers attempted to make contact with Smith from outside of the trailer for 10 to 15 minutes, Bay said.

Three officers entered the mobile home, when they encountered Smith coming out of a back bedroom, with what appeared to be two knives in his hands.

Two officers were able to back out of the trailer and out of Smith's way, but officer Ryder Schrage was backed into a fence, and unable to escape as Smith continued to advance, Bay said.

Schrage ordered Smith to stop, and fired his duty weapon.

The officers rendered first aid to Smith until Tucson Fire Department paramedics arrived. He was pronounced dead at the scene, Bay said.
The Arizona Department of Child Safety spent far more in the last fiscal year on services for children in out-of-home care than it did working to keep families intact, a new report shows.

The child welfare agency used $251,000 on in-home prevention services for its backlogged cases in the last 12 months, preliminary estimates show, and more than $11 million for out-of-home placements and related support services. These figures, from a Joint Legislative Budget Committee report, focus on inactive cases.

During the last year, DCS has reduced its backlog from 14,500 to just 8,200 cases by closing many of them. The department removed children from their homes in nearly 1,700 cases while providing in-home services in less than 200.

At the same time, the DCS semi-annual report released June 30 shows that Arizona had the most adoptions ever recorded in the state, at more than 1,700, from October 2015 through March 2016. That was an increase of nearly 10 percent from the previous, six-month reporting period, when there were nearly 1,600.

The report shows the number of children with a case plan for adoption has increased dramatically in four years  its more than 4,200 now, compared to 2,700 in April 2012.

The adoption rate might not be as high if more in-home services were provided to families, said Beth Rosenberg, director of child welfare and juvenile-justice policy with Arizonas Childrens Action Alliance.

Thats not good for the state and its certainly not good for kids and their families, she said. The state has tried to allocate dollars to DCS for in-home services, but DCS has used it for foster care and to cover their costs.

With more than 19,000 children living away from their homes  out of about 21,000 with an open DCS case due to possible abuse or neglect  Arizona ranks second nationwide for removing children.

Finding a permanent home for a child through adoption is often a reason to celebrate, said Eric Schindler, president of Child and Family Resources. But he said the focus should be on how to keep children out of foster care in the first place.

Spending more on prevention services is key, he said.

HIGH RATE OF REMOVALS FOR NEGLECT across US

Arizona is not the only state that removes more children in cases of neglect.

Casey Family Programs reports that $4.1 billion is spent nationally on foster care, while $555 million is spent on prevention and permanency. Nationally, 83 percent of the child-welfare cases are neglect.

The proposed Family First Prevention Services Act aims to encourage state reform when it comes to this trend. The bipartisan bill, which passed the House of Representatives earlier this month but has not gone before the Senate, would encourage states to focus more on keeping families together while providing in-home support to parents.

The bill makes several recommendations:

It lets states spend federal foster-care dollars on evidence-based prevention services such as parent training and individual or family therapy.

It ensures that more foster children are placed with families by ending federal reimbursements when states inappropriately place children in non-family settings.

It aims to keep children safe by reauthorizing the Regional Partnership Grant program to fund services aimed at preventing child abuse and neglect due to parental substance abuse.

We are completely on board with that concept, said Doug Nick, a DCS spokesman.

We want to try to keep families together and try to stabilize the families to prevent these children from being removed in the first place.

Then why so much funding for out-of-home services?

With so many children in out-of-home care, Nick said, it is essential to focus on their needs. Also, the agencys data system makes it difficult to distinguish whether certain services are provided in out-of-home cases or in-home prevention.

Its not a bright line, he said. Theres a lot of co- mingling.

Eventually, he said, DCS hopes to expand a program called Building Resilient Families, used in Maricopa County, throughout the state.

HARD TO KNOW WHAT services are NEEDED

The Childrens Action Alliance has called for more research on the states neglect cases, Rosenberg said, so more can be done to help families stay together.

Over 71 percent of calls statewide in the last reporting period were for neglect, but Rosenberg said theres often little more to go on than that. In Pima County, there were 3,300 neglect reports compared to 1,000 reports on physical abuse.

Not knowing whats happening most  poverty, mental illnesses, substance abuse or some combination  makes it hard to know what your preventative services should be and provide whats needed, she said.

Other findings in the semi-annual report:

DCS increased the number of children safely reunified with their families, with 3,000 during this reporting period, compared to more than 2,600 the previous period.

Foster homes statewide increased from 775 the last reporting period to 880 now.

Nearly 1,000 children were in a shelter for more than 21 days, the highest number since April 2012.
2016 Border Project: Arizona

Glenn Spencer built this wall about five years ago after someone pulled an American flag off of a pole he had put up near his property. Over the years people have sent him small flags to post on his walls  they spell out, "Secure the Border First" and, "America."
Because he had once hurled himself out the door of a C-47 over the Netherlands, my old platoon sergeant in the 82nd Airborne had personally experienced how a complicated, overly optimistic and poorly thought-out multinational effort can turn into a debacle.

Moreover, because he had made four other combat jumps, in addition to this one in September 1944, to capture strategic bridges on the Dutch-German border, he understood that when complex undertakings go awry, even temporarily, confusion and panic can quickly set in. Once-respected leaders can collapse into incompetence and even cravenness.

In other words, Sgt. Edwards would have understood the current plight of the United Kingdom, and the rest of the European Union, as the two embark on an unprecedented political and economic dissolution following the Brexit referendum in Britain last month.

There are ironies in the analogy.

Nijmegen, in Holland, where the 82nd Airborne jumped as U.S., British and Polish troops struggled against Germans, is only 115 miles northeast of Brussels, seat of EU governance, and only 90 miles straight north of Maastrict, another river town, where the treaty to push for a common European currency was signed 24 years ago.

British Gen. Frederick Browning coined the phrase a bridge too far to describe, in rueful acknowledgement, how the goals in the battles to secure the bridges were a bit too ambitious. The phrase now aptly captures the fundamental error of EU planners.

Like the Allied attack, the EU is a good idea that might have succeeded if the goals had been kept more limited. Now its future is cloudy.

To understand this, review some history. The attack my sergeant participated in failed but Germany still surrendered eight months later. Much of Europe was physically devastated and the USSR increasingly posed a threat.

In 1951, leaders of six former enemy countries reached an agreement to free coal, iron ore and steel shipments from usual trade barriers so that the industries could be more efficient in meeting the needs of cold and homeless populations.

The European Coal and Steel Community became the primary precursor to what is now the EU.

But there was a political subtext that was more important than the stated purpose  to so tie old enemies together economically that they would never again go to war and that Europe would never again suffer the death and destruction of the preceding 40 years.

The initial six countries grew to 10 and eventually 12. Free trade in coal and steel became a general free trade area, with no tariffs on trade between members and common tariffs and quotas applied to imports from the rest of the world. The terms European Economic Community and Common Market entered global vocabularies.

There always are knotty questions: Can France keep out sparkling wines labeled champagne that flout its own exacting criteria? Can other countries bar French cheeses made from unprocessed milk? Is it fair to trade without restrictions if one country requires its employers to provide much higher fringe benefits than another? Whose laws apply if a Dutch insurance company wants to sell life policies to Italian households? If France subsidizes its farmers can it keep out cheaper food from another member country?

Resolving such questions prompted rules and a growing bureaucracy, but economic integration was generally popular as the market grew.

There also were politics in new admissions.

French president Charles DeGaulles nationalism kept the United Kingdom out until 1973. Spain, Portugal and Greece all were admitted, at least in part, as a reward for their turn to democratic government  but without regard for long-term economic viability.

Were seeing the problems of that playing out now as well.

In the 1980s, what had become the European Union seemed to be on a roll. If it had progressed from basic commodities to all merchandise to some services, why not make it apply to all services, including retail financial ones? If British tourists could also get dental work done cheaply while vacationing in the south of Portugal, why not let Portuguese dentists set up practice in London or Leeds? Why not simply let all factors of production, including labor, flow freely between member nations?

That led to an immense effort to achieve such free flows by 1992. Doing so required many regulations to accommodate entrenched interests and differences in historical institutions. But it was largely a success.

This probably was where things should have stopped. But, as in waging war, short-term successes can breed hubris.

If free flows of resources are good, wouldnt things be even better with a common currency? It was no accident that the Maastricht Treaty calling for a common currency and monetary policy by 1999 was signed in 1992, the year the Union declared victory in economic integration.

This was not occurring in a vacuum, however.

Communism was collapsing, Germany reunified and Czechoslovakia broke apart  both peacefully; but Yugoslavia fissured and fell into bloody civil war. Allowing once-eastern bloc nations like Poland and the Czech Republic into the Union was a way to consolidate democracy and markets in these crucial neighbors. Admitting the Baltic States, former Soviet republics, demonstrated resolve to keep Russia from threatening their independence. Holding out eventual membership as a reward for not fighting was a tool in bringing peace to ex-Yugoslavia.

As is often the case, bad metaphors cast a spell. The EU was said to be like a bicycle, if you didnt keep moving forward you would fall over.

Move forward it did, with membership rising to its current 28 and with a subset of nations adopting the euro on Jan. 1, 1999. Wise observers saw the internal tensions developing, but as in financial booms and battlefield successes, naysayers find few hearers.

When my old sergeant and comrades pulled back from eastern Holland, the civilians left behind, as well as some on the liberated side, went into the first of two winters of near starvation. There is a cohort of Dutch, Danish, German and Polish people who were permanently stunted by the hunger they experienced as small children in 1944-46.

That generation was willing to pay a high price for European integration that maintained peace. But they are now approaching 80. And their children have other priorities, including lack of jobs and slow economic growth.

One referendum in the United Kingdom does not mean that the EU is at an end. But June 23, 2016, will go down in history as a watershed, not just for Britain, but for Europe as a whole.

The EU is a political and social experiment unprecedented in history. So we have no historical examples to go on when it encounters head winds or even runs on a reef. Pundits can speculate, but no one knows how British withdrawal from a complex institution built up over 60 years will affect either that country, the other 27 in the Union or the rest of the world.

This is uncertainty in its deepest sense.

Financial Times writer Martin Wolf, who I think is one of the best economics columnists in the world, says withdrawal is the most momentous mistake in UK history since the end of World War II. Whether or not he is right, I think the UK and Europe are in for a very rough patch indeed.

It will be impossible for the United States  or even Minnesota and North Dakota  to escape unaffected. But exactly what will happen is unknowable.
There are two drainage tunnels between Nogales in the Mexican state of Sonora and Nogales, Arizona.
2016 Border Project: California

Veronica Nepomuceno, 43, right, visits with her mother through the U.S.-Mexico border fence on Saturday May 07, 2016 in Friendship Circle at Border Field State Park in San Diego, California. Every weekend the U.S. Border Patrol allows people to walk up to a portion of the border fence to visit with friends and family members. Nepomuceno says she hasn't hugged her mother in over 20 years.
2016 Border Project: New Mexico

Blanca Flores, 65, is one of about 40 residents remaining in Las Chepas, Chihuahua. The place is practically a ghost town now that border crossing is down and crossers have moved to other areas along the border.
2016 Border Project: Texas

Jesse Reyes, walks through a massive vehicle gate in his Brownsville, Texas backyard, where the border fence runs directly. Nearby landowners each get a unique passcode to the gate, which allows access to their land on the other side of the fence.
U.S. Border Patrol horse unit

Even as he searches for weapons, identification and contraband, Shawn Rodgers, with the US Border Patrol Horse Patrol unit, keeps his horse nearby by having the reins looped through his belt while detaining several crossers outside Nogales, Ariz., on May 18, 2016. This allows him to use both hands and if the horse spooks he can still maintain balance and grab the reins, he said. A.E. Araiza / Arizona Daily Star
Even though special master Ken Feinberg, who was in charge of the first federal Sept. 11 Victim Compensation Fund, distributed $6 billion to the estates of those killed on 9/11  an average of more than $2 million to the nearly 3,000 victims  the House of Representatives passed its new Fairness for 9/11 Families Act to allow additional claims for the deaths inflicted by the terrorists and set aside $2.7 billion for them.
PHOENIX  A Maricopa County man has been arrested on suspicion of injecting underage girls with heroin in exchange for sexual favors, according to Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

Ernest Joseph Longhini III, 30, was arrested on suspicion of child abuse, 24 counts related to sexual conduct with a minor, administering a narcotic drug to a minor and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Heroin is a big problem in this country, Arpaio said in a statement. Controlling these underage runaway girls with drugs, as this suspect did, is not only criminal, it is terrifying for other parents of troubled teens.

The investigation began several weeks ago when the sheriffs office received a tip about a man trading methamphetamine and heroin for sexual favors, according to the sheriffs office.

Arpaio said detectives received information that a 16-year-old female runaway was staying in the community of Anthem with Longhini. He said detectives found evidence in the trash at the residence that drugs were being used, including hypodermic needles containing fluid that tested positive for heroin. Detectives said they also found several condom wrappers.

On Thursday, detectives witnessed the girl leaving the house through a bedroom window and stopped her. She said the suspect injected her numerous times and she believed he has done the same with her twin sister, Arpaio said in a statement.

When detectives tried to detain Longhini after speaking with the girl, he refused to exit the residence but later surrendered, according to the sheriffs office.

Detectives were told he was suicidal and possessed a gun, Arpaio said.
FLAGSTAFF  Just beyond town, a dirt road leads to a scattered group of tents and RVs.

Theres a bike tied to a tree near one tent belonging to Kevin Andrew, who is trying to get back on his feet after going through an alcohol-recovery program. Theres a table and chairs set up outside an RV owned by Cindy Samuelson, a former Forest Service employee staying here for the summer to be close to her aging father.

Farther down, theres a small grill outside the van of a man named Doug, a Vietnam War veteran who calls himself a gypsy and prefers the quiet of the forest to a hotel room in town.

These three, like many others, have made the forest outside Flagstaff a temporary home for anywhere from a few days to several weeks.

Rick Brust, with the nonprofit Catholic Charities PATH program, visits these temporary residents as part of a mission to help people with serious mental illness who are homeless. Brust talks with anyone he can find, trying to identify people who could qualify for the program while also providing plastic jugs of water, picking up trash and handing out supplies like tents, sleeping bags and bus passes.

The organization says it provides a much-needed helping hand to dozens of people experiencing homelessness, but it also enables them to stay in the forest longer, which goes against at least two Forest Service rules against camping for longer than 14 days within any one-month period and using the forest as residential property.

Its a situation that the Forest Service has been forced to confront with a balance of strict policy and practicality. Those living in the forest for extended periods of time create undue trash, human waste, and enforcement and wildfire problems, it says.

At the same time, people who make a temporary home in the forest say they keep a watchful eye over the area and help clean it up. And for their part, PATH employees provide a much-needed service of cleaning up campsites, keeping trash picked up, bringing water that can be used to help put out campfires and monitoring campers to mitigate environmental damage and medical emergencies.

PATH employees teach people how to stir campfires to effectively put them out, try to help them locate in areas away from dense vegetation and inform them about fire bans, Brust said.

We want to make sure they are being good stewards and following rules of forest, he said.

Theres no doubt that long-term campers, many coming up from the states desert communities for the summer, make a big impact on Northern Arizonas forests, said Jon Nelson, law enforcement officer with the Coconino National Forest.

The problems with long-term camping include sanitation and sewage issues from individuals going to the bathroom in the forest or dumping RV wastewater among the trees.

Wildfires caused by campfires become a bigger worry and interpersonal conflicts seem to spring up more frequently, said Michael Loughton, a Coconino law enforcement officer who patrols the area.

We get disturbing-the-peace calls from various camps and a variety of other issues and complaints from residents and forest users, he said.

In an effort to perhaps mitigate some problems, this spring Brust handed out papers for longer-term campers to put in their windows that stated their affiliation with Catholic Charities and their commitment to being respectful of other people and the forest.

What Brust emphasizes and tries to make clear to campers, however, is that PATH doesnt have the authority, nor does it have any formal arrangement with the Forest Service, to allow people to stay in the forest.

Its not a partnership in any way or form; I guess its more built on goodwill. Its totally up to forest rangers in these areas, they have all the power, he said.

If an officer finds someone who looks to be violating the 14-day limit or the residential restrictions, its up to the officer to determine whether a citation is appropriate, Nelson said.

Similarly, if a forest ranger tells someone to leave, they need to leave, Brust said. If that does happen, PATH tries to help people find another place to go, he said.

Loughton said his view is that while PATH may be doing temporary good, helping people stay longer than allowed in the forest is shortsighted.

We have talked to Catholic Charities on previous occasions saying you cant house people on the forest, then force law enforcement contacts because of their actions, Loughton said. I know its a difficult situation and there are not a whole lot of options, but its a temporary solution for something that is a much bigger social issue.

Brust emphasized that the forest is one of the only options for people who cant handle the dynamics of other shelters, families who want to stay together, people who have pets and vehicles that they want to keep with them.

Andrew, for example, who received a bike and a tent from the PATH program, said hes doing his best to stay away from the shelter in town.

Everybody is drunk there and fighting, he said. He said he has never had an issue with a forest ranger asking him to leave his campsite and recently helped one clean up a couple abandoned campsites.

Several others suggested the Forest Service consider a long-term camping option like whats available on BLM land in Southern Arizona and California. The sites have gray- and black-water dumping services, trash removal and restroom facilities, and for a $180 permit, people can stay at the site for as long as needed between September and April.

Brust would like to create a similar area locally that doesnt have limits on camping. The problem of homelessness is immediate, he said, and in a place like Flagstaff there are only so many options.
Woodie Guthrie wrote an inspiring song to assure us that this land was our land. The melody was great but his premise was wrong.

For four years, I chaired the North Dakota Indian Affairs Commission for Gov. George Sinner. It was a frustrating but important experience.

I met regularly with tribal leaders to discuss issues peculiar to the North Dakota reservations and their 35,000 enrolled members. Inevitably, the meetings became hand-wringing sessions because every problem we discussed required money and the state policy system was not particularly responsive to funding reservation needs.

We had palmed all responsibility off on the federal government. Indian treaties were federal deals  not ours. The Native American people were federal people  not ours.

Justice Samuel Freeman Miller, writing in Kagama v. United States, was right when he said that because of the local ill feeling, the people of the States  are often their (Native Americans) deadliest enemies.

While we struggle with the unresolved immigration issues of the day, little is said about the European immigration that marched across the continent, gobbling up land occupied by Native Americans. The treaties proved to be valid until gold was discovered or European immigrants wanted more land.

The land we stole became invaluable. We got some of the richest farmland in the world and quadrillions in gold, silver, oil and other precious minerals. If our treaties would have let the Native Americans keep the mineral rights, they would all be living on easy street.

But we didnt do that. While confiscating their land and minerals, we murdered Native Americans by the thousands. George Armstrong Custer is still regarded as something of a hero for his mission to punish the Indians.

General Custer should have expected no less at the Little Bighorn, considering that none of the treaties before 1876 were honored and Native Americans were being pushed into the Pacific Ocean.

Today, our killing of Native Americans would be labeled as genocide in the World Court. The German people have expressed more regret over the behavior of Adolf Hitler than we have over our treatment of Indians.

It is true that we cannot go back and correct the sins of previous generations. However, a historical perspective should give us some acceptance of our ongoing obligation for the consequential problems being suffered by the current generation of Native Americans.

We should appreciate that our comfortable homes are built on Indian land; our businesses prosper on Indian land; our oil royalties come from Indian mineral rights; our farms flourish on Indian land. All the while, Native Americans live on reservations.

North Dakota and America have prospered from Indian land far more than $300 a month in food stamps.

While it is true that the major responsibility for Native Americans falls on the federal government, it seems that we should be willing to do more as a state to supplement federal programming. After all, Native Americans are now our citizens, our voters, our people.

Then there are the 11 million illegal Mexican immigrants, living mostly in territory we confiscated in the treaty ending the war on Mexico. In that treaty, our Manifest Destiny was to steal half of Mexico.

Of course, we have to regain the integrity of our borders but we call these immigrants illegal when they are living in areas of the United States once owned by their ancestors.

In relation to both the Native Americans and the Mexican immigrants, we cant change the facts of history. Nevertheless, reflections on the sins of our past should at least temper our attitudes in the present. There should be some intergenerational justice.
SAN DIEGO  Once a canyon created over thousands of years, Smugglers Gulch is now a massive earthen berm with two border fences and a road on top  the result of landscape alterations that cost taxpayers millions of dollars.

The federal government lopped off the tops of two mesas in 2008 and filled what was a 230-foot chasm with enough dirt to pack 72,000 dump trucks.

Smugglers Gulch, two miles east of the Pacific Ocean at the southernmost tip of San Diego County, is an extreme example of the challenges involved in fencing the entire U.S.-Mexico border.

Federal officials wanted the gulch filled to enhance the security of the border and the safety of U.S. personnel. The department expedited the project through the Real ID Act, which Congress passed in 2005. The law allows the federal government to suspend all laws impeding the construction of border barriers in the name of national security.

In other words, when the federal government builds fences and other barriers along the border, it does not have to follow the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act, the National Environmental Policy Act or the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, among others.

Directives to build border barriers often come from politicians who are not familiar with the borders craggy canyons and meandering lines, nor with its natural heritage and ecology. The Border Patrol, which carries out the directives, struggles to prevent illegal activity on the border while working with public land managers trying to protect natural habitat.

The agency also has funded projects to mitigate damage caused by the fence in California and other border states.

In Arizona, Organ Pipe Cactus National is restoring 230 miles of roads. Also, San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge built a fish barrier to keep non-native species from entering the refuge and threatening native populations.

Many of the headline-generating environmental projects on the border have been in California, but the issues are similar all along the line. Fencing added in the last decade has been devastating to wildlife migration, to the natural flow of water after a storm, and to plant life along the border, environmental advocates say. There has been flooding, soil erosion and increased roadkill from night lighting and vehicle traffic, says the Sky Island Alliance, a Tucson-based conservation group.

Affected wildlife include ocelots and jaguars, migratory birds and bats, black bears, desert bighorn sheep, white-nose coati  all dependent on the ability to move back and forth across the borderlands.

Barriers can block passage for animals in search of food, water or mates, for migration, or in response to drought and fire, says Jessica A. Moreno, conservation, outreach and development manager for the Sky Island Alliance. This infrastructure also pushes human activity to the last remaining open areas  rugged and wild habitat and wilderness that are now seeing more human impacts from border activities such as a lighting, roads, trash and noise.

The Yaqui chub fish, for example, is endangered and has little habitat left. Why does that matter to humans? Because the chub eats mosquitoes that bring viruses into the United States.

We are all connected in one way or another, says Bill Radke, manager of the San Bernardino Wildlife Refuge. To not see that, to live with dire consequences of that, its not something that we should be headed for.

THE CALIFORNIA BORDER: SAN DIEGO, EL CENTRO AND YUMA SECTORS

 140.4 total border miles

 100.6 pedestrian miles

 15.1 vehicle barrier miles

 18 percent unfenced

 The San Ysidro Port of Entry between California and Tijuana, Mexico, is the busiest land border crossing in the Western Hemisphere and is undergoing an expansion. It typically handles 50,000 northbound vehicles and 25,000 northbound pedestrians per day.

 Of its 115.7 linear miles of Californias border with Mexico, 87 percent is pedestrian fencing that prevents people from crossing on foot.

 More hard drugs are seized at ports of entry overseen by the San Diego field office than any other along the Southwestern border.

 In one particularly rugged area of California called the Otay Mountain Wilderness Area, installing border fencing cost $16 million per mile.

INTERACTIVE MAP OF CALIFORNIA-MEXICO BORDER RED LINE = FENCED AREAS Drag to move along the border. Tap dots to learn more about key spots along the way.

No more car chases

Before Smugglers Gulch was filled in, the San Diego Audubon Society tried to stop the project with a lawsuit that predicted disastrous effects on the fragile Tijuana Estuary, the largest coastal wetland in Southern California.

Storm runoff from Mexico runs north through Smugglers Gulch and ends up in the estuary  and eventually in the Pacific Ocean.

The estuary is considered an essential breeding, feeding and nesting ground and key stopover point for more than 370 species of migratory and native birds, including six endangered species. But the lawsuit was tossed out of federal court because of the Real ID Act.

It was really spectacular with beautiful geology, says Jim Peugh, conservation manager for the San Diego Audubon Society. Everyone expected they would screw it up  and they did.

Border infrastructure is one more impact on the estuary, along with agriculture, the military and a huge population boom in Tijuana, now home to an estimated 2.5 million people.

Carol Kimzeys ranch is across the street from Smugglers Gulch. A decade ago, she told the Star she was skeptical about plans to fill the canyon. She worried that flooding at her home would get worse.

But her skepticism is, for the most part, gone. She no longer sees vehicles picking people up at night or people running through. She no longer hears car chases like the one that left a vehicle upside down in her front yard, the men inside jumping out and fleeing.

There used to be hordes of 28 to 30 people, it sounded like an earthquake, she says. Now, I cant remember the last time Ive seen one.

She gets wistful remembering her drives up to the top of the canyon, where shed park and take in a view that included both her ranch and Mexico.

I do miss that, she says.

Her neighbor, James Butch Martin Jr., liked the old Smugglers Gulch. The 54-year-old retiree says he never minded the border crossers who passed through. Most were just looking for work and many found it at nearby ranches, he says.

He worries that the earthen berm could become unstable with heavy rains.

When that thing blows, its going to take us all out, he says.

Water that once ran through the canyon is now redirected through a man-made culvert. That pushes runoff, including trash and sediment, faster and farther into the fragile Tijuana River Estuary, says University of California-San Diego professor Oscar Romo, who runs the binational nonprofit conservation group Alter Terra.

It took 2 to 4 million years for nature to create this basin, Romo says as he walks alongside the culvert. Now all of that is gone.

As the only remaining estuary in Southern California, the Tijuana Estuarys value is incalculable, he says.

We treasure it. However, we are trashing it with these pieces of infrastructure that are not helping, that are not well-designed, that are generating heavy impacts on the natural resources of this area.

Customs and Border Protection spent $58 million to fill in Smugglers Gulch, plus build 3.5 miles of secondary fencing, roads and lighting in the San Diego Sector. The sector includes 60 miles of border and more than three quarters of it  46 miles  has some type of fencing.

A decade ago, 60 percent of the sector was fenced. Border Patrol officials believed at the time that certain parts of the sector, like the Otay Mountain Wilderness, did not need a fence because of their harsh terrain.

Theres no reason to disrupt the land when the land itself is a physical barrier, Richard Kite, then spokesman for the Border Patrols San Diego Sector, told the Star in 2006.

But three years later, the Department of Homeland Security completed a barrier in the Otay Mountain Wilderness Area  3.6 miles of primary fencing and more than five miles of access road.

The rugged terrain required grading and leveling a federally designated wilderness area. That meant cutting down Tecate cypress trees and scraping off deep root systems of ground cover that held topsoil and moisture in place, says Jill Holslin, a Tijuana resident who maintains a blog about the borderlands called At the Edges.

The problem out there now is dryness and the absence of native plants, Holslin says. When it rains, theres nothing to hold the soil in place. Theres also been an invasion of a parasitic plant that is taking advantage of conditions there, sapping whatever moisture there is in the soil.

The best move to prevent more damage is to overturn Section 102 of Real ID Act, Holslin says.

It has been three years since the government has used the act to grant waivers of federal laws in the name of border security, but it still has the power to do so, says Dinah Bear, former chief lawyer for the Council on Environmental Quality under four different U.S. presidents and now a Tucson resident. Lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of Real IDs waivers so far have failed.

Theyve taken away the mechanism for the public to fight back, Holslin says. Area conservation groups like the Audubon Society and Wildcoast are the ones that understand the topography, she says. You have to have their professional input in these processes and youve literally taken their voice away.

But the voice of people who live on the border and the safety of those who protect it should count, too, says Dan Russell, 73, a retired firefighter from San Diego.

The border is wide open, its not secure, Russell says during one of his regular visits to the border community of Campo, California. The Trump wall is a good example of a secure border. What we have now isnt stopping people. Seven years ago they crawled underneath it, they jumped Border Patrol Agent Robert Rosas and shot him in the neck and killed him. Just four miles east of here.

Multilayer deterrent

As he drives along a road between the double fencing in the U.S. Border Patrols San Diego Sector, agent James Nielsen points to grates in the fence that let water through. Its a complicated setup, letting water drain without creating tunnels smugglers can use.

Illegal tunnels have been found here, he says, motioning toward a building on the Mexican side where the floor was removed and turned into an elevator to a sophisticated cross-border tunnel that included a rail system and lights.

The sector has almost 2,400 agents, up 42 percent from a decade ago. Apprehensions of people trying to slip across the border have dropped during that same time, by nearly 80 percent. Eight months into this fiscal year, there have been nearly 21,000 such apprehensions. Ten years ago the number topped 100,000 per year.

At the same time, seizures of harder drugs like cocaine and heroin have gone up, creating concerns about more sinister criminal activity.

Some San Diego and Imperial Beach residents refer to the border barrier near them as a triple fence because of chain link property fencing in some areas in front of the double line of fencing. Having those extra fences gives the Border Patrol more time, Nielsen says. He says the more deterrents and obstacles at the border, the less likely someone will make it across.

When they built the fence, they said that one of the environmental benefits was that the Border Patrol would no longer need the spider web of roads they used to look for border crossers, says Peugh of the San Diego Audubon Society.

They said they would get rid of them and restore the damaged habitat. I looked at an aerial photo of the river valley and estuary recently. I do not have a pre-triple-fence photo to compare, but there is still a spider web of roads.

One of the agencies working to mitigate damage to habitat in the area is the state of California, which operates the Tijuana River National Estuary and Research Park. The state works with the Border Patrol to minimize roads and disruption of the natural ecosystem, says Chris Peregrin, an environmental scientist who is manager of the park.

The states mission is to restore the natural functions of the area. Yet, in an example of how their missions differ, the Border Patrol doesnt want plants near the border growing too high because people can hide in them.

Wildlife blocked

Environmental advocates point to numerous spots along the border where fencing has gone up without regard to existing laws. The San Pedro River and the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area in Arizona, just west of Naco, is a biologically diverse area and home to one of the last free-flowing rivers in the Southwest.

Its a beautiful riparian area thats the lifeblood of the desert, U.S. Border Patrol sector spokesman John Lawson says.

The river, which flows south to north across the border, is less than a mile wide. Vehicle barriers across it let large wildlife and water flow freely, although the river is dry part of the year.

As he walks in the riverbed along the border, Lawson points out the paw prints of a black bear that indicate the animal has come north from Mexico. Moments later, a deer crosses the Normandy-style criss-crossed posts of the vehicle barrier and is later seen further north where the San Pedro is flowing.

Barriers like these are the only place where large wildlife can regularly pass along a 47-mile stretch of border running east from the Huachuca Mountains. The rest of that stretch of border has pedestrian fencing thats impenetrable to large wildlife, though some areas have gates the Border Patrol opens during monsoon season.

Just east of the river is a compound that belongs to Glenn Spencer, president and founder of the nongovernment American Border Patrol. Spencer is a retired systems engineer whose group has developed technology, including sensors in the ground, to detect illegal activity.

Before the U.S. Department of Homeland Security put up 18-foot fencing behind his home, Spencer says it was like the Wild West. There was so much illegal activity, including cars driven across his property by drug smugglers, that he was afraid to walk his dogs.

Now its like a gated community, he says.

Spencer dismisses environmental arguments against the high fence behind his home.

Rabbits run through it all the time. The fence design allows certain critters to get through, he says. Javelina and deer are limited to the riparian area around the river, but look at Google Earth. They have plenty of habitat in Mexico.

The Sierra Club and others tried to stop six miles of 18-foot-high bollard-style pedestrian fencing from going up in the San Pedro area, but they failed because of the Real ID Act.

Since then, wildlife such as mule deer and javelina have been unable to access habitat in Mexico, says Dan Millis, borderlands coordinator for the Sierra Clubs Grand Canyon chapter in Tucson. Millis refers to the fencing as a wall, since wildlife cannot pass through.

Every day wildlife is coming up to the wall and turning around. I saw a doe and two fawns at San Pedro. They walked up to the wall and took a look  they looked for a way to cross and came back, Millis says. They need to migrate and need to get up and down in elevation to survive. The border is blocking their ability to do that and is a threat to their survival.

Border barriers create problems for desert bighorn sheep and pygmy owls, University of Arizona researchers found in a 2009 study published in the journal Conservation Biology. The fence divided habitats and put bighorn at risk for inbreeding in a smaller gene pool, the study says.

It takes a long time for wildlife to adapt to this kind of thing, and by the time they adapt it could be too late, Millis says.

Intermittent fencing does not prevent humans from illegally crossing the border, but it does restrict the movement of puma and coati in Arizona, says a study conducted by British researchers and published in the journal Plos One in 2014.

That same study found that every 1,000 unauthorized immigrants crossing an international boundary generates 110 pounds of litter, 11 campfires and disturbs habitat of plants and animals.

Of concern to many wildlife advocates is an adult male jaguar dubbed El Jefe that was photographed by a remote camera 118 times over 34 months in the Santa Rita Mountains southeast of Tucson.

Even after the federally funded research by the UA and the U.S. Geological Survey ended last June, El Jefe  the only known wild jaguar in the United States  continued to show up in photos regularly through mid-October of last year.

Researchers speculate the jaguar might have gone to Mexico to breed, signifying the need for continued wildlife corridors for larger animals along the border.

VOICES FROM THE CALIFORNIA BORDER

Value of interaction

When Donald Trump and his supporters talk about building a solid border wall, it shows how little they understand about life along it, many border residents and environmentalists say.

In my mind, building a wall means giving up on our homeland  severing the very tie that nourishes our people, culture, wildlife, and land, says Moreno of the Sky Island Alliance. We believe that border security should equally value the very homeland we are trying to protect: the clean, drinkable water, clean air and abundant wildlife that provide the quality of life we enjoy in our borderland communities.

In 2011, the Sky Island Alliance commissioned a nationwide survey that found 64 percent of Americans oppose or strongly oppose waiving laws along the border to build infrastructure.

And a wall along the whole border would further complicate efforts to work with Mexico on issues that affect both sides, like pollution and water quality, says Fay Crevoshay, policy director for Wildcoast, a conservation group based in Imperial Beach, California.

Heavy rains that cause runoff from Tijuana regularly close beaches near the border. A solid wall would only make that worse, Crevoshay says.

We should harness the possibilities of interaction between the two countries, she says. There is no one-sided solution to problems like pollution. ... We need each other.

Close 1 of 34 2016 Border Project: California Two men are taken into custody by the U.S. Border Patrol from the New River near Calexico, California. The river has sewage and industrial waste and is one of the most contaminated rivers in California. GPS: 32 39' 55.3 N -115 30 05.1 W 2016 Border Project: California A culvert built in Smuggler's Gulch near San Diego carries water from Tijuana, Mexico under the U.S.-Mexico border fence. The secondary border fence runs along the top of the hill. 2016 Border Project: California Women walk past border monument #258 near the U.S.-Mexico border fence at Playas de Tijuana in Tijuana, Mexico. 2016 Border Project: California Margarita Espinoza sorts through donated clothing to be sold at a bazaar at the Nuesta Senora de Guadelupe in Tecate, Mexico. The church is near the U.S.-Mexico border. 2016 Border Project: California A sediment basin built in 2005 catches debris and trash coming from Tijuana, Mexico which is uphill from San Diego. With a development and population boom in Tijuana, more trash flows downward when it rains. 2016 Border Project: California A boy sticks his arm through the U.S.-Mexico border fence near San Diego. 2016 Border Project: California The rusted shell of a pickup truck, believed to have been used by drug traffickers at one time, rests in the shifting sand of the Imperial Sand Dunes west of the California-Arizona state line. 2016 Border Project: California The Libertad neighborhood in Tijuana, Mexico can be seen over the primary U.S.-Mexico border fence in San Diego. 2016 Border Project: California Marie Teresa Fernandez walks through the Tijuana Estuary on her way to Border Field State Park in San Diego. Fernandez has been documenting the U.S.-Mexico border fence on both sides for 15 years. 2016 Border Project: California Scott Sondergaard, 28, of Victoria, Canada and Kaleigh Szponarski, 28, of Waterloo, Canada, sign the logbook at the Pacific Crest Trailhead before starting on their hike in Campo, California. The U.S.-Mexico border fence is behind them. 2016 Border Project: California A stick in the sand marks the U.S.-Mexico border in El Centro, California. Mount Signal is in the background. 2016 Border Project: California Dan Russell of Campo, California, made this sign to show his support for presumptive Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. 2016 Border Project: California Arturo Estrada lives in Calexico, California, but he regularly visits a barbershop just across the U.S.-Mexico border in Mexicali. He says it's cheaper that way. 2016 Border Project: California Veronica Nepomuceno, 43, right, visits with her mother through the U.S.-Mexico border fence on Saturday May 07, 2016 in Friendship Circle at Border Field State Park in San Diego, California. Every weekend the U.S. Border Patrol allows people to walk up to a portion of the border fence to visit with friends and family members. Nepomuceno says she hasn't hugged her mother in over 20 years. 2016 Border Project: California Veronica Nepomuceno, 43, becomes emotional at seeing her mother through the U.S.-Mexico border fence at Friendship Park near San Diego. 2016 Border Project: California Daniel Armendariz, 31, rests his head against the U.S.-Mexico border fence as he visits with his wife at Friendship Park in San Diego. Armendariz has been away from his wife and kids for two months. 2016 Border Project: California Every Saturday and Sunday for four hours, the U.S. Border Patrol lets up to 25 people up to the U.S.-Mexico border fence in Friendship Park near San Diego to visit with friends and family on the other side. 2016 Border Project: California Carmen Nepomuceno has tears of joy and she looks through the U.S.-Mexico border fence and can see her family at Friendship Park near San Diego. 2016 Border Project: California A decade ago, shifting sands at the Imperial Sand Dunes just west of the California-Arizona state line meant this area was considered unfenceable. But the U.S. government found a solution in this "floating fence"  periodically, agents bring in heavy machinery to clear away sand as wind shifts the dunes. 2016 Border Project: California Drivers lined up in Tijuana, Mexico wait to cross into the United States at the San Ysidro port of entry. 2016 Border Project: California An effigy stands just under Interstate 8, two miles from the U.S.-Mexico border near Jacumba, California. The effigy was made by a local resident from wood and possibly from clothing found in the desert. 2016 Border Project: California Oscar Romo, professor in urban studies and planning at the University of California, San Diego, looks over a culvert built at Smuggler's Gulch near San Diego. 2016 Border Project: California The desert and mountain terrain makes driving from Mexico into the United States difficult in some areas in Jacumba, California. The U.S.-Mexico border fence can be seen in the distance in the O'Neill Valley. 2016 Border Project: California Margarita Espinoza sorts through donated clothing to be sold at a bazaar at the border church of Nuesta Senora de Guadelupe in Tecate, Mexico. 2016 Border Project: California A border monument can be seen through a hole in the landing mat border fence in Campo, California. The fence was built in the early 1990's by the Army Corps of Engineers. 2016 Border Project: California The landing mat U.S.-Mexico border fence, built in the early 1990's by the Army Corps of Engineers, runs through a portion of Jacumba, California. 2016 Border Project: California Francisco Javier Cruz Villa, aka Tashiro Malakium, 26, hosts a radio show called La Botama on California Medios, 88.5, in Tecate, Mexico. 2016 Border Project: California A portion of the U.S.-Mexico bollard border fence breaks near the steep Airport Mesa range in Jacumba, California. Boulders are placed on the ground to stop vehicles from Mexico driving into the U.S. 2016 Border Project: California Border Patrol agent Eduardo Jacobo stands where the U.S.-Mexico border fence changes from vehicle barriers to bollard type fencing line in El Centro, California. 2016 Border Project: California A U.S. Border Patrol agent stands watch near the U.S.-Mexico border fence in Border Field State Park at Imperial Beach in San Diego. The border fence ends in the Pacific Ocean. 2016 Border Project: California Imperial Beach visitors are restricted from walking up to the U.S.-Mexico border fence at Border Field State Park in San Diego. The border fence stretches into the Pacific Ocean. 2016 Border Project: California Playas de Tijuana in Tijuana, Mexico is a popular place for couples and families. Lesly Perez, 18, and Carlos Valenzuela, 20, enjoy a quiet moment together. The U.S.-Mexico border fence is on the left. 2016 Border Project: California A dog sits in the beach at Playas de Tijuana in Tijuana, Mexico near the U.S.-Mexico border fence. On the U.S. side is Imperial Beach and Border Field State Park. 2016 Border Project: California Gerardo Vasquez, 26, plays with his daughter, Tabata Abigail, 3, at Playas de Tijuana in Tijuana, Mexico. The U.S.-Mexico border fence runs into the Pacific Ocean on the right. More like this... Photos: California and the Mexican border Beyond the Wall: California border with Mexico in photos. 1 of 34 2016 Border Project: California Two men are taken into custody by the U.S. Border Patrol from the New River near Calexico, California. The river has sewage and industrial waste and is one of the most contaminated rivers in California. GPS: 32 39' 55.3 N -115 30 05.1 W 2016 Border Project: California A culvert built in Smuggler's Gulch near San Diego carries water from Tijuana, Mexico under the U.S.-Mexico border fence. The secondary border fence runs along the top of the hill. 2016 Border Project: California Women walk past border monument #258 near the U.S.-Mexico border fence at Playas de Tijuana in Tijuana, Mexico. 2016 Border Project: California Margarita Espinoza sorts through donated clothing to be sold at a bazaar at the Nuesta Senora de Guadelupe in Tecate, Mexico. The church is near the U.S.-Mexico border. 2016 Border Project: California A sediment basin built in 2005 catches debris and trash coming from Tijuana, Mexico which is uphill from San Diego. With a development and population boom in Tijuana, more trash flows downward when it rains. 2016 Border Project: California A boy sticks his arm through the U.S.-Mexico border fence near San Diego. 2016 Border Project: California The rusted shell of a pickup truck, believed to have been used by drug traffickers at one time, rests in the shifting sand of the Imperial Sand Dunes west of the California-Arizona state line. 2016 Border Project: California The Libertad neighborhood in Tijuana, Mexico can be seen over the primary U.S.-Mexico border fence in San Diego. 2016 Border Project: California Marie Teresa Fernandez walks through the Tijuana Estuary on her way to Border Field State Park in San Diego. Fernandez has been documenting the U.S.-Mexico border fence on both sides for 15 years. 2016 Border Project: California Scott Sondergaard, 28, of Victoria, Canada and Kaleigh Szponarski, 28, of Waterloo, Canada, sign the logbook at the Pacific Crest Trailhead before starting on their hike in Campo, California. The U.S.-Mexico border fence is behind them. 2016 Border Project: California A stick in the sand marks the U.S.-Mexico border in El Centro, California. Mount Signal is in the background. 2016 Border Project: California Dan Russell of Campo, California, made this sign to show his support for presumptive Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. 2016 Border Project: California Arturo Estrada lives in Calexico, California, but he regularly visits a barbershop just across the U.S.-Mexico border in Mexicali. He says it's cheaper that way. 2016 Border Project: California Veronica Nepomuceno, 43, right, visits with her mother through the U.S.-Mexico border fence on Saturday May 07, 2016 in Friendship Circle at Border Field State Park in San Diego, California. Every weekend the U.S. Border Patrol allows people to walk up to a portion of the border fence to visit with friends and family members. Nepomuceno says she hasn't hugged her mother in over 20 years. 2016 Border Project: California Veronica Nepomuceno, 43, becomes emotional at seeing her mother through the U.S.-Mexico border fence at Friendship Park near San Diego. 2016 Border Project: California Daniel Armendariz, 31, rests his head against the U.S.-Mexico border fence as he visits with his wife at Friendship Park in San Diego. Armendariz has been away from his wife and kids for two months. 2016 Border Project: California Every Saturday and Sunday for four hours, the U.S. Border Patrol lets up to 25 people up to the U.S.-Mexico border fence in Friendship Park near San Diego to visit with friends and family on the other side. 2016 Border Project: California Carmen Nepomuceno has tears of joy and she looks through the U.S.-Mexico border fence and can see her family at Friendship Park near San Diego. 2016 Border Project: California A decade ago, shifting sands at the Imperial Sand Dunes just west of the California-Arizona state line meant this area was considered unfenceable. But the U.S. government found a solution in this "floating fence"  periodically, agents bring in heavy machinery to clear away sand as wind shifts the dunes. 2016 Border Project: California Drivers lined up in Tijuana, Mexico wait to cross into the United States at the San Ysidro port of entry. 2016 Border Project: California An effigy stands just under Interstate 8, two miles from the U.S.-Mexico border near Jacumba, California. The effigy was made by a local resident from wood and possibly from clothing found in the desert. 2016 Border Project: California Oscar Romo, professor in urban studies and planning at the University of California, San Diego, looks over a culvert built at Smuggler's Gulch near San Diego. 2016 Border Project: California The desert and mountain terrain makes driving from Mexico into the United States difficult in some areas in Jacumba, California. The U.S.-Mexico border fence can be seen in the distance in the O'Neill Valley. 2016 Border Project: California Margarita Espinoza sorts through donated clothing to be sold at a bazaar at the border church of Nuesta Senora de Guadelupe in Tecate, Mexico. 2016 Border Project: California A border monument can be seen through a hole in the landing mat border fence in Campo, California. The fence was built in the early 1990's by the Army Corps of Engineers. 2016 Border Project: California The landing mat U.S.-Mexico border fence, built in the early 1990's by the Army Corps of Engineers, runs through a portion of Jacumba, California. 2016 Border Project: California Francisco Javier Cruz Villa, aka Tashiro Malakium, 26, hosts a radio show called La Botama on California Medios, 88.5, in Tecate, Mexico. 2016 Border Project: California A portion of the U.S.-Mexico bollard border fence breaks near the steep Airport Mesa range in Jacumba, California. Boulders are placed on the ground to stop vehicles from Mexico driving into the U.S. 2016 Border Project: California Border Patrol agent Eduardo Jacobo stands where the U.S.-Mexico border fence changes from vehicle barriers to bollard type fencing line in El Centro, California. 2016 Border Project: California A U.S. Border Patrol agent stands watch near the U.S.-Mexico border fence in Border Field State Park at Imperial Beach in San Diego. The border fence ends in the Pacific Ocean. 2016 Border Project: California Imperial Beach visitors are restricted from walking up to the U.S.-Mexico border fence at Border Field State Park in San Diego. The border fence stretches into the Pacific Ocean. 2016 Border Project: California Playas de Tijuana in Tijuana, Mexico is a popular place for couples and families. Lesly Perez, 18, and Carlos Valenzuela, 20, enjoy a quiet moment together. The U.S.-Mexico border fence is on the left. 2016 Border Project: California A dog sits in the beach at Playas de Tijuana in Tijuana, Mexico near the U.S.-Mexico border fence. On the U.S. side is Imperial Beach and Border Field State Park. 2016 Border Project: California Gerardo Vasquez, 26, plays with his daughter, Tabata Abigail, 3, at Playas de Tijuana in Tijuana, Mexico. The U.S.-Mexico border fence runs into the Pacific Ocean on the right.

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Q: My fiance and I recently flew from Honolulu to Paris via Los Angeles, Miami and Helsinki. Our flight to Miami was on American Airlines. Our Finnair flight from Miami to Helsinki was delayed, and we missed our connection to Paris.

My luggage was tagged to go directly from Honolulu to Paris, but it didnt arrive in Paris. Finnair had no record of it. We filed the claim in Paris and received a reference number.

My fiance made more than 80 international cellphone calls and tracked down the luggage. We discovered that American Airlines never transferred my luggage to the Finnair contractor in Miami. We finally located the luggage in Miami and asked American to put it on the next Finnair flight to He lsinki, and then on to Paris. Our luggage finally was delivered around 11:30 p.m. the next day.

I requested a $262 reimbursement for incidentals from Finnair, but the airline rejected it because I filed past the 21-day limit from the time the baggage was received. I was not aware of the 21-day limit.

I have appealed to Finnairs customer-care department, which offered a 70 euro voucher, but this is not an acceptable option. Finnair was the last segment of our flight, so it is responsible. Can you help us?  Lydia Kelley, Honolulu

A: American Airlines should have transferred your luggage to Finnair. But youre correct, Finnair was responsible for delivering your luggage to you in Paris, and it didnt  not until the next day.

Compensating passengers for incidentals while they wait for their luggage is something of a gray area.

I like the way you took the initiative on this one. You started contacting people until you got answers and results.

From my experience, the best time to negotiate reimbursement for incidentals is at the time your luggage is lost.

Agents are often authorized to offer vouchers or allowances for clothes and toiletries while you wait for your belongings. If possible, make sure you have everything in writing.

Bottom line: Even though Finnair didnt drop the ball on your luggage, it is technically responsible as the last operating carrier. A 70 euro credit is a good start, but it doesnt cover the real expenses you had when you landed without luggage.
A swag of international dramas has recently been added to the SBS On Demand portal -with full seasons available to binge.

They include Nordic noir thrillers, US period dramas and sweeping historical sagas.

US drama Manhattan, which could well be the pick of the bunch, has a 90% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Its cast includes Aussie Ashley Zukerman. Fans of Lilyhammer will also find the third and final season available.

SBS on Demand has recently been topped up with dramas not available on broadcast, including The Secret, Trepalium, Raised by Wolves, Modus, Kabul Kitchen and 1864: Denmarks War.

Here are the titles that were added in July:

Tut

Canada 2015

S1: 3 eps

Avan Jogia plays the young King Tut, determined to wrest control of his kingdom and eliminate those who conspire against him. Although a ruler by name, he has yet to seize control of his own kingdom from the three most powerful men in Egypt  his chief advisor Ay, the formidable General Horemheb (Nonso Anoszie), and the duplicitous High Priest of Amun (Alexander Siddig). This ambitious special-event series tells the story of Tuts rise to power and his struggle to lead Egypt to glory, while his closest advisors, friends and lovers scheme for their own nefarious interests.

The Passing Bells

UK / Poland 2014

S1: 4 eps

This moving, powerful drama, written by award-winning writer Tony Jordan (Life on Mars, The Nativity, Hustle) and featuring an international cast, spans the years of the war from 1914 to 1918. Deep in the countryside of England, Michael (Jack Lowden) and Katie (Sabrina Bartlett) are young and in love, as yet untouched by rumours of war. In a small town in Germany, delivery boy Thomas (Patrick Gibson) is equally oblivious to the rumblings of conflict coming from the continent. But as the news trickles through to their small communities, both boys are inspired by the thought of heroic deeds and foreign lands. When war is announced, both Michael and Thomas defy their parents and slip out to the recruitment office, alongside thousands of other young men. The Passing Bells is an epic WWI drama told through the eyes of two very ordinary young men who enlist in a war they expect will be over within months.

Manhattan

US 2014 / 2015

S1 & S2: 23 eps

Set in the 1940s, Dr. Frank Winter (John Benjamin Hickey) and his team of brilliant but flawed scientists have been recruited to work on a project even they could know nothing about until their arrival. As the scientists are transported to The Hill, a small town on a dusty foothill in Los Alamos, New Mexico  a town whose very existence is classified  they begin to realise that this is no ordinary project. The government only tells them what they need to know. Torn between duty and morals, Isaacs and Winter find they have to conceal the truth from their wives (Olivia Williams and Rachel Brosnahan) as they work towards building a weapon of mass destruction. Manhattan depicts the wonder, danger and deceit that shadowed the first nuclear families.

LilyHammer

Norway / US 2014

S3: 8 eps

(S1 & S2 also available)

The first two series of Lilyhammer (also available in full on SBS On Demand) saw Frank Tagliano (Steven Van Zandt), a former underboss of the American Mafia, placed in the Federal Witness Protection Program after testifying in a trial against Aldo Delucci (Thomas Grube), the new Mafia head who had ordered a hit on him after succeeding his recently deceased brother. Frank requests that he be relocated to the rural town of Lillehammer in Norway, where he believes no one will look for him. His new identity is Norwegian-American immigrant Giovanni Johnny Henriksen. The transition from being a feared and respected gangster in New York, to becoming an unemployed immigrant in Norway is not simple. Frank soon discovers that in order to succeed in this rural Norwegian society, he must resort to his old ways. The third season explores Johnnys colourful background and his continued efforts to succeed in rural Norwegian society.

Angelby

Sweden 2015

S1: 12 eps

When reality turns upside down, unforeseen forces may surface. Loosing both her job and her husband, Vera decides to leave the city for a new position and a new life in the town of Angelby. Her arrival is dramatic, and as she settles in Angelby, Vera becomes the focus of a murder investigation with several unusual undertones. Her life is intertwined with those of the town, but something mysterious is going on in Angelby: Vera is not here by coincidence.

Critical

UK 2015

S1: 13 eps

Created by BAFTA-nominated writer Jed Mercurio, Critical follows a group of doctors at a state-of-the-art City General Hospitals major trauma centre  a unit which treats only the most gravely ill or seriously injured. Lennie James (Storm Damage, The Walking Dead) takes the lead role as trauma surgeon Glen Boyle, who is recruited into a high-tech but malfunctioning trauma unit by his old romantic partner Fiona Lomas (Catherine Walker). He is faced with the tremendous task of welding the broken team together at the same time as they have to make life-or-death decisions by the operating table. Critical is a case-by-case drama which shows the urgency of the medical profession and encapsulates the psychological impact and emotional choices that those on the medical front line have to make.

Spring Tide

Sweden 2016

S1: 10 eps

The year is 1990. Under the glow of a full moon, a sadistic murder is committed on Nordkoster Island  a young pregnant woman is buried in the sand, so that she slowly drowns as the tide rises. 25 years later, the case remains unsolved. Olivia Ronning (Julia Ragnarsson, The Bridge), a bright student at the Police Academy, is assigned the cold case and becomes obsessed with the murder when she discovers that her father, who died several years ago, worked on the original investigation. She soon realises that she has to find the lead investigator, detective Tom Stilton (Kjell Bergqvist). Theres only one problem  he has since disappeared off the face of the earth. Tom is homeless now and does not want to be reminded of his old life or an old, unsolved case  he has a hard enough time just surviving. However, when horrifying videos of homeless people being brutally assaulted start showing up online, Tom decides to get revenge  thrusting him back into the world of crime, and right into Olivias path.

Jordskott

Sweden 2015

S1: 10 eps

Seven years after the mysterious disappearance of her daughter Josefine (Stina Sundlof), police investigator Eva Thornblad (Moa Gammel) is still trying to cope with her loss. Emotionally shut off and avoiding all relationships, Eva devotes herself to work as a police officer to save and protect the most innocent of them all  children. When a young boy goes missing in the same forest her daughter vanished, Eva cant let go of the feeling that someone took Josefine that fatal day by Silverhojd Lake. She is convinced the two cases are linked, and there is more to it than meets the eye. Under the guise of selling the old family company she just inherited from her newly deceased father Johan Thornblad (Lars-Erik Berenett), Eva returns to her hometown of Silverhojd to find the truth behind her daughters disappearance.
Help India!

By TCN News

Islamic preacher Zakir Naik has been hitting headlines for all the wrong reasons in connection with the terror attacks in Bangladesh. This has also resulted in media channels making a beeline for his interview, and Times Now is no exception. Megha Prasad, a journalist from Times Now interviewed Zakir Naik and asked a number of questions, all of which were answered by Dr Naik and were deemed satisfactory by the reporter.

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However, an hour later, Prasad called up Dr Naik again and said she would have to redo the interview citing major technical fault with the previous recording. The approach to the second interview could not have been more different from the first one; this time, Prasad chose to attack, condemn and malign Naik.

The first interview ends at around 15:00.
Help India!

By TCN News

Srinagar The Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCSS) has severely criticised the actions of the Indian armed forces and Jammu and Kashmir Police for using excessive force to thwart from protesting and participating in the funeral processions of the slain militants.

The encounter of Hizbul Commander Burhan Wani has led to widespread protests across the Valley, and around 17 civilians have been killed in Islamabad, Kulgam, Shopian and Pulwama districts, while as more than 350 people have been injured from across all districts of the Kashmir valley. One policeman has also died during the protests.

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There are reports that CRPF and Police have been involved in the destruction of movable and immovable properties. It is shocking and painful that Indian armed forces have yet again unleashed terror on the mourners and protesters, resulting in massive civilian casualties. The police and armed forces appear to have free hand to kill, injure, torture and destroy property. The government of India and Jammu and Kashmir lack the will to institute a crowd control policy, which can ensure no or minimized civilian casualties. On the one hand armed forces are preventing the injured to be ferried to hospitals, at the same time senior police officials without any credible investigations have begun to accuse the dead and the injured for their own bloodshed. Additional Director General of Police, S.M. Sahai, yesterday in the press conference accused the protestors of looting the weaponry from the Police Station Damhal Hanjipora and then for using it against the police men. Government should reveal the names of those police personnel who were injured by the firearm used by the civilians and where are they being treated; otherwise Mr. Sahai claim is part of the regular government psy-ops, the press release said.

The JKCCS said it was concerned about this policy of attacking the ambulances and the hospital. These raids and assaults on the ambulances and inside the hospitals is not the first time. People in Kashmir have witnessed the same in 2008, 2009 and 2010 civil uprisings. Attacking hospitals and ambulances is a crime under the International Humanitarian Law and Indian armed forces have been repeatedly accused of this crime in Kashmir. There is absolute lawlessness and impunity enjoyed by the Indian armed forces and this must be condemned by the people of conscience in India and internationally, they added.

Amongst more than 100 patients who were brought to SMHS Hospital, Srinagar a total 55 patients were admitted on 9 July till 9 p.m. Out of 55 patients, four are women, amongst whom three have bullet injuries in their abdomens and all of them are from Bijbehara. From the list of 55 patients two patients have died in the hospital, while as three are said to be still in critical condition, the JKCSS said.

Out of 55 patients who were admitted in the SMHS hospital, 16 have bullet injuries, while as two people have injuries due to torture by soldiers and 37 people were injured due to pellets. From the 37 persons injured due to pellets, 19 have severe eye injuries as well, which according to doctors may result in permanent visual impairment. About five patients at least have bullet or pellet injuries on their back side, which clearly means that despite trying to flee away they were attacked by the armed forces. From the available records, it appears at least 40 out of these 55 patients have above waistline injuries. Around 18 patients out of 55 admitted yesterday at SMHS Hospital are below the age of 18 years.




Help India!

By TCN News,

Many Muslim organisations including Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Markazi Jamiat-e-Ahle Hadees Hind, All India Milli Council, Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), Welfare Party of India (WPI), Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and many other top clerics and Muslim scholars have extended support to Islamic Preacher Dr. Zakir Naik and called media campaign against him is an attempt to bully Indian Muslims as a whole.

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Dr Zakir Naik, the founder of Mumbai-based Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) is under the scanner following alleged revelations that two of the five young militants who massacred 20 hostages, including an Indian, at a popular cafe in Bangladeshs capital Dhaka on July 1, drew their inspiration from his speeches.

Responding to these allegations, Dr Zakir Naik released statement from Mecca and condemned terror acts of all sorts and said his speeches could not be inspiration for terrorists because he has time and again condemned terrorism in his talks.

In a statement released to the media, Nusrat Ali, Naeb Emir Jamaat-e-Islami Hind said the whole campaign against Dr. Zakir Naik is against the rights as defined in the Constitution of India.

The vilification campaign against Dr. Naik is against the freedom of conscience, and free profession, practice and propagation of religion as defined in the constitution. It should be stopped immediately, he said.

He said keeping in mind respects of other religions and within the framework of the constitutional rights Dr. Zakir Naik is preaching and highlighting the true teachings of Islam like hundreds of preachers belonging to other religions.

Dr. Zakir Naiks speeches and debates are listened by millions of people across the world and since last many years. It is surprising that his speeches are now given a particular colour and a campaign is underway to disturb the secular fabric of the country, he said.

Such attempts might be useful for short-term political gains. But, they are becoming a blot on Indias image and sending a wrong message vis-a-vis the inclusive multi-cultural identity of the country, he said.

Asghar Ali Imam Mehdi, General Secretary, Markazi Jamiat Ahle Hadees Hind in a signed statement slammed the media campaign against Dr. Zakir Naik and termed it a deliberate attempt to divert attention from governments failure to address the key issues facing the country.

Terrorism is the worst challenge the country and the world is facing today. ISIS (Daesh) and other terrorist organizations are biggest temptation and trial in todays world. These organizations have been deliberately created to achieve many targets by powers working with vested interest, he said.

Muslims have nothing to do with these organizations. It is most shameful to target Dr. Zakir Naik and other Muslims in this manner. It is nothing but an attempt to divert attention from the governments failure, he said.

He said Dr Naik is known for his message of peace and harmony, and there are numerous examples in his speeches wherein he has slammed terrorism and violence in strongest possible words.

It is shameful that image and integrity of such a person is maligned for cheap and shirt term political gains, he said.

The forces behind this ugly campaign should know that by running such malicious campaigns against renwoned and respectable public figures they are only tarnishing the countrys image and its bright history, he said.

The Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) on Saturday while condemning the media campaign against Dr. Zakir Naik, called it a conspiracy hatched up by the saffron brigade supported by its cohorts in the media to malign the popular preacher.

The Union Government has started a crackdown on Dr. Zakir Naiks Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) and Peace TV with the aid of a section of prejudiced media who are showing his statements cut in half and false allegations are being leveled against him since he speaks with evidence that idol worship is not allowed even in Hinduism and advocates monotheism, Elyas Thumbe, National General Secretary of SDPI said in a statement.

The Bjp  Shiv Sena led Government of Maharashtra is misusing its administrative powers in the name of enquiries and investigations to harass and bully moderate Muslim Organizations, Shahanshah Jehangir, National Secretary of Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) said in a statement released to media.

Defending Dr Naik, he said, Dr.Zakir Naik is a research scholar on Comparative Religion and not a Scholar to comment on Islamic Religious Issues. A large majority of Muslims have differences with various opinions of Dr.Zakir Naik.

Mahmood Darybadi, President of the All India Milli Council, Mumbai also extended support to Dr. Zakir Naik and slammed the media for running shameful campaign against him.

We have differences of opinions on some religious issues with Dr. Zakir Naik. But, attempts to paint his entire efforts as something which promotes terrorism and violence is absolutely wrong and misleading, he said in a statement.

Daryabadi also accused the media of bias and termed the entire campaign against Dr. Zakir Naik a deliberate and planned exercise to target the preacher on the basis of cooked up allegaitions.

In the last 3-4 days, several journalists called me for my reactions on the ongoing debate on Dr. Zakir Naik. Because of my differences with Dr. Naik, they expected me to follow their own lines. When I refused, they censored my actual views and declined to publish, he said.

It clearly shows that the entire exercise has behind it a clever, well calculated and planned motives, he said.
DEVILS LAKE  The worst of North Dakotas long, wet agricultural disaster is over, at least for now. But the battle against Devils Lake-area flooding, which has caused an estimated $1 billion in economic losses in just the past six years, is far from finished, farmers and water officials say.

Weve taken 4.5 feet off (Devils Lake), and that gives us a little breathing space, says Jeff Frith, manager of the Devils Lake Basin Joint Water Resource Board. But we know we cant let up.

Frith was among the participants in a recent tour of Devils Lake flooding that was organized by the North Dakota Water Education Foundation, a nonprofit corporation that represents a variety of areas and interests across the state. The tour drew about 55 people, primarily farmers, ranchers, local politicians and water officials.

Heavy rains during the previous night made some of the rural roads in the affected area too sloppy to use, limiting the extent of the tour. Even so, the tour illustrated what area agriculturalists and water officials already knew: the problem isnt as bad as it was, thanks in part to pumping Devils Lake-area water into two nearby rivers. Evaporation has helped, too, as did relatively light snowfall in the winter of 2015 to 16.

Devils Lake elevation, which rose to 1,454.3 feet at its peak in July 2011, has fallen to slightly less than 1,450 feet now.

Flooding damage also peaked in 2011, when rising waters inflicted a $194 million economic hit, including a $57.6 million loss to the crop sector, according to a North Dakota State University Extension Service estimate.

This year, in contrast, flooding will cost farmers an estimated $36.2 million in reduced crop sales, with a total projected loss in business activity of $133.7 million, according to NDSU.

This years projected loss will push the total economic hit since 2011 over $1 billion, NDSU numbers show.

Farmers and ranchers are hurt in many ways. They lose pasture, hayland and cropland. They battle increased salinity, which hurt yields. And the loss of bridges and roads makes some plantable fields difficult or impossible to reach.

An estimated 10,000 acres of farmland were lost by one-foot rise in Devils Lake when the lake was near its peak, so the drop in the lake potentially returns thousands of acres to cultivation. Putting a number to the regained acres is difficult, however, because debris must be removed from the land before it can be cropped again.

Restoring the land to its former level of productivity is slowing further because extended inundation can kill the organisms that help growing crops take in nutrients from the soil. Obtaining enough phosphorus is particularly important, says Joel Ransom, NDSU Extension agronomist.

Reestablishing the microorganisms isnt particularly difficult, but producers need a strategy to do it and the process takes time, he says.

Unusual geology

Devils Lake, which shares its name with the areas largest town, was formed thousands of years ago after glacial Lake Agassiz receded. The giant lakebed left behind is virtually a closed basin: it has no natural outlet. As Frith and others note, Devils Lake isnt a true closed basin. At an extraordinarily high level, it will overflow into the Sheyenne River Valley  but that hasnt happened in about 2,000 years.

The lake began rising during a wet cycle that began in the early 1990s. Above-average precipitation caused the lakes surface area to more than triple between 1993 and 2011, inundating slightly more than 167,070 acres, or about 261 square miles, at its peak.

Devils Lake flooding isnt like most other flooding. There are no torrents of water erupting from rivers, no massive walls of water crashing into shorelines. Flooding here has been slow and, until recently, relentless  a steady, inch-by-inch, foot-by-foot increase in water that claims roads, fields and farmsteads which once had just enough elevation to escape flooding.

In response, federal, state and local governments have spent about $1.5 billion to raise roads and bridges, upgrade levees and relocate families and sections of communities.

The state of North Dakota has built two flood control structures on the lake. They pump water from the Devils Lake Basin into the Sheyenne River; even at its peak, the lake hadnt risen high enough for water to run naturally into the Sheyenne.

By all accounts, pumping water into the Sheyenne has contributed to the decline in Devils Lake elevation  and is also exacerbating problems elsewhere.

Devils Lake water in the Sheyenne means the river runs bank full, or close to it, more often, increasing bank erosion. The additional water also makes the Sheyenne more likely to overflow, hurting adjacent fields and pastures, when the Sheyenne Basin receives heavy rains.

Frith says the pumping, while good for the Devils Lake Basin, has created problems along the Sheyenne. But he says the drop in Devils Lake elevation now allows the pumping to be less aggressive, reducing future potential for those problems.

Theres also concern about how reduced water levels will affect the Devils Lake areas tourism industry, which expanded during the lakes long rise.

Some resorts are already suffering from reduced lake access and higher operating costs, says Bill Wood, owner of Eastbay Campground, on Devils Lakes east shore.

Determining a level at which the lake can remain stable is essential, he says.

All this fluctuation isnt good for anyone, he says.

Regaining lost ground

But the drop in Devils Lake elevation has been a huge benefit for many area farmers, including Dan Webster, a Penn, N.D., producer.

The lake going down is a big plus for us, he says.

This spring, he planted about 700 acres that had been under water when the lake was at its peak. He could have planted even more recovered acres if he hadnt run out of time to remove debris that accumulated on fields after it was submerged.

The clean-up process takes a lot of time, he says. It takes a couple of years to get the land back to where production is good. I hope were not doing it all for nothing.

Light snowfall in recent years, particularly this past winter, has been crucial to the lakes drop, and heavier snow winters could push water back up again, he says.

Neighbors in disaster

The areas long wet cycle has hurt farmers near, but outside, the Devils Lake Basin, too.

One of the hardest-hit areas is the McHugh Slough Drainage Area of Nelson County, east of Devils Lake. About 125 square miles of Nelson County are inundated, with 38 of them in the drainage area, located northwest of Michigan, N.D. The drainage area covers land in Nelson, Walsh and Ramsey counties and includes Hove Slough and Horseshoe Lake in Walsh and McHugh Slough near Michigan, according to information presented during the Water Education Foundation tour.

Of the 12 farmsteads that could be inhabited in the area when the wet cycle began, only two are occupied now, officials say.

Though flooding in the drainage area hasnt received nearly as much public attention as Devils Lake flooding, Were neighbors in disaster, says Ben Varnson, chairman of the Nelson County Water Resource District and a Lakota farmer. Lakota is Nelson Countys seat.

Elected leaders and water officials understand the problem and have worked well together to address it, he says.

The $4.1 million Michigan Spillway Control Project, financed by Nelson County residents and the State Water Commission, is pumping water from the area into the Forest River. As a result, an estimated 4,000 to 5,000 acres that had been lost to flooding have been reclaimed, officials say.

The project also allows access to fields, protects wells and reduces damage to roads and fields, he says.

Heavy rains this summer in parts of the drainage area have hampered efforts to reclaim inundated farmland, Varnson says.

That (above-average precipitation) is just part of our environment, he says.

Slow improvement

Parts of the Devils Lake Basin have received heavy rains this summer, too, but relatively dry conditions elsewhere in the Basin allow the lake to keep dropping, Frith says.

Theres slow improvement. Its getting better, he says. But we cant just assume thats going to continue. We need to keep working at it.
A day of music and fun in celebration of Madrid's historic ballpark, featuring the legendary band Hot Tuna.

The Madrid Ballpark Folk and Blues Fest! The day of music, fun and celebration of the restoration of Madrids historic Ballpark. This home-grown music festival features the best music from New Mexico and beyond.

Headlining the Festival for 2106 is the incomparable HOT TUNA! Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees and Grammy Lifetime Achievement honorees, Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady, are bringing their electric Hot Tuna power trio to Madrid for the first time. Founded back in 1968 as a side project of the Jefferson Airplane, Jorma and Jack have been killing it for decades. A truly legendary, exceptional band.

Supporting Hot Tuna is the New Mexico musical legend, The Family Lotus. Founded back in 1968, they are one of the original creators of psycho-grass. A rare performance, not to be missed.

Opening the festival is incomparable americana of the Boris McCutcheon and the Salt Licks!

Skip the lines at the gate and get your tickets in advance!
How to Take Your Poker Math Beyond Counting Outs, Part 2

July 10 2016 Robert Woolley

This is the second of a two-part article on using a combinations calculator to answer questions about poker probabilities  questions that go beyond just counting outs.

By the way, a commenter on last week's article pointed out something that I had not known  you actually don't need either a spreadsheet or to find a combination-calculator website, because Google understands combinatorial commands. In the Google search box, just type in "47 choose 2," and the result is 1,081  the number of different ways you can pick 2 cards from a group of 47.

In Part One, I laid out the three basic steps to tackling all problems of this general variety:

Step 1. Count the total number of possible outcomes.

Count the total number of possible outcomes. Step 2. Count the number of outcomes of the kind we're interested in.

Count the number of outcomes of the kind we're interested in. Step 3. Divide the latter by the former to arrive at a probability.

Let's continue with some harder questions.

Example 3: The prop bet

You've been playing a quiet, sleepy cash game for a few hours. People are bored. To liven things up, one of the players proposes a prop bet: "I'll bet anybody here even money that the next flop will have at least one 5, 6, or 7 in it."

Should you take this bet?

The answer, of course, depends on whether it's better or worse than a 50-50 proposition that a randomly selected flop will have at least one of those cards in it. Let's run the numbers.

Step 1: For one of the examples in Part One of this article, we determined that there are 22,100 possible flops.

Step 2: Next we need to figure out how many flops contain a 5, a 6, or a 7. Based on Example 2 ("Suited flops") in Part One, you might well imagine that it will take some gnarly math to separately calculate how many flops have one, then two, and then three cards of these ranks, in order to get at the total.

Fortunately, we don't have to do that  we can use a shortcut. We just have to figure out how many flops have none of those three ranks. It follows logically that all other flops must have at least one of them. In this problem, the wording makes it such that we need not differentiate between flops containing one, two, and three of the specified set.

So how many flops have no fives, sixes, or sevens? Imagine a deck with the 12 cards of those ranks removed, leaving 40 cards. We are to pick three cards at random. Returning to our old friend the spreadsheet (or online combinations calculator), we find that COMBIN(40,3) is 9,880.

Step 3: We divide 9,880 by the total number of possible flops  22,100. The answer is 0.447, or 44.7% for the probability of a flop with no fives, sixes, or sevens. By simple subtraction, the probability of seeing a flop with at least one card of the three designated ranks must be 100% minus 44.7% = 55.3%.

Conclusion: It's a bad bet to take (as are nearly all prop bets a poker opponent will offer you), because you're wagering 50-50 for a bet that is stacked 55-45 against you. Instead, you should be the one offering this bet to everybody else!

Example 4: The poker room promotion

This is actually the example that prompted me to think about writing this whole article. A friend of mine recently visited a riverboat casino in Shreveport, Louisiana. He told me that the poker room was offering a promotion for their low-stakes, no-limit hold'em games such as he had never seen before.

Anytime the first four board cards contained four to a flush, four to a straight (consecutive, not gutshots), or three of a kind, the house would "splash" the next pot at that table with $300 before the cards were dealt. This naturally raises the question of how often such a qualifying board will occur.

Google won't help you here, because the answer isn't online anywhere.* So let's figure it out for ourselves.

For Step 1, we need to know how many different four-card boards are possible. By now, computing the number of combinations of four cards that can be drawn from a deck of 52 should be child's play for you, using whichever tool is most convenient. The answer is 270,725.

How many of these partial boards will contain three of a kind? This takes some thought. Let's consider aces as an example. We have four different ways of putting together three of the aces from the deck, because COMBIN(4,3) yields 4  or you can just realize that you can omit each of the four aces to give four different combinations of the other three.

For each of those four combinations of three aces, there can be any one of the 48 remaining cards other than aces filling the last spot in our four-card board. That means that we could see 4 x 48 = 192 different combinations of three aces plus one non-ace. The set of all four aces would presumably also qualify as "trips" for purposes of this promotion, so we'll bump that number up to 193 different qualifying combinations.

The same reasoning applies to each of the 13 ranks, giving us a total of 193 x 13 = 2,509 different four-card boards that contain three (or, rarely, four) of a kind. Remember, for this calculation we don't care what order they come in; if we did, we would have to use a mathematical tool that calculates permutations, a related but distinct concept.

Now consider the four-to-a-flush criterion. For any given suit of 13 cards, we need to know how many combinations of four could be dealt. You know how to figure that out: COMBIN(13,4) = 715. Any of the four suits will do, and 4 x 715 = 2,860.

How about four to a straight? Consider the lowest, A-2-3-4 (again, the order doesn't matter). Each of those cards might be of any of the four suits, so that's 4 x 4 x 4 x 4 different combinations of four cards that would look like that  i.e., any of four aces with any of four deuces, any of four treys, and any of four fours. That's a total of 256. However, to avoid duplication with the four-to-a-flush combinations, we need to subtract out the four that are all one suit (i.e., four to a straight flush), leaving us with 252.

There are 11 different groups of four consecutive ranks possible, ranging from A-2-3-4 through J-Q-K-A. That means we have a grand total of 252 x 11 = 2,772 different combinations of four cards that would meet the four-to-a-straight stipulation, without duplicating the sets that we accounted for as four-to-a-flush.

Hang in there  we're almost done!

Adding up the trips/quads, almost-flushes, and almost-straights, we find 2,509 + 2,860 + 2,772 = 8,141 different four-card boards that will qualify our table for the promotional bonus.

Finally, for Step 3 we divide that 8,141 by the 270,725 from Step 1, for a final answer of 0.030, or almost exactly 3%. Our conclusion, then, is that about 3% of hands that get to fourth street will qualify for the $300 splash-pot on the next deal.

From there, you can make various appropriate assumptions about how much value this promotion adds, on average, to your expected profit per hand or per hour, and decide whether it's worth seeking out.

Just as an aside, were you aware that getting trips, four to a straight, and four to a flush with the first four board cards were all just about equally probable? It was news to me, too. Each of those conditions will be found in roughly 1% of fourth-street boards.

Conclusion

Once you understand how to use a combinations calculator, the number of probability-related poker questions you can answer increases exponentially from what you can do if you are limited to counting single cards (i.e., outs). The limitation is that you'll never be able to do them on the fly while trying to make a tough decision at the table. But later, when you have time, you can explore all sorts of interesting poker math questions that might have stymied you previously.

I'll leave you with three more problems to work out at your leisure, in increasing order of difficulty. Sorry, but unlike your grade-school math textbook, there are no answers to turn to in the back!

Problem #1: What percentage of full, five-card boards will contain a set of quads?

Problem #2: If two players get all their chips in with versus , how often will one of them catch at least four more cards of one of his suits to win with a flush?

Problem #3: If you start with , what is the probability that you will have either aces full of kings or kings full of aces after all five board cards have been dealt?

*After I had written this and sent it to some friends to double-check my math, one of them pointed out to me that while the full calculation for this particular promotion won't be found online, somebody actually has worked out the math on "four-card poker"  i.e., the number of different ways you can make four-card straights, four-card flushes, and so on. See here.

Robert Woolley lives in Asheville, NC. He spent several years in Las Vegas and chronicled his life in poker on the Poker Grump blog.

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Sharelines How often will a flop contain a 5, 6, or 7? How often will the first four cards be the same suit?

It's easier than you think to answer poker math questions using a combinations calculator.
MEDORA -- Ed Schafer was only 6 when his dad, Harold, took him to the top of a butte that overlooked Medora.

The sleepy village nestled in the Badlands of western North Dakota was mostly made of old houses. The Rough Riders Hotel, which he later purchased in 1963, was a shell of what it had been when it was built in the late 1800s. The streets were made of dirt and sidewalks were nonexistent. Running water and sewer, a commodity residents in modern towns couldnt imagine not having, were absent.

As the two looked over the worn-down buildings in the early 1950s, Harold told his son there was too much here to be lost and something had to be done.

Im looking over the edge, going, Theres nothing there, Ed said. Its a funny perspective from a 6-year-old versus my dad, who was overlooking, saying Theres a lot going on here.

Its a story many visitors to Medora may not have heard, but the sentiment is felt throughout the city that went from a dying village to arguably North Dakotas biggest draw for tourism. The businessman had no connection to Medora, other than his love for the Badlands, the history of the area and the city itself.

I think what attracted him was the Badlands themselves, he said. Why do you keep going back there? I think he found the connection with what we call the spirit of the Badlands. There is this permanence there that no matter when you go you get that sense of strength and permanence.

I think at that spot, in that place, he found those things that just grabbed his heart.

Harold claimed worldwide fame with the Gold Seal Co., but with his second wife, Sheila, he would become a North Dakota legend for dedicating his life to the revitalization of Medora. To that end, he launched the Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation in 1986.

Thirty years later, the foundation works year-round to uphold Harold and Sheilas dreams of making Medora a North Dakota tradition for families to enjoy for generations over and over again.

Man of action

By the time Harold started investing in Medora, a small town of 130 residents about 35 miles west of Dickinson, he was known worldwide for his Gold Seal Co. products, including Mr. Bubble and Glass Wax.

Harold purchased the Rough Riders Hotel and Ferris Store in 1962. John Hild, who grew up in Medora and has been with the foundation since it was created, said Harold was a man of action.

Hild pointed out the streets were made of dirt, and when he went to school, the bikes he and his siblings rode would have to maneuver through the ruts. Harold partnered with Northern Improvement to pave the streets, Hild said.

He owned the Gold Seal Co., which was Glass Wax, Mr. Bubble -- the color pink, Hild said. He had some guys from South Dakota find some pink rocks and they chip-sealed the streets with pink rock. The whole town looked pink.

It was an example of the man Harold was, drawing ideas from his own experiences and walking around Medora, pointing out what he liked and disliked, Ed said.

He grabbed onto some elements that were in Medora and the Badlands and said, How can I help people enjoy that experience, learn from that experience, get comfortable and rest from being here? Ed said. He had an inherent understanding of what people would be looking for.

That action attitude continued as Harold bought land and updated the city. The action wasnt without pain for both Harold and the city.

Medora Musical

As Harold started to develop the idea of revitalizing Medora, he asked himself how he could make the town a tourism destination for travelers to enjoy. Ideas like installing public bathrooms and turning the Rough Rider Hotel into a getaway from civilization were set into motion.

He was a traveler, Ed said. He understood what amenities you needed: where you could get a good meal and where you could lay your head and get a good rest. He lived that life, so he understood what people needed if they were going to travel.

That plan took a large step when Harold bought the Burning Hills Amphitheater in the 1960s. He brought in experts to reconstruct the staging area and seating. What once was the waning show Old Four Eyes, a play dedicated to Theodore Roosevelt, the nations 26th president, began to take the form of the Medora Musical, with its first show in 1965.

Sheila, who had been an actress, knew the ins and outs of putting on a performance. Where Harold had a plan, she put on the final touches to make the show sparkle.

But Harold and Sheilas commitment to making sure the musical was a place for the family, Ed said. The two werent interested in conforming to national trends, and off-color acts that were not suitable for children either had to change or leave. Its an idea that continues today.

Keeping the dream alive

Its been almost 15 years since Harold died in December 2001, but his dream of making sure Medora is a family-friendly destination thrives.

The foundation has gone through several changes, including the addition of a Welcome Center at the Burning Hills Amphitheatre to building a Family Fun Center with the worlds largest inflatable water slide. The Life Skills Center opened earlier this year, allowing the foundation to train employees in a multimillion-dollar facility that boasts a dining area, fitness center, classrooms and replica of the musical stage floor. The foundation also has restored multiple historic buildings, including the Joe Ferris Store.

The foundation has moved from exclusively doing what Harold wanted to making long-term decisions that will benefit the nonprofit professionally, Ed said. There have been more than 3,700 contributors to the foundation, it has more than 900 members across the country and nearly 900 volunteers and employees work to keep up the Schafers legacy.

Though it only boasts a population of 132, Medora sees hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. More than four million people have seen the musical since it began more than a half century ago.
When Donald Trump announced his candidacy for president just over a year ago, most members of the news media and many politicalpundits didn't give him much of a chance at success. Fast forward 13 months later and the billionaire real estate mogul is two weeks away from accepting the nomination from the GOP, but he might not get a chance to choose his own running mate.

"Never Trump" still alive

With the odds of replacing Trump at the convention fading away from reality, the "Never Trump" movement is throwing one last Hail Mary in an attempt to block his running mate, using possible rule changes to pick who joins the ticket.

Hundreds of delegates have come together to form an anti-Trump movement within the Republican party, and have been vocal in their opposition to the former host of "The Apprentice." As reported by The Hill on July 9, Republican delegates are exploring ways to impact the convention.

Anti-Trump delegates plotting to pick their own VP at convention: report https://t.co/iTNCe9gFRp pic.twitter.com/ZulIFn7tzj  The Hill (@thehill) July 9, 2016

Hundreds of delegates who oppose Trump are set to propose a convention change to the Rules Committee. In the proposal, the anti-Trump faction calls for delegates to be able to vote fora vice president other than who the nominee chooses, and that the nominee's choice has no impact on who the delegates decide on.

In addition, if the nominee's running mate does not receive at least two-thirds of the delegate support on the first ballot of voting, the choice for vice president would then be decided by multiple votes.

If the proposal is accepted, it would "take the decision making out of the hands of the RNC and Trump and into the hands of delegates," according to a source close to the anti-Trump group.

Recent reports note that Trump has narrowed down his selection for vice president, with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and current New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at the top of the list.

Election outlook

Barring a historic collapse, Trump will walk out of the convention as the GOP nominee, and will head into a general election race against Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. According to the latest Real Clear Politics rolling average, Clinton holds a slight lead, 44.9 percent to 44.3 percent over Trump.
Studying bones found in an ancient Belgian cave, scientists found evidence our ancestors ate horses, reindeer, and other humans. The prehistoric remains showed definitive signs of cannibalism, including hammer-like markings and cuts left by makeshift knives to remove the flesh.

Undeniable evidence

According to an article published in the journal Scientific Reports, scientists found unambiguous evidence of cannibalism practiced by Neanderthals living in the region nearly 45,000 years ago. When assembled, the bones formed five humans, four adults and one child.

No definitive answer

Previous studies of prehistoric sites in France, Portugal, and Spain also uncovered proof of Neanderthal cannibalism. However, the Belgian site is farther north and is dated closer to the end of the Neanderthals existence. The real question researchers have yet to answer is why did they eat each other? Some speculate it was part of a ceremony, while others think it may have been out of desperation.

Emotional ties

Paleoanthropologists have studied the funeral rituals of Neanderthals for decades. Evidence found suggests the prehistoric hominins mourned the dead and were emotionally connected to one another. Discovered in the 1970s, a Neanderthal skeleton known as Shanidar IV was buried with flowers as ancient pollen was found in the grave.

Recently, some scientists have refuted that evidence by proposing the flowers were more likely left by animals.

Ancient appetite

Yet, paleoanthropologists involved in the Goyet, Belgium study are sticking to the cannibalism theory. The 96 bones and three teeth found were from five individuals. Many of the bones had obvious tool marks from someone chopping them apart or ripping the flesh away.

The rib cages had been pulled open as well. The bones were found scattered among other animal remains with similar marks.

Neanderthal behavioral differences

Studying other sites close to the area and dated to the same time period, scientists failed to find any indication of cannibalism. One cave about 20 miles away contained two skeletons that looked as if they were buried together.

Since Neanderthals lived in close-knit groups, researchers think behaviors varied among them. Some may have mourned their dead, whereas others devoured them. Conflict or deprivation may have also fueled the cannibalism.

Desperate times

Roughly 40,000 years ago, Neanderthals went extinct. When these early people were butchered and eaten, they were on the brink of disappearing. During this early period, modern humans had not yet arrived the region. As such, the scientists are confident the Neanderthals ate their own kind.
Dallas gunman wanted to stage larger assault on police: chief Updated: 2016-07-11 04:24 (Agencies)

Micah Xavier Johnson, a man suspected by Dallas Police in a shooting attack and who was killed during a manhunt, is seen in an undated photo from his Facebook account. [Photo/Agencies]

DALLAS - The US military veteran who fatally shot five Dallas police officers last week had prepared to stage a larger assault on law enforcement, possibly with explosives, the city's police chief said on Sunday, citing evidence found in the killer's home.

Instead, the gunman deftly improvised to shoot officers assigned to a demonstration in the Texas city on Thursday evening, Police Chief David Brown told CNN. It was the deadliest day for US law enforcement since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

"We're convinced that this suspect had other plans," Brown said, adding that the recent deaths of two black men at the hands of police in Minnesota and Louisiana led the Texas shooter to "fast-track" his plans and attack on Thursday night.

The sniper, Micah X. Johnson, 25, a black veteran of the war in Afghanistan, took advantage of a spontaneous march that broke out during Thursday night's protest.

He leapfrogged ahead of demonstrators and stopped when he saw an opportunity to take "high ground" from where he could target police, Brown said.

The police chief said a search of Johnson's home had turned up evidence that the gunman had practiced using explosives, suggesting he wanted to use them against law enforcement targets.

Before police delivered a bomb-equipped robot that killed Johnson, he told them he wanted to "kill white people," especially white police, after a string of fatal police shootings of black men in US cities in recent years.

SURPRISE ATTACK ON OFFICERS

Brown said police were caught off guard on Thursday when protesters began marching away from the original demonstration site, and were left exposed to the sniper's fire as they scrambled to block off intersections, Brown said.

Johnson's military training also helped him to shoot and rapidly move to other positions, single-handedly "triangulating" his fire with multiple rounds so that police at first believed there were several shooters.

"We don't normally see this kind of running and shooting from criminal suspects," Brown said.

The shooting spree amplified a turbulent week in the United States, as the issues of race, gun violence and use of lethal force by law enforcement again convulsed the nation.

Even as officials and activists have condemned the shootings and mourned the dead officers, more demonstrations against the use of deadly force by police broke out in several US cities on Saturday, leading to hundreds of arrests.

Twenty-one law enforcement officers were injured during demonstrations in St. Paul, Minnesota, where officers were pelted with rocks, bottles, construction material and fireworks, officials said.
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There have always been hills made from sand in the Tuy Phong District of Binh Thuan Province.

However, in recent years when it has been so dry more of these hills, called sand dunes have come about.

The area is becoming like a desert.

Many people are having fun in the sand dunes, sliding down them on thin pieces of plastic.

By Gia Loc

My native place has never lacked sunshine.

You could even say that it has had more of it than needed.

So it happens that Binh Thuan Provinces Tuy Phong District has extended dry periods and the highest speed of desertification.

While this can sound a bit sad, these weather conditions also set the stage for having a lot of fun when we were children, because they created big sand dunes. Imagine having your own Sahara desert in your backyard, which is what we called the dunes. As children we never saw the dunes as anything less than wonderful. And on the fringes of the dunes, poplar groves planted to stem the desertification onslaught made for great picnic sites.

For a long time, these dunes were one of the nations hidden charms, known only to locals.

Early in the morning, we got on our bicycles and took food and drinks to the dunes. Around noon, we ate the food and sang songs in the poplar groves, enjoying the cool breeze. All the stress of school and studies melted away here. When the sun stopped blazing, we ran to the highest sand dunes and held sliding races.

Cash cow

Now, the sand dunes have come into the public eye in a big way. As the sun and wind sculpt the dunes into different shapes and sizes, visitors and photographers capture the magic, which is further heightened by the 18 colours of the sand, now raw material for works of art.

Around 89,995 hectares in Binh Thuan, or 11.3 per cent of the south-central provinces total land area, has experienced desertification, mostly in the northeastern districts of Tuy Phong and Bac Binh.

Frequent sand-storms blowing inland from the coast are creating more and more new sand dunes that can cover thousands of hectares and reach heights of forty to fifty metres.

The provincial authorities are trying to turn the disadvantage of desertification into a tourism advantage. Already, the sand dunes at Mui Ne, Fairy Stream and Bau Trang have become known tourism sites.

At the Mui Ne Flying Sand Dune, 22 kilometres north east of Phan Thiet City, sand-boarding, where visitors slide down on a thin sheet of plastic from the top of the dunes, has become a popular sport. The US WondersList ranks Mui Ne second among the top 11 sand boarding sites in the world.

A recent convert to the sport is my daughter, who has overcome initial fears and developed a passion for it. The Mui Ne Flying San Dune has become a must-go attraction whenever my family visits home on a holiday. Access to this site has become much easier now after the authorities asphalted a 26km long, 45-50m wide street along the dunes and the nearby beaches.

It makes me happy that my native place now boasts a picturesque landscape on either side of the street, with beaches, resorts and sand dunes.

Have some dong

I cannot describe my native place without mentioning its culinary specialties, the most special of which could be the dong, a kind of lizard that lives in holes dug into the sand dunes. Early in the morning, they come out for the dew and food, and in turn, take their place on the food chain. The dongs meat is delicious and chewy. Several dishes are made with it.

For starters, it is minced, seasoned with onion, salt, pepper and chili, and mixed with vegetables to make a salad. It is also cooked with a type of melon, red melon, to make a soup. Grilled dong is special treat.

These dishes are not only delicious but also healthy, local residents assert. The increasing popularity of this meat has meant that more and more people catch them, and dong breeding farms have opened in Tuy Phong and Bac Binh districts.

One man in Tuy Phong District told me that his familys income has risen significantly after they opened a dong farm.

I am even happier now that my hometown has now become a great place to visit, not just for me and my family, but for thousands of people from all parts of the world. VNS





GLOSSARY

My native place has never lacked sunshine.

Your native place is the place where you originally come from.

So it happens that Binh Thuan Provinces Tuy Phong District has extended dry periods and the highest speed of desertification.

Extended dry periods are long stretches of time when it is dry.

When desertification takes place, land that is not desert becomes desert.

While this can sound a bit sad, these weather conditions also set the stage for having a lot of fun when we were children, because they created big sand dunes.

Dunes are little or large hills made of sand.

And on the fringes of the dunes, poplar groves planted to stem the desertification onslaught made for great picnic sites.

The fringes are the edges.

Poplar groves are lines of poplar trees that have been planted.

For a long time, these dunes were one of the nations hidden charms, known only to locals.

Hidden charms, in this case, means something that is lovely that many people do not know about.

All the stress of school and studies melted away here.

Stress means pressure from things that take a lot of time and energy from you.

Now, the sand dunes have come into the public eye in a big way.

When things come into the public eye, people see them and get to know about them.

As the sun and wind sculpt the dunes into different shapes and sizes, visitors and photographers capture the magic, which is further heightened by the 18 colours of the sand, now raw material for works of art.

When the wind sculpts the dunes, it turns them into certain shapes.

The provincial authorities are trying to turn the disadvantage of desertification into a tourism advantage.

A disadvantage is something that stands in the way of success.

An advantage is something that helps make success more likely to happen.

A recent convert to the sport is my daughter, who has overcome initial fears and developed a passion for it.

Somebody who is a convert is a person who has been made to believe in something.

To overcome fears means to stop being afraid.

Initial means at first.

If you have a passion for something you love it so much you do not worry about how much time or money you spend doing it.

Access to this site has become much easier now after the authorities asphalted a 26km long, 45-50m wide street along the dunes and the nearby beaches.

Access to a place means being able to reach it.

If a street is asphalted, it is paved.

It makes me happy that my native place now boasts a picturesque landscape on either side of the street, with beaches, resorts and sand dunes.

Picturesque landscape is pretty countryside.

I cannot describe my native place without mentioning its culinary specialties, the most special of which could be the dong, a kind of lizard that lives in holes dug into the sand dunes.

Culinary specialities are foods that are special to a certain place.

For starters, it is minced, seasoned with onion salt, pepper and chili, and mixed with vegetables to make a salad.

When food is seasoned it has things like salt, pepper, herbs and spices added to it.

These dishes are not only delicious but also healthy, local residents assert.

To assert means to declare.

WORKSHEET

Find words that mean the following in the Word Search:

The hill made of sand. A type of lizard that can be eaten. A desert in Africa. A meal outdoors, especially under the poplar groves. Something used as seasoning.

j d a u g h t e s s f e r t u j i h e l a c a i e d o n g c a m h o t m a m u r e r e n a u n e n h t n e i i t r g l p o c e b e s j l a h m b r a r p r l p i c n i c c h i l i l u s n n e o b g u a n g d o n g e f y f a c t o r i e s l e

ANSWERS:

 Duncan Guy/Learn the News/ Viet Nam News 2016

1. Dune; 2. Dong; 3. Sahara; 4. Picnic; 5. Chili.
BINH PHUOC  Local residents in Hon Quan Districts Tan Hiep Commune in Binh Phuoc province reported a mass fish death stretching several kilometres upstream of Sai Gon River last weekend.

The phenomenon was first discovered on July 6. The dead fish were about the size of two fingers and weighed three kilograms.

The dead fish were found from Ba Quen Spring to Bau Lung Commune along 10 kilometres of the river. The fish drifted to Tan Hiep Commune, about three kilometres from Bau Lung, leaving a stink coming from the river.

Nguyen Thanh Giang, a local fisherman recalled that he and other fishermen saw dead fish. He then rowed his boat upstream and found the river faced an even worse situation.

I have been working as a fisherman here for 20 years, but this is the first time I saw so many dead fish in the river. People rushed to get the dead fish, Giang said.

Other local residents shared Giangs opinion that they had not seen such a phenomenon for 20 years since the construction of the Dau Tieng Reservoir was completed and the fishing farming industry was founded in the locality.

Fishermen said that the stink from the river was not the smell of dead fish. It was the smell of industrial wastewater released from local cassava processing factories.

In Binh Phuocs Minh Tam Commune, there are some agricultural product processing factories and large-scale pig farms. Environment pollution in the area has been reported in the media several times.

It is rainy season now. Water upstream of the Sai Gon River is high and the flow is strong, which could spread the dead fish to other sections of the river.

Farmers demand compensation

In another development, one of 14 enterprises in Ba Ria  Vung Tau Province, which released industrial waste in Cha Va River causing mass death for fish raised in cages of local farmers, agreed to compensate those damaged.

The information was heard during a Friday meeting of the provincial Peoples Court as 33 farmer households are trying to file lawsuit against 14 local enterprises for discharging untreated industrial waste in Cha Va River.

During the second meeting, enterprises negotiated with the households about the compensation level. My Suong and Nghe Huynh Companies were the first two enterprises to negotiate with the farmers. My Suong Company agreed to compensate the farmers VN21 million (US$954).

At the first meeting on June 22, the enterprises refused to take responsibility for the farmers loss, saying that the fish did not die of waste discharge, but other causes.

The arbitration was not successful. The farmers requested the companies compensate 76 percent of their total loss, equivalent to VN13.8 billion (US$627,200). The compensation had initially been requested at VN18.1 billion (US$822,700).

In September last year, hundreds of tonnes of caged fish on Cha Va River died, causing loss of billions of ong. Local government and authourities determined that the incident was caused by waste discharged from Tan Thanh Districts enterprises.

The Ba Ria  Vung Tau Provinces Peoples Committee requested the enterprises to make compensation to affected farmers, but the request was ignored. In May this year, local farmers began filing lawsuit against the 14 enterprises. VNS
HCM CITY Telemedicine experts, doctors, policy makers and startup entrepreneurs discussed how telemedicine innovations are changing healthcare delivery at a conference in HCM City on Friday.

Future of Health: Telemedicine and Artificial Intelligence brought together distinguished speakers, including two-time Academy Award winner and digital animation pioneer Richard Chuang, innovators and local institutions to discuss about artificial intelligence, telemedicine technologies and the business of digital health.

It also featured a pitch competition for students of the HCM City University of Science who have been working on telemedicine and artificial intelligence for their final year thesis.

Telemedicine, through its current application and future potential, is among the fields that the US is supporting in Viet Nam.

Health and medical sciences is one of the five focus areas in the bilateral science co-operation mechanism between the US and Viet Nam, Nate Rettenmayer, an economic official at the US consulate in HCM City, said.

The conference was organised by the consulate, the HCM City University of Science, and video telehealth platform VSee. VNS
Seventeen young people are taking part in the YouthSpeak Ambassador Campaign, which encourages youth to dare to take action and initiate positive societal change.

Among the outstanding ambassadors are Le Nguyen Thien Huong, who has created a project to protect the World Natural Heritage site Son oong; Luong The Huy, who fights for the rights of the LGBT community; and Hoang uc Minh, who has designed the Action4Future project.

The campaign is part of the Youth for Sustainable Development Goals  YouthSpeak 2016 project, organised and developed by International Youth Organisation AIESEC in Viet Nam and the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

It is based on the UNs 17 Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

The project consists of platforms for people aged 18 to 24 in HCM City, including the ambassadors campaign, YouthSpeak Contest, YouthSpeak Forum and an Opportunity Fair.

Of the platforms, the Youth Speak Contest is among the most important event designed to solve problems related to violence against children in Viet Nam, according to Pham Phu Vinh, chairman of the project.

The contest has three rounds that will take place from July 1 to October 15 with a range of activities, including selection of qualified teams, training and analytical studies, and solutions presented to execute their ideas.

Two people will be selected to present their projects at the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur in November.  VNS
The sao la, Vu Quang ox, spindlehorn, or Asian bicorn (Pseudoryx nghetinhensis) is one of the worlds rarest large mammals, a forest-dwelling bovine found only in the Truong Son Mountain Range of Viet Nam and Laos. The species was defined following a discovery of remains in 1992 in Vu Quang Nature Reserve. A living sao la in the wild was first photographed in 1999 by a camera trap set by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), and again in 2013 in Quang Nam Province.

The world marks July 9th as Sao la Day and raise awareness of the critical endangered animal and its scientific importance among the community.

By Hoai Nam

Vien Xuan Lien, a Ta Oi ethnic man working as a forest ranger at the Sao La Thua Thien-Hue Nature Reserve in A Luoi District in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue, has trailed after the footprints of the sao la over the past five years in vain since he joined the forest ranger team, a forest protection initiative of WWF under Carbon sinks and Biodiversity (CarBi) project, in the Sao La Thua Thien-Hue Nature Reserve.

The last time he saw the critically endangered species was in 1994 during a forest patrol trip, and he has yet to meet it again.

Vien Xuan Lien, a team leader of Forest Guard team in Sao la Thua Thien-Hue Nature Reserve, sets up a camera trap to record the movement of wild animals in the forest. VNS Photos Cong Thanh

Lien, who was born and grew up in A Ho Village in A Roang Commune of the central provinces mountainous A Luoi District, recalled that sao la and other wildlife species were once abundant in the primary ever green forests.

Its similar to muntjac. The sao la was one of various animals that we used to see in the forest in my teenage years. Hunting was the old trade and a breadwinner among the tribes  the Ta Oi, Co Tu and Pa Co  living in the Truong Son Mountain Range, Lien recalled.

Lien said he had not known the importance of the sao la until he was recognised by the Forest Ranger model initiated by the WWF in 2010.

Lien said its an old story for the Ta Oi ethnic group where young people prefer profitable jobs in towns, while communication on forest protection is booming under the strict control of rangers in buffer zones in the Thua Thien-Hue Sao La Nature Reserve.

The local community has become aware of the importance of the endangered animals and the forest due to regular communication programmes organised by the forest guard team in the Sao La Thua Thien-Hue Nature Reserve over the past six years, according to Lien.

Local born forest guards play as crucial communicators among ethnic communities. We persuade local people to stop illegal hunting and logging, and get them to understand that these activities are illegal, Lien explained.

A ranger checks the route of a patrol trip using a global positioning system and a map. Rangers often take days long patrols in the forest to track the footprints of wildlife and block illegal hunting and logging. VNS Photos Cong Thanh

Changes

Lien, 39, and his colleagues spend 16 days a month patrolling in the 15,500ha reserve in combination with using forest protection communications.

Their efforts have helped dismantle over 75,000 snares and destroy 1,000 illegal huts  shelters for illegal loggers and hunters.

Rangers in the Sao La Nature Reserve in Thua Thien-Hue and expanded protection areas in Bach Ma National Park and Quang Nam Province spent 38,000 days over 1,100 forest trips tracking critically endangered species as well as creating thousands of survival chances for wildlife, said Luong Viet Hung, protected area manager of CarBi from the WWF-Viet Nam.

More equipment and new solutions were given to support rangers and enhance their capacity of protecting biodiversity as well as tracking the vestiges of the sao la species, Hung said.

He added that a terrestrial leech  a regular blood sucking worm in tropical primary forests  has been used to recover blood samples for DNA identification of species in nature.

Hung said over 600 blood samples extracted from leeches were sent to laboratories around the world to match with gene sources.

A tropical leech is used to supply a blood sample for DNA identification at a laboratory. VNS Photos Cong Thanh

Its very new research on biodiversity in the world. Forest guards are trained to collect the blood suckers in the deep jungle to identify species on a map, Hung said.

He added that camera traps and regular patrols had helped record the appearance and existence of the sao la and various other endangered species including the Truong Son muntjac (Muntiacus truongsonensis), the Truong Son striped rabbit (Nesolagus timminsi), the red-shanked doucs (Pygathrix nemaeus) and the Asian black bear in recent years.

Hung stressed that traps and snares are still the toughest challenge in the Sao La Nature Reserve.

Le Quoc Thien, a member of protected area officer of CarBi, WWF-Viet Nam, said traps were sharply reduced by 50 percent in early 2011, but had begun increasing again in 2014-15.

Illegal hunters do not set up snares in a mass, but hide them in multiple sites to make sure they catch animals. None of the wildlife species can completely escape from this trap system, Thien said.

Although local people have positively raised their awareness of wildlife protection, life hardships can still lead them into illegal hunting and logging, he said.

He stressed that the masterminds of illegal hunting groups often come from other provinces, as locals can be easily detected by rangers.

Thien said restaurant owners from other provinces willingly cover the costs for traps and snares, and sometimes even portable hand-made air guns.

He said easy money would lure local hunters, while punishments have yet to provide a deterrence from illegal actions.

Thien, 28, said traps and snares are dangerous tools that can lead to the extinction of endangered animals and species, especially in the Thua Thien-Hue Sao la Nature Reserve where there is easily accessible transport.

He said the hunters spend one or two days in the forest setting up traps using steel wires, each with lassos on two sides of them. They then return a few days later to collect the animals they have caught.

Weasels, squirrels, muntjac deer, wild boar and civets can easily fall prey to the traps at night, he speculated.

A ranger team treks in the 15,500ha of the Sao La Nature Reserve Centre in A Luoi District in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue. VNS Photos Cong Thanh



Livelihood

Log farming and wood processing development is seen as a positive and long-term sustainable solution in A Roang Commune.

A hectare of acacia farm can bring in revenue of VN30 million, while a rubber farm can add to a residents coffers, Vice Chairman of A Roang Communal Peoples Committee, Vien Xuan Danh, said.

Stories of sao la and biodiversity are regular topics at all meetings in villages, communes and primary schools. As a result, 85 percent of the 2,500-population commune is aware of the sao la, he said

Danh, however, said that the 60 per cent of the population living in poor conditions could be a pressure on wildlife protection in the reserve.

Local administration plans to build a wood processing plant to collect from the log farm, while local people also benefit from payments from a forest environment services (PFES) programme are both better solutions that involve local residents in forest protection.

According to Le Ngoc Tung, head of A Luoi ranger station in the Thua Thien-Hue Sao La Nature Reserve, rangers face many difficulties in tracking poachers.

The area is out of mobile phone service range, so communication between the station and rangers on patrol is still limited in dealing with poaching.

WWF-Viet Nam has been planning an afforestation of indigenous trees including rattan, medicinal herbs and log  that exist in the forest  in changing the livelihoods of the locals.
by Minh Giang

Despite leading a difficult life, 61-year-old Thach Ua in Phong Phu Commune in the southern province of Tra Vinh has twice donated land for building a primary school and kindergarten in his hometown, helping hundreds of ethnic students in the area to attend schools.

Phong Phu Commune is home to many Khmer ethnic people who account for over 60 per cent of its population. As a poor community whose main sources of living derive from farming, many households have not been able to afford education for their children. Due to a lack of schools, many Khmer children are forced to stay home to work with their parents.

Others must travel by boat or wade a 4km muddy path to reach the main road to walk to their schools.

After witnessing his daughter and many nearby childrens difficulties in going to school daily, Ua spoke with local authorities and allowed them to use the bare land in front of his house to build a temporary primary school.

I used to be a soldier fighting on a Cambodian battlefield. After being demobilised, I returned to my home village to work as a farmer, he said. There were no schools in my hamlet. Students had to walk long distances to reach their schools. So I thought of lending my land to local authorities to build temporary classes. At that time, I just wanted to have a school nearby so my daughter and neighbouring children did not have to cross the muddy path or sit on rocking boats to go to schools anymore, he said.

Farmer and schoolchildren: Thach Ua poses with students of Phong Phu B Primary School. Photo dantri.com.vn

A makeshift classroom made of bamboo and leaves was first set up on his land in 1990. When that classroom later deteriorated seriously, he decided to donate 1,000 square metres on which two classrooms with brick walls and metal roofs were built to establish Phong Phu B Primary School in 1995.

Uas intentions received enthusiastic support from both his family and neighbours.

When he spoke with me about lending our land to authorities, I accepted immediately because I understood how difficult the childrens journey to school was, says Thach Thi Ngone, Uas wife.

My family are farmers and the land we donated might be of high value. But I did not calculate anything but hope that local children would be educated, instead of dropping out of school.

From the small Phong Phu B Primary School, generations of students have grown up to have a brighter future, becoming engineers, doctors and teachers.

Everyone needs money but money can never be as valuable as knowledge. Only education helps people to broaden their minds, live properly and contribute to society, Ua says.

There was a primary school, but no kindergarten in the area. So Ua also suggested local authorities open a kindergarten in his house in 2012.

Uas house had enough space for only 23 small children. But there was high demand for children to attend kindergarten in the hamlet and vicinity.

In 2012, he decided to donate another 500sq.m of his land for the Peoples Committee of Cau Ke District to construct a new kindergarten. The school welcomed nearly 100 children in Phong Phu Commune after it was built.

Ua has a very good will and he donated land for the students in the commune twice. Recently, when local authorities encountered difficulties in upgrading the traffic system, he donated more land to finish a 900m road. He has received many certificates of merit for his good deeds, says Huynh Thi inh, vice chairman of Phong Phu Communes Peoples Committee.

He is respected within the Khmer community. When there are disputes or campaigns in the region, the authorities ask for Uas help, she adds.

It was a midsummer afternoon. Students were playing happily in front of Uas house. Though it was summer vacation, the ethnic students were being taught the Khmer language to preserve their writings and culture.

As soon as Ua stepped out on the playground, the children immediately surrounded him and held his hand joyfully.

Im very happy to see the children now have a place to play and learn, he says. VNS
by Minh Thu

If you discover water leakage at home, you can now use an app on your smartphone to call the technicians and give them directions to your home.

An idea of using a smartphone with GPS supported to detect water leakage won the first prize at the nationwide Smart Water Innovation Contest 2016, organised by the Swedish Embassy in Ha Noi.

Trinh Quoc Anh, Nguyen Tran Quang Khai and Vo Phi Long, who are studying at the HCM City University of Technology, are inventors of the initiative, Reduce Water Leaks by a Mobile Device.

They are close friends who studied in the same class and often worked as a team during essays and researches. They share the same interest in science.

The innovation came about when the team discovered a high volume of water leakage in the citys water system in 2015, reaching up to 30 per cent of the total, compared to 3 per cent in Tokyo, 12 per cent in Sydney and 4 per cent in Singapore, according to Trinh Quoc Anh.

Based on the statistics of the Sai Gon Water Corporation (SAWACO), HCM City has 5,462km of water pipes in different sizes. Among them, 642km pipes which have been used for more than 30 years, are the reason for underground water leakages.

Bach Vu Hai, deputy general director of SAWACO, said that the company was targeting reduction in water loss rate to 28 per cent in 2020 and 25 per cent in 2025.

In comparison to other big cities in the world, the volume of water loss in HCM City was very high, he said.

Who pays for the loss? Nobody but us. It is not only a waste of money but also natural resources because people in many remote areas do not receive enough clean water.

The youngsters immediately thought of a way to solve the problem. How could the leakage be reported as soon as possible? The answer was to use smartphones.

Smartphones have become so popular in the society so our idea could work out if it was applied to smartphones, Long said.

Cell phones are with you everywhere. So when you notice the water leakage, just switch on the app and report it to technicians of your building or area.

With only a tap on the smart phones screen, the building managers can identify the location of the leakage. The position of the leak will be based on Global Positioning System (GPS) co-ordinates.
Metal and mineral extraction activity is likely to cease to be the sole driver of business growth for some private industrial explosives manufacturers in India as they seek bigger a opportunity from the defence sector over the next 4-5 years.
At least 10 militants were killed during military operations and clashes across within a day, officials said on Saturday.

"Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) conducted several clean-up operations in surrounding areas of Nangarhar, Kapisa, Ghazni, Paktia, Kandahar, Uruzgan, Badghis, Takhar and Helmand provinces within a day. As a result, six armed militants were killed, two wounded and seven detained by the ANSF," Xinhua news agency quoted an official as saying.

The security force also found and seized weapons, the official said, adding that three army personnel also lost their lives in separate incidents over the same period.

Four militants were also killed and three were wounded after army soldiers repelled a militant attack on security checkpoints in Kunduz's Imam Sahib district on Friday.
As cracks appeared in Nepal's ruling alliance, Prime Minister K P Oli on Saturday called a joint meeting of the coalition partners in an attempt to avert any possible political crisis.

The Prime Minister called the meeting at his official residence Baluwatar to discuss various contemporary issues, his Press Advisor Pramod Dahal said.

Leaders in the meeting will discuss implementation of the Constitution Implementation Action Plan that the government had introduced recently and endorsement of the budget announced for the next financial year, he said.

The decision to hold the meeting came after Unified Communist Party of (UCPN)-Maoist Centre chairman Prachanda claimed that the next government would be formed soon after the new budget is endorsed by the Parliament.

According to media reports, the Maoists and the CPN-UML led by Oli had reached a gentleman's agreement last month in this regard.

During a meeting with the Prime Minister on Friday, Prachanda is understood to have asked Oli to honour nine-point agreement reached between the two big parties in May.

Prachanda also told Oli that his party is concerned about the formation of national unity government with the involvement of Nepali Congress, the main opposition party, according to sources close to Prachanda.

The Maoists have also indicated that they would not let the budget pass in the Parliament if Oli turns a deaf ear towards their concerns.

However, Saturday's meeting is regarded as important, as it will decide the fate of the coalition government.

Prime Minister Oli has been cornered after the Maoists raised the issue of formation of national unity government.

Meanwhile, Minister for Information and Communication Sherdhan Rai has dismissed as rumours reports about government change.

He claimed that the coalition government enjoys overwhelming support of the people and the rumour was spread by those who are scared of the government's strength.

He said that the government is ready to forge national consensus, adding no one should talk about misleading things in the name of consensus at a time when the government is making serious efforts towards implementing the new Constitution.

The government has called the agitating Madhesi parties for a dialogue to address their concern, the minister said and expressed hope that they will soon come forward for a dialogue.
Australian workers will soon be entitled to paid domestic violence leave More than 11 million Australians will be able to access 10 days of paid domestic violence leave from February 2023 after the Labor government passed a milestone bill on Thursday.

Coalition slams Labor for empowering far-left climate activists The Opposition has slammed Tanya Plibersek's defence of the almost $10 million Labor spent on funding climate groups in Tuesday night's budget, accusing the government of "empowering far-left activists" and inflicting "massive damage on our national economy".

My lifes been publicly scrutinised: Brittany Higgins tearful statement Brittany Higgins has delivered a tearful statement declaring her life has been publicly scrutinised outside court after the judge in the Bruce Lehrmann rape case discharged the jury.

Labor reveals cheaper medicines win The Albanese Government has officially reduced the cost of prescription medicines and revealed how much money millions of Australians can expect to save.
Even if Anthony had a year to analyze and dissect each piece...(he couldn't tell if it would)... stand the harsh light of public exposure.

WUWT insider Willis Eschenbach tells you all you need to know about Anthony Watts and his blog, WattsUpWithThat (WUWT). As part of his scathing commentary , Wondering Willis accuses Anthony Watts of being clueless about the blog articles he posts. To paraphrase: Click here to read more.
CEDAR RAPIDS -- Recent expansion of the Panama Canal should lower shipping costs for agricultural exports from the Midwest via the Mississippi Gulf, but the impact on cash basis will depend on export volume and the pace of upgrades for infrastructure connecting local fields with distant markets.

On June 26, the Panama Canal officially opened a new shipping lane, including a third set of locks that are wider and deeper  effectively doubling the canals capacity, the Panama Canal Authority said.

According to the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, the expanded canal could boost the competitiveness of U.S. grain as reduced transportation and landed costs could make U.S. grain exports more attractive to foreign buyers.

Bigger ships will help, too. AMS said typical grain shipments from Brazil to Asia range from 60,000 to 66,000 metric tons (MT), compared to about 55,000 MT in the United States.

In an interview June 16, Dan Mack, vice president of transportation and terminal operations with CHS Inc., said imports of container ships were the main driver for the canal expansion, but U.S. agriculture stands to benefit.

Any signification expansion of transportation infrastructure is a good thing, Mack said. This happens to be a positive one from a North American as well as a global perspective.

Mack said reduced wait times at the canal will allow ships to operate more efficiently, and the ability to use larger ships will reduce per unit costs.

All those economics travel up the river and impact local basis, Mack said.

How much the canal expansion will benefit Midwest grain prices will depend somewhat on how much transit time is saved, Mack said. He explained cost savings would also have more of an impact at higher freight value.

I think the true value will be when demand is more robust, he said. Freight rates arent static.

And while the expansion could make Gulf prices more competitive vs. the Pacific Northwest, the canal doesnt discriminate, Mack said. Brazilian exporters could also send grain through the canal.

Mississippi Gulf perspective

Paul Aucoin, executive director of Port of South Louisiana, said its hard to predict exactly what the Panama Canal expansion will do.

He described one potential scenario where larger ships can haul more grain on each trip  lowering the cost of shipping and increasing ag exports.

Thats all to be seen, Aucoin said. We should benefit well from the new Panama Canal.

Yet to fully load the biggest ships heading through the canal, known as Neopanamax vessels, the mouth of the Mississippi would need to be deepened as well, he said.

Down river at the Port of New Orleans, Director of External Affairs Matt Gresham said in an email, The opening of the Panama Canals expanded locks will have a positive impact on all shippers using the Lower Mississippi River, which moves about 60 percent of the nations exported grain annually.

Gresham said the port is working closely with the State of Louisiana and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to update return on investment studies for the deepening of the Mississippi River from the current 45 feet to 50 feet  the new controlled draft (depth) of the expanded Panama Canal.

The River was authorized to go to 55 feet in the mid-1980s and is now typically at 47 feet with annual maintenance dredging by the Corps, he explained.

The Corps study should be complete by 2017.

If positive, industry and government agencies in the 32 states that depend upon the Lower Mississippi River to export goods can focus on raising the funds necessary for the local cost shares for the project, Gresham said.

Aucoin explained a few feet make a big difference when it limits how much you can load a ship capable of hauling tens of thousands of tons of cargo.

He was glad to see federal spending on port infrastructure has improved recently and hopes a strong push for improvements will come from the states up river.

He said all the states up river ought to be pounding on the table to get the mouth of the Mississippi opened.

We feed the world, but the worlds going to go somewhere else if our costs get out of control, Aucoin said. The Mississippi River is this countrys greatest natural resource, and nobody knows it.

Midwest impacts

Mike Steenhoek, executive director of Soy Transportation Coalition based in Ankeny, Iowa, said, For the soybean industry and the corn industry, the big benefit (of the Panama Canal expansion) will be for us to load ships heavier and load larger ships.

Each year, approximately 600 million bushels of U.S. soybeans transit the Panama Canal  the No. 1 agricultural commodity utilizing this critical link in the logistics chain.

Less congestion at the canal is also important, Steenhoek said, but its not all about shipping speed.

Reliability is more important. What our customers want is our ships to arrive on the day they were planning, he said.

Steenhoek said cost savings from the Panama Canal expansion could easily be 35 cents per bushel.

And since there is very little product differentiation in most ag commodities, price is a real determining factor, he said.

But Steenhoek said U.S. and Brazilian companies are also investing in export terminals in northern Brazil on the Amazon River and its tributaries. These waterways will soon provide a closer link to Brazils Mato Grosso growing region.

Who will benefit more?  Thats really hard to predict, Steenhoek said.

Meanwhile, the expanded port could also increase pressure on ports in the U.S. Pacific Northwest to maintain competitive prices as well, he said.

Cheaper shipping costs through the Gulf may also increase the swath of the country that ships grain through Panama.

According to our research, the draw area to our major navigable waterways could expand from 70 miles to 161 miles, Steenhoek explained. As a result, there will be increased areas of the country that will be able to avail themselves of the inland waterway system. The demand for barge loading facilities along our major rivers will likely increase.

Overall, Steenhoek said he sees the expanded canal as strengthening a key export link. In addition to increasing the depth of the Mississippi River, investing in locks and dams will also be important, he said.

We need to celebrate that, and make sure were doing everything we can to make sure or transportation systems that lead up the canal is compatible with it, Steenhoek said.

We need to be more resolute about investing in our inland water way system. If the links that lead up to that link arent there, its a missed opportunity.
In the classic childrens novel Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found There, Lewis Carrolls heroine Alice steps through a mirrors reflection to discover a world of out-of-the-way things that are contrary to what one expects, and quite really impossible.

Cedar Valley Chamber Music Executive Director Hunter Capoccioni often wondered what would happen if he could shrink down some of the worlds most famous symphonies to chamber music size. So, he decided to follow Alice through the looking glass.

This seasons series of chamber music concerts will feature works (boiled down to their smallest parts) by composers like Ludwig van Beethoven, Richard Strauss, Igor Stravinsky and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, beginning Saturday.

These are works that should be played by larger-sized groups, so I wanted to make sure we had the right players to pull it off. I also discovered its much more complicated and difficult to execute, Capoccioni says.

The festival has grown to such a high artistic level and the quality of performers is so high. I started by sending everyone a YouTube clip of a couple of woodwind players performing The Rite of Spring and asked can five of you really pull it off? Is this really sane? I didnt want to program it, have three rehearsals and have a mutiny on my hands, he says, laughing.

Musicians loved the challenge. The Alice in Wonderland theme is so fun to play with and continues our mission to use themes to engage peoples imaginations, to bring in new audiences. The musicians come here with one purpose  to rehearse, perform and do music outreach. Its total immersion, he adds.

On Saturday, Symphonic Metamorphosis featuring Beethovens Symphony No. 6 Pastoral, and several other pieces, will be performed at 7 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church in Cedar Falls. The concert also will be performed at Trinity United Methodist Church in Charles City on Friday, as part of the 2016 Iowa tour series.

Extreme Makeover: Strauss Edition will be performed at 7 p.m. July 20 at Sunnyside Country Club in Waterloo, featuring Richard Strauss Til Eulenspiegel einmal anders!, Op. 28 and other compositions.

Mozarts Grand Sestetto Concertante and Stravinskys The Rite of Spring are on the Small Sacrifices program. That concert is at 3 p.m. July 24 in the grand foyer at the Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center in Cedar Falls. The program also will be performed at 3 p.m. July 23 at Elkader Opera House, another performance on the Iowa tour series.

Childrens concerts are planned at 3 p.m. Saturday at the Hearst Center for the Arts in Cedar Falls, and 2 p.m. next Sunday at the Waterloo Center for the Arts. The programs will feature Ravels Suite from Mother Goose with animation by Tom Scott.

The Exorior Duo, featuring Michelle Cheramy and Nathan Cook, will perform community outreach with performances at Wednesday at Landmark Commons; Thursday at Windhaven; July 19 at Friendship Village; and July 20 at the Western Home. All performances are at 10 a.m.

In addition to ticketed performances, the series also includes an evening of free music featuring the Florestan Trio, cellist Stefan Kartman and pianist Jeannie Yu at 7 p.m. July 18 at the Hearst.

CVCM will perform at Iowa Public Radios Live From Studio One at noon Friday in the Communications Arts Center at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls.

An Evening of Solo Music by CVCM Musicians will be presented at 7 p.m. July 21 at The Cellar Martini & Wine Bar, located at CU Restaurant, now Bryans on Fourth and the Limestone Lounge. There will be complementary hors doeuvres and a cash bar with Wonderland-themed cocktails. It is a benefit for Boys and Girls Club of the Cedar Valleys Music Program.
WATERLOO  After being released from prison for a robbery and shooting he didnt commit, an Indiana man is now fighting an almost-decade-old drug charge in connection with a 2,200-pound cargo container that showed up behind a Waterloo townhouse in 2007.

Christopher Lee Parishs attorney, Michael Lahammer of Cedar Rapids, argues authorities dragged their feet in pursuing charges and then took no steps to track down Parish when a federal grand jury in Iowa returned an indictment charging him with possession of cocaine with intent to deliver in proximity to a park.

Parish, Lahammer said, wasnt in hiding. He had rebuilt his life after prison  raising his family and starting a company to do business with the federal government  and was oblivious to a sealed arrest warrant with his name on it.

Not only that, authorities knew he lived in Indiana, where he was occasionally in the limelight having won a multimillion-dollar judgment for the time he spent in behind bars in the overturned robbery case.

Now, its impossible for Parish to mount a defense, said Lahammer, who argued the delays violated Parishs right to a speedy trial.

Robbery

Christopher Lee Parishs nightmare began while he was taking his children trick-or-treating on Halloween 1996. Officers with the Elkhart Police Department arrested Parish, then 20, for robbery and attempted murder in connection with a shooting that happened days earlier.

Authorities said two men had entered an apartment in an Elkhart housing project on Oct. 29, 1996, and demanded cash and drugs. The resident, Michael Kershner, grabbed a rifle. A struggle ensued and Kershner was shot in the abdomen.

The suspects fled with a SKS rifle, a stun gun and container of quarters. They left behind a rhinestone-encrusted leather ball cap bearing the initial J. Friends drove Kreshner to a nearby fire station, and he survived his injuries.

No physical evidence placed Parish at the scene, but a witness told police one of the assailants looked like Parish, and another witness picked him from a photo lineup.

During his 1998 trial, Parish said he was at a family event in Chicago at the time of the shooting. Relatives were called to testify, but a jury found him guilty, and he was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Another person charged in the robbery, Keith Cooper, was also convicted.

In 2005, the Indiana Court of Appeals overturned the conviction and granted Parish a new trial after finding his original attorney had failed to investigate the shooting.

Further allegations had surfaced that the victim, Kershner, was actually shot in a parking lot, but witnesses claimed it was at the apartment because Kershner was on supposed to be on home detention at the time, records state. Also, the leather ball cap, which prosecutors alleged had belonged to Cooper, actually had DNA belonging to a man named Johlanis Ervin.

When the witnesses who had identified Parish and Cooper were shown photos of Ervin  whose first name begins with the letter J  and Ervins brother, they indicated the Ervins looked like the robbers and no longer had confidence in their identification of Parish, court records state.

On a side note, Johlanis Ervin was convicted of second-degree murder in an unrelated shooting in Benton Harbor, Mich., in July 2002, records state. He allegedly opened fire on a front-porch dice game where his brother had lost money, and one of the bullets ricocheted and struck a bystander in the head, records state.

Meanwhile in Indiana, prosecutors offered Parish a plea deal in the robbery case. If he pleaded guilty, he wouldnt have to do any prison time. But Parish declined a plea deal, prosecutors dropped the case, and Parish was released in 2006.

Cooper was also granted a retrial, but opted to take the plea deal, records state.

Parish filed a wrongful imprisonment lawsuit against Elkhart police and the lead detective in the robbery case in 2007.

Shipping

While the civil case was pending, authorities in Texas became suspicious of a ReloCube that had been packed in the city of Mission  located along the Mexican border  on Oct. 3, 2007, and was to be delivered to a townhouse on Oaklawn Avenue in Waterloo.

ReloCubes are metal six-by-seven-by-eight-foot packing containers marketed to people who are moving. It wasnt clear what made authorities suspicious, but two of the people who loaded it had also loaded similar containers bound for Mishawaha, Ind., in the preceding months, investigators noted.

Texas officials ran the container past a Dallas Police Department detection dog named Sandy, who alerted to the scent of drugs, court records state.

The container arrived at the Oaklawn address  which is within 1,000 feet of Elks Memorial Park  on the back of a flatbed Oct. 8, 2007. Parish and a woman met the delivery driver shortly before noon, court records state, and officers with the Waterloo-based Tri-County Drug Enforcement Task Force showed up with a search warrant.

Amid totes and boxes filled with household items like a candles, an inflatable bed, a play kitchen and a Martha Stewart stockpot, investigators found a 12-by-18-by-6-inch brick of suspected marijuana wrapped in plastic embedded in wax, records state. There was also a 12-by-6-by-2-inch brink of suspected cocaine with similar wrapping and two plastic wrap balls containing suspected methamphetamine, according to court records.

Parish wasnt arrested, and The Courier was unable to find any charges filed against the woman and another man police encountered at the house.

Little happened regarding the shipping container in the following years. Investigators attempted to track down the sender but apparently didnt get anywhere.

In 2010, Parishs wrongful imprisonment case went to trial, and the jury issued a $78,125 verdict. Even though he won he appealed, arguing the court had kept out the most damning testimony  including the eyewitness recantations  and that decision had led to low verdict. The average wrongful imprisonment case garnered a payout of $950,000 per year spent behind bars, he argued.

In February 2012, a grand jury seated in the Northern District in Iowa handed up the indictment charging Parish in connection with the Waterloo storage container, just as the statute of limitations deadline was nearing.

Parish was unaware of the charges.

After October of 2007, I had expected to be charged and arrested for several years. As the years passed, I believe the matter had been dropped and no charges would be filed, Parish wrote in an affidavit. My life is now substantially different than it was in October 2007.

In 2013, Parish applied to build Section 8 housing, and in 2014 he formed a real estate company, listing his home address in corporate filings with the Indiana Secretary of State. That same year, Elkhart finally settled his imprisonment lawsuit for $4.9 million. Both the robbery exoneration and the settlement were reported by Indiana newspapers.

Parish didnt earn enough to file federal tax returns in 2012 but did for 2013 through 2015, and while his civil case was pending, he entered a federal courthouse several times, always showing identification, records state.

The details of Parishs arrest on the federal drug indictment werent available, but court records show United States Marshals took him into custody on March 28, 2016, in Indiana. He was transferred to Iowa where he was released on April 27 under the condition probation officials be able to monitor his finances and he be allowed to travel to monitor Section 8 construction projects in Indiana and Illinois.

Trial for the drug charge is tentatively set for August in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids, and a hearing on the defenses motion to dismiss the case because of speed trial issues remains pending.
WATERLOO  A 20-year-old man was arrested early Sunday after shots were fired outside of a downtown bar.

Davon Demetrius Caldwell, of 618 Gable St., was charged with carrying weapons and reckless use of a firearm after Waterloo police were called to Club Empire, 313 W. Fifth St. Officers stopped a vehicle Caldwell was in near the club shortly after responding to the call at 1:55 a.m.

They found one casing in front of Club Empire, said Sgt. Melissa Ludwig. Pioneer Graphic is reporting possible bullet holes on the Fifth Avenue side of their building.

Police reported finding a spent shell casing on the roof the the car Caldwell was driving. No one was hurt in the incident.
CEDAR FALLS  Area Education Agency 267s board of directors Wednesday sold the Pinecrest Center school in Mason City at a bargain price.

North Iowa Area Community College picked up the three small buildings that make up the school for $1. Until this spring, AEA 267 operated a behavioral disability school in the buildings, which are part of a Four Oaks residential treatment facility. The behavior disability school is now operated by Mason City Schools.

AEA 267, which is based in Cedar Falls, purchased the buildings some time ago when its lease on the space was up. The land the buildings are on already belongs to NIACC. The college will work with Mason City Schools and Four Oaks on building usage for the program.

AEA 267 provides special education and school improvement services for 53 districts across an 18-county area in northeast and north central Iowa.
CEDAR FALLS  Bill Hibbs brother gave the ultimate sacrifice in the Vietnam War 50 years ago this year and won the Medal of Honor for it.

Hibbs was on hand Saturday as city officials, veterans groups, dignitaries and ordinary citizens celebrated an expansion of Veterans Park off Waterloo Road, the result of a volunteer effort over the past year. A shelter, walkway and granite benches were added to increase the parks use.

One of its features is the Black Hawk County Freedom Rock, which bears the likeness of Hibbs brother, U.S. Army 2nd Lt. Robert J. Hibbs of Cedar Falls. He was killed in Vietnam in March 1966 while leading a 15-man ambush patrol against two Viet Cong units. He died while providing covering fire as a sergeant took a wounded man to safety.

But Bill Hibbs said citizens can honor his brothers memory by taking care of memorials once erected, and veterans after they return.

Theres a tendency to forget about things. Were a nation of builders, not maintainers, said Hibbs, now retired and of Apple Valley, Minn. He noted the Main Street Bridge downtown, also named for his brother and dedicated 20 years ago, is showing signs of deterioration and disrepair. He hopes it will be repaired and the newly dedicated park maintained.

I think its a beautiful facility, he said of the park. You cant help sit there and think about the sacrifices the veterans have given. But my fear is its going to be forgotten. Gotta have maintenance.

One of the park expansion organizers, former City Council member and Korean War veteran Sid Morris, noted money from the sale of commemorative bricks honoring veterans at the park are going into a fund for ongoing maintenance, and more than 2,900 bricks have been sold.

Youve got a great guardian here with Sid, Hibbs said.

Bill Hibbs said of his brother, He hated war. Hated war. But he knew it was something he had to do. He also indicated his brother would speak out about how veterans are treated today.

My brother Bob, he loved to argue. In high school he was on the debate team. Hed love to debate. And what he would say now is, Were screwing the veterans by not taking care of them. Its a shame. Weve got to draw a line somewhere in the sand and say these are our priorities. Theyre not getting their dues.

U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley echoed the thought.

When we promise veterans something we ought to deliver on those promises. And right now, in regard to some of the veteran health care issues that are before Congress, weve got to make sure we keep our promises, Grassley said.

Retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Tim Rippe, a former ROTC instructor at the University of Northern Iowa now living in Oregon, was instrumental in challenging local officials to create Veterans Park in the late 1990s. He said the park has helped bring healing, satisfaction and closure to veterans and their families.

This park may not exactly be the hallowed ground of a battlefield or national cemetery, he said. But it has become, for this city and its veterans, a place of deep and abiding reverence and a prominent and visible tribute to all those who have sacrificed so much for the love of freedom.
WATERLOO  The City Council is being asked to give up a slice of San Marnan Drive right-of-way for a parking lot expansion at the VGM Group.

Council members at 5:30 p.m. Monday in City Hall will consider the second reading of an ordinance vacating just over an acre of unused roadside so it can be conveyed to the company in the future. The first reading passed unanimously.

City officials said they followed Iowa law for disposal of land originally acquired for road construction, which included getting the land appraised and offering it first to past and adjoining property owners.

No bids were received last month for the property, which was appraised at nearly $174,000.

Community Planning and Development Director Noel Anderson said the process clears the way for the city to vacate the land and sell it for $1 to the VGM Group based on the terms of an April 2015 development agreement.

VGM is investing more than $20 million in an expansion of its headquarters at Ansborough Avenue and San Marnan. The City Council voted to provide road improvements, tax rebates and the property donation in return for the investment.

The bid process is an effort to avoid problems which arose when a larger stretch of San Marnan Drive was vacated and sold for $1 to private investors for the Sunnyside South housing development.

The Iowa Supreme Court declared that transaction was unlawful because the city failed to appraise or seek bids for the property first. Sunnyside South remains in litigation.

Other scheduled council business includes:

A resolution rejecting bids for taxiway repairs, runway markings and lighting improvements at the Waterloo Regional Airport because the lowest $1.87 million bid was more than $275,000 over budget.

A 4:50 p.m. ordinance committee meeting to discuss changes to the ordinance requiring video surveillance cameras in convenience stores and other businesses.
WATERLOO  First Ward electors will determine Tuesday who becomes a potential tie-breaking Waterloo City Council vote for the next 18 months.

Tom Powers, a retired city firefighter and current VGM Group employee, and Margaret Klein, a retired Cedar Valley Catholic Schools worker, are running in a special election to fill the vacancy created when David Jones resigned in April.

Jones was the deciding vote on a hotly contested budget in March when he joined Ron Welper, Jerome Amos Jr. and Pat Morrissey to adopt a spending plan and reject a counterproposal from Steve Schmitt, Tom Lind and Bruce Jacobs.

His departure has led to several 3-3 votes on issues ranging from filling vacant positions to applying for a white-water course grant to approving funds for the mayor to attend a conference.

Powers and Klein both rejected claims they would become a pocket vote for either side.

Im a fourth vote for moving Waterloo forward, Powers said, when asked about his allegiance. We have a standstill happening on our City Council, and I want to be the vote that moves this community forward.

Klein also touted her independence, saying she would have split her votes on two key issues that divided the council. She supported the mayors travel request and opposed a grant to pay for 50 percent of a new animal control van.

I really dont belong to any group, she said. Thats how I hope I can function on the council.

Powers, 64, of 611 Campbell Ave., is a Vietnam War veteran who worked 29 years for Waterloo Fire Rescue before joining the VGM Group, directing the companys political efforts at the state and national level.

As a firefighter, Powers said, he helped the city get funding for a regional training center and the Fire PALS school program. He has helped run campaigns for Democratic candidates and volunteered on a number of city and county government boards.

I think I bring thoughtful leadership, he said. I am Waterloo proud and want Waterloo to be a pro-growth city.

Powers said his primary goal is to help bring good jobs and a work force to Waterloo while keeping a watchful eye on taxes and looking for other sources of revenue to maintain city services. He criticized council members who would take a chainsaw to budgets and not invest in the quality of life.

Klein, 66, of 4102 Aspen Court, retired after serving in a variety of positions at Cedar Valley Catholic Schools, but she remained active on parish councils and the CVCS board of education.

If you vote for me you are voting for a very frugal, a very hard-working, a very honest woman who believes in working together with the members of the City Council, all the department heads and the mayor, she said.

Klein said her main goal would be working to cut the citys high property tax rate without cutting public safety.

You can pay $11.21 (per $1,000 tax rates) in Cedar Falls versus $17.60 right here. Weve got to start closing that gap, she said. We need to start chipping away  not with a chainsaw, not with an ax  with a mind to people, with a mind to cooperation.

Reports filed with the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board on Thursday showed Powers had raised $10,012 and spent $6,518 on his campaign. Klein had raised $1,665 and spent $669, but had $1,827 in unpaid bills which were her personal contributions to her own campaign.

I have little people supporting me and just one large (donation), Klein said. I hate to see a council seat try to be purchased.

Kleins largest contributions were $500 from Ben Stroh, $250 from Barbara Corson, $200 from Jim Skarlis, $150 from Leah Morrison and $100 each from Chris Shimp, Josh Wilson and Bob Frost.

Powers said he did not solicit donations but had many people contribute to his campaign. I think its given me an opportunity to get my positive message out, he said.

Powers received $3,000 from the International Association of Firefighters political action committee and $500 each from Harlan Holm Jr., George Cooley, wife Donna Powers and Bob Greenwood.

Other donations over $100 came from: Dennis Clark, Laurie Packer, Christopher Hetherton, James Phillips, Civil Servants Political Education League, Connie Lind-Fraher, Timi Brown-Powers, Tim Hurley, Joshua Powers, Amy Samuelson, Cathy Young, Roger White, Eric Gunderson, Walter Markham, Jon Bundrett, Jon Eastman, Thomas Ferguson, Marty Weeks, Scott Evans, Martha Clark, Rick Young, David Floyd, Sharon Juon, Ryan Ball, Shasta Locke, Brent Buhr, David Deeds, Carolyn Cole, G.L. Greco, Steve Jordan, Shane Shellhorn, Greg Schmitz, and Union Council AFL-CIO Political Education Fund.

Polling places in Ward 1s six precincts are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday.
Genres : Drama, Crime, Mystery, Thriller, Science Fiction, TV

Starring : Tatiana Maslany, Jordan Gavaris, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Dylan Bruce, Kristian Bruun, Kevin Hanchard

Plot Synopsis

Tatiana Maslany returns to her Emmy-nominated role as multiple clones in the critically-acclaimed pulsating thriller Orphan Black. The explosive third season plunged the clone sisterhood into dangerous territory where they faced the threat of extermination by forces old and new. Banding together, they defeated their most formidable foes - male clones who also happened to be their blood brothers. But while it appears their tactics and allegiances have left them all clear to move forward, the past will reappear to haunt their future.



Season 4 of the drama will see leader-of-the-pack, Sarah, reluctantly return home from her Icelandic hideout to track down an elusive and mysterious ally tied to the clone who started it all - Beth Childs. Sarah will follow Beth's footsteps into a dangerous relationship with a potent new enemy, heading in a horrifying new direction. Under constant pressure to protect the sisterhood and keep everyone safe, Sarah's old habits begin to resurface. As the close-knit sisters are pulled in disparate directions, Sarah finds herself estranged from the loving relationships that changed her for the better.



Returning this season is Jordan Gavaris as Sarah's battle-worn foster brother Felix; Maria Doyle Kennedy as Sarah and Felix's foster mother Mrs. S; Kristian Bruun as Donnie, Alison's partner-in-crime and husband; Kevin Hanchard as Art, Beth's detective partner who's torn between his job and his loyalty to the clones; Skyler Wexler as Sarah's long-suffering daughter Kira; Ari Millen as a mysterious new Castor clone, the likes of which we've never seen before; and Josh Vokey as Scott, Cosima's lab partner. Also returning this season is James Frain as Ferdinand, an intimidating "cleaner" for shadowy organization, Topside; Allison Steadman as Kendall Malone, "the original"; and Rosemary Dunsmore as Susan Duncan, Rachel's adoptive mother and one of the leading scientists of Project Leda. Joining the Orphan Black cast this season is Joel Thomas Hynes as Dizzy, an edgy, self-reliant hacker who doesn't conform to group mentality.
DES MOINES  An influential bloc of Iowa religious conservatives, turned off by a 2016 presidential matchup between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, were urged Saturday to think bigger in leading a spiritual revival to transform American culture.

Our vision is a revived America that honors God and blesses people, Bob Vander Plaats, president and CEO of The Family Leader Foundation, told about 1,200 attendees at the fifth annual leadership summit on Saturday.The crowd included about 400 pastors and their spouses.

We dont need the church to be political. But we do need the church to be biblical and to be culturally relevant so the people in the pews know what to do when they get involved in the government and in the politics, he said. If we elect the right people, we will get the right policy.

Previous summits have featured Republican presidential hopefuls, but Vander Plaats said there was concern the organization was getting too political.

Vander Plaats said tragic events in Dallas, Orlando, San Bernardino and other places are emblematic of a culture that is in a dead sprint away from the heart of God. He said Gods people must change the focus back to Gods principles.

This culture doesnt need more sound bites, more rhetoric, more inflammatory comments, he said, this culture needs the gospel of Jesus Christ. That will change hearts, that will change minds, thats when we think bigger.

We pray fervently for a Holy Spirit-led revival when this country would experience a third great awakening like none other, and I think right now thats what we need more than ever, Vander Plaats said. We believe if that happens, guess what? We will impact elections.

Vander Plaats did say he needed to address the elephant in the room  writing Trump on a display board.

We dont know if thats an elephant yet, but thats the elephant in the room. We have Trump and over here we have Hillary, he said. I dont know about you, but I have never seen an election at this stage divide so many people. Ive never seen it. Families are divided; ministries are divided; husbands and wives are divided on this issue; churches are divided.

Here is my concern: good Christian men and women, brothers and sisters in Christ, the body of believers, some are coming up with different answers as it relates to this. That might be OK, but what Im going to ask, what Im going to encourage you is think bigger than 2016, he added. Is 2016 important? I would argue, yes, it is important, but I think we shouldnt be distracted from the main thing.

Chuck Hurley, a former state legislator who is Family Leader vice president, said the intent is not to withdraw from the political arena, but not to get caught up in the political illusion civics and government power is the answer.

Admittedly, it is not what we would like  the situation for president, Hurley said. But he expected many religious conservatives would get involved in down-ballot Iowa campaigns that hold more promise than a presidential race in which he speculated not too many of Saturdays attendees would actively engage.

Were going to pray, were going to treat people the way we want to be treated  the Golden Rule  were going to stay engaged, were not going to panic. This too shall pass, Hurley said. Think bigger, thats kind of the theme.
ST. PAUL, Minn.  Three University of Northern Iowa students marched in Black Lives Matter protests in St. Paul on Thursday hours after a black man, Philando Castile, was fatally shot by a police officer in a traffic stop

Yena Balekyani of Urbandale, Abbi Cobb of Marion and Heather Applegate of Maxwell were protesting police killings  among several demonstrations that cropped up in cities around the country after the incident in St. Paul and another in Baton Rouge, La.

At a Dallas protest late Thursday evening, 12 police officers were shot and five killed.

At that same time, thousands of protesters were congregated outside Minnesota Gov. Mark Daytons residence in St. Paul to denounce violence and remember Castile, the St. Paul native. Balekyani was one.

I just couldnt sit around at home and wallow in the anger and the confusion, said Balekyani, whos black. I didnt want to keep screaming at my TV.

She said she is constantly afraid for her six brothers, who are black.

When I look at (Philando Castile) or the men whove been dying over the years  it makes me think, This could have been my family at any time. It could be my family at any time, Balekyani said.

Applegate, whos white, said she didnt want to be a keyboard warrior.

Balekyani, Cobb and Applegate arrived around 9 p.m. at Summit Avenue in St Paul. Police had blocked off the street, surrounding the protesters, Balekyani said. She said the demonstrators were people of all ages, races and backgrounds  even young children. She said some had been there for a day or more.

Applegate said experienced protesters offered dismal, but powerful advice.

To paraphrase, they said, Things like these dont stop scaring you. You just get used to it, Applegate said.

Signs were raised bearing messages like No justice, no peace and Stop killing black people. One black man held a sign asking, Am I next?

Some knew Castile personally, and for them the protest was also a vigil.

Balekyani has protested before, but what struck her was the unity of the group.

People were there for the right reasons.  They were angry and wanted to talk about these issues, Balekyani said. And really make something happen, while taking care of each other.

Protesters whod been occupying the street for hours on end began to head home late into Thursday evening, and by just after midnight, Balekyani said, about 50 protesters remained.

A standoff with St. Paul police set in.

There were some moments of tension as protesters faced off with about 30 police officers clad in riot gear. The officers ordered the protesters to disperse, and there was one arrest reported before both sides backed off and the standoff ended.
CEDAR FALLS  Black Hawk County Sheriff Tony Thompson has a few war stories from his time stationed in Bosnia  not that he likes to call them that.

While serving in the U.S. Army in Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the aftermath of the Bosnian War, Thompson faced gunfire and lost colleagues to land mines. But he knows whatever he saw there in 1995 and 1996 pales in comparison to the atrocities experienced by the natives in the northeast region.

So rather than sharing the details of his experiences 20 years ago, Thompson instead chose to thank the Bosnians who fled that violence to make their home in the Cedar Valley.

I thank you because the diversity that Black Hawk County enjoys racially, ethnically, spiritually, its what makes us better. Its what causes us to be stronger, and I have no doubt its what creates the better generation to come, Thompson told a crowd of more than 150 gathered at Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center to remember the 21st anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide.

The massacre cost the lives of more than 8,372 Muslim Bosniaks, mostly boys and men. It began July 11, 1995, and lasted through July 22, 1995. The Bosnian War raged from 1992 to 1995, and its estimated more than 100,000 people were killed, most of them Bosniaks.

Following the war, many Bosnians sought asylum in the United States. Now, more than 4,000 Bosnians call the Cedar Valley home and another 15,000 live in the Des Moines area.

Saturdays event  which also included a memorial walk through downtown Waterloo  was the Cedar Valleys second commemoration of the genocide. More than two-thirds ofthose who came to the ceremony had survived the atrocities in and around Srebrenica.

Thompson echoed others when he said its important to remember the events of the massacre in order to ensure it does not happen again.

If theres a So, now what? moment from July 11, 1995, its how do we make where we are today better for our kids than where we were that day? Thompson said. Thats why I go to work every day, and Im certain thats why we all sit here today.

Iowa Sen. Rob Hogg, D-Cedar Rapids, paraphrased Holocaust survivor and activist Elie Wiesel in thanking the Bosnian-Americans present for creating light here in Iowa out of the darkness of the July 11 massacre.

Im here to ask you to keep remembering and to keep creating the light for Iowa, for our country and our world, this year and in the future, Hogg said.

Adnan Mahmutagic, a Tuzla native and now a partner at Beecher Law Firm in Waterloo, worked with the United Nations as an interpreter starting at the age of 16 during the Bosnian War. He also shared his own war stories.

Two anecdotes highlighted what Mahmutagic called his own dumb luck in surviving the war. Twice he slept through events  once missing an outing with friends and once missing a daily patrol trip  where if hed gone, hed likely have been killed.

Theres really no moral to these two anecdotes, besides being able to realize that some things do not have a greater meaning or purpose; they just happen, Mahmutagic said.

But he concluded by telling a story with a greater purpose  a meeting in Tuzla with an Iowa couple who ended up adopting three orphaned sisters.

Their story, and my own experiences, give me hope  as well as our gathering here today  that a genocide like that cannot and will not be repeated again, Mahmutagic concluded.
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Directed by King Hu, A Touch of Zen is a highly regarded classic of Chinese cinema and deserving of the "elite" Criterion Collection treatment. The movie takes place during the latter part of the Ming Dynasty in the fifteenth century, and involves mysterious characters, mysticism, politics and of course, violence. The plot is pretty straightforward, but the storytelling is done at a leisurely pace, building up to action scenes which are executed sparingly but stunningly.



Following the opening credits, 'A Touch of Zen' offer viewers some disquieting images of a village and its surroundings, before introducing the main character Gu Sheng-shai (played with an earnest innocence by Shih Chun). He is a lighthearted, modest man who enjoys an existence of drawing and art while generally avoiding any matters controversial. Living a quiet life in his village with his mother, Gu meets up with Yang Hui-ching (Hsu Feng), who resides next door and is a fugitive at large. Naturally, he falls in love with the lovely young woman and quickly becomes involved in her affairs. She initially appears to be comely and delicate, but soon proves herself to be deadly with a blade, and in trouble with the law due to her father's attempt to disclose corruption by other government officials. Wei gathers assassins to hunt her down in a single attack, and she in turn recruits her own team, including a military man General Shih (Pai Ying) and General Lu (Sit Hon). Rounding out her crew is a group of specially skilled monks led by Abbot Hui Yuan as played by Roy Chiao, perhaps best known to American audiences as Lao Che in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. The plot of the movie focuses on her initial evasion but inevitable confrontation with her hired assassins, and leads to a climax filled with action, but ending on an ambiguous note involving religion and spirituality.



Originally, the movie was distributed as two films, released a year apart in the early 1970's, which is similar to how the Back to the Future sequels were released, and how the first two Superman movies were intended to be presented. However, the three-hour cut here flows as one cohesive work and its hard for me to imagine just how a clear division could have been made. The first half of the film focuses on establishing characters and their conflicts with brief battle scenes set among the village. However, the second half builds up to the climactic confrontation, which takes place amidst the midst-filled woods before moving onto sun-drenched dusty hills. While Gu Sheng-shai is established as the main character, he is at first the most passive of all the combatants, and Yang remains the heroine, never succumbing to being just another "woman in distress," There is a shift in focus on the supporting characters as the story progresses, but none of the action set-pieces interferes with their dynamics.



The opening shots of spiders spinning webs dripping with dew convey an ominous tension which is immediately offset by epic images of landscape and architecture, including panoramic shots of clouds and mountains, as well as waving blades of grass. Indeed, A Touch of Zen is filled with many symbolic images and religious allusions which linger in between all the dialogue and drama. Again, silent, lingering visuals convey much of the quiet emotion, but the drama is also heightened by roaming camera work, especially at the end where images become hallucinatory and nearly super-natural. A forceful, and dramatic music score written by Tai Kong Mg and Ta Chiang Wu accompanies much of the movie, and exaggerates the visuals effectively.



With an epic length of nearly three hours, it may take more than one viewing to appreciate the director's style and production. The stately pacing reminds me of Sergio Leones Once Upon a Time in America which was released in 1984, and also builds its epic feeling from a prolonged narrative. (I hated Leone's movie when I first saw it, but later grew to appreciate it when I became less insistent on seeing blood and guts in my gangster films.) Even though I am by far not an expert in martial arts cinema (the closest I come is the Kill Bill series, the Rush Hour films, Kentucky Fried Movie and more than my fair share of anonymous chop-socky flicks on independent TV stations from the eighties and nineties), I immediately appreciated how this work is considered to be a milestone in the genre and an overall work of art.



THE BLU-RAY: VITAL DISC STATS



This three hour movie is presented on a single platter BD50, which also contains over two hours of supplementary materials. It is difficult to tell whether the less than ideal picture quality is due purely to the original source, or in part related to this digitally cramped medium (see below). The disc is housed in a clear Blu-ray case, along with a folded page on slick paper measuring 18-1/2" x 12-3/4" which acts as both liner notes and a movie poster.
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.
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Ed Yong in Not Exactly Rocket Science:

Every year, in northern Myanmar, thousands of farmers pull tonnes of Cretaceous amber out of the ground, and send the glistening nuggets to local markets. For six years, Bo Wang from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and his colleagues have visited the markets and sifted through 300,000 of the glistening nuggets. It was a lot of work. Then again, it takes a lot of work to find animals that spent their whole lives trying not to be found.

Within the amber, Wangs team identified dozens of ancient insects that camouflaged themselves by adorning their bodies with junk. They had short bristles and elaborate feathery tubes, onto which they stuck sand, soil, wood fibres, bits of ferns, and even body parts of other insects. They were the earliest animals that we know of to camouflage themselves, some 100 million years ago.

Many living creatures still embellish their bodies in debris. The aptly nameddecorator crabs, for example, look like walking bundles of algae and seaweed. The larvae of caddisflies live in tubes made of rock, sand, plants, and other underwater detritus, bound by silk. And one grisly species of assassin bug wears a coat made from the corpses of its ant prey.

More here.
Sheherzad Preisler in Nautilus:

The environmental artist Ned Kahn, a MacArthur Foundation genius grant awardee, gravitates toward phenomena that lie on the edges of what science can graspthings, he tells me over the phone, that are inherently complex and difficult to predict, yet at the same time beautiful. The weather, for example, has, because of its chaotic yet orderly nature, fascinated me for my whole career, he says. For almost the last 30 years in particular, hes been creating dynamic installations that he thinks of as observatories: Since they frequently incorporate wind, water, fog, sand, and light, he states on his website, they frame and enhance our perception of natural phenomena.

Take his most recent project, the Shimmer Wall. Composed of over 30,000 tiles, it will be a 1,100-foot long facade of a new building, home to the Ocean Wonders: Sharks! exhibit, set to open this year at the New York Aquarium (over $80,000, toward a $100,000 goal, has been donated for its construction). It will house over 100 species of animals, including but not limited to a variety of crustaceans, sharks, fish, rays, and turtles. They were struggling with the facade and someone on the design committee knew about my work and approached me, says Kahn. That led to the idea that were doing a skin for the aquarium inspired by fish skin, shark skin, scales. Ive been doing a number of faceted, fragmented, kinetic artworks influenced by scalesthat move with the wind and, when you step back, you get an idea of how the wind affects it.

Kahn tells me that, before Hurricane Sandy hit, on October 29th 2012, there was a six-foot square experimental piece of the Wall outside the aquarium, to test if it could stand extreme weather. It held up perfectly, he says. In his conversation with Nautilus, Kahn also spoke with enthusiasm about how nature both inspires and interacts with his work, as well as what people make of it.

More here.
Genres : Drama, History, Thriller

Starring : Craig Wasson, Sterling Hayden, Patricia Quinn

Director : Tony Luraschi

Plot Synopsis

Based on the novel The Heritage of Michael Flaherty by Colin Leinster, The Outsider is a fictional account of Irish-American Michael Flaherty (Craig Wasson, Ghost Story), a disillusioned Vietnam vet who returns home to an apathetic country. Inspired by the Irish Republican Army and the dedication of its members, Michael travels to Ireland to join their cause only to realize that hes being used as a propaganda tool. Writer & director Tony Luraschi elicits powerful performances from Wasson and a cast that includes Sterling Hayden (1900), Patricia Quinn (The Rocky Horror Picture Show), Ray McAnally (My Left Foot) and Gabriel Byrne (The End of Violence).
Danny Heitman in Humanities:

Earlier this year, when the New York Times asked novelist and essayist Roger Rosenblatt to name the best memoir hed read recently, he was unequivocal in his reply. Speak, Memory, recently or ever, Rosenblatt told the Times.

He was referring to the classic account by Vladimir Nabokov (18991977) of his idyllic Russian childhood in a family of colorful aristocrats, the 1917 Bolshevik revolution that banished him to exile, and the path that would eventually lead him to live in the United States.

Rosenblatt is far from alone in hailing Speak, Memory as a gem. To write superior autobiography one requires not only literary gifts, which are obtainable with effort, but an intrinsically interesting life, which is less frequently available, literary critic Joseph Epstein once observed. Those who possess the one are frequently devoid of the other, and vice versa. Only a fortunate few are able to reimagine their lives, to find themes and patterns that explain a life, in the way successful autobiography requires. Vladimir Nabokov was among them. After closing the pages of Speak, Memory, John Updike, no slouch himself as a prose stylist, was carried away. Nabokov has never written English better than in these reminiscences; never has he written so sweetly, he declared. With tender precision and copious wit . . . inspired by an atheists faith in the magic of simile and the sacredness of lost time, Nabokov makes of his past a brilliant iconbejewelled, perspectiveless, untouchable.

Updike was writing in 1966, the year that the definitive version of Speak, Memory, subtitled An Autobiography Revisited, was published. That edition is 50 years old this year, still in print after half a century, and still attracting new readers. Perhaps no one would be more surprised at the books longevity than Nabokov himself. He pronounced the memoir a dismal flop after its release, lamenting that it brought him fame but little money.

More here.
Meet the four candidates vying for two District 1 House seats

The four candidates running for District 1 House are all from Sisseton. They include Steven McCleerey, Tamara St. John, Kay Nikols and Joe Donnell.
Genres : Horror, Suspense

Starring : J.D Brown, Linnea Quigley, Haley Madison, Ellie Church

Director : Adam Ahlbrandt

Plot Synopsis

Spanning over 30 years, HUNTERS is the unrelenting tale of two cinephile brothers who abduct their victims in the rural woods of Pennsylvania. These brothers objectify and humiliate their victims leaving them stripped of any trace of humanity. These heinous acts are all in the pursuit to create a genuine horror film. Not recommended for sensitive viewers, Massacre Video presents the controversial HUNTERS by cult director Adam Ahlbrandt completely uncut and uncensored.
Painter Charlie Aldrichs lusciously colorful and painstakingly rendered still-life, wildlife, abstract and figurative acrylics are featured in Top Drawer, a solo show at Palette Contemporary Art and Craft through July 22.

Also showing among an astounding array of impressive objects are two beautiful lithographs by Sonia Delaunay (1895-1979). Her husband, Robert, whom she met in Paris in 1910, was the father of orphism, a form of synthetic cubism based upon color orchestration.

Though Roberts art lost momentum after World War I, Sonia became a highly lauded textile, clothing and stage set designer, who even created abstract paint themes for automobiles and airplanes during the Roaring Twenties. The prints in this show were executed in the 1960s and hark back to her early days with Robert.

Aldrich is inspired by the look and often confusing narrative of aging billboards and decaying commercial signage along the old two-lane highways crisscrossing the Southwest. He revels in the peeling layers of posters, painted letters and the general vicissitudes of weathering that create richly evocative images with jarring juxtapositions of message.

Aldrich boils down those inspirational found messages from billboard scale to mostly small still-life paintings overlaid with a heavy, clear high-gloss varnish, making his intricate compositions look like elaborately decorated pieces of ceramic tile.

Although Aldrich borrows the look of aging signage, his still-life objects are personal found objects or things passed through generations of his own family. His work really proves the concept that the more personal one gets in self-expression, the more universal the message becomes.

While viewing Aldrichs Red Dot Egg, I was reminded of an encounter with a fellow student at MICA (Maryland Institute College of Art) more than 50 years ago. He was painting a still life consisting of rows of eggs and white porcelain cups. When I asked him why he was using only black, white and gray on such a spare composition, he said he was inspired by Giorgio Morandi (1890-1964).

After looking up Morandi, who was a master Italian modernist, I was impressed with both artists use of architectonic forms as compositional elements.

Though Aldrich eschews pure tonality and whose work can be described as riotously colorful, those pesky architectonics a la Morandi are also evident in his still-life structures.

Aldrich uses open cigar boxes and other geometric hints to create Joseph Cornell-style tabletop tableaux. Red Dot Egg, Flight Prep and Camel Rose all incorporate cigar boxes to act as doorways and spatial containers.

My favorite aspect of Red Dot Rose is the spatial ambiguity of the box apparently floating in limitless space patterned with rectangles.

Im reminded of the black hole experience in the movie Interstellar wherein the protagonist is suspended among an infinite array of bookshelves and periods of time while trying to communicate with his earthbound daughter.

Aldrich is a very talented draftsman who can easily make trompe-loeil deceits a reality. His objects  including both real and toy birds, eggs or faces  seem true to life. His sense of color is stunning, and his variable brushwork lends character to all of his pictorials.

Aldrich has stories to tell and is articulate enough to tell them well. This is a truly interesting show with a wide range of imagery that excites the mind and titillates the eye.

WHAT: Top Drawer new acrylic still life, wild life and figurative paintings by Charlie Aldrich

WHEN: Through July 22. Hours are: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. Call 855-7777.

WHERE: Palette Contemporary Art and Craft, 7400 Montgomery NE, Mossman Shopping Center

HOW MUCH: Free
COLUMBUS, Ohio  The Dallas shooting that killed five officers has spurred an outpouring of support for police, not only in Texas but hundreds of miles away.

Around the country, people have showed up at local departments with flowers, sent social media messages or called to say thanks. They delivered coffee, pizzas, cakes and moments of solace for officers grieving after the deadliest day for U.S. law enforcement since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

SHARED SORROW

One after another, members of the public lined up to hug uniformed officers at a community prayer service Friday in Dallas.

Two patrol cars serving as a memorial outside of police headquarters were adorned with flowers, signs and flags by some of the people pausing to pay their respects to the five officers killed and seven wounded.

John Fife, with his ball cap in hand, passed a red rose to an officer sitting in a vehicle guarding those headquarters. In another corner of the country, a Seattle officer accepted a matching flower from Jasen Frelot, one of several people from the faith community there who set out to show police support.

WE NEED THEM

Officers also received roses in the Cleveland suburb of South Euclid, where they found single stems on their cruiser windshields Friday morning. The Rev. Carmen Cox Harwell, a Beachwood pastor and a former police chaplain, said she put flowers on Beachwood and South Euclid officers cars as a sign of gratitude.

I just want them to know that theyre loved and theyre supported and we need them, she told WOIO-TV.

COMFORT FOOD

Abigail Bullard had similar thoughts while home with her 6- and 10-year-old sons in suburban Philadelphia, where the younger boys fascination with emergency services personnel has developed into a friendship with a few Radnor Township officers. Bullard had observed the kinship within their profession and knew theyd be affected by this weeks news, so she and her sons delivered cookies and soft pretzels as comfort.

It was important to me to say, here we have two young black children that are trying to do the right thing because friends of ours have had a death in the family, she said. When she shared the story on Facebook, she concluded it simply: Not all young black men are bad, and not all police officers are bad.

A few miles down the road, the Lower Merion Police Department said its officers had heavy hearts but full bellies after another woman and her son delivered a stack of pizzas Friday. They also received coffee and doughnuts, a gesture reported by numerous police departments this weekend.

One of them, the Voorhees Police Department in New Jersey, said such actions have made us feel better during a very sad time to be a police officer.

STOPPED FOR THANKS

Still others simply stopped officers on the street to chat or offer hugs.

Its just been amazing. Our guys cant go out this morning without getting stopped by people wanting to thank them, Dustin Dwight, a spokesman for Louisiana State Police Troop L, told NOLA.comThe Times-Picayune on Friday.

In Chattanooga, Tennessee, officers were getting extra handshakes from strangers at a local concert Friday night.

They always comfort and, I guess, wrap their arms around us, to protect us as well as we protect them, Chattanooga Sgt. Tommy Meeks told WRCB-TV.

ROUGH FEW DAYS

In Ballwin, Missouri, where a suburban St. Louis policeman was shot and critically hurt during a Friday traffic stop, Andrew Kulha brought the investigators water. He told KMOV-TV he thought it had been a rough few days to be an officer.

The Dallas shooting occurred during a Thursday night protest over fatal police shootings of black men in Minnesota and Louisiana earlier in the week.

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Associated Press writer Jim Vertuno in Dallas contributed to this report.
ST. PAUL, Minn.  A suburban St. Paul police officer who killed a black driver reacted to the mans gun, not his race, his attorney said Saturday, giving the most detailed account so far of why the officer drew his own weapon during the traffic stop last week.

Philando Castiles girlfriend, who streamed the immediate aftermath of the shooting live on Facebook, has said he was shot several times while reaching for his wallet, after telling the officer he had a gun and a permit to carry it.

St. Anthony Police Officer Jeronimo Yanez was reacting to the presence of that gun and the display of that gun when he opened fire on Castile, Minneapolis attorney Thomas Kelly told The Associated Press. He declined to elaborate on how Castile displayed the weapon or what led up to the deadly traffic stop.

Yanez was reacting to the actions of the driver, Kelly said. This had nothing to do with race. This had everything to do with the presence of a gun.

An attorney for Castiles family, Larry Rogers, didnt immediately return a call seeking comment on Kellys remarks. Castiles girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, also couldnt be reached for comment; no one answered the door at her home Saturday afternoon.

Less than 24 hours after the shooting, Gov. Mark Dayton declared that police likely wouldnt have fired had Castile been white. Dayton later said he stood by his statement even though it angered some in law enforcement.

Philip Smith, president and founder of the National African American Gun Association, said whether or not a black man is legally in possession of a gun might not matter in the tense moments of an encounter with an officer.

Theyre not getting any kind of the benefit of the doubt, Smith said.

Kelly said Yanez, who is Latino, is overcome with sadness over Castiles shooting Wednesday in the St. Paul suburb of Falcon Heights, a mostly white community of 5,000 that is served primarily by the nearby St. Anthony Police Department.

Yanez and an officer who was with him, Joseph Kauser, were put on administrative leave, as is standard, authorities said. Both are four-year veterans of the St. Anthony force.

Yanezs position with the 23-member department was his first in law enforcement, after jobs in security and contract immigration compliance work, Kelly said. The 28-year-old has a wife and child, and graduated from Minnesota State University Mankato with a degree in law enforcement in 2010. He and Kauser were classmates.

Christian Dobratz, a former assistant professor at the university, said both officers excelled in courses on tactics and emergency response techniques. They were named best in their graduating class, and Dobratz said they seemed cut out for the challenges of police work.

Yanez is an intelligent person, he has a lot of common sense, Dobratz said. Never once did I see behavior that would ever cause me to question their ethics.

In 2014, the department selected Yanez to be part of a special crime prevention unit, whose members were hand-picked based on their initiative, creativeness and varied backgrounds in law enforcement, according to the departments annual report.

About the same time, Yanez joined the Minnesota chapter of the National Latino Peace Officers Association, where he worked to raise money for and connect with Latino youth, said John Lozoya, one of the organizations founders.

Lozoya recalled him as an active, passionate and approachable member.

Hes a very sensitive officer, he cares about people, Kelly said. He would drive around and stop and talk, and get out of the car, meet people and say hello.

Yanez is cooperating with state investigators, who interviewed him within 15 hours of the shooting, Kelly said. Authorities said several videos, including squad car video, have been collected, though St. Anthony officers dont wear body cameras.

In the video she streamed on Facebook Live, Reynolds describes being pulled over for what the officer told her was a busted tail light. The video shows her in a car next to a bloodied Castile slumped in a seat.

A clearly distraught person who appears to be a police officer stands at the cars window, tells her to keep her hands up and says: I told him not to reach for it. I told him to get his hand out.

You shot four bullets into him, sir. He was just getting his license and registration, sir, Reynolds calmly responds.

Court records show the traffic stop was at least the 52nd time that Castile, a 32-year-old school cafeteria supervisor, had been pulled over in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area since 2002. He had been given citations for minor offenses including speeding, driving without a muffler and not wearing a seat belt.

Kelly said the broken tail light wasnt the only reason for the latest traffic stop, but he would not elaborate.

The night after Castile was killed, five police officers were fatally shot and others were wounded during protests in Dallas over Castiles killing and the fatal police shooting of 37-year-old Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Sterling, who was also black, was shot after a scuffle with officers outside a convenience store. Authorities identified the Dallas shooter as an Army veteran who was later killed by police.

Sterlings and Castiles families denounced the attack on the Dallas officers.

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Gurman reported from Minneapolis. Associated Press writers Jeff Baenen in St. Paul, Steve Karnowski and Kyle Potter in Minneapolis and researcher Rhonda Shafner in New York contributed to this report.

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Follow Sadie Gurman on Twitter at https://twitter.com/sgurman
(c) 2016, The Washington Post.

Hillary Clinton, in moves aimed at securing an endorsement from Bernie Sanders, on Saturday highlighted her support for a public option in health insurance and proposed additional funding for community-based centers championed by her Democratic rival.

Clinton, the presumptive Democratic nominee, said in a statement that she would affirm her support for allowing states to offer government-run health plans as part of the Affordable Care Act. And she said she would support allowing people 55 and older to buy into Medicare, a program available to people 65 and older.

Those steps fall well short of a single-payer, Medicare for all program that was a centerpiece of Sanderss presidential campaign. But during a call with reporters Saturday, Sanders heralded Clinton for an important step forward toward universal health care.

Clintons statement also included support for expanding funding by $40 billion over the next decade for primary-care services at community-based centers that serve largely rural areas, a long-standing priority for Sanders, a senator from Vermont.

Together these steps will get us closer to the day when everyone in this country has access to quality, affordable health care, Sanders told reporters.

He stopped short of confirming widely reported plans to offer an endorsement of Clinton at an event in New Hampshire on Tuesday, saying only that well have more to say in the very near future.

Clintons updated health-care proposal was the second this week that incorporated elements of Sanderss agenda. On Wednesday, she announced her support for providing free tuition at public colleges and universities to families making up to $125,000 a year  a major nod to a free-tuition-for-all proposal pushed by Sanders during his campaign that was wildly popular among younger voters.

Sanders was also moving aggressively this weekend  with mixed results  to exert additional influence on the platform of the Democratic National Committee at a meeting in Orlando. His allies on the platform committee were seeking amendments to move the partys position to the left on an array of issues, including trade and fracking.

On Friday night, the platform committee adopted language calling for a $15 minimum wage at the federal level, a Sanders priority on the campaign trail. The amendment strengthened a provision already in the partys draft document that endorsed efforts of states such as New York and California to adopt the higher threshold.

But two Sanders-backed amendments on Social Security policy got speedy rejections. One would have eliminated the cap on Social Security taxes; another would have created a new cost of living index for Social Security benefits to replace the cost of living adjustment, or COLA.

On Saturday morning, Sanders was dealt an even tougher blow as the platform committee rejected two amendments to put the party on record against the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Labor leaders who supported Clinton had tried to mollify Sanders supporters with an amendment in opposition to trade agreements that do not support good American jobs, raise wages, and improve our national security. What they saw as language that subtly attacked the TPP, Sanders allies saw as empty rhetoric that would allow Donald Trump to seize the fair trade mantle in November.

The majority of Democrats, like the majority of Americans, are against the TPP, said Benjamin Jealous, the former president of the NAAPCP who introduced one of the Sanders amendments. Hillary is against the TPP. Bernie is against the TPP. Lets not be bureaucrats  lets be leaders.

Democrats opted against that. Just 74 members of the 187-member platform committee backed Jealouss amendent, and just 71 backed an amendment to oppose a vote on the trade deal this year, which sponsor Jim Hightower called political viagra for Democrats.

The result stoked worry about Sanderss other priorities, including a Medicare-for-All health care plank and a national ban on fracking, a controversial procedure for extracting natural gas.

They refuse to take a stance on TPP bcause they wont oppose fracking, said Anthony Rogers Wright, a Florida enviromental activist. If we want to avert the worst cases of climate change, we have to have more localized economies. Free trade agreements are anathema to localized economies.

Though Clinton effectively clinched the Democratic nomination a month ago, Sanders has been slow to offer his full-throated support of her general election bid against presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump. Instead, Sanders has sought to extract concessions on policy issues central to his campaign.

In Clintons statement Saturday, her campaign went to some lengths to suggest her positions on health care were not entirely new. It noted, for example, that she voiced support for a public option during her failed 2008 presidential campaign.

During debate over the Affordable Care Act the following year, Congress considered including a government-run plan to compete with private insurers nationwide. But that was ultimately dropped before the bill was passed.

During the early stages of her 2016 campaign, Clinton emphasized numerous steps to build upon President Barack Obamas landmark health-care law.

She later revived her support for a public option, adding a provision to the health-care proposal on her website, saying she would work with interested governors to offer their constituents an opportunity to buy into a government-run program under current flexibility provided by the Affordable Care Act.

On Saturday, Clintons campaign also noted that she had support allowing those younger than 65 to buy into Medicare as far back as 2001, when she was a senator from New York.

In her statement, Clinton recounted other initiatives she has put forward this campaign, adding: We have more work to do to finish our long fight to provide universal, quality, affordable health care to everyone in America.

The health-care announcement came as Sanderss allies in Orlando were pushing for additional influence on the Democratic platform  and growing pessimistic about their odds. Many gave DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz a silent thumbs-down when she took the stage for a short speech.

I could not be more proud of the fact that this platform is poised to be the most progressive, ambitious, and inclusive platform in the Democratic Partys history, said Wasserman Schultz.

Some Sanders supporters scoffed at that. Others worried that Clinton would simply ignore the left after winning the election, no matter what she was forced to agree to in Orlando or Philadelpa.

Its hard to trust her words, said Cornel West, the academic and Sanders supporter who had opposed the draft platform in St. Louis. Will she really follow through? Shes against it, shes for it, shes for it, shes against it. I think theres been an openness on her side to this, but integrity has to do with execution. You can have the most beautiful words on paper, but its just sounding brass and tinkling cymbals if you dont execute it on the ground.

dems

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Keywords:
ATLANTA  Wanda Melton has voted for every Republican presidential nominee since Ronald Reagan in 1980, but now the Georgia grandmother plans to cross over to support Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Im not a real fan of Hillary, Melton says from her office in Atlanta. But I think it would just be awful to have Donald Trump. She adds: I cannot in good conscience let that happen.

Melton is among a particular group of voters, whites with college degrees, who are resistant to Trump. Their skepticism comes as an ominous warning as Trump struggles to rebuild even the losing coalition that Mitt Romney managed four years ago.

College-educated whites made up more than one-third of the electorate in 2012. Polls suggest Trump trails Clinton with those voters, especially women.

Donald Trump simply cannot afford to lose ground in any segment of the electorate that supported Romney, said Florida pollster Fernand Amandi. Romneys strength with that group, for example, made for a close race in Florida, where President Barack Obama won by less than 75,000 votes out of more than 8.4 million cast.

Some Republicans worry Trumps approach  his unvarnished, sometimes uncouth demeanor and his nationalist and populist arguments  guarantees his defeat, because the same outsider appeal that attracts many working class and even college-educated white men alienates other voters with a college degree.

Ann Robinson, 64, is a lifelong Republican in a Trumps home state of New York, a Democratic stronghold that the real estate tycoon cites as an example of where he can expand the map. Robinson sneers at the proposition and says shell vote for Clinton.

Its just not a reasonable movement, she says of Trumps populist pitch. Im not sure he can actually be their savior. She has so much more experience. Trump has nothing.

Mary Darling, 59, is an Illinois Republican who said she wont vote for Trump or Clinton. If they could just soften his edges, people would flock to him, but thats just not going to happen, she said.

Lew Oliver, chairman of the Orange County Republican Party in Florida, says hes prepared for an uphill fight in no small part because of Trumps struggle among more educated voters. The fundamentals arent in our favor, and some of his comments arent helping, Oliver said.

Romney drew support from 56 percent of white voters with college degrees, according to 2012 exit polls. Obama notched just 42 percent, but still cruised to a second term.

A Washington Post-ABC News poll taken in June found Clinton leading Trump among college-educated whites 50 percent to 42 percent.

Polling from the nonpartisan Pew Research Center pointed to particularly stark numbers among white women with at least a bachelors degree. At this point in 2008 and 2012, that group of voters was almost evenly divided between Obama and the Republican nominee. This June, Pew found Clinton with a 62-31 advantage. Conversely, Pew found Trump still leads, albeit by a slightly narrower margin than did Romney at this point, among white women with less than a bachelors degree.

Should Trump fail to even replicate Romneys coalition, he has little hope of flipping many of the most contested states that Obama won twice, particularly Florida, Colorado and Virginia. Trumps struggles among college whites have Democrats eyeing North Carolina, which Obama won in 2008 before it reverted back to Republicans, and even GOP-leaning Arizona and Georgia.

The education gap for Trump isnt new.

Exit polls in the Republican primaries found him faring better among less educated groups. Trump particularly struggled with better educated Republicans when Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., was in the presidential race.

Republican pollster Greg Strimple of Idaho says the gap is understandable. Voters without a college education, he said, are more likely to be struggling financially, to feel alienated from the political class Trump rails against and to find solace in his promise to stop illegal immigration.

College educated voters may have had relatively stagnant incomes, but they can still look at their 401(k)s and think about the future, Strimple said. Theyre free to care more about things like tone.

Clintons campaign sees the persuadable portion of the electorate as being made up largely of women, many with college degrees. It has tried to reach them by hammering Trump as dangerous and temperamentally unfit for the job, while her initial general election advertising blitz focuses on her achievements in public life.

Strimple said Trump must counter that with a constant indictment of the last eight years, an indictment of Hillary Clinton. That can get some of those voters back.

The question for Trump, though, is how many Wanda Meltons are already lost. Hes just not in control of himself, she says. That personality type is not suited either to leadership or protecting the country.

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Follow Barrow on Twitter at https://twitter.com/BillBarrowAP

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What political news is the world searching for on Google and talking about on Twitter? Find out via APs Election Buzz interactive. http://elections.ap.org/buzz
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management recently delayed a planned leasing auction of more than 2,000 acres in the Chaco Canyon region intended for much-needed oil and gas development. Originally slated for October, the auction will be postponed, per reports, until at least January.

If it happens at all.

For the sake of New Mexico, lets hope it does  the sooner, the better.

Thats because this is the latest setback for an industry that plays a major role in the manufacturing of just about everything that touches our lives on a daily basis. That includes the clothes we wear, the cars we drive, the shampoo we use, the carpet we walk on, the medication we take, the tires we drive on and the food we eat.

Its also a homegrown industry that, according to experts, produces nearly 30 percent of New Mexicos general fund  the primary source of funding for the operating costs of public schools and higher education.

Thats also a major slice of the funding that goes to pay for fire protection, law enforcement and rescue services; sanitation; libraries; expenditure projects like parks and road improvements; and many of the programs and municipal services we lean on, including state public welfare programs, environmental protection, tourism, state-led economic development efforts and many other functions of state government.

These are dollars we simply cannot live without.

Regrettably, the State Land Commission recently said that revenues from the sale of oil and natural gas leases on New Mexico trust land have dropped to their lowest level in years  in part because of low oil prices, but more because of cumbersome regulations and unnecessary burdens to energy development.

And communities are starting to hurt.

Just look at the city of Aztecs general fund, projected to drop about 11 percent from last fiscal year because of substantial declines in the oil and gas revenues.

Look at San Juan County, which has seen a 47 percent drop in such revenue since 2009. That has led to a loss of 9,000 jobs  a 17 percent reduction in the regions workforce  and the closing of 7,500 operating wells. San Juan College, meanwhile, is working to close a budget deficit of about $1.38 million.

The Farmington Municipal School District is also tussling with its own budget shortfall, of about $4 million.

These are all unfortunate examples as to why Consumer Energy Alliance recently submitted a petition with more than 650 signatures to agency director Neil Kornze asking the BLM, which governs 13.5 million acres of state land, to reconsider its decision to delay the Oct. 19 lease sale and hold the sale as originally scheduled. Approximately half the signers reside in or around northwestern New Mexico.

By postponing the lease sale, the BLM is adding more economic strain to a state that is already under duress. You already know the line of communities struggling to make ends meet, but consider this: While the U.S. employment rate is below 5 percent, the states rate, as of May, hovered around 6.2 percent. New Mexicos construction unemployment rate is also the worst in the U.S.

Scratching the lease sale also ignores the fundamental role that natural gas has had in reducing carbon and other pollutant emissions in recent years. Case in point: Upticks in hydraulic fracturing have led to a 47 percent increase in low-carbon shale gas production, which in turn has lowered the industrys carbon emissions by 21 percent.

See? Local energy production has been a clear-cut win-win for everyone in New Mexico  you, me, your neighbors, teachers, police, firemen, small businesses and jobs, the economy, even the environment. If only the BLM could see that.

Lets hope they soon do.
A new ballot petition for a proposed paid sick leave ordinance will change the way most businesses in Albuquerque pay their employees. The ordinance is poorly written with inflexible mandates, and significant compliance costs for taxpayers and businesses.

Mandating a one-size-fits-all system of paid sick leave will force businesses, no matter the industry, to change their leave policy to comply with the mandate language. Even businesses that have a generous paid-time-off (PTO) policy will likely have to go back to sick pay in lieu of PTO unless their PTO plan is in compliance with the stringent standards imposed by the proposed ordinance.

Because the mandate includes all full-time, part-time, seasonal and temporary workers, the additional cost will force businesses to curb hiring, reduce hours, increase prices and postpone plans to hire new employees, as well as add compliance costs of tracking sick leave.

Dont believe us? If it passes, Albuquerque wont be the first city to enact mandatory sick leave. San Francisco has a requirement in place, as does the state of Connecticut. The results have been layoffs, reduced hours, higher prices and fewer benefits.

A 2011 survey in San Francisco by the progressive Institute for Womens Policy Research found that a third of workers experienced layoffs or a reduction in hours, bonuses, raises and benefits in the wake of the citys paid sick-leave mandate.

In Connecticut, a 2013 survey of affected businesses by the Employment Policies Institute found that almost half reduced employee benefits, a quarter laid off workers or reduced their pay and one in five raised prices.

This is all Economics 101. There is no such thing as a free lunch or free sick leave. And the economic impact in Albuquerque could be even more negative since the proposed ordinance is more onerous than the ones in those two locales.

The proposed ordinance is incredibly prescriptive and complicated. It would require, for instance, employers to maintain a detailed accounting of the  amount of paid sick time accrued or used each pay period   effectively making most current PTO policies non-compliant. The reason PTO plans are so common and popular is that they are a win-win for employers who dont have to waste time and money tracking employees, and employees who can choose to use their time off any way they please.

Most of us understand that Albuquerque is still fighting to recover from the recession. Want a real-world example of this? In February, an astonishing 10,000 people applied for just 290 positions at the new Cheesecake Factory restaurant that opened in Coronado Center. It is true Fortune Magazine ranked the restaurant chain as one of the 100 best companies to work for in 2016, but it is also true that we have a surplus of low-wage labor chasing too few jobs.

Imposing further regulations in the form of the mandatory sick leave proposal, signatures for which are being collected city-wide, will only make businesses think twice before coming to Albuquerque or expanding a local business, thus hurting those same low-wage workers.

The proposed Sick Leave Ordinance goes on for 7 pages detailing what must be provided and when. Any attempt to be creative in ways that might benefit both workers and employers will be mandated out of existence. One size fits all.

The expected negative impact of the proposal has united 14 local business organizations in opposition to it, leading to the Coalition for a Healthy Economy. They are the Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce; Apartment Association of New Mexico; Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc.; Associated General Contractors New Mexico; American Subcontractors Association of New Mexico; Commercial Association of REALTORS New Mexico; Albuquerque Economic Forum; Greater Albuquerque Association of REALTORS; Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce; Home Builders of Central New Mexico; NAIOP Commercial Real Estate Development Association; New Mexico Association of Commerce and Industry; New Mexico Restaurant Association; and New Mexico Utility Contractors Association.

If policymakers and the public really want to improve working conditions, wages and benefits, they should abandon mandates and instead work to make our city and state more competitive with our neighbors, thereby forcing employers to compete harder for Albuquerques workers.
WASHINGTON  Black lives matter. Blue lives matter. Both statements must be made true if the heartbreaking loss of life in Dallas is to have any meaning.

The killing spree that left five police officers dead and seven others wounded should be classified as an act of domestic terrorism. The shooter, identified as 25-year-old Micah Xavier Johnson, apparently believed he was committing an act of political violence. Our duty, to honor the fallen, is to ensure that Johnsons vile and cowardly act has the opposite impact from what he sought.

Johnson, who was captured on video shooting one officer in the back, was killed when police, who had tried unsuccessfully to negotiate his surrender, sent a robot his way bearing an explosive device.

Enough about him, except this one thing: He said he was motivated by hatred over the deaths of two more black men  Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, La., and Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minn.  at the hands of police. The slain police officers were protecting a lawful, peaceful demonstration to protest those same deaths.

As the crowd, perhaps more than 800 strong, marched through downtown Dallas, there was anger but no real tension. Certainly there was no sense of danger; police were not wearing riot gear or riding in armored vehicles. Instead, officers chatted and took selfies with the demonstrators.

The great irony is that Dallas is something of a model.

Mayor Mike Rawlings was right when he told reporters that Dallas is one of the premier community policing cities in the country.

Since Police Chief David Brown took over in 2010, complaints of excessive force by officers have dropped by nearly two-thirds. Police shootings have been halved, from 23 in 2012 to just 11 in 2015  and only one so far this year, according to Police Department data.

Brown happens to be African-American, but thats not the most significant thing about him. Whats important is that Brown was quick to understand that the chasm between police officers and young men of color was real  and that it could be bridged.

His officers undergo training in how to de-escalate conflicts rather than heat them up; they learn to speak calmly when approaching suspects.

And Brown keeps looking for new ways to improve relations between police and the community, realizing that diversity is not a destination but a shared journey.

The Dallas Police Department is not perfect, of course. But its efforts to improve the way officers interact with citizens stand in contrast to the appalling police work we saw in the cellphone videos recording the deaths that prompted protests around the country.

Sterling was on the ground in front of a convenience store when he was shot to death. Castile, pulled over in a traffic stop, was apparently reaching for his identification to hand it to the officer who shot him.

The video of Castiles final moments was streamed on the internet by his girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds. In her narration, she says Castile informed the officer that he was licensed to carry a firearm.

It is no stretch to imagine that to the officer, this meant Castile was an armed and dangerous black man. Which leads me to a question I shouldnt have to ask: Does the Second Amendment apply to African-Americans? Where is the National Rifle Association statement decrying the fact that an American citizen might have been killed for exercising his right to keep and bear arms?

But the solution is not more guns. The solution is to end the undervaluing of lives, both black and blue.

Such tragedy is beyond color.
FBI Director James Comey says his agency didnt find evidence to recommend prosecution of Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, over her extremely careless exposure of classified and other sensitive documents in a personal email server she kept in the basement of her New York home when she was secretary of state.

The standard for prosecution in federal law is either intentional or gross negligence, which some argue would include extreme carelessness, but Comey thought otherwise. He turned it over to the court of public opinion and said it was up to the American people to decide whether their elected leaders should adhere to the law. He also made it clear that someone working in his agency who did what Hillary Clinton did would be subject to losing security clearance and discipline up to termination.

Comeys detailed description of the findings of the FBI investigation leave yet another dark cloud over Clintons integrity and her suitability to be president. If there was no criminality, there certainly was lying on a Nixonian scale to cover up her reckless disregard for national security. (Neither major party this year seems to have a presumptive candidate who isnt buried in this kind of baggage of his or her own making.)

Here are some Clinton claims the FBI found to be patently untrue, as compiled by the Associated Press.

I never received nor sent any material that was marked classified.  July 2016

Her system included emails that bore markings indicating they contained classified information, including top secret. And Comey said, Even if information is not marked classified in an email, participants who know, or should know, that the subject matter is classified are still obligated to protect it.

I opted for convenience to use my personal email account, which was allowed by the State Department.  March 2015

In May, a State Department inspector general reported there was no evidence Clinton sought or received approval to operate a private server, though she had an obligation to discuss using her personal email account to conduct official business with their offices.

I responded right away and provided all my emails that could possibly be work related.  March 2015

The FBI found several thousand work-related emails that Clinton had not provided. And Clintons lawyers deleted more than 30,000 emails that she claims were of a personal nature. Who knows?

I thought it would be easier to carry just one device for my work and for personal emails instead of two.  Marc h 2 015

Clinton used numerous mobile devices to view and send email through her personal account. Comey said she also used different servers as units were replaced.

It was on property guarded by the Secret Service, and there were no security breaches.  March 2015

Clintons campaign later backed down and claimed there was no evidence of a breach and the FBI did not uncover a breach. But Comey said a breach couldnt be ruled out and that evidence would be hard to find because hackers can cover their tracks. We assess it is possible that hostile actors gained access to Secretary Clintons personal email account. Comey pointed out that hackers did breach the email accounts of people who had exchanged messages with Clinton. It is reasonable to assume classified material that passed through her server is in the hands of foreign powers that dont much like us.

Other troubling findings Comey reported include that Clintons personal server was not even supported by full-time security staff like those found at agencies and departments of the United States government or even with a commercial email service like Gmail and she used her personal email extensively while outside the United States, including sending and receiving work-related emails in the territory of sophisticated adversaries.

Many in New Mexico, where a large part of the labor force is employed directly or indirectly by the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy in jobs that require a security clearance, must be shaking their heads in disbelief at Clintons disregard for national security.

But if youre one of those holding a clearance, this is not time to let your guard down. In one of his most incongruous statements, Comey said, To be clear, this is not to suggest that in similar circumstances, a person who engaged in this activity would face no consequences.  But that is not what we are deciding now.

Donald Trump has said a number of things that would make a person question whether he is qualified to be president. As was made clear by the director of the FBI, Hillary Clinton has demonstrated she isnt even qualified to hold a security clearance.

This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers.
Copyright  2016 Albuquerque Journal

A billion-dollar industry with a labor shortage and no training program to speak of?

Thats where New Mexico dairies found themselves a decade ago as land grant universities nationwide  including New Mexico State University, Texas A&M and the University of Arizona  began giving up their costly on-campus dairy farms and resources for academic food production programs dwindled.

Those institutions banded together and founded a six-week summer program in Clovis now in its eighth year: the U.S. Dairy Education & Training Consortium. The industry-sponsored program is held at Clovis Community College, draws students and faculty from all over the country and partners with local dairies for hands-on training.

Producers were asking, Who can teach my son the business of milking 3,000 cows? There are no places that do that and land grant universities are no longer teaching production agriculture, said Robert Hagevoort, NMSU extension dairy specialist and a founder of the consortium.

We have 60 commercial herds within 60 minutes of here. The idea was, Well teach them in the classroom, and go out in the afternoon and show them how its done. 

The number of dairy farms in New Mexico and nationwide has been shrinking as high feed costs and low milk prices squeeze margins, but the number of dairy cows hasnt declined. Farms have simply gotten bigger, with large operations snapping up smaller ones to generate economies of scale.

The trend toward larger dairies has generated a need for professional managers with the know-how to manage herds that in New Mexico can number in thousands, Hagevoort said.

Dairy farming in New Mexico is still in large part a family affair, although consolidation has been a trend here, too: The number of New Mexico dairies has declined from 180 at its peak in 2003 to 144 today, said Beverly Idsinga, executive director of Dairy Producers of New Mexico, an industry association.

Hagevoort said the herd size has declined from 360,000 head to about 320,000 head over the same time, but has been fairly consistent for the past several years.

We have a labor shortage in agriculture, especially the dairy industry, not only in New Mexico, but throughout the U.S., Idsinga said. They are always in need of highly trained, qualified managers.

Cody Vander Dussen grew up on his familys 10,000-cow dairy farm in Clovis, called Rajen Dairy, and studied agriculture business and economics at NMSU. He already knew a lot about dairying by the time he got to college  from feeding a bottle to a calf to farm management  and he also knew he wanted to come home to the family farm.

He took the consortium course in 2011.

This course was important to me because it gave me the opportunity to see how other farms are set up and managed, he said. There are so many ways a dairy can be run, from operations to milking processes. You didnt get just one narrow view of how your family runs its farm.

Vander Dussen now looks after a herd of 2,500 at Rajen Dairy and hosts current students for hands-on training.

More than 90 applicants applied this year and 53 students from 23 universities nationwide were accepted, Hagevoort said. The roughly $3,000 per student cost of the program is underwritten by the dairy industry, but students pay their home institutions tuition for the course credit they earn.

There is not a program like this  six weeks with intensive immersion in the industry  anywhere in the country, Hagevoort said. They are coming from Kansas and California and Washington state and Wisconsin and Maine, and everywhere.

This years students graduated at the end of June.
By Adrian Gomez

Anna Sanchez just celebrated her first year as director of the National Hispanic Cultural Center Foundation.

I knew there were tremendous opportunities, Sanchez says, and she has taken advantage of them.

Over the course of the year, Sanchez has focused on building the organizations membership program, which has doubled to 240 since she came on board.

The NHCC Foundations annual Maravilla, scheduled for Sept. 10, has also grown in sponsorship. Maravilla is the NHCC Foundations biggest fundraiser and this year is called Una Noche en Puerto Rico.

We have 27 sponsors now, Sanchez says with a smile. I think last year it was about 10.

Sanchez credits the positive direction as a direct result of building confidence in all aspects.

I think the foundation had a lot of work to do building the trust of the community, Sanchez says. People are understanding more about the NHCC and its mission. Weve been focused on helping the ever-expanding programming that the NHCC does.

The NHCC Foundation provides direct financial support to the cultural center and its mission to preserve, promote and advance Hispanic culture, arts and humanities.

The center has expanded its programming across the board in its art museum, library, genealogy center and educational resources.

It now presents more than 700 events a year.

As the foundation, we have to raise the money to help these types of projects out, Sanchez said. Fundraising is critical in any organization. We have made efforts to prioritize the programs.

Sanchez came into her position as the organization was moving forward after years of turmoil.

As of July 1, 2015, the foundation paid off its debt to the state of New Mexico.

In 2011, the state demanded that the NHCC Foundation repay nearly $147,000 in spending related to the NHCC fresco project back in 2007-08, in what it said was a textbook example of how public funds should never be spent.

The fresco project  done by New Mexico artist Frederico Vigil and opened to the public in October 2010  received $812,500 in state funds through capital outlay appropriations. However, some of that money was deemed by the Department of Cultural Affairs to have been improperly spent on administrative costs.

In May 2015, the NHCC board of directors voted to enter a naming rights agreement with New Mexico Mutual for the soon-to-be-built welcome center. The first $100,000 of the $200,000 agreement was used to pay off the NHCC Foundations debt.

Over the past year, there has also been an overhaul of the management roles of both the center and foundation.

The collaboration calls for the center to be more involved in fundraising.

NHCC Executive Director Rebecca Avitia has been supervising the fundraising efforts for the foundation, but she counts on Sanchezs expertise in fundraising to make it successful.

Its been an organic working relationship, Avitia says. We all have the same focus. Having this collaboration with Anna has increased the opportunities we have at the center.

Avitias philosophy is to always try new things, which is why the new management structure is in place.

Having Anna on board confirms the community supports the center, Avitia says. Membership is growing as well as sponsorships. We had to be united for anyone to believe it. The menus of things you can support are vast. Theres a focus on the donors now. Weve seen donors who supported one type of programming branch out and support something else.

Sanchez has more than a dozen years of experience in fundraising, marketing and community engagement, and served as senior development director of the Central New Mexico Community College Foundation for seven years before getting to the NHCC Foundation.

One aspect the foundation still oversees is La Tendita, which sells a variety of handmade goods from across the globe. Sanchez is beginning to establish regular hours for the store.

If someone is interested in shopping, well open the store, she says. We are relying heavily on our volunteers to help with the tendita. We also want to eventually make the store available online.

As for her long-term goals, Sanchez wants to continue to ignite individual donor relationships, which will help expand the foundations donor base.

People do seek out the NHCC, Sanchez says. We have to find a way to engage them and keep them coming back. We have the opportunity to educate the community on all levels.
Associated Press

SANTA FE  Amid the misery of the Great Depression, Rupert Lopez gratefully worked for $1 a day for the Civilian Conservation Corps, making adobe-block walls for a new regional National Park Service administration building in Santa Fe.

The 100th anniversary of the National Park Service is igniting new interest in the majestic Spanish pueblo-themed building that Lopez and other CCC boys built, along with other remote cabins, furniture and artwork of the 1930s that transformed and popularized national and state parks while putting millions of impoverished Americans back to work.

The Old Santa Fe Trail Building, nicknamed after its address alongside the former frontier migration and supply route, was stocked with handcarved furniture and Native American pottery and paintings commissioned under the Work Projects Administration from local artists.

It is now celebrated as a graceful landmark that blends with the surrounding high-desert landscape  while serving as a testament to President Franklin D. Roosevelts New Deal public works projects.

That legacy is slipping from living memory. Lopez, who turned 100 in January, is the only known surviving member of the work crew that laid the foundation and hoisted handcarved wooden beams called vigas.

In June, preservationists of the New Deal era brought together Lopez with descendants of Franklin D. Roosevelt and several Cabinet secretaries that had helped ramp up government employment and infrastructure projects in the midst of the Great Depression.

They met in downtown Santa Fe, blocks from frescoes in the New Mexico Museum of Art and federal courthouse murals commissioned by the Public Works of Art Project, another New Deal institution.

Nina Roosevelt Gibson, the daughter of the President Roosevelts youngest son, said she had to take a history course in college to fully appreciate the Depression-era accomplishments of her grandfather, whom she knew only briefly as a young girl.

Gibson said the New Deal agencies would be difficult or impossible to replicate today  but still serve as a call to collective action.

The spirit of the New Deal is all over the country, in every national park you go to, there are CCC trails that have been developed, you go into post offices and there are murals and art work  that were created through funding of various New Deal projects, she said. And then I see it in the hearts of men and women, their families were able to keep hope during a time when there was a lot of hopelessness.

Beyond Santa Fe, an online archive called The Living New Deal is bringing the national scope of Roosevelt-era public works sites into sharper focus. More than 10,000 site locations are tagged to a Google map for browsing. The crowdsourced archive started as a student project and is hosted by the department of geography at the University of California, Berkeley.

Susan Ives, who works for the project from Mill Valley, Calif., said amateur contributors have helped identify public works buildings where plaques and labels went missing through neglect and as Roosevelts progressive political ideals fell out of favor during the Cold War years.

They were taken down when the pendulum swung to the right, she said.

When it comes to national parks and monuments, meanwhile, many devotees of New Deal history want that eras artifacts to be given a larger stage of their own, after serving for some 80 years as the backdrop to other wonders of nature and human history.

The National Park Service already juggles those competing missions at Bandelier National Monument, 18 miles from Santa Fe, where the main attraction is ancestral Native American cliff dwellings carved into soft rock. The monument is also home to a cluster of 31 support buildings created by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s that mimics a small New Mexico village, and is designated as a historic district in its own right.

Jerry Rogers of Santa Fe, a retired cultural preservation official at the National Park Service, thinks it is time for a special Park Service unit devoted solely to New Deal preservation. The Old Santa Fe Trail Building could be exhibit No. 1, he said, emphasizing the human drama behind the structure where inside-and-out renovations are planned during 2017.

What was going on in New Mexico at the time, like the whole nation, the bottom has just fallen out of the economy, he said. But New Mexico was already kind of poor when that started. There was genuine hunger, and not just scarcity.
Copyright  2016 Albuquerque Journal

Its a debate thats rattled Colorado, New Jersey and Washington.

Now its Albuquerques turn.

Supporters of a proposal called the Healthy Workforce Ordinance say they hope this fall to make Albuquerque the first city in the state to require that employers offer paid sick leave to their workers.

They plan Monday to turn in the last batch of petition signatures needed to get the proposal before voters, though it isnt clear yet whether the measure actually will end up on the Nov. 8 ballot or will have to wait until the next city election in October 2017.

A coalition of more than a dozen business groups  including NAIOP, the commercial real estate development association; the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce; the New Mexico Restaurant Association; and Associated Builders and Contractors  has come together to oppose the ordinance.

The business groups say that offering paid sick leave to every worker is a worthwhile goal, but the proposed ballot measure is far too burdensome.

It could force some businesses to leave the city, opponents contend, because of the paperwork it would require and the potential for litigation from workers who use the ordinance to sue their employers. They say the proposed ordinances description on the petition fails to point out many changes that would be required of employers.

The four mom-and-pop questions on this petition are not what this ordinance is about, said Lynne Andersen of NAIOP. It will basically change the way almost every business pays their employees.

Supporters say the proposal is a common-sense way to ensure that workers dont have to choose between their paycheck and the health of a family member. Workers could use the sick leave for themselves or to care for a relative, or for absences related to domestic violence, rape or stalking.

They announced their campaign on Mothers Day to highlight the potential benefit to working moms. But they say it also helps the community as a whole if a cook or child-care worker can stay home rather than spread their illness at work.

Sometimes the debate is framed as, This is just something were giving to workers,' said Elizabeth Wagoner, an attorney at the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty. I think its important for people to remember that it impacts all of us when a worker has to go to work sick.

Supporters say the need is especially critical in New Mexico, which has a higher share of private-sector workers without paid sick leave than any other state, according to data compiled by the Institute for Womens Policy Research, based in Washington, D.C.

A recent New Mexico Voices for Children study said it would cost private-sector employers statewide $239 million a year to offer paid sick leave to those who dont have it, or 0.35 percent of the private sectors gross domestic product in New Mexico.

County has questions

The debate focuses on a seven-page ordinance crafted by supporters. They are attempting to get it before voters using the petition initiative process outlined in the Albuquerque City Charter.

Its the same method that has been used to propose abortion restrictions, a tax for the BioPark and increases in the minimum wage. Voters approved the tax and minimum wage proposals.

The Healthy Workforce ABQ campaign has had 60 days to gather 14,218 signatures from people registered to vote in Albuquerque. Its deadline is Monday.

A variety of left-leaning groups is backing the campaign, including Organizers in the Land of Enchantment, or OLE; the SouthWest Organizing Project; El Centro de Igualdad y Derechos, an immigrant rights group; Strong Families New Mexico; and Early Educators United.

Supporters and opponents alike expect the proposal to reach the required signature threshold, though the city clerk, of course, is still verifying the petitions signed by voters.

After that, the proposed sick leave ordinance would go to the City Council, which can either approve the measure outright or send it to voters in the next general or municipal election. The council cannot amend it unless both the original and amended versions are put to voters.

Supporters hope the council will agree to put the proposal on the Nov. 8 ballot this year rather than wait for the 2017 city election.

Getting it on this years ballot would also require Bernalillo Countys approval.

County Commission Chairman Art De La Cruz said hes usually open to adding any question suggested by the city if theres room on the ballot. County Clerk Maggie Toulouse Oliver said its too early to say whether there will be room, in part, because the county is still formulating its own questions.

Employees can sue

As business leaders prepare to fight the ordinance, theyre focusing on the details of the proposal, not necessarily the concept of paid sick leave.

One concern is record-keeping. The ordinance requires employers to maintain payroll records for every employee, including the amount of sick time accrued and used, and to keep the records for four years.

Thats because city attorneys would have a right to inspect the records. Also, an employee who leaves and returns to an employer within a year is entitled to sick leave acquired during the persons first stint.

Opponents say many small companies wont be able to meet such requirements, especially in industries like construction that have a transient workforce where people come and go depending on the project.

Critics also fear that the ordinance will interfere with the practice of offering paid time off, or leave that doesnt distinguish between whether a person is sick or taking vacation. They say that is a growing trend that many employees prefer.

It just creates a rigid work environment, Jason Espinoza of the New Mexico Association of Commerce and Industry told the Journal . Each employer and employee relationship is unique.

Wagoner said supporters intend for the ordinance to allow PTO and count it toward the sick time requirement. She cites a provision that says employers dont have to provide additional sick leave if they already have a paid leave policy that meets or exceeds the requirements of this ordinance.

Opponents also say the ordinance makes employers vulnerable to litigation if they fire or demote an employee who  by coincidence  has called in sick within the past three months.

Thats because the bill would establish a rebuttable presumption of a violation if the employer takes action against someone who has exercised their rights under the ordinance or alleged a violation of their rights within the past 90 days.

Thats dangerous, said Carol Wight of the New Mexico Restaurant Association. Its one-sided the way its written.

The goal, Wagoner said, is simply to prohibit retaliation against workers. The employer would just explain to the court why the action was taken.

If the explanation makes sense and it really wasnt retaliation, there shouldnt be a problem, she said.

Employers who violate the law would face financial penalties. Workers could win damages of three times the value of any unpaid sick time theyve accrued.

Employers who break the law could also face civil fines based on how many employees were affected.

The city attorneys office would be charged with enforcing the ordinance, and employees could also file their own lawsuits, including class actions.

Ordinance is flawed

About two dozen cities and five states require employers to provide paid sick time to their employees or have passed laws to do so. The states include California and Connecticut. The cities include Chicago; Jersey City, N.J.; Pittsburgh; and Tacoma, Wash. Voters in Denver rejected a sick leave bill in 2011.

In a policy paper issued in February, New Mexico Voices for Children, an advocacy group, estimated that it would cost about $239 million in New Mexico to provide one week of paid sick leave to people who dont have it already. Thats a cost employers should be able to handle, New Mexico Voices for Children contends.

Mike Puelle, CEO of Associated General Contractors of New Mexico, disputes that businesses can afford the cost. In construction, for example, the margins are razor thin, he said.

Ken Carson Jr., owner of Nexus Brewery and the Nexus Silver Taproom, said he already offers paid leave that exceeds whats proposed in the ordinance and he supports the ballot measure.

I feel like its something that workers in this industry should have, Carson said. I come from a banking background and every bank Ive ever worked at, every organization Ive worked for, has had paid time off for its workers.  I think we end up reaping what we sow when we dont take care of our staff.

The opposing campaign, called the Coalition for a Healthy Economy, says the ordinance is simply flawed, no matter how well-intended. Its an extra burden for businesses as New Mexico struggles to recover from the Great Recession, it said.

The coalition includes the Albuquerque Economic Forum, Apartment Association of New Mexico, Associated Builders and Contractors Inc., Associated General Contractors New Mexico, American Subcontractors Association of New Mexico, Commercial Association of Realtors New Mexico, Greater Albuquerque Association of Realtors, Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, Home Builders of Central New Mexico, NAIOP, New Mexico Association of Commerce and Industry, New Mexico Restaurant Association and New Mexico Utility Contractors Association.

If the debate over sick leave must happen, it should be at the state level to avoid a patchwork of rules, they said.

The proposal is very scary, especially for small businesses, Andersen, the NAOIP president, said.

How it would work

 All employers in Albuquerque would have to comply, no matter their size, if they have physical premises within the city. State government would be exempt.

 Any employee who works seven days or more in one year would be entitled to earn sick leave. That includes part-time, seasonal and temporary workers.

 An employee would earn at least one hour of sick leave for every 30 hours worked.

 Employees at large businesses  40 or more workers  could use up to seven sick days a year, if theyve earned that much. At smaller employers, they could get five days.

 The paid sick leave could be used by the employees to care for themselves or a sick family member, or for absences related to domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking.

 The employer could require the employee to provide documentation if the person uses three or more sick days in a row. The employer, however, would have to pay the workers out-of-pocket expenses if obtaining the documentation costs money. The employer would have to keep the documentation confidential.

 Employers could offer more generous benefits than those required.

 The ordinance would establish a rebuttable presumption of a violation if the employer takes action against someone who has exercised their rights under the ordinance or alleged a violation of their rights within the last 90 days.

 There is a debate over whether the ordinance would eliminate paid time off plans and require separate sick-leave accounting.

 The city attorneys office would be charged with enforcing the law and employees could file their own lawsuits.

 Employers would need to keep track of earned sick time for every employee and keep the records for four years.
DALLAS  The gunman who killed five police officers at a protest march trained at a private self-defense school in Texas, a school official said Saturday at the academy that teaches firearm tactics, including shooting on the move, a maneuver in which an attacker fires and changes position before firing again.

Micah Johnson, an Army veteran, received instruction at the Academy of Combative Warrior Arts in the Dallas suburb of Richardson about two years ago, a person who said he was in charge of the organization told The Associated Press. The man refused to answer additional questions and would not give his name.

The mans statement was corroborated by a police report from May 8, 2015, when someone at a business a short distance away called in a report of several suspicious people in a parked SUV.

The investigating officer closed the case just minutes after arriving at the scene in a parking lot behind a strip mall. While there, the officer spoke to Johnson, who said he had just gotten out of a class at a nearby self-defense school.

Johnson told the officer that he was waiting for his dad to arrive and pick up his brother. Apparently, no one else was questioned.

On Friday, Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings described Johnson as a mobile shooter who had written manifestos on how to shoot and move  and he did that.

The academy website refers to one of its courses as a tactical applications program, or TAP.

Reality is highly dynamic, you will be drawing your firearm, moving, shooting on the move, fixing malfunctions, etc. all under high levels of stress, the website says. Most people never get to train these skills as they are not typically allowed on the static gun range.

The site says TAP training includes shooting from different positions, drawing under stress and drawing from concealment.

People could be seen training Saturday at the school in a nondescript shopping center, but the doors were locked.

When asked about Johnson, a man who answered the door said, He trained two years ago.  I dont know anything about Micah. Im sorry. Hes gone. Hes old to us. I have thousands of people.

Earlier in the day, President Barack Obama called Johnson a demented individual who does not represent black Americans any more than a white man accused of killing blacks at a church in Charleston, S.C., represents whites.

So we cannot let the actions of a few define all of us, Obama said from Warsaw, Poland, where he attended a NATO summit.

The president planned to visit Dallas in a few days and to convene a White House meeting next week with police officers and community and civil rights activists.

It was the third time in as many days that Obama has spoken about the fatal police shootings of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota that were immediately followed by the sniper attack in Dallas. In addition to the five slain officers, seven officers and two civilians were wounded.

Johnson donned a protective vest and used a military-style semi-automatic rifle, officials said.

He was killed by a robot-delivered bomb Thursday after the shootings, which marked the deadliest day for U.S. law enforcement since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

In all, 12 officers were shot just a few blocks from where President John F. Kennedy was slain in 1963.

The 25-year-old gunman had amassed a personal arsenal at his home in the Dallas suburb of Mesquite, including bomb-making materials, rifles, ammunition and a journal of combat tactics, authorities said Friday.

He followed black militant groups on social media, including one that posted a message Wednesday encouraging violence against police.

Johnson was a private first class with a specialty in carpentry and masonry. He served in the Army Reserve for six years, starting in 2009, and did one tour in Afghanistan from November 2013 to July 2014, the military said.

When Johnson was accused of sexual harassment by a female soldier in Afghanistan, he was sent back to the U.S. with the recommendation that he receive an other than honorable discharge, but he later got an honorable discharge, said Bradford Glendening, a military lawyer.

The attack began Thursday evening while hundreds of people were gathered to protest the police killings of Philando Castile, who was fatally shot near St. Paul, Minn., and Alton Sterling, who was shot in Louisiana after being pinned to the pavement by two white officers.

Video showed protesters marching along a downtown street about half a mile from City Hall when shots erupted and the crowd scattered, seeking cover.
Copyright  2016 Albuquerque Journal

Early this year, two holders of grazing leases on New Mexico trust land applied to the State Land Office to have the leases totaling nearly 9,000 acres transferred to a billionaires ranch in western New Mexico.

Deputy State Land Commissioner Laura Riley, who is also a licensed real estate appraiser and broker, wrote a $100 check to the State Land Office on an account for Riley & Knight Appraisals and Consulting Services in Corrales to cover the administrative fees for the transfers.

Riley also signed and approved the lease transfers, formally known as assignments, on behalf of her boss, State Land Commissioner Aubrey Dunn. Riley signed Dunns name followed by her initials.

Patrick Killen, assistant land commissioner for policy and special projects, said in an email that Riley has full signing authority on behalf of Commissioner Dunn and that she signed the documents based upon that authority and the sign-off of career staff at the State Land Office.

State Land Office employees are prohibited by the offices code of conduct from acting as an agent for the lease of state trust lands. The code of conduct also says, Under no circumstances shall employees give rise to a conflict of interest or the appearance of a conflict of interest with the SLO.

Killen didnt respond to a question seeking details about the business relationships between Riley and the private parties involved in the lease assignments.

After the Journal asked to inspect records related to the two lease assignments paid for and approved by Riley, Dunn and the SLOs Office of General Counsel reviewed the matter and found no conflicts with the code of conduct, Killen said.

Such lease assignments are among the most routine administrative processes that we undertake at the State Land Office and the transfers paid for and approved by Riley wouldnt have been handled differently if a neutral, third-party transaction broker had been involved, Killen said in an email.

Killen also provided a State Land Office Certificate Regarding Conflict of Interest, signed by Riley in April 2015, where she wrote that she may represent a buyer or seller of a property that includes a leasehold interest in state trust lands.

However, less than six months after signing that document, Riley told the Journal that, while she continued to work as a real estate appraiser and broker, she wouldnt accept any private work involving the State Land Office.

Riley made the comment in an interview for a story concerning a decision by the state Board of Real Estate Appraisers. The board in 2012 ordered her to pay a $4,000 fine and more than $7,500 in costs for appraisals that grossly overstated the market value of 560 acres of vacant land in Lincoln County. Riley said she didnt believe she did anything wrong.

Riley is listed online as owner of Riley & Knight Appraisal and Consulting Services, and as a broker for West Wood Realty, specializing in farm and ranch sales, commercial sales and development properties. She represented private parties and herself in deals with the State Land Office prior to being hired by Dunn in 2015.

Riley, who earns about $100,000 a year as deputy land commissioner, declined to be interviewed about the grazing lease transfers, referring the issue to Killen, who requested that questions about the assignments be submitted in writing.

We cant help but believe that this effort to question Deputy Commissioner Rileys service to our state is politically motivated by Commissioner Dunns opponents and possibly even sexist in nature, and it serves as a chilling reminder that these kinds of baseless attacks are still a fact of life for many women serving in positions of authority in New Mexico, Killen wrote in an email.

Well respected

In January, Kenneth Owens applied to the State Land Office to transfer a grazing lease for 5,507 acres to the D.R. Horton Great Western Ranch. The following month, Double H Holdings applied to transfer a grazing lease for 3,201 acres to the Horton ranch.

D.R. Horton of Fort Worth, the largest home builder in the country and founded by billionaire Donald R. Horton, purchased the 292,779-acre Great Western Ranch in 2014 for near the asking price of $59 million, according to The Wall Street Journal. D.R. Horton is listed by The Land Report publication as one of the nations largest land owners.

The check written by Riley to cover the $50 administrative fee for each of the lease assignments to the Horton ranch was written March 25. Riley approved and signed the assignments on behalf of Dunn on April 7.

The State Land Offices annual fees for the two grazing leases total $6,920.

Dunn announced in April 2015 that he had hired Riley as assistant commissioner for commercial resources. She was named deputy land commissioner when Dunns first top aide left after four months in the job.

Before being hired by Dunn, Riley was involved on behalf of herself and other private parties in several transactions with the State Land Office, including commercial development of trust lands and property swaps. She also worked for the SLO in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Deputy Commissioner Rileys extensive land management experience and work ethic speaks for itself  and she is well respected by government, community and business leaders, Killen said in an email.
Copyright  2016 Albuquerque Journal

Kathryn Hanley studied Zika virus for years before anyone was concerned about it.

The New Mexico State University biologist began her Zika research a decade ago while she was studying other mosquito-borne viruses in Africa.

It was an accident, Hanley said. Zika was a logical add-on to research into viruses considered far more dangerous, including dengue, yellow fever and chikungunya, all transmitted by mosquitoes.

Im really a dengue person, she said.

During her postdoctoral work at the National Institutes of Health, Hanley began studying the emergence and control of dengue virus, which remains a focus of her work. She has co-authored studies on emerging diseases around the world.

The scarcity of research about Zika has left science with more questions than answers vital to understanding the virus, she said.

Since its discovery in the Zika forest of Uganda in 1947, Zika virus has remained little studied because it was not considered a threat to public health.

That changed earlier this year when Zika was linked to a Brazilian epidemic of microcephaly  a severe birth defect marked by an underdeveloped head and brain.

Until people appreciated that it could cause birth defects, no one was interested in Zika, Hanley said.

She said she studies insect-borne viruses that infect both humans and animals, because they cause so many of the illnesses that afflict people today.

A key question regarding Zika: Why was it identified with birth defects only this year in Brazil, even though the virus has infected people in the Old World, probably since ancient times?

Thats the $6 million question, Hanley said. I suspect that in the Old World  Africa and Asia  (Zika) has been distributed across the tropical belt for thousands of years.

Scientists have offered some theories.

One is that somewhere in that transition from Asia into Brazil, the virus acquired a mutation that made it more virulent, she said.

Zika island-hopped across the Pacific Ocean from west to east, causing a 2007 outbreak in Yap island, about 800 miles east of the Philippines, where it infected 73 percent of the population in four months, according to a study Hanley co-authored.

In 2011, Zika also caused a large outbreak in French Polynesia, some 4,000 miles west of South America, followed by increased reports of babies born with microcephaly, according to studies published this year.

The virus was unknown in the Americas until 2015, although it may have turned up in Brazil as early as 2013, remaining out of sight for two years, she said.

During that voyage, the virus may have mutated in a way that made it more likely to cross the placenta and infect the fetus, and cause brain damage, she said.

Another possibility is that the Old World virus indeed causes birth defects, but nobody noticed because monitoring of infant health was inadequate and because infections of humans arent that common, she said.

In Africa, and possibly in Asia, Zika is transmitted by mosquitoes that feed largely on monkeys and only occasionally on humans.

That may be driving lower rates of human infection in Asia and Africa, she said.

In West Africa, where Hanley has done much of her research, Zika is primarily a monkey virus that occasionally spills over into humans. Yellow fever is another virus that infects both monkeys and humans.

In the Americas, Zika is transmitted primarily by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which feeds almost exclusively on humans.

Aedes aegypti are what we call a domestic mosquito, kind of like our dogs, only by accident, she said. They only really like human blood and they very rarely feed on anything else, which makes them a very good human-to-human vector.

In the Americas, Zika has spread rapidly in dozens of Central and South American nations, and the Caribbean.

Another possibility is that Zika is largely a childhood disease in the Old World, providing children with lifetime immunity that protects women in their childbearing years.

Zika could become a childhood illness in the Americas, but that depends on a lot of questions, Hanley said.

Monkeys a key reservoir

Many of those questions involve monkeys.

In Africa, monkeys are a key reservoir for Zika virus. In the Americas, the virus isnt known to infect monkeys, at least not yet.

If Zika establishes a monkey cycle in the Americas, it would be almost impossible to eradicate regionally when and if a vaccine is developed, Hanley said.

In the case of yellow fever, the virus infected New World monkeys soon after it arrived in the Americas in the 17th century.

Science now offers an effective vaccine for yellow fever, but the illness persists both in South America and Africa because monkeys harbor the virus.

The same would be true for Zika in the Americas, she said.

Another unknown is whether children who get Zika develop lifelong immunity. Pregnancy is known to suppress a womans immune system, so it could be that you get lifelong immunity until you are pregnant, she said.

We need more time

A big question for U.S. residents is the potential risk here.

As of Friday, 1,132 travel-associated cases of Zika infections had been reported among U.S. residents, all acquired in other countries. No local infections have occurred within the continental U.S.

But two species of mosquitoes that transmit Zika virus  Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus  thrive in the southern U.S., including southern New Mexico.

Three Zika cases have been reported in New Mexico, all acquired outside the U.S.

Hanley predicts that the U.S. is at grave risk of local Zika virus infections.

We know that dengue virus is transmitted along the U.S.-Mexico border region, as well as Hawaii and Florida, and I believe the same will happen with Zika.

Hanleys research will take her to Borneo later this month and, later, to South America to study the Zika transmission cycle. Asia remains a black box where information about the virus is scarce.

Weve had six months of intense research on this virus, Hanley said. A lot of people are really trying, but we need more time to answer some of these questions.
Bishop David Cooper said updated laws might be necessary and it may be time to revise some policies, but that love is the only way to prevent future violence.

We are at a tipping point, Cooper said at a candlelight vigil in Albuquerque Saturday evening. We are at a very dangerous place in our society and we must decide to turn this thing around with love. We cannot turn it around with the law.

Dozens of community members gathered at the Strong-Thorne Chapel on Coal SE to honor the five police officers killed in Dallas and the two black men killed in police shootings in Minnesota and Louisiana.

Cooper of New Hope Full Gospel Baptist Church urged attendees to remember that an entire race or occupation shouldnt be judged based on the actions of one person.

He commended the Dallas Police Department, calling it one of the best in the nation at dealing with communities of color, and said that, as officers came under fire on Thursday, they shielded people who were in danger  regardless of their race.

They knew that once a shot, a bullet penetrated the body of another that the life fluid that flows in every person is the same color, he said. The pain that would be caused by death and injury would be the same pain regardless of your color.

Cooper encouraged integrity and conversation, and said that every person should be valued. When we put down the violence and pick up the rule of love, he said, we create a better society.

The group took time to shake hands and hug before lighting candles and saying aloud the names of lost loved ones, of local police officers killed on duty and of people who died in police shootings.

Audriana Pickett went to the vigil hoping to find peace after one of the most difficult weeks she can remember.

I decided to come because Im angry, hurt, sad, depressed, confused, said Pickett, who heard about the vigil at an NAACP meeting earlier in the day.

Were all suffering, she said, noting that she has friends and family members who are police officers. Im hurting for all of them.

Albuquerque police Sgt. Nick Wheeler, a police officer for 16 years, said he came to show his support for the community. He said he wants to keep talking to the people he met at the vigil.

We all need to come together, Wheeler said. Its not black, white, yellow, green. We all need to take care of each other.

He said it hurts to hear black people tell him that theyre afraid to talk to police.

Especially white police, he said. Im like, its not like that. It sucks. Thats not why we do our job, to pick on anyone of color.

Wheeler said its unfortunate that conversation often only comes with tragedy, but that maybe this is an opportunity for change.

Its killing me whats going on, he said.
BOULDER, Colo.  The Latest on wildfires burning in Colorado and Wyoming (all times local):

1:40 p.m.

Three homes and three buildings have been destroyed by a wildfire still burning north of Nederland.

The Boulder County Sheriffs Office says there are 30 more homes in the path of the fire.

Authorities are warning that shifting high winds and high temperatures on Sunday could put more homes in danger.

In northern Colorado, firefighters say a wildfire near the Wyoming border has burned another 1,000 acres, and they are warning that the fire could spread rapidly on Sunday because high winds are forecast. An evacuation order was issued for Parsons Draw landowners on Saturday. That fire started on June 19 and now covers more than 22 square miles.

___

9:10 a.m.

More evacuations are pending for a wildfire burning north of Nederland that continues to threaten homes.

The Boulder Office of Emergency Management said Sunday people in about 170 homes should be ready to leave on a moments notice.

Authorities say the fire started Saturday afternoon west of Boulder and grew quickly to more than 200 acres. They say a campfire probably started the fire. There are no reports of injuries.

In northern Colorado, firefighters say a wildfire near the Wyoming border has burned another 1,000 acres, and they are warning that the fire could spread rapidly on Sunday because high winds are forecast. An evacuation order was issued for Parsons Draw landowners on Saturday. That fire started on June 19 and now covers more than 22 square miles.
Susan Kirkpatrick finds rare, high-end items for her ABQ store, Designer Warehouse.

Susan Kirkpatrick visits dealer shows for all kinds of home design products across the country. Much of what she sees, however, doesnt show up locally for years, if ever, she said. So she wanted to do something to change that dynamic and did so the best way she knew how.

Becoming a resource

Last fall, Kirkpatrick opened Designer Warehouse as a labor of love to give local folks access to a variety of home decor options that they just might never get to encounter outside of a magazine. I wanted to fill a void, to be a resource for the design trade and interior designers, Kirkpatrick said. The Warehouse is in a gleaming new 16,000-square-foot building that also houses her husbands accounting business as well as her wildly successful Kirkpatrick & Associates hotel interior design firm.

Local talent

Kirkpatrick is an Albuquerque native who graduated from Del Norte High School and earned her undergraduate degree in interior design at Brigham Young University. Kirkpatrick returned to Albuquerque and went to work for a small firm, but her method of payment consistently changed and the frustration simply became too much to make the deal viable, especially since her husband was still finishing up his degree from the University of New Mexico.

We decided that if we were going to starve to death, I might as well as do it working for myself, she said. When we started the business, we did it with $200. We did it out of our home. That was around 1981.

At first, Kirkpatrick was able to get work doing model homes for builders. But her husband got her headed in a new direction. He told me that as my accountant, for the number of purchase orders I was making, I was not making enough money, Kirkpatrick said with a chuckle.

She ended up landing a hotel gig in Durango, then beat out a couple of national firms for a gig in Chicago that quickly expanded to other properties in the hotel chain. Kirkpatrick was also raising three children as her business took off.

Making a statement

Now Kirkpatrick & Associates does interior design projects for major corporations from coast-to-coast. Properties like Hilton, Marriott and those owned by IHG like Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn boast work designed and created here in Albuquerque. Still, Albuquerques rather limited exposure to the latest items available was a burr.

I didnt see things in the inventories here that I saw elsewhere, she said. To have those things here, like the large canvases, for instance, really makes a difference. Things like make a statement, especially when you can have them at a price point that people can afford. Something like that can really finish off an office in a home. We usually have to go to Scottsdale to buy things.

The Designer Warehouse, which is open three days a week for the time being, is a haven for the latest in tasteful furnishings and upbeat wall decor, but it also serves as Kirkpatrick & Associates showroom where clients are greeted with a library of possibilities, all displayed in a comfortable setting.

Pillow possibilities

The Warehouse has pillow possibilities beyond imagine  including one favorite depicting the latitude and longitude of the nearby Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta Museum.

Lighting treatments in terms of lamps and overhead fixtures abound, reflecting everything from modern to antique, in a variety of sizes and shapes and colors.

Tables and chairs are carefully chosen and tested, I sit in every one to make sure its comfortable, Kirkpatrick said.

And there are prints from modern eclectic like a photo of the tops of spray paint cans to very New Mexican like artsy shots of Chaco Canyon. The prints and frames are actually produced on sight with a top-of-the-line, large-scale, professional printer that delivers vivid, vibrant colors and a master craftsman who builds the custom frames.

Its important for any office or home to have that one piece because you never know whats really going to complete it, Kirkpatrick said. All in all, Designer Warehouse is a visual oasis in what has increasingly become a decorators desert.
By James Corbett

Peter Kirby is the author of the new book Chemtrails Exposed: A New Manhattan Project. Today we tackle the two questions most frequently asked by chemtrail skeptics: would the government do something like this and could they do something like this. We also talk about John Brennans recent call for stratospheric aerosol injection and a 2016 study on the health effects of stratospheric aerosols.



Visit CorbettReport.com
By Amando Flavio

An India-based multinational mobile advertising company, Inmobi, has agreed to pay a fine of $950,000 to the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for using Wi-Fi signals to secretly track phone users in the country, obtaining their locations for adverts on their mobile phones.

InMobi was founded in 2007. The company has financial support from the Japanese telecommunications giant, Softbank, and the American venture capital firm, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. In 2013, InMobi won a spot in MIT Technology Reviews 50 most disruptive companies of the year.

In a civil lawsuit filed on June 22, 2016, at a District Court in San Francisco, California, FTC alleged that InMobi undermined mobile phone users ability to make informed decisions about the collection of their location information.

According to the lawsuit, InMobis software used nearby Wi-Fi signals to infer locations when permission was not given. The company then archived the location information and used it to push targeted advertisements to individual phone users.

Also, InMobi collected nearby basic service set identification addresses, which act as unique serial numbers for wireless access points. The company, which thousands of Android and iOS app makers use to deliver ads to end users, then fed each BSSID into a geocorder database to infer the phone users latitude and longitude; even when an end user had not provided permission for location to be tracked through the phones dedicated location feature, Ars Technica reports.

Ars Technica quoted part of the lawsuit as saying: In fact, defendant collected and used BSSID and other Wi-Fi network information to track the consumers location and serve geo-targeted ads regardless of the application developers intent to include geo-targeted ads, and regardless of the consumers location settings.

According to the FTC, the InMobi advertising network has reached more than one billion devices worldwide through thousands of popular apps integrating the InMobi code.

The FTC said it acted swiftly to bring the lawsuit against InMobi. Many of the third-party app makers have revealed that their software was designed for children, many under the age of 13. The FTC claimed this makes the locations collection a violation of the Childrens Online Privacy Protection Act.

Collectively, hundreds of millions of consumers have downloaded the thousands of child-directed applications from which defendant collected and used personal information. Defendant collected such personal information each time an application made an ad request to their networktypically every 30 seconds when an application is in use, the lawsuit said.

InMobi maintained that its software collected geographical whereabouts of users, but only when the users provided opt-in consent. However, the company agreed to enter into a settlement with the FTC in order to end the case.

The company has, therefore, agreed to pay a civil penalty of $950,000 and delete all information it collected from children and adults who did not give consent. The FTC requested for a $4 million civil penalty, but the amount was reduced to $950,000, due to InMobis current financial condition.

The settlement also requires InMobi to implement a comprehensive privacy program that will be independently audited every two years for the next 20 years.

From what transpired in court, privacy advocates recommended that users turn off their Wi-Fi receivers in their mobile devices if connection is not needed. Because, by leaving it on, it can be used by both access point operators and ad networks tracking the comings and goings of users mobile devices, which can result in more damage than what InMobi has done.

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This article (Mobile Advertising Company Fined $950,000 for Using Wi-Fi Signals to Secretly Track Phone Users) is a free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to the author and AnonHQ.com.
Since an Ebola outbreak was declared in Uganda on 20 September, health assistant Nyangoma Kirrungi has been on the frontline of the countrys response day in and day out, working as a contact tracer in Madudu sub-county, one of the areas affected by the outbreak.
Facing probe over his furious speeches that are believed to have inspired two of the Bangladeshi cafe attackers, Mumbai based Islamic preacher Zakir Naik sought support from the Muslims across the world against the media trials through his Twitter and Facebook account. The preacher, who is banned in Britain and Canada for his hate speeches against other religions, took to Facebook, to garner support. Within an hour, his post on the platform received thousands of likes and shares.

Trouble continued to brew against Naik, when security sources revealed new details on his influence. Security agencies suspect that several members of the Indian Mujahideen, who joined ISIS, were under the inspiration of the provocative speeches by Naik. Naik, however, had released a statement, saying he disagreed that he inspired the act of killing innocent people in Dhaka. It was reported that Zakir Naiks hate speeches inspired two of the five Bangladeshi militants, who hacked to death 22 people at an upscale cafe in Dhakas diplomatic enclave last week.

Naik is in trouble then a tweet from the recently encountered Kashmiri militant, supporting Zakir Naik put him in more trouble. The tweet from Burhan Wani stating that The Time Will Come When Quran Recitation will be Banned. Burhan Bhai (@Gazi_Burhan2) also tagged 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed in his post. This has added additional annoyance to Naiks probe.

Hizbul Mujahideens poster boy Burhan Muzzafar Wani was shot dead in Kashmir by security forces along with two of his accomplices. The Kashmir battle is changing in a lot of respects and the use of the social media has become a trend today among the militants who are clearly copying the ISIS and the al-Qaeda which have been the pioneers of using the social media in terrorist circles. Burhan, was very active on social media and many Kashmiri youth used to follow his posts. He was known for posting videos on social media, which found some appeal in the younger Muslims population of Kashmir. In one of his videos, he appealed youth to join Hizbul Mujahideen and is considered to have recruited at least 30 young boys from South Kashmir. In a video released in June 2016, he assured the Amarnath pilgrims that they wont be attacked by the militants. In addition, he also threatened to attack Sainik colonies because of his belief that it was an attempt to change the demography of the valley. He also opposed separate colonies for Kashmiri Pandits saying that they can come live on their own land but an Israel-like situation wont be allowed in Kashmir. He threatened that more attacks will take place against men in uniform and also warned the police of the state to stay out of their way.

Burhan fled from his home in 2010 and joined separatist militant groups at the age of 15. Hizbul Mujahideen made him a member in 2011 due to his popularity on social media. The Indian Army killed his elder brother Khalid Muzaffar Wani in 2015, when he had gone along with three friends to meet his brother. The army claimed that Khalid was a militant sympathizer who had taken his friends to get them recruited and was killed in an encounter by the security forces. The army arrested the three friends of Khalid. The Jammu & Kashmir police couldnt confirm or deny whether he and his friends had joined militancy. His father and residents of his home village rejected that he was a militant, claiming that his body didnt bear any bullet wounds and he was tortured because he was the brother of a militant.

It is very sad to know that how these young guys are falling in the trap of terrorists, hailing from the village of Tral in the South of Kashmir. Wani was one of the first breeds of educated youth to join the Hizbul Mujahideen. No one knows what has motivated him to join Hizbul Mujahideen, a powerful terrorist group in Kashmir.

Burhans social media campaign had an outreach among a section of Kashmiri Muslim youth.

After the news of his death spread, protests erupted in some areas of Kashmir Valley. Curfew was imposed in some places in South Kashmir during the night and Internet services in many areas were cut.

Lakhs of people attended Burhans funeral, according to some estimates. Militants were also present at his funeral and offered him a 21-gun salute. His body wrapped in the flag of Pakistan and was buried next to his brother Khalids grave in Tral. Burhan died but made it difficult for the preacher Zakir Naik, who is already a victim of media trials and under intelligence scanner.

Inputs from agencies

(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@afternoonvoice.com)
Curfew was imposed in Kashmir Valley on Sunday due to violent protests against killing of Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Muzaffar Wani.



The death toll in violence in Kashmir Valley on Sunday rose to 17 after a youth was killed and four other persons succumbed to the injuries they sustained in Saturdays clashes with security forces. Also, a cop died when angry mob pushed the police vehicle into Jhelum.

Additional Director General (CID) S.M. Sahai and Inspector General of Police (Kashmir Zone) Syed Javid Mujtaba Gilani said that the violent mob on Saturday burnt four police stations, two minority police pickets and office of the tehsildar.

Kashmir Divisional Commissioner Asgar Hussain Samoon told that curfew has been imposed in the entire valley from midnight to maintain law and order. He also appealed to the people to help authorities maintain peace.

An 18-year-old youth was critically injured in clashes between protestors and security forces at Newa in Pulwama this morning, a police official said.

Irfan Ahmad Malik was rushed to SMHS hospital here but succumbed to his injuries, he said.

Four persons who were injured in the violent clashes on Saturday succumbed to injuries during the night, the official said.

Violent protests broke out in most parts of Kashmir  with the south districts of Pulwama, Anantnag and Kulgam being the worst hit.

Shops, private offices, business establishments and petrol pumps were shut, while government offices and banks witnessed thin attendance, the officials said.

They said public transport was completely off the roads, while cars and auto-rickshaws were seen plying at few places where there were no restrictions.

Educational institutions in the Valley were closed on account of the ongoing summer vacations.

Meanwhile, Central University of Kashmir (CUK), Islamic University of Science and Technology (IUST) and Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education (JKBOSE) have postponed the examinations due to the prevailing situation in the Valley.

Expressing surprise for the soaring protests in Jammu and Kashmir over the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani, the Centre on Sunday said that how can any Indian have sympathy for a terrorist and asserted that it would not tolerate such sentiments and activities.

We are really surprised that some people are trying to support those so called protestors who are sympathising with the terrorist. He is a Hizbul Mujahideen commander. How can any Indian have sympathy for such people? And as far as the government is concerned, we are very clear that we will not tolerate such activities, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu told the media in Bengaluru.

Kashmir is an integral part of India. There is no question of any negotiation or any discussion on that. But you cannot have an overnight or readymade solution for such a long standing issue, he said.

Earlier on Sunday, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh chaired a high-level meeting to review the law and order situation in the valley. Home Secretary Anil Goswami, Joint Secretary (Kashmir division) Gyanesh Kumar, Intelligence Bureau (IB) Chief Dineshwar Sharma and senior Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) officials were present at the meeting held at Rajnaths residence.
Dallas was gripped by a new security scare Saturday triggered by an anonymous threat in the Texas city, on edge days after a gunman fatally ambushed five police officers during a peaceful protest.



SWAT teams deployed around the Dallas Police Department headquarters while officers investigated reports of a suspicious person in a parking garage  finally giving the all-clear around two hours later.

Police took precautionary security measures across the city after receiving an anonymous threat against law enforcement, the Dallas police said in a statement.

The scare came as another night of marches against police brutality was underway in several US cities, a groundswell of protest that shows little sign of abating.

Protesters led by the Black Lives Matter movement are demanding justice for two African-Americans shot dead by police this week  their dying moments captured in viral video footage that stunned the nation.

At the Dallas protest late Thursday, a 25-year-old black army veteran named Micah Johnson used a rifle to shoot dead five police officers in a sniper attack. Seven other cops were wounded, as well as two civilians.

Johnson told negotiators before police killed him that he wanted to murder white cops in revenge for the black deaths.

Dallas officials believe he was the lone shooter in the incident.

Police across the country were on edge as it emerged that officers had been targeted in at least two incidents  in Tennessee and Wisconsin  by individuals apparently angered at the recent fatal shootings of black men by police.

Angry marches continue

Hundreds of people marched peacefully Saturday in New York for a third consecutive night, holding up banners bearing the names of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, the two men whose deaths, in Louisiana and Minnesota, triggered the latest protests.

In St. Paul, where Castile was killed, several hundred protesters blocked a highway intersection for about three hours and hurled rocks and bottles at police, who were equipped with helmets, clubs and gas masks.

The officers used smoke grenades, pepper spray and tear gas to break up the crowd, and around midnight arrested protesters who refused to move.

In San Francisco, a large force of police swooped in to prevent protesters, who marched for a second day, from blocking a major road intersection.

Hundreds also marched in Los Angeles, including in South Central, the epicenter of violent 1992 riots following the acquittal of white police officers in the videotaped beating of black motorist Rodney King.

There were nasty scenes late Friday in Phoenix, Arizona, where police used pepper spray to disperse stone-throwing protesters. And in Rochester, New York, 74 people were arrested over a sit-in protest.

But elsewhere  from Atlanta to Houston, Chicago, New Orleans, Boston, Detroit and Baltimore  weekend protests over the fatal shootings have passed off with little trouble.
Ministers unhappy after losing key portfolios.



The recently concluded cabinet expansion drive has upset Pankaja Munde as she has lost the Water Conservation portfolio which has now been awarded to Ram Shinde. Even Vinod Tawde was stripped of the Medical Education Portfolio. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had divested porfolios of Munde and Tawde as both of them had been embroiled in controversies over Chikki scam and fake degree row. Thus CM has clipped the wings of both Munde and Tawde. Earlier Shiv Sangram leader and president of Shivaji Memorial Project Committee, Vinayak Mete was unhappy with the BJP for failing to keep its promise of making him a minister. Mete was elected to the Council last month from the BJP quota. Thus all is not well within the BJP as internal rift is prevalent within the party. Pankaja Munde tweeted saying she would not be attending the World Water Week in Singapore as she no longer holds the water conservation portfolio.

The CM, however, replied to her saying, she should attend it as a senior minister of the state government.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis tweeted Of course you must attend WLS 2016. As a senior Minister you would be representing The Government of Maharashtra.

On the other hand, Pankajas supporters protested against the BJP government by burning the effigy of Fadnavis at Ahmednagar. They raised slogans against the government. Even youth leaders of the BJP too had participated in the protest. According to them, senior BJP leaders didnt want Pankaja to take credit for the work done by her while she was holding the Water Conservation portfolio.

Earlier as the water conservation minister, Munde had courted controversy in April by posting a selfie online. She had later said that she posted selfies on her tour of parched Latur on the weekend in appreciation of the work done there by the local administration for drought relief. The opposition had then accused Munde of gross insensitivity. Ms Munde still has the crucial ministries of Rural Development and Women and Child Development.

Pankaja was one of the aspirants among the state BJP leaders for the top post before the Assembly elections, relying on the public sentiment following her fathers death in a car crash in June last year. In May 2015, she had said that the people of the state wanted to see her as Chief Minister.

Fadnavis had on July 08 expanded his council of ministers by inducting 10 new faces. The exercise raised the strength of the ministry to 41, of which 27 are from the BJP, 12 from Shiv Sena.
Business / Economy

by Staff Reporter

CAPTAINS of industry are pushing the Government to include more goods under import restrictions arguing that most local companies were now able to meet national demand.Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries president Mr Busisa Moyo said more local companies whose goods were not included on theStatutory Instrument 64 of 2016 have already come out demanding that the Government include their products on the list.Some of the goods where commercial importers, according to SI 64, now require permits include bottled water, mayonnaise, salad cream, peanut butter, jam, mahewu, canned fruits, vegetables, pizza, yoghurts, flavoured milks, dairy juice blends, ice creams, cultured milk, cheese, coffee creamers, camphor creams, white petroleum jellies, body creams, plastic pipes and some building materials."Other companies that are not on SI 64 of 2016 have already come up and said look we are able to meet national demand. So there is a lot of companies that are producing products locally that are able to meet demand and that would like to be on that list of restrictions as we continue our import substitution programme or restricting our imports so that we reduce our current deficit. We are also still compiling the list for submission to the Ministry of Industry (and Commerce) but these include ox-drawn ploughs and implements that can be manufactured locally," Mr Moyo said.Although he could not give specific companies and their capacity to support the push, Sunday News researched on some of the companies which indicated that they were now able to meet local demand. Tea producing company Tanganda said it wanted tea bags to be added on the list. Tanganda financial director Mr Henry Nemaire said the company was now producing 8 000 tonnes of tea annually against a national demand of 2 000 tonnes. This, he said, meant the company was producing an additional 6 000 tonnes of tea which is being exported hence there was no need to burden the country with imports. As part of meeting new trends, Mr Nemaire said the company has invested in two state-of-the-art tea bag packaging machines.Nestle Zimbabwe which produces Cremora said production capacity of the powdered milk has increased from 3 000 tonnes to 7 500 tonnes annually. Although Zimbabwe needs 8 000 tonnes annually of Cremora, the deficit could be met with other companies who are also already manufacturing the same product."We have invested over $30 million in the last five years and we can meet national demand. The only deficit is of those mini packets that are required by hotels," said the company's corporate affairs manager Mr Farai Munetsi.Another local company, Cairns, said it has capacity to produce 43 000 tins of baked beans per month adding that it can meet national demand after it has invested in new machinery that produces 1,9 million cans of beans. However, Cairns Foods Mutare operations manager Mr Joseph Mavhu said despite installed capacity being enough to meet national demand, the company was operating between 15 and 25 percent capacity because they could not push volumes as they were facing competition from imports, hence import restrictions will allow them to increase production.Commenting on the capacity of other companies even those who have already benefited on the import restrictions, Mr Moyo said the industrial body was still compiling comprehensive data but said companies that were not producing enough were in that position because of shortage of inputs and not capacity."We are still compiling the data for Ministry of Industry (and Commerce) for various sectors but we are confident there is sufficient capacity. The situation needs to be monitored and permits given where required to allow for consumer choice and find a balance. But we must realise that currency is in short supply and should be directed to raw materials and diaspora inflows should be directed to raw materials," he said.He said the country was a net importer, importing goods worth about $3,3 billion last year with imports close to $300 million per month further citing that the Government has come in to support local industries because it recognises that industry was in a high cost environment to compete effectively with imports.Although in the long run, industry needs to be supported, consumers have complained over the pricing of locally produced goods which they said were far too much expensive hence they are forced to look for cheap options. A general survey revealed wide differences in prices of goods even for some of the products which would have been imported from far away countries.For example, a locally produced standard bottle of beer manufactured locally costs $1 for contents only. A similar imported beer, some manufactured as far as Netherlands costs less, as low as 70 cents (contents and bottle). The same imported beer would have incurred transport costs from the country of source before duty and other overheads are added. In addition, it has been reported that some goods originating from Zimbabwe are being sold cheaper in other countries compared to goods on local shelves.Nonetheless, Mr Moyo defended the pricing structures, saying the high cost business environment which was necessitated by various Government legislation such as taxes, duties, utilities and numerous charges were making locally produced goods uncompetitive."We need import substitution mechanism, if something can be produced locally as a country we should be united about allowing it to be produced locally, but that's not the aim. Our ultimate aim is not just to substitute imports because it's a more difficult thing to achieve. What we want to achieve is export, that's the ultimate aim but in order to get to export we must first of all reign our import deficit then we can deal with our high cost environment. If these things can happen concurrently then we are export competitive," said Mr Moyo.Retailers on the other hand said although imported goods were still cheaper than locally produced goods, the shops were making efforts to try to match the prices. They said although cash shortages had resulted in some retailers pushing prices.
World Population Day as the name suggests is an annual day observed across the world on 11th July to bring awareness about population growth and related issues. It is a day set aside to increase awareness about global population issues and the strain it creates on the environment. To gauge the mammoth rise of the Indian population, the most ideal places to visit are Metro stations, airports, malls, railway stations and bus stands. This great awareness event is to bring a population revolution globally and create awareness among people to tackle this issue effectively.

Much of population increase is seen among the poorest socio-economic strata. It would be ideal for a country like India to be more progressive in outlook and shed inhibitions when it comes to free distribution of contraceptives and condoms among the poor. India, the second most populous country in the world, is projected to surpass China by 2025. The growth of population reached nearly one billion in 1830 and second billion in the next 100 years. Thereafter the growth was tremendous as within a span of 30 years it reached 3 billion, the fourth billion in 15 years and the fifth billion in only 12 years. It is expected to exceed 9 billion by 2050. More than one billion people do not have access to clean drinking water. A total of 2.7 billion find water scarce for at least one month of the year. A world of 7 billion is both a challenge and an opportunity with implications on sustainability, urbanization, access to health services and youth empowerment.

If we continue to grow in numbers relentlessly, we would be hard-pressed for resources. Land, housing, water, and food would be scarce. Forests and greenery would be history by then. Our quality of life would be poor. So we have to tackle the population growth right now. It is the responsibility of everyone of us collectively and not just a decision to be made by individuals. Women have the ability and capacity to change the society. Ensuring that they get good education is very important for the society. The campaign of the World Population Day every year increases the knowledge and skills of the people worldwide towards their reproductive health and family planning.

Awareness must be created among people about issues like importance of family planning towards the increasing population, gender equality, maternal and baby health, poverty, human rights, right to health, sexuality education, use of contraceptives and safety measures like condoms, reproductive health, adolescent pregnancy, girl child education, child marriage, sexually transmitted infections and so many. World Population has witnessed a rapid growth in the last 200 years. Countries like China and India together constitutes 37 per cent of the total world population. Population increase is taking away all the developmental results of our nation. Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam had a vision 2020 to see a developed India. We all know it would take a miracle to get there but if we can stabilize population with zero growth rate by 2020 that will certainly lay the foundation. A mission mode strategy will have to be thought for population stabilization in critical states.

Vinod Chandrashekhar Dixit

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
Syriac Orthodox Patriarch Meets German President

Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II with German President Joahim Gauck. ( AINA) Berlin (AINA) -- His Holiness Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II visited His Excellency President Joahim Gauck at the Bellevue Presidential Palace in Berlin on Thursday July 7, 2016.

The Patriarch was accompanied by bishop Philoxenus Mattias Nayis, Patriarchal Vicar in Germany, bishop Julius Hanna Aydin, Director of Foreign Affairs in Germany, bishopTimotheos Matta Al-Khoury, Patriarchal Vicar in the Patriarchal Archdiocese of Damascus, Very Rev. Raban Joseph Bali, Patriarchal Secretary and Media Office Director, Mr. Davut Aslan, Head of the Diocese Council, Mr. Daniel Elias and MP of Hamburg's senate and Mr. David Erkalp.

According to the German presidential office release, the focus of the conversation with the Patriarch was the exchange of information about the current situation of Christians in Syria and Iraq. The presidential message says further:

The [situation] is of great concern to me", states the president. "In this diverse and historicly civilized region, in which Christianity has its home since the early days, the life of Christians, among others, is existentially threatened by war and Islamist terror. Christians are expelled from their homes. kidnapped, murdered; their homes confiscated, their churches and monasteries taken over or destroyed, and their clergy abducted. Hundreds of thousands of Christians have fled the region or are homeless as IDPs. Christians are also becoming victims of Islamist terror -- similar to Yazidis, Shiites and Sunnis, who do not share the radical views of Islamist terrorists. Last February the European Parliament particularly condemned the persecution of religious minorities as a war crime, crimes against humanity and genocide. "Do not forget the Christians," warned the British Jewish publisher George Weidenfeld shortly before his death earlier this year. We urgently need a political solution to the conflict in Syria and the pacification of the Middle East. The observance of human rights, the right to religious freedom and the security of minorities must be guaranteed. I am grateful for efforts on humanitarian level that already start to take effect. And I am grateful to all the people who work to ensure that many persecuted can find a safe refuge in Germany.

The Patriarch also discussed the situation of the refugees in Germany with the President and expressed gratitude for his efforts in the centennial debate of the Genocide of 1915 and the role the President played in the German Bundstag (Parliament) passing a resolution to recognize it as genocide (AINA 2016-06-06).

In April 2015, prior to German Bundestag's parliamentary commemoration debate of the genocide, the Patriarch sent an open letter to the German President Joachim Gauck, Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Parliament President Norbert Lammert (AINA 2015-04-20) and called on Germany to recognize the genocide of Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks perpetrated by Ottoman Turks during World War One.

Concluding the meeting with the German President, the Patriarch asked for help in the case of the two abducted Archbishops of Aleppo, Gregorius Youhanna Ibrahim and Boulos Yaziji and German efforts for their safe and immediate return. Furthermore, His Holiness also spoke about the situation of the Syriac Orthodox Church in Germany and its recognition under public-law in Germany.

More than 130,000 Assyrians (also known as Chaldeans and Syriacs) belonging to different denominations in Germany. The majority are members of the Syriac Orthodox Church, which has more than 50 parishes in Germany. The Syriac Catholic Church, the Chaldean-Catholic Church and Assyrian Church of the East as well as the Syriac Evangelical Churches have parishes as well.
News / Agriculture

by Staff Reporter

Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko has accused Zanu PF losing candidate for Nketa-Emganwini constituency in Bulawayo, Alphas Mashaba of working against his poultry projects in various areas of to discredit him.Addressing people in Nkulumane where he distributed 6000 chicks to various poultry farmers in the constituency, Mphoko said Mashaba advised people who benefited from the project to starve the birds and stop working with the Vice President, fearing that Mphoko could be eying the Nketa-Emganwini constituency in the fourth coming general elections.Mphoko advised people to empower themselves by nurturing the projects and assist their families.He said he is not a corrupt leader and is only responding to the needs of people as a national leader.The poultry support project has seen Mphoko distributing 15000 chicks to Bulawayo where each constituency is set to get at least 10000 chicks.The project is targeting vulnerable communities nationally.
July 8, 2016

In the Palestinian leadership, there is a deep sense of frustration with the Arab states' current attitude toward their cause and the current diplomatic stalemate. The leadership senses that the occupation by the Israel army is only deepening, as is the daily humiliation of their people. The expansion of settlements is constant and systematic, in order to prevent Palestinian statehood. Palestinians are killed on a daily basis by soldiers and settlers. And yet the leaders of the Arab governments are only paying lip service to the Palestinian statehood aspirations.

A senior Palestine Liberation Organization official close to President Mahmoud Abbas told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that the Palestinian leadership has complained bitterly to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi about the lack of urgency in the Arab diplomatic activity. In his view, although Egypt shows full solidarity with the Ramallah leadership, it is not proactive enough vis-a-vis the US administration and the European Union leaders in order to advance a binding UN Security Council resolution on Palestinian statehood. Most Arab countries are preoccupied with the Islamic State (IS) threat and the fundamentalist danger to their regime. Saudi Arabia is stalling the transfer of financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Maghreb countries are distancing themselves diplomatically.

The official said in this regard, We understand that we need to be self-reliant in our diplomatic and military efforts. And even if we dont have the Arab leaders on board, we have the Arab people on the side of Palestine and its people.

He claimed that the PA will attempt to convince the Arab League, Egypt and Jordan to advance a Security Council resolution on Palestinian statehood along the 1967 lines with East Jerusalem as its capital and with a binding timeline for negotiations and implementation. Ramallah is also in contact with France and the EU headquarters in regard to the French initiative. They were disappointed with the analytical nature of the Quartet report published July 1, which lacks operative clauses on Palestinian statehood.

The Israeli government also is finding that Arab governments are distancing themselves from seeing the Palestinian issue as an urgent one. From Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's point of view and political dogma, terror in the Middle East is the core issue, not the Palestinian problem.

A senior official of the Israeli Foreign Ministrys Center for Political Research (Mamad) told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that the Palestinian issue, while indeed central to Israel and the Palestinians, is of lesser importance to Arab regimes today. He listed several reasons for that change, starting with the fact that the ability of the Gulf states to pressure the US administration has actually been reduced, due to greater US energy reliance. He said that the fundamentalist threat to regimes emanating from IS, al-Qaeda and other extremist organizations is the priority preoccupation for most Arab governments. Also, these governments feel less committed to the United States, given President Barack Obamas collective diplomacy doctrine, and are therefore improving relations with Russia, China and the EU. The source added a last reason for the change: Arab fatigue with the Palestinian issue. The Arab constituency, while passionate about the plight of its Palestinian brethren, senses a certain fatigue about this long conflict and is more preoccupied with its economic surrender and well-being.

The source said that in his view, this all could change should violence break out in a significant way between the Palestinians and Israelis.

It is indeed true that the Arab world is less preoccupied today with the Palestinian predicament. While the occupation and the situation in East Jerusalem take up a major place in the Arab media and enhance hostility toward Israel, leaders of Arab states are preoccupied with their own political survival in the wake of fundamentalist challenges. In this context, countries such as Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia value the security and intelligence cooperation with Israel more than the diplomatic process of a two-state solution.

To a large degree, this was true in the past as well. And yet to conclude from this that there is not the utmost urgency for a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine, as well as for the region as a whole, is a grave mistake. The alternative to a viable peace process is a violent conflict  be it terror, intifada or an all-out war. Then the region and the international community will rush toward a two-state solution process. Above all, a two-state separation on the basis of the 1967 lines is both an Israeli and a Palestinian ultimate interest.

Regarding Israel, without a two-state solution it will lose both its democratic and Jewish identity. The Arab states could not care less if Israel decides to commit identity suicide.

Israels challenge is not a public relations one  proving to the world that the Palestinian issue is not central. For Israels own interest, conflict resolution with a Palestinian state is of existential importance. The Arab states may betray the Palestinians, but Israel is not allowed to betray itself.
July 10, 2016

Opinions vary among Egyptian analysts as to which US presidential candidate would be better for the ruling regime. While some argue that Donald Trumps statements against the Muslim Brotherhood show there is some common ground between him and President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the presumptive GOP nominees rhetoric on Muslims has worried government figures and politicians in Cairo.

Sisi will likely not endorse a candidate in the upcoming US elections in order to maintain good relations with the next president, yet many of the positions and viewpoints voiced by Trump show that there are common ideas shared between him and the Egyptian president. In a foreign policy speech delivered in New York in late June, Trump described the Brotherhood as radical and accused presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton of supporting the Islamist groups ascent to power at the expense of former President Hosni Mubarak.

[Clinton] helped force out a friendly regime in Egypt and replace it with the radical Muslim Brotherhood. The Egyptian military has retaken control, but Clinton has opened the Pandoras box of radical Islam, he said.

Trump also accused President Barack Obama of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood, saying in a speech April 27, He supported the ouster of a friendly regime in Egypt that had a longstanding peace treaty with Israel  and then helped bring the Muslim Brotherhood to power in its place.

This is a position that aligns with Sisis own convictions concerning the group.

The similarity in Trump and Sisis position on the Brotherhood has been covered by a number of Arabic newspapers, and Al-Wafd published a report naming Sisi as one of five world leaders who would benefit from a Trump presidency because of their common views on the Brotherhood and their common calls for a war on extremism.

Clinton and Trumps statements on the ruling regime in Egypt have helped to elucidate Sisis likely preferred candidate. During a debate with her Democratic rival Bernie Sanders in December 2015, Clinton said, We saw what happened in Egypt. I cautioned about a quick overthrow of Mubarak, and we now are back with basically an army dictatorship.

Meanwhile, in mid-June, Trump adviser Walid Phares called in on air to an Egyptian TV channel and said that he had spoken with the candidate about Egypt, its armed forces and Sisi, and that Trumps position on the current leadership in Cairo was very positive. Phares added that Trump believes the Brotherhood is a terrorist group and should be designated as such inside the United States.

Yet despite the commonalities in Trump's and Sisis positions on the Brotherhood, the formers statements about Muslims have decreased his popularity among the Egyptian public. In December, following the attacks in San Bernardino that claimed 14 lives, Trump called for a total and complete ban of Muslims entering the United States. He had previously called for surveillance of mosques and expressed an openness to establish a database to track Muslims living in the United States. Trump's weak popularity was demonstrated in a June survey of Egyptians and Saudis conducted by the Institute for Policy and Strategy at IDC Herzliya that showed low approval for the Republican nominee in both countries. The institutes director, Alex Mintz, said Trumps poor rating likely resulted from his inflammatory comments about Muslims.

However, Phares responded to such criticism in an interview with Egyptian daily Shorouk in late June, saying that Trump had misspoken. Trumps problem is that he hasnt been engaged in politics before, so he mixed his words. When he said Muslims he meant terrorists, but he misspoke and said Muslims without specifying [Muslim terrorists].

Yet Trumps position on the Brotherhood has led to some voicing their support for him in Egypt, most notably well-known billionaire businessman Naguib Sawiris. In June, Sawiris confirmed that he backs Trump because, in his view, Clinton supports the Brotherhood.

During an interview with Al-Monitor, former Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy responded to a question about which candidate would be better for achieving cooperation with Egypt by saying, The rhetoric adopted by US presidential candidate Donald Trump vis-a-vis Islam and Muslims is unacceptable and greatly offensive. On the other hand, Hillary Clinton carefully chooses her words and is a 'veteran politician,' with all the positive and negative connotations associated with such a characterization. Unfortunately, most Arab countries, especially the Gulf states, view the Republican candidate as being better than the Democratic one due to the formers close ties with the business and petroleum sectors. I do not share that opinion and prefer to base my choice on the candidates respective stances and on prevailing conditions.

Former deputy Foreign Minister Gamal Bayoumi said, In superpowers like the United States, the president operates according to general policies set by state institutions and forces that have influence in political life. While the president may play a role in changing the approach, the policies remain fixed. He told Al-Monitor that the statements made by candidates during the campaign do not necessarily indicate what they will do after being elected. For example, he noted that former President George W. Bush, prior to being elected, had not indicated he would adopt policies that would negatively impact the Arab region.

Clinton is well informed on issues in the Arab region and has wide-ranging experience in dealing with the Arab world, unlike radical Trump. However, anyone who might deal with a potential president Trump  whether the ruling regime in Cairo or other states  might benefit from his extremism. His positions are clear and his popularity derives from his extreme [statements], Bayoumi added.

In statements to Egyptian daily El-Balad June 9, Cairos former Ambassador in Washington Abdel Raouf El Reedy said that, overall, Clinton would be the better president for Egypt, despite her having what he called some unfavorable positions on Egypt and the Arab world. He noted that Clintons policies on Egypt and the Arabs would be an extension of Obamas current policies, while attempting to avoid a repeat of the current presidents mistakes.
July 10, 2016

An Orthodox Christian nun from Mar Girgis Monastery in Old Cairo was killed July 5 after reportedly being hit by a stray bullet in an exchange of fire on the Cairo-Alexandria Highway. A man and his son were also injured in what Egyptian media has described as a revenge attack by gunmen.

Nearly a week after the tragic incident, little is known about the circumstances of the nuns death and the identity of the assailants remains undisclosed. To stave off skepticism, local media have said that this was not a sectarian attack and that the nun had not been deliberately targeted. She was caught in the crossfire, the semi-official Al-Ahram reported a day after the attack.

Tensions have long simmered between Muslims and Christians in Egypt and sectarian attacks have escalated since the Arab Spring. In recent weeks and months, there has been a marked increase in religiously motivated violence  a cause for growing concern for rights groups and Egypts estimated 9 million Christians (the Middle Easts largest Christian community). The rising tide of anti-Christian sectarianism in Egypt has generally been underreported by the countrys mainstream media, which has been peddling the official narrative that Muslims and Christians are one people, united by a common history and destiny." Police, meanwhile, deliberately downplay the sectarian strife and at times, and even cover up attacks on Christians by not documenting them as such. Moreover, the perpetrators of such crimes often escape justice. In the last five years, churches and homes of Christians have been burned and entire families have been forcibly evacuated from their villages or have had to relocate to flee persecution. During the period of Islamist rule in Egypt, increased insecurity and fear of persecution prompted thousands of Christians to leave the country, seeking safety and greater freedoms overseas.

Meanwhile, a fresh spate of attacks on Christians in recent weeks has left the country reeling from shock. On June 30, a priest was shot and killed by a gunman outside a car repair shop near St. Georges Church in the North Sinai town of el-Arish. It was the latest in a string of attacks on Christians in the volatile region where the military has been fighting an Islamist insurgency since the ouster of President Mohammed Morsi in July 2013. The Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the priests death in a statement published on social media, describing him as a disbelieving combatant.

The fatal shooting and the subsequent IS claim of responsibility were a grim reminder of the February 2015 IS beheadings of 21 Egyptian Christian migrant workers, earlier abducted in Libya. The fact that the priest in this latest attack was killed by IS on home soil raises the alarm over the increased vulnerability of Egypts beleaguered Christian community at home.

Copts in Egypt face persecution and discrimination, said software engineer and blogger Mina Fayek. He told Al-Monitor over the phone from Amsterdam, The government does very little to protect Christians.

In late May  in violence that was closer to a re-enactment of a medieval torture scene than reality  a 70-year-old Christian woman was stripped naked by a mob of 300 Muslims and paraded through the streets of her village in the conservative southern province of Minya. The assault was provoked by rumors that the womans son was involved in a love affair with a Muslim woman. The level of cruelty of the crime against the elderly woman sparked outrage on social media with the trending Arabic hashtag #EgyptStrippedNaked being used by activists to express solidarity with the victim.

Analysts believe that the worrisome spike in persecution of Coptic Christians is the price Christians are paying for supporting President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and particularly for their stance on the military-backed protests that led to the overthrow of Morsi. Indeed, Christians had seen then-Defense Minister Sisi as their savior from the Islamists and had thrown their full weight behind his candidacy for president. In August 2013, when at least 800 Morsi supporters were killed by security forces in the violent dispersal of two pro-Muslim Brotherhood sit-ins in Cairo, scores of Brotherhood supporters went on a rampage, burning churches and destroying property of Christians in "revenge attacks" in several parts of the country, according to local media reports.

Admittedly, Sisi has tried harder than his predecessors to win over Christians: He has vowed to bring the perpetrators of anti-Christian attacks to justice and has promised to rebuild churches damaged in sectarian attacks during the Morsi era. He has also twice paid surprise visits to the cathedral to greet Christians during Orthodox Christmas Mass services. His words to the cathedrals congregants in January 2015 when he declared, We are all Egyptians in the first place had moved some of the Christian faithful attending the service to tears.

But others such as Fayek took the words with a grain of salt and say they are deeply disappointed.

Sisi is full of sweet talk but he has yet to deliver on his promises. Hes done little more than pay lip service to end the discrimination against Christians who have yet to gain access to high-ranking positions in universities and in the security establishment. Imagine being excluded because of your faith, Fayek said.

He also reminds Sisi apologists that soldiers who violently dispersed a Christian sit-in outside the Maspero State TV building in October 2011, killing 26 Christian protesters, have yet to face justice.

Another Christian, rights lawyer Nabil Ghabriel, told Al-Monitor, "The governments oppressive policies vis-a-vis Coptic Christians have remained unchanged for decades regardless of who is in power. Ghabriel added that Sisi was trying to appease the ultraconservative Salafists who supported Morsis ouster and had unified ranks with the liberal opposition against the ousted Muslim Brotherhood president.

Sisi is also trying to woo Saudi Arabia, a staunch ally of the military-backed government, but he must do more to stop the spread of Wahhabism in some southern parts of the country like Assiut, Minya and Bani Sueif, which have become breeding grounds for extremists and where anti-Christian sectarianism has sporadically flared, Ghabriel said.

Wahhabism is a more rigid brand of Islam practiced in Saudi Arabia and was introduced into Egypt in the 1970s by Egyptian migrant workers who had traveled to the Gulf after the oil boom.

Meanwhile, Christians optimism is fading about the issuance of a much-anticipated unified law for places of worship, promised in the 2014 constitution. Article 235 of the constitution says, Parliament will issue a law to govern the building and restoration of churches.

Unlike Egypts majority Muslims who can freely build mosques, Christians are obliged to seek a presidential decree to build or restore churches  a condition described by Youssef Sidhom, editor-in-chief of the independent weekly newspaper Watany, as restrictive and flagrantly discriminatory.

Even on rare occasions when Christians do get authorization to build a church, they often face stiff resistance from Muslim hard-liners in their communities. On June 17, homes and property belonging to Christians in the village of Al Bayda near Alexandria were ransacked, burned and looted by angry mobs after word spread that a house under construction was being turned into a church. The alleged perpetrators of the attacks were arrested and so were the victims  a measure often used to pressure Christians to drop charges against their Muslim assailants, noted Ghabriel.

He believes that the biggest danger facing Christians in Egypt is not the IS threat, but rather is the hatred toward Christians by radicals in the Christians' own communities. That and the governments intransigence in the face of hate speech and hate crimes," he said.

Ghabriel warned that the persecution of Christians undermines their safety and could ultimately undermine Sisis own efforts to position himself as a bulwark against terrorism.

It is also hurting his image as an able leader who can restore stability and security to the country, Ghabriel added.
July 10, 2016

Amnesty International released on July 5 a groundbreaking account of the "reality of life" for Syrians living in Idlib and Aleppo under the rule of Jabhat al-Nusra, al-Qaedas affiliate, and other armed groups, including those backed by US regional allies.

In a news release, Philip Luther, Amnesty Internationals director of the Middle East and North Africa Program, said, In Aleppo and Idlib today, armed groups have free rein to commit war crimes and other violations of international humanitarian law with impunity. Shockingly, we have also documented armed groups using the same methods of torture that are routinely used by the Syrian government, which is responsible for the majority of human rights and war crimes committed during the war.

The report titled Torture was my punishment provides a grim and unsettling account of abduction, torture and summary killings, including the deliberate targeting of journalists, lawyers and even children, by members of the so-called Aleppo Conquest coalition, which includes Jabhat al-Nusra, Shamiya Front, Nureddin Zengi Brigade and Division 16, and the Ahrar al-Sham Islamic movement in Idlib, which is allied with Jabhat al-Nusra in Jaish al-Fatah (Army of Conquest).

Amnesty International pulls no punches in making clear that some of these groups enjoy support from powerful backers such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the USA.

The report comes as the United States continues to weigh potential cooperation with Russia against Jabhat al-Nusra, as Laura Rozen reports.

Rozen cites congressional testimony June 28 by Brett McGurk, US special presidential envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL (Islamic State), that while the Islamic State is losing territory in the east, Jabhat al-Nusra is gaining ground in the west, putting down roots in Idlib province along the Turkish border.  With direct ties to Ayman al-Zawahri, Osama bin Ladens successor, Nusra is now al-Qaeda's largest formal affiliate in history.  This is a serious concern, and where we see Nusra planning external attacks, we will not hesitate to act.

With its increasing emphasis on both the potential for US-Russia cooperation and the threat from Jabhat al-Nusra, the Obama administration seems to have brushed aside the course advocated by a "dissent" cable deliberately leaked by anonymous State Department diplomats calling for US military escalation against the Syrian government. As we noted in this column before, among the cables many failings was that it did not even once refer to Jabhat al-Nusra, and therefore, it seems, its authors were either ignorant, or dismissive, of the administrations own grave assessment of the threat from the expansion of Jabhat al-Nusra, in addition to the crimes of those armed groups allied with the al-Qaeda affiliate.

Rozen adds, While US officials have expressed understanding for the Syrian oppositions concerns that more pressure on Jabhat al-Nusra could threaten their position vis-a-vis [President Bashar al-] Assad, the US officials indicate that President Barack Obama feels he has the duty to deal with the threat to US national security interests posed by Jabhat al-Nusra and to do so quickly.

Obama deserves credit for keeping the focus exactly where it should be: on the threat to the United States and its allies from the expansion of terrorist groups in Syria. We have consistently taken the line that there should be no understanding  absolutely none  for those who ally with al-Qaedas Syria affiliate. Last week, we referred to a Washington Post editorial that cited several experts on Syria arguing that US-Russia coordination would be a bad deal because Jabhat al-Nusra forces are intermixed with other rebel units. As these experts seemed to have missed the numerous UN Security Council resolutions penalizing any cooperation with al-Qaeda and its affiliates and al-Qaedas well-known record of global terrorism, perhaps McGurks testimony and the Amnesty International report will finally force The Washington Post to reconsider who it consults on Syria. Giving al-Qaeda a pass, for any reason, should rule you out of the expert category.

The Amnesty International report also helps clarify a twisted and dangerous misunderstanding about conditions in Aleppo and Idlib, and what it might mean for the course of the war. As Al-Monitor wrote in January, Aleppo, which is mostly Sunni, was sold a sectarian bill of goods by the opposition. And it has been a disaster for the people of Aleppo. The Syrian governments barrel bombs and relentless sieges added to an unbearable existence.  If the Syrian army, backed by its Iranian and Russian allies, retakes Aleppo, the citys liberation will come by directly defeating terrorists and armed groups that are already deserting the battlefield. A government victory would be of a different order and have a different impact than the negotiated departures of besieged armed opposition forces in Homs and around Damascus. The people of Aleppo would experience a flat-out victory by the government and a defeat, and exodus, by the armed groups. A good question is whether the Syrian army would be received as liberators by those Syrians, including Sunnis, freed from the reign of Islamic law and armed gangs. The answer might surprise  a Syrian government victory in Aleppo could be the beginning of the end of the sectarian mindset that would have been alien to the city prior to 2011.
July 8, 2016

Hillary Clinton dodged a bullet this week  only time will tell if it grazed her close enough to leave a scar.

FBI Director James Comey declined July 5 to recommend charges for her use of a home server to handle government business, dashing any remaining hopes among Donald Trump supporters that the Democratic presidential candidate would be hauled off to jail. Clinton was extremely careless, Comey told the nation, but she did not intentionally break any laws.

"We are expressing to [the Department of] Justice our view that no charges are appropriate in this case," said Comey, whose department questioned Clinton for 3 hours July 9. "We cannot find a case that would support bringing criminal charges [based] on these facts."

Democrats, predictably, treated the outcome as an exoneration. Republicans  along with a great many voters  focused on the troubling patterns uncovered by Comeys investigation.

Investigators concluded that out of 30,000 emails Clinton has handed over to the State Department, 110 individual emails in 52 back-and-forth exchanges contained classified information at the time they were sent or received. Eight of those chains contained information that was top secret at the time they were sent; 36 chains contained secret information at the time; and eight contained confidential information, which is the lowest level of classification. About 2,000 additional emails were up-classified to make them confidential only after they had been sent.

Clinton and her aides were "extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information," Comey said. None of these emails should have been on any kind of unclassified system."

Did enemies of the United States gain access to US secrets? No one knows at this point. The only certainty, sadly, is that an already deeply cynical public is now even more so.

In a Rasmussen poll released July 5, 54% of voters disagreed with the FBI's decision not to indict Clinton. Only 37% agreed with the FBI's conclusion.

Republicans have tried to capitalize on the outrage, dragging the FBI director in front of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee for an extraordinary emergency hearing just two days after he made his decision.

I see evidence of great carelessness, Comey testified, but nothing that showed that Clinton knew she was doing something that was against the law.

Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., went on to quote Clintons past statements about her use of the server. Comeys answer regarding each of them was, Not true.

Gowdy then asked Comey if a prosecutor could show a jury those statements as evidence of a plan to conceal. He then challenged Comeys assertion that there was no precedent for criminal prosecution.

My concern is a double-track justice system, Gowdy said. So an Army private will be punished, but Hillary Clinton, who seeks to be commander in chief, will not.

Trump offered a similar take on the campaign trail.

"We have a rigged system, folks," he told supporters July 5 at a rally in Raleigh, North Carolina. The email scandal, he said, reflects Clintons "horrible" judgment.

He doubled down after President Barack Obama began campaigning with Clinton that same day.

It is "no accident that charges were not recommended against Hillary the exact same day as President Obama campaigns with her for the first time," Trump said in a statement. "The final jury will be the American people, and they will issue the verdict on her corruption, incompetence and bad judgment on November 8th."

To carry the day, however, Trump will need to stay on message if he wants to take full advantage of Clintons self-inflicted wounds.

Instead, he spent much of the week defending his retweet of an image from a white supremacist account that juxtaposes Clinton, a pile of cash and a six-pointed star similar to the Jewish Star of David. And even as he ripped into Clinton in North Carolina, he went off on a tangent to praise Iraqi dictator Saddam Husseins record of killing accused terrorists without any form of due process.

The erratic comments have continued to cost Trump support among Republican officials.

After appearing July 5 alongside Trump in North Carolina, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker, R-Tenn., pulled himself out of the running for the vice president spot the next day. Trumps visit to Capitol Hill on July 7, however, was generally well-received by establishment Republicans.

Amid the ups and downs of the campaign, Clintons small but steady lead has stayed constant. The latest RealClearPolitics polling average July 6 showed Clinton leading Trump by 4.7 percentage points (45.6% to 40.9%), about the same as last week.
Alabama's Marine Resources Division and Dauphin Island Sea Lab are investigating the deaths of dozens of sharks found Saturday morning along the shore of Mobile Bay,

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The director of the Alabama Marine Resources Division said the number of sharks an officer found was 57.

The sharks, identified mostly as bull sharks, were discovered by residents and visitors on the beach on Belleair Boulevard, near Dauphin Island Parkway, the television station reported. One woman, who is on vacation with her family, reported finding a net with close to 40 sharks inside, the television station reports.

"It definitely caught our attention because I know that that is illegal and you shouldn't be doing that. We just didn't know what to do about it," Sabrina Rios told WKRG.

Rios reported she and others tried to bury as many of the sharks as they could because of the smell.

Chris Blankenship, director of the Alabama Marine Resources Division, stated in an email to AL.com on Sunday afternoon that a Marine Resources Conservation officer had responded to the report of dead sharks in and around a piece of gill net on the western shore of Mobile Bay.

"It appears that sharks were caught in a recreational gill net and discarded," Blankenship stated. "There were 57 sharks and they all appear to be juvenile bull sharks."

The sharks were collected by the Dauphin Island Sea Lab and will be used for research by Dr Marcus Drymon, the resident Alabama shark expert, Blankenship stated. The Marine Resources Division was not able to identify the net owner. "We will continue to patrol the area to ensure recreational gill nets are used legally," Blankenship wrote.

Blankenship stated that any unattended gills observed should be reported to the Marine Resources Division by calling 251-476-1256.



Updated at 2:55 p.m. July 10 with comments from Blankenship
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Madison County Commissioner Bob Harrison (file)

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Arrests made in the hallways of Huntsville schools are "unfair" to African-American children, wrote Madison County Commissioner Bob Harrison in a letter to federal court this week.

Harrison wrote U.S. District Judge Madeline Hughes Haikala to take issue with a recent letter from Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle, who urged the judge to allow Huntsville police to arrest students as needed.

Harrison instead suggested that Huntsville police no longer get involved with in-school discipline, such as making an arrest for disorderly conduct when students are seen in a fight.

Harrison urges the judge to limit police officers "to a role of indirect school support and supplemental truancy assistance and external threats to school security."

But Huntsville Police Chief Mark McMurray has also weighed in.

McMurray wrote his own letter to the judge, arguing educators aren't trained to handle criminal matters or evidence.

"Civilians, involved in the process, would unnecessarily place themselves, administrators, teachers, staff and students at risk; and related criminal cases would be placed in jeopardy," wrote McMurray.

Desegregation

So far the issue has left black elected officials and the Justice Department on one side, white city leaders and police on the other.

The arrest numbers support Harrison's claim of racial disparities, as 88 percent of the students placed under arrest last year were black. But police officials argue that desegregation concerns should not block officers from enforcing the law.

Mayor Tommy Battle (file)

Mayor Battle last month wrote the court to say "the Justice Department is pushing for officers not to be involved except in case of serious injury." The mayor argued that police stationed in Huntsville schools instead should continue to use their discretion to make arrests.

But Harrison in his letter argues that arrests work against the goals of the new consent decree -- a desegregation road map agreed to last year by Huntsville City Schools and the U.S. Department of Justice.

"The Mayor's proposal to allow the continuation of police arrests in schools is repressive and violates the attempts to remediate the past and correct inequities that are fundamental to implementing the Consent Order and its intent," writes Harrison.

Battle on Thursday countered that police make all students safer. "I don't see in anyway this program impedes desegregation," said Battle. "I think this program empowers students to learn."

In particular, Battle and McMurray object to a proposed "Surrender for Safety" policy --not yet approved by the school board -- that would allow students who bring drugs or weapons to school to avoid discipline by turning those items in.

Sitting down to talk on Thursday morning, McMurray said that the Justice Department seems to penalize schools for working with police. But he said if an administrator finds a weapon or drugs: "At that point the DOJ does not have the authority to tell the principal to ignore the evidence," said McMurray.

"studying while black"

Lt. Charles Brooks who oversees the School Resource Officer program in Huntsville provided numbers showing just 121 total arrests out of about 23,000 students in the 2015-2016 school year.

Out of that total, police arrested 60 black males, 47 black females, 11 white males and 3 white females. That means 88 percent of the arrests involved African American children in a system that is about 40 percent African American.

"I think that just proves the point," said Harrison on Thursday. "Driving while black or studying while black, you're just not going to get fairness and due process."

Chief McMurray said on Thursday of the disparity: "That's a socioeconomic issue. That's not a racial issue."

He said many of the children were serving in-school suspension at the time of arrest. He also said police routinely take students to the principal's office without making an arrest.

The 121 total arrests is a mere fraction of the total in past years. An investigation by The Huntsville Times in 2008 found the same disparities from 2006 to 2008, as black students represented 87 percent of the students arrested. But police were far busier then, making about 435 arrests per year.

Lt. Brooks said most of the recent arrests did not occur until late spring. (Huntsville was adjusting to new desegregation directives, and numerous teachers and police have spoken to AL.com to complain that schools were reluctant to document infractions or discipline students last fall.)

"school-to-prison pipeline"

Lt. Stacy Bates, spokesperson for the department, said if there were no arrests, the same problems would still be there. "That just means it's not getting addressed."

Police officers also talk about other aspects of the program, of providing a sense of security for staff and all students, of providing a mentor for students, of building relationships with the community.

Huntsville Board of Education President Laurie McCaulley (file)

But school board President Laurie McCaulley said: "I don't think the schools should be used to criminalize children."

She said the board has not yet adopted a new discipline policy, which is being worked on by the administration and reviewed by the Department of Justice. But she said the policy should "err on the side of children" and provide opportunities for children to redeem themselves.

Pastor T.C. Johnson, with North Huntsville Community United for Action, said his group is also planning to write the judge to oppose arrests in schools as part of "the school-to-prison pipeline."

"I don't think children should be locked up and the rest of their lives' ruined," said Johnson, making reference to a bringing a joint or a small knife to school.

Johnson, a past watchdog of Huntsville police, said the arrest issue only drew attention of the mayor as new zone lines shifted more former Butler High students to majority white schools, such as Huntsville High and Grissom High. "He's just worried about discipline in certain schools, he's not worried about discipline in every school," said Johnson.

Safety

Chief Mark McMurray

Harrison tells the judge that school resource officers and "the problem of unfair arrests" started in response to exaggerated concerns about gangs in Huntsville in the 1990s. He wrote that police in schools have led to "problematic" results for African-American students.

Police officers first began patrolling Huntsville high schools in 1995. Officers were added to middle schools in 1998.

Under a 53-year-old desegregation lawsuit, the U.S. Department of Justice is tasked with monitoring racial disparities in a variety of areas in the city system, including school discipline.

Discipline records submitted to the court last fall show similar racial disparities, as 40 percent of students were black but 82 percent of students suspended from school in 2014-2015 were black.

"I'm not saying police don't need to be available, they just don't' need to be the center point," said Harrison of school discipline.

"The whole gist of it gets back to safety," said Battle.

"These students need to understand what law enforcement is about," said Chief McMurray of school resource officers connecting with children. "It's the one area in the police department we get the highest return on our investment."
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Multiple law enforcement agencies, including unmarked police cars and armored vehicles, responded to a standoff in Randolph County on July 8, 2016. One deputy was shot and injured in the incident. The suspect is dead. (William Thornton/wthornton@al.com)

The shooting of an Alabama deputy this afternoon was not related to police shootings in Dallas and other areas of the nation this week, according to an official with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.

Senior Trooper Chuck Daniel said special agents with ALEA's State Bureau of Investigation are overseeing the probe into a shooting which wounded a Randolph County Sheriff's deputy this afternoon near Wedowee.

Daniel said the incident began as a domestic situation with an armed suspect and escalated when he shot a deputy at a home off County Road 7 in the Swagg Cove community of Randolph County, about 10 miles from Wedowee. The shooting happened not far from Lake Wedowee, a popular spot for fishing and water sports.

A standoff with the man holding his wife hostage soon began around noon, with multiple law enforcement agencies converging on the area and sealing it off. A staging area was set up at Bethel West Baptist Church along County Road 7, a winding dirt road.

The suspect, whose name has not been released, shot himself as tactical teams converged on the area about 5 p.m., Daniel said. Observers at the church heard two short bursts of gunfire and then saw several of the agencies begin to leave the scene.

The suspect's wife was not injured, said Randolph County Deputy Larry Clarke.

The deputy, who was transported to UAB Hospital, was released from the hospital late this evening. Once the investigation is complete, the findings will be turned over to the Randolph County District Attorney's office.

Several agencies responded, including Chambers, Calhoun, Cleburne, and Clay County Sheriff's offices along with Anniston/Oxford SWAT and police from Heflin, Roanoke, Ashland and Lineville as well as ALEA State Troopers and Tactical team.
News / Education

by Staff Reporter

Masvingo based Reformed Church University is mobilising funds for the construction of the university campus being built about seven kilometres outside Masvingo along Bulawayo road.The Reformed Church University which is operating at Morgenster Mission in Masvingo has held a fundraising dinner which saw the institution receiving around US$100 000 for the construction of the new campus.The university is currently operating at Morgenster Mission and the space is inadequate to cater for their students.The vice chancellor of the university Professor Wiseman Magwa said work has already begun at the new site but the university is still mobilising resources for the construction of its campus outside Masvingo."We have since started the construction of the university, however, more funds are needed," said Professor Magwa.The fundraising and resource mobilisation initiatives are being led by the university leadership and the community in Masvingo.
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Marquis Chambers, 21, lifts a fist in a show of solidarity with a passerby. Chambers and several others held signs in support of the Black Lives Matter movement during a small protest Saturday afternoon on Birmingham's First Avenue North. Chambers and others gathered emphasized the value of all lives and of nonviolent protest.

A single theme connected the speakers at Birmingham Civil Right Institute's rally for love and justice:

Unity.

It was evident from the invocation through the final moments of Saturday's gathering.

"We pray right now for a spirit of unity among the people of our nation," said Rev. Arthur Price Jr. of Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in the invocation. "We realize, oh God, that we are all fearfully and wonderfully made, and just because we say that black lives matter doesn't mean we don't think blue or other lives matter. Help us, oh God, to reconcile the divide that's among us."

It was the second rally on this downtown Birmingham block in as many days, both in response to deaths of black men at the hands of police and deaths of Dallas policemen shot during a Black Lives Matter protest.

During Saturday's rally, representatives from various community and faith groups spoke to a crowd of about 100.

"America is grieving and we need healing, and we are perhaps more divided than at any time in our recent history," said Andrea Taylor, BCRI's executive director. "As we stand here on hallowed ground, with Kelly Ingram Park in front of us and Sixteenth Street Baptist Church beside us as the Gaston Motel behind us and the whole of the civil rights district in Birmingham, we know communities can move from revolution to reconciliation. We want to encourage that moving forward in the most peaceful and participatory and inclusive way possible."

Stella Jordan , JJ Jordan, Annaiya Davis, with Make it Happen Theatre Company, perform during the peace rally at Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. Posted by Starr Civil Dunigan on Saturday, July 9, 2016

Make It Happen Theatre Company and Real Life Poets collaborated on a spoken word and song presentation. They are Stella Jordan, Judsonjahta Jordan and Annaiya Davis. Red Mountain Theatre Company's Aidan Alford followed their performance by singing John Lennon's "Imagine."

Other speakers were Birmingham Mayor William Bell; BCRI board member Doug Jones, who read from Robert Kennedy's speech after Martin Luther King Jr.'s assasination; United States Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama Joyce White Vance; Growing Kings Advocacy and Policy Manager Mauri Robinson; Birmingham Holocaust Education Center Executive Director Rebecca Dobrinski; Council on American-Islamic Relations-Alabama Executive Director Khaula Hadeed; Southside neighborhood resident Samuel Bragg; and Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice Executive Director Sarai Portillo.



Many of the speakers encouraged those gathered to set an example for younger generations.

"Our young people need to see us humble ourselves and seek leadership that stands and calls for justice without stoking the flames of prejudice," said CAIR-Alabama's Hadeed. "Our youth needs to see leadership that unites and commits to delivering an inclusive, warm, just and peaceful and peace-loving society."

Blocks away, Marquis Chambers, 21, also wished for unity. She stood in a small group on the corner of 17th Street and First Avenue North with a poster that read "Can you please tell me the price of freedom?," hoping to prompt understanding from passersby.

All lives matter, she said, but the Black Lives Matter movement is important because of recent deaths of innocent people. Another protestor, 18-year-old Asherah Jackson, emphasized that it's not just innocence that matters, but also that these people were denied justice as guaranteed in the constitution.

As Chambers returned her attention to First Avenue traffic, a woman in the passenger seat of a car lifted her first, making eye contact through a half-open window.Chambers returned the woman's gaze as she, too, lifted her fist in a show of solidarity--a show of unity.
It might be the Cherry Blossom Frappuccino or the Strawberry Chai Tea Latte or the Iced Caramel Macchiato or just a plain regular black coffee.

Starbucks isn't saying which of their drinks are going up in price but some of them are on Tuesday including at all Starbuck locations throughout Alabama.

Word of the price increases only leaked last week when some customers at some Starbucks were mistakenly charged more for their favorite drink.

About the only thing Starbucks has said ahead of the expected increases is that prices will increase on selected beverages.

There has been speculation that some beverages may increase about 30 cents.

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Holocaust survivor, bestselling author and Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel, who visited Birmingham on multiple occasions and influenced many people in Alabama, has died.

(AP/Bebeto Matthews)

Neal R. Berte, President Emeritus, Birmingham-Southern College

By Neal R. Berte, president emeritus of Birmingham-Southern College

When I heard the news recently that Holocaust survivor, humanitarian and Nobel Prize winner, Elie Wiesel, had died, I was overwhelmed with a sense of gratitude for his life, yet sadness at losing such an important voice in our society.

I remembered back to those times we had Elie Wiesel at Birmingham-Southern College, and in our larger community, and the gentle spirit, yet prophetic voice this man represented. His sharing of the Holocaust experiences reminded us of the capacity for evil we exhibit at times, particularly when we allow ourselves to be influenced by those who speak loudest and say and do outrageous things.

On a recent visit to Birmingham, FBI Director James Comey, spoke at Sixteenth Street Baptist Church and he shared his concern for the increase in the number of hate crimes in our country.

Comey, who served in the Bush Administration and is now FBI Director in the Obama Administration, indicated we need more diversity, not less, in our country and we are better when we represent difference, differences that include all people, racially, ethnically, religious beliefs, sexual orientation - all people.

Yet we know we are also a moral people, and as Comey also reminded us, we are a people who have extraordinary power to do good.

In the last few months, Alabama was noted as one of the most "churched" states in the United States, one of the highest as far as church membership, having one of the largest proportion of our citizens who are active in various faith communities, mostly Judeo-Christian-based. As we know, our faith provides those core values that enable us to know the difference between what is right and what is wrong.

For those of us who are Christian, we are reminded by Jesus that the greatest commandant he gives to us is: "To love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind and your neighbor as yourself."

Yet are we really concerned about our neighbors and fellow Alabamians, when almost a million of our people live in poverty? A recently released report by Alabama Possible indicated that 19 of Alabama's 67 counties have a poverty rate higher than 25 percent and that Alabama is the fourth poorest state in the United States with just over 19 percent of Alabamians living below the Federal poverty line and almost 19 percent of Alabamians are at risk of hunger.

Alabama is only one of only four states with no tax break on groceries, and our sales taxes, especially on food, are highly regressive because low-income people must spend most of what they make on taxable goods. The National Center for Children in Poverty noted in the last couple of years that Alabama has, by far, the highest income taxes on the poor, requiring residents to begin paying income tax on earnings of $12,600 a year, the lowest threshold of any state in the country.

It seems too often we are people overcome with fear, rather than focusing on our faith and being willing to speak out about the injustices around us. There are so many evidences of how easy it is to forget our own particularly difficult racial history in Birmingham, and the fact that we are all immigrants in this country, other than the Native Americans, as former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt is quoted when addressing the Daughters of the American Revolution as "my fellow immigrants."

Too often we fail to work to improve the lives of the poor or to accept people of different faiths than our own, particularly those of the Muslim faith, yet Muslim leaders in our community have quickly denounced all terrorist acts.

As Ashfaq Taufique, President of the Birmingham Islamic Society, stated recently: "It is nothing short of horrific that violent terrorist organizations masquerading as 'champions of justice,' fighting for historical political grievances, have become increasingly brutal and apocalyptic... Nothing but antithetical to Islamic values."

And as Elie Wiesel reminds us: "I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides." And "when human lives are endangered, when human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant."

As Christians, let's not let those with evil intentions co-op our religious values and let those with the loudest voice or selfish intent overrule the history, laws and principles on which our great country was founded and exists today.

As a people of faith, let us work to change the laws that keep so many of our people down, and let us speak out when people who are different are attacked because of their differences from us. And let us remember Elie Wiesel's admonition that "the opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference."
Residents of villages on the Hungary-Romania-Serbia border maintain close ties despite the fence between them.

Kubekhaza, Hungary  A Roman ian brass band plays Ode to Joy under the shadow of a tall fence that runs along the Hungarian border at the point where it meets Serbia and Romania. Locals and officials from the three countries are gathered for the annual border opening ceremony. The villages of Kubekhaza in Hun gary, Beba Veche in Romania, and Rabe in Serbia have been separate entities since 1920, but residents seem eager to maintain ties with one another.

Each year since 1997 , a ceremony organised by the Danube-Kris-Mures-Tisa (DKMT) euroregion has been held at the point where the three countries meet.

The borders are opened for two days at the end of May, allowing residents to reach relatives living across country lines. Its not uncommon for villagers to cross over to eat out in Rabe or to visit a zoo in the nearby Hungarian city of Szeged at any time of year. But t he border-opening ceremony serves as a symbol of the bond between the villages.

Until last September, the tripoint was an invisible border with a simple triangle-shaped statue approximately one kilometre away from each village. But, today, a four-metre wire fence along the Hungary-Serbia border  built to keep out migrants and refugees  snakes across the once open fields.





Still, the opening ceremony goes ahead as usual. After anthems and speeches, the festivities begin.

One part of the ceremony that has been directly affected by the fence is the childrens race. As they are no longer able to run unobstructed around the tripoint statue, it has been moved to Serbian territory.

Officials from each country  Branislav Bugarski, the secretary for interregional cooperation and local self-government of Vojvodina; Titu Bojin, the president of the Timis county council in Romania; and Bela Kakas, the president of the Csongrad county council in Hungary  open the border.

Some people cross, presenting their identification documents to the border police, to visit relatives living on the other side.

Aranka, 64, from the Serbian side, is the first to make the trip that day.

Im going to visit my mother, as Im from Kubekhaza, Hungary, she says. I married a man from Banatsko Arandjelovo, Serbia, 45 years ago, and I have lived there since our wedding.

Her normal route through the official border crossing is 50km long. But today she rides her old bike for the 10km journey through the tripont.

Beba Veche and Kubekhaza are only kilometres apart, but to cross the border, residents usually have to travel 78km  a 75-minute car journey.

Ivan, a pensioner and enthusiastic cyclist from Subotica, Serbia, uses the open border to tour around the region along a path which starts and ends at his hometown . He believes that the fence exists for political reasons but changes nothing for the locals.

WATCH: No Refuge  Children at the border

This fence is not here because of us, says Szilvia Domokos, who lives in Rabe.

She says she sometimes encounters small groups of refugees in her village and tries to explain to them that it is easier to reach the end of the fence and cross into Hungary from there. They dont want to pass through Romania, she explains, because they fear the Romanian border police.

The refugees steal our ladders instead, she says, noting that they consider it less risky to take a ladder to climb the fence in Rabe than to walk around it and step into Romania.

The fence does not belong in modern Europe

Kubekhaza in Hungary is one of the most rapidly developing villages in the region. Its mayor, Robert Molnar, had opposed the building of the fence.

I will never forget [that day], he says. In the summer, a journalist called me to comment on the fence near Kubekhaza. Which fence? I asked. Nobody from the government asked my opinion before the construction.

But Verica Vas, the secretary of the office of Rabes mayor, Peter Makra, told Al Jazeera: We [in Serbia] understand that the Hungarian prime minister wants to defend his country this way.

In September, Hungary completed the fence along the Serbian border, stretching from the tripoint to the Croatian border. The Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orban, announced that another fence would be built along the Romanian border if the Balkan route alters and migrants try to approach Hungary from Romania.

READ MORE: Refugee centres fill up as Hungary tightens borders

While many Serbian locals seem content with having a fence on their northern border, most residents of Beba Veche in Romania oppose it.

Beba Veche is a smaller village, inhabited by Romanians and Hungarians, many of whom work in factories farm their own land or work for agricultural companies.

If we are good neighbours, we dont build up a [large] wall between us, says Janos Uzson, a Beba Veche resident and the villages accountant.

Uzson adds that residents know that Hungary built the fence because of the migrants. If they didnt have this migration issue, they wouldnt need the fence.

Still, he says the fence is a symbolic barrier between the villages and a restriction that is reminiscent of communist times.

Branislav Bugarski, the secretary for interregional cooperation and local self-government of Vojvodina in Serbia, agrees. I think the fence does not belong in modern Europe, he says. What Europe needs are common solutions and policies for the future, not fences.

A history of migration

We are used to the impact of migration, explains Robert Molnar, the mayor of Kubekhaza.

Indeed, the three villages have been affected by migration since the middle of the 20th century, when political refugees fleeing Romanias Ceausescu regime crossed the border here.

A little later on, men fleeing military conscription during the Balkan wars would pass through, sometimes bringing their families with them.

As the tripoint is not on the refugees main route, only the residents of Rabe occasionally encounter them. One day last April, 250 refugees arrived in Rabe on busses.

We are 80-90 people in the village, so when 250 strangers come  we are afraid, says Makra, the mayor of Rabe. His phone rang all night long, he says, as the residents didnt know how to respond to the refugees who were knocking on their doors, asking for water or to charge their phones.

Plans for the future

The three villages have planned collaborative projects since the 1990s  although nothing has emerged except the border opening ceremony. Now, the three mayors agree that the fence only decreases the likelihood of them carrying out their plans.

The most promising is an unfinished official border crossing station near the tripoint that could allow people to travel between all three countries. The villages have recently handed in a joint declaration of intent to their homeland authorities expressing their desire to build it. But Molnar, the mayor of Kubekhaza, doubts it will go ahead.

In his opinion, as long as the Romanian-Hungarian diplomatic relationship is tense due to separate ethnic disputes, it will not be possible to open a border-crossing between the two countries.

In contrast, the Hungarian-Serbian diplomatic relationship seems stable. The two countries had opened a border crossing station on the main route for refugees last year at the height of the refugee crisis.

This cooperation has made Makra, the mayor of Rabe, more confident. He believes the border crossing station could be opened by 2020.

READ MORE`: Hungarys border war on refugees

Another plan that is in the works is a business park with factories, hotels, and conference halls near the tripoint  a joint project between Beba Veche and Kubekhaza.

An impact study has already been conducted by the Romanians, and foreign investors from China have shown interest in the project. But Uzson, Beba Veches accountant, however, remains sceptical.

The business park would be great, but the world will not collapse without it, he says. We did our part, now we wait and hope.

Follow Balint Bardi on Twitter @balintbardi
Thirty-seven new Americans took the oath of citizenship at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum on World Refugee Day.

Washington DC, USA  Amid a global debate about the responsibility of nations to accept refugees, and a US presidential election that frequently uses immigration as both a bellwether and a weapon, 37 new Americans took the oath of citizenship at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum on World Refugee Day.

Many of the men and women from the 17 countries represented came to the United States on refugee or asylum status, and for some of those gathered to watch, the location, and the day, carried special significance.

Kurt Pauly and his family fled Germany in 1936, living in Palestine for two years until immigrating to the US. Whenever you become a citizen of a new country, its a very solemn kind of thing. People come here for a reason, said Pauly who is a volunteer at the museum since 1992.

You leave behind so much when you become a citizen. You leave your entire life behind.

According to the most recent Annual Flow Repor (PDF) issued by the Department of Homeland Securitys Office of Immigration Statistics, 69,975 people were admitted to the US as refugees in 2014.

The figure was just shy of the 70,000 refugee allowance set by President Barack Obama and the US Congress. The United Nations refugee agency UNHCR estimates that there are 65.3 million people globally who have been forcibly displaced from their homes, 21.3 million of whom are refugees.

Holocaust survivors have a special appreciation for the plight of refugees fleeing persecution and violence, as well as the unique opportunities America affords us  allowing its citizens to live productively in and contribute to a free and just society, Sara Bloomfield, director of the museum, said during the ceremony.

The international framework for refugees and stateless people in its current form has its origins in the massive movement of people following WWII.

While there were informal humanitarian efforts in place at the time, they were voluntary, and response varied widely from country to country.

In 1939, US officials turned away a ship filled with Jewish refugees attempting to dock in Miami. The ship was forced to return to Europe. The museum, which consists of three floors of artefacts, video footage and personal narratives, includes discussions on propaganda, terror, violence and state-sponsored racism.

Alex Ogbamichael, one of the newly minted Americans, told Al Jazeera that after leaving his native Eritrea, he spent several years as a refugee in Hong Kong and Sudan before arriving in the US in 2011.

Right now, theres no peace in my country, Ogbamichael said. There is no light.

Several US officials told their own stories of emigration, including Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who spoke of his stepfathers survival from Auschwitz and Dachau, and Leon Rodriguez, director of the US Customs and Immigration Services, who spoke of his grandparents journey from Turkey and Poland to Cuba in the 1920s.

The fundamental difference between then and now is that there are legal frameworks for accepting refugees in a way that didnt exist before the Holocaust, Shelley Pitterman, the UNHCR regional representative for the US and the Caribbean, told Al Jazeera.

We now have a protection regime, and the international community recognises its responsibility to refugees and people in forced migration. There is a network of organisations and a capacity to respond  to address the needs of people when they flee and help find solutions for them.

Hostile political environments

Despite the frameworks in place, an increasingly hostile political environment is having very real repercussions on the US responsibility to the global humanitarian crisis.

The vitriol puts a heavy continuing burden on host countries, whose material needs arent being met, which impacts security issues and political problems in those countries, which are otherwise doing well, Pitterman said.

It also reinforces the model of smuggling and trafficking that further victimises these people, which makes it even harder for the states to manage their own borders, which is the core fear about this entire issue, he explained.

READ MORE: I came to live in dignity  Syrian refugees in the US

It also comes from fear; fear of the other, fear of loss of identity, Pitterman continued. Strangely enough, the advocates for closing borders are encouraging smuggling, which is then able to further undermine the security of national borders and further victimise the people that we care for.

At the Holocaust Museum on World Refugee Day, however, several new citizens, holding their official papers, said they felt no such hostility. Ogbamichael said he was not concerned about calls to limit refugees.

Pauly, the Holocaust survivor, said the anger directed at people coming from other places is nothing new. Theres been some of that in all of American history.

This was the first naturalisation ceremony held at the museum, welcoming as new citizens people from countries across the world, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iran, Iraq, Laos, Liberia, Mauritania, Nepal, the Philippines, Russia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan and Vietnam.

Holding his two-year-old son, Ahmed Hamad, who had taken the oath of citizenship, beamed as he posed in front of an American flag.

The Sudanese-born said his decision to become an American citizen was an easy one: Its for a better future for this one, he said, as his son played and waved a small American flag.

Its for a better life for all of us.

Follow Molly McCluskey on Twitter: @MollyEMcCluskey
Southern Bangladesh, Bangladesh  As one of the worlds most densely populated countries, situated over the large delta where three of Asias biggest rivers  the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna  meet, Bangladesh feels the effects of a changing climate intensely.

While cyclones, storms and flooding rivers have always been a part of life here, they now seem to come more often, are less predictable and are more powerful. River erosion has increased and the sea levels have risen bringing salty water farther inland. In many places, life as people knew it is no longer the same.

The 150 million inhabitants of Bangladesh adapt, cope and innovate in the face of this change. Many have migrated to the capital Dhaka and other cities further inland, which has caused the population in these cities to swell and living conditions to deteriorate.

Others have gone to work in neighbouring India, Malaysia or countries in the Arabian Gulf.

In Khulna, Mongla and Satkhira, and on the island of Bhola, and other parts of southern Bangladesh, families are adjusting to the challenges natures presents.

They rebuild homes that were taken away by the rivers. They grow rice and vegetables in new ways. They try new methods of small-scale farming, despite the threat salty water brings to their lands. Or they too find no other option but to leave and seek a new life in the city.
The fragmentation of the EU carries huge costs for Turkey, which can only be ameliorated by closer integration.

The predictive acumen of political scientists is pretty weak, but I daresay that Brexit is a critical threshold for world history, and Turkish politicians sorely misread it.

The EU will face increasing strains after the departure of the UK, which will reflect on Turkeys relations with it through economic, political and social dimensions. While Ankara considers the EU a spent force, seeking her future and fortune in the Muslim world and the Shanghai Five, neither better democracy nor more prosperity is likely to occur without closer integration with the EU.





The Brexit vote was against globalisation, immigration and, strangely enough, against a very remote event, namely Turkish accession to the EU.

To the extent Turkey under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan nowadays associates herself with the leadership of the Sunni Muslim world, Brexit can be said to be a vote against Islam as well.

Potent mix of forces

Inasmuch as France and Germany will try to drive the cost of Brexit high to teach a lesson to other potential rebels who may wish to abandon the Union, this effort is very likely to backfire.

READ MORE: Charting a way forward after Brexit

Nowadays refugees to Europe are mostly poor, devout Muslims who have a very difficult time assimilating into the Christian culture and thus are likely to be rejected and feared by the host society.

The Turkish leadership greeted Brexit and the predictions of further departures from EU with a degree of thinly veiled glee, treating it as 'just deserts' for the EU's collective callousness in the face of the Syrian refugee crisis... by

Add to this factor the misperception equating political Islam to radical Islam and the never-ending economic plight of the EU excluding Germany, and one gets a potent mix of forces which will compel the EU leadership either to restrain Muslim immigration, or to face the bitter possibility of more secession. How do the EUs woes reflect upon Turkey?

The Turkish leadership greeted Brexit and the predictions of further departures from the EU with a degree of thinly veiled glee, treating it as just deserts for the EUs collective callousness in the face of the Syrian refugee crisis, rising Islamophobia and the confirmation of AKPs longstanding hypothesis that European culture is morally and intellectually bankrupt.

Erdogan went as far as suggesting a Turkish referendum to ask whether EU accession talks ought to continue, while Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu stated that it was high time for the EU to adopt Anatolian values.

Huge costs for Turkey

While there might be elements of truth in Ankaras views, strategically speaking, the fragmentation of the EU carries huge costs for Turkey, which can only be ameliorated by closer integration.

The first and easiest cost to identify is the death of the Syrian refugee deal. The EU wont be able to accept the Syrian refugees which had been promised to Turkey, or grant the visa waiver so precious to Turks. Turkey is essentially stuck with 2.5 million poor Syrian refugees, and potentially another half million to arrive if Assad captures Aleppo and the Idlib Province.

The visa waiver is not a luxury for well-heeled Turkish citizens to visit Paris and Rome on shopping trips. It would have allowed small businesses to access EU markets without bureaucratic hassles to market their wares and services easily.

Moreover, an EU sucked up into its own vortex of fear and uncertainly would export less from Turkey, send fewer tourists and invest less.

But the political costs are more important. First, it is accepted wisdom in emerging markets that countries need structural reforms to accelerate their sagging growth rates.

Turkey has a home-made structural reform agenda, which doesnt pass muster because it calls for more state intervention in the economy, more subsidies and strange ideas such as picking future winners in non-existent industries.

READ MORE: Brexit  the English gamble

On the other hand, the EUs acquis is an easy-to-adopt reform matrix which can significantly enhance Turkeys productivity performance. There is a bigger problem in Turkey. The country can neither modernise nor build institutions of democracy.

In fact, it fair to say that since the Gezi Park protests in 2012, Turkey slipped back in all internationally recognised indicators of governance and democracy, from press freedom to government transparency. Integration with the Muslim world or the Shanghai Five would not help Turkey to solve its democracy and institutional deficit problem.

Difficult to govern

Without trust in government, judiciary and institutions, it is unlikely that Turkey will ever overcome the middle income trap, or soothe the societal tensions between Kurds and Turks, Sunnis and Alevites or conservative Muslims and secular modernists. Without the EU anchor, Turkey would become increasingly difficult to govern.

Ankara is right to complain that Islamophobia is on ascent, but thanks to AKP's policies Judeo-Christiano-phobia is also on the rise in Turkey. by

The last problem is actually a missed opportunity. The likes of al-Qaeda and ISIL (also known as ISIS) on the Muslim side and Donald Trump and Marine Le Pen on the Christian side are actively stoking a clash of civilisations between the two religions, which could mutate into the 21st-century version of the Cold War.

Trumps policy platform of banning Muslim immigration is not taken seriously, but it is the first time ever that a presidential candidate in the free world has advocated official religious discrimination and people voted for him.

Ankara is right to complain that Islamophobia is on the ascent, but thanks to AKPs policies Judeo-Christiano-phobia is also on the rise in Turkey.

Most Turks, whether they vote for AKP or not, give some credence to a conspiracy theory that an uber-mind orchestrated by Jews, Americans and Germans is to blame for all Turkeys problems from ISIL terror to Gezi Park protests, simply because Turks are Muslim. This is the missed opportunity.

Turkey is actually a great laboratory to reject the hypothesis that moderate Islam, democracy and efficient free-market capitalism cant co-exist. But, to do so, Ankara needs to embrace European values of democracy, institutions and the reform matrix, otherwise the internal dynamics in society and the region will gradually drag it down to the level of other Middle Eastern societies.

Erdogan displayed great pragmatism and patriotism by facilitating reconciliation with Israel and Russia, even though  on a personal level  both attempts must have felt like defeats to him. It remains to be seen whether he can set aside his personal misgivings about the EU and steer Turkey back to faster accession. Perhaps his role in history will be determined by that choice, along with Turkeys fate.

Atilla Yesilada is an Istanbul-based partner of independent think-tank GlobalSource Partners.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy.
Neither realist arguments nor ethical considerations will lead to a US disengagement from the Middle East.

Richard Falk is Albert G Milbank Professor Emeritus of International Law at Princeton University and Research Fellow, Orfalea Center of Global Studies. He is also former UN Special Rapporteur on Palestinian human rights.

A few years ago, US President Barack Obama made much of an American pivot to East Asia, a recognition of Chinas emergence and regional assertiveness, and the related claim that the American role in the Asia-Pacific should be treated as a prime strategic interest that China needed to be made to respect.

The shift also involved the recognition by Obama that the United States had become overly engaged in Middle Eastern politics with very few positive results and that it was time to reset foreign policy priorities.

The 2012 pivot was an overdue correction of the neocon approach to the region during the presidency of George W Bush that climaxed with the disastrous 2003 intervention in Iraq. It was then that delusions of democracy promotion and the prospect of a warm welcome by the Iraqi people hit a stone wall of unexpected resistance.





In retrospect, it seems evident that the US has not disengaged from the Middle East. Its policies are tied as ever to Israel, and it is fully engaged in the military campaigns taking place in Syria and against ISIL (also known as ISIS).

Why disengagement wont happen

In a recent article in The National Interest, Mohammed Ayoob proposes a gradual US disengagement from the region.

He makes a strategic interest argument based on Israels military superiority, the reduced Western dependence on Gulf oil, and the nuclear agreement with Iran.

READ MORE: Fabricating facts  an old-fashioned political tool

In effect, Ayoob convincingly contends that circumstances no longer justify a major US engagement in the region, and that to extend the commitment aggravates Middle East turmoil in ways that harm US interests.

The US pivot to the Middle East after the Cold War was based on the geopolitical opportunism of Washington in a context of dramatic changing circumstances. by

Ayoobs reasoning is flawless, but disengagement wont happen, and not because Americans are not smart enough to recognise changed circumstances. The pivot to East Asia was a recent instance of such an adjustment.

Actually, the depth of US involvement in the Middle East itself came about as an adjustment to changed circumstances.

After the Soviet collapse, the geopolitical preoccupation with Europe seemed outmoded, and the Middle East, with its oil, Israel, expanding Islamic influence and risky nuclear proliferation potential, seemed like a region where a strong US commitment would solidify its role as global leader.

This perception was reinforced after the al-Qaeda 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, which gave neocon hawks a pretext for a regime-changing attack on Iraq.

The undertaking failed miserably during the subsequent occupation that sought to reconstruct the government and economy to serve Western interests.

Geopolitical opportunism

The US pivot to the Middle East after the Cold War was based on the geopolitical opportunism of Washington in a context of dramatic changing circumstances.

So why the inflexibility with respect to the Middle East when disengagement brings major practical advantages?

Part of the explanation is surely governmental inertia, reinforced by the belief that the changes in conditions are not as clear and favourable as Ayoob contends, making disengagement geopolitically vulnerable to future charges that the Obama presidency was responsible for losing the Middle East.

More to the point is a range of other reasons militating against disengagement. Perhaps most significant is the militarist bias of US foreign policy that refuses to acknowledge that the attacks on Iraq or Libya were failures.

Resistance to thinking outside the military box prevails in US policy circles, making the debate on what to do about Syria or ISIL centre on the single question of how much US military power should be deployed to resolve these conflicts.

READ MORE: Moscow and Washington are not that far apart on Syria

What Eisenhower called the military industrial complex has come to dominate the machinery of government in Washington, further abetted by the accretion of a huge homeland security bureaucracy since 9/11.

Real threats to US interests exist in the Middle East, and given this unwillingness to rely on political or diplomatic solutions for most disputes, virtually require the US to retain its military presence to ensure the availability of options to intervene militarily when the occasion arises in the future.

Then there is the anti-international mood that has taken over US domestic politics. It is hostile to every kind of international commitment other than military action against real and imagined Islamic enemies.

Additionally, the US Congress has been completely captured by the Israeli lobby, which puts a high premium on maintaining the US geopolitical engagement so as to share with Israel the burdens and risks associated with the management of regional turbulence.

As neither the Arab uprisings of 2011 nor the robust counterrevolutionary aftermath were anticipated, it is argued that there is too much uncertainty to risk disengagement.

Why disengagement should happen

Neither realist arguments about interests nor ethical considerations of principle will lead to an overdue US disengagement.

Washington refuses to understand why intervention by Western military forces in the post-colonial Middle East generates dangerous extremist forms of resistance (eg, ISIL), magnifying the problems that prompted intervention in the first place.

In essence, the intervention option is a lose/lose proposition, but without it American engagement makes no sense.

Unfortunately, for the US and the peoples throughout the Middle East, the US seems incapable of extricating itself from yet another geopolitical quagmire. And so, although disengagement is an attractive option, it wont happen for a long, long time.

Richard Falk is Albert G Milbank Professor Emeritus of International Law at Princeton University and Research Fellow, Orfalea Center of Global Studies. He is also former UN Special Rapporteur on Palestinian human rights.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy.
News / Local

by Roberta Katunga

THE country needs at least 2 000 farmers each utilising 200 hectares of land to achieve food sufficiency and bid farewell to the importation of grain, Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa said.Addressing delegates at a Buy Local Summit in Mutare last week, Mnangagwa outlined the Government's plans to ensure adequate farming of grain in the country through capacitating farmers with various support schemes that include inputs, equipment and extensional services."Zimbabwe has the largest water bodies in the Sadc region and we have come up with a policy that where there is a water body, people around it must be empowered by giving them implements to grow grain. These are not handouts," said Mnangagwa.Explaining the 2 000 farmers scheme, Mnangagwa said each farmer would be expected to produce a minimum of five tonnes per hectare producing a minimum total of two million tonnes of grain against national annual consumption of 1,4 million tonnes.He said for every yield, the Government would take five tonnes as repayment for the inputs that include seed, fertiliser and machinery while the surplus would belong to the farmer."In four seasons, Zimbabwe should bid farewell to the importation of grain through this scheme and we will not only achieve food sufficiency but offer a decent return to the farmers," he said.The other categories mentioned by Mnangagwa included empowering farmers through irrigation by resuscitating all schemes around the country and creating new irrigation schemes where there is water and the revival of the Agriculture Rural Development Authority (Arda) estates in all the provinces.He said the Government was assisting in identifying private partners for the irrigation schemes which had been defunct."Communal farmers will also continue to receive the Government inputs to assist in the production of grain. The Brazil scheme has seen us rolling out machinery to different parts of the country to assist in the production. With all these measures in place, Zimbabwe should be able to achieve food suffiency," said Mnangagwa.The country is importing grain from a number of countries including Zambia.The country needs slightly over 1,3 million tonnes of maize until the end of the year.The target for the Importation Programme February to December 2016 is 1 361 452 tonnes valued at $560 918 224 and to date, 526 802 tonnes have been imported.Contracts for maize importation for 630 000 tonnes were signed between the Grain Marketing Board and private players.Of these contracts, a total of 129 000 tonnes of grain have been delivered.According to the Government, from January to March next year, the country will require 450 000 tonnes valued at an estimated cost of $185 292 000.
Australias Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has declared victory for his ruling conservative coalition in the countrys tight general election, eight days after voters went to the polls.

Weve won the election, thats what weve done, Turnbull told reporters in Sydney on Sunday.

It is vital that this parliament works; it is vital that we work together and, as far as we can, find ways upon which we can all agree, Turnbull added.





Earlier on Sunday, Bill Shorten, leader of the opposition party, had conceded defeat and called Turnbull to congratulate him.

It is clear that Mr Turnbull and his coalition will form a government, Shorten said in a news conference in Melbourne.

So I have spoken to Mr Turnbull earlier this afternoon to congratulate him and [his wife] Lucy and to wish them my very best.

Tough road ahead

Both Turnbulls ruling Liberal/National coalition and Labor remain short of the 76 seats needed to claim a majority in the 150-seat House of Representatives, with counting still ongoing.

But Turnbull has won the support of three independent MPs on budget matters and on votes of no confidence, paving the way for him to form a minority government if he does not win 76 seats.

The coalition is expected to secure 74 seats, and potentially two more, according to projections by state broadcaster ABC.

Labor has won 66, and with five independents elected, the opposition does not have sufficient seats to govern in Canberra, according to the projections.

Despite the victory, Turnbull faces a tough road ahead with a divided party, a fractured Senate and a weary electorate.

The government went into the election with a comfortable majority of 90 seats and few had predicted it would suffer such steep losses.
The Israeli government has approved nearly $13m in financing for the occupied West Bank settlements of Kiryat Arba and Hebron, according to officials.

The decision by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus far-right cabinet will see some 50 million Israeli shekels ($12.9m) allocated to strengthen the Jewish-only settlements.





The money will be allocated over three years and be designated to a variety of issues, including social, education and security services, and come from the budgets of the relevant ministries.

Kiryat Arba is a large settlement near Hebron, the largest Palestinian West Bank city, which is also host to several hundred Jewish settlers in a tightly guarded enclave.

The settlers live in the heart of a Palestinian area and are protected by thousands of Israeli soldiers, while local Palestinians endure restricted movement due to the military checkpoints in and around Hebrons historic Old City.

The Hebron area settlers have been affected by the recent wave of violence that has rocked Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories since last October.

At least 214 Palestinians, 34 Israelis, two Americans, an Eritrean and a Sudanese have been killed.

Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are considered illegal under international law and have been major stumbling blocks in negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis.

Between 2009 and 2014, Israeli settlements expanded by 23 percent in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Upwards of half a million Jewish Israelis already live in more than 150 Jewish-only settlements across the West Bank and East Jerusalem, according to the Israeli human rights group BTselem.

READ MORE: Palestinian Bedouins live the Nakba every day

The United States, the European Union and many others in the international community have called for a halt to settlement building.

Were familiar with the American position; we dont accept it. Building in Jerusalem and Maale Adumim is not, with all due respect, distancing peace, Netanyahu said on Wednesday at a press conference in Rwanda, referring to an illegal settlement near Jerusalem.

Netanyahus government is considered to be the most right-wing in Israels history, and key members of his cabinet are strong supporters of settlement building and opponents of a Palestinian state.

A similar decision, allocating 70 million shekels ($18m) to a variety of settlements, was announced last month. Two officials said Sundays decision was separate.

Also on Sunday, Israeli forces arrested at least 16 Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem and the rest of the West Bank, local media reported.

During clashes with Palestinians at Sair, a blockaded Hebron-area village, Israeli forces shot and injured at least five people with rubber-coated steel bullets, the local Maan News Agency reported.
Activists lament lack of condemnation from India and international powers for violence that killed at least 30 people.

As the death toll rises to 19 in Indian-administered Kashmir following a bloody crackdown on mourners and protesters this weekend, Kashmiris are lamenting the lack of international condemnation for the violence meted out to them.

By Monday, authorities recorded at least 30 deaths and 200 people injured after police and paramilitary troops opened fire on tens of thousands of Kashmiris who took to the streets to pay homage to the rebel leader Burhan Wani, who was killed on Friday. His death had prompted a mass funeral and demonstrations against Indian rule.

IN PICTURES: Protests in Kashmir despite curfew

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Imam of Srinagars Jamia mosque and leader of a faction of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, told Al Jazeera that the lack of condemnation from both India and international actors, proved that Kashmiri lives did not matter.

No political party or institution has condemned the violence because they dont feel the need  they are so disconnected from this place, Farook said from his home in Srinagar, where he has been under house arrest since Friday.

Terrorists should not have the right to last rites.They should be burnt with garbage.It will act as a deterrent. https://t.co/zghHRrOQ49  Sudhir Chaudhary (@sudhirchaudhary) July 9, 2016

It is a sentiment echoed by a series of observers and human rights activists, who allege that the killing of Burhan sent the Indian media into a jingoistic frenzy.

Mirza Waheed, a Kashmiri novelist based in London, said in some cases, one could not tell the difference between the media and state apparatus.

But Gautam Navlakha, from the Peoples Union for Democratic Rights, described the silence from Indias civil society over the events of the past three days as particularly problematic.

There seems to be a conflation between extremism and the Kashmiri right to self determination. People seem to reduce all dissent in Kashmir to radical Islam, but the situation in Kashmir is different, Navlakha, a human rights activist based in Delhi, said.

They dont realise that hearts and minds of the people there are not with India, and this is a fact, he said.

According to Kashmiri civil society, the death toll is likely to rise.

They have also accused troops of disproportionate violence and for implementing a shoot to kill policy. One doctor at the SKIMS hospital in Srinagar confirmed to Al Jazeera that patients with bullet wounds had all been hit from the waist up.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the doctor said there were at least four patients in critical condition at the hospital.

There are people still coming in with injuries, first they came from north and south Kashmir, now they are coming from Srinagar itself, suffering mostly from pellets wounds, he said.

Deeply anguished at the loss of precious lives in incidents of violence in Jammu &Kashmir. Also pray for the speedy recovery of the injured  Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) July 9, 2016

Responding to accusations of disproportionate violence, Naeem Akhtar, spokesman for the state of Jammu & Kashmir state government, suggested that security forces may have been justified in using force as method of self-defence.

There have been attacks on barracks and camps [] if there are a mob of a 1,000 people attacking a group of 10 to 15, what do you expect them to do? he told Al Jazeera, adding that there would be an investigation into the matter.

On Saturday, police said that angry crowds set fire to three police stations and two government buildings south of Srinagar, and blocked roads.

If people knew how India has denied them their rights, people will realise that this is a political problem needing a political solution by Dilnaz Boga, independent journalist

At least one police officer was killed. K Rajendra Kumar, the director general of Jammu and Kashmir Police, said about 100 members of the security forces had been wounded. Three officers were still missing.

But Waheed said security forces were able to act with such brutality because they knew that they would never be prosecuted for their actions.

When it happened in 2010, no one was held accountable for the violence  and so they do it again, and again, Waheed said, referring to the protests of summer 2010 when Kashmir plummeted into months of protests. More than 120 young people died that year.

According to Dilnaz Boga, an independent journalist based in Mumbai, no condemnation from the worlds powers is likely to be forthcoming  given Indias relationship with the United States, France, Israel and United Kingdom in the so-called war against terror.

The problem is rooted in a lack of understanding and censorship over the story of Kashmiri resistance, she said.

If people knew how India has denied them their rights, people will realise that this is a political problem needing a political solution, she told Al Jazeera.

Follow Azad Essa on Twitter: @azadessa
Killing comes as opposition accuses Prime Minister Hun Sens government of launching a fresh crackdown against them.

A prominent Cambodian political analyst known for his criticism of the government has been shot dead at a cafe in the capital Phnom Penh, police said.

The killing of Kem Ley on Sunday comes at a time of heightened political tensions between Prime Minister Hun Sen and the opposition, who accuse him of pursuing a fresh crackdown against them.

Police said Kem Ley, a popular commentator and grassroots campaigner, was gunned down as he drank coffee at a shop attached to a petrol station.

He was shot dead at a mart just before 9am, Kirt Chantharith, national police spokesman, told the AFP news agency.

WATCH: Cambodias News Blackmailers

A suspect was arrested nearby and confessed to killing the analyst over an unpaid debt, Kirt Chantharith said.

But we dont believe him yet. We are working on this case, he said.

Kem Ley was critical of both the government and opposition parties, advocating for a new era of clean politics in Cambodia, which is expected to hold a general election in 2018.

But the bulk of his criticism was aimed at Hun Sens ruling party.

As news of Kem Leys murder spread on social media, hundreds of Cambodians descended upon the Caltex station.

Ky Sour, a local businessman, said the crowd had gathered because they were heartbroken over Kem Leys death, but also because they did not trust the police.

They suspect the police will do something to hide the evidence [if they dont watch], Ky Sour told Al Jazeera.

This is the same pattern, so everyone knows who is behind it. People who have no power cannot do like that. This is the face of dictatorship.

A factory worker at the scene, who asked not to be named, citing safety concerns, said: Sometimes we cannot talk about what we think about the government.

We close our mouths and discuss with our family or close friends only.

Cambodia has a history of rights and labour advocates being murdered with killers rarely brought to justice.

READ MORE: New report exposes Cambodian PMs vast family wealth

Kem Leys murder is likely to exacerbate tensions in the Southeast Asian nation, which has been dominated by Hun Sen for the past 31 years in a reign marked by accusations of corruption, electoral fraud and rights abuses.

Scores of government critics and rights workers have been arrested in recent months, while others have been tied up in ongoing legal cases.

The prime minister, a former army commander who defected from the Khmer Rouge, has held power alongside a small but powerful group of political allies who have become enormously wealthy.

A report published by Global Witness last week detailed how Hun Sens family had amassed a multimillion-dollar business empire spanning the countrys most lucrative sectors during his rule.

With reporting by Abby Seiff in Phnom Penh
Several protesters arrested at rallies for disruption as week US President Obama deemed very tough draws to close.

Thousands have protested across the US over police killings of black men for a fifth straight day, with several people  including a prominent activist  arrested for violence and disruption.

Demonstrations continued into the early hours of Sunday, as what US President Barack Obama has called a very tough week drew to a close, five days after Alton Sterling  a 37-year-old black man and father of five  was killed by white police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

His death was followed by the police killing in Minnesota of Philando Castile, a young black man who worked at a local school serving food to children. Castiles death was filmed by his girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, and streamed live on Facebook.

On Thursday, five white police officers were killed by a suspect named as Micah Johnson, a former US soldier who police said claimed he wanted to kill white people.

Obama said Americans of all races and backgrounds were rightly outraged by the attack in Dallas, and rightly saddened and angered by the fatal police shooting of both Sterling and Castile.

Seeking to calm tensions, he said America was not as divided as some suggest.

Im under arrest, yall

On Saturday night, as a few hundred protesters gathered at the Baton Rouge Police Department, police arrested DeRay Mckesson, a key figure in the Black Lives Matter movement.

Mckesson streamed his own arrest live on Periscope, and could be heard saying, Im under arrest, yall as fellow protesters asked why he was being held.

The protest seemed tense as police in riot gear appeared on the scene, apparently to clear the road so traffic could pass. A police spokesman said two firearms were confiscated and several arrests made, the Associated Press news agency reported.

Protesters waved homemade signs while drivers honked their horns in support and some stopped with bottles of water.

In Minnesota, police said arrests were made after protesters began throwing fireworks, bottles and rocks at officers during a protest that shut down a section of Interstate 94, a motorway, on Saturday night.

The march started outside the governors mansion, where protesters have gathered since Castiles death.

About 100 protesters remained just before midnight as police, some in riot gear, walked toward them. The St Paul Police Department tweeted that multiple officers were injured by fireworks thrown by protesters. It wasnt immediately clear how many people had been arrested.

Other rallies were held in California, Colorado, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Utah. Hundreds gathered in each city, with up to 1,000 people joining the march in New York.
Relatives of Marie Colvin, an American journalist killed in Syria in 2012, have taken legal action against the Syrian government, claiming that she was hunted down because of her reporting.

Agents working for the government of President Bashar al-Assad deliberately went after journalists and media activists, according to the wrongful death claim filed on Saturday in Washington by the Center for Justice and Accountability.

Colvin, who had been reporting from the besieged city of Homs, worked for The Sunday Times, a British newspaper.

The claim, filed in the US federal court on behalf of Cathleen Colvin, Marie Colvins sister, and Justine Araya-Colvin, the journalists niece, said Syrian officials launched a rocket attack on a makeshift broadcast studio in a neighbourhood of Homs.

Colvin, a 56-year-old veteran correspondent and New York native, died in that attack along with French photojournalist Remi Ochlik on February 22, 2012.

READ MORE: Syrian journalists struggle to make ends meet amid war

Just hours before her death, she filed her final report on the effect a relentless government bombardment of Homs was having on civilians. The attack by the Syrian army also killed several opposition activists.

The plan was formulated at the highest levels of the Syrian government, the claim said. There were no lawful military targets in the vicinity of the media centre at the time of the attack  No armed rebels were present in or around the media centre. The occupants targeted were unarmed civilians.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said at the time that circumstantial evidence and witnesses pointed to the possibility that government forces had taken deliberate action that led to the deaths of Colvin and Ochlik.

More than two dozen journalists were reported killed in Syria in 2012 alone. The government has contended that its attacks targeted what it called terrorists.

The lawsuit, which seeks compensatory and punitive damages, said there were no lawful military targets in the vicinity of the media centre at the time of the attack and no armed rebels were present in or around the centre.
Gun battles reported near army barracks and UN base as intense fighting resumes after weekend clashes killed over 100.

Intense fighting has resumed in South Sudans capital, Juba, as an increasingly tense security situation threatened to send the young country back to all-out civil war.

Al Jazeera staff in the city on Sunday heard loud booms, characteristic of heavy weapons, and gunfire coming from the area near the airport, which local sources said had closed. In a post on Twitter, Kenya Airways said that it had suspended flights to Juba due to [the] uncertain security situation.

Gunfire had earlier been heard in the capitals southwest near an army barracks and a United Nations base.

Violence from Thursday to Saturday killed more than 100 people, mostly soldiers from different armed factions, after gun battles broke out across Juba.

Gunshots, heavily armed exchange UN House area once again; going on now since approx. 08:25 @unmissmedia  UNMISS (@unmissmedia) July 10, 2016

A witness told the Reuters news agency on Sunday that gunfire could be heard in the Gudele and Jebel suburbs, near a military barracks that hosts troops loyal to the countrys vice president Riek Machar.

There were some loud booms, audible from 10km away, Al Jazeeras John Hendren, reporting from Juba, said, referring to the fighting in Jebel.

It involved tanks, small arms fire and helicopter gunships, so it appeared to be a pretty massive confrontation.

Three helicopter gunships have just come now and bombed our side, William Gatjiath Deng, a spokesman for Machars military faction, told the Associated Press news agency.

Hind Mi24 gunship over Juba pic.twitter.com/XPphqLMMJZ  AnnaCavell (@AnnaCavell) July 10, 2016

Hope of peace is dimming

The fighting on Friday began outside the presidential compound as President Salva Kiir was meeting with former rebel leader Machar and soon spread throughout the city.

ANALYSIS FROM JOHN HENDREN IN JUBA I dont think anyone here is talking about advancing peace right now. The president and the vice president have both said they are committed to doing so, and they of course are the rival factions that came together to form this coalition government  but their armies remain separate, they are clashing and have done so over the past week and sporadically before that. So this obviously dims hopes for peace in the near future. The concern is now that if the fighting continues you might have a humanitarian crisis because you will have people trapped in a country where people already are having great difficulty subsisting because of inflation, poverty and other problems here. So it could be a crisis in the very near future if this fighting does not stop, and that is probably the more immediate concern than the overall peace agreement moving forward  although both the president and the vice president have said they are committed to doing that.

An Al Jazeera correspondent later saw bodies of soldiers on the lawn in the compound, but was forbidden from filming them.

Deng said on Saturday that the fighting had happened near the presidential compound, known as the State House, and in an army barracks.

In the morning we collected and counted 35 [dead] from the SPLM-IO [Machars faction] and 80 people from the government forces, he was quoted as saying by Reuters.

Local broadcaster Radio Tamazuj put the number of deaths at 146.

Our correspondent said the latest bout of violence meant that the hopes of peace were dimming in the country, which reached the fifth anniversary of its independence on Saturday.

These are not good times, Hendren said on Sunday.

Two days ago, the presidential palace was struck  that is a major strike into the heart of government here and shows just how shaky it is.

And on Saturday, the fifth Independence Day was completely silent because Juba was shut down  it was militarily occupied, which is exactly the opposite of what is supposed to happen here under a peace accord in August.

INTERACTIVE: How far has S Sudan come since independence?

South Sudan was founded with optimistic celebrations in the capital on July 9, 2011, after it gained independence from Sudan in a referendum that passed with a nearly 100 percent of the vote.

The country descended into conflict in December 2013 after Kiir accused Machar, his former deputy who he had sacked earlier that year, of plotting a coup.

Civil war broke out when soldiers from Kiirs Dinka ethnic group disarmed and targeted troops of Machars Nuer ethnic group. Machar and commanders loyal to him fled to the countryside, and tens of thousands of people died in the conflict that followed. Many civilians also starved.

A peace agreement signed in August collapsed and fighting continues in many parts of the country, despite both leaders joining a unity government two months ago.
Military helicopter involved in anti-ISIL operation crashes near Palmyra after being hit by gunfire from the ground.

Two Russian pilots have been killed in Syria after fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) shot down their helicopter near Palmyra, Russias defence ministry has said according to local media.

The two men had been attacking a group of ISIL fighters in the Homs region on Friday, when the military chopper they were in ran out of ammunition, the Interfax news agency said, quoting the defence ministry.

The turning helicopter was hit by militants gunfire from the ground and crashed in the area controlled by the Syrian government army. The crew died, Interfax said.

ISIL claimed responsibility for the attack, according to SITE monitoring group.

Footage published on Saturday by ISILs affiliated news agency Amaq showed a helicopter being shot and crashing to the ground.

Russian forces entered the Syrian conflict in late September last year, backing the forces of President Bashar al-Assad. At least 12 Russian soldiers have been killed since Moscow launched its military operation.

OPINION: Are the US and Russia helping or deceiving the Syrians?

In November, Turkish fighter planes shot down a Russian bomber on the Syrian-Turkish border, triggering a crisis in relations between the two countries.

Russia is helping Assad forces against ISIL and other rebel groups, mainly supporting the Syrian army with air strikes.

Western countries have accused Russia of also targeting Syrias moderate opposition and civilians  a claim denied by Moscow.
Middle East countries tell citizens to be careful around demonstrations following recent police shootings of black men.

The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have warned citizens travelling in the United States to be careful around protests following recent police shootings of black men.

A special alert issued by the UAE embassy to Washington, DC, on Saturday urged citizens to stay away from demonstrations in US cities.





State news agency WAM said the warning followed a protest by supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement in Washington on Friday.

The island kingdom of Bahrain also issued its own advisory on Twitter, telling nationals to be cautious of protests or crowded areas.

The US State Department routinely issues travel advice for Americans abroad.

On Friday, the Bahamas put out its own advisory about US travel, saying young men especially should exercise extreme caution in affected cities in their interactions with the police.

Demonstrations across the US continued into the early hours of Sunday, five days after Alton Sterling  a 37-year-old black man and father of five  was killed by white police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

His death was followed by the police killing in Minnesota of Philando Castile, a young, black man who worked at a local school serving food to children.
Tensions continue to rise in Greek islands, where an estimated 8,400 refugees and migrants are left waiting.

Tensions have escalated in the Greek island of Leros following a series of attacks on refugees and migrants, while several international volunteers working in refugee camps have been evacuated from the island.





After locals attacked refugees on Saturday and threatened aid workers in the islands main refugee camp, many international volunteers and groups halted their operations and left Leros on Sunday.

There have been tensions which targeted both refugees and members of the humanitarian community, said Katerina Kitidi, a Greece-based communications officer for the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR).

It all started from long-standing issues related to the situation on the island, which clearly shows that we need specific measures for people who have requested asylum, she told Al Jazeera.

Clashes first broke out in the camp on Thursday due to rising anger over the Greek governments asylum application process, which has moved at a snails pace and left more than 8,400 refugees and migrants stuck waiting on Greek islands.

On Saturday, with the internal tensions in the camp sparking fear, a group of about 150 mostly Iraqi Yazidis decided to leave the camp and head to the islands main port Lakki.

They were with their babies and all their bags, Catharina Kahane, a cofounder of the Echo100 Plus charity group, told Al Jazeera.

They told us to get off the island

Once in the village, they were confronted and attacked by a group of Greek men, she recalled, adding that police only intervened to force the refugees to walk back to the camp. While driving back to the camp, she then received a phone call and was told to leave the island.

Once near the camps entrance, a group of about 50 locals with shovels and sticks blocked the road. They stopped our car and started hitting it, she said.

READ MORE: Refugees in Chios fear violence from right-wing locals

They told us to get off the island. They said if we didnt get the first boat off the island something terrible would happen. It was scary. The only reason we left the island was because the police werent moving at all to help.

It was clear that the police were on [the attackers] side, Kahane said, explaining that she and her team of nearly 15 volunteers have now relocated to another Greek island.

She added that only a handful of independent volunteers are still on Leros following the rise in tensions between the locals, on the one hand, and asylum seekers and volunteers, on the other.

Speaking to Al Jazeera on Sunday, Milena Zajovic Milka of the Are You Syrious? activist group said of Leros: At the moment, the situation inside the camp seems to be calm. But [the refugees] are still very frightened, and many are injured.

Stuck in Greece

The main camp in Leros is home to around 670 asylum seekers, most of whom have been stuck on the island since March when the European Union and Turkey struck a deal to halt the flow of refugees.

Refugees and migrants who arrived after the EU-Turkey deal are given the options of applying for asylum there or deportation back to Turkey.

Borders across the Balkans were sealed following the EU-Turkey deal, leaving more than 57,000 refugees and migrants bottlenecked in Greece.

With anger among refugees and locals on the Greek islands, attacks and clashes have also taken place in other islands, including Chios.

In late March, the UNHCR and the Doctors Without Borders medical charity pulled out of government-administered camps and hotspots on several Greek islands. The UNHCR cited unfair and inhumane conditions.

READ MORE: In Greek refugee camps, Children grow sicker every day

George Kiritsis, a government spokesman on migration, defended Greeces decision to restrict asylum seekers who arrived after the EU-Turkey deal to the islands.

They are free in the islands, but they cannot leave the islands until the applications are processed, he told Al Jazeera. This is practical because the asylum committees must be able to locate the people.

Fleeing war and economic devastation, more than a million refugees and migrants took boats across the Mediterranean Sea and landed on European shores in 2015, according to the UNHCR.

The UNHCR has documented the arrival of more than 237,000 so far this year. At least 2,896 died or went missing along the way, according to the organisations statistics.

Follow Patrick Strickland on Twitter: @P_Strickland_








Electoral commissions halts campaigning in the capital for 10 days following the death of opposition supporter.

Political campaigning in Zambias capital Lusaka has been suspended for 10 days because of violent clashes before next months national elections, the electoral commission said.

The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) announced on Sunday that it was suspending campaigns in Lusaka and Namwala, south of the capital, until July 18 when the situation would be reviewed.

The electoral commission of Zambia has observed with dismay the rise in political violence in some districts which has regrettably resulted in injury, loss of life and property, commission spokesman Chris Akufuna said in a statement.

No public rallies, meetings, processions or door-to-door campaigning would be allowed, Akufuna said.

The run-up to the election has been marred by skirmishes between supporters of the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) of President Edgar Lungu and the opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) led by Hakainde Hichilema.

READ MORE: Zambia leader seeks Gods help as currency freefalls

On Friday, police opened fire on UPND supporters, killing one, after the party refused to cancel a campaign meeting in Lusakas Chawama area.

The electoral commission said all vehicles carrying political party campaign messages in the two areas should be parked.

Campaigns shall be restricted to electronic and print media publicity and hate speech will not be entertained, it said.

The electoral commission had received reports of political violence in three other towns in southern Zambia and warned it would halt campaigning there if violence persisted, it said.

The commission appeals to all political party leaders to counsel and control their cadres in the interest of making peace in our country, the electoral commission said in a statement.

The electoral commission first threatened to bar campaigning on June 19 due to growing cases of violence.

The ban comes less than three weeks after Zambias biggest independent newspaper, The Post, was shut down by the authorities over a tax dispute  a move seen as an attempt to silence it before the August 11 vote.

President Lungu has been in power for just over a year after winning a ballot triggered by the death of his predecessor, Michael Sata.
The fatal flaw of the European Union has been its leaders assumption that human beings and nations can be regulated and managed as easily and thoroughly as cabbages are grown, bought and sold.

Reductionism is always the Achilles heel of ideological zealots, who in the case of Brussels bureaucrats, are committed to a solely materialist view of humanity and nations. We have seen the successes of the materialist view of humanity and nations in the past, most notably in the form of communist ideology, which purportedly would end all class structures and therefore all wars, as class struggle due to economic inequality was the chief cause of violence. End the class system and establish equality, especially economic equality, and peace would ensue.

The ideology behind the EU is also materialist in nature, and therefore very similar to that of communist and socialist beliefs. Equality is the goal, with the accompanying postulation that the end of nation states is a realistic solution to the internecine wars that have afflicted Europe, especially the wars of the twentieth century. Nations are seen as the cause of violence, and as such inherently evil. End national identities as once classes were to be eliminated; and establish a super state which encourages uniformity of nations along with the obliteration of differences among humans, and peace will reign. Laws and regulations for the economic union would establish equality among humans, tribes and nations as surely as one can establish the proper length of bananas.

But the top down system of economic control has meant the incipient annihilation of Europes nation states and the end of democracies. In return, a faceless bureaucracy centered in Brussels has been churning out rules and regulations that routinely override national laws, thus ensuring the diminishment if not the end of national sovereignty as well as the ability of citizens to have a say in matters important to them.

The push for uniformity also ensures the erasure of national memory; which in turn means the erasure of identity as Europeans have traditionally known identity. Which leads to the next point; namely, the erasure of Western history, as the erasure of national identity ensures the past will drop into a memory hole while the present and future are written in terms acceptable to the globalist EU.

The fact is that the last thousand years of European history have been written in terms of the rise of nations, national identity and the struggles of nations. At stake is the erasure of European history, which to date has been written as the history of nation statestheir origins, rise and fall. Erasure of that history in favor of a global narrative favored by the EU would ensure the death of the histories of England, France, Spain, Hungary and so forth.

Historical memory is a key to national as well as to individual identity. Ones country, nation and faith are critical keys to human identity. The amorphous and formless global citizen does not exist except as a malleable abstraction in the minds of utopian globalists.

The above is why leaders like Angela Merkel believe its just fine to import millions of people who are diametrically opposed to a still largely Christianized Europe and whose manners, ways and attitudes cannot be digested by Europe without grave and deleterious consequences. For globalists like Merkel, one human unit is just like another human unit, measureable chiefly in terms of economic impact.

Which brings us to the next point; namely, the totally reductionist secularist ideology of the EU rids individuals and nations of memory, faith and hope, as it is centered only on the idea of humans as economic units who are to be pushed around on a chessboard by faceless bureaucrats.

As Eric Hoffer wrote in 1951 (The True Believer: Thoughts On the Nature Of Mass Movements):

It is obvious that a proselytizing mass movement must bread down all existing group ties if it is to win a nationwide following. The ideal potential convert is the individual who stands alone. When a mass movement finds the corporate pattern of family, tribe, and country, etcetera, in a state of disruption and decay, it moves in and gathers the harvestThe milieu most favorable for the rise and propagation of mass movements is one in which a once compact corporate structure is, for one reason or another, in a state of disintegration.

The man without a country, without a faith, without a family is the ideal man of the EU, as he is easily persuaded to focus only on bread and cabbages for survival. The purely economic view will appeal only to a rudderless and aimless populace without faith or roots.

But as the poet, philosopher and theologian T.S. Eliot asked in his prescient book Christianity and Culture (1938):

Is society assembled round anything more permanent than a congerie of banks, insurance companies and industries; and has it any beliefs more essential than a belief in compound interest and the maintenance of dividends?

According to the European Union, the answer to Eliots question is, No.

Society is to be measured only in economic terms. As far as the EU is concerned, practical purposes are holy causes, with economics as a materialistic faith replacing Christianity; and a plethora of regulatory minutiae replacing the Ten Commandments.

The omnipotence of economics replaces the omnipotence of God. Faith and family are irrelevant.

As Beverly Stevens, a professor of finance and editor of Regina magazine puts it:

[P]eople from the ancient ruling families of France, Germany, Austria, Italy and Spain were very worried about the EUs assault on the family. After the EU specifically rejected the idea that it had Christian roots, many of these people became genuinely alarmed. Since then, they have been monitoring the myriad of regulatory fixes  especially concerning education  which demonstrated that the EUs self-styled masters were aiming at shaping a society where the family simply didnt exist. And it has worked. Basically, wherever the EU has reached, the birthrate has plummeted, and the Faith is all but dead And the EUs vision of their brave new world? A flattened globe, where borders are crumbling and identities are fluid. Banking, commerce and media elites bind the nations together into a seamless new tapestry. People are free, finally, to seek opportunity and pleasure, without the confining strictures of tradition, family or morality. In this world, morality is also a fluid concept; people can hook up, produce children or abort them, hire technology and surrogates to make babies  its all the same to the Super-State. It collects high taxes, grants eye-wateringly lucrative contracts to its corporate supporters, turns a blind eye to bad behavior by any group it is protecting and increasingly persecutes anyone who dares to oppose the Super-States version of morality.

We Americans should be grateful that Great Britain has recovered some of its memory as a nation and has indicated she does not wish her national identity to disappear down the memory hole. We can be glad she sees herself and her people in more than economic terms or as part of a faceless bureaucratic super state.

One can even hope that she and America as well may also recover the memory of her Christian past and put it to work in visualizing a Christian framework for the nation. That effort would be heroic, largely because the effort of recovery of memory and the actualization of a vision for the future is supremely heroic work.

Todays concerned Christians find themselves in the situation of Englands Christian community during 1938, when their country was facing the prospect of totalitarian aggression and absorption into a secularist super state determined to rule all of Europe. T.S. Eliot quoted the letter from a troubled colleague that inspired his book. The words are applicable to Europe and America today, including applicability to the current events in Dallas, Texas and the Hillary Clinton email scandal. The symptoms all point to the same spiritual malaise:

The period of grace that has been given us may be no more than a postponement of the day of reckoning unless we make up our minds to seek a cure. Our civilization can recover only if we are determined to root out the cancerous growths which have brought it to the verge of complete collapse. Whether truth and justice or caprice and violence are to prevail in human affairs is a question on which the fate of mankind dependsThe basal truth is that the spiritual foundations of western civilization have been underminedWhat clear alternatives have we in this country? The mind of England is confused and uncertain. May our salvation lie in an attempt to recover our Christian heritage, not in the sense of going back to the past but of discovering in the central affirmations and insights of the Christian faith new spiritual energies to regenerate and vitalize our sick society? [Is not] the path of wisdom an attempt to work out a Christian doctrine of modern society and to order our national life in accordance with it? [Our institutions] feature a complete denial of the Christian understanding of the meaning and end of mans existence; and of the stupendous and costly spiritual, moral and intellectual effort that any genuine attempt to order the national life in accordance with the Christian understanding of life would demandBut if the will were there, I believe the first steps to be taken are fairly clear: The recognition that nothing short of a really heroic effort will avail to save mankind from its present evils and the destruction which must follow in their train. --J. H. Oldham

It is 1938 in England, Europe and in America. Britain has made the giant step toward recovering her national identity and sovereignty. It remains to be seen if the Christians within her and her cousin America will take the next step and heed Mr. Oldhams clarion call.

Will our nations once again seek to make the Christian understanding of the meaning and end of mans existence ascendant in national life?

With Gods help, we can.

--Fay Voshell holds a M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary, which awarded her its prize for excellence in systematic theology. Her thoughts have appeared in many online publications, including American Thinker, National Review, RealClearReligion, CNS, Fox News and Russia Insider. She may be reached at fvoshell@yahoo.com
To lose one email on a personal server may be regarded as a misfortune: to lose several thousand work related emails looks like carelessness. Certainly, FBI Director James B. Comey on July 5, 2016 thought that the handling of very sensitive, highly-classified information by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was extremely careless. Comey raised serious questions about Clintons judgment and contradicted a number of her assertions. Any reasonable person he held should know that sensitive information merited greater security.

Though Comey outlined the manner in which Clinton had violated government procedures and rules and had willfully transmitted or mishandled classified information, he concluded that she had not violated the law and recommended there be no criminal charges brought against her.

Underlying the legal issue are political and moral issues concerning the misstatements or lies by Clinton about her behavior. A number of them are particularly important. She said she had not received any classified material on her email, but Comey said she received at least 110. She denied that any document were listed as such but Comet remarked that even if information is not marked classified in an email, participants, especially the Secretary of State, who know or should know that the subject matter is classified, are still obligated to protect it.

Hillary said she acted for the convenience of using one device, but Comey said she had used numerous mobile devices. She did not tell the truth in saying she had turned over her work-related emails to the State Department. If the probe into Clintons use of emails was not thought to be criminal in character, it revealed mishandling of sensitive information. Most troubling was her use of personal email while abroad, thus enabling hostile actors to gain access to her personal account.

Director Comey did not recommend criminal charges against but delivered a non-partisan stringing rebuke of her behavior. By strange coincidence in the same week as his announcement, a much stronger rebuke of a major political figure, former prime minister Tony Blair, was made in a British report issued by Sir John Chilcot on British policy concerning participating in the conflict in Iraq in 2003.

The commentaries on Clinton and Blair raise similar issues. One is the duplicity and dishonesty of political personnel in high places. But the two are linked on an issue that was not part of the FBI enquiry on Hillary but a political one, the war with Iraq. On this issue, she has been criticized by rivals, first by Barack Obama in the presidential debate with her in 2008 and now by Donald Trump. At issue is her vote on October 11, 2002 to give President George W. Bush authority to wage war against the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq. About this, Hillary has expressed regret, explaining she did so in the context of discussion of weapons of mass destruction, threats to the U.S. and the problem of the brutal Saddam Hussein.

The issue is central in the British report issued on July 6, 2016 by a non-political committee headed by a retired civil servant Sir John Chilcot. It focused on British policy towards and the war on Iraq between 2001 and July 2009. The committee took 7 years to produce the 600 page, 2.6 million word, report which is a devastating picture of British political and military incompetence.

Everyone recognized that Saddam Hussein was a brutal dictator who had murdered many Iraqis and attacked neighboring countries. But was it appropriate and legal for Britain to decide to attack Iraq on March 17, 2003, and should it have been better prepared for the consequences of the invasion?

The main conclusions of the long report were that Saddam Hussein at that time did not pose an imminent threat to British interests. It had not been established beyond doubt that Saddam had continued to produce chemical and biological weapons, weapons of mass destruction. Governmental policy was made on the basis of flawed intelligence and assessments. The judgment of the two major British intelligence services, both of which performed poorly, concerning those weapons was presented with a certainty that was not justified. Prime Minister Blair chose military action before peaceful alternatives to war had been exhausted.

Chilcote found that Attorney General Lord Goldsmith has decided there was a legal basis for invasion in a way that was far from satisfactory: the legality of the war could only be decided by an international court. The unintended consequences of invasion were underestimated, and planning for Iraq after the overthrow of Saddam was wholly inadequate. The Blair government had failed to achieve its stated objectives. Blair himself, writing to George Bush on September 5, 2003, had remarked As you predicted, the aftermath and rebuilding of Iraq is proving the most difficult phase.

The Chilcot comments on Tony Blair are the most scathing on any political figure in the democratic world in recent years. He had acted without recourse to a second UN resolution on Iraq. Blair had, on at least 11 occasions, made unilateral governmental decisions without reference to the most senior figures in his cabinet. There had not been frank and informed debate or substantive discussion within the government on the issue of invasion. Instead Blair had depended on private advisers, a soft government, outside the official cabinet.

Most revealing are the 31 memos written by Blair to President Bush, which appear to show both his subordination and the overestimate of his ability to influence Bush. One can suggest somewhat unkindly that Blair acted as Bushs poodle, yet Blair believed, mistakenly or not, that the so called special relationship with the U.S. required British unconditional support in spite of differences.

At first Blair was cautious because he could not be sure of support from Parliament, his Labour Party, public opinion, and even some of the cabinet. He realized that European countries, which did not have the same sense of urgency as did the U.S., would not support an invasion of Iraq without specific UN authority.

But at Crawford, Texas in April 2002, Blair joined Bush in advocating regime change in Iraq. The most extraordinary passage was the note Blair sent to Bush on July 28, 2002 that I will be with you, whatever. This amazing unconditional commitment by Blair to support the U.S. might suggest personal chemistry between the two leaders, but more likely indicated that the UK would not be on the sidelines of historical change.

The Chilcot Report leads to the view that Blair in effect deceived the British political world and public by duplicity, by bypassing proper procedure on official activity, by dependence on a small circle of unofficial advisors, and a somewhat reckless use of power. In all this his behavior appears similar to that of Hillary as reported by the FBI director.

Interestingly, both Hillary and Blair have been threatened by possibility of legal action and criminal prosecution. There are differences. Hillary was criticized for careless handling of classified materials, though not grossly negligent, and for potential violations, but no legal charges were brought against her. But in Britain the Chilcot report has not put an end to the possibility of charge against Blair. There are still calls for Blair and his political associates to be prosecuted in the International Criminal Court (ICC), charged with the crime of aggression, a military attack not permitted under UN charter.

In addition there is a very revealing difference. Blair has expressed full responsibility for his decisions without exception and without excuse. He hoped future leaders would learn from his mistakes. Hillary simply acknowledged she had made mistakes.
Tuesday, after FBI director James Comey spent about 15 minutes laying out the legal case against Hillary Clinton and then spent about three minutes declaring that he was going to ignore the evidence and recommend no legal action against Mrs. Clinton, TheBlaze's Matt Walsh declared that "The law is Dead."

Walsh wrote:

July 5, 2016. 11:15 a.m. One day after America's 240th birthday. When historians conduct their autopsy on Lady Justice, that will be the time of death. That is the precise moment when Justice drew her last labored breath, cursed our ridiculous country and our hopelessly corrupt government, and collapsed. Sure, she'd been in bad shape for a while, but there was no surviving the final blow. When it is explicitly announced and made public that the wealthiest and most elite and most liberal are indeed above the law, the charade of "law" cannot continue. There is no law. We are living under the rule of men, not of law. We are subject to the whims of petty tyrants and bureaucrats. They are subject to no one on Earth.

I don't think Comey's presser heralds the end of law in the U.S., but he surely did put another nail in the coffin. Like the Supreme Court rulings on abortion and marriage, few should be surprised at this outcome. America has been on a long, ugly road when it comes to law and justice, reason and logic, morality and truth.

Two days prior to this year's Independence Day, noted Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias asked, "Whatever happened to the American Soul?" He continued:

We are truly at the cliff's precipitous edge and the fall could be long and deadly. Why? We have a deep crisis of the soul that is killing us morally and we have no recourse. We have no recourse because the only cure has been disparaged and mocked by the elite and the powerful. And those very ideologies are now presiding over the slaughter of our citizens while the abundance of speeches is inversely proportional to the wisdom they contain and Reason bleeds to death before our eyes[.] ... How many families will be shattered and offered up at the altar of our foolishness? ... I propose to you that multiple killings have preceded the horrors with which we now live. Those killings prepared the ground for the literal burial of our own people. Three killings in particular are as real as the carnage we see when suicide vests are detonated: the death of morality, the death of truth, and the death of reason.

To illustrate the death of morality, Dr. Zacharias recalls the comments of Robert Shapiro, the famous attorney who helped represent O.J. Simpson in Simpson's murder trial. While being interviewed by Megyn Kelly, Shapiro was asked if justice had been served in the Simpson trial (Simpson was found not guilty of murdering his wife Nicole and Ron Goldman). Shapiro utters a "pathetic answer," telling Kelly, "There is legal justice and moral justice. Legal justice was served." Thus, as is common among those corrupted by liberalism, Shapiro divorces law from morality.

When it comes to the disconnect between law and morality in the U.S., we have long been warned. As I pointed out years ago (and as I've suggested often), and as Ben Franklin declared, "laws without morals are in vain." Additionally, in 2003, after the Supreme Court foolishly reversed itself and legalized homosexual sex acts across the U.S. (Lawrence v. Texas), the late, great Antonin Scalia warned, "State laws against bigamy, same-sex marriage, adult incest, prostitution, masturbation, adultery, fornication, bestiality, and obscenity are likewise sustainable only in light of Bowers' [the 1986 Supreme Court decision upholding Georgia's sodomy law] validation of laws based on moral choices. Every single one of these laws is called into question by today's decision; the Court makes no effort to cabin the scope of its decision to exclude them from its holding."

Scalia continued, "The Court embraces ... the fact that the governing majority in a State has traditionally viewed a particular practice as immoral is not a sufficient reason for upholding a law prohibiting the practice." He concluded, "This effectively decrees the end of all morals legislation."

In other words, over a decade ago, no less than a justice on the U.S. Supreme Court warned us that liberals were "amputating" (to borrow from Dr. Zacharias) the law from morality. However, instead of an "amputation," what we are really seeing is more of a transplant. On November 18, 2003, just four and a half months after the Lawrence decision, the Supreme Court of Massachusetts ruled in favor of legalized same-sex marriage. Thus, Massachusetts became the first state in the U.S. to grant marital rights to same-sex couples.

Writing for the majority, the chief justice of the Massachusetts court, Margaret Marshal, referenced Lawrence in the ruling: "Our obligation is to define the liberty of all, not to mandate our own moral code." But of course, the only way to redefine the oldest institution in the history of humanity is to "mandate our own moral code."

The biggest obstacle to writing one's own moral code is Christianity. As The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (of the Southern Baptist Convention) recently put it, "in the twentieth century, more and more people began to see Christian morality as standing in the way of a new moral code: the morality of self-fulfillment. Throwing off burdensome traditional mores, people began to imagine life without a bothersome God standing watch."

Recent Barna research "highlights the extent to which Americans pledge allegiance to the new moral code." This "morality of self-fulfillment" can be summed up in six guiding principles:

As we sadly see, this "morality of self-fulfillment," otherwise known  as I noted last August (referencing philosopher Michael Novak)  as the "theology of self," has crept into the church. It is nothing new. As Genesis chapter 3 reveals, the desire to "be like God"  to rule our world  is nearly as old as humanity itself.

What is new, at least for the United States of America, is that such a wicked philosophy is now deeply embedded in U.S. law.

Again, all law is rooted in someone's idea of morality. We either are going to be governed by the morality of the Law Giver or the "morality of self-fulfillment." Americans must simply decide by whose morality we wished to be governed.

Trevor Grant Thomas: At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason.

www.trevorgrantthomas.com

Trevor and his wife Michelle are the authors of Debt Free Living in a Debt Filled World.

tthomas@trevorgrantthomas.com
The Obama Era opened with his Cairo speech, in which he embraced Muslims in general and the Muslim Brotherhood in particular. He planned to depose the secular dictators and replace them with the Muslim Brotherhood. Thus Gadhafi, Mubarak and Assad were marked for removal in that order. The EU was on board.

After supporting the takeover of Egypt by the Muslim Brotherhood headed by Mohamed Morsi, he backed the takeover of Syria by the Muslim Brotherhood in collaboration with the newly Islamist Turkey, headed by Recep Tayyid Erdogan, extolling him as his best friend.

Simultaneously, beginning in 2009, he reached out to Iran. He wanted to embrace it as an ally rather than to designate it as an enemy. His efforts culminated in the disastrous Iran Deal, which provided a tail wind to Irans hegemonic ambitions. He overlooked the fact that Iran was a long standing ally of Assads and was fighting to resist his removal, which was Obamas stated goal.

Obamas reach exceeded his grasp.

Libya, sans Gadhafi, is in chaos. The Egyptian military under Gen al Sisi is in power. He indicted Morsi for treason and banned Muslim Brotherhood again. Obama called his takeover of power a coup thus preventing the US from supporting him. Russia and Saudi Arabia have moved in to take up some of the slack.

Even though Turkey, the Gulf States and the Muslim Brotherhood shared his goal of removing Assad, they have not succeeded due entirely to Obamas lack of leadership and unwillingness to fight. His removal of the last of the US military forces in Iraq and his willingness to have Iran manage Iraq gave rise to ISIS. Turkey and the Gulf states in different ways supported ISIS, which was Sunni and was seen as a proxy to stop Iran expansionism and topple Assad. The US over time began to see ISIS as a bigger threat than Assad and began to support the Kurds, who they originally shunned, so that they would fight ISIS. They did this even though Turkey was adamantly opposed.

Obama announced that if Assad used chemical weapons, that he would be crossing Americas red line. Rather than enforce that red line, he seized on a lifeline that Russia offered, namely, to work to remove the chemical weapons with the cooperation of Assad. This was a major turning point in the war, as Russia proceeded to take on a greater role in the fighting with Americas blessing, thereby enabling Syria to stabilize and go on the offensive. Russia was not so much interested in defeating ISIS as they were in stabilizing Assad and taking back some territory.

Meanwhile Obamas plan to have the Muslim Brotherhood with the backing of Turkey replace Assad is no longer operative. The Muslim Brotherhood as a player in Syria is no longer discussed, let alone active. Turkey, who started out with grandiose ambitions to recreating the Ottoman Empire and assuming the mantel of Sunni leadership, has abandoned such ambitions and is working to contain the self-inflicted damage its policies have caused.

Erdogans embrace of Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood has strained relations with Egypt, who has banned them and is actively fighting them. Egypt is also partnering with Israel to neutralize and contain Hamas in Gaza and all insurgents in Sinai.

Obamas bellicose statements and actions regarding Cyprus have resulted in new alliance between it and Israel based on their mutual interest in defending and developing their new found gas reserves. Greece too has joined that alliance.

Erdogan has enraged the Russian bear by shooting down one of its fighter planes. As a result, Russia has imposed sanctions on Turkey and is supporting the Kurds who are an anathema to Turkey.

Erdogan started out trying to reconcile with Turkeys Kurdish population but ended up fighting them instead, in addition to fighting the Syrian Kurds that the US was supporting. Along the way they alienated ISIS, who they were supporting. Now both ISIS and the Turkish Kurds are committing terrorist atrocities against them.

All this has given rise to a new Middle East.

A week ago Israel and Turkey signed a Reconciliation Agreement with Turkey after 6 years of negotiations. Turkey ruptured the relation in reaction to the killing in self-defense by the IDF of 10 Turks on the Mavi Marmara ship, which had sailed from Turkey intending to violate Israels legal blockade of Gaza. The broader context was that Turkey wanted to champion the Arab fight against Israel as a means to be seen by Arabs as their standard bearer. To their chagrin the UN Panel on the incident found that Israel had the legal right to impose a blockade and she did it in the right way. This took the wind out of Turkeys sails.

This agreement was rejected by 65% of Israeli Jews and endorsed by 24%. Those who rejected it did so primarily because Israel was faultless in the matter yet agreed to pay $21 million to a compensation fund for the families of the dead attackers set up by Turkey. The humiliation was too much to bear. In addition Turkey is no longer a friend of the west. It supports the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas and to some extent ISIS and Israel shouldnt pretend otherwise.

Nevertheless the Israeli government saw it otherwise when its security cabinet voted in favor 7 to 3. Even those who voted against, namely Avigdor Lieberman, Naftali Bennett and Ayelet Shaked, simply recorded their no vote but did not lead any battle against the deal. Did the government know something that the public didnt know? I think so.

The agreement paves the way for Israel and Turkey to negotiate an energy deal in which Israel sells a huge quantity of gas to Turkey for many years for local consumption and for transport to Europe for its consumption. Enabling this deal was extremely important for Israel as the cost of building a pipeline to Greece, as opposed to Turkey, was economically prohibitive. This deal will result in reducing the energy dependence by Turkey and Europe on Russian energy. One would have thought that Russia would object to such a deal yet Russia urged Israel to conclude it. Obviously something is in it for Russia.

Hurriyet News reported on July 4/16:

The diversification of gas resources for Turkey and the EU means less gas being bought from Russia. Every cubic meter to be bought from Israeli and Cypriot fields (and Egyptian, too) would be subtracted from Russian exports. On the other hand, if Turco-Russian normalization process proceeds further, the Russians could reactivate the new South Stream project to sell gas to EU markets via another pipeline through Turkey and the Turkish economic zone in the Black Sea, in order to meet the increasing demand in Europe.

Apparently it is to be viewed as one of a series of reconciliation agreements that are in the works, namely, between,

Turkey and Russia. Turkey has already apologized and offered compensation. Further negotiations are taking place regarding Syria and the Kurds. Egypt and Turkey. Unfortunately, Erdogan just gave a speech in which he said that a thaw with Egypt's "oppressive regime" should not be expected any time soon. What bothers him is al Sisis fight against the Muslim Brotherhood and against Morsi. Nevertheless reconciliation will take place. It will be modeled after the reconciliation with Israel. Turkey is committed not to let Hamas act against Israel from its soil and, by the same token, not to permit Hamass parent and El-Sisis arch enemy, the Muslim Brotherhood, operate from Turkey. Turkey will content itself with paying lip service to the Muslim Brotherhood just as it has contented itself with paying lip service only to Hamas. Israel, as an ally of Egypts will work to bring this about. Turkey and Cyprus. The Guardian reports that both the US and Turkey has confirmed that reconciliation talks are proceeding and that a settlement could be reached by the end of the year

Meanwhile, Jordan is quietly dismantling the Muslim Brotherhoods organization in Jordan.

DEBKA reports:

It fits neatly into the current joint Saudi-Egyptian bid for Israel to bolster their emerging alliance with Turkey that is designed for drawing a Sunni line against Irans expansionist moves in the Horn of Africa, the Red Sea, the Straits of Aqaba and in uncomfortable proximity to the Mediterranean shores of Israel and Egypt. Netanyahu said of the deal in a conversation with Sec. Kerry, I think its an important step here to normalize relations on one side. It has also immense implications for the Israeli economy and I mean positive immense implications.

Debka reports (June 27/16) two motivating elements giving rise to the reconciliation agreements between Turkey and Russia and Turkey and Israel.

Israel is in need of a major client to boost the development of its offshore gas fields, whereas Turkey wants to be that client and, at the same time, Russia is after a piece of the energy bonanza and most of all a contract to build the pipeline to Europe. On the table now is Israeli-Turkish-Russian military and intelligence collaboration for securing the Israeli offshore gas in the Mediterranean  a prospect that brought the Turkish president to finally apologize for his air force downing a Russian Su-24M bomber over the Syrian-Turkish border on Nov. 24, 2015.

In addition, it reports,

It fits neatly into the current joint Saudi-Egyptian bid for Israel to bolster their emerging alliance with Turkey that is designed for drawing a Sunni line against Irans expansionist moves in the Horn of Africa, the Red Sea, the Straits of Aqaba and in uncomfortable proximity to the Mediterranean shores of Israel and Egypt.

Turkey is desperately in need of Israels assistance in fighting terrorism.

Globes published an article in April 2016 in which it argued,

Gazprom's interest in Israeli gas reservoir Leviathan is a strategic issue for Russian President Vladimir Putin. While there are advantages to such a deal, Israel is concerned that Russia will seek to prevent the gas from going to Turkey. Noble Energy, one of the partners in the field, prefers a western group as a partner and the US, no doubt will not be happy with Russian involvement in the eastern Mediterranean.

There is now talk of a Russia/Israel/Turkey Alliance that would dominate the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East.

Zvi Barel writing in HAARETZ, on July 2/16, notes Turkeys simultaneous reconciliation agreements with Russia and Israel provide a rare chance to design a new Middle Eastern policy.

Reconciliation with Russia only bolstered the feeling in Iran that Russia could join Turkey in demanding the ouster of Syrian President Bashar Assad and replacing Iran on the Syrian front. Iran and Russia do not see eye to eye on how to conduct the war in Syria. While Iran wants to complete the conquest of Aleppo, Russia has made clear that such a conquest cannot be expected any time soon. Russias ambassador in Damascus stated as much in an interview with the Russian News Agency Interfax, explaining that he does not expect an assault on Aleppo or Raqqah (the ISIS capital in Syria) in the near future.

Thus both Assad and Iran could get their marching orders. Such an event would leave Hezballah high and dry. Certainly Israel would be in favor of this.

The Kurds in Syria fear that rejuvenated ties between Turkey, Russia and Israel could compromise the assistance they are receiving from Russia and could establish a combined Israeli, Russian and Turkish aerial umbrella against an independent Kurdish entity in Syria.

The Syrian Kurds, with US assistance, are fighting to create territorial contiguity from the Iraqi border to the main Syrian port city of Lattakia in the west.

That is Turkeys nightmare scenario, which it might now be able to prevent if it persuades Russia to thwart American plans. says Barel.

For my part, I believe that Russia and Israel will continue to support Kurdish independence and that it is Turkey who will have to learn to live with it. In the long run, Turkey will have to give into the demands of its Kurdish population to avoid their attacks and ultimately to keep them satisfied to remain in Turkey.

Ms. Aydintasbas, a fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, wrote in the Wall Street Journal this week, after discussing Turkeys plight,

Turkey should support the idea of a Kurdish belt on its southern borders, grandfather a Kurdish zone, isolate itself from the instability in Iraq and Syria, and return to the peace talks at home. With nearly 20% of its population being Kurds, Mr. Erdogans anti-Kurdish policy in Syria aggravates the insurgency at home.

Giancarlo Elia Valori, an Italian industrialist and honorary member of the Academy of Science of the Institut de France in an article published in the Russian Insider on June 15, explored the growing alliance between Russia and Israel:

During Netanyahus visit to Russia on April 21, 2016, for example, the Israeli Prime Minister and the Russian President pointed out Russias interest in developing and exploiting the new offshore natural gas field known as Leviathan, which will be the real game changer in the Middle East in the near future. If GazProm cooperates in the exploitation and marketing of the offshore gas field between Haifa and the Gaza Strip, it will be vital for the Russian Federation to ensure  along with Israel  security of communications, particularly in relation to possible Hezbollah actions from Lebanon or Iranian pressure on the Golan. This new energy system will finally transform relations between Israel and Turkey, which will be the hub of the natural gas extracted from the Leviathan field, and enable Russian oil and gas companies to enter the Middle East market, excluding US companies operating in Turkey and in most of the Sunni world. It is worth recalling that both Iran and Qatar now operate mainly on the natural gas market, and the large Israeli Leviathan gas field could give many of the fiercest Muslim, Shiite or Sunni opponents of the Jewish State pause. Finally, Israel, jointly with the Russian Federation, will be able to project globally. In the future, there will be a place for Israel in the Chinese One-Belt, One-Road Initiative in Central Asia, in India, even in Latin America and in some African areas. All areas now in the Russian and Chinese strategic area.

What is needed to usher in this new Middle East is for the following to happen as discussed above.

Turkey must abandon its fight with the Kurds and make peace with them. Turkey must reconcile with Egypt by reducing support for the Muslim Brotherhood. Turkey must finalize their reconciliation with Cyprus Russia must send Assad and Iran packing along with their support of Hezballah A federated Syria to be created to include autonomous areas for the Alawites, the Kurds and the Sunni. The latter two may choose instead to amalgamate with their Iraq counterparts.

None of this, conflicts with American policy and actions nor with the desires of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states. It she way to go.
During the heyday of our Republics more exacting youth, when the circumspection of men who would rule still pointed in the direction of prudent liberty, the apologetics of vice could gain little traction once the rug was turned back, and the sanitizing light of truth laid bare an errant Heart of Darkness. Yet, if we fast forward a mere blink of the eye, to a time when Mr. Alinsky and a host of political reprobates have captured the moral imaginations of an elite assembly of dwarves, the high stakes acquisition of dominion has become an irresistible command unto itself. And in answering such a command, measures that are more Nietzschean than Nixonian have propelled liberalism down that proverbially road that is paved with the body count of its good intentions.

And in the pursuit of those ends, nothing so trivial as a semen-encrusted Oval Office or a scheme to launder Madame Defarges foreign blood money can anymore raise a liberals eyebrow in disgust. Corruption has always been endemic to fallen man. Nevertheless, under the Obama administration, the institutions which oversee justice have become so polluted that the ambiguities of moral intent, and not action, have become the new selective standard by which the contemporary notions of right and wrong are adjudicated. In the vulgar dialect of our 21st century, and without the least whiff of irony, this is what passes as due process for the pilgrimage of the Progressive.

How far such corruption is advanced upon the body politic can best be illustrated in an answer from Samuel Johnson to Boswell:

We cannot prove any man's intention to be bad. You may shoot a man through the head, and say you intended to miss him; but the Judge will order you to be hanged. An alleged want of intention, when evil is committed, will not be allowed in a court of justice.

If "intent" now becomes the selective prism through which justice is apprehended, then any number of crimes can slip through liberalism's eye of the needle. In truth, this new caricature of justice is delivered with the winking of an eye. It is a rancid vintage offered in new wineskins; that "old injustice" decked out in its whorish regalia of power.

Of all the spurious doctrines of mankind, only the dogmas of liberalism and the collective would insist that their heroic intents be weighed proudly in the moral balance, even to the utter exclusion of their deeds. This is especially poignant when we are reminded that liberalism is a faith consisting wholly of good intentions -- a temporal gospel worshipped by its foolish and wretched millions. How seductive is liberalisms catechism of benevolent intent, which delivers its largesse of purloined crumbs while relentlessly advancing its insatiable program of consolidated power through an excrement-clotted back alleyway. How deftly it has learned that any number of soothing tyrannies can be spoon fed to its children when mixed with the morphine of dependency -- so long as they are administered with a condescending hug, a banal racial platitude, and a hectoring of those who dwell on the opposing banks of the River Covetous.

In this new science of politics, the delusion of entitled expectations can offer the wicked a dozen reasons why their choice of questionable means will in fact serve the greater end, and why the necessity of shoehorning heaven into the world requires the judicious bribe, the parsed word, or the creation of schemes that bloom only in the shadows. Among the truly blind, there will be injustice, but as Anthony Eden reminds us, Corruption never has been compulsory. The greater sin is not the hypocritical evils a man or woman give assent to for their own sakes, but in the curse it brings to bear through its hellish example. If the breaking of eggs is understood as providing the salutary blessing of personal wealth and power, as well as birthing its own political new modes and orders, this lesson will not be lost on those who wait in the wings. Politicians whose pragmatic moralities spin like weather vanes do not need to be told twice that a new sheriff is in town.

The old adage, You will become what you hate, is instructive here. Hillary learned well from the secretive and paranoid example of Richard Nixon: her reluctant spiritual father. However, in their dance of give and take, the daughter has emerged the true master: relegating him to the status of piker because he had not enough foresight to see the Golgotha the young Turks were leading him to, and too much of a conscience to play the hardball that would have effectively driven America into two warring camps. And if some of the men who surrounded Nixon retained enough of the old guard worldview to crack through his stone wall, the zeal of the daughter and her coterie of true believers would see to it that nothing as effeminate as an upright heart would throw down liberalisms grim stronghold of American transformation. Indeed, the Progressives Stalinist morality, restrained only by the lip service that collectivist power politics owes to the rapidly fading memory of Constitutionalist America, would condemn its own dear mother to the showers for a dose of Zyklon B before it allowed something as frivolous as honor or a damned soul to stand in the way of its glory.

Liberalisms collective is a corruption of the dream of justice. Those who administer its sacraments cannot be greater than the master they serve, and they are what they are because they have abased themselves before a nocturnal vision where the rule of law is clouded with asterisks of blood. That these high priests might unwittingly be performing the last rites for such laws may not be lost on them, but having travelled so far down the rabbit hole, it is easy to become upended in the darkness. As an instructive case in point, shall we not meditate on the knowledge that ambition and inordinate desire produces its own moral vertigo: that affliction that induced a once young and talented woman to hitch her star to a sexual predator in the service of political idolatry?

In the end, selling oneself is little different than selling ones inheritance, or selling out ones country. The only detail to be haggled remains one of price. In passing from the world, be forewarned that a wealth of good intentions will count for naught as we stand one by one before That Perfect Justice -- with no excuse or ideology to shield us from our own rank self-deceptions. Having been discharged from the fawning accolades of dead men, what will it profit us as we trudge cursed and unattended down that broad and gently sloping unmarked path towards our own terminal destinies?

Glenn Fairman writes from Highland, Ca. He invites your correspondence at arete5000@dslextreme.com and at www.stubbornthings.com.
Nearly sixty years ago, I was seated comfortably in the Morrison Library at U.C. Berkeley. Oblivious to the luxury around me, I was fascinated by an essay I was reading.

The essayist was reacting to the recent renewal of the old Basque separatist movement. He predicted that there would be many similar movements in the future. He proposed that several apparently stable countries will likely break apart. Indeed, such has subsequently happened, and the forces of disintegration continue. Witness Brexit.

Since that essay was written, Yugoslavia shattered into its Balkan constituents, with brutal war to follow. The Soviet Union collapsed into its many former republics, and the Eastern European countries regained their independence. Czechoslovakia then divided into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Eritrea broke off from Ethiopia. Today, the Kurds are trying to establish an independent Kurdistan, and Syria has bloodily disintegrated into its tribal regions.

And now Britain has voted to secede from the European Union.

Some definitions are useful. We commonly confuse country with nation and use the terms interchangeably. They may be the same, but often they are quite different, so one should be careful. A useful definition of nation is a large collection of people sharing a common culture, language, and territory. A nation may, politically, be a country, but the opposite is not necessarily true. Thus the confusion. Many so-called countries contain multiple nations. The classic example is China. China's peoples in different regions speak many languages, some completely unrelated. It has diverse cultures and religions and even genetically distinct groups. We conveniently call China a nation, but in reality, it is an empire.

An empire is a group of nations bound together by a centralized governing force and common laws. Thus, many countries are, in fact, empires. On a larger scale, the European Union, we now see, is an empire.

To understand why Britain is breaking away from the EU, we must look more closely at empires and nations. Each has its advantages and liabilities. There are centripetal forces that bring together nations and centrifugal forces that cause them to separate. History provides a record of the oscillations between these two conditions.

Historically, most empires are born in conquest. There are few cases of voluntary association creating empires. Ancient times gives us only the brief Athenian Empire. Modern times has given us the EU  which may be equally brief, and for much the same reasons.

Empires endure when their positives outweigh their negatives. Empires provide two major positives: security and prosperity. These are the centripetal forces. Empires collapse for many reasons; insecurity and impoverishment are the two most visible causes. But these are often merely the consequence of the more fundamental causes: corruption and tyranny.

Tyranny is the primary centrifugal force. People love liberty.

So why is Britain breaking away from the EU? After all, the EU promises prosperity. In reality, the imbalances in the various economies of the EU's constituent countries is stripping Britain of its prosperity. Money is draining away from Britain without significant compensation.

How about security? The influx of refugees and migrants caused by the Union's policy is rapidly erasing the very character of Britain. And as long as Britain remains in the EU, it can do nothing but accept the imposed flood of invaders  and thereby lose its national character.

But there is a deeper issue. The EU is progressively imposing true tyranny. The European Union has a parliament, but this body is powerless. It cannot propose laws. It cannot even effectively modify, or veto, laws proposed by an unelected committee without the committee's permission. The EU Parliament is merely a debating society.

The real power in the EU lies in the hands of unelected functionaries and bureaucrats. These institute laws and regulations that often override the laws passed by the member nations. The British Parliament is increasingly powerless. Some of the regulations imposed by the EU are comical: bananas and cucumbers must adhere to curvature standards. The English dearly love their electrical tea kettles, but these were temporarily outlawed. The tea kettle rebellion, all by itself, was a significant contributor to Brexit.

More appalling still, Brexit prematurely unmasked the true intent of the EU insiders. According to the June 27, 2016 issue of the London Daily Express:

The foreign ministers of France and Germany are due to reveal a blueprint to effectively do away with individual member states in what is being described as an "ultimatum". Under the radical proposals EU countries will lose the right to have their own army, criminal law, taxation system or central bank, with all those powers being transferred to Brussels. Controversially member states would also lose what few controls they have left over their own borders, including the procedure for admitting and relocating refugees.

In other words, the EU plans to abolish its constituent countries in all but name. Goodbye, Olde England! Brexit was just in time. Needless to say, other members of the EU are furious over the forthcoming coup, particularly the Eastern Europeans, who are finally breathing free after decades of Soviet Union subjugation.

What is transpiring in Europe is echoed, and even led, by growing political rebellion in the United States. Our prosperity has been crippled by high taxes and massive overregulation. In particular, our regulatory agencies, in many cases, have been captured by a fanatical Marxist faction.

Moreover, our borders effectively no longer exist, and we are being invaded by hordes of people who have no intention of assimilating into our culture. What is worse, this invasion is being sponsored by our own government  very much against the will of the people and against the requirements of the Constitution.

Let's examine these issues a bit more carefully, for they illuminate much of what is wrong with our government. Mostly, the U.S. Constitution specifies structures for governing. It also provides permissions for creating useful laws and, particularly through the Bill of Rights, protections against the government and for the individual. However, there is only one compelled obligation that the federal government must carry out. This is found in Article Four, Section Four. This section is the heart and soul of the Constitution. It compels two positive actions. It says:

The United States shall guarantee to every state in this union a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them against invasion; and on application of the legislature, or of the executive (when the legislature cannot be convened) against domestic violence.

I have underlined the two key requirements. Protection against invasion is clearly not being met. In fact, it is evident that the current administration is deliberately subverting this fundamental requirement of the Constitution.

The first requirement is also being subverted, but in a much more subtle way. All branches of the government are complicit in this subversion. A republican form of government implies that the people are the government and the people's elected representatives make the laws, both in the states, and in the federal government. And the laws are made in accordance with the Constitution. In almost all cases, this requirement no longer holds.

The overwhelming proportion of federal laws are administrative regulations. Technically, these are supposed to be reviewed by Congress, which has veto authority. In practice, Congress is swamped and almost always allows the regulations to go into force without examination. What is worse, many regulatory agencies have their own court system, supplemented by their own prosecutors. In other words, the agencies are police, prosecutor, judge, and jury  open and shut with little appeal. Increasingly these agencies are conducting prosecutions so egregious that the federal courts are stepping in to slap down the agencies. So that is one problem.

The problem of a president overstepping his authority and issuing blatantly illegal executive orders has long been noted. Congress lacks the courage to impeach.

But Congress, too, is guilty of tossing out Article Four. Few words in the complex laws that Congress passes each year are actually written by congressmen. Staffers and lobbyists compile the wording to suit themselves. I doubt that anyone in Congress knows what he is actually passing. Without our elected representatives making our laws, we are not a republic or a democracy.

Finally, the courts are many times also guilty of unconstitutional behavior. Several Supreme Court justices have arrogated to themselves the privilege of amending the Constitution to suit their political fancies. Many lower court judges have followed suit.

In short, with the invasion of non-assimilating invaders and rule by an unelected oligarchy, the United States is, in truth, a non-democratic empire. The form of the Constitution still endures, but the substance only rarely is operable. Today, the unelected center dictates to the periphery, and the people must obey.

No wonder we seek to regain our freedom and our Constitution. We seek this however we can.

People love liberty. Will our nation endure?
In light of the recent violence against whites, especially police officers, in the United States, it is worth taking a detailed look at a recent judgement from the Alberta Provincial Court that has been garnering attention in outlets as politically diverse as The Blaze and the Washington Post .

Unfortunately, there has been little serious critical commentary of the case, its context in recent decades, and recommendations for where the law should be headed.

The facts are straightforward:

The offender, Tamara Crowchief, pleaded guilty to assault causing bodily harm to Lydia White and three counts of breaching a recognizance (being out after curfew, not carrying release documents and consuming intoxicants). She admits that on November 1, 2015, while bound by a recognizance, she was outside a southwest Calgary pub with two friends. It was about 9:00 p.m., a time when the offender was to be in her residence. White came out of the pub with a friend. One of the offender's friends approached White's friend and asked for a cigarette. White's friend obliged and began a conversation. Suddenly the offender came up to White, yelled "I hate white people" and punched White in the mouth. The blow knocked out one of White's front teeth. The offender and her friends walked away. The victim and her friends followed the group while calling the police. The police arrived and arrested the offender, who was intoxicated and not carrying a copy of her recognizance. When she was booked, the offender told police that "the white man was out to get her."

The judge, H.M. Van Harten, held that the assault was not a hate crime motivated by race or color under s. 718.2(a)(i) of the Criminal Code, giving his reasons as follows:

The offender said "I hate white people" and threw a punch. ... But there is no evidence either way about what the offender meant or whether (as in the cited cases) she holds or promotes an ideology which would explain why this assault was aimed at this victim. ... I am not satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that this offence was, even in part, motivated by racial bias.

The evidence, in contrast to the claims of the presiding judge, is quite clear. When the offender, who -- as the judge acknowledged -- has an extensive criminal record that includes convictions for other violent offences, said she "hate[s] white people," she meant that she hates white people, and consequently, she attacked a white woman (coincidentally named White).

Clearly, this level of common sense and obviousness has no place in the law, even when the facts of the case (i.e., an apparently poor socio-economic condition which the offender blames, at least in part, on the historical actions of white people) show otherwise.

Had the situation been reversed, and a white person assaulted a visible minority while yelling "I hate [insert applicable non-white demographic here]," the findings of the case would likely have been different, and if the judge had not convicted, the public outcry would have been immense. And yet, in the current case there is hardly a peep, especially from the neutered white commentariat who have appropriately swallowed their weekly dose of white guilt.

For those of us who have followed the discussions among Canadian aboriginals in social media circles for the past several years, there is undeniable evidence of widespread hatred towards whites being circulated among what are often termed First Nations. The assault in Calgary appears to be just another expression of the anti-white hate within this racial group that builds as the aboriginals continue to radicalize and, in many cases, agitate publicly for violence against whites.

The double-standard in hate crimes became even more obvious after this case: racism is apparently unacceptable when perpetuated by whites, but to be tolerated or excused when on display against whites by other racial groups. In some circles, anti-white racism is even culturally celebrated. One need only look as far as much of the disgusting rap music genre that has grown from the 1970s and 1980s onwards. If hate crimes by non-whites were prosecuted and judged in the same manner as those by whites, much of the rap music industry would be incarcerated.

In his judgement, Van Harten went through the intellectual hoops in an attempt to distinguish the case at hand from previous trials, suggesting that prolonged verbal and physical exchanges -- potentially also including racist paraphernalia -- are required to meet the criteria as evidence of racial hatred motivation. Clearly, such standards are an absurdity. An individual can harbor just as much racial motivation during an attack, without ever showing a long evidential history of racist views, as does another individual who carries out a sustained assault while adorned in racist garb and engaging in excessive verbal explanations as to his/her feelings.

These issues collectively undercut the validity of so-called hate crimes legislation. An assault is no worse because it is racially motivated. The motivation is irrelevant -- the crime is equally offensive to society regardless of the ideology behind it. And when we see how these laws appear to be selectively applied against whites, especially Christian whites (as is most evident in the UK), the real direction of modern institutional racism comes to light.

It is long overdue to repeal all such hate crimes legislation and let the cases be tried absent nebulous claims over supposed racial bias that seem to be a one-way street against whites.
The Iowa Civil Rights Commission has issued an interpretation of the law that would prevent churches from teaching biblical views on sexuality and gender identity.

I think I read somewhere that this is sort of illegal.

Washington Times:

Fort Des Moines Church of Christ filed a federal lawsuit against the commission on Monday, arguing that the agencys interpretation of the Iowa Civil Rights Act violates the First Amendment. Christiana Holcomb, legal counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom, which represents the church, said it is difficult to imagine a more obvious unconstitutional invasion of the state into the internal affairs of the church than what theCivil Rights Commission is proposing. Churches should be free to teach their religious beliefs and operate their houses of worship according to their faith without being threatened by the government, Ms. Holcomb said in a statement. That is a foundational First Amendment principle. The lawsuit came in response to an explanatory brochure titled Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity  A Public Accommodations Providers Guide to Iowa Law, released by the Civil Rights Commission. It says churches are public accommodations and therefore generally subject to the Iowa Civil Rights Act. Under a section header titled Does this law apply to churches? the brochure says: Sometimes. Iowa law provides that these protections do not apply to religious institutions with respect to any religion-based qualifications when such qualifications are related to a bona fide religious purpose. Where qualifications are not related to a bona fide religious purpose, churches are still subject to the laws provisions, the brochure continues, adding that church activities such as a child care facility operated at a church or a church service open to the public are not examples of bona fide religious purpose[s]. A spokesperson for the commission did not respond to questions about who decides what a bona fide religious purpose is and what church activities  if not a church service open to the public  would qualify as bona fide religious purpose[s]. The brochure also defines discrimination as, among other things, publicizing that the patronage of persons of any particular sexual orientation or gender identity is unwelcome, objectionable, not acceptable, or not solicited. The lawsuit says the Civil Rights Commissions interpretation could force churches to permit access to sex-segregated facilities on the basis of gender identity. Refusing to call a transgender person by the pronoun corresponding with their gender identity could constitute illicit harassment.

The money quote here is "bona fide religious purpose." Apparently, a church service open to the public is defined as a "public accommodation" thus making sermons subject to civil rights law. You may recall they tried to pull something similar in Houston only to have the red faced mayor pull the rule after a nationwide outcry.

So far, this story doesn't appear to have gotten much traction outside of religious websites. But your bones will be chilled if you read what an LGBT advocate says about the commission's interpretation,

Donna Red Wing, executive director of pro-LGBT rights One Iowa, said the lawsuit has no merit. Do we understand what is happening? They are suing the Iowa Civil Rights Commission for doing its job, Ms. Red Wing said in a statement. As a church, they can believe whatever they want, she continued. In their bona fide religious activities, they are exempt. They cannot, however, break the law when providing public accommodation.

I can easily see this ruling being upheld by SCOTUS if Clinton is elected president and gets to name a Supreme Court judge or two.

As if the stakes in November weren't already high.
News / National

by Sukulwenkosi Dube

VILLAGERS from Ndolwane and Makhulela areas in Bulilima District, Matabeleland South have lost eight beasts while several have gone missing from suspected lion attacks.Ndolwane councillor Ian Matiwaza said eight beasts had been found dead so far after being devoured by lions that invaded the area while several cattle belonging to villagers in his area where still missing.He said in a latest encounter some teenagers who were herding cattle came across a lion while it was feasting on a beast and they fled from the area.Clr Matiwaza said the first lion attack incident was reported on Sunday last week."Villagers are being terrorised by lions that are attacking beasts while they are grazing and drinking at Mabhongwane Dam. We suspect that there could be two lions because of the spoors that have been identified.Eight beasts have been found dead so far while there are about 10 beasts which are still missing and their owners have not located them but we suspect that they were also attacked by the lions," he said.Clr Matiwaza said they had alerted officials from the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authority who had since moved into the area and were now tracking down the animals. He said the lions could have come from Tsholotsho area."The first incident of the lion attacks was recorded on Sunday at Mabhongwane Dam where three cattle were attacked. When the dead cattle were found the lions had left the area. On Tuesday some teenagers were herding cattle in the area and they saw a beast being attack by one of the lions and they fled the scene," he said.Chief Masendu whose jurisdiction covers Ndolwane and Makhulela area said villagers were now living in fear that the lions could move closer to their homesteads.He said the two villages were located close to Mabhongwane Game Park which was connected to a section of Hwange National Park in Tsholotsho.Chief Masendu said villagers in the area were in the habit of taking their livestock to graze in Mabhongwane Game Park.
The secular world is plummeting at mach speed straight into the ground these days. In previous ages there remained a basic understanding of morality and of God which would bring people back from the brink of self-worship and hubris. But among double digit percentages of western society thats being lost. Consider the lyricist for one of the most popular rock bands of all time.

Rush, the Canadian trio, ranks only behind the Beatles and the Rolling Stones for most gold and platinum records. Most dont know this. They are the stealth-best musicians. Unfortunately for civilization, they are avowedly evangelical-atheist and pugnacious-preachy-agnostic  a repellant way to use all that fantastic influence (their musical capabilities and work ethic are best in class).

I read with bafflement the following quote from one Neil Peart, recently retired drummer from Rush. Quoth Peart:

It is impossible to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ and be a Republican. Its philosophically absolutely opposedif they could only think about what they were saying for a minute.

Huh?

When I read that I frowned, puzzled, shook my head with some slappy-goldfish taped to both ears, and wondered what in the world he was talking about. It is simply flabbergasting to me that this man, as long as hes been around, and as obviously brilliant as the guy is, could seriously say those two sentences. He's in the rock and roll hall of fame and he's that ignorant? Is he that far removed from reality? Hes unaware of the existential struggle for the American constitution? He may not wish to preserve Christian civilization of course, but hes unaware many tens of millions of people work to preserve it every day in the form of American constitutionalism? As I thought about it for a while I realized that he is just so far deep into secular-atheism that he just has no concept at all what real Christianity is, or perhaps what real Republicanism is. He never talks to us. But does he really think the freedoms of the West came fromsecular liberalism?

Its hard to know where to start with a comment like Pearts because it shows such a complete disconnect. But I suppose I should hit a few big doctrines of Christianity, a few big doctrines of Republicanism.

First, Christianity believes in personal, individual, moral responsibility for the human being. Not for the collective, not for vague social forces  the individual actor, soul, is morally responsible for individual actions. It is the human soul that sins, that repents, that does righteousness, or that does evil. The Christian principle is that the soul, the moral agent, must be reborn by infusion from God with the Grace to successfully be saved. The concept of the democratic republic was born from the principle that representative government in freedom only works when individuals, as moral agents, are governed from within by God. Washington said, To the distinguished character of Patriot, it should be our highest glory to add the more distinguished character of Christian. 25. I cant think of a more staunchly Republican statement.

Republicanism believes in a small government. Does the connection to Christianity really have to be explained? Apparently it does. The individual is the only moral agent  only the acts (of charity or anything else) I make willingly, voluntarily, with my choice, make any dent in the Kingdom of God. Groups I freely associate with  my church  are the legitimate extension of moral agency. I dont want the government doing charity for me because it removes my opportunity to do it, removes my church from doing it, and doesnt, in fact, achieve the charity.

A government, in the Bible, is intended only as a backstop, a limit, on evil, because it functions according to laws. Laws do not save, they are blunt instruments, rough goads like the end stop at the bitter end of the railroad tracks  the train is never intended to over-run the endstop. Why would I want to multiply blunt collisions? Trump is right to build the wall  border security is a legitimate function of a government - but many-walls isa prison. Why would I want the government to displace my Christian charity, which is in every objective measure, better than secular socialism in outcome? And when the coin of the Christian realm is freedom in the Spirit, why would I want a government to continually erect limits?

Christianity believes that you must love God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, all your strength, and with all your being. Jesus insisted this was the first commandment, and gave Love your neighbor as yourself as the second. Republicans furiously defend the Declaration of Independence as the foundation stone of the American body politic. And it is essentially a softening and reformulation of the golden rules as a civic compact: We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are Created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.

Che Guevara didnt write that, ok?

Republicanism holds that the Declaration principles are at the root of the Republic: the Creator exists and has civic desires for His creations. And the Declaration declares the fountainhead of rights: God is Author of Writ  it is only He who can give the Unalienable. Essential to the principle of American constitutional government is that the Rights are Endowed and Unalienable. They cannot be taken away by the State.

Show me how you can believe in Unalienable without the Creator? Unalienable immediately becomes irrelevant euphemism if God is removed from Republicanism. It baffles me what planet Peart is on  there is no way to hold to rights, to the existence of the Creator, to the principle of golden rule behavior in the heart as prerequisite, without the God of the Bible. The framers considered that devout Judaism was a friend of American constitutionalism, but generally recognized that Christianity was the super majority for the civic structures set forth in the Bill of Rights.

I think whats happened to Peart is that he has gone in for the secular-liberal definition of what Christianity is, instead of the Christian definition of it. Secular liberals  fully convinced they know everything there is to know  love to tell Christians what Christianity really is or ought to be. And invariably  with liberals progress is always towards communism  they insist that Christianity really ought to be about huge wealth transfer programs allegedly helping your neighbor because, after all, the goal of Christianity is to give your neighbor luv  by which liberals usually mean confiscating wealth from those who earned it in order to (forcibly) purchase (euthanasia driven) socialized health care.

Was that the thing you were driving at Neil?

But the goal of Christianity is to worship Jesus Christ  the God-man who said, I am the Truth. Christians care for Truth first, love of our neighbor second. Theft from all our neighbors  otherwise known as socialism  is not something we Christian conservative Republicans look on with love.

And the truth of communism is that it results, in the end, in genocide, tyranny, poor services delivered badly by monopolies, and a tiny number of wealthy despots in charge of all wealth and the masses  things that the Christian founding fathers of America understood exceedingly well. And because the Christian founders perceived tyrannys roots were so perfectly germinated in the rejection of virtuous Jesus Christ, the Founders constantly exhorted the people that none of the institutions of constitutional self-government would outlast a moral abandonment of Christian devotion for the love of Jesus himself.

So Dr. Peart, before you say any more of this stuff, I am going to suggest you start studying the founding Christians of America  e.g. John Adams, Abigail Adams. David Barton curates these things and can help you get started. But staying in the fantasia-reality displayed by your quote about Republicans and Jesus.is fit only for an, anarchist-reactionary running-dog revisionist?

What  you wont read John Adams? George Washington? Why dont these guys count?

Youd bet your life?

( PS  I sincerely hope, Dr. Peart, that you find some good physical recovery. I was so sad to hear of the retirement due the hard toll of exertion that Rush playing has taken. You might try what the Bible observant have known for 6,000 years and what science has recently discovered: fasting restores the body.)
The US took another step toward Third World status when the government of Bahamas issued a travel warning for citizens visiting the US.

The Bahamian government says it's concerned about American police and their attitude toward young black men.

The Hill:

"We wish to advise all Bahamians traveling to the US but especially to the affected cities to exercise appropriate caution generally. In particular young males are asked to exercise extreme caution in affected cities in their interactions with the police. Do not be confrontational and cooperate," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration said in a statement, as first reported by Buzzfeed. "If there is any issue please allow consular offices for The Bahamas to deal with the issues. Do not get involved in political or other demonstrations under any circumstances and avoid crowds." The advisory comes after two officer-involved shooting deaths of black men in Minnesota and Louisiana, and also follows the killings of five Dallas police officers Thursday night at an anti-police brutality protest. Protests have since sprouted up across the country in Atlanta, New York and Phoenix, among others.

This is perfectly understandable given the narrative that's being advanced about police in America being racists who target black men for death based solely on their skin color. I'm surprised other countries haven't issued similar warnings.

And President Obama? He says that America will be just fine because...no riots:

"You're not seeing riots," he said. "You're not seeing police going after people who are protesting peacefully. You've seen, almost uniformly, peaceful protests and you've seen, uniformly, police handling those protests with professionalism."

Besides, says the president, we're having a hard time unraveling the motive of the cop killer in Dallas:

Obama said the motives of the Dallas shooter were hard to untangle." But he called him a "demented individual and said he did not represent all black Americans, just as a gunman who killed nine last June at a historically African-American church in Charleston, S.C., was not representatives of all whites. The suspected Dallas shooter, Micah Johnson, allegedly told police he wanted to kill white people" in the attack.

Huh? Someone should steer the president to a class in remedial reading. I'm sure there's a good program at the local community college.

Since the shooter's rampage was well planned and carried out with tactical precision, I guess he's "demented" in a special sort of way.

Obama's idiocy is making the situation worse. And the anti-police, anti-white rhetoric coming from protesters and politicians alike is going to lead to a tragic blow up sooner rather than later.
Local Security and Local Authority

Local security is achieved only when all of the people have protection 24-7 and no one can use violence for political ends. This requires effective and respected police, an effective intelligence system, rapid response to any attempt at intimidation, and the neutralization of any insurgent group before they can act. It means local authority that is:

alert for signs of problems, inequalities, injustices, and chaos;

able to use initiative and flexibility to win loyalty and produce results;

capable of countering violence;

able to see that everyone can earn a decent living;

capable of educating each individual with values and attitudes which blend ambition, pride, self-reliance, and a sense of duty and responsibility.

Organize, Motivate, and Satisfy the People

State and federal governments support local authority, insures overall security and stability, and strengthen unity. Their function is not to control the people through rules, regulations and laws. A nation is no more than people welded together by a common destiny that binds together tomorrow, today and yesterday in an active whole. It maintains the institutions through which the nation lives and grows: patterns of cooperation and conflict; the fabric of sanctioned relationships; the unseen lines of magnetic strength which link, join, and confine; the elusive cultural environment; and an economic system that works. In short, it is the task of state and federal governments to create kinship--not to rule subjects.

Centralization of power through rules, regulations and laws constrains freedom. Decentralization of power allows greater freedom of thought, association, and action. It is possible for an authoritarian regime to have centralized power, yet the hallmark of democratic governance are decisions being made at a level where what is right and what is legal agree. The courts must always limit their rulings to the case before them and not attempt to determine "the law of the land" by making constitutional rulings that apply to the whole country. That is the function of the people's representatives--legislative branches--or the people themselves, as the sovereign.

The Solution

The solution can be found in a rebirth of the vision of America's Founders: mutual dependency, decentralization, neutralization of factions, checks, and balances, plus an end of postmodern thought, political correctness, and multiculturalism. This means unity, cooperation, love, camaraderie, mutual dependence, and togetherness (i.e Eros) strong enough to counter Chaos (conflict, disaster, tragedy, hate, division, mistrust, anarchy, and arrogant self righteousness).

Sam C. Holliday, Armiger Cromwell Center, LLC, Atlanta, GA
Apparently, the bar for being president of the United States is set extremely low these days. Bill Clinton just had to wipe the occasional stain off a dress or tie. Obama just has to talk passionately and recite big words as they scroll across a teleprompter. And Hillary just has to not get indicted. It's hard to believe that she considers it a personal and political victory to barely exceed that lowly hurdle.

Politicians have been tripping over that bar forever. Marion Barry was alternately in and out of jail and political office. A Detroit politician in the State House has been indicted and is looking at his ninth criminal conviction but is still running for another term.

If we want to say to our sons and daughters, "Someday you could be president," we should hope that it's a lofty goal and not something that you do in between trips up the river  and I don't mean the Potomac.

If Hillary were applying for any other government position besides POTUS, she would not qualify. She couldn't get a mechanic's license. Would you want somebody working on your car who has been found by the FBI or other government agency to be extremely careless and grossly negligent?

It's clear that if this were anybody other than Hillary, he would be lining up a defense team now, not holding hands with Obama on a stage. (Then again, Obama has shared the stage with dozens if not hundreds of criminals in the White House and around the country over the last seven years.)

Even if she didn't do anything that would put anybody else in jail, shouldn't the fact that she deceived the public with her lies in the aftermath be enough to prosecute her in the court of public opinion? How often do we hear that the cover-up was worse than the offense? That's what got Nixon. With a compliant, Hillary-loving media, even her sloppy attempt to cover up the offense doesn't create a bump in the path to the presidency. For the left-wingers in the mainstream media, Trump's latest tweet is bigger news than the FBI's proof of Hillary's lies and deceit.

Comey and the FBI admit to finding 100 documents marked classified on the personal server in Hillary Clinton's home, two of which were stamped top-secret. This, apparently, was merely grossly negligent and, in the case of the Clintons, not a violation of any laws.

I'm not qualified to make any legal arguments, so let's consider a practical example. What if the FBI searched any other government agent's home and found a briefcase containing 100 confidential and top-secret documents hidden in a bathroom closet. The files weren't concealed overnight. They were there for three years and more than one year after the agent under investigation signed a document swearing that he had turned over everything in his possession. Would the FBI recommend prosecution? I think intent would not factor into any reasonable prosecutor's decision to pursue the case in court as long as the offender's name wasn't Clinton.

Why do government investigators and prosecutors and the supposedly independent press automatically assume that the Mrs. Clinton's intentions were honorable even after she has spent the last year making up lie after lie to cover up her presumably innocent actions? If any other government agent lied repeatedly to his superior that he had no idea where the briefcase full of documents was, would he get the same benefit of the doubt from the FBI investigators?

I was at a major Midwest university with my daughter for orientation this week, and they stressed many times that the students make a pledge to act ethically. What kind of message are we sending to our youth when they see an ethically challenged presidential candidate being rewarded in this manner? But like everything Clinton, things like ethics, truthfulness, rules, and laws apply only to everyone else. Maybe that is exactly the message. That no matter how hard you work, no matter how good and honest you are, there will always be the Clintons of the world out there that these ideals don't apply to. We just have to hope and pray that those people don't end up with their feet up on the Resolute Desk.
In one of the most dramatic scenes in Harper Lees classic, To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch, alone on the courtroom floor after the jury has passed a guilty verdict on his client Tom Robinson, wearily packs his briefcase and walks out the rear of the courtroom. In the balcony above, the assembly of all the colored people from the tired old town of Maycomb, Alabama, rise to their feet in respect. Their spiritual leader, Reverend Sykes, gently remonstrates Finchs daughter (who is sitting with them in the balcony): Miss Jean Louise, stand upyour fathers passin.

Finchs fight to defend a falsely accused black man in the deeply racist, depression era South stands as one of the most heroic examples of a solitary, noble man waging a seemingly hopeless battle against entrenched prejudice in all of American literature. It is not so surprising then that To Kill a Mockingbird, (as listed on his Facebook page) is one of Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions favorite books.

For more than a generation, and particularly during the Obama years, Jeff Sessions has represented the gold standard of conservatism in the United States. On fiscal policy and the looming catastrophe of the national debt, on readiness for our defense and honorable treatment of our veterans and, most conspicuously, on protecting Americans at home whose jobs, safety and pocketbooks are all threatened by the obstinate refusal of the government to end illegal immigration, Sessions stands tall. For instance, in response to President Obamas Executive Amnesty order of 2014, Sessions words rang with the clarity of a bell:

The American people have begged and pleaded for years for a lawful system of immigration. They have justly and rightly demanded that their elected officeholders enforce their laws, secure their communities, and protect the integrity of our national borders. But these pleas have fallen on deaf ears. Our border is not secure; it is in crisis. Our communities are not safe; preventable crimes occur every day because our laws are not enforced. And our sovereignty is not protected; we have a President planning to issue a sweeping executive amnesty in violation of our laws and our constitutional separation of powers. This cannot stand. It will not stand.

Many Americans who heard those words stood up for Jeff Sessionsand cheered.

Donald Trump is now engaged in a decision that will determine his future and thereupon possibly the future of the country: he must choose a running mate. Trump, who has mercilessly derided the political establishment and at times insulted the entire political profession has made one glaring exception to his blistering indictments  and that exception is Jeff Sessions.

Early in the campaign Trump singled out Sessions as a man of integrity who provided him advice and was a great politician. Sessions has systematically reciprocated by focusing media attention on Trumps policies rather than his occasionally misdirected bombast. When Sessions briefly donned a Make America Great Hat in the massive Trump rally in Sessions hometown of Mobile, Alabama, he was taking the first step toward his ultimate endorsement  and make no mistake about it, this was a choice rooted in substance rather than style.

Trump and Sessions naturally agree on core conservative issues like tax policy and they also share a deep concern for the sorry treatment of our veterans. But it is obvious that the overriding areas of philosophical agreement between the two are on immigration and trade. In these issues where the welfare of average Americans is so starkly pitted against that of the business and political elite  the seemingly hopeless battle against entrenched prejudice  Donald Trump and Jeff Sessions are Americas undisputed champions.

The choice of a vice-Presidential running mate is commonly thought to depend on governance and electability. If Trump and Sessions are soulmates on their vision for a bright future for all Americans, that does not necessarily imply that Sessions is the strongest VP candidate from an electoral point of view. In the world of conventional politics, Marco Rubio or John Kasich clearly check more of the electability boxes (though they are hardly likely to be available). The same might be said for Mike Pence or Joni Ernst.

But in the unconventional world of Donald Trump I suspect that the paramount characteristic of a running mate that will make for a winning team is that that person have Trumps full and deep respect. And whatever the virtues of Pence or Ernst might be, Trump simply does not have time for either of them to diffuse into his zone of full respect. To some degree Chris Christie and Newt Gingrich are already there. But they have various liabilities of their own.

The simple fact is that Trump trusts Sessions. It is that trust, and the feedback which that allows from the VP to the President, that will build Trump into a steadier and more disciplined candidate and ultimately into a more successful President.

Donald Trump has shown that he is a man who, whatever his failings, is not intimidated by the prejudices and opposition of the ruling class. He has found in Jeff Sessions a kindred spirit for whom other man rise to their feet when he passes by. All he needs now is to make him his vice-Presidential running mate.
We hear that President Obama is coming to Dallas, and that's OK with me.

I would like to ask him a simple question: Mr. President, what about my rights to go on an expressway? Why do I have to suffer because some groups want to make a point?

We saw on TV, and read later, that a Black Lives Matter crowd was blocking I-75 and the northbound side of I-85 in Atlanta. Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed discouraged protesters but it had little impact, as far as I know.

As I understand it, we live in a country, and one of the few in the world, where peaceful protest is tolerated and the protesters protected. However, we also live under the rule of law, and few elected officials seem willing to remind protesters of that. Mayors and governors are showing the kind of cowardice that encourages, rather than discourages, this kind of illegal behavior.

Over in Oakland, we saw more than a respectful protest:

About 2,000 angry protestors marched through downtown Oakland, blocking traffic on Interstate 880 and pouring red paint on the front door of an Oakland police station in solidarity with two black men fatally shot by police officers this week in Louisiana and Minnesota. Cars were backed up for hundreds of yards in both directions on the elevated downtown freeway after hundreds of protestors swarmed up the on-ramps around 8:45 p.m. and began dancing, playing music and spray-painting slogans on the pavement. Other protesters climbed to the top of a semitrailer that was stalled in the huge traffic jam. Burn it to the ground, one protester wrote in black spray paint in the middle of the freeway.

Sorry, but that's not civilized behavior, no matter how angry these protesters may be about this or that. This is anarchy and chaos of the worst kind.

At some point, President Obama must address this lack of respect for the law and the rights of others.

He can start by reading how then-governor Reagan dealt with unruly protesters in California's universities in the 1960s. Next, he can speak from the Oval Office and call on Black Lives Matter to expand their objectives, from reckless attacks on the police to a concern for all lives. He can also add that he is 100% behind local leaders who enforce the law against those who don't respect it.

Again, I have a right to get on a highway and travel freely. I don't feel that my rights are being protected by a government that seems afraid of defending the rule of law.

Mr. President, it's time to lead, not pander!

P.S. You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.
From the archives of Amusing Planet.

Earth is a small town in Lamb County, West Texas, United States and is possibly the only place on planet Earth that is named Earth.

The Tuktoyaktuk Winter Road is an ice road that connects the Northwest Territories communities of Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk in Canada. It is open to traffic only during the winter (December to March) when the water of the Mackenzie River Delta freezes tracing a natural road over the length of the river and parts of the Arctic Ocean. During summer the road melts and forms a flowing river. During this season the village of Tuktoyaktuk can be reached only by plane or boat.

Who would have thought there is a desert in Japan? Well, not quite a desert but a huge sand dune that looks nearly a desert to me. Its the Tottori Sand Dunes located near Tottori City in Honshu, Japan. The dunes stretch along the coast east of Tottori City for 16 kilometers and extend up to 2 kilometers away from the coast. The dunes are spread over an area of 30 square kilometers  not like the Sahara, but not small either.

Located some 3 km outside the trading town of Uyuni, in southwest Bolivia, lies an antique train cemetery. In the past, Uyuni was an important transport junction, connecting key cities in the region, but plans to turn the town into an even greater railway hub died an early death.

AK-47, the notorious assault rifle, has a museum in its honor - the Kalashnikov Museum also called the AK-47 museum. The museum was opened on November 4, 2004, in Izhevsk, a city in the Ural Mountains of Russia. The museum chronicles the biography of General Kalashnikov  the creator of the rifle - as well as documents the invention of the AK-47. The museum attracts some 10,000 visitors each month.

The Hoba Meteorite lies on the farm "Hoba West", not far from Grootfontein, in the Otjozondjupa Region of Namibia. It was uncovered by farmer Jacobus Hermanus Brits while tilling one of his fields behind his ox in 1920 when his plough got stuck. The meteorite was excavated soon after but because of it was so massive  about 60 tons - it was never moved. The Hobe meteorite is not only the largest known meteorite but also the most massive naturally-occurring piece of iron known at the Earth's surface.

Buried underneath the hillside, alongside Mt Gibraltar between Mittagong and Bowral in New South Wales, Australia, lies a disused railway tunnel. This single track tunnel was built in 1866 and used up until 1919 when a new double track tunnel was built alongside. The single railway tunnel remained unused until in the 1950s when it became one of the first cultivated mushroom farms in Australia.

How do astronomers compensate for the ever changing and unpredictable atmospheric conditions? Lasers!

Wave Rock is an interesting natural rock formation located east of the small town of Hyden in Western Australia. It derives its name from the fact that it is shaped like a tall breaking ocean wave. The Wave Rock is composed of granite and the total outcrop covers several hectares. The rock is about 15 meters high and approximately 110 meters long.

Photographer Mariel Clayton explorers the evil and hitherto unknown side of the famous doll character. When asked why she did it, Clayton explains: Because I hate Barbie. I intensely dislike the stereotype that the ideal female fits no current authentic female form. You cant get to be Barbie without an oceans worth of peroxide, 27 plastic surgeries and a complete lack of intelligence, so it irritates me immensely that this is the toy of choice women give to their daughters to emulate. Behind the vacuous perpetual lipsticked-smile lurks the black heart of the true sociopath, just like in real life.
The Galaxy Note 7 has been receiving quite a bit of attention lately, and perhaps for good reason as it just so happens to be a second popular flagship device from Samsung. Its also rumored to be getting an earlier announcement than last years Galaxy Note 5, so the possibility of it showing up in the near future could be very real. Just in the past few weeks, the Galaxy Note 7 has shown up on both AnTuTu and on Geekbench, both being spotted this past week, and leaked renders of the device showed up in the recent past as well. From the benchmark leak on Geekbench, the Galaxy Note 7 was listed as model number SM-N930F, and now a new model number has shown up on the same benchmark website that seems to suggest this is the Verizon model of the device.

Listed as SM-N930V, which is also the model number that showed up on AnTuTu this past week, the device has some similarities in the specs department, primarily the 4GB of RAM. On AnTuTu it is listed as exactly 4GB, while on todays Geekbench listing it shows up as 3383MB. Its also worth noting that this Geekbench listing shows off the device running on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow and not Android 7.0 Nougat as shown on the leak from the Geekbench listing for the SM-N930F model, so its very possible and perhaps more likely that Samsung will launch this device with Android Marshmallow with a possible upgrade to Android Nougat sometime following its launch from Google.

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SM-N930V matches up with the model number series from last years Verizon Galaxy Note 5, which was SM-N920V, so its a safe bet that this is the Galaxy Note 7 for the U.S. number one carrier, although nothing is of course official until confirmed by Samsung. The phone is listed as being powered by a 1.59GHz quad-core processor which should be the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 CPU, and thats about it for the specifications as the benchmark doesnt give any more notable details beyond the single-core and multi-core scores the device received. While the Galaxy Note 7 could end up launching with just 4GB of RAM instead of the rumored 6GB, 4GB should be more than enough for the device.
It is a day that Canadians will forever remember  May 3, 2016  when a massive wildfire swiped over Fort McMurray, Alberta. Fort McMurray is a town with about 60,000 residents, and by dinnertime, the mayor issued a mandatory citywide evacuation. The wildfire caused $3.6 billion in damages, and they are still rebuilding trying to gain some semblance of a normal life once again  but it will take months and years before everything is normal.

Canadian carriers and local businesses have stepped up to the plate to help during the time of crisis and help continues to come from Samsung Canada. They recently announced they would donate 200 Samsung Galaxy View devices to the Fort McMurray Public School District Board (FMPSDB)  valued at $140,000. This donation is all part of Samsung Canadas ongoing Hope for Children program that includes help in education, health, and community support. Besides the 200 Galaxy View tablets Samsung donated to the classrooms, they also donated another $100,000 to the Canadian Red Cross Alberta Fires Appeal. Mark Childs, Chief Brand Officer and Corporate Citizenship for Samsung Canada cited that they want to help this city get back on its feet and help its students reach their full potential as soon as possible.

Samsungs Galaxy View is no small tablet and was launched exclusively on the Bell network earlier this year  Samsung envisioned it being used as a replacement TV tablet and very suitable for school use. Its display measures a massive 18.4-inches with an FHD resolution and using TFT technology. The resolution is 1920 x 1080 pixels, but with such a large screen, you are only getting 120 pixels-per-inch. It is running Android 5.1.1 Lollipop and measures 451.8 x 275.8 x 11.9mm and weighs in at a hefty 2.65kg, or 5.84lbs.

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The Samsung Galaxy View uses an Exynos 7580 octa-core processor clocked at 1.6GHz and for graphics, it packs a Mali-T720MP2 GPU. It has 2GB of RAM and 32GB of expandable storage via a microSD card slot. Although tablets are not known for their picture taking abilities, the Galaxy View packs a 2.1MP with f/2.2 aperture just in case an undemanding photo opportunity arises  there is no front-facing camera (FFC) for selfies or video chatting. A non-removable 5,700 mAh battery provides power for the device, and it has stereo speakers. It has the usual suspects  WiFi, Bluetooth v4.1, GPS, a microUSB port for charging and data transfer. It was rough on the Fort McMurray residences, but with the help of the businesses and donations like the one from Samsung Canada, they will be able to rebuild and take care of the people and education of their children.
News / National

by Staff reporter

Zimbabwe is set to secure close to $1 billion in loans from the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) aimed at clearing the country's $1,8 billion arrears to multilateral institutions, the central bank governor has said.Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor John Mangudya told the media in London, where he is meeting potential foreign investors, that clearing arrears to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the African Development Bank will make the country attractive to foreign capital."What we can tell you is that, obviously, if things move well, we're expecting balance of payments support from the IMF," he said.This comes as the country  desperate to re-engage with western multilateral institutions after years of isolation  is hopeful to have paid back all its arrears in time for the September board meetings of the IMF and the African Development Bank.Economic analysts said Zimbabwe's foreign and domestic debt, currently hovering over $10 billion, has undermined the country's creditworthiness and compromised its ability to secure new funding due to the fact that most of it is now in arrears.Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa, who is also in London to drum-up foreign direct investment support for Zimbabwe's dying economy, said the whole point of the rapprochement, after 16 years of being shut out of international lending, was to receive new funds."For us to turn round the fortunes of our country we need new money," he said, adding that manufacturing "was on its back" and government finances severely strained.A long-time ally of President Robert Mugabe whose tenure at the helm of Treasury has turned him into a pragmatic economist, Chinamasa said some of the money would be put into agriculture, which has been starved of funds.Zimbabwe degenerated into economic chaos after Mugabe implemented a controversial land reform programme around 2000, which led to the seizure of white-owned commercial farms.The land grabs, human rights abuses and violent, disputed elections saw western nations cut off aid to Zimbabwe and impose sanctions on the nonagenarian leader and other members of his ruling Zanu-PF party.But now western diplomats are seeking to avert a deepening economic crisis, amid concerns about what could happen when Mugabe dies or leaves office.Zimbabwe's economy is slowing down due to lack of foreign investment, electricity shortages and expensive loans. Cheaper imports are damaging local industry, forcing firms to close.This has seen the government failing to meet its monthly obligations, a situation that has fuelled a series of rare protests, as well as a strike by teachers, doctors and nurses over unpaid salaries.Chinamasa said Washington had become more sympathetic to the idea of a rapprochement with Zimbabwe, although an American official said the US remained opposed to a deal with the IMF.Zimbabwe has been in arrears to the IMF, to the tune of $111 million, since 2001, and owes the World Bank more than $1 billion.
News / National

by youtube

A relative of Zimbabwe's president has criticised Robert Mugabe and says he strongly supports the opposition Movement for Democratic Change.James Chikerema is related to Mugabe and grew up with him at the same Catholic mission in Kutama, Zimbabwe.When Mugabe was seven and Chikerema five, the Kutama mission was led by an Irish Jesuit. Mugabe said to be a brilliant scholar.Chikerema, now 76, says Mugabe is a 'loner' whose behaviour patterns are typical of a dictator.He also says it will be disastrous for Zimbabwe if Mugabe wins the elections this weekend, predicting bloodshed for the country.In the 60's Mugabe joined the independence struggle. It led him to 10 years in prison where, according to Chikerema, he became a bitter man and his anti-white feelings grew strongly.Chikerema is very critical about Mugabe's statesmanship and his ruthless political tactics since he took power in 1980.
News / National

by youtube

Reverend Ndabaningi Sithole, a veteran politician who helped lead Zimbabwe's struggle for independence, is due in court Monday accused of being linked to a plot to assassinate the country's president Robert Mugabe.In an interview with APTV, Sithole accused Mugabe, once his ally, of trying to weaken him ahead of next year's election. He says the charges are politically motivated.Ndabaningi Sithole was arrested on October 14th after two men were charged with conspiracy to commit murder and engage in acts of terrorism and sabotage.The state alleges it was on this stretch of road, near the capital Harare, where Sithole planned to carry out the ambush.In the preliminary court hearings he has been accused of recruiting armed dissidents to overthrow the government.Sithole denies any involvement in the plot and has accused Mugabe of trying to weaken him in before of next year's presidential elections.Sithole's small opposition Zimbabwe African National Union Ndonga Party holds the only two opposition seats in the 150-seat Harare parliament."Why do you think Mugabe fears you so much?""Because he knows I am a capable man. He knows that very well. All these things he is trying to do, he's trying to implement, we have more dictatorial way taking root in this country. For instance, you take people who disappear from time to time at the instigation of Mugabe and his colleagues. This disappoints anyone. I would be dishonest with myself if I say I was not disturbed by that."The presidential election has motivated him to try and weaken me as much as possible. It doesn't hold any water. For instance, they have apparently arrested me before collecting evidence. Now they are trying to collect evidence to make their case stick."Sithole helped found Mugabe's governing party in the 1960s and served a nine year prison term in Rhodesia, as Zimbabwe was known, for recruiting guerillas to fight the white minority government.He split from Mugabe in the run up to independence in 1980, and has pledged to contest presidential elections next year.
News / National

by Staff reporter

With the Zimbabwean economy continuing to die and long-suffering citizens becoming more restless by the day as witnessed in the dramatic events of the past week, the political pressure is mounting on President Robert Mugabe and his panicking ruling Zanu-PF, who are facing their biggest challenge in their 36 years in power.A stressed senior Zanu-PF official who spoke to the Daily News on Sunday yesterday described the atmosphere in the country and within the top echelons of the party and the government as akin to "a witches' cauldron" (situation of great distress or unrest, resembling a boiling kettle)."Look, there is no doubt that things are very bad at the moment. In fact, the whole country is like a witches' cauldron and no one can say with certainty how things will develop over the next few weeks and months."My only prayer is that whatever happens, Zimbabwe remains a stable and peaceful country," the bigwig said.The senior Zanu-PF official was speaking in the wake of last Monday's deadly riots in Harare, the crippling strike by fed up civil servants, as well as Wednesday's historic nationwide stay-away that left urban areas resembling ghost towns.It did not help matters that disaffected war veterans also made it blatantly clear last week that they could be ready to break ties with Zanu-PF after the expulsion of their leader, Christopher Mutsvangwa, was confirmed by the party's politburo on Wednesday.But as expected, Zanu-PF has answered back with venom, sending riot police and the military into high density suburbs to quell growing unrest in the country.It has also employed the wicked weapon of dragnet arrests, including of teenagers, that observers say is designed to instil fear into the masses and the leaders of the growing resistance.And over the weekend, the nervous ruling party dispatched all its senior officials around the country in a desperate endeavour to steady the wobbly Zanu-PF ship which is already at sixes and sevens due to the former liberation movement's seemingly unstoppable factional and succession wars.On Friday, and with his former deputy Joice Mujuru on the verge of forging an alliance with opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, a seemingly rattled Mugabe himself told his supporters in Bindura to beware."Muvengi anenzira dzakawanda dzekukudubura Zanu-PF. There are so many parties, necha Mai Mujuru vanonyara kuita musangano wavo vanoda kubatana. Vanoitira misangano yavo ku South Africa vachipihwa mazano nevarungu (The enemy has devised many strategies to dislodge Zanu-PF from power and even Mujuru's party is seeking a coalition. Opposition parties are scared of going it alone and are having meetings in South Africa where they are being advised by whites)," Mugabe said.Speaking to the Daily News on Sunday yesterday, leader of the #ThisFlag campaign, Pastor Evan Mawarire, vowed that despite the government's growing threats against activists like him and others, they remained committed to tackling the country's rot head-on."Although I have not been arrested yet, I have been informed that I am due to be called in for questioning."However, I believe and am convinced that I have not committed any crime either in the past or now," he said.On the other hand, war veterans also ratcheted up the pressure on Mugabe and Zanu-PF yesterday, saying they were seeking another meeting with their patron over the expulsion of Mutsvangwa from the ruling party."We shall seek another meeting with Mugabe for him to explain the politburo decision to expel Mutsvangwa because to us it is a nullity."Firstly, he was expelled as a Cabinet minister for the portfolio of war veterans and now they have expelled him from the party which is not acceptable to us," the spokesperson of the war veterans, Douglas Mahiya, said.Political analyst Shakespeare Hamauswa said the desperate measures that Zanu-PF was taking, such as unleashing arms of State to clamp down on social media, were "indicative of a party under siege"."The threat to clamp down on social media is part of an array of other threats and it is just coming as a cut and paste programme of what other dictators have done. But they will not succeed."The only problem in Zimbabwe is that a government that openly manipulates elections by denying people to register to vote, that uses intimidation and acts corruptly cannot teach morality to the people," he said.Hamauswa was speaking after the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz) issued a warning to mobile phone users on Wednesday that they risked arrest and suffering disconnections if they incited violence using social media.This happened as millions of Zimbabweans were heeding calls to shut down the country.The warning suspiciously coincided with millions of mobile phone users not being able to access popular messaging platform, WhatsApp, a development which pro-democracy groups said was a result of jamming by intelligence operatives to manage that the general strike.Wednesday's stay-away, dubbed Operation Shutdown, was widely seen as the biggest general strike to have been mounted in the history of post-independent Zimbabwe.Contacted for a comment, the MDC said Mugabe and Zanu-PF were the sole authors of the collapse of the economy, and it would be foolish to expect them to address matters, as well as the concerns of impoverished Zimbabweans."... Mugabe is yesterday's man. To expect him to successfully address the concerns of the people is like expecting human life to exist on planet Jupiter," MDC spokesperson Obert Gutu, told the Daily News On Sunday."Mugabe is way past his sell-by date. The Zimbabwean economy has imploded and everything that can go wrong has since gone wrong. The Zanu-PF regime is utterly clueless."Only one viable solution is left and that's the immediate resignation of Mugabe and his entire Cabinet. Anything short of this simply won't do," he added.This past week's clashes between police and protesters - including those who are accused of participating in the Beitbridge and Harare riots - saw police arresting more than 300 people, including tourists.As a result, the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) said it had deployed many lawyers around the country to try and secure their releases.On Friday, police also arrested former ruling party youth leader Acie Lumumba, and Tajamuka/Sesijikile spokesperson Promise Mkwananzi on varying charges which Mugabe's critics said were "wholly unjustified".Mkwananzi was arrested on charges related to public violence that was allegedly committed on June 16 this year, but his lawyer Trust Maanda dismissed the charges."The police said they wanted to interrogate him and we knew the line they were taking since they had done the same to others."But somehow they are saying he was involved in public violence on June 16. There is no justification whatsoever for his arrest. In other words we can't trust the police," he said.Mkwananzi was yesterday remanded in custody to tomorrow for his bail hearing at the Magistrate's Court, amid suspicions that his arrest is related to his role in last Wednesday's strike and Tajamuka's calls to storm State House.On Thursday, Tajamuka/Sesijikile not only called on Mugabe to resign immediately, but also threatened to storm State House yesterday.
News / Regional

by Richard Muponde

PUPILS at 450 rural schools in Matabeleland South are facing starvation after it has emerged that the institutions have not yet implemented the Rural Schools Feeding programme although some have received grain.Rural schools are receiving grain from the Department of Social Welfare, through the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare working with the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education to feed pupils and mitigate against hunger in learning institutions.The Government introduced the programme after reports that some pupils were fainting in schools because of hunger.According to a report presented by Matabeleland South provincial education director Mrs Tumisang Thabela during a Provincial Drought Mitigation Committee meeting in Gwanda last week, 450 of 499 rural schools in the province were failing to feed their pupils because of lack of relish.The grain is supposed to feed pupils from Early Childhood Development (ECD) to Grade 2. More than 72 000 tonnes of grain have been allocated to all rural schools in the province this month."Some of the schools which benefited are facing challenges of transport to ferry grain to their schools. However, most schools are facing challenges of finding relish to feed the children," read the report."Gwanda is the one which has a high number of schools which have already started feeding out of all the province's seven districts with all 100 schools in the district already started feeding the pupils. Most of them rely on soya beans, cabbages, beans and kapenta fish."The report read that all schools in Beitbridge have not implemented the programme resulting in most pupils facing starvation."Grades 3-7 are also starving in Beitbridge. They go to the extent of coming to the feeding point where they will sit looking at those who are benefiting from the programme being fed."The provincial head of the Social Welfare Department, Mr Totambirepi Tirivavi chaired the meeting. An official from the Ministry of Finance said Treasury has allocated $50 000 for the schools to secure relish although the money has not yet been released.More than 33 000 households need food aid in Matabeleland South to cushion them from the effects of the drought. The number of vulnerable households in the province jumped from 20 345 in January to 33 061 as of March.
Bahamas warns visitors to USA: dont be black

Your writer spots the Bahamas Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement on black men heading to the USA. Following the assassination of five white police officers in Dallas by black Micah Johnson, and the police killings of black males Philando Castile in Minnesota and Alton Sterling in Louisiana, the ministry warns against tourism while black:

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration has taken a note of the recent tensions in some American cities over shootings of young black males by police officers We wish to advise all Bahamians traveling to the US but especially to the affected cities to exercise appropriate caution generally. In particular young males are asked to exercise extreme caution in affected cities in their interactions with the police. Do not be confrontational and cooperate.

US police officers are aggressive and menacing to pretty much everyone. They are the rudest, most offensive police force I have ever encountered. They are also heavily armed. Marjorie Cohn, of the Thomas Jefferson School of Law, adds:

I dont think its victim blaming, but its advising them [black men] to the extent that they could become paranoid. A lot of the black men stopped by the police or who are racially profiled are doing nothing wrong, illegal or out of the ordinary. They are driving while black and walking while black and nothing they do can prevent that, unless there are structural changes to policing.

Its not paranoia. Its self-preservation and common sense.

Anorak

Posted: 10th, July 2016 | In: Reviews Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
Opinion / Columnist

Robert Mugabe's final humiliation is at hand.He can't get out of the latest mess he created because at the end of the day it comes down to the money, and he doesn't have enough to save himself or the countryEven his avaricious wife, Grace, arguably the most disliked person in much of Zimbabwe, has been cooled down in the last months and no longer plays much of a political role.The overdue end of the Mugabe era is the message spewing out of Harare after 10 days of social unrest, including a stayaway, strike, and some violence against the state by people on the street who say they are too desperate to be frightened any longer."They have so little, they have nothing to lose" is the message on the streets. "Why should I care? I have nothing" said a vendor of cellular recharge cards in a small shopping centre south of the city.This week, Mugabe's Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa was in London, cap in hand, addressing a conference, looking for money. Assuring any investor who would listen that Mugabe's controversial and investor unfriendly "indigenisation" policy no longer counts and insisting Zimbabwe has changed and it would also massively revamp its land policies to pay out evicted white farmers. "The past is over, let's look to the future," Chinamasa said.A few days earlier in an interview about Zimbabwe's financial situation with French radio, Chinamasa said: "Right now, we literally have nothing."The UK Economist, which covered the Tuesday conference in London, said Chinamasa was hoping to finalise a deal to borrow about R15abillion to pay off its debts to the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the African Development Bank, so that it can borrow again and restart the economy.But analysts say Mugabe doesn't have time for any of this to be put in place as the treasury cannot pay most of its public servants on time next week, again, and many companies cannot pay South African suppliers for equipment or stocks of materials they need.The final nail in Mugabe's coffin, many analysts say, is that a small cellular phone campaign of SMSes brought the country to a halt on Wednesday. Zanu-PF doesn't know how to stop the social media as most of Zimbabwe's adult population has a cellphone.Brian Raftopoulos, the country's most prominent political analyst and senior academic, said: "Yes, finally this seems to be the end of the road for Mugabe, and I can't see him standing for re-election in 2018. He will be gone before then. People on the streets and groups are telling me, and I can see with my own eyes, that there is almost no respect left for Mugabe, and a lot less fear of him as well."Raftopoulos said he expects the security sector to try to crack down on those involved in the social media campaign which shut Zimbabwe down on Wednesday but doubts this will stop the resistance. "It will be hard for Zanu-PF to locate all the sources."
Opinion / Columnist

There is something ubiquitous about the impending fall of Robert Mugabe. The walls are closing in on a leader who seemed so invincible for well over 6 decades. What is ironic is that, the same walls that are closing in on him, are the same walls that have kept him in power; poverty, violence, anarchy, and a patronage system.For the second time in less than a decade Zimbabwe stands on the foot of a total collapse of state and economic implosion.On the back of a severe drought that has left nearly half the population desperately in need of critical food aid, a massive cash crisis has crippled the nation's banking sector and paralyzed the entire economy.At the center of the disaster is a pantomime figure, Robert Mugabe, the former guerilla leader and the only man to have led the country since its independence 1980, and his Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (Zanu PF) which ratifies him as the only center of power.6 years ago, a similar script and pattern of events culminated in a regional intervention that forced Mugabe into a power sharing deal and the country abandoned use of its currency, adopting the United States Dollar as its main currency, among others.The total collapse in 2008 was the result of over 18 years of intensified 'institutional bad governance'. From around 1990, cadre deployed government ministers looted state funds to the cost of billions of dollars and permanent injury to critical sectors like banking, and the motor industry.Meanwhile the administration borrowed heavily from international institutions, looted the funds, defaulted payments and severed relations with development partners.No effort was put into production while government expenditure grew exponentially, ultimately sowing the seeds for a disaster. Unbudgeted payouts and participation a war in Congo bankrupted the country, crashed the currency and led to civil unrest.In retaliation, the administration orchestrated a widespread violent crackdown on civil society and opposition, engaged in racist illegal land invasions which brought the already bankrupt country's agricultural production and its top revenue earner to a standstill.This led to massive food shortages and in 2002 the citizens voted against Mugabe, who resorted to rigging, intensified human rights abuse against civilians.For this he earned himself and key members of his administration sanctions from the US and EU. The country's currency went into a free fall. The government raided all foreign currency reserves from the banking sector and it crashed.After a heavy election loss in 2008, the electoral commission withheld results and Zanu PF launched a brutal attack on civilians and plunged the entire Southern African region into a humanitarian crisis. Regional leaders intervened and forced Mugabe into a power sharing deal with the opposition.For 4 years the country stabilized economically, and politically. In 2013, the country headed into elections which were once again marred with irregularities.In the aftermath of that victory Zanu PF returned to its old ways  corruption, theft, looting, abductions and senseless policy. By end of 2014, less than 2 years after the power-sharing deal the country was basically bankrupt.Again the government raided commercial banks of their cash deposits and replaced them with treasury bills which they hoped to settle from ensuing revenue.After struggling to pay back on time, the consumptive government eventually failed outright causing banks find themselves stuck with treasury bills which they can't give to their customers.Depositors find themselves stuck with electronic balances which they can't withdraw. Business are failing to settle payments abroad, and supplies have suspended deliveries to Zimbabwe  a drought hit country that imports everything from earbuds to dental floss.The implication is massive food shortages and interruptions in production for whatever few companies were left, and the emergence of a parallel market where "hard cash / paper money" is sold in exchange for electronic funds at a premium. A case of the $USD trading against the $USD.To address the cash crisis, the governor of the country's central bank has suggested another double entry termed "bond notes". Essentially the country will import cash which they will prevent from going into circulation, and rather print Zimbabwe's own equivalent version of $US.Common judgement would assert that such a solution is unsustainable and illogical. It does not address the critical problems. Zimbabwe's government spends more than it earns, creating a huge budget deficit.The administration obliterated production and manufacturing capacities to near insignificant levels. Rampant corruption in the diamond mining sector led to loss of revenue 4 times the budget. Consequently, Zimbabwe is heavily reliant on imports to service non-productive needs like food. This is called a trade deficit and will always lead to cash shortages.In Zimbabwe, Mugabe is often given due praise for his academic achievements. He has been conferred with many degrees, among them one in economics. Yet the reality he pursues defeats the very competence expected of an economics mind.The common knowledge that whilst one can create double and triple entries for genuine $USD through local replicas, they can only spend real money once.Infact, his response has been to lay the blame citizen resistance squarely on hostile politics and rampant ignorance.It is paradox of Shakespearean proportions, given how Robert Mugabe's actions and lack thereof simultaneously resemble a spectacular kind of ignorance, one that is grandiosely self-harming.The ignorance that calls for exiled diaspora investment in fixing a mess it has created, while simultaneously threatening to unleash a second genocide. It is ignorant to seek help from expatriates that fled from its state-sponsored brutality and state-induced poverty.A diaspora that is fully aware that the leadership will divert whatever investment is remitted and spurn it on joy rides to Singapore. That is akin to one teaching one's bully how to fight.Diaspora capital, just like local and international capital, is a coward, and a smart one with a long memory. It takes a special kind of ignorance for one to think one can promise a genocide and simultaneously beg the potential victims to sponsor it.When a leadership's ignorance is so arrogant, it is destructive. When it is not held to account, it develops an obsession with chaos. It assumes that for every bearer cheque it can do it again in a bond note, or in one land reform it can pull off another in indigenization, or Gukurahundi one and Gukurahundi two.Zanu PF's post-independence narrative is marred by chaos in every form imaginable. Not only have they created and perpetuated national suffering, but they have used it as a tool to elongate their rule.As the sole bearers of wealth in a carved matrix, they have created a patronage system that relies heavily on keeping the masses in poverty and lining the pockets of those that keep them in power.But as we know, dynasties do die, and often times they are the midwives of their own demise.Our leadership's arrogance and / or reliance on chaos though hurtful; is also their downfall. Governments that create, perpetuate and rely on chaos cannot always control it.The leadership in Zimbabwe has lost control. Chaos threatens to turn into its big brother anarchy.The country is out of money, and the entire government is bankrupt and will not be able to pay its workers.Once capital starts to flee, it does at the speed of light. Unlike activists, and opposition leaders, you cannot abduct it either.The traditional instruments of state terror, like the police, the army, will themselves for the first time struggle to get their salaries too.Whilst it has been easy to replicate the economic chaos of 2008, the regime will find it impossible to replicate the same levels of terror.The center (pun intended) cannot hold and faces internal revolts on three fronts. Factionalism has torn the autocrats apart and Mr. Mugabe has lost his grip on power and faces implosion. He finds himself ensnared by another of his own vices.For years, he used the chaos of his succession to pit his rivals against each other and keep himself in power, yet as stated, chaos cannot always be controlled.The citizens are rising with never before seen unity. Arrests have not led to silence; they have increased the dissent.Arrogance and ignorance may yet inspire him to take this fight to the last round. Dictators are known to do that. Gaddafi and Saddam Hussein were arrested kicking and screaming hiding in the dirt. The same dirt they condemned their victims to.The vanguards of Greek wisdom termed this 'hubris'  A typical flaw in the personality of a leader who enjoys a powerful position; as a result of which, he overestimates his capabilities to such an extent that he loses contact with reality.Having lost contact with reality, it overtakes him, and history sweeps him brutally but rightly aside. Mugabe is halfway there. Having ruled for so long with an iron fist, his favourite vices appear to have ensnared him. Chaos is like borrowed time, having mortgaged the future by borrowing the present, he ultimately forgot that the future arrives.For Zimbabwe it has, and it is a future without him. As the country collapses, his relations with his closest lieutenants, and everything else has turned against him.
Opinion / Columnist

When my brother turned eighteen in 1973, he went ko Skomitshi to apply for ispeketsheni - a form of identity document which all boys had to have before they actually qualified to get the real isithupha when they reached 21. This temporary piece of identity document meant a number of things to both my brother and his relationship with the government. It was a warning that he was becoming a grown man - some kind of transition for him; it meant he was liable to pay tax and therefore he was allowed or forced by law to look for work to enable him to pay the many taxes that would follow him even in later life as there would be many additional taxes as he grew older. This was umthelo wekhanda - head tax, loosely translated.There were so many taxes that we paid during that time, on top of the hut tax. The hut tax was that levied on households by the settler. Every household had to pay a certain amount of money to the government, and at times the head of the home was forced to work in colonial farms if they had no means of paying the taxes. Umthelo wekhanda was that which was levied per man-head in the family. All men above eighteen were supposed to pay this tax, whether they worked or not. This would see also a number of boys looking for work in farms or being forced to work for mahala at these colonial farms.And the policing of these taxes was so thorough that there was no escape. Ong'thunywe-yinkosi, those angry, uncompromising and professional, khaki clad men from the district commissioner's office would ensure taxes were paid come rain, thunder or sunshine. They would arrive unannounced and announce' "Ngithunywe yi Nkosi!" iNkosi was the white District commissioners who were responsible for the development and discipline of tribal lands under them. Many a time, Ng'thunywe-yinkosi would get to a household and there was no money to pay taxes and they would capture a goat or some chickens and the tax was paid. Also liable for tax were the cows, dogs, bicycles, scotch carts and land. Can you imagine now how much tax burden we had to carry during the colonial era! For many of those who could not pay their many taxes, jail or free labour was an inescapable alternative.The government was aware that when people provided cheap or free labour, it saved so much on the wage bill. Even those who stayed on farms were supposed to work for their accommodation, thus saving the government a lot of money. How then, did oNg'thunywe-yinkosi know that all these assets had paid tax? There was what was called icence - license - which was a metal disc attached somewhere where it could be seen clearly by anyone concerned. It had the date - like, License 1978', and had to be renewed every year. The dog had its license attached to the ear, njenge cici. Omabhalane bedibha enforced umthelo wenkomo - and ibhuku lenkomo indicated whether your cattle zithelile or not. Omabhalane would announce on every dipping day, that cattle taxes were due and had to be paid in full on such and such a date, or else the cattle would not be dipped or the owner will be arrested.School fees, too, had to be paid or else your children would stay at home and never get an education. I remember in 1973 my father was out of work and all of us his children stayed at home until the following year when he was back at work and could afford the fees. The local council workers would come every week to call out those who had not paid fees and tell them never to set foot again in the school premises. On top of that, parents had to buy their children's tuition material and not expect the colonial government to give them freebies or hand outs. Pupils would be sent home because they didn't have a pen or exercise book or text book. This way, the colonial government made sure everyone paid equitably for their the education of their children.Emasimini the government forced people to dig imigelo to guide water out of the fields in an organized or tamed manner, thus preventing soil erosion. They were aware that when the fields were so badly eroded, the victims would ask for new land, thus putting pressure on the land itself. Land inspectors would make random visits around October or November when the ploughing season started, to make sure imigelo were dug properly. In its part, it would send inspectors to check on the progress on roads, schools, land and livestock. This would force villagers to sell their cattle or goats to raise the various taxes demanded by the government.The money that we paid came back to the people to upgrade roads or schools or council offices or clinics or vaccinate children or dogs. There was never a time when one would go to a clinic and be told there was no staff or medicines. There was never a case of schools being understaffed or teachers not paid. There were rarely cases of bus owners withdrawing their services because the roads were more holes than road. Cow diseases like foot and mouth were never heard of, and rabies was a very rare occurrence because cattle and dogs were vaccinated. In short, the colonial government was aware that communities must play a big part by contributing towards the development of their areas or homelands.This, of course, was a bad system and was one of the reasons why we went to war in the seventies. We, black people, saw it as some form of punishment or slavery. We thought it was unfair. We thought it was unfair to pay for our land, our cattle, our dogs, scotch carts and our heads and huts.Surprisingly, the colonial government was never broke. They identified many sources of tax that kept the government afloat even during the sanctions imposed on them by the whole world. Enter the black government - our government - and exit all these taxes. Look around you  everything including your own welfare has deteriorated beyond repair. Their action against taxes has backfired so much it could spell their down fall.Services must be paid for - all of them. We can't expect someone else to pay for our roads or pastures or land or education. When a service is provided, no matter seemingly insignificant, someone somewhere has paid for it. Even that manna from heaven was for to the Israelites - but the material must have cost heaven a fortune!Ngiyabonga mina!
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Like women on Reclaim the Night marches, the mere presence of these girls on stage reminds us that it is not womens freedom (to be themselves, to dress as they want) that should be curtailed, but rather the prurient way that they are perceived. Whats required is a shift in perception: a piece of hair twirled or teeth biting a lip is not an invitation to something else.
Opinion / Columnist

The West seems hell-bent on saving the beleaguered Zanu-PF regime - in spite of a Zanu-PF minister accusing Western embassies of fomenting the mounting unrest. The West apparently believes that there will be regional chaos if the regime collapses.Behind the re-engagement process between the West and Zimbabwe is the International Monetary Fund which has been persuaded by Zimbabwe's promises of economic reforms and says the country is capable of quick growth if it can only get some cash.The word is that new loans will only come after reforms have been made but the Vigil can't see how Zanu-PF can undertake reforms. For instance, would this involve a 50% cut in the government wage bill as recommended? We do not believe this can be delivered as it would undermine Zanu PF's support base.Many others are equally sceptical. The Zimbabwean economist Tony Hawkins says 'the IMF is being taken for a ride'. An article in the latest edition of the UK's Economist headlined 'Bailing out bandits' makes clear its view that a lifeline for Mugabe is 'a bad idea'.The West is pinning its hopes on those they see as 'reformist' elements in Zanu-PF. Vice President Mnangagwa, despite his genocidal history, is seen as one of them, along with Finance Minister Chinamasa, who made a poor impression at a money-raising conference in London's financial district on Tuesday.The Zimbabwean academic Alex Magaisa was at the conference and says Mugabe and Zanu-PF can't believe their luck at the prospect of new loans. He says Western countries must not delude themselves into thinking that they are dealing with a different creature or that it is in the interests of ordinary Zimbabweans. Former Finance Minister Tendai Biti, who was also at the conference, accused Chinamasa of lying and said Zimbabwe needed a national transitional authority to stabilise the situation and arrange new elections.The MDC-T has called on the Southern African Development Community to intervene as it did after the violent 2008 elections. This echoes the call by the Vigil,which last month delivered a petition to Botswana, the current Chair of SADC.
KLM To Offer Draft Beer On Flights Starting Next Month

Trending News: Drink A Cold One On Tap While You Fly, But Only With This Airline

Why Is This Important?

Because beer from a can just doesn't cut it compared to draft.

Long Story Short

Dutch airline KLM is on its way to being the first airline to serve beer on tap during your flight. And true to its country, KLM will be serving beer from its countrymen over at Heineken.

Long Story

Seat in front of you reclined? Baby next to you screaming its head off? Food you were served taste and look like puke? You'll soon be able to get through it all with a delicious draft beer on tap during your flight.

Dutch airline KLM teamed up with Heineken to come up with an innovative new keg and pressurization design to allow for a perfect pour, with precious foam, every time  or so they're promising. But it was tricky.

They can't just use CO2 cartridges like they use in home-tap designs such as Tap King, that's not allowed in the cabin. They also had to make the dispensers work with the air pressure at 36,000 feet and be small enough to fit on a plane.

It was one big jigsaw puzzle, as the keg of beer, the cooling system and the air pressure compressor all had to fit in an airline catering trolley," said Heinekens Edwin Griffioen, according to Fox News.

But while KLM and Heineken promise the beer will taste just like you got it in the pub, it'll be missing one huge component. Cold.

In the end we had to leave out one of those pieces to make it all fit, so with pain in our hearts we had to leave the cooling behind, said Griffioen.

The kegs will come to the airport cold, at least, and be kept in a giant Thermos flask, so it stays decently cool.

But if you're itching for a cold-ish one on your next flight, you'll need to head over to Europe, as KLM is only offering it on their own continent for now. Still, the cat's out of the bag and it's probably only a matter of time before you're going from the airport bar, to your flight to your destination, without skipping a sip.

Oh yeah, and drink responsibly.

Own The Conversation

Ask The Big Question

Will drinking draft beer in the sky get you drunker due to the air pressure and altitude?

Disrupt Your Feed

Flying just got way better.

Drop This Fact

Music makes music taste better, so make sure you didn't forget to load up some tracks to stream offline and those excellent quality headphones.
Hi,

i am about to submit EOI(189 / 190 ), but i will have only 60 points excluding SS, under 263311 Telecommunication engineer,



i already have my skill assessed by EA,



I heard that 263311 always had low applicants so should i go with 60 points or 65 ?



and how do i apply for SS , is it just a button that we need to tick while submitting EOI and wait for the results or we need to apply separately?



also i am planning to lodge along with my Wife, so what might be the ETA for the complete process, and does any one know whats the minimum

duration that we need to wait between our legal marriage and EOI submission date , so i can apply along with my wife?
Check out what happened at the 2016 Focus RST Treffen, the ST&RS equivalent of the GTI Worthersee Meet. There are no Volkswagens here, which is just the way the manly owners like it.If you think the current 2.3-liter turbo engine sounds good, wait until you have a listen to the old 2.5-liter turbo. Sure, it only made about 300 horsepower, but that's nothing a good tune-up wouldn't fix. Some people have taken it to 600 horsepower... in a front wheel drive shop. It's a bomb in a greenhouse.The 5-cylinder configuration made for a visceral experience. And that shape, Oh My God that shape. It's nowhere near as docile as the hot hatchbacks of the current era. From the size of the rear wing to the oversized wheels and the muscular wheel arches, everything screams "rally car."Frankly, a Focus that could rival the Porsche Cayman for speed shouldn't exist. But Ford was among the first car companies to tune a docile, everyday nature into a fast hatchback. At low revs, it was as easy to drive as a shopping trolley.Part of the reason why the 450 Nm of torque didn't rip your arms off was the revolutionary RevoKnuckle front suspension that reduced torque-steer without getting rid of it completely.Even though the MkII Focus RS dominates the car meet in Germany, there are others that still demand some attention. For example, there's the Mk1 RS, and both generations of the Fiesta ST with 2-liter and 1.6-liter turbo engines, respectively.Some "outsiders" also joined the party, notably a Clio RS 197 and a MINI Cooper S. There's also a brand new Mustang 5.0, which is a car most Europeans could only dream of back in 2009 when the Focus RS came out.
Following the mantra of "same sausage different size", BMW is about to introduce an all-new generation of the 5 Series Touring that looks just like the 7 Series. We've seen the G31 parading its camouflaged body up the Nurburgring and down the highways.So we thought it was time for a new rendering. Here's one, created by Remco M . We believe that it's pretty accurate, just like most of his work, plus it has that glossy look that you see in every BMW press image.Like we said, touring models, otherwise known as estates or wagons, are hugely popular in Germany. For the Passat, Octavia, and Superb, they usually represent more than half of the sales.There's nothing wrong with the way the current F11 5 Series does its work, but the replacement will become a technological showcase, just like the Mercedes E-Class.Rumors suggest that BMW will even go as far as to launch an augmented reality windshield. Meanwhile, things like the hand gesture and new infotainment will be borrowed from the 7 Series.Also rumored is the fact that this will be the first 5 Series to use a 3-cylinder 1.5-liter turbocharged engine. A substantial weight saving will help the little engine deal with the bulk, but we still believe it will be helped by an electric motor.At the launch of the new 5er, things will be a little more conventional in the engine department. Even the 4.4-liter V8 will be kept, albeit in a newer configuration. As for the popular yet controversial M550d from the M Performance division, it will have a quad-turbo 3-liter diesel, just like its 7 Series kin.
10 July 2016 13:32 (UTC+04:00)

A protocol on cooperation has been signed between the Youth centers of Azerbaijan`s Shamkir and the Belarussian Nesvizh cities as the Belarussian youth visited Shamkir, Trend states.

The document aims to develop cooperation between the two countries` young people in a variety of fields, as well as to exchange experience on youth policy and establish relationship between student organizations.

Zeka Intellectual Youth Center in Shamkir hosted an exhibition of decorative and applied arts of both countries` young artists and presentation of projects by Belarussian youth.

A round table was also held between the Azerbaijani and Belarussian youth organizations on prospects of development of the Belarusian-Azerbaijani cooperation in the field of youth policy.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
10 July 2016 10:04 (UTC+04:00)

Russian pilots of a Mi-25 helicopter were killed in Syria, Russias Defense Ministry said on Saturday, TASS reported.

"On July 8, 2016 Russian training military pilots Ryafagat Khabibulin and Yevgeny Dolgin were making a test flight of a Syrian Mi-25 helicopter with ammunition in the Homs region (Syria)," the defense ministry said. "At the time, a large detachment of ISIS gunmen mounted an offensive against Syrian troops to the east of Palmyra and breaking through the defenses, made a rapid dash into the area, threatening to capture the heights."

Syrian reserve units that could be redeployed to the area to curb the terrorists advance were not available then, the ministry said.

"The crew received a request from the Syrian groupings command to deliver air strikes at the advancing combatants," it said. "Crew commander Ryafagat Khabibulin made a decision to attack the terrorists. Owing to the Russian pilots correct actions, the terrorists attack was thwarted."

"After having run out of ammunition, the turning around helicopter was hit by militants gunfire from the ground and crashed in the area controlled by the Syrian governmental army. The crew died," the defense ministry said.

The Russian military pilots were nominated for top state awards.

--

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Top 13 dealer tricks

Most car dealers arent really out to rip you off, but keep in mind that car dealerships are for-profit entities.
The next Red Back Church Hymnal Singing will be July 17 at 6 p.m. at the farm of Bill and Linda Hullander in Apison.

A special love offering will be taken to replace the monument to the tornado victims that was recently destroyed by a drunk driver.

The monument was at the corner of East Brainerd Road and London Lane.

Checks for replacing the marker can be made out and mailed to the Smaritan Center, 9231 Lee Highway, Ooltewah, Tn., 37302.

Old fashioned tomato sandwiches and lemonade will be sold and those proceeds used for the monument and flag pole.

The farm is at 10944 London Lane.

Everyone is invited.


From the Army to antiques. A Citrus County couple has decided to hang up their uniforms and focus on mementos of the past.

Cordy Dininno, Aaron Finkel both served in the Army

Dininno also served community as police and corrections officer

Pair has now opened Aunt Vera's Antiques in Inverness

Cordy Dininno and Aaron Finkel have switched gears in a big way. Antiques are now a huge part of their life and they're enjoying every minute of it.



It's my passion, said Dininno.



Before these two opened up Aunt Vera's Antiques just south of Inverness, they were in a very different line of work. Dininno and Finkel were both in the Army, Dininno serving as a personnel specialist and Finkel a drill sergeant.



Dininno followed that career with one as a police and corrections officer.



Here I get to spend time with antiques and the computer, Dininno said. There I dealt with a lot of other stuff."



From the military and law enforcement, to antiques. Two very different worlds.



It's a lot more fun, said Finkel.



How did the transition begin? The pair got involved in the yard sale scene, and one thing led to another. Dininno chose to quit her job as a corrections officer and they opened up the business.



The two say what they learned traveling all over Europe in the Army helps them in their line of work today.



Ive been to Germany, France, Italy, so when items come in, it helps with the research, Dininno said.
During spirited debate, Democrats meeting in Orlando adopted a weaker version of a party platform amendment Saturday that would have opposed the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Democrats meeting in Orlando to hammer out party platform

Trans-Pacific Partnership has divided Clinton, Sanders backers

Sanders backers think platform should firmly oppose TPP

The TPP, an international trade agreement among 12 countries, has divided Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton supporters within the Democratic Party. Both presidential candidates oppose the trade deal, but Sanders backers wanted strong language included in the party platform opposing the trade deal. They're concerned about the outsourcing of many jobs.

But Clinton backers, wary of opposing the Obama administration, prevailed during the second day of the party platform meeting, taking place at the DoubleTree hotel on Kirkman Road. The amendment that passed Saturday doesn't firmly condemn the TPP but underscores the concern over workers' rights.

Supporters of the amendment said it was progress.

I think its a huge victory for the party," Rhode Island Secretary of State, Nellie Gorbea said. "In all policy discussions, people have different view points, but in the end, we approved an amendment that really is a victory for everyone," she said.

The Obama administration says the TPP will enhance economic growth and job retention.

Another hot button issue at the two-day meeting has been immigration reform.



The Young American Dreamers group marched again Saturday holding a rally outside the hotel hoping to garner the attention of the party and its two presidential candidates.

The group wants to take their immigration reform policy up to a vote and discuss what they hope will change during the next presidency sometime during the meeting.

President Obama had promised immigration reform during his candidacy but was unable to pass it because of Congress," Young American Dreamers organizer Daniel Barajas said. "He was unable to pass an executive order that would have protected five million families and was unable to put a new Supreme Court justice in the Supreme Ccourt.

"So if he wasnt able to do all that, what will either candidate, if elected, be able to do if they go into office? Barajas said.

Ben Crump, the lawyer for Trayvon Martin's family, spoke out for an amendment on criminal justice that passed unanimously.

When you think of what's going on in Louisiana and Minnesota, we just have to stop this and what happened in Dallas, its a terrible, sad week in America, said Crump.

Democrats will take the adopted party platform to the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia later this month.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
Appearing on NBCs Meet the Press on Sunday, Senator Bob Corker expressed support for law enforcement officials and called for unity after recent tragedies in Baton Rouge, St. Paul, and Dallas.

Its the number one responsibility that we have is to keep our citizens safe and secure, said Senator Corker. But the fact is that its a breakdown in society when things like what happened in Dallas where theres moral depravity of this individual, took the lives of people who were protecting folks who were demonstrating peacefully. That is something that all of us should cry out about and show support for these men and women in uniform that do what they do on a daily basis, mostly supported, but in so many cases feeling like theyre under assault by the general public.



When one of their officers, when someone acts out inappropriately, it hurts them, too. But the fact is, mostly, these are selfless people who are protecting our citizens, causing kids to be able to go to school and people to be able to go to work. Thats what we ought to be talking about is their greatness  there are flaws that exist  but their greatness, what they do on our behalf.



Asked about rhetoric and divisiveness, Senator Corker expressed hope that our nation will rise to the occasion and focus on unity, not division, in the aftermath of recent tragedies.



It is my hope, again, after this tremendous crisis that has occurred, this tragedy, that our country will focus more on unity and not division, he said.

Senator Corker served as mayor of Chattanooga from 2001 to 2005. During his tenure, he worked with local law enforcement officials to cut violent crime in half.
CANNES  USA Todays weekly virtual reality news show VRtually There may not even have launched yet  but that isnt stopping the news publisher from touting the product to advertisers, all the same.

Publisher Gannett announced in March that VRtually There would launch in the spring, bringing scheduled weekly news to consumers in virtual space. Speaking at the Cannes Lions advertising festival in June with Beet.TV, the groups chief revenue officer said launch would now happen in the summer.

Kevin Gentzel said he was there to talk with agencies and clients. Its such an exciting time to work with brands, to help them tell their stories in virtual reality, he said. Right now, there are no IAB-standard advertising definitions in virtual reality. Were trying to work with brands who want to be thought leaders in the space, to create and invent and build together.

Already, USA Today has published 360 branded video on behalf of Honda and Tourism Australia. Rather than include commercial interruptions, the content instead puts viewers in the seat of a race car and soaring over blue Pacific waters, respectively.

Gannett is the latest publisher to produce content for VR, and to tap up advertisers to fund the new channel. New York Times put cheap Google Cardboard viewers in the hands of 500,000 print home delivery subscribers, and has been publishing regular content to its NYT VR app. CEO Mark Thompson told Beet.TV his company would make money from VR in 2016.

Gentzel thinks Gannett has a different offering. One of the elements that has been missing is publishers  who is committing to a regular rhythm of VR storytelling, he said. Weve seen many media companies dip their toe in, publish one thing and then go away, go dark. Our commitment, consistency and experience with the space is going to help drive the market for consumption.

With 360 or VR product launches from Facebook, HTC, Oculus, Samsung and others, 2016 is shaping up to be a year when the race to be VR platform of choice begins in earnest.

So what about the content? Gentzel, whose publisher has already been posting occasional 360 videos online and through its VR Stories app, says first-person fantastic experiences like riding in a race car, walking a tightrope or swimming with sharks work well in the virtual world. At the regional level, he wants to take people to American cultural celebrations like Burning Man and the Iowa State Fair.

Whats the advertiser opportunity there? We have been testing the right amount of length for content and branded content segments in virtual reality, Gentzel says.

This video part of Beyond the Pre-Roll: the Transformation of Video Advertising, a series produced at Cannes Lion 2016, sponsored by ConvertMedia. For more videos from the series, please visit this page.
At least eight people were reportedly killed in the floods in Madhya Pradesh after heavy rains occurred in Bhopal, Rewa, and Sagar, among other regions. Meanwhile, around 4,000 people have been reportedly rescued and shifted to shelter camps in Satna. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has confirmed that an emergency number (1079) has been set up for rescue operations that will be functional 24x7.
Demonstrators Rally Against Police Brutality At Taste of Chicago And Beyond

By Chicagoist_Guest in News on Jul 10, 2016 4:40PM

By Aaron Cynic and Tyler LaRiviere

In the wake of two high-profile cases of police fatally shooting black men this week, hundreds of demonstrators marched through the Loop on Saturday demanding an end to police brutality and justice for people of color killed by police. Marches and rallies began early in the morning and continued through the late afternoon, converging for a time on the Taste of Chicago, before some protesters headed north to the Magnificent Mile, then south to Trump Tower.

Fourteen people were arrested during the demonstrations, police said: 12 for misdemeanors, and two for aggravated battery to a police officer. Activists reported that the arrests were conducted violently:

Chicago police make violent arrests. Take-downs by multiple cops who were choking & punching people. via @soit_goes pic.twitter.com/mSjwh6CqUe  Rachael Perrotta (@plussone) July 10, 2016

Eerily quiet on Michigan Ave as cops keep #AltonSterling #PhilandoCastile demo on the sidewalk after violent arrests pic.twitter.com/Vid4dBzH3s  agitator in chief (@soit_goes) July 10, 2016

As of Sunday morning, all of those arrested for misdemeanors had been released, police said.

Some groups began rallying as early as 9:00 a.m. in Daley Plaza, with others gathering in Millennium Park around 1:30 p.m. By 4:00 p.m., hundreds were chanting ou cant stop the revolution, and no justice, no revenue at the gates of the Taste.

We are here because we are tired. We are fed up. We are dissatisfied with police brutality, the crowd chanted outside the Taste of Chicago in a mic check led by Chicago activist Lamon Reccord. We are dissatisfied with African Americans getting gunned down left to right by the police. Today is the day that we as people will fight back. We will fight this oppressive system thats out to get rid of us to the police. You cannot kill us.

I want you to hug the person next to you and say, 'Your life matters,'" added Reccord.

The protests came in the wake of two fatal police shootings this past week. Philando Castile, a 32-year-old African American man in Minnesota, was shot and killed by police on Wednesday when complying with orders to produce identification. On Tuesday, 37-year-old Alton Sterling was killedin a parking lot outside a food mart, by Baton Rouge police responding to a call about an armed man. Graphic and disturbing video of both killings was posted on social media within hours of the men's deaths.

Demonstrators chose Taste of Chicago as one of their targets because of the high volume of foot traffic, and the potential to interrupt business as usual. After a standoff with officials, protesters were let into the festival one by one.

Police letting protesters in to Taste of Chicago one by one. #MillenniumParkProtest pic.twitter.com/5669AVLwtZ  Autonomous Spaceport (@superbranch) July 9, 2016

"Where else are you going to go and have this kind of impact and see this many people? Being black, I'm in total agreement with this," Cynthia Johnson-Lyles, who was attending the Taste before the protesters arrived, told the Chicago Tribune. "I appreciate the fact that it's peaceful and that people are taking an active role in change."

Targeting areas like the Loop and large events like the Taste is a way for protesters to feel heard by locals sheltered from many of the city's injustices by Chicago's notorious segregation.

Why is there so much crime in our neighborhoods? Lets look at the root of the problem. Lets look at the fact that our neighborhoods have no economic development, no economic opportunities, no jobs. We are neglected. We are starvedall of our taxpayer money is going downtown, activist JaMal Green told the crowd at the Taste. Lets look at the fact that in these schools were taught basic education. Kids coming out of high school, they dont know anything about credit, stock markets or bank accounts. They dont know anything they should know. Lets look at that fact.

After departing the Taste, protesters headed north towards the Magnificent Mile, eventually ending up at Water Tower Place in the Gold Coast. The shopping center and area surrounding it have been frequent targets for demonstrators, who say the only way the city and other officials will listen is if business gets shut down.


Prime Minister David Cameron holding talks on the fallout from the UKs referendum with the Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo during the NATO summit that began in Warsaw yesterday

David Cameron has reassured Poland's Prime Minister that her countrymen face no immediate threat to their right to live and work in the UK in the wake of last month's vote for withdrawal from the EU.

The Prime Minister met Beata Szydlo during a visit to Polish capital Warsaw for a summit of the Nato military alliance.

He repeated his condemnation of the string of race hate crimes recorded against Poles living in the UK following the June 23 referendum.

The position of EU nationals has been thrust to the centre of the race to succeed Mr Cameron as PM by frontrunner Theresa May's refusal to guarantee current residents the right to stay in the UK following Brexit.

Mrs May has been accused of using the UK's three million EU nationals as a "bargaining chip" after she said their future would have to be part of a negotiation over the rights of Britons in the EU. Leadership rival Andrea Leadsom has said she would offer them an immediate right to stay.

Following Mr Cameron's 20-minute talks with Ms Szydlo, a Government source said: "The PM reiterated his condemnation of some of the race hate crimes we have seen recently in the UK in the wake of the decision to leave the EU.

"The PM said that he expected that the legal rights of Poles in the UK would be protected. It was also important for the rights of British citizens living in the EU to also be protected."

The source stressed that Mr Cameron was restating his position on the status of EU nationals while the UK remains a member state, and was not making a commitment on what will happen after Brexit.

The meeting came shortly after Mr Cameron nominated the UK's ambassador to France, Sir Julian King, to become Britain's new European Commissioner. Subject to approval by the European Parliament, he will fill the vacancy left in Brussels when the former commissioner resigned in the wake of the referendum.

The UK remains a full member with the right to one of the powerful Commission's 28 seats until it has formally left - which could take two years or more.
Brexit could leave the UK in an economic mess which may take up to a decade to bring under control, a political expert has said.

Brexit could leave the UK in an economic mess which may take up to a decade to bring under control, a political expert has said.

Dr Lee McGowan took part in an event last night hosted by the SDLP South Belfast MP Alasdair McDonnell, aimed at answering questions about Brexit.

He said: "We've entered uncharted territory and we don't know exactly where we're headed."

Dr McGowan, who is a senior lecturer in the school of politics, international studies and philosophy at Queen's University, was one of a number of panellists invited to take part in the question and answer session.

Speaking ahead of the event, he said: "The big issue is whether the UK gets access to the single market.

"If they can do that then it should be okay but if that doesn't happen then there will be issues.

"The thing is that it will be up to the EU member states to discuss and decide the terms and then they will come to the UK with their offer.

"It will then be up to the UK to decide whether to accept those terms and this raises the question as to whether there will be another referendum.

"Essentially, other economic negotiations can't take place until we know exactly what the UK is doing regarding the single market."

Dr McGowan, who has a special interest in EU politics, the relationship between Northern Ireland and the EU and politics of the extreme right, said if the UK leaves the single EU market it will take between five and 10 years to negotiate trade deals.

"Even if we remain in the single market we have no say over how it is run," he said.

"We won't actually be around the table when it comes to future decision making so actually the UK will have less control."

Leaving the EU will also have ramifications for agriculture and farming in Northern Ireland, as they will pass back to the control of Stormont as oppose to Westminster, said Dr McGowan.

He stressed that it is important adequate funds are released to enable officials to cope.

A new Prime Minister should also be put in place as quickly as possible so it becomes clear in which direction the UK is going to take.
America is lagging behind the rest of the world in having its share of strong female leaders, Ellen DeGeneres said.

The US TV personality was flanked by her wife Portia de Rossi who said she was "all for it" when asked what she felt about women seizing the reins of power in the UK.

DeGeneres joked: "I'm so mad, I'm against all women in power - I hate it."

Continuing, she said: "It's fantastic obviously. It seems like the whole world is ahead of us with things like that.

"Everyone else has women leaders and we're for some reason like 'oh can she do it?'"

Of the possibility the next US president might be Hillary Clinton, she added: "We're very pro Hillary - we love Hillary."

DeGeneres was joined by stars including Dominic West, The Great British Bake Off 2015 winner Nadiya Hussain and Britain's Got Talent presenter Alesha Dixon at the UK premiere of Finding Dory in London's Leicester Square.

The popular US talk show host is lending her voice to the amnesiac Dory in the sequel to the hugely popular Finding Nemo, while West is teaming up with his The Wire co-star Idris Elba to bring to life a pair of soporific sea lions.

Former British Olympic swimmer Rebecca Adlington and Tom Daley, who will be representing Great Britain in Rio 2016, were also present to support their #JustKeepMoving campaign - a reference to the film's motivational tag line, 'just keep swimming'.

DeGeneres also spoke out following the recent spate of deadly shootings in the US, where two black men and five police officers were killed in the last week.

She said: "I think obviously something needs to be done, everybody needs to start respecting one another, in every area.

"There's too much carelessness and disrespect and a lot of things need to change."

A tanned-looking West posed for selfies with fans and said it was "great" to be reunited with his co-star and "good friend" Elba, from the US crime drama The Wire.

He said the UK's current political climate was "dire" but, like the film's ever-positive Dory, he was keeping optimistic.

"I obviously don't like what's happened, but as everybody says we go on and maybe the chaos will throw up something good.

"Hopefully it will throw up something good and hopefully we won't throw up lots of bad things, like far-right groups."

The animation welcomes back to the big screen the forgetful blue tang Dory who embarks on an adventure with clown fish Nemo and Marlin to try to find her long-lost family.

The film's trailer, which included two women with a pram, sparked speculation from fans that Pixar/Disney had included a same-sex couple in the animation.

But DeGeneres quashed the speculation, saying: "I hadn't looked for that and I'm pretty good at spotting lesbians so I thought I should have seen it.

"I think it was just a woman with a short hair cut. I think they assumed everyone with short hair is a lesbian - that's a bad assumption."

:: Finding Dory opens in UK cinemas on July 29.
Press Eye - Northern Ireland - 10th July 2016 Members of Portadown District LOL No.1 were stopped for the 19th successive year from completing the annual Drumcree Sunday church parade. Picture: Philip Magowan / PressEye

Press Eye - Northern Ireland - 10th July 2016 Members of Portadown District LOL No.1 were stopped for the 19th successive year from completing the annual Drumcree Sunday church parade. Picture: Philip Magowan / PressEye

Press Eye - Northern Ireland - 10th July 2016 Members of Portadown District LOL No.1 were stopped for the 19th successive year from completing the annual Drumcree Sunday church parade. Picture: Philip Magowan / PressEye

Press Eye - Northern Ireland - 10th July 2016 Members of Portadown District LOL No.1 were stopped for the 19th successive year from completing the annual Drumcree Sunday church parade. Picture: Philip Magowan / PressEye

Press Eye - Northern Ireland - 10th July 2016 Members of Portadown District LOL No.1 were stopped for the 19th successive year from completing the annual Drumcree Sunday church parade. Picture: Philip Magowan / PressEye

Press Eye - Northern Ireland - 10th July 2016 Members of Portadown District LOL No.1 were stopped for the 19th successive year from completing the annual Drumcree Sunday church parade. Picture: Philip Magowan / PressEye

Press Eye - Northern Ireland - 10th July 2016 Members of Portadown District LOL No.1 were stopped for the 19th successive year from completing the annual Drumcree Sunday church parade. Picture: Philip Magowan / PressEye

Press Eye - Northern Ireland - 10th July 2016 Members of Portadown District LOL No.1 were stopped for the 19th successive year from completing the annual Drumcree Sunday church parade. Picture: Philip Magowan / PressEye

Press Eye - Northern Ireland - 10th July 2016 Members of Portadown District LOL No.1 were stopped for the 19th successive year from completing the annual Drumcree Sunday church parade. Picture: Philip Magowan / PressEye

Press Eye - Northern Ireland - 10th July 2016 Members of Portadown District LOL No.1 were stopped for the 19th successive year from completing the annual Drumcree Sunday church parade. Picture: Philip Magowan / PressEye

Press Eye - Northern Ireland - 10th July 2016 Members of Portadown District LOL No.1 were stopped for the 19th successive year from completing the annual Drumcree Sunday church parade. Picture: Philip Magowan / PressEye

Press Eye - Northern Ireland - 10th July 2016 Members of Portadown District LOL No.1 were stopped for the 19th successive year from completing the annual Drumcree Sunday church parade. Picture: Philip Magowan / PressEye

Press Eye - Northern Ireland - 10th July 2016 Members of Portadown District LOL No.1 were stopped for the 19th successive year from completing the annual Drumcree Sunday church parade. Picture: Philip Magowan / PressEye

Press Eye - Northern Ireland - 10th July 2016 Members of Portadown District LOL No.1 were stopped for the 19th successive year from completing the annual Drumcree Sunday church parade. Picture: Philip Magowan / PressEye

Press Eye - Northern Ireland - 10th July 2016 Members of Portadown District LOL No.1 were stopped for the 19th successive year from completing the annual Drumcree Sunday church parade. Picture: Philip Magowan / PressEye

Press Eye - Northern Ireland - 10th July 2016 Members of Portadown District LOL No.1 were stopped for the 19th successive year from completing the annual Drumcree Sunday church parade. Picture: Philip Magowan / PressEye

Press Eye - Northern Ireland - 10th July 2016 Members of Portadown District LOL No.1 were stopped for the 19th successive year from completing the annual Drumcree Sunday church parade. Picture: Philip Magowan / PressEye

Press Eye - Northern Ireland - 10th July 2016 Members of Portadown District LOL No.1 were stopped for the 19th successive year from completing the annual Drumcree Sunday church parade. Picture: Philip Magowan / PressEye

Press Eye - Northern Ireland - 10th July 2016 Members of Portadown District LOL No.1 were stopped for the 19th successive year from completing the annual Drumcree Sunday church parade. Picture: Philip Magowan / PressEye

Press Eye - Northern Ireland - 10th July 2016 Members of Portadown District LOL No.1 were stopped for the 19th successive year from completing the annual Drumcree Sunday church parade. Picture: Philip Magowan / PressEye

Orange men broke a Parades Commission deadline on Sunday by remaining at Drumcree Parish Church beyond the 2.30pm deadline.

Following their annual parade past Drumcree Church in Portadown, Darryl Hewitt, Portadown District Master at Drumcree, called on Orange Order members to ignore a Parades Commission ruling to leave the area by 2.30pm.

Fourteen members marched back to the Garvaghy Road impasse - where the parade is blocked from going any further - at the time they were ordered to disperse.

They remained there until 2.41pm in a token protest at the Parades Commission.

The act of protest was carried out peacefully.

The Portadown Church was the scene of serious rioting every year in the late 1990s when Orange men were barred from walking along the Garvaghy Road to return to the parade's starting point at Carleton Street.

Portadown District LOL No 1 have maintained a protest at the church every Sunday since then.

The re routed church parade continues to take place every year on the Sunday before the Twelfth parades.

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The parade is now also banned by the Parades Commission from the Obins Street area of Portadown and has been ordered to disperse from Drumcree Parish Church no later than 2.30pm.

Drumcree Church Parade pic.twitter.com/51bxaNrtRf  Orange Order (@OrangeOrder) July 10, 2016

However Portadown District Master Darryl Hewitt is set to call for brethren to remain at the church past the 2.30pm deadline.

"According to the determination we are to leave this place by 2.30pm today," he said.

"However, on behalf of myself and the District Officers, may I request that you remain with us here as we do not intend leaving by the time an unelected quango has told us to leave by.

"Here We Stand, We Can Do No Other."

The parade has not been able to finish along its traditional route since July 1998.

Mr Hewitt said district officers have been seeking to achieve a resolution over the past years, but without much success to date.

Brethren of Portadown District going into #Drumcree Church for their annual service pic.twitter.com/i7URzeloCa  Portadown LOL 1 (@Portadownlol1) July 10, 2016

"We will not be walking away from this place and I can assure you that we will continue to work hard to achieve what we desire," he said.

"As you will have seen in recent press reports, we have not been sitting on our laurels waiting for someone else to try to get this situation resolved.

"As I briefly mentioned last year I had written to the residents inviting them to talks with a senior Roman Catholic cleric as Chairman. The story was covered extensively by the local media and I do not intend to rehearse it all again today."

Mr Hewitt has challenged unionist politicians to "grasp the parading nettle and come up with a much more equitable solution to parading disputes".

"The Parades Commission have once again shown their utter contempt for the Orange Institution in general  just look at some of the determinations they produce  and Portadown District in particular," he said.

"In fact when we last met representatives of the Parades Commission, one of them interjected in the discussion and stated that he had been on the Commission for three years and had yet to see or hear anything new coming out of Portadown.

"I ask you, how many people would expect a District Master, in particular, the District Master of Portadown to invite a Roman Catholic priest to chair talks?

"The Parades Commission are supposed to be about resolving parading disputes as well as encouraging dialogue  the current Commission are either unable or unwilling to accept they have any part to play. It was because of their inactivity that I embarked upon issuing an invitation directly to the GRRC."

Mr Hewitt revealed that the Parades Commission have urged his district to stop their weekly protest.

"Let me and all of you on this hill remind Anne Henderson and her colleagues  Portadown District will not be paying any attention to advice given by a discredited quango," he said.

"Furthermore, the Parades Commission had to issue two determinations for this parade  the first one, posted out to me about two weeks ago, stated that we were re-routed from the Garvaghy Road. They then had to issue a new determination a week later also re-routing us from Obins Street.

"Once again this clearly demonstrates the incompetence of the Parades Commission  they must go and go soon."

Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close End of the road: police block the parade by Portadown District LOL No1 at Drumcree in 2015. Photopress Belfast Drumcree: July 2002 Drumcree: July 1996 Drumcree: July 1995 / Facebook

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Whatsapp End of the road: police block the parade by Portadown District LOL No1 at Drumcree in 2015.

The senior Orange man has also appealed to the Garvaghy Road Residents Coalition (GRRC) to respond to his letters and meet with him to find a resolution.

"However, we attempt to complete our parade each and every Sunday  a fact that most people in Northern Ireland are not aware of. This has been the case since July 1998 when our late District Master Wor Bro Harold Gracey said that we would remain on protest until our rights have been restored," he said.

"We have a faithful band of Brethren who attend the protest each and every week, including Brethren from other Districts. The thanks of Portadown District go to you Brethren for your faithfulness.

"Our resolve has not diminished over the weeks, months and indeed years.

"No-one should be in any doubt  Portadown District are in this for the long haul. We will not be deflected from seeking to achieve our objective."
Authorities are cautiously optimistic of a peaceful main fixture, in the Ardoyne, in the loyal order parading season

Authorities in Northern Ireland are cautiously optimistic the main fixture in the loyal order parading season can pass off peacefully, but have a major policing operation planned to deal with any unrest.

While the vast majority of the almost 600 parades are free of trouble each "Twelfth of July", the threat of disorder at a small number of remaining marching flashpoints always has the potential to mar the day.

Thousands of Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) officers will be deployed to parades across Northern Ireland on Tuesday, with contingency plans in place to call on additional Mutual Aid support from other UK forces if required.

PSNI commanders are confident such back-up from Great Britain will not be needed this year.

The Twelfth commemorates the victory of the Protestant King William of Orange over Catholic King James II at the Battle of the Boyne in Ireland in 1690.

Senior officers and Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers have voiced optimism for the day, noting a sense of reduced community tensions ahead of the event.

A number of early summer parades that in the past have been the source of discord have passed off without major incident in 2016.

A deal to resolve the region's most volatile Twelfth parading impasse - at the Ardoyne/Twaddell Avenue community interface in north Belfast - collapsed last month.

However, the breakdown of negotiations between the Orange Order and nationalist residents in the Ardoyne area was not accompanied by the recriminations some might have expected.

A loyalist protest camp has been manned in the unionist Twaddell Avenue area since the Orange Order was banned by the Government-appointed panel that adjudicates on contentious marches - the Parades Commission - from parading past the nationalist Ardoyne on its return from the main Belfast Twelfth demonstrations in 2013.

A subsequent police operation to monitor the camp and interface has cost around 20 million.

The area has been the scene of rioting on a number of previous Twelfths - with republicans and loyalists both having engaged in violence.

Construction on huge loyalist bonfires, which are traditionally lit on the "Eleventh night" to usher in the Twelfth commemorations, are nearing completion.

Controversy surrounds a number of the structures.

Last year, homes near Chobham Street in east Belfast had to be evacuated over fears the giant nearby bonfire could topple on to property.

While this year's bonfire in the area has been moved away from those homes and is set to be smaller in scale, the fire is still the source of contention.

Equipment in a newly-built children's play park has had to be moved amid fears of damage.

At the huge Ballybeen bonfire at Dundonald in greater Belfast, environmental concerns about noxious fumes have been raised after footage emerged of a large number of tyres being dumped at the site for burning.

Alcohol has undoubtedly been a factor in the disorder witnessed during previous Twelfths.

The Orange Order has been pro-active this year encouraging Orangemen and women, loyalist bands and supporters to stay off the drink with a campaign titled "It's about the battle, not the bottle".

The Order plans to hand out thousands of bottles of water branded with the slogan on the day.

Away from the Twaddell dispute, one of the other main areas of concern this year - in the Castlemara estate in Carrickfergus - is actually linked to tensions within loyalist paramilitarism, rather a parading dispute with nationalists.

Ms Villiers said she hoped the Twelfth could be a "successful and enjoyable day".

"I think there is a degree of optimism around the parading season, the big events coming up," she said.

"It is of course very important with big public events of this size that every effort is made to ensure they are peaceful and orderly and I am very much aware all the detailed preparation that the PSNI put into this and also I know there are many people across the community who are involved in both parades and protests who are also working hard to try to ensure that the Twelfth of July is a peaceful, orderly and successful day."

PSNI Chief Constable George Hamilton has stressed the importance of communication to avoid tension.

"It is clear that dialogue is critical in the management of any event that involves the gathering of large volumes of people," he said at July's meeting of his oversight body, the NI Policing Board.

"I am encouraged by the level of positive dialogue that is currently taking place in our communities."

He added: "I think it does a create a more optimistic outlook for the rest of the parading season."

Northern Ireland's First Minister Arlene Foster, Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness and Justice Minister Claire Sugden called for a "peaceful, respectful and safe parading season".

In a joint statement, they said: "The celebration of different memories, cultures and traditions in a respectful, dignified and peaceful manner has the potential to enrich our society. Equally, some may wish to protest and it is essential this is done in a way that is peaceful and does not undermine law and order.

"As we move into a period which has in the past resulted in heightened tensions, we encourage everyone to conduct themselves in a dignified and lawful way.

"We all have a responsibility to show leadership and to continue to seek resolutions to contentious issues through discussion and ensure any difficulties are identified and resolved peacefully, thus showing respect for the views and wishes of everyone in the community.

"We want to build a future that is respectful, inclusive and vibrant. Dialogue and engagement are key to ensuring mutual understanding and co-operation, and we welcome the ongoing commitment of all involved to maintaining a peaceful and safe society.

"Regardless of background we wish everyone a peaceful and enjoyable bank holiday."
North Antrim MP Ian Paisley says he is looking forward to meeting astronaut Major Tim Peake (pictured) at a welcome home reception at 10 Downing Street.

North Antrim MP Ian Paisley says he is looking forward to meeting astronaut Major Tim Peake at a welcome home reception at 10 Downing Street.

British astronaut Tim Peake travelled into space earlier this year and spent six months on the International Space Station.

He is only the seventh UK born person to travel into space.

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Major Peake returned to earth last month and is set to attend a special welcome home reception at 10 Downing Street next Monday (July 18).

Mr Paisley has revealed he has been invited to the event and spoke of his excitement about attending, describing Major Peake as an "inspiration".

"I am absolutely honoured to have been invited to this special reception in Downing Street to represent my constituents and congratulate this amazing man on the work he has done," he said.

"His recent space mission has been an inspiration for many young people."
Theresa Mays review of sharia courts has been branded a whitewash before it has even begun, with more than 200 individuals and human rights groups signing an open letter urging her to dismantle the panel chosen to oversee the inquiry.

They claim that by appointing an Islamic scholar as chair and placing two imams in advisory roles, the panels ability to make an impartial assessment of how religious arbitration is used to the detriment of womens rights will be seriously compromised.

Signatories include Gita Sahgal, the director of Centre for Secular Space and a former head of Amnesty Internationals gender unit, the playwright Julia Pascal and the Iranian-born human rights activist, Maryam Namazie.

They say the narrow remit of the review, which starts collecting evidence this month, has a misplaced focus on seeking out best practice among sharia councils rather than questioning their very existence.

While there are three legal experts on the panel, critics claim the role of chair should have be given to a judge rather than a theologian and that female advisors or those that advocate for them should be included.

Ms Namazie told The Independent: The law and not religion should be the basis of justice for citizens. We are calling for an impartial judge-led inquiry that places human rights, not theology, at the heart of the investigation.

Sharia councils have no enforcement powers and operate on a voluntary basis with consent of both parties. Sharia law does not supersede UK law. Either party, if dissatisfied should be able to seek redress in the UK courts. However some women who attend sharia councils are not aware of their rights or are cowed by community or religious pressures.

The review, announced in May as part of the Governments counter-extremism strategy and due to be completed by 2017, is to be chaired by Mona Siddiqui, a professor of Islamic studies at the University of Edinburgh and a regular presenter of the Thought for the Day slot on Radio 4s Today programme. Family lawyer Anne-Marie Hutchinson, barrister Sam Momtaz, and retired high court judge, Sir Mark Hedley will also sit on the panel.

The Home Office said the panel will examine the ways in which sharia may be misused or exploited following concerns that some sharia councils were working in a discriminatory fashion by seeking to legitimise forced marriage and issuing divorces to women that were unfair and contrary to the teachings of Islam.

May said at the time: A number of women have reportedly been victims of what appears to be discriminatory decisions taken by sharia councils, and that is a significant concern.

Womens rights groups initially welcomed the move as a rare opportunity for the state to examine the resurgence of Islamism via sharia courts and its impact on gender equality.

But Ms Namazie, who set up the campaign One Law For All, said they now fear the review, which states it will seek out best practice among sharia councils could lead to their endorsement.

She said: Far from examining the connections between religious fundamentalism and womens rights, the narrow remit of the inquiry will render it a whitewash. It seems more geared to rubberstamping the courts than defending womens rights.

Their concerns were detailed in a letter published this week on the website Open Democracy.

They wrote: It is patronising if not racist to fob off minority women with so-called religious experts who wish to legitimate sharia laws as a form of governance in family and private matters.

By making religious appointments, the Government has lost a vital opportunity to examine the discriminatory nature of not only sharia councils but all spheres of religious arbitration including the Batei Din [Jewish court].

However, Ms Siddiqui said the desire of campaigners to polarise religion and law demonstrated a profound misunderstanding of sharia.

She told The Independent: Being a theologian doesnt mean Im not thinking about human rights or legal parameters. The last thing I want to be involved in is something which is seen as propping up a system that is not working to the advantage of men and women irrespective of their religion.

Ms Siddiqui, who said the panel would start collecting evidence this month, insisted the voice of womens rights advocates would be heard.

Ive already received a number of requests and everyone is welcome. I wouldnt waste my time doing this if I just wanted to whitewash or ignore the concerns of Muslim women, she said.

As a Muslim woman myself Im interested in why we have sharia councils in the first place but also why are younger people using sharia councils?

She added: If people are using this [sharia] for arbitration or mediation, and find that helps  then thats fine. But if people are saying a woman has to stay with her husband or she loses custody of her children, then that goes against UK law and absolutely that is wrong.

Asked why there wasnt a woman from the Muslim community advising the panel, Ms Siddiqui said women had been approached but were reluctant to come forward.

She said: The imams are advising us because they have the ear of the community but that doesnt mean what they say will be taken necessarily as right or wrong.

However, campaigners have claimed one of the imams holds very traditional views that sit at odds with womens rights. They allege that comments made by Sayed Ali Abbas Razawi, a former member of the Majlis Ulema Shia scholarly group, suggest he supports the death penalty in Islamic states, promotes negative views about homosexuality and believes Western clothing is a sign of corruption.

They refer to footage posted on YouTube in 2014 of Mr Razawi giving a lecture at Montreals Shiane Haidery centre. In the clip he is heard to state homosexuality will increase zinaa [a sin of sexual intercourse] will increase in our society.

Since The Independent made enquiries about the video it has been made private.

In another clip, posted in December last year, he tells an audience at an Islamic Centre in Milton Keynes: Sometimes your enemy can even come as your ignorant friend Do not socialise with a jahil because a jahil will cause you problems. Jahil refers to those ignorant of Islam.

Mr Razawi, who says he carries out inter-faith work, strongly refutes holding views which oppose womens rights. He told The Independent: Im a philosopher. Those particular lectures were on certain traditions and were not my opinion.

The second imam advisor to the panel is Qari Muhammad Asim who is attached to the Leeds Makkah Masjid, one of the UKs largest mosques.

Pragna Patel, director of the charity Southall Black Sisters, questioned the choice of imam advisors over those who advocate for women victims of sharia councils. She said: This review is effectively pre-determined. It is saying lets identify bad practice and see what we can do to make it compatible with UK law but this is not about splitting hairs between good and bad Islam.

She added: We should be asking why are parallel legal systems flourishing and what harm are they doing? The abuses can only be addressed in a framework of human rights.

In their letter, campaigners said there was considerable evidence to show that sharia courts are violating womens rights with respect to marriage, divorce, custody of children, property and inheritance.

They point to the recently published book Women and sharia Law by Elham Manea and have launched a crowd-funding campaign to get a copy into the hands of every MP and peer.

Source The Independent
File photo of South China Sea. [Photo/Xinhua]

Every now and then, but with increasing frequency in recent times, China is engaged by its neighbors in territorial disputes regarding claims to the South China Sea. Historically, these disputes have been amicably settled between neighbors. But increasingly of late, efforts are being made to introduce questionable third party involvement, under the guise of mediation.

Lies, half-truths and twisted facts are often used to justify a pursuance of strategic ambitions. But before swallowing tales wholesale, it will do well to revisit history.

First of all, as China has repeatedly pointed out, the islands and reefs of the South China Sea have been part of the Chinese territory from time immemorial. Indeed, China was the first to discover, name and exercise sustained, peaceful and effective jurisdiction over the relevant islands and reefs.

But since the 1970s, some countries have illegally occupied a number of China's Nansha islands and reefs, which is the root cause of current problems between neighbors who have forever coexisted peacefully in the South China Sea.

China's position on the related issues has always been consistent and clear-cut, remaining committed to peaceful settlements through negotiations and consultations, managing the disputes through established rules and mechanisms, promoting joint development and cooperation, safeguarding freedom of navigation and overflight -- and always pursuing peace and stability in the South China Sea region.

The fact is, China and its neighbors do have an established mechanism for seeking solutions to related disputes. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) initiated a dual-track approach that will ensure disputes are properly resolved through negotiations and consultations between the parties directly involved.

This approach was advocated by the regional grouping of Asian nations to ensure peace and stability in the South China Sea and is jointly maintained by China and the ASEAN countries.

This approach is not only consistent with international law and practice; it is also an important consensus reached and a solemn commitment made by China and the ASEAN countries in the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC).

The DOC is also seen by the ASEAN nations as the most pragmatic and effective way of properly handling the current issues involving the South China Sea.

The Philippine claim is based on its unilateral initiation of the disputed arbitration case in January 2013, which violates their bilateral agreements with China. It also violates the agreement of the DOC and violates Article 280 and Article 281 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

That is to say, since China and the Philippines have made a clear choice of negotiation as the agreed means to resolve relevant disputes, the third-party settlement mechanism in UNCLOS is not applicable.

Furthermore, China made (in accordance with Article 298 of UNCLOS) a declaration on optional exceptions in 2006, excluding disputes concerning maritime delimitation (historical bays or titles, as well as military and law-enforcement activities) from such compulsory dispute-settlement procedures as arbitration.

Therefore, the Arbitration Tribunal that the Philippines wishes to introduce (in the name of third-party mediation) has no jurisdiction over the disputes between China and the Philippines.

China is therefore absolutely right when it says it refuses to accept or join any arbitration -- and that it will also not acknowledge any resulting adjudication in absentia.

Those promoting arbitration and mediation seek to legitimize external intervention in disputes between neighbors by falsely claiming China is pursuing hegemonic ambitions in the South and South East China Seas.

The fact is, freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea has always been (and continues to be) enjoyed by all countries in accordance with international law - and has never been a problem.

The United States has never hidden its continuing historical interest in maintaining a heavily armed military presence in South East Asia, the China Seas included. Washington has also always historically found ways to latch on to every related dispute between China and its neighbors, its positions being driven by its strategic military interest in relation to the given China neighbor.

The U.S. hardly tries to mask its military strategy for the region with any ambiguity. The Washington pivot is not only about strengthening political and economic presence and influence in Asia, it is also about creating new and more strategic economic interest to provide more political justification for stronger military presence, in the name of enhancing regional security.

The U.S. insists that China is out to control all the skies and seas in the region -- and to construct military bases on uninhabited China islands to enforce its sea and sky dominance.

But in reality, China has repeatedly assured that freedom of flight and navigation will not be affected by construction on some of its islands and reefs in the South China Sea. China's insists that construction in the South China Sea is within its sovereign rights, that its activities are lawful, reasonable and justified -- and do not target any other country.

Recent regime changes in the Philippines can again test the willingness of involved and affected neighbors to work together towards a common ASEAN solution, without external intervention.

Washington will continue to press regional states supporting external intervention to press for approaches that will favor its strategic military ambitions in and for the area.

But China remains firmly against the militarization of the South China Sea -- or interference by any external force.

This simply means those prepared to test or challenge Beijing's determination are only (yet again) demonstrating their preparedness to fan the flames of war while talking peace and security, to beat the war drums while smoking the peace pipe!

Earl Bousquet is an award-winning veteran Saint Lucian and Caribbean journalist with over four decades experience covering the Latin American and Caribbean region. He is also President of the Saint-Lucia China Friendship Association.

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.
Marie Colvin was killed in the besieged Syrian city of Homs in 2012

The family of the renowned Sunday Times war correspondent Marie Colvin have launched legal action against the Syrian government charging it with arranging her death in 2012.

The award-winning American journalist was killed in a rocket attack just hours after telling the world how Bashar al-Assad's army was "simply shelling a city of cold, starving civilians".

According to a lawsuit filed in Washington, figures at the "highest level" of the Assad government were part of a conspiracy to attack a makeshift media centre used at the time by reporters in the besieged city of Homs.

The papers link the dictator's brother to the plan, which was designed to "surveil, target, and ultimately kill civilian journalists in order to silence local and international media as part of its effort to crush political opposition".

In February 2012 Ms Colvin, 56, travelled to the Baba Amr neighbourhood of Homs with British photographer Paul Conroy and Syrian translator Wael al-Omar on an assignment for The Sunday Times.

There they met activists, civilian journalists and bloggers reporting on the atrocities that were being carried out by government forces on a daily basis.

Their use of social media to share videos and stories earned the Syrian uprising the "Youtube Revolution", and a secret nerve centre for the group was set up on the ground floor of a three-storey house.

The papers state: "Throughout February 2012, the Assad regime received tips from intelligence sources in Lebanon that Ms Colvin and other foreign journalists were travelling to Syria through Lebanon and reporting from the Baba Amr Media Centre.

"Acting on these tips, senior members of the Assad regime formed a plan to intercept the journalists' communications, track their movement to locate the media centre, and kill the journalists with artillery fire."

On February 21, Ms Colvin made audio broadcasts via satellite dish to CNN, BBC News, and Channel 4 from the media centre, telling audiences around the world: "The Syrian Army is simply shelling a city of cold, starving civilians."

According to the lawsuit Syrian intelligence forces intercepted the broadcast signals and traced it to a location inside Baba Amr.

A regime spy tipped off the leadership of the Homs Military-Security Committee that foreign journalists were at the centre and led them to its location.

When salvos of rockets and mortar fire were unleashed on the house the following morning the activists and journalists attempted to flee with their lives.

Ms Colvin and French photographer Remi Ochlik were killed when a rocket slammed into the ground by the front door, sending shrapnel and splinters tearing through the house that severely injured Mr Conroy and Mr Omar.

According to the legal papers the plot to kill the journalists was drawn up by the Central Crisis Management Cell, a war cabinet set up by Assad.

The group included his brother, Maher Al-Assad, who commanded the elite 4th armoured division of the Syrian army.

The night before the attack the tip and plan of action was shared with his office, according to the papers.

The law suit is being brought by her sister, Cathleen Colvin, and her niece, Justine Araya-Colvin.

They claim that, as well as their personal loss, her assassination was "designed to intimidate and terrorise the civilian population of Syria, the victims' loved ones, other journalists, and the international community".

Ms Colvin worked for The Sunday Times for 25 years reporting on crimes against humanity and conflict around the world, including East Timor, The Balkans and Iraq.
Marcus Samuelsson

[Announcement]

The Anticipated 2016 Pan African Weekend to kick off this weekend in NYC

This is the weekend we have all been waiting for.

Face2Face Africa brings us the 5th installment of their Pan-African Weekend, celebrating trailblazers across the Pan-African community. The jam packed weekend is the most prestigious celebration of Pan-African achievement and brings together leaders from various industries. It is an opportunity for participants to celebrate and mix & mingle with the icons and heroes of today who have paved the way for the younger generation and impacted discourse on pan-Africas image, its future, and potential.

This year's honorees are a group of inspirational heroes with uniquely fascinating stories to tell. They have made a tremendous impact in their respective fields and are leaving a legacy that will forever shape and influence the pan-African community and the world.

The group includes Rosa Whitaker, Founder CEO and president of The Whitaker Group, Wyclef Jean, Grammy Award Winning Artist and Humanitarian, Marcus Samuelsson, Renowned Celebrity Chef and Entrepreneur, Vanessa De Luca, Editor-In-Chief of Essence Magazine, and Wale Adeosun, Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Kuramo Capital.

The weekend kicks off with a Networking Mixer at Pranna where attendees can meet and chat with honored guests, F2FA Staff and each other - all while getting their groove on to the musical stylings of DJ E Love.

Saturday brings the main event of the weekend: the F.A.C.E. List Awards Dinner/Gala at Espace Ballroom. With red carpet networking starting at 6pm and the dazzling awards show and 3-course dinner at 8pm, attendees are encouraged dress in best black tie attire.

Dont shy away from showing off your favorite African-inspired ballgown! In addition to hearing from the inspiring honorees and amazing presenters, the evening includes performances by Kaissa, Blitz the Ambassador and Rachel Brown. The awards gala will be hosted by TV Personality and Entrepreneur, Tai Beauchamp. The star-studded night closes off with an after party at The Vermilion 480 lexington ave NY, NY 10167.

Finally, the weekend is wrapped up by a Jazz Brunch at Mist Harlem from 11:30am to 3:30pm. Its a great chance to solidify contacts made over the weekend, and ask guest and honorees any last pressing questions.

All in all, it guarantees to be an amazing weekend that cannot be missed. Join in the festivities and get your tickets while they last.



Tickets can be purchased here.
This is the latest in a new series of letters home from a local Marine getting ready to be deployed to the Republic of Georgia to train the Georgian army for their mission in Afghanistan:

This week was a busy one. I spent most of the week working with Georgian interpreters. When they deploy to Afghanistan, they will have with them a cadre of Georgians who can speak English.

They learn English in school, but there are many military terms and slang that are not taught in a civilian-run class. They also may learn British English, so they need to get used to speaking to people with American accents and idioms. My Marines are from all over the country and have different accents, so it is challenging for the Georgians.

Speaking English is a great advantage. Nearly everywhere in the world you will find someone who can speak English. Kartuli is the language spoken in Georgia and not very many people outside the country speak it. It has its own unique alphabet with sounds that cannot be represented with the Latin alphabet.

When they deploy to Afghanistan, there are numerous local languages that are spoken. Finding a Dari to Kartuli interpreter is impossible. When they are on patrol and need to talk to a local, they have an interpreter that translates the local language to English and then another interpreter to translate it from English to Kartuli. This process is cumbersome and has a great potential for information to be lost or translated incorrectly.

When we are working at the language school, we make them translate a document from English, then have someone else translate it back to see if any meaning has been lost. It is challenging on just the language aspect of it, but when you factor in customs, traditions, local idioms, individual personality and education, it can seem impossible.

Celeb

rations and travels

On Thursday, the embassy had their Independence Day celebration for all of the diplomats and foreign dignitaries. It was expected that my unit was represented, so I went. It is tough standing around eating high-end catering and drinking wine but someone has to do it...

It is fun going to these events and talking with the other countries military representatives. It is surprising, not in our differences, but in our similarities. I have sent along a photo with me and friend from the Czech army. The Georgians provide many troops to Afghanistan and the Czechs do as well.

It was a typical embassy event. The Georgian prime minister was there and gave a speech. The ambassador said his piece and then the sky open up and we got hailed on. The wind blew down decorations and tents. The caterers scrambled to keep their food from being drenched. In 20 minutes, it was over and we were back to the party.

On Saturday, I took a trip to the wine region of Georgia. We went to a local winery in the town of Sighnaghi where they made wine traditionally. It is fermented in clay pots buried in the ground that are sealed with bees wax.

There is no yeast added, all the fermentation occurs from naturally occurring yeast. I am not much of a wine drinker, but it was clear that this was good wine.

Sighnaghi is a beautiful mountain village that is surrounded by an ancient wall. The locals tell me that it is second in length to the Great Wall of China. The town overlooks a vast plain of vineyards and farms. It is becoming a tourist attraction for obvious reasons.

This series began in the March 20 edition of The Dunn County News and can also be found at www.dunnconnect.com
The European Union will be sensitive to Ireland's desire to preserve the "invisible border" and maintain close relations with post-Brexit UK, the Foreign Minister has claimed.

Charlie Flanagan insisted other EU partners understood the nature and importance of the close link between Ireland and the UK.

In the wake of the referendum, concerns have been expressed on both sides of the Irish border that movement of trade and people will be negatively impacted when the UK leaves the EU. The future of the Common Travel Area (CTA), which has allowed people to travel freely around the island since partition, has been the subject of intense public debate.

While the governments in Dublin, Belfast and London have expressed a desire to keep the border as open as possible, the EU member states will ultimately have to agree to the shape of what will become of one of the Union's external frontiers.

Addressing the Diplomatic Corp - Irish based ambassadors representing 75 countries - Mr Flanagan highlighted the "crucial role" the EU played in the peace process. He said while the contribution of the EU to reconciliation projects in the North would be missed, he stressed that the peace that had been achieved would remain "embedded and irreversible".

On Ireland's National Day of Remembrance, the minister told the ambassadors: "Without doubt, the period ahead will be very challenging for the European Union as it seeks to ensure that the United Kingdom remains a close partner while at the same time working to deliver even more effectively on the priority concerns of its citizens."

He added: "I have spoken to several of my EU counterparts in recent days and I will continue these conversations over the coming weeks. I know that our EU partners understand well the uniquely close nature of Ireland's relations with the United Kingdom and that, in the spirit of accommodation which characterises the European Union, they will be sensitive to our concerns which include the exceptionally close relationship between these islands, the sharing of a land border, the unique status of our citizens in the United Kingdom and, of course, the implications for the peace process."

Mr Flanagan said the Irish government "deeply regretted" the outcome of the referendum but respected the result.

"Today let me emphasise just one of the reasons for our deep regret," he added.

"The context for the development of the warm relationship between our islands, which has transformed one of the great enmities of the past into a great friendship, has been our shared membership of the European Union over the last 40 years. I strongly believe that the foundations of this friendship are strong and it will endure.

"While also warmly recognising the immense contribution of the United States and of our other friends around the world, the European Union to a large extent provided the wider context for the peace process.

"One thinks, for example, of Europe's immensely generous financial contribution over many years which went well beyond any objective allocation criteria, a contribution effectively from the taxpayers of other European countries to assist and support our peace process.

"However, that benign EU context was and is much more fundamental than money. The fact that Ireland and the United Kingdom shared a common EU citizenship provided a space for reconciliation that transcended the zero-sum equation of British or Irish sovereignty. The Irish Government does not underestimate the sense of disquiet now felt by many people in Northern Ireland at the prospect of the loss of their connection to the European Union.

"While it is therefore very important to understand and acknowledge the European contribution to the peace process, and to address the complications and challenges which will arise in the new situation, I haven't the slightest doubt that the peace process is embedded and irreversible.

"The Irish Government will continue to work intensively with the British Government and the Northern Ireland Executive to see how best collectively we can work to ensure that the gains of the last two decades are fully protected.

"Ireland, Britain and Northern Ireland share the common objective of preserving the Common Travel Area and an open border on the island of Ireland. These are the types of issues we are highlighting and, in due course, will be discussing in detail with our EU partners as we seek together to design arrangements to protect the peace process.

"As we today remember the conflicts which have scarred the European continent and wiped out successive generations of its young men, destroying the lives of families everywhere as we commemorate the Somme both yesterday in Dublin and in France last week, it is uplifting to note the maturity and ease of political relationships in Europe today; relationships which would have seemed literally incredible to the men in the trenches a century ago.

"Diplomacy is often about the important challenge of promoting trade and culture; and about the crucial responsibility of looking after our citizens abroad. But sometimes diplomacy can actually be about life and death as it has proved on this continent and later on this island."
The Minister for Foreign Affairs says his Department is very concerned about the deteriorating security situation in South Sudan.

In a statement this evening Minster Flanagan said he's monitoring the situation closely and he said his Embassy team in Addis Ababa is liaising with Irish citizens in the Capital Juba.
MADISON  The ever-difficult gun issue creates potential pitfalls for both major-party candidates in Wisconsins U.S. Senate race.

For Republican Sen. Ron Johnson, the problem is public opinion, which runs counter to his opposition to gun-control measures being debated in Congress.

For Democrat Russ Feingold, its his mottled record on guns, which appears out of step with a Democratic Party thats increasingly unified in favor of new gun restrictions.

Recent mass shootings in Orlando and San Bernardino have pushed the issue back to the national forefront, said UW-Madison political scientist David Canon. He commented last week before a gunman shot and killed five police officers in Dallas and wounded several others  another event that could accelerate the debate over guns.

Johnson, R-Oshkosh, played a key role in a recent Senate debate on whether to bar gun sales to people on federal terror watch lists, including the no-fly list. That, like other gun measures that recently have come before Congress, appears unlikely to become law.

Gun-control groups are targeting Johnson for opposing that and another measure to expand background checks to all gun sales. Polls show both measures are broadly popular.

Johnson blamed Democrats, the minority party in both houses of Congress, for inaction on guns. Republicans are the ones trying to get a result, Johnson added. The party that is politicizing the issue is the Democrats.

Feingold, meanwhile, faces a political challenge. He has tried to straddle the line on guns throughout his career, making pro-gun-rights statements while casting votes on both sides of the issue.

Such a nuanced position may be more difficult to maintain in light of a growing sentiment among Democrats, including presumptive presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, to mount a full-throated push for gun control.

Feingold, D-Middleton, said his record shows his independence on guns. Feingold said Johnson, in contrast, simply does the bidding of the National Rifle Association, the nations leading gun-rights group.

Johnson is an extremist on this issue, Feingold said. People deserve an independent voice on this issue, and thats what I provide.

Johnson: More checks a slippery slope

The unique challenges faced by both candidates may be tempering their tones in publicly discussing guns, Canon said. Meanwhile, he said Congress is likely to remain at an impasse on guns.

I think it will continue to be deadlocked, Canon said.

The gun issue recently caused friction between U.S. Senate Republicans, with Johnson at the center of the scrum.

Last month, GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who authored a measure to bar gun sales to people on either of two federal terror watch lists, blamed Johnson personally for blocking its passage. Collins plan called for allowing the U.S. Justice Department to block sales to people on the federal no-fly and selectee lists, according to a Politico report.

Support for the measure is due in part to the fact that Omar Mateen was on a federal watch list for a period of time before he shot and killed 49 people in an Orlando nightclub last month.

Johnson sponsored an alternative to Collins proposal that she said likely lured some Republican senators away from backing her plan. Johnsons amendment called for delaying, rather than directly halting, gun sales to people on the federal watch lists, during which time law enforcement could investigate if the buyer is involved in terrorism.

Some other Republicans facing tough re-election fights supported Collins proposal.

Johnson said he thought his amendment could have passed if a vote hadnt been taken so quickly, before he could sell his colleagues on it.

Nobody wants to see a gun or any weapon get in the hands of a terrorist or a would-be terrorist, but we need to be extremely cautious, Johnson said. Dont you think you need some due process to be able to get off that (watch) list if youre going to be denied any kind of constitutional right?

Johnson also dismissed expanding background checks as going down a slippery slope, saying theres no need for such checks on gun transactions between family members or friends.

Feingold bills himself as independent

Feingold slammed Johnson for his role in halting Collins no-fly proposal, calling it shameful.

It was one of the few public statements Feingold has made about guns since he launched his campaign more than a year ago  even as other Wisconsin Democrats, such as Sen. Tammy Baldwin and U.S. Reps. Mark Pocan and Gwen Moore, publicly clamored for new gun restrictions through a sit-in on the U.S. House floor last month.

But Feingold wont say if he would have voted for the Collins measure that he criticized Johnson for thwarting. Unlike most Democrats, Feingold has voiced reservations on civil-liberties grounds, questioning if people are allowed due process when theyre added to or removed from the list.

Feingold said in the interview he wouldve worked with Sen. Collins rather than destroy her effort had he been in the Senate last month.

My goal wouldve been to find a way to vote with her, Feingold said. The actual decision to vote or not, thats for somebody whos in office.

Feingold supports other gun measures such as expanding background checks and restricting purchases of high-capacity gun magazines that hold large amounts of ammunition.

Feingolds voting record on guns was mixed during his three terms in the U.S. Senate. He was one of just a few Democrats to vote against extending the federal assault-weapons ban in 2004, calling it a largely arbitrary and symbolic measure. A decade earlier, he voted to put the ban in place.

Rhetorically, Feingold has been more pro-gun than most Democrats, saying in 2010 that he had been one of the true leaders in fighting for a greater right to bear arms. He has said the Second Amendment provides an individual right to gun ownership, a point that some liberals contest.

But the political tide on guns is turning for Democrats. Once mindful of appeasing centrists from conservative states where gun control is unpopular, Democrats now are increasingly united and more vocal in pushing for gun control measures.
US President Barack Obama has decided to cut short his first trip to Spain in the wake of the shootings of black men by police in Louisiana and Minnesota and the killing of five police officers by a sniper in Dallas.

Instead of spending two days sightseeing in southern Spain and tending to more pressing business in the capital of Madrid, the White House has scrapped some of Mr Obama's events - including a staple of his foreign travels, a question-and-answer forum with young people - and crammed the rest of his schedule into Sunday.

He will then return to the White House late on Sunday, a day earlier than originally planned.

"This has been a tough week," Mr Obama said on Saturday as he addressed the violence for the third time in as many days while in Poland, where he attended a Nato summit on the first stop of a two-country European trip. He rejected any notion that what happened marked a return to the racial brutality of a dark past in the US.

As painful as the killings were, he said: "America is not as divided as some have suggested."

Mr Obama received a red-carpet, airport welcome after he arrived in Spain late on Saturday to open the last leg of what is likely his final trip to Europe before leaving office in January.

In a visit designed to highlight security cooperation, he planned separate meetings on Sunday with King Felipe and acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.

He was set to tour the USS Ross, one of four guided-missile destroyers based at Naval Station Rota, a US-subsidised, Spanish-owned port in the south, and address troops stationed there before the flight home.

Mr Obama said he had longed to return to Spain ever since he passed through while backpacking across Europe during his 20s, but that the "horrific shootings in the United States require that I cut my time here short".

Mr Obama acknowledged the "difficult week" when he met King Felipe at Spain's Royal Palace.

The king thanked Mr Obama for visiting under the circumstances.
Japan's ruling coalition is headed to victory in the country's parliamentary election, according to media exit polls.

The coalition, headed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Liberal Democratic Party, had won enough seats to keep its majority, several major TV news shows and the Kyodo News agency reported almost as soon as voting booths closed on Sunday.
For the economic development of any country, the vibrancy of its port city is of utmost importance. In its early ...
Johnny Carson had the ability to make America laugh.

In an era of choosing between fledging cable TV channels, PBS and three commercial TV networks, Carson was the King of Late Night by 1980. The jokes he told and the guests he had on NBCs Tonight Show were discussed the next day at the nations schools and workplaces.

Thanks to Carson, the city of Bloomer, Wisconsin, received nationwide exposure when the TV landscape could really produce such a thing.

It caused a lot of excitement, especially for the kids at the elementary school, remembers Roger Berg, who was the Bloomer Elementary principal in 1980.

Now 36 years later, it will happen again.

The April 30, 1980, episode from the Carson show featuring Bloomers Wally Mohrman, Paul Morning and Roxie Hyke is scheduled to be shown at 9 p.m. Sunday on Antenna TV, a digital TV network seen locally on channel 13.2 on WEAUDT2. The channel is seen over-the-air and on some cable TV outlets. The program will also be repeated at 12:30 a.m. Monday.

Mohrman began teaching physical education in the Bloomer School District in 1960 and soon after created Bloomers Speed Rope Contest, held each January. Morning set the world record of 72 jumps in 10 seconds in 1979, a distinction the now-Eau Claire man continues to hold. And Hyke, who now lives in Texas, was champion at her grade level when they all flew to Burbank, Calif., for the show.

How it happened

The national attention for Bloomer began when Mornings sister, Maryann Gumness (now a teacher in Bloomer), wrote an NBC program called Real People about her brother and the rope jump.

That program had a TV crew film the January 1980 rope jump and later flew Mohrman and Morning to Los Angeles for an in-person appearance on the program. The show was seen on closed-circuit monitors throughout the building, where game shows and The Tonight Show were also taped.

Morning said while he was backstage he was approached by man from The Tonight Show who said, We are interested what you do.

Mornings response? Yeah, right.

Morning introduced the man to Mohrman, and about a month later the crew from Bloomer was in California to appear with Carson.

That was a big deal, Berg said.

This was still when a trip to Eau Claire was a big day for young kids, he said.

Stay at home

Jackie Mohrman, Wallys wife, had been with him when he appeared on Real People. But a wrestling injury to one of the couples sons, Matt, meant that he could need surgery, forcing her to stay home and not attend the Carson show.

Since she wasnt able to go, others such as Rhonda Hyke could. Hyke  who is now Rhonda Pecha  is a sister of Roxie Hyke. She was about 10 years old in 1980. So while her sister could go on stage, Rhonda could not. I had to be on the sidelines, Pecha said.

Back in Bloomer, many of those who worked with Mohrman were watching the show, including then-Middle School Principal Vern Verkuilen. He praised Mohrman for creating the rope jump. He worked hard with those kids to do that, Verkuilen said this week.

Aline Buchner, who taught 24 years in the Bloomer School District, also worked hard on the rope jump. She was one of the tabulators, averaging the rope jump count made by the three judges. She did the work because of the students and Mohrman.

The kids loved him, she said. Its amazing what he got the kids to do.

Berg agreed. He was a down-to-earth person. It wasnt as though this type of success went to his head.

Long segment

Jackie Mohrman said her husband was probably anxious appearing with Carson and announcer Ed McMahon. But you wouldnt have known that.

The shows producers had walked Mohrman through what was scheduled to happen during the segment. He would talk with Carson, and then Morning and Hyke would jump.

The more that he likes you, the longer you will be on, Wally was told.

The segment lasted longer than scheduled, about 15 minutes of the 90-minute show. Thats a measure of how Carson viewed it.

Bright future

While backstage, the then-16-year-old Morning got to meet another of the guests on the program, actress Dorothy Stratten. The Playboy Playmate of the Year appeared to have a bright future in film. Morning said Stratten sat next to him, was very nice and gave him her autograph.

Only a few months later, on Aug. 14, Stratten was murdered by her ex-husband and business manager. A TV movie and a feature film, Star 80, were made of her short life.

Other guests that night included legendary actor Charlton Heston, the Ben Hur star whose films that year included The Mountain Men and The Awakening. Heston died in 2008.

Comedian Bobby Kelton made one of what would be four appearances that year on The Tonight Show. He would go on to appear with Carson a total of 21 times.

Boomer, Michigan

The following is a spoiler alert for a TV program that aired 36 years ago. Proceed at your own peril.

Carson introduced Wally as Walty, for some reason, and said he was from Boomer, Michigan. Mohrman, who was good at ad-libbing, quickly let him know his correct name and hometown.

I hope my airline ticket back home is to Bloomer, Wally quipped.

He ended up talking a lot with McMahon, Carsons sidekick. Jackie Mohrman said Carson then went through some antics about being left out of the conversation.

The show was quite spontaneous. They did not follow the script, Jackie said. Again, that was another sign Carson liked what was happening.

Morning and Hyke then came on stage to show Carson how to rope jump. Carson clowned around, shortening his rope intentionally way too short to jump easily.

Morning said the stage floor was a hard rubber, not the substance a rope jumper wants. The crew placed tape on the floor so Morning and Hyke would appear in the cameras view, but that made it difficult to jump.

Jackie said her husband did not appear nervous on stage, but once the segment was over he was shaking.

Afterwards, wherever he went people recognized him from the Carson show. On that flight back home, an airline attendant gave him a bottle of champagne.

Retirement

About a year after the Carson appearance, Wally retired from the school district. He had been passionate about the rope jump contest and loved doing it, but he wanted to do other things.

He bought the Cedar Inn, a restaurant in rural Bloomer, on Jan. 1, 1981.

It was at the restaurant where Wally Mohrman  a native of McGregor, Iowa and who served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War and created the rope jump in Bloomer that continues to this day  died on July 14, 1982.

He was only 50 years old.

There are few people who appeared on that nights show who are alive today, including comedian Kelton and band leader Doc Severinsen. Carson died on Jan. 23, 2005 and McMahon on June 23, 2009.

But that show in April 1980 helped Bloomer cement its reputation as the Rope Jump Capital of the World. The rope jump itself, Wally Mohrmans creation, marked its 50 anniversary in 2010 and shows no sign of slowing down.

Thirty-six years after the first airing of the Carson shows episode, things are about to be jumping in Bloomer once more.
BRUSSELS: Two EU chiefs on Monday congratulated Rishi Sunak on becoming Britains next prime minister  while...
Gretchen Rocha came to the Dallas police force by way of the farm.

Rocha grew up just outside Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, where she was home-schooled and loved riding the familys horses, said her mother, Diane Bayer. Becoming a police officer or soldier was her dream, Bayer said, and Rocha attended a police academy at Madison Area Technical College.

Classmates called her Mama Rocha, and she won an award for unifying the class, said her sister, Katrina Schwartz.

The 23-year-old was wounded by shrapnel, but the family did not have details on the extent of her injuries.

Rocha used her Spanish language skills during an internship with the Madison Police Department in 2013, spokesman Joel DeSpain said, helping with a program called Amigos en Azul (Friends in Blue).

She was a very competent and poised young woman, DeSpain said.

Rocha joined the Dallas Police Department in 2014 after she couldnt find any jobs in Wisconsin, Schwartz said. Rochas husbands family is from Houston.

Schwartz said she asked her sister if she still wants to be an officer.

The way she put it is, Im still in this, Schwartz said. Shes so tough.
WIN TV's prime-time ratings have taken an immediate hit after it switched to showing Network Ten programs in the ACT, southern NSW and regional Victoria.

And Prime7 has claimed No. 1 spot in Canberra's nightly news battle as the ratings show WIN's local news bulletin falling behind both of its commercial rivals in its first week in the new timeslot of 6pm.

Geoff Phillips, Amy Duggan and Hannah McEwan present the Canberra bulletin of WIN News. Credit:Facebook/WIN News Canberra

Prime-time viewing data since July 1, when regional broadcasters Southern Cross Austereo and WIN swapped feeder networks, has confirmed industry predictions that Bruce Gordon-owned WIN would lose viewers when it lost such Nine programming as The Voice, The Block and NRL coverage.

In southern NSW, which includes the TV markets of Canberra, Wollongong, Wagga Wagga, Orange and Dubbo, WIN fell from second to fourth place between 6pm and midnight.
Tumultuous week ends for Kieren Jack

Dane Rampe believes youngster Aliir Aliir can become the next bargain basement Swan to become a long-term member of Sydney's miserly defence.

Aliir was one of several next generation Swans who handled the big stage at Geelong with aplomb, but another major test awaits this week against Hawthorn, whom Rampe rates as still being the benchmark team of the competition.

The stakes are very high on Thursday night, with the winner to take top spot while the loser could drop out of the top four. The Swans beat the Hawks at the MCG this year but it's been nine years since they defeated their great rival twice in the same home and away season.
Matthew Strassberg, Veda's external relations manager, defended the company's PPSR websites, saying the $25 price tag was clearly displayed, and it was up to the consumer to decide whether it was worth it. More than a billion dollars of unclaimed money is sitting lonely with the federal government. "We also provide a summary page, making it a lot easier to read, as the government's certificate is quite text heavy and dense," Strassberg says. "Our website is mobile responsive, it's a user-friendly interface for people to purchase the product." While the difference in price to conduct one PPSR check is relatively small, it can quickly build up. Elizabeth has seriously considered five used cars in the past four months. Using Veda's websites to check the PPSR would have cost her $125, compared to $17.

A spokeswoman from the Australian Financial Security Authority, which manages the PPSR, said it was aware certificates were being resold and it was doing its best to promote its website. "AFSA has no authority to determine fees set by a commercial operator," she says. Cashing in on your lost money Unclaimed money is another area where opportunists have made a profit by using free government information. At present, the federal government is sitting on $1.2 billion of worth of inactive bank accounts, lost shares and life insurance. Bank accounts left untouched for seven years are transferred to the government's coffers. This recently changed from three years. Owners can search for lost accounts using government websites such as moneysmart.gov.au and get it back for free.

But unclaimed money "agents" have set up websites where they charge the user $30 for five searches. Some ask for a slice of the amount they recover as commission. Deanna Mannix, director of moneycatch.com.au, which claims to be "Australia's largest unclaimed money database", said it charged fees to cover the staff, legal and administration costs incurred to pull state and federal unclaimed money records in one place. She also said it held records of unclaimed money that a state government may have removed from public viewing because it was not required to do so after six years. "How do people even know if they have unclaimed money owing to them if it has been removed?" she asked. She also said the company often helped customers overseas who had trouble locating and claiming old bank accounts.

"If you have legal issues you take your issues to a solicitor. It's the same process with us. If you have unclaimed/lost money owing to you, you bring this issue to an unclaimed money recovery agent," she said. "We have recently incorporated overseas unclaimed money to the value of $5.5 million owing to Australians from companies outside of Australia." The Australian Securities and Investments Commission advises people who have been contacted by private money search companies wanting payment to recover lost bank accounts, shares and life insurance, to first conduct a search on moneysmart.gov.au. The cost of making a family tree Australians wanting to trace their family history and build their family tree are encouraged to use records freely available on government websites before pulling out the credit card.

A Google search for "NSW marriage records" brings up Ancestry.com.au, which asks the user to plug in personal and credit card details before starting a 14-day free trial period. Memberships start from $30 for one month's access to its online database. But users are urged to only join such paid sites once they have exhausted all free avenues, which include births, deaths and marriages registries, the National Archives of Australia and the National Library of Australia. "Always read the fine print before signing up to any paid sites, and be wary of supplying credit card details to activate a free trial because you can end up in an expensive ongoing subscription," said Tom Godfrey from consumer advocacy group Choice. A spokeswoman for Ancestry.com.au said while it acknowledged the historical documents on offer are available from archives and libraries, its service placed digitised and indexed records online in one place. "This makes it easier for Ancestry subscribers to research their family history without having to physically travel to archives and other institutions across Australia and the world to search the collections," she said.
Three separate reviews will be conducted into the death of toddler Mason Lee, whose body was found on June 11 in a Caboolture home.

On Sunday Queensland Health Minister Cameron Dick announced an independent review into the actions of those doctors.

"I've asked the Director General to provide me with an independent report into what happened within the Queensland Health system," Mr Dick said.

"The initial advice I have is that we have fulfilled our duties and responsibilities ... we have reported it to the Department of Child Safety ... and they have accepted the matter."
Mao's last dancer is now about to share his name with a new species of peacock spider.

Li Cunxin, the Queensland Ballet's artistic director and 2009 Australian father of the year, will be on hand at the Queensland Museum on Monday when the colourful spider's name is officially announced.

Queensland Ballet artistic director Li Cunxin. Credit:Steven Siewert

Queensland-based scientists Barbara Baehr and Robert Whyte have christened the peacock spider "Maratus licunxin", one of six new species recently discovered in Australia, in honour of the Chinese-born dancer.

Li's tale is well known worldwide thanks to his 2003 autobiography Mao's Last Dancer.
A man has been charged after allegedly setting fire to a house where he used to live, south of Brisbane.

Police allege the 35-year-old set fire to an unoccupied house at Browns Plain about 4.30am on Sunday.

A man will face court charged with arson after a house fire in Logan. Credit:Gabriele Charotte

He is set to face Beenleigh Magistrates Court on Monday charged with arson, wilful damage, assault occasioning bodily harm, possessing dangerous drugs and possess utensils.

AAP
Remember the magical snowfall near Lorne last month? Forecasters say the Otways is set for more this week.

Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Michael Efron said Victoria was in for a week of heavy rain, thunder, snow, hail, strong winds and freezing temperatures.

Clouds build as a weather front moves in at Mount Hotham, on Sunday. Credit:Karl Gray

"We're certainly in the depths of winter," he said. "We're getting these really strong fronts moving up from the Southern Ocean.

"There will be some very cold mornings across the state next week, particularly Tuesday and Wednesday, and then really cold mornings next Saturday and Sunday."
BARABOO  Independence Day has passed, and you know what that means: My lawn is knee high on the Fourth of July and radio listeners somehow survived around-the-clock broadcasts of Lee Greenwoods God Bless the U.S.A.

Has anyone since Francis Scott Key gotten so much mileage out of one song? Maybe Rick Dees with Disco Duck.

This week we all watched the parade, grabbed a slice of watermelon at the picnic and burned off our eyebrows in a fireworks accident. But did we really celebrate what it means to be an American?

Sure, you went out and bought a flag after 9/11, but did you cast a ballot this spring? Only half of eligible Wisconsin voters did in Aprils presidential primary  and that marked the greatest turnout since 1972. Some elections see turnout of only 20 percent. You could practically fit every voter in the Shriners clown car in the July Fourth parade.

We call ourselves proud Americans, yet when it comes time to perform our most vital function, we decide wed rather fire up Netflix than trouble ourselves with voting. It isnt important enough for us to monitor the campaigns to identify the best candidates, and then sacrifice all of 15 minutes to visit a polling place and cast a ballot. But we still fancy ourselves patriots, because after all we once bought a Toby Keith album.

Given that most of us dont bother to vote, it should come as no surprise that even fewer of us volunteer to serve our communities in office. Insult the U.S.A., and well put a boot in your rear. But ask us to do the work of the government we claim to be so proud of, and ... umm ... were washing our hair that day.

It would be easier to figure what the heck is happening in Inception than it is to find candidates for local elective office. Im not talking about the county and state-level races: Any office that comes with a full-time paycheck draws politicians faster than a ribbon cutting ceremony or an open microphone.

The challenge comes in finding qualified candidates for town boards, school boards and city councils. Not only do most of these races go uncontested, but it seems half the time there are no applicants for open seats.

Its then that I wonder: Where have all the patriots gone? Sure, we wore our flag lapel pins to church on Sunday, but have we rolled up our sleeves to advance democracy?

We all have our excuses, of course. Were working two jobs, and we dont have time to attend meetings three nights a week. Or we dont want to take angry calls at home at night about how that mutt Muffy sneaked under the fence again and dug up Mrs. Higgenbothams petunias. Or were employees of the newspaper and arent allowed to run for office  and wouldnt be popular enough to win, anyway. In any case, we figure someone else will step up and do the dirty work.

Fortunately, a lot of qualified  and already busy  people do just that. In the end, some patriotic soul steps in at the last minute and spends the next two years on the zoning board of appeals. The rest of us are let off the hook, free to enjoy a slice of apple pie with Mom on the Fourth.

Wouldnt it be a testament to this countrys patriotic zeal if citizens lined up to vote the way they line up for concert tickets? Or if every local race was vigorously contested by multiple qualified candidates? I dream of the day when four respected people from my community run for one open seat on the zoning board of appeals.

That would be a moment that could move me to sing a Lee Greenwood song. Id ask you to guess which, but I think theres only one.
News / National

by Staff reporter

A Zimbabwean couple recently had the chance to visit Europe after winning an international DStv subscriber's competition.Addmore and Eunice Chagaresango of Harare had the trip of a lifetime recently, when they travelled to Europe to watch two major sporting cup finals.The couple which is a DStv Premium bouquet viewer was entered in the recent MultiChoice Africa Premium Power Experience competition for maintaining their subscription on an uninterrupted basis.Winning an overseas trip in competition with subscribers throughout Africa, they were treated to live viewing of the FA Cup final in England and the Uefa Champions League final in Italy."It was an amazing experience for us."We saw a whole new world, developed, good transport network, great communications network, and sport itself as big business."All expenses were covered by DStv so it was a stress-free holiday. We had a chance to see some of the best stadiums in Europe (Wembley and San Siro) and on the way home we were able to experience Abu Dhabi in the Middle East," said Addmore.MultiChoice Zimbabwe publicity and public relations manager Liz Dziva was pleased that the Chagaresangos had won and had enjoyed their trip."It is wonderful for us all to have yet another Zimbabwean winner of an international competition hosted by DStv."In December last year, 18-year-old Joseph Mahiya, winner of the 2014 DStv Eutelsat competition, travelled to France and French Guiana after he beat other African students.The DStv Eutelsat competition is run each year across Africa and aims at encouraging young Africans to take an interest in science and technology in general and satellite technology in particular.A Zimbabwean couple recently had the chance to visit Europe after winning an international DStv subscriber's competition.Addmore and Eunice Chagaresango of Harare had the trip of a lifetime recently, when they travelled to Europe to watch two major sporting cup finals.The couple which is a DStv Premium bouquet viewer was entered in the recent MultiChoice Africa Premium Power Experience competition for maintaining their subscription on an uninterrupted basis.Winning an overseas trip in competition with subscribers throughout Africa, they were treated to live viewing of the FA Cup final in England and the Uefa Champions League final in Italy."It was an amazing experience for us."We saw a whole new world, developed, good transport network, great communications network, and sport itself as big business."All expenses were covered by DStv so it was a stress-free holiday. We had a chance to see some of the best stadiums in Europe (Wembley and San Siro) and on the way home we were able to experience Abu Dhabi in the Middle East," said Addmore.MultiChoice Zimbabwe publicity and public relations manager Liz Dziva was pleased that the Chagaresangos had won and had enjoyed their trip."It is wonderful for us all to have yet another Zimbabwean winner of an international competition hosted by DStv."In December last year, 18-year-old Joseph Mahiya, winner of the 2014 DStv Eutelsat competition, travelled to France and French Guiana after he beat other African students.The DStv Eutelsat competition is run each year across Africa and aims at encouraging young Africans to take an interest in science and technology in general and satellite technology in particular.
PATCO track tragedy took the lives of two family men

NTSB: PATCO track 'had not been taken out of service' when workers were hit on Ben Franklin Bridge tracks
The ever-explosive gun issue creates potential pitfalls for both major-party candidates in Wisconsins U.S. Senate race.

For Republican Sen. Ron Johnson, the problem is public opinion, which runs counter to his opposition to gun-control measures being debated in Congress.

For Democrat Russ Feingold, its his mottled record on guns, which appears out of step with a Democratic Party thats increasingly unified in favor of new gun restrictions.

Recent mass shootings in Orlando and San Bernardino have pushed the issue back to the national forefront, said UW-Madison political scientist David Canon. He commented last week before a gunman shot and killed five police officers in Dallas and wounded several others  another event that could accelerate the debate over guns.

Johnson, R-Oshkosh, played a key role in a recent Senate debate on whether to bar gun sales to people on federal terror watch lists, including the no-fly list. That, like other gun measures that recently have come before Congress, appears unlikely to become law.

Gun-control groups are targeting Johnson for opposing that and another measure to expand background checks to all gun sales. Polls show both measures are broadly popular.

In an interview with the Wisconsin State Journal, Johnson blamed Democrats, the minority party in both houses of Congress, for inaction on guns.

Republicans are the ones trying to get a result, Johnson added. The party that is politicizing the issue is the Democrats.

Feingold, meanwhile, faces a political challenge. He has tried to straddle the line on guns throughout his career, making pro-gun-rights statements while casting votes on both sides of the issue.

Such a nuanced position may be more difficult to maintain in light of a growing sentiment among Democrats, including presumptive presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, to mount a full-throated push for gun control.

Feingold, D-Middleton, speaking to the State Journal, said his record shows his independence on guns. Feingold said Johnson, in contrast, simply does the bidding of the National Rifle Association, the nations leading gun-rights group.

Johnson is an extremist on this issue, Feingold said. People deserve an independent voice on this issue, and thats what I provide.

Johnson worried about

slippery slope

The unique challenges faced by both candidates may be tempering their tones in publicly discussing guns, Canon said. Meanwhile, he said Congress is likely to remain at an impasse on guns.

I think it will continue to be deadlocked, Canon said.

The gun issue recently caused friction between U.S. Senate Republicans, with Johnson at the center of the scrum.

Last month, GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who authored a measure to bar gun sales to people on either of two federal terror watch lists, blamed Johnson personally for blocking its passage.

Collins plan called for allowing the U.S. Justice Department to block sales to people on the federal no-fly and selectee lists, according to a Politico report.

Support for the measure is due in part to the fact that Omar Mateen was on a federal watch list for a period of time before he shot and killed 49 people in an Orlando nightclub last month.

Johnson sponsored an alternative to Collins proposal that she said likely lured some Republican senators away from backing her plan.

Johnsons amendment called for delaying, rather than directly halting, gun sales to people on the federal watch lists, during which time law enforcement could investigate if the buyer is involved in terrorism.

Some other Republicans facing tough re-election fights, including Sens. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, Mark Kirk of Illinois and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, supported Collins proposal.

Johnson, in an interview with Wisconsin Eye last week, said he thought his amendment could have passed if a vote hadnt been taken so quickly, before he could sell his colleagues on it.

Nobody wants to see a gun or any weapon get in the hands of a terrorist or a would-be terrorist, but we need to be extremely cautious, Johnson said. Dont you think you need some due process to be able to get off that (watch) list if youre going to be denied any kind of constitutional right?

Johnson told the State Journal that his proposal was not part of an attempt to block Collins proposal. Instead, Johnson said he was trying to reach accord on a measure that could pass both the Senate and the House.

Johnson also dismissed expanding background checks as going down a slippery slope, saying theres no need for such checks on gun transactions between family members or friends.

Feingold bills himself as independent on guns

Feingold slammed Johnson for his role in halting Collins no-fly proposal, calling it shameful.

It was one of the few public statements Feingold has made about guns since he launched his campaign more than a year ago  even as other Wisconsin Democrats, such as Sen. Tammy Baldwin and U.S. Reps. Mark Pocan and Gwen Moore, publicly clamored for new gun restrictions through a sit-in on the U.S. House floor last month.

But Feingold wont say if he would have voted for the Collins measure that he criticized Johnson for thwarting. Unlike most Democrats, Feingold has voiced reservations on civil-liberties grounds, questioning if people are allowed due process when theyre added to or removed from the list.

Feingold said in the interview he wouldve worked with Sen. Collins rather than destroy her effort had he been in the Senate last month.

My goal wouldve been to find a way to vote with her, Feingold said. The actual decision to vote or not, thats for somebody whos in office.

Feingold supports other gun measures such as expanding background checks and restricting purchases of high-capacity gun magazines that hold large amounts of ammunition.

Feingolds voting record on guns was mixed during his three terms in the U.S. Senate. He was one of just a few Democrats to vote against extending the federal assault-weapons ban in 2004, calling it a largely arbitrary and symbolic measure. A decade earlier, he voted to put the ban in place.

Rhetorically, Feingold has been more pro-gun than most Democrats, saying in 2010 that he had been one of the true leaders in fighting for a greater right to bear arms.

He has said the Second Amendment provides an individual right to gun ownership, a point that some liberals contest.

But the political tide on guns is turning for Democrats. Once mindful of appeasing centrists from conservative states where gun control is unpopular, Democrats now are increasingly united and more vocal in pushing for gun control measures.

Meanwhile, outside campaign groups have started to wade into the race with ads about guns.

Everytown for Gun Safety, the gun-control group launched by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, is hammering Johnson for opposing the background-checks measure.

The National Rifle Associations political committee has spent only a small amount in this campaign on Johnsons behalf. But it spent heavily in his favor during the campaign leading up to Johnsons first election to the Senate in 2010, and its involvement in other competitive Senate races in this cycle suggests it will rally to his aid again this year.
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BUSH

Jean Edward Smith

Simon & Schuster

808 pages; $35



For George W Bush, the summer already looks unbearable. The party he gave his life to will repudiate him by nominating a bombastic serial insulter, who makes the famously brash former president look like a museum docent by comparison. And a renowned presidential biographer is weighing in with a judgment that makes Mr Bush's gentleman's Cs at Yale look like the honour roll.
When Glenn Kelman became the chief executive of his online real estate start-up, he defied the tech industry's conventional wisdom about how to grow.
Sitting on a debt pile of over Rs 12,000 crore, infrastructure firm (HCC) said it is finding it difficult to get buyers for its asset monetisation plan.

The company is keen on monetising its non-core assets to generate cash and repay debt.

"To accomplish this (retire debt), the company has sold operating buildings and some land parcels. However, this has been a more difficult task in the current environment where there are hardly any buyers of infrastructure assets, especially those which are under development," HCC's Chairman and Managing Director Ajit Gulabchand said in the annual report of 2015-16.

Monetisation of large investments  such as the toll-road projects under HCC Infrastructure  will take a longer time, he said.

"In a different vein, the efforts of HCC Infrastructure to effect stake sale have been limited by contractual obligations imposed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI)," Gulabchand said.

NHAI's contractual obligations require 51% stake to be withheld for a period of two years post-COD (commercial operation date), for which it has postponed a 100 per cent monetisation effort in these projects, he said.

The infrastructure division of the company has monetised two projects that have completed the final leg of their development life cycle.

These include the Dhule-Palesner highway (NH 3) where HCC Concessions closed sale of its 60% stake to Sadbhav Group for Rs 204 crore in October last year and the Nirmal annuity project, where stake was sold to Highway Concession One, an IDFC managed entity, in December 2015 for Rs 64 crore.

The proceeds from these stake sales were primarily used to repay debt and contribute to equity for project SPVs, the company said in the report.

Gulabchand also said that the progress of monetisation might be uncertain, going forward.

An improvement in the overall infrastructure climate can make potential buyers eager to purchase parts of Lavasa or HCC Infrastructure at attractive prices. But if there is insufficient tailwind for India in general and infrastructure in particular, such buyers will be hard to find, Gulabchand said.

However, the company will do its best to maximise the process of monetisation and thereby reduce the burden of past debt, he added.

In fiscal 2012-13, the company had availed of a corporate debt restructuring (CDR) package with a consortium of its bankers.

HCC had reported a net profit of Rs 84.97 crore in 2015-16, while its turnover stood at Rs 4,191 crore. The order book grew by 25.4% at Rs 18,123 crore, excluding L1 contracts worth Rs 3,701 crore.
The Indian Office has refused protection for a medicine of Italian research firm Indena SPA to treat Mucositis, a painful inflammation that occurs after chemo or radiotherapy treatment for cancer, in India. The office also refused a pre-grant opposition filed by a scientist in the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Delhi against the application.

The application, submitted in January 2009 for approval, is for an invention related to the therapeutically effective amount of plant extracts that can be administered alone or in combination with a therapeutically effective amount of one or more anti-inflammatory agent and other pain removing agents and antifungal agent.
The Anil Agarwal-promoted Vedanta group was at the forefront of striking business deals during Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to South Africa. It plans to tie up with a host of companies in South Africa, known for its natural resource sector.
Seeking to enhance its ties with resource-rich Tanzania, India on Sunday extended its support to the former to meet its development needs and signed five agreements, including one for providing a line of credit of $92 million in the water resources sector.

Describing India as a trusted partner in meeting Tanzanias development priorities, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he along with President John Pombe Joseph Magufuli agreed to deepen our overall defence and security partnership, especially in the maritime domain.



Our in-depth discussions on regional and global issues reflected our considerable convergence on issues of common interest and concern, he said. Indias cooperation with Tanzania will always be as per your needs and priorities, Modi said at a joint press interaction after his bilateral meeting with President Magufuli.

The two sides signed an agreement under which India will provide a line of credit of $92 million for rehabilitation and improvement of Zanzibars water supply system.

Other agreements signed include an MoU on water resource management and development, MoU for establishment of vocational training centre at Zanzibar, MoU on visa waiver for diplomatic/official passport holders and an agreement between National Small Industries Corporation of India and Small Industries Development Organisation Tanzania.

In Nairobi



Later in the day the prime minister visited Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, where he described terrorism as one of the two major challenges facing the world. Modi said all forces believing in humanity must come together to defeat this anti-humanity menace.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta accompanied Modi to the Kasarani Stadium where he addressed a gathering of around 20,000 Indians and people of Indian origin, soon after his arrival from Tanzania.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday interacted with Solar Mamas, a group of nearly 30 rural women solar engineers from six African countries, who have been trained under Indias developmental support for harnessing solar energy.



Celebrating the Solar Mamas! PM interacts with women trained in vocational skills under Indias developmental support, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted.



The Solar Mamas, who come from across Africa, are trained at the Barefoot college in Rajasthans Tilonia village or the centre in Tanzania. Modi interacted with all the women, who have been trained to fabricate, install, use, repair and maintain solar lanterns and household solar lighting systems in their villages.



The group of about 30 Solar Mamas from Tanzania and a few other African countries demonstrated their skills in fabrication, repair and maintenance of solar lanterns and household lighting system in presence of the Prime Minister.


Pakistan on Sunday accused India of committing human rights violations in following the killing of a top Hizbul Mujahideen commander and said the resolution of issue is only possible by realising the right to "self determination" of the people there.


Union Information and Broadcasting Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday accused Pakistan of influencing sympathisers of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani, who was killed in Kashmir, and warned it of a policy rethink on Delhi's part.

"Some people, inspired by our neighbour, are trying to create disturbances. This is not going to help," the minister said.

"India is willing to work with Pakistan and would like to have friendship with the country. But if Pakistan continues to do such things, the (Indian) government has to think about its own policy. Pakistan should give up such tactics...," Naidu said.

He asserted that is an integral part of India and there is no question of any negotiation and discussion on this point.

Violence erupted in south districts of Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian and Kulgam and later spread to other districts in the valley after security forces killed Hizbul Mujahideen militant Wani and his two associates in Anantnag on Friday.

Wani was buried in his native Shariefabad (Tral) village on Saturday where thousands defied curfew restrictions to attend his funeral prayers.

"(Wani) was a Hizbul Mujahideen commander. How can any Indian have sympathy for such people? Really surprised to see that some people are trying to support those so-called protesters sympathising with a terrorist," the minister said.

"Terrorism and violence are not acceptable at all in any form."

"The Centre and the state together will tackle the situation. The situation in Jammu and will be brought to normalcy at the earliest," he added.

Curfew was imposed in the Kashmir Valley after widespread clashes between security forces and demonstrators protesting Wani's killing.

The toll in Kashmir Valley violence on Sunday rose to 19, with the death of four more people in continuing protests.
Faced with resistance in disclosures by those named in the Panama Papers, the Income Tax department has made references to about a dozen countries in order to obtain actionable evidence against such Indian entities.



Officials said a special wing under the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has made multiple requests to their counterparts in foreign nations as part of the I-T department's tax evasion probe against those named in these leaks.



They said that the taxman, in numerous cases in this list, was faced with non-cooperation and and non-acceptance of their accounts as revealed in the Panama papers and hence the department had to approach the foreign jurisdictions including Switzerland, British Virgin Island and the UK among others.

"The I-T department has approached close to a dozen overseas jurisdictions in order to obtain actionable evidence and legal material to act against those who has been reported to have stashed black money abroad as per the Panama Papers disclosures.

"In many cases, the department has reported, that those named in the list are refusing to be the beneficial owners despite the taxman getting some evidence that they actually are the ones who were involved in creating these assets," a senior official said.

India has tax treaties with 137 countries at present.

SIT Chairman Justice (retd) M B Shah, in a recent interview, had said investigating agencies are facing "difficulties" in reaching to the bottom of the matter as they are not getting specific account numbers and people named in the list are also "not disclosing" the details to the taxman.

A Multi-Agency Group created to probe these cases has already submitted four reports to the government and to the Special Investigation Team on black money in this regard.

The department already had sent detailed questionnaire to a number of individuals and entities figuring in the list of those allegedly holding offshore assets in tax havens.

There are about 500 Indians named in the list which includes prominent businessmen, film celebrities and those belonging to lucrative professions.

The government has created a Multi-Agency Group (MAG) of probe agencies to go into these cases, comprising the I-T department (CBDT), its foreign tax wing, the RBI, Financial Intelligence Unit and the Enforcement Directorate.

The names were released by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) with 'Indian Express' newspaper in India.

The ICIJ added a disclaimer that there are also "legitimate uses for offshore companies".

The 'Panama Papers' leaks contain an unprecedented amount of information, including more than 11 million documents covering 2,10,000 companies in 21 offshore jurisdictions.

Each transaction spans different jurisdictions and may involve multiple entities and individuals.
Prime Minister on Sunday left for Kenya on the final leg of his four-nation Africa tour, aimed at enhancing ties with the continent, after wrapping up his visit here.

"So long Tanzania! A brief but fruitful visit ends as PM @narendramodi enplanes for Nairobi, the last leg of his tour,: External Affairs Spokesman Vikas Swarup tweeted.

Modi, who arrived in Tanzania last night, held talks with Tanzanian President John Pombe Joseph Magufuli on a wide range of issues.

During the visit, he extended India's full support to Tanzania to meet its development needs and signed five agreements, including one for providing a Line of Credit of $92 million in the water resources sector.

He also met 'Solar Mamas', a group of rural women solar engineers from Africa who have been trained under Government of India-supported programmes to fabricate, install, use, repair and maintain solar lanterns and household solar lighting systems in their villages.

Modi is on five-day four-nation tour. He also visited Mozambique and South Africa before arriving here.

The focus of the African tour is on deepening cooperation in areas of hydrocarbons, maritime security, trade and investment, agriculture and food.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh reviewed the situation in Jammu and on Sunday, in the wake of protests over the killing of a top Hizbul Mujahideen commander and spoke to Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, assuring her all possible help from the Centre.

During a 30-minute meeting, the Home Minister was briefed on the law and order situation in Valley following the killing of Burhan Wani in Kokernag area, 83 km from Srinagar. He had also telephoned Mehbooba on Saturday and assured her all central assistance, a Home Ministry official said.

At the meeting, the Home Minister directed officials to ensure that paramilitary forces in provide all assistance the state government for restoration of peace and normalcy in the Valley as early as possible.

The official said Amarnath pilgrims stuck in Srinagar have been escorted out and taken for the yatra. Those who were stuck in higher areas were escorted back, he said.

The yatra remained suspended for the second consecutive day today from Jammu.

"The yatra remains suspended for the second consecutive day today from Jammu. No fresh batch of pilgrims has been sent out from here," Deputy Commissioner, Jammu, Simrandeep Singh said.

Mobile and Internet services also remained suspended as a precautionary measure.

The Home Minister said that all steps should be taken for ensuring safety of Amarnath pilgrims as also that of Kashmiri Pandits. Houses of some Kashmiri Pandits had been attacked in some parts of the Valley, the official said.

The Home Minister said that security forces should be deployed in sensitive places and additional paramilitary personnel be sent to the state if required.

Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi said the situation in the Valley is under control.

The meeting was attended by Mehrishi, officials of the Home Ministry, paramilitary forces and intelligence agencies.

The Home Minister had yesterday appealed to the people of the state to remain calm and maintain peace.

In a big blow to militancy in the state, Wani, the 21- year-old poster boy of Hizbul Mujahideen, was shot dead on Friday by security forces along with two of his accomplices in Kokernag area.
IL&FS Investment Managers Ltd (IIML), the debt and equity financing unit of the IL&FS group, will fund infrastructure projects in Africa and offer advisory services to offshore investors for real estate in India.
India has asked a government-backed trader to import an extra half a million tonnes of duty-free, non-genetically modified (GM) maize to keep a lid on domestic prices and overcome any shortage, the trade ministry said on Sunday.
Leaders in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and senior ministers in the Narendra Modi government have asked their friends in the Congress to convince their party leadership to support the goods and services tax (GST) Constitution amendment Bill. They also asked Congressmen to tell the partys Vice-President Rahul Gandhi to learn from the BJP's mistake of having opposed the Manmohan Singh-led governments India-US nuclear deal in 2008.
Britains decision to leave the European Union will not have much impact on UK-India economic ties, UK India Business Council CEO Richard Heald tells Sanjay Jog. Edited excerpts:



Will the Brexit have an adverse impact on businesses in the UK and India?



There is great amount of uncertainty after the Brexit referendum. While the way forward and timelines to achieve negotiated agreements with the EU and other trade partners are not yet known, it is clear that the UKs trade and economic engagement with the worlds leading countries, including India, will become more important to the nations future, not less.
A few days after Britain voted to leave the European Union, Monika Baginski was in a supermarket, chatting with a friend on the phone in her native Polish, when a man followed her down the aisle. "You foreigner," Baginski recalled him saying. "You'll be out soon."



Baginski, 32, said she was stunned. Until that moment, she had never been the target of abuse, even in Boston, a port town on the east coast of England where rancor between longtime residents and the fast-growing population of recent immigrants has been simmering for years.
French President Francois Hollande has called for action against an Al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria, warning that the recent losses sustained by the Islamic State group could embolden other jihadist groups.

"Daesh (the Arabic acronym for Islamic State) is in retreat, that is beyond dispute," Hollande said after a meeting with the leaders of the United States, Germany, Britain, Italy and Ukraine on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Warsaw.

But, Hollande added, "we must also avoid a situation whereby as Daesh becomes weaker, other groups become stronger."

Hollande singled out Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Nusra Front as particularly standing to benefit from the US-led military campaign against its arch-rival the Islamic State group.

Faced with a barrage of airstrikes and ground offensives by local forces, IS has lost territory in both and Iraq in recent months.

"We must coordinate among ourselves to continue actions against Daesh but also... Take effective action against Al-Nusra," Hollande said, directing his appeal at Russia and the US.

On Wednesday, US President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin agreed in a telephone call to "intensify" military coordination between their two countries in .

Russia had in May proposed joint air strikes with the US against jihadist targets in  a suggestion that was rebuffed by Washington.

The White House reported that the two leaders, in their call this week, "confirmed their commitment to defeating ISIL (IS) and the Al-Nusra Front".

The two groups are excluded from a broader truce brokered by Moscow and Washington in February.
Despite referendum, UK and India believe there are reasons to be extremely positive about the economic partnership. In an exclusive interview with Sanjay Jog, UK India Business Council (UKIBC) CEO Richard Heald says Bilateral Trade Treaty with India should be a priority and would be immensely beneficial to both countries.
Prime Minister on Sunday described the Indian community in Tanzania as an important link for India with the east African nation.

"Most early Indian migrants to your great country happened to be from my home state (of Gujarat)," Modi said in a speech at a banquet hosted in his honour by Tanzanian President John Magufuli.

"Today, the Indian-origin community in Tanzania is an important link between our peoples in the fields of business, healthcare, and education," he said.

Prior to the banquet, Modi interacted with members of the Indian community, which numbers around 50,000 in Tanzania.

The Prime Minister said that while India has emerged as the fastest growing economy in the world, Tanzania was one of the most important economies in Africa.

"Our comprehensive agenda of cooperation is driven by our key development priorities and our common security needs," he said.

"These discussions would lay the foundation on which we will construct a 21st century partnership."

Modi said India would always be a trusted partner in the developmental journey of Tanzania.

India and Tanzania on Sunday signed five agreements following delegation-level talks headed by Modi and Magufuli.
Moscow on Sunday, slammed for focusing on a "non-existent" threat from Russia at a leaders summit in Warsaw that saw fears over the Kremlin's expansionism high on the agenda.

"A preliminary analysis of the results of the meeting shows that continues to exist in some sort of military-political looking-glass world," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

"Contrary to the objective interests of maintaining peace and stability in Europe... The alliance concentrates its efforts on deterring a non-existent threat from the East," the statement said.

leaders united in Warsaw Saturday behind a "hard- headed" policy of deterrence and dialogue with Russia after launching the alliance's biggest military revamp since the Cold War to counter a resurgent Moscow.

Alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg said alliance leaders "stand together" on Russia, agreeing at a summit in Warsaw to bolster its eastern flank after Moscow's annexation of Crimea and the Ukraine conflict.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has opposed NATO's decision to put four battalions in Poland and the Baltic states, seeing the expansion into Moscow's Soviet-era backyard as a direct security threat.

"The alliance is united, we stand together," Stoltenberg said when asked about the leaders' talks on Russia.

"The united message is that defence and dialogue are what our relationship is based on."

NATO will hold fresh talks with Russia on July 13 in Brussels just days after the landmark alliance summit.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling coalition won a landslide victory on Sunday in an election for parliament's upper house, despite concerns about his economic policies and plans to revise the nation's post-war pacifist constitution for the first time.
Limited has appointed Debshankar Mukhopadhyay as chief executive officer. Mukhopadhyay has over 20 years of experience in educational and financial sectors across South Asia. Prior to this, he was the head of educational sales, financial services and insurance, Manipal Global Education Services. His previous stints have been with Max Life Insurance Co. Ltd, Western Union, Scholastic India, Zee Interactive Learning Systems Ltd and DHL Worldwide.
The Bangladesh Government has decided to stop airing Peace TV along with other unauthorized channels.

Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu made the disclosure at a press briefing after a Cabinet committee meeting on law and order on Sunday, reports the Dhaka Tribune.

The move comes after it was found that some of the Dhaka cafe attackers, who killed 20 hostages, followed controversial Indian Islamic televangelist Zakir Naik and were inspired by his misinterpretations of Islam.

The Islamic scholars in Bangladesh had last year demanded a ban on the channel, saying it was misleading the Muslims all over the .

51-year-old Zakir Abdul Karim Naik is an Islamic preacher, who founded the Islamic Research Foundation in 1991 when he started Dawah or religious preaching.

His lectures mostly revolve around how Islam is superior to all other faiths.

While he claims to be an advocate of interfaith dialogue, his preachings reinforce all the stereotypes which exist against Muslims.

He opposes propagating any other religion and says that non-Muslims should not be allowed to have places of religious worships in an Islamic country.

Earlier on Friday, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry of India also decided to ban Zakir Naik's Peace TV, which is not licensed in India and is uplinked from Dubai.
Assam Chief Minister Sarbanand Sonowal has instructed all concerned departments to gear up relief measures in flood hit areas, as over 1 lakh people are still reeling under the fury of flood.

The Chief Minister reviewed the flood situation with senior officials in Guwahati last evening.

Jorhat and Golaghat are the worst hit districts, as flood water damaged crop land and affected livestock.

The Chief Minister instructed ministers, legislators and Deputy Commissioners to visit flood affected areas.

He also told Health department to monitor the health related situation in marooned areas.

Meanwhile, the Army has been roped into the rescue and relief operation in Jorhat district and the troopers, along with local teams of rescuers were evacuating people from the flooded areas to safer shelters.
With the valley on the boil in the wake of the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen chief Buhran Wani, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday chaired a cabinet meeting to review security situation in the state.

Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has chaired a high-level meeting to review the law and order situation in the valley as well.

Home Secretary Anil Goswami, Joint Secretary (Kashmir division) Gyanesh Kumar, Intelligence Bureau (IB) Chief Dineshwar Sharma and senior Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) officials are present at the meeting being held at Rajnath's residence here.

The meeting comes in the wake of the soaring violence in the valley as the death toll in the clashes between security forces and protestors has reached 15, as three more civilians succumbed to injuries.

At least 100 protesters were injured on Saturday. They suffered bullet, tear smoke and pellet injuries.

Violence erupted in south Kashmir districts of Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian and Kulgam and later spread to other districts in the valley after security forces killed Wani and two of his associates in Bamdoora (Kokarnag) village of Anantnag district on Friday.

Wani was buried in his native Shariefabad (Tral) village on Saturday where nearly 40,000 people gathered defying curfew restrictions to take part in his funeral prayers.

The separatists have called for a valley-wide shutdown till Monday to protest against Wani's killing.
Pandharpur (Maharashtra), July 10 (ANI): The temple city of Pandharpur in Maharashtra's Solapur district is popularly known as the abode of Vitthal, the seventh avatar of Lord Krishna.

This small town, having a population of approximately 1.5 million, attracts tourists and Hindu devotees from all over the country during the major Yatra in the month of Ashadh (June-July).

However, this town like many other places of the nation was suffering from the curse of open defecation. To add to this, the menace of manual scavenging had spoiled the beauty of this religious town.

However, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Swachh Bharat' campaign, things have changed drastically. Taking forward the Prime Minister's ambitious 'Clean India' campaign, Sulabh International has not only tried to remove the problem of open defecation but has also brought a 'healthy and hygienic' smile on the face of the people here.

Situated on the banks of the Bhima river, this town will very soon have the world's biggest toilet facility to cater to the everyday needs of the pilgrims, who throng to this place to seek blessings of the local presiding deities.

The NGO has constructed a cluster of eight mega toilet complexes comprising of at least 1,417 toilet units in the temple's vicinity and with the opening of 15 more complexes, total 2,858 toilet units would be constructed here.

Earlier, the Chinese city of Chongqing held the record for the same, with around 1,000 toilet units.

Naveen Kumar Jha, a worker at one of the Sulabh toilet complexes located in the vicinity of the Vitthal Temple, said these toilet complexes have completely changed the scenario of the town.

"The place where this toilet complex is built used to be a barren land with locals and pilgrims defecating in open, thus inviting many vector-borne diseases," he told ANI.

He also said there is a monthly pass system, which can be used by the local residents.

"The locals of this place are provided a monthly pass of Rs. 10. In that pass, all the members of a particular family can use the facilities here for a month. Till now, there are around 800 families which are using this pass," he said with a feeling of satisfaction in his eyes.

Naveen, who hails from a village near Samastipur district in Bihar, asserted that he had been working with the NGO from the last 15 years and feels very happy to do social service and help the people.

Ayub Younis, one of the locals, narrated about the ordeal that they had to witness when there were no such complexes.

"We were forced to defecate in open as there were no toilets. Even the pilgrims, who used to come for the Yatra, used to defecate in open. As a result, this beautiful town was losing its charm," he said.

"However, now the situation has completely changed. With proper sanitation facilities, not only the locals are benefitted but also the 'warkaries' (pilgrims). The tourism has increased significantly with the building of toilet complexes," he added.

One of the local females said the construction of Sulabh toilet complexes has now given them a sense of pride and respect.

Bindeshwar Pathak, the founder of the Sulabh International, feels satisfied that the initiative on which he has been working on since 1968 is now paying off.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi has started a very good initiative. It is because of his initiative that now even children are forcing their parents in their villages and towns to built toilets in their houses," he said.

He feels that his organization is working as a bridge between Mahatma Gandhi and Prime Minister Modi.

"Sulabh is working as a setu (bridge) between Mahatma Gandhi and Prime Minister Modi. As Lord Rama required the setu to reach Lanka and kill Ravan, the same way Sulabh is working as a bridge to kill Ravan of open defecation," he added.

Pathak believes that the menace of open defecation could be removed only when there are toilets.

"If there are no toilets, where will they defecate? All public places, restaurants, houses, etc should have toilets," he said.

"There has been a 5,000-year-old tradition where it was said that toilets should not be built inside the houses. So, it's not only about practice, it's about culture and culture takes time to change. Just building toilets is not going to solve the problems because open defecation is a practice acquired from the time we learn how to walk. When we grow up in such an environment, how will we be able to get ourselves detached from it?" he added.

According to a new World Health Organisation (WHO) report, even today more than half a billion people in our nation still 'continue to defecate in gutters, behind bushes or in open water bodies, with no dignity and privacy.'

The Sulabh founder believes that funds would be needed and nearly 12 crore toilets are required to be built by 2019 to make India open defecation free by that period as has been visualized by Prime Minister Modi.
A Chinese national Wang Jiangquo has been sentenced to nine years imprisonment for trying to smuggle weapons from Pakistan to China via Khunjrab border by the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Gilgit.

Earlier on Thursday, the court also imposed a ban on Wang to visit Pakistan again.

Gilgit Anti-Terrorism Court judge Shahbaz Khan hearing the case also asked the Punjab Inspector General of Police to take action against the arms dealer, who sold four pistols and hundreds of bullets to the Chinese national, reports the Nation.

Wang was arrested by the Khunjrab Security Force (KSF) on May 24 from Khunjrab National Park area of Hunza district near the China-Pakistan border.

A case was registered against him under the anti-terrorism law after which he was shifted to Giglit for investigation.

Earlier, the police said that Wang had arrived in Islamabad from China in the first week of May on a one-month visa.

He then travelled by bus to Aliabad, Hunza, from where he reached Sost. In Sost, he hired a taxi and went to the Khunjrab National Park.

The taxi driver informed the local police that Wang asked him to drive slowly while he took photographs. After Wang did not return, the driver got worried and informed the nearby Khunjrab Security Force checkpost officials.

The officials along with policemen combed the area and found Wang near a glacier.

After searching his bag, the police officials reportedly found four pistols, 200 bullets, a map, compass and binoculars.

He was shifted to Sost town where a case was registered against him under the anti-terrorism law.

During the interrogation, Wang confessed to his crime of trying to smuggle four pistols and ammunition across the border.
Expressing optimism that the curfew would soon be lifted in the valley, CID ADG S.M. Sahai said on Sunday, the security forces don't kill anybody intentionally but added the situation sometimes become unavoidable.

Confirming that 14 people have died so far in protest-related violence in the Valley post the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani, he urged the people to help the police in controlling the emergent situation.

"Our intention is not to kill anyone and if somebody says we fire bullets to kill people, then it's wrong as our intention is not that. Situations turn out such that we have to fire, but we don't want to kill people. We don't want loss of lives," Sahai told.

"We all, including the sensitive strata of the society, should work for the youth of so that they opt for education and get jobs. They should not go in the wrong direction," he added.

Sahai urged the people, especially the elderly, to keep the youth under their control.

"Such incidents happened earlier too when lives were lost. What was the result? After six months, another incident will take place and people will lose their children. What will they get?" said Sahai.

"We should take Jammu and Kashmir towards development, only then the situation will normalise. Thus, we want that the people should cooperate with us in bringing the situation to normalcy," he added.

The CID ADG, however, rubbished reports suggesting that Burhan's encounter was in the knowledge of Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti.

"It's wrong to make such statements because the Chief Minister is responsible for the entire state and our job is to keep her reporting about a situation. When there is some incident, we inform her. For example, when there were casualties yesterday, we reported her about it," said Sahai.

"It doesn't mean that she sits with us and plans everything. These things are brought to her knowledge after the incident," he added.

Justifying his assertion, Sahai said implying that the matter was in the knowledge of the Chief Minister is entirely wrong.

"Whether good or bad, we have to report everything to her. But implying or writing that Burhan's operation was a 'kill operation' is not right. We don't want to kill any militant rather we want them to surrender, but at times the situations become unavoidable and we have to respond to their bullets," he added.

The CID ADG also expressed his disappointment over the youth rallying behind Burhan post his killing.

"Yesterday, we had seen that people were saying that they had supported Burhan in big numbers. The youth have so many issues and what face it would acquire it is a different issue. It is not just the matter of Kashmir, but if you see at the international level even there is problems like this. Thus, it would not be correct to support the general issues of the youth in terms of support for Burhan," he said.

Responding to a poser as to how difficult it was for the security forces to control the situation, Sahai said: "Yesterday, if you see, the populated areas were alright, but we faced difficulties in such areas where our presence was limited. We generally don't expect violence in those areas."

"Yesterday, our effort was to control the situation when he (Burham) was being buried and to maintain law and order situation in those areas, which are known for violence, in which we succeeded. They looted our one police station and attacked security forces by looted weapons, our men were injured and one person is still missing," he added.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday, chaired a high-level meeting in Delhi to review law and order situation in Jammu and Kashmir following protests over Wani's killing.

Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi was present in the meeting along with Intelligence Bureau (IB) chief Dineshwar Sharma and other senior officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The Home Minister also spoke to Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and assured her of all central assistance to deal with the situation.

Burhan, the poster boy of Hizbul Mujahideen, was buried in his native place Tral yesterday while violent mobs attacked installations of police and paramilitary forces at various places in the Valley and set ablaze several buildings including three police installations.

Burhan's funeral was attended by thousands of people in particular the youth.
Rapper Drake and Rihanna have paid a special tribute to their fan Megan Flores who died after losing her battle with cancer.

As soon as Flores' death news broke, Drake, 29, and Rihanna, 28, took a break from touring and traveling to pay tribute to their fan.

Taking to his Instagram, the 'Hotline Bling' hit-maker shared a picture of his fan and wrote, "Rest in peace my angel. I know heaven is celebrating today. Thank you for the moments and emotions we share I am blessed to have known you in this lifetime. @ovomegann."

Remembering the time, when Drake introduced her to Megan, Rihanna said "She's inspired me so much with her strength and her perspective on life! So fearless and kind!"

"It's heavy news that I can't slide in your DMs anymore like I used to!! There was always a smile waiting for me there! You brightened any day! Rest up baby girl! We will miss you," she added.

The Florida native, who was reportedly battling terminal cancer, met the artists earlier in March through the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Looks like 'Star Trek Beyond's decision to make Hikaru Sulu gay has failed to impress the original cast member, George Takei, from the 1960s TV series.

The move is a clear homage to the 79-year-old actor, who publicly came out in 2005 after then Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill that would have legalized same-sex marriage in California.

Takei told The Hollywood Reporter, "I'm delighted that there's a gay character. [But] unfortunately, it's a twisting of Gene's [Roddenberry] creation, to which he put in so much thought. I think it's really unfortunate."

The actor went on to explain how fastidious Roddenberry was in his character creation, Sulu being named after the Sulu Sea off the coast of the Philippines, and that the 'Star Trek' creator always saw Sulu as heterosexual.

On learning about Sulu's changed sexuality, he implored the producers to: "Be imaginative and create a character who has a history of being gay, rather than Sulu, who had been straight all this time, suddenly being revealed as being closeted."

According to Takei, he lobbied the 'Star Trek Beyond' director Justin Lin not to make Sulu gay in the film, which was co-written by Doug Yung and Simon Pegg, who also plays Scotty. But the filmmakers went ahead with the twist, which is revealed in a scene that shows Sulu with a husband and daughter.

Simon Pegg has since responded to the Guardian, saying: "I have huge love and respect for George Takei, his heart, courage and humour are an inspiration. However, with regards to his thoughts on our Sulu, I must respectfully disagree with him."

He added, "He's right, it is unfortunate, it's unfortunate that the screen version of the most inclusive, tolerant universe in science fiction hasn't featured an LGBT character until now. We could have introduced a new gay character, but he or she would have been primarily defined by their sexuality, seen as the 'gay character', rather than simply for who they are, and isn't that tokenism?"

The movie is set to hit the theatres on July 22, 2016.
Harshaali Malhotra aka Munni from 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan' has yet again expressed her love for her 'favourite uncle' Salman Khan.

8 year-old Harshaali recently went to watch 'Sultan' and took to twitter, telling how much she loved the movie.

Posting a picture of herself in the theatre, she said, "I cud feel his pain when he cried .I cried and fighting scenes are big No No specially when Salman uncle is hurt .i loved the movie .. Becoz in the end u won #beingsalmankhan uncle .U rock."

It is needless to say Harshaali, who has acted in serials such as 'Qubool Hai' and 'Laut Aao Trisha', has won the hearts of millions by nailing her performance of Shahida alias 'Munni', a Pakistani Muslim girl in Kabir Khan's directorial.

Yesterday, Film director Satish Kaushik has wholeheartedly praised 'Sultan' on Twitter, writing, "Uff what a film #Sultan @BeingSalmanKhan what a great performance..u r like a raging bull..unstoppable..hats off to the makers and the crew."

After making it more than a whopping Rs 40 crores on the very first day, the Ali Abbas Zafar's directorial is galloping towards the 100 crore-club within this weekend.
Expressing surprise for the soaring protests in Jammu and Kashmir over the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani, the Centre on Sunday said that how can any Indian have sympathy for a terrorist and asserted that it would not tolerate such sentiments and activities.

"We are really surprised that some people are trying to support those so called protestors who are sympathising with the terrorist. He is a Hizbul Mujahideen commander. How can any Indian have sympathy for such people? And as far as the government is concerned, we are very clear that we will not tolerate such activities," Union Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu told the media here.

Stating that the Kashmit issue was not a sudden development and had been a problem for a very long time, Naidu further said that terrorism and violence is not acceptable, in whatever form and by whoever who does it.

"Kashmir is an integral part of India. There is no question of any negotiation or any discussion on that. But you cannot have an overnight or readymade solution for such a long standing issue," he said.

Talking about the current state of unrest in the valley, the Union Minister asserted that the government was trying to deal with the problem by adopting democratic methods and added that the Centre is extending all the support to the state government.

"The Centre and state together will tackle the situation. I am confident that the situation will be brought to normalcy at the earliest. Some people who are inspired by our neighbour are trying to create disturbances," Naidu added.

Earlier today, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh chaired a high-level meeting to review the law and order situation in the valley.

Home Secretary Anil Goswami, Joint Secretary (Kashmir division) Gyanesh Kumar, Intelligence Bureau (IB) Chief Dineshwar Sharma and senior Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) officials were present at the meeting held at Rajnath's residence.

Discussing similar issues, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti chaired a cabinet meeting to review security situation in the state.

The meeting comes in the wake of the soaring violence in the valley as the death toll in the clashes between security forces and protestors has reached 15, as three more civilians succumbed to injuries.

At least 100 protesters were injured on Saturday. They suffered bullet, tear smoke and pellet injuries.

Violence erupted in south Kashmir districts of Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian and Kulgam and later spread to other districts in the valley after security forces killed Wani and two of his associates in Bamdoora (Kokarnag) village of Anantnag district on Friday.

Wani was buried in his native Shariefabad (Tral) village on Saturday where nearly 40,000 people gathered defying curfew restrictions to take part in his funeral prayers.

The separatists have called for a valley-wide shutdown till Monday to protest against Wani's killing.
Aiming to further enhance mutual cooperation and understanding on major issues of common interest, Prime Minister Narendra Modi would begin his brief but crucial Tanzanian engagement by visiting the State House, where he would receive a ceremonial welcome at Barack Obama Drive.

The Prime Minister will have a restricted meeting with Tanzanian President Dr. John Magufuli at Tete-a-tete Room of the State House around 10 a.m. (local time).

The meeting will be followed by a delegation-level talk at the Cabinet Room, signing and exchange of agreements at the State Room of the State House and a joint press statement around 11.15 a.m.

Hours before embarking on the four-nation tour, Prime Minister Modi said in a statement issued in New Delhi: "On Sunday 10th July, I will be in Tanzania for a brief but crucial visit to give an impetus to ties with Tanzania, a valued friend in Africa."

"There will be extensive talks with President Dr. John Magufuli, where we will chalk out the road ahead for bettering India-Tanzania relations in a wide range of areas. I will also be meeting 'Solar Mamas', a group of rural women solar engineers from Africa, who have been trained under GOI-supported programmes to fabricate, install, use, repair and maintain solar lanterns and household solar lighting systems in their villages," the Prime Minister added.

Thereafter, around 11.40 a.m., the Prime Minister will return to Hyatt Regency, where he is staying.

At Hyatt Regency, he will have an interaction with 'Solar Mamas' at Kibo Ballroom around 11.40 a.m., followed by an interaction with the Indian Community.

About 1p.m., the Prime Minister will attend a luncheon hosted by Tanzanian President Magufuli at the Multi-Purpose Hall of the State House.

Thereafter, Prime Minister Modi will take off for Kenyan capital city Nairobi from Julius Nyerere International Airport around 2.20 p.m.

While briefing the media in New Delhi earlier on July 4, before the Prime Minister's departure on the four-nation tour, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Secretary (Economic Relations) Amar Sinha said: "We are reaching Tanzania on Sunday, where every hour there is a new programme.

"Of course we are very grateful that Tanzania actually accepted an official visit on a Sunday which is a great gesture because nobody accepts a state visit on a Sunday. Tanzania was not only happy but in fact they were the first off the mark in terms that they immediately said that they would definitely want it and they would not want Indian Prime Minister to just fly over them between Durban and Nairobi. So we have decided that we will stop there and the whole Sunday would be spent there," said Sinha.

"There are the same elements on the official part. I can tell you what else he is doing there besides the official engagements. He is meeting the Indian community," he added.

Taking about 'Solar Mamas' training programme, Sinha said: "Solar Mamas are these grandmothers from villages who are brought by Barefoot College. He will also be meeting a group of 40 or so of Solar Mamas from different parts of Africa, which Barefoot College has trained. We are also actually funding setting up of one of the Barefoot College centres in Tanzania.

"It was a good opportunity for PM to actually see, because this connects with our new Solar Alliance, that we already have a cadre of well trained people even at the village level, who are solar technicians, who have already been electrifying villages. So, this will actually plug in with the overall initiative in Solar Alliance."

The Prime Minister will be in Kenya on July 11, where he will have bilateral discussions with President Kenyatta. Prime Minister will also address students in the University of Nairobi during the visit.
Visa waiver for diplomatic or official passport holders was among the five agreements signed between India and Tanzania on Sunday to accelerate ties between both nations to the next level.

The other agreements include LOC of US $92 million for rehabilitation and improvement of Zanzibar's water supply system, Water Resource Management and Development, Establishment of vocational training centre at Zanzibar, Agreement between National Small Industries Corporation of India and Small Industries of Development Organization Tanzania.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Tanzanian President John Pombe Joseph Magufuli witnessed the signing of agreements at the State House in Dar-es-Salaam.

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) official spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted, "A close and friendly partner. PM and President witness the exchange of 5 agreements across various sectors."

Prime Minister Modi and President Magufuli prior to the exchange of agreements held delegation-level talks during which both sides reviewed full spectrum of relations between the two nations.

"Reviewing the full spectrum of #IndiaTanzania relations. President @Magufuli and PM lead delegation level talks," Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) official spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted.

The Prime Minister's Office tweeted, "Discussing India-Tanzania relations with President @MagufuliJP during the bilateral meeting and delegation talks."

Prime Minister Modi was earlier today accorded a ceremonial welcome at the State House kicking-off his first engagement in Tanzania.

He landed at Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar-es-Salaam earlier in the day as part of his four-nation Africa tour aimed at enhancing ties with the continent, particularly in the economic sphere.
Asserting that India and Tanzania have agreed to work closely to combat the twin threats of terrorism and climate change, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said both nations will deepen overall defence and security partnership.

Prime Minister Modi in a press statement along with Tanzanian President John Pombe Joseph Magufuli at the State House in Dar-es-Salaam said both nations reflect issues of common interest and concern.

"Being neighbours across Indian Ocean, President and I agreed to deepen our overall defence and security partnership, especially in the maritime domain. Our in-depth discussions on regional and global issues reflected our considerable convergence on issues of common interest and concern," he said.

The Prime Minister said that both nations have agreed to work closely, bilaterally, regionally and globally to combat threats of terrorism and climate change.

"On climate change, India had led the efforts to form an International Solar Alliance at COP 21 in Paris. In this Alliance, which has the support of over 120 countries, we welcome Tanzania as a crucial partner," he said.

He noted India is already a substantial economic partner of Tanzania, adding the whole range of economic ties are healthy and on upswing.

"Our two way annual trade stands at around US$ 3 billion. Indian investments in Tanzania already total around US$ 3 billion and Indian businesses in Tanzania continue to grow and expand," he added.

Talking about the discussions which he held with President Magufuli, Prime Minister Modi said the focus was to shape an action oriented agenda of cooperation, common desire of economic prosperity and creating new opportunities for expanding cooperation.

He said that both sides in order to deepen the ties agreed to deepen partnership in agriculture and food security through enhanced export of pulses from Tanzania to India and by working together in development and use of natural gas.

"Three, partner in building of industrial economy, capacities and institutions in Tanzania and four, deepen our trade and investment partnership by encouraging greater industry to industry ties," he added.

Stating India understands the need and urgency to improve the lives of its people like the way Tanzania does, Prime Minister Modi said New Delhi will put all efforts in achieving so.

He said the completion of 100 million dollar water supply augmentation project for Dar-es-Salaam is a good achievement.

"We have just now also signed an agreement on water supply project in Zanzibar for a line of credit of $92 million. We are also working on a number of other water projects for 17 cities. And for this India is willing to consider an additional $500 million line of concessional credit Public Health is another important area of our engagement," he said.

The Prime Minister announced that India is ready to meet the healthcare priorities of the Tanzanian Government, including the supply of medicines and equipment.

"Education, vocational training and skill development are other areas of your priority and where India is willing to offer all possible assistance," he added.

Prime Minister Modi reiterated that India cooperation's will always be as per the needs and priorities of Tanzania.

The visiting Prime Minister and the Tanzanian President earlier witnessed exchange of five MoUs, including visa waiver for diplomatic or official passport holders, LOC of US $92 million for rehabilitation and improvement of Zanzibar's water supply system.
Ace Indian shuttler Ajay Jayaram knocked out of the US Open Grand Prix Gold tournament after suffering a straight-game loss at the hands of Japan's Kanta Tsuneyama in the men's singles semifinals here on Sunday.

The fourth-seeded Indian failed to match the intensity of his Japanese opponent and ended with a 10-21, 14-21 defeat in the last-four contest that lasted 33 minutes.

With his defeat, India's challenge also folded at the tournament.
Earlier, when the move of casting Scarlett Johansson as the lead in 'Ghost in the Shell' was branded as another example of "Hollywood whitewashing," producer Steven Paul defended the film, calling it an "international story."

Now, in an interview with AP, Kaori Momoi, a Japanese actor who appeared in 'Memoirs of a Geisha,' has been revealed to be playing the 'Lucy' star's mother in the Hollywood remake of classic Japanese anime, the Independent reported.

That seems to confirm that the 31-year-old actress' character has Japanese heritage.

Talking about her part, Momoi said: "I felt blessed to have worked with her (Johansson)." She also described Hollywood as an amazing opportunity for Asian actors.

To many fans, this has come as quite a contradiction, as why would they distance The Major from the Kusanagi, only to make her half-Japanese? It's also surprising that the filmmakers are persuing the Japanese aspect of the character, yet haven't hired a Japanese actor.

The film is set to hit the UK cinemas on 31 March, 2017.
Following the highly tense situation in the valley following the death of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani, Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday chaired a high-level meeting to review the law and order situation in Jammu and Kashmir.

Home Secretary Anil Goswami, Joint Secretary (Kashmir division) Gyanesh Kumar, Intelligence Bureau (IB) Chief Dineshwar Sharma and senior Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) officials are present at the meeting being held at Rajnath's residence here.

The meeting comes in the wake of the soaring violence in the valley as the death toll in the clashes between security forces and protestors has reached 15, as three more civilians succumbed to injuries.

Earlier, eight civilians were killed in the clashes in south Kashmir, a day after Burhan Wani and his two associates were killed in an encounter in Anantnag.

One among the deceased drowned in local area while fleeing. More than hundred protesters have also been injured in the clashes across Kashmir.

A local hospital (SMHS) in Srinagar received around 70 injured civilians, most of them with bullet injuries.

State Intelligence chief S M Sahai told that three police personnel were missing while 96 security force personnel were seriously injured.

Sahai said the focus was to prevent the loss of young lives. He said the situation was particularly bad in south Kashmir and appealed for maintaining peace.

The Centre has reportedly rushed 12 companies of CRPF to Kashmir to assist the local administration in maintaining law and order situation in the area.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh has said the Centre is working with the State government to bring normalcy in the valley. In a tweet, Singh appealed to the people to remain calm and maintain peace.

The mobile internet and train services are suspended in the valley and the Amarnath Yatra remains temporarily suspended and around ten thousand pilgrims are reportedly stranded at Jammu.

CBSE has postponed the UGC-NET exam scheduled for today in Srinagar. The new date of examination will be announced later.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Afghanistan, Abdullah Abdullah, in a veiled reference to Islamabad at the NATO Warsaw Summit in Poland highlighted about the safe havens used by the Taliban group and Haqqani terrorist network in Pakistan.

"Looking back at recent history, some of us failed to grasp, the strategy that enabled the reemergence of militant cells that enjoyed sanctuaries and staging grounds in our neighborhood. But that strategy, in the face of Afghan resolve and international steadfastness, has failed and I am certain, it will never succeed," Khaama Press quoted him as saying.

Abdullah hailed the NATO's contribution and commitment to Kabul in maintaining security in the country.

"The Afghan National Security and Defense Forces grew in numbers, and more importantly, in terms of capacities, heralding the end of the international combat engagement in 2014, and the start of a new era of cooperation and assistance under the Resolute Support mission," he said.

He asserted he is confident enough to say that the Afghan nation benefited greatly from the NATO engagement, not only in the security sector, but also with the concurrent civilian deployments to bridge the gap between reconstruction and security in many parts of Afghanistan.

Highlighting that his country is on the frontlines against various types of threats, including Taliban, Da'ish and Al-Qa'ida, the Afghan CEO said international partnership matters in defending the threats.

His remarks come as the Afghan officials have long been criticizing Pakistan for allowing the militant groups to use its soil to plan and coordinate attacks in Afghanistan.
Pakistan has strongly condemned the continued killing of innocent Kashmiris in India-Occupied-Kashmir and said that solving the Jammu and Kashmir dispute is only possible through an impartial plebiscite with the United Nation's support.

The statement comes as the Indian security forces shot dead Hizbul Mujahideen's 21-year-old leader Burhan Muzzafar Wani, along with two of his accomplices in Kokernag area, earlier on Friday.

The statement released by Office of the Spokesperson on Sunday said the extrajudicial killing of Kashmiri leader Burhan Wani and scores of other innocent Kashmiris is deplorable and condemnable.

"Pakistan reiterates that the resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute is only possible by the realisation of the right to self determination of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, as per the UNSC resolutions, through a fair and impartial plebiscite under UN auspices," the statement said.

"Such acts are a violation of fundamental human rights of Kashmiris and can not deter the people of Jammu and Kashmir from their demand for the realisation of the right to self determination," it said.

Islamabad also expressed its concern over the detention of Kashmiri leadership and called upon New Delhi to fulfill the human rights obligations as per the United Nation.

"Pakistan also has serious concerns over the detention of Kashmiri leadership in Indian Occupied Kashmir and calls upon the Indian government to fulfill its human rights obligations as well as its commitments under the United Nations Security Council Resolutions," the statement said.

The Kashmir valley has been on a boil as widespread protests were carried out over Wani's killing with many separatists' calling for a shutdown.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on Sunday accorded a ceremonial welcome at the State House in Dar-es-Salaam as he kicked-off his first engagement in Tanzania.

"Starting the programmes in Tanzania with the ceremonial welcome," Prime Minister's Office (PMO) tweeted.

Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Vikas Swarup also tweeted, "A ceremonial welcome, the East African way. PM's Tanzania engagements begin at the State House in Dar es Salaam."

Prime Minister Modi was greeted with the traditional Tanzanian way at the State House by the people, including Indian community, here waiting to get a glimpse of him.

The people, including children, were seen waving Indian and Tanzania flags as they welcomed Prime Minister Modi.

Prime Minister Modi and Tanzanian President John Pombe Joseph Magufuli showcased their drumming skills as they played the drums in synchronization.

"New beats to the #IndiaAfrica rhythm! PM Narendra Modi and President Magufuli JP play the drum," Swarup tweeted.

Prime Minister Modi landed at Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar-es-Salaam earlier today, as part of his four-nation Africa tour aimed at enhancing ties with the continent, particularly in the economic sphere.

In Tanzania, he will hold restricted talks with President John Pombe Joseph Magufuli on a range of issues to bolster bilateral ties between two nations.

The meeting will be followed by a delegation-level talk at the Cabinet Room, signing and exchange of agreements at the State Room of the State House and a joint press statement.

Prime Minister Modi will also be meeting 'Solar Mamas', a group of rural women solar engineers from Africa who have been trained under the Government of India-supported programmes followed by interaction with the Indian community.

Thereafter, Prime Minister Modi will take off for Kenyan capital city Nairobi from Julius Nyerere International Airport.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on his first visit to the African mainland, on Sunday lavished praise on the Indians living in African countries for preserving their age-old culture and traditions.

During his interaction with the Indian community here, Prime Minister Modi called on the people of both India and Africa to serve the entire .

"The Indians, who migrated to African countries generations ago, have preserved their culture and it is a commendable feat. They have preserved their language, eating habits etc. because of which there is this amazing warmth which I can sense over here," he said.

"It is because of your blessings that India is making progress at such a rapid rate. But we have to take this much forward. The love and respect that I have got here is truly invaluable. This was my first visit to the African mainland and I have received immense love here, tomorrow I will be going to Kenya," he added.

He also called on the citizens of both India and Africa to do a great service in the coming days, not only for their respective countries, but for the whole as well.

Prime Minister Modi was earlier today accorded a ceremonial welcome at the State House kicking-off his first engagement in Tanzania.

He met with a group of 'Solar Mamas', the women from developing nations who have been trained in harnessing solar energy at the Barefoot College in Tilonia village of Rajasthan's Ajmer city.

Later this evening, the Prime Minister will interact with around 50,000 members of the Indian community in Tanzania before leaving for Kenya on the fourth and final leg of his tour.

He landed at Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar-es-Salaam earlier in the day as part of his four-nation Africa tour aimed at enhancing ties with the continent, particularly in the economic sphere.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday held delegation-level talks with Tanzanian President John Pombe Joseph Magufuli in Dar-es-Salaam on Sunday during which both sides reviewed full spectrum of relations between the two nations.

"Reviewing the full spectrum of #IndiaTanzania relations. President @Magufuli and PM lead delegation level talks," Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) official spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted.

The Prime Minister's Office atweeted, "Discussing India-Tanzania relations with President @MagufuliJP during the bilateral meeting and delegation talks."

Prime Minister Modi prior to the delegation-level talks also held restricted meeting with President Magufuli to bolters bilateral ties between India and Tanzania.

"Talking with Tanzania. PM @narendramodi and President @MagufuliJP in restricted talks following the welcome," Swarup tweeted.

Prime Minister Modi was earlier today accorded a ceremonial welcome at the State House kicking-off his first engagement in Tanzania.

He landed at Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar-es-Salaam earlier today, as part of his four-nation Africa tour aimed at enhancing ties with the continent, particularly in the economic sphere.

His delegation-level talk will be followed by signing and exchange of agreements at the State Room of the State House and a joint press statement.

His others engagements include meeting the 'Solar Mamas', a group of rural women solar engineers from Africa who have been trained under the Government of India-supported programmes followed by interaction with the Indian community.
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has declared victory at the federal election as he addressed the media following opposition leader Bill Shorten's concession of defeat.

Speaking in Sydney, the Prime Minister thanked the Australian people, his family and the Labor leader for support, reports news.com.au.

"This is a great day, a great day to thank the Australian people for the decisions they have taken in this election, and to commit to them and you our absolutely un-relenting determination to ensure that this Parliament delivers good government, wise legislation, and builds on the strengths of our economy to ensure that truly our greatest days are yet ahead of us," Prime Minister Turnbull said.

"We must ensure a strong economy in years ahead. That we maintain a successful transition from an economy fuelled by mining and construction booms. We need to ensure that Medicare and education, health services and all those vital government services are provided for and Australians feel secure that they are provided for and guaranteed," he added during his victory speech.

Earlier this afternoon, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten conceded defeat for the Labor Party at the federal election as addressing the media in Melbourne today he said that it was clear Malcolm Turnbull would form a government.

Shorten also acknowledged that he phoned Malcolm Turnbull earlier this afternoon to congratulate him for the victory.

The Coalition currently has 74 of the 76 seats needed to form a majority government, with Labor trailing behind at 66.
Mocking the former UPA regime for not responding to reports submitted by former Mumbai police commissioner Satyapal Sinha on Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideologue Rakesh Sinha on Sunday said the Congress leadership had then only one agenda which was to coin the term Hindu terror.

"This is the same party whose leader uses respectable words like 'ji' for a terrorist.They hold the RSS responsible for the 26/11 terror attacks. What can you expect from such a government?... The UPA government attempted to give prestige to terrorism," Sinha told ANI here.

"The then Home Ministry had only work, which was find to find out Hindu terror. They were searching for something which was non-existent. Two Home Ministers tried to find out Hindu terror," he added.

Former commissioner and now Baghpat MP Satyapal Singh has said in a recent interview that there was an event of mass religious conversion by Zakir Naik in 2008 but the then Congress government didn't act against the hard-line preacher on the basis of his report.

During a lecture on Peace TV, Naik hada reportedly urged all Muslims to become terrorists.

Naik, a popular but controversial Islamic orator and founder of the Mumbai-based Islamic Research Foundation, is banned in UK and Canada for his hate speeches.

He is among the 16 banned Islamic scholars in Malaysia.
Expressing disappointment over Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's remarks against Islamabad at the NATO Summit in Warsaw, Pakistan has urged Kabul to end the blame game and instead cooperate with peace efforts.

The Pakistan Foreign Office in a statement released yesterday said that the country would continue with its efforts for peace and stability in Afghanistan and asked Kabul to cooperate in its fight against terrorism.

"It was unfortunate that Afghan leaders continue to make hostile statements against Pakistan and blame Pakistan for all failures in Afghanistan. Since we have a genuine interest in seeing peace in Afghanistan, Pakistan would continue to make every effort to help bring peace in Afghanistan," the Foreign Office said.

"We expect cooperation of the Afghan government in our fight against terrorism through effective border management and denying sanctuaries to anti-Pakistan terrorists from TTP. The need of the hour is close cooperation between Afghanistan and Pakistan rather than constant blame game by the Afghan government based on inaccurate assumptions," the statement added.

President Ghani had blamed Pakistan for continuing to make a distinction between good and bad Taliban.

"Our regional initiatives with neighbours are beginning to yield significant cooperative dividends. The exception is with Pakistan - despite clear commitments to a quadrilateral peace process, their dangerous distinction between good and bad terrorists is being maintained in practice," said President Ghani and called upon the international community for help.
At least three children were killed and six others, including three women and three men, wounded in a bomb explosion in Kandahar province of southern Afghanistan.

Provincial Police spokesman Zia Durani said the incident took place earlier today on a main highway connecting Spin Boldak and Arghistan district when a rickshaw vehicle carrying civilians struck an Improvised Explosive Device (IED), leaving at least three children dead.

Durani added that six others also sustained injuries in the attack.

No group has claimed responsibility for the incident so far, reports Khaama Press.

The Taliban militants and other armed insurgent groups are frequently using IEDs, which are the main contributors to the casualties of the Afghan security forces and but are also growing civilian casualties.

At least 600 civilians were killed and 1,343 others wounded in the first quarter of 2016, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said in its latest report.
British Prime Minister David Cameron has said the United Kingdom will deploy 50 additional military personnel in Afghanistan to train and advise security forces.

He further said the U.K. would keep 450 troops in Afghanistan until 2017.

Cameron said his country reaffirmed the collective commitment to support a more secure and stable future of Afghanistan.

"NATO has an important role to play beyond its borders, helping to prevent countries becoming a safe haven for terrorists who can threaten us here at home. That is what we did in Afghanistan and today we've reaffirmed our collective commitment to support a more secure and stable future for that country," Tolo News quoted Cameron as saying at the NATO Summit in Warsaw on Saturday.

"We'll keep 450 troops there into 2017 and we'll deploy a further 50 personnel to provide additional mentoring, particularly for the Afghan Air Force", he added.

His statement comes after allies from the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) formally extended their support for the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF), days after U.S President Barack Obama decided to keep thousands of American troops in Afghanistan.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive of Afghanistan Abdullah Abdullah in return vowed to fulfil their commitments in bringing reforms and fighting the endemic corruption in public offices.
At least 29 militants were killed in battles with the Syrian government forces near a key route in Syria's Aleppo city, a Human Rights monitor group reported on Sunday.

The Al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front militants were killed during a failed overnight attempt to re-open their last remaining supply route, Castello road, that connects rebel-held areas in the northern countryside of Aleppo with rebel-controlled areas in the eastern part of the city, Xinhua news agency quoted the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights as saying.

The Syrian army had severed the road on Thursday, following a week-long offensive.

Aleppo, strategically located near the borders with Turkey, is Syria's largest city and once an economic hub. It has been a focal point of clashes between the Syrian army and the rebels.

--IANS

ask/lok/dg
In war, everything not censored is a lie.
Veteran actor Delhi Ganesh, a popular character artiste with over 200 Tamil films to his credit, has joined the cast of ace filmmaker Mani Ratnam's Tamil romantic drama "Kaatru Veliyidai".

"Delhi Ganesh sir has started shooting in Ooty, where the makers have started filming some initial portions. Originally, the plan was to shoot the first schedule in Kashmir; however, Ooty was been chosen instead. The team will shoot in Kashmir later on," a source from the film's unit told IANS.

Karthi and Aditi Rao Hydari, who play the lead, are yet to join the sets.

"They're expected to join soon. Karthi is busy wrapping up dubbing work on 'Kaashmora', and he's most likely to join the sets towards the end of this month," the source added.

Also starring R.J. Balaji and Shraddha Srinath, the film is jointly produced by Madras Talkies and Thenandal Films.

--IANS

hp/nn/dg
The Bangladesh government on Sunday decided to close down Peace TV, a Mumbai-based channel run by controversial Islamic Preacher Zakir Naik's Islamic Research Foundation.

Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu said his ministry will evaluate the issue and adopt administrative measures to take the channel off air on Monday.

"There are issues related to administrative decision-making... we don't have time today, I will see about taking the administrative steps from Monday morning," Haq said hours after the Cabinet Committee on Law and Order decided to ban the controversial channel, reported bdnews24.com.

"Peace TV is inconsistent with Muslim society, the Quran, Sunnah, Hadith, Bangladesh's Constitution, our culture, customs and rituals," Inu added.

The ban came in the wake of the recent bloody terror attacks which rocked Bangladesh one after another. On July 1, two of the seven young militants, who struck at an upscale cafe in Dhaka's diplomatic Gulshan enclave, were reportedly inspired by the Salafi tele-evangelist's speeches.

The gruesome attack claimed the lives of 22 people, including 18 foreigners and two policemen, during the 12-hour siege which the security forces ended with a successful rescue operation codenamed as 'Operation Thunderbolt'.

"We have decided to stop airing the channel across the country," Xinhua news agency quoted Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu as saying.

Less than a week later, another terror attack -- at the Sholakia Eidgah, in Kishoreganj, in central Bangladesh -- claimed the lives of four people, including two policemen, as hundreds of thousands gathered for Eid prayers on Thursday morning at the country's largest congregation.

The Indian authorities on Friday said they were examining and analysing the speeches of Naik and appropriate action will follow.

"We have taken cognisance of Zakir Naik's speeches and necessary instructions have been issued in this regard," Home Minister Rajnath Singh said.

Naik, who is based in Mumbai, said from Makkah that he "totally disagreed" that he had inspired the terror attack in Dhaka.

"There is not a single talk of mine where I encouraged one to kill another, whether Muslim or non-Muslim," he said in a statement.

--IANS

ss/dg
Scientists have discovered what appears to be the first evidence of cannibal behaviour of Neanderthals in northern Europe.

Evidence of this cannibal behaviour has been discovered at various sites in France and on the Iberian Peninsula. However, there are very few sites with Neanderthal remains north of latitude 50 degrees.

The researchers, led by Helene Rougier from the California State University, found 99 skeletal remains belonging to at least five individuals from a site in Goyet, Belgium -- making the discovery the largest number of Neanderthal human remains ever found in northern Europe.

A third of the Neanderthal remains on this site display cut marks, and many remains bear percussion marks caused when the bones were crushed to extract the marrow.

The comparison of the Neanderthal remains with other remains of fauna recovered on the site (horses and reindeer) suggests that the three species were consumed in a similar way. This discovery enables the range of known Neanderthal behaviour in northern Europe with respect to the dead to the expanded.

Moreover, the five human Neanderthal remains displayed signs of having been used as soft percussors to shape stone. The Neanderthals used boulders to shape stone tools and also used bone in some cases to sharpen the cutting edges.

The age of the Neanderthal remains was analysed and the researchers found that these Neanderthals lived between 40,500 and 45,500 years ago.

The study was published recently in the prestigious journal Scientific Reports.

--IANS

vr/ask/vt
The Jammu and government on Sunday appealed for calm as four more people died in continuing protests against the killing of a top guerrilla leader, taking the death toll to 19.

A mob overran a bullet-proof police vehicle and rolled it down into the Sutlej river at Sangam in Anantnag district, drowning its constable driver while other policemen fled the scene, official sources said.

Security forces shot dead two demonstrators at Litter in Pulwama district after a huge crowd took to the streets shouting anti-government and pro-freedom slogans, the sources said.

Irfan Ahmad Malik, 17, was also killed on Sunday in firing elsewhere in Pulwama district after a curfew-defying mob attacked the security forces, a senior police official said.

The latest fatalities took the death toll in two days of widespread clashes between protesters and security forces in the Valley to 19 -- 18 demonstrators and one policeman.

Senior officials said three policemen were missing following the violence and nearly 100 security personnel were injured in the street clashes which have crippled the Valley and halted the Amarnath Yatra.

Kashmir Valley erupted in anger on Saturday after security forces shot dead Burhan Wani, a top leader of the Hizbul Mujahideen, along with two of his associates on Friday. His funeral was attended by thousands.

Wani's killing has triggered widespread protests, most of them in the northern districts of Anantnag, Pulwama, Kulgam and Shopian. Wani hailed from Pulwama. In most places mobs have attacked security forces, leading to tear-gassing and firing.

On Sunday, the Jammu and Kashmir government urged parents of young demonstrators to tell their wards not to take part in street protests that were leading to firing by security forces and civilian casualties.

"We are appealing to parents to restraint their children from getting involving in incidents of stone pelting at security forces, which forces the security forces to open fire leading to the loss of innocent lives," Education Minister and government spokesman Naeem Akhtar told the media.

Akhtar also urged the separatist Hurriyat Conference to help restore calm in the Kashmir Valley, where a separatist campaign raging has left tens of thousands dead since 1989.

The government said it was also trying to arrange flights to fly out tourists stranded in the Valley due to the violence. Their number has been put at between 10,000 and 20,000.

Also on Sunday, union Home Minister Rajnath Singh presided over a high-level meeting and then spoke to Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, offering all possible help from New Delhi.

Senior officials in New Delhi expressed the hope that the situation in Jammu and Kashmir will return to normal soon.

Four demonstrators, identified as Imtiyaz Ahmad Mandoo, Mashooq Ahmad and Safeer Ahmad, all from Anantnag district, and Mohammmad Altaf Rather (from Pulwama) who were wounded a day earlier died on Sunday.

A curfew now covers the entire Kashmir Valley.

Kashmir Divisional Commissioner Asgar Hussain Samoon urged people to help restore peace.

Those who died in clashes on Saturday following the killing of Wani include Adil Bashir, Danish Ayub, Abdul Hamid Moochi, Jahangir Ganai, Aijaz Ahmad Thokru, Ashraf Dar, Showkat Ahmad, Haseeb Ahmad and Saqib Mir (all from Annatnag), Khurshid Ahmad (Kulgam) and Azad Hussain (Shopian).

Additional Director General (CID) S.M. Sahai and Inspector General of Police (Kashmir Zone) Syed Javid Mujtaba Gilani said mobs on Saturday set fire to four police stations, two police pickets and a tehsildar's office.

Besides, there were two incidents of weapon snatching and torching of several vehicles of security forces.

At least 100 protesters were injured on Saturday. They suffered bullet, tear smoke and pellet injuries.

Wani was buried in his native Shariefabad village on Saturday where thousands gathered defying curfew restrictions to take part in his funeral prayers.

The separatists have called for a valley-wide shutdown till Monday to protest against Wani's killing.

--IANS

sq/mr/vd
An emergency meeting of the Himachal Pradesh Cabinet will be held here on Monday, an official spokesman said on Sunday.

The spokesman, however, refused to divulge the meeting agenda. The last routine cabinet meeting was held here on July 8.

The meeting comes in the wake of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) agent Anand Chauhan's arrest on Friday by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) from Chandigarh under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Chauhan is accused of investing Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh's "tainted" money of Rs 5 crore in LIC policies purchased in Virbhadra's name and those of his family members, including wife Pratibha Singh.

The ED confirmed Chauhan's arrest on Twitter on Saturday. This is the first arrest by the ED in the money laundering case against the Chief Minister.

The ED reportedly found that Virbhadra Singh had accumulated assets worth Rs 6.03 crore in his name and in the name of his family members, which were disproportionate to his known sources of income, during his tenure as the Union Steel Minister from 2009 to 2011.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is also investigating the case.

Last month, Virbhadra Singh was summoned twice and he allegedly "failed to explain the evidences" against him during CBI questioning in New Delhi in the disproportionate wealth case.

After his questioning, a CBI official claimed that Virbhadra Singh put the onus of explaining the assets on his wife and children.

CBI sources said the Chief Minister's son Vikramaditya had claimed during CBI's preliminary enquiry that some of his assets were from the money provided by his father.

A case was registered by the CBI on September 23 last year under the Prevention of Corruption Act against the Chief Minister, his wife Pratibha Singh, LIC agent Anand Chauhan and associate Chunni Lal. The FIR was an outcome of a preliminary inquiry.

--IANS

vg/tsb/vt
India and Tanzania on Sunday agreed to deepen their partnership in agriculture and food security and work together in the development and use of natural gas as New Delhi committed more aid for this east African country's water supply projects.

"We agreed that our common desire of economic prosperity for our societies is creating new opportunities for expanding our cooperation," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a joint press statement with Tanzanian President John Magufuli following delegation-level talks here.

"For this, both of us felt that we need to: One, deepen our partnership in agriculture and food security, including through enhanced export of pulses from Tanzania to India; two, work together in development and use of natural gas; three, partner in building of industrial economy, capacities and institutions in Tanzania; and four, deepen our trade and investment partnership by encouraging greater industry-to-industry ties," Modi said.

The partnership in the area of natural gas development and use is significant as Tanzania has been emerging as a gas giant with a series of finds since 2011.

In March this year, a Dubai-based company said it has discovered 2.7 trillion cubic feet of gas in Ruvu Basin in the country's coastal region.

Modi said that India was already a substantial economic partner of Tanzania and the whole range of economic ties were healthy and on the upswing.

"Our two-way annual trade stands at around $3 billion, Indian investments in Tanzania already total around $3 billion and Indian businesses in Tanzania continue to grow and expand," he said.

Modi described as a "good achievement" completion of a water supply augmentation project in Dar-es-Salaam with the Indian aid of $I00 million.

"We have just now also signed an agreement on water supply project in Zanzibar for a line of credit of $92 million," the Prime Minister said.

"We are also working on a number of other water projects for 17 cities. And for this, India is willing to consider an additional $500 million line of concessional credit."

India and Tanzania signed five agreements after the delegation-level talks, including two on water supply and water resource management.

Modi flagged public health as another important priority in India's engagement with the east African country.

"We are ready to meet the healthcare priorities of the Tanzanian government, including supply of medicines and equipment," he said, adding an Indian radio-therapy machine was being installed at Bugando Medical Centre in the country's Mwanza city to treat cancer patients.

The Prime Minister said education, vocational training and skill development were other areas of priority in which India was willing to offer all assistance.

"Being neighbours across Indian Ocean, President and I agreed to deepen our overall defence and security partnership, especially in the maritime domain," Modi said.

"Our in-depth discussions on regional and global issues reflected our considerable convergence on issues of common interest and concern."

Modi said both sides agreed to work closely, bilaterally, regionally and globally, to combat the twin threats of terrorism and climate change and described Tanzania as a "crucial partner" in the India-initiated International Solar Alliance..

Prior to Sunday's talks, Modi was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the State House here.

Modi also played a traditional drum along with Magufuli, adding a local and informal touch to the ceremony.

Later, he interacted with a group of 30 African 'Solar Mamas', rural women who have been trained in harnessing solar energy under Indian government programmes.

The Prime Minister also met members of the Indian community, which numbers around 50,000 in Tanzania.

At a banquet hosted in his honour by President Magufuli, he described the Indian community as an important link between the two countries.

After completing his engagements in Tanzania, Modi left for Kenya on the fourth and last leg of his four-nation African tour.

The Prime Minister arrived in Tanzania on Saturday night from South Africa on the third leg of his Africa visit.

This was the first prime ministerial visit from India to Tanzania in five years since the visit of then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2011.

He started his five-day trip with a visit to Mozambique.

--IANS

ab/vt
Political self-goals by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress have put Punjab's ruling Shiromani Akali Dal in an advantageous position just months ahead of assembly elections in the state.

The AAP leadership has been left red-faced by two developments and has been forced to seek apologies and even offer to do voluntary service to "atone" for the political sins of its leaders.

The two AAP self-goals came in the past week when it first released its 'Youth manifesto' in Amritsar, which has led to a major controversy, and then had its leader Ashish Khetan compare the manifesto with religious scriptures like the Granth Sahib, the Bible and the Gita.

The manifesto, on its cover, carried a photograph of the Harmandar Sahib, the holiest and most revered shrine of Sikh religion, along with the picture of a broom, the AAP symbol.

This gave the ruling Akali Dal, its alliance partner the BJP, the opposition Congress and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), enough fodder to go hammer and tongs against the AAP, which has emerged as a strong challenger to the three main political parties for the assembly elections next February.

The AAP's twin gaffes stirred the religious sentiment in Punjab which the Akali Dal was quick to pounce upon and take advantage of.

Before this, in March-April, the AAP leadership showed political immaturity in dealing with the sensitive issue of sharing water from Punjab rivers with neighbouring states and Delhi. The Akali Dal cornered the Kejriwal government on this issue. The handling of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots issue by the Delhi government too has put AAP on the back foot.

The AAP leadership, which is already in the firing line of other parties and leaders as being a "party of outsiders" (their top leaders being from outside Punjab), has, for the first time in many months, been put on the defensive. The AAP was, till March, touted to be the front-runner to form the next government in Punjab.

Top AAP leaders, including national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, will have to work overtime in coming months to recover the lost political ground.

If the AAP gave the Akalis an opportunity to make a political recovery, the Congress was not too far behind.

The Congress central leadership forced the state unit's leaders run for cover when it suddenly decided to appoint former union minister Kamal Nath as its Punjab in-charge.

Kamal Nath's name was once linked to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. He became an embarrassment and had to resign to save the situation for the party. But, this did not happen before the Akalis made the maximum capital from the episode.

Kamal Nath's replacement, controversial Congress leader from neighbouring Himachal Pradesh, Asha Kumari, who was convicted in a land grab case last year, too did not help matters for the Punjab Congress.

Before this, Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh chose to travel to the United States and Canada for three weeks in April-May. Though the trip was meant to woo the influential NRI community from Punjab, it turned into a virtual holiday for Amarinder Singh and his close aides as the Canada leg ran into legal issues; Ottawa advised against travelling to the country.

Amarinder Singh's three-week absence from the Punjab scene gave the Akalis enough time and ground to cover their political tracks.

In sum, though assembly polls are over six months away, even a small slip by any of the big political players is bound to give the advantage to the others.

(Jaideep Sarin can be contacted at jaideep.s@ians.in)

--IANS

js/vm/ky/tb
The Japanese ruling camp led by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is expected to win a majority in Sunday's upper house elections, according to exit polls by local media.

At least half of 242 seats in the chamber were contested in the elections and the ruling camp is likely to win over 61 seats, Xinhua news agency cited an exit poll by the Japanese public broadcaster NHK.

Abe's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is likely to win 54 to 61 seats. If it gains 57 seats, it will secure an easy majority by its own in the upper house for the first time in 27 years. The Komeito party, LPD's small ruling alliance partner, is expected to win 13 to 15 positions.

The Democratic Party, the main opposition party, is expected to get 26 to 32 seats.

It remained unclear now whether the ruling camp that groups LDP and the Komeito as well as other two small opposition parties could win together two-thirds majority in the chamber so as to launch a Constitution amendment motion in the future.

Combined with their uncontested seats in the upper house, the constitution review bloc needs to secure 78 positions in the contest on Sunday so as to take a two-thirds majority in the upper house.

Another exit poll by Japan's Kyodo News said that the constitution review bloc is close to getting two-thirds majority in the upper house.

--IANS

lok/dg
NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has found that carbon dioxide ice more often covers the ground at night in some mid-latitude regions than in polar regions of the Red Planet, where it is generally absent for much of summer and fall.

Some dusty parts of Mars, at night year round, become as cold as the planet's poles do in winter and also some regions near the equator in summer, according to new NASA findings.

The surface in these regions becomes so frigid overnight that an extremely thin layer of carbon dioxide frost appears to form. The frost then vaporises in the morning.

Carbon dioxide is the main ingredient of Mars' atmosphere. The planet also has large reserves of frozen carbon dioxide buried in the polar ice caps.

Seasonal buildup and thawing of carbon dioxide frost at high latitudes on Mars have been studied for years and are linked to a strange phenomena, such as geyser-like eruptions and groove-cutting ice sleds.

"The temperature gets so low, it starts freezing the atmosphere onto the surface," said Sylvain Piqueux of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, who led the study which published recently in the 'Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets.'

"Once you reach that temperature, you don't get colder, you just accumulate more frost. So even on the polar caps, the surface temperature isn't any colder than what these lower-latitude regions get to overnight," Piqueux added.

Three middle- and low-latitude areas in the Tharsis, Arabia and Elysium regions of the planet have temperature at night cold enough for carbon dioxide frost year-round or nearly year-round. Each of the three is bigger than the US state of Texas.

"These same regions that are coldest at night are the warmest during the day. It has to do with the nature of the material -- it's so fluffy," Piqueux said.

"Think of when you are at the beach on a summer afternoon, where you step on the fine grain sand almost burning your foot. But just below the surface it is not so hot, and if you touch a boulder, it doesn't feel as hot as the sand at beach. Then at hight the phenomena reverses as the surface of the sand cools off quickly, while the boulder stays warm," he added.

The science instruments on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have been examining the planet since 2006.

--IANS

vr/ss/dg
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday left Tanzania for Kenya on the fourth and final leg of his four-nation African tour.

Tanzanian President John Magufuli personally saw Modi off at the Julius Nyerere International Airport here.

"Important gestures on arrival and departure. President @MagufuliJP personally bids farewell to PM @narendramodi," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted.

On his arrival in Nairobi, Modi will address an Indian diaspora rally on Sunday evening.

Earlier in the day, India and Tanzania signed five agreements following delegation-level talks headed by Modi and Magufuli.

The Prime Minister also interacted with a group of 30 African 'Solar Mamas', rural women who have been trained in harnessing solar energy under the Indian government programmes.

He also met members of the Indian community, who number around 50,000 in Tanzania.

Modi arrived in Tanzania on Saturday night from South Africa on the third leg of his first official tour of mainland Africa.

This is the first prime ministerial visit from India to Tanzania in five years since the visit of then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2011.

Modi started his five-day Africa tour with a visit to Mozambique.

--IANS

ab/vt
Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday offered "all possible support" to Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti following the death of 16 people in clashes with security forces.

Rajnath Singh spoke on telephone to the Chief Minister after taking stock of the law and order situation in the Kashmir Valley, officials said.

Curfew has been imposed in the Kashmir Valley after widespread clashes between security forces and demonstrators protesting against the killing of a top Hizbul Mujahideen leader.

According to Home Ministry sources, Rajnath Singh also urged Mehbooba Mufti to ensure the safety of Kashmiri Pandits.

"The Home Minister is keeping a close watch on the events. I am sure the situation will come back to normalcy very soon," said Jitendra Singh, the Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office.

"I am sure the Amarnath Yatra will resume very soon, let security agencies take the final call," Jitendra Singh added.

"I reassure members of Kashmiri Pandit community that they are safe. There were some incidents of stone pelting (earlier)."

Meanwhile, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu lashed out at sympathisers of dead Hizbul commander Burhan Wani.

"The Centre and the state together will tackle the situation. The situation in Jammu and Kashmir will be brought to normalcy at the earliest.

"(Wani) was a Hizbul Mujahideen commander, how can any Indian have sympathy for such people?

"Really surprised to see that some people are trying to support those so-called protesters who are sympathising with a terrorist," said Naidu. "Terrorism and violence are not acceptable at all in any form."

Violence erupted in the south Kashmir districts of Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian and Kulgam and later spread to other districts in the valley after security forces killed Wani and two associates in Anantnag on Friday.

Wani was buried in his native Shariefabad (Tral) village on Saturday where thousands defied curfew restrictions to attend his funeral prayers.

--IANS

sid/mr
Certain personality types are more likely to rebel rather than comply when seeing the colour red, suggests a study led by an Indian-origin researcher.

The study was inspired by a problem faced by a Dutch child helpline that offered free counselling to children aged 8 to 18.

The Dutch child helpline that ran the counselling service were frustrated because of the high percentage of prank calls they received who had no interest in genuine counselling.

Researchers launched an experiment that showed three different colours on the chat screen while callers were on hold for a counsellor. They expected that red would reduce the number of prank chats.

"To our surprise, the prank chatting was higher with the red colour background than the white or blue. Prank chatting occurred about 22 per cent of the time with the red background, compared to 15 per cent for the white or blue," said Ravi Mehta, Assistant Professor, University of Illinois.

The researchers realised that the colour red can increase non-compliant behaviour in people with sensation seeking personality types.

To test whether personality type influenced the response to red, the researchers conducted another study. In this experiment, college students completed an online questionnaire to assess their level of sensation seeking.

They answered questions to evaluate their attitude toward compliant behaviour and the questions were presented on either a red or white screen. People high in sensation seeking who viewed the red background preferred statements that were resistant to compliant behaviour. This did not happen when they saw a white background.

The findings suggest that the assumptions about the colour red may not apply to everyone and this could have implications for things like anti-smoking and safe sex campaigns.

"Using red to promote these preventative health measures might not work for people who are high in sensation seeking, and it might even backfire," added Mehta.

Red could help some people comply with health eating recommendations, but for high sensation seeking personality types, this may not be the colour of choice, suggested the study published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology.

--IANS

som/ask/dg
The Supreme Court verdict saying the army should not use excessive force in its counter insurgency operations has not gone down well with the army veterans who feel that it does not reflect their operational principles under which they use minimum of force in operations against insurgents.

The former veterans whom IANS spoke to were unanimous that any dilution of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act would affect their operations in dealing with insurgents and consequently the security of the country.

Hoping that the Centre would seek review of the judgement, Lieutenant General J.B.S. Yadav (retd) said that the army seeks to use minimum force in insurgency operations.

"In our training or as a matter of principle we always use minimum force and we scrupulously abide by the ten commandments of the army chief," Yadav told IANS.

The commandments include respecting human rights, no torture resulting in death and no act resulting in military disgrace.

Lt. General Yadav, who retired in the year 2006 and had participated in anti-insurgency operations in Northeast, Assam, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir said: "The operations are done in good faith and not to kill anyone."

"To pass a general order that the army will not do this, army will do that, do's and dont's will give upper hand to terrorists. Supreme Court should not pass such judgement which are very difficult to maintain and implement," he said.

He pointed out that more than 10,000 officers and solders have laid down their lives in such operations which would be more than the fatalities suffered by the army during the wars.

The Supreme Court on July 8 had ruled the army cannot use excessive force during counter-insurgency operations in areas declared disturbed under the AFSPA and criminal courts do have the jurisdiction over cases of alleged excesses by security forces.

The judgement came on a petition by Extra Judicial Execution Victims Families Association (EEVFAM) seeking investigation into 1,528 cases of alleged killing since 1978 by the army, Assam Rifles and Manipur police in their anti-insurgency operations in Manipur.

On the court's decision that it will decide in the next hearing on the investigation of 1,528 cases (of alleged killings since 1978), Lt. Gen Yadav wondered if anything tangible would come out from such an exercise, noting that an officer who was just a Lieutenant in 1978 has already retired and many of the army officers may not be there.

"Investigation on part of the army has already taken place. It's so difficult to open these cases. How will they collect witnesses," he further said.

Venting his wrath on "NGOs targeting armed forces" under the cover of human rights, Lt. Gen Yadav said these cases were "motivated cases done by NGOs who are having their own agenda to demoralise the army".

Major General Ravi Arora (retd) said that army does not act impulsively and its operations were based on intelligence inputs.

He said it should be left to the discretion of the military commander how to deal with armed militants acting against forces.

He said all precautions were taken and every effort made to secure the presence of police personnel while also taking village representatives on board during anti-insurgency operations.

"If every operation will be examined and they start taking action then army people will play safe and not carry out their job properly for fear of prosecution. If AFSPA is not there, nobody will carry out the operation because tomorrow they have to answer everything in court. If AFSPA goes, it will have demoralising effect," he said.

Referring to the part of the judgement that armed forces have failed to curb insurgency in turbulent parts of the country in the last six decades, Maj Gen Arora told IANS: "I would like to say that many a times the army has controlled the situations, the insurgency has gone down, but because of no meaningful political followup to come to a political solution, the insurgency then erupts again..."

Major Genral Anil Verma, who is now associated with the Association of Democratic Rights, said the army gets involved only when the situation so demands, and taking away the shield provided by AFSPA would have an adverse impact on the operations.

"If it is (only) a law and order situation let the police do the job. Army is called when it cannot be tackled by the police. We are very careful about human rights," he said.

(Parmod Kumar can be contacted at saneel2010@gmail.com and Garima Tyagi can be contacted at garima.t@ians.in)

--IANS

pk-gt/ps/rn/tb
Following the recent terror attacks in the neighbouring country, the Bangladesh government has assured that safety of potential Indian travellers will be ensured, a top official said on Saturday.

"The safety of Indian tourists will be ensured. We are committed to the issue," said Jyotirmoy Burman, Joint Secretary in the Bangladesh Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism.

"It is unfortunate that such attacks have taken place in Bangladesh. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has categorically stated the country will convert this grief into strength to fight these forces," he said at the 'Travel and Trade Fair' here.

"The Sheikh Hasina government has been pro-active to overcome the situation and regain the confidence of prospective travellers. It is a question of our image. Our government has been pro-active in handling the situation and the entire process is being conducted under the direct supervision of our Prime Minister," he said.

Emphasising the Bangladesh Government's "zero tolerance" approach for such terrorist activities, Barman said she has categorically stated that the country will "convert this grief into strength" to fight against such forces.

To attract Bengali-speaking tourists, the Bangladesh government with the help of tour operators plans to arrange a three-day programme to commemorate the occasion of February 21 International Mother Language Day. The visit would start from February 20 and end on February 22 during which Indian tourists would be assisted to visit various places of interest in Bangladesh and also taste a variety of cuisines.

Among foreign tourists to Bangladesh, the Japanese accounts for the maximum number followed by those from Italy, he said.

According to estimates of Tour Operators Association of Bangladesh, four to five lakh foreign tourists visit Bangladesh every year out of which about 1.5 lakh are from India.

--IANS

bdc/vd
The Jammu and Kashmir government appealed for calm on Sunday as six more people died in unending demonstrations against the killing of a top militant leader, taking the death toll to 21 in two days in curfew-bound Kashmir Valley.

Shabir Ahmed, 27, was shot and wounded by security forces during a street protest here and died in hospital, becoming the first to be killed outside of north Kashmir since the anti-government protests erupted on Saturday.

The incident took place in Batmaloo, a known separatist hub.

Fresh firing by security forces in Pulwama district in north Kashmir led to the death of Faiyaz Ahmed Mir. Elsewhere in Pulwama, four CRPF troopers were wounded when militants hurled grenades taking advantage of a street protest.

Four other deaths were reported earlier in the day.

A mob overran a bullet-proof police vehicle and rolled it down into the Sutlej river at Sangam in Anantnag district, drowning its constable driver while other policemen fled the scene, official sources said.

Security forces shot dead two demonstrators at Litter in Pulwama after a mob took to the streets shouting anti-government and pro-freedom slogans, the sources said.

Irfan Ahmad Malik, 17, was also killed on Sunday in firing in Pulwama after a curfew-defying mob attacked the security forces, a police official said.

The latest fatalities took the death toll in two days of widespread clashes between protesters and security forces in the Kashmir Valley to 21 -- 20 demonstrators and one policeman.

Kashmir Valley erupted in anger on Saturday after security forces shot dead Burhan Wani, a top leader of the Hizbul Mujahideen, along with two of his associates on Friday. His funeral was attended by thousands.

Most protests have taken place in the northern districts of Anantnag, Pulwama, Kulgam and Shopian. Wani hailed from Pulwama. In most places mobs have attacked police and paramilitary forces with stones, leading to tear-gassing and firing.

Taking advantage of the outnumbered security personnel, demonstrators on Sunday set fire to the Sub Divisional Police Officer's office in Pahalgam, a court complex in Dooru and a police post in Qazigund in Kulgam.

On Saturday, mobs torched four police stations, two police pickets and a tehsildar's office. There were two incidents of weapon snatching and torching of several vehicles of security forces.

Senior officials said three policemen were missing following the violence and nearly 100 security personnel were injured in the street clashes which have crippled the Kashmir Valley and halted the Amarnath Yatra.

On Sunday, the Jammu and Kashmir government urged parents of young demonstrators to tell their wards not to take part in protests that were leading to civilian casualties.

Education Minister and government spokesman Naeem Akhtar also urged the separatist Hurriyat Conference to help restore calm in the Kashmir Valley, where a separatist campaign has left many thousands dead since 1989.

The government said it was also trying to arrange flights to fly out the thousands of tourists stranded in the valley due to the violence.

In New Delhi, union Home Minister Rajnath Singh spoke to Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, offering all possible help from New Delhi.

Senior officials expressed the hope that the situation in Kashmir would return to normal soon.

Four demonstrators, Imtiyaz Ahmad Mandoo, Mashooq Ahmad and Safeer Ahmad (all from Anantnag) and Mohammmad Altaf Rather (Pulwama) who were wounded on Saturday died on Sunday. Eleven people were killed on Saturday.

At least 100 protesters were injured on Saturday. They suffered bullet, tear smoke and pellet injuries.

Wani was buried in his native Shariefabad village on Saturday where thousands gathered defying curfew restrictions to take part in his funeral prayers.

The separatists have called for a valley-wide shutdown till Monday to protest against Wani's killing.

--IANS

sq/mr/vd
A Spanish matador was gored to death when a bull's horn pierced his chest -- the first matador fatality in the ring in Spain this century.

Victor Barrio, 29, a professional bullfighter, on Saturday suffered a mortal blow during his performance in Spain's Teruel town, the Daily Mail reported.

His shocked wife, Raquel Sanz, was among the audience to witness the tragedy, while Barrio's fellow matadors rushed to help him.

The matador was taken to the hospital unconscious but doctors could not save him.

Barrio was rolled to the ground in a painful somersault after the 87-stone beast caught him while he tried to deflect it with the "muletazo" manoeuvre -- a movement with a muleta; a red cape used in conjunction with the sword by bullfighters, the media reported.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy paid his condolences to Barrio.

Rajoy shared his sympathies on Twitter, and Spanish politician Cristina Cifuentes wrote: "All my love to your family and friends. DEP"

A comment on the official feed of the Las Ventas bull ring in Madrid, where Barrio began as an apprentice, said it was "distressed and very moved" by his death, BBC reported.

The last matador to die in a bullfight in Spain was Jose Cubero, or Yiyo, in 1985.

In the past century, 134 persons, including 33 matadors, had been killed by bulls in Spain.

In 2015, leading matador Francisco Rivera Ordonez was badly hurt while taking part in a bullfight in Huesca town.

About 2,000 bullfights are still held every year in Spain, but the numbers are falling. In 2010, Catalonia became the second Spanish region after the Canary Islands to ban the tradition.

Also on Saturday, a 28-year-old man died after being gored by a bull during a bull run through the village of Pedreguer, near Valencia in Spain.

In the other incident on Saturday, a man was killed while running alongside bulls in Pedreguer. The media said he was trying to help another runner when he was gored in the throat and abdomen.

A 33-year-old Japanese man was also gored in the chest and a Spanish man in the arm in the San Fermin bull running festival in Pamplona on Saturday. At least 12 people were injured, officials said.

--IANS

ask/py/dg
The Centre has asked the states to ensure that cable operators do not broadcast the TV channels that are not permitted to downlink in India, like Zakir Naik's 'Peace TV'.

The advisory from the Information and Broadcasting Ministry to the states follows the government's announcement that an investigation is being carried out into all matters concerning controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik's speeches on 'Peace TV'.

"Zakir Naik had applied for a television channel in 2008 and in 2009 it was rejected. Now it has come to light that certain people are unauthorisedly violating rules, telecasting and downloading his speeches. Action will be taken from my side on whatever is unauthorised," Information and Broadcasting Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu told reporters.

"It may be noted that the role of state government(s) in this regard is crucial in preventing any broadcast or transmission of such non-permitted channels by the cable operators," said the advisory from the ministry to chief secretaries and district collectors.

Naidu also said action will be taken for telecasting unauthorised content.

Citing reports that content "aimed at inciting communal and terrorist violence" is being broadcast through private satellite TV channels, such as 'Peace TV', the advisory to the state governments said such telecast is "not permitted" by the ministry for downlinking into the country.

Telecasting of such content is a "clear violation of the Cable TV Rules under Programme code and needs to be acted upon immediately."

"In case of violations, necessary prompt action must be taken by the authorised officers in the district against the defaulters to stop transmission of these channels," it said.

The two-page advisory said that in case of violations, necessary prompt action must be taken by the authorised officers in the district against the defaulters to stop transmission of such channels.

Besides other penal provisions, the equipment of such cable operators can be seized by the district authorities, the advisory said.

Official sources said 'Peace TV' does not have the required permission to be broadcast in India despite which it is distributed by some cable operators.

"Transmission or re-transmission of any TV channel in violation of the Cable TV Act is an offence which attracts action against the operators by the authorised officers. As per cable TV Act, if any authorised officer has reasons to believe that various provisions of the Act are violated by any operator, he has the powers to take against that operator," the advisory said.

--IANS

nd-sid/kb/vt
Terming the findings of a fresh inquiry into diversion of funds worth Rs 1,225 crore from United Spirits Ltd (USL) to his firms unfounded, liquor baron Vijay Mallya on Sunday said all transactions were legal, above board and approved by USL auditors and shareholders.

"I can only reiterate that all transactions were legal, above board and approved by USL auditors, board and shareholders," Mallya said in a statement from London where he has been staying since he left India on March 2.

In a regulatory filing to BSE and NSE on Saturday, the Diageo-led USL said a fresh inquiry by independent experts found Mallya had diverted Rs 913.5 crore to his overseas and Indian firms, including Kingfisher Airlines Ltd and carried improper transactions up to Rs.311.8 crore when he was its non-executive chairman.

Asserting that he had no knowledge of the inquiry by global consulting firm Ernst & Young or charges against him, Mallya said neither USL nor E&Y gave him details of the allegations or opportunity to respond.

"Diageo conducted an extensive due diligence on USL prior to acquiring shares. It is surprising and unfortunate that unfounded allegations are now being made without any reference to me whatsoever," Mallya said in the statement.

The London-based spirits major Diageo acquired majority stake (54.78 per cent) in the city-based USL in July 2014 and took full control of it after Mallya resigned from its board as chairman and director on February 25 as part of a $75 million (Rs.516 crore) mutual deal.

The USL board, however, clarified on Saturday that the mutual deal with Mallya did not extend to matters arising out of the additional inquiry.

As mentioned to the stock exchanges on April 25, the board initiated a fresh inquiry into improper transactions by USL, which appeared, prima facie, to be diversions of funds to various UB Group companies, including Kingfisher.

"The board noted that only a court or concerned regulatory authority would be in a position to make final determinations as to fault or culpability," the filing said.

The diversions as well as transactions occurred during the review period from October 2010 to July 2014.

"The overseas beneficiaries or recipients of these funds include Force India Formula One, Watson Ltd, Continental Administrative Services, Modall Securities Ltd, Ultra Dynamix Ltd and Lombard Wall Corporate Services Inc., in each of which Mallya appears to have a material, direct or indirect, interest," the filing said.

The main Indian beneficiary of the funds was the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines.

The board has also directed the company to review each case of fund diversion to recover from the relevant parties and individuals.

--IANS

fb/vd
Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh Governor Tathagatha Roy on Sunday lauded Bangladesh government's decision to ban controversial preacher Zakir Naik's Peace TV.

"Bangladesh has banned Zakir Naik's highly peaceful Peace TV. Long live Sheikh Hasina. She acted as befits Bongobondhu's daughter," Roy tweeted.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is the daughter of Bangladesh founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, popularly known as "Bangobandhu (friend of the people of Bangladesh)".

Earlier on Sunday, the Bangladesh government decided to close down Peace TV. Bangladesh Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu said his ministry will evaluate the issue and adopt administrative measures to take the channel off air on Monday.

"Peace TV is inconsistent with Muslim society, the Quran, Sunnah, Hadith, Bangladesh's Constitution, our culture, customs and rituals," Inu said.

The ban came in the wake of the recent bloody terror attacks which rocked Bangladesh. For the infamous July 1 Dhaka siege, two of the seven young militants, who struck at an upscale cafe in Dhaka's diplomatic Gulshan enclave, were reportedly inspired by the Salafi tele-evangelist's speeches.

The attack had claimed the lives of 22 people, including one Indian girl.

In India also, several government agencies have started probe on the functioning of Peace TV and the controversial preacher .

The Information and Broadcasting Minisry in an advisory to all state governments has also asked them to ensure that cable operators do not broadcast the TV channels like Peace TV that are not permitted to downlink in India.
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull claimed victory in the federal election as the coalition on Sunday edged towards a slim majority in parliament.

"This is a great day today (Sunday)," ABC quoted Turnbull as saying here, after Labour party leader Bill Shorten admitted defeat.

"We have resolved this election and have done so peacefully. It's something we should celebrate and not take for granted."

He said the coalition was on track to win at least 74 seats and was confident to win two more, giving it enough seats to govern in its own right in the 150-seat House of representatives -- the lower chamber of the bicameral Australian parliament.

Turbull welcomed Shorten's offer to find "common ground", saying he hoped the two sides could work together.

"It's vital that this parliament works it is vital that we work together and as far as we can try to find ways upon which we can all agree."

He flagged some changes to the ministry due to MPs losing their seats, and said the Liberal partyroom would meet on July 18.

Turnbull said his granddaughter Isla was on his lap when he took Shorten's concession call, and he was "deeply, deeply touched" by the moment.

"That's a moment I'll never forget," ABC quoted an emotional Turnbull as saying.

"It was a reminder that we are trustees for future generations. Everything we do is about the future."

Earlier, Shorten said although counting was still underway, it was clear that Turnbull would form the next either a minority or majority government.

"I understand we need to make this parliament function and we'll be up for that," Shorten said.

"I hope for the nation's sake that the coalition does a good job."

"I wish Turnbull well in what the future holds. But we also have a mandate to stand up for Medicare, to make sure schools are properly funded and to prioritise Australian jobs."

The opposition leader said he would write to Turnbull to suggest a bipartisan push to embrace electronic voting, saying election results should not hang in the balance for so long.

"We're a grown-up democracy, it shouldn't take eight days to find out who's won," he said.

Turnbull said electronic voting was "something we must look at", and also flagged regulation of "extremely deceptive" robo-calls and text messages sent out during a campaign.

The coalition is optimistic about its prospects in the key Queensland seats of Flynn and Capricornia, which would deliver the party the 76 seats needed for a majority.

Shorten, who had previously indicated he would not concede until the coalition officially won 76 seats, said he could not be prouder of Labour.

"I am proud Labour is back and that Labour is united," he said.

--IANS

py/dg
Two persons including the son of a Trinamool Congress leader were on Sunday arrested for allegedly assaulting a policeman in the city.

The incident happened early in the morning in the city's Phoolbagan area when constable Krishna Deb tried to stop an over-speeding car.

According to the complaint filed by Deb, two persons alighted from the car and abused and assaulted him.

On the basis of his complaint, the duo - Debarshi Bhattacharyya, the son of former Trinamool councillor Sushanta Bhattacharya and Chandrakant Singh - were arrested.

Both Bhattacharya and Singh were subsequently released on bail.

--IANS

and/vd
The wrong turn that Tata Steel took in 2007 to acquire, at the peak of the global business cycle, European steel maker Corus for a phenomenal $12.9 billion continues to drag it down. To put an end to the bleeding at the rate of 1 million per day, Tata Steel announced in March its desire to sell its British business. No progress has been made on that front, largely because of the British governments inability to be forthright on how it proposed to lighten the pension burden of Tata Steels UK operations. To this has been added the multiple uncertainties that have resulted from Brexit, the verdict in the UK referendum in favour of exiting the European Union. If, as a result, selling in Europe gets tougher for UK businesses then that can hardly augur well for the UK operations of Tata Steel. That perhaps explains the latest decision by Tata Steel to put on hold the sale of the UK business and instead work for a joint venture with the German heavyweight ThyssenKrupp.
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) President Lalu Prasad's mannerisms and histrionics are the stuff of headlines; now he says he can beat any actor with his acting prowess. Prasad, who made a guest appearance in the film Padmashree Laloo Prasad Yadav featuring Suniel Shetty some years ago, recently said: "Hum kisi star actor se kum hai kya (am I less than any star)? If a film is made on my life, I would like to play the lead role." The RJD chief was meeting actor Irrfan, who was in Patna to promote his new film Madaari.
I was delighted to read the front-page story, "In their modified role, junior ministers no longer pushovers" (July 9). By bringing in intelligent, well-educated and experienced ministers of state, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken yet another step towards fulfilling his electoral promises. He is moving further into the role of the country's CEO by empowering several of his ministers.
After winning the Assembly elections in West Bengal earlier this year and retaining the chief minister's post, Mamata Banerjee had declared that she would visit Delhi every two months. In keeping with that promise, she is getting ready to attend a meeting of the inter-state council that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair in Delhi on July 16 and 17. The council would be meeting for the first time in 10 years. If, indeed, she travels to Delhi for that meeting, it would be the first time Banerjee would be attending a meeting called by Modi where chief ministers are expected to be present. In December 2014 and February 2015, she had sent state Finance and Industries Minister Amit Mitra to attend the meetings of chief ministers in the national capital.
On July 1, about half a dozen terrorists had stormed a cafe in Dhaka in neighbouring Bangladesh and had taken hostage several of its customers for over 12 hours before killing at least 20 of them, including many foreigners. The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria or ISIS was reported to have claimed responsibility for the carnage. It would have been naive to believe then that the rise of terrorism fuelled by religious fundamentalism was only a challenge for the Bangladesh government. As subsequent developments in the last 10 days indicate, the jihadi threat seems to be coming closer home.
In a bid to woo non-Yadav other backward classes ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls next year, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Chief



Amit Shah on Saturday announced an alliance with the Suheldeo Bharatiya Samaj Party. This comes on the heels of Apna Dal Lok Sabha member Anupriya Patel being included in the Union council of ministers and Keshav Prasad Maurya made the BJP Uttar Pradesh unit chief. Patel is a Kurmi and Maurya a Kushwaha  both being important non-Yadav OBC castes of eastern UP. The Suheldeo Bharatiya Samaj Party represents Rajbhar caste comprising primarily masons. Its an important non-Yadav caste with significant presence in eastern UP.
In his efforts to consolidate non-Yadav OBC castes with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the due by early 2017, party chief Amit Shah on Saturday announced at Mau in Uttar Pradesh an alliance with the Suheldeo Bhratiya Samaj Party.
The account of user @anupriya_patel is suspended, says Twitter. Meanwhile, another handle, @AnupriyaSPatel, which "joined" the micro blogging site in "July 2016" hadn't tweeted at least until Friday night. Somewhat strange for a 35-year-old politician, a former legislator and current Lok Sabha member to have discovered Twitter so late in the day.
Telangana government would launch an ambitious program to plant 25 lakh saplings in a single day in Hyderabad tomorrow, as part of a state-wide 'Haritha Haram' tree plantation programme.

While the municipal corporation and Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority are playing a lead role in its implementation, over 100 state government and central government organisations, NGOs, IT firms and educational institutions are supporting it.

State Industries Minister K T Rama Rao, whose brainchild the programme is, will launch it by planting a sapling at the Bio-Diversity Park at Gachibowli, an official release said.

Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Friday launched the two-week-long Haritha Haram programme in Nalgonda district. It aims at planting 46 crore saplings across Telangana this monsoon.

Officials of the IT Department, members of Hyderabad Software Enterprises Association, Society for Cyberabad Security Council, IT professionals, students and personalities from the film industry will also participate in tomorrow's event.

After the inauguration, CEOs of prominent IT companies will also plant saplings at the same venue. A total of 65 IT companies are participating in 'Green Hyderabad' event and will plant over 1,00,000 saplings at various locations in the city.

Saplings would be planted at over 4,000 locations in and around Hyderabad where pits have already been dug.
Militants from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) killed five Turkish soldiers and a member of a village guard in two separate attacks today, the army and local media said.

One Turkish soldier was killed along with the guard in the car bombing on a military outpost in the eastern province of Van early today, the army said.

Village guards are local people who work in cooperation with the Turkish security forces throughout eastern Turkey to protect their settlements from the PKK.

At least 15 people were injured including 10 soldiers and five village guards. Among those wounded, one was seriously injured in the mainly Kurdish province, the army said in a statement.

Later this afternoon, four soldiers were killed and another soldier was injured in a roadside bomb attack against an army vehicle in Hakkari province in Turkey's troubled southeast, Dogan agency reported, quoting the military.

The Turkish security forces had been engaged in Hakkari in a large-scale military operation to eliminate Kurdish militants from the province, which is close to the border with northern Iraq, Dogan added.

The attacks come a day after the PKK carried out another car bombing yesterday in the country's restive southeast, killing two Turkish soldiers and a civilian outside the city of Mardin close to the Syrian border.

Attacks against Turkish military have intensified with almost daily attacks since the collapse of a two-and-a-half- year ceasefire last July, killing hundreds of security forces.

The government has in recent months conducted military operations against the group in the region's towns and cities in an attempt to rid the urban areas of fighters.

Activists claim such actions have also killed innocent civilians caught up in the renewed conflict, which has also seen long curfews supporting the operations.

Since the PKK insurgency began in 1984, nearly 40,000 people have been killed. The group is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by Turkey as well as by the European Union and the United States.
Moderate Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq today wondered how can the separatists be of help to authorities in Jammu and Kashmir to restore normalcy when they are labelled as a "threat to peace" and blamed the ruling dispensation for the fresh cycle of violence.

The Mirwaiz's remarks came hours after the state government appealed to separatist Hurriyat Conference, besides mainstream parties, to assist in its efforts towards restoring normalcy in the state, which has been rocked by violent protests following the killing of young militant commander Burhan Wani.

"What do they want us to do? They label us as a threat to peace and cage, confine and gag us. We are not even allowed to offer Eid prayers! so how can we be of help?," said the Mirwaiz when asked about Hurriyat's response to the appeal.

Education Minister Naeem Akhtar told reporters after the Cabinet meeting that it had requested all political forces including National Conference, Congress or CPI-M or "those people who are not in the mainstream, those who are really concerned as much we are concerned which includes leaders from the Hurriyat" to help restore peace in the state.

"You see the statement of this gentleman (Akhtar) is ludicrous. In Kashmiri there is a saying "naar viz kyur" (dig a well when there is fire). This is what the policy of central govt has always been. When Kashmir burns they come running asking for help and when they contain killings, they are back to labeling us as traitors. The reality is that no military solution can be thrust on the people.

"All along Hurriyat Conference has maintained the Kashmir issue is a political issue with regard to the political dispensation of the people of the state. It has to be resolved politically. It's time for New Delhi to give up its hard and aggressive posturing on Kashmir and address the ground realities on its merit," he said.

Strongly condemning the unbridled use of brutal force against the protesters, he said so far 18 young boys have been shot dead and more than 200 are injured out of which about 70 have bullet injuries above waist and many have pellet injuries around their eyes and face.

The Mirwaiz posed a question as to whether the Centre knows the reason as to why a 21-year-old Burhan Wani chose the gun over books.

"Just by saying that Kashmir is an integral part of India does not alter the reality of Kashmir," he said while referring to a statement made by Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Venkaiah Naidu who said that the violence over killing of Burhan was unjustified and the state was an integral part of India.

The Mirwaiz, who holds the post of chairman in the moderate Hurriayat Conference, regretted the silence of political parties like Congress and Left over the fresh cycle of violence in the state and said "by remaining mute spectators to the killings in the Valley they show they are also least interested in the suffering of Kashmiris.
A 26-year-old Junior Resident Doctor who was doing his MD degree at AIIMS was today found dead under mysterious condition in his rented flat at Hauz Khas in South Delhi with police suspecting the death due to overdose of an injection.

Sarvanan Ganeshan, who had taken admission for his MD degree at AIIMS 10 days back, was today found dead at his flat at Gautam Nagar of Hauz at around 9.30 AM.

It is believed he died around 6 AM but the exact time and cause of his death will be revealed after receiving the post mortem report, said a senior police officer.

Sarvanan had taken some injection which is suspected to be potassium chloride which is used as a medicine as well as for causing cardiac arrest. Investigation has been undertaken covering all the angles including suicide, he said.

"Sarvanan was found dead in mysterious condition at his flat. Legal action has been initiated. Post mortem report would clarify the reason of death," said additional DCP(south) Nupur Prasad.

"A very unfortunate was brought to the notice of AIIMS administration this morning around 11.30 AM recently joined Junior Resident Dr Sarvanan G from Tamil Nadu who had joined AIIMS as a JR for his MD degree in Medicine was found dead in an apartment in Gautam Nagar area of South Delhi, said an AIIIMS spokesperson.

After he did not report to duty this morning his colleagues and senior residents of the Department of Medicine started calling him, but not getting any response from his phone they tried calling his neighbours who then found him in his room non-responsive, said the the spokesperson.

The residents of the area immediately informed the Police and the AIIMS colleagues. Around 3 PM, the body of the deceased was brought by police at AIIMS Emergency Department where the MLC was made and the body was thereafter shifted to the mortuary.

His parents in Tamil Nadu have been informed, they said.
As Assam continues to reel under the devastating impact of floods, the Brahmaputra river has submerged 60 per cent of the rhino habitat Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary located in Morigaon district near Guwahati.

The floods have also damaged around 50 per cent infrastructure of the Sanctuary which is the world's densest habitat of the Great Indian one-horn rhinoceros, said Forest Department officials here today.

Several link roads connecting to Pobitora WLS were submerged and even washed away in some places, they said.

The sanctuary authorities has tightened security system to combat poaching in the sanctuary during the floods.

However, due to non-availability of funds the patrolling mechanised boats as well as country boats used for protection of the wildlife could not be repaired.

Due to non-availability of mechanised boats, it has become difficult for guards inside the flood ravaged areas of Pobitora WLS to perform their duties effectively, they said.

Fund constraints for the last three months was also hindering repair works of its five anti-poaching camps - Kuchiyani, Kolabhuyan, Kukkari, Tuplung, and Nekera - that were destroyed by storm and flood causing the forest guards to face serious problems in anti-poaching operations.

Meanwhile, the flood situation in Assam continues to remain grim with over 1.35 lakh people affected in Lakhimpur, Golaghat, Morigaon, Barpeta and Jorhat districts, according to the Assam state disaster management authority.

Two persons - a man and his son - were washed away in Jorhat district yesterday.

The Brahmaputra is flowing above the danger mark at Nematighat in Jorhat and Dhubri town, while river Dhansiri at Numaligarh in Golaghat, it said.
After Singapore, Japan and China, Kazakhstan will be the fourth country that will partner with Andhra Pradesh in building its new capital city Amaravati.

Astana, Kazakhstan's capital, and Andhra Pradesh will sign a memorandum of understanding "in a few months from now" on working together on building Amaravati while a joint working group with representatives from both sides will be soon be constituted to "work closely and share experiences to build a world-class capital", stated a release from the Chief Minister's Office here.

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, on the second-day of his visit to Kazakhstan, today held talks with Astana Mayor Asset Issekeshev on the capital construction, the release said.

"Astana is a very young, modern and functional city. I am very impressed by the way it has been built. I have seen almost the entire city and found it very beautiful," Naidu told Issekeshev.

The CM asked the Mayor to share details about the architects, designers and builders involved in the construction of Astana.

The Mayor said, "More than 150 architects worked for ten years on the Astana project. We will work with you (in building Amaravati). We will share our experiences in building Astana so you could learn and avoid the mistakes we committed".

Stating that he was interested in "working closely" with Astana, Naidu invited the Mayor to visit Amaravati.

"We have to chalk out a roadmap on how to take our co-operation forward. A clear time frame is needed for this," the CM said.

Issekeshev said they were keen on building a relationship with AP that would be "beneficial for both of us".

The Mayor also made a pitch for Indian investments



into his country saying Kazakhstan had "a lot of opportunities" for businessmen from AP.

Issekeshev said they were keen to increase cooperation in tourism and industrial sectors besides investments in IT and renewable energy sectors.

He also told the visiting CM that he would speak to their Transport minister for possibly introducing a direct flight between Astana and Amaravati that could boost tourism.

The Mayor invited Naidu to attend Expo-2017, an international exposition inAstana next year.

Earlier in the day, Indian Ambassador to Kazakhstan Harsh Kumar Jain hosted breakfast for the CM and the AP delegation.

Jain briefed them about Kazakhstan in general and Astana in particular, besides listing out possible areas of co-operation between the two sides.

Naidu then led his delegation on a visit to the 97-m tall Bayterek Tower for panoramic view of the core capital.
Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Bill is likely to be passed in the monsoon session of the Parliament, a top government official said today.

"It was referred to the Finance Standing Committee of Parliament and report has been received and in the monsoon session of Parliament it is likely to be passed," said Union Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia here.

The bill seeks to amend the definition of benami transactions in the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 1988, and create an appellate tribunal, among other things.

"The Act, which was in place since 1988, has not been operational till now because it has several manufacturing defects. To rectify it, the present government has brought the detailed Amendment Bill, which is under consideration in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha," he said.

Adhia was speaking at a seminar on Income Declaration Scheme (IDS), which was also attended by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Chief Minister Anandiben Patel.

Once the bill is passed, Benami property seized by the authorities will be confiscated by the government, he said.

IDS gives an opportunity to declare Banami property by paying 45 per cent tax till September 30, he noted.

"In the scheme, there is a provision that once you declare Benami property, you can get it on your name in one year. So legally, you can get it done on your name and lead peaceful life. We have provided immunity from all provisions of the IT Act and Benami Act," he said.

IDS has several benefits which will be available only till September 30, he pointed out.

"It is not that declaration is only to be made on cash, but even immovable property, jewellery, or even company shares, Benami property, have been covered," he said.

"To ensure secrecy in declaration, it is only to be made to one officer and nobody else. And this information will not be shared by anyone else," he said.
BJP workers today staged a sit-in outside a police station here in protest against the "deteriorating" law and order situation in the state.

In his address to party workers outside Indira Puram police station, Neeraj Singh, son of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, alleged that condition of law and order "has gone from bad to worse and nepotism and casteism have peaked".

Officials belonging to one particular caste have been posted in every important police stations and they are extorting money by all means, he claimed.

Singh also said the recent incident of Mathura and alleged migration of Hindus from Kairana, showed the "failure" of the state government.

"The Governor must sack the government and President's rule should be imposed in Uttar Pradesh," Singh said, adding that such protests will be organised across the state.

A memorandum was sent by BJP city president Ajay Sharma to Governor Ram Naik seeking dismissal of the state government.
Tony Blair could face a motion of contempt in the House of Commons over the 2003 invasion of Iraq, British media reported today after some MPs accused the former prime minister of misleading parliament.

The Conservative MP David Davis, backed by the Scottish National Party's Alex Salmond, has said he will present on Thursday the motion accusing Blair of misleading parliament.

MPs could debate the issue before the summer if it is accepted by the Commons Speaker, John Bercow.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has also indicated that he would probably support the motion of contempt against Blair.

Sir John Chilcot said in his long-awaited report on the Iraq invasion that the legal basis for the war was reached in a way that was "far from satisfactory", but he did not explicitly say the war was illegal.

Conservative MP Davis told BBC that the motion would say Blair, 63, held the house in contempt over the 2003 invasion. He said that if his motion was accepted by Bercow it could be debated before parliament's summer recess.

Davis said: "It's a bit like contempt of court, essentially by deceit. If you look just at the debate alone, on five different grounds the house was misled - three in terms of the weapons of mass destruction, one in terms of the UN votes were going, and one in terms of the threat, the risks. He might have done one of those accidentally, but five?"



Salmond said he believed Corbyn's support would mean the motion had enough cross-party support.

"No parliament worth its salt tolerates being misled," Scotland's former first minister told ITV.

He said Blair's promise to George Bush that he would be "with you, whatever" meant Blair had been "saying one thing to (former US President) George W Bush in private, and a totally different thing to parliament and people in public".

He said Blair's actions were "a parliamentary crime, and it's time for parliament to deliver the verdict".

The prospect of a contempt vote has opened a rift between Corbyn, the Labour leader, and Angela Eagle, the former shadow business secretary who is challenging him for the leadership, the Guardian reported.

Asked about the potential vote, Corbyn said he would probably back the motion. "Parliament must hold to account, including Tony Blair, those who took us into this particular war," he said.

Eagle hinted that she would not support it. Explaining that she had not yet seen the motion, she told the BBC, "We have to make certain that we don't spend our time in parliament just exacting revenge. I think Tony Blair has been put, rightly, through the mill about the decisions he took. The Chilcot report did that.

"We would be far better learning the lessons and making certain that we don't fall into the same mistakes if - God forbid - there should be a future situation where these decisions are made," Eagle added.
Britain's 2003 Iraq war was "illegal", the country's former deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, who was Premier Tony Blair's deputy when UK joined the US-led invasion of Iraq, said today days after a long- awaited inquiry report slammed UK's role in the conflict.

Labour heavyweight Prescott, who supported the decision in 2003, said he would have to live with the "catastrophic decision" for the rest of his life.

"A day doesn't go by when I don't think of the decision we made to go to war. Of the British troops who gave their lives or suffered injuries for their country. Of the 175,000 civilians who died from the pandora's box we opened by removing Saddam Hussein," Prescott wrote in the 'Sunday Mirror'.

Earlier this week, Blair apologised for mistakes he made but has said he stands by his decision to take the country to war after the seven-year-long official Iraq War Inquiry report was released by Sir John Chilcot on Wednesday.

Prescott said Blair's statement that "I am with you, whatever" in a message to US President George W Bush, months before the invasion in March 2003, was "devastating".

Blair, UK prime minister from 1997 to 2007, eventually sent 45,000 British troops into battle without exhausting the peace options, the Chilcot report said.

"In 2004, the UN secretary general Kofi Annan said that as regime change was the prime aim of the Iraq war, it was illegal. With great sadness and anger, I now believe him to be right," Prescott wrote.

He also praised Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for apologising on behalf of the whole party and expressed his own "fullest apology", especially to the families of British personnel who died.

As many as 179 British soldiers and more than 150,000 Iraqi civilians died in the Iraq war in the following years.

The former deputy PM said the Chilcot report had gone into great detail about what went wrong, but he wanted to identify "certain lessons we must learn".

"My first concern was the way Tony Blair ran Cabinet. We were given too little paper documentation to make decisions," he wrote.

No documentation was provided to justify Attorney-general Lord Goldsmith's opinion that action against Iraq was legal, he added.

Meanwhile, Conservative party MP David Davis said he will file a motion to hold the former PM Blair in contempt of Parliament over Iraq war.

If the motion is accepted, MPs could debate and vote on whether he is guilty of misleading the House of Commons before the summer recess.

"It's a bit like contempt of court. Essentially by deceit," he said.

Referring to the 2003 vote to invade Iraq, he added: "If you look just at the debate alone, on five different grounds the House was misled, three in terms of the weapons of mass destruction, one in terms of the UN votes were going, and one in terms of the threat, the risks.
Bodies of six young terrorists who attacked a popular cafe here and killed 22 people on July 1 are still at the mortuary of a Bangladeshi military hospital as no one came to receive them, police said today.

Five of the six militants were identified as Nibras Islam, Rohan Imtiaz, Meer Sabeh Mubasheer, Khairul Islam Payel and Saiful Islam while another was unknown.

The bodies of the six attackers are kept at the Combined Military Hospital in Dhaka, The Daily Star reported.

Police said only Saiful's family verbally wanted to take his body but the law enforcers are yet to receive any written application from them.

Saiful Islam, who is also a FIR-named accused, was working as a chef at the popular Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka's diplomatic enclave.

Gunmen killed 22 people including 17 foreigners and two policemen shortly after taking hostage a number of diners at Holey Artisan Bakery on July 1.

Six militants were also killed when security forces stormed the cafe to end the hostage crisis incident on July 2.
The Central African Republic remains "in danger," with entire regions controlled by armed groups, President Faustin-Archange Touadera warned today as he marked 100 days since his election.

Touadera was elected in a peaceful vote in February seen as a step toward reconciliation after years of sectarian violence, helped by a 12,000-strong UN force but while drawing down France's military presence.

He took office in March, but the long-restive country has seen a resurgence of violence since mid-June.

"The country is in danger. We have to save it by all legal means ... As I speak, entire regions of the country have become sanctuaries for armed groups," said the former maths teacher.

"The international community is tired of bearing responsibility for our political mistakes," he said, while hailing help from countries including France, Italy, the United States as well as that from the UN, the European Union, the African Union and others.

Touadera, who still teaches at the University of Bangui, called for "a total lifting of the embargo on the diamond trade," which he said had "deprived the country of enormous resources and encouraged illicit trafficking."



Challenges facing Touadera include disarming armed groups, rebuilding the army, helping over 300,000 refugees in Cameroon and Chad, as well as 415,000 people internally displaced inside the country, which has a population of some 4.5 million.

French President Francois Hollande visited the country in May, his first trip since February 2014 when France's Sangaris military operation had just been deployed to help quell inter- communal violence.

The operation is due to end in December, after a progressive draw-down. From a peak of 2,000 troops at the height of the crisis, their number is down to 650, a French aide said. In due course the remaining French forces will join the UN's Minusca peacekeeping operation.
Pharma firm sees big growth opportunity in US and Latin American formulation markets and plans to enhance share in the US generics market by launching complex, oral solids and formulations.

"Going forward, the company's focus will continue to be on launching complex, difficult-to-make oral solids and formulations of other dosage forms like injectables, nasals, creams and ointments in order to enhance share in the US generics market," Chairman Pankaj Patel said in the company's annual report.

The US is the world's largest pharma market, both for branded and generics drugs, accounting for around one third of the global market. The company is present in generics market through its wholly owned unit Zydus Pharmaceuticals (USA) Inc.

During 2015-16, the company's business in the US remained the largest contributor to the consolidated revenue, which crossed $600 million in sales for the first time.

In rupee terms, the US business posted sale of Rs 4,021 crore during the year, up 19%. The company is ranked amongst the top 3 players for around three fourth of the products being marketed by it in the US.

launched 3 new products in the US in FY16. In terms of Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) filings, 30 more ANDAs were filed with the USFDA during the year, taking the cumulative number of ANDA filings to 269.

In terms of approvals, the company received 10 more ANDAs approvals, taking the cumulative number of ANDA approvals to 103. This includes the first ANDA approval from the formulations facility located in Ahmedabad SEZ and the first ANDA approval from its own filings made from the Nesher facility in the US, the company said.

The company also sees big opportunity in the $80 billion Latin American formulation market, which is one of the fastest growing pharma market in the world with double digit growth.

Brazil, the largest pharmaceutical market in Latin America, offers significant potential on account of its expanding middle class with greater spending power and the increased government spending on healthcare. Despite the slowdown in the overall economy, the Brazilian pharma market grew by 14% last year. Cadila Healthcare launched 2 new products in the Brazilian market.

In Mexico, the second largest pharma market in Latin America, valued at around $9 billion, the company launched 2 new products taking the cumulative number of launches to 16.



The company filed 1 new product dossier with the regulatory authority COFEPRIS, taking the cumulative number of filings to 43 and received approval for 12 dossiers, taking the cumulative number of approvals to 36.
China's ambitious second orbiting space lab which may enable two astronauts to live in space for up to 30 days for undertaking a series of experiments has been delivered to Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre, state media reported today.

The lab, Tiangong-2, was sent from here on Thursday by railway and reached the launch centre yesterday, marking the start of the Tiangong-2 and Shenzhou-11 manned spacecraft missions, a statement issued by China's manned space engineering office said.

Assembly and tests will begin at the centre ahead of the lab's launch scheduled for mid-September, it said.

Tiangong-2 will be capable of receiving manned and cargo spaceships and would be a testing place for systems and processes for mid-term space stays and refuelling in space, the statement said.

It will also be involved in experiments on aerospace medicine, space sciences, on-orbit maintenance and space station technologies, state-run Xinhua agency reported.

China's first space lab Tiangong-1, which was launched in 2011 with a designed life of two years, ended its data service earlier this year. It had docked with Shenzhou-8, Shenzhou-9 and Shenzhou-10 spacecraft and undertook a series of experiments.

China plans to set up a permanent space station by 2022 on the lines of Russian space station Mir, currently in the orbit.

The manned space engineering office said in March that the orbit of Tiangong-1 would descend gradually in several months until the orbiter eventually burn up in the atmosphere.

With two capsules for conducting experiments and holding resources, Tiangong-2 features major improvements from its predecessor, including an improved propel sub-system. The new space lab will also carry three experiments designed by the winners of a Hong Kong middle school design contest, it said.

Carrier rockets to launch Tiangong-2 and Shenzhou-11 will be transferred to Jiuquan next month. Shenzhou-11, which will carry two astronauts to dock with Tiangong-2 in space, has passed initial tests and its crew members are undergoing intensive training, the statement added.
With the price of good quality extra-long staple cotton expected to be over around Rs 6,000 to Rs 6,200 per quintal in December and January next, the farmers are advised to take sowing decision accordingly.

The Price Forecasting Scheme in Tamil Nadu Agricultural University has analysed the cotton prices prevailed in Konganapuram Regulated market in the state for the last 10 years and arrived at the price behaviour.

In Tamil Nadu, cotton was grown in an area of 0.1 million ha with production of 0.53 million bales (170 kg a bale) during 2014-15 in major cotton producing districts of Perambalur, Salem, Trichy, Dharmapuri, Ariyalur and Cuddalore.

Quoting trade sources, the analysis said that the area of cotton in India may decline up to 35 per cent as the farmers have shifted to crops like groundnut, pulses, paddy and sugarcane.

The white fly attack in major cotton growing regions during last season and the above normal rainfall during monsoon as per the weather forecast had made the farmers to go for other crops, the analysis said.
The customs department has asked the Department of Posts to completely computerise the Foreign Post Offices in the country in order to check smuggling through FPOs.

The matter came up for discussion at a recent review meeting after it was noticed that people were misusing the FPOs to smuggle in various prohibited goods and evade import duty, official sources said today.

The customs officials expressed concern over the functioning of FPOs where most of the work is done manually without adequate staff. In the national capital, the FPO is situated about 25 km away from the airport and all the parcels coming from abroad are brought there without proper scanning, they said.

An effective mechanism to cross check the parcel, its contents and details of duty paid is also not in place, the sources said.

Taking note of the situation, the customs department recently wrote to Department of Posts asking it to ensure complete computerisation of the FPOs.

"We have asked the postal department to automate all the processes at FPOs. We have also asked them to consider providing adequate working space and logistics for smooth working," said S R Baruah, Commissioner (Export) at Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) here.

The move came after the customs officials recently seized air rifles, pistols, narcotics, memory cards and cigarettes among others from the FPOs. These items were misdeclared as clothes.

On an average, 5,000 parcels (booked through speed post and registered) in export, and 3,500 parcels in imports, are handled per day at the foreign post office here.

There is always the apprehension that smugglers would try to exploit the lacunae in the functioning of FPOs as the work process is manual. Most of the illegal things may happen when the parcels are in transit after landing at the airport and being taken in government vehicles to FPO in the ITO area, the sources said.

They feel that besides automation shifting of FPO to the



IGI airport would solve the problem to a large extent. Private courier companies like DHL and others are already working from the exclusive space allotted to them at the airport, the sources said.

As the private courier companies are already operating from the airport terminal, the postal department too should shift the FPO so that things can be managed in a better way. Also, there is facility for sorting and checking of suspect parcels at the airport, the sources said.

Over 50 air rifles, pistols and large quantities of pellets have been seized from Delhi Foreign Post Office in the past few months, they said.

As per rules, only those who have licence from national and state rifle associations can import air rifles and pistols.

On Tuesday, three consignments were checked by customs officials who found cigarettes and memory cards of foreign brands in them. Two consignments had 168 cartons of cigarettes of brands like Benson and Hedges, Dunhill and Pine valued at about Rs 3.13 lakh.

In the third parcel, 4,320 memory cards of 8 GB capacity each were seized by the customs officials. The parcels had come from Hong Kong, the sources said.

In 2015-16, 13 consignments of narcotic drugs heroin and ketamine weighing 1.2 kg and valued at Rs 6.13 crore were seized, they said.

The sources said similar seizures have been reported from other FPOs across the country.

What is worrying for the customs officials is the dual control over the foreign post offices.

"It becomes difficult to take any corrective steps as foreign post offices are under administrative control of the postal department whereas most of the staff of customs department (which is under the Finance Ministry) work at these post offices," a source said.
Islamic seminary Dar-ul-Uloom Deoband today objected to media citing its fatwas against Zakir Naik and linking them to the allegations against the Islamic preacher that his speeches had incited terrorists involved in Dhaka cafe attack.

Spokesman of Dar-ul-Uloom Ashraf Usmani told PTI that a few fatwas were issued by Deoband against Naik on issues related to Muslim sects. But these were being "delibrately highlighted" by some newspapers and television channels in their reports on Naik, who has come under scanner after it was reported that Dhaka attackers were allegedly inspired by his speeches.

"Therefore associating fatwas issued by Deoband in the past with the allegations against Naik linked to terrorism is wrong and objectionable," Usmani said.

He said that due to busy schedule ahead of Eid, Deoband had not decide its stand on Naik.

Meanwhile, Muslim clerics have different views on Naik.

A senior All India Muslim Personal Law Board member Maulana Rashid Farangi Mahali said cornering Naik was a part of a deep "conspiracy".

"A person, who has more than 1.4 crore followers, of which some become terrorist, how can he be held responsible. It is gross injustice," he said.

The Maulana welcomed an inquiry by the government against Naik.

"If you have suspicion, an inquiry should be conducted. But the manner in which his character assasination is being done by the media, it cannot be justified," he said.

Director Shibli Academy Professor Ishtiyaq Ahmad Zilli said every person has a right to speech within the law of the country, but the "media trial" was not right.

Meanwhile, spokesman of All India Shia Personal Law Board Maulana Yasoob Abbas while opposing Naik said those having 'wahabi' mentality were being inspired with the preacher's lectures and going towards terrorism.

He said that stern action should be taken against Naik, his lectures should be banned and his nationality should be withdrawn.
The Delhi Police is all set to crack down on the 'begging mafia' operating in the national capital, despite the state government claiming there is no such organised racket in the city.

The operation will be led by the Crime Branch, which had earlier worked on initiatives like reuniting missing children with their parents, a senior police official said.

The official said not much can be disclosed about the operation "at this point" but we have some crucial leads and teams are working on that.

However, a senior Delhi government official said several studies have been undertaken till date to ascertain the veracity of the claims about existence of the begging mafia, but no conclusive evidence could be found.

It was during the Commonwealth Games in 2010 that a special team was formed by the Provisions and Logistics unit of Delhi Police to relocate beggars from certain areas.

Officials involved in the operation had first sniffed begging rackets run by criminal elements in the city. However, there was no follow up action to track them down, the official said.
"EastEnders" star Danniella Westbrook has thanked fans for their support as she once again departs from the show.

In the latest episode, troubled Sam Mitchell (Westbrook) chose to head back to Spain without her young son Richard, leaving him in the care of his father Jack.

Addressing her departure on Twitter, Westbrook told fans: "Time to say good bye 2 Sam Mitchell hope you all enjoyed her visit back to Walford @bbceastenders #SamMitchell #EastEnders



"So Sam's gone. No uber in Walford.We still use a good old London Taxi.@bbceastenders thanks for having Sam visit & much love 4 all ur tweets."



Westbrook has portrayed the notorious Sam on-and-off over the last 26 years.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry today met Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu during a rare visit to the Jewish state in an effort to rekindle the stalled peace talks between Israel and the Palestine that has stoked anger in the region and escalated violence.

Shoukry, who arrived here to discussan Egyptian initiative to break the deadlock, said his trip was a "continuation of Egypt's longstanding sense of responsibility" towards peace for itself and all the people of the region.

Shoukry's visit marks the first by an Egyptian foreign minister in nine years.

Netanyahu welcomed the Egyptian initiative. "I welcome President al-Sisi's recent offer of Egyptian leadership in efforts to advance peace with the Palestinians and a broader peace in our region," he said.

"Today I call again on the Palestinians to follow the example of Egypt and Jordan and join us for direct negotiations. This is the only way we can address all the outstanding problems between us and turn the vision of peace, based on two states for two peoples, into a reality," he said.

Emphasising that Egypt was keen to promote peace, Shoukry thanked the two sides for showing faith in Cairo.

"Today is a continuation of Egypt's longstanding sense of responsibility towards peace for itself and all the people of the region, particularly the Palestinians and the Israeli people, who have suffered for many decades due to the perpetuation of the conflict between them," Shoukry said.

"President al-Sisi is seeking to bring the long conflict to an end," he told reporters.

"Such a monumental achievement would have far-reaching, dramatic and positive impact on the overall conditions in the Middle East region... Egypt remains ready to contribute towards achieving this goal. We greatly value the trust of both sides and the international community in our commitment to peace, stability and justice," Shoukry emphasised.

A spokesperson of the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Abu Zeid, earlier said Shoukry and Netanyahu "will be to discussing the understandings that have already been reached, they will solidify trust between Israel and the Palestinians and renew negotiations, in an effort to arrive at a comprehensive and just solution to the conflict."



"As part this joint effort, Egypt is looking to help "establish a sovereign Palestinian state within the '67 borders, whose capital is East Jerusalem," Abu Zeid added.

(Reopens FGN 43)



Netanyahu earlier made an announcement regarding the historic visit at the weekly cabinet meeting in the morning.

"The visit today is important in many ways," he said adding,"It shows the change in relations between Israel and Egypt, including [Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah] el-Sissi'si important call to advance the peace process both with the Palestinians and with Arab states."



The last time an Egyptian foreign minister visited Israel was in 2007.

Shoukry last month met Palestinian Authority officials in Ramallah and is said to have gained their support on the initiative.

Egypt became the first Arab state to sign a peace treaty with Israel in 1979.

Ties between Israel and Egypt have largely remained peaceful since then, barring a brief period when Egypt's Islamist President Mohammed Morsi recalled his Ambassador from Israel in 2012.

Bilateral ties seems to have warmed up since el-Sissi came to power in Egypt in 2013 with Cairo sending a new Ambassador to Tel Aviv in early 2016.

In a speech in May, el-Sissi made an appeal to Israel and the Palestinians to seize the opportunity to make a historic peace agreement that would "bring stability to the Middle East."



Peace talks between the two sides have largely remained frozen since Netanyahu came to power in 2009.
Ethiopia has blocked social media sites for the next few days, after questions from end-of-year exams were posted online last month, sparking a national scandal and leading to their annulment.

A government spokesman said the ban was aimed at stopping students taking university entrance exams this week from being "distracted."



Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Viber have been inaccessible in the Horn of Africa nation since Saturday morning.

"It's blocked. It's a temporary measure until Wednesday. Social media have proven to be a distraction for students," government spokesman Getachew Reda told AFP.

Ethiopia is one of the first African countries to censor the internet, beginning in 2006 with opposition blogs, according to experts.

Prominent blogger Daniel Berhane denounced the move as a "dangerous precedent.

"There's no transparency on who decides why it's necessary or who decides for how long," he said.

"This time it's for a few days but next time it could be for months (...) They're flexing their muscles. They got multiple tools and they're testing them."



Last week, the UN Human Rights Council passed a resolution condemning the blocking of internet as a human rights violation.
Scientists have uncovered grisly evidence that shows Neanderthals butchered their own kind some 40,000 years ago, the first evidence of cannibalism among the ancient human relatives in the north of the Alps.

Neanderthal bones from an excavation in Goyet caves in Belgium have yielded evidence of intentional butchering, researchers said.

The skeletal remains were radiocarbon-dated to an age of around 40,500 to 45,500 years. This group of late Neanderthals also used the bones of their kind as tools, which were used to shape other tools of stone.

A review of the finds from the Troisieme caverne of Goyet identified 99 previously uncertain bone fragments as Neanderthal bones. That means Goyet has yielded the greatest amount of Neanderthal remains north of the Alps.

By making a complete analysis of the mitochondrial DNA of ten Neanderthals, the researchers doubled the existing genetic data on this species of humans which died out some 30,000 years ago.

They confirmed earlier studies' results, which showed relatively little genetic variation in late European Neanderthals - in other words, that they were closely related to one another.

Some Neanderthal remains from Goyet have been worked by human hands, as evidenced by cut marks, pits and notches.

The researchers see this as an indication that the bodies from which they came were butchered. This appears to have been done thoroughly; the remains indicate processes of skinning, cutting up, and extraction of the bone marrow.

"These indications allow us to assume that Neanderthals practised cannibalism," said Herve Bocherens, professor at University of Tubingen in Germany.

However, he adds that it is impossible to say whether the remains were butchered as part of some symbolic act, or whether the butchering was carried out simply for food.

"The many remains of horses and reindeer found in Goyet were processed the same way," Bocherens said.

Researchers have long debated the evidence of cannibalism among Neanderthals, which until now focused on the sites of El Sidron and Zafarraya in Spain and two French sites, Moula-Guercy and Les Pradelles.

The Troisieme caverne of Goyet is the first example of this phenomenon from more northern parts of Europe.

Four bones from Goyet clearly indicate that Neanderthals used their deceased relatives' bones as tools; one thigh bone and three shinbones were used to shape stone tools. Animal bones were frequently used as knapping tools.

Bocherens said none of the other Neanderthal sites in the region have yielded indications that the dead were dealt with as they were in Goyet. On the contrary, they have yielded burials.

Researchers say that other northern European Neanderthal sites had a greater variety and arsenals of stone tools.

The findings were published in the journal Scientific Reports.
By divesting of the important water conservation portfolio in the Cabinet rejig, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has now asked her to attend an international meet she wasn't inclined to.

Soon after news of her being relieved from the water conservation portfolio became public, Munde said she was to reach Singapore to attend a global water leader summit on Monday but won't do so as she was no longer the minister of that department.

Fadnavis, who is out of the country on an official tour, responded by saying that she must attend the event.

"As a senior minister, you (Munde) would be representing the government of Maharashtra," Fadnavis said.

Earlier, as the water conservation minister, Munde had courted controversy in April by posting a selfie online.

She had later said that she posted selfies on her tour of parched Latur on the weekend in appreciation of the work done there by the local administration for drought relief. Opposition had then accused Munde of gross insensitivity.
The Supreme Court has held that a farmer, who is in possession of leased land even after expiry of the lease period, cannot be evicted if the owner either acknowledges the tenancy or is accepting the rent.

Referring to a provision of the Transfer of Property Act, a three-judge bench headed by Justice Ranjan Gogoi set aside the judgement of the Punjab and Haryana High Court which had ordered the eviction of a farmer after expiry of the lease period of the land.

"The operation of section 116 of the Transfer of Property Act would confer legitimacy to the possession of the tenant even after the termination or expiration of the deemed period of the lease so as to confer on him a status akin to that of a statutory tenant and hence protection from eviction as envisaged by the provisions of the Act (Punjab Security of Land Tenure Act) of 1953," the bench, also comprising Justices Arun Mishra and P C Pant, said.

The bench said there was no legal provision to evict the farmers as the eviction conditions laid down in the Punjab Security of Land Tenure Act 1953 and Punjab Tenancy Act 1887 do not include a tenant whose lease has expired.

"It would necessarily follow that to be entitled to protection from eviction under the 1953 Act, any person claiming such protection has to come within the fold of the expression 'tenant' under the 1953 Act read with the relevant provisions of the 1887 Act.

"Statutory protection would be available only to a statutory tenant, namely a tenant under the Act. The Punjab Act of 1953 read with the relevant provisions of the 1887 Act do not include a tenant whose lease has expired," the bench noted in its judgement.

The apex court said the continuance of occupancy even after expiry of deemed period of the lease under the Transfer of Property Act "would clothe the occupant with the status of a tenant under the Act in view of section 116 of the Transfer of Property Act which deals with the consequences of holding over.
Gadre Marine Export, one of the largest producers and exporters of packaged seafood in the country, is aiming to double its revenue this fiscal year, a top company official said.

"We have finished at Rs 550 crore (revenue) and we are aiming at doubling this year," Gadre Marine Exports Chief Executive Officer Arjun Gadre told PTI here.

The company entered India in 2008 and the market contributes around 7-8 per cent of the total turnover at present. It expects to double its sales in the country this year.

"We are having a 50 per cent yearly growth in Indian retail industry. We had a sales of 250 tonnes last fiscal, and we are targeting sales of 500 tonnes this fiscal. We exported 34,000 tonnes of fish and produced about 14,000 tonnes of value added products last year," he said.

As per industry estimates, the retail market for frozen food has a potential to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20.5 per cent over next five years from Rs 365 crore in 2012 to Rs 930 crore in 2017.

The Maharashtra-based company's products are available in more than 500 outlets across 20 cities in India and it is planning to enter Telangana and East India.

"Fish has been eaten mainly in the coastal regions in our country. But now seafood is becoming very popular all across the region, even in the interiors. There is a growing demand for good quality frozen seafood," he said.

The company's product portfolio includes Crabsticks, Masala Prawns, Masala Mackerel, Lobster Bytes, Amritsari Crab Claw, Shrimp Samosa, Masala Seer Fish Steak, Crumbed Fish Finger, Premium Pomfret among others, and he said Crabsticks and crab claw account for more than 40 per cent of the revenue in India.

It exports products to countries like Belgium, Greece, Italy, Korea, the Netherlands, Spain, the UK, the US, New Zealand, Vietnam, Japan, the UAE, Indonesia, France, Hong Kong, China and Australia.

According to market research firm Technavio, global frozen fish and seafood market will grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 5 per cent between 2016 and 2020.
Joining the chorus for preservation of the Patna Collectorate, London-based Gandhi Foundation has appealed to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to not dismantle the historic building but instead celebrate the structure's iconic architecture.

In a letter to the Bihar Chief Minister, a copy of which has also been sent to the Chief Secretary, the Foundation has highlighted the architectural and cinematic legacy of the over 200-year-old building complex, where parts of the acclaimed film 'Gandhi' were shot over three decades ago.

"On behalf of the Gandhi Foundation, which exists to promote Mahatma Gandhi's life and message in the UK, we are writing to appeal to you to save the 200-year-old Patna Collectorate, a vital part of your state's architectural heritage, which is due to be demolished to make way for a high-rise development," the letter says.

The Ben Kingsley-starring biopic was shot partly at the Collectorate's Dutch-era Record Room, which was dressed up as a Motihari Jail, while the British-period DM Office was used for depicting the famous Champaran court room scene, a moment in history that turned Gandhi into the Mahatma for people.

"Preserving the buildings would also preserve these great memories and lend a greater significance to Patna as the place where he first came to during his maiden Bihar visit.

"Razing it would mean squandering the great opportunity Patna has in repositioning itself on the world tourism map," President, Gandhi Foundation, Lord Bhikhu Parekh, said in the letter.

Incidentally, the Bihar government has already initiated the Champaran Satyagraha centenary celebrations, and the UK-based foundation has suggested linking the heritage building with the Gandhi tourism circuit.

"Dismantling the building in the run-up to these centenary celebrations would therefore amount to erasing a piece of history, not just architecturally and culturally, but also the memories of Gandhi associated with the film and the hallowed presence of the building in history books, thanks to the filming at the location," the letter says.

"The Collectorate needs to be preserved, for posterity, not just as a signpost of history, but also as an enduring legacy of the Mahatma, thanks to the biopic by Lord Richard Attenborough. And, that's why we have appealed to the Bihar government," Foundation's Chair of Trustees, Mark Hoda, told PTI over phone from London.

Earlier this year, the Bihar government had proposed to



dismantle the Collectorate to make way for a modern high-rise complex.

After a public outcry over the move and appeals sent to the Chief Minister from the Dutch Ambassador in India as well as heritage body INTACH, the state government had constituted an ad hoc committee to seek the opinions of archaeologists and experts before taking a final call.

The Patna Chapter of the Indian National Trust for Art and Culture (INTACH) on April 6 had sent a strongly-worded petition to Kumar to immediately scrap the demolition plan, saying it would set a "very bad precedent and further jeopardise the fate of other heritage buildings in the city and eventually in the state".

A civil-society led online campaign 'Save Historic Patna Collectorate', started on April 3, is also garnering public support to save the building from the wrecking ball.

Nearly 900 people and counting, from Patna, other cities, and several foreign countries have joined the preservation drive.

US-based professional Twisha Chandra, who hails from Patna, and is also a member of the Executive Committee of Gandhi Foundation, said the Collectorate was as much a part of Patna's history and identity as the historic Golghar.

"One cannot even imagine it being gone. And, the Gandhi link to it due to the film's shooting there makes it even more imperative to preserve it. The building should be listed under the state archaeology department, restored and given to people to celebrate its history and heritage.

"A memorial plaque outside the building could be put up as part of an overall plan to bring the landmark on the tourism map," she said, adding, "I also wrote a personal plea to the Bihar chief minister and state Governor, appealing for its preservation."



The letter noted that the landmark was situated next to the famous Gandhi Maidan and enjoyed proximity to the Gandhi Sanghralaya as well as the old house of Dr Syed Mehmood next to it, where Gandhi used to stay during his Patna visits.

"The Maidan also has the world's largest statue of Gandhi. And, it is not very far from the Gandhi Setu. All these can be weaved into a chain and linked to the Gandhi tourism circuit from Patna to Champaran," the letter says.

"The biopic on the Mahatma is still celebrated the world over, and in the UK and India especially. The Collectorate is thus part of the enduring memory of Mahatma Gandhi's connection with Bihar and Attenborough film that has done so much to introduce his life and message to new generations," it says.
Government has begun the search for a new Whole Time Member for Sebi, even as an earlier search-cum-selection process is already underway for one more member for the board of the capital markets regulator.

After serving for seven years as a Whole Time Member (WTM) at Sebi (Securities and Exchange Board of India), Prashant Saran retired last month while the tenure of one more WTM will end soon.

In a notification issued today, the Ministry of Finance today invited applications for filling up "one post of WTM in Sebi" by August 12.

The appointment will be for a maximum period of five years, or till the attainment of the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier, the notification said.

The WTM will have an option to receive a pay as admissible to an Additional Secretary to the Government of India, or a consolidated salary of Rs 3.75 lakh per month.

Recently, Sebi reshuffled the work allocation among its top officials, including for key departments like investigations and Special Enforcement Cell, following the exit of Saran.

Saran was handling some key units at the regulatory body such as Corporation Finance Department, Investigations Department, Special Enforcement Cell, Office of Investor Assistance and Education, Department of Economic and Policy Analysis and the Human Resources Development Division.

While the selection process is underway to appoint a person in place of Saran, the regulator has re-allocated the divisions that he used to supervise among the two existing Whole Time Members -- Rajeev Kumar Agarwal and S Raman.

The Corporation Finance Department, the Investigations Department and Special Enforcement Cell have been given to Raman, while the Department of Economic and Policy Analysis has gone to Agarwal.

The Office of Investor Assistance and Education would also now be handled by Raman.

Other divisions under Raman include Collective Investment Schemes (CIS), Enquiries and Adjudication Department, Office of International Affairs, Information Technology Department and the Enforcement Department.

The units under Agarwal include departments relating to investment management, Foreign Portfolio Investors and Custodians, market regulation, market intermediaries regulation and Supervision Department, as also legal affairs.

Besides, Agarwal also supervises the Integrated Surveillance Department, Commodity Derivatives Market Regulation Department, as also the Regional Offices (ROs) and National Institute of Securities Markets (NISM).

The Whole Time Members are assisted by Executive Directors and other officials at Sebi.

There is also place for one more independent director as well on the board of Sebi, headed by Chairman U K Sinha, whose own term will end in March next year.
Aiming to double farmers' income in the next five years, the Centre is chalking out a national action plan to attract more foreign investment in the .

The Department of Animal Husbandry under the aegis of Agriculture Ministry is holding a series of discussion with private players in this regard.

"We are preparing a national action plan to boost FDI in . We want FDI in this sector in such a format that our farmers are benefited and their income goes up," Animal Husbandry Secretary Devendra Chaudhury told PTI.

The plan is to increase foreign investment in the in the next five years from the current level of around Rs 141 crore, he said.

Last week, the department held the first round of discussion on the issue with private players including Amul, Mother Dairy, Paras and others.

Chaudhury said these companies have been asked to submit their inputs on the issue within two weeks, which will be again deliberated in the next meeting.

At present, FDI is allowed in most aspects of dairy sector, including machines and equipment. Recently, the government relaxed norms for FDI in animal husbandry by allowing research in non-controlled conditions as well.

The government, which is aiming to double farmers' income by 2022, wants to supplement farm income by focusing on allied activities of agriculture like dairy, poultry and fishery.

For instance, the government has decided to spend Rs 110 crore this financial year under the National Programme for Dairy Development to expand milk procurement mechanism at village level for the benefit of farmers.

It is also focusing on increasing the milk productivity of cows and buffaloes, for which the government has set aside Rs 104 crore for the current fiscal on breeding programme.

Milk output in India, the world's leading producer, was around 146.3 million tonnes in 2014-15.
Actor Vivek Oberoi is all praise for Salman Khan and his recently released film "Sultan".

"It is great to see a big star (referring to Salman) going out and taking such a different kind of a role (wrestler in 'Sultan'), different subject and doing so well with it. We should praise every good film and be happy for a successful film as it's one industry," Vivek told PTI.

In 2003, Vivek had called a press conference alleging that a drunk Salman had called him up 41 times, abusing and threatening him to come over to his house and kill him over his friendship with Aishwarya Rai.

The "Saathiya" actor later apologised to Salman, but the latter did not acknowledge the gesture. The two actors have since been careful about avoiding each other in public.

Vivek is yet to see "Sultan", but he is happy with the success of the Aditya Chopra-produced film.

The Ali Abbas Zafar-directed film, also starring Anushka Sharma in the lead, has reportedly earned over Rs 100 crore since its release on July 6.

"I haven't seen 'Sultan', but I have heard it's fantastic. When I saw the trailer I loved it. I am really happy for the whole team for the phenomenal success as it's good for the industry.

"And such kind of mass response and appreciation is humongous. I think it has done Rs 35-36 crore on day one and Rs 36-37 crore on day two and it's fantastic," the 39-year-old actor said, adding that he will watch "Sultan" soon.

"I will definitely go to theatre and watch the film," he said.

Meanwhile, Vivek is quite excited about his next release "Great Grand Masti", also starring Riteish Deshmukh, Aftab Shivdasani, Urvashi Rautela and others.

The third part of the "Masti" series is directed by Indra Kumar and is slated to release on July 15.
Private sector plans to focus on digital platforms in rural and semi-urban markets to achieve sustained growth in the coming years.

The bank is well positioned to continue to grow faster than the banking sector both in retail and wholesale segments, said in its annual report for 2015-16.

According to the report, "over the next couple of years, the bank will leverage on its distribution strength and digital platforms especially in the rural and semi-urban parts of the country for a more sustained growth."



During the year, the bank introduced digital innovations including loans at ATMs, missed called recharge and 10 second personal loan.

The report further said the bank will continue its focus on five core values of customer focus, operational excellence, product leadership, people and sustainability.

"Needless to say, your bank will continue to operate with the strongest possible commitment to corporate governance. All of this will help the bank on its onward growth journey and help create long term shareholder value," it said.

Meanwhile, the bank has emerged as the most honoured company in the latest ranking released by Institutional Investor magazine.

It has also judged the bank's Managing Director Aditya Puri as the best CEO. Puri got the maximum jump in remuneration among private bank chiefs in 2015-16, with a 31% growth at Rs 9.73 crore.
Heavy fighting erupted in South Sudan's capital on Sunday, as former rebels and government soldiers exchanged fire two days after gun battles left at least 150 fighters dead.

"Gunshots, heavily armed exchange UN House area once again," the UN Mission in (UNMISS) said on Twitter, later adding the fighting was "relentless".

Fighting was heard in several other parts of the city throughout the day, including the tinderbox Gudele neighbourhood  where rebel leader turned vice president Riek Machar is headquartered  and the central Tongping area near the airport, with gunfire intensifying and subsiding at different times.

Regional airline Kenya Airways suspended flights to Juba, citing the "uncertain security situation", while the US embassy in Juba warned its citizens to stay indoors.

"The situation in Juba has significantly deteriorated. There is serious ongoing fighting between government and opposition forces, including near the airport, UNMISS locations, Jebel and elsewhere throughout Juba," the embassy posted on its Facebook page.

Sunday's fighting began on the city's western outskirts where both former rebels and government soldiers have bases at the foot of the Jebel Kujur mountain.

The nearby UN House site is home to roughly 28,000 people previously uprooted by the war and living in flimsy makeshift houses. Aid workers said rounds had landed inside the UN camp, wounding some civilians.

The violence comes a day after the world's youngest country marked its fifth independence anniversary, and is a fresh blow to a peace deal that has failed to end the civil war that broke out in December 2013.

City residents hunkered down or began fleeing their homes as the UN reported the use of mortars, rocket-propelled grenades and "heavy ground assault weaponry".

Helicopter gunships and tanks were also deployed, with a spokesman for Machar saying they were being used to bombard his leader's base.

"Our forces have been attacked at Jebel base," said Machar's spokesman, James Gatdet Dak. "We hope it will not escalate.
Bangladesh on Sunday said there was no direct involvement of the in the recent attacks, including on Hindus and minorities, but acknowledged that homegrown Islamist outfits may be trying to establish links with the dreaded terror group through the social media.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said Islamists appeared to have set "soft targets" that included Hindus, Buddhists, Christians and even Muslims to grab global attention by staging major terror attacks in the country.

"I don't admit Hindus are their target alone as assault on the Sholakia Eid congregation three days ago and their past attacks on Shiite mosques and rallies indicate their motive," he told PTI in an interview.

"You can see a change in the pattern of their attacks also, initially they staged a series of small attacks on individuals and now they are staging bigger attacks targeting foreigners, policemen and ordinary Muslims," he said.

Asked if Bangladesh has revised its stance on possible link to the two recent Islamist attacks in the country, Khan said, "our initial investigation suggests both the attacks were carried out by homegrown Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB)".

Bangladesh authorities have repeatedly blamed the outlawed JMB for the recent attacks on secular writers and minorities.

"But it appears that they (terrorists) are trying to establish links with IS through the social media...However, none of them came from Syria or any other country to stage the attacks," Khan said.

Law minister Anusul Huq also said that no legal evidence was found so far suggesting IS involvement in the attacks in Bangladesh.

"However, the terrorist may have an access to the IS media outlet to lodge the claims of their acts in the name of the Syria-based terrorist outfit," BSS news agency quoted Huq as saying.

Khan said extra security was provided when the militants carried out clandestine attacks on some Hindu priests but "soon we saw they are carrying out attacks on Buddhists, Christians and even Muslims as well".

"Islamist attacks have clearly appeared as a global phenomenon and everywhere they are setting soft targets to grab the world attention...They are targeting Buddhists, Christians and even Muslims," the minister said.

He said law enforcement agencies were asked to keep an extra vigil for the security of Hindus in Bangladesh which is the largest minority community in Muslim-majority Bangladesh. The comments by the two ministers indicate a slight shift in the government's stance about the claims of staging a series of isolated attacks on liberal and secular writers and activists, religious minority people, moderate Sufi leaders and Shias in recent years.

Asked what measures Bangladesh has taken to assure the



community after the July 1 Holey Artisan Bakery attack in which 22 people, including 17 foreigners were killed, Khan said law enforcement agencies have intensified their vigil for the security of the foreigners and foreign missions.

"But we are preparing to launch a massive social campaign involving religious scholars and imams to disseminate the real Islamic spirit that denounces terrorism and extremism in the name of religion," he said.

The minister said Bangladesh currently has agreements with some 15 countries for sharing information on terrorism or militancy while "we now planned to expand the network as it appeared as a global problem with many countries becoming its victim".

"Our law enforcement and intelligence agencies are competent enough, but they need to share and exchange information with other countries as well to combat the terrorists," he said.

As part of immediate steps, Khan said, his ministry today issued an order asking police to prepare a list of missing youths across the country as perpetrators of the last week's Gulshan attack had gone missing for months and reappeared only to stage the carnage.

"Today I have sent a letter to the IGP (inspector general of police) asking him to instruct all police stations across the country to prepare a list of missing youths in their respective areas," he said.

Asked for comments about media reports suggesting as many as 150 youths remained missing, he called the report "speculative".

On the other hand, he said several youths were found to have returned home while some of the missing cases were not found to have no link to terrorism.

"Once the police stations compile their reports, we will have an idea about the number of missing youths, which will be required for our anti-terrorism security campaign," Khan said. He said police would seek help of people in neighbourhoods in gathering information about the background of the missing youths and talk to their guardians as well. Education minister Nurul Islam Nahid earlier said directives were issued asking schools to report to police if any of their student remained absent for 10 days due to unknown reasons.

Most of the youths, who carried out the Dhaka cafe massacre had been missing for six months or more and their families came to know about them only after they were killed in army-led operation on July 2.
Humans and other terrestrial animals learn how to walk in "surprisingly" similar ways, according to a new finding that may prove significant in helping patients with walking disabilities recover some mobility.

The researchers said even before infants stand up they have a rough idea of how to walk and need only some time to lay down the right neural wiring.

Understanding how babies take their first steps can also help us to improve the rehabilitation of patients recovering from spinal cord injury, and children with cerebral palsy, they said.

"We look at the emergence of walking behaviours in both human babies and infant animals, as they develop," said Nadia Dominici from VU University in Netherlands.

"We are showing that humans and other terrestrial animals learn how to walk in surprisingly similar ways," Dominici said.

The findings showed that movements such as walking are created from the flexible combination of a small set of groups of muscles that simplify the control of locomotion, called 'locomotor primitives,' researchers said.

"We found that human babies are born with just two walking primitives: the first directs the legs to bend and extend; the second commands the baby's legs to alternate - left, right, left, right - in order to move forward," said Dominici.

"To walk independently, babies learn two more primitives, which we believe handle balance control, step timing and weight shifting," she added.

These primitives are unexpectedly alike throughout the different animals that researchers studied.

"Despite all of the differences in body structure and evolution, locomotion in several animal species could start from common primitives, maybe even stemming from a common ancestral neural network," said Dominici.

This knowledge could be significant in helping patients with walking disabilities recover some mobility, researchers said.

Dominici said it has already had promising results in rehabilitating injured rats.

"Results from the rat study show that it is possible to use neural primitives to improve walking in rats," she said.

"We are now studying the applicability of this method to children with cerebral palsy and adults with spinal cord injuries," she added.
The Indian Institute of Advanced Study will host a two-day India-Indonesia symposium from tomorrow on several social challenges and concerns being faced by both the countries.

Eminent social science scholars from Indonesia and India will speak at the symposium - 'Thinking Social Sciences' - being convened by Peter Ronald deSouza, Professor at Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, New Delhi, a release said.

A delegation from the Indonesian Embassy, including Ambassador Rizali Wilmar Indrakesuma, Deputy Chief of Mission Dalton Sembiring will also attend the symposium, it said.

Leading scholars from both the countries will share insights to understand the complex and diverse problems being faced by India and Indonesia as both these countries are going through a phase of social transformation, the release stated.
An Indian soldier has been killed after being hit by an overspeeding bus in Nepal close to India border.

Romiyo Beniya of India's central armed police force Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) met with the accident late last night when he was riding his motorcycle at Haripur village in Sunsari district of southern Nepal along the East-West highway.

The overspeeding bus hit his bike from behind, leaving him in a pool of blood. He was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital in Birpur in India where he was declared brought dead upon arrival.

Two pedestrians were also injured in the accident and their condition was said to be out of danger.

Police have impounded the bus and arrested the errant driver.
Kashmir continued to be on the boil with five more people, including a cop, getting killed in violence today, raising the death toll to 20, even as curfew- like restrictions were in place and Mobile internet services remained suspended.

Amarnath Yatra also remained suspended for the second day owing to the unrest in the valley in which over 200 people, many of them police and security personnel, have been injured.

The Jammu and Kashmir Cabinet, headed by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, met and expressed anguish over the situation and the death of civilians in clashes with security forces following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani.

The government promised to investigate if there was any instance of disproportionate use of force by security forces even as it appealed to the people not to become tools in the machinations of instigators of violence.

The Cabinet also appealed to separatists, including Hurriyat Conference, as well as mainstream political parties like National Conference, Congress and CPI(M) to help restore normalcy "if they want peace in the state".

In Delhi, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh reviewed the situation that has developed in Kashmir and spoke to Mehbooba Mufti, assuring her of all possible help.

The state police also urged protesters not to resort to violence, saying it does not bring the right consequences, and that it would like to avoid the killing of the youth.

Even as curfew-like restrictions remained in force, violence was reported from a number of places.

An 18-year-old youth Irfan Ahmad Malik was critically injured in clashes between protestors and security forces at Newa in Pulwama this morning, a police official said. He was rushed to SMHS hospital here but succumbed to injuries.

An unidentified person was brought to district hospital Pulwama in a critical condition but succumbed to injuries, he said, adding efforts are on to ascertain his identity.

A police driver Feroz Ahmad was killed after a mob pushed his mobile bunker vehicle into river Jhelum at Sangam in Anantnag district, the official said. Efforts were on to fish out the body of the deceased cop.

One more civilian was killed in a clash with security forces while another, who was injured yesterday, succumbed to injuries today, police said.

In another incident, a head constable of police was shot in both legs by militants last night at his residence in Tral area of Pulwama district, the official said.

Three policemen, who went missing after a large mob attacked a police station in Damhal Hanjipora yesterday, are still untraceable, state Education Minister Naeem Akhtar said.

One more police post was burnt by some mobs today.
Kashmir remained on the edge with three more persons, including a cop, getting killed in violence today, raising the death toll to 18, while 200 have been injured even as curfew-like restrictions and suspension of Mobile internet services continued.

In view of the unrest following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani, Amarnath Yatra also remained suspended for the second day, although some stranded pilgrims were escorted to safety.

In Delhi, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh reviewed the situation in the Valley and spoke to Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, assuring her of all possible help.

The state police also urged protesters not to resort to violence, saying it does not bring the right consequences, and that it would like to avoid the killing of the youth.

Even as curfew-like restrictions remained in force, violence was reported from a number of places.

An 18-year-old youth Irfan Ahmad Malik was critically injured in clashes between protestors and security forces at Newa in Pulwama this morning, a police official said.

Irfan was rushed to SMHS hospital here but succumbed to injuries, he said.

An unidentified person was brought to district hospital Pulwama in a critical condition but succumbed to injuries, he said, adding efforts are on to ascertain his identity.

A police driver Feroz Ahmad was killed after a mob pushed his mobile bunker vehicle into river Jhelum at Sangam in Anantnag district, the official said. Efforts were on to fish out the body of the deceased cop.

In another incident, a head constable of police was shot in both legs by militants last night at his residence in Tral area of Pulwama district, the official said.

Three policemen, who went missing after a large mob attacked a police station in Damhal Hanjipora yesterday, are still untraceable, state Education Minister Naeem Akhtar said.

Three youth were injured in security forces firing when a mob attacked a police post in Achabal area of Anantnag district with stones, the official said.

Another youth was injured when he was hit by firearm in Pampore town on Srinagar-Jammu National Highway today.

At least six other persons were hospitalised with minor injuries at various places in south Kashmir, which as seen widespread protests following the killing of Burhan Wani in an encounter with security forces in Kokernag area on Friday.

The official said four persons who were injured in the violent clashes yesterday succumbed to injuries during the night.

As per consolidated information available now, more than 200 persons including 96 security personnel were injured in the day long clashes during which the mobs set on fire three police installations, three civil administration offices, the house of a PDP MLA, several vehicles and targeted a BJP office.

The Chief Minister, while appealing for calm, has urged



the Centre to reach out to the people of the state to resolve the issues confronting them through reconciliation efforts on internal as well as external front for ending the violence that has left behind a trail of death and destruction.

"The pain of Kashmiris has reached a level where the hope of peace is sure to gain substantial local support if tangible confidence building measures are taken to address the issues concerning the state and its people," Mehbooba said in a statement issued last night.

She said the people of Jammu and Kashmir, irrespective of their age, gender, status or the political affiliation, have been suffering the terrible consequences of the pernicious turmoil over the last more than two decades.

"They now want peace and stability to take roots, and even within the prevailing circumstances there lies an opportunity to consolidate the peace efforts, if substantial steps are taken in the right direction to positively impact the ground situation," she said.

She stressed the urgency for reviving the peace and reconciliation initiatives, both on the internal and external fronts.

Seeking people's cooperation in stabilising peace, she said the government is responsive to the people's needs and concerned about their problems and is working judiciously and in a transparent manner to fulfil their aspirations and expectations.

While reacting to the civilian deaths in security forces' firing yesterday, Mehbooba had asked security forces to follow the standard operating procedures for crowd control and avoid disproportionate use of force.

Urging for calm, Mehbooba sought people's cooperation in restoration of normalcy in the Valley.

Violence only brings miseries to the people and tragedies for the victim families, she said.

The Chief Minister appealed to the people, especially the youth not to fall prey to the machinations of the vested interests, who play politics over the bodies of Kashmiris.

Normal life remained paralysed across Kashmir due to strike called by separatist groups to protest the civilian killings even as curfew-like restrictions continued in parts of the valley as a precautionary measure for the second day.

Mobile internet services across Kashmir remained suspended for the second day while mobile telephony was also snapped in south Kashmir areas.

The internal communication of the Police department has been badly affected as the wireless communication system, damaged during the 2014 floods, has not been fully restored, a police official said on condition of anonymity.

"We were using mobile telephones for communication but that is not working at the moment," he added.

The separatist leaders including Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq continue to be under house arrest while Mohammad Yasin Malik is also under preventive detention.
Reality TV star Kim Kardashian West says she worries her two children, North and Saint, will grow up thinking that "their lives don't matter".

The "Keeping Up With The Kardashians" star penned an emotional essay in response to the shootings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile and admitted she fears for the future of her kids, North, three, and seven-month-old Saint, reported Female First.

"This week we watched Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, two innocent black men, get senselessly murdered by police officers. Like a lot of you guys, I watched the videos, and was appalled and completely heartbroken. I was left speechless, angry and numb.

"I want my children to grow up knowing that their lives matter. I do not ever want to have to teach my son to be scared of the police, or tell him that he has to watch his back because the people we are told to trust - the people who "protect and serve" - may not be protecting and serving him because of the color of his skin."



The 35-year-old television personality, who is married to Kanye West, went on to urge people to "peacefully use the power of our voices" to make a change.

"The last thing we need is to fuel anger with more hate or violence, especially toward the many incredible police officers who risk their lives every single day to protect our families and communities. We must peacefully use the power of our voices and the strength of our numbers to demand changes in the judicial system so that brutality doesn't ever go unpunished," she wrote on her website.

"It is our responsibility as Americans and as parents to create a safe future for our children. We must do something NOW. We must speak up until we are heard and real, effective changes are made.
Acquisition of land for rail link between Agartala and Akhaura in will start soon as funds have been released by DoNER ministry, officials said today.

"Rs 97 crore were earmarked for land for Agartala- Akhaura rail project in the Indian side. The entire amount has been handed over to the state government and we will start acquisition of land in five-kilometre area up to the border on Indian side.

"As we have to give notices to the land owners, it will take about three months to complete the process," West Tripura District Magistrate Milind Ramteke told reporters.

The process of laying the 15.054-km-long railway tracks to connect Agartala with Akhaura in will be completed by 2017. Of the total track, a stretch of five kilometre would be on the Indian side and the rest in .

A flyover (viaduct) which will be 3.7 km long would be constructed on the Indian side to save cultivable lands and the entire project cost would be borne by the government, he said.

DoNER has already sanctioned Rs 580 crore for the project as New Delhi is keen to establish the rail link which would connect West Bengal and Tripura through Bangladesh.

The Agartala-Akhaura railway route would connect Indian Railways with Bangladesh Railways to improve connectivity and boost trade between the two countries.

Also the 1,700 km distance between Agartala and Kolkata which passes the 'chicken's neck' in Siliguri would be reduced to 350 km if passengers could move through Bangladesh, officials said.

The entire project cost for laying down the track on Indian side and Bangladeshi side would be borne by India.

The two neighbouring countries had agreed to lay the tracks between Akhaura and Agartala duringing Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's visit to New Delhi in January 2010.
ALBION  This time of year, Sgt. Calvin Koziol spends his days baling hay on the farm where he also raises corn, alfalfa and cattle.

But last month the Albion native was engaged in a different type of work. Koziol made his state proud by being the first Nebraskan to win the National Guards Best Warrior competition in Massachusetts.

Along with the honor, Koziol met Pete Ricketts at a ceremony where the governor declared July 5, 2016, as Sgt. Calvin Koziol Day in Nebraska.

I still dont think its really set in, Koziol said of the accomplishment. You roll right back into what you do, civilian-wise.

Koziol, a student at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, said his military ambitions started at a young age.

I wanted to join the military in some sort of way since I was a little kid, he said. I had a lot of family in the military and Im very patriotic.

After a few years in the National Guard, Koziol was encouraged to compete in the Best Warrior event, three days of intense physical and mental tests that include battle drills and military tasks.

I had a previous team leader, he competed last year for best warrior, said Koziol. He was fairly successful and he recommended I compete as well.

Koziol said the most difficult part of the competition was the Army manual test, which covers everything from weapon assembly to navigation.

Sergeant majors from all across the nation ask you questions from the guide and current events. You can study but you dont know what theyre going to ask you about, said Koziol. I felt all right after that. They did that early so I was glad to get that out of the way.

Physical tests included a timed sit-ups and push-ups challenge, 2-mile run, 5-mile run and the last event, a 14-mile march when competitors had to traverse a trail with a weighed-down rucksack.

As Koziol advanced from regional and state events to the national competition, he knew how important it was for Nebraska.

I knew no one had ever qualified (from Nebraska), said Koziol. It helped me to succeed. It drove me to work harder.

Koziol learned he won after the 14-mile ruck march.

They had a running scoreboard during the competition so you could see where you were. After the ruck march I was still at the top, so thats when I knew, he said. It felt great. Its hard to describe. Its a surreal feeling to be able to say that you won.

Koziol will be part of the Cornhusker State Games later this month, though hes not sure in what capacity. Hell also represent the National Guard in October at the All-Army Best Warrior competition.
Tech and mobile accessory retailer LatestOne.Com is planning to invest Rs 15 crore to strengthen operations and double its customer base to two million this fiscal.

LatestOne.Com, owned by Hyderabad-based Palred Technologies, also plans to open over 100 franchise-based kiosks in malls over the next few years, a senior executive said.

"We are looking to invest Rs 15 crore into strengthening our operations and looking to double our customers to 2 million by the end of the fiscal," Palem Srikanth Reddy, Chairman of Palred Technologies told PTI here.

"Going forward, we will also look at opening about 100 kiosks in malls across the country to help build our brand over the next few years," he added.

At present, LatestOne.Com has completed 1 million deliveries and has 1.5 million registered users.

Reddy further said in the April-June quarter, LatestOne.Com had achieved break-even on a direct cost basis and has declared a net revenue of Rs 11.35 crore, recording a 67 per cent growth over the corresponding quarter of 2015.

"Our total direct cost of operations including cost of goods, delivery and sales was Rs 11.10 crore, resulting in a contribution margin of Rs 18 lakh, making it possible for us to break-even on a direct cost basis," he explained.

However, the single biggest challenge the company is facing is how to bring down the number of undelivered goods.

"We are taking several initiatives to reduce the number of undelivered goods from 35 per cent to 25 per cent this fiscal," Reddy said.

If this target is achieved at the current run rate, the company can become fully profitable, he added.

The company has increased its average monthly net revenue to Rs 4 crore from Rs 2.75 crore over the last 12 months.

The e-commerce company operates as an online retailer, which directly sells products on its website.

It has warehouses in Hyderabad and Delhi and expects to open another in Mumbai in the current quarter, Reddy added.
Masala Library, that claims to be the first modern Indian molecular restaurant, is all set to debut in the city after its successful stint in Mumbai, where it opened three years ago , post which "it will only go overseas."



"This will be the second and last of all the Masala Libraries in India. Now it will only go overseas. Where? We are not allowed to disclose," says Zorawar Kalra, Founder and MD of Massive Restaurants Pvt Ltd.

Massive Restaurants Pvt Ltd is Zorawar's latest venture that owns and operates several dining brands like Masala Library by Jiggs Kalra, Made in Punjab, Farzi Cafe and Pa Pa Ya.

For Masala Library, Delhi, Zorawar and his team have kept the restaurant's original concept of combining traditional recipes with modern cooking techniques untouched, but have "revamped 90 per cent of the menu, except for some of the signature dishes which were extremely popular."



The 60-seater restaurant located in Janpath, which is scheduled to open to public from July 18 (dinner only for first few weeks), promises to take food lovers on a "gastronomic journey of the South Asian sub-continent.

It will include cuisines from not just the whole of India but also nations like Pakistan, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Maldives, Myanmar and Sri Lanka.

"We have completely revamped the menu. We used to call Masala Library, Bombay as Version 2 for Indian food. We are calling this Version 4 and not Version 3 because we have done so much innovation that it has now skipped a version.

"It is very cutting edge food and equally cutting edge technology. It is truly a marriage of modern science with ancient forms of cooking. This restaurant represents not just India but the entire the sub-continent," Zorawar says.

Some of the items on the tasting menu, which he recommends



as a "must try" include tawa keema, pickled bitter gourd among others.

According to him so much research has gone into the recipes that some of the dishes take no less that 6-7 days to be prepared.

The pickling and the processing of the bitter gourd, for instance, takes about 6 days.

He says that his father has been closely associated with the team which has been working on the menu for over a year now and have travelled all over the sub-continent.

"Research has been going on for decades. We have utilised my father's repertoire of knowledge, extensive travel, modern techniques, a lot of our hit-n-trial and experimentation," he says.

Even though the Delhi outlet will bring flavours from a host of countries, Zorawar and his team have also kept the quintessential Delhi flavour in mind and have incorporated recreated renditions of the city's "chaats" in the menu.

"There are many Delhi-influenced dishes on the menu. There are a lot of chaats but with modern techniques - which are an ode to Delhi," he says.
Two Mideast countries are warning citizens traveling in the United States to be careful around protests over police shootings.

A "special alert" issued by the United Arab Emirates Embassy to Washington yesterday urged citizens to stay away from demonstrations in US cities. State agency WAM said the warning followed a protest by supporters of the "Black Lives Matter" movement in Washington on Friday.

The island kingdom of Bahrain issued its own advisory on Twitter, telling nationals to be "cautious of protests or crowded areas."



The US State Department routinely issues travel advisories for Americans abroad.

On Friday, the Bahamas put out its own advisory about US travel, saying young men especially should "exercise extreme caution in affected cities in their interactions with the police.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today held talks with Tanzanian President John Pombe Joseph Magufuli on a wide range of issues aimed at boosting ties in the African continent, particularly in the economic sphere.

The Prime Minister was accorded a ceremonial welcome when he arrived at the State House here.

"A ceremonial welcome, the East African way. PM's Tanzania engagements begin at the State House in Dar es Salaam," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted.

The Prime Minister, who arrived here late last night on the third leg of his four-nation Africa tour, also played the drum along with the Tanzanian President for nearly one minute.

"New beats to the #IndiaAfrica rhythm! PM @narendramodi and President @MagufuliJP play the drum," Swarup said.

Prime Minister Modi and President Magufuli first held restricted talks before holding delegation-level parleys,.

"PM @narendramodi and President @MagufuliJP in restricted talks following the welcome," Swarup tweeted.

The visit will be aimed at giving an impetus to ties with Tanzania, a valued friend in Africa, Modi had said ahead of his visit.

He will also be meeting 'Solar Mamas', a group of rural women solar engineers from Africa who have been trained under Government of India-supported programmes to fabricate, install, use, repair and maintain solar lanterns and household solar lighting systems in their villages.

He visited Mozambique and South Africa before arriving here. He will also visit Kenya.

The focus of the African tour is on deepening cooperation in areas of hydrocarbons, maritime security, trade and investment, agriculture and food.
The Nagaland government is in the process of banning the use of Dog meat as food in the state and directives have been issued to the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) to this effect.

The State Cabinet has not yet taken any decision on the matter but the government through a letter issued by Joint Secretary Obangla Jamir, has asked the Joint Director of Directorate of Municipal Affairs to issue an order to all the ULBs to give wide publicity to care for animals and also to issue an order to stop capture of dogs for the purpose of slaughter and meat, an official said.

The Municipal Affairs Department (MAD) have also been requested to stop the bazaars meant for selling live Dogs and its meat, besides giving wide publicity to treat animals with care and love, the Joint Secretary said.

Subsequently, MAD Joint Director and Head of Department, A Zanbemo Ngullie in a letter to the 23 Administrators of Municipal and Town Councils in the state dated May 3 without issuing any direct order forwarded the Joint Secretary's letter to them.

Nagaland is a high consumer of meat products with dog meat being one of delicacies.

One Kg of dog meat costs more than Rs 300 in the state. There are several hotels, especially in the state capital and commercial hub Dimapur, that serve dog meat.

Dogs are even imported from outside the state as dog meat is considered as having high medicinal value and high nutrition.

The official also said that pressure to ban capture of dogs for the purpose of slaughter and meat came in the wake of a legal notice served to the State Government by an Advocate from Assam, N M Kapadia under instruction from his clients.

The Advocate through the legal notice had noted that dog meat was openly sold as food, just as chicken and mutton while all the parts of a dog's body are used as food under the impression that it contains iron and is the medicine for some disease.

Consequent upon the legal notice, the State Chief Secretary held a meeting with officials of MAD, Veterinary and Animal Husbandry, Home, Health and Family Welfare and Deputy Commissioners of Kohima and Dimapur on March 3 during which a decision was taken to request the MAD for necessary action. However, no proper directive or order to this has been issued by the state government and bureaucracy till date, the official said.

He said that considering the food habit of the Naga people, the Administrators of ULBs are also having serious thought on whether to issue such a directive.
Islamic preacher Zakir Naik was elected to the managing body of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), in category of religious scholar, in 2013 and his name was cleared as he was largely considered a non-controversial figure, varsity officials said today.

Naik has come under scanner after it was reported that Dhaka attackers were allegedly inspired by his speeches.

The officials also pointed out that Naik did not attend any subsequent meetings of the University Court and in fact had not paid a visit to AMU ever since his election.

"The 180-odd strong AMU Court, includes prominent Muslims from different walks of life and there are categories like, prominent professionals, educationists and religious scholars," member in-charge of Public Relations AMU and Director of Urdu Academy at AMU Rahat Abrar told PTI.

At that particular time, he said, Naik was largely considered a non-controversial figure and when his name came under the category of religious scholar, it was cleared.

Abrar, however, said that the Salafi school of thought, which is close to the school of thought which Naik is propagating, has not made any headway at AMU.

"There is not even a remote possibility of any official patronage to such radical schools of thought at AMU," he added.

Secretary of the AMU Teachers Association (AMUTA) Mustafa Zaidi said "At the time in which Naik was elected to the AMU Court his overwhelming image was that of a Muslim preacher who championed the cause of inter religious understanding. He has an elephantine memory and his speeches were interspersed with quotations from all religious scriptures, which included the Gita, Bible and many others."



"However, even at that time, there was opposition from some AMU staff members, because of some controversial utterances by Naik against some other traditional schools of Islamic thought," Zaidi said.

"AMU would certainly not permit any hardline school of thought to flourish here, because they believe in a very inclusive form of Islam which embodies the spirit of secularism and tolerance," he said.

"We certainly disapprove of the radical school, which is today being linked with teachings of Naik's sermons. If there is any content of religious hatred in Naik's sermons, it should be investigated and necessary action taken," Zaidi said, adding at the same time, we would want that action should also be taken against all others who preach religious hatred and intolerance.

"If we are really serious about curbing religious hatred in the country, then similar punitive action should be initiated against Hindutva proponents, who are occupying high offices in the present BJP-led government and are yet indulging in spreading religious hatred," Zaidi said.

There can be no double standards in dealing with religious hatred or ideologies which breed terrorism in the country, Zaidi said.
Nepal will gift two pairs of endangered one-horned Asiatic Rhinos to China which in return is expected to provide financial and technical help for a proposed forensic lab.

A Cabinet meeting held in Prime Minister's official residence Baluwatar today decided to gift two male and two female rhinos as gifts to China, said Pramod Dahal, press advisor to Prime Minister K P Oli.

According to the cabinet sources, in January Chinese side had expressed interest for acquiring the mammals.

In exchange for the rhinos, the Chinese side is considering to provide financial and technical assistance for the proposed Forensic Science Laboratory in Bhaktapur, assist in establishing an international center on community forests.

Nepal is home to some 645 one-horned rhinos, which is regarded as endangered species.

Chitawan National Park, the main protected area of Nepal, has at least 600 rhinos.
Barack Obama met Spain's King Felipe in Madrid today, during a symbolic but abbreviated first presidential trip to Spain in the wake of America's latest spasm of violence.

Obama is squeezing in a visit to a key NATO and EU partner before dashing home to deal with the aftermath of a wrenching shooting in Dallas.

Greeting King Felipe at the Royal Palace in Madrid, Obama acknowledged that "we've had a difficult week in the United States."



He has cut a two-day visit to the Iberian peninsula down to one and cancelled a trip to Seville with the king altogether, after a black army veteran killed five white police officers in Dallas.

Obama, who prides himself on his measured approach, is usually loath to alter carefully laid travel plans.

But the shooting -- just blocks from the site where John F. Kennedy was assassinated -- has pushed a country crackling with political tension to the edge.

Speaking in Warsaw just before Air Force One departed for Spain, Obama insisted the country's divisions were overplayed.

This was not, he insisted, the crisis-ridden era of the 1960s, when US cities burned, the Vietnam War raged and the Kennedy brothers and Martin Luther King were slain.

But his decision to shorten the trip is a tacit acknowledgement that the United States faces a combustible mix of deteriorating race relations, hyper-charged election politics and seemingly never-ending gun violence.

In recent months, videos of deadly mass shootings, or of white police officers killing black civilians, have become routine.

Yet the refusal of America's first black president to scratch the trip to Spain entirely also reflects a determination to fulfil geopolitical goals.

"I want to thank you dearly for visiting us, and very specially for maintaining this visit given the present particular circumstances," said King Felipe, acknowledging the importance of the visit.

Obama will later visit a US and Spanish Naval Station at Rota, in southern Spain, addressing US personnel who have been stationed at the mouth of the Mediterranean since a deal with Spain's former dictator Francisco Franco.

Since the time of the Greeks, Romans, Moors, Phoenicians and Visigoths, the Bay of Cadiz has been seen as a prime piece of geopolitical real estate.

During the Cold War nuclear weapons were positioned there. Today, Rota has taken on renewed importance with the deployment of four US Aegis destroyers.
Pakistan today accused India of committing human rights violations in Kashmir following the killing of a top Hizbul Mujahideen commander and said the resolution of Kashmir issue is only possible by realising the right to "self determination" of the people there.

"Pakistan strongly condemns continued killing of innocent Kashmiris," Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"The extrajudicial killing of Kashmiri leader Burhan Wani and scores of other innocent Kashmiris is deplorable and condemnable. Such acts are a violation of fundamental human rights of Kashmiris and cannot deter the people of Jammu and Kashmir from their demand for the realisation of the right to self determination," it said.

Pakistan also has serious concerns over the detention of Kashmiri leadership and calls upon the Indian government to fulfill its human rights obligations as well as its commitments under the United Nations Security Council Resolutions, it said.

Pakistan reiterates that the resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute is only possible by the realisation of the right to self determination of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, as per the UNSC resolutions, through a fair and impartial plebiscite under UN auspices, the statement said.
Pankaja Munde's apparent unhappiness over being divested of the important water conservation portfolio today spilled onto the social media while her supporters burnt an effigy of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in Ahmednagar district.

Soon after of her being relieved from the water conservation portfolio became public, a peeved Munde took to Twitter to announce that she was to reach Singapore to attend a global water leader summit on Monday but won't do so as she was no longer the minister of that department.

Fadnavis, who is out of country on an official tour, responded on Twitter, saying she must attend the event.

"As a senior minister, you (Munde) would be representing the government of Maharashtra," Fadnavis said.

After the reshuffle in the Council of Ministers on Friday, Munde has been left with the portfolios of Woman and Child Welfare and Rural Development.

Munde's supporters, mostly BJYM's activists, today staged a protest in Ahmednagar district and shouted slogans against Fadnavis.

Earlier, as the water conservation minister, Munde had courted controversy in April by posting a selfie online during a visit to drought-affected Latur.

Congress had then accused her of gross insensitivity.

Meanwhile, the opposition lost no time to latch on to the online exchange between the CM and his minister to take a dig at BJP.

"Signs of BJP inner party democracy pouring out on streets! Pankaja Munde supporters burn effigy of CM," Congress MLC Sanjay Dutt said.
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Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij today said the Election Commission should not allow political parties to use flags similar to national flag.

"A ban should be imposed on party flags bearing resemblance to country's tricolour," Vij said. He also posted a tweet in this regard.

The BJP MLA from Ambala Cantt said "Congress, NCP and TMC are using hand, watch and flowers respectively in their party flags, with three colours in their background which look similar to the national flag".

He said he would soon take up the matter with the Election Commission so that a guideline could be issued to all the political parties to restrain them from using party flags bearing resemblance to the tricolour.
Digital payment platform is readying a budget of Rs 350-500 crore to roll out its payments bank and eyeing an October launch before Diwali this year, a top executive said.

"It is a large budget of about Rs 350-500 crore. We are working on the launch of services. Technology implementation will take a bit more time. We think that we will definitely launch it before Diwali," Payments Bank CEO Shinjini Kumar told PTI.

Earlier in May, CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma had talked about August rollout.

Explaining the deferred timeline, Kumar said the company is trying to get a handle on newer issues in the run-up to the launch.

"The more we are getting into this, the more we are learning, everyday is a new understanding and learning," Kumar said.

"And we are also trying to find different ways to solve some of the perennial problem like data connectivity, biometric authentication and all that. So, in terms of the actual rollout, there are a few more decisions that we will take."



The Noida-based digital payment firm Paytm had won the payments bank licence from the Reserve Bank last year.

Payments bank can accept demand and savings bank deposits from individuals and small businesses, up to a maximum of Rs 1 lakh per account.

The Paytm Payments Bank will be headquartered in Noida and kick off its services from east and north to begin with.

"We definitely have the east and north of India as our priority areas, particularly for financial inclusion," she said.

The company, Kumar added, has plans to take its payments bank services wherever Paytm has its reach today.

"We take the responsibility to reach out to new sections of society very seriously... That is because they are the new consumers who actually will migrate using the digital," Kumar explained.

As part of the payments bank launch preparations, the company executives have criss-crossed India to get a sense of how the poor look at technology to solve their problems, she said further.
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today said the SAD-BJP alliance government is fully alert and always ready to foil any nefarious attempt aimed at disturbing the law and order situation in the state.

The state government was keeping a strict vigil to crush the ugly head of anti-national forces which were trying to derail the peace and prosperity in the state, Badal said while referring to media reports pertaining to possibility of terror attack during assembly polls next year.

He said some forces inimical to the development of state were constantly hatching conspiracies to vitiate the peaceful atmosphere of state but the Punjab government and the wise people of state would never allow these anti-social elements to succeed in their ulterior plans.

"We are regularly in touch with Government of India on this crucial issue concerned with the security of country," Badal said on the sidelines of 'Sangat Darshan' programme in Malout assembly segment here.

The CM reiterated his government's commitment to promote peace and communal harmony in the state, said an official release.

To a query, the Chief Minister said Shiromani Akali Dal will release its Election manifesto for 2017 assembly polls at an appropriate time. He said that all the genuine demands of people would be incorporated in the manifesto before it was made public.

On strict norms laid down for compensation to the next of the kin of the farmers who committed suicides, he said the government was committed to grant Rs 3 lakh as compensation to their hapless families.

The state government has taken several farmer-friendly initiatives like free power, interest free crop loan of Rs 50,000, health insurance and others for the farming community, he added.
The 'Star Trek Beyond' actor and co-writer Simon Pegg is the latest to jump into the debate surrounding the sexuality of 'Star Trek' character Hikaru Sulu.

George Takei, who originally played the character and is openly gay, had criticised the makers for making Sulu gay in the upcoming movie where the character will be played by John Cho.

Pegg, who stars as Scotty and also co-wrote the latest addition to the sci-fi franchise, says he disagrees with Takei's stand that they should not have made changes in the original story, said the Hollywood Reporter.

I have huge love and respect for George Takei, his heart, courage and humor are an inspiration. However, with regards to his thoughts on our Sulu, I must respectfully disagree with him."



Highlighting the sexuality of Sulu was actually Pegg's idea and director Justin Lin, both of whom wanted to pay respect to Takei's legacy as a sci-fi icon and LGBT activist.

But Takei said he thought it was "really unfortunate" that



the filmmakers had turned to Sulu instead of introducing a new character.

"He's right, it is unfortunate, it's unfortunate that the screen version of the most inclusive, tolerant universe in science fiction hasn't featured an LGBT character until now," added Pegg.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today interacted with 'Solar Mamas', a group of rural women solar engineers from different African countries who have been trained under programmes supported by India for harnessing solar energy.

"Celebrating the Solar Mamas!PM interacts with women trained in vocational skills under India's developmental support," Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted.

He interacted with each woman who have been trained to fabricate, install, use, repair and maintain solar lanterns and household solar lighting systems in their villages.

The women, who are also known as solar engineers, showcased some products to Modi they had made.

The 'Solar Mamas', who come from across Africa, are trained at Barefoot college in Rajasthan or the centre in Tanzania.

Modi, who arrived here in Tanzania yesterday as part of his four-nation Africa tour aimed at enhancing ties with the continent, particularly in the economic sphere, posed for photographs with 'Solar Mamas' following the interaction.

The women are also trained in solar electrification and other entrepreneurial skills such as bee-keeping and tailoring.

Under Government of India-supported programmes, the college in Rajasthan has been promoting and training rural women solar engineers from Africa in household solar lighting systems.

A barefoot women vocational training college in Zanzibar Islands of Tanzania and other countries in Africa has also been setup for imparting solar electrification skills and distributing solar kits.

These colleges also support various entrepreneurial skills such a bee-keeping and tailoring among others.
In order to underline the greatness of the community that it is supporting, religious nationalism accuses the historian's history of bias and invents its own, argues one of India's leading public intellectuals Romila Thapar.

In an exclusive interview, Thapar, who has co-authored a new book "On Nationalism" with A G Noorani and Sadanand Menon, talks of nationalism, pseudo-nationalism and what type of nationalism is best suited to our country.

In the book, published by Aleph, the authors provide calm and measured insights into the origins, nature, practice and future of Indian nationalism.

Thapar is of the view that by inventing its own history, religious nationalism in a sense creates its own mythology that draws in current issues.

"An analysis of such mythologies would provide an added explanation for their need in current politics. The target of hostility in religious nationalism is not the coloniser but the competitor for power. Therefore in this nationalism antagonism is directed towards an insider," she says.

In comparison, secular nationalism tends to use history as researched by historians, and tries to avoid fantasies about the past.

"Where secular nationalism is also anti-colonial nationalism as it often was in ex-colonies, there the hostility is directed against the colonial power which is external to the society, and in many cases is culturally alien. Hostility towards the coloniser helped to bind the groups participating in this nationalism," says the historian.

Asked why is it important to understand what nationalism means, she says, "Since we are a nation it is important to understand how this came about and what it is that keeps us together as a nation."



She terms nationalism as a phenomenon of modern times and early forays into such thinking and acting date to about the last three centuries.

"In India they came somewhat later. Historical changes brought about new aspirations and these took shape in various ways, one of which was nationalism. It is important to understand that nationalism as a movement and a concept does not go back to ancient times, although the heritage and history that contributes to the idea of nationalism may well be earlier.

"Indian nationalism had its roots in the anti-colonial movement when various categories of people from a variety of religions, castes, classes, language groups and regions, came together to demand independence from the colonial power and worked towards achieving it. It was a movement that was inclusive in the sense that it encouraged all Indians to join in as equals, and it provided a new identity, that of being Indian citizens," she says.

The aim of nationalism, according to Thapar, is to include



everyone as equals and to establish a state that concerns itself with the welfare of all its citizens.

"Pseudo-nationalism consists of those movements that build on identity politics, and give priority to members of a particular religious community as citizens. It is also referred to as religious nationalism, communal nationalism and even fascist communalism.

"It is rooted in British histories of India that became hegemonic that had argued for a Hindu and a Muslim nation permanently antagonistic to each other. Pseudo-nationalism is therefore hostile to contemporary historical research that has shown the flaws in this colonial argument."



According to Thapar, the Muslim League wanted a state where primacy was to be given to Muslims, as in Pakistan.

"The Hindu Mahasabha and its successor organizations want a state where primacy is given to Hindus, as in the proposed Hindu Rashtra. These are not movements that support the equal status of all citizens, and that support identities that are inclusive of all citizens.

"They have to be qualified by the particular community and identity to which they are giving priority. Some historians refuse to call them nationalisms and there is a point to this argument since they are not committed to the equality of all."



Asked about the difference between the nationalism that prevailed at Independence and the nationalism we see today, she says, "Nationalism at the time of Independence was concerned with how the nation was to be constructed so as to ensure that every Indian citizen had equal rights in terms of entitlements to a life of dignity, and that every Indian citizen was guaranteed social justice.

"Hence the concern of the first government - among other things - was with founding the nation on a constitution that would endorse a secular democracy and give meaning to citizenship, and with attempting to build an economy that would ensure the welfare of all. The intention and concern was apparent and there was some movement in the direction of building a nation."



But today, Thapar says, both politicians and society seem to have discarded these early intentions.

"We are trying to remove secularism from the constitution so that the concept of democracy is seriously damaged, and we are doing little that is practical in the way of expunging the overwhelming poverty of half the citizens of this country.

"Today, little is said about the serious programme of nationalism and we are left with having to shout slogans that were invented a hundred and fifty years ago, and have little relevance to the problems that we face as a nation," she says.

Thapar sees a close link between history and nationalism saying the bonding that nationalism requires is built on a shared history.

"In every nation where there has been a plurality of



cultures - and this refers to religions, language, law and custom - there is bound to be a shared history that arises from the sheer fact of cultures co-existing and inter-acting. A shared history does not necessarily mean no contentions, but it does mean our having to study how co-existence was negotiated in the past and how it is to be negotiated in the present with the coming of the nation."



Pseudo-nationalism, because it gives a special status to one community, has therefore got to deny a shared history and re-iterate repeatedly that there were sharp divisions among the groups that constituted society in the past, irrespective of whether there were these divisions or not and what was the nature of the divisions, she argues.

"In order to strengthen the Hindu majority community it is claimed that it was victimised by later Muslim conquerors, and Hindus were slaves for a thousand years, a claim that allows the victimised to seek revenge. This justifies destroying the Babri Masjid for a start.

"These arguments are used to condemn those that are seen as the descendants of the victimizers. This is intended to fuel a political ideology. It is an exaggeration even of nineteenth century colonial views much given to the two-nation theory."



The last thousand years, looked at historically, have been a remarkable period in which people from a range of cultures, Hindu and non-Hindu, contributed to the richness and creativity of the sects that went into the making of Hinduism, she says.

"It was also a period of material prosperity for upper-caste Hindus and Muslims, who therefore became patrons of literature and the arts. What resulted is strikingly impressive.
Discussions on upcoming elections in four states, including Uttar Pradesh, and steps to spread RSS' programmes are likely to be the focus of the five-day annual meeting of it's regional office-bearers starting here tomorrow.

According to sources, the Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab, slated for next year, are likely to be discussed in detail and strategy would be chalked out to ensure BJP's victory in the elections at the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh meeting, which is an annual affair.

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, general secretary Bhaiyyaji Joshi and 41 regional pracharaks have arrived in the city for the annual meeting, Prant Prachar Pramukh Mohan Agarwal today said, adding that informal meetings are going on among the leaders.

The sources said BJP national general secretaries Ram Lal and Ram Madhav might participate in the meeting.

On speculation that Home Minister Rajnath Singh and BJP President Amit Shah would also participate in the meeting, Agrawal said he has no information in this regard.

The annual meeting of regional pracharaks from across the country will be held in a private engineering college in Bithur here, he said.

In the first phase of the meeting from July 11-13, discussions will be held on social issues, Agarwal said.

In the second phase, 40 organisations associated with RSS, including Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and BJP and Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh, will participate in the meeting.

Agarwal said the meeting is an annual affair and policy related decisions or proposals will not be taken up.

The private engineering college campus, where the meeting is going to be held, will be kept out of bounds for the media.
Russia has offered Indian oil a stake in the second phase of Yamal LNG, the biggest project to produce liquefied natural gas in the Arctic.

The offer of stake in JSC was made when Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan visited St. Petersburg last month, sources privy to the development said.

Petronet LNG, India's biggest natural gas importer, is studying the offer, they said adding other state-owned firms like Indian Oil Corp (IOC) may join in later.

Novatek OJSC, Russia's second-biggest natural gas producer, had in 2013 offered a 9 per cent stake in the USD 27 billion Phase-I of project to a consortium of Petronet, IOC and ONGC Videsh Ltd.

But later, OVL, the overseas arm of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), did not find the offer attractive and the Indian consortium backed off.

Novatek stitched a consortium with CNPC of China (20 per cent), Total of France (20 per cent) and China's Silk Road Fund (9.9 per cent).

The Russian firm holds 50.1 per cent stake in the project that comprises development of the South-Tambeyskoye field with proven deposits of 1.3 trillion cubic meters of natural gas and the construction of natural gas liquefaction plant (LNG) for producing 16.5 million tonnes of LNG a year by 2017.

Now the company is planning a second phase and is offering a stake to Indian firms, sources said.

Sources said OVL was previously interested in getting into the upstream part of the project, i.e gas field development.

Petronet was keen to offtake LNG.

OVL, they said, may envisage interest if the stake is accompanied by some say in upstream part.

OVL-IOC-Petronet were originally interested in taking up to 15 per cent stake in Yamal project, which also requires construction of an airport and port on the Arctic Ocean. But a smaller 9 per cent stake was offered to them after Novatek in September 2013 sold a 20 per cent stake in the project to CNPC.

Total SA had in March 2011 bought 12 per cent stake in the project for about $4 billion. Since then, it has raised the stake to 20 per cent.

Sources said Petronet, which operates two LNG import facilities in Gujarat and Kerala, has been offered the stake in the phase-II as it offers a ready buyer of gas.

In Petronet, Russia seeks a buyer who can take at least 5 million tonnes a year of LNG from the Arctic project.

CNPC had pledged to purchase at least 3 million tonnes a year of LNG from the phase-I of Yamal project.
Terming the government's decision to go ahead with merger of SBI and its associate banks as a "right idea", eminent economist Meghnad Desai has said other PSU banks should also be merged from the current 24 to 3-4 large banks.

"The consolidation of the State Bank of India is very much the right idea. The other PSU banks should also be merged from the present 24 (excluding SBI and its partners) into 3-4 large banks," the India-origin British politician told PTI.

The Union Cabinet last month gave the go-ahead to the proposal of merger of SBI and its subsidiaries that could make the state-owned lender a bank of global size.

SBI has five associate banks -- State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Travancore, State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Mysore and State Bank of Hyderabad.

Chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya had also termed the proposed merger as a "win-win" for both sides.

Among the associate banks, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Mysore and State Bank of Travancore are listed.

The merged entity is expected to compete with the largest in the world, with an asset base of Rs 37 lakh crore, or over USD 555 billion, with 22,500 branches and 58,000 ATMs. It will have over 50 crore customers.

SBI has close to 16,500 branches, including 191 foreign offices spread across 36 countries.

The state-owned lender first merged State Bank of Saurashtra with itself in 2008. Two years later, State Bank of Indore was absorbed.
Public enterprises' apex body SCOPE has asked the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to facilitate migration of workers from one country to other.

During his recent discussions with Director General of ILO Guy Ryder, Director General of SCOPE U D Choubey talked on issues of mutual interest, SCOPE said in a statement.

Choubey said that protectionism followed in developed countries need to be reviewed to encourage skill labour migration from developing countries and "urged ILO to facilitate flow of migration of workers from one country to other," it added.

* * * * * *



Activechamps opens centre in Pune; plans four centres in FY17



Pune: Activchamps has launched a centre here with aim to promote and develop intellectual and physical skills of children through innovative techniques and games.

It works at enhancing and upgrading non-academic skills through over a hundred scientifically backed and well researched sessions delivered by qualified instructors, the company said in a statement.

The company proposes to open four such centres in western parts of the country during this fiscal.

There is a growing demand for such centres as in this fast moving world children need to be creatively engaged through playful activities to develop their social skills and honing their vital traits.

Just Buy Live names new board members



* Online distribution platform Just Buy Live has appointed former Tata Global Beverages Executive Sangeeta Talwar and Theron Carmine de Sousa, Consulting Director at Ferry Wharf Communications, on its advisory board as independent members.

The new advisory board will play a pivotal role in mentoring Just Buy Live's team, strengthening its strategic vision, streamlining operations as well as improve overall brand presence to accelerate expansion, it said in a statement today.

With vast experience and knowledge of the FMCG and retail ecosystem, Talwar and Theron will strategically counsel the company as it charts its next chapter of growth, it added.

"We believe, Sangeeta's vast domain experience and TC's contemporary and international perspective will strengthen Just Buy's positioning as an e-distributor and further enhance our ability to execute our large scale projects," Just Buy Live Chairman and CEO Sahil Sani said.

Talwar, with a career spanning over 30 years, has served on the Board of Directors of Tata Tea Ltd, Tata Coffee Ltd, Eight O'clock Coffee (USA), Oriental Hotels and Mother Dairy Fruit & Vegetable Pvt Ltd.

Aeris, MapmyIndia to tap IoT market



* IT company Aeris today said it has formed a partnership with digital map provider MapmyIndia to offer geo-spatial intelligence based Internet of Things (IoT) solutions in India.

"Our tie-up with MapmyIndia is primed towards helping businesses leverage the potential of IoT to realise business benefits that are multi-dimensional, innovation driven and transformative.

"I am confident that this will change the way verticals operate and companies perform," Aeris Communications President Rishi Bhatnagar said in a statement.

With this alliance, both companies said they have decided to pursue opportunities jointly by developing solutions and offering services leveraging their respective areas of core competence, the statement said.
HARRISBURG  A Midstate police department considered possible changes to its safety procedures after Thursdays sniper shooting left five officers dead during a protest against police violence in Dallas, Texas.

Harrisburg police Chief Tom Carter said he looked at possible safety changes Friday morning. Carter decided against changes, but other police departments will be reviewing their policies with officers.

Steelton police Chief Anthony Minium was shocked to hear the news of the shooting.

Theres a small population in the United States, in Central Pennsylvania, in the Borough of Steelton, that have a strong dislike for the police, but thats not the majority, Minium said.

Minium wont be doing things differently because he has no intelligence of a direct threat to the Midstate, but he will review policies with officers.

We try to have two officers respond to every call. Were going to basically remind the officers that we want two officers to respond, Minium said. Were not going to double up in the cars. Were not going to change our plan. Were not going to put more officers on the street at this time.

The chief is also reminding officers to be aware of their surroundings. Some circumstances would cause him to put more officers on the streets.

Once we get some intel telling us that theres a direct threat or if we have an event, a scheduled event, like a protest or a march, we would put extra officers out, Minium said.

Steelton Borough Police isnt the only agency responding to the shooting.

New Holland police will be wearing mourning bands for seven days to honor the fallen officers.

West Shore Regional police released a statement saying no matter how many attacks happen to police, they will be there to respond to calls for help.

The majority believe in the police, support the police, and want to work with the police to improve the quality of life, Minium said.

Carter and Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse will take part in a special Prayers for Peace and Justice vigil at noon Monday in the atrium of the MLK Government Center, at 10 N. Second St.
Telangana's in-charge Director General of Police Anjani Kumar today spoke to S M Sahai, Additional DGP (Law and Order) of Jammu and Kashmir, regarding the safety of around 8,000 Amarnath pilgrims from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh who are in the northern state.

The pilgrims have been stopped from proceeding to Amarnath. The yatra remained suspended for second consecutive day today from Jammu in the wake of the killing of a top Hizbul Mujahideen commander in an encounter with security forces in Kashmir Valley.

Kumar also requested Sahai to make arrangement for providing food, medicines and shelter to these pilgrims.

The pilgrims would start return journey back to Hyderabad late this evening, he said.
Three persons, including a husband-wife duo, have been booked for allegedly threatening to murder a woman's daughters and trying to rape them, to force her to buy property at an inflated rate, police said today.

The woman in her complaint yesterday alleged that the three persons -- Kulwant Rai, his nephew Virendra Mittal and Mittal's wife Madhu -- had forced her to buy two plots in Faridabad's sector 23 at inflated rates.

She alleged that the trio detained her two daughters at their home, where Mittal allegedly tried to rape them.

The accused also allegedly threatened to murder the minors if she did not comply, police said.

Police said they have booked the accused under various sections of the IPC, adding that they have started investigating into the matter.
Three members of a gang have been arrested in connection with robberies in areas like Haridwar, Gurgaon Faridabad and Delhi by the Crime Branch here, police said today.

Acting on a tip-off, police nabbed Rajesh alias Kanaster, resident of Mangolpuri in Delhi, Dheeraj alias Dheer Singh, resident of UP and Bhim alias Vishal, resident of Aman Vihar in Delhi.

During interrogation, the trio revealed that they used to break-in and rob the houses which were already locked or where they saw the owners leaving the premises.

With the arrests, police claimed to have solved six cases including 2 each in Sector-31 and central police station, and one each from Saran and Kotwali in Faridabad.

The robbers have confessed of their involvement in the six cases, police claimed.

Valuables like cash, silver items, LCD televisions, watch and jewellery have been recovered from their possession.

The accused were produced in the court which sent them to judicial custody, police said.
Three Ukrainian soldiers were killed and sixteen wounded as violent clashes continued between pro-Russian rebels and government forces in the country's separatist east, Kiev said today.

Eight of the injured soldiers suffered concussion during artillery shelling over the weekend near Luganske, a village 50 kilometres northeast of the rebels' de facto capital Donetsk, according to military spokesman Andriy Lysenko.

Despite the agreement of a ceasefire aimed at halting the 26-month war in east Ukraine, shelling flares up frequently and Kiev has lost several soldiers in recent weeks.

The rebel defence ministry in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic on Sunday accused Ukrainian forced of shelling Gorlivka and Donetsk, injuring four civilians - two women and two men.

Nearly 9,500 people have died since Ukraine's mostly Russian-speaking eastern industrial regions revolted against Kiev's pro-Western government in April 2014.

Kiev and the West have accused Russia of supporting rebels and deploying troops across the border, both claims that Moscow denies.

Ukraine's pro-Western President Petro Poroshenko attended a summit of NATO leaders in Warsaw that ended Saturday with the alliance agreeing to bolster its eastern flank after Moscow's annexation of Crimea and the Ukraine conflict.
The US point person for South Asia Nisha Desai Biswal today arrived in Bangladesh on a two-day visit to discuss violent extremism and ways to combat it following two recent terror attacks in the Muslim-majority country, including one on a cafe here.

Biswal, the Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, would meet Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali.

She would also meet with Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, officials told bdnews24.

Earlier, the State Department said Biswal will meet with government officials to discuss "issues of shared concern" and offer US assistance to the Bangladeshi government's efforts to counter terrorism and violent extremism.

She will also meet with the embassy community, local business and other diplomatic representatives.

Bangladesh has witnessed a spate of Islamist attacks in recent days.

Twenty-two people, including 17 foreigners, were killed in the brutal late-night attack at the Holey Artisan Bakery in Gulshan area of the capital on July 1. During a joint operation police killed six of the attackers.

Seventeen foreigners, including an Indian and American of Bangladesh origin were among the victims.

Six days later, militants attacked police guarding the largest Eid gathering in Bangladesh and killed three more people.

Biswal will also travel to Sri Lanka where she will meet with senior government officials and political leaders to discuss bilateral economic cooperation as well as democratic governance and reconciliation.

Deputy Assistant Secretary for South Asia Manpreet Singh Anand is accompanying her.

Biswal, earlier, visited Dhaka in May following the killing of a US embassy staff, Xulhaz Mannan, who was a leading campaigner for LGBT rights.
A 55-year-old truck driver was killed while two others were injured today when the vehicle ferrying a group of pilgrims fell into a gorge here.

The deceased has been identified as Sehdev, a resident of Baghpat district in Uttar Pradesh, while the injured were Amit from Naharpur in Delhi and Bittu, who hailed from Sahibabad.

The truck was on its way from Delhi to Uttarkashi. There were some devotees who were carrying food material for distribution, the driver suddenly lost control of the vehicle near Lawakhal and it plunged into a 100-metre deep gorge, Deputy District Officer, Brijesh Kumar Tiwari said.

Police reached the spot after receiving information from the locals and rescued the injured who were rushed to a hospital.

Sehdev died on the way to the hospital while the other two were referred for Dehradun.
Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student Umar Khalid, who is out on bail in a sedition case, kicked off another controversy yesterday by comparing Burhan Wani, the Hizbul Mujahideen commander who was gunned down earlier this week, with a revolutionary.

"I don't care if I fall as long as someone else picks up my gun and keeps on shooting. These were the words of Che Guevara, but could have just been Burhan Wani's too," he said in a Facebook post, which he removed hours later.

He praised Wani for his bravery and said, "Burhan wasn't scared of death, he was scared of a life lived in subjugation. He detested it. He lived a free man, died a free man...."

Khalid has earlier been a centre of controversy for being one of the organisers of the controversial event in JNU against hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, during which anti- slogans were allegedly raised.

His remarks on Burhan did not go down well with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-affiliated student wing Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), which has been locked in an ideological battle with the left-affiliated groups in JNU campus.

"After supporting Afzal Guru, Khalid has now expressed his sympathies with Burhan, this is an indicative of his association with terrorists and his support for them. Such anti-nationals are even dangerous for the society than terrorists. I demand that his bail be cancelled and investigation about his links be conducted (sic)," Saurabh Sharma, lone ABVP member in JNU students union, said in a statement.
A Yemeni prisoner at Guantanamo Bay has been released after more than 14 years in custody and sent to Italy, the Pentagon said today.

The release of Fayiz Ahmad Yahia Suleiman reduces the number of men held at the US base in Cuba to 78. He is among about two dozen low-level Guantanamo prisoners expected to be released in a period stretching into the coming weeks.

"The United States is grateful to the Government of Italy for its humanitarian gesture and willingness to support ongoing US efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility," the Defense Department said in a statement.

Military records show Suleiman, who is about 40, was suspected of fighting with al-Qaida against US and coalition forces in Afghanistan. He was never charged. He was cleared for release in 2010 but US does not sent Yemeni prisoners to their homeland because of instability there had to find another country to accept him for resettlement.

The US transferred two Guantanamo detainees to Italy in November 2009.

President Barack Obama has been seeking to close the detention center amid opposition from Congress, which has prohibited transferring detainees to the US for any reason.

The administration has been working with other countries to resettle detainees such as Suleiman who have been cleared for transfer after a comprehensive security review.
The US today offered its expertise to Bangladesh in bolstering its counterterrorism capabilities following a string of terror attacks, including the Muslim- majority country's worst terror attack on a cafe here that killed 22 people, mostly foreigners.

The US offer to was conveyed by Nisha Desai Biswal, the Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, during her meeting with Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali and Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque here soon after her arrival.

Biswal, Washington's point person for South Asia, offered US expertise in building Bangladesh's counterterrorism capabilities in the wake of the July 1 terror attack in Dhaka, BD reported.

"Our commitment to Bangladesh remains as robust as ever," Biswal said.

Her two-day visit comes a week after two recent terror attacks in the Muslim-majority country, including one on a cafe here and another at the country's biggest Eid gathering at Sholakia in northern Kishoreganj district.

Biswal would meet Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali and Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal.

Earlier, the State Department said Biswal will meet with government officials to discuss "issues of shared concern" and offer US assistance to the Bangladeshi government's efforts to counter terrorism and violent extremism.

She will also meet with the embassy community, local business and other diplomatic representatives.

Bangladesh has witnessed a spate of Islamist attacks in recent days.

22 people, including 17 foreigners, were killed in the brutal late-night attack at the Holey Artisan Bakery in Gulshan area of the capital on July 1. During a joint commando operation, six of the attackers were killed.

The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack. However, Bangladesh government says the attacks were carried out by homegrown terror outfits.

Seventeen foreigners, including an Indian and American of Bangladesh origin were among the victims.

Biswal, earlier, visited Dhaka in May following the killing of a US embassy staff, Xulhaz Mannan, by Islamists. Mannan was a leading campaigner for LGBT rights.
Thousands of Venezuelans poured across the border into Colombia to buy essential goods during a brief opening of the border that's been closed for nearly a year.

After ordering the border closed last August for security reasons, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro authorised a maximum 12-hour opening of the pedestrian bridge that connects Tachira, and Cucuta, Colombia.

Economically ravaged has suffered food and medicine shortages for months, a ripple effect from the falling price of oil, the country's primary export. Critics also blame grave mishandling of the state-led economy.

Some 500 desperate Venezuelans illegally stormed the border earlier this week in search of basic goods.

"There's no medicine for children; children are dying," Tulia Somaza said yesterday as she eagerly shopped among the masses in this border city. "People don't even have soap to wash clothes."

Some people even spent the night in parked vehicles to get a good spot in line for the early 6:00 a.m. (local time) opening.

According to a tweet from William Villamizar, governor of the Norte de Santander department that includes Cucuta, some 25,000 people surged in within the first seven hours.

"Thank God!" was the motto of the day as Venezuelans stocked up on flour, oil, toilet paper and shampoo.

"Thank you for this welcome, the people of are experiencing a serious humanitarian situation," said Jose Gregorio Sanchez, a resident of the border town of Urena.

"The Venezuelan government halted the industries that supplied the population," Sanchez said, noting that the devalued Venezuelan currency does make it more expensive to shop in Colombia, but it's "much cheaper" than the Venezuelan black market.

Shortages as high as 80% followed the global dip in oil prices, a devastating blow to a South American country whose oil and gas reserves account for 96% of its exports.

Colombia deployed 300 police officers to Cucuta to monitor two of the city's largest supermarkets following reports of shoving early Sunday.
The revolution might not be televised, as Gil Scott-Heron once rapped, but if the Republican National Convention in Cleveland goes pear-shaped, the cameras will be there to catch every moment.

Given the restive and fractious mood of the party, and the country, its anybodys guess what will happen. Party dignitaries have been making a break for the exits even before the delegates begin assembling.

Talk about ducking controversy. Mitt Romney, John McCain and the Bush family are expected to be no-shows. All sorts of incumbent governors and senators and representatives are citing schedule conflicts and other excuses that will keep them away from Cleveland and a safe distance from presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump.

The trouble is who likely will show up. For four days starting July 18, Cleveland will hold its breath.

There will likely be thousands of fervent protesters assembling outside the venue. The ACLU has sued to ensure that peoples right to do so wont be curtailed, pushing back against a city plan that would have shoved many far away from the convention center and unfairly managing permits.

Unfortunately, not all the protesters will have the emotional maturity, much less the structure and discipline, to make their messages coherent or persuasive.

The worst of America, some of our shallowest selves, are packing up and heading for Cleveland. The overwhelming presence of media will be enough to entice some to claim their 15 minutes of notoriety.

One group threatening to show up is the Traditionalist Worker Party  white nationalists whose recent rally in Sacramento, Calif., turned into knife fights with counterdemonstrators. The partys purpose in Cleveland, members say, is to protect the Trump supporters from rowdy protesters.

And given the antics of some within the anti-Trump crowd at past rallies in other cities, the racists actually have some cause for concern. Its a sad day when those who claim to challenge racist hatred wind up screaming slurs between the barricades.

A mishmash of various anarchist groups will be there, including Anonymous. More than a few who will gather regard themselves as modern day civil rights activists fighting the good fight. Some, no doubt, have their hearts in the right place.

I would ask them to take a step back and reflect.

Imagine the likes of Martin Luther King Jr., Medgar Evers and Fred Shuttlesworth (Google him, an amazing man who never received the accolades he deserved) running amok with Guy Fawkes masks covering their faces.

You cant. In their time, it was the Klan that operated with their faces covered.

The tragedy is that the successes of past protest movements  how they organized, how they developed tactics and strategy  is lost on so many protesters today.

The advent of social media, crowd-sourcing for fundraising and other technological innovations have been a huge boon for those working for social change. Facebook is a great tool for organizing. Twitter is a powerful means of disseminating a message. But what has been lost is any real structure.

The trend of leaderless movements is partly to blame. Many activists are allergic to formalized organizations they see as part of Americas problems. They avoid the glorification of leaders. All voices are emphasized.

Theoretically, that makes some sense. But less so as a method to identify goals, shape messaging, court allies and develop the deep understanding of the systems that block change.

Its instructive to note that the Black Lives Matter movement is most effective when the marching has settled down in favor of scrutinizing city ordinances, analyzing police hiring, delving into training for officers that involves de-escalation of situations and a host of specific goals.

The real work of reshaping America will always be done away from protest zones.

Change is accomplished slowly and far more systematically at political gatherings far less dominated by who is at the podium, by smaller circles where ideas are tossed and vetted. Its in voter registration drives and educating people about who is running for office in their area. Its at community forums where people are allowed to vent but also are asked about tangible changes that would make a difference in crime, in development, housing and job training. Its in city budget hearings, where the line-by-line accounting must be done, prioritizing where tax dollars are spent.

So lets hope that people have their right to protest freely in Cleveland, and that they do it safely and without tumult. And then that those who are the most disciplined and dedicated set about the hard work of reforming our laws and institutions.

Mary Sanchez is an opinion-page columnist for The Kansas City Star.You may email at msanchez@kcstar.com.
Questioning the support in some quarters to those protesting the gunning down of Hizbul Mujhaideen poster boy Burhan Wani in Kashmir, Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu today said government will not tolerate terrorism and violence.

Kashmir is an integral part of India and there is no discussion and negotiation on it, Naidu said.

"We are really surprised that some people are trying to support to so called protestors who are sympathizing with the terrorist. He is a Hizbul Mujahideen commander, how can any Indian have sympathy for such people?" he said.

He said the crisis in Kashmir was "not a sudden development" and added "Kashmir issue has been there for long. We also have to find a long term solution and terrorism and violence is not acceptable in whatever form and whoever carries it out.

"As far as the government is concerned, we are very clear that the government will not tolerate any such activities. But you can't have a overnight or readymade solution to such a long standing issue. The government is trying to deal with that," he said.

India is a democratic country and will adopt democratic methods, he added.

Hoping that normalcy will be brought back at the earliest, Naidu said, "There is an elected government in the state. Central government is extending all the support to the state government. Centre and state will together tackle the situation. I am confident that the situation will be brought to normalcy at the earliest."



He said the focus should be more on development.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi is focusing on the development of Jammu and Kashmir. He has visited Jammu and Kashmir a number of times in two years. The Centre also announced a big package for the state," he said.

Minister of State in PMO Jitendra Singh also hoped that situation would be normal soon and said people should trust the government.

"All of us should trust the government of India. Our honourable Home Minister is keeping a close eye on the sequence of events and there is absolute coordination between the state government, the government of India and the security agencies. And I am sure that situation is going to come back to normal very soon," Singh said.

"Having said that, I will also like, through you, to reassure the members of the minority Kashmiri Pandit community that they are safe. There were some incident of stone pelting on the first day, but now all minorities are absolutely safe, well protected. It is the collective responsibility of the government as well as the society to ensure their safety and protection," he added.

"This is also a tourist season. Let the security agencies take a final call. We must trust their wisdom and discussion. We are proud of our security agencies and our forces," he said.
At least three mosques and the Bank of England in the have received suspect packages containing white powder and racially abusive language, prompting British police to investigate a possible hate-mail campaign against Muslims and government institutions.

They (British Police) fear a possible far-right link to a hate-mail campaign against Muslims and government institutions, the Sunday Times reported.

Suspect packages containing white powder were posted to at least six recipients, including Pakistani-origin Muslim peer Lord Ahmed in his House of Lords office, three mosques in London and the Bank of England.

Some of the packages, which are thought to have been sent from the Sheffield area in northern England, contained racially abusive language.

The investigation is being led by the North East Counter Terrorism Unit which is understood to have been called in after suspicious packages were found at a sorting office in Sheffield on Tuesday.

"The North East Counter Terrorism Unit is co-ordinating an investigation into a number of suspicious packages reported at locations in London and South Yorkshire," a police spokesperson said.

Tests showed that the white powder was harmless but it initially raised fears of a chemical or biological attack.

Police took them away for inspection but at least six letters containing white powder arrived at addresses in London on Thursday, the 11th anniversary of the July 7 terror attacks in 2005.

A police source told the newspaper a "political" motive was being considered.

Three of the letters were sent to mosques and two more letters were sent to the Bank of England whose governor, Mark Carney, had warned against Brexit during the referendum campaign and to the offices of a government mail screening service in Canning Town, east London.

The campaign follows a 42 per cent rise in hate crimes recorded in England and Wales around the time of the European Union referendum, compared with the same period last year.
Newly appointed Textiles Minister Smriti Irani has a tough task ahead to revive the country's textile exports. As Table 1 shows, India's textile exports actually declined to $36.25 billion in 2015-16, from $37.14 the year before. The sector now accounts for barely 2.28 per cent of total gross value added, as shown in Table 2. Within textiles, the top items of export are ready-made garments, both cotton and of man-made fibres, cotton fabrics and man-made yarn and fabrics, as shown in Table 3.
A bipartisan group of two US lawmakers has introduced in the House of Representatives a legislation, which if passed by the Congress would prevent Indian companies from hiring IT professionals on H-1B and L1 work visas.

Since the revenue model of majority of big Indian IT companies is heavily dependent on H-1B and L1 visas in the US, such a bill is likely to have a major impact, if not sound a death knell, on their businesses.

The H-1B and L-1 Visa Reform Act of 2016 introduced by Democratic Congressman Bill Pascrell from New Jersey and Republican Dana Rohrabacher from California would prohibit companies from hiring H-1B employees if they employ more than 50 people and more than 50 per cent of their employees are H-1B and L-1 visa holders.

Before the bill is signed into a law by US President Barack Obama, it needs to be passed by the Senate, wherein it has not been tabled so far. Notably, the two sponsors of the bill come from the two American states which have the maximum concentration of Indian Americans.

"America is producing many skilled, high-tech professionals with advanced degrees and no jobs. By in-sourcing and exploiting foreign workers, some businesses are abusing the visa programs and undercutting our workforce to reap the rewards," Congressman Pascrell said.

"Without the critical reforms our bill proposes, American workers will continue to be unfairly displaced and visa workers will continue to be mistreated -- both of which are unacceptable," he said in a statement.

Noting the foreign outsourcing companies are the top users of the H-1B and L-1 visa programs, a media statement issued by the Congressmans office said over the years a number of concerns have been raised about how certain companies have been using these visa programs, including a 2011 report from the Government Accountability Office calling for reform.

Pascrell and Rohrabacher had introduced a similar version of this bill in 2010, which could not gain enough support in the Congress.

The lawmakers said the H-1B and L-1 Visa Reform Act of 2016 would close loopholes in the H-1B and L-1 visa programs, reduce fraud and abuse, provide protections for American workers and visa holders, require more transparency in the recruitment of foreign workers, and increase penalties on those who violate the law.
Tata Steel has put the process of selling its major British assets on hold because of the uncertainty caused by the Brexit vote and surrounding pension liabilities and will now also look at forming a joint venture, the company said.

Tata Steel put its British operations up for sale in March, including its Port Talbot plant in southern Wales, threatening thousands of jobs, but an industry source told Reuters on Thursday that the sale had been put on hold.

The firm said on Friday the June 23 referendum, when Britons voted to leave the European Union, and issues around the pension scheme had prompted a rethink.

"The bids have also been reviewed in the light of the uncertainties caused by the UK referendum and the outcome of the UK Government's consultation on the British Steel Pension Scheme," the firm said in a statement.

"Consequently, Tata Steel has now entered into discussions with strategic players in the steel industry, including Thyssenkrupp."

Germany's biggest steelmaker Thyssenkrupp has said it wants to play a role in any consolidation of the European steel market, which is saddled with excess production capacity and a weak demand outlook.

Tata Steel said it will also begin separate processes for the potential sale of its Speciality Steels business and the northern English Hartlepool pipe mills except for its 20-inch Tube Mill.

Liberty House Group, which an industrial source told Reuters on Thursday was to bid for Tata Steel's specialty steels and pipeline tubes business, said on Friday it will continue discussions with Tata about acquiring a number of assets.

There were signs this week that Brexit-induced uncertainty and a sharp fall in sterling would hurt a wide range of companies, with investors warning the economy could tip into recession, hammering consumer and business confidence.

Tata Steel employs some 11,000 people in the UK. Its specialty steel and tubes business together employ some 2,000 people, meaning the fate of another 9,000 steel jobs and thousands more jobs indirectly related to steelmaking is now uncertain.
Terming the government's decision to go ahead with merger of SBI and its associate banks as a "right idea", eminent economist Meghnad Desai has said other PSU banks should also be merged from the current 24 to 3-4 large banks.

"The consolidation of the State Bank of India is very much the right idea. The other PSU banks should also be merged from the present 24 (excluding SBI and its partners) into 3-4 large banks," the India-origin British politician said.

The Union Cabinet last month gave the go-ahead to the proposal of merger of SBI and its subsidiaries that could make the state-owned lender a bank of global size.

SBI has five associate banks-State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Travancore, State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Mysore and State Bank of Hyderabad.

Chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya had also termed the proposed merger as a "win-win" for both sides.

Among the associate banks, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Mysore and State Bank of Travancore are listed.

The merged entity is expected to compete with the largest in the world, with an asset base of Rs 37 lakh crore, or over $555 billion, with 22,500 branches and 58,000 ATMs. It will have over 50 crore customers.

SBI has close to 16,500 branches, including 191 foreign offices spread across 36 countries.

The state-owned lender first merged State Bank of Saurashtra with itself in 2008. Two years later, State Bank of Indore was absorbed.
Never accuse our state political leaders of failing to take advantage of a crisis. When times are tough on Texans, count on them to make things tougher.

Consider the latest out of Austin. Right before the July Fourth holiday weekend, the state's top political leaders sent word out to state agencies that they should aim to trim 4 percent out of their budgets for the next biennium.

That's 4 percent before the Texas Legislature meets in January. That's 4 percent before Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar issues his constitutionally required estimate of revenue.

That's 4 percent before the legislative budget committees meet to work out what the state will spend.

True, it doesn't take much reading of the state's headlines to know that Texas is facing low oil prices, layoffs by energy companies and forests of oil rigs in storage to figure out that the state's tax income will be affected in the next two-year budget cycle.

That presents a challenge to Texas, which has a rapidly growing public school population, a university system that must strive to achieve excellence in research and in producing college graduates and has the responsibility to provide health care for the vulnerable.

But that's not what Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Joe Straus cited in issuing the call for the preemptive cuts.

"Limited government, pro-growth economic policies and sound financial planning are the key budget principles responsible for Texas' economic success," the three leaders said. "It is imperative that every state agency engage in a thorough review of each program and budget strategy and determine the value of each dollar spent."

This doesn't sound like contingency planning so much as burnishing of conservative credentials. Plus, we've heard this story before.

Remember when Gov. Rick Perry asked agencies to cut 10 percent from their budgets? Perry didn't get the entire 10 percent but the cuts he did get were never entirely restored.

It's become business-as-usual for Republican leaders to cry crocodile tears about the coming financial deluge a few months before the Legislature meets.

Will things be a little tight at the next Texas Legislature? Probably, given the lackluster Texas economy. But Texas is in far better shape than other state budgets and the Texas economy, while no longer soaring, is still relatively healthy.

But the key issue is the state's need to keep up its investment in higher education, in its highways, to meet its obligations to public education and key public services.

Then there is the predicament many school districts, particularly those in the shale boom regions, such as the Eagle Ford, now find themselves. Banking on a bonanza of oil revenues, many of those districts took on bond indebtedness to build facilities. But the low oil prices and the falling property values that goes with that has now caught them with their financial pants down, as the Texas Tribune reported this week.

There was, at one time, a way for the state to come to rescue of districts, which faced declining property values due to factors outside of their control.

The state, however, cut that funding. There is no longer that safety net.

The three political leaders seemed to indicate there might be some allowance for areas such as education and mental health. But you can bet we're not talking about restoring the $5.4 billion that legislators cut from public education in the 2010 legislative session and that has never fully been made up.

That belief in ever smaller government doesn't make the job of funding critical services any easier. If the first kneejerk reaction to any crisis is to cut taxes, then Republican leaders just make it harder for themselves. And worse, they make it harder on Texans.

As the Center for Public Policy Priorities pointed out in a commentary piece in the Texas Tribune, Texas Republicans cut by 25 percent the state's chief business tax, the franchise tax, without creating a substitute source of revenue. That in itself created a loss of more than $2 billion in tax revenue that could go to support public schools.

The biggest fear, however, for the Republican ideologue is not that the people who are served by government might go without, or that the future of school children might go unfulfilled because of inadequate education. No, the true conservative must be ever watchful lest the dragon of government be unrestrained.

In Texas, however, that rascal doesn't stand a chance.

Nick Jimenez has worked as a reporter, city editor and editorial page editor for more than 40 years in Corpus Christi. He is currently the editorial page editor emeritus for the Caller-Times. His commentary column appears on Wednesdays and Sundays.
Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times Tanya Simpson, widow of late Police Chief Floyd Simpson speaks during a news conference held by the Corpus Christi chapter of the NAACP on Friday, July 8, 2016, at the Nueces County Courthouse. The organization spoke about the recent shootings in Louisiana and Minnesota, as well as the shootings of the Dallas police officers.

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By Matt Woolbright of the Caller-Times

A little over a year ago, on a quiet Sunday evening, Tanya Simpson's world turned upside down.

Her husband, and Corpus Christi's chief of police Floyd Simpson, died unexpectedly in May 2015 in a motorcycle crash on his way home from Port Aransas.

The couple had moved to Corpus Christi three years before from Dallas, where Floyd Simpson served as a police officer, and their family from that department made sure Tanya Simpson didn't have to go through it alone.

Now, in the wake of the deadliest attack on law enforcement since 9/11, Tanya Simpson is returning the favor. Thursday night, at the end of what had been a peaceful protest of police brutality around the nation, a lone gunman put Dallas police officers in his crosshairs.

Five were killed, and seven more were wounded.

"It really touched home for me last night because Dallas was my home for 26 years," Simpson said at a news conference Friday. "I'm devastated because I feel like the officers were part of my family. I don't think anyone would want someone to be killed by a sniper."

"This has to stop," she added. "I am so sad today. This has stop."

Corpus Christi Senior Officer Travis Pace said the city's Police Department has offered whatever assistance is needed to the Dallas Police Department, but so far, no requests have been made. However, members of the department's honor guard will travel to Dallas for the officers' funerals.

Tanya Simpson didn't know any of the officers personally, but that doesn't affect her plans to go to Dallas to offer comfort and support for the families. She said Friday she would leave Saturday and stay through Tuesday, but is planning to make return trips if any of the victims' families ask.

"I hope we can move on and not just say, 'Black Lives Matter,' but 'People's Lives Matter,' " Simpson, who is black, said. "All of our lives matter. Please pray for these officers and their families."

On Friday, she challenged Corpus Christi residents to help any way they can and "continue to show others how we get along."

When her husband died last year, Simpson said Dallas Police Chief David Brown and others came to help with the family, run errands and just be on standby as needed. Others sent flowers and offered a near-constant stream of emotional support.

She doesn't want the families of the slain officers to have anything less if she can help it.

"I just want to lend a hand and hug some people who need hugs right now," she said. "I want to let them know we are still a family and the Lord is still there for my family."

Twitter: @reportermatt
SHARE Michael Zamora/Caller-Times file Wind turbines in San Patricio County southwest of Taft.

As a former instructor and evaluator pilot from Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, I have been following the conversation about wind farms and the military in Corpus Christi with great interest. My job at NAS Corpus Christi included instructing and evaluating flight instructors, and this experience taught me what training requirements exist for our student naval aviators. I also served as an instructor pilot near Travis Air Force Base, where our pilots flew regularly around wind turbines near the base.

During my time at Travis, part of my "office" job was to lead a task force focused on ensuring safe military flight training and operations near wind turbine projects. This team brought together Department of Defense scientific experts, national and local renewable energy developers, radar and aviation industry consultants, interested landowners, and civic leaders.

This program produced DoD "Best Practices" for working around wind turbines, a series of technical solutions for radar design and wind farm siting that have proved successful in keeping our military pilots safe and our military missions protected. These solutions are now being used around the country to manage wind turbine development near DoD installations and radar-controlled airspace. In fact, sister military services in the U.S., as well as other foreign militaries, are now adopting these practices. These technical solutions exist, have been proven, and work so well that the DoD is now exploring even more advanced solutions. Think of it like upgrading from an iPhone5 to iPhone6.

After years of flying and training around wind farms, I can assure you that it is possible to construct wind farms near military bases without compromising pilot safety in any way. From Day 1, student pilots are taught to climb, not descend, if they have a problem. By increasing altitude, you can see, be seen, and communicate farther.

Furthermore, as a pilot flying near wind turbines, I always knew where they were. They are big, white, and have a bright red flashing light on top. If you can't see them and avoid them, you shouldn't be in a cockpit. Of course, there were things I was afraid of when flying low, but those were things I couldn't see  power lines and guywires for tall towers  and they are all over the place.

It has also been shown that wind farms can be located near military bases without having any impact on military operations. Currently, there are more than 600 wind turbines operating near Travis Air Force Base, and some of them have been there for more than a decade. The nearest wind turbine there is less than 4.2 miles from the radar (which is located at the airfield).

The turbines had no impact to flight training. At Travis, solutions already in place have been proven to work, and that base has more complex airspace, more flight operations, and less advanced radars than what currently exist at NAS Corpus Christi and NAS Kingsville.

The DoD is experienced with wind energy facilities, and it has a rigorous process for evaluating them. Each wind turbine and wind turbine project is looked at separately for its cumulative effect on radar and air navigation, and FAA approval is not given if unmitigated dangers are identified.

It is true that eventually, there could be a point where wind development will need to stop. But when that time comes, the DoD and the FAA will prevent further projects from being developed. There is simply no way that the DoD will be caught off guard by the construction of future projects, because they will be responsible for evaluating each one before it is built.

I have heard some say that the development of wind power in South Texas will drive the Navy away through the BRAC process. Frankly, I don't think the Navy or its flight and flight controller training programs are that fragile.

If local leaders are truly concerned about BRAC, they should ask themselves the following question: Why not take this opportunity to support coordination between the community, businesses, land owners, and the military to solve a complex challenge? Coordination is seen as a strength, not a weakness. It demonstrates to BRAC decision-makers (many of them civilian) that NAS Corpus Christi and the community are capable of handling additional and more complex missions in the future. As we know, the methods of combat aviation are changing rapidly. Flexibility and the ability to implement innovative solutions are valued more than traditional rigid dogma, or simply "we can't because we haven't."

Why is our Navy the best in the world? Because it works together with partners to solve complex problems and apply known solutions. Wind turbines exist all over the planet (85-plus countries), including many conflict hot spots. Sister services and our foreign partners train and operate around them every day. As a pilot who has flown in combat operations and joint military operations, I know that we cannot risk having pilots and controllers who have never even been exposed to operations around wind turbines, especially when they are headed into combat operations.

During times like these, it is tempting to listen only to the loudest voices on either side of the wind farm debate. But on military issues, it has never been more important to let facts and the record of everyday safe operations at other air bases guide us. Please support forward thinking civic leaders who want to protect our military interests with proven solutions. Don't let Corpus Christi get left behind.

Phil "PK" Kase is a former Navy instructor and evaluator pilot at NAS Corpus Christi and instructor pilot at Travis Air Force Base. He provides consultant expertise to military planners, as well as aviation and renewable energy companies.
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David Salinas, Kingsville

Trump endorsement shows poor judgement

On July 7 Blake Farenthold declared his support for Donald Trump and, in doing so, politically disqualified himself from representing the 27th District, especially Corpus Christi.

What does it say about Farenthold that he endorses a man who calls Mexicans "criminals and rapists" and retweets white supremacists? Farenthold now embraces a man who mocks military prisoners of war and people with disabilities. Farenthold supports a man who encourages violence at his rallies. Farenthold is willing to hand the reins of our economy over to a man whose businesses have repeatedly gone bankrupt and has been sued 3,500 times for unethical business practices. Farenthold believes we should vote for a man who said he would torture the families of terror suspects.

Blake Farenthold has endorsed the most unqualified and dangerous presidential candidate in American history and we most hold Farenthold accountable for this when we vote in November. He has proved he doesn't have the judgment to represent us in Washington.
Saturday, July 9, 2016 at 5:48PM

The new Tomb Raider film starring award-winning actress Alicia Vikander already has a release date. The movie reboot is scheduled for a March 2018 release. Not much is known about the movie except shell be playing a similarly younger Lara Croft like in the two recent games Tomb Raider (2013) and Rise of the Tomb Raider (2015). The untitled new films is directed by Roar Uthuag, who has done The Wave and Escape.

Source: SlashGear
"She's very courageous. She's just a trooper," he said. "The other night, she was pretty sick, she was throwing up all of the time and I'd just pass her the bag and she would just throw up, seriously heave it up and then go back to a conversation we're having or playing Uno."
"Kingston foreshore had two sites, one for [a] commercial boat maintenance complex and they had it moved out of the foreshore, because it was supposed to be too noisy, and that was moved on to the Black Mountain Peninsula Park. The [Kingston site] sold for millions," she said.
She called the clinic and was told to monitor the symptoms and take painkillers, the statement of claim filed with the court alleges. She said she called again the next day, and was advised to take painkillers and reassured about the pain.
Security forces cannot use excessive force in AFSPA areas: Supreme Court

Published: July 9, 2016

The Supreme Court of India has ruled that army and paramilitary forces cannot use excessive and retaliatory force during counter-insurgency operations in disturbed areas declared disturbed under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), 1958.

The verdict was given by SC bench of Justice Madan B. Lokur and Justice Uday Umesh Lalit on the plea filed by the Extra Judicial Execution Victim Families Association (EEVFAM).

In the plea EEVFAM had sought a SIT probe into the killing of 1,528 persons by the Manipur Police and security forces since 1978.

Supreme Court Ruling

The use of excessive force or retaliatory force by the armed forces of the Union or Manipur Police is not permissible.

Criminal courts have the jurisdiction over cases of alleged excesses by security forces which earlier were under blanket of immunity provided by AFSPA.

Armed forces should refrain from resorting to excessive fire power in counter-insurgency operations.

When state uses such retaliatory force leading to death of people, it is referred to as an extra-judicial killing or an extra-judicial execution or as it is called administrative liquidation.

Month: Current Affairs - July, 2016

Topics: AFSPA  Defence  IBPS  internal security  Supreme court  UPSC

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Di Natale may be lucky. He may emerge with nine senators  a loss of only one senator from South Australia. However, it is worth noting that in the three states where The Greens may get a second seat the quotas are only 1.47 in Victoria, 1.42 in Tasmania and 1.40 in Western Australia. It is still possible The Greens will have only six senators and one member of the House of Representatives.
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Our Promise: Welcome to Care2, the world's largest community for good. Here, you'll find over 45 million like-minded people working towards progress, kindness, and lasting impact.

Care2 Stands Against: bigots, racists, bullies, science deniers, misogynists, gun lobbyists, xenophobes, the willfully ignorant, animal abusers, frackers, and other mean people. If you find yourself aligning with any of those folks, you can move along, nothing to see here.

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As stunning as they might look sitting in a well-appointed garage, Maranellos supercrs are made to be driven  and Ferrari wants owners to get to meet each other.



And thats just what happened last month on the first Ferrari Hokkaido Rally. Organized by Ferrari Far East, the event brought together some 30 Ferraris owners from Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. The route saw them take to the roads in Japans largest and northernmost region.

The companys entry level California model appears to have accounted for the lions share of those Prancing Horses present. But the photos and video below reveal a handful of F12 Berlinettas and FFs as well. No sign of any 458s or 488s, though, which could be because this was more of a touring event than a track day.

The event was just one of several that the Maranello-based automaker is hosting in Japan this year, marking 50 years since the first Ferrari (a 275 GTB) arrived in the Pacific island nation. This past March, the Suzuka circuit hosted the Ferrari Racing Days event, and this years Ferrari International Cavalcade is set to take place in Kyoto this November.

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A decision made back in the 1950s to stop flooding along Mission Creek, ended up reducing the creeks length in the lower reaches by 60 per cent.

By the 1990s, 75 per cent of wetlands had been lost and the spawning habitat was reduced by nearly 80 per cent.

It was around this time a group decided to get together to take action and increase public interest in restoration.

The Friends of Mission Creek kick-started the Mission Creek Greenway and their efforts led to the multi-partner, multi-phase Mission Creek Restoration Initiative (MCRI) in 2002.

The trials and tribulations of the creeks story are now being told through a video production that partners with Copper Sky Productions and Rubicon Aerial Cinema.

The concept behind the production was to also show the MCRIs vision; "Restoring and protecting Mission Creek to enrich historical, ecological and recreational values for the Okanagan."

More specifically, its mission is to restore fish and wildlife stocks and habitat, conserve and expand biodiversity and protect species at risk, improve flood protection, inspire and support community stewardship and nurture partnerships and secure funds that support restoration efforts.

Currently a pilot restoration project in underway between Casorso Road and Gordon Drive and is almost complete. The dike was realigned to quadruple floodplain areas, which are already accommodating water from spring runoff while providing robust fish and wildlife habitats.

After completion of additional fish habitat restoration in summer 2016, this area will be closely monitored to assess project effectiveness and ensure a high level of ecosystem benefits are maintained over the long term.

To find out more and watch the video check out www.missioncreek.ca.
Photo: Wayne Moore - Castanet File Photo

School zone hours could be extended in the Central Okanagan.

School District 23 has asked Kelowna city council to approve an extension of school-zone hours to 7:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. Until now, school zone hours were 8 a.m. until 5 p.m.

The province recently amended the Motor Vehicle Act to allow for the expansion of school-zone times. While the core time remains 8 to 5, local governments are now able to extend the hours at the request of the local board of education.

"Local schools are offering more services to the community and extending their hours of operation," said SD23 secretary/treasurer Larry Paul as part o the district's request.

"With this increase in services, and with many school programs being offered prior to the start of the regular school day, children are walking to school earlier. The board of education feels it is important that school-zone speed times come into effect earlier in the day so that drivers are aware and slowing down while students are on their way to school."

If the change is approved, signage changes will be implemented by Aug. 31, before the start of the new school year.
Photo: Getty Images

After heavy rains hit the Okanagan Friday, the turbidity of Peachland's water was raised to unsafe levels.

The District of Peachland has issued a boil water notice to residents, effective immediately.

Interior Health recommends that all customers drink boiled water or a safe alternative until further notice. Water intended for drinking, washing fruits or vegetables, making juice or ice, or brushing teeth should be boiled for at least one minute, the District wrote in a press release.

The District has not given an estimate of when the boil water notice will be lifted.
"The Perfect Weekend for an Introvert" is far from perfect, technically. The two-minute video, hot out of Buzzfeed's L.A. content mill, feels like a five-second joke stretched into 120.

But the idea for the video was pretty good: so good, in fact, that Akilah Hughes claims to have had it six months ago. In January, the comedienne and independent YouTuber published her own video on introversion that employed several of the same tropes. It's a coincidence Hughes finds acutely unfunny, particularly as "The Perfect Weekend for an Introvert" racks up views and advertising prerolls.

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"BuzzFeed has been caught repeatedly stealing ideas, jokes, bits, gags, and therefore money from prominent YouTube creators," Hughes wrote, in a popular Change.org petition addressed to the site's advertisers and signed, as of this writing, more than 5,500 times. "This is a deliberate initiative on BuzzFeed's behalf to undermine the hard work of independent comedians, creators, and innovators."

Other creators apparently agree: Hughes is compiling lists of artists, comedians and other creatives who feel  rightly or wrongly  that their ideas have been vacuumed up by Buzzfeed. That list includes J. Lopez Kenji-Alt, the James Beard Award-winning food writer who accused the video department's food vertical of lifting his halal chicken recipe; Creature, an all-lady comedy troupe that has actually filmed a tongue-in-cheek paean to Buzzfeed; and Bria Kam and Chrissy Chambers, two of YouTube's most popular LGBT vloggers, who say the site regularly repackages their material in its listicles. On the very day Hughes's petition went viral, in fact, Kam and Chambers spotted a still from one of their videos, shared  without permission  on Buzzfeed's Snapchat.

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"We can't stand what Buzzfeed has done to independent content creators," Kam said. "It's a shame. There's so much money and recognition that shouldn't be going to them."

In a phone interview Thursday afternoon, Buzzfeed CEO Jonah Peretti reiterated the company's commitment to YouTube creators  including the dozens currently employed by the company.

"We support independent creators and want to do more to support them and collaborate with them," he said.

Accusations of idea and content theft aren't totally unheard of at Buzzfeed, the new media juggernaut that made an industry out of mining the social Web for re-boostable material. In the site's early years, it earned a reputation for sourcing photos from Reddit and Flickr under questionable circumstances. But this latest uproar is aimed specifically at Buzzfeed Motion Pictures, the younger, shinier, West-Coast wing of the Buzzfeed empire  and its implications are far more complex.

Since launching in August 2014  right on the heels of a $50 million venture capital investment  BMP has become both a patron to online creators and a powerhouse for online video content. The division operates like many small-time indie producers do, churning out short, low-budget, zeitgeisty videos with titles like "If Disney Princes Were Real" (60 million views) and "Men Watch Porn With Porn Stars" (almost 21 million). But because it has a four-acre lot on Sunset Boulevard, an industry-leading data team and a staff of 200 video producers  many of them former YouTubers  Buzzfeed Motion Pictures churns out viral videos at an almost industrial scale. The department averages upwards of 75 clips per week across their various color-coded channels, and monthly views long ago surpassed 1 billion.

That sort of platform has been a boon to many performers, who might have labored in obscurity for years on their own: Buzzfeed Motion Pictures can claim to have launched the careers of the Try Guys, Ashley Perez and Matt Bellassai, among others. The company has also provided one-off guest-starring gigs, paid residencies and full-time jobs to up-and-coming performers, like the comedians Brittany Ashley and Gaby Dunn.

But the relationship between Buzzfeed Motion Pictures and some of its online stars has began to curdle at the edges in recent months, soured by creative and contractual disagreements. Popular minority vloggers, like the trans YouTube star Kat Blaque and the duo Kam and Chambers, complained that the company regularly brought talent in to "consult" or "guest star," but never actually paid for it. (Buzzfeed has also hired paid consultants from those communities.)

Meanwhile, in-house creators like Dunn conceded that the company "helped pay bills yes," but also exploited young creators through unusually restrictive contracts. Among other things, BMP required that its talent work on no other projects while employed there, and that they sign over the rights to their name and likeness. Just last month, Buzzfeed fired two of its top stars, Ashley and Jenny Lorenzo, for working on a side project; in the uproar that followed, BMP was forced to remind staff that  no matter how independent they'd been before  they and all their work now belonged to corporate.

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For some YouTubers, who pioneered and advocated a new model of decentralized, participatory media, Buzzfeed's declaration wasn't merely HR-speak: It confirmed creeping anxieties that they'd harbored for several years. Despite Buzzfeed's lip service to independent creators  both at the corporate level and in its giddy coverage of viral stars  people like Dunn had long worried the company didn't actually have their best interests at heart. In fact, as Buzzfeed Motion Pictures grew both more powerful and more prolific, it seemed obvious that it posed an existential threat to the creators who paved the way for it.

Cue Akilah Hughes and her 119,000 YouTube fans, who last week noticed Buzzfeed's "Perfect Weekend for an Introvert" had cleared half a million views in its first day online. Both that video, and Hughes' "How to Be an Introvert," involve a woman spending the weekend under her comforter with Netflix. The idea is not a particularly original one; it doesn't even appear that Hughes was the first to have it. The trope has appeared in Buzzfeed videos going back several years. But given the ongoing tensions between Buzzfeed and YouTubers, Hughes was convinced the company owed her something, even something as small as a quick Google search to see who else had done that exact introvert/Netflix gag in the past.

The same goes for "Baking Cookies Without A Recipe," "What If We Talked to Our Coworkers Like We Talked to Our Pets" and "Life Before Kids vs. Life With Kids." Buzzfeed's productions on the same topics ("People Bake Cookies Without a Recipe," "If You Talked to People Like Your Pets" and "Before vs. After Kids," respectively) have only broad themes and tropes in common with their predecessors of almost-identical names. ("The overall idea is the same," said the creators of "Life Before Kids, "but it looks like their punchlines are a bit different.")

Still, critics argue, if Buzzfeed was going to profit off a video in the same style and on the same platform, thereby making any other versions irrelevant, couldn't they at least throw a link to the Eh Bee Family? Or this adorable Australian kid?

"Before we shoot any sketch, we extensively Google and search on YouTube to make sure we're not copying or coming close to material already mined by other creators," said one YouTuber who felt Buzzfeed should have credited her work  one of several who spoke to The Washington Post on the condition of anonymity, because they believed badmouthing Buzzfeed could hurt their careers.

"Buzzfeed has an enormous staff," she continued. "It's incredibly hard to believe that they couldn't take the small amount of time to see if the concept had been done before. In fact, it's my opinion that they did look, saw that we are a speck by comparison, and did it anyway. Who is going to care or notice?"

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To be clear, this is not a copyright issue: No one can legally claim to "own" an idea or a joke, and YouTube would be a no man's land if they could. That culture has always thrived on a certain amount of (occasionally credited) remixing and reuse, and it's next to impossible to trace the evolution of an idea in YouTube's roiling meme pool.

But there's a pervasive sense that while that's OK amongst fellow independent creators, who have similar resources, it represents a kind of appropriation when producers employed by Buzzfeed do it. There they may have a point, says Patricia Aufderheide, a professor of communications studies at American University. She and her colleague Peter Jaszi, with whom she collaborates at the Center for Media and Social Impact, point out that "a certain amount of casual theft" is inevitable in creative work, and that no one can reasonably claim to "own" something as broad and well-traveled as the introvert meme.

But Buzzfeed and other corporate media organizations also occupy a special position, Aufderheide argues, and thus can be thought to have special ethical responsibilities.

"If Buzzfeed's in love with something about someone's work, which inspires them to do something, how can some tip of hat, some credit, some acknowledgement, be made?" She asked. "The fact that so many of the outraged people are people of color/women might be even more of a reason why Buzzfeed and other media organizations could figure out how to acknowledge their actual lived relationships in a dynamic media production environment."

Buzzfeed Motion Pictures doesn't appear to agree: On Twitter, its staff have been dismissive, even flippant, in the face of widespread criticism. Zach Kornfeld, one of BMP's in-house stars, tweeted that Isaac Newton and Gottfried Leibniz both came up with calculus. ("Pretty nuts how that happened. But it happens.") Jared Sosa, another BMP employee, was a little more direct: "No one stole s***. Everyone needs to try to be less predictable," he tweeted.

One thing we can confidently predict: The battle between independent and corporate YouTube creators is only just getting started.
Stephanie Downs Hughes of Naperville goes over the guidelines for the monthly Just Views meeting at DuPage Unitarian Universalist Church in Naperville on July 8, 2016. (Steve Johnston / Naperville Sun)

The unprovoked attack on Dallas police officers that left five dead and seven injured this past week provided an unexpected backdrop for a Naperville church panel discussion on gun violence Friday night.

"Statistics show that the more weapons there are out there, the more incidents there will be," said Pedro Movilla Fernandez, of Warrenville, who was among about 70 people who attended the event at DuPage Unitarian Universalist Church. "I'm originally from Germany, and I have very strong opinions about guns. I don't understand this religious reverence for them and the Second Amendment. There are many amendments, but this one seems like the Holy Grail.' "

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The discussion was part of a meeting the church holds every month to exchange thoughts on injustice and racial inequality, particularly as it pertains to the criminal justice system.

It was a coincidence that Friday's topic of gun violence coincided with the Dallas shootings, but that made it extremely timely, the Rev. Tom Capo said.

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"I got a call from the organizer of these meetings, who was concerned given it's summer and maybe people wouldn't come," Capo said. "I told her given what just took place, I believe people will come."

The Robert Greenwald film "Making a Killing," which looks at gun use in connection with such issues as domestic violence, suicide and accidental shootings involving children, was followed by a panel discussion featuring Naperville police Sgt. Bill Barrett; Tanja Murray, the Illinois leader from Moms Demand Action; Pam Bosley, founder of the Terrell Bosley Anti-Violence Association and co-founder of Purpose Over Pain; and Dr. Catherine Humikowski, medical director of the pediatric intensive care unit at the University of Chicago Medicine Comer Children's Hospital.

Humikowski said she "regularly sees three kids a week under the age of 4 that are shot."

"I see the worst of the worst. ... I see the effect of guns every day," she said. "We can do better."

Event organizer Stephanie Downs Hughes said that was the crux of the program.

"People are sobered by this and are more concerned about the ongoing sequence of tragedy," she said. "There has been reasonable (legislation) for correction that has been proposed, but it's been shot down for no good reason."

Bosley's son Terrell was 18 when he was shot to death in 2006. She said there is no simple answer to who is causing the violence, why it's happening or how it can be stopped.

"We do need common-sense gun laws, and there is this perception that all of this violence is gang-related," Bosley said. "My son, who would be 28 now, was shot outside his church. He was going to college and worked at the church. He wasn't in a gang."

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The meeting was not without some controversy. Mike Weisman, an unincorporated DuPage County resident and member of the Illinois State Rifle Association, asked if anyone from the National Rifle Association had been invited to be part of the panel. He said he volunteered to be a panelist but was turned down.

After the meeting, Weisman said the film shown was "NRA bashing" and the group "is an easy target" when looking for a villain in the gun violence problem.

"We have 4 million people that support the NRA, and I don't believe either this program or the film, which I've seen many times, is fair or balanced," Weisman said. "When we hear it's going to be shown, we seek out these meetings in order to try and point out the bias."

Naperville's Paul Williams told the audience he is a strong supporter of the Second Amendment and that law enforcement "needs to go after the criminals, not the gun owners."

"I come from 12 generations of people that have lived in this country and owned guns," Williams said. "I lost family in the Civil War during the Battle of the Wilderness."

Craig Shaw, of Wheaton, said he understood the need of some to carry guns for their own safety. Violence is an unfortunate part of society today, he said, regardless of how weapons are regulated.

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"I'm intrigued, as everyone has a different perception, and I realize there are people who come home at night and carry a gun because they are afraid for their lives," he said. "But regardless of legislation, I'm concerned that things won't change out there as the anger that people have is going to be released anyway. The focus on guns has become a political volleyball, and this has to be seen honestly by every organization."

David Sharos is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
Attorneys for Fox News Chairman and Chief Executive Roger Ailes are denying allegations of decades-old incidents of alleged sexual harassment that are surfacing in the aftermath of the lawsuit filed by former anchor Gretchen Carlson.

The incidents, reported in New York magazine, are from women who contacted attorneys representing Carlson, who filed a sexual harassment and retaliation suit against Ailes on July 7. Two of them spoke on the record to Gabriel Sherman, the author of a 2014 biography of Ailes.

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The most recent account in the magazine report is from 1989. Kellie Boyle, 54, a former Republican National Committee field adviser, said Ailes suggested she have sex with him in return for helping advance her career in politics.

Boyle had received an introduction to Ailes through her husband, at the time a communications executive for CNBC. She describes a conversation she had in Ailes' car after they met for dinner in Washington.

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"He said, 'You know if you want to play with the big boys, you have to lay with the big boys.' I was so taken aback. I said, 'Gosh, I didn't know that. How would that work?' I was trying to kill time because I didn't know if he was going to attack me. I was just talking until I could get out of the car. He said, 'That's the way it works,' and he started naming other women he's had. He said that's how all these men in media and politics work  everyone's got their friend."

Ailes had been President George H.W. Bush's chief media adviser in 1988 but never had an official role with the RNC, where Boyle eventually worked.

The other on-the record account is from Marsha Callahan, a 73-year-old former model, who alleges that Ailes propositioned her for sex when she auditioned for him to work on "The Mike Douglas Show" in the late 1960s. Ailes was a producer on the syndicated talk program at the time.

Four other unnamed women also gave their stories the magazine. Three were identified as former models who said they were subjected to inappropriate behavior by Ailes when he was a TV producer in the 1960s.

The fourth woman, identified as a former TV producer, said Ailes asked her to have sex with him when they met at his New York apartment for a job interview in 1975.

Barry Esen of Epstein Becker Green, the firm representing Ailes, denied all of the accounts in a statement.

"It has become obvious that Ms. Carlson and her lawyer are desperately attempting to litigate this in the press because they have no legal case to argue," Esen said. "The latest allegations, all 30 to 50 years old, are false."

Carlson's suit alleges that Ailes made sexually inappropriate comments to her. It also says he damaged her career in retaliation for her rebuffing sexual advances and complaining about a hostile work environment. After Carlson's suit was filed, Smith she said received numerous calls from women wanting to relate their own experiences with Ailes.

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Ailes, 76, has denied Carlson's charges. Fox News' parent company, 21st Century Fox, is conducting an internal investigation.

"Today, six brave women voluntarily spoke out to New York magazine detailing their traumatic sexual harassment by Ailes," Smith said in a statement. "We are hearing from others. Then, Barry Asen, Ailes' lawyer, accused Gretchen of 'litigating in the press' and, without any investigation, within three hours, claimed that the allegations are false. How does he know that? Women have the right to speak out  whether Ailes likes it or not  even about trauma they endured years ago and that haunts them to this day."

On Friday, Ailes' attorneys filed a motion asking that Carlson's case not be heard in court. They cited Carlson's contract with Fox News, which had a clause requiring any employment incident be handled in a confidential arbitration hearing.

The motion filed by Ailes' attorneys said Carlson's filing of the case in court was done "so that her counsel could tar Mr. Ailes' reputation publicly, try this case in the media press, and coerce him to settle."

Carlson's attorneys said they "intend to fight for her right to a public jury trial."

Carlson, 50, was an anchor and co-host on Fox News for 11 years. Her contract with the network was not renewed after it expired on June 23. Fox News has cited her ratings as the reason for her release from the cable news channel.
My fiance and I recently flew from Honolulu to Paris via Los Angeles, Miami and Helsinki. Our flight to Miami was on American Airlines. Our Finnair flight from Miami to Helsinki was delayed, and we missed our connection to Paris.

My luggage was tagged to go directly from Honolulu to Paris, but it didn't arrive in Paris. Finnair had no record of it. We filed the claim in Paris and received a reference number.

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RELATED: TRENDING LIFE & STYLE NEWS THIS HOUR

After waiting eight hours, we decided to hunt for the luggage ourselves. My fiance is a veteran police officer. He made more than 80 international cellphone calls. His investigative skills are what tracked down the luggage. Through our persistent phone calls, we discovered that American Airlines never transferred my luggage to the Finnair contractor in Miami. We finally located the luggage in Miami and asked American to put it on the next Finnair flight to Helsinki, and then on to Paris. Our luggage finally was delivered around 11:30 p.m. the next day.

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I requested a $262 reimbursement for incidentals from Finnair, but the airline rejected it because I filed past the 21-day limit from the time the baggage was received. I was not aware of the 21-day limit.

I have appealed to Finnair's customer-care department, which offered a 70 euro voucher, but this is not an acceptable option. Finnair was the last segment of our flight, so it is responsible. Can you help us?

 Lydia Kelley, Honolulu

A: American Airlines should have transferred your luggage to Finnair. But you're correct, Finnair was responsible for delivering your luggage to you in Paris, and it didn't  not until the next day.

Compensating passengers for incidentals while they wait for their luggage is something of a gray area. I've seen airline agents hand passengers like you cash to buy new clothes and toiletries. And I've seen them deny any responsibility.

The page dedicated to lost luggage on Finnair's site (www.finnair.com/ca/gb/information-services/baggage/lost-delayed-damaged-baggage) doesn't mention anything about compensation for incidentals, nor does it state that there's a required 21-day window for applications. Rather, it asks you to fill out a baggage tracing form within 72 hours, which you did, and suggests you wait patiently while the airline finds your belongings.

I like the way you took the initiative on this one. You started contacting people until you got answers and results. (I list the names and numbers of both the Finnair and American customer-service managers on my consumer-advocacy website. Here are the Finnair contacts: http://elliott.org/company-contacts/finnair/. And here are the American contacts: http://elliott.org/company-contacts/american-airlines/.)

From my experience, the best time to negotiate reimbursement for incidentals is at the time your luggage is lost. Agents are often authorized to offer vouchers or allowances for clothes and toiletries while you wait for your belongings. If possible, make sure you have everything in writing.

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Bottom line: Even though Finnair didn't drop the ball on your luggage, it is technically responsible as the last operating carrier. A 70 euro credit is a good start, but it doesn't cover the real expenses you had when you landed without luggage.

I contacted Finnair on your behalf. As a "gesture of goodwill," the airline agreed to cover $220 of your expenses, which you accepted.

Christopher Elliott is the ombudsman for National Geographic Traveler magazine and the author of "How to Be the World's Smartest Traveler." You can read more travel tips on his blog, elliott.org, or email him at chris@elliott.org.

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Enjoy the silence with these noise-blocking earmuffs
A big problem with public transit is the public.

Not all the public. Just the seat hoggers, loud talkers, music blasters, door blockers, smelly eaters, backpack bludgeoners, litterers and boors who won't give their seats to pregnant or disabled passengers.

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Trying to improve the ride, Metra is launching its first courtesy campaign Monday with reminders to "Ride Nice."

The five-poster campaign features images contained within the frame of a mobile phone, reflecting what most riders are staring at these days. One poster has an illustration of a girlie ghost with long eyelashes, which asks "One guy, two seats. Invisible friend?" Another shows a 1960s pop art-style cartoon lady, gasping in horror over people clipping their nails and grooming their beards.

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"It's reminding people in a subtle, humorous way to just be polite," said Metra Executive Director Don Orseno. "I think some people just don't realize some of the things they're doing, like talking loudly or putting their feet on the seat."

One of the five posters being released by Metra, in its first courtesy campaign. (Metra)

Transit agencies around the world try courtesy campaigns  the CTA launched a new one last year, the first since the 2002 "Don't Be Jack" campaign. New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority made national news with its 2014 campaign against "manspreading," the practice of some men who sit with knees wide apart, taking up two or three seats.

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority launched a "Dude It's Rude" ad blitz in 2014 and 2015  scolding riders for littering and bad language.

But do these etiquette prods do any good? Some transit advocates and officials interviewed say they can at least raise awareness, even if they can't fix the worst behavior.

"It's difficult to pinpoint the exact impact the campaign had on customers," said CTA spokeswoman Tammy Chase, who noted that rude behavior is the third most common rider complaint, after service delays and failure to assist customers."We do believe the courtesy campaign, a year in, has been successful to get people to think about and talk about behavior on transit."

Some CTA ads are startling  one has a picture of people on an "L" car waist-deep in garbage, with the slogan "Your Maid Doesn't Work Here." An ad reminding people to "Stand Right, Walk Left" on escalators prompted a tweet from a grateful customer saying the poster had taken more time off his commute than anything else the CTA had done.

CTA's ads won an American Public Transportation Association's AdWheel award last year.

The MTA "manspreading" campaign turned something people grumbled about privately into a topic of widespread discussion, said John Raskin, executive director of New York's Riders Alliance, a grass-roots organization.

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One of the five posters being released by Metra, in its first courtesy campaign. (Metra)

"It's not crazy to remind people about a certain community expectation for how people should treat each other while riding public transportation," Raskin said.

But Brad Ross, spokesman for the Toronto Transit Commission, said that North America's third largest transit system has not found courtesy campaigns to be very effective, and just uses overhead announcements for issues like removing backpacks during rush hour.

"No one wants government telling them how to behave," Ross said. "As such, the messages fall on deaf ears, and no real change occurs  so money wasted." He added that behavior change needs more than an ad campaign and "I'm not sure it's the transit agency who should be teaching manners."

Kelly Page, a clinical assistant professor in management at University of Illinois at Chicago who specializes in marketing and social communications, said that courtesy campaigns do increase awareness but are not as effective if they are not enforced by staff or the public. If someone litters and is not held accountable, the lesson is lost.

Reinforcing the message is tougher for agencies like the CTA, where there are no conductors and riders may be hesitant to tell a bunch of rowdy teenagers to turn down the music.

"It's very hard to have people intervene and have people enforce it some way, because they are potentially scared," Page said. It may be easier to enforce good behavior on a system like Metra, which has uniformed conductors walking the train, Page said.

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Stefanie Wright, 39, of Logan Square, agrees that conductors help keep the peace and switched to commuting on Metra rather than the CTA in part because of rider behavior.

"The majority are aware that there's a certain etiquette about how people behave in a public space," Wright said. "You don't get as (many) ... people talking on their phones or whacking you with their backpacks."

One of the five posters being released by Metra, in its first courtesy campaign. (Metra)

But she still sees rudeness on Metra  like door blocking, and people who sit in the middle of a row of upper-level seats instead of moving to the end. Manspreading "makes me crazy," Wright said.

Like the CTA, Metra designed its courtesy campaign in-house. It paid $7,000 to make the posters. The posters are based on passenger complaints, which Metra spokesman Michael Gillis said are evenly distributed through the system.

Orseno acknowledges that the "Ride Nice" posters won't cure all bad behavior, but it could nudge some people in the right direction.

"If we can get more people not to do it, we're much better off," Orseno said.

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On a personal note ...

The "Getting Around" reporter has three children and found an easy way to handle pregnancy on the CTA. I'd stick out my belly and say loudly and cheerfully "Would someone please give me a seat?"

People would fly to their feet in response  mostly women and older men  every time. I think some people are absorbed in their reading so don't notice that someone needs a seat, or they're afraid a lady might be zaftig and not pregnant. Making an announcement removes all doubt.

So people with trouble standing, don't be afraid to speak up  someone will usually help.

"Most people, when they see somebody in need, the humanitarian comes out," Orseno said.

New TSA center

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A new temporary TSA PreCheck enrollment center will open at Hyatt Place Midway from July 26 to July 30 to meet increasing demand, officials said.

PreCheck is an $85 TSA travel program that prescreens passengers and allows those who qualify to go through shorter airport lines. Temporary enrollment centers are opening in 12 other U.S. cities.

Interested flyers can make an appointment online at tsa.gov/tsa-precheck/apply. Other local PreCheck enrollment locations include inside Midway Airport, downtown Chicago, 2958 West Belmont on the North Side, Crestwood, Rosemont and Joliet.

The TSA drew national attention this spring for long security lines at major airports. TSA PreCheck enrollment went up as a result, and the program now averages about 13,000 daily applicants, said spokesman Michael McCarthy.

mwisniewski@tribpub.com

Twitter @marywizchicago
The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., center, appears intense as he discusses fair housing with Gilbert Balin, of G. Balin Inc. real estate agents in Chicago on Nov. 3, 1966. (Jack Mulcahy / Chicago Tribune)

"This day we must declare our own Emancipation Proclamation."

Before the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. gave an impassioned speech at Soldier Field on July 10, 1966, he was already taking on politicians in Chicago, including Mayor Richard J. Daley, seeking "open housing" for African-Americans in the city.

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The Chicago open housing movement, also known as the Chicago Freedom Movement, took place from mid-1965 until early 1967. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference, then led by King, targeted Chicago "due to high levels of institutionalized discrimination" in schools and housing.

Mortgage and loan discrimination, tenants rights, quality education and job access were among the goals.

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King sought to compel the Daley administration to make Chicago "a just and open city."

And if there were those who thought King was naive in taking on Chicago's "enlightened bossism," King felt he had no other choice, according to a 1982 article.

MOVE TO CHICAGO

On Jan. 26, 1966, King moved into an apartment at 1550 S. Hamlin Ave., on Chicago's West Side near Douglas Park.

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and his wife, Coretta, wave to a crowd after moving into an apartment at 1550 S. Hamlin Ave. in 1966. (Chicago Tribune historical photo)

He said at the time, according to Tribune archives, that he moved to the apartment "to dramatize slum conditions in the city." He held a variety of events in the city to draw attention to the slums after he moved within the city.

By late June, King announced a large rally and march that would take place at Soldier Field on July 10.

"There is nothing more powerful than the tramp, tramp of marching feet. We will march on city hall to make demands of an open city," King said at a meeting at the YWCA at 436 E. 38th St., according to the Tribune article announcing the march.

FREEDOM SUNDAY

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On July 10, nearly 30,000 people gathered at Soldier Field to hear King's speech, on what came to be known as Freedom Sunday:

"This day we must declare our own Emancipation Proclamation. This day we must commit ourselves to make any sacrifice necessary to change Chicago. This day we must decide to fill up the jails of Chicago, if necessary, in order to end slums.

"This day we must decide to register every negro in Chicago of voting age before the municipal election. This day we must decide that our votes will determine who will be the mayor of Chicago next year.

"This day, henceforth and forever more, we must make it clear that we will purge Chicago of every politician, whether he be negro or white, who feels that he owns the negro vote rather than earns the negro vote."

A 1982 article about the rally and march notes a heat wave hit the city just in time for King's event, as well as how well the march was received by Daley.

"By the time of the rally, the temperature stood at 98 degrees, and more than a half-million Chicagoans swamped the beaches of Lake Michigan. Only about 30,000 people -- movement leaders had hoped for 100,000 -- gathered in Soldier Field to hear King give the keynote address of the campaign.

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The July 10, 1966, march to City Hall from Soldier Field. (Chicago Tribune historical photo)

"Then with thousands in pursuit, he set out for City Hall with his set of demands that called for an end to police brutality and discriminatory real-estate practices, increased Negro employment, and a civilian review board for the police department like that in New York City.

"At City Hall, with some 36,000 followers looking on, King strode to the La Salle Street entrance and stuck his theses on the metal door with adhesive tape. Then he faced the cheering multitude, hoping that this day marked the symbolic beginning of an American reformation.

"The next day, King returned to City Hall and presented his demands to Daley himself. But the mayor, his face red with anger, rejected them on the grounds that Chicago already had a 'massive' anti-slum program. For Daley and his men, King was becoming an intolerable nuisance. They found it incomprehensible that he couldn't be bought off. Here he stood, solemn and obdurate, warning Daley that he was inviting 'social disaster' if his administration did not do something bold, something meaningful, to rectify the 'seething desperation' in the ghettos."

However, a Chicago Tribune editorial about the July 10 march railed against King and scoffed at the movement.

"Marches and demonstrations have become tiresome, and the Rev. Mr. King's rhetoric about 'filling up the jails of Chicago to end slums' is becoming stale. All the advance expectations of a turnout of 100,000 persons, trumpeted for days over television, were defaulted in the event. Hot air on a hot day seemed just a little too much.

"We suppose that 'civil rights' spokesmen will engage in these charades just as long as there are publicity and a chance of passing the hat. The administration of a city as large as Chicago is not an easy job, especially when officials are beset by constant clamor. Fortunately, from the apathy that greeted the Soldier Field show, the din would appear to be abating."

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Daley, at least publicly, wasn't quite as harsh but still considered King an outsider to Chicago's issues.

"Dr. King is very sincere in what he is trying to do," Daley said at the time. "Maybe, at times, he doesn't have all the facts on the local situation. After all, he is a resident of another city. He admitted himself they have the same problems in Atlanta."

MARQUETTE PARK MOB

On Aug. 5, 1966, King led protesters near Marquette Park and was hit in the head by a rock thrown by someone in the crowd. Articles at the time called the sum of the events that day a "race clash."

"The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. led hundreds of demonstrators yesterday thru a hail of rocks, bottles, and curses and jeers in an open housing march on a real estate office in 63d street.

"Forty-one persons, including four juveniles, were arrested during the march and afterward, when a crowd of whites blocked Kedzie avenue from Marquette road to 63d street to shout epithets at police and complain of police brutality to whites.

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"The flying bricks, bottles, and at least one knife that sailed thru the air caused injuries to 30 persons, including at least four policemen. Many of those injured were clubbed by police with nightsticks."

I have never seen, even in Mississippi and Alabama, mobs as hateful as I've seen here in Chicago.  The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., in 1966

At the time, the marches King was leading were through middle-class, white neighborhoods.



"Many of the residents waved signs referring to George Lincoln Rockwell, head of the American Nazi party," the Tribune reported about one such standoff, according to a 2013 article.

In Marquette Park on the Southwest Side, signs read, "Join the White Rebellion," and "We Worked Hard For What We Got," and a rock was thrown that knocked King to the ground.

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Somehow, this mob of 4,000 who threw words, rocks and worse did not lead the next day's Chicago Tribune, a 2011 article says.

"The paper's editors opted for the College All-Star Game at Soldier Field" on the front page.

Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley, left, and President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1966. (White House)

AN AGREEMENT, A PRECURSOR

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Soon after the violence in Marquette Park, businessmen, church leaders and the mayor met with King to sort out an open-housing agreement. King called off a planned march in Cicero.

"The Daley-King agreement was hailed by both sides. King said that Chicago was at last an open city. Daley said Aug. 28, 1966, the day the agreement was reached, was 'a great day in the history of Chicago,'" according to a 1986 Tribune article.

"In the next year he was to charge repeatedly that the city had failed to keep its word on pushing open housing, but he never again led a protest march in Chicago."



King was assassinated in Memphis on April 4, 1968.



The Daley-King agreement on "open housing" in Chicago is considered a precursor to the Civil Rights Act of 1968, more commonly known as the Fair Housing Act. It was passed by Congress on April 10, and President Lyndon B. Johnson signed it on April 11, 1968, just one week after King's death.

Martin Luther King Jr. speaks passionately in front of large crowd in 1964 at the Illinois Rally for Civil Rights at Soldier Field in Chicago. The rally was held to celebrate the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. (Chicago Tribune historical photo)

Information compiled from Tribune archives and other sources by Aly Brumback.
A 16-year-old girl who disappeared from the Lawndale neighborhood midweek has been found, police said Sunday afternoon.



Katelyn Compton, who disappeared from the 1800 block of South St. Louis Avenue on Wednesday, has been found, police said.


Activists clash with police as they attempt to block traffic on Michigan Avenue at Jackson Street before taking their protests inside the annual Taste of Chicago festival on July 10, 2016. (Michael Tercha / Chicago Tribune)

A small group of Chicago community members continued a steady stream of protests against police violence toward African-Americans, demonstrating in the downtown area Sunday afternoon.

Activist Tio Hardiman and several other community and religious leaders rallied and marched near Daley Plaza and the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse.

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The group, wanting to maintain consistent attention on black victims of police violence, also sought to put pressure on the U.S. Department of Justice for what they felt was a languid approach to investigating policy and practices in the Chicago Police Department.

"There appears to be a hunt and black people are the target," said Eric Russell, of the Tree of Life Justice League. "The Chicago Police Department has no respect for the lives of black and brown people."

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While some demonstrators urged better dialogue between police and the community, there were no signs such conversations were apt to happen. Police officers and demonstrators showed similar frustration, particularly after a brief confrontation in which officers detained one man and blocked participants from interfering. Two men were seen being detained in handcuffs.

Two officers said they did not understand the point of the protest throughout downtown, saying they reallocated resources from South Side neighborhoods in order to monitor the demonstration.

"It doesn't make any sense," one officer said to a colleague. "If you want to protest, go down to the neighborhoods where the violence is happening all the time and tell them to put the guns down."

After the confrontation seemed to ease, a demonstrator and an officer shared another tense exchange:

"What is your problem?" the officer yelled.

"Hundreds of people killed by police every year. That's my problem," the man yelled back.

The demonstration followed a feverish protest throughout downtown Saturday, a showing that stretched well into the evening hours.

Chicago police confirmed four protest-related arrests were made around 7 p.m. Saturday in the 900 block of North Michigan Avenue. Three arrestees were charged with misdemeanor offenses, and one was charged with felony aggravated battery to a police officer.

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Additionally, police said 15 more people were arrested in the 1200 block of South Michigan Avenue about 10 p.m. near the Taste of Chicago, most of whom were charged with obstruction of traffic. An 18-year-old Geneva man was charged with aggravated battery to a peace officer and resisting police officer or aiding an escape.

Similar protests have burgeoned in several cities nationwide following two fatal police shootings in Baton Rouge, La., and suburban St. Paul, Minn., which left Alton Sterling and Philando Castile dead. Those shootings were followed Thursday by the sniper killings of five officers and the wounding of seven more in Dallas during a protest there about police violence.

People protest police brutality as a rally makes its way to Trump Tower in downtown Chicago on July 9, 2016. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)

Local groups have planned several other actions throughout the week, including a youth sit-in Monday at Millennium Park and a Wednesday night vigil for Sandra Bland, the former Naperville resident who died in her Texas jail cell in 2015 after she was pulled over in a controversial arrest by a state trooper.

Wednesday marks the anniversary of Bland's death.

Chicago Tribune's Tony Briscoe contributed.

cdrhodes@tribpub.com

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Twitter @rhodes_dawn
A Chicago police officer shot a man in the leg in Calumet Heights on the South Side early Sunday after getting a call from someone threatening suicide, authorities said.



Just before 1:10 a.m., a person called 911 saying he was in a second-floor apartment in the 1800 block of East 87th Street and was going to kill himself, a source said. The caller said he had a 9mm handgun, according to the source.



About 1:15 a.m., police arrived to assist with the EMS call, according to Chief of Detectives Eugene Roy. Officers found a man in the apartment "holding what appeared to be a handgun" and they told him to drop it, Roy said.



The man pointed the gun at the officers, and one of them deployed a Taser while another officer fired his gun, Roy said. The Taser connected with the man and he was also shot in the leg, Roy said.



The man was taken to a hospital and his injuries were not considered life-threatening, Roy said.



A weapon was recovered from the scene, according to a police statement. Neither Chicago police nor the Independent Police Review Authority would say what kind of weapon was recovered.



The man's girlfriend, who said she was in the apartment at the time, said her boyfriend did not have a weapon and did not point anything at police. The only weapon in the apartment was an unloaded BB gun which was locked away, she said.



"He definitely had no gun on him," she said, speaking to the Tribune on condition of anonymity.



She said they had been fighting and a neighbor probably called 911. They were in the bedroom at the back of the apartment when officers entered. He was sitting on a couch in the bedroom and was shot when he took one of his hands out of his pocket, she said.



She said her boyfriend, who is 18, does not have a history of harming himself or threatening to commit suicide. He is an apprentice at the Carpenter's Union and is due to get his union card in a few weeks, she said. They met at Dunbar High School, where they both graduated from this year, she said.



The officers involved were wearing body cameras, Roy said. Police did not say whether the cameras were turned on and operational at the time. A police spokesman directed further questions to IPRA.



Mia Sissac, an IPRA spokeswoman, said there was no reason to believe the cameras weren't functioning during the shooting. "I'm sure pretty quickly we will have access to footage," she said.



The officer involved will be put on administrative duty for 30 days per department policy.
An man allegedly armed with a handgun was killed early Saturday in Houston after an encounter with police officers.

According to the Houston Police Department, this is how the event unfolded: During a routine neighborhood patrol, two policemen found a man in South Houston at a four-way intersection with a gun pointed toward the sky. The officers left their vehicle and approached the man, telling him to lower the gun. A witness also yelled at him to lower the weapon.

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Police say the man then slowly lowered the weapon and pointed it at the officers.

"Since it was a slow deliberate movement, for their own safety and witnesses's safety at that point, the officers discharged their weapons, more than one time," Houston police spokeswoman Jodi Silva said.

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By the time paramedics arrived, the man was already dead.

The police did not release the man's identity, but a woman who said she was his wife told KTRK-TV, Houston's ABC affiliate, that he was 38-year-old Alva Braziel.

In an interview with The Washington Post, Black Lives Matter Houston activist Ashton P. Woods questioned why gunfire was used.

"It's problematic. What about a taser?" he said. "What about pepper spray?"

The shooting in Houston further raised tensions from the week in which two other black men were shot to death by police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Falcon Heights, Minnesota, and 12 police officers were shot in Dallas, five of them fatally.

The Houston shooting is among more than 500 fatal police shootings so far this year, according to a Washington Post database tracking shootings by on-duty officers. Of those shot and killed by police so far this year, about 24 percent have been black.

Woods, the Black Lives Matter Houston activist, lives in the Houston neighborhood where the shooting occurred. He said the police actions early Saturday were indicative of a pattern where officers are "hyper-vigilant" when a black person has a weapon. He noted that both officers involved were white in a black neighborhood.

"That's whats wrong with the policing here," Woods said. "They don't know how to talk to us. We don't have community policing here."

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One bystander, Eric Puckett, told KTRK-TV this morning that Houston police in the area often target black residents. "It's like we got a target on our back even if we innocent, it hurts. You don't even want to walk outside your house no more."

In an interview with The Washington Post, Braziel's friend Brian Harris said his friend could have been more compliant with the police, but also said the police needed to change their procedures in dealing with potentially violent people.

"I'm just hoping something is done about the way police are handling stuff," Harris said. "I feel they could have handled the situation differently."

Video footage is not yet released of Saturday's Houston incident. Both officers were wearing body cameras and a nearby convenience store also had surveillance, Houston police said. Those videos may or may not be released pending internal investigation.

Houston Police Department's homicide and internal affairs divisions will be investigating the incident, as well as the Harris County's district attorney's office.

The national Black Lives Matter community is demanding those videos be released to assess if Braziel had a weapon that pointed at the officers.

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Until that can be ascertained, activists nationwide are mourning Braziel's death. His Facebook page shows he was a father and loving partner. He enjoyed going out with friends, going to church and tending to horses.

Harris said Braziel, who he had known for 35 years, was "outgoing and very boisterous." He noted that Braziel was grieving the death of his grandfather, and was above all a family man.

"He's a good father - he was a good father," Harris said. "He was a good provider. That much I can tell you."
People place flowers, write messages in chalk, and mourn the death of Philando Castile on July 8, 2016, near where he was fatally shot in Falcon Heights, Minn. (Jabin Botsford / Washington Post)

After a fatal shooting involving gun violence in Minnesota, it wasn't just gun control advocates criticizing the National Rifle Association.

Some blowback, surprisingly, was coming from within the organization.

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People claiming to be lifelong members of the NRA challenged the group's stance on gun rights after the organization appeared to drag its feet in addressing the police-involved shooting in Falcon Heights, Minnesota, of Philando Castile, a law-abiding gun owner, which had already garnered national attention.

The organization released a statement on the shooting following the Dallas attack that left five officers dead. When the NRA did obliquely reference Castile's death by referring to "reports from Minnesota," it neither named Castile directly nor took a position on the matter.

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"It is important for the NRA not to comment while the investigation is ongoing," the organization said. "Rest assured, the NRA will have more to say once all the facts are known."

From the organization's Facebook page:

"As the nation's largest and oldest civil rights organization, the NRA proudly supports the right of law-abiding Americans to carry firearms for defense of themselves and others regardless of race, religion or sexual orientation.

"The reports from Minnesota are troubling and must be thoroughly investigated. In the meantime, it is important for the NRA not to comment while the investigation is ongoing.

"Rest assured, the NRA will have more to say once all the facts are known."

The NRA statement does not mention the officers killed in the line of duty, emphasizing instead the "right of law-abiding Americans to carry firearms for defense of themselves and others."

In tone, the NRA's approach bore a close resemblance to its statement in the wake of last month's mass shooting in Orlando, Florida. Two days after the massacre, a lobbyist for the gun-rights group wrote an op-ed in USA Today going on the offensive against stricter firearms regulation.

"Destroy radical Islam, not the right of law-abiding Americans to protect themselves," wrote Chris Cox, the executive director of the NRA Institute for Legislative Action.

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Cox's broadside against greater restrictions was viewed as tone-deaf by many gun-control advocates, while gun proponents lined up on the other side.

This time, however, the NRA faces an internal division as its members argue the group did not do enough to defend gun owners' rights by speaking out on behalf of Castile.

Castile had a valid permit to carry a gun. He also reportedly informed the officer who shot him that he was armed, in an attempt to head off a misunderstanding.

Still, Castile was killed by police - prompting outrage among some Americans that following the rules was not enough to save Castile from a violent death.

The delay in addressing Castile's death, as well as the promptness with which the NRA spoke out after the Dallas shooting, has prompted complaints of a double standard in the way the organization defends gun owners.

"Your lack of message concerning the Castile case disappoints me and makes me question my membership," wrote one man, Marco Gallologic, on the NRA's Facebook page. "... What do I pay fees for if you do not represent gun owners and our rights?"

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"Your silence is causing NRA members such as myself to question/wonder what exactly you do and don't stand for," another man, Bruce Johnston, wrote.

That sentiment was reflected across social media this week, with members and non-members alike demanding that the NRA voice its support for Castile.

Other firearms groups have reacted with alarm to the shooting. On Thursday, the Second Amendment Foundation, a gun-rights group based in Bellevue, Washington, said "exercising our right to bear arms should not translate to a death sentence over something so trivial as a traffic stop for a broken tail light."

As David Graham writes for the Atlantic magazine, U.S. history is strewn with cases of uneven observance of the Second Amendment, with some Americans -- mainly whites -- benefiting disproportionately from it over others.

But those criticizing the NRA believe the advocacy group should be protesting Castile's death as an unjust violation of the Constitution.

"Philando Castile had a valid concealed weapons permit but was shot and killed," wrote Dennis Gesker on Facebook. "As an NRA member I urge you to take a strong position in favor of this man."

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The NRA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
President Barack Obama and Spain's acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, after their media availability in Madrid on July 10, 2016. (Susan Walsh / AP)

MADRID  President Barack Obama on Sunday urged respect and restraint from Americans angered by the killing of black men by police, saying anything less does a "disservice to the cause" of ridding the criminal justice system of racial bias.

He also urged law enforcement to treat seriously complaints that they are heavy-handed and intolerant, particularly toward minorities.

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"I'd like all sides to listen to each other," Obama said in response to a reporter's question after he met with Spain's acting prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, during an abbreviated first visit to Spain as president.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 51 Sirica Bolling raises her fist as she walks down Jefferson Avenue during a Black Lives Matter protest against police brutality in Newport News, Va., on July 10, 2016. (Aileen Devlin / The Daily Press)

Obama's appeal for greater understanding from opposing sides of the emotionally charged debate over police practices followed the weekend arrests of scores of people in Louisiana and Minnesota who protested the shooting deaths by police of black men in both states last week.

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Those deaths were followed by a stunning sniper attack last Thursday in Dallas that killed five police officers and wounded seven others as they watched over a peaceful protest of the week's earlier shootings.

Among those arrested in Louisiana was an activist prominent in the Black Lives Matter movement, which gained national prominence following earlier deaths of mostly unarmed black men at the hands of police across the U.S.

Obama, in his remarks, urged protesters to recognize that police officers have a difficult job.

"Whenever those of us who are concerned about failures of the criminal justice system attack police, you are doing a disservice to the cause," Obama said, the fourth straight day that he has commented on the distressing chain of events at home.

The president's remarks on the issue likely foreshadowed the message he will deliver Tuesday in Dallas, when he addresses an interfaith memorial service for the slain officers. He was invited to speak by Mayor Mike Rawlings, the White House said.

Obama repeated Sunday that most U.S. police officers do a good job, and said rhetoric portraying them as doing otherwise does little to build support for eliminating racial bias from the criminal justice system.

"Maintaining a truthful and serious and respectful tone is going to help mobilize American society to bring about real change," Obama said.

The president also called for balance from law enforcement. "I would hope that police organizations are also respectful of the frustrations that people in these communities feel and not just dismiss these protests and these complaints as political correctness," he said.

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"It is in the interest of police officers that their communities trust them," Obama said.

Some of Obama's critics have accused him of helping create an environment for attacks on law enforcement by blaming their conduct in previous incidents and sympathizing with Black Lives Matter and other groups that complain about racial unfairness in the justice system.

The president traveled to Spain after attending a NATO summit in Poland, but the sheer horror over the killings overshadowed most of his public appearances in both countries. Spain, nevertheless, was thrilled to welcome the first U.S. president to visit in more than a decade. Tourists and curiosity seekers lined some streets in hopes of catching a glimpse of Obama, and local TV aired wall-to-wall coverage of his movements.

Obama was supposed to spend two days in Spain but cut the visit to about a day because of the shootings.

"We've had a difficult week in the United States," he told King Felipe VI before they met privately at the Royal Palace.

Obama also expressed gratitude for Spain's military contributions as a fellow NATO ally, and for hosting U.S. sailors and guided missile destroyers at a naval base on the southern coast. Obama visited the base and met with troops stationed there before the flight back to Washington.

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It took the White House more than seven years to lock in Spain on Obama's foreign travel schedule. But the shootings and the depth of the response to them forced Obama into a more hurried visit instead.

"I was hoping for a longer stay," Obama told Rajoy. He pledged to return as an ex-president some day because Spain's food, culture and climate are "hard to resist."

Associated Press
WASHINGTON  Horror. Shock. Disbelief. Numbness. Grief. Anger. And terrible sadness.

These fractured thoughts were all I could muster upon waking Friday to news of the ambush on Dallas police. They were still fresh in my mind from the night before when I'd turned in early, exhausted by the images of 32-year-old Philando Castile dying in Minnesota after a police officer shot him.

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As we all know by now, the officer was white and Castile was African-American. It started as a routine stop for a broken taillight and ended in what has become a routine shooting followed by a routine headline.

Black man shot by white police officer. How many times must we read those words?

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Just 24 hours earlier, another black man, Alton Sterling, 37, was shot to death by police while being restrained in Baton Rouge, La.

Like Sterling, Castile did have a gun. Castile also had a conceal permit, which he apparently told the officer as soon as he was stopped. Why would someone tell a police officer he had a gun if he intended to use it?

Castile was reaching for his driver's license and registration when the officer opened fire, says his girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds.

Reynolds used her cellphone to record the aftermath of the shooting, careful to address the officer as "sir" and follow his instructions. Over and over I watched the video, trying to imagine being in that car, while at the same time feeling shame about watching a stranger who is mortally wounded.

Nothing is more intimate than death, which we all hope to face with dignity in the comforting presence of loved ones. Castile had no such luck. Instead, he was surrounded by millions of onlookers, most of whom, I feel certain, suffered with and for him.

"Expletive!" "Expletive!" "Expletive!" On the video, we hear the officer repeating the F-word as he realizes what has happened. Reynolds is saying, "Please don't tell me this, Lord. Please, Jesus, don't tell me that he's gone," she said. "Please, officer, don't tell me that you just did this to him."

My God.

Friday morning, Castile's mother bore into the television camera. She said people can look into her eyes, at that point 48 hours without sleep, and know that she's not going away until justice is served. Across the country, protesters had gathered peacefully Thursday evening to demonstrate against the shootings.

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Enough.

Then suddenly in Dallas, the peace was shattered when shots were fired from a high vantage point. A shiver. Not again. When it was all over, five officers were dead and another seven were wounded.

A suspected shooter is dead too, killed by a police bomb robot. Why not. An un-human kills the in-human. Before he died, the man told officers he was upset about Black Lives Matter. He wanted to kill white people, and white policemen, Dallas Police Chief David Brown reported at a news conference.

In St. Paul, Gov. Mark Dayton said he thinks that if Castile had been white, the officer wouldn't have shot him. A retired New York City police detective wept as he spoke to CNN's Chris Cuomo about the bravery of the Dallas officers who, carrying only pistols, were wearing protective vests they knew couldn't deflect the bullets of the shooter's weapon.

Imagine.

Then, too, imagine being a young black man who is taught early on that he has to be extra careful around the police. The worst will be expected of him.

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"He shot his arm off," we hear Castile's girlfriend saying on the video. We see Castile's blood-soaked shirt; we hear him groan and watch his head drop.

Black lives matter. White lives matter. Blue lives matter. Does anything matter anymore? What is happening to this country? A wall-mounted gun manufacturer's video ad welcomes visitors to the Columbia, S.C., airport. In Chicago today, no one will be surprised if a child is killed in gang crossfire. Will another black avenger try to kill another white cop? Will police still give black neighborhoods protection? "They're hunting us," Castile's mother said.

Madness.

For now we grieve with the families of the dead and talk of ways to stem the violence. But there's really only one way to stop the killing and it lies in changing our culture, beginning with recognizing every single person's humanity  the black youth's, the white officer's, and every other in between. As Charles Blow, the New York Times columnist put it: "Everyone deserves to go home."

Kathleen Parker is a syndicated columnist.

kathleenparker@washpost.com

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Washington Post Writers Group
The nation and its leaders are getting far too much practice at dealing with moments like this. Even so, it is becoming no easier to unite and find a path forward.

This week has seen a cascade of horrific events, all captured on video and instantaneously imprinted on America's consciousness.

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On Tuesday morning, officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, tackled and shot point-blank an African American man who was selling CDs in the parking lot of a convenience store. On Wednesday, police in Falcon Heights, Minnesota, shot a black man during a traffic stop, after which he bled and died as his girlfriend narrated their nightmare on Facebook Live.

And then on Thursday, in downtown Dallas, a peaceful protest of those deaths became a nightmare when sniper fire erupted and five police officers were killed.

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Once again, politicians of all stripes attempted to navigate the crosscurrents and point the way toward curing what Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings called "a cancer of separatism."

"There is no cause or context in which this violence - this kind of terror - is justified. None at all," House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, said Friday morning from the well of the House chamber.

"There will be a temptation to let our anger harden our divisions. Let's not let that happen. There's going to be a temptation to let our anger send us further into our corners," he implored. "Let's not let that happen. That script is just easy to write - it's too predictable. Let's defy those predictions."

But it seems that has become all but impossible to do in a zero-sum, reductionist political culture. To acknowledge one horror guarantees being accused of diminishing or excusing another.

Republican leaders, by and large, had been silent after the deaths of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge and Philando Castile in the suburb of St. Paul, Minnesota. But with the massacre in Dallas came an outpouring.

"All life is precious and it grieves us to see it lost in the many ways it has been this week," Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said in a statement. "All of these tragedies need to be investigated, and justice needs to be served in an open and transparent way."

Some expressed a growing understanding of what African Americans have been complaining about for decades.

"It took me a long time, and a number of people talking to me through the years, to get a sense of this," former House speaker Newt Gingrich said Friday in a Facebook Live event with CNN analyst Van Jones.

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"If you are a normal white American, the truth is you don't understand being black in America, and you instinctively underestimate the level of discrimination and the level of additional risk," added Gingrich, who is on the short list to be GOP nominee-in-waiting Donald Trump's vice presidential running mate.

Both Trump and presumptive Democratic standard-bearer Hillary Clinton canceled rallies they had scheduled for Friday.

Clinton did a round of television interviews instead. "We've got to do more to respect and protect our police," she said on CNN. She later added: "We've got to figure out what is happening when routine traffic stops, when routine arrests escalate into killings."

Trump issued a statement decrying both "a coordinated, premeditated assault on the men and women who keep us safe," and the "senseless, tragic deaths of two motorists in Louisiana and Minnesota," without mentioning that there might have been a racial component. Also, Sterling was not in a car when he was shot by police.

Even when political leaders say the right thing, the toxic political climate seems to guarantee it will be interpreted selectively.

Shortly after landing in Poland on Thursday, President Barack Obama had noted that what happened in Baton Rouge and Falcon Heights were "not isolated incidents. They're symptomatic of a broader set of racial disparities that exist in our criminal justice system."

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But he also noted that law enforcement is a dangerous job, deserving of "extraordinary appreciation and respect for the vast majority of police officers who put their lives on the line to protect us every day." Hours later, after the ambush in Dallas, Obama decried "a vicious, calculated and despicable attack."

That, however, was not enough for some of his critics in the law enforcement community, with which Obama's relations have been strained. Some were also rankled by Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton's (D) comment that Castile would be alive if he were white.

"Our leaders - the president and our governors and our mayors - need to make it clear that this is not an epidemic of police murdering people of color," former New York City police commissioner Howard Safir told Fox News. "People make mistakes and that has happened. But to broad brush the entire law enforcement community is absolutely wrong."

Yet in another interview on Fox News, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) was not above demonizing those who had taken to the streets in Dallas to vent their anger at police shootings.

"All those protesters last night, they turned around and ran the other way expecting the men and women in blue to protect them. What hypocrites!" Patrick said.

Meanwhile, the reaction at the fringes of American politics was depressingly predictable as the death toll in Dallas rose.

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Joe Walsh, a conservative radio talk show host and former Republican congressman from Illinois, tweeted: "3 Dallas cops killed, 7 wounded. This is now war. Watch out Obama. Watch out black lives matter punks. Real America is coming after you."

He deleted that tweet, but continued with a barrage of others in that vein, including: "10 cops shot. This is on Obama."

Others saw in tragedy a chance to try to seize electoral advantage.

In Virginia, the director of Trump's state campaign tried to pin the guilt on Clinton and the likely Democratic nominee for governor in 2017.

Corey Stewart, himself a candidate for governor, posted a story about the slayings on Facebook, and a comment: "Liberal politicians who label police as racists - specifically Hillary Clinton and Virginia Lt. Governor Ralph Northam - are to blame for essentially encouraging the murder of these police officers tonight."

As Ryan had feared, the script for some had already been written.
Margaret Richter, a 46-year resident of North Aurora, thanks North Aurora Detective Sgt. Joseph DeLeo at Sunday's open house and picnic. (Linda Girardi / The Beacon-News)

Hundreds attended the North Aurora Police Department's open house and community picnic Sunday afternoon.

"Doing something for the community was the best idea  this has really brought the community together and the kids are having fun," said Margaret Richter, a 46-year North Aurora resident.

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There were grilled hot dogs, chips, refreshments and musicians. The children jumped in two bounce-houses and played fair games at the south end of the parking lot.

The North Aurora Police Department wanted to do something for the community and give residents an opportunity to get acquainted with members of the police force in a social setting, police officials said.

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Residents also had a chance to tour the police facility for the first time since the grand opening of the building in September 2010.

Many people that attended the event had already arranged to spend the afternoon at the picnic with their families and take a tour of the police headquarters.

"The timing just worked out for us to thank our police for what they do for us. Police need our support because they do a good job. They are out in the community protecting us at the risk of anything happening," Richter said.

North Aurora Police Chief David Summer extends a high-five to one of the youth attending the department's open house and community picnic on Sunday. (Linda Girardi / The Beacon-News)

The event was held days after five officers were fatally shot at a peace demonstration held in Dallas in response to two fatal police shootings in Minnesota and Louisiana days earlier.

"By no means did we intend to have this so close to what happened in Dallas," North Aurora Police Chief David Summer said. "I challenged our staff to come up with an event that would make a connection with people of all ages in our community."

Summer said his department received an outpouring of support from people expressing their appreciation for law enforcement.

"We have been monitoring the situation across the country for a long time. We are all saddened by what happened in Dallas," the police chief said. "The best I can do for our officers is to let them know we are there for them. The outpouring show of support from the community is beneficial."

North Aurora Detective Sgt. Joseph DeLeo said the timing of the event was coincidental, as planning began in January.

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"The chief had a staff meeting and said he wanted to do something good for the community and asked if we had any ideas," DeLeo said.

He added that more than 500 hot dogs were gone within the first 1 1/2 hours.

DeLeo said they anticipate the police chief will issue an order for when members of the force are to wear mourning bands over their badges in memory of the five comrades killed in Dallas. He said representatives of the police force will attend the funeral.

"We do have permission to send officers to the funeral," DeLeo said.

Hundreds of people attended the North Aurora Police Department open house and community picnic Sunday afternoon. (Linda Girardi / The Beacon-News)

North Aurora Mayor Dale Berman said the police department has always had a focus of community outreach which is ever more important now.

"These are difficult times," Berman said, as people started arriving at the police campus. "As a nation we have to work together to solve problems."

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Berman said he previously served as chairman of the city's police commission and interviewed many officers for department positions.

"Police work is a tough job. Officers see things that the average citizen does not," Berman said.

Mrs. North Aurora Marlaine Smith and her family brought an apple pie and pastry from the local bakery for the department.

"We wanted to show appreciation to our police officers," Smith said. "I'm sure they could use a little extra love and support. It's sad our nation has reached this level of violence."

Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for the Beacon-News
A 3-pound Yorkshire terrier named Hairy Pawter attended the Batavia Windmill City Festival pet parade Saturday wearing a military helmet and seated in a miniature remote-controlled replica of a World War II Army tank. (Linda Girardi, The Beacon-News)

A Great Pyrenees husky mix with blue eyes captivated the crowds at the annual Windmill City Festival's Pet Parade in Batavia on Saturday morning.

Tizzy, 8, received a standing ovation when he strutted to the front of the main stage and, in "dog speak," vocalized his version of "I love you" for his audience.

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"Tizzy commands attention wherever he goes," owner Jen Haas said.

The event was one of several that made up the 3 1/2 -day festival, which drew throngs to the Batavia Riverwalk. In addition to the pet parade, fest staples include an ice cream-eating contest, a touch-a-truck exhibit, musical performances at the Peg Bond Performing Arts Pavilion and carnival rides on Houston Street in downtown Batavia.

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"We typically have 10,000 to 13,000 people come to the festival," said Kari Felkamp, director of marketing and public relations for the Batavia Park District, which co-organizes the event with the city of Batavia and the Batavia Chamber of Commerce.

"7th Heaven performed Friday night, and it was packed," Felkamp said. "We lucked out with the nice weather."

There were 30 entries in this year's Pet Parade, including dozens of canines, two domesticated "fancy rats" and one feline.

Craig Foltos, owner of Foltos Tonsorial Parlor in Batavia, was the parade's master of ceremonies.

"I really like seeing people who really love their animals come together. Events such as this show how much we actually have in common," he said. "It's a great way for people to get to know one another."

A panel of business representatives judged the animals in several categories, including the most unusual pet, best trick and best costume.

Tizzy won for best trick, while the two household pet rats received the award for most unusual.

"The fancy rats are really cute," said Nya Shoaf, 8.

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Jen Shoaf, Nya's mother, said the animals are actually "playful and safe" to have as pets. The Shoaf family cat, decked in a miniature horse saddle and hat, won second place for best pet costume.

A 3-pound Yorkshire terrier won first place for the best pet costume. Adrian and Denise Brigham had their dog, Hairy Pawter, wearing a military helmet and seated in a miniature remote-controlled replica of a World War II Army tank.

"Hairy actually has a dozen vehicles that he rides in when he visits veterans and seniors," Adrian Brigham said of his pet, who does work as a therapy dog. "He's been on TV. We hope to have him star in a movie about the story of a Yorkshire terrier who became a World War II war dog."

Aaron Feinblatt, of North Aurora, brought his sons Bennett, 6 and Bryson, 3, to explore the emergency vehicles at the touch-a-truck exhibit.

"Every time we visit downtown Batavia, we see something new," Feinblatt said.

He added that he wanted his sons to meet the Batavia firefighters and police officers who were at the exhibit. "What we hear in the news impacts families tremendously," he said, referring to the police officer shootings in Dallas.

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"The information that comes across the news and social media is one perspective. I want my children to experience the positive side of the world," he said.

Batavia community outreach Officer Scott Kurth had the Police Department's newest Ford Explorer SUV on display for kids to check out. "It's key in police work to get out and talk with people," Kurth said.

The festival runs through Sunday.

Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
Teenage members of the Lighthouse Church of All Nations gather in a circle of prayer during a vigil held at the Alsip megachurch Saturday July 9, 2016 in wake of recent killings across the country. (Zak Koeske, Daily Southtown)

More than 100 people of various ages and ethnicities gathered Saturday morning at Lighthouse Church of All Nations in Alsip to pray for peace and protection from violence in the wake of recent killings in Dallas, suburban Minnesota and Baton Rouge, La.

The nondenominational megachurch's founding pastor, Dan Willis, said he conceived of the vigil Friday while flying home from Mexico.

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"I'm a real high-energy, positive guy, and my heart, man, I got so heavy in my heart," said Willis, who founded the church 38 years ago as a teenager.

Dressed in a black "There's Power in the Name of Jesus" T-shirt, Willis said the shootings inspired him to reorient weekend services at the nearly 6,000-member church around 20-somethings and violence.

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"That's a demographic that desperately needs to be reached," he said. "They're more grown than teenagers, but yet that's where they can really start doing some damage."

Willis opened the prayer service by offering his appreciation and thanks to two church members who work in law enforcement before opening the floor to a succession of church pastors who delivered impassioned pleas for peace, hope and love.

Congregants offered prayers both for police officers killed in the line of duty and the victims of police-involved shootings. Other prayers targeted children, 20-somethings, families, Latinos and cities that have experienced turmoil and civil unrest in the wake of police violence and violence against police.

One pastor, Virginia Bradley, told the story of her daughter, Amy, who as a 9-year-old was struck in the head by a bullet while sitting on the sofa inside her home. She said the young shooter, who fired from outside the house through a window, had done so as part of a gang initiation.

"The doctors told me she might not make it through the night," Bradley, who works as a 911 dispatcher, told the congregation. "But you know what? There is a God, and I cried out to him.  And you know what? My daughter is now in her 30s."

At one point, the congregation was instructed to turn, face the street  where a police cruiser was stationed with lights flashing  and stretch out their hands toward the police in prayer.

"Give us respect for those that are in authority, Lord God," one of the pastors said. "God, give those that are in authority respect for those that are under them, Lord God. Let us respect one another, Lord God.  And let us, Lord God, treat others the way we want to be treated in Jesus' name, Lord God."

After the service, Faith Reeves, a Chicago police officer and Lighthouse member for three years, said the vigil had raised her spirits after a trying week.

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"It's really uplifting," she said. "Because the last few days I've been just so emotional, can't eat, sleep or anything. But I feel a lot better, a lot more hope that I know everything is going to be all right."

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Willis said he feels sharing that sense of hope and love with his congregants, in the midst of a world full of hatred and violence, is his personal assignment from God.

"The president cannot do it, governors cannot do it, mayors cannot do it. It's just got way bigger than all of that. It's got to be all of us working together," he said. "We can make all the gun laws and ordinances  and do everything we need to do, yes  but that alone is not sufficient. All of that will not take violence out of somebody's heart.

"It's not always a weapon in somebody's hand. It's a weapon in somebody's heart. So I try to deal with, take the weapon out of their heart. If you take the weapon out of their heart, they'll drop the weapon in their hand."

Lighthouse's weekend activities will center on its young adults, whom Willis calls the "LOL" or Love Out Loud ministry.

"We can't rescue all of them," he said. "But for the one that you did, it makes all the difference in the world. And that's the way I approach every weekend."

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After the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, black men who were shot by white police officers in Louisiana and Minnesota, respectively, Camile Allen, 18, and fellow Evanston Township High School graduate Spencer Nabors, 17, organized a rally in Evanston's Fountain Square. (Lee V. Gaines / Pioneer Press)

To a crowd of hundreds gathered Saturday evening at Evanston's Fountain Square, 18-year-old Camille Allen asked, "How many more black people will die simply for existing?"

On the heels of a week that saw the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, black men who were shot by white police officers in Louisiana and Minnesota, respectively, Allen and fellow Evanston Township High School graduate Spencer Nabors, 17, said they were driven to action. The two women organized the rally in less than 36 hours, relying on social media to spread the word.

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Nabors and Allen, both Evanston residents, described the pain they felt when watching the videos posted online that captured the final moments of both men's lives. Allen said the purpose of the rally was to provide a safe space for the community to gather in healing and in love. The 18-year-old previously served as student representative on the Evanston Township High School District 202 Board of Education and held a leadership role in the high school's Students Organized Against Racism group.

Nabors said Allen reached out to her on Thursday asking whether she was OK, given the news of Sterling and Castile's deaths.

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"I'm not OK," Nabors said she responded. "How could I be when my brothers and sisters are being murdered day in and day out?"

The latest in a string of officer-involved shootings of black men motivated Nabors to go out into the community to protest their killings, she said.

In the same week that both Sterling, 37, and Castile, 32, lost their lives, so too did five police officers in Dallas. The shootings of the officers, which left seven additional officers and two civilians wounded, occurred during a protest in Dallas spurred by the videos of the two men's deaths and an ongoing nationwide debate about police use of force against blacks.

Allen said she was concerned that the deaths of the officers may distract from a much-needed national conversation about police brutality and its effect on the black community. She and Nabors both strongly condemned the killings of the Dallas officers.

Nabors' father, Rev. Micheal Nabors of Evanston's Second Baptist Church, who spoke at the rally, echoed their sentiments.

"We sympathize with the police officers killed in Dallas, but the narrative is about black lives," he said.

In addition to the voices of Nabors, her father, and Allen, the rally featured poetry written and read by current and former Evanston Township High School students. The names of other black men killed  Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown and Eric Garner  resounded in the poems and the speeches.

A diverse crowd that skewed young reacted with loud cheers and chants of "Black lives matter."

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Tears rolled down the faces of several attendees, including Allen, who expressed her gratitude for the large turnout.

The event marked the first time 17-year-old Sydney Brackenbury of Marion, Ind., had ever participated in a public demonstration. She said her cousin learned about the rally through Instagram and asked her to come along. Brackenbury said she was inspired to attend in response to the many black Americans killed by police.

"It's just been going on for too long," she said.

Evanston resident Andy Bayiates, 42, who attended the peaceful demonstration with his 10-year-old daughter, Ari, said it was his role as a white man "to listen and bear witness" to the testimony coming from Evanston's black community.

He described the deaths of Sterling and Castile as "heartbreaking," but added that he was deeply moved by Saturday's demonstration. The demand for change expressed by the rally's young organizers "gives me a lot of hope" for the future, Bayiates said.

Rabbi Andrea London of the Beth Emet Free Synagogue in Evanston, who also spoke at the rally, told the crowd it was a time for the adults to listen and for the youths to speak.

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"Just know we are behind you and that's the reason we are here, and we want to follow your lead," she said.

London urged the hundreds of attendees to take action. "Black lives matter. Until we say that, until we believe it and live it, all our lives won't matter," she said.

Lee V. Gaines is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Thousands of people attended Waukegan Scoop Friday and Saturday where classic and antique cars were on display. (Yadira Sanchez Olson / Lake County News-Sun)

Calling his 1991 Mercury Capri "a total chick magnet," Winthrop Harbor resident Gavin Fields proudly stood next to the red car Saturday at Waukegan Scoop.

The car, which Fields named "Beth," was one of 280 entrants in the annual classic car show on Genesee Street. The exhibition included cars, trucks and motorcycles.

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"Americans love their cars," said Jerry Cook, co-founder of the Mis-Shifts car club.

Cook, of Gurnee, said the event was where all the teenagers wanted to hang out in the 1960s.

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"It was our social media," Cook said. "This is where we met our dates."

Frances Jesenko, of Waukegan, went to the event her sister, Liz Bennett, and their out-of-town friend Tedda Keener-Longoria. Jesenko said the event evoked memories from her teenage years.

More than 250 cars lined Genesee Street in Waukegan for Waukegan Scoop Friday and Saturday. (Yadira Sanchez Olson / Lake County News-Sun)

"I grew up with this  this was our event," Jesenko said.

Bennett said she would tell her mother she was going to see a movie and then would go to the car show.

"You didn't want to miss the Scoop," she said.

On Friday, the three women came to the show in Jesenko's 2002 convertible.

"We played 50s and 60s music with the top down," Jesenko said.

The event, originally called Scoop the Loop, was revived as Waukegan Scoop three years ago, city spokesman David Motley said. The two-day event offers car enthusiasts an opportunity to gather, he added.

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On Saturday, crowds gathered around several custom cars, including Michael Clayborne's white and pink Chevrolet Impala, which had a photograph of his mother embedded in the back console. The Zion resident said the paint job was in honor of his mother, DeLois Jean Wade-Clayborne, who died in 2009 of breast cancer.

Pink breast cancer ribbons were painted along the sides of the vehicle and sewn on the seats inside.

"I get a lot of compliments from survivors," Clayborne said.

A 2011 Chevrolet Camaro customized to honor Walter Payton was displayed by owner Glenn Timmermann, of Round Lake Beach, at Waukegan Scoop Saturday. (Yadira Sanchez Olson / Lake County News-Sun)

Zion resident Salvador Wence said he attended the event because he "likes to see all the cars together."

More than 100 trophies were awarded to car owners after judges examined the vehicles inside and out.

The two most valuable awards were the Mayor's Choice Award, which went to a 1955 Oldsmobile, and the Sonny Garza Best Mustang Award, named after Waukegan resident and school board member Domingo "Sonny" Garza, a supporter of the event who died this year.

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Yadira Sanchez Olson is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun
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China's top political advisor Yu Zhengsheng on Saturday called for a new system of green development.

Yu Zhengsheng, chairman of the National Committee of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), addresses the opening ceremony of the Eco Forum Global Annual Conference 2016 in Guiyang, capital of southwest China's Guizhou Province, July 9, 2016. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing)

Yu, chairman of the National Committee of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), was addressing the Eco Forum Global Annual Conference 2016 in Guiyang, capital of southwest China's Guizhou Province.

China will continue green development, he said, emphasizing the importance of planning, innovation, structure transformation, reform and international cooperation in achieving the goal of green development.

China took part in the negotiations on the Paris Agreement with a responsible, cooperative and constructive attitude and made important contributions, he said.

On Dec. 12, 2015, climate negotiators of 196 parties to the UN conference on climate change in Paris sealed the pact, aiming to reverse the trend of global warming mainly caused by carbon emissions.

The Paris Agreement is a crucial step in coping with climate change and shows the determination of the whole of mankind to protect the earth, he said.

China has full confidence in the pact, he said.

Yu said China has always been a promoter and practitioner of the eco-civilization and has made green development a basic philosophy guiding its social and economic development in the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020) and beyond.

China is acting on its new vision of innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared development, the five cornerstones proposed by President Xi Jinping for China to secure resilient, sustainable growth.

Eco-civilization concerns the welfare and future of mankind, he said.

The forum, which runs until Sunday has gathered more than 1,000 guests from China and abroad.

Foreign leaders who addressed the opening ceremony included Papua New Guinea's (PNG) Prime Minister Peter O'Neill, President of the National Council of Switzerland Christa Markwalder, Deputy President of Kenya William Ruto and Laotian Deputy Prime Minister Bounthong Chitmany.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon sent a video of congratulation to the opening ceremony.
Three people have died and 311 others were injured in Taiwan as Typhoon Nepartak made landfall in the island's southeast early Friday.

The three fatalities were a 39-year-old man who fell into a lake and was drowned in Hualien county, a 71-year-old woman who died from severe injuries after being hit by a falling wardrobe in Taitung, and a man who fell into the sea in Lienchang county, said the island's disaster emergency operation center.

The typhoon caused power outages for more than half a million households. Power has not been resumed for nearly 20,000 households, it added.

The typhoon caused losses of more than 700 million new Taiwan dollars (21.8 million U.S. dollars) in the agricultural sector in the island.

Nepartak made landfall in Taitung in southeastern Taiwan at 5:50 a.m. Friday, packing winds of up to 191 km per hour. It crossed the Taiwan Strait and landed again in Fujian Province on Saturday afternoon, with winds of up to about 100 km per hour.
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The Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday that two Russian military pilots were killed when a Syrian Mi-25 helicopter was downed by the Islamic State (IS) militants near Palmyra in Syria.

The two pilots, Yevgeny Dolgin and Ryafagat Khabibulin, came under fire from the IS militants on Friday while on their way back from an air strike mission against the armed extremists, the ministry said in a statement.

Their plane was hit and fell into an area controlled by the Syrian government forces, and the two crew members died, it added.
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"We have shown NATO's unity", NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Saturday, concluding the two-day Warsaw NATO Summit.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg addresses a press conference in Warsaw, Poland, July 9, 2016. NATO has decided to extend its Resolute Support Mission inAfghanistanafter 2016, Stoltenberg announced at the alliance's Warsaw Summit on Saturday. [Xinhua]

"This is a historical Summit because it happens in a period decisive for our security," Stoltenberg said, underlining the fact that NATO has to adjust to the changing world and appearing challenges.

In his opinion, the Summit was important because it reflected what NATO was doing in the field of collective defense and stability.

Referring to the increase of EU and NATO cooperation, he said it was crucial for Europe and North America citizens.

Stoltenberg thanked Polish President Andrzej Duda for hosting the event.

"NATO Summit has shown unity, cohesion and solidarity of the Alliance," said Duda, who called the Summit a "success" of both NATO and Poland.

For Poland, it means an actual presence of NATO ready to "protect our territory anytime, in case of any threat," the president underlined.

On Friday, NATO countries' leaders decided on strengthening the eastern flank by deploying four battalions in Poland and Baltic states. Initial operational readiness of anti-missile shield was announced, while cyberspace was acknowledged new operational domain.

On Saturday, NATO announced support for Ukraine. Decisions on supporting anti-Islamic State coalition with airplanes and launching new mission on Mediterranean Sea were taken as well.
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Though U.S. presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton has escaped indictment over her email controversy, her Republican rival Donald Trump still might benefit from the email scandal, experts said.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton gestures as she campaigns at East Los Angeles College in Los Angeles, the United States, May 5, 2016. [Xinhua]

On Tuesday, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) chief James Comey recommended not charging Clinton for her use of a private email server while she was secretary of state from 2009-2013.

But Comey, who was grilled on Thursday by a Republican-led House oversight committee, did slam Clinton and her team for being "extremely careless" in handling classified information.

Though Clinton has been cleared of criminal charges which could force her out of the presidential race, Trump will continue to sew it into his narrative about "crooked Hillary," a name Trump uses to describe what he sees as a dishonest Washington insider who doesn't abide by the rules.

Trump has depicted Clinton as an elitist insider in what he calls a system rigged to benefit her.

"It can help him," Julian Zelizer, professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University, told Xinhua, referring to how the decision not to indict would impact Trump.

"The story will now continue, particularly because of Comey's tough comments about what she did. In addition, he (Trump) will claim, and already is claiming, that the decision not to move forward with the case was some kind of political deal," Zelizer said.

Indeed, Clinton has been embroiled in a scandal over whether she jeopardized U.S. national security by using a private email account and server for official business while she was Secretary of State, instead of using a State Department email account and a secure government-protected server.

"Trump will continue to use his crooked Hillary line because even though she was not indicted, the FBI director did say she and her staff were careless in how they handled classified information," said Darrell West, vice president of director of governance studies of the Brookings Institution.

"That gives Republicans some ammunition that it was not a complete vindication of Clinton. She will bask in headlines saying she has been cleared by the FBI while opponents will continue to say the episode reflects poorly on her personal judgment," West said.

Still, West said he doubts many minds will be changed by the issue, because 85 percent to 90 percent of Americans already have made up their minds about the election.

"The people who think she was dishonest will continue to think that, while those who support her will still believe she is far preferable to Trump. In the end, the election is likely to turn more on big issues of the economy, immigration, and terrorism than this email scandal," West said.

Meanwhile, critics noted what they call a cozy relationship between Clinton and a number of individuals in the Justice Department, which oversees the FBI.

U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, who heads the Justice Department, was appointed by Hillary's husband and former President Bill Clinton in 1999 to be the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

Moreover, Justice Department employees have contributed nearly 75,000 U.S. dollars to Clinton's presidential campaign, U.S. media reported.
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Chinese Premier Li Keqiang met with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday, voicing support for the work of the UN.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (R) meets with UN Secretary-general Ban Ki-moon in Beijing, capital of China, July 8, 2016. [Xinhua]

China is committed to safeguarding the international regime with UN at the core and upholding the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, Li said.

"China will actively promote dispute settlement through peaceful dialogue and negotiation, engage in international cooperation to address climate change and other global challenges and contribute to world peace and development," Li said.

Praising Ban's contribution to UN-China relations, Li stressed China firmly supports the work of the UN, safeguards UN authority and will integrate its own development strategy with the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Ban expressed sympathies to Li over the floods in south China, saying he believes the Chinese people will overcome the disaster under the strong leadership of the Chinese government.

The UN appreciates China's contribution to preventing and mitigating disasters across the world and looks forward to China's important role in realizing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and tackling climate change.

Ban's China tour lasts from Wednesday to Sunday and will also take him to Hangzhou and Suzhou in southern China.

Follow China.org.cn on Twitter and Facebook to join the conversation.
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The UN Security Council on Saturday "strongly condemned" the fighting in Juba, capital of South Sudan, between soldiers loyal to the president and the first vice president of the world's youngest country.

"The members of the Security Council acknowledged the formation of an investigation committee and urged the Transitional Government of National Unity to quickly investigate these attacks, take steps to end the fighting, reduce tensions, and hold those responsible for the attacks to account," said a press statement issued by the 15-nation UN body.

The council statement came after the renewed fighting took place on July 7-8 between soldiers of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) and the SPLA in Opposition in Juba, reportedly leaving at least 110 soldiers killed.

The fighting broke out after escalation of conflict in other parts of the country in recent weeks, disrupting lives and livelihoods.

"The members of the Security Council stressed the importance of members of military forces being held accountable for their actions and emphasized the importance of command and control," the statement said.

The council members called on the SPLA, the SPLA in Opposition and all other armed actors to cease hostilities and to allow the UN Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS) and humanitarian actors access to civilians in need, said the statement.

"The members of the Security Council expressed deep concern over the parties' lack of serious commitment to implementation of the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan and called upon the parties to work together in the Transitional Government of National Unity to resolve their differences in the spirit of cooperation," the statement said.

Meanwhile, the Security Council welcomed the joint statement made by the president, first vice president, and vice president appealing for calm, the statement said.

"The members of the Security Council demanded the parties expedite implementation of all aspects of the Agreement, including key provisions on transitional security arrangements, as a means to restoring peace in South Sudan."

"On the fifth anniversary of South Sudan's independence, the members of the Security Council urged South Sudan's leaders to demonstrate leadership that will bring lasting peace and security to South Sudan," the statement said.

South Sudan has canceled this year's independence celebrations due to the economic crunch resulting from more than two years of civil conflict. It won independence on July 9, 2011 from Sudan after more than two decades of war that ended in a bitter divorce.

The country again plunged into conflict in December 2013 after President Salva Kiir accused his deputy Riek Machar of plotting a coup, which the latter denied, leading to a cycle of retaliatory killings.

President Kiir and former rebel leader and now First Vice President Machar signed a peace deal in August that paved way for the formation of the transitional unity government to end more than two years of civil conflict.
LHASA - Foreign researchers and journalists attending the Forum on the Development of Tibet have been awestruck by what they have seen in the regional capital Lhasa.

The Tibetan miracle is the result of massive effort by the Chinese government to foster productive enterprises, said Mewati Sitaram Bholaram, a senior correspondent with India's Mumbai Messenger.

Infrastructure in Tibet has reached a level which allows the area to become an integral part of the Chinese and global economies. Tibet has steered itself into the fast lane of development together with the rest of China, he said.

More than 130 researchers, officials and journalists from over 30 countries and regions attended the two-day forum on Thursday and Friday.

Hosted by the State Council Information Office and the Tibetan regional government, the forum focused on entrepreneurship and industrial modernization in Tibet, preserving tradition, environmental protection, regional infrastructure and poverty relief.

Russian editor Maksim Belov of the Beijing-based China Pictorial magazine described the development of Tibet as almost beyond imagining. Amazing achievements have been made in the education and health systems despite the harsh climate and rough terrain. Tibetans, including rural Tibetans, enjoy satisfactory living conditions, he added.

Stefano Vernole, a researcher with Italy's Eurasia-Mediterranean Study Center, said that Tibet is completely different from how it was in 1950s. The Tibetan people have freedom, equality, dignity and enjoy the fruits of modern civilization. Development and progress in the region reflect the common aspirations of all ethnic groups in Tibet, he added.

Farhana Paruk, a researcher at the University of South Africa, said economic and social development has turned Tibet into a developed region from a rural community, creating a better standard of living for the average Tibetans.

In 2015, the per capita disposable income of urban residents in the region was 25,457 yuan (3,807 U.S. dollars), compared with 565 yuan in 1978, and that of farmers and herdsmen last year was 8,244 yuan, representing an average annual increase of 12 percent, according to government statistics.

Some foreign experts also made suggestions on the future development of Tibet.

Christine Davis, vice president of the U.S. Asia Society, said Tibet could play an important part in the Belt and Road Initiative since it connects other provinces in China with South Asia, Central Asia and other regions.

Thanong Khanthong of the Thailand National TV Station, said the government should put more emphasis on sustainable tourism. "This will not only increase the incomes of Tibetans but will promote regional economic growth," he said.

His view was echoed by Maksim Belov who took Russia as an example. An increasing number of Russians want to visit Tibet but there are no direct flights linking Moscow and Lhasa.

"Currently, tourists from Russia have to fly to Beijing and change planes to reach Lhasa," Belov said. "I hope a direct flight from Moscow to Lhasa will open soon."
A slightly lower demand for Grade-A offices in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, is forecast in the second half of the year, due to the slow expansion of foreign-funded companies.

According to a report by JLL, a global property advisory group, the Grade-A office market in Guangzhou, a major commercial and business hub in South China, will be affected as a growing number of multinational companies slow its development pace in the city.

"However, local businesses, especially in the non-traditional banks and financial sectors, will become a major force of expansion for Grade-A offices," said Wu Zhonghao, managing director of JLL (South China).

Multinational companies would retain a lower demand for new offices, according to Wu.

"Most of them were willing to move to offices with lower prices in the first half of the year," he said.

Guangzhou will provide about 700,000sqm of new offices in the second half of the year, prompting a higher vacancy rate in the near future, the report says.
General Tian Xiusi, 66, former political commissar in the People's Liberation Army Air Force, has been placed under investigation on suspicion of serious violations of discipline.

A military anti-graft department is looking into his case and will investigate suspected violations of Party regulations, according to www.81.cn, a news website affiliated to the PLA.

No detailed information about his case was available.

His wife and his secretary have also been placed under investigation, according to a report published on www.ifeng.com.

The report said he is the third general in the PLA to be investigated since the nationwide anti-corruption campaign started in late 2012.

Tian began his military career in the Military Area Command in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region in 1968. He started as a soldier and worked his way up to deputy political commissar of the military region in 1999.

According to the report, Tian took part in a series of battles between China and Vietnam in the early 1980s.

He was promoted to the political commissar of the Xinjiang Military Area Command in 2005 and held a couple of senior positions in the Lanzhou Military Area Command and other military regions between 1999 and 2005.

He worked as the political commissar of the Chendu Military Area Command from 2009 to 2012 and worked for nearly three years as the political commissar of the Air Force until 2015.

He was appointed as the deputy head of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress after he retired from the military in August 2015.

Military departments have been hit hard in the anti-graft campaign, with the two most highflying officers, Xu Caihou and Guo Boxiong, subjected to corruption investigations. Both served as vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission before they were charged with corruption.

Xu was expelled from the military and the Party, and was removed from all posts in the military in June 2014. He died in March 2015 of bladder cancer.

According to China's Criminal Procedure Law, military prosecutors decided not to bring Xu's case to trial, but would deal with his illegal gains according to law, said a statement from the military procuratorate.

Guo, who served as vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission from 2002 to 2012, was found to have misused power to seek promotions and benefits for others and accepted bribes.

His case was handed over to the military court in April, but no result has been announced. According to military prosecutors, Guo confessed to the corruption charges.
Data points to the country experiencing its worst flooding in 20 years

Excavators are used to transport people through the floodwaters in Wuhan, Hubei province, on Friday. [Photo/Agencies]

With Typhoon Nepartak still battering China's coastline, it looks like the severe flooding that has already soaked many cities in recent weeks will continue to play havoc in the Yangtze River basin.

Nepartak is only the first typhoon of the year, and the freak weather conditions are serving as an important lesson: Despite all the money cities have spent building high-rise towers and broad roads, they have committed far too little to protecting people's lives.

The city of Chibi in Hubei province is a case in point. Xin'gangdi used to be a little-known river on the outskirts of the historic city. Yet on July 4 this waterway gained national attention when it grew from its usual 3-meter width to a massive 50 meters after days of persistent rain.

The river broke its banks and flooded three residential areas of Shaziling village, trapping more than 800 people.

"The water reached my ankles by evening, but it rose so fast that it would have submerged me completely by the next morning if I'd stayed in the same place," said villager Zhuo Yong, who stands 1.85 meters tall.

"Compared with the trunk of major rivers, such small rivers receive much less attention  but they can kill people, too," he said.

Zhuo, 23, together with another 10 men, cut down bamboo and made four rafts. At about 5 am on July 4, they went in search of stranded villagers. By that time, he said, the first and second floors of many buildings were already submerged.

Firefighters had evacuated most people, with only one fatality. Many homes were damaged and more than 133 hectares of farmland now face total crop failure.

As this year's weather and hydrological factors closely resemble those of 1998, when floods killed about 3,000 people nationwide, the authorities have warned that China could be hit by its biggest flood for about 20 years.

According to the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters, the country has had 24 rainstorms since the beginning of the flood season this year, resulting in 321 rivers rising above safe levels.

Shaziling is one of thousands of villages and towns along smaller rivers that stand to suffer substantial losses from the floods.

Chen Min, director of the Yangtze River office of the Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters, said due to low flood-prevention standards, most of the 30 billion yuan ($4.4 billion) in economic losses in the Yangtze basin have been in areas along small and medium-sized rivers.

"There have been few disasters along the main stream (of the Yangtze). Most of the losses have been along its branches," he said.

Dams in some counties have failed to cope with the deluge, while those in many towns and villages have been overwhelmed, he said.

Chen said although the government has invested billions into flood controls along the smaller rivers, "It's still far from enough".

Chen Jin, vice-dean of the Yangtze River Scientific Research Institute, added that the economic losses were also due to the unscientific planning of land use in China.

Large populations and a great number of factories and other facilities are situated in areas with high flood risks, he said. "The problem can hardly be solved in the short term, as many people settled in those areas a long time ago."

Contact the writers at houliqiang@chinadaily.com.cn

Xu Wei in Beijing contributed to this story.


A resident assesses his losses at his collapsed home in Putian, Fujian province, after typhoon Nepartak made landfall on Saturday. ZHANG GUOJUN/XINHUA

FUZHOU - Six people were killed and eight others remain missing after Typhoon Nepartak made landfall and swept through east China's Fujian and Jiangxi provinces, authorities said Sunday.

As of 5 pm, 203,000 residents in ten cities had been temporarily relocated as the typhoon destroyed close to 1,900 houses, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said on late Sunday. A total of 449,000 people were affected.

Nearly 15,800 hectares of crops were damaged by the typhoon, of which 1,600 hectares were totally destroyed.

Direct economic losses were estimated at 860 million yuan (about 128.7 million U.S. dollars).

Earlier reports said Nepartak made first landfall early on Friday in eastern Taiwan, packing winds of up to 190 km per hour, gusting up to 234 km per hour.

It landed in Fujian province on Saturday afternoon and faded into a tropical depression early on Sunday.

But meteorological authorities say rainfalls are forecast to continue in Fujian and in provinces including Jiangxi and Zhejiang, bringing more risks to the already-weather battered area.

Related: Typhoons born later often grow up stronger

The first typhoon of 2016, a monster named Nepartak, made its second landfall in Fujian on Saturday, with moreand strongertyphoons expected to affect the country's coastal regions due to the La Nina phenomenon, the national meteorological authority said.

Super typhoon Nepartak landed in Taiwan on Friday, bringing torrential rains and heavy winds. As of Sunday, at least three people have died and 311 were reported injured.

The storm weakened during its northward movement before making a second landfall in Fujian province on Saturday. As of Sunday, two people had died and 17 were missing in Fujian, according to provincial flood control authorities.

Nearly 440,000 people in nine cities, including Fuzhou, the provincial capital, had been relocated, it said.

It's the first typhoon to form in the northwestern Pacific and South China Sea this year. It gathered on June 3, later than all but one of the typhoons recorded since 1949. The only later one formed on June 9, 1998.

"On average, 4.1 typhoons are formed in the region from January to June, and 1.7 typhoons on average in June," said Zhang Zuqiang, spokesman for the China Meteorological Administration.

Rare timing

Only three times since 1949 has the first typhoon formed in Julythis year, in 1998 and in 1973.

Records from the administration show that the first typhoon normally forms around March 19. In addition, a delayed onset usually happens in the year following a strong El Nino phenomenon, as it did in 1973, 1995 and 1998, Zhang said.

"But the delayed onset of a typhoon doesn't mean the total number of typhoons affecting China is reduced," said Zhou Bing, chief engineer at the National Climate Center.

Zhou added that during the typhoon season from July to October, the northwestern Pacific and South China Sea are the birthplace of 27 typhoons on average. Of those, fewer than five formed in the first half of the year. Of the seven typhoons that have affected China, only one landed in the first six months.

"The data show that the first six months are not the active period for typhoons. So it's not reasonable to jump to the conclusion that fewer typhoons will occur when there are no typhoons in the first six months," Zhou said, adding that the governments should put more effort into preparing for the coming months, which may see more typhoon activity.

Zhang Zuqiang, the spokesman, added that the strong El Nino ended in May, but its oppositeLa Ninais forecast to dominate in summer and autumn.

"With the lingering influence of El Nino, China may see fewer typhoons during the summer. But because of the coming La Nina, there may be more typhoons in the fall. And they may be stronger than average," Zhang said.

Both the El Nino and La Nina phenomena are related to abnormal ocean currents and temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific, leading to global changes of temperature and rainfall.
Villagers of Miao ethic group play drums to celebrate the traditional festival on the sixth day of sixth month of Chinese lunar calendar in Jiulong village of Songtao Miao Ethic autonomous county, Southwest China's Guizhou province, July 9, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]
SHANGHAI - G20 economies agreed to improve global trade governance to arrest the slowdown of global trade growth, said a statement released Sunday after the two-day G20 Trade Ministers Meeting in Shanghai.

These economies would remain committed to an open global economy, and will further work towards trade liberalization and facilitation, according to the G20 Trade Ministers Meeting Statement, the first of its kind in G20 history.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) statistics showed that global trade growth has slowed significantly since 2008, from an average of over seven percent annum between 1990 and 2008, to less than three percent between 2009 and 2015. Last year marked the fourth consecutive year with global trade growth below three percent.

The meeting endorsed the G20 Strategy for Global Trade Growth, in which the economies will lead by example to lower trade costs, harness trade and investment policy coherence, boost trade in services, enhance trade finance, promote e-commerce development and address trade and development.

The WTO unveiled a new trade-related index called the World Trade Outlook Indicator (WTOI) on Friday ahead of the meeting, which is designed to provide real time information on trends in global trade. The current reading suggested that trade growth will remain weak into the third quarter of 2016.
Spanish bullfighter Victor Barrio (R), 29, is gored during a bullfight held on the occasion of Feria del Angel in Teruel, Aragon (Spain), July 9, 2016. Barrio died due to the injures after being seriously gored by his third bull. [Photo/IC]



MADRID -- Bullfighter Victor Barrio was gored to death by a bull on Saturday evening in the city of Teruel, Spanish state TV network RTVE reports.

Barrio, 29 years old, was knocked to the ground and gored in the chest by the third bull of the evening bullfight which was being held in the city's bullring, and although he was rushed to hospital, he was pronounced dead shortly afterwards.

The local hospital confirmed Barrio's death explaining the bull had "cut his aorta," as well as "perforating his right lung."

Barrio had been a late arrival into bullfighting and had not fully qualified until 2012 and his death once again highlights the hazards of the controversial practice, which divides public opinion in Spain.

Many Spaniards consider bullfighting to be an art-form, while others believe it should be banned because of the brutality which sees six bulls die in the ring in each ritual bullfight.

Meanwhile Sunday morning saw the fourth "encierro" (running of the bulls) at the San Fermin in Pamplona.

In contrast with the slow and dangerous encierros of Friday and Saturday, which saw people gored and a total of 21 people taken to hospital, Sunday's run was a rapid affair, although two of the thousands of people running with the bulls were gored and a total of five needed hospital treatment.


China will start operation of its fifth lighthouse in the South China Sea soon, it was announced on Sunday.

Xu Ruqing, head of China's Maritime Safety Administration, said construction of the lighthouse on Meiji Reef is almost complete.

China started to build lighthouses in the South China Sea in May last year, with four now in use on Huayang, Chigua, Zhubi and Yongshu reefs. The most recent project went into operation on Yongshu Reef on June 25.

Speaking in Ningbo, Zhe- jiang province, at an event to mark China Maritime Day, Xu said all five lighthouses are 50 to 55 meters tall and are equipped with the Automatic Identification System, a tool used around the world for marine communication.

The system allows vessels in surrounding waters to receive up-to-date information and send messages to the lighthouses to ask for assistance, he said.

Xu said construction of the lighthouses reflects China's dedication to its responsibility of boosting navigational safety in the South China Sea, a critical maritime and trade corridor linking the Pacific and Indian oceans.

"The five lighthouses will work like the other 2,000 or so lighthouses in China's coastal regions, providing nonstop navigational services for maritime and rescue activities," he said.

Zheng Heping, another official with the administration, added that China will improve the construction of navigational facilities in the sea to improve its capacity for maritime rescue and environmental protection.

The administration will focus on placing beacons at key points of the main international channel in the South China Sea, double-checking data on water depth and meeting the navigational demands of ships, he said.

Li Wen, a beacon expert with more than 60 years' experience, said China has had to innovate to find ways to build lighthouses in areas of the sea that are usually too shallow for such structures.

China is fulfilling its responsibilities to ensure safety in the international navigation channel by setting up the lighthouses in the South China Sea, he said, adding that the international community will benefit from the facilities.

Contact the writers at anbaijie@chinadaily.com.cn
(Photo : US Army) A THAAD missile system on its mobile launcher and what the system can do.

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The decision by the United States and South Korea on June 8 to station two batteries of the U.S.' Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system in South Korea has been criticized and opposed by both China and Russia, with the latter saying it might deploy more missiles to Asia to counter THAAD.



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The U.S. and South Korea said the THAAD deployment will counter dangers from North Korea's persistent tests of its ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programs. The deployment site for the two THAAD batteries will be announced in the next few weeks.



Yoo Jeh-seung, Deputy Minister for Policy of the Ministry of National Defense, said the THAAD deployment was a "defensive measure" to "protect alliance military forces from North Korea's weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile threats."



"It will be focused solely on North Korean nuclear and missile threats and would not be directed towards any third party nations," he said.



China claims the deployment of the effective U.S. anti-missile missile exceeds the threat presented by North Korea's ballistic missile program. China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the planned deployment of THAAD far exceeds the Korean Peninsula's defense needs.



He said China has reasons and rights to question the behind-the-scenes motives of this move, and any excuse for the deployment would be unjustified. Analysts said the deployment of THAAD would strengthen the United States' already formidable presence in South Korea and in Asia, and would place China's ballistic missile sites within range of THAAD should a war erupt between China and the U.S.



For its part, Russia might deploy more missile systems to Asian Russia, including the Kuril Islands off northeast Japan, said a source close to Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov.



"The possible responsive measures to a THAAD system in South Korea may include deployment of new striking forces in Russia's Far East. For example, warships of the Pacific Fleet could be equipped with Kalibr missiles," said Leonid Ivashov, president of the Academy of Geopolitical Problems.



The Kalibr missile system is a cruise missile used for land attack, anti-ship missile and anti-submarine missions. It was famously used in October 2015 when Russian warships on the Caspian Sea fired 26 Kalibr-NK missiles at targets (mostly U.S.-allied resistance groups) in Syria.



One THAAD battery will be deployed in South Korea by the end of 2017. It will be under the operational control of the United States Forces Korea (USFK), the joint headquarters through which U.S. combat forces are deployed to the U.S.' and South Korea's combined ground, air, naval, marine and special operations forces component commands.



A THAAD battery consists of six mobile launchers, 48 missiles, airborne radar and fire control system. Its X-band radar can detect missiles 2,000 kilometers away on a forward-based mode and 600 kilometers on a terminal mode.



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TagsTerminal High Altitude Area Defense, THAAD, South Korea, china, Russia, United States
Jing Hai USV

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China is increasing the number of its Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USV), some of them probably armed with weapons, patrolling the disputed South China Sea that is the focus of an international legal battle pitting China against the Philippines.



Reports said China will let loose an unspecified number of its USVs to patrol this disputed sea also currently being patrolled by warships and warplanes of the U.S. Navy. China claims the USVs are civilian sea craft used for sea surveys and mapping.



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These boats are said to belong to the "Jing Hai-class" of USVs made by the Research Institute of Unmanned Surface Vehicles Engineering at Shanghai University.



A life-size version of a Jing Hai at a military arms show in 2014, however, showed the USV painted in military naval grey.



Chinese media said Jing Hais have conducted oceanic and geological surveys of the Xisha and Nansha Islands in the South China Sea in 2013. The Xisha Islands or the Paracel Islands are also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan while Nansha or the Spratly Islands is also claimed by the Philippines.



The Jing Hai-class USV Jing Hai 2 accompanied the Chinese icebreaker Xuelong to Antarctica in 2014 to help with underwater mapping. China is now building Jing Hai 7. It said future vessels of this class will be used for sea route protection and anti-smuggling operations.



Apart from Shanghai University, several other universities and institutes under China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation and the Chinese Academy of Sciences are also building USVs.



This massive increase in U.S. Navy hardware at the South China Sea comes ahead of the July 12 decision by an international tribunal that will in all likelihood rule against China's claim to own most of the South China Sea.



The Philippines sued China before the international Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague after China's 2012 seizure of Scarborough Shoal, which is located within the Philippines' 200-mile exclusive economic zone.



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Tagschina, Unmanned Surface Vehicles, Jing Hai-class, U.S. Navy
(Photo : Getty Images) China has insisted that it would not accept the ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) on the South China Sea dispute with the Philippines.

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Beijing has rejected a U.S. plea urging China to accept the final ruling by an international tribunal on the South China Sea dispute.



China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei, at a daily press briefing on Friday, made it clear that China will never change its stance on the South China Sea issue.



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"It is a sheer delusion to expect to force China into accepting the decision via diplomatic channels or public fanfare," Hong said.



He reiterated that the ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) would not affect China's territorial claims in the South China Sea.



Hong's remark was made a day after a senior U.S. defense official Abraham Denmark urged China and the Philippines to comply with the ruling of the PCA and asked them to avoid provocative actions.



U.S. State Department spokesperson John Kirby also stated that the United States expects both parties to comply with their obligations and exercise restraint.



"We've said all along that we support the peaceful resolution of disputes in the South China Sea, including the use of international legal mechanisms such as arbitration. And as provided in the Law of the Sea Convention, the tribunal's decision in this case will be legally binding on both parties, the Philippines, and China," Kirby said at a regular press briefing on Friday.



The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration is set to deliver a final ruling on July 12 on the South China Sea territorial dispute between China and Phillippines.



The Philippines is questioning Beijing's claim to disputed territories in the South China Sea in its case at the Permanent Court of Arbitration. However, China has said that it does not recognize the jurisdiction of the tribunal and continues to maintain that it has ''indisputable sovereignty' over the contested region.



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(Photo : Getty Images) The United States is trying to placate China over the deployment of an advanced anti ballistic missile system in South Korea.

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The United States is trying to placate China over the deployment of an advanced anti-ballistic missile system to South Korea.



The US State Department spokesperson John Kirby said that it is a purely defensive system. He further pointed out that the deployment would enhance the missile defense posture of the alliance in response to North Korea's threats.



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"There's no reason why this deployment should be of concern to Chinese leaders since it is a purely defensive measure and because the North Korea - because the North continues to pose such a real and significant threat to South Korea," he said at a press conference.



China on Friday raised strong objection to the deployment of the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense ( THAAD) to U.S. forces based in South Korea. Beijing expressed strong discontent and firm opposition over the US' and South Korea's agreement on the THAAD deployment, saying that the move would seriously impair China's strategic interests in the region. Russia has also objected to the THAAD deployment in South Korea.



The US has offered to brief Beijing on the issue. "We have certainly listened to their concerns, and we have offered to provide informational briefings for them on the way the system works," Kirby said.



He also revealed that the US Ambassador to China Max Baucus met with his Chinese counterparts about the issue.



The Pentagon, on the other hand, said that the United States remained in touch with Chinese and Russian leaders at the highest levels over the issue. The Pentagon also clarified that the THAAD defense system would not undermine China or Russia's strategic interests.



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home World China releases youngest human rights activist on bail

China released on bail Zhao Wei, the youngest human rights activist it detained last year during a nationwide crackdown on human rights defenders.

"The afternoon sunshine feels so nice. It feels so good to breathe freely," read a statement on Zhao's Weibo account posted Thursday, July 7, confirming official reports of her release.

Police authorities said they released 24-year-old Zhao on bail because of her "candid confession" and "good attitude."

"What crime did she commit?" a commenter wrote on the police force's Weibo post, according to The Guardian.

"History will judge you," said another commenter.

A year ago on July 9, the Communist state launched a nationwide offensive against its human rights lawyers and arrested at least 200 of them including activists. The following day, authorities arrested Zhao and Li Heping, a prominent Christian lawyer who had championed the weak and disenfranchised and whom Zhao had worked for as a legal assistant. Zhao, like most of the more than 20 others still detained, was charged with political subversion which could land them a lifetime imprisonment.

"I am quite happy with the news," Zhao's husband, You Minglei, told the publication and added, "but releasing her on bail doesn't mean the case has been closed."

Zhao, who her 61-year-old mother Zheng Ruixia recalled as "someone who hates injustice like poison" even as a kid and had a heart for the vulnerable as she found "so much inequality in society," had involved herself in social work particularly in the plight of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community and in HIV awareness.

Zheng used to remind Zhao of how young she still was to get involved in activism but she only told her mother, "I am here to change society, not to get used to it."

According to the Associated Press, Ren Quanniu, Zhao's representative, believes the government may only be aiming to deflect public scrutiny on its nationwide political crackdown as it marks its one year anniversary. He also believes Zhao's alleged confession may have only resulted from a year-long unbearable pressure.

For now, Zhao chose to be silent and to enjoy her newfound, albeit temporary, freedom.

"It has been both a long and a short year. I have a lot of feelings but at this moment ... I just want to enjoy the peace and the happy days with my dad and mum," Zhao wrote.
home World Christians in India fined for worshiping Jesus in public

Authorities in a village in Jharkhand, India told Christians to stop worshiping Jesus publicly or they would be fined and face other consequences.

Area Christian leaders were forced to sign an agreement that they would worship Jesus only inside their homes, and that if they are caught worshiping publicly, they would pay a fine of 10,000 rupees.

"We were forced to sign the bond, we have no other choice as we have nowhere else to stay except in the village," Pastor Sanjay Kumar Ravi told Morning Star News.

The fine was imposed after a conflict ensued between Hindu extremists and Christians in the village.

A large group of Hindus called for a meeting with 25 Christians representing six families on May 8. The Christians were taken to a school far from the village center where about 100 Hindu extremists were waiting.

The Hindu extremists ordered the Christians to stop worshiping Jesus. They also told them to perform rituals to their gods.

The Christians refused to do both. Instead, Pastor Ravi shared a testimony of how God healed him in 2007.

"The pastor's testimony enraged the crowd more," said another area Christian leader, the Rev. Akash Nandi.

The extremists began to beat six of the Christians and threatened to burn them. They ordered them to renounce their faith and start worshiping the idols.

Refusing to give in to their demands, the Christians said they would not leave Christ whatever happens.

At this point, the Hindu extremists tied up the six men, beat them with sticks and kicked them until they bled from the mouth and had cuts all over their bodies. They ordered the six men and their families to leave the village or else they and their houses will be burned.

The Christians reported the attack to the local police, but the police did not file the case.

A few days later, police officials told three Christian leaders who were among those attacked to go to the station. When they got there, they were surprised to find that around 50 of the Hindu extremists who beat them were also there.

In the presence of their attackers, police officials forced the Christians to sign the document stipulating the fines for the public worship of Jesus.

The rising impunity for the persecution of Hindi extremists against Christians in India has been criticized by various organizations, who say that the present government's silence on the issue has encouraged it to worsen.

"There has been an increase in attacks because these nationalists feel emboldened with [Prime Minister Narendra] Modi in power," International Christian Concern President Jeff King told Fox News in March.

Open Doors USA President David Curry also noted an increase in attacks against Christians.

"The government, which came into power with the election of Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the Bharatiya Janata Party, has strong Hindu nationalist ties," Curry said in the same report. "As a result, radical Hinduism, which was already present under the previous government, has increased steadily."
home World Egyptian Muslims burn Christian homes over rumors of church construction on property

Around 300 Muslims burned four houses belonging to Coptic Christians in Samalout, Minya, Upper Egypt on June 30 after rumors spread that a church was being built on a property in the village.

The property belonged to Ashraf Khalaaf and his brother. Before his house was burned, local police had asked Khalaaf to sign a document stating that the construction being done on his property was not for a church, local newspaper Egypt Today reported, according to Christian Solidarity Worldwide.

Khalaaf signed the document, but it was not enough to pacify the angered Muslims, who attacked his house and burned it along with the houses of other Coptic Christians in the village.

The governor of Minya called for a reconciliation meeting between the parties involved. However, in response to the governor, the Bishopric of Samalout said that the rule of law should be observed before the meeting could be held.

In relation to the incident, the bishopric also urged the government to approve the construction of a church on land owned by the parish, as the nearest church is eight kilometers away from the village. An application for the church building was filed 10 years ago but its approval remains pending until today.

In another incident that also happened last month, a Muslim mob burned houses in a Coptic community in reaction to rumors that a property in the area was being built as a house of worship for Christians.

Naeem Aziz, who was constructing a house for his son, was accused of building a church. Muslim villagers attacked him and his brother, and they burned his house and the houses of other Coptic residents in the neighborhood, Christian Solidarity Worldwide said in another report.

Egyptian authorities impose strict religious regulations that prevent Christians from building houses of worship. However, no such restriction is imposed for building mosques.

"It is astonishing that Coptic citizens' exercise of their constitutional, legal right to worship and build, renovate and reconstruct houses of worship is still hostage to the approval of a majority of the area's residents," Ishak Ibrahim, head of the Freedom of Religion and Belief Program, commented regarding the discrepancy in regulations.

The minority Coptic Christians in Egypt have suffered from increasing persecution from their Muslim neighbors in recent years. Muslims who have converted to Christianity have also become the subject of intense persecution, according to Open Doors.
home World Iranian Christian woman thrown back in prison despite not completing urgent medical treatment

Iranian Christian convert Maryam Naghash Zargaran was temporarily released on medical furlough, but was called back to prison before her treatment was finished.

Zargaran had been told that the prison's clinic does not have the capacity to give her the treatment she needed. She filed for a medical leave and went on an 11-day hunger strike in protest of authorities' refusal to allow her a medical leave.

On June 6, her request was finally granted after her family deposited a surety bond of $100,000.

However, while she was still in the middle of treatment, authorities ordered her to go back to Evin Prison in Tehran. Her family went to the prosecutor's office to appeal for an extension of her medical leave but it was denied.

The prosecutor further told Zargaran's family that the surety bond they deposited would be forfeited if she would not go back to prison.

Zargaran's family decided it didn't matter if the bond would be seized as long as she received proper medical treatment. However, when her condition began to improve on the weekend of June 25 to 26, Zargaran herself decided to return behind bars.

"She was going against her family's wishes and her own wishes. She decided it was the right course of action for her family," Rob Duncan, Middle East Concern's regional manager for Iran, said, according to Morning Star News.

Duncan said she went back to prison smiling, an act that he considered to be "very brave."

Zargaran was imprisoned in 2013 because of her involvement in the orphanage of formerly incarcerated American pastor Saeed Abedini. She was falsely accused of threatening national security, according to Release International.

Zargaran suffers from a congenital heart condition called atrial septal defect. She went through surgery years ago, but conditions in Evin Prison have caused her health to worsen. She is presently serving a four-year prison term.
home World ISIS loses quarter of its Iraq, Syria territory in 18 months

Islamic State lost an area the size of Ireland - a quarter of its territory - to hostile forces in the last 18 months in Iraq and Syria and is likely to further step up attacks on civilians in coming months, IHS said in a report on Sunday.

The territory controlled by the ultra-hardline Sunni group shrank from 90,800 sq km (35,000 square miles) in January 2015, six months after it declared a caliphate in Syria and Iraq, to 68,300 sq km (26,370 square miles), the research firm said.

This has led the group to step up attacks on civilian targets in the Middle East and in Europe and this is likely to intensify, IHS said.

"As the Islamic State's caliphate shrinks and it becomes increasingly clear that its governance project is failing, the group is re-prioritizing insurgency," said Columb Strack, senior analyst at IHS and lead analyst for the IHS Conflict Monitor.

"As a result, we unfortunately expect an increase in mass casualty attacks and sabotage of economic infrastructure, across Iraq and Syria, and further afield, including Europe."

The Iraqi military's recapture of Falluja, an Islamic State stronghold just west of Baghdad, last month has led the insurgents to step up bombings on Shi'ite Muslim targets.

Nearly 300 people died when an Islamic State suicide bomber struck in a busy shopping district in Baghdad a week ago, in one of the worst such attacks by the group to date.

Islamic State lost control of the city of Ramadi at the end of last year, another key stronghold for the group which captured large swathes of Iraq in 2014. The army is now gearing up to retake Mosul, the largest city in Iraq's north and Islamic State's de facto capital.

In Syria, the militants lost ground this year to both Russian and Iranian-backed forces supporting President Bashar al-Assad and to the U.S.-backed Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance.

In February the SDF captured the town of al Shadadi, a major logistics hub for the militants, and in March Syrian and allied forces backed by Russian air strikes drove Islamic State out of the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra and surrounding areas.

An SDF advance is underway to retake areas north of Islamic State's de facto capital in Syria, Raqqa.
home US Megachurch Pastor David Jeremiah says Supreme Court Justices are more powerful than kings and dictators

The Supreme Court justices who rule for a substantial length of time are more powerful than most kings and dictators, said Dr. David Jeremiah.

According to The Blaze, the lead pastor of Shadow Mountain Community Church in El Cajon, California shared his political thoughts with an audience of 7,000 during this Fourth of July at Shadow Mountain. The congregation also celebrated and honored the oldest Pearl Harbor survivor, 104-year-old Ray Chavez.

During the Independence Day celebration, the pastor raised what he considered as an even more pressing concern than the Islamic State terrorist group, the increasing national debt or the immigration crisis. For Jeremiah, Americans should pay particular attention on who the presidential candidates plan to appoint as justices for the land's highest court.

"We are a nation of laws, not a nation of dictators, but rest assured these Supreme Court justices who sit on the bench for life wield more power than most of the kings and dictators in this world," the lead pastor told the large crowd.

He also added his voice to the many Christian leaders already encouraging Americans to take to the polls come election time.

"For this election is no longer about Republicans or Democrats a it's about Americans," Jeremiah rallied. "It's about the ability to retain the freedom we are here today to celebrate."

Another prominent Evangelical leader shares Jeremiah's opinion on the importance of the presidential appointees for Supreme Court justices.

Right after the high court voted to strike down Texas' House Bill 2, CEO of Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, Franklin Graham, took to Facebook to express his concern.

"This is another example of how critical the positions of Supreme Court Justices are to our country," wrote Graham on June 28, while mentioning that the liberal ruling happened in the absence of more conservative justices.

Graham, who noted that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump already released his list of court appointees, went on to challenge Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton to release hers.
home Faith UPDATE: Perry Noble fired from NewSpring Church? Alcohol problem confirmed in Sunday service announcement

Speculations that megachurch pastor Perry Noble has been fired recently over domestic issues, among other things, are expected to be addressed during the Sunday services at NewSpring Church in South Carolina.

BREAKING: PERRY NOBLE FIRED DUE TO ALCOHOL PROBLEMS - 'I'VE COME TO DEPEND ON ALCOHOL INSTEAD OF JESUS' - Click Here

The Christian Post, who was informed by a source that Noble was allegedly fired for issues relating to a "terrible marriage, alcoholism and maybe more," reached out to the church's public relations department to verify if the rumors are true.

Without confirming or denying the issue, the department's head, Suzanne Swift, invited the Christian publication to personally attend or watch streaming videos of NewSpring Church's services on Sunday.

"It's great to hear from you! I would love to invite you to join us at church this Sunday to learn more from Perry and NewSpring Church. We will have services on Sunday at 9:15am, 11:15am, 4pm or 6pm at our Anderson Campus, located at 2940 Concord Road," Swift said in an email.

Local media platform WYFF 4 reported that the leadership of NewSpring held a closed door meeting on the afternoon of Thursday, July 7. When asked what the meeting was about, the church, through Swift, gave the outlet the same email it sent to the Christian Post.

Noble has been involved in a number of controversies over the last few years. In January 2015, he drew criticism from the Southern Baptist Convention after referring to the Ten Commandments as "promises" and "sayings." Noble explained the Hebrew language has no word for "commandment."

"Instead of Ten Commandments that you have to keep if you're going to be a follower of Jesus, they're actually 10 promises that you can receive when you say yes to Jesus," Noble said.

He later admitted that there is a Hebrew word for "commandment" and apologized for the mistake, saying he misunderstood a teacher in Israel.

In 2014, Noble surprised everyone with the admission that he had been taking anti-depressant drugs since 2012 to fight anxiety attacks.

He said his struggle with anxiety and depression began in 2008, which continued for years. He first refused taking anti-depressants and was able to pull through with biblical counseling.

BREAKING: PERRY NOBLE FIRED DUE TO ALCOHOL PROBLEMS - 'I'VE COME TO DEPEND ON ALCOHOL INSTEAD OF JESUS' - Click Here

He later wrote a book entitled "Overwhelmed" based on his experience. However, while writing the book, the attacks came back. It was during this time that he decided to take anti-depressant medicines.

Noble said it was one of the best decisions he has ever made, and he was not ashamed to announce he is taking the meds.

"It really has clarified my thinking, made me way less of an emotional basket case and allowed me to make better decisions," he wrote on his blog.
home Faith Perry Noble fired as NewSpring Church senior pastor; 'I've come to depend on alcohol instead of Jesus'

Perry Noble has been fired as senior pastor of NewSpring Church due to personal issues related to alcoholism and a strained marriage. An announcement was made during Sunday Service at NewSpring Church in Anderson, South Carolina on July 10, 2016, and confirmed what was already suspected in recent days.

It had been a well-kept secret until recent days, but it was confirmed on Sunday that Perry had in fact been fired at least nine days earlier. Both morning Sunday service congregations were informed about the church's decision in an official announcement.

Executive Pastor Shane Duffey explained that the NewSpring Church board of directors had made the "difficult and painful" decision to remove Noble from his position. He explained that Noble was "no longer qualified to serve as pastor" of South Carolina's largest church.

Duffey explained further that the board's decision to remove Noble had come following a string of "unfortunate choices" by the church's founder. Noble had "caused much concern" about his alcohol use, as well as his "posture toward marriage", and the board members had confronted Noble multiple times in the past about these issues, Duffey explained.

Noble did not appear at the church service on Sunday, and instead Duffey read out a written statement from the former senior pastor. In it, Noble expressed remorse and his intention to "immediately seek spiritual guidance."

The written statement interestingly stated that Noble would "not longer be pastor on July 1," revealing that the statement must have been written at least 10 days earlier.

Noble said he "never claimed to be a perfect pastor and never claimed to be a perfect Christian." He explained that over the past year he had "allowed myself to slide into an overuse of alcohol."

He also said that the job had "created a strain on his marriage."

Although he confirmed that there was no infidelity or abuse issues in his marriage, he did say that he had "come to depend on alcohol instead of Jesus."

Noble said, "No one is more disappointed in me than I am in myself."

NewSpring member, Clayton King, has been hired to serve as interim senior pastor "for the next season of time."

The NewSpring megachurch has more than 30,000 members in 17 cities in South Carolina.
home Life Perry Noble: Why Christian singles can't get a date or get married

Pastor Perry Noble spills the beans on why he thinks single Christians find it a challenge to snag a date or get hitched.

For the senior pastor of NewSpring Church, the difficulties single Christians face in getting into a relationship can be drilled down to eight simple reasons.

"God said there is a certain order in the processes," said the pastor in his podcast titled "8 Reasons Why You Can't Get a Date or Get Married" released June 26.

These processes, he believes, involve waiting for the right time and getting oneself ready for a relationship. For the men, he especially emphasized that it's important to be debt-free or financially stable before going on a hunt for a wife.

He also preached about the common mistakes a single Christian makes while searching for someone to be with. One top mistake is when a Christian falls in love more with the idea of getting married than the idea of actually loving Jesus. This, Noble said, is already a form of idolatry.

He also cautioned about bringing in emotional baggage of bitterness into a relationship or issues of impurity like porn addiction. The pastor reminded single Christians not to "try too hard" nor compromise oneself during the romantic pursuit. He also shared his own past experience when being in a relationship validated his worth.

"We've got to make sure our life is in order," advised the pastor, who also said that getting married may be important but what's more important is to "run hard after Jesus."

However, although most Christians place a high priority on being in a relationship, many more are starting to harbor a "toxic mindset" about marriage.

"It's individual consumerism applied to sexuality a what I want, when I want it, and only for as long as I want it," Mary Hasson, director of the Catholic Women's Forum at the Ethics & Public Policy Center, told The Christian Post.

Hasson further explained, "It's meaningful only from a 'what's in it for me' perspective. Relationships often take on the same quality a they are vehicles for personal fulfillment (however defined) and, like an old car, they can be traded or dumped when the repair costs get too high or a new model appears on the scene."
home US Transgender bathroom court order appealed by school board in Virginia

The Gloucester County School Board in Virginia has filed an appeal against a federal judge's order that allows a transgender student to use the boys' restroom, saying it could cause possible disruption in the school.

The school board stated in its appeal that it has provided unisex restrooms in the school that the student can use. Issuing the injunction "strips it of its basic authority to enact policies safeguarding student privacy and safety," the school board said, according to the Daily Press.

The case began when Gavin Grimm, a 16-year-old transgender high school student, filed a lawsuit against the school board last year through the American Civil Liberties Union for not allowing him to use the boys' restroom, citing civil rights violation.

The lawsuit argued that the school policy, approved in December 2014, is unconstitutional and is in violation of Title IX, which orders schools to not discriminate based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

However, the U.S. District Court Judge Robert Doumar dropped Gavin's claim on the Title IX violation and denied his request for a preliminary injunction while his case is being heard.

Grimm appealed the judge's decision, and in April, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit reinstated his Title IX claim and sent the case to Doumar for reconsideration.

On June 23, Doumar ordered the Gloucester County School Board to allow Grimm to use the boys' restroom. The mandate does not include locker rooms.

"This Court is bound by the Judgment of the Court of Appeals," Doumar's order states, according to the Daily Press.

Grimm said he was "elated" that the judge's decision last month will finally allow him to use restrooms according to his gender identity while his case proceeds.

"After nearly two years of humiliation and intense struggle, equality has finally prevailed," Grimm said, according to WTVR. "Now hopefully other transgender people will not have to face this type of discrimination."

The school board is planning to take Grimm's case to the Supreme Court.
Ancient mosaic depicting Noah's Ark, Red Sea parting discovered in ruins

Archaeologists have discovered two panels of a mosaic floor of a Roman-era synagogue that depict Noah's Ark and the parting of the Red Sea during the exodus from Egypt at a synagogue in Huqoq, Israel.

"You can see the pharaoh's soldiers with their chariots and horses drowning and even being eaten by large fish," said excavation director Jodie Magness of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, the National Geographic reports.

She said such images are very rare in this period.

"I know of only two other scenes of the parting of the Red Sea in ancient synagogues. One is in the wall paintings at Dura Europos [in Syria], which is a complete scene but different from oursno fish devouring the Egyptian soldiers. The other is at Wadi Hamam [in Israel], but that's very fragmentary and poorly preserved," she said.

Magness said the ark scenes are uncommon and she knows of just two: one at the site of Jerash in Jordan, and the other at the site of Misis in Turkey.

Since 2012, Magness has been discovering mosaics at Huqoq. She returns to the site every June and excavates for one month with student volunteers and specialists in art history, soil analysis and mosaic conservation.

They recently found a series of unusual scenes in panels like an inscription in Hebrew surrounded by theatre masks, cupids and dancers; Samson and the foxes from Judges 15:4 in the Bible; Samson with the gate of Gaza on his shoulders from Judges 16:3; and a three-tiered mosaic that depicts the meeting of two important male figures.

One morning, a patch of mosaic was discovered showing a bear's hind leg with three long claws, and a leopard chasing a gazelle.

"As the dig worked eastward, a decorative ribbon known as a guilloche appeared. And then a couple of long-eared donkeys, two more bears with claws, two more leopards with spots, and pairs of lions, ostriches, humpbacked camels, little gray elephants, sheep, goats, slithering snakessymbols of the whole menagerie, two of every living thing, that marched into Noah's ark before the great flood in the book of Genesis, chapters 6 to 9," the report said.

Magness said, "This panel is exactly as it should be. It's facing north, so people could see it as they entered from the south."

The team also uncovered the scene from Exodus 14:26several fish, a horse floating upside down and soldiers bearing shields and spears who were swept off their feet by the Red Sea.
Attorney for U.S. Army Reserve officer accused of threatening mosque urges court to delay case hearing

An attorney for a U.S. Army Reserve officer who is facing charges of making death threats and leaving bacon outside a mosque in Raeford, North Carolina, has requested a court on Wednesday to give them more time to investigate the accusations, saying the accused has a distinguished military record.

Lawyer Kelly Dawkins asked the judge to hold Russell Thomas Langford's case until next month.

Langford is facing charges of ethnic intimidation, assault with a deadly weapon, going armed to the terror of the public, communicating threats, stalking and disorderly conduct, the Associated Press reports.

He was released on a $60,000 bond and is now under the supervision of his commander at the Army Reserve Command at Fort Bragg.

Dawkins said, "Major Langford has served our country extraordinarily honorably. He is a Bronze Star recipient. I think he deserves ... all the due process we can give him."

According to witnesses, Langford made death threats to the mosque's worshippers, taunted children, followed a member home and attempted to run over one of the community's members in his car.

The incidents are the first of its kind at the mosque, said community member Uzma Khan. She added that her father, retired military chaplain Mohammed Khan, was threatened by Langford at gunpoint during the incident.

She said the police are now present nearly every day to provide security at the mosque and members return to their homes immediately after services.

"There is a little bit of fear in the air, not just because of what happened at the mosque in Raeford, but what has happened across the country," she said.

Khan hopes the court will deal with fairly with the charges regardless of Langford's military record.

"For me and most of the American citizens at the mosque and in general, it actually is a reason why Major Langford should be held to a higher standard," Khan said. "Instead of being an excuse to see the situation in a lighter manner, I actually think it's more serious. He represents the states abroad. Part of defending the U.S. is also defending us."

Langford enlisted in the U.S. Army in 2003 and transferred to Army Reserve in 2008. In 2015, he earned the rank of major and has been serving at Fort Bragg since February.

Among his awards are a Bronze Star Medal and Army good conduct and achievement medals. He was deployed in Iraq from 2007 to 2008.
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Chaplains express religious liberty concern over Pentagon's repeal of transgender ban in military

A group of military chaplains has expressed strong concern about religious liberty issues after the U.S. Department of Defense announced that it has lifted the ban on transgenders to serve in the military.

The Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty said a senior Pentagon official outlined the implications of changing the policy.

The official said transgenders will be required to receive medical statement from a military doctor that they suffer from gender dysphoria, which can lead to all medical resources being made available to them for surgeries.

"An endorser on the call asked whether medical professionals who hold a biblical view on human sexuality will be required to violate their consciences and do as these persons demand, and the response was that it is the responsibility of medical professionals to serve military persons. It's an understatement to say that this raises serious religious liberty concerns," said retired Chaplain Ron Crews, executive director of the alliance.

He said the Pentagon "must ensure a service member is not forced to violate his or her conscience and that doctors and nurses who hold to a biblical view of human sexuality can serve in today's military."

The official warned that "mixed genitalia" will be present in military bathrooms, showers, and barracks because service members will be in various stages of change in their sexual identity.

"Americans need to know the extreme implications of this policy," Crews said. "Do we want our sons and daughters to be forced to share showers and sleeping spaces in a 'mixed genitalia' environment with no recourse for objections of conscience?"

The Pentagon announced last June 30 the lifting of the ban on trangenders in the military.

It also announced a construct by which service members may transition while serving.

"This is the right thing to do for our people and for the force," said Defense Secretary Ash Carter. "We're talking about talented Americans who are serving with distinction or who want the opportunity to serve. We can't allow barriers unrelated to a person's qualifications prevent us from recruiting and retaining those who can best accomplish the mission."

The policy will be phased in during a one-year period. Service members may no longer be involuntarily separated, discharged or denied reenlistment solely on the basis of gender identity.

The U.S. Department of Defense will create and distribute commanders' training handbook, medical protocol and guidance for changing a service member's gender not later than Oct. 1 this year.
Christian convert endures Egypt torture, including being fed to savage dogs  but God intervenes and tames the beasts

Just like the biblical character Daniel in the lions' den, an Egyptian Muslim who converted to Christianity found himself at the mercy of ferocious attack dogs that were unleashed by his jailers to torture and possibly kill him.

However, law student Majed El Shafie had God on his side and, just like in the story about Daniel, the savage animals miraculously did not harm himto the utter astonishment of his prison guards, according to God Reports.

"These dogs are trained to listen to their masters," El Shafie said. "But there is no higher Master than the Lord Jesus Christ."

El Shafie found himself in prison after he converted to Christianity, founded a pro-Christian legal aid organisation with thousands of members, and wrote a book to help fellow believers.

The police tortured him before throwing him to Abu Zaabel prison in Cairo, known in the Middle East as "Hell on Earth."

El Shafie came from an influential family in Cairo comprising of lawyers and Supreme Court justices. But he had an awakening when he found out about the injustices of the Egyptian legal system, including the imprisonment of 7,000 people whose only crime was being a Christian.

A friend then introduced him to the Bible where he discovered a justice, love and forgiveness he had never known before.

Shafie read the Bible for a year, comparing it with the Quran. When he finished he approached his Christian friend and said: "Now I know what Christianity is about. It's not a religion. It's not about going to church on Sunday. Christianity is a relationship with God. I accept the Lord and I want to receive Jesus."

His decision to embrace Christ cost him a great deal. He was barred from practicing law, lost his standing in the community, endangered his own life and faced rejection from his own family.

But Shafie was undaunted. "None of that equal anything if you know that your soul in the end will end up in Hell," he said.

He eventually found himself being tortured daily in an Egyptian prison. Despite the extreme pain, he endured and stayed loyal to his newfound faith.

On his first day in prison, his hair was shaved and his head was put alternately in freezing cold and boiling hot water for a minute each. "After that, they took me to my cell, and then told me, 'You tell us the name of your friends.'"

He responded: "I haven't taken a shower for a long time, so I enjoyed the cold and hot water."

On the second day, the jailers hung El Shafie upside down, burned his body with cigarettes and slashed him with knives.

It was on the third day when the jailers let loose three snarling dogs in his dark cell. But the three dogs just sat around him, refusing to attack him.

The guards brought in another set of dogs, which did the same thing as the first set of dogs.

"The guards were talking about it as a miracle," El Shafie said.

On the fourth day, a jail officer offered him anything he wants  a big house, money, women  if he would just inform on his associates.

El Shafie "agreed." After being fed with a sumptuous meal, El Shafie told the officer: "I can't remember the names, but I'll tell you the name of our leader, and if you can catch him, he can tell you exactly the names of all the members."

The jail officer asked him the name of their leader.

"The name of our leader is Jesus Christ," El Shafie answered. "If you can catch Him, catch Him."

The officer slapped him and hurled him against the wall. The guards then dragged him into a dark room where they tied up his hands, arms, feet, legs and neck to a wooden cross. He said he hung on the cross for two-and-a-half days. They even cut the skin on his left shoulder and poured lemon and salt on the wound.

El Shafie then found himself lying in a hospital bed. After a week, he recovered.

He was subsequently tried and sentenced to death. But with the help of friends, he made a daring escape. He stole a jet ski on the Sinai Peninsula and rode it out of Egypt to Israel.

He was later granted political asylum in Canada and eventually became a Canadian citizen.

He continued his humanitarian work and was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012.

"Persecuted Christians are dying every day, but they are still smiling. They are in a very deep dark night, but they still have the candles of the living God," El Shafie said. "Our enemies have a very strong army, have very strong weapons, but we have the Lord Almighty. They can kill the dreamer, but no one can kill the dream."
Ex-religious brother pleads guilty to stealing U.S. church money, agrees to return $220,000 he stole

A former religious brother reached a deal to plead guilty and repay money amounting to $220,000 that he stole from a Pennsylvania church for several years.

Thomas Ross, formerly known as Brother Ambrose, 62, appeared in court on Tuesday and agreed to waive a preliminary hearing on charges that he stole money from the Good Samaritan Catholic Church in Ambridge, the Associated Press reports.

Ross served for 20 years at the church as music and liturgy director and fundraising coordinator, according to KDKA.

His lawyer worked out a plea deal with the District Attorney's office.

"Mr. Ross will be on house arrest for a period of time and he will have to make a serious amount of restitution in this case," said defence attorney Chad Bowers.

According to Bowers, Ross "has been very remorseful for it, and he has tried everything up until this point in his power to make amends."

Surveillance cameras at the church showed Ross taking money from the collection box. At least $220,000 in cash was allegedly stolen over nine years.

Ross played at the Rivers Casino where he had nearly $3 million in transactions over five years at a time when his yearly salary was $28,000.

Bowers said that it's obvious that Ross has a gambling addiction.

An audit revealed that from 2012 to 2015, $24,432 was missing from loose weekly collections and $141,981 from parishioner envelope contributions.

From 2006 to 2015, a total of $54,282 was missing from votive candle contributions.

Ross was charged with third-degree felonies of theft, receiving stolen property and a third-degree misdemeanor of receiving stolen property.

"It's been a tough time but God has been good to us, and our parishioners are just wonderful," said Rev. Joe Carr of the Good Samaritan Parish in Ambridge.

Father Carr said they have implemented measures to prevent the crime from happening again.

"As soon as we realised there was some sort of an issue, we started doing all kinds of things to make sure the money was secure. But that's been an ongoing process for well over a year," he said.
Lawyers for Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof challenge federal trial, seek dropping of death penalty

Lawyers for Dylann Roof, the suspect in the shooting and killing of nine people inside the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina in June last year, are challenging the federal hate crimes law which their client has been accused of breaking even as they seek to convince prosecutors not to pursue the death penalty.

Roof's defence team said the hate crimes stature "affords the federal government virtually unchecked discretion to prosecute crimes already being punished by the states," the Associated Press reports.

The 22-year-old suspect is facing 33 federal violations including hate crimes and obstructing the practice of religion. Roof allegedly told a friend that he wanted to start a race war.

His lawyers previously said that Roof would plead guilty if death penalty is not included. Prosecutors are given until July 25 to respond.

Roof's federal trial will begin in November and defence lawyers may try to "derail the trial" unless the judge orders that jury members be chosen from a state-wide pool, prosecutors said in a court filing.

"The government requests this Court use a (pool of potential jurors drawn from across South Carolina)," said federal prosecutors, according to The State, adding that the reason is "to ensure that the scheduled trial not be interrupted."

Until recently, the jury was expected to have been chosen from a Lowcounty jury pool, where members would come from Charleston and eight other counties.

Assistant U.S. attorneys Jay Richardson and Nathan Williams told Judge Richard Gergel that Roof's lawyers may try "an 11th-hour attempt" to change the jury pool to a state-wide pool that could delay the trial.

Prosecutors also said defence attorneys might make a last-minute request to change the trial's location from Charleston.

They also said that without a state-wide jury pool, it will be harder to choose "a fair and impartial" jury as "most of the parishioners who were murdered and those who survived Roof's attack ... have strong ties to the Charleston area."

The judge will hold a hearing on July 18 to decide on the location and manner of jury selection.
Malaysia: Gunmen kidnap three Indonesians

Gunmen kidnapped three Indonesian members of a tugboat crew off Malaysia's eastern state of Sabah, police said on Sunday, the latest in a string of abductions in a region noted for kidnappings by Islamist militants.

It was not immediately clear whether the men were seized by Abu Sayyaf, a group linked to Islamic State that is responsible for recent beheadings of Western hostages and notorious for the extortion of millions of dollars in ransoms.

The tugboat, with a crew of seven, was in waters off the east coast of Sabah on Borneo island, about 3.6 nautical miles from a nearby Kampung Sinakut beach, Sabah police commissioner Abdul Rashid Harun said, when it was attacked by armed men in a white boat late on Saturday.

He said that based on early investigations, the three men kidnapped were 34-year-old Lorens Koten, 40-year-old Teo Dores Kopong and a 46-year-old identified only as Emanuel.

Abdul Rashid said they are likely to be in the southern Philippines now but did not elaborate. Four other crew members were left behind by the kidnappers who came in a speedboat.

"Victims released also said while the kidnappers were on their tugboat for nearly 30 minutes, no violence took place," he told reporters at a press conference in Lahad Datu.

The five abductors were armed with rifles and also had a grenade launcher, the police added.

In Jakarta, the Indonesian foreign ministry said it had no information yet on the abductions.

The Abu Sayyaf militant group has beheaded two Canadian nationals recently after its ransom deadlines expired. It is still holding men from Japan, the Netherlands and Norway.
New York human rights panel upholds women-only hours policy at public pools to accommodate religious beliefs

New York City's Human Rights Commission (HRC) has upheld a decision allowing women-only swimming hours at two public pools to accommodate religious beliefs.

In a decision handed down on Wednesday, the HRC allowed Orthodox Jewish women and members of other religions to use the pools, saying it did not violate the constitutional separation of church and state, the Associated Press reports.

The commission came up with the ruling after it investigated the matter based on an anonymous complaint. It said women-only swims are within human rights law and will not affect people's access to the swimming pools.

Orthodox Jewish women's religious beliefs bar them from bathing with men.

Under the new policy, the Metropolitan Pool's women-only hours will be cut to four hours per week.

The issue started when the city's Parks Department scrapped the women-only policy after the HRC sent it a notice that it violated rules against gender discrimination, the New York Daily News reports.

Swimmers and local politicians protested the move resulting in the department allowing the policy until a final decision was made.

"Women-only swimming hours provide an important accommodation to New Yorkers who may feel more secure and comfortable in a single-sex environment," according to Parks Department spokesman Sam Biederman. "NYC Parks is appreciative that the NYC Commission on Human Rights recognises the need to provide such safe and fair access at public facilities."

The new rule states that only women and girls will be allowed in the pool on Wednesdays from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and Sundays from 2:45 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. compared to the standing policy of barring men for six hours a week.

The Parks Department said the new policy will include transgender women who must follow rules such as wearing proper attire and showering before swimming.

But others are saying that restricting men's access to the pools is wrong.
No compromise: Die-hard conservatives walk out of Anglican talks on gay relationships

A small group of conservative Anglicans will boycott the Church of England's private talks on sexuality in a reflection of intense divides within its governing General Synod.

Three days of secret conversations begin on Sunday until Tuesday in an effort to reconcile warring factions within synod on gay relationships. But a handful will refuse to take part because they say to do so would be to admit that different positions within the Church were possible.

Christian Today understands the number boycotting the talks will be about 10, out of nearly 500.

One of that number, Charlie Skrine, told Christian Today he was part of a "large group" who "feel this is not an issue where the Church can come together and live alongside each other in a compromise". He added within that larger group are a smaller group who "are worried unless we step back from the process we will be heard as already saying, 'that is fine, let's do it [accept a change on the church's teaching on gay relationships]". Skrine is one of the conservatives on synod who would not accept any accommodation for gay relationships within the Church.

The main problem for Skrine and his colleagues is that for him and many other conservatives, the issue is not one Christians can agree to disagree over.

"I think there is a shared concern that in six months time, if we do take part, there will be an assumption we can find a compromise that everyone can live with," he said.

"It's not that I don't want to talk," he added. "So if there is a way to have conversations around the edges I would love to be part of that. I enjoy talking and I think it is really useful."

Those considering walking out of the talks are far from a majority, even among those who consider themselves evangelical. Clive Scowen, another synod member opposed to a change in Church teaching on gay relationships, told Christian Today: "I can't see a downside to taking part, providing we are clear on what basis we are doing so. That basis is not that we are saying we can live with any outcome or we that we will walk together come what may."

But the dissent from some conservatives reflects a feeling the Church's talks are drifting out of their control. Many think the "momentum" is in the other direction. Indeed that perception is one area where some conservatives and liberals agree. Rev Andrew Foreshew-Cain, the only openly married gay member of synod, said he was "encouraged by the number of people showing support [and] talking of the need for change".

He wrote on a Facebook post to the gay-affirming group Changing Attitude on Saturday: "Time to start talking not of accommodation for us, but for recognising the majority and to start talking about how to accommodate those who are now in the minority on sexuality."

He continued: "No longer are we to petition for crumbs. We are need to state loudly that, as has been said 'the arc of history is towards justice'. And that justice is here and needs to be recognised."

Aware of the move to undermine the talks, a number of bishops have put pressure on synod members to attend. The Archbishop of York pointed to Lambeth 110, a Church document that affirms marriage as solely between a man and a woman but "which says we must listen to the experience of homosexual people", said Sentamu. "How can we do that without shared conversations?" he added. "As a Church we must have a maturity of listening."

The Bishop of Willesden, Pete Broadbent, told the synod chamber: "If you are thinking of boycotting the conversations because they will compromise you in some way then I would say we particularly need to hear your voice."

A change in Church doctrine requires a two-thirds majority in its ruling synod. But between a quarter and a third of members would not accept any change on the Church's official position, making a redefinition of marriage unpopular if not impossible

Christian Today has revealed that one of the ways the Church may find a compromise over the issue is through a "pastoral accomodation". This could take the form of an authorised service of "welcome" or even blessing for people in same-sex relationships, but not an official marriage.

Oliver O'Donovan, a theologian who was among the first to propose the idea, told Christian Today "untraditional forms of marriage" had been adopted "without modifying or qualifying in any way the teaching of the church about marriage as the union of one man and one woman for life".

He cited polygamous households in African churches and divorced couples in Western churches as two examples of a departure from traditional Church teaching. He said these models do "not undermine the natural family as a norm, but affirm it, by modelling itself as closely as possible upon it, so the well-designed pastoral accommodation in marriage, designed to meet a quite specific need, will witness in its own way to the normative form from which it derives".

Senior members of the Church have admitted their attempts at reconciliation through the talks may fail. The Archbishop of Canterbury's chief of staff David Porter, who runs the "shared conversations" programme, has recently said they may not prevent a split. "Shared conversations should not be measured on its ability to stop a fracture," he said. "Every Church that has tried to address the issue of sexuality has fractured in some way.

"This is about raising the capacity of the Church to have a genuine conversation."

A Church of England source said: "Whether people participate is a choice for them. The invitation remains open to all. Conversation offers an opportunity to listen and share shared between brothers and sisters in Christ. There is nothing to fear."

In the meantime the United Reformed Church has voted by an overwhelming majority to allow local churches to register for and conduct same-sex weddings. The decisive move, passed by 240 votes to 21, means the final decision over gay relationships lies with the local church.
Plans to register Sunday schools under government counter-extremism strategy dropped

The British government will drop plans to require out-of-school groups involving children to register with the local council following a personal intervention by the Archbishop of Canterbury, The Times reports.

According to the newspaper, Archbishop Justin Welby raised concerns about the plans with senior members of government.

The Department for Education announced the plans last year which would force institutions that teach under-19s for more than six hours a week to register. The move was part of the government's counter-extremism strategy and came after concerns children were exposed to extremist views in a small number of Muslim madrassas.

Many church youth groups and Sunday schools could have fallen above the threshold and therefore would have had to join the register and face inspections by government officials.

A coalition of Christian charities in April accused Ofsted, the schools' inspections body, of becoming the "state regulator of religion" and urged Christians to oppose the plans.

CARE, Christian Concern, the Evangelical Alliance, the Lawyers' Christian Fellowship and The Christian Institute signed the statement which labeled the plans an "unacceptable overreach of the state". A spokesman for CARE at the time told Christian Today this coming together "demonstrates both the worrying nature of the government's plans and the strong resolve within the Christian community to stand up for the freedom to teach the Christian faith to the next generation without unnecessary State interference".

A senior government source told The Times that the Church of England considered "the idea of registration too draconian".

"That requirement has now been dropped," the source said. "It still means that Ofsted can go in if there is reasonable cause, but it will remove the requirement to register."

An announcement is expected to be made by the government "in due course", a spokesperson confirmed.
A suspect holed up in a West Houston home after shooting at police was taken into custody Sunday morning following a seven-hour stand off that involved a SWAT team.

Police initially responded to calls of a domestic disturbance Saturday evening and returned at about 9 p.m. with a warrant that allowed them to monitor and keep track of the suspect's activities. ound 9 p.m. to monitor the suspect. The suspect, identified as Keith Swainson, then retreated inside and fired shots at officers, officials said.

A SWAT team was deployed when the shots were fired.

Police are seeking charges against Swainson on two counts of assault on a public servant and one count of making a terroristic threat, said Houston Police Department spokesperson Jodi Silva. He was being held by police while undergoing evaluation.

"The suspect fired the shot and one sergeant, the patrol sergeant, was in fear of not only his safety but the safety of the citizens in the street, as well as his officers, and so he discharged his weapon one time," Silva said in an interview at the scene.

Police officers blocked off several blocks near his home in the 12800 block of Kingsbridge Lane while a SWAT team tried to talk to the suspect. Silva said police also deployed gas into the suspect's residence.

The suspect surrendered peacefully after the stand off and is being evaluated by officials.

RELATED: SWAT scene unfolds after shots fired in West Houston

When police first arrived with the warrant, the suspect was seen throwing golf clubs and boxes of his belongings at neighbor's homes, Silva said.

Neighbors who gathered in the street described the suspect as a middle-aged petroleum engineer with a history of mental illness. He was not known to be violent, they said.

Just yesterday, multiple neighbors recalled, a handful of police officers dispatched to the man's house and spoke with him through open windows.

Silva said police had visited the suspect's residence multiple times last week because of an "ongoing issue" where he made threats against neighbors and caused loud noise disturbances.

According to an email sent to local residents by the Lake Stonehenge homeowners association, the suspect "has mostly been playing very loud music at all hours, screaming and acting very erratic as well as aggressive. The Police have repeatedly been called out and are waiting for their opportunity to take him into custody."

The latest incident started Saturday night when the suspect's brother tried to remove his firearms because the suspect had argued with police over loud music the day before.

Neighbors said he blared acid rock and Iron Maiden while screaming swear words late at night.
The government of the Bahamas on Friday issued a warning for its black male citizens planning to visit the United States during a travel-heavy holiday weekend.

Sunday marks Independence Day for the small island nation about 50 miles of the Florida coast, where more than 90 percent of residents are black.
A two-alarm fire Saturday morning destroyed the Albany Burger King franchise on Geary Street Southeast.

According to Albany Fire Department public information officer Sandy Roberts, an employee reported the fire around 8:40 a.m. Five employees and two customers were in the building at 1435 Geary St. S.E. at the time, and all escaped safely. One employee suffered a small burn on his arm and was treated at the scene.

The Albany Police Department blocked off portions of 14th Avenue and Geary Street through the afternoon as emergency crews and officials worked the fire scene. Police officers assisted residents at nearby apartment complexes who needed access to the streets.

No other structures in the area were threatened, although fire personnel remained in contact with surrounding businesses, which remained open during the incident.

Employees and bystanders gathered at the scene, watching through heavy smoke, as firefighters and two snorkel trucks battled the blaze. Some were hugging and crying. An employee's car was towed from behind the building to safety.

Albany resident and Burger King regular Kelly Darcey was not in the restaurant at the time, but she had been shopping at a nearby store when she noticed the blaze.

"It's just so sad," she said. "It's been here for so long, and they had just finished remodeling. It's terrible to watch it go. The employees were nice, and it was fast, easy and convenient. It's a tragedy."

The fire's cause remains under investigation.

Members of the Albany Fire Department, Albany Police Department, Lebanon Fire District, Tangent Rural Fire District, Corvallis Fire Department, Adair Rural Fire & Rescue, and Turner Fire District assisted. Two ladder trucks and five engines were part of the effort. Approximately 35 fire personnel responded. Albany Fire also brought in an excavator to help clear debris from the fire.

A pool of water spread from the parking lot into part of 14th Avenue and crews had to pump water out into 14th Avenue drains.

The Geary Street restaurant is one of two Burger Kings in Albany. The second is at 3060 Pacific Blvd. S.E.

As of noon, crews were still at the location. A pool of water several feet deep had grown from the parking lot into part of 14th Avenue. Fire crews are pumping water out into 14th Avenue drains. Portions of 14th Avenue and Geary Street remain closed in both directions.

More information will be posted when available.
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An armed man who friends say was searching for a stolen horse overnight on Houston's south side was shot dead by police early Saturday morning after waving a gun when he was approached by two officers, authorities said.

A woman who identified herself on the scene as the man's wife said his name is Alva Braziel. According to public records, Braziel is a 38-year-old black man. News about the shooting quickly appeared on social media where posts said "Groucho" was his nickname.

He lived less than three blocks from where he died.

Braziel was a felon and was not authorized to have a weapon. Since 2000, he has faced more than a dozen criminal charges in Harris County - mostly drug possession cases but also burglary of a vehicle, resisting arrest and evading detention.

According to a statement released Saturday afternoon from Acting Houston Police Chief Martha I. Montalvo, there are "early indications" that the armed man "might have been under the influence of a narcotic, refused all officers' commands to drop his gun and instead pointed the gun at officers."

The shooting happened around 12:40 a.m. Saturday as a pair of gang unit officers were riding in a cruiser along Cullen Boulevard on routine patrol. There were no emergency calls about a man with a gun.

Houston Police Department spokeswoman Jodi Silva said the officers spotted the man "standing in the middle of the street armed with a revolver."

The officer driving immediately stopped the police car and "gave multiple commands to the suspect to drop the weapon and to show his hands and to cooperate," Silva said.

A witness nearby reportedly also was yelling at the man, encouraging him to put the gun down.

Silva said the man raised his weapon and pointed it toward the sky, but then pointed it in the direction of the officers.

"The officers, in fear of their safety, discharged their duty weapons," she said.

Braziel was pronounced dead at the scene.

"The investigation into the overnight officer-involved shooting incident is still in its early stages and very active," Montalvo's statement said. "We extend condolences to the man's family and regret his loss of life."

Silva said the Houston police officers involved are veterans. One has 13 years of service and the other has been with the force for 10 years.

They are part of a crime reduction unit in which officers regularly ride in pairs, HPD spokesman John Cannon said.

As is customary in all police officer-involved shootings, the case is being investigated by the police department's homicide division and its internal affairs division along with a separate probe by the Harris County District Attorney's Office, Silva said.

Braziel's death follows national unrest over the last week about the police shootings of armed African-American men in Louisiana and Minnesota that have sparked protests nationwide and apparently contributed to an ambush of law enforcement in Dallas late Thursday that left five officers dead.

On Saturday morning, #AlvaBraziel was a trending Twitter hashtag in Houston.

Braziel had been cited at least two times about firearms by Harris County authorities and spent time in the Texas prison system for drug offenses.

In mid-June 2001, he was charged with the unlawful carry of a weapon. According to court records, he accepted a plea bargain and was sentenced to 60 days in the Harris County Jail.

Two weeks later, he faced a felony charge for possession of phencyclidine, known as PCP or angel dust. He pleaded guilty under an agreement with prosecutors and was sentenced to six months in prison. That appears to be the conviction that made him a felon.

He was charged as a felon in possession of a weapon in 2004, but that case was dismissed.

By Saturday afternoon, there was a modest memorial of candles and balloons in the median on Cullen across from a bustling Gulf gas station and the very-busy Bud's House of Meats. A chalk memorial on the turning-lane pavement spelled out "Alva Braziel" between two orange cones. Another message  "say his name"  was drawn on the service station driveway.

Min. Johnny Jeremiah, who leads a hip-hip church and has his own colorful history with law enforcement, was calming people who visited the memorial on Saturday afternoon. He said he was calling on Montalvo and Mayor Sylvester Turner to immediately release the officers' body camera footage and any video retrieved from gas station surveillance equipment to prove their version of events that have been shared with the community.

HPD investigators remained on the scene in at least one unmarked vehicle while marked cruisers and SUVs passed by in both directions on Cullen several times every 30 minutes.

On Saturday afternoon in nearly triple-digit heat, Braziel's younger brother stood in their home's driveway as friends and relatives stopped by to offer condolences.

Keon Jefferson, 31, said his sibling was a hard-working father who held down two jobs  working at a Jack in the Box and as a mechanic. They are their mother's only children. Now, she has just one son left.

Jefferson described the incident as "overkill" that he just can't believe.

"I don't know what to think. I don't know what to say," he said, adding that he hasn't seen any video evidence related to the incident. He also confirmed that his brother left home in the dark to look for a stolen horse.

He may not have many words less than 24 hours after the shooting, but Jefferson was firm about his opinion of police statements that his brother was waving a gun at officers.

"I don't believe that," he said.
DALLAS -- Two days after a sharp shooter shot and killed five peace officers, the Dallas Police Department received an anonymous threat triggering the deployment of SWAT officers and the search for a suspicious person in a nearby parking garage.

The mood was tense Saturday evening as police and the city spent more than three hours investigating reports of a suspicious person. The search started less than 48 hours after Micah Xavier Johnson, 25, opened fire on police Thursday night during an otherwise peaceful Black Lives Matter protest downtown. In addition to the five officers killed, seven more were injured, along with two civilians.
It began with a roller-skating accident three years ago. Taylor Aschenbrenner, then 8 years old, lost her balance amid a jumble of classmates, tumbled to the floor and felt someone else's skate roll over her left foot. The searing pain hit her immediately.

The diagnosis, however, would take much longer. An X-ray, MRIs, a CT scan and blood tests over several months revealed no evidence of a break, sprain or other significant problem. Taylor's primary symptom was pain - so severe that she could not put weight on the foot.

"Our family doctor first told us to give it some time," said Taylor's mother, Jodi Aschenbrenner, of Hudson, Wis.

But time did not heal the pain. After about a month, an orthopedist recommended physical therapy. That didn't end the problem, either. "I couldn't walk or play outside or do anything," Taylor said.

After she had spent a year and a half on crutches, her orthopedist suggested she see Dr. Stefan Friedrichsdorf, the medical director of pain medicine, palliative care and integrative medicine at Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota. He and his team promptly recognized Taylor's condition as complex regional pain syndrome, a misfiring within the peripheral and central nervous systems that causes pain signals to go into overdrive and stay turned on even after an initial injury or trauma has healed.

He came up with a treatment plan for Taylor that included cognitive behavioral therapy, physical therapy, mind-body techniques, stress-reduction strategies, topical pain-relief patches and a focus on returning to her normal life and sleep routine.

"That turned things around so fast, if I didn't see it myself, I wouldn't have believed it," Jodi Aschenbrenner said. "I thought, 'Finally, someone understands what this is, has experience with it, and knows how to fix it.'"

But why did it take so long for a child in unbearable pain to find relief? Experts say children's pain is, for the most part, grossly underrecognized and undertreated.

"Unfortunately, in 2016 pain management in the (U.S.) and all Western countries is still abysmal," said Friedrichsdorf, who noted that pediatric pain receives the least attention. "Data shows that adults with the same underlying condition will get two to three times as many pain medication doses as children."

There are effective treatments. But pediatricians, specialists and even parents have been slow to turn to them because pain in children has long been misunderstood and medical training in pain management is scant.

As recently as the 1980s, babies would routinely undergo invasive medical procedures, including open-heart surgery, without anesthesia or analgesics because physicians believed that infants' brains were not developed enough to feel the pain. And it was thought that even if babies did feel pain, it wouldn't ultimately matter because they wouldn't remember it later on.

The emphasis in Western medicine has traditionally been on "saving lives and executing medical procedures effectively, while pain has been pushed way down on the priority list," said Christine Chambers, a professor of pediatrics, psychology, neuroscience and pain management at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Many doctors and parents also fear that pain medications will have dangerous side effects, like developmental problems and addiction. But current scientific evidence supports a different conclusion.

"Research shows that poorly managed pain exposures early in life can actually change the wiring in the brain and prime children to be more sensitive to it later on, putting them at risk for developing chronic pain in childhood and adulthood," said Anna C. Wilson, a child psychologist and assistant professor of anesthesiology at the Pediatric Pain Management Center at Oregon Health & Science University. And while babies or young children may not consciously remember it, their nervous systems will.

There is, however, reason for optimism. Contrary to previous thinking, the effective use of pain medication for children does not hinder brain development, according to several studies.

Research has also shown that the appropriate medical use of prescription pain medications, such as opioids, when properly monitored, does not lead to addiction in young children and adolescents, Friedrichsdorf said.

A host of other behavioral interventions have been shown to prevent and treat pain as well. Pain experts say these can and should be used even during seemingly minor medical procedures, such as vaccinations. Parents can hold their children during the procedure, distract them with a song or breathing exercises and use a topical numbing cream.

One recent study also found that a parent's behavior and approach to their children's vaccinations can affect a child's response to needles.

"That vaccination at age 5 might not seem like a big deal to you, but if it goes wrong and causes a lot of pain, then the child becomes fearful," Chambers said, which can perpetuate a cycle of fear and pain over medical care.

"One of the best ways to address the epidemic of chronic pain in this country is to stop it before it starts," said Wilson of Oregon Health & Science University.

"If we could reduce painful experiences and problems in childhood, we might be able to reduce chronic pain in the next generation."
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.
Long Thanh International Airport is expected to receive 100 million passengers, four times design capacity of Ho Chi Minh City's existing airport.

Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung on Saturday asked relevant authorities to step up efforts to be able to kick off construction at Long Thanh International Airport by 2019, Vietnam News Agency reported today.

He also wants the first phase of the new major airport, which will be built to ease pressure for overloaded Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City, will become operational in 2025.

The government of Dong Nai Province, where the airport will be located, was directed to coordinate with the Ministry of Transport and other relevant ministries and agencies to complete compensation and resettlement work for the project as soon as possible, Dung said while in Dong Nai on July 9.

Image of future Long Thanh International Airport. Photo by Vietnam News Agency

Long Thanh, about 40 km away from HCMC, will be buit over three phases and covers a total area of 5,000 hectares in Long Thanh District.



It is designed to handle 25 million passengers and 1.2 million tons of cargo by 2025 in the first phase, which includes the construction of a runway, a terminal and auxiliary facilities.



In the second and third phases, more runways and terminals will be constructed to raise the total capacity to 100 million passengers and five million tons of cargo a year.



Long Thanh is expected to help reduce the overload at Tan Son Nhat International Airport, which has design capacity of 25 million passengers annually but has welcomed around 36 million passengers per year recently.



Total investment capital for Long Thanh is estimated at VND336.63 trillion ($16.03 billion) with cost for the first phase at VND114.45 trillion ($5.45 billion).

Meanwhile, Vietnam is planning a $5.5 billion expansion of the Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi to double its capacity by 2030, the government news website reported in late May.

The expansion will be located on an area of 720 hectares opposite the existing airport on the other side of the Vo Nguyen Giap Road. It will double the capacity of the current airport to 50 million passengers per year by 2030.

Related news:

> Vietnam to expand Hanoi's international airport for $5.5 bln

> Saigon airport to reduce flights during rush hour
Chinese ships even stopped another Vietnamese fishing boat from rescuing the fishermen at sea.

A fishing boat from Vietnam's central province of Quang Ngai has been sunk by Chinese ships near the Paracel Islands, said an official from Vietnams Zone II Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in the central city of Da Nang on Sunday.

A boat with five people on board was sunk by Chinese vessels at 11:00 a.m. on July 9. They survived by hanging onto the sunken vessel and were finally rescued by another Quang Ngai fishing boat, the official said, adding that the fishermen are on their way back to shore.

A report from Quang Ngais Committee on Natural Disaster Preparedness, Search and Rescue sent to the National Steering Committee for Search and Rescue and Vietnam Fisheries Resources Surveillance said two fishing boats, one run by captain Huynh Van Khanh, 31, and the other by captain Vo Van Luu, 50, headed out to fish near the Paracel Islands on July 2. When they arrived they were hounded by two Chinese speedboats. At noon on July 9, two Chinese vessels, numbers 46102 and 56103, rammed and sank Luus boat and prevented Khanhs vessel from being able to approach and rescue the five fishermen at 7:20 p.m. the same day.

The five fishermen are in stable conditions and in contact with Quang Ngais Border Guard.

A Vietnamese fishing boat sunk by Chinese vessels in May 2015. Photo by VnExpress/Nguyen Dong

China used force to take control of the Paracel Islands from Vietnam in 1974 after a naval clash, which has been strongly opposed by the latter. Vietnam claims indisputable sovereignty over the islands and has resolutely asked China to return the archipelago to the Southeast Asian nation.

An unidentified vessel sank a Vietnamese fishing boat at night on May 3 in the waters off the Paracel Islands, leaving 34 fishermen floating at sea for hours. On March 6 and 18, two Vietnamese fishing boats operating around the waters were attacked and robbed by Chinese marine surveillance ship 46101. At least three more Vietnamese fishing boats were also attacked in March, according to fishermen.

Related news:

> Unidentified ship sinks Vietnamese fishing boat in Hoang Sa archipelago
After Thursdays terrorist slaughter of policemen in Dallas, its fair to say that Barack Obama might well be the worst president in U.S. history. Heres why.

The keynote of Americas domestic politics for the last 60 or 70 yearsfrom sometime between the Supreme Courts 1954 Brown v Board of Education school desegregation decision and the 1964 Civil Rights Acthas been the nations effort to undo the heinous wrongs that slavery and Jim Crow perpetrated on black Americans ever since the first slave was brought here in the 1640s. I am old enough to have had friends who were Freedom Riders, white college kids who went to Mississippi to register black citizens to vote. One Ill never forget returned with tales of old people, whom legal chicanery had blocked from voting all their lives, marveling in almost Biblical language that such a miracle could be occurring in their own lifetimes, in their own towns. I remember how Sherriff Bull Connor turned the fire hoses and German Shepherds on those civil rights protesters, black and white, in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963, and how that same year governor George Wallace stood at the door of the University of Alabama to prevent the enrollment of two black students, proclaiming himself Jefferson Daviss spiritual heir and vowing segregation forever! But what I most remember is skinny Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach walking heroically down that hostile Alabama streetalone, but followed by federal marshalsto force Wallace to stand aside and let the two students enter. It was as heart stopping as Gary Cooper walking toward the showdown on Main Street in High Noon.

I also remember how civil rights zeal turned into zealotry. We made the integration of our schools, and then the closing of the black-white achievement gap, our principal educational goal for half a century, with the unintended consequence that we neglected actual education and turned urban schools into machines for perpetuating black failure. Judge-ordained busing in Boston, completely contrary to the terms of the Civil Rights Act, made the schools more segregated than ever. A judge-ordained Kansas City school-funding-equalization order, forcing local taxpayers to shell out $2 billion over a decade, including building a bizarrely unnecessary Olympic swimming pool, produced no educational gains whatsoever and proved to anyone with eyes to see that money was not the key to racial equality in education.

Then, the colleges turned to affirmative action in admissions, the ed schools taught their students not how to teach or what facts they needed to transmit but only social-justice ideology, and deans of diversity began to outnumber actual teachers on college campuses. The professors themselves brought the stupendous achievements of Western culture under the suspicion of creating nothing but racial inequality (and later an unimaginably broad smorgasbord of inequity). They replaced Plato with Ta-Nehisi Coates.

Believing that welfare payments constituted well-deserved reparations for 300 years of slavery and oppression, we New Yorkers created a come-and-get-it dole that ended up with one in eight of our neighbors on the welfare rollspaid for by the rest of us and resulting in a multi-generational underclass. We entertained the foolish notion that black crime was a manly revolt against oppressionthat black criminals were only protesting against the closure of all avenues of honest advancement for their race, as well as against the daily humiliation heaped on African-Americans.

The resulting depolicing of black neighborhoods and unwillingness of courts to punish black criminals drove crime to Hobbesian levels and turned minority neighborhoods into killing fields, where mothers put their kids to bed in the bathtub, trying to keep them safe from stray bullets. They would never send them out for a bottle of milk or take them into the street to learn to ride a bike. In those days, my upright, churchgoing cleaning lady had to pay the gang who controlled her block $20 of hard-earned money to allow Macys deliverymen to go past them to bring her the comfortable bed she had labored so long to earn. She lived, in other words, in something like the Middle Ages, when bands of ruffians ruled the land and extorted tribute from the peasants.

Thomas Jefferson had prophesied that God would punish America for black slavery, but he could never have foreseen how squalid that punishment would be.

As the Civil War, which cost 620,000 American lives, drew to a close, Abraham Lincoln gave his Second Inaugural Address, six weeks before one of the worlds perennial multitude of fanatics, this one opposed to votes for black citizens, blew the great presidents brains out. Lincoln had spoken in his address about the immense cost the country was paying for the sin of slavery. In the final accounting, he said, it might turn out that all the wealth piled by the bondsmans two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and . . . every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword. But as he looked toward the end of the war fought to end these wrongs, he urged reconciliation. He urged forgiveness. With malice toward none, with charity for all, he prayed, let us . . . bind up the nation's wounds.

Well, we tried. Despite the evil men who derailed Reconstruction, America took up again Lincolns charge to finish the work we are in. My whole life coincided with that effort. And for all the resistance and unintended negative consequences, the nation had come very close to succeeding by 2008, when Barack Obama, a black man, was elected president of the United States. A friend had called from London shortly before and asked incredulously, Surely, America would never elect a black man as president? Of course it would, I said. And when it happened, the resounding shout of joy that went up from the buildings of my ultra-left-wing Manhattan neighborhood was something I had never heard before. My wife and daughter wept. And though no admirer of Obamas politics, I too felt awe at the historical momentousness of it all.

Not everyone shared that sentimentmost notably the new president and his wife, who had sat for more than a decade in the pews of Jeremiah Wrights Chicago church listening to the reverend firebrand pray for God to damn America for its ineradicable racism. Though the new president had sworn his oath of office on Lincolns Bible, anyone who thought that his election marked the fulfilment of Lincolns dream soon heard him and his even more race-obsessed attorney general lambaste America for a racism so deep that white citizens couldnt even see it, bred in the bone as it was. Colleges even made up a term for this molecular-level racism: micro-aggression. It was hard not to think of Robespierres fanatical vow that the revolution had indeed erased monarchy and aristocracy from France, but it wouldnt end until it had erased the very idea of them from every mans heart as well.

Central to the nations Herculean effort to end the wrongs of racism was the new determination of police departments, led by New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani and his police commissioner William Bratton, to restore law and order to ghetto neighborhoods, so that civil society could come back to life there, and people wouldnt have to pay tribute to armed thugs controlling their lives. The old policing had ignored all but the most heinous ghetto crimes. Its spirit was: If they want to kill each other uptown, fine, as long as it stays up there. But for the new policing, all victims deserved police attention, regardless of race. All neighborhoods deserved police protection, regardless of the color of their residents. And since the perpetrators of crime are overwhelmingly young minority men, they properly received a very large proportion of police scrutiny. The alternative, to repeat, was to let them kill each other.

But unlike Lincoln, Americas first black president didnt bind up the nations wounds but scratched them open every time police killed a black manrightly or sometimes wrongly, because when society arms men with guns and authority, it will inevitably attract some bullies, making a police chief responsible for policing his own men vigilantly, as the NYPD especially has striven to do, and as Plato told us was statecrafts thorniest problem. Anytime a non-black man killed an African-American, Obama cried racism and said it could have been him or his son, if hed had one. Every time a cop, white or black, killed a black American, Obamas reflexive instinct was to blame the cop. About the mayhem of black-on-black murder in the nations ghettoes, he gave only a single speech.

When the president praises the Black Lives Matter demonstrators, as if they alone of his fellow countrymen know that platitudinous truth, he is only reinforcing black grievance, when his proper role is to convince ghetto blacks that their lives matter enough for them to take responsibility for them, to stop going around with chips on their shoulders and Glocks in their waistbands, to be fathers to the children they beget, and to set for them an example of the responsible citizenship that is theirs for the asking, thanks to the efforts of so many of their countrymen, white and black, living and dead.

True to form, Obama went into grievance-mongering mode on July 7, commenting on the killings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile by cops in Louisiana and Minnesota. He noted that all of us as Americans should be troubled by these shootings, because these are not isolated incidents. Theyre symptomatic of a broader set of racial disparities that exist in our criminal justice system. And he went on to detail law enforcements racial disparities, as if there were not even more stark and troubling racial disparities in lawbreaking. His familiar conclusion: If you add it all up, the African American and Hispanic population, who make up only 30 percent of the general population, make up more than half of the incarcerated population. Now, these are facts. And when incidents like this occur, theres a big chunk of our fellow citizenry that feels as if because of the color of their skin, they are not being treated the same. And that hurts.

Later that day, a black former soldier assassinated five Dallas police officers and wounded seven more, sniping from above with a semi-automatic rifle. A sympathizer of the New Black Panther Party, which professes hatred of whites and especially Jews, the sniper, Micah X. Johnson, 25, told police who cornered and killed him that he was avenging cop killings of blacks by killing whites and especially white cops.

If you want to ignite race riots, a sure-fire way to do it is to stir up black hatred and suspicion of cops, which will in turn make cops warier of blacks and more trigger-happy, and so on, until an explosion occurs. So thanks, President Obama. You have set back American race relations by 50 years.

Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images
AKRON, Ohio -- An Akron man was sentenced to nine years in prison for making meth.

Terry Hale, 54, of 13th Street Southwest, was sentenced Thursday in Summit County Common Pleas Court, according to a prosecutor's office news release.

A Summit County jury found Hale guilty June 30 of manufacturing methamphetamines, assembly or possession of chemicals for the manufacture of drugs, aggravated possession of drugs and possession of drug paraphernalia, Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh said.

In May of 2015, Akron police discovered a methamphetamine operation, including several active cooking vessels and other drug paraphernalia, at Hale's Akron home. The house is within 200 feet of Kenmore High School.

Hale also has a prior felony conviction involving the manufacture of drugs, Walsh said.

If you wish to discuss or comment on this story, please visit our crime and courts comments section.

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BROOK PARK, Ohio -- As the result of 4-3 votes Saturday morning on each of four related pieces of legislation, city council authorized the mayor of Brook Park to enter into a 20-year water service agreement with the city of Cleveland.

Staunch opponent of the agreement, Ward 1 Councilman Tom Troyer, as well as councilwomen Jan Powers (Ward 3) and Julie McCormick (at-large), voted no.

As had been the case through several months of council and caucus meetings, Troyer and Mayor Tom Coyne squared off to argue about the legislation. Troyer has criticized the agreement for allowing water rates to be set over the next 10 years at the sole discretion of the Cleveland Board of Control. He also took issue with the fact cities will have to compete for any of the $10 million in funding set aside by the division of water for water main and line repairs. The contract has a non-poaching stipulation as well.

Coyne maintained the agreement allows Brook Park to keep money in its own capital improvement fund instead of having to pay for major water line repairs and replacement. He has also emphasized Cleveland has the primary water source - Lake Erie - which gives Cleveland the ability to control operations and rates.

"There are 35 other communities who have joined this (agreement) over the last 10 or 11 years," Troyer told council Saturday. "Of course most of the other cities are going to be in favor of this because it takes the burden of the cost of these replacement water lines out of their budgets. They'll have you believe the city of Cleveland will just go ahead and fix them whenever we want them fixed. It's not true. The cost of those replacement water mains comes out of the city's budget and puts it right on the backs of the residents. And the residents are going to pay for that in higher water rates."

Coyne provided an immediate rebuttal.

"You continue to demonstrate to me that you don't have a clue of what you're talking about," Coyne told Troyer. "The last statement you made is just absolutely not factual. This is a good deal ... and saying otherwise is not being frank with the citizens of Brook Park."

Troyer later said he believes the water contract takes the city "from a bad deal to a worse deal."

City council is on recess through July, though additional special meetings may be scheduled as needed.
C.J. McCollum, LeBron James, Jared Cunningham

Portland Trail Blazers guard and Canton native C.J. McCollum has withdrawn from USA Select Team.

(Ron Schwane)

LAS VEGAS - Portland Trail Blazers guard and Canton, Ohio, native C.J. McCollum has elected not to participate with the USA Select Team this summer, league sources informed cleveland.com.

McCollum, who won the Most Improved Player award for the 2015-16 campaign, made the decision to concentrate his efforts fully on the upcoming season, sources told cleveland.com.

His absence will not take him out of future consideration for a potential USA Men's National Team roster spot, a source said.

The 24-year-old combo guard was one of 25 young up-and-coming players chosen for the Select squad that will practice and scrimmage against the National Team during a four-day training camp July 18-21 in Las Vegas before the Rio Olympics in August.

McCollum is by far the most accomplished player out of that group. Many players have gone through the path of the Select Team pipeline to playing with the National Team down the road.

In 80 games last season, McCollum averaged 20.8 points and shot 41 percent from beyond the arc. He made a gigantic 14-point leap from his previous season. He and All-Star Damian Lillard are among the best backcourts in the NBA. The Trail Blazers lost in a hard-fought five-game series to the Golden State Warriors in the second round of the 2016 playoffs.

Cavaliers superstar LeBron James took notice, calling McCollum "a stud" and Lillard "an All-Star" who was snubbed. Portland is looking to build off of a 44-win season.

McCollum attended GlenOak High School.
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The shooting deaths of two black men by white officers, sparks a sniper to ambush Dallas Police Officers at a Black Lives Matter march, leaving five officers fatally shot.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Black lives matter. Blue lives matter. All lives matter. Talking to each other matters. Listening to each other matters. Empathy matters. Respect for law enforcement matters. Good police training matters. Police hiring standards matter. De-escalation, not escalation matters. Jobs matter. Equal protection under the law matters.

Alton Sterling matters. Philando Castile matters. Officer Brent Thompson matters. Officer Patrick Zamarripa matters. Officer Michael Krol matters. Officer Michael Smith matters. Officer Lorne Aherns matters.

Hashtags won't stop toe tags being placed on people killed senselessly. Real,concrete change in attitudes, behavior and procedures will.

Philando Castile, who was shot to death during a traffic stop, managed the cafeteria of a Minnesota Montessori school. A little,blond, white girl, who's a student at the school was asked how she thought of Castile. She said with a smile that she thought of him as her dad, because he had all the same positive attributes of her real dad. Castile has left big shoes to fill. As has Sterling, as a father of five, and officers Thompson, Zamarripa, Krol, Smith and Ahrens.

One way for real change to take place is for people to put themselves in those shoes. In the shoes of good police officers trying to "protect and serve" and go home to their family every night. In the shoes of an African-American filled with anxiety over whether they've just been pulled over by one of the majority of good, well-trained, psychologically fit police officers, or one of the bad cops who should have never been hired and given a badge and gun.

In 1932 President Franklin Roosevelt declared "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself." He could have just as easily been talking about the relationship between police and the African-Americans in 2016. But that shouldn't be the case because it is 2016. We should be better than this, and we as nation inherently know it.

Let's "Make America Great Again" by making sure Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, Brent Thompson, Patrick Zamarripa, Michael Krol, Michael Smith and Lorne Ahrens did not die in vain.
One company has been let off after agreeing to pay compensation.

Fish farm owners in the southern province of Ba Ria Vung Tau said they are determined to file a lawsuit against 13 seafood processing plants accused of discharging unprocessed wastewater and causing the deaths of their fish on the Cha Va River.

The 33 farmers have hired lawyers to proceed with the legal case after the plants refused to pay compensation, the Voice of Vietnam reported on July 9.

During the second round of negotiations on July 8, the farmers decided to withdraw their complaint against the privately-owned My Suong after the company paid VND21 million ($930) in compensation. My Suong discharged the least amount of unprocessed wastewater into the river in Long Son Commune, Vung Tau City during September last year.

The Vung Tau Peoples Court is scheduled to invite the 13 companies and the farmers for a third round of negotiations on July 18.

Dead fish at a Cha Va River farm. Photo by VnExpress/Xuan Mai

In the first round on June 22, the plants refused to admit the fish deaths in the river were caused by wastewater they had discharged, the Ba Ria Vung Tau Newspaper reported July 8.

The farmers have demanded the 13 plants pay VND13.8 billion in compensation for their losses.

In September last year, fish raised in the farms on the Cha Va River died en masse. The owners believed their fish were killed by unprocessed wastewater discharged by local seafood processing plants.

Related news:

> Fishermen demand compensation, medicals after mass fish deaths

> How Formosas toxin caused the mass fish deaths in Vietnam

> Formosa apologizes for mass fish deaths, pledges compensation and changes
Two Vietnamese fishermen have been injured while another is missing.

Thailands naval forces at 2:00 p.m. on July 8 opened fire at three Vietnamese fishing boats with 18 fishermen on board, injuring two while one is missing, the Vietnamplus reported late Sunday, quoting Nguyen Hai Ngoc, first secretary of Vietnams Embassy in Bangkok.

Ngoc said shooting at foreign boats fishing illegally in one countrys waters is against international law and practice.

The two wounded fishermen are Nguyen Van Teo, 28, and Nguyen Van Linh, 25, all from Vietnams Ben Tre southern province. Teo was injured in the right leg while Linh was wounded in the shoulder. They, along with the remaining 15 fishermen, were carried to the shore by Thailands helicopter vessels and are currently detained in Naval Zone 2 of Thailands Royal Navy in Songkhla Province.

Thai naval vessels chased after three Vietnamese fishing boats found to be operating illegally in Thailand's waters on July 8. Two of them sunk in a collision with Thai vessels. A Vietnamese steersman, who has yet to be identified, was missing while the others were rescued and arrested by Thai naval forces. The remaining boat has already been seized by Thai authorities.

The fishermen are expected to be handed over to Thai police on Monday, July 11. They are likely to be charged of illegally penetrating Thailands waters and fishing without permission before a court.

A group of officials from Vietnam's Embassy in Bangkok have flown to Songkhla to deal with the incident.

Previously, a Thai speedboat chased and shot at various Vietnamese boats fishing illegally in Thailand's waters on September 11 last year. Ngo Van Sinh, the 38-year old captain of one of the boats, was shot in the head and died immediately. Two other fishermen were injured.

Related news:

> Vietnamese fishermen in custody after being caught fishing in Thai waters

> Malaysia detains 20 Vietnamese fishermen for intrusion

> Thirty Vietnamese fishermen punished in Australia
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Michigan farmer Ken Engle wanted to keep his 300-acre spread of vineyards and fruit trees with the exquisite view of Lake Michigan in his family forever. He wasn't sure he could afford it. "We're under very high development pressure in this area," said Engle, 69, who lives in Williamsburg, Mich., near Traverse City. Yet thanks in part to a little-known federal tax incentive for land conservation donations, ranchers and farmers like Engle can harvest income tax savings on 100 percent of their annual income for 16 years. All other donors can deduct up to 50 percent. He can pocket the savings or reinvest in his business while at the same time preserving his land for future generations.

"If I develop the land, it becomes a commodity. I sell it one time and then I can't do anything with it," Engle said. "If I conserve it, it's a resource. I can grow something and create income for many years." A land conservation easement is a permanent, legally enforceable agreement between a property owner and a land trust or government entity, which is recorded with local governments and ensures that a parcel will continue to serve certain conservation purposes.

How it works

To get the process going, an owner contacts a local land trust, of which there are about 1,100 nationwide. If the trust agrees that the property has a public benefit, it can then become eligible for the tax break, as long as IRS guidelines are followed.

Ken Engle (far right) with his family on his protected farm. Source: Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy

What kinds of property qualify? It could be land that preserves open space, or is deemed to be historically important. Land with a scenic vista or a critical water source or wildlife habitat may also qualify. The landowner pays for an appraisal that determines the value of the land "as-is," and the value of the property as restricted by the easement. In some cases, the land trust pays for associated expenses like a survey, document preparation, title work and future enforcement. The difference between the two numbers is the charitable "donation" to the land trust, and the amount of the total federal tax deduction the owner can take over 16 years (or less). For example, say your income is $200,000 and you donate an easement worth $500,000. A farmer, rancher or a forester could deduct the full $200,000 in the year they donated the easement, and their full income in each subsequent year, until the entire $500,000 deduction is reached. All other donors can deduct 50 percent of their income until they reach the full $500,000 for up to 16 years.

If I develop the land, it becomes a commodity. If I conserve it, it's a resource. Ken Engle Michigan landowner

A landowner may also realize local property tax savings through a lowered property value assessment after the easement is granted, said Glen Chown, executive director of the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy in Michigan. Sixteen states offer their own tax incentives, some of which may be transferable to future owners. Like any gift from Uncle Sam, there are strings attached. It does not apply to outright grants of land. Also, the easement donation cannot be used as part of a strategy in which an easement is given in return for a permit or other compensation. An easement may permit the construction of new buildings and even additional homes, as long as they don't interfere with protections in the easement.

Most local trusts require regular follow-ups to ensure compliance. The easement is permanent and cannot be undone except under the most extraordinary of circumstances, said Russ Shay, director of public policy for the Land Trust Alliance, which provides support to land trusts nationwide,

For example, Chown said the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy annually visits over 200 properties with easements in force. "A lot of farmers we work with are pro-property rights. They're very conservative and it's really important that they understand we are not going to tell them how to farm their land," Chown said. "What is protected is very specificprimarily it's about preventing really important conservation land from being developed."

Get legal help

Landowners should enlist their own legal representation to make sure their needs are being met with the easement, Shay said. "[Conservation easements are] highly negotiated documents. Their negotiating room depends on the circumstances of the property," said Steven Barshov, a partner attorney with the New York City environmental firm, Sive, Paget & Riesel. The firm helps individual and organization clients with conservation easements. Potential donors should also speak with a tax advisor about how to maximize the incentive, as well as family members who may be affected by the permanence of the decision, he said. "For many land owners it is an important and difficult financial calculation," said Shay. "Some people can't afford to do it. If not, "a land trust can help a donor conserve their land in other ways," such as buying the property from the donor, he added.
Passengers at O'Hare International Airport wait in line to be screened at a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoint in Chicago. Getty Images

This year, Independence Day included something most passengers haven't seen in a long timefreedom from interminably long lines at airport security checkpoints. And that informal holiday could be coming soon to an airport near you. The Transportation Security Administration screened 10.7 million travelers from Wednesday, June 30 through Monday, July 4, the agency said in a statement last week. "The average wait time nationwide in standard security lines was less than ten minutes, while those in TSA Pre-check lines waited less than five minutes," the TSA added, despite the fact that June 30 and July 1 were "the highest volume travel days we have seen since 2007." The good news comes courtesy of a variety of systemic fixes that include the expedited hiring of more than 750 new Transportation Security Officers (TSOs), and helping hands from airports and airlines. Those entities have hired extra personnel to perform non-security duties at checkpoints, but the battle is far from won. "We are not declaring victory," said Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson in a statement. "We plan to do more."

Passengers at O'Hare International Airport wait in line to be screened at a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoint on May 16, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. Getty Images

That "more" included last week's announcement that American Airlines is spending $5 million to help TSA install new screening technology and modified screening stations at Chicago O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles and Miami International Airports in the fall. More upgrades are expected later this year at the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. "This is in addition to the $21 million we are already spending on non-security functions at our largest airportslike bin running and queue managementwhich enable TSA officers to focus solely on the screening aspects of their jobs," said Robert Isom, American Airlines' COO, in a letter to employees. The new "innovation lanes" increase security effectiveness and, best of all, decrease the time travelers must spend in security lines by about 30 percent, the TSA says. They are also being used at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, with funding from Delta Air Lines. While checkpoint technology is getting better, TSA continues its campaign to get travelers to enroll in the TSA PreCheck program, which offers expedited screening privileges for 5 years in exchange for $85, some shared personal information and an in-person interview.

Travelers can complete their applications at permanent enrollment station located at airports and other locations around the country. To expedite things, TSA is setting up easy-to-access "pop-up" enrollment centers near airports around the country.


WEST HAVEN, Conn., July 10, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Watson Inc. is proud to announce a roundtable discussion to be held at the IFT Food Expo in Chicago, Illinois. The title of the roundtable is "Innovation in Spray Drying Technology". The discussion will be held in a meeting room at the Watson booth on the IFT show floor. Leading the discussion will be Alice Wilkinson, Vice President of Innovation at Watson.





Spray driers are very effective; in a single step, they can turn a solution into a dried powder. Dry powders are often easier to handle in production, allowing ingredients that would otherwise be liquids to be incorporated into dry powder blends such as premixes. The resulting powders formed from the spray-drying process are free-flowing and easy to handle and scale.

In the roundtable discussion, Wilkinson will review how a spray drier works by separating the solids from a liquid through evaporation. To do this, a liquid is sprayed through a nozzle into a hot vapor stream. The solids form from the liquid as the moisture leaves the droplets. The solid is then collected as it passes through the outlet.

Wilkinson will also review the differences between the particles made by fluidbed and and those formed via spray-dried microencapsulation. Examples for spray drying applications include the fat-soluble vitamins, such as vitamin A, vitamin D, and vitamin E. When spray dried, these vitamins are much more stable for shelf life, however there will always be some amount of surface oil.

Participants will discuss the functionality changes created by the makeup of the emulsions. Wilkinson will lead the discussion to cover typical emulsions, micellar dispersions, and colloidal dispersions. Examples will be shown to illustrate the differences in the finished particles resulting from the type of emulsion utilized.

Additional information on spray drying can be found on the company website: http://www.watson-inc.com/our-capabilities/spray-drying/

Additional information on this and other events, as well as registration information, can be found on the Watson website at this link: http://info.watson-inc.com/ift-2016

About Watson:

Watson is one of the highest quality suppliers of products and services geared towards enhancing human health and nutrition around the world. We are a leader in developing quality products and innovative ingredient systems for the food and supplement industries. Expertise in custom nutrient premixes, microencapsulation, agglomeration, micronizing, spray drying, and film technology allows us to develop unique formulations and products using Watson manufactured, value-added ingredients. For more information on Watson see www.watson-inc.com.



Company info:

Watson Foods Co., Inc. DBA Watson Inc.

Corporate headquarters: 301 Heffernan Drive, West Haven CT 06516

CEO: James T. Watson

Website: www.watson-inc.com

Employees: 300

A photo accompanying this release is available at: http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=40791

CONTACT: Watson Inc. Moira Watson, V.P. Marketing & Communications moira.watson@watson-inc.com 800-388-3481 or (203) 932-3000
A man casts his vote for parliament's upper house election at a polling station on July 10, 2016 in Himeji, Japan.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling coalition won a landslide victory on Sunday in an election for parliament's upper house, media exit polls showed, despite concerns about his economic policies and a goal to revise the pacifist constitution.

Some of the exit polls also showed Abe's coalition and like-minded parties had won the two-thirds "super majority" needed to try to revise the post-war constitution for the first time, though others only said the threshold was within reach.

Abe's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) won a simple majority for the first time since 1989, according to the voter surveys, a victory that will bolster the premier's grip over the conservative party that he led back to power in 2012 after three years in opposition.

A push to ease the charter's constraints on the military operating overseas could lead to tension with China, where memories of Japan's past militarism still arouse anger.

Tomomi Inada, the LDP's policy chief, noted that the party had already crafted a draft revised constitution. "Our party is one that calls for reforming the constitution," she told local television shortly after the polls closed.

In Japan, financial market players fear amending the charter will divert Abe's energy away from reviving the stuttering economy.

Some voters who backed Abe's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) said the economy's health was also their biggest concern.

"Especially since I see economic growth as the priority, I have little hope for the opposition parties," said Yoshihiko Takeda, a 36-year-old IT company employee.

Abe had cast the election as a referendum on his "Abenomics" recipe of hyper-easy monetary policy, spending and reform. With signs the strategy is failing, the government plans to compile a post-election stimulus package that could exceed 10 trillion yen ($99 billion).

But economists worry the government will choose big-ticket infrastructure projects rather than implement tough structural reforms.
The 2016 Welsh Dragon silver 20 coin is presented in a colorful card.

The Royal Mint celebrates the Welsh Dragon, which is also found on the flag of Wales, on a 2016 Brilliant Uncirculated .999 fine silver 20 coin.

The national symbol of Wales is being given another life.

The Welsh dragon, already used for 1 coins in 1995 and 2000, is now appearing on a collectors silver 20 coin.

The 2016 Brilliant Uncirculated .999 fine silver 20 coin features Norman Sillmans 1 reverse design, with the Jody Clark effigy of Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse.

The Welsh dragon, explained

The Welsh dragon, an enduring symbol of Wales, celebrates the spirit of its people, according to the Royal Mint, including its "pride, ferocity and determination."

The dragon also appears on the Welsh flag, on top of a green and white backdrop.

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Sculptor Sillman (who trained at the Royal College of Art and became a regular exhibitor at the Royal Academy) received his first commission from the Royal Mint in 1958. His design is taken from a drawing provided by the College of Arms. Sillman sculptured a scaled and unflinching defender of the realm, channelling the spirit of Wales into its posture and poise, ensuring it is worthy of Celtic legend and representative of a contemporary Welsh attitude, the Royal Mint said.

Sillmans design first appeared on the 1 coin in 1995 and 2000 as part of a series depicting the four nations of the United Kingdom, England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The coin also celebrates, the Royal Mint adds, in a sense, the new Royal Mint Experience visitor center, which opened in June at the Mints site in Llantrisant, Wales.

Basics of the new Royal Mint coin

The 2016 silver silver 20 coin featuring the Welsh dragon is a commemorative coin, meaning it is not designed to be spent or enter general circulation.

It is, however, available at face value, the third silver 20-for-20 coin of 2016, in a series that began in 2013.

The silver 20 coins weigh 15.71 grams and measures 27 millimeters in diameter.

The 2016 Welsh Dragon coin has no stated mintage limit. So there's low risk of a quick sellout.

The coins are presented on a colorful card highlighting a red dragon.

There is a limit of three coins per household, and delivery of the coins is expected to begin in August.

To learn more, visit the Royal Mint website.
27 fishing boats surrounded police and military officials and seized them in response to the arrests of other fishermen.

Police in An Minh District in the southern province of Kien Giang arrested seven fishermen on July 9 who were involved in the bizarre alleged capture of eight police and military officials earlier this month.

Police have already filed criminal proceedings against the fishermen, who are accused of inciting other people and being directly responsible for the incident.

There are frequent regional conflicts between fishing groups in the southern province of Kien Giang. Photo by VnExpress/Cuu Long

Five border guards, one district military official and two policemen from An Minh District seized four fishing boats in the waters of Van Khanh Tay Commune at 10 p.m. on July 2 for illegal operations. The fishing boats were understood to have come from Ha Tien Town, about 100km from Van Khanh Tay.

When the officials accompanied the fishermen and their boats to the nearby Kim Quy Border Guard Station for further investigation, another 27 fishing boats from Ha Tien chased them 'arrested' the officials, before taking them all the way to Ha Tien.

They were released on July 3 after Kien Giang authorities negotiated with the fishermen.

Related news:

> Vietnamese police prosecute fishermen for taking officials hostage

> Vietnamese police, military officials 'arrested' by fishermen
Media Freedom, Markets, and Political Change By: Emily Skarbek

When I watched the video of Philando Castile die from gunshot wounds inflicted by a police officer in the course of a routine traffic stop, a deep sickness swept over me. Sadly, this feeling was not the result of a sudden realisation that police violence was a problem, particularly against black members of our communities. According to estimates, over 1,500 people were shot and killed by police officers last since the start of 2015  inclusive of cases like Laquan McDonald in Chicago, Christian Taylor in Texas, Samuel Dubose in Cincinnati, Walter Scott in South Carolina, and Tamir Rice in Cleveland.

I learned of Castiles shooting on twitter. I saw #FalconHeights trending and clicked on the hash tag to find out what had happened. I immediately clicked through to video shot by Diamond Reynolds on Facebook live. When I started watching the video, I did not know whether Castile would survive or not. Horror came over me as I intimately watched the events unfold.

I give this account because amidst the more complex racial and social issues regarding the relationship between citizens and police, there is a lesson of media freedom. When Reynolds made the brave, flash decision to start recording what the police had done to Castile on Facebook live, she perhaps unknowingly made a choice that helped protect that content. By filming direct on Facebook, the video was immediately stored on Facebooks servers, which meant that the content was preserved even if her phone was confiscated or destroyed.

Just one day before, the video of police shooting Alton Sterling surfaced. In this case, the convenience store owner had filmed directly to his phone. According to the Guardian, Abdullah Muflahi said As soon as I finished the video, I put my phone in my pocket. I knew they would take it from me, if they knew I had it. They took my security camera videos. They told me they had a warrant, but didnt show me one. So I kept this video for myself. Otherwise, what proof do I have?

Academic work supports the anecdotal picture sketched above. Where the media is less regulated and there is greater private ownership in the media industry, citizens are more politically knowledgeable and active. This is the subject of Peter Leesons paper in the Journal of Economic Perspectives examining the issue across countries and using a variety of different indicators.

In countries where government interferes with the media, individuals know less about basic political issues and are less politically involved. Politically ignorant and apathetic individuals do not know enough about political happenings or participate enough politically to monitor or punish effectively the activities of self-interested politicians. When politicians are free from accountability to voters, they are more likely to pursue privately beneficial policies.

Private ownership of media outlets like Facebook allow for people have access to information that would otherwise not be possible because of the ability to hide behind state power. Today police and politicians routinely attempt to shelter themselves from scrutiny and evade responsibility by denying access to information. Even in countries with almost full press freedom, new evidence suggests that journalists are killed for corrupt reasons.

The video of Castiles death has been viewed millions of times, placing people as close as possible to being in the moment of an experience that no one would wish on another human being. Such technology is made possible and protected by capitalism, however imperfectly. Personally, I was literally sickened by watching the video. But I chose to share it on my twitter feed because I felt an moral obligation to stand witness the reality of the situation. In a free society, it cannot be the role of the police to use deadly force even in the most tense moments.

Peter Boettke has a nice post discussing both the importance of expectations for political change and the role of political economy in arguing for the types of rule changes  demilitarising the police, ending the war on drugs, rethinking what community policing means in federalism  that can address the deep political, social, and racial issues America is wrestling with. The power of media will influence how expectations change from the bottom up, and less directly, the strategies our political leaders think viable.

In the 1840s, Alexis de Tocqueville wrote, only a newspaper can put the same thought at the same time before a thousand readers. Today an app can put the same event in real time before millions of viewers. The optimist in me thinks this technology can be a force for good by shifting public opinion to hold political actors to account, by cultivating mutual respect amongst diverse people, and discouraging recourse to violence. But it certainly is not inevitable or obvious that it will be used on net to foster more tolerance and better conventional understanding about the need for upholding the rule of law with limits on state power.
'Wendell & Wild' is great to look at, not much fun to watch

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ELKO  The Adobe Fire north of Elko was contained Friday at 85 acres, but another fire in the northern part of the county has burned nearly 300.
McNairy Regional Hospital recently closed its doors in Selmer, Tenn. People left messages on the windows at the hospitals entrance door after it closed. (Shelley Mays / The Tennessean)

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By Dave Boucher, USA TODAY NETWORK  Tennessee

SELMER, Tenn.  Rockabilly means something to the people of Selmer.

The road that's carried the likes of Elvis Presley to and from Tupelo, Miss., passes through the heart of this small community in the southern portion of McNairy County, about 90 miles east of Memphis.

So the annual Rockabilly Highway Revival Festival and Car Show is perhaps one of the county's biggest draws, apart from lawman Buford Pusser of "Walking Tall" fame. The streets of Selmer were packed one recent June weekend to see the annual parade and festivities.

No one saw the 91-year-old man's 1987 Ford Crown Victoria driving toward the crowd until it was too late. The car blasted through a barricade before hitting and killing two people.

McNairy County Mayor Ronnie Brooks knows it could've been much worse  during a 2007 car show, six people died and 20 were injured in an accident. At that time, McNairy Regional Hospital was open and right down the road. Now it's closed.

"Knowing that it was there does give you some comfort," said Brooks, who lives across the street from the now-closed hospital. "And I think that comfort has been disturbed since (the hospital closure) has happened.

Tennova Healthcare, owned by Community Health Services, announced in March that the hospital would shutter its doors in May. The company cited several issues, including structural problems with the building, fewer patients and less federal funding.

A slew of other rural community hospitals in Tennessee and across the country are facing the same problems that are outweighing financial benefits for the larger companies that own the facilities. The changes affect the economy and culture of a community.

It's affecting the state Senate race in Selmer, which is represented by state Sen. Dolores Gresham. A billboard a few blocks from the courthouse reads "Miss your hospital? Dolores didn't fight for it. Bob Shutt will." In a statement, Gresham points the finger at the Affordable Care Act. In states such as Tennessee where Medicaid eligibility has not been expanded to more income levels as part of the controversial federal health care law, rural hospitals are struggling because of a decrease in their federal reimbursement rates.

All that matters to brothers Richard and John Prindes is a hospital that's conveniently close and doesn't require a long wait. In the past, Richard Prindes, 73, who suffers from several chronic ailments, would go to McNairy Regional for any emergency or other treatment he might need. But now he needs to get a ride to Jackson from John Prindes, who lives more than 20 miles away in Savannah. On one of their recent trips to the emergency room, John said they had to wait six hours before they were seen.

"They all think it's terrible," Richard Prindes said, when asked what his friends and neighbors think about the hospital closing.

He sighed when asked if he thought any hospital would come back.

"I guess I hope it will," he said.

'Do what you can, with what you have, where you are'

The brothers were walking out of the Frix Jennings Clinic, one of several clinics that have seen an increase in patients since the hospital's closure. Nurse practitioner Pam Riley said many patients coming to them had previously used the hospital for lab tests or similar procedures. However, there are some cases they just can't handle. Riley, 35, who's lived in Selmer her whole life, said now there's no health facility in the town for delivering a baby.

Selmer and McNairy County are in the minority when it comes to rural communities losing hospitals, in that no immediate replacement or second option is open. Although at least eight rural Tennessee hospitals have closed or merged since 2013, five have been replaced by other satellite campuses of health systems or other clinics trying to fill the community's health services niche.

But that could change soon.

Brooks, a 60-year-old former teacher who's lived in Selmer his whole life, has a framed quote from Teddy Roosevelt near his desk: "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." As county inmates mop the courthouse floors and a technician works on an aging elevator just outside his office, Brooks says the county and city are piecing together future health care options for the community.

"Well have a system in place that will make the citizens feel more comfortable, but probably an inpatient care facility is probably a thing of the past. I really feel that," Brooks said.

At least three health systems are interested in having some facility in Selmer, Brooks said, noting ongoing negotiations are confidential. CHS also wants to give the building where the hospital was located back to the county; Brooks said if negotiations go well the county could have possession of the building by early August.

Acknowledging inpatient services are unlikely, he hopes any facility would offer emergency services, diagnostics, radiology, some lab work and maybe even limited outpatient services.

'You've got to have some type of specialty'

Magnolia Regional Health Center in Corinth, Miss., is one of those facilities. The hospital's already seen the number of patients from McNairy County increase 12 percent from October to May, before the Selmer hospital closed, said Magnolia Chief Operating Officer Angela Nowlin. After the closure, she said in one recent day there were five ambulance runs to the hospital from Selmer alone.

But that presents problems, too: as a Mississippi hospital, Magnolia can't accept TennCare, the Tennessee Medicaid program. Nowlin said they've been negotiating with Tennessee officials for a year on some compromise, but nothing is imminent.

During her 13 years with the hospital, Nowlin says she's seen the struggles of McNairy Regional affect many other smaller rural hospitals as well. Even at her facility, which has 200 beds, she said it's a challenge to recruit the specialists needed to keep patient traffic up.

"I think the thing that hurts them most of all is to keep an inpatient side of the business, you've got to have some type of specialty," Nowlin said, adding she believes the traditional hospital will be replaced in these communities with smaller facilities offering some of the most-used services from a hospital.

"I think that's what you're going to see. I think you're going to see a possible ER, outpatient, diagnostic satellites."

For Cindy Cain and many other Selmer residents, the emergency services and emergency department are key. CHS is still operating the county's Emergency Medical Services, and the county is paying for life flights. But now when the ambulance arrives at an emergency in Selmer, EMS technicians ask patients where they want to be taken.

A little more than six years ago, Cain's husband had a stroke in the middle of the night. By the time he arrived at McNairy Regional he had stopped breathing. But the doctors were able to make the right decisions to stabilize him for the helicopter ride that eventually saved his life.

"The EMS people are wonderful, but they are not doctors. He needed that emergency room doctor to make that call," Cain said.

Finding solutions

Limited health care services in rural Selmer would be welcome in light of the hospital's closure, but whatever lands in the community won't be the same. Iley Sisk, 79, says he was the second patient admitted to the hospital when it opened in 1961; he said his friend Bobby was the first, admitted after a car accident.

Sisk, who stopped his shopping for peaches on a sunny summer day to discuss the hospital, said that when the hospital opened everyone was excited that there were great doctors in the area. Now, he wishes something like the Magnolia hospital would open in Selmer.

When Joe Miller had a recent health problem, he and his wife, Sharon, decided to go to McNairy Regional instead of Jackson. They'd taken their daughter Elizabeth to Jackson before but had the same long wait times as other Selmer residents.

"I was glad it wasn't 50 miles away," said Joe Miller, 55, referring to the local emergency room.

The Millers moved to Selmer from Arizona three years ago to grow peaches. They wanted to try something new in a new place and liked the small community feel of Selmer. The local hospital was only a few miles from the Selmer Farmers Market, where the Millers are the lone vendor on this particular day. It's proximity and size was part of its appeal: Joe Miller compared it to going to the local hardware store instead of a big box store.

But even when he used the hospital, he questioned how long it could survive.

"There were only five patients in the whole hospital when I was there," he said.

He knows people in rural communities across the country are asking the same questions. Brooks and health care officials hope they can find the right answers.

Reach Dave Boucher at 615-259-8892 and on Twitter @Dave_Boucher1.
I met Linda Phillips, Shelby County Election Commission's new administrator of elections, last week and I left our meeting thinking the commission made a wise choice.

The veracity of that opinion will be borne out in the Aug. 4 federal and state primary elections, and county general election, and how smoothly the November general elections occur.

In fairness, nearly all the planning for the August elections were finished before she arrived on the job in mid-May after running elections for 12 years in Lafayette, Indiana (Tippecanoe County).

Planning also had been underway for the November election before she arrived. It will be fair, I think, to give her an initial evaluation based on what happens in November.

After our one-on-one meeting Wednesday at Election Commission offices at the old Shelby County Jail building on Washington, I left with the impression that Phillips knows how to run an election, that she is always thinking ahead and that she knows the importance of having a Plan B ready to go if Plan A is not working.

Lafayette is in northeast Indiana on the Wabash River. Purdue University has its main campus next-door in West Lafayette. The city of some 71,000 residents is 76.3 percent white, 11.9 Hispanic, 7.7 percent African American and 2.1 percent Asian. The population for Tippecanoe County is about 184,000  80.4 percent white, 7.5 percent Hispanic, 3.9 African American and 6.2 percent Asian.

Memphis has about 656,800 residents  63 percent African American, 27.3 percent white, 6.6 percent Hispanic and 1.7 percent Asian. Shelby County has 938,069 residents  53 percent African American, 37 percent white, 6.1 percent Hispanic and 2.6 percent Asian.

Tippecanoe has about 130,000 registered voters. Shelby has 554,893, of which 82,455 are inactive.

In Tippecanoe County, Mitt Romney beat President Obama 51 percent to 47 percent in the 2012 presidential election. Obama beat Arizona Sen. John McCain 55 percent to 44 percent in 2008.

Shelby County-wide, President Obama beat Romney 63 percent to 37 percent in 2012. The president beat McCain 63 percent to 36 percent in 2008.

I present all of this demographic information to give you an idea what a contrasting world Phillips has jumped into. Partisan politics in the Hoosier state can get pretty lively. In Lafayette, though, the racial factor is not as prominent.

Phillips, who identifies as a Republican, told me she knew what she getting into when she took the administrator job, including the problems that have dogged the Election Commission. It was obvious that she had done her homework on the happenings here.

Still, she said she took the job because she was up to another challenge, plus she was tired of dealing the with snowy northern Indiana winters.

She replaced Richard Holden, who retired in December after a tenure interspersed with controversies that included voters receiving the wrong ballots, an overturned election and votes of no confidence from the County Commission and Memphis City Council.

The Election Commission is in the midst of a Chancery Court lawsuit filed by former City Council member Wanda Halbert in October after losing the City Court clerk race to Kay Robilio because voting machine reports did not match final tallies.

The gaffes have resulted in the Election Commission losing credibility with Democrats and Republicans alike. In fact, Phillips told me there still are 782 addresses that are in the wrong precinct, a problem she said would be fixed by last Thursday.

She appears to be an administrator whose decisions will be based on research and data. For example, she showed me a formula she had developed to determine the right number of voting machines to have at voting precincts, one machine for every 100 voters, to avoid long waits in voting lines. That compares to one for every 500 voters used previously.

She also said the commission needs to take a serious look at whether it should be outsourcing some services, which she thinks has led to some election glitches. "My early thoughts are that we're spending way too much on outsourcing," she said, adding that it may be cheaper and more efficient to bring some services back in-house.

I give the election commissioners credit for finally getting the message and hiring someone who knows how to run an election, instead of a local person who gets the job because he or she is a loyal local member of the majority party.

Phillips made it clear that the commission's job is not about party politics. "Our job is to run a fair and honest election, and make it as easy as possible to vote, and please vote early," she said.

She also made this point: "Elections are one of citizens' most important rights. That is why we have to get it right."

For a whole lot of reasons, I hope she is up to the task ahead.
George Flinn

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By Daniel Connolly of The Commercial Appeal

Thirteen Republicans are running for West Tennessee's District 8 seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, but one candidate appears to be spending far more money on TV ads than anyone else: George Flinn.

He's a 72-year-old radiologist and radio station owner who has lost three campaigns for Congress since 2010 by wide margins, and so far this year he's spent at least $510,000 on TV ads, according to financial disclosures. Nailing down an exact number for TV spending is difficult because publicly available data is incomplete and changes often.

Flinn, a former Shelby County Commissioner, said Friday he's pursuing every medium available to reach voters.

"It's a very laborious campaign and we're working hard," he said. "Nobody will outwork me."

Second in TV spending appears to be state Senator Brian Kelsey, who has spent at least $134,000.

"Well, I'm trying to reach voters with my proven conservative message every which way I can: knocking on doors, making phone calls, going to forums and through TV and mail as well," said Kelsey, 38. He said that he and other participants in his campaign have knocked on 20,000 doors.

Other candidates who have bought TV ads include former U.S. attorney David Kustoff, who has spent at least $88,000, Shelby County mayor Mark Luttrell, who has spent at least $5,800, and Jackson businessman Brad Greer, who has spent at least $2,600.

No TV ad spending was found by the following Republican candidates: Ken Atkins, Hunter Baker, Dave Bault, Raymond Honeycutt, George B. Howell, Tom Leatherwood, David J. Maldonado and David Wharton.

The two Democratic candidates, Gregory Alan Frye and Rickey Hobson, also did not appear to have spent anything on TV ads.

TV stations are required to file reports on political spending to the Federal Communications Commission. FCC public filings were reviewed for Memphis TV stations WREG (Channel 3) and WMC (Channel 5) as well as for Jackson, Tennessee station WBBJ. Disclosure data for some other area stations was not posted on the FCC website.

The spending on TV advertising offers a glimpse of the candidates' financial strength in the lead-up to the August 4 primary, which will likely prove decisive in heavily Republican District 8.

With a population of about 711,000 people, the mostly white district stretches across much of West Tennessee, from the Memphis suburbs to the Kentucky state line. TV ads offer a means for candidates to spread their message across this wide area, which includes both urban and rural settings.

The partial review of ad spending roughly reflects the most recent campaign finance reports, filed in April. Those reports showed that Flinn's willingness to spend his own millions had put him way ahead of his rivals in campaign cash.

One of Flinn's TV ads makes references to his recent losses as well as his spending of his own money. It shows two senior ladies speaking in a kitchen. One says, "Did you know George Flinn has run for office before?" The other replies, "Sure. He has a clear vision on how to fix our broken political system and he's determined to put those ideas into action."

In a 2014 Senate primary race against incumbent Lamar Alexander and challenger Joe Carr, Flinn won only 5 percent of vote. Flinn is self-funding this year's campaign, recording personal loans of $2.7 million earlier this year and transferring about $230,000 out of his old Senate campaign fund. He finished the quarter with $2.7 million on hand, far more than other candidates.

Kelsey reported $426,000 in hand as of April. Among his notable donors were real estate developer Ron Belz, who gave $1,800. Paul Boyle with real estate development company Boyle Investments gave $5,400. Other donations totaling $5,400 came from Chancellor Carlisle, an executive with Carlisle Corp., a company that works in real estate, restaurants, and other businesses. .

Attorney Christopher Hall gave $5,400, making him one of several lawyers who supported the Kelsey campaign.

Kelsey's ads promote his positions on gun rights, opposition to abortion, to a state income tax and to Medicaid expansion. He's one of several candidates who use rural imagery in ads, and in one video he stands in front of a barn with haystacks and a piece of farm equipment. "I'm Brian Kelsey. Send me to Congress and I'll put my proven conservative record to work."

Another ad on his website shows a picture of President Obama pointing, while a narrator says, "The Washington politicians are killing our country."

Kustoff reported $314,000 in hand as of April. His donors include many well-known local names, including AutoZone CEO William Rhodes, who gave $2,700.

Another notable donor lives in Midland, Texas and his profession was listed as "Former president of the United States." It was George W. Bush, who likewise gave $2,700. Kustoff had run Bush's presidential campaigns for Tennessee in 2000 and 2004. In 2006, the White House under Bush nominated Kustoff as U.S. attorney for the western district of Tennessee.

One Kustoff TV ad shows a tank flying a black ISIS-style flag, then images of the recent mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando. A narrator says, "Radical Islamic terrorism is invading our country and career politicians have done nothing. We need a strong, tough leader like David Kustoff who will fight back and keep us safe."

Mark Luttrell had $143,000 in campaign money on hand as of April. Notable donors include auto glass company leader Jack Morris, who gave $2,700. Real estate developer Henry Turley gave $1,000, as did Reginald Coopwood, CEO of Regional One Health.

Luttrell's campaign released its first TV ad Friday. Speaking in front of a blank background, the candidate says, "Are you happy with Washington? Me either. Our nation's drowning in negative ads and dirty tricks from self-serving politicians. I'm Mark Luttrell and I think we deserve better. My campaign for Congress is 100 percent positive and I've challenged my opponents to do the same."

Early voting for the August 4 primary race starts July 15.
Workers prepare a camera platform inside Quicken Loans Arena in preparation for the Republican National Convention on Tuesday, June 28, 2016, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Mark Gillispie)

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By Michael Collins of The Commercial Appeal

WASHINGTON  Rep. Diane Black vows that she'll be watching and cheering when Donald Trump formally accepts the GOP nomination for president.

But she'll be celebrating from home, not at the Republican National Convention.

"While I enthusiastically support Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and would, of course, appreciate the opportunity to take part in such an historic occasion, I ultimately believed that my time is best spent here in Tennessee," the Gallatin Republican said.

GOP leaders across the country who can't stomach the thought of Trump as their party's standard bearer are skipping the nominating convention, which opens July 18 in Cleveland. Prominent Republicans taking a pass include more than a dozen U.S. senators.

Black is staying home for a different reason.

Tennessee's primary will take place Aug. 4, just two weeks after the GOP convention ends. Given that she's facing a challenge from three fellow Republicans  state Rep. Joe Carr, Tommy Hay and Donald Strong  Black decided to remain in Tennessee and hold meet-and-greet events across the state's 6th Congressional District.

Rep. John J. Duncan Jr. of Knoxville, hasn't yet decided if he'll attend the convention. But if he stays away, it won't be because of Trump. Duncan has publicly endorsed the New York real estate mogul and has been vocal about his support for Trump's campaign.

"At this point, I have not decided (about the convention) because I have some events in my district that I feel I should attend," Duncan said.

Other Tennessee Republicans in Congress are going to the convention.

Both of the state's U.S. senators  Lamar Alexander of Maryville and Bob Corker of Chattanooga  plan to attend.

"In our country, we are very fortunate that the people through the democratic process choose the president of the United States, and the conventions are an important part of that," Alexander said. "So I consider it a privilege to attend the convention and have tried to do so most of the years I have been active in public life."

Corker, who last week withdrew his name from consideration as Trump's running mate but could potentially end up with a Cabinet post in Trump's administration, has been offered a speaking role at the convention.

Rep. Marsha Blackburn of Brentwood also has been invited to speak and will serve throughout the week as a Trump "surrogate," speaking on behalf of the campaign in interviews with the media and at delegation events.

"Our party is seeing record turnout in the primaries, and I think that's a great indication of the excitement going into the general election," Blackburn said. "We're looking forward to an energized convention and a Trump White House."

Reps. Chuck Fleischmann of Ooltewah and Phil Roe of Johnson City said they will be in Cleveland. Roe said he's going "because I believe it's important to unite behind our nominee to defeat Hillary Clinton."

Rep. Scott DesJarlais of South Pittsburgh, one of the first sitting members of Congress to publicly endorse Trump, said he will be at the convention to lend his support.

DesJarlais has been serving as a liaison between the Trump campaign and the conservative House Freedom Caucus. In addition, "I have been in close coordination with the Trump campaign regarding how I may be of assistance during the convention," he said.

Just a few days after the Republicans head back home, Democrats will kick off their nominating convention in Philadelphia July 25. Both of the Tennessee Democrats in Congress  Reps. Jim Cooper of Nashville and Steve Cohen of Memphis  will be going and throwing their support to Clinton.
By Mark Russell of The Commercial Appeal

Hope Church in Cordova will play host to a Monday evening meeting of area ministers to discuss the widening violence in the nation and Memphis, its pastor, Rufus Smith, announced at today's 8 a.m. service.

In a sermon where he read the names of black men killed by cops in Baton Rouge, La., and suburban St. Paul, Minn., and the five white police officers felled by a sniper in Dallas and asked for prayers for their families, Smith said he and other local pastors need to come together and discuss solutions. He also noted that Memphis has had 110 homicides so far this year.

He said interim Memphis Police Director Michael Rallings, Shelby County Sheriff Bill Oldham and either Germantown's police chief Richard Hall or deputy chief Rodney Bright would attend the Monday meeting, which he said will be closed to the media. Three times Smith emphasized "no media" will be present at the pastor gatherings to promote an open discussion.

Smith said he decided to initiate and host what he called a fasting and prayer meeting among area ministers because the issue of violence is more than a policing problem. Its a pastoral problem And we as pastors have abdicated our involvement far too long.

There is not simply a law-and-order solution, he added. We must also have a love-one-another solution to foster greater peace and understanding with one another.

Smith, senior pastor at Hope and a former pastor of a Houston church, emphasized that the minister meetings would likely extend at least two more Mondays because the complexity of the issue requires "sustained discussion."

Smith said he had invited 200 area ministers to the 6:30 p.m. Monday meeting, and he expected about half will attend.

Hope Church is a Presbyterian mega-church with a largely white congregation and growing diversity in its ranks. Hope has been active in north Memphis through its Urban Ministries program. Last year Hope announced plans to start a church in North Memphis. Hope is also working with Habitat for Humanity and Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter to build Habitat Houses this fall in North Memphis.
Dave Darnell/The Commercial Appeal files July 11, 1973  John Simmons (right) promised a dinner party for 10 to the winner of Le Bonheur's 1973 Golden Tag drive. Kitty Lammons (left), who had brought in more than $2,000 during the drive to win the dinner, and her husband Howard (center), joined four other couples for the dinner party at Simmons' home on Normandy Road on July 11, 1973.

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July 10

25 years ago: 1991

Dr. Lane Rawlins on Tuesday gave the public its first look at his plans to propel Memphis State University into the national limelight despite severe state funding cuts. "This is not a dress rehearsal," the new MSU president said in a speech to the Memphis Rotary Club. "This is the big time." Rawlings said he hoped above all to convince Memphians that "MSU  more than any other university in the United States  will affect how you do business and how you live, because we're here." Rawlings said that when he came to MSU from the University of Alabama system in May, he was "not pleasantly surprised that people in the community  and to some extent people inside the institution  did not fully understand the gem that has been created called Memphis State."

50 years ago: 1966

William Loeb, president of Loeb's Laundry-Cleaners, and Jack Scharff, president of Model Laundry-Cleaner, yesterday brought Kraus Cleaners "back into the family" as part of a long-range expansion program of the two companies. The announcement of the sale of Kraus for an undisclosed sum was made jointly by Mr. Loeb, Mr. Scharff and Harold R. Rutstein, president of Kraus. "There will be no changes in quality, policy, personnel or service to Kraus customers," said Mr. Loeb. He said he and Mr. Scharff, who are equal partners in the purchase, bought the organization's trade name, 13 branch offices and 24 routes and will lease the pickup station at Kraus' main office at 726 Madison.

75 years ago: 1941

The Yoo-Hoo chirped last Sunday by men in khaki to maids in shorts as an Army convoy rolled through Memphis toward Camp Robinson at Little Rock, has been heard around the nation. Representative Kilday of Texas is considering an investigation of the punishment meted out to a battalion of the 110th Quartermaster Regiment in the form of a 15-mile march by Lt. Gen. Ben Lear, Second Army commander.

100 years ago: 1916

Americans would do well to emulate the Chinese and put out unfaithful public office holders in the opinion of Rev. William E. Clark, pastor of the Unitarian Church, who preached yesterday morning on "Our Debt to Confucius."

125 years ago: 1891

The annual report that the cut worms are destroying the cotton crop, and the consequent flood of communications telling how to kill the varmints with Paris green, are almost due.
July 10, 2016 - Chanel Trice holds a sign while standing on the cement median between the Eastbound and Westbound lanes of the Interstate 40 bridge over the Mississippi River. Black Lives Matter supporters brought traffic to a standstill on both sides of the bridge by about 7 p.m. as the estimated crowd on the bridge swelled to more than 1,000.

(Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal)

By Jody Callahan of The Commercial Appeal

A crowd of more than 1,000 shut down the Interstate 40 bridge for nearly four hours Sunday night as part of a protest over recent killings of black men by police officers.

By 10:45 p.m., however, the situation had been resolved peacefully with no injuries and no arrests, police said. Officers in riot gear, backed up by a truck, herded the last few dozen protesters off the bridge. They continued pushing the crowd forward down Front Street as most of those gathered eventually dispersed.

Memphis Police Department Interim Director Mike Rallings met with several of the protesters, locking arms in solidarity with some of them, and spoke briefly afterward. He also pleaded with the city to stop the killing for 30 days.

"The only thing I want in my city is peace. I think we recognize our young people are hurting. It's time for talk," said Rallings. "But I want to hear what these young people have to say. Their voices will not be silent. We're going to have to listen, we're going to have to talk."

Mayor Jim Strickland said that despite the peaceful nature, the protest was still illegal.

"I appreciate the fact that they've remained peaceful," he said. "But part of the conversations that we are going to have going forward, we have to have protests in a legal way. And stopping traffic on the interstate is not legal."

This all began a little before 6 p.m. in front of FedExForum, as about 200 people, nominally associated with the Black Lives Matter movement, gathered to protest the two killings by police. Many shouted slogans or waved placards.

"I'm just tired of the senseless killings of black people. That fact that I have two sons, that hits me close to home," said Porshia Scruggs, who came from West Memphis with her sons Isaiah, 7, and Isaac, 6.

The event was somewhat chaotic and disorganized, as people just shouted through bullhorns. One man shouted that the killing of five police officers in Dallas was just a hoax.

Then, a little before 6:30, the crowd started walking north on Third Street as police blocked off streets to prevent any accidents. The crowd soon turned west and when it reached Front, began walking up the on-ramp to I-40.

Police quickly mobilized to try to stop anyone else from going toward the bridge, but by then the crowd had swelled and several hundred were already on I-40.

This has become a common tactic with some Black Lives Matter movements around the country. In response to two fatal police shootings of black men this past week in Louisiana and Minnesota, groups in both those states have attempted similar shutdowns.

Stephanie Cole was one of those standing at the on-ramp who didn't get to walk up to the bridge.

"I have a 16-year-old son. He just got his (driver's) license. I held off letting him get a license just (because of) this," she said, referencing shootings of motorists after being pulled over by police. "You're afraid if he gets pulled over, he's not going to act right. Or the officer is not going to act right."

Officers formed a line to keep the remaining protesters at bay. But around 6:45 p.m., a new group of protesters, spurred Downtown by social media and news reports, began walking up another ramp from Riverside Drive.

At that point, police relented and allowed those gathered on Front to also walk up the on-ramp. Atop the ramp, police set up a blockade of both squad cars and officers to prevent the protesters from continuing to walk.

"I was told not to come," said Dealisia Brye, one of those who saw the protest unfold on social media. "I decided to come anyway. It's peaceful and it's beautiful."

During the standoff, Memphis police kept a stern but calm presence as some of the protesters attempted to stir up trouble. However, the vast majority of those gathered remained peaceful.

DeAnna Morris had just left her shift at Verizon and was heading back to West Memphis when she got stuck in the traffic. Yet she wasn't too frustrated, she said.

"I think it's good that they came together to protest. I do think they could've been a little bit more organized," she said, also adding that she didn't approve of those who climbed on squad cars and the like. "It's not a fun time. If we're going to do this, be serious about it."

MPD Deputy Director Mike Ryall led the police response at the scene for most of the night, but as the standoff wore on, Rallings appeared, wearing a Kevlar vest. He, Ryall and others spoke to some of the nominal leaders of the crowd, hoping to reach a resolution.

Then, after 8 p.m. the crowd started to thin out, with many leaving the bridge.

However, the 150 or so who remained suddenly moved en masse toward the thin line of police officers.

That spooked the cops, one of whom suddenly appeared holding a tear gas gun. One of those nominal leaders tried to talk to the crowd over a squad car's speaker, but that went nowhere. The situation soon eased as more of the protesters left the bridge.

However, many of those protesters didn't go home, instead camping out at the end of the on-ramp near Front and the Memphis Cook Convention Center.

By 9:30 or so, some protesters still remained on the bridge, linking arms in front of the police officers. Around 10:30, the police in riot gear had escorted the remaining protesters off the bridge.

Rallings also said the bridge shutdown was not the proper way to protest.

"Now, it ain't what I wanted, I don't want us to shut down a bridge. ... I'm with you, I'll march with you. But we need to do it together, we need to have a dialogue, we need not to be shutting down (bridges)," he said. "The demonstration has been had. Now it's time for the conversation."

Read our reporters and photographers' live coverage as the night progressed here.
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Powerful members of the General Assembly faced a dilemma: how to respond to the will of the people of Tennessee without offending a pair of Kansas billionaire brothers and their followers.

Charles and David Koch's Americans for Prosperity was threatening to thwart the re-election of legislators who supported Gov. Bill Haslam's proposed Insure Tennessee program, an alternative Medicaid expansion plan that was popular with Tennesseans.

What to do?

So House Speaker Beth Harwell announced a plan: Put together a health care task force to develop an alternative to Insure Tennessee that would make both sides happy.

So after months of study we have  maybe  a minor expansion of TennCare, Tennessee's version of Medicaid, that places priority on veterans and people with mental health or substance abuse disorders.

The proposal is touted as a conservative alternative for features such as a work and education component to help people into positions lucrative enough to finance commercial coverage.

Under the first phase of the two-phase program, enrollees would need either "a qualifying diagnosis of a mental illness" or proof of honorable discharge from the U.S. military and an annual income of up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level  about $16,000 for an individual or $27,000 for a family of three.

The emphasis on behavioral health is intended to compensate for ongoing complaints about TennCare's inadequacy in that area and the difficulty of finding and holding a job among those dealing with behavioral issues.

It could help reduce the number of more expensive emergency room visits among patients seeking treatment for behavioral issues.

More than a million Tennesseans were diagnosed with mental illnesses or substance-use disorders or both in 2014.

Approximately 270,000 had no insurance, and 114,000 of those had an income below 138 percent of the federal poverty level.

Additional help for low-income veterans is another useful feature of the plan.

But the group's own estimate predicts that up to 115,000 people could be eligible to enroll in the first phase, compared to a projected 180,000 people who could be provided with insurance under Insure Tennessee.

The second phase would be open to anyone making up to 138 percent of the poverty level, but its implementation would be contingent on the analysis of the first phase's success.

Because it's an extension of TennCare, the plan carries a greater financial obligation for the state  35 percent of the cost, compared to a financing plan for Insure Tennessee that would top out the state's obligation at 10 percent.

Plus, there is no guarantee that the task force plan will be approved by the federal government or a majority of Tennessee's skittish legislature.

It's doubtful that the plan will achieve the popularity of Insure Tennessee, which according to the latest Vanderbilt University study had the support of 63 percent of survey respondents, compared to 17 percent who strongly or somewhat oppose the plan.

A series of Vanderbilt surveys also has revealed even stronger support for an open legislative debate on Insure Tennessee, followed by an up-or-down vote, which, so far, the legislature's Republican majority leaders have managed to block, although support among Republican survey respondents barely trails Democratic support.

Of course, defeating Insure Tennessee carries no personal consequences for legislators, most of whom participate in generous taxpayer-funded insurance plans.

But opposing the plan is perceived as a campaign plus, not only because of the Americans for Prosperity threat but also because it can be more easily tied by election opponents to the politically volatile "Obamacare" taint.

The new task force plan may solve a political problem for Tennessee legislators, but it accomplishes relatively little for the people of the state.
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By Cyril F. Chang, Special to Viewpoint

Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010, Republicans have repeatedly promised to deliver a "repeal and replace" plan to dismantle ACA, otherwise known as Obamacare, and to show Americans a better way to deliver health care.

Many proposals have been floated over the last six years but proponents have not been able to unify behind a single credible alternative.

The latest proposal was a 37-page white paper called "A Better Way" unveiled by U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, in late June. Also known as the Ryan Plan, it included almost all of the familiar conservative reform ideas going back 20 years. However, as admitted by Ryan's own office, it lacked crucial details as to how much it would cost and how it would be paid for. In other words, it is still a work in progress.

Here is what we know about the Ryan Plan:

It would repeal ACA and its mandates. Hence Americans would not be required to buy health insurance or pay a fine, and employers would not be required to provide coverage. In addition, insurance companies would not need to meet minimum coverage standards and would be able to sell inexpensive policies with limited coverage across state lines.

It would repeal the current system of insurance market exchanges and discontinue the subsidies under ACA to help low-income individuals buy coverage from private insurers. It would provide a tax credit fashioned after the Earned Income Credit provision under the federal individual income tax for people currently buying insurance through the exchanges or from the individual insurance markets regulated by the states.

It would encourage the inclusion of a self-managed Health Saving Account in insurance policy for use by policy holders to pay premiums, deductibles and other out-of-pocket costs.

It would disallow insurance companies to turn down buyers of coverage or charge them higher premiums because of their pre-existing conditions under a strict condition: as long as they maintain their coverage by always paying premiums on time or by keeping their jobs that provide employer-sponsored insurance with no break of employment.

It would bring back the high-risk insurance pools for those with high medical bills and priced out of the regular markets and support these pools with federal dollars.

It would do away with open-ended funding for Medicaid (or TennCare in Tennessee) to control health spending and would transition the fee-for-service Medicare program to a "premium support" program that provides vouchers for senior Medicare enrollees to buy health coverage in private markets.

Many commentators of the Ryan Plan have been quick to point out that it is more like a long list of disparate complaints about ACA than it is a coherent reform plan. It aims to eliminate Obamacare and offers little assurance that it would provide sufficient protection for those who need help including most people outside of the employment-based insurance networks.

We must remember that ACA's primary objective is to expand insurance coverage to reduce the number of uninsured Americans. Six years after its passage and three years after its implementation of major provisions, ACA has enrolled more than 16.4 million previously uninsured people across the country, including more than 231,000 here in Tennessee, and lowered the rate of uninsured Americans to a historic low.

Yes, the price we pay is the twin mandates of individual coverage and employer provision. Other regulatory prices we pay have come in the form of minimum insurance coverage requirements, the elimination of pre-existing conditions as a cause for denial of coverage, and the community-rating method of setting insurance premiums (which forbids insurance companies from charging individual buyers on the basis of his/her health status and claim history).

These regulatory changes are not cheap, but they are all necessary parts of a policy package that together makes insurance protection and essential health services accessible to all. The Ryan Plan would eliminate most of these regulatory features and roll back ACA's achievements in insurance coverage expansion.

It is still too early to give the Ryan Plan a complete assessment. Based on what we know so far, however, this proposal would reduce the role of government in health care and rely more on the power of market forces and the responsibility of individuals and families to make health care work.

It would work better for those with the money to put into Health Savings Accounts and those fortunate enough to maintain their health insurance with no gap so they would not lose coverage once they develop pre-existing conditions. But the hardest hit will likely be low-income and self-employed individuals who rely on the government for protection and assistance for their health care needs.

Dr. Cyril F. Chang is a professor of economics at the University of Memphis. He also is the director of the Methodist Le Bonheur Center for Healthcare Economics in the Fogelman College of Business and Economics at the University of Memphis.
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By Thomas S. Bremer, Special to Viewpoint

A national monument at the Mason Temple, the international sanctuary and central headquarters of the Church of God in Christ (COGIC) denomination, where Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his famous "I Have Been to the Mountaintop" speech, would produce benefits for COGIC, for the city of Memphis and for the nation.

The Church would gain widespread attention for its contributions to national cultural history. Memphis would benefit from a new high-profile visitor attraction that could reframe the city's historical reputation. The American people would claim a broader, more inclusive understanding of the nation's history.

Although Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Mountaintop" speech is the key event that makes Mason Temple a place of national significance, the site offers additional interpretive opportunities for the National Park Service beyond the important story of civil rights. In particular, a national monument at Mason Temple could also highlight the importance of COGIC and Memphis in the nation's cultural history.

Religion ranks as perhaps the most underemphasized element in park service interpretations of American history and heritage, but a new national monument could help alleviate this shortfall in how we understand our national past. Telling the story of Mason Temple will bring attention to the diverse religious groups that have contributed to the story of American freedom and opportunity.

Specifically, besides the obvious focus on King's appearance there, the park service will be able to tell a broader story of religion in the struggle for an inclusive society where differences of culture, faith, race, gender and socioeconomic circumstance bolster the strength, creativity and resilience of the American people.

Among the many religious traditions that have contributed to American culture, a national monument at the Mason Temple will bring particular attention to the history of COGIC. Their story presents opportunities to discuss Pentecostalism as a uniquely American religious movement of international importance, as well as to emphasize the considerable cultural contributions of African American Christianity more broadly.

In recounting these histories, the park service will be able to highlight the hopeful racial implications of the early Pentecostal movement by featuring COGIC founder Bishop Charles Harrison Mason's experience of racial inclusion at the famous Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles. That experience motivated him to transform COGIC from a regional Holiness church into a Pentecostal movement that would become one of the largest predominantly African-American denominations.

Moreover, a national monument at Mason Temple also has the potential of reframing the nation's opinion of Memphis. Emphasizing Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Mountaintop" speech presents Memphis as the place of a hopeful prophetic vision, one that assures us that "we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land."

Too often the story of civil rights in Memphis focuses narrowly on the sanitation workers strike and King's death, while losing sight of the hope that inspired the enormous sacrifices suffered in the struggle. Stressing King's final words at the Mason Temple situates Memphis as a place of hope and perseverance in confronting inequality.

In regard to concerns about the federal government's involvement with religion, a national monument at the site of COGIC's headquarters will not be the first time the park service works alongside a religious organization at a place of historical significance.

Thomas S. Bremer teaches American religious history at Rhodes College and is author of Blessed with Tourists: The Borderlands of Religion and Tourism in San Antonio.
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By Arthur I. Cyr, Special to Viewpoint

"Someone to talk to" is how McGeorge Bundy, national security adviser to President John F. Kennedy, summed up the special relationship between Great Britain and the United States, dating from the darkest period of World War II. The same term can be applied to Canada, and increasingly Mexico as well.

The June summit involving host Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto and U.S. President Barack Obama both symbolizes and reinforces the point. The leaders expressed unity, especially regarding regional free trade agreements, which began with the Canada-U.S. auto agreement of 1965, evolved to the Canada-U.S. free trade agreement of 1988 and culminated in the North American Free Trade Agreement of 1994.

President Barack Obama, reflecting predecessors, made Canada his first foreign destination in office with a brief visit in February 2009. He and Prime Minister Stephen Harper found common environmental ground and avoided open clash on the "Buy American" provision of the U.S. economic stimulus plan. Globally, the expansion of intergovernmental as well as nongovernmental organizations is one of the most profound, and positive, developments since World War II.

President Kennedy eloquently summed up the Canada-U.S. partnership in an address to the Parliament of Canada in early 1961, noting "Geography has made us neighbors, history has made us friends, economics has made us partners, and necessity has made us allies." The statement endures because of not just the notably effective choice of words, but also the reality that trade is bound up with politics.

Canada's government representatives traditionally foster cooperation with Britain and the U.S. on military security and wider diplomatic as well as economic matters. They are heavily represented among the professionals who staff the United Nations, NATO and the other substantial and influential intergovernmental organizations.

Such cooperation in promotion of international community has deep roots reaching back to the earliest phase of the war. During that desperate time, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill met for their first summit on naval warships off the coast of Newfoundland Canada. The meeting was in August 1941, several months before the attack on Pearl Harbor brought the U.S. directly into the war.

The principal result was the Atlantic Charter, a dramatic declaration of Allied goals, including the postwar period. Reflecting extraordinary determination and optimism during the bleakest phase of the global struggle, FDR and Churchill explicitly proposed the United Nations. Throughout the war, a series of conferences was held to hammer out the details of the international structure, which would include the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (now the World Trade Organization), the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

JFK was vexed by Canada's nationalist Prime Minister John Diefenbaker. At the end of the 1961 visit, Bundy accidentally left in a hotel room a briefing memo on which the president had scrawled a note asking how to handle "the SOB." Diefenbaker flew into a rage and threatened to involve the press.

Kennedy pleaded poor penmanship and said he actually had written "OAS," the Organization of American States. At his next news conference, he singled out Bundy for praise. Early the next morning, Bundy arrived at the office to find a message from his staff on a blackboard: "Congratulations, you can stay."

The U.S.-Canada special relationship, reaching from FDR to Obama, survives passing political storms. Mexico adds an important complementary dimension.

Arthur I. Cyr is Clausen Distinguished Professor at Carthage College in Wisconsin. Contact him at acyr@carthage.edu.
John Bazemore/Associated Press Members of the Ku Klux Klan participate in cross and swastika burnings after a "white pride" rally in rural Paulding County near Cedar Town, Ga., in April. Today, the KKK dreams of restoring itself to what it once was: an invisible empire spreading its tentacles throughout society.

SHARE Associated Press file photo A hooded Klansman dangles a hangman's noose from an automobile as a warning for black people to stay away from voting places in a Miami election on May 3, 1939. In spite of the threats, 616 black people voted. The Ku Klux Klan died and was reborn before losing the fight against civil rights in the 1960s. Ku Klux Klan member Stetson Kennedy, 30, of Jacksonville, Fla., leaves the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 10, 1947. Kennedy was escorted away by police from the Un-American Activities Committee Room. Associated Press file photos Ku Klux Klan members meet near Los Angeles on Feb. 13, 1925. Congress effectively outlawed the Klan in 1871, but it was resurrected in World War I. It grew as immigrants arrived aboard ships from Europe and elsewhere, and grew more as the NAACP challenged Jim Crow laws in the South in the 1920s.

By Jay Reeves, Associated Press

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.  Born in the ashes of the smoldering South after the Civil War, the Ku Klux Klan died and was reborn before losing the fight against civil rights in the 1960s. Membership dwindled, a unified group fractured, and onetime members went to prison for a string of murderous attacks against blacks. Many assumed the group was dead, a white-robed ghost of hate and violence.

Yet today, the KKK is still alive and dreams of restoring itself to what it once was: an invisible white supremacist empire spreading its tentacles throughout society. As it marks 150 years of existence, the Klan is trying to reshape itself for a new era.

Klan members still gather by the dozens under starry Southern skies to set fire to crosses in the dead of night, and KKK leaflets have shown up in suburban neighborhoods from the Deep South to the Northeast in recent months. Perhaps most unwelcome to opponents, some independent Klan organizations say they are merging with larger groups to build strength.

"We will work on a unified Klan and/or alliance this summer," said Brent Waller, imperial wizard of the United Dixie White Knights in Mississippi.

In a series of interviews with The Associated Press, Klan leaders said they feel that U.S. politics are going their way, as a nationalist, us-against-them mentality deepens across the nation. Stopping or limiting immigration  a desire of the Klan dating back to the 1920s  is more of a cause than ever. And leaders say membership has gone up at the twilight of President Barack Obama's second term in office, though few would provide numbers.

Joining the Klan is as easy as filling out an online form  provided you're white and Christian. Members can visit an online store to buy one of the Klan's trademark white cotton robes for $145, though many splurge on the $165 satin version.

While the Klan has terrorized minorities during much of the last century, its leaders now present a public front that is more virulent than violent. Leaders from several Klan groups all said they have rules against violence aside from self-defense, and even opponents agree the KKK has toned itself down after a string of members went to prison years after the fact for deadly arson attacks, beatings, bombings and shootings.

"While today's Klan has still been involved in atrocities, there is no way it is as violent as the Klan of the '60s," said Mark Potok of the Southern Poverty Law Center, an advocacy group that tracks activity by groups it considers extremist. "That does not mean it is some benign group that does not engage in political violence," he added.

Historian David Cunningham, author of "Klansville, U.S.A.: The Rise and Fall of the Civil Rights-Era Ku Klux Klan," notes that while the Klan generally doesn't openly advocate violence, "I do think we have the sort of 'other' model of violence, which is creating a culture that supports the commission of violence in the name of these ideas."

Klan leaders told the AP that most of today's groups remain small and operate independently, kept apart by disagreements over such issues as whether to associate with neo-Nazis, hold public rallies or wear the KKK's trademark robes in colors other than white.

So-called "traditional" Klan groups avoid public displays and practice rituals dating back a century; others post web videos dedicated to preaching against racial diversity and warning of a coming "white genocide." Women are voting members in some groups, but not in others. Some leaders will not speak openly with the media but others do, articulating ambitious plans that include quietly building political strength.

Some groups hold annual conventions, just like civic clubs. Members gather in meeting rooms to discuss strategies that include electing Klan members to local political offices and recruiting new blood through the internet.

It's impossible to say how many members the Klan counts today since groups don't reveal that information, but leaders claim adherents in the thousands among scores of local groups called Klaverns. Waller said his group is growing, as did Chris Barker, imperial wizard of the Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan in Eden, North Carolina.

"Most Klan groups I talk to could hold a meeting in the bathroom in McDonald's," Barker said. As for his Klavern, he said, "Right now, I'm close to 3,800 members in my group alone."

The Anti-Defamation League, the Jewish protection group that monitors Klan activity, describes Barker's Loyal White Knights as the most active Klan group today, but estimates it has no more than 200 members total. The ADL puts total Klan membership nationwide at around 3,000.

The Alabama-based SPLC says there's no evidence the Klan is returning to the strength of its heyday. It estimates the Klan has about 190 chapters nationally with no more than 6,000 members total, which would be a mere shadow of its estimated 2 million to 5 million members in the 1920s.

"The idea of unifying the Klan like it was in the '20s is a persistent dream of the Klan, but it's not happening," Potok said.

Formed just months after the end of the Civil War by six former Confederate officers in Pulaski, Tennessee, the Klan originally seemed more like a college fraternity with ceremonial robes and odd titles for its officers. But soon, freed slaves were being terrorized, and the Klan was blamed. Hundreds of people were assaulted or killed within the span of a few years as whites tried to regain control of the defeated Confederacy. Congress effectively outlawed the Klan in 1871, leading to martial law in some places and thousands of arrests, and the group died.

The Klan seemed relegated to history until World War I, when it was resurrected. It grew as waves of immigrants arrived aboard ships from Europe and elsewhere, and grew more as the NAACP challenged Jim Crow laws in the South in the 1920s. Millions joined, including community leaders like bankers and lawyers.

That momentum declined, and best estimates place Klan membership at about 40,000 by the mid-60s, the height of the civil rights movement. Klan members were convicted of using murder as a weapon against equality in states including Mississippi and Alabama, where one Klansman remains imprisoned for planting the bomb that killed four black girls in a Birmingham church in 1963.

Cunningham, the historian, said the Klan dwindled to nearly nothing during the 1970s and '80s, when the SPLC sued the Alabama-based United Klans of America over the 1981 murder of Michael Donald, a black man whose beaten, slashed body was hanged from a tree. In an odd twist, Donald's mother wound up with the title to the Klan's headquarters near Tuscaloosa, Alabama, because the group didn't have the money to pay the $7 million judgment awarded in the SPLC suit.

KKK leader Brent Waller was raised in Laurel, Mississippi, in the shadow of the civil rights-era Klan. He has boyhood memories of flaming crosses and of Sam Bowers, a Klan boss who served six years in prison for his role directing the murders of three civil rights workers in 1964, and who later was convicted of killing a civil-rights leader in 1966.

Rather than a white robe, Waller, 47, wears a snow-white suit and orange tie when in public on Klan business and insists on donning sunglasses in photos to protect his identity.

Stopping immigration, not blocking minority rights, is the Klan's No. 1 issue today, Waller said. His group operates by the KKK rulebook called the "Kloran," which was first published in 1915. Various versions of the book are now online, and an edition posted by the University of Wisconsin library states in part: "We shall ever be true in the faithful maintenance of White Supremacy and will strenuously oppose any compromise thereof in any and all things."

The current hot-button issue for Klan members  fighting immigration and closing U.S. borders  is one of the most talked-about topics in the presidential election. Klan leaders say Donald Trump's immigration position and his ascendancy in the GOP are signs things are going their way.

"You know, we began 40 years ago saying we need to build a wall," Arkansas-based Klan leader Thomas Robb said.

Years ago, the group Robb heads near Harrison, Arkansas, changed its name from the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan to the Knights Party USA, mainly to get away from the stigma associated with the Klan name. It now presents itself as more of a political or Christian entity.

"There is a lot of baggage with the name," said Rachel Pendergraft, Robb's daughter, who leads the group with him. "You say the name 'KKK' and a lot of people have a narrative in their minds of what it is about, what it does. The name resonates with people, whether it is good or whether it is bad."

Despite trying to rebrand itself in many ways, 150 years later, the Klan has not stepped away from burning crosses, though it rarely does so in public. Instead, the "lightings," as members call them, are held on private property away from law enforcement and demonstrators.

In April, Klan members and other white supremacists held two rallies on the same warm Saturday in Georgia. As the sun set, about 60 robed Klan members and others holding flaming torches gathered in a huge circle in a field in northwest Georgia to set a cross and Nazi swastika afire.

"White power!" they chanted in unison.

"Death to the ungodly! Death to our enemies!"

Associated Press writer Ryan Phillips in Stone Mountain, Georgia, and AP photographer Mike Stewart in Rome, Georgia, contributed to this report.
A Romanian hacker's claim that he broke into Hillary Clinton's private email server in 2013 was a lie, according to the FBI.

Marcel Lehel Lazar, also known as Guccifer, has boasted about the breach to various media outlets, saying in May that it had been "easy."

But on Thursday, FBI director James Comey said that Lazar, who is now in U.S. custody, has admitted the claim was false.

"He admitted that was a lie," Comey said during a congressional hearing on Clinton's use of her own private email server.

Lazar, originally from Romania, was extradited to the U.S. and is awaiting sentencing for breaking into the email and social media accounts of various U.S. officials as well as a member of the Bush family.

He has also claimed credit for hacking an email account belonging to an advisor of Clinton named Sidney Blumenthal. Emails from that account were leaked in 2013, providing evidence that Clinton had been using a private email server during her time as U.S. secretary of state.

Only two years later did details of Clintons email server became front page news, leading to an FBI investigation.

Lazar was arrested in Romania in 2014 and claimed he had breached Clintons email server on two occasions. Clinton has always denied there was a breach.

Earlier this week, when the FBI wrapped up its investigation of Clinton's email use, Comey said her actions had been extremely careless, but that he had found no grounds to bring charges against her. Comey said it was impossible to rule out that the system might have been hacked, however.

There were "unsuccessful attempts" to hack Clinton's email server, he said Thursday, but he declined to elaborate, citing national security concerns.
What a demeaning exercise, to go round telling people why one is the best person to lead the Conservative Party. Quite soon, one might find oneself wondering whether one could make something of ones family.

Andrea Leadsom tried to do so in her interview with the Times, and got the tone all wrong. She sounded as if she was striking a low and cruel blow at her rival, Theresa May, for not having children, and by extension at all those of us who do not have children:

I feel being a mum means you have a very real stake in the future of our country, a tangible stake. She possibly has nieces, nephews, lots of people. But I have children who are going to have children who will directly be a part of what happens next.

This is open to the obvious and fatal objection that many childless people care deeply about the future of our country, while some who do have children live only for the moment.

One may note in passing that Leadsom expresses, perhaps by accident, a form of support for the hereditary principle: she suggests it is natural to care most about what happens to our direct descendants.

But that is not the position she wishes to defend. For she later corrected herself, appearing outside her house to read a statement in which she said:

I want to be crystal clear that everyone has an equal stake in our society and in the future of our country.

That is the kind of dull, egalitarian formula to which candidates so often find themselves resorting, in a bid not to upset anyone.

Leadsom was, by the way, entirely wrong to accuse Rachel Sylvester, who conducted the interview, of gutter journalism. Sylvester is a most reputable journalist.

But it is easy to criticise, more difficult to make constructive suggestions. How is Leadsom to reply, when next she is questioned about her idea of our society, our state, our community? Here is what she could say:

It is a partnership in all science; a partnership in all art; a partnership in every virtue, and in all perfection. As the ends of such a partnership cannot be obtained in many generations, it becomes a partnership not only between those who are living, but between those who are living, those who are dead, and those who are to be born.

Dont the words have a certain ring about them, elevating them above a candidates usual platitudes? They certainly do, for they are borrowed from Burkes Reflections on the Revolution in France.

Tory candidates of limited rhetorical gifts used often to adorn their pedestrian offerings with a sentence or two from Burke, and Leadsom could do worse than follow their example. Her team should send out for the recent Everyman edition of his works.

Some clever columnist would no doubt point out that Burke would have been horrified by the referendum. But since we are seeking to re-establish, continue and preserve our constitution in the admirable though constantly evolving form in which it has existed since 1688, he is still a writer who can be read with profit, and quoted with pleasure.
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Jayant Sinha

In a sharply-worded commentary, the influential British weekly, The Economist (June 9) has said that the latest Cabinet expansion by the Prime Minister is likely to affect his reforms agenda. The heading of the commentary, published under the Indian politics section, is significant: Modi-fication: A swelling cabinet suggests that politics trumps reform. Particularly singling out the transfer of minister of state for finance Jayant Sinha, whom the weekly calls an outspoken former investment banker, The Economist regrets, he will now be a junior minister for civil aviation, with two BJP stalwarts with little background in finance will share his old post.Sinha, a graduate with distinction from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (IIT-D) and the Harvard Business School graduate, is known for his strong views on economic reforms. A member of parliament from Hazaribagh, Jharkhand, he served top consultants McKinsey for 12 years.One who helped Modi frame national economic policy, including organizing and hosting an international business leaders' forum with Modi in February 2014, investors had cheered when Sinha, a former venture capitalist, when he was appointed in the finance ministry.Articles written by Sinha, such as 'Strategies That Fit Emerging Markets' in the Harvard Business Review and 'It is time for India to rein in its robber barons' in the Financial Times are said to have been widely quoted in scholarly works and are used as reference material in business schools.Among reasons being cited for his removal from the post is his father, Yashwant Sinha's strong and repeated criticism of the Modi government. Recently, Yashwant Sinha, a former finance minister attacked the government on key policies and strategy, like its dealing with the Nuclear Suppliers Group or NSG.Controversial ministers were moved to less visible posts, and technocrats replaced by figures with more populist appeal, the weekly notes, adding, "With three years to go before a general election, Modis choice raises questions about how much he will get done. It quotes an editorial in the daily Mint to say: Jumbo cabinets are not exactly the optimal solution to governance challenges.The commentary says, Indias can-do prime minister, swept to victory two years ago promising minimum government with maximum governance, and after he came to power, his incoming team only boasted 45 ministers and ministers of state, compared with the unwieldy 77-person crew fielded by the previous government.However, the commentary observes, On July 5, following his second reshuffle since taking office, Modis council of ministers ballooned to an even wobblier 78, insisting, Running such a sprawling, untidy republic does require a lot of people.The commentary says, Only 27 of Mr Modis ministers will actually sit with him in cabinet meetings. The other 50 are junior ministers, tied to specific portfolios.Quoting unnamed Government loyalists, The Economist says, they believe the extra hands will make it easier to carry out the prime ministers ambitious reform agenda. However, it adds, Many among Indias noisy chattering classes fear the opposite is true.The Economist wonders whether the Cabinet reshuffle has anything to do with the elections, which loom next year in several crucial states, including the biggest state Uttar Pradesh with some 200m people, the prosperous Punjab and Modis home state of Gujarat.The weekly points to how last year Modi's Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) was defeated in the polls in Bihar, a state famed for convoluted politics based on group affiliations such as caste and religion.This, it suggests, may have made Amit Shah, the partys grizzled president and Modis closest henchman, determined to widen the BJPs appeal well beyond its base among higher-caste Hindus.The party has made special efforts to woo Dalits, or untouchables, who make up a crucial bloc of voters in Uttar Pradesh. Small wonder that among 19 newly minted ministers, ten are from what India officially classifies as 'backward' castes, and three are from Uttar Pradesh, The Economist notes.
Wind ruffles the breeding plumes of a snowy egret, a target of plume hunters who nearly drove birds like this into extinction -- until the MBTA protected them. Photo courtesy Sharon Sorenson

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This year marks the centennial celebration of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA). While the celebration likely will pass unnoticed by the masses, bird lovers should rejoice. And pause to think.

Although the treaty was signed in 1916 by the U.S. and Great Britain (on behalf of Canada), it took on teeth only after a 1920 Supreme Court ruling and after three more nations signed on: Mexico in 1936; Japan in 1972 and Russia in 1976. Indeed, while birds roam our backyards today, they may cross state lines tomorrow and be 1,000 miles away in a week. Some migratory birds circumnavigate the globe, and a high percentage of them touch down somewhere sometime in the U.S. MBTA helps protect them.

At the initial MBTA signing, 32 avian families were omitted from protection, including raptors. By 1972, though, most species were covered. A November 2013 revision brought the total species under the treaty's umbrella to 1,026. Now, only three familiar species remain  rightfully so  unprotected: house sparrow, starling and pigeon, all non-natives.

The MBTA came about originally because birds were being hunted to extinction. Some, like waterfowl, were hunted for food. Probably the most historically significant food target, however, was the passenger pigeon, considered a delicacy in fine East Coast hotels. Overhunting resulted in the species' extinction.

But other birds were hunted for their stunningly beautiful plumes  primarily to decorate women's hats. Some hat decor included entire birds, or even clusters of them, nestled among silk flowers. Profusely plumed Victorian hats gained outrageous popularity on both sides of the ocean.

An account of the turn-of-the-century London feather market would likely cause any of us to shudder  bird lover or not. As one correspondent writes, "At the London feather market (after the MBTA treaty), 368 of the 1,174 lots destined for the United States had to be pulled from auction, consisting of 1,203 greater birds of paradise, 22,810 kingfishers, 761 emus, 3,381 pheasants, 54,076 wing and tail quills of condors, hawks and eagles and 2,494 ounces of egret plumes (equal to about 14,964 birds)."

Many authorities believe certain hummingbird species, prized for brilliantly glittering feathers, went extinct as a result of the same markets.

Ultimately, MBTA made it illegal for unlicensed folks to own any part of any bird in any manner  feather, egg, nest, whatever.

Despite the treaty's successes, however, we still see declining bird populations and near-extinction numbers of certain species. There's good reason. The treaty gives no one the power to enforce protection for birds against oil spills, wind turbines, solar panels, window collisions, pesticide contamination or the myriad other calamities birds face from human disruption, intentional or otherwise.

Terry Rich, national Migratory Bird Program Coordinator for the Bureau of Land Management (1992-2000) and Partners in Flight National Coordinator (2000-2014), sums it up: "In the end, the biggest problem is that the MBTA is a regulation ... It cannot buy land, restore habitat or change land management at large scale. It cannot fund research or monitoring programs. For those conservation actions, we need Joint Ventures, the North American Wetlands Conservation Act, State Wildlife Grants and the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act. And we need them to be funded at much higher levels than they are now."

It's a political agenda bird lovers should endorse.

Contact Sharon Sorenson on her website at birdsintheyard.com, follow local day-to-day bird activity on Facebook at SharonSorensonBirdLady, or email her at chshsoren@gmail.com.
AP file photo by Darron Cummings Democratic Indiana gubernatorial candidate John Gregg, right, speaks during a news conference in Indianapolis.

Mike Pence wants to be vice president, Lloyd Winnecke wants to be governor and I just applied to become prince of Liechtenstein.

Seems no one in Indiana is satisfied with their current station  not even Larry Bird. Rumors circulated Friday that the Hick from French Lick was plotting to abandon the Pacers in favor of a spot at the end of the Warriors' bench. Golden State General Manager Bob Myers reportedly said he would consider acquiring the 59-year-old small forward, but only if Bird promised to regrow his 1980s prepubescent mustache. But there is one mustache completely content in his existing role: John Gregg.

Despite the Trumpian chaos surrounding Pence, the Democratic candidate for governor campaigned as usual last week. Communications director Jeff Harris said Gregg and running mate Christina Hale continued their slate of fundraisers on Friday even as Mikey measured the drapes in the vice presidential subterranean lair, where Dick Cheney spent eight years subsisting only on the purest crude oil.

"You know, in all honesty, nothing's changed," Harris said. "We have been focused throughout and continue to travel the state. ... If there is a change in candidates, we'll make those adjustments."

That's a fine perspective. Just ignore hypotheticals and soldier on. But it may be unrealistic.

As of Friday, Pence's main competition for the Trump ticket was: 1.) Donald's daughter Ivanka and 2.) Newt Gingrich  a man whose last meaningful political contribution was an appearance as an answer in the '90s edition of Trivial Pursuit.

We should also note something I just found out: our old boy Newt is a novelist. Check out the synopsis from his latest  a thriller called "Duplicity."

"When President Sally Allworth decides to reestablish America's Mogadishu embassy in Somalia weeks before Election Day, her challenger says she is playing politics with American lives. That turns out to be true when the embassy is attacked and hostages are taken. Embassy station chief Gunter Conner and Marine captain Brooke Grant end up the unlikely survivors of this Benghazi-style attack. Suddenly, they are the only hope for saving their captured colleagues."

Whoah! A Benghazi-style potboiler featuring a President Hillary Clinton stand-in? An embrace of the word "duplicity?" I take it all back! Newt will coast to the vice-presidency. The Gregg campaign is right to stick to the script.

Of course that business-as-usual approach may be rooted in a desire for Pence to stay in the governor's race. He's wildly unpopular in some circles (hi teachers!), and Gregg doesn't generate much excitement once you remove Mikey's villainy, especially among progressives. Plus, a moderate GOP nominee could cut into the number of center-leaning Republicans considering a jump to the Democratic ship.

Gregg was polling within four points in May. After Pence and Trump's Sam-Diane will-they-won't-they, those numbers may be closer.

Harris even said the whole point of the Gregg campaign is that "Indiana's not achieving its potential under Mike Pence's leadership." A new opponent would hurl them back to square one.

And can you imagine the Gregg attack ad if, after all this hubbub, Trump passed on Pence? Ominous voice. Picture of Mikey wrapped in Donald's arms: "Don't re-elect Mike Pence to a job he doesn't want."

(I'm sorry. This Gingrich novel  I can't stop thinking about it. Here's the opening sentence: "You're here, aren't you, to tell us everything we do wrong." I sure am!)

"It's a double-edged sword," Harris said when asked if he'd rather face Pence than Brian Bosma, Todd Rokita or Larry Bird. "Certainly it's always difficult to beat an incumbent, and that doesn't happen much in Indiana. Regardless of what the polls say, Mike Pence is still governor."

But for how long? Trump will blow into town on Tuesday. That's when GOP operatives and media mouthbreathers such as myself expect an announcement. And in the meantime, gaggles of cameras follow Pence wherever he goes. It's like Beatlemania if the mop-tops wore sensible blue jeans.

"Sorry about all the fuss," Pence said to folks at the Decatur County Fair on Thursday.

And if that fuss leads to a new opponent, well then great, Harris said. John Gregg's been campaigning for this job since 2012.

"If (Pence) is not the nominee, we have the advantage there of John Gregg having high name ID and having a field operations on the ground," he said. "And whomever (the new nominee) is, that person starts from zero.

"... We feel pretty confident either way. We're keeping our head down, keeping focused on our game plan and taking it as it comes."

Contact Jon Webb at jon.webb@courierpress.com or follow him on Twitter @JonAdamWebb
SHARE Tourists come in droves to smooch Ireland's Blarney Stone (said to make you silver-tongued), but I'd rather kiss a horse. (Photo: Rick Steves)

By Rick Steves

Americans get the shortest vacations in the industrial world. With so little time, the pressure is on to make all the right choices when planning a trip. But how to select the right destination? It ultimately depends on your interests and your tastes  and what your experienced travel writer tells you.

Its my job to sort through all the travel-industry superlatives and top ten lists. Readers naturally want to know the Best, but its just as important to know the Worst. With that in mind, Ive pulled together a round robin of my candid opinions on the best and worst European destinations. Here goes:

Lets start with the and its dullest corner, southern Scotland. Its so boring that the Romans decided to block it off with Hadrians Wall. But dont skip Hadrians Wall; it covers history buffs like me with goose bumps (or goose pimples, as the English say).

London, York, Bath and are the most interesting cities in Britain. Belfast, Liverpool and Glasgow are quirky enough to be called interesting.

Extra caution is merited in southwest England, a minefield of tourist traps. The British are masters at milking every conceivable tourist attraction for all its worth. Stay away from booby traps like the Devils Toenail (a rock that looks just like a ... toenail), (youll pay, pay, pay) and cloying (a one-street knickknack town selling useless goodies).

Tune out the hype around Irelands Blarney Stone (slobbered on by countless tourists to get the gift of gab), Spains Costa del Sol resorts and the French Riviera in July and August. These are among Europes most overrated spots.

Geneva, one of Switzerlands largest and most sterile cities, gets the nice place to live but I wouldnt want to visit award. Its pleasantly situated on a lake  just like Buffalo is. While its famous, name familiarity is a rotten reason to go somewhere. If you want a Swiss city, see Bern or Luzern instead.

Germanys famous disappoints more people than it excites. If it were all Germany offered, it would be worth seeing. For Europeans, any large forest is understandably a popular attraction. But Id say the average American visitor whos seen more than three trees in one place would prefer Germanys Romantic Road and , or the Rhine and Mosel country  all high points that cut the Black Forest down to stumps.

After Prague, (Poland) and are s best cities. s capital, has little to offer. Its top-selling postcard is of the InterContinental Hotel.

Norways Stavanger, famous for nearby fjords and its status as an oil boomtown, is a large port thats about as thrilling as ... well, put it this way: Emigrants left it in droves to move to the wilds of Minnesota. Your time is better spent at , Norways most spectacular fjord. The most boring countryside is Swedens (yes, Im Norwegian).

Europes most scenic train rides are Switzerlands top three: the Golden Pass, and . The most scenic boat ride is from Stockholm to  countless islands and blondes. Europes most underrated sight is Romes ancient seaport, , and its most misunderstood wine is s vinho verde(green wine).

Honeymooners should try these tiny towns: Beilstein on Germanys ; Hallstatt on Austrias ; on Italys ; on an island in south Denmark; and , high in the Swiss Alps.

The most pleasing French chateau is Vaux-le-Vicomte, near Paris. The best Gothic interior is found in Paris church. The top two medieval castle interiors are Germanys on the Mosel River, and northern Italys Reifenstein. Lisbon, Oslo, Stockholm, and Budapest are Europes most underrated big cities.

Ill close with a lightning round of ultimates (what travel writer can resist?): the ultimate medieval walled town in Germany (Rothenburg), prehistoric stone fortress in Ireland (Dun Aenghus), Riviera port town (Vernazza), hike in Englands Lake District ( above Keswick), neighborhood pub in London (The Anglesea Arms), castle in North Wales (nope, I still cant pick just one) ... and pedestrian market street in Paris (Rue Cler).

Having stuck my neck out to say all this, I must add that its always fun  and necessary  to reassess opinions (mine have certainly changed over the years). These are just my personal feelings after more than 100 months of European travel. As you sort through these bests and worsts, go ahead and disagree. Dont let any travel writer limit your freedom to find your own ultimates.

Rick Steves writes European travel guidebooks and hosts travel shows on public television and public radio. Email him at rick@ricksteves.com and follow his blog on Facebook.
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By Cole Claybourn

A daytime attempted burglary on Wednesday was captured on the victim's video security system, and now police are using those images to help search for the suspects.

The Evansville Police Department on Sunday released six images of the two male suspects, asking for the public's help in identifying them.

The call came into officers around noon on Wednesday to a burglary in progress at 712 S. Englewood Ave. The victim told police he could see the suspects from his remote video security and gave police a description of them, according to an EPD report.

The victim told police he didn't recognize either suspect.

If you know who either of these subjects, the Evansville Police Department asks that you call them at 812-436-7979 or 911 or WeTip at 1-800-78-CRIME (1-800-782-7463).
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By Shannon Hall of the Courier and Press

It will be a historic weekend in the historic town of Newburgh.

The Newburgh Museum will host several events throughout the weekend in honor of Indiana's Bicentennial.

"The whole state is doing a lot to celebrate (Indiana's) 200th anniversary," said Josh Claybourn, Newburgh Museum board member. "Newburgh Museum wanted to do something ... to really focus a huge weekend around Newburgh's Civil War history."

On July 18, 1862, the small town in Warrick County was raided by Adam R. "Stovepipe" Johnson, a Confederate soldier from Kentucky. He and about 30 men used a rowboat and a small flatboat ferry to head to the Newburgh waterfront.

"Johnson and his men seized a small store of weapons from a riverside warehouse and bluffed a group of some 80 Union soldiers convalescing in a nearby hotel into surrendering their unloaded muskets," according to the Newburgh Museum website. "Johnson's men then looted a few homes and stores, paroled their prisoners, and returned safely across the river with their booty. The entire action lasted only a few hours."

The raid, which was bloodless, helped mobilize the Union leaders during the war.

A re-enactment of the raid will start the day Saturday and will be followed by a full-scale Civil War skirmish. The raid as well as Saturday and Sunday's Civil War skirmish will be free for the public to watch.

A few of the events during the historic weekend will require tickets  the Cotillion Ball, the Ladies Afternoon Tea and the Historic Home Tour  and can be purchased at the Newburgh Museum or online at newburghremembers.com.

The Cotillion Ball ticket includes dinner and period dancing as well as period attire if you want.

"People will be able to learn how to dance the dances that people danced in 1862," said Tom Bodkin, Newburgh Museum board president.

All event profits will go toward the Newburgh Museum. People can also take a carriage ride  for $5  through Newburgh from 12:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.

For more information about Newburgh Remembers, or to sign up for the beard contest, go to newburghremembers.com.
President Obama attends a press conference during the second day of the NATO Summit at the Polish National Stadium in Warsaw on Saturday. (Photo: WOJTEK RADWANSKI, AFP/Getty Images)

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By Gregory Korte, USA TODAY

WARSAW  strove to convey a message of solace and unity in the wake of an extraordinary week that rubbed raw issues of police safety and racial bias in policing Saturday, saying he believes Americans will come together to find common ground.

As painful as the week has been, I fully believe that America is not as divided as people have suggested, he said. People of all races and backgrounds are outraged by the killing of police officers in Dallas  even those protesting the police, he said. And the same people are angered by the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile.

Sterling, 37, of Baton Rouge, La., and Castile, 32, of St. Paul, Minn., are both African-American men killed by police in incidents captured on video last week. Their deaths sparked nationwide protests that boiled over just as Obama left Thursday for what was supposed to be a four-day trip to Europe. After five Dallas police officers were killed Thursday night, Obama cut short his trip and will instead return home Sunday after a one-day visit to Spain.

He will visit Dallas early next week, the White House said, and devote the rest of the week to working on issues of police safety and eliminating bias in policing. Obama did not outline any specific steps, but suggested that a starting point was the report of a commission he established after the police shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., in 2014.

"There is sorrow. There is anger. There is confusion about the next steps. But there is unity in recognizing that this is not how we want our communities to operate. This is not who we want to be as Americans," Obama told reporters in Warsaw.

It was the third time he addressed police-community relations while in Poland for a summit of NATO leaders. You have not seen riots, and you have not seen police going after people who are protesting peacefully."

Obama declined to talk about the Dallas shooter's motives. Dallas Police Chief David Brown has said former Army Reservist Micah Xavier Johnson, 25, was seeking retribution against white police officers for police-involved shootings throughout the country.

By definition, if you shoot people who are no threat to you  strangers  you have a troubled mind, Obama said. Were not going to identify and eliminate every madman and troubled individual who might want to do harm against innocent people. But we can make it harder for them to do so.

Obama was talking about his efforts to get Congress to pass stricter gun control laws. And he quickly clarified that he wasnt just talking about the mass shootings that dominate the headlines, but also the hundreds of people who have already been killed in my hometown of Chicago  the ones we consider routine.

The prevalence of guns, he said, makes it difficult for police. In Dallas, for example, people protesting the police-involved shootings were openly carrying weapons, which is legal under Texas law.

Imagine if you are a police officer and youre trying to sort out who is shooting at you, and there are a lot of people who have guns on them, he said. If you care about the safety of our police officers, you cant set aside the gun issue and pretend its irrelevant.
SHARE furnished photo Rob Kerney is trying to raise money to help pay for his travel expenses to the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.

By Thomas B. Langhorne of the Courier and Press

Rob Kerney knows some people will think he's got a lot of nerve.

Kerney, a 49-year-old Evansville resident and longtime Democratic Party activist, got himself elected as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center July 25-28.

Now Kerney, who is blind, is asking fellow Democrats, former co-workers, friends and other personal connections to come up with $3,500 to $5,000 to pay for travel, lodging and food for him and a sighted guide who will drive with him to Philly and room with him.

Kerney has already scored a $2,000 loan from a friend, but he'd rather not have to pay that back if he can help it. Other friends have come across with between $400 and $500.

"I know a lot of people will think, 'Why did he try for this if he didn't have the money?' " Kerney said. "Some people have already said that to me. But the way I saw it is, if I signed up and I won, that meant God wanted me to go and he'd provide the money for me."

Kerney, a vocal advocate for the rights of the disabled, reckons he has done enough for the community to stake a plausible claim for assistance. Working in a host of Democratic campaigns over the years, he's met more politicians than most  and bent their ears about better business development and employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

Kerney made it clear he isn't flush with cash.

Afflicted with several health problems he attributes to his diabetes, Kerney said he relies on Social Security Disability Income to get by. He had a job as an adjunct political science professor at Ivy Tech Community College, but that ended last year when he made what he calls a "kind of mutual" decision to leave.

He'd like to get a job doing outreach or fundraising for a nonprofit, but it hasn't happened. He's unemployed with no other money coming in. His wife isn't working, either.

What Kerney is doing is not unusual.

The Internet abounds with fundraising pages, GoFundMe campaigns and other appeals for money from people who say they need it to attend one of this summer's major party national conventions.

Anthony Long, chairman of Indiana's 8th Congressional District Democratic Party and a veteran of at least a half-dozen national conventions, said "a number" of Indiana's 92 convention delegates and seven alternate delegates are soliciting funds to attend the event.

Long said he doesn't have a problem with Kerney's fundraising campaign and neither does the Indiana Democratic Party. He should know. He's set to take office as one of six Indiana representatives to the Democratic National Committee right after the convention.

"I know our state party has reached out to (Sen. Bernie Sanders' presidential) campaign to try to get some help for him," Long said of Kerney, a pledged Sanders delegate.

If Kerney falls short of his fundraising goal, Long said, it likely will fall to the Sanders campaign to select a replacement.

It does cost a boatload of money to sit among the thousands of longtime party activists, donors, leaders and elected officials who typically get tapped to be delegates at national political conventions. Surge pricing is the order of the day. Long said his hotel room  in the same hotel recommended to Indiana delegates by the national party  will cost him a whopping $400 a night.

Kerney said the car he's rented could cost him as much as $700 when gasoline is counted.

Mark Owen, a former Vanderburgh County Democratic chairman who attended the 1996 convention in Chicago, said Kerney really shouldn't have to worry about food.

"For most of your meals, there are sponsors that invite you as a complimentary guest to attend their functions," Owen said. "That was the least of your worries. The transportation to and from the convention hall also was covered."

Sounding a wistful note, Owen recalled his time in Chicago in support of then-President Bill Clinton as a magic carpet ride. He said Kerney is very fortunate.

"To attend a national political convention is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," Owen said.

Kerney just started his own GoFundMe page on Thursday, and he is among the legions of Sanders delegates who are making online appeals to other supporters of the Vermont senator. He has come up with at least one idea that he hopes will make potential donors smile.

In a recent email to about 100 potential benefactors, Kerney listed categories of donors to his fundraising campaign. Anyone who contributes $3,500 or more will be a "Liberty Bell" donor. A $1,000 contributor is an "Independence Hall" donor, and the list continues on down to "Brotherly Love" donors who give less than $100.

Much like any formal fundraising appeal, Kerney promises perks to each level of donor  large, medium or small convention souvenirs, signs from the event and, for some Brotherly Love donors, a "huge hug." No matter how much someone gives, Kerney promises to be a "friend for life, or not, your choice."

In the end, he hopes his work for the disabled and his involvement with various community organizations will inspire sufficient numbers of people to come through for him.

"I've always been taught to pay people back, being from a small town (Oakland City). You know, everybody worries about their neighbors, and I still try to help people out and I'm still advocating for people with disabilities," Kerney said.

"I'm not saying that people owe me anything. I've not done that to get payback, but if they want a reason, that's the best one I can give you. Otherwise, it's just out of the kindness of their heart."
More than 300 marchers in the #Black Lives Matter" headed to Monument Circle in Downtown Indianapolis on Saturday, July 9, 2016. They were showing support for two black men killed earlier in the week by police officers in Louisiana and Minnesota. (Photo: Robert Scheer/IndyStar)

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By Michael Anthony Adams and Crystal Duan, IndyStar / USA TODAY Network

A Black Lives Matter protest march of at least 300 in Indianapolis on Saturday evening doubled to 600 by the time it reached the Indiana Statehouse an hour later.

The marchers, who gathered at about 6 p.m. at the Indianapolis Central Library before heading south to Monument Circle were rallying in support of two black men who were died earlier this week during incidents involving police officers in Louisiana and Minnesota.

Indianapolis police officers blocked Meridian Street for the marchers. On they way, howeverm they had to turn west on Michigan Street to avoid the annual Indy Criterium bicycle race.

Nigel Long, one of the organizers of the event, said "This is only the beginning of the revolution in Indianapolis."

The rally had a mostly peaceful tone. Some people attended the rally with their children. Others could be heard chanting the cry "Hands up. Don't Shoot!" that was heard in 2014, during protests nationwide surrounding the death of Michael Brown after a confrontation with police in Ferguson, Mo.

The protesters were showing support for the families of Alton Sterling, who was killed by a police officer Tuesday in Baton Rouge, La., and Philando Castile who died at the hands of an officer on Wednesday near St. Paul, Minn. Some also expressed sorrow at the death of the officers in the Dallas police shooting.

The march and rally followed a vigil earlier Saturday at Light of the World church on the northwest side, where Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett, local pastors and other community leaders met to pray for the two black men as well as five Dallas police officers who died Thursday, after they were ambushes by a sniper angry at the earlier deaths.

A Bicycle Ride for Peace was also held earlier Saturday in Downtown Indianapolis.

Joshua Richy, 20, from Georgia, said at the rally that #BlackLivesMatter protests need to be followed up with community initiatives.

"All ya'll that are out here today (you) need to be at church tomorrow," says one man to the crowd. Some nodded in agreement.
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Our hearts and prayers go out to the families of the officers slain in the line of duty Thursday night in Dallas. These five officers were gunned down in ambush while protecting citizens engaged in a peaceful protest of police shootings elsewhere. Their reprehensible murders are a stain on the country and a reflection of the sickening culture of violence that seems to be gaining a pervasive hold in certain parts of it.

Too often we forget that police are constantly on the front line standing between citizens and violence, that they are too often targets of unthinking violence and that the vast majority serve as protectors and helpers. We owe them our thanks every day. We stand with them.

What happened in Dallas Thursday was indeed a "vicious, calculated and despicable attack on law enforcement," as President Barack Obama described the sniper-style shootings of Dallas police officers.

"I believe I speak for every single American when I say we are horrified over these events, and we stand united with the people and the police department in Dallas," he added.

Authorities said that Micah X. Johnson, 25, an alleged gunman who was cornered and killed by police, said he wanted to kill white people and particularly police officers in the wake of two police shootings of African-American men in Louisiana and Minnesota. But using such deplorable acts as an excuse for another atrocity is the reasoning of a sick mind.

We also stand with the families of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, whose killings by police last week sparked outrage and protests in communities across the country. With them, and with the victims of other police-related shootings, we demand full explanations and justice.

And no, those positions are not mutually exclusive. Victims of violence require support and answers and accountability no matter who they are.

And, absolutely yes, trust and relations between police and communities need to be rebuilt across the country, as Attorney General Loretta Lynch said Friday.

But even if those who perpetrated the violence in Dallas on Thursday believed in their delusions that they were righting some kind of wrong, the rest of us need to understand that violence is never the answer to violence, as Lynch pointed out Friday, and as the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., so eloquently taught us a half-century ago.

It's a lesson that the mother of Alton Sterling's son repeated in a statement released by her attorneys in the wake of Thursday night's ambush:

"We wholeheartedly reject the reprehensible acts of violence that were perpetrated against members of the Dallas Police Department. Our hearts break for the families of the officers who were lost as they protected protesters and residents alike during a rally. Regardless of how angry or upset people may be, resorting to this kind of sickening violence should never happen and simply cannot be tolerated. Members of law enforcement have a very difficult job and the vast majority conduct themselves honorably as they protect and serve our communities. We maintain that officers who violate the public trust and their training should be held accountable through our country's justice system. Responding to violence with violence is not the answer."

That's the answer.

This editorial was written by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
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A West Haven man on Sunday was arrested for firearm and drug offenses that could lead to life in jail.

Rohan A. James-Dennie Jr, 22, was charged with possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, which carries up to a life sentence, and possession of a stolen firearm, said Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut.

In November 2015, Connecticut State Police stopped James-Dennies vehicle in Essex and found a .380 caliber handgun with a hollow point bullet in the magazine of the weapon, approximately one-half kilogram of marijuana and more than $3,400 in cash. The firearm had been reported stolen during a residential burglary in 2013.

The complaint further alleges that, on January 12, 2016, West Haven Police stopped James-Dennie and found a .22 caliber handgun loaded with six rounds of ammunition, more than 200 grams of marijuana and nearly $5,000 in cash. The firearm's serial number was partially obliterated.

James-Dennie was arrested on state charges in both of these instances and released on bond. The suspect was arrested again Sunday in East Haven and detained pending an appearance in federal court on Monday.

The federal complaint charges James-Dennie with possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, possession of a stolen firearm and possession with intent to distribute marijuana. Several of the charges carry prison terms of up to life in jail.

The matter is being investigated by the FBI's New Haven Safe Streets Task Force, Connecticut State Police, West Haven Police Department and East Haven Police Department. The FBI Task Force includes participants from the New Haven, Hamden and Milford Police Departments, the Connecticut State Police and the State of Connecticut Department of Correction.
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BRIDGEPORT  The yellow ball was chewed up, stained and covered in slobber.

But like his gun and his badge, Police Officer Ryan Mullenax will not leave home without it.

When he pulls the ball out of his left-hand pocket, his jet-black canine partner, Zeus, forgets about the traffic on the street, the summer heat. The Slovakian-born German shepherd sits in bliss with the ball resting firmly between rows of teeth.

Hell pretty much do anything for this ball, Mullenax said.

Mullenax and Zeus graduated last week from a four-month Connecticut State Police canine training program, at the top of the class. That earned Mullenax the 180th Canine Training Troops Daniel Wasson Memorial K-9 Award, named after a police officer who was shot and killed while conducting a traffic stop in 1987.

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Delta Airlines wants to be the Queen of flights to Cuba

This is the first time in nearly 55 years that Delta will fly to Cuba. The company, whose headquarters is in Atlanta, Georgia, promises to offer more places, destinations and flights from Atlanta than any other competitor.

Whether from the Hartsfield Jackson Airport, JFK in New York, or from Miami International Airport, Delta says it wants to be large-scale participant of a new history.

To this end, it will ensure that its headquarters in Atlanta is connected with the greater amount of possible cities within the United States; that any Cuban or person wishing to travel to Cuba do it through Delta.

To do this, the company will use Boeing 757-200 passenger aircraft for flights from Atlanta and departing (or arriving) to New York. In the case of flights to or from Miami, they will use smaller jets, such as Boeing 737-800 Miami.

source: www.cibercuba.com




The US authorizes eight commercial airlines to fly to Havana

The United States authorized on Thursday eight US commercial airlines to fly to Havana, said Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.

The authorized airlines are Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines and United Airlines.

Flights to Havana will take off from airports in Atlanta, Georgia; Charlotte, North Carolina; Houston Texas; Los Angeles California; Newark, NJ; New York and Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Orlando and Tampa, Florida.

United Airlines lobbied unsuccessfully for the creation of a direct route to Havana from Washington, which would connect the two capitals and ensure the transportation of congressmen, politicians and diplomats.

According to the US Department of Transportation, services are assigned to cities that have populations with significant presence of Cuban emigrants and important air traffic centers.

In February, Cuba and the United States signed an agreement to reestablish regular air service to the Caribbean island, which is still subject to many restrictions contained in the laws supporting the embargo imposed on Cuba by Washington for over half a century.
Windber-Portage renew rivalry in Week 10 Heritage-WestPAC crossover

Check out what to watch on Friday night in Somerset County as the high school football regular season comes to a close in Week 10.
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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.
Reading the Chilcot Report took me back to those increasingly tense and confusing months in the run-up to the Iraq War. A small group in No 10 were in control. Officials and Ministers across Whitehall were brought in and out at the Prime Ministers whim and it was difficult to know what was going on. The Cabinet did not function as a decision-making body during Blairs premiership, in particular in the lead-up to war. And Alastair Campbell was always there, ferociously ready to brief against anyone who did not comply.

Contributing to policy in the face of war and the possible taking and sacrificing of life, is a deep and powerful responsibility. Loyalty to country and Prime Minister deepens. But there is also an imperative to do the right thing and, given the atmospherics in No 10 and in Cabinet meetings, this was increasingly difficult.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair meets with British troops in the port of Umm Qasr, in Iraq, on May 29, 2003

At the beginning, everyone agreed Saddam Hussein should be given a last chance to get rid of all weapons of mass destruction and there should be a threat of military action if he didnt comply. What went wrong was that President Bush decided in December that weapons inspections would not achieve the desired results and that the US would take military action.

Chilcot says Blair had told Bush he would be with him whatever but had argued that the way to obtain a casus belli was through the UN.

Blair had to choose either to stick with the UN Security Council and try to disarm Iraq without war, or commit to go with the US, on their timetable, when  as Chilcot says  there was no imminent threat from Saddam.

This is where the need for deception crept in and Blair twisted the facts. The intelligence agencies thought Iraq had WMD but he exaggerated the danger. The legal advice was that a second UN resolution was the safest course of action to authorise war, so this was hidden from the Cabinet.

Clare Short: 'This is a very sorry tale. For me it is a matter of deep shame'

I was stunned when at the last minute Attorney General Lord Goldsmith told the Cabinet there was a reasonable case for legal authority for war without a second UN resolution. I asked whether he had changed his mind and why it had taken him so long to give this advice. But the atmosphere was fraught and other Ministers jeered and no answer was given.

Blair had to find an excuse for halting the UN process. He told us the French would veto any resolution for war. This was not true. The French and the rest of the Security Council believed the inspectors needed more time. Chilcot concludes the UK chose to join the invasion before peaceful options for disarmament were exhausted.

At his emotional press conference responding to Chilcot, Blair said with a catch in his throat that he felt deeply and sincerely all the grief of the people of the UK and Iraq who had lost loved ones. He expressed sorrow, regret and contrition. He claimed the report said there were no lies, Parliament and Cabinet were not misled and there was no rush to war. To cap it all, he said it was the right decision and he would do it all again. At my school we were taught that a lie is the intent to deceive; and that you cannot be forgiven unless you are truly sorry and determined not to sin again.

The great communicator has come to the end of the line. He seemed a broken man.
It seems only yesterday that David Cameron was boasting of being the heir to Blair  but theres no such political flirting from Theresa May. A friend recalls: She was invited to dinner with the Blairs at their home recently but declined. When I asked why, she replied, Ive never liked Tony, Ive never liked Cherie, and have no interest in seeing them or their house. 

It seems only yesterday that David Cameron was boasting of being the heir to Blair  but theres no such political flirting from Theresa May

A friend recalls: She was invited to dinner with the Blairs at their home recently but declined. When I asked why, she replied, Ive never liked Tony, Ive never liked Cherie, and have no interest in seeing them or their house. 

Blair was furious when Mail on Sunday newsman Jonathan Oliver notoriously asked him, Have you got blood on your hands? following the suicide of MoD weapons expert Dr David Kelly after he blurted out the truth on WMDs. In fact, the explosive question was suggested by the bald, bespectacled gent sitting next to Oliver at the press conference  silent assassin Nick Robinson, the Beeb grandee who now presents Radio 4s Today.

Nothing sums up Michael Goves madcap judgment better than his craven support for Blair over Iraq. Just before the conflict, he gushed: I cant hide my feelings any more. I love Tony. A year on, when Blairs lies had been exposed, our brave boys were coming home in coffins, and Iraq was in flames, Gove wrote: Why should Blair say sorry for making us all safer?

Gloomy George and the end of the world

George Osborne was in a rather melancholic mood after watching Wagners Ring Cycle in London last week

George Osborne was in a rather melancholic mood after watching Wagners Ring Cycle in London last week. Reflecting on its end of the world climax, when the stolen gold used to make the ring sinks back to the riverbed, the cheerless Chancellor said: At least it puts recent events at Westminster into perspective and at least weve still got some gold left.

Who says Boris Johnson couldnt have negotiated a good Brexit deal with the EU had he become PM? A friend recalls how Bojo coped in a rugby match at Eton when his opposite number repeatedly pulverised him. Boris went up to the chap at half-time and somehow persuaded him to move to another position so that someone else got thumped.

The unlikely promotion of Leftie MP Paul Flynn, 81, to Jeremy Corbyns front bench could boost sales of Flynns memoirs. They describe how Labour MP Bill Etherington caused uproar on a Commons junket to Paris when he projectile vomited and nearly died at an EU banquet after a champagne-drinking contest with a fellow Labour MP.

Amber sees red

Andrea Leadsoms allies were puzzled by high-pitched heckling coming from a corner of the Commons room where her hustings speech bombed. Who were the two women MPs cackling and carping? Step forward Cabinet Ministers and Theresa May cheerleaders Amber Rudd and twin terror Justine Greening.
Oh, for goodness sake leave the pathetic Blair creature alone. He will never understand what he did and probably didnt understand it at the time.

He isnt very bright and now lives a lonely, meaningless life of empty speeches delivered to bored businessmen in return for money, which will have to be penance enough.

If you want to blame anyone for the Iraq disaster, look at yourselves. I opposed it at the time, and remember how few others did. I dont really count the Leftist demonstrators, who oppose all wars, just or unjust.

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Former Prime Minister Tony Blair will never understand what he did by entering the Iraq War and probably didnt understand it at the time

I mean the great mass of patriotic Middle Britain, normal decent people, who were so willingly misled. I mean those scores of MPs of both parties who scuttled, bleating, through the war lobby and now claim, falsely, that they didnt know the facts.

I mean my media colleagues, who have been trained from their earliest years to doubt what they are told, yet swallowed Alastair Campbells great dish of steaming tripe without a thought.

Come on, how hard was it to see that the danger was invented, that the war was illegal and that it was none of our business? I have no prophetic powers but I could see it.

And yet, diddled so blatantly that even an official report now confirms it, you still dont learn. How many supposedly responsible voters are currently being fooled by todays attempt to spin us into a stupid conflict with Russia, a country almost nobody in Whitehall knows anything about or understands?

At least as many as were misled by claims of a fictional massacre into supporting the Libya disaster. At least as many as were persuaded by a media chorus to admire Hilary Benns feeble, poorly argued speech urging us to bomb Syria.

Is there no idiocy you cant be gulled into by a bit of atrocity propaganda or the endlessly recycled claim that the chosen target is the new Hitler, who must not be appeased? A word of advice: if you dont like atrocities, dont start wars. Wars are the mother and father of atrocities, and one day they will come home to us, if we keep launching them against others.

Vladimir Putin is already being turned into the new Hitler. Nobody who knows anything about Russia thinks this is true. But a couple of weeks ago we more or less secretly sent British troops to Ukraine, a country with which we are not in any way allied, and which is a war zone. Was Parliament asked about Exercise Rapid Trident? I can find no record of it.

We have just made the daft decision to send 650 scarce troops to Poland and Estonia. This is supposedly in response to a Russian threat to these countries for which there is no actual evidence. Apart from the tiny exclave of Kaliningrad, Poland doesnt even have a border with Russia. As the wise academic Professor Richard Sakwa, whose father served in the pre-war Polish Army, has rightly said: Nato grew to meet the threat it had itself provoked.

If we are not careful, we shall once again create a war out of our own exaggerated fears and by believing our own propaganda. Any of you who are taken in by this have no right to attack Mr Blair. You are as bad as he is. He and his like couldnt do what they do without your help.

Baffled by the barmy NHS

A member of my family had to hurry to a major hospital casualty department at the weekend. It was the usual NHS mixture  dedicated, overworked and kind doctors and nurses cunningly concealed behind a barrier of wooden bureaucracy bad enough to make you scream, even if you werent already in pain.

All ended quite happily. Soon afterwards she received this ludicrous text, which I at first thought was a joke: We would like you to think about your recent experience at the **** **** hospital.

How likely are you to recommend our Emergency Department to your friends and family if they needed similar care or treatment today? Reply 1 for extremely likely, 2 for likely, 3 for neither likely nor unlikely, 4 for extremely unlikely, 5 for dont know.

Britain's hospitals are not part of a market - they are organised mercy, and it would be better if they concentrated exclusively on that, writes Peter Hitchens

How does one begin to respond to this? She was in considerable pain and distress. She did not consult the Good Hospital Guide (not that there was any choice, given the sparseness of A&E facilities in modern Britain). Its not a market. Its organised mercy, and it would be better if it concentrated exclusively on that.

The campaign for justice for the late Bishop George Bell goes on. Bell has been denounced by Church and media as a child abuser without the semblance of a trial.

This was recently the main subject of a powerful debate in the House of Lords. The Churchs response, as ever, was to use the alleged victim as a human shield.

Arrayed in his flowing clerical robes, in a chamber where all speak upon their honour, the consecrated Bishop of Chelmsford asserted that campaigners for justice for George Bell had made hurtful comments about her (the alleged victim).

Have they? I have challenged him to say who these people were and what these comments were. He has not replied, though the Church press office has emitted some irrelevant and evasive guff.

Look, I am resigned to the coronation of Mrs Theresa May as our next Prime Minister. In a cynical way, I am quite pleased by it, as she is so Left-wing that she may well achieve my main aim in life  the final and utter destruction of the Useless, Fraudulent Tory Party.

But spare me the suggestion that she is the new Margaret Thatcher. Im not actually a Thatcherite, and disapprove of a lot of what the Iron Lady did.

But I did meet Mrs Thatcher, and talk to her, and watch her in action. And Mrs May is no Margaret Thatcher. She is in fact the new John Major.
Sportswear label Rumi X has given a whole new meaning to getting coffee in your active wear.

The Hong Kong based brand uses coffee grinds in their fabrics as it has sweat wicking properties, absorbs moisture and helps with odour.

And thats not all, with 32-year-old label founder Melissa Chu telling Daily Mail Australia they also use recycled plastic in their leggings.

Innovative idea: Hong Kong based label Rumi X uses recycled coffee grinds in their active wear

Something old, something new: The label also uses recycled plastic bottles to make leggings

Delicate process: The plastic is shredded in to flakes and then melted to make yarn which is woven in to the fabric

We do use recycled plastic bottles for our bottoms, she said.

The plastic bottles are shredded into flakes and melted.

This is then threaded in to the material we use for our leggings, shorts and capris.

To recycle the coffee, the grinds are washed and dried and the oil extracted to eliminate any odour.

The remaining grinds are made in to pellets that are then turned in to thread.

Dual purpose: The oil is extracted from the coffee grinds which are then made in to pellets which are used to make thread

Eco-friendly: Using coffee grinds allows the label to help reduce the amount of waste produced by the coffee industry

Spreading the word: Label founder Melissa Chu, 32, said she wanted to make people more conscious of their decisions

Ms Chu said by using coffee grinds they are helping to reduce the waste produced by the coffee industry.

Our core philosophy is to be an eco-friendly brand because we want to build the awareness of conserving the resources we use every day, she said.

We want to do our part for the planet and make people more conscious of their decisions.

The brands philosophy has been well received by consumers.

Thinking of the environment: Our core philosophy is to be an eco-friendly brand because we want to build the awareness of conserving the resources we use every day, she said

Recycling: To make fabric out of the coffee grinds, the grinds are washed and dried before the oil is extracted to eliminate odour

Ms Chu said while many people are amazed that you can combine clothes with coffee, the response they have had for the concept has been overwhelmingly positive.

People are more aware of this process of making waste into clothes,' she said.

Going forward the company plans to look in to using coloured plastic water bottles in place of traditional clothes dye.

Ms Chu originally moved to Hong Kong from the Bay area in California for a corporate job in digital marketing.

Forward thinking: Going forward they plan to use recycled coloured plastic water bottles in place of traditional clothes dye

She started her brand, originally called Rumi Yoga Wear, in 2013 before travelling to India to become a certified yoga instructor.

She said Rumi X includes not only yoga wear, but clothes for CrossFit, running and Barre.

Ms Chu designs and collaborates with Christine Ritter on the colours, patterns and prints.
Thrive PR offers incentives for new parents returning to the workforce

An increasing number of businesses are introducing a childcare or baby bonus to new parents or mums-to-be.

Thrive PR, who have offices in Australia and New Zealand, are the latest to put parents first, introducing two months paid parental leave and a $150-a-day bonus to cover childcare costs.

In a statement, Thrive PR said they also introduced special parking closer to work for women in their third trimester of pregnancy.

Helping new parents: Thrive PR, who have offices in Australia and New Zealand, have introduced incentives for new parents

The company's founder Leilani Abels said Thrive recognised the importance of working parents.

'We are doing everything possible from a culture and financial perspective to get more women returning to rewarding careers at Thrive and to help them transition back into the workplace,' she said.

In addition to their three new policies, that includes two months paid parental leave at full pay on top of the Government's 18 week paid parental leave scheme, they offer flexibility for new parents.

Family first: The company introduced two months paid parental leave on top of the government's scene and a $150-a-day childcare bonus

Priority parking: Women in their third trimester of pregnancy also have special parks available closer to work

The company allows additional time out of the office for parents on IVF programs and new parents are given a flexible return to work time as their jobs are left open.

Parents with school-aged kids are also able to juggle school commitments with work, and children are casually accommodated in the office if no childcare is available.

But Ms Abels, who herself has a one-year-old son, said their parental bonus scheme saw the company slugged with tax implications and complexities.

Baby steps: While the company is innovative with their approach, they incur fringe benefits tax

Forward thinking: Ms Abels said there is no rebate for businesses who pay for childcare and it was a significant investment for the company

'Thrive's parenting policies currently incur FBT (fringe benefits tax) and there are no rebates when a business pays for childcare,' she said.

'It is a costly exercise, and when you are not a major corporation, it is a significant investment.

'There are no government incentives for a business to support parents and in fact, we are penalised and taxed.

'The current system discourages businesses to invest in working parents  in women who are important to our economy and Australia's future  and that needs to change.'

Not alone: Sydney company The Works agency also has a $100-a-day childcare bonus for new parents

Thrive PR is not alone in offering benefits for new parents.

Sydney company The Works agency is making it easier for new parents to return to the workforce by offering them an extra $100-a-day bonus to cover childcare costs.

The company will introduce the initiative next month after some of their employees said the cost of childcare was inhibiting them from returning to work full time.
Tess Holliday seems to be on a one-woman quest to normalize breastfeeding.

The 31-year-old plus-size model took to Instagram on Saturday to share yet another intimate snap of herself nursing her one-month-old son Bowie.

'My friend @jackiedunnsmith snapped this photo of me breastfeeding Bowie today & it makes my heart swell #normalizebreastfeeding #bowiejuniper,' the proud mom wrote in the caption for the image.

Mom and son time: Tess Holliday, 31, has shared another sweet image of herself nursing her one-month-old son Bowie Juniper

Giving thanks: Tess also shared this image, praising The Pearl Hotel in San Diego for making her and her family 'feel like we're staying with friends'

The photo shows Tess sitting at a table with her hair back, sporting gold hoop earrings and an army green top which is unbuttoned, baring her right breast.

She is holding her tiny boy up to her chest in the photo with both arms, and looks down on him lovingly.

In another post on Saturday, the mom also praised The Pearl Hotel in San Diego, posting a photo of noted made on papers below a set of bottles marked 'drinks for Bowie' and another note saying 'drinks for the parents'.

'We feel like we're staying with friends!' Tess wrote.

Tess frequently shares candid photos of her family on social media, and last month, she posted another intimate photo of herself nursing her newborn son.

'I had to capture this moment because today was the first time I was successful at feeding lil Bowie laying down #normalizebreastfeeding #motherhoodrising,' she captioned the black and white image, which sees her holding her son's head while he suckles her breast during his feeding.

A mother's love: The mother-of-two posted this photo of Bowie nursing to celebrate being able to breastfeed while lying down for the first time

Sleepy baby: Tess has been actively sharing photos of Bowie since welcoming him into the world

Speaking out: The mom is also an advocate for normalizing breastfeeding

The photo was taken by Nick, who couldn't help but gush about his fiancee when sharing the snapshot on his Instagram page.

'A lot of people seemed to get upset that @tessholliday posted a photo hashtagged "#normalizebreastfeeding" which didn't actually feature the act of breastfeeding,' he wrote. 'So here you go. She actually looks really sexy here  but it isn't always like that.

'Sometimes it's stressful and messy and nothing goes how you want it to. But sometimes it's bliss. Don't let anyone make you feel bad about feeding your child, wherever that may be, and for the women out there who can't breastfeed, don't let anyone make you feel bad about that either.'

He later returned to the post to add: 'Finding a plus size mother (two groups robbed of all sexuality) with whom I am in a relationship "sexy" for being a good mum is not the same as objectifying strangers body parts in public.'

Tess and Nick welcomed their son on June 6, and at the time of his birth, Bowie weighed 8lbs, 10oz and measured 22 inches long.

The baby's name is presumably inspired by the late musician David Bowie, whom Tess publicly mourned on social media after his death in January.

'Wave of sadness': Tess took to Instagram on Friday to share this precious photo of her fiance Nick asleep with their one-month-old son as she paid tribute to the recent police shooting victims

Using her platform: Tess explained that she has many friends who fear for their children's lives because of the color of their skin

Although Tess may be relishing in motherhood as she enjoys her time with Bowie, but she also has admitted her 'heart is so heavy' thinking about the recent deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile.

The 31-year-old took to Instagram on Friday afternoon to share a precious black and white photo of her fiance Nick Holliday sleeping next to their one-month-old son while paying tribute to the police shooting victims, who were killed within days of each other.

'After I took this photo I was hit with a wave of sadness,' she captioned the image. 'My heart is so heavy, it has been for quite sometime. I look at this photo of my boys, (one missing) & know that a lot of my friends live in fear that moments like this may be ripped them because of the color of their skin.'

Tess, who has a 10-year-old son Rylee with an ex-boyfriend she no longer speaks to, added: 'As a white woman, I have no clue what that kind of fear feels like. All I can do is use my voice & platform to show solidarity against injustices & let my congressmen & women know we need reform. Non POC please stand up right now, stand up & fight for change.

'I think everyone is holding their family a little closer today #blacklivesmatter #Dallas.'

Tess and Nick and currently staying at The Pearl Hotel in New York City, and the heartwarming picture sees their little boy cuddled under the covers while sleeping soundlessly next to his day.

Nick took to Instagram on Thursday to share a photo of himself holding his little boy during his first shower.

'Took advantage of the rain shower at @thepearlhotel to give Bo his first (careful) shower,' Nick wrote. 'He loved it! Happy 1 month little dude xx #bowiejuniper #pearlhotel.'

Milestone: Nick shared a photo of Bowie having his 'first shower' at The Pearl Hotel in New York City on Thursday

Fun times: Last week, Tess shared a Snapchat video of her and her 10-year-old son Rylee using the app's dog filter

The heartwarming image sees Nick looking down lovingly at Bowie as he cradles him with both of his hands.

Last week, the couple was enjoying Fourth of July weekend at a rooftop pool in Los Angeles where Tess slipped back into a bikini for the first time since giving birth.

The size 22 model took to Instagram on Monday to share photos of herself donning a two-piece, posting the playful snapshots along with a brief message about body positivity.

Tess captioned an image of herself holding an inflatable doughnut with the hashtags '#MILF, #4thofjuly, and #effyourbeautystandards'.

In the photo, which was taken just one day before her 31st birthday, Tess can be seen giving the peace sign with one hand while holding the pool toy in another.

Another picture sees the mom sitting on top of an inflatable flamingo with her legs wrapped around the neck of the pool float.

Nick also took to his Instagram account on Monday to share a heartwarming photo of him and Tess floating on the raft together, writing: 'Pink flamingos.'

Tess is laughing in the playful snapshot, which sees her sitting in between Nick's open legs on the inflatable toy.

A few days before her Fourth of July celebration, she shared a Snapchat video of her and her eldest son Rylee using the app's dog filter.

'My oldest pup. His smile is infectious,' she captioned the clip, which sees them happily sticking out their tongues.
Feeling gloomy and need a lift? Forget that expensive bottle of wine  just munch on a cheap cabbage.

It has long been known that people who eat healthier tend to be fitter, but a new study suggests that compounds in fruit and vegetables help us have a sunnier outlook on life.

Researchers asked 12,500 Australians to keep food diaries for up to six years and answer questions on their state of mind.

Professor Andrew Oswald of Warwick University, one of the study team, said eating eight portions of fruit and veg a day could bring as much happiness as an unemployed person getting a job

Professor Andrew Oswald of Warwick University, one of the study team, said eating eight portions of fruit and veg a day could bring as much happiness as an unemployed person getting a job.
Caramel founder Eva Karayiannis

After years ruling the roost as the go-to label for luxury childrens fashion (think cashmere sleepsuits and silk blankets), Caramel is now catering for the grown-ups, too, with a collection of easy-to-wear casuals in warm tones. We spoke to founder Eva Karayiannis

SHOP WHERE YOU COULD SPEND THE MOST TIME AND MONEY? I have no time to shop in London but when Im travelling I love Arts & Science in Tokyo and Maryam Nassir Zadeh in New York. I like a store with a mix of pieces  its how Ive approached my space at Ham Yard, London, which sells Caramel, but also items from other brands I love.

THE HANDBAG AND PAIR OF SHOES YOU WOULD SAVE FROM A FIRE? I have a pair of classic Maison Margiela boots it would be hard to part with. Likewise, a Maria La Rosa woven bag, which was made on an antique loom. I had a moses basket made for my son with the same material.

WHAT DO YOU WEAR WHEN YOU HAVE FIVE MINUTES TO GET READY? At the moment, oversized Caramel trousers, a vintage Jaeger gabardine coat and Marni platform shoes.

WHO DO YOU MOST ADMIRE AND WHY? Miuccia Prada, who is a genius.

WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING Purity by Jonathan Franzen.

MOMENT YOU KNEW YOUD MADE IT? There is never going to be a moment I feel Ive made it as I dont want this to end. I love the process as much as I do the results.

IN AN ALTERNATIVE LIFE YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN I qualified as a lawyer (my first career), and sometimes I think I would have liked to have been a politician.

IF WE COULD WHISK YOU ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD RIGHT NOW, WHERE WOULD IT BE? My house in Kea, Greece, with my three children and their friends. Prices start at 145, available from next month at caramel-shop.co.uk

Left: Top, 165; Skirt, 240; Socks, 55. Right: Jumper, 160; Top (just seen), 250; Trousers , 225; Socks, 55



5 HOT HOLIDAY READS

Our books editor Kate Figes picks summers best page-turners.

THE GLORIOUS HERESIES by Lisa McInerney (John Murray, 8.99*). An edgy, sexy, comic first novel; winner of the Baileys Womens Prize.

THE GUSTAV SONATA by Rose Tremain (Chatto & Windus, 16.99*). The power of friendship and the constraints of neutrality in Switzerland during the Second World War resonate in this perfect gem of a novel.

THE GIRLS by Emma Cline (Chatto & Windus, 12.99*). California, summer of 1969 and a young girl desperate to get noticed finds herself sucked into violence.

VINEGAR GIRL by Anne Tyler (Hogarth, 16.99*). A modern retelling of The Taming of the Shrew, which asks whether an independent woman would ever sacrifice herself for a man.

EVERYONE BRAVE IS FORGIVEN by Chris Cleave (Sceptre, 14.99*). A brilliant historical novel and love story that is simply unputdownable.

WEAR WHERE...

The Norman Tel Aviv

Our new favourite place to plonk for the weekend. Rooms from $495, thenorman.com

Swimsuit , 200, Melissa Odabash, odabash.com. Dress , 145, Pampelone, pampelone.com

Sunglasses, 210, Taylor Morris Eyewear, taylormorriseyewear.com
Elisabeth has written more than a dozen cookbooks, three memoirs and two novels

I have strong ties to America. This book, The Settlement Cook Book, was the Mrs Beeton for the US East Coast. I pinched it from my mother, whose parents were American. She got it from my Great Aunt Sadie  I keep her picture next to a very good apple pie recipe.

This silver Celtic ring is from the Isle of Mull, where my husbands family home was (he died 12 years ago). My daughter Fran always wore it  I havent taken it off since she died of Aids aged 29.

This watercolour box is small enough to sit on my thumb. I never take photographs  instead, I take watercolours and a sketchbook with me everywhere. I came to writing having been a painter and wrote my new book entirely by using the sketches.

I bought this hand-woven jacket on Fulham Road, London, in the 1980s when I made a TV series following my first cookbook, European Peasant Cookery. Its such a pretty and comfortable piece of clothing.

I spent my childhood holidays with my grandparents in Monte Carlo and Biarritz. My grandmother was a beauty and a flirt. She always mixed two Guerlain perfumes so she wouldnt smell the same as anyone else.

I love the unsentimentality of Beatrix Potter: Tom Kitten getting rolled up in dough, Peter Rabbits father baked in a pie. For a child that was marvellous  it was so un-cute! Thats my kind of story.

My youngest grandchild Orin sent me this thank-you note  I love that its a Welsh mountain sheep. I have seven grandchildren aged ten to 18 and they visit my home near Aberystwyth at Easter to feed the orphaned lambs.

I bought this Quentin Bell ceramic of the Three Fates with my husband Nicholas. Quentin lived near my mother-in-law in Sussex. They are beautiful and frivolous, just like fate.

I cant remember my father Richard. He was a wing commander in the RAF and was shot down during the Second World War in 1943. This photograph of him hangs by the fireplace.
Laura Lippman was educated at an experimental high school in the US in the 1970s here she looks back on the experience

August 1974. From the outside, the two-storey building in front of me looked like a space station: a squat roundish shape feeding into a slightly taller rectangle, set on an arid, largely treeless plane. Inside, the dimness reminded me of a submarine  and I have a pathological fear of submarines so pronounced that I have never watched Das Boot or The Hunt for Red October.

But I didnt care. This was my future. I was 15 and my parents, much to my joy, had decided to remove me from a rigorously academic programme in Baltimore, the so-called A course. The all-girl programme took only the best students from throughout the city, but I wasnt thriving at Western High School and neither was my elder sister. I had been targeted by a few tough girls on the afternoon school bus. Worse still, friends I had known most of my life, who attended birthday parties and picnics with me, ignored the abuse I was taking. On top of that betrayal, a month-long teachers strike had heightened my struggles in maths and science, until I was having full-blown panic attacks every Sunday night.

Laura Lippman was educated at an experimental high school in the US in the 1970s

My parents, long fascinated by the experimental new city known as Columbia, Maryland, decided to rent out our house in Baltimore and take an apartment on the banks of manmade Wilde Lake, within walking distance of the school by the same name. I couldnt wait to go to a mixed school  not because I was boy-crazy, but because I was crazily competitive and wanted to prove that I could beat male students for the best grades.

I also nurtured an unspoken hope that Columbia, which embraced the power of change, would offer me a fresh start  something that teenage girls still crave, in my experience. I believed that a burgundy wool sweater and a pair of Clarks Wallabees were almost magic talismans. So why not a new school, especially one as unusual as Wilde Lake? Visionary urban planner James W Rouse had created Columbia with the ideal of a place where there would be no barriers to community. In his heterogeneous new town  a system of villages and neighbourhoods with literary names such as Faulkner Ridge and Hobbits Glen  people of different races and classes would mix easily, eagerly.

Wilde Lake High School had opened in 1971, four years after ground was broken for Columbia. In keeping with Columbias high-flown ambitions to change how people interacted, the school system had embraced so-called open-space education. Students, while compelled to meet the states standards for graduation, worked independently, as swiftly as they liked. The guidance counsellor who led my family around the school on that hot August day said ruefully, We still say that students should learn at their own pace. But weve had to establish a minimum speed limit. Wilde Lakes lofty principles were already beginning to fray in the face of adolescent temperaments.

The school was hushed and serene out of term time; it would be the last time I ever experienced it that way. There was a constant, low humming, sometimes shot through with a teachers authoritative voice. Open-space education was literal: on the second floor, where most academic classes met, there were few walls, just utilitarian dividers carving subject areas into smaller areas. Going clockwise from the front door, there was history and social studies, literature and composition, foreign languages, maths and science. The last two were increasingly taught traditionally, unless a pupil was a certified genius. But in the other courses, most work was divided into segments, each with a learning activity package. Do 12 segments, get a credit in English.

We began the day in advisory groups, not form rooms, and although attendance was taken, we were allowed to wander much of the school day if our classes did not involve lectures. I used my freedom to read plays in the school media centre and other pupils pursued their favourite subjects. But some whiled away the days smoking, which was permitted just outside the building. Technically, those wanderings shouldnt have taken us off school property, but when students left  usually to buy fast food at the nearby Jack in the Box restaurant  it was rare to get into trouble. The hard cases  the students who disrupted others or started fights  were sent to RP Room, Reality Planning. There they sat until they had devised a written plan for how to leave RP Room, prompting one teacher to write a parody to the tune of 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover: Just do your work, Burke/Dont come in late, Nate/Make a new plan, Stan  there must be 50 ways to leave RP Room.

Alone and friendless for much of my early weeks at Wilde Lake, I completed a years worth of English composition in less than four months. This feat was extraordinary only because I did it in the first four months of the year. Some of the friends I eventually made  gentle drama nerds cross-pollinated with sporty types and maths geniuses (Wilde Lake was as socially fluid as the Columbia of Rouses dreams)  crammed their independent coursework into the last two months of the year. You see, a central tenet of Wilde Lake was that there was no failure  no Fs at all, and Im not even sure teachers gave out scores of lower than 70 per cent. If your grade fell short of passing or your work was not done, you were simply incomplete.

Inevitably, the national media was fascinated with Columbia, Wilde Lake and Rouse. Life magazine visited the school in the spring of 1977, photographing the first-year class because they were to be the college class of 1984. But their anonymous quotes werent exactly Orwellian, just rather bored and callow.

A Wilde Lake High student and his beer can collection

Laura aged 17

Laura representing Wilde Lake High on a TV quiz show

A student poses for Life magazine in 1977

Students play in the corridor after gymnastics club

Classmates who had been in Columbia schools most of their lives swore to me that they had spent entire years playing card games. Yet when they applied themselves, they did well. At graduation, seven of us had straight-A averages, and because so many people at Wilde Lake made stellar grades (and because it wasnt generally known that a Wilde Lake A was perhaps not as significant as one from another school), we did well at getting into elite colleges: Princeton, Radcliffe, Cornell, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northwestern, Stanford. It was staying that proved a bit of a problem. Few colleges tolerated the easy-going approach to studying and deadlines we had become acclimatised to at Wilde Lake. One friend almost dropped out in his first term.

Back at Wilde Lake, the curriculum was almost a completely conventional one by the time Ronald Reagan was elected President. The schools reputation fell on hard times, in part for things outside its control  the changing demographics of Columbia, a teachers fatal heart attack while trying to break up a fight. Eventually, it was decided to blow the thing up, replacing the futuristic space station of my era with a traditional behemoth of limestone and glass. Inside, there are walls now.

For years, I mined my Wilde Lake experience primarily for comic anecdotes that also helped to explain some pretty shocking gaps in my knowledge (Im terrible at geography and the only thing I understood in chemistry was how to memorise the elements on the periodic table). There was an earnestness to the original Columbia families, a sense of being part of something larger than themselves, and its easy to mock earnestness. I had a front-row seat for the last gasp of hippiedom.

But when I decided to write about my old high school in a novel, I realised there was much to admire. Yes, it was crazy to expect adolescents to make sound decisions about how to allocate their time. However, students who were motivated could soar at Wilde Lake. It was a great place to be an outlier. There were quite a few success stories, now that I began to take notice. A practical joker I knew showed up in a national magazine; he had created a company that staged very expensive pranks. A 12-year-old allowed to study calculus at the high school went on to become one of Googles first employees. The captain of our quiz team in 1976 (I was his successor) is working in the luxury industry in Japan, and writing novels. And the Facebook group You Know You Grew Up in Columbia Md When has thousands of members.

It was generally a happy place (although far more homogenous than Rouse had hoped: I remember controversies over whether school dances would have a white or black band). The teachers were amazing, generous and affectionate compared with the majority of staff I had known in my city high school. My adviser allowed us to visit her home, threw parties for us and gave one talented student the chance to paint a mural on her dining-room wall. I found myself part of an incredibly accomplished dance troupe that did performances at the Baltimore city jail. And it was a great place to learn to drive  not much traffic, lots of cul de sacs.

I began to remember the stories I never told: the one about the maths teacher who indulged my desire to construct a theorem about stars drawn around the base of an equilateral pentagon. (Thanks to my bruising struggles in Baltimore, I had come into that teachers class believing I couldnt do maths at all.) The choreographer who insisted on casting me in the musical despite my total lack of talent. You work hard and you do what I tell you to do and youre used to my yelling, she said. I earned an English credit for adapting a beloved novel into a musical, writing the script and lyrics (I cant compose music). Today, my husband and I are tasked with trying to create the original story for a musical that will feature songs by the Pogues. Would I be a novelist with 20-plus books to my name if Wilde Lake had not been the kind of school to encourage creativity?

The feature about Wilde Lake High that appeared in Life

Students carry out a trust exercise

Another student poses for Life magazine in 1977

A student skateboarding in the school car park

Laura today with her husband David

When my latest book, Wilde Lake  a crime novel about a family that has to confront a decades-old scandal  was published, the Columbia Facebook page weighed in with gratifying enthusiasm. Their memories are almost always positive. My old friend in Tokyo, David Rudlin, now an executive vice president at De Beers, posted this observation: When I first went to college, I had some doubts about my time at WLHS. It took me a while to adapt to working at a given pace, and there were gaps in my knowledge a more conventional education would have filled. But over time the value of self-discipline and self-motivation came to the fore. And once I entered the working world I considered a WLHS education to be a competitive advantage.

I do, too. And that noble experiment, while not a resounding success, can be useful to modern parents beset by anxiety over their childrens progress at school. Im very interested in the growing no-homework movement, and I wish we could find a school that was a little looser about attendance. Last year, I took my daughter Georgia Rae to Tuscany for a week while I taught creative writing so that my urban child had the benefit of roaming a working farm, free in a way that she could never be in Baltimore. That would have been an easy sell at Wilde Lake. At a Baltimore school today? Not so much. Georgia Rae is only six and she is slow to read. Her teacher was concerned about this. Im not. I can tell she simply doesnt like the style of reading education used in her kindergarten class. If the problem persists, we may have to have her tested. But, for now, its clear to me that she just wants to do things her way. She sits in bed at night, reading by finding the words she knows on the page  the, dog, heart, star, wars.

My daughter would probably have thrived at the old Wilde Lake High School. In hindsight, I realise that her mother did.
The BJP-led Centre has planned a sweeping offensive against the thriving drug trade in poll-bound Punjab, a state where the party is in power in alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD).

The move comes ahead of next years Assembly elections amid allegations that corrupt politicians and police are complicit in the business that largely afflicts young men.

Sources say Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given a go-ahead for the crackdown that may drive a wedge between the ruling allies in the state, which has been a primary gateway for opiates smuggled from Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Punjab Police have seized drugs worth crores over the years

The ruling SAD has already drawn flak from political opponents for allegedly letting the drug crisis go out of hand even as it has launched a counter campaign to downplay the row.

According to sources, the Prime Ministers message is loud and clear not to bother about political equations and crack the whip.

Central agencies and BSF will be told to carry out raids and develop information that can be used to go after the cartels

Some high-profile busts are expected in the coming months, they added, and its not the middlemen or small- time couriers who will be targeted, but those running international syndicates.

Central agencies like the Narcotics Control Bureau and Border Security Force will be asked to carry out raids and develop information that can be used to go after the cartels.

According to agency reports, easy availability of drug couriers, secret tunnels, supply pipes inserted through border fences and well-knit syndicates including trans-national criminals running them from jails form part of the deep-rooted drug trafficking network.

Narcotics

The film Udta Punjab faced several hurdles with the Censor Board as it focussed on the drug menace in the state

The clampdown on peddling of traditional narcotics might not be enough as addicts are now getting lured to medicine-based drug concoctions.

Reports also suggest that heroin and opium, the two drugs smuggled from across the border, contribute to only 5 per cent of users.

The development comes against the backdrop of a massive controversy around the film Udta Punjab, with the SAD-led government saying it casts the state in poor light by depicting the drug habits of its people.

In a recent meeting of home minister Rajnath Singh and other officials of the ministry with the Prime Minister, the crackdown was discussed. The PM stressed on the need for a concerted and cohesive action plan to deal with the drug problem in Punjab, said a government official.

Menace

With the assembly elections slated to take place in the first half of next year, the BJPs top leadership at the Centre is keen to be seen as taking a tough stand on the menace, an issue being used by the Aam Aadmi Party and Congress in a bid to make electoral inroads.

The rival parties have hit out at the SAD as well as chief minister Parkash Singh Badal and his family for letting the state turn into a drug haven.

The Akali Dal says it is wrong to project Punjab as a drug-addicted state and Sukhbir Singh Badal, the deputy chief minister, claims that in a population of 2.77 crore only 0.06 per cent population is found to be indulged in substance abuse.

The SAD government in the past has blamed the BSF for the drug menace in Punjab as a result of the trafficking from Pakistan.

On an average, over 7,000 cases were reported under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act between 2005 and 2014, making Punjab second among all the states after Uttar Pradesh, the most populous.

NCB director general Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar apprised the home minister about the changing drug abuse pattern in Punjab.

He revealed that the increase in street prices of opiates due to less availability as a result of intensified enforcement activities by drug law agencies is making addicts shift to pharmaceutical preparations like Tramadol, Buprenorphine, etc, an official statement said.

Easy transit for drugs into the state

By Manjeet Sehgal

Punjab is both a transit point and a market for the drugs smuggled from the Golden Crescent (Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran).

While the Afghanistan heroin is smuggled from the porous Indo-Pakistan border, opium and poppy husk is smuggled from Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh where poppy cultivation is legal.

Charas and Hashish is smuggled from Himachal Pradesh besides the synthetic drugs. Drug units located on Himachal- Punjab borders produce ICE drugs.

The Parkash Singh Badal-led Punjab government is planning stricter measures to restrict smuggling of drugs through the porous Indo-Pak border

The 553-km-long International Border with Pakistan is porous at many places which also include local rivers where fencing is missing.

Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Ferozepur and Fazilka districts sharing the border with Pakistan are part of the drug smuggling route which is allegedly used by the Pakistan or Afghanistan based drug smugglers to route their consignments.

The residents of villages located on the borders reportedly work as couriers for the smugglers.

They get Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,000 to collect and forward each kilogram of heroin valued around Rs 5 crore in the international market.

As farmers are given permits to grow crops near the fence at many places, they receive consignments via plastic pipes or directly thrown from the other side.

The consignments are either buried in the fields or is transported by hiding in tree trunk cavities.

It remains with the local courier for some time and is then handed over to the other courier whose responsibility is to deliver the same to the one who either sends it further to New Delhi or to the local towns to sell the same in small quantities.

New Delhi is the major transit point for the high-quality Afghanistan heroin.

Heroin reaches New Delhi hidden in the truck tyres, tubes, specially designed cavities in a truck body or cars.

Delhi is also a big market of drugs from where it is either smuggled to Goa, Mumbai or West Bengal.

In a letter written to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had said that the Indo-Pakistan bus service served as a courier for drug smugglers, who were also found using Samjhauta Express.

Badal said that the Akali Dal-BJP government has already tightened the noose around drug peddlers by putting them behind the bars and efforts are being made to increase the vigil on the Indo-Pak border.
A gang of private detectives were involved in leaking call records with the help of some cops. (Picture for representation only)

City police have blown the lid off a nexus allegedly involving police and freelance investigators that sold thousands of telephone Call Detail Records (CDRs) in an incident that raises concerns about privacy and security.

Sources say those affected by the leak may include politicians, businessmen and eminent personalities and the data could be used for snooping and extortion.

According to an estimate, over 4,000 CDRs were leaked by a Delhi-based company, which used to sell them for hefty amounts.

A senior police officer said they have unearthed a gang of private detectives operating as pre-matrimonial investigation agencies, but who were actually involved in leaking call records with the help of some cops from the neighbouring states.

The breach took place despite a recent tightening of the process of obtaining call data.

According to rules, only an officer - of the rank of superintendent of police or above - is authorised to seek such details from telecom operators.

In 2013, a directive was enforced after three Delhi Police personnel and many private detectives were arrested for allegedly obtaining call records of several prominent people, including the BJP leader Arun Jaitley.

We got information about such a leakage and a team member posing as a potential customer reached a pre-matrimonial investigation company in Janakpuri area to buy CDRs, a senior officer of the Crime Branch involved in the investigation of the case told Mail Today.

The company owner was found flouting the rules and preliminary inquiry shows that he was in touch with over 40 other private agencies and some policemen in Uttar Pradesh from where he was arranging the CDRs.

Police are now conducting raids to arrest members of the syndicate.

The gang was active for the last one and half years, the Crime Branch officer said.

Police sources say they have identified the officers involved but are yet to arrest them.

The syndicate is hi-tech and to avoid any exchange of mails police under the scanner used to attach the digital copy of the CDRs in emails and save them in the draft folder, while accomplices in Delhi downloaded and forwarded them to clients.

We are verifying the log of mails used to establish a link between them. Once the private detective used to get the digital copy of the CDRs he used WhatsApp to communicate with his clients, so that they cannot be tracked, an officer explained.

Investigators said that the private detectives were selling the CDRs and the police officers involved were being paid Rs 6,000-15,000 for each record depending upon the users profile.

The detective agencies were in touch with over three dozen other firms.

According to sources, the accused clients of this racket are mostly businessmen and political rivals.

The illegal obtaining of Jaitleys CDR caused political furore in 2013.

Then 52 CDRs, including three belonging to him, were sought by the group involved in the crime by using the e-mail id of Assistant Commissioner of Police (Operations) New Delhi district.
A demolition squad of the Meerut Cantonment Board (MCB) brought down an under-construction shopping centre that buried four people alive as the razing team struck the pillars without ensuring if the three-storied building was vacated.

The anti-encroachment drive went horribly wrong as four died and others were critically injured and five were rescued from the debris.

Six officials of the MCB were booked on charges of murder and negligence, and an engineer has been arrested after the incident which led to angry protests by the locals.

Family members of those killed in demolition grieving at their loss

The demolition team reached the construction site- premises of Bungalow no. 210 B, in the Meerut Cantonment, around 5.30am and began the operation.

Though officials claimed that they gave sufficient time for evacuation, locals alleged that shops and establishments adjoining the building were not warned and they were not given time to vacate the surrounding space.

A few people, who were apparently inside the under-construction shopping mall, were buried under the rubble.

My elder brother, Deepak Sharma, who used to run a dhaba behind the building requested the officials to give him time to vacate his premises as some labourers were sleeping on the roof. However, while he went inside to wake them up, they demolished the pillar on the ground floor. As a result, the entire building collapsed within seconds and my brother and five other labourers were buried under the rubbles, said Jitendra Sharma, younger brother of a dhaba owner, told media persons.

The demolition was carried out in the Meerut Cantonment area by the Meerut Cantonment Board

Soon after the incident, a huge battery of police force reached the spot and started the rescue work.

The National Disaster Relief Force also reached the spot soon and while two survivors were pulled out from the debris, Deepak and three others died on the spot.
Facing probe over his speeches that are believed to have inspired two of the Bangladeshi cafe attackers, Islamic preacher Zakir Naik today sought support from the Muslims across the world against the media trials through his new Twitter account @drzakirofficial and Facebook page Dr Zakir Naik.

I, Dr Zakir Naik, Call upon all my Muslim Brothers & Sisters to Support me against the Media Trials and Let Justice Prevail, Naik tweeted.

The Islamic preacher, who is banned in Britain and Canada for his hate speeches against other religions, also took to Facebook, to garner support.

Islamic preacher Zakir Naik sought support against the 'media trials' through his new Twitter account (pictured above)

Within an hour, his post on the platform received over 6,000 likes.

Trouble continued to brew for the Islamic preacher today after security sources revealed new details on the preacher and his influence.

According to the sources from the state and central counter-terrorism units that have been monitoring Naik said that Ayaz Sultan, the leader of the Islamic State module in Malwani, Maharashtra was influenced by Naiks speech.

Security agencies suspect that several members of the Indian Mujahideen who joined ISIS were under the influence of the inflammatory speeches by Naik.

Earlier, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said CDs of his speeches were being examined for necessary action and asserted that the government will not compromise on the issue of terrorism.

We have taken cognisance of Zakir Naiks speeches and have given necessary instructions for a probe. A thorough investigation will be done, he said.
Vijay Mallya has issued a statement calling the allegations surprising and unfortunate

There is more trouble in store for beleaguered beer baron Vijay Mallya.

Markets regulator Sebi has stepped up its probe into alleged fund diversion from his former listed group firms to other entities, such as Kingfisher Airlines and overseas company Force India Formula One.

The latest disclosures of an additional fund diversion of Rs 1225.3 crore take the total amount believed to have been siphoned from United Spirits Limited (USL) alone to over Rs 2,500 crore.

Sebi is also referring the matter for further action by other agencies, including the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO and the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

We have taken note of the latest disclosure by USL and have begun looking into suspected violation of various securities market regulations including those relating to related party transactions, corporate governance and diversion of funds by promoters and top management," a senior official told PTI.

The enforcement directorate (ED) will also come into the picture as the funds are suspected to have been diverted to entities abroad.

Necessary assistance will be sought from foreign regulators including in the UK and the US, where his overseas brewery firms and other ventures are based, the official added.

Mallya's close confidants and others who were at senior levels at various listed companies of the group are also under the scanner.

However, Mallya issued a statement denying any such wrongdoing by USL. Mallya sold the controlling stake in USL to UK-based liquor giant Diageo in 2013 in a multi-billion dollar deal, and said all the transactions were 'legal and above board'.

Refuting the charges by USL, Mallya said Diageo had conducted an extensive due diligence before buying the shares, and it was surprising and unfortunate that these allegations were being made now.

I have absolutely no knowledge about this purported enquiry by E+Y nor the suggested allegations, he added.

Mallya, who has been in the UK for months evading an arrest warrant in India while several banks have declared him 'a willful defaulter' for non-payment of dues worth over Rs 9,000 crore by his now-defunct Kingfisher, had struck a settlement with USL in February.

Under the 'sweetheart deal', he was promised an over Rs 500- crore payout to leave the company and was also absolved of any 'personal liability' at that time.

However, USL has made it clear that the earlier settlement reached with the Indian businessman would not absolve him of the claims arising out of the latest findings of an internal 'additional inquiry'.

USL Board had ordered an 'additional inquiry' to plug gaps found in an initial probe launched in April 2015 that showed improprieties in loans worth Rs 1,337 crore given by USL to the entities linked to its erstwhile promoters.

The additional inquiry prima facie reveals further instances of actual or potential fund diversions amounting to approximately Rs 913.5 crore (using exchange rate as on March 31, 2015) as well as other potentially improper transaction involved USL and its Indian and overseas subsidiaries amounting approximately Rs 311.8 crore.

The transactions occurred during the review period covered by the additional inquiry - from October 2010 to July 2014 - although certain transactions appear to have been initiated in years prior to the review period, USL said.
Cleric Zakir Naik is known for his provocative speeches, which have now seen his Peace TV channel banned in Bangladesh

Bangladesh has banned an Islamic TV channel after claims provocative speeches by a controversial preacher inspired a massacre at a cafe in the country that left 28 dead.

The Bangladesh government has halted broadcasts of Zakir Naik's Peace TV channel in the wake of the country's worst terror attack, which saw foreigners among those killed.

Industry Minister Aamir Hossain Amu also announced that sermons given during Friday prayers would also be monitored to check whether they were delivering provocative messages.

The TV station is run by Naik, an Indian doctor-turned-preacher, the founder and president of the Mumbai-based Islamic Research Foundation, and its programmes are aired from Dubai.

The measures come after several suspected Islamist extremists who carried out the attacks were reported to be fans of the television channel, while others were found to be from elite universities but had been missing for months.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina earlier called on every school, college and university to 'create a list of absent students and publish it'.

Bangladesh has been reeling from dozens of attacks, mainly targeting secular activists or religious minorities.

'We will be rigorous,' the premier said. 'We must uproot militancy and terrorism from Bangladesh.'

Three of the alleged jihadists who participated in an attack on a Dhaka cafe last week, in which 20 hostages including Americans, Italians, and Japanese, were murdered, attended top schools and universities in the Bangladeshi capital.

The revelation that the attackers were educated, well-off members of society has sparked fears that Islamism has spread far beyond disenfranchised youngsters being radicalised in madrasas (religious schools).

Police deployed at controversial preacher Zakir Naik's Islamic Research Foundation office, in Mumbai

School authorities would now have to provide information on any students who have an unexplained absence of 10 days or more, education minister Nurul Islam Nahid said.

Another student of a well-regarded university participated in a deadly attack in northern Bangladesh on Thursday that killed at least three people at a huge prayer gathering marking the start of Eid.

Police said both attacks were carried out by a banned local militant group, despite vocal claims from the Islamic State group that they were responsible for the siege at the Dhaka cafe.

Authorities, meanwhile, have launched a publicity blitz, urging parents to closely monitor their children.

Floral tributes and messages are left close to the cafe in Dhaka, Bangladesh where 28 people were killed including 18 foreigners

The attack on the cafe was the worst terror attack in the history of Bangladesh and is thought to have been carried out by homegrown extremists

Television channels have broadcast photos of missing students and advertisements to deter extremism.

US Assistant Secretary of State Nisha Biswal flew to Dhaka Sunday to discuss the security situation with Bangladesh foreign minister Mahmood Ali.

She offered US expertise in building Bangladesh's counter-terrorism capabilities, the American embassy in Dhaka said in a statement.
A. H. writes: I have been in business  and banked with Barclays  for many years. But it suddenly deducted 94,000 from my account, leaving me with just 5,000 to support my business.

My statement described the deduction as 'Reconcile to Coventry OPS 05 ADV', but after hours on the telephone being passed around, Barclays still could not give an explanation.

Eight days later the bank returned the money to my account, but wrote that it was unable to confirm why this occurred.

Huge sum: Barcalys deducted 94k from my account - it was returned eight days later without explanation

Tony Hetherington replies: This was bad. But worse was to come. A Barclays official told you the mysterious transfer had been investigated and added: 'Regrettably, despite extensive and exhaustive enquiries, we are unable to confirm why this has occurred, but I trust that the funds being made available to you resolves the matter to your satisfaction.

'Please accept my apologies for any inconvenience caused and I confirm that your complaint is upheld.'

A nice apology, quickly followed by Barclays telling you to get lost. After 30 years as a customer, you were given eight weeks to find another bank willing to take you on. This was bad, too. But oh yes, even worse was to come.

A few days later your wife, who has nothing to do with your business, found that Barclays had emptied her current and savings accounts of around 20,000.

Her statements showed exactly the same message, saying all her money had gone to 'Coventry OPS 05 ADV', leaving nothing to pay household bills and direct debits.

If all this sounds familiar, it is because three weeks ago I reported a similar complaint involving NatWest.

A couple who had been customers for almost 20 years were given 60 days to take their business elsewhere if they could find another bank that would have them.

There was no explanation and NatWest refused to enter into any discussions. But your own story was not quite over.

Remarkably, Lloyds Bank agreed to accept you without hesitation, only to find that Barclays, after wanting to see the back of you, refused to hand over your money when Lloyds asked for it.

I took up all of this with Barclays. As expected, the bank refused to discuss the compulsory closure of your accounts, but it did explain that the final hiccup was procedural and it would be happy to give you a large cheque which you could pay into your new Lloyds account.

Legally, Barclays is on firm ground. The bank is not forced to accept anyone as a customer and can close any account whenever it wishes.

Often a refusal to provide an explanation means that the bank suspects the customer is involved in illegal money laundering, in which case it can't tell the customer because that would be 'tipping off', which is also illegal.

But where does this leave customers who are not money launderers, but just someone whose face no longer fits?

Sue Lewis, chair of the Financial Services Consumer Panel that advises City watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority, has called for 'a robust appeals procedure'.

She told me: 'We understand that banks have to be cautious, but believe that some financial institutions focus on protecting their own positions under anti-money laundering rules rather than treating customers fairly.'

How long, I wonder, before the Government acknowledges the common sense in this?

It is difficult to live without a bank account, so why is there no proper appeals procedure when a bank turns its customer out into the cold?

Bullied by FedEx... over a 36.50 bra

Ms S. G. writes: I purchased a Goddess lace bustier from a US company through Amazon. It cost 36.50 plus 10.90 postage.

The carrier was FedEx. The bra was too small so I returned it. I paid the return postage and the company refunded 36.50.

Fine, except I then received a demand from FedEx for 19.27. I asked what this was for. FedEx did not answer, but sent me a warning about debt collectors.

I rang FedEx and was told the demand was for customs duty. The bra cost 36.50, I returned it, yet I am having to pay 19.27 in tax? This does not seem fair.

This is certainly unfair. It is also puzzling, so I asked Revenue & Customs to explain. A helpful official told me that in general, duty is charged on goods imported from the EU that are worth over 135.

Separately, VAT is due on goods from outside the EU that are worth more than 15.

The bra cost 36.50, so it was way under the 135 starting point for duty. VAT would be due at the standard rate of 20 per cent and on 36.50 this should amount to 7.30.

Even if we include postage in the cost, the VAT only rises to 9.48, so why the demand for 19.27? I asked FedEx. It requested more information about your purchase, which I supplied.

Back came the answer that FedEx would be happy to discuss this with you, but not with me. Could I supply a customer reference number? I supplied it. Back came a refusal to offer any comment as a matter of company policy.

I even supplied FedEx with your signed, legally binding permission to discuss the complaint. But as far as FedEx is concerned, it can simply issue a demand, back it up with threats and refuse to deal with anyone acting on your behalf, be it a solicitor, an accountant, or me. This is the conduct of a bully.

You have told me that you have been threatened by debt collectors instructed by FedEx, so you have now paid the 19.27.

The good news is that the friendly Customs official says that if goods are returned overseas, this can be reclaimed. I am emailing you details of how to apply for this.

But I still find it shocking that a company the size of FedEx can behave as if customers have no right to ask questions and are simply there to hand over their cash.

WE'RE WATCHING YOU... Four men and a woman who were behind a land investment fraud I warned against seven years ago have finally been convicted and jailed following an investigation by Merseyside Police. The gang set up two companies, Land Banking UK plc and Land Strategy Limited, which claimed to own fields that were ripe for development. They sold house-sized plots as investments with the tale that their value would rocket when planning permission was granted for 400 new homes. One site, at Redditch, offered plots for 19,120 with a predicted return of 143,000. Ringleader Timothy Wren, 39, was sentenced to eight years in prison. Jack Chandler, 59, got seven years and his wife Jeanette, 60, was jailed for four years. Kevin Hilton, 40, was sentenced to six years and Alfred Arthur, 56, to four years. All were convicted of conspiracy to defraud. Police say more than 300 investors lost 3 million. I interviewed sales boss Jack Chandler in 2009 when he explained how he hoped to sidestep investor protection laws that would have applied if plots were sold with a pledge to apply for planning consent thrown in. Instead, the company would keep a plot for itself, make an application to develop it and then other plot owners could join in. The reality was different. Merseyside Police fraud investigator Clive Myerscough said: They played on peoples trust, telling investors a pack of lies about the possible resale value of the land which couldnt have been further from the truth. He added that gang members lived a life of luxury on the back of their crimes. Prosecutors are now hoping to win court orders for confiscation of assets.

If you believe you are the victim of financial wrongdoing, write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TS or email tony.hetherington@mailonsunday.co.uk.
Farnborogh Air Show is off to a flying start today with 7billion of deals already on the cards.

Defence giant BAE Systems will reveal it is bidding for a contract to service and repair all of Europes F-35 fighter jets in a deal that could be worth 1billion.

It is to team up with Americas Northrop Grumman and the UK Ministry of Defence for the five-year contract expected to be worth 200million annually.

The F-35 joint strike fighter is the next generation of warplane and will be showcased for the first time at the Farnborough Air Show tomorrow.

Take-off: Defence giant BAE Systems will reveal it is bidding for a contract to service and repair all of Europes F-35 fighter jets in a deal that could be worth 1bn

Top gun: The F-35 joint strike fighter is the next generation of warplane and will be showcased for the first time at the Farnborough Air Show tomorrow.

One of the three variants can vertically land and take-off in a similar fashion to the Harrier jump-jet.

The F-35 is the worlds largest defence programme and it is anticipated that between now and 2035 more than 3,000 will be required.

While it is led by Americas Lockheed Martin, it is estimated it will support some 24,000 jobs across the UK at BAE and other UK contractors.

A spokesman said: BAE Systems is in discussions with the Ministry of Defence and Northrop Grumman concerning a proposal for F-35 European maintenance, repair, overhaul and upgrade work.

The scope of the activity is yet to be fully defined therefore it is inappropriate to speculate on the potential value of the opportunities it could offer.

New jets: Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic, which counts Americas Delta as a major shareholder, will buy 12 Airbus A350-1000s in a deal worth 2.9bn

Another company poised to do business at the air show, which takes place every other year, is Boeing.

Dennis Muilenburg, chief executive of the US firm, said he is confident it will win orders for 50 Apache helicopters and nine P-8 maritime patrol aircraft, thought to be worth nearly 3billion.

And Virgin Atlantic is expected to announce a new plane order when owner Sir Richard Branson flies into the show today.

The airline, which counts Americas Delta as a major shareholder, will buy 12 Airbus A350-1000s in a deal worth 2.9billion.

Virgins order will also be a boost to British engineering giant Rolls-Royce, which has landed the 700million deal to provide the Trent XWB engines that power the planes.

The engines are assembled in Derby with parts from across the UK and is worth 30billion in orders already.

In 2014, Farnborough saw the orders agreed over the course of the show reach 157billion.
Down: Following the Brexit vote LSE has lost 7.7 per cent of its share value

Foreign shareholders are increasingly uneasy about a German takeover of the London Stock Exchange after it suffered a share price drop in the Brexit turmoil.

Shareholders in Frankfurt-based Deutsche Boerse will get a 54.4 per cent controlling stake in the 21billion deal.

But since Britains vote to leave the European Union the pound is down 10 per cent against the euro and LSE has lost 7.7 per cent of its share value.

It is now claimed several major shareholders have raised concerns about the takeovers value.

Their refusal to approve the deal would be disastrous for Boerses German chief executive Carsten Kengeter, who has staked his reputation on seeing it through.

Investors have until tomorrow to signal their support  and 75 per cent must do so for the merger to succeed.
Russian television has broadcast video footage of what it said was a Russian police officer and a U.S. diplomat wrestling on the steps of the U.S. embassy in Moscow.

Reports of the incident emerged late last month. A U.S. diplomat said an embassy employee was attacked on June 6 by the officer. Russian officials said the diplomat had attacked the policeman.

The night time footage, from what appeared to be a closed circuit TV camera across the street from a side entrance into the embassy compound, showed a yellow taxi pulling up and a man jumping out of the front passenger door.

Russian television broadcast footage of a policeman tackling a man the report said was an undercover CIA agent trying to enter the U.S. embassy in Moscow without identifying himself

In the grainy, approximately 15-second clip, the man exits a taxi and is almost immediately tackled by a policeman who emerges from a guard box and wrestles him to the ground

In the ensuing struggle, the man manages to push himself through a door into the embassy compound, while the officer attempts to pin him down

He moved purposefully toward the entrance, but after he had taken about three steps the door of a police sentry box in front of the entrance swung open.

A man in police uniform then darted out, grabbed the man, and wrestled him to the floor about two meters from the door leading into the embassy building, according to footage broadcast by NTV.

The footage then showed the police officer lying on top of the other man, who was on his back, pinning him to the floor. The man managed to wriggle his way toward the door and get it open, at which point the footage ends.

The United States promptly expelled two Russian officials in response to the attack.

Then, in a tit-for-tat move, Russia has now expelled two American diplomats who it claims were working undercover for the CIA.

Citing deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday, that it had expelled two diplomats - one who was involved in the policeman altercation and the other was 'also a CIA operative'.

He said the two were declared persona non grata and added: 'We hope that they in Washington will realize all the viciousness of the aggressive anti-Russialine.

'If they decide there to move on the path of escalation, they won't be left without a response.'

The incident, which took place at night on June 6, was caught on a security camera, according to the report shown on Russia's NTV channel

The channel didn't describe how it obtained the footage. A still from the tussle is seen above

The footage of the skirmish contradicts a version of the incident given by the Russian Foreign Ministry

Washington places the blame quite literally at Russia's front door claiming the policeman attacked the diplomat.

Russia claims the American tried to rush into the embassy late at night after a spying mission without presenting identification and was tackled by the policeman.

In his first detailed comments about the June 6 incident, State Department spokesman John Kirby contradicted the account provided by Russia's Foreign Ministry, which said the policeman was trying to protect the embassy by checking the man's documents.

'On the 6th of June an accredited U.S. diplomat, who identified himself, in accordance with embassy protocols entering the American embassy compound, was attacked by a Russian policeman,' Kirby told reporters.

Russia said that the diplomat punched the police officer after he was stopped and asked for identification

Harassment of U.S. diplomats in Moscow has increased significantly over the last two years according to the US State Department

'The action was unprovoked and it endangered the safety of our employee. The Russian claim the policeman was protecting the embassy from an unidentified individual is simply untrue,' he added.

A Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman has said the police officer had wanted to check the man's documents to establish he was not a threat to embassy security, but was elbowed in the face when he tried to challenge him.

She said the embassy employee was a CIA agent operating under diplomatic cover.

Washington, whose dealings with Moscow has been strained by the Syrian civil war, Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine and U.S. allegations that Moscow has increasingly harassed its diplomats, had tried to deal with the issue quietly.

On Thursday, U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said Secretary of State John Kerry spoke to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on June 7 and said Washington wanted to deal with it in private talks between the governments.

While Kirby said he would not speak to the specifics of a particular incident, he said the U.S. was 'extremely troubled by the way our employees have been treated over the past couple of years'.

The United States has accused Russia of a campaign of harassment against its diplomats in Moscow, while Russia has accused Washington of similar treatment to Russian diplomats based in the United States.

CNN reported that following the expulsion of the two Russians Ryabkov told the Russian State News Agency Sputnik: '(T)he U.S. government really has demanded the departure of two staff members of the Russian Embassy in Washington, D.C., without presenting any complaints to them.
When Ebony Newman walked by Superior Liquor & Grocery in San Bernardino on Friday night, she knew there has been another shooting.

Someone told her an 11-year-old boy was among those who had been shot.

Ebony assumed she didn't know any of the dead in what at first appeared to be a random act of violence.

The face of the dead child was covered - she didn't know she had been told the wrong age.

She didn't know her nine-year-old son was the dead boy with his face covered.

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This is the heartbreaking moment Ebony Newman returns to the liquor store where her son Travon Williams, nine, was shot dead

At first someone told Ebony the dead boy was 11 and she thought the child was not her son

Courtesy of the Los Angeles Times

On Saturday she returned to the scene of her son's death, overcome with grief as she slammed her palms on the pavement.

'He was my world, and somebody took that away because they were angry,' she yelled through tears.

'That's not right. He didn't get a chance to live a life.'

Ebony sobbed after learning her son Travon Williams, his father 26-year-old Travon Lamar Williams and a friend, 25-year-old Samathy Mahan had been murdered.

Residents stop by to pay their respects on Saturday July 9 at a makeshift memorial for victims of the triple fatal shooting

Travon would have turned ten on Saturday.

An employee of the liquor store told the Los Angeles Times the soon-to-be fifth grader had asked his father for some candy before leaving the store.

He jumped for joy when his father agreed.

As the trio left the store, Travon happy with his candy selection, a man waiting outside approached and shot dead the three, San Bernardino Police Sgt. Vicki Cervantes said Saturday.

The unidentified shooter approached them from behind, pulled a gun and fatally shot them all, she said.

Travon (pictured) would have turned ten on Saturday. He was the oldest of Ebony's children and was not the intended target of the shooting

Travon's father, 26-year-old Travon Lamar Williams, (pictured left) and his father's friend 25-year-old Samathy Mahan (pictured, right), were both shot dead, too. Mahan is believed to be the intended target of the shooter

Ebony was seen weeping at the scene of her oldest child's death on Saturday, telling KCAL-TV that 'he was just a little boy.'

But Travon and his father are not believed to be who the shooter was after.

While the motive was under investigation, Cervantes said authorities believe Mahan was the intended target.

He's a documented gang member who was recently paroled, she said.

The boy's grandfather, Steven Newman, told the Los Angeles Times that the child's father was not affiliated with any gangs and didn't know how he knew Mahan.

'Travon's dad was no gang-banger,' he said. 'He was a dancer and a rapper.'

The shooter fled on foot, and police were asking for the public's help to identify him.

They released grainy black-and-white surveillance photos of the man partially obscured by a hood.
Former Labour Party deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, pictured left in 2006 with Tony Blair, said he now believes the Iraq war was illegal

John Prescott now believes the 2003 invasion or Iraq - carried out when he was Deputy PM to Tony Blair - was illegal, he admitted this morning.

Lord Prescott made the admission in a newspaper column just days after Sir John Chilcot's report into the lead-up to the war was published and savaged Blair.

The Labour heavyweight used his strongest language yet to condemn Blair's decision to take party in the Iraq War, a decision he supported at the time.

Prescott, now a member of the House of Lords, wrote in the Sunday Mirror: 'I will live with the decision of going to war and its catastrophic consequences for the rest of my life.

'In 2004, the UN secretary-general Kofi Annan said that as regime change was the prime aim of the Iraq war, it was illegal.

'With great sadness and anger, I now believe him to be right.'

On Wednesday, the Chilcot report returned a damning verdict on Britain's role in the US-led war, finding it joined the conflict before all peaceful options had been exhausted and that judgements about Iraq's capacities were 'presented with a certainty that was not justified'.

It also disclosed Blair had written to then US president George W. Bush that 'I will be with you, whatever' eight months before the invasion.

Lord Prescott said the Chilcot report was a "damning indictment of how the Blair government handled the war - and I take my fair share of blame".

"As the deputy prime minister in that Government I must express my fullest apology, especially to the families of the 179 men and women who gave their lives in the Iraq War."

He also welcomed current Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn's decision to apologise on behalf of the party for the war.

Blair this week voiced 'sorrow, regret and apology' over mistakes made in the conflict.

But he insisted the war was right and the world was safer without toppled Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.



Sir John Chilcot's Iraq War Report savaged Tony Blair and led Lord Prescott to now believe Britain's joining of the conflict was illegal

The Chilcot report strongly criticised the way former prime minister Mr Blair took the country to war in 2003 on the basis of "flawed" intelligence with inadequate preparation at a time when Saddam Hussein did not pose an "imminent threat".

Sir John also said the way the decision about the legal basis for the war was reached was "far from satisfactory", but the report did not rule on the legality of the military action.

Lord Prescott said he had concerns about the way Mr Blair ran his government, with Cabinet ministers given "too little paper documentation" to make decisions.

He also said intelligence reports were based on "discussions at receptions and prejudiced sources", amounting to "tittle-tattle, not hard evidence".

"We now learn from Chilcot that even the intelligence agencies warned of the inadequacies or reliability of such intelligence sources," Lord Prescott said.

"But these concerns were never referred to in any of the intelligence documents given to the Cabinet."

The ex-deputy prime minister said there was a "failure" to provide Cabinet with the reasoning behind then attorney general Lord Goldsmith's judgment that military action was legal.

He said the law officer "verbally announced it was legal, but provided no documentation to justify it".

Lord Prescott said the timing of the decision "was clearly designed to endorse an almost immediate action for us to go to war".

He said that Mr Blair was determined to be a "special friend" to the US and president George W Bush.

Referring to a previously secret memo disclosed in the Chilcot files, Lord Prescott said: "Tony's note to Bush with that devastating quote 'I am with you, whatever' was all the Americans needed to go in, without UN support."

Mr Blair has defended the decision to oust Saddam and insisted that his efforts to form a close relationship with the US had persuaded Mr Bush to pursue a second UN security council resolution, which ultimately was not obtained.

Some 150,000 Iraqi people were killed in the six years after British and American troops invaded, plunging the country into chaos and creating fertile ground for jihadist groups like the Islamic State.
Six children, including a one-year-old, have escaped a fierce blaze that engulfed the house as they slept.

Emergency services were called to the house in Sydney region of Cabramatta West at about 12.40am on Sunday to find the property alight.

A 22-year-old relative rushed to the scene to help, but suffered an electric shock outside the home.

Six children, including a one-year-old, have escaped a fierce blaze that engulfed their Cabramatta West house

Three of the children, aged one, 10 and 14, were treated for smoke inhalation before being taken to hospital as a precaution

Six children, aged between one and 14, fled the blaze by the time firefighters arrived to extinguish the fire which partially destroyed the home

A 14-year-old raised the alarm when a heater is believed to have caught alight in the front bedroom of the property on Edensor Road, 9 News reports.

Six children, aged between one and 14, fled the blaze by the time firefighters arrived to extinguish the fire which partially destroyed the home.

Police said a 22-year-old man, who was a relative of the children, suffered an electric shock when he came into contact with live wiring outside the home and was taken to Liverpool Hospital in a stable condition.

Three of the children, aged one, 10 and 14, were treated for smoke inhalation before being taken to hospital as a precaution.

Authorities are not treating the fire as suspicious.

Emergency services were called to the house in Sydney's southwest at about 12.40am on Sunday to find the property alight
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Bill Clinton was all smiles as he donned a snazzy pair of blue suede shoes to walk the family dogs around New York on Saturday while Hillary visited daughter Chelsea nearby.

The former President was spotted walking the couple's dogs, a white poodle-shih tzu mix named Tally and a grey poodle-toy-cross named Maisie, in Madison Square Park.

Clinton was joined by son-in-law Marc Mezvinsky and his one-year-old granddaughter Charlotte, with the adorable pair holding hands as they walked down Madison Avenue.

Bill Clinton donned a snazzy pair of blue suede shoes as he took the family dogs Maisie and Tally for a walk around Madison Square Park in New York on Saturday

Clinton was joined on his ramble by his son-in-law Marc Mezvinsky and one-year-old granddaughter Charlotte

The family outing took place in Madison Square Park, just a short walk from Chelsea's huge Manhattan condo in upmarket Flatiron district

Clinton appeared in an upbeat mood as he walked alongside Mezvinsky, who was carrying an adorable dog of his own, while Charlotte toddled along ahead of him

Clinton also gave his granddaughter, who was wearing a shirt with the slogan 'play, win repeat', a helping hand as they took a walk down Madison Avenue

Perhaps mirroring her grandparent's political careers, Charlotte was dressed in a t-shirt with the slogan 'play, win, repeat' on the front.

Clinton's shoes are a pair of Samuel Hubbard Free Limited Edition shoes in blue leather costing $225.

The couple appeared to be taking it easy away from the campaign trail, though Hillary was spotted carrying a box of files into Chelsea's $10.5million Manhattan condo.

Pictures show the boxes are clearly marked 'not for private use' and are marked United States Postal Service along the side.

While it is not known how Clinton came by the boxes, the U.S. Code states that theft of property used by the Postal Service is punishable by a fine and up to a year in jail.

The former President stopped to chat with passersby as he made his way around the park, which is just a short walk from daughter Chelsea's home

Meanwhile a makeup-free Hillary was seen carrying a box of files into Chelsea's Madison Avenue home, where she lives with Mezvinsky and children Charlotte and Aiden

The shoes area pair of Samuel Hubbard Free Limited Editions in blue leather, and cost $225

Despite the former President strolling around Manhattan, it seemed that the family dogs were receiving the majority of the attention as Clinton stopped to talk with a young family on a bench

The code states: 'Whoever steals, purloins, or embezzles any property used by the Postal Service, or appropriates any such property to his own or any other than its proper use, or conveys away any such property to the hindrance or detriment of the public service, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both; but if the value of such property does not exceed $1,000, he shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.'

Their stop-off in adopted-home state New York comes after Hillary addressed members of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in neighboring Philadelphia on Friday.

The Democratic presidential candidate said on Friday that blacks and whites need to start 'listening' to each other following a week of racial tension that ended with five cops being shot dead in Dallas.

Clinton appeared to be in good spirits as he went for a stroll as he and Hillary, the presumptive Democratic nominee for President, took a day off from campaigning

Despite his laid-back demeanor, Clinton was flanked by a secret service detail during his walk (pictured left)

The Clintons paid a visit to their adopted home state the day after Hillary spoke to members of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in neighboring Philadelphia

Wearing a somber black-and-white outfit, Clinton told the crowd: 'No one has all the answers. We need to find them together.

'Indeed, that is the only way we can find them. Those are the truest things I can offer today. We must do better, together.'

A makeup-free Clinton struck a much more relaxed figure on Saturday as she went to see her daughter, granddaughter Charlotte and grandson Aiden in the upmarket Flatiron district.

Meanwhile husband Bill took a stroll around the park, stopping to chat with passersby along the way, at one point speaking with a young family sitting on a bench.

Chelsea lives just a short walk from the park in a 'luxury fortress' described as New York's longest apartment, stretching an entire block between 26th Street to 27th Street off Madison Avenue.
Paedophile Max Clifford is seeking to have his convictions quashed after claiming new evidence contradicts the accounts of his victims.

The disgraced publicist was jailed for eight years in 2014 for eight historical sexual assaults on four teenagers aged 15 to 19.

But documents lodged at the Court of Appeal claim Clifford was feeding a neighbour's pet in London when he was said to have met a 15-year-old girl in Spain in 1977, who he later abused.

The disgraced publicist (pictured) was jailed for eight years in 2014 for eight historical sexual assaults on four teenagers aged 15 to 19

The victim, who gave a newspaper interview under the pseudonym Cathy Johnson, was on holiday when Clifford met her in August 1977, just after Elvis Presley died. Among those claiming Clifford was in the UK at this time is his former neighbour, Andrea Robinson.

Appeal papers say she 'recalls being on holiday in Tenerife at the time of Elvis Presley's death, and that Max Clifford was looking after her rabbit in the UK'.

Two other people say Clifford spoke to them from his London office just after Presley died.

A second victim, Sharon Elliott, waived her right to anonymity in an interview with The Mail on Sunday to tell how Clifford used a pay-phone in a London nightclub before abusing her in the toilets. But the appeal claims the club had no such phone.

Documents lodged at the Court of Appeal claim Clifford (pictured) was feeding a neighbour's pet in London when he was said to have met a 15-year-old girl in Spain in 1977, who he later abused

It also disputes the evidence of a third victim.

Clifford was the first person to be convicted under Operation Yewtree, the police probe launched after the Jimmy Savile scandal.
Public Enemys Professor Griff has claimed he received a call from a white police officer accusing him of training snipers to kill cops after he was linked to Dallas shooter Micah Xavier Johnson.

The 55-year-old rapper has slammed reports that he was associated with the killer insisting he only met Johnson briefly after a giving a lecture in Dallas a couple of months ago.

And he also revealed that since a Facebook photo of him shaking Johnsons hand rocketed around the internet he has received a string of death threats.

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Professor Griff, from hip-hop group Public Enemy, has claimed a 'white police officer' called to accuse him of training cop killers after he was pictured with Dallas shooter Micah Xaiver Johnson before his massacre (left)

Speaking exclusively to Daily Mail Online, Griff, who lives in Atlanta, Georgia, said: Its been crazy here because of all the threats and other stuff.

I get a call from a white police officer who said, so youre training snipers to kill cops. I said no I dont train snipers to kill cops, I dont train snipers.

Then Im driving by my house and Im seeing the police sitting out front. You know what I did, I tweeted out so that people know, so that the world knows my position.

And I was very clear, I dont know this guy, Ive no association with him, I dont train snipers to kill cops, I dont advocate killing police. You dont find it in my songs, my music, my lectures, I dont do that.

DailyMail.com could not verify Griff's claims and the rapper admitted the caller could have been someone impersonating a cop.

Griff denied having any association with Johnson (pictured), who shot five police officers dead in Dallas on Thursday during a Black Lives Matter protest

Griff posted a series of tweets Friday to deny any link with Johnson who fatally shot five police officers and injured seven others in downtown Dallas on Thursday.

It didnt help the professor's cause when on the same day the Dallas Police Department mentioned him by his real name, Richard Griffin, in a press release about their investigation of Johnson.

I do not know the shooter, a defiant Griff wrote on Twitter.

I will not sit back and let these people assassinate my character and tie me to the Dallas shootings, he added.

Griff was also defended by Public Enemy bandmate Chuch D on the social media site.

Chuck D, real name Carlton Ridenhour, wrote: Stupid SHT. News Media associating PE with Dallas is like accusing TheBeatles of the fkn Manson murders.Or do I KNOW too much Music history?

Bring The Noise rapper Griff is now outraged over being linked to the shooting and wants to clear his name.

He told Daily Mail Online that he met Johnson while signing autographs and posing for photos outside a community center in a suburb of Dallas a couple of months ago.

When Im scheduled to do a lecture I do a lecture and I take pictures with a hundred people in the room and one just happens to be this guy, he explained.

He said it was nice to meet me and how he was a fan of my music and I said "peace, cool," that was it.

We exchanged pleasantries that was it. After that Ive never met the guy, Ive never talked to him.

Griff says the lecture was in association with a music college and he was giving a talk about the recent loss of music greats including Prince, Earth, Wind and Fires Maurice White and rapper Phife Dawg of A Tribe Called Quest.

During his rampage, Johnson told hostage negotiators that he had targeted white people and cops after becoming angry at police shootings of black people (pictured, tributes to those killed in Dallas)

Police across the country have been ordered to patrol in pairs in the aftermath of the shooting which took the number of cops killed this year to 26, a 44 per cent rise on last year

He said: I was going through the whole list of the artists and the music and how were going to miss them, what we can do to keep the spirit of their music alive in us, that was my talk.

Griff says he first learned of the internet furor around his apparent association with Johnson when his daughter called him.

It hit me a lot harder because of the way it was presented to me, he recalls. It was my daughter, she called me and I was extremely busy at the time.

I have a personal number that only my children can reach me on and it kept ringing. She said, "Daddy Ive sent you a text message you have to look at it."

When she sent the photo to me my first question was why they putting me in the picture with him, I was like, I dont know this dude. I meet a lot of people in my business.

Like I say, its been crazy ever since.

Professor Griff is known for his past controversial views and he was once a member of the Nation of Islam  an organization often considered a black supremacy or hate group.

But the star defends his past.

It depends on whos looking at it. Some people look at it (The Nation of Islam) as a savior, when youre talking young black kids in the hood reaping havoc, this has saved my life, they taught me how to be a real man.'

He added: I dont discuss my beliefs in lectures, in songs, I just dont.

Your belief is anything that you want it to be, its a choice, but that dont make it factual, that dont make it true.

Professor Griff is known for his past membership of organizations such as Nation of Islam - considered a hate group - but insists he does not discuss his beliefs at lectures, including the one Johnson attended

I could walk out on the highway in front of a truck doing 90mph and believe Ill live, that dont mean I will live.

Professor Griff spoke on the topic of The Unified God Theory at the Frederick Douglass Center on Saturday, April 23.

Also speaking at the event was rapper and music producer David Banner, Pan-African activist and scholar Professor James Small and author Dr Mwalimu Baruti who runs Akoben House, an independent, Afrikan centered publishing company.

Johnson was in the audience for the SankofaTalks event, sponsored by Dock Bookshop.

Today it emerged that Johnson, who posted on Facebook his interest in several black power groups, was once a member of the Houston New Black Panther Party.

Quanell X told reporters at KPRC NBC2 in Houston that Johnson was a member of the Houston Chapter of the New Black Panther Party for a short time a few years ago.

He said he parted ways with Johnson after about six months because Johnson would not follow the chain of command.

During negotiations with the Dallas Police Department Friday morning during the ambush shooting, Johnson said he was not part of any group.
Supermarkets have been accused of 'cynically' inventing brand names that evoke the British countryside in order to dupe shoppers into buying imported food.

Produce sold under fictional names such as 'Nightingale Farms' or 'Rosedene Farms' might sound home-grown but in fact could come from as far afield as Morocco, Senegal or Honduras.

Now the National Farmers Union is 'seriously considering' legal action against leading stores for potentially misleading customers about the origin of their meat, fruit and vegetables.

Supermarkets have been accused of 'cynically' inventing brand names that evoke the British countryside

Tesco is seen as a major offender, using, for example, Woodside Farms for pork that could come from Denmark, Holland or Germany as well as the UK

Tesco is seen as a major offender, using, for example, Woodside Farms for pork that could come from Denmark, Holland or Germany as well as the UK.

Last week The Mail on Sunday found the company selling 'Rosedene Farms' blueberries from Argentina, Chile, Poland and Spain; 'Redmere Farms' sweet potatoes from Egypt, Honduras, Senegal, Spain and the US; and 'Nightingale Farms' celery from Israel, Spain and the USA, as well as Britain.

The country of origin is found only in tiny print.

Waitrose has also been criticised for selling organic lamb from New Zealand under the Duchy Originals label, the brand founded by the Prince of Wales to promote British organic produce.

Minette Batters, deputy president of the NFU, said there may be a legal case. 'We are weighing up the advice from lawyers and seriously considering legal action,' she said. 'This practice is really cynical and misleading to consumers. I just don't understand why they can't use a real British farm and farmer with a real story.

Produce sold under fictional names might sound home-grown but in fact could come from as far afield as Morocco, Senegal or Honduras

The National Farmers Union is 'seriously considering' legal action against leading stores for potentially misleading customers about the origin of their meat, fruit and vegetables

'These labels allow them to buy in imported stuff through the back door and then sell it as if it were British.'

John Davies, deputy president of NFU Wales, added: 'Consumers are being misled. These labels are British-sounding farm names and people think they are buying from a British farm.'

The union has also made a formal complaint about the marketing ploy to trading standards.

Conservative MP Rebecca Pow called for a test case to be brought, saying: 'We are urging all food producers to be transparent following the horsemeat scandal, and this seems to go against this. Consumers deserve better.'

Ed Gillespie, of branding agency Futerra, said: 'Fictional farm names are very cynical. They cause confusion. It's playing slightly fast and loose when what we need is honesty.

The Mail on Sunday found Tesco selling sweet potatoes from Egypt, Honduras, Senegal, Spain and the US

The National Farmers Union has also made a formal complaint about the marketing ploy to trading standards

'Retailers may say it's technically legal but there are moral, ethical and transparency questions.'

Andrew Opie, of the British Retail Consortium, said: 'Major supermarkets have for years been going above and beyond what is required of them by law in voluntarily providing consumers with country of origin information to help customers make easy decisions on buying British.'

A spokesperson for Tesco said: 'British produce is an important part of the food we offer customers. Whilst we always strive to source from the UK, we look for what we believe to be the best in-season produce, from the best farms with the best growers and farmers from all over the world so that shoppers can buy their favourite produce all year round.

'With over two-thirds of our customers having bought products in the range, the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, as they have recognised the great quality and outstanding value they offer.'

Waitrose said the Duchy Originals New Zealand Organic Lamb was sourced when UK organic lamb is unavailable.
Before the struggle the offender roamed the aisles of Smiles Discounts

A discount store clerk has been filmed bravely fending off a would-be thief as he tried to attack her with an electric shock pen.

CCTV footage from Smiles Discounts in Mount Gravatt, in south-east Brisbane shows the 40-year-old clerk named Kiran standing at the register when a man attacks her.

The offender is seen lunging at Kiran who instantly picks up a pricing gun to defend herself.

Discount store clerk, Kiran, 40, has been filmed fending off a would-be thief at the register of the Smiles Discounts in Mount Gravatt in Brisbane's south east suburbs, Queensland (pictured)

The thief then reaches for the pricing gun, but the Smiles Discount store clerk, quickly fights back holding onto the device.

Admitting defeat the stranger is seen running from the store empty handed with Kiran on his tail.

Before the attack, it is believed the offender roamed the aisles of the shop and could have chosen a more dangerous weapon like a metal ruler or tooth comb, reported Seven News.

Charlie Kent, the shop's owner, told the news broadcaster: 'It's brave, sometimes I'm a bit worried as well because it doesn't always work.

CCTV footage (pictured) shows the 40-year-old clerk standing at the register when someone tries to attack her with an electric shock pen

'She was actually tagging some items, and used the tagging gun to hit him on the hand,' he added.

Security expert Lefty Ioannou from Professional Calibre Security told Seven News that he 'wouldn't recommend taking the matters into your own hands'.

He added: 'But she did and it was very brave of her.'
Charity now locked in legal challenge - and judge slammed its defence

Some of the pets were given back - but Miss Brown wants them all returned

Her sister handed her cats to RSPCA after fearing she would not return

The RSPCA has been dealt a humiliating rebuke by a judge after the charity rehomed a womans cats without her permission.

Retired nurse Irene Brown, 68, was rushed to hospital last Christmas with meningitis, and five of her six cats were signed over to the charity by her sister, who thought she would not return home.

One of the six cats was put down, and although three others were later returned, Miss Brown, of Wellingborough, Northants, is mounting an unprecedented legal challenge for the return of the remaining two rehomed by the RSPCA, which says it was given authority to do so.

Retired nurse Irene Brown, 68, has launched an unprecedented legal challenge for the return of her remaining two cats

But District Judge Adam Taylor said last week the charity had a fundamental problem with its defence and referred its solicitor to a legal rule in Latin: Nemo dat quod non habet  or no one gives what he doesnt have.

He also praised The Mail on Sunday for exposing the case.

An RSPCA spokesman said: The court ordered the RSPCA to provide information about the whereabouts of the two remaining cats. This is being done.
Labour's bitter civil war deepened dramatically yesterday with the launch of a formal challenge against Jeremy Corbyn and claims of 'sabotage' by union barons.

Angela Eagle, the ex-Shadow Business Secretary, fired the starting gun on a leadership contest by accusing Mr Corbyn of failing to lead an 'effective' Opposition and declaring she would stand against him.

Mr Corbyn vowed to fight Ms Eagle, with a spokesman insisting he will not 'betray' the hundreds of thousands of party members who elected him.

Ms Eagle threw down the gauntlet after the collapse of peace talks between Deputy Party Leader Tom Watson and union leaders aimed at resolving the leadership crisis.

Angela Eagle, the ex-Shadow Business Secretary launched a formal challenge against Jeremy Corbyn (right)

Labour 'fixer' Mr Watson pulled the plug on the talks, saying there was 'no realistic prospect' of compromise while Mr Corbyn refused to budge.

But union baron Len McCluskey, boss of Unite, moved to prop up Mr Corbyn and accused Mr Watson of 'an act of sabotage fraught with peril for the future of the party'.

Accusing Mr Watson of a 'deeply disingenuous manoeuvre', he said he had made it clear 'from the outset of these discussions that Mr Corbyn's resignation as Leader was not on the agenda.'

Labour is now set to stage a divisive leadership contest in which contenders such as rising star Welsh MP Owen Smith could throw their hat in the ring. The party's ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) will hold an emergency meeting this week. It will make a crucial ruling which will determine if Mr Corbyn can stand.

Mr Corbyn's critics say that like Ms Eagle, he must be nominated by 51 Labour MPs. However, his allies say as leader he has the automatic right to go on the ballot paper. Corbyn's critics privately claimed last night that several NEC members are ready to join the mutiny by insisting he needs 51 backers.

Corbyn vowed to fight Ms Eagle, a spokesman insisting he will not 'betray' the party members who elected him

Happier times: Jeremy Corbyn, deputy leader Tom Watson and Angela Eagle arrive at the launch of a Labour In election poster in London last month

LOW-PROFILE LOYALIST IS NO BLAIRITE Angela Eagle will hope her leadership challenge fares better than her bid to keep the UK in the EU. Ms Eagle, 55, a keen Remainer, clashed with Boris Johnson in an ill-tempered TV debate. But the former child chess champion is used to making her mark, and in 1997 became the first openly-gay female MP. Her background and soft Left politics make it hard for the Corbyn camp to dismiss her as a Blairite. Yorkshire-born Eagle, daughter of a printer, went to a comprehensive and represents Wallasey in Merseyside, although like Tony Blair, she did go to Oxford. But Corbyn allies will make hay with her pro-Trident stance and vote in 2003 in favour of the Iraq war  especially in a week when MPs debate the Chilcot Report. After university, she worked for unions as a researcher, press officer and parliamentary liaison officer before becoming an MP in 1992. She later served as a Minister in both the Blair and Brown Governments and is most recently remembered as the woman MP famously told to calm down dear by David Cameron in a Commons debate. Her quietly spoken, low profile at Westminster has sometimes come at a cost  Blair reportedly sacked her by mistakenly offering her ministerial job to someone else. A loyalist, her initial decision to call for Corbyn to quit was made as she fought back the tears  a sight which touched colleagues but brought ridicule from Corbyns inner circle. Advertisement

His allies are confident that if he is allowed to stand, Corbyn will win a repeat of his massive victory last year thanks to continued support from party members who overwhelmingly elected him. It is claimed most of an extra 100,000 who have joined Labour in recent weeks are also fervent 'Corbynistas'.

But Labour MPs feared that either side could challenge the leadership rules in the courts. Mr Watson spent much of last week in talks with Mr McCluskey and other union power brokers, with reports that he begged Mr Corbyn to step down.

But on Saturday Mr Watson, seen by some as a possible interim leader, called off talks scheduled for today, saying Mr Corbyn's intention to continue 'come what may' meant further discussions were fruitless.

Union baron Len McCluskey (left) accused Tom Watson (right) of 'an act of sabotage fraught with peril for the future of the party' after he pulled the plug on peace talks

Mr Corbyn had lost the support of Labour MPs 'with little prospect of regaining it', said Mr Watson. It prompted a furious riposte from Mr McCluskey, who said any bid to keep Mr Corbyn 'off the ballot paper by legal means' risked lasting division in the party.

Ms Eagle's announcement ended weeks of speculation about her intentions. She said he had 'failed to fulfil his first and foremost duty, to lead an organised and effective Parliamentary Labour Party that can hold the Government to account and demonstrate we are ready to form a Government'.
UKIP's best-known female politician has vowed to rid the party of 'racists, homophobes and sexists' and 'stop it banging on about immigrants'  by taking over from Nigel Farage as leader.

The comments by former Ukip deputy chairman Suzanne Evans come after Farage announced his resignation in the wake of the Brexit vote, sparking yet another political leadership battle.

In an interview with The Mail on Sunday, Evans:

Said Ukip needs a female boss to shed the chauvinist image it gained under 'cult leader' Farage;

Claimed she had been 'smeared' by Farage's allies because she was a threat to him;

Said she was proud to be nicknamed 'Red Kip' because of her Labour roots.

Former BBC journalist Evans, 51, has long been seen as next Ukip leader. There is only one problem: she has been suspended from the party after a vicious feud with Farage, which could preclude her from standing.

Suzanne Evans (left) was photographed passing Nigel Farage (right) at a Ukip event before the pair fell out

Friends say her six-month ban from Ukip for 'disloyalty' was the result of 'trumped up charges' and part of a plot to stop her becoming leader.

Her Ukip rivals, macho Northerners Paul Nuttall and Stephen Woolfe, make John Prescott look feminine, while Ukip's other prominent female, Euro-MP Diane James, is stylish but gaffe-prone.

'I've lost count of how often I've been sacked by Nigel,' laughs vivacious Evans, throwing back her red hair as we talk at the Commons office where she works as a parliamentary researcher.

She says Ukip needs a woman's touch more than the Tories.

'You cannot run a serious political party with one man at the top who everyone has to hero-worship. Nigel projects himself as the cheeky chappy down the pub, but it's not very female-friendly. We can't have another Ukip leader in a velvet collar. Some of our members see him as a cult leader. I don't adulate people.'

Evans says Farage has an 'iron grip' on the party  and targets anyone he fears may outshine him.

'I'm not blowing my own trumpet but I think I've done a good job  there's a sense that when other Ukip people get too good, Nigel sees them as a threat and they've got to go.'

Like Theresa May, Evans cut her teeth as a Tory politician on Merton Council in South-West London.

There the likeness ends. Evans says two words explain why she quit the Conservatives for Ukip: 'David Cameron.'

She abhorred his stance on issues such as overseas aid and the EU. And Evans has no time for the power-dressing of May and Leadsom. In contrast, she says she 'never' uses a hairbrush  'I just leave it as it is'  but adds: 'I do brush my teeth though!'

Suzanne Evans (pictured) has vowed to rid the party of 'racists, homophobes and sexists' and 'stop it banging on about immigrants'

She bought most of the outfit she is wearing for our interview at charity shops in Wimbledon, where she lives. The shoes were six quid, trousers a spendthrift 12. Natty Nigel spends more on his bespoke socks.

Evans is no stereotypical Ukip Right-winger. 'They call me Red Kip  and not because of the colour of my hair,' she roars.

She proclaims her 'socialist background'  her great-great-grandfather Thomas Morris stood as a Labour parliamentary candidate three times and she voted for Tony Blair in 1997.

She condemns the 'disgraceful bedroom tax'. But there are Farage-style soundbites too: 'Welfare should be a safety net, not a hammock.'

She is a hardline opponent of what she considers the spread of sharia law in the UK, 'not because I'm anti Muslim but because I'm a feminist. I am hellishly worried by the way it treats women as second-class citizens and is excused by establishment figures like May'.

Evans' main disagreement with Farage is over immigration. 'We've got to stop banging on about it,' she declares boldly.

Evans said Ukip needs a female boss to shed the chauvinist image it gained under 'cult leader' Farage (pictured)

She condemns his 'racist' poster featuring a queue of Syrian refugees. 'How do you even stand in front of a poster like that and show it off?' she says, grimacing in disgust. 'I'm sick to death of being called homophobic, racist and sexist because of things Nigel and others have said. Ukip has got to clean up its act. I wouldn't hesitate to do that.

'We talk about throwing out racists and homophobes but we don't. In some cases we've promoted them.'

Evans has a grown-up daughter, the product of a 'brief marriage, big mistake from the word go,' though she won't say more.

There is no man in her life at the moment, as she proclaims: 'Goodness, I've no time for that.'

Her spat with Farage culminated in an ugly legal row earlier this year, including allegations she tried to blackmail him over claims he had 'beaten' wife Kirsten.
PR consultant Anthony Bailey turned up in the Royal Enclosure at Ascot last month sporting a badge saying Sir Anthony Bailey

Officials at Buckingham Palace have written to a controversial Labour donor and friend of the Commonwealth Secretary-General warning him to stop masquerading as a British knight, after The Mail on Sunday revealed he had no right to do so.

Impeccably dressed in a morning suit, 46-year-old PR consultant Anthony Bailey turned up in the Royal Enclosure at Ascot last month sporting a badge saying Sir Anthony Bailey, despite repeated warnings he is not allowed to refer to himself as such in Britain.

Mr Bailey did receive a knighthood in Antigua after touring the Caribbean as British head of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of St George, an unofficial Catholic order of which Commonwealth Secretary-General Baroness Scotland was also a senior member.

But he has flouted convention by using his title in the UK, much to the dismay of Buckingham Palace and the Foreign Office, which is also corresponding with Bailey, asking him to desist.

A centuries-old precedent dictates that because the honour was obtained overseas, it cannot be used in Britain.

To make the position clear, the Palace and the Foreign Office published a statement in the official Government newspaper, The Gazette.

Yet it didnt stop Mr Bailey posing for pictures with his Sir badge at Royal Ascot last month. Ascot itself also forbids the use of overseas titles by British nationals.

Mr Bailey insists there was nothing he could do about it.

His lawyers said the badge was ordered and issued much earlier in the year.

They claim he returned the badge and requested a new one but was given a replacement that still featured the title Sir.

Buckingham Palace and the Foreign Office declined to comment on individual titles but well-placed sources said officials are furious at Mr Baileys continued use of the foreign honour.

Honour: Baroness Scotland is received by Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace on her appointment as Commonwealth Secretary-General. She had become entangled in an honours row over Anthony Bailey

Meanwhile until his lawyers were alerted by the MoS yesterday, Mr Bailey was still using Sir on his Instagram account, featuring countless pictures of himself captioned #siranthonybailey.

He received his reciprocal knighthood from the Governor-General of Antigua in 2014, after in a process one fellow recipient called irregular.
Teachers have provoked outrage by demanding the resignation of Education Secretary Nicky Morgan

Teachers have provoked outrage by demanding the resignation of Education Secretary Nicky Morgan after the number of 11-year-olds who failed national English and maths tests rose sharply this year.

The militant National Union of Teachers said the chaotic SATs were too difficult and had left children extraordinarily demoralised.

In an astonishing attack on Mrs Morgan, the unions acting general secretary Kevin Courtney said: A Secretary of State who demands accountability from schools should apply that principle to herself.

Because of the major failings of a key reform, and because of the effect of those failings on schools and children, the National Union of Teachers today calls on Ms Morgan to resign her office.

But supporters of the tests, which were significantly tougher this year as part of Government efforts to increase rigour in the classroom, told teachers bluntly to stop complaining. Professor Alan Smithers, director of the Centre for Education and Employment Research at the University of Buckingham, said: The Department for Education has made the changes to the curriculum and tests to move expectations in England closer to international standards. The teachers should stop whingeing and concentrate on getting our children up to speed.

Almost half of 11-year-olds in England  47 per cent  failed to meet the required standards in this years SATs, up from 20 per cent last year. But the Government said the results could not be compared with previous years because they are the first to be based on a new curriculum introduced two years ago by former education secretary Michael Gove.

The exams in reading, writing and maths were overhauled to include questions of a much higher level, with some parents saying their children had been left in tears because they could not finish the papers.

Mr Courtney said: It is really important that we reassure parents and children that this is not an accurate judgment of their abilities. This is not their failure  its Nicky Morgans failure.

Almost half of 11-year-olds in England  47 per cent  failed to meet the required standards in this years SATs, up from 20 per cent last year (file photo)

While many parents objected to the stress that the tests placed on their children, one mother wrote on the Mumsnet online forum: The SATs are doing what I and many parents actually want: improving standards.

At my [daughters] school, it was the teachers who were stressed and they were passing that down to the kids. Writer Toby Young, who set up a free school in west London, said that his 11-year-old son Ludo had taken the tests without stress.

He added: Parents who oppose the Government are using their children as political weapons.

A Whitehall source said: It is disappointing that the NUT have whipped up parents as part of their political posturing.

We share the same objectives as parents, which is making sure their children get the best start in life.
Rowan Kamal Zine El Abidine, 22, died on Thursday, but her husband and baby daughter are thought to have survived

A medical student who joined the Islamic State terror group has become the first British female recruit to be killed by an air strike in Iraq, reports claim.

Rowan Kamal Zine El Abidine, 22, died on Thursday, but her husband and baby daughter are thought to have survived.

The reports by media in Sudan  where El Abidine's family are from  did not specify where in Iraq the strike took place.

But IS's foreign recruits there mainly live in the terror group's main base in Mosul for safety reasons.

Before joining IS, El Abidine left Britain to attend the University of Medical Sciences and Technology in the Sudanese capital Khartoum.

Her family have set up a 'mourning tent' near their house in the city's Al-Sajana area where relatives can pay respects, the Sudan Tribune reported.

El Abidine made headlines last year when it was reported that she and eight other British students from her university had suddenly abandoned their studies to join IS.

They flew to Istanbul and then travelled by land to the Turkish border town of Gaziantep. From there, they crossed into the IS-controlled town of Tal Abyad, Syria.

The medics, all undergraduates in their late teens or early-20s, used smartphone messaging service WhatsApp to tell their stunned families they had arrived.

It is thought they planned to work in hospitals controlled by IS.

The other Britons were Nada Sami Kader, Tasneem Suleyman Huseyin, Ismail Hamadoun, Tamer Ahmed Ebu Sebah, Mohamed Osama Badri Mohammed, Hisham Fadlallah, Sami Ahmed Kadir and Lena Abdelgadir  whose father is an orthopaedic surgeon in Norfolk.

The Foreign Office could not confirm El Abidine's death.
A newly-wedded couple are stranded on different sides of the world and the cause may be as simple as an email in a junk inbox.

American woman Carla Hutcherson, 27, is stranded in her country, about 12,600 kilometres from her new husband, Sydney man Ed Hutcherson, 37.

The couple were married in Mrs Hutcherson's home state, Arizona, recently, but when they tried to return to Australia where they reside, she was barred from doing so, The Sunday Telegraph reported.

Newlyweds Carla and Ed Hutcherson. Due to missing a vital notification about Mrs Hutcherson's permanent residency visa for Australia, she's now stranded in her home country, the United States

The couple have admitted they're to blame - but say the whole problem came about because they missed one email when they were planning their wedding

They admitted they were the ones at fault - but are begging immigration to let Mrs Hutcherson come back to Australia, where she's lived for the past six years.

Otherwise, they are back to square one, and the lengthy residency process will have to begin again.

Mr Hutcherson said they had missed a Department of Immigration email requesting information to complete his then wife-to-be's permanent resident visa - the final step in the process.

With a large wedding to plan, they were distracted and may have missed it.

Mrs Hutcherson now has to start the process to obtain a visa for Australia over again (stock image)

The first time the couple realised there were any issues was when they went to Sydney Airport (pictured) and an officials said they could have problems returning to Australia (stock image)

'We never saw the email. The department has proof it sent it, but we did not see it. It may have gone into junk mail,' he told The Sunday Telegraph.

It wasn't until they headed to Sydney Airport to leave for their dream wedding in the U.S. that they had any idea there was a problem.

An official said Mrs Hutcherson could have problems coming back into the country, so they called a lawyer right away.

Despite some concern, they thought it would be an easy fix - besides, they would be coming back with a wedding certificate.

But after the wedding, their lawyer let them know they'd missed the final step in the visa process, and Mrs Hutcherson's visa had been cancelled.

Mr Hutcherson has even written to his local MP - Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull - but his office responded to say he'd have make new application for his wife to come back.

The couple, who met by chance in Las Vegas seven years ago, became friends on Facebook before meeting in Australia and the U.S. and beginning a long-distance relationship.

Mrs Hutcherson later came to Australia on a student visa to study at the University of New South Wales so they could be together.

The couple met by chance when they were both in Las Vegas seven years ago (stock image)
A toddler who was found dead at his stepfather's house in June had been sent home by child protection officers four months earlier despite being hospitalised with shocking injuries which suggested he had been sexually abused.

Mason Jet Lee was found dead at his stepfather Andrew O'Sullivan's house shortly after 12.30am in Caboolture, Queensland, on June 11.

Mr O'Sullivan was arrested after the child's death but later released without charge. A murder investigation into the child's death was launched afterwards.

Detectives made an emotional appeal to people after it was revealed paramedics were so harrowed by his condition they sobbed in the street after finding him dead.

It has now been claimed the boy was admitted to hospital four months before his death in March with sickening injuries including a broken leg, ruptured bowel and anal tear.

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Mason Jet Lee was found dead in his stepfather's house last month. The 21-month-old had been admitted to hospital four months earlier with shocking injuries, it has been claimed

He also had a nappy rash that was so severe doctors treated it with surgical dressings, it was reported.

The Sunday Mail reported on Sunday he had been allowed to go back home despite doctors raising concerns over his care, claiming Child Safety Services rushed the case through because of a 'back log'.

There is no suggestion Mr O'Sullivan was caring for the child when he was presented to hospital.

On Monday the Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services would not confirm if the toddler had been in hospital in March.

Citing child protection laws, a spokesman told Daily Mail Australia it was looking in to whether any information surrounding the case could be shared. Queensland Police declined to comment on the hospital visit.

Alongside a broken leg and injuries consistent with sexual abuse, Mason also had a nappy rash that was so severe he had to have surgical dressings applied, the newspaper reported.

Earlier this month detectives said he was part of a large family and was known to many people in the Caboolture area.

There were a number of people in Mr O'Sullivan's house the night before Mason was found dead, they added.

The 21-month-old was admitted to hospital in March with a ruptured bowel, broken leg and injuries consistent with sexual abuse, The Sunday Mail in Queensland reported

Mason's step-father Andrew O'Sullivan (above) was arrested but released without charge in June.

The child's pregnant mother, who is known only as Ann, was at a house 1km away on the night in question.

Moreton District Crime Group Detective Acting Inspector Ben Fadian said Mason's death was not likely to have been an accident and that he was dead for 'hours' before he was found.

'Triple 0 calls were received on June 11 at around 12.30am however we believe he may have been deceased for some time before those calls.

'He suffered extensive injuries, they were horrific and they were visible from head to toe.

'While we are awaiting a pathology report we can say Mason may have been sick or injured for up to a week before he died.

'Some of his injuries would have included him being lethargic, vomiting, not eating his food and general unwellness,' he told a press conference.

Mason's injuries would have been visible to 'anyone who saw him', he added as he said the child had been suffering injuries since January.

'There's evidence to indicate this year is when he began to sustain injuries.

'We're appealing to anyone who may have interacted with Mason between January 1 and June 11 this year, anyone who may have interacted with his carers, who has come into contact with him.

Mr O'Sullivan told of his grief after the child's death in June. Mason's mother, who is known only as Ann, was not with him at the time

Police investigating the toddler's death are seen at the house in Caboolture, Queensland, last month. Paramedics were so horrified by the boy's condition they sobbed in the street after finding him

Officers removed puppies from the property after being called there in June

'They may not think the information is relevant but it may be the piece of information we need to progress our investigation.

'We need to know if he was harmed, sick or injured. We believe there are people out there who have information.

'We can't say specifically what time mason died however there were a number of people inside the house,' he continued, adding that some of those there were children.

He added he was part of a 'large' family and was known to many people in the Caboolture area.

Describing the boy's death as a 'horrific tragedy', Detective Acting Inspector Fadian said he police were 'determined' to resolve the investigation.

Mr O'Sullivan told of his grief after being released from police custody last month, describing the night before Mason was found dead as just like any other.
The Pope has removed many of Cardinal George Pell's administrative functions from his role as the Vatican's key financial office.

Pope Francis essentially reversed a 2014 law that had transferred the main operational section of the patrimony office to the Australian cardinal's Secretariat for the Economy as of Saturday.

In a slight to Pell, Francis says he's removing the tasks because there needs to be an unequivocal and full separation between those who manage Vatican assets and those who supervise them.

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Pope Francis (pictured) essentially reversed a 2014 law that had transferred the main operational section of the patrimony office to the Australian cardinal's Secretariat for the Economy as of Saturday

Cardinal Pell, a critic of the Vatican's financial wastefulness, assumed control in a bid to assert authority over different areas of the Vatican's spending.

But overtime Francis has managed to trim his reach.

The announcement comes just months after Cardinal Pell appeared in front of a Rome royal commission into sexual abuse.

He appeared in front of the commission to answer questions about why he did not come forward against allegations made about a priest, known to him, sexually abusing boys at a Victorian Catholic school.

Cardinal Pell was questioned by the abuse royal commission over pedophile priests in the Ballarat and Melbourne dioceses when he was serving there in the 1970s and 80s.

He said he regretted putting the church before victims in the past but he had never put himself before either.

In a slight to Pell, Francis says he's removing the tasks because there needs to be an unequivocal and full separation between those who manage Vatican assets and those who supervise them

Meanwhile a mother of six children abused by a Ballarat clergyman 30 years ago says she was 'absolutely disgusted' when photos revealed Cardinal George Pell devouring a meal of steak and chips and drinking beer in a Rome restaurant in May.

Ruth Lane said the images show Cardinal Pell's claims of risking 'heart failure' if forced to return to Australia to face questioning at the Child Abuse Royal Commission in February was insensitive.

Mrs Lane's six children were all victims of abuse by family friend Brother Grant Ross, and her second son John took his life at age 19.

Cardinal Pell was questioned over Catholic priest Gerald Ridsdale, who was jailed on pedophile charges in 1994, and other pedophile priests in the Ballarat and Melbourne dioceses.
Up to 20,000 dogs will face an uncertain future after the governments decision to outlaw greyhound racing in New South Wales

Up to 20,000 dogs will face an uncertain future after the governments decision to outlaw greyhound racing in New South Wales.

But the alternative isnt as bleak as Australians had initially thought.

Fears of mass killings have been replaced by hope after greyhound rescue and adoption groups saw a surge of interested pet owners hoping to adopt since the news broke on Friday.

Lisa White, who founded the Murwillumbah-based greyhound rescue and adoption group Friends of the Hound in 2003 told 9News theyve already received emails from people wanting to adopt.

I think there will be a really big push by Australians to help the dogs, whether thats fostering, adopting or donating.

Theres obviously going to be far too many dogs without a purpose, theres never going to be enough companion homes for the greyhounds out there  there never has been.

What were excited about is that cycle of overbreeding and killing that will be over.

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Ms White turned her affection towards the special breed after she was told to ignore a greyhound she had noticed at the pound.

They said, oh dont look at that one, thats a greyhound, they only come here to be destroyed.

A surge of adoption for greyhound dogs has started after the New South Wales government made plans to ban racing (pictured) as of July 1 2017 after people in the $350million industry failed to reform their cruel practices

The ban comes after the government discovered a widespread scale of cruelty shown to the vulnerable dogs (pictured) that have been described to be very passive in nature in normal circumstances

As many as 13 greyhounds have made their temporary home at retired couple, Peter and Janet Flann who rehabilitate the dogs for new lives outside the race track.

As the founders of not-for-profit organisation Greyhound Rescue, which has over 15,000 followers on Facebook, the couple have helped find new homes for than a thousand greyhounds rescued from pounds, trainers and breeders over the past decade.

According to the couple a number of greyhounds being sent to pounds to be euthanized despite being healthy has already increased, reported The Sydney Morning Herald.

Mr Flann said that the ban may worsen their attempts at rescue, which relies on public donation and fundraising.

Lisa White, founder of the Murwillumbah-based greyhound rescue and adoption group Friends of the Hound in 2003 said that hope is not entirely lost and that theyve already received emails from people wanting to adopt

But despite a swell of interested people hoping to own greyhounds, the adoption process can be difficult with rehabilitation being a fundamental part of transitioning the often mistreated race dog into a stay at home pet

He said: We always have been inundated with greyhounds - we currently have a list of about 20 trainers who are waiting to send their dogs to us.

The important thing is that [the NSW government] has an action plan to help with the situation.

Despite a swell of interested people hoping to own greyhounds, the adoption process can be difficult with rehabilitation being a fundamental part of transitioning the race dog into a stay at home pet.

Mr Flann told the newspaper that greyhounds are basically 70km/h couch potatoes enjoying the likes of lounging around in the sun and needing minimal exercise.

Shocking footage revealed the terrifying practices seen when training a greyhound including using live possums as bait (pictured)

They dont deserve the lives they are brought into, they dont deserve to be treated like they are, he added.

Saturday July 16 will mark one of the biggest greyhound adoption days that an organisation known as Greyhound As Pets has organised.

It will be hosted at Wentworth Park in Glebe, in Sydneys inner city and has over 900 people interested.

A post to the Facebook event read: Anyone interested in potentially adopting a greyhound as a pet or who simply wants to find out more about the greyhound breed is encouraged to get down to the adoption day between 10am and 2pm.

Greyhound Rescue, which has over 15,000 followers on Facebook, have helped thousands of greyhounds rescued from pounds, trainers and breeders find homes over the past decade and will continue to do so

There will be at least 20 greyhounds available for adoption on the day as well as plenty of information available to help people find out whether greyhounds are the perfect pet for them.

The $350 million industry in NSW is reeling after the decision to put an end to greyhound racing by 1 July, 2017.

On Friday Australian Veterinary Association vice-president, Dr David Neck, told Daily Mail Australia that he fears the move could lead to a mass kill of greyhounds.

It (the plan) is counter-intuitive - they are shutting down the industry to stop the euthanasing of dogs but that shutdown could result in a greater number of euthanasia of greyhounds, he said.

The RSPCA are working with Mike Baird to re-home as many dogs as possible with their strong preference to keep dogs with their current owners rather than be euthanised

Mr Baird has warned that experts have advised that it may not be possible to re-house all the racing greyhounds (stock) and many may be put down

His concerns were echoed by the CEO of the Greyhound Breeders Owners and Trainers Association, Brenton Scott.

'They (the government) are certainly creating an animal welfare issue of their own and I would prefer to see that avoided.'

Greyhounds Racing Victoria says it will continue to work on its credibility, animal welfare and stamping out 'the ratbags' but also emphasised that there would be no ban.

Greyhounds WA chief David Hobbs told the ABC that the entire industry should not be sullied as a result of the New South Wales decision.

'Wrongly, Western Australia has, to a degree, been tarnished with a very broad brush with what's happened on the east coast,' Mr Hobbs said to the ABC.
A suburban St. Louis police officer who was shot and critically injured during a traffic stop has been identified as a nine-year law enforcement veteran known for his sense of humor and professionalism.

The officer, Mike Flamion, joined the force in 2014, following seven years as an officer in De Soto, Missouri, said the Ballwin Police Department on Saturday. He had been with the Ballwin department for two years, according to Fox 2 News.

The incident happened in the 300 block of New Ballwin Road.

Flamion was shot three times from behind on Friday around 11am while walking back to his patrol car after stopping suspect Antonio Taylor, 31, during a routine traffic stop.

The officer is hospitalized in critical but stable condition and is 'fighting for his life' said authorities.

Flamion is commended by his colleagues for his sense of humor and professionalism

Suspect Antonio Taylor, 31, is charged with assault of a police officer, armed criminal action, and a felon in possession of a firearm

'Officer Flamion is highly regarded by everyone in the department. His sense of humor and professional demeanor make him a centerpiece of our department,' the agency said in a post on its official Facebook page.

The department said it was overwhelmed by the 'amazing amount of support and compassion' the community has shown Flamion, his family and Ballwin police.

Ballwin's police chief has declined to speculate about a motive behind Flamion's attack, or whether the shooting had racial overtones.

Flamion is white, and Taylor is black, and the shooting came a day after five Dallas police officers were killed and seven injured during a protest over the recent fatal police shootings of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota.

Taylor, who was arrested shortly after fleeing the scene, was jailed on $500,000 cash bond. He is facing charges that include assault of a police officer.

St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch said Friday that there was no evidence of any dispute between Taylor and the officer before the gunfire.

The officer was shot while walking to his car to check the suspect's driving status, after an initial conversation with Taylor, who was stopped for speeding.

The driver 'advanced quickly' on the officer from behind, firing at least three shots, Ballwin Police Chief Kevin Scott said Friday.

The officer 'had no chance at all' to pull his handgun and 'was completely helpless,' Scott said, noting the encounter was recorded by the police car's dashcam.

'Make no mistake, we believe that Ballwin officer was ambushed,' St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar said in a press conference on Saturday.

St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar, left, and Ballwin Police Chief Kevin Scott speaks during a news conference on Friday about the 'ambush' of P.O. Mike Flamion who stopped the car of career criminal Antonio Taylor; (right) Scott gets emotional and has to take a moment to pause during the conference

Police secure the scene and the suspect's vehicle in Ballwin - cops say he abandoned the car and then ran on foot and was apprehended in nearby Manchester

Police surround the patrol car where Officer Mike Flamion was shot three times in the back in Ballwin

'It was clearly an ambush, an attack,' St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch agreed. 'There was no confrontation, no argument, no nothing,' he said.

A neighbor who heard what she originally thought were fireworks rushed out of her house to help the wounded officer, and placed a towel on his bleeding neck, according to the St. Louis Dispatch.

'I tried to help the officer,' she told the outlet. 'I just hope hes OK.' She added that she had no medical training, saying, 'I'm just a mom.'

A friend called 911 and then another neighbor, who happened to be a nurse, showed up and performed CPR.

Police swarm the area near where Ballwin P.O. Mike Flamion was shot and critically wounded on Friday

Flamion was transported to Mercy Hospital St. Louis, in Creve Coeur.

The suspect had a lengthy criminal history and was on probation for a weapons violation in St. Louis.

He also had been on probation for a stolen vehicle in Oklahoma, and was picked up on a gun charge in California, drawing a prison term for being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was paroled in March 2015.

After he fled the scene, he was eventually arrested after being tracked to nearby Manchester. The blue Ford Taurus with an Illinois temporary license plate that he is believed to have been driving was found abandoned after he knocked over a mailbox.

Taylor was captured after being chased down by officers on foot. A 22. caliber handgun was later found, according to the New York Daily News. The officer is believed to have been shot with a gun of the same caliber.

The department has started a GoFundMe for Flamion and his family.
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Protests over the police shootings of two black men have raged on for a fifth night, with officers on edge after warnings spread of a planned cop-killing 'purge'.

Angry demonstrations continued in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where street seller Alton Sterling was pinned down and shot by two white police officers on Tuesday morning.

Marches and vigils have taken place every night since then and continued earlier on Saturday, with furious protesters confronting - and being arrested - by armed police.

The heated confrontation saw lines of police officers come face-to-face with huge crowds of demonstrators, with protest leaders stepping in between the two packs to appeal for calm in scenes that harked back to the civil rights movement.

Officers were on high alert after the FBI noticed social media posts warning of a 'Baton Rouge Purge' throughout Saturday night. According to the rumors, there was just one rule to the violence: 'Kill every police.'

Fireworks and rocks were thrown at police in St Paul, Minnesota - where Philando Castile was killed by police - as protests turned violent there. Three cops were injured.

There were more protests across the country, with demonstrations against police brutality in New York, San Francisco, Denver, Florida, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City and Rhode Island.

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Protests over the police shootings of two black men have raged on for a fifth night, with officers on edge after warnings spread of a planned cop-killing 'purge'. Pictured, protesters in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

The heated confrontation saw lines of police officers come face-to-face with huge crowds of demonstrators, with protest leaders stepping in between the two packs to appeal for calm in scenes that harked back to the civil rights movement

A man protesting the shooting death of Alton Sterling is detained by law enforcement near the headquarters of the Baton Rouge Police Department Louisiana

Marches and vigils have taken place every night since Sterling's death and continued earlier on Saturday, with furious protesters confronting - and being arrested - by armed police in Baton Rouge

Angry demonstrations continued in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where street seller Alton Sterling was pinned down and shot by two white police officers on Tuesday morning

Officers were on high alert after social media posts warned of a 'Baton Rouge Purge' throughout Saturday night. According to the rumors, there was just one rule to the violence: 'Kill every police'

In Baton Rouge, hundreds turned out near Baton Rouge's police headquarters to demand justice.

Armed officers wearing riot gear blocked the road and arrested a number of protesters who walked towards the line of cops. The protest was tense as police cleared the road so traffic could pass through.

A police spokesman said two firearms were confiscated and several arrests made.

Officers later went back inside their headquarters and traffic reopened.

Baton Rouge resident Marie Flowers came to the protest in with her three children. She said people in the north Baton Rouge neighborhood where the shooting happened are frustrated.

Protesters waved homemade signs while drivers honked their support and some stopped by with bottles of water.

Fury has gripped much of the town's population since videos emerged appearing to show police officers Howie Lake and Blane Salamoni tackling Sterling to the ground, pinning him down and firing six shots at him.

The 37-year-old father-of-five did not appear to reach for his gun, which was in his pocket.

In Baton Rouge, hundreds turned out near Baton Rouge's police headquarters to demand justice. Two officers grab a woman's camera at the protest

Armed officers wearing riot gear blocked the road and arrested a number of protesters who walked towards the line of cops

The protest was tense as police cleared the road so traffic could pass through. Protesters were allowed to cross back over the road after it was emptied

Tense: A police spokesman said two firearms were confiscated and several arrests made during the heated confrontations

Anger: Protesters waved homemade signs while drivers honked their support and some stopped by with bottles of water

Protests also continued in St Paul, Minnesota, where Castile was killed on Wednesday, with demonstrators blocking a highway

Hundreds of protesters blocked a freeway and at least one person was injured after fireworks and rocks were thrown at police

DALLAS POLICE HQ FALSE ALARM There was panic at Dallas Police headquarters on Saturday evening following reports of a masked man in the building's garage, however it appears to have been a false alarm. A man wearing a black mask was reportedly spotted in a parking garage at the rear of the building after police received an anonymous threat to kill cops. SWAT teams combed the area and broke down fences and doors in their search for a suspect, but nothing was found. A source said a gang from Houston had threatened to attack cops in Dallas. Advertisement

Tensions boiled over across America again after Philando Castile's death at the hands of a police officer in St Paul, Minnesota, was live streamed by his girlfriend.

A protest against the two deaths in Dallas was suddenly transformed from a peaceful march into a bloody massacre, when Army veteran Micah Xavier Johnson opened fire on police officers, killing five and injuring seven more, as well as two members of the public.

Sterling's cousin Tanya Sterling reacted in horror at the slayings of police officers in Dallas, who were protecting protesters marching against her loved one's death.

Nobody in our family would condone any killings,' she said.

We feel for those police officers and their families too because now they know what we are all going through and it aint a good place.

We have heard about it here and we cannot believe it is getting out of hand like this.

All of our time since Alton got shot dead has been spent praying and protesting peacefully. We have never wanted any trouble.

Protests also continued in St Paul, Minnesota, where Castile was killed on Wednesday.

Hundreds of protesters blocked a freeway and at least one person was injured after fireworks and rocks were thrown at police.

Sterling (left) was killed following a confrontation outside a Baton Rouge convenience store early Tuesday morning. Castile (right), 32, was shot dead by a cop during a traffic stop in Minnesota

On guard: A police officer is seen near the headquarters of the Baton Rouge Police Department during the angry protests on Saturday

Unity: Protesters gave a black power salute as they joined in the protests on Baton Rouge on what was the fifth day of demonstrations

Fury has gripped much of the town's population since videos emerged appearing to show police officers Howie Lake and Blane Salamoni tackling Sterling to the ground, pinning him down and firing six shots at him

A protester yells at police in front of the Baton Rouge Police Department headquarters after police arrived in riot gear to clear protesters

A protester watches as police in riot gear clear the street of protesters in front of the Baton Rouge Police Department headquarters

Stand-off: Protesters legally carrying guns were seen chanting and using megaphones to rally each other as the protests continued

'We want justice': The protests are showing no sign of dying down and are expected to continue across the United States for days

In New York, hundreds of protesters marched on Union Square, chanting 'black lives matter' and 'no justice, no peace'.

The protesters kept to the sidewalk at first, but then took to the roads, leading to some arrests for public disorder.

In San Francisco, Bay Bridge was shut off as hundreds of demonstrators tried to march on to the freeway. There were similar protests in Fresno.

A sit-in in protest at the killings continued in Denver, while in Florida Black Lives Matter marches in West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale went ahead peacefully. Another protest is expected in Miami on Saturday night.

Several hundred people broke off from Pittsburgh's 200th anniversary parade to protest recent police shootings across the country, some of whom were affiliated with Black Lives Matter.

In Philadelphia, a group of about 100 protesters marched to two police precincts in the northern part of the city on Saturday.

More than 150 people gathered in downtown Newport, Rhode Island, in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has formally claimed victory a week after the July 2 federal election, one of the longest in Australian history.

Earlier on Sunday, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten phoned Mr Turnbull to concede defeat and congratulate him.

The Prime Minister said he took the call with his granddaughter Isla on his lap, and thanked his family and the families of all candidates in the election for their support.

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Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has formally claimed victory a week after the July 2 federal election, one of the longest in Australian history

'We have resolved this election,' he told reporters in Sydney.

Mr Turnbull acknowledged the MPs who had lost their seats, saying it was a tough time, and welcomed new members of parliament.

'It will be a new parliament and I believe a very exciting and constructive one,' he said.

He noted that Mr Shorten hoped to reach common ground with the government.

'I welcome that remark ... because it is vital that this parliament works,' he said.

'We need to ensure we have a strong economy in the years ahead, we need to ensure all the vital government services are provided for and we have to ensure we bring the budget back into balance.

'These challenges are not easy, there's no simple solutions to them.'

Earlier on Sunday, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten phoned Mr Turnbull (pictured) to concede defeat and congratulate him

Mr Turnbull acknowledged the MPs who had lost their seats, saying it was a tough time, and welcomed new members of parliament

Mr Turnbull said: 'We need to ensure we have a strong economy in the years ahead, we need to ensure all the vital government services are provided for and we have to ensure we bring the budget back into balance'

Mr Turnbull also acknowledged the constructive discussions he had with members of the crossbench and said he was committed to working with them and ensuring they have access to all the information and resources they need.

Mr Turnbull said he had an 'unrelenting determination' to ensure he delivered a good government.

Opposition leader Bill Shorten held a press conference in Melbourne to acknowledge Labor had lost.

Somberly taking to a podium at Treasury Place, Mr Shorten said: 'Today is about Labor recognising that we can't form a government.

'It is clear that Mr Turnbull and his coalition will form a government.'

Bill Shorten conceded the federal election on Sunday (above) at a press conference in Melbourne

After one week of counting, the coalition has 74 seats in the 150-seat House of Representatives and Labor 66 seats with five seats still too close to call.

On Sunday it was due to win four out of the five undeclared seats prompting Mr Shorten's statement.

He said he was committed to working with the Coalition to 'find common ground' in the next parliament and thanked voters, volunteers and his family for their support throughout the marathon campaign.

'It has been the longest election in 50 years and indeed it seems the last eight days have been very long.

'I understand we need to make this parliament function and we will be up for it. I want to once again thank my family who have been marvellous and supportive.

'And I also want to thank the tens of thousands of volunteers who have worked so hard on the Labor campaign.

'I am proud that Labor is back and that Labor is united. That Labor has found its voice in this election.'

Mr Shorten said he had already phoned the Prime Minister to congratulate him when he spoke.He also called for change in the vote counting system, noting the eight day delay in a result.

'We've seen the counting go on and on and on. It shouldn't be taking eight days to find out who has won and who has lost.

Mr Shorten thanked his family, volunteers and Labor voters on Sunday as he conceded defeat

The Opposition leader said he had congratulated Malcolm Turnbull and looked forward to finding 'common ground' in the next parliament

Mr Shorten called for reform in the vote counting system which has taken eight days to reveal an outcome

'It's the 21st century, we are a leading democracy - we should be able to find out who has won and lost in a quicker time.'

Mr Shorten said he was committed to working with the Prime Minister and that Labor would remain true to the values it campaigned on.

'The Labor party will stick true to its core values. The lesson for me is to never give up and to trust the Australian people.

'We didn't win enough seats and I recognise that but I want to reassure people who voted for us that we will stick to our guns.'

The Prime Minister has however remained confident his party would be able to form a majority despite initial fears Australia was facing a hung parliament.

Five seats remain undeclared. They are Flynn, Cowan, Herbert, Hindmarsh and Capricornia. The Coalition is leading in four.

Mr Turnbull (pictured on Friday) said he has an 'unrelenting determination' to ensure he delivers a good government

The Prime Minister noted that Mr Shorten hoped to reach common ground with the government, saying he welcomed the remark '... because it is vital that this parliament works'

On Friday Mr Shorten said he thought the Prime Minister would 'scrape over the line' to form a majority but said his new parliament would be short lived.

'After the longest campaign in 50 years, this could well be one of the shortest parliaments in 50 years.

'The combination of a prime minister with no authority, a government with no direction and a Liberal party at war with itself will see Australians back at the polls within the year,' he said.

Mr Turnbull said he would not be claiming victory until the result of the election was clear unlike Christopher Pyne who celebrated the Coalition's apparent triumph last week.

He boldly told Channel Nine News on Friday: 'We have won again. That's our sixth victory out of eight in the last 20 years,' he said.

'You'd have to say we are an election-winning machine in the Liberal Party.'

On Sunday morning Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce called for the Labor leader to admit defeat.

'Let's have Bill Shorten come out and say he has lost the election. He can do that today.'
'A Killing in Amish Country: Sex, Betrayal and a Cold-blooded Murder' details sex-crazed Eli Weaver, an Amish man who

A new book reveals the chilling details behind the murder of an Amish woman by her sex-crazed husband's mistress after the two plotted her death.

'A Killing in Amish Country: Sex, Betrayal and a Cold-blooded Murder' details Eli Weaver, now 36, who called himself 'Amish Stud' on a virtual gaming site.

His profile read: 'Who wants 2 do an Amish guy!' But in 2009, things turned deadly for the Apple Creek, Ohio, man.

One of Weaver's lovers, who is ten years older than him, entered his home and shot his wife.

Amish-born Eli Weaver (pictured) was convicted of complicity to commit murder and is serving 15 years to life for the murder of his wife

Weaver had an alibi, saying he was out fishing with friends. Neighbors pointed to Amish-raised Barb Raber.

Weaver was married to Barbara Weaver and during the ten-year marriage he had left her, their five children and the Amish lifestyle twice, only to return and be forgiven.

Raber was also married with three children and began having the illicit affair with Weaver in his barn.

While this went on, Barbara Weaver began showing signs she was being abused by her husband.

'Where did my friend, love, trustworthy husband go to? He hates me to the core,' she wrote to a marriage counselor.

Weaver refused to give his wife the funds to care for their children or to make a good showing at church when it was her turn to bake pies, which embarrassed her in front of the community.

Weaver was married to Barbara Weaver and during the ten-year marriage had left her, their five children and the Amish lifestyle twice, only to return and be forgiven. Pictured here is a selfie Weaver posted on a dating site

Their children watched as their father became physical with their mother.

One person in the community said if Barbara were to report the abuse, she would be blamed for causing her husband's temper.

'A Killing in Amish Country: Sex, Betrayal and a Cold-blooded Murder' details sex-crazed Eli Weaver's illicit romps

And Weaver couldn't leave his wife.The community would embrace Weaver should his wife die, but would shun him should he try and divorce her.

Investigators say Weaver began asking people to kill his wife in 2009.

Raber and Weaver began exploring options together and suggested blowing up the home, shooting the woman dead or poisoning her.

Investigators discovered 840 internet searches that were poison related.

'I thought if we could get that fly [poison] stuff in a spice cupcake she might not detect it,' Raber texted Weaver.

'Maybe you could blow up the house?' Weaver texted Raber.

'What about your kids?'

'The kids will go to heaven because they're innocent,' he replied.

On July 10, 2009, Raber said she took her husband's gun and didn't remember loading it.

She said she planned to scare Barbara.

Raber snuck into the Weavers' bedroom and aimed the gun at Barbara.

'I never intended for anything to happen, but when it did it was, like, "Oh cr**",' Raber later said.

She shot Barbara dead, but later said she had no memory of the incident.

Raber's lawyer said Weaver shot his wife early that morning before he went fishing.

Weaver's lover, Barb Raber (pictured), eventually snuck into the couple's home and shot Barbara dead after colluding with Weaver to kill his wife

The murder weapon was never found and Raber's prints were not in the bedroom, yet she was found guilty of aggravated murder and is serving 23 years to life.

Weaver took a plea deal and was convicted of complicity to commit murder and is serving 15 years to life.
Koby Abberton was brought up by a heroin-addicted mother, has been involved in an infamous gang, reached the peak of the surfing world and perverted the course of justice when his brother faced a murder charge.

But now the Maroubra-born former Bra Boys leader has a fresh outlook, a new job, a young child, a fiancee and a new-found respect for Islam after his brother, Jai, converted.

But it was first surfing, introduced to him by older brother Sunny, that saved him from jail and death, and later a new love that changed his life again, he told News.com.au.

'I owe everything to surfing but then when they charged my brother [Jai with murdering standover man Tony Hines] they froze all I had and I lost everything,' Abberton said.

Koby Abberton poses for a portrait at Maroubra beach in Sydney's eastern suburbs in 2014

Abberton competes during the Red Bull Cape Fear surfing event at Cape Solander in June 2016

Hines' body was found below a cliff in Maroubra in 2003 and Jai admitted he had shot him in self-defence because Hines had attempted to rape a woman.

Abberton was eventually given a nine-month suspended sentence for attempting to pervert the course of justice and Jai was acquitted of murder.

After that, life took a number of turns for Abberton, who had been one of the leaders of the Bra Boys, a now 300-strong gang based in Maroubra in Sydney previously linked to violence and drugs.

Members have a large tattoo over their chests and shoulders which reads: 'My Brother's Keeper'.

In 2006, Abberton declared bankruptcy, according to News.com.au.

Russell Crowe made a documentary about the Abberton brothers and the Bra Boys in 2007.

He taught Paris Hilton how to surf and dated Australian model Tahyna Tozzi.

In 2008, he was in arrested for three days in Honolulu for assaulting an office.

Abberton in the final of the Cape Fear event held at Cape Solander, Kamay Botany Bay National Park

Abberton in Bali, Indonesia before heading out for a surf at Keramas Beach in 2006

Professional surfers Sunny Abberton and Koby Abberton attend a press conference for the 'Bra Boys' movie

Abberton and Ukrainian model, psychologist and accountant Olya Nechiporenko, to whom he is engaged

Ms Nechiporenko is the mother to Abberton's one-year-old son, Makua

The family plan to move to Bali, from which Abberton will commute to Western Australia to work as a miner

Later he moved to Bali and became friends with drug smugglers Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran before they were executed last year, News.com.au reported.

There, he met Olya Nechiporenko, a Ukrainian model, psychologist and accountant who is now engaged to him - and the mother to their one-year-old son Makua.

'Its the best thing that ever happened to me. It was love at first sight, but also I credit all the love and compassion I have now to her,' he said.

He also revealed his older brother, Jai, converted to Islam and says is a 'beautiful and peaceful religion'.

Abberton also took aim at One Nation leader Pauline Hanson, who has been elected to the senate in Queensland, calling her a 'loser' who promoted politics on fear.

He's now heading to Western Australia to work as a miner to support his family who will be based in Bali.

But as well as that, he's helping a friend who has set up a suicide prevention network and wants to help stop online bullying.

Abberton and Ms Nechiporenko announced their engagement on social media in March last year

Abberton said meeting Ms Nechiporenko in Bali, Indonesia was 'love at first sight'

Abberton said Ms Nechiporenko is 'the best thing that ever happened to me'
The family of the renowned war correspondent Marie Colvin have launched legal action against the Syrian government charging it with arranging her death in 2012.

The award-winning American journalist was killed in a rocket attack just hours after telling the world how Bashar al-Assad's army was 'simply shelling a city of cold, starving civilians'.

According to a lawsuit filed in Washington, figures at the 'highest level' of Assad's government were part of a conspiracy to attack a makeshift media center used at the time by reporters in the besieged city of Homs.

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Award-winning American journalist Marie Colvin was killed in the besieged Syrian city of Homs in 2012

The papers link the dictator's brother to the plan, which was designed to 'surveil, target, and ultimately kill civilian journalists in order to silence local and international media as part of its effort to crush political opposition'.

In February 2012, Ms Colvin, 56, traveled to the Baba Amr neighbourhood of Homs with British photographer Paul Conroy and Syrian translator Wael al-Omar on an assignment for British newspaper The Sunday Times.

There they met activists, civilian journalists and bloggers reporting on the atrocities that were being carried out by government forces on a daily basis.

Their use of social media to share videos and stories earned the Syrian uprising the 'Youtube Revolution', and a secret nerve center for the group was set up on the ground floor of a three-story house.

The papers state: 'Throughout February 2012, the Assad regime received tips from intelligence sources in Lebanon that Ms Colvin and other foreign journalists were traveling to Syria through Lebanon and reporting from the Baba Amr Media Centre.

'Acting on these tips, senior members of the Assad regime formed a plan to intercept the journalists' communications, track their movement to locate the media center, and kill the journalists with artillery fire.'

On February 21, Ms Colvin made audio broadcasts via satellite dish to CNN, BBC News, and Channel 4 from the media center, telling audiences around the world: 'The Syrian Army is simply shelling a city of cold, starving civilians.'

According to the lawsuit, Syrian intelligence forces intercepted the broadcast signals and traced it to a location inside Baba Amr.

A regime spy tipped off the leadership of the Homs Military-Security Committee that foreign journalists were at the center and led them to its location.

When salvos of rockets and mortar fire were unleashed on the house the following morning the activists and journalists attempted to flee with their lives.

A candle burns in front of a memorial plaque to US-born journalist Marie Colvin and French photographer Remi Ochlik, at St Brides Church on Fleet Street, London

Ms Colvin and French photographer Remi Ochlik were killed when a rocket slammed into the ground by the front door, sending shrapnel and splinters tearing through the house that severely injured Mr Conroy and Mr Omar.

According to the legal papers, the plot to kill the journalists was drawn up by the Central Crisis Management Cell, a war cabinet set up by Assad.

The group included his brother, Maher Al-Assad, who commanded the elite 4th armored division of the Syrian army.

The night before the attack, the tip and plan of action was shared with his office, according to the papers.

The law suit is being brought by her sister, Cathleen Colvin, and her niece, Justine Araya-Colvin.

They claim that, as well as their personal loss, her assassination was 'designed to intimidate and terrorize the civilian population of Syria, the victims' loved ones, other journalists, and the international community'.
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A photographer has captured these powerful images of a Dallas policeman who protected him for hours on Thursday night while gunman Micah Xavier Johnson sniped at cops from a parking garage just feet away.

Robert Moore said he was attending the Dallas protest over the killings of African Americans by police, which was taking place near his downtown apartment, when gunshots began ringing out.

Moore, 61, told the Huffington Post that he watched in horror as one officer got hit and dropped to the ground before 'the gunfire really opened up.'

He dived behind a car to get away from the flying bullets, and was kept in place by three officers crouched alongside him who covered him for hours while their colleagues cornered Johnson and eventually killed him using explosives strapped to a robot.

Speaking about the officer in his photos, Moore said: 'That guy was calm, controlled, very professional. To be in the presence of someone with such command lends an air of assuredness to the people around that things are going to be OK.'

After two hours a break in the shooting came and the officer stood up, creating a human shield for Moore to hide behind, before they 'hastily' made their way back to the main police line.

In total five officers were killed in the attack, while another seven were wounded but survived. Two civilians were also caught up in the crossfire and wounded, but escaped with their lives.

Robert Moore took these pictures of a Dallas cop who shielded him from gunfire for two hours on Thursday night as gunman Micah Xavier Johnson sniped off police officers from a garage just feet away

Moore said he was photographing the protest against the killing of African Americans by police just feet from his apartment when shots started ringing out and police forced him down behind the car

The police sheltered behind the car with Moore for two hours until there was a break in the shooting, at which point the officer pictured stood up, created a human shield for him, and walked him back to the main police line
A white Kansas cop who threatened a random black woman's young daughter over Facebook amidst racial tensions between police and civilians has been fired.

Rodney Lee Wilson, who had been an officer with Overland Park Police Department for more than a year, lashed out at LaNaydra Williams online, despite no obvious connection between the two.

Having found pictures of Williams' five-year-old daughter India visible on her Facebook profile, Lee launched an astonishing rant in which he appeared to threaten the girl's life.

Rodney Lee Wilson, an officer with the Overland Park Police Department in Kansas, has been fired after threatening a random woman's daughter on Facebook

Wilson, who had been an officer with Overland Park Police Department for more than a year, lashed out at LaNaydra Williams, pictured above with her daughter India, despite no obvious connection between the two

Wilson posted this message on Williams Facebook page. She was initially told by police that his account had been hacked

Referencing the Black Lives Matter movement, Lee wrote: 'We'll see how much her life matters soon... better be careful leaving your info in the open where she can be found.

'Hold her close tonight, it'll be the last time.'

Williams said she could not sleep following the sinister post, which comes after Alton Sterling and Philandro Castile were shot dead by cops, and the shooting of five officers in Dallas on Thursday.

She told WDAF: 'It's not okay. Not my child, she's all I have. India is my heart, that's not right. We're already on edge, so why would you do that?'

Williams added that she has never been to Overland Park, has no connection to Kansas, and has no idea how Wilson found her Facebook page.

She also claims that after contacting Williams' superiors she was initially told that his account had been hacked, despite the post being deleted.

However, the police later backtracked, confessed that Wilson had been behind the message, and dismissed him from duty.

Williams said she has no idea who Wilson is, has no connection to Kansas, and has now idea how her found her Facebook profile. Williams is pictured left, and Wilson is seen right

The full thread: Wilson messaged LaNaydra Williams out of the blue on Friday, seeming to threaten daughter's life after Alton Sterling and Philandro Castile were shot dead by police this week

Speaking to KSHB.com she added: 'I felt horrified because I don't know these people. And then when I click on they guy's, Rodney Lee's, picture I see he's a cop.

'For this guy to just come out of nowhere, just being disrespectful. How can you be an officer? How, How? It's unacceptable. For anyone but especially for a police officer.

'Cops like this don't value our lives and have the audacity to publicly comment on my child's picture.'

A statement from the department said: 'This morning, the Overland Park Police Department received notification about a Facebook post, reportedly made by one of our officers from his personal Facebook account.

'During the investigation, by our Professional Standards Unit, we learned our officer did in fact make this post. It was obvious that our officer did not meet the standards of professionalism for the Overland Park Police Department. Overland Park has terminated the officer, effective immediately.'

Police Chief Francis Donchez Jr added: 'This quick action demonstrates our commitment to our core values including integrity and respect.

'I want to assure our community, and those outside our community, that our highest priority is the safety and welfare of the citizens of Overland Park, and the men and women who protect everyone.

Williams said she did not sleep on the night after the message was sent for fear that Wilson would travel to her house and carry out his threat - and is still in fear now he has been fired over the message

'I will continue to hold the employees of the Overland Park Police Department accountable for its actions on and off-duty.

'Finally, I want to publicly apologize to those affected by our officers personal actions. His actions do not represent the Overland Park Police Department in anyway and no one should be subjected to any type of discrimination or this kind of behavior.'

While Williams said she welcomes the actions of the police department, she is still afraid that Wilson will come and find her in order to enact revenge.
Identity crime costs government and industry more than $1.6 bn each year

Vodafone asks for account details and a PIN, then uses a set of questions

Telstra, at a minimum, verifies using name, date of birth and home address

Information security experts say large organisations are struggling to keep a balance between solid security and seamless customer experience.

Telecommunications company identity checks are being questioned as mail theft and identity fraud is reported as being on the rise, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Organised crime syndicates are said to be taking advantage of Sydney's property boom and targeting the clusters of letter boxes.

Information security experts say large organisations are struggling to keep a balance between solid security and seamless customer experience

A Telstra spokesperson told the Sydney Morning Herald that at a minimum, it verified a customer's identity using their full name, date of birth and home address.

They said they considered their identification process as 'adequate' and it was very similar to many used by other businesses across a variety of industries.

The spokesperson also the identification process was constantly under review.

Telecommunications company identity checks are being questioned as mail theft and identity fraud is reported as being on the rise

In one case reported to the Sydney Morning Herald, an Australian woman had her identity stolen while on holiday in the US, after a person used her personal details to call Telstra, pass the ID checks and gain access to her account, where they then changed her email password.

According to the Attorney-General's department, identity crime costs governments, private industry and individuals more than $1.6 billion each year.

Intelligent Business Research Services advisor James Turner said security teams at companies were strengthening ID verification but also had to balance this with customer service.

In one case reported to the Sydney Morning Herald, an Australian woman had her identity stolen while on holiday in the US, after a person used her personal details to call Telstra, pass the ID checks and gain access to her account, where they then changed her email password

David Lacey, founder of identity fraud helpline IDCARE, said the number of calls to the hotline has been doubling every three months.

He said a criminal begins abusing a person's identity within 48 hours of it being stolen.

Optus verifies identity using security questions, including personal details and account information.

Customers can also add a PIN to their account for extra security.

If Vodafone customers can't provide account details and a PIN, they have to answer a set of questions.
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A second sex attack has been reported to have taken place at the running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain.

The victim - a 22-year-old French woman - has told police she was attacked around midnight last night while using toilets in a car park in the Plaza del Castillo.

No arrests have been made but a full investigation has been launched.

The alleged assault comes after five men were taken into custody accused of raping a teenager on the first day of the San Fermin bull-running.

A second sex attack has been reported to have taken place at the running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain. The victim - a 22-year-old French woman - has told police she was attacked around midnight last night while using toilets in a car park in the Plaza del Castillo

No arrests have been made but a full investigation has been launched. The alleged assault comes after five men were taken into custody accused of raping a teenager on the first day of the San Fermin bull-running

Pamplona Council is aware of the sexual assault allegations and has launched a warning campaign. Extra police have been drafted in and CCTV cameras installed. Officers will be patrolling isolated areas such as around the famous walls, parks and river banks

There are also reports that an Australian woman was ordered to take of her clothes by a group of men at the fiesta who then 'fondled' her.

Pamplona Council is aware of the sexual assault allegations and has launched a warning campaign.

Extra police have been drafted in and CCTV cameras installed. Officers will be patrolling isolated areas such as around the famous walls, parks and river banks.

The latest attacks came as two more Spanish men were left in serious condition after being gored during the fourth day of the running of the bulls.

The pair, aged 29 and 34 and from the south-eastern town of Valencia, were injured in an alleyway leading to the bullring. No further details were revealed.

Three others sustained head injuries, one of whom remains under observation in hospital. The two others are in a stable condition.

More than 1,000 participants packed the narrow cobblestoned streets of Pamplona's old town for today's run. The bulls completed the 930-yard (850-metre) run in two-and-a-half minutes.

Slips and falls, however, were constant by bulls and runners, and some participants were stampeded by the 1,300-pound (590-kilogram) animals on the way to the bullring.

The latest attacks came as two more Spanish men were left in serious condition after being gored during the fourth day of the running of the bulls. The two men, aged 29 and 34 and from the south-eastern town of Valencia, were injured in an alleyway leading to the bullring. No further details were revealed

Revelers run beside Pedraza de Yeltes's fighting bulls as they go on the way of the Estafeta street during the fourth running of the bulls at the San Fermin Festival, in Pamplona

More than 1,000 participants packed the narrow cobblestoned streets of Pamplona's old town for today's run. The bulls completed the 930-yard (850-metre) run in two-and-a-half minutes

Slips and falls, however, were constant by bulls and runners, and some participants were stampeded by the 1,300-pound (590-kilogram) animals on the way to the bullring. Initial medical reports confirmed the three head injuries but stated that there had been no gorings

Initial medical reports confirmed the three head injuries but stated that there had been no gorings.

Some participants wore black armbands in honour of 29-year-old matador Victor Barrio, who was fatally gored Saturday during a bullfight in eastern Spain.

Bull runs are a traditional part of summer festivals across Spain. The nine-day San Fermin fiesta became world famous with Ernest Hemingway's 1926 novel 'The Sun Also Rises' and attracts thousands of foreign tourists.

Ten people, including four Americans, were gored in the San Fermin festival last year. In all, 15 people have died from gorings in the festival since record-keeping began in 1924.

Some participants wore black armbands in honour of 29-year-old matador Victor Barrio, who was fatally gored Saturday during a bullfight in eastern Spain

Bull runs are a traditional part of summer festivals across Spain. The nine-day San Fermin fiesta became world famous with Ernest Hemingway's 1926 novel 'The Sun Also Rises' and attracts thousands of foreign tourists
The oldest American has died at her Massachusetts home at age 113.

Los Angeles-based Gerontology Research Group senior consultant Robert Young says Goldie Michelson died Friday.

He says she'd been 'very frail and confined to bed' and hadn't been seen in public for a long time.

Michelson was born in Elizabethgrad, Russia, which is now a part of Ukraine, in 1902 and moved to the United States when she was two years old.

The oldest American person, Goldie Michelson (pictured), has died at her Massachusetts home at age 113

Goldie Michelson (right) with her great-granddaughter, Deanna Minsky (left), was one month shy of her 114th birthday. Michelson's family said she was proud of her age

In her lifetime she saw two World Wars, 19 presidents, the invention of microwaves, computers, penicillin and more.

In her lifetime she saw two World Wars, 19 presidents, the invention of microwaves, computers, penicillin and more

'She would say, "It's not what I've seen, it's what I haven't seen: Man's inhumanity to man, why hasn't that changed?"' her granddaughter Marilyn Melton told the Boston Globe.

On her 110th birthday she revealed she never intended to live as long as she did.

Often she was asked what the secret to her longevity was and she replied: walking and chocolate.

'I was a great walker  four or five miles every morning, weather permitting.

'I never used a car if I could walk. One of the great joys of life was when I sold my car,' she said.

She said in 2012 that she 'never smoked or drank', but she loved chocolate and ate lots of it.

In her youth she worked in Worcester, Massachusetts, about 50 miles west of Boston, as a social worker.

She taught religious education and directed plays at local synagogues.

Her relatives said she had a love of the theater, which only rivaled the love of her family.

She said she'd often travel into New York City with her husband David Michelson to catch as many shows as they could over the weekend.

'Wed get a couple of modest tickets and see a matinee Saturday, another play Saturday night, and on Sunday morning wed come home,' she said.

When she died she was a month short of her 114th birthday. She lived 113 years and 335 days, and her family said she was proud of her age.

Michelson will be buried on Sunday in her home town.

The new oldest American is New Jersey resident Adele Dunlap, who's also 113.

Britain's oldest person Gladys Hooper died on Saturday - one day after Michelson - at the age of 113, too.
Hundreds of police officers lined roads and bridges to salute as the body of one of the cops killed in the Dallas massacre was driven back to his hometown ahead of his funeral.

Brent Thompson, 43, was one of the five police officers slain by 25-year-old Army veteran Micah Johnson as he rampaged through the city on Thursday night.

Grandfather and father to seven children, Thompson married a fellow Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) officer, Emily, just two weeks before he was killed.

A huge motorcade containing dozens of police cars and motorbikes escorted the fallen officer's body as it was driven back to Corsicana, Texas, on Saturday.

Hundreds of police officers lined roads and bridges to salute Brent Thompson, one of the cops killed in the Dallas massacre, as his body was driven back to his home town ahead of his funeral

Thompson, 43, was one of the five police officers slain by 25-year-old Army veteran Micah Johnson as he rampaged through the city on Thursday night

Texan and the American flags were waved as the convoy passed by, with the hearse's journey ending at the funeral home where he will be laid to rest.

The officer had three children from a previous marriage and had tied the knot with his knew wife, who was not at the protest.

DART Police Chief James Spiller described Thompson as a 'courageous' and 'great guy'.

The police chief said he last spoke to Thompson on Tuesday as they passed each other in a hallway.

Thompson had three grown children from a previous marriage and recently welcomed his third grandchild, according to Tara Thornton, a close friend of Thompson's 22-year-old daughter, Lizzie.

Thompson and his close-knit family often got together and had classic rock singalongs, with Thornton and his son, Jake, playing guitar, Thornton said.

A motorcade containing dozens of police cars and motorbikes escorted the fallen officer's body as it was driven back to Corsicana, Texas

Texan and the American flags were waved as the convoy passed by, with the hearse's journey ending at the funeral home where he will be laid to rest

Family: Thompson had just married two weeks earlier to a fellow officer and was a grandfather (above)

'He loved being a police officer,' Thornton said. 'He instantly knew that's what he wanted to do. He knew he wanted to save lives and protect people. He had a passion for it.'

Before joining the DART force, Thompson worked from 2004 to 2008 for private military contractor DynCorp International.

According to Thompson's LinkedIn page, he served as an international police liaison officer, helping teach and mentor Iraqi police.

Thompson's last position was as the company's chief of operations for southern Iraq, where he helped train teams covering Baghdad to the southern border with Kuwait.

He also worked in northern Iraq and in Afghanistan, where he was a team leader and lead mentor to a southern provincial police chief.

On Thursday, he became the first DART officer killed in the line of duty since the agency's police force was founded in 1989, according to spokesman Morgan Lyons.

'We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of one of our alumni,' said Mary Lawrence, a spokeswoman for Virginia-based DynCorp. 'Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends in this most difficult time.'

Thompson was one of five police officers killed in Dallas on Thursday.
Senior Tory women have spearheaded a backlash against Andrea Leadsom after her 'vile' suggestion that Theresa May's lack of children could make her a worse Prime Minister.

Allies of the Home Secretary have lined up to criticise the energy minister after she claimed to have a greater 'stake' in Britain's future because she is a mother.

Mrs Leadsom attempted to hit back in the row by insisting she was 'disgusted' with the way that her comments, made in an interview with the Times, had been presented.

Key supporter Iain Duncan Smith today condemned the 'black ops' assault on his favoured candidate.

But opponents accused Mrs Leadsom was either malicious or naive, with either option demonstrating she is not fit to lead the country.

There are reports that up to 20 Tory MPs could choose to quit if Mrs Leadsom wins the contest.

However, Ukip donor Arron Banks has also predicted that the Conservatives could split if its 150,000 activists vote to install Mrs May, who supported Remain in the EU referendum.

Andrea Leadsom, seen making a statement outside her Northamptonshire home yesterday, said she was 'disgusted' that her remarks on motherhoodhad been presented as a jibe at Theresa May, right

Some of the fiercest condemnation of Mrs Leadsom came from business minister Anna Soubry, who urged her to 'do us all a favour including herself' and quit the leadership contest because she was clearly not 'PM material'.

Employment minister Priti Patel, who campaigned for Brexit alongside Mrs Leadsom, said if she won the Tories could find themselves with similar problems to Labour.

'You win elections by having that broad appeal, she said. 'Look at Labour right now, and the narrow appeal they have. We have to represent society as it is today and be a true voice for modern Britain and a positive Britain.'

She went on: 'We have to govern. To govern we have got to be able to carry the support of Members of Parliament. That's incredibly important. I don't need to give a re-run of what's happening with Labour right now.

'We could end up in that situation. And then it becomes very difficult to govern and deliver the programme for Leave.'

Ms Patel added: 'Right now we need an individual with a great deal of experience. She doesn't have that just yet, not yet. She is in government - but Theresa's experience is second to none.'

She added that Mrs May was 'on a par' with former prime minister Mrs Thatcher, the first female occupant of Number 10.

Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said: 'I am childless. I have nieces and nephews. I believe I - like everybody else - have a very real stake in our country.'

Deputy Commons Leader Therese Coffey said: 'I don't think it matters whether somebody has children.'

Sarah Wollaston, chair of the Commons health select committee, said Mrs Leadsom had 'repeatedly shown she lacks judgement'.

Senior backbencher Sir Alan Duncan tweeted: 'I'm gay and in a civil partnership. No children, but 10 nieces and nephews. Do I not have a stake in the future of the country.Vile.'

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond suggested Mrs Leadsom did not have the standing to negotiation the best possible EU exit deal for Britain.

He said most of his international counterparts had 'never heard of Andrea Leadsom'.

Treasury minister David Gauke told The Sunday Telegraph Mrs Leadsom had taken three different positions over one week on the issue of when Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty should be invoked - the formal mechanism for leaving the Brussels club.

Mr Gauke said Mrs Leadsom's comments about Mrs May's childlessness were 'clumsy' rather than malicious.

Employment minister Priti Patel, who campaigned for Brexit alongside Mrs Leadsom, and Remain supporter Anna Soubry have been among the critics of the energy minister's comments

Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson and Deputy Commons Leader Therese Coffey also criticised Mrs Leadsom's remarks about motherhood

Tory MP Sarah Wollaston, chair of the Commons health select committee, joined the criticism of Mrs Leadsom

'But nonetheless it did betray a great deal of inexperience and a lack of tact and crassness that you wouldn't look for from a prime minister,' he said.

Former Tory chairman Eric Pickles also waded in, telling LBC: 'She just doesn't have any experience ... you basically have a novice, who has done their first major interview and they failed.'

However, Mr Duncan Smith said Ms Patel and others would 'come to regret some of the silliest things' they have said.

'We have had a lot of sniping; a real black ops operation to denigrate her reputation,' he told ITV's Peston on Sunday.

LEADSOM FINALLY RELEASES TAX RETURN... BUT ONLY FOR ONE YEAR The Tory leadership contender published a summary of her income and tax for 2014-15 Andrea Leadsom made good on her promise to publish her tax return - but only released details for one year. The Tory leadership contender had refused to disclose the information unless she made the last two of the contest, saying she did not want to set a precedent for rank-and-file MPs. But she has now followed rival Theresa May in revealing that her income in 2014-15 was nearly 85,000. She was due to pay 22,621 of tax on income of 83,930  an overall rate of 27 per cent. The details, calculated by Isis Accountants, shows she earned 76,597, had dividends and tax credits of 2,324 and interest income of 5,009. She paid 6,544 of tax on 32,720 at the 20 per cent basic rate, 755.30 on her dividends at the higher rate of 32.5 per cent, and 15,554.40 at the 40 per cent higher rate. She also received a 232.40 discount in tax credits on her dividend income. Mrs Leadsom brought in 9,270 of capital gains, but did not incur any charges on that money because it fell within HMRCs tax-free limit. The energy minister only released information covering a single year - in contrast to Mrs May whose disclosure covered the last four years. Advertisement

'If she was so bad what in heaven's name would the Prime Minister be doing making her a serious government minister?'

He added: 'If we conduct this leadership election on the basis of smears and innuendos and attacks denigrating each other we will go nowhere.

'All we will do is confirm to the wider British public that we are not fit as a government and a political class.'

Tory MP Nadine Dorries also defended Mrs Leadsom saying: 'Every female politician who is a mum draws on that.'

In a bid to halt the furore, Mrs Leadsom was forced to make a statement yesterday outside her 1.6 million Northamptonshire home. She said: 'In the course of a lengthy interview I was repeatedly asked about my children and repeatedly made it clear I did not want this to be in any way a feature of the campaign.

'I am disgusted at the way this has been presented. I want to be crystal clear that everyone has an equal stake in our society and in the future of our country.'

The Times stood by its report, issuing an audio tape of the key section of the interview, in which Mrs Leadsom says 'I don't want this to be 'Andrea has children, Theresa hasn't' because that would be really horrible'  before going on to make her controversial remarks.

David Cameron, speaking at the Nato conference in Warsaw, refused to comment on the row saying he was 'playing no part' in the Tory leadership contest.

Since emerging as the 'dark horse' in the leadership race, Mrs Leadsom has faced pressure over her political beliefs and claims she exaggerated her career achievements.

Investigations into her CV have cast doubt on her claim to have worked closely with the then Bank of England governor Eddie George during the collapse of Barings Bank in 1995, and on her boast that she was the youngest ever director at Barclays at the age of 32. She also admitted that she had not run the bank's investment team, as she stated in Who's Who, but was, in fact, 'deputy financial institutions director'.

Last week, The Mail on Sunday revealed that Mrs Leadsom, who backed Brexit in the referendum, had said in 2013 that leaving the EU would be an 'economic disaster'.

She has also advocated abolishing all workers' rights in small companies, criticised the adoption of two children by a gay couple and praised as 'fantastic' a centre with links to an evangelical organisation which has recommended 'gay cures'.

She seemed flustered when challenged last week over claims that she believes God speaks directly to her, replying: 'That question is not one that is for openly laughing at.'

Former Cabinet minister Iain Duncan Smith said there had been 'black ops' going on against Mrs Leadsom

Secret talks are said to have been taking place between Tories from the moderate wing and other parties over the past week.

Some have been mooting the idea of a new party called the Democrats that could take in Labour's anti-Corbyn MPs and the Lib Dems.

A Conservative cabinet source told the Sunday Times: 'If Leadsom wins, I think what are at the moment hushed conversations and tea-room chat will quite quickly turn into something more serious.

'There is certainly a caucus there, probably on our side 10-20 who have mooted the idea in one form or another. But the trigger would have to be the Leadsom-led Conservative party  someone so out of line with the left of the Tory party.

'We can't go back to the IDS years. We would have to do something about it.'

Mr Banks told the BBC's Andrew Marr show today that he believed Mrs May - who was a low-key supporter of Remain during the referendum - would try to limit the impact of the vote to Leave.

'If Theresa May wins Ukip will be back with a vengeance,' he warned.

TORY LEADERSHIP VOTE: WHAT NOW? In the next stage of the Tory leadership contest, there will be hustings across the UK and candidates will be able to email voters. Ballot papers will be sent to the party's 150,000 members in mid-August. They can vote either by postal ballot or online but counting will be done electronically. The electorate is limited to members of more than three months prior to the final result date. This is designed to prevent a Jeremy Corbyn-style insurgency. In this case, the last eligible date was June 9. The ballot will close at 12pm on September 9 with the result announced on the same day. Advertisement

He suggested that many Brexit-supporting Tory MPs could choose to split into a new party.

'I think you could potentially be talking about a new party,' he added.

The businessman said he and wealthy allies could pump 10million into Ukip coffers if Mrs May wins.

By contrast, he suggested Ukip may not field candidates against the party in many seats if Andrea Leadsom, who backed Brexit during the referendum, emerges victorious.

Mrs May's campaign chief, Brexit-backer Chris Grayling, insisted that there was 'no question' of a second referendum on the EU if the Home Secretary won, with the UK severing ties with Brussels before the 2020 general election.

He said that he was expecting EU citizens to be able to remain in the UK after Brexit, something Mrs May has refused to guarantee unless she receives a similar commitment from the other 27 member states about the future rights of Britons overseas.

'I don't think there will be any change on either side,' he said. 'I think everyone will take a grown-up approach to this. It would be too damaging to do otherwise. However, we should always make sure that we look after the interests of our own citizens. I don't think anything is going to change.'

He added: 'I'm expecting all EU citizens, perhaps bar those who've committed criminal offences and ones with individual circumstances, to be able to stay as they do now. And I'm expecting UK citizens in other countries to be able to stay there too. That's right and proper.'

He told the BBC's Sunday Politics she had stressed that 'Brexit means Brexit' and added: 'We think she has got the weight and the experience to deliver what people want.'

He added: 'She's said that we will trigger Article 50 around the end of this year. There is then a two-year timeframe and the next general election is 2020. So I can't see any circumstances in which we wouldn't have (left) by 2020.'

Mrs Leadsom's campaign chief Tim Loughton responded to suggestions that she would struggle to bridge divides in the party by saying either candidate would have a 'big job of work to do' to unite the party after the EU referendum.

He told Sky News' Murnaghan programme: 'Andrea is actually a really nice person, widely liked within the Conservative party and widely respected across the whole of the House of Commons so she has form when it comes to bringing people together.'

Ukip donor Arron Banks has suggested the Conservatives could split if Mrs May wins the leadership

He dismissed the row over Mrs Leadsom's Times interview: ' The thing with Andrea, she is a very genuine person and she gave an interview to a very experienced journalist with the Times who clearly wanted to lead her down a path and she kept going on relentlessly about the children issue....'

He said Mrs Leadsom had made it 'clear right through this campaign, that we are not running any negative stuff, in no way is our campaign about undermining the other candidates and is about the positive case for why Andrea will be the best candidate for Prime Minister.

'She is fired up, what makes her passionate in politics is her children and her family, since when has it been a crime to be proud about your children and today we just heard Andy Murray saying what fires him up is his children, so is he being critical of other tennis players as well?'

Now Far Right back Leadsom: Race slurs against May in 'Britain First' film endorsing Tory rival

Andrea Leadsom's bid to become Tory leader was hijacked yesterday by far-Right extremists who compared her to Donald Trump and vowed to destroy 'gormless traitor' Theresa May.

Ultra-nationalistic Britain First released a propaganda film pledging to help Mrs Leadsom and launch an all-out attack to stop her rival.

The video called the Home Secretary a 'corrupt, ghastly, self-serving parasite, treacherous EU collaborator and friend of Islam'. It showed a series of photographs of her wearing a headscarf on a visit to a mosque.

Mrs Leadsom was praised as a 'patriotic, Christian, opponent of political correctness' and was featured in a series of glamorous poses.

The video called the Home Secretary a 'corrupt, ghastly, self-serving parasite, treacherous EU collaborator and friend of Islam.' It showed a series of photographs of her wearing a headscarf on a visit to a mosque

The video was released as Mrs Leadsom's leadership challenge hit more trouble when she was forced to respond to claims she had said she would make a better PM because she was a mother, unlike childless Mrs May.

Mrs Leadsom reportedly said she was a better choice because having children meant she had 'a very real stake' in the future of the country.

Mrs May's allies said the 'offensive' comment showed Mrs Leadsom was 'unfit to be PM'. But an angry Mrs Leadsom said she was 'disgusted' by the report and claimed her comments had been misinterpreted.

The Britain First video, made in the style of a party political broadcast, was presented by its leader Paul Golding. Golding came under fire two months ago when he turned his back on Labour's Sadiq Khan when the Muslim politician won the election to be London Mayor.

Golding, who was also a candidate, denied being 'racist' and said he did it because Khan was 'vile.'

Against a soundtrack of Land Of Hope And Glory, Golding used the video to defend his right to meddle in the Tory leadership race and said that, over the next few weeks, Mrs May would feel 'the full brunt of attack' by Britain First to stop her becoming PM.
A German region has reported a spike in sex attacks last year by 'non German' men at swimming pools a week after the country's most populated region, North Rhine-Westphalia, blamed immigrants for the rising tide of assaults.

Police in Lower Saxony reported that 'sporadic group sexual assaults' have been reported in what they call a 'new phenomenon.'

'On occasion crimes have been registered in which the perpetrators have have acted from within larger groups,' according to one official.

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The migrant was jumping from the diving board at Theresienbad pool (pictured above) when police came to arrest him with the man now sentenced to six years jail

'This type of crime is notable because sexual crimes are usually almost exclusively committed by people acting alone. It is a new form of criminality.'

On Thursday last week German lawmakers moved to seal up holes in Germany's rape laws in a measure dubbed 'No Means No.'

From now on, people connected with a mob sex attack face being punished as rapists even if they personally committed no crime.

The new law was rushed through parliament following the mass sexual frenzy in the city of Cologne on New Year's Eve when mobs of immigrant men robbed and assaulted hundreds of women in the chaos of the celebrations.

Last week in a secret police report detailing escalating sex crimes by immigrants at public swimming baths across Germany was leaked in Dusseldorf where its authenticity was confirmed by authorities.

The internal report was issued for officers of the Criminal Commisariat 12 - responsible for sex crimes and missing persons - and stated: 'The K12 can confirm a surge in sex crimes at these establishments.

'In particular rape and the sexual abuse of children in bathing establishments have given us grave cauve for concern. The perpetrators are, for the most part, immigrants.'

Last month an Iraqi migrant (pictured, centre) was jailed for six years for raping a 10-year-old boy in a swimming pool in Vienna

But while the Lower Saxony reported chronicled a rise in sex assaults last year and the first quarter of 2016, for the past three months there have been no attacks at public pools in the state.

Police believe members of the public are more prepared to report sexual assaults and would-be offenders are thinking twice before preying on women and children.

'So far in 2016 a majority of suspects were non-German whereas in previous years a clear majority were German', police said.

In North Rhine-Westphalia, the state in which both Cologne and Dusseldorf lie, a total of 103 sex crimes have been reported at pools across since the beginning of this year.

'The allegations range from insults to exhibitionism to assault and rape,' said a local authority spokesman, adding that a 'disproportionate' number of allegations were made against men with a migrant background.

Out of control: Footage of New Year's Eve in Cologne shows the celebrations going terribly wrong as police try to control the huge crowds of revellers where hundreds of women were sexually abused

In 2014, there were seven cases of sex crimes reported at swimming pools in Duesseldorf, with an increase to 17 in 2015. This year police in the state capital have received eight allegations of sex crimes at local baths.

One 20-year-old Syrian man is facing trial in the coming weeks after he grabbed and kissed the arm of a 14-year-old.

In January, one NRW swimming pool in Bornheim banned male refugees after swimmers said they felt threatened by their presence. Pool 'etiquette courses' were then initiated and the ban lifted after five days.
If Andy Murray gets into a tight spot in today's men's final at Wimbledon against Milos Raonic he might do well to remember four quick brain hacks from on of the world's top neurologists.

Professor Ian Robertson says his 'four-step brain hack to harness stress' is based on scientific research and can help people to turn pressure into positive energy.

Many health experts say stress can lead to everything from obesity to cancer and premature ageing.

But Prof Robertson says: 'Stress is a kind of energy that we can harness.'

It's all in the head: Top sportsmen and women like Serena Williams (left) and Andy Murray (right) know how to harness the pressure and turn it into positive energy

The Daily Telegraph says the first step in his four-point plan is to 'tell yourself you are excited rather than stressed'.

THE FOUR BRAIN HACKS STEP ONE - Tell your brain it is excited not anxious - repeatedly telling the brain it is excited changes how it will perform. Cortisol is produced when you feel stressed OR pumped-up. But how the mind reacts alters whether the it is beneficial or detrimental. Trying to persuade the brain to be calm does not work. STEP TWO - Breathe in slowly for five seconds then out for six. This changes the chemistry in the brain and acts like an anti-anxiety drug. STEP THREE - Adopt a superhero posture. Pump the chest out and stand up tall, triggering the 'fight' rather than 'flight' emotion. This tricks the brain into feeling confident. STEP FOUR - Clench your right fist for 45 seconds, open it for 15 seconds, then close it again for 45 seconds. This switches on the left side of the brain to put you in a 'challenge' frame of mind, lessening anxiety, and improving performance. Advertisement

Then breathe in slowly through the nose for five seconds and then exhale for six; step three is to pose like a superhero, and the clincher is to squeeze your right hand shut for 45 seconds, open it for 15 and then shut it again.

Prof Robertson, chair of psychology at Trinity College Dublin, said: 'When you are facing up to a difficult situation and feeling anxious, it's enough to say "I feel excited" once out loud and that tricks your brain. It changes the mindset from "threat" to "challenging".'

He has written a book called The Stress Test: How Pressure Can Make You Stronger and Sharper, and says his techniques can improve performance and creativity.

Prof Robertson disagrees with self-help guides which urge people to avoid pressure.

He says stress is important for achievement and says it is possible to harness hormones, such as cortisol and adrenaline, before they cause problems.

Prof Robertson says of Step Two: 'By controlling breathing you can control the critical part of the brain and in that way exercise control over the emotional stage you are experiencing. When we are anxious, we forget to breath.'

As for Step Four, he says: 'Squeezing the hand gives a little boost to the brain. It increases activity in the left side of the brain. I always do it a few times before nerve-wracking presentations.'

Professor Ian Robertson (right) says stressful situations can be turned to our advantage. He said some of the greatest creativity in history came from people who had been through trauma. STOCK IMAGE (left)

Prof Robertson explained: 'The stress hormone cortisol is a symptom of anxiety, but also excitement. When you are anxious or excited you can feel your heart going bang, bang, bang, and the same hormone affects you differently only depending on the context that your mind imposes upon it.

'If you are anxious cortisol will impede performance, but if you are excited, we know that it boosts performance. 'There are so many little mind hacks we can use on the brain. It's a programmable machine.'

Dr Robertson says stressful situations and traumatic events like wars, terrible poverty, heartbreak and losing loved ones can actually bring out great creativity and achievements from people.

I want everyone to believe that they can control the most complex organ in the known universe, the brain Prof Ian Robertson

He said there was research that suggested Americans who grew up in the Great Depression in the 1930s were much less depressed that those who grew up in the affluent 1990s.

'Good times can breed a restless striving for more of the same. Easy times create more unhappiness,' he explained.

He pointed that since 2005 the number of people globally being prescribed anti-depressants had doubled to 61million a year.

But he offers hope: 'I want everyone to believe that they can control the most complex organ in the known universe, the brain.
A young woman with Down syndrome has squealed with delight when her boyfriend got down on one knee and proposed to her with a promise ring on the night of her 21st birthday and graduation.

Ashley Greenhalgh was unwrapping birthday presents at a luncheon with close friends and family when she pulled out a ring box from Danny Griffiths, her boyfriend of two years.

The Philadelphia, New Jersey, woman clasped her hands to her face in excitement and cheered: 'It's a ring! I'm going to be married!'

Mr Griffiths then got down on one knee and asked: 'Will you marry me? Will you be my wife?'

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Ashley Greenhalgh (right) was unwrapping birthday presents at a luncheon with close friends and family when she pulled out a ring box from Danny Griffiths (left), her boyfriend of two years

He saved up money from work to buy the diamond promise ring. And although they don't plan on getting married just yet, Ms Greenhalgh's sister Courtney said he wanted to prove he'll always be there for her.

'Danny and Ashley talk about getting married in the future; while they know that the timing isn't right just yet, Danny wanted to go out of his way to let my sister know that he will always be there for her and that he only has eyes for her,' Courtney said.

She told Daily Mail Australia they plan on marrying in four years.

'They take the concept of marriage seriously and realize that they need to be able to financially support themselves to make their dream a reality.

'They are only 21, too, so they're being very mature and giving their relationship time to blossom.

Mr Griffiths got down on one knee and asked: 'Will you marry me? Will you be my wife?'

Courtney said the couple had been discussing it for months and Ms Greenhalgh knew a promise ring was in-store, but that him dropping the knee was 'unscripted'.

'Not only do they both share an unconditional love for one another, they show a genuine appreciation for life on a daily basis.'

The couple's special needs high school they recently graduated from, Kingsway Learning Center in Moorestown, has been giving them the opportunity to go on job site rotations.

'The two of them have worked for chain stores like TJ Maxx, Hallmark and Wegmans as well as local nursing homes, animal shelters, and day care centers,' Courtney said.

Ms Greenhalgh's sister shared the video to Facebook with the hopes it would go viral.

'It's too precious not to share,' she wrote.
A mother was told she was not allowed to breastfeed her baby daughter in Mothercare - in the middle of National Breastfeeding Week.

Clare Shaw sat down to feed crying five-month-old Elsa on a day out shopping in Edmonton, London.

However, as the 34-year-old prepared herself she was quickly approached by a member of staff who asked that she desist - and then tried to usher her into a back room.

Clare Shaw, 34, from east London, was asked to stop breastfeeding her five-month-old daughter Elsa in Mothercare

Primary school teacher Clare told The Mirror: 'I felt really upset and vulnerable. I thought perhaps I was breaking a rule or a law.

'I felt as if I was being banned from breastfeeding, in Mothercare of all places. I ended up feeding Elsa in the car.'

She added that a store employee informed her that customers had complained about women breastfeeding in the past.

Clare continued: 'I've fed Elsa in museums, restaurants, cafes and shopping centres and usually no one bats an eyelid.'

The unfortunate incident took place during National Breastfeeding Week, which celebrated and embraced the natural feeding method between June 18 and 27.

Under the terms of the 2010 Equality Act, it is illegal for a firm to discriminate against a woman breastfeeding.

Mothercare has since issued an apology to Clare, who was shopping with Elsa and her two-year-old sister Ayla.

The unfortunate incident took place in the Edmonton branch of Mothercare (pictured) where Clare was shopping

A spokesman for the company said: 'Mothers can nurse their children anywhere on the premises and, for those who prefer some privacy, we provide comfortable feeding facilities.

'As our Edmonton store is being refurbished and there are building workers on the premises, we suggested our customer may be more comfortable using the feeding facilities.
Bill Shorten conceded the election to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Sunday but it seems Australia will be left waiting a little longer for a new Prime Minister.

Governor General Peter Cosgrove, who acts on behalf of the queen to swear in the new Prime Minister, is in France celebrating their national holiday, Bastille Day, which is not until July 14.

Mr Turnbull could welcome the extra time though, as he must sign a new coalition deal with the Nationals before he has the numbers to form government, reported the Warwick Daily News.

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Malcolm Turnbull will remain Australia's Prime Minister - though it may be a short while before his title is official

Governor General Peter Cosgrove, who is responsible for swearing in the Prime Minister on behalf of the Queen, is currently in France for Bastille Day

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten called Mr Turnbull on Sunday to concede defeat after his party did not win enough seats to form government

The deal is standard procedure between the two parties, and is usually reviewed every time there is a new leader or an election takes place.

The Liberal Party Leader told reporters in Sydney on Sunday that he expects to be sworn in 'some time next week'.

When asked by a reporter if he was disappointed he missed his chance to make a victory speech on election night, Mr Turnbull said the late timing hadn't spoiled the feeling.

'I guess its always a good time to deliver a victory speech,' he said.

'Theres never a bad time to acknowledge the concession of the Leader of the Opposition.'

The current Australian Electoral Commission results say the Coalition has won 76 seats, and the Labor Party has won 69 - a gain of 14 seats from the last parliament.
The former editor of Australia's most famous women's magazine has landed her 'dream role' at the online arm of Channel Nine.

Helen McCabe ended her six-year stint as editor-in-chief of the Australian Women's Weekly in January, considered to be one of the most influential jobs in Australian publishing.

She has been named as head of lifestyle for nine.com.au, six months after leaving the Women's Weekly to pursue 'other opportunities'.

Helen McCabe stood down as the editor-in-chief of the Australian Women's Weekly in January. She described her new role at Nine as her 'dream job'

McCabe said the role would allow her to indulge her passion for creating exciting stories for Australian women.

She said in statement: 'After 20 odd years in newspapers and magazines this is the dream role.

'It means I get to continue my passion for creating exciting, relevant content and products for Australian women.'

Nine CEO Hugh Marks said: 'Helen's appointment is another strong statement on our focus on delivering great Australian content to our audiences across all platforms of our business.

'Helen has a strong creative vision, a valuable understanding of the content that drives audience engagement, and very longstanding commercial relationships.

'What better time for Helen and ourselves to take our brands to the next level.'

Describing her excitement at taking up the new job, McCabe said: 'After 20 odd years in newspapers and magazines this is the dream role'

Hailing from a wheat farm on the outskirts of Adelaide, McCabe has had a long and varied career in journalism which includes stints at Channel 7, The Australian and The Sunday Telegraph.

She took over the Australian Women's Weekly in 2009 and notably steered its focus towards harder-hitting news.

Announcing her departure earlier this year, she said: 'Editing The Australian Women's Weekly is one of the truly great honours in Australian publishing.

'But after six and a half years it is the right time to move.
Furious MPs last night accused ministers of failing Southern Railway commuters by suggesting they will have to wait two years to receive a decent service.

Long-suffering passengers are braced for more misery as the embattled operator of the Southern franchise introduces its emergency timetable today.

This will cancel 341 services a day, leaving residents across the South-East of England stranded or reliant on replacement buses.

Patrick McLoughlin (pictured) was criticised for going 'missing in action' after failing to issue a statement since Southern Railway revealed it was axing hundreds of services

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin was also criticised for going 'missing in action' after failing to issue a single statement since the company revealed it was axing hundreds of services.

The move follows a bitter dispute between operator Govia Thameslink Railway and union bosses over the role of conductors. It has contributed to chaos on the network used by more than 120,000 people mostly across London, Kent and East Sussex to commute into the capital every day.

Some have even lost their jobs because they are constantly late for work. Mr McLoughlin has kept a low profile as the crisis has escalated, leaving it to rail minister Claire Perry to front up to the critics. Yesterday frustration boiled over as commuters threatened to stage a fares strike and withhold payments for tickets.

A 48-hour boycott is also being organised, with passengers encouraged to cycle, drive or use buses instead. A demonstration is scheduled for 5.30pm today at Victoria station as commuters vent their anger.

And more than 13,700 passengers have signed a parliamentary petition calling on the Government to strip Govia of the Southern franchise which runs to September 2021.

The signatories received an email from the Department for Transport, saying: 'By 2018 we expect to return the network to the performance that all passengers deserve.'

Southern Railway will cancel 341 services a day, leaving residents across the South-East of England stranded or reliant on replacement buses (stock image)

This is when improvements to the rail network, including to London Bridge station, have been completed. Rail bosses say this has caused much of the disruption.

But Louise Ellman, chairman of the Commons transport committee, called the Government's failure to intervene unacceptable. The Labour MP said: 'The Government can no longer stand aside when passengers are being let down in this outrageous way. It must take action, whether it be instructing the rail operator to run this franchise more effectively or stripping them of the franchise.'

The committee will question Miss Perry about the debacle today. However John Mann, a Labour MP and member of the Treasury Committee, said: 'Mr McLoughlin needs to man up and get out there. He has been missing in action. It's like he has run up the white flag to this shambles.'

Sources at the Department for Transport insist Mr McLoughlin has been heavily involved in dealing with the crisis and has had numerous meetings with rail and union bosses.

The stand-off concerns Southern's plans to change the role of conductors so that the driver assumes responsibility for opening and closing the train doors. The Rail, Maritime and Transport union claims this jeopardises passenger safety.

A 48-hour boycott is also being organised, with passengers encouraged to cycle, drive or use buses instead (stock image)

Rail bosses cite assurances from regulators and an independent safety watchdog that the change poses no increased threat. Four 24-hour walkouts since April have caused major disruption. And management have blamed on-going problems partly on a dramatic surge in conductors calling in sick since the first strike. The RMT has denied orchestrating these so-called 'sickie strikes'.

With no breakthrough in sight Govia is introducing the emergency timetable, which has been signed off by the Government. From today it is axing 341 trains a day, 15 per cent of services, in an effort to end cancellations.

Miss Perry said: 'There is no threat to safety, jobs or pay from the introduction of new trains and no excuse left for industrial action.'

A Department for Transport spokesman said: 'We have been clear that the situation on Southern and Thameslink routes is unacceptable.'

Southern said it expected to hold further talks with the union this week. A spokesman added: 'We are very sorry for the effect on our passengers and we are determined to provide the level of service they rightly demand.'
Jeremy Corbyn bizarrely claimed that Labour is 'doing very well' today as he threatened to sue his own party if it blocks him from standing in a fresh leadership battle.

The veteran left-winger insisted the party's rules mean he does not have to secure the support of 51 MPs to get on the ballot for the contest being triggered by former frontbencher Angela Eagle.

And he warned he would take legal action if the ruling NEC tried to block him from running as a candidate.

Mr Corbyn also risked further inflaming tensions with moderates by suggesting he will back a motion to hold former PM Tony Blair in contempt of parliament over the Iraq War.

Jeremy Corbyn urged rebels to 'think again' about challenging him in a defiant TV interview today

The defiant comments came in an interview with the BBC's Andrew Marr show as Labour's simmering leadership issues escalated into a full-blown crisis.

Mrs Eagle said today that she had no choice but to challenge Mr Corbyn because he has failed to provide 'leadership' and would stand no chance in a general election.

Former shadow work and pensions secretary Owen Smith - who is also thought to be considering throwing his hat in the ring - has accused Mr Corbyn and shadow chancellor John McDonnell of being ready to split the party.

And ex-minister Margaret Hodge suggested Mr Corbyn was a 'devious man' who was 'destroying the party'.

'I used to think he was a decent man. I'm beginning to think he's actually a devious man who is more concerned with destroying the Labour party than he is with creating a force than can win an election in such difficult times and unite the party,' she told the BBC.

Ms Eagle, who resigned as shadow business secretary, said it was not certain Mr Corbyn had the right to stand again without securing the support of 51 MPs - a level many believe he would struggle to reach after more than 170 voted no confidence and an unprecedented frontbench exodus.

The ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) will decide this week whether the leader needs to garner nominations, or automatically features. Neil Kinnock did have to prove he had the backing when he was challenged by Tony Benn in the 1980s.

But, while admitting he was 'disappointed' by the challenge, Mr Corbyn said: 'I'm expecting to be on the ballot paper because the rules of the party indicate that the existing leader, if challenged, should be on the ballot paper anyway.

'[The Kinnock challenge] was in 1988, the electoral college system has since been abolished, we now have a one member, one vote system. The rules in my view are absolutely clear.'

Angela Eagle said Mr Corbyn was 'not a bad man' but he was 'not a leader' and could not connect with ordinary Labour voters

The former business secretary is due formally to launch her leadership challenge tomorrow

Asked whether he would consider taking the matter to court if the NEC decides he needs the 51 nominations, Mr Corbyn replied: 'I will challenge that if that is a view they take.

'I would just ask anyone in the party to think for a moment - is it really right that the members of the party should be denied a decision, a discussion, a choice in this. 500,000 people are members of the party because they want the party to succeed?

'They're the people who knock on doors, they're the people who deliver the leaflets, they're the people who raise the money.'

Ms Eagle told ITV's Peston on Sunday: 'He will have to find nominations, I am ready to have a leadership contest and a debate with whoever's on the ballot.'

However, she acknowledged the decision would be a 'matter for the NEC'.

Making her pitch for the leadership ahead of a formal launch event tomorrow, Mrs Eagle said: 'This is not about splitting the Labour party, this is about uniting the Labour party so we can heal the divisions that six years of Conservative government, huge anti-austerity policies, cuts that have been visited on the most vulnerable areas.

'We could have a general election very quickly, you know the Conservative party prime minister's resigned, there could easily be a very quick general election and I believe I'm the right person to lead that into that general election.'

She accused Mr Corbyn of deliberately ignoring demands from all parts of the party for him to step down.

'Tom Watson, our deputy leader who's got his own mandate, Rosie Winterton, the chief whip, John Cryer, who's chair of the parliamentary Labour party and a friend of Jeremy's, have all been trying to get him to recognise that he cannot continue in the job because he's lost the confidence of the PLP and he's hiding behind a closed door denying that this is a fact,' she said.

Mr Smith said on Twitter that he had asked Mr Corbyn three times during a private meeting whether he was prepared to see the party split to stay on as leader, and received no answer.

He claimed when he asked Mr McDonnell the same question the shadow chancellor shrugged and said: 'If that's what it takes.'

Mr Smith said: 'I am not prepared to stand by and see our party split. And I have asked to meet with Jeremy again tomorrow to see how we can stop that.'

Mr Corbyn confirmed later that he had agreed to meet Mr Smith, and appealed to Ms Eagle and other Labour MPs to focus their fire on the Tory government.

Former frontbencher Owen Smith, who has been considering a leadership bid, said he had demanded a fresh meeting with Jeremy Corbyn

'She resigned from the shadow cabinet, we had a conversation after she had announced her resignation from the Shadow Cabinet and I would ask her to think for a moment,' he said.

'This is the opportunity of the party to unite against what the Tories are doing, to put forward an agenda which is different to the austerity agenda being put forward by the Tories and actually gain a lot of ground...

'I'm saying to Labour MPs: You have a responsibility to represent the party in parliament.

'We're only any of us in parliament because of the work of Labour party members and supporters and, of course, voters - and I urge them to recognise that.

'But also I'm keen to reach out, we're going to come together, discussing how we deal with the possible UK negotiations over the EU.'
Tony Blair called a press conference to defend himself after the Chilcot report was published

Tony Blair faces the prospect of stripped of his privy council membership amid a cross-party bid to hold him in 'contempt' of parliament over the Iraq war.

A motion being tabled by Tory David Davis accusing the former Prime Minister of deceiving MPs has been backed by Jeremy Corbyn and the SNP.

If approved by Speaker John Bercow this week the issue could be put to a vote before the Commons goes on summer recess - potentially leading to Mr Blair being ejected from the prestigious circle of senior politician.

Mr Davis said today that he had decided to put the motion forward after the Chilcot report delivered a devastating verdict on Mr Blair last week.

The Iraq inquiry lambasted the ex-Labour leader for twisting intelligence on the threat posed by Saddam Hussein, raised doubts about the way advice on the legality of the war was produced, and criticised his 'sofa' style of government.

An emotional Mr Blair called a press conference within hours to express his sorrow over the failings and loss of life caused by the invasions.

But he insisted he had taken the decision in good faith and still believed it had been the right move based on the evidence he had available.

Mr Blair later argued that the military action had not been 'in vain' despite the loss of an estimated 150,000 Iraqi lives and hundreds more British soldiers.

Lord Prescott, deputy PM when the invasion was launched, said today that he now believes it illegal and offered his 'fullest apology' to the families of the military personnel who died.

Mr Davis told the Andrew Marr show Sir John Chilcot did not have a remit to decide whether Mr Blair had 'lied or not'.

But he said: 'If you look just at the debate alone, on five different grounds the House was misled,' he said.

'Three in terms of the weapons of mass destruction, one in terms of the way the UN votes were going and one in terms of the threats

'Now, the point is he might have done one of those accidentally - but five? Five different deceptions on the House?'

Mr Davis added: 'Everybody I talk to thinks that there has been, as it were, a trial. But there's no verdict. And the House has to deliver a verdict.'

Mr Davis said precedent suggested a contempt vote by the Commons could lead to Mr Blair being ejected from the privy council. Jack Profumo faced a contempt motion in 1963 before losing his status in the elite group for lying to the House over an affair he had with a 19-year-old model.

Jeremy Corbyn has signalled he will probably back the contempt motion if it is brought to a vote

David Davis pointed out today that Jack Profumo had been stripped of his privy council status after a similar vote in the House of Commons

'The Government might choose to strip him of his privy councillorship,' Mr Davis said.

'It's been done before; Jack Profumo lost his privy councillorship for lying to the House  and that was just about a sex scandal, not about something that led to 150,000 innocent Iraqis being killed, maybe millions dying as a consequence, destruction of the Middle East.'

Labour leader Mr Corbyn, a long-standing opponent of the Iraq War, signalled he is set to support Mr Davis' motion if it reaches the floor of the House next week.

'Parliament must hold to account, including Tony Blair, those who took us into this particular war, ' he told the BBC's Andrew Marr show.

'I haven't seen it yet but I think I probably would [vote for it].'

Mr Corbyn apologised for Labour's role in the Iraq war last week, saying it was a 'stain' on the party. He has also indicated he will 'stand with' bereaved families who are considering legal action against Mr Blair.
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The Sydney harbourside stable of one of Australia's biggest racing identities has been finally sold after a number of unsuccessful attempts to sell.

Gai and Robbie Waterhouse's four-bedroom Mosman home has been sold for an undisclosed amount, but presumably a nice profit on the property they bought for $457,500 in 1983.

The horse racing power couple have owned the rental property in Sydney's North Shore for 32 years where they raised bookmaker son Tom Waterhouse and his sister Kate.

The home was removed from auction in February before being listed for $5.4 million, after it initially came with a $6 million asking price, according to The Daily Telegraph.

The Sydney harbourside stable of one of Australia's biggest racing identities has been finally sold after a number of unsuccessful attempts to sell

Gai (left) and Robbie Waterhouse's (right) four-bedroom Mosman home has been sold for undisclosed amount, but presumably a nice profit on the property they bought for $457,500 in 1983

Lighting isn't an issue for the sun-drenched rooms, with wall-to-wall windows framing the spectacular harbour panorama

The final deal-sealing features to the impressive home include parking for four cars, a wine cellar, electric blinds and a library

The Burrawong Avenue property is set in a coveted cul-de-sac enclave overlooking Sydney harbour and offers unobstructed views of landmarks including Shark Island and the sparkling waters of Watsons Bay

The Burrawong Avenue property is set in a coveted cul-de-sac enclave overlooking Sydney Harbour and offers unobstructed views of landmarks including Shark Island and the sparkling waters of Watsons Bay.

The new owners, a family reportedly from Kogarah Bay, will be able to indulge in four spacious double bedrooms and a separate guest cottage.

The Clifton Manor retreat has been designed as three inter-connected pavilions embracing a sparkling mosaic-tiled pool.

Lighting isn't an issue for the sun-drenched rooms, with wall-to-wall windows framing the spectacular harbour panorama.

In the winter time, occupants can feel warmth underfoot with heated floors and a Jetmaster fireplace.

The home even features a hat cupboard, previously used to display the most impressive of Gai Waterhouse's fascinators.

The final deal-sealing features in the impressive home include parking for four cars, a wine cellar, electric blinds and a library.

Mr and Mrs Waterhouse would be pleased by the sale while reportedly holidaying in Europe and attending the Newmarket races near London.

Mosman has reportedly commanded solid house prices, with the current median house price at the $3.2 million mark this year, the record sale fetching $12.8 million.

The home even features a hat cupboard, previously used to display the most impressive of Gai Waterhouse's fascinators

Mr and Mrs Waterhouse would be pleased by the sale while reportedly holidaying in Europe and attending the Newmarket races near London

The new owners, a family reportedly from Kogarah Bay, will be able to indulge in four spacious double bedrooms and a separate guest cottage

The Clifton Manor retreat has been designed as three inter-connected pavilions embracing a sparkling mosaic-tiled pool

In the winter time, occupants mate be delighted to feel warmth underfoot with heated floors and a Jetmaster fireplace
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North Koreans were given a day off from their 200-day 'speed campaign' to make the hermit state more productive.

Families of Pyongyang's elite were photographed enjoying an afternoon at the People's Pleasure Park, with youngsters given ice lollies and others permitted to play near the fountain.

Earlier this year Kim Jong-un announced a campaign to boost industrial production across the country by arbitrarily increasing targets.

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These are unusual pictures of North Koreans enjoying some time off in Pyongyang, despite being in the middle of an economic drive

North Korea has launched a 200-day speed drive where workers are ordered to boost production to improve the stagnant economy

Children were allowed to play together beside a fountain in Central Pyongyang as North Koreans were permitted to enjoy themselves

All across the state there are banners with slogans asking: 'Have you carried out your plan today?'

The effort to stimulate the North Korean economy is an effort to dig themselves out of the ongoing economic stagnation.

North Korea has been stung by international sanctions, with the United States seizing the American-based assets of Kim and senior regime members.

The current 'speed campaign' is the second in 2016.

The regime claims the productivity drive is incredibly popular, but anyone complaining about the increased workload would be accused of disloyalty and would face a trip to one of the nation's notorious prison camps.

The history of North Korea's speed campaigns, which were also common in the former Soviet bloc countries and in China, is almost as old as the country itself.

This young girl seems quite unsteady on her roller blades as if she is not used to them and needs to be helped by several of her friends

The People's Pleasure Park, pictured, was opened by Kim Jong-un in 2012 and his wife Ri Sol-ju

North Koreans are rarely photographed engaging in any sort of leisure activities due to the repressive nature of the regime

The nation's founder, Kim Il Sung, called a major one named after a mythical winged horse that could fly 1,000 'li' - about 300 miles - to rebuild the country after the 1950-53 Korean War. The current drive has been dubbed the 'Mallima' campaign  suggesting a winged horse that is 10 times faster.

In one factory with 220 workers, it produces about 700 pairs of shoes a day  the central government tells them how many produce. The shoes are distributed to department stores and other places around the country. The factory does not export any of its products, which officials say are made strictly with domestically produced materials and locally made machinery, in keeping with the government philosophy of 'self-reliance'.

Manager Chang said the factory met its annual production goal several weeks ago.

Kim Jong-un himself visited the factory in November. At his direction, it is now focused on making lighter, better quality shoes and providing a wider variety to make North Korea's shoe production 'world class'.

Chang said: 'The marshal has said he has adopted this factory as if it were his own. So it is like we are working for our father. That's all the motivation we need.'

Just to be sure, however, an official from the Ministry of Light Industry has been dispatched from Pyongyang to monitor and supervise its operations for the entire 200-day period.

During the major economic push North Koreans are reluctant to take time off of enjoy themselves out of fear of being branded 'lazy'

Members of a local propaganda troupe performed some patriotic flag waving exercises to inspire people passing by

During these speed campaigns, factories are not allowed to hire any extra workers but staff should feel honoured to help the country

Factory officials said they have not hired any extra hands to boost production, and that they don't need to resort to monetary rewards or firing threats. The workers get their basic necessities from the government but can receive monthly bonuses if the factory sells more shoes than its government-set target.

Peer pressure is also clearly a strong part of the mix.

Workers are divided up into sections and smaller work groups, whose collective output is posted in large bar graphs around their workplaces for all to see.

Manager Chang said that if a worker is not making the grade, he or she is paired up with a more productive partner. He said no one wants to be labeled as lazy because, with the standing of their whole group at stake, they could end up being officially regarded as a problem to the whole factory 'family'.

He did not comment on what might happen beyond possible social ostracism.

Outside economists say speed campaigns focus more on short-term bumps in production and overtly political goals of the re-enforcing ideological principles of the primacy of loyalty and group action than the kind of sustainable and meaningful long-term growth the North's centrally controlled economy really needs.

They also suggest the North's economy is hamstrung by its continued push to develop nuclear weapons and the missiles needed to deploy them against targets in the United States or other hostile nations. They say that because of international sanctions, North Korea's chances of real improvement in its domestic economy are slim at best.

The propaganda display was put on to encourage workers to be more productive as part of a 200-day economic drive

The current 200-day productivity drive is the second attempt at an economic stimulus this year, suggesting the first wasn't successful

A couple of young children run across a square under the watchful gaze of Kim Il-Sung, left, and Kim Jong-Il, right

Kim appears to disagree.

This is the second speed campaign his leadership has called this year. The first, which lasted 70 days, ended just before the May party congress. The current campaign, which will continue until October 10, began almost as soon as the congress was over. The party congress was the first in 36 years and further cemented the young leader's stature as the country's supreme leader.

Though the speed campaigns play an important political and social role in asserting the regime's power to rally the nation, improving the economy, which lags far behind neighboring China, Japan and rival South Korea, does genuinely appear to be a key goal of the North Korean leadership.

That desire is also reflected in the North's issuance of a five-year plan during the congress. Few details have been made public, but it's the first such plan North Korea is known to have initiated since the 1980s, when Kim Il Sung, Kim's grandfather, was in power.

Kim's father, Kim Jong Il, stressed a more military-oriented approach. North Korea's launch of more missiles on Wednesday underscores that Kim Jong Un is not about to sway from his father's emphasis on building up the military, despite the cost in lost trade with the outside world and the increased political and diplomatic isolation it brings.

Those North Koreans who are allowed to speak to Western media, meanwhile, are eager to show they are doing their part.

North Korea claims it is striving for self sufficiency although the country has been hit by long-running economic sanctions by the US

This image of the Taedong River in Pyongyang is dominated by the Tower of Juche Idea which was built to celebrate Kim Il Song

Kang Jong Jin, a former soldier who works as the Wonsan shoe factory said: 'Normally, I work eight hours a day, from 8 in the morning until noon, and then from 2 until 6 in the evening. Now I sometimes stay longer. No one has to tell me to do it. I just do.'

Kang, who wants to be an engineer, said he also started taking long-distance learning courses at the factory, which has a teleconferencing room linked to a major university in Pyongyang.

'The marshal wants us to improve our scientific and technological skills,' he said, referring to another priority topic at last month's party congress. 'So this is how I want to contribute.'

North Korea is incredibly careful about the images it releases to the world of its people in an effort to show everything is normal
The Crown Prince of Terror is back.

A son of Osama Bin laden, 23-year-old Hamza, is calling for terrorist attacks to avenge his father's death, according to an audio released by al-Qaida's media arm.

Hamza says al-Qaida will continue waging jihad, or holy war, against the US in response to its 'oppression' of Muslims.

'If you think that your sinful crime that you committed in Abbottabad has passed without punishment, then you thought wrong,' he says, referring to his father's May 2011 death during a US raid at his compound in Afghanistan.

Hamza's whereabouts are unknown, but analysts speculate that he may be preparing to take over leadership of al-Qaida.

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Bin Laden's 23-year-old Hamza (pictured years earlier) is calling for terrorist attacks to avenge his dad's death

Hamza says al-Qaida will continue waging jihad against the US in response to its 'oppression' of Muslims

This is not the first time that Hamza calls for terrorist attacks. Previously, he hashad incited attacks on on London, Washington, Paris and Tel Aviv in an audio message released by al-Qaida.

Hamza is thought to have been groomed by his 9/11 mastermind father.

He can be heard on previous audios urging lone wolf attacks against the West.

Rita Katz, director of SITE Intelligence Group, tweeted: 'Hamza Bin Laden, son of Usamah bin Laden, gives strategies in continuing global jihad in audio message.

'Hamza Bin Laden lived the life of jihad with his father throughout AQs (al-Qaida) creation in Afghanistan.

The younger Bin Laden was trained with explosives and embraced the terror network that killed 3,000 Americans in the September 11, 2001 attacks

Bin Laden was killed in a raid on a mansion in May 2011, ending a nearly 10-year worldwide hunt for the mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks

'With Hamza, AQ hopes to renew the popularity of AQ by reviving the brand of "AQ = Bin Laden".

'AQ leadership wants Hamza as a future leader: someone loved & inspirational, without a negative reputation or participation in infighting.

'Hamza Bin Laden calls to move the war from Kabul, Gaza & Baghdad, to Washington, London, Paris & Tel-Aviv. Urges: "This is your duty.

'Hamza Bin Laden urged lone wolf attacks in the US and the West; targeting of Jewish American interests globally.'

It is believed the audio message was recorded before June 2015, but has only released August of that year.

Osama was killed in Abbottabad, Pakistan on May 2, 2011, by US Navy SEAL Team Six.

Following his death, dozens of letter written by him to his family and senior members of al-Qaida were released.

The compound, within which al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed, is seen in flames after it was attacked in Abbottabad in May 2, 2011

Senior intelligence officials claim some revealed he had been grooming his son to take over the terror group.

Hamza reportedly wrote to his father to say he was itching to join the fight.

The younger Bin Laden was trained with explosives and embraced the terror network that killed 3,000 Americans in the September 11, 2001 attacks.

In one letter, Hamza's mother implored that he follow in his 'father's footsteps'.

Al-Qaida correspondence noted the eagerness of Hamza, believed to have engaged in terror raids when he was a teen and propaganda videos at a younger age, to return to his father's inner circle.
A family of six and their two dogs who spent almost five days bogged in bushland when floodwaters trapped their four-wheel-drive have been airlifted to safety.

Dave and Donna Davies, 34 and 36, set off on a week-long camping trip with their two daughters, 10 and 12, and two sons, two and eight, in late June.

But concerned loved ones reported them missing when the family failed to return to their Bunyip home from Avon Wilderness Area, north of Maffra, in southeast Victoria on Wednesday.

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A family of six and their two dogs became bogged in Avon Wilderness Area in southeast Victoria and were stuck for almost five days (their car pictured bogged on a different trip)

Pictured: Dave Davies, 34, with police and one of his two dogs the family went camping with are rescued

The 36-year-old mother, the two daughters and one of the young sons are pictured after the family was rescued by police

It wasn't until Sunday that Mr Davies managed to climb to higher ground and get enough mobile phone reception to call triple-zero.

He told police the family's 1990 white Nissan Patrol and camper trailer was bogged on the Avon Track on Wednesday but they were unable to call for help because they had poor reception and were trapped by flooded waterways.

Police reached them by helicopter and took them to a nearby airfield at Bulldog Junction, before they drove off to be reunited with worried friends and family.

Victorian Police said the two parents, four young children and two dogs are safe and well.

The family was experienced and well prepared, police said.

A family friend wrote on Facebook to thank everyone who'd helped in the wide-scale search.

Police said the entire family were uninjured and safe (pictured: two daughters, 10 and 12, and eight-year-old son)

The family went camping on June 29 and were expected home on Wednesday. They were rescued on Sunday afternoon

Mr Davies managed to climb to higher ground on Sunday and call triple-zero after spending almost five days bogged and trapped by floodwaters
A couple have defeated a council which tried to gag them when they challenged a termtime holiday fine.

Isle of Wight Council wanted a gagging order to prevent publication of Michael and Charlotte Lewis's case.

A court had imposed the restrictions to stop their two teenage children from being identified during the case after the family took them out of school for a holiday to Egypt.

Isle of Wight Council wanted a gagging order to prevent publication of Michael and Charlotte Lewis's case (couple pictured)

Michael said he was going on a celebratory lunch with his wife after the court case victory

And when the case was 'set aside' - meaning the verdict in the original trial no longer stands - council chiefs requested that the order continue.

But the couple, who argued it was in the public's interest to know, have successfully applied to have the gagging order lifted.

Mr Lewis said he was 'absolutely delighted' by the result after he claimed he represented the family against the council's 'top lawyer'.

Speaking to The Sunday Times, Mr Lewis said: 'This is a matter of public interest for families in the Isle of Wight and more widely in the UK. The case forms part of an ongoing debate on a topic of public importance.'

'I would urge other families who find themselves in this position to try to ensure they can speak out.'

Isle of Wight Council began legal proceedings after the couple took their children, Cameron and Isabelle, on the African trip during termtime.

The Lewises argued they needed a holiday during the off-season because one of their children is autistic and doesn't like crowds.

But after returning home and moving house they discovered they had been convicted and were due to pay 1,600 in legal fees and fines.

Mr Lewis said he was 'absolutely delighted' by the result after he represented he family against the council's 'top lawyer'

Jon Platt also took on Isle of Wight Council (pictured) in a landmark school holiday case earlier this year

The couple fought and had the conviction 'set aside' but the reporting restrictions were still due to be in place until this weekend.

A spokesman for Isle of Wight Council told MailOnline he 'could not comment' on the case as he was 'not familiar' with the details.

But he issued a statement on Friday's hearing where the reporting restrictions were lifted.

It read: 'The council did not formally oppose, or consent to, the application made to the magistrates court on Friday in relation to reporting restrictions.

'It had representation at court to make appropriate submissions to ensure that the court was aware of all the relevant background.'

Their case follows that of Jon Platt who took his daughter out of class for a holiday to Disney World in Florida.

He also faced Isle of Wight council which had taken him to court after he failed to pay a fine in a landmark case.

Since then the government's ban on parents taking children out of school during termtime has been in disarray.

In the weeks after the Platt ruling, 10 councils have dropped pending prosecutions. Six authorities have stopped issuing fines and 12 are reviewing their policies.

A petition, signed by nearly 200,000 people, will be debated in the Commons tomorrow which calls for the government to life the holiday ban.
The fiancee of a police officer who shot himself in the head with his service firearm after being bullied is suing the state of Victoria.

Robert John Smith was found dead by fellow officers at Boronia Police Station in Melbourne shortly after 4pm on June 29, 2013.

At the time, acting commissioner Acting Assistant Commissioner Graeme Arthur described it as a 'tragic loss ... for the local community and the close-knit Boronia Police Station.'

But Sarah Fleming, 32, says her fiance was in 'emotional turmoil' and had filed a complaint about workplace bullying prior to his suicide, the Herald Sun reported.

The fiancee of Victorian police officer John Smith, who shot himself in the head with his service firearm after being bullied in 2013, is suing the state over his death

Ms Fleming is now seeking unspecified damages for the injuries she suffered in relation to her fiance's suicide - which she claims was a result of police negligence and improper training.

She has filed a writ in the County Court, according to the report by the Herald Sun.

In the last 16 years 23 police officers have killed themselves in Victoria - a damning statistic that recently led to the commissioning of a mental health review led by a top clinical psychologist.

The report found a 'widespread and entrenched stigma' regarding the reporting of mental health issues with Victoria Police, with one sergeant describing it as a 'suck it up' culture.

After taking submissions from over 450 current and former police officers, the published review made 39 recommendations to ensure that staff would not remain untreated for stress, depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts and post traumatic stress disorder.
A bigamist who stole from his wife's own family while he was still married to another woman has been jailed.

Mitchell Sharpe, 44, met Lisa Buckingham on an online dating site and whisked her off on holiday to Portugal where he proposed to her in March 2014.

But two days after their marriage, Lisa received a Facebook message from another woman saying: 'Good luck with that cocaine conman', a court heard.

Mitchell Sharpe, left, pictured arriving in May at Chesterfield Magistrates' Court holding hands with an unidentified woman was found guilty of bigamy in what was described as 'an unusual offence'

Sharpe was accused of marrying Lisa Buckingham, pictured, while still married to another woman

Ms Buckingham, left, received a warning message on Facebook two days after marrying Mitchell, right

Shockingly, Lisa then uncovered that Sharpe had a string of convictions against him, and was due in court just days after their wedding date on June 10, 2014.

Sharpe convinced her to let him stay at the house, until she trawled through paperwork in her loft - and discovered he was still married to another woman.

The serial thief was even caught trying to steal from Lisa's mother in October 2014 and was handed a suspended sentence at the time.

Sharpe, of Chaddesden, Derby, admitted bigamy and was jailed for five months at Derby Crown Court on Friday.

His current partner broke down in tears from the public gallery and he mouthed 'I love you' to her as he was sent down.

He was told he would serve half of his sentence before he would be released on licence, and he will also have to pay a victim surcharge to be decided.

Ms Buckingham was warned that Sharpe, pictured, was still married and was a 'cocaine fraudster'

Sentencing, Judge Jonathan Bennett said: 'Bigamy is an unusual offence, not one that goes through the courts very often.

'It is undoubtedly a serious offence as indicated by the maximum penalty it carries.

'Marriage is perhaps not the institution it was many years ago, but it is still an institution.

'It goes without saying the offence of course means a breach of trust towards the victim because you didn't disclose to her issues of your background, but that is not the main issue.

'The main issue is the issue of deceit both to the register office and to the victim.

'The huge embarrassment came from fraud against her, but also her having all of her friends and family join her in celebration only to discover it was all a great sham.

'I don't accept that in effect this was just an administrative error.'

Prosecutor Jonathan Wigodes said: 'This defendant married for the first time in 1996 to a lady called Claire.

'That marriage came to an end when they were divorced in 2002. That divorce was issued and decreed absolute.

'In 2006 he married for the second time, this time to a lady called Marina Sherwood.

'Their separation went through divorce proceedings but there never was a decree absolute.

'In early 2014 on a dating website he met a lady called Lisa Buckingham.

'They and her two daughters, one of whom is 20 the other 14, got on very well and they went to Portugal for a holiday in March 2014.

'While on holiday he proposed to her and he said he wanted to get married quickly and indeed he seemed desperate to get married quickly.

'They set a wedding date of June 6, 2014.

'Naturally, in the course of their relationship they spoke about ex-partners and the defendant quite clearly and deliberately lied.

'He told her he had only married once before to Claire and explained accurately that that marriage had ended in divorce.

'She believed he was being honest with her. They went to a register office, he proceeded with the paperwork relating to Claire.

'In due course, on June 6 they were married.

'A certain amount of drinking took place and the marriage was not consummated that night.

'On June 8 Lisa received a message on Facebook from Kirsty Boyd saying "Good luck with the cocaine conman, I presume you will be with him when he goes to court on Tuesday."

The court heard Sharpe told Ms Buckingham about his first divorce but never mentioned his second marriage

She spoke to him and he denied it, he said she was just trying to cause trouble because he separated from her mother.

'She was sufficiently concerned to ring the Magistrates Court on June 10.

'She expected to be told it was not listed, but they told her it was. He told her she was mistaken, she was wrong and that he wouldn't speak to her anymore about it.

'She found the charge sheet and confronted him with it, and he eventually admitting being in court.

'She was sufficiently concerned that the marriage was not consummated.

'There were concerns over him stealing from her and her daughters and trying to fraudulently cash her mother's cheque.

'That ended her relationship, and she feared he would go to prison. He received a suspended sentence and she permitted him to remain at her address.

'In April 2015 she went into the loft looking for his paperwork to give it back to him.

'She went through the paperwork to ensure none of hers was in it and in the course of doing that she found paperwork relating to his second marriage.

'This was something that had never been mentioned to her before. She contacted Leicester Court and then contacted the police.

'When she spoke to Sharpe he denied knowing her and then said he used to date her before, but they never married.

'He said she was being ridiculous.

'The defendant was arrested, he was interviewed and in the course of the interview he tried to downplay what had gone on.'

As he was jailed for five months by Derby Crown Court, Sharpe's new partner mouthed 'I love you'

Mr Wigodes then read out a victim impact statement by Lisa that said: 'He was the one who pushed for the marriage.

'If we hadn't been married I would have left him on the spot, but I felt I owed it to the relationship persist.

'I believe this whole relationship was based on a lie and I want this whole nightmare to be over.'

Mr Wigodes added: 'She is on the verge of a nervous breakdown. She can't begin to explain how embarrassing it is to explain to people who came to the marriage that it was a sham.'

The court heard Mitchell previously been found guilty of theft in 2004, 2008, 2009 and 2010.

In October 2014 he was found guilty of stealing from Lisa's family and received a suspended sentence.

Andrew Vout, defending, said: 'The defendant did indeed marry Marina Sherwood on July 15, 2006, but that marriage lasted one week.

'On January 29, 2008, the defendant initiated divorce proceedings, and his attempts only failed due to an administrative failure on his account.'

The court heard the defendant moved homes in 2010 and so did not receive a letter to make the divorce absolute.

He later failed to inform Leicester County Court he was in receipt of Job Seeker's Allowance in May 2011 and voided another attempt at divorce.

Mr Vout said: 'He is here today for want of sending in his proof of receipt of Job Seeker's Allowance, that is all.
Theresa May's life turned upside down when she lost her father in 1981 and then a few months later her mother.

But she relied on her husband Philip who she married four years previous and she calls her 'rock'.

Mr May could now just be weeks away from becoming Britain's 'First Husband' following in the footsteps of Denis Thatcher.

Theresa May, who is hoping to become the new prime minister, was photographed standing next to her husband Philip in 1980

Theresa May attended church on Sunday morning with her husband Philip near her Maidenhead constituency in Berkshire

Theresa May with her husband Philip, who has often been compared to Lady Thatcher's quiet and supportive husband Denis

The then Miss Brasier married Mr May in 1980 at Church of St Mary the Virgin in Wheatley in Oxfordshire where her father The Rev Hubert Brasier was the vicar.

But just a year later Rev Braiser was killed when his Morris Marina collided with a Range Rover on the A40 near Oxford. He died of head and spinal injuries a few hours later.

And just a few months later Mrs May's mother Zaidee, who suffered from multiple sclerosis, also died. Mrs May was only 25 at the time.

Speaking on Radio 4's Desert Island Discs she said her husband had been a 'huge support'.

Theresa May, pictured with her smiling husband Philip, chose to wear a blue two-piece suit when first elected in 1997, as Mrs Thatcher did when she entered Downing Street in 1979

She added: 'That was very important for me. He was a real rock for me.'

Alicia Collinson, a close friend at Oxford, told The Telegraph: 'It was dreadful... Theresa had Philip and Philip saw her through that. He was and remains her rock.'

They both studied geography at St Hugh's College, Oxford, starting in 1974 when Harold Wilson was prime minister.

In the hullabaloo of Wilson's second election victory that year Miss Collinson recalls how Mrs May said she would one day be prime minister.

'My memory's hazy but it was the first term at Oxford in 1974,' Miss Collinson said.

'We were at breakfast and she said something about wanting to be prime minister.'

Mrs May was part of the same intake to the university which included Alan Duncan, the former international development minister, and Damian Green.

She met Philip after being introduced at an Oxford Conservative disco in 1976.

Mrs May was described as 'fun' to be around but others said she was 'reticent and self-contained'.

No one felt on matey terms with Theresa, one contemporary who wishes to remain anonymous claimed.

Mrs May was known for her fiery skills in political debates whilst at Oxford. On a debate about abortion she was described as 'the statuesque Miss Brasier burning with emotion in her red dress'.

Two years after graduating in 1979 and holding down a job in the Bank of England, Mrs May had reportedly issued Philip with an ultimatum.

A gossip column Cherwell, the student newspaper, reported: 'I gather the same fate [of being rejected] awaits Philip if he hesitates any longer in announcing his intention to make an honest woman of the Vicar's daughter.'

But by the time of the summer term of 1979, when Mr May had become Oxford Union president, the couple had engaged before they married in September 1980.
Police say that 21 officers were injured and 102 people were arrested after protesters shut down Interstate 94

Protests over deaths of Sterling and Castile continued yesterday with violence breaking out in St Paul, Minnesota

Attorney General Loretta Lynch says its unlikely Department will carry out a hate crime investigation as police killed Johnson

But many have criticized call as fatal shootings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile by cops are not being investigated as hate crimes

'always quick to insert itself into local investigations' as they demanded action

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Police have been branded 'hypocrites' over calls for the Justice Department to investigate the Dallas shootings as a 'hate crime', as the sixth day of protests erupted across the country over the fatal shooting of two black men by cops.

The Fraternal Order of Police called for an 'immediate' hate crime investigation into the murders of five officers at a Black Lives Matter protest in Texas on Thursday. Another seven were injured.

'The U.S. Department of Justice is always quick to insert itself into local investigations,' group President Chuck Canterbury said Friday. 'Today we expect action just as swift. We want a federal investigation into those who were motivated by their hatred of police to commit mass murder in Dallas.'

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Police have been branded 'hypocrites' over calls for the Justice Department to investigate the Dallas shootings as a 'hate crime', as the sixth day of protests erupted across the country over the fatal shooting of two black men by cops (pictured are demonstrators with Black Lives Matter march during a protest in Washington)

Philando Castile, whose death was live streamed by his girlfriend, was shot when police pulled him over for a broken taillight on Wednesday - sparking mass protests (pictured are demonstrations in St Paul, Minnesota)

People shout slogans during a protest in support of the Black Lives Matter movement in New York. Gunman Micah Johnson had reportedly carried out the shooting because he was angry about two incident last week where police fatally shot black men

Hundreds of protesters against recent fatal shootings by police of black men gathered on Market Street in San Francisco on Friday for a peaceful march to City Hall

Micah Johnson, a 25-year-old black Army veteran, (left and right) reportedly carried out the shooting because he was angry about two incident last week where police fatally shot black men. He told police he hated white people, 'especially white officers'

Gunman Micah Johnson, a 25-year-old black Army veteran, reportedly carried out the shooting because he was angry about two incidents last week where police fatally shot black men. He told police he hated white people, 'especially white officers'.

Street seller Alton Sterling was pinned down and shot by two white police officers in Louisiana on Tuesday, while Philando Castile, whose death was live streamed by his girlfriend, was shot when police pulled him over for a broken taillight on Wednesday.

Neither of their deaths, which sparked mass protests that have now reached their sixth day, have been investigated as hate crimes. A civil rights investigation is ongoing into Sterling's death while authorities say they are 'monitoring' Castile's death.

People have criticized the Fraternal Order's attempts to get the Dallas shootings classed as a hate crime as 'hypocritical'.

One Twitter user, @darkirish78, said: 'Republicans want the Dallas shooting prosecuted as a hate crime, but not Sterling, Castillo, or Orlando shootings? What the actual f**k?!'

The casualties include Dallas police officers Patrick Zamarripa (center), Michael Krol (right), Lorne Ahrens and Michael J. Smith, as well as DART Officer Brent Thompson (left)

Fallen Dallas, Texas police officer Lorne Ahrens pictured on the left. On the right, murdered Dallas officer Michael J Smith

James Peter added: '(The police) don't want to be held accountable but when they get killed they ask for a change in laws. Seems pretty hypocrite(sic) to me.'

While Pits Piper said that if the police were asking for a hate crime investigation, it was only fair that any unarmed suspect shot by cops should be granted the same.

'So now with every person killed on the streets without weapon in hand, then the police deserve the same charges filed against them,' they added.

Others agreed the massacre on the streets of Dallas, Texas, was a hate crime but asked 'can we rewind this tape and start from killing blacks, Muslims, Latinos as a hate crime first?'

In other cases, the Justice Department has launched investigations into high profile deaths of black suspects by the police.

Freddie Gray was fatally injured last year after cops failed to put a safety belt around him when he was loaded into the back of a Baltimore City Police van, while Michael Brown was shot dead by a police officer in Ferguson in 2014.

Both were investigated as hate crimes but the agency failed to file charges in either case.

However, Dallas Police Chief David Brown said Johnson had said that he 'wanted to kill white people, especially white officers.'

Police have been branded 'hypocrites' over calls for the Justice Department to investigate the Dallas shootings as a 'hate crime', while the fatal shootings of Philando Castile (left) in Minnesota and Alton Sterling (right) in Louisiana, by cops have not been investigated as hate crimes

People have criticized the Fraternal Order's attempts to get the Dallas shootings classed as a hate crime as 'hypocritical'

'If there has ever been an assassination of police officers that fits the current hate crime legislation, Dallas is it,' said Canterbury, who represents 330,000 officers, after the deaths of Brent Thompson, Patrick Zamarripa, Michael Krol, Lorne Ahrens and Michael J. Smith.

'Though the main offender is dead, the hate crime investigation will show to the Justice Department and to the country that this was a hate-based crime,' he told National Public Radio on Friday.

The union has previously pushed for legislation to make killing someone because they are a police officer a hate crime.

Certain states, such as Louisiana, already have laws which make the murder of officers a hate crime, but no such legislation yet exists on a federal level.

However, the union are hoping an investigation could be filed on Johnson's anti-white statements.

The Justice Department would not confirm whether they plan to investigate the shootings as a hate crime.

However, Attorney General Loretta Lynch told law enforcement union leaders Friday that it's unlikely the Department will carry out a hate crime investigation because the suspect is dead. Police killed Johnson with a robot-operated bomb.

Lynch said that hate crime charges may have been a possibility if Johnson was still alive or if more suspects were discovered.

Three people were taken into custody during the shootings where there was reports of multiple gunmen. However, investigators have since said that it appears Johnson was acting alone.

Angry demonstrations have reached their sixth day since street seller Alton Sterling was pinned down and shot by two white police officers on Tuesday morning (pictured, police officers launch smoke bombs and tear gas to clear out protesters who shut down highway I-94 on July 9, 2016 in St. Paul, Minnesota)

Marches and vigils have taken place every night since Tuesday and continued into the early hours of Sunday morning, with furious protesters confronting - and being arrested - by armed police (pictured, a police officer uses pepper spray at two people stood by the side of Interstate 94)

Police arrest activist DeRay McKesson during a protest along Airline Highway, a major road that passes in front of the Baton Rouge Police Department headquarters

A police officer affixes his gas mask as police drop smoke bombs on protesters shut in St. Paul, Minnesota

Protests and marches have occurred every day since the police killing of Philando Castile on June 6, 2016 in Falcon Heights, Minnesota

Aisha Key, top, assists Gina Key-Conrad after Baton Rouge police in riot gear moved in on the protesters for a second night on July 9, 2016 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

When asked if he believed the shooting was a hate crime, President Obama said: 'It's very hard to interpret the motives of this shooter, as we have seen in a host of mass shootings,' he said.

Meanwhile, angry demonstrations have reached their sixth day since street seller Alton Sterling was pinned down and shot by two white police officers on Tuesday morning.

Marches and vigils have taken place every night since then and continued into the early hours of Sunday morning, with furious protesters confronting - and being arrested - by armed police.

The heated confrontation saw lines of police officers come face-to-face with huge crowds of demonstrators, with protest leaders stepping in between the two packs to appeal for calm in scenes that harked back to the civil rights movement.

Officers were on high alert after the FBI noticed social media posts warning of a 'Baton Rouge Purge' throughout Saturday night. According to the rumors, there was just one rule to the violence: 'Kill every police.'

There were more protests across the country, with demonstrations against police brutality in New York, San Francisco, Denver, Florida, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City and Rhode Island.

Prominent Black Lives Matters activist DeRay McKesson was one of more than 30 people arrested at protests in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where dozens of officers in riot gear faced off against demonstrators.

Lines of Baton Rouge police move in on protesters for a second night on July 9, who are protesting after Sterling was shot by a police officer in front of the Triple S Food Mart in Baton Rouge

Baton Rouge police rush the crowd of protesters and start making arrests last night in Baton Rouge

Protesters held up signs which read 'stop killing us' at the Minnesota protests on Saturday

A protester raises his fist in defiance to a line of cops on Highway I-94 on July 9 in St. Paul, Minnesota

When asked if he believed the shooting was a hate crime, President Obama said: 'It's very hard to interpret the motives of this shooter, as we have seen in a host of mass shootings,' he said.

Meanwhile, angry demonstrations have reached their sixth day since street seller Alton Sterling was pinned down and shot by two white police officers on Tuesday morning.

Marches and vigils have taken place every night since then and continued into the early hours of Sunday morning, with furious protesters confronting - and being arrested - by armed police.

The heated confrontation saw lines of police officers come face-to-face with huge crowds of demonstrators, with protest leaders stepping in between the two packs to appeal for calm in scenes that harked back to the civil rights movement.

Officers were on high alert after the FBI noticed social media posts warning of a 'Baton Rouge Purge' throughout Saturday night. According to the rumors, there was just one rule to the violence: 'Kill every police.'

There were more protests across the country, with demonstrations against police brutality in New York, San Francisco, Denver, Florida, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City and Rhode Island.

Prominent Black Lives Matters activist DeRay McKesson was one of more than 30 people arrested at protests in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where dozens of officers in riot gear faced off against demonstrators.

'He was clearly targeted,' said Brittany Packnett, a co-founder with McKesson of the group Campaign Zero to NY Daily News , describing it as a violent arrest.

She later tweeted that 100 people were arrested in Baton Rouge.

Louisiana State Police claimed on their Facebook page that protesters had wanted to 'cause an issue' and block traffic.

Two reporters covering the event for Rochester, New York television station WHAM were arrested during the protests.

Police officers launch smoke bombs and tear gas to clear out protesters who shut down highway I-94 on July 9

Smoke bombs and tear gas were used after fireworks and rocks were thrown at police in St Paul, Minnesota

Minnesota cops arrested between 50 and 100 people as protesters blocked part of Interstate 94 in demonstrations that lasted until around 4am

Mica Grimm, center, an organizer with Black Lives Matter, helps with the demonstration over the death of Castile

WHAM reports that the pair were standing with a group of other journalists but were the only two African-American reporters.

Chief Michael Ciminelli and Mayor Lovely Warren later apologized for the arrests.

In New York, more than 500 people took to the streets to protest over the case of another fatal shooting.

Delrawn Small, 37, was shot within seconds of approaching off-duty cop Wayne Isaac's car after the police officer cut him off in Brooklyn at around midnight on July 4, witnesses said. The fatal shooting took place in front of Small's girlfriend and three children.

Hundreds of protesters marched on Union Square, chanting 'black lives matter' and 'no justice, no peace'.

The protesters kept to the sidewalk at first, but then took to the roads, leading to around 20 arrests for public disorder.

There were more protests across the country, with demonstrations against police brutality in New York, San Francisco, Denver, Florida, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City and Rhode Island.

Fireworks and rocks were thrown at police in St Paul, Minnesota - where Philando Castile was killed by police - as protests turned violent there.

Minnesota cops arrested between 102 people as protesters blocked part of Interstate 94 in demonstrations that lasted until around 4am.

More than 20 cops were injured as unruly protesters detonated fireworks and flung rocks, concrete, rebar, molotov cocktails and glass bottles at cops patrolling the rally.

Police retaliated by detonating smoke bombs to try clearing protesters from the highway.

The violent tone was a stark contrast to throngs of demonstrators opposing riot police by belting a chorus of Minneapolis artist Prince's 'Purple Rain.'

A St. Paul police spokesman told DailyMail.com that protesters were dropping 10lbs concrete blocks on officers' heads, throwing bricks at their heads and genitals, and lobbing Molotov cocktails. Incredibly, none of the officers were seriously injured.

The blocked highway reopened shortly after 1am in the Minneapolis area.

St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman described the protests as an 'extreme incident' leading to injuries to officers that were 'significant, but none were life-threatening.'

'We hope for the best and prepare for the worst and, unfortunately, last night the worst occurred,' St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell said at a Sunday press conference. Axtell passed around to reporters a police badge that was bent from the impact of a rock as he said he was 'disgusted' by the acts of some people and added, 'we're not going to tolerate it.'

Protesters lined the bridge and stood in the highway itself in St. Paul, Minnesota during the demonstrations

More than 20 cops were injured as unruly protesters detonated fireworks and flung rocks, concrete, rebar, molotov cocktails and glass bottles at cops patrolling the rally

Demonstrators raised their hands as police attempted to move them off highway I-94

Protesters linked hands at the demonstration in Minnesota, while there were more protests across the country, with demonstrations against police brutality in New York, San Francisco, Denver, Florida, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City and Rhode Island

Hundreds gathered on the highway in the Black Lives Matter movement demonstration on Saturday

'It's the first time in my 28 years as a police officer that I have observed this level of violence toward our public servants,' Axtell said. 'We're hoping and praying that tonight is a better night.

Protests continued past midnight in Atlanta, Georgia, where police arrested at least four demonstrators for walking in the street, WSB-TV reported. Georgia State police blocked on-ramps to highway to stop protesters from entering the roadway.

At least three people were arrested following similar rallies in Chicago, cops said.

In San Francisco, Bay Bridge was shut off as hundreds of demonstrators tried to march on to the freeway. There were similar protests in Fresno.

A sit-in in protest at the killings continued in Denver, while in Florida Black Lives Matter marches in West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale went ahead peacefully. Another protest is expected in Miami on Saturday night.

Several hundred people broke off from Pittsburgh's 200th anniversary parade to protest recent police shootings across the country, some of whom were affiliated with Black Lives Matter.

In Philadelphia, a group of about 100 protesters marched to two police precincts in the northern part of the city on Saturday. More than 150 people gathered in downtown Newport, Rhode Island, in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

There were more rallies in Salt Lake City, where protesters danced to show they were not a danger to police.

Racial tensions between police and protesters have even boiled over to abuse online after a white Kansas cop threatened a random black woman's young daughter over Facebook.

Rodney Lee Wilson, who had been an officer with Overland Park Police Department for more than a year, was fired after he launched an astonishing rant in which he appeared to threaten the life of LaNaydra Williams's five-year-old daughter.

Having found pictures of Williams' daughter India visible on her Facebook profile, Lee wrote, referencing the Black Lives Matter movement: 'We'll see how much her life matters soon... better be careful leaving your info in the open where she can be found. 'Hold her close tonight, it'll be the last time.'

Wilson has since been dismissed from duty.

Johnson, a private in the American Army, was deployed to Afghanistan in November 2013 with the 420th Engineer Brigade.

While he was there, his colleague Anna Ma, 25, accused him of sexual harassment, according to a military lawyer who represented Johnson when he returned home in June 2014.

Pictures of the five officers killed by Johnson at the Dallas shootings were displayed on stage during a service at the The Potter's House

A woman prays at the Potter's House church during Sunday service following the multiple police shootings in Dallas, Texas

Bishop T.D. Jakes, right, embraces a first responder during the service on Sunday, July 10, 2016, in Dallas, that included a memorial to the five police officers killed last week in Dallas

Parishioners of First Baptist Church greeted a Dallas police officer today as they gather to pray for the five police officers killed in the Dallas shootings

The officer appears emotional as she meets parishioners for the prayer session for the fallen officers killed by 25-year-old black army veteran Micah Johnson

Scores of worshipers from First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, gathered around a water feature to pray for the police officers

They were joined by police officers on July 10 who bowed their heads in prayer at the ceremony for their fellow officers

Dallas police officers keep watch over a makeshift memorial at the police headquarters, on Sunday, July 10

A man pauses at the growing memorial in front of the Dallas Police Department headquarters after the ambush shooting of police officers in Dallas, Texas

Dallas Police Department officers appear emotional during a visit to the memorial in front of police headquarters

Wells Newsome, who served alongside Johnson in Afghanistan, wrote on Facebook: 'We all knew he was a pervert cuz [sic] he got caught stealing girls' panties, but murdering cops is a different story.'

Johnson waived his right to a military court hearing in the wake of the allegations. Despite the claims, he left the Army in April 2015 with an honourable discharge.

After his military career, Johnson worked as a driver for a group providing hospital transport for mentally disabled people.

But privately, his festering hatred of white people had begun. On Facebook, he identified himself as a 'black nationalist' and gave a black power salute.

He 'liked' several pages including the New Black Panther Party, the African American Defense League and the Nation of Islam. He attended a gym called Academy of Combat Warrior Acts, which teaches martial arts and weapons classes.

Police raided Johnson's home on Friday and found a cache of guns, a hand-written journal listing 'combat tactics', body armour and bomb-making equipment.

A law enforcement source told WFAA that Johnson was 'planning something bigger' but cut preparations short because he knew scores of police officers would man the Black Lives Matter protest.

Detectives found bomb making materials, ballistic vests, rifles, ammunition and a personal journal of combat tactics at Johnson's mother's home in Mesquite, Texas, the day after his horrific spree.

'We think he was probably planning something bigger based on what we found at the house with the explosive materials,' the police source said.

'He had a bunch of explosive materials. He didn't have the explosives created.'

Johnson's plan was 'to kill as many as he could', the source said, but he could have killed more if he had longer to prepare his attack.

'I think that target of opportunity is what drove him as far as timing,' the source said.

'He literally had hundreds and hundreds of rounds in magazines attached to his body so it wasn't like he was running out of ammunition.

'He definitely was ready to go and intending to inflict more damage. His plan was to kill as many as he could.'

Johnson's Facebook account included information about Richard Griffin (left), also known as Professor Griff, who 'embraces a radical form of Afrocentrism.' On his Facebook page, Griffin, a member of Public Enemy  said he does 'not advocate killing Cops'
Banksy stenciled the pieces in 2003 and two others were destroyed in 2014

Three priceless artworks by the world's most famous street artist have been destroyed after a building owner destroyed and replaced a door.

The stencils by British street artist Banksy, which depicted a rodent parachuting, two rats talking and another of a rat, were destroyed when a doorway in Melbourne's AC/DC Lane was knocked down to be replaced with a new entrance.

Meyer Eidelson, 65, who runs tour company Melbourne Walks, said the rubble from the doorway was 'mindlessly' thrown into a rubbish skip.

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The stencils by British street artist Banksy were destroyed when a doorway (left) in Melbourne's AC/DC Lane was knocked down to be replaced by a new entrance (right)

One of the destroyed stencils, a parachuting rat. Meyer Eidelson, 65, who runs tour company Melbourne Walks, said the rubble from the doorway was 'mindlessly' thrown into a rubbish skip

Another stencil destroyed during the construction of the new door way depicts two rats talking and listening to music

The artworks were painted by Banksy in 2003 when he visited the famous laneway with founding Melbourne street artists, according to Mr Eidelson

'They were well known to the arts community here,' Mr Eidelson told Daily Mail Australia.

'It's a priceless asset, if you are taking visitors around the city to see the best known street artist in the world.

'This was in its beginning, it's seminal to the history of the arts movement. It was an iconic site.

'And in terms of visitors and locals seeing the arts, it's absolutely priceless.'

The artworks were painted by Banksy in 2003 when he visited the famous laneway with founding Melbourne street artists, according to Mr Eidelson.

In 2014, two other Banksy stencils in the same lane were destroyed.

'It's a priceless asset' - Melbourne Walks tour guide Meyer Eidelson is outraged by the destruction of the stencils

A Palestinian labourer works under a large wall painting by elusive British graffiti artist Banksy.

Mr Eidelson said he was aware of nine Banksy artworks in Melbourne's city centre, seven of which have been destroyed.

Banksy's artwork frequently fetches hundreds of thousands of dollars, with some people known to remove sections of stenciled walls.

Christina Aguilera reportedly owns three works and Angelina Jolie spent almost $350,000 on Banksy pieces, according to The Sun.

One of his most famous pieces, 'Keeping it Spotless', a collaborative work with English artist Damien Hirst sold for more than $2.2 million in 2008.

Banksy's artwork frequently fetches hundreds of thousands of dollars, with some people known to remove sections of stenciled walls. The name Banksy is written left as part of a mural in England

A Banksy artwork is created opposite the French embassy on January 25, 2016 in London, England
A cosmetic surgeon in Perth moonlights as a burlesque dancer - and plays organ at her local church.

Tessa Kaminski began to attend circus school as a hobby while she was studying theology at the University of Notre Dame University ten years ago, reported Perth Now.

Little did she know then, her hobby would turn into a lucrative side-career, taking her around the world and allowing her to perform at places like the Playboy Mansion.

She has also performed at charity events for the Breast Cancer Foundation and Lifeline.

Dr Tessa Kaminski is a skilled cosmetic surgeon and burlesque dancer in Perth

The blonde beauty also studied theology at the University of Notre Dame before she began her medical degree

Dr Kaminski went on to study medicine after theology, and after six years as a doctor she became a successful cosmetic surgeon.

She told Perth Now that she performed at a nightclub in Subiaco, Perth, on Friday just an hour after performing surgery on a child burns victim.

Dr Kaminski has also been linked to television presenter Richard Wilkins, though the Perth woman remains adamant the two are just friends

Her hobby seems to heavily contradict her faith, but Dr Kaminski says she has the full support of her church, where she plays the organ.

The blonde beauty keeps her faith with her even when she's scantily dressed and hanging from the ceiling.

It is most obvious when she is approached by men with untoward intentions.

'I just bless them with the holy spirit', she said..
Uganda's elderly President Yoweri Museveni has been mocked online for a bizarre rambling speech he made this week to mark the 40th anniversary of the Entebbe raid.

The 71-year-old's speech was so bad that dignitaries in the crowd can be seen giggling and chuckling as he refers to the biblical King Herod as being 'a very bad gentleman, or something like that.'

On 4 July 1976 Israeli commandos flew into Entebbe airport in Uganda and freed more than 100 passengers who were being held by Palestinian and German kidnappers.

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The audience were bemused as President Museveni (pictured) rambled on about King Herod and the Balfour Declaration, repeatedly using the phrase 'or something like that'

The brother of Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was the only commando killed in the raid but dozens of Ugandan soldiers, loyal to the then dictator Idi Amin, were killed.

Netanyahu listened attentively as President Museveni began his speech, which appeared badly researched and largely incoherent.

Referring to Netanyahu, the Ugandan leader, who has been in power for 30 years, said: 'I want to thank him for turning this sad story 40 years ago into yet another instrument of bonding the holy land of Israel-Palestine, with the heartland Uganda in particular, and in general.

'The sad event, 40 years ago, turned to another bond linking Palestine to Africa. I say this is yet another bond between Africa and Palestine because there were earlier bondage events.'

President Museveni (left) was subjected to ridicule after his rambling, incoherent speech was posted online. Among those listening were Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (right)

Israeli army personnel salute as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived at Entebbe to mark the 40th anniversary of the raid

Museveni also said: 'There was a character called Balfour or something like that, I don't know how they pronounce his name.

'That gentleman put out something called the Balfour declaration or something like that and the fellow was talking about Uganda as the home of the Jews! You can see how these fellows are really not serious.'

He said 'fortunately' the Jewish leaders rejected the Uganda plan and he said: 'The Jewish leaders were very, very clever, otherwise we would be fighting you now.'

The media in Israel was not impressed by the speech and particularly by his frequent references to Palestine.

The Guardian newspaper said an Israeli radio broadcaster cut off President Museveni mid-flow by just saying: 'We've heard enough'.

The Jerusalem Post likened Museveni to a Ugandan Donald Trump, except that the Republican candidate is seeking election while Museveni has been in power for 30 years.

Journalist Adrian Blomfield tweeted: 'Here's full speech and boy it's a corker. Makes Mugabe sound coherent. #Entebbe'

Museveni was re-elected in February this year but Uganda's constitution says a president must be under 75, which means he will be too old at the next elections in 2021.

But it is thought he may seek to challenge the constitution and go on and on, like 92-year-old Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave his own speech. Uganda was the first of four nations in Africa which he visited this week

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country's raid on Uganda's Entebbe airport 40 years ago, in which his brother was killed, 'changed the course' of his life and had a lasting influence on his country's relations with Africa.

Speaking shortly after his arrival in Uganda, Netanyahu praised Israel's commando raid on the airport which freed Israeli hostages from a hijacked plane. 'International terrorism suffered a stinging defeat,' he said of the mission in July 1976.

The Entebbe rescue is a seminal event in Israeli history and is widely seen as one of the country's greatest military successes. It also was a monumental event for Netanyahu, as the death of his brother, Yonatan, pushed him into the public eye and on a track that would take him to the country's highest office.

Israeli Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, sits near Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, right, after his arrival at Entebbe airport

An Israeli band played somber tunes at the airport on the shore of Lake Victoria to mark the anniversary of the Israeli rescue mission, during which three hostages were killed. A relative of one of the Israeli hostages lit a memorial flame as Netanyahu and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni stood in silence.

Netanyahu traveled to Uganda with soldiers and pilots who were members of the rescue team.

'This is a deeply moving day for me,' he said. 'Forty years ago they landed in the dead of night in a country led by a brutal dictator who gave refuge to terrorists. Today we landed in broad daylight in a friendly country led by a president who fights terrorists.'
It took the White House more than seven years to lock in Spain on President Barack Obama's foreign travel schedule.

But events beyond Obama's control have turned his first and only visit to Spain, the largest European country that had yet to welcome the president, into a rushed one.

Instead of spending two days sightseeing in southern Spain and tending to more official business in the capital of Madrid, the White House scrapped some of Obama's events  including a staple of his foreign travels, a question-and-answer forum with young adults  and crammed the rest of his schedule into Sunday.

Deadly shootings last week of black men by police in Louisiana and Minnesota, followed by the sniper killings of five police officers in Dallas, led Obama to make the unusual choice to return to the White House late Sunday, a day earlier than originally planned.

President Obama will head to Dallas on Tuesday and speak at an interfaith memorial service for the five fallen officers.

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President Barack Obama (left) shakes hands with Spain's King Felipe VI at the Palacio Real de Madrid in Madrid, Spain on Sunday

President Obama sits next to Spain's acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy as they met today at the Palacio de la Moncloa in Madrid

President Obama took questions earlier today in Spain at the Palacio de la Moncloa in Madrid. He heads back to Washington, D.C. tonight

Obama has been loath to tear up his schedule in response to previous acts of violence, saying repeatedly that altering his plans would be tantamount to giving in to terrorists.

But terrorists didn't strike in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, near St. Paul, Minnesota, or Dallas.

The assaults followed June's deadly shooting at an Orlando, Florida, nightclub and the rise in so-called lone-wolf terrorism, heightening fears about public safety.

Obama defended the Black Lives Matter movement when talking to reporters today in Spain, while also pressing them not to inspire violence against the police, saying it would be 'doing a disservice to the cause.'

'One of the great things about America is that individual citizens and groups of citizens can petition their government, can protest, can speak truth to power,' Obama said in Madrid.

'And that is sometimes messy and controversial but because of that ability to protest and engage in free speech, America over time has gotten better. We've all benefited from that,' he continued.

But he also said that 'any violence to police officers is a reprehensible crime and needs to be prosecuted.'

President Obama flew to southwestern Spain Sunday afternoon to tour the U.S.S. Ross Navy ship at the Naval Station Rota

President Obama still made time to visit servicemembers stationed on a Navy vessel docked in southwestern Spain even though he cut his Spain trip short to head back to Washington, D.C. and later Dallas, Texas

'But even rhetorically, if we paint police in broad brush without recognizing that the vast majority of police officers are doing a really good job and are trying to protect people and do so fairly and without racial bias, if our rhetoric does not recognize that, then we're going to lose allies in the reform cause,' Obama continued.

'Maintaining a truthful and serious and respectful tone is going to help mobilize American society to bring about real change  and that is our ultimate objective,' Obama added.

Obama also noted the 'difficult week' as he made small talk Sunday with King Felipe VI after arriving at Spain's Royal Palace for a meeting.

The king thanked Obama for visiting under the circumstances.

The stop in Spain is the last leg of what is likely Obama's final trip to Europe before he leaves office in January. He arrived late Saturday from Poland, where he attended a NATO summit.

There he talked about gunman who killed five police officers during a protest in Dallas, saying he was 'demented.'

Obama once again rallied for stricter gun control.

'As painful as this week has been, I firmly believe America is not as divided as some have suggested,' the president said.

He pointed out that Americans are united in their outrage at the 'inexcusable attacks on police' while acknowledging the systemic problems of the criminal justice system against people of color.

Obama called the gunman who killed five police officers during a protest in Dallas a 'demented individual' who is not representative of African Americans

'The demented individual who carried out those attacks in Dallas - he's not more representative of all African-Americans than the shooter in Charleston was representative of white Americans,' Obama said

One video showed the moment a brave officer confronted the gunman (left). In the still above, the officer (right) is seen trying to duck for cover behind a cement post before he is shot

'Americans of all races and all backgrounds are rightly outraged about the inexcusable attacks on police,' Obama said.

'This is not who we want to be as Americans. And that serves as the basis for us to move forward in a constructive and positive way. We cannot let the actions of a few define all of us.'

'The demented individual who carried out those attacks in Dallas, he's not more representative of all African-Americans than the shooter in Charleston was representative of white Americans.

'Or the shooter in Orlando or San Bernardino were representative of Muslim Americans. They don't speak for us. That's not who we are.'

Obama said it was impossible to weed out violence entirely, but refused to back down on his call for stricter gun control measures, which could make a difference in preventing mass shootings.

He pointed to studies that have shown the United States is an outlier among developed countries in terms of gun deaths, and argued against the open-carry laws in states like Texas.

'Police have a difficult time in communities where they know guns are everywhere. They have a right to come home, and now they have very little margin of error to make decisions,' he said.

'If you care about our police officers, you can't set aside the gun issue and pretend that that's irrelevant.

'Imagine if you're a police officer trying to sort out who is shooting at you and a bunch of people who have guns on them.'

'Americans of all races and all backgrounds are rightly outraged about the inexcusable attacks on police,' Obama said in Warsaw on Saturday (pictured, flowers and letters of condolences for the Dallas Police)

Obama also referenced the circumstances surrounding the death of Philando Castile, who reportedly told officer Jeronimo Yanez he was licensed to carry a concealed firearm when he was pulled over

Obama also referenced the circumstances surrounding the death of Philando Castile, who reportedly told officer Jeronimo Yanez he was licensed to carry a concealed firearm when he was pulled over on Wednesday in Falcon Heights, Minnesota.

'He let the officer know that he had a firearm and he was reaching for his wallet and the officer just shot him in his arm,' Castile's girlfriend Diamond Reynolds said during a Facebook live stream of the shooting's aftermath.

On Saturday, Obama said: 'In Minneapolis, there was a gun in the car, that apparently was licensed, but it caused, in some fashion, those tragic events.'

But the president also maintained a hopeful message as he looked at the long-term drop in crime rates in the U.S.

'Violent crime in the United States is the lowest its been since probably the early 1960s. There's an incredible drop.

'That doesn't lessen people's understandable fears if they see a video clip of someone getting killed, but it is important to keep in perspective.'

Today in Spain, the White House said the visit will highlight security cooperation between the trans-Atlantic allies, as well as political and economic ties.

Obama was also meeting with acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy before heading to Naval Station Rota, in the south.

He planned to tour the USS Ross, one of four guided-missile destroyers based there, and address troops there before the flight home.

Spain has been gripped by a political stalemate for months, with Rajoy unable to garner the necessary support to form a new coalition government following a late-June election. It was the country's second round of inconclusive balloting in the past year.

Rajoy's party also won an election in December, but no other major party was willing to help him form a government.

'I'm very confident that whatever government emerges, we'll be able to work with them effectively on a whole range of issues,' Obama said as the two men met today in Spain.

'As you point out, I've got my own politics to worry about home,' the president continued, as a reporter had asked Rajoy a question about presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump.

Obama wouldn't comment further on the U.S. presidential election except to say, 'I have great confidence in the American people, their goodness. Their values. Their decency. Their common sense.

'Although our political process is messy and dominated by too much money and it lasts too long, there's a lot of rhetoric that is all over the place,' Obama began.

'At the end of the day I think people recognize the importance of the office of the president, and that the United States occupies a unique role in the world, and will take that decision about who sits in the Oval Office very seriously,' the president said.

Obama also addressed Spain's political situation in an interview Saturday with the El Pais newspaper, saying he hopes Spain's next government will be just as committed to strong relations with the U.S. and Europe.

He said the world needs Spain's contributions to the campaign against the Islamic State group, to counterterrorism efforts that prevent attacks and to its fellow NATO members.

'The relationship between Spaniards and Americans goes back centuries,' he said.

'We're connected by the ties of family and culture, including millions of Americans who celebrate their Hispanic heritage. Spain is a strong NATO ally, we're grateful for Spain's many decades of hosting U.S. forces, and we're major trading partners.'

'That's why the United States is deeply committed to maintaining our relationship with a strong, unified Spain,' Obama said.

He said he has longed to return to Spain ever since he passed through while backpacking across Europe decades ago, during his 20s, a point he underscored just before his private meeting with the king.

He said he could not have imagined that he'd return years later and be greeted by royalty.

'I wish I was staying longer,' Obama said Sunday.
Sailors suffered broken bones and one may have a traumatic brain injury

Pilots miraculously maintained momentum and were able to resume flight

Sailors can be seen running both toward the plane and injured crew

This is the terrifying moment a Navy plane nearly crashed into the sea when a metal cable used to catch the landing aircraft suddenly snapped and injured eight sailors.

A video shows the cable, stretched across the deck, slow down the E-2C Hawkeye plane as it prepares to land on the Norfolk-based aircraft carrier USS Dwight D Eisenhower.

But then the wire swiftly breaks from the aircraft's tail hook and the plane continues down the flight deck before it frighteningly disappears.

The E-2C Hawkeye Navy plane nearly crashed into the sea on March 18 when a metal cable used to catch the aircraft (both pictured) suddenly snapped

A video shows the cable, stretched across the deck, slow down the E-2C Hawkeye plane

Sailors on the deck can be seen running both toward the plane and toward the eight hit by the cable, as the aircraft reappears in the sky, miraculously maintaining enough momentum to resume flight.

Injuries among the sailors included a fractured ankle, wrist, pelvis and legs. One sailor received skull and facial fractures and another may have suffered a possible traumatic brain injury.

Navy investigators said human error was to blame for the March 18 incident.

They found that workers missed at least one or two 'critical steps' while working on the engine that helps operate the flight deck's cables, according to a report obtained by The Virginian-Pilot.

The engine thus failed to slow down the E-2C Hawkeye plane and the cable snapped and 'recoiled sharply and backlashed', hitting the eight crew members, the report states.

It was the first time in more than 10 years since a cable had broken on a carrier deck, Naval Air Force Atlantic spokesman Cmdr Mike Kafka told the Navy Times.

The plane was preparing to land on the Norfolk-based aircraft carrier USS Dwight D Eisenhower

But then the wire suddenly breaks from the aircraft's tail hook, it 'recoiled sharply and backlashed'

The pilots knew something was wrong when the Hawkeye continued down the flight deck

The report states that although there was a 'lack of procedural compliance' from the crew who was working on the engine, it found that they 'reasonably believed they had properly and conscientiously completed the complicated procedure'.

Investigators found that the crew, which were troubleshooting a fault code in the engine from a previous landing, were using an approved Navy procedure that wasn't 'user friendly'.

The three-person crew aboard the Hawkeye 'heard the tailhook re-contact the flight deck and felt a shudder' as the wire broke.

They knew something was wrong when the Hawkeye continued down the flight deck, the report states.

The pilots managed to land the Hawkeye, which was undamaged, at Naval Station Norfolk. They are credited in the report for their 'phenomenal airmanship'.

A sailor on the scene said the incident left the pilots completely 'shaken up'.

'One of them, you could tell it messed him up,' the sailor said.

'Because they thought they were going to die.'

For a terrifying moment the plane disappeared and seemed to have crashed into the sea

But the pilots were able to miraculously maintain momentum and continue the flight
A pole dancer who sent abusive and threatening Facebook messages to another woman was let off wearing a curfew tag amid fears it would interfere with her job.

Talia Claire Hawker, from Maes y Gog, Rhyl, admitted sending the threats which caused her victim to flee her home in fear with 'immense fear and anxiety'.

The 28-year-old, who works as a pole dancer and aerial hoop instructor, was ordered to pay 200 compensation for the harm caused and 85 costs at Llandudno Magistrates Court in North Wales.

Talia Claire Hawker, from Maes y Gog, Rhyl, admitted sending the threats which caused her victim to flee her home in fear

Hawker was let off wearing a curfew tag amid fears it would interfere with her job as a pole dancer and instructor

Magistrates told Hawker her offence was serious enough for a community order but it was 'seemingly not possible' because of her job.

They also made a two-year restraining order banning contact with the woman she sent the messages to.

Magistrate Jean Bryson told Hawker: 'The language you used was angry, threatening and abusive.

'You were drunk at the time and you did intend to scare your victim.'

She added Hawker had caused 'immense fear and anxiety'.

Hawker, a single mother-of-two, admitted sending a Facebook message conveying a threat last month and told the court she was 'really sorry'.

Hawker, a single mother-of-two, admitted sending a Facebook message conveying a threat last month and told the court she was 'really sorry'

Magistrates told Hawker her offence was serious enough for a community order but it was 'seemingly not possible' because of her job

Prosecutor James Neary said she had accused her victim of being a 'home-wrecker' and said the online messages became more threatening and abusive.

The frightened victim contacted police and fled her home to stay with her mother.

Defence solicitor Carla Forfar said the victim was allegedly seeing the boyfriend of Hawker's sister at the time.

Hawker had been in Nottingham and drunk when she sent the messages, the court heard.

'She is quite worried about having to wear an anklet because of the job she does,' Hawker's defence solicitor said

Prosecutor James Neary said Hawker had accused her victim of being a 'home-wrecker' and said the online messages became more threatening and abusive

'She says she doesn't even know the victim. She didn't know her address,' Mrs Forfar explained.

'It was a drunken Facebook rant with nothing behind it. This young lady has learned her lesson. It was verbal threats made in drink.'

The solicitor said Hawker 'understood she needed to be punished'.
Queensland Senator-Elect Pauline Hanson has been slammed on social media over the source of information used in her party's medical marijuana policy.

It appears most of the controversial One Nation party's policy on medicinal cannabis has been copied from Wikipedia, the internet's free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.

An image posted to Reddit on Sunday compared the policy from the One Nation website to Wikipedia's page titled 'Medical Cannabis'.

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Queensland politician Pauline Hanson (pictured) has been slammed on social media over the source of information used in her party's medical marijuana policy

An image posted to Reddit on Sunday compares the policy from the One Nation website to Wikipedia's page titled 'Medical Cannabis'

'All the parts highlighted are word for word the same as the Wikipedia page on medical cannabis,' the post reads.

'Notice how Wikipedia delivers a more sceptical approach such as "There is limited evidence" yet when you go back to One Nation's policy this is left out.'

The One Nation website reads: 'Cannabis is one of the 50 "fundamental" herbs in traditional Chinese medicine.'

Wikipedia's page reads: 'Cannabis is one of the 50 "fundamental" herbs in traditional Chinese medicine.'

It appears most of the controversial One Nation party's policy on medicinal cannabis has been copied from Wikipedia- the internet's free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.

This has sparked a heated debate on social media on the credibility of Wikipedia for use in government.

'Policies should be backed by research. However I'm not sure if a copy paste from Wikipedia makes the cut,' one Reddit user wrote.

Another user seems to think Wikipedia is credible enough to run the country: 'I'd vote to replace the current government with Wikipedia,' they said.

If Wikipedia's opinion holds any stead, it says on its own page titled 'Wikipedia: Academic use' that the 'citation of Wikipedia in research papers may be considered unacceptable, because Wikipedia is not considered a credible or authoritative source.'
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Prominent Black Lives Matter activist DeRay McKesson was arrested in Baton Rouge during a protest against the shooting death Tuesday of 37-year-old Alton Sterling, Louisiana authorities said.

McKesson, one of the most recognizable faces to emerge from the Black Lives Matter movement, was walking alongside Airline Highway when he was arrested. He was released Sunday afternoon.

The former educator built a national following after he left his then-home and job in Minneapolis in August 2014 for Ferguson, Missouri, to document the rising anger over race relations after the police shooting of Michael Brown.

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Police arrest activist DeRay McKesson during a protest along Airline Highway, a major road that passes in front of the Baton Rouge PD

McKesson was one of the many protesters angry over the fatal shooting of Alton Sterling by two white Baton Rouge police officers

It was not immediately clear what prompted McKesson's arrest  but multiple witnesses described the arrest as 'physically violent,' the Washington Post reported.

'They tackled him,' Brittany Packnett, a fellow activist, told the newspaper. 'One officer hit the top of his body and another officer the bottom.'

The activist said McKesson, who was live-streaming the protests, had been walking down the street with a group of about eight people  when an officer told him he had been 'flagged' and would be arrested if he left the sidewalk again.

He was arrested moments later.

'The officers won't give their names,' Packnetet told the Post. 'He was clearly targeted.'

Footage from McKesson's camera shows the minutes before he is arrested.

'The police continue to just provoke people,' he says, right before an officer tells him he has been 'flagged.'

'You in them loud shoes, if I see you in the road, if I get close to you, you're going to jail,' the officer is heard saying.

'We're on the shoulder,' Packnett is heard saying. 'There is no sidewalk, sir.'

Moments later, an officer is heard saying: 'City police, you're under arrest.'

'What?' replies McKesson, as heard in the video. 'I'm under arrest, y'all.'

As of Sunday morning, more than 160,000 people tweeted news of McKesson's arrest using the hashtag #FreeDeray.

Police are yet to confirm what charges McKesson faces.

He called a close friend about 5:30am and said he was in 'okay physical condition,' the Post reported.

McKesson, one of the most regognizable faces to emerge from the Black Lives Matter movement, was walking alongside Airline Highway when he was arrested

McKesson is one of 102 people, including at least three journalists, who were arrested during the protests in Baton Rouge, the Advocate reported.

A poignant image of a peaceful female protester wearing a summer dress being approached by officers in riot gear after she refused to leave the motorway in front of the headquarters of the Baton Rouge Police Department Saturday has been shared widely on social media.

Cops say they confiscated eight firearms during the Saturday protests: three rifles, three shotguns and two pistols.

As the protests heat up, one Baton Rouge officer had several of his teeth knocked out 'as a projectile was thrown from the protest,' police said.

'It appears the protest at Baton Rouge Police Headquarters have become more violent as out of town protesters are arriving,' a Baton Rouge PDP statement said.

Most arrests thus far were in connection with obstruction of a highway, records reviewed by the Advocate show. The majority of the protesters were from Baton Rouge, but there were others from San Francisco, Houston,Virginia and Oklahoma, the paper reported.

'We've been very clear that we want them to have every opportunity to protest and voice their opinion,' said spokesman Maj. Doug Cain, of the Louisiana State Police, to the Advocate.

'But if you move into the roadway and break the law, you're going to be arrested.'

McKesson, a former educator, built a national following after he left his then-home and job in Minneapolis in August 2014 for Ferguson, Missouri, to document the rising anger over race relations after the police shooting of Michael Brown

Protests over the police shootings of two black men have raged on for a fifth night, with officers on edge after warnings spread of a planned cop-killing 'purge'.

Angry demonstrations continued in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where street seller Alton Sterling was pinned down and shot by two white police officers on Tuesday morning.

Marches and vigils have taken place every night since then and continued earlier on Saturday, with furious protesters confronting - and being arrested - by armed police.

The heated confrontation saw lines of police officers come face-to-face with huge crowds of demonstrators, with protest leaders stepping in between the two packs to appeal for calm in scenes that harked back to the civil rights movement.

Officers were on high alert after the FBI noticed social media posts warning of a 'Baton Rouge Purge' throughout Saturday night. According to the rumors, there was just one rule to the violence: 'Kill every police.'

Fireworks and rocks were thrown at police in St Paul, Minnesota - where Philando Castile was killed by police - as protests turned violent there. Three cops were injured.

There were more protests across the country, with demonstrations against police brutality in New York, San Francisco, Denver, Florida, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City and Rhode Island.

Protests over the police shootings of two black men have raged on for a fifth night, with officers on edge after warnings spread of a planned cop-killing 'purge'. Pictured, protesters in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

A protester is approached by police officers in riot gear after she refused to leave the motorway in front of the headquarters of the Baton Rouge Police Department Saturday

The heated confrontation saw lines of police officers come face-to-face with huge crowds of demonstrators, with protest leaders stepping in between the two packs to appeal for calm in scenes that harked back to the civil rights movement

A man protesting the shooting death of Alton Sterling is detained by law enforcement near the headquarters of the Baton Rouge Police Department Louisiana

Marches and vigils have taken place every night since Sterling's death and continued earlier on Saturday, with furious protesters confronting - and being arrested - by armed police in Baton Rouge

Angry demonstrations continued in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where street seller Alton Sterling was pinned down and shot by two white police officers on Tuesday morning

Officers were on high alert after social media posts warned of a 'Baton Rouge Purge' throughout Saturday night. According to the rumors, there was just one rule to the violence: 'Kill every police'

In Baton Rouge, hundreds turned out near Baton Rouge's police headquarters to demand justice.

Armed officers wearing riot gear blocked the road and arrested a number of protesters who walked towards the line of cops. The protest was tense as police cleared the road so traffic could pass through.

A police spokesman said two firearms were confiscated and several arrests made.

Officers later went back inside their headquarters and traffic reopened.

Baton Rouge resident Marie Flowers came to the protest in with her three children. She said people in the north Baton Rouge neighborhood where the shooting happened are frustrated.

Protesters waved homemade signs while drivers honked their support and some stopped by with bottles of water.

Fury has gripped much of the town's population since videos emerged appearing to show police officers Howie Lake and Blane Salamoni tackling Sterling to the ground, pinning him down and firing six shots at him.

The 37-year-old father-of-five did not appear to reach for his gun, which was in his pocket.

In Baton Rouge, hundreds turned out near Baton Rouge's police headquarters to demand justice. Two officers grab a woman's camera at the protest

Armed officers wearing riot gear blocked the road and arrested a number of protesters who walked towards the line of cops

The protest was tense as police cleared the road so traffic could pass through. Protesters were allowed to cross back over the road after it was emptied

Tense: A police spokesman said two firearms were confiscated and several arrests made during the heated confrontations

Anger: Protesters waved homemade signs while drivers honked their support and some stopped by with bottles of water

Protests also continued in St Paul, Minnesota, where Castile was killed on Wednesday, with demonstrators blocking a highway

Hundreds of protesters blocked a freeway and at least one person was injured after fireworks and rocks were thrown at police

DALLAS POLICE HQ FALSE ALARM There was panic at Dallas Police headquarters on Saturday evening following reports of a masked man in the building's garage, however it appears to have been a false alarm. A man wearing a black mask was reportedly spotted in a parking garage at the rear of the building after police received an anonymous threat to kill cops. SWAT teams combed the area and broke down fences and doors in their search for a suspect, but nothing was found. A source said a gang from Houston had threatened to attack cops in Dallas. Advertisement

Tensions boiled over across America again after Philando Castile's death at the hands of a police officer in St Paul, Minnesota, was live streamed by his girlfriend.

A protest against the two deaths in Dallas was suddenly transformed from a peaceful march into a bloody massacre, when Army veteran Micah Xavier Johnson opened fire on police officers, killing five and injuring seven more, as well as two members of the public.

Sterling's cousin Tanya Sterling reacted in horror at the slayings of police officers in Dallas, who were protecting protesters marching against her loved one's death.

'Nobody in our family would condone any killings,' she said.

'We feel for those police officers and their families too because now they know what we are all going through and it ain't a good place.

'We have heard about it here and we cannot believe it is getting out of hand like this.

'All of our time since Alton got shot dead has been spent praying and protesting peacefully. We have never wanted any trouble.'

Protests also continued in St Paul, Minnesota, where Castile was killed on Wednesday.

Hundreds of protesters blocked a freeway and at least one person was injured after fireworks and rocks were thrown at police.

Sterling (left) was killed following a confrontation outside a Baton Rouge convenience store early Tuesday morning. Castile (right), 32, was shot dead by a cop during a traffic stop in Minnesota

On guard: A police officer is seen near the headquarters of the Baton Rouge Police Department during the angry protests on Saturday

Unity: Protesters gave a black power salute as they joined in the protests on Baton Rouge on what was the fifth day of demonstrations

Fury has gripped much of the town's population since videos emerged appearing to show police officers Howie Lake and Blane Salamoni tackling Sterling to the ground, pinning him down and firing six shots at him

A protester yells at police in front of the Baton Rouge Police Department headquarters after police arrived in riot gear to clear protesters

A protester watches as police in riot gear clear the street of protesters in front of the Baton Rouge Police Department headquarters

Stand-off: Protesters legally carrying guns were seen chanting and using megaphones to rally each other as the protests continued

'We want justice': The protests are showing no sign of dying down and are expected to continue across the United States for days

In New York, hundreds of protesters marched on Union Square, chanting 'black lives matter' and 'no justice, no peace'.

The protesters kept to the sidewalk at first, but then took to the roads, leading to some arrests for public disorder.

In San Francisco, Bay Bridge was shut off as hundreds of demonstrators tried to march on to the freeway. There were similar protests in Fresno.

A sit-in in protest at the killings continued in Denver, while in Florida Black Lives Matter marches in West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale went ahead peacefully. Another protest is expected in Miami on Saturday night.

Several hundred people broke off from Pittsburgh's 200th anniversary parade to protest recent police shootings across the country, some of whom were affiliated with Black Lives Matter.

In Philadelphia, a group of about 100 protesters marched to two police precincts in the northern part of the city on Saturday.

More than 150 people gathered in downtown Newport, Rhode Island, in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
child has been taken in

New research reveals that not one

The government has come under fire after it was revealed it had failed to take any unaccompanied child refugees despite promising to do so.

David Cameron said that vulnerable children stuck in Europe would be made a priority two months ago.

But new research reveals that not one under 16-year-old has been given asylum in the UK since the promise was made.

MPs were briefed by ministers and councils were told to prepare for young refugees from Greece, Italy and France.

David Cameron said that vulnerable children (pictured left) stuck in Europe would be made a priority two months ago

A United Nations agency has now called on the government to speed up its work and help struggling children.

Lord Dubs, who himself is a refugee, led the backed campaign which called for the UK to accept 3,000 vulnerable children.

He told The Guardian: 'I am disappointed that the UK government has not identified a single unaccompanied minor in France, Greece or Italy eligible for sanctuary in the UK under the terms of the amendment to the immigration bill passed in May.

'The amendment was supported by the majority of MPs and Lords and commits the government to Britain's proud tradition of offering sanctuary to those in need. It should not be allowed to fall by the wayside in a time of political upheaval.'

The bishop of Durham, Paul Butler, who is also a spokesman for Citizens UK which campaigns for Syrian refugees, said he was 'disappointed' by the government's response.

Lily Caprani, deputy executive director of Unicef UK, called for 'immediate action' to start helping those children in need.

The government has come under fire after it was revealed it had failed to take any unaccompanied child refugees (pictured) despite promising to do so

Critics say more councils would be willing to help if government money to support refugees was guaranteed for more than a year.

The government will be pressed to improve its long-term support to authorities with an amendment to the children and social work bill due to be heard tomorrow.

The Home Office did not respond to The Guardian for a request for comment.




An off-duty NYPD cop who was caught on video waiting just one second before shooting a black man dead will likely face charges, law enforcement sources have revealed.

Delrawn Small, 37, was killed after he was shot in the head and chest by officer Wayne Isaacs on July 4 following a near-miss car accident in Brooklyn.

Witnesses had previously claimed that Small went over to Issac's window and 'wailed on his face' before the officer pulled out his service weapon and shot him.

CCTV shows Delrawn Small, 37, being hit almost instantly after walking over to the car window of off-duty cop Wayne Isaacs, who shot him in the chest and head

Small can be seen reeling back before staggering across the road and falling down between two cars#

But footage obtained by the New York Post shows Small climbing out of his vehicle and walking toward 37-year-old Isaacs, who is sitting in his car.

A split second after bending down to look in the window, Small stumbles backward, staggering across the road before collapsing between two parked vehicles.

'The video is pretty damning,' a source close to the investigation told the New York Post.

One police official said Isaacs, who was returning home from a shift and was not in uniform, will likely face a manslaughter charge and that a grand jury could be convened as early as next week.

'You'll see some sort of charges filed,' the official said. 'You have a person who is unarmed and they're going to say the level of force used, versus forced used against him, does not add up.'

'When you use deadly force, there has to be some sort of grave danger to him. He can't just say, "I got punched so I shot him"'.

State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is now investigating the footage to see whether deadly force was justified.

The CCTV footage contradicts claims by witnesses and police that Smalls (left and right with girlfriend Zaquanna Albert) had repeatedly hit Isaac before the officer opened fire

'We will follow the facts and evidence - including this video evidence - wherever they lead,' Schneiderman said on Friday.

Eric Soufer, a spokesman for Schneiderman's office, told the Associated Press that prosecutors have already secured a search warrant for Isaacs' vehicle.

Roger Wareham, lawyer for the Small family, said the footage 'clearly demonstrates the cop lied', adding that Isaacs looks down at Small's body 'as if he had just stepped on a roach.'

Wareham told the New York Daily News: 'If the cop's story is obviously false, why haven't they arrested him?'

The Rev. Al Sharpton has also called on Schneiderman to go 'full steam ahead' and prosecute Isaacs.

'This video clearly raises questions on the story the officer stated,' Sharpton told the New York Daily News.

'This is absolutely the opposite of what the policeman said.'

The footage directly contradicts an earlier account from the owner Touch of Glass, who said his surveillance cameras had captured a very different encounter between Isaacs and Small.

The business owner told the New York Post: 'The video shows the guy coming out of his f***ing car, running up to [the cop's] car, going in the driver's side window and just punching the s*** of this poor cop. Then all of a sudden you see sparks.'

The Rev. Al Sharpton (pictured on Saturday) has also called on State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman to go 'full steam ahead' and prosecute Isaacs for the shooting

Thousands of people took to the streets in New York to protest the killing of Small, Alton Sterling and Philandro Castile, all of whom were shot dead by police in the past week

He added that Small 'was wailing on [Isaacs'] face, like pow, pow! He was looking to knock this guy out, punching and punching. Maybe four punches. It was big haymakers.'

Police had put forward a similar account of events, though chief Bill Bratton had urged caution, saying it was too early to tell whether the shooting was justified.

However, construction worker Lloyd Banks, 43, told the New York Daily News: 'He just shot him right there on the street. Delrawn was unarmed. His wife and kids were still in the car. They saw everything.'

Small was pronounced dead at the scene but his body remained on the street covered in a plastic sheet for around four hours after the shooting.

His girlfriend Zaquanna Albert, 35, and their three children were inside Small's car at the time of the shooting.

Albert can be seen in the video pulling his car across the street before running to his side.

Police say Albert told investigators that Small became enraged after he thought the officer cut him off, then followed the officer's car to the stoplight despite her pleas to calm down and let it go.

The protests in New York were held just hours before Micah Xavier Johnson opened fire on police at a similar demonstration in Dallas, killing five

They say there was no was back and forth that would have made Isaacs aware that he was being pursued or that Small knew he was an officer.

Isaacs has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation, police said.

State assemblyman Charles Barron said Tuesday that he was working with Small's family to demand that authorities hold the officer accountable.

The Brooklyn Democrat and frequent NYPD critic said the officer should have taken steps to defuse the situation with warnings or simply by driving away.

'Even if there was a punch, there's no justification - zero - for the use of deadly force,' Barron said.

Sharpton said the public's outrage shouldn't be any less because Isaacs and Small are both black.

'We are not against black cops or white cops,' he said. 'We are against wrong cops.

'This cop told a story that is wrong and someone lost their life. If he told a story that doesn't stand up about his alibi, why should we believe anything else he says?'

'He killed a man.'
Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, a retired officer who's in the running to be Donald Trump's veep, tried out for the job today by penning an op-ed for the New York Post and appearing on a Sunday show as a surrogate for the Republican presumptive nominee.

For the Post, Flynn wrote a piece entitled, 'The military fired me for calling our enemies radical jihadis,' which explained the circumstances surrounding his dismissal as the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency in 2014.

On ABC's This Week, Flynn stumbled a bit when host Martha Raddatz began asking him questions about social issues including abortion and gay marriage.

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Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn appeared as a Donald Trump surrogate this morning on ABC's This Week, while also publishing a new op-ed in the New York Post

Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn (right) pushed back when ABC's Martha Raddatz (left) asked him about gay marriage and abortion, though noted that 'women have to be able to choose' if they want to have a child

On abortion Flynn said, 'Abortion, I think it's a thing for women. And these are  these are difference issues. But I think women have to be able to choose what they  you know, that  the  sort of the right of choice.'

'But I think that that's a  that's a difficult legal decision that  and I think that women are so important in that  in that decision-making process,' the retired military official continued.

'And they are  they are the ones that have to make the decision because they're the ones that  ones that are going to decide to bring up that child or not,' he added.

His remarks were almost immediately perceived as being pro-choice, the stance of the Democrats, not the Republicans, who are anti-abortion in most cases, with the anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony List saying Flynn had disqualified himself from the vice presidential race.

'General Flynn has disqualified himself from consideration as Vice President. His pro-abortion position is unacceptable and would undermine the pro-life policy commitments that Mr. Trump has made throughout the campaign,' Marjorie Dannenfelser, the president of Susan B. Anthony List, told NBC News.

When Raddatz asked him about gay marriage, the lieutenant general dodged.

'I'm about national security,' Flynn answered.

'But if you  if you become a vice president, you have to be prepared to be president,' Raddatz replied.

'What people do in their private lives, I'm not  these are not big issues that our country's dealing with that are  that will cause our country to collapse,' Flynn said.

Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump (left) has given a thumbs up to vetting Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn (right), a retired military official who shares much of The Donald's world view and advises Trump's campaign

Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn is the former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, but was forced out in August 2014 after clashing with senior government officials. He believes the U.S. is underestimating the jihadist threat

'I'm more concerned that our country could collapse because we are not dealing with education issues, immigration issues,' he added.

Flynn shared similar views on illegal immigration than what the American public has heard from Trump.

Though Flynn also hinted that he may still be a registered Democrat, which could be problematic for the presumptive Republican nominee who's was smacked around by his Republican primary rivals for donating money to Democrats and for previously expressing a pro-choice position on abortion.

Flynn's op-ed, however, showcases why Trump would have an interest in him as the ex-official blames his frankness on radical Islamic terrorism for why he was shown the door.

Flynn recalled being let go as head of the Defense Intelligence Agency in the winter of 2014, after spending three decades in the military.

Meeting with the undersecretary of defense for intelligence and the director of national intelligence, Flynn was told he was being fired, but it wasn't his leadership skills that were in question.

'I knew then it had more to do with the stand I took on radical Islamism and the expansion of al Qaeda and its associated movements,' Flynn wrote.

He blamed his dismissal on 'the bureaucracy' and said that things had gotten 'too politicized.'

'Amazing,' he frustratingly added, noting that he had a significant amount of combat experience against this particular enemy and the country was in the middle of the war.

Flynn, who has a new book out  'The Field of Fight: How we can win the global war against radical Islam and its allies'  which outlines some of his ideas to rid the world of the current terror threat.

He previewed them in the Post, explaining that the country's current leaders don't believe that the U.S. is engaged in a global war on terror.

'If our leaders were interested in winning, they would have to design a strategy to destroy this global enemy,' Flynn suggested.

'Instead they timidly nibble around the edges of the battlefields from Africa to the Middle East, and act as if each fight, whether in Syria, Iraq, Nigeria, Libya or Afghanistan, can be peacefully resolved by diplomatic effort,' Flynn continued.

'This approach is doomed,' he added.

Flynn pointed out that American forces have been successful in the Middle East, it's when troops withdraw that terror cells pop up.

'As we defeat them on the ground, we must clearly and forcefully attack their crazy doctrines,' Flynn said.

'Defeat on battlefields does great damage to their claim to be acting as agents of divine will,' he said. 'After defeating al Qaeda in Iraq, we should have challenged the Islamic world and asked: How did we win? Did Allah change sides?'

In the end, sounding a lot like Trump himself, Flynn criticized President Obama for not calling terrorists by their names.
Immigrant drug baron: Mahmoud Jaber, pictured, peddled heroin and crack cocaine in Lancashire

An immigrant cocaine baron is starting his fourth prison sentence today for filling Britain's streets with heroin and crack cocaine after exploiting human rights laws to TWICE avoid being deported.

Mahmoud Jaber, 31, has been peddling heroin and crack cocaine across Lancashire to fund his lavish lifestyle and has nine separate drug convictions over 13 years.

But despite being told as far back as 2006 he would be deported back to his native Palestine, Jaber - whose father lives in the UK - used Article Eight of the Human Rights Act to successfully appeal the orders.

Once when convicted of a drug trafficking offence he argued he was 'emotionally scarred into drug taking' by his experiences after being born in a Palestinian West Bank refugee camp

In 2014 an immigration tribunal finally ordered him to be booted out of Britain but his Israeli passport had expired and they refused to accept him, leaving him effectively stateless.

This week he was jailed for 11 years after Preston Crown Court heard he dealt a kilo and a half a kilo of cocaine with a street value of up to 180,000.

Jaber, of Accrington, Lancs, was sentenced for his part in a 10-man conspiracy to supply drugs and launder 50,000 in cash across Lancashire, Manchester and Leicester.

The drugs were recovered when officers stopped a vehicle driven by gang courier Wasim Akthar heading down the M65 motorway in March last year.

While the other nine all pleaded guilty, Jaber was only convicted at a retrial after the original jury could not agree on a verdict.

He and five others were jailed for a total for a total of 40 years on Thursday.

All 10 gang members were arrested by Operation Hombre in July 2015.

Officers seized around a kilo of heroin and a kilo of cocaine, with a street value of 180,000, and impounded 50,000 in cash, the court was told.

New home: Jaber arrived in Britain in 1988 for a six-month stay only to come back permanently in February 1992, to join his father and move to Accrington (pictured) in Lancashire

Jaber - whose father lives in the UK - has already served three previous jail sentences, two for drug dealing and one for money laundering.

His first heroin and crack cocaine dealing conviction was way back in 2003.

MAHMOUD JABER'S CONVICTIONS AND TIMETABLE OF APPEAL February 5, 2003 : Convicted at Hyndburn Magistrates' Court of resisting police and using a vehicle with no test certificate. Fined 100 with 55 costs.

May 1, 2003 : Convicted at Hyndburn Magistrates' Court of possessing Class A controlled drugs. Fined 100 with costs of 100.

March 24, 2004 : Convicted at Hyndburn Magistrates' Court of possession of Class B controlled drugs. Fined 100 and costs of 65.

September 16, 2004 : Convicted at Burnley Crown Court of possessing crack and heroin. Jailed for four years.

April 26, 2006 : Jaber notified of his liability to deportation. Notice served May 11, 2007.

May 17, 2007 : Jaber lodges appeal against deportation and wins on September 5 that year.

December 17, 2008 : Convicted at Blackburn Magistrates' Court of possessing cannabis. Conditionally discharged for twelve months and pay costs of 360.

December 19, 2008 : Convicted at Blackburn Magistrates' Court of possessing cocaine and breach of conditional discharge. Given a community order with a curfew requirement and four weeks electronic tagging and costs of 60.

November 19, 2010 : Convicted at Burnley Crown Court of three counts of possession heroin and crack cocaine with intent to supply and being concerned in producing crack. Jailed for six years.

January 17, 2011 : Jaber warned he would be deported but appeals under Human Rights Act.

January 14, 2013 : Convicted at Preston Crown Court of money laundering and jailed for 21 months' imprisonment consecutive to six years.

October 13, 2013 : Jaber appeals deportation before immigration tribunal at Bradford Magistrates' Court but loses.

March 6, 2014 : Jaber appeals panel's decision at Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber).

April 3, 2014 : Jaber fails and is ordered to be deported. But his Israeli passport has expired and they refuse to take him.

July 7, 2016 : Jaber is jailed for 11 years for drug dealing and money laundering Advertisement

But although he was told he would be deported in 2006, Palestinian-born Jaber used Article Eight of the Human Rights Act to successfully appeal the order, arguing he had a 'right to family life.'

Yet he was then convicted of further drug trafficking offences - claiming he was 'emotionally scarred into drug taking' by his experiences after being born in a refugee camp in the Palestinian West Bank.

In 2011 Jaber was warned he faced deportation yet in 2012 but he again claimed it would result in a 'breach of his human rights.'

While his appeal was in the pipeline, in 2013 he was convicted of money laundering and jailed for an extra 21 months after using drugs money to buy an Audi Quattro S5 for 44,000.

Later that year he was ordered to pay back 37,147.06 as proceeds of crime.

The deportation appeal came to a tribunal in Bradford, West Yorkshire, on October last year an immigration panel ordered he be deported saying removal would 'not be disproportionate.'

The panel said his length of time in the UK was 'outweighed by the public interest in keeping society safe from a perennial offender'.

But Jaber appealed to the Upper Immigration Tribunal in Manchester and used Human Rights laws to argue he would be at 'risk of harm' if he was returned to Palestine.

His lawyer Carla Rawlinson claimed Jaber's safety could be in jeopardy because his uncle had been killed by Israeli forces during the first intifada uprising in 1989.

She said Jaber would have to pass through an Israeli checkpoint and the checkpoints into Palestine are controlled by the occupying Israeli forces.

She claimed at best, he would be turned away by the Israelis and at worst he would be at risk of harm because of his 'history' and that of his uncle.

But rejecting the appeal on April 3, Judge Richard Chalkley said: 'I am satisfied, given this appellant's appalling history, that the appeal fails.

'I find that there are no errs of law in this determination, which I uphold.'

That final deportation ruling ended a series legal battles and appeals, which cost the taxpayer tens of thousands of pounds in legal fees.

But Home Office attempts to actually deport Jaber back to Palestine were frustrated by the lapse of his Israeli passport.

Also a sticking point was the Israeli government's refusal to issue the replacement passport needed for him to be returned to their territory.

This made Jaber, who had been in the UK since 1998 after his parents came here, effectively stateless - and the Home Office therefore helpless to boot him out.

Detective Sergeant Mark Lee, from Lancashire Police's Serious Organised Crime Unit, said: 'We have dismantled a significant drugs network.

'We have taken large quantities of cocaine and heroin off our streets and ensured that those involved in the conspiracy have been brought to justice..'

Khan, 40, from Preston, Lancashire, was jailed for 13 years while Akhtar, 44, also from Preston, was jailed for six years and four months.

Abroad: Jaber claimed he was 'emotionally scarred into drug taking' by his experiences after being born in a refugee camp in the Palestinian West Bank. STOCK IMAGE of the Palestinian refugee camp at Qalandia
Black Lives Matter activists forced the closure of Oxford Street as they protested against the killing of African Americans by U.S police.

Hundreds of marchers gathered on the busiest shopping street in Britain at 10am this morning in the wake of the deaths of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling.

Both men died when they were shot by police officers despite appearing to pose no threat.

Stand: Black Lives Matter activists forced the closure of Oxford Street as they protested against the killing of African Americans by U.S police

United: Hundreds of marchers gathered on the busiest shopping street in Britain at 10am this morning in the wake of the deaths of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling

Police: Today's protest drew hundreds of placard waving campaigners marching to show their solidarity with the dozens of black Americans who have died at the hands of officers in recent years

Today's protest drew hundreds of placard waving campaigners marching to show their solidarity with the dozens of black Americans who have died at the hands of police officers in recent years.

The gathered group chanted 'Hands up, don't shoot' and 'No racist police' as they moved along Oxford Street to the U.S. Embassy on Grosvenor Square.

With signs labelling American officers Nazis and others asking 'How many more?', the protestors then headed back to the world famous road before sitting on its tarmac surface.

Marching: The gathered group chanted 'Hands up, don't shoot' and 'No racist police' as they moved along Oxford Street to the U.S. Embassy on Grosvenor Square

Hands up: With signs labelling American officers Nazis and others asking 'How many more?', the protestors then headed back to the world famous road before sitting on its tarmac surface

Point: Those leading the march then climbed on top of a bus stop to lead chants and make impassioned speeches against the killings

Rally: Today's action followed protests in south London where scenes turned ugly when scuffles broke out among demonstrators

Heard: The protest march walk along the end of Oxford Street as part of the Black Lives Matter movement

Those leading the march then climbed on top of a bus stop to lead chants and make impassioned speeches against the killings.

Today's action followed protests in south London where scenes turned ugly when scuffles broke out among demonstrators.

Brixton was brought to a standstill as crowds packed into Windrush Square.

A fight broke out after campaigners said a bus passenger made a derogatory remark towards them.

He was punched by one protester after being ushered away by six or seven police officers. One officer told the Press Association he believed the driver had been arrested.

Discussion: Protesters engage with the police as they hold a cordon at the Black Lives Matter march

Protesting: Two women make their opinions clear with hand drawn messages carried during the march

Boiling point: A protester chants in the face of a police officer during today's march in central London

Taking a stand: The thousands strong group marched from Oxford Street to the door of the US Embassy
Lindt said CCTV had not been reinstalled because of no issues with theft

The managers of Lindt Cafe have been accused of not running CCTV cameras to cut costs, possibly hindering operations of police on the day of the deadly Sydney siege.

Allegations made during the inquest this week suggest the footage could have provided police with crucial vision of the cafe's interior as terrorist Man Monis held 18 hostages, according to the Daily Telegraph.

Police were forced to act when Monis fatally shot cafe manager Tori Johnson at point blank range at 2.13am on December 16 after the 16 hour siege.

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The managers of Lindt Cafe have been accused of not running CCTV cameras to cut costs. Tactical police are pictured storming the cafe from the foyer

Police were forced to act when Monis (right) fatally shot cafe manager Tori Johnson (left) at point blank range at 2.13am on December 16 after the 16 hour siege

Allegations made during the inquest this week suggest the footage could have provided police with crucial vision of the cafe's interior as terrorist Man Monis held 18 hostages. Pictured is footage outside of the cafe

Michael O'Connell SC, counsel for Ms Dawson's family, reportedly said that the reason for no CCTV footage was detailed in a statement given to police by a Lindt cafe manager not working on the day of the attack

Barrister Katrina Dawson was killed when she was hit by a fragment of a police bullet as they stormed inside. Monis was also killed.

Michael O'Connell SC, counsel for Ms Dawson's family, reportedly said that the reason for no CCTV footage was detailed in a statement given to police by a Lindt cafe manager not working on the day of the attack.

He was questioning Tactical Operations Unit officer known by the codename of Deputy Tango Charlie as the inquest reportedly heard police snipers could only see three metres into the cafe, according to the report.

'As we understand it, there's some evidence to the effect that it was too expensive to have those cameras running. Were you aware of any evidence about that?' Mr O'Connell said.

Lindt Australia chief executive Steve Loane said a refit of the rented store had been done by Lindt and the CCTV cameras had not been reinstalled because they had no issues with theft

Michael O'Connell was questioning Tactical Operations Unit officer known by the codename of Deputy Tango Charlie as the inquest reportedly heard police snipers could only see three metres into the cafe

The Tactical Operations Unit officer being questioned said he was not aware.

Lindt Australia chief executive Steve Loane said a refit of the rented store had been done by Lindt and the CCTV cameras had not been reinstalled because they had no issues with theft.

'It's a heritage building and we had to move the cameras in the ceiling and that's maybe where the expensive comment came from because that is very expensive to do that,' Mr Loane told the newspaper on Sunday.
The son of Sydney underworld boss Tony 'Teflon' Vincent has been arrested and charged over the alleged brutal axe attack and kidnapping of a man over a pokie winnings argument.

Tony Vincent Jnr, 49, allegedly lured a 25-year-old man to a Hornsby home on June 22 and then stabbed him multiple times before shoving him into the boot of a car.

Joined by his girlfriend, 24-year-old Asha Baverstock, Vincent Jnr then drove the severely injured victim into the city before stopping for petrol at a station in Waterloo, police allege.

Tony Vincent Jnr, 49, (left) and his girlfriend Asha Baverstock, 24, (right) have both been arrested and charged over the alleged brutal axe attack and kidnapping of a man over a pokie winnings argument

Police allege the pair attacked a 25-year-old man in his Hornsby home, put him in the boot of a car and then drove into the city. He was able to escape from the trunk when they stopped at a Waterloo petrol station

Ms Baverstock (pictured) and Vincent Jnr were both charged with wounding a person and take/detain in company

Despite the fact his right tricep had been sliced open, the bloodied victim was able to escape from the boot of the Holden Commodore and run to a nearby apartment block for help.

He lost an artery and a tendon in one finger and spent two days in St Vincent's Hospital after undergoing surgery for multiple stab wounds, the Daily Telegraph reported.

Vincent Jnr was arrested on June 30 after he was stopped at Strathfield Railway Station without a valid ticket and found to be in possession of a number of stolen items.

He was taken to Burwood Police Station, where officers were then able to link him to a number of assaults in the Hornsby and Sutherland areas, including the alleged kidnapping.

His girlfriend was arrested at a Redfern unit on Wednesday.

The pair were both charged with wounding a person with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm and detain in company with intent to gain advantage.

Vincent Jnr is the son of Tony Vincent, 75, who spent three years in jail for his role in an Oceans 11-style $150million bank heist.

Despite the fact his right tricep had been sliced open, the bloodied victim was able to escape from the boot of the Holden Commodore and run to a nearby apartment block (pictured) for help
Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings blames gun laws for the chaos as officers could not differentiate between the gunman and innocent armed citizens

only led to more terror as police took another three people into custody

President Obama said after the atrocity that the nation was 'horrified' by the 'vicious, calculated and despicable attack on law enforcement'

shot shot twelve cops and two civilians during a Black Lives Matter protest in Dallas, Texas - killing five officers

Almost exactly two years later, he

Two weeks after Obama's visit, Johnson was sent home in disgrace amid allegations of sexual

President Barack Obama may have met with the Dallas shooter two years before Micah Johnson opened fire during a Black Lives Matter protest killing five cops.

Johnson, a 25-year-old black Army veteran, has been serving in Afghanistan in 2014 when his unit was detailed to assist in preparations for 'a surprise thank you visit' by the President to Bagram Air Base.

Obama gave a speech to the troops at the base on Memorial Day thanking them for their 'extraordinary service.'

'We support you. We are proud of you. We stand in awe of your service,' he told soldiers, the Daily Beast reports.

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President Barack Obama may have met with the Dallas shooter two years before Micah Johnson opened fire during a Black Lives Matter protest killing five cops

Johnson, a 25-year-old black Army veteran (left, while in the army, and right) has been serving in Afghanistan in 2014 when his unit was detailed to assist in preparations for 'a surprise thank you visit' by the President to Bagram Air Base

Johnson's proud sister posted a newspaper clipping of the event on Facebook the next day, on May 27: 'Happy Memorial Day!...Obama went to visit my big bro in Bagram!'

Yet, within just two weeks of the visit, her pride will have turned to shame after her brother was sent home three months early over sexual harassment allegations.

His shameful return home may have been what triggered his descent into a cop-hating 'Black Panther', his friends say.

Two years later, clad in body armor and armed with a high powered rifle, shot shot twelve police officers and two civilians during a a Black Lives Matter protest in Dallas, Texas - killing five cops.

The gunman reportedly carried out the shooting because he was angry about two incidents last week where police fatally shot black men. He told police he hated white people, 'especially white officers'.

President Obama said after the atrocity that the nation was 'horrified' by the 'vicious, calculated and despicable attack on law enforcement.'

Obama gave a speech to the troops at the base on Memorial Day thanking them for their 'extraordinary service'

'We support you. We are proud of you. We stand in awe of your service,' he told soldiers at the base

'The demented individual who carried out those attacks in Dallas, he's not more representative of all African-Americans than the shooter in Charleston was representative of white Americans. Or the shooter in Orlando or San Bernardino were representative of Muslim Americans,' Obama said. 'They don't speak for us. That's not who we are.'

Johnson, a private in the American Army, was deployed to Afghanistan in November 2013 with the 420th Engineer Brigade.

A friend in the same Brigade, who asked to remain anonymous, told Fox News that the veteran had changed since his return.

'When he came back from Afghanistan, he got in touch with some bad folks and went all Black Panther,' afriend in the 420th Engineer Brigade, who asked to remain anonymous, told Fox News.

'He did have some anger issues but never said he would hurt anyone. His shots were terrible.

'He was absolutely normal, a really good friend. We lost touch once he deployed to Afghanistan and I stayed back. I don't really know how or why it got to the point it did.'

Johnson was sent home after a female colleague accused him of sexual harassment, according to a military lawyer who represented Johnson when he returned home in June 2014.

Johnson fatally shot five officers and wounded seven more before police killed him with a remote-controlled bomb in early hours of Friday. Above, police respond after shots were fired at the protest

Investigators work in the area of downtown Dallas that remains an active crime scene on Saturday

Wells Newsome, who served alongside Johnson in Afghanistan, wrote on Facebook: 'We all knew he was a pervert cuz [sic] he got caught stealing girls' panties, but murdering cops is a different story.'

Mere weeks after his return from Afghanistan, the country was rocked by the shocking footage Eric Garner being choked to death by New York cops. While in August that same year, unarmed black teen Michael Brown was shot to death by a cop in Ferguson, Missouri - prompting mass protests.

After his military career, Johnson worked as a driver for a group providing hospital transport for mentally disabled people.

But privately, his festering hatred of white people had begun. On Facebook, he identified himself as a 'black nationalist' and gave a black power salute.

He 'liked' several pages including the New Black Panther Party, the African American Defense League and the Nation of Islam. He attended a gym called Academy of Combat Warrior Acts, which teaches martial arts and weapons classes.

Police raided Johnson's home on Friday and found a cache of guns, a hand-written journal listing 'combat tactics', body armour and bomb-making equipment.

Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said today that he blames gun laws for the chaos amid the mass shooting as officers could not differentiate between the gunman and innocent armed citizens

A law enforcement source told WFAA that Johnson was 'planning something bigger' but cut preparations short because he knew scores of police officers would man the Black Lives Matter protest.

The demonstration in Dallas was held on July 7 following the deaths of street seller Alton Sterling who was pinned down and shot by two white police officers in Louisiana on Tuesday, and Philando Castile, whose fatal shooting by police was live streamed by his girlfriend.

Johnson had arrived at the protest wearing tactical gear and armed with a rifle, and began sniping cops at the march - killing five.

Hundreds of protesters ran for their lives as they heard gunshots and saw officers being shot.

Reports of multiple gunmen at the event only led to more terror and confusion as Dallas police believed they were under attack by several shooters.

Johnson, who as shot during the stand-off, fled into a nearby parking garage where he used his own blood to scrawl the initials 'RB' on the walls before police sent in a robot with an explosive device to kill the shooter when negotiations failed.

Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said today that he blames gun laws for the chaos amid the mass shooting as officers could not differentiate between the gunman and innocent armed citizens.

Notes and flowers decorate a squad car at a makeshift memorial in front of the Dallas police department after five police officers were killed in the shooting on Thursday night

'That is one of the real issues with the gun right issues that we face, that in the middle of a firefight, it's hard to pick out the good guys and the bad guys,' he said on CBS.

He said the reason three other people were brought in by police during the shooting was because it was unclear who was the gunman and who just happened to be carrying a gun.

'When you have gunfire going on, you usually go with the person that's got a gun,' he said. 'And so our police grabbed some of those individuals, took them to police headquarters, and worked it out and figured out they were not the shooters.'

Rawlings said he 'completely' agreed with the decision to use a robot-delivered bomb to kill Johnson after it became clear he 'may not be bluffing' about his threats to continue killing white officers.

'We talked to this man a long time, and he threatened to blow up our police officers, we went to his home we saw that there was bomb-making equipment later,' he said.

'So we ask him, 'Do you want to come out safely or do you want to stay there and we're going to take you down?' And he chose the latter.'

The mayor said that he hoped Dallas's recovery would be an inspiration for the rest of the United States
Labor has promised to reverse the shock ban imposed on greyhound racing in New South Wales.

Liberal Premier Mike Baird recently announced he would shut down the dog racing industry after a damning report revealed the sport was riddled with animal abuse.

Opposition leader Luke Foley plans to block the move with crossbench support or, if unsuccessful, will campaign to overturn the ban at the next state election, The Sunday Telegraph reported.

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NSW opposition leader Luke Foley said he would reverse the ban on greyhound racing if Labor was elected to govern in 2019

On Thursday Liberal Premier Mike Baird announced greyhound racing would be banned in NSW. He said the industry had to be shut to prevent widespread animal abuse

The NSW government made the decision to ban the sport after an inquiry found 'overwhelming evidence of systemic animal cruelty, including mass greyhound killings and live baiting'.

Mr Foley said he would reform the industry to fix its failures, rather than shutting it down at the cost of thousands of jobs.

He told The Sunday Telegraph his first priority would be blocking the move in parliament and he would be reaching across the floor for assistance from the Nationals.

He said: I am appealing for the National Party MPs to join with us in Parliament to stop the shutdown of the industry.

Labor senator Sam Dastyari will lead an inquiry into the economic impacts of closing the sport. He said the decision had been made by 'inner-city elitists'

Labor senator Sam Dastyari, who is leading an inquiry into the economic impacts of the ban, said Mike Bairds decision reeked of inner-city elitism.

He said: Why will the NSW industry be shut down but not the same occur in Queensland or Victoria, where their governments have taken decisive action to clean up the industry while protecting jobs.

This whole thing reeks of inner-city elitism, where the pastimes and enjoyment of thousands of NSW residents is looked down upon by a bunch of snobs.

Mr Baird said too many dogs were being killed and, while he has empathy for those involved in the sport, animal abuse runs too deeply

NSW Premier Mike Baird said the only 'humane and responsible' action was to close the industry

Announcing the shutdown on Thursday, Mr Baird said: As a humane and responsible government, we are left with no acceptable course of action except to close this industry down.

This is the inevitable conclusion to be drawn from the appalling revelations in Mr McHughs report and his considered view that any other measures are unlikely to protect animals from further cruelty.

'I feel much empathy for innocent trainers and those who will lose their job or hobby as a result of this.

'And I understand the disappointment of people who enjoy having a punt on the dogs.
A family who saved for five years for their first holiday were devastated after their apartment was ransacked by a gang of thieves.

Lisa Hunter, 32, from Ibstock in Leicester, endured the holiday from hell when she visited a four star hotel in the popular destination of Lanzarote in the Canary Islands, reports the Sun.

After frugally saving up their cash, it was a trip Lisa and her husband Lee and four children Jack, 12, Holly, ten, Scarlott, six and Max, three, had been dreaming of - but instead it turned into a total nightmare.

Traumatic trip: Lisa Hunter, 32, from Ibstock in Leicester, endured the holiday from hell when she visited a four star hotel in the popular destination of Lanzarote with her husband Lee and four children

Not only did the family get targeted by the crooks while staying at the Club Playa Blanca resort, they were also struck down by food poisoning.

Lisa described the getaway as 'absolutely horrendous' and that it was the most traumatic experience of her life.

The family were just four days into their holiday when the men grabbed 1,200 in cash, jewellerry and electronics - leaving their belongings scattered across their apartment.

After she found her room in disarray she frantically alerted reception and the police came, but Lisa claims that officers did nothing to investigate the crime.

She was also less than impressed with the hotel's services - offering her a bottle of champagne as a way of comfort.

She told the Sun: 'The last thing I want to do be doing is cracking open a bottle of fizz after being robbed  with my children who are aged three to 12.'

However, just hours later things were about the get worse for the family as other members were struck down with diarrhoea and vomiting.

Attack: The family's apartment was turned upside down after the gang of thieves struck - stealing cash and items worth 1, 200

Compensation: Lisa said she was merely offered a glass of champagne by the Club Playa Blanca resort (pictured) when staff were told of the break-in

Lisa added: 'I don't know whether it was the hotel food or the hotel pool as both were disgusting.

'We were served under cooked chicken, saw cats eating out of ovens and never once witnessed the pool being cleaned.'

Lisa said she felt really let down by travel agents Thomas Cook and is now taking legal action against them after she was offered just 400 in compensation for her terrible trip.
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Shocking photographs showing the chaos during one drunken night in the infamous resort of Magaluf have been captured on camera as booze-fuelled revellers end up slumped on the street.

One wounded partygoer had blood on his face as he spoke to two men wearing purple vests on the lively strip in Majorca - known for its relentless nightlife.

Meanwhile, another photograph illustrates the moment a holidaymaker had to be carried into an ambulance during the heavy night out.

The horrifying pictures, all taken during the same night this summer, also show jubilant young adults in fancy dress, with two men wearing a cheerleader and nun outfit.

One brave man chose to wear a very rude costume and dressed up as a giant penis before he walked out onto the busy strip.

Women wearing skimpy hot pants were also seen walking around the strip and one revealed her sunburn as she bent over to speak to a man who was sat down.

In another photograph, a shirtless man was spotted slumped on a wicker chair outside a bar, while another reveller was seen carrying a blow-up doll as he drank a bottle of lager while walking down the strip.

Thousands of young people from the UK flock to Magaluf every summer to party in the sunshine and the resort has recently introduced a raft of new laws.

The new rules concern drinking in the open-air, pub crawls and going topless into bars away from the beach - and being caught in public without any clothes on or the bare minimum is punishable under the new laws, with a fine of between 100 and 600 euros.

A woman wearing revealing hot pants was spotted on the strip as a group of partygoers gathered around in a circle to dance nearby

A woman wearing revealing hot pants appoached a man who was sat down in the middle of the mayhem during a night out in Magaluf

The woman approached a man who was sat down by the strip as the chaos continued around him during the drunken night out

One woman - wearing just a pair of skimpy black hot pants and a small grey top - was seen on the strip as revellers enjoyed a night out in Magaluf

One brave man chose to wear a very rude costume and dressed up as a giant penis before he walked out onto the strip in Magaluf, Majorca

One woman seemed to have her red t-shirt ripped and seemed tired as she sat down on a bench during the night out on the strip

Meanwhile, a woman in a black dress was seen lying on the ground with her head up against the wall as other partygoers sat down on the kerb

One man shows his bloodied face to two men wearing purple vests on the infamous Magaluf strip on the island of Majorca

The same man was photographed speaking to a police officer as people gathered on the pavement in Magaluf

One isolated shirtless reveller was seen slumped on a wicker chair next to a boxing punching machine on the notorious strip

A man appeared to have been sick as he was sat down on a step with his head between his legs during a night out on the notorious strip

The horrifying pictures, all taken during the same night this summer, also show jubilant young adults in fancy dress, with two men dressed as a cheerleader and a nun

One man, wearing a green vest, was holding a blow-up doll as he walked down the strip with a bottle of beer in his left hand

Meanwhile, one reveller had to be assisted by two people into the back of an ambulance which had pulled up to help the partygoer

One woman appeared to be legless as she placed her head on her leg while sat down on the kerb outside a bar on the strip in Magaluf

Thousands of young people from the UK flock to Magaluf every summer to party in the sunshine and the resort has recently introduced a raft of new laws

A young woman carries her friend near the bars and nightclubs in Magaluf while her friend swings a bright green t-shirt around her head as they walk

One reveller seemed to be ignoring the resort's latest rules, which prohibit people from walking around the town without a top on

A woman at the end of a long line of people sat down on a kerb receives help from a friend after she slumped on the pavement near the strip

One reveller wearing shorts had to lean up against a wall during the night out (left) while two men were spotted in fancy dress as they talked to a woman outside a bar (right)
17 young men were found crammed inside a three-bedroom house after a council swooped on a property.

The raid, which took place in Kingsbury, London, last week, revealed the tenants were living in cramped conditions with no hot water or heating.

Grimy mattresses were found piled into tiny damp rooms where up to five people were sleeping at a time.

After enforcement officers stormed the property, the walls in a dingy bathroom were found plastered with cardboard

Enforcement officers found the house was scattered with mould and protruding electric cables, while the backyard was filled with household rubbish and old mattresses.

The council burst into the property with help from the Metropolitan Police after previously been blocked from carrying out a raid.

All 17 tenants living there were young men who were paying cash in hand to one person in the house who then passed on the official rent of 1,200 a month.

The total rent collected each month by the head tenant was revealed to be 3,400.

The raid came as part of Brent Council's enforcement activity which has been ramped up to catch landlords with unlicensed properties and put a stop to people living in squalid and overcrowded accommodation.

The 17 tenants were living in squalid conditions in the Kingsbury home, which had no heating or hot water

An old mattress was even found next to cooking appliances inside the dirty kitchen, which also had a leaking sink

Sky News joined the raid as part of a package that is likely to air next week to highlight the problem of overcrowding in London.

Councillor Harbi Farah, Brent Council's cabinet member for housing, said: 'Having to live with 16 other people in these cramped conditions is unacceptable.

The raid came as part of Brent Council's enforcement activity which has been ramped up to catch landlords with unlicensed properties

'We are talking about people's lives and no one deserves to spend theirs in a grimy, overcrowded house with no hot water or heating.

'While there are many good landlords in Brent who have licensed their properties, there's still a significant number who haven't, who are operating illegally and exploiting people for profit.

'We are in the process of identifying and taking enforcement action against unlicensed properties and I'm happy to see actions including the raid last week, taken against landlords who do not comply with the law.

'Licensing is good for everyone in Brent. It drives up standards in the private sector and ensures a good standard of living for our residents, something we are committed to providing.'

Officers from Immigration Enforcement were also present to investigate the immigration status of the tenants as legally required.
Company then said she instructed her PA to falsify 33,000 of expenses

She is a French wine heiress who conquered the City at 26 to become a senior partner at the Queens bank Coutts.

Then, when she was 31, Nathalie Dauriac-Stoebe set up a wealth-management firm with the billionaire founder of Phones 4u, John Caudwell.

But their partnership turned sour, and tomorrow the High Court is set for a showdown after she claimed shares in the firm worth 15million were taken from her.

John Caudwell, who banked more than 1.2billion from the 2006 sale of the now-defunct mobile phone retailer Phones 4u, is locked in a bitter legal fight with Nathalie Dauriac-Stoebe, right

She also accuses her former mentor of avoiding tax, which he denies. In turn, she refutes accusations of fiddling expenses and lavishing company money on beauty treatments, shopping trips and long-haul holidays with her family and nanny.

Yesterday, Mrs Dauriac-Stoebe, 38, told the Mail she took just four days maternity leave after having her daughter Juliette in 2011, and her son Theo in 2014.

She said: I decided to set up my own firm, I went to John, and we put the same amount of money in, 300,000 each.

I had to work 24/7. I worked late the night before I gave birth, and then went back to work after three or four days.

Mr Caudwell later became godfather to her daughter. But she now accuses him of bullying, harassment and intimidation, and claims he demanded she take a lie detector test and seek psychiatric help.

John Caudwell, pictured on the left with his daughter Libby, and on the right with his ex-partner Claire Johnson, who he split with in 2014

Her lawyer said she dedicated six years of her life to building the companys business, at the expense of involvement with the children she bore during that period.

Mrs Dauriac-Stoebe grew up near Bordeaux, where her father has three vineyards, and studied at Cambridge University before rising up the ranks at Coutts to advise ultra-high net worth clients.

It was there she met Mr Caudwell, 63, who had made 1.2billion from selling Phones 4u, the now defunct mobile phone retailer. They founded Signia Wealth, a money-management firm. He took 51 per cent and Mrs Dauriac-Stoebe 49 per cent.

Dauriac-Stoebe alleges 'bullying, harassment and intimidation' by Caudwell, claiming that he demanded she take a lie detector test and seek psychiatric help

Within months, she was managing 2billion for some of the worlds richest people, and wed investment guru Konrad Stoebe, 40, with whom she lives in a 7.5million house in Hampstead, north London. But in December 2014 she was suspended from Signia, resigning the next month.

Last June, she took Signia to an employment tribunal, alleging she was sacked unfairly for blowing the whistle on a sham transaction that allegedly helped Mr Caudwell avoid VAT. Signia denies this, and said the claim was intentionally provocative and salacious given that Mr Caudwell has publicly spoken about the immorality of tax avoidance.

But her tribunal was put on hold when Signia began a High Court action, accusing her of falsifying expenses worth 33,000.

Signia also says she failed to achieve performance targets by presiding over 3million losses in 2014, adding: Immediately prior to a scheduled disciplinary hearing, in order to avoid her inevitable dismissal, [she] instead resigned without notice. The firm said Mrs Dauriac-Stoebes shares were then transferred from her ownership.

But she says the expenses were honestly made, and the accusation was a cynical way to get rid of her and seize her shares for a token 2.

She also claims she found a tracking device under her car.

Yesterday she said: I just want the truth to come out  and I want the true value of my shares, which I am entitled to. Nobody should treat a woman like this  or anybody like this.

I will continue to fight because I want the truth, and I want to get on with my life.
At the event, organizers presented 80 bicycles, 80 gift packages, and five education packets from AIA Vietnam Life Insurance Co., Ltd (VND20 million each), worth VND250 million in total, to local disadvantaged students.

With all the bikes donated to unprivileged children, we hope their long way to school will be less arduous. We believe this contribution will bring more opportunities to their education continuation for a better future, said Mr. Stephen Clark, CEO of AIA Vietnam.





Photos: Thanh Ngan

Quang Nam is the seventh beneficiaries of this year's program after Bac Ninh, Thai Binh, Hung Yen, Thai Nguyen, Nghe An and Quang Binh provinces.

In the third year, Real life journey is designed with 12 major events from the North to the South, providing at least 1,070 bicycles to disadvantaged students. So far, over 2,100 bikes given to students in 38 localities.

On this occasion, a writing contest about the Real life journey was kicked off for children to share their thoughts before and after getting bicycles from the Real life journey programs; and how their lives are changed with this present.

The event was launched in 2014 to encourage disadvantaged children from distant locations to go to school and achieve high academic performances. Apart from assisting disadvantaged children, it has also contributed to promoting the rights of children, traffic safety and environmental protection.

During 2014-2015 period, as many as 1,800 bicycles contributed by AIA Vietnam Life Insurance Co. Ltd staffs, clients and partners, have been transferred to poor students in 37 provinces and cities nationwide.

Every year, around 200,000 students drop out of school, and one of the main reasons is the long distances they have to travel by foot. In remote areas, many students need to walk between five and ten kilometers to the nearest school.

Over the past four years, AIA Vietnam Life Insurance Co. Ltd supported over VND10 billion for poor kids across the nation, including nearly 4,000 floating backpacks, over 530 drinking water purifying machines, over 800 sets of school stationery, around 4,400 scholarships for poor students in 50 localities, bringing benefit to over 11,000 kids and their families./.
A heroic mother who leaped on top of her 15-year-old son during the Dallas shooting insists she is not afraid to march again.

Shetamia Taylor was at the Black Lives Matter protest with her son Andrew Humphrey, 15, on Thursday night when gunman Micah Xavier Johnson, 25, opened fire nearby.

The 37-year-old, who was one of two civilians wounded in the attack which killed five Dallas officers and injured seven others, dived over her son to shield him from the blaze of bullets.

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Shetamia Taylor (pictured) was at the Black Lives Matter protest with her son Andrew Humphrey, 15, on Thursday night when gunman Micah Xavier Johnson, 25, opened fire nearby

In an emotional press conference, Taylor described the terrifying moment she first heard gunshots and turned to see a police officer get shot right in front of her.

As he was going down, he shouted at her and her sons, 'He's got a gun, run!'

'My kids started running and I wanted to make sure they were all in front of me. I was running behind them and I felt the bullet, I don't know if it bounced off the ground, but I felt it hit my leg.'

That bullet hit her calf shattering her tibia.

Seeing his mother fall behind, her son Andrew, 15, turned round but fearing another gunshot at any second, Taylor grabbed the teen and pushed him to the ground between a car and the curb, and lay on top of him.

Shetamia Taylor is pictured (front center), husband Lavar Taylor (right) and four sons, back row, L-R: Jermar Taylor, 12, Jajuan Washington, 14, Andrew Humphrey, 15, Kavion Washington, 18

In an emotional interview, Taylor described the terrifying moment she first heard gunshots and turned to see a police officer get shot right in front of her

That's when they noticed a group of police officers coming round the block.

During a press conference at Baylor University Medical Center today, Taylor said she called out for help to the cops who immediately circled the 37-year-old and her son to try and shield them from the gunfire.

'An officer jumped on top of me and stayed there with us,' she said. 'I've never been in a situation like that before. There was was hundreds of rounds, I've never heard anything like that.

'I'm so thankful for the Dallas Police Department. They had no regards for their own lives. They stayed with us, and surrounded us.

I just wanted to protect my family

'How they came around and just guarded us like that.'

She said that she doesn't believe the cop who warned them to flee survived.

'I don't think he made it,' she said.

Taylor said she saw another officer get hit in front of her, before they were able to move to safety.

'They were really heroes for us,' she said, adding that the majority of officers protecting her were white.

'I've always held police officers in high regard - my son has always wanted to be a police officer.

Kavion Washington, 18, (right) had grabbed his younger brother Jermar Taylor, 12, (left) and dragged him to safety during the shooting

Jajuan Washington, 14, (left) had fled during the shooting while Taylor had dived over her son Andrew Humphrey, 15, right, to protect him from the gunfire

The 37-year-old, who was one of two civilians wounded in the attack which killed five Dallas officers and injured seven others, dived over her son to shield him from the blaze of bullets

'Police officers are not all bad, they are not all out to get us.

'If anything, this has just made my admiration for them even higher.'

After waiting behind the car, Taylor said that she, her son and the officers were able to use a break in gunfire to run to a police vehicle.

They were really heroes for us

'Another police officer was in the back of the car with my son. I'm thankful that officer didn't get hit while he was driving us.

While Taylor, originally from Minnesota but now of Dallas, Texas, praised the Dallas Police Department as 'heroes', she shrugged off the idea that her own actions were equally as brave.

'I didn't do anything that any other mother or father wouldn't have done for their child,' she insisted.

'I'm just a mother and a wife. I'm not an activist, I'm not a politician.

'I just wanted to protect my family. If it was going to happen to one of my son's, it was going to happen to me first.'

Andrew Humphrey (left), whose mother Shetamia Taylor (right) jumped on top of him to protect him during the Dallas shooting, has described her as a 'hero'

The mother-of-four said that the entire time she was separated from her other three sons, she was praying they were safe.

'I kept praying, 'cause I got separated from my other three,' said Taylor, who is still in a wheelchair, recovering from the gunshot wound.

'I just prayed the whole time I was on the ground, and when I was in the car... for everybody to be safe.

It was a 'very long hour' before she discovered her sons were all safe.

But it was a bitter-sweet moment.

'I'm celebrating my kids being alive, and I'm listening to officers tell each other how another officer didn't make it.

They had no regards for their own lives.

'It hurt. Of course, I'm thankful my babies are OK but I feel bad someone's husband isn't.'

The Amazon employee said that sh wasn't normally one to protest but she had been moved to take a stand by the killings of CD salesman Alton Sterling, 37, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Tuesday morning, and school cafeteria supervisor Philando Castile, 32, in Minnesota, on Wednesday night.

She decided to go to the march in downtown Dallas with her sons; Jermar Taylor, 12, Jajuan Washington, 14, Andrew Humphrey, 15, and Kavion Washington, 18, to protest against the violence.

But she was angry that gunman Johnson believed the solution to the violence, was more violence.

'I'm sorry that it happened, that the person thought it would be ok. That it would solve something.

Johnson fatally shot five officers and wounded seven more before police killed him with a remote-controlled bomb in early hours of Friday. Above, police respond after shots were fired at the protest

Micah Johnson (pictured) was sent home from Afghanistan after being accused of sexually harassing a female soldier and followed black militant groups on social media. Right, a photo on Facebook showed him wearing a dashiki and raising his fist

'Why would he do that?'

However, the mother-of-four says the horrific ordeal has not put her off protesting in the future.

She insists she would go to an other demonstration to prove she is not scared and that she has not given up hope.

'I am not going to stop. I want my community to be unified, I want my people to be unified,' she said.

Taylor's son Andrew told Daily Mail Online he was extremely proud of his mother's bravery.

'We were just at the protest and then the next thing, she basically grappled with me and threw me down,' he said.

'It was scary but I'm fine now. She is fine too and will be leaving hospital later.'

'I don't know what to say about her... She's... I guess she is a hero, yeah,' he said.

Speaking from the family home in Garland, Texas, he added: 'It's been a lot to take in. I didn't even know I was going to the protest until Thursday night.

'There's been a lot of police brutality but the cops [who died] didn't deserve that. I feel so sorry for their families.'

Notes and flowers decorate a squad car at a makeshift memorial in front of the Dallas police department after five police officers were killed in the shooting on Thursday night

Neighbor James Cook, 35, knows Taylor well and said he wasn't surprised by her selfless actions.

'They're nice people and she's always listening to church music, so I'm not surprised she would do something like that.'

He added: 'I respect what the police do and they risk their lives every day but at the moment, the bad cops have been outshining the good ones.'

Thursday's protests were sparked by the deaths of Sterling and Castile last week.

But the peaceful protest took a deadly turn after Afghanistan veteran Johnson, of Mesquite, Texas, opened fire on police officers.

Johnson, who was later killed by cops in a standoff, was filmed killing officers execution-style - including shooting one victim in the back of the head at point blank range.

The five officers who died have since been named as Brent Thompson, 43, Patrick Zamarripa, 32, Michael Krol, 40, Michael Smith, 55, and Lorne Ahrens, 48.

Seven people, among them three police officers and Taylor, were also injured before the sniper was killed by a remote-controlled bomb.
A man who rented a cabin from a Kentucky couple has been charged in their murders.

Craig Pennington, 52, of Springfield, Kentucky, allegedly killed Robert 'Bobby' K. Jones, 38, and girlfriend Crystal Warner, 35, of Florence, according to the Kentucky State Police.

The couple's bodies have not been found, but on Friday police said they discovered 'evidence' that the pair are deceased.

Vibrant couple Bobby Jones, 38, and Crystal Warner, 35, disappeared last Sunday after going to visit a tenant

The Gray 2012 Volkswagen belonging to the couple was found abandoned a five days after they went missing, but they were said to be deceased on Friday by police, who arrested their tenant

Tenant Craig Pennington has been charged in the pair's murders - family reportedly said that witnesses saw the tenant shoot the couple and take their bodies

The families of the couple said that witnesses saw Pennington allegedly shoot the couple and leave with their bodies, according to WKYT.

The pair had been missing since Sunday, July 3, when they said they were driving to a remote cabin on Texas Mackville Road in Springfield to check on a rental property, according toWLWT.

They were never seen again.

Pennington was interviewed and told police that the couple had been there, but then they left to drive back to Florence.

But on July 8, the couple's car was found abandoned around 2am near I-75 close to Georgetown.

Pennington is charged with two counts of murder. He is currently being held at the Marion County Detention Center.

Warner's Facebook page says she works as a Production Control Specialist at Toyota. She was also said to be an active member of Triumph Strength & Conditioning, and worked out five days a week.

The gym posted on its Facebook page: 'Today we have lost a family member. There are no words that can express what Crystal meant to Triumph and our community. A bright smile and unwavering positivity, Crystal has grown into a cornerstone member of Triumph. Much to the acclaim of Crystal and Bobby we will continue to celebrate the lives they led. If we can match only a fraction of the light they brought into our lives we can better ourselves, others and the ones we hold dear.'

The couple were known as sociable and friendly, say pals, who are in shock over their double murder

Crystal's mother, Mary Reeve, says she could have never imagined this happening to her 'beautiful, sweet daughter'; (right) the cabin that family says the couple went to visit to talk to their tenant, Craig Pennington

'Bob and Crystal were the best people on this earth,' Jennifer Fine, Jones' sister-in-law, told WKYT. 'The scenarios that have been running through our head have been absolute torment fearing that this is what happened and several of us have had this gut wrenching feeling that this is what has happened.'

'I never thought in a million years that my beautiful, sweet daughter...that anything like this would happen to her, she's just kind to everybody,' said her mother, Mary Reeve.

A possible motive for the murders hasn't been released.
Texas Congressman Joaquin Castro urged voters to move on from Hillary Clinton's email scandal in the aftermath of more serious issues like this week's shootings.

Talking to ABC's Martha Raddatz from downtown Dallas, in front of a makeshift memorial for the five officers who were killed by a gunman Thursday night, Castro said Clinton had learned her lesson.

'I think that first of all there's no perfect politician,' Castro said, further backing her up. 'Hillary Clinton's been in public service for many years and done amazing work, but she's also admitted when she's made a mistake.'

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Texas Congressman Joaquin Castro defended Hillary Clinton this morning from Dallas, saying that she was aware her private email server was a 'mistake'

ABC's Martha Raddatz (left) pressed Joaquin Castro (right) on Hillary Clinton's email usage, citing FBI Director James Comey, who called Clinton and her aides 'extremely careless'

'And this was one of them,' he added.

'I think that what we hope for from our leaders is that, when they do make mistakes, they acknowledge those mistakes and they learn from them,' Castro continued.

As president, Castro said, Clinton would act 'responsibly.'

Although Clinton would not be indicted for the way she handled classified material, sending it through her private email server, FBI Director James Comey did say that Clinton and her aides were 'extremely careless' in the way they tossed around government secrets to and from her private email account.

Raddatz followed up suggesting what Comey said was 'pretty serious stuff.'

'Well, sure, and she admitted that was a mistake to use email that way,' Castro replied.

Spreading around the blame he added, 'It's a mistake that was made by other secretaries of state. It's a mistake that's been [made] in the government, not only in the State Department but in other departments as well.'

'But if anything, Martha, the tragic week that just passed, this very painful week in American history should be the turning point for the Congress and for our government where we start to move on and focus on the issues that matter to Americans,' Castro said.

After Comey's announcement on Tuesday, House Republicans brought the FBI Director to Capitol Hill Thursday to ask him how the investigation of Clinton's emails was done and why he came to his conclusion that no reasonable prosecutor would have pursued a case.

The Castro Twins, Julian (left) and Joaquin (right) made an appearance at the Bloomberg Vanity Fair White House Correspondents' Dinner after party. They're both supporting Hillary Clinton

Both Julian Castro (left) the HUD Director and Joaquin Castro (right) the Democratic congressman are supporters of Hillary Clinton, though Julian Castro might be tapped for vice president

Also on Thursday the State Department reopened its internal probe of Clinton's emails, which had been suspended while the FBI was doing its investigation.

Republicans now want the FBI to investigate whether Clinton lied about her emails under oath.

Meanwhile Clinton's campaign is marching on with the Democratic National Convention scheduled to start two weeks from tomorrow.

She's currently looking for a running mate with Joaquin Castro's twin brother, Julian Castro, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, reportedly in the mix.

Others she's said to be considering are Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, New Jersey Sen. Corey Booker  who appeared as a Clinton surrogate on Meet the Press today  and Labor Secretary Thomas Perez.

Speaking to the news of the week, Joaquin Castro touted Clinton as 'somebody who's tried to heal the division in our country.'

'And shes somebody whose very message in her campaign about America being stronger together is something that we all need right now,' Castro said.

Raddatz pointed out that 55 percent of Americans have an unfavorable view of Clinton.

'Well, the fact is she's trying. In every single thing that she's done during her public service career she's tried,' Castro continued.

'She's not making comments about people's ethnicity or calling people racists or murderers, she's not threatening to ban people based on religion,' Castro said.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull now has the authority pass company tax cuts, superannuation reforms and 'stop the union takeover of the CFA in Victoria' after claiming victory for the Coalition.

Mr Turnbull formally claimed victory on Sunday a week after the July 2 federal election, one of the longest in Australian history, after Opposition Leader Bill Shorten phoned to concede defeat.

The Prime Minister took the call as his granddaughter Isla - 'a one-year-old witness to history' - on his lap.

As he declared his victory to the public, Mr Turnbull said Australians had given the Coalition the mandate to deliver on the 2016 budget handed down just a week before the election was called.

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Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull now has the authority pass company tax cuts, superannuation reforms and 'stop the union takeover of the CFA in Victoria' after claiming victory for the Coalition

That includes changes to superannuation, which some conservatives have blamed for a backlash against the Coalition and reduced volunteers and donations during the election campaign.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has already promised not to make any further changes to superannuation during the next term of government.

He may face pressure in the party room to change the budget moves to tighten tax concessions on superannuation contributions and cap the total amount people can have in retirement accounts.

The Prime Minister also said there would be no funding cuts to public services.

'We need to ensure that Medicare, our education, our health services and all those vital government services are provided for and Australians feel secure, that they are provided for,' he said.

'At the same time we have to ensure that we bring our budget back into balance.'

The Prime Minister has a number of 'day one' priorities, all aimed at driving investment, jobs and growth as well as setting a path to balancing the budget.

He told the Coalition launch he would be seeking parliament's early support to pass middle-income earner tax cuts and company tax cuts for businesses with turnovers below $10 million.

Earlier on Sunday, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten phoned Mr Turnbull (pictured) to concede defeat and congratulate him as he was looking after his one-year-old granddaughter

Bill Shorten conceded the federal election on Sunday (above) at a press conference in Melbourne

The Coalition argues easing the burden on small business will encourage them to grow and employ more people.

Labor says the small business definition is too high but would support tax breaks for those turning over less than $2 million.

There's a compromise to be had there.

But less promising is Turnbull's 'day one' bid to overhaul workplace laws.

Restoring the building industry watchdog, imposing tougher penalties for union corruption and a bill to 'stop the union takeover of the CFA in Victoria' will all be resisted by Labor and the Greens in the Senate.

The Prime Minister expected Liberal and National MPs would meet in Canberra on July 18.

He said there would be minimal changes to his frontbench, which was reshuffled in February, although he needs to replace up to three ministers who have lost their seats.

Mr Turnbull also said it was 'vital' that the parliament works together.

And Mr Shorten has pledged Labor would work with the Coalition where there was common ground between the parties.

But he said Labor would also stick to its core values.

'We also have a mandate to stand up for Medicare, to make sure schools are properly funded and to make sure we prioritise Australian jobs,' Mr Shorten told reporters in Melbourne.

The Opposition Leader also noted the length of the election in his speech.

Mr Shorten thanked his family, volunteers and Labor voters on Sunday as he conceded defeat

The Opposition leader said he had congratulated Malcolm Turnbull and looked forward to finding 'common ground' in the next parliament

'It has been the longest election in 50 years and indeed it seems the last eight days have been very long,' Mr Shorten said.

'I understand we need to make this parliament function and we will be up for it. I want to once again thank my family who have been marvellous and supportive.

'And I also want to thank the tens of thousands of volunteers who have worked so hard on the Labor campaign.

'I am proud that Labor is back and that Labor is united. That Labor has found its voice in this election.'

Mr Shorten said he had already phoned the Prime Minister to congratulate him when he spoke.

He also called for change in the vote counting system, noting the eight day delay in a result.

'We've seen the counting go on and on and on. It shouldn't be taking eight days to find out who has won and who has lost,' Mr Shorten said.

The Australian Electoral Commission is predicting the Coalition will win 74 seats with Labor expected to take home 71 seats. One of the seats the Coalition is on track to win is still close as are four in the Labor camp

'It's the 21st century, we are a leading democracy - we should be able to find out who has won and lost in a quicker time.'

Mr Shorten said he was committed to working with the Prime Minister and that Labor would remain true to the values it campaigned on.

'The Labor party will stick true to its core values. The lesson for me is to never give up and to trust the Australian people.

'We didn't win enough seats and I recognise that but I want to reassure people who voted for us that we will stick to our guns.'

The Australian Electoral Commission is predicting the Coalition will win 74 seats with Labor expected to take home 71 seats.

One of the seats the Coalition is on track to win is still close as are four in the Labor camp.
Cataracts occur when the lens in the eye becomes cloudy, causing problems with reading, writing and general vision, which gradually get worse (stock photo)

Health tourists are jumping the queue ahead of NHS patients for life-changing cataract operations, an investigation has revealed.

At least 300 foreign patients flying in from countries including Nigeria and Zimbabwe have been offered surgery before British taxpayers because their condition is deemed a priority.

The treatment costs the NHS up to 2,500 a time including translation costs but many patients return home and never pay it back.

Yet they are being fast-tracked by doctors as their condition is deemed very complex and urgent, leading to lengthy delays for British patients.

Cataract surgery is the most common treatment on the NHS and 300,000 operations are performed a year, mostly on the elderly.

Yet it is being heavily rationed due to financial pressures. Figures have shown that at least half of health trusts currently ration cataract surgery and some patients have been told their vision is 'too good' even though they cannot read or write.

Some areas including parts of Greater Manchester have average waiting times of 222 days  nearly eight months  while others will now only do one eye at a time.

Cataracts occur when the lens in the eye becomes cloudy, causing problems with reading, writing and general vision, which gradually get worse. But they can be easily treated by a simple 30-minute operation to remove the affected lens and replace it with a plastic implant.

Charities have warned, however, that thousands of patients are gradually losing their sight because NHS trusts are refusing to carry out surgery.

The Daily Mail used the Freedom of Information Act to ask all 150 hospital trusts in England a series of questions about overseas patients. The replies show that in the past two years 849 overseas patients were given cataract surgery on the NHS even though they were not eligible for free care.

They included 283 who were fast-tracked to the front of the queue because doctors deemed their condition to be more urgent than others already waiting.

Only 77 trusts managed to reply to any of our questions so the true scale of the abuse is likely to be far higher. Thirteen admitted they never recovered the full costs from the patients.

Professor J Meirion Thomas, a former cancer surgeon at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London, said: 'This investigation proves again that health tourism is flourishing in the face of the feeble efforts of the Department of Health.

'Why should patients who are not eligible for free NHS care be allowed treatment at a rock-bottom price?'

Foreign patients have been offered life-changing cataract operations ahead of British taxpayers because their condition is deemed a priority

He said government research showed that 84 per cent of health tourists never paid their debts.

Conservative MP Peter Bone said: 'We really have to have a system which puts British people first.' Andrew Percy, another Tory MP, said: 'The NHS is facing extreme pressures and its unacceptable that money is being spent on treatment for people that are ineligible.'

Last August the Daily Mail Investigations Unit revealed that the vast scale of health tourism in the NHS was being covered up by hospital bosses.

NHS whistleblowers said they are told to disguise the true number abusing the health service by bosses who 'don't want to know'  and are branded racist if they speak out.

By law, only patients who are 'ordinarily resident' in the UK  and have lived here for at least six months  are eligible for free treatment, operations and scans. But lifesaving procedures, maternity care, A&E treatment and GP services are free for all.

Ministers have repeatedly promised to crack down on health tourism amid accusations that the NHS is too lax compared with other EU countries.

They twice unveiled proposals to start charging foreign patients in A&E although they are still 'consulting' on the plans and there is no clear start date.

I HAD TO WAIT FOR TWO YEARS, SAYS 83-YEAR-OLD GRANDMOTHER Bernice Cowles (pictured) waited two years for cataract treatment on the NHS Bernice Cowles waited two years for cataract treatment on the NHS after being told her failing sight was too good. In 2013, the 83-year-old grandmother, pictured, was caring full-time for her husband William, who has since died, and struggled to read the small writing on his prescriptions without a magnifying glass. She was referred for an operation in April 2015 to repair her left eye, which was more severely affected. But this was only after a routine sight test revealed her vision was so poor that it met the NHS's strict eligibility criteria. Mrs Cowles, from West Horndon, Essex, said the operation was 'very successful'  and she hoped to have the other eye operated on soon. Advertisement

Yet most other countries in the EU demand to see patients' identity cards or passports before offering them treatment.

The Mail was alerted to the problem by a whistleblower from a hospital whose role is to charge foreign patients.

She said many patients, mainly from Nigeria and Zimbabwe, are brought in by relatives living here. The relatives then take them for eye tests by opticians, who refer them to hospital, where doctors carry out cataract surgery immediately. But they do not demand money beforehand.

The whistleblower said that between five and 15 overseas patients arrive at her hospital a week needing cataract treatment. 'We rarely get the money back,' she said. 'They tend to need very complex procedures. We have to use a translation service as well and it's a huge cost.'
Leaked images appearing to show the dead body of Dallas sniper Micah Johnson after he was blown up by a 'bomb robot' appear genuine, a former US Army explosives expert has told Daily Mail Online.

The Dallas Police Department has refused to say whether the gruesome photos anonymously posted online Sunday evening are genuine images of the slain cop killer.

But Bryan Woolston, a former senior explosive ordnance disposal technician with the US Army, said that the blast scene depicted in the photos and the state of the corpse were consistent with the remote controlled bomb tactic used to kill Johnson.

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Leaked images appear to show Dallas gunman Micah Johnson (left) along with a semi-automatic rifle among the rubble after he was killed by a remote controlled robotic bomb in a parking lot at El Centro College

The Dallas police department has since defended the decision to use a bomb after Johnson killed five officers at a Black Lives Matter protest on Thursday, saying it was a 'last resort'

A mechanical tactical robot similar to the one used to kill Micah Johnson

Police chiefs used a Remotec robot with a claw and arm extension to detonate one pound of C4 plastic explosive close to Johnson, who was thought to have been crouched behind a wall for cover.

The technology had been used previously by the US military to flush out IEDs during the Iraq conflict - but never by police to 'take out' an armed suspect in the heart of a bustling American metropolis.

Johnson does not appear to be missing any limbs or have any obvious blast wounds in the series of crime scene pictures posted anonymously to LiveLeak.

However he would likely have been killed by 'catastrophic' internal injuries, according to Woolston, who said he saw no obvious reasons to believe the images were fake.

'The most significant injuries would have resulted from the blast over pressure generated by the detonation,' Woolston explained to Daily Mail Online.

'This would have created a blast wave of pressure far higher than normal atmospheric pressure, causing catastrophic injuries to the cardiac, respiratory, gastrointestinal organs and other soft tissue. These injuries alone could cause death.

'Additional injuries would have resulted from the secondary fragmentation created by the blast. But unlike an explosive device such as a hand grenade, that is designed to fragment, bare explosives have no casing and therefore do not have a primary fragmentation danger.

The casualties include Dallas police officers Patrick Zamarripa (center), Michael Krol (right), Lorne Ahrens and Michael J. Smith, as well as DART Officer Brent Thompson (left)

Fallen Dallas police officer Lorne Ahrens pictured on the left. On the right, murdered Dallas officer Michael J Smith

'Americans of all races and all backgrounds are rightly outraged about the inexcusable attacks on police,' Obama said on Saturday (pictured, flowers and letters of condolences for the Dallas Police)

'There would be no shards of metal expelled from a block of C4 itself. The only fragments involved would be those introduced by the environment.

'Additional injuries may have been sustained resulting from the thermal properties of the blast, depending on the suspect's proximity.'

Johnson, who lived 20 minutes away from Dallas in Mesquite, Texas, was a 25-year-old Army reservist who told police he was upset about the recent shootings of black suspects.

He reportedly fired from an elevated position during a city center protest, slaying five officers 'ambush style' - hitting some in the back as they reeled in shock, looking for their attacker.

Cops eventually cornered him at El Centro College at around 11pm and attempted to negotiate.

Talks came to nothing as Johnson mocked and gloated about his killing spree so police chiefs decided not to risk any more lives trying to take him alive.

'We saw no other option but to use our bomb robot and place a device on its extension for it to detonate where the suspect was,' City police Chief David Brown told reporters Friday.

Johnson, who lived 20 minutes away from Dallas in Mesquite, Texas, was a 25-year-old Army reservist who told police he was upset about the recent shootings of black suspects.

Johnson told hostage negotiators that he targeted white officers during his shooting rampage in Dallas Pictured: Johnson (right) pictured with his brother Tevin (left) and sister Nicole (center)

After the attack Johnson defended her brother, saying that 'those that knew him know this wasn't like him' before announcing she is taking a break from social media

The photos of what may be Johnson's bloodied body also appeared on the website of lawyer and author Mike Cernovich, who claimed to have received them from a source.

They showed a bearded gunman slumped dead on his side amid a heap of debris. He can be seen wearing an armored vest and what may be beige military clothing.

Another photograph surfaced almost simultaneously on the gun enthusiasts' website, The Arms Guide, showing what it said was the rifle used by Johnson.

The report said the weapon was a Saiga AK-74 style semiautomatic rifle, matching the type police say Johnson used when he targeted officers.

It was equipped with 'a 30 round magazine, single point sling, Magpul folding stock and a rail system with a Primary Arms 5 power scope', according to The Arms Guide.

The Dallas Police Department tonight told Daily Mail Online in a statement that it would not confirm whether or not the photos were real.

If the they turn out to be genuine, the leak is likely to prompt a major internal investigation to find out who was able to post them online.

Deputy Chief Rob Sherwin said: 'The Dallas Police Department and the FBI have received media inquiries regarding photographs that are being circulated on the internet that are being depicted as crime scene photos from the incident where 5 police officers lost their lives on Thursday, July 7, 2016.

'The Dallas Police Department and FBI will not confirm that photographs being circulated are from the crime scene in downtown Dallas.'
Casual in a plaid shirt and jeans, this is the first picture of James Johnson - the father of Dallas police killer, Micah Johnson, 25.

Johnson, 55, of Garland, Texas, has kept a low profile since Thursday night when his son gunned down 14 people, killing five.

Today, he finally emerged from the home he shares with his second wife Donna, 60, and daughter Nicole, 21.

Casual in a plaid shirt and jeans, this is the first picture of James Johnson - the father of Dallas police killer, Micah Johnson, 25

Johnson, 55, of Garland, Texas, has kept a low profile since Thursday night when his son gunned down 14 people, killing five

Today, he finally emerged from the home he shares with his second wife Donna, 60, and daughter Nicole, 21

Nicole, who spent last night staying with a friend, arrived first in a black truck and sprinted across the lawn to the house - refusing to speak to reporters as she made her way inside.

Thirty minutes later, father and daughter sped off in another car - emerging from the garage and driving to a house in Mesquite, Texas where the rest of the family had gathered.

Owned by Delphine Johnson, 49, the detached property, in a quiet neighborhood, was, until Thursday night, also home to the killer.

Thirty minutes later, father and daughter sped off in a car - emerging from the garage and driving to a house in Mesquite, Texas where the rest of the family had gathered

Approached by Daily Mail Online and asked to comment on Johnson's murderous rampage, most shook their heads and ran inside the home

Later, a pair of cops from Mesquite arrived and told this website: 'They've told us they don't want to speak to you - sorry'

Approached by Daily Mail Online and asked to comment on Johnson's murderous rampage, most shook their heads and ran inside the home.

Johnson's younger brother Trevon briefly came to the door but told this website that 'the family doesn't want to make a statement right now'.

Later, a pair of cops from Mesquite arrived and told this website: 'They've told us they don't want to speak to you - sorry.

Yesterday, Delphine told Daily Mail Online to 'get off my land' when approached at home

James and his daughter and wife left their home in a blue Beetle and headed to a friends home

Donna was also in the blue Beetle but darted inside the house before photographers could get a picture (21-year-old Nicole pictured with her father)

'We know you've got a job to do but they really don't want to talk.'

Yesterday, Delphine told Daily Mail Online to 'get off my land' when approached at home.

But the family hasn't always been so silent, with 21-year-old Nicole launching a social media defense of her brother's actions on Facebook shortly after the slayings.

'The news will say what they want but those who knew him know that he wasn't like this,' she wrote.

Nicole is one family member who hasn't been quiet. She launched a social media defense of her brother's actions on Facebook shortly after the slayings

On Wednesday evening, following the shootings of Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old CD salesman in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Tuesday morning and of Philando Castile, 32, in Falcon Heights, Minnesota, on Wednesday, she launched a shocking rant in which she accused white people of 'killing us off'.

She added: 'To all my white and even other race friends that are on the wrong side of the law. If ur opinions are one sided or rascist or vulgar im reporting and blocking you [sic].

'Tired of y'all tryin [to] be on these cops side making it okay based off irrelevant info, when our own get killed over unjust s***.

'Tired of y'all tryin [to] be on these cops side making it okay based off irrelevant info, when our own get killed over unjust s***,' Nicole (pictured), 21, wrote

'Frankly, you shouldn't even step in that man's shoes saying what he did and why it is okay. 'While people have and will continue to try and kill us off. The only difference is they hide behind the blue suit and get off easy murdering civilians.

'Everything coming into the light and I for one think these cops need to get a taste of the life we now fear.'

Nicole, whose step-mother Donna is white, has not spoken publicly since and was reluctant to comment when approached by Daily Mail Online today and yesterday.

James (right) and Donna Johnson (left) are also enthusiastic participants in a neighborhood watch scheme which works alongside police officers

Micah Johnson, 25, from Mesquite, has been identified as the man who shot 12 police officers, killing five, before being killed by a robotic bomb detonated by police after a four hour standoff

On Thursday night, Johnson attended a Black Lives Matter protest where he opened fire on police - killing five execution-style with shots to the back of the head.

Hours later, trapped on the second floor of a multi-story parking lot, the shooter, an Afghanistan veteran, was cornered and killed by a SWAT team using a remote controlled bomb.

Since then, much of central Dallas has been cordoned off as police and FBI comb the scene for clues.

It also emerged this morning that the killer had daubed the initials 'RB' on the wall of the garage where he died - leaving police baffled. Since then, this website has learned that he possibly meant to write 'RBG' - the name given to the red, black and green Pan African flag.
Police had asked the Secessionists to postpone the rally after the Dallas shootings but they refused

The flag was removed at the end of the rally on Sunday

Reenactors dressed up as Confederate soldiers to salute the waving flag

Brought their own 30-foot aluminum pole to raise the rebel banner on

Exactly one year after it was taken down, the Confederate flag has risen once again on the South Carolina State House grounds.

The South Carolina Secessionist Party raised the Stars and Bars to mark the one-year anniversary of what they called the 'greatest treason' in the state's history.

They held what was dubbed the 'First Flag Rising Rally' on Sunday morning. The party has plans for it to become an annual event.

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The South Carolina Secessionist Party raised the Confederate flag on Statehouse grounfs to mark the one-year anniversary of when the rebel banner was taken down

They held what they called the 'Flag Rising Rally' on Sunday morning, in what they plan to be the first of what will become an annual event

A crowd of 150 supporters broke into cheers and hollers of 'Amen' and 'Leave it there!' as the rebel banner climbed to the top of a 30-foot aluminum pole with a plastic base that the party brought.

Reenactors dressed up as an honor guard of Confederate soldiers saluted the flag as it once again flew over the Statehouse.

The flag was removed at the end of the rally after the event permit expired at 5pm.

South Carolina police had earlier asked the Secessionists to postpone the rally in the wake of the death of five Dallas officers who were killed during a protest on Thursday night.

The group, which supports the state leaving the US, refused to move the date.

But the shootings did prompt the Upstate Black Lives Matter chapter to cancel a protest of the rally.

'We didn't really want to focus our attention on the flag at this time,' Derrick Quarles, president of the group's Upstate chapter, told The State.

Quarles said the group did not want the rally to turn violent, adding 'it's a very sensitive time in our nation'.

The flag was removed from the South Carolina Statehouse grounds during a ceremony (pictured) in Columbia on July 10, 2015

But dozens of protesters still made their voices heard at the rally, according to the New York Daily News.

One could be heard shouting: 'That flag is hate! That's why it was taken down in the first place.'

The Confederate flag was raised on state grounds more than 50 years ago during the civil rights movement.

Support for the flag's removal became louder last year after nine black parishioners were killed by a white 21-year-old gunman at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston.

THE HISTORY BEHIND THE FLAG The 150-year-old flag was originally used as a Civil War battle flag by the seven slave states (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Texas) that broke away from the Union in 1861. Due to the racist policies of those states, many calling for the flag's removal say it symbolizes hatred and white supremacy. It gained its modern meaning from the 1950s onwards when it was used in opposition to the Civil Rights movement that sought to end segregation and create equal right for blacks. In 1962, when the civil rights movement was cresting and the president was putting pressure on the south to end segregation, South Carolina proudly flew the flag in protest. Advertisement

Pictures soon surfaced that showed the gunman draped in the Confederate flag.

South Carolina Gov Nikki Haley joined President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden's call for the flag to come down and the state Legislature won a two-thirds majority to finally remove it.

Twenty-three days after those nine people were murdered in their place of worship, the flag finally came down.

The pole where it once flew from was also removed to erase all traces of the Confederacy from Capitol grounds.

Haley called the historical moment a 'great day in South Carolina', adding 'I'm thinking of those nine people today'.

But Secessionist Party chairman James Bessenger said the group believes the flag was removed because of 'political correctness'.

'People are sick of hearing that people's feelings are hurt,' he said of the rally. 'Our history is being erased. It's like cultural Marxism.'

Democratic State Sen John Matthews said the Confederate flag, which now resides in a military museum in Columbia, will not be returning to the State House grounds.

'We've fought the battle and we've agreed to move on,' he said.

'We've decided to move on into the 21st century.'

Support for the flag's removal became louder last year after nine black parishioners were killed by a white 21-year-old gunman at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston
A doctor who used confidential information to text message eight female patients claims he was looking for a 'sexual companion' while his wife was overseas, a tribunal has heard.

In July 2015, Newcastle GP Nauman Zafar Khan, 41, sent a 20-year-old patient 120 texts in a day saying he was 'ready' for her and on another occasion turned up at a woman's home with his 'shirt half undone'.

Mr Khan tried to appeal the decision after his doctor's registration was suspended in October, but the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal refused, saying his behaviour was 'disgusting,' The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Newcastle GP Nauman Zafar Khan (pictured) used confidential information to text message eight female patients claims he was looking for a 'sexual companion' while his wife was overseas, a tribunal has heard

The Health Care Complaints Commission heard after Mr Khan told his 20-year-old patient he 'wanted' her, she felt 'frightened'.

The woman, who suffered from anxiety and depression, said Mr Khan's messages were 'forceful and persistent'.

Another female patient, 44, told the Tribunal on Friday the Newcastle GP told her he needed a sexual companion as his wife was in Pakistan and Skype was not sufficient.

The patient, who was a victim of sexual assault, said he knocked on her door with his shirt partly undone.

A 26-year-old woman said Mr Khan texted her over three-weeks in June to ask if she was in a relationship and whether they could meet.

The Health Care Complaints Commission heard after Mr Khan told his 20-year-old patient he 'wanted' her, she felt 'frightened' (stock image)

Mr Khan tried to appeal the decision after his doctor's registration was suspended in October, but the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (pictured) refused

'I have been very disturbed by [Mr Khan's] contact,' she said. 'I had been having a terrible six months and he knew all my problems.'

One of the women allegedly had an affair with Mr Khan and was upset after he stopped messaging her, saying he used her 'vulnerability'.

Mr Khan's wife and son moved to Pakistan in June 2015 and he said he felt as if he was 'drowning' and was 'miserable' without them.

Acting Judge Francis Marks told the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal on Friday, Mr Khan acted 'selfishly'.

'He has acted with wanton disregard for the wellbeing of these persons, who ... he knew to be vulnerable,' he said.
Weapons and ammunition were freely on display and able to be bought in the town of Fort Worth, Texas this weekend, just 30 miles from where Thursday night's appalling shooting of five Dallas police officers took place.

The crowd appeared to be larger than usual, which often happens after a mass shooting or when legislation to restrict gun ownership has been proposed.

There is a huge 'gun show loophole' at events held in Texas which allows anyone who is not a licensed firearm dealer (in other words a private dealer), to buy or sell guns without a waiting period or even a background check.

It means that guns can be sold openly at show between private individuals without so much as an ID-check.

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Firing line: A woman tries a pistol at a gun show where thousands of different weapons are displayed for sale

Bad timing? The Dallas and Forth Worth areas are still mourning the deaths of five police officers last Thursday evening by a lone gunman

Easy to come by: A woman admires weapons at a gun show. Gun laws are so lax in the state of Texas that no background checks are required

To purchase any firearm in Texas from a firearms dealer, buyers have to undergo a National Instant Criminal Background Check, or NICS check just as in every other state.

The NICS, is all about saving lives and protecting people from harmby not letting guns fall into the wrong hands. It also ensures the timely transfer of firearms to eligible gun buyers.

Some of the longest lines at the show were at ammunition booths.

While the show had plenty of rifles and pistols for sale, not every vendor was selling firearms.

Knifes, swords, jewelry, tools, walking sticks, stun guns and back packs were at some booths.

Micah Johnson, 25, a veteran, went on the rampage with a semiautomatic SKS rifle and a high-capacity handgun on Thursday night, but left explosive material at home.

It also emerged that Johnson was planning a bigger attack in Dallas but launched his assault early because the protest was too good an opportunity to miss, a police source said.

Texas has a 'gun show loophole' which means the state does not require background checks for firearms purchased at gun shows from private individuals - federal law only requires licensed dealers to conduct checks

Speaking about the Dallas tragedy, President Obama blamed guns: 'We also know that when people are armed with powerful weapons, it unfortunately makes attacks like these more deadly and more tragic'

Micah Johnson was planning a larger attack in Dallas, a law enforcement source has said

A law enforcement source told WFAA that Johnson was 'planning something bigger' but cut preparations short because he knew scores of police officers would man the Black Lives Matter protest.

Detectives found bomb making materials, ballistic vests, rifles, ammunition and a personal journal of combat tactics at Johnson's mother's home in Mesquite, Texas, the day after his horrific spree.

'We think he was probably planning something bigger based on what we found at the house with the explosive materials,' the police source said.

'He had a bunch of explosive materials. He didn't have the explosives created.'

Johnson's plan was 'to kill as many as he could', the source said, but he could have killed more if he had longer to prepare his attack.

'I think that target of opportunity is what drove him as far as timing,' the source said.

'He literally had hundreds and hundreds of rounds in magazines attached to his body so it wasn't like he was running out of ammunition.

'He definitely was ready to go and intending to inflict more damage. His plan was to kill as many as he could.'

Johnson shot 14 people during his cop-killing spree in downtown Dallas. Of those, 12 were police officers. Five cops - Patrick Zamarripa, Michael Krol, Lorne Ahrens and Michael J. Smith, as well as DART Officer Brent Thompson - died.

Officers from the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms took evidence boxes out of the house after finding rifles, ammunition and explosive material, as well as different lengths of pipe.

Cops cornered Johnson at El Centro College at around 11pm on Thursday and attempted to negotiate, but four hours later the talks failed and a robot was brought in to detonate a bomb and kill the suspect.

Detectives found bomb making materials, ballistic vests, rifles, ammunition and a personal journal of combat tactics at Johnson's mother's home in Mesquite, Texas, the day after his horrific spree

Johnson (pictured shooting a police officer) shot 14 people during his cop-killing spree in downtown Dallas. Of those, 12 were police officers

An FBI investigator works the crime scene outside of the Bank of America building in downtown Dallas

FBI investigators seek for clues after the brutal slaying of cops outside Bank of America in downtown Dallas

He claimed he had planted bombs all over the city but this turned out to be an empty threat.

Johnson wore body armor, which would explain why a cop was not able to kill him when he confronted him in a one-on-one situation which was caught on camera. It resulted in the cop being executed.

The shooter fired from an 'elevated position', picking off officers 'ambush style,' police said, adding that he shot some of the cops in the back.

Johnson reportedly used military skills he picked up while serving in the Army, which saw him sent on one tour of Afghanistan.

He also trained at a private self-defense school that teaches special tactics, including 'shooting on the move', a maneuver in which an attacker fires and changes position before firing again.

The Academy of Combative Warrior Arts refers to one of its courses as a 'tactical applications program.'

The casualties include Dallas police officers Patrick Zamarripa (center), Michael Krol (right), Lorne Ahrens and Michael J. Smith, as well as DART Officer Brent Thompson (left)

Fallen Dallas, Texas police officer Lorne Ahrens pictured on the left. On the right, murdered Dallas officer Michael J Smith

Johnson appears to have been inspired by black militant groups on Facebook and 'liked' a number of pages speaking of revolution.

He posted a rant about lynching on one such page and also followed Richard Griffin, aka Professor Griff from the hip-hop group Public Enemy, who embraces a radical form of Afrocentrism and has written a book called A Warrior's Tapestry.

It has also emerged that Johnson worked for a social services group called Touch of Kindness, which provides care for people with disabilities.

The organization's owner, Jeppi Carnegie, said Johnson was paid to care for his brother.

Johnson reportedly used military skills he picked up while serving in the Army, which saw him sent on one tour of Afghanistan

Protests over the police shootings of two black men have raged on for a fifth night Saturday, with officers on edge after warnings spread of a planned cop-killing 'purge'.

Angry demonstrations continued in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where street seller Alton Sterling was pinned down and shot by two white police officers on Tuesday morning.

Marches and vigils have taken place every night since then and continued earlier on Saturday, with furious protesters confronting - and being arrested - by armed police.

The heated confrontation saw lines of police officers come face-to-face with huge crowds of demonstrators, with protest leaders stepping in between the two packs to appeal for calm in scenes that harked back to the civil rights movement.

Officers were on high alert after the FBI noticed social media posts warning of a 'Baton Rouge Purge' throughout Saturday night. According to the rumors, there was just one rule to the violence: 'Kill every police.'

Fireworks and rocks were thrown at police in St Paul, Minnesota - where Philando Castile was killed by police - as protests turned violent there. Three cops were injured.

There were more protests across the country, with demonstrations against police brutality in New York, San Francisco, Denver, Florida, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City and Rhode Island.

Protests over the police shootings of two black men have raged on for a fifth night, with officers on edge after warnings spread of a planned cop-killing 'purge'. Pictured, protesters in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

The heated confrontation saw lines of police officers come face-to-face with huge crowds of demonstrators, with protest leaders stepping in between the two packs to appeal for calm in scenes that harked back to the civil rights movement

A man protesting the shooting death of Alton Sterling is detained by law enforcement near the headquarters of the Baton Rouge Police Department Louisiana

In Baton Rouge, hundreds turned out near Baton Rouge's police headquarters to demand justice.

Armed officers wearing riot gear blocked the road and arrested a number of protesters who walked towards the line of cops. The protest was tense as police cleared the road so traffic could pass through.

A police spokesman said two firearms were confiscated and several arrests made.

Officers later went back inside their headquarters and traffic reopened.

Marches and vigils have taken place every night since Sterling's death and continued earlier on Saturday, with furious protesters confronting - and being arrested - by armed police in Baton Rouge

Angry demonstrations continued in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where street seller Alton Sterling was pinned down and shot by two white police officers on Tuesday morning

Officers were on high alert after social media posts warned of a 'Baton Rouge Purge' throughout Saturday night. According to the rumors, there was just one rule to the violence: 'Kill every police'

Baton Rouge resident Marie Flowers came to the protest in with her three children. She said people in the north Baton Rouge neighborhood where the shooting happened are frustrated.

Protesters waved homemade signs while drivers honked their support and some stopped by with bottles of water.

Fury has gripped much of the town's population since videos emerged appearing to show police officers Howie Lake and Blane Salamoni tackling Sterling to the ground, pinning him down and firing six shots at him.
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Philando Castile's girlfriend shared her daughter's message of hope with hundreds of people packed into a Dallas megachurch, where an emotional service paid tribute to the city's slain police officers.

People in Dallas gathered at religious services on Sunday to mourn and pay tribute to the five police officers killed during a Black Lives Matter protest in the city on Thursday.

They looked for a way to heal after the deaths of five officers at the hands of a sniper who opened fire amid protests against the killings of two black men - Alton Sterling and Castile - in separate incidents at the hands of police earlier in the week.

Hundreds of people packed into The Potter's House, a Dallas megachurch, for an emotional service where Bishop T.D. Jakes called for unity among 'black folks, and white folks, and brown folks' in the wake of the week's violence.

Diamond 'Lavish' Reynolds called into a Sunday morning service there to talk about the death of her boyfriend.

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Americans gathered in religious services across the country on Sunday to mourn a horrific week of violence in the United States. Above, a woman raises her arms during a service at The Potter's Church in Dallas on Sunday

Hundreds of people packed into Dallas megachurch The Potter's House for an emotional memorial service honoring the five police officers killed by sniper Micah Johnson on Thursday night

Lavish 'Diamond' Reynolds (pictured left, on Thursday) called into the Dallas megachurch to share a message of hope from her four-year-old daughter after the death of her boyfriend Philando Castile (right) at the hands of a police officer on Wednesday

Castile, 32, was shot dead by a police officer in Falcon Heights, Minnesota, during a routine traffic stop. Reynolds, live streamed the gruesome aftermath of his killing on Facebook.

On Sunday, she told the congregation that she realized the traffic stop was different when she heard fear in the officer's voice. She says that when she heard the officer, 'it instantly clicked to me that this was something bigger than myself and Phil.'

And Reynolds broke down in tears as she recounted the shooting and said her daughter, who was shown on camera comforting her, is still telling her 'it's gonna be OK.'

Jakes hosted a 'Conversations with America' town hall meeting at The Potter's House to discuss the recent police shootings in the country as well as the memorial to honor the police officers killed.

Mayor Mike Rawlings was welcomed with applause as Jakes told the mostly black congregation that the city's police force have 'done an incredible job' in honoring the slain officers, ABC News reports.

The victims were Dallas police officers Patrick Zamarripa, Michael Krol, Senior Cpl Lorne Ahrens, Michael J. Smith and Dallas Area Rapid Transit officer Brent Thompson.

Speaking about the Dallas police department, Jakes added: 'When wickedness raised its head, they stood up for our protection.'

A woman prays at the Potter's House church during Sunday service following the shootings in Dallas, Texas, that left five officers dead

Bishop T.D. Jakes (center) hosts 'Conversations with America' town hall at The Potter's House in Dallas after five police officers died after an ambush assault by a gunman during a protest rally in the city

Pictures of the victims, from left, Dallas police officers Patrick Zamarripa, Michael Krol, Michael J. Smith, Senior Cpl Lorne Ahrens and Dallas Area Rapid Transit officer Brent Thompson, were projected onto a screen at The Potter's House

Bishop T.D. Jakes, right, embraces a first responder during a service in Dallas, that included a memorial to the five police officers killed

A church goer cries during a service at The Potter's House, a non-denominational church in Dallas, Texas, on Sunday

Church goers attend a service at the Potter's House, that included a memorial to the five Dallas police officers killed last week and a town hall meeting discuss recent police shootings

A woman prays at The Potter's House church during Sunday service, which included a town hall meeting and emotional church service

Attendees held hands as they prayed during the service at The Potter's House church in Dallas following a week of horrific violence

Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings (center) is applauded at Potter's House church during Sunday service following the multiple police shootings

A Dallas police officer bows her head at the Joy Tabernacle A.M.E. church during Sunday service following the multiple police shootings

A woman hugs a Dallas police officer at a makeshift memorial at police headquarters in Dallas, Texas, on Sunday

A woman hugs a Dallas police officer at a memorial at police HQ in front of a banner that says: 'We support our Dallas police officers'

The services on Sunday followed several nights of protests against police brutality in cities across the country.

They started in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where Alton Sterling, 37, was killed on Tuesday after he scuffled with police outside a convenience store.

Castile's death on Wednesday further fueled the outcry.

Most of the protests have have been peaceful, but Saturday night's demonstrations in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and St Paul, Minnesota, resulted in hundreds of arrests.

Sterling and Castile's deaths sparked demonstrations across the country - but in Dallas on Thursday, it turned deadly.

Micah Xavier Johnson, 25, an Army veteran, killed five police officers and wounded seven more when he opened fire at the protest march blocks from from Dealey Plaza, where President John F. Kennedy was shot dead on November 22, 1963 while sitting in an open-air limousine.

People worship at The Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Dallas as the community continues to mourn the week's atrocities

A church leader (right) leads the congregation in prayer at The Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Dallas, Texas, on Sunday

Parishioners of the First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, gathered outside to pray for the five police officers killed on Thursday

People held hands as they prayed for the five Dallas police officers killed when Army veteran Micah Johnson opened fire at a protest

Dozens linked hands as they prayed for the slain officers murdered at the hands of a sniper who opened fire at Thursday's protest

A parishioner of First Baptist Church hugs a Dallas police officer as people gathered on Sunday to pray for the five police officers killed

Police officers joined the parishioners of First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, to pray for victims of Thursday night's attack

People gathered around a fountain outside the First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, to mourn the loss of five Dallas police officers

He told authorities he was 'upset with white people and wanted to kill white people, especially white officers,' according to Dallas Police chief David O. Brown. Johnson was killed by police with a remote-controlled bomb mounted on a robot in the early hours of Friday morning.

The attacks led President Obama to cut a trip to Europe short and return to the United States on Sunday evening.

Obama will travel to Dallas on Tuesday and deliver remarks at an interfaith memorial service, the White House said.

The service will take place at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center. The White House says Obama is making the trip at the invitation of Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings.

The attack occurred shortly after Obama had arrived for a NATO summit in Warsaw, Poland.

He cut his visit to Spain short by a day and has spoken daily during the trip about the attacks, calling for police and protesters to 'listen to each other.'

People are seen praying and singing at the Joy Tabernacle A.M.E. church during a service in Dallas, Texas, on Sunday

People joined hands to pray as Bishop T.D. Jakes hosted 'Conversations with America' town hall at The Potter's House in Dallas, Texas
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A rare Studebaker that has remained almost untouched for the last 58 years after it was bought by a plumber for the fiancee he never married is going up for auction with just 74 miles on the clock.

The mint-green vehicle was purchased in 1958 in Wellington, New Zealand, straight off the production line in the United States as a wedding gift, but when the marriage failed to go ahead it was kept in mint condition as a memorial to the union that never was.

It then passed through several dealerships before ending up in a museum. In 1993 it returned to private ownership when it was snapped up by seven powerful men, including the New Zealand Prime Minister's former lawyer and the future chief justice of Tonga, Stuff reports.

As members of the group have died or given up ownership of the vehicle, it has been passed down to their adult children, who are now looking to pass it on to someone new.

The car was put up for auction through Turners Palmerston North on Trade Me on Friday night, and will close on July 18. A spokesman for the auction house said: 'It's priceless, absolutely priceless. It's got the original patina and hasn't been tampered with or restored.'
Andrea Leadsom could be on the brink of quitting the Tory leadership race at lunchtime today after she was forced to apologise to Theresa May over remarks suggesting she was better qualified to be Prime Minister because she was a mother.

It emerged today the personal apology, which has been accepted by the Home Secretary, was delivered by text message rather than in a phone call.

She is due to make a statement at 12.15pm and rumours have circulated that she will announce she is dropping out of the battle for Number 10.

It could open the way for Mrs May to become prime minister long before the current schedule of September 9, although it is unclear what the process will be and whether a leadership contest would still need to be held.

The outsider in the Tory leadership race sparked outrage when she told The Times she had a bigger stake in the future of Britain because she was worried about her children's future. But last night she said she had apologised to Mrs May, who has not had children.

Mrs Leadsom told The Daily Telegraph: 'I've said to Theresa how very sorry I am for the hurt I have caused and how the article said completely the opposite of what I said and believe.'

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Andrea Leadsom apologised to Theresa May over remarks that suggested she was better qualified to be PM because she was a mother

The outsider in the Tory leadership race sparked outrage when she told The Times she had a bigger stake in the future of Britain because she was worried about her children's future

The Times today revealed the apology was sent in a text message and revealed Mrs May was 'grateful' for the note.

Mrs Leadsom had insisted that she did not want motherhood to play a part in the campaign and that she 'deeply regrets that anyone has got the impression that I think otherwise'.

It came as senior Tories called for Mrs Leadsom to quit the leadership race over the motherhood comments, and questioned the suitability of the 'inexperienced' junior energy minister to be prime minister.

Mrs Leadsom said she had felt 'under attack' since the row over her comments.

She claims she was pressed to say how her children had formed her views and she didn't want it to be used as an issue.

Her allies said the furore over the motherhood remarks was part of 'black ops' being run by the 'Establishment' to 'denigrate her reputation' and derail her bid for No 10.

But David Davis, a prominent backer of Mrs May, said Mrs Leadsom's comments had betrayed her lack of experience.

In a withering put-down, the former Tory leadership contender said: 'At the moment she's too inexperienced for a really important job at the most important time in our history.'

The row follows an explosive interview Mrs Leadsom gave to Saturday's Times newspaper, headlined 'Being a mother gives me the edge on May'. The newspaper quoted Mrs Leadsom saying that Mrs May 'possibly has nieces, nephews, lots of people'. She added: 'But I have children who are going to have children who will directly be part of what happens next'.

The Home Secretary has previously spoken about how she and husband Philip were affected by being unable to have children.

Mrs Leadsom's remarks triggered a blizzard of ferocious criticism, led by some of the Tory Party's most senior women.

Home Secretary Theresa May has previously spoken about how she and husband Philip were affected by being unable to have children

Employment minister Priti Patel, who campaigned for Brexit alongside Mrs Leadsom, and Remain supporter Anna Soubry have been among the critics of the energy minister's comments

Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson and Deputy Commons Leader Therese Coffey also criticised Mrs Leadsom's remarks about motherhood

Business minister Anna Soubry urged Mrs Leadsom to 'do us all a favour including herself' and quit the leadership contest because she was clearly not 'PM material'.

Scottish Conservatives leader Ruth Davidson said: 'I am childless. I have nieces and nephews. I believe I  like everybody else  have a very real stake in our country.'

Senior backbencher Sir Alan Duncan tweeted: 'I'm gay and in a civil partnership. No children, but ten nieces and nephews. Do I not have a stake in the future of the country. Vile.'

STILL DOGGED BY TAX QUESTIONS Andrea Leadsom has published a brief summary of just one year's tax details  heaping pressure on the leadership contender to match her rival Theresa May. Mrs Leadsom released a summary of tax records for 2015, showing she earned nearly 85,000 and paid about 22,000 tax. In contrast, the Home Secretary  the frontrunner in the contest  has published four years of tax details. Last year, Mrs May paid 44,000 in tax. Over four years, she earned 375,000 and paid 126,000 in tax. Mrs Leadsom's tax summary shows she earned more than three times the average salary, raking in 83,930. She was the last leadership contender to publish any details of her accounts after insisting she would only do so if she reached the final two. Richard Murphy, director of Tax Research UK, criticised Mrs Leadsom for not publishing her full tax return. 'This isn't her tax return, it's a tax computation,' he told The Guardian last night. 'It's a summary of numerical information but not an explanation of where it came from or what tax is due. It excludes all the information that might be of interest, so she has not published her tax return.' Mrs Leadsom had come under scrutiny after it emerged offshore bank accounts were used as part of a property business she ran with her husband. Advertisement

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond suggested Mrs Leadsom did not have the standing to negotiate the best possible EU exit deal for Britain. He said most of his international counterparts had 'never heard of Andrea Leadsom'.

Employment minister Priti Patel, who campaigned for Brexit alongside Mrs Leadsom, said her failure to win the support of Tory MPs meant the party could suffer the same fate as Labour under Jeremy Corbyn.

Sir Eric Pickles told Sky's Murnaghan that Mrs Leadsom may be 'blowing her chances for ever as a potential leader' after 'messing up' an interview and then digging deeper. The former Communities Secretary added: 'She seems pleasant enough but I am really looking for somebody with strength and determination.'

However, Mrs Leadsom's campaign manager, MP Tim Loughton, hit back by claiming that 'Project Fear has become Project Smear'.

He claimed it was 'the Establishment trying to get Andrea'.

Iain Duncan Smith, the former work and pensions secretary who is one of Mrs Leadsom's most prominent supporters, told ITV that MPs should 'calm down'.

He suggested people would 'come to regret some of the silliest things they say'.

Mr Duncan Smith added: 'I've seen it all before  the reality is that both of them are qualified. If Andrea was so unqualified to be prime minister... what in heaven's sake would the Prime Minister be doing making her a serious government minister?'

It came as Mr Loughton distanced Mrs Leadsom's campaign from the support of the far-Right extremist group Britain First, calling them 'vile, toxic, loathsome people'.

The group has released a video supporting Mrs Leadsom, saying she was 'a patriot, a Christian, pro-British, an opponent of political correctness and a fierce opponent of the bankrupt, failing EU superstate'.

Mr Loughton said: 'We want absolutely nothing to do with them.'

Former Cabinet minister Iain Duncan Smith said there had been 'black ops' going on against Mrs Leadsom
For most new parents, it is simply a blessed relief when their baby sleeps through for three nights in a row.

For Andy Murray, though, it was a 'good omen' for his victory, the Duke of Cambridge told him shortly afterwards.

Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge congratulated the 29-year-old champion as he clutched the gilt trophy to his chest, then asked him about his five-month-old daughter Sophia.

William said: 'Congratulations  I don't know how you manage it with no sleep.'

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Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge (left) discussed parenthood with Andy Murray (right) after his Wimbledon victory on Sunday

Murray also spoke to Benedict Cumberbatch and his wife Sophie Hunter after his win  and pumped his fist when the actor told him he is filming a new series of Sherlock

In an exchange picked up by TV cameras, the duke added: 'How is your daughter doing  all right? Is the family good?'

Murray replied: 'She's great. She's actually sleeping  the last three nights, she slept through.

'The first three months were tough, but she's five months now.'

William said this had been 'a good omen'. Murray then asked about Princess Charlotte, but Kate replied: 'No, today is about you you played so well  well done. It was a great game.'

William said: 'So pleased for you  well done,' and Kate added: 'You can relax with your family now.'

Murray also spoke to Benedict Cumberbatch and his wife Sophie Hunter after his win  and pumped his fist when the actor told him he is filming a new series of Sherlock.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge watched Andy Murray win his second Wimbledon title from their seats in the Royal Box

Murray beat Canadian Milos Raonic in straight sets to win his third grand slam title on Sunday afternoon

'I'm a massive fan  a huge, huge fan,' the champion said on meeting the actor.

Cumberbatch replied: 'Likewise, thank you very much... Really, it was very inspiring to watch.'

But Murray was more interested in finding out about what the actor is up to than taking compliments.

Cumberbatch said: 'I'm doing Sherlock at the moment.'

In a video posted on Wimbledon's Facebook page, the world number two is then seen breaking into a smile and doing a fist-pump.

He looked emotional after winning his second Wimbledon title on Centre Court - in front a host of big names

Murray paraded the trophy on the Centre Court balcony after winning the men's singles final against Raonic

After Cumberbatch comments 'yeah for that fist-pump', Murray asks him how many episodes, and is told 'only three'.

The Oscar-nominated actor also asked Murray about Sophia, and again the player mentioned her sleeping through the last three nights.

Murray later told a news conference fatherhood had made him more motivated than ever. 'I've spoken a lot about that over the last few months, that it changes your life,' he said.
Prince Harry's memoir will be called Spare, it was revealed today - with publisher Penguin Random House confirming the 28 book 'full of insight, self-examination, and hard-won wisdom' will be released on January 10. The memoir had initially been signed off ready for an expected autumn release as part of a multi-million pound, three-title deal with Penguin Random House. But its publication was delayed following the Queen's death, and Harry is said to have requested a number of alterations to make it less critical of the Royal Family. A press release released today read: 'Spare takes readers immediately back to one of the most searing images of the twentieth century: two young boys, two princes, walking behind their mother's coffin as the world watched in sorrow-and horror. 'As Diana, Princess of Wales, was laid to rest, billions wondered what the princes must be thinking and feeling-and how their lives would play out from that point on. 'For Harry, this is his story at last. With its raw, unflinching honesty, Spare is a landmark publication full of insight, revelation, self-examination, and hard-won wisdom about the eternal power of love over grief.' It is understood that Harry was paid an advance of $20 million (18.4 million) for the book as part of a three-title deal worth 36.8 million. Today, Penguin Random House said the duke had donated $1,500,000 Sentebale, a charity helping children affected by HIV/AIDS. He will also donate 300,000 to WellChild, which he has been patron of for 15 years. Random House CEO Markus Dohle said: 'Penguin Random House is honoured to be publishing Prince Harry's candid and emotionally powerful story for readers everywhere. 'He shares a remarkably moving personal journey from trauma to healing, one that speaks to the power of love and will inspire and encourage millions of people around the world.'
They are the invisible bugs that nobody wants crawling all over their food, home or children.

But today British scientists revealed they have discovered a potentially revolutionary use for germs  powering mobile phones.

They say the natural movement of bacteria can be harnessed to make batteries and power mini machines, such as switches and components in smart phones.

Scientists revealed they have discovered a potentially revolutionary use for germs  powering mobile phones

The experts, from Oxford University, believe the bugs can be organised to turn cylindrical rotors and generate power - in a similar way to a windfarm.

It means bacteria could eventually provide an alternative to the battery-powered mobile phone, eliminating the problem of reduced battery lifespan and daily re-charging.

Using computer simulations, the researchers showed that the chaotic swarming of bacteria, such as E-coli, could be organised when a grid or lattice of rotors was introduced.

Dr Tyler Shendruk, a physicist at the universitys Rudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics, said: Many of societys energy challenges are on the gigawatt scale, but some are downright microscopic.

One potential way to generate tiny amounts of power for micro machines might be to harvest it directly from biological systems such as bacteria.

Bacterial growth or bloom is usually too disorganised on its own to generate any kind of meaningful power. Hence, when a single rotor was introduced during the experiments, it was ineffective and simply got kicked around by the bacteria.

However, the researchers developed a special lattice of 64 micro-rotors and, as the bacteria swarmed around, it spontaneously organised itself.

Using computer simulations, the researchers showed that the chaotic swarming of bacteria, such as E-coli, could be organised when a grid or lattice of rotors was introduced

The result was a network of spinning rotors which acted like a microscopic windfarm. They said this could eventually be used as a tiny engine to power miniature machinery.

The rotors just self-assembled into a sort of bacterial windfarm, Dr Sheldruk added.

When we did the simulation with a single rotor in the bacterial turbulence, it just got kicked around randomly.

But when we put an array of rotors in the living fluid, they suddenly formed a regular pattern, with neighbouring rotors spinning in opposite directions.

Professor Julia Yeomans, who co-authored the research, which was published in the journal Science Advances, said harnessing natural engines had enormous potential for the future.

Nature is brilliant at creating tiny engines, and there is enormous potential if we can understand how to exploit similar designs, she said.

Dr Amin Doostmohammadi added that extracting a tiny amount of mechanical work from such bacteria was valuable because they did not require an outside power source and instead generated their own power to move around.
A Delta Airlines flight was diverted to Tulsa International Airport after multiple passengers fell ill at the same time.

Flight 1817 was traveling to Denver from Atlanta on Saturday when it was diverted at around 3pm.

Tulsa Fire Department said elevated levels of carbon monoxide was found in the bodies of some of the passengers, according to ABC News.

The cause of the higher levels has not yet been determined but an investigation continues.

Initially it was reported that nine flyers felt ill and were complaining of nausea and sickness but fire department spokesman Stan May later said it was actually 12.

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Emergency services at Tulsa airport where Flight 1817 was traveling to Denver from Atlanta was diverted on Saturday

Tulsa Fire Department said elevated levels of carbon monoxide was found in the bodies of some of the passengers. Pictured: Grounded passengers

May said that once passengers had got some fresh air, their levels returned to normal.

Mel Gillen, one of the passengers on board, told Fox News that people 'put their head down because they were feeling so nauseous' and some had also vomited.

Emergency Medical Services Authority spokeswoman Kelli Bruer said one passenger was taken to the hospital as 'non-emergent'.

Another passenger was taken to a hospital for unrelated medical issues according to Bruer.

Passengers are pictured at Tulsa airport. Twelve people on board became ill during the flight

Delta Airlines Flight 1817 was travelling from Denver to Atlanta when passengers fell ill (file photo)

The airline says 152 passengers were on board the plane when its crew decided to divert to Tulsa after 'a few' passengers reported feeling ill.

A second plane was sent to Tulsa to take the passengers on to Denver on Saturday evening.

Passengers were being re-screened at about 8.30pm local time to get them on another Denver-bound plane.
Wellington Airport in New Zealand was evacuated on Sunday after a baggage trolley reportedly set off the fire alarm.

Chaotic scenes were seen outside the terminal, where hundreds of passengers waited for around 20 minutes before they were allowed back in.

The airport has now reopened but delays to flights are expected.

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Hundreds of passengers waited outside Wellington Airport terminal with their bags in tow for 20 minutes while firemen attended the scene

The scenes looked chaotic as people stood around unsure about what to do. Many still had their luggage with them (right)

Laura Tupou, who shared this picture on Twitter, said six firemen were inspecting the scenes at the airport

Radio NZ reported that a contractor had been driving the trolley in the baggage area and managed to knock a sprinkler.

This in turn triggered a full fire alarm causing hundreds of passengers to be evacuated.

Both fire and police departments attended the incident, which happened shortly before 6.30pm local time.

Passengers were forced to wait outside until the firemen at the scene gave them the all clear.

After about 20 minutes, passengers were allowed back in the airport. There are minor delays as a result of the incident on Sunday

Laura Tupou, who was at the airport when it was being evacuated, posted on Twitter: 'Wellington airport food court and baggage collection evacuated. Flights still boarding.'

She also shared a short video on the social media website showing passengers waiting outside the terminal with their luggage in tow while sirens blared in the background.

The airport reopened after about 20 minutes when the firemen determined there was no fire.

Airport spokesman Greg Thomas confirmed with Radio NZ that the incident caused minor disruptions to flights.

The airport is also expected to be looking into how the vehicle was able to hit the sprinkler.

Spokesman for Wellington Airport told MailOnline Travel: 'A sprinkler in the baggage area was accidentally knocked triggering the fire alarm.
Roxy Jacenko has told her friends that she will NEVER allow her two young children to see their father Oliver Curtis in prison.

The Sydney socialite visited the jailed stockbroker at Parklea Correctional Centre on Friday alone - reportedly her first trip since Oliver was sentenced to two years in prison last month.

But The Daily Telegraph has claimed that Roxy's daughter Pixie, four, and two-year-old son Hunter will not accompany her for visits during Oliver's sentence.

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Prison visits: Roxy Jacenko (right) has told friends she will not allow her young children Pixie, four, and Hunter, two, to visit their father Oliver Curtis (left) in prison after he was jailed for insider trading last month

Meanwhile, Roxy recently spoke to Sydney Confidential about adjusting to life as a single mother while Oliver serves his time in jail.

'I have had challenges throughout my whole life, this is no different,' explained the PR maven.

She added: 'Not everyone has to deal with challenges as publicly as I have, but that is the business I have chosen,' she explained.

The 36-year-old also claimed her children were doing well despite their father's absence.

Support: The Sydney PR maven, 36, visited the jailed stockbroker at Parklea Correctional Centre on Friday alone - reportedly her first trip since Oliver was sentenced to two years in prison on June 24

'They are good, they are just good kids, being kids, it's all play dough and painting the furniture, it's everything as normal,' she told the publication.

Roxy visited her husband Oliver in prison this week, in what is believed to be her first trip since he was sentenced last month.

On June 24, Oliver was sentenced to two years in jail, to be released after one year on a good behaviour bond, at the NSW Supreme Court.

'They are good, they are just good kids, being kids': Roxy recently spoke to Sydney Confidential about adjusting to life as a single mother while Oliver serves his time in jail

Earlier that month, 30-year-old Oliver was found guilty of conspiracy to commit insider trading on 45 separate occasions.

The court heard he shared in AUD$1.4 million in illegal profits using confidential information between May 2007 and June 2008.

Daily Mail Australia revealed that Oliver had spent five nights in the cells at Sydney Police Centre in Surry Hills as overcrowding had left him without a place in prison.

Trial: Last month, 30-year-old Oliver was found guilty of conspiracy to commit insider trading on 45 separate occasions. Roxy supported him through his trial and sentencing at the NSW Supreme Court

After being moved to Parklea Correctional Centre, Roxy will be able to visit twice a week - either on two separate weekdays or on one weekend and one weekday.

Visits are limited to a maximum of one hour at the jail, between 8:45 and 11am, and 12:15 and 2:45pm on every day except Tuesday.

Shortly after her visit on Friday, Roxy flew to Brisbane for a work commitment.
He's the newest heartthrob to join Channel Ten's Offspring.

And while initially, it was a little overwhelming, actor TJ Power is getting used to the immense attention he's receiving for playing lawyer Will Bowen on the popular drama.

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, the Eat Pray Love star admitted: 'I didn't quite realise what I was getting myself into.'

Newfound fame: Offspring star TJ Power says he is getting used to the immense attention he's receiving for playing lawyer Will Bowen on the popular drama

He confessed, 'I've had quite a bit of attention,' acknowledging the show 'has a very passionate fan base.'

Playing charismatic lawyer Will on the show, who happens to be a half-brother of the Proudman family's children, means there are plenty of opportunities for writers to explore TJ's character in upcoming episodes.

His debut in the sixth season's first episode certainly had viewers talking, as protagonist Nina Proudman (Asher Keddie) unearthed the secret family link between the pair.

During their father Darcy's funeral, Lachy Hulme's character Cleggg pulled Nina aside to inform her that her late father has a son.

In character: In the sixth season's first episode, Asher Keddie's character Nina Proudman discovered she and Will have the same father

'You have a brother,' Clegg whispered into stunned Nina's ear as she pulled herself together to make her way to the stand to deliver her eulogy.

After discovering the shocking secret, Nina confronted her new half-brother in a bid to find answers.

Half-brother Will explained to her: 'Your dad made an appointment and came to see me. We started talking and then all of a sudden he said, "I am your father.'"

'This is not how I wanted you to find out. What happened? Did you just guess?,' he asked as she questioned him further.

Gobsmacked by the news, Nina stared into the distance before making the decision to keep the shock revolution from her mother Geraldine and siblings.

Star-studded cast: TJ stars on the Channel Ten drama alongside cast regulars Kat Stewart, Richard Davies, Deborah Mailman and Asher Keddie

But after leaving the intense scenes after the funeral to deliver a baby at the hospital, Will spilled the beans to the family members.

As Geraldine released her anger in front of the crowed room, Will insisted, 'I thought you already know.'

Meanwhile TJ is no stranger to the Australian acting scene, having starred in local telemovie Molly last year, based on music and television personality Molly Meldrum's life.

He's also found success abroad, having starred in 2010 flick Eat Pray Love, alongside Oscar-winning actress Julia Roberts, while living in Los Angeles for the past two years with wife Kathryn.
She welcomed her second child Greyson only two months ago.

And Jenni 'Jwoww' Farley, 30, decided it was time for a new look to freshen up her image.

On Friday, the reality star revealed her new, snazzy hairdo via Instagram, showing off the makeover created by her long-time stylist Joei Campanelli.

Snazzy: Jenni 'Jwoww' Farley decided it was time for a new, snazzy hairdo and on Firday she revealed her new look via Instragram, showing off her long dark locks with newly silver ends

In a 'before' picture posted on Instagram, Jenni, is being blindfolded by the stylist so she won't see what her transformation is going to look like until it's completed.

JWoww explained: 'So... I've had my babies and now it's time for me to get rid of my mom look... I Was going to wait until I lost a few more lbs, but I'm impatient and want a new look for the rest of the summer.

'BUT because I can't figure out what look I want, I decided @joeidfox can make that decision. She is going to give me something fun, edgy and completely different from my past colors and cuts.... But until then... I can't see what she's doing lol'

In the dark: The reality star, 30, hadn't been allowed to see what her stylist Joei Campanelli was doing to her during the makeover and waas kept blindfolded until the big reveal

After revealing the new look on Instagram, which featured waves and eye-catching silver highlights, it was clear that Jwoww had been wowed by her makeover.

'Oh hey guysssssss,' the mother of two gushed, 'I am beyond obsessed with my hair @joeidfox. This look is giving my life [sic].'

Stylist Joei revealed her inspiration for the makeover to E! News.

'I was thinking old fashion horror moviethe girl everyone wants to be while watching the movie and loves...the character who is gorgeous in her own way,' she said.

'But not all women can pull off this look. Sexy, silver, seductive, different but still trendy!' she added. 'With her new look and her new ink, she's a Sexy Silver Fox!'

New baby boy: She welcomed her second child with husband Roger Mathews - a son Greyson - only two months ago
She made her triumphant return to the West End production of Funny Girl yesterday.

And Sheridan Smith couldn't keep the smile off her face after her second successful performance on Saturday night, following a two month break from the show due to stress and exhaustion.

The 35-year-old actress positively glowed as she embraced theatre-goers and took selfies with waiting fans after her surprise return.

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Thumbs up: Sheridan Smith couldn't keep the smile off her face after her second successful performance on Saturday night, following a two month break from the show due to stress and exhaustion

Wearing a chic blue blazer over a navy shirt, Sheridan looked every inch the star of the show as she left the Savoy Theatre in London once she had signed autographs and posed for photos.

Her highlighted blonde tresses were worn in a smart up do for the evening, which perfectly framed her radiant visage.

Clearly in an upbeat mood, the leading lady was seen happily chatting and laughing with many audience members who had been waiting for her to emerge from the dressing room.

Sheridan even gave a thumbs up for the cameras before she got into her waiting vehicle, ready to whisk her home after a night of well-received acting.

Selfie time: The 35-year-old actress positively glowed as she embraced theatregoers and took selfies with waiting fans after her surprise return

Chic: Wearing a blue blazer over a navy shirt, Sheridan looked every inch the star of the show as she left the Savoy Theatre in London once she had signed autographs and posed for photos

Glowing: Her highlighted blonde tresses were worn in a smart up do for the evening, which perfectly framed her radiant visage

Embrace: Clearly in an upbeat mood, she was seen happily chatting and laughing with many of her fans who had been waiting for her to emerge from the dressing room

Funny Girl's production team surprised theatregoers when they confirmed on the show's Twitter account that the star would be taking part in the production again, starting on Friday night.

She was later photographed arriving at the Savoy Theatre and then leaving to meet and greet waiting fans having performed in the show for the first time in two months.

The statement, on behalf of producers Sonia Friedman, David Babani and Scott Landis, said: 'We are delighted to welcome Sheridan Smith back to Funny Girl this evening.

'It is currently planned that Sheridan will also play this Saturday evening (not matinee), and Monday to Saturday next week (excluding the Wednesday matinee and Thursday evening performances at which Natasha J Barnes will perform).

Beaming: The actress was all smiles as she spoke to one theatregoer and moved in for a kiss with the star struck fan

Smooch! The actress kissed a member of the audience who has waited to meet the leading lady

On top form: Sheridan even gave a thumbs up for the cameras before she got into her waiting vehicle, ready to whisk her home after a night of well-received acting

'From the week commencing 18 July, Sheridan is scheduled to perform Tuesday through Saturday, with Natasha playing Fanny Brice on Monday evenings.

'This schedule is subject to change, but we look forward to continuing to entertain audiences at the Savoy Theatre until our run ends on 8 October.'

The Cilla star cancelled a number of performances in April after audience members had complained she appeared drunk on stage.

Understudy Natasha J Barnes was drafted in to replace Sheridan as leading lady Fanny Brice and has won rave reviews for her performance from critics and theatre-goers alike.

Sheridan returned to the West End production of Funny Girl having been off of the show for two months. She is pictured outside the Savoy Theatre after Friday night's performance

Sheridan pulled out of the West End smash after leaving this year's Bafta TV awards empty handed, amid reports she struggled to cope with cyber-bullying.

She had been nominated for Best Actress for her portrayal of writer Lisa Lynch in BBC drama The C-Word. Lynch died of cancer in 2013, aged just 33. The C-Word had also been nominated for Best Single Drama.

Sheridan was said to be 'desperate' to win a Bafta to honour the woman whose battle with breast cancer inspired the programme.

During the awards ceremony host Graham Norton publicly mocked her, joking that they could have a few drinks, 'or as we call it in the industry, a couple of glasses of technical difficulties' - a performance of Funny Girl had been cancelled half way due to 'technical difficulties'.

The actress poses with fans outside the Savoy Theatre having performed for the first time in two months

Sheridan is pictured arriving at the Savoy earlier on Friday, left, before leaving in a car later that night, right

The production team for Funny Girl confirmed on the show's Twitter account that the star would be taking part again, starting with Friday night

She appeared to blame the press for her cancellations, writing at the time on Twitter: 'Well done press! You let down me, the cast and everyone who paid to see me'.

The tweet finished with message: 'Sorry, sorry, I'm not strong enough'.

Following her meltdown, Sheridan escaped to the exclusive Champneys Health Spa in Surrey to recuperate.
Jennifer Garner is committed to her daily workouts and Saturday was no exception as the actress headed off to the gym.

The 44-year-old made her way to her sweat session near her Brentwood home wearing a black tank top and skinny black yoga pants.

Her long hair was pulled back from her face and she donned a pair of cat-eye sunglasses to shield her face from harmful rays.

Not too complicated: On Saturday Jennifer Garner opted to stay closer to home for her workout, as she stopped by a gym in Brentwood

She added a pair of snazzy seafoam green and orange trainers and carried a reusable water bottle and a gray sweatshirt, which she later put on.

The busy mom-of-three, who is estranged from husband Ben Affleck, carried her cell phone, checking for messages as she walked.

Last week marked one year since the two stars shocked the world by announcing they were separating, one day after their tenth wedding anniversary.

Warming up: Initially, the 44-year-old Alias alum kept loose under a baggy, grey crew-neck sweatshirt

Keeping it simple: Her brunette locks were pulled back into a functional ponytail, and she appeared relatively fresh faced, with the exception of what appeared to be a slick of pale peach lipstick

Transformation: After her workout, she emerged from the gym carrying the sweatshirt, revealing a black tank top underneath

Since the break-up, however, neither of them have pushed ahead to a divorce and they are often seen together with their children, enjoying activities as a family.

According to People, it is Ben who is dragging his feet and still wants to try and revive their marriage.

'They're still figuring things out,' a source close to Jennifer told the publication. 'Ben still doesn't want the divorce and he might actually get his way.'
She's been pulling out all the stops to look her best during her time in Magaluf so far.

And TOWIE's Georgia Kousoulou certainly stood out from the crowd as she headed out with her castmates for filming on Saturday evening, sporting a bizarre silver mesh dress over a black bikini.

The reality star was joined by fellow blonde bombshell Kate Wright and a host of her pals including Lydia Bright, Chloe Lewis and Bobby Norris as the gang stepped out for a group dinner.

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Dare to bare: TOWIE's Georgia Kousoulou certainly stood out from the crowd as she headed out with her castmates for filming in Magaluf on Saturday evening

Leggy lady: The reality star was joined by fellow blonde bombshell Kate Wright, who showed off her long legs in a floaty maxi skirt

Georgia was flaunting her derriere in the see-through number, which revealed her high-rise black bikini briefs underneath.

The 25-year-old beauty flashed a hint of her toned tum in the skimpy number, which she teamed with a black clutch bag and strappy heels.

The TV starlet wore her platinum tresses pulled back in an elegant top knot as she headed out for dinner.

Sheer frock: Georgia was flaunting her derriere in the see-through number, which revealed her high-rise black bikini briefs underneath

Hitting the town: The 25-year-old beauty flashed a hint of her toned tum in the skimpy number, which she teamed with a black clutch bag and strappy heels

Arm-in-arm: Georgia and Kate were accompanied by their GBF and co-star, Bobby Norris

Kate was putting on a busty display in an elegant gold embroidered bustier top which made the most of her ample assets.

She teamed the tiny top with a high-rise white skirt, and accessorised with strappy heels and a pastel pink clutch bag.

Wearing more demure looks were Lydia and Chloe, who both kept more covered up for their night on the town.

Show-stopper: Kate was putting on a busty display in an elegant gold embroidered bustier top which made the most of her ample assets

Fit for a princess: The white skirt highlighted her slender waist and endless legs

Ready to party: The TOWIE crew strutted their stuff en route to their dinner date

Lydia was rocking a bohemian inspired ensemble, donning an embroidered dress, a suede fringed bag and a pair of towering platforms.

Meanwhile, Chloe upped the sex appeal in a skin-tight white jumpsuit featuring a lace-up front.

Accompanying the girls on their big night out was GBF Bobby, looking stylish in a stripy shirt and chinos.

Gal pals: Lydia Bright and Chloe Lewis were also in attendance for the nocturnal filming

Bit of all-white: Chloe upped the sex appeal in a skin-tight white jumpsuit featuring a lace-up front

Boho beauty: Lydia was rocking a bohemian inspired ensemble, donning an embroidered dress, a suede fringed bag and a pair of towering platforms

Here they come! The ITVBe reality stars have been living it up in Spain for the show's summer special

Later on in the evening, the gang were joined by Danielle Armstrong and Megan McKenna, who turned up fashionably late.

Danielle slipped into a pink silk wrap dress, while Megan flashed her posterior in a sheer paneled orange skirt.

Georgia recently told MailOnline that she is ready for the next step in her relationship with boyfriend Tommy Mallet - moving in and getting a dog.

Heading off: The girls and Bobby all piled into a taxi to take them to their filming destination

Fashionably late: Megan McKenna was seen arriving to the gathering much later in the evening

Sheer delight: The feisty brunette also opted to flaunt her bottom, donning a sheer orange pencil skirt

'So my next plan is another dog. And after that Ill give him time to propose, but if he doesn't do it soon after Ill make him.'

'Honestly, I'll tell him. Ill just give him an ultimatum, and if he doesn't Ill just threaten to leave!'

'I think the engagement has got to be private,' the Essex beauty said.

She explained: 'If he proposed to me on the show I think Id go mad and walk off, because I'd know what hed be doing. Id kill him!'

Stylish in silk: Danielle Armstrong ditched her boyfriend James 'Lockie' Lock in order to rejoin the girls
The actor played dopey fusspot Derek Wilton for 21 years in the soap

Coronation Street actor Peter Baldwin, who played dopey fusspot Derek Wilton for 21 years, left 747,381 in his will.

The actor, of Belsize Park, North London, died aged 82 last October and left the bulk of his estate to his son and daughter.

Baldwin joined the ITV soap in 1976 and went on to form one of its great comedy partnerships with dithery onscreen wife Mavis Riley, played by Thelma Barlow.

Baldwin joined the ITV soap in 1976 and went on to form one of its great comedy partnerships with dithery onscreen wife Mavis Riley, played by Thelma Barlow

He was finally written out of the soap in 1997 when Derek suffered a heart attack in a road-rage incident.
She's proven her strength of character by losing a whopping 12 stone in weight and giving birth to her second child aged 50.

But Tina Malone, 53, has revealed her friends and family, including husband Paul, 34, are concerned for her health after she revealed she wants another baby.

The Shameless actress told the Sunday Mirror: 'Im planning to be pregnant by January and I feel so excited and exhilarated about it, I cant even tell you.

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Defiant: Tina Malone, 53, has revealed her friends and family, including husband Paul, 34, are concerned for her health after she revealed she wants another baby

'Paul is worried about the health implications. He says: "Youre not putting your body under that trauma again, you had pre-eclampsia the last two times and that can kill."

'And 80 per cent of my friends and family are saying: "No, youd be insane, dont do it." But I proved with all the surgery I had last year just how resilient I am.'

The actress was declared bankrupt in 2012 but told the publication that come January she will be debt free, making it the 'perfect time' to have another child.

Tina also revealed her two-and-a-half-year-old daughter Flame, who was conceived with the help of Crown IVF Centre in Cyprus, would love a sibling.

During her appearance on ITV's Loose Women on Wednesday, the Shameless star joked that husband Paul would only agree if she buys him an Aston Martin.

Proud parents: Tina and Paul welcomed their daughter Flame into the world when the actress was 50

Oh, baby! The actress was declared bankrupt in 2012 but told the publication that come January she will be debt free, making it the 'perfect time' to have another child

She said: 'Ive got to be honest, its a big debate People speak about the sleepless nights - sometimes I wake up and wait for her to wake up at 2 in the morning.

'The doctor told me I am fit and healthy enough to have another child. My husband says if I buy him an Aston Martin, I can have another one. I told him Id want triplets for that!'

As well Flame, Tina also has a 35-year-old daughter Danielle, who recently gave birth to a daughter called Dorothy.

Having been pregnant at the ages of 17 and 50, Tina is mindful of the time left for her to make her big decision.

Driving a hard bargain! The actress has joked that her husband Paul Chase will only agree to another baby if she buys him an Aston Martin

One extreme to the other: The slimmed-down star gave birth to her first child when she was in her late teens

Tina explained: 'You can freeze them (embryos) for up to 10 years, but you're taking up room that other couples could use.'

During her appearance on the popular daytime talk show, the Liverpudlian star looked decidedly slender after undergoing surgery, but she admitted that she'd still like to lose 'another 10 pounds'.

She also promoted her participation in Celebrity Masterchef, and revealed that she's quite a dab hand in the kitchen, explaining: 'Im from an Irish Catholic family and we cook a lot.

Divided opinion: The Liverpudlian screen star has received both praise and criticism for giving birth later in life

Timing: The Shameless star has revealed that there's a deadline on when she can use her frozen embryos

She's got some front! Tina opted to wear a deeply plunging golden dress for her appearance on Loose Women

'You know what, Ive just got off the plane 18 hours ago - a girls holiday in Marbella do you know what we ate? I lived on Super Noodles, curry flavoured Super Noodles.'

Tina added: 'I eat spinach and fish every day, but I do eat chocolate every day. But I do have to be careful about what I eat.'

Earlier this year, Tina defended her decision to have a baby later in life during an appearance on This Morning, saying: 'I have no regrets. I gave up smoking, lost 11.5 stone to have IVF.

'My blood pressure and cholesterol are better than ever. I used to be drinking and doing drugs. It's about being healthy.'

Candid: She spoke with co-hosts (l-r) Coleen Nolan, Stacey Solomon, Linda Robson and Janet Street-Porter

Trim: She has lost a considerable amount of weight, after getting surgical help, but still wants to lose 10 pounds

Dancing queen: Tina has assured that she can keep up with girls less than half her age at nightclubs

'When Mick Jagger, Simon Cowell and Peter Stringfellow became dads later in life, they got a pat on the back. You look at Ronnie Wood. He's rock and roll. He's still young at heart.'

She added: 'I am more confident and well travelled now I'm older. I could drop dead tomorrow. But you could be 20 and go under a bus.

'You do the best you can. Is it better to have two bad parents or one good one? My gran lived to 102 and my mother is 76 and as fit as a fiddle.

'Twenty-year-olds, come to a nightclub with me and see who can dance the longest.'

Promo: Tina made an appearance on the show to promote her role in cooking contest Celebrity Masterchef




Chris Hemsworth wasn't afraid to show off his muscly physique while out and about on the Gold Coast on Saturday.

The 32-year-old Australian actor was seen enjoying some down time with wife Elsa Pataky, the father-of-three flaunting his bulging biceps while he was at it.

His fit arms were clearly visible thanks to a tight grey T-shirt, which he decided to team with a pair of charcoal coloured shorts on the day.

Spotted: Chris Hemsworth wasn't afraid to show off his muscly figure while out and about on the Gold Coast on Saturday with wife Elsa Pataky

He slipped his feet into a pair of matching running shoes, while his signature facial hair and dark locks only accentuated his sex appeal.

By his side was his wife Elsa, the 39-year-old blonde beauty opting for a casual chic ensemble.

The Fast And The Furious star sported a patterned blue blouse teamed with a pair of ripped black jeans.

Muscly man: The 32-year-old Australian actor flaunted his bulging biceps on the day

Cool and casual: The former Home And Away star sported a fitted grey T-shirt which revealed his muscly arms

Mix and match: He teamed his T-shirt with a pair of darker grey shorts

And as per usual, a few striking accessories were added to complete her look.

Elsa sported a delicate gold necklace, matching bangles, a brown tasselled handbag and a pair of sassy shades.

Her golden locks were worn out in tousled waves, while her makeup was kept simple yet still chic to give her a gorgeous glow.

Dressed to impress: By his side was his wife Elsa, the 39-year-old blonde beauty opting for a casual chic ensemble

Looking buff: The genetically blessed star's toned legs were also on display, as he made his way in a pair of grey, laced shoes

Accessoriser: A brown tasselled handbag was slung over Elsa's left shoulder

Not present on this occasion were the couple's three children.

The pair share four-year-old daughter India Rose, as well as two-year-old twins Sash and Tristan.

Chris has had a busy time of late, as production gets underway for the next installment in the Thor franchise.

Blonde beauty: She wore her cropped locks out in natural, tousled waves

Down time: The couple were seen enjoying some beverages and each other's company

Look at this! Chris and Elsa seemed to be preoccupied by something on Chris' mobile phone screen

In a world of their own: The celebrity couple appeared to be rather transfixed on the phone at one stage

Earlier this week, the superhero arrived at the Gold Coast Warner Bros. studios for the first day of filming Thor 3: Ragnarok, wearing slippers, shorts and a hoodie.

The actor gave his five million followers a quick look around the lot in a short video posted to Instagram on Wednesday, cheekily captioned: 'Where's my hammer?'

Having arrived straight after a training session, the muscular star held a protein shake in hand and announced: 'Here we are at the beginning of shooting for Thor 3 at the studios'.

Sipping away: Actor Chris was seen sipping on a chilled beverage

Very cute: There's no doubt the pair are still as smitten with each other since getting married in 2010

Glowing: Elsa could not seem to wipe the smile off her face as she enjoyed time with her beau

'Got my shake, got my shoes... and as requested, got the roller coaster - it's just some of the perks that come with being Thor,' Chris said with a grin.

While there isn't too much known about the plot for the film, it's understood Thor is banned from Asgard by Hela and turns to his fellow Avenger, Hulk, for help on his journey through the cosmos.

Thor: Ragnarok is set for a release date of November 2017.

Shady lady: Elsa sported a pair of sassy sunglasses to shield her eyes

Relaxing before work kicks off: Chris has had a busy time of late, as production gets underway for the next installment in the Thor franchise

Couple time: Their three children were nowhere to be seen on the day
She's been posing up a storm in showy swimwear all week.

But on Saturday, Kourtney Kardashian took a page out of sister Kim Kardashian's book as she posed in a pricey gold bathing suit on a pile of sand in an Instagram snap.

The image resembled Kim's unusual photo shoot last year, which saw the KUWTK star wearing a gold bra as she posed on a gaint mound of dirt for images that were the brainchild of her husband Kanye West.

Anchors away! Kourtney Kardashian power posed it up in gold nautical bikini while on vacation on Saturday

On Saturday, Kourtney, 37, flaunted her phenomenal figure in a pricey gold bikini as she struck a sexy pose on a sand dune, an image strikingly similar to that of her younger sister.

'On a sand hill,' she captioned the vacation snap.

The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star modelled a shimmering cut-out swimsuit which resembled an anchor. The swimsuit is by La Perla and retails for $1695.

Her sun-kissed skin glistened as she made sure to give her 43 million social media followers a glimpse of her pert posterior.

Inspiration? Kim Kardashian wore a gold bra as she struck a sexy pose on top of a mount of sand for a System Magazine shoot last year, which was styled by husband Kanye West

Getting dirty: The KUWTK stars struck a similar look as they showed off their figures

She rested her head on her arm and swept her silky chestnut tresses up in a high ponytail while keeping concealed behind dark aviator shades.

Her Instagram vacation snap called to mind Kim's unusual 'dirt pile' photo shoot last year.

In the 35-year-old's photo, she showed off her shapely derriere in a nude bodysuit with gold bra and black stockings.

Beach babes! The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star also posted a sexy snapshot with a pair of her gal pals

The July 2015 photo shoot was styled by her husband, rapper Kanye West.

The shoot for System magazine was taken in France as the star is showing off her platinum blonde locks, sees Kim reclining seductively on a mountain of earth.

Also on Saturday, Kourtney posted a sexy photo with her gals pals as they sat alongside each other on a flight of stairs leading to the beach front.

'Happy birthday to my little mermaid!' The mother of three has been spending the past week between Miami and the Bahamas on a yacht as she celebrates her daughter Penelope's fourth birthday

The mother of three has been spending the past week between Miami and the Bahamas on a yacht as she celebrates her daughter Penelope's fourth birthday.

And she made sure to mark her daughter's special occasion with a gushing tribute on Friday afternoon.

'Happy birthday to my little mermaid!' she wrote. 'Seeing the magic in the world through your eyes makes me so happy.
She is due to give birth to her first child in a matter of weeks.

But Seven Year Switch star Jackie does not seem to be taking it easy as she was seen playing barefoot bowls with her fiance Tim on Saturday.

The fitness enthusiast shared a picture from the day out at Broadbeach Bowls Club on the Gold Coast.

Bowled over! Seven Year Switch star Jackie was seen playing barefoot bowls with her fiance Tim on Saturday

She revealed she was 33 weeks pregnant, meaning the couple will probably welcome their first child at some point in August.

'Bit of barefoot bowls yesterday at #Broadbeach Bowls Club. #weekend #sunshine #jackieandtim #33weeks #pregnant,' Jackie wrote on their joint Instagram account.

Jackie donned a loose fitting maxi dress in the snap and protected herself from the sunshine with a pair of over-sized sunglasses.

Ready to pop: Jackie revealed she was 33 weeks pregnant, meaning the couple will probably welcome their first child at some point in August

The Melbourne-based couple confirmed their baby news to New Idea magazine in March following weeks of speculation.

'We're having what we're calling our 'Seven Year Switch baby!' Jackie told the publication.

They went on the controversial Channel Seven show in an attempt to fix their broken relationship.

And they have both admitted that the show - which sees couples-in-crisis 'swap' partners - actually brought them both closer together.

Bright future: Jackie is due to give birth to her first child in a matter of weeks

'It's because of the show we sorted things out and are now having a baby. It's just incredible!' she gushed, adding: 'We got pregnant within a week of finishing the show, so that was a shock.'

Tim proposed to Jackie on the reunion episode in May and jokingly presenting her with a voucher for a tattoo ring.

She has since taken to Instagram to share a picture of the real engagement ring - saying it has been passed down in her family for generations.

'It is the most perfect ring in the world,' she gushed.

Working through their issues: They went on the controversial Channel Seven show in an attempt to fix their broken relationship
She's the Australian actress who is vocal about her spirituality.

And Isabel Lucas showed off her nurturing side as she cuddled up with her friend's daughter for a sweet snap.

The 31-year-old beauty beamed as she gazed adoringly at the child in her arms in the image posted to Instagram on Saturday captioned: 'Little starlight dancer.'

Feeling clucky? Isabel Lucas showed off her nurturing side as she cuddled up with her friends daughter for a sweet snap that she posted to Instagram on Saturday

Standing in what looks to be a park, Isabel shielded her eyes behind a pair of round sunglasses.

Isabel bundled up in a dark jacket with a fluffy collar and dotingly held the small child in her arms with smile plastered across her face.

She finished her look with a beige backpack slung over her shoulders and wore her golden brunette locks loose around her shoulders.

Blooming lovely: The 31-year-old Australian actress stepped out in a sophisticated floral number to attend an advanced screening of her new film Careful What You Wish For last month

Last month the Australian actress stepped out in a sophisticated floral number to attend an advanced screening of her new film Careful What You Wish For.

The navy dress featured pink and white printed flowers and capped sleeves with the former Home and Away star finishing her look with black strappy heels.

Isabel's brunette tresses were styled out with a natural wave, while she opted for a subtle make-up look with lightly blushed cheeks and winged eyeliner, while adding a pop of colour with a red lipstick.

She's a natural: Isabel's brunette tresses were styled out with a natural wave, while she opted for a subtle make-up look with lightly blushed cheeks and winged eyeliner, while adding a pop of colour with a red lipstick

Humble beginning: Isabel rose to fame playing Tasha Andrews on Home and Away from 2003-2006, and won the Silver Logie Award for New Popular Talent

Isabel rose to fame playing Tasha Andrews on Home and Away from 2003-2006, and won the Silver Logie Award for New Popular Talent.

Since relocating overseas the Melbourne-born actress has starred in a number of big Hollywood movies including Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Red Dawn, which co-starred ex-boyfriend Chris Hemsworth.

Isabel is also heavily involved in environmental activism and currently still has an outstanding arrest warrant for her in Japan after being involved in a protest against dolphin culling in 2007.
Participants attend the Forum on the Development of Tibet in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, July 7, 2016. More than 130 researchers, officials and correspondents from over 30 countries and regions attended the forum, hosted by the State Council Information Office and the Tibetan regional government.[Photo: Xinhua]

"It was astonishing to see the modern part of Lhasa, and I am very glad to have seen the development," said Albert Ettinger, a Luxembourger in Tibet for the first time, attending the Forum on the Development of Tibet.

Ettinger is the author of two books on Tibet, "Free Tibet" and "The Fight for Tibet," both about Tibet's traditions and history, published in German and Italian.

Ettinger said one of the reasons he wrote the books was, as a teacher of German language and literature, he found a German textbook about the Dalai Lama and Tibet to be biased. He was upset because the purpose of school is to teach students to think critically and decided to write a book himself.

Having researched Tibet through books, publications and the Internet, Ettinger said he was still amazed by the changes.

"It is developing very fast," he said, "Lhasa is now a fantastic city; for example, the university with all those beautiful new buildings. The city is very clean too."

"The government can be proud of what it has achieved," Ettinger said suggesting inviting more people to see the real Tibet.

"There are some people who want to see the old Tibet, like an old woman with her prayer wheel, but still they can see the development, at least they can see that the Tibetan language is living, Tibetan people are better off than before, and their religion is protected," he said.

Lhasa and Tibet are more open to foreigners than before, and it could be more open, he said, to let people see with their own eyes.

"And let some of the Dalai Lama's friends come. Maybe they can also learn something," Ettinger said.

The two-day Forum on the Development of Tibet closed on Friday in the regional capital Lhasa.

More than 130 guests from over 30 countries and regions participated in field visits and meetings in Lhasa and Shannan.

This was the second Forum on the Development of Tibet, with the first held in 2014.
She has been busy balancing her blossoming lingerie modelling career with her role on Neighbours.

And Olympia Valance took some much-needed time out of her hectic schedule to relax on her bed in some comfortable pyjamas on Monday night.

The brunette beauty, 23, who is the sister of singing sensation Holly, posted a stunning selfie of herself lounging between the sheets in a long-sleeved grey top and brightly coloured bottoms.

Under the sheets: Olympia Valance posted a stunning selfie of herself lounging on her bed in comfortable pyjamas

'Day one over. Pjs on. Sleep now,' she captioned the shot.

The Australian model showcased her natural beauty and flawless complexion in the picture by wearing barely a stitch of make-up.

She seductively gazed at the camera as she held it behind her head.

Sense of style: The brunette beauty, 23, is the sister of singing sensation Holly, pictured is Olympia at this year's Jameson Empire Awards

It is not known where the picture was taken, but the actress has been posting snaps of herself enjoying time with friends in Melbourne over the past week.

She was seen enjoying a Negroni cocktail with a friend on Sunday and posted a picture of herself eating a bunch of grapes at the The Langham hotel in Melbourne.

The model made an appearance at DIIDA's swanky store opening party in Melbourne last month.

Bold choice: She has been busy balancing her blossoming lingerie modelling career with her role on Neighbours

Clad in a multi-coloured blouse and high-waisted trousers by DIIDA, the 23-year-old starlet seemed to be in good spirits as she sashayed into the star-studded event.

She has used her fashion know-how to help create a signature lingerie range for Gossard,

The collection includes a high apex plunge bra, bralet, Brazilian suspender and body.
She's been sharing her luxurious holiday snaps with her followers on social media.

And Lindy Klim appears to be reveling in the bliss of her latest stint in Bali, flaunting her long slender limbs as she relaxed in a hammock on Sunday.

The 38-year-old Balinese princess looked right at home as she threw her arms up in delight for a snap she later posted to Instagram with a black and white filter simply captioned: 'Sunday.'

Lazy Sunday: Lindy Klim appears to be reveling in the bliss of her latest stint in Bali, flaunting her long slender limbs as she relaxed in a hammock

Clad in what appears to be a swimsuit she reached both arms into the air and made peace signs with both of her hands.

Her dark locks were swept back off her face and she flashed a smile while looking up into the air.

Lindy has been sharing behind-the-scenes snaps from a recent photoshoot, showing off her striking features with a glowing makeup look and wearing a very racy swimsuit.

Daring: The 38-year-old model has been sharing behind-the-scenes snaps from a recent photoshoot, showing off her striking features with a glowing makeup look and wearing a very racy swimsuit

Enjoying herself: Earlier this month she enjoyed a brief holiday in Los Angeles with her new boyfriend Adam Ellis, sharing a racy snap as she posed for a picture taken by him

Earlier this month she enjoyed a brief holiday in Los Angeles with her new boyfriend Adam Ellis, sharing a racy snap as she posed for a picture taken by him.

The beauty separated from her husband Michael Klim in February after 10 years of marriage and appears to be enjoying time away with her new beau.

This marks the latest overseas trip for Lindy and British builder Adam, who have enjoyed a whirlwind romance since her marriage split.

The couple were first linked after being spotted together at London's Heathrow Airport in March.

New start: Lindy has been enjoying an overseas trip with British builder Adam (right), who she began dating following her separation from Olympic swimmer Michael Klim earlier this year

Their relationship appears to have developed quickly as Lindy and Michael only announced their separation the previous month.

'It is with much respect for each other that Michael and Lindy Klim have agreed to formally separate, believing that this decision is best for their family,' said a representative at the time.

'(Their) children will always remain their highest priority, and their happiness will be Michael and Lindys primary focus. We ask that you respect their privacy at this time.'

Lindy and Michael married in 2006 and share three children together, daughters Stella, 10, and Frankie, five, and eight-year-old son Rocco.
They celebrated their twelfth wedding anniversary earlier this year.

And over the weekend, Jessica Rowe, 46, and husband Peter Overton, 50, cruised down to Canberra, ACT, for a quick safari getaway at the Jamala Wildlife Lodge.

While enjoying some downtime in the Australian capital, the media personality couple shared numerous snaps of themselves cuddling up to rhinos, giraffes and meerkats.

Time together: Jessica Rowe and husband Peter Overton shared snaps of themselves cuddling up to rhinos, giraffes and meerkats over the weekend as they enjoyed some downtime at Canberra's Jamala Wildlife Lodge

As they sat closely together, they allowed two meerkats to sit comfortably in their lap before allowing another one to climb onto their shoulders.

In the pictured collage shared on Instagram, Jessica was seen bursting into laughter as Peter attempted to not move as the animal made its way to the top of his head.

'Meercat madness!! Cannot stop squealing meeting these cute critters @jamalalodge @nationalzoo #crazymeercatlady (sic),' the Studio 10 presenter wrote alongside the photo.

Getting in their grill: As the pair sat closely together, they allowed two meerkats to sit comfortably in their lap before allowing another one to climb onto their shoulders

Up close: Earlier in their trip the mother-of-two shared a funny image of herself posing for a selfie with a baby giraffe at the open enclosure

Earlier in their trip the mother-of-two shared a funny image of herself posing for a selfie with a baby giraffe at the open enclosure.

Jessica showed off a large open-mouthed smile for the shot as the animal rested its long head over the bar rail.

She captioned the image: 'Excuse me is that a giraffe on my balcony or am I just excited to be @jamalalodge.'

Learning the ropes: She was later pictured feeding tiger cubs through a wire fence

Enjoying her downtime: In all of the pictured shared across social media Jessica glowed with happiness

Earlier this year Jessica revealed she's the one who made the first move when it came to asking out news anchor husband.

During an interview with Nova's Fitzy and Wippa, the funny woman said: 'In breaking news, I had to ask my husband out on a date'.

Jessica and Peter began dating in mid-2001 and wed at Bondi Icebergs in 2004.

They have two daughters Allegra, nine and Giselle, six.
Phoebe Burgess was seen cuddling in between her husband Sam and his lookalike brother Tom at a family dinner on Saturday.

The freelance writer looked as though she had been well and truly welcomed into the Burgess fold when she posed in the middle of the brothers at the Grand Bistro in Bowral, New South Wales.

She captioned the image, saying: 'Family Dinner by candlelight and pears #MyBodyandSoul.'

Family affair: Phoebe Burgess was seen cuddling in between her husband Sam and his lookalike brother Tom at a family dinner on Saturday

With her long blonde locks straightened and left loose over her shoulders, Phoebe was seen beaming in the Instagram picture.

She seemed to be wearing a black jacket, but the rest of her outfit was not visible.

Her husband Sam, who is a star player for the South Sydney Rabbitohs, donned a smart black jacket, crisp white shirt and beige chinos for the dinner.

Puppy love: The couple have finally decided that it's time to expand their family with an adorable new addition - a black cavoodle named Floyd

Snuggle time: She shared a picture of herself cuddling the dog, saying: Sundays on the farm with Floyd'

The British-born rugby star is believed to be stayed at Phoebe's parents' sprawling farm in Bowral along with his brothers Tom and Luke.

Tom, who also plays for the South Sydney Rabbitohs, posted a picture of the brothers before going out for dinner.

'Dinner dress ups down in Bowral, love the farm life,' he captioned the image.

Who let the dogs out? Floyd is a black cavoodle, which is a cross between a poodle and a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

Phoebe and Tom tied the knot at the farm in the New South Wales Southern Highlands in December 2015.

The couple have finally decided that it's time to expand their family with an adorable new addition - a black cavoodle named Floyd.

Phoebe has taken to social media over the past week to showcase their new puppy.

She shared a picture of herself cuddling the dog, saying: Sundays on the farm with Floyd.'
She's been soaking up the sunshine in Magaluf as she films TOWIE with the rest of the cast.

And Megan McKenna showed off her impressive tan as she hit the town for a night out on Saturday.

The 23-year-old looked positively glowing as she stepped out in a fluorescent sheer lace skirt, cinched in at the waist showcasing her toned curves perfectly.

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Tangerine dream! Megan McKenna showed off her impressive tan as she hit the town for a night out on Saturday

The transparent number showed off her long tanned legs, and she wore nothing but a mink-coloured silk bodice underneath, showing a hint of cleavage.

Coordinating her outfit perfectly, she matched the outfit with sky-high nude peep-toe wedges and a studded clutch.

Going for a more relaxed look she wore her glossy brunette tresses loose in a sleek middle parting, accessorising with large hoop earrings.

Pert: The 23-year-old looked positively glowing as she stepped out in a fluorescent sheer lace skirt, cinched in at the waist showcasing her toned curves perfectly

Leggy: The transparent number showed off her long tanned legs, and she wore nothing but a mink-coloured silk bodice underneath, showing a hint of cleavage

Ensuring all eyes were on her, she contoured her face to perfection, accentuating her blue eyes with dark eye make up.

Showing off the trademark TOWIE pout, she added a generous dash of lipgloss.

The former Ex On The Beach star was seen joining the likes of Georgia Kousoulou, Bobby Norris and Danielle Armstrong as they enjoyed dinner in the Spanish town.

Chic: Coordinating her outfit perfectly, she matched the outfit with sky-high nude peep-toe wedges and a studded clutch

Dare to bare: TOWIE's Georgia Kousoulou certainly stood out from the crowd as she headed out with her castmates for filming in Magaluf on Saturday evening

Arm-in-arm: Georgia and Kate were accompanied by their GBF and co-star, Bobby Norris

The reality stars pulled out all the stops with Georgia making a bold fashion statement in a sheer metallic mesh dress with a black crop top and high waist briefs underneath, showing off her toned tanned body.

Bobby kept up with the girls in a sailor-inspired blue and white shirt and matching navy cropped trousers, sporting bleach blonde hair and white Lacoste flip flops.

Kate Wright went for all out glamour in a floor length white maxi dress with a lace gold corset top.

Megan's relationship with co-star Pete Wicks has been going from strength to strength, and they've been spotted enjoying romantic time away from their co-stars as they film the upcoming series of TOWIE.
He is blazing the promotional trail with his new movie Jason Bourne.

Yet Matt Damon proved even superstars must take a break as he enjoyed a low-key night on the town with his stunning wife Luciana Barroso at London's Sexy Fish restaurant on Saturday.

The 45-year-old actor kept things simple in a black crew neck jumper with navy chinos, while his stunning Argentinian spouse wore an elegant white number.

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Loved-up: Matt Damon proved even superstars must take a break as he enjoyed a low-key night on the town with his stunning wife Luciana Barroso in London on Saturday

Matt, who plays former CIA operative Jason Bourne in the latest movie in the franchise, looked super casual in his tight jumper.

He added in chinos and a pair of plimpsoll trainers while his hair was worn mussed and slightly tousled - adding to his low-key look.

Luciana meanwhile looked simply sensational in her white getup comprising of cropped trousers and a plunging camisole which gave a hint of cleavage.

A bit of all white: The 45-year-old actor kept things simple in a black crew neck jumper with navy chinos, while his stunning Argentinian spouse wore an elegant white number

The happy couple: Matt, who plays former CIA operative Jason Bourne in the latest movie in the franchise, looked super casual in his tight jumper

Layered atop the white coordinate was a stone coloured cardigan while she added a bold splash of colour with the addition of thin strapped turquoise heels.

Her hair was perfectly styled into a bun with a heavy fringe tickling her flawlessly made-up lashes.

Proving her attention to detail, Luciana sported delicate hoop earrings which tied in nicely with her eye-popping engagement ring.

White stuff: Luciana meanwhile looked simply sensational in her white getup comprising of cropped trousers and a plunging camisole which gave a hint of cleavage

Promo: Luciana often joins Matt on his many promotional tours - making her appearance in London no surprise

Luciana often joins Matt on his many promotional tours - making her appearance in London no surprise.

Jason Bourne sees Matt returning to the spy franchise that made him a full-blown movie star.

'It's obviously the most significant thing that's happened in my career,' he said in a recent interview with the Associated Press.

Hold on: Proving her attention to detail, Luciana sported delicate hoop earrings which tied in nicely with her eye-popping engagement ring

Superstar: Jason Bourne sees Matt returning to the spy franchise that made him a full-blown movie star

While Matt appeared in the first three movies in the action-packed series; The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supermacy and The Bourne Ultimatum, he did not appear in the fourth; The Bourne Legacy.

Jeremy Renner took over the lead as he played Aaron Cross in the movies - leaving a gap for Matt's return which he confirmed earlier this year upon hearing news of Paul Greengrass' comeback.

The movies are based on a series of action spy thriller novels by Robert Ludlum centered around the character Jason Bourne, a CIA assassin struck with memory loss and he must work out who he is.

He's back! While Matt appeared in the first three movies in the action-packed series; The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supermacy and The Bourne Ultimatum, he did not appear in the fourth; The Bourne Legacy. Jeremy
They got engaged at the beginning of the year after seven years together.

And Tom Parker and his fiancee Kelsey Hardwick looked more loved up than ever as they arrived at Barbados airport following a sun-filled romantic holiday.

The recently engaged couple couldn't keep their hands off each other, putting on a public display of affection as they kissed in the airport queue.

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Affectionate: Tom Parker and his fiancee Kelsey Hardwick looked more loved up than ever as they arrived at Barbados airport following a sun-filled romantic holiday

The former Wanted star, 27, looked stylish in a charcoal fitted t-shirt and black ripped jeans, brightening up his outfit with bright red trainers, sunglasses and his cap worn backwards as he strolled through the airport.

Abducted actress Kelsey looked relaxed in a black t-shirt dress with white-rimmed sleeves.

The 26-year-old blonde wore her hair in knotted pigtails, going casual in with a black backpack and Birkenstocks.

Cute couple: The former Wanted star, 27, looked stylish in a charcoal fitted t-shirt and black ripped jeans and his 26-year-old fiancee wore her hair in knotted pigtails, going casual in with a black backpack and Birkenstocks

Loved up: The recently engaged couple couldn't keep their hands off each other, putting on a public display of affection as they kissed in the airport queue

Sporting vibrant magenta lipstick and matching nails, she beamed as they rolled a suitcase through departures.

The couple had spent the week in Barbados, and shared the picturesque holiday with their followers.

Tom shared a topless snap against the stunning blue backdrop of sun, sand, and sea, as he enjoyed a stroll on the beach in his swimming trunks, captioning the shot: 'Paradise'.

And making a collage of their holiday of selfies, food and pool fun, he wrote: 'Massive thanks to @sugarcaneclub for an amazing stay in Barbados. The staff have been amazing, and big shout to Roy for the Bajan spice sauce. Be back soon x'.

'Paradise': The couple had spent the week in Barbados, and shared the picturesque holiday with their followers

'Be back soon' Tom shared a collage of their time in Barbados at the end of their trip thanking the staff

'Couldn't think of anything better than spending the night with this girl! @being_kelsey', Tom wrote at the end of their holiday adding a heart emoji

Showing off his softer side he then shared a selfie with Kelsey at the end of their holiday, writing: 'Couldn't think of anything better than spending the night with this girl! @being_kelsey', adding a heart emoji.

Also feeling in the mood for romance was Kelsey, who shared a 2011 snap of the twosome, writing: '#TBT #5yearsago'.

The duo have been dating since 2009 and got engaged at the beginning of the year, with Tom confessing it's made him 'the happiest man alive'.

'There was a trail of rose petals leading to the TV where I'd set up a montage of all our pictures from the day we met until now,' he said to HELLO! magazine.

'I was crying my eyes out at this point. Then at the end it said, 'Here's to the next chapter, turn around', and when she turned around I was down on one knee.

'I literally could not get my words out, I was so overcome with emotion,' Parker said of the moment when he popped the question.

'#TBT #5yearsago' Kelsey wrote alongside a snap of the twosome




She became a second time mum just nine days previously.

Yet Sallie Axl was not prepared to be resigned to the house as she embraces new motherhood, as she headed out to Liverpool's Palm Sugar night club with pals on Saturday night.

The 28-year-old glamour model, real name Sallie Chapman, looked sensational for her night on the town as she slipped into a barely there champagne-hued mini dress.

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Sizzling: Sallie Axl was not prepared to be resigned to the house as she embraces new motherhood, as she headed out in Liverpool with pals on Saturday night

Sallie, who is already mum to five-year-old daughter Nirvana, became a new mother to Savannah-Blu just last week, since then littering her social media accounts with images of her new arrival.

Three days after giving birth, the inked-up beauty shared a stunning shot in which she sported just lingerie while holding her daughter, to show her 116,000 Instagram followers her hot body.

On Saturday, the former Big Brother star took things from the photo-sharing site to real life as she headed out in the phenomenally scanty gown.

Laden with knot details, the stunning dress boasted cut-outs and a perilously high-rise slit which extended along the entirety of the left hand side of the gown.

Slinky: The 28-year-old glamour model, real name Sallie Chapman, looked sensational for her night on the town as she slipped into a barely there champagne-hued mini dress

Out and a pout: Sallie, who is already mum to five-year-old daughter Nirvana, became a new mother to Savannah-Blu just last week, since then littering her social media accounts with images of her new arrival

Proud: Three days after giving birth, the inked-up beauty shared a stunning shot in which she sported just lingerie while holding her daughter, to show her 116,000 Instagram followers her hot body

Ignoring the cardinal legs or cleavage look, Sallie exposed her ample cleavage from the slash necked dress which extended into a crossover choker.

The stunning reality star upped the glam factor with the addition of studded shoes with a teetering heel and a host of racy straps crossed over.

She gave the ensemble a super-star touch with a gorgeous Mulberry clutch bag which she held onto alongside her pack of cigarettes.

Striking: On Saturday, the former Big Brother star took things from the photo-sharing site to real life as she headed out in the phenomenally scanty gown

All tied up: Laden with knot details, the stunning dress boasted cut-outs and a perilously high-rise slit which extended along the entirety of the left hand side of the gown

Posing up a storm: Ignoring the cardinal legs or cleavage look, Sallie exposed her ample cleavage from the slash necked dress which extended into a crossover choker

Far from opting for an understated style, Sallie's hair was coiffed into wild curls which extended over her shoulders while given maximum volume with the help of a slight knot atop her head.

Her make-up was heavy-handed yet flawless with lashings of foundation and highlighter acting to emphasise her bone structure and a dab of pink lipstick maximising her plump pout.

While she kept her accessories to a minimum, her dazzling array of inkings made for enough detailing to her look.

Legs eleven! The stunning reality star upped the glam factor with the addition of studded shoes with a teetering heel and a host of racy straps crossed over

Gal pals: While she kept her accessories to a minimum, her dazzling array of inkings made for enough detailing to her look

Hitting out: The night out comes just a week after Sallie revealed she was still carrying some heartbreak from the split with Savannah's father, as she took aim at her ex while flaunting her baby bump last Tuesday

The night out comes just a week after Sallie revealed she was still carrying some heartbreak from the split with Savannah's father, as she took aim at her ex while flaunting her baby bump last Tuesday.

The reality star claimed she was 'still fitter' than anyone her former flame might be dating despite being nine months pregnant in the Instagram snap.

Sallie, who entered Big Brother in 2013, wrote alongside the snap: 'Pregnancy got me... Still fitter than the h*** your messaging. Only few days left #9months #bump (sic).'

Hitting back: The reality star claimed she was 'still fitter' than anyone her former flame might be dating despite being nine months pregnant in the Instagram snap

Slammed: Sallie is single after recently splitting from her unknown boyfriend, taking to Twitter last month to blast her previous 'poisonous' relationship

Starting again: 'I started a new chapter today ... I wiped away any love I had for someone and completely cleared my mind,' she wrote

Sallie is single after recently splitting from her unknown boyfriend, taking to Twitter last month to blast her previous 'poisonous' relationship.

'I started a new chapter today ... I wiped away any love I had for someone and completely cleared my mind,' she wrote.

'I also viewed a new home .. Taking steps #I have #a #plan.'

Fans flocked to support the mother, who had a miscarriage last July.
They may have competed for the affections of Tim Robards on The Bachelor Australia season one.

But winner Anna Heinrich and former contestants Sarah-Mae Amey, Katherine Schmidhofer and Emily Hanson appear to be friends for life as they reunited on Saturday.

The four ladies got together at French-Caribbean restaurant The Butler in Sydneys Potts Point to celebrate the third anniversary of them meeting on the show.

Friends for life: The Bachelor Season One winner Anna Heinrich (right) and former contestants (R-L) Sarah-Mae Amey, Katherine Schmidhofer and Emily Hanson appear to be friends for life as they reunited on Saturday

Three of the girls shared photos of them together on the night seated at a table smiling, laughing and joking with each other as if they had never competed for the same man.

They all dressed in similar conservative dark tops with Emily sporting a black leather jacket and Sarah-Mae showing a hint of cleavage by undoing a few buttons of her shirt.

Yesterday celebrating exactly 3 years ago since we all met to film The Bach and we still remain the dearest of girlfriends, Sarah-Mae wrote on Instagram.

'Dearest of girlfriends': The four ladies got together at French-Caribbean restaurant The Butler in Sydneys Potts Point to celebrate the third anniversary of them meeting on the show

'Wonderful friendship': Three of the girls shared photos of them together on the night seated at a table smiling, laughing and joking with each other as if they had never competed for the same man

Thank you for so much love, support and advice always.

Katherine was similarly gushing, saying they were celebrating 3 years of wonderful friendship while Anna declared it was ALWAYS a pleasure.

Most of the former rivals seem to have put their differences behind them, as they are regularly spotted together at reunions or other significant events.

Reunited: Most of the former love rivals seem to have put their differences behind them, as they are regularly spotted together at reunions or other significant events (Pictured in May 2014)

Putting differences aside: Many of the former rivals met for a night out in May 2014

Regular catchups: The girls meet up for dinners, drinks and nights out on a regular basis

It may be because even though Anna took home the prize of hunky chiropractor Tim, all of the foursome but Sarah-Mae have found love themselves.

Emily even met her match on the set of the show, marrying cameraman Ben Hanson in January 2015 and giving birth to their first child a year later.

Many of the Bachelor girls were together again in January for Emilys baby shower that Sarah-Mae put together, with guests including Anna and Katherine.

Still friends: Many of the Bachelor girls were together again in January for Emilys (2nd from left) baby shower that Sarah-Mae (left) put together, with guests including Anna (right) and Katherine (2nd from right)

First Bachelor child: Beating Anna and Tim to the altar and the nursery, Katherine was first when she had a son, Hugo, last June

Milestone: Hugo on his first birthday in June

Happiness: Katherine with husband Chris Jeffery

Even though Emily and Ben beat Anna and Tim to the altar and the nursery, Katherine was first when she had a son, Hugo, last June with husband Chris Jeffery.

The child psychologist also wrote a book about her cancer survival journey after having both her breasts removed in 2005 to beat the illness.

Sarah-Mae dated former Bachelorette contestant Dave Billsborrow, who she was introduced to by Sam Frost, but they broke up earlier this year after four months together.

Last single standing: Sarah-Mae dated former Bachelorette contestant Dave Billsborrow, who she was introduced to by Sam Frost, but they broke up earlier this year after four months together
She's known to sport a number of glamorous looks on the red carpet.

But on Saturday, model and blogger Nikki Phillips opted for a rather natural make-up look as she took to Instagram.

The selfie saw the 31-year-old share the results of a make-up session with celebrity artist Michael Brown that simply enhanced her bronzed, flawless complexion.

Natural beauty: Nikki Phillips took to Instagram on Saturday to share the results of a make-up session with celebrity artist Michael Brown that simply enhanced her bronzed, radiant complexion

She captioned the snap: 'When your makeup is this good it deserves a selfie! @mbrown_beauty perfecting bronzed natural yet again.

'Now time to head out for dinner,' she finished the caption.

She also added the hash-tags 'saturday night' and 'bring on the weekend'.

The snap saw Nikki sport a flawless complexion, hint of bronzer and a subtle smoky eye.

She finished off the minimal make-up look with a soft pink lip and lashings of mascara.

Beyond beautiful: The personality cut a chic figure in a simple yet stunning metallic blue dress as she posed for photos at the Sydney premiere of Star Trek Beyond on Thursday

Tilting her head to one side, the model's short blonde tresses were loosely tousled while one hand rested playfully through her strands.

Finishing the off-duty look, Nikki donned a trendy leather jacket and horizontally striped white t-shirt.

The personality was last seen sporting a more glamorous look on Thursday night in Sydney, where she took to the red carpet for the Australian premiere of Star Trek Beyond.

Donning a chic metallic blue lace dress, Nikki's enviable curves were on display.

Elongating her already endless legs with a pair of black pointy-toed heels, she kept jewellery to a bare minimum - simply sporting her impressive wedding rings.

Svelte: When posing for the cameras, there was no denying the fashionista's impressively lean physique

She styled her shoulder length locks with a loose wave, while enhancing her blue eyes with lashings of mascara.

The New Zealand born star completed her fashionable look with a layer of plum lipstick on her famous pout and a bronzed complexion.

The wife of musician Dane Rumble has had a busy schedule so far this year.

Apart from being a regular on the Sydney social scene, she also has commitments on the runway with Myer.

Sophisticated: The television star completed her fashionable look with a layer of plum lipstick on her famous pout and a bronzed complexion

Just recently she was named as Puma's Oceania talent alongside Jodi Anasta.

Nikki and Jodi join Rihanna and Kylie Jenner as faces of the sportswear giant.

Last Tuesday, the svelte star took to Instagram to share a snap while shooting for the fitness brand.

'Fun day shooting more media for @pumawomen,' she began the caption.

'Check out the behind the scenes on my snapchat,' Nikki added.

She also added in the hashtags #puma, #ootd, #fitness, #pumawomen and #pumaoceaniaambassador.
China to deploy police in hospitals to help guarantee safety of staff

The Chinese authorities are to deploy police officers-in-residence in hospitals to help guarantee the safety of staff.

The measure is part of a year-long campaign launched this month called "Movement against Medical Care-related Crimes" aiming to clamp down on violent medical disputes.

The move, jointly initiated by nine central administrative departments and offices, allows police officers to use firearms if necessary to enforce the law, to quickly stop physical harm coming to doctors and nurses by angry patients or their families.

Those who are caught entering hospitals with forbidden items such as knives will be taken into custody.

The campaign also calls on Second Class medical institutions and above to install video monitors in wards and in emergency treatment areas.

It also highlights the need for special protection for offices used by personnel working on night shifts.

Assaulting medical staff was recognised as a criminal offense by an amendment of China's Criminal Law last November.

Medical disputes are no longer a rarity in China. Two months ago, a doctor from south China's Guangdong Province was killed by his former patient who stabbed him with a knife 30 times.

One month ago, a nurse was wounded by someone accompanying a patient to the emergency room at a hospital in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

The campaign also aims to train medical carers to improve their communication skills when dealing with patients, and the service they offer.
They became thick as thieves after filming The Bachelorette together last year.

And on Saturday, Davey Lloyd, Dave Billsborrow and Sasha Mielczarek reunited with their old friend and upcoming star of The Bachelor, Richie Strahan, for some quality time together.

'A bit dusty today but enjoyed every minute with these fellas,' wrote Davey, who shared an image of the foursome posing together to his Instagram account.

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'A bit dusty today but enjoyed every minute with these fellas': The Bachelorette's Sasha Mielczarek, Dave Billsborrow, Davey Lloyd and Richie Strahan reunited for some fun on Saturday

The four friends were all wearing shoes, minus Davey, who opted for flip-flops instead.

The image shared appeared to be taken in a cafe, indicating that the best buddies may have had a much needed catch-up over coffee or cake.

This isn't the first time that seen each other recently, with Richie, Dave, and their former TV fling Sam Frost enjoying an afternoon together on Friday.

The trio kicked back on plumber Dave's couch while reminiscing about the past, present and future.

Back together: Dave Billsborrow reunited with his The Bachelorette co-stars Sam Frost and Richie Strahan on Friday

In great company @fro01 missed her flight home and @richie_strahan arrived to Sydney. Good to be with these 2 muppets, Dave captioned the picture of three reality stars beaming at the camera.

A lot has happened over the past 12 months since Richie, Dave and Sam were all seen in the same room and filming for Channel 10s highly popular relationship series.

Since then, Sam has moved from business administration into breakfast radio.

The 27-year-old is still dating Sasha Mielczarek, with the lovebirds purchasing a plot of land in Bowral for an estimated $810,000 recently.

Going strong: Sam is still dating Sasha Mielczarek one year since wrapping up filming The Bachelorette

Love nest: The pair have also purchased a plot of land together in Bowral and will build their dream home

Meanwhile, Richie was announced as this year's The Bachelor.

The 31-year-old from Western Australia will have 22 beauties all vying for his attention when the show hits TV screens later this month.

The line-up includes an eclectic mix of women  all with different occupations, ages and backgrounds.

Can't wait to start this adventure as The Bachelor! I hope to meet someone amazing.This will be a wild experience, get excited! Richie said in a post to Instagram months earlier.

Dave is still working as a tradesman, but enjoyed a brief romance with former The Bachelor series one star Sarah-Mae Amey.

Former flames: Dave enjoyed a brief romance with former The Bachelor series one star Sarah-Mae Amey

Mutual friends: Dave and Sarah-Mae met in November after being introduced by her best friend Sam  the woman Dave was vying for on the Bachelorette

Dave and Sarah-Mae met in November after being introduced by her best friend Sam  the woman Dave was vying for on the Bachelorette.

Sarah-Mae confirmed her relationship with Dave on Instagram posting a picture of the former reality star as the pair babysat Sam and Sasha's pet puppy Rocky.

Along with an image of Dave and the pooch Sarah wrote: ''My boys... Puppy sitting duties.'

But the relationship failed to last the test of time, and Dave and Sarah-Mae called it quits in March.

While Sara-Mae has struggled to find a new man, the plumber was spotted cuddling up to a new woman of the name Cortnee Spessot.

In May, the pair were seen canoodling outside a Sydney gym.
He's currently enjoying a luxurious trip to the Mediterranean as part of the celebrations for his 70th birthday.

And while he may be officially Hollywood royalty, Sylvester Stallone looked to be enjoying the simple role of the family man on Saturday evening as he stepped out in St. Tropez.

Heading back to the family's yacht in the famous seaside town after a meal at L'Opera, the Rocky icon sported a beaming smile from ear-to-ear as he walked arm-in-arm with his daughter, Sophia.

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A regular family guy: While he may be officially Hollywood royalty, Sylvester Stallone looked to be enjoying the simple role of the family man on Saturday evening as he stepped out in St. Tropez

Having jetted out to Cote d'Azure on Thursday with his wife Jennifer Flavin and their brood, the actor looked to have settled into the celebratory nature of the break abroad.

Strolling along the packed harbour, where many of the yacht-set moor their luxury vessels in the summer, the family laughed and chatted as they wandered back to their palatial vessel.

Ever the family man, Sylvester - who has three daughters with Jennifer - was lavishing some attention on the eldest of his girls, 19-year-old Sophia.

Chatting away to his daughter, the Expendables star appeared to be in the middle of a funny story, as his daughter gazed adoringly at him whilst laughing.

Doting dad: Heading back to the family's yacht in the famous seaside town after a meal at L'Opera, the Rocky icon sported a beaming smile from ear-to-ear as he walked arm-in-arm with his daughter, Sophia

And while the college student has been hard-at-work studying for a degree in the US, looked as though she'd be just as much at home on the catwalk as her model sister Sistine, 18.

Dressed in a simple satin slip dress, Sophie oozed an effortless glamour and grace in the gun metal mini dress.

Featuring a dipping neckline, the blonde beauty drew focus to her tanned decolletage, whilst the dress' short hemline allowed her to showcase her lithe and gym-honed legs.

Kicking off the celebrations: Having jetted out to Cote d'Azure on Thursday with his wife Jennifer Flavin and their brood, the actor looked to have settled into the celebratory nature of the break abroad

Apple of his eye: Ever the family man, Sylvester - who has three daughters with Jennifer - was lavishing some attention on the eldest of his girls, 19-year-old Sophia

College and catwalk? And while the college student has been hard-at-work studying for a degree in the US, looked as though she'd be just as much at home on the catwalk as her model sister Sistine, 18 (pictured right)

Simple but stylish: Dressed in a simple satin slip dress, Sophie oozed an effortless glamour and grace in the gun metal mini dress

Stunning: Featuring a dipping neckline, the blonde beauty drew focus to her tanned decolletage, whilst the dress' short hemline allowed her to showcase her lithe and gym-honed legs

She teamed the chic summer dress with a pair of nude, black-trimmed Louboutins, which served to further define her pins.

Keeping her look uncluttered, she accessorised with a small black leather handbag, and a smattering of jewellery.

Sylvester meanwhile rocked his usual laid-back but smart-casual look, teaming a patterned short-sleeved shirt with a black tee-shirt and white trousers.

Dad on-duty: Sylvester meanwhile rocked his usual laid-back but smart-casual look, teaming a patterned short-sleeved shirt with a black tee-shirt and white trousers

All aboard! The family headed back onto their yacht, although Sly seemed to have forgotten his deck shoes - favouring a pair of black brogues instead

That famous face: With his pepper locks styled and slicked back, the actor was instantly recognizable

Ready for big one? The family has been enjoying the sun and relaxed pace of life in the Med as part of a Sylvester's land-mark birthday celebrations

His youngest: Scarlet Rose, 14 - Sly and Jen's youngest - was a fashionable equal to her older sisters

With his pepper locks styled and slicked back, the actor was instantly recognizable.

The family has been enjoying the sun and relaxed pace of life in the Med as part of a Sylvester's land-mark birthday celebrations; having flown into Nice, the family first headed to Monaco on the yacht before setting sail for St. Tropez.

But despite hitting 70 the action-movie legend shows no sign of slowing down in his work, as the busy star has four projects lined up when he returns to Hollywood , including a role in Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2.
She soared to fame in the Seventies playing Barbara Good in The Good Life.

And Felicity Kendal appears to be living the good life now as she was seen in London looking phenomenally youthful despite her near septuagenarian status.

The 69-year-old actress stepped out in London over the weekend sporting a tight black top with ripped jeans - a look which defied her years yet made her look sensational.

Ripped up: Felicity Kendal appears to be living the good life now as she was seen in London looking phenomenally youthful despite her near septuagenarian status

The beloved actress looked incredibly chic in the ensemble, particularly with the addition of her loose-fitting jeans with shredded details.

Her tight black top showed off her slender frame, with a scoop neck and long sleeves perfecting the stunning look as she tucked the top into her jeans.

Keeping her footwear comfortable, the blonde beauty sported low-key loafers with a metal bar across the front layered atop cream leather.

Felicity pulled a khaki bag across her body, with a thick strap making for a comfortable load as opposed to toting a bag on her arm or hand.

Trendy: The 69-year-old actress stepped out in London over the weekend sporting a tight black top with ripped jeans - a look which defied her years yet made her look sensational

Funky shoes: Keeping her footwear comfortable, the blonde beauty sported low-key loafers with a metal bar across the front layered atop cream leather

Chic: Felicity pulled a khaki bag across her body, with a thick strap making for a comfortable load as opposed to toting a bag on her arm or hand

Proving the attention was in the details, Felicity injected dazzling additions to the look, mostly through her jewellery.

She stacked up turquoise bracelets on her wrists while adding long chains with a variety of pendants, while also sporting a no-doubt designer wrist watch.

On her incredibly youthful face she sported trendy glasses while her shoulder tickling tresses were styled into loose waves falling off her face.

Back in the day: Felicity looks simply sensational - showing off her age defying good looks in which she looks as fabulous as her 1970s heyday (left)

Strutting her stuff: Proving the attention was in the details, Felicity injected dazzling additions to the look, mostly through her jewellery

Glamorous: Felicity blended denim and tweed in a smart casual ensemble

Not content with one extremely chic look, Felicity was also seen in a tremendously trendy ensemble comprising of flared jeans and an elegant fitted jacket.

In a light chiffon shirt, she pulled over the white collarless number which comprised of ragged tweed alongside both a zip and popper fastenings.

While Felicity is undoubtedly in spectacular shape with extremely youthful skin, she recently admitted she had given up on Botox in a bid to match up her body.

Denim diva: Not content with one extremely chic look, Felicity was also seen in a tremendously trendy ensemble comprising of flared jeans and an elegant fitted jacket

She told Good Housekeeping magazine: 'There comes a point where you have to match bits of you with the other bits. Otherwise you get a terribly random situation.

'Weve really come a long way in almost every walk of life in the past 30 years, and society is more equal now.

'But weve still got this hang-up about what women look like. I do it myself.'

Elegant: Not content with one extremely chic look, Felicity was also seen in a tremendously trendy ensemble comprising of flared jeans and an elegant fitted jacket

Doing her thing: She told Good Housekeeping magazine: 'There comes a point where you have to match bits of you with the other bits. Otherwise you get a terribly random situation'

Stunning: Felicity is clearly in fantastic shape, as illustrated in her chic ensembles
He's an Oscar-winning actor who has seen his star rise and rise on both the screen and the stage, whilst she has played many a memorbale role herself.

So it was little surprise to see Hollywood heavyweight Jeremy Irons and his wife Sinead Cusack arriving on the Italian island of Sichia on Sunday for the 2016 Ischia Global Festival.

Looking delighted with their invitation to the vaunted European film festival, the 67-year-old High Rise star and the Marcello actress, 68, beamed as they stepped ashore.

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A low-key arrival: Hollywood heavyweight Jeremy Irons and his wife Sinead Cusack arriving on the Italian island of Sichia on Sunday for the 2016 Ischia Global Festival

The thespian couple cut a casual yet stylish pair as they arrived at the Hotel Regina Isabella by boat, cosying up to one another as they prepared to enjoy a week-long jaunt at the event.

Die Hard: With A Vengence star Jeremy rocked his usual quirky but cool look, with the father-of-two teaming a pair of fitted jeans, featuring sewn-up detailing, with a longline suede jacket and tee-shirt.

Rounding off his ensemble, the actor wore a pair of slate boots, while he accessorised simply with a pair of tortoiseshell shades and a few bracelets.

Happy to be here: Looking delighted with their invitation to the vaunted European film festival, the 67-year-old High Rise star and the Marcello actress, 68, beamed as they stepped ashore.

Sweeping his silver hair into a side-paring, the actor allowed his chiselled and famous features to take centre stage.

Sinead - who most recently starred in ITV's hit drama, Macella - cut a chic and stylish figure in a monochrome ensemble.

Straddling the line between smart-casual and holiday chic, the Irish star teamed a white blazer with a tee-shirt, black three quarter length jeans and a pair of white leather shoes.

Cosy couple: The thespian couple cut a casual yet stylish pair as they arrived at the Hotel Regina Isabella by boat, cosying up to one another as they prepared to enjoy a week-long jaunt at the event.

Much like her husband, the stage and screen veteran kept her look faff-free and only sported a pair of wide-framed sunglasses.

The mother-of-three wore her ash blonde locks swept back off of her face, and opted to let her natural and striking features shine through - thanks to a minimal palette of make-up.

The festival on Ischia is a sister event to the Capri Hollywood festival in Los Angeles, with the events having been set-up to foster closer ties between Hollywood and the European film industries.

Both Ischia and Capri are held to provide an informal and relaxed setting where industry movers and shakers on both sides of the Atlantic can network while staying in luxury resorts.
It is considered bad etiquette to upstage the bride.

Yet when a wedding is jam-packed with the world's biggest supermodels it is high risk - yet Ana Beatriz Barros was safe due to her own model status when she married in Greece on Friday.

The 34-year-old invited a host of models to watch her wed Karim El Chiaty, including Adriana Lima, who arrived looking demure, unlike one guest who suffered a spectacular wardrobe malfunction ahead of the ceremony.

Model behaviour: When a wedding is jam-packed with the world's biggest supermodels - including Adriana Lima - it is high risk, yet catwalk queen Ana Beatriz Barros was safe due to her own model status when she married in Greece on Friday

The stunning blonde fell victim to the elements as she was caught in the Mediterranean breeze - causing her billowing chiffon gown to fly up and expose her underwear.

With her sensationally long legs on full display, the once elegant gown was caught in the breeze, leaving the stunning star grappling to prevent over exposing herself.

While accidentally flashing her nude underwear, the leggy guest also opted to go braless - making for a wholly racy ensemble.

Oops! A number of leggy beauties were invited to the bash and sported elegantly sexy dresses. However, one reveller (above) showed more than she bargained for thanks to a gush of wind

Oh no! While accidentally flashing her nude underwear, the leggy guest also opted to go braless - making for a very racy ensemble

Unfortunate timing: The blonde beauty's billowing dress did not stand a chance in the windy weather

The happy couple: Ana Beatriz Barros looked overjoyed as she clutched onto her new husband Karim El Chiaty

Further upping the glam factor was Adriana, who looked phenomenally sexy in a slinky black gown boasting a host of textiles.

Flashing a hint of sideboob, the lace panels on the waist meant she was showing much more flesh than it would originally appear.

The cap sleeve on the dress were made of leather while punctuated with glimmering silver studs to give a tough edge to the chic ensemble.

Not content with flashing her stomach and chest, the dress also boasted an extremely high hemline which flashed the entirety of her long legs.

Smouldering: Adriana did not let the breeze stop her sizzling before she entered the bash

Billowing number: Further upping the glam factor was Adriana, who looked phenomenally sexy in a slinky black gown boasting a host of textiles

Out and a pout: Adriana looked simply sensational for her turn at the glitzy bash

Billowing: The wind appeared to befall many of the guests as even Adriana battled the elements

Legs eleven: Adriana was not shy of showing off her model legs

Another guest at the star-studded event was Paris Hilton who dazzled in a mint green embellished number, with frilled details at the base.

She injected a superstar touch into the look with the addition of an exquisite diamond necklace which perfectly enhanced the shimmering nature of the ensemble.

Paris boosted her height with teetering white heels with a pointed toe and a gold base.

Chic: Another guest at the star-studded event was Paris Hilton who dazzled in a mint green embellished number, with frilled details at the base

Fabulous from every angle: She injected a superstar touch into the look with the addition of an exquisite diamond necklace which perfectly enhanced the shimmering nature of the ensemble

Strutting her stuff: Paris treated the entrance to the wedding as though it was a runway

Strutting her stuff: Paris was at the forefront of a gang of suited and booted guests

A dream in green: Paris looked dazzling in the gown as she stutted her stuff ahead of the wedding

Jessica Hart went for an entirely different look to the other guests as she oozed boho glamour while sporting a heavily embroidered number.

The stunning white number boasted a high neck and long sleeves - covering up her whole physique and leaving much to the imagination in a sexy and stunning manner.

She was joined at the bash by her dashing boyfriend Stavros Niarchos, III, who was previously linked to Paris - leading to a potentially awkward run-in.

Chic: Jessica Hart went for an entirely different look to the other guests as she oozed boho glamour while sporting a heavily embroidered number

A helping hand: She was joined at the bash by her dashing boyfriend Stavros Niarchos, III, who was previously linked to Paris - leading to a potentially awkward run-in

That smile: Jessica looked stunning as she flashed a winning smile over her shoulder

Handsome: Stavros looked incredibly handsome in his tuxedo

After walking up the aisle in her fairytale gown, Ana later changed into an exquisite beaded number.

The Victoria's Secret angel looked sensational in the gold gown which boasted frills, beadwork and a high neck with longs sleeves.

She matched the look with a boxy gold clutch bag and coordinating gold strappy heels.

Stunning: After walking up the aisle in her fairytale gown, Ana later changed into an exquisite beaded number

A vision in gold: The Victoria's Secret angel looked sensational in the gold gown which boasted frills, beadwork and a high neck with longs sleeves

Glamorous: One stunning guest sported a flirty white ensemble with extremely racy cutouts
It's Australia's longest-running children's program.

And on Sunday, Play School celebrated its 50-year anniversary with a special retrospective documentary, Big Ted's Excellent Adventure: 50 Years of Play School.

Surprisingly, the behind-the-scenes special revealed some VERY racy moments from the iconic show's history, including the famous sexual innuendo from John Hamblin, and Benita Collings confessing that her 'bouncing' assets caused some older viewers to tune in for the wrong reasons.

Oh my! A behind-the-scenes special to mark the 50th anniversary of Play School revealed some raunchy secrets from the show's history, especially when it came to Benita Collings and John Hamblin

Free spirited Benita, who used to go braless, confessed that people would come into the studio while she was filming 'to see me bouncing up and down!'

'She was a one woman sexual revolution for the under ten demographic!' said TV personality Joe Hildebrand, who was one of the many famous faces enlisted to add commentary to the special.

Eventually, ABC producers asked busty Benita to start wearing a bra to stop her assets from becoming such a distraction.

Flashback: Benita Collings joined Play School in 1969, when the series was still broadcast in black and white

'She was a one woman sexual revolution for the under ten demographic!' said TV personality Joe Hildebrand

The beauty even said that the attention resulted in somebody writing a song about her chest.

'I got an ode to my boobs. It was an ode to Bonita's boobs!' she laughed.

Actress Justine Clarke had some more wholesome praise for the star, gushing: 'She was always the calmest, the sharpest. The most dazzling to look at, as a child, I think.'

'I got an ode to my boobs. It was an ode to Bonita's boobs!' The free-spirited starlet's breasts became such a distraction on the show that ABC producers asked her to start wearing a bra

'She was always the calmest, the sharpest. The most dazzling to look at, as a child, I think,' actress Justine Clarke said of Benita

While Benita's physical attributes unintentionally caused some controversy, it was John Hamblin's penchant for working sexual innuendo into his performance that really raised some eyebrows.

John was known for regularly dropping some racy double entendres during his time on the show, throwing out lines like 'That's a nice back entrance!' that thankfully went over most children's heads.

'The mums are the ones turning on the TV. You've got to play to them too,' said the now 81-year-old as he explained his reasoning behind his naughty on-air antics.

'The mums are the ones turning on the TV. You've got to play to them too:' John Hamblin was known for his raunchy innuendo on the show

'That's a nice back entrance!' John couldn't resist dropping racy double entendres

In one particularly cheeky scene, John wore a long tail on the front instead of the back, giving off the impression that the tail was something else.

Noni Hazlehurst, a former co-star of John's, wasn't initially impressed by the funnyman when they first started working together.

'John was a little bit unprofessional because he didn't always know the lines,' she revealed.

However, she later grew fond of the actor, and came to admire his ability to be natural and genuine in front of the camera.

'John was a little bit unprofessional because he didn't always know the lines,' former co-host Noni Hazlehurst revealed
She failed to find love with Sam Wood on The Bachelor, only to then be swept off her feet by up-and-coming actor Andrew Steel.

But now Heather Maltman has been left heartbroken yet again after splitting from the handsome hunk after nine happy months together.

The 29-year-old confirmed the sad news to the Daily Telegraph, but failed to divulge any specific details about the split.

Single, sexy, and free! Heather Maltman confirmed her split from Andrew Steel on Monday

The twosome first met last year at a festival after Heather was recovering from being dumped by fitness entrepreneur Sam Wood.

Speaking to Fitzy and Wippa on Nova 96.9 last October, the aspiring actress revealed: 'We met at a Melbourne web Festival a week or two after the show and ended up becoming really good friends.'

She continued: 'Because that's my thing, and I didn't want to date because Sam [Wood] polarised my heart.'

Goodbye: The couple first met at a festival last year and dated for nine months before their demise

Claim to fame! Heather first entered the spotlight as a standout contestant on season three of The Bachelor

Dumped: The 29-year-old was tragically dumped on national TV by fitness entrepreneur Sam Wood

The twosome soon started flaunting their romance at every opportunity, regularly splashing loved-up selfies on social media and walking the red carpet together at glitzy events around Sydney and Melbourne.

Heather's return to single life comes at a bad time now that Channel Ten has already cast ambitious newswoman Georgia Love to front season two of The Bachelorette.

Too late: If Heather had split with Andrew earlier, she may have been able to become the next Bachelorette. Instead, that role has been given to ambitious newswoman Georgia Love (pictured)

The quirky Maltman was a fan favourite during her stint on The Bachelor, and many hoped to see her follow in Sam Frost's footsteps as the next Bachelorette until she started dating Andrew.

The brunette beauty, who co-hosted this year's I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! NOW, is now working on launching a career as an actress or director.

In April, she flew to Hollywood to enter a web series she had filmed into festivals.
To the Kardashians there is no such thing as a low-key celebration.

Whether it be heaps of designer presents at Christmas, themed holiday dinners, or huge tiered cakes, they always make a point of coming together.

So Kim Kardashian couldn't hide her surprise when her sister Kourtney decided to mark the start of her 37th year with something as ordinary as a trip to the hotdog stand, as show in an upcoming epsidoe of Keeping Up With The Kardashians.

'I don't really get it!' Kim Kardashian shares her confusion as sister Kourtney spends her birthday eating hot dogs in a preview for Sunday's episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians

Not very glamorous: But going to a hotdog stand was exactly how Kourtney wanted to mark her 37th year

Proclaiming her surprise loudly, the most famous Kardashian told the camera: 'For some reason Miss Organic Gluten-free wants to go to this hotdog stand.

'I don't really get it, but Kourtney should spend her birthday the way she wants.'

The scenes, filmed during a family trip to Iceland back in April, show the group of Kardashians wrapped up warmly as they visit a hotdog stands.

Kim you believe it? The most famous Kardashian likes to celebrate her big days in rather more lavish fashion

A crowd of excited Icelanders gather to welcome them, singing Happy Birthday to Kourtney.

'You guys are so cute, thank you,' says the obviously pleased reality star.

Kourtney is currently on vacation in The Bahamas.

Welcome to Iceland! Fans gathered to serenade Kourtney with Happy Birthday

Chowing down: Jonathan Cheban joined Kourtney in munching on a hot dog

Previous previews of the show, revealed that her ex-partner Scott Disick wanted to fly to Iceland to surprise Kourtney on her birthday.

The former couple - who have three children, Mason, six, Penelope, four, and Reign, 18 months, together - split up last summer after nine years together, but the 33-year-old star still felt it was important to be with his ex-partner on her special day.

In the preview Scott told Kourtney's mother Kris Jenner: 'Kourtney and I have spent every birthday together, between mine and hers, for the past 10 years.

'And her birthday's coming up. Do I just say, like, screw it and just fly to Iceland and surprise her?

'Let's say if, in a year from now or 10 years from now, we work things out - I would've hated to have missed a birthday.'

Strike a pose! Kourtney is currently in The Bahamas

However, Kris was unconvinced by Scott's suggestion.

She said: 'The thing that I hear her say is that she just wants you to be a good person and a great dad and to do it first for yourself and then for your kids and then for her.'

And the 60-year-old matriarch went on to recommend Scott focused his efforts on his children.

She said: '[Concentrate on being] that fun dad and that responsible dad that she's always praying you will turn into.'

He glumly replied: 'Yeah, I don't know. It's hard sometimes when you've had all these memories and then they are stopping one by one.'

Former love: Scott Disick considered joining Kourtney on her vacation; the pair are seen at his birthday bash last year in Vegas

Scott recently joined the Kardashian family on a holiday to Cuba and he admitted he was on his best behaviour so he could impress his former love.

He said on the show: 'One of the biggest issues between Kourtney and I is me drinking. I get overly emotional when I drink and I just want her to see that I can keep it together.'

And his plan seemed to work as Kourtney was very impressed by Scott.

Speaking to Kim, she revealed: 'I'm really glad he came, he's been so good. He has been fine. I'm glad that he could be here.
Sylvester Stallone must have been counting his blessings when he continued his 70th birthday celebrations in St Tropez on Saturday.

While he showed off his buff muscles in a dark coloured T-shirt, it was his wife Jennifer Flavin, 47, who stole the show, looking incredible in a bikini.

Showing off rock hard abs as she showered on deck, she wore a dark purple bikini top with mismatching white bikini bottoms, while daughters Sophia, 19 and Sistine, 18 and Scarlet, 14 remained close by.

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How does she do it? Sylvester Stallone's wife Jennifer Flavin, 47, looked incredible in a bikini as she celebrated her husband's 70th birthday on a luxury vessel in St Tropez on Saturday

Cooling down: While he showed off his buff muscles in a dark coloured T-shirt, it was his wife Jennifer who stole the show, looking incredible in a bikini

Keeping her sunglasses on, she modelled a gold necklace as she topped up her tan while celebrating with her family.

Meanwhile, Sly appeared to be making the most of his time off work and flexed his biceps as he raised his arms in the air in delight.

He wore a pair of board shorts as he basked in the sunshine, while his beautiful daughters sunbathed in their bikinis.

Muscle man: Meanwhile, Sly appeared to be making the most of his time off work and flexed his biceps as he raised his arms in the air in delight

She's got the look: Keeping her sunglasses on, she modelled a gold necklace as she topped up her tan while celebrating with her family

Saving the memories: Jennifer could be seen taking a few snaps on her phone

Cute: As Sly's daughter and pals paddle-boarded by the yacht, their pet dog got stuck into the action as well

Gorgeous: Model Sophia gazed out into the distance wearing a pretty orange bikini

Gossip time: She caught up with her mother as they relaxed on a paddle-board

That evening, the superstar was pictured heading back to the family's yacht in the famous seaside town after a meal at L'Opera.

The Rocky icon sported a beaming smile from ear-to-ear as he walked arm-in-arm with his daughter, Sophia.

Having jetted out to Cote d'Azure on Thursday with his wife Jennifer Flavin and their brood, the actor looked to have settled into the celebratory nature of the break abroad.

Catching up: Daughters Sophia, 19 and Sistine, 18 sunbathed in bikinis close by

Lovely time: Sly had a big smile on his face for most of the day as he enjoyed his family life

Manly: Sylvester looked every inch the action hero as he got stuck into working on the boat

Pride and joy: Daughter Scarlet, 14, alsos spent some time catching up with her dad

Taking it all in his stride: Sylvester appeared rather amused as his daughter's struggled to stay on their giant inflatable

You do it like this: He looked just like a swimming instructor as he gave further directions

Strolling along the packed harbour, where many of the yacht-set moor their luxury vessels in the summer, the family laughed and chatted as they wandered back to their palatial vessel.

Ever the family man, Sylvester - who has three daughters with Jennifer - was lavishing some attention on the eldest of his girls, 19-year-old Sophia.

Chatting away to his daughter, the Expendables star appeared to be in the middle of a funny story, as his daughter gazed adoringly at him whilst laughing.

A regular family guy: While he may be officially Hollywood royalty, Sylvester looked to be enjoying the simple role of the family man on Saturday evening as he stepped out in St. Tropez

Doting dad: Heading back to the family's yacht in the famous seaside town after a meal at L'Opera, the Rocky icon sported a beaming smile from ear-to-ear as he walked arm-in-arm with his daughter, Sophia

And while the college student has been hard-at-work studying for a degree in the US, looked as though she'd be just as much at home on the catwalk as her model sister Sistine, 18.

Dressed in a simple satin slip dress, Sophie oozed an effortless glamour and grace in the gun metal mini dress.

Featuring a dipping neckline, the blonde beauty drew focus to her tanned decolletage, whilst the dress' short hemline allowed her to showcase her lithe and gym-honed legs.

Kicking off the celebrations: Having jetted out to Cote d'Azure on Thursday with his wife Jennifer Flavin and their brood, the actor looked to have settled into the celebratory nature of the break abroad

Apple of his eye: Ever the family man, Sylvester - who has three daughters with Jennifer - was lavishing some attention on the eldest of his girls, 19-year-old Sophia

College and catwalk? And while the college student has been hard-at-work studying for a degree in the US, looked as though she'd be just as much at home on the catwalk as her model sister Sistine, 18 (pictured right)

Simple but stylish: Dressed in a simple satin slip dress, Sophie oozed an effortless glamour and grace in the gun metal mini dress

Stunning: Featuring a dipping neckline, the blonde beauty drew focus to her tanned decolletage, whilst the dress' short hemline allowed her to showcase her lithe and gym-honed legs

She teamed the chic summer dress with a pair of nude, black-trimmed Louboutins, which served to further define her pins.

Keeping her look uncluttered, she accessorised with a small black leather handbag, and a smattering of jewellery.

Sylvester meanwhile rocked his usual laid-back but smart-casual look, teaming a patterned short-sleeved shirt with a black tee-shirt and white trousers.

Dad on-duty: Sylvester meanwhile rocked his usual laid-back but smart-casual look, teaming a patterned short-sleeved shirt with a black tee-shirt and white trousers

All aboard! The family headed back onto their yacht, although Sly seemed to have forgotten his deck shoes - favouring a pair of black brogues instead

That famous face: With his pepper locks styled and slicked back, the actor was instantly recognizable

Ready for big one? The family has been enjoying the sun and relaxed pace of life in the Med as part of a Sylvester's land-mark birthday celebrations

His youngest: Scarlet Rose, 14 - Sly and Jen's youngest - was a fashionable equal to her older sisters

With his pepper locks styled and slicked back, the actor was instantly recognizable.

The family has been enjoying the sun and relaxed pace of life in the Med as part of a Sylvester's land-mark birthday celebrations; having flown into Nice, the family first headed to Monaco on the yacht before setting sail for St. Tropez.

But despite hitting 70 the action-movie legend shows no sign of slowing down in his work, as the busy star has four projects lined up when he returns to Hollywood , including a role in Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2.
John Kerry chose fictional politics over real ones when he skipped out early on one of the 'most important political events of the year' so he could catch the last original cast performance of Broadway-smash Hamilton.

The NATO Summit, which took place Friday and Saturday in Warsaw, Poland, was attended by President Obama, Defense Secretary Ash Carter, UKs David Cameron, Germanys Angela Merkel, Italys Matteo Renzi, Frances Francois Hollande, and Ukraines Petro Poroshenko - and Secretary of State John Kerry, until he decided to ditch the summit for the likely much more fun Broadway show on Saturday night, reports the New York Post.

The summit is called 'one of the most important political events of the year' by the US Embassy.

Representing: US Secretary of State John Kerry - flanked by security - suited up and brought a bit of political realness to the Founding Fathers musical

Kerry just wanted to catch the hot Broadway musical before its original cast moved onto other things, just like so many others did, but Kerry is catching some flack

Kerry waves before heading into the final performance after party for Lin-Manuel Miranda at the R Lounge at Renaissance Hotel Times Square - he's catching some flack for choosing to be entertained rather than stay at the NATO Summit

Kerry and news anchor Charlie Rose caught up at the after party - it's unclear if Rose grilled him on why he was there instead of at the summit in Poland

At least one person wasn't happy with Kerry's choice.

'Priorities  John Kerry left the NATO summit early so he could hang out w/Jane Fonda, JLO, & Charlie Rose,' snarked Mike Doran, a former senior director in the National Security Council and Middle East politics expert, on Twitter, naming other notables in the audience that night.

Kerry reportedly skipped out early on the NATO Summit in Poland so he could attend the last original cast performance of Hamilton - maybe he got permission from fellow summit attendee and his boss, Obama

Show associate choreographer Stephanie Klemons was so excited she tweeted out when Kerry made a trip to the loo: 'Literally, Jennifer Lopez just used the bathroom after me backstage, John Kerry was after her. Things that only happen at Hamilton,' she wrote.

Kerry would have been one of the select few to see Hamilton creator and star Lin-Manuel Miranda with his signature long locks, which he chopped following his final performance in the Broadway rap musical.

'Teach 'em how to say goodbye...' the 36-year-old Pulitzer Prize winner - who boasts 1M followers - captioned the snap on Instagram.

The native New Yorker had just scored a lingering standing ovation during his last curtain call onstage the Richard Rodgers Theatre.

At least one lucky audience member got to hang with Kerry before the shows started

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Makeover! Hamilton creator and star Lin-Manuel Miranda chopped his signature long locks immediately following his final performance in the Broadway smash Saturday night

The 36-year-old Pulitzer Prize winner - who boasts 1M followers - captioned the snap: 'Teach 'em how to say goodbye...'

Hamilton star and creator Lin-Manuel Miranda decided to lighten his load by cutting his hair after his last performance

Curiously, Lin-Manuel decided not to deliver any farewell speech, despite the audience's cries for it.

However, the orchestra played the theme song from NBC's presidential series The West Wing, which concluded in 2006.

Saturday also marked the final performance for Tony winner Leslie Odom Jr. as (VP Aaron Burr), and Tony nominee Phillipa Soo (as Eliza Hamilton).

According to EW - seats for the packed show resold for an eye-popping $20K each, and the entire run through January of next year is completely sold out.

Bravo! The native New Yorker had just scored a lingering standing ovation during his last curtain call onstage the Richard Rodgers Theatre

Silent exit: Curiously, Lin-Manuel decided not to deliver any farewell speech, depsite the audience's cries for it

Random? However, the orchestra played the theme song from NBC's presidential series The West Wing, which concluded in 2006

The rap-musical smash hit won 11 Tony Awards last month, and the touring production begins this autumn ahead of stagings in Chicago and London next year.

Before Miranda's surprise haircut, he wistfully waved to fans outside on the roof of the venue beneath an umbrella.

Following the incredible, groundbreaking success of his colonial creation, the Wesleyan grad is now only an Oscar away from exalted EGOT status.

Beginning Monday, the man of the hour will be replaced by his former In the Heights understudy Javier Munoz, who underwent radiation treatment for cancer earlier this year.

Farewell! Saturday also marked the final performance for Tony winner Leslie Odom Jr. as (VP Aaron Burr), and Tony nominee Phillipa Soo (as Eliza Hamilton)

Thanks to all for the love and support the past 2 yrs. I will cherish #Hamilton and everyone the RR Theatre.  Til next time, folks!  Phillipa Soo (@Phillipasoo) 9 July 2016

Pricey performance! According to EW - seats for the packed show resold for an eye-popping $20K each, and the entire run through January of next year is completely sold out

'Love you. good night': The rap-musical smash hit won 11 Tony Awards last month, and the touring production begins this autumn ahead of stagings in Chicago and London next year

Earlier on Saturday, Lin-Manuel gushed about Alicia Keys' contribution to the Hamilton mixtape - dropping this fall - with Sia, Chance the Rapper, Usher, Ben Folds, and Busta Rhymes.

The married father-of-one is currently 'working on his accent' as street lamplighter Jack in Mary Poppins Returns, and he crafted music for Disney's Moana hitting US theaters November 23.

Catching the cultural phenomenon was pop diva Jennifer Lopez, her boyfriend Casper Smart, and her eight-year-old twins Emme and Max (with ex-husband #3 Marc Anthony).

Rainy night: Before Miranda's surprise haircut, he wistfully waved to fans outside on the roof of the venue beneath an umbrella

Successful: Following the incredible, groundbreaking success of his colonial creation, the Wesleyan grad is now only an Oscar away from exalted EGOT status

'#Javilton': Beginning Monday, the man of the hour will be replaced by his former In the Heights understudy Javier Munoz, who underwent radiation treatment for cancer earlier this year

'I cannot wait!' Earlier on Saturday, Lin-Manuel gushed about Alicia Keys' contribution to the Hamilton mixtape - dropping this fall - with Sia, Chance the Rapper, Usher, Ben Folds, and Busta Rhymes

Post-Hamilton: The married father-of-one is currently 'working on his accent' as street lamplighter Jack in Mary Poppins Returns, and he crafted music for Disney's Moana hitting US theaters November 23

Stylist duo Rob Zangardi & Mariel Haenn dressed the two-time Grammy nominee - who turns 47 this month - in a cleavage-boosting sheer LBD and stilettos.

On Friday, JLo and Miranda filmed the music video for their duet Love Make the World Go Round on the Richard Rodgers rooftop.

The Puerto-Rican pair will reunite again Monday for a live performance of their track benefiting Orlando victims on NBC's Today.

Family outing: Catching the cultural phenomenon was pop diva Jennifer Lopez, Casper Smart, and her eight-year-old twins Emme and Max (with ex-husband #3 Marc Anthony)

Vamp: Stylist duo Rob Zangardi & Mariel Haenn dressed Jennifer Lopez the two-time Grammy nominee - who turns 47 this month - in a cleavage-boosting sheer LBD and stilettos

24 hours earlier: On Friday, JLo and Miranda filmed the music video for their duet Love Make the World Go Round on the Richard Rodgers rooftop

'I...feel not dressed for the occasion': The Puerto-Rican pair will reunite again Monday for a live performance of their track benefiting Orlando victims on NBC's Today

Other celebrities taking in Lin-Manuel's last show was Tony winner Rosie O'Donnell looking a bit sunburned from her July Fourth Florida holiday.

The 54-year-old mother-of-five - who romanced Oscar winner Tatum O'Neal last summer - brought a mystery blonde as her hot date.

Two-time Oscar winner Jane Fonda easily defied her 78 years on the arm of her handsome son Troy Garity (with ex-husband #2 Tom Hayden).

Pink cheeks: Other celebrities taking in Lin-Manuel's last show was Tony winner Rosie O'Donnell looking a bit sunburned from her July Fourth Florida holiday

New girlfriend? The 54-year-old mother-of-five - who romanced Oscar winner Tatum O'Neal last summer - brought a mystery blonde as her hot date

Cute Chanel purse! Two-time Oscar winner Jane Fonda easily defied her 78 years on the arm of her handsome son Troy Garity (with ex-husband #2 Tom Hayden)

The second wife of current Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump - Marla Maples - posed with pink-suited Sendroff & Baruch attorney Mark Sendroff.

Honorary Oscar winner Spike Lee rocked one of his 'Git Woke' T-shirts alongside his wife of 23 years, attorney Tonya Lewis Lee.

Golden Globe winner Mariska Hargitay donned a sheer beige kaftan alongside her husband of 12 years, Peter Hermann.

Dancing with the Stars alum: The second wife of current Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump - Marla Maples - posed with pink-suited Sendroff & Baruch attorney Mark Sendroff

Well matched: Honorary Oscar winner Spike Lee rocked one of his 'Git Woke' T-shirts alongside his wife of 23 years, attorney Tonya Lewis Lee
LHASA, July 10 -- Foreign researchers and journalists attending the Forum on the Development of Tibet have been awestruck by what they have seen in the regional capital Lhasa.

The Tibetan miracle is the result of massive effort by the Chinese government to foster productive enterprises, said Mewati Sitaram Bholaram, a senior correspondent with India's Mumbai Messenger.

Infrastructure in Tibet has reached a level which allows the area to become an integral part of the Chinese and global economies. Tibet has steered itself into the fast lane of development together with the rest of China, he said.

More than 130 researchers, officials and journalists from over 30 countries and regions attended the two-day forum on Thursday and Friday.

Hosted by the State Council Information Office and the Tibetan regional government, the forum focused on entrepreneurship and industrial modernization in Tibet, preserving tradition, environmental protection, regional infrastructure and poverty relief.

Russian editor Maksim Belov of the Beijing-based China Pictorial magazine described the development of Tibet as almost beyond imagining. Amazing achievements have been made in the education and health systems despite the harsh climate and rough terrain. Tibetans, including rural Tibetans, enjoy satisfactory living conditions, he added.

Stefano Vernole, a researcher with Italy's Eurasia-Mediterranean Study Center, said that Tibet is completely different from how it was in 1950s. The Tibetan people have freedom, equality, dignity and enjoy the fruits of modern civilization. Development and progress in the region reflect the common aspirations of all ethnic groups in Tibet, he added.

Farhana Paruk, a researcher at the University of South Africa, said economic and social development has turned Tibet into a developed region from a rural community, creating a better standard of living for the average Tibetans.

In 2015, the per capita disposable income of urban residents in the region was 25,457 yuan (3,807 U.S. dollars), compared with 565 yuan in 1978, and that of farmers and herdsmen last year was 8,244 yuan, representing an average annual increase of 12 percent, according to government statistics.

Some foreign experts also made suggestions on the future development of Tibet.

Christine Davis, vice president of the U.S. Asia Society, said Tibet could play an important part in the Belt and Road Initiative since it connects other provinces in China with South Asia, Central Asia and other regions.

Thanong Khanthong of the Thailand National TV Station, said the government should put more emphasis on sustainable tourism. "This will not only increase the incomes of Tibetans but will promote regional economic growth," he said.

His view was echoed by Maksim Belov who took Russia as an example. An increasing number of Russians want to visit Tibet but there are no direct flights linking Moscow and Lhasa.

"Currently, tourists from Russia have to fly to Beijing and change planes to reach Lhasa," Belov said. "I hope a direct flight from Moscow to Lhasa will open soon."
Made In Chelsea stars Jess Woodley, Georgia Toffolo and a pal looked stunning as they topped up their tans while in the south of France on Saturday.

Jess, 21, flaunted her incredible toned figure in a black bikini, worn with matching gold rimmed sunglasses as they took a break from filming their latest mini-series.

While 21-year-old Georgia showed off her long legs in a pastel pink two piece as her long blonde tresses fell over her shoulders.

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Looking good: Made In Chelsea stars Jess Woodley and Georgia Toffolo looked stunning as they topped up their tans while filming their miniseries in the south of France on Saturday

They were by a pal on the pier who was wedged between the girls in a patterned blue bikini.

The trio happily struck a pose flaunting their pert posteriors to the camera as they gazed out over the crystal blue sea.

Despite filming for the latest series of their hit show in Cannes, the reality stars clearly decided to take some time off to let their hair down.

Georgia uploaded a sultry shot to Instagram on Friday of her high above the Cannes coast, captioned: 'Blending in. Apre-rose.'

Cheeky: The trio happily struck a pose flaunting their pert posteriors to the camera as they gazed out over the crystal blue sea

It was liked by more than 11,000 times by some of her 369,000 followers, many of whom were keen to know where her embroidered white dress was from.

While a week ago Jessica shared a cute snap of her on Plage Keller in a bikini top and light denim shorts.

Fans were quick to view the photo and it attracted 19,600 likes by the reality star's devoted followers.

Sultry: Georgia uploaded a shot to Instagram on Friday of her high above the Cannes coast, captioned: 'Blending in. Apre-rose.'

Toff recently told MailOnline about the new series of the show while at the brand's party at Cannes Lions.

She said: 'We're not giving anything away about what's coming up but it's going to be good.

'I hope we'll all get on but it's just not going to happen, is it? I would love us all to get through the series without any arguments. That's what I really want but it never really happens.'

But one thing that's not sitting too pretty with the pair are the kissing scenes which have become something of a trademark feature on the show.

'They can be quite awkward,' Francis, 27, said. 'Sometimes you just have to lie back and think of England.

'A lot of romance and drama is always promised though - that's pretty standard.'
Today show colleagues Peter Stefanovic and Sylvia Jeffreys are engaged.

The handsome journalist and author, who is the brother of Today show host Karl Stefanovic, got down on one knee and proposed to the 30-year-old blonde beauty two weeks ago, during the couple's romantic trip to Europe.

Peter posted the happy news on Instagram on Monday morning, along with a snap of the pair standing in vineyard in France and Sylvia showing off her stunning diamond engagement ring.

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Engaged! Today show colleagues Peter Stafanovic and Sylvia Jeffreys are engaged

Asked my missus to be my wife and she said yes, he gushed in the caption.

Meanwhile, Sylvia wrote: 'How's this for a framer?! A couple of weeks ago Pete popped the question, and I said yes, OF COURSE!!!

We've had the most wonderful time celebrating with great mates. We couldn't be happier (check the grins) and so excited to share the news with everyone.

'We couldn't be happier': Theyposted the happy news on Instagram, along with snaps of the pair standing in what appeared to be the grounds of a castle and Sylvia showing off her stunning diamond engagement ring

Meanwhile, the couple's Today show colleagues couldnt contain their excitement at the news, with Karl joking during the show on Monday morning: 'He, according to Sylvia, got to one knee a couple of weeks ago  she said yes, after she fainted.'

'A big hearty congratulations and all our love from here at the show,' he added.

Moments later, Sylvia appeared on the show via a phone-in where she opened up about the momentous occasion.

After a day in a town called Saint-Emilion, we ended up in some vineyards, having drunk so much wine, she explained. He tricked me into taking some photographs and then I turned around and there he was, on one knee.

He popped the question with a big gold grin on his face and there you go. So we are getting hitched. Happy days!

Lovebirds: Peter and Sylvia began dating at the end of 2013 after co-hosting the weekend edition of the Today Show, when they stepped in in for the regular hosts over the summer

He completely caught me off guard, she added. So it was a beautiful surprise and we have had a beautiful couple of weeks over here celebrating with our great mates who are with us. We can't wait to get home and celebrate with you guys too.

Meanwhile Karl joked that Sylvia 'could have done a whole lot better' after she announced her engagement to his brother Peter.

The Today host mused over whether the journalist was having second thoughts.

'Is she sure? She could have done a whole lot better. Is she sure?' Karl joked.

Happy news: Moments later, Sylvia appeared on the show via a phone-in where she opened up about the momentous occasion

Joking around: Karl joked that Sylvia 'could have done a whole lot better' after she announced her engagement to his brother Peter

He also lamented that he was not aware his brother was about to get down on one knee.

Sylvia said: 'Can You believe he did it all by himself. I don't think Karl, you didn't know, did you? You hadn't even seen it. If he hasn't shown Karl, then he hasn't shown anyone, surely.'

To which Karl replied: 'I didn't even know. It's like why wouldn't you tell me? It's like why wouldn't you tell me? I wouldn't tell anyone.'

And after Sylvia pointed out that Peter wouldn't come to the phone because he was watching football, Karl joked: 'Welcome to the Stefanovic clan.'

Presenter Richard Wilkins also chimed in and asked whether having Karl as a brother-in-law made her think twice.

Overcome: Meanwhile co-host Lisa fought back tears as she paid an emotional tribute to her newly-engaged colleague on live TV

'Well, I have had a bit of time to come to terms with that, haven't I,' Sylvia replied.

Meanwhile co-host Lisa fought back tears as she paid an emotional tribute to her newly-engaged colleague on live TV.

The 56-year-old called Sylvia an 'extraordinary woman' shortly after she announced the proposal.

Lisa was overcome with feelings of joy and declared the couple were 'meant to be together' as Sylvia spoke to the Today panel.

Getting candid: Last month, Sylvia opened up about their relationship for the first time in a new interview with Show and Tell

When Lisa heard her younger protege's good news, she was almost reduced to tears - and also gave some useful marriage advice.

'I'll tell you why everyone's so excited Sylvia,' Lisa began. 'You are an extraordinary woman and Pete is an absolutely beautiful man.

'And from the very first moment that people started hearing that you two were an item, everyone just said, "Of course".

'You guys are absolutely meant to be together and we're just... we couldn't be happier. I've got tears in my eyes, I'm so excited for you.'

Long distance love: Sylvia and Peter spent the beginning of their union in a long distance relationship with Peter heading overseas as a foreign correspondent for the Nine Network

Romantic gesture! The Today Show host also revealed that during Peter's time overseas, he sent her handwritten letters. Pictured with Peter's brother and Today Show host Karl Stefanovic

Sylvia then suggested she might need a few tips on married life from Lisa, who is the wife of journalist Peter FitzSimons.

She specifically asked what to do when her partner is busy watching football and Lisa replied: 'That's when you and I go out for the night!

'We just leave them to the football, Sylvia,' she added. 'I've got another footy widow, mate.'

Peter and Sylvia began dating at the end of 2013 after co-hosting the weekend edition of the Today show, when they stepped in in for the regular hosts over the summer.

They spent the beginning of their union in a long distance relationship with Peter heading overseas as a foreign correspondent for the Nine Network.

Soon to be in-laws: Sylvia and Karl, who are close work colleagues, will also be in-laws very soon

Last month, Sylvia opened up about their relationship for the first time in a new interview with Show and Tell.

Speaking with friend Monti Diamond, the journalist admitted the private couple usually 'get a bit weird talking about our relationship' but Peter had given his blessing to open up.

'My sister and my mum both sat me down after that stint on-air with Pete and said "Is there something going on? Cos we can kind of pick up on something",' Sylvia said when asked about the immediate chemistry between the pair.

'There hadn't been anything [romantic], at that point.'

Today show family: The Today show family just got a little closer with the news of Peter and Sylvia's engagement

The Today show host also revealed that during Peter's time overseas, he sent her handwritten letters.

'[The first letter] was just nice things, about having a nice time working together, wishing me well and whatnot,' she said about the romantic gesture.
Hollande calls for military action against Syrian Qaeda affiliate

French President Francois Hollande called Saturday for international action against an Al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria, warning that the recent losses sustained by the Islamic State group could embolden other jihadist groups.

"Daesh (the Arabic acronym for Islamic State) is in retreat, that is beyond dispute," Hollande said after a meeting with the leaders of the United States, Germany, Britain, Italy and Ukraine on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Warsaw.

But, Hollande added, "we must also avoid a situation whereby as Daesh becomes weaker, other groups become stronger."

French President Francois Hollande singled out Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Nusra Front as particularly standing to benefit from the US-led military campaign against its arch-rival the Islamic State group Stephane de Sakutin (AFP)

Hollande singled out Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Nusra Front as particularly standing to benefit from the US-led military campaign against its arch-rival the Islamic State group.

Faced with a barrage of airstrikes and ground offensives by local forces, IS has lost territory in both Syria and Iraq in recent months.

"We must coordinate among ourselves to continue actions against Daesh but also... take effective action against Al-Nusra," Hollande said, directing his appeal at Russia and the US.

On Wednesday, US President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin agreed in a telephone call to "intensify" military coordination between their two countries in Syria.

Russia had in May proposed joint air strikes with the US against jihadist targets in Syria -- a suggestion that was rebuffed by Washington.

The White House reported that the two leaders, in their call this week, "confirmed their commitment to defeating ISIL (IS) and the Al-Nusra Front".
Arrests in US protests as racial tensions heat up

Police arrested scores of people in demonstrations overnight Saturday to Sunday in several US cities, as racial tensions simmer over the killing of black men by police.

Protesters led by the Black Lives Matter movement are demanding justice for two African-American men shot dead by cops, their dying moments captured in video that went viral online.

The demos also come after 25-year-old black army veteran Micah Johnson used a high-power rifle to kill five police officers and wound seven in a sniper attack at a protest in Dallas, Texas late Thursday.

FBI agents examine the crime scene of the Dallas sniper shooting on July 9, 2016 Laura Buckman (AFP/File)

Johnson told negotiators before police killed him that he wanted to murder white cops in revenge for the black deaths.

Dallas was still on edge Saturday. Following an anonymous threat, SWAT teams swarmed the police headquarters while officers investigated reports of a suspicious person -- finally giving the all-clear around two hours later.

The nationwide wave of protests was triggered by the shooting deaths of Alton Sterling in the southern state of Louisiana, and Philando Castile in the midwestern state of Minnesota.

Protesters held large and peaceful marches in several major US cities, including New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

However protests were unruly in Baton Rouge, where Sterling was killed, and St. Paul, where Castile died.

- Livestreaming an arrest -

Hundred protesters in St. Paul blocked a highway intersection for several hours late Saturday and hurled firecrackers, rocks and bottles at police.

The officers, equipped with clubs and gas masks, used smoke grenades and pepper spray to break up the crowd.

St. Paul police said on Facebook that protesters also threw a molotov cocktail, and someone "dropped a large chunk of concrete onto an officer's head from a bridge."

Five police officers were injured. "Thankfully the injuries were not serious," police said.

St. Paul police promised to provide details soon on the number of arrests. A jailer at the local detention center estimated that between 60 to 80 people had been detained.

Separately in Baton Rouge, local media reported that several dozen people were arrested in at least two demos, including one where members of the New Black Panther activist group confronted police.

The sheriff's department would not confirm arrest figures when contacted by AFP.

One of those arrested reportedly included DeRay McKesson, a prominent activist in the peaceful Black Lives Matter movement.

"Police have been provocateurs all night," McKesson says as he walks on the side of a road, livestreaming the demonstration on Periscope. "We aren't blocking the street or anything."

"No justice, no peace, no racist police!" activists chant, as police cruisers follow the group.

Then suddenly the video is interrupted. "City Police. You're under arrest - don't fight me," a voice says.

Pictures on social media show McKesson with his hands behind his back being taken away by police.

A Louisiana state police officer told a reporter with The Advocate, a Baton Rouge publication, that McKesson was arrested because he had been blocking the road - even though in his video McKesson said there was no sidewalk.

"We wouldn't arrest people who are quietly protesting off the roadway," the officer told The Advocate in a video posted online.

An activist who was a witnesses told The Washington Post that McKesson was "clearly targeted."

Police across the country were on edge as it emerged that officers had been targeted in at least two incidents -- in Tennessee and Wisconsin -- by individuals apparently angered at the recent fatal shootings of black men by police.

Hundreds also marched peacefully Saturday in Los Angeles, including in South Central, the epicenter of violent 1992 riots following the acquittal of white police officers in the videotaped beating of black motorist Rodney King.

There were nasty scenes late Friday in Phoenix, Arizona, where police used pepper spray to disperse stone-throwing protesters. And in Rochester, New York, 74 people were arrested over a sit-in protest.

- 'Demented' gunman -

President Barack Obama tried Saturday to reassure a shocked country, insisting that the United States can overcome its racial divisions, and rejecting comparisons with the civil unrest of the 1960s.

Obama, scheduled to visit Dallas next week, described the gunman as a "demented individual" who in no way represented the African-American community.

"I firmly believe that America is not as divided as some have suggested," he said during a NATO summit in Warsaw. "There is sorrow, there is anger, there is confusion... but there is unity."

US politicians have sought to come across as unifiers after the week of violence.

"White Americans need to do a better job of listening when African Americans talk about the barriers they face," Democratic White House hopeful Hillary Clinton tweeted.

That message was echoed by prominent members of the Republican Party, which has often jumped to defend law enforcement amid accusations of racial bias.

"It is more dangerous to be black in America," said Newt Gingrich, a Republican former House speaker tipped as a possible White House running mate for Donald Trump.

"Sometimes it's difficult for whites to appreciate how real that is. It's an everyday danger."

Dallas Police Chief David Brown prays during a vigil on July 8, 2016, following the sniper shootings that killed five officers a day earlier Laura Buckman (AFP/File)

Activists protest the death of Philando Castile in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota Stephen Maturen (Getty/AFP)
UN sea law lays down the rules for the planet's oceans

Centuries before international laws, pirates ruled the high seas, plundering and pillaging wherever they went.

Into this dangerous, unruly seascape steamed the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which will be the basis for a historic court judgement on Tuesday in a dispute between China and the Philippines over the South China Sea.

Here are the answers to four questions about the obscure convention known by its acronym UNCLOS:

The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea will be the basis for a historic court judgement in a dispute between China and the Philippines over the South China Sea Greg Baker (AFP/File)

- What does it do? -

With at least 320 articles and nine annexes, the convention covers all aspects of regulating the planet's vast oceans and maritime waters.

It is the authority on everything from national sovereignty over the exploitation of natural resources, navigation and disputes between nations.

According to the UN website, the convention "lays down a comprehensive regime of law and order in the world's oceans and seas, establishing rules governing all uses of the oceans and their resources."

- What are its origins? -

For many centuries the only law of the seas was brute force. In the 17th century, a country's rights over the seas were limited to "a narrow belt" extending from its coastline.

"The remainder of the seas was proclaimed to be free to all and belonging to none," the UN says on its website.

But by the second half of the 20th century, new technologies, modern oil and gas extraction methods, and a booming population gave rise to growing tensions around lucrative fishing grounds and competing demands for the rights to precious resources.

In 1945, the United States unilaterally extended jurisdiction over all resources over its continental shelf, which led to similar moves by Argentina, Ethiopia, and Saudi Arabia as well as the scattered archipelagos of Indonesia and the Philippines.

By late 1967 the dangers were numerous -- from nuclear submarines plumbing the sea depths to ballistic missiles and increasingly frequent oil spills.

In the face of this "looming conflict that could devastate the oceans," Malta's ambassador to the UN, Arvid Pard, called for "an effective international regime" over the seabed.

- When was UNCLOS born? -

The first conference on the Law of the Sea was held in New York in 1973. For nine years, delegates argued and bartered as they drew up the text.

The UN General Assembly finally adopted the convention in April 1982. Signed by 150 countries and ratified by 67, it entered into force in November 1994.

- What conflicts? -

The convention also established the Hamburg-based International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), which along with the PCA and the International Court of Justice can rule on matters brought under UNCLOS.

Among other cases, in 1999, ITLOS laid down annual quotas for bluefin tuna catches in a bitter dispute between Australia, Japan and New Zealand.
China, India eye Asian Century as Brexit rattles old order

Britain's vote to leave the European Union and simmering discontent in other Western countries is seen as hastening the arrival of an "Asian Century", analysts say, led by the rise of China and India.

By 2050, Asia will account for over half the world's GDP, almost double that of 2011, according to the Asian Development Bank, with three billion newly affluent citizens.

The EU and other powerful collectives such as the United Nations, NATO, IMF and World Bank hark back to the post-World War II era, with a vision of cooperation leading to peace, prosperity and security.

By 2050, Asia will account for over half the world's GDP, with three billion newly affluent citizens Alex Ogle (AFP/File)

But the churning currents of globalisation and institutions' reluctance to reform have left Asian nations feeling that they are not well-represented and looking to form new alliances.

"The old system which kept the West rich and safe is under threat," said Neelam Deo, a former ambassador and director at Gateway House think-tank in Mumbai.

"The British voting to leave the EU in the way they did will impact the old institutions which were set up after World War II and intended to entrench Western power," she said.

Brexit has summoned the spectre of a domino-like departure of other members of the EU, pounded by the migrant and euro crises, as well as a fragmenting United Kingdom, should Scotland vote for independence.

A resurgent Russia, which is angered by EU- and US-imposed sanctions and has friendly ties with China and India, has hailed the Brexit vote as it looks for cracks to exploit.

- 'Decline of Europe' -

As the "American Century" got underway after WWII, following imperial Britain before it, China was writhing in the chaos of civil war and colonial India was just gaining independence.

Now China is the world's second-largest economy, set to overtake the US in around a decade, while India will be the world's most populous nation by 2022.

The IMF named the Chinese renminbi a reserve currency -- a main world currency -- last November, joining the pound, dollar, euro and yen.

Rising economic stars Indonesia and the Philippines are growing at around five percent a year, while Europe remains sluggish.

Yet emerging markets argue that IMF voting reforms still don't give them a big enough voice, while India laments its lack of a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.

Three centuries ago, before the industrial revolution, Asia was the dominant power, far away from the twin Atlantic centres.

With a name that harks back to those days, Beijing's flagship "One Belt, One Road" policy seeks to revive the ancient Silk Road trade route with huge investment from central Asia to Europe.

In January China opened the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, seen as rivalling the World Bank or the Japan-led Asian Development Bank, seeking to expand its financial clout.

Describing itself as "a bank conceived for the 21st century", AIIB has attracted 57 members including Britain and Australia -- with the notable exclusions of the United States and Japan.

- 'Romantic vision' -

Asia's growing clout rests on various assumptions, including that nations continue on the same economic trajectory and aren't derailed by unforeseen financial crises.

Other threats include rising inequality, the middle-income trap -- where an economy gets stuck at a certain stage of development -- and competition for natural resources.

Tensions between rivals China and India were highlighted in June when Beijing blocked New Delhi's entry to the Nuclear Suppliers Group, a trade group of 48 nations.

"India and China have a fair amount of discontent. Until this is resolved, the Asian Century is going to be very elusive," C. Uday Bhaskar, a leading Indian security analyst told AFP.

And the West will vigorously defend itself after Brexit, with US President Obama insisting at a NATO summit Friday that the earthquake will not harm transatlantic unity.

World Bank chief Jim Yong Kim used a visit to New Delhi in the aftermath to warn against nations "looking inward".

But the US is feeling similar pulls, with presidential candidate Donald Trump playing to a desire to retrench from globalisation and immigration by pledging to bring back manufacturing and build a wall with Mexico.

Some see a drift back towards sovereign nation states hostile to outside forces -- seen in the mantra of "take back control from Brussels" that won the Brexit vote.

"We had this romantic vision to be one world -- it is clearly over, nation member states have come back with a vengeance," said Samir Saran, a senior fellow at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi.

"It is something we are witnessing around the world."

Brexit has summoned the spectre of a domino-like departure of other members of the EU, pounded by a fragmenting UK, should Scotland vote for independence Niklas Halle'n (AFP/File)

By 2050, Asia will account for over half the world's GDP, with three billion newly affluent citizens Chandan Khanna (AFP/File)

The IMF named the Chinese renminbi a reserve currency -- a main world currency -- last November, joining the pound, dollar, euro and yen Johannes Eisele (AFP/File)
US reporter killed in Syria targeted by regime, lawsuit claims

The Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad targeted and killed US reporter Marie Colvin in February 2012 to stop her from covering government atrocities, according to a lawsuit filed in US court on Saturday.

The Syrian military intercepted Colvin's communications and unleashed a barrage of rocket fire on her in the besieged city of Homs, according to documents filed in US district court in Washington.

Colvin, a longtime war correspondent for the British newspaper The Sunday Times, was killed with French photographer Remi Ochlik. British photographer Paul Conroy, French reporter Edith Bouvier, and Syrian media defender Wael al-Omar were wounded in the same attack.

US journalist Marie Colvin was killed by Syrian rocket fire in February 2012 while reporting in the city of Homs

The lawsuit is based on information from captured government documents and defectors. It names several Syrian officials, including Assad's brother Maher.

- 'Targeted' rocket attack -

The suit alleges that Syrian officials, acting "with premeditation... deliberately killed Marie Colvin by launching a targeted rocket attack" against the makeshift broadcast studio in the Baba Amar neighborhood of Homs, where Colvin and other reporters were based.

The night before the attack Colvin made audio broadcasts via satellite dish from Homs to CNN, BBC News, and Britain's Channel 4 News.

"There are rockets, shells, tank shells, antiaircraft being fired in parallel lines into the city," she told CNN, according to the documents. "The Syrian Army is simply shelling a city of cold, starving civilians."

After a female informant confirmed Colvin's presence at the site, Syrian artillery units "deliberately launched salvos of rockets and mortars directly at the improvised media center.

"Using a targeting method called 'bracketing,' multiple rockets were launched to either side of the Media Center, drawing closer with each round," the suit states.

Survivors who fled into the street "were immediately detected by an aerial surveillance aircraft circling overhead. Syrian artillery units quickly adjusted their target away from the Media Center and towards these survivors," the document says.

The journalists "were non-combatant civilians... No armed rebels were present at or near the Media Center at the time of the attack."

- Conspiracy to silence the media -

Senior Assad regime officials conspired "to surveil, target, and ultimately kill civilian journalists in order to silence local and international media as part of its effort to crush political opposition," the suit says.

In late 2011 and early 2012, the regime launched a massive military operation in Homs, Syrias third largest city, laying siege to defectors and civilians in opposition-held neighborhoods including Baba Amr.

The suit was filed on behalf of Colvin's sister Cathleen Colvin and other surviving family members by the non-profit human rights group Center for Justice and Accountability.

Colvin, who was 56, covered many of the world's bloodiest conflicts from the 1980s onwards. She wore a black eye-patch after losing an eye in a grenade blast reporting on Sri Lanka's civil war in 2001.

Homs is "a city of the cold and hungry, echoing to exploding shells and bursts of gunfire," Colvin wrote in her final piece for The Sunday Times, the paper where she had worked for 25 years.

"On the lips of everyone was the question: 'Why have we been abandoned by the world?'"

A candle burns in front of a memorial plaque to US-born Sunday Times journalist Marie Colvin and French photographer Remi Ochlik, at St Brides Church on Fleet Street in February 2012 Justin Tallis (AFP/File)
Minnesota cop who shot black man reacted to gun, not race: lawyer

The Minnesota police officer whose fatal shooting of a black driver this week helped prompt nationwide protests against racial prejudice reacted to the mans gun, not his race, his lawyer said.

Jeronimo Yanez, a police officer in St. Anthony, a Minneapolis suburb, "was reacting to the presence of a gun" when he shot Philando Castile, Minneapolis attorney Thomas Kelly told The New York Times.

Castile, 32, was shot Wednesday after he was pulled over in Falcon Heights, near Minneapolis, for a broken tail light.

Activists protest the death of Philando Castile, who was shot by police, in Minneapolis, Minnesota Stephen Maturen (Getty/AFP)

Amplifying the horror was the video live-streamed in the shooting's aftermath by the slain man's girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, as she sat in the passenger seat. Her four-year-old daughter was sitting in the back seat.

Castile was shot after informing the officer that he had a gun and a permit to carry, and then reaching for his wallet, according to Reynolds.

He was the second black man in two days fatally shot by US police. They are the latest in a string of similar cases that have fueled outrage across the United States, from city streets to the White House.

Although Kelly provided the fullest account so far of Yanezs version of the shooting on Wednesday, many details remain unclear.

Yanez, who is Latino, is on leave while the state authorities are investigating the shooting.

"The shooting had nothing to do with race and everything to do with the presence of that gun," Kelly told the Times.

Castile "was not following the directions of the police officer," he added, declining to provide more details, the paper said.

There was "more than the reason for the equipment violation" to stop Castile's car, Kelly said, without specifying other reasons, the Times said.

Governor Mark Dayton, who met with protesters and black leaders, has expressed sympathy for the Castile family and concerns about the role of race in the shooting, infuriating some in law enforcement.

"Would this have happened if those passengers  the driver and the passengers  were white?" he said Thursday. "I dont think it wouldve."

The fatal shooting of Castile and another black man, Alton Sterling, in Louisiana the previous day, prompted protests against police brutality toward African Americans under the banner of the Black Lives Matter movement.

During a protest in Dallas on Thursday, a lone gunman bent on revenge opened fire on police, killing five officers and wounding seven others, deepening divisions in a shocked country. The authorities identified the Dallas shooter, who was black, as an Army veteran who was later killed by police.

Fresh protests were planned on Saturday.
Prominent Cambodian critic gunned down in daylight hit

A prominent Cambodian political analyst known for his trenchant criticism of the government was shot dead Sunday morning at a convenience store, police said.

The daylight slaying of Kem Ley comes at a time of heightened tensions between strongman premier Hun Sen and the country's political opposition, who accuse the prime minister of launching a fresh crackdown against them.

Police said Kem Ley, a popular commentator and grassroots campaigner, was gunned down as he drank coffee at a convenience store attached to a gas station in the capital Phnom Penh.

Kem Ley's body can be seen laying in a large pool of blood below a metal table inside the convenience store Tang Chhin Sothy (AFP)

"He was shot dead at a mart just before 9am," Kirt Chantharith, national police spokesman, told AFP.

A suspect was arrested nearby and confessed to killing the analyst over an unpaid debt, Kirt Chantharith said.

"But we don't believe him yet. We are working on this case," he added.

Cambodia has a long a tragic history of rights and labour advocates being murdered with their killers rarely brought to justice.

An AFP photographer at the scene said Kem Ley's body lay in a large pool of blood below a metal table inside the convenience store.

His heavily pregnant wife rushed to the scene and could be seen sobbing outside the store.

Hundreds of onlookers gathered as police cordoned off the area, some crying, others visibly angry as they refused to let police remove the body.

After a standoff lasting many hours, Kem Ley was eventually taken in his own car to a nearby Buddhist temple flanked by hundreds of supporters for the start of funeral rites.

Local media also showed pictures of the alleged suspect being taken into custody. He appeared to be injured with blood running down the left-hand side of his face.

- Simmering tensions -

The killing will do little to lower already simmering tensions inside the impoverished Southeast Asian nation, which has been dominated by Hun Sen for the past 31 years in a reign marred by accusations of corruption, electoral fraud and rampant rights abuses.

Scores of government critics and rights workers have been arrested in recent months while others have been tied up in ongoing legal cases.

Phay Siphan, a government spokesman, described the assassination as "a vulgar and cruel act that is unacceptable".

"His killing will further deepen the complexity of the political situation," he told AFP, adding that all sides of Cambodia's political divide needed to remain calm.

The opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party described the murder as a "heinous" act and called on the authorities to bring those involved to justice.

Hun Sen also described the killing as "heinous" and called on police to better enforce gun laws.

Kem Ley was critical of both the government and opposition parties, advocating for a new era of clean politics in a notoriously corrupt nation which is expected to hold a general election in 2018.

But the bulk of his criticism was aimed at Hun Sen's ruling party.

The prime minister, a former army commander who defected from the Khmer Rouge, has held power alongside a small but powerful coterie of political allies that have become enormously wealthy.

A report published by Global Witness last week detailed how Hun Sen's family alone had amassed a multi-million-dollar business empire spanning the impoverished country's most lucrative sectors during his rule.

Last week Kem Ley gave a lengthy radio interview welcoming the report, saying it would enable both local voters and foreign investors to have a better idea of how Cambodia's political elite have become so rich.

Women cry outside a convenience store where prominent political analyst Kem Ley was shot dead in Phnom Penh Tang Chhin Sothy (AFP)
Australia's PM faces tough road ahead after re-election

Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull Sunday declared victory for the ruling conservatives after the Labor opposition conceded defeat, but faced a tough time ahead after the narrow mandate in the closely fought election.

The declaration ended eight days of uncertainty about the new government's identity. A tight race between the two major parties left neither of them with the 76 or more seats required for a parliamentary majority following polls on July 2, with vote counting still ongoing.

"We've won the election, that's what we've done," Turnbull told reporters in Sydney, adding that he received a call from Labor leader Bill Shorten congratulating him on his re-election as prime minister.

Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull told reporters "We've won the election, that's what we've done" Peter Parks (AFP)

But he immediately faced questions about whether he would be able to govern successfully, with Labor increasing its lower house seats and a higher number of minor party and independent senators to contend with in the upper house.

Turnbull's ruling Liberal/National coalition is currently expected to secure 74 seats, and potentially two more, in the 150-seat House of Representatives, according to national broadcaster ABC's projections.

But the Australian leader has won the support of three independent MPs on budget matters and on votes of no confidence, paving the way for him to form a minority government if necessary.

Labor has won 66, and with five independents elected, the opposition does not have sufficient seats to govern in Canberra, according to the projections.

- 'Vital that parliament works' -

The need for Turnbull to court the support of those outside his party saw him stress that he valued every parliamentarian's contribution, even though he had warned Australians not to vote for minor parties and independents during the election campaign.

"It is vital that this parliament works," Turnbull said, adding that Australia faced numerous challenges including a rocky transition away from a dependence on mining-driven growth.

"Every member of the House and the Senate deserves respect because they have been elected by the Australian people."

Shorten pledged earlier Sunday in his concession speech that his centre-left party wanted to work well with the government, amid concerns the close result and higher number of lawmakers not from the two major parties could cause gridlock.

Even so, Turnbull faces an uphill task to get the Senate to pass two bills about restoring a construction union watchdog. He had used the Senate's blocking of the bills to trigger a double-dissolution election, but could now face an even more hostile upper house.

There are also question marks over whether his multi-billion dollar plan to cut corporate tax announced in the May budget would get support from the smaller parties and independents, who were elected on more populist agendas.

- Drawn-out count -

The two seats the coalition hopes to pick up are among five in the balance, with the electoral commission still completing the painstaking task of counting postal votes and others cast outside people's normal electorates.

Both Turnbull and Shorten said they supported an inquiry into electronic voting, amid the protracted counting process.

"I have been an advocate of electronic voting for a long time... yes, this is something we must look at," Turnbull said.

Shorten added earlier: "I will be writing to Mr Turnbull and saying, 'really, we're a grown-up democracy, it shouldn't be taking eight days to find out who's won and who's lost'."

Turnbull lost the government's comfortable majority in the House of Representatives in last Saturday's election after his campaign on "jobs and growth" and "innovation" failed to resonate equally across the vast island continent.

Australia's politics has been turbulent in recent years, with a "revolving door" of prime ministers in charge. Four different leaders have served since 2013 as parties removed sitting prime ministers.

Turnbull became the nation's fourth prime minister since 2013 when he rolled Liberal leader Tony Abbott in a party vote last September.

Australia's prime ministers

Australia's Labor opposition leader Bill Shorten pledged in his concession speech that his centre-left party wanted to work well with the government Paul Crock (AFP/File)
Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

For many years, the People's Republic of China has been a strong supporter of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Recently, however, China's experience has been that the Convention and, in particular, its provisions on compulsory dispute settlement, may be exploited by other states for political reasons.

Knowing full well that disputes over territorial sovereignty and maritime delimitation do not fall under the UNCLOS dispute settlement mechanisms, the Republic of the Philippines, in an act of legal warfare ("lawfare"), nevertheless instituted arbitration proceedings against China before a UNCLOS Annex VII arbitral tribunal with regard to the disputes between the two countries in the South China Sea.

During the negotiations on the Convention in the 1970s, China raised concerns about the dispute settlement provisions, which it considered "inappropriate," and argued that the provisions should not be included in the Convention itself.

China's suggestion was that the provisions should form a separate protocol so that countries could decide for themselves whether or not to accept compulsory dispute settlement.

By way of compromise, it was agreed that certain disputes would not be included in UNCLOS's compulsory dispute settlement mechanisms and that others could be removed by express declaration of states parties.

The latter included disputes relating to sea boundary delimitation, historic titles, sovereignty or other rights over continental or insular land territory, military activities and law enforcement activities. China duly made use of this opportunity on August 25 2006 when it excluded all of these disputes from the compulsory dispute settlement mechanisms under UNCLOS.

According to Article 288(4) of UNCLOS, it is not, however, the contracting party but rather the arbitral tribunal that determines whether a dispute exists and defines its content.

This holds considerable risks and uncertainties for the parties, especially in case of tribunals that engage in judicial activism, as was demonstrated by the Tribunal's Award on Jurisdiction and Admissibility of October 29 2015 in the South China Sea Arbitration.

While the Tribunal accepted that a dispute in international law requires that there be "positive opposition" between the parties, it did not, and could not, establish such opposition and, instead, established a dispute "by inference."

What is, in fact, a dispute on territorial sovereignty and maritime delimitation was redefined by the Tribunal as a dispute concerning the status of maritime features and the source of maritime entitlements, questions on which, as the Tribunal rightly noted, China had never expressed a detailed position. If the Arbitral Tribunal in its Award on the Merits, which is expected later in 2016, decides this "dispute" in a way that infringes China's territorial sovereignty over the Nansha Islands, China might consider denouncing the Convention.

According to Article 317 of UNCLOS, a state party may denounce the Convention by written notification to the Secretary-General of the UN and may indicate its reasons. Such a denunciation would take effect one year after the date of receipt of the notification.

While China would not be discharged by reason of the denunciation from obligations that accrued while it was a party to the Convention, it would be protected against similar future claims brought by Vietnam, Indonesia or Malaysia with regard to the South China Sea, or by Japan with regard to the East China Sea.

Would there be any serious disadvantages for China if it denounced UNCLOS? The short answer is: no. China would continue to enjoy most of the advantages of UNCLOS because today the majority of its provisions are considered to be part of customary international law. The only exceptions are the provisions on the Area, i.e. deep seabed mining (Part XI), the development and transfer of marine technology (Part XIV) and the provisions on the compulsory settlement of disputes (Part XV).

The US, for example, has not been a contracting state of the Convention for the last 33 years and has not suffered any serious problems. On the contrary, it enjoys most of the advantages under the Convention such as freedom of navigation and overflight, the rights of the Exclusive Economic Zone and the continental shelf without carrying any of the burdens.

China would no longer have a judge on the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and would no longer be represented on the Commission on the Limits on the Continental Shelf. It could also no longer be a member of the International Seabed Authority.

China could probably lay claim to an outer continental shelf and its resources under customary international law but its energy companies would be excluded from the exploration and exploitation of the Area, unless registered and sponsored by another contracting party.

Whether China ultimately wants to continue to be a party to UNCLOS should be the result of a legal and political cost-benefit analysis. The Convention itself opens the way for China to leave the Convention and it would have good reasons to do so if its territorial sovereignty was undermined by a decision of an arbitral tribunal established under the Convention.

The author is director of the Institute of Public International Law at the University of Bonn and a Supernumerary Fellow of St Anne's College, Oxford. [email protected]
Church and China Communists vie over French missionary

To the Catholic Church, French missionary Auguste Chapdelaine is a saint, martyred for his faith 160 years ago in China. To Communist Party officials, he is a devilish rapist, bandit and spy.

The finishing touches are being put to a new museum in Dingan, the village where he died, celebrating the "patriotism" of his execution and condemning the "spiritual opium" of religion.

Inside, Catholic vestments and chalices are displayed near a life-sized diorama of a white-robed Chapdelaine kneeling before the Qing dynasty magistrate who had him tortured and killed.

Villagers stand outside the Catholic church in Changjing, in China's southern Guangxi region Greg Baker (AFP)

Outside, a six metre bronze mural shows the missionary confined in a cage designed to suffocate captives to death over several days.

The facility is part of a local tourism drive, but also fits into the ruling party's nationalist narrative and comes as increasingly assertive authorities in Beijing decry the influence of "Western values".

Chapdelaine, born on a farm in Normandy, was ordained in his early twenties and sent in the early 1850s to the southern Chinese region of Guangxi, where he was known as Father Ma.

In 1856 he was arrested with several Chinese believers in Dingan by the newly appointed magistrate, Zhang Mingfeng.

Foreigners were banned from entering the area and official suspicion of Christians was fuelled by the bloody Taiping rebellion, begun in Guangxi by a man claiming to be Jesus' brother and costing millions of lives.

Independent historians say Chapdelaine was accused of fomenting insurrection, refused to pay a bribe, and died aged 42 following three days of torture. He was posthumously decapitated and his head hung from a tree.

Chapdelaine's death was among the stated justifications for France's participation in the Second Opium War, which saw French and British troops loot Beijing's Old Summer Palace and burn it to the ground, one of the national humiliations the Communist Party emphasises to support its legitimacy.

In 2000 the Vatican canonised Chapdelaine and two of his executed followers as martyrs.

In response, Chinese state media attacked the priest as a French spy and rapist of local women -- charges which scholars say have no historical grounding, but which have been given new life by the local government's publicity push.

"He was evil," said a middle-aged man working at the project site who refused to give his name. "He was the reason you invaded us."

- Spy games 

As well as the museum in Dingan, a dusty mountain village, local authorities mounted a poetry contest last year offering 1,000 yuan ($150) prizes for couplets to "boost patriotic spirit" and praise magistrate Zhang as an "iron-willed hero".

County officials have contracted a film company to produce a two-hour documentary on Chapdelaine for 3 million yuan ($460,000).

"Father Ma was not a simple missionary," the firm's CEO Liang Shuikang told AFP. "His so-called 'baptism' was taking other people's wives and sleeping with them first.

"We are going to restore the true story of history," he said, adding the documentary's goal was to have people remember China's sufferings and "make the motherland into a great power".

Some scholars worry that history is being abused.

There is no doubt Chapdelaine's death was exploited for imperialist gain, but Anthony Clark, China historian at Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington, said the ruling party's version of history was "largely contrived".

The ideas that Chapdelaine was "a lascivious womaniser" and spy in priest's robes were "unsupportable in any historical records", he added.

"China's official state rhetoric has grown progressively nationalistic in recent years."

Other scholars note that official records suggest Chapdelaine had been confused with a bandit, Ma Zinong, who shared the same Chinese surname.

Chinese historians are also concerned. Yuan Weishi, historian and retired professor at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, said Chapdelaine's killing violated Qing dynasty laws and was "a shame to China".

"Nationalist sentiment" had risen alongside China's economic growth and some academics felt obliged to follow official propaganda, he added. "They promote under the name of patriotism what they think are heroic deeds by China," he said, but doing so was "wrong and ignorant".

- Beleaguered believers -

In the cliffside village of Changjing, where Chapdelaine lived and preached a few kilometres from Dingan, the residents are still mostly Catholic and say they are puzzled by the publicity drive.

"They believe he's an evil man, but we don't see him that way," said a young farmer named Yang. "How could he be a spy?"

In Dingan itself, a priest named Father Wei leads a small, aging congregation of roughly 100 Catholics. Performing mass for 10 believers in a church on the second floor of a building a short walk from the new museum, he offered a prayer for Chapdelaine, asking for strength to keep the faith.

Local authorities were relentlessly hostile to the church, he said. "It's because it's an atheist country, he said. "They're tricking ordinary people."

Non-Catholics refuse to enter the church because of the stigma around Chapdelaine, he added.

"How could Father Ma be that bad? People think that just because of the propaganda, but it makes life difficult for us."

A life-sized diorama of Auguste Chapdelaine kneeling before the Qing dynasty magistrate who had him tortured and killed Greg Baker (AFP)

Parishioners attend Mass at the Catholic church in Dingan, China's southern Guangxi region Greg Baker (AFP)

A priest starts Mass at the Catholic church in Dingan, China's southern Guangxi region Greg Baker (AFP)
Australia's PM Turnbull 'Mr Harbourside Mansion'

Multi-millionaire former banker and lawyer Malcolm Turnbull has clung to power in Australia, but the tech-savvy grandfather dubbed "Mr Harbourside Mansion" won only a begrudging victory with voters.

Turnbull called the election early, hoping to shore up his power after ousting fellow conservative Tony Abbott in a Liberal Party vote in September but the move appears to have backfired.

His declaration of victory on Sunday -- which came a protracted eight days after the July 2 polls -- gave the 61-year-old only a narrow victory, with uncertainty over whether he will form a minority or majority government.

Malcom Turnbull was seen as having socially progressive views on issues such as climate change and gay marriage before he took over from the hard-line Tony Abbott Peter Parks (AFP)

The election reduced Turnbull's Liberal/National government's seats in parliament, and the ongoing vote count by the electoral commission has so far given the coalition 74 seats, two short of a parliamentary majority.

With a campaign slogan out of an American sitcom, Turnbull suffered criticism that he was out-of-touch with ordinary Australians as he pitched to retain the nation's leadership on his economic credentials.

His removal of a sitting prime minister alienated some voters, and Abbott's former staffer Peta Credlin dubbed him "Mr Harbourside Mansion" when he failed to do a street walk in one of Sydney's less affluent western suburbs.

-'Suave and sophisticated'-

Even a sentimental video highlighting his modest upbringing with a single parent dad, who did his best after Turnbull's mother left, failed to pierce this perception.

"Turnbull lacks the common touch," noted distinguished commentator Paul Kelly in The Weekend Australian after the election. "Too many people see him as an elitist."

Rich, suave and sophisticated, Turnbull has long been a public figure, and was seen as having socially progressive views on issues such as climate change and gay marriage before he took over from the hard-line Abbott.

As he enjoyed an early honeymoon in polls, he was seen as the conservative who could win over swinging left-leaning voters while at the same time implement the economic agenda needed to spur growth.

But he presided over uncertainty on tax policy, which was compounded by the perception that even as prime minister he was constrained by the more conservative elements of his party, a charge he has disputed.

The nation's 29th prime minister shot to prominence in the 1980s in the "Spycatcher" trial in which he successfully defended former MI5 agent Peter Wright against the British government. A former journalist, he moved into banking and business before politics.

He had long been seen as prime ministerial material, and after months of meticulous planning was able to oust Abbott 54-44 in last year's dramatic Liberal Party room vote.

The silver-haired grandfather immediately pledged to provide economic leadership, while being a more consultative leader, restoring traditional cabinet government and ending policy-on-the-run.

But Turnbull has struggled to convince voters that his leadership was different to Abbott's, at one point explaining his government as providing both "continuity" and "change".

The line is uncannily like the "Continuity with Change" slogan used by the fictional politician Selina Meyer in the political satire "Veep", prompting the show's star Julia Louis-Dreyfus to say she was "dumbstruck" by the coincidence.

Although he has lived in Sydney's wealthy eastern suburbs his whole life, Turnbull's upbringing was difficult -- an only child reared by his hotel room broker father after his mother, a writer and academic, left.

He was educated at Sydney Grammar with the help of a scholarship and went on to be a Rhodes scholar at Oxford, before working as a journalist and then turning to the law.

From law he entered the corporate world, becoming a merchant banker with Goldman Sachs and then investing in technology start-ups, before spearheading a failed push for Australia to turn itself into a republic.

He entered parliament in 2004 -- and was a minister under both former leader John Howard and Abbott -- but he has endured a bumpy ride, being dumped as opposition leader for Abbott in 2009 after bitter debate on climate change.

Married to Lucy Hughes since 1980, with whom he has two adult children, the Turnbulls are a high-profile couple. Lucy was the first female Lord Mayor of Sydney.

Profile of Malcolm Turnbull, current prime minister of Australia
Syria army foils rebel bid to reopen Aleppo supply line

Syrian regime forces have repelled a fierce assault by opposition fighters seeking to reopen their only supply route into Aleppo city, killing at least 29 rebels, a monitor said Sunday.

The offensive sought to push regime forces back from the Castello Road that leads into the opposition-held eastern half of Aleppo city, which is now effectively besieged by government troops.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 29 fighters from the Islamist Faylaq al-Sham rebel group and Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front were killed in fighting or by mines laid by government troops.

Smoke billows in rebel-held Salihin neighbourhood of Aleppo following a reported air strike on July 9, 2016 Fadi Al-Halabi (AFP/File)

The Britain-based monitor said there were also deaths among government troops, but had no immediate toll.

"The attack has ended and the road remains completely closed," Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said.

The Castello Road was effectively severed by government forces on Thursday when they seized a hilltop within range of the key supply line.

By Saturday, regime soldiers were within 500 metres (yards) of the road and firing on any vehicle trying to use it.

The Observatory said at least one car was targeted on the road early on Sunday, adding that it was unclear if it carried civilians or fighters.

The regime also shelled the road later in the day, it said.

On Friday, a man and his two sons were killed by regime forces on the road, the monitor said.

- Fears of long siege -

An AFP correspondent in eastern Aleppo said opposition factions were preventing civilians from using the route.

Ongoing government artillery fire and barrel bomb attacks were reported in the east of the city early on Sunday.

About 200,000 people remain in the eastern part of Aleppo, which has been divided between government and rebel control since shortly after fighting in the city erupted in mid-2012.

President Bashar al-Assad's forces have been trying to cut the Castello Road for more than two years in an attempt to pressure rebel forces in the city.

Their advance on Thursday has left residents of the east cut off, with supplies of basic items including food and fuel starting to run low and fears of a lengthy government siege.

Syria's government has been accused of using sieges to pressure rebel forces, and the UN says nearly 600,000 Syrians live in besieged areas, most surrounded by government forces although rebels also use the tactic.

In the wake of the government advance, rebel forces on Friday retaliated with waves of rocket fire into the regime-held west of Aleppo, killing 45 people, according to Syria's state news agency SANA.

Residents there praised the regime advance but worried about rebel fire into their neighbourhoods.

"We're not leaving home, but even staying at home has become dangerous," 25-year-old Abdel Wahhab Qabbani told AFP.

In the west of the same province, air strikes by unidentified warplanes late on Sunday killed at least nine civilians including six children, the Observatory said.

- Regime 'targeted reporter' -

The latest violence came despite the army's announcement Saturday of a 72-hour extension to a nationwide ceasefire that began Wednesday but has produced little respite.

As well as the fighting in Aleppo, the Observatory said at least four civilians were killed in regime air strikes overnight on the rebel-held town of Douma, east of Damascus.

In the central province of Homs, regime air strikes killed eight civilians, including three children from the same family and a further three from another, the Observatory said.

More than 280,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict began in March 2011 with anti-government protests that sparked a deadly crackdown.

Among the dead have been dozens of journalists, including US reporter Marie Colvin, whose family has filed a lawsuit alleging she was deliberately targeted by Syria's government.

The lawsuit filed in a US court on Saturday claims the Syrian military intercepted Colvin's communications and killed her in Homs city in February 2012 to stop her from covering government atrocities.

The conflict has also seen large parts of the country fall under the control of the Islamic State group, which in 2014 declared a self-styled "caliphate" in territory under its control in Syria and Iraq.

A new analysis by the IHS research group said Sunday that IS had lost 12 percent of its territory in the two countries so far this year, after losing 14 percent in 2015.

The report said the territorial losses, as well as sinking revenues, would be likely to encourage IS to pursue "mass casualty attacks" in Iraq, Syria and further afield, including in Europe.

The Castello Road was the only remaining supply route into the opposition-held east of Aleppo city, which has been divided between government and rebel control since mid-2012

Burnt-out vehicles in the streets of regime-held Furqan neighbourhood in Aleppo on July 9, 2016, a day after shelling George Ourfalian (AFP/File)
Egypt foreign minister meets Israel PM in rare visit

Egypt's foreign minister met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday on reviving peace efforts with the Palestinians, the first such visit in nearly a decade and the latest sign of warming ties.

The trip came amid talk of renewing an Arab peace initiative and with Israel's military having recently saluted "unprecedented" intelligence cooperation with Egypt to combat the Islamic State group.

Speaking to journalists alongside Netanyahu before their meeting, Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said it was a "crucial and challenging juncture for the Middle East".

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) gives a joint statement with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry prior to their meeting at his Jerusalem office on July 10, 2016 Gali Tibbon (AFP)

Resolving the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict would have a "far-reaching and dramatic and positive impact on the overall conditions of the Middle East region", he said.

"Egypt remains ready to contribute toward achieving this goal."

Shoukry also warned of the "constant deterioration" of the situation on the ground since the last round of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks collapsed in April 2014.

He said the current lack of process towards peace was "neither stable nor sustainable", and stressed the need for "serious steps to build confidence" toward the two-state vision.

Netanyahu welcomed Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's "recent offer of Egyptian leadership and efforts to advance peace with the Palestinians and a broader peace in our region".

He also called on Palestinians to engage in direct negotiations, as he has repeatedly done in the past.

- 'Real opportunity' for peace -

An Israeli official said that during the meeting, Netanyahu asked for Egypt's help in returning the bodies of two Israeli soldiers held by Hamas in Gaza, as well as two Israeli civilians detained by the Islamist movement in the Palestinian enclave.

Shoukry responded in the affirmative, the official said.

Netanyahu and his wife Sara later hosted the Egyptian foreign minister for dinner at their Jerusalem residence.

Palestinian leaders say years of talks with Israel have not ended the occupation, and have instead pursued international diplomacy to promote their cause.

On June 29, Shoukry met Palestinian leaders during a visit to the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Sisi said in May there was a "real opportunity" for an Israeli-Palestinian deal that could lead to warmer ties between his country and Israel.

In 1979, Egypt was the first Arab state to sign a peace treaty with Israel after years of conflict, and it remains an influential player in the region.

However, ties have been formally cold over Israel's policies toward the Palestinians, and relations further soured after the June 2012 election of the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi as Egyptian president.

After president Hosni Mubarak's ouster in the 2011 revolution, protesters stormed Israel's embassy in September that year amid clashes with police.

Morsi was ousted in July 2013 by then army chief Sisi, who was elected Egypt's president in 2014.

In June, representatives from 28 Arab and Western countries, the Arab League, European Union and the United Nations met in Paris to discuss ways to help advance peace efforts.

Israel strongly opposes that initiative, which is being promoted by France.

Netanyahu has at the same time spoken of reviving a long-dormant Arab peace initiative dating to 2002.

That proposal essentially calls for Israel to withdraw from the occupied territories and resolve the issue of refugees with the Palestinians, leading to the creation of a Palestinian state, in exchange for normalised relations with Arab countries.

- 'Existential threat' -

But some analysts have questioned whether Netanyahu's comments were an attempt to fend off international critics over his appointment of hardline Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman and his opposition to the French plan.

Netanyahu has said he would seek changes to the Arab proposal. The Arab League has said the terms cannot be changed.

There have been repeated warnings that Israeli settlement building and Palestinian attacks are eroding the possibility of a two-state solution, especially with peace efforts at a standstill since April 2014.

Violence since October has killed at least 214 Palestinians, 34 Israelis, two Americans, an Eritrean and a Sudanese.

Most of the Palestinians killed were carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks, according to Israeli authorities.

Others were shot dead during protests and clashes, while some were killed by Israeli air strikes in the Gaza Strip.

Egypt and Israel have cooperated in other areas, particularly after jihadists in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula pledged allegiance in November 2014 to the Islamic State group.

In April, Israel's deputy chief of staff spoke of an "unprecedented level of cooperation" with Egypt, mainly regarding intelligence.

Shoukry said the situation in the Middle East was "becoming ever more volatile and dangerous, particularly as the phenomenon of terrorism continues to grow and proliferate, representing an existential threat to the peoples of the region and the world at large".

Egyptian soldiers (top) keep watch on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing in the southern Gaza Strip Aid Khatib (AFP/File)

Egyptian demonstrators clash with police outside the Israeli embassy in Cairo after protesters raided the building in 2011 Mohamed Hossam (AFP/File)
Toll hits 18 as police, protesters clash in Indian Kashmir

Protesters and government forces in Indian Kashmir clashed for a second day Sunday as anger over the death of an influential rebel leader boiled over, with 18 people killed in some of the worst civilian unrest to hit the region since 2010.

Another 200 people have been wounded in the violence, many of them protesters who were hit when government forces fired tear gas canisters and live ammunition on Saturday.

Among the 18 dead was a police man who drowned when angry protesters pushed an armoured vehicle into a river in the southern district of Sangam on Sunday, a police officer told AFP on condition of anonymity.

An Indian paramilitary troop stands guard during a curfew in Srinagar on July 10, 2016 Tauseef Mustafa (AFP)

Thousands of residents of the disputed region are defying a government-imposed curfew to take to the streets in protest at the killing on Friday of rebel leader Burhan Wani.

The state government, which has also cut off internet and mobile phone networks to try to stop the protests spreading, called for calm on Sunday.

"They (protesters) should not take their protests to a level where a man holding a gun is forced to open fire," said spokesman Nayeem Akhtar.

There were also reports of security forces attacking hospitals and ambulances treating the wounded.

"Attacking hospitals and ambulances is a crime under the international humanitarian law and Indian armed forces have been repeatedly accused of this crime in Kashmir," said the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society, a rights group, in a statement.

Wani, a 22-year-old commander of Kashmir's largest rebel group Hizbul Mujahideen (HM), was killed along with two other rebels during a brief gun battle with government forces.

Police say protesters have set police stations on fire and thrown rocks at army camps in the south of the restive region.

- Uptick in violence -

It is the worst civilian violence to hit the restive region since 2010, when mass protests broke out against Indian rule.

Wani joined the HM rebel group at the age of just 15, and was viewed as a hero by many in Kashmir. The state's former chief minister Omar Abdullah tweeted after his death that he had become the "new icon of Kashmir's disaffected".

Witnesses said tens of thousands attended his funeral on Saturday despite the curfew, chanting independence slogans and firing pistol shots in his honour.

HM is one of several groups that for decades have been fighting around half a million Indian troops deployed in the region, calling for independence for Kashmir or a merger with Pakistan.

Kashmir has been divided between rivals India and Pakistan since 1947, but both claim the territory in its entirety.

Tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians, have died in the fighting since 1989.

Violence has sharply declined in recent years following a major crackdown by the hundreds of thousands of forces deployed in the region.

But a recent uptick in militant attacks has galvanised frustrated young Kashmiris, many of whom deeply resent the military's presence.

In recent months there have been several instances of protesters converging on the scene of gun battles, throwing stones and hurling abuse at security forces to provide a distraction and enable trapped rebels to escape.

Kashmiri protestors clash with Indian police in Srinagar on July 10, 2016, as the death toll climbed to 18 after two days of unrest Tauseef Mustafa (AFP)

Kashmiri uthorities imposed a harsher curfew on the restive territory in a bid to prevent new demonstrations but protests continued into a second day on July 10, 2016 Tauseef Mustafa (AFP)
Obama meets Spanish King on symbolic but curtailed trip

Barack Obama met Spain's King Felipe in Madrid on Sunday, during a symbolic but abbreviated first presidential trip to Spain in the wake of America's latest spasm of violence.

Obama is squeezing in a visit to a key NATO and EU partner before dashing home to deal with the aftermath of a wrenching shooting in Dallas.

Greeting King Felipe at the Royal Palace in Madrid, Obama acknowledged that "we've had a difficult week in the United States."

Spain's King Felipe greets US President Barack Obama at the Palacio Real de Madrid on July 10, 2016 Mandel Ngan (AFP)

He has cut a two-day visit to the Iberian peninsula down to one and cancelled a trip to Seville with the king altogether, after a black army veteran killed five white police officers in Dallas.

Obama, who prides himself on his measured approach, is usually loath to alter carefully laid travel plans.

But the shooting -- just blocks from the site where John F. Kennedy was assassinated -- has pushed a country crackling with political tension to the edge.

Speaking in Warsaw just before Air Force One departed for Spain, Obama insisted the country's divisions were overplayed.

This was not, he insisted, the crisis-ridden era of the 1960s, when US cities burned, the Vietnam War raged and the Kennedy brothers and Martin Luther King were slain.

But his decision to shorten the trip is a tacit acknowledgement that the United States faces a combustible mix of deteriorating race relations, hyper-charged election politics and seemingly never-ending gun violence.

In recent months, videos of deadly mass shootings, or of white police officers killing black civilians, have become routine.

Yet the refusal of America's first black president to scratch the trip to Spain entirely also reflects a determination to fulfil geopolitical goals.

"I want to thank you dearly for visiting us, and very specially for maintaining this visit given the present particular circumstances," said King Felipe, acknowledging the importance of the visit.

Obama will later visit a US and Spanish Naval Station at Rota, in southern Spain, addressing US personnel who have been stationed at the mouth of the Mediterranean since a deal with Spain's former dictator Francisco Franco.

Since the time of the Greeks, Romans, Moors, Phoenicians and Visigoths, the Bay of Cadiz has been seen as a prime piece of geopolitical real estate.

During the Cold War nuclear weapons were positioned there. Today, Rota has taken on renewed importance with the deployment of four US Aegis destroyers.

They form an integral part of a guided European missile defense system much despised by Russia.

The transfer of the system to NATO control was a key part of an alliance summit in Warsaw which stressed deterring Moscow from destabilizing eastern Europe.

- A country divided -

Obama's visit comes as Spain remains mired in a months-old political crisis, with two general elections resulting in no clear victor.

The two centre-left and centre-right parties that have dominated Spanish politics since the return of democracy in the late 1970s have, in the face of insurgent leftists, so far been unable to form a government.

Obama will meet acting premier Mariano Rajoy as well as opposition leaders.

But Obama has a positive note for Spaniards who have suffered years of grinding economic hardship.

"Spain," he told daily newspaper El Pais, "has travelled a particularly difficult path in recent years."

He described the brutal blows of a twin financial and economic crisis and austerity policies, which he said, had fueled political discontent.

But, he said "Spain has turned a corner."

"The economy is growing again, with growth rates that are among the strongest in Europe. There's new hope for the future."

Dozens of people however braved the heat Sunday at noon to protest outside the US embassy, some carrying signs against the TTIP free trade deal being negotiated between the US and EU, and banners that read "Obama go home" or "War".

Greenpeace activists meanwhile unfurled a large yellow and black banner on the front of the iconic Metropolis building in central Madrid calling on Obama to stop the deal that read "Yes we can stop TTIP!".

The sun sets over a memorial at the Dallas police headquarters on July 9, 2016, a day after five officers were killed in a sniper attack Laura Buckman (AFP)

US President Barack Obama (L) is met by Spain's King Felipe VI on arrival at the Torrejon Air Base near Madrid on July 9, 2016 Pierre-Philippe Marcou (AFP)
G20 nations pledge to boost trade despite growing protectionism

The worlds top 20 economies will work to boost sluggish global trade despite growing protectionism, overcapacity concerns, and uncertainty over Brexit, G20 trade ministers said Sunday at a meeting in Shanghai.

"The global recovery continues, but it remains uneven and falls short of our ambition for strong, sustainable and balanced growth. Downside risks and vulnerabilities persist," the trade ministers said in a joint statement, adding that trade should remain "an important engine" to spur global growth.

The G20 nations, which account for 85 percent of global trade, admitted that protectionism has been rising since the financial crisis, and said that new trade restrictions in the group had reached the highest monthly average registered since the WTO began monitoring in 2009.

The WTO has warned that protectionist mmeasures could affect industries including air freight and sea based cargo

"We note with concern that despite the G20s repeated pledge, the stock of restrictive measure affecting trade in goods and services has continued to rise" they said in the statement.

Ahead of the meeting, WTO chief economist Robert Koopman warned that restrictive measures could affect industries including air freight cargo, sea based cargo, automobile sales and production, electronics trade, and agricultural raw materials.

The worlds leading economies at the weekend pledged to oppose trade protectionism and reiterated a promise not to add new protective measures until 2018.

Global trade is expected to grow at a tepid 2.8 percent in 2016, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) said in April.

And this year is expected to be the fifth in a row where trade grew at less than three percent -- its weakest sustained level in 30 years, WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo said on Friday ahead of the talks.

To combat the global slowdown, the ministers said they agreed to improve global trade governance and to work towards easing and liberalising trade.

- Brexit, China concerns -

Concerns over China's production overcapacity in steel have led to trade disputes with the EU and US, and China's vice commerce minister Wang Shouwen said Sunday that the G20 economies "have realised the necessity to take global cooperation to handle the challenge caused by production overcapacity".

But despite claims that China is dumping steel in foreign markets, he said "Chinas effort in (handling) over capacity has been highly recognised" by the group.

"While some other countries are talking about how to cut down production, Chinese government has already taken measures which have been effective."

Meanwhile Britains referendum vote to leave the European Union has added new concerns for the recovery of global economic and trade growth.

"Britain leaving the European Union will definitely has some impact on global trade, especially short-term investment," Chinas Wang commented on Sunday.

Britains trade minister Mark Price told the Financial Times in Beijing ahead of the weekend talk that tariffs would jump to an average level of at least three percent after its exit from the EU.

He said its time to "start exploring options" on trade agreements and "China is making very positive noises at the moment", the report said.

Delegates attend the opening ceremony of the G20 trade ministers meeting in Shanghai on July 9, 2016 Johannes Eisele (AFP)
Bangladesh bans TV station, tracks students after attacks

Bangladesh moved to counter a deadly wave of Islamist attacks Sunday, ordering an Islamic television station to stop broadcasting and telling schools to report any missing students.

The measures come after several suspected Islamist extremists were reported to be fans of the television channel, while others were found to be from elite universities but had been missing for months.

A Bangladesh cabinet committee decided to ban Peace TV from the country, information minister Hasanul Haq Inu told journalists Sunday.

"We stand with the bereaved", a reference to the deadly attack on a cafe in Dhaka that killed seventeen foreigners and five Bangladeshis, including two policemen Roberto Schmidt (AFP/File)

The station is run by Indian doctor-turned-preacher Zakir Naik, the founder and president of Mumbai-based Islamic Research Foundation, and its programmes are aired from Dubai.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina earlier in the day called on every school, college and university to "create a list of absent students and publish it".

Bangladesh has been reeling from dozens of attacks, mainly targeting secular activists or religious minorities.

"We will be rigorous," the premier said. "We must uproot militancy and terrorism from Bangladesh."

Three of the alleged jihadists who participated in an attack on a Dhaka cafe last week, in which 20 hostages were murdered, attended top schools and universities in the Bangladeshi capital.

The revelation that the attackers were educated, well-off members of society has sparked fears that Islamism has spread far beyond disenfranchised youngsters being radicalised in madrasas.

School authorities would now have to provide information on any students who have an unexplained absence of 10 days or more, education minister Nurul Islam Nahid said.

Another student of a well-regarded university participated in a deadly attack in northern Bangladesh on Thursday that killed at least three people at a huge prayer gathering marking the start of Eid.

Police said both attacks were carried out by a banned local militant group, despite vocal claims from the Islamic State group that they were responsible for the siege at the Dhaka cafe.

Authorities, meanwhile, have launched a publicity blitz, urging parents to closely monitor their children. Television channels have broadcast photos of missing students and advertisements to deter extremism.

US Assistant Secretary of State Nisha Biswal flew to Dhaka Sunday to discuss the security situation with Bangladesh foreign minister Mahmood Ali.

She offered US expertise in building Bangladesh's counterterrorism capabilities, the American embassy in Dhaka said in a statement.

"We will continue our assistance in combatting the global threat of terrorism that our countries both confront," she said.
Old bones cast new light on Goliath's people

With an excavation in southern Israel unearthing a Philistine cemetery for the first time, bones of the biblical giant 's people can finally shed new light on mysteries of their culture.

The cemetery's discovery marks the "crowning achievement" of some three decades of excavations in the area, the expedition's organisers say.

Some of the site's finds were going on display Sunday at the Rockefeller Archaeological Museum in Jerusalem.

US archaeologist and Harvard University professor Lawrence E. Stager sits next to skeletons at the excavation site of the first Philistine cemetery ever found, in southern Israel Menahem Kahana (AFP)

Almost three millennia since the Philistines were wiped off the face of the earth by Babylonian armies, a US archaeologist was hard at work crouched in one of their funerary chambers at the excavation in the Mediterranean city of Ashkelon.

Brush in hand he delicately extracted from the sandy soil the complete skeleton of a Philistine buried with a terracotta perfume flask, fused to the skull with the passage of time.

"This discovery is a crowning achievement, the opportunity to finally see them face to face," said archaeologist Daniel Master, in charge of the site excavated since 1985 under the Leon Levy Expedition, affiliated with Harvard University's Semitic Museum, among other institutions.

"With these 145 corpses we hope not only to understand their funeral customs, but to collect clues in the bones to understand how they lived, to bring the Philistines to life again," he told AFP.

Bone samples taken from the site are currently undergoing DNA, radiocarbon and other tests to try to shed fresh light on the Philistines origin.

The first graves were discovered in Ashkelon in 2013 on the site of its ancient Philistine port city, which had 13,000 inhabitants at its peak.

Today the area lies in a national park popular with Israeli families from modern Ashkelon who come for a stroll along the seaside lawns and paths.

- Sea people? -

Who were the Philistines? The origins of this "sea people" -- a term also used to describe their Phoenician contemporaries -- remain a mystery.

Their red-and-black pottery suggests they may have come from the Mycenaean civilisation of the Aegean.

"What is certain is that they were strangers in the Semitic region," where their presence between 1200 and around 600 BC is evident on a thin coastal strip running from present-day Gaza to Tel Aviv, said Master.

Traders and seafarers, they spoke a language of Indo-European origin, did not practice circumcision and ate pork and dog, as proven by bones and marks found on them in the ruins of the other four Philistine cities: Gaza, Gath, Ashdod and Ekron.

Beyond the previously scanty archaeological record, the Philistines are known mostly from the Old Testament account given by their neighbours and bitter enemies, the ancient Israelites.

The book of Samuel describes the capture by Philistine fighters of the Ark of the Covenant and the duel between their giant warrior Goliath felled by a stone from David's sling.

From these biblical descriptions of savage marauders comes the modern usage of "philistine" to mean a person without culture or manners.

- Hard lives -

A few hundred metres (yards) from the dig, at its outdoor laboratory, anthropologist and pathologist Sherry Fox told the skeletons' story.

"In their teeth, we can see that they did not have an easy life," she said.

"We see these lines that indicate a growth interruption as the teeth are forming. There were problems in childhood with either fever or malnutrition."

"We also see from their bones that they were hard workers, they practised inbreeding and they used their teeth as tools, probably in the weaving industry," she said softly, holding up a skull.

She said they were "normal size" with no evidence of any Goliath-sized giants.

Master said that, despite similar-sounding names, there is no connection between the Philistines and today's Palestinians.

"The words are similar, but not the people," he said.

"We know here in Ashkelon that these Philistines were completely destroyed by (Babylonian king) Nebuchadnezzar in December of 604 BC," he said.

"Everything that came after was very different and a very different group of people."

The 30 years of excavations at the Ashkelon cemetery come to an end this summer, when the dig will be reburied.

US anthropologist and pathologist Sherry Fox shows a skull discovered at the excavation site of the Philistine cemetery in the Israeli coastal city of Ashkelon Menahem Kahana (AFP)
Dallas shooter planned larger attacks, police say, as demo arrests swell

The Dallas gunman was plotting a major bomb attack, authorities said, urging calm as hundreds of people were arrested in weekend protests in US cities over police violence against African-Americans.

Demonstrators marched demanding justice for two black men shot dead by cops in Minnesota and Louisiana, their dying moments captured in video that went viral online.

Peaceful marches attracted large crowds in major US cities, but became especially unruly in St. Paul, Minnesota and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where police killed the two men.

Former US army veteran Micah Johnson was killed by police after he shot dead five police officers in a gun rampage in Dallas

Scores of people were arrested in both cities on Saturday and Sunday.

The demos come days after black army Afghan war veteran Micah Johnson, 25, used a high-powered rifle to kill five police officers and wound seven in a sniper attack at a protest in Dallas, Texas late Thursday.

Johnson said before he was killed that he wanted to murder white cops in revenge for the black deaths.

Seeking to restore calm, President Barack Obama, scheduled to speak in Dallas at an inter-faith memorial service Tuesday, cautioned protesters against casting all police as racially biased.

The Dallas community's "unity is reflective of who we are as Americans" during these trying times, said Obama, speaking Sunday in Madrid.

The president, who cut short his European visit, will meet privately in Texas with the families of the five fallen police officers and those wounded.

Vice President Joe Biden will also be at the Dallas memorial, along with former president and ex-Texas governor George W. Bush.

- Hundreds arrested -

Large crowds gathered to march peacefully Sunday in Atlanta, Washington DC and New York.

In Baton Rouge, at least 48 people were arrested Sunday, local media said, hours after Sheriff Sid Gautreaux said that 102 protesters had been arrested in late Saturday demonstrations.

Among them was Black Lives Matters activist leader DeRay McKesson, who livestreamed the incident. He was released on bond Sunday.

"The only people that were violent last night were the Baton Rouge police department," McKesson told reporters outside the jailhouse.

Gautreaux however said that one officer was injured late Saturday.

Protesters will not be "allowed to incite hate and violence, to engage in unlawful activities," said Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards.

On Sunday police in armored cars and clad in riot gear confronted a crowd in what began as a peaceful march, the local The Advocate newspaper reported.

Police even used an ear-splitting, high-pitched siren in an attempt to disperse the crowd. Despite the tension, harsh words and arrests the protest remained peaceful, The Advocate said.

Separately in St. Paul, authorities were dealing with the aftermath of the late Saturday unrest, where 102 people were arrested when protesters blocked a freeway and attacked police with rocks, bottles, fireworks and a Molotov cocktail.

Twenty-one officers were injured in the hours-long melee, including one who suffered a broken vertebrae when a rioter dropped a 25-pound (11-kilogram) chunk of concrete on his head from an overpass, police spokesman Steve Linders said.

"What happened last night and early this morning does a disservice to those who have lost their lives this last week," St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman said.

CNN put the tally of weekend demo arrests across the country at 300.

- 'Devastating effects' -

Dallas Police Chief David Brown described chilling new details about Dallas shooter Johnson in a TV interview on Sunday.

He said that Johnson, who apparently sympathized with black militant organizations classified as hate groups, had been planning something -- and was urged to action by police killing the two black men.

A search of Johnson's Dallas-area home turned up bomb-making materials and a journal on military tactics.

Investigators believe that Johnson "had been practicing explosive detonations," and that he had enough explosives "to have devastating effects throughout our city and our North Texas area," Brown told CNN's "State of the Union."

Then he toyed with police during negotiations in a standoff.

"He just basically lied to us, playing games, laughing at us, singing, asking how many did he get and that he wanted to kill some more," Brown said.

The police chief described Johnson as "in control," but also "delusional."

"We're convinced this suspect ... thought that what he was doing was righteous," and believed that he was going to make police "pay for what he sees as law enforcement efforts to punish people of color," Brown said.

At one point Johnson, apparently wounded in an exchange of gunfire with police, wrote the letters "RB" in his own blood on the wall.

Brown said it was not clear what those letters meant.

Flowers, cards, balloons, and candles pile on top of police vehicles outside the Police Headquarters in Dallas, Texas, on July 10, 2016 Laura Buckman (AFP)

Police officers join parishioners of First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, as they gather on July 10, 2016, to pray for victims of the Dallas sniper attack Laura Buckman (AFP/File)
(Global Times) 11:17, July 10, 2016

Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

In late October, 2015, the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) Tribunal issued the Award on Jurisdiction and Admissibility in the Philippines-China arbitration case. The panel of five judges unanimously ruled that among the 15 specific submissions for redress presented by Manila, the Tribunal does have jurisdiction with respect to the matter raised in seven of the submissions, and the jurisdiction over the remaining eight submissions will be determined together with merits.

The Tribunal has failed the principles of justice. First, the composition of the Tribunal and the selection of arbitrators were not equitable. As the Chinese government has long stated that it will not participate in or accept the arbitration, it cannot appoint its arbitrators, thus cannot maintain China's legitimate rights on the Tribunal.

Given the absence from the proceedings of one party, the selection of arbitrators needs to be cautious. However, Shunji Yanai, President of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, who is Japanese, arrogated all powers to himself at a time when the China-Japan relationship was at its lowest ebb over the Diaoyu Islands dispute.

On April 24, 2013, Yanai appointed Chris Pinto of Sri Lanka as judge of the Arbitral Tribunal. But on May 21, Pinto resigned, citing that his wife is a Filipino national. Pinto did not need to consider that long but should have stepped down right away. This procedure shows that without the participation of the Chinese government, the composition of the Tribunal and the appointment of arbitrators are suspected of under-the-table dealings. The core interests of the Chinese government are put in danger.

Second, the arbitrator who was selected to represent China sided with the Philippines, which is not acceptable. Under normal circumstances, the ruling over international disputes should allow for opposing votes and reservations. The ruling of international courts is no exception. On August 25, 2006, the Chinese government filed a statement to the Secretary-General of the UN saying that it "does not accept any of the procedures provided for in Section 2 of Part XV of the Convention with respect to all the categories of disputes referred to in paragraph 1 (a) (b), and (c) of Article 298 of the Convention." China gains absolute advantages, while the Philippine government has expressly excluded the issue of territorial sovereignty by avoiding Article 298 of the UNCLOS.

Alfred Soons, an arbitrator of the case, believed the status of islands was closely associated with demarcation and sovereignty issues in an article he co-authored with other people a few years ago. But he has changed his stance. As an arbitrator representing China, he was supposed to support China's stance. Rather, he voted in favor of the Philippines. This makes the Chinese people doubt the justice of the Award and the integrity of the arbitrators.

Third, the initial ruling during the proceedings does not conform to international practices. The ruling during the proceedings must clarify whether the Tribunal has jurisdiction with respect to the matter raised in the 15 submissions presented by the Philippines. However, as the Tribunal ruled that it has jurisdiction with respect to the matter raised in seven of the submissions, the other eight should be turned down.

But the Tribunal has shown partiality for the Philippines by considering the seven other submissions in conjunction with the merits and requesting the Philippines to clarify and narrow one of its submissions. It is actually bluntly supporting the Philippines' claims.

Fourth, on December 5, 2014, China issued a Position Paper of the Government of the People's Republic of China on the Matter of Jurisdiction in the South China SeaArbitration Initiated by the Republic of the Philippines, which stated reasons why China neither accepts nor participates in the arbitration. The Chinese Embassy in the Netherlands sent a note verbale and accompanying Position Paper to the five members of the Arbitral Tribunal.

China has consistently stated that the aforementioned communications should not be interpreted as China's participation in the arbitral proceeding in any form. However, the Arbitral Tribunal considered that the communications by China effectively constitute a plea concerning the Arbitral Tribunal's jurisdiction. The arbitration on substantive matters is not expected to be in favor of China, and the Chinese government will not admit or implement the arbitration on substantive matters. China could denounce UNCLOS and set a legal basis for not implementing substantive rulings unfavorable to itself in the future. Meanwhile, it will not be bound to similar requests made by other sea claimants such as Vietnam and Japan.

The author is a professor of Southwest University of Political Science &Law. [email protected] Follow us on Twitter @GTopinion
Top Iran sculptor says accused of 'disturbing public peace'

Prominent Iranian sculptor Parviz Tanavoli said Sunday he stood accused of disturbing the public peace, the ILNA news agency reported, after he was prevented from leaving the country last week.

"I learnt this morning in court that the police had accused me of publishing false information and disturbing the public peace," he told ILNA, after visiting Iran's special court for culture and media.

"They told me my sculptures are examples of disturbing the public peace," the 79-year-old said, although the police did not immediately confirm this.

Iranian artist Parviz Tanavoli had his passport confiscated last week as he attempted to fly to London for the launch of his new book Haider Shah (AFP/File)

The authorities confiscated Tanavoli's passport last week as he attempted to fly to London for the launch of his new book, "European Women in Persian Houses".

The book, a study of images from Iran's Safavid and Qajar eras, contains some nudes -- the display of which is banned in the Islamic republic.

"I have worked for 50 years and so far none of my works have had any problems," Tanavoli said, adding that the accusations came after his works had been on display at several venues around Tehran.

Iran's ultra-conservatives criticise Tanavoli because he had ties to the Pahlavi monarchy before it was overthrown in the 1979 Islamic revolution.
Dallas attack spotlights America's intolerant fringe: experts

The Dallas ambush by a black gunman targeting white police is the latest spasm of fury that reflects what experts see as a rising tide of extremism and intolerance on the fringes of American society.

Fueling the country's polarization are racial tension, anger with establishment politicians and economic inequality, says the Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors racist and hate groups in the United States.

Micah Johnson, the 25-year-old army reservist who killed five police in Thursday's sniper attack, sympathized with black militant groups, the center said Friday.

FBI agents examine the crime scene of the Dallas, Texas, sniper shooting on July 9, 2016 Laura Buckman (AFP/File)

Johnson told police negotiators before he was killed that he was acting out of anger at the deaths this week of two black men at the hands of police in Minnesota and Louisiana.

The SPLC has written about what it calls black separatists; it says they "typically oppose integration and racial intermarriage, and they want separate institutions -- or even a separate nation -- for black people in America."

These groups are "generally very small, but they are very anti-Semitic, very anti-white and also very anti-gay," said Mark Potok, a SPLC analyst who has written a study on the rise in hate groups over the past year.

Black separatists are very different from groups like Black Lives Matter, which arose in response to the many cases in America of recent years of unarmed blacks dying at the hands of police officers, often white ones.

But while not linked to the peaceful Black Lives Matter movement, they have benefited from its popularity, he told AFP.

"All of the anger out there about police violence against black people has helped the extremist black groups grow," said Potok.

For this reason, Black Lives Matter was quick to distance itself from the Dallas atrocity on its Facebook page Friday.

"Yesterday's attack was the result of the actions of a lone gunman," it wrote. "To assign the actions of one person to an entire movement is dangerous and irresponsible."

On Facebook, Johnson followed the New Black Panther Party, the Nation of Islam and Black Riders Liberation. All of these are listed as hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

The New Black Panther Party blames Jews for the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, and argues that whites are planning a genocide against all non-white people, according to the SPLC.

The Nation of Islam is also known for virulent anti-Semitism and hatred toward whites.

- Nerves on edge -

The Dallas shooting gives pause to consider the rise of intolerant movements -- of many forms -- in the United States.

Groups identified online as militia movements, white supremacists, Islamist radicals, neo-Nazis and other kinds of extremists increased from 784 to 892 between 2014 and 2015, a 14 percent rise, the SPLC said.

The figure has doubled since 1999, when the SPLC identified 457 hate groups across the country.

The majority are racist groups -- with Ku Klux Klan-linked and black separatist movements accounting respectively for 21 percent and 20 percent of all hate groups.

Groups that identify as being affiliated with the KKK have risen from 72 in 2014 to 190 in 2015. Last year, a young white supremacist killed nine black worshippers at a church in Charleston, South Carolina.

At the other end of the spectrum, black separatist groups rose in number from 113 to 180 last year amid anger over the deaths of blacks at the hands of police officers.

President Barack Obama, referring to the deaths this week in Minnesota and Louisiana, said they were not isolated incidents.

"They are symptomatic of the broader challenges within our criminal justice system, the racial disparities that appear across the system year after year," Obama said.

Examples abound of how nerves are on edge all over America.

On Thursday, with the country already tense over the twin shootings of African-Americans, whose dying moments were captured in now-viral video footage, the body of a black youth appeared hanging from a tree in Atlanta.

Police ruled it a suicide. But local people reacted with wariness to a scene reminiscent of KKK lynchings decades ago.

For Scott Simpson, spokesman for the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the shrill tone of US political discourse has a lot to answer for.

A White House campaign notable for the anti-immigrant and racist rhetoric employed by the Republican frontrunner, Donald Trump, "creates an environment where extremism becomes more tolerable," he said.

"When hateful rhetoric is in the mainstream, it gives license to people with extreme points of view who may or may not want to discuss it in public otherwise," said Simpson. "It gives license to people to target communities."
Obama says attacking police hurts reform

US President Barack Obama cautioned those protesting police killings of black Americans against blanket criticism Sunday, saying the majority of officers in the force do a good job.

"Whenever those of us who are concerned about fairness in the criminal justice system attack police officers, you are doing a disservice to the cause," Obama said, as protests against police brutality continued around the country.

America has been rocked by the deaths of a series of black men at the hands of white officers -- with many of the events captured on camera.

US President Barack Obama arrives at the Naval Station Rota, in Rota, southwestern Spain on July 10, 2016 Mandel Ngan (AFP)

The sense of crisis deepened last week when a black man shot dead five white cops in Dallas, shocking the nation and the world.

Obama, speaking in Madrid, said any violence against police was "a reprehensible crime and needs to be prosecuted."
Obama to travel to Dallas Tuesday to address memorial service: White House

President Barack Obama will travel Tuesday to Dallas where he will address an interfaith service in honor of the five officers shot dead in the Texas city during a protest against police brutality, the White House said.

"On Tuesday, July 12th, at the invitation of Mayor Rawlings, the President will travel to Dallas, Texas to deliver remarks at an interfaith memorial service at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center," spokesman Josh Earnest said in a statement.
Bahamas issues travel warning for US, citing racial tension

The government of the Bahamas has urged its citizens to be careful when traveling to the United States, citing tensions over the recent deaths of black men at the hands of police.

Most people in the Caribbean nation are black.

The foreign ministry said young Bahamian men in particular should exercise caution in their dealings with police in US cities.

A women holds up a placard with the slogan "End Police Brutality" as people gather in London to protest against police brutality in the US, on July 9, 2016, after two recent incidents where black men were shot and killed by police officers Daniel Leal-Olivas (AFP/File)

"Do not be confrontational and cooperate," the ministry said in a statement.

Monday is a holiday in the Bahamas, so many people here were expected to use the long weekend to visit the US.

The travel warning is of the kind that the US State Department issues to Americans traveling to countries it deems dangerous.

Racial tensions are running extremely high in the United States because of the death last week of two black men at the hands of police, the latest in a series of such incidents.
US transfers Guantanamo inmate to Italy: official

The United States has transferred Saudi-born Yemeni inmate Fayiz Ahmad Yahia Suleiman to Italy, the Pentagon announced Sunday, as President Barack Obama seeks to close the reviled American military detention center in Cuba.

The 41-year-old, who was recommended for transfer in January 2010 by the Guantanamo Review Task Force, was originally brought to Guantanamo Bay in January 2002.

"In accordance with statutory requirements, the secretary of defense informed Congress of the United States' intent to transfer this individual and of the secretary (of defense)'s determination that this transfer meets the statutory standard," a Pentagon statement said.

According to US government statistics, about 13 percent of prisoners freed from Guantanamo since Obama began his first term have returned to violent extremism Mladen Antonov (AFP/File)

"The United States is grateful to the government of Italy for its humanitarian gesture and willingness to support ongoing US efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. The United States coordinated with the government of Italy to ensure this transfer took place consistent with appropriate security and humane treatment measures."

A total of 78 inmates now remain at Guantanamo, which Obama took action to begin closing in one of his first acts as president. Yemenis account for the biggest group of detainees.

Obama has been unable to fulfill his long-held campaign promise due to opposition from the Republican-held Congress, concerns at home over plans to hold one-time terror suspects on US soil and the reluctance of allies to take in the prisoners.

Some of those concerns have crystallized in recent days after the disappearance of a former Guantanamo inmate in Uruguay, where he had been resettled in 2014 along with five other ex-detainees.

Jihad Diyab -- a 44-year-old Syrian -- went off the South American country's radar several weeks ago after apparently evading border controls and crossing into Brazil.

According to US government statistics, about 13 percent of prisoners freed from Guantanamo since Obama began his first term have returned to violent extremism or are believed to have done so, down from 35 percent under his predecessor George W. Bush.

Paul Lewis, the Pentagon's special envoy for Guantanamo closure, said that 14 ex-prisoners have gone on to participate in attacks that killed Americans.

In February, with less than a year left in his term, Obama released a last-ditch plan to close the facility, hoping to speed up the resettlement of all but 46 of the remaining prisoners, for whom he hopes to find alternate, secure detention centers in the United States.
Israel okays millions to West Bank settlements after attacks

Israel's government on Sunday approved nearly $13 million in financing for the West Bank settlements of Kiryat Arba and within Hebron, officials said, following a wave of Palestinian attacks in the area.

The decision by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing cabinet will see some 50 million shekels ($12.8 million, 11.6 million euros) allocated to "strengthen" the communities.

"Government offices, I must note, have all been recruited to assist the residents who stand heroically in the face of vicious terrorism," Netanyahu said ahead of the approval.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision will see some $12.8 million allocated to "strengthen" the Hebron and Kiryat Arba communities Dan Balilty (POOL/AFP/File)

The money will be allocated over three years and be designated to a variety of issues, including social, education and security services, and come from the budgets of the relevant ministries.

Kiryat Arba is a large settlement near Hebron, the largest Palestinian West Bank city, which is also host to several hundred Jewish settlers in a tightly guarded enclave.

The Hebron area settlers have been affected by the recent wave of violence that has rocked Israel and the Palestinian territories since last October.

At least 214 Palestinians, 34 Israelis, two Americans, an Eritrean and a Sudanese have been killed.

The army has said that around 80 of the attacks on Israelis have been carried out by Palestinians from the Hebron area.

Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are considered illegal under international law and major stumbling blocks to peace as they are built on land Palestinians view as part of their future state.

The United States, the European Union and many others in the international community have called for a halt to settlement building.

Netanyahu's government is considered to be the most right-wing in Israel's history, and key members of his cabinet are strong supporters of settlement building and opponents of a Palestinian state.

A similar decision, allocating 70 million shekels ($18 million, 16 million euros) to a variety of settlements, was announced last month. Two officials said Sunday's decision was about new monies.

Also on Sunday, hundreds of Israeli settlers marched between the Palestinian village of Tarama and the Israeli settlement of Otniel, south of Hebron in the occupied West Bank.

The marchers demanded more security for settlements following a wave of deadly attacks carried out by Palestinians in the area during the past week.
A series of attacks by gunmen in the capital of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas left 15 people dead, including 11 members of one family who were shot while still in their beds, officials said Saturday.

Six children were among those killed in the attacks, which took place late Friday and early Saturday in Ciudad Victoria.

While officials didn't specify who was behind the violence, factions of the splintered Zetas Cartel are fighting for control of the city.

An attack believed to be carried out by the Mexican Zetas cartel killed 15 people on Friday night and Saturday morning in Ciudad Victoria (stock image of Ciudad Victoria pictured)

Herminio Garza Palacios, secretary of government in Tamaulipas, which borders Texas, said in a video conference that the most serious attack took place early Saturday morning when gunmen entered a home and killed 11 members of the same family while they were sleeping.

Shortly afterward, three people were killed in a nearby neighborhood in Ciudad Victoria.

A statement from the Tamaulipas Coordination Group, which is in charge of security in the state, said that four girls died in the first attack and another minor was killed in the second.

Also, reports from the Police Ministry said that more attacks took place around the city overnight, including one on a bus station that left a 16-year-old dead.

Assailants also attacked a home with a grenade and burned it down.

The violent Zetas Cartel has splintered into factions following the capture or killing of many of its leaders.

A statement from the Tamaulipas Coordination Group, which is in charge of security in the state, said that four girls died in the first attack and another minor was killed in the second (stock image of Mexican Federal police)

Authorities say various factions are fighting for control of Ciudad Victoria, including a group called 'Zetas Old School' and the so-called 'Northeast Cartel,' a grouping of factions led by the family of captured Zeta leader Miguel Angel Trevino Morales, or Z40.

Authorities say the battle for Ciudad Victoria began in late 2015 and has claimed at least 100 lives.

In another traditional Zetas bastion  the city of Nuevo Laredo on the Texas border  a series of cartel threats and internet warnings that people should stay off the streets created a climate of collective fear on Saturday.
Economy, security key issues as Japan votes for upper house

TOKYO (AP)  Japanese are voting in a nationwide election for the upper house that may cement the prime minister's grip on power, as he forges ahead with policies to encourage exports and easy lending to keep a shaky economic growth going.

Half the seats in parliament's less powerful upper house are up for grabs in Sunday's balloting. There is no likelihood of a change of power. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling Liberal Democratic Party controls the lower house, which chooses the prime minister. The only contention in the balloting is how much support Abe can win.

Abe had repeatedly stressed during his campaign that his "Abenomics" program to bolster growth is still unfinished, and patience is needed for results. He has not touched on the other part of his agenda, which is to have Japan assert itself more as a military power.

A voters select candidates before casting their ballots in Japan's upper house parliamentary elections at a polling station in Tokyo, Sunday, July 10, 2016. While Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling party is seeking a mandate for his leadership by emphasizing his economic revitalization policies in the Sunday's election, several opposition parties are coordinating a negative campaign, cautioning voters that a landslide for Abe would give him an upper hand to revise the pacifist post-World War II constitution. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

"That is so dangerous, and it may lead Japan into war with other nations and make it a nation without freedoms at home," said Yuriko Keino, a musician and composer living in Tokyo, who was planning to vote later in the day. "We must all raise our voices and come together to protect peace and freedom."

The Liberal Democrats have ruled Japan since World War II almost incessantly with their pro-business policies, and until recently enjoyed solid support from rural areas. The few years the opposition held power coincided with the 2011 quake, tsunami and nuclear triple-disasters that devastated northeastern Japan. The opposition fell out of favor as inept in reconstruction efforts.

Some Japanese agree with Abe's views on security because of growing fears about terrorism, as well as concerns about the recent missile launches by North Korea and China's military assertiveness.

Sunday's was the first major election after the voting age was lowered from 20 to 18, potentially adding 2.4 million voters. Although "manga" animation and other events were used to woo young voters, results from early and absentee voting show turnout may be low. Many young people are disillusioned with mainstream politics.

Some analysts see 78 as a magic number  the number of seats that would give the ruling coalition a two-thirds majority in the upper house. That kind of support could be enough for Abe to push forward with rewriting Japan's postwar pacifist constitution. But a referendum would still be needed, and public support for pacifism remains high.

Masses of people have come out against nuclear power since the March 2011 catastrophe. But that has not weakened Abe in recent elections, although he has made clear he is eager to restart reactors that were idled after the disaster, the worst since Chernobyl, and make nuclear power a Japan export.

"I voted hoping the economy of the country gets better. I think the economy is still hitting bottom, and I hope it gets better even just a bit so that my life gets easier," said Jiro Yonehara, a "salaryman," as company employees are called, after emerging from a voting booth.

___

Follow Yuri Kageyama on Twitter at https://twitter.com/yurikageyama

Her work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/yuri-kageyama

A voter casts her ballot in Japan's upper house parliamentary election at a polling station in Tokyo, Sunday, July 10, 2016. While Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling party is seeking a mandate for his leadership by emphasizing his economic revitalization policies in the Sunday's election, several opposition parties are coordinating a negative campaign, cautioning voters that a landslide for Abe would give him an upper hand to revise the pacifist post-World War II constitution. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A voter casts her ballot in Japan's upper house parliamentary election at a polling station in Tokyo, Sunday, July 10, 2016. While Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling party is seeking a mandate for his leadership by emphasizing his economic revitalization policies in the Sunday's election, several opposition parties are coordinating a negative campaign, cautioning voters that a landslide for Abe would give him an upper hand to revise the pacifist post-World War II constitution. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Voters looks at the list of candidates before casting their ballots in Japan's upper house parliamentary election as representatives of a local election administration commission observe at a polling station in Tokyo, Sunday, July 10, 2016. Japan holds an election Sunday for the upper house of parliament that could affect the country's direction. While Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling party is seeking a mandate for his leadership by emphasizing his economic revitalization policies, several opposition parties are coordinating a negative campaign, cautioning voters that a landslide for Abe would give him an upper hand to revise the pacifist post-World War II constitution.(AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A representative of a local election administration commission shows the earliest two voters the empty ballot box before they cast their votes for Japan's upper house parliamentary elections at a polling station in Tokyo, Sunday, July 10, 2016. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Voters select candidates before casting their ballots in Japan's upper house parliamentary elections at a polling station in Tokyo, Sunday, July 10, 2016. Japan holds an election Sunday for the upper house of parliament that could affect the country's direction. While Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling party is seeking a mandate for his leadership by emphasizing his economic revitalization policies, several opposition parties are coordinating a negative campaign, cautioning voters that a landslide for Abe would give him an upper hand to revise the pacifist post-World War II constitution. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
The Latest: Georgia man said he wanted police to kill him

VALDOSTA, Ga. (AP)  The Latest on a man who authorities say called 911 to lure police to his south Georgia apartment complex and then opened fire. (all times local):

9:30 p.m.

Georgia authorities say a 22-year-old recovering drug addict told investigators he wanted police to kill him when he called 911 to lure an officer to his south Georgia apartment complex and then opened fire.

A Georgia Bureau of Investigation vehicles parks near the scene of an officer involved shooting, Friday, July 8, 2016, in Valdosta, Ga. A man who called 911 to report a car break-in Friday ambushed a south Georgia police officer dispatched to the scene, sparking a shootout in which both the officer and suspect were wounded, authorities said. Both are expected to survive. (Gabe Burns/The Daily Times via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said Saturday in a news release that Stephen Paul Beck told them he "wanted the police to shoot him as he wanted to die." The GBI said Beck told them he suffers from depression and does not hate police.

Authorities said Valdosta police officer Randall Hancock's protective vest took some of the bullets, but he was hit once just below it, in the abdomen early Friday.

Officials had said earlier that they believed the shooting was not related to the sniper deaths of five police officers following demonstration Thursday in Dallas.

Hancock and Beck were both hospitalized.

___

6:50 a.m.

Police say a Georgia police officer and his assailant should survive a shootout that began with an ambush only hours after a sniper in Dallas killed five officers and wounded seven more.

Stephen Paul Beck, a 22-year-old recovering drug addict, is accused of calling 911 to lure police to his apartment complex in Valdosta and then opening fire.

Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokesman Scott Dutton said Valdosta police officer Randall Hancock's protective vest took some of the bullets, but he was hit once just below it, in the abdomen.

It's been a tense week between white police officers and black civilians. In this case, the suspect is Asian, and the officer is white.

Dutton said there's no evidence to support a connection with the shootings in Dallas.
LONDON, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Former British Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott said on Sunday that he now -- 13 years later -- believes that Britain's decision to invade Iraqwas illegal in the wake of a report criticizing the British government's decision to go to war.

Prescott, who served as a deputy to Prime Minister Tony Blair when Britain joined the U.S.-led Iraq War in 2003, wrote in a piece published in the Sunday Mirror newspaper that he has now changed his view on the legality of the war.

"In 2004, the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said that as regime change was the prime aim of the Iraq war, it was illegal. With great sadness and anger, I now believe him to be right," he wrote.

"A day doesn't go by when I don't think of decision we made to go to war. Of the British troops who gave their lives or suffered injuries for their country. Of the 175,000 civilians who died from the Pandora's Box we opened by removing Saddam Hussein," he went on.

"I will live with the decision of going to war and its catastrophic consequences for the rest of my life," he added.

He disclosed that Blair had written to then U.S. President George W. Bush that "I will be with, whatever" eight months before the invasion.

Prescott also criticized Blair's way of running his cabinet, saying that it was given "too little paper documentation" to make decisions.

"The Attorney General, Lord Smith, came to the Cabinet, verbally announced it was legal, but provide no documentation," Prescott said. "The timing of the decision was clearly designed to endorse an almost immediate action for us to go to war."

A seven-year inquiry, chaired by Sir John Chilcot, concluded that the Blair government's estimates of the threats posed by so-called Iraqi "weapons of mass destructions" were "presented with a certainty that was not justified."

"At the time of the parliamentary vote of March 18, diplomatic options had not been exhausted. The point had not been reached where military action was the last resort," the report said.

Blair this week voiced "sorrow, regret and apology" over mistakes made in the war. But he insisted that the war was right.

But many British people want Blair to face criminal action over his decision that led to the deaths of 179 British soldiers and thousands of hundreds of Iraqi civilians over the following six years.
Relatives of journalist Marie Colvin sue Syria for her death

WASHINGTON (AP)  Relatives of Marie Colvin, a U.S.-born journalist who worked for the British newspaper The Sunday Times, have filed a lawsuit in federal court claiming that Syrian government officials targeted and killed her in 2012 to silence her reporting on Syria and the besieged city of Homs.

The lawsuit says Syrian officials launched a rocket attack on a makeshift broadcast studio in a neighborhood of Homs. Colvin, a veteran correspondent for The Sunday Times, died in that attack along with French photojournalist Remi Ochlik.

Colvin, 56, a native of New York City, was killed Feb. 22, 2012. Just hours before her death, she filed another report on the Syrian government's crackdown and its impact on civilians. The attack by Syrian army forces also killed several activists.

FILE- In this May 13, 2013, file photo, the photo of Journalist Marie Colvin who was killed in Syria while she was reporting from there, is seen on the wall of the Newseum during the Journalist Memorial Re-dedication ceremony of the journalists who died reporting the news in 2012 in Washington. Relatives of Colvin, a U.S.-born journalist who worked for the British newspaper The Sunday Times, have filed a lawsuit in federal court in Washington claiming that Syrian government officials targeted her and killed her four years ago to silence her reporting on Syria and the besieged city of Homs. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said at the time that circumstantial evidence and witnesses pointed to the possibility that government forces had taken deliberate action that led to the deaths of Colvin and Ochlik. More than two dozen journalists were reported killed in Syria in 2012 alone.

The wrongful-death lawsuit filed Saturday in Washington by the Center for Justice and Accountability on behalf of Cathleen Colvin, Marie Colvin's sister, and Justine Araya-Colvin, the reporter's niece, said the Assad regime "hunted down journalists and media activists" who were trying to tell the story of the government's deadly crackdown on Syrian rebels. The government has contended that its attacks targeted terrorists.
Indian rapper targets US chemical giant in bid for damages

NEW DELHI (AP)  A South Indian rapper is targeting Dow Chemical with rhymes  demanding the U.S. company pay more in victims' compensation and environmental damages stemming from a horrific chemical gas leak that killed thousands of people and sickened countless others.

Sofia Ashraf debuted "Dow vs. Bhopal: a Toxic Rap Battle" last month, calling the story of what happened in the central Indian city of Bhopal "a critical message to get out there."

The 1984 tragedy, considered the world's worst industrial accident, was caused by 40 tons of deadly methyl isocyanate gas leaking from a pesticide plant run by Union Carbide Corp.  later purchased by Dow Chemical. The leak killed more than 15,000 and sickened at least a half-million more. Activists say thousands of children have since been born with brain damage, missing palates and twisted limbs.

In this June 25, 2016 photo, Indian rapper Sofia Ashraf demonstrates her skills in Mumbai, India. The South Indian rapper is targeting Dow Chemical with rhymes - demanding the U.S. company pay more in victims' compensation and environmental damages stemming from a horrific chemical gas leak that killed thousands of people and sickened countless others.(AP Photo/ Rajanish Kakade)

Union Carbide paid $470 million in a 1989 deal reached with the Indian government, which Dow has said takes care of its liability. But activists say the sum was far too low and ignored the need to clean up the environment.

"Speak to young people, and they know about Hiroshima and Nagasaki, they know about the Holocaust," the 29-year-old songstress said in a recent interview with The Associated Press. "But very few of them will know about the Bhopal gas leak tragedy."

Her video, she hopes, will change that, with its provocative clips of dancers wearing gas masks, Prime Minister Narendra Modi orating, President Barack Obama donning sunglasses and presumptive Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump doused in water interspersed with images of hospital rooms and Ashraf herself rapping angrily at the camera.

"This ain't road kill, death's still taking its toll," she raps over a driving base beat. "There's water, water everywhere / corroding our copperware / It's so polluted, quit deluding."

This isn't the first time the Chennai-based artist has used rhymes to call on multinationals to act.

Her 2015 rap video "Kodaikanal Won't" took aim at Unilever, calling on the company to help former workers at a thermometer plant in the Tamil Nadu hill resort of Kodaikanal. Unilever's Indian subsidiary closed the plant 15 years ago after mercury contamination was discovered there.

Earlier this year, the company reached a settlement agreement with the 591 former workers it had employed. Exact terms were not released but the company disputes claims that workers' health was affected by exposure to mercury.

Ashraf has gone after Dow Chemicals before for the Bhopal disaster.

Her 2008 song called "Don't Work For Dow" urged engineering students to ignore company recruiters on college campuses.

The latest song takes the Indian complaint abroad  urging the U.S. government to force Dow to offer more in compensation and clean up.

___

Follow Nirmala George: http://www.twitter.com/NirmalaGeorge1

In this June 25, 2016 photo, Indian rapper Sofia Ashraf speaks during an interview n Mumbai, India. The South Indian rapper is targeting Dow Chemical with rhymes - demanding the U.S. company pay more in victims' compensation and environmental damages stemming from a horrific chemical gas leak that killed thousands of people and sickened countless others.(AP Photo/ Rajanish Kakade)
Police agencies on edge, on guard amid heightened threats

ATLANTA (AP)  Police agencies across the U.S. are on edge and on guard after receiving threats and calls for violence against them on social media in the aftermath of the killings of two black men and the sniper attack that left five officers dead in Dallas. Some departments ordered officers to pair up or more generally said they were heightening security.

Authorities have said the Dallas gunman, who also wounded seven other officers and two civilians, wanted to "exterminate" whites in the aftermath of the killings of Philando Castile in Minnesota and Alton Sterling in Louisiana. And a man who killed one person and wounded three others  including an officer  in Tennessee apparently told investigators he was motivated by the recent killings of black men by police.

Since then, threats ranging from generic promises of violence to specific video postings have been made, only heightening fears of further attacks. In Dallas, authorities received an anonymous threat Saturday, prompting police to tighten up security. Officers swarmed the department's headquarters, searching for a reported suspicious person in a garage before finally issuing an all-clear.

A Dallas police officer helps tighten security at their headquarters after receiving an anonymous threat against law enforcement across the city, Saturday, July 9, 2016, in Dallas. Five police were killed and several injured during a shooting in downtown Dallas Thursday night. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

While some threats have been unspecific and not credible, other promises of violence have been more targeted. In Louisiana, a man was accused of posting a video online showing him in his vehicle behind a police car, saying he wanted to shoot and kill an officer. Police say Kemonte Gilmore flashes a handgun in the video and talks about the slayings of Castile and Sterling.

Police also say a Wisconsin man posted calls on social media for black men to gun down white officers, and a woman in Illinois is accused of threatening in an online video to shoot and kill any officer who pulled her over.

In Mississippi, Waveland Police Chief David Allen told The Sun Herald newspaper threats had come via phone and social media and involved possible gunfire attacks over the weekend. Extra police were to be on duty.

Mawuli Davis, an African-American attorney and activist in Atlanta, said what's happening is a continuation of events in recent years because there has been no serious dialogue over issues of race and police encounters with black people.

Davis and his associates insist on peaceful protests as a means to an end, and indeed, most protests across the U.S. have gone on without a hint of violence. But until that serious discussion happens, he said he fears "we're going to continue to see this kind of tragic incident" like the Dallas attack.

"From an activist perspective, you're seeing a level of frustration and anger that very well may be at a tipping point," he said.

Tensions between police and African-Americans have been on the rise in recent years amid the high-profile deaths of several black men at the hands of law enforcement. The deaths have fomented unrest from Ferguson, Missouri, to Baltimore and heightened calls for greater accountability of police, particularly in the urban, majority-black neighborhoods they patrol.

While race has not necessarily been a factor in every case, the deaths have become a rallying cry for groups such as Black Lives Matter who are calling for solutions to problems that plague African-American communities, from poor educational opportunities to joblessness to high incarceration rates.

Organizations that monitor hate groups condemned the Dallas attack, with the Southern Poverty Law Center calling it "an act of domestic terrorism." The gunman, Micah Johnson, followed black militant groups on social media.

Ryan Lenz, online editor and senior writer at the SPLC, told The Associated Press that the number of black separatist groups nearly doubled in 2015, mirroring a similar increase among white hate groups that has come against the backdrop of police killings that make frequent headlines.

While some committing violence may be influenced by hate groups, many who become radicalized do so without direct ties to the groups. Instead, they surf the web and allow their anger to grow in private at home, Lenz said.

"In the last couple of years we've seen this violence become an ever-present reality in our lives," Lenz said. "We are in a polarized political climate right now where the 'us-versus-them' mentality has started to reign supreme."

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Associated Press writers Bill Cormier and Don Schanche contributed to this report from Atlanta.

Dallas police tighten security at their headquarters after receiving an anonymous threat against law enforcement across the city Saturday, July 9, 2016, in Dallas. Security measures were heightened after a peaceful protest, over the recent shootings of black men by police, turned violent Thursday night when gunman Micah Johnson shot at officers, killing several and injuring others. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Q&A: Landmark ruling on South China Sea

MANILA, Philippines (AP)  A landmark ruling on an arbitration case filed by the Philippines that seeks to strike down China's expansive territorial claims in the South China Sea will be a test for international law and world powers. China, which demands one-on-one talks to resolve the disputes, has boycotted the case and vowed to ignore the verdict, which will be handed down Tuesday by a tribunal in The Hague.

Some questions and answers about the case:

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In this Nov. 24, 2015, image provided by the Permanent Court of Arbitration, former Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario, who spearheaded the filing of the complaint against China, attends the hearing regarding the Philippines and China on the South China Sea at the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) at The Hague, the Netherlands. A landmark ruling on an arbitration case filed by the Philippines that seeks to strike down China's expansive territorial claims in the South China Sea will be a test for international law and world powers. China, which demands one-on-one talks to resolve the disputes, has boycotted the case and vowed to ignore the verdict, which will be handed down Tuesday, July 12, 2016, by the U.N. tribunal in The Hague. (Permanent Court of Arbitration via AP)

Q: WHAT'S THE CASE ABOUT?

A: After years of diplomatic negotiations ended nowhere, the Philippines brought its dispute with China to international arbitration in January 2013, despite Beijing's warnings of a diplomatic and economic backlash.

China wants to negotiate directly with the Philippines and each of the four other claimants in an arrangement that would give it leverage for its sheer size and influence. Beijing has steadfastly opposed bringing the disputes to an international arena, which could provide the U.S. a chance to intervene.

The Philippines asked a tribunal of five arbitrators to declare as invalid China's vast claims, known as nine-dash lines for the dashes that demarcate virtually all of the South China Sea as Chinese territory, under the United Nation Convention on the Law of the Seas, or UNCLOS. China and the Philippines are among more than 160 signatories of the 1982 convention, regarded as the constitution that governs and stipulates the rights of countries in using the world's oceans.

With China's sprawling claims, the Philippines stands to lose a huge chunk of off-shore territory, said Antonio Carpio, an associate Supreme Court justice who has made extensive studies on the conflicts. "This Chinese aggression is the gravest external threat to the Philippines since World War II," he said.

The Philippines also asked the tribunal to classify whether a number of disputed areas are islands, low-tide coral outcrops or submerged banks to determine the stretch of territorial waters they are entitled to under the convention. It also wants China to be declared in violation of the convention for carrying out fishing and construction activities that breached the Philippines' maritime rights. The convention does not deal with sovereignty questions, which the Philippine government says it did not raise.

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Q: HOW DID IT START?

A: Although the disputes have simmered for decades, they gradually escalated under former Philippine President Benigno Aquino III and culminated in 2012 when China took effective control of the disputed Scarborough Shoal after a tense standoff.

U.S. officials brokered an arrangement for Philippine government vessels and larger Chinese maritime surveillance ships to simultaneously withdraw from the tiny shoal, a deal which Aquino said he followed. Chinese ships never left.

Chinese coast guard ships also surrounded another disputed area, the Second Thomas Shoal, which has been guarded by Filipino marines on board a grounded rusty warship. The Chinese coast guard has tried to block Philippine vessels from bringing food, water, medicines and other supplies to the marines, sparking dangerous cat-and-mouse chases at high seas.

The Philippines said it had no other choice but to elevate the dispute to international arbitration.

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Q: WILL THE ARBITRATION CHANGE ANYTHING?

A: Any ruling will be final and legally binding on China and the Philippines. China's decision to ignore the case and the arbitration tribunal's lack of enforcement mechanism, however, have blunted the Philippines' move.

Former Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario, who spearheaded the filing of the complaint against China, said that a favorable ruling on any of the 15 issues raised by the Philippines, especially the demand to declare China's claims invalid under UNCLOS, would be a major blow to Beijing and a moral victory that could be harnessed by the Philippines to its advantage.

The Philippines, Filipino diplomats said, could work with Washington and other countries to demand Chinese compliance in diplomatic forums worldwide, including before the United Nations.

If it doesn't comply, China risks being seen as a rogue nation at a time it expands its political and economic influence on the world stage.

Carpio painted a dire picture if the tribunal fails to rule on the validity of China's sprawling claims, saying Beijing would enforce its nine-dash territorial lines as its national boundary. The U.S. military would intensify its patrols to promote freedom of navigation, China would try to push the Americans back and the claimants engage in an arms race.

"The only defense of coastal states will be to acquire warships, warplanes and anti-ship missiles," Carpio said. "Tensions will increase. It will be a turmoil in the South China Sea."

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Q: WHY DID CHINA REFUSE TO TAKE PART IN THE CASE?

A: China has argued that the tribunal does not have jurisdiction to handle the Philippine case, because it says it involves sovereignty issues, which are outside the tribunal's legal purview. While masking its case as an effort to clarify maritime rights under the U.N. convention, the Philippines is actually trying to undermine China's "indisputable sovereignty," according to Chinese officials.

They ask, for example, how the Philippines can say that China's claims are excessive without first determining Beijing's territorial limits.

China also regards the disputes as a purely Asian problem that outsiders like the U.S. have no right to meddle in.

Philippine officials say China refused to join the arbitration knowing that the historical basis it cites for its territorial claims has long ceased to be recognized under modern-day treaties like the UNCLOS.

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Q: WHAT ARE OTHER COUNTRIES SAYING ABOUT IT?

A: Countries have generally taken a position on the arbitration case depending on whether they're aligned with the U.S. or China.

The diplomatic tug-of-war has put smaller countries and regional blocs in a dilemma, including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, whose four member states are claimants.

A Philippine push for the 10-nation bloc to issue a joint statement calling for China to respect Tuesday's ruling has stalled with Cambodia and Laos backing the Chinese position. Besides the Philippines and Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore have also been wary of China.

The regional group has a bedrock principle of deciding by consensus, meaning just one member state can stall any group effort.

The U.S., Britain and the rest of the EU support the arbitration.

China claims support of some 40-60 nations, including many landlocked African nations and Pacific islands where Beijing has economic clout.

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Associated Press writer Sopheng Cheang in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, contributed to this report.

In this Nov. 24, 2015, image provided by the Permanent Court of Arbitration, a tribunal of five arbitrators, seated top right, hears the case regarding the Philippines and China on the South China Sea at the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) at The Hague, the Netherlands. A landmark ruling on an arbitration case filed by the Philippines that seeks to strike down China's expansive territorial claims in the South China Sea will be a test for international law and world powers. China, which demands one-on-one talks to resolve the disputes, has boycotted the case and vowed to ignore the verdict, which will be handed down Tuesday, July 12, 2016, by the U.N. tribunal in The Hague.(Permanent Court of Arbitration via AP)

FILE - In this May 1, 2016, file photo, an illuminated globe shows the South China Sea at a museum in Pathumthani, Thailand. A landmark ruling on an arbitration case filed by the Philippines that seeks to strike down China's expansive territorial claims in the South China Sea will be a test for international law and world powers. China, which demands one-on-one talks to resolve the disputes, has boycotted the case and vowed to ignore the verdict, which will be handed down Tuesday, July 12, 2016, by the U.N. tribunal in The Hague. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

FILE - This May 11, 2015, file photo, shows land reclamation of Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. A landmark ruling on an arbitration case filed by the Philippines that seeks to strike down China's expansive territorial claims in the South China Sea will be a test for international law and world powers. China, which demands one-on-one talks to resolve the disputes, has boycotted the case and vowed to ignore the verdict, which will be handed down Tuesday, July 12, 2016, by the U.N. tribunal in The Hague. (Ritchie B. Tongo/Pool Photo via AP, File)

In this Dec. 24, 2015, photo, provided by Filipino fisherman Renato Etac, a Chinese Coast Guard boat approaches Filipino fishermen near Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea. A landmark ruling on an arbitration case filed by the Philippines that seeks to strike down China's expansive territorial claims in the South China Sea will be a test for international law and world powers. China, which demands one-on-one talks to resolve the disputes, has boycotted the case and vowed to ignore the verdict, which will be handed down Tuesday, July 12, 2016, by the U.N. tribunal in The Hague.(Renato Etac via AP)

In this Sept. 23, 2015, photo, provided by Filipino fisherman Renato Etac, a Chinese Coast Guard boat sprays a water cannon at Filipino fishermen near Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea. A landmark ruling on an arbitration case filed by the Philippines that seeks to strike down China's expansive territorial claims in the South China Sea will be a test for international law and world powers. China, which demands one-on-one talks to resolve the disputes, has boycotted the case and vowed to ignore the verdict, which will be handed down Tuesday, July 12, 2016, by the U.N. tribunal in The Hague. (Renato Etac via AP)
Australian opposition concedes defeat in tight election

SYDNEY (AP)  Australia's opposition leader conceded defeat on Sunday in a chaotic national election that has left Australia in a state of political paralysis for more than a week, while officials scramble to sort out who, if anyone, actually won the tight race.

Vote counting was still underway from the July 2 ballot, but opposition leader Bill Shorten said Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's ruling conservative coalition would eventually secure enough seats in the 150-seat House of Representatives to retain power.

"It is clear that Mr. Turnbull and his coalition will form a government," Shorten told reporters in Melbourne, saying he had called Turnbull earlier to congratulate him. "I hope for our nation's sake the coalition does a good job; I hope they run a good government."

Parties are required to hold at least 76 seats in the House to form a majority government. With about a quarter of the ballots still left to be counted, the Australian Electoral Commission said the coalition was leading the count in 76 seats, Labor in 69 seats and minor parties and independents in five.

With Shorten's center-left Labor Party out of the running, just two options remain: Either the coalition will form a majority government by a slim margin, or the country will have a hung parliament. If that happens, Turnbull's Liberal Party-led coalition will need to forge an alliance with independent and minor party lawmakers to form a minority government.

Failing that, the country will be forced into another election.

Even if Turnbull manages to cling to power, he faces a slew of new challenges. His party, which went into the election with a comfortable majority of 90 seats, was badly damaged in the ballot. Critics have questioned whether he can hang onto his job, or whether he will face a leadership challenge from colleagues unhappy with the party's weak result.

Turnbull, a moderate, will also need to face the more conservative lawmakers in his party who are angry that he ousted his predecessor Tony Abbott in an internal leadership ballot less than a year ago.

Then there's the issue of the fragmented Senate. Though the final makeup of Parliament's upper house is unlikely to be known for weeks, no party will win a majority of seats. That means even if Turnbull gets contentious legislation passed by the House, he would still have to try and strike deals with the opposition or a disparate group of Senate independents and minor parties to get it signed into law.
Australian leader claims election win, but questions remain

SYDNEY (AP)  Eight days after Australia's general election ended in uncertainty, the prime minister finally claimed victory Sunday for his conservative coalition, bringing an end to the country's political paralysis  at least for the moment.

Though the question of who won the July 2 election was answered, the question of exactly how the conservatives will rule the fractured Parliament was not. With official results still days or even weeks away, it was unclear whether Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's Liberal Party-led coalition had won enough votes to govern in its own right, or whether it would need the support of independent and minor party lawmakers to form a minority government.

Either way, Turnbull faces a rough road ahead with a divided party, a splintered Senate and a politically weary public that has endured five changes of prime minister in as many years.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull speaks at the government offices in Sydney, Sunday, July 10, 2016. Turnbull said that his conservative coalition government was re-elected for a second three-year term, after a chaotic national election that left the country in a state of political paralysis for more than a week while officials scrambled to sort out who had won the tight race. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

Though millions of votes still need to be counted, there was no way for the opposition center-left Labor Party to win a majority of seats in the House of Representatives, where parties form governments. That prompted opposition leader Bill Shorten to formally concede the race on Sunday, which in turn triggered Turnbull to announce that the coalition had won a second three-year term.

"We have resolved this election and done so peacefully," Turnbull told reporters.

Yet the election was not entirely resolved. Parties are required to hold at least 76 seats in the 150-seat House of Representatives to form a majority government, and the coalition has not yet reached that number. With around a quarter of the votes still left to be counted, the Australian Electoral Commission said the coalition was leading in 74 seats, the center-left Labor Party in 71 seats and minor parties and independents in five. It could take weeks to determine the final tally.

There are two possibilities: Either the coalition will form a majority government by a slim margin, or the country will have a hung Parliament. If that happens, Turnbull's coalition will forge an alliance with independent and minor party lawmakers to form a minority government. Three independent lawmakers have already pledged their support to the coalition if such a situation arises.

Asked whether he thought his party would win a majority, Turnbull replied simply, "We've won the election."

The coalition entered the race with a comfortable majority of 90 seats, and few had predicted it would suffer such steep losses. The result has raised the prospect that Turnbull could face a leadership challenge from colleagues unhappy with the party's weak showing.

Even if Turnbull manages to hang onto his job, he has a slew of problems to contend with. The moderate leader needs to face the more conservative lawmakers in his party who are angry about his performance and upset that he ousted his predecessor, Tony Abbott, in an internal leadership ballot less than a year ago.

He will also need to deal with a fragmented Senate that could make it tough for him to pass laws. Though the final makeup of Parliament's upper house is unlikely to be known for weeks, no party will win a majority of seats. That means even if Turnbull gets contentious legislation passed by the House, he would still have to try and strike deals with the opposition or a disparate group of Senate independents and minor parties to get it signed into law.

The turbulence has already caused other problems. Uncertainty surrounding the election prompted rating agency Standard & Poor's to downgrade Australia's coveted AAA credit rating last week from "stable" to "negative." The agency said Australia needs "more forceful fiscal policy decisions" to rein in debt and believes such tough measures could be postponed by the new Parliament.

The chaos follows one of the closest elections in Australian history, which failed to deliver an immediate victor. In several seats, just a few hundred votes were separating the coalition from Labor.

Despite the tight race, it became clear in recent days that Labor would not be able to win enough seats to form a government, prompting the opposition leader to formally concede on Sunday.

"I hope for our nation's sake the coalition does a good job," Shorten told reporters in Melbourne. "I hope they run a good government."

Shorten said that his party would work with the coalition to find common ground, saying he understood Australia's need for a functioning Parliament.

He also said it was time Australia considered ditching its pencil-and-paper ballots for a speedier electronic system. That is one area in which he and Turnbull are aligned; the prime minister has long advocated for a move to electronic voting.

"We're a grown-up democracy," Shorten said. "It shouldn't be taking eight days to find out who has won."

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull speaks at the government offices in Sydney, Sunday, July 10, 2016. Turnbull said that his conservative coalition government was re-elected for a second three-year term, after a chaotic national election that left the country in a state of political paralysis for more than a week while officials scrambled to sort out who had won the tight race. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull smiles as he speaks at the government offices in Sydney, Sunday, July 10, 2016. Turnbull said that his conservative coalition government was re-elected for a second three-year term, after a chaotic national election that left the country in a state of political paralysis for more than a week while officials scrambled to sort out who had won the tight race. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull speaks at the government offices in Sydney, Sunday, July 10, 2016. Turnbull said that his conservative coalition government was re-elected for a second three-year term, after a chaotic national election that left the country in a state of political paralysis for more than a week while officials scrambled to sort out who had won the tight race. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
Latest: Texas college says 2 of its officers hurt in attack

DALLAS (AP)  The Latest on the shooting of police officers in Dallas (all times local):

11 p.m.

A Texas community college says two of its officers were injured in the deadly attack on police during a protest in downtown Dallas.

A chaplain, right, talks with a woman before a service at the Potter's House, Sunday, July 10, 2016, in Dallas that included a memorial to the five Dallas police officers killed last week as well as a town hall meeting to discuss recent shootings. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

El Centro College said in a statement posted on its website Sunday night that Cpl. Bryan Shaw and Officer John Abbott were hurt in Thursday's attack.

The statement says Shaw was struck by a bullet as he guarded an entrance to the college. The school says Shaw was treated on scene and returned to protect other officers and civilians.

Abbott was also guarding the entrance. The school says he sustained injuries to both legs from flying glass after it was struck by bullets. The statement says Abbott tended to his wounds at the scene and then returned to assist others.

Both men were resting at home.

Dallas police previously said five officers were killed and seven officers and two civilians were hurt in the attack. Its number of wounded did not include any El Centro College officers.

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8:25 p.m.

The White House is releasing more details about Barack Obama's planned visit to Dallas on Tuesday, saying the president will meet privately with relatives of police officers killed in Thursday's attack.

George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, will also attend, and the ex-president will deliver brief remarks. Vice President Joe Biden will also be there.

Obama plans to "personally express the nation's support and gratitude" for the service and sacrifice of the slain officers. He also will deliver remarks at an interfaith memorial service.

The service will take place at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center. The White House says Obama is making the trip at the invitation of Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings.

Five officers were killed and seven officers were wounded when a gunman opened fire on a protest march in Dallas on Thursday.

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5:45 p.m.

A top elected official in Dallas says it appears Thursday's attack on a protest march was a "crime of opportunity."

Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins says authorities believe the gunman, Micah Johnson, had been practicing and training for a long time, learned of the protest and knew there would be a lot of police to protect protesters.

Jenkins says Johnson had material for explosives in his home and talked of using IEDs during the police standoff. He says that indicates he could have done more damage with more time, but used the protest in Dallas to strike in a more limited, albeit deadly, fashion.

Authorities say Johnson, who was black, fatally shot five police officers who were protecting demonstrators protesting the police killings of two black men in Louisiana and Minnesota last week. He was later killed by police.

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4:30 p.m.

A culturally diverse group of demonstrators formed a circle in front of a suburban Minnesota city hall Sunday to protest the shooting death of a black driver by a police officer.

A number of protesters spoke to the crowd of approximately 200 outside St. Anthony City Hall outside St. Paul. St. Anthony is near Falcon Heights, where police fatally shot a black driver, Philando Castile, on Wednesday.

Alice Chavez gave an impassioned speech describing how her son was shot and killed by a police officer in his home several years ago.

Barricades were placed at either end of the block in front of city hall to allow the protest to proceed. Nearby streets were clogged with cars.

The rally was peaceful with children playing with each other just beyond the circle of demonstrators.

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4:15 p.m.

Four Dallas County government buildings closed to the public since the killings of five police officers will reopen this week.

Officials say the George L. Allen Sr. Civil Courts Building, the Old Red Museum, the Dallas County Administration Building and the Dallas County Records Building will be open regular hours Monday.

Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins announced the openings Sunday. It came as some downtown Dallas streets remained closed to vehicle traffic following Thursday's attacks.

A lone sniper was blamed for killing five officers during what had been a peaceful protest against the police killings of black men in Minnesota and Louisiana.

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This item has been corrected to delete incorrect reference to two people being wounded.

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4:05 p.m.

Police say nine people were arrested after demonstrators took to the streets of Atlanta for a second night to protest police shootings of African-Americans.

Atlanta police spokeswoman Kim Jones said Sunday that the latest arrests involved some of the 100 protesters who marched through the heart of the city, chanting and blocking intersections.

It was a smaller crowd than Friday night, when several thousand flooded the streets. At least one person was arrested then as police kept marchers off a highway.

The protests erupted over police shootings of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota.

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4 p.m.

Federal agents are processing evidence as they try to trace the origin of the weapons used by the gunman in the protest attack that left five Dallas officers dead.

So far, authorities have not said whether they successfully identified the manufacturer and dealer of the weapon used by Micah Johnson.

William Temple, the Dallas special agent in charge for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said Sunday that about 30 agents are also involved in identifying bullet casings. The large crime scene includes the parking garage where Johnson was holed up for hours and at least two other spots where Johnson is believed to have fired at officers before being killed by police.

FBI and ATF agents are assisting Dallas police leading the investigation.

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3:40 p.m.

Activists and community leaders say they are monitoring the investigation of a fatal shooting in which two Houston police officers killed a man who authorities say had pointed a gun at officers after ignoring commands to drop the weapon.

The Houston chapters of the NAACP and Black Lives Matter say they're waiting for more details about the Saturday shooting of 38-year-old Alva Braziel.

Some people say surveillance video from a nearby gas station shows Braziel had his hands up before being shot.

The video is dark and it's hard to see clearly what Braziel might have had in his hand and what happened in the moments before officers fired.

Houston police spokeswoman Jodi Silva said Sunday her agency is asking people to withhold judgment until all the evidence is reviewed.

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2:55 p.m.

A 37-year-old Texas woman who was wounded when she threw herself over her son during the attack on a Dallas protest march says she would go to another demonstration to show she's not a quitter.

Shetamia Taylor, who attended the march with her four sons, also thanked Dallas police for protecting her in the chaos that erupted Thursday night. She says officers shielded her as bullets whizzed through the air around them.

Taylor says she always held police officers "in a very high place" and notes that her youngest son wants to be a cop. She says not all police officers are bad.

Taylor was one of two civilians wounded in the attack, which killed five Dallas officers and injured seven others. The protest was one of many in the U.S. after black men were fatally shot by police in Minnesota and Louisiana.

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2:20 p.m.

Missouri police say an off-duty officer fatally shot a man who was trying to enter the officer's home, and a relative says the two had been arguing on Facebook about the Black Lives Matter movement.

St. Louis County police say 20-year-old Tyler Gebhard threw a concrete planter through a window to enter the officer's Lakeshire home Saturday evening. The officer, who wasn't identified, then shot him.

Police say Gebhard was known to the family and had recently made online threats toward them.

An uncle of Gebhard's, Patrick Brogan, of Waterloo, Illinois, told The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (http://j.mp/29r2hhC) Gebhard and the officer had been arguing on Facebook. He said Gebhard, who was biracial, empathized with the objectives of the Black Lives Matter group.

Police Chief Jon Belmar says the officer is on leave.

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12:30 p.m.

The White House says President Barack Obama will travel to Dallas on Tuesday and deliver remarks at an interfaith memorial service.

The service will take place at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center. The White House says Obama is making the trip at the invitation of Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings.

Five officers were killed and seven were wounded when a gunman opened fire on a protest march in Dallas on Thursday.

The attack occurred shortly after Obama had arrived for a NATO summit in Poland. He cut his visit to Spain short by a day and has spoken daily during the trip about the attacks, calling for police and protesters to "listen to each other."

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11:55 a.m.

The sister of the woman who was shot while shielding her children from the Dallas gunman's bullets says the family hopes she will be released from the hospital Sunday.

Speaking at a town hall meeting in Dallas, Theresa Williams says her sister is "doing much better."

Shetamia Taylor and her four sons attended the downtown Dallas protest against police killings of blacks Thursday. Relatives say she threw herself over her boys when a gunman opened fire on the march, leaving her with a shattered leg and one of the boys spattered in blood.

Five officers were killed and seven were wounded by the sniper. Taylor was one of two civilians who were also wounded.

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11:25 a.m.

The Minnesota woman who shot video of her dying boyfriend after a police officer shot him last week says she realized the traffic stop was different when she heard fear in the officer's voice.

Lavish "Diamond" Reynolds called into a Sunday morning service at The Potter's House, a Dallas megachurch, to talk about the death of her boyfriend, Philando Castile.

Reynolds says that when she heard the officer, "it instantly clicked to me that this was something bigger than myself and Phil."

Reynolds cried as she recounted the shooting and said her daughter, who was shown on camera comforting her, is still telling her "it's gonna be OK."

The killing of Castile outside St. Paul and another black man in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, touched off protests. On Thursday, a gunman opened fire on police at one such protest in Dallas, killing five officers.

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10:45 a.m.

Police say a vehicle struck a Dallas police car parked outside the home of one of five officers slain during a protest last week.

Fort Worth police say they are investigating whether the crash was an accident or deliberate.

Authorities are trying to locate the vehicle, which sped away after smashing into the driver's side of the police car around 1 a.m. Sunday.

Nobody was hurt.

Two Dallas officers were assigned to the marked patrol car, but officials didn't immediately say whether the officers were in the vehicle.

Authorities say the lone sniper in the Dallas attack was killed early Friday when an explosive on a remote-controlled police robot was detonated.

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9:50 a.m.

Police have arrested about 100 people in St. Paul during protests of the recent police killings of black men, including one outside Minnesota's capital city.

Authorities say 21 police officers were hurt during the fracas late Saturday and early Sunday.

St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman and Police Chief Todd Axtell are condemning the violence. Axtell calls the pelting of officers with rocks, bottles and other objects "a disgrace."

The Star Tribune (http://strib.mn/29qNWkj) reports about half the arrests came during a blockade of Interstate 94 in St. Paul. About 50 arrests were made early Sunday in another part of St. Paul. The interstate reopened early Sunday morning.

The protest was among several demonstrations nationwide following the deaths of 32-year-old Philando Castile in suburban St. Paul and 37-year-old Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

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This item has been corrected to show the number of officers injured was 21, not 27.

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9:40 a.m.

San Antonio police say shots fired overnight near the department headquarters hit the building, but nobody was hurt.

Chief William McManus says investigators are trying to determine whether the building was targeted Saturday night or if someone was randomly firing.

Police detained one person for questioning after the man was seen running from the area.

Five police officers were killed after a sniper opened fire Thursday night in Dallas during a protest against the killings of black men last week by police officers in Louisiana and Minnesota.

Several San Antonio police officers who were in the headquarters Saturday night reported hearing gunshots. McManus says several shell casings were found in a nearby alley.

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9:25 a.m.

President Barack Obama says protesters who attack police officers are doing a disservice to their cause.

Obama said in Madrid after meeting with Spain's acting prime minister that one of the great things about America is that individuals and groups can protest and speak truth to power. He says the process is sometimes messy and controversial, but the ability to engage in free speech has improved America.

Obama also cautions that if protesters paint police with a broad brush, they could lose allies for their cause. At the same time, he says that when police organizations acknowledge there is a problem stemming from bias, it will contribute to solutions.

Obama is cutting his first visit to Spain a day short because of a series of deadly shootings in the U.S.

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8:50 a.m.

Dallas police chief David Brown says the suspect in the deadly attack on Dallas police officers scrawled letters in his own blood on the walls of the parking garage where officers cornered and later killed him.

Brown told CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday that Micah Johnson wrote lettering in blood before heading upstairs and writing more in his own blood. He says the 25-year-old Army veteran wrote the letters "RB," and that investigators are looking through things found in his suburban Dallas home to try to figure out what he may have meant by that.

The chief defended the decision to kill Johnson using a robot-delivered bomb, saying negotiations went nowhere and trying to "get him" in some other way would have put his officers in danger.

Brown says that during the roughly two-hour standoff in the garage, Johnson lied to and taunted the police negotiators.

Authorities say Johnson killed five police officers and wounded seven others and two civilians during an attack at a protest over last week's killings by police of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota.

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1:40 a.m.

The gunman who killed five police officers at a protest march had practiced military-style drills in his yard and trained at a private self-defense school that teaches special tactics, including "shooting on the move," a maneuver in which an attacker fires and changes position before firing again.

Micah Johnson, an Army veteran, received instruction at the Academy of Combative Warrior Arts in the Dallas suburb of Richardson about two years ago, said the school's founder and chief instructor, Justin J. Everman.

Everman's statement was corroborated by a police report from May 8, 2015, when someone at a business a short distance away called in a report of several suspicious people in a parked SUV.

The investigating officer closed the case just minutes after arriving at a strip mall. While there, the officer spoke to Johnson, who said he "had just gotten out of a class at a nearby self-defense school."

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9:10 p.m.

The owner of a community social services organization says the gunman who killed five police officers at a Dallas protest march worked for his organization.

Dallas-based Touch of Kindness subcontracts with the state to provide care for people with disabilities.

Owner Jeppi Carnegie says that Micah Johnson was paid to care for his brother, who was in his early 20s.

Carnegie said Johnson, until his death this week, received an hourly wage to look after his brother at the home in Mesquite where both men lived with their mother. Carnegie said he spoke with Johnson only once by phone, for less than a minute, and only then to confirm that he would be taking care of his brother.

Johnson was killed Friday morning by police.

The Dallas Police Department headquarters building is reflected in the hubcap of a police car that is part of a makeshift memorial, Sunday, July 10, 2016, in Dallas. Five police officers were killed and several injured during a shooting in downtown Dallas Thursday night. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

This undated photo posted on Facebook on April 30, 2016, shows Micah Johnson, who was a suspect in the sniper slayings of five law enforcement officers in Dallas Thursday night, July 7, 2016, during a protest over two recent fatal police shootings of black men. An Army veteran, Johnson tried to take refuge in a parking garage and exchanged gunfire with police, who later killed him with a robot-delivered bomb, Dallas Police Chief David Brown said. (Facebook via AP)

A woman walks her dog past the home where Micah Johnson, the gunman who killed several police officers at a protest march, lived with his mother Saturday, July 9, 2016, in Mesquite, Texas. On Friday investigators searched the home and removed several bags of evidence. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

A Dallas police officer receivers flowers at a roadblock outside their headquarters, Saturday, July 9, 2016, in Dallas. A peaceful protest, over the recent shootings of black men by police, turned violent Thursday night as gunman Micah Johnson shot at officers, killing several and injuring others. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Protesters shut down Interstate 94 near downtown St. Paul

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP)  Police arrested about 100 people in the Minnesota capital of St. Paul during protests over the recent police killings of black men, including one in a nearby suburb.

Authorities said 21 St. Paul officers and six state troopers were hurt during the fracas late Saturday and early Sunday.

Police used smoke bombs to clear more than 200 people blocking Interstate 94, the main highway in and out of the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Protesters pelted police in riot gear with rocks, bottles, firecrackers and other objects, and they refused to get off the highway, prompting officers in riot gear to move in just after midnight.

Marchers block part of Interstate 94 in St. Paul, Minn., Saturday, July 9, 2016, during a protest sparked by the recent police killings of black men in Minnesota and Louisiana. (Glen Stubbe/Star Tribune via AP)

Roughly half of the arrests happened during that standoff. Most of the others happened early Sunday in another part of St. Paul.

Police Chief Todd Axtell called the violence against officers "a disgrace."

In Louisiana, meanwhile, prominent Black Lives Matter activist DeRay Mckesson was among several people who were arrested Saturday night during protests in Baton Rouge. They were calling for justice following last week's fatal shooting of a 37-year-old black man, Alton Sterling, by two white police officers.

In Minnesota, Mike Martin, who wore a guitar on his back and said he was trying to promote peace, was pepper sprayed by an officer on a pedestrian bridge overlooking the interstate. He said he was trying to move the crowd along and keep the peace.

"I guess I wasn't moving fast enough for him," said Martin, who said the officer was six feet away when he sprayed him without warning. "He just got it out and bam, I saw a cloud. It's burning pretty bad."

A leader on a loudspeaker urged the group to march to the governor's mansion, where protesters have been gathering since the fatal police shooting Wednesday of a black driver, Philando Castile, in the suburb of Falcon Heights. The 32-year-old school cafeteria supervisor told officers during a traffic stop that he had a gun in the car and a permit to use it, and one of them shot him when he reached for his wallet, according to his girlfriend, who live-streamed video of the immediate aftermath on Facebook.

Tyree Johnson, a protester who said he was Castile's cousin, said officers on the highway fired pellets and gas in his direction.

Misty Macon, 20, of St. Paul, said the protest was mostly peaceful, though at least one protester aimed a firework at an officer. She said she saw about 30 people being peacefully taken away by officers, who said they warned protesters they would be subject to arrest if they didn't leave the interstate, which reopened early Sunday.

The protest, which started with a march from the governor's mansion around 8 p.m., was among several demonstrations nationwide that stemmed from the deaths of Castile and Sterling, who was shot after scuffling with the officers outside a convenience store.

The night after Castile was killed, authorities say a black Army veteran attacked police at a protest in Dallas over the killings of Castile and Sterling. Investigators say the attacker, Micah Johnson, killed five officers and wounded seven others and two civilians before police cornered and killed him in a parking garage using a robot-delivered bomb.

Sterling's and Castile's families denounced the attack on the Dallas officers.

Marchers block part of Interstate 94 in St. Paul, Minn., Saturday, July 9, 2016, during a protest sparked by the recent police killings of black men in Minnesota and Louisiana. (Glen Stubbe/Star Tribune via AP)

Law enforcement form a line across Interstate 94 on Saturday, July 9, 2016, in St. Paul, Minn., in response to protesters who blocked the highway. The protesters were rallying in response to the death of Philando Castile, who was shot and killed by a suburban St. Paul police officer on July 6. (AP Photo/Joe Danborn)

Law enforcement form a line across Interstate 94 on Saturday, July 9, 2016, in St. Paul, Minn., in response to protesters who blocked the highway. The protesters were rallying in response to the death of Philando Castile, who was shot and killed by a suburban St. Paul police officer on July 6. (AP Photo/Skip Foreman)
Cambodian PM promises vigorous probe into critic's killing

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP)  Cambodia's prime minister said Monday that authorities will conduct a vigorous investigation to uncover any conspiracy behind the shooting death of a government critic, and urged the opposition not to use the assassination to incite people.

Kem Ley, 45, was killed at a gas station mini-mart complex in Phnom Penh on Sunday and his attacker was arrested shortly afterward. Police said the suspect claimed to have shot Kem Ley, a high-profile political analyst, because he failed to pay him back for a loan.

But Cambodia's opposition, which has long been suppressed by Prime Minister Hun Sen, have suggested that Kem Ley, 45, was a victim of a conspiracy for his outspoken views about government corruption. His friends and supporters have decided to keep his body at a Buddhist temple for 10 days before holding the funeral to allow people to pay their respects.

In this June 4, 2016, photo, prominent political analyst Kem Ley smiles as he celebrated the 67th anniversary to commemorate the Kampuchea Krom territory's return to Vietnam by the French government, at Chroy Changvar, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. National police spokesman Gen. Kirth Chantharith says Kem Lay was shot dead Sunday, July 10, 2016, morning and his attacker arrested shortly after. He says the suspect claimed to have carried out the shooting because Kem Lay allegedly failed to pay him back for a loan. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Speaking at the inauguration of a new military police headquarters, Hun Sen condemned the killing and offered his condolences to Kem Ley's family.

"I have ordered the competent authority to conduct a vigorous investigation into the attacker and the conspirators to face justice," he said.

The killing comes at a time of political tension that began last year with legal and other pressures on the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party by Hun Sen's government.

Kem Ley was often critical of the government, and was widely known because he was frequently heard on the popular Cambodian-language services of Radio Free Asia and Voice of America, U.S. government-funded services that are among the few independent news sources in Cambodia. He was also frequently quoted in the country's handful of independent newspapers.

One of his most recent commentaries was about a report issued last week by the London-based research and advocacy group Global Witness that alleged that Hun Sen and his family have enriched themselves and kept power through corruption.

The Interior Ministry identified the attacker as Chuob Samlap, 38, one of the many migrant Cambodian farm workers in neighboring Thailand.

Hun Sen said he hoped the killing is not used to incite the public.

"Hopefully, our people will give authorities time to perform their duties by not turning this tragedy into something politically motivated," he said.

Violence has long played a prominent part in Cambodian politics, though it often is carried out in the countryside, where it gets little attention. Activists and members of the political opposition are frequent targets, and attackers are rarely brought to justice.

Kem Ley is the most prominent Cambodian government critic to be killed since trade union leader Chea Vichea in 2004.

Kem Ley's body will be moved from the Buddhist temple in Phnom Penh on July 19 and taken to his hometown Takeo in the south for cremation, said Sum Po, one of the funeral organizers.

For now, his body was placed on a bed covered by a Cambodian flag up to his neck. Buddhist monks sat nearby to pray for his soul.

People stand outside a shopping mall where Kem Ley, a prominent political analyst, was shot and killed, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Sunday, July 10, 2016. Police in Cambodia say a dispute over money led to the shooting death of Kem Ly at a shopping mall in the capital Phnom Penh. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

A Cambodian woman, foreground, weeps outside a local market where Kem Ley, a political analyst, was killed in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, July 10, 2016. Police in Cambodia say a dispute over money led to the shooting death of a prominent political analyst at the shopping mall in the capital Phnom Penh. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Cambodians cry outside a shopping mall where prominent political analyst Kem Ley was shot dead in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Sunday, July 10, 2016. National police spokesman Gen. Kirth Chantharith said a dispute over money led to the shooting death of Kem Lay Sunday morning and his attacker arrested shortly after. He says the suspect claimed to have carried out the shooting because Kem Lay allegedly failed to pay him back for a loan. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
Although Western countries always label themselves as defenders of international law, historic facts prove that such words are just a disguise for their "double standards" the People's Daily said in an editorial published on Friday.

The article, published under the pen name "Zhong Sheng," a homonym in Chinese for "voice of China" that is often used to express the paper's views on foreign policy.

The full text of the article reads as follows:

Britain on Wednesday published the long-awaited inquiry into the Iraq War, reviewing the decision process, preparation work and post-war plans for the war.

What's worth mentioning is that the 2.6 million-word inquiry into Britain's role in the invasion and occupation of Iraq did not give a conclusion on the legitimacy of the war. But the seven-year inquiry does offer glimpse into current international relations.

American and British strategists began to reflect on the Iraq War years ago, but their emphasis was mainly on detailed tactics rather than the nature or the root cause of the war. Some of those analysts even regretted that "the war wasted the good cards left by the Cold War to the US."

But the international community concluded years ago that it was an illegal war started by unilateral military actions to overthrow the regime of a sovereign country without the authority of the UN.

Citing the theory of the Iraq War as overriding international laws and undermining international bodies, the Guardian, in its editorial written after the report was issued, commented that such a theory deserves no epitaph and should have died in the deserts and cities of Iraq.

Although Western countries always label themselves as defenders of international law, historic facts prove that such words are just a disguise for their "double standards."

A trick frequently played by them is to use the law to serve their interests by obscuring "illegal actions" with "legitimate ones."

Such instances abound, and the Ukraine crisis starting from the end of 2013 is one of them. During the crisis, which was indeed a strategic battle between Western countries and Russia, the West counties used international law as a sword to attack Russia.

However, when doing so, they never bore the historic facts and justice in mind. Russian President Vladimir Putin once ridiculed their unreasonable standards by saying that "it's a good thing that they at least remember that there exists such a thing as international law - better late than never."

The South China Sea arbitration unilaterally filed by the Philippines serves as another example of the abuse of international law by Western countries including the US. By replaying the trick, they, with trumped-up charges, aimed to label China as the country that has been violating the law.

However, the nature of this political farce is obvious. The disputes between the Philippines and China are actually about territorial and maritime delimitation, but the two countries agreed to solve them through negotiation and consultation years ago.

What's more, territorial issues do not fall within the adjustment scope of the United Nations Convention of the Law of Sea (UNCLOS). Also, as early as 2006, China excluded compulsory settlement procedures from maritime delimitation disputes in accordance with Article 298 of UNCLOS.

From the very beginning, China has affirmed its position of non-participation, non-acceptance and non-admission of the arbitration. This stance, which completely conforms with the international laws including UNCLOS, also helps safeguard the integrity and authority of the convention.

On the contrary, it is the Philippines which has breached international law as its unilateral application of the arbitration goes against the estoppel principle. The Arbitration Tribunal is also a violator because it overstepped and abused its rights.

The US, who always labels itself as the "global police," actually has selfish calculations by deliberately ignoring the logical basis of the arbitration case. The case, from the very beginning, is a trap set by the US to maintain its dominance in the Asia-Pacific region.

One of its real purposes is to alienate China and its neighbors by defaming China in the name of international law.

The US has not joined UNCLOS yet even after decades of study. As a country with no respect for international law, it has no right to point fingers at other countries.

Back in 1986, the US refused to implement decisions rendered by the court in Nicaragua vs US, which fully exposes its hypocrisy. That is to say, the US will only show its strong support for international law once it can benefit from the law. Otherwise, no matter how legitimate the law is, the US will trample on it.

The Iraq War 13 years ago and the South China Sea arbitration today all indicate the vague and double standards adopted by Western countries for the sake of maximum self-interest. They disrupt regional orders and hurt people's interests under the cloak of international law.

On the contrary, China is doing the responsible thing to safeguard the international rule of law by sticking to the principles and fighting with reason in the South China Sea arbitration case.
18 dead in Indian Kashmir protests after top rebel killed

SRINAGAR, India (AP)  The death toll in Kashmir rose to 18 on Sunday as clashes between Indian troops and protesters continued despite a curfew imposed in the disputed Himalayan region to suppress anti-India anger following the killing of a popular rebel commander.

Anti-India protests have been reported from many places across Kashmir since Burhan Wani, chief of operations of Hizbul Mujahideen, Kashmir's largest rebel group, was killed Friday in fighting with Indian troops.

The dead included 17 civilians killed in two days of clashes between angry, rock-pelting protesters who defied the curfew and Indian troops, a police official said. The other fatality was a policeman who was killed Sunday after protesters pushed the armored vehicle he was driving into a river during clashes in the southern Anantnag area, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak to reporters.

Kashmiri Muslim protesters throw stones at Indian paramilitary soldiers in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Sunday, July 10, 2016. Indian troops and protesters clashed in several parts of the state despite a curfew imposed in the Himalayan region following the killing of a popular rebel commander. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

After the protests erupted, Indian troops used live ammunition, pellet guns and tear gas to try and control the angry crowds, police said. More than 150 civilians have so far been injured in the clashes.

Police intelligence chief Shiv M. Sahai said that protesters attacked several police and paramilitary posts in the region. Around 90 government troops were also injured, he said. Thousands of government forces in riot gear have fanned out across towns and villages in Kashmir.

Officials at the region's main hospital, in the city of Srinagar, said Sunday that they were dealing with a medical emergency as they tried to attend to at least 80 civilians admitted with bullet and pellet injuries, local media reported.

Coalition of Civil Society, a prominent local rights group, said in a statement Sunday that government forces "assaulted the patients and attendants" at four hospitals in the region and also attacked ambulances carrying patients.

Indian paramilitary spokesman K.K. Sharma said the complaint would be investigated, but called the allegations "baseless."

Wani, in his early 20s, had become the iconic face of militancy in Kashmir over the last five years, using social media like Facebook to reach out to young Kashmiri men.

Kashmir is evenly divided between India and Pakistan, but claimed in its entirety by both. Most people in Kashmir have long resented India's presence, and support rebel demands for an independent Kashmir or a merging with Pakistan. More than 68,000 people have been killed in the uprising and the subsequent Indian military crackdown.

Inspector-General Syed Javaid Mujtaba Gillani described Wani's killing as the "biggest success against militants" in recent years.

Indian officials, fearing that the killing could lead to violent protests in the already troubled region, have also indefinitely suspended an annual Hindu pilgrimage to a mountain cave that draws about half a million people each year.

Cellphone services in southern parts of Kashmir remained suspended for a second day and mobile internet services were blocked in the rest of the region to prevent anti-India demonstrators from mobilizing.

Shops, businesses and government offices remained closed. Authorities also postponed school and college examinations and suspended rail services.

A Kashmiri Muslim protester throws back a teargas shell at Indian paramilitary soldiers in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Sunday, July 10, 2016. Indian troops and protesters clashed in several parts of the state despite a curfew imposed in the Himalayan region following the killing of a popular rebel commander. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

A Kashmiri Muslim protester throws back a teargas shell at Indian paramilitary soldiers in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Sunday, July 10, 2016. Indian troops and protesters clashed in several parts of the state despite a curfew imposed in the Himalayan region following the killing of a popular rebel commander. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

Indian paramilitary soldiers stand guard at a temporary checkpoint during a curfew in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Sunday, July 10, 2016. Kashmiri Muslim protesters clashed with Indian troops in different parts of the state despite curfew imposed on the disputed Himalayan region to suppress anti-India violence following the killing of a popular rebel commander. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

A Kashmiri Muslim protester throws brick at Indian paramilitary soldiers in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Sunday, July 10, 2016. Clashes between Indian troops and protesters continued despite a curfew imposed in the disputed Himalayan region to suppress anti-India violence following the Friday killing of Burhan Wani, chief of operations of Hizbul Mujahideen, Kashmir's largest rebel group. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

An Indian paramilitary soldier watches for Kashmiri protesters in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Sunday, July 10, 2016. Clashes between Indian troops and protesters continued despite a curfew imposed in the disputed Himalayan region to suppress anti-India violence following the Friday killing of Burhan Wani, chief of operations of Hizbul Mujahideen, Kashmir's largest rebel group. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

A Kashmiri Muslim family runs for cover as protesters clash with Indian security forces in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Sunday, July 10, 2016. Clashes between Indian troops and protesters continued despite a curfew imposed in the disputed Himalayan region to suppress anti-India violence following the Friday killing of Burhan Wani, chief of operations of Hizbul Mujahideen, Kashmir's largest rebel group. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

Kashmiri Muslim protesters clash with Indian paramilitary soldiers in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Sunday, July 10, 2016. Indian troops and protesters clashed in several parts of the state despite a curfew imposed in the Himalayan region following the killing of a popular rebel commander. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)
Israel find may help solve mystery of biblical Philistines

ASHKELON, Israel (AP)  An archaeological discovery announced on Sunday in Israel may help solve an enduring biblical mystery: where did the ancient Philistines come from?

The Philistines left behind plenty of pottery. But part of the mystery surrounding the ancient people was that very little biological trace of them had been found  until 2013.

That's when archaeologists excavating the site of the biblical city of Ashkelon found what they say is the first Philistine cemetery ever discovered. They say they have uncovered the remains of more than 200 people there.

This Tuesday, June 28, 2016 photo shows archeologists excavating an ancient Phillstine cemetery near Ashkelon, Israel. The recent archaeological discovery in Israel may help solve a biblical mystery of where the ancient Philistines came from. A team of archaeologists excavating at the site of the biblical city of Ashkelon have announced it found the first Philistine cemetery ever to be discovered. Now the team is performing DNA, radiocarbon and other tests on bone samples found at the cemetery, dating to the 11th to 8th centuries B.C. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)

The discovery was finally unveiled Sunday at the close of a 30-year excavation by the Leon Levy Expedition, a team of archaeologists from Harvard University, Boston College, Wheaton College in Illinois and Troy University in Alabama.

The team is now performing DNA, radiocarbon and other tests on bone samples uncovered at the cemetery, dating back to between the 11th and the 8th centuries B.C., to help resolve a debate about the Philistines' geographical origins. The archaeologists have not announced any conclusions, saying they are taking advantage of recent advances in DNA testing to get the most accurate results.

"After decades of studying what Philistines left behind, we have finally come face to face with the people themselves," said Daniel M. Master, professor of archaeology at Wheaton College and one of the leaders of the excavation. "With this discovery we are close to unlocking the secrets of their origins."

A few human remains at Philistine sites had been discovered in past years, but they provided too small a sample to draw conclusions, he added.

The archaeologists kept the discovery a secret for three years until the end of their dig because of a unique hazard of archaeology in modern-day Israel: they did not want to attract ultra-Orthodox Jewish protesters, Master said.

"We had to bite our tongues for a long time," Master said.

In the past, the ultra-Orthodox have staged demonstrations at excavations where human remains are found, arguing that the remains could be Jewish and that disturbing them would violate a religious prohibition.

The Leon Levy Expedition itself faced ultra-Orthodox demonstrators in the 1990s, during the excavation of a Canaanite burial site.

In the Bible, the Philistines are depicted as the ancient Israelites' archenemy, a foreign people who migrated from lands to the west and settled in five main cities in Philistia, in today's southern Israel and the Gaza Strip.

The most famous Philistine was Goliath, the fearsome warrior who was slain by a young King David. The Philistines' legacy lives on in the name Palestine, the term the Romans gave to the region in the 2nd century, and which is used today by Palestinians.

Archaeologists and biblical scholars have long believed the Philistines came from the Aegean region, based on pottery found in excavations of Philistine sites.

But scholars have debated where exactly in the Aegean region the Philistines came from: mainland Greece, the islands of Crete or Cyprus, or even Anatolia, in modern-day Turkey.

The bones might hold the answers, said archaeologist Yossi Garfinkel, an Israeli expert on the period who did not participate in the dig. He called the cemetery find "a very significant discovery indeed."

The excavation of the cemetery has also shed light on Philistine burial practices.

The Philistines buried their dead with perfume bottles, placed near the face. Near the legs were jars that likely held oil, wine or food. In some cases, archaeologists found the dead were buried wearing necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and even toe rings. Some were buried with their weapons.

"This is how Philistines treated their dead, and it's the code book to decoding everything," said archaeologist Adam Aja, a participant in the dig.

Finds from the cemetery went on display Sunday in an Israel Museum exhibition held at the Rockefeller Archaeological Museum in Jerusalem.

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Associated Press writer Daniel Estrin in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

This Tuesday, June 28, 2016 photo shows archeologists excavating an ancient Phillstine cemetery near Ashkelon, Israel. The recent archaeological discovery in Israel may help solve a biblical mystery of where the ancient Philistines came from. A team of archaeologists excavating at the site of the biblical city of Ashkelon have announced it found the first Philistine cemetery ever to be discovered. Now the team is performing DNA, radiocarbon and other tests on bone samples found at the cemetery, dating to the 11th to 8th centuries B.C. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)

This Tuesday, June 28, 2016 photo shows archeologists excavating an ancient Phillstine cemetery near Ashkelon, Israel. The recent archaeological discovery in Israel may help solve a biblical mystery of where the ancient Philistines came from. A team of archaeologists excavating at the site of the biblical city of Ashkelon have announced it found the first Philistine cemetery ever to be discovered. Now the team is performing DNA, radiocarbon and other tests on bone samples found at the cemetery, dating to the 11th to 8th centuries B.C. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)

This Tuesday, June 28, 2016 photo shows an archeologist taking notes at an ancient Phillstine cemetery near Ashkelon, Israel. The recent archaeological discovery in Israel may help solve a biblical mystery of where the ancient Philistines came from. A team of archaeologists excavating at the site of the biblical city of Ashkelon have announced it found the first Philistine cemetery ever to be discovered. Now the team is performing DNA, radiocarbon and other tests on bone samples found at the cemetery, dating to the 11th to 8th centuries B.C., to help resolve the debate about the Philistines origins. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)
On rare Israel visit, Egyptian FM calls for 2-state solution

JERUSALEM (AP)  Egypt's foreign minister paid a rare visit to Israel on Sunday, saying that his country remains a "steadfast and unwavering" supporter of a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians but warning that conditions for achieving that are deteriorating.

Sameh Shoukry's trip was the first official visit to Israel since 2007 and reflected the strong but low-profile ties that have developed between the two countries in recent years. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said Shoukry's visit was aimed at reviving the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

Peace efforts have made no headway since Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took office in 2009. The last round of U.S.-led talks broke down two years ago after the sides could not agree on the contours of a future peace deal.

FILE -- In this May 11, 2016 file photo, Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry listens during a press conference after heading a Security Council meeting on terrorism, at U.N. headquarters. Shoukry will visit Israel Sunday, July 10, 2016, in the first such visit in nearly a decade. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu says he will meet Shoukry Sunday in a visit that reflects positive changes in relations between the two countries. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry says the visit is aimed at reviving the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)

The Palestinians seek the establishment of an independent state in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip  lands captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war. Netanyahu has endorsed the idea of an independent Palestinian state, but he opposes a return to Israel's pre-1967 borders and has continued to build Jewish settlements on occupied lands.

Speaking at a news conference with Netanyahu, Shoukry said "the vision of the two-state solution is not far-fetched" but rather required "steps to build confidence."

He warned that worsening conditions for Palestinians threatened to undermine prospects for peace. "The plight of the Palestinian people becomes more arduous every day," Shoukry said. "And the dream of peace and security moves further out of the Israeli people's reach as long as the conflict continues."

After decades of wars followed by a cold peace, Israel has emerged as a discreet ally to Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi. In particular, the two sides share intelligence in a common battle against Islamic militants operating in Egypt's Sinai desert and the Gaza Strip.

El-Sissi recently made a high-profile speech calling for a resumption of efforts to bring peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

"My visit to Israel today is a continuation of Egypt's longstanding sense of responsibility towards peace for itself and all the peoples of the region, particularly the Palestinian and Israeli peoples, who have suffered many decades due to the perpetuation of the conflict between them," Shoukry said.

A senior Palestinian official said el-Sissi has been trying to arrange a meeting between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Netanyahu. The Palestinians have been resisting because the Egyptians have not set any parameters for the meeting, and because Netanyahu continues to build settlements, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was discussing a confidential diplomatic issue.

An Israeli government official said Netanyahu asked Shoukry for Egypt's help in releasing Israelis who are held captive or who went missing in the Gaza Strip, apparently referring to the remains of two Israeli soldiers killed in the 2014 Gaza war which are believed to be held by Hamas. An Israeli of Ethiopian descent and a Bedouin from Israel's Arab minority are also believed to be held in Gaza. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the meeting. He said Shoukry "answered in the affirmative."

Egypt and Jordan are the only Middle Eastern countries to make peace with Israel.

In a press conference with Shoukry, Netanyahu called on the Palestinians "to follow the courageous example of Egypt and Jordan and join us for direct negotiations."

Shoukry visited Abbas in the West Bank last month.

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Daraghmeh reported from Ramallah, West Bank.
Palestinians: Militant killed in Gaza tunnel collapse

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP)  The Islamic Jihad militant group says one of its tunnels in Gaza has collapsed, killing a militant who was inside.

The Palestinian group's website on Sunday identified the militant as 28-year-old Ibrahim al-Masri. It provided no further details.

Palestinian fighters, especially those affiliated with Gaza's Hamas rulers, store weapons underground and have used tunnels to carry out attacks inside Israel.

Since the beginning of this year, 14 members of Hamas have been killed in tunnel collapses due to flooding or cave-ins that have also been referred to as work accidents.
Turkish military strikes Islamic State, PKK targets

ISTANBUL (AP)  Turkish jets and artillery struck 10 Islamic State targets as they were preparing to fire on Turkey, the country's General Staff said Sunday.

U.S.-led coalition jets and Turkish howitzers hit IS rocket and mortar batteries stationed in north Syria's Dabik region late Saturday night. Eight militants were reportedly killed in the operation, the General Staff said.

IS has recently stepped up its attacks against Turkey, with a suicide attack late last month at Istanbul's Ataturk International Airport which killed dozens and injured hundreds.

Meanwhile, Turkish jets also struck seven Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, targets in Turkey's southeastern province of Hakkari.

Airstrikes regularly target PKK positions in Turkey and northern Iraq, while fighting and curfews continue in several southeastern towns.

On Sunday, a roadside bomb in the Semdinli district of Hakkari killed five soldiers, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency, which blamed the attack on PKK rebels.

Nearly 600 Turkish security personnel have been killed by the PKK since a 2-year cease-fire ended in July 2015.

The renewed conflict has also led to the death of an estimated 5,000 Kurdish militants, according to Anadolu Agency, and scores of civilians.
Portraits of loss: Victims of the Baghdad bombing

BAGHDAD (AP)  Taha Abbas recites the names of the dead-- Hassan, Ali, Issa, Mustafa -- and flips through pictures on his phone of smartly dressed young men with coiffed hair striking poses. Nearly a dozen of his friends were killed last Sunday when the Islamic State group carried out the worst single bombing Iraq has seen in 13 years of war.

One week later, death notices cover the blackened shells of the two shopping centers hit in the July 3 bombing, which killed at least 292 people.

The attack was timed to kill as many as possible -- at night during Ramadan when the streets, shops and cafes were full. Government negligence also played a role. It took firefighters over half an hour to respond, and none of the buildings had fire-escapes. The interior minister resigned in the wake of the attack, and Baghdad's security chief was fired.

This undated photo taken from Facebook shows Issa Obeida one of the victims of last week's bombing in downtown Baghdad, that killed an estimated 292 Iraqis. After his father died, Obeida had to leave school and work to support his mother and siblings. But the 24-year-old dreamed of being a model. He worked in one of the clothing stores but also modeled for the shop's ads. (AP Photo)

Bombings have been a regular feature of life in Baghdad since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, but the scale and brutality of this attack stunned even the most war-weary Iraqis.

Here are portraits of some of the victims.

MUSTAFA JOWAD

Jowad, a 23-year-old law student, was one of several young men working at the clothing shops, but his relaxed sense of humor set him apart.

"He was a very good-looking guy," Abbas said. "He was very popular with women especially. He has so many fans."

But Jowad was ready to settle down. He had gotten engaged earlier this year and was saving money to furnish a house he could move into with his fiancee.

"They loved each other so much," Abbas said, as he stood in the husk of the mall, his arms caked with sweat and dirt. Days after Sunday's attack, he and others are still sifting through the debris in search of remains.

Abbas, a clothing wholesaler who knew many of the mall's clerks, was only a block away when the bomb went off. He watched helplessly as the buildings burned. When the flames died down, he rushed to his friend's store.

He found Jowad curled up against the wall holding his nephew. They had both burned to death.

"I want people to remember that these people were Iraqis, and that Iraqis are brave and generous and good," Abbas said.

ATIAF

Atiaf had recently married her longtime sweetheart. Ambitious and smart, the 22-year-old held a degree in engineering and continued to work after having a child. She had gone out shopping and lingered into the early hours Sunday, when the blast struck.

Her husband Safi, a military officer on leave, came as soon as he heard about the attack, and found his wife's body. He hasn't left since then. The 24-year-old, his clothes covered in dust, recently led grieving families through the burned out building. Some screamed, while others silently lit candles.

He asked that he and Atiaf be identified only by their first names out of respect for his wife's family's privacy.

"We were in love for four years before we married," Safi said, joking that it took him that long to win her father's approval. Their son is a little over a year old.

"Our story was a real love story," he said.

When asked to elaborate, his eyes welled with tears and he shook his head.

ISSA OBEIDA

After his father died, Obeida had to leave school and work to support his mother and siblings.

But the 24-year-old dreamed of being a model. He worked in one of the clothing stores but also modeled for the shop's ads. Passionate about fashion, he had a sense of style that his friends struggled to define.

"He was wearing something different every time you saw him," said Hussein Samir, who held a larger-than-life poster of Obeida during a small vigil at the blast site.

The poster shows Obeida wearing a tee-shirt, with a tattoo poking out from under his right sleeve. In other photos he's wearing a blazer with a popped collar, leaning against a fence in a Baghdad park.

Obeida's family found his wallet and ID among the debris. They held a funeral, but are still searching for his remains.

Samir said Obeida was devastated by his mother's death in 2012.

"He loved her so much, he used to always put a photo of her on Facebook and say, 'I miss you, when am I going to see you again?'"

"Now, he'll see her again," Samir said.

AHMED ODAY

Oday, a 29-year-old carpenter, did custom work for many of the stores and offices in the neighborhood. Zahraa al-Nasrawi, an accountant who worked with him, said he was a devoted husband and father.

"The last time I saw him he showed me a picture of his daughter's birthday. She just turned one year old. Even though he didn't have much money, he still made a really nice party for her," al-Nasrawi said, describing the pink decorations and the cake.

"In all of his photos on his phone you could see him holding his daughter and you could see the smile on his face, you could tell he really loved her."

It was obvious that Oday was unhappy living in Baghdad  he feared for his wife and only daughter and was frustrated he couldn't find a higher paying job  but al-Nasrawi said he never complained.

Oday was planning to take his family to Iraq's cooler and more stable Kurdish region for Eid al-Fitr, the holiday marking the end of Ramadan. He was shopping for new clothes for his daughter when the bomb went off.

BANEEN Al-NOURI

Al-Nouri was much more than an only son.

"I couldn't do anything without him. He was like my eyes, but he was also my hands and my feet," said his father, Abbas Moussa, who was left legally blind by a Baghdad bombing in 2007.

Al-Nouri, 22, was in his last year of law school and engaged to be married. When he wasn't studying, he was furnishing a new home and talking with his fiancee about their future life together.

She's inconsolable now, Moussa said. "She has gone almost crazy with grief."

The day after Moussa learned of his son's death, he received al-Nouri's law school exam results.

"He was such a serious student," Moussa said, as he started to cry. "Very serious. He was waiting every day for his exam results to come."

He would have been pleased, Moussa said. "He passed."

___

Associated Press writers Akram David, Ali Hameed, Karim Kadim and Karim Jassim contributed to this report.

This photo from Facebook shows Baneen Al-Nouri at his college in Baghdad, Iraq. Al-Nouri was one of the victims of last weeks bombing in downtown Baghdad killed an estimated 292 Iraqis, including scores of young people with hopes, dreams and loved ones. Al-Nouri, 22, was in his last year of law school and engaged to be married. When he wasnt studying, he was furnishing a new home and talking with his fiancee about their future life together. (AP Photo)

This photo from Facebook shows Baneen Al-Nouri at his college in Baghdad, Iraq. Al-Nouri was one of the victims of last weeks bombing in downtown Baghdad that killed an estimated 292 Iraqis, including scores of young people with hopes, dreams and loved ones. Al-Nouri, 22, was in his last year of law school and engaged to be married. When he wasnt studying, he was furnishing a new home and talking with his fiancee about their future life together. (AP Photo)

This photo from Facebook shows Baneen Al-Nouri at his college in Baghdad, Iraq. Al-Nouri was one of the victims of last weeks bombing in downtown Baghdad killed an estimated 292 Iraqis, including scores of young people with hopes, dreams and loved ones. Al-Nouri, 22, was in his last year of law school and engaged to be married. When he wasnt studying, he was furnishing a new home and talking with his fiancee about their future life together. (AP Photo)

In this photo take on Thursday, July 7, 2016, friends and family members of bomb victim Issa Obeida hold his poster and read the Quran, Islam's holy book, at the scene of Sunday's massive truck bomb attack in Karada, Iraq. Last weeks bombing in downtown Baghdad killed an estimated 292 Iraqis, including scores of young people with hopes, dreams and loved ones. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

In this photo take on Thursday, July 7, 2016, friends and family members of bomb victim, Baneen Al-Nouri seen in poster, grieve at the scene of Sunday's massive truck bomb attack in Karada, Iraq. Last weeks bombing in downtown Baghdad killed an estimated 292 Iraqis, including scores of young people with hopes, dreams and loved ones. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

In this photo take on Friday, July 8, 2016, people gather in front of a burned mall covered with posters in memory of the victims at the scene of Sunday's massive truck bomb attack claimed by the Islamic State group in the Karada Iraq. Last weeks bombing in downtown Baghdad killed an estimated 292 Iraqis, including scores of young people with hopes, dreams and loved ones. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
Migrants face torture, rape in journey from Libya to Europe

ABOARD THE AQUARIUS ON THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA (AP)  The young Liberian man went through hell, but when he reached Libya he hoped that there he'd be able to make a living and get an education. Instead, he entered another hell of imprisonment, then near death at sea.

The ordeal of Laye Donzo is a cautionary story for the tens of thousands of Africans each year who take the migrant road to Libya, seeing it as the gateway to life and prosperity in Europe. Instead, for many the war-torn country has meant only torture, imprisonment, rape or death.

It also illustrates the problem for European countries trying to stop the stream of migrants to their shores. By trying to prevent them from taking the dangerous sea journey across the Mediterranean, they are dooming the migrants to prolonged abuse in Libya at the hands of authorities and the country's many militias, rights groups warn.

In this photo taken on Saturday June 25, 2016, Laye Donzo from Liberia poses for a photograph on the Aquarius vessel after being rescued on the Mediterranean Sea. The ordeal of Laye Donzo is a cautionary story for the tens of thousands of Africans each year who take the migrant road to Libya, seeing it as the gateway to life and prosperity in Europe. Instead, for many the war-torn country has meant only prolonged abuse. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen)

Donzo was among dozens of Italy-bound, would-be migrants rescued off the coast of Libya on June 23 by the Aquarius, a boat chartered by the charity Doctors Without Borders and the rescue group SOS Mediterranee.

On that day, the Aquarius rescued two boats, one of them after nightfall when the captain happened to spy it in the spotlight just as he was giving up the search. Then it took on hundreds more from an Italian navy ship so it could deliver them to shore while the navy vessel continued the search.

So as it headed back to Sicily, the Aquarius was swelling with more than 650 migrants, well over its official capacity of 400. The exhausted migrants  men, women and young children  crowded on the ship's decks and in the halls, wearing white overalls distributed by the aid group and wrapping themselves in gray blankets.

After the initial shock from days on open water subsided, the tales of trauma and torture they endured in Libya poured out.

Donzo and his family had fled the civil war in his homeland Liberia to neighboring Sierra Leone. There, many in his family died in an Ebola outbreak. So Donzo made his way to Libya, where he did various jobs, mostly construction.

Early this year, he was detained by armed men at a checkpoint.

He spent the next five months imprisoned in a house with hundreds of other Africans, eating a single meal every three days. He's not even sure who detained him. In lawless Libya, the lines between criminal gangs, militias and the security forces of rival governments are often blurry.

"They beat you like animals," he said. "As long as you're in prison they would beat you. I don't know how many times they beat me. They beat everyone." He showed scars running along his back, legs and arms from being bound and hit with rubber tubes.

Then one day they blindfolded him, took him to the coast and forced him into a boat. He has no idea why.

After the fall of Moammar Gadhafi in 2011, Libya was plunged into chaos, with rebel groups evolving into militias loosely aligned with various competing governments or operating on their own and carving out fiefdoms around the country. The collapse of state control and enforcement of borders proved a draw for migrants. Some militias use smuggling as a revenue source.

But the chaos has also made Africans vulnerable to abuse, whether they are working in Libya or seeking to head on to Europe. Armed groups often detain Africans, ostensibly claiming to be enforcing the laws but really just to extort money or labor. Various factions run detention centers largely on their own without answering to central authorities.

On the Aquarius, Baba Ali, from Mali, said he was detained by local fighters in the town of Bani Walid, east of Tripoli. He was held captive in a factory-turned-prison along with 1,500 other Africans. He sat down and hugged his knees to show how tightly they were squeezed in.

"It was packed," he said. "We couldn't sleep, we had to sleep sitting down."

Ali said he and the others were forced to work in construction and menial labor and were beaten regularly. Their captors fired in the air to intimidate them. Ali escaped during the holy month of Ramadan. Others had to pay to get out.

"We were looking for a job and got kidnapped by people with police uniforms," says Mostafa Dumbia, a native of the Ivory Coast. He said he was held in a prison for six weeks. His captors only released him and piled him onto a boat after his family sent payment of $1,000.

Erna Rijnierse of Doctors Without Borders says the accounts are consistent from dozens of survivors who passed through Libya. The scars on many survivors, including the combination of fresh and older scars, amount to evidence of "long-term torturing."

"I see a lot of bruises on places it's impossible to bruise yourself," Rijnierse told The Associated Press.

For the past year, EU naval vessels in the Mediterranean have been working to intercept smuggling boats in a program called Operation Sophia. In June, the operation was extended for another year and expanded, with the EU now training the Libyan coast guard and navy in stopping smuggling. The EU also asked NATO to get involved, a request that will be discussed at the alliance's summit in Warsaw that began Friday.

The aim is in part to save lives. In 2015, at least 3,771 would-be migrants died in the Mediterranean, according to the International Organization for Migration. So far, 2016 is looking as bad if not worse. The IOM has so far documented nearly 2,920 deaths, the vast majority of them from African nations.

Operation Sophia is also aimed at deterring migrants from coming by shutting down the smuggling routes. Europe absorbed more than a million irregular migrants in 2015, a five-fold increase compared to 2014.

But in a report released Wednesday, Human Rights Watch said the effort "risks condemning migrants and asylum-seekers to violent abuse."

"It's unacceptable to save or intercept people at sea and then send them back for abuse on land," said Judith Sunderland, associate Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "The EU  soon perhaps with NATO's help  is basically outsourcing the dirty work and deputizing Libyan forces to help seal Europe's border."

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told NATO leaders meeting in Warsaw that the organization had decided to launch a new security operation in the Mediterranean, Operation Sea Guardian, which will have a broad range of missions including counterterrorism.

"We intend to work closely with the European Union's Operation Sophia in the central Mediterranean, building on our swift and effective cooperation with the EU to cut the lines of international human smuggling in the Aegean," Stoltenberg said Saturday.

The Human Rights Watch report and another issued in June by Amnesty International include accounts from dozens of migrants that document rampant torture, beatings and sexual abuse in Libya. HRW's Associate Program Director Fred Abrahams noted that Sudanese women migrants take contraceptives before reaching Libya because the problem has become so well-known.

A 26-year-old Ivorian woman interviewed by Human Rights Watch said she was detained in June and July 2015 at an official facility in the Libyan city of Tajoura. She spoke of being forced to give oral sex to a Libyan guard almost daily. A failed attempt to escape by a group of women only led to further sexual violence.

"Seven girls got away but they caught the rest of us," she said. "The guards stripped one of us, a Nigerian girl, and raped her in front of us in the courtyard."

On the morning of June 26, the Aquarius pulled along the Sicilian coast and into the port of Messina. The migrants are given medical checks and registered and housed in so-called 'hotspot' migration centers so authorities can process their asylum applications. Some, however, leave the centers and head elsewhere in Europe as undocumented migrants.

As the ship cruised past the Sicilian hills, women looked curiously out the portholes as others went up on deck to get a view.

Like others, one man from Mali who gave his name only as Suleiman was weeping.

"I'm thinking about everything I've been through," he said. And he was thinking of his parents and siblings left behind in his homeland. "My brothers and sisters, that's why I'm crying."

___

Soguel reported from Istanbul. Associated Press writers Lorne Cooke and John-Thor Dahlburg in Brussels contributed to this report.

In this photo taken Saturday June 25, 2016, Mostafa Dumbia from the Ivory Coast poses for a photograph on the Aquarius vessel after being rescued on the Mediterranean Sea. In Libya he got detained. "We were looking for a job and got kidnapped by people with police uniforms. I called family to give me money and they sent it, so I got out." Dumbia says he spent one and a half months in prison. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen)

In this photo taken Saturday June 25, 2016, 19-year-old Mohammed from Ghana, who moved to Libya with his mother when he was 9-years old, poses for a photograph aboard the 'Aqaurius' vessel after being rescued on the Mediterranean Sea. By trying to prevent migrants from taking the dangerous sea journey across the Mediterranean, they are dooming them to prolonged abuse in Libya at the hands of authorities and the countrys many militias, rights groups warn. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen)

In this photo taken Saturday June 25, 2016, Imad Ibrahim left Sudan last year trying to cross the Libyan border by foot, giving his story after being rescued from his dangerous journey trying cross the Mediterranean Sea aboard the Aquarius humanitarian vessel. Imad says he got detained by Libyan rebels who demanded money before they'd allow him to cross further into Libya. "When I reached the border they beat me up and hit me and I lost my teeth. They would beat me almost every second or third day. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen)

In this photo taken Saturday June 25, 2016, Baba Ali from Mali aboard the 'Aqaurius' humanitarian vessel in the Mediterranean Sea. Baba Ali spent three years in a prison, before he got on a rubber boat to Italy. He said he was detained by local fighters in the town of Bani Walid, east of Tripoli and was held captive in a factory-turnedprison along with 1,500 other Africans. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen)

In this photo taken on Saturday June 25, 2016, Laye Donzo from Liberia shows the scars on his leg, as he rests aboard the Aquarius humanitarian vessel. The ordeal of Laye Donzo is a cautionary story for the tens of thousands of Africans each year who take the migrant road to Libya, seeing it as the gateway to life and prosperity in Europe. Instead, for many the war-torn country has meant only prolonged abuse. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen)

FILE - In this Saturday June 25, 2016 file photo, a woman looks out of the porthole from aboard the 'Aquarius' rescue vessel after arriving in Sicily, Italy with more than 600 migrants aboard the ship rescued by SOS Mediterranee and the medical aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF). By trying to prevent migrants from taking the dangerous sea journey across the Mediterranean, they are dooming them to prolonged abuse in Libya at the hands of authorities and the countrys many militias, rights groups warn. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen, File)

FILE - In this Saturday June 25, 2016 file photo, migrants look out from the stern of the 'Aquarius' vessel, on the Mediterranean Sea, with more than 600 migrants aboard the ship rescued by SOS Mediterranee and the medical aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF). By trying to prevent migrants from taking the dangerous sea journey across the Mediterranean, they are dooming them to prolonged abuse in Libya at the hands of authorities and the countrys many militias, rights groups warn. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen, File)
Britain may be yearning for a country that never was

GREAT YARMOUTH, England (AP)  Across Britain, from dilapidated Welsh coal mining towns to English beach resorts frozen in time, people say they voted to leave the European Union and plunge into the unknown to get their country back.

But which country is that, exactly? Could their stinging blow to the European project have stemmed from a yearning for a Britain that never really existed?

On a rare blue-sky day in Great Yarmouth, a quintessentially English seaside resort with squeaky-floored hotels and screeching seagulls, the mostly elderly people strolling along the beach longed for a bygone era.

In this Wednesday, July 6, 2016 photo, two woman sit outside a pub at Great Yarmouth, East of England. Not just in this quintessentially English, declining seaside resort but throughout the United Kingdom, people who voted to leave the European Union say the sense of community that once glued the country together had been shattered. They blamed politicians, bankers, foreigners, European bureaucrats and even political correctness. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Not just in this declining coastal town but throughout the United Kingdom, they said, the sense of community that once glued the country together had been shattered. They blamed politicians, bankers, foreigners, European bureaucrats and even political correctness.

Yvonne Pycroft, a 69-year-old with purple highlights in her white hair, summed up the feelings of many "leave" voters when she said she's not sure Britain will be better off outside the European Union, "but what we had I didn't like so we're just taking a gamble. I'm just hoping it will change for the better."

In the Working Men's club of Haltwhistle, a quaint countryside village whose claim to fame is being the geographical midpoint of Britain, gray-haired men agreed their country was better off before it joined the EU in 1973. Except for Dryden Smith, the oldest man in the club and one of the few who said they voted "remain." With gleaming badges on his blazer, he said the quality of life has improved greatly since he was young.

"I'm 81 years old now. I'm looked after left, right and center. And I can't ask for more," he said, hands trembling. "I come out here and enjoy my whisky. Bring my wife out with us. And we just have a good time. Before that, we couldn't because we hadn't the money."

"Leave" voters, many of them pensioners, told Associated Press journalists on a road trip across Britain last week they were sick and tired of being told what to do by Brussels. But besides the free movement of people, which has resulted in hundreds of thousands of European migrant workers coming to Britain, they struggled to find examples of how the EU has encroached on their lives.

They still enjoy many of Britain's unique features, such as paying with pounds rather than euros, the currency of 19 EU members, driving on the left side of the road and using electricity plugs with three pins instead of two, the norm in most of Europe.

In Wales, more than 52 percent of the electorate voted out despite getting more money back from the EU than they put in. Jenny Hughes, an education consultant in the town of Pontypridd, said it reminded her of a scene in the 1979 Monty Python comedy film "Life of Brian," where occupied Judeans ask "what have the Romans done for us?" except improve sanitation, medicine, education, irrigation, public order and roads.

"They say this is a chance to have a go at (Conservative Prime Minister David) Cameron, this is a chance to have a go at the bankers," Hughes said. "They are voting against immigration, they are voting against the establishment."

Except in Scotland and Northern Ireland, which voted to remain, people in deprived former coal, steel and shipbuilding towns admitted they voted "leave" without having a clear idea of the potential economic consequences. Their decision, they said, was fueled by a feeling of being ignored and abandoned even by Labour, the traditional party of the working class, and this was their chance to make their voices heard.

In Great Yarmouth, Pycroft said she would like Britain to return to the days when children could play conkers, a traditional school yard game with chestnuts that some schools have reportedly banned for safety reasons, and people didn't get offended by nursery rhymes.

"We're not allowed to say 'baa-baa black sheep anymore," she said. "It's ridiculous."

Having a pint on the beachfront promenade, Sean Sutton and Maria Atkins, both 46-year-old leave voters, said they didn't think they were glorifying the past.

"We were the best country in the world for making steel and producing coal and everything and it's all gone now," Sutton said, sunglasses perched on his shaved head.

Heavy industry jobs that gave people an income and sense of identity have been sent overseas, while migrant workers are bringing down the pay for remaining jobs in Britain, he said.

Gone, too, he added, is the community spirit whereby "you can leave your back door open if you want. You can go to the shops without being scared of being mugged or anything like that. And that's what Britain's got to go back to."

Several studies have shown crime levels are declining in Britain and other Western European countries. Figures from the EU's official statistics agency show England saw an 18-percent drop in violent crimes recorded by police between 2002 and 2012.

Still, Atkins said people aren't treating each other the way they used to. Manners and respect for the elderly has gone "out the window," she said. Sutton agreed, saying migrants were partly to blame.

"They won't open doors for you," he said. "I was brought up to open doors for people and say 'please' and 'thank you.' Some of them just barge past you."

Great Yarmouth was among several areas in eastern England where more than 70 percent voted "leave." Like many English seaside resorts it started stagnating when package tours to Spain became affordable in the 1970s. It's now struggling with unemployment, low education levels and high rates of teenage pregnancy.

In Peterborough, an eastern city with a high rate of immigration, the "leave" side got 61 percent. Mike Bullock said he voted "leave" partly because of the loneliness he had felt as the only Englishman working in a packing factory.

"All the rest of them spoke either Lithuanian or Polish," he said. "If there wasn't anybody else available, anybody who spoke English, I used to go have my tea break on my own."

In a market stall in the city, 67-year-old Bruce Johnson also complained about immigration and said he wanted his country back from a "faceless group of diplomats" in Brussels. Asked whether he could think of anything Britain had gained from its EU membership, he paused for a second.

"I'm trying to think of something," he said. "I don't think it has."

Behind him a jukebox was playing "Land of Hope and Glory," viewed by many as England's unofficial national anthem.

___

AP journalist David Keyton contributed to this report.

In this Wednesday, July 6, 2016 photo, three men sit next to an amusement park at Great Yarmouth, East of England. Not just in this quintessentially English, declining seaside resort but throughout the United Kingdom, people who voted to leave the European Union say the sense of community that once glued the country together had been shattered. They blamed politicians, bankers, foreigners, European bureaucrats and even political correctness. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

In this Wednesday, July 6, 2016 photo, a couple sit inside a pub at Great Yarmouth, East of England. Not just in this quintessentially English, declining seaside resort but throughout the United Kingdom, people who voted to leave the European Union say the sense of community that once glued the country together had been shattered. They blamed politicians, bankers, foreigners, European bureaucrats and even political correctness. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

In this Wednesday, July 6, 2016 photo, people play pool inside a pub in Great Yarmouth, East of England. Not just in this quintessentially English, declining seaside resort but throughout the United Kingdom, people who voted to leave the European Union say the sense of community that once glued the country together had been shattered. They blamed politicians, bankers, foreigners, European bureaucrats and even political correctness. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

In this Wednesday, July 6, 2016 photo, people watch TV inside a pub at Great Yarmouth, East of England. Not just in this quintessentially English, declining seaside resort but throughout the United Kingdom, people who voted to leave the European Union say the sense of community that once glued the country together had been shattered. They blamed politicians, bankers, foreigners, European bureaucrats and even political correctness. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

In this Thursday, July 7, 2016 photo, a man puts out chairs on a terrace at a bar in Great Yarmouth, East of England. Not just in this quintessentially English, declining seaside resort but throughout the United Kingdom, people who voted to leave the European Union say the sense of community that once glued the country together had been shattered. They blamed politicians, bankers, foreigners, European bureaucrats and even political correctness. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Head of UK opposition party urges challenger to think again

LONDON (AP)  The leader of Britain's Labour Party urged a lawmaker challenging him for the job to "think for a moment" about her decision as turmoil roils the opposition party in the wake of the country's decision to leave the European Union.

Jeremy Corbyn told the BBC that he was disappointed that Angela Eagle, the party's former spokeswoman on business issues, had decided to launch a campaign. But he made it clear he would fight on, hinting he would take up a legal challenge to make sure he is given a chance to defend his post.

"I would ask her to think for a moment," he said. "This is the opportunity of the party to unite against what the Tories are doing, to put forward an agenda which is different from the austerity agenda being put forward by the Tories, and actually gaining a lot of ground."

Britain's Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn ahead of his speech during the Durham Miners' Gala on the old Racecourse in Durham, England, Saturday July 9, 2016. Corbyn will face a leadership challenge from shadow cabinet minister Angela Eagle, according to an announcement on Saturday. (Scott Heppell / PA via AP)

The EU vote has caused turmoil in British politics, exposing broad rifts between the views of the major political leaders and the electorate. Prime Minister David Cameron is resigning after failing to win the vote and a race is under way within the Conservative Party to replace him.

So, too, is Labour struggling with the EU outcome. Corbyn is in jeopardy over fears that he wouldn't be able to rally national backing to win a new election should Cameron's successor choose to call one. Senior members of the party want him to go  now  and avert a bruising contest likely to split the party.

"He's not a bad man," Eagle told ITV. "He's not a leader though. He doesn't connect with Labour voters. He doesn't connect enough to win an election."

Among the many issues roiling the Labour party is the question of whether the incumbent leader is automatically entitled to be on the ballot in the case of a leadership challenge. This matters because it is unclear whether Corbyn  who recently lost a confidence vote held by the party's lawmakers  would be able to otherwise gain the support he would need from this grouping to get his name on the ballot.

"I'm expecting to be on the ballot paper because the rules of the party indicate that the existing leader, if challenged, should be on the ballot paper anyway," he told the BBC.

Corbyn is confident that he could win an election if nominated because he enjoys widespread grass-roots support.

But having the charisma and appeal to gain support across the board nationally is another matter altogether  a fact made all too clear by the results of the June 23 referendum.

While Corbyn can speak effectively to those who agree with him, he makes little or no effort to persuade those of differing views to join him, said Victoria Honeyman, an expert on British politics at the University of Leeds. After all, he can't even persuade a majority of his own party's lawmakers to support him.

"It's not the fact that he looks like a geography teacher," Honeyman said. "He just doesn't seem to be able to communicate with people who don't think like he does. Particularly if you are leader, you have to be able to talk to people."

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This story has been corrected to show that Angela Eagle is the Labour Party's former spokeswoman on business issues, not the current one.
Mideast nations caution citizens on US travel amid protests

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)  Two Mideast countries are warning citizens traveling in the United States to be careful around protests over police shootings.

A "special alert" issued by the United Arab Emirates Embassy to Washington on Saturday urged citizens to stay away from demonstrations in U.S. cities. State news agency WAM said the warning followed a protest by supporters of the "Black Lives Matter" movement in Washington on Friday.

The island kingdom of Bahrain issued its own advisory on Twitter, telling nationals to be "cautious of protests or crowded areas."

FILE -- In this Feb. 8, 2016 file photo, Emirati officials watch U.S. President Barack Obama's keynote address at the opening ceremony of the World Government Summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Two Mideast countries are warning citizens traveling in the United States to be careful around protests over police shootings. A "special alert" issued by the United Arab Emirates Embassy to Washington on Saturday, July 9, 2016 urged citizens to stay away from demonstrations in U.S. cities, and Bahrain told nationals to be "cautious of protests or crowded areas." The U.S. State Department routinely issues travel advisories for Americans abroad. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili, File)
Baku, Azerbaijan, July 10

Trend:

Armenian armed forces have 12 times violated the ceasefire with Azerbaijan on the line of contact over the past 24 hours, said Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry July 10.

Armenian armed forces, stationed in the Dovekh village of Armenias Noyemberyan district opened fire at Azerbaijani positions located in the Kemerli village of the Gazakh district.

Moreover, Azerbaijani positions underwent fire from the positions located near the Ashagi Seyidahmadli village of the Fizuli district and on nameless heights of the Goranboy and Fizuli 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.
Japan coalition scores bigger-than-expected election win

TOKYO (AP)  Japan's ruling coalition scored a stronger-than-expected victory in parliamentary elections, results showed Monday, as voters chose stability and hopes for economic revival over opposition pleas to stop the prime minister from building a more assertive military.

Half of the seats of the less powerful upper house, or 121 seats, were up for grabs in Sunday's vote. There had been no possibility for a change of power because the ruling coalition, headed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Liberal Democratic Party, already controls the more powerful lower house, but the balloting was a key gauge of how much support Abe's coalition has among the public.

The Liberal Democrats won 56 of the 121 seats, official results showed on Monday. The party's coalition partner Komeito won 14 seats. The total of 70 seats was far better than the goal of a combined 61 seats set by Abe.

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, center, and leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, smiles as he places a red rosette on the name of his Liberal Democratic Party's winning candidate during ballot counting for the parliamentary upper house elections at the party headquarters in Tokyo, Sunday, July 10, 2016. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)

That number may grow if independent candidates join the coalition, common in Japanese elections, and if there are defections from the soundly defeated opposition, less common but what analysts are predicting might happen.

Abe appeared before TV cameras at party headquarters late Sunday to pin red flowers, indicating confirmed wins, next to his candidates' names written on a big board.

"I am honestly so relieved," he told NHK, promising new government spending to help wrest the economy out of the doldrums in a "total and aggressive" way. He declined to give details.

With their pro-business policies, the Liberal Democrats have ruled Japan almost continuously since World War II, and until recently enjoyed solid support from rural areas. The few years the opposition held power coincided with the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disasters that devastated northeastern Japan. The opposition fell out of favor after being heavily criticized for its feeble reconstruction efforts.

Robert Dujarric, professor and director of the Institute of Contemporary Asian Studies at Temple University Japan in Tokyo, said the win reflected voters' disenchantment with the opposition, rather than their excitement about Abe's policies.

"The public is old. It doesn't want change," he said. "It doesn't want what Japan really needs  more structural reform, less money for the old, and more funding for families and children."

Combined with other conservative politicians, the coalition has a two-thirds majority in the upper house, which is needed to propose any referendum to change the constitution, written by the U.S. after Japan's defeat in World War II. The constitution has a clause that limits Japan's well-equipped army, navy and air force to self-defense.

Many members of Japan's military don't anticipate becoming involved in overseas wars, expecting their work to be limited to disaster relief. But some Japanese increasingly agree with Abe's views on security because of growing fears about terrorism, the recent missile launches by North Korea and China's military assertiveness.

Tetsuro Kato, professor of politics at Waseda University, said Abe won't rush to change the constitution, saying he needs better timing because the recent strengthening of the yen  a minus for exports  and concerns about global economic growth.

Yukio Edano, the legislator who ran the campaign for the main opposition Democratic Party, acknowledged that while the public agreed with his party's message that Abenomics wasn't working for regular people, he told NHK that the "... people felt we did not offer enough of an alternative."

Abe during the campaign that his "Abenomics" program, centered on easy lending and a cheap yen to encourage exports, was still ongoing and that patience was needed for results. He downplayed the constitutional question during the campaign, saying only that discussion was needed.

___

Follow Yuri Kageyama on Twitter at https://twitter.com/yurikageyama

Her work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/yuri-kageyama

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, answers a question from reporter during a TV interview on the ballot counting of the parliamentary upper house election at their party headquarters in Tokyo, Sunday, July 10, 2016. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)

An election staff member carries a ballot box for voting at a ballot counting center in Tokyo, Sunday, July 10, 2016. Japan's ruling coalition was a clear winner in Sunday's parliamentary election, Japanese media exit polls indicated, paving the way for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to push ahead with his economic revival policies, but also possibly changing the nation's postwar pacifist constitution.(AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

A voters select candidates before casting their ballots in Japan's upper house parliamentary elections at a polling station in Tokyo, Sunday, July 10, 2016. While Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling party is seeking a mandate for his leadership by emphasizing his economic revitalization policies in the Sunday's election, several opposition parties are coordinating a negative campaign, cautioning voters that a landslide for Abe would give him an upper hand to revise the pacifist post-World War II constitution. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A voter casts her ballot in Japan's upper house parliamentary election at a polling station in Tokyo, Sunday, July 10, 2016. While Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling party is seeking a mandate for his leadership by emphasizing his economic revitalization policies in the Sunday's election, several opposition parties are coordinating a negative campaign, cautioning voters that a landslide for Abe would give him an upper hand to revise the pacifist post-World War II constitution. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Voters looks at the list of candidates before casting their ballots in Japan's upper house parliamentary election as representatives of a local election administration commission observe at a polling station in Tokyo, Sunday, July 10, 2016. Japan holds an election Sunday for the upper house of parliament that could affect the country's direction. While Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling party is seeking a mandate for his leadership by emphasizing his economic revitalization policies, several opposition parties are coordinating a negative campaign, cautioning voters that a landslide for Abe would give him an upper hand to revise the pacifist post-World War II constitution.(AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
Italy calls off search for US missing airman

MILAN (AP)  Italian law enforcement authorities have called off the search for a missing airman in the area where he disappeared in northern Italy after failing to find any leads, a U.S. Air Force spokesman said Sunday.

Italian police searched for three days the area where Staff Sgt. Halex Hale was last seen July 2 before suspending the operation Saturday evening, Capt. Michael Hertzog said.

"They found no evidence of any kind, physical or otherwise," Hertzog said.

This undated photo provided by Aviano Air Base shows Air Force Staff Sgt. Halex Hale. The U.S. Air Force is searching for Hale, 24, of Middletown, Indiana who is assigned to the 31st Fighter Wing at Aviano Air Base, who vanished last week in Italy. (Aviano Air Base via AP)

Hale, a 24-year-old from Middletown, Indiana, is assigned to the 31st Fighter Wing at Aviano Air Base north of Venice, and was last seen at a friend's cookout in Sacile, about 15 kilometers (nine miles) off base.

Hale's mother, Amy Hale, told The Star Press in Muncie, Indiana, that her son left the cookout on foot to visit another friend's home about 15 minutes away but never arrived. She said her son had been in the Air Force for six years and at Aviano since February 2015. He also served in Afghanistan.

Hertzog couldn't comment on cellphone, credit card or automobile use, saying they were part of the ongoing investigation. He said there were no indications that Hale had any difficulties on base or off.
Clarification: Campaign 2016-Road to 270 story

MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. (AP)  In a story July 10, The Associated Press reported that the North American Free Trade Agreement was signed by President Bill Clinton. The story should have made clear that President George H. W. Bush initially signed the treaty with Mexico and Canada in December 1992 before leaving office. Clinton signed legislation enacting the trade agreement a year later, after it was ratified by the Democratic-controlled Senate in 1993. The treaty took effect under Clinton in 1994.
Berlin leftist rioting leaves 120 officers injured

BERLIN (AP)  Police say more than 120 officers were injured and 86 demonstrators were detained during leftist riots in the German capital which police call "the most aggressive and violent protests in the last five years."

Berlin police said in a statement Sunday that protesters threw bottles, cobblestones and fireworks, destroyed cars and attacked officers. Only one of the police officers required treatment at a hospital. It wasn't immediately clear how many rioters were injured.

About 3,500 protesters participated in the rallies, which started Saturday evening and lasted until early Sunday. Activists had called for the demonstration to protest against police operations at buildings taken over the squatters in the eastern part of the city last month.

Destroyed cars stand in a street in Berlin Sunday July 10, 2016. Police say more than 120 officers were injured and some 86 demonstrators were detained during leftist riots Saturday in the German capital which police calls the most aggressive and violent protests in the last five years. Berlin police said in a statement Sunday leftist protesters threw bottles, cobble stones and fireworks, destroyed cars and attacked officers with fists and kicks. It was not clear how many rioters were injured in the quarrels. (Maurizio Gambarini/dpa via AP)

Around 1,800 police officers were called in to monitor the protesters.

In this Saturday July 9, 2016 picture, protesters demonstrate in Berlin. Police say more than 120 officers were injured and some 86 demonstrators were detained during leftist riots in the German capital which police calls the most aggressive and violent protests in the last five years. Berlin police said in a statement Sunday leftist protesters threw bottles, cobble stones and fireworks, destroyed cars and attacked officers with fists and kicks. It was not clear how many rioters were injured in the quarrels. Inscription deals with a squattered house in Rigaer street in Berlin. (Maurizio Gambarini/dpa via AP)
Dallas suspect taunted police during 2 hours of negotiation

DALLAS (AP)  The suspect in the deadly attack on Dallas police taunted authorities during two hours of negotiations, laughing at them, singing and at one point asking how many officers he had shot, the police chief said Sunday.

The chief and the county's most senior elected official also said Micah Johnson had larger attack plans and possessed enough explosive material to inflict far greater harm.

"We're convinced that this suspect had other plans and thought that what he was doing was righteous and believed that he was going to target law enforcement  make us pay for what he sees as law enforcement's efforts to punish people of color," Dallas Police Chief David Brown told CNN's "State of the Union."

This undated photo posted on Facebook on April 30, 2016, shows Micah Johnson, who was a suspect in the sniper slayings of five law enforcement officers in Dallas Thursday night, July 7, 2016, during a protest over two recent fatal police shootings of black men. An Army veteran, Johnson tried to take refuge in a parking garage and exchanged gunfire with police, who later killed him with a robot-delivered bomb, Dallas Police Chief David Brown said. (Facebook via AP)

Johnson, a black Army veteran, insisted on speaking with a black negotiator and wrote in blood on the wall of a parking garage where police cornered and later killed him, Brown said.

The gunman wrote the letters "RB" and other markings, but the meaning was unclear. Investigators are trying to decipher the writing by looking through evidence from Johnson's suburban Dallas home, Brown said.

The writing suggested that Johnson was wounded in a shootout with police. An autopsy will confirm exactly how many times he was hit, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said.

Authorities do not "have any independent report from an officer saying, 'I think I hit him,'" Jenkins said.

Dallas police said neither they nor the FBI would confirm that photographs circulating on the internet were from the scene early Friday where police killed Johnson with a bomb.

Two photos online show an assault rifle in rubble and the bloodied body of a black man wearing an armored vest amid building debris.

The police chief defended the decision to kill Johnson with the bomb delivered by remote-controlled robot, saying negotiations went nowhere and that officers could not approach him without putting themselves in danger.

Brown said he became increasingly concerned that "at a split second, he would charge us and take out many more before we would kill him."

The shootings marked the deadliest day for U.S. law enforcement since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Five officers were fatally shot just a few blocks from where President John F. Kennedy was slain in 1963.

So far, the evidence points to the attack being a "crime of opportunity," Jenkins said.

Investigators believe Johnson had been practicing and training for a long time and probably learned of the protest from social media and concluded there would be many police present.

Authorities have said the 25-year-old gunman kept a journal of combat tactics and had amassed a personal arsenal at his home that included bomb-making materials.

The fact that Johnson had material for explosives and talked of using homemade bombs during the standoff with police indicated he could have inflicted more damage with more time, Jenkins said.

"If this had not been a crime of opportunity where the protest was quickly organized in response to events in the same week ... he could have caused a lot more harm than he did," he said.

Federal agents are trying to trace the origin of the weapons used in the attack, including a military-style semi-automatic rifle.

About 30 agents are also involved in identifying bullet casings, said William Temple, the Dallas agent in charge for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The large crime scene includes the parking garage where Johnson was killed and at least two other sites where he is believed to have fired at officers.

Johnson was a private first class with a specialty in carpentry and masonry. He served in the Army Reserve for six years starting in 2009 and did one tour in Afghanistan from November 2013 to July 2014, the military said.

The attack began Thursday evening while hundreds of people were gathered to protest the police killings of Philando Castile, who was fatally shot near St. Paul, Minnesota, and Alton Sterling, who was shot in Louisiana after being pinned to the pavement by two white officers.

Video showed protesters marching along a downtown street about half a mile from City Hall when shots erupted and the crowd scattered, seeking cover.

Among those injured were two officers from El Centro College, the school said Sunday night.

El Centro said in a statement posted on its website night that Cpl. Bryan Shaw and Officer John Abbott were hurt in Thursday's attack.

Shaw was struck by a bullet as he guarded an entrance to the college, the statement said. The school said Shaw was treated on scene and returned to protect other officers and civilians.

Abbott was also guarding the entrance. The school said he sustained injuries to both legs from flying glass after it was struck by bullets. Abbott tended to his wounds at the scene and then returned to assist others, the statement said.

Both men were resting at home.

Dallas police previously said seven officers and two civilians were hurt in the attack. Its number of wounded did not include any El Centro College officers.

An FBI evidence response team works the crime scene, Sunday, July 10, 2016, where five Dallas police officers were killed Thursday, in Dallas. A peaceful protest over the recent videotaped shootings of black men by police turned violent Thursday night as gunman Micah Johnson shot at officers, killing five and injuring seven, as well as two civilians. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

An FBI evidence response team works the crime scene, Sunday, July 10, 2016, where five Dallas police officers were killed Thursday, in Dallas. A peaceful protest over the recent videotaped shootings of black men by police turned violent Thursday night as gunman Micah Johnson shot at officers, killing five and injuring seven, as well as two civilians. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

An FBI evidence response team works the crime scene, Sunday, July 10, 2016, where five Dallas police officers were killed Thursday, in Dallas. A peaceful protest over the recent videotaped shootings of black men by police turned violent Thursday night as gunman Micah Johnson shot at officers, killing five and injuring seven, as well as two civilians. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Members of an FBI evidence response team work the crime scene, Sunday, July 10, 2016, where five Dallas police officers were killed Thursday, in Dallas. A peaceful protest over the recent videotaped shootings of black men by police turned violent Thursday night as gunman Micah Johnson shot at officers, killing five and injuring seven, as well as two civilians. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Advocates hope shaming drugmakers discourages price spikes

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP)  Frustrated by the rising cost of prescription drugs, California health advocates hope sunlight and a dose of shame will discourage drugmakers from raising their prices too quickly or introducing new medications at prices that break the bank.

They're promoting legislation that would require drugmakers to provide advance notice before making big price increases. Pharmaceutical companies have come out in force against the measure, warning it would lead to dangerous drug shortages.

Attention to prescription drug pricing has mounted since Turing Pharmaceuticals bought an old drug commonly used with HIV patients and raised the price from $13.50 per pill to $750. The company's combative chief executive, Martin Shkreli, was widely castigated for the price hike.

In this Friday, July 8, 2016, photo, pharmacist Clint Hopkins, owner of Pucci's Pharmacy, displays a bottle of the antibiotic doxycycline hyclate, in Sacramento, Calif. The drug is one of several that has seen a significant cost increase in recent months. In an effort to discourage drugmakers from raising their prices too quickly or introducing new medications that are unaffordable to the average person, state Sen. Ed Hernandez, D-Azusa, has introduced legislation that would require drugmakers to provide advance notice before making big price increases. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

"Yes, they should make a profit, but not so much they gouge the public at the expense of the consumer and the taxpayer," Sen. Ed Hernandez, a Democrat from Azusa who wrote the legislation, said of drug companies. "There needs to be a balance."

Vermont passed the nation's first drug price transparency legislation earlier this year, and similar measures were introduced in at least five other states, including California.

California voters also will decide in November on a ballot measure that would prohibit the state  which covers millions of poor people, inmates and government retirees  from paying more than the U.S. Veterans Administration for drugs. The VA's massive negotiating power allows it to secure some of the lowest rates for drugs.

Both presumptive presidential nominees have cited drug prices in their campaigns. Republican Donald Trump suggested ending a restriction on Medicare's ability to negotiate drug prices. Democrat Hillary Clinton has slammed drug pricing she labels predatory.

Drug costs represent about 10 percent of overall health care spending and about 19 percent of costs for employer-sponsored health plans, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. After several years of modest growth in drug spending, which even decreased in 2010 and 2012, pharmaceutical spending spiked 11.4 percent in 2014, according to the Kaiser's analysis of data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Estimates for 2015 suggest prices rose 6.8 percent.

Experts attribute the recent rise in drug spending to the proliferation of new specialty drugs, many of them used to treat cancer, and fewer patent expirations that allow for generic competition.

Sovaldi, which can cure Hepatitis C without the excruciating side effects of earlier treatments, debuted in 2014, at a shocking cost of more than $80,000 per course of treatment. The price has since come down.

California's SB1010 would require pharmaceutical companies to provide advance notice to drug purchasers before increasing the price of a drug by 10 percent or $10,000 a year. For generics, the threshold is $100 a month or 25 percent. Insurance companies would be required to report data on drug prices to state regulators, including the portion of premiums attributable to pharmaceuticals.

Proponents hope the advance notice will give governments, insurers and pharmacy benefit managers a chance to negotiate.

But drugmakers warn it could create regional shortages of some drugs if large pharmacy chains or distributors horde medications to beat the price increase. That would create an environment for speculators to drive prices up, not down.

Drug manufacturing is a highly regulated industry with complex supply chains that relies on predictable demand, said Brett Johnson, director of state and local policy for the California Life Sciences Association, an industry group.

"This isn't an industry where they can really react quickly to surges in demand," Johnson said. "So that creates complications when we're talking about things like price signaling."

Drugmakers also say the transparency requirements would create a distorted view of drug pricing, failing to account for negotiated discounts or price decreases.

The bill's supporters dispute the risk of shortage, noting many of the specialty drugs that would trigger the notification have a short shelf life and require careful handling, making it difficult to stockpile them.

The measure has cleared the Senate and is moving through the Assembly, which tends to take a much more skeptical view of business regulations.

The measure barely survived a hearing in the Assembly Health Committee last month and faces an even tougher test in the Appropriations Committee when lawmakers return to the Capitol following a July break.

"These medications are not like other products," said Anthony Wright, executive director of Health Access, one of the advocacy groups sponsoring the measure. "People and patients and insurers are often cases not in a position to say 'no.'"

In this Friday, July 8, 2016, photo, pharmacist Clint Hopkins, owner of Pucci's Pharmacy, displays a package of EpiPens, an epinephrine autoinjector for the treatment of allergic reactions, in Sacramento, Calif. Frustrated by the rising cost of prescription drugs, health advocates hope sunlight and a dose of shame might discourage drugmakers from raising their prices too quickly or introducing new medications at prices that break the bank. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

In this Friday, July 8, 2016, photo, pharmacist technician Irene Arrenquin fills a prescription for the anti-diarrhea drug diphenoxylate hydrochloride and atropine sulfate at Pucci's Pharmacy, in Sacramento, Calif. The drug is one of several that has seen a significant cost increase in recent months. In an effort to discourage drugmakers from raising their prices too quickly or introducing new medications that are unaffordable to the average person, state Sen. Ed Hernandez, D-Azusa, has introduced legislation that would require drugmakers to provide advance notice before making big price increases. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

In this Friday, July 8, 2016, photo, pharmacist technician Irene Arrenquin fills a prescription for the anti-diarrhea drug diphenoxylate hydrochloride and atropine sulfate at Pucci's Pharmacy, in Sacramento, Calif. The drug is one of several that has seen a significant cost increase in recent months. In an effort to discourage drugmakers from raising their prices too quickly or introducing new medications that are unaffordable to the average person, state Sen. Ed Hernandez, D-Azusa, has introduced legislation that would require drug makers to provide advance notice before making big price increases. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
US group celebrates Poles who saved Jews during Holocaust

WARSAW, Poland (AP)  One man is 101 years old. Others are in their 80s and 90s and arrived in wheelchairs, with a walker, or leaning for support on children who are themselves past middle age.

A group of Polish Christians who risked their own lives to help Jews during the Holocaust were brought together Sunday to be honored by a New York City-based Jewish organization that provides financial aid to these rescuers  an attempt to give back something to people who gave the gift of life to thousands of Jews in Europe's darkest days.

"Words are truly inadequate to express the gratitude of the Jewish people to each and every one of you," Stanlee Stahl, executive vice president of the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous, said to 35 rescuers.

Stanlee Stahl, left, executive vice president of the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous, hugs Marian Turski, a Holocaust survivor, in Warsaw, Poland, on July 10, 2016. A group of Polish Christians who risked their lives to give aid to Jews during the Holocaust were brought together for a luncheon in Warsaw to be honored and celebrated by a U.S.-based Jewish organization that provides aid to these rescuers. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

In a short speech, Stahl called them "the precious few who chose not to be bystanders."

The organization was founded in 1986 by a rabbi who wanted to fulfil a traditional Jewish commitment of seeking out and recognizing goodness, called "hakarat hatov" in Hebrew. The foundation's main role is to supplement state pensions and provide rescuers with medication, hearing aids or other medical support that they might not otherwise have in a nation where state pensions and medical services remain meager.

In Poland, the rescuers now receive about $3,000 a year per person, which includes a special bonus at Christmas for food and heating. The amount varies, depending on how much the foundation can raise from donors, who are mostly American Jews.

The luncheon on Sunday, which has become a yearly event, is an addition to that financial help  a way to show their gratitude in person. It was also attended by the ambassadors of the United States and Israel.

The rescuers, arriving in their Sunday best, expressed satisfaction that their deeds, and those of their families, live on in memory. Most of the surviving rescuers were teenagers or young adults at the time who collaborated with their parents to hide and feed Jews being hunted by the Germans in their occupied homeland. The penalty for helping Jews was death, and some helpers were caught and executed.

"This help is very important to us because our retirement payments are truly tiny," said Alicja Szczepaniak-Schnepf, an 85-year-old who helped her mother shelter Jews in their Warsaw apartment. "But beyond that, this is a recognition that we are being remembered and honored."

One rescuer gave Stahl white and red carnations, Poland's national colors; a man kissed Stahl's hand and presented a book of his poetry to her.

Yad Vashem, Israels' Holocaust memorial, has officially recognized 6,620 Poles as "Righteous Among the Nations." It is more than from any other country that was under the Nazi occupation, a reflection of Poland having been home to the largest community of Jews in Europe before the Holocaust, numbering nearly 3.5 million.

The Foundation for the Righteous sends financial help to 450 rescuers worldwide in 20 countries, 238 of them in Poland. That is a sharp drop from some 15 years ago, when 1,850 people in 34 countries were supported.

More than 70 years after the war, Israeli Ambassador Anna Azari said that evidence continues to be uncovered of Poles who saved Jews and that a "holy mission" of the embassy in Poland is to bestow the "Righteous" honor, though most are now bestowed posthumously.

On the other moral extreme were cases of Poles murdering Jews during the German occupation, and one of the most shocking atrocities cases was also being remembered on Sunday in the northern Polish village of Jedwabne. There, 150 kilometers (95 miles) north of Warsaw, Poland's chief rabbi, Michael Schudrich, led prayers on the site where hundreds of Jews were locked in barn and burned alive.

Ryszard Zielinski, 85, right, a Pole who helped to save Jews during World War II, attends a luncheon, accompanied by his son Mieszko, in Warsaw, Poland, on July 10, 2016. A group of Polish Christians who risked their lives to give aid to Jews during the Holocaust were brought together for a luncheon in Warsaw to be honored and celebrated by a U.S.-based Jewish organization that provides aid to these rescuers. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Stanlee Stahl, executive vice president of the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous, speaks during a luncheon in Warsaw, Poland, Sunday July 10, 2016. A group of Polish Christians who risked their lives to give aid to Jews during the Holocaust were brought together for a luncheon in Warsaw to be honored and celebrated by a U.S.-based Jewish organization that provides aid to these rescuers. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Christian Poles who saved Jews during the Holocaust, attend a luncheon in Warsaw, Poland, Sunday July 10, 2016. A group of Polish Christians who risked their lives to give aid to Jews during the Holocaust were brought together for a luncheon in Warsaw to be honored and celebrated by a U.S.-based Jewish organization that provides aid to these rescuers. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Jews from Poland and abroad gather for commemorations marking the 75th anniversary of a massacre of Jews in Jedwabne, Poland, on Sunday July 10, 2016. In 1941, Jews in Jedwabne were locked in a barn and burned to death by their Polish neighbors, an atrocity committed as the German occupied the country and were carrying out the Holocaust. (AP Photo/Michal Kosc)
Evacuations lifted in brush fire north of Los Angeles

SANTA CLARITA, Calif. (AP)  A brush fire that burned to the edges of homes in the foothills of the Santa Susana Mountains north of Los Angeles was nearly 50 percent contained Sunday and was no longer threatening residences.

Crews were taking advantage of calmer winds and building a perimeter around the smoldering blaze that consumed about 1.7 square miles of thick chaparral in a rugged canyon.

About 2,000 people sent fleeing from about 750 homes in the Stevenson Ranch area of the Santa Clarita Valley on Saturday were allowed to return after nightfall.

In this July 9, 2016 photo, firefighters line a ridge near Southern Oaks Drive as a brush fire burns wildly in the Stevenson Ranch community of Santa Clarita, Calif. A fast-moving brush fire north of Los Angeles has sent about 2,000 people fleeing from their homes. (Austin Dave/The Santa Clarita Valley Signal via AP)

"It was a little scary," resident Jessica Leone told KCAL-TV, praising the quick actions of firefighters. "They did such an amazing job."

Aerial photos showed the flames came to the property line of a ridgetop home that was covered in fire retardant.

Crews contended with winds gusting up to 25 mph Saturday as the blaze burned close to Interstate 5, the main artery connecting Southern California and the San Joaquin Valley.

"The flames were jumping in circles around our house," Victor Roman told the Los Angeles Daily News after packing his valuables and making a speedy exit with his wife.

He said he saw a car crash over the side of the road at the outset of the fire and suspected the wreck sparked the flames.

However, fire officials said the cause of the fire has not been determined.

In this July 9, 2016 photo, a Los Angeles County Fire helicopter drops water on the Sage Fire near Old Stone Way in Stevenson Ranch community of Santa Clarita, Calif. A fast-moving brush fire north of Los Angeles has sent about 2,000 people fleeing from their homes. (Austin Dave/The Santa Clarita Valley Signal via AP)

In this July 9, 2016 photo, flames line a hillside behind homes on Old Stone Way as the Sage Fire roared through the Stevenson Ranch area of Santa Clarita, Calif. A fast-moving brush fire north of Los Angeles has sent about 2,000 people fleeing from their homes. (Austin Dave/The Santa Clarita Valley Signal via AP)

In this July 9, 2016 photo, a Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy orders a couple to evacuate their home as the Sage Fire chars hillsides nearby Santa Clarita, Calif. A fast-moving brush fire north of Los Angeles has sent about 2,000 people fleeing from their homes. (Austin Dave/The Santa Clarita Valley Signal via AP)
UNESCO Istanbul meet focuses on threats of war and terrorism

ISTANBUL (AP)  The head of UNESCO says world heritage sites must be protected from terrorism and war.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 40th World Heritage Committee session in Istanbul on Sunday, Director-General Irina Bokova said world heritage is under attack "from Mali to Syria."

She says: "When a world heritage site is destroyed, we are all diminished."

The 11-day gathering will discuss concrete steps to protect at-risk sites and review proposals to include 26 new sites in UNESCO's World Heritage List.
Confederate flag back for a day at SC Statehouse

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP)  The Confederate battle flag flew again outside the South Carolina Statehouse on Sunday  temporarily  during a rally that drew both supporters in Civil War garb and bullhorn-toting protesters.

Groups for and against the flag were kept separate by metal barriers on the front lawn, and police officers supported by helicopters circling overhead kept the peace as the flag flew again for several hours.

But the scene was tense at times after police killings of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota and the killings of officers by a black sniper in Dallas.

Supporters of the Confederate flag raise it on a temporary flagpole on the grounds of the Statehouse in Columbia, S.C., at a rally on Sunday, July 10, 2016. Counter-protesters showed up but the event was peaceful. (AP Photo/Meg Kinnard)

A year ago Sunday, after a white man killed nine black people inside a Charleston church, the Confederate flag that had flown for years beside the Confederate Soldiers Monument was furled and sent to a museum.

The monument remains, but the 30-foot pole the flag flew on was dismantled. So on Sunday, re-enactors hosted a battle flag on a portable pole in the same spot as about 200 people watched.

The rally was organized by the South Carolina Secessionist Party, and supporters held their own flags. Some dressed as a Confederate Memorial Honor Guard. They saluted as the flag rose up the pole, and the crowd applauded and cheered, with some shouting "Leave it there!"

Some also joined in a sing-along of "Dixie."
Baku, Azerbaijan, July 10

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The co-chairs will brief OSCE Minsk Group members tomorrow in Vienna on summit outcomes and next steps, said the US co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group James Warlick on Twitter.

Heads of state and government participating in the meeting of the North Atlantic Council in Warsaw July 8-9 2016 have issued Warsaw Summit Communique, NATO said on its website.

We continue to support the right of all our partners to make independent and sovereign choices on foreign and security policy, free from external pressure and coercion, the communique reads. NATO remain committed in its support for the territorial integrity, independence, and sovereignty of Azerbaijan, according to the communique.

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.
Leadsom 'facing black-ops campaign from May allies'

Andrea Leadsom is facing a "black-ops" campaign by MPs who want to "denigrate her reputation" , key supporter Iain Duncan Smith has claimed.

It comes after allies of Theresa May stepped up their criticism of Mrs Leadsom, with one senior minister suggesting she could become the Tory equivalent of Jeremy Corbyn because of her lack of support in Parliament.

Employment minister Priti Patel, who campaigned for Brexit alongside Mrs Leadsom, suggested that the energy minister lacked the experience and broad appeal to win a general election.

Andrea Leadsom is standing against Theresa May for the Tory leadership title

But former Tory leader Mr Duncan Smith insisted both candidates are capable of becoming the next prime minister and called for the Conservative Party to show decency during the campaign.

Asked about reports that some MPs are prepared to quit the party if Mrs Leadsom become Prime Minister, he told ITV's Peston on Sunday: "I have a simple comment to them, which is calm down for God's sake, this is a leadership election and I think people come to regret some of the silliest things they say during a leadership election.

"I've seen it all before - the reality is that both of them are qualified.

"Look, if Andrea was so unqualified to be Prime Minister, and you know we've had a lot of sniping, a kind of real 'black-ops' operation to denigrate her reputation.

"If she was so bad what in heaven's sake would the Prime Minister be doing making her a serious government minister?"

He later added: "We should really be very careful about the threats and the things that we say, all of us, and conduct this in decency."

Ms Patel, who is backing Mrs May's campaign, warned that Mrs Leadsom could find herself unable to govern due to the lack of support from MPs, or win an election victory by appealing to swing voters.

In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, she said: "You win elections by having that broad appeal.

"Look at Labour right now, and the narrow appeal they have. We have to represent society as it is today and be a true voice for modern Britain and a positive Britain."

Mrs May secured her place on the leadership ballot by securing 199 votes from MPs, with Mrs Leadsom winning the support of 84 colleagues.

Ms Patel warned a victory for Mrs Leadsom could mean that the process of leaving the European Union would be harder to deliver, even though the energy minister backed Brexit and Mrs May had supported a vote to Remain in the EU.

"We have to govern," Ms Patel said. "To govern we have got to be able to carry the support of Members of Parliament. That's incredibly important. I don't need to give a re-run of what's happening with Labour right now."

Asked if Mrs Leadsom could become a Conservative version of Mr Corbyn, Ms Patel said: "We could end up in that situation. And then it becomes very difficult to govern and deliver the programme for Leave."

She added: "Right now we need an individual with a great deal of experience. She doesn't have that just yet, not yet. She is in government - but Theresa's experience is second to none."

She added that Mrs May was "on a par" with former prime minister Mrs Thatcher, the first female occupant of Number 10.

Ms Patel's comments came after Mrs Leadsom endured a barrage of criticism after appearing to suggest that being a mother gave her an advantage over her childless rival.

Mrs Leadsom said she was "disgusted" by the way her comments had been presented and insisted that she believed "everyone has an equal stake in our society", stressing that she did not want the issue of children to be a feature of the campaign.

In an interview with The Times, Mrs Leadsom said: "Genuinely I feel that being a mum means you have a very real stake in the future of our country, a tangible stake."

The Home Secretary has previously spoken about how she and husband Philip were affected by being unable to have children.

Mr Duncan Smith suggested the interview was a "stitch-up".

He told Robert Peston: "I've been around in politics long enough to see plenty of incredibly experienced cabinet ministers and Prime Ministers get stitched up in the course of an interview..."

He added: "The question really was did Andrea at any stage really believe that she was in the business of trying to contrast her family background with Theresa's and I don't believe that.

"I've talked to her, she's actually mortified about that, really genuinely mortified."

Mrs May's campaign chief, Brexit-backer Chris Grayling, insisted that there was "no question" of a second referendum on the EU if the Home Secretary won, with the UK severing ties with Brussels before the 2020 general election.

He said that he was expecting EU citizens to be able to remain in the UK after Brexit, something Mrs May has refused to guarantee unless she receives a similar commitment from the other 27 member states about the future rights of Britons overseas.

"I don't think there will be any change on either side," he said. "I think everyone will take a grown-up approach to this. It would be too damaging to do otherwise. However, we should always make sure that we look after the interests of our own citizens. I don't think anything is going to change."

He added: "I'm expecting all EU citizens, perhaps bar those who've committed criminal offences and ones with individual circumstances, to be able to stay as they do now. And I'm expecting UK citizens in other countries to be able to stay there too. That's right and proper."

He told the BBC's Sunday Politics she had stressed that "Brexit means Brexit" and added: "We think she has got the weight and the experience to deliver what people want."

He added: "She's said that we will trigger Article 50 around the end of this year. There is then a two-year timeframe and the next general election is 2020. So I can't see any circumstances in which we wouldn't have (left) by 2020."

Mrs Leadsom's campaign chief Tim Loughton responded to suggestions that she would struggle to bridge divides in the party by saying either candidate would have a "big job of work to do" to unite the party after the EU referendum.

He told Sky News' Murnaghan programme: "Andrea is actually a really nice person, widely liked within the Conservative party and widely respected across the whole of the House of Commons so she has form when it comes to bringing people together."

He dismissed the row over Mrs Leadsom's Times interview: " The thing with Andrea, she is a very genuine person and she gave an interview to a very experienced journalist with the Times who clearly wanted to lead her down a path and she kept going on relentlessly about the children issue...."

He said Mrs Leadsom had made it "clear right through this campaign, that we are not running any negative stuff, in no way is our campaign about undermining the other candidates and is about the positive case for why Andrea will be the best candidate for Prime Minister.
UK's oldest person Gladys Hooper dies aged 113

Britain's oldest person Gladys Hooper has died at the age of 113.

Her son Derek Hermiston confirmed that his mother, a former concert pianist, had died at the nursing home where she lived in Ryde on the Isle of Wight.

Mr Hermiston, 85, said on Saturday night: "She passed away, she just faded, 113 and a half is a good old age.

Gladys Hooper, the oldest person in the UK, has died aged 113

"We saw her this morning, she seemed reasonably well, she was sleeping. We had left her for just about an hour when they called us to tell us she had passed away."

When she celebrated her last birthday, the great-grandmother said: "I don't feel very different to when I was 75."

Mrs Hooper broke a Guinness World Record last year when she became the oldest person to undergo a hip replacement operation which was carried out by consultant orthopaedic surgeon Jason Millington at St Mary's Hospital in Newport.

Following the operation, she moved into the Highfield Nursing Home in Ryde from a flat connected to the home of her son Derek Hermiston, 85, where she had lived for 12 years.

Mrs Hooper was widowed in 1988 when her husband, Leslie, who was a pilot in the Royal Flying Corps in the two world wars, died.

She had another great link to aviation as she was good friends at college with Amy Johnson who became a famous aviatrix.

Born Gladys Nash on January 18 1903, she was brought up in Rottingdean, Brighton, East Sussex, and went on to study at college.

She became a concert pianist in London and played with famous band leaders of the time such as Jack Payne, Debroy Somers and Maurice Winnick.

She also started what is thought to be the first car hire company in the capital and later ran Kingscliff House School, which is now Brighton College, as well as nursed her husband for 13 years.

According to the website Oldest In Britain, the next oldest person in the country is Bessie Camm, who is 112 years old and is from Rotherham.
Public keen to see Blair punished for Iraq war, says David Davis

The public want to see Tony Blair punished, a senior Tory has said as MPs prepare a Commons motion to find the former prime minister in contempt of Parliament.

David Davis said "quite a lot" of MPs already support the motion which will claim Mr Blair deceived MPs over the invasion.

He intends to put the motion before Speaker John Bercow on Thursday, and if granted, MPs could debate it on July 18 or 19, before parliament breaks up for the summer.

Ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair may face a motion of contempt

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has indicated he will back the motion, saying he "probably would" support the effort to find a parliamentary way to hold the former prime minister to account.

Mr Davis told the Press Association: "The public want to see something done, there's no doubt about that.

"People are saying when 'is he going to be punished for this?'

"Well, this is a fairly symbolic punishment but nevertheless it does at least give a verdict."

Speaking of the support for the motion, he said: "I think if we phrase it properly in factual terms, I think quite a lot.

"People feel very strongly about this, that parliament was essentially misled into a war which led to terrible consequences both for people in Iraq and the Middle East and indeed back in the West as well with heightened risk of terrorism."

Mr Davis said Mr Blair misled the House on five different counts during the vote to invade Iraq, including over weapons of mass destruction and over the threat and risks.

The long-awaited Chilcot report strongly criticised the way former prime minister Mr Blair took the country to war in 2003 on the basis of "flawed" intelligence with inadequate preparation at a time when Saddam Hussein did not pose an "imminent threat".

Sir John Chilcot also said the way the decision about the legal basis for the war was reached was "far from satisfactory", but the report did not rule on the legality of the military action.

Mr Blair has defended the decision to oust Saddam and insisted that his efforts to form a close relationship with the US had persuaded Mr Bush to pursue a second UN security council resolution, which ultimately was not obtained.

Mr Corbyn told BBC One's Andrew Marr Show: "I urge colleagues to read the Butler report and read the Chilcot report about the way in which Parliament was denied the information it should have had, the way in which there was lack of preparations for the post-invasion situation in Iraq and the way there were assertions of weapons of mass destruction.

"Parliament must hold to account, including Tony Blair, those who took us into this particular war."

Asked if he would back the motion, he said: "I haven't seen it yet, but I think I probably would."

Green Party MP Caroline Lucas was one of the group behind the parliamentary motion, which has been meeting in private for some weeks planning the move.

She said: "The Chilcot report is a damning indictment of Blair's record. It showed that the former prime minster actively deceived Parliament and led this country into a disastrous and bloody war under false pretences.

"I'm joining with fellow MPs to hold Blair to account by tabling a contempt motion which could see him barred from public office and have his privy counsellorship stripped from him."

Former Scottish first minister Alex Salmond said the move towards a motion of contempt was supported by MPs from six different political parties.

Asked whether the move was largely symbolic, he told the BBC's Sunday Politics Scotland programme: "Symbolism can be important in terms of parliament's role.

"This doesn't pre-judge or preclude legal action, either criminal from the authorities or civil from the service families. This is about what parliament does if it believes it was misled over a huge issue or systematically misled over a period of time.

But Labour leadership challenger Angela Eagle, who voted for the 2003 war, said she regretted her decision but warned against using Parliament to take "revenge" against Mr Blair.

"I haven't seen the motion yet, we have to make certain that we don't spend our time in Parliament just exacting revenge," she said. "I think Tony Blair has been put, rightly, through the mill about the decisions he took, the Chilcot report did that."

Labour MP Dame Margaret Beckett, who was in the Cabinet at the time of the vote on the war, added: "The people behind this contempt motion were always going to use the Chilcot report for their own ends.

"It is, however, very clear from the Chilcot report that Tony Blair did not lie, did not falsify intelligence and that the Cabinet was not misled on the presentation of the legal advice.

It comes as Labour heavyweight Lord Prescott used his strongest language yet to condemn Mr Blair's decision to take part in the Iraq war, a decision he supported at the time.

The Chilcot report was a "damning indictment of how the Blair government handled the war - and I take my fair share of blame", he said.
Alberto Contador pulls out of Tour de France

Alberto Contador has abandoned the Tour de France.

The two-time Tour winner, one of the pre-race favourites, climbed into the Tinkoff team car with 100 kilometres of the 184.5km ninth stage between Vielha Val d'Aran and Andorre Arcalis.

The Spaniard had been suffering with injuries suffered in crashes on stages one and two, and his team said he had awoken with a fever on Sunday morning.

Alberto Contador has withdrawn from the 2016 Tour de France (AP)

Contador, who won the Tour in 2007 and 2009, had lost time in the general classification battle in the wake of his injuries.

As Chris Froome moved into the yellow jersey with victory on Saturday's stage eight, Contador conceded a further one minute and 41 seconds to drop to 20th in general classification, three minutes and 12 seconds down.

There had been little sign of Contador suffering early on a stage which started in his home nation, and he briefly attacked on the first categorised climb of the day, the Port de la Bonaigua.

But once back in the peloton he dropped back to the team car several times before climbing off during the second climb of the day, the Port del Canto.

Contador crashed on to his right side on stage one, and then on to his left side on stage two, also sustaining a calf injury which his team said made it difficult for him to ride out of the saddle on climbs.

After losing time on Saturday's stage, he said: "My body isn't responding as I would have liked. These crashes are catching up with me.

"It's terrible to have crashed like this twice in the first week and to have lost so much time after working so hard to be here. It's cycling. Danger is everywhere. Believe me, I did the best I can."

Contador's team-mate Roman Kreuziger sits 12th in the overall standings, 34 seconds behind Froome. The team also has world champion Peter Sagan bidding to win the points leaders' green jersey for a fifth straight year.
US is lagging behind in female power stakes, says Ellen DeGeneres

America is lagging behind the rest of the world in having its share of strong female leaders, Ellen DeGeneres said.

The US TV personality was flanked by her wife Portia de Rossi who said she was "all for it" when asked what she felt about women seizing the reins of power in the UK.

DeGeneres joked: "I'm so mad, I'm against all women in power - I hate it."

Ellen DeGeneres and Dominic West attends the UK premiere of Finding Dory

Continuing, she said: "It's fantastic obviously. It seems like the whole world is ahead of us with things like that.

"Everyone else has women leaders and we're for some reason like 'oh can she do it?'"

Of the possibility the next US president might be Hillary Clinton, she added: "We're very pro Hillary - we love Hillary."

DeGeneres was joined by stars including Dominic West, The Great British Bake Off 2015 winner Nadiya Hussain and Britain's Got Talent presenter Alesha Dixon at the UK premiere of Finding Dory in London's Leicester Square.

The popular US talk show host is lending her voice to the amnesiac Dory in the sequel to the hugely popular Finding Nemo, while West is teaming up with his The Wire co-star Idris Elba to bring to life a pair of soporific sea lions.

Former British Olympic swimmer Rebecca Adlington and Tom Daley, who will be representing Great Britain in Rio 2016, were also present to support their #JustKeepMoving campaign - a reference to the film's motivational tag line, 'just keep swimming'.

DeGeneres also spoke out following the recent spate of deadly shootings in the US, where two black men and five police officers were killed in the last week.

She said: "I think obviously something needs to be done, everybody needs to start respecting one another, in every area.

"There's too much carelessness and disrespect and a lot of things need to change."

A tanned-looking West posed for selfies with fans and said it was "great" to be reunited with his co-star and "good friend" Elba, from the US crime drama The Wire.

He said the UK's current political climate was "dire" but, like the film's ever-positive Dory, he was keeping optimistic.

"I obviously don't like what's happened, but as everybody says we go on and maybe the chaos will throw up something good.

"Hopefully it will throw up something good and hopefully we won't throw up lots of bad things, like far-right groups."

The animation welcomes back to the big screen the forgetful blue tang Dory who embarks on an adventure with clown fish Nemo and Marlin to try to find her long-lost family.

The film's trailer, which included two women with a pram, sparked speculation from fans that Pixar/Disney had included a same-sex couple in the animation.

But DeGeneres quashed the speculation, saying: "I hadn't looked for that and I'm pretty good at spotting lesbians so I thought I should have seen it.

"I think it was just a woman with a short hair cut. I think they assumed everyone with short hair is a lesbian - that's a bad assumption."

:: Finding Dory opens in UK cinemas on July 29.
China launches drive to eradicate violence against hospital staff

SHANGHAI, July 9 (Reuters) - China is kicking off a year-long campaign this month to stamp out persistent violence in its overcrowded hospitals by angry patients targeting medical staff, state news agency Xinhua said on Saturday.

Healthcare is a flashpoint for many people in China, who have long faced issues from ticket touts illegally trading appointment tickets, snarling queues to see top doctors and rampant corruption that can push up the cost of receiving care.

Since 2013, campaigns to discourage abuse of hospital personnel have reined in much of the violence, but as many as 71,000 instances of conflict have still required mediation by authorities, it added.

Xinhua gave no details of what new action is planned.

Even though the government has increased spending on health care, hospitals in China are frequently swamped with patients.

Low salaries for doctors feed corruption and people's suspicions that staff are keener to earn money by prescribing unnecessary drugs and treatment than tending the sick.

In one notable incident in 2015, in the eastern province of Henan, a doctor and an injured patient fell to their deaths in an elevator shaft during a quarrel over treatment for the patient, who was intoxicated at the time.
Afghan local police deaths drop sharply, officials say

KABUL, July 9 (Reuters) - Deaths among Afghan local police forces, who bear the brunt of some of the most dangerous fighting against Taliban insurgents have dropped by around a quarter to 295 members since March 21, due to better equipment and training, officials said on Saturday.

Since the start of the Persian New Year on March 21, 295 members of the Afghan Local Police (ALP) have been killed, compared with 403 deaths in the period between March 21 and July 21 last year, Interior Ministry officials told reporters.

"It's down to support, better cooperation, training, better equipment," said Mohammad Salim Ahsas, a senior ministry official.

The period covers the time since former Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Akhtar Mansour was killed in a U.S. drone strike on May 21 and replaced by one of his deputies, Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada.

The figures referred only the ALP, a 30,000-strong force which is counted separately from the main Afghan National Police units. Its members, recruited with the support of local elders, are only supposed to operate close to their home villages.

But any sign of a drop in casualties will be welcome for both Afghan security forces and the NATO-led coalition supporting the government following heavy losses last year when more than 16,000 police and soldiers were killed or wounded.

Afghan police, many left manning static roadside checkpoints, have suffered a disproportionately higher level of casualties than their army counterparts mainly because of poor equipment, training and planning.

ALP units, which have earned a grim reputation after frequent allegations of human rights abuses including intimidation, beating, illegal detentions and child rape, have lagged behind other units in receiving supplies and equipment.

However the officials said that most units were now equipped with uniforms, body armour and helmets.
Russia's sale of stake in diamond producer Alrosa raises $820 mln -source

By Polina Devitt

MOSCOW, July 9 (Reuters) - The Russian government has priced the shares it is selling in diamond producer Alrosa at 65 roubles ($1.02), raising almost $820 million, a source close to the placement told Reuters on Saturday, as Moscow kickstarts a privatisation drive.

A share issue by Alrosa -- the world's largest producer of rough diamonds in carat terms -- is Russia's largest privatisation in just under four years as the country seeks ways to bolster finances which have been hit by weak oil prices.

According to the source close to the placement, the sale of a 10.9 percent stake was priced at 65 roubles per share, bringing in around $820 million.

The Kommersant newspaper reported earlier this week that officials had been targeting an issue price of 71 roubles per share, citing unnamed sources.

The pricing represents a discount of 3.8 percent to the closing price on Friday.

Government officials and Alrosa were not immediately available for comment.

It is not yet clear how much of the demand came from foreign institutional investors, who have largely shunned Russia since the country was hit by Western sanctions and slumping oil prices in 2014, depressing stock prices.

Before the placement, the Vedomosti newspaper reported that the Russian Direct Investment Fund, a state-backed vehicle, would be an anchor investor.

Other companies slated for privatisation this or next year include oil companies Rosneft and Bashneft, VTB bank and shipping company Sovkomflot.

The $820 raised from Alrosa's sale compares with around $11 billion expected for the sale of a stake in Rosneft, which officials have said may be more difficult.

Alrosa accounts for over a third of the world's rough diamond production and it has the largest reserves. It reported record earnings in the first quarter as the market for diamonds used in jewellery and for industrial cutting tools and abrasives recovers.
Obama pledges long-term US commitment to Europe's security

WARSAW, July 9 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama, at his last NATO summit before stepping down next January, pledged the United States' long-term military commitment to ensuring security in Europe and defending all its allies.

Obama said the Western defence alliance had agreed on the most significant reinforcement of its collective defence since the Cold War by agreeing to deploy forces in the Baltic states and Poland in response to Russia's seizure of Crimea from Ukraine.

"What will never change (is) the unwavering commitment of the United States to the security and defence of Europe, of our transatlantic relationship and the commitment to our common defence," he said.

His comments came against the backdrop of a U.S. presidential election campaign in which presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump has called NATO "obsolete" and suggested Europeans should take care of their own defence.

Obama sought to turn more U.S. strategic attention to Asia during his presidency but has been dragged back to Europe and the Middle East by conflicts in Ukraine and Syria.

The president said NATO had halted its long-term collective decline in defence spending after many years and was starting to increase military budgets in response to an array of threats from terrorism, a resurgent Russia, and instability on its southern rim.

Noting that next year will mark the 100th annniversary of the first deployment of U.S. troops on European soil during World War One, he said: "In good times and in bad, Europe can count on the United States, always."
Baku, Azerbaijan, July 10

By Maksim Tsurkov  Trend:

Serbia is interested in further cooperation with Azerbaijani AzVirt construction company, Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said.

Vucic made the statement at a meeting with Kamil Aliyev, head of AzVirt company, in Belgrade, the Azerbaijani embassy in Serbia said.

According to the Azerbaijani embassy in Serbia, AzVirts delegation visited Serbia to get acquainted with the pace of the construction work. The construction project covering the E-763 highway League Prelina section is being implemented by AzVirt company. The project is funded by a loan from the Azerbaijani government and is being finalized.

Vucic and Aliyev met during the visit, the Azerbaijani embassy in Serbia said.

During the meeting, Vucic said that the Serbian government was pleased with the quality of the Azerbaijani companies work, which should be an example for other foreign companies operating in Serbia.

"For this reason, Serbia is interested in further cooperation with AzVirt company after the current project is implemented, he said. We are ready for discussions to determine the directions of further cooperation on other projects and privatization process in Serbia."

In his turn, Aliyev said that all workers, involved in the construction, with the exception of 22 citizens of Azerbaijan and other countries, are citizens of Serbia, and all used building materials were produced in Serbia.

"The work will be completed as soon as possible and special attention will be paid to the quality, he said. After the project is implemented, we intend to continue to work in Serbia and we are also ready to discuss models of cooperation on other projects."
Former UK deputy PM Prescott says now believes Iraq invasion illegal

LONDON, July 10 (Reuters) - Britain broke international law when it invaded Iraq in 2003, its deputy prime minister at the time, John Prescott, said on Sunday in the wake of a critical report on the decision.

A seven-year inquiry concluded on Wednesday that former British Prime Minister Tony Blair's justification, planning and handling of the Iraq War involved a catalogue of failures, but did not rule whether the war was legal.

Eight months before the 2003 invasion, Blair told U.S. President George W. Bush "I will be with you, whatever", eventually sending 45,000 British troops into battle when peace options had not been exhausted, the long-awaited British public inquiry said.

Prescott, writing in the Sunday Mirror newspaper, said he had now changed his view on the legality of the war and criticised Blair for stopping his ministers from fully discussing in advance whether the war would be legal.

"In 2004, the U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said that as regime change was the prime aim of the Iraq War, it was illegal. With great sadness and anger, I now believe him to be right," Prescott wrote.

"I will live with the decision of going to war and its catastrophic consequences for the rest of my life," he added.

Many Britons want Blair to face criminal action over his decision to take military action that led to the deaths of 179 British soldiers and more than 150,000 Iraqi civilians over the following six years.

"The Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith, came to the Cabinet, verbally announced it was legal, but provided no documentation," Prescott said. "The timing of the decision was clearly designed to endorse an almost immediate action for us to go to war."
Dallas police headquarters cordoned off after threat

By Carlo Allegri

DALLAS, July 9 (Reuters) - Dallas police headquarters and surrounding blocks were cordoned off and SWAT teams were deployed on Saturday after authorities received an anonymous threat against officers across the city, but a search for a "suspicious person" turned up no one, officials said.

The incident occurred as the city remained tense following Thursday night's fatal shootings of five Dallas police officers by a former U.S. Army reservist. Police asked news organizations to stop airing live video from the area as they carried out the search.

Police said on Twitter that "out of an abundance of caution, officers searched the garage to ensure reports of a suspicious person (were) thoroughly investigated." Police said they used a shotgun to get through a locked door during the search.

Before police sounded the "all clear," tactical officers dressed in protective gear and armed with rifles searched the three-story structure, police said.

The department said there was no formal lockdown at the headquarters despite earlier media reports characterizing the incident that way. All streets around the building, however, were barricaded and vehicles were not allowed to enter the area, a Reuters eyewitness said.

"The Dallas Police Department received an anonymous threat against law enforcement across the city and has taken precautionary measures" to heighten security, Dallas police said in an emailed statement.
Race had nothing to do with Minnesota shooting-police officer's lawyer

By David Bailey

MINNEAPOLIS, July 9 (Reuters) - A Minnesota police officer who fatally shot a black motorist during a traffic stop this week was reacting to the presence of a gun, not the man's race, his lawyer said on Saturday.

The fatal shooting of Philando Castile, 32, on Wednesday night in a St. Paul suburb has sparked days of protests in Minnesota and cities around the United States, intensified by a video of the bloody aftermath Castile's girlfriend Diamond Reynolds streamed live on the internet from the car.

"This incident had nothing to do with the race of the driver," said attorney Thomas Kelly, who represents Officer Jeronimo Yanez, who fired the fatal shots. "It had everything to do with the presence of a gun."

Castile was killed a day after Louisiana police fatally shot a black man during an arrest and the day before an African-American man killed five police officers and wounded seven others during a protest march in Dallas.

Yanez and Officer Joseph Kauser of the St. Anthony Police Department stopped Castile's car in Falcon Heights, a suburb of St. Paul the department patrols. Both are on administrative leave, which is standard practice after an officer-involved shooting.

Reynolds said in the video officers told them Castile was stopped for a broken tail light and was getting his license and registration when he was shot. Authorities have not confirmed the reason for the stop.

"The use of deadly force here was necessitated by the actions of the driver of the vehicle," Kelly said.

Kelly said Yanez could see a weapon in the car. He declined to discuss details of the investigation.

Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton has said he did not believe Castile would have been shot dead had he been white, remarks which were criticized by state law enforcement groups.

Rashad Turner, a Black Lives Matter St. Paul leader, said he believed police racially profiled Castile, which led to his shooting.

"For this guy's lawyer to say it's not a race problem, after the governor admitted it was a race problem, after the president had addressed the race problem in the country - it's an attempt to remove responsibility away from the officer," Turner said.

Yanez, who is of Mexican descent, is cooperating fully with the state's investigation into the shooting, Kelly said.

"He's terribly saddened by the death," Kelly said. "He's sad for the family of the decedent and his loved ones."

Protesters have focused on the Minnesota governor's mansion in St. Paul since shortly after the shooting. More rallies and marches are planned for Saturday and Sunday.

Dayton also called for the U.S. Department of Justice to open its own investigation, but the department said on Thursday it would assist the state investigation as necessary.
Japan's ruling bloc heads for hefty win in vote, but just how big?

By Linda Sieg

TOKYO, July 10 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling coalition looks to be headed for a comfortable victory in an election on Sunday for parliament's upper house, despite doubts about his economic policies and his goal of revising the pacifist constitution.

Abe's coalition is in no danger of losing power in the election for half the 242-seat upper house, which means interest is focused on just how big a victory the ruling bloc and its allies can chalk up, including whether they get a two-thirds "super majority" needed to try to revise the post-war constitution for the first time.

A push to ease the charter's constraints on the military operating overseas could lead to tension with China, where memories of Japan's past militarism still arouse anger.

In Japan, financial market players fear amending the charter will divert Abe's energy from reviving the stuttering economy.

"Markets want confirmation of Abe's strong grip on power, but they also want Abe to use that power for the economy first, not constitutional reform," said Jesper Koll, chief executive at fund manager WisdomTree Japan.

Abe has cast the election as a referendum on his "Abenomics" recipe of hyper-easy monetary policy, spending and reform.

With signs the strategy is failing, the government plans to compile a post-election stimulus package that could exceed 10 trillion yen ($99 billion).

But economists worry the government will choose big-ticket infrastructure projects rather than implement tough structural reforms.

CABINET CHANGES?

Abe is expected to reshuffle his cabinet after the election.

His justice minister and the minister for Okinawa appear in danger of losing their seats, though neither is a heavyweight. Speculation has also emerged that Abe might replace Finance Minister Taro Aso, 75.

Media surveys have shown the ruling bloc is set to exceed Abe's target of 61 seats while his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) could win a majority on its own for the first time since 1989.

A big win would allow Abe to assert he has a mandate for his economic and other policies, but any such claim would be undermined if turnout is low - a distinct possibility in a poll that has gained minimal media attention. The voting age has been lowered to 18 from 20 for the first time.

Abe's coalition won landslides in the last three general elections in terms of numbers of seats, but experts say rock-bottom turnout reflected voters' sense of a lack of viable alternatives.

The opposition Democratic Party has linked up with three smaller parties including the Japanese Communist Party to try to block the pro-constitutional revision camp from getting a super majority. But the Democrats suffer from an image as incompetent after their rocky 2009-2012 rule.

Conservatives see the constitution as a humiliating symbol of Japan's defeat in World War Two. Its admirers consider it the source of post-war peace and democracy.

Revising the charter needs the approval of two-thirds in both houses of parliament and a majority in a referendum.

A majority of voters see no need to revise the constitution and the LDP's dovish partner is reluctant to change its pacifist Article 9.
Key numbers to watch in Japan July 10 upper house election

TOKYO, July 10 (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), along with its junior coalition partner, the Komeito party, aim to win a combined majority of the 121 seats up for grabs in an upper house election on Sunday.

Abe has presented the vote as a referendum on his "Abenomics" stimulus policies of bold monetary easing, flexible fiscal spending and reforms.

An election is held every three years for half of the upper house's 242 members, who have six-year terms.

Here are some key seat numbers to watch.

RULING BLOC NEEDS 46 SEATS TO KEEP MAJORITY

The LDP held 116 seats in the upper house before the election, falling short of a majority, but together with the Komeito's 20 seats, the ruling bloc controlled the chamber. If the LDP and Komeito together win 46 seats, they would keep their majority.

RULING BLOC NEEDS 61 TO HIT ABE'S TARGET

Abe has delayed a sales tax increase by 2-1/2 years, until October 2019, saying he aims to win more than half the seats in contention to gain a mandate for his decision and his economic policies. The LDP and Komeito have 60 lawmakers among the half of the members of the upper chamber whose seats are being contested on Sunday.

LDP NEEDS 57 TO WIN SIMPLE MAJORITY ON ITS OWN

If the LDP wins 57 seats or more, it would have a majority without the help of coalition partner Komeito, affording Abe a more independent stance in making policy. The LDP had 51 upper chamber seats whose occupants' terms expired. The LDP has not held an upper house majority on its own since 1989.

NEED 74-78 SEATS TO OPEN DOOR TO REVISE CONSTITUTION

Abe said in January the LDP wanted to win a combined two-thirds majority with Komeito and like-minded opposition parties to open the path to revising the U.S.-drafted, postwar pacifist constitution for the first time.

To do so, the ruling bloc, along with the pro-revision Initiatives from Osaka party and another tiny conservative party, need a total of 78 seats, up from 62.

That threshold falls to 74 if one includes four independent upper-house lawmakers who are half-way through their six-year terms and support constitutional revision, according to Kyodo news agency.
Gunmen kidnap three Indonesians off Malaysian state of Sabah

KUALA LUMPUR, July 10 (Reuters) - Gunmen kidnapped three Indonesian tugboat crew off Malaysia's eastern state of Sabah, police said on Sunday, the latest in a string of abductions in a region noted for kidnappings by Islamist militants.

It was not immediately clear whether the men were seized by Abu Sayyaf, a group linked to Islamic State that is responsible for recent beheadings of Western hostages and notorious for the extortion of millions of dollars in ransoms.

The tugboat, with a crew of seven, was in waters off the east coast of Sabah on Borneo island, about 8 nautical miles from shore, regional marine police said, when it was attacked by armed men in a white boat late on Saturday.

"The suspects inquired who had their passports with them, and the three who did were taken into their boat, while the four who did not were left behind," marine police said in a media statement.

The five armed abductors spoke in Malay and the local Suluk dialect, the police added. Police in Sabah are expected to hold a news conference later on Sunday.

In Jakarta, the Indonesian foreign ministry said it had no information yet on the abductions.

The Abu Sayyaf militant group has beheaded two Canadian nationals recently after its ransom deadlines expired. It is still holding men from Japan, the Netherlands and Norway.
Gunfire heard in parts of south Sudan capital Juba on Sunday - Reuters witness

JUBA, July 10 (Reuters) - Gunfire erupted again in parts of South Sudan capital Juba on Sunday, a Reuters witness said, after gunbattles between rival troops last week raised fears over a fragile peace process in Africa's newest country.

A Reuters witness said shooting could be heard in Gudele and and Jebel suburbs of Juba, near the military barracks that hosts troops loyal to the country's vice president Riek Machar.
Family of killed U.S. journalist Marie Colvin sues Syria- New York Times

BEIRUT, July 10 (Reuters) - The family of American journalist Marie Colvin who died in Syria in 2012 has filed a wrongful death lawsuit in a U.S. court, accusing the Syrian government of deliberately killing her, the New York Times reported on Saturday.

Colvin and French photographer Remi Ochlik were killed in the besieged Syrian city of Homs in 2012 while reporting on the Syrian conflict now in its sixth year.

The lawsuit, filed in Washington, said Syrian officials deliberately targeted rockets against a makeshift broadcast studio where Colvin and other reporters were living and working.

The lawsuit, to which the New York Time article provides an online link, said the attack was part of a plan orchestrated at the highest levels of the Syrian government to silence local and international media "as part of its effort to crush political opposition".
Kurdish militant bomb attacks kill seven in southeast Turkey

By Seyhmus Cakan

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, July 10 (Reuters) - Two Kurdish militant bomb attacks ripped through a military outpost and an army vehicle on Sunday, killing seven members of the armed forces, the military said, as a conflict which flared a year ago continued to rage in southeast Turkey.

It was the third such attack in the last 24 hours in the mainly Kurdish region, where a two-year-old ceasefire between the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group and the state collapsed last July.

Since then, thousands of PKK fighters, security force members and civilians have died in fighting across the region.

In the latest violence, a roadside bomb planted by PKK guerrillas tore through a military vehicle and killed four soldiers on the road between Semdinli and Aktutun in Hakkari province, along the border with Iraq, an army statement said.

Another soldier wounded in the attack later died, security sources said, adding army border units were put on alert and an air-backed operation was launched to find those responsible.

Further west in the town of Kiziltepe, near the Syrian border, police clashed with PKK fighters, killing two militants and capturing two more alive, other security sources said. Six police officers were wounded in the fighting.

The attacks came after reports that senior PKK commander Fehman Huseyin was killed on Friday in a bomb attack on a car in which he was travelling in northeast Syria. The report by Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency has not been confirmed.

Elsewhere in southeast Turkey, PKK militants carried out a car bomb attack on a military outpost in the Ercis district of Van province overnight, killing one soldier and a member of the state-sponsored village guard militia, the army said.

It said 10 soldiers and five village guards were wounded.

Also along the border with Syria, PKK guerrillas staged a car bomb attack around midday on Saturday targeting a military installation in Mardin province, killing two soldiers and a civilian and wounding dozens, security sources said.
Zambia elections body halts campaigning in capital over violence

LUSAKA, July 10 (Reuters) - Zambia's electoral commission has suspended campaigning in two cities, including the capital, due to escalating political violence before the Aug. 11 elections, it said late on Saturday.

Police in Lusaka on Friday shot dead one opposition supporter in a group that took to the streets, harassing motorists and attacking police after their political party was denied permission to hold a rally, police chief Kakoma Kanganja said in a statement.
Baku, Azerbaijan, July 10

By Maksim Tsurkov  Trend:

As of May 2016, $2.091 billion have been invested in the Trans Anatolian Gas Pipeline (TANAP) construction project, which is a part of the Southern Gas Corridor, said Vagif Aliyev, head of investments division at Azerbaijans state oil company SOCAR.

He made the remarks at a meeting with representatives of NGOs in Baku.

Aliyev said capital expenditures for the pipeline are expected at the level of $9.2 billion.

The part of the pipeline running until Eskisehir [in Turkey] will be completed in mid-2018, and another part running until the Greek border will be commissioned in 2019, he added.

As of May 2016, the project has been implemented by 26.3 percent, noted Aliyev, adding that 1,166-kilometer pipes were produced, 929 kilometers of which were delivered to the construction site.

TANAP project envisages transporting gas from Azerbaijans Shah Deniz field from the Georgian-Turkish border to the western border of Turkey.

The gas will reach Turkey in 2018, and after the completion of the TAP construction, the gas will reach Europe around early 2020.

Currently, the shareholders of TANAP are SOCAR (State Oil Company of Azerbaijan) - 58 percent, Botas - 30 percent and BP - 12 percent.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @MaksimTsurkov
G20 seeks to enhance trade growth in face of protectionism -China

By David Stanway and John Ruwitch

SHANGHAI, July 10 (Reuters) - In the face of a "worrying" rise in protectionism, trade ministers from the world's major economies have agreed to cut trade costs, increase policy coordination and enhance financing, China's Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng said on Sunday.

The Group of 20 trade ministers, who wrapped up a two-day meeting in Shanghai on Sunday, approved a broad trade growth strategy aimed at reversing a slowing in global trade, and backed guiding principles for global investment policymaking.

"The global recovery continues, but it remains uneven and falls short of our ambition for strong, sustainable and balanced growth. Downside risks and vulnerabilities persist," the ministers said in a joint statement.

"We agree that we need to do more to achieve our common objectives for global growth, stability and prosperity."

The spectre of protectionism has loomed large over global trade amid sluggish economic growth and is a pressing concern for China.

The country's huge but struggling steel sector has relied on exports to offset the impact of slowing domestic demand, but it has been accused of using unfair pricing to push foreign competitors out of business.

The ministers discussed the need to address overcapacity, particularly in the steel sector, but some disagreed about the need for specific new commitments to resolve the problem, said one senior trade official involved in the talks, declining to be identified because details of the discussions had not been made public.

The joint statement reflected China's concerns that the country was being singled out for blame for a glut that has led to a collapse in global prices, noting instead that excess capacity in steel and other industries is "a global issue which requires collective responses", and that subsidies and government support could cause distortions.

The United States has been a vocal critic of China's excess capacity, saying its pledges have not gone far enough to resolve the problem.

U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said in a statement that the G20 had "added to the chorus of voices calling for tackling the root causes of excess capacity for the benefit of both developing and developed countries".

Chinese trade officials have repeatedly stressed that the country has been the victim of overzealous anti-dumping actions by foreign countries, which fail to take into account Chinese efficiency or its low labour and production costs.

The trade growth strategy adopted by the ministers spelled out broad principles for stimulating trade, including lowering costs, boosting trade finance and stimulating the service sector.

The investment policymaking guiding principles urged governments to avoid protectionism in relation to cross-border investment and establish "non-discriminatory, transparent and predictable" conditions for investment.

Global foreign exchange rates, in flux since Britain's referendum to leave the European Union, were not mentioned in the joint statement, and the senior trade official involved in the talks said the issue had not been discussed.
Family of killed U.S. journalist Marie Colvin sues Syria

By Lisa Barrington

BEIRUT, July 10 (Reuters) - The family of American journalist Marie Colvin, who died in Syria in 2012, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit in a U.S. court, accusing the Syrian government of deliberately killing her.

Colvin and French photographer Remi Ochlik were killed in the besieged Syrian city of Homs in 2012 while reporting on the Syrian conflict, now in its sixth year.

The lawsuit, filed in Washington on Saturday and seen by Reuters, said Syrian officials deliberately targeted rockets against a makeshift broadcast studio where Colvin and other reporters were living and working.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry, the target of the lawsuit, could not immediately be reached for comment. The Syrian ambassador to the United Nations could not immediately be reached for comment either.

The suit alleges the attack was part of a plan orchestrated at the highest levels of the Syrian government to silence local and international media "as part of its effort to crush political opposition".

The lawsuit included as evidence a copy of an August 2011 fax which it alleges was sent from Syria's National Security Bureau instructing security bodies to launch military and intelligence campaigns against "those who tarnish the image of Syria in foreign media and international organisations".

Foreign governments are typically immune from U.S. civil lawsuits, but there are exceptions for countries designated by the State Department as sponsors of terrorism. Syria is currently one of three countries on the list, with Iran and Sudan.

Lawyers who have brought civil lawsuits against those governments say they typically do not respond, resulting in default judgments for plaintiffs. The bigger challenge is usually enforcing the judgments and collecting damages, says Gary Osen, a New Jersey lawyer currently suing Iran.

Osen said it was usually hard to identify seizable U.S. assets of those governments subject to terrorism suits, who often operate behind layers of intermediaries. "It could take you decades to find out they own an office building in downtown Boston or somewhere," he said.

The family's lawsuit is seeking monetary damages but did not specify an amount.

"This case is about carrying on Marie's work," plaintiff Cathleen Colvin, Marie Colvin's sister, said.

"We are seeking truth and justice not just for her, but for thousands of innocent Syrians tortured or killed under the Assad dictatorship," she said in a statement released by U.S. human rights group the Center for Justice and Accountability (CJA) which filed the case for the Colvin family.

Advocacy group Reporters Without Borders said it supported the lawsuit.

The group's secretary-general, Christophe Deloire, said Reporters Without Borders "hopes these efforts will help to expose the truth, namely that these journalists were deliberately targeted and killed because they were providing information about the Syrian army's crimes against civilians."

A murder and attempted murder investigation was launched in France in 2012 into the death of Ochlik and wounding of another journalist, Edith Bouvier, in the same attack.

Reporters Without Borders, as an interested party in the case, said it will submit the Colvin family's U.S. lawsuit to the judge in charge of the French investigation on Monday.
0-Renewed fighting erupts in South Sudan as fears of civil war mount

By Denis Dumo and Michelle Nichols

JUBA/UNITED NATIONS, July 10 (Reuters) - Renewed fighting erupted in South Sudan's capital on Sunday and forces loyal to Vice President Riek Machar said his residence was attacked by the president's troops, raising fears of a slide back into full-blown conflict in the five-year-old nation.

There was no immediate response from the government of President Salva Kiir to the statement by Machar's spokesman. Kiir's information minister, Michael Makuei, said earlier the situation was under control and urged people to stay at home.

The two leaders, who fought each other in a two-year civil war that started in late 2013, had made a joint call for calm after clashes between rival factions broke out late on Thursday. At least 272 people have been killed in the fighting, a Health Ministry source told Reuters early on Sunday.

A Chinese U.N. peacekeeper was killed and several Chinese and Rwandan peacekeepers were injured, Japan's U.N. ambassador Koro Bessho said on Sunday after the U.N. Security Council was briefed on the situation. Japan is council president for July.

The U.N. mission said U.N. compounds in Juba had been hit by small arms and heavy weapons fire.

"The Security Council expressed their readiness to consider enhancing (the U.N. mission) UNMISS to better ensure that UNMISS and the international community can prevent and respond to violence in South Sudan," Bessho told reporters.

He said the 15-member council encouraged countries in the region to prepare to send additional troops in the event the Security Council decides to boost the strength of the nearly 13,500-strong U.N. force. The council also stressed the need for peacekeepers to use all means necessary to protect civilians.

The U.S. State Department on Sunday demanded an immediate end to the fighting in South Sudan and ordered the departure of non-emergency personnel from the U.S. Embassy in Juba.

"We're extremely worried about what appears to be the lack of command and control over the troops," U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power said on her way into the Security Council briefing, which the United States requested.

A confidential note to the council on Sunday from the U.N. Department of Peacekeeping, seen by Reuters, said: "UNMISS has adopted a proactive posture, conducting patrols within and outside" its compounds and has reinforced the perimeter security to enhance protection for displaced civilians and U.N. staff.

The note said the fighting "involved the use of attack helicopters and tanks" and that the U.N. compounds were in the cross-fire.

One U.N. Chinese peacekeeper was killed and six were others injured when the armoured vehicle in which they were travelling was shelled.

China's defence ministry issued a statement on Monday condemning the attack, and said it would strengthen safety measures.

'DEEPLY FRUSTRATED'

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Kiir and Machar needed to take "decisive action" to regain control of the security situation in Juba and urged them to order their forces to disengage and withdraw to their bases.

"I am deeply frustrated that despite commitments by South Sudan's leaders, fighting has resumed," Ban said in a statement. "This senseless violence is unacceptable and has the potential of reversing the progress made so far in the peace process."

Residents of Juba's Gudele and Jebel districts reported heavy gunfire near the barracks where Machar and his troops have their headquarters.

The Health Ministry source said 33 civilians were among those killed in the latest clashes, which have fuelled fears about renewed conflict and raised concerns about the extent the two men can control their troops in the world's newest nation.

"We have called for an arms embargo, we think that this (violence) absolutely underlines the need for that and we are prepared to look at any measures that are necessary in order to stop this violence," Britain's deputy U.N. ambassador, Peter Wilson, said on his way into the council meeting.

Earlier this year, Security Council veto power Russia said it was opposed to an arms embargo because Moscow did not believe it would be helpful to the implementation of a peace deal agreed to by Kiir and Machar last August.

When asked on Sunday about the possibility of a arms embargo, Russia's deputy U.N. ambassador, Vladimir Safronkov, said the council needed to do "something serious about stabilising the political situation."

The confidential U.N. peacekeeping note said some 3,000 civilians, including senior opposition officials, had sought shelter at one U.N. site, while 800 other civilians had entered a second U.N. compound.

"Dr. Machar's residence was attacked twice today including using tanks and helicopter gunships. Helicopters from Kiir's side attacked the residence twice," Machar's spokesman, James Gatdet Dak, told Reuters by phone from abroad.

He added that the situation in Juba had subsequently calmed, echoing comments from residents who said gunfire had eased later on Sunday after several hours of shooting.

STAND-OFF

The fighting first erupted on Thursday, when troops loyal to Kiir stopped and demanded they be allowed to search vehicles of Machar's loyalists. That stand-off led to clashes.

Gunfire broke out again on Friday between the vice president's bodyguards and the presidential guard, while the two men were holding talks at the presidential State House to defuse tensions. Both men said at the time they did not know what had prompted the exchange of fire.

Kenya's presidency urged Kiir and Machar to move heavy weaponry and troops out of civilian areas in Juba. It said Kenya was ready to support law enforcement. Kenya Airways has suspended flights to Juba.

Machar and Kiir spent months wrangling over details after signing the peace deal last year. Machar finally returned to Juba to resume his former position as vice president in April.
Egypt foreign minister to talk Mideast peace in rare visit to Israel

CAIRO/JERUSALEM, July 10 (Reuters) - Egypt's foreign minister will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday during a rare visit to Israel aimed at reviving the moribund Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

Sameh Shoukry's visit to Israel -- the first by an Egyptian foreign minister in nine years -- follows a similar meeting with Palestinian officials in Ramallah on June 29.

It comes as France leads a renewed push to put peace efforts back on the agenda with an international peace conference held on June 3. The French initiative seeks to bring the two sides back to the table by year-end and was welcomed by the Palestinians.

But Israeli officials have said only direct talks can end the decades-old conflict.

Egypt's foreign ministry said in a statement that Shoukry's visit was part of a push by Cairo to build confidence between Israel and the Palestinians with the ultimate aim of resuming direct talks to reach a comprehensive settlement that would give the Palestinians a state and Israel security.

"The foreign minister will hold extensive consultations during his visit with... Netanyahu aimed at addressing many files... with a focus on the Palestinian issue," the statement said.

Netanyahu announced the visit in public remarks on Sunday at the weekly meeting of his cabinet. He said he would hold two meetings during the day with Shoukry.

"Today's visit is important in many respects. It attests to the change that has begun in Israeli-Egyptian relations, including President (Abdel Fattah) al-Sisi's important call to advance the peace process with the Palestinians and Arab countries as well."

Sisi called on Palestinians and Israelis in May to seize the opportunity to make a historic peace, offering Israel the tantalising prospect of warmer ties should it reach a just peace.

Egypt was the first of a handful of Arab countries to recognise Israel with a U.S.-sponsored peace accord in 1979, but Egyptian attitudes to their neighbour remain icy due to what many Arabs see as the continued Israeli occupation of land that is meant to form a Palestinian state.

Sisi offered the 2002 Arab peace initiative as a potential way ahead. The initiative offered full recognition of Israel but only if it gave up all land seized in the 1967 Middle East war and agreed to a "just solution" for Palestinian refugees.

After Sisi's offer, Netanyahu said he would be willing to discuss the Arab peace initiative.

Egypt's foreign ministry statement said peace should involve the creation of an independent Palestinian state on 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital. It did not mention refugees.

Previous attempts to engage the adversaries have come to nought. The Palestinians say Israeli settlement expansion denies them a viable state they seek in the occupied West Bank, the Gaza Strip and a capital in Arab East Jerusalem.
Bin Laden's son threatens revenge for father's assassination - monitor

DUBAI, July 10 (Reuters) - The son of slain al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has threatened revenge against the United States for assassinating his father, according to an audio message posted online.

Hamza bin Laden promised to continue the global militant group's fight against the United States and its allies in the 21-minute speech entitled "We Are All Osama," according to the SITE Intelligence Group.

"We will continue striking you and targeting you in your country and abroad in response to your oppression of the people of Palestine, Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Somalia and the rest of the Muslim lands that did not survive your oppression," Hamza said.

"As for the revenge by the Islamic nation for Sheikh Osama, may Allah have mercy on him, it is not revenge for Osama the person but it is revenge for those who defended Islam."

Osama bin Laden was killed at his Pakistani hideout by U.S. commandos in 2011 in a major blow to the militant group which carried out the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

Documents recovered from bin Laden's compound and published by the United States last year alleged that his aides tried to reunite the militant leader with Hamza, who had been held under house arrest in Iran.

Hamza, now in his mid-twenties, was at his father's side in Afghanistan before the 9/11 attacks and spent time with him in Pakistan after the U.S.-led invasion pushed much of al Qaeda's senior leadership there, according to the Brookings Institution.

Introduced by the organisation's new chief Ayman al-Zawahiri in an audio message last year, Hamza provides a younger voice for the group whose ageing leaders have struggled to inspire militants around the world galvanized by Islamic State.

"Hamza provides a new face for al Qaeda, one that directly connects to the group's founder. He is an articulate and dangerous enemy," according to Bruce Riedel of Brookings.
Two gored on fourth day of Spain's San Fermin bull-run festival

MADRID, July 10 (Reuters) - Two people were gored on Sunday on the fourth day of the San Fermin festival in northern Spain, where bulls chase red-scarved runners through the streets of Pamplona.

Sunday's gorings came a day after a bullfighter and a man participating in a village bull run were killed in two of the many other summer festivals in Spain.

San Fermin is the most famous of the festivals, attracting thousands of revellers who visit from around the world to witness the eight daily bull runs along an 825-metre route through Pamplona's old town.
Airbus seen bagging Germania order as economic worries cloud industry

By Tim Hepher

FARNBOROUGH, England, July 10 (Reuters) - German airline Germania is close to placing an order with European planemaker Airbus for around 25 A320-family jets, two industry sources said on Sunday, as aviation chiefs gathered for an industry summit clouded by economic worries.

The privately-held German carrier operates a mixed fleet of Airbus and Boeing jets but has said it aims to harmonise its fleet by switching to all-Airbus aircraft when it takes older Boeing 737-700s out of service.

The potential order, which could be worth over $2.5 billion at list prices, will disappoint Boeing which tried to wrestle back its former customer on the eve of Britain's Farnborough Airshow, the sources said, asking not to be named.

Germania officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

An Airbus spokesman said, "We do not comment on confidential talks which may or may not be happening with our customers."

Germania currently operates a medium-haul fleet of 10 Boeing 737-700s, as well as eight Airbus A319s and four A321s.

Swiss affiliate Germania operates three Airbus jets, according to latest statistics from the planemaker.

The airline first ordered Airbus jets in 2010, having previously operated mainly Boeing airplanes.

Chief executive Karsten Balke told Reuters last year it still had purchase rights for further Airbus aircraft and would use them "when we get the right price".

Berlin-based Germania focuses on Europe, North Africa and the Middle East and recently announced a co-operation with Spanish carrier Air Europa.

If confirmed, the order could be announced at the upcoming July 11-17 Farnborough Airshow, the sources said.

However, the showcase for order announcements, which alternates each year with the Paris Airshow, is expected to be quieter this year as airlines await direction from a faltering economy after several years of strong demand.

Among other potential deals, Airbus was said on the eve of the show to be close to securing an order worth some $3 billion for 8-10 A350 jets from Virgin Atlantic.

But the same airline looks set to cancel a long-standing order for six Airbus A380 superjumbos, industry sources said.

Boeing is expected to firm up at least part of a deal for up to 20 747-8 freighters from Russia's Volga Dnepr, boosting its declining jumbo jet programme, and could announce a new Asian customer for its 737 MAX 200 jet aimed at low-cost carriers.

The U.S. company announced a preliminary deal with Volga Dnepr last year.

Boeing is meanwhile expected to relaunch the smallest version of its 737 MAX series by adding more seats to make it more economical for airlines, after negotiating the change with buyers including Southwest Airlines.
Dallas shootings cast shadow over Obama trip to Spain

By Ayesha Rascoe and Angus Berwick

MADRID, July 10 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama met the king of Spain and acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Sunday, but the trip that was meant to show solidarity with Europe has been overshadowed by violent events in the United States.

The visit is Obama's first to Spain as president. White House officials said it was important for Obama to make the trip, because Spain, which has been without a functioning government since December, was the only major European country he had not traveled to during his presidency.

Obama was supposed to spend two days in Spain after attending a NATO summit in Warsaw where the United States, Spain and other allies pledged to stand united in the face of threats from Russia and fallout from Britain's vote to leave the European Union.

But, after a sniper killed five police officers in Dallas on Thursday following the fatal shootings of two black men by police in Louisiana and Minnesota, the White House cut short the trip so Obama could go to Dallas.

Plans for sightseeing in Seville and a town hall meeting with Spanish citizens were canceled. Instead Obama, who landed in Madrid late on Saturday night, squeezed in sessions with King Felipe VI and acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Sunday.

He will also address troops at Naval Station Rota in the southern region of Andalusia, before heading back to the United States on Sunday night.

Speaking alongside King Felipe at Madrid's royal palace, Obama said he wished he could stay longer in Spain, which he said he first visited just before entering law school in his 20s when he was backpacking across Europe.

"We have had a difficult week back in the United States, so my trip is a little abbreviated but I thought it was very important for me to come here, given the extraordinary friendship and alliance between Spain and the U.S.," he said.

King Felipe, who visited Obama in the White House last year with his wife Queen Letizia, said Spain was committed to the closest possible cooperation with the United States.

In an interview with Spain's El Pais published on Saturday, Obama called Spain "an indispensable European partner."

"Spain is a strong NATO ally, we're grateful for Spain's many decades of hosting U.S. forces, and we're major trading partners," Obama said in the interview. "That's why the United States is deeply committed to maintaining our relationship with a strong, unified Spain."

Spain has been stuck in a near seven-month political stalemate since a national election in December stripped Rajoy of his majority and forced parties to negotiate, so far without success, about forming a coalition government.

Rajoy's conservative People's Party (PP) failed to win a parliamentary majority in a repeat election last month, meaning the deadlock is set to continue with the possibility of a third round of elections in the future.

"If we have to repeat the elections it would be a joke that would affect not only the Spanish economy but the credibility of our country both here and abroad," Rajoy told a news conference with Obama at his official residence.

Obama said he wanted to see a "stable" Spain, but the relationship between both countries would not depend on which party was in power. He met with the leaders of the three largest opposition parties, the White House said in a statement.
Iran says Saudis back terrorism after senior prince attends rebel rally

DUBAI, July 10 (Reuters) - Iran on Sunday accused Saudi Arabia of backing terrorism after a senior Saudi prince, a former intelligence chief, addressed a Paris rally held by exiled Iranian rebels and told them he wanted the Iranian government to fall.

Shi'ite Muslim power Iran and Saudi Arabia, bastion of Sunni Islam, are longstanding religious and political arch rivals. Relations are fraught as they back each other's foes in regional wars such as in Yemen, Iraq and Syria.

"The Saudis are resorting to well-known terrorists ... as they have also done in Iraq, Yemen and Syria. This shows that they use terrorism and terrorists to further their aims against regional Islamic countries," an unnamed Iranian Foreign Ministry source was quoted by Iran's state news agency IRNA as saying.

The rally addressed by Prince Turki al-Faisal on Saturday was held by the political wing of the exiled People's Mujahideen Organisation of Iran (PMOI), which seeks the overthrow of Iran's clerical leadership established by the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Saudi media gave top coverage to the speech. The rally was also attended by a number of Western political figures, including former U.S. House of Representatives speaker Newt Gingrich.

Also known by its Persian name Mujahideen-e-Khalq Organisation (MKO), the group sided with Saddam Hussein during Iraq's war with Iran in the 1980s but fell out of favor with Baghdad after he was toppled by a U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

PMOI once had a presence in the United States and maintains offices in Europe. Critics have described it as a cult.

Iran accuses Saudi Arabia of supporting Islamic State and other militant groups, which Riyadh denies. The Saudis say Iran is fomenting sectarian violence in the Middle East and has aspirations to dominate the region.

"Your legitimate struggle against the (Iranian) regime will achieve its goal, sooner or later," Prince Turki, also an ex-ambassador to Washington and London, had said in his speech.

"I, too, want the fall of the regime," he added.
Islamic State lost quarter of its Iraq, Syria territory in 18 mths -IHS

BEIRUT, July 10 (Reuters) - Islamic State lost an area the size of Ireland - a quarter of its territory - to hostile forces in the last 18 months in Iraq and Syria and is likely to further step up attacks on civilians in coming months, IHS said in a report on Sunday.

The territory controlled by the ultra-hardline Sunni group shrank from 90,800 sq km (35,000 square miles) in January 2015, six months after it declared a caliphate in Syria and Iraq, to 68,300 sq km (26,370 square miles), the research firm said.

This has led the group to step up attacks on civilian targets in the Middle East and in Europe and this is likely to intensify, IHS said.

"As the Islamic State's caliphate shrinks and it becomes increasingly clear that its governance project is failing, the group is re-prioritizing insurgency," said Columb Strack, senior analyst at IHS and lead analyst for the IHS Conflict Monitor.

"As a result, we unfortunately expect an increase in mass casualty attacks and sabotage of economic infrastructure, across Iraq and Syria, and further afield, including Europe."

The Iraqi military's recapture of Falluja, an Islamic State stronghold just west of Baghdad, last month has led the insurgents to step up bombings on Shi'ite Muslim targets.

Nearly 300 people died when an Islamic State suicide bomber struck in a busy shopping district in Baghdad a week ago, in one of the worst such attacks by the group to date.

Islamic State lost control of the city of Ramadi at the end of last year, another key stronghold for the group which captured large swathes of Iraq in 2014. The army is now gearing up to retake Mosul, the largest city in Iraq's north and Islamic State's de facto capital.

In Syria, the militants lost ground this year to both Russian and Iranian-backed forces supporting President Bashar al-Assad and to the U.S.-backed Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance.

In February the SDF captured the town of al Shadadi, a major logistics hub for the militants, and in March Syrian and allied forces backed by Russian air strikes drove Islamic State out of the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra and surrounding areas.
Tehran, Iran, July 10

By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:

Lack of security in neighboring countries has affected the chances of many Iranian companies for exporting their products.

Security tension has affected our exports greatly, Aligudarz Construction and Development Co. CEO Morteza Jafari told Trend July 9.

Aligudarz Construction and Development Co. is a producer and exporter of calcium carbonate, situated in Aligudars, Luristan Province in western Iran.

The company is the first limited liability partnership business in the province. It has 8,500 shareholders, all local, and has employed 176 people directly, he said.

We have three mines and extract 200,000 tons of mineral raw materials each year, 85 percent of which is processed locally.

Besides being domestically used, Jafari said, the companys product is exported to some Persian Gulf littoral states, Iraq, and some CIS members.

To the east and west, Irans neighborhood has been grappling with serious security issues for many years.

Afghanistan has been the scene of insurgent groups for over two decades. Iraq and Syria also lost control over parts of their territories after terrorists invaded them in 2014.
Brazil could sell Sao Paulo and Rio airports, president tells paper

SAO PAULO, July 10 (Reuters) - Brazil's government will consider selling airports in Sao Paulo and Rio to help to reduce a large fiscal deficit next year, interim President Michel Temer told the Folha de S.Paulo newspaper on Sunday.

The paper said that the previous government's objections to a potential sale of the Santos Dumont airport in Rio and Congonhas airport in Sao Paulo are not echoed by Temer, nor the government's economic team.

"It is possible that we end up selling them... It would give us a good sum," Temer was quoted as saying.

Congonhas is the second-largest airport in Sao Paulo behind Guarulhos, which has already been sold to private investors. Congonhas handles most domestic flights, including the busiest Sao Paulo-Rio route, which has Santos Dumont airport as its main destination.

Brazil plans to sell several assets and award licences for companies to build and operate infrastructure projects as it tries to revamp the economy and reduce a budget deficit estimated at 170 billion reais ($51.59 billion) this year.

Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles wants to reduce the deficit to 139 billion reais next year and told the O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper on Sunday that the government will need 80 billion reais of spending cuts to reach that target. ($1 = 3.295 Brazilian reais)
Former UK deputy PM Prescott says now considers Iraq invasion illegal

LONDON, July 10 (Reuters) - Britain broke international law when it invaded Iraq in 2003, its deputy prime minister at the time, John Prescott, said on Sunday in the wake of a critical report on the decision to go to war.

A seven-year inquiry concluded on Wednesday that former British Prime Minister Tony Blair's justification, planning and handling of the Iraq War involved a catalogue of failures, but did not rule whether the war was legal.

Eight months before the 2003 invasion, Blair told former U.S. President George W. Bush "I will be with you, whatever", eventually sending 45,000 British troops into battle when peace options had not been exhausted, the long-awaited British public inquiry said.

Prescott, writing in the Sunday Mirror newspaper, said he had now changed his view about the legality of the war and criticised Blair for stopping his ministers from fully discussing in advance whether the war would be legal.

"In 2004, the U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said that as regime change was the prime aim of the Iraq War, it was illegal. With great sadness and anger, I now believe him to be right," Prescott wrote.

"I will live with the decision of going to war and its catastrophic consequences for the rest of my life," he added.

Many Britons want Blair to face criminal action over his decision to take military action that led to the deaths of 179 British soldiers and more than 150,000 Iraqi civilians over the following six years.

"The Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith, came to the Cabinet, verbally announced it was legal, but provided no documentation," Prescott said. "The timing of the decision was clearly designed to endorse an almost immediate action for us to go to war."

Prescott added that he backed the decision by Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn -- a veteran anti-war campaigner and critic of Blair -- to apologise for the war on behalf of the party.

Meanwhile, a cross-party group of lawmakers said they would seek next week a vote declaring Blair in contempt of parliament for misleading it in the run-up to the decision to go to war.

"Saying one thing to George W. Bush in private and a totally different thing to parliament and people in public, that is the parliamentary crime, the offence, and it is time for parliament to deliver a verdict," Scottish National Party lawmaker and former party leader Alex Salmond told ITV television.
Assad tells EU delegation West's actions in Syria cause terror in Europe

BEIRUT, July 10 (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad told a visiting group of European parliamentarians on Sunday that western governments' support for opposition groups in Syria caused terrorism in Europe.

"The problems Europe faces today of terrorism, extremism and waves of refugees are caused by some western leaders' adoption of policies which do not serve their people," Assad told a delegation of members of the European Parliament headed by Javier Couso, vice chairman of its foreign affairs committee.

"Especially when those leaders give support and political cover to terrorist groups inside Syria," Syrian state news agency SANA said in a summary of Assad's comments.

The Syrian government, supported by Iran and Russia, refers to all groups fighting it in the five-year-old conflict as terrorists. Of such groups, the U.N. classifies only Islamic State and the al Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front as terrorist.

A range of countries provide financial, logistical and training support to the many armed opposition groups in Syria, including Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United States and the United Kingdom.

Western and Gulf Arab countries which want Assad out of power blame him for the displacement of tens of thousands of Syrians, through air strikes on rebel-held areas that have killed thousands.
Egypt's foreign minister talks up Mideast peace in rare visit to Israel

By Jeffrey Heller

JERUSALEM, July 10 (Reuters) - Egypt's foreign minister paid a rare visit to Israel on Sunday, offering Cairo's help to revive peace talks with the Palestinians, in a sign of strengthened ties between two countries sharing deep concern over regional unrest.

Sameh Shoukry's visit was the first made by an Egyptian foreign minister in nine years and he travelled to Jerusalem for two meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

As Netanyahu looked on, Shoukry said the vision of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict "is not far-fetched" and he called for confidence-building measures that could lead to renewed peace negotiations that collapsed in 2014.

"It is no longer acceptable to claim that the status quo is the most that we can achieve of the hopes and aspirations of the Palestinian and Israeli peoples," Shoukry said.

The current state of affairs, said the Egyptian diplomat, who held talks in the occupied West Bank on June 29 with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, "is neither stable nor sustainable".

In May Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi urged both sides to seize the opportunity to make a historic peace, offering Israel the prospect of warmer ties if this were achieved.

Sisi offered the 2002 Arab peace initiative as a potential way ahead. The initiative offered full recognition of Israel but only if it gave up all land seized in the 1967 Middle East war and agreed to a "just solution" for Palestinian refugees.

Shoukry said Egypt was offering "all possible forms of support" to achieve peace and security in the Middle East.

"A multitude of ideas and initiatives have been proposed to make it a practical reality - particularly the Arab peace initiative," he said. "However, achieving this vision requires serious steps to build confidence, as well as a genuine will that does not waver or wane under any circumstance."

Netanyahu has said he would be willing to discuss the Arab peace plan but that changes would have to be made.

"BROADER PEACE"

Greeting Shoukry on Sunday, Netanyahu repeated his call for Palestinians to resume direct negotiations with Israel, and welcomed Egypt's efforts to resolve that conflict and achieve "a broader peace in our region".

Egypt was the first of a handful of Arab countries to recognise Israel with a U.S.-sponsored peace accord in 1979, but Egyptians' attitudes to their neighbour remain icy.

However, cooperation between the two governments has strengthened under Sisi, with Egypt facing Islamist insurgents in Sinai near its eastern neighbour's border and both countries wary of Gaza's Hamas Islamist rulers.

"The situation of the Middle East is becoming ever more volatile and dangerous, particularly as the phenomenon of terrorism continues to grow and proliferate, representing an existential threat to the peoples of the region and the world at large," Shoukry said.

In a report published on July 1, the Quartet of Middle East peace sponsors - the United States, European Union, Russia and United Nations - hailed the Arab peace initiative's "vision for comprehensive settlement" of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Shoukry's visit comes as France leads a renewed push to put peace efforts back on the agenda with an international peace conference held on June 3. The French initiative seeks to bring the two sides back to the table by year-end and was welcomed by the Palestinians.
U.N. Security Council to meet Sunday on South Sudan - diplomats

UNITED NATIONS, July 10 (Reuters) - The United Nations Security Council will meet on Sunday at the request of the United States to discuss new fighting in South Sudan's capital Juba, diplomats said.
Merkel expects new British PM to launch formal EU exit talks

By Madeline Chambers

BERLIN, July 10 (Reuters) - Germany expects Britain to trigger article 50 of the European Union's Lisbon treaty to begin the formal process of leaving the bloc once it has picked a new prime minister, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Sunday.

Merkel also told German broadcaster ZDF in an interview that Britain would not be allowed to "cherry pick" what it wants to keep from its EU membership while jettisoning aspects of the relationship that it does not like.

"The decision (of Britons to leave the EU) has been taken .. and the next step is -- and Britain will do this only when they have a new prime minister -- to invoke Article 50," said Merkel, Europe's most powerful leader who will play a key role in shaping London's future relationship with the EU.

"I expect that to happen. I deal with reality and I firmly expect that application will be made," Merkel added when asked if she thought there was a chance that Brexit would not happen.

British voters backed Brexit in a June 23 referendum. Prime Minister David Cameron has announced his intention to step down and has said it will be for his successor to invoke article 50 which will launch two years of divorce negotiations.

Two women, interior minister Theresa May and junior energy minister Andrea Leadsom, are competing to replace Cameron. The new prime minister is expected to be chosen on Sept. 9.

May, the current favourite, has made clear she will not rush to invoke article 50 as the tight timeframe it envisages could weaken London's bargaining hand. But British and EU firms and investors want clarity as soon as possible on future trade ties.

"NO CHERRY PICKING"

"We have spoken to Britain and made clear there will be no negotiations with Britain until they have made their application, and there will be no cherry picking," said Merkel.

Many British voters backed Brexit due to fears over uncontrolled immigration from the rest of the EU, especially the much poorer member states of ex-communist eastern Europe.

The 'Leave' campaign also homed in on voters' concerns about Europe's migrant crisis, which has seen more than one million people, mostly Muslims fleeing conflicts in the Middle East, move to the EU, especially Germany, over the past year.

Asked if she felt she bore any responsiblity for the Brexit vote due to her open-door migrant policy, Merkel told ZDF that Europe had a responsibility to protect migrants fleeing war.

She also defended her decision to work closely with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in seeking to stem the flow of migrants via Turkey into the EU. Under a controversial deal, Turkey has agreed to take back migrants heading to Europe from its shores in return for accelerated EU membership talks and an end to a visa requirement for its citizens visiting the EU.

"I cannot say I think everything that is happening domestically in Turkey is right ... but we have a mutual interest (in tackling the migrant crisis)," she said.
South African police arrest four terrorism suspects bound for Syria

JOHANNESBURG, July 10 (Reuters) - Four South Africans attempting to fly to Syria have been arrested in Johannesburg and will face charges related to terrorism, police said on Sunday.

"We stopped them from flying to Syria and the airline concerned was also informed and they were refused access," said Hangwani Mulaudzi, spokesman for the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, widely known as "the Hawks."

The arrests were made on Saturday and the three men and one woman will appear in court on Monday, two in Johannesburg and two others at the Kagiso Magistrates Court west of Johannesburg, Mulaudzi said.

Foreign nationals have flocked to Syria to fight for or against Islamic State, an ultra-hardline Sunni group that has also carried out deadly attacks worldwide.

Security officials say there are no known militant groups operating in South Africa, but Britain and the United States warned in June of a high threat of attacks against foreigners in the country's shopping malls.
German MPs say troops must return if Turkey refuses Incirlik visit

BERLIN, July 10 (Reuters) - Several German lawmakers said on Sunday the country's soldiers working at Turkey's Incirlik airbase should be brought home if Ankara continued to prevent parliamentarians from visiting the station.

Turkey, angered by a resolution passed by the German parliament last month that branded the 1915 massacre of Armenians by Ottoman forces a genocide, has denied German lawmakers access to the base.

Chancellor Angela Merkel said the parliamentarians must be allowed to visit the 250 soldiers at the base who are taking part in NATO operations against Islamic State militants in Iraq but she stopped short of threatening to withdraw the soldiers.

Relations between Germany and Turkey, crucial partners in the effort to stem mass migration to Europe, have been strained in recent months. President Tayyip Erdogan was angered by the broadcast of a satirical song about him on German television and in April launched legal action against the comedian who wrote it. The Armenian resolution last month, which prompted Ankara to recall its ambassador, compounded the rift.

A leader of Germany's opposition Greens, Cem Ozdemir, who is of ethnic Turkish origin, told ARD television the situation was unacceptable.

"As lawmakers who send soldiers to places, we must know where they are, how they are and be able to talk to the soldiers. If that is not possible in Turkey then the soldiers must come back to Germany," he said.

Lawmakers approve military spending and investment in infrastructure at the base.

Asked if she would consider withdrawing troops from Incirlik if no agreement were reached, Merkel said she was focusing on resolving the matter by talking.

"A way must be found for the lawmakers to visit the soldiers. We must continue to work on this, the solution is not yet there," she told broadcaster ZDF in an interview.

Merkel met Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Warsaw on Saturday. She said the atmosphere was constructive but the differences remained.

Andreas Scheuer, General Secretary of the Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU) who are part of Merkel's conservative bloc in parliament, said lawmakers had to be allowed to visit soldiers.

"As a result of his behaviour, Turkish President Erdogan is risking the withdrawal of the German army," he told Monday's Tagesspiegel daily, according to extracts sent in advance.
Drone hits Al Qaeda suspects in Yemeni province while exiled president on visit

By Mohammed Ghobari

CAIRO, July 10 (Reuters) - A suspected U.S. drone strike wounded four Al Qaeda fighters in Yemen's central Marib province on Sunday, local tribesmen and media said, hours after the exiled Yemeni president flew in to meet Arab military leaders in his war against the Houthi rebels.

Sunday's drone strike happened on the same day as President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi arrived in Marib city, about 120 km (75 miles) east of the capital Sanaa. In a six-hour visit, he met commanders of a Saudi-led coalition backing him in a civil conflict in which thousands have died.

The war has allowed Islamist militants to flourish, even though the United States has for years launched drone strikes against groups in Yemen.

"Four Al Qaeda members were wounded when a U.S. drone targeted a car they were traveling in Jabul, east of Marib city," said the tribesman who requested not to be named.

Yemen's government did not respond to a request for comment on the strike. Washington does not comment on drone strikes in Yemen. Photographs shared in Yemeni media showed a crowd of men looking at black smoke rising from the remains of a landcruiser.

The coalition was formed early last year to fight the Iran-allied Houthis after they took over Sanaa, made gains in other provinces and forced Hadi's government to flee into exile. Its mostly Gulf Arab members are now participating in Yemen's battle against Islamist militants, which include groups like Al Qaeda and Islamic State.

Government and Emirati forces have been mounting a ground push in southern Yemen against towns held by Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the group behind several foiled bombing attempts on Western-bound airliners and which claimed responsibility for the 2015 attack at the Charlie Hebdo magazine's offices in Paris.

During his visit to Marib, Hadi, 70, said his government would boycott peace talks in Kuwait if the United Nations, who are leading the negotiations, pushed for the Houthi group and loyalists of Yemen's former president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, to be involved in a transitional government.

"We will not give them (the Houthis) what they want, which is the legitimisation of their coup through negotiations in Kuwait," Hadi was quoted as saying by the state news agency, Saba.
U.S. sends Yemeni Guantanamo inmate to Italy, 78 detainees left

By Arshad Mohammed

WASHINGTON, July 10 (Reuters) - The United States said on Sunday it had transferred a Yemeni inmate from the Guantanamo Bay prison to Italy, bringing the number of detainees at the U.S. naval base in Cuba to 78.

Fayiz Ahmad Yahia Suleiman was approved for transfer nearly six years ago by six U.S. agencies - the Departments of Defense, State, Justice and Homeland Security, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

"The United States is very grateful to the Government of Italy for its continued assistance in closing the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay," said Lee Wolosky, the U.S. special envoy for Guantanamo's closure, describing the effort to shut the prison as a "shared goal."

A Pentagon spokesman declined comment on whether the man would be subject to detention in Italy and referred that question to the Italian government, which said it was taking him on "humanitarian grounds" but provided no further details.

The Yemeni man was arrested by Pakistani police and transferred to U.S. custody in December, 2001, meaning he had been in U.S. detention for more than 14 years, according to U.S. military documents posted online by the WikiLeaks website.

U.S. President Barack Obama, who had hoped to close the prison during his first year in office in 2009, rolled out his plan in February aimed at shutting the facility. But he faces opposition from many Republican lawmakers as well as some fellow Democrats.

Most of the 78 prisoners who remain at Guantanamo have been held without charge or trial for more than a decade, drawing international condemnation.

The Guantanamo prisoners were rounded up overseas when the United States became embroiled in wars in Afghanistan and Iraq following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington.

The facility, opened by Obama's Republican predecessor, George W. Bush, came to symbolize aggressive detention practices that opened the United States to accusations of torture.

Obama's plan for shuttering the facility calls for bringing the several dozen remaining prisoners to maximum-security prisons in the United States. U.S. law bars such transfers to the mainland.
Tehran, Iran, July 10

By Mehdi Sepahvand  Trend:

There is a little hope that any change may happen about the heavy tax that Irans industrialists have to pay to the Social Security Organization, Minister of Industry, Mine, and Trade Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh said.

The issue is a thing of law and changing it is not so easy, the minister told Trend July 9 on the sidelines of a conference marking Irans Industry Day.

The Social Security Organization believes the pensions and health services that it gives cost so much, he said, adding however that a systemic change is needed.

Nematzadehs comments came as industrialists are anticipating a meeting with the Social Security Organization and its parent Ministry of Labor soon.

The prospective meeting was promised by officials of the Ministry of Industry, Mine, and Trade as well as the Parliament who were present at the conference.

The officials promise followed repeated objections by the industrialists of the burden that the taxation has imposed on them.

One of the industrialists, interrupting the host as he spoke from his seat, said that the heavy taxation has deprived him and his likes in the industrial sector of the chance to allocate any budget to research and development programs and run their industries outdated.

According to the law, enterprises in Iran have to pay 30 percent of their revenues to the Social Security Organization for insurance.

Many doubt the fact that the insurance services would cost so much. As one, Chairman of Razavi Khorasan Textile Association Ebrahim Dehqan had recently said there are other insurance companies that would offer the same insurance for half of what the Social Security Organization charges.

According to a 2014 report by the Iranian parliament, corruption was widespread in the Social Security Organization during the administration of Saeed Mortazavi, 2011-2013. It included, among other officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran, a notable number of members of parliament (MPs) and several editors of Reformist newspapers.

The 84-page report by the Special Parliamentary Probe Committee included 37 cases of bribery and illegal handouts. One such case entailed 1.335 billion rials ($43,266) taken from the internal budget of the organization after being authorized by the head of the organization, and was given to 37 MPs [report included code numbers but no actual names] as gift cards [on April and May] of this year.
Guatemala arrests prominent executive on suspicion of tax fraud

GUATEMALA CITY, July 10 (Reuters) - Guatemalan police have arrested the head of one of the country's biggest hotel chains on suspicion of tax fraud, prosecutors said on Sunday, part of a wider drive against corruption in the Central American nation.

Carlos Enrique Monteros Castillo, owner of the local Camino Real chain, was arrested on Saturday night at the Guatemala City airport, while another executive from the same group was detained in a house raid, the attorney general's office said.

Monteros and Oscar Humberto Jimenez Contreras are suspected of having evaded some $2.8 million in taxes, authorities said.

Neither man was immediately available for comment.

Led by a U.N.-backed anti-graft body known as the CICIG, investigators in Guatemala have cast a wide net to root out corruption, making dozens of arrests and turning the political establishment upside down in the process.

In September, a CICIG fraud probe brought about the impeachment and arrest of then-President Otto Perez.
In a grotesque turn of events, over a dozen lives have been lost and 200 people have been injured, including about 100 police personnel, in violent protests sparked by the killing of Burhan Wani and two other terrorists belonging to the Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) in an encounter with the security forces in Kashmir Valley.

Wani, described as the poster boy of new-age terrorism in Kashmir, lured many youth to join the shrinking ranks of the local militants with his charismatic appeals on social media.

Given the spontaneous eruption of a wave comprising a mixture of sympathy and anger and the unprecedented turnout for his funeral, perhaps there is a grain of truth in Omar Abdullahs statement that Wani will recruit more young people to join the "cause" from his grave than he succeeded in doing while he was alive.

In the third decade of a violent militancy in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), centred mostly in the Kashmir Valley, what then is the cause?

In a small minority, it is a misplaced yearning for Azadi driven by a sense of alienation from the national mainstream. The root causes are not much different from any other peoples movement: poor governance, particularly deficiencies in the delivery of justice; inadequate socio-economic development and the consequent lack of employment opportunities; and the inconvenience caused by the heavy presence of the security forces and a false perception that they follow a high-handed approach in their dealings with the people.

The security environment has improved considerably over the last decade.

The road arteries are open to civilian and military traffic; schools, colleges and hospitals are functioning normally; trade and commerce have begun to gradually look up; development projects of the government are slowly gathering momentum; tourists are visiting Kashmir in droves; the annual Amarnath Yatra is attracting ever more pilgrims; and political leaders are able to freely address small crowds at street corners.

Elections are being held regularly and a coalition government is in place, though it is a dubious coalition.

The armys three-tier deployment and vigorous patrolling, backed by modern night vision devices, has ensured that infiltration from across the LoC has been reduced to a trickle.

The number of incidents of violence has gradually come down.

This summer a large number of terrorists from LeT and JeM, terrorist organisations sponsored by the Pakistan army and the ISI  together comprising the "deep state"  have been neutralised in encounters with the army, the central armed police forces (CAPFs) and the J&K police.

Perhaps there is a grain of truth in Omar Abdullahs statement that Wani will recruit more young people from his grave than he succeeded in doing while he was alive.

However, no insurgency anywhere in the world has ever been resolved by the security forces alone.

There has been absolutely no progress in striving to reach a political solution acceptable to all the stakeholders, including the people of all the regions of J&K, the displaced Kashmiri Pandits who have become refugees in their own land, and the people of the nation at large.

Political parties continue to play vote bank politics and pander shamelessly to the least common denominator  inflaming passions, creating rifts and dividing rather than uniting people.

There is a view in India that the Kashmiri people are a pampered lot, that disproportionately large amounts of central government funds have been pumped into the state and that the people should be grateful rather than agitating for azadi.

The right wing view in India is that Article 370 of the Constitution of India  the tie that binds the Constitution of J&K with that of India  should be abrogated and that, in fact, it should have been dispensed with a long time ago, as was envisaged in the Constitution itself.

They forget that strong arm tactics do not work when stone-pelting crowds take to the streets in the thousands and refuse to buckle under pressure in this mega-media age.

International examples of the power of the people are worth recounting.

In February 1986, the Filipino people restored democracy through the People Power Revolution.

In 1989-90, Lech Walesas Solidarity movement in Poland beat back the mighty Soviet Unions tanks.

The citizens of Czechoslovakia shook off totalitarian communist rule in the Velvet Revolution.

The victory of the Ukrainian peoples Orange Revolution represented a new landmark in the history of peoples movements for democracy.

The Cedar Revolution in April 2005 ended the Syrian military occupation of Lebanon after 30 years.

The Arab Spring that began with the Tunisian Revolution in December 2010 snowballed into insurgencies in Libya, Syria and Yemen and civil uprisings in Bahrain, Egypt and Iraq and minor sympathetic unrest in many other Arab countries.

Closer home, the Nepalese revolution that dethroned the King is the latest manifestation of the power of the people.

While some of the Kashmiri protesters are no doubt being paid to shout slogans demanding azadi and hurl stones at the security forces, most of them are genuinely concerned about their future and the inability of successive governments to resolve the socio-economic challenges facing the state.

The successful resolution of insurgencies requires a four-pronged approach: governance, development and security, along with perception management.

There can be no doubt that a sustained and convincing high-level political initiative is needed, but what do the people want?

Except for a very small minority that has been deeply influenced by radical extremism, the Kashmiri people do not wish to either join Pakistan or opt for independence from India.

Creeping Talibanisation in Pakistan goes against the grain of Kashmiriyat and Kashmirs Sufi culture.

After very hard and acrimonious bargaining they will ultimately settle for a large measure of autonomy, which will allow them the right to rule themselves, within the Indian Union.

They will accept that the central government continues to deal with defence, foreign affairs, currency and communications while the J&K Assembly is left free to legislate on everything else. Surely that is not too much to concede.

Autonomy in governance is the central pillar of Indias federal structure.

The late Prime Minister Narsimha Rao had said the sky is the limit for autonomy.

When asked whether he was proposing to hold talks within the framework of the Constitution, former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee had said he was willing to honour the tenets of insaniyat and hold talks within a humanitarian framework.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had expressed his anguish over the rising tide of violence and had spoken feelingly about the peoples dard aur mayusi. He had made a pitch for mutual tolerance, understanding and accommodation.

The challenge posed by the prolonged turmoil in Kashmir Valley must not be neglected any further.

The NDA government must hold all-party talks to evolve a national consensus on resolving the problems posed by the unremitting tide of militancy.

Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and the leaders of all political parties in the state must rise to the occasion and provide the healing touch that the situation requires.

As for the security forces, they must be allowed to conduct their counter-insurgency operations against Pakistan-sponsored terrorists in accordance with the well-established rules of engagement, but must do so with a sense of utmost restraint, even as they devote time and effort to winning hearts and minds.
As the mortal remains of the poster boy of new age militancy were laid to rest at his native village in south Kashmirs Tral on July 9, thousands of mourners who braved the restrictions imposed by the government, to attend his funeral, voiced pro-freedom slogans.

Burhan Muzaffar Wani, who kept the security forces on tenterhooks for six long years, was finally killed by the security forces on July 8 along with his two of his accomplices. It brought an end to the hunt for one of the most wanted militants, active since 2010, when a new breed of young and educated militants started to emerge in Kashmir.

His native town at the foot of the Pirpanjal range witnessed a massive rush of people since Friday evening, when the news of his killing in an encounter at Kokernag was confirmed.

Mourners from all age groups, including women, children and elderly, kept pouring in from all directions, in vehicles, and on foot; to catch the last glimpse of their hero.

Finally at around 3pm, his mortal remains were laid to rest while some masked militants gave him a gun salute, something typical of the early 1990s when militancy was at its peak in the Valley.

Though Burhans body vanished in mounds of earth, which mourners jostled to pour into his grave, the sea of people declined to recede for hours.

Sea of people at Burhan Wani's funeral.

Till sundown, the graveyard awaited decongestion as mourners kept leaving the venue, slowly, being guided by local villagers, who "regulated the people's traffic, lest any stampede took place.

The volunteers even served refreshment including tahri, a traditional haldi-rice and fruits to the mourners. Octogenarian Abdul Sattar said it was biggest ever funeral he witnessed after that of Kashmirs tallest leader Sheikh Muhammed Abdullah. Sattar had left his home at midnight to make it to the funeral.

Burhan (21) is dead and buried. But will his death solve any purpose?

Well, the bloodbath on the day of his funeral that claimed at least 15 lives and left around 200 people, including security force personnel wounded, hints at a festering crisis.

Add to this the prophesy of former chief minister, Omar Abdullah, who hours ahead of the Burhans funeral, tweeted:

Mark my words - Burhan's ability to recruit in to militancy from the grave will far outstrip anything he could have done on social media.  Omar Abdullah (@abdullah_omar) July 9, 2016

As of now, though the Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti expressed grief over the killings, the government looks unnerved. The reason?

It has banked on spymaster and additional director general of police SM Sahai, who earlier as the Inspector General of Police of Kashmir in multiple stints brought the situation under control during such crises.

Though Sahai is not into active policing, as he heads the intelligence wing of the state police, he addressed a joint press conference, with IGP Kashmir range SJM Geelani.

His presence was enough to convey that IGP Geelani, despite having taken credit for killing Burhan, was unable to defend his position over the bloodbath.

Addressing reporters, Sahai said the situation was tense and that several police stations had been torched by mobs, and that three cops were missing. In an advisory, he appealed to the parents to ask the youth to be indoors.

Later in the evening, however, more pro-Burhan and pro-freedom sloganeering could be heard, even from the mosque loudspeakers, while teargas shelling on the nearby street hindered filing of this story.

Interestingly, even though the government attributes the revival of militancy to indoctrination, no one ever addressed this core issue, at least in Burhans case.

The course of his life, according to media reports, changed in 2010 when he, his brother and another friend, who was riding a bike, were stopped by the police and asked to get cigarettes. In return for fags, the trio was thrashed. While managing to run for cover, Burhan shouted: I will avenge this. That winter, Burhan left home to emerge as a militant whose death has put Kashmir on the boil.

While the security forces have won the bounty, a top cop has dropped a bombshell.

Senior superintendent of police, Baramulla, Imtiyaz Hussain, who has been on the forefront of counter-insurgency operations in Kashmir for over a decade, claimed that Burhan never attacked the security forces.

The truth is, despite all his virtual bravado, despite being a poster boy, he could not carry out a single action against security forces... !!! His life #glamorised by #media power, and his death celebrated in same way... by people who just stand on sidelines, and cheer gleefully ... Let #Truth be told, His life was a #waste... one more man sacrificed for a #futile cause... he is not the first, he wont be the last!!!, Imtiyaz posted on his Facebook account triggering a massive debate, which went viral despite the suspension of mobile internet in the Valley.

Imtiyaz, who enjoys the title of Khakee Fidayeen, accorded to him by a national magazine for his role in combating militancy, stood by his statement, when this author pointed out to him that the police say at least one dozen cases stand registered against Burhan. He (Burhan) hasn't fired even a single bullet. He would use others, the official responded.

What if Burhan was caught alive and given a chance to live and fight for his cause through alternative means? A question will always remain.

Well, whether or not his arrest would have served any purpose, his death has put Kashmir on the edge.
In the aftermath of the July 2 Dhaka terrorist attack where 28 persons were killed by a six-member Islamic State (IS) affiliated group, a milestone went by unnoticed.

July 4 marked the 40th anniversary of "Operation Thunderbolt" when over 100 Israeli commandos flew into the capital of Uganda and rescued 90 airline passengers held by seven Palestinian terrorists.

It was the most spectacular hostage rescue in the history of counter-terrorism not only because of the extreme distances involved - the rescue forces flew over 4,000 kilometres in near-total secrecy - but also because of the low fatalities.

The Israelis lost one commando - task force leader Colonel Yonatan "Yonni" Netanyahu (present Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's older brother), and only three hostages were killed.

It also outlined what was then a given in most hostage situations - the perpetrators were prepared to swap the civilians for a list of demands. Civilian hostages were bargaining chips, usually to ensure the release of jailed terrorists. The plan was to have everyone - civilians and terrorists - walking away unscathed. Such situations gave counter-terrorist forces a very critical resource to plan operations: time.

Skilled hostage negotiators involved in parleys with the terrorists bought more time.

The week-long hijacking of the Air France jet, diverted to Uganda, gave Israeli commandos several days to rehearse their entire operation. They could source the blueprints of the airport terminal where the passengers were held hostage, build a mock-up in Israel and practice their intervention with clockwork precision.

28 persons were killed by terrorists in Dhaka on July 2.

When the Israeli air force C-130s landed at Entebbe Airport in complete secrecy, they were on the ground for exactly 90 minutes during which commandos fought their way into the airport terminus, killed the terrorists and even destroyed 11 fighter aircraft of the Ugandan air force.

During the siege of the Iranian Embassy in May 1981, the UK's elite Special Air Services (SAS) got five days to construct mock-ups and practice their entry into the building in South Kensington. When the SAS finally moved in, the operation lasted 17 minutes and 19 of the 20 hostages were rescued alive.

This has changed with the advent of Islamist terrorism. The violent act of capturing hostages and executing them with the utmost brutality is the norm. Violence, it would seem, has become an end in itself.

There are no long-drawn negotiations, no care for the well-being of the hostages and, consequently, no time for the counter-terrorist forces to prepare themselves.

Terrorists are brainwashed to accept death in the course of their mission. They come to kill and be killed.

This has been known in the subcontinent for over a decade since groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba began spreading their suicide attacks across the hinterland, and years before the Pakistani Taliban stormed a school in Peshawar on December 16, 2014 brutally murdering 132 school children.

The ten terrorists who landed in Mumbai on the night of November 26, 2008, slaughtered 166 hotel guests, restaurant-goers and train commuters without mercy.

This exchange between a police interrogator and the captured Ajmal Kasab, handcuffed to a hospital bed on November 28, illustrates what security forces are up against:

Policeman: What kind of people did they tell you to kill?

Kasab: Just ordinary people, no one in particular.

Policeman: After completing your job today, where were you planning to go?

Kasab: We were all going to die and go to heaven.

When Bangladeshi security forces stormed the Holey Artisan cafe on July 2 using armoured personnel carriers, they could rescue only 13 hostages. Twenty hostages - Italians, Japanese and an Indian girl - had been brutally murdered by the six brainwashed IS-affiliated terrorists in the course of the ten-hour standoff.

Suicide attacks like these have ominous consequences for counter-terrorist missions entrusted with the delicate task of extricating civilian hostages. The success of counter-terrorist missions are predicated on the numbers of hostages rescued.

Casualties could make the difference between victory and abject failure. The Entebbe, for instance, could easily have been a disaster if the terrorists had tossed a grenade among the hostages.

The new wave of terror now tells us that the time for intervention has shrunk from weeks and days to hours and minutes. This has huge implications for a densely-populated country like India and whose meagre counter-terrorist forces simply cannot be omnipresent.

The National Security Guard (NSG) based in Manesar, Haryana and Delhi, has created hubs in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kolkata to be able to respond swiftly. But India's cities with gridlocked traffic means commando units could waste hours reaching the scene of a terrorist act.

The best response would be to empower the first responder - the local police. Urban police units need to create small Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) units dispersed across cities, one per police zone (a police precinct headed by a deputy commissoner of police) to immediately respond to an attack.

These units of not more than a dozen commandos, need to be well equipped with assault rifles, body armour, bomb disposal equipment and at least one armoured vehicle.

A successful intervention by such local responders will then allow the build-up of specialised units like the NSG to end the situation in hours and not days.
Baku, Azerbaijan, July 10

By Dalga Khatinoglu  Trend:

Any bill which undermines the nuclear deal with Iran would be opposed by Barack Obama Administration, the US Department of State's Persian-language spokesman Alan Eyre told Trend June 9.

The US House of Representatives has passed a measure which blocks US aircraft sales to Iran.

It came after Boeing and Iran reached a deal on aircraft sales worth $25 billion.

We are aware of Congress's approved bill, Eyre said. As we have announced before, any bill which undermines the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (nuclear deal with Iran) would be opposed by US Administration.

Two amendments approved to an appropriations bill from Representative Peter Roskam would ban sales from Boeing and from European rival Airbus, amid concerns the aircraft could be used for military purposes, the congressman said in a statement July 8, AFP news agency reported.

One amendment would prohibit the Office of Foreign Assets Control from using funds to authorize a license necessary to allow aircraft to be sold to Iran. A second would bar loans from US financial institutions to purchase militarily adaptable aircraft.

The ban would need to be approved by the Senate or any bill that reconciles differences in legislation by the two chambers.

Reacting to the approved bill by Congress, the spokesman of Iran's Foreign Ministry Bahram Gasemi said that Iran considers the US Administration responsible for implementation of nuclear deal.

He called the US government on committing the nuclear deal with Tehran.

Iran and P5+1 (US, UK, France, Russia, China + Germany) reached an agreement on nuclear deal, implemented in January 2016 and eliminated the sanctions on Iran.
Tehran, Iran, July 10

By Mehdi Sepahvand  Trend:

The joint workgroup between Azerbaijan and Iran over issuing $500 million loan for Rasht-Astara railway has been already established and its first meeting will start in next 1-2 weeks, Mohsen Pak-Ayeen told Trend July 9.

"Alongside Azerbaijan, Russia, Czech Republic and Hungary demonstrated willingness to take part in Rasht-Astara railway project," he said.

The projects are expected to cost more than $1 billion and will connect Persian Gulf to Russia and Eastern Europe.

Iranian ambassador added that it's expected that the sides will agree on the type of this loan (direct investment, direct or joint finance, credit, etc) in next 3-4 months and after that the construction of the project will start immediately.

He also said that the railway's another section - Qazvin-Rasht - is ready by 93 percent and will be completed by March 2017.

Azerbaijan is completing its sector in Astara city and after commencing that, the combined transport of goods would start by late 2016, he said. For instance Indian goods would be shipped to Iran's Bandar Abbas port in Persian Gulf, then would be loaded to Rasht city by railroad, then from there to Astara by trucks and finally through Azerbaijani rail grid to Russia or other destinations.

Pak-Ayeen went on to add that it is expected that Rasht-Astara section will become operational by 2018 and then the cargo can directly be loaded by trains from Bandar Abbas towards Azerbaijan and beyond.

The Qazvin-Rasht-Astara railway is a part of the North-South transport corridor. The North-South international transport corridor will link Northern Europe and South-East Asia. It will serve as a bridge to connect the railways of Iran, Azerbaijan and Russia.

Initially, three to five million tons of cargo per year will be transported via the corridor, and the volume will increase up to 10-12 million tons in the future, according to preliminary estimates.
Rebel shelling into government-held parts of Syria's second city Aleppo killed at least 38 civilians on Saturday, a war monitor said, as Syrian government forces continued their offensive to completely encircle rebel-held parts of the city, Reuters reported.

Those killed included 14 children and 13 women, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights conflict monitor said.

Despite a now-expired three-day ceasefire announced by the Syrian army earlier this week, Syrian government and allied forces advanced this week towards the only route into the opposition half of the city, the Castello Road.

Syrian forces are now 500-1000 meters away from the road, sources say, bringing the road within firing range and trapping between 250,000 and 300,000 people in opposition-held parts of Aleppo.
Daesh militants set several oil wells south of Mosul, the de-facto capital of the jihadist group in Iraq, on fire to slow down the advance of the government army, local media reported Sunday citing a source in the security services.

Militants set five oil wells close to Qayyarah refinery in Nineveh Governorate on fire and mined roads in the area, Shafaq News reported.

It comes a day after the Iraqi troops liberated the Qayyarah airbase some 60 miles south of Mosul from Daesh militants.

Iraqi forces are carrying out operations in Nineveh in preparation for an assault on Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city that has been under Daesh control since 2014.

Daesh, which is a militant jihadist group outlawed in many countries, including Russia, overran large parts of Syria and Iraq in 2014.
At least 115 soldiers from South Sudan's rival factions were killed in gunbattles in the capital Juba, a military spokesman for the opposition said on Saturday, amid fears for a fragile peace process in a country still reeling from a two-year war, Reuters reported.

Gunfire erupted on Friday evening near the state house where President Salva Kiir and vice president Riek Machar, former rivals, were meeting for talks.

Both men said they did not know what had triggered the latest fighting between their factions and called for calm.

William Gatjiath Deng, spokesman for Machar's military faction, said the fighting had occurred near the state house and in army barracks.

"In the morning we collected and counted 35 (dead) from the SPLM-IO (Machar's faction) and 80 people from the government forces," he said.

Deng said the death toll could rise on Machar's side "because there are some soldiers seriously wounded".

The government side had no immediate comment on the situation in Juba.
It was a harrowing tragedy that words can't even begin to describe.

Yet through Elie Wiesel's writing and advocacy, generations of readers and historians have a better  though still incomplete  understanding of the Holocaust.

Wiesel, who recounted the horrors of the Holocaust in his acclaimed memoir "Night" and went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize, died July 2 at age 87.

"In the aftermath of the Germans' systematic massacre of Jews, no voice had emerged to drive home the enormity of what had happened and how it had changed mankind's conception of itself and of God," reads his New York Times obituary. "For almost two decades, the traumatized survivors  and American Jews, guilt-ridden that they had not done more to rescue their brethren  seemed frozen in silence.

"But by the sheer force of his personality and his gift for the haunting phrase, Mr. Wiesel, who had been liberated from Buchenwald as a 16-year-old with the indelible tattoo A-7713 on his arm, gradually exhumed the Holocaust from the burial ground of the history books."

At age 15, in 1944, Wiesel and his family were sent to Auschwitz in Poland. He was ultimately freed a year later from Buchenwald.

"If I survived, it must be for some reason," Wiesel said in 1981. "I must do something with my life. It is too serious to play games with anymore, because in my place, someone else could have been saved. And so I speak for that person. On the other hand, I know I cannot."

His advocacy wasn't limited to just the Jewish people. Wiesel also stood up for Soviet Jews, Nicaragua's Miskito Indians, Ethiopian-born Israeli youth, Argentina's "Disappeared," Cambodian refugees, the Kurds, and victims of famine and genocide in Africa, apartheid in South Africa and war in the former Yugoslavia, according to CNN.

Wiesel was a journalist and a professor. He used those platforms to educate his audiences about the horrors of the Holocaust and the importance of speaking out.

"Wiesel is a messenger to mankind," the Nobel citation said. "His message is one of peace, atonement and human dignity. His belief that the forces fighting evil in the world can be victorious is a hard-won belief."

Wiesel may have departed this Earth, but he still has much to teach us. The message and legacy he left behind must carry on.

Charleston Daily Mail
President Barack Obama, at his last NATO summit before stepping down next January, pledged the United States' long-term military commitment to ensuring security in Europe and defending all its allies, Reuters reported.

Obama said the Western defense alliance had agreed on the most significant reinforcement of its collective defense since the Cold War by agreeing to deploy forces in the Baltic states and Poland in response to Russia's seizure of Crimea from Ukraine.

"What will never change (is) the unwavering commitment of the United States to the security and defense of Europe, of our transatlantic relationship and the commitment to our common defense," he said.

His comments came against the backdrop of a U.S. presidential election campaign in which presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump has called NATO "obsolete" and suggested Europeans should take care of their own defense.

Obama sought to turn more U.S. strategic attention to Asia during his presidency but has been dragged back to Europe and the Middle East by conflicts in Ukraine and Syria.

The president said NATO had halted its long-term collective decline in defense spending after many years and was starting to increase military budgets in response to an array of threats from terrorism, a resurgent Russia, and instability on its southern rim.

Noting that next year will mark the 100th anniversary of the first deployment of U.S. troops on European soil during World War One, he said: "In good times and in bad, Europe can count on the United States, always."

The United States still has some 60,000 troops deployed in a dozen European countries, although force levels are far below the 300,000 level during the Cold War, which ended in 1989 with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The seventh patient infected by Zika virus is discovered nine days after his return to the country from Guatemala, the Seoul-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was cited by South Korea's Yonhap News Agency as confirming.

The the 52-year-old man whose identity was not disclosed is showing only minor symptoms of the disease and will be allowed to return to Guatemala where he had lived since 2010 later in July, the media said.

Zika virus was officially recognized as an infectious disease in South Korea in late January.

The current Zika outbreak originated in Brazil in the spring of 2015, spread across Latin America and gained much media attention as confirmations of first cases emerged in Europe and the United States recently. On February 1, WHO declared the Zika virus a global public health emergency.

The Zika virus is spread by the Aedes mosquito and is almost innocuous to adults but can be dangerous for pregnant women as their babies may be born with neurological disorders, including microcephaly.
At least 123 German police officers have been injured in clashes with thousands of left-wing protesters in Berlin, Press TV reported.

According to police officials, the casualties occurred on Saturday night following weeks of escalating tensions around a squatted building which is a popular meeting point for left-wing youth activists in the capital.

Police said violence erupted as protesters started hurling rocks and bottles at the security personnel deployed in Friedrichshain district, smashing shop windows and setting cars on fire.

The flashpoint building, located in the center of the German capital, is regarded as a gathering spot for those who are opposed to rising rents and the gentrification of Berlin.

Reports said some 1,800 officers had been sent to confront the 3,500-strong crowd, adding that the officers were forced to use batons and tear gas as the situation worsened.

Berlin police described the Saturday night's protest as the city's "most aggressive and violent demonstration in the past five years."

"Eighty-six protesters were temporarily detained, with three facing a magistrate on charges of breach of the peace," police said.

Since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, Friedrichshain has seen massive gentrification, with property prices and rents on the rise. Many saw the occupied building as one of the last bastions of a cheap, peaceful and less capitalistic Berlin.

The authorities have repeatedly tried to evacuate people from the house, resulting in months of anti-government rhetoric and reports of violence mostly attributed to far-left extremists.

Over the past weeks, the leftists have instigated street violence to show their opposition to the round-the-clock surveillance on the meeting place.
It is a necessity that Turkey and the northern Iraqi regional Kurdish government cooperate to fight the terrorist groups Daesh and PKK, Turkeys prime minister has told his counterpart in the regional government, Anadolu reported.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim told Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani in a phone call that the terrorist groups are working to disrupt the peace and stability of Turkey and all of Iraq, including the KRG, said sources in Yildirims office late Friday, speaking on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking with the media.

Barzani reportedly thanked Turkey for supporting the KRGs stability and welfare, adding that they are in full cooperation and solidarity with Turkey on fighting terror.

The two also agreed to maintain efforts and close dialogue to strengthen cooperation in all areas, especially the economy, trade, and energy, said the sources.

In addition, Barzani offered his condolences for the victims of last months deadly terrorist attack at Istanbul Ataturk Airport.

A total of 45 people died in the terrorist attack, blamed on Daesh.

The PKK  listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and EU  resumed its 30-year armed campaign against the Turkish state in July 2015.

Since then, nearly 600 security personnel, including troops, police officers, and village guards, have been martyred, and more than 5,000 PKK terrorists killed in operations across Turkey and northern Iraq.
A criminal court in western Izmir province on Saturday remanded in custody seven suspects, including a regular army major, accused of producing false evidence in a parallel state probe, Anadolu Agency reported.

The court also imposed a travel ban on two other people linked to the case.

The nine suspects had been accused by the Izmir Deputy Chief Prosecutor of producing false evidence through various irregularities in a military espionage probe in Izmir.

Separately, the court issued arrest warrants for 16 fugitives in the case.

Described as the parallel state, the FETO/PDY is said to be behind the December 2013 corruption investigation into senior Turkish government figures, including ministers.

The FETO/PDY group is headed by the U.S.-based preacher, Fetullah Gulen, who runs a network of schools and commercial enterprises in Turkey and around the world.

Gulen is also the main suspect in the investigation of mass wiretapping of December 2013, which targeted more than 7,000 people.

Since early 2014, investigations into the parallel state have seen hundreds of civil servants, including police and public prosecutors, arrested or reassigned.
The death toll from a PKK roadside bomb attack in southeastern Turkey has risen to five, the countrys military has said, Anadolu Agency reported.

Sundays blast in Hakkari province claimed four soldiers lives at the scene; a fifth soldier passed away later in hospital.

In a statement, the Turkish General Staff said PKK terrorists detonated a bomb in the Semdinli district as a military vehicle passed by.

Earlier on Sunday, the army said one soldier and a village guard were martyred in a bomb blast in Turkeys eastern province of Van.

Ten soldiers were also injured  one critically  alongside five village guards in a PKK attack at 00.20 a.m. local time (0920GMT).

The attack targeted Pay gendarmerie station in the Ercis district of Van, the military said.

The PKK  listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU  resumed its 30-year armed campaign against the Turkish state in July 2015.

Since then, nearly 600 security personnel, including troops, police officers and village guards have been martyred and more than 5,000 PKK terrorists killed in operations across Turkey and northern Iraq.
New Delhi: In fresh troubles for Vijay Mallya, his erstwhile group firm United Spirits on Saturday disclosed Rs 1,225.3 crore worth fund diversion and improper transactions with entities associated with the beleaguered businessman including Kingfisher Air and his Formula One team.

Making it clear that the settlement reached earlier with Mallya would not cover the latest disclosures that came to light after an 'Additional Inquiry', United Spirits -- now controlled by global liquor giant Diageo -- said the former Chairman would be liable for claims over the amount.

Mallya, who has been in UK for months while evading arrest warrant in India, had reached a settlement with USL earlier this year under which he was promised an over Rs 500-crore 'sweetheart deal' to exit the company, including as its Director and Chairman.

Several banks have declared him 'wilful defaulter' for failing to pay back loans amounting to thousands of crores.

At a meeting today, USL Board discussed findings of the additional inquiry it had ordered to plug gaps found in an initial probe launched in April 2015 that showed improprieties in loans worth Rs 1,337 crore given by USL to the entities linked to its erstwhile promoters, Mallya-led UB Group.

"The additional inquiry prima facie reveals further instances of actual or potential fund diversions amounting to approximately Rs 913.5 crore (using exchange rate as on March 31, 2015) as well as other potentially improper transaction involved USL and its Indian and overseas subsidiaries amounting approximately Rs 311.8 crore," USL said in a BSE filing.

The transactions occurred during the review period covered by the additional inquiry -- from October 2010 to July 2014 -- although certain transactions appear to have been initiated in years prior to the review period, it added. These were the periods when UB Group had control over the company.

"These improper transactions identified in the additional inquiry involved, in most cases, the diversion of fund to overseas and Indian entities that appear to be affiliated or associated with USL's former non-executive Chairman, Dr Vijay Mallya," the USL filing said.

The company said its mutual release agreement with Mr Mallya in February this year under which Diageo agreed to pay him $75 million dollars will not cover matters arising out of the additional inquiry.

While the matter is already being probed by markets regulator Sebi and Corporate Affairs Ministry among others, the latest findings of the internal probe are also being reported to the concerned regulators for any further action.

"The USL Board has directed the management to pursue recovery from the relevant companies and individuals and undertake any action, including legal and regulatory as deemed necessary. It should be noted that the February 2016 agreement did not release the former Chairman (Mallya) from any claims arising out of the additional inquiry," a company spokesperson said in an e-mailed statement.

There were no immediate comments from Mr Mallya on this.

USL said the overseas beneficiary or recipients of the diverted funds include entities such as Force India Formula One, Watson Ltd, Continental Administrative Services, Modall Securities Ltd, Ultra Dynamics Ltd and Lombard Wall Corporate Service Inc "in each of which Dr Mallya appears to have a material, direct and indirect interests".

The Indian beneficiaries or recipients of the funds identified by the additional inquiry included, in most cases, Kingfisher Airlines (KFA), USL said.

USL said it will be reporting the findings of its additional inquiry spearheaded by its Managing Director and CEO Anand Kripalu to concerned authorities for further action.

"In light of these findings, and based on the expert advice received, including from senior counsel in India, the board directed that copies of the MD and CEO's report (including the additional inquiry report) be provided to concerned authorities," the company said.

This is being done forthwith and the board has resolved that the company would cooperate with all relevant authorities in relation to these matters, it added.

USL spokesperson said the findings of the additional inquiry relate to "historical matters before Diageo consolidated the USL business in July 2014" and ruled out any further financial burden to the company.

"Based on our understanding as of today, we believe there will be no further material financial implications to USL," the spokesperson added.

Mallya is currently wanted in India and is facing charges of money laundering. A consortium of 17 banks lead by SBI has been trying unsuccessfully to recover dues of over Rs 9,000 crore from now defunct Kingfisher Airlines, which was promoted by him.

Last month the Enforcement Directorate had attached assets worth Rs 1,411 crore belonging to Mr Mallya and one of his companies in connection with its money laundering probe in the the alleged IDBI bank loan default case.

Mallya is currently staying in the UK after leaving India in March this year. His passport has been revoked by the Indian government. He has been indicating against any imminent return to India in the wake of various legal and regulatory troubles.
The government, which is aiming to double farmers' income by 2022, wants to supplement farm income by focusing on allied activities of agriculture like dairy, poultry and fishery.

New Delhi: Aiming to double farmers' income in the next five years, the Centre is chalking out a national action plan to attract more foreign investment in the dairy sector.

The Department of Animal Husbandry under the aegis of Agriculture Ministry is holding a series of discussion with private players in this regard. "We are preparing a national action plan to boost FDI in dairy sector.

We want FDI in this sector in such a format that our farmers are benefited and their income goes up," Animal Husbandry Secretary Devendra Chaudhury told PTI. The plan is to increase foreign investment in the dairy sector in the next five years from the current level of around Rs 141 crore, he said.

Last week, the department held the first round of discussion on the issue with private players including Amul, Mother Dairy, Paras and others. Chaudhury said these companies have been asked to submit their inputs on the issue within two weeks, which will be again deliberated in the next meeting.

At present, FDI is allowed in most aspects of dairy sector, including machines and equipment. Recently, the government relaxed norms for FDI in animal husbandry by allowing research in non-controlled conditions as well.

The government, which is aiming to double farmers' income by 2022, wants to supplement farm income by focusing on allied activities of agriculture like dairy, poultry and fishery.

For instance, the government has decided to spend Rs 110 crore this financial year under the National Programme for Dairy Development to expand milk procurement mechanism at village level for the benefit of farmers.

It is also focusing on increasing the milk productivity of cows and buffaloes, for which the government has set aside Rs 104 crore for the current fiscal on breeding programme. Milk output in India, the world's leading producer, was around 146.3 million tonnes in 2014-15.
The main culprit was identified as one Gautam Sudarshan, a medical student at Kundrathur in Kancheepuram district.

Mumbai: A video of a man throwing a dog from the terrace of a residential complex in Chennai went viral on Facebook on Monday, following which a city dweller filed a complaint with the city police to trace the culprit.

The main culprit was identified as one Gautam Sudarshan, a medical student at Kundrathur in Kancheepuram district, while his friend Ashish Pal shot the video. The two were arrested and let out on bail on July 6 for their act. The men were charged with offences punishable with fines of Rs 10 and Rs 50 instead of jail time.

Bollywood stars like Alia Bhatt and Anushka Sharma stepped up and raised their voices for the voiceless, asking for some serious actions to be taken against the culprits.

This is absolutely ridiculous!!!! I am appalled!!!! These two MEDICAL students have thrown a puppy off the roof for FUN!!!!!!!  Alia Bhatt (@aliaa08) July 9, 2016

The Dog was rushed to the hospital luckily and has survived but the fine for the murderous act is just 50 rupees!!!!!!  Alia Bhatt (@aliaa08) July 9, 2016

This heinous act is a mirror shown to the society we('educated') people live in.punihsment for this shld b SERIOUS https://t.co/gtsl5BMq3E  Anushka Sharma (@AnushkaSharma) July 9, 2016

You can harm a voiceless puppy,pay a 50rs fine & be FREE of your crime!?Is this the world you want children to witness & grow up in?  Anushka Sharma (@AnushkaSharma) July 9, 2016
Bengaluru: The Grammy award winning Indo-American composer, music producer and conservationist from Bengaluru, Ricky Kej was the star performer at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Johannesburg show in South Africa on Friday.

His song, 'Mahatma' from the Grammy award winning album Winds of Samsara rang out as he played alongside flautist, the South African, Wouter Kellerman.

Speaking to DC from Johannesburg, an excited Kej said, "It was an absolute honour to perform for our Prime Minister Narendra Modiji in Johannesburg. Wouter Kellerman and I played the opening song from Winds of Samsara. The song is about the ideals of peace and tolerance by Mahatma Gandhi, and Nelson Mandela. The name of the song is Mahatma and we also presented the music video on stage. The feedback was overwhelming. The audience loved it.

Meeting Modiji, even though it was for a brief moment was a huge honour,: he said. The whole of Johannesburg seemed to be celebrating Modi's arrival. There were traffic jams leading to the venue. And of course the atmosphere in the stadium was hysterical. As soon as Modi came up on the stage it was like a rock concert where people crowded to the front to get a closer glimpse of him. There were over 15,000 people present."
A medical staff member wearing a protective suit enters the room of a patient suffering from Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in an isolation ward at the Seoul Medical Center. (Photo: AFP)

Paris, France: A single patient infected 82 people with the deadly MERS virus in an overcrowded South Korean emergency room in 2015, according to a scientific investigation released on Saturday.

The study, published in the medical journal The Lancet, maps a lethal outbreak of Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in South Korea that caused 186 known infections in all, including nearly 40 fatalities.

The case is the most prolific transmission of MERS virus from one patient outside the Middle East. As long as the highly-contagious respiratory disease -- with a 30-40 per cent mortality rate -- continues to circulate in the Middle East, governments and health care providers should be prepared for sudden outbreaks elsewhere, the researchers warn.

"This study is the first to document the spread of MERS virus through a hospital," Doo Ryeon Chung and Yae-Jean Kim of Samsung Medical Center -- where the outbreak occurred -- said in a statement. "Our results show the increased potential of MERS virus infection from a single patient in an overcrowded emergency room."

The outbreak in South Korea began with a 68-year old man -- known as "patient 1" -- who had travelled to Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar in the Spring of 2015.

Correctly diagnosed, he was admitted to Samsung and isolated from other patients. But unknown to doctors and health officials, he had already infected several other people, including a 35-year old man with whom he shared a ward in another health facility.

It was this younger man, "patient 14," who later spread the virus through Samsung's emergency ward. The researchers estimate that nearly 1,600 people were exposed to patient 14 in the emergency room.

Of the 82 who were infected, 33 were patients, eight were health care workers, and 41 were visitors. Patients staying in the same zone of the emergency room had a 20 percent chance of contracting MERS, the study found.
Tension prevailed in the area and shopkeepers downed their shutters following the murder of Gnanasekar. (Photo: Facebook)

Chennai: R Mullai Gnanasekar, AIADMK councillor of Ward 21 in Manali Zone, was brutally hacked to death by a gang near Manali bus stand in Chennai on Saturday night.

According to The Hindu, around 6 pm, Gnanasekar was sitting in a pawn brokers shop opposite the Manali bus terminus. Three persons wearing helmets arrived on a motorcycle, barged into the shop and attacked him on the neck.

Tension prevailed in the area and shopkeepers downed their shutters following the incident. Residents gathered in large numbers and buses did not ply for a few hours.

Some bystanders rushed the victim to a private hospital and from there, to Stanley Medical College Hospital where he was declared brought dead.

On Friday, there was a minor dispute between AIADMK and DMK cadres over inaugurating Amma Thittam. However, the murder does not appear to be due to this incident. We suspect that there is some business rivalry behind the murder, said a police source to The Hindu. The police have recovered CCTV footage from the place of the murder.
The families of two youths, Mohammad Murshid, 28, and Mohammad Sajid, 28, belonging to Padanna, who have reportedly joined the IS along with 11 others from Kasargod, filed man-missing complaints with the police on Saturday. (Representational image)

Kasargod/Kochi: The number of people who have allegedly joined the Islamic State from Kerala rose on Saturday with the families of three youths lodging missing complaints with the police.

The families of two youths, Mohammad Murshid, 28, and Mohammad Sajid, 28, belonging to Padanna, who have reportedly joined the IS along with 11 others from Kasargod, filed man-missing complaints with the police on Saturday. Chandera SHO E. Anoop Kumar said that the complaints were filed by Murshids brother and Sajids father. The two were employed in Abu Dhabi and had told their relatives on May 30 that they were in Mumbai and that they would reach Padanna on Eid, Mr Kumar told this newspaper. District superintendent of police Thomson Jose said that the police were aware of only two cases. The reports about others appeared in the media only. We have not been told about any central agency probe and none has contacted us, he said.

Another native of Kochi, identified as Merrin was among the group of persons who allegedly joined the IS Police sources said the family members of Mariam hailing from Thammanam suspected their daughter being a part of the group that allegedly left to join the IS. The parents said they have not received any information from her for the past three months after she had left for Sri Lanka to study Islam, officials said.

Merrin, married to Bestin Vincent, a Christian boy from Palakkad, had reportedly converted to Islam along with her husband. The couple changed their name after conversion with Merrin becoming Mariam and Bestin adopting the name Yahiya.

Merrins mother Mini told reporters that she had observed changes in the behaviour of her daughter while working in Mumbai. Merrin had visited Sri Lanka with her husband a few months back and later returned. The family had warned her about visiting Sri Lanka and the traps laid by Yahiya to link with extremist groups.

Bexon Vincent, brother of Yahiya, had also reportedly converted to Islam along with Nimisha a girl hailing from Thiruvananthapuram. Nimisha alias Fathima, who too was missing along with her husband, was a BDS student at Poinachi in Kasargod.

Meanwhile, all the 14 persons from Padanna and Thrikaripur are either relatives or family friends. The relatives of the rest, who were reluctant to approach the local police as they feared harassment, decided to complain directly to the Chief Minister.

The missing from Kasargod are Dr K. Ijas, his wife Refila, two-year old kid, Ijass brother Shiyas, his wife Ajmala, Ijass cousin Ashfak Majeed, his wife, eight-month old kid, Abdul Rashad Abdulla, his wife Ayisha, T.K. Hafeesuddin and Firos. All are in the age group of 24-31. Ijas worked at a primary health centre near Vadakara in Kozhikode for some time and his wife is a dental student.
Mumbai: The anti-human trafficking cell (AHTC) on Saturday morning arrested a woman Shiv Sena leader from Ulhasnagar, who allegedly ran a sex racket, in Kalyan.

According to police officials, Shobha Galmadu (40) was running prostitution operations in Kalyan, Badlapur and Ambernath for the past two years and extorting money from sex workers. The AHTC unit also arrested Suresh Shetty and Vinod Yadav, the manager and a driver employed with the Durga Palace lodge, which is situated near Birla College in Kalyan.

Speaking about the case, the AHTCs PI Ravindra Daundkar said, We received a tip about Galmadus illegal business activities a few days ago. On Saturday, we were told that she had visited Durga Palace lodge with a client. We laid a trap early in the morning and arrested her while she was in possession of cash that she had received from her client. She was distributing money to girls and hotel workers at the time.

Officials also learnt that Galmadu had underprivileged girls working under her, and she would allegedly demand Rs 5,000 from each of them while paying them only Rs 500 or Rs 200. She also extorted money from the girls even as her business had expanded exponentially in Kalyan, Ulhasnagar and Badlapur.

Officials recovered Rs 4,000 at the spot of the arrest and later seized Rs 59,000 in cash from her house. The police has recorded statements of the sex workers whom Galmadu allegedly used to harass. All three accused were arrested under Sections 370(2)(3) of the Indian Penal Code, which deal with trafficking of persons, and various sections of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act at the MFC police station in Kalyan.

(This story originally appeared in The Asian Age)
Patna: An 18-year-old man was killed when his motorbike collided head on with a jeep in the cavalcade escorting Union minister Ram Kripal Yadav in Patna district on Saturday, police said. Six security personnel in the jeep were injured.

The collision took place near Devdahan village under Dhanarua police station when the Minister of State for Rural Development was going to Patna and the man was on his way home in Bir village under the same police station.

Rahul Kumar died on the spot while the escort jeep overturned injuring the six security men, police said.

The injured policemen have been admitted to Nalanda Medical College and Hospital in Patna.

The Minister termed the incident "tragic" and expressed grief and sympathy to the man's family.

"It was a tragic incident. I express my profound grief and sympathy to the family of the deceased. The incident happened suddenly," Yadav said.

The Minister was on his way to Patna after inaugurating 'Ujjwala' scheme at Masaurhi, the area which falls under his Lok Sabha constituency Patliputra.
Srinagar: Fresh clashes broke out in South Kashmir on Sunday as unrest continued in the state over the death Burhan Muzaffar Wani, the new-age poster boy of militancy. Police sources said that a mob attacked a policeman and threw his vehicle into nearby river Jhelum.

With five more persons being killed during fresh clashes on Sunday and three of those shot on Saturday succumbing to their injuries in hospitals overnight, the toll has risen to 21.

As hospitals in the Valley continue to receive the injured in large numbers, a medical emergency has been declared.

Burhan Wani (right), who was killed by security forces in Kashmir on Friday (AP Photo)

The State Cabinet held an emergency meeting here with Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti, in chair to discuss the situation. Director General of Police, K. Rajendra Kumar, briefed the meeting on the ground situation.

He was away on a private visit to home town Hyderabad but rushed back to Srinagar to oversees the law and order situation following a phone call from the Chief Minister.

Nearly 200 people including 96 security personnel were injured in daylong clashes on Saturday. The condition of half a dozen of protesters who received bullet wounds in security forces firing is stated to be critical.

As many as thirty additional companies of central forces which arrived here from Delhi in chartered flights have been moved in to enforce curfew in different towns of the Valley.

Read: How can any Indian sympathise with Burhan Wani?: Centre on Kashmir unrest

Major parts of Srinagar with almost entire south Kashmir which witnessed worst incidents of violence and killing of all 15 protesters in security forces firing and other actions on Saturday is reeling under strict curfew for the second consecutive day on Sunday. Various cities and towns in northern and central Kashmir too have been brought under such restrictions or security lockdown is being maintained.

Kashmirs divisional commissioner, Asgar Hussain Samoon, said that curfew has been clamped on entire Kashmir Valley which has a population of over five million from the midnight to maintain law and order.

Thousands of J&K policemen and CRPF personnel in riot gear are patrolling the deserted streets of Srinagar to enforce curfew.

Security personnel guard a deserted street as curfew is imposed in different parts of the city. (Photo: PTI)

Almost all separatist leaders have been taken into preventive custody or placed under house arrest. In a joint decision announced on Saturday, they extended the strike call initially issued to mourn and protest the killing of Wani along with his two associates during an encounter with security forces in Kokernag area of southern Anantnag district on July 8 for two more days (Sunday and Monday) in view of the killing of protesters in security forces firings.

A government-run hospital in Lolab area of frontier Kupwara district and a nearby pharmacy were alleged ransacked and their staff roughed up by security forces as they were angry over those sustaining injuries during protests being treated there, a report from Kupwara said.

Amarnath yatra from Jammu has remained suspended. As the 94-km Jammu-Srinagar highway, the vital road link connecting the Kashmir Valley with rest of the country, is shut for the second consecutive day, no pilgrim was allowed to move from the winter capital towards the Valley to relocate to the 12,729-foot-high cave-shrine tucked away in Pahalgam hills in south Kashmir. However, with 15,684 devotees paying obeisance at the cave-shrine on Saturday itself, as many as 118,747 pilgrims have already been to Amarnath, so far, this year. The 48-day yatra commenced on July 2.

Police firing tear gas shells against agitators during a protest following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Muzaffar Wani along with his two associates in Srinagar on Saturday. (Photo: PTI)

The authorities have also suspended the Internet services on mobile phones and through dongles as a precautionary measure. Internet services are, however, functioning on fixed broadband lines. Train services between Baramulla in northwest Kashmir and Banihal town across the Pirpanjal mountain ridge in Jammu division were suspended too whereas Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education (JKBOSE), Kashmir University and Central University, Kashmir postponed all examinations scheduled for Saturday to Monday.

Meanwhile, dozens of wedding ceremonies which had been planned during this weekend and early next week have been cancelled or deferred in view of the volatile situation and curfews being enforced in the Valley. Srinagar newspapers were on Sunday full of paid classified ads from the hosts announcing the annulment of invitation cards issued for customary wazwan feasts to mark these weddings. Most of them, however, also announced that nikah ceremonies would be held with sadagi or simplicity. Post-Ramadan begins wedding season in Kashmir Valley.

In Delhi, the government said that the situation in Jammu and Kashmir is 'under control'. The situation in the State particularly Kashmir Valley was reviewed by Home Minister, Rajnath Singh, at a meeting of officers. After the meeting Union Home Secretary, Rajiv Mehrishi, said, Situation in Kashmir valley is under control."

Mr. Singh has appealed to the people of the State to remain calm and maintain peace after violent protests. "I appeal to the people of Jammu and Kashmir to remain calm and maintain peace," he said in a statement. He also said the Central government is working with the Jammu and Kashmir government to bring normalcy in Kashmir Valley. He further said that he was "deeply anguished at the loss of precious lives in the incidents of violence in Jammu and Kashmir and prayed for the speedy recovery of those injured.

Wani, 22, was along with two of his aides killed in an encounter with security forces in Kokernag area of southern Anantnag district on Friday. He was carrying a cash reward of  one million on his head.
The Turkish army has said at least eight Daesh terrorists were killed in a U.S.-led coalition air operation in northern Syria late on Saturday, Anadolu reported.

The Turkish General Staff said on Sunday that 10 Daesh targets were hit in the Dabik region, including a building used by the terrorist group which was destroyed in the operation.

Daesh was reportedly preparing to attack Turkey from northern Syria, the statement added.

Turkish warplanes also carried out airstrikes on Saturday against PKK targets in southeastern Hakkari province's Mirgesav and Daglica regions, destroying seven targets.

The PKK  listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU  resumed its 30-year armed campaign against the Turkish state in July 2015.

Since then, nearly 600 security personnel  including troops, police officers, and village guards  have been martyred and more than 5,000 PKK terrorists killed in operations across Turkey and northern Iraq.
Chennai: The Chennai police on Monday will conduct an identification parade at the Puzhal prison premises to establish the role of the main accused P Ramkumar in the murder of Infosys employee S Swathi, who was hacked to death in broad day light.

Ramkumar, who was staying near Swathis residence in Choolaimedu area, had stalked Swathi for months before allegedly murdering her using a sickle at the Nungambakkam railway station on June 24.

Swathi, employed with software giant Infosys, was hacked to death around 6.30 am on June 24 while waiting to board a train to her workplace on the city outskirts.

Ramkumar was arrested from his home in Shengottai, where he allegedly attempted suicide when faced with arrest. He was given immediate medical treatment at the Tirunelveli medical college, and was later lodged in the hospital ward of the Puzhal prison.
Lucknow: Islamic seminary Dar-ul-Uloom Deoband on Sunday objected to media citing its fatwas against Zakir Naik and linking them to the allegations against the Islamic preacher that his speeches had incited terrorists involved in Dhaka cafe attack.

Spokesman of Dar-ul-Uloom Ashraf Usmani told PTI that a few fatwas were issued by Deoband against Naik on issues related to Muslim sects. But these were being "deliberately highlighted" by some newspapers and television channels in their reports on Naik, who has come under scanner after it was reported that Dhaka attackers were allegedly inspired by his speeches.

Read: Avoid listening to Zakir Naik, Darul Uloom Deoband tells Muslims

"Therefore associating fatwas issued by Deoband in the past with the allegations against Naik linked to terrorism is wrong and objectionable," Usmani said.

He said that due to busy schedule ahead of Eid, Deoband had not decided its stand on Naik. Meanwhile, Muslim clerics have different views on Naik.

A senior All India Muslim Personal Law Board member Maulana Rashid Farangi Mahali said cornering Naik was a part of a deep "conspiracy".

Read: Bangladesh govt bans controversial preacher Zakir Naik's Peace TV

"A person, who has more than 1.4 crore followers, of which some become terrorist, how can he be held responsible. It is gross injustice," he said.

The Maulana welcomed an inquiry by the government against Naik. "If you have suspicion, an inquiry should be conducted. But the manner in which his character assasination is being done by the media, it cannot be justified," he said.

Director Shibli Academy Professor Ishtiyaq Ahmad Zilli said every person has a right to speech within the law of the country, but the "media trial" was not right.

Meanwhile, spokesman of All India Shia Personal Law Board Maulana Yasoob Abbas while opposing Naik said those having 'Wahabi' mentality were being inspired with the preacher's lectures and going towards terrorism.

He said that stern action should be taken against Naik, his lectures should be banned and his nationality should be withdrawn.
Indore: Geeta, the deaf and mute woman, who returned to India last October after being stranded in Pakistan for 13 years, on Saturday expressed deep sorrow over the demise of legendary Pakistani philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi.

Edhi, who had dedicated his life to humanity and serving the poor and was widely respected in Pakistan due to his humanitarian and social welfare works, had taken care of Geeta during her over a decade-long stay in Pakistan.

"Edhi Saheb loved me like a father and used to take very good care of me," Geeta told government officials through sign language, who on her behalf issued a press release.

Recalling her association with Edhi, she said that during her stay in Pakistan, Edhi had provided a separate room to her for accommodation and respecting her religious beliefs, he had also made idols of Hindu gods and goddesses available to her for worshipping.

Edhi breathed his last at a hospital in Karachi late last night. A huge number of mourners today flocked at a stadium in Karachi in Pakistan to bid their last adieu to Edhi, the co-founder of Edhi Foundation, according to reports.

The hearing and speech impaired girl was 7 or 8 years old when she had accidentally crossed over to Pakistan and was found sitting alone in the Samjhauta Express at Lahore station by the Pakistan Rangers 15 years ago. She was then adopted by Edhi Foundation.

After her return to India, Geeta has been staying at an NGO for the speech and hearing impaired in Indore. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had met Geeta last December here and assured her that the government was making every effort to trace her parents.
Omar Abdullah was responding to the appeal by the PDP-BJP coalition government to all stakeholders including mainstream and separatist groups to help in government's efforts for restoring normalcy in the state. (Photo: PTI)

Srinagar: Opposition National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on Sunday said his party was ready to contribute towards maintaining peace in Kashmir but Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti should take the lead to show the wayinstead of "hiding" behind spokesperson and police officers as they were not elected by the people.

"Dear @MehboobaMufti We in @JKNC_ are always ready to contribute towards maintaining peace but you must take the lead & show the way," Omar said in a series of tweets.

The former chief minister was responding to the appeal by the PDP-BJP coalition government to all stakeholders including mainstream and separatist groups to help in government's efforts for restoring normalcy in the state.

"More than anyone else I know what you're going through @MehboobaMufti & I can assure you that we will follow your lead but lead YOU must," Omar said apparently referring to his own experience as Chief Minister of the state during the 2010 summer agitation in the valley that left nearly 120 people dead.

The National Conference leader, however, suggested that the Chief Minister should take responsibility for the prevailing situation and lead the recovery process from the front.

"This is the time to lead from the front. You must accept the responsibility both for letting things get to this point as for the recovery.

"Please don't take the easy option of hiding behind your spokesperson & your police officers. "No one elected them, the people elected you," he added.

Omar said National Conference as an opposition party will not be irresponsible. "The @JKNC_ will never be an irresponsible party & opposing you will never mean setting the state on fire for narrow political ends," he said.
A view of Bamna river which is flowing above the danger mark due to heavy rains in Gyaraspur in Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh. (Photo: PTI)

Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan on Sunday said that at least 15 people have lost their lives so far in the flash floods, adding the concerned authorities are taking all precautionary measures to bring the situation under control as the MeT office has forecast heavy showers in the coming days.

Stating the conditions are getting better as of now, Chauhan said that there are possibilities of heavy rainfall is Bhopal, Indore and Ujjain.

"In Rewa division, everything is getting under control and the conditions are getting better at several places. The flood like situation is getting better as the water level is decreasing. It was drizzling in few areas, but was not raining heavily. In Bhopal division also, things are now getting better," he stated.

Chauhan said there is water logging at several places, adding Bhopal-Bareli road and Raisen-Vidisha road are closed post the flood-like situation.

The Chief Minister said there is a possibility of heavy rainfall in Bhopal, Indore and Ujjain divisions and added that an alert has been issued to the Collectors to remain alert.

Lauding the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) for helping the people in this hour of crisis, Chauhan said survey orders have been issued so that the damage can be assessed and in particular the poor can be adequately compensated.

"After the water level decreases, there can be a possibility of the spread of water borne diseases. So, the Health Department has been given this responsibility to work in collision with the Municipal Corporation and local authorities to ensure clean drinking water is available to all," said Chauhan.

"Since the Meteorological Department has forecast heavy rains. So, the district administrations have been issued orders to take all types of precautionary measures.The situation as of now is under control. The district administration has done a tremendous job.We are ready to tackle the future challenges," he added.

Chauhan further said the Centre has been briefed about the present situation in the state.

"I had a telephonic conversation with Rajnath Singh ji today and I have apprised the Home Minister of the present situation. I will also brief the honourable Prime Minister about the situation here," he said.
Earlier, as the water conservation minister, Munde had courted controversy in April by posting a selfie online during a visit to drought-affected Latur. (Photo: PTI)

Mumbai: Pankaja Munde's apparent unhappiness over being divested of the important water conservation portfolio today spilled onto the social media while her supporters burnt an effigy of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in Ahmednagar district.

Soon after news of her being relieved from the water conservation portfolio became public, a peeved Munde took to Twitter to announce that she was to reach Singapore to attend a global water leader summit on Monday but won't do so as she was no longer the minister of that department.

Fadnavis, who is out of country on an official tour, responded on Twitter, saying she must attend the event. "As a senior minister, you (Munde) would be representing the government of Maharashtra," Fadnavis said.

After the reshuffle in the Council of Ministers on Friday, Munde has been left with the portfolios of Woman and Child Welfare and Rural Development.

Munde's supporters, mostly BJYM's activists, today staged a protest in Ahmednagar district and shouted slogans against Fadnavis.

Earlier, as the water conservation minister, Munde had courted controversy in April by posting a selfie online during a visit to drought-affected Latur.

Congress had then accused her of gross insensitivity. Meanwhile, the opposition lost no time to latch on to the online exchange between the CM and his minister to take a dig at BJP.

"Signs of BJP inner party democracy pouring out on streets! Pankaja Munde supporters burn effigy of CM," Congress MLC Sanjay Dutt said.
Olga further said that she was often tortured for being a foreigner and also accused of not bringing a dowry with her. (Photo: ANI)

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Sunday urged Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav to help the Russian daughter-in-law, who has been sitting in protest against her mother-in-law at the doorstep of the family home in Agra from where she has been kicked out.

"Akhilesh ji - Pl help this lady. @yadavakhilesh," she said in a tweet.

Russian national Olga Efimenkova, who married Vikrant Singh Chandel in 2011, has been sitting outside her in-laws house on a hunger strike, claiming that she, her husband and daughter have been barred from entering the house.

"I am from Russia and I got married to Vikrant Singh Chandel in Agra in 2011. My problem is that my mother-in-law has thrown us out of the house and we have no other place to go. So now I am sitting here with my daughter at the gate of the house, as she (mother-in-law) is not letting me go inside," Olga told the media.

Read: Agra: Thrown out with toddler, Russian 'bahu' goes on strike against 'saas'

The Russian lady said that she would continue her protest until she and her family are given a place to stay in the house.

Olga further said that she was often tortured for being a foreigner and also accused of not bringing a dowry with her.

"I have gone quite often to the police station in New Agra and complained but the police refuse to lodge my FIR, saying that this is a personal matter and that they cannot be of any help. I have also called the embassy many time and complained," she said.

Backing his wife, Vikrant Chandel stated that his mother often physically assaulted Olga and kept asking for dowry and money.

"She has asked for 11 lakh rupees, but I don't have that. She has opened an illegal school and I don't think she has the right papers for that. I went to New Agra police station, but they are not helping. I have been out here since 20 days and now I don't even have any money left," he said.

However, Olga's mother-in-law Nirmala Chandel has maintained that she herself is living in a single room and had gifted the house to her daughter. She has also alleged that her son and daughter-in-law often indulge in gambling and do not care about her well-being.
Kozhikode: A family in Chorode, Vadakara, suspects links to its members in Islamic State (IS). One of the members of the joint family in Grace, Chorode, said on Saturday that the suspicion grew strong after the officials of Intelligence Bureau visited their house a year ago, in search of IT engineer Mansoor and wife Thasni.

Mansoors elder brother Ashraf said that the couple and their three children visited the ancestral house six months back for the first time after Mansoor left for Bahrain more than a decade ago. After the IB officials visit, the family had asked them to spare them and not to make telephone calls.

The family says that Mansoor had inclination towards extremists even at a young age and after reaching Bahrain also, he used to send messages saying that he was leaving for Swarga rajyam. After the family grew suspicious of the activities of Mansoor, he as well as the wife and children came back to Vadakara almost six months ago and settled all monetary transactions they had with friends and relatives. They had also sold their vehicles and left for Bahrain. Ashraf says the family has no connection with them after that.
Bhopal: Have you ever heard of a snake being imprisoned for biting a person? Believe it or not, a farmer in a Chhattisgarh village exactly did this to punish a king cobra for biting him.

The bizarre incident took place in the village of Lahangbahara under Kathgara police station in Chhattisgarhs Korba district on Sunday.

Lahari Lal, a farmer in the village, was bitten by the poisonous snake when he was tilling his land. He got furious with the serpent and then started chasing the slithering snake to capture it. Later, he succeeded to overpower it. Lahari later took the snake to his house and tied it to the pole in his backyard.
BENGALURU: High drama prevailed at Kushalnagara Rural police station in Madikeri on Sunday late evening, when slain DySP M.K. Ganaptis family members protested against the police for not registering FIR against people named by Ganapati.

His son Nehal submitted a six-page complaint to the Kushalnagara Rural police, as their house falls under its jurisdiction, on Sunday evening. However, the police refused to take up the complaint citing that the complaint has already been registered and is being investigated by the CID police.

Angered by their reply, Nehal along with other family members and relatives staged a protest in front of the police station and it was supported by several local residents. The agitators criticised the police for not taking the complaint and demanded that FIR must be registered against former Home Minister K. J. George, ADGP Intelligence A. M. Prasad and Lokayukta IGP Pronab Mohanty. However, the police tried to convince them they cannot legally register a second complaint pertaining to the same case. Nehal stated in his complaint that the allegations made by his father before committing suicide were true.

He was harassed by senior officers and Minister George. Instead of considering it, the police are trying to destroy the evidence. He was being harassed by seniors after church attacks in Mangaluru in 2008, he alleged, adding that there was no problem in their family and his mother always supported her husband.

Ganapatis depression not chronic: Doctor

The psychiatrist, who was treating DySP M.K. Ganapati for depression at private hospital in Mangaluru, has said that he had visited him twice but had not shown any signs of suicidal tendenciesGanapatis psychiatrist Dr Kiran Kumar told reporters that his last visit was just a few days ago.

He had told me that he was feeling depressed due to pressure and harassment in the department. He had also mentioned that he had tough time after a rowdy was gunned down in an encounter. However, he had not revealed names of any official who harassed him. He was facing a little depression and suffering from memory loss headaches. But his depression was not chronic, Dr Kiran said. He also said the CID officials questioned him in connection with the same and he had provided them the details of treatment.
Worried parents turn to Hong Kong for safer shots for their kids amid the illegal vaccine scandal in the mainland. (Photo : Getty Images)

Many Chinese parents expressed frustration and anger recently over the shortage of vaccines. Some parents event went to the Hong Kong border to get their children vaccinated.



One parent from Guangzhou said, "I have been calling the community clinic time and time again since May, and they always tell me that the vaccine is out of stock."



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Chinese officials said that the shortages are caused by the central government's attempt to have a stricter drug importation system. Because of this, many pharmaceutical companies have also stopped importation of vaccines to China.



One of these pharmaceutical companies is Pfizer. The drug company recently stopped importation of the pneumonia vaccine Prevenar to China. Pfizer's importation license for the drug was also not renewed.



Cancellation of permits has caused the vaccine supply to decrease even further. Chinese parents are then left to independently look for available vaccines all over the country.



Local producers are also having a difficult time meeting the huge demand for vaccines, particularly the Type 1 vaccine. According to the Dongguan Center for Disease Control website, Type 1 vaccines will only be available next month.



The Chinese government claimed that they are doing the best that they can. Chinese President Xi Jinping promised "protecting the people's health a priority."



In an attempt to crack down on the sale of illegal vaccines, the government arrested 37 individuals for selling tainted and improperly stored vaccines. The vaccines sold totaled to $88 million.



The drug ring was arrested in Shandong and had been operating since 2011.


Bengaluru: A 23-year-old girl student from Presidency College hanged herself at her college hostel in Kempapura on Saturday afternoon. The police said that in her suicide note, she has stated that she was depressed and felt lonely.

The deceased, Sofia, who hailed from Kerala, was a second year BBA student. On Friday, Sofias mother visited the college to pay the tuition fee. On Saturday, she tried to contact her daughter, but could not. The police said that Sofia might have committed suicide around 2.30 pm when she was alone at the hostel room, while her friends were at the college library. Around 5.30 pm, her friends returned to the hostel and found Sofia hanging from the ceiling. They informed the college management officials, who alerted the police. In her suicide note, Sofia has said that she was feeling lonely and no one was trying to understand her. She has not mentioned of any love affair, said an investigating officer. Unconfirmed reports said that Sofia had low attendance and the college authorities had informed her mother, who reportedly shouted at her in front of her friends on the college campus.
Bhopal: A youth waged a heroic battle against natures fury to rescue 20 people including an elderly woman from a flooded nullah here but could not save him.

Twenty one-year-old Deepak Sahu was swept away by the swirling waters of the flooded nullah barely after he evacuated a 55-year-old woman, one of the 20 people trapped in a marooned slum here, to safety, even as his fiancee looked on.

The capital city witnessed the heartrending incident early on Sunday morning. He lost his balance while pulling the elderly woman, Kamala Bai, out of water and was washed away in the nullah. All the 20 people rescued by him remained mute spectators to the tragic incident, Deepaks brother Pradip, who was also saved by him, told this newspaper.

While he was pulling out an elderly woman, the last person to be saved from Rajiv Nagar slum, of water when he slipped and was swept away in the flooded nullah.

Rajnath Singh speaks to MP CM, takes stock of situation

Union home minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday spoke to Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and took stock of the situation arising out of the floods in the state.

During the telephonic conversation, Mr Chouhan briefed the home minister about the prevailing situation and the steps taken to give succor to the marooned people, official sources said. Mr Singh assured the Chief Minister all central help in rescue and relief of flood affected people.

The death toll due to flood-related mishaps has gone up to 15 in the state. Seven persons died due to flood in different parts of the state in last 24 hours.

On Saturday, the Chief Minister said eight persons had died due to the heavy downpour in last couple of days. The heavy rains had earlier thrown normal life out of gear.
In Rampur village of Medak district, parents and locals led by sarpanch Venkatram Reddy, locked the school gates over the callous attitude of officials. (Representational Image)

Hyderabad: Parents are taking to new ways to register their protest over shortage of teachers and lack of facilities at government schools in various districts.

In Rampur village of Medak district, parents and locals led by sarpanch Venkatram Reddy, locked the school gates over the callous attitude of officials. This school had eight sections and only three teachers to take classes. It should have at least three or four more teachers for classes to function regularly, according to educationist N. Narayana.

In Gattu and Amarabad mandals of Mahbubnagar district, students, parents and locals took to the streets demanding allotment of teachers. Similar protests were seen in Marpally mandal in Ranga Reddy.

Mr R. Venkat Reddy, national convenor of MV Foundation, which also took part in these rallies, deplored the functioning of the education department. Administration is not happy with less enrolment in government schools. However, look at the sad state of affairs in schools that have a good number of students. There are not enough teachers to conduct classes. This problem sho-uld be addressed on priority basis since the academic year has already commenced.

Mr Narayana felt appointment of teachers in all government schools will take some more time. Although the government recently took decision to appoint 9,335 Vidya Volunteers for government schools in all districts, in view of the delay in recruitment of teachers, this exercise will take at least two more months for completion. By the time teachers step into government schools in all districts, one quarter of the academic year will have been completed, Mr Narayana told this newspaper.
New Delhi: A Manipuri woman alleged on Saturday that an immigration official at Delhis Indira Gandhi International Airport hurled racist remarks at her while she was on her way to South Korea for a conference.

According to reports, Monika Khangembam alleged that when she went to the immigration desk at IGI around 9pm on Saturday, an immigration official asked her if she was Indian, and said that she doesnt look like an Indian. Indian toh nahi lagti ho, (you dont look Indian) said the officer.

He then asked her to tell him how many states comprised the country. When she told him that she was getting late for her flight, he told her that the flight would not take off in her absence.

Khamgemban posted on her Facebook attacking the immigration desk.

Khangembam was en-route to Seoul to represent India at a global womens conference on July 14-15. This is racism and bullying, but I will not let it hamper my spirit, she said.

Following her Facebook complaint, many people tweeted to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and MEA India demanding they take action.
According to Chandera police, relatives of people who went missing from Padanna and Trikaripur areas had lodged the complaint. (Representational image)

Kasargod: Seven more complaints of missing persons from Kasargod, who are suspected to have joined the IS, were filed on Sunday. According to Chandera police, relatives of people who went missing from Padanna and Trikaripur areas had lodged the complaint. On Saturday, relatives of Mohammad Murshid and Mohammad Sajid filed complaints.

Others contacted Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan through Kasargod MP, P. Karunakaran and it was after the CM insisted that they filed a complaint with the local police. Kasargod superintendent of police Thomson Jose said that a special team would be set up for the investigation. At present, Kanjangad deputy superintendent, Sunil Babu K., is heading the probe.
KOZHIKODE: Intelligence agencies are zeroing on the role of Peace Education Foundation and allied Niche of Truth movement in connection with the 17 missing persons from Kerala suspected to have joined the dreaded IS. The Niche of Truth is an independent body introducing Islam to non-Muslims, and its founder-director M.M. Akbar is the managing director of the foundation which runs a chain of 13 schools across the state.

Mr Akbar is a well-known orator and comparative religion scholar associated with the Mujahid movement here. Peace international schools claim to impart academic and moral excellence in an Islamic environment. The missing persons were radically indoctrinated in such a manner that they rejected cable TV and WhatsApp as western products. That kind of puritan theory is propounded by Salafism/Wahabism, which has roots in Saudi Arabia. So we are probing whether the Niche of Truth has anything to do with the indoctrination, said a state special branch officer.

Mr Akbar said he was not aware of any police inquiry as he was away in Qatar. Meanwhile, northern range ADGP Sudhesh Kumar told this newspaper that the probe was going on and nothing could be revealed at the moment. Rashid Abdulla, the Trikaripur native believed to be the key man in the missing team and his wife Ayisha aka Soniya worked at Peace School. Both engineering professionals, Mr Rashid worked as a trainer and Ms Ayisha as a teacher. Mr Rashid had a long stint in Oman, and he met Soniya Sebastian during his engineering study in Kottayam. She converted to Islam to become Ayisha before their marriage.

Meanwhile, BJP Kasargod district committee has demanded a probe into the role of Peace schools. It should be thoroughly probed. The funding for the school, what kind of education they were imparting, etc. should be probed in detail, BJP district president K. Srikanth told this newspaper. At the same time, Dr K. Jayaprasad, principal of Century Dental College, Poinachi, in Kasargod said his institution had nothing to do with conversions. Among the missing persons, Nimisha aka Fathima and Refiala were BDS students here.
Kozhikode: Islamic preacher and director of 'Niche of Truth', the body which introduce Islam to non-Muslims, M.M. Akbar has said that his movement was not into propagation of Islam which supports IS version and had no role in the indoctrination of the missed persons from Kerala who were suspected to have joined IS. In an exclusive telephonic interview to DC from Qatar, he said that Abdulla Rashid, the Thrikaripur native, who was said to be the key indoctrinator among the missing persons worked with 'Peace International School' as a trainer.

"He trained our teachers in science and mathematics for three years. Rashid is basically an engineer and was adept as a trainer.He used to travel to all our schools across Kerala and train teachers. His wife Ayisha (formerly Sonia Sebastian) was a teacher at our school in Thrikaripur," Mr Akbar elaborated.

Rashid and Ayisha resigned in last May, saying that they had to go to Sri Lanka to attend religious classes under an Islamic scholar.

M.M Akbar is also the Managing Director of Peace educational foundation which runs 13 schools across the state, of them 10 directly. "We have no other connection with any of these missing persons," he asserted. On 'Niche of Truth', Mr Akbar said that the body had no connection with any Islamic organizations in Kerala.

"The purpose is to introduce Islam to non-Muslims. Ideologically we are following Salafism," he said. Mr Akbar said that his organization would only act as a guide to those non-Muslims who want to convert to Islam. "There are two approved conversion centres-in Kozhikode and in Ponnani. If any non-Muslim wants to join Islam we would direct them to these centres but no other support is extended," he said.

Mr Akbar said that police had not inspected or verified the credentials of his movement so far. But Yasar Arafath, the Kozhikode coordinator of the movement, told DC that special branch had inspected records in the wake of conversion incidents in the past.
Hyderabad: Party sources said that Mr Naidu individually scored more marks than the TD government in the performance wise survey. Mr Naidu got 80.5 per cent whereas the TD government got 79 per cent.

A senior party leader said that these scores reflected the non-performance of MLAs in the constituencies as also Mr Naidus individual performance and that of the TD government. He gave the example of how the NTR Arogya Sri scheme stood first among all the state government schemes. But the same scheme did not secure the same marks in all Assembly constituencies because of the local MLAs weak performance.

To improve the percentage of votes in the constituencies where the TD got less votes, Mr Naidu asked the senior leaders to work out an action plan. He has constituted a high-level committee, consisting of TD national general secretary Nara Lokesh, AP Telugu Desam president K. Kala Venkata Rao, finance minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu, irrigation minister Devineni Uma Maheswara Rao and some senior leaders. The 10-member committee will prepare an action plan.

Mr Venkata Rao said that the first meeting of this committee would be held on July 12 at the Guntur party office when preliminary discussions would be held. Another meeting would be held after Mr Naidu returned from Russia. He said that they would conduct workshops for the party leaders, including MLAs, MLCs, constituency in-charges and other workers.

The leaders would be divided into three categories and workshops conducted separately. He said that the committee would get inputs from the MLAs of those constituencies where the governments schemes secured about 80 per cent mar-ks to see what strategy they were using. But conversely, they would also find out why the government schemes did not secure more marks in other constituencies.
Despite claims by the Islamic State that it has brought Bangladesh under its stranglehold, the upsurge of jihadi terror in that country actually appears to be the result of vicious domestic politics practiced by the Awami League, now in power, and the Opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). The clash of ideology led to the emergence of two diametrically opposite narratives on the very idea of Bangladesh: a secular democratic republic for the Awami League, led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and for the BNP a nation with Islam in a predominant role. In fact, it is difficult to delink electoral politics and home-grown terror in Bangladesh. For long, the electoral space has been shared by the Awami League and the BNP. But Sheikh Hasina, ever since the Awami Leagues massive victory at the 2008 elections, has come to dominate the administration in the over-populous nation. The 2008 verdict, with the Awami League winning 263 of 300 seats in Parliament, emboldened Sheikh Hasina to go all out against her rivals, mainly the BNP and its key ally, the Jamaat-e-Islami.

The trend continued, and ahead of the next national election in 2014, the trial against some top Jamaat leaders gained momentum. This led to the execution of Abdul Quader Mollah, a veteran Jamaat-e-Islami leader, who became the first to face the gallows for war crimes during the 1971 liberation struggle. The battle had begun with radical Islamist groups baying for Sheikh Hasinas blood. The fallout was predictable: the BNP decided to boycott the election and enforced nationwide general strikes. In the end, 154 of 300 parliamentary seats went uncontested, and the Awami League won again in an election that was naturally mired in controversy.

What is significant is that from 2013 onwards, mystery machete attacks started in Dhaka, and the targets were secular bloggers, liberal university professors, LGBT activists and all prominent freethinkers who raised their voice for a secular Bangladesh. The timing was important: the national elections were approaching. At least 40 people have been killed between 2013 and now, including a Japanese aid worker. The ISIS, too, took credit for some of these killings. Dhaka appeared to focus attention on jihadi terror group Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), an outfit whose aim is to convert secular Bangladesh to a caliphate. Not much action appeared visible against some other Islamist groups like the Ansar-al-Islam, Hefazat-e-Islam and Hizb-ut-Tahrir. In fact, the Hizb-ut-Tahrir chief, a university professor under house arrest, is said to be regularly drawing his salary. Failing to solve the murderous machete attacks and attracting global condemnation and concern, Dhaka launched a search and sweep operation across the nation in June this year. Some estimates claimed up to 12,000 people were arrested. But the move has drawn criticism as it is alleged the majority of them are either supporters of the Opposition BNP or ordinary Muslims.

Was the operation an eyewash aimed at pushing the BNP and its Jamaat-e-Islami ally to the wall, rather than to combat terror? The charge that most of the 12,000 people arrested were BNP or Jamaat supporters cant be brushed aside as the number of actual Islamists among those nabbed is not known. Dhaka, obviously, cannot claim that each of the 12,000 people arrested are Islamist radicals or terrorists. The Hasina government, of course, would like to reject these charges and stick to its stand that the arrests are a clear indication of its crackdown on jihadi terror. And Dhakas insistence that the ISIS claim of its hand in July 1 Gulshan eatery attack is false is understandable. It is largely aimed at instilling confidence among international investors, mainly those in the countrys lucrative garment industry.

Another key question that has been raised is whether the jihadi upsurge in Bangladesh is an outcome of the Awami League governments occasional attempts at curbing press freedom or coming down heavily on all those who oppose it. That may or may not be the case, but Sheikh Hasina cant hope to deal with the problem by denying that ISIS has established its presence in the country and that the nations biggest terror raid that led to the brutal killing of 20 hostages were carried out by home-grown jihadis like JMB. It is important to wait and see if Dhaka is really able to tackle jihadi terror. What must also be borne in mind is that ISIS could have adopted a strategy of letting jihadis of any variety use its name after carrying out a terror raid. That helps the outfit as it does not require the physical presence of its cadres in different areas of the world.

If Bangladesh has to be spared the possibility of being totally engulfed by jihadi terror, the two main parties  Awami League and BNP  must see reason. The Hasina government must stop witchhunts and the BNP must rein in its cadres and those of its Jamaat ally from trying to corner the government. Dhaka has real reason for worry as it now clear that the July 1 attackers were Bangladeshi nationals who had been to elite schools and universities. That the attackers belonged to upper middle class families and were part of the same so-called secular elite who throng upscale eateries like Holey Artisan Bakery goes to suggest that jihadi terror has succeeded in attracting the rich and those who could rather easily navigate the course of modern cosmopolitan city life, where people of various faiths and nationalities live.

For India, its a cause for real alarm as it is clear that ISIS and its allies are active in our backyard. New Delhi must, therefore, further boost its counter-terror efforts and try to build a global coalition to identify the nations financing or backing groups like ISIS and choke their source of funds. It is important to push hard for immediate adoption of the long-pending Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism. This would help make accountable states that support terrorists, provide safe havens and finance them. At the recent G-20 summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin had presented a list of 40 countries that directly back groups like ISIS. India can take things forward from Mr Putins list.
Mr Gaurs sprawling bungalow had been thronged by Congressmen, including state party president Arun Yadav and Ajay Singh, for almost a week after he was stripped of his position till the chief minister was called by the RSS brass in Nagpur on July 6 to take stock of the situation following the development.

Birthday in Absentia

Birthdays are rarely celebrated in absentia but in Uttar Pradesh, the trend is catching on. Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, this year, chose to celebrate his official birthday on July 1 in London with his family. However, party leaders and workers went full steam with birthday celebrations. Hoardings and posters were put up all around Lucknow wishing Mr Yadav on his 43rd birthday. Outlandish cakes, shaped as cycles (Samajwadi symbol), were cut at umpteen venues and fruits and milk were distributed to patients in hospitals.

All these events were carefully recorded on video and posted on social networking sites. The chief minister was thoughtfully tagged in all the posts so that he could give marks to his loyalists. Even as party workers went into an overdrive on the occasion, family members chose to completely ignore the birthday. One of them asked, His real birthday is on October 23, so why celebrate now? It may be recalled that in January this year, Mr Yadav had chosen to vacation abroad with family on wife Dimple Yadavs birthday, but party workers in Lucknow had celebrated Bhabhijis birthday in style  style similar to the one in which they celebrated the Chief Ministers birthday.

Gaurs Unmatched electoral success

Octogenarian BJP leader Babulal Gaur holds an enviable record of winning 10 Assembly elections in a row in Madhya Pradesh. And it is not for no reason that the never-say-die saffron leader has achieved this unmatched electoral success in MP politics. His rivals in the BJP, who seemingly include chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, have perhaps learnt with shock and disbelief when the 86-year-old former Jan Sangh leader set a trend of sorts by managing to parade the whos who of the Congress in MP in his official residence in Bhopal to express their sympathy with him after he was sacked from the state ministry for being past 75 years of age.

Mr Gaurs sprawling bungalow had been thronged by Congressmen, including state party president Arun Yadav and Ajay Singh, for almost a week after he was stripped of his position till the chief minister was called by the RSS brass in Nagpur on July 6 to take stock of the situation following the development. Needless to say, there were photos of these meetings in the media the next day. While this appears to have shaken the saffron leadership, a senior Congress leader has unwittingly spilled the beans. The CM has landed us in trouble (by dropping Mr Gaur from the ministry). Mr Gaur every day invites us to share tea with him in his house. It is okay for once or twice. But it is not possible to visit him every day. We have more important work to do, a Congress leader was heard telling one of his party colleagues.

We are not surprised by the purported exposure since everybody knows Mr Gaur has more friends in the Congress than in his own party, that is the reason why he appears invincible in elections, a senior BJP leader quipped. He was referring to rumours making the rounds in MP for the past three decades that the Congress always fielded a weak candidate against Mr Gaur in the Assembly elections.

Reshuffle & veterans

The BJP had to depute two of its senior leaders to pacify one of its veterans after the much-awaited expansion of Prime Minister Narendra Modis council of ministers took place. This veteran was lobbying hard for his son to be accommodated in Mr Modis team from the Uttar Pradesh quota. Not just the party top brass, lobbying was being done even with the RSS. Perhaps to preempt any chance of this veteran venting his ire, that could have left the party embarrassed, two senior leaders, including the partys UP in-charge, were dispatched the day after the Cabinet reshuffle to meet this veteran, who is also a former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh.

Neta vs Journalist

Bihar health minister Tej Pratap Yadav created a buzz in political circles when he yelled at a TV journalist and threatened to slap a defamation case against him for taking his visuals. The incident occurred during the foundation day celebration of the Rashtriya Janata Dal in Patna on July 5. While the event was in progress, Mr Yadav borrowed a camera from one of the press photographers who was covering the programme and started to click a few pictures of the event, when he saw a TV journalist taking his visuals. Annoyed, Mr Yadav yelled at the journalist and told him to delete the video but he refused.

I will file a defamation case against you if you dont delete that recording. We are silent because you are from the press, Mr Yadav told the journalist. However, later, RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, who was also present during the event, intervened and pacified the journalists who had decided to boycott the event in protest against his sons misbehaviour. Later, Mr Lalu Yadav summoned the journalist on stage and asked him to delete the video, but he refused. Besides Lalu Yadav and Tej Yadav, Bihar deputy chief minister Tejaswi Yadav was also present at the event. Towards the end of the programme, Lalu Yadav once again called the journalist on stage and asked him and his elder son Tej to shake hands and end the issue.

The new boss

Deputy chief minister of Punjab Sukhbir Singh Badal, whose 54th birthday was on July 9, was greeted by all his Cabinet colleagues and Akali leaders. However, unlike his previous birthdays, this year the mode of greetings for Mr Badal was a little different. Akali leaders decided to wish him though advertisements in newspapers calling him the harbinger of development in Punjab.

Given that Punjab will face Assembly elections in the next six months, the rush to wish Mr Badal through advertisements also seems an act of sycophancy and shift of power centre in the Akali Dal. With all Cabinet colleagues, chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, father of Sukhbir, and wife Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal wishing him through advertisements, many believe its a subtle message to Akali workers and leaders on who calls the shots in the party now. With elections nearing, no one wants to take any chances and all have been really creative in praising the new boss on his birthday.

CPM's double defeat

The Congress has been on a steady decline in West Bengal for nearly 40 years. The party last came to power in 1972. A Congress government led by Siddhartha Shankar Ray ruled the state till 1977, when the Jyoti Basu-led Left Front defeated the Congress. From then on the party remained the main Opposition till the end of the last century. In 2001, a fledgling Trinamul replaced the Congress as the main Opposition in the state Assembly. In 2006, although Mamata Banerjees party was virtually decimated  winning just 30 of the 294 seats  it remained the main Opposition.

In 2011, when the feisty and fearsome Ms Banerjee led an anti-Left coalition to a massive victory, the state Congress was part of the government. However, its joy was shortlived because a year later the Trinamul, which was the second-largest partner in Manmohan Singh-led UPA government, walked out of the ruling coalition. In a tit-for-tat, the Congress high command ordered the state party unit to pull out of the Mamata government in the state.

The state Congress again found itself in a limbo. It was neither in power nor was the main Opposition. The Congress tried for the main Opposition status on the basis of its numerical superiority over the CPM. The Speaker, however, accepted Surjya Kanta Mishras argument that the number of legislators of CPM-led Left Front was much higher than that of the Congress. Thus, the Congress was left high and dry, and Mr Mishra remained Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly.

The Congress contested the recent Assembly polls as the B-team of the CPM. However, the poll results stunned not just the Communists, but also the Congress. Despite contesting less than 100 of 294 seats, the Congress won more seats than the Left Front. The Congress got the coveted main Opposition status, replacing the Left Front. The CPM satraps are crestfallen over the double defeat.

Fighting enemy by words, not swords

Defence minister Manohar Parrikar perhaps needs no briefing what to say at a particular place or on an exact occasion. Among contemporary politicians, he appears to have a fair knowledge of the finer and yet distinct dividing line that separates an astute politician who plays with words to put the enemy on the mat from a responsible minister who carefully chooses his words to avoid unnecessary controversy and confrontations. In his recent visit to Orissa to attend the BJPs Vikas Utsav on the Modi government completing two years at the Centre, Mr Parrikar was quite reticent while addressing some official meetings.

However, when it came to addressing the press conference and party workers, he made no mistake about what his party expected from him, strong condemnation of the attack on two Union ministers  Santosh Gangwar and Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti  allegedly by Biju Janata Dal workers at Bargarh. General elections are scheduled in 2019. Abhi se unke paon ke neeche ki zameen khisak rahi hai (From now itself, the BJD leaders find the earth beneath their feet have started slipping). That is why they are attacking Union ministers who come here to brief on the success of the Modi government, Mr Parrikar said both at the press meet and the party workers meeting.

Dubbing the attack as a planned action, Mr Parrikar challenged the attackers to face him. It was a planned action. I condemn it. Kisi ko takat hai to mere samne ane do (If anyone has guts, let him come in front of me), he said in a much louder voice. The crowd cheered in applause. Realising that the mission was accomplished, Mr Parrikar flaunted a victorious generals walk from the party workers meeting venue to his car. The party workers now appeared fully satisfied.
CeBIT 2015 Technology Trade Fair (Photo : Getty Images)

From a relatively unknown mobile phone brand, Huawei has grown into a tech giant in a few years, defying the market slowdown in 2015 when it shipped more than 100 million units.



For the second time in about two months, Huawei took to court its South Korean competitor, another smartphone giant, by filing a similar patent lawsuit against Samsung on Thursday, reported Reuters. The second lawsuit was filed with the Quanzhou Intermediate Peoples Court which accepted the case, according to court spokesman Wang Zhiwei.



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The lawsuit was for the same case as the one that Huawei filed in May in the U.S. and Shenzhen, said the Chinese companys spokeswoman. She explained that technical filings with two courts in the same country are required by the nature of the case which is about fourth-generation cellular communications technology, operating systems and user interface that the Seoul-based phonemaker allegedly uses also.



Huaweis growth into a telecommunications giant meant it does the suing, a big change in the past when it was the one being sued. Another Chinese telco, Xiaomi, was at the receiving end of a lawsuit in 2015 when Ericsson filed a patent infringement lawsuit, resulting in a temporary ban in Xiaomi-made mobile phones to India.



Besides Samsung, Huawei also filed a separate lawsuit against T-Mobile in the U.S. on Tuesday covering 14 patents, including GPRS and security standards which Huawei is accusing T-Mobile of using throughout its 4G data network in the U.S., reported PCMag.



According to Puget Sound Business Journal, the lawsuit could have stemmed from T-Mobiles refusal to discuss entering into an agreement, which Huawei proposed, because of its perception that the licensing terms offered by the Chinese technology company were allegedly not fair and reasonable.






Washington: The Islamic State group's Twitter traffic has plunged 45 per cent in the past two years, the Obama administration says, as the US and its allies have countered messages of jihadi glorification with a flood of online images and statements about suffering and enslavement at the hands of the extremist organization.

US officials cite the drop in Twitter traffic as a sign of progress toward eliminating propaganda they blame for inspiring attacks around the world.

When the US formed an international coalition in September 2014 to fight IS, the administration outlined multiple goals: military action and cutting off foreign fighters and finances, confronting the group's extremist ideology and stemming the militants' growing popularity in the Arab world and beyond.

The messaging element of the campaign struggled early on. Much of the anti-IS content put online was in English, limiting its effectiveness. At the time, social media networks were only getting started with new technological approaches to the challenge of disabling accounts that were recruiting and radicalizing prospective IS members.

These shortcomings have been fixed, American officials believe. Memes and images depicting the group's treatment of women, children and others are presented almost entirely in Arabic. Whereas the US previously blasted the information out itself, it disseminates messages now through Muslim governments, religious leaders, schools, youth leaders and advocacy groups with credibility in local communities. Data show the proliferation of IS propaganda decreasing.

"We're denying ISIL the ability to operate uncontested online, and we're seeing their social media presence decline," said Michael Lumpkin, head of the Global Engagement Center, which coordinates the US government's approach to fighting extremist messaging. Using an alternate acronym for the group, he said "anti-ISIL audiences are increasingly vocal on social media. This only weakens ISIL's ability to recruit, a key aim of our messaging efforts."

Data obtained by The Associated Press show a 6-1 ratio of anti-IS content online compared with pro-IS content  an improvement from last year. When pro-IS Twitter accounts are discovered today, they have about 300 followers each. In 2014, such accounts had 1,500 followers each, according to the data.

Among social networks, the administration has primarily focused on Twitter. The platform has been most heavily used by IS to crowdsource supporters and potential attackers, though it also has used YouTube and Facebook.

As IS emerged from al-Qaida's shadow and began seizing cities and large swaths of territory in Syria and Iraq in 2013, pro-IS accounts started firing out tens of thousands of tweets each day, rapidly and repeatedly opening new accounts as others were suspended.

The group's enhanced use of social media quickly set it apart from al-Qaida and previous jihadi militant groups. Counterterrorism and law enforcement officials have pointed to IS' online presence for inspiring deadly attacks in Europe and the United States, including some by individuals who never had physical contact with any of its leaders or fighters in the Middle East. These include the attackers who killed 14 in San Bernardino, California, last December.

The US messages attempt to undermine many of IS' most oft-cited claims. These include the group's supposed invincibility on the battlefield or that its caliphate is good for Muslims. American partners have flooded social media with messages highlighting the group's territorial loses and inability to effectively govern or provide basic services to areas under its control.

Although the US government has no formal arrangement with Twitter, its information campaign has dovetailed with new approaches by the company to identify and eliminate tweets supporting terrorism. Until recently, child pornography was the only abuse automatically flagged for human review on social media. Terrorist messaging is now also included and Twitter announced earlier this year it was using a spam-fighting technology as well.

Since mid-2015, the company has suspended more than 125,000 such accounts.

Officials accept that the focus on Twitter may be driving some of IS' traffic to secure message platforms such as WhatsApp and Telegram. But such a shift means the group's propaganda is reaching a smaller audience. On these networks, it is the job of intelligence and law enforcement officials to root out any clues about future terrorist activity.

The Global Engagement Center was created in March to replace a previous State Department entity for fighting IS messaging, the widely criticized Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications. In addition to shifting to Arabic content and proxy messengers, the new formation harmonizes the online campaign with military and intelligence efforts, and uses data analytics from the private and public sector to gauge IS' changing online tactics and what counterstrategies are working best.

For measuring pro-IS versus anti-IS accounts, data analysts use several dozen search strings and hashtags. For example, #Caliphate is more likely used on pro-IS accounts. #Daesh, a pejorative acronym for the group, is primarily found on anti-IS accounts.

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Narendra Modi and Tanzania President John Magufuliwi witness signing of an agreement in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania. (Photo: AP)

Dar-es-Salaam: Seeking to enhance its ties with resource-rich Tanzania, India on Sunday extended its full support to it to meet its development needs and signed five agreements, including one for providing a Line of Credit of USD 92 million in the water resources sector.

Describing India as a trusted partner in meeting Tanzania's development priorities, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he along with President John Pombe Joseph Magufuli "agreed to deepen our overall defence and security partnership, especially in the maritime domain".

"Our in-depth discussions on regional and global issues reflected our considerable convergence on issues of common interest and concern," he said.

"India's cooperation with Tanzania will always be as per your needs and priorities," Modi said at a joint press interaction after his bilateral meeting with President Magufuli.

The two sides signed an agreement under which India will provide a Line of Credit of USD 92 million for rehabilitation and improvement of Zanzibar's water supply system.

Other agreements signed include an MoU on water resource management and development, MoU for establishment of vocational training centre at Zanzibar, MoU on visa waiver for diplomatic/official passport holders and an agreement between National Small Industries Corporation of India and Small Industries Development Organisation Tanzania.

Prime Minister said the two countries are also working on a number of other water projects for 17 cities in Tanzania. "For this India is willing to consider an additional USD 500 million line of concessional credit," he said.

Describing Public Health as another important area of bilateral engagement, Modi said India is ready to meet the healthcare priorities of the Tanzanian government, including of supply of medicines and equipment.

"I am told that an Indian radio-therapy machine is being installed at Bugando medical centre to treat cancer patients," he said.

He said during his meeting with President Magufuli, they detailed discussions on the full spectrum of bilateral partnership.

"Our focus was to shape an action oriented agenda of cooperation, so that we talk less of potential and more of achievements on the ground. We agreed that our common desire of economic prosperity for our societies is creating new opportunities for expanding our cooperation," he said.

To achieve this, the two nations agreed to deepen partnership in agriculture and food security, including through enhanced export of pulses from Tanzania to India.

They also decided to work together in development and use of natural gas.

India agreed to partner Tanzania in building of industrial economy, capacities and institutions.

The two leaders also decided to deepen bilateral trade and investment partnership by encouraging greater industry to industry ties.

India is already a substantial economic partner of Tanzania. The whole range of our economic ties are healthy and on upswing. Two way annual trade stands at around USD 3 billion. Indian investments in Tanzania already total around USD 3 billion.

"The Eastern coast of Africa, and Tanzania in particular have enjoyed strong links with the India. We are old maritime neighbours. Together, our leaders and our people have fought colonialism and racial oppression," Modi said.

"Our merchants have traded since early nineteenth century. And, the vast stretch of Indian Ocean has kept our societies and our people connected.

"President Magufuli has a vision for nation building, development and industrialisation a vision that is my dream for India too," he said.

As a developing country, Modi said India understands the need and urgency to improve the lives of our people.

"In this regard, the completion of 100 million dollar water supply augmentation project for Dar es Salaam is a good achievement," he said.

Education, vocational training and skill development are other areas of your priority and where India is willing to offer all possible assistance.

"I also understand that the IT Resource Centre at the Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science & Technology, Arusha is close to completion," he said.

The two leaders agreed to work closely, bilaterally, regionally and globally, to combat the twin threats of terrorism and climate change.

On climate change, he said India had led the efforts to form an International Solar Alliance at climate conference in Paris.

"In this Alliance, which has the support of over 120 countries, we welcome Tanzania as a crucial partner," Modi said.

He also invited President Magufuli to visit India at the earliest possible opportunity.

Earlier, the Prime Minister was accorded a ceremonial welcome when he arrived at the State House in Dar-es-Salaam. He arrived here late last night on the third leg of his four-nation Africa tour.
First Vice President Riek Machar (L) delivers a speech to journalists next to South Sudan President Salva Kiir (C) and Vice President James Wani Igga (R) prior to the shooting outside the presidential palace in Juba on July 8, 2016. (Photo: AFP)

Juba: South Sudan is back to war, a spokesman for the vice-president told the BBC, as rebel factions clashed. Forces loyal to Vice-President Riek Machar say their positions in the capital, Juba, have been attacked by government troops. Col William Gatjiath, Mr Machars military spokesman, told the BBC President Salva Kiir isnt serious about a peace agreement. The government has not responded to Col Gatjiaths comments.

Heavy fighting erupted in South Sudans capital on Sunday as former rebels and government soldiers exchanged fire two days after gun battles left at least 150 fighters dead. Fighting was heard in several other parts of the city throughout the day, including the tinderbox Gudele neighbourhood  where Machar is headquartered  and the central Tongping area near the international airport, with gunfire intensifying and subsiding at different times.

The US embassy in Juba warned its citizens to stay indoors. South Sudan marked five years of independence on Saturday. The violence has raised fears of renewed instability, with a 2015 peace deal failing to quell unrest.
The Prime Minister was accorded a ceremonial welcome when he arrived at the State House. (Photo: Twitter)

Dar-es-Salaam: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday held talks with Tanzanian President John Pombe Joseph Magufuli on a wide range of issues aimed at boosting ties in the African continent, particularly in the economic sphere.

The Prime Minister was accorded a ceremonial welcome when he arrived at the State House.

"A ceremonial welcome, the East African way. PM's Tanzania engagements begin at the State House in Dar es Salaam," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted.

Read: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in Tanzania; focus on economic ties

A ceremonial welcome, the East African way. PM's Tanzania engagements begin at the State House in Dar es Salaam pic.twitter.com/vkkgb3jsSt  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 10, 2016

The Prime Minister, who arrived in Tanzania late last night on the third leg of his four-nation Africa tour, also played the drum along with the Tanzanian President for nearly one minute.

"New beats to the #IndiaAfrica rhythm! PM @narendramodi and President @MagufuliJP play the drum," Swarup said. Prime Minister Modi and President Magufuli first held restricted talks before holding delegation-level parleys.

"PM @narendramodi and President @MagufuliJP in restricted talks following the welcome," Swarup tweeted.

Talking with Tanzania. PM @narendramodi and President @MagufuliJP in restricted talks following the welcome pic.twitter.com/EyIyFpGxmm  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 10, 2016

The visit will be aimed at giving an impetus to ties with Tanzania, a valued friend in Africa, Modi had said ahead of his visit.

He will also be meeting 'Solar Mamas', a group of rural women solar engineers from Africa who have been trained under Government of India-supported programmes to fabricate, install, use, repair and maintain solar lanterns and household solar lighting systems in their villages.

He visited Mozambique and South Africa before arriving in Tanzania. He will also visit Kenya.

The focus of the African tour is on deepening cooperation in areas of hydrocarbons, maritime security, trade and investment, agriculture and food.
Washington: The Minnesota police officer whose fatal shooting of a black driver this week helped prompt nationwide protests against racial prejudice reacted to the man's gun, not his race, his lawyer has said.

Jeronimo Yanez, a police officer in St. Anthony, a Minneapolis suburb, "was reacting to the presence of a gun" when he shot Philando Castile, Minneapolis attorney Thomas Kelly told The New York Times.

Castile, 32, was shot Wednesday after he was pulled over in Falcon Heights, near Minneapolis, for a broken tail light.

Amplifying the horror was the video live-streamed in the shooting's aftermath by the slain man's girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, as she sat in the passenger seat. Her four-year-old daughter was sitting in the back seat.

Castile was shot after informing the officer that he had a gun and a permit to carry, and then reaching for his wallet, according to Reynolds.

He was the second black man in two days fatally shot by US police. They are the latest in a string of similar cases that have fuelled outrage across the United States, from city streets to the White House.

Although Kelly provided the fullest account so far of Yanez's version of the shooting on Wednesday, many details remain unclear.

Yanez, who is Latino, is on leave while the state authorities are investigating the shooting.

"The shooting had nothing to do with race and everything to do with the presence of that gun," Kelly told the Times.

Castile "was not following the directions of the police officer," he added, declining to provide more details, the paper said.

There was "more than the reason for the equipment violation" to stop Castile's car, Kelly said, without specifying other reasons, the Times said.

Governor Mark Dayton, who met with protesters and black leaders, has expressed sympathy for the Castile family and concerns about the role of race in the shooting, infuriating some in law enforcement.

"Would this have happened if those passengers - the driver and the passengers - were white?" he said Thursday. "I don't think it would've."

The fatal shooting of Castile and another black man, Alton Sterling, in Louisiana the previous day, prompted protests against police brutality toward African Americans under the banner of the Black Lives Matter movement.
It was launched from a location near the North Korean coastal town of Sinpo. (Representational Image)

Seoul: North Korea launched a ballistic missile from a submarine but it likely failed in its early stage, the latest in a string of tests that are part of efforts by the North to advance technology capable of delivering nuclear warheads, the U.S. and South Korea said.

The U.S. Strategic Command said that the missile was tracked on Saturday over the sea between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, where it apparently fell.

It was launched from a location near the North Korean coastal town of Sinpo, where analysts have previously detected efforts by the North to develop submarine-launched ballistic missile systems, said an official from Seoul's Defense Ministry, speaking on condition of anonymity because of office rules.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that it presumed the missile successfully ejected from the submarine's launch tube, but failed in its early stage of flight. South Korea's Yonhap news agency said that the missile likely flew only a few kilometers before exploding in midair, but the Defense Ministry official couldn't confirm the report.

North Korea acquiring the ability to launch missiles from submarines would be an alarming development for rivals and neighbours because missiles from submerged vessels are harder to detect in advance. While security experts say it's unlikely that North Korea possesses an operational submarine capable of firing missiles, they acknowledge that the North is making progress on such technology.

North Korea already has a considerable arsenal of land-based ballistic missiles and is believed to be advancing its efforts to miniaturize nuclear warheads mounted on missiles through nuclear and rocket tests.

U.S. Army Gen. Curtis M. Scaparrotti, NATO's top military commander, told reporters Saturday that North Korea's latest missile test represents a serious threat, both to the region and the U.S.

"With every launch, they're getting better and they're working out their problems," said Scaparrotti, who until recently commanded U.S. forces in South Korea.

North Korea last test-fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile in April, calling it as a success, that strengthened its ability to attack enemies with "dagger of destruction." The North also test-fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile on December 25, but that test was seen as a failure, the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff said. The North first claimed a successful submarine-launched missile test in May last year.

Saturday's launch came a day after U.S. and South Korean military officials said they were ready to deploy an advanced U.S. missile defense system in South Korea to cope with North Korean threats.

Seoul and Washington launched formal talks on deploying the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, after North Korea conducted a nuclear test and a long-range rocket launch earlier this year. China, Russia and North Korea all say the THAAD deployment could help U.S. radars spot missiles in their countries.

The deployment decision for THAAD was announced hours after North Korea angrily reacted to new U.S. sanctions on leader Kim Jong Un and other top officials for human rights abuses, with Pyongyang's Foreign Ministry saying such measures were tantamount to declaring war.

North Korea has already been sanctioned heavily because of its nuclear weapons program. However, the action by the Obama administration on Wednesday marked the first time Kim has been personally targeted, and also the first time that any North Korean official has been blacklisted by the U.S. Treasury in connection with reports of rights abuses.

The United States stations about 28,500 troops in South Korea as deterrence against potential aggression from North Korea.
Seoul: North Korea fired a ballistic missile from a submarine on Saturday, but it appears to have failed soon after launch, South Korea's military said. The launch comes at the end of a week of sharply rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula, and only a day after the United States (US) and South Korea pledged to deploy an advanced anti-missile system to counter threats from Pyongyang.

North Korea on Thursday warned it was planning its toughest response to what it deemed a "declaration of war" by the United States (US). The warning followed Washington's blacklisting of the isolated state's leader Kim Jong Un for alleged human rights abuses.

South Korea's Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that the missile was launched at about 11:30 a.m. Seoul time (0230 GMT) in waters east of the Korean Peninsula. The missile was likely fired from a submarine as planned, but appears to have failed in the early stage of flight, the Joint Chiefs said.

Japan, the US and South Korea's military condemned the missile launch as a flagrant violation of United Nations (UN) sanctions. South Korea's Yonhap news agency said the missile's engine successfully ignited, but the projectile soon exploded in mid-air at a height of about 10 km (6 miles), and covered not more than a few kilometres across the water.

The South's military declined to confirm those details citing its policy of not publicly commenting on intelligence matters. The missile was detected in the sea, southeast of the North Korean city of Sinpo, South Korea's military said. Satellite images indicate Pyongyang is actively trying to develop its submarine-launched ballistic missile program in this area, according to experts.

The US Strategic Command, whose mission is to detect and prevent strategic attacks against the United States and its allies, said it had detected what it believed was a KN-11 submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM).

It was fired near Sinpo, the North's east coast port, and then fell into the sea between there and Japan, the command said in a statement.

Japan condemns launch

Reclusive North Korea and the rich, democratic South are technically still at war because their 1950-53 conflict ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty. The North regularly threatens to destroy Japan, South Korea and the South's main ally, the United States.

The missile launch is a "clear challenge to UN Security Council resolutions," Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Saturday, according to the Kyodo news agency. "We should strongly condemn the launch by working with the international community," Abe told reporters, but said the launch did not gravely affect Japan's national security.

The United States said it was monitoring and assessing the situation in close coordination with its regional allies and partners. "We strongly condemn North Korea's missile test in violation of UN Security Council Resolutions, which explicitly prohibit North Korea's use of ballistic missile technology," said Gabrielle Price, spokeswoman for the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs at the U.S. State Department.

"These actions, and North Korea's continued pursuit of ballistic missile and nuclear weapons capabilities, pose a significant threat to the United States, our allies, and to the stability of the greater Asia-Pacific," she added.

The North has conducted a string of military tests that began in January with its fourth nuclear test and included the launch of a long-range rocket the following month.

The UN Security Council imposed harsh new sanctions on the country in March for its nuclear test and rocket launch. North Korea rejects the sanctions as infringement of its sovereignty and its right to space exploration.

In late June, North Korea launched what appeared to be an intermediate-range missile to a high altitude before it plunged into the sea after covering 400 km in the direction of Japan, South Korean military officials said. That was widely seen as a technological advance for the North after several test failures.

South Korea and the United States said on Friday they would deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system with the US military in South Korea to counter the threat from nuclear-armed North Korea, drawing a sharp and swift protest from neighbouring China, Pyongyang's sole major ally.

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Saturday that THAAD exceeded the security needs of the Korean Peninsula. "We have every reason, and the right, to question the real conspiracy behind this move," Wang was quoted by state news agency Xinhua as saying during a trip to Sri Lanka.

Pyongyang last conducted a test of a submarine-launched ballistic missile in April, calling it a "great success" that provided "one more means for powerful nuclear attack," although it had not had a successful SLBM test flight.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Warsaw, US Army General Curtis Scaparrotti, the top NATO commander and former commander of US forces in South Korea, said he worried about North Korea's potential to hit the continental United States with a ballistic missile. "Kim Jong Un and his regime continue to test and work on their ballistic missile capability, and with every launch they're getting better and they're working out their problems," Scaparrotti said. "It's a serious threat."

A report on 38 North, a website run by the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University, said that "even with frequent testing, North Korea's SLBM program still faces significant technical challenges and will likely require several years to deliver an operational system."
Sydney: Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Sunday declared victory for his conservative coalition in the closely fought general election after opposition Labour leader Bill Shorten conceded defeat.

Shorten called Turnbull to congratulate him and concede electoral defeat even as the vote counting was underway, according to media reports here.

"We've won the election, that's what we've done. The most important people to thank are the Australian people because we have resolved this election," Turnbull said.

"Earlier today, Bill Shorten called me and congratulated me on being re-elected as Prime Minister and I thank Bill for that call," he said.

Votes are still being counted, but the Liberal-National coalition has won?74 seats in the 150-seat House of Representatives and Labor was at?66 seats with five seats still too close to call.

The coalition needs 76 seats to claim a majority in the lower house, the House of Representatives.

"It is something we should celebrate, but not take for granted that here in Australia we settle these big political issues, we settle who sits in our parliaments, we settle who governs our country, and we do so peacefully through our democratic processes," Turnbull said.

Noting that the election was "a tough business", Turnbull welcomed Shorten's calls for "common ground" in parliament.

"I have spoken to Turnbull early this afternoon to congratulate him and Lucy, and to wish them the very best," Shorten said.

He said his party was willing to work to find "common ground" with the Government and that Australians deserved "nothing less".

"I understand we need to make this parliament function and we'll be up for that," Shorten said, adding that his Labor party would stick to its guns on key issues such as Medicare.

"I expect them to do nothing less than to keep their promises they made to the Australian people. And as I said, I wish Malcolm Turnbull well in what the future holds," he said.

Shorten said they had a mandate to stand up for Medicare to make sure schools are properly funded and to prioritise Australian jobs.

"One thing which unites Turnbull and I is our love of Australia and our huge respect for our democracy. Therefore I want to thank the Australian people," he said.

Thanking his voters, Shorten said, "I want to reassure them, that despite Labor not winning enough seats this time, that the Labour party will stick true to its core values, its and promises and beliefs".

He further said that he would write Turnbull to suggest adopting electronic voting system for the country in order to speed up "the results which should not hang in the balance for so long."
Hollande singled out Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Nusra Front as particularly standing to benefit from the US-led military campaign against its arch-rival the Islamic State (ISIS) group. (Photo: AP)

Warsaw: French President Francois Hollande has called for international action against an al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria, warning that the recent losses sustained by the Islamic State (ISIS) group could embolden other jihadist groups.

"Daesh (the Arabic acronym for Islamic State) is in retreat, that is beyond dispute," Hollande said after a meeting with the leaders of the United States (US), Germany, Britain, Italy and Ukraine on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Warsaw on Saturday. But, Hollande added, "we must also avoid a situation whereby as Daesh becomes weaker, other groups become stronger."

Hollande singled out Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Nusra Front as particularly standing to benefit from the US-led military campaign against its arch-rival the Islamic State (ISIS) group. Faced with a barrage of airstrikes and ground offensives by local forces, IS has lost territory in both Syria and Iraq in recent months. "We must coordinate among ourselves to continue actions against Daesh but also... take effective action against Al-Nusra," Hollande said, directing his appeal at Russia and the US.

On Wednesday, US President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin agreed in a telephone call to "intensify" military coordination between their two countries in Syria. Russia had in May proposed joint air strikes with the US against jihadist targets in Syria -- a suggestion that was rebuffed by Washington.

The White House reported that the two leaders, in their call this week, "confirmed their commitment to defeating ISIL (ISIS) and the Al-Nusra Front". The two groups are excluded from a broader truce brokered by Moscow and Washington in February.
London: Tony Blair's deputy as Prime Minister when Britain joined the invasion of Iraq has said he believes the war was illegal, days after a long-awaited report excoriated Britain's role in the conflict.

John Prescott, number two in the Labour government when Britain took part in the US-led invasion in 2003, made the remarks in a piece to be published in the Sunday Mirror newspaper.

On Wednesday, the Chilcot report returned a damning verdict on Britain's role in the US-led war, finding it joined the conflict before all peaceful options had been exhausted and that judgements about Iraq's capacities were "presented with a certainty that was not justified".

It also disclosed Blair had written to then US president George W Bush that "I will be with you, whatever" eight months before the invasion.

Prescott, now a member of the House of Lords, wrote: "I will live with the decision of going to war and its catastrophic consequences for the rest of my life.

"In 2004, the UN secretary-general Kofi Annan said that as regime change was the prime aim of the Iraq war, it was illegal.

"With great sadness and anger, I now believe him to be right."

Blair this week voiced "sorrow, regret and apology" over mistakes made in the conflict.

But he insisted the war was right and the world was safer without toppled Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

Current Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has apologised on behalf of the party for what he called "the disastrous decision" to go to war.

Some 150,000 Iraqi people were killed in the six years after British and American troops invaded, plunging the country into chaos and creating fertile ground for jihadist groups like the Islamic State.

A total of 179 British troops also died.
Baby Boom In China (Photo : Getty Images)

In February, a baby boy made Chinese reproductive history because at 12 years in the laboratory before he was finally born, the infant was the longest-preserved test tube baby in China. The boys mother, a 40-year-old woman from Shaanxi Province, decided to have another child when Beijing lifted the one-child policy in 2016 and allowed Chinese parents to have two children.



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Another Chinese woman broke another record on June 27 when Zhang, a 61-year-old woman from Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, gave birth through Caesarian section. In 2014, the womans first child  a 30-year-old woman  died of illness which made Zhang decided to get pregnant and give birth in her senior years.



Although she is the oldest new mother in Zhejiang and the second oldest in China, the Womens Hospital affiliated with Zhejiang Universitys School of Medicine did not publicize the event to avoid giving the impression that it is okay for women in their 50s and 60s to still give birth, noted China Daily.



Although Zhang and her son were in good condition after she was discharged on July 5, it was an extremely difficult second pregnancy  after three decades  as she bled twice and had hypertension during pregnancy and more bleeding, unstable blood pressure and anesthesia problems post-birth.



Zhu Yimin, director of the hospitals Reproductive and Endocrine Department, explained that at 35, the quality and quantity of a womans eggs decline, resulting in lower pregnancy success rate and higher risk of miscarrying the fetus or giving birth to a baby with defects. In Zhangs case, she underwent IVF to bear a child again in her retirement years.



Although experts discourage the practice, they are aware that older women whose adult or teen child dies go for a second chance to be a mother again even if it is risker, which are the unintended consequences of the countrys 30-year-old one-child policy.



Chinas National Health and Family Planning Commission estimated that 1 million families across the country are in a similar situation as Zhang, and their number is increasing by 76,000 a year. As a result, by 2012, there are 355,000 Chinese families in which the mother gave birth again at 49 or older.



Due to the practice becoming more popularity, the hospital has opened a second-child counseling clinic whose patients are women age 40 and above.



With the end of the one-child policy and introduction of the two-child policy, demand for IVF procedures is expected to rise, reported Reuters.






In Syria, the militants lost ground this year to both Russian and Iranian-backed forces supporting President Bashar al-Assad and to the U.S.-backed Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance. (Representational image)

London: Islamic State lost an area the size of Ireland - a quarter of its territory - to hostile forces in the last 18 months in Iraq and Syria and is likely to further step up attacks on civilians in coming months, IHS said in a report on Sunday.

The territory controlled by the ultra-hardline Sunni group shrank from 90,800 sq km (35,000 square miles) in January 2015, six months after it declared a caliphate in Syria and Iraq, to 68,300 sq km (26,370 square miles), the research firm said.

This has led the group to step up attacks on civilian targets in the Middle East and in Europe and this is likely to intensify, IHS said.

"As the Islamic State's caliphate shrinks and it becomes increasingly clear that its governance project is failing, the group is re-prioritizing insurgency," said Columb Strack, senior analyst at IHS and lead analyst for the IHS Conflict Monitor.

"As a result, we unfortunately expect an increase in mass casualty attacks and sabotage of economic infrastructure, across Iraq and Syria, and further afield, including Europe."

The Iraqi military's recapture of Falluja, an Islamic State stronghold just west of Baghdad, last month has led the insurgents to step up bombings on Shi'ite Muslim targets.

Nearly 300 people died when an Islamic State suicide bomber struck in a busy shopping district in Baghdad a week ago, in one of the worst such attacks by the group to date.

Islamic State lost control of the city of Ramadi at the end of last year, another key stronghold for the group which captured large swathes of Iraq in 2014. The army is now gearing up to retake Mosul, the largest city in Iraq's north and Islamic State's de facto capital.

In Syria, the militants lost ground this year to both Russian and Iranian-backed forces supporting President Bashar al-Assad and to the U.S.-backed Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance.

In February the SDF captured the town of al Shadadi, a major logistics hub for the militants, and in March Syrian and allied forces backed by Russian air strikes drove Islamic State out of the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra and surrounding areas.

An SDF advance is underway to retake areas north of Islamic State's de facto capital in Syria, Raqqa.
Barrio, who made his corrida debut in 2008 and toured rings all over the country, was pronounced dead at the scene. (Photo: YouTube screenshot)

Madrid: A Spanish bullfighter has become the first to die in the ring in three decades, after being gored in front of horrified spectators during a corrida in the eastern town of Teruel.

Victor Barrio, 29, died Saturday evening of injuries to the chest after being struck by the horn of a bull weighing over 500 kilogrammes (1,100 pounds) and tossed into the air. His death was shown during live broadcast of the event.

Other matadors rushed to the rescue, helping to distract the bull and lure him away while Barrio lay bleeding in the sand.

Barrio, who made his corrida debut in 2008 and toured rings all over the country, was pronounced dead at the scene, Tauroemocion, the organiser of the bullfight, told AFP.

His death is the first of a matador in the ring since 1985, Spanish media reported.

Spanish bullfighter Eugenio de Mora gets his trousers pierced by the horn of a Cebada Gago ranch fighting bull during a bullfight. (Photo: AP)

In the southeastern village of Pedreguer near Valencia, a 28-year-old Spaniard was killed during a bull-run, in which people risk life and limb by racing alongside specially-bred fighting bulls through narrow streets.

A bull's horn pierced his lung and heart as he was trying to help another runner during the event, in which a man was killed last year, a spokesman for the regional government said.

Many of Spain's towns hold summer festivals involving bulls, and several people die each year.

The San Fermin festival, in which bulls chase red-scarved runners through Pamplona's cobbled streets during nine days of events, attracts thousands of revellers from Spain and overseas.

Spanish bullfighter Alberto Aguilar performs with a Jose Escolar Gil's bull in the bullring during the the San Fermin Festival, in Pamplona. (Photo: AP)

In Saturday's run there, a 33-year-old Japanese man was gored in the chest and a 24-year-old Spanish man in the arm, while 12 others suffered minor injuries, the local government said on its website.

The Japanese man was in a stable condition in hospital, a spokesman for the festival said.

The four-minute run in Pamplona featured six bulls from the Jose Escolar ranch, one of which separated from the rest and caused panic among the runners.

The daily bull-run along an 825-metre stretch of narrow streets in Pamplona's old town starts at 8 a.m. (0600 GMT) and usually lasts between three and five minutes. There are eight runs in total during the festival.

Over the past century 15 people have died in Pamplona's event, which dates back hundreds of years, according to a count on the unofficial San Fermin website. The last death was recorded in 2009.
In this photo provided by Noor Punasiya, people stand by an explosion site in Medina, Saudi Arabia. (Photo: AP)

Riyadh: Nineteen people, including 12 Pakistani nationals, have been arrested in Saudi Arabia following suicide attacks on Monday, including one near Islams second-holiest site in the city of Medina, the kingdoms Interior Ministry has said.

Seven people are believed to have been killed and two wounded in the Medina attacks, at a Shiite mosque in Qatif and in western Jeddah, the economic capital, not far from the US consulate.

A 26-year-old Saudi man, Naer Moslem Hammad al-Balawi, who had a history of drug use had been identified as the perpetrator of the Medina attack, the ministry said in a statement.

Four people were killed in the Medina explosion near the Prophets Mosque, which came as Muslims prepared for this weeks Eid al-Fitr festival marking the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.

The body parts of three people were found after another suicide bombing in the Shiite-populated Gulf city of Qatif, the ministry said earlier.

Two police officers were wounded the Jeddah attack. The US embassy in Riyadh reported no casualties among consulate staff during the attack, which coincided with the US July 4 Independence Day holiday.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, the interior minister, said while visiting the wounded policemen in Jeddah that the attacks would only increase our solidarity and make us stronger.

No group has claimed responsibility for Mondays attacks so far. However, a series of bombings and shootings claimed by the Islamic State group (IS) in Saudi Arabia since late 2014 has targeted minority Shiites as well as the security forces, killing dozens.

Most attacks have taken place in Eastern Province, home to the majority of the countrys Shiites.

IS group leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has called for attacks against Saudi Arabia, which is taking part in the US-led coalition bombing the jihadists in Syria and Iraq. The group also considers Shiites to be heretics.
The photo of Journalist Marie Colvin who was killed in Syria while she was reporting from there, is seen on the wall of the Newseum during the Journalist Memorial Re-dedication ceremony of the journalists who died reporting the news in 2012 in Washington. (Photo: AP)

Beirut: The family of American journalist Marie Colvin, who died in Syria in 2012, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit in a US court, accusing the Syrian government of deliberately killing her.

Colvin and French photographer Remi Ochlik were killed in the besieged Syrian city of Homs in 2012 while reporting on the Syrian conflict, now in its sixth year.

The lawsuit, filed in Washington on Saturday and seen by Reuters, said Syrian officials deliberately targeted rockets against a makeshift broadcast studio where Colvin and other reporters were living and working.

The suit alleged the attack was part of a plan orchestrated at the highest levels of the Syrian government to silence local and international media "as part of its effort to crush political opposition".

The lawsuit included as evidence a copy of an August 2011 fax which it alleges was sent from Syria's National Security Bureau instructing security bodies to launch military and intelligence campaigns against "those who tarnish the image of Syria in foreign media and international organisations".

"This case is about carrying on Marie's work," plaintiff Cathleen Colvin, Marie Colvin's sister, said.

"We are seeking truth and justice not just for her, but for thousands of innocent Syrians tortured or killed under the Assad dictatorship," she said in a statement released by US human rights group the Center for Justice and Accountability (CJA) which filed the case for the Colvin family.

Advocacy group Reporters Without Borders said it supported the lawsuit.

The group's secretary-general, Christophe Deloire, said Reporters Without Borders "hopes these efforts will help to expose the truth, namely that these journalists were deliberately targeted and killed because they were providing information about the Syrian army's crimes against civilians."

A murder and attempted murder investigation was launched in France in 2012 into the death of Ochlik and wounding of another journalist, Edith Bouvier, in the same attack.

Reporters Without Borders, as an interested party in the case, said it will submit the Colvin family's US lawsuit to the judge in charge of the French investigation on Monday.

Colvin and Ochlik were both prize-winning reporters of wars in the Middle East, Asia and elsewhere. The Britain-based Colvin, who lost an eye while working in Sri Lanka in 2001, was working for the Sunday Times at the time of her death.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry, to whom the lawsuit was addressed, could not immediately be reached for comment.
Moscow: ISIS militants shot down a military helicopter near Palmyra in Syria, killing two Russian pilots on board, Russias defense ministry has said. The two men had been attacking a detachment of Islamic State fighters in the Homs region on Friday, when the Syrian Mi-25 helicopter they were in ran out of ammunition, the ministry said in a statement.

The turning helicopter was hit by militants gunfire from the ground and crashed in the area controlled by the Syrian government army. The crew died, it added. On Saturday, the ISIS-affiliated Amaaq news agency had reported the group had shot down a Russian aircraft. Video footage showed a helicopter being shot and crashing to the ground against cries of Its fallen, God is greatest.
Zakir Naik is accused of making 'hate speeches' on his television channel. (Photo: YouTube screenshot)

Dhaka: Bangladesh government on Sunday banned the broadcasting of India-based controversial preacher Zakir Naik's Peace TV channel after reports that his "provocative" speeches inspired some of the militants who carried out the country's worst terror attack at a cafe here.

The decision to ban the Mumbai-based preacher's 'Peace TV Bangla' was taken during a special meeting of Cabinet Committee on Law and Order, Industry Minister Amir Hossain Amu, who chaired the meeting said.

Read: Video of Zakir Naik on 'solution to rape' does rounds on social media

In the meeting, attended by senior ministers and top security officials, it was also decided to monitor the sermons given during the Friday prayers to check whether any provocative lectures are delivered, Amu told reporters.

Naik's speeches are believed to have inspired some of the Bangladeshi militants, who killed 20 people, mostly foreigners, at an upscale restaurant in Dhaka on July 1.

Read: Avoid listening to Zakir Naik, Darul Uloom Deoband tells Muslims

The government also appealed to the Imams in the country to deliver lectures in line with real Islamic ideology of denouncing terrorism and extremism, the minister said.

Besides senior ministers, the meeting was attended by chief of police and head of the elite Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), paramilitary border guards and top officials of different security agencies.

Deployment of additional security forces at export processing zone was also ordered.

Read: Zakir Naik inspired 4 Mumbai youth to join Islamic State: report

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan had yesterday said that Bangladesh's intelligence agencies were investigating the Islamic preacher Naik.

"He is on our security scanner... Our intelligence agencies are investigating his activities as his lectures appeared provocative," Khan had told PTI.

Khan said the investigators were also probing Naik's financial transactions in Bangladesh.
After the cafe terror attack, parents of 10 more youths, who have been missing for several months, have sought police help to find them. (Photo: AP)

Dhaka: The Bangladesh government on Sunday ordered all educational institutions in the country to give lists of students who have been absent for over 10 straight days following reports that some of the militants who carried out recent terror attacks joined militant groups after running away from home.

The decision to demand the lists of students was taken at a meeting of education ministry officials, chaired by Minister Nurul Islam Nahid, at the Secretariat.

The ministry later issued an order in this regard, which said the institutions will have to make the lists of the absentee students and submit them to the Upazila education officers, the bdnews reported.

The five militants who killed 22 people, including an Indian, after attacking an upscale Gulshan cafe on July 1 night and whose photos the Islamic State reportedly released, had been missing or not contacting their families for several months, their relatives have said.

The suspected attacker of Sholakia Eid gathering last Thursday, who was killed in a firefight, had also been missing since March, police said.

Four of these six youths were students of top English medium schools in Dhaka. Two of them were students of private North South University and another of BRAC University.

Security forces have also alerted parents to report their missing children.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has also asked people to inform police if any of the children in their families are missing.

After the cafe terror attack, parents of 10 more youths, who have been missing for several months, have sought police help to find them.
Protesters throwing stones on a police vehicle during a protest following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Muzaffar Wani. (Photo: PTI)

Islamabad: Pakistan has strongly condemned the deaths of 15 youth in the Kashmir violence, and claimed that solving the Jammu and Kashmir dispute is only possible through an impartial plebiscite with United Nations support.

The statement comes as the Indian security forces shot dead Hizbul Mujahideen's 21-year-old leader Burhan Muzzafar Wani, along with two of his accomplices in Kokernag area, earlier on Friday.

The statement released by Office of the Spokesperson on Sunday said the 'extrajudicial killing' of Kashmiri leader Burhan Wani and scores of other 'innocent Kashmiris' is deplorable and condemnable.

" Pakistan reiterates that the resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute is only possible by the realisation of the right to self determination of the people of Jammu and Kashmir , as per the UNSC resolutions, through a fair and impartial plebiscite under UN auspices," the statement said.

"Such acts are a violation of fundamental human rights of Kashmiris and can not deter the people of Jammu and Kashmir from their demand for the realisation of the right to self determination," it said.

Islamabad also expressed its concern over the detention of Kashmiri militants and called upon New Delhi to 'fulfil the human rights obligations' as per United Nations requirements.

"Pakistan also has serious concerns over the detention of Kashmiri leadership in Indian Occupied Kashmir and calls upon the Indian government to fulfill its human rights obligations as well as its commitments under the United Nations Security Council Resolutions," the statement said.

The Kashmir valley has been on a boil as widespread protests were carried out over Wani's killing with many separatists calling for a shutdown.
Karki is known for judgments like allowing women to pass their citizenship to their children, previously open only to men. (Photo: Supreme Court of Nepal)

Kathmandu: The appointment of Sushila Karki as Nepals first woman chief justice was on Sunday unanimously endorsed by a parliamentary panel, setting the stage for her to take charge at the Supreme Court to lead the judiciary.

The confirmation of Karkis appointment means Nepal now will have woman as its President, Speaker of Parliament and the chief justice of the Supreme Court.

The 64-year-old Karki, who has done her Masters in Political Science from Banaras Hindu University, is known for her zero-tolerance for corruption.

Speaking at the hearing by the Parliamentary Hearing Special Committee, Karki told lawmakers that the Supreme Court faces a tough time due to a shortage of judges, The Himalayan Times reported.

She asked the committee to conduct hearings for judges appointment soon. Currently, 11 nominees are awaiting the PHSC hearing for their appointment as the SC judges.

Karki was recommended for the top judicial post on April 10 this year by the Judicial Council.

Her appointment was pending because of the delay in the formation of the PHSC due to some technical reasons.

Karki is known for judgments like allowing women to pass their citizenship to their children, previously open only to men.

She took charge of the Supreme Court as the Acting Chief Justice since her predecessor Kalyan Shrestha retired on April 14.

Karki was appointed the Ad-Hoc Justice at the Supreme Court in January 2009. She was promoted as Permanent Justice in November 2010.

Karki began legal practice in March 1979.

She will head the judiciary till June 6, 2017.
New Delhi/Dhaka: Bangladesh on Sunday banned the controversial Indian Islamic preacher Zakir Naiks Peace TV, cracking down on the channel and radical sermons after reports that provocative speeches inspired some of the militants who carried out the countrys worst terror attack at a cafe here. The decision to ban the Mumbai-based preachers Peace TV Bangla was taken during a special meeting of Cabinet Committee on Law and Order, Industry Minister Amir Hossain Amu, who chaired the meeting, said.

In the meeting, attended by senior ministers and top security officials, it was also decided to monitor the sermons given during the Friday prayers to check whether any provocative lectures are delivered, Amu told reporters. Naiks speeches are believed to have inspired some of the Bangladeshi militants, who killed 22 people, mostly foreigners, at an upscale restaurant in Dhaka on July 1.

The ministry handling religious affairs will issue an advisory to imams of the countrys 300,000 masjids to come out positively in line with real Islamic ideology and denounce terrorism and extremism. We have also requested one lakh imams who are signatories against terrorism to come out openly and organise a gathering to voice their protests, Bangladeshs I&B minister Hasanul Haq Inu, who also attended the meeting, told this newspaper over the phone from Dhaka.

We will also soon issue directives to all universities to scan their records and seriously look into the matter of missing students vis-a-vis terrorism, he added, underlining the concern the missing students were generating in the country. Another major decision taken at the high-level meeting was to set up anti-terror committees at the grassroots level.

Within 10 days, anti-terror committees comprising community policemen, civilians, political representatives, etc will come up at the police thana levels all across Bangladesh, Mr Inu said. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had earlier in the day called on every school, college and university to create a list of absent students and publish it.

Bangladesh has been reeling from dozens of attacks, mainly targeting secular activists or religious minorities. We will be rigorous, Hasina said. We must uproot militancy and terrorism from Bangladesh. Three of the Dhaka attackers attended top schools and universities in the Bangladeshi capital. The revelation that the attackers were educated, well-off members of society has sparked fears that Islamism has spread far beyond disenfranchised youngsters being radicalised in madrasas.
An applicant in China scours the posted ads for job information at an employment fair in Zhengzhou, Henan Province. (Photo : Reuters)

A number of China's civil servants are leaving their secure lifelong jobs in government, known as "iron rice bowls," to seek new jobs in the private sector, China Daily reported.



According to the report, the country's civil service has lost about 12,000 civil servants in 2015, who left their jobs to join private employers willing to take in former government employees.



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Some attributed this to the anti-corruption campaign, public criticisms of government workers, the growing disparity in wages between government and private sector, and slow promotion.



Yang Xingqiao, a public servant for 10 years, told China Daily that he left the government to take a job as director of government affairs at an Internet firm, but for a different reason.



"I was very happy with a government position, but I'd love to explore something new, somewhere else, and find a better me for the next 10 years," Yang said.



A report by LinkedIn.cn said some government workers no longer look at government jobs as a lifelong career.



"Driven by social and economic reform, as well as the movement toward entrepreneurship and innovation in China, more promising job vacancies are popping up from mature private firms and multinationals," the report said.



"China's recruitment and promotion procedures for civil servants have become more meritocratic. Now civil servants are a well-educated group of people with diverse backgrounds instead of plodding, inflexible ones," the report added.



"Companies hope to improve their government relations and better understand and follow China's policies and regulations by recruiting more of China's civil servants," according to the report.



A human resource staff in a foreign-invested enterprise said that a former government employee can help a company establish itself in the Chinese market and challenge local rivals.



"We have paid much more attention to government affairs that have a direct effect on market entry, product registration and bidding," the staff member was quoted as saying. "For example, we are facing much more competition from innovative local players than before. Unhealthy government relations would put us in an adverse situation."



Most people who have experienced working in the government can teach their skills to others and they have traits that are common with their private-sector counterparts, Wang Yixin, a senior consultant at human resources website Zhaopin, said.


Two Indian men have been detained by Chinese police for allegedly trying to molest a Taiwanese tourist in the lift of a hotel here.





The two men, hailing from Haryana and stated to be part of a group of traders brought here by a tea company from India, allegedly attempted to molest the Taiwanese tourist on July 7 in the lift, officials said.



Acting on the complaint from the woman, police detained the two men, aged around 28 and 50 years, and questioned them by showing the footage of the CCTV camera in the lift.



In the video, they were purportedly seen first taking photographs with her and later pulling her inside the lift as she was getting out after the lift reached the lobby, the officials said.



While the older man pulled her into the lift, his younger friend closed the lift's door and took it to the 10th floor where they were staying.



During this time, the older man was purportedly seen trying to molest her while the woman made desperate attempts to resist.



As the lift came down she was seen rushing out and the two men also went to lobby.

Later, Beijing Police came looking for the two and took them into custody.



The Indian Embassy was expected to be officially informed tomorrow of their detention at a police centre in the outskirts.



The two men were detained till July 14 and it is not yet clear whether they will be released after that and allowed to leave the country, officials sources said.


A day after United Spirits disclosed Rs 1,225 crore fund diversion by the erstwhile promoters to entities linked to Vijay Mallya, the embattled businessman today said all transactions were "legal and above board" and the company was now making "unfounded allegations".





He said that Diageo, to whom Mallya-led UB Group had sold majority control in United Spirits Ltd (USL) in 2013, had conducted an extensive due diligence before buying the shares and it was "surprising and unfortunate" that these allegations were being made now.



"I have absolutely no knowledge about this purported enquiry by E+Y nor the suggested allegations. Surprisingly neither USL nor E+Y have given me any details of the allegations or any opportunity to respond," Mallya said in an emailed statement sent though his public relations manager.



"I can only reiterate that all transactions were legal, above board and approved by USL Auditors, the USL Board and shareholders. Over and above this Diageo conducted an extensive due diligence on USL prior to acquiring shares. It is surprising and unfortunate that unfounded allegations are now being made without any reference to me whatsoever," he said.



In a stock exchange filing yesterday, USL had disclosed fund diversion and improper transactions worth Rs 1,225.3 crore involving entities linked to Mallya, including Kingfisher Airlines and his Formula One team.



The company also made it clear that the earlier settlement reached with the Indian businessman would not absolve him of the claims arising out of the latest findings of an internal 'Additional Inquiry'.



While USL did not name 'E+Y' among those that conducted the enquiry, it said that the company's CEO had engaged "independent experts with specialised forensic skills" to assist in the inquiry and provide inputs and expert advice.





Mallya, who has been in the UK for months evading an arrest warrant in India while several banks have declared him 'wilful defaulter' for non-payment of dues worth over Rs 9,000 crore by his now-defunct Kingfisher, had struck a settlement with USL in February.





Under the 'sweetheart deal', he was promised an over Rs 500-crore payout to leave the company and was also absolved of any 'personal liability' at that time.





As per USL's statement, its Board yesterday discussed findings of the 'additional inquiry' it had ordered to plug gaps found in an initial probe launched in April 2015 that showed improprieties in loans worth Rs 1,337 crore given by USL to the entities linked to Mallya.





"The additional inquiry prima facie reveals further instances of actual or potential fund diversions amounting to approximately Rs 913.5 crore (using exchange rate as on March 31, 2015) as well as other potentially improper transaction involved USL and its Indian and overseas subsidiaries amounting approximately Rs 311.8 crore," USL said.





The transactions occurred during the review period covered by the additional inquiry -- from October 2010 to July 2014 -- although certain transactions appear to have been initiated in years prior to the review period, it added.





USL said it will be reporting the findings of its additional inquiry spearheaded by its Managing Director and CEO Anand Kripalu to concerned authorities for further action.





An USL spokesperson said the findings of the additional inquiry relate to "historical matters before Diageo consolidated the USL business in July 2014" and ruled out any further financial burden to the company.





Mallya is currently wanted in India and is facing charges of money laundering.





Last month the Enforcement Directorate had attached assets worth Rs 1,411 crore belonging to Mallya and one of his companies in connection with its money laundering probe in the the alleged IDBI bank loan default case.





His passport has been revoked by the Indian government. He has been indicating against any imminent return to India in the wake of various legal and regulatory troubles.






With the arrest of three men and subsequent digging out of a Delhi-based contractors body from a field in Uttar Pradeshs Hapur district, the police claimed to have solved the mans murder cum abduction case.



The deceased is identified as Faimuddin (45), while the arrested are Safal (25), Deepak Kumar Kasna (25) and Vipin (23).



According to the police, a builder Safal had given a contract to Faimuddin to put soil for the foundation of a building plot where Safal was about to start construction of a house.



Safal agreed to pay Rs 80,000 to Faimuddin once the job is done and gave him Rs 10,000 as advance, the police said.



Faimuddin put six-seven trolleys of soil in the plot after which he stopped putting soil in it. When Safal asked him for the reason, Faimuddin asked for rest of the money, said a police officer.



A miffed Safal asked Faimuddin to come to a godown near Loni to collect his payment.



At Loni, Safal and his cousin Deepak thrashed Faimuddin following which he fainted. Fearing that Faimuddin had died they took him to Hapur and buried his body there, the police officer added.



On June 29, a missing complaint was registered by Faimuddins brother at North East Delhis Welcome police station.



During investigation, the police came to know that Safal had come at his house on the morning of June 28 and was asking for Faimuddin. He then spoke to Faimuddin on phone and since then Faimuddin was not seen, said the police.



Following the revealation, the police raided Safals house but he was not present there. Later it came to know that Safal and Deepak were arrested in a case of illegal arms in Uttar Pradeshs Pilakhua.



On June 30, the police reached Pilkhua and Safals Alto car was examined by a team of FSL (forensic science laboratory) Rohini.



During the preliminary test of the car, human blood was found on the mat of the cars trunk and seat cover. The FSL team also found Faimuddins Aadhar card from the car, said a police officer.



Following the findings, Safal and Deepak were interrogated and arrested at Dasna Jail, where they confessed that they had beaten Faimuddin and when he fainted they tied his limbs and buried him alive in a field.



A co-accused Vipin, who was involved in the murder, was also arrested. Vipin took the police to the place where Faimuddins body was buried.
Seeking to enhance its ties with resource-rich Tanzania, India today extended its full support to it to meet its development needs and signed five agreements, including one for providing a Line of Credit of USD 92 million in the water resources sector.





Describing India as a trusted partner in meeting Tanzania's development priorities, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he along with President John Pombe Joseph Magufuli "agreed to deepen our overall defence and security partnership, especially in the maritime domain".



"Our in-depth discussions on regional and global issues reflected our considerable convergence on issues of common interest and concern," he said.



"India's cooperation with Tanzania will always be as per your needs and priorities," Modi said at a joint press interaction after his bilateral meeting with President Magufuli.



The two sides signed an agreement under which India will provide a Line of Credit of USD 92 million for rehabilitation and improvement of Zanzibar's water supply system.



Other agreements signed include an MoU on water resource management and development, MoU for establishment of vocational training centre at Zanzibar, MoU on visa waiver for diplomatic/official passport holders and an agreement between National Small Industries Corporation of India and Small Industries Development Organisation Tanzania.



Prime Minister said the two countries are also working on a number of other water projects for 17 cities in Tanzania. "For this India is willing to consider an additional USD 500 million line of concessional credit," he said.



Describing Public Health as another important area of bilateral engagement, Modi said India is ready to meet the healthcare priorities of the Tanzanian government, including of supply of medicines and equipment.



"I am told that an Indian radio-therapy machine is being installed at Bugando medical centre to treat cancer patients," he said.



He said during his meeting with President Magufuli, they detailed discussions on the full spectrum of bilateral partnership.



"Our focus was to shape an action oriented agenda of cooperation, so that we talk less of potential and more of achievements on the ground. We agreed that our common desire of economic prosperity for our societies is creating new opportunities for expanding our cooperation," he said.



To achieve this, the two nations agreed to deepen partnership in agriculture and food security, including through enhanced export of pulses from Tanzania to India.They also decided to work together in development and use of natural gas.



India agreed to partner Tanzania in building of industrial economy, capacities and institutions.



The two leaders also decided to deepen bilateral trade and investment partnership by encouraging greater industry to industry ties.



India is already a substantial economic partner of Tanzania. The whole range of our economic ties are healthy and on upswing. Two way annual trade stands at around USD 3 billion. Indian investments in Tanzania already total around USD 3 billion.



"The Eastern coast of Africa, and Tanzania in particular have enjoyed strong links with the India. We are old maritime neighbours. Together, our leaders and our people have fought colonialism and racial oppression," Modi said.



"Our merchants have traded since early nineteenth century. And, the vast stretch of Indian Ocean has kept our societies and our people connected.



"President Magufuli has a vision for nation building, development and industrialisation  a vision that is my dream for India too," he said.



As a developing country, Modi said India understands the need and urgency to improve the lives of our people.



"In this regard, the completion of 100 million dollar water supply augmentation project for Dar es Salaam is a good achievement," he said.



Education, vocational training and skill development are other areas of your priority and where India is willing to offer all possible assistance.



"I also understand that the IT Resource Centre at the Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science & Technology, Arusha is close to completion," he said.



The two leader agreed to work closely, bilaterally, regionally and globally, to combat the twin threats of terrorism and climate change.



On climate change, he said India had led the efforts to form an International Solar Alliance at climate conference in Paris.



"In this Alliance, which has the support of over 120 countries, we welcome Tanzania as a crucial partner," Modi said.



He also invited President Magufuli to visit India at the earliest possible opportunity.Earlier, the Prime Minister was accorded a ceremonial welcome when he arrived at the State House in Dar-es-Salaam.



He arrived here late last night on the third leg of his four-nation Africa tour.
In mounting troubles for embattled Vijay Mallya, markets regulator Sebi has stepped up its probe into alleged fund diversion from his erstwhile listed group firms to other entities, including some abroad and his various sport ventures.





With the latest disclosures taking total suspected fund diversion at United Spirits alone to over Rs 2,500 crore, Sebi is also referring to the matter for further action by other agencies including SFIO (Serious Fraud Investigation Office) under the Corporate Affairs Ministry, a top official said.



"We have taken note of the latest disclosure by USL and have begun looking into suspected violation of various securities market regulations including those relating to related party transactions, corporate governance and diversion of funds by promoters and top management," he said.



"Also under the scanner are Mallya's close confidantes and others who were at senior levels at various listed companies of the group, as also some former auditors at certain group firms," the official said.



Action is already underway for violation of listing agreement by some group companies, he added.



The matter of fund diversion would also need to be looked into by SFIO, while ED would also come into the picture as the funds are suspected to have been diverted to entities abroad, the official said, adding that necessary assistance would be sought from foreign regulators including in the UK and the US, where his overseas brewery firms and other ventures are based.



Mallya and his group firms are already facing a probe by Enforcement Directorate for alleged diversion of loans taken by long-grounded Kingfisher Airlines.



Sebi has also received complaints about the alleged use of overseas instruments in violation of norms for movement of funds and the matter is being separately looked into.



In a statement, Mallya denied any wrongdoing as alleged by USL, in which he had sold the controlling stake to UK-based liquor giant Diageo in 2013 in a multi-billion dollar deal, and said all the transactions were 'legal and above board'.



Serving a fresh blow to Mallya, USL yesterday disclosed fund diversion and improper transactions worth Rs 1,225.3 crore involving entities linked to the former Chairman, including Kingfisher Airlines and his Formula One team.



The company also made it clear that the earlier settlement reached with the Indian businessman would not absolve him of the claims arising out of the latest findings of an internal 'Additional Inquiry'.



Mallya, who has been in UK for months evading an arrest warrant in India while several banks have declared him 'wilful defaulter' for non-payment of dues worth over Rs 9,000 crore by his now-defunct Kingfisher, had struck a settlement with USL in February. Under the 'sweetheart deal', he was promised an over Rs 500-crore payout to leave the company and was also absolved of any 'personal liability' at that time.



USL Board had ordered an 'additional inquiry' to plug gaps found in an initial probe launched in April 2015 that showed improprieties in loans worth Rs 1,337 crore given by USL to the entities linked to its erstwhile promoters.



"The additional inquiry prima facie reveals further instances of actual or potential fund diversions amounting to approximately Rs 913.5 crore (using exchange rate as on March 31, 2015) as well as other potentially improper transaction involved USL and its Indian and overseas subsidiaries amounting approximately Rs 311.8 crore," USL said.



The transactions occurred during the review period covered by the additional inquiry -- from October 2010 to July 2014 -- although certain transactions appear to have been initiated in years prior to the review period, USL said.



"These improper transactions identified in the additional inquiry involved, in most cases, the diversion of fund to overseas and Indian entities that appear to be affiliated or associated with USL's former non-executive Chairman, Dr Vijay Mallya," the USL filing said.



The company said its mutual release agreement with Mallya in February this year, under which Diageo agreed to pay him USD 75 million dollars, will not cover the matters arising out of the 'additional inquiry'.



"The USL Board has directed the management to pursue recovery from the relevant companies and individuals and undertake any action, including legal and regulatory as deemed necessary. It should be noted that the February 2016 agreement did not release the former Chairman from any claims arising out of the additional inquiry," a USL spokesperson said.



USL said the overseas beneficiary or recipients of the diverted funds include entities such as Force India Formula One, Watson Ltd, Continental Administrative Services, Modall Securities Ltd, Ultra Dynamics Ltd and Lombard Wall Corporate Service Inc "in each of which Dr Mallya appears to have a material, direct and indirect interests".



The Indian beneficiaries or recipients of the funds identified by the additional inquiry included, in most cases, Kingfisher Airlines (KFA), USL said.USL said it will be reporting the findings of its additional inquiry spearheaded by its Managing Director and CEO Anand Kripalu to concerned authorities for further action.



The Board has also directed its MD and CEO to take appropriate action in relating to the employees named in the Additional Inquiry, while a further review would be conducted of the "ongoing relationships with the counter-parties involved in the improper transactions indemnified by the Additional Inquiry".



Last month the Enforcement Directorate had attached assets worth Rs 1,411 crore belonging to Mallya and one of his companies in connection with its money laundering probe in the the alleged IDBI bank loan default case.



Mallya is currently in the UK after leaving India in March this year. His passport has been revoked by Indian government. He has been indicating against any imminent return in the wake of various legal and regulatory troubles.



Refuting the charges by USL, Mallya said Diageo had conducted an extensive due diligence before buying the shares and it was "surprising and unfortunate" that these allegations were being made now.



"I have absolutely no knowledge about this purported enquiry by E+Y nor the suggested allegations. Surprisingly neither USL nor E+Y have given me any details of the allegations or any opportunity to respond," he said.



"I can only reiterate that all transactions were legal, above board and approved by USL auditors, the USL Board and shareholders. Over and above this Diageo conducted an extensive due diligence on USL prior to acquiring shares. It is surprising and unfortunate that unfounded allegations are now being made without any reference to me whatsoever," he said.



While USL did not name 'E+Y' among those that conducted the enquiry, it said that the company's CEO had engaged "independent experts with specialised forensic skills" to assist in the inquiry and provide inputs and expert advice.


Prime Minister Narendra Modi today interacted with 'Solar Mamas', a group of nearly 30 rural women solar engineers from six African countries who have been trained under India's developmental support for harnessing solar energy.





"Celebrating the Solar Mamas!PM interacts with women trained in vocational skills under India's developmental support," Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted.



The 'Solar Mamas', who come from across Africa, are trained at Barefoot college in Rajasthan's Tilonia village or the centre in Tanzania.



Modi interacted with each woman who have been trained to fabricate, install, use, repair and maintain solar lanterns and household solar lighting systems in their villages.



The group of about 30 'Solar Mamas' from Tanzania and a few other African countries demonstrated their skills in fabrication, repair and maintenance of solar lanterns and household lighting system in presence of the Prime Minister.



They also presented their honey-extraction and stitching practices and sung a song "we shall overcome".



The presentation was also attended by the Deputy Foreign Minister of Tanzania Dr Susan A Kolimba and Zanzibar Minister of Land, Housing, Water and Energy, Salama Aboud Talib.



Modi, who arrived here in Tanzania yesterday as part of his four-nation Africa tour aimed at enhancing ties with the continent, particularly in the economic sphere, posed for photographs with 'Solar Mamas' following the interaction.



The women are also trained in solar electrification and other entrepreneurial skills such as bee-keeping and tailoring.



Under Government of India-supported programmes, the college in Rajasthan has been promoting and training rural women solar engineers from Africa in household solar lighting systems.



A barefoot women vocational training college in Zanzibar Islands of Tanzania and other countries in Africa has also been setup for imparting solar electrification skills and distributing solar kits.



These colleges also support various entrepreneurial skills such a bee-keeping and tailoring among others.



The barefoot trained solar mamas have fabricated and installed solar kits, and now maintain on self-sufficient basis these solar electrification systems in their communities.




A Delhi court today sent Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's former Principal Secretary Rajendra Kumar and six others, arrested in an alleged corruption case, to one day's judicial custody (JC).





The order was passed by Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Shunali Gupta.Kumar, a 1989 batch IAS oficer from the UT cadre, Deputy Secretary in Kejriwal's office Tarun Sharma, Kumar's close aide Ashok Kumar and owners of a private firm, Sandeep Kumar and Dinesh Kumar Gupta, arrested in the case, were remanded in JC till tomorrow.



It also sent R S Kaushik and his predecessor G K Nanda, present and former Managing Directors of a PSU respectively, to JC till tomorrow, asking all the seven accused to be produced before the special CBI court tomorrow which will consider the agency's plea for their police remand.



"Earlier, the police custody order for five accused was passed by the designated CBI court. The application for the extension of their police custody and another application for the police custody of two accused who were arrested yesterday will be considered the designated court itself.



"Meanwhile, all the seven accused be sent to one day's judicial custody," the court said.



CBI has alleged in court that Kumar, an "influential" officer, was intimidating witnesses.



According to CBI, the five accused arrested earlier were showing undue favours to Endeavour Systems Pvt Ltd (ESPL), a private firm allegedly floated by Kumar, in award of government contracts worth over Rs 50 crore.



CBI had registered a case against Kumar and others in December last year alleging that the officer had abused his official position by "favouring a particular firm in the last few years in getting tenders of Delhi government departments".



Kaushik and Nanda, present and former Managing Directors of Intelligent Communication Systems India Ltd (ICSIL), a Delhi government undertaking which is a joint venture of Telecommunication Consultants India Ltd (TCIL) and Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation, were arrested as they were allegedly evasive during their questioning.



CBI has also claimed that the duo had been intimidating some of the officers whom the agency had been calling for questioning in the case During the hearing, CBI moved an application for further police remand of three days' for the five accused arrested earlier and a separate plea seeking three days' police custody of the two accused arrested yesterday.



In the application, CBI submitted that their custody was required as it wanted to confront the accused arrested earlier with those nabbed yesterday.



The accused have been charged with sections 120-B of IPC (criminal conspiracy), and provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act relating to criminal misconduct for allegedly favouring Endeavour Systems Pvt Ltd in bagging of five contracts.



CBI has alleged that the accused persons had entered into a criminal conspiracy and caused a loss of Rs 12 crore to the Delhi government in award of contracts between 2007 and 2015, and claimed that the officials had taken "undue benefit" of over Rs three crore while awarding the contracts.



This is the same case in which the agency had come under scathing criticism from court which directed it to return the documents sought by the Delhi government seized during December 15, 2015 search of Kejriwal's office.



The arrest of the top state government official had triggered a political storm with the Delhi government accusing the Centre of indulging in "political vendetta" and "paralysing" governance.




Al-Qaida's media arm has released an audio in which the purported son of the late al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden threatens revenge against the US for assassinating his father.



In the video released by As-Sahab yesterday, Hamza bin Laden tells Americans that they are accountable for the decisions of their leaders. He says al-Qaida will continue waging jihad, or holy war, against the US in response to its "oppression" of Muslims.



"If you think that your sinful crime that you committed in Abbottabad has passed without punishment, then you thought wrong," he says.



Bin Laden was killed in a May 2011 US raid at his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. His son's whereabouts is not known. Analysts speculate that he may be preparing to take over leadership of al-Qaida.
Foreign Companies Now Allowed to Invest in Chinas A-Share Markets, Says State Regulator

An investor watches the electronic board at a stock exchange hall on June 24, 2013, in Huaibei, China. (Photo : Getty Images)

China Securities and Regulatory Commission (CSRC) has announced that the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (SED), which was held in Beijing in June, confirmed that qualified foreign and joint-venture companies in the country can now be registered as private securities firms with the Asset Management Association of China (AMAC), China Daily posted on Friday.



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With the announcement, overseas companies registered as private securities firms can avail of licenses to invest in the Chinese stock markets, the report said.



"The new move can attract more excellent asset management institutions from abroad to enter the Chinese market and thus diversify participants in the capital market," said CSRC spokesman Zhang Xiaojun. "It also deepens the opening up of the Chinese capital market."



AMAC said that qualified companies who wish to register as private securities firms should be set up in China and that their foreign shareholders should be approved by financial regulators in their respective countries or regions.



Jackson Lee, a spokesman of the Beijing office of the global asset management company Fidelity International, welcomed the announcement.



Fidelity established an office in Shanghai in October the previous year to complement its initiatives in China.



"We are pleased to hear this piece of good news and would like to increase investment exposure in China," Lee said. "We will follow the policy and have close communications with regulators."



Liu Shiwei, a partner of Shanghai Yuelu Investment, said individual investors make up a huge portion of China's stock market, so it is very important to increase the proportion of investors.



"It also creates a healthy competitive environment in China's capital market," said Liu. "Many foreign private securities firms have good investment ideas and strategies and risk control capabilities, so domestic partners can have closer communication and cooperation with them."



During the SED, the Chinese government made a commitment to gradually increase the shareholding proportion of qualified foreign financial institutions in securities firms and asset management companies.



As of May this year, there are 10,769 private securities firms registered with AMAC with 2.2 trillion yuan ($330.4 billion) under management, according to data from the association.


Pankaja Munde's apparent unhappiness over being divested of the important water conservation portfolio today spilled onto the social media while her supporters burnt an effigy of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in Ahmednagar district.





Soon after news of her being relieved from the water conservation portfolio became public, a peeved Munde took to Twitter to announce that she was to reach Singapore to attend a global water leader summit on Monday but won't do so as she was no longer the minister of that department.



Fadnavis, who is out of country on an official tour, responded on Twitter, saying she must attend the event.



"As a senior minister, you (Munde) would be representing the government of Maharashtra," Fadnavis said.



After the reshuffle in the Council of Ministers on Friday, Munde has been left with the portfolios of Woman and Child Welfare and Rural Development.



Munde's supporters, mostly BJYM's activists, today staged a protest in Ahmednagar district and shouted slogans against Fadnavis.



Earlier, as the water conservation minister, Munde had courted controversy in April by posting a selfie online during a visit to drought-affected Latur. Congress had then accused her of gross insensitivity.

Meanwhile, the opposition lost no time to latch on to the online exchange between the CM and his minister to take a dig at BJP.



"Signs of BJP inner party democracy pouring out on streets! Pankaja Munde supporters burn effigy of CM," Congress MLC Sanjay Dutt said.
President Barack Obama called today for greater tolerance, respect and understanding from police officers toward the people they take an oath to protect as well as from individuals who think the police are too heavy handed and intolerant, particularly toward people of colour.



"I'd like all sides to listen to each other," Obama said as he answered a reporter's question after meeting with Spain's acting prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, during his shortened first visit to Spain as president.



It was the fourth straight day that Obama has commented on a series of distressing events back home: the fatal shootings by police of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota, and a sniper attack that killed five police officers and wounded seven in Dallas.



He said violence against police by anyone concerned about fairness in the criminal justice system does "a disservice to the cause."



He repeated that the vast majority of US police officers are doing a good job, but said rhetoric that fails to recognize that will do little to rally allies to support efforts to change a system that is broadly recognized as being biased against minorities.



"Maintaining a truthful and serious and respectful tone is going to help mobilize American society to bring about real change," Obama said.



The president also called for balance from law enforcement. "I would hope that police organizations are also respectful of the frustrations that people in these communities feel and not just dismiss these protests and these complaints as political correctness," he said.



"It is in the interest of police officers that their communities trust them," Obama said.
Six cats and four dogs now have a place to call home, thanks to an adoption drive held by Chennai-based NGO People for Cattle in India (PFCI) on Sunday.





This was the second edition of the drive, Bengaluru opts to adopt, in which injured and abandoned canines and felines which have been rescued were put up for adoption. This year, the drive was a tribute to the LGBTQ community.



The shooting at the gay club in Orlando was condemnable. Since we cant go there, we decided to dedicate this to the LGBTQ community to show our support. said Ritika Goel, who organised the event.



When people think of having a pet, they usually look at breeds and pay huge sums to buy them. Our aim is to encourage people to adopt stray dogs and cats instead.



Palm-sized puppies and grown dogs, brown and grey kittens were the centre of attention at the event as animal lovers crowded around them to pet and cuddle them.



Akkai Padmashali, an LGBTQ activist who keeps dogs at home, said, These stray cats and dogs are voiceless beings who arent getting love and affection. Its something we transgenders can relate to.



The Indian Salsa Princess, Sneha Kapoor, who is a brand ambassador for the campaign, said, I have grown up around cats, dogs, ducks, geese and all kinds of creatures. So I feel very strongly for this cause.



Holding her new puppy Poppins in her arms, Shelly Ghosh said, I decided to adopt him when he looked at me and wagged his tail. My dog, Waggy, who is very possessive of me, approved surprisingly. Her husband, Kalyan Ghosh, said, The dog chooses you. Its not the other way around.



Adopting puppies is serious business. The parent is required to fill a form and needs to have prior experience with pets. The PFCI even does an inspection later to ensure that the pets are being treated well. If they find that the pet is being mistreated, they take them back.



The parents all got a bag of goodies for their new pet, as a gesture of gratitude. Shenella DNetto has been foster parent to 72 cats in the past three years, giving them up for adoption after rescuing them. Of the four kittens she brought to the event, two have found new homes. I found the pregnant mother stranded in a drain. I took her home and two weeks later she gave birth.



The two cats and 18 dogs who have not yet found a home will be going back to their foster homes.
The film Kempammana Court Case - a Canadian Kannada production - that will be released in the state next week, premiered in the city on Sunday, to mark the launch of the Kannada Film Commission (KFC).





Directed by actor-turned-director Cudavalli Chandrashekhar, the movie is shot in Ramanagaram and Bengaluru. It revolves around the concept of Justice delayed is justice denied and is based on Kannada writer Sunder Rajs short story. The film, already premiered in Toronto and Ottawa, was appreciated by the audience.



The KFC, which is part of the Karnataka Region Economic and Trade Office (KRETO), will strive to provide a global platform to Kannada films.



The consul generals of Canada, UK, Israel, Rwanda, Macedonia, Ivory Coast, Suriname, Estonia and Slovenia watched the movie, along with Kannada filmmakers and members of the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce and Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy.



As part of the initiative of KFC and KRETO, we will screen one Kannada movie every month at Chamundi Studios on Cunningham Road. We will invite foreign delegates to watch them. The response to Sundays screening has been good and a few consul generals have expressed interest in screening Kannada movies in their respective countries, said KRETO executive director Asif Iqbal.
As Tamil Nadu is in a position to sell about 1,000 MW surplus wind power to other states, Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa urged the Centre to set up a dedicated inter-state green energy corridor for the purpose.





Tamil Nadu, with an installed capacity of 7,600 MW of wind power, contributes about 27% of the countrys total installed wind capacity. In addition, there is an installed capacity of 1,142 MW of solar power.



Stating that Tamil Nadu has already met its Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO), Jayalalithaa, in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, pointed out that many states in India, who are unable to meet the RPO, are now approaching the state for assistance.



To facilitate the sale of surplus wind power to the states in need of renewable energy, it is important that a dedicated interstate green energy corridor is established so that the surplus wind energy from Tamil Nadu can be successfully evacuated and sold to other states, she said.



Jayalalithaa also asked Modi to instruct the Ministry of Power to speed up the process of establishing the green energy corridor. She said that the states goal is to add a further 4,500 MW of wind power and 5,000 MW of solar power over the next five years.
On the occasion of the World Population Day on July 11, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has recommended more investments on Indian teenage girls.





While acknowledging the improvement in several key development indicators, the UN agency sees impediments that are limiting adolescent girls from achieving their full potential.



Adolescents form 21% of Indias population, of which adolescent girls constitute 48% (115 million). Despite improvements on several key development indicators, there are still issues which limit adolescents, especially adolescent girls, from achieving their full potential, says UNFPA on the Indian situation in the context of World Population Day theme, Investing in Teenage Girls.



Around 14% of girls aged 15-19 years are illiterate, and 73% never get to complete more than 10 years of school. A third of the worlds child brides are in India, with about half of them having married before they turned 18, says the agency.
In a move that might bring in lot of opposition from the different Naga tribes, Nagaland is contemplating a ban on dog meat, a local delicacy.





Although the state Cabinet is yet to give its final approval to this landmark decision, highly places sources in the state administration have indicated that municipal and urban government bodies have been asked to sensitise the local markets about the likely move and start the process towards a carpet ban. The Nagaland government has been discussing this idea after it received a legal notice from an advocate from Assam, N M Kapadia.



The advocate, in his notice, argued that dog meat was openly sold as food, just as chicken and mutton, while all the parts of a dogs body are used as food under the impression that it contains iron and has medicinal value.



On receiving the legal notice, the state government convened a high-level meeting and arrived at a decision that while the matter would be placed in the state Cabinet, efforts will be made to ban selling of dog meat in the markets. The chief secretarys office has issued a directive to all the urban local bodies (ULBs) of the state, sources added.



The municipal affairs department has been asked to give wide publicity to treat animals with care and love, sources further added.



In Nagaland, dog meat is in high demand, so much so that illegal dog trafficking rackets work in the state. Dog meat goes for Rs 300 per kg and is a must in any traditional occasion among the Naga tribes.
Chinas PSBC Plans $10B IPO as It Aims for Online Financial Services Boom

Customers leave a branch of Postal Savings Bank of China in Wuhan, Hebei Province. (Photo : Reuters)

State-owned Postal Savings Bank of China (PSBC) is planning to make an up-to $10-billion initial public offering (IPO) as part of its effort to join and compete in the digital world, with assistance from its investors Ant Financial and Tencent Holdings.



Reuters reported that PSBC will work with Tencent and Ant Financial as it plans to offer several Internet-based consumer finance services.



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The bank also said in its IPO prospectus released recently that it will work with Ant and Tencent's WeBank in Internet and mobile finance. It also plans to set up a mobile payment system and develop mobile phone-based services.



The report said that both Ant and Tencent became shareholders in PSBC during the bank's $7 billion pre-IPO investment round late last year.



A source privy to the matter told Reuters that PSBC hopes to leverage on its network of 40,000 branches and its low number of bad loans to back the development of its online financial services.



"Because it's so clean and there's the advent of the new economy that they can leverage, this will be one of the big surprises of the year," the source was quoted as saying.



According to the PSBC prospectus, its plan to offer personal loans and wealth management products online and on mobile is facing challenges.



"If we are unable to successfully respond to these challenges, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected," the document said.



Currently, PSBC is offering technology-based services that include online loan applications, self-service banking, status checking of credit card applications and online inquiries about branches.



The report said that PSBC's plans came as several Chinese companies are trying to get into the country's booming online finance market to offer their financial products via the Internet and mobile devices.



The move is expected to help banks tap on clients, especially those in the rural areas who have no access to online banking services.


DySP M K Ganapathis wife, sons and relatives staged a protest in front of the Kushalnagar Rural police station on Sunday night after the police refused to file an FIR against Bengaluru Development Minister K J George and two senior IPS officers.





The protest was staged minutes after Ganapathis wife and sonsPavana, Nehal and Sohilfiled a six-page complaint against George, ADGP (Intelligence) A M Prasad and IGP (Lokayukta) Pronab Mohanty.



In the complaint, Nehal and Sohil have said that the statements made by their father before committing suicide were true and sought three separate FIRs against the trio.



Our father took the extreme step following the harassment by the trio and the police are trying to destroy the evidence, they stated in the complaint and sought justice to them, as well as their mother.



Pavana stated that George and the two IPS officers were harassing her husband after the 2008 Mangaluru church attack incident. Whatever Ganapathi said before the media is true and action should be initiated against the trio, she stated in the complaint.



The police, however, told Ganapathis kin that since the sub-inspector was not present, and as a complaint has already been filed in Madikeri police station, which is now being probed by CID, another FIR is not possible. The police also told Ganapathis kin that they would hand over a copy of the complaint to CID officials.



An enraged Pavana and her sons then staged a protest and shouted slogans against the government as well as George. JD(S) working president Sanketh Poovaiah and Ganapathis brother M K Machaiah, were present, along with others.
The draft of the new education policy released by the Ministry of Human Resources Development last month has hinted at limiting the no-detention policy in schools to class 5, from class 8.



The implications of such a measure in Karnataka are bound to be far-reaching as it has ardently supported the no-detention policy ensured by the provisions of the RTE Act.



Ajay Seth, principal secretary, Department of Primary and Secondary Education, has said that the new measure, once implemented, may not be very different from the previous one, in that it talks about the need for remedial instruction for weak students.



A child who is weak in class should be identified and brought on a par with others. The recommendations in the draft have their own aims. However, a right approach will make sure that quality education remains available, he said.



Emphasis on quality

Seth said that instead of concentrating on limiting the no-detention policy, emphasis should be on the quality of education.



The draft says that the present provisions of no-detention policy will be amended, as it has seriously affected the academic performance of students.



This is a sentiment that has been commonly echoed by many. Among them is a primary school teacher from a government school in Koppal.



Students do not concentrate on their studies as they know they will pass. We see the results after class 8. Many of my own students are not able to even read properly. It is a pathetic condition. Teachers, instead of being able to concentrate on teaching, are given responsibilities like mid-day meals and what not, he said.



Scapegoats

The new recommendations have, however, rattled supporters of the present policy. V P Niranjan Aradhya, Fellow at the Centre for Child and the Law, National Law School of India University, is of the opinion that the entire debate has shifted from quality of education to ability of the students.



Why are children not learning and performing well? There are numerous problems, lack of good teachers and infrastructure to name a few. One cannot make students the scapegoat for such systemic failures, he said.




The Centre has banned imposition of discriminatory rules against women students, like dress code, on the pretext of their safety in higher educational institutions.





In a new set of regulations for dealing with cases of sexual harassment of women students and employees on campuses, the Centre has also restricted all higher educational institutions from imposing two different sets of hostel rules for men and women students.



The provisions, recently notified by the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), separately, are binding on the universities and colleges affiliated to the two regulatory bodies. Any violation of the regulations may lead to withdrawal of recognition granted by the two bodies.



Concern for the safety of women students must not be cited to impose discriminatory rules for women in hostels as compared to male students. Campus safety policies should not result in securitisation, such as over monitoring or policing or curtailing the freedom of movement, especially for women employees and students (sic), stipulates UGC and AICTE regulations.



The regulations providing restriction on over monitoring and policing of women students and employees in university and college campuses assumes significance as several higher educational institutions have imposed discriminatory rules against women in absence of such clear cut provisions.



A few months ago, the Hindu Collegeaffiliated to the Delhi Universityimposed a dress code for women students, asking them to wear clothes as per the normal norm of society in common areas of the campus. The college administration, however, had to withdraw the dress code as it stoked a huge controversy leading to protest by students.



A UGC official said: The regulations have been formulated keeping in view the trends in the higher educational institutions. There are often reports about universities over imposing discriminatory rules for women. It is the responsibility of the institutions to ensure safety of women in the campus. But this does not mean you curtail their freedom.
The Congress is planning to hold the AICC plenary in Bengaluru next month, an event that could lift the veil over the much-talked about elevation of Rahul Gandhi.





The talk of Rahul succeeding his mother Sonia Gandhi as Congress president has been a topic of debate in the political circles, with party leaders insisting that the decision on the timing has to be taken by the high command.



Rahul loyalists insist that he should be elevated to the post of party president before September this year. However, sceptics within the party prefer Sonia continuing at the helm of affairs to Rahuls promotion.



The recent appointment of party veterans Kamal Nath and Ghulam Nabi Azad as AICC general secretaries is seen as a signal by a section of the organisation on Sonias continuance at the helm of affairs in the party.



Ever since his return from a vacation in Europe last week, Rahul has been busy addressing factional feuds in states like Kerala and Tamil Nadu, as well as the Mumbai Regional Congress.



He held meetings with the leaders of various factions of the Kerala Congress. The Congress vice-president also met the warring leaders of the Mumbai unit of the Congress and next on the agenda is addressing factionalism in Tamil Nadu.



This is seen by the Congress leaders as a bid to send across the message that he is in command of the organisation. Rahul loyalists believe that an early elevation for the vice-president would help him better craft the campaigns for Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Goa and Uttarakhand, where elections are due next year.



A formal decision to appoint Rahul as the party president has to be taken by the Congress Working Committee and ratified by the Plenary later. The CWC had decided to elevate Rahul to the post of vice-president from that of AICC general secretary at Jaipur in January 2013.
The death toll in clashes between security forces and the people protesting against the killing of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani in the Kashmir Valley touched 21 on Sunday.





Five people succumbed to injuries since Saturday night, while four protesters and a policeman were killed on Sunday.



In south Kashmirs Pulwama district, three youths were killed as the police opened fire to disperse protesters who defied a curfew. Another youth was shot dead by security forces at Tengpora in Srinagar, during the protests in the afternoon.



Sources said a policeman was killed near Sangam in Anantnag district, 40 km from here, when a mob attacked him and threw his vehicle in the Jhelum river. Another policeman was injured when militants shot at him in Tral, Wanis native village.



Three other policemen, who have been missing since Saturday after a mob attacked a police station in Damhal Hanjipora village, Kulgam district, are feared dead. The sources said that militants hurled a grenade towards the vehicle of Shopians superintendent of police at around 5 pm. However, no loss of life was reported.



At least 30 more civilians suffered bullet injuries, after security forces fired at protesters in Anantnag and Kulgam districts on Sunday. Ten of the seriously injured have been shifted to Srinagar, while the rest have been admitted to nearby hospitals.



Officials said that around 70 people with bullet injuries have been admitted to different hospitals since Saturday, and condition of more than 10 among them is stated to be critical.



While 12 people were killed in firing by the police and the armed forces on Saturday, around 200 were left injured. The police said 100 of their personnel were also injured.



The police justified the civilian killings and the use of force stating that angry mobs attacked police camps, army posts, CRPF pickets and even torched their vehicles.



The police also said that protesters snatched weapons from the cops and fired at them at various places in south Kashmirs Kulgam district, forcing the police and other security personnel to resort to firing that resulted in the deaths.



Almost the entire Kashmir, especially Anantnag, Pulwama, Kulgam and Shopian districts, have erupted with massive protests and violent clashes since Wani was killed in an encounter on Friday evening.



Witnesses said that the attendants ferrying the injured in ambulances and other vehicles towards hospitals were beaten up by security forces at several places in south Kashmir. At the time of filing this report, the Valley was still simmering with violent protests and clashes.



Omar extends support



National Conference leader Omar Abdullah expressed his willingness to support Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti for maintaining peace in the state.



Dear @MehboobaMufti We in @JKNC_ are always ready to contribute towards maintaining peace but you must take the lead & show the way, Abdullah tweeted.
Its been a precarious living for the many Amarnath yatris stranded for the past three days in Srinagar, where violence has broken out. They were stuck while returning from the holy shrine.



Their bus has doubled as their house for these pilgrims and the area has turned into a fortress with security forces taking positions. Constant gunshots are scaring the hell out of them. Among those stranded at Pathal Chowk in the Jammu and Kashmir capital is S S Sampagavi, the Hunagund tahsildar. He told Deccan Herald over phone that he is part of a 29-member team that left for the yatra from Davangere. They had reached Jammu by train. They had reached Amarnath by bus through Srinagar. They started from Amarnath after darshan on July 7.



The passengers may be cut off from their family members once the charge in their mobile phone batteries gets exhausted. They were scheduled to return through Jammu, Amritsar and Delhi. Sampagavi is accompanied on the trip by his wife Veena, relatives Madhukar, Netra, Manjula and Girija and they all left Davangere on June 30. Sampagavi said that the pilgrims are not getting any co-operation from the local administration and the language barrier is hindering communication.



Curfew has been imposed in the area and 400 vehicles of pilgrims have been parked at Pathal Chowk. Shops have downed their shutters. Electricity supply and Internet connections have been cut off.



Water is being supplied to them in a single tanker and 3,500 stranded passengers, including 200 from the state, h-ave to make do with that much water, only for drinking purpo-ses. Their ration stocks have g-ot over and the local Sikh com-munity is feeding the pilgrims for the past couple of days. The Army has restrained the pilgrims from contacting the local authorities for help. The military has ordered that the buses should not move out till the situation returns to normalcy.



We are at our wits end and do not know what to do. The military personnel are trying to pacify bus drivers and passengers who held a protest demanding that the buses should be allowed to go. They say the local residents may attack the pilgrims if they come to know about the departure, said Sadashiva Shetty, a pilgrim from Hosanagar in Shivamogga district.
In mounting troubles for embattled Vijay Mallya, markets regulator Sebi has stepped up its probe into the fund diversion from his erstwhile listed group firms to other entities, including some abroad and his various sport ventures.





With the latest disclosures taking total suspected fund diversion at United Spirits alone to over Rs 2,500 crore, the Sebi is also referring to the matter for further action by other agencies including SFIO (Serious Fraud Investigation Office) under the Corporate Affairs Ministry, a top official said.



We have taken note of the latest disclosure by the USL and have begun looking into suspected violation of various securities market regulations including those relating to related party transactions, corporate governance and diversion of funds by promoters and top management, he said.



Also under the scanner are Mallyas close confidantes and others who were at senior levels at various listed companies of the group, as also some former auditors at certain group firms, the official said.



Action is already underway for violation of listing agreement by some group companies, he added.



The matter of fund diversion would also need to be looked into by SFIO, while the Enforcement Directorate (ED) would also come into the picture as the funds are suspected to have been diverted to entities abroad, the official said, adding that necessary assistance would be sought from foreign regulators including in the UK and the US, where his overseas brewery firms and other ventures are based.



Mallya and his group firms are already facing a probe by the ED for alleged diversion of loans taken by long-grounded Kingfisher Airlines.
Ballistics examination has confirmed that DySP M K Ganapathi had fired twice from his service revolver at the bed in the hotel room in Madikeri on Thursday before committing suicide. Ballistics experts from the Forensic Sciences Laboratory (FSL) in Bengaluru on Sunday visited the room number 315 of Vinayaka lodge in Madikeri where Ganapathi had committed suicide.



They found that the bullets were fired from Ganapathis service revolver. There were eight bullets in the revolver and two were found on the bed, sources said.



FSL Assistant Director Ravindranath and ballistics experts Nagabhushan and Prakash visited the lodge at 10.30 am and carried out an examination.



The team collected details on the distance from which the bullets were fired. They also spoke to the staff of the lodge.



Revolver prohibited

According to the police department rules, a DySP working in the office of IGP is not allowed to use the revolver. However, citing threat to his life, Ganapathi had taken permission to possess a revolver, the sources said.



On the other hand, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) teams continued their investigation into Ganapathis suicide on Sunday.



They collected the video footage of the room being broken open, certain photographs and Ganapathis clothes, wallet and mobile phone.



They also obtained the footage of the interview Ganapathi had given to a local television channel before ending his life.



However, they could not get the medical certificates and photograph of history-sheeter Prashanth, which Ganapathi had exhibited during the interview, the sources said. A CID team is interrogating the lodge staff.



The hotel staff have been directed not to go on leave and appear before the investigating team whenever summoned.



Meanwhile, BJP state general secretary and MLA C T Ravi on Sunday urged the authorities to file a case against Bengaluru Development Minister K J George, Lokayukta IGP Pronab Mohanty and ADGP (Intelligence) Ashit Mohan Prasad who were named by Ganapathi in his interview to the television channel.



CID questions psychiatrist

The CID sleuths recorded the statement of Mangaluru-based psychiatrist Dr P K Kiran Kumar who was treating Ganapathi.



The CID team lead by ADGP C H Prathap Reddy and IGP Hemanth Nimbalkar arrived in Mangaluru on Saturday also conducted a mahazar of Ganapathis cabin at the IGP (Western range) office.



Dr Kumar said the CID officials questioned him on the treatment Ganapathi was undergoing. Ganapathi had come to me for treatment of headache and memory loss. He was responding and was always calm. He had not spoken to me on any pressure from politicians or harassment from senior officers.



The last time he visited me was on June 23 and was confident of getting cured. No politicians or police officers, other than the CID sleuths, has contacted me with regard to the suicide case, he added.


Beijing Celebrates The 60th Anniversary Of New China (Photo : Getty Images)

As part of the one-week military drill that China is holding in South China Sea, the Chinese Navy conducted live-fire drills in the area using submarines, war vessels and fighter aircraft on Friday.



Held three days before June 12 when the U.N. Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) rules on the case brought by the Philippines against China, China insisted it is not flexing its military might but is holding routine exercises, reported The New York Times. The China Central Television, which aired video showing ships launching missiles and torpedoes, submarines surfacing in the water and fighter jets in formation releasing flares, said the drills end on Monday.



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Zhao Yanquan, commander of a guided missile destroyer, said, We gather the information, analyze it and make decisions upon it. For us, it is a real war situation and therefore a test to that effect. The exercises test how battle-ready is the Chinese navy, Zhao added.



Meanwhile, new Philippine Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay clarified a statement he said on Friday that the new administration of President Rodrigo Duterte is hoping to start direct talks with Chua after the Tuesday verdict. The talks would deal with joint exploitation of natural gas reserves and fishing ground that are within the Philippine exclusive economic zone but are being claimed by Beijing.



His response appears giving in to Chinas suggestion for Manila to ignore the PCA decision and hold talks with Beijing. But Yasay said on Saturday that the Philippines would have to wait on the ruling and study and dissect its implications, quoted Japantimes.



He continued that since the decision would not address sovereignty and delimitation, in the future, it would still be possible for claimant nations to enter into arrangements for joint exploration and utilization of the disputed territories.






With Kashmir on the boil for the second consecutive day, Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday reviewed the law and order situation in the state and assured full support to Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti.





During a 30-minute meeting, Singh was briefed on the situation in the Kashmir Valley following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani on Friday.



Since Wanis death, violent protests have erupted in several parts of the state. On Saturday, Singh telephoned Mehbooba to assure her of Central assistance, a home ministry official said.



Following the meeting, Singh asked officials to ensure that paramilitary forces in Kashmir provide all assistance to the state government for restoration of peace and normalcy in the Valley .
The Director General of International Labour Organisation (ILO), Guy Ryder, asked the Indian government to take workers on board while implementing labour laws.





Ryder stated that the International Labour Organisation agreed with the governments decision to change laws to give impetus to economic growth. However, he stressed on the need for social dialogue with workers saying that it is always productive.



Ryder acknowledged the need for labour reforms in his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya and various bureaucrats, but pointed out the need for tripartite dialogue. Saying that the fundamental rights of workers need to be protected, he added that a strong priority of the ILO is that decent work produces inclusive growth and that it addresses poverty challenges.



Ryder offered ILOs help in formulating the changes in labour laws, saying that they can be a good ally as they bring in experience and expertise from other countries.



He also remarked that India has to sign two pending UN conventions on child labour. The dialogue with the ILOs chief is important because the government may bring legislation for codifying Labour Laws in the monsoon session of the Parliament.



However, the Minister of State for Labour and Employment Bandaru Dattatreya said that the government would go ahead with the labour reforms.
Continuing to combat Alaskas high rates of alcohol misuse into the new year, Koahnic Broadcast Corporation and Recover Alaska have collaborated to produce a new season of the Emmy-award winning series Day 001.

The new season, Day 001: Recovery is a different path for everyone, follows the stories of eight diverse Alaskans, from Unalakleet to Cordova, telling their very personal stories of how recovery from alcohol misuse has led to positive outcomes in their lives. The concept aims to motivate those struggling with addiction to seek help and educates community members about their role in the solution to alcohol misuse.

For Alaskas Eskimo Ninja Nick Hanson, living a sober lifestyle presents endless opportunities.

I dont think people realize that there is so much more to do than drink alcohol. We have opportunities presented to us every day. When youre living a sober lifestyle youre ready for those opportunities, youre ready to plant your feet on the floor and start moving, said Hanson in his Day 001 narrative.

While the projects message is pertinent to Alaska, where youth drinking and adult binge drinking remains high, and we are dying from alcohol at a rate twice as high as the national average, its a message that will also reach a national audience; radio versions of the stories will air on Native America Calling and Native Voice One in the new year. Locally, the videos are featured on RecoverAlaska.org and KNBA.org, along with a radio and television PSA about the project.

The journey to recovery is not easy. Storytelling provides an avenue for us to be vulnerable while sharing our strength, and also allows our audience to better understand our experiences and connect with us, said Tiffany Hall, executive director of Recover Alaska. For those telling their story, and those who may still be struggling, its important to end the stigma around recovery. While its a different path for everyone, recovery is possible and it does work.

About Recover Alaska

Recover Alaska is a multi-sector action group pursuing a solutions-based approach to reduce excessive alcohol use and harms across the state. Partners include Rasmuson Foundation, The Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority, Mat-Su Health Foundation, Providence Alaska, Southcentral Foundation and the State of Alaskas Department of Health and Social Services. The vision for Recover Alaska is for Alaskans to live free from the consequences of alcohol misuse, so we are empowered to achieve our full potential. For more information, visit recoveralaska.org.

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The Department of Public Safety has published the 2020 Crime in Alaska report, the annual report on instances of crime in Alaska reported a decrease in Alaskas overall crime rate by 18.5%. This also reflects the lowest total number of reported offenses since 1975 and continues the downward trend in Alaska crime that started in 2018.

While Alaskas reported violent crime rate decreased by 3.7% last year, the crime rate for rape increased slightly from 2019 to 2020. Alaskas property crime rate decreased 22.9% in 2020, and the total number of reported property offenses were at their lowest level since 1974.

The Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program is a nationwide effort by federal, state, city, county, and tribal law enforcement agencies to report data on crimes reported in their jurisdiction. The report is a resource for measuring the trend and distribution of crime in Alaska. Under Alaska law, law enforcement agencies in Alaska are required to submit UCR data to the State of Alaska. In 2020, 32 agencies reported crime data to DPS. These agencies represent 99.5% of the states population.

The overall decrease in Alaskas crime rate is encouraging and shows real progress in our efforts to make Alaska a safe place to live and raise a family. However, we must continue to double-down on our efforts to eliminate the scourge of sexual assault and domestic violence in our state and invest in meaningful public safety in rural Alaska, said Alaska Department of Public Safety Commissioner James Cockrell. Every Alaskan, regardless of their address, gender, or race, deserves a life that is free of crime, and the Department of Public Safety is committed to doing our part to meet that goal.

Caution should be exercised when comparing data from year to year and making conclusions as the report does not account for when an incident occurred; it accounts for when it was reported. For example, burglary or theft occurring in November of one year may not have been discovered and reported until February of the next year. The incident is not retroactively applied to a previous years data; it is counted in the year it was reported.

Rape offenses are counted by victim, and each separation of time and place a rape occurs will also be counted. Sexual assaults spanning years will result in numerous counts of rape offenses being reported for a single victim.

The 2020 Crime in Alaska report was authored by the Alaska Department of Public Safetys Division of Statewide Services. The Division of Statewide Services provides technical and specialized services to the Department of Public Safety and law enforcement agencies across the state. Past Crime in Alaska Reports and Felony-Level Sex Offenses reports can be found online.

The UCR and Crime in Alaska reports are based on the Federal Bureau of Investigation UCR Program definitions of crimes to ensure consistency and uniformity in reported offenses on a national level. The definitions do not always echo state definitions; therefore, federal publications cannot accurately be compared to reports that use the state definitions for crimes as these are unique to each state. Additionally, the population counts for Crime in Alaska come from the US Census.

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by Native Peoples Action, Inc.

Twenty tribes sign letter stating Tribal concerns, ask BLM to collaborate with Tribes, provide balance and protections for Tribal watershed nominations.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is currently undertaking a planning process to determine the allowable uses of over 13.5 million acres of Tribal land, now managed by the BLM.

Once completed, the new plan will be in place for the next 20 to 30 years. Over 60 federally recognized Alaska Native tribes live within the Bering Sea-Western Interior planning area. Alaska Natives have thrived on and stewarded this land for thousands of years, and this symbiotic relationship is foundational to Alaska Native ways of life.

Many tribes nominated local watersheds for protection from mining in the planning process, yet none of the nominated watersheds received protection from mining in BLMs preferred proposed plan.

We dont own the land but we belong to the land, and what happens to the land happens to us, said Nathan Elswick, Anvik Tribes Second Chief. The voices of tribal communities within the planning area, the only communities that will have to live with the results of the plan, deserve to be heard in the planning process. They are simply asking to be of primary consideration by BLM in the planning process.

BLMs proposed plan, by not recommending significant protections for the tribes nominated watersheds, clearly sends the message that planning area communities do not matter to the federal government.

Twenty tribes have signed a letter asking BLM for the following: to give serious consideration to tribal concerns, to collaborate better with tribes in the planning process, and to make changes in the final plan to create greater balance and provide protections for tribal watershed nominations.

Native Peoples Action is a non-profit organization whose mission is to take a stand, work together and mobilize action for the wellness and wellbeing of Alaska Natives. The collaborative action among these twenty tribes perfectly illustrates the mission of our work and we are proud to highlight their collective strength and advocacy work for tribal self-determination.

The twenty tribes are: Nulato Tribal Council, Kaltag Traditional Council, Ruby Tribal Council, Louden Tribal Council, Huslia Tribal Council, Koyukuk Village Council, Holy Cross Tribal Council, Shageluk IRS Tribal Council, Anvik Tribal Council, Grayling IRA Council, Takotna Tribal Council, Iqurmiut Traditional Council, Native Village of Unalakleet, Nikolai Edzeno Village Council, Native Village of St. Michael, Native Village of Shaktoolik, Native Village of Marshall, Stebbins Community Association IRA, Native Village of Koyuk IRA, and McGrath Native Village.

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by John Sargent

The City of Bethel and Bethel Family Clinic (BFC) are distributing $100 local grocery store gift cards to those who get their first COVID-19 vaccine on or after June 14, 2021. The Bethel Family Clinic plans to administer vaccines to walk-ups at each summer Saturday Market at the Bethel Cultural Center:

Saturday, June 19, 2021 > 10 am to 2 pm

Saturday, July 17, 2021 > 10 am to 2 pm

Saturday, August 21, 2021 > 10 am to 2 pm

Clinic staff members will give out a $100 gift card immediately after the first shot. Call the Bethel Family Clinic at 543-3773 (press 1) to schedule an appointment for other dates and times.

The Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation continues to administer COVID-19 vaccines. Call 543-6949 to make an appointment. After you get vaccinated at YKHC, bring your vaccination card to the City of Bethel Utilities Office on the first floor of the City Shop at 1155 Ridgecrest Drive to get the $100 gift card. The date of vaccine written on the card must be dated June 14, 2021 or later to qualify.

Funding for the program comes from the Alaska Chamber of Commerce that obtained a grant from the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services. This COVID-19 vaccination incentive program is designed to reach the 30% of Alaskans who intend to get vaccinated, but have yet to make an appointment and get it done. Only those who live in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region are eligible and only those who get their first shot on or after June 14, 2021 are eligible for one gift card.

Gift cards provided by Corinas Caselot, Swansons Grocery, and Alaska Commercial Company.

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by Kendra Kloster

Dear Governor Dunleavy,

Improving the safety of all Alaskans is an issue that we can all get behind. Everyone has the right to feel safe in their home and their community, no matter where in Alaska they live. The creators of our constitution felt so strongly about this and agreed that it needed to be explicitly stated in the constitution. However, despite these founding statements upon which our State of Alaska government is built, and all the discussion focused on public safety last year, funding was still cut from the Village Public Safety Officer program, and we are not seeing improvements in public safety for ALL Alaskans.

Only one in three villages have a public safety officer. Alaska continues to shamefully rank highest for rates of domestic violence, assault and missing and murdered Indigenous women in the Nation. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has reported that murder is the third-leading cause of death among American Indian and Alaska Native women and that rates of violence on reservations and rural areas can be up to ten times higher than the national average.

As we talk with people in communities across Alaska, we are overwhelmed by the expressed concerns for life and safety, and the testimonies of rural residents who had to wait hours (and in some cases up to days) for troopers to respond to distress calls. It has been up to community members without any formal safety and mediation training to police others and respond to calls of distress of their family and friends putting themselves at great risk as well  this is not a system that serves us well and we demand better.

A better system includes working more closely with our tribal governments, building up and truly supporting our Village Public Safety Officers by providing adequate funding and removing barriers that exist to hinder this program from protecting Alaskans.

We know there are recruitment and retention problems for public safety officers across Alaska, as acknowledged in recent years by Commissioner Walt Monegan. He listed multiple reasons preventing successful officer recruitment and retention, including but not limited to salary and benefit packages.

While we understand the challenge of balancing a budget and eliminating the deficit, we also know that the solution is not to cut funding for public safety. There are times when investments need to be made for the greater good, and this is one of those times. All options and out of the box solutions should be on the table.

We cannot continue to fail to protect Alaskans. One of our main goals is to advocate for the wellness and protection of Alaska Native peoples. We need partners across the state from the Governors office to troopers and police, to non-profits, tribal governments and communities to come together to find the solutions to make Alaska a safer place.

We are reaching out to seek your assistance and leadership in helping us to address these issues. We need to end the high rates of violence and lack of public safety and protections for Alaskans across the state, and to stand up for Alaska Native women and children who are going missing and being murdered. Collectively we need to send a clear message that this norm will no longer be tolerated and we will do everything we can do end it.

We urge you to include funding in the state operating budget to support the needs of Village Public Safety Officers and review the statutes that govern them to ensure any existing barriers to their success are removed.

We appreciate your consideration and hope that we can work together to solve this crisis. Please do not hesitate to contact us, we stand ready and able to help in any way possible.

Gunalcheesh/Hawaa/Quyana/Mahsi/Baassee/Maasee/Dogedinh/Thank you.

Kendra Kloster is the Executive Director for Native Peoples Action.

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By the end of 2015, the number of overseas returnees has already reached 2.21 million. (Photo : Getty Images)

Chinese think-tank Center for China and Globalization (CCG) tackled the career prospects of overseas returnees in the country in its three newly published English books, China Radio International (CRI) reported.



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The release took place on Thursday at the organization's headquarters in Chinese capital Beijing.



According to data from the "White Book on Study Abroad in China," the number of overseas workers who returned to the country reached 2.21 million by the end of last year.



Despite this large figure, CCG president Wang Huiyao pointed out that many of the returnees are currently "hampered by lack of working experience or higher-level skills," the article wrote.



For Dr. Liu Yipeng, the writer of "Entrepreneur and Talent Management from a Global Perspective: Global Returnees," the government must learn how to establish an ecosystem where returnees can learn more about entrepreneurship and innovation.



The author pointed out that one of the key incentives behind the reverse migration phenomenon is the shifting of economic gravity.



Dr. Liu emphasized that beyond this picture, "those overseas immigrants will remember their home country and start moving back when opportunities come, as it's challenging for them to integrate into local economic and social life."



In this case, he added that the returnees "will not only make personal achievements in building successful careers, but also shape and contribute to the development of the Chinese society."



Experts have agreed that returnees face many obstacles while starting their career in the country, including cultural matters.



As a suggestion, Dr. Liu said that returnees must learn how to "change the cultural codes [and] understand the business practices and social norms in China, in order to better integrate to the cultural sensitivity or intelligence."



Meanwhile, CCG vice chairman David Zweig urged the overseas returnees to take advantage of understanding both sides--that of China's and the country where they came from.



Zweig believes that by keeping in touch with their lives overseas, these migrants have the ultimate potential to "mobilize resources, information, and knowledge to cross geographic boundaries," the article noted.



CCG, established back in 2008, works in the area of globalizing Chinese enterprises and talents.


Workers Protesting Against Wal-Mart's New Work Scheduling System in China Return to Work

Wal-Mart China introduces a new work hour scheduling system. (Photo : Getty Images)

According to a Reuters report, workers protesting against Wal-Mart's new work scheduling system in China--believed to be devised to cut overtime pay--have recently returned to work.



The strikes at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. outlets in China began earlier this July in Nanchang City and have spread to other branches in other cities via social media, particularly through an online group at WeChat called "Wal-Mart Chinese Workers' Association."



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Zhang Liya, an employee at the store's Shenzhen outlet, stated that around 50 to 60 employees in Wal-Mart's Nanchang, Chengdu and Harbin were involved in staging strikes.



"(The stores) launched the strikes on their own. If Wal-Mart malevolently continues with this then there will definitely be even more stores that stand up," Zhang added.



U.S.-based Wal-Mart spokeswoman Jo Newbould defended that the new system only allows workers to have more flexibility, giving them the liberty to do additional shifts if they want to.



"We have communicated the new system to Wal-Mart China associates and the majority of associates support it," Jo told Reuters.



However, according Wal-Mart Nanchang employee Duan Yu, who was representing the protesters during discussions with the management, they have been stating their disagreement with the new paradigm since May.



"I have a very bad feeling about it. There's no possibility they'll agree (to our demands)," Duan told Reuters via a phone interview.



Duan further revealed that during a meeting with the management of Wal-Mart Nanchang, the store's officials tried to break the workers up and instead spoke to them one by one to "find people with sympathetic ears."



According to Hong Kong-based workers' right group China Labour Bulletin, the strikes ended because Wal-Mart vowed to respond to the employees' demand in a week.



Nonetheless, Wal-Mart China declined to give a comment as to whether it really agreed to negotiate with their workers.



In the recent period, China has seen worker unrest as it faces slowing economic growth, prompting various companies to cut costs.


Googles Self-Driving Car Project gets first legal chief; New Alphabet company in the works?

Google Self-Driving Pod Car (Photo : Blogspot)

Google's Self-Driving Car Project has reportedly hired its first chief lawyer, which suggests it could spin off as a new Alphabet subsidiary. The autonomous vehicle (AV) division's first legal lead Kevin Vosen is set to start his new job later this month. At present the search giant's driverless car unit is part of its experimental lab Google X, but could become an independent new business.



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Vosen is the chief legal officer of The Climate Corporation. The Silicon Valley company studies weather data to provide insurance to farmers who are guaranteed profits during harsh weather conditions such as long droughts and heavy rains.



Climate's CEO David Friedberg is a former Google employee. Friedberg is also the chairman of auto insurance company Metromile, so it is possible the companies might team up later.



Google's hiring of Vosen happened while Tesla is being investigated by the United States' National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) about a fatal car crash that involved a Model S sedan in semi-autonomous Autopilot mode.



The accident happened on May 7 in a West Florida town. In addition to the NHTSA investigation, the Florida Highway Patrol is doing its own review of the car accident.



Google X also recently hired Tim Papandreou to strengthen its self-driving car team. He is the former head of the Office of Innovation at the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency.



Google and other companies developing robotic car tech will need a veteran lawyer like Vosen to help with legal issues when dealing with federal regulators, according to Tech Crunch. Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Audi, and Uber are also developing self-driving technology.



In related news, a second self-driving car accident involving Tesla's Autopilot feature was recently reported. It involved a Tesla Model X crossover SUV.



The driver and passenger claim the electric car was in self-driving mode when it crashed and flipped over. However, Tesla told WXYZ it received no information showing that Autopilot was activated when the crash happened, according to RT.



Tesla reportedly received an alert that the car's airbag was deployed. However, a log with detailed data about the state of the e-car's controls when the collision happened was not sent to the automaker.



Here's a video on NHTSA AV regulations:






Ohio's 6-week abortion ban was a fringe idea. Heres how it became law

Ohio led a slow, determined push to steadily weaken and then nearly eliminate abortion rights. It's indicative of what has happened around the U.S.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad joined Eid al-Fitr prayers at a mosque in third city Homs on Wednesday in a rare public appearance outside the capital for the end-of-Ramadan holiday.

Large parts of Homs were once under the control of rebels fighting to overthrow Assad's regime but since May 2014 they have been confined to a single besieged neighbourhood in the city's outskirts.

The Al-Safa mosque, where Assad joined worshippers, is in Akrama, a loyalist neighbourhood which has been hit by repeated attacks by the Islamic State group and its jihadist rival Al-Qaeda.

State television broadcast footage of the president in the congregation alongside Islamic Endowments Minister Mohammad Abdel-Sattar Sayyed and Syria's top Muslim cleric Ahmad Badredine Hassoun.

Since the civil war erupted in 2011, Assad has made only rare public appearances and nearly all of those have been in Damascus.

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Halloween creatures  owls, crows and bats  all live at Crossroads, and that makes us very happy, for these scary animals make a positive contribution to the habitats of the preserve. We don't even mind black cats, IF they are kept indoors. Feral and outdoor cats are exceedingly harmful to wildlife ... and that's not a superstition! But to tamp down superstitions, we at Crossroads will spend the week demystifying Halloween creatures.

On October 28, 2022, at 6 p.m. will be our Evening with Owls. The Open Door Bird Sanctuary will be at Crossroads, offering a one-hour presentation followed by the opportunity to meet and greet live birds. Learn all about owls and the other incredible birds in the care of the Sanctuary!

Down through the centuries, in many cultures throughout the world, owls have been associated with evil and death. Truth is, owls probably are not smart enough to be evil. But researchers agree that owls are about as dim as the nighttime forests in which they hunt.

Owls don't need to be smart. They have everything else going for them. They are muscular. They fly silently. Their huge eyes enable them to see in the dark. Their beaks and talons are strong and wickedly sharp. But their sensitive ears are what make owls extraordinary hunters.

Most people assume that the plumicorns (a.k.a. "horns) of an owl are its ears. Not so.

The actual ears lie under feathers on the sides of the head, and they aren't symmetrical. Because one ear is higher than the other and the ears are unequal in size, sound is different from different directions, helping owls locate prey, which they do almost unfailingly, even in total darkness.

Owls do not smell their prey. As with most birds, the sense of smell is insignificant, if it exists are all. Great Horned Owls frequently prey on skunks. Enough said.

But well-developed intelligence? Researchers have observed owls beating their wings on bushes to try to flush out little birds. Is this learned behavior? Is it problem-solving?

Maybe.

For the most part, owls do not have a lot of problems to solve. They appropriate abandoned nests of other birds, so they don't need building skills. They are stealthy by nature, and they pounce on and usually catch anything they hear, so they don't need hunting techniques.

In spite of ghost stories, legends of American First People, and superstitions from Europe and India, hooting owls do not foretell impending death, although their nocturnal calls are spooky. We hear them now and then this time of year, but we will regularly hear those eerie calls at Crossroads in January or February.

In contrast to owls, crows are noisy all year round and they are amazingly intelligent. They can learn. They can remember. They can solve problems. They can even identify individual humans. And they detest owls, though whether this is innate or learned behavior is not clear.

Those curious about crows will want to attend the Crossroads Book Club on Wednesday, October 26, at 10:00 a.m. This month, the book Crow Planet, Essential Wisdom for the Urban Wilderness by Lyanda Lynn Haupt will explore the fascinating world of these remarkable birds. The program is free and open to all, whether or not they have read the book.

So bring the family to our program on owls, learn about crows at the Crossroads Book Club, or learn about bats at our pre-school Junior Nature Club on Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. or our Family Science Saturday program at 2:00 p.m. Costumes are encouraged but not required at Junior Nature Club and Science Saturday, and adult visitors are welcome.
Jacqueline Mary Meister, Jackie to all who knew and loved her, 91, of Sturgeon Bay, was called Home to be with the Lord, Monday evening, October 10, 2022 at Door County Medical Center in Sturgeon Bay.

She was born January 20, 1931 in Algoma, the daughter of Melvin Jacob Blahnik, Sr. and Emeline Caroline (Schmitz) Blahnik. Jackie grew up attending St. Mary Catholic Church and Grade School in Algoma. She graduated from Algoma High School, the class of 1948. Jackie first met her husband, James Howard Meister while working at the bowling alley (for $0.10/game) in Algoma. They were united in marriage on May 25, 1948 at Jims parents home (off State Highway 42 between Maplewood and Forestville). They eventually moved to Sturgeon Bay and lived on Juniper Street on the west side of Sturgeon Bay where they raised their family of nine. Jackie attended Corpus Christi Catholic Church with her family and eventually St. Joseph Catholic Church, both in Sturgeon Bay.

She was employed at various establishments in Sturgeon Bay throughout her life - initially at Ray's Grocery Store (where Bridgeport is currently located); then with Krueger canning (where Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding Co. is now located). She also worked for Chico's Cherry factory, then Jolins Drug Store (downtown), before going to work for Isaaksens Laundromat (on the west side)

Jackies primary and final employment was with the Door County Senior resource Center in Sturgeon Bay where she was the first bus driver, initially providing transportation with her own van. She drove residents and area community members around the county until her eventual retirement in 1992.

Jackie and Jim moved to Bay Shore Drive just outside the city limits of Sturgeon Bay, in the Town of Sevastopol in 1990. They were blessed with over 43 years of marriage. Jackie resided there until late spring of 2021 when she moved into the Pine Crest Village in Sturgeon Bay.

She was a member of Saints Peter and Paul Parish in Institute as well as the A Doorable Red Hatters (of Door County). In the 1950s and 1960s, Jackie and Jim were members of the Door Devils Motorcycle Club. Earlier in life, she enjoyed bowling in various leagues at Cherry Lanes in Sturgeon Bay. Jackie looked forward to playing cards with her friends in their card club that got together regularly. She also liked traveling with friends as part of the Retired Persons Traveling Club.

Jackie will be missed by her four children, Kathy Meister of the Town of Sevastopol, Michael (Dale) Meister of Clifton, VA, Robert (Jerrilynn) Meister of California City, CA, and Patricia (Brent) LaVigne of Valmy; ten grandchildren, Jordan (Missy) Whipple and Zachary Meister, Lindsay and Michael Dylan Meister, Jennifer (Joe) Gomez and Kimberly (Chad) Adkinson, Tom (Jackie) LaVigne and Michael (Lisa) LaVigne, Tim Meister, and Christie Meister; and a large number of great-grandchildren. In addition, shell be missed by her brother, Melvin (Janet) Blahnik, Jr. of Florida; other relatives; and friends.

Jackie was preceded in death by her husband James Meister; three sons, Richard, Thomas, and Jerome Meister; two grandsons, Peter Meister and Timothy Meister; sister, Barbara (Ervin) Stahl; sister-in-law, Jean Meister; and other relatives.

Her life will be honored with a Mass of Christian Burial celebrated at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, November 4, 2022 at Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Institute, 4767 E. Dunn Rd., Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235 with Fr. Robert Stegmann as celebrant. The Rosary will be prayed at the church at 9:10 a.m. on Friday, November 4, 2022 with visitation for family and friends following from 9:30 a.m. until the time of Mass.

Jackie will be laid to rest next to her late husband in the Forestville Town Cemetery.

Memorials may be given in Jackies name for the Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) of Door County.

Our family would like to express our heartfelt thanks to Dr. Richard Hogan and staff at Door County Medical Center, the Pine Crest Village staff, and the Unity Hospice staff for the wonderful care given to our mother.

Huehns Funeral Home, Inc & Door County Crematory LLC in Sturgeon Bay are assisting the Meister family. Expressions of sympathy, memories, and photos of Jackie may be shared with her family through her tribute page at www.huehnsfuneralhome.com.
Iran's ballistic missile tests in March were "not consistent" with the spirit of the nuclear agreement signed with world powers, UN chief Ban Ki-moon said in a report to the Security Council.

The secretary general, in a confidential report that AFP saw on Friday, left it up to the Security Council to determine what, if anything, should be done in response.

The report does not clearly state whether the Iranian tests violated the provisions of the landmark nuclear deal signed in July 2015 in Vienna.

Under the agreement, Tehran agreed to curb its atomic program. Western powers accused Iran of using the program to develop a nuclear bomb, but Tehran always denied the allegation.

Iran's foreign ministry on Saturday rejected Ban's report as "contradicting the text of the agreement".

It instead called for a report on "America's failure to undertake its commitments in the deal, as all countries who have restored economic cooperations with Iran have acknowledged".

Tehran accuses Washington of failing to reassure foreign companies and especially international banks planning to restore links with Iran.

The deal led to the lifting of sanctions in January. However, Iran's ballistic missile program was not covered by the agreement.

"While it is for the Security Council to interpret its own resolutions, I am concerned that those ballistic missile launches are not consistent with the constructive spirit demonstrated by the signing" of the nuclear deal, reads part of Ban's 16-page report, dated July 1.

"I am concerned by the ballistic missile launches conducted by Iran in March 2016.

"I call upon Iran to refrain from conducting such ballistic missile launches since they have the potential to increase tensions in the region."

This is the first report regarding the application of Security Council Resolution 2231, which includes the terms of the nuclear accord.

The resolution states that Iran "is called upon not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such ballistic missile technology."

The Security Council is set to examine the report on July 18, but diplomatic sources are not expecting a decision to be taken, or even for the 15 nations on the Council to take a joint position.

"The report makes no recommendations to the Security Council," a Council diplomat told AFP.

"Having a report by the secretary general is very useful but it is up to us to decide what we are going to do about it," the diplomat said.

The United States, France, Britain and Germany in late March said they believed that Iran's ballistic missile launches violated UN resolutions, and asked the Security Council to address the issue.

The Western powers believe that some of the missiles could carry nuclear payloads, something that Tehran has denied.

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An Egyptian foreign ministry aide last week said the men were abducted by an armed group

Egypt's foreign ministry announced Saturday that the six Egyptians reported kidnapped near Tripoli last week are currently being held by local authorities in the north-western Libyan city of Bani Walid.

Last week, a foreign ministry aide said the Egyptians, who work in the North African country, were abducted by an armed group in the Libyan city as they were departing for Egypt.

Late on Saturday, foreign ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said in a statement that the men are now being held by provincial authorities, adding that necessary measures for their release are underway.

He did not elaborate on the reason for the men's detention.

The information was relayed to the ministry by the Egyptian Embassy in Tripoli, currently operating from Cairo due to the turbulent security situation in Libya.

The embassy "was informed following calls [it has made] that the six Egyptians who were stopped while on their way back from Tripoli are now being held by local authorities in the city of Bani Walid," the ministry quoted the embassy as saying.

The foreign ministry renewed its call that all citizens should avoid travelling to Libya due to the unstable security conditions in the war-torn country, urging Egyptians living there to stay away from conflict zones.

Libya plunged into chaos following the 2011 toppling and killing of dictator Muammar Gadhafi and is now torn between two rival governments and a U.N.-backed unity government.

In April, Bani walid witnessed the killing of 13 Egyptian in a clash with smugglers.

In 2015, Libya's Islamic State affiliate beheaded 20 Egyptian Christians, showing the killings in a video released online that led Egypt to launch airstrikes against the group.

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Egyptian investigators say the search vessel contracted by the Egyptian government to recover debris of the crashed EgyptAir flight MS804 will extend its search in the Mediterranean for another week.

The John Lethbridge, belonging to Mauritius-based Deep Ocean Search, will continue scouring deep waters off the coast of Alexandria to ensure all human remains at the crash site of the Airbus A320 are recovered, Egypt's aircraft accident investigation committee said in a statement late on Saturday.

"The vessel will continue to search for human remains for an additional period that ends on 18 July," the statement said.

Coroners will be on board the ship to hand over any remains to the country's forensic medicine authority for investigation when the search concludes, the committee added.

The Airbus A320 plunged into the eastern Mediterranean en route from Paris to Cairo on May 19, with all 66 people on board killed. The cause of the crash remains unknown.

Investigators have started analysing one of the aircraft's flight data recorders and are extracting information from the other.

Initial analysis of the jet's flight data recorder showed there had been smoke in the lavatory and avionics compartment, and recovered debris from the plane's front section showed signs of high temperature damage, the first physical signs that fire may have broken out on board.

Officials say no explanation for the disaster has been ruled out.

The Paris prosecutor's office opened a manslaughter inquiry last week, saying there is no evidence so far to link the crash to terrorism.

France and the United States are also taking part in the investigations.

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The highly secretive arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture known as Wildlife Services killed more than 3.2 million animals during fiscal year 2015, according to new data released by the agency.

The total number of wolves, coyotes, bears, mountain lions, beavers, foxes, eagles and other animals killed largely at the behest of the livestock industry and other agribusinesses represents a half-million-animal increase more than the 2.7 million animals the agency killed in 2014.

Photo credit: Pexels

Despite increasing calls for reform a century after the federal wildlife-killing program began in 1915, the latest kill report indicates that the programs reckless slaughter continues, including 385 gray wolves, 68,905 coyotes (plus an unknown number of pups in 492 destroyed dens), 480 black bears, 284 mountain lions, 731 bobcats, 492 river otters (all but 83 killed unintentionally), 3,437 foxes, two bald eagles and 21,559 beavers. The program also killed 20,777 prairie dogs outright, plus an unknown number killed in more than 59,000 burrows that were destroyed or fumigated.

Despite mounting public outcry and calls from Congress to reform these barbaric, outdated tactics, Wildlife Services continues its slaughter of Americas wildlife with no public oversight, Michael Robinson of the Center for Biological Diversity said.

Theres simply no scientific basis for continuing to shoot, poison and strangle millions of animals every yeara cruel practice that not only fails to effectively manage targeted wildlife but poses an ongoing threat to other animals, including pets.

Agency insiders have revealed that the agency kills many more animals than it reports.

The data show that the Department of Agriculture boosted its killing program despite a growing public outcry and calls for reform by scientists, elected officials and nongovernmental organizations.

The Department of Agriculture should get out of the wildlife-slaughter business, Robinson said.

Wolves, bears and other carnivores help keep the natural balance of their ecosystems. Our government kills off the predators, such as coyotes and then kills off their preylike prairie dogsin an absurd, pointless cycle of violence.

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Do you live in a state thats a top killing ground for top predators?

A new analysis released by the Center for Biological Diversity found that Texas, Oregon, Minnesota and California are the states where the United States Department of Agricultures (USDA) Wildlife Services killed the most black bears, mountain lions, wolves and bobcats in 2015.

Nationwide, Wildlife Services eradicated 731 bobcats, 480 black bears, 385 wolves and 284 mountain lions. It also killed 68,985 coyotesalmost 17,000 in Texas aloneand 3,109 foxes.

The program exterminated 3.2 million animals last year. Roughly half of those belonged to invasive species, but the other half were native to their regions.

The federal government created Wildlife Services in 1915 to kill predators that feed on livestock. Today, it offers its services not only to ranchers but also to fruit and vegetable producers that suffer damage from deer, birds and rodents and to timber companies that call on the agency to kill bears that strip bark from trees to reach insects and sap.

According to the Center for Biological Diversity, which has published an interactive map of state-by-state data, Texas was the deadliest state in 2015, with 609 bobcats and 23 mountain lions killed. That was followed by Oregon, with 193 black bears, 27 bobcats and 91 mountain lions; Minnesota, with 220 wolves, two bobcats and one black bear; and California, with 121 black bears, 80 mountain lions and 15 bobcats.

Nationwide, Wildlife Services eradicated 731 bobcats, 480 black bears, 385 wolves and 284 mountain lions. It also killed 68,985 coyotesalmost 17,000 in Texas aloneand 3,109 foxes.

Killing methods involved traps, snares, poisoning and firearms, including those deployed from helicopters and airplanes.

The vast majority of eliminated animals belonged to non-predator species, such as rodents, reptiles and birds.

But the taking of predators is the most problematic part, according to Michael Robinson, conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity.

Theres been enormous advances in our understanding of the critical roles that predators play in maintaining the health and integrity of their ecosystems, he said. Scientists are now finding very important connections between predators and the vegetation that their prey species rely on.

When wolf populations are culled, for example, elk have less fear of foraging on tree saplings that grow along streams. But when wolves return, elk tend to avoid those areas, which allows the saplings to grow into fairly large trees that support migratory birds and beavers, Robinson said. This blanket policy of destroying predators undermines the integrity and function of entire ecosystems. It defies science.

USDA spokesperson Lyndsay Cole defended the program.

Of the 24 million animals that Wildlife Services encountered in 2015, 86 percent were chased away from the location where damage was being caused, Cole wrote in an email. Of the three million animals euthanized, 89 percent were either invasive species  or native blackbirds covered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services blackbird depredation order. Some 711,000 blackbirds were killed in 2015.

Lethal control is used only if nonlethal options have been unsuccessful, Cole wrote, or if nonlethal tools and techniques are impractical or economically infeasible.

Brooks Fahy, executive director of the group Predator Defense, which has opposed Wildlife Services for more than 40 years, said state wildlife agencies also depend on the USDA to kill predators that prey on game for hunters.

Theyre funded through sales of hunting licenses, so they try to artificially create high levels of species that hunters like to hunt, Fahy said. But hunters kill the biggest, most robust animals while predators kill the weakest animals, keeping the gene pool strong by leaving the animals that are the healthiest and most productive.

Fahy said the numbers, including how many cubs die after their parents are killed, were underreported. Dogs and other domestic animals are also trapped or poisoned.

Both Robinson and Fahy said the agency has no government oversight and lacks transparency in its operations. Journalists, for example, are barred from witnessing culls.

I have fought to implement changes at Wildlife Services for years and for years I have been met with resistance at every turn, Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., wrote in an email.

Taxpayers are spending millions each year to fund a bloated and mismanaged government program  that uses federal dollars on cruel and lethal animal population control techniques, he wrote. The agency needs far stronger oversight to ensure that they are spending their federal dollars wisely, and reform is urgently needed.

This article was reposted with permission from our media associate TakePart.
My first tryst with blogging happened in 2005 when I was a first-year student at university. At the time, a blog showcased your writing skills. What drove us was the encouragement we received by a professor to read and discuss each others blogs in class. We wrote about what we were doing in our lives, which were not exciting. This is why I stopped blogging in 2007. Later, I started working and was too busy to continue blogging daily. However, in 2009, given my penchant for cooking and treating my friends, I started receiving numerous queries about food; the queries ranged from which cut of meat to buy to basic cooking techniques and suggestions on where to eat when visiting Kolkata. I knew it all, for I had grown up around the kitchen, learning tips from my grandmother and visiting the markets with my father. I started clarifying my friends doubts via e-mails. I did this almost every weekend until one day when it occurred me that I could to write it all down somewhere for them to look it up for themselves. Thus, my food blog was born. Few people were writing about food then. I started writing reviews in 2010-11 since I saw a lack of authentic information and views online. One, the reviews were not adequate and two, most reviews were biased since people were receiving food for free. While I tried to focus on positive things in my reviews, I would also write about the things a restaurant could improve on. It worked and restaurants became keen to work with impartial bloggers like me. So, we would go to restaurants anonymously, carefully note down the pros and cons and advise them on how to standardise things so that a protocol was maintained. It meant more than just a delicious meal. Today, food bloggers are invited to food events to share their views. To succeed in this field, you must be active on social media and have a good command of the language. My source of income is advertisements and promotions. I also write sponsored blogs about brands. In the beginning, it was not easy to decide to become a professional blogger but I am glad I did. I am doing what I love. I now enjoy my role as a restaurant consultant and food critic in Kolkata.
Students who are good at learning, unlearning and relearning can shape their (and others) careers with ease. They should not only be prepared for contemporary lives and careers, but also have skills that help them adapt well to the changing world because experts predict that 50% of todays occupations will no longer exist by 2025 as individuals would have taken up more creative professions. It is thus imperative for societies in general, and educational systems in particular, to enrich their curricula and projects with innovation-building processes. But it may look like a daunting task because there are so many myths about innovation. To illustrate: Myth #1 -- Innovation equals divine and random inspiration: While Eureka moments do occur, innovation is a discipline  with a mindset, skill-set and toolset. Like all disciplines, it can be learnt to produce value when needed, rather than wishing for a lucky lightning strike. The design thinking movement is an example of such democratisation of innovation. It is being deployed in classrooms, corporate houses and governments around the world. Myth #2 -- Deep R&D expertise is needed to innovate: Subject matter knowledge helps, but it is often outsiders who bring dramatic innovations to an industry. Thats because they are looking at things from an outside-in perspective, and are not influenced by previous successes or failures of that domain. Myth #3 -- Innovation is the prerogative of a select few: Each of us is innovative. Can it be brought to the fore? Sure. Can our capacities to innovate be improved? Certainly. Can students learn it? Absolutely. From the wheel to driverless cars; from coal to crop fuels; from aspirin to medical robots; from the light bulb to the iPhone  continuous innovation has catalysed social and economic progress in societies. Information is a commodity. Internet is all-pervasive. Innovation is the new edge. The framework for 21st-century learning is a classic example of the shift towards bringing innovation to the centre of learning. Critical thinking, creativity, communications and collaboration are focus areas in the framework. According to the World Economic Forums Future of Jobs report 2016, as workplace and social shifts take place, it will be essential for students and professionals to develop a mindset of continuous learning and innovation. In this context, the curriculum needs to be re-engineered to try to ensure development of cognitive, complex problem-solving and social skills in students. Creativity and entrepreneurship are important to prepare students to be job-creators in a VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) world. Therefore, an integral part of the Centre for Innovation & Entrepreneurship , the Bennett Hatchery is planned as a place where innovative student start-ups are incubated, funded, mentored and launched. Entrepreneurship is not just a technical process of launching companies but it is also a mindset and collection of personal and professional skills that foster the pursuit of innovation in business, personal and social contexts. Like other evolved disciplines, it has a body of knowledge that can be acquired through classroom teaching. However, the true power of this discipline is unleashed through application and practice in real-life circumstances. [*Letter of intent (LOI) issued by the UP government . Subject to legislative approval]
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 first visit for an Egyptian foreign minister to Tel Aviv since 2007, Shoukry's visit aims to give a push to the Palestinian-Israeli peace process

Egypt's foreign minister, Sameh Shoukry, is heading to Israel on an important visit aiming to push the Palestinian-Israeli peace process forward, the Egyptian foreign ministry announced on Sunday.

The official spokesperson of the foreign ministry, Ahmed Abu Zeid, said that Shoukry would hold talks with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv on reviving the peace process.

This is the first visit for an Egyptian forign minister to Tel Aviv since 2007.

The talks will also focus on bilateral relations and regional developments, Abu-Zeid added.

"The timing of the visit is very important as it comes after the call of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi to revive the peace process and the visit of Foreign Minister Shoukry to Ramallah on 29 June," Abu-Zeid said in the statement issued on the visit.

Egypt is currently supporting the Paris peace initiative aiming to revive negotiations between the Palestinians and Israelis.

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Cucuta, Colombia, Jul 10 (EFE).- Some 25,000 Venezuelans, according to official estimates, crossed the border into Colombia on Sunday to buy food and medicines in the city of Cucuta after the Venezuelan government said it would open border crossings for 12 hours.

People began crossing the Simon Bolivar international bridge, which links the Venezuelan city of San Antonio del Tachira to Cucuta, the capital of Colombia's Norte de Santander province, at 5:00 a.m. to purchase products that are scarce in Venezuela.

"We're from here in San Antonio (and), honestly, we don't have any food to give our children, so I don't think it's fair that the border is still closed," a Venezuelan woman told EFE in Cucuta.

The woman, who preferred to not give her name, crossed the international bridge with her husband and children ages 5 and 2.

The border crossings between Tachira state and Norte de Santander province were closed on Aug. 19, 2015, by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who said he took the measure to fight smuggling and prevent members of paramilitary groups from entering Venezuela.

Maduro later ordered all crossings along the 2,219-kilometer (1,378-mile) border closed.

Tachira Gov. Jose Gregorio Vielma Mora said Saturday that the border would be opened on Maduro's orders.

After the announcement, hundreds of Venezuelans began lining up to cross the Simon Bolivar international bridge.

"A second entry by Venezuelans into Colombia was planned by the Venezuelan right, with the pretext of buying food and medicines," Vielma Mora said.

The governor was apparently referring to an incident last Tuesday, when about 500 Venezuelans from the city of Urena crossed the closed Francisco de Paula Santander international bridge and went into Cucuta to buy food.

Norte de Santander Gov. William Villamizar, for his part, said in a Twitter post after visiting the border crossings that the humanitarian corridor "has benefited 25,000 people" who were able to buy "food and medicines."

Villamizar spoke with some of the people streaming across the border and posed for photos with a family carrying a poster that read, "Colombia, gracias por su solidaridad con Venezuela" (Colombia, Thanks for Your Solidarity with Venezuela).

"This is super nice on Colombia's part, very good," Rosalba Jaimes, a San Antonio resident, told EFE.

Betty Rojas, a Venezuelan already heading home, said she and others planned to cross whenever the border was open.

"We bought rice, pasta, sugar, toilet paper, butter, everything we could bring back. We had enough for lots of stuff," Rojas told EFE, adding that she wanted to tell the Colombian government "thank you."

Cucuta police chief Col. Jaime Barrera said officers would "guarantee security in Cucuta's business districts for the thousands of people coming from Venezuela.

Officers have been posted at the border crossings and at businesses across the border city, the provincial police chief said.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and Foreign Minister Maria Angela Holguin visited Cucuta on Wednesday.

The president said he would try to negotiate with Maduro in an effort to reopen the border crossings.
One of the boats intercepted was carrying 143 illegal immigrants attempting to reach Europe

Egyptian naval forces foiled two attempts at illegal immigration to Europe near Alexandria, the Egyptian armed forces spokesperson announced earlier Sunday.

According to army spokesperson Mohamed Samir, naval forces intercepted a boat near Alexandria and found it was carrying 143 illegal immigrants of different nationalities, including Egyptians, Sudanese, Syrians, Palestinians and Ethiopians heading to Europe.

naval forces also managed to stop another boat carrying five illegal immigrants from Egypt in addition to four crew members near Alexandria.

Both boats and their passengers were taken to Abu Qir port where they received medical care and where legal proceedings are being taken.

In recent years, thousands of refugees and migrants have attempted to cross the Mediterranean. Hundreds have been arrested in Egypt for attempting to migrate illegally.

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A number of Egyptian MPs issued statements against what they called the 'excessive use of police force' against blacks in the US

Related Minneapolis area police kill black man during traffic stop

A number of Egyptian MPs said in separate statements they were outraged by what they called the wide use of excessive force against black protesters in recent days in the United States.

They also argued that the repeated police shootings of black Americans exposes the "illusion of American democracy and its alleged respect for human rights".

MP Margaret Azer, deputy chairman of Egypt parliament's human rights committee, said in a statement that she was appalled by the brutality of American police.

"I think that all Egyptian MPs and defenders of human rights should move to condemn the repeated brutal use of force against black Americans and expose the bloody face of the United States and its politicised use of the issue of human rights to extort other nations," said Azer.

Azer's statement added that "the United States, which likes to give lectures on human rights to other nations and issue periodical reports on civil liberties in the world, was caught red handed violating human rights and crushing the peaceful protests of black Americans in the city of Dallas and other US cities."



US protests

Thousands of black protesters took to the streets in different US cities this week after two black Americans were killed by police officers in Minnesota and Louisiana, and a former member of the US military shot dead five cops in Texas in what he said was retaliation for the repeated killing of blacks by police.

The civil rights movement Black Lives Matter was formed three years ago to protest what it says is the excessive use of force by police against black Americans.

Yosri El-Moghazi, an independent MP, also said in a statement that "wide-scale street protests" in America show that the US suffers from various social ills such as racial discrimination, police brutality, social inequality, and wide-scale violations of human rights and civil liberties.

"But instead of reforming themselves, the Americans opted to put a cover on these ills and extort other nations on the issue of human rights," said El-Moghazi.

El-Moghazi agrees with Azer that police brutality and excessive force against black protesters should come as a golden opportunity for Egyptian and Arab MPs and politicians to expose the falseness of American democracy and its violation of human rights.

"[The Egyptian] parliament's human rights committee should hold at least one session to review bloody incidents in America and give its opinion about these incidents," said El-Moghazi, indicating that "committees in the US congress not only issue periodical critical reports of the record of human rights in Egypt and other Middle Eastern countries, but they also pay visits our region to give these countries lectures on human rights."

Ilhami Agina, an independent MP and a member of parliament's human rights committee, also said in a statement that "the excessive use of force against black Americans in the US has exposed the ugly face of Western regimes and that these regimes are deeply involved in wide scale racial discrimination."

"[US President Barack] Obama, who came to Cairo in 2009 to give us a long lecture on human rights, might have forgotten that it is America that needs radical reform," said Agina.

Agina told reporters that he sent a letter to Egypt's foreign minister Sameh Shoukry asking him to summon the US ambassador in Egypt  Stephen Beecroft  to convey Egypt's dissatisfaction with the excessive use of force against blacks and urge the American government to reform its record on human rights.

"Egypt is now the head of the Arab summit and so it should give a say on what happens in America, but if Shoukry does not opt to do this, he should at least do as the US State Department, which always grants itself the right to comment on judicial and political issues in Egypt," said Agina.

Abdel-Rehim Ali, an independent MP and journalist, said in a statement that the brutal use of force against black Americans also clearly shows the double-standards of local and international human rights organisations.

"The fatal shootings of black Americans on American streets have erupted amid silence from radical liberal organisations like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International," said Ali.

"We know why they kept silent, because they getmoney from America."

Abdel-Rehim's statement also argued that "black protests in America could be the beginning of an American Spring that will expose the falseness of the white mans democracy in America and its false reports about human rights in the Arab world."

"I think a complete plenary session in our parliament should be held to expose America's ugly face and warn citizens not to be deceived by its claims about democracy," said Abdel-Rehim.

Hafez Abu Siida, director of the Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights (EOHR), told reporters this week that local human rights organisations in Egypt cannot issue a statement about recent black protests in America unless they have the complete and true details.

"Once we will have the complete details, I think our duty will be to issue strong statements against any violations of human rights in the United States."

The liberal Free Egyptians Party also issued a statement condemning the excessive use of force against African Americans.

Ayman Abu Ela, the parliamentary spokesman of the Free Egyptians Party, told reporters that he also hopes that Egypt's parliament will hold a session on America's violations of human rights.

"The US administration and media, which have always accused Egypt of issuing a tough protest law have nothing to say now about their police brutality against black protesters," said Abul Ela, also agreeing with other MPs that "the recent incidents of excessive force and police brutality in America have uncovered the falseness of American democracy and its flawed reports about human rights in the Arab world."

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Cold Spring Harbor, NY - Like pancreatic cancer, cancer of the ovaries is notorious for being discovered at a relatively late stage - after it has spread to other sites in the body. It is not called "the silent killer" for nothing. Fully two-thirds of women who are diagnosed find out at Stage 3 or later, once metastasis has begun. Fewer than 25% of such women survive 5 years - while the corresponding figure for those fortunate enough to be diagnosed at Stages 1 and 2, when the cancer is still localized, is between 70% and 90%.

Today, a team of researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory reports in the journal Genes & Development that they have arrived at "new insights into signaling events that underlie metastasis in ovarian cancer cells," says Gaofeng Fan, Ph.D., postdoctoral investigator who conducted most of the experiments, in the laboratory of his mentor, CSHL Professor Nicholas K. Tonks.

"The statistics point to the urgent need to address advanced disease - metastasis - in ovarian cancer," Fan says. "The problem is especially difficult because of a feature specific to this form of cancer: ovarian cells move around readily within the peritoneal cavity, via the peritoneal fluid, both under normal conditions, and also, unfortunately, when cancer is present. Thus, in addition to being able to colonize other sites in the body via blood vessels, ovarian cancer cells have another way of migrating. It's very hard to render patients free of the disease via surgery due to this diffusion feature."

Fan, Tonks and colleagues have found a previously undiscovered pathway through which ovarian cells can be transformed into cancer cells, one they think provides an excellent opportunity for targeting by new drugs, which, when combined with others now in development, may be able to stave off metastatic disease.

The newly uncovered pathway depends on activity of a protein called FER, a member of a family of proteins (called non-receptor tyrosine kinases) that add phosphate groups to other proteins. FER can be found floating in the cytoplasm of cells, and in a series of initial experiments, Fan and the team demonstrated that it is both "upregulated," i.e., overproduced, in ovarian cancer cells, and, importantly, responsible for the elevated motility and invasiveness of such cells. This was observed in human ovarian cancer cells grown in culture, and then in mouse models of the disease.

The key discovery made by the CSHL team is that FER is able to activate a receptor on the surface of ovarian cells "from below," as it were - by interacting with a portion of the receptor that penetrates the cell membrane and plunges into the cytoplasm. That receptor is a well known target in ovarian cancer. Called MET, it is typically activated when a growth factor called HGF binds it at the cell surface. MET is overexpressed in up to 60% of ovarian tumors and its activation has been implicated in both cancer initiation and in advanced cancers with poor prognosis.

Unsurprisingly, then, MET is the target of a number of drug development efforts, which have in common the aim of blocking MET's activation. So far, candidate MET inhibitors have had weak anti-tumor effects, when administered alone. "It seems ovarian cancer cells are finding other ways to activate pro-cancer signaling 'downstream' of MET," Fan says.

The significance of Fan and Tonks' research on FER is their discovery of how FER activates MET from below, i.e., in the absence of a growth factor docking at the receptor surface. They call this form of activation "non-ligand-dependent," and in a complex series of biochemical and animal experiments, traced the pathway through which FER's binding to MET inside the cell sets off a cascade of cell-signaling events, all directly connected in prior research with cancer initiation, including RAC1/PAK1 and SHP2-ERK.

By setting off these oncogenic cascades, FER, simply by adding a phosphate to the MET receptor, itself becomes a potentially attractive drug target. This is especially so since in animal models of ovarian cancer, Fan and the team demonstrated that FER's suppression reduced cancer cell motility and sharply reduced metastasis.

"We showed FER was essential for ovarian cancer cell motility and invasiveness, both in vitro and in vivo," Tonks says. "Considering that frequent amplification of MET accounts for resistance to therapies now in development and to poor prognosis, not only in ovarian cancer but in other cancers too, our findings pinpoint an important new signaling hub, involving the role of FER in MET activation. This may provide a novel strategy for therapeutic intervention, perhaps a drug to suppress FER being administered along with a MET inhibitor."

###

This work was supported by NIH grants CA53840 and GM55989, CIHR grant #219806, and the CSHL Cancer Centre Support Grant CA45508. Dr. Tonks is also grateful for support from the following foundations: The Gladowsky Breast Cancer Foundation, The Don Monti Memorial Research Foundation, Irving Hansen Foundation, West Islip Breast Cancer Coalition for Long Island, Glen Cove CARES, Find a Cure Today (FACT), Constance Silveri, Robertson Research Fund and the Masthead Cove Yacht Club Carol Marcincuk Fund.

"HGF-independent Regulation of MET and GAB1 by Non-Receptor Tyrosine Kinase FER Potentiates Metastasis in Ovarian Cancer" appears online in Genes & Development on July 11, 2016. The authors are: Gaofeng Fan, Siwei Zhang, Yan Gao, Peter A. Greer and Nicholas K. Tonks. The paper can be accessed at: http://genesdev.cshlp.org/

About Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

Founded in 1890, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory has shaped contemporary biomedical research and education with programs in cancer, neuroscience, plant biology and quantitative biology. Home to eight Nobel Prize winners, the private, not-for-profit Laboratory employs 1,100 people including 600 scientists, students and technicians. The Meetings & Courses Program hosts more than 12,000 scientists from around the world each year on its campuses in Long Island and in Suzhou, China. The Laboratory's education arm also includes an academic publishing house, a graduate school and programs for middle and high school students and teachers. For more information, visit http://www.cshl.edu
Hi Guys,



My wife who is an EU citizen living here in UK as QP since last 10 years (Student for 5 years and working for ever since). She received her EEA PR recently and preparing to get her UK Citizenship in 12 months time.I am a non EU citizen, presently on Residence Card (RC for 3 years, Married for 4 years and living together since 5 years).



She recently received a really good job offer in Switzerland (better position..good for her career) which is a contract for 6 months with possibility of extending to 1 year. We have few questions regarding this and hope to find some advise here.



If she accepts the job offer and moves to Switzerland for 6 months..(she will be flying back to UK every 2 weeks for weekends)



1) Is she still eligible to apply for her UK citizenship after 12 months ?

2) If the contract gets extended to a year? is her PR invalid and dose it make her ineligible for UK Citizenship? Dose she again need to have 5 years continues residence here in UK to get her PR and eventually her Citizenship?

3) I am in a very good job here in UK. if she moves to Switzerland for 6 months, because I am on RC do I need to move with her as well? Dose it make my UK residence card invalid if she is working else where and I am here in UK?

4) If I need to move with her, on our return to UK after 6 months/1 year (we own a house and our life is well established here) do I again need to wait 5 years on residence card before applying for my PR (not sure how this will happen after Brexit)



Any advise is most welcome...



Thanks for your help in advance!



Kind regards,

Vj
Hi, wanted to join any badminton club who wants to accept me as a beginners and want to learn & go for a training.
Hello everyone, I was wondering if there's a way to get USD in 6th October(state) be it on ATMs or in banks. The black market exchange rate here is some how high compared to the amount I want to exchange.

Any advice or recommendations will be appreciated. Thanks
Working remotely for a US firm, you will be "working in France" and thus subject to the French taxes and social insurances. If your employer has a French office, you should be paid through their payroll - but it's highly likely your employer will not like this arrangement because the French "payroll taxes" (i.e. social insurances) are actually much higher than what they pay on your behalf in the US.



If you're only planning on going over for a year or two, and then return to the US, you may be able to convince the consulate to give you a visitor visa with the remote job as your funding source, but you may need to show some other "reason" for wanting to spend a year or two in France. But if you're planning on moving over indefinitely, you are likely to run into problems, particularly with the local prefecture when you go to renew your carte de sejour (residence permit) and have to show the source of your funding.

Cheers,

Bev
tobyr said: I have a chandelier (lustre) that I want wired up, it's already hanging but needs the wires run through it etc.... Click to expand...

tobyr said: Any suggestions on how to protect against accidental damage to the lustre since it's old and fragile? Do electricians in France have insurance against accidental damage they may cause? I'm wondering if I should take pictures before or anything like that or is that going overboard?... Click to expand...

I should think it's likely it will need to be taken down, disassembled, wired, and reassembled...as the work would be difficult to perform with it in place.If you have concerns for the safety of the chandelier, hire an electrician who's part of a society with an EURL or EIRL and ask the electrician if his/her insurance will cover the cost of any damages to your chandelier. This will make the job more expensive, of course, but if you want to be repaid if it's damaged, that seems like the way to go.If this were my concern, I would take photos of the chandelier both before it's disassembled and after, paying particular attention to the ends of the sections where damage might be done as well as to any delicate bits. Your photos will also serve as a roadmap to reassemble the fixture once it's disassembled.All that said, I would trust our electrician to do that sort of work for us without hesitation. I recommend you ask your neighbors who would use for this sort of project with a delicate chandelier. They will know.Best of luck.Ray
Verdicts ranged from three years to life in prison

A military court sentenced to prison 18 supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi for rioting and allegedly belonging to the banned Muslim Brotherhood group, with verdicts ranging from three years to life in prison.

Two defendants were sentenced to three years in prison, 10 were sentenced to 15 years in absentia, six received life sentences, and three were acquitted.

The defendants were initially charged with involvement in violence incidences during protests where they clashed with police in February 2015 in Minya's Samallout in Upper Egypt.

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By the way, would you share about taxes/filing. We will have - of course -no income earned in IT, no property owned, no IT bank account...filing US tXes... Click to expand...

Not to me. But if you attempt to renew a PdS that expired in 2014, then it's highly likely you would get questions about why you remained in Italy illegally, why you didn't file tax returns, why you didn't notify the Anagrafe of your moves, etc. That's what renewal means, doesn't it -- that you never stopped being a resident of Italy when, in fact, you did? Residents of Italy have certain obligations.....Stick to the truth: a new PdS application.Lovely, but you would still be a tax resident of Italy, still obliged to file an Italian tax return (with Form RW). Yes, you would file and pay in the U.S. on your income, but then you'd also file in Italy (and take a foreign tax credit to account for U.S. income tax paid, and take whatever tax treaty provisions you're entitled to take). Italy's tax rates are generally higher than those in the U.S., so you might end up owing a bit of income tax in Italy. Italy also has wealth taxes (on foreign financial and real estate assets), so you'll probably owe something there, too. I'm rather surprised any of this is a surprise.Welcome (back) to Italy.
The family in Oregon has to take boxes to California to ship.They shipped boxes just 2 weeks ago,and the Atlas office told them that they are also imposing 100lb weight limits beginning the 1st of July.(now in effect obviously)We do our level best to avoid using LBC.They take an additional 2 weeks minimum to arrive here...and their customer service is horrid.Send an email to customer service and you will wait 3 days for a reply..send a message to Atlas,and get a reply the same day.Last time we used LBC,they held our boxes 4 extra days rather than pay an extra driver to deliver,and we are only 10 kilometers from their local office.So,after more that 15yrs and probably 40 boxes sent to not only our home,but to family here,we don't use LBC unless we are totally without options.We used to be big supporters of LBC,but now I never pass an opportunity to express my disgust at their lack of concern for timely deliver of boxes.Atlas on the other hand,has shown to be the better company by far.So,did my dislike of LBC seem apparent enough?
Related Egypt FM Shoukry heads to Israel

Egypt's foreign minister Sameh Shoukry, in a rare visit to Israel, said Sunday his country is still a "steadfast and unwavering" supporter of the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"Achieving the vision of the two-state solution requires steps for building confidence, as well as a genuine will that does not waver under any circumstances," Shoukry said.



"Egypt is committed to supporting Israeli-Palestinian peace and is willing to provide all possible forms of assistance."

Shoukry, the first Egyptian foreign minister to visit Israel since 2007, spoke alongside Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, underlining that the two-state solution is supported by Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and other state officials.

"My visit comes in the context of President El-Sisi's vision for establishing peace between the Israeli and Palestinian peoples  bringing this long conflict to an end," he stated.



"This will have a far-reaching and dramatic positive impact on conditions in the entire Middle East. Egypt is ready to contribute to achieving this goal.

"Ever since the cessation of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians in 2014 the situation on the ground has been in constant deterioration on the humanitarian, economic and security levels. The dream of peace and security moves further out of reach as long as the conflict continues. It is no longer acceptable to continue the status quo."

For his part, Netanyahu heaped praise on the Egyptian authorities and El-Sisi, calling on Palestinians to follow in their footsteps.

"I welcome President Sisi's recent offer of Egyptian leadership in efforts to advance peace with the Palestinians and broader peace in our region," he said.

"I call again on the Palestinians to follow the courageous example of Egypt and Jordan and join us for direct negotiations. This is the only way we can address all the outstanding issues between us and turn the vision of peace based on two states for two peoples into a reality."

Egypt is currently supporting the Paris peace initiative aimed at reviving negotiations between the Palestinians and Israelis.

The talks between Shoukry and Netanyahu during the visit will also tackle bilateral relations and regional developments.

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Shropshire

A Full-Time position is available for an assistant herdsperson on a family dairy farm in mid Shropshire. We have a 250 dairy herd rearing own replacements together with a b...
Farmers across the South West can now access free and confidential advice to help improve water quality and boost the health of their livestock and crops.

Over the next five years, the Westcountry Rivers Trust and partners are aiming to give 750 farmers practical tips on how to benefit from best practice, protect water quality and reduce the risk of pollutants, especially chemicals that enter our rivers.

Through the multi-award-winning Upstream Thinking project, which is funded by South West Water, farmers in priority locations, with land connected to rivers above water abstraction points, can potentially also apply for grants to fund improvement works.

The Westcountry Rivers Trusts network of catchment advisors will each work with their local farms based near rivers from the Exe on the border of Devon and Somerset down to Cornwall.

After conducting a full review of a farm, they will advise farmers on the value of changes, such as introducing watercourse fencing or livestock drinking points, improving guttering and roofing to separate clean and dirty water, upgrading dung stores and slurry pits or better soil management.

The aim is to find solutions that not only reduce the risk of pollutants entering the water course, but also make the farm more efficient and more productive.

Upstream Thinking is based on the principle that agricultural practices have a huge impact on water quality.

The aim is to reduce the amount of unwanted substances in river water, which in turn helps to control the cost of chemicals and energy needed to turn raw water into high quality tap water.

It is a proactive approach to solving problems to bring about improved water quality, benefits to wildlife and improved efficiencies for farms plus helping to build in greater future resilience.

Advice that will 'make a real difference'

Hazel Kendall, Head of Land Management at the Westcountry Rivers Trust said: "As we face more extreme or unpredictable weather events, farmers have an increasingly difficult job to manage their land.

"With flooding becoming a frequent event, it is more important than ever that we protect our crucial resources such as soil and water.

"Contaminants including pesticides are more likely than ever to get carried into the rivers and farmers need simple, practical solutions as they are under increased pressure."

"Through Upstream Thinking, the Westcountry Rivers Trust can give free, confidential advice that will make a real difference.

"Were here to offer a fresh perspective and win-win solutions that not only benefit the local river but also help make the farmers life easier, and crucially save money."
The Welsh meat sector has expressed its determination to work to secure the future of Wales red meat industry amid the political uncertainties caused by the EU Referendum result.

"Since the Referendum result a fortnight ago, HCC has been determined to ensure that the needs of the red meat industry are heard loud and clear.

"We have had discussions over the key issue of the terms of trade with important European and worldwide markets," said Board of Hybu Cig Cymru  Meat Promotion Wales (HCC) Chairman, Dai Davies, at its meeting in Aberystwyth today on Friday.

Mr. Davies emphasised that overseas trade would continue to be vital to the prosperity of rural Wales: "In the short-term, business will continue as usual.

"But for the future we have to ensure that the needs of Welsh red meat are considered in trade negotiations, and that arrangements are put in place for the vital PGI status of Welsh Lamb and Welsh Beef which are such important markers of the quality and traceability of our produce.

"It was reassuring to hear the UK Secretary of State refer to the importance of this issue in Parliament yesterday."

British protected food name status

Responding to a question in the House of Commons, Environment Secretary Liz Truss told MPs she wanted to develop a "British protected food name status" as a replacement for the EU scheme currently in operation.

Under the current system, regional and traditional foods are given legal protection against imitation throughout the EU.

There are 74 currently protected food and drink products across the UK, including Welsh lamb, Kentish ale and Melton Mowbray pork pies.

Mr. Davies added: "Our Board Members reported that farmers and all sections of the red meat supply chain felt that the work of HCC in protecting and developing markets for Welsh produce was needed more than ever.

"Hybu Cig Cymrus focus remains on securing the best deal for levy-payers, and a sustainable future for the Welsh red meat industry.

"The Referendum result will undoubtedly lead to a period of uncertainty; HCC has an important role to play in mitigating any instability and ensuring the maintenance of current trade.

"We stand ready to work with the Welsh Government to ensure the best deal for the industry."
The foiled attack is the latest in a series of security force operations against militants in North Sinai

Egyptian security forces foiled Sunday an attack that was set to target a security checkpoint in North Sinai's Sheikh Zuweid city, the Egyptian military said.

In an official statement, army spokesman Brigadier General Mohamed Samir said that security forces "were able to thwart the attack after they monitored a gathering of militants near the checkpoint based on intelligence information, killing them through strikes conducted by air forces and field artillery."

The statement did not include information about the number of militants killed in the "pre-emptive strike."

The army spokesman also shared information regarding the army's major hits in the last couple of days, announcing the killing of 14 militants in a shootout during combing and raid operations in the areas of Al-Arish, Rafah and Sheikh Zuweid.

He added that the killed militants possessed three fire machine guns, 234 bullets, two grenades, and wireless devices.

The security forces were also able to arrest 12 suspects, two of whom were wanted, as well as dismantling an improvised explosive device (IED) that was to be planted targeting moving forces.

According to the army, the latest announced hits against militants come in continuation of the "Martyrs' Right" operation, a comprehensive joint military and police operation that started in September 2015.

Egypt's security forces have been fighting a decade-long Islamist insurgency in parts of North Sinai that spiked following the 2013 ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.



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Alzheimer's patient among those raising money in Fayetteville

Jay Reinstein, a former assistant Fayetteville city manager, is among those walking to raise money for Alzheimer's research Saturday at Segra Stadium.
This first round-the-world solar flight was launched with the aim of promoting clean technology

The solar-powered airplane Solar Impulse 2 will land at Cairo International Airport on Wednesday, according to Solar Impulse's official website.

Solar Impulse 2 will take off from Seville, Spain at 6:30am CET Monday for a 48-hour flight to Cairo, with the cruising speed varying between 45 km/h and 90 km/h.

Bertrand Piccard, psychiatrist and explorer, and Andre Borschberg, engineer and entrepreneur, initiated this first round-the-world solar flight with the aim of promoting clean technology.

The tour started in March 2015 in Abu Dhabi, the departure and arrival host city.

The flight is piloted by Borschberg, who will control "the second-to-last flight on this round-the-world adventure without a single drop of fuel," the website said.

The flight path will take the plane over the pyramids, Egyptian aviation ministry sources told Ahram Arabic website, with 65 civil aviation officials to receive the flight and host the pilot.

Solar Impulse 2 crossed the Pacific Ocean in five days and nights from Japan to Hawaii, the first oceanic crossing of a solar plane.

Its cruising speed varies between 45 km/h and 90 km/h.

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Parents worry. I did. Do. All those dangers are there, accidents waiting to happen. Hazards at home and away. Thankfully our children were healthy and not particularly accident prone, so hospital visits were occasional. Nuts were removed from noses, the drawing pins that were swallowed caused no harm and fevers were weathered. The GP or A&E was a place of final resort as most things got better with time. Sometimes I was too dismissive - diagnosing that broken toe as a sprain for example. Sorry. Nevertheless I continued to fret about what might happen. Then something did. Our children, staying with good friends, were trapped in a house fire and rescued from an attic window by the fire-brigade. We were lucky, so very lucky. I remember the reek of smoke as I arrived at the hospital, the surrealism of media attention, hearing a news item about the incident in the taxi home and film crews landing outside our door as soon as we got back. My son's actions were deemed a sterling example of the value of fire-safety education. He had pushed bedding against the door to stop the smoke coming in the room where he and his little sister were waiting - something he'd learned at a fire-safety visit to his primary school. After their rescue there was a visit to the fire-station, a photo with Welephant, a certificate commending him. I became a little paranoid after that, wanting to know before agreeing to sleepovers if the house they were invited to had a working smoke alarm. Refusing to have a chip pan in the house.

Cath Staincliffe

The worry doesn't really go away, does it? Perhaps the focus of it shifts as children become young people: from plug sockets and chicken pox and road safety to mental health and bullying or unemployment and the dangers of legal highs. And if it's hard to manage when the children are underfoot, it feels even harder when they up-sticks and travel overseas. Reassurance and advice can be doled out by text message or over Skype but there's an awful distance when things go wrong. I've had some experience of this. My son, now living in China, tried to break up a fight and his face was slashed with a broken bottle. The glass cut his jaw and he required emergency hospital treatment to stitch the wounds and administer pain relief and anti-biotics. He let us know once he'd been seen to. He is scarred for life. Another inch and the bottle would have cut open his neck, a little higher he'd have lost an eye. It doesn't bear thinking about. Except I do. As a writer I draw on all that worry, all those unspeakable fears and put them on the page, conjuring up the nightmares and traumas that haunt me. It's a form of release perhaps, a way of facing the monsters, sharing the feelings through a story. So when I was thinking of ideas for my next novel, some nightmare that could happen to any of us, it was only a small step to come up with the notion of a person suddenly vanishing, a graduate who disappears on her gap year abroad. And her parents' desperate search for her. And where better to set the story than in China - a country so very different to the UK and somewhere I could visit and research with the help of my son. During the trip there, the story blossomed in my mind and I wrote some of the key scenes but mainly I soaked up the atmosphere, documenting everything I saw and heard and smelled, and spent the rest of the year refashioning it all into the desperate quest that is Half The World Away.

Half the World Away by Cath Staincliffe is published by Constable, price 7.99, available now
Dolly Parton isn't worried about topping the charts.

Dolly Parton

The '9 to 5' hitmaker insists she isn't bothered about making "big hit records" anymore and would rather release tracks that are more "personal" to her.

Speaking to Billboard magazine at a press conference in Toronto, Canada, she said: "I'm one of those people, I don't do it for commercial reasons. I just write what I write and I sing what I sing and I just get in and do it. At this point in my life I'd probably have more success if I would work with other important people, but my songs are just so personal.

"If I'm looking for big hit records, I'd probably go looking for a big producer, but for now I like doing what I'm doing and I'm happy and content with that. And my true fans accept that."

Meanwhile, Dolly previously admitted she will "never retire."

She shared: "The only thing that would stop me is if I just couldn't do it for health reasons, but as long as I can do it I want to do it. I'll never retire. I wouldn't know what to do. I'm excited every day. I still love it."

However, she knows it is important to take time off to spend time with her husband Carl Dean.

She added: "We like to get out in our little RV and just be simple. I love to read, I love to cook, I love to be with my husband. I put on my little comfy clothes - I call them my baby clothes - and we just relax.

"He loves to go on vacation or on little trips, but he doesn't want to be gone a long time. He wants to be mostly around the house. He knows I'm just the opposite. I can't go enough places. I can't do enough things. He loves that."
Anoop Menon is all set to join hands with Mohanlal once again for an upcoming film. They both would be seen together in Mohanlals next film, which would be directed by Jibu Jacob.

According to the reports, Anoop Menon would be essaying the role, which was earlier supposed to be done by Biju Menon.

Mohanlal, would be seen in the role of a Panchayath Secretary in this film which has been tentatively titled as Pranayopanishath.

The film has its script written by P Sindhuraj. Biju Menon, had to pull out of the project owing to his busy schedule. The actors recent release Anuraga Karikkin Vellam is doing a good business at the theatres.

Interestingly, this film would mark the comeback of Mohanlal to common man roles. The film would also have Meena, Aima Sebastian, Aju Varghese etc. in prominent roles. The film is expected to go on the floors on July 15th.

In fact, Anoop Menon would be seen in the role of a friend to the character played by Mohanlal in the film. According to the reports, actor would be seen as a government official.

Both Mohanlal and Anoop Menon, were previously seen together in the film Kanal, directed by M Padmakumar. They have also shared screen space in films like Pranayam, Grandmaster, Rock N Roll etc.
Egypt is set to participate in the upcoming 24th Nile Council ministerial meeting to be held in Uganda on 14 July, the cabinet's spokesman announced on Sunday.

According to cabinet spokesman Hossam Qawish, Prime Minister Sherif Ismail held a meeting with irrigation minister Mohamed Abdel-Ati and representatives of various bodies to review several issues, including preparations for the Egyptian participation in the African meeting.

The Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) is a regional intergovernmental partnership that seeks to develop the River Nile in a cooperative manner, in which involved countries share an objective of achieving sustainable socio-economic development and fair use of Nile Basin water resources.

The supreme decision and policy-making body of the NBI is the Nile Council of Ministers (Nile-COM), which consists of irrigation ministers from Egypt, Burundi, DR Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda

Several meetings are expected to be held by the Egyptian minister with his counterparts from the Nile Basin countries to discuss projects being executed in the frame of strengthening relations between Egypt and other African nations.

According to Qawish, several projects will be discussed, including projects related to agricultural cooperation with Mozambique and other African countries.

The minister is also set to inaugurate several projects that Egypt is undertaking in Uganda, including working towards lowering the effects and dangers of floods.

According to Qawish, the meeting headed by Ismail saw discussion on the preparation of an atlas for Nile Basin countries that includes maps and data based on the biological, hydrologic and demographical aspects of the countries, as well as indicators of economic and social development.

The creation of a database documenting the current and future water status in Nile Basin countries until 2050 was also discussed.

"It was stressed during the meeting the necessity of moving forward with effectuating and developing the water resource strategy in Egypt through projects based on specific timing for implementation, especially with the government's keenness to provide the necessary funds for such projects," Qawish added.

The cabinet also stressed on the importance of working on controlling water consumption and spreading awareness among citizens on saving water in light of challenges related to the country's population growth and agricultural and industrial water usage.

The water issue has been a vital point for the Egyptian leadership, with the country saying that the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam  which Egypt has maintained would affect its supply of Nile water  was a reality.

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Governance project failing so group is re-prioritizing insurgency; New IHS Conflict Monitor map shows areas under control and territory lost in past 18 months

Territory controlled by the Islamic State shrunk by 12 percent in the first six months of 2016, according to new analysis released today by IHS Inc. (NYSE: IHS), the leading global source of critical information and insight.

This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160710005034/en/

Islamic State territorial losses between January 2015 and July 2016 (Photo: IHS Conflict Monitor)

In 2015, the Islamic State's caliphate shrunk by 12,800 km2 to 78,000 km2, a net loss of 14 percent. In the first six months of 2016, that territory shrunk again by 12 percent. As of 4 July 2016, the Islamic State controls roughly 68,300 km2 in Iraq and Syria, which is roughly the size of Ireland or the US state of West Virginia.

"Over the past 18 months, the Islamic State has continued to lose territory at an increasing rate," said Columb Strack, senior analyst at IHS and lead analyst for the IHS Conflict Monitor. "As the Islamic State's caliphate shrinks and it becomes increasingly clear that its governance project is failing, the group is re-prioritizing insurgency. As a result, we unfortunately expect an increase in mass casualty attacks and sabotage of economic infrastructure, across Iraq and Syria, and further afield, including Europe."

In April 2016, the IHS Conflict Monitor team outlined the decline in primary revenue sources for the Islamic State. In mid-2015, the Islamic State's overall monthly revenue was around $80 million. As of March 2016, the Islamic State's monthly revenue dropped to $56 million. "This figure has probably continued to decrease since March by at least another 35%," said Ludovico Carlino, senior analyst at IHS. "Combined with the military setbacks on the ground, this is having an impact on the internal cohesion of the group as indicated by a marked increase in defections and desertions since January 2016."

What's next for the Islamic State?

"Over the coming year we are likely to see more towns and cities become isolated from the core caliphate, as was the case in Ramadi and Fallujah," Strack said. "This could enable the fragmentation and gradual defeat of the Islamic State as a conventional force."

The Islamic State is coming under increasing pressure in northern Syria, an area which IHS considers vital ground for the group, which it cannot afford to lose if its governance project is to survive. This includes Raqqa, the seat of the group's leadership and a model city for its governance project, and areas giving access to the Turkish border, via the logistics hubs of Manbij and al-Bab.

"The likely capture of Manbij by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) would have a major impact on the Islamic State's ability to supply Raqqa, and by extension the remainder of its territory, with new recruits and supplies, undermining its ability to govern," Strack said. "The Turkish border is the only viable entry and exit point for the caliphate, and reduced access since the loss of Tal Abyad in June 2015 has contributed to increasing pressure on the Islamic State's ability to fund itself."

It is this governance project that allows the Islamic State to claim that other jihadist groups need to submit to its authority. As the project fails, the Islamic State becomes more likely to cooperate with other jihadist groups.

Changes spotted in messaging

"For groups like the Islamic State, the battle for hearts and minds is just as important, if not more important, than the military confrontation. As such, the expansion of terrorist attacks outside the core caliphate helps the group claim that it is still gaining support and expanding its influence, despite setbacks in Iraq and Syria," said Firas Abi-Ali, senior principal analyst at IHS. "The Islamic State's messaging has therefore adjusted to the caliphate's loss of territory by pointing to its expansion outside Iraq and Syria, and to Allah's assurance of final victory."

About IHS(www.ihs.com)

IHS (NYSE: IHS) is the leading source of insight, analytics and expertise in critical areas that shape today's business landscape. Businesses and governments in more than 150 countries around the globe rely on the comprehensive content, expert independent analysis and flexible delivery methods of IHS to make high-impact decisions and develop strategies with speed and confidence. IHS has been in business since 1959 and became a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange in 2005. Headquartered in Englewood, Colorado, USA, IHS is committed to sustainable, profitable growth and employs about 8,800 people in 32 countries around the world.

IHS is a registered trademark of IHS Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners. 2015 IHS Inc. All rights reserved.

About the IHS Conflict Monitor

The IHS Conflict Monitor is an open-source intelligence collection and analysis service, which includes unrivalled data coverage of the conflict in Iraq and Syria, weekly control maps, as well as in-depth quantitative and qualitative analysis by IHS Jane's security experts.

To learn more and for a free trial please visit https://www.ihs.com/Info/0216/conflict-monitor.html.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160710005034/en/

Contacts:

IHS Inc.

Amanda Russo, +44 208 276 4727

Amanda.Russo@ihs.com

or

Paul Fox, +44 203 159 3576

Paul.Fox@ihs.com

or

Press Team, +1-303-305-802

press@ihs.com

Twitter: @IHS_news
CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Japan will on Monday release May figures for core machine orders, highlighting a modest day for Asia-Pacific economic activity. In April, core machine orders tumbled 11.0 percent on month and 8.2 percent on year. Japan also will see June figures for money stock; in May, the M2 stock was up 3.4 percent on year and the M3 stock added 2.8 percent. Japan will see preliminary June figures for machine tool orders; in May, orders plummeted 24.7 percent on year. New Zealand will provide June numbers for credit card spending. In May, overall card spending dipped 0.6 percent on month and retail spending dipped 0.3 percent. Australia will see May figures for home loans. In April, loans were up 1.7 percent, while the value of loans added 0.1 percent and investment lending tumbled 5.0 percent. 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.
I say, So you can talk about the politics of any country except the one you actually live in? I pay my taxes. Ill say what the f*** I want. Stefan Kaye doesnt like when the foreigner card is played against him. The London-bred, Delhi-based keyboardist and showrunner at dance/reggae band The Ska Vengers, which also features French bassist Tony Guinard, has thankfully never been accosted too often for every time they namecheck Bhagat Singh or even the current government in their high-energy sets.

One of Indias most fearless yet fun musicians, the six-piece band came together in 2009 after Kaye put up a listing about looking for people interested in playing ska music and found guitarist Raghav Dang. He eventually left the band in 2015 to concentrate on his role as a producer in one of Indias other best known reggae act, The Reggae Rajahs. Dang was replaced with guitarist Chaitanya Bhalla, who now jams with bassist Tony Guinard, drummer Nikhil Vasudevan, vocalists Samara Chopra aka Begum X and Taru Dalmia aka Delhi Sultanate.

After building up a catalogue of material that ranged from reggae to dancehall to rock, jazz and even channelled Kayes Latin influence with a horn section, the Ska Vengers released their debut self-titled album in 2012, with a few hiccups along the way. The album was initially intended to be distributed by a major record label in India, but they asked the band to do the one thing no band likes being told  to change their lyrics, because they were referencing the Naxal Movement. The album was eventually picked up by another record label who distributed the album as is. Dalmia says, In principle, reggae music  which is where most of our inspiration comes from, and its true for punk as well  has always been anti-establishment.

The Ska Vengers dont have any problems speaking their mind even today. They famously made the inmates of Tihar Jail dance to their music in April 2012, which took place after Kaye had spent three months behind bars after he hadnt reported that hed lost his passport. Kaye recalls the show, which later inspired the song Jail Mein, People enjoyed it and they were dancing. Many were told not to. Very few of them would have understood what we were singing about, but they just got along with the music.

Jail Mein, which addresses police brutality and government corruption, is part of their long-awaited sophomore album XX (pronounced as double cross), which features nine tracks of The Ska Vengers rabble-rouser brand of dance and reggae music. Independently released on 1 July, XX showcases an evolved band in terms of widening their sonic influences  fusing psychedelic jam sessions with RD Burman-esque scores to punk rock to party-starter reggae. Three years in the making, Kaye says they didnt want to work with any fixed deadline. He adds, Some of the first songs we recorded (as a band), were not really like that. Theres punk, theres Latin, theres Afro. While the track Afro-Fantasy was mainly improvised, with different takes put together in the studio, theres Chopras powerful range on display, the smooth to Dalmias rough and gruff verses on songs such as Double X, 011 (which Kaye says has a punk James Bond theme about it), Shut Your Mouth and Kick Up a Rumpus. Then theres the trippy Latin psychedelic jazz song El Cumbanchero/Red Fort Rock, which features trumpet player Kishore Sodha, who was part of Burmans orchestra. Kaye adds theres an underlying influence from Pink Floyd as well as RD Burman, whom he counts as one of the greatest orchestrators and bandleaders. We took some inspiration from the soundtrack to Jewel Thief.

The band first gave fans a taste of the new album with Frank Brazil, a single that released in 2015 with an animated video showcasing the tale of revolutionary Udham Singh, who assassinated Jalianwala Bagh Massacres lead figure Michael ODwyer. Dalmia says everything he wants to sing about  from Maoist leader Kishenjis murder to the Kabir Kala Manch being framed and the story of Udham Singh  is important for all times. He says, Theres a huge effort by the current government and Hindutvas to appropriate his name  like at Udham Singhs death anniversary, Modi tweeted Oh great son of India. The point is, the right wing in India doesnt have any icons, because they didnt support the freedom struggle. If those guys were saying what they were saying at that time, today, the same people trying to claim their legacy would call them anti-national. I think its important to bring them to light.

Dalmia goes on to pointedly criticise the current governments actions and agendas, every word seems to come from an informed view and not very different from the activists who raise slogans. 400,000 farmers commit suicide every year and youre creating some fairytale about how Musalmans are beef-eaters and Naxals are terrorists? asks Dalmia.

The band has taken this kind of questioning to festivals, corporate shows, private performances and club gigs across the country, in the US, Europe and even Afghanistan over the last six years. But the message is always delivered with the feet moving, Dalmia egging the crowd on to dance to their high-energy tunes. Kaye says theyve never run into much trouble, except perhaps online, when they released their version of reggae song A Message to You Rudy and made it into, Modi, A Message to You just before the 2014 general elections. But as Stefan notes, If some indignant Modi supporter calls us liberal idiots and I dont think thats trouble. I just think they dont like our point of view.

With shows lined up in Mumbai, Pune and Bengaluru between 14-16 July, The Ska Vengers are prepping to take their music to the UK, with shows at clubs and festivals across three months, including the prestigious Bestival gathering on the Isle of Wight in September. Its a true test of how the bands tossed up version of reggae music will be received in a region that greatly helped popularise the genre. Kaye says, I think we package it in our own unique way. Were not a revivalist, retro band in that sense. People might expect sitars and tablas or a throwback to the fusion electronica sound of the Asian Underground movement (which came under the limelight by the late Nineties), but therein lies the element of surprise for the Ska Vengers, according to Kaye.

He hopes that, like the Asian Underground, people will begin to wonder if its part of a movement, Kaye adds, I think if were successful with this tour, well create interest in other acts in India. I certainly hope so. We cant really make a living producing independent music in India. The only way is by looking outwards a bit.
FORWARD OPERATING BASE FENTY, Afghanistan An Afghan general leading the country's battle against Islamic State has noticed something peculiar about the militant group's fighters: They don't loot ammunition after raids against his forces.

For Lieutenant General Mohammad Waziri, it is a clear sign that the militants are well financed.

"They have a lot of money. Who's giving it to them? How (are) they getting funds? I don't know," Waziri, the commander of the Afghan army's 201st Selab Corps, told a small group of reporters on Sunday, speaking through a translator.

The financing, the persistence of Islamic State attacks andthe ease with which its forces are slipping back and forth across the Afghan-Pakistan border, are some of the reasons Waziri is not boasting too much about territorial inroads against the group this year.

Many of those advances have been the result of U.S. air strikes against the group launched since U.S. President Barack Obama allowed the U.S. military in January to strike militants linked to Islamic State's offshoot in Afghanistan, known as Islamic State-Khorasan Province.

General John Nicholson, the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, said the U.S. strikes had helped reduce the amount of territory where Islamic State has a presence in Nangarhar province to just two or three districts from a maximum of about nine last year. But Nicholson, too, was cautious.

"Is it as large as it once was? No. Are we encouraged by the reduction? Absolutely. But we need to keep the pressure on," he told reporters.

Militants linked to the Iraq- and Syria-based Islamic State have never made as much progress in Afghanistan. Here, the group is thought to consist mostly of disaffected members of other insurgent movements, including the Taliban, who have often battled Islamic State for control of areas in Nangarhar.

Waziri acknowledged an Islamic State presence in Kowt, Achin and Dih Bala districts.

Both Waziri and Nicholson, speaking separately, also warned about the group's presence along the border with Pakistan. Waziri said Islamic State militants had training centers and arms depots there and estimated the group had up to 2,000 fighters in the border area.

"They come and they leave," Waziri said, speaking at U.S. Forward Operating Base Fenty in Nangarhar province.

Nicholson said Pakistan's military leadership had also become concerned about Islamic State's recruitment of Pakistani militants on its side of the Afghan-Pakistan border.

"These are the Taliban on the (Pakistan) side of the border who are fighting against Pakistan. Many of them have joined Islamic State," he said.

(Editing by Helen Popper)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Srinagar: The death toll in violence in Kashmir Valley rose to 16 after a youth was killed and four other persons succumbed to the injuries they sustained in Saturday's clashes with security forces. Also, a policeman has been killed as mob threw his vehicle into river in Sangam, according to NDTV.

Irfan Ahmad Malik, 17, was killed in fresh firing in Pulwama district where a curfew-defying mob attacked the security forces, a senior police official said.

Four other persons, identified as Imtiyaz Ahmad Mandoo, Mashooq Ahmad and Safeer Ahmad, all from Anantnag district, and Mohammmad Altaf Rather from Pulwama district died at a hospital on Sunday.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has met Jammu Kashmir Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti to take stock of the situation and assured her of complete support from the Centre. He also said that the situation in Kashmir is under control and peace will be restored soon.

Kashmir was on Saturday rattled by widespread mob violence and clashes which left 11 people dead and 126, including 96 security forces personnel, injured even as curfew was clamped across the Valley and mobile internet services suspended to contain the fallout of gunning down of militant commander Burhan Wani.

A top official said curfew has been imposed across the Valley and restrictions put in place to avert fresh trouble.

Three policemen were also missing after a large mob attacked a police station, set it ablaze and used its weaponary to shoot and injure three cops, police said.

The eight protesters killed on Saturday were identified as Aijaz Ahmed Thokru, a resident of Siligam in Anantnag, Yawar Manzoor Kondru of Anantnag, Khursheed Ahmed of Kulgam and Zubair Ahmed also of Kulgam, who was injured on Friday but succumbed to his injuries on Saturday, Adil Bashir of Dooru, Anantnag, Abdul Hamid Mochi of Arwami village in Anantnag, Shaukat Ahmed of Bijbehara and Mohammad Asif of Kukurnag.

All except Kondru who drowned in the Jhelum as security forces sought to disperse a violent mob were killed when security forces retaliated to attacks by violent mobs on police stations, mobile posts, security force pickets, police patrols and security force vehicles, the officials said.

Two more injured succumbed to injuries in hospital but were yet to be identified.

Defying prohibitory orders, a surging crowd of over 20,000 people on Saturday attended the burial of Wani in Tral town in Pulwama.

Shouting pro-Islam and pro-Azadi slogans, mourners appeared surcharged and youths raised slogans vowing to follow Wani's path.

Amid the protests, militants attacked a police station in Pulwama as well as a tehsildar's office in Tral and attacked private and public vehicles on the highway, which was thwarted by the security forces .

In view of the volatile situation, Amarnath Yatra was also suspended, with police saying it will be resumed "as soon as it is possible to ensure security of yatris".

The administration also announced that all exams from school to university level had been postponed as well as the National Eligibility Test and interviews of the State Public Commission.

Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti appealed for calm while expressing "profound" grief and agony over the deaths during the protests and asked security forces to avoid use of disproportionate force for crowd control. "Violence only brings miseries to the people and tragedies for the victim families," she said and appealed people, especially the youth not to fall prey to the machinations of the vested interests, who play politics over the dead bodies of Kashmiris.

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah voiced apprehension of a likely spurt in militancy in the Valley in the wake of Wani's killing.

"Mark my words - Burhan's ability to recruit in to militancy from the grave will far outstrip anything he could have done on social media," the National Conference leader said in a series of tweets.

He also asserted that Wani had become the new 'icon' for the disaffected community in the valley.

"After many years I hear slogans for "Azadi" resonate from the mosque in my uptown Srinagar locality. Kashmir's disaffected got a new icon yesterday," he said in another tweet.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said Centre is working with the state government to bring normalcy in the Valley. He also expressed "deep anguish" over the "loss of precious lives in the incidents of violence" in Kashmir and appealed for calm. He held a meeting in Delhi on Sunday to review the law and order situation in the Valley.

#FLASH HM Rajnath Singh chairs high level meeting to review law & order situation in J&K following protests over #BurhanWani's killing  ANI (@ANI_news) July 10, 2016

Home Secy,Joint Secy (Kashmir division),I&B Chief & senior MHA officials present at meet being held at HM Rajnath Singh's residence in Delhi  ANI (@ANI_news) July 10, 2016

Separatists, including hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani, moderate Mirwaiz Umer Farooq and Yasin Malik earlier called for a day's strike to protest Wani's killing. Later, they announced to continue their shutdown on Sunday and Monday too to protest the "killing spree by the Indian security forces".

Lashkar-e Taiba militant outfit and Asiya Andrabi, the radical chief of women separatist outfit Dukhtaran-e-Milat, called for a three-day shutdown in the Kashmir valley.

As Burhan, the 21-year-old poster boy of Hizbul Mujahideen militant outfit, was laid to rest in his native place Tral, violent mobs attacked installations of police and paramilitary forces at various places in the Valley and set ablaze several buildings including three police installations, as a result of which three cops were missing.

Burhan's funeral was attended by thousands of people. There was no deployment of security forces in Tral and adjoining areas to avoid a confrontation with the people coming to participate in the funeral.

"We have had a very difficult day today," said ADGP (CID) of J&K Police S M Sahai while describing the situation "bad in certain segments", "not critical" in areas like north Kashmir and under control in Srinagar.

Eleven people were killed in the clashes between violent protestors and security forces at various places in the Valley that erupted a day after Burhan's killing.

Eight were killed in "retaliatory" action by security forces, Sahai said, adding one person died due to drowning.

"It is very unfortunate that young lives were lost in clashes," Sahai told reporters and appealed to the parents to restrain their children from participating in such protests so that young lives are not lost.

The militants are trying to "superimpose their attacks"on public protests, he said, while informing that there was

also a militant attack on District Police Lines in Pulwama which the security forces thwarted.

To a volley of questions, including why Burhan was gunned down and not caught alive, Sahai said, "We certainly don't want to kill youngsters of our own society."

He said the Hizb commander and two others got killed when security forces retaliated after being fired upon by the trio from a house in which they were hiding. Two security personnel were injured in that firing, he added.

With inputs from agencies
The Kerala police have launched a high-level investigation into reports suggesting that 20 youths from Kasaragod and Palakkad districts, who were found missing for more than a month, may have joined Islamic State.

The reports were based on complaints made by parents of some these youths with Kasaragod MP, PK Karunakaran, who took up the matter with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Terming it very serious, Pinarayi directed the police to conduct a thorough probe into the matter.

The parents approached the MP after they received a series of messages from their children indicating that they had reached the Islamic State camp. The youths, all in their mid-twenties, are well-educated and come from well-to-do families. A few of them were converts from Christianity to Islam.

According to Kasaragod superintendent of police, A Srinivas, out of the 16 missing people, 12 are from Padanna and four from Thrikkarippur. The rest are from Palakkad. The missing youths included four couples, three bachelors and two kids. Among them were a doctor couple, an engineer and manager of an international school where wealthy non-resident Indians send their children. Four of the youths have left with their wives and two had their children with them.

The youths from Kasaragod hailed from two nearby villages-Padanna and Thrikkaripur. They left home on 6 June as part of a local Salafi group. The parents started receiving the messages from the youths last week. They conveyed identical message with jihadi flavours leading to suspicion that they have joined the Islamic State ranks. A message received by the parents of one of the youths said that he had left Dar-al-Jahannam (hell) for Dar-al-Jannah (paradise) and he was in a war zone.

The parents of two other youths received WhatsApp messages saying that they had reached a place where there was divine rule and they are not going to return. The message urged the family members to join them. Another message said that they had joined Islamic State to fight the US for attacking Muslims.

The families of two missing youths have lodged a formal complaint with the police on Sunday. They have registered cases on the basis of these complaints and have begun investigation, A Srinivas told Firstpost. I am hoping that the others will follow suit in the coming days.

The family members suspect that the youths would be either in Syria or Afghanistan, as some of the messages originated from there. However, Director General of Police Lokanath Behera said the police could not confirm it yet. He said the police could not reach a conclusion about their Islamic State links unless they confirmed as to who had sent the message and the exact location from which it was sent.

However, the state intelligence agency has started digging into the past of the youths to find out whether they had previously left their homes following some kind of radicalisation. Special branch personnel at Kasaragod and Palakkad summoned the family members of the missing youths on Saturday and gathered information about the youths to find out if they had any inclination to join the Islamic State.

Intelligence officials are confused as the messages received by the parents have been identical except for the names. This they feel could be the result of some mischief. A senior intelligence official told Firstpost that they need an in-depth investigation to find out the truth.

The officer, who did not want to be named, said that the statements given by the relatives of some of the missing youths were also contradictory. However, sources in the special branch said that it was a fact that the youths had gone missing.

The source does not rule out the possibility of the youths receiving indoctrination. The father of a youth had said that his son used to regularly go to Tirur, a remote town in Malappuram district, saying he was engaged in a group farming activity there.

The source suspects that the youths may have been indoctrinated there. The special branch investigation also revealed that the youths knew and were in regular touch with each other. Though they were not associated with any political or religious group before, they turned orthodox and started sporting long beards after visiting Tirur.

Almost all the youths had left their homes at the beginning of the fasting month of Ramadan. Some of the youths said they were going to Middle East for religious studies while few others said they were going to Sri Lanka to attend a religious meeting.

Reports said one couple told their parents that they were going to Mumbai to launch a business while a doctor, who left with his wife and two-year-old child, told relatives that they were leaving for Lakshadweep to take up a new job.

The relatives came to know that all of them went to the same destination after they shared the messages at a meeting earlier this week. Most of them were shocked when they learnt that their children had joined the Islamic State fighters.

Hakim, father of Hafesuddin who is among those missing from Kasaragod, told the television channels that his son had left a month ago and there was no news from him. If he returns as a good man, I will welcome him. If not, I do not want to even see his dead body, he said.

Some parents blamed the police and intelligence for their failure to prevent the youths from leaving the state. Relative of a youth, on condition of anonymity, said that the group could not have made it to the Islamic State territory without sustained indoctrination.

He believes that the police and the intelligence men could have tracked them if they acted on the warnings from various agencies.

Presence of Indian Mujahideen and SIMI in Kerala

The NIA, which investigated several terror cases in the state, had described Kerala highly volatile with the huge presence of Indian Mujahideen and the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI). The agency found that they have been operating in the state under micro modules.

Though there have been no major incidents of blasts in the state, Kerala came to be known as a hub for training terror operatives after four persons from the state were killed in encounter on the Indo-Pak border in Kashmir in 2007. These youths were found trained in Kerala.

Subsequent investigations revealed that some terrorist outfits have been regularly training and recruiting unemployed youths from the state. The police found that two camps organised by the SIMI at Vagamon and Binamipuram in 2006 were for recruiting youths into terrorist outfits.

The investigators have found that the extremist groups were recruiting unemployed youths with the offer of job and pushing them to extremist route. Police sources believe that at least 70 youths from the state had thus joined terror outfits and were involved in blasts in several parts of the country, including Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Jaipur.

There have been two major suspected cases of Keralites joining the Islamic State camp. One is a journalist from Palakkad, who joined the Islamic State fighters in Syria after working for some time in Qatar. Another is a youth from Kozhikode, who had suspected to have joined Islamic State and crossed over to Syria from Ras-Al-Khaimah in the UAE. The youth named Riyabul Rehman had also tried to recruit youths from the state.

The Malappuram police have registered a case against him in this connection. This is the first police case related to Islamic State in the state. The case was registered on the basis of intelligence report. The youth belonging to a Sunni family was radicalised by a Salafi group in the UAE. Riyabul, who was slowly drawn to the Islamic State, tried to attract others by forming a group in 2014.

He had enrolled many Keralites working in the UAE into the group. Many of them were deported by the UAE government last year. Saudi Arabia had also deported some Keralites in this way. However, the state police who questioned the youths found that they had no inclination towards Islamic State ideology and let them off.

Radicalisation of youth in Kerala

The radicalisation in Kerala is taking place mostly through social media. A youth in Kasaragod had complained a bid by supporters of Islamic State to lure youths to join the terror through messages through Whatsapp. The youth said that he was flooded with propaganda materials after he was included in a group supporting the Islamic State. The state cyber police are investigating the complaint.

The rise of terrorism in Kerala has come as a surprise to many since the Muslims, who account for about 26 percent of the population in the state, are not alienated as their brethren in other states. Moreover, they have been active in mainstream politics like any other party since Independence.

Social commentator Professor MN Karaserry attributes large scale migration to Gulf countries and the resultant erosion in values to the growth of extremism in Kerala. He believes that the emergence of disruptive forces in the state is the result of steady commercialisation of religion and politics in the state powered by petro dollar.
It was indeed a strange coincidence that just when Prime Minister Narendra Modi undertook a train journey in South Africa on Friday, from Pentrich to Pietermaritzburg, to relive Mahatma Gandhis transformative moment in life, a wave of violence swept across the Kashmir Valley following the killing of militant commander Burhan Wani and two of his associates.

As Modi concluded his trip to South Africa on Saturday, which he aptly described as a pilgrimage to pay obeisance to two of the greatest men that walked on earth  Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela  violence had claimed over a dozen lives in clashes between the security forces and protesters in Kashmir.

Irony often plays a critical role in defining the life of a nation. In 1893, Gandhi wrote in his book 'Satyagraha in South Africa' that he had gone to South Africa on the invitation of Dada Abdulla, as an aspiring brief-holding lawyer. The atmosphere of intrigue in Saurashtra was choking me, he wrote while explaining the reason behind him choosing South Africa as a destination.

Till then, Gandhi was not an idealist and had entertained the dream of pursuing a golden bubble of affluence like any other professional lawyer. Being a barrister-at-law, I was well dressed according to my lights and landed at Durban with due sense of my importance, he says in order to point out his ordinariness. Then the transformative moment came when he was thrown out of a train by a police constable at Pietermaritzburg.

The subsequent experiences of Gandhi gradually changed his life radically and transformed him into a Mahatma. Indian traders who came to see him after his humiliation tried to comfort him by saying, they had made it a principle to pocket insults as they might pocket cash. In another reference, he said, trade and sensitivities can ill go together.

Though Gandhi was still tentative about his stay in South Africa, he was persuaded to take up the case of Indians who had been legally disenfranchised. This was the beginning of Gandhis struggle in South Africa, where he discovered many facets of his life in his 21-year stay in the nation. For instance, he loved South Africa at first sight and found that cows and animals in the country were treated in a much better manner than in India. Nowhere in the country he found emaciated animals abandoned on the streets, as was the case in India.

Similarly, he doggedly insisted on cleanliness when he learnt that Indians in South Africa were seen as unclean, and as a tight fisted society which prefers to live in discomfort and favour thriftiness. He learnt not to bear any grudges against his assailants, though he faced murderous attacks several times.

https://twitter.com/narendramodi/status/751730960563998720

But the most interesting aspect of his discovery was 'Satyagraha', which loosely translated as 'passive resistance'. Gandhi invited suggestions from his followers about the apt translation of his mode of protest and found Maganlal Gandhis suggestion of 'Sadagraha' to be quite apt. But he himself improved on it, to make it 'Satyagraha', based on the principles of 'truth and non-violence'.

He was so convinced about the efficacy of his mode of struggle that he wrote in the concluding part of the book that, had it not been for this struggle and for the untold suffering which many Indians invited upon their devoted heads, the Indians would have been hounded out of South Africa. Satyagraha is a priceless and matchless weapon and that those who wield it are strangers to disappointment and defeat, he wrote, in his conclusive remark about his sojourn in South Africa.

Modis brief journey, that retraced Gandhis travel to the status of Mahatma must have been a humbling experience. In a series of interactions with politicians and heads of the state, he emphasised the priceless gift South Africa had given to humanity in transforming an ordinary Mohandas into a Mahatma, nearly 123 years ago.

https://twitter.com/narendramodi/status/751800692948492288

In essence, his speeches in South Africa were no less important than his address to the US Congress, not for strategic reasons but for the sake of human history. But sadly, back in India, this extraordinary effort to connect with South Africa, Gandhi, Mandela and India got eclipsed by the violence in Kashmir.

India of 2016 and its political culture has acquired features that Gandhi abhorred. Its craving for super-power status is guided by its desire for a matchless machismo and pragmatism that fits into the new world-order. Equally, those fascinated by guns to pursue their idealism, be it religious or political, find romanticism in the life and death of a misguided youth, Burhan Wani. In such a context, it would be curious to know how Gandhi would have responded to the challenge? Perhaps the PMs pilgrimage to South Africa may have given some clues on how to take the country out of this madness.
The Chennai police plans to conduct an identification parade for Ramkumar, the main accused in the murder of 24-year-old S Swathi, at the Puzhal central prison on Monday. The witnesses will have to identify Ramkumar from a group of prisoners, reports The Hindu.

Chennai techie Swathi murder case: Police to conduct identification parade for accused Ramkumar at Puzhal central prison tomorrow  ANI (@ANI_news) July 10, 2016

Swathi, who was an Infosys employee, was hacked to death at the Nungambakkam railway station. According to a Firstpost report, Chennai police had released a high-resolution image of the suspect main suspect on 1 July.

The photo released by the cops, was that of a man wearing a blue shirt and black trousers. The 25-member team investigating the case, subsequently questioned more than a hundred people and shortlisted about 20 as probable suspects.

The police looked into Swathis call details and text messages and short-listed 'suspecting' mobile phones that had been active hours before the murder took place at the railway station.

The police had also recorded the statements of friends and family who had claimed that Swathi had complained of "a person following her all the way from the railway station."

Some of the fellow passengers had also reported seeing a person, matching the description of the suspect described, regularly visiting the window of the ladies compartment of the train to see her.

On 2 July, the police arrested Ramkumar, a 22-year-old engineering graduate, in Tirunelveli district in southern Tamil Nadu. The man reportedly tried to slash his throat in order to escape arrest.

He was then rushed to a local hospital and given first-aid. Later, he was shifted to a government hospital in Tirunelveli, where the doctors said that his injuries were not serious.

Reports claimed that Ramkumar was friends with Swathi on Facebook. The duo came in touch over the social media site and had exchanged numbers, following which the accused became obsessed with Swathi and started stalking her.

Miffed over Swathi's refusal, the accused had planned to take her life.

The police officer investigating the case had said that, "Being friends on Facebook doesn't mean that Swathi approved or encouraged him. She had numerous Facebook friends."

With inputs from agencies
New Delhi: The Home Ministry has declined to share details of file notings related to extension of service granted to senior IAS officer BK Prasad, who went into the missing files related to the alleged fake encounter killing of Ishrat Jahan, saying being an adjunct to proposal of a Cabinet panel it cannot be disclosed.

The Ministry was asked to provide copies of file notings on two-month extension given to Prasad who was to superannuateon 31 May, 2016.

As the file notings in this regard are an adjunct to an Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) proposal, the same is exempted under Section 8 (1) (I) of the transparency law, it said in reply to an RTI query filed by PTI.

The section bars disclosure of "Cabinet papers including records of deliberations of the council of ministers, secretaries and other officers".

Prasad, a 1983 batch IAS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre, was due to retire in May end. He was granted extension for a period of two months with effect from 1 June, 2016 to July 31, an official order had said without mentioning the reason behind it.

When asked for the reason for granting extension to Prasad, the MHA said, "As far as asking the reasons for a decision is concerned, the same is not covered under the RTI Act".

The officer was recently in news for allegedly "tutoring" witnesses in the missing files case, a charge denied by him.

The Home Ministry had recently asked an RTI applicant to prove he is Indian before disclosing details on the extension given to Prasad.

"In this connection, it is requested that a proof of your Indian citizenship may please be provided," the Ministry had said in its reply.

As per Right to Information Act, 2005, only Indian citizens can seek information under it.

Usually, a proof of citizenship is not required to file an application under the transparency law. In rare cases, a public information officer can seek proof of nationality in case he has doubt over citizenship of an applicant.

Following an uproar in Parliament in March this year, the Home Ministry had asked Prasad to inquire into the matter of missing papers. The panel submitted its report last month.

19-year-old Ishrat Jahan and three others were killed in an alleged fake encounter in Gujarat in 2004.

The Gujarat Police had then claimed those killed were LeT terrorists and had gone there to assassinate the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

The papers, which disappeared from the Home Ministry, include the copy of an affidavit vetted by the then Attorney General and submitted in the Gujarat High Court in 2009 and the draft of the second affidavit vetted by the AG to which changes were made by the then Home Minister P Chidambaram.
Dar-es-Salaam: India and Tanzania on Sunday agreed to work closely in combating the twin threats of terrorism and climate change.

Being neighbours across the Indian Ocean, (Tanzanian) President (John Magufuli) and I agreed to deepen our defence and security partnership, especially in the maritime domain, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a joint press statement with Magufuli following bilateral discussions between the two sides here.

We agreed to work closely, bilaterally, regionally and globally, to combat the twin threats of terrorism and climate change, he said.

The Prime Minister also welcomed Tanzania as a crucial partner in the India-initiated International Solar Alliance.

He said India was already a substantial economic partner of Tanzania.

The whole range of our economic ties is healthy and on the upswing, he said.

Following the successful implementation of a water supply project in Dar-es-Salaam, Modi said India was working on more such projects in Zanzibar and 17 other cities.

Earlier on Sunday, Modi was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the State House here.

Modi also played on the drums along with Magufuli, adding a local touch to the ceremony.

Modi arrived in Tanzania on Saturday night from South Africa on the third leg of his four-nation tour of Africa.

This is the first prime ministerial visit from India to Tanzania in five years since the visit of then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2011.

Modi will leave for Kenya later on Sunday on the fourth and final leg of his African sojourn.
Air strikes by US-led coalition warplanes and artillery fire from Turkey killed eight Islamic State (IS) group fighters in northern Syria, state-run Anadolu Agency cited the Turkish military as saying on Sunday.

Ten IS group targets were hit in the strikes, which also destroyed one building used by the militants as a base, the agency said.

It said Turkish army howitzers fired on the militants as they were preparing to open fire on Turkey on Saturday from the areas of Baragitah, Tel Ahmar and Shabaniye in northern Syria.

Turkey and the coalition have carried out regular strikes against IS group in the area in recent months after rocket attacks by the militants on the Turkish border town of Kilis.

Kilis, just across the frontier from an IS group-controlled region of Syria, has been hit by rockets more than 70 times this year. More than 20 people have been killed.

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Srinagar: Kashmir continued to be on the boil with six more people, including a cop, getting killed in violence on Sunday, raising the death toll to 21, even as curfew-like restrictions were in force and mobile internet services remained suspended.

Amarnath Yatra also remained suspended for the second day from Jammu due to the Kashmir unrest in which over 200 people, many of them police and security personnel, have been injured. However, the yatra from the base camps in Kashmir continued.

The Jammu and Kashmir Cabinet, headed by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, met and expressed anguish over the situation and the death of civilians in clashes with security forces in the aftermath of the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani.

The government promised to investigate if there was any instance of disproportionate use of force by security forces even as it appealed to the people not to become tools in the machinations of instigators of violence.

The Cabinet also appealed to separatists, including Hurriyat Conference, as well as mainstream political parties like National Conference, Congress and CPI(M) to help restore normalcy "if they want peace in the state".

In Delhi, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh reviewed the situation that has developed in Kashmir and spoke to Mehbooba Mufti, assuring her of all possible help.

The state police also urged protesters not to resort to violence, saying it does not bring the right consequences, and that it would like to avoid the killing of the youth.

Even as curfew-like restrictions remained in force, violence was reported from a number of places.

One person was killed on Sunday evening in reported firing by security forces in Tengpora in Srinagar, marking the first death in the capital city.

An 18-year-old youth Irfan Ahmad Malik was critically injured in clashes between protesters and security forces at Newa in Pulwama on Sunday morning, a police official said. He was rushed to SMHS hospital in Srinagar but succumbed to injuries.

An unidentified person was brought to district hospital in Pulwama in a critical condition but succumbed to injuries, he said, adding efforts are on to ascertain his identity.

A police driver Feroz Ahmad was killed after a mob pushed his mobile bunker vehicle into river Jhelum at Sangam in Anantnag district, the official said. Efforts were on to fish out the body of the deceased cop.

One more civilian was killed in a clash with security forces while another, who was injured on Saturday, succumbed to injuries on Sunday, police said.

In another incident, a head constable of police was shot in both legs by militants last night at his residence in Tral area of Pulwama district, the official said.

Three policemen, who went missing after a large mob attacked a police station in Damhal Hanjipora on Saturday, are still untraceable, said state Education Minister Naeem Akhtar, who is the government spokesman.

One more police post was burnt by some mobs on Sunday.

A police spokesman said the situation in valley remained under control on Sunday though incidents of arson and mob attacks were reported.

He said it has been seen that in the garb of law and order situations, militants are firing and lobbing grenades on police and CRPF personnel.

"Militants lobbed two grenades on CRPF deployed on law and order duties in Murran Chowk resulting in injuries to some CRPF personnel," the spokesman said.

In Shopian, the vehicle of SP Shopian was fired upon and a grenade was also lobbed, he said, adding militants also fired upon the Police Post Uttressu.

He said a number of police establishments and camps were also attacked during the day, resulting in damage to the property and injuries to scores of Police and CRPF personnel.

"The incidents of stone pelting were reported from Newa Pulwama, Main Town Shopian, Lasipora, Rajpora, Hall Pulwama, Litter, Tahab Pulwama, Tanchibagh Pampore, Damhal, Sangam, Zainapora, Qoimoh, Yaripora, Behibagh Kulgam, Vailoo, Warpora Sopore, Tikipora Sogam, Lalpora Kupwara, Kanyal Bagh Baramulla, Armpora Sopore, Tarzoo, Batamaloo, Qamriya Ganderbal, Soibugh Budgam, Mirgund, and Sheikpora," he said.

A mob attacked a police post at Lasipora in Pulwama, setting ablaze a police vehicle and some seized vehicles.

"Unruly mobs set on fire GRP Guard room and RPF Barrack at Bijbehara Railway Station and Police Post Damhal Khushipora.

"Unruly mob also set on fire a single storied structure at Soibugh in Budgam district from where earlier Police Post Soibugh used to function," the police spokesman said.

The spokesman said a Fire and Emergency Services vehicle, which was responding to a distress call, was attacked by an unruly mob near Bijbehara in Anantnag. "The call later proved to be a hoax. The vehicle was damaged in the incident."

Three youth were injured in security forces firing when a mob attacked a police post in Achabal area of Anantnag district with stones, a police official said.

Another youth was injured when he was hit by firearm in Pampore town on Srinagar-Jammu National Highway on Sunday.

At least six other persons were hospitalised with minor injuries at various places in south Kashmir, which as seen widespread protests following the killing of Burhan Wani in an encounter with security forces in Kokernag area on Friday.

Four persons, who were injured in the violent clashes on Saturday, succumbed to injuries during the night.

As per consolidated information, over 200 people including 96 security personnel were injured in the clashes since Saturday while the mobs set on fire police installations, three civil administration offices, the house of a PDP MLA, several vehicles and targeted a BJP office.

The violence continued on Sunday despite restrictions imposed in most of Kashmir Valley, including many areas of Srinagar city and four districts of south Kashmir.

The separatist-sponsored strike, which was extended for two more days on Saturday, also affected normal life in Kashmir.

Shops, private offices, business establishments and petrol pumps were shut, while government offices and banks witnessed thin attendance, the officials said.

They said public transport was completely off the roads, while cars and auto-rickshaws were seen plying at few places where there were no restrictions.

Educational institutions in the Valley were closed on account of the ongoing summer vacations. Universities and boards have postponed their examinations.

The Chief Minister, while appealing for calm, has urged the Centre to reach out to the people of the state to resolve the issues confronting them through reconciliation efforts on internal as well as external front for ending the violence that has left behind a trail of death and destruction.

She stressed the urgency for reviving the peace and reconciliation initiatives.

"The pain of Kashmiris has reached a level where the hope of peace is sure to gain substantial local support if tangible confidence building measures are taken to address the issues concerning the state and its people," she said in a statement.

She said the people of Jammu and Kashmir, irrespective of their age, gender, status or the political affiliation, have been suffering the terrible consequences of the pernicious turmoil over the last more than two decades.

"They now want peace and stability to take roots, and even within the prevailing circumstances there lies an opportunity to consolidate the peace efforts, if substantial steps are taken in the right direction to positively impact the ground situation," she said.

Seeking people's cooperation, she said the government is responsive to the people's needs and concerned about their problems and is working judiciously and in a transparent manner to fulfil their aspirations and expectations.

"The cabinet appealed to all political forces who have expressed concern for people's lives  be it National Conference, Congress, CPI(M) or other components of the mainstream or those people who are not in the mainstream...those who are really concerned as much we are concerned which includes leaders from the Hurriyat....

"We appeal to them that if they want peace in the state and steps taken by government for saving lives of people succeed, we need their support also," Akhtar told reporters while briefing on the Cabinet meeting.

Describing the violence and casualties as "unfortunate and regrettable", he said there were a number of attacks on police stations and security force camps which forced the law enforcement agencies to use weapons.

"If you see, how many police stations were set ablaze and how many camps were tried to be overrun.... As a society, we should not take protests  whether required or not  to a level where the forces are forced to use their weapons," he said.

He, however, added that if there was any instance of disproportionate use of force, it will be investigated.

"We will go to the bottom of it and find out why it happened," he said, cautioning people not to become tools in the machinations of instigators of violence.

The minister said the parents of young children also have a responsibility to keep an eye on their wards.

"If you see the footages you have, small kids who do not know why but are still having stones in their hands," he said.

The minister said if any of the injured requires to be taken out of the state for treatment, the state government will bear the expenses.

He left the press conference after a reporter asked if the Mehbooba government will quit as the ruling PDP had made a similar demand when Omar Abdullah was the chief minister during the 2010 summer agitation in the Valley that left 120 persons dead.
Although the disappearance of 20 Muslims and their speculated association with the Islamic State have shocked Kerala over the last two days, its not the first time that people from the state have been involved in Islamist conflict elsewhere. In 2008, five Malayali Muslim youth went all the way to Kashmir to fight alongside the separatists and four of them were shot dead by Indian forces.

If its Kashmir in 2008, its only natural that its IS in 2016 because Islamism has been growing in the state since the 1990s. The common ideal is international Islam, as against the states age-old local Islam, and the allegiance is to whats purported to be the purest form and practice  something that the Islamists believe belong to the Prophets land and the Prophetic era. Its part of their blind trust in global kinship, an exclusive transnational state of radical Islam and the rein of Sharia law.

In practical terms, the problem that was first noticed in 2008 seems to have become bigger because the numbers this time are bigger, the recruits are from different parts of the state, and the trails they have left behind are similar. What makes the situation more complex is that five of them were neo-converts: three girls and two men. Till about a year ago, two of those girls were Hindus and one was Christian; while two of the Muslim men, who married and converted them, were Christians earlier

On Saturday, it was absolute cacophony in the states media with people trying to figure out what exactly happened even as the parents of two of the missing girls confessed on TV that their daughters had been converted through marriage, they had become deeply involved in the radical practice of the religion, and have now disappeared.

They also said that the girls with their husbands have gone to Sri Lanka for religious activities and have since been untraceable. Parents and relatives of the other disappeared men and women also said that they suspect that their children might have joined Islamist groups outside the country. At least two of them said that they had received WhatsApp messages saying that their sons had reached an Islamist country which is run on Sharia.

Although this development is disturbing, it can still be considered a statistical outlier given that one-third of Keralas population is Muslim. However, what cannot be overlooked is the increasing signs of radical Islam, the influence of Middle East-based Islamist groups and the possibility of a recruitment ring. Senior journalist and socio-political commentator O Abdulla, who otherwise defends conservative Islamic practices in the state, minced no words on Monday when he said on TV that the beards of many Muslim men in the state were getting longer and their trousers were getting shorter at the ankles. He said that the state should seriously observe these telltale signs of the religion getting radicalised. He also wanted the Muslims in the state to know that the theology of the Islamic State had nothing to do with Islam.

The problem is rather deep-rooted because of Keralas Middle East connection and the flow of money. Well-known British social scientist Professor Katy Gardner had studied this phenomenon in Bangladesh. In her chapter in the book Muslim Diversity: Local Islam in Global Contexts, she examined how migrants could get influenced by centralised and universal Islam out there in opposition to local Islams and how the inclusive and liberal world of pirs and Sufi cults could give way to orthodoxy.

She noted that the migrants she studied were influenced by the Islam in the Middle East more than what they practised back home.Not only is the locale of opportunity and material enrichment increasingly placed outside the desh, but so too is the locale of spirituality. She argued how returnee migrants were engaged in more orthodox and dogmatic Islam which actually challenged their native, traditional practices. Their allegiance is located in a new geography of Islam where the centre of spirituality is perceived to be the Middle East.

This is the problem with many Muslims in Kerala too  the geography of their Islam has changed, which is now located in the Middle East. Their rituals, attitude towards other regions and beliefs, and dress code today carry clear Arab-influences.

The sad irony is that the rising Islamism in Kerala has no localised socio-economic or political context because Muslims in the state are neither marginalised nor poor. Most of the three million migrants to the GCC countries from Kerala are in Saudi Arabia and majority of them are Muslims. They remit more money than what the Christians or Hindus do and the religious orthodoxy that they bring back is a collateral damage  the social remittance that the state has been unable to block.

The reasons could be many. As researches have found out, in their ghettoised lives the migrants tend to become more religiously inward looking as they try to reinforce their identity (this is not exclusive to Muslims, but is also true with Christians and Hindus too) and hence become vulnerable to radical influences. They freely come into contact with purveyors of the new international Islam and groups that recruit people to the Islamic State and terror networks. Middle East is also the place for Wahhabi and Salafi funds and anti-Indian operatives. Its a tricky location that can export both radical Islam and the money to foster it.

Many local commentators such as historian MGS Narayanan, who some think is pro-BJP, alleges that a lot of Middle Eastern remittances fuel Muslim extremism in Kerala. Its hard to verify because the sources of income from the Middle East are impossible to track.

Undeniably, Kerala is vulnerable. If the people who have disappeared have indeed joined the IS, its an extraordinary turning point that calls for an extraordinary response. The reversal of the tide of radical Islam and the dismantling of its networks are not easy, but theres no way out. What we see now is part of the price we are paying for our inaction in the 1990s.
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"We have young boys coming out and protesting. We have tried to impose curfews in the city today just to ensure that such kind of incidents do not take place," he said.

The official also said that one of the eight people who had passed away died due to drowning.

"Security installations were set on fire...It is unfortunate and sad," he said. "There are 96 security personnel who have been injured in efforts to control the situation."

An official from the Jammu and Kashmir Police in a news briefing said that the death toll in Kashmir has now climbed to 8. "There have been eight casualties," said the official.

There have been eight casualties: Jammu and Kashmir Police

The report also said that she appealed to the people of the state to co-operate with the government and the police so that normalcy could be restored.

"I express profound grief over the tragic death of the youths and extend my heart-felt condolences to the bereaved family members in their hour of immense grief," Rising Kashmir quoted an official government spokesman as saying.

Four demonstrators, identified as Imtiyaz Ahmad Mandoo, Mashooq Ahmad and Safeer Ahmad, all from Anantnag district, and Mohammmad Altaf Rather (from Pulwama) who were wounded a day earlier died on Sunday.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh presided over a high-level meeting and then spoke to Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, offering all possible help from New Delhi.

The latest fatalities took the death toll in two days of widespread clashes between protesters and security forces in the Kashmir Valley to 19  18 demonstrators and one policeman.

Irfan Ahmad Malik, 17, was also killed in firing elsewhere in Pulwama district after a curfew-defying mob attacked the security forces, a senior police official said.

Security forces shot dead two demonstrators at Litter in Pulwama district after a huge crowd took to the streets shouting anti-government and pro-freedom slogans, the sources said.

A mob overran a bullet-proof police vehicle and rolled it down into the Sutlej river at Sangam in Anantnag district, drowning its constable driver while other policemen fled the scene, official sources said.

The Jammu and Kashmir government appealed for calm as four more people died in continuing protests against the killing of a top guerrilla leader, taking the death toll to 19.

Most of today's editions of the newspapers in the Valley carried classified advertisements of the cancellation of the marriage ceremony invitations.

The violence in Kashmir Valley has hit the post-Ramadan wedding season, with the newspapers in Srinagar full of advertisements announcing the cancellation of feasts and invites related to such ceremonies.

Opposition National Conference leader Omar Abdullah said his party was ready to contribute towards maintaining peace in Kashmir but Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti should take the lead to show the way instead of "hiding" behind spokesperson and police officers as they were not elected by the people.

CM Mehbooba Mufti should take the lead instead of hiding behind spokespersons: Omar Abdullah

The Cabinet also appealed to separatists, including Hurriyat Conference, as well as mainstream political parties like National Conference, Congress and CPI(M) to help restore normalcy "if they want peace in the state". - PTI

The government promised to investigate if there was any instance of disproportionate use of force by security forces even as it appealed to the people not to become tools in the machinations of instigators of violence.

The Jammu and Kashmir Cabinet, headed by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, met and expressed anguish over the situation and the death of civilians in clashes with security forces following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani.

Amarnath Yatra also remained suspended for the second day owing to the unrest in the valley in which over 200 people, many of them police and security personnel, have been injured.

Kashmir continued to be on the boil with five more people, including a cop, getting killed in violence, raising the death toll to 20, even as curfew-like restrictions were in place and Mobile internet services remained suspended.

Kashmir continued to be on the boil with six more people, including a cop, getting killed in violence today, raising the death toll to 21.

Expressing concern over the detention of Kashmiri separatist leaders, Sharif said India should fulfil its human rights obligations as well as its commitments under the United Nations Security Council resolutions. - PTI

"Oppressive measures such as these cannot deter the valiant people of Jammu and Kashmir from their demand of exercising their right to self-determination in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions," he said.

The Prime Minister said it was "deplorable that excessive and unlawful force was used against the civilians" who were protesting against the killing of Wani.

"The Prime Minister of Pakistan has expressed his deep shock at the killing of Kashmiri leader Burhan Wani and many other civilians by the Indian military and paramilitary forces," Sharif's office said in the statement.

Sharif, who recently returned from London after an open-heart surgery, came out with a late night statement condemning the action of Indian security forces in Kashmir.

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has deplored "excessive" force against civilians in the latest wave of violence in the Valley while expressing "deep shock" over the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani.

Jammu and Kashmir: Curfew continues to be imposed in Srinagar following protests over Burhan Wani's killing. pic.twitter.com/7Kc7hz8kHV

They said public transport was completely off the roads for the third day, while private cars and auto-rickshaws were seen plying at few places in the areas there there were no restrictions. - PTI

Shops, private offices, business establishments and petrol pumps were shut, while government offices and banks witnessed thin attendance, the officials said.

Meanwhile, the strike, called by the separatist groups, also affected the normal life in the Valley.

However, the situation will be reviewed later in the day and a decision taken on whether to continue with the restrictions.

Strict restrictions on movement of people remain in place in Srinagar and four districts of south Kashmir since Saturday morning. Officials said that the measure has been taken to maintain law and order in the Valley.

The victims comprised 21 protesters and a police driver. They were killed during clashes with security forces, mostly in Anantnag, Shopian, Kulgam and Pulwama districts.

The death toll in the clashes between protesters and security forces in Kashmir mounted to 22, as normal life continued to remain paralysed for the third day on Monday.

Amarnath Yatra from Jammu base camp suspended for the 3rd consecutive day, people in hope of a 'go-ahead' for yatra pic.twitter.com/mw0po9NZ20

Amarnath yatra has been suspended for the third consecutive day. Around 15,000 yatris are stranded at the Jammu base camp for their turn to proceed to the Valley so that they can undertake the Yatra.

Policing increased in many areas of Jammu and Kashmir. pic.twitter.com/fE4hVTUohJ

Meanwhile, police patrolling has increased in many areas in Jammu and Kashmir.

According to reports, Union Home Minister Rajnath will be chairing a high-level meeting to discuss the unrest in the Valley at 12pm on Monday.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday spoke to Congress president Sonia Gandhi and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah over the tense situation in Kashmir. - PTI

"We are all concerned about J&K. It is close to our heart. So many lives have been lost. We pray for peace, prosperity and humanity," Banerjee said in a statement. - PTI

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed concern over the present situation in Jammu and Kashmir where clashes between protesters and security personnel following the killing of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani left 23 dead and over 250 injured.

Expressing concern over the detention of Kashmiri separatist leaders, Sharif said India should fulfil its human rights obligations as well as its commitments under the United Nations Security Council resolutions. - PTI

"Oppressive measures such as these cannot deter the valiant people of Jammu and Kashmir from their demand of exercising their right to self-determination in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions," he said.

The Prime Minister said it was "deplorable that excessive and unlawful force was used against the civilians" who were protesting against the killing of Wani.

"The Prime Minister of Pakistan has expressed his deep shock at the killing of Kashmiri leader Burhan Wani and many other civilians by the Indian military and paramilitary forces," Sharif's office said in the statement.

Sharif, who recently returned from London after an open-heart surgery, came out with a late night statement condemning the action of Indian security forces in Kashmir.

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has deplored "excessive" force against civilians in the latest wave of violence in the Valley while expressing "deep shock" over the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani.

PM has hoped for peace, has guided us and appealed that no innocent lives are disturbed: Jitendra Singh on J&K pic.twitter.com/CPc4SC6ufw

"Prime Minister has appealed to the people of Jammu and Kashmir to maintain calm and peace so that normalcy returns in the valley," Minister of State in Prime Minister's Office, Jitendra Singh, told reporters soon after the meeting concluded. - PTI

The curfew remained in force in many parts of the Valley including pockets of Srinagar city and Pulwama district as authorities braced for more protests.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday chaired a high-level meeting in New Delhi and voiced concern over the incidents of violence in the Valley as the death toll reached 30, which included 29 civilian protesters and a policeman.

I appeal everyone to help the Govt to bring back peace and normalcy in the state: J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti pic.twitter.com/Q4b9UbL9Fb

The J&K CM also said that she was proud of the people who had helped in saving lives during the Kashmir unrest.

She also requested the parents in the state to guide their children and discourage them for joining the protests. "I request all people to think about the actions they and their children are taking," Mehbooba said. "I request all parents to discourage their children from joining the agitations."

"To prevent people adding to the chaos on the streets, we gave a curfew order in Kashmir," CM Mehbooba said. "We regret the loss of lives in the violence. We will investigate if unnecessary force was used by the police," she said.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti gave yet another statement on the unrest in the state and said she deeply regretted the loss of lives due to the violence. She also promised an investigation into alleged brutality by the state's police force.

Security personnel were told to act calmly. Sad,despite taking all measures, lives were lost during protest: J&K CM pic.twitter.com/EZ9RtR80gH

Mehbooba also said that she regretted the fact that many girls have also been killed in the violence.

Kashmir CM Mehbooba Mufti also said that many youths, whether militants or civilians, had died in the state due to the violence so far. "Violence has taken a toll on generations in Jammu and Kashmir," she said.

"Just like Muslims from any other part of the country, Kashmiris are also our brothers. We are with them and appeal to them to bring normalcy and peace," he told reporters. - IANS

Umer Ahmed Ilyasi of All India Organisation of Imams of Mosques told media later that they will visit Kashmir and urge people, specially religious leaders, there to help the valley to return to normalcy.

The clerics said they were satisfied after meeting the Home Minister, who assured them of all possible help in restoring peace in the disturbed valley.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh met with a group of Muslim clerics, who discussed with him ways and means to restore normalcy in the Kashmir Valley.

Three persons were killed and 50 injured in clashes in Kashmir between security forces and violent mobs who set ablaze five buildings including three police installations and some vehicles to protest the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen poster boy Burhan Wani in an encounter.

Curfew-like restrictions were imposed in many parts of Kashmir where mobile internet services were suspended across the valley and mobile telephony services restricted in south Kashmir, the epicentre of the trouble.

In view of the volatile situation, Amarnath yatra has also been suspended from Jammu base camp with no fresh pilgrims allowed to proceed towards the Valley.

Burhan's funeral in Tral town was attended by thousands of people while violent protests were reported from a number of places from Khadinyar in north Kashmir to Kulgam in south, a day after the militant commander was killed.

A 25-year-old youth, Amir Bashir, was hit by a bullet allegedly fired by security forces on protestors in Verinag area of Anantnag district in south Kashmir, a police official said.

The youth was shifted to a hospital but he succumbed to injuries on the way, he said.

Another youth was reportedly killed in similar circumstances in Qaimoh area late last night. Zubair Ahmad had multiple bullet injuries in his chest, a doctor at the Anantnag district hospital said on condition of anonymity.

A 16-year-old youth identified as Saqib Manzoor was declared "brought dead" by doctors at SMHS hospital where he was taken by some people with critical injuries sustained due to use of firearms, a police official said.

Besides these three deaths, there were unconfirmed reports that a youth drowned in a river at Ganeshpora as security forces chased a group of protestors. Police did not confirm the incident.

Police said over 30 other youth were injured in action by the security forces against the violent mobs at several places across the valley. However, sources in various hospitals of the city put the number of injured persons at around 50.

Condition of the two of the injured was stated to be critical.

The protesters indulged in widespread violence and arson. They attacked police posts at several places and also damaged the office of the BJP in Kulgam area, police said.

The mobs set on fire police stations at Achabal and Damhal Hanjipora while a police post at Kund in Qazigung was also set ablaze.

Two government offices were set on fire by protesters in Tral town of Pulwama district as well while three buses were also set on fire at Qazigund.

Groups of youth attacked police posts and police stations by pelting stones at several places including Bandipora, Qazigund and Larnoo in Anantnag district, Mir Bazaar in Kulgam district, Warpora in Sopore township of Baramulla district, the police official said.

A police picket meant for security of minority community in Vessu area of south Kashmir was also attacked, he said.

Stone pelting incidents were also reported from Sheeri, Kreeri, Delina, Pattan and Palhalan areas of north Kashmir Baramulla district, the official said, adding Barsoo and Shariefabad in Awantipora area of south Kashmir also saw violent protests.

Minor protests were also reported from several parts of Srinagar city, he added.

Meanwhile, thousands of people joined funeral prayers of Burhan who was laid to rest this afternoon in his native village of Tral. There was no deployment of security forces in Tral and adjoining areas to avoid a confrontation with the people coming to participate in the funeral.

People from Tral town and adjoining areas arrived in droves to attend the funeral prayers, which had to be conducted four times to accommodate the massive number of mourners.

According to official estimates, more than 40,000 people took part in the last rites of the slain militant commander. Unofficial reports put the number much higher.

Burhan was laid to rest amidst 'pro-freedom' sloganeering with some youth waving Pakistani flags.

Funeral prayers in-absentia were offered in almost all localities of the city following a call by separatist leaders.

(With inputs from agencies)
New Delhi: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday spoke to Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and took stock of the situation arising out of the floods in the state.

During the telephonic conversation, Chouhan briefed the Home Minister about the prevailing situation and the steps taken to give succor to the marooned people, official sources said. Singh assured the Chief Minister all central help in rescue and relief of flood affected people.

The death toll due to flood-related mishaps has gone up to 15 in the state. Seven persons died due to flood in different parts of the state in last 24 hours.

Yesterday, the Chief Minister said eight persons had died due to the heavy downpour in last couple of days.

Meanwhile, Indian Meteorological Department's Bhopal Centre Director Dr Anupam Kashyapi told PTI that heavy to very heavy rains are likely to lash Indore, Ujjain and Hoshangabad divisions, besides some parts of the state capital in the next 24 hours.

The heavy rains had earlier thrown normal life out of gear, affecting road, railway traffic, and snapped power supply in many places across the state.
New Delhi: Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday offered "all possible support" to Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti following the death of 16 people in clashes with security forces.

Rajnath Singh spoke on telephone to the Chief Minister after taking stock of the law and order situation in the Kashmir Valley, officials said.

Curfew has been imposed in the Kashmir Valley after widespread clashes between security forces and demonstrators protesting against the killing of a top Hizbul Mujahideen leader.

According to Home Ministry sources, Rajnath Singh also urged Mehbooba Mufti to ensure the safety of Kashmiri Pandits.

"The Home Minister is keeping a close watch on the events. I am sure the situation will come back to normalcy very soon," said Jitendra Singh, the Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office.

"I am sure the Amarnath Yatra will resume very soon, let security agencies take the final call," Jitendra Singh added.

"I reassure members of Kashmiri Pandit community that they are safe. There were some incidents of stone pelting (earlier)."

Meanwhile, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Venkaiah Naidu lashed out at sympathisers of dead Hizbul commander Burhan Wani.

"The Centre and the state together will tackle the situation. The situation in Jammu and Kashmir will be brought to normalcy at the earliest.

"(Wani) was a Hizbul Mujahideen commander, how can any Indian have sympathy for such people? Really surprised to see that some people are trying to support those so-called protesters who are sympathising with a terrorist," said Naidu. "Terrorism and violence are not acceptable at all in any form."

Violence erupted in the south Kashmir districts of Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian and Kulgam and later spread to other districts in the valley after security forces killed Wani and two associates in Anantnag on Friday.

Wani was buried in his native Shariefabad (Tral) village on Saturday where thousands defied curfew restrictions to attend his funeral prayers.
The 14.5% fat tax announced by Kerala on 8 July on fast food like pizzas and burgers is an indicator that when it comes to health, alls not well in the state.

In his budget speech Finance Minister Dr. Thomas Issac announced that the tax would be imposed on branded restaurants selling pizzas, burgers, tacos, doughnuts, sandwiches, pasta, burger patty and bread-filling, according to media reports. Fast food chains like McDonalds and Pizza Hut will be affected.

But is there really a public health crisis of proportions that warrant a tax to discourage the consumption of junk food high in salt, sugar and fat?

When it comes to Kerala, perceptions are coloured by its high Human Development Indicators. The state has impressive achievements in health, education, nutrition and standards of living, way above the national average. However, Keralas reputation as one of the most developed states in India masks certain failings in its model of development, particularly health.

Kerala has done particularly well in the area of mortality rates, sex ratio and life expectancy. In fact, the state is way above the national average. However Kerala also has one of the highest incidences of lifestyle diseases like diabetes and heart attack. Apart from this infectious diseases like dengue, chikungunya and hepatitis have reappeared in the state and deaths from road accidents, suicides and alcohol consumption remain abnormally high.

However, a Fat tax in a state like Kerala may seem a bit odd, considering the state doesnt have too many outlets serving Western fast food, and even then only a certain section  the young upwardly mobile middle class  patronizes these restaurants.

But obesity rates in Kerala are on the rise. A report by the Kerala branch of the Indian Medical Association says that Most adults and children in Kerala are overweight and obese, which means many of us are eating more food than we need.Food patterns in Kerala have been shifting over the last three decades. Data from the National Sample Surveys shows that per capita consumption of fruits and vegetables is among the lowest in the state. Even the choice of meat has shifted from fish to fried meats.

Apart from Western-style junk food there is a lot of local junk food which is equally energy dense. Fried snacks, soft drinks and food high in salt and sugar abound in Kerala and for the moment, a punitive tax on banana chips, sugary drinks and similar foods has not been imposed.

Keralas healthcare system has also shifted focus from preventive services to curative services, with the mushrooming of private health facilities. People, with the means to do so, flock to corporate clinics and hospitals to cure themselves of lifestyle and communicable diseases. The Fat tax has to be seen in this context. It is a first step in a preventive model of healthcare to cut obesity, especially among the young. But is it enough? This is where the jury is out.

Until a proper cause and effect relationship is demonstrated between the tax and its ability to inhibit consumption of energy dense food there will be no way of assessing the efficacy of the tax. That will take a few years. But taxing empty calories is not enough! There needs to be a parallel effort to promote the consumption of nutritious food and exercise, particularly among the young. As part of this effort, subsidies for fruits, vegetables and organic food, along with promoting sport and building the necessary infrastructure will complement the efforts to slim Malayalees down.

But that takes money, which the government doesnt have. The Fat tax is probably all a cash strapped government can do at the moment. As a revenue earner it isnt much, as the governments own projection puts the figure at Rs 10 crore per annum which is a pittance, considering the Treasury is owed around Rs 24,000 crores in pending taxes.

Kerala is the first state in India to impost a punitive tax on junk food (Western junk food, it is a Marxist government after all). Examples of taxing the consumption of junk food from around the world have shown mixed results. Former New York Mayor Michael Bloombergs proposed ban on sugary drinks over a certain size fizzled out when it was challenged legally. Denmark introduced a fat cum sugar tax in 2011 and scrapped it the next year because it increased companies administrative costs and because Danes were hopping across the national border to buy junk food.

Still, Kerala has lived up to its reputation as a politically conscious state by trying to do something within its limited means  in this case use fiscal measures  to tackle a public health crisis.
New Delhi: The VHP on Saturday demanded arrest of controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik for sedition, saying that his sermons and speeches promote radicalism and terrorism.

"The VHP is of clear view that Zakir Naik's speeches give rise to terrorism and promote Islamic radicalism," Vishwa Hindu Parishad Joint General Secretary Surendra Jain told IANS.

"A section of Islamic society is getting influenced by his preaches and inclining towards terrorism," he added, seeking his arrest for sedition.

"He (Zakir) urges youth to become terrorists. He openly supports Osama Bin Laden. The government must act tough against him. A case of sedition should be filed against him and he must be arrested at the earliest," he said, and also attacked the preacher for seeking support from Muslim community against his "media trials".

"This is a clear attempt to provoke Muslims. By seeking support of Muslim community he has made another crime. The Union Home Ministry must look into it," Jain said.

Naik is under scanner following revelations that two of the five young militants who massacred 20 hostages, including an Indian, in a Dhaka cafe on July 1 drew their inspiration from his speeches.

Facing investigation, Naik on Saturday tweeted : "I, Dr Zakir Naik, Call upon all my Muslim Brothers & Sisters to Support me against the "Media Trials" and Let Justice Prevail."

However, in another tweet, he said: "I appeal to all people worldwide to work together on the causes, ways and solutions to eliminate TERRORISM FROM OUR MIDST."
Mid-July marks the 22nd anniversary of the belated end of the Rwandan genocide - one of the worst mass slaughters in modern times with at least 800,000 people brutally killed in 100 days in 1994. Most victims were the minority Tutsis, but moderates of the Hutu majority were not spared, and the perpetrators included their long-standing friends, neighbours and sometimes families too. Meanwhile, the world not only remained passive but also hindered those in a position to make some difference.

There can be few more shameful instances for the global community, and its representative organisation, the United Nations, which did not cover itself with much glory in the early 1990s - remember Bosnia?

It was however more humiliating for its peacekeepers in the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR), a manifestly insufficient force not only rendered ineffective by apathy and competing agendas, but its members forced to forsake their military honour, as its Canadian commander recounts in harrowing and heart-breaking detail.

There is no dearth of work on the Rwandan genocide - Alison Des Forges' Leave None to Tell the Story: Genocide in Rwanda (1999), Philip Gourevitch's ominously-titled but most disturbing We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families: Stories From Rwanda (1998) while Samantha Power's A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide (2002) provides the American response, Michael Barnett's Eyewitness to a Genocide: The United Nations and Rwanda the failure of the UN during the crisis and Shaharyar Khan's The Shallow Graves of Rwanda (2000) its continuing failure to help the survivors.

But Lt. Gen. Romeo Dallaire's account is especially piquant - for his honest and candid portrayal of his helplessness, despite his best efforts, in the face of a monumental tragedy that could have been averted, or at least mitigated, with a little courage and concern by responsible nations.

Shake Hands With The Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda (2003) is his "story of what happened in Rwanda in 1994... a story of betrayal, failure, naivete, indifference, hatred, genocide, war, inhumanity and evil". Dallaire says he regrets not writing it earlier despite requests and trying to "find some respite" from his harrowing memories, which instead took him into "a disastrous mental health spiral that led me to suicide attempts, a medical release from the Armed Forces, the diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder..."

It was only after he retired in 2000 that he began work on it, and the title comes from his response to a Canadian military padre, who asked Dallaire how he could still believe in God after all he had seen and witnessed - "I know there is a God, because in Rwanda I shook hands with the devil...."

Beginning with the surreal experience of coming across a young oblivious infant in a forested area and finding what he thought a home still had the decaying bodies of his massacred parents and other siblings, Dallaire paints how the UN and the world ignored, or even abetted the genocide.

But he could have well discerned the outcome in the penny-pinching ways of the UN bureaucrats, the perceived partiality of its civilian representative (former Cameroonian foreign minister Jacques-Roger Booh-Booh) and some unique ways of his troops. The Belgian troops of UNAMIR lived separately around the town since it was their policy that in Africa, their soldiers would not live under tents "because it was imperative that they maintain a correct presence in front of Africans".

Dallaire came to know about the impending genocide in January and given locations of the arms caches but permission to seize them was denied by his UN bosses and he was rebuked for even considering it.

As the genocide started in April, 10 Belgian peacekeepers were disarmed and murdered - prompting Belgium to pull out their troops. The UNAMIR, soon reduced to a 10th of its strength even as Dallaire pleaded for more troops to fulfill its mandate, could save some lives but were mostly spectators - thought there were heroes like Sengalese military observer, Captain Diagne Mbaye, who spirited murdered Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana's children to safety.

Dallaire was scathing about the Belgian withdrawal - remembering his own father and father-in-law had fought for liberation for Belgium in World War II while it was despoiling its African possessions like Rwanda and "now he was watching Belgian troops abandon us" only because "they had lost some of their professional soldiers to soldierly duties".

But who all could he blame? As he tells us: "Engraved still in my brain in the judgment of a small group of bureaucrats who came to 'assess' the situation in the first weeks of the genocide: 'We will recommend to our government not to intervene as the risks are high and all that is here are humans."

What else need be said to reveal what the "civilised, powerful" world thought? Has it changed since 1994?
Jammu: On Saturday VHP attacked the PDP-BJP government over the deteriorating situation in Jammu and Kashmir, saying the anti-national elements have spread their tentacles in the Valley and other parts of the state under the present dispensation.

VHP Patron Ramakant Dubey also expressed concern over loss of lives of a number of security personnel in various attacks by militants in the state in the last two-three months.

"It seems that during the rule of the present dispensation, the anti-national elements have spread their more tentacles in valley including other parts of the state as well," he told reporters.

"Whether it is CRPF, BSF or state police personnel, the losses are increasing day-by-day. The situation has become difficult as militants after attacking the security personnel mingle with the public who following their dictates, become human wall for militants and make it impossible for security personnel to launch counter-attack," Dubey said.

Under such circumstances, it is very difficult, rather impossible, for the forces to counter militant's activities, he added.

Citing an example, he claimed, about a month ago a militant, who was killed at Kud, was being shielded by his brother who was a government employee and allotted a government accommodation in Jammu.

The VHP leader said that without the support from the public it is not possible for the security forces to achieve success against militants.

He also criticised the state government for releasing the stone-pelters (on the occasion of Eid), saying stone pelters were caught by security forces or police personnel, who risk their lives but they were set free with just a stroke of a pen.

Hailing security forces for killing a militant Burhan Wani in Kukernag on Saturday, he said it is "saddening" that remarks by the political bosses after action by security forces are "lowering" their morale.
New Delhi: Union Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday accused Pakistan of influencing sympathisers of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani, who was killed in Kashmir, and warned it of a policy rethink on Delhi's part.

"Some people, inspired by our neighbour, are trying to create disturbances. This is not going to help," the minister said.

"India is willing to work with Pakistan and would like to have friendship with the country. But if Pakistan continues to do such things, the (Indian) government has to think about its own policy. Pakistan should give up such tactics...," Naidu said.

He asserted that Kashmir is an integral part of India and there is no question of any negotiation and discussion on this point.

Violence erupted in south Kashmir districts of Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian and Kulgam and later spread to other districts in the valley after security forces killed Hizbul Mujahideen militant Wani and his two associates in Anantnag on Friday.

Wani was buried in his native Shariefabad (Tral) village on Saturday where thousands defied curfew restrictions to attend his funeral prayers.

"(Wani) was a Hizbul Mujahideen commander. How can any Indian have sympathy for such people? Really surprised to see that some people are trying to support those so-called protesters sympathising with a terrorist," the minister said.

"Terrorism and violence are not acceptable at all in any form."

"The Centre and the state together will tackle the situation. The situation in Jammu and Kashmir will be brought to normalcy at the earliest," he added.

Curfew was imposed in the Kashmir Valley after widespread clashes between security forces and demonstrators protesting Wani's killing.

The toll in Kashmir Valley violence on Sunday rose to 19, with the death of four more people in continuing protests.
The Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad targeted and killed US reporter Marie Colvin in February 2012 to stop her from covering government atrocities, according to a lawsuit filed in US court on Saturday.

The Syrian military intercepted Colvin's communications and unleashed a barrage of rocket fire on her in the besieged city of Homs, according to documents filed in US district court in Washington.

Colvin, a longtime war correspondent for the British newspaper The Sunday Times, was killed with French photographer Remi Ochlik. British photographer Paul Conroy, French reporter Edith Bouvier, and Syrian media defender Wael al-Omar were wounded in the same attack.

The lawsuit is based on information from captured government documents and defectors. It names several Syrian officials, including Assad's brother Maher.

The suit alleges that Syrian officials, acting "with premeditation... deliberately killed Marie Colvin by launching a targeted rocket attack" against the makeshift broadcast studio in the Baba Amar neighborhood of Homs, where Colvin and other reporters were based.

The night before the attack Colvin made audio broadcasts via satellite dish from Homs to CNN, BBC News, and Britain's Channel 4 News.

"There are rockets, shells, tank shells, antiaircraft being fired in parallel lines into the city," she told CNN, according to the documents. "The Syrian Army is simply shelling a city of cold, starving civilians."

After a female informant confirmed Colvin's presence at the site, Syrian artillery units "deliberately launched salvos of rockets and mortars directly at the improvised media center.

"Using a targeting method called 'bracketing,' multiple rockets were launched to either side of the Media Center, drawing closer with each round," the suit states.

Survivors who fled into the street "were immediately detected by an aerial surveillance aircraft circling overhead. Syrian artillery units quickly adjusted their target away from the Media Center and towards these survivors," the document says.

The journalists "were non-combatant civilians... No armed rebels were present at or near the Media Center at the time of the attack."

Senior Assad regime officials conspired "to surveil, target, and ultimately kill civilian journalists in order to silence local and international media as part of its effort to crush political opposition," the suit says.

In late 2011 and early 2012, the regime launched a massive military operation in Homs, Syria's third largest city, laying siege to defectors and civilians in opposition-held neighborhoods including Baba Amr.

The suit was filed on behalf of Colvin's sister Cathleen Colvin and other surviving family members by the non-profit human rights group Center for Justice and Accountability.

Colvin, who was 56, covered many of the world's bloodiest conflicts from the 1980s onwards. She wore a black eye-patch after losing an eye in a grenade blast reporting on Sri Lanka's civil war in 2001.

Homs is "a city of the cold and hungry, echoing to exploding shells and bursts of gunfire," Colvin wrote in her final piece for The Sunday Times, the paper where she had worked for 25 years.

"On the lips of everyone was the question: 'Why have we been abandoned by the world?'"

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Dhaka: Bangladesh government today banned the broadcasting of India-based controversial preacher Zakir Naik's Peace TV channel after reports that his "provocative" speeches inspired some of the militants who carried out the country's worst terror attack at a cafe in Dhaka.

The decision to ban the Mumbai-based preacher's 'Peace TV Bangla' was taken during a special meeting of Cabinet Committee on Law and Order, Industry Minister AAmir Hossain Amu, who chaired the meeting said.

In the meeting, attended by senior ministers and top security officials, it was also decided to monitor the sermons given during the Friday prayers to check whether any provocative lectures are delivered, Amu told reporters. Naik's speeches are believed to have inspired some of the Bangladeshi militants, who killed 22 people, mostly foreigners, at an upscale restaurant in Dhaka on 1 July.

The government also appealed to the Imams in the country to deliver lectures in line with real Islamic ideology of denouncing terorism and extremism, the minister said.

Besides senior ministers, the meeting was attended by chief of police and head of the elite Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), paramilitary border guards and top officials of different security agencies.

Deployment of additional security forces at export processing zone was also ordered.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan had on Saturday said that Bangladesh's intelligence agencies were investigating the Islamic preacher Naik.

"He is on our security scanner... Our intelligence agencies are investigating his activities as his lectures appeared provocative," Khan had told PTI.

Khan said the investigators were also probing Naik's financial transactions in Bangladesh.

One of the slain attackers of the terrorist attack in Dhaka's high-security Gulshan area, the 22-year-old Rohan Imtiaz quoted Naik in a Facebook post in January this year where he urged "all Muslims to be terrorists." Twenty-two people, including 17 foreigners, were killed in the brutal late-night attack. Six days later, militants attacked police guarding the largest Eid gathering in Bangladesh and killed three more people.

The activities of Naik's Mumbai-based Islamic Research Foundation are also under the scanner of Indian Home Ministry amid allegations that funds from abroad received by it have been spent on political activities and inspiring people towards radical views.

The Maharashtra government has also ordered a probe into the sermons by the 50-year-old televangelist that has kicked up a storm.

Britain and Canada have banned Naik from visiting the two countries several years ago while Malaysia banned his lectures fearing that they could instigate inter-racial tensions. Experts said Naik could not be accused of openly inciting terror but his preaching were a heady mix of ingredients which could abet radicalisation of the extreme kinds.
Madrid/Berlin: US President Barack Obama was to begin an abbreviated visit with Spanish leaders on Sunday before returning to Washington to address issues surrounding a series of deadly race-related shootings in the United States.

Obama arrived in Spain late Saturday at Torrejon de Ardoz military base outside Madrid. He was greeted by King Felipe VI, who escorted Obama down a red carpet lined by an honour guard.

The reception by the Spanish monarch shortly before 11 pm (2200 GMT) was exceptional, Spain's royal house said, adding that it was proof of the close relationship between the two countries. A number of Spanish government ministers, Spain's ambassador to the US and dignitaries were among the party that greeted the US president.

Obama embarked on the first visit by a US president to Spain in 15 years after taking part in a NATO summit in Warsaw. He opted to shorten his visit by one day after an attack on police in Dallas, Texas.

Before landing, Obama telephoned Texas Governor Greg Abbott to offer condolences on behalf of the American people for the five police officers who were killed in the attack on Thursday night. Seven other officers and two civilian bystanders were wounded.

The White House said Obama would leave Madrid on Sunday evening after meeting with King Felipe and Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. He was to make a stop at a naval base in Rota near Cadiz in southern Spain before departing for Washington. Plans to stop in Sevilla and meet with young people in Madrid were canceled so that Obama could travel back to the US and prepare for his visit to Dallas.

At a news conference before leaving Poland, Obama called on Americans to unite against acts of violence and "not let the actions of a few define all of us."

The gun-fueled violence saw two black men fatally shot by police on Tuesday and Wednesday, followed by the shooting in Dallas that targeted police officers at a peaceful rally protesting violence against the black community.

"This has been a tough week, first and foremost for the family of those killed, but also for the entire American family," Obama said. "As painful as this week has been, I firmly believe that America is not as divided as some have suggested," Obama said.

The first of the three shootings occurred on Tuesday, when Alton Sterling, 37, was tackled and shot by police after selling CDs outside a convenience store in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

The next day, Philando Castile, 32, was fatally shot at a routine traffic stop in suburban Minneapolis, Minnesota. Castile's fiancee recorded the aftermath using Facebook Live as her boyfriend bled profusely while the officer continued pointing his firearm at him.

On Thursday, as demonstrators with the Black Lives Matter movement marched in Dallas, a black US military veteran opened fire on police who were guarding the march, killing the officers.

Police identified the lone gunman as Micah Xavier Johnson, 25, saying he told officers before he died that he was angry about the killing of black men by police officers and wanted to kill police.

Police said they killed Johnson with a bomb carried by a robot into the parking garage where the assailant had taken cover. A search of Johnson's home turned up bomb-making materials, ballistic vests, rifles, ammunition and a personal journal of combat tactics.

Obama described the gunman as "demented" and said though Americans felt sorrow, anger and confusion over the shootings, they should unite against the incidents and reject them.

"This is not who we want to be as Americans, and that serves as the basis for us wanting to move forward in a constructive and positive way," Obama said, adding that there was not "enormous polarization" in the US.

Police nevertheless have increased security in cities across the country, and in a sign of the tense situation that continues in Dallas, police placed their headquarters on alert Saturday while they searched for a suspicious person in a nearby parking garage.

Special forces were activated, and security in the area was increased, according to news reports.

The department said later on Twitter the search turned up no suspicious person.
DALLAS The U.S. military veteran who fatally shot five Dallas police officers was plotting a larger assault, possibly using explosives, and he taunted police and wrote on a wall in his own blood before being killed, authorities said on Sunday.

Instead, Micah X. Johnson improvised and used his military training to gun down officers during a demonstration on Thursday evening, Dallas Police Chief David Brown told CNN. It was the deadliest day for U.S. law enforcement since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

"We're convinced that this suspect had other plans," said Brown, adding that the recent deaths of two black men at the hands of police in Minnesota and Louisiana led the Texas shooter to "fast-track" his plans and launch his attack.

Johnson, 25, a black veteran who served in Afghanistan, took advantage of a spontaneous march that began toward the end of the protest over those killings. Moving ahead of the demonstrators in a black Tahoe SUV, he stopped when he saw a chance to use "high ground" to target police, Brown said.

He said a search of Johnson's home turned up signs the gunman had practiced using explosives, and that other evidence suggested he wanted to use them against law enforcement targets.

Before being killed by a bomb-equipped robot, Johnson sang, laughed at and taunted officers, according to Brown, telling them he wanted to "kill white people" in retribution for police killings of black people. "He seemed very much in control and very determined to hurt other officers," the police chief said.

SURPRISE ATTACK

Speaking at a local hospital, 12-year-old Jamar Taylor told reporters how he was separated from his mother and lost his telephone when the bullets began to fly.

"I was scared. I really didn't know what was going to happen," a sobbing Jamar said. His mother, Shetamia Taylor, was shot in the leg. A stranger helped the boy to safety.

Brown said police had been caught off guard when some protesters broke away from Thursday's demonstration, and his officers were exposed to the gunfire as they raced to block off intersections ahead of the marchers.

Johnson's military training helped him to shoot and move rapidly, "triangulating" his fire with multiple rounds so that police at first feared they were facing several shooters.

Brown vigorously defended the decision to use a robot to kill the gunman, saying "about a pound of C4" explosive was attached to it. And he said Johnson scrawled the letters "RB" in his own blood on a wall before dying.

"We're trying to figure out through looking at things in his home what those initials mean," the police chief said.

At the Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe in downtown Dallas, Roman Catholic parishioners gathered on Sunday for their weekly service and to remember the fallen officers.

Reverend Eugene Azorji based his sermon on the Biblical tale of the Good Samaritan, which chronicles the life-saving actions of a stranger to a man in need.

"I would like you to join me and asking, 'Who is my neighbor?'" Azorji, who is black, told the congregation. "Those who put their lives on the line every day to bring a security and peace, they represent our neighbor."

A candlelight vigil is due to be held at 8 p.m. on Monday in Dallas City Hall plaza.

PROTESTS AND ARRESTS

The mass shooting amplified a turbulent week in the United States, as the issues of race, gun violence and use of lethal force by police again convulsed the country.

Even as officials and activists condemned the shootings and mourned the murdered officers, hundreds of people were arrested on Saturday as new protests against the use of deadly force by police flared in several U.S. cities.

Particularly hard hit was St. Paul, Minnesota, where 21 officers were injured as police were pelted with rocks, bottles and fireworks, officials said.

Three countries have warned their citizens to stay on guard when visiting U.S. cities rocked by the protests.

"Young males are asked to exercise extreme caution in affected cities in their interactions with the police. Do not be confrontational and cooperate," the Bahamas government said. Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates also issued advisories.

Speaking in Madrid during a European tour, U.S. President Barack Obama said attacks on police over racial bias would hurt Black Lives Matter, a civil rights movement that emerged from the recent police killings of African-Americans but has been criticized for vitriolic social media postings against police, some of them sympathetic to Johnson.

"Whenever those of us who are concerned about failures of the criminal justice system attack police, you are doing a disservice to the cause," the United States' first black president told a news conference.

Some people would always make "stupid" or "overgeneralizing" comments, Obama added, but well-meaning activists could not be held responsible for everything said at a protest.

(Additional reporting by Ernest Scheyder, Jason Lange and David Bailey; Writing by Daniel Trotta and Daniel Wallis; Editing by Frank McGurty and Paul Simao)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Dar-es-Salaam: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Tanzania on Sunday as part of his four-nation Africa tour aimed at enhancing ties with the continent, particularly in the economic sphere.

"From Durban to Dar-es-Salaam! Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives late night in Tanzania on the third leg of his African sojourn," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted on Modi's arrival in Dar es Salaam.

Modi was received at the airport by Tanzanian Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa and Foreign Affairs Minister Bernard Membe, Swarup said.

In Tanzania, Modi will hold talks with President John Pombe Joseph Magufuli on a range of issues.

The visit will be aimed at giving an impetus to ties with Tanzania, a valued friend in Africa, Modi had said.

He will also be meeting 'Solar Mamas', a group of rural women solar engineers from Africa who have been trained under Government of India-supported programmes to fabricate, install, use, repair and maintain solar lanterns and household solar lighting systems in their villages.

Modi is on five-day four-nation tour. He visited Mozambique and South Africa before arriving in Africa. He will also visit Kenya.

The focus of the African tour is on deepening cooperation in areas of hydrocarbons, maritime security, trade and investment, agriculture and food.
Dar-es-Salaam: India on Sunday offered USD 92 million Line of Credit to Tanzania for a key water supply project and signed five agreements as the two countries decided to cooperate in a number of areas, including food security and natural gas sector to boost bilateral ties.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who held wide-ranging talks with President John Pombe Joseph Magufuli, also agreed to work closely, bilaterally, regionally and globally to combat the twin threats of terrorism and climate change.

Describing India as a trusted partner for the east African country in meeting its development priorities, Modi said he along with President John Pombe Joseph Magufuli "agreed to deepen our overall defence and security partnership, especially in the maritime domain".

"Our in-depth discussions on regional and global issues reflected our considerable convergence on issues of common interest and concern," he said at a joint press interaction after his bilateral meeting with President Magufuli.

In a joint statement, the two leaders expressed their strong condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and stated that there can be no justification for terrorism whatsoever. They expressed satisfaction on the holding of bilateral counter-terrorism consultations in early-2016.

"India's cooperation with Tanzania will always be as per your needs and priorities," Modi said.

The two sides signed an agreement under which India will provide a Line of Credit of USD 92 million for rehabilitation and improvement of Zanzibar's water supply system.

Other agreements signed include an MoU on water resource management and development, MoU for establishment of vocational training centre at Zanzibar, MoU on visa waiver for diplomatic/official passport holders and an agreement between National Small Industries Corporation of India and Small Industries Development Organisation Tanzania.

Prime Minister said the two countries are also working on a number of other water projects for 17 cities in Tanzania. "For this India is willing to consider an additional USD 500 million line of concessional credit," he said.

Modi said during his meeting with President Magufuli, they had detailed discussions on the full spectrum of bilateral partnership.

"Our focus was to shape an action oriented agenda of cooperation, so that we talk less of potential and more of achievements on the ground. We agreed that our common desire of economic prosperity for our societies is creating new opportunities for expanding our cooperation," he said.

To achieve this, the two nations agreed to deepen partnership in agriculture and food security, including through enhanced export of pulses from Tanzania to India, which is experiencing a shortfall leading to price rise.

They also decided to work together in development and use of natural gas. India agreed to partner Tanzania in building of industrial economy, capacities and institutions.

The two leaders also decided to deepen bilateral trade and investment partnership by encouraging greater industry to industry ties.
JERUSALEM Israel's attorney-general has ordered an inquiry into "matters" related to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the justice ministry said on Sunday, without saying what they were.

The terse statement followed days of Israeli media speculation about possible official suspicions of misconduct by Netanyahu or by people close to him.

Through his lawyer, Netanyahu - now serving his fourth term as prime minister - has denied any wrongdoing.

Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit's decision followed "the receipt of information about matters that relate, inter alia, to the prime minister" and which he has discussed with senior Israeli police and prosecutors, the statement said.

"It should be emphasised that this is an inquiry and that no criminal investigation has been launched regarding the prime minister," it said.

An inquiry can potentially be a preliminary stage to a criminal investigation.

The statement described the media reports on the case as "inaccurate, to say the least", but said Mandelblit could not comment further at this stage.

First elected to Israel's top office two decades ago, Netanyahu has weathered several scandals, including a police investigation and state audits into his family's spending.

(Writing by Dan Williams; Editing by Gareth Jones)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Washington: The Minnesota police officer whose fatal shooting of a black driver this week helped prompt nationwide protests against racial prejudice reacted to the man's gun, not his race, his lawyer has said.

Jeronimo Yanez, a police officer in St. Anthony, a Minneapolis suburb, "was reacting to the presence of a gun" when he shot Philando Castile, Minneapolis attorney Thomas Kelly told The New York Times.

Castile, 32, was shot Wednesday after he was pulled over in Falcon Heights, near Minneapolis, for a broken tail light.

Amplifying the horror was the video live-streamed in the shooting's aftermath by the slain man's girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, as she sat in the passenger seat. Her four-year-old daughter was sitting in the back seat.

Castile was shot after informing the officer that he had a gun and a permit to carry, and then reaching for his wallet, according to Reynolds.

He was the second black man in two days fatally shot by US police. They are the latest in a string of similar cases that have fueled outrage across the United States, from city streets to the White House.

Although Kelly provided the fullest account so far of Yanez's version of the shooting on Wednesday, many details remain unclear.

Yanez, who is Latino, is on leave while the state authorities are investigating the shooting.

"The shooting had nothing to do with race and everything to do with the presence of that gun," Kelly told the Times.

Castile "was not following the directions of the police officer," he added, declining to provide more details, the paper said.

There was "more than the reason for the equipment violation" to stop Castile's car, Kelly said, without

specifying other reasons, The New York Times said.

Governor Mark Dayton, who met with protesters and black leaders, has expressed sympathy for the Castile family and concerns about the role of race in the shooting, infuriating some in law enforcement.

"Would this have happened if those passengers - the driver and the passengers - were white?" he said Thursday. "I don't think it would've."

The fatal shooting of Castile and another black man, Alton Sterling, in Louisiana the previous day, prompted protests against police brutality toward African Americans under the banner of the Black Lives Matter movement.
On the fourth day of his four-nation Africa tour, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Tanzania. He had wide-ranging talks with President John Pombe Joseph Magufuli, and they agreed to work closely, bilaterally, regionally and globally to combat the twin threats of terrorism and climate change.

The two leaders also decided to deepen bilateral trade and investment partnership by encouraging greater industry to industry ties. Here are some tweets that highlight the key moments of the visit.

Tanzania is all set to welcome PM @narendramodi https://t.co/XLl9tdyDqc  India in Tanzania (@IndiainTanzania) July 9, 2016

From Durban to Dar es Salaam! PM @narendramodi arrives late night in Tanzania on the 3rd leg of his African sojourn pic.twitter.com/QByYm8E2B1  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 9, 2016

Modi tweeted about his arrival in Swahili. The translation is, I have arrived Tanzania. I am optimistic about this tour and I'm confident it will open a new beginning in relations between India and Tanzania.

Nimefika Tanzania. Nina matumaini makubwa kuhusu ziara hii na nina imani itafungua mwanzo mpya katika mahusiano baina ya India na Tanzania.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 9, 2016

The Prime Minister of Tanzania, Kassim Majaliwa, came to welcome Modi to Tanzania.

A special gesture for a special visit. PM of Tanzania, Mr. Kassim Majaliwa welcomed PM @narendramodi at the airport. pic.twitter.com/I6fa0BFXVB  PMO India (@PMOIndia) July 9, 2016

Along with the energetic welcome at the airport, Modi also received a ceremonial reception at Dar-es-Salaam State House.

Landed to a lively welcome in Tanzania. pic.twitter.com/saDl6Y0NJi  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 9, 2016

A ceremonial welcome, the East African way. PM's Tanzania engagements begin at the State House in Dar es Salaam pic.twitter.com/vkkgb3jsSt  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 10, 2016

A rapturous welcome for PM @narendramodi in Tanzania. pic.twitter.com/ucJEgfI25y  PMO India (@PMOIndia) July 10, 2016



Even more flair exuded out of the colourful event when Modi tried his hand at the traditional Tanzania drum with President John Magufuli.

Modi and the Tanzanian president then went on to have restricted talks, following which a bilateral meeting and delgation level talks were held.

Talking with Tanzania. PM @narendramodi and President @MagufuliJP in restricted talks following the welcome pic.twitter.com/EyIyFpGxmm  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 10, 2016

Discussing India-Tanzania relations with President @MagufuliJP during the bilateral meeting and delegation talks. pic.twitter.com/h1q0rdxxp4  PMO India (@PMOIndia) July 10, 2016

Reviewing the full spectrum of #IndiaTanzania relations. President @MagufuliJP and PM lead delegation level talks pic.twitter.com/DIodinhOG2  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 10, 2016



As India is Tanzania's second-largest investor, it has close ties with Tanzania.

Robust commerce

With vibrant business ties, #IndiaTanzania share thriving exports-imports & ever growing investments pic.twitter.com/z0KoVlWpLY  Indian Diplomacy (@IndianDiplomacy) July 10, 2016

Multi sectoral collaboration#pathbreakingdiplomacy has boosted #IndiaTanzania relations for mutual benefit &devp'nt pic.twitter.com/CZy5SnuF0R  Indian Diplomacy (@IndianDiplomacy) July 10, 2016



In a bid to strengthen these ties, Modi signed 5 agreements in various sectors like water resource management and food supply.

A close and friendly partner. PM and President witness the exchange of 5 agreements across various sectors pic.twitter.com/2bfUsA3PcH  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 10, 2016

The two leaders then went on to hold a joint press meet.

Here is the full text of PM @narendramodi 's Press Statement during his Tanzania visithttps://t.co/hxf4hU1lMf pic.twitter.com/q5n6OcnRkZ  Indian Diplomacy (@IndianDiplomacy) July 10, 2016

Modi asserted that the two nations had similar interests and that they can collaborate and prosper in many vital sectors.

President @MagufuliJP & I agreed to deepen India-Tanzania ties in agriculture, food security, trade, natural gas & other vital sectors.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 10, 2016

India is ready to meet the healthcare priorities of Tanzania. Also discussed cooperation in education, skill development & IT.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 10, 2016

PM emphasises historic links: We're old maritime neighbors & have fought colonialism & racial oppr'n together pic.twitter.com/ORNj1YpxnH  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 10, 2016

Discussions today reflected the considerable convergence between India & Tanzania on a wide range of issues. https://t.co/TpeWNiDsA7  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 10, 2016

PM pays tribute to Prez @MagufuliJP 's motto:"Hapa kazi tu". Says both share vision of nation building, development & industrialisation  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 10, 2016



Economic partnerships and trade relations were a key point of discussion.

PM highlights the economic p'ship, says it is a privilege to partner Tanzania in its developmental priorities pic.twitter.com/ASlfWCY2FW  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 10, 2016

India is already a substantial economic partner of Tanzania. The whole range of our economic ties are healthy and on upswing: PM  PMO India (@PMOIndia) July 10, 2016

PM @narendramodi: We discussed the full spectrum of p'ship. Focus was to shape an action oriented agenda of coop'n pic.twitter.com/Cq4BepYuOf  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 10, 2016

Efforts on public health, human resources and climate change were also discussed.

PM: We have signed agreement on water supply pjcts in Zanzibar and are working on others in 17 cities under concessional LOCs  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 10, 2016

PM: Public Health is another imp area. We are ready to supply medicines & equipment to meet healthcare priorities of the Tanzanian govt  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 10, 2016

PM: Human resource development is an area of your priority where India is willing to to offer all possible assistance.  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 10, 2016

PM: Our discussions on regional & global issues reflected considerable convergence on issues of common interest pic.twitter.com/dEuOboXvQU  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 10, 2016

Modi then interacted with 'Solar Mamas', a group of rural women solar engineers from different African countries who have been trained under programmes supported by India for harnessing solar energy.

Celebrating the Solar Mamas!PM interacts with women trained in vocational skills under India's developmental support pic.twitter.com/ar5Cr92zed  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 10, 2016

Empowering women@BarefootCollege acts as catalyst to create employment & provide solutions for village communities pic.twitter.com/v7HrdrTt5g  Indian Diplomacy (@IndianDiplomacy) July 10, 2016

The Solar Mamas come from across Africa, and are trained at Barefoot College in Rajasthan, or the centre in Tanzania pic.twitter.com/3ulVyHd9Tg  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 10, 2016

The Solar Mamas are trained in solar electrification and entrepreneurial skills such as bee-keeping& tailoring pic.twitter.com/9hLoivxICj  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 10, 2016

The hardwork & dedication of the Solar Mamas impressed me. Enjoyed interacting with them. pic.twitter.com/G79TjC2PnB  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 10, 2016

No Problem! You can watch the extraordinary story of Solar Mamas & their journey to become barefoot engineers here https://t.co/Vj6k4K2odY  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 10, 2016

Next on Modi's agenda was a speech during a banquet hosted by President Magufuli, prior to which PM Modi interacted with the Indian diaspora in Dar es Salaaam.

Even a brief visit is incomplete w/out the community. PM meets members of the large Indian diaspora in Dar es Salaam pic.twitter.com/tKxuGbHKRy  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 10, 2016

Community connect...PM @narendramodi interacts with the Indian community in Tanzania. pic.twitter.com/SXMdvl7ftY  PMO India (@PMOIndia) July 10, 2016

Here is the Banquet Speech by Prime Minister @narendramodi during his visit to Tanzania https://t.co/mD8atqjt3l pic.twitter.com/UVZp3IINsT  Indian Diplomacy (@IndianDiplomacy) July 10, 2016



One of the main aims of the visit was to boost multi-sectoral cooperation and development between the two nations.

Development partnership

India grants funds & shares expertise, capacities & tech for growth & prosperity of Tanzania pic.twitter.com/ka2USZaL24  Indian Diplomacy (@IndianDiplomacy) July 10, 2016

Shared vision of nation building & development

Take a look at the broad spectrum of collaboration b/w #IndiaTanzania pic.twitter.com/dpK8WWoPLE  Indian Diplomacy (@IndianDiplomacy) July 10, 2016

Indian Hydrographic Survey Ship, INS Sutlej had conducted a joint hydrographic survey of Mkoani harbour, Tanzania in early 2016. Modi handed over a navigational chart of the port to help port authorities and ships in navigating the area.

India has handed over a navigational chart of Mkoani Harbour (Tanzania). This was done at the joint press briefing. pic.twitter.com/jdU1IfzSrQ  PMO India (@PMOIndia) July 10, 2016



President John Magufuli personally bid farewell to Modi after the end of the visit.

Important gestures on arrival and departure. President @MagufuliJP personally bids farewell to PM @narendramodi pic.twitter.com/dsUYaU0iwp  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 10, 2016

Thank you President @MagufuliJP for the special gesture of coming to the airport when I left Tanzania. Honoured! pic.twitter.com/FU7VeguXEo  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 10, 2016
Warsaw: Nato allies agreed on Saturday to provide increased military support to countries in the Middle East and North Africa that are targets of Islamic extremism, including using Nato surveillance planes in the fight against the Islamic State group.

Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said alliance leaders also agreed to launch a new naval mission in the Mediterranean, and made commitments to maintain a stable military presence in Afghanistan and to fund Afghan security forces through 2020.

"Today we have taken decisions to strengthen our partners and to project stability beyond our borders," Stoltenberg told reporters on the second day of a crucial Nato summit in Warsaw.

He said millions of people in Africa and the Middle East have been rendered "homeless and helpless" by radical organizations like Islamic State and that the extremist groups are also to blame for organizing terrorist attacks in Europe and America.

In response, Stoltenberg said Nato will start a training and capacity-building mission for Iraqi armed forces in Iraq, a country he called central in the fight against IS. Nato is also working to establish an intelligence center in Tunisia, a major recruiting ground for IS, and will shortly start providing support to Tunisian special operation forces, he said.

Stoltenberg said US President Barack Obama and leaders of the other 27 Nato countries also agreed in principle for alliance surveillance aircraft to provide direct support to the US-led coalition fighting IS in Syria and Iraq, a decision the Nato chief called "a clear signal of our resolve to help tackle terrorism." Nato diplomats say they expect flights by alliance AWACS planes to begin this fall.

Stoltenberg said the alliance will launch a new maritime operation in the Mediterranean called Operation Sea Guardian, whose responsibilities will include counter-terrorism. Nato will also cooperate with the European Union's efforts to shut down human smuggling operations that have fueled Europe's greatest migrant crisis since World War II.

The alliance will also increase cooperation with Jordan, and is preparing to help the new government in Libya design policies and institutions to help it better defend itself against extremist organizations, Stoltenberg said.

"We will provide greater support to our partners, so they can secure their countries and push back against violent extremism," he said.

Obama had been urging his fellow Nato leaders in Warsaw to expand their support for the war in Afghanistan against the Taliban. Meanwhile, violence in the US led him to cut his Europe trip short so he can return home tomorrow.

The US has pledged to provide USD 3.5 billion annually to fund Afghan forces, and the government in Kabul is expected to contribute as much as USD 500 million. Allies would provide the remaining USD 1 billion. The funding would maintain a total of 352,000 Afghan Army troops and police officers.
Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who had an open heart surgery at a London hospital in May, returned home on Saturday, officials said.

TV footage showed the Prime Minister alighted from the special plane and walked without any support. He was operated upon on 31 May, Xinhua News Agency reported.

A Pakistan International Airlines plane brought the Prime Minister to Lahore where some of family members and Governor of Punjab received him.

Nawaz Sharif had stopped activists of his ruling Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) from welcoming him at the airport.

The Prime Minister decided to return home after his doctors allowed him to travel back home due to substantial improvement in his health condition.

Official sources say Sharif has convened a meeting of senior aides to be held in a couple of days to review the overall situation.
Kenya Airways said on Sunday it was suspending flights to South Sudan's capital Juba after a flare-up of fighting between rival factions in the unity government.

"We wish to advise our guests that we have suspended flights to Juba, South Sudan due to uncertain security situation," the airline wrote on its Twitter account.

The clashes in Juba that first erupted late on Thursday have left scores dead.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a five-day tour to four African nations  Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya and the social media is flooded with 'memorable' moments from this trip.

On Sunday PM Modi arrived in Tanzania and he played the traditional Tanzania drum in Dar es Salaam, with Tanzanian President John Magufuli. His drumming received severe criticism in light of the violence that took place in Kashmir on Saturday. He was even compared to US President Barack Obama who cut-short his Europe trip in the light of the violence that took place in Dallas.

The Last Maharaja of Kashmir,Hari Singh cheering up Kashmiri People in the situation of Rage by beating Drums.(1952) pic.twitter.com/JWNLsJLCLW  History of India (@RealHistoryPic) July 10, 2016

Nero fiddled while Rome burnt! Emperor Modi plays the drum while India burns! https://t.co/V6oko1T3rr  Roy Sankar (@roy5ankar) July 10, 2016

Obama receives news of Dallas.Cuts short Europe trip &will visit Dallas.Modi receives Kashmir news.Continues drama pic.twitter.com/GE4mpJvRU1 PM Modi to go on 4-nation tour in Africa in July

-Try to deflate tyres of his Air India one, then he gonna sit in India  Meet Singh (@MeetCingh) June 14, 2016  Shishir Singh (@Shishir_Singh76) July 10, 2016

Leadership lessons: Obama cuts short Europe visit after Dallas killings: https://t.co/NCpbxeie9i  Rajdeep Sardesai (@sardesairajdeep) July 10, 2016

On Friday, Modi talked about South Africa's contribution in the transformation of Mahatma Gandhi and how the youth should be the driving force to a country's development, but it was Modi's Madiba shirt that drew the attention of the Twiteratti.

https://twitter.com/RealHistoryPic/status/751488177064390656

@Joydas smriti irani ji has already started ruining the textile industry.  HornOkPlease (@ak_drunkard) July 8, 2016

Reform by New Textile Minister pic.twitter.com/BNkBuY70jF  Joy (@Joydas) July 8, 2016

Am I the only one wondering what's wrong with #Modi's shirt in Johannesburg! Waiting for him to break into a Hawaiian dance! #ModiInSA  Mr.Yo (@yogesh05915929) July 8, 2016

Must Say, Loving PM Modi's Blue printed Shirt More Than His Speech at Johannesburg today. Reminds of The Great Raj Kapoor in Mera Nam Joker.  *THE PERFECTIONIST* (@AAkshatt) July 8, 2016

Reliving history, on Saturday Modi had retraced Mahatma Gandhi's train journey in South Africa as he travelled to a railway station where Gandhi was thrown out of a train compartment that proved to be a turning point in his life. The train ride was also heavily criticised for its 'dramatic' qualities.

https://twitter.com/RealHistoryPic/status/751823670037929984

Even Congress leader Shashi Tharoor could not resist taking a dig at him.
Durban: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, the second and concluding day of his visit to South Africa, lauded the diversity of the city of Durban and praised the achievements of its people of Indian origin.

One of the hallmarks of this beautiful nation is its vibrant diversity., Modi said at a civic reception hosted in his honour by the Mayor of Durban and the Indian High Commissioner at the Durban City Hall.

And, no city celebrates this diversity better than the city of Durban and the province of Kwazulu Natal, he said.

This celebration of plurality of dialects and languages, of belief in multiplicity of faiths and of cultural traditions, is an integral part of this city's heritage.

He said that the first batch of 342 Indians arrived in Durban on 16 November, 1860.

Today, over a century and a half later, Durban is the largest Indian city outside India, the Prime Minister said..

It is home to the largest population of people of Indian origin in South Africa.

Of the 1.2 million people of Indian origin in South Africa, most of whose ancestors were brought as indentured labour, 800,000 live in Durban.

Modi said that despite the sufferings of early generations of Indians under apartheid and colonial rule, they preserved their culture and values.

And, today, they are proud, successful and loyal citizens of this country, the Prime Minister said.

They are contributing to their country in education and scientific research, as entrepreneurs and leaders of businesses, as lawyers and judges, and as bankers, doctors and engineers.

Stating that these people of Indian origin were not living only for themselves, he said they were leading efforts to uplift the poor and the under privileged, and for the care of the sick and the elderly.

They are running old age home, centres for the terminally ill, AIDS and cancer patients, and orphanages, he said.

According to Modi, the history of the people-to-people ties provides a strong foundation to build the modern day partnership between India and South Africa.

Today, India is undergoing an economic transformation. And, South Africa is one of the leading economies of Africa. Our trade and investment partnership is already substantial, he said.

He said that he and South African President Jacob Zuma have agreed to advance the India-South Africa strategic ties across the whole range of social and economic sectors, including trade and investments, development of small and medium businesses, information and communication technologies, and capacity and institution building.

Today, in our inter-dependent world, India's growth story is one of the brightest spots, Modi said.

But, India's economic advance is not for the benefit of our society alone. The embrace of our partnership is open to the larger good of Africa and our friends like South Africa, he stated.

Earlier on Saturday, Modi took a short train ride to the Pietermaritzburg railway station, the same station where Mahatma Gandhi was evicted from a train compartment in 1893 on account of his skin colour.

He also visited the Phoenix Settlement near here that Gandhi had established in 1904.

Later on Saturday, the Prime Minister will leave for Tanzania on the third leg of his four-nation African tour.

Modi arrived in South Africa from Mozambique on Thursday night on the second leg of his African sojourn.

On Friday, India and South Africa signed four agreements after bilateral discussions led by Modi and President Zuma in Pretoria.

The Prime Minister also addressed an Indian diaspora rally in Johannesburg that was attended by over 11,000 people before leaving for Durban.

This is Modi's first visit to mainland Africa and is also the first prime ministerial visit from India to South Africa since then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrived in 2013 for the G20 summit in Durban.

Apart from Mozambique, South Africa and Tanzania, Modi will also visit Kenya.
JUBA Renewed fighting erupted in South Sudan's capital on Sunday and forces loyal to Vice President Riek Machar said his residence was attacked by the president's troops, raising fears of a slide back into full-blown conflict in the five-year-old nation.

There was no immediate response from the government of President Salva Kiir to the statement by Machar's spokesman. Kiir's information minister, Michael Makuei, said earlier the situation was under control and urged people to stay at home.

The two leaders, who fought each other in a two-year civil war that started in late 2013, had made a joint call for calm after clashes between rival factions broke out late on Thursday. At least 272 people have been killed in the fighting, a Health Ministry source told Reuters early on Sunday.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that Kiir and Machar needed to take "decisive action" to regain control of the security situation in Juba and urged them to order their forces to disengage and withdraw to their bases.

"I am deeply frustrated that despite commitments by South Sudan's leaders, fighting has resumed," Ban said in a statement. "This senseless violence is unacceptable and has the potential of reversing the progress made so far in the peace process."

Residents of Juba's Gudele and Jebel districts reported heavy gunfire near the barracks where Machar and his troops have their headquarters. A Reuters witness saw helicopters overhead but did not see them firing.

The Health Ministry source said 33 civilians were among those killed in the latest clashes, which have fuelled fears about renewed conflict and raised concerns about the extent the two men can control their troops in the world's newest nation.

The U.N. mission UNMISS said it was "outraged at the resumption of violence", which it said had led hundreds of people from Juba to seek shelter in its base. UNMISS compounds in Juba were hit by small arms and heavy weapons fire, it added.

The U.N. Security Council said it would meet later on Sunday to discuss the violence. The European Union, a major donor, and Kenya called for a swift return to order.

"Dr. Machar's residence was attacked twice today including using tanks and helicopter gunships. Helicopters from Kiir's side attacked the residence twice," Machar's spokesman, James Gatdet Dak, told Reuters by phone from abroad.

He added that the situation in Juba had subsequently calmed, echoing comments from residents who said gunfire had eased later on Sunday after several hours of shooting.

Residents saw hundreds of people seeking shelter in a UNMISS base. "I saw dead bodies of civilians, and others ... moving with blood on their bodies," one man, who gave his name only as Steven, said by telephone.

Another reported seeing troops looting a shop in Juba, but it was not clear if they were loyal to Machar or Kiir.

STAND-OFF

The fighting first erupted on Thursday, when troops loyal to Kiir stopped and demanded they be allowed to search vehicles of Machar's loyalists. That stand-off led to clashes.

Gunfire broke out again on Friday between the vice president's bodyguards and the presidential guard, while the two men were holding talks at the presidential State House to defuse tensions. Both men said at the time they did not know what had prompted the exchange of fire.

"The European Union will join the international community and South Sudan's neighbours to ensure that peace is restored rapidly," the EU Commission said in a statement on Sunday.

Meanwhile Kenya's presidency urged Kiir and Machar urgently to move heavy weaponry and contingents of soldiers out of civilian areas in Juba. It said Kenya was ready to support law enforcement.

Kenya Airways has suspended flights to Juba.

Machar and Kiir signed a peace deal in August 2015 but then spent months afterwards wrangling over details. Machar finally returned to Juba to resume his former position as vice president in April.

Analysts say the failure of the two sides to swiftly implement key elements of the deal, such as re-integrating or demobilising their troops, has cast a shadow over the peace process.

South Sudan's civil war was fought largely along ethnic lines with Kiir, a Dinka, and Machar, a Nuer, drawing support from their respective tribes.

Fighting since 2013 has left swathes of the country of 11 million people struggling to find enough food to eat. It has also disrupted oil production, by far the government's biggest source of revenues, leaving South Sudan mired in poverty.

(Additional reporting George Obulutsa in Nairobi and Michelle Nichols in New York; Writing by Elias Biryabarema and Edmund Blair; Editing by Gareth Jones, Greg Mahlich and Paul Simao)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Editor's Note: This three part series looks at the complexity of 'Islamist terrorism' in the context of the recent terror attacks by the Islamic State, targeting Dhaka, Baghdad, Istanbul and Saudi Arabia. The series explores the dangers of defining terrorism in terms of either 'religious' violence or 'political' violence; terrorism is more complicated than we think it is. In part two, find out how Islamic terrorism is the result of a dynamic flux of politics and theology.

How fair is it to delink religion and terrorism, especially 'Islamist terrorism'?

Terrorism hardly exists in isolation, and is a compounded manifestation of a motley set of push-pull factors that contribute towards forming a terrorist's identity. The argument, they (attackers) are not Muslims, they are terrorists is fundamentally flawed and rather, unwise. The terrorist is not a distinctive entity based on a disassociated plane, but rather a by-product of an earthly concoction of selective religious interpretation, socioeconomic deprivation, political disenfranchisement, and psychological manipulation. It would only be callous of us to oversimplify a violent act performed in the name of God without going into where such a powerful invocation might be coming from. In delinking religion and terrorist violence, we only end up imprudently erasing a very important component of militant identity-formation that is theological indoctrination.

Not many outside academic circles have heard of Bader Abdalrahmanalaraj, Assaf Moghadam, or Robert Pape. Renowned experts in security and terrorism studies, all three of them have worked extensively on suicide terrorism, focusing mostly on Palestinian militant groups like Hamas. They have relied on first-hand narratives from Islamic militant leaders and functionaries, often spending months in high-intensity conflict zones like Gaza, to argue that suicide terrorism is neither secular nor religious but rather a mix of both, depending on what level of analysis we are at  micro (individual), meso (organisational), or macro (socio-political). Their conclusions are, at the least, downright and important myth-busters  a common thread in their extremely detailed deconstruction of Islamic terrorism is the dynamic flux of politics and theology that, in lethal combination, amounts to a certain kind of violent outburst.

In his stellar PhD thesis at the University of Toronto, titled Harsh State Repression and Suicide Bombing: The Second Palestinian Intifada (Uprising), Dr Abdalrahmanalaraj argues that Palestinian suicide bombers are more of militant nationalists than purely religious fanatics. But, he is cautious to not discount the powerful effect of doctrinaire preaching or cultural indoctrination on militant recruits, wherein culture is contextually synonymous to the religious dimension of existence. He says, One cannot entirely dismiss the effects of culture on a suicide bombing, if only because suicide attacks must be legitimised by societal leaders and become an accepted part of the cultural backdrop before they can be undertaken on a wide scale.

Dr Moghadam, while talking about strictly religious motivations for suicide attacks, argues: According to Islamists, the military fight against the nonbelievers is the real Greater Jihad. To support their claims, they invoke only those Quranic sections that equate warfare with the duty of the faithful Muslim. He quotes the mufti of Jerusalem Ikrama Sabri, who once gave the following statement:

The Muslim embraces death  look at the society of the Israelis. It is a selfish society that loves life. These are not people who are eager to die for their country and their God. The Jews will leave this land rather than die, but the Muslim is happy to die.

This crucial narrative embodies the core of Palestinian Islamist terrorism, that is, nationalist politics veiled under the garb of a religious crusade. This bewildering mix is common to most terrorist doctrines around the world. Hence, although religion is a facade, it exists nonetheless and enjoys autonomous agency in the spectrum of radical mobilisation.

Many casual commentators, particularly those who source their opinions from popular narratives or tend to draw quick judgments, vehemently argue that the version of Islam that extremists propound isnt true Islam. This they do without attempting to even define true Islam. But, those who have actually spent time with radicalised militant recruits provide a more bluntly objective view. Dr Moghadam argues, while talking about personal motives of fidayeens: [...] paradise seems to offer the martyrs pleasures and benefits that he can only dream of in real life (referred to in the hadiths  sayings of the Prophet to supplement the Quran)  if the shaheed, therefore, is convinced that he will enjoy these benefits in the afterlife, then candidates for martyrdom are confronted with a powerful incentive to swap the little they possess for the luxuries they are promised. This, however, must not be seen in absolute isolation because there are several other personal motives at play  like monetary and social benefits for the families of fidayeens.

The point here is that theological indoctrination is real, and plays an integral role in the process of radicalisation. In fact, most doctrinaire texts  like that of the Quran  are vulnerable to manipulation and misdirection by vested elites, given the abstract and often contradictory nature of their substantive content. There is no prudence in denying that the Quran has been routinely exploited to unleash mindless violence against innocents. Contrarily, it has also been utilised to promote interfaith dialogues and innumerable peacemaking/peace-building initiatives. One could say that the former is an immoral or destructive application of Quranic thought. But how much of it is not true Islam is doubtful, depending on how one defines true.

It is indeed a double-edged sword, and it seems like an evil bunch of power-hungry men are in control of the sharper edge today. What we must do to counter the us versus them cultural antagonism coming from conservative (or ultra-liberal) non-Muslims, rather than denying the widely interpretive nature of the Quran, is to highlight the peace-building abilities and avenues of this ancient text. Today, we are in desperate need for interfaith harmony. The Quran, through its rich repertoires of peace, love, and syncretism, could serve as a highly appealing instrument to achieve that.

Many scholars, observers, analysts, commentators, journalists, and politicians have attempted to understand the enigma of religious violence. But, I do not think anyone else has been able to recapitulate the role of religion in radical terrorism better than Italian sociologist Luca Ricolfi:

Religious beliefs do not mould individuals, forcing them to become martyrs; they are sets of ideas that are there, as on the shelves of a supermarket, waiting for someone to make them their own. The question we should ask ourselves, then, is under what conditions individuals involved in a political cause discover the symbolic resources that religion, or perhaps certain religions more than others has to offer.

Part one: Products of targeted violence, terrorists are not criminals or psychopaths
Nairobi: Describing terrorism as one of the two major challenges facing the world, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday night said all forces believing in humanity must come together to defeat this "anti-humanity" menace.

Addressing the Indian diaspora in Nairobi, he also said that India was marching towards economic progress despite the global recession and his government was aiming at over 8 percent growth, up from the current level of 7.6 percent.

During his hour-long address amid repeated chants of 'Modi, Modi', he spoke on a number of issues, including the initiatives taken by his two-year old government for transforming the lives of common people in India and fulfill their "dreams".

Significantly, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta accompanied Modi to the Kasarani Stadium where he addressed the gathering of estimated 20,000 Indians and people of Indian origin, soon after his arrival from Tanzania.

Talking about the challenges facing the world, the Prime Minister identified terrorism and global warming as the two problems.

"These are challenges to the entire humanity...The world needs to come together to deal with these," he said.

"Those believing in humanity must come together. The sooner they come together, the sooner terrorism can be ended... Therefore, those believing in humanity must join forces to defeat anti-humanity forces. We need this resolve," he said.

With regard to global warming, Modi said India can show the way when it comes to mitigating the problem of climate change.

Talking about domestic issues of India, he said in the run up to 2014 Lok Sabha elections, his critics would question as to what he would do by becoming the Prime Minister as he belonged to a "small state" of Gujarat.

"Several questions were raised," he said, pointing out that his critics even wondered whether he had any knowledge about foreign affairs.

"I have no complaints against anyone....It (questions) was correct also. I saw Parliament after becoming the Prime Minister," Modi said.

The Prime Minister then added that during the two years of his rule, India has seen "good governance" and implementation of announcements, unlike the past when "decisions were taken without anybody bothering as to what happened to them".

"The last two years saw less rainfall in many parts of India, so much that we had to run trains to ferry water...Apparently God also wanted to test me," he said.

"Also, the world was going through recession. Despite that India saw a growth of 7.6 percent. This is a matter of pride. But we are not going to stop here. We have to move ahead, go higher and reach over 8 percent growth," he said.

"We gave an impetus to good governance and to bring a positive difference in the lives of our citizens," Modi said amid repeated sloganeering like 'Bharat mata ki jai'.

Contending that India has started to change and move towards progress, he said whatever has happened is due to work being conducted in a planned fashion.

"The country is changing because of its 125 crore people and their resolve... I recognise the strength of 125 crore Indians who are determined to move ahead. This is the real public power," the Prime Minister said.

He spoke about his resolves like ensuring toilets are built in government schools and making available electricity within 1000 days to 18,000 villages "which have remained without power for 70 years".

He also talked about Start-Up programme and the Mudra Bank to fund such initiatives, saying 3.5 crore people have been given Rs 1.25 lakh crore as loans "without any guarantees" under the programme.

"Our youth have the initiative, innovation and energy. They just needed somebody in New Delhi to hand-hold them," he said, adding under the Start-up initiative, they would not only be getting employment for themselves but would also be giving jobs to others too.

He told the Indian diaspora that details of all the work done by his government could be obtained from the Narendra Modi App.
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Islamic State (IS) group lost an area the size of Ireland - a quarter of its territory - to hostile forces in the last 18 months in Iraq and Syria and is likely to further step up attacks on civilians in coming months, IHS said in a report on Sunday.

The territory controlled by the ultra-hardline Sunni group shrank from 90,800 sq km (35,000 square miles) in January 2015, six months after it declared a caliphate in Syria and Iraq, to 68,300 sq km (26,370 square miles), the research firm said.

This has led the group to step up attacks on civilian targets in the Middle East and in Europe and this is likely to intensify, IHS said.

"As the IS group's caliphate shrinks and it becomes increasingly clear that its governance project is failing, the group is re-prioritizing insurgency," said Columb Strack, senior analyst at IHS and lead analyst for the IHS Conflict Monitor.

"As a result, we unfortunately expect an increase in mass casualty attacks and sabotage of economic infrastructure, across Iraq and Syria, and further afield, including Europe."

The Iraqi military's recapture of Fallujah, an IS group stronghold just west of Baghdad, last month has led the insurgents to step up bombings on Shia Muslim targets.

Nearly 300 people died when an IS group suicide bomber struck in a busy shopping district in Baghdad a week ago, in one of the worst such attacks by the group to date.

IS group lost control of the city of Ramadi at the end of last year, another key stronghold for the group which captured large swathes of Iraq in 2014. The army is now gearing up to retake Mosul, the largest city in Iraq's north and IS group's de facto capital.

In Syria, the militants lost ground this year to both Russian and Iranian-backed forces supporting President Bashar al-Assad and to the US-backed Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance.

In February the SDF captured the town of al Shadadi, a major logistics hub for the militants, and in March Syrian and allied forces backed by Russian air strikes drove IS group out of the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra and surrounding areas.

An SDF advance is underway to retake areas north of IS group's de facto capital in Syria, Raqqa.

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Credit cards provide important protections to consumers, one of which is the ability to file a credit card dispute. Disputing credit card charges means you disagree with a charge on your card and want the creditor to help you remove that charge so you no longer owe the money.

Typically, cardholders can dispute charges they didn't make -- so if someone steals your card or uses your card number to make a purchase without your permission, you would not be responsible for paying for the purchase.

In certain cases, cardholders can also dispute purchases they made, such as when merchants provide unsatisfactory goods or services or fail to provide promised goods or services. The Fair Credit Billing Act protects your right to dispute charges under these circumstances.

Disputing charges can save you a fortune if you were the victim of fraud or if a merchant fails to live up to expectations, but there are rules you need to follow and steps you need to take. In this guide, we cover how to dispute a credit card charge,and what you need to know so you're prepared when a charge you disagree with shows up on your bill.
Investors have always hoped China would turn into a second large pillar of revenue and profit for Ford Motor Company (F -2.46%). The reasoning is two-fold: It would generate a lot of incremental top-line and bottom-line growth, as well as reduce Ford's reliance on the North American market for the majority of its financial success.

Briefly looking at the first quarter of 2016, Ford's success in China drove its Asia Pacific region to strong gains. The latter's wholesales were up 9% compared to the prior year, with an 18% jump in revenue thanks to a favorable mix -- or, in other words, more SUVs selling. Ford posted a massive 360 basis point improvement in its operating margin to reach 8.2% and increased its pre-tax profits by 110%, to $220 million. That's a strong quarter, to be sure.

With that said, here's a look at how Ford's first-half results in China ended up now that sales data from June is officially in the books. Hint: It should mean another solid quarter for Ford's Asia Pacific region.

By the numbers

Starting from the very top, including Ford's mainstream brand, Lincoln, and its joint ventures, Ford's sales topped 577,000 units during the first half of 2016. That was good enough for a 6% increase compared to the prior year.

Looking specifically at June's results for Ford and its joint ventures, not including Lincoln sales this time -- more on that later -- the automaker tallied just over 85,100 units sold, which was good enough to edge out a 3% gain over the prior year.

"We continue to see solid growth in China during the first half," said Dave Schoch, Ford Motor Company group vice president and president of Asia Pacific, in a press release. "Even as the pace of growth slows and the market matures, customers continue to respond well to our products, particularly our world-class SUV lineup."

Bright spots

There were a couple of encouraging trends in Ford's China data. First, and a great sign for Ford's bottom line during the second quarter, is that demand for its SUVs continued to be strong throughout the entire first six months of 2016.

Sales of the EcoSport, Kuga (Escape), Everest, and Explorer, as well as Lincoln's MKC, MKX, and Navigator, combined to surpass 150,000 vehicles. That was a large, 27% sales gain over the first half of 2015. Individually, the Edge had a pretty impressive six months, with its sales passing the 50,000 mark. The Explorer, on the other hand, didn't chalk up nearly the volume the Edge did, but it managed to grow its sales almost 50% compared to the first half of last year to 6,884 units.

A second bright spot in Ford's data was definitely its Lincoln luxury brand. China is arguably the most important market for Ford's luxury brand for a couple of reasons. First, the Lincoln brand name has faded in America, and it will take some time to turn that around. However, the Chinese consumer perceives the Lincoln brand much differently.

"It's different in the U.S. than in China," Kumar Galhotra, head of Lincoln, said of the brand's standing in a January interview with Bloomberg. "In China, our heritage plays very strong. Our favorable opinion in China is actually ahead of Lexus and on the factor of prestige, we're actually ahead of Audi."

That's great news, because Ford has opted not to roll out Lincoln into Europe, fearing it would be extremely difficult or costly -- probably both -- to compete against Europe's powerhouse luxury automakers on their home turf. That means outside of the U.S., China is Lincoln's primary growth engine.

On that note, it was encouraging to see Lincoln's sales gain traction in China thus far into 2016. During the second quarter, Lincoln sold nearly 7,000 units in China, which was a 160% gain compared to the prior year. During the first half of the year, Lincoln's sales reached 12,450 units, a gain of more than 190% -- almost triple last year's sales, and already topping 2015's full-year mark.

On the flip side

While Ford is continuing to grow sales in China with its mainstream brand, and its Lincoln brand is gaining traction, it's clear through the first six months of 2016 that the auto industry will be a dog fight. For instance, even though Toyota's sales slid 3.4% during June, it still sold more units than Ford, tallying more than 97,000 sold. And despite the speed bump Toyota hit in June sales, its first half was very strong. Toyota's sales in China rose 16% to 592,100 vehicles, compared to Ford's 6% gain to just over 577,000 units.

Toyota wasn't the only Japanese automaker making noise in China, either. Honda Motor Co. is coming on strong with a 32% surge in deliveries last month, to 96,692 vehicles. Thanks to increasing demand for its Vezel and XR-V compact crossovers, Honda sold 18% more vehicles during the first half of 2016, compared to the prior year, to reach 542,527 units.

While Ford continues to tally sales and expand its SUV and luxury presence in China, if it wants to continue expanding margins and pre-tax profits in its Asia Pacific region, it can't waste a second resting on its laurels. The automotive market in China is going to be highly competitive going forward.
Fiscal quarters are funny things -- at least at the Pentagon.

Every three months -- Sept. 30, Dec. 31, March 31, and most recently, June 30 -- another fiscal quarter draws to a close. And when it does, there's a mad dash at the Department of Defense to shovel money out the door and quickly spend all the funds that Congress has allotted for the quarter before it's too late. Otherwise, someone might decide the DoD didn't actually need all that money, and cut funding next time.

And so it was that the final day of the June fiscal quarter last week saw the Pentagon award not one, not two, but $10.89 billion dollars in new contract awards -- including a big one for Huntington Ingalls (HII 1.24%).

A return to form

Specifically, the Pentagon awarded Huntington Ingalls $272.5 million for work on "the planning, advanced engineering, and procurement of long lead time material in support of one amphibious assault ship (LHA 8)."

The last two LHA vessels, the USS America (LHA 6) and the USS Tripoli (LHA 7, currently under construction), were both true mini-aircraft carriers "optimized for aviation capability." In contrast to those, the Navy says the LHA 8 (which has yet to be named, but which will become the lead ship of a new class) will return to the format of past LHA-class vessels and "reincorporate a well deck to increase operational flexibility."

Thus, while described primarily as a large-deck helicopter assault ship, LHA 8's well deck will make it easier to disembark and embark Marine Corps landing craft aboard the mother ship.

Big money for small aircraft carriers

And in building LHA 8, Huntington Ingalls will land some serious cash. Since 1966, Huntington Ingalls has built, or has been building, 15 LPH-, LHD-, and LHA-class amphibious assault ships for the Navy. The LHA 8 contract will raise that number to 16, and add billions to Huntington's revenue stream.

The initial contract giving Huntington Ingalls the go-ahead to begin work on the craft may be worth only $272.5 million, but by the time the ship is completed, it's expected to cost the Navy as much as $3.1 billion. Thus, this single ship will be worth nearly half a year's revenues to the contractor.

How much is that worth?

Last quarter, Huntington Ingalls CEO Mike Petters highlighted Ingalls Shipbuilding's strong margin performance, and 25% surge in revenues, as one reason Huntington Ingalls stock strongly outperformed estimates in Q1. Currently responsible for less than one-third of the company's total revenue, Ingalls produces roughly half of the company's profits, earning an 18% operating profit margin on its $2.3 billion in annual revenue.

Now, Petters has been quite clear in warning that operating margins of this level are not sustainable, and that Huntington Ingalls' margins are due to turn down eventually. The longer that that prospect can be put off, however, the better for the company's profits. Thus, $3.1 billion in high-margin revenues from the LHA 8 contract is very good news for Huntington Ingalls shareholders indeed. Ultimately, it could yield profits of nearly $560 million -- more than all Ingalls produced last year.

Not bad for a single ship, even if it is a (small) aircraft carrier.
A transcript follows the video.

This podcast was recorded on June 28, 2016.

Alison Southwick: It's time for "Answers, Answers," and today's question comes from Jordan. Jordan writes: "Brokamp mentioned a couple of months ago that most individual investors actually lose money in the stock market, because when markets drop, many people sell everything at a loss and call it quits. My question is simple. How should I judge my investment returns?"

Jordan continues: "When I started investing, my goal was to make a profit and then I shifted to a loftier goal of beating the S&P 500. I figured if I couldn't beat the S&P, I may as well be fully invested in ETFs." Jordan's wondering if aiming for returns above the S&P is a good goal for the average investor.

Robert Brokamp: Hello, Jordan. I'm not sure I said most investors lose money. I'm certain I said that most investors actually underperform the market, as do most mutual fund managers. You're asking a great question. You're asking, essentially, "If I'm going to be picking individual stocks, how do I make sure I'm beating the market, because otherwise ..."

Southwick: Why bother?

Brokamp: "... why don't I just invest in the market and go find other things to do with my time?" It's actually a little more difficult to do than you might think, partially because people often make multiple purchases of the same stock, and then there's a question of what you do with the dividends.

Let's look at a very simple example. Let's say you just bought Berkshire Hathaway stock. Just made one purchase and held it for 10 years. It would be pretty easy to compare that to the overall market.

But what if you made 10 purchases over 10 years, and five of those beat the market, but five didn't because you didn't buy at the right time. Does that make you a good stock picker, or not?

Then there's the question of dividends. If you have a stock that pays a dividend, like [Coca-Cola] Wal-Mart, or something like that, and you look up the performance of that stock on a site like Morningstar or Yahoo! Finance, it assumes that you are reinvesting the dividends. But a lot of people don't. They either spend that cash or just let it sit there in cash.

So really the best thing to do is to take the value of your entire stock portfolio -- including the cash -- and let's say that account is maybe worth $30,000. Create a mock portfolio account using an online service like the Fool's scorecard, or Morningstar, or Yahoo! Finance. Then all you're going to do is put into that your benchmark. Most people do choose the S&P 500, so you just put in there "SPY," which is SPY. It's an ETF that tracks the S&P 500. That's the only thing that's going to be in that benchmark. You're going to put that $30,000 in there.

Anytime you add money to your actual portfolio, you also add money to this mock benchmark portfolio. If you take money out, the same way. Because then you're not looking just at the individual investments. You're looking at the growth of the value of the portfolio, and that's really what's important. You want to know if this account is growing at the same rate as if you had just put all that money in the S&P 500.

A lot of people will look at their portfolios and look at their individual holdings -- for example, individual stocks -- and say that maybe seven of them are beating the market, but three aren't, and feel pretty good about that. But if the three that are underperforming actually had more money in them, you actually may not be keeping up with the S&P 500.

Another thing some people will do is they will look at their stocks and compare them to the S&P 500, but they don't factor in the cash that they have in their accounts, and that's an important part of your overall return and your decisions as an investor. Do I let that cash sit there, or do I invest it?

That's why I like comparing the actual value of the whole account versus some mock portfolio online because it also keeps you accountable for your decisions of keeping some money in cash, because you want to play it safe, or being fully invested.

Southwick: So the SPY is the way to go, and that's essentially the S&P.

Brokamp: That's the S&P 500. The S&P 500 -- we've talked about this in previous episodes -- is an index of large-company stocks, 500 stocks. The overall stock market has thousands of stocks. I think what's really a better benchmark is the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF, the symbol is VTI, because that includes some midcaps and some small caps. But most people do compare themselves to the S&P 500, so I think that's fine to do.

Southwick: And I think on the Motley Fool scorecard, it automatically will compare at least every individual investment. I know there have been many times when I've looked to see how my stocks have done, and I've thought, "Oh, look! I'm doing awesome." Then it says "compared to the S&P," and I then go wah-wah.

Brokamp: Wah-wah.

Southwick: But that's OK.

Brokamp: And you have to look at it over a longer period of time. Some people say three years. I think it almost has to be longer -- over five years. We've talked before about how small stocks beat large stocks over the long term. That's not been the case over the last five years, so you might be a really good picker of small-cap stocks, but you won't look so good, compared to the S&P 500, if all you do is focus on the last few years. If you look over the last 10 years and you still haven't beaten the S&P 500, then maybe you don't have what it takes.

Southwick: Aw!

Brokamp: Aw!

Southwick: Sorry.

Brokamp: Buy the index funds, go out, and have fun. Do other things with your time.

Southwick: There you go. Everybody wins.
This is going to be a transformative year for the United States. Not only are we set to vote in a new president for the first time in eight years this November, but we could also see the most rapid expansion of marijuana ever, with eight states now set to vote on recreational or medical cannabis initiatives or amendments this fall.

What's at stake

The expansion of the cannabis industry was initially put in motion 20 years ago when California approved a compassionate use law for medical marijuana. Today, half of all U.S. states have approved a medical marijuana law. The two most recent approvals came from Pennsylvania and Ohio, which used the legislative process to pass medical cannabis laws.

Additionally, we've witnessed four states legalize the recreational use of cannabis -- Colorado, Washington, Oregon, and Alaska, along with Washington, D.C. Recreational approvals and the expansion of medical cannabis have generated tax revenue and licensing fees that are boosting state education budgets and allowing certain patients access to new pathways of treatment.

The real buzz among marijuana supporters is what might happen come November. President Obama has suggested that the best way to get the attention of Congress is to legalize marijuana in as many states as possible at the state level. If a majority of states approve marijuana measures and public opinion continues to swell in favor of cannabis, Congress may have no choice but to consider decriminalization -- or legalize the substance.

Of course, success for the movement is no guarantee. Florida failed to pass a medical marijuana amendment in 2014, and Prop 19 in California failed to legalize recreational marijuana in 2010. It's worth noting that support for marijuana has grown substantially since both of these elections, but that still doesn't guarantee success this November.

These eight states are set to vote on marijuana

Here are the eight states that'll be voting on a marijuana initiative or amendment this fall.

1. Nevada

Nevada was the only state that was a lock to be voting on recreational marijuana in 2016, since it was added to the ballot last November. As home to "Sin City" and an existing infrastructure of medical marijuana dispensaries, Nevada appears to be the perfect stomping ground to become a recreation-legal state. If the measure is approved, an excise tax of 15% would be applied at the wholesale level, with the consumer also paying existing sales tax at the retail level.

2. Florida

Despite a narrow defeat in 2014, Florida is once again looking to legalize medical marijuana come November. Florida's constitution is set up in such a way that a traditional majority vote doesn't equate to passage. The state's constitution requires an amendment, which in turn needs 60% "Yes" votes to pass. The nation's younger generation appears overwhelmingly in favor of legalizing medical cannabis, but seniors tend to have a more negative view on cannabis (and there are a lot of retirees in Florida).

But for what it's worth, a Quinnipiac University poll conducted in May found that 80% of Florida voters favor the legalization of medical marijuana, while 16% said they would vote no on the measure. This could be the year that Florida finally gets a medical marijuana measure passed.

3. Maine

It's been a little more than two months since we learned that Maine would have a recreational marijuana initiative on the November ballot. Maine's proposal includes a 10% excise tax, and like most other recreation-legal states (save for Oregon), it would limit the number of licenses it issues.

A May poll of just over 600 Maine residents from the Marijuana Policy Project showed that 55% supported the recreational legalization of marijuana, compared to 41% who were said to be leaning against legalization. Obviously polls have some margin for error, but things are looking promising for cannabis supporters in Maine.

4. California

It's been officially "unofficial" for more than two months, but a little more than a week ago, California made it resoundingly clear that a recreational marijuana vote had won a place on the state's November ballot. Should California voters choose to approve the measure, they'd be subject to a 15% retail sales tax. Growers within the state would also pay additional taxes.

Per Dale Gieringer of the California chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), legalization in marijuana could result in more than $1 billion in annual tax revenue and at least a $100 million reduction in law enforcement costs. Needless to say, approval here would be the crown jewel for the cannabis industry.

A poll conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California earlier this year showed 60% in favor of legalizing recreational marijuana, compared to just 37% who opposed the idea. This was up from the 54% in favor as of June 2015 and down from the 44% who opposed its legalization.

5. Massachusetts

Enough signatures were gathered in Massachusetts to put a recreational marijuana initiative on the November ballot. As we examined about five weeks ago when Massachusetts was still somewhat on the fence, an approval would mean consumers paying the state a 6.25% tax, plus an excise tax of 3.75%. Individual cities and towns could also impose taxes totaling up to 2%, meaning a top-tier marijuana tax of about 12%.

Unlike Maine or California, where polled residents appear to be in favor of legalizing recreational marijuana, the issue could come down to the wire in Massachusetts. A Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll conducted in the first week of May found that 43% of polled residents would vote yes to legalize, while another 46% would vote no. Some 11% were undecided.

6. Arizona

Residents in Arizona will also be voting on recreational marijuana this November. If it's approved, a 15% tax on retail sales would be passed on to the consumer, with a decent chunk of tax revenue raised going to support Arizona's K-12 public schools and a full-day kindergarten program. However, supporters are facing an uphill battle. A poll released in April from Arizonans for Responsible Drug Policy showed that only 43% supported a legal recreational marijuana measure compared to the 49% who opposed it.

7. Missouri

Interestingly enough, in April a bill aimed at legalizing medical marijuana in Missouri was voted down by the state's House of Representatives. Killing the bill on the legislative front meant that any chance of passage would be up to voters. With enough signatures collected, Missourians will now have that chance.

But like in Arizona, the battle to legalize could be tough. Show-Me Cannabis suspended legalization efforts in Missouri in 2015 after polls showed that registered voters were against the full legalization of marijuana to the tune of 51% to 45% in 2015. However, with just a medical marijuana proposal on the table, the outcome could be different.

8. Arkansas

Finally, residents in Arkansas will be voting on whether or not to legalize medical marijuana, too. Having easily surpassed the 84,859 signatures needed to get the measure on the ballot, the next step for in-state supporters is to push the measure in a region that's generally been hostile to legalizing marijuana. The potential good news (for supporters) is a Talk Business & Politics/Hendrix College survey, which recently showed that a majority of Arkansans polled (58%) favored the legalization of medical marijuana compared to those who opposed it (34%).

Watching and waiting is the smart move

It'll undeniably be an exciting year for the marijuana industry. But I would discourage investors from jumping on the bandwagon prior to November, as there are other dynamics at work that could keep you from benefiting -- even with success in the voting booths.

As we've looked at previously, inaction at the federal level means inherent disadvantages for marijuana businesses, which in turn means bad news for investors.

For starters, marijuana businesses owe a lot more in taxes (assuming they're profitable) as a percentage of net income than most normal businesses because businesses that sell an illegal substance are barred from taking normal business deductions. This leaves cannabis-based businesses to pay federal tax on their gross profits instead of net profits.

Secondly, cannabis-based businesses have very limited access to banking solutions. Only about 3% of banks nationwide are currently servicing the marijuana industry, mostly for fear of prosecution from the federal government down the road. Without access to basic banking services like a checking account or lines of credit, it can be a pain to expand, replenish product, or even pay employees -- not to mention that dealing with cash is a potentially costly security concern.

Until we see discernable changes on Capitol Hill, marijuana stocks should be nowhere near your portfolio.
In recent years, Toyota Motor (TM -0.75%) has been the undisputed king of midsize trucks in the U.S. At times, its popular Tacoma model has held as much as two-thirds of the midsize-pickup market.

However, that started to change in late 2014 when General Motors (GM -0.61%) reintroduced its Chevy Colorado midsize pickup, along with its slightly more upscale twin, the GMC Canyon. The Chevy Colorado was named Motor Trend's Truck of the Year for 2015 -- and then again for 2016.

With demand for midsize trucks rising quickly, GM has had no trouble growing in this segment. GM overtook Nissan within months of the Colorado and Canyon launching to become the No. 2 midsize-truck seller in the country. It is now gaining on Toyota -- and by 2017, it could mount a strong challenge to Toyota's segment leadership.

Supply constraints have helped Toyota

General Motors appears to have been caught off-guard by the popularity of the Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon since those models were reintroduced. Over the past year and a half, the company has repeatedly told investors that demand was outstripping supply, especially for the Colorado.

Thanks to these supply shortages at GM, Toyota was able to hang on to its majority share of the midsize-pickup market in 2015. Toyota Tacoma sales totaled 179,562 units last year, compared to 177,325 units for GM, Chevy, and Nissan competitors combined.

Toyota's greater manufacturing capacity for midsize trucks played a large role in its strong 2015 performance. However, in 2016, GM has started to address its supply issues, which could have a profound impact on Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon sales over the next year or so.

GM boosts midsize-truck production

Entering this year, GM was already running flat-out at its Wentzville, Missouri, factory, which produces the Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon models. The factory operates on three shifts and has frequent weekend overtime work.

Earlier this year, GM added extra tooling and equipment at the Wentzville plant to increase its production capacity, as my colleague John Rosevear described. Yet that hasn't fully resolved the plant's capacity issues.

Last month, GM took a bigger step by signing a contract with Navistar to assemble some Chevy Express and GMC Savana vans beginning in the first half of 2017. Today, those vans are built in the same Wentzville plant as GM's midsize pickups. Moving some of this production to a different site will give GM more flexibility to increase output of the Colorado and Canyon.

GM starts to gain momentum

General Motors' capacity expansion efforts are already starting to have an impact on Colorado and Canyon sales. Through the first two months of 2016, combined deliveries of the Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon barely increased on a year-over-year basis. Meanwhile, Toyota Tacoma sales jumped 13.1% year over year.

Since then, the roles have been reversed, as supply of GM's midsize pickups has improved. For the first half of 2016, combined sales of the Colorado and Canyon have surged 21.2% year over year. Just last month, Chevy Colorado deliveries jumped 38% year over year, while the GMC Canyon posted a 34.2% increase.

Meanwhile, Toyota Tacoma sales actually declined 0.9% year over year in June. That left it with a 7% sales gain year to date. Toyota still has a comfortable lead over GM in the midsize truck market, but it is shrinking quickly.

While GM has managed to narrow the gap with Toyota in the past few months, dealers are still complaining that there isn't enough inventory of the Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon.

GM stated in its June sales release that it expects midsize-pickup availability to improve in the second half of the year. This could help it achieve further share gains at Toyota's expense.

However, GM may not fully resolve its supply constraints until it is able to shift some of its van assembly work to Navistar in early 2017. By the middle of next year, we will see if the Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon have what it takes to power General Motors past Toyota in the midsize-pickup market.
An Iranian lawmaker and a local official have been wounded and their driver killed in an assassination attempt in a Kurdish-speaking province in the west of the country, media said Sunday.

Heshmatollah Falahat-Pisheh -- who represents the town of Islam Abad Gharb in Kermanshah province -- was visiting the area with an unidentified local official when four gunmen in a vehicle opened fire on their car, the ISNA news agency reported.

After the attack the assailants set fire to their own car and fled the scene on foot, ISNA said, quoting Farhad Tajari, a parliamentarian from the town of Qasr-e Shirin on the border with Iraqi Kurdistan.

Ahmad Safari, a lawmaker from Kermanshah city, told Mizan Online that the attackers belonged to the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK), an Iranian Kurdish group with close links to Turkey's outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

Since mid-June, Iranian forces have frequently clashed with militants on the country's predominantly Kurdish western borders, leaving 33 rebels and six soldiers dead.

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Ericsson was sent to hospital on Saturday for routine examinations after he escaped uninjured from a heavy crash at the high-speed Stowe corner during final practice.

Despite not participating in qualifying, the Swede had already been granted stewards permission to race based on his practice lap times, subject to final clearance from the FIA medical delegate.

Damage to his car was serious enough that Sauber have requested that a fresh chassis be re-scrutineered for the race, meaning that Ericsson will start the 52-lap Grand Prix from the pit lane. The team have also replaced his gearbox.



WATCH: Ericsson wrecks his Sauber at Stowe
Image source: Flickr user Pedro Ribeiro Simones.

Social Security's trustees recently issued their annual report and in it were startling revelations about the program that every current and would-be retiree ought to know. Among a slate of stunning statistics packed into this report, perhaps the most worrisome is the $11.4 trillion (yes, trillion) unfunded obligation that the program faces over the next 75 years.

Digging into the details

Social Security is a major source of retirement income for millions of Americans. More than 60 million people count on Social Security checks to pay bills every month. For many, Social Security supplements other retirement income, but for nearly half of all single retirees, Social Security represents 90%, or more, of their income.

Social Security's importance as a safety net for seniors is unquestionable. However, the program's ability to provide financial security to retirees is in jeopardy.

Social Security is a pay-as-you-go system. This means that payroll taxes collected on worker wages are used to pay benefits to current recipients. This system works when the population of workers is handily bigger than the population of retirees, but it fails miserably when the ratio of workers to seniors drops.

Unfortunately, that's exactly what's happening. From 1974 through 2008, the worker-to-recipient ratio remained relatively steady between 3.2 and 3.4. However, the ratio has fallen to 2.8 since, and as more of the 76 million baby boomers exit the workforce, it's expected to drop to 2.2 by 2035.

Number of covered workers per beneficiary by decade, 1980-2090. Source: Social Security Administration.

The decline in workers relative to retirees in the past seven years has led to payments to Social Security recipients outstripping payroll tax revenue since 2010.

Fortunately, the gap between tax revenue and outlays is currently being bridged by the Social Security Trust Fund, a $2.8 trillion fund that was built up during the years when the worker-to-retiree ratio was higher.

Unfortunately, the gap that's being filled by the trust fund will widen considerably as more boomers stop working. In 2015, payroll taxes produced $679.5 billion in revenue to fund Social Security, but Social Security paid out $743 billion to recipients. As that gap widens further, the trust fund will continue to make up the difference until it runs dry in 2034.

Assuming no changes are made to shore up Social Security's financial future, the trustees determined that the present value of unfunded obligations owed to retirees over the next 75 years totals $11.4 trillion.

Social Security Trust Fund cumulative reserves (2015-2033) or gap (2034-2090). Source: Social Security Administration.

What does that mean for retirees?

When the Social Security Trust Fund runs out of money in 2034, revenue generated from payroll taxes will only cover 79% of the program's cost. This means that if Washington fails to act, benefits would need to be cut by 21% across the board for Social Security to remain solvent.

A 21% cut in benefits would be a deal breaker for millions of American retirees, but there are options available to lawmakers.

According to the trustees, Social Security solvency would be guaranteed if Washington does any of the following:

Increases the payroll tax permanently by 2.58%.

Reduces benefits immediately and indefinitely by 19% for everyone retiring this year and in the future.

Or embraces some combination of those two options.

Image source: Getty Images.

Looking ahead

Paying more in payroll taxes may be more palatable to the tens of millions of retiring baby boomers who have long planned on receiving Social Security and have paid into the system for decades. One possible solution that's being considered to boost tax revenue is to lift the income cap that payroll taxes currently apply to. Presently, payroll taxes are collected on earned income up to $118,500.

However, tax increases are never popular, and Washington may attempt to prevent them by embracing policies that could reduce payments, such as increasing the age at which retirees can claim Social Security and eliminating Social Security payments to high-income earners.

Regardless of what option Washington settles upon, Social Security's trustees warn that time is of the essence. In their words, if Washington kicks the can down the road, "the changes necessary to maintain Social Security solvency become concentrated on fewer years and fewer generations." Ostensibly, that means more drastic tax increases or cuts would be needed in the future.

The article Social Security's Got an $11.4 Trillion Problem 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.
The Syrian military has extended a nationwide ceasefire that expired on Friday for another 72 hours, state media reported on Saturday.

The military high command said in a statement "a regime of calm will be extended for a period of 72 hours from one o'clock on July 9".

The Syrian government uses the term "regime of calm" to denote a temporary ceasefire.

The previous 72-hour truce, which was accepted by the Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebel alliance but led to no noticeable decrease in violence, ran up to midnight on July 8.

That truce was the first to be declared across the whole country since one brokered by foreign powers in February to facilitate talks to end the five-year-old civil war. That truce has mostly unravelled, and the escalating violence caused talks to break down.

The Syrian army and the Russian military, which backs Assad, have since then periodically announced a number of temporary local truces in areas of intense fighting. But air strikes and fighting have often continued in spite of the declarations.

During this week's three-day truce, Syrian government forces advanced towards the only route into the opposition half of the city of Aleppo, the Castello Road, bringing the road within closer firing range and trapping between 250,000 and 300,000 people.

They also took territory from rebels east of Damascus.

In the same period, dozens have been killed and injured by rebel shelling into government-held parts of Aleppo, and in air strikes on a holiday spot in Idlib province.

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Health insurance is a critical aspect of your financial planning, but it's also extremely difficult to understand. Health-insurance policies extend for dozens, or even hundreds, of pages in some cases, and there's a lot of confusion about what various terms, phrases, and contract provisions really mean. Below, we'll look at several often-misunderstood aspects of health insurance that can cost you a lot of money if you don't grasp them correctly. By knowing more about your insurance, you can make the most of your health coverage and make smart choices about exactly which coverage options to pick.

1. In-network and out-of-network distinctions are important for many health-insurance policies.

Managed care organizations have done a lot to cut the cost of healthcare for patients, but they also impose restrictions on the medical professionals and services you can use. Some policies still allow you to see any doctor of your choosing, but most health-maintenance organizations and preferred-provider organizations offer additional savings if you use doctors and other professionals that are within the policy's covered network.

It's essential to look at exactly how your policy distinguishes between in-network and out-of-network services, because some policies have extremely draconian provisions in this regard. You can count on getting less coverage and having to pay more in out-of-pocket costs for out-of-network providers in nearly every situation, but some policies provide almost no coverage for providers who aren't in their networks, except in emergencies. Before you casually visit an out-of-network provider, it's worth contacting your health insurer to find out exactly what will and won't be covered.

2. Mixing up deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums.

Many health-insurance policies come with deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums, but people routinely get confused about the two terms. A deductible is an amount that you have to pay out of your own pocket before your insurance coverage kicks in. After you pay the deductible, then your insurance will start paying its portion of your healthcare expenses, with typical arrangements involving a split between what the insurer pays and what you're responsible for covering yourself.

Out-of-pocket maximums come into play after you've fulfilled any deductible you have and have incurred additional healthcare expenses. Once the total of your deductible and your proportional share of costs after your insurance starts paying out benefits reaches the out-of-pocket maximum, you'll stop paying anything toward further costs.

For instance, say you have a $1,000 deductible, and after that, your insurance pays 80% of costs, with you having to cover 20% until you hit an out-of-pocket maximum of $5,000. You'd be responsible for the first $1,000 in expenses each year. After that, you'd have to pay 20% of the next $20,000 in costs, with insurance paying the other 80%. Once you hit $21,000 in expenses, you would reach your $5,000 out-of-pocket maximum, and any further healthcare needs would be paid entirely by insurance.

The two concepts are quite different, but some people still get confused. It's especially important to know the deductible amount, because that represents money out of your pocket before your insurance does anything at all. Knowing the difference can help you avoid a costly mistake in selecting coverage.

3. Getting too focused on premiums.

Finally, the biggest mistake that many people make in choosing health insurance is to focus too much on the monthly premium amount. Remember, the true value of health-insurance coverage depends on two things: what it costs and what it covers. Costs include not only the premiums you pay upfront, but also the copayments, coinsurance amounts, and deductibles that you're responsible for paying. Often, low-premium policies have weaker coverage that require you to pay a higher share of any expenses you incur. That can work out well for healthy people, but if you frequently need medical services, then low-cost premiums can be deceptively attractive.

The best way to determine the value of a policy for you is to figure out how much each policy would cover in a typical year based on your past medical experience. Be sure to include not only the premium payments, but also what your insurance won't cover, and then find the policy that produces the minimum total cost.

You might also want to build in a margin of safety, understanding that health can deteriorate unexpectedly. With many policies, however, you can switch to a more comprehensive plan at your next open enrollment period if your health worsens. That makes the long-term consequences of an incorrect choice less dire, although you should still prefer to get things right the first time.

Health insurance is tricky, and misunderstandings can cost you. Pay close attention to your health-insurance policy, and ask questions if you don't grasp something. That way, you'll avoid costly mistakes down the road.

The $16,122 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook If you're like most Americans, you're a few years (or more) behind on your retirement savings. But a handful of little-known "Social Security secrets" could help ensure a boost in your retirement income. For example: one easy trick could pay you as much as $16,122 more... each year! Once you learn how to maximize your Social Security benefits, we think you could retire confidently with the peace of mind we're all after. Simply click here to discover how to learn more about these strategies.

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What a difference a few months can make. Crude oil prices, after touching multidecade lows of $27 per barrel in February 2016, have now come roaring back. Despite the step back from their recent $52 highs amid Brexit-fueled fears, a very strong argument could be made that the worst is likely over.

With this in mind, some of The Motley Fool's industry specialists put their heads together to generate three great oil stocks for Foolish investors to buy in July. Here's what they came up with.

Trouncing the rest of big oil

Tyler Crowe:One oil company that has looked rather interesting for a while now is Total . Over the past couple of years, it has been able to weather the storm of oil prices better than just about every other integrated oil and gas company -- in part because it has finished many of its major oil and gas development projects over this time. The boost of production and the decline in capital spending have helped to prop up its earnings. While the rest of its big oil peers saw net income fall more than 40% in 2015, Total's net income decline was a much more palatable 18%.

Despite Total outperforming the rest of the big oil bunch as well as having a deep bench of projects that should help maintain strong growth, Wall Street hasn't given its shares much love lately. Call it a reaction to Brexit, contained fears of oil prices, or whatever you wish -- the fact is, shares of Total are trading at 1.3 times tangible book value and a dividend yield of 5.9%. While we can argue over whether the rebound for oil is right around the corner or we're still a ways off, there's no denying that shares of Total are cheap right now, and investors who step up to the plate today will likely be happy they did several years down the road.

Ready for the rebound

Matt DiLallo: Leading North American E&P Devon Energy has undergone a pretty notable transformation during the downturn. With assets scattered across multiple basins, the company found that it was spread a bit too thin. It addressed the problem by refocusing its portfolio on a half-dozen core plays, jettisoning a bevy of non-core assets while acquiring additional acreage to strengthen its core.

Devon's transition is now mostly complete, with it controlling a premier portfolio focused on the top-tier resource plays. Furthermore, it has strengthened its balance sheet in the process, which gives it significant flexibility to ramp up drilling activities as oil prices improve. To put this into perspective, Devon now has $6.5 billion of liquidity and more than 12,000 future drilling locations that are economical with oil at $50 a barrel. However, despite that enormous drilling inventory, it will remain disciplined in ramping up its production, focusing on capturing value and improving returns as opposed to growing for the sake of growth.

With the oil market's fundamentals starting to turn the corner, it plays right into Devon Energy's hands. The company is well positioned to ramp up its activities, which should drive strong earnings growth. This combinationmakes it a great oil stock to buy right now to profit from the continuation of the market rebound.

Betting on crude with the "Canadian ExxonMobil"

Sean O'Reilly: Imperial Oil doesn't get mentioned nearly enough when investors talk about potential oil investments. To be sure, there are loads of great companies in the space, two of which are mentioned above. But for a best-of-breed operator that has strong ties to a name synonymous with the oil industry, one need look no further than our neighbor to the north.

Founded in 1880 and domiciled in Canada, Imperial Oil is 69.6% owned by ExxonMobil. As you might imagine, this leads to interesting cultural similarities between the two companies. Operational efficiency and conservative balance sheet management are the modus operandi. The company has increased its dividend for 20 years straight, has returned$12 billionto shareholders over the last decade via those dividends as well as share buybacks, and continues to make strides in increasing production profitably. Imperial is currently trading at just 15.57 times fiscal year 2017 S&P Global Market Intelligence analyst estimates and 1.15 times tangible book value.

Bottom line: Imperial Oil is a best-in-class operator that knows how to reward shareholders. The current downturn is giving investors a rare chance to be a partner in what amounts to ExxonMobil's Canadian operations.

The article 3 Oil Stocks to Buy in July originally appeared on Fool.com.

Sean O'Reilly has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of Devon Energy. The Motley Fool recommends Total. 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.

Buying a stock with an impressive dividend yield doesn't have to cost you an arm and a leg. These six stocks, for example, offer investors big dividend checks without breaking the bank. Keep in mind though, that high dividend yields are often accompanied by high risk. Make sure you accurately judge your tolerance for the latter before buying.

Let's start with the REITs

REITs, or real estate investment trusts, are a special type of company that receives an advantaged tax treatment under I.R.S. rules. A REIT must invest in real estate, or real-estate related assets like mortgages, and it must maintain a dividend payout ratio of at least 90%.

Additionally, at least 75% of a REIT's gross income must come from real estate. If the REIT abides by these rules, plus a handful of other administrative requirements, the company does not have to pay corporate taxes. As a result of that special tax treatment, REITs generally have very attractive dividend yields.

Starwood Property Trust is a great example. The company primarily invests in commercial real estate debt and debt securities in the U.S. and Europe. The company's investments are diversified among the various sectors of commercial real estate, making it attractive for long-term investors seeking broad exposure to commercial real estate.

Similarly diversified, Lexington Realty Trust typically owns the properties in its portfolio, rather than investing in debt like Starwood. Colony Capital Inc. pursues a strategy somewhere in the middle, balancing its investments between equity and debt in its North American and European properties.

All three are diversified among the various commercial real-estate sectors, with exposure ranging from offices to hospitality to retail to residential and more.

REIT Stock Dividend Yield Price to Earnings Ratio (TTM) Starwood Property Trust 9.31% 13.84x Lexington Realty Trust 7.2% 18.53x Colony Capital Inc. 8.73% 19.49x

Data source: DripInvesting.org.

Big yields in these big oil MLPs

An MLP is an entity structured as a master limited partnership. These companies offer the tax benefits of a limited partnership with the liquidity benefits of a publicly traded equity.

The entity has two partner roles, limited partners and general partners. The limited partners provide the capital and receive periodic distributions from earnings, and the general partner operates the company for a fee. To meet the tax requirements of being an MLP, the company must derive 90% or more of its cash flow from real estate, natural resources, or commodities.

In today's market, MLP's that serve the oil and gas industry are particularly cheap, driven by the past 18 months of low oil and gas commodity prices. Investors have fled these stocks on fears that lower production could drive down demand for the infrastructure services these companies provide.

That's resulted in a slew of cheap stocks with mega-sized dividends -- stocks like Golar LNG Partners LP , an owner and operator of storage units and liquefied natural gas carriers. The company is paid from contracts with a variety of sovereign producers that range from Brazil to Kuwait to Indonesia. Golar LNG Partners' fleet includes six floating-storage regasification units, and four liquefied natural-gas carriers.

Or consider Energy Transfer Equity LP , owner of tens of thousands of miles of pipelines in the U.S., plus storage facilities, processing and treatment plants, and more. Like a toll collector on a highway, as long as there are petroleum products moving along the pipelines, Energy Transfer Equity will make money, and pay big dividends.

The opportunities are not just on the commercial side, either. AmeriGas Partners LP distributes propane and propane-related equipment to more than 2 million customers in the U.S. AmeriGas's products are used for cooking, heating, agriculture, fuel, and many other uses. AmeriGas's P/E ratio may look high at first glance, but it's actually 10% below the average in its niche.

MLP Stock Dividend Yield Price to Earnings Ratio (TTM) Golar LNG Partners LP 13.58% 5.4x Energy Transfer Equity LP 9% 10.9x AmeriGas Partners LP 8.2% 19.8x

Data source: DripInvesting.org

The article 6 Incredibly Cheap High-Yield Dividend Stocks originally appeared on Fool.com.

Jay Jenkins 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.
Image source: Getty Images.

John Donovan is a co-founder, former board member, and former chief operating officer at the online lending marketplace Lending Club . Today, Donovan is the chief strategy officer at CircleBack Lending, another marketplace lender.

I recently sat down with Donovanto discuss the state of the marketplace lending sector, as well as to get a better understanding of the challenges facing Lending Club specifically. The following excerpt of that interview has been edited lightly for clarity and length. You can listen to the full interview by clicking here.

Jenkins: 2016 has been a very tough year for marketplace lenders. Lending Club, On Deck Capital , and other players are all down sharply. What started the decline in Lending Club's stock that we've seen since May?

Donovan: The trigger was a $3 million security that didn't meet investor's requirements, but not for underwriting, not for pricing, none of those things. It was basically a disclosure error, and it's worth noting that it was part of one of the company's first securitizations.

As Lending Club was putting together the loans to sell into that securitization, they were asked byJefferies Group to put a disclosure on the front of these loans. What ended up happening, as best as we can tell, is they sold some of those loans without the disclosure. Someone internally went and changed some dates on those loans. That was uncovered internally, the company did an investigation into it, bought back the loans from Jefferies at par, and then sold them to someone else.

There was another conflict that they found with Renaud [Laplanche, former Lending Club CEO], who owned a piece of a company that Lending Club had subsequently made an investment in, and whether that ownership was properly disclosed. The board took all that together and forced Renaud's resignation

Jenkins: It sounds like your view is that this very much appears as an isolated incident, and not representative of a culture that could create deeper, longer-term repercussions for the stock? Should shareholders be concerned?

Donovan: What I look at from the outside is that this could point to some internal control issues. Do the products people talk to the technology people? Where are those Chinese walls? Was this an isolated incident perpetrated by a few individuals, or part of something larger?

I think the company has answered those concerns at this point, and I don't have concerns that this is a larger, culture problem. After the issues were found, Lending Club had an accounting firm go do a deep dive into all the different loans. They didn't find any other issues. So, this is something that happened with literally their first securitization and the first pool of loans selling into that securitization.

LC data by YCharts.

Jenkins: How should a marketplace lender handle credit underwriting and loan review? Investors seem confused as to exactly how this process happens and what the risks are compared to a traditional bank.

Donovan: Sure, let's go into that review process. The person comes to the website and applies for a loan. The credit bureau and a bunch of other third-party data is pulled and analyzed, and the applicant is approved or denied. Compared to a traditional bank, this can be done much more efficiently, because the bank application may come in based on a written application, it may come in online, or it may come in through the telephone. Because [an online marketplace] is mono-channel, it tends to be more efficiently managed.

There's also a lot more data, so when a person's coming in and applying on their computer, from an anti-fraud standpoint, marketplace lenders can go in and say, "Okay, hey, John's applying for a loan. His credit passes, the IP address on his computer says Chicago, but we can see on his LinkedIn profile that he works in San Francisco.Hmm, might this be fraud? Do we need to do some additional verification?"

From the perspective of safety and security, I think that marketplace lenders are actually safer from the standpoint of anti-fraud that credit card issuers.

Jenkins: And on the credit underwriting side?

Donovan: Underwriting is not a process of, "Hey, we're going to go issue these loans and believe that the climate is going to stay exactly the same." Things change over time, so you're always going in and looking at your book. There are a bunch of things that may drive losses slightly higher for a certain loan portfolio, and there are a bunch of ways that you go through and address that. You can change underwriting guidelines. You [can] isolate risks between different channels if the data shows one with carry greater risk. You can address that through changing your pricing. All of this happens in real-time, constantly adjusting for supply and demand, as well as changing economic conditions.

It's a live, vibrant process, and that's a huge advantage. The platform can start pushing applicants more toward three year loans rather than five year loans. You start to look at different geographies, and respond precisely to where the problems are the worst. It tends to be, in consumer credit at least, are you talking about prime, near-prime, or sub-prime? Tough economic times tend to hit sub-prime first and foremost. By monitoring these trends in real time, as we talked about before, the marketplace lenders can react proactively.

Jenkins: Some critics have pointed to the lack of a human touch in the process. Where do humans, versus algorithms, come into the picture, and is this appropriate, in your view?

Donovan: Absolutely. If you look at the process, let's say 85% of applicants are declined automatically, and there is no human intervention.

At that point, you end up with, let's say, 15%, and there you're going in and saying, "Hey, do we need to do additional income verification?Do we need to do employment verification, do we want to get this person on the phone and make a phone call? What are the other types of verification that are necessary?"

It's interesting, as I read a lot of things, people say, "You should verify 100%." Guess what, the banks don't do much income verification at all from the standpoint of credit card applications.

Even from a bank issuing a credit card with a $10,000 balance, it's doubtful they're going to go through and do income verification. From the standpoint of marketplace lenders, when you start to look at who you should verify and who you shouldn't verify, there was data that Lending Club put out a few years ago, which said that losses on loans where income is verified are actually higher than the losses on loans where income is not verified.

If you think about that, it actually makes perfect sense, because the company is only verifying income when there is an additional level of risk that warrants the verification of data.

Jenkins: While at Lending Club, one of your responsibilities was managing the relationships with the institutional investors purchasing loans on the platform. Based on your experience, do you think these funding partners are reacting the same way the stock market has to all this turmoil -- the internal control concerns, the CEO's firing, etc.?

Donovan: It depends on the type of entity that you are, right? If you're a bank or an insurance company, then you're looking and you're saying, "There's a control issue, I need to understand that before I put additional funds on it."

I think that was the effort recently with the review and audit. It was the company showing how it was addressing the concerns. I think once they get that stamp of approval for bank and insurance money, that capital will come back in. From the standpoint of hedge funds, other funds, other institutional equity, I don't think they have the same constraints. From everything I've read, it seems like that money is still available.

Jenkins: You're no longer with Lending Club, but you remain in the marketplace lending industry, currently as the chief strategy officer at CircleBack Lending. What drew you to CircleBack, and how does it compare to your prior experiences? What lessons have you learned in your prior jobs at Lending Club, MasterCard and so on, that make CircleBack different and exciting to you?

Donovan: CircleBack is a medium-sized platform that's done about $450 million in loans. The difference, really, there, is much more of a focus on partnerships, so being able to support regional banks, make it more efficient for them to be able to both fund the loans and monetize their customer base. If they've got a mortgage book that they could sell in installment loans, they can't afford to do it on their own, so how can you partner with entities such as regional banks, regional issuers, other types of businesses that have large customer groups that may need this type of responsible credit? It's still marketplace lending, it's just a slightly different angle.

The article 6 Things Lending Club's Co-Founder Wants You to Know originally appeared on Fool.com.

Jay Jenkins 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.
American Airlines will be able to offer the most flights from the U.S. to Havana. Image source: American Airlines.

Last month, the U.S. government awarded the first set of route authorities allowing airlines to fly to Cuba. That decision covered all of Cuba except for Havana. Since there was relatively limited interest in flying to secondary Cuban cities, airlines basically got whatever they wanted.

By contrast, airlines requested nearly three times as many flights to Havana as the 20 daily routes that the Department of Transportation is allowed to allocate. As a result, the U.S. government is making airlines share the wealth when it comes to serving Cuba's capital and largest city.

Airlines aimed high

With only 20 daily routes to Havana up for grabs, some airlines tried to stake out huge positions there. Most notably, American Airlines asked to operate 10 daily round-trips between Miami and Havana, as well as daily flights from Charlotte and Dallas-Fort Worth and weekly flights from Chicago and Los Angeles.

JetBlue Airways also had a big ask. It requested route authorities for 12 daily flights to Havana, spread across six U.S. gateway airports. JetBlue argued that the DOT should give most or all of the flights to low-cost carriers like itself, while shutting out legacy carriers like American Airlines that have historically charged higher fares.

JetBlue wanted more than half of the available Havana route authorities. Image source: JetBlue Airways.

Even Southwest Airlines , which has a much smaller footprint in Latin America and the Caribbean, aimed high. Southwest requested authority to operate nine daily round-trips to Havana, including six daily round-trips from Fort Lauderdale. Clearly, airlines see substantial potential in this market and want to maximize their share of the available route authorities.

These airlines will have to share

Not surprisingly, regulators at the Department of Transportation were hardly eager to give any airline a dominant position in Havana. As expected, the U.S. government decided to promote competition by spreading the available route authorities among numerous airlines and cities.

On Thursday, the government revealed its tentative flight allocation. American Airlines and JetBlue did receive the most Havana route authorities, but far less than they requested. American will be able to fly four times daily from Miami and once daily from Charlotte. JetBlue will get to fly twice daily from Fort Lauderdale (except for Saturday, when it will have one flight) and once daily from New York and Orlando.

Looking further down the list, Southwest Airlines was awarded two daily flights from Fort Lauderdale and one from Tampa. Delta Air Lines was also awarded three daily flights: one each from Atlanta, Miami, and New York. Spirit Airlines will get to fly twice a day from Fort Lauderdale. Rounding out the list, Frontier Airlines got a daily flight from Miami,Alaska Air got one from Los Angeles, and United Continental was awarded a daily flight from Newark plus a Saturday-only flight between Houston and Havana.

Southwest Airlines will be able to continue its Caribbean expansion in Havana. Image source: The Motley Fool.

Making sense of the DOT's decision

Geographically speaking, South Florida -- including both Miami and Fort Lauderdale -- will get nearly 60% of the available Havana frequencies. This makes sense, because a disproportionate number of Cuban-Americans live in the Miami area.

Of the remaining frequencies, the majority will serve the other four largest Cuban-American population centers in the U.S.: New York, Tampa, Los Angeles, and Orlando. The daily flights to Atlanta and Charlotte (and the weekly flight to Houston) are designed to funnel travel demand from the rest of the U.S. through some of the largest airline hubs in the country.

Beyond ensuring that areas with high demand for travel to Cuba (particularly South Florida) will get ample service, the DOT also worked to maximize competition. It's no accident that the frequencies from South Florida to Havana were split among six airlines, or that three airlines were awarded one flight each from the New York area.

Given the lack of operating history -- there have been no scheduled flights between the U.S. and Cuba in over half a century -- some of the DOT's route allocations may prove to be foolish in hindsight. However, the initial route awards do a good job of promoting competition and fairness as airlines try to capitalize on a once-in-a-generation opportunity in Havana.

The article Airlines Will Have to Share the Wealth in Cuba originally appeared on Fool.com.

Adam Levine-Weinberg owns shares of Alaska Air Group, JetBlue Airways, Spirit Airlines, and United Continental Holdings and is long January 2017 $17 calls on JetBlue Airways, long January 2017 $40 calls on Delta Air Lines, long January 2017 $30 calls on American Airlines Group, and long December 2016 $30 calls on Spirit Airlines. The Motley Fool recommends Spirit Airlines. 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: Pfizer, Inc.

Last fall, both Exelixis and Bristol-Myers Squibb reported positive results showing that their respective drugs are more effective in treating advanced kidney cancer than Novartis' Afinitor, a second-line therapy used to treat advanced kidney cancer patients. The two companies are conducting studies in hopes of showing that their drugs also work better than Pfizer, Inc.'s Sutent, the most commonly prescribed first-line therapy used in advanced kidney cancer.

Exelixis' Cabometyx or Bristol-Myers Squibb's Opdivo efficacy suggests they'll be shaking up the kidney cancer landscape, and that could eventually mean a smaller share of the market for Sutent. While that could be true, Pfizer reported data this past week that could significantly expand Sutent's addressable patient population and help it maintain its dominance in the indication.

Improving outcomes

About 338,000 new cases of kidney cancer are diagnosed in the U.S. every year, and 90% of those cases are renal cell carcinoma, or RCC. Most of the time, the first treatment option for treating kidney cancer is surgery that removes the tumor.

In cases where kidney cancer is in the later stages of progression, treatment may include both surgery and targeted therapy. Advanced kidney cancer cases represent about 30% of kidney cancer cases, and the first targeted therapy that's used in these patients is Sutent, a drug that curbs cancer growth by targeting cancer cell proteins called tyrosine kinases. When patients fail on Sutent, they're then often shifted to Afinitor.

Last fall, Bristol-Myers reported phase 3 trial results showing that patients receiving Opdivo enjoyed overall survival of 25 months versus 19.6 months for patients receiving Afinitor. Similarly, Exelixis reported phase 3 results showing its cabometyx delivered overall survival of 21.4 months, versus 16.5 months for Afinitor.

The FDA has since approved both Opdivo and Cabometyx for second-line use in advanced kidney cancer patients, and with those wins in hand, both Exelixis and Bristol-Myers Squibb are now taking aim at Sutent in the first-line advanced kidney cancer setting.

In May, Exelixis reported results from a phase 2 study comparing Cabometyx head-to-head against Sutent. In that trial, Cabometyx significantly improved progression-free survival versus Sutent as a first-line treatment for advanced kidney cancer patients.Meanwhile, Bristol-Myers Squibb has a phase 3 study under way that combines its Opdivo and Yervoy together head-to-head against Sutent. Results from that trial are expected in 2018. However, if efficacy is good enough, that trial could wrap up sooner than that.

Side-stepping the threat

With Cabometyx and Opdivo nipping at Sutent's heels, Pfizer hopes to outmaneuver them by expanding the use of Sutent to all kidney cancer patients who have undergone surgery. Doing so wouldopen up Sutent to far more patients than it can address today.

On Friday, Pfizer reported thattaking Sutent once daily for one year following surgery significantly improved progression-free survival versus a placebo. Up until now, no targeted therapy has been able to prove itself effective in such an adjuvant setting.

Pfizer is waiting until a key conference in October to report the details of the improvement, but the phase 3 findings of this trial could mean a label expansion is in the wings.

Looking ahead

Sutent generated $278 million in first-quarter sales for Pfizer, up 15% from a year ago, and that billion-dollar run rate means that a lot is at stake for the company.

Assuming Sutent eventually nabs approval for use in the adjuvant setting, than it may maintain its current sales pace despite Cabometyx and Opdivo's success. In fact, the larger, post-surgery patient pool could mean that Sutent's sales head even higher than they are currently. Given that this is a big market and Sutent is already a blockbuster, investors will want to pay close attention when management unveils more data from this trial this fall.

The article Here's How Pfizer's Protecting Its Kidney Cancer Drug From New Competitors originally appeared on Fool.com.

Todd Campbell has no position in any stocks mentioned.Todd owns E.B. Capital Markets, LLC. E.B. Capital's clients may have positions in the companies mentioned. Like this article? Follow him onTwitter where he goes by the handle@ebcapital to see more articles like this.The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Exelixis. 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.
The appeal of better burger chains has been their higher quality and fresh ingredients, but consumers -- and investors -- seem to be pushing back from the table. Image source: Getty Images.

The better-burger craze may have run its course, a victim of its own success. As chains like In-N-Out, Five Guys, and Shake Shack ramped up expansion to meet what seemed like an insatiable appetite for upscale, high-priced hamburgers, they may have oversaturated the market and now it's turning against them.

According toNomura analyst MarkKalinowski, comparable store sales at fast-casual burger chains have "decelerated meaningfully" in the first quarter, yet with the expansion plans they still have on the table, it might just get worse.

A hamburger stand on every corner

The Habit saw the growth rate in total revenues cut in half in the first quarter as comps fell from almost 13% to just 2%.Yet, it still plans to open around 30 restaurants in 2016, adding to the 140 locations already operating. Management continues to believe there is room for more than 2,000 restaurants altogether.Similarly, privately held Five Guys has over 1,000 restaurants operating now and over 1,500 more in development.

Although that makes the growth plans for rivals like Shake Shack and In-N-Out Burger seem tame by comparison -- the former plans to open 16 new Shacks this year and next, while In-N-Out plods along because it refuses to franchise -- the explosion of chains around them will still have an impact on their results.Shake Shack, for example, saw its growth rate cut by 23% in the first quarter as same-Shack sales continue to dwindle.

It's a trend occurring not just in the better-burger space, but acrossthe entire fast-casual industry.

Nation's Restaurant News reported fast-casual restaurants saw their stock valuations decline by 9% in the second quarter -- worse than the out-of-home dining segment as a whole -- and eliminate all the gains the sector made in the first quarter. Even factoring out the implosion of Chipotle Mexican Grillfollowing its food-quality crises, and that of Cosi, which is now literally a penny stock, the segment's returns for the second quarter are still down more than 4% from the year-ago period. By comparison, the results in the restaurant industry as a whole stayed flat.

Premium burgers don't warrant a premium price anymore

Shake Shack's valuation is instructive for what'shappening. Its stock is down 8% year to date but has lost a third of its value over the last 12 months. And though its shares trade at less than half the price they did at their 52-week high, Shake Shack's stock is still running at more than 100 times earnings.

Things aren't much different at The Habit, which has also lost half its value but still commands a price-to-earnings ratio north of 60. Considering the better-burger segment looks like it's in the midst of a retrenchment, investors ought to assume these chains have not reached the bottom.

Where might investors look for opportunity instead? Chicken. According to Nation's Restaurant News' list of fastest-growing restaurants today, four of the top 10 chains are chicken joints: Chick-fil-A, Raising Cane's, Wingstop, and Zaxby's.

Poultry may ruffle beef's feathers

The burger chains have certainly taken notice of the rising popularity of poultry, including fast-food restaurants like Burger King, which introduced a grilled chicken burger, and McDonald's, which introduced a new buttermilk-coated chicken sandwich. Even the better burger shops are adding chicken to their menu with both Shake Shack and Umami Burger now featuring chicken sandwiches.

This seems to bode well for chains that already focus solely on poultry, like Yum! Brands'KFC brand and Popeyes Louisiana Chicken. KFC had a 5% increase in systemwide sales in the first quarter absent any currency fluctuations, while Popeyes saw a better than 6% increase. And compared to their fast-casual, better-burger rivals, the chicken joints sport much more reasonable valuations at around 27 times earnings.

If the trend continues, the better burger chains will undoubtedly see those vaunted expansion plans come to a screeching halt, and investors will realize they are not the better investment.

The article Is the Love Affair With Better Burger Chains Over? originally appeared on Fool.com.

Rich Duprey has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Chipotle Mexican Grill. The Motley Fool recommends Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen. 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.

This is going to be a transformative year for the United States. Not only are we set to vote in a new president for the first time in eight years this November, but we could also see the most rapid expansion of marijuana ever, with eight states now set to vote on recreational or medical cannabis initiatives or amendments this fall.

What's at stake

The expansion of the cannabis industry was initially put in motion 20 years ago when California approved a compassionate use law for medical marijuana. Today, half of all U.S. states have approved a medical marijuana law. The two most recent approvals came from Pennsylvania and Ohio, which used the legislative process to pass medical cannabis laws.

Additionally, we've witnessed four states legalize the recreational use of cannabis -- Colorado, Washington, Oregon, and Alaska, along with Washington, D.C. Recreational approvals and the expansion of medical cannabis have generated tax revenue and licensing fees that are boosting state education budgets and allowing certain patients access to new pathways of treatment.

The real buzz among marijuana supporters is what might happen come November. President Obama has suggested that the best way to get the attention of Congress is to legalize marijuana in as many states as possible at the state level. If a majority of states approve marijuana measures and public opinion continues to swell in favor of cannabis, Congress may have no choice but to consider decriminalization -- or legalize the substance.

Of course, success for the movement is no guarantee. Florida failed to pass a medical marijuana amendment in 2014, and Prop 19 in California failed to legalize recreational marijuana in 2010. It's worth noting that support for marijuana has grown substantially since both of these elections, but that still doesn't guarantee success this November.

These eight states are set to vote on marijuana

Here are the eight states that'll be voting on a marijuana initiative or amendment this fall.

Las Vegas, NV. Image source: Pixabay.

1. Nevada

Nevada was the only state that was a lock to be voting on recreational marijuana in 2016, since it was added to the ballot last November. As home to "Sin City" and an existing infrastructure of medical marijuana dispensaries, Nevada appears to be the perfect stomping ground to become a recreation-legal state. If the measure is approved, an excise tax of 15% would be applied at the wholesale level, with the consumer also paying existing sales tax at the retail level.

2. Florida

Despite a narrow defeat in 2014, Florida is once again looking to legalize medical marijuana come November. Florida's constitution is set up in such a way that a traditional majority vote doesn't equate to passage. The state's constitution requires an amendment, which in turn needs 60% "Yes" votes to pass. The nation's younger generation appears overwhelmingly in favor of legalizing medical cannabis, but seniors tend to have a more negative view on cannabis (and there are a lot of retirees in Florida).

But for what it's worth, a Quinnipiac University poll conducted in May found that 80% of Florida voters favor the legalization of medical marijuana, while 16% said they would vote no on the measure. This could be the year that Florida finally gets a medical marijuana measure passed.

3. Maine

It's been a little more than two months since we learned that Maine would have a recreational marijuana initiative on the November ballot. Maine's proposal includes a 10% excise tax, and like most other recreation-legal states (save for Oregon), it would limit the number of licenses it issues.

A May poll of just over 600 Maine residents from the Marijuana Policy Projectshowed that 55% supported the recreational legalization of marijuana, compared to 41% who were said to be leaning against legalization. Obviously polls have some margin for error, but things are looking promising for cannabis supporters in Maine.

Santa Monica, CA. Image source: Pixabay.

4. California

It's been officially "unofficial" for more than two months, but a little more than a week ago, California made it resoundingly clear that a recreational marijuana vote had won a place on the state's November ballot. Should California voters choose to approve the measure, they'd be subject to a 15% retail sales tax. Growers within the state would also pay additional taxes.

Per Dale Gieringer of the California chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), legalization in marijuana could result in more than $1 billion in annual tax revenue and at least a $100 million reduction in law enforcement costs. Needless to say, approval here would be the crown jewel for the cannabis industry.

A poll conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California earlier this year showed 60% in favor of legalizing recreational marijuana, compared to just 37% who opposed the idea. This was up from the 54% in favor as of June 2015 and down from the 44% who opposed its legalization.

5. Massachusetts

Enough signatures were gathered in Massachusetts to put a recreational marijuana initiative on the November ballot. As we examined about five weeks ago when Massachusetts was still somewhat on the fence, an approval would mean consumers paying the state a 6.25% tax, plus an excise tax of 3.75%. Individual cities and towns could also impose taxes totaling up to 2%, meaning a top-tier marijuana tax of about 12%.

Unlike Maine or California, where polled residents appear to be in favor of legalizing recreational marijuana, the issue could come down to the wire in Massachusetts. A Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll conducted in the first week of May found that 43% of polled residents would vote yes to legalize, while another 46% would vote no. Some 11% were undecided.

Will this be the dawn or sunset of Arizona's recreational marijuana industry? Image source: Pixabay.

6. Arizona

Residents in Arizona will also be voting on recreational marijuana this November. If it's approved, a 15% tax on retail sales would be passed on to the consumer, with a decent chunk of tax revenue raised going to support Arizona's K-12 public schools and a full-day kindergarten program. However, supporters are facing an uphill battle. A poll released in April from Arizonans for Responsible Drug Policy showed that only 43% supported a legal recreational marijuana measure compared to the 49% who opposed it.

7. Missouri

Interestingly enough, in April a bill aimed at legalizing medical marijuana in Missouri was voted down by the state's House of Representatives. Killing the bill on the legislative front meant that any chance of passage would be up to voters. With enough signatures collected, Missourians will now have that chance.

But like in Arizona, the battle to legalize could be tough. Show-Me Cannabis suspended legalization efforts in Missouri in 2015 after polls showed that registered voters were against the full legalization of marijuana to the tune of 51% to 45% in 2015. However, with just a medical marijuana proposal on the table, the outcome could be different.

8. Arkansas

Finally, residents in Arkansas will be voting on whether or not to legalize medical marijuana, too. Having easily surpassed the 84,859 signatures needed to get the measure on the ballot, the next step for in-state supporters is to push the measure in a region that's generally been hostile to legalizing marijuana. The potential good news (for supporters) is a Talk Business & Politics/Hendrix College survey, which recently showed that a majority of Arkansans polled (58%) favored the legalization of medical marijuana compared to those who opposed it (34%).

Image source: Getty Images.

Watching and waiting is the smart move

It'll undeniably be an exciting year for the marijuana industry. But I would discourage investors from jumping on the bandwagon prior to November, as there are other dynamics at work that could keep you from benefiting -- even with success in the voting booths.

As we've looked at previously, inaction at the federal level means inherent disadvantages for marijuana businesses, which in turn means bad news for investors.

For starters, marijuana businesses owe a lot more in taxes (assuming they're profitable) as a percentage of net income than most normal businesses because businesses that sell an illegal substance are barred from taking normal business deductions. This leaves cannabis-based businesses to pay federal tax on their gross profits instead of net profits.

Secondly, cannabis-based businesses have very limited access to banking solutions. Only about 3% of banks nationwide are currently servicing the marijuana industry, mostly for fear of prosecution from the federal government down the road. Without access to basic banking services like a checking account or lines of credit, it can be a pain to expand, replenish product, or even pay employees -- not to mention that dealing with cash is a potentially costly security concern.

Until we see discernable changes on Capitol Hill, marijuana stocks should be nowhere near your portfolio.

The article Residents in These 8 States Are Set to Vote on Marijuana This November originally appeared on Fool.com.

Sean Williamshas no material interest in any companies mentioned in this article. You can follow him on CAPS under the screen nameTMFUltraLong, and check him out on Twitter, where he goes by the handle@TMFUltraLong.The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. 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.
Sen. Bernie Sanders is turning to the massive grassroots donor list that propelled his Democratic presidential primaries campaign in order to pay for his delegates to attend the national party convention this summer.

"We've earned almost 1,900 convention delegates, but for many it's too expensive to attend. Help get them to Philly," Sanders tweeted on Saturday.

The tweet included a link to a volunteer website, Adopt a Bernie Delegate, which maps out each delegate in the country and asks supporters to contribute to their trip, while also explaining that the delegate funding is a natural extension of the Sanders campaign efforts. The page was set up by volunteers, who promise that all the money raised will go to the delegates.

"Just like many donors have never donated before, neither have many delegates participated before, so we are not connected and funded by the masses," the site quotes an unnamed delegate as saying. "Most of us are the demographic Bernie is trying to help, so we don't have big bank accounts, trust funds, or rich parents to fall back on. At a certain point, the Democratic Party decided against providing funds for delegates to make the trip to the national conventions. From what I understand it used to be covered by the DNC. The reality is, fundraising is a necessary evil in this election cycle because not every delegate has the cash flow to make the trip."

Read more on WashingtonExaminer.com
Indiana Republicans are anticipating that Donald Trump will pick GOP Gov. Mike Pence as his running mate and purportedly have plans in place if Pence drops his re-election bid to become the vice presidential nominee, Indiana Republican sources tell FoxNews.com

The Trump campaign has suggested the VP announcement will be made at the national convention starting July 18 or in the coming days.

However, Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, will perhaps have to decide on Pence by noon Friday, the deadline for the first-term governor to appear on the state November ballot as either a gubernatorial or vice presidential candidate.

The Indiana Republican Committee is apparently behind state Lt. Gov. Eric Holcomb, Pences gubernatorial running-mate, to become the nominee if Trump selects Pence, said the sources, who are familiar with the situation.

The speculation around Trump perhaps having already decided on Pence is largely based on the two expected to appear together Tuesday at a rally in Westfield, Indiana, followed by a private fundraiser in Indianapolis.

Everyone here is acting as if it is happening and Pence is the pick, Indiana Republican strategist Pete Seat told FoxNews.com on Saturday. The speculation now, of course, is all about Tuesday. With the fundraiser here on Tuesday evening, one would think announcing it beforehand would bring in major dough. But then, 2016 has been one surprise after another.

A GOP state committee member who asked for anonymity because he is not authorized to speak publicly on the issue said: "Every indication that has been given to members of the  committee is that Pence getting picked is a very real possibility.

Pence officials on Saturday again acknowledged last weekends meeting with Trump but referred additional questions about a VP selection to the Trump campaign.

To be sure, Pence is not the only potential candidate being vetted by Trump, who in recent weeks has floated several names, held tryouts on the campaign trail and met privately with others, including Pence.

Among those potentially on Trumps short list, in addition to Pence, are New Jersey GOP Gov. Chris Christie, Alabama GOP Sen. Jeff Sessions and former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich. And in the past few days, there have been published reports about retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn being considered.

Tennessee GOP Sen. Bob Corker appeared at a rally last week with Trump but has since withdrawn his name. Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst also met privately with Trump but has since suggested her focus is on helping her state through her work in Congress.

Pence, who endorsed Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz for president, has tried to downplay the VP speculation by saying hes focused on his re-election bid, but Democrats aren't buying it.

They point out that Pence previously had presidential ambitions of his own, though he ruled out a run last year after his approval rating slumped as a result of his handling of the state's religious objections law.

Gov. Pence is wanting to move on, said Pence's November opponent, former Democratic state House Speaker John Gregg. He's created a mess, and he's not wanting to clean it up."

Polls show Pence and Gregg essentially tied.

Andrew Downs, director of the Mike Downs Center for Indiana Politics, said picking Pence makes sense considering hes a social conservative who would balance Trump and who has fundraising prowess and 12 years of experience in Congress.

However, he also pointed out that Pence could get hammered in a White House race.

His legislative record was not that strong, Downs said. His time as governor has not been smooth and is easy to criticize, in spite of a number of successes.

Though Holcomb appears to be a favorite among the state GOP establishment, the field of potential replacements if Pence is selected include such well-respected lawmakers as Evansville Mayor Lloyd Winnecke, state House Speaker Brian Bosma and Reps. Susan Brooks and Todd Rokita -- all Republicans.

The smart choice is the man who served one of the most beloved governors in the state's history  somebody who could lead Indiana Republicans to historic gains across the state. That man is Eric Holcomb, said GOP strategist Rob Burgess..

Seat said the state GOP party is blessed and cursed with such a deep bench of talent, meaning we find ourselves picking from a group of individuals that many states would fight over..

However, he thinks that Holcomb, appointed to the lieutenant governor position a few months ago, has a leg up and acknowledges his deep relationships within the 22-member state committee, considering he served as state chairman alongside many of the members.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.


Yemeni President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi threatened Sunday to boycott peace talks with Iran-backed rebels if the UN envoy insists on a roadmap stipulating a unity government that includes the insurgents.

UN-sponsored talks between Hadi's Saudi-backed government and the Houthi rebels and their allies are scheduled to resume on Friday in Kuwait after a two-week break.

More than two months of negotiations have failed to make headway to end the deadly conflict.

"We will not return to the talks in Kuwait if the United Nations tries to impose the latest proposal by mediator Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed," Hadi said during a visit to inspect troops in Marib province, east of the rebel-held capital.

Ould Cheikh Ahmed has put forward a peace roadmap that would see the formation of a unity government and the withdrawal and disarmament of the rebels.

He said the negotiators had welcomed his proposal but had not agreed a timetable or the steps needed to implement it.

The government had already expressed doubts this month about the UN-backed efforts.

Hadi's government wants to re-establish its authority across the entire country, much of which is rebel-controlled, and restart a political transition interrupted when the Houthis seized Sanaa in 2014.

The rebels have conditioned their withdrawal on both sides agreeing on a new president to manage the transition.

In his speech, published on the official sabanew.net website, Hadi insisted that the rebels were using the Kuwait talks to "legitimise their coup d'etat", and rejected the UN proposal for a unity government.

"The UN has tried to convince us to form a coalition government. We said we would issue a statement declaring our boycott of the Kuwait consultations," Hadi said.

"The Yemenis will not allow Yemen to be turned into a Persian state" in Iran's orbit, Hadi said, vowing to recapture Sanaa "soon".

In February last year the Houthis dissolved the government and parliament and formed their own Supreme Revolutionary Committee to rule Yemen.

Ould Cheikh Ahmed has urged both sides to make concessions to end the conflict, which has cost more than 6,400 lives since March 2015 when a Saudi-led coalition intervened to push back the rebels.

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Labor Secretary and potential Hillary Clinton running-mate Tom Perez acknowledged Sunday that the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee has some work to do to regain voters trust before the November election, even after the Justice Department concluded its investigation last week into her email scandal.

The investigation ended Tuesday with FBI Director James Comey saying Clinton was extremely careless in using a private email-server system while secretary of state, but recommended no criminal charges, which led Attorney General Loretta Lynch to close the case.

"She made a mistake, Perez told Fox News Sunday. And she acknowledges that she has to earn the trust back."

Perez in part defended Clinton by pointing out that Comey testified last week on Capitol Hill that career officials had given her guidance on her email and server use.

He also suggested that the GOP-controlled Congress will nevertheless continue to hold hearings on the issue.

In addition, presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is almost certain to continue to raise the issue in hopes of defeating Clinton in November.

Perez also argued that Clinton had to win the trust of New York voters when she successfully ran in for a U.S. Senate seat, considering she had never run for office.



There were a lot of skeptics in New York, said Perez, who declined to discuss being a potential vice presidential pick. And she earned their trust, and then she got re-elected.  Ive seen Hillary Clinton up close and personal. The voters of New York saw her up close and personal.

"And I often judge a person by what they did when they weren't in the spotlight. And Hillary Clinton has spent her entire life breaking down barriers.
Tired of playing the airport security line waiting game?

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and American Airlines say they have the solution to increasingly long wait times at U.S. airportsautomation.

On Tuesday, TSA announced its new partnership with the legacy carrier to speed up the screening process through several initiatives with new technology, including more CT scanners and automated screening lanes.

The automated security lanes, which are currently being tested at HartsfieldJackson International Airport in Atlanta, could reduce the time travelers spend waiting by as much as 30 percent, says the agency.

TSA spokesman Michael McCarthy told the Chicago Tribune that the technology used to screen carry-on luggage has remained relatively stagnant over the past 15 years, save for software upgrades. The automation process should shave a few seconds from every stepseconds that add up when screening thousands of passengers.

The automated lanes, known as Smart Lanes at HartsfieldJackson, take up more space than traditional security lines but move luggage through faster. Lanes have three to five stations where fliers put their items in a plastic binbins for smart lanes are 25 percent larger than the average airport security bin to make room for rolling luggage.

Passengers then push their bin onto a conveyor belt, moving items into the X-ray machine before walking through a security check point as usual-- no waiting for the person in front of you to finishjust go as soon as your bag is through.

The luggage X-ray machine automatically diverts bags requiring extra inspection to a separate area so other bags can continue through to the regular collection space. Each bin is equipped with RFID radio frequency identification chip, allowing TSA agents to track each item easily, says the agency.

McCarthy says the automated lanes in Atlanta being tested by Delta Air Lines are estimated to cut total screening time by 30 percent by the end of year. It's a change American says it's excited to get behind.

"If we see those kinds of numbers at airports where we install it, we absolutely could look at expanding it further," American Airlines spokeswoman Leslie Scott told the Tribune.

In addition to building more automated lanes, American will start employing CT technologycurrently only used at airports to screen checked luggagefor carry-on bag inspection. TSA says 3D CT technology could make it possible to allow passengers to leave liquids, gels and aerosols, as well as laptops, in their carry-ons, resulting in less bin usage and quicker through times.

The CT program is being piloted at Phoenix Sky Harbor International airport and could be deployed nationwide if successful.

In April, American Airlines spokesman Ross Feinstein lashed out at TSA after several passengers reported missing flights due to exorbitantly long security lines.

Said Feinstein, The lines at TSA checkpoints nationwide have become unacceptable. The result: our customers are waiting in TSA lines greater than one hour.
An Alabama sheriff's deputy was shot and wounded while responding to a hostage situation that ended with a suspect's death.

The Randolph County deputy was taken to UAB Hospital in Birmingham and was expected to survive. Police said the deputy was shot twice, but had no further information.

The Clay County Web reported the incident began Saturday when an unidentified man set fire to his son's house, yard and car. The suspect also allegedly killed his son's dog.

The suspect then barricaed himself in a camper vehicle with a hostage, believed to be his wife, after shooting out the camper's front windshield.

The man exchanged fire with responding officers, and it was during one of those exchanges that the deputy was wounded. SWAT officers and military-style vehicles eventually responded to the scene.

It was not immediately clear how the suspect died. Randolph County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Larry Clarke told AL.com that the hostage is unharmed.

Click for more from AL.com.
Police in Northern California said Saturday they have charged four people with kidnapping a 57-year-old woman more than a week ago and then holding her for ransom.

Elvira Babb, of Vallejo, vanished June 29. Vallejo police said they are continuing to look for her and need the publics help, KTVU reported.

The victims been gone for over a week, so it causes us some concern, obviously, Vallejo Police Lt. Jeff Bassett said. Were hopeful well be able to locate her alive.

Police said Emmanuel Espinoza, 26, of Stockton, and the other suspects sent a text to the womans son, John Babb of San Francisco, the day after the disappearance.

Police said the text to the son contained a threat. That they would hurt her if (he) contacted the police and didnt deliver the amount of cash that was specified, Bassett said.

The ransom demand was less than $100,000, KTVU reported.

Police said John Babb contacted police after he drove to his mothers apartment. The house was empty and his mothers Chihuahua was dead.

Police said they arrested on Friday Espinoza, Jalon Brown, 32, and Larry Young, 23, both of Sacramento, and Lovely Rauzol, 27, of Vallejo, in Sacramento. They were all jailed on kidnapping charges.

Cops said Espinoza knew the victim, but didnt say how.

Two neighbors told KTVU that Espinoza was a former tenant in Babbs apartment building.

Espinoza was refusing to cooperate, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

The paper also reported that all the suspects have rap sheets. Rauzol has been arrested on prostitution charges; Espinoza has been arrested on drug and robbery charges.

Click here for more from KTVU.
Police in Minnesota said Sunday they arrested as many as 100 people after a protest over police shootings turned violent, with at least five officers injured.

Police used smoke bombs to clear demonstrators blocking Interstate 94, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported. Police said officers were hurt after some protesters hurled rocks, firecrackers and at least one Molotov cocktail at them.

According to Fox 9, protesters also threw bricks, glass bottles and construction rebar at the officers.

About 200 protesters refused to leave the interstate just after midnight as police in riot gear began to move in on the crowd.

The interstate reopened at about 1:30 a.m., according to Fox 9.

The protest, which started with a march from the governor's mansion around 8 p.m., was among several demonstrations nationwide following the deaths of 32-year-old Philano Castile, who was shot during a traffic stop allegedly while reaching for his wallet, and 37-year-old Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Sterling, who was also black, was shot after a scuffle with officers outside a convenience store.

Mike Martin was at the protest with a guitar strapped to his back trying to promote peace. However, he told the Associated Press than a police officer pepper sprayed him. He said he was trying to move the crowd along and keep the peace.

"I guess I wasn't moving fast enough for him," said Martin, who estimated the officer was six feet away and sprayed without warning. "He just got it out and bam, I saw a cloud. It's burning pretty bad."

Tyree Johnson, who said he was Castile's cousin, said officers on the highway fired pellets and gas in his direction.

Misty Macon, 20, of St. Paul, said the protest was mostly peaceful, even as at least one protester aimed a firework at an officer. She said she saw about 30 people being peacefully taken away by officers, who said they warned protesters they would be subject to arrest if they didn't disassemble.

The night after Castile was killed, five police officers were fatally shot and others were wounded during protests in Dallas. Authorities identified the Dallas shooter as an Army veteran who was later killed by police.

Sterling's and Castile's families denounced the attack on the Dallas officers.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Click for more from Fox 9.
A former lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve was arrested Friday after officials said they learned he collected military paychecks while locked up in Kansas Fort Leavenworth prison for assault.

Dennis Dockery was charged with first-degree larceny by defrauding a public community and two counts of second-degree forgery, Military.com reported.

Dockery, 52, allegedly forged documents so it would appear he was serving at Fort Leavenworth instead of sitting behind bars there. A military reservist, Dockery was entitled to a portion of his state salary while activated for Operation Iraqi Freedom  but he would have had to forfeit the benefit if it was known he was imprisoned.

Dockery served 17 months at Leavenworth  from September 2011 to October 2012  after being found guilty of assaulting a woman while on active duty and engaging in two inappropriate relationships with subordinates while serving a tour in Iraq from July 2009 to April 2010. He was also dismissed from the military as a result of the court-martial, FOX61 reported.

But during the prison sentence, authorities allege Dockery still unlawfully collected $5,182 in state salary.

After his stint at Leavenworth, Dockery worked at the Department of Correction. But the Army received a tip about the allegedly fraudulent payments and began investigating him. Dockery was fired by the Department of Correction on May 27, four days before he was set to retire.
A man looking for a stolen horse was shot and killed when he waved a gun at two Houston police officers, according to a report Sunday.

The Houston Police Department told the Houston Chronicle the two officers were on patrol early Saturday when they spotted the man, identified by his wife as Alva Braziel, standing in the middle of the street armed with a revolver.

The officers, members of a gang unit who had been on the job 10 and 12 years, approached Braziel and ordered him to drop the weapon, according to the paper.

A Houston Police Department spokeswoman said the man was shot when he raised his weapon and pointed it at the sky, but then pointed it in the direction of the officers.

Braziel may have been on drugs, Acting Houston Police Chief Martha Montalvo said in a Saturday afternoon statement.

The paper reported that Braziel was a 38-year-old black man who had served time in prison on drug charges and was not authorized to have a weapon.

The Harris County District Attorney's Office is investigating the shooting which is customary in all police-involved shootings.

A Black Lives Matter Houston activist Ashton Woods questioned why gunfire was used during an interview with The Washington Post.

Its problematic, he told the paper. What about a taser? What about pepper spray?

The shooting came a day after five Dallas police officers were shot and killed by a sniper who opened fire at a rally to protest the killings of two black men by police officers in Louisiana and Minnesota.

The Dallas gunman, Micah Johnson, 25, told police negotiators he wanted to kill white people, especially white officers.
More than 100 people were arrested and 21 police officers injured in Minnesota Saturday night when protests over recent police killings of black men morphed into rioting.

St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman detailed at a Sunday press conference what he called an extreme incident Saturday night that led to 102 arrests after protesters pelted police officers with rocks, rebar and incendiary devices, including Molotov cocktails. The injuries to officers were significant, but none were life-threatening, Coleman said.

The protests, which started with a march from the governor's mansion around 8 p.m., were among several demonstrations nationwide following the deaths of 32-year-old Philando Castile, a black man who was shot in a Minneapolis suburb by a police officer during a traffic stop, and 37-year-old Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, La. Sterling, who was black, was shot after a scuffle with officers outside a convenience store.

The riots came just days after five Dallas police officers were murdered by Micah Johnson, who targeted white cops in a sniper attack last Thursday. Sterling's and Castile's families denounced the attack on the Dallas officers.

In Minnesota, police used smoke bombs to clear demonstrators blocking Interstate 94. About 200 protesters refused to leave the roadway just after midnight as police in riot gear began to move in on the crowd.

We hope for the best and prepare for the worst and, unfortunately, last night the worst occurred, St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell said at a Sunday press conference. Axtell passed around to reporters a police badge that was bent from the impact of a rock as he said he was disgusted by the acts of some people and added, were not going to tolerate it.

Its the first time in my 28 years as a police officer that I have observed this level of violence toward our public servants, Axtell said. Were hoping and praying that tonight is a better night.

Minnesota troopers tried to keep protesters from going on the freeway, but were unsuccessful, said Col. Matt Langer, chief of the Minnesota State Patrol. He said the previous protests were peaceful, and in the past marchers would listen to police, but that Saturday nights protesters would not listen, and turned violent, throwing bottles, rocks and other debris at officers. More than 100 troopers responded to the freeway, working hand-in-hand with St. Paul police officers, Langer said.

The interstate reopened at about 1:30 a.m. Sunday, according to Fox 9.

Misty Macon, 20, of St. Paul, said the protest was mostly peaceful, even as at least one protester aimed a firework at an officer. She said she saw about 30 people being peacefully taken away by officers, who said they warned protesters they would be subject to arrest if they didn't disassemble.

"I guess I wasn't moving fast enough for him," said Mike Martin, referencing a police officer who he said pepper-sprayed him during the protests. Martin said he was trying to move the crowd along and keep the peace. "He just got it out and bam, I saw a cloud. It's burning pretty bad," said Martin.

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton met with family and friends of Castile on Saturday afternoon at the governor's mansion. An aide said the meeting was cordial, but declined to comment on the conversation.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The Navy revised the medal count of American Sniper Chris Kyle, removing two valor awards from the murdered ex-SEALs total, including one of his two Silver Stars.

Kyle, who became well-known after his memoir American Sniper was turned into a critically acclaimed film, originally wrote that he earned two Silver Stars, a statement consistent with a Navy separation form  also called a DD214  from 2009, The Washington Post reported. But last month the Navy updated the form with the new medal count, removing one Silver Star and two Bronze Stars, an alteration first noted by USA Today on Friday.

After thoroughly reviewing all available records, the Navy determined an error was made in the issuance of Chief Petty Officer Chris Kyles form DD214, Navy spokesman Ensign Marc Rockwellpate said in a statement. Specifically, the DD214 did not accurately reflect the decorations and awards to which Kyle was officially entitled. After notifying his family of the error, the Navy issued a corrected copy of the DD214, which accurately reflects Kyles years of honorable and extraordinary Navy service.

Kyle was also not given credit for a Navy expert rifle medal on the original form, USA Today reported.

Its not uncommon for a DD214 to be revised. A Navy spokesman told The Navy Times more than 3,800 forms were corrected in 2015 alone.

The prolific sniper served 10 years in the Navy before leaving the service in 2009. He was murdered, along with a friend, in 2013 by a man that Kyle was trying to help cope with post-traumatic stress disorder. That man was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Two armed men were taken into custody after a North Carolina hospital was placed on lockdown Saturday night, police said.

Winston-Salem police told WXII-TV that the two people in custody had allegedly fled the scene of a break-in near Baptist. Authorities said a homeowner had been grazed by a bullet.

Police said the suspects allegedly entered the home and drew their weapons, but the homeowners fired back and the suspects fled.

One suspect was caught at a Baptist parking garage and the other was caught on a street near Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, according to WRAL-TV. The suspects havent been identified.

The lock down at the hospital started to be eased at about 1:15 a.m. Sunday morning. However, the first visitors couldnt leave without a security escort.

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Iran on Sunday accused Saudi Arabia of backing terrorism after a senior Saudi prince, a former intelligence chief, addressed a Paris rally held by exiled Iranian rebels and told them he wanted the Iranian government to fall.

Shi'ite Muslim power Iran and Saudi Arabia, bastion of Sunni Islam, are longstanding religious and political arch rivals. Relations are fraught as they back each other's foes in regional wars such as in Yemen, Iraq and Syria.

"The Saudis are resorting to well-known terrorists ... as they have also done in Iraq, Yemen and Syria. This shows that they use terrorism and terrorists to further their aims against regional Islamic countries," an unnamed Iranian Foreign Ministry source was quoted by Iran's state news agency IRNA as saying.

The rally addressed by Prince Turki al-Faisal on Saturday was held by the political wing of the exiled People's Mujahideen Organisation of Iran (PMOI), which seeks the overthrow of Iran's clerical leadership established by the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Saudi media gave top coverage to the speech. The rally was also attended by a number of Western political figures, including former U.S. House of Representatives speaker Newt Gingrich.

Also known by its Persian name Mujahideen-e-Khalq Organisation (MKO), the group sided with Saddam Hussein during Iraq's war with Iran in the 1980s but fell out of favor with Baghdad after he was toppled by a U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

PMOI once had a presence in the United States and maintains offices in Europe. Critics have described it as a cult.

Iran accuses Saudi Arabia of supporting Islamic State and other militant groups, which Riyadh denies. The Saudis say Iran is fomenting sectarian violence in the Middle East and has aspirations to dominate the region.

"Your legitimate struggle against the (Iranian) regime will achieve its goal, sooner or later," Prince Turki, also an ex-ambassador to Washington and London, had said in his speech.

"I, too, want the fall of the regime," he added.

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A suburban Minnesota police officer who shot and killed a black motorist was reacting to the man's gun, not his race, the officer's attorney said Saturday

Minneapolis attorney Thomas Kelly told Fox News that St. Anthony Police Officer Jeronimo Yanez said that Philando Castile failed to comply with a "do not move" order, which led to Yanez opening fire.

In addition, police scanner audio appears to indicate Yanez telling Dispatch he was pulling the car over because Castile fit the description of a wanted suspect in a armed robbery that took place a few days prior. The officer briefly describes Castille before exiting his cruiser.

Kelly told Fox News that if Yanez pulled Castille over that day because he believed him to fit the description of a wanted armed robbery suspect, the officer was doing "good police work and approved police work." He called this a "standard investigatory stop."

Castile's girlfriend Diamond Reynolds was in the car and streamed the immediate aftermath of the shooting live on Facebook. She has said Yanez shot Castile several times after he told the officer he had a gun and a permit for it and then reached for his wallet.

Yanez "was reacting to the actions of the driver," Kelly said. "This had nothing to do with race. This had everything to do with the presence of a gun."

Kelly said Yanez, who is Latino, is "overcome with sadness" over the shooting in the St. Paul suburb of Falcon Heights, a mostly white community of 5,000 that is served primarily by the nearby St. Anthony Police Department.

Yanez and an officer who was with him, Joseph Kauser, were put on administrative leave, as is standard, authorities said. Both are four-year veterans of the St. Anthony force.

Yanez's position with the 23-member department was his first in law enforcement, after jobs in security and doing contract immigration compliance work, Kelly said. The 28-year-old has a wife and child and graduated from Minnesota State University Mankato with a degree in law enforcement in 2010.

"He's a very sensitive officer, he cares about people," Kelly said. "He would drive around and stop and talk, and get out of the car, meet people and say hello."

In 2014, the department selected Yanez to be part of a special crime prevention unit, whose members were hand-picked based on "their initiative, creativeness and varied backgrounds in law enforcement," according to the department's annual report.

About the same time, Yanez joined the Minnesota chapter of the National Latino Peace Officers Association, where he worked to raise money for and connect with Latino youth, said John Lozoya, one of the organization's founders.

Lozoya recalled him as an active, passionate and approachable member.

"This man had the well-earned respect of his colleagues," Kelly said.

Yanez is cooperating with state investigators, who interviewed him within 15 hours of the shooting, Kelly said.

Several videos, including squad car video, have been collected, though St. Anthony officers don't wear body cameras, authorities said.

In the video she streamed on Facebook Live, Reynolds describes being pulled over for what the officer told her was a "busted tail light." The video shows her in a car next to a bloodied Castile slumped in a seat.

A clearly distraught person who appears to be a police officer stands at the car's window, tells her to keep her hands up and says: "I told him not to reach for it. I told him to get his hand out."

"You shot four bullets into him, sir. He was just getting his license and registration, sir," Reynolds calmly responds.

Court records show the traffic stop was at least the 52nd time Castile, a 32-year-old school cafeteria supervisor, had been pulled over in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area since 2002.

Less than 24 hours after the shooting, Gov. Mark Dayton declared that police likely wouldn't have fired if Castile had been white. Dayton later said he stood by his statement, even though he angered some in law enforcement.

The following night, five police officers were fatally shot and others were wounded during protests in Dallas over Castile's killing and the fatal police shooting of 37-year-old black man Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, after a scuffle with officers outside a convenience store. Authorities identified the Dallas shooter as an Army veteran who was later killed by police.

Sterling's and Castile's families denounced the attack on the Dallas officers.

Fox News' Matt Dean and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
San Antonio police are investigating after gunshots were fired outside its headquarters on Saturday night.

According to Fox San Antonio, the reports of shots fired came at about 10 p.m. There were no reports of any officers being struck.

San Antonio police Chief William McManus said authorities were questioning a suspect and there were several shell casings found in an alley. He said there was slight damage to the building.

"We are not going to be targets; we are not going to allow officers to be targets," he said. "This is not open season on police officers here in San Antonio or anywhere else. We're not going to allow that to happen."

The station reported that the building was closed off as the investigation continues.

According to the San Antonio Express-News, police were searching for a man described only as being in an orange shirt and blue pants.

The latest incident comes days after five police officers were killed in Dallas during a protest against the recent police shootings of African-American men.

Click for more from the San Antonio Express-News.

Click for more from Fox San Antonio.
A series of attacks by gunmen in the capital of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas left 15 people dead, including 11 members of one family who were shot while still in their beds, officials said Saturday.

Six minors were among those killed in the attacks, which took place late Friday and early Saturday in Ciudad Victoria. While officials didn't specify who was behind the violence, factions of the splintered Zetas Cartel are fighting for control of the city.

Herminio Garza Palacios, secretary of government in Tamaulipas, which borders Texas, said in a videoconference that the most serious attack took place early Saturday morning when gunmen entered a home and killed 11 members of the same family while they were sleeping. Shortly afterward, three people were killed in a nearby neighborhood in Ciudad Victoria.

A statement from the Tamaulipas Coordination Group, which is in charge of security in the state, said that four girls died in the first attack and another minor was killed in the second.

Also, reports from the Police Ministry to which The Associated Press had access said that more attacks took place around the city overnight, including one on a bus station that left a 16-year-old dead. Assailants also attacked a home with a grenade and burned it down.

The violent Zetas Cartel has splintered into factions following the capture or killing of many of its leaders. Authorities say various factions are fighting for control of Ciudad Victoria, including a group called "Zetas Old School" and the so-called "Northeast Cartel," a grouping of factions led by the family of captured Zeta leader Miguel Angel Trevino Morales, or Z40.

Authorities say the battle for Ciudad Victoria began in late 2015 and has claimed at least 100 lives.

In another traditional Zetas bastion  the city of Nuevo Laredo on the Texas border  a series of cartel threats and internet warnings that people should stay off the streets created a climate of collective fear on Saturday. The messages warned of attacks on bars and businesses controlled by rival factions.
The son of Usama bin Laden warned that Al Qaeda would take revenge against the U.S. for assassinating his father in 2011, according to audio released by the terror network's media arm.

The audio was heard in video released by As-Sahab on Saturday. Hamza bin Laden apparently told Americans that they were accountable for the decisions of their leaders.

He said Al Qaeda would continue waging jihad, or holy war, against the U.S. in response to its "oppressing" of Muslims, the Middle East Media Research Institute's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor reported.

"If you think that your sinful crime that you committed in Abbottabad has passed without punishment, then you thought wrong," he says.

Usama Bin Laden was killed in a May 2011 U.S. raid at his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. His son's whereabouts is not known. Analysts speculate that he may be preparing to take over leadership of Al Qaeda.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Relatives of Marie Colvin, a U.S.-born journalist who worked for the British newspaper The Sunday Times, have filed a lawsuit in federal court claiming that Syrian government officials targeted and killed her in 2012 to silence her reporting on Syria and the besieged city of Homs.

The lawsuit says Syrian officials launched a rocket attack on a makeshift broadcast studio in a neighborhood of Homs. Colvin, a veteran correspondent for The Sunday Times, died in that attack along with French photojournalist Remi Ochlik.

Colvin, 56, a native of New York City, was killed Feb. 22, 2012. Just hours before her death, she filed another report on the Syrian government's crackdown and its impact on civilians. The attack by Syrian army forces also killed several activists.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said at the time that circumstantial evidence and witnesses pointed to the possibility that government forces had taken deliberate action that led to the deaths of Colvin and Ochlik. More than two dozen journalists were reported killed in Syria in 2012 alone.

The wrongful-death lawsuit filed Saturday in Washington by Cathleen Colvin, Marie Colvin's sister, and Justine Araya-Colvin, the reporter's niece, said the Assad regime "hunted down journalists and media activists" who were trying to tell the story of the government's deadly crackdown on Syrian rebels. The government has contended that its attacks targeted terrorists.

The lawsuit, which seeks compensatory and punitive damages, said there were no lawful military targets in the vicinity of the media center at the time of the attack and no armed rebels were present in or around the center. The occupants targeted by the Assad regime were unarmed civilians, the suit claims.
Rising casualties among local Afghan forces who are trained and supported by American troops and the continued presence of an ISIS-affiliated group are becoming growing concerns for commanders, the top U.S. general in the region told Fox News.

Gen. John Nicholson said the Taliban killed more than 5,000 Afghans last year and wounded another 14,000 -- and the casualty rate is climbing this year.

Nicholson, who in March took command of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, spoke for the first time this weekend to a small group of reporters in Kabul.

"In one year, [U.S.-backed forces] suffered roughly double the number of casualties that we suffered in 15 years," Nicholson said.

Nicholson said the numbers were somewhat expected with Afghan security forces beginning to take the lead in armed conflicts. Afghan forces have shown "tactical success" on the battlefield against the Taliban, despite the heavy losses, he said.

We are very concerned about Afghan casualties, Nicholson said, though he commended the Afghan forces for their resiliency. "This army did not break...there has not been any significant Taliban battlefield success this year."

Nicholson said the increased casualties show the Afghan Army's "commitment to the fight."

The news comes as President Obama announced on Wednesday that he would slow the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan. Instead of reducing the force down to 5,500, Obama will keep roughly 8,400 in Afghanistan when he leaves office in January. There are roughly 10,000 U.S. troops on the ground now.

Despite the reduction in troops, Nicholson said he received all the capabilities necessary to continue the two U.S. military missions in Afghanistan: train Afghan security forces and conduct counterterrorism strikes. Nicholson said some 400 troops would be available if needed "over the horizon" or outside the country. He said "reducing overhead" would also help reduce troop size, but not the effectiveness of the force that remains behind.

Meanwhile, the Islamic State in Khorasan Province, as the ISIS-affiliate in Afghanistan is known, continues to attack civilians in the east.

ISIS is "a very significant concern for us and we want to maintain pressure on them, we will maintain pressure on them," Nicholson said.

At Forward Operating Base Fenty, a remote American and Afghan Army base in eastern Afghanistan, a local Afghan Army commander told a small group of reporters that ISIS recently launched attacks that killed women and children in southern Nangarhar Province, which borders Pakistan.

ISIS has recruited former Taliban members and is well financed, said Lt. Gen. Mohammad Waziri, commander of the Afghan Army's 201st Corps.

Waziri estimated there were between 1,500 and 2,000 ISIS fighters in his area of operations in eastern Afghanistan, covering seven provinces.

He said none of the ISIS fighters he faced originated from Iraq or Syria, but instead traveled a short distance from nearby Pakistan. Waziri said many of these fighters were disenfranchised Taliban militants switching sides.

The rise of ISIS has caused fighting among the various rival groups, including the Taliban, Waziri said. ISIS wants all jihadist groups in the area to join them, but some continue to resist.

Nicholson, speaking separately to reporters in Kabul on Saturday night, said ISIS' presence in Afghanistan is a shared concern between the American and Pakistani governments.

In January, President Obama authorized the U.S. military to begin airstrikes against an ISIS-affiliated group in Afghanistan. There have been dozens of airstrikes targeting ISIS fighters since the president made the decision to "green light" operations against the group the same way it targets Al Qaeda fighters.

At the height of its influence earlier this year, ISIS controlled nine districts in Nangarhar Province, Nicholson said. That number has currently been reduced to two or three districts.

We need to keep the pressure on, Nicholson said.


A Yemeni prisoner at Guantanamo Bay has been released to Italy in part of a wave of dozens of transfers expected in the coming weeks, officials told Fox News Sunday.

The release of Fayiz Ahmad Yahia Suleiman, who spent 14 years in custody, reduces the number of men held at the U.S. base in Cuba to 78.

"The United States is grateful to the Government of Italy for its humanitarian gesture and willingness to support ongoing U.S. efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility," the Defense Department said in a statement.

Military records show Suleiman, who is about 40, was suspected of fighting with al-Qaida against U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan. He was never charged. He was cleared for release in 2010 but U.S. does not sent Yemeni prisoners to their homeland because of instability there had to find another country to accept him for resettlement.

The U.S. transferred two Guantanamo detainees to Italy in November 2009.

President Obama has been seeking to close the detention center amid opposition from Congress, which has prohibited transferring detainees to the U.S. for any reason. The administration has been working with other countries to resettle detainees such as Suleiman who have been cleared for transfer after a comprehensive security review.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad told a visiting group of European parliamentarians on Sunday that western governments' support for opposition groups in Syria caused terrorism in Europe.

"The problems Europe faces today of terrorism, extremism and waves of refugees are caused by some western leaders' adoption of policies which do not serve their people," Assad told a delegation of members of the European Parliament headed by Javier Couso, vice chairman of its foreign affairs committee.

"Especially when those leaders give support and political cover to terrorist groups inside Syria," Syrian state news agency SANA said in a summary of Assad's comments.

The Syrian government, supported by Iran and Russia, refers to all groups fighting it in the five-year-old conflict as terrorists. Of such groups, the U.N. classifies only Islamic State and the al Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front as terrorist.

A range of countries provide financial, logistical and training support to the many armed opposition groups in Syria, including Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United States and the United Kingdom.

Western and Gulf Arab countries which want Assad out of power blame him for the displacement of tens of thousands of Syrians, through air strikes on rebel-held areas that have killed thousands.

Opposition groups accuse the government of deliberately targeting civilians and breaching ceasefires. United Nations-brokered peace talks broke down in late April as violence escalated, without a set date to resume.

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African Mobile Hair Braiding Salon In Maryland, Washington, D.C. And Virginia Launched By Mobile Hair Braiding LLC

Mobile Hair Xpert, Mobile hair braiding LLC is a mobile hair braiding salon that offers all kind of hair services including (two strand twists, braids, Locs, gel twist, flexi-rods, rods & straw set and etc.)

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Developed for African women who desire perfectly groomed, maintained and professionally braided hair, the Mobile Hair braiding LLC. Recently announced the launch of their African mobile braiding salon for clients in Washington DC, Maryland and Northern Virginia. The company promises high quality and professional services that have been developed specifically to cater to the needs of African hair.

Talking about their services the company spokesperson said: "We are experienced mobile hair braiders coming to your home braid your hair in Washington DC, Maryland and Northern Virginia. We come to you home braid your hair or your kids' hairs. Professionalism and quality services is our goal for every customer that we service. We treat each and every one of your customers with the respect they deserve. We specialize in locs start up, grooming, maintenance and styling, weavings, natural hair cutting, treating and styling."

Clients will be able to benefit from the services of professional, trained and certified hair specialists and hair braiders without having to go to a salon. The team working at Mobile Hair braiding LLC. specializes in locs start up, grooming, maintenance and styling, weavings, natural hair cutting, treating and styling. Most professional braiders at the salon have extensive previous experience and formal training, as certified cosmetologists they are able to safely braid hair ensuring the hair is not damaged and is braided to a high standard of quality.

The mobile braiders maintain a friendly, attentive and professional attitude at all times and use only the highest quality of products for all their services. The products used in the African mobile hair braiding salon have been hand selected by the braiders, exclusively for the different needs of African hair. They also stay updated with the latest hairstyles, trends and techniques which has allowed them to provide guidance and expert advise to their valuable clients on how to properly groom, maintain and style their hair.

To make an appointment, please visit their website: http://www.mobilehairbraiding.com/

About: Mobile Hair Xpert, Mobile hair braiding LLC is a mobile hair braiding salon that offers all kind of hair services including (two strand twists, braids, Locs, gel twist, flexi-rods, rods & straw set and etc.) Their professional cosmetologists also provide African braids with extension, twists styles, and Locs extensions. For more information and contact details please visit: http://www.mobilehairbraiding.com/

For more information, please visit http://www.MobileHairBraiding.com

Contact Info:

Name: Mobile hair braiding LLC

Organization: Mobile hair braiding LLC

Phone: 240-475-3349

Source: http://marketersmedia.com/african-mobile-hair-braiding-salon-in-maryland-washington-d-c-and-virginia-launched-by-mobile-hair-braiding-llc/122786

Release ID: 122786

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A Yemeni prisoner at Guantanamo Bay has been released after more than 14 years in custody and sent to Italy.

The Pentagon said Sunday that the release of Fayiz Ahmad Yahia Suleiman reduces the number of men held at the U.S. base in Cuba to 78. He is one of about two dozen low-level Guantanamo prisoners expected to be released in the coming weeks.

Military records show Suleiman was suspected of fighting with al-Qaeda against U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan. He was never charged. He was cleared for release in 2010 but U.S. does not sent Yemeni prisoners to their homeland because of instability there and had to find another country to accept him for resettlement.

The U.S. transferred two Guantanamo detainees to Italy in November 2009.

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Naples Fishing Boat Introduces Offshore Fishing Charters In Florida

Three local captains have come together to create the ultimate offshore fishing charter company, reports http://naplesfishingboat.com.

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Naples Fishing Boat has recently announced the introduction of their offshore fishing charters in Naples, Florida. The company was formed by three local captains who have come together in an effort to create what they see as the ultimate offshore fishing charter experience. Naples Fishing Boat specializes in grouper, snapper, pelagics, and many other species of saltwater game fish, and charters cater to a wide variety of clients from serious anglers to families just looking to have a fun day on the water.

Hunter Robertson, one of the Naples Fishing Boat Captains, commented "Fishing has long been a favorite sport and pastime of many people. It's a great way to relax and have tons of fun with a group of family members or friends. This is why we've created the Naples Fishing Boat experience. We run offshore and nearshore fishing charters out of a custom-restored 34-foot Crusader sportfish in the heart of some of the best fishing that the Gulf of Mexico has to offer. Our fishing experiences can be tailored for anyone, whether they're a fishing enthusiast or just some friends who want to create fun memories together."

Naples Fishing Boat offers everything from half-day charters that last nearly 5 hours to full day trips lasting 8 to 9 hours. The boat has plenty of room for charter guests to store their drinks and snacks. Guests can choose an offshore charter perfect for those searching for big grouper and snapper or a nearshore trip designed for people who want to have some fun on a short boat run. There are also specialty charters available for groups looking for a unique experience.

As Robertson goes on to say, "Our fishing charter is one of the most exciting things to do on the Gulf Coast. All of our captains love life on the water, and it is our intention to make sure that our guests love it too. We look forward to connecting with guests on Twitter and meeting them in person as we give them the fishing experience of a lifetime."

Those who would like to book a Naples Fishing Boat charter are encouraged to visit their Facebook page or follow Captain Robertson on Instagram for more information.

About Naples Fishing Boat:

Naples Fishing Boat specializes in grouper, snapper, pelagics, and many other species of saltwater game fish. The chater caters to a wide variety of clients, from serious anglers to families just looking for a fun day on the water.

For more information, please visit http://naplesfishingboat.com

Contact Info:

Name: Hunter Robertson

Organization: Naples Fishing Boat

Phone: (239) 877-2909

Source: http://marketersmedia.com/naples-fishing-boat-introduces-offshore-fishing-charters-in-florida/122790

Release ID: 122790

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his government will fund a $12.9 million plan to strengthen two Israeli settlements in the southern West Bank.

Netanyahu said Sunday that funding will go to Kiryat Arba and to Israeli settlers in the adjacent Palestinian city of Hebron. The announcement came after a Palestinian stabbed a 13-year-old Israeli in her bed in Kiryat Arba in late June.

Since the start of October, Israeli occupation forces have killed at least 214 Palestinians. Meanwhile, almost daily stabbings, shootings and car-ramming attacks by frustrated Palestinians have killed 34 Israelis, two Americans, an Eritrean and a Sudanese.

The current wave of protests by Palestinians and repression by Israeli occupation forces started in July 2015 when toddler Ali Dawabsha was burned to death and three other Palestinians were severely injured after their house in the occupied West Bank was set on fire by Israeli settlers.

Last week Netanyahu authorized hundreds of new homes for Israelis in the West Bank and east Jerusalem as a response to the alleged Palestinian violence.

Palestinians and the international community say Israeli settlement construction is an obstacle to peace.

Settlement-building, racial discrimination, confiscation of identity cards, long queues at checkpoints, as well as daily clashes and the desecration of Al-Aqsa mosque, describe Palestinians' daily suffering.

The anger of Palestinian residents of Jerusalem has increased in the last three years after the Israeli authorities allowed increasing numbers of Jewish settlers to storm the Al-Aqsa mosque.

The surge in violence has been fuelled by Palestinians' frustration over Israel's 48-year occupation of land they seek for an independent state, and the expansion of settlements in those territories which were captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war.

Palestinian leaders say a younger generation sees no hope for the future living under Israeli security restrictions and with a stifled economy. The latest round of U.S.-brokered peace talks collapsed in April 2014.

*The story was edited by Ahram Online.

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Thieves like to steal Honda quad bikes from farms more than any other model  with more than one a day going missing.

Figures published by the Metropolitan Polices Plant and Agricultural National Intelligence Unit (PANIU) show that 385 Honda quad bikes were stolen across the UK over the last year.

Over the same period, from April 2015 to June this year, 142 Yamaha and 83 Suzuki were stolen along with 269 other makes.

See also: Masked quad bike gangs terrorise Yorkshire farmers

Theft of quad bikes and all terrain vehicles (ATVs) from farms remains a big problem, according to rural insurer NFU Mutual, especially in the Midlands and Yorkshire where hill farms have been plagued with thefts in recent months.

Quad bike thefts by manufacturer (Source: PANIU) Oct-Dec 2015 Jan-Mar 2016 Apr-Jun 2016 1. Honda 131 104 57 2. Yamaha 46 39 27 3. Suzuki 25 17 23 4. Others 69 70 55

However, PANIU said over the past 12 months, quad bikes theft has been decreasing overall across the UK.

Detective Inspector Caroline Clooney, of PANIU, said: Quad bike theft is down 15% and this is believed to be due to increased crime awareness and police training initiatives across the UK by PANIU, Datatag and NFU over the quarter.

For example, Police Scotland launched Operation Tigerclaw in response to a number of quad bikes being stolen from the Perth and Kinross areas in 2015.

But targeting organised criminal gangs has helped police halve quad bike thefts in these areas this year.

Three tips to prevent quad bike theft Fit a Thatcham-approved tracker device, which also reduces insurance premiums Construction & Agricultural Equipment Security Register or Datatag marking can help deter theft of quad bikes by up to four times Security locking accessories, such as Quad Clamp, make quad bikes harder for criminals to remove from farms (Source: NFU Mutual)

The Scottish Partnership Against Rural Crime (Sparc), a cross-industry partnership between 13 groups, including Police Scotland, rural insurer NFU Mutual and farming unions, is also helping to reduce thefts.

More than 80% of quad bikes stolen in Scotland are snatched in Lanarkshire, Lothians and Scottish Borders, Ayrshire and Fife.

Arrests and vehicle recoveries continue to be made across the country, but Sparc members were determined to do more to prevent this type of crime and further reduce the impact on farming.

Clive Harris, NFU Mutuals agricultural vehicle specialist, said: We have working with Sparc since last June and we are a key partner.

Sparc is concentrating on tackling sheep worrying, livestock theft and quad bike theft.

Quad bike theft is coming down quite nicely.

Andy Barrs, head of police liaison for Tracker, the UKs largest stolen vehicle tracking/recovery provider, said: Quad thefts are a particular concern in England and Wales, with the Midlands worse affected, which is why we see an increasing number of quad owners turning to tracking technology to protect their vehicles.
Dallas was gripped by a new security scare Saturday triggered by an anonymous threat in the Texas city, on edge days after a gunman fatally ambushed five police officers during a peaceful protest.

SWAT teams deployed around the Dallas Police Department headquarters while officers investigated reports of a suspicious person in a parking garage -- finally giving the all-clear around two hours later.

Police took "precautionary" security measures across the city after receiving "an anonymous threat against law enforcement," the Dallas police said in a statement.

The scare came as another night of marches against police brutality was underway in several US cities, a groundswell of protest that shows little sign of abating.

Protesters led by the Black Lives Matter movement are demanding justice for two African-Americans shot dead by police this week -- their dying moments captured in viral video footage that stunned the nation.

At the Dallas protest late Thursday, a 25-year-old black army veteran named Micah Johnson used a rifle to shoot dead five police officers in a sniper attack. Seven other cops were wounded, as well as two civilians.

Johnson told negotiators before police killed him that he wanted to murder white cops in revenge for the black deaths.

Dallas officials believe he was the lone shooter in the incident.

Police across the country were on edge as it emerged that officers had been targeted in at least two incidents -- in Tennessee and Wisconsin -- by individuals apparently angered at the recent fatal shootings of black men by police.

Hundreds of people marched peacefully Saturday in New York for a third consecutive night, holding up banners bearing the names of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, the two men whose deaths, in Louisiana and Minnesota, triggered the latest protests.

In St. Paul, where Castile was killed, several hundred protesters blocked a highway intersection for about three hours and hurled rocks and bottles at police, who were equipped with helmets, clubs and gas masks.

The officers used smoke grenades, pepper spray and tear gas to break up the crowd, and around midnight arrested protesters who refused to move.

In San Francisco, a large force of police swooped in to prevent protesters, who marched for a second day, from blocking a major road intersection.

Hundreds also marched in Los Angeles, including in South Central, the epicenter of violent 1992 riots following the acquittal of white police officers in the videotaped beating of black motorist Rodney King.

There were nasty scenes late Friday in Phoenix, Arizona, where police used pepper spray to disperse stone-throwing protesters. And in Rochester, New York, 74 people were arrested over a sit-in protest.

But elsewhere -- from Atlanta to Houston, Chicago, New Orleans, Boston, Detroit and Baltimore -- weekend protests over the fatal shootings have passed off with little trouble.

President Barack Obama tried Saturday to reassure a shocked country, insisting that the United States can overcome its racial divisions, and rejecting comparisons with the civil unrest of the 1960s.

Obama, scheduled to visit Dallas next week, described the gunman as a "demented individual" who in no way represented the African-American community.

"I firmly believe that America is not as divided as some have suggested," he said during a NATO summit in Warsaw. "There is sorrow, there is anger, there is confusion... but there is unity."

US politicians have sought to appear as unifiers after the week of violence.

"White Americans need to do a better job of listening when African Americans talk about the barriers they face," Democratic White House hopeful Hillary Clinton tweeted.

That message was echoed by prominent members of the Republican Party, which has often jumped to defend law enforcement amid accusations of racial bias.

"It is more dangerous to be black in America," said Newt Gingrich, a Republican former House speaker tipped as a possible White House running mate for Donald Trump.

"Sometimes it's difficult for whites to appreciate how real that is. It's an everyday danger."

There has been a huge surge of sympathy for Dallas police after what marked the single biggest loss of life for US law enforcement since the September 11, 2001 terror attacks.

Although the White House has ruled out any link between Johnson and known "terrorist organizations," his Facebook page ties him to radical black movements listed as hate groups.

Police found bomb-making materials and a weapons cache at Johnson's home and were scouring his journal and social media posts to understand what drove him to mass murder.

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MacBook Air 2016 Release Date, News & Update: Could The Air Be Discontinued?

It's that time of the year again. The Apple rumor mill continues to churn out speculation after speculation about the latest iPhone and MacBook Pro. Yet, the side of the MacBook Air 2016 has been unusually quiet. Could the classic thin entry in the MacBook lineup be headed for the chopping block?

According to Mac Otakara, a Japanese site focusing on Apple news, the 11-inch model of the MacBook Air 2016 will no longer be produced, with the company focusing on their 13- and 15-inch models. This may be an adaptation to the 12-inch Macbook, which is thinner and lighter than the 11-inch MacBook Air, while only being minimally less powerful.

Future MacBook Air 2016 and MacBook Pro 2016 models will also carry USB Type-C ports, as well as Thunderbolt 3. It's possible that traditional USB Type A ports and older Thunderbolt and MagSafe ports will be removed from the MacBook Air 2016.

However, in addition to this set of rumors, there is another growing idea that the MacBook Air 2016 may actually be discontinued entirely.

Tech blogger Jack March has claimed that Apple is going to end the Air brand entirely, with no new iPad Air and MacBook Air 2016 offerings for the current lineup. Acording to March, the iPad Air has been rebranded into the iPad Pro, with more features at the same specifications, while the MacBook Air may be replaced by MacBook Pros that are thinner, iPad Pros, or simply refreshed MacBooks.

On top of all this, there have been far fewer updates on the MacBook Air 2016, unlike other devices which have gotten leaks and rumors from trusted sources galore. Whatever the case, it's best to take any news and speculation with a grain of salt. No solid news or evidence has yet been released about the future of the MacBook Air 2016.
The UN Security Council will hold a closed door meeting Sunday on renewed fighting in the capital of South Sudan, diplomats said.

Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he was "shocked and appalled" by the fighting between rebel and government forces in the capital Juba and called on both sides to halt the violence.

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Film Clinic unveiled the official trailer of Clash (Eshtebak) prior to its release in Egyptian cinemas on 27 July

Mohamed Diab's film Clash (Eshtebak), which saw its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival last May, is set to be released across Egypt's cinemas starting Wednesday 27 July.

Film Clinic unveiled the official 97-second trailer which features a police truck containing pro- and anti-government protesters from different political backgrounds, shows their interactions toward each other inside the truck and the clashes outside it.

Produced in 2016, co-written by Khaled Diab and Mohamed Diab, who also serves as director, the film is a co-production between France, Egypt, Germany, and the UAE.

Clash explores the confrontations between pro and anti-Muslim Brotherhood demonstrators that emerged following the removal of president Mohamed Morsi from power on 3 July 2013.

Most of the film's events take place inside the eight-meter long police truck crammed with detainees representing different sects of society. Their interactions with each other are full of madness, violence, romance, and comedy.

"The film portrays a very real and tense situation that brings out the worst and best of humanity, Diab revealed to Variety in 2014.

The cast includes Nelly Karim, Tarek Abd El Aziz, Hany Adel, Ahmed Malek, Ashraf Hamdi, Mohamed Abdel Azim, Gamil Barsoum and others.

The film premiered at the Un Certain Regard section at the 69th Cannes Film Festival. The Hollywood Reporter selected Clash as one of the 10 best films at the Cannes Film Festival.

The Internet Movie Database describes the award-winning Diab as a writer and director whose work centered on pressing issues concerning Egyptian society.

Diab wrote the scripts of several well-known Egyptian films, including El-Gezira 1 and 2 (2007 and 2014) and Decor (2014), among others.

For more arts and culture news and updates, follow Ahram Online Arts and Culture on Twitter at @AhramOnlineArts and on Facebook at Ahram Online: Arts & Culture

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Giza Plateau Director Ashraf Mohi dismissed claims that the tomb of a fifth dynasty official had been damaged

Giza Plateau Director Ashraf Mohi asserted to Ahram Online that the tomb of the fifth dynasty official Rawer is in good condition and dismissed claims that its ceiling had collapsed.

Mohi said that most of the tombs walls and ceilings are not authentic, as the structure was in a partial state of preservation when first discovered in 1929 by Egyptian Egyptologist Selim Hassa.

Most of the tombs walls and ceilings were later added as part of a comprehensive conservation project in the 1990s.

Two chapels were the only intact parts of the tomb when it was initially discovered.

The first chapel includes of a number of engravings showing the deceased in different positions alongside deities and family members, while the second holds a large statue of the tombs owner.

Mohi also dismissed claims that the ceiling of the tomb of Old Kingdom government official Seshem Nefer at the Giza Plateau has been painted in plastic polish, describing the reports as unfounded and adding that the tomb is in good condition.

Mohi pointed out that only 40 percent of Seshem Nefers tomb is authentic, which includes limestone pillars and wall engravings. The rest of the tomb, including the walls and ceiling, is a replica added during the 1990s plateau development project.

Mohi asserted that both tombs would be officially inaugurated soon.

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Report on Human Rights Abuses and Censorship in North Korea

July 6, 2016

Report on Human Rights Abuses and Censorship in North Korea

Prepared by: U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor

Submitted in compliance with: Section 304 (a) of the North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act of 2016, Public Law 114-122, enacted on February 18, 2016

Report on Human Rights Abuses and Censorship in North Korea

Section 304 (a) of the North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act of 2016, Public Law 114-122 , enacted on February 18, 2016, requires the Secretary of State to provide a report to Congress that (1) identifies each person the Secretary determines to be responsible for serious human rights abuses or censorship in North Korea and describes the conduct of that person; and (2) describes serious human rights abuses or censorship undertaken by the Government of North Korea or any person acting for or on behalf of that Government in the most recent year ending before the submission of the report. The report is being submitted to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Financial Services, and the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate.

The Government of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea) continues to commit serious human rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests and detention, forced labor, and torture. Many of these abuses are committed in the countrys political prison camps (kwanliso), which hold an estimated 80,000 -120,000 prisoners, including children and family members of the accused. The government also maintains an extensive system of forced labor through its rigid controls over workers, and restricts the exercise of freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly, association, religion or belief, and movement.

There are no independent media in the country; all media are strictly censored and no deviation from the official government line is tolerated. The government allows no editorial freedom; all stories are centrally directed and reviewed to ensure that they are in line with the state ideology. The government also controls academic and cultural content. Authorities prohibit listening to foreign media broadcasts and take steps to jam foreign radio broadcasts. Various ministries are responsible for modifying television and radio equipment to prevent users from accessing material from overseas and other material deemed illegal by the government. Individuals accused of viewing foreign films are reportedly subject to imprisonment or even execution.

This report details aspects of the human rights situation in North Korea and the conduct of relevant persons, including those responsible for the commission of serious human rights abuses and censorship in the DPRK (see Annex A for a list of individuals associated with the below entities who are subject to designation for sanctions):

National Defense Commission: Until June 29, 2016,[1] the DPRK constitution provided that the National Defense Commission is the highest guiding organ of the military and the defense-building work of the State. The constitution provided the National Defense Commission with the powers to abrogate any decision of a state organ that is in conflict with its own decisions or directives. It was composed of ten individuals, including Kim Jong Un, who served as First Chairman and is the Suryong (Supreme Leader) of the DPRK, a position that has historically exercised absolute authority in the DPRK; according to the report of the UN Commission of Inquiry on human rights in the DPRK (the COI), the Suryong system embeds under the supreme leader all powers of the state, party, and military, including each of the entities described below.

According to the COI, since the accession of Kim Jong Un, there has been an increase in the number of executions of senior officials that seem to have political purposes, which the COI described as appearing to be linked to his consolidation of power. In certain instances, the executions were carried out in secret after the individuals were forcibly disappeared. The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HNRK) similarly reported in its report Pyongyang Republic that the numerous and brutal executions of members of the power elite since Kim Jong Un took power are apparently being used by the regime to maximize the power elites fear of the young supreme leader.

Per its mandate and in practice, the National Defense Commission exercised direct authority over entities responsible for some of the most pervasive and notorious human rights abuses in the DPRK, including those described below; the ministry of state security, ministry of public security, and the Korean Peoples Army all reported directly to it, and these ministries respective ministers all sat on the commission.

According to the COI report, in January 2013, the ministry of public security issued a proclamation on behalf of the National Defense Commission urging that North Koreans report behavior to the security forces, including watching and distributing foreign television. The COI reports similar directives issued by the Supreme Leader through the National Defense Commission.

Organization and Guidance Department of the Korean Workers Party (OGD): The Organization and Guidance Department, a party oversight body, is possibly the most powerful organization inside the DPRK. According to the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, the OGD oversees the efficacy of the internal security agencies . . . and inspects all official organizations on their mission of upholding regime security. The Committee also reports that the OGD approves all policy, including policies pertaining to the abuse of human rights, and quotes Kim Il-sung as saying, the OGD is the doctor and the [Korean Workers Party Propaganda and Agitation Department] is the medicine.

The OGD is also instrumental in implementing the DPRKs censorship policies. When a party official deviates from the official message in public remarks, the OGD will dispatch an official to monitor a self-criticism session. The OGD will also step in and assume oversight responsibilities over organizations undergoing party audits to inspect for ideological discipline.

The OGD also had a role in the disappearance of Pak Nam Gi, the former Director of the Finance and Planning Department, according to a report by the now deceased former 1st Director of the OGD Ri Je Gang.

Ministry of State Security (AKA State Security Department): The ministry reports directly to Kim Jong Un and the National Defense Commission.

It maintains a corps of tens of thousands of agents spread across numerous bureaus.

According to the COI report, the Ministry of State Security is implicated in widespread gross human rights violations, including those involving torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, deliberate starvation, and sexual violence. It is the lead agency investigating political crimes and administering the countrys network of political prison camps. In particular, the Prisons Bureau (also known as the Farm Bureau and Bureau 7) within the ministry manages the political prison camps. According to defector testimony and satellite imagery, within the camps, summary executions and other cruel extrajudicial punishments are commonplace. Additionally, according to extensive testimony, prisoners in these prison camps are subject to brutal treatment, torture, sexual violence, and forced abortions, and many succumb to starvation and disease.

The ministry also plays a role in censorship through the enforcement of laws banning foreign media. According to the COI report, Bureau 27 (also known as the Transmission Surveillance Bureau) is responsible for modifying television equipment to receive only approved North Korean channels and blocking television channels from the Republic of Korea (ROK), Russia, and China. The bureau also carries out surprise inspections in homes to investigate whether individuals have modified their radios or televisions, watched foreign DVDs or used foreign flash drives and uses monitoring equipment to identify individuals who use Chinese SIM cards.

Ministry of Peoples Security: The Ministry of Peoples Security (also known as the Ministry of Public Security) employs roughly 200,000 personnel. Its responsibilities include internal security, social control (such as songbun records and residency restrictions), and basic police functions, including riot suppression.

According to the COI, the Ministry of Peoples Security is involved in gross violations of human rights. The correctional bureau within the ministry previously operated one of the countrys political prison camps (Camp 18) and continues to operate the majority of the countrys labor camps (kyohwaso) and other detention/interrogation facilities. Torture and other forms of abuse are reportedly employed regularly as tools of control in these camps.

Defectors have also reported the ministry regularly uses torture and other forms of abuse to extract confessions, including techniques involving sexual violence, hanging individuals from the ceiling for extended periods of time, prolonged periods of exposure, and severe beatings. According to the COI report, almost all of the more than 100 witnesses repatriated from China reported having been beaten or subjected to worse forms of torture during interrogations in detention centers run by the ministries of state security and peoples security. The COI also reports that inhumane detention conditions also exerted pressure on individuals to quickly confess to secure their survival.

The ministry also enforces the governments censorship policies. According to the COI report, the Communication Maintenance Bureau is responsible for removing the radio components of cassette players (which are legal in the DPRK) to prevent users from listening to foreign broadcasts.

Propaganda and Agitation Department (PAD): The Propaganda and Agitation Department controls all media in the country, which the government uses to control the public. Within the department, the Publication and Broadcasting Department controls all media content, including content used on television, in newspapers and on the radio. According to the COI report, this sub-agency distributes a monthly plan for publication and report, which directs content for the month, and all media outlets are required to build their work plan from it. All content then goes through several layers of review.

Reconnaissance General Bureau (RGB): The Reconnaissance General Bureau reports directly to the National Defense Commission and is North Koreas premier intelligence organ responsible for conducting clandestine operations abroad. It administratively is part of the Ministry of the Peoples Armed Forces. The RGB has reportedly been involved with kidnapping and extrajudicial assassinations that span decades. According to HRNK, the Operations Department of the Korean Workers Party, the predecessor to RGB, was responsible for abducting South Korean and Japanese citizens. Moreover, the RGB has been associated with multiple assassination attempts, including the 1968 attempt on ROK President Park Chung-hee, the 1983 attempted assassination of ROK President Chun Doo-hwan that left 21 dead, and the 2010 attempt on high-ranking DPRK defector Hwang Jang-yeop.
Brewtown cafe in Newtown. Photo: Wolter Peeters

The willingness of Sydneysiders to wait in line for breakfast demonstrates just how much we love to get on board with the latest, hottest, most-'grammable new cafe. But we're not as fickle as we may seem, returning again and again to sit at tables we've been visiting for years.

One of the most exciting openings of 2015 has been Darlinghurst's innovative yet beautifully understated Edition Coffee Roasters; and we were also thrilled to see some Surry Hills favourites, the relative newcomer Devon and Sydney institution Single Origin Roasters, move out of the 2010 postcode with second venues in Waterloo and Botany respectively.

Salvage Specialty Coffee at Artarmon. Photo: Edwina Pickles

Here is a selection of our picks both old and new. To make it on to this list, a cafe has to deliver a whole experience, great coffee, of course, but also good food, snappy service, a great vibe, oh and we've made sure we've travelled all over. So here it is, the north, south, east and west of Sydney's best cafes.

NORTH

Anvil Coffee Co.

The Kirribilli Wharf-Circular Quay ferry has to be one of Sydney's most desirable commutes. Order the popular poached egg Smithie roll and a punchy long black, or settle in with a pot of Tea Craft tea and the buttery, spicy Arabian eggs. Plus, views don't get much more on-water than this. (Also at Artarmon.)

Kirribilli Commuter Wharf, Holbrook Avenue, Kirribilli, anvilcc.com.au

Salvage Specialty Coffee

The town-square feel of the little courtyard in front of Salvage encourages lingering  as do the good-natured staff. A talented team behind the bar turn out sublime espresso and filter coffee, with an ever-changing menu of specialty roasters. Weekends see an expanded menu; go for the gloriously messy croque madame.

5 Wilkes Avenue, Artarmon

Breakfast at Anvil Coffee Co at Kirribilli Commuter Wharf . Photo: Fiona Morris

Showbox Coffee Brewers

Combining a creative, wholefood-focused menu (nasi goreng with cauliflower "rice") and a creative coffee menu showcasing specialty roasters, Showbox has cemented itself as a Manly destination since opening in early 2014. The originality extends to the rest of the drinks list, too, such as tart drinking vinegars with soda.

19 Whistler Street, Manly, showboxcoffee.com.au

Smalltown

Everyone has salty hair and a dog in tow: so far, so very beachside cafe. But Smalltown's attention to detail sets it apart. Single Origin Roasters coffee is expertly made (V60 pourover and cold drip are also on offer), while poppyseed ricotta pancakes with maple and lavender fruit compote are almost too pretty to eat (almost).

1/21-23 Old Barrenjoey Road, Avalon

SOUTH

Grind

Grind remains as much an essential part of the Cronulla morning as a dip in the surf. Food is limited to the pastry cabinet, but the extensive coffee menu, fashioned from an antique train station board, offers espresso any which way you like, it plus syphon, pour over and a citrusy cold drip.

Shop 4/15 Surf Road, Cronulla

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Single O Botany

SOR's coffee is found all over Sydney, but it wasn't until late 2014 that the Surry Hills cafe opened a second outpost, at their roastworks HQ. There's a terrific all-day menu (try the mothership breakfast or banana bread with espresso butter), but the coffee gets top billing, with a filter bar turning out specialty brews.

28b Cranbrook Street, Botany, singleoriginroasters.com.au

Devon on Danks

The team behind the wildly popular Devonshire Street original has expanded south. An all-day menu draws on Devon mainstays (such as the excellent Breakfast with the Sakumas). New additions include an immense meat board for two featuring a Thai sausage, scotch egg and soy glazed wagyu brisket. Try the Japanese cold drip or cold-pressed juices.

2 Danks Street, Waterloo, devoncafe.com.au

The Copper Mill

Much has been made of the coconut hot chocolate, and by God it's good. But it you're not in the mood for such sweetness in the morning go for a well-made long black on the single estate bean of the week. An appealing brunch menu is available until 3.30pm  we'll take the slow-roasted pork, kumera and egg roll, thanks.

338-356 Mitchell Road, Alexandria, thecoppermill.com.au

EAST

Edition Coffee Roasters

There's neither an egg nor an avocado to be seen at Edition, one of the year's most exciting cafe openings. The Japanese-Nordic menu is worth a visit alone, but there's a serious coffee offering, with beans roasted under the cafe's own label. Staff are as calm and chic as the bare-bones decor.

265 Liverpool Street, Darlinghurst, editioncoffeeroasters.com

Ruby's Diner

Yes, there's a raw breakfast salad and super-food muffins, but also brioche French toast and a banana split with Serendipity ice-cream. The Single Origin Roasters coffee is superb (and $2 for a piccolo latte); then there's wild kombucha on tap and bulletproof coffee. Go with #cleanliving intentions, and see how you feel when you get there.

1/173-179 Bronte Road, Waverley, rubysdiner.com.au

Room 10

Newbies will walk straight past it  look for the tiny "10" above the entrance  but this tiny laneway cafe turns out some of the area's best coffee (spot regular Neil Perry). We dig the breakfast rice or jaffle with soft-boiled egg, smoked salmon and hollandaise  with an affogato for dessert.

10 Llankelly Place, Potts Point

Sample Coffee

After four years, Sample has opened a second, larger cafe and roastery at St Peter's. But the tiny original bar remains a Surry Hills destination with a devoted following. The coffee  Sample's Pacemaker blend for milk and single origin beans for black and filter  is exquisite. Try the iced latte with cold brew and sweetened almond milk, or a Venezuelan hot chocolate.

1a/118 Devonshire Street, Surry Hills samplecoffee.com.au

WEST

Brewtown

Spacious and airy, this is a polished operation, making the most of what was formerly the Newtown Berkelouw building. Coffee is roasted on site, and there's an impressive filter bar (with cold brew on tap) to explore. A hearty all-day menu features corned beef hash with peas, parmesan and a poached egg, and pastry freaks go for the Brewnuts.

6-8 O'Connell Street, Newtown, brewtownnewtown.com

Cornersmith

The commitment to all that is local and seasonal is unrivalled. Staff treat everyone like a regular, even during the weekend rush. Settle in with a Maffra cheddar and ham jaffle with house-made sauerkraut and a caramel-toned Mecca flat white (or a rhubarb and apple milkshake). And check out the new set menu dinners Thursday-Saturday.

314 Illawarra Road, Marrickville, cornersmith.com.au

Henri Marc

Penrith's favourite cafe is a haven off the high street. An appealing all-day menu includes ricotta and pesto on sourdough with heirloom tomatoes and a pillowy egg-white omelette with spiced pumpkin and charred corn. Local chocolatier Zokoko supplies the goods for the silky hot chocolates, and the coffee comes by way of Reuben Hills.

2/438 High Street, Penrith, henrimarc.com.au

Excelsior Jones

Every neighbourhood deserves one: a cafe worth crossing suburbs for but within strolling distance of home. Order the crunchy potato hash with hot smoked salmon and soft egg and indulge a child  either the one you've brought with you or the one you used to be  with a spider. An expert hand on the espresso machine turns out fine 5 Senses coffee.

139a Queen Street, Ashfield excelsiorjones.com

CENTRAL

Mecca Espresso King Street

Sydney's CBD has been spoiled with a recent slew of cafe openings, but the popularity of Mecca's original King Street spot never wanes  with good reason. The menu is short and smart; go for the breakfast bowl or a substantial salad at lunch. The coffee, of course, is unfailingly great.

67 King Street, Sydney, meccaespresso.com

Vella Nero

Look for the distinctive turquoise signage to discover one of the city's most creative coffee menus. We're partial to the Aunty A (double ristretto, three quarter flat white) and the Jimbo (double macchiato with a dot of milk), and there's also sparkling cold drip and Swiss Gold filter.

3/259 Clarence Street, Sydney, vellanero.com.au

Gumption by Coffee Alchemy

When Coffee Alchemy expanded to the CBD at the end of 2013, devotees of the legendary Marrickville roastery and coffee bar were thrilled. To sit outside this pretty pale green and brass coffee bar in the Strand Arcade with a piccolo latte is one of the loveliest ways to refuel in the city.

Shop 11, Ground Floor, The Strand Arcade, Sydney

Pablo and Rusty's

The working breakfast got a significant upgrade with the opening of the CBD's first Pablo and Rusty's. A plate of beetroot-cured king salmon with zucchini and dill fritters, creamed corn, crisp jamon and poached eggs with a cup of silky batch brew sure beats a protein shake at your desk.

161 Castlereagh Street, Sydney, pabloandrustys.com.au
The massive release of new regulations on the nation's oil and gas producers has caught the attention of state and national elected officials, and they have stepped up their questioning of federal bureaucrats.

The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee called Environmental Protection Agency Assistant Administrator Janet McCabe to testify on July 6 regarding the regulations under the Clean Power Plan.

Two Republican members of the committee from Texas, Joe Barton from Ennis and Pete Olson from Houston, challenged McCabe to explain the rationale EPA uses to pick energy winners and losers.

Rep. Bill Johnson told McCabe that EPA is "draining the lifeblood out of our businesses" through its regulations, adding that, "I think it's absurd, I think it's irresponsible, I think honestly it's un-American. Your department doesn't have a concern for the very people who create jobs in this country."

While these comments and questions were indications of the displeasure toward the rash of new regulations issued by federal agencies recently by some members of Congress, Texas Railroad Commission Chairman David Porter told committee members that "EPA has circumvented both the authority delegated to it by Congress and the rights of state regulatory agencies to establish their own rules."

Porter said the RRC, which has regulated the oil and gas industry for more than 100 years, "takes its role as a steward of state resources very seriously. That said, our rule-making decisions are based on sound science and potential economic impacts to all Texans, mindful that it is from industry that these ideas emerge.

"When businesses are forced to operate as bureaucracies, which EPA seems intent on achieving through its unwarranted and overreaching rules, innovation is stifled, leaving both consumers and environment to pay the price," Porter said.

"EPA's policies under the Obama administration have consistently striven to eliminate competitive energy markets while ignoring engineering realities, sound science, and economic impacts," he said.

Porter noted that EPA's recent changes in air emission regulations have caused concern in Texas because it underestimated compliance costs and it overestimated regulatory and environmental benefits.

Porter said that "increased regulatory and economic burden on operating companies, particularly the smaller operators who make up an overwhelming majority of the industry in Texas" will be especially difficult.

"The Commission supported exemptions for low production well sites of less than 15 barrels of oil equivalent or less per day," he said. "The Commission also urged EPA to establish other exemptions for small oil and gas sites based on reasonably limited emissions or equipment, and is disappointed that EPA included low production well sites in the final rule."

Porter pointed out that Texas has regulated air emissions for many years, but EPA had minimal interaction and consultation with Texas and other state regulatory authorities.

Oil and gas operations represent only 3.5 percent of overall domestic greenhouse gas emissions, and these new rules will produce no meaningful climate benefits, according to a letter sent to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy by U.S. Sen. James Inhofe, R-Oklahoma., chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee on May 24. He said even if the EPA's goal of reducing emissions by 40 percent by 2025, the reduction would yield only an estimated 0.004 degree Celsius reduction in global temperature by 2100.

Alex Mills is president of the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers. The opinions expressed are solely of the author.
Brothers brought big bull business

The Brinks Brangus Ranch in Kerr County broke a record for bull production sales of any breed in the United States by topping the $1 million mark in 1982.

Several cattle sales had topped the $1 million mark, but they were production sales that included females.

At the January 1982 sale, 71 buyers from 12 states and a crowd of more than 700 folks attended the Brinks Sisterdale Ranch. The 95 bulls sold for $1,189,300. An additional lot, a pick of the Brinks herd, sold for $380,000, bringing the grand total to $1,569,300, according to the Standard-Times.

In 1968, Lloyd Brinkman purchased his Brangus herd from the Riverby Dispersal sale. With his brother Glenn as overall manager of his ranch interest, the Brinkmans built the foremost Brangus herd in the world, breaking all kinds of records in the show ring as well as sales.

The Brinkman brothers appear to have an unlikely background as successful breeders of cattle stated one news report, but they were self-made, astute businessmen.

Lloyd Donald "Brink" Brinkman was born during a spring blizzard in 1929 on land homesteaded by his Danish grandparents near Dagmar, Montana, the first child of Carl and Astrid Brinkman. When he was 5 years old, his family moved to Pascagoula, Mississippi. After graduating from Pascagoula High School, he attended Pearl River Community College in Poplarville, Mississippi.

Interrupted by military service in the army, Lloyd finished his education at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in marketing in 1952.

Lloyd began his business career selling floor covering for Armstrong Cork Co. in 1953. He founded L.D. Brinkman Co. in Dallas, which under his leadership became the largest floor covering distributor in the United States.

Lloyd's corporate interest also included Mr. Gatti's Pizza, which he grew to over 350 locations.

Glenn was born in Minnesota and was a year old when the family moved to southern Mississippi. He worked his way through Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge. Following graduation with a bachelor's degree as a forestry major, Glenn worked five years for Gulf States Paper Corp..

Glenn married Carolyn Leslie in the late 1950s. She was a music major from Mississippi State College for Women and taught piano and voice after their marriage. They had three children.

In 1961, the family moved to Dallas and Glenn became manager of the Plastics Division of L.D. Brinkman and Co.

In 1973, Glenn was president of the Texas Brangus Breeders Association. He helped organize the Hill Country Brangus Breeders and was active in the International Brangus Breeders Association.

The Brinkman brothers became proficient in artificial insemination of their Brangus cattle herd.

Glenn Brinkman, 81, currently lives in Athens, Texas.

Lloyd Brinkman was 86 when he died July 4, 2015. He was survived by his wife Kathleen; his children, Pamela Brinkman Stone, Lloyd D. "Don" Brinkman Jr., daughter-in-law Terri Brinkman and stepson Alexander D. Page and six grandchildren.

Lloyd's obituary stated he was an entrepreneur, cattleman, philanthropist and Western art patron.

Lloyd Brinkman was an artist without a paintbrush and an architect without a drafting table. "Bringing his entrepreneurial vision and eye for quality to the art world, Brink became an avid collector of Western art, a style that reflected both his origins and his preferred lifestyle," according to his obituary.

He was instrumental in bringing the Cowboy Artists of America Museum to Kerrville. He served on the board of directors of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma and was designated as an honorary "cowboy artist."

Jerry Lackey is the agriculture editor emeritus. Contact him at jlackey@wcc.net.
Julie Makinen/Los Angeles Times/TNS Takao Terada, a rice farmer in Kakegawa, Japan, says he fears the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal will drive down prices for his crops.

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They worry pact may drive prices down

By Julie Makinen, Los Angeles Times (TNS)

FUKUROI, Japan  Rice farmer Takao Terada isn't following the U.S. presidential election too closely. But there's one issue that both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton seem to agree on  that the U.S. should not ratify the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact  and that's music to his ears.

"We Japanese farmers can't compete with the Americans. It costs us almost three times as much to produce rice," he said last week, watching one of his eight workers sowing seedlings in a wet paddy here in Shizuoka prefecture, a two-hour train ride southwest of Tokyo. "TPP will drive down prices and allow in more imports, and that will be a big problem."

The Obama administration has said the trade pact  which would bind together the American and Japanese economies with Australia, Mexico and eight other countries  would eliminate more than 18,000 tariffs on made-in-America products and "make sure our farmers, ranchers, manufacturers, and small businesses can compete  and win  in some of the fastest-growing markets in the world."

But Trump has called the trade pact a "horrible deal" that will "send America's remaining auto jobs to Japan." Clinton, meanwhile, shifted her stance last fall and she said she wasn't sure that TPP as written would create jobs, raise wages or improve national security.

That kind of rhetoric has cast a long shadow over the TPP, which took seven years to negotiate and is the biggest regional trade pact ever attempted, uniting countries accounting for 40 percent of global gross domestic product.

TPP has yet to come into force because the pact must be ratified by at least six nations that account for 85 percent of the combined GDP of the 12 TPP nations.

Masatoshi Hirano, a kiwi farmer who lives a few miles from Terada in the town of Kakegawa, is another rural resident with concerns about TPP.

Although he believes the trade deal won't have much effect on his business  which relies as much on ecotourism as it does fruit sales  Hirano worries the agreement could deliver a new blow to rural Japan, whose inhabitants are already being buffeted by powerful forces such as a rapidly aging society, population decline and a lack of interest among younger generations in toiling in the fields.

"Japanese farmers are key to taking care of the national landscape," he said. "If they go away, what will happen?"
<p>In this photo taken Oct. 27 2009 South African comedian Trevor Noah is photographed during an interview. Trevor Noah, a 31-year-old comedian from South Africa who has contributed to "The Daily Show" a handful of times during the past year, will become Jon Stewart's replacement as host, Comedy Central announced Monday March 30, 2015. Noah was chosen a little more than a month after Stewart unexpectedly announced he was leaving "The Daily Show" following 16 years as the show's principal voice. (AP Photo/Bongiwe Mchunu-The Star) SOUTH AFRICA OUT NO SALES NO ARCHIVE</p>

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Libby Hill Los Angeles Times (TNS)

Comedy Centrals Trevor Noah gave an impassioned speech on Thursday nights episode of The Daily Show in the wake of the police-involved killings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile.

In the seven-minute monologue, the South African comedian opined that it often seems that you cant speak about an issue without being forced onto a particular side.

It always feels like, in America, if you take a stand for something, you automatically are against something else, Noah said, going on to detail how people choose between dogs or cats, the Yankees or the Red Sox.

You can be pro-cop and pro-black, Noah said. Its what we should all be. Its what we should be aiming for. You shouldnt have to choose between the police and the citizens they are sworn to protect.

Noah also addressed how when it comes to police violence in America, video isnt enough and some will always feel that individuals killed by officers did something to bring such brutality on themselves.

When it comes to videos of police killings, seeing isnt believing.

Taped earlier in the day, Noahs words became particularly prescient as the events of Thursday night unfolded, when a peaceful protest in downtown Dallas regarding police violence ended in gunfire, resulting in the killing of five police officers.

In light of the breaking news, Noah took to Twitter to offer thoughts about the latest bloodshed between police and the general public: One step forward, ten steps back. The point is to save lives not trade places.
Maryann Scales does a yoga pose inside a room at the gymnasium at the Washington Corrections Center for Women in Purdy, Wash., on June 6, 2016. The Seattle-based non-profit Yoga Behind Bars teaches yoga to inmates at the prison in Purdy. It also holds classes for teenagers inside the Remann Hall Juvenile Detention Center in Tacoma, Wash. (David Montesino/Tacoma News Tribune/TNS)

SHARE Alyssa Pizarro, right, leads a yoga session inside a pod at the Remann Hall Juvenile Detention Center in Tacoma, Wash., on May 31, 2016. The Seattle-based non-profit Yoga Behind Bars teaches yoga to inmates at the Washington Corrections Center for Women in Purdy, Wash. It also holds classes for teenagers inside the Remann Hall Juvenile Detention Center in Tacoma. (David Montesino/Tacoma News Tribune/TNS)

By Rosemary Ponnekanti The News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.) (TNS)

TACOMA, Wash.  Its not your typical yoga class. There are no chic leggings, no feel-good decorations. Instead there are gray lockers, institutional carpet, a noisy fan.

Oh, and a locked door with a guard behind it.

But while the women reaching into Mountain Pose are wearing state-issued gray sweats, their faces radiate peace. Its a class at the Washington Corrections Center for Women in Purdy, Wash., taught by Yoga Behind Bars, a Seattle-based nonprofit.

The results? Hope and peace for offenders, safer prisons and communities and a refocus for yoga itself.

We see immediate results, says Felice Davis, the prisons associate superintendent. It reduces violence while people are here. And after they leave  female inmates often have long histories of trauma.

Yoga helps them deal with trauma post-release, to cope without acting out violently. Its a benefit to the entire community.

Yoga Behind Bars executive director, Rosa Vissers, a prison yoga teacher, calls yoga an amazing tool for people to feel at home again in their bodies, not to look outside themselves for peace of mind.

Giving people a sense of control over their lives is the most powerful thing anyone can experience.

Inmate Candace Ralston agrees.

This is a terribly loud, abusive environment, she says after class ends at the womens prison. Yoga helps you find peace. It saved me.

BRINGING HOPE AND PEACE INSIDE

Yoga inside prisons isnt new.

Begun informally by a Seattle yoga teacher in 2004, Yoga Behind Bars began giving classes inside the King County Juvenile Detention Center in 2007, followed by Purdy, Monroe and Echo Glen prisons in 2008.

In 2014, it added classes at Stafford Creek and Mission Creek, and last year began at Clallam Bay and the Federal Detention Center at SeaTac.

Its now expanding its South Sound presence with more local teachers, teacher training for inmates and youth classes at the Remann Hall juvenile justice center in Tacoma.

The operation has won awards, trained more than 250 teachers and in February saw 10 men at Stafford Creek graduate as yoga teachers  the first in-prison yoga teacher training in the nation.

Yoga Behind Bars is part of a bigger movement around the world, from the 12-year-old Yoga Prison Project in the United States to the Yoga in Prisons Trust in New Zealand and the Satchidananda Prison Project in India, as well as numerous state-based groups.

And its having an effect. While research on the impact of yoga on prisoners is sporadic, what there is shows its positive.

A 2007 study of prisoners in North Carolina found that taking four or more yoga classes dramatically reduced recidivism rates to 8.5 percent, compared to national rates of 43 percent.

Individual prison studies, such as at San Quentin in California or the Richmond City Jail in Virginia, show yoga also helps reduce violence.

A recent Washington State University Extension study found yoga helps incarcerated men be better fathers, by showing more self-awareness and responsiveness to their kids.

And decades of studies have shown yoga helps people in general cope better with stress, trauma and physical problems.

Because everything from teacher time to mats is donated, the program benefits state spending, especially since prison recreation budgets were cut almost completely and staff cut by half in 2009, says Davis, Purdys associate superintendent

Inmates there vouch for yogas effects.

Irene Hauzinger has taught at Purdy with Yoga Behind Bars for six years and worked in social sciences all her life. Shes completing a Ph.D dissertation on yogas transformative effects on female prisoners.

Shes gathered feedback from 430 Purdy yoga students, with comments such as, My life has been transformed, Makes me happy happy happy and It is my life.

One inmate told Hauzinger that yoga breathing helped her stay calm, rather than reacting badly, when someone got snippy at her.

The most common feedback, Hauzinger says, is gratitude.

They say, Thank you for caring about inmates. People like you caring on the outside means we wont come back,  she says. And I sometimes see former students on the outside, and I feel happy, ask them how theyre doing. What I do makes a difference.

BREATHING, STRETCHING, PLAYING  WHY YOGA WORKS

Talk to a yoga instructor and youll get lots of explanations for how the ancient Indian practice helps inmates.

Anyone benefits from stretching and strengthening, as well as from the mild cardio a yoga class brings. Meditation helps with everything from self-esteem to reducing stress, by slowing heart rates and lowering blood pressure.

Yoga also can help with weight loss  one of the reasons Ralston took it up.

What sets yoga apart from other prison exercise programs is the combination of physical poses with breathing, intention and mindful awareness  and thats what has ongoing effects, Vissers says.

Yoga is a pathway to address trauma, she says. In prison, she added, we know most students come from a long history of trauma and loss, especially with violence.

Since trauma is also in your body, the breath is a doorway in, she said. It can  influence our attention. Having mindfulness  how does my body feel?  can give a sense of ownership over your body, and allows more change to happen.

Such changes are evident at a recent yoga class at Purdy.

As a buzzer sounds, seven women file in, checked off by the guard at the door. They start pushing tables aside, and pulling out mats and blocks.

Finally, teacher Emily Cox comes in, wearing a plain gray shirt and purple pants. Cross-legged, the women take turns introducing themselves and noting something for which theyre grateful.

Theres a variety of ages, races, body types  but despite some smiles, most look tired and serious.

With a calm voice and occasional jokes, Cox takes the class through Cat-Cow warm-ups, and explains the vinyasa sequence and why it helps by building heat.

You breathe through the tension, and find peace, she says. Your breath is your anchor.

As the class continues through the usual yoga sequences of vinyasa, standing poses and seated twists, Cox offers directions and encouragement  Yeah, thats beautiful!  and eliciting shy smiles.

Halfway through the two-hour class four women leave for work duties or other appointments. The others focus even more, their gazes serene. By the final mediation, all three faces are beatific.

Yoga helps you through rough emotions, like shame, Ralston says quietly.

Its the best program in here, adds Maryann Scales, an older woman who has been doing yoga twice a week for eight years. Im bipolar, and I think yoga and meditation keeps me balanced.

At Remann Hall in Tacoma, where Yoga Behind Bars began last fall, its a different vibe  as you might expect from 11 teenage boys on yoga mats.

One boy caves in on Plank Pose, half joking.

Hey, I know your arms are stronger than that! teases chief detention officer Donald Thomas from the security desk.

Up front, teacher Nydelis Ortiz encourages the class to play with balance by reaching one hand up out of Side Plank, then gazing at the ceiling. Its harder than it sounds, and a couple of boys lose their balance, laughing and goofing off for the others.

And then its time for Lions Breath  inhaling, screwing up your face, then exhaling with a hah sound. Everyone laughs, co-teacher Alyssa Pizarro loudest of all.

You can feel the stress flying away on the giggles.

It gives them an outlet, says Remann Hall detention manager Shara Sauve. In class, theyre not seen as criminals  theyre seen as kids. They get to be silly  blow off steam, burn off energy.

For teenage boys who mostly stay in a small room all day, thats a big thing in itself. But theres more.

As the class progresses, one wary boy finally breaks out a shy smile when he holds an arm balance longer than anyone else. Another boy whos been acting cocky and defensive drops the act for a vulnerable grin.

By the final Savasana Pose, everyones completely still, lying on their backs with eyes shut, breathing deeply.

It helps me relax, sleep better, says one tall boy, whos in Remann Hall long-term for a serious sentence and who soon will transfer to an adult facility. Things are going to be difficult. This is a safer way to relieve my stress instead of doing other things.

I want to do (yoga) wherever I go, adds another boy with curly hair. Id like to teach other people to do it so they know to do the right things in life.

TEACHERS BEHIND BARS

Despite evidence that yoga benefits prisoners, only a fraction of inmates in Washingtons prisons do it.

At Purdy, there are 905 inmates and only 18 names on the yoga list. Women wait a long time even to get on the list  it took Ralston nine months  and then, when class happens, many cant make it because of medical appointments, visits or changes in prison work schedules.

On average, 16 women attend Yoga Behind Bars classes every week. At Remann Hall, its 24 a week, at Stafford Creek, 20.

The main problem, staff members say, is space and time. Only one classroom in the Purdy gym building can house a yoga class with an outside instructor, and it often is needed for the many other programs there.

For security reasons, yoga cant be held in the evening when the gym is busiest; and the two weekly classes sometimes are canceled when the building is needed.

The solution? Train inmates, who have more flexible schedules and access, to become yoga teachers themselves.

Yoga Behind Bars has just seen 10 men at Stafford Creek graduate from a 100-hour yoga teacher training, the first such program in the country  and in October, the group will begin one at Purdy.

Were preparing them to be part of the Yoga Behind Bars teaching team, Vissers says.

Twelve women will complete six weekends worth of practice, study and theory homework, and eventually be certified by Yoga Behind Bars.

That means the womens prison will have yoga teachers who live on-site, dont need to go through clearance hurdles and can teach in other rooms at other times, Davis says  which potentially means more classes.

And when the women are released, theyll have an employable skill and a new mindset of helping others.

When she gets out, I can see myself living in assisted living and teaching yoga, says Maryann Scales, who has signed up for the training along with Ralston. Yoga is a practice within yourself. If more girls here learn that, and learn to give back 

GETTING YOGA BACK TO ITS ROOTS

Yoga Behind Bars also is expanding its reach to train more teachers in the outside community. So far there are five South Sound-based teachers  the rest, including Ortiz and Cox, travel from Seattle, often starting class late because of traffic.

The organization has begun training in Tacoma venues such as Good Karma Yoga to build a more local base of teachers.

Experienced teachers like Vissers offer guidance on teaching trauma-sensitive yoga (trigger words to avoid, recommended meditations), statistics on prisoner demographics and how to work within prison rules (correcting verbally rather than touching, keeping situations safe, choosing appropriate clothing.)

In a 60-page handbook they also offer guidelines on how to avoid burnout in what is often an emotionally demanding volunteer position, and the numerous ways a prison class is different from a studio.

Despite the unpaid work and travel, many yoga teachers want to teach in prison  the May training weekend was jam-packed.

I love it, says Cox, who majored in gender issues and has worked in womens health. I became a yoga teacher because of Yoga Behind Bars. Were all stressed  we all need healing.

My father was incarcerated, and I grew up homeless or in public housing, says Nydelis Ortiz, who now works in credit underwriting and is in graduate school. I attribute where I am now to the generosity of people who helped me. I want to be that person for these kids.

Its really important for teachers, possibly more than for the students, Vissers says. What I hear from people is that it invigorates their own practice.

For Irene Hauzinger, it goes even deeper  back to yogas roots of non-harm, truth and connection.

In prison its a more raw, more honest practice  Theres a purity of intention in prison, she says. You have so much time to think, to sort yourself out.

In fact, Hauzinger doesnt teach in studios anymore  just prisons.

I do more good there, she says. Its not just exercise, its a service. Its a privilege to work there.
Pinterest ideas in the Sauer home: a large frame holding smaller mirrors, a centerpiece that can be changed out seasonally in the dining room, and a wall of clocks in the kitchen nook. (Mike Hutmacher/Wichita Eagle/TNS)

SHARE Chicken wire in frames holds the children's artwork. (Mike Hutmacher/Wichita Eagle/TNS) The hall bathroom is Jenifer Sauer's favorite because she got to pick out everything for it. (Mike Hutmacher/Wichita Eagle/TNS)

By Annie Calovich The Wichita Eagle (TNS)

WICHITA, Kan.  Wichita wife and mother Jenifer Sauer, 37, is a sponge for beautiful design that she incorporates into her house in east Wichita.

I wish I could change my house every six months, because I like so many things, she said.

But she knows she cant do that, so she prioritizes. She and her husband, Joe, bought their ranch seven years ago, and Jenifer expects that getting the house done the way they want it will be a 10-year project.

Here are places she goes for inspiration, projects that shes accomplished, and ways she organizes and charts her ideas.

Her style: Transitional  traditional with more straight lines  and somewhat eclectic, though, because I like the juxtaposition of different styles against each other.

Organizing on Pinterest: Im a Pinterest addict. It gets to where I cant believe I have so many pins. I use Pinterest to study groupings and to get an idea of how things should flow. She searches for terms such as white galley kitchen and gray and white transitional bathroom. When I find things Im going to use, I put them on Pinterest to keep me organized.

Make your own pins: When Sauer sees something she likes in a magazine, she takes a photo and makes her own pin with it so she can keep things together on Pinterest. Its really easy.

Pinners she follows: Nelson Designs and Social Manor, plus Nell Hills, Social Manor, Sita Montgomery Interiors out of Salt Lake City, Chrystie Vachons Designer Decor Knockoffs, Claire Brodys copycats on a budget, Joanna Gaines, the Property Brothers.

Magazine subscriptions: House Beautiful, Elle Decor, Veranda, Architectural Digest, Traditional Home. And I kind of steal ideas from (catalogs) Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware and Ballard Designs.

On Instagram: Some design sites have better Instagram accounts than Pinterest ones. She likes Sita Montgomery Interiors and One Kings Lane on Instagram.

Ideas shes gotten from Pinterest: empty frames filled with chicken wire for hanging childrens artwork; a giant ornate frame turned on its side with smaller framed mirrors from Tuesday Morning hanging inside; a wall of clocks in the kitchen dining nook (that dont necessarily keep the correct time); a table centerpiece that is a long narrow trough filled with pinecones, greenery and flameless candles, for example, for the winter and can be switched up seasonally.

Favorite room in the house: The hall bathroom, the only room that has been taken down to the studs under Sauer ownership. I used Pinterest to put together my ideas and see products. Some of it then I was able to track down. Sometimes things are a couple years old. An arched mirror carried by Lowes had been pinned a million times, but they stopped making them. She then obsessed until she eventually found another company that was making them, and Sharon Nelson at Nelson Designs in Wichita, her husbands aunt, was able to order them for her.

For the girls: Sauer also used Pinterest to decorate her daughters room. She saw sunburst mirrors and ordered one to go above each bed. Her 12-year old wanted lots of color with a Moroccan theme, and Sauer balanced it out with white.

For the boys: For her sons superheroes room, she decorated soft-sided storage bins with masks of superheroes that she found in the Target dollar section. She removed the strings from the masks and hot-glued the masks to the front of the bins.
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By Lindsay Wise, McClatchy Washington Bureau (TNS)

WASHINGTON  A compromise bill that would create the first nationwide labeling standard for genetically modified foods cleared a major hurdle Wednesday as Senators voted 65-32 to proceed to final debate.

Negotiated between Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., and Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., the bill would require producers to identify foods that contain genetically modified ingredients with text on packages, a symbol or a link to a website with a bar code that can be scanned by a smartphone.

The bill has drawn fierce opposition from consumer advocates, who complain that it contains too many loopholes and zero consequences for companies that fail to properly label their products. They argue that the labels wouldn't be easily recognizable for consumers and the bill's narrow definition of bioengineering could exclude refined sugars, soybean oils and many other products made from genetically modified crops.

Wednesday's procedural vote was interrupted briefly by anti-GMO protesters in the visitors' gallery who shouted "It's a corporate bill," and threw what appeared to be dollar bills onto the Senate floor.

The margin of victory indicates the bill easily will win the simple majority needed to pass this week after debate.

"This clears the pathway for a final vote on passage, and I remain optimistic sound science and affordable food will prevail," Roberts said in a statement. "Both farmers and consumers deserve this certainty."

In a speech on the Senate floor before the vote, Roberts stressed that biotechnology products are safe.

Over and over again, he said, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Agriculture have testified before Congress that genetic engineering is safe for the environment, for other plants and for the nation's food supply.

"Our amendment strikes a careful balance," said Roberts, who worked for months with Stabenow to hammer out a bipartisan deal on the bill's language. "It certainly is not perfect from my perspective. It's not the best possible bill, but it is the best bill possible under these difficult circumstances we find ourselves in today."

If the bill doesn't pass, Roberts warned, a patchwork of state labeling laws will soon wreak havoc on the flow of interstate commerce.

"Unfortunately the impact of those decisions will be felt across the country and around the globe," he said. "Those decisions impact the farmers in fields, who would be pressured to grow less efficient crops so manufacturers could avoid these demonizing labels.  Those labeling laws will ultimately impact consumers who will suffer from much-higher-priced food."

Some lawmakers had expressed anger that GMO labeling laws in their states would be pre-empted by the federal legislation crafted by Roberts and Stabenow.

The first such law went into effect in Vermont last Friday.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders said the timing of the bill was not an accident.

"Its goal is to overturn and rescind the very significant legislation passed in the state of Vermont," he said.

Sanders has vowed to do everything he can to defeat the bill, but his options are limited after Wednesday's vote, which makes a filibuster impossible.

He and other lawmakers opposed to the Roberts-Stabenow legislation held a news conference on Capitol Hill before the vote to denounce it as inadequate.

"The American people have a right to know what they're eating," Sanders said. "That is why states like Vermont, Maine, Connecticut and Alaska have adopted laws to label goods containing GMOs and why many other states are interested and on the path to do that."

After final passage in the Senate, the bill must pass the House of Representatives before heading to the president's desk to be signed into law.
San Angelo Central Bobcats host Permian in key District 2-6A showdown

The San Angelo Central High School football team will host Odessa Permian Friday in a battle of two of the four teams tied for first in District 2-6A.
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Lots of events this month at Fort Concho

By Bob Bluthardt

In July, Fort Concho hosts six children's workshops and three major events, and we'll assist at a major community celebration and take our mules, wagon and troops to Houston for the 150th anniversary parade for the Buffalo Soldiers.

So let's review all these exciting activities.

Fun at the Fort, one of our two special summer children's programs, holds six sessions in July.

The "Tracing Your Roots" program on July 20 runs from 1-3 p.m. for current and future genealogists ages 8 to 14. Learn to research your past and tell your family's story.

The other five sessions will serve children ages 6 to 12; all five will be from 9:30 a.m. to noon, and all will meet in the fort's Barracks 6/Courtyard area on the northeast corner at Flipper and Burgess streets.

In the "Join the Infantry" session on July 12, you can "enlist" and be a frontier soldier for a day, taking a trip to the past and bringing home a souvenir plus a replica enlistment form.

On July 14, in the "Digging the Dirt" program you will become an archaeologist who searches for clues in the dirt, makes a medicine bag and creates some rock art.

In "Plants and Pioneers" on July 19 you can learn the difference between helpful  and sometimes tasty  plants and those to avoid.

Become a Southwest Indian on July 20 and visit a tepee, sample Native American foods, and hear tales and legends of 150 years past.

And learn about the life of the cowboy on July 22 during "Home on the Range," making biscuits, western crafts and a rope.

All sessions cost $12 for fort members, $15 for nonmembers.

Adults and children can enjoy more cowboy food during our annual National Cowboy Day celebration on Saturday, July 23, from 9 - 11 a.m. in the courtyard at Flipper and Burgess streets. Join us for a cowboy breakfast of eggs, sausage, biscuits, hash browns, coffee and juice, followed by some entertaining skits from the Concho Cowboy Company and other living history activities.

The event will be one of hundreds across the nation to mark the contributions of this legendary figure in our western and national culture. Tickets will be $10, available for purchase in our visitors center.

On Thursday, July 28, Fort Concho will celebrate the 150th anniversary of the act of Congress that created the Buffalo Soldiers, the African-American soldiers of the 9th and 10th Cavalry and the 24th and 25th Infantry regiments. All four units served at Fort Concho from 1869-85. The 10th Cavalry was headquartered at the fort from 1875-82.

To honor these outstanding soldiers who helped to settle the West, we will hold a retreat ceremony at 6:30 p.m. on the Parade Ground, followed by a talk in the Commissary Building by Dr. John Langellier, one of the leading historians of the American West who recently published a book on the Buffalo Soldiers. The event is free and open to all.

The next day our mules, wagon and troops travel to Houston to take part in a major parade on Saturday, July 30, as part of a national celebration of the Buffalo Soldiers' 150th anniversary.

We'll arrive Friday night and take part in the parade Saturday.

Throughout the month of July, our American Plains Artists show is open for viewing in the fort's Quartermaster Building. Come by from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesdays-Saturdays or from 1:30-4:30 p.m. on Sundays, and see 92 paintings and 18 sculptures created by 61 artists, covering many western themes. You can also vote for your favorite entry.

The show is free to all and, if you see one you just must have, all of the artworks are for sale.

So come by and see us in July. Sign up your children or grandkids for a few of these great workshops. Eat like a cowboy on July 23. Help us mark the 150th anniversary of the Buffalo Soldiers on July 28. And enjoy some wonderful western art throughout the month.

As Mayor Morrison says, "Giddyup!"

Bob Bluthardt is the Fort Concho manager for the city of San Angelo. Contact him at 325-481-2730 or robert.bluthardt@cosatx.us.
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By Roy K. Robb

As I walked into the administration building at West Texas Boys Ranch this morning, I met a young man and his mother. The young man was starting his first day at the ranch and his mother was saying her goodbyes.

Obviously, they came to the ranch by vehicle and the mother was leaving by her vehicle. But, her son was staying behind to start another ride in his young life, one that would change his entire future.

The first few days here will be difficult as he will be missing his mother and his friends from his community. However, our cottage parents, caseworkers, administrators and boys will make sure that he is welcomed and within a short time he will feel like all boys at the ranch. It is important to note that we at West Texas Boys Ranch take good boys whose lives are somewhat out of control and we help them find the path back through spiritual and moral values. Therein lies the start of the ride which will help them grow to be mature giving men.

There are many things about the WTBR that are very different from any other facility in the state of Texas.

We keep the number of boys in a cottage low (eight boys) so they will receive individualized care instead of being lost in the crowd of a large facility.

The ranch uses everything available and continues to look for new tools to reverse a boy's negative behavior: Mother Nature, individualized treatment plans, physical fitness, therapy, horseback riding (equine therapy), personalized academic help, vocational skills and much more. It is impossible for a young man to hide in our program; he will be an active participant in ensuring his future success in life.

We are extremely fortunate that our staff really cares about each boy at the ranch and does not look at their job as just a job. Instead they are viewing their job as a calling. We help boys become men of integrity.

WTBR serves families from a range of racial, cultural, socioeconomic and religious backgrounds. However, we are not equipped to help every boy who applies to the ranch. Boys who are acutely dangerous to themselves or others, including actively suicidal youth, youth with psychotic-like behavior or youth who are sexual perpetrators and require treatment in a more secure environment.

WTBR requests at least a minimum 12-month commitment from each boy admitted to the program. In some instances placements have lasted longer, but these have been extenuating circumstances. It is our desire that West Texas Boys Ranch be the last out of home placement for a young man.

A boy does not have to be a Christian or even interested in Christianity to live at West Texas Boys Ranch; he simply needs to be willing to live in an environment where Christian principles are put into practice. Regular church and chapel attendance, devotional time and Christian religious observances are routine components of our program.

For the past 69 years, WTBR has quietly gone about its business of intervening in the lives of troubled and at-risk youth. There have been thousands of young men who came and went from the ranch during this time frame. Young men have walked through our doors and started a ride that has changed their lives. The ride we are talking about at WTBR is not always easy nor is it always hard.

Boys quickly learn that showing manners, respect, honesty and accepting responsibility for one's behavior can make the ride much more pleasant. We are quickly approaching our 70th anniversary and are trying to contact former boys who have called West Texas Boys Ranch home for a time in their life to join us. If you are one of the young men or maybe now even an older man and would like to be kept notified of our progress toward this 70th reunion or just a friend of the ranch, we would ask that you contact Angelina Osornio Torres at atorres@wtbr.org.

Roy K. Robb is the WTBR liaison. He can be reached at r.robb@wtbr.org.
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The following editorial appeared in the June 28 Austin American-Statesman:

We welcome Judge Elsa Alcala's frank  and courageous  assessment of the Texas death penalty, not for what people wish the state's capital punishment system to be, but for what it is: Discriminatory, inefficient and immoral.

That assessment coming from an experienced judge on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals  the state's highest court in criminal matters  is not easily dismissed.

It's true that many Texans support the death penalty as a tough, fair and painless way to punish those convicted of certain heinous crimes. That category includes crimes in which more than one person was murdered, a law enforcement officer was killed, or circumstances that involve murder and another aggravated felony. ...

To be sure, those are horrible crimes that warrant the toughest punishment on the books. The problem with the death penalty is that it is final. Once done, it cannot be undone. As such, it requires a perfect system in which to operate justly and morally. An imperfect system means a killer gets away, while an innocent is imprisoned or executed.

It's no wonder that Alcala has growing discomfort with the Texas death penalty system, riddled with imperfections. She wrote about them in a recent opinion regarding the case of Julius Jerome Murphy, sentenced to die for the 1997 shooting death of a man whose car had broken down along Interstate 30 in Texarkana. ...

Alcala wrote that Texas courts should study whether the death penalty is unconstitutional because it is arbitrarily imposed by race, disproportionately affecting minorities, and whether excessive delays in imposing the ultimate sentence results in cruel and unusual punishment because inmates are held in solitary confinement for years, if not decades. Those inequities are reflected in state figures that show 71 percent of those awaiting execution in Texas are African-American or Latino.

Alcala came to the bench in 2011, when then-Gov. Rick Perry tapped her to fill a vacancy. Her doubts and concerns regarding the system have been sown by cases that came before her, including:

 Bobby James Moore: Alcala wrote that her court's reliance on a decades-old standard to measure intellectual disability, which is no longer used by medical professionals, "is constitutionally unacceptable."

 Duane Buck: Alcala sharply criticized rulings allowing Buck to be executed despite trial testimony that he was a future danger to society because he is black.

Such concerns grabbed the attention of the U.S. Supreme Court, which earlier this month announced it would examine the constitutionality of the death sentences given to Moore and Buck.

Pointing out the flaws in the state's death penalty system takes political guts, given the wide support it enjoys in Texas, topping 70 percent on a recent Gallup poll. That kind of courage has been in short supply since judge Tom Price left the state Court of Criminal Appeals in 2014. Before his departure, Price called for an end to the death penalty, saying he was haunted by a growing fear that Texas will execute an innocent inmate, if it hadn't already. He worried aloud whether he had participated in executing an innocent person.

As a long-time judge on the court, Price was part of a body with a dubious history in death penalty matters. The court still is plagued by its unfortunate "sleeping lawyer" ruling more than a decade ago refusing to halt an execution of a death row inmate whose attorney had snoozed through major portions of his capital murder trial.

Following that embarrassment, there was the "we close at five" incident in a 2007 case.

Presiding Judge Sharon Keller closed the court clerk's office at 5 p.m., preventing attorneys from filing a last-minute appeal for twice-convicted killer Michael Richard, who ultimately was executed without his final appeal being heard in court. ...

Aside from the court's well-documented missteps, there are other signs of the system's imperfections in the wave of exonerations of Texans, such as Michael Morton, who were wrongfully convicted and sent to prison for many years, while the true criminals went free. ...

It's no wonder Alcala is uncomfortable remaining silent. Doing so perpetuates the fallacy that the state's death penalty is carried out fairly and justly. That might be what many wish it to be, but it is not the reality.
Red Bull has overtaken Ferrari as the new main challenger for Mercedes in F1.

That is the view of F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, as the great Maranello marque continued to falter at Silverstone.

The new Achilles Heel is the gearbox, with Sebastian Vettel not only outqualified by Red Bull in Britain but demoted on the grid by yet another gearbox problem.

"If we knew that, we would do something about it," the German driver, when asked about the cause of the recurring problem, said.

"But I don't think there is a fundamental problem with the car because these problems have only cropped up in the last races. So we need to quickly understand what has changed."

Not only that, Ferrari is a long way from the leading Mercedes pace this weekend at Silverstone.

Asked why, Vettel said: "It's a good question but I don't know the answer. We are losing time in all three sectors, so they simply have a better car on the straights and in the corners."

Ferrari has new parts at Silverstone, but Vettel explained: "It is a step in the right direction but unfortunately not enough."

Ecclestone told the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag that he senses a trend in the recent effort of Mercedes' main rivals to catch up.

"I see Red Bull as the major challenger now," he said. "I think they will be the biggest challenger in 2017, although for formula one it would be better if it was Ferrari."

Asked what he thinks Ferrari is doing wrong, Ecclestone answered: "Sergio Marchionne is doing a super job. But he has too many other things he does as well.

"If you want to bring Ferrari back to the top, it's a 7 day a week, 24 hour a day job. Nothing against Maurizio Arrivabene, but he is a different character to Marchionne."

(GMM)
Toto Wolff says another collision between Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg could result in the imposition of team orders or even race bans.

With the silver-clad duo first and second on the grid at Silverstone, Mercedes chief Wolff would not divulge what deterrents have been put in place to prevent a recurrence of an Austrian GP-style crash.

But he did not deny that team orders or even one of the drivers being suspended are among the options.

"Such things are not the ideal scenario, of course," Wolff told German television RTL.

"But the two of them have a great responsibility to this brand Mercedes, for our team spirit and our partners and sponsors, and for all of the Mercedes employees around the world.

"If all of this work is thrown away with a collision, then at some point there has to be a sanction. It must come to an end," he added.

When asked specifically if a race ban is among the options, he confirmed: "Yes, that may be a consequence."

However, world champion Hamilton said after securing pole in front of his home crowd on Saturday that he will race Rosberg to the first corner as usual.

"Of course what we have been told will be at the back of our minds for sure, but that does not mean that we can't continue to drive hard as we have done," he said.

Rosberg agreed: "Yeah, we're still battling out there. It's just a small modification to how -- but that's it."

However, even racing purist and Mercedes team chairman Niki Lauda is warning the duo to be very careful.

"There is always the option to get off the throttle," he is quoted by Auto Motor und Sport. "Whoever wants to be world champion needs to have points.

"I would prefer to lose one or two places than to fly off the track," Lauda added.

(GMM)
Brita Darany von Regensburg didnt know what to do when her autistic daughter, Vanessa, turned 21 and was no longer eligible for federal programs or services.

Nothing. No more education, nothing therapeutic for reaching goals. Its like falling off a cliff, she said. But they live the same length of time as anyone else.

This realization inspired von Regensburg to found Greenwichs Friends of Autistic People in 1997 and establish its music therapy clinic program. FAP serves Fairfield County and parts of New York.

Von Regensburgs organization is pairing with Harvest Wine Bar in Greenwich to host a FUN-Raising dinner from 5 to 10 p.m. Tuesday. Harvest will donate 15 percent of the proceeds from orders during that time to the music therapy program.

Its an important cause to me because I have a friend whose son has autism, said Harvest co-owner Elizabeth Siguenza, whose family also owns Scena, Cava and 55 Wine Bar  all of which are also located in Fairfield County. We do work for a lot of different charities.

Harvest recently hosted an event for the Embracing Art Volunteer Team as well.

Currently, there are five children and adults in FAPs music therapy clinic program. FAP pays at least 50 percent of the total cost and if funds are available, can at times cover entire sessions.

People with autism cannot learn with traditional teaching measures, von Regensburg said. But professional music therapies can teach them important skills.

Five-year-old Wynton Brown had never been able to speak, but after two music therapy sessions, he made a sound, she said.

His parents got so excited that they added another session themselves, von Regensburg said. They scraped their money together for one more session to supply what the child needs. They think if they never do it, the child will never become independent.

Through donations from Tuesdays event, FAP is hoping to add at least one or two more children to the program.

Friends of Autistic People has another project in the works, von Regensburg said: the FAP Farm Academy, a group home that will offer training and skills to residents.

We found a property in Newtown, she said. It was just fabulous. And one of them has an indoor pool which is such a therapeutic tool for our children.

Many of her ideas for the FAP Farm Academy were inspired by a trip to Bittersweet Farms in Whitehouse, Ohio.

We found it fantastic, she said. There were adults living even with profound autism who were not left behind. They would learn how to work in a greenhouse, groom animals, prepare foods, fix birdfeeders, light carpentry. They had a print shop where they would do greeting cards they could sell. Its a teaching place where adults with autism are taught skills based on their individual skill levels on an individual plan.

At FAP Farm Academy, von Regensburg hopes to offer similar training and Siguenza said the idea was an important one.

I think its a wonderful idea to have that kind of quality of life where youre not just sitting around watching TV, Siguenza said. You are actually participating and having fun.

For reservations, call 203-869-4080.
GREENWICH  A review of fire safety inspection reports in every public school in Greenwich reveal numerous violations  improper use of electric cords, too much flammable artwork on walls and obstructed safety exits.

Every school inspected by the Greenwich Fire Marshals office revealed violations, from a high of 15 at the high school (the largest structure in the district) to a low at the Glenville School (the most modern in the district) and Old Greenwich School.




Haiti - Security : 20 years of SWAT





As part of the 20th anniversary of the specialized unit of the National Police of Haiti (PNH) the SWAT team [July 1996 - July 2016], formerly known as the Intervention Group of the National Police (GIPNH), Michel-Ange Gedeon, the new Director General a.i. of the National Police of Haiti (PNH) https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-17124-haiti-security-new-director-general-to-the-pnh.html highlighted the "20 years of proven professionalism, 20 years of results on the ground, but also 20 years of tremendous sacrifices serving the country. Today is all PNH by my voice that tells you 20 times, thank you."



Message of Michel-Ange Gedeon :

"I invite you to remain good citizens to continue to be good police officer. Do not think to ispose of the beautiful path set by your elders. Never forget that the protection of lives and property is the fundamental mission of your unit, your challenge is to do this job. Intervene with more professionalism as possible while avoiding collateral damage, that's the challenge. Cracking rigorously against the thugs while respecting the rights of all citizens of the country, although the situation is sometimes complicated, that's another challenge !



Because if the situation is not yet complicated, it is not yet yours. Although some malicious individuals threaten you, aggress you, or attempt to disapprove you at noon or at midnight, we must think of an expression dear to Robert Greene in his book on the strategy : '"At the heart of the storm, keep a cool head : it is the balance strategy'.



Old and new members of SWAT, I rely on you, congratulations! Happy feast and thank you"



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-17124-haiti-security-new-director-general-to-the-pnh.html



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Agriculture : Taiwan, strengthens the rice seeds production





Thursday, the Agronomist Guito Laurore, Minister of Agriculture accompanied by Ken Wang, the Secretary of the Embassy of Taiwan (Republic of China), received the visit of officials from the project to strengthen the rice production capacity in the Artibonite Valley.



This meeting allowed to review the 5-years project [2014-2018], which aims to increase production and use of quality seed rice and contribute to substantially increase the production of rice growers.



Recall that the rice seed requirements exceed 4,000 tons and rice production is close to 120,000 tonnes / year for a consumption that exceeds 600,000 tons / year.



Results to date of project :



200 multiplying agents have been trained as well as 10 technical engineers and 45 agricultural machinery operators ;



Construction of a drying area of 600 m2 with a deposit of 60 m2 ;



7,600 linear meters of drains have been cleaned ;



640 tonnes of commercial seed were produced with an objective of 2,000 tonnes end of 2018 ;



Direct beneficiaries of the project 7,000.



The Minister Guito thanked the team of Taiwanese cooperation for their solidarity and stressed the importance for the sector, to provide rice growers with quality seeds and especially to train multiplying agents.



This visit was an opportunity for the Secretary Ken Wang to reiterate the contribution of his country to Haitian agriculture and announce through the project, more than 700,000 dollars for the next year.



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Culture : Exhibition Haiti, a people of artists





"A people of painters lives Haiti" wrote Andre Malraux visiting Haiti (1975), noting that on this island everything is subject to pictorial transcript : market, marriage, fishing, religious syncretism, etc... 25 years after the surrealist Andre Breton, writer and Minister noted in his turn the extraordinary richness of the Haitian artistic creation.



After having long been inspired by the French model excluding the proper values of popular culture, then influenced by the US occupation or attracted by the European taste, Haitian culture was forged in the twentieth century from the forms of expression of resistance mixing poetry, magic, religion and political commitment, through the most diverse artistic proposals.



"In Haiti, painting has always been a traditional form of expression as evidenced by the murals and illustrations of religious inspiration some dating back to the eighteenth century," explains Patrice Dilly, collector and gallery owner passionate about Haitian art (Espace Loas ).



Painters and Haitian artists are featured this summer in Lavandou (Var, France) in the exhibition "Haiti, a people of artists", which presents from July 9 to September 11, 2016, nearly 80 works of several artists of different generations. Among them : Prospere Pierre-Louis (creator of the movement Saint-Soleil,first rural arts community in Haiti), Jacques Enguerrand Gourgue, Prefete Duffaut Frantz Zephyrin, Serge Jolimeau, Lionel Saint-Eloi T-ELOI.



Paintings, sculptures, "piecenfe of Bosmetal" (artists working the metal from oil drums), voodoo flags etc..., express the richness of their creativity.



In addition, forty photographs of Haiti by the journalist Guillaume Auberti "Ayiti La bel", will be exhibited alongside the hall of honor of the town hall of Lavandou, place Ernest-Reyer.



A conference "Understanding Haiti today" by Jacques Leon-Emile, President of "Haiti Memory and Culture" will be held Friday, July 29 at 18:00 at the Cultural Space.



Exhibition "Haiti, an artist people"

July 9 to September 11, 2016

Cultural space, av. Provence 83980 Le Lavandou (France)

Hours 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., Tuesday to Sunday

Information 04 94 00 40 50 - 06 09 58 45 02.



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Justice : RNDDH worries of appointments to OPC at the end of mandate





The National Network for the Defence of Human Rights (RNDDH) notes the installation of former Chief Inspector General of the National Police of Haiti (PNH), Fritz Jean, as Deputy Protector of Citizen https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-17966-icihaiti-politic-investiture-ceremony-of-the-deputy-protector-of-citizens.html "At a time when the Office of Citizen Protection (OPC) seems wanting to fill positions that should have been occupied for a long time," RNDDH stresses.



The Network recalls that the current Protective Florence Elie, appointed by presidential decree, on 9 September 2009, for a term of 7 years and stresses that "[...] it is only now, two months before the expiration of its mandate, she is installing the Deputy Citizen Protector."



The network precise that Article 18 of the Law on Organization and Operation of Citizen Protection, published in Le Moniteurr of July 20, 2012, stipulates in alienated 2 that "Subject to Article 19, it [the Deputy Citizen Protector] is appointed by order of the President of the Republic on Ombudsman proposal within ninety (90 days) after the inauguration of the Ombudsman."



Today, the policy to fill at all costs the vacancies at OPC challenges the RNDDH "especially since OPC seems to believe they can find competent people only in the ranks of the PNH [the DG of the OPC installed there two months is a former executive of the Directorate of Penitentiary Administration]. Therefore, RNDDH invites the OPC to caution, because to want to do too much before the expiration of the current mandate of the Protector, the agency risk of be politicized and lose its bearings [...]"



See also :

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-17966-icihaiti-politic-investiture-ceremony-of-the-deputy-protector-of-citizens.html



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Dominican Republic : The Haitian Government says anything !





Following the protest Tuesday https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-17947-haiti-flash-140-000-haitians-facing-deportation-because-of-the-inaction-of-haiti.html of Haitian nationals outside the Embassy of Haiti in Santo Domingo, who demanded their passports that many have been waiting for two years after paying the fees charged by Haiti, Ambassador Jean Pierre Idalbert and Deputy Minister Counselor Miosemine Celestin assured Thursday that the embassy was making efforts for its nationals can obtain the documents they need to renew their temporary migrant regularization card granted by the Dominican Government.



Haitian diplomats have tried to justify explaining that there was a shortage of booklets for the production of passports. A bad explanation while Francois Anick Joseph, Minister of Interior and Territorial Communities in Haiti, announced in early July the doubling of passport production in the country https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-17919-icihaiti-politic-the-passport-application-increased-200-over-one-year.html



Recall that in July 2014, the identification and documentation program of Haitian immigrants (PIDIH) was launched and that 300,000 Haitians living in the Dominican Republic had to receive an extract of the archives, a national ID card and a passport in exchange of 1,000 pesos. After a two-million dollar fiasco https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-14432-haiti-politic-failure-of-pidih-a-fiasco-of-$2-million.html the audit report of PIDIH delivered 15 December 2015 by the General Inspectorate of Finance to the Minister Wilson Laleau, indicates that on the 300,000 Haitians, only 2,081 passports were issued over 2 years...



Daniel Supplice, Ambassador of Haiti to the Dominican Republic, before being revoked for speaking the truth, admitted that the Haitian government had not helped thousands of undocumented Haitians "We are responsible for what is happening today with our compatriots [...] If we do not manage to identify our citizens at home, I do not see how we could have done elsewhere [...] I have already ordered the closure of the program, which cost two million dollars so far" https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-14080-icihaiti-social-tens-of-thousands-of-haitians-in-dr-abandoned-by-haiti.html



Ambassador Jean Pierre Idalbert and Deputy Minister Counselor Miosemine Celestin said the Haitian Government planned to set up a Haitian passport production unit in the Dominican Republic... However the two diplomats were not able to give a date for the operation of such equipment...



Furthermore Minister Celestin said many nationals who protested outside the embassy on Tuesday had their passport ready, but they did not come to remove them ! One may wonder how the Minister can make such a claim, while on one hand the demonstrators have not been the subject to identification and secondly, given the importance of this document, it is almost impossible that a Haitian applicant of this document he paid, have not claimed it...



Let's remind our Haitian diplomats in the Dominican Republic, that while they tell stories to our compatriots, nearly 143,000 of them facing deportation between 17 July and December 2016 (except Dominican Government intervention) because they are unable to renew their temporary migrant regularization card, due to the absence of a required passport https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-17947-haiti-flash-140-000-haitians-facing-deportation-because-of-the-inaction-of-haiti.html



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-14613-haiti-diplomacy-daniel-supplice-does-not-fear-to-tell-the-truth.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-14612-icihaiti-diplomacy-the-ambassador-of-haiti-in-dr-suspended.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-14432-haiti-politic-failure-of-pidih-a-fiasco-of-$2-million.html



SL/ HaitiLibre


















John Conlee, Grand Ole Opry star and one of the most recognizable voices in country music, honors law enforcement officers around the country with his performance of "Walking Behind The Star", recently performed on the #1 rated cable morning show Fox News' FOX & Friends.



Click here to watch

"I wanted to do this song to show support to police officers who are just doing their jobs," says Conlee. "With all the turmoil going on I think they are relieved that someone is paying attention the other way and giving them a pat on the back."



Conlee's poignant interpretation of "Walkin' Behind the Star" has sparked comments from around the country:

Howard R. Sills, sheriff for Putnam County, GA -- "For the last 41 years I have been a police officer and for the last 19 years I have been the Sheriff of my hometown community. Needless to say we in the law enforcement profession haven't been thought of too highly in most of the national media of late. This media coverage has made me more than a little despondent. I was lamenting about all of this when I turned on the Opry show this past Saturday night. It was not too long after the show began before a wonderful breeze of fresh air swept across my veranda and from my old GE radio sitting up on the porch rail. That breeze was the moment I heard you announce to the audience and the world that the Opry wanted to take a moment to honor those who "walk behind the star" and you sang the song with the same title that I'd never heard before. It literally caused me to tear up and it lifted my spirits. I cannot express thanks enough to you, the Opry and WSM-AM for the recognition during your show."

Mike Kelleher, chaplain from San Bernardino County Sheriff department -- "With all the bad press our force is constantly receiving, I would like to thank Mr. Conlee for his uplifting song."

James Bartels, police officer in Patriot, OH -- As a policeman shot in the line of duty, I found John Conlee's comments and his performance on the Grand Ole Opry very moving. I would like to thank him for understanding the terror law enforcement endure every day in the society we live in.

Derik Walker, K102 Country in Spokane/Sandpoint, ID -- Just wanted you to pass along to John Conlee that his song, "Walkin' Behind The Star" was the absolute perfect song to play this week for our fallen officer Greg Moore of the Coeur d'Alene, Idaho police department. I can't tell you how many calls we got regarding the song and how much it meant to folks in the inland Northwest as they deal with this tragedy. Sargent Greg Moore served the people for 16 years, before he was gunned down in Post Falls, Idaho Monday night. Please extend our gratitude to John on behalf of the entire K102 Country family!

David Lyons, police chief in Savannah, GA -- I am a police chief in the state of Georgia, the immediate past president of the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police and a career police officer. I heard you sing the song, "Walkin' Behind the Star" and wanted to tell you how much I appreciated you. With all that's going on in the world right now along with the attacks on our police officers, it is good to hear some appreciative words. Thank you and God bless you.



Conlee's newest release, "Bread and Water" has deep meaning to the veteran Opry legend. "The song was written by Vince Gill and Leslie Satcher and hit me right in the heart the first time I heard it. It is a story of redemption and a reminder that with God, all things are possible."



The chorus of the song says:

Bread and water, man that's all you need

Bread and water, brother just believe

If you ain't too proud to get down on your knees

The bread and water's free

Bread and water's free



John continues the long-standing relationship between faith and the country music industry. "Out of concerns for today's America it has affected the way I'm applying my musical energies. I believe in prayer and I feel like now more than ever is the time to be singing about it and hopefully inspiring others to do the same."



About John Conlee

Kentucky native and Grand Ole Opry member, John Conlee, has one of country music's most recognizable voices. Self-penned and signature hit "Rose Colored Glasses," was the first of over 30 hit singles, most of which charted in the Top 10 or better. Some of the songs from the John Conlee hit list include "Back Side of Thirty, " "Lady Lay Down," "Friday Night Blues," "Common Man," "I'm Only In It For The Love" and "Domestic Life." All of Conlee's hits have that unmistakable common thread - that unique voice. In 2015, Conlee hasn't slowed down and continues to cut songs with substance with the release of Classics 2 that includes a tribute to law enforcement titled "Walkin' Behind the Star."

To learn more about John Conlee and his latest project, Classics 2 or tour date specifics, visit www.johnconlee.com.

Fans can see Conlee perform in the following cities:

July 09 Shipshewana, Ind. - Blue Gate Theater

July 12 Calgary, Alberta, Canada - Calgary Stampede

July 28 Jasper, Ala. - CHS Building

July 29 Dadeville, Ala. - Lake Martin Event Center

July 30 Valdosta, Ga. - Rainwater Conference Center

July 31 Dothan, Ala. - Honeysuckle Middle School

Aug 05 Shulenburg, Texas - Schulenburg Festival

Aug 06 Selma, Texas - Blue Bonnet Palace

Aug 11 Cadiz, Ky. - Lake Barkley State Resort Park

Aug 13 Angleton, Texas - Brazoria County Fair

Sep 09 Paris, Texas - Heritage Hall

Sep 10 Amarillo, Texas - Tri-State Fair & Rodeo

Sep 15 Miner, Mo. - Miner Convention Center

Sep 16 Terre Haute, Ind. - Cecilian Auditorium

Sep 17 Hartford, Wisc. - Schauer Arts & Activities Center

Sep 18 Jasper, Ind. - Jasper Arts Center

Oct 06 Fort Payne, Ala. - DeKalb Theatre

Oct 07 Bowling Green, Ky. - La Gala

Oct 08 Mount Vernon, Ky. - Renfro Valley

Oct 23 Yorktown, Texas - Yorktown Western Days

Oct 28 Houston, Texas - Stampede Houston

Nov 17 Dahlonega, Ga. - Holly Theatre

Nov 18 Tullahoma, Tenn. - South Jackson Civic Center

Nov 19 Russellville, Ala. - The Roxy Theatre

For booking, contact [email protected], 615-564-2580.

Tags : john conlee walking behind the star law enforecement john conlee news john conlee new single
Published on 2016/07/10 | Source

Domestic auto sales reached a new high in the first half of this year.

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The Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association said Sunday that domestic sales totaled 812,265 cars in the first six months, up 10.9 percent on-year. This is the first time domestic sales have exceeded 800,000 in the period.

Total sales including exports, however, dwindled to 4.36 million cars, a drop of 1.7 percent from the same period last year.

Hyundai posted sales of 351,124 cars here and 2.04 million overseas, up 4.5 percent and down 1.8 percent, respectively. Overall, the automaker's total sales fell 0.9 percent.

Kia's total sales fell 4.6 percent to 1.46 million cars, with domestic sales up 14.1 percent and overseas sales down 8.2 percent.

GM Korea achieved its best-ever first-half result thanks to the launch of the new Malibu and Spark models, which boosted domestic sales by 21.6 percent on-year. Total sales declined 0.1 percent to 307,512 cars due to a drop in exports.

Renault Samsung saw domestic sales rise 25.9 percent on the back of brisk sales of its new SM6 sedan, which was released in March. Ssangyong's sales rose 7.1 percent, helped by the popularity of the Tivoli small SUV.
Published on 2016/07/10 | Source

Soldiers conduct a live-fire drill in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province on Wednesday as part of a Korea-U.S. joint marine exercise, which kicked off on June 27 for an 18-day run.

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Military authorities will install about a dozen more propaganda sound systems on the border with North Korea to increase pressure on the regime.

"We're going to double the numbers of loudspeakers in the demilitarized zone in response to the continued nuclear and missile threats from North Korea", a government source said Wednesday.

Currently, sound systems are set up at 11 locations along the frontline and five to six loudspeaker vehicles ply the roads.

The new loudspeakers are so high-powered that their sounds can be heard clearly more than 10 km away.

The propaganda broadcasts typically seek to expose the North Korean regime and extol the achievements of South Korea.

Pyongyang has in the past reacted extremely sensitively to the broadcasts, which it fears undermine Army morale and foment discontent in the frontline area, which is more cut off from outside influence than parts along the Chinese border.
Published on 2016/07/09

Clara Chow shares her experiences of her amazing trip around Jeju island, Asia One has some terrific suggestions on what to do and see around Korea this summer, a new K-bus launches for tourists, and are South Koreans too critical when they travel overseas?

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"Art, architecture and hipster cafes in romantic Jeju"

Clara Chow has this great travel piece on Jeju for The Strait Times about her four-day trip to one of the most iconic destinations in Korea, Jeju island: "We channel Thelma and Louise - minus the crime and car chases. Motoring anti-clockwise around the rugby ball-shaped island, we eschew the usual tourist spots in favour of art, architecture and hipster cafes. Jeju has these in spades. But, really, there is no avoiding romance in Jeju".

...READ ON THE STRAIT TIMES

"Where to go in South Korea for a summer vacation"

Not sure what to get up to this summer? Asia One has some fun and exciting options for you to consider including various festivals, theme parks, outdoors activities, and there are even suggestions on where to go so you can shop till you drop. "If South Korea is on your list for a summer vacation this year, here are some recommended places and activities to see and do while exploring the country..."

...READ ON ASIA ONE

"Are South Koreans the "Most Negative International Travelers"?"

Do South Koreans travel well? According to a recent report, citizens of The Land of the Morning Calm struggle slightly when overseas not to be too critical: "South Koreans are notoriously discerning customers who have long dealt with resentment of being ripped off, even in their own country".

...READ ON STRIPES KOREA

"K-Travel Bus service gets foreign tourists out of Seoul"

Visitors to Korea can now enjoy new bus routes designed to take foreigners around the country to various tourist attractions and historical sites outside the capital. "Few foreign tourists are familiar with the various attractions outside of Seoul. Thus, the committee, with the goal to attract more than 20 million foreign tourists, has prepared six regional bus tours..."

...READ ON KOREA JOONGANG DAILY
By Vasia Orion | Published on 2016/07/10

"The Good Wife" starts with a focus on the present and gives us only the bare essentials of the past. Episode one establishes the scandal and we flash forward to a point where our heroine has a husband in jail, nothing but her phone contract to her name and a family to support. We are introduced to some key characters and our lead gets her first court case. It is a packed, straightforward and stylish premiere for the drama.

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Kim Hye-kyeong's (Jeon Do-yeon) position is dire, but rather than focusing on her handling of her husband's scandal, we get to see her just as she begins to bounce back. This is a smart decision in terms of pacing, because we get to the fun part of her work as a lawyer right away. It is also much more realistic. A woman with a big mess on her hands and teenage children who need her has little time to sort her feelings out.

This is a premise which can flourish in the context of South Korean culture. Hye-kyeong is the center of attention and not in a good way. The shame of her husband's scandal is used to humiliate her, her position as an older working woman is used to exercise power on her. All of this is encouraged by a system of strict social and workplace hierarchy. Even so, Hye-kyeong does not allow this behavior from just anyone and she does not accept the idea that her husband's shame is her family's.

The series shows signs of a progressive approach with its characters. Aside from Hye-kyeong's unapologetically fair response to the pressure she receives, we might have a lesbian or bisexual character in Kim Dan (Nana), which is an important step forward for Korean television. The drama seems fitting for social commentary, but it does not disregard the value of good humor in presenting it. The fact that Hye-kyeong uses the theme from "Jaws" as the ringtone for her mother-in-law is brilliant.

The premiere episode mostly sets the tone, main conflicts and the initial moral alignment of its main characters. Hye-kyeong is just, selfless and caring. Her husband, Lee Tae-joon (Yoo Ji-tae) is entitled, controlling and unfaithful. Hye-kyeong's friend and boss, Seo Joong-won (Yoon Kye-sang) is a mystery and so is her first partner, the aforementioned Dan. The firm's co-CEO, Seo Myeong-hee (Kim Seo-hyung) is prickly, but she knows good work when she sees it.

My good first impressions notwithstanding, I am skeptical on some things. The oversight regarding the CCTV footage is convenient, but can evidence realistically be bypassed so easily? Hye-kyeong's focus on her husband's wardrobe is intriguing, but a bit vague. Is she spotting clues or are we to understand that she has been conditioned to tend to his image? Regardless, as someone who has not watched the American series I feel episode one is a solid start.

"The Good Wife" is directed by Lee Jeong-hyo, written by Han Sang-woon and features Jeon Do-yeon, Yoo Ji-tae, Yoon Kye-sang and Kim Seo-hyung.

Written by: Orion from 'Orion's Ramblings'
By Lisa Espinosa | Published on 2016/07/09

KCON New York 2016 presented by Toyota featured over ninety booths in the outdoor convention, and many of them were beauty booths. HanCinema stopped by the booths to chat with the businesses that bring Korean beauty products and skin care to New York and the rest of the world outside beauty-forward South Korea. Let's take a look a four amazing companies that set up booths at the Prudential Center June 24 and June 25 for KCON New York 2016! Don't forget to check out the instructions at the bottom of the article to enter our giveaway. Three mystery beauty gift bags are up for grabs this go 'round!

SOKO GLAM



The Soko Glam booth was alive with activity as KCONners gathered round to play games and win prizes, talk with the beauty experts, and peruse the hottest summer merchandise. Soko Glam is an online store founded in 2012 by husband and wife pair Charlotte and David Cho. The New York-based company endeavors to bring the best of Korean beauty products to the world outside Korea and is a hot name in Korean beauty. Charlotte Cho held two work shops each day of KCON New York 2016 as well as a video interview with Fuse on the hottest skin care products.

MASKSHEETS

MASKSHEETS is an online store that specializes in bringing the most popular of Korean beauty to you, the face mask, as well as other skin care. People have different skin types and MASKSHEETS offers the best Korean skin care for all skin types. Their blog features different items and educates Korean beauty fans with humorous prose and the information needed to make educated purchases for your skincare needs. Talented actor Park Bo-gum ("Moonlight Drawn by Clouds"",Answer Me 1988", "Tomorrow's Cantabile", "Hello Monster") is a spokesmodel for the store.

E NATURE

E Nature is a beauty brand within Seoul-based company Hanbul, Value Creator for Human Beauty. It offers natural cosmetics that are friendly to your skin and friendly to the earth we share from the product itself to the lovely packaging. Their website talks science and nature, with information derived from twenty-seven years of research. Eco-conscious Korean beauty lovers will most definitely enjoy this brand of Korean skin care.

THEFACESHOP

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Seoul-based Korean beauty brand THEFACESHOP has been around since 2003 and providing high-quality skin care, beauty products, and bath products to the the international market since 2004. HanCinema visited the shop in Myeongdong during the Korea Joa trip with KOFICE in October of 2015 and was lucky to visit the booth at KCON New York 2016. Kim Soo-hyun ("Real", "Producers", "My Love from the Star") is a spokesmodel for the brand. Not only can THEFACESHOP products be found online and in their stores, but Walgeens now carries their brand, showing how popular Korean beauty has become.

Contuining last week's giveaways, we have more amazing beauty products from MustaeV, Blossom Jeju, The Face Shop, Duft & Doft, and E Nature. We will be having two more giveaways and six opportunities to win over the next two weeks. This secondgiveaway is comprised of three goody bags that will be made up of mystery pairing of the products in the pictures. Please follow the directions below to enter and win!

Written by: Lisa Espinosa AKA Raine from 'Raine's Dichotomy'

Korean Beauty Goody Bag #2
Published on 2016/07/10 | Source

Korea has given the green light to massive digital billboards like the ones in New York's Times Square and Piccadilly Circus in London.

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The government has eased regulations on digital advertising and permitted the designation of downtown spots where anything goes, according to the Interior Ministry on Monday. It hopes the spots can serve as landmarks and tourism attractions.

Times Square attracts 50 million tourists a year who stare transfixed at its massive LED billboards. A few seconds of advertising cost millions of dollars.

Regional governments can submit their nominated spots to the ministry for review.

Candidate sites are major commercial areas such as Myeong-dong and the COEX building in Samseong-dong in Seoul and the Centum City shopping mall in Busan.

The ministry expects that the billboard market will generate economic benefits worth W8.1 trillion and added value worth W3.6 trillion, and create some 59,000 new jobs over the next five years (US$1=W1,148).
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.

13:18, 27 OCT 2022
Source: SWBH NHS Trust

The sites across West Birmingham and Sandwell, including the new Midland Metropolitan Hospital opening in October 2018, are set to transform patient care in the area. Like many healthcare providers in the UK, the Trust is facing key challenges including increasing hospital workload, budgetary pressures and a 10-15% year-on-year rise in demand for CT and MR imaging. The collaboration with Siemens will help to provide the backing required to tackle these issues and create a first-class clinical environment.

The Managed Equipment Service partnership includes the provision, renewal and maintenance of imaging equipment like computer tomography and magnetic resonance, ultrasound, X-ray and molecular imaging, underpinned by solutions to support operational and clinical efficiency. Within the scope of the contract, Siemens will also offer financing, professional services, room planning, training for clinical users as well as onsite technical support. The collaboration plans to increase the quality of care as well as improve clinical outcomes for patients and to oversee that the technology available is the best fit at any time.

The strong alliance will support the Trust's 2020 vision to become known as the best integrated care organization in the NHS.

"The new Midland Metropolitan Hospital is set to open in 2018 and it is essential that the imaging department is equipped with the right technology to meet our needs to prepare us for the future," comments Dr Jonathan Benham, Consultant Radiologist at SWBH NHS Trust. "The partnership will enable both staff and patients to benefit from a well-designed clinical environment, reduced downtime and improved patient turnaround times. An investment in modern technology is an investment in our patients, who will benefit from the latest medical imaging techniques greatly."

Tony Waite, Director of Finance at SWBH NHS Trust states, "Securing confidence and greater certainty in our services and financial planning is important; we strive to get the best value for money to ensure the most efficient use of public money. We chose to work with Siemens as the result of a competitive process during which we evaluated quality, safety and financial criteria. The outcome is a partnership which brings together our collective strengths that will work together to achieve our 2020 vision. Together we are stronger which, most importantly, is of benefit to our patients."

"We are very pleased that we are now expanding our business relationship with the Trust and, in so doing, helping to boost its clinical excellence, operational efficiency, and profitability," says Matthias Platsch, head of Services at Siemens Healthineers. "This Managed Equipment Services contract will enable the Trust to offer its patients premium care supported by state-of-the-art technology, customized training and workflow optimization solutions from Siemens Healthineers. Together we will tackle the challenges facing healthcare today, and help our partner prepare for the future with efficient hospital operations, sustainable business models and high standards of care."

Source: Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust
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REUNIONS

TENNESSEE HIGH CLASS OF 1971: Bristol, Tenn., State Line Bar & Grill, State Street downtown Bristol. Aug. 27 is 45th reunion. Seeking classmates. More details to come. Sign up at http://www.thsclassof1971.org/class_index.cfm. Jim Flannagan, tensguru@gmail.com.

JOHN BATTLE CLASS OF 1976 & VHS ANNEXED CLASSMATES: Seeking classmates for 40th reunion on Sept. 3. If you have not been contacted, please call Sharon, 423-646-4490.

WEAVER-BURNETTE FAMILY REUNION: Bristol, Tenn., Weaver Union Church, 132 People Road. July 24, 1:30 p.m.: Bring covered dish. 424-878-7121 or 423-274-0184. halfpintDE@aol.com

JOHN BATTLE CLASS OF 1976 AND VHS: Reunion is planned for Sept. 3. If you have not been contacted, please call Sharon  423-646-4490.

VIRGINIA HIGH SCHOOL CLASS OF 1966: Bristol, Va., Seeking classmates for 50th reunion on Sept. 2  3. If you have not been contacted send info to P. O. Box 16601 Bristol, Va. 24209 or email vhsclassof1966reunion@gmail.com.

COUNTS FAMILY REUNION: Tiny, Va., Aug 6, Frying Pan Road Rte 625 3 miles off Highway Sulphur Springs Baptist Church celebrates 75th Family Reunion of John Counts and William B. Sutherland. Please bring cover dish dinner along with any artifacts or photos 1700  1803 eras, 276-859-0038 or wwwcountsfamilyreunion.org, or gmarney@yahoo.com..

Sullivan East High School Class of 1986: Bluff City, Tenn., Seeking classmates for 30th reunion Sept 30  Oct 1, for information email sullivaneast86@gmail.com.

MATTHEW HAY MCCALL FAMILY REUNION: Abingdon, Va., 25236 Hillman Highway, Southwest Virginia 4-H Center, July 31, 1 p.m., covered dish lunch, for information call 276-628-7469.

THE SECOND INDIANHEAD DIVISION ASSOCIATION: Springfield, Missouri, 95th annual reunion, Sept 20  24, seeking anyone who served at any time in the Armys 2nd Infantry Division, for information contact Bob Haynes, 224-225-1202 or 2idahq@comcast.net.

WILLIAM KING HIGH SCHOOL REUNION: Abingdon, Va., William King Museum of Art, 415 Academy Drive NW, Aug 6, 10 a.m., picnic please bring your own, and walk through school and grounds, for information 276-274-8281.

WYTHEVILLE COMMUNITY COLLEGE: Hillsville, Va., near Carter Pines Picnic Shelter, near Route 58, Route 221 intersection: 8th Annual Carroll County Alumni Picnic, July 29, 5  7 p. m., music provided by banjo player Steve Barr and Don Easter to cater event, for more information call WCC Educational Foundation 276-223-4771 or email foundation@wcc.vccs.edu.

COPENHAVER FAMILY REUNION: Marion, Va., 515 Crab Orchard Lane, July 30, 10 a. m.  6 p. m. registration begins at 10 a. m. Hungry Mother Park shelters 1, lunch to follow at noon, conclude with bring your own dinner at 6 p. m.: Frederick and Eve Copenhaver celebrate 288 years Copenhaver family in America, donations are requested, visit www.copenhaver.org or call Karen Copenhaver 276-783-8022.
Those undertaking key embankment projects must adopt a lifelong responsibility for their quality and the government should seriously investigate any problems discovered, stressed Premier Li Keqiang at a State Council executive meeting on July 7.

He urged local governments and departments at all levels to remain alert for all flood dangers, prepare for the heavy flood rescue work and never overlook or relax on flood-prevention work.

Just a day before the meeting, the Premier was still in Wuhan, Hubei province, amid torrential rain, to direct the rescue and relief work in the citys Qingshan district, where the Yangtze River bank was overflowing as a result of continuous heavy rain in the region.

The Premier rushed to Wuhan on the morning of July 6, after holding a meeting on flood control the previous night. Before that, he inspected flood control work in Yueyang, Hunan province, and Anhui province.

The leaking point is only 400 meters from the main structure of the Yangtze River embankment, and the central area of Wuhan city is just behind it. If floodwaters are to breach the embankments, the impact will be unbearable, the Premier told the executive meeting.

The Premier urged officials at all levels to attach great importance to flood prevention work.

He clearly requested all-day inspection of key flood-prevention projects, such as the main embankments along the Yangtze River, to prevent floods before they happen.

This year, the rainy season arrived earlier with heavy rainfall, and parts of the regions in China have been bombarded with the biggest flood pressure since 1998, when unprecedented deluges appeared. This years complicated El Nino weather pattern also brought difficulties for weather forecasters, the Premier said.

Officials who fail to perform their duties and cause major losses or injuries should be held accountable, Premier Li emphasized at the meeting.
Franklin County man guilty of killing man, hiding body

Justin Hockenberry was found guilty of killing Demetrios "Jimmy" Kalathas in November 2019 and faces life in prison without parole.
Uttar Pradesh exemplifies the hurdles and real challenges holding back Indias progress. Indias most populous state has been the crucible for political change over the past two decades. Not only does UP matter in terms of electoral arithmetic, it also plays a prominent role in shaping the ideological dimensions of electoral politics. Uttar Pradesh remains a laboratory for the shifting multi-caste alliances and political coalitions governing contemporary Indian politics.

The states electoral results are invariably volatile. Between 2007 and 2014, the electorate has rewarded and punished incumbents in every assembly and parliamentary election. Mayawati produced a surprise electoral victory for the BSP in 2007, but only after the BSP shed its avowed ideological commitment to anti-Brahmanism. The induction of Brahmins into the BSP ensured the party could reach out to other upper caste and forward caste communities in the socially conservative Hindi heartland. A popular political slogan doing the rounds in 2007 neatly captured the BSPs ideological turnaround: Brahmin shankh bajaega, hathi badhta jaega.

Read | Assembly polls 2017: It will be a fight for every vote in battlefield UP

The purely tactical nature of this electoral coalition between upper castes, Dalits, non-dominant OBC castes and a section of Muslims cannot be overstated. The states Dalit community remains ideologically committed to the BSP, while all other social groups in the BSPs rainbow coalition remained wary and aloof from the BSPys overtly pro-Dalit agenda.

Read | UP polls, Dalit outreach in focus as Modi reshuffles cabinet today

By 2012, the BSPs coalition had unravelled and the Samajwadi Party stepped into the breach, promising a reformist, development-oriented government symbolised by Akhilesh Yadav, the youthful heir to Mulayam Singhs political empire. At the same time, the SP skilfully revived a Yadav-Muslim political alliance, which produced a record 116 Muslim legislators in the state assembly in Lucknow. However, Akhilesh appears to have succumbed to all the old malaises associated with the Samajwadi Party.

Read | Mayawati dares UP CM Akhilesh Yadav to sack tainted ministers

The Samajwadi Party administration has struggled to protect the lives and livelihoods of Muslims, the very community that turned out for the party in record numbers in 2012. While Mayawati ensured a virtually riot-free administration and empowered the state police force, over a 100 riots have taken place under the Samajwadi Party government.

The most egregious of these, the Muzaffarnagar riots groups claimed over 50 lives and left 50,000 people homeless in western Uttar Pradesh. The recent violent clashes between police and encroachers on public land in Mathura, which left 26 civilians and two police officers dead, also highlights the deterioration of law and order under the Samajwadi Party.

In 2014, Narendra Modi was able to masterfully craft an alliance of upper castes, forward castes and OBCs under a power Hindu nationalist, development-oriented umbrella. The BJP may adopt the same strategy as it hopes for a repeat of its formidable performance in 2017.

Read | Does BJP have an acceptable CM face in UP?

The BJP is well-funded and empowered by an extensive grassroots network of cadre in the towns and cities of Uttar Pradesh. Whether non-dominant OBC communities, including Nishads, Kurmis and Kushwahas rediscover their Bahujan identity or stay wedded to the idea of a larger Hindu Rashtra is an open question. The BJP has a formidable political machinery and dedicated troops on the ground. The BJP offers the promise of economic advancement and Hindu nationalism as a panacea to the problems afflicting Uttar Pradesh. However, the BJP lacks a credible chief ministerial candidate who can contain the partys own internal cleavages.

The BSP seeks to capitalise on the electorates perception of the Samajwadi Party as a party without a handle on the states administrative machinery. At the same time the BSP has sought to reach out to communities apathetic to the partys Dalit agenda, including Muslims threatened by violence and resurgent Hindu militancy.

Read | No party is above board

The BSP, on the other hand, is showing signs of a tentative political revival. The party came first in the latest district panchayat polls, which were held in November . The BSPs electoral fortunes were revived by victories in Agra, Ambedkar Nagar and Azamgarh. The BSP also ensured symbolic upset to the BJP in Jayapur, a village adopted by Prime Minister Modi in his parliamentary constituency of Varanasi. In this village BJPs Arun Singh was defeated by BSPs Ramesh Tiwari. Politicians associated with BSP leaders Ramvir Upadhaya and Lalji Verma also emerged victorious in Hathras and Ambedkar Nagar.

Fieldwork I conducted in western Uttar Pradesh points to a partial revival in nostalgia for Mayawatis centralised and authoritarian administration, as compared to the anarchic factionalism of the Samajwadi Party.

Read | Rift in Yadav family could impact ties ahead of UP polls

According to one upper caste PhD scholar from Dadri, The country needs authoritarian leadership. I did not approve of the BSPs social agenda which sought to bring about social change too rapidly. You cannot end a 1,000- year-old caste system in five years. However, I cannot fault Mayawati as an administrator. She was a good administrator and understood the importance of a clear chain of command in order to run the bureaucracy. I believe the nation needs strong leadership. That is why I supported Modi for Prime Minister and Mayawati for chief minister of Uttar Pradesh.

Nonetheless, the BSPs ability to capitalise on these recent gains and avoid further electoral humiliation at the hands of the BJP or the SP remains an open question.

Read | UP elections: Beleaguered BJP pushes its way into poll arena

A lot will depend on which party is best able to construct a broad-based, multi-caste coalition encompassing loyal supporters as well as swing voters motivated by issues of personal security and economic development rather than narrow, identity-based politics.

Read | Suspense over Priyankas role in upcoming elections may end soon

Ravi Shankar Jayaram is a doctorate in political science from Kings College, London

The views expressed are personal
Indias political class operates with a flawed policy playbook in the Valley which inevitably stokes unrest

The popular 22-year old Kashmiri militant leader Burhan Wani was killed by security forces on Friday. Thousands gathered for memorial prayers across Kashmir. Protesters clashed with security forces who shot 17 civilians dead. The reaction has been on expected lines. Kashmir is in deep distress. The national medias coverage is frenzied and often lacks balance. Hardline nationalists on Twitter are blaming Kashmiris. More unrest is expected.

But how we got here has a longer history. It has proximate roots in a controversy over the Amarnath Yatra in 2008 and summer-long protests in 2010 where 120 youth were killed by security forces. What we are seeing is an outcome of the way Kashmir has been handled by Indias political class and security establishment. If Delhis policy towards Kashmir during the UPA years and now is to be represented as a manifesto for J&K then the establishments playbook would read something like this:

Insist that Kashmir is an integral part of India, but treat it like you treat no other state. Trigger unrest when even none exists. Maintain an incentive structure in the armed forces where cash rewards exist for killing militants, creating the context for fake encounters like at Machil in April 2010.

Read | Burhan Wani: Better living than dead?

When civilian protests erupt, react with gratuitous violence. Let paramilitary forces do crowd control which they are not trained for. Dont invest in adequate riot control gear. Induct non-lethal crowd control equipment after using live ammunition against protesters three summers in a row. Buy some non-lethal gear but dont train security forces to use them. Institute judicial probes to buy time. Let the media do the job of forgetting them for you.

Show little contrition for excessive force. Instead blame hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Pakistan for poisoning Kashmiri minds. Arrest thousands of youth after protests, release them after making families grovel. Deny right to assembly by frequently pre-empting protests. Block student politics, hold up passports, put separatists in preventive detention, impose curfew for extended periods, cut off the Internet and text messaging on occasion. Get security forces to video street gatherings. Watch Facebook posts. Mistake protester fatigue for acquiescence.

When Kashmirs dust literally settles, hang the prisoner who emerges as a symbol for Indias capacity to deliver justice. Dont inform his family. Assume Speed Post works faster than the phone.

Have no way of being accountable for the past or plan for the future. Just have no Kashmir policy. Boil it down to hollow rhetoric. Kashmir is an integral part. The sky is the limit. Insaniyat ke dayire mein. Zero tolerance for human rights violations. We are ready to talk to separatists. Indicate readiness for talks without making any concessions on the ground, thus scaring off moderates who fear hardliner rhetoric about compromise.

Ignore moderate separatists; refuse to distinguish them from radicals. Nurture an uncomplicated view of their past and present. Dont take cues from foreign and Indian governments who sign peace deals with insurgents. Allow Naga warlords to run parallel economies, but detain Kashmiris each time they want to take out street protests. Be very afraid of foreign medias coverage of unrest.

Read | Kashmirs disturbing new reality

Meet separatists once in a decade. Ask them for ideas and ignore them when they come back with policy documents. Refuse to believe that moderates are opposed to religious extremism; that they are among the few options left to pacify the Valley. Dont treat them as political peers who have the visibility to shape Kashmiri opinion. Instead outsource contact to intelligence agencies  who view them with contempt because they know a lot about their past.

Institute a process but back out  every time. Appoint well-known figures as interlocutors. Arrange their meetings with J&K stakeholders but ignore recommendations when they call for a new compact between Delhi and J&K. Hold out the promise of autonomy without disclosing what it takes to restore it. Get close to a non-territorial solution with Pervez Musharraf but tell no one, lest there be a public debate to move things forward.

Brook no discussion on the scale of Army presence and its control of real estate in J&K. National security must always trump transparency. Security arrangements must not evolve with circumstance, even if militancy-related violence declines from 4,507 killed in 2001 to 174 deaths in 2015. There is no need to differentiate and rationalise troops needed for defending borders and those deployed for counterinsurgency operations.

Have an extended debate on the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act and encourage chief ministers to lobby for lifting it in two districts. But lose your nerve at key moments and give in to ministry of defence pressure. Always handy to have a chief minister who takes the blame for decisions taken elsewhere. Maintain that mainstream parties are more important than separatists -- but undermine the authority of state governments regularly.

Read | In their own country, Kashmiri students are under attack

When crackdowns and curfews pause, deploy history for good measure. When in the Opposition call for a debate on Article 370 obscuring the fact that J&Ks special status has not existed in practice for decades. Make no gesture to thousands of Kashmiris killed. Invoking Vajpayee is gesture enough. Reciting nationalist creeds is more important than the health of subjects. Kashmir is an integral part. Indian history  in Hegelian terms  is the inexorable march of the Spirit towards the Parliament resolution of 1994. National belonging is preordained; it has no elective character as history progresses, it does not correspond to state action and it is certainly not dynamic.

Manage the narrative. Pakistani liberals must be applauded for criticising their deep state but our journalists and opinion makers must get the balance of discussing militancy and everyday indignities of Kashmiri life entirely wrong. The Indian citizen must possess no more nuance on Kashmir than the average film star who raves about its beauty. Suggesting that Kashmiris have suffered more than others is communal. Focus on radicalisation and the increasing number of mosques. Put the fear of Kashmiris among landlords across the country. Talk about Wahhabi beliefs and politicised forms of religion that are threatening Kashmirs Sufi-inspired Islam but note that Delhis policies have nothing to do with that process.

In short, stick to blaming extraneous factors and malevolent actors. Avoid doing what is in your control to restore dignity, agency and democratic practice. Dont grapple with J-Ks complexity. Wait for Lashkar-e-Taiba, Hizbul Mujahideen and the ISI to make things simpler for you.

Then repeat from above.

sushil.aaron@hindustantimes.com

Read | The Kashmir reading list: 11 books to understand the conflict

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Last weekend, veterans Ratna Pathak Shah and Naseeruddin Shah (right)  as Mrs Patrick Campbell and George Bernard Shaw, respectively  staged the play, Dear Liar. The couple, who met at the National School of Drama, Delhi, started their theatre company Motley in 1979. We caught up with the Shahs at their Bandra residence.

The two spoke about their views on cinema, performing together on stage for years, leaving behind a legacy, and more.

You both acted in Jaane Tu...Ya Jaane Na (2008), and have been performing together on stage for decades. Is it difficult to work with your spouse?

Naseeruddin Shah: Being husband and wife probably helps as we can discuss things even when were not at work. I dont think it is just a co-incidence that there are so many other husband-wife teams in theatre, but not so many in cinema.

Ratna Pathak Shah: Theatre is marriage, and cinema is an affair, to put it simply. You can have a fling with cinema, but with theatre, you have to have a solid relationship. Running a theatre company is like running a family. We have been doing theatre for over 35 years.

What makes your creative partnership work so well?

Naseeruddin: Mutual regard and a desire to learn more.

Ratna: We are lucky that we share an interest, and that hasnt changed.

Youve collaborated with your children  Heeba, Imaad and Vivaan  on various projects. How is the experience of working with them?

Ratna: Its certainly an exciting part of our lives; our whole family is involved. We are proud that our kids dont genuflect in front of us, Mummy and daddy are the greatest. Its tiring to have admiration within your family. If theres no criticism within your family, where will you get it from?

Naseeruddin: However, a family business in cinema is not necessarily creative. It is generally about prolonging your family fortune. In any business, the head of business grooms his eldest son to take over. Hopefully, our eldest son (Imaad) wont need to take over, and he can do his own thing.

Read: Summer Theatre Festival: Drama that simmers beyond stage

Naseeruddin Shah says the greatest film actors are all those who hail from a theatre background. Learning a craft is up to you be it in theatre or movies. (Kunal Patil/ HT Photo)

Does your theatre background give you an edge over other actors?

Ratna: Frankly, if youre a young actor today, where do you train? Who do you learn from, and where do you learn? Theatre is the only area where you can train yourself. Its the only training that actors have in India.

Naseeruddin: The best film actors in the world are all from theatre. Maybe thats not the case in India. Dilip Kumar and Mr (Amitabh) Bachchan have never done theatre, but they are both excellent actors. But anywhere else in the world, the greatest film actors are all those who hail from a theatre background. Learning a craft is up to you, whether you are doing theatre or movies. So, a lot of actors, like Kamal Haasan, have learnt their skills on their own.

Where do you think Hindi cinema stands today?

Naseeruddin: (Laughs) We make the best movies in the world, and we make lots of them. The whole world is watching Bollywood movies. Everybody is finally waking up to the fantastic cinema coming out of Bollywood.

Ratna: Theres some fresh blood now. But God knows for how long it will stay fresh. There are some wonderful films that are being made of late. But I have also seen that a lot of Indian directors have only one good film in their kitty, usually their first.

Naseeruddin: I have got my fingers crossed about people who have made wonderful first movies; like Masaan (2015), Fandry (2013) or Dum Laga Ke Haisha (2015). They may just get gobbled up by the star system. For example, what is Nagraj Manjule (director) going to do now with Sairat having made Rs 75 crore? That will be the real test. I hope he doesnt make the blunder of making a Rs 75-crore movie.

What is your opinion of the other film industries in India?

Naseeruddin: Marathi cinema has certainly reached a new high. It was in peril after the Dada Kondke (late actor and film producer) phase. Now, it is suddenly being revived. I would love to do a regional film, but the trouble is that I dont speak any of the languages. I have done one Marathi film called Deool (2011), and I practised for a week, but my Marathi nuances sound different [in the film].

Ratna: I speak five languages, but nobody casts me in such movies. I would love to do more work in Gujarati and Marathi cinema.

Read: Indian acting schools are frauds and shams: Naseeruddin Shah

Naseeruddin says that theatre will shrink, like cinema viewing has shrunk. (Kunal Patil/ HT Photo)

You have been performing Dear Liar since 1993. How has it changed over the years?

Ratna: The structure has not changed since (late director) Satyadev Dubey first directed it. We didnt tinker with that in any way. Our growth as individuals and actors is what reflects in this version of the play. Our understanding of people and of life has improved since we first staged it.

Naseeruddin: Dubeys design of the production was utterly perfect. There was absolutely no need for us to change it. We dont have an elaborate set either. Its not a realistic play. Dubey never believed in realistic settings.

What is in store for your theatre group in the next decade?

Ratna: The real test will present itself if Naseer decides not to direct. Then, will Motley be able to exist and do so much work? Thats a test, the result to which we will find only when we come to it. We are certain that we dont want to leave behind something for the children. Those are dangerous things to do. Children should be free to make their own way. It forces them to think for themselves. Lets see where theatre goes as well. It might just become smaller and smaller.

Naseeruddin: Weve got enough stuff on the anvil to keep us busy for another year or two. I dont like to look beyond that. But I really think theatre will shrink, like cinema viewing has shrunk. No one goes to a single screen anymore except to watch a Salman Khan movie.

Youve directed your husband in two plays  A Walk In The Woods and Einstein. Was it difficult to direct him?

Ratna: He was a very difficult actor, I tell you. I cried every night (laughs). I have been in a rehearsal space all my life, but when you are directing, its a different experience altogether. Honestly, it was good fun. A Walk In The Woods was a piece that needed to be worked upon. He knew what he wanted to do. He just needed somebody to tell him whats working and whats not.

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While rains lashed Bhopal continuously for 24 hours, the youth and several organisations took to social media to share emergency helpline numbers, announce event cancellations and help provide emergency aid.

The city choked after overnight rains amid massive power disruption, blocked roads and stranded people.

Many locals kept social networking websites abuzz with their posts featuring information and pictures.

Hashtags such as #Bhopal, #Bhopalrains, #MpinRain, #smartcity, #floodinbhopal, #MPrains and #floodinmp trended on Twitter on Saturday.

The internet savvy patrons of Bhopal and Twitter handles of several NGOs and private organisations kept updating the situation in flooded areas the whole day.

Facebook pages like Bhopal.info, Bhopal and MyBhopal were updated with live pictures and posts by youngsters who appealed everyone to stay back in their houses. Area specific pictures of flooded places were also posted from time to time by residents.

Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan also took to Twitter to share emergency helpline numbers and kept tweeting calming messages for the people of Bhopal.

Malls were kept closed and most of the movie shows were cancelled during the day due to incessant rainfall.

Marriages postponed

In several areas of Madhya Pradesh, most of them with rural backdrop, as many as 25 marriages were postponed. Around ten baraats were stranded on the midway at Tikamgarh-Chhatarpur border on Thursday night.

Chhatarpur ASI Bharat Tiwari, whose daughter is expected to get married on Sunday, has been in despair due to heavy rainfall. I hope there are no such rains on Sunday. It is a lifetime event and so many arrangements have already been made, he said.

The tech-savvy youth also kept trending the smart city project on Twitter where they unleashed their woes and asked for flood management, green cover and coordination of key material resources in the future smart city.
Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan is going international for the promotion of his next Mohenjo Daro, which had its share of reactions on the social media platform. The actor, who was enjoying a holiday with his kids, kickstarted the promotions in London for the Ashutosh Gowarikers magnum opus.

The lead, Hrithik Roshan, who was in midst of his vacation with kids, parked himself in London and began the promotions. He spent one entire day with the U.K. Press and interacted with them at length about the upcoming Indian epic adventure-romance film.

Hrithik Roshan in a still from Mohenjo Daro.

When contacted, his spokesperson told ANI, Hrithik had a wonderful time chatting with the UK Press and was delighted to learn their feedback on the film. He spent an entire day with the media and made sure they got all the content that they needed.

Read: Mohenjo Daro climax scene is my favourite, says Hrithik

The 42-year-old actor, who has a huge fan following across the globe, also treated the media personnel by clicking pictures with them.

The Krrish star will promote the film in India as well, but later. Hrithik is coming back to the screen in an action genre after two years and this is what has created a strong curiosity among his fans and audience.

Read: Meet Hrithiks princess in Mohenjo Daro, Pooja Hegde

The latest song, titled Tu Hai, sung by AR Rahman, which was recently released by the makers, is also garnering great reactions.

Watch Mohenjo Daro trailer

Produced by Siddharth Roy Kapur and Sunita Gowariker, Mohenjo Daro that also stars Pooja Hegde is set to hit the theatres on 12 August, 2016.

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The Hrithik Roshan -Salman Khan tiff has been in news ever since the two reportedly shared cold vibes at an International awards show in Madrid. Apparently, Hrithik needed a female dancer for his performance at the awards show, and Salman suggested his friend, actor Daisy Shahs name. According to reports, Hrithik turned down the offer and this incensed Salman to no end. Is this what is being written while I was away? Its pure nonsense. Salman and I are in touch constantly, says the actor, who was on holiday with his sons and returned to Mumbai last week.

Read: Salman Khan roars at the box office, Sultan earns Rs 105.34cr in three days

In fact, the first thing on his to-do list of pending assignments back home is to watch Salmans new blockbuster at a screening specially arranged by Salman for him. I cant wait to see the film. Although Ive been out of the country, Ive been on the phone with Salman about Sultan ever since we met in Madrid for an awards function. I missed the screening that he had for his friends before release. But he promised me my own screening the minute I return to India, says Hrithik.

Read: Mohenjo Daro climax scene is my favourite: Hrithik Roshan

Hrithik and Salman go back a long way. Hrithik was an assistant on the sets of his father, Rakesh Roshans directorial, Karan Arjun (1995) that starred Salman. When Hrithik decided to become an actor, Salman personally trained him to get physically fit and clicked Hrithiks pictures, which he circulated among his filmmaker-friends.
Bollywood actor John Abraham, who is gearing up for his next release Dishoom, has said that he grew up watching Hollywood action star Sylvester Stallone and his Rocky film series got him hooked on to movies.

John Abraham and Varun Dhawan during the promotion of Dishoom at Gold's Gym in Mumbai. (IANS)

Fitness freaks across the country look up to John thanks to his well-built physique and enthusiasm for fitness but the Force star says he has been largely inspired by Stallone. For me, fitness is religion. Daily fitness is religion to me. While I was growing up, (actor) Sylvester Stallone is the only one I looked upto. I have seen Rocky series and I was inspired by it. Since then my interest in films grew, John said.

Read: Dishoom has Bollywoods most expensive chase sequence

Varun Dhawan goes the extra mile during promotions for Dishoom while John Abraham helps him. (IANS)

Action comedy Dishoom, also starring Varun Dhawan and Jacqueline Fernandez, is slated to hit the theatres on July 29.

John, 43, had a great time working with Varun on this film. Varun and I got along well. I am hopeful, in this film people will like our chemistry. We had fun, the actor said.

Read: Dishoom is not like Dhoom, says John

When it comes to fitness, the 29-year-old Badlapur star struggles to match up to Johns dedication in the gym, while John finds it difficult to keep up with Varun on the dance floor. At the event, both the stars gave gym tips to female scribes. Varun wanted to train everybody seriously at the gym. We wanted to give everybody tips, John said.

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A few days ago, HT Cafe reported how Rajiv Bhatia became Akshay Kumar after making a blink-and-miss appearance in Aaj (1987). Now, we have come to know that Akshay was rechristened as Sanjay Kumar in New York, USA, on Friday. On July 8, Akshay was invited as the guest of honour at a Parsi community event in New York. During the event, a Parsi priest recited prayers. However, he erroneously called him Sanjay Kumar. Although Akshay took it in good humour, the priest wanted to apologise for his mistake, says an insider.

Read: Stardom has not gone to my head, says Akshay Kumar

Later, he went to Akshays room to aplogise. But the actor told him that it was not required, as it was a mistake. In fact, Akshay couldnt thank the priest enough for his special gesture and assured him that he was okay, adds the insider. At the same event, Akshay was also presented with a pendant of Asho Farohar or Faravahar (one of the symbols of Zoroastrianism). Akshay hasnt taken the pendant off since. He is touched by the special gift, adds the insider.

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Last minute skyrocketing air fares could soon be a thing of the past. National carrier Air India (AI) has decided to match Rajdhani second AC fares on key metro routes four hours prior to departure.

The state-owned flag carrier will offer unsold seats on the key Delhi-Mumbai, Delhi-Chennai, Delhi-Bengaluru and Delhi-Kolkata sectors and vice-versa within four hours of departure at Rajdhani AC II rates.

Read: Got an unconfirmed train ticket? No worries, fly Air India

A Delhi-Mumbai Rajdhani AC II ticket costs Rs 2870 while the Delhi-Chennai ticket is priced at Rs 3905. The Delhi-Bangalore fare stands at Rs 4095 and for Delhi-Kolkata it is Rs 2890.

Last minute or spot fares are the most expensive in India unlike the West. This is a great move. It will force other airlines to re-think their strategy. An airline seat is a perishable commodity as an empty seat is lost forever once the aircraft takes off, said Rajji Rai former head of the Travel Agents Association of India.

The tickets, AI said, can be booked on its website or at its airport counter. The four metros command around 50% of the combined domestic traffic. All unsold seats would be put up for sale. Today morning, we sold the 14 unsold seats on the Mumbai flight at AC II rates, said an AI official.

We are committed to providing flying at a low, affordable cost to last minute passengers, said Ashwani Lohani, chairman and managing director, AI.

The aviation ministry has received several complaints, including those from Members of Parliament, on high fares and on how people booking last minute during an emergency are charged a bomb.

AI had earlier launched a scheme for Rajdhani passengers wherein AC first class passengers with unconfirmed tickets had an option to travel by air at no extra charges, subject to availability of seats. AC II passengers with unconfirmed tickets needed to pay Rs 1,500-2,000 plus their train fare.
A fresh inquiry by independent experts found that liquor baron Vijay Mallya had diverted funds amounting to Rs 1,225.3 crore to his overseas and Indian firms, including Kingfisher Airlines, from United Spirits Ltd (USL) when he was its non-executive chairman, the company said on Saturday.

The company, acquired by the British liquor giant from Mallyas UB Group in 2013 in a multi-billion dollar deal, made it clear that the earlier settlement reached with the Indian businessman would not absolve him of the claims arising out of the latest findings of an internal Additional Inquiry.

Mallya, who has been in UK for months evading an arrest warrant in India while several banks have declared him wilful defaulter for non-payment of dues worth over Rs 9,000 crore by his now-defunct Kingfisher, had struck a settlement with USL in February. Under the sweetheart deal, he was promised an over Rs 500-crore payout to leave the company and was also absolved of any personal liability at that time.

At a meeting on Saturday, USL Board discussed findings of the additional inquiry it had ordered to plug gaps found in an initial probe launched in April 2015 that showed improprieties in loans worth Rs 1,337 crore given by USL to the entities linked to its erstwhile promoters, the Mallya-led UB Group.

The additional inquiry prima facie reveals further instances of actual or potential fund diversions amounting to approximately Rs 913.5 crore (using exchange rate as on March 31, 2015) as well as other potentially improper transaction involved USL and its Indian and overseas subsidiaries amounting approximately Rs 311.8 crore, USL said in a BSE filing.

The transactions occurred during the review period covered by the additional inquiry -- from October 2010 to July 2014 -- although certain transactions appear to have been initiated in years prior to the review period, it added.

These improper transactions identified in the additional inquiry involved, in most cases, the diversion of fund to overseas and Indian entities that appear to be affiliated or associated with USLs former non-executive Chairman, Dr Vijay Mallya, the USL filing said.

The company said its mutual release agreement with Mallya in February this year, under which Diageo agreed to pay him $75 million dollars, will not cover the matters arising out of the additional inquiry.

While the matter is already being probed by markets regulator Sebi and corporate affairs ministry among others, the latest findings of the internal probe are also being reported to the concerned regulators for any further action.

There were no immediate comments from Mallya.

USL said the overseas beneficiary or recipients of the diverted funds include entities such as Force India Formula One, Watson Ltd, Continental Administrative Services, Modall Securities Ltd, Ultra Dynamics Ltd and Lombard Wall Corporate Service Inc in each of which Dr Mallya appears to have a material, direct and indirect interests.

The Indian beneficiaries or recipients of the funds identified by the additional inquiry included, in most cases, Kingfisher Airlines (KFA), USL said.
A day after United Spirits disclosed Rs 1,225 crore fund diversion by the erstwhile promoters to entities linked to Vijay Mallya, the embattled businessman said on Sunday all transactions were legal and above board and the company was now making unfounded allegations.

Mallya said that Diageo, to whom the UB Group sold majority control in United Spirits Ltd (USL) in 2013, had conducted an extensive due diligence before buying the shares and it was surprising and unfortunate that these allegations were being made now.

I have absolutely no knowledge about this purported enquiry by E+Y nor the suggested allegations. Surprisingly neither USL nor E+Y have given me any details of the allegations or any opportunity to respond, Mallya said in an emailed statement sent though his public relations manager.

I can only reiterate that all transactions were legal, above board and approved by USL auditors, the USL board and shareholders. Over and above this Diageo conducted an extensive due diligence on USL prior to acquiring shares. It is surprising and unfortunate that unfounded allegations are now being made without any reference to me whatsoever, Mallya said.

In a stock exchange filing on Saturday, USL disclosed fund diversion and improper transactions worth Rs 1,225.3 crore involving entities linked to Mallya, including Kingfisher Airlines and his Formula One team.

The company also made it clear that the earlier settlement reached with the Indian businessman would not absolve him of the claims arising out of the latest findings of an internal additional inquiry.

While USL did not name E+Y among those that conducted the enquiry, it said that the companys CEO had engaged independent experts with specialised forensic skills to assist in the inquiry and provide inputs and expert advice.

The transactions occurred during the review period covered by the additional inquiry -- from October 2010 to July 2014 -- although certain transactions appear to have been initiated in years prior to the review period, USL said.

These improper transactions identified in the additional inquiry involved, in most cases, the diversion of fund to overseas and Indian entities that appear to be affiliated or associated with USLs former non-executive chairman, Vijay Mallya, the USL filing said.

The company said its mutual release agreement with Mallya in February this year, under which Diageo agreed to pay him 75 million dollars, will not cover the matters arising out of the additional inquiry.

The USL board has directed the management to pursue recovery from the relevant companies and individuals and undertake any action, including legal and regulatory as deemed necessary. It should be noted that the February 2016 agreement did not release the former chairman from any claims arising out of the additional inquiry, a USL spokesperson said.

USL said the overseas beneficiary or recipients of the diverted funds include entities such as Force India Formula One, Watson Ltd, Continental Administrative Services, Modall Securities Ltd, Ultra Dynamics Ltd and Lombard Wall Corporate Service Inc in each of which Dr Mallya appears to have a material, direct and indirect interests.

The Indian beneficiaries or recipients of the funds identified by the additional inquiry included, in most cases, Kingfisher Airlines (KFA), USL said.

USL said it will be reporting the findings of its additional inquiry spearheaded by its managing director and CEO Anand Kripalu to concerned authorities for further action.

The board has also directed its MD and CEO to take appropriate action in relating to the employees named in the additional inquiry, while a further review would be conducted of the ongoing relationships with the counter-parties involved in the improper transactions indemnified by the additional inquiry.

Last month the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had attached assets worth Rs 1,411 crore belonging to Mallya and one of his companies in connection with its money laundering probe in the the alleged IDBI bank loan default case.

Mallya is currently in the UK after leaving India in March this year. His passport has been revoked by Indian government. He has been indicating against any imminent return in the wake of various legal and regulatory troubles.
NEW DELHI: The prospects of a nationwide goods and services tax (GST) have brightened with the government indicating its willingness to reach out to the Opposition and hammer out a solution on the key demand of specifying a cap on rates.

Once adopted, GST will dramatically alter India s indirect tax structure by replacing a string of central and local levies such as excise, value added tax and octroi with a single unified tax and stitch together a common national market.

In a major shift of stance, the Congress Jairam Ramesh said Saturday that the partys demand for a cap on GST rate in the Constitution amendment bill is not cast in stone. If the cap in the Constitution amendment bill is unacceptable, then the government can explore the option of keeping it in the GST bill If the government wants, a creative use of the English language can solve the impasse.

If the cap were to be kept in the GST bill, which would be passed after the 122nd Constitution amendment bill, the government would not have to amend the Constitution each time it needed to impose a levy.

The Congress deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha, Anand Sharma, was also quoted as saying the party wanted the government to ring- fence the tax rate. Sources told HT the government saw this statement as an opportunity to find a way out of the impasse, which has been the main hurdle to its reforms initiative.

The Congress had been pressing for a GST ceiling rate of 18% specified in the main bill itself.

This was different from the bill passed in Lok Sabha in May 2015 that did not specify a rate, and left it to a GST council headed by the finance minister with state finance ministers as members to decide the rates.

Top government sources told HT that while it would not agree on cap ping the GST rate in the Constitution amendment bill, a ceiling on the rate can be specified in some manner in thesupplementary legislation s that will have to be passed after the main central law is enacted.

These include the state GST law, the central GST law and the integrated GST law  all enabling legislations necessary for rolling out the new tax system.

Fixing the rate in the legislation would make the system extremely rigid as the Constitution would have to be amended with a two-thirds majority if the rates needed to be changed in the future. The supplementary legislations, however, can specify a range within which rates should ideally be maintained, a source said.

The government, led by finance minister Ar un Ja it ley and par liam entary affairs minister Ananth Kumar, may initiate discussions with the Congress-led Opposition to iron out the glitches ahead of Parliament s monsoon session, which begin son July 18.

There is heightened expectation that the government will introduce the bill this session depending on Rajya Sabha chair person Hamid Ansaris concurrence.

Lack of political consensus has kept the Constitution amendment bill stuck in the upper House, where the ruling NDA is in a minority, since May last year.

Both Houses and at least half of the state assemblies will have to ratify it before it finally becomes law.

It has missed several rollout deadlines, including the last one of April 1, 2016.
NEW DELHI: A heart travelled 20km in 12 minutes flat for a transplant on Saturday morning. It was to be transplanted into a patient who suffered heart failure.

The traffic police had created a green corridor for the rapid transit of the organ between hospitals.

Experts removed the heart from the body of a 45-year-old brain-dead patient at Vasant Kunj Hospital around 6.30am. The organ reached Medanta Hospital in Gurgaon via National Highway 8 around 6.42am.

The police had brought the unconscious donor to the emergency ward of Fortis Hospital in Vasant Kunj. He suffered a head injury in a road accident near Chattarpur on Wednesday. However, the neurosurgery team could not revive him and he was declared brain dead on Saturday.

After the hospital specialists counselled the victims family members, they agreed to donate his organs.

The hospital informed the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO), a government body that coordinates the procurement and distribution of organs and tissues across India. A police clearance was also sought as it was a medico-legal case.

Abrar Ali Dalal, facility director, Fortis, Vasant Kunj, said, For this facility, this is the first organ donation from a deceased person. We thank the donors family for making such a noble gesture in their hour of grief.

It was also the clockwork precision of all medical teams that made this cadaveric donation a reality, he said.

According to NOTTO protocol, each hospital has to inform the government body about a possible organ donation. Thereafter, the body decides on the organ distribution among hospitals based on a list of recipients.

The organ donation rate in the country has increased tenfold over the last five years from 0.05 per million population to 0.5 per million. With NOTTO fully functional and the regional and state machinery working in coordination, the donation rate will see a further improvement, said Dr Avnish Seth, director, Fortis Organ Retrieval and Transplant.
SRINAGAR: Widespread violence across Kashmir brought back fears of a surge in militancy in the troubled region on Saturday, as tens of thousands of people clashed with police over the killing of a top insurgent leader, leaving at least eight people dead and scores wounded.

Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani s body was buried in his hometown Tral amid mass wailing and angry anti-India slogans, a day after soldiers gunned down the 21-year-old who was the face of militancy in Kashmir for the last five years.

Protesters hurled stones, looted police weapons and set fire to three police stations and two government buildings in towns south of Srinagar. Scores were injured on both sides and three policemen have gone missing, sources said.

Saturdays violence and its fallout are seen as a major political test for chief minister Mehbooba Mufti and her alliance with a party largely unpopular in the region, the BJP.

Experts fear Wanis killing could become a rallying point for militants to revive an insurgency that has flagged from it speak in the 1990s when attacks were reported daily, the local economy tanked and residents fled the region in droves.

Burhans ability to recruit into militancy from the grave will far outstrip anything he did on social media Kashmirs disaffected got a new icon yday, former chief minister Omar Abdullah tweeted on Saturday.

Saturdays deaths were reported from Anantnag, Kulgam, Bijbehara and Kokernag. One person drowned in the Jhelum as security forces sought to disperse a violent mob. Unconfirmed reports put the toll at up to 11.

Expecting trouble during Wanis funeral, thousands of armed police and paramilitary soldiers in riot gear fanned out across the region and drove through neighbourhoods, warning residents to stay indoors.

Additional director general of Jammu and Kashmir police, SM Sahai, told reporters that officers were forced to fire at the crowds after being attacked. He said 96 policemen had been wounded.

Government sources in Delhi said the Centre had rushed additional paramilitary forces to Kashmir.

We expected trouble after his killing We hope the situation to calm down by tomorrow, said a senior home ministry official who is not authorised to speak to media.

Many Kashmiris took to social media to pay their tribute to Wani, who joined the Hizbul when he was just 15 and became the poster boy of militancy in the Valley, recruiting scores of youngsters with provocative videos and posts.

Wani, the son of a school headmaster, took up the gun 10 days before his Class 10 board exams after his brother, Khalid, was reportedly humiliated by the armed forces during the 2010 street protests that shook Kashmir and left more than 100 people dead.

He was buried next to his brother, who was killed in crossfire between militants and police last year. Witnesses said at least two militants fired pistol rounds in the air to salute their fallen commander.

Despite the violence, the BJP-PDP coalition government indicated it will not back down, with BJP leader Ram Madhav saying an uncompromising fight against terrorism is important for development

Authorities closed the Jammu-Srinagar highway and prevented fresh batches of Amarnath pilgrims from proceeding to Srinagar from Jammu. Railway services were suspended and examinations scheduled for Saturday postponed.

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NEW DELHI: The body of a man, who had gone missing from north-east Delhis Welcome area a fortnight ago, was recovered from a sugarcane field in Hapur in Uttar Pradesh and three persons were arrested for allegedly thrashing him brutally and burying him alive, police said on Saturday.

The victim, Fahimuddin, had left home on June 28, along with the accused Safal. A case of abduction was registered at Welcome police station, said Ajit Kumar Singla, DCP (north-east).

During interrogation, Safal told police he had a monetary dispute with Fahimuddin, the officer said.
NEW DELHI: Even as central employees threaten to go on a nationwide strike to protest the Seventh Pay Commission hikes, about 3,000 to 4,000 Group A officers continue to do odd jobs at the grade and pay of mid-level bureaucrats.

These employees  belonging to the Central Secretariat Stenographer Services (CSSS), Railway Board Services, Armed Forces Headquarter Services and the Ministry of External Affairs  serve as principal private secretaries (PPS), senior PPS and principal staff officers (PSO). Their job profile requires them to attend phone calls, arrange files, pay office bills and even perform personal tasks for the officials they are attached to.

The service has its roots in the administrative reforms brought in by the British empire in 1919, and continued till the 1990s. Though computers replaced typewriters around then, they were still recruited through a competitive examination conducted by the Staff Selection Commission.

These stenos or personal assistants are upgraded to the post of private secretary either through a limited departmental examination or a departmental promotion. After PS, they are promoted to the posts of PPS, senior PPS and, finally, the PSO.

However, they just continue doing the same job at different pay grades. For instance, a PSO takes home Rs 1.5 lakh per month for doing the same job as a steno  who earns Rs 30,000.

The problem was taken into account by the Sixth Pay Commission in 2006. There is no justification for maintaining a distinct stenographers cadre in any government office, the report said. It also recommended that the Central Secretariat Services (CSS) and the CSSS cadres be merged, and begin recruiting multi-skilled personnel at the assistant or steno level to act as designated executive assistants who will discharge the functions of present-day assistants, besides performing all stenographic functions.

Ten years have passed, but the government is yet to arrive at a decision on the matter. The Seventh Pay Commission has also made no recommendation in this regard. A PSO of CSSS cadre is equivalent to a director in the CSS cadre in terms of remuneration, but the (PSO) does the same job as that of a stenographer or a PA. This is because the work profile does not change with the upgradation of posts, said a PPS on the condition of anonymity.

While many experienced government officials in the middle and lower bureaucracy are sitting idle, officials in other departments  such as Income Tax  are facing a severe staff crunch, a senior PPS said.

Sanjay Kothari, who has just retired as the secretary of DoPT, refused to comment on the issue. The Seventh Pay Commissions recommendations for 2006 are yet to be implemented because it takes time to lay down rules and procedures, said KS Datawalia, DoPT spokesperson.

The prime minister is always talking about minimum government, maximum governance. The government has also constituted a task force for the optimisation of human recourse in various ministries, as stated by the finance minister in his budget speech. It is hoped that the DoPT will implement the decision at least now, says a senior officer.

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NEW DELHI: A seven-year-old boy was allegedly sodomised by a barber in Burari in outer Delhi. Police said locals caught the barber, Mansingh, 25, red-handed when they broke into his shop on Friday night.

The boy, a resident of Jharoda village, had left his house around 7pm. He had reportedly told his grandfather that he was going to the local salon to get a haircut.

Police said when the teenager did not return after 2-3 hours, his relatives searched for him. When they reached the salon, they broke open the door, suspecting the boy was inside and caught Pappu. He was thrashed and later handed over to the police.

Police have registered a case under section 377 for unnatural sex. Meanwhile, in Kirari in outer Delhi, hundreds of residents took to the streets to protest the murder of a seven-year-old child, whose body was found on Friday.

Locals had found the body of the child with his limbs tied and throat slit. Police suspect the child was sexually assaulted before being dumped outside a government school in the Kirari market.

Protesters alleged the boys killers had inserted objects in his private parts and throat. Local Congress leader Pratyush Kanth, who led the protest march, said a police station should be set up in the area and CCTVs installed, as promised by the Delhi government.

Kanth said, For almost two years, we have been demanding that a police station be set up here. Kirari is the only assembly constituency in Delhi that does not have a police station.

We only have a police chowki with a very small police force that cant maintain law and order in the area. More than 6,000 FIRs are filed in this police chowki, much more than those filed in police stations of Delhi, said Kanth.
NEW DELHI: Water minister Kapil Mishra on Saturday accused former chief minister Sheila Dikshit of trying to dictate the terms of investigation into the alleged water tanker scam by referring to her letter to lieutenant governor Najeeb Jung.

Alleging a collusion between the L-G and Dikshit, Mishra wrote to Jung saying it was unfortunate that the accused was being given an opportunity to question the panel that found the alleged irregularities, instead of being interrogated.

There are five FIRs against her for various corruption cases pending with the AntiCorruption Branch (ACB). Instead of questioning her, ACB is allowing her to now dictate the terms of investigation, Mishra said.

In her letter, Dikshit reportedly apprised the L-G about the technicalities involved in the decision to procure water tankers during her tenure.

A Delhi Jal Board committee, led by Mishra, questioned the decision, claiming it saw irregularities running into over Rs 400 crore. The ACB has filed an FIR, on allegations that the tendering process of the Delhi Jal Board under the former chief minister was tweaked to benefit a private company.

The true facts of the case would have got Dikshit arrested had ACB been under the control of AAP government, Mishra claimed.

BJP and Congress are working together to ensure that Dikshit remains unhurt and untouched by the law of the land. I am sure that they will file a case against the fact-finding committee as well since they have orders to follow in order to save their jobs, he added.

On June 23, ACB had sent a notice to the water minister asking him to appear before it on July 4. Former CM Sheila has also been summoned next month.

Even before the elections, the AAP has been making baseless accusations. They have been in power for more than a year, although they have failed to provide the truck load of evidence which Arvind Kejriwal and party talked about previously. Further, how can the Congress party and its leaders influence anyone, when it is not in power in the state or in the Center? said Delhi Congress chief spokesperson Sharmistha Mukherjee.

Sheila Dikshit could not be contacted for her comment. HT called on her landline as well as mobile number but couldnt get through to the former Delhi chief minister.
NEW DELHI: A 50-year-old businessman was allegedly shot at and robbed by a group of men in northwest Delhis Model Town on Saturday. The incident was reported around 8:30pm.

The victim, Jaspal Chopra, was on his way home when his car was intercepted outside his colony. The men allegedly pointed a gun at him and asked him to roll down the window. When Chopra tried to resist, the men fired two bullets, one of which hit his shoulder. He collapsed and the men snatched his bag containing Rs 3 lakh and fled.

His condition, police said, is critical as the bullet that hit Chopras shoulder travelled to his kidney and got lodged there.

According to the police, Chopra was carrying cash, cheque books and some legal documents in the bag that was robbed from him. The men, police said, started following Chopra right after he left from Sadar Bazar where he own a shop.

The locals heard the gunshots and rushed to the spot, but the men had already fled by then. He was taken to a hospital and the PCR was also informed. We have registered a case of robbery and attempt to murder and are investigating the case, a police officer said.

The police have recovered CCTV footages from the area which shows the biker following Chopras car. Police suspect the involvement of a former or present employee of Chopra or a business rival behind the incident. Chopra owns a shop selling plastic wares at Sadar Bazar.
NEW DELHI: The police on Tuesday arrested two men for allegedly thrashing an Ola cab driver. The incident was reported in the wee hours of June 21 from northwest Delhis Rani Bagh area. The police have recovered a WagonR cab from the mens possession.

The accused, Goverdhan and Vijay Singh, told the police that they along with their associate robbed the cab to smuggle illicit liquor from Haryana to Delhi.

The incident was reported on June 21 when Mohan Shyam, cab driver, was waiting for a passenger in his Ola cab near Shiva market in Pitampura, at 2.30am. The three men approached Shyam and asked him to roll down the window. The moment he did, one of them took out a country-made pistol and held him hostage at gunpoint.

Shyam was shifted in the leg space between rear and front seat of the cab and one of the three took to the steering. They robbed him off his gold ring, a wrist watch, mobile phone and wallet before dumping him in Ballabhgarh, Faridabad, DCP northwest Vijay Singh, said.

During investigation, police received information about the two men hiding at Palwal in Haryana.

A police team was sent to the Ola cab office in Gurgaon to find out the location of the robbed cab and a raid was conducted.

By the time police team reached Palwal, the robbers had left for Delhi in the cab. We then chased the robbers and overtook them near Sarita Vihar and apprehended two of them. One of them is still absconding and will be arrested soon, Singh said.
The Delhi Police arrested three private detectives and their accomplice last week, busting an inter-state racket selling phone call data records (CDRs) of individuals for Rs 50,000 to Rs 5 lakh.

The quartet allegedly collected CDRs for their clients from Narendra Choudhary, an Uttar Pradesh Police constable posted in the surveillance cell of the inspector generals office in Kanpur, senior officers said on Sunday.

The cop was allegedly obtaining CDRs from nodal agencies and mobile service providers, using the official email accounts of senior UP Police officers he was working with or had worked with in the past.

The CDRs belonged to people they were spying for their clients, who approach private detective agencies for surveillance in a range of issues such as suspicions of adultery, moves of business rivals, love affairs, civil and legal disputes, and match-making.

The racket was operating for over two years and Narendra allegedly provided more than 500 CDRs during the period, Delhi Police joint commissioner of police (crime branch) Ravindra Yadav said.

The constable has yet to be arrested and Delhi Police crime branch officers alleged that their UP counterparts were not cooperating. Kanpur police denied the accusation, saying Narendra was handed over to Delhi Police.

Officers said more details would be out during questioning of arrested private detectives Jaiveer Singh Rathore, Pankaj Tiwary, and Aditya Sharma along with senior sales manager Sanjeev Chaudhary of BLS Management Solution Pvt Ltd.

This is the third such racket police have busted in as many years. Call data theft had become a major issue after 12 people, including three Delhi Police personnel, were arrested for allegedly obtaining CDRs of senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley in 2013.

Aditya was among those arrested in the Jaitley case. His real name is Arpit, but he changed to Aditya after staying in jail for two months.

Among the four, Rathore and Chaudhary were the main beneficiaries. Narendras interrogation will unravel names of other clients. We suspect Narendra sold thousands of CDRs, joint commissioner of police Yadav said.

To avoid detection by cyber police, the constable would open an email account and attach CDRs in the draft folder but wouldnt send the mail. He would share the accounts password with Rathore, who downloaded the CDRs from the draft. Once the job is done, Narendra would delete the account. He would open a new email account each time he wanted to provide CDRs to his clients, Yadav said.

The nexus was busted after crime branch personnel were tipped off about CDRs being sold at Scorpion Verification and Consultancy Pvt Ltd, a detective agency at Janakpuri in western Delhi. Investigation eventually led to the quartet. Kanpur senior superintendent of police Shalabh Mathur said Delhi Police didnt provide any evidence against the constable or an arrest warrant. We will take stringent action in case the investigation finds anything substantial against the constable.
A 26-year-old junior resident doctor from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) was found dead in his apartment in South Delhis Gautam Nagar area around 11:30am on Sunday.

Dr. Sarvanan Ganeshan, the deceased, was from Tamil Nadu and had joined the MD course in medicine at the premier institute only a week ago.

After he did not report for duty today, his colleagues and senior residents from the department started calling him on his phone. As they did not get any response, they approached his neighbours, who found him in his room in a non-responsive condition, the hospital spokesperson said.

The police and the hospital were informed and the body of the deceased was brought to the emergency department of AIIMS around 3pm. After a medico-legal case was registered, the body was sent to the hospital mortuary, awaiting post-mortem.

Ganeshan was found dead under mysterious circumstances at his apartment and the post-mortem examination will clarify the cause of the death, said Nupur Prasad, additional DCP (south).

The parents of the deceased doctor have been informed. They would reach Delhi from Tamil Nadu on Monday morning.

The AIIMS faculty and the administration is concerned about the incident and will cooperate with the police in its investigations, the hospital spokesperson said.

A third-year MD student from the same medicine department had committed suicide earlier in March this year and an MBBS student had committed suicide just days after getting into the prestigious institute in August last year.
The media report that most of the environment ministrys Environment Supplement Plan is a lift from a similar report prepared by a United States agency is both shocking and embarrassing. It is shocking because officers at the highest level in government thought fit to do such a thing, when we, Indians, already have a bad reputation in this regard.

Many of our well-known scientists and writers have been accused of plagiarising in the past. Part of the damage could have been undone if an acknowledgement had been made in the text. And it is embarrassing because the administration has steered clear of the matter by saying only the idea was borrowed and nothing was copied despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

Read | A new beginning for the environment ministry?

Looking at the first part of the administrations position that only ideas were taken from the US text, some questions do come up. First, it is the orientation of the two reports. Assuming that in some areas the environment problems in the US and those in India overlap, there can be a case for a synergy of ideas. While it is widely known that as environment degradation is partly a technological outcome worked upon by human labour, the way out of the mess created from the time of the first industrial revolution is also technology. If an entrepreneur wishes to go ahead with his project without environmental clearance and seeks to undo the damage through environmentally remedial measures, law could be suitably amended to allow him do so. Under the present legislation, such a thing is punishable with imprisonment. The Environment Supplement Plan can be broadened to make it similar to trading in carbon credits, which lets a country get credit if it is able to keep its carbon emissions below a level and then sell it to other countries.

Read | Theres a message in Javadekars promotion, Vasavas dismissal

Coming to the more difficult part of implementation and fine-tuning the plan in accordance with our requirements, it can be said that our laws should kick in once the amnesty period offered to an entrepreneur for a temporary reprieve from legislation expires. Next comes the question of calculating the damage caused to the environment and public health. Since there are various methods of calculating this damage, there could be disputes on this, with the ever-present possibility of cases getting piled up in our over-burdened courts. Hence only those projects that lend themselves to a reasonable level of quantification may be tried under the Environment Supplement Plan.
Most popular colleges with high cutoffs have kept admissions open for many courses even as many off campus colleges have closed admissions in BCom (hons), Economics (hons), Political Science (hons) and History (hons).

However, the cutoff remained around 95% and above for most courses in popular colleges as DU announced the third list on Sunday.

Commerce and Economics

Both the courses remained open for admissions at 95% and above in popular colleges. However, of the 53 colleges that offer BCom (hons), 16 have closed admission while out of the 34 colleges offering Economics (hons) seven colleges have closed admissions.

Colleges like Acharya Narendra Dev College, Aditi Mahavidyalaya, Bharti College, Daulat Ram College and Kalindi College have closed admissions for BCom (hons). Most of these colleges had fixed cutoff at around 91-95% in the second cutoff list for BCom (hons).

But Hansraj, Hindu, Kirori Mal, SRCC, Lady Shri Ram College for Women (LSR) and Sri Venkateswara College have kept admissions open for these courses.

BCom (hons) and Economics (hons) have seen a dip of 0.25 and 0.50 percentage points at Shri Ram College of Commerce and are now available at 97.25%.

Ramjas College, which had set the highest cutoff for BCom (hons) in the first cutoff list at 99.25%, has been consistently decreasing its cutoff and has now fixed it at 96.50%.

Read more: Check all about the colleges in Delhi University in HTs College Explorer

Humanities

Political Science has been closed for admission at 15 colleges of the 43 colleges that offer the course. Of the 42 colleges that offer History (hons), 22 have closed admissions for the course.

But LSR, Sri Venkateswara, IP College for Women, Miranda and Ramjas College kept admissions open for the courses.

At Ramjas which offered Political Science (hons) and History (hons) at 96% and 95.50% respectively in the second cutoff, is now offering the two courses at 96% and 95.75% respectively.

At Kirori Mal College, BA programme stands at 94% after a dip of 1 percentage point. The admission has been closed for BA (hons) Political Science and BCom (Programme). The college, which had closed admissions for History (hons) in second cutoff list has reopened admissions for the course at 95%.

English (hons), which received the maximum number of applications, has been closed at six colleges but most of them are off campus colleges like Bharti College and Deshbadhu College.

At Lady Shri Ram College for Women (LSR) the subject is available at 97% after a dip of 0.50 percentage points.

Science courses

Mathematics (hons) has been closed for admission at eight colleges of the 36 colleges that offer the course while Chemistry (hons) has been closed for admission at all six colleges that offer the course.

At Hansraj College the course has seen a dip of 0.50 percentage points from the second cutoff list and is now available at 96%. Maths (hons) is available at 95.75% in Kirori Mal College.

Chemistry (hons) is available at 95% at Ramjas College and Miranda House while at Hindu College the cutoff for the course is 96%.

Read more | DU admissions 2016: Find your college on interactive map, know details

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We dont have to convince you of the power of a no-heel policy. Not only do flats lend you more comfort and are absolutely on trend, but, guess what? Theres no dearth of styling options too. If you dont mind ditching stilt-high variations or your block favourites, we have the perfect fix for you. From your breezy anti-fits and campus-perfect rompers to the formal picks  we are crushing over tan-hued oxfords and their brogue versions to accessorise all that you are stocking up in that monsoon wardrobe of yours.

What are oxfords and why are they trending?

Photo: Raajessh Kashayp/HT; Outfit: Pero; Brogues: H&M; Model: Nikieta Ajmera (Strawberrifox Model Management); Makeup: Ishika Taneja



Brogues, are absolutely on-trend this season. Heres its paired with an anti-fit, monsoon perfect number.

Simply put, these are shoes with eyelets that are studded with closed laces. These are also traditionally known as Balmorals, after a Scottish castle of the same name, thanks to its Scotch origins. When perforations (a peculiar embossed design) are introduced, these Oxfords become Brogues, with the process then called broguing. So well, you basically have a lot to pick from. And, of course, the classic tan colour just adds to its versatility. If you are afraid of feeling the ground underneath your feet, dont worry, some of these are typically low-heeled, with just a bit of height-push provided.

Read: A visual decoding of all types of on-trend shoes

Heres how Bollywood is wearing them:

Tan brogues and Oxfords are also a popular pick among our Bollywood beauties. Check out Swara Bhaskar, Kangana Ranaut and Neha Dhupia taking on the trend. (Photos: Yogen Shah)

You know its in trend when our Bollywood babes are not shying away from it. While Swara Bhaskar paired her Anavila dress with glossy tan brogues and cute boxer-inspired braids, Kanganas look was one of our favourite. At a Bollywood birthday celebration, the fashionista chose to pair her Bungalow 8 separates (and those cute braided space buns) with chocolate oxfords that looked laidback-perfect and stylish too. And well, thanks to the comfy quotient, they seem travel-perfect. Just ask Neha Dhupia and shed agree!

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Following the death of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani, Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday chaired a high-level meeting to review the law and order situation in Jammu and Kashmir.

Read: Valley remains tense after Wanis funeral, Amarnath Yatra still suspended

Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi , Joint Secretary (Kashmir division) Gyanesh Kumar, Intelligence Bureau (IB) Chief Dineshwar Sharma and senior Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) officials were present at the meeting being held at Rajnaths residence here.

Situation in Kashmir valley is under control PTI quoted Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi as saying.

The meeting comes in the wake of the rising instances of violence in the valley as the death toll in the clashes between security forces and protestors has reached 16, as four more civilians succumbed to injuries.

An 18-year-old youth was critically injured in clashes between protestors and security forces at Newa in Pulwama on Sunday, a police official said.

Irfan Ahmad Malik was rushed to SMHS hospital but succumbed to his injuries, he said.

Four persons who were injured in the violent clashes on Saturday succumbed to injuries during the night, the official said.

Curfew was imposed in the entire valley on Sunday after 11 protesters were killed in violent clashes with security forces on Saturday, triggered by the killing of Burhan Wani, officials said.

The protesters who died in clashes on Saturday following the killing of Wani include Adil Bashir, Danish Ayub, Abdul Hamid Moochi, Jahangir Ganai, Aijaz Ahmad Thokru, Ashraf Dar, Showkat Ahmad, Haseeb Ahmad and Saqib Mir, all from Annatnag district, Khurshid Ahmad from Kulgam, and Azad Hussain from Shopian.

One among the deceased drowned in local area while fleeing. More than hundred protesters have also been injured in the clashes across Kashmir.

Kashmiri villagers watch the funeral of Burhan Wani, chief of operations of Kashmir's largest rebel group Hizbul Mujahideen, in Tral, some 38 Kilometers (24 miles) south of Srinagar. (AP)

A local hospital (SMHS) in Srinagar received around 70 injured civilians, most of them with bullet injuries.

State Intelligence chief S M Sahai said three police personnel were missing while 96 security force personnel were seriously injured.

Sahai and Inspector General of Police (Kashmir Zone) Syed Javid Mujtaba Gilani said the violent mob on Saturday burnt four police stations, two minority police pickets, and an office of the tehsildar.

Kashmiri villagers pray during the funeral of Burhan Wani, chief of operations of Indian Kashmir's largest rebel group Hizbul Mujahideen, in Tral. (AP)

Besides, there were two incidents of weapon snatching and torching of several vehicles of the security forces.

The Centre has reportedly rushed 12 companies of CRPF to Kashmir to assist the local administration in maintaining the law and order situation in the area.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh has said the Centre is working with the state government to bring normalcy in the valley. In a tweet, Singh appealed to the people to remain calm and maintain peace.

The mobile internet and train services are suspended in the valley and the Amarnath Yatra remains temporarily suspended and around ten thousand pilgrims are reportedly stranded at Jammu.

CBSE has postponed the UGC-NET exam scheduled for today in Srinagar. The new date of examination will be announced later.

At least 100 protesters were injured on Saturday. They suffered bullet, tear smoke and pellet injuries.

Violence erupted in south Kashmir districts of Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian and Kulgam and later spread to other districts in the valley after security forces killed Wani and two of his associates in Bamdoora (Kokarnag) village of Anantnag district on Friday.

Wani was buried in his native Shariefabad (Tral) village on Saturday where nearly 40,000 people gathered defying curfew restrictions to take part in his funeral prayers.

The separatists have called for a valley-wide shutdown till Monday to protest against Wanis killing.

The Jammu and Kashmir cabinet headed by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti would meet here on Sunday to deliberate on measures to deal with the situation and restore law and order.
Maharashtras rural development and women and child welfare minister Pankaja Munde appears to be reluctant to let go off two important departments, which she lost in Saturdays reshuffle of the Devendra Fadnavis ministry.

Her disappointment exposed lurking internal rivalries within the BJP, which has been fighting to fix fault lines after corruption allegations forced senior minister Eknath Khadse to resign reluctantly.

The 36-year-old daughter of the late BJP stalwart Gopinath Munde didnt hide her displeasure either, tweeting on Sunday morning that she would not attend a water conservation summit abroad.

Reaching Singapore tomorrow on Monday, there is a world water summit, I was invited but now wont attend as I am not the minister in charge, she tweeted.

Chief Minister Fadnavis, who is in Moscow, tried to placate the miffed minister: Of course you must attend WLS 2016. As senior minister you will represent Government of Maharashtra.

Read: Fadnavis expands state cabinet, inducts 10 new faces, promotes one

The tweet from Munde, who lost water conservation as well employment guarantee scheme, indicated Fadnavis didnt take her into confidence before announcing the portfolio changes.

Water conservation wasnt considered a prized portfolio, but assumed significance because of the BJP-led governments ambitious Jal Yukt Shivar scheme that promises to wipe out drought in Maharashtra by 2019.

The portfolio went to Ram Shinde, a former junior minister who got promoted to cabinet rank.

Her other portfolio went to a young minister, Jay Kumar Raval, the legislator for Dhule, who may have been inducted to give representation to north Maharashtra after the ouster of Khadse.

Munde tweeted a quick congratulatory message to new ministers Shinde and Raval, saying she was happy that they got such important portfolios when the anti-drought scheme was at its peak.

Fadnavis became chief minister after the BJPs overwhelming result in the 2014 assembly polls. He is seen as a first among equals for his young age and inexperience.

Supporters of Munde, on the other hand, call her the rightful heir to Gopinaths political legacy. She had been pitched for the chiwef ministers post just before the government was sworn in.

Munde is seen as a Fadnavis rival, but he has backed her so far, especially when she was engulfed in allegations of corruption.

Besides, Fadnaviss so-called rivals in the cabinet include Khadse and higher education minister Vinod Tawde. Senior ministers Chandrakant Patil and Sudhir Mungantiwar are not happy with the chief minister either, sources said.

Patil is a confidante of BJP president Amit Shah, while Mungantiwar is close to Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari, a former party chief.

But Fadnavis has been able to slowly strengthen his hold, which is demonstrated during the bold recast of his team by inducting young politicians who support his vision.
Struggling to strengthen its national foothold, the CPI(M) has planned a week-long protest programme across the country with the aim to consolidate its position in the Opposition quarters.

The party has carefully picked the twin issues of price rise and unemployment to hit the streets from July 11 to highlight the failures of the NDA government.

During our last central committee meeting, many pressing issues were highlighted but unemployment and price rise were highlighted by almost every member. Based on the feedback from our units, we decided to take up these two issues to kick-start another agitation, said Hannan Mollah, politburo member of the CPI(M).

The party members expect the two highly popular issues for the Opposition parties may also help the party garner support among the non-NDA parties, especially in the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament. The street protests will end on July 17, just a day before the Parliament session begins.

These are issues related to common people. We would definitely like to see other parties also supporting our voice, said a central committee member.

While the CPI(M), a national party with limited presence in several states, will be focusing more in West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura, it has also firmed up plans for northern states. In Rajasthan, the party will hold a rally, while it will rope in CPI(ML) and other parties to stage protests in Bihar.

Despite entering into an election alliance with the Congress in West Bengal, the CPI(M) wants to test the waters with only Leftist parties in the state. Let us also see how far we can mobilise our own cadres, said a leader.

Top leaders of the party like general secretary Sitaram Yechury and former chief Prakash Karat will fan out in different states to lead the protests.

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After Singapore, Japan and China, Kazakhstan will be the fourth country that will partner with Andhra Pradesh in building its new capital city Amaravati.

Astana, Kazakhstans capital, and Andhra Pradesh will sign a memorandum of understanding in a few months from now on working together on building Amaravati while a joint working group with representatives from both sides will be soon be constituted to work closely and share experiences to build a world-class capital, stated a release from the Chief Ministers Office here.

Chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, on the second-day of his visit to Kazakhstan, today held talks with Astana Mayor Asset Issekeshev on the capital construction, the release said.

Astana is a very young, modern and functional city. I am very impressed by the way it has been built. I have seen almost the entire city and found it very beautiful, Naidu told Issekeshev.

The CM asked the Mayor to share details about the architects, designers and builders involved in the construction of Astana.

The Mayor said, More than 150 architects worked for ten years on the Astana project. We will work with you (in building Amaravati). We will share our experiences in building Astana so you could learn and avoid the mistakes we committed.

Stating that he was interested in working closely with Astana, Naidu invited the Mayor to visit Amaravati.

We have to chalk out a roadmap on how to take our co-operation forward. A clear time frame is needed for this, the CM said.

Issekeshev said they were keen on building a relationship with AP that would be beneficial for both of us.
Suspected terrorist Mohammed Musiruddin had gone to Kashmir for a training session to work for terror groups like Islamic State and Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), a senior officer of West Bengal CID claimed on Sunday.

His training happened in Kashmir. That is what he has told us but not given us the name of any particular place. He is saying that the training went on for about three months at an interior place of Kashmir, the officer said.

Thereafter, 25-year-old Musiruddin went to New Delhi and did a recce of the citys prominent places and monuments for a possible terror attack, the arrested suspect has revealed during his grilling jointly by NIA, IB and state CID, he said.

In fact, during questioning, Musiruddin was made to sit with two of his arrested accomplices Kallu Sheikh and Amin Sheikh, who according to the CID sleuth, also confirmed the declarations.

Last Monday, Musiruddin arrived at Howrah station from Tamil Nadu and straightaway went to Esplanade area of Kolkata where he bought a sharp weapon and returned to Howrah to board the train for his native place Labhpur.

Acting on an information that he was returning to Kolkata on Monday, CID tracked his movements in the city and arrested him from Burdwan station in the night.

CID sources said NIA sleuths had been keeping an eye on Musiruddin for quite some time.

Burdwan district entered the terror map in October, 2014 when two suspected JMB terrorists were killed while making improvised explosive devices at a rented house at Khagragarh.

The NIA arrested a mechanical engineering student on suspicion of being a terrorist from Durgapur in March.

Another person, suspected to be a Bangladeshi terrorist, was also arrested from Asansol later.
Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday chaired a cabinet meeting to review security situation in the state, as the valley is on the boil in the wake of the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen chief Buhran Wani.

Union home minister Rajnath Singh too chaired a high-level meeting to review the law and order situation in the valley as well.

Home secretary Rajiv Mehrishi, joint secretary (Kashmir division) Gyanesh Kumar, intelligence bureau (IB) chief Dineshwar Sharma and senior ministry of home affairs (MHA) officials are present at the meeting being held at Rajnaths residence in Srinagar.

The meeting comes in the wake of the soaring violence in the valley as the death toll in the clashes between security forces and protestors has reached 17, as three more civilians and a cop were killed.

At least 100 protesters suffered bullet, tear smoke and pellet injuries on Saturday.

Violence erupted in south Kashmir districts of Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian and Kulgam and later spread to other districts in the valley after security forces killed Wani and two of his associates in Bamdoora (Kokarnag) village of Anantnag district on Friday.

Wani was buried in his native Shariefabad (Tral) village on Saturday where nearly 40,000 people gathered defying curfew restrictions to take part in his funeral prayers.

The separatists have called for a valley-wide shutdown till Monday to protest against Wanis killing.
One child grew up to fight for the country. The other might have joined a terror group in West Asia.

The irony is not lost on a devastated Bindu Kumar, whose daughter is among the 20-odd people who mysteriously disappeared from two Kerala districts and are feared to have joined outfits such as the Islamic State.

My tears have dried up. I can only pray now. I hope God will help me in tracing my daughter who will turn 24 next month, says the Thiruvananthapuram resident.

She begs the media to keep her son -- an army man on deputation to the National Security Guard (NSG) -- out of the news. She says he always wanted to join the army.

But she doesnt know how her daughter Nimisha, who used to be just another teenager who loved television programmes, could have been radicalised.

I was shocked to see my daughter, who loved to wear casual dresses, in full purdah (veil), she told HT.

Security officials say the 20-odd people have been off the radar for over a month. Two messages sent by them to some relatives have been tracked to Afghanistan and Egypt.

My children were religious and patriotic. My son wanted to be a military officer and daughter chose the medical profession. We were happy when both got the careers of their choice, says Bindu.

Her husband runs a small restaurant in the city. Moms sweet daughter going to bed, sweet kisses, was the last message Nimisha sent to her parents on June 3. When the mother called her back the next day, Nimishas phone was switched off. There has been no contact since.

Nimishas parents first realised something was wrong last November, when she stopped taking their calls. Bindu rushed to the dental college Nimisha was studying in north Keralas Kasargode district, only to be told that she had converted to Islam for marriage.

She used to share all her experiences in college with me. But this was a terrible shock for me, says Bindu.

Nimisha took the name Fathima and married 30-year-old Bexin Vincent, a Christian MBA graduate who took the name Eza after converting to Islam.

Bindu dragged the couple to court but was told that Nimisha was an adult and could marry whoever she chose.

Once she asked whether I would accept her if she came in a burqa. I told her she was welcome, Bindu said. The last time Nimisha visited home was on May 16.

During Nimishas last two visits, Bindu noticed her daughter developed an aversion towards TV programmes.

Once when I said being pregnant she should be consulting doctors regularly, she said she had once and did not believe in modern medicines any longer, Bindu says, adding the baby is expected in September. The couple told their in-laws that they were going to Sri Lanka for pilgrimage.

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The Valleys head cleric and moderate separatist Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has always favoured negotiations over guns as a means of solving the Kashmir imbroglio. He remained hopeful when other separatists frowned at the PDP-BJP coalition. A year later, Mirwaiz says the situation has changed to hopelessness. Under house arrest following the killing of Burhan Wani, Mirwaiz spoke to Toufiq Rashid about the fall-out. Excerpts:

Is this the first time you wanted to hold prayers for militants?

These are young and educated Kashmiri boys who have joined militancy. They are part of the struggle at the indigenous level. They are not the ones going anywhere outside for trainings nor is anyone anchoring them from behind. They are symbols of resistance.

You are saying there is no political space and that is the reason these boys are picking up guns?

Yes, that is the main reason, especially after 2010 when they quelled the street protests through force and intimidation by killing innocent people. Today, we see Burhan not as a hardcore militant but as a symbol against them, knowing that he cannot beat the military might of India.

Do you think Burhan living would not have been as inspiring to the youth?

I think his death will definitely inspire many people to go that way. There is no denying that people feel a sense of desperation. People feel the government of India is just not ready to engage or even acknowledge the sentiments in Kashmir. The PDP-BJP coalition has added a huge dimension to the problem. People feel India is trying to culturally, religiously and politically undermine our authority.

Isnt there something that you as a senior separatist leader could do to keep them from violence and death?

We want to keep the resistance political. But the fact is that we are ourselves under house arrest. There is no scope for peaceful resistance Even the coalition partners have buried their agenda. They dont talk about self-governance any more, neither AFSPA nor other issues they raised before forming the government. It is sad that chief minister Mehbooba Mufti is speaking against clerics.

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Pakistan condemned on Sunday the killing of a top insurgent and the deaths of 16 Kashmiri protesters in clashes with security forces as fresh waves of violence triggered fears of a resurgence in militancy in the troubled state.

In a statement, Islamabad called the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani deplorable, a day after tens of thousands of people showed up at the funeral of the 21-year-old and chanted slogans against the army, police and government.

Such acts are a violation of fundamental human rights of Kashmiris and can not deter the people of Jammu and Kashmir from their demand for the realisation of the right to self determination, the Pakistan press release read.

Wani  the face of militancy in the Valley in the past five years -- was wrapped in a Pakistani flag as many militants reportedly showed up at the funeral.

Pakistan also criticised India for detaining top separatist leaders, calling upon India to fulfil its human rights obligations as well as its commitments under the United Nations Security Council Resolutions.

Ties between the two countries have been on a roller-coaster ride in recent years, especially on the tricky question of involving separatists in talks over the Kashmir dispute.

In its statement, Pakistan again called for a fair and impartial plebiscite under the UN  a stand that India has repeatedly rejected over the years.
Three assailants hacked to death a corporation official outside a tea shop in Chennai on Saturday evening, the sixth such murder in the city in two months.

Mullai Gnanasekar, a 55-year-old councillor, was attacked around 5.45pm while he was sitting in a tea shop in Manali, an industrial area of the city, police said.

Gnanasekar was a member of the Tamil Maanila Congress, before joining the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam a few years ago. He is survived by his wife and five children.

We do not believe his death was because of a political rivalry, a police source said. Instead, we believe he was murdered over a business deal gone wrong.

Police said they launched a search for the three men shown in a CCTV footage and that an investigation was underway.

His murder is the latest in a spate of public hacking in Chennai. Last month, the murder of Infosys employee S Swathi triggered outrage across the state. The 24-year-old was hacked to death on June 24 at Nugambakkam Railway Station.
The Congress party is all set to announce this month the revival of the National Herald and two other newspapers that went out of print eight years ago due to financial crunch.

A public statement on the proposed relaunch could be made as early as next week after a final meeting of the board of directors for the publications clears the name of the editor of National Herald, sources said.

The newspaper, which was founded at Lucknow in 1938 by freedom-fighter stalwart Jawaharlal Nehru who became the countrys first prime minister, was banned by the British during the 1942 Quit India movement. It faced brief shutdowns in the 1940s and 70s.

Today, the publication is on a comeback trail. We intend to revive all three papers  National Herald, Qaumi Awaaz (Urdu) and Navjeewan (Hindi), Congress party treasurer Motilal Vora, who is CMD of the Associated Journals Limited (AJL) that published the three papers, told Hindustan Times.

The decision was taken in January this year. We are now close to finalising the editors name for the operations to start. We will make a formal announcement within a few days, he added.

Read | Court grants bail to Sonia, Rahul Gandhi in National Herald case

AJL owns a number of properties across the country. These include the Herald House in the national capital from where the papers were last published in 2008. While two floors of the multi-storey building on arterial Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg have been leased out to the Regional Passport Office, the rest of it houses AJL and Young Indian Private Limited (YIL) that have functional offices. Of late, the place has been readied for publishing the papers again and applications have been sought for filling the vacancies.

The relaunch of the papers will weaken the premise for a case against Congress president Sonia Gandhi, party vice-president Rahul and some of its senior leaders among others. The ongoing litigation was filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy in 2012, alleging income-tax violations.

AJL, along with its assets and liabilities that included a Rs 90-crore loan from the Congress, was taken over in 2010 by YIL  a Section 25 company (which is akin to a trust) in which the party president and her son hold 38 per cent equity each. Veteran Vora is among the rest of the stakeholders; the prominent others being party leader Oscar Fernandes, technocrat Sam Pitroda and Suman Dubey, a schoolmate of late PM Rajiv Gandhi, Sonias husband.

Swamy alleged in his petition to a Delhi court that the real motive of the transaction was to acquire Rs 5,000 crore worth real estate the AJL owned in various cities of the country. On her part, Sonia Gandhi told the High Court in July last year that the move was aimed at reviving the publications.

Read | Key facts about National Herald case

Sources associated closely with the decision said the revival plan has been on the cards since 2010. Things got delayed; it is still a work in progress, said a person associated with the relaunch of the newspapers.

Octogenarian Vora, who is a former chief minister as well as governor, had chaired a January 21 extraordinary general meeting (EGM) of the AJL. Attended by Sonia and her son Rahul among others, it decided to set the ball rolling for publishing National Herald once again. The EGM had also decided to convert AJL from a commercial entity to a not-for-profit company.

A Congress leader, who was present at the meeting in the Uttar Pradesh capital, said shareholders at the EGM had expressed concern over the unnecessary delay in publishing the newspapers again.

Once re-launched, a Congress leader said, the party will use these publications to their full advantage amid next years assembly elections in its one-time bastion Uttar Pradesh. The party has been struggling hard in the countrys most populous state to regain its political glory after being voted out of power in 1989.

The National Herald, in its farewell editorial on April 1, 2008, announced temporary suspension of the publications which were running into losses for several years due to over-staffing and dearth of advertisements. The board had then approved a voluntary retirement scheme payment for the 265 employees, including 40 journalists.
Islamic seminary Dar-ul-Uloom Deoband on Sunday objected to media citing its fatwas against Zakir Naik and linking them to the allegations against the Islamic preacher that his speeches had incited terrorists involved in Dhaka cafe attack.

Spokesman of Dar-ul-Uloom Ashraf Usmani told PTI that a few fatwas were issued by Deoband against Naik on issues related to Muslim sects. But these were being delibrately highlighted by some newspapers and television channels in their reports on Naik, who has come under scanner after it was reported that Dhaka attackers were allegedly inspired by his speeches.

Therefore associating fatwas issued by Deoband in the past with the allegations against Naik linked to terrorism is wrong and objectionable, Usmani said.

He said that due to busy schedule ahead of Eid, Deoband had not decide its stand on Naik.

Meanwhile, Muslim clerics have different views on Naik.

Read: Fatwas by Darul Uloom say Naik is unfit to preach

A senior All India Muslim Personal Law Board member Maulana Rashid Farangi Mahali said cornering Naik was a part of a deep conspiracy.

A person, who has more than 1.4 crore followers, of which some become terrorist, how can he be held responsible. It is gross injustice, he said.

The Maulana welcomed an inquiry by the government against Naik.

If you have suspicion, an inquiry should be conducted. But the manner in which his character assasination is being done by the media, it cannot be justified, he said.

Director Shibli Academy Professor Ishtiyaq Ahmad Zilli said every person has a right to speech within the law of the country, but the media trial was not right.

Meanwhile, spokesman of All India Shia Personal Law Board Maulana Yasoob Abbas while opposing Naik said those having wahabi mentality were being inspired with the preachers lectures and going towards terrorism.

He said that stern action should be taken against Naik, his lectures should be banned and his nationality should be withdrawn.
Kashmir Valley remained on edge for a second day as the death toll reached 17 on Sunday following protests over the killing of the Hizbul Mujhaideen commander Burhan Wani.

Clashes broke out between locals and security forces as news of Wanis death on Friday spread, with 12 people dying in the violence on Saturday.

By Sunday midday, five more died, including a policeman, either during fresh clashes or sustained injuries.

Curfew has been imposed in the entire Valley to maintain law and order, additional director general of police, Crime Investigation Department, SM Sahai told Hindustan Times.

Sahai said that 14 youth had died due to bullet or pellet injuries, one drowned while being chased by police and another died when his car turned over during the violence.

According to a police spokesman based in Srinagar, a policeman was feared dead after he was pushed into water along with his vehicle by mob in Anantnag area in South Kashmir. The incident took place near sangam in river Jehlum

Heavy security presence was deployed through the Valley, with southern districts of Pulwama, Anantnag and Kulgam being the worst hit. A blackout on mobile services also continued.

Read | Burhan Wani: Better living than dead?

Reports said that more than 200 people, including 100 security personnel, were injured since Friday. Of these, 70 were admitted in various hospitals with critical bullet or pellet injuries, sources added.

Three policemen and their service weapons were also missing in the chaos, though two of them were traced by Sunday afternoon, Sahai said.

Mobs wreaked havoc as Wanis funeral was underway at his hometown in Tral on Saturday, setting fire to three police installations. Three civil administration offices, the house of an MLA from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, several vehicles and a BJP office were also targeted.

Read | Wanis funeral: Amarnath Yatra suspended, curfew in parts of Kashmir

Normal life remained paralysed as shops, private offices, business establishments and petrol pumps were shut, while government offices and banks witnessed thin attendance, officials said.

Public transport was also pulled off the roads completely, while cars and auto-rickshaws were seen plying at few places where there were no restrictions.

Though most educational institutions were closed on account of summer vacations, the Kashmir term one examinations for standard 11 were postponed.

Separatists had called for a shutdown in protest of civilians getting hurt and being killed, extending the strike to Monday. Separatist leaders, including Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, also remained under house arrest while Mohammad Yasin Malik was also under preventive detention.

The suspension of the Amarnath Yatra from Jammu, which was called on Saturday, continued as well.

Wani and two other militants were killed on Friday when security forces cornered them in Kokernag area of Anantnag.

Read | Militant at 15, killed at 21: Hizbul Mujahideens poster boy Burhan Wani

According to reports, Wani had influenced scores and recruited many in the past few years through slick social media posts and videos. At present, reports indicate that 140 militants are active in the Valley, 90 of whom are locals. Intelligence reports say the majority of these local recruits  around 60  are from South Kashmir.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Questioning the support in some quarters to those protesting the gunning down of Hizbul Mujhaideen militant Burhan Wani in Kashmir, Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu said on Sunday the government will not tolerate terrorism and violence.

Kashmir is an integral part of India and there is no discussion and negotiation on it, Naidu said.

We are really surprised that some people are trying to support to so called protestors who are sympathising with the terrorist. He is a Hizbul Mujahideen commander, how can any Indian have sympathy for such people? he said.

He said the crisis in Kashmir was not a sudden development and added Kashmir issue has been there for long. We also have to find a long term solution and terrorism and violence is not acceptable in whatever form and whoever carries it out.

As far as the government is concerned, we are very clear that the government will not tolerate any such activities. But you cant have a overnight or readymade solution to such a long standing issue. The government is trying to deal with that, he said.

India is a democratic country and will adopt democratic methods, Naidu added.

Hoping that normalcy will be brought back at the earliest, Naidu said, There is an elected government in the state. Central government is extending all the support to the state government. Centre and state will together tackle the situation. I am confident that the situation will be brought to normalcy at the earliest.

He said the focus should be more on development.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is focusing on the development of Jammu and Kashmir. He has visited Jammu and Kashmir a number of times in two years. The Centre also announced a big package for the state, he said.

Minister of state in PMO Jitendra Singh also hoped that situation would be normal soon and said people should trust the government.

All of us should trust the government of India. Our honourable home minister is keeping a close eye on the sequence of events and there is absolute coordination between the state government, the government of India and the security agencies. And I am sure that situation is going to come back to normal very soon, Singh said.

Having said that, I will also like, through you, to reassure the members of the minority Kashmiri Pandit community that they are safe. There were some incident of stone pelting on the first day, but now all minorities are absolutely safe, well protected. It is the collective responsibility of the government as well as the society to ensure their safety and protection, Singh added.

This is also a tourist season. Let the security agencies take a final call. We must trust their wisdom and discussion. We are proud of our security agencies and our forces, Singh added.
JNU student Umar Khalid, who is out on bail in a sedition case on Sunday kicked off another controversy by comparing Burhan Wani, the Hizbul Mujahideen commander who was gunned down earlier this week, with a revolutionary.

I dont care if I fall as long as someone else picks up my gun and keeps on shooting. These were the words of Che Guevara, but could have just been Burhan Wanis too, he said in a Facebook post which he removed hours later.

He praised Wani for his bravery and said, Burhan wasnt scared of death, he was scared of a life lived in subjugation. He detested it. He lived a free man, died a free man...

Khalid has earlier been a centre of controversy for being one of the organisers of the controversial event in JNU against hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru during which anti-national slogans were allegedly raised.

Read: The Kashmir manifesto: Delhis policy playbook in the Valley

His remarks on Burhan did not go down well with the RSS student wing ABVP which has been locked in an ideological battle with the left-affiliated groups in JNU campus.

After supporting Afzal Guru, Khalid has now expressed his sympathies with Burhan, this is an indicative of his association with terrorists and his support for them. Such anti-nationsals are even dangerous for the society than terrorists. I demand that his bail be cancelled and investigation about his links be conducted, Saurabh Sharma, lone ABVP member in JNU students union said in a statement.

Read: Burhan Wanis killing deplorable, violates Kashmiris rights: Pakistan
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday interacted in Dar-es-Salaam with a group of 30 Solar Mamas, women from Tanzania and a few other African countries trained in harnessing solar energy under the Indian government programmes.

Celebrating the Solar Mamas! PM interacts with women trained in vocational skills under Indias development support, external affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a visit to Barefoot College and Solar Mamas of Africa, in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania. (PTI Photo)

With the support of the Indian government, the Barefoot College at Tilonia in Ajmer, Rajasthan, has been promoting and training rural women solar engineers, called Solar Mamas, from various developing countries, including from African nations.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi takes a look at solar-powered equipment during a visit to the Barefoot College and Solar Mamas in Dar-es-Salaam on Sunday. (PTI Photo)

The college is promoting and training these women in fabrication, installation, use, repair and maintenance of solar lanterns and household solar lighting system under programmes supported by the Indian government.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a visit to the Barefoot College. (PTI Photo)

Barefoot womens vocational training colleges have been set up in Zanzibar island of Tanzania and some other countries in Africa for imparting solar electrification skills and distributing solar kits.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his host, Tanzanian President John Pombe Magufuli, play drums at the entrance of State House during an official welcome ceremony in Dar es Salaam on Sunday. (PTI Photo)

In Sundays interaction, the women demonstrated their honey-extraction and stitching practices and sung civil rights anthem, We shall overcome.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Tanzanian president John Magufuli in Dar-es-Salaam on Sunday. (PTI Photo)

Earlier on Sunday, India and Tanzania signed five agreements, including one on setting up a centre for vocational training in Zanzibar, following bilateral discussions headed by Modi and Tanzanian President John Magufuli.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is greeted by a kid during a ceremonial welcome in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, on Sunday. (PTI Photo)

Prior to Sundays talks, Modi was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the State House.

Modi also played a traditional drum along with Magufuli, adding a local, informal touch to the ceremony.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi being greeted by members of the Indian community in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania. (PTI Photo)

Modi arrived in Tanzania on Saturday night from South Africa on the third leg of his four-nation tour of Africa.

This is the first prime ministerial visit from India to Tanzania in five years since the visit of then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2011.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi being greeted by members of the Indian community in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania. (PTI Photo)

Modi will leave for Kenya later on Sunday on the fourth and final leg of his African sojourn.
Sunni and Shia scholars have come down heavily on Islamic preacher Zakir Naik amid media reports that his lectures could have influenced the Dhaka cafe attackers.

Reacting sharply to Dr Naiks sermons, Shia scholar Maulana Syed M Asghar said Islam always stood for peaceful life, and not religious hatred. There is no message of social reform in Dr Naiks speeches. Religious leaders should not undertake sermons that may divide society, added the Maulana who teaches in Aligarh Muslim University (AMU).

Sunni expert Mufti Zahid Ali Khan said Dr Naiks sermons smacked of ultra-conservative Salafism. I do not agree with him, maintained the Mufti, who is a former chairman of AMUs theology department.

The July 1-2 attack in the Bangladesh capital had killed 29 people, including 20 hostages, after five militants opened fire on people at an eatery in upscale Gulshan 2 area.

Condemning the incident, Maulana Asjad Raza Khan Qadri of the non-extremist Sunni stream of Nabir-e-Aala Hazrat (Barelvi) went a step further, and appealed to Muslim youths to refrain from listening to Dr Naiks speeches.

India is the land of Sufism. Dr Naik speaks the language of terrorism. His thoughts are not Islamic, but related to (fundamentalist) Wahhabism, he noted. Back in 2008, we had demanded that the central and state governments to impose a ban on his speeches and programmes. Sufi Barelvis are united against him.

A practising Muslim cannot be a jihadist or a terrorist because Islam does not approve of killings, the Maulana added.

Zakir Naik, a former member of AMU court

Dr Zakir Naik was a member of the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) Court, the apex governing body of the varsity. He, however, did not attend any of the courts during his recently concluded three-year tenure. In fact, he never visited the campus.

AMU court members said Dr Naik was elected as a member on June 12, 2013 along with 14 others, under the Muslim culture & learning category. His membership expired on June 11, this year.

Speaking to HT, senior AMU court member Khurshid Ahmad said any member could have proposed Dr Naiks induction into the high-powered body I do not remember who proposed his name three years ago when he was a renowned Islamic scholar, he said, adding that AMU has had court members who never participated in its meetings. Some of the examples are actors Dilip Kumar and Farooq Sheikh, late freedom fighter Bishambhar Nath Pandey and Bihar politician Jagannath Mishra.

AMU sources informed that Dr Naik visited the varsity campus only once: in 2001. That was to participate in a programme organised at Kennedy Hall, where he also interacted with the students.
A Manipuri woman alleged on Saturday that an immigration official at Delhis Indira Gandhi International Airport hurled racist remarks at her when she was on her way to Seoul for a conference.

Monika Khangembam wrote on her Facebook wall that when she went to the immigration desk at IGI around 9pm on Saturday, an official looked at her passport and said: Indian toh nahi lagti ho (you dont look Indian).

He then allegedly smirked at her and asked her how many states comprised the country, in an apparent bid to know her Indianness. She alleged that a female official at the adjacent counter was giggling while the male officer paid no heed to her saying that she was getting late for the flight.

When Khangembam told him she hailed from Manipur, he allegedly asked her to name the states Manipur shared its border with. I said I was really getting late and he goes like, aircraft aapko chodke kahi nahi jaa rahi. Aaram se jawab do (the aircraft isnt leaving without you. You can answer at ease.)

Khangembam was en-route to Seoul for a global womens conference.

A home ministry spokesperson said if any such complaint is made it will be looked into.

Khangembam, who is in Seoul, wrote another Facebook post on Sunday, saying she had received support from many people but some others said the official was not being racist.

@SushmaSwaraj ji our daughters shouldn't hv to tolerate racial abuse especially from a govt officer. Pl take action. https://t.co/CRzd5a2lDV  Dr. Nimai C Luwang (@ncluwang) July 10, 2016

@SushmaSwaraj Madam, Manipur girl harassed by immigration official. https://t.co/dSYASeOqWn MUST TAKE ACTION !  devanik saha (@devanikindia) July 10, 2016

I wouldnt have minded if he asked me trip-related questions like whats the conference about, how long are you there, where do you work currently, who is funding the trip etc. Its even perfectly fine to ask where I am from but its not fine bossing around asking with that sarcastic smile How many states are there in India? Name the states bordering Manipur. This is not related to the trip nor I am a kid (sic), she said.

She said she hadnt raised the issue at the time as she was getting late for her flight. I can only do anything after I am back after 15 days. I couldnt get the name of the officer but a friend working at the IGI airport told me they can find out from CCTV footage.

Me and a lot of people from North East have constantly faced subtle racist jibes whether in the form of a sarcastic remark, smile, or attitude... Maybe this time it was something tangible so I could express it. Sadly you have to be killed to prove there is racism. (Richard Loitam, Nido Taniam) (sic), she wrote, referring to racist attacks on those from the northeast in Delhi.

Supporting Khangembam, several Twitter users have urged external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj to step in and take action against the immigration officer.

Read: Lets face it: We, Indians, are a highly racist people

In December, a group of men in Gurgaon brutally assaulted a 29-year-old man from Manipur. Earlier that year, 19-year-old Nido Taniam succumbed to serious injuries after being brutally beaten in Delhis Lajpat Nagar locality.

The attacks have triggered waves of protests by northeastern people, who say they are discriminated against, are called various names and routinely face violence, despite numbering around 200,000 in the city alone.
As Guna Sekaran and Ashwin Narayan unload the food packets, a small crowd gathers, mostly of children under 12. They seem shy, almost retreating. But as the packets are handed out, a bit of jostling begins and their eyes light up at the sight of whats inside  four chapatis and a generous portion of mixed vegetable. Wordlessly, they sit on the floor and tuck in.

I havent eaten anything since morning, 11-year-old Neha Kaneria says in between mouthfuls as she also feeds her little brother. Their mother, a domestic help, doesnt have the time to cook for them most days, she lets in.

Its the same for most of the children here at this temple basement in Noida Sector 55, where they attend an informal school. Sekaran, 28, and Narayan, 27, are volunteers with No Food Waste, a social start-up working to address urban hunger.

The lunch packs they are distributing are leftovers donated by a woman who runs a student accommodation.

No Food Waste has a mobile app of the same name that allows it to crowd source data on hunger spots in India and take requests for donation of excess food. The app has identified 80 such spots in Delhi and the national capital region. This temple is one of them, says Sekaran.

Anyone can pinpoint a place as a hunger spot on our app, and our team verifies it and updates our database. Individuals can directly donate food or request us, through the app, to collect and distribute it, which we do through our volunteers, says No Food Wastes 23-year-old founder Padmanaban Gopalan.

Like No Food Waste, many social start-ups founded by young Indians are using technology to feed the poor. Feeding India is one such organisation that feeds 15,000 people in 25 Indian cities, including 2,500 in Delhi. It says it gets around 100 requests for excess food pick-up every day in the Capital.

Ankit Kawatra, 24, built the Feeding India App that allows the user to fill in the quantity of food to be donated, the number of people it can feed, and the expected pick-up time.

Volunteers feed lunch to kids at a day-night shelter in Munirka, New Delhi. (Raj K Raj/HT Photo)

Feeding India has 450 volunteers (it calls them hunger heroes) in Delhi who pick up and deliver food across 12 zones. Whenever we get a request, the pick-up is assigned to the nearest volunteer. We are trying to promote hyper local food donation through technology, we believe people should be able to donate to the needy within 5km. It will help fight hunger, says Kawatra.

Most of these start-ups have partnered with restaurants, hostels, caterers and corporate houses to collect excess food every day, which is then delivered to orphanages, old age homes, shelters and so on.

Every item has a different shelf life and we do a strict quality check and ensure the food collected is delivered within 90 minutes to the needy, says Kawatra.

He decided to start Feeding India after he was horrified by the waste of food at a wedding. There were around 35 dishes, and I wondered what would happen to so much food. I stayed back and what I saw horrified me. Heaps of leftovers, enough to feed 10,000 people, was trashed. So much waste at one wedding in a city that has millions of hungry people.

Kawatra isnt exaggerating. Nearly 50% of under-6 slum children in the worlds fastest growing major economy are malnourished, according to a 2015 study by Child Rights And You (CRY). The same year, India took the 80th spot among 104 countries on the Global Hunger Index, ranking lower than Bangladesh, North Korea and Myanmar.

Kuldip Nar, who founded Delhi Food Banking Network, says the answer to dealing with urban hunger lies in creating a supply chain of sustained feeding, and technology can play a big role in it.

We collect non-perishable food items  pulses, rice, flour  and provide one nutritional meal every day to 10,000 people at 43 feeding sites in Delhi-NCR, he says.

Nars organisation works with NGOs who collect the food from its warehouse in Gurgaon and do the cooking on site. Most of our food comes from individual donations, he says.

A Delhi Food Banking Network app is in the works, and Nar plans to expand to Kolkata later this month.

Dipa Sinha of The Right To Food Campaign  which describes itself as an informal network of organisations and individuals committed to the realisation of the right to food  says that while these tech-driven feeding programmes are a good initiative, they can only be a temporary measure.

Charity cannot be a solution to fighting hunger. Besides, there is the issue of dignity associated with the donation of leftover food. The real solution lies in creating skills and livelihood opportunities, she says.

But for the time being, the hungry legions whose hopes of one square meal a day rest on these start-ups are a grateful lot. Angelia, who lives with her husband and three children in a government shelter in Munirka, says the Delhi Food Banking Network has been feeding the 30-odd migrant families here for three years. A part-time maid, she earns Rs 2,000 a month while her daily-wager husband makes Rs 150 a day. This is not enough to feed a family of five. So, the free lunch we get is of great help. But given the choice, I would like to cook my own food, she says.

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US President Barack Obama has warned that attacks on police over racial bias would hurt the anti-racism Black Lives Matter movement, days after a sniper killed five police officers in Dallas in apparent revenge for police shootings of black people.

Obama said although most activists from the Black Lives Matter movement wanted to see better relations between communities and law enforcement, violence and overly broad criticism against police undermined the protest movement.

I want to say to say to everyone concerned about ... racial bias in the criminal justice system that maintaining a truthful, serious and respectful tone is going to help mobilize American society to bring about real change, Obama said.

Read: Dallas suspect scrawled letters in blood, taunted authorities: Police chief

Whenever those of us who are concerned about failures of the criminal justice system attack police, you are doing a disservice to the cause, he told a news conference in Madrid where he is on a one-day visit.

Micah Johnson, a black US military veteran of the Afghan war, opened fire on police officers on Thursday during a protest in Dallas against the fatal shootings of two black men by police in Louisiana and Minnesota the previous day.

Johnson wanted to kill white people, especially white officers, Dallas Police Chief David Brown said after the attack on Thursday night.

Read: Dallas gunman learned tactics at Texas self-defence school

The Black Lives Matter group said on Friday it advocated dignity, not murder, in response to the shooting that also left seven other police officers and two civilians wounded.

Obama said there was legitimate criticism to be made of the criminal justice system and that citizens should continue to protest against it.

I would hope that police organizations are also respectful of the frustrations that people in these communities feel and not just dismiss these protests as political correctness or politics or attacks on police, he said.
Union information and broadcasting minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday accused Pakistan of influencing sympathisers of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani, who was killed in Kashmir, and warned it of a policy rethink on Delhis part.

Some people, inspired by our neighbour, are trying to create disturbances. This is not going to help, the minister said.

Read: Death toll in Kashmir clashes rises to 17, cop among those killed

India is willing to work with Pakistan and would like to have friendship with the country. But if Pakistan continues to do such things, the (Indian) government has to think about its own policy. Pakistan should give up such tactics..., Naidu said.

He asserted that Kashmir is an integral part of India and there is no question of any negotiation and discussion on this point.

Violence erupted in south Kashmir districts of Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian and Kulgam and later spread to other districts in the valley after security forces killed Hizbul Mujahideen militant Wani and his two associates in Anantnag on Friday.

Wani was buried in his native Shariefabad (Tral) village on Saturday where thousands defied curfew restrictions to attend his funeral prayers.

Read: Militant at 15, killed at 21: Hizbul Mujahideens poster boy Burhan Wani

(Wani) was a Hizbul Mujahideen commander. How can any Indian have sympathy for such people? Really surprised to see that some people are trying to support those so-called protesters sympathising with a terrorist, the minister said.

Terrorism and violence are not acceptable at all in any form.

The Centre and the state together will tackle the situation. The situation in Jammu and Kashmir will be brought to normalcy at the earliest, he added.

Curfew was imposed in the Kashmir Valley after widespread clashes between security forces and demonstrators protesting Wanis killing.

The toll in Kashmir Valley violence on Sunday rose to 19, with the death of four more people in continuing protests.
Pakistan-based terrorists had the Pathankot airbase on their hit list for at least six years, until the audacious attack in January in which six attackers and seven Indian soldiers died, revealed a National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe.

The strategic airbase was discussed as a possible target at a 2010 meeting in Sialkot, where jihadi and Khalistani outfits based in Pakistan had gathered for a common strategy, a senior home ministry official said.

Suspected Khalistani militant Jagtar Singh Tara, who was arrested for the assassination of Punjab chief minister Beant Singh in 1995, was reportedly present at the meeting. Tara says Shahid Latif, one of the handlers of the Pathankot attackers, named the airbase specifically, the official said.

Tara had confided to his lawyer, Simranjit Singh, about NIA sleuths meeting him in Chandigarhs Burail jail as part of their post-Pathankot exercise to speak to imprisoned terrorists for details on Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terrorist outfit and its chief, Maulana Masood Azhar.

Two NIA officials came to meet Tara to inquire about the Pathankot attack as he had meetings with Azhar and Latif when he was in Pakistan. According to Tara, he told Latif that civilians should not be targeted. He didnt tell me anything more than that, Singh said.

Tara had escaped from Burail jail in January 2004, digging a 104-foot tunnel along with fellow prisoners. He went to Pakistan in 2005 and remained there until moving in 2014 to Thailand, where he was caught a second time and deported to India in 2015. He has since been kept in Burail.

Now, the anti-terrorism agency formed after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks in 2008 has planned to make Tara a witness in the airbase case.

NIA chief Sharad Kumar, however, declined comments.

Arun Chaudhary, who was with the Intelligence Bureau before retiring as the Sashastra Seema Bal chief, gave weight to Taras revelations.

The Pakistani spy agency, ISI, has long tried to form a joint strategy between Khalistani elements and Pakistan-based jihadi outfits to revive militancy in Punjab, he said.

But the ground support for militancy had dried up in Punjab, making revival difficult. This is why Pakistan-based jihadi outfits had to carry out attacks in Punjab, first in Dinanagar in Gurdaspur last year and in Pathankot this year.

Latif, an old Jaish hand, was arrested in Jammu and Kashmir in 1993 and sent back to Pakistan in 2010 after he completed a 16-year jail term. He immediately went back to his old work after reaching Pakistan, an NIA official said.

Read: Pak militants attacked Pathankot airbase, Jaish operative tells HT

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Tanzania early on Sunday morning as part of his four-nation Africa tour aimed at enhancing ties with the continent, particularly in the economic sphere.

From Durban to Dar-es-Salaam! Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives late night in Tanzania on the third leg of his African sojourn, ministry of external affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted on Modis arrival in Dar es Salaam.

Modi was received at the airport by Tanzanian Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa and foreign affairs minister Bernard Membe, Swarup said.

PM @narendramodi is recd in spl gesture by Tanzanian PM Kassim Majaliwa, FM Bernard Membe & this boisterous crowd pic.twitter.com/ATHAndUIt6  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 9, 2016

In Tanzania, Modi will hold talks with President John Pombe Joseph Magufuli on a range of issues.

The visit is aimed at giving an impetus to ties with Tanzania, a valued friend in Africa, Modi had said.

He will also meet Solar Mamas, a group of rural women solar engineers from Africa who have been trained under Government of India-supported programmes to fabricate, install, use, repair and maintain solar lanterns and household solar lighting systems in their villages.

Modi is on five-day four-nation tour. He visited Mozambique and South Africa before arriving in Tanzania. His next and last stop on the tour is Kenya.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday commended the people of Indian origin in Kenya for preserving their culture and tradition despite being away from their land of origin for generations.

There must be people of third generation or fourth generation here, Modi said in his trademark diaspora rally at the Kasarani Stadium here soon after arriving from Tanzania on the fourth and final leg of his four-nation African tour.

They must have only heard about Ganga, Assam, Nagaland or Mizoram. Despite this, it is commendable that they have been able to preserve their culture, he said to rapturous cheers from a crowd of over 20,000 people.

There are around 80,000 people of India origin in Kenya, most of whose ancestors were brought as labour for the railways the then British rulers were building or came as traders.

In Kenya, I have experienced the full diversity of India and all its fragrances, the Prime Minister said.

He also commended the Indian community for contributing to Kenyas development.

Whatever be the reason and compulsions behind your ancestors coming to Kenya, you made it your own land and worked for Kenyas progress, he said.

Modi got a pleasant surprise when Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta joined him at the venue unannounced.

Welcoming Modi, Kenyatta said that he was glad and excited that Modi accepted his invitation to visit Kenya.

Stating that Kenya was a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural society, he said: These people in front may be of Indian origin, but in heart, mind and soul they are truly Kenyan citizens.

On his part, Modi said that it was a matter of great privilege and honour for all of us that President Kenyatta is also among us to grace the occasion.

For me and for India, it is a great, great honour, he said.

This is the first prime ministerial visit from India to Kenya in 35 years after the visit of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1982.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday offered all possible support to Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti following the death of 16 people in clashes with security forces.

Rajnath Singh spoke to the chief minister after taking stock of the law and order situation in the Kashmir Valley, officials said.

Read: Kashmir violence: Cop among 17 killed, curfew imposed in Valley

Curfew has been imposed in the Kashmir Valley after widespread clashes between security forces and demonstrators protesting against the killing of a top Hizbul Mujahideen leader.

According to Home Ministry sources, Rajnath Singh also urged Mehbooba Mufti to ensure the safety of Kashmiri Pandits.

Read: Burhan Wani: Better living than dead?

The Home Minister is keeping a close watch on the events. I am sure the situation will come back to normalcy very soon, said Jitendra Singh, the Minister of State in the Prime Ministers Office.

I am sure the Amarnath Yatra will resume very soon, let security agencies take the final call, Jitendra Singh added.

I reassure members of Kashmiri Pandit community that they are safe. There were some incidents of stone pelting (earlier).

Meanwhile, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister M.Venkaiah Naidu lashed out at sympathisers of dead Hizbul commander Burhan Wani.

Read: Wanis funeral today: Amarnath Yatra suspended, curfew in parts of Kashmir

The Centre and the state together will tackle the situation. The situation in Jammu and Kashmir will be brought to normalcy at the earliest.

(Wani) was a Hizbul Mujahideen commander, how can any Indian have sympathy for such people?

Really surprised to see that some people are trying to support those so-called protesters who are sympathising with a terrorist, said Naidu. Terrorism and violence are not acceptable at all in any form.

Violence erupted in the south Kashmir districts of Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian and Kulgam and later spread to other districts in the valley after security forces killed Wani and two associates in Anantnag on Friday.

Wani was buried in his native Shariefabad (Tral) village on Saturday where thousands defied curfew restrictions to attend his funeral prayers.
A man in Bihar has sent a bribe of Rs 500 by registered post to an official of the Bihar Information Commission to ensure speedy processing of his petition, officials said on Saturday.

Sanoj Mishra, a resident of Khagaria district, has also attached a handwritten letter in Hindi in which he requested the official to help him by ensuring speedy trial of his petition and made it clear that Rs 500 is for sweets for his children, an official of the commission said.

According to officials, Mishra has addressed the letter to Bada-babu of the commission.

The commission has lodged an FIR in the Sachivalya police station in Patna in this connection.

However, top officials of the commission are tight-lipped on the issue.
Security agencies struggled on Sunday to stop a relentless social media barrage, mostly from Pakistan, which tried to fan anti-India and pro-militancy sentiments in Kashmir Valley after the death of 22-year-old Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani.

Around 250 Twitter and Facebook accounts are apparently running the hate propaganda. But Jammu and Kashmir police and central agencies have not been able to get the better of them. As one account is blocked, another one pops up.

Read: Militant at 15, killed at 21: Hizbul Mujahideens poster boy Burhan Wani

Almost 60% of these Twitter handles and Facebook accounts are being run from Pakistan and other foreign countries, said a senior home ministry official.

Mobile phone internet service has been blocked in the curfew-bound Valley as a precaution, preventing people from accessing the WhatsApp messenger service, which had been a preferred platform for hate-mongers to spread provocative messages during the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots in Uttar Pradesh.

Read: Burhan Wani: Better living than dead?

Internet service is usually suspended during trouble, for instance, the Patel stir for reservation in education and jobs in Gujarat, and the violence-marred movement in Haryana for Jat quota.

This is not the first time action is initiated against rouge Twitter and Facebook accounts. We blocked around 300 accounts in the past six months, said the official.

Hostile anti-India social media posts have exacerbated the unrest in Kashmir, where 19 people have died in two days of clashes with security forces after Hizbul poster boy Wani was shot dead on Friday.

Read: Kashmirs disturbing new reality

Union home minister Rajnath Singh spoke to chief minister Mehbooba Mufti and assured her all possible help. He reviewed the situation, meeting his top officials in New Delhi.

Security forces were asked to maintain maximum restraint to avoid loss of civilian life, the home ministry official said.

Read: Kashmirs disaffected have a new icon: Omar Abdullah on Burhan Wanis death

The home minister commanded the agencies to ensure safety of pilgrims who were left stranded as the annual Amarnath Yatra was suspended after Wanis death.
On October 25, the complainant who charged Eldose with assault, rape, murder-bid and defamation charges, filed two more cases against him - for assaulting her again and disrespecting womanhood.
A day after reports of a Russian woman protesting outside her Indian mother-in-laws house in Agra, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj sought the Uttar Pradesh chief ministers intervention into the matter on Sunday.

Swaraj tagged Akhilesh Yadav in a tweet on Sunday afternoon, asking him to help Olga Efimenkova who has been sitting on a dharna since Saturday, seeking her husbands share in his familys property.

Olga and Vikrant Singh Chandel lived in Goa with their young son until recently. They moved back to Agra, Chandels hometown, after their business ran into losses.

However, the couple, who married in 2011, were not allowed inside the house as Vikrants mother, Nirmala Chandel, had gifted the property to her daughter who runs a school there.

Agitated over the circumstances, Olga settled herself at the doorstep of her in-laws in Indrapuri, demanding Vikrants share, supported by him.

Read | Russian bahu on dharna against Indian saas for property share

The Russian bahu said she had informed the New Agra police and the Russian Embassy of her predicament. However, the Agra police refused to file a complaint as the matter was a family dispute over property.

Nirmala has maintained that she gave Vikrant money and gifted the house to her daughter, who is estranged from her husband.

My daughter runs a school on the premises. I have already given Rs 11 lakh to Vikrant. Now I have nothing left with me to give to him, she said, adding that her son and daughter-in-law have not cared about her. She also alleged that they spent their money on gambling and liquor. Nirmala lives in a single room in the same house.
Belief in astrology is set to sink deeper roots in Telangana. The government of chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has embarked on an ambitious afforestation plan for which it has exhorted residents of the state to plant saplings according to their respective zodiac signs.

Known for his firm belief in astrology and vaastu, Rao says planting trees matching zodiac signs will bring good luck to both the individual as well as the state that is going to get greener.

It has been a tradition in India to plant trees based on a persons astrological sign or birth star to bring them good luck. During the plantation drive, saplings that are aligned astrologically to individuals must be given if asked for, the chief minister instructed officials recently.

Some 4,200 nurseries have consequently drawn up elaborate lists of trees corresponding with their preferred zodiac sign.

For example, if one is born under the Pisces sign, he or she should ideally be planting a banyan sapling. In the case of Aries, a red sanders is preferred while Geminis should preferably opt for jackfruit trees.

Raos penchant for something that many see as superstition may shock outsiders, but those in Telangana are not surprised.

Since taking office a little over two years ago, Rao has reportedly been following what his personal retinue of astrologers advices. One particular person who has left his stamp of authority during Raos tenure is Sudhakar Teja, an expert in Vaastu  the traditional Hindu system of architecture.

Rao has made him an adviser to the roads and buildings department of the state government. Teja is also advising the government in planning for a new secretariat, since the chief minister refuses to work out of the existing complex for not being vaastu-compliant.

Rao, meanwhile, is also building a new office-cum-residence for himself over 8.9 acres at a cost of Rs 35 crores for addressing all his vaastu woes. The swimming pool of the IAS officers association club adjacent to the existing facility built by late chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy has been demolished since a water-body in close proximity apparently does not bode well for a chief minister.

Environmentalists, though, have more pressing concerns with the plantation drive. The government is planning to cut down 1,394 trees around the KBR National Park in Hyderabad to widen roads for attracting investors and improving its ease of doing business index.

What the government is doing is simply contradicting itself, said Shilpa Sivakumaran of Hyderabad Rising, a group formed to protect the citys environment. On one hand, they want to make cutting of trees easier than setting up an email account and on the other hand, they want to plant trees.
Describing terrorism as one of the two major challenges facing the world, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday all forces believing in humanity must come together to defeat this anti-humanity menace.

Addressing the Indian diaspora in Nairobi, he also said that India was marching towards economic progress despite the global recession and his government was aiming at over 8% growth, up from the current level of 7.6%.

During his hour-long address amid repeated chants of Modi, Modi, he spoke on a number of issues, including the initiatives taken by his two-year old government for transforming the lives of common people in India and fulfil their dreams.

Significantly, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta accompanied Modi to the Kasarani Stadium where he addressed the gathering of estimated 20,000 Indians and people of Indian origin, soon after his arrival from Tanzania.

Read: PM Modi commends Kenyan Indians for preserving culture, tradition

Talking about the challenges facing the world, the Prime Minister identified terrorism and global warming as the two problems.

These are challenges to the entire humanity...The world needs to come together to deal with these, he said.

Those believing in humanity must come together. The sooner they come together, the sooner terrorism can be ended... Therefore, those believing in humanity must join forces to defeat anti-humanity forces. We need this resolve, he said.

With regard to global warming, Modi said India can show the way when it comes to mitigating the problem of climate change.

Talking about domestic issues of India, he said in the run-up to 2014 Lok Sabha elections, his critics would question as to what he would do by becoming the Prime Minister as he belonged to a small state of Gujarat.

Several questions were raised, he said, pointing out that his critics even wondered whether he had any knowledge about foreign affairs.

I have no complaints against anyone....It (questions) was correct also. I saw Parliament after becoming the Prime Minister, Modi said.

The Prime Minister then added that during the two years of his rule, India has seen good governance and implementation of announcements, unlike the past when decisions were taken without anybody bothering as to what happened to them.

The last two years saw less rainfall in many parts of India, so much that we had to run trains to ferry water...Apparently God also wanted to test me, he said.

Also, the world was going through recession. Despite that India saw a growth of 7.6%. This is a matter of pride. But we are not going to stop here. We have to move ahead, go higher and reach over 8% growth, he said.



We gave an impetus to good governance and to bring a positive difference in the lives of our citizens, Modi said amid repeated sloganeering like Bharat mata ki jai.

Contending that India has started to change and move towards progress, he said whatever has happened is due to work being conducted in a planned fashion.

The country is changing because of its 125 crore people and their resolve... I recognise the strength of 125 crore Indians who are determined to move ahead. This is the real public power, the Prime Minister said.

He spoke about his resolves like ensuring toilets are built in government schools and making available electricity within 1000 days to 18,000 villages which have remained without power for 70 years.

He also talked about Start-Up programme and the Mudra Bank to fund such initiatives, saying 3.5 crore people have been given Rs 1.25 lakh crore as loans without any guarantees under the programme.

Our youth have the initiative, innovation and energy. They just needed somebody in New Delhi to hand-hold them, he said, adding under the Start-up initiative, they would not only be getting employment for themselves but would also be giving jobs to others too.

Read: In pics: Modi plays drums, interacts with Solar Mamas in Tanzania

He told the Indian diaspora that details of all the work done by his government could be obtained from the Narendra Modi App.

Improving the quality of life for the ordinary Indian is the main task of my government, the Prime Minister said.

Referring to his initiative about toilets announced by him in his first Independence Day address in 2014, he said his critics had criticised him for talking about such a mundane issue when I had got a chance to speak about big issues from the Red Fort.

He said there had been talk about eradicating poverty earlier but it can be removed only by empowering the poor and making them to stand on their own feet.

Today, when the world is facing an economic crisis, India is growing at a quick pace. Be it the World Bank, IMF or any rating agency, everyone is saying with one voice that India is the brightest spot in the world, Modi said.

This has not happened suddenly...In the last two years, one by one, this government has taken steps because of which the world today is looking at India differently. This is a matter of pride for all Indians. No such thing has been done which would make Indians to hang their heads in shame. Today, Indians can move around the world holding their heads high, he said.

It is because of you all that the worlds way of looking at India has changed and they look at India in a way that makes us all happy, he said.

He said the world acknowledges the prowess of Indias space scientists who just launched 20 satellites in one go.

But India is not a selfish nation, only bothered about itself. We believe in Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the whole world is one), he said.

Declaring that Africa is very vital for India, Modi said, Our journeys have been shared and that he would like the two to move together in the future also.

He praised the Indian diaspora, saying they were the true ambassadors of the country and the living embodiments of Indias eternal values.

Earlier, Kenyatta also hailed the Indian diaspora while noting that the relations between India and his country went back to over 100 years.
The Hindu Jagran Manch has demanded the registration of a case against controversial preacher Zakir Naik, and sought his arrest for misleading youths and motivating them to participate in terrorist activities.

A delegation of the activist group led by Vishwa Hindu Parishads state vice-president Ajju Chauhan (VHP) handed over a memorandum in this regard to Hari Parvat police station in-charge Raja Singh.

We have come to know that Dr Naiks Mumbai-based NGO, Islamic Research Foundation, is being funded by foreign countries. He is involved in terrorism by motivating youths to go for anti-national activities, Chauhan said.

These activities are aimed at destabilising the nation by provoking the religious sentiments besides promoting conversion of Hindus to Islam, the Chauhan claimed.

Chauhan sought an inquiry into the Dr Naiks speeches. A case must be registered against him under relevant sections, the memorandum added.
With Srinagars streets empty and strict curfew-like restrictions imposed, Kashmir Valley continued to be tense on Sunday morning, a day after the slain militant Burhan Wani was buried and 11 civilians died in the ensuing protests.

Heavy security presence kept everyone indoors in the capital city, especially in certain sensitive pockets.

Read | 8 killed in Kashmir clashes after Hizbul militant Burhan Wanis death

As of now, no incidents of violence have been reported today and restrictions have been put in place at several locations to prevent any such incidents, inspector general of police, Kashmir, SJM Gillani told Hindustan Times.

Unrest set in after Wani  the poster boy of militancy in the Valley for the last five years  was gunned down on Friday evening in an encounter. Considered a local hero of sorts, he was buried in his hometown Tral on Saturday as thousands of mourners wailed and shouted anti-India slogans.

Read | How Hizbul commander Wani created a new militancy and became an icon overnight

With apprehensions of escalating law and order problems, more security forces were deployed in the region.

A blackout on mobile internet services, which were snapped across the Valley on Friday, continued on Sunday.

On Saturday, protests and clashes between civilians and personnel broke out through the Valley, and at least 11 people were killed, including one due to drowning. Reports said more than 200 people were injured in the upheaval.

Protesters had hurled stones, looted police weapons and set fire to police stations. Three policemen are reportedly missing.

In a statement, chief minister Mehbooba Mufti expressed deep grief and agony over the death of youths during the protests.

She had said disproportionate use of force for crowd control results in loss of precious lives and grave injuries which should be avoided at all costs.

Read | Burhan Wanis killing comes as biggest test for Mehbooba Mufti as CM

The separatist leadership called for a shutdown till Monday to protest the killing of civilians.

Meanwhile, the Amarnath yatra also remained suspended on Sunday after authorities stopped pilgrims from travelling on Saturday.

Speaking to Hindustan Times, the chief executive officer of Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board, PK Tripathi, said that people were not being allowed to travel to the base camps in Pahalgam and Baltal from Jammu. However, those at the base camps have been allowed to trek up to the shrine.

Yatris who have completed their visit to the holy shrine are now waiting at the base camps in Baltal and Nunwan (which are) safe zone. At least 15,000 people are waiting at Baltal but very few in Nunwan (Pahalgam), Tripathi said.

Read | Wanis funeral: Amarnath Yatra suspended, curfew in parts of Kashmir

He added that the yatra officials were constantly in touch with the security establishment of the state and would give clearance to people to travel back home once the situation is declared safe.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modis skills as a drummer were yet again on display on Sunday when he along with Tanzanian President John Pombe Joseph Magufuli played the traditional drums.

New beats to the #IndiaAfrica rhythm! PM @narendramodi and President @MagufuliJP play the drum, external affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted.

Both the leaders played the wooden drums after the Prime Minister was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the State House in Dar-es-Salaam.

65-year-old Modi was seen enjoying the drumming session with the Tanzanian President, who appeared to halt briefly but resumed the drumming again when he saw the Indian leader was in no mood to stop.

Modi first played the drums during a visit to Japan in September 2014 when he joined the Japanese percussionists to perform a jugalbandi with them.
Controversy surrounding Indores Pipliyahana reservoir is refusing to die. Now, the water body has become a tiff between politicians and judiciary. While the Madhya Pradesh High Court and the state government are constructing a modern court complex on it, the citys public representatives and citizens oppose the move.

Though activists and conservationists have been staging demonstrations against the construction work, joining of politicians have gave momentum to their movement. Conservationists claimed the construction of a building would gradually kill the water body.

The 13-foot-deep Pipliyahana Lake, once a perennial water body spread over 5.02 hectares, has now become a seasonal water body and could only retain water for approximately 4-5 months after monsoons. The lake is mainly fed by rain and storm water.

In March, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) ruled in favour of construction of a modern district court complex on it with a rider. The central bench of NGT comprising judicial member Justice Sonam Phintso Wangdi and expert member Satyawan Singh Garbyal ruled that construction can take place at least 30 meters away from the full tank level of the water body and that the water body should not suffer any kind of damage.

Sensing the issue to be sensitive and connected to environmental concerns, legislators and corporators from the Congress and the ruling BJP have joined activists and conservationists to protest the construction work.

On Sunday, Congress legislator Jeetu Patwari and his supporters vandalised vehicles of the firm doing construction work and locked down its office on the site. Seeing this, the BJP legislators and corporators also started opposing the project despite the fact that it was approved by the state government led by their party.

The reservoir now looks like cut into two parts. The channels through which rainwater used to accumulate in the reservoir are now cut by the wall, said social activist Kishore Kodwani, who had moved a petition before the NGT.

The construction company is drawing water out from the reservoir through motor pumps, which is against the rulings of the tribunal, said Kodwani. If the district administration do not comply with guidelines of the NGT and stop the ongoing works damaging the water body, I shall take to Jal Satyagraha from Sunday.
Some have gained and emerged as new heavyweights in the state government while some have suffered a setback.

Doing a rejig of his 21-month old ministry following Fridays expansion, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis clipped the wings of established leaders such as rural development minister Pankaja Munde, education minister Vinod Tawde and housing minister Prakash Mehta by taking away some portfolios held by them.

Read: Fadnavis expands state cabinet, inducts 10 new faces, promotes one

Maharashtra CM does balancing act with portfolios

At the same time, new revenue minister Chandrakant Patil and cooperation minister Subhash Deshmukh emerged as new power centres in Fadnavis team. Water resources minister Girish Mahajan and energy minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule too got additional portfolios.

The water conservation portfolio, earlier held by Munde, will now be with Ram Shinde, who was elevated as cabinet minister on Friday. Fadnavis was reportedly unhappy with Munde over the implementation of his pet project Jalyukta Shivar by the department. Munde was also in controversy over the selfie she tweeted during her visit to a water conservation project.

Tawde has been stripped of the medical education department. It has now been allotted to Girish Mahajan in addition to the water Resources department he held.

The changes were also the result of complaints received by CM . Before making major changes, Fadnavis discussed the rejig with senior ministers Chandrakant Patil and Sudhir Mungantiwar on Saturday evening.

Fadnavis has tried to mollify the Shiv Sena which has been critical in recent times by offering them berths of minister of state (MoS) for Home and Cooperation.

Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray chose to hand over the responsibility of MoS Home (rural) to low-profile Deepak Kesarkar. Another significance of the decision is that Kesarkar comes from Konkan where Sena will be facing Congress leader Narayan Rane who is eager to stage a comeback after suffering reverses in Lok sabha and assembly elections.

Another Sena minister Gulabrao Patil will be minister of state for cooperation. the Sena leadership will expect him to use his position to gain inroads for the party in the cooperation sector.

Meanwhile, Sena mouthpiece Saamna said the BJP did not deliberately fill the four berths in its quota as those could be used as a dangling carrot for its legislators in remaining tenure.
After being criticised for the increase in potholes and for indulging in a blame game over the jurisdiction of roads, the Shiv Sena visited the pothole-ridden Swami Vivekanand Road  which stretches from Bandra to Dahisar  on Sunday. Mayor Snehal Ambekar led the delegation, while standing committee chairman Yashodhar Phanse took stock of the potholes on this busy stretch.

Read: BMC's shoddy work causing potholes to reappear: activists

The mayor blamed extensive trenching  digging for the purpose of laying underground utilities such as water pipelines and storm water drain lines  for the potholes and told the administration to appoint a Deputy Municipal Commissioner (DMC) to look after road repairs.

She added that the BMC should send notices to authorities who carried out the trenching work in a shoddy manner.

With the onset of the monsoon, motorists on the 28-km-long road struggle as large potholes add to traffic jams on this stretch.

Read: Mumbai residents reject BMC claim that only 53 potholes remain

Since part of the road was under repairs, potholes appeared at some places. Trenching damaged the cement concrete road. Strips of the paver block road have come out, Ambekar told HT.

I have instructed officers to fix the potholes within a week, said the mayor, who also inspected stretches near the Saayba Hotel and Kelkar Chowk in Bandra (West), along with Khar Road, Santacruz and Vile Parle.

Activists slammed politicians for organising these visits and wasting public money. These visits waste the taxpayers money as vehicles and manpower are required, said Nikhil Desai, a citizen activist from Matunga.

Ahead of the upcoming civic elections, the saffron allies have started sparring over potholes, blaming each other. The Shiv Sena had visited roads under the state governments jurisdiction, such as the pothole-ridden Western Express Highway (WEH) and the Santacruz-Chembur Link Road.

PWD minister Chandrakant Patil and the BJP took stock of the WEH and promised a pothole-free stretch next week. Patil blamed the Shiv Sena-led BMC , saying it was responsible for repairs on this stretch. The BMC, however, denied taking over the repairs of this road.
The Mumbai Police will be keeping a close eye on Islamic preacher Zakir Naik once he arrives in the city, deploying plainclothesmen in large numbers.

Naik is expected to arrive in the city on Monday and may address a press conference at a five star hotel at Nariman Point the next day.

Read: Cops find Zakir Naiks Peace TV editing studio in Dongri

A special investigation team, set up after chief minister Devendra Fadnavis asked city police commissioner Dattatray Padsalgikar to conduct a thorough probe into Naiks activities, is scrutinizing his speeches on the Internet, besides studying DVDs, CDs and other literature, including those of his Islamic Research Foundation.

The SIT is monitoring the current status of social networking sites of those wanted and arrested in terror cases in the past.

Police sources said they were also sifting through the interrogation reports of the accused to know how many suspects were influenced by Naiks speeches. Two years back Areeb Majeed, a Kalyan youth who had fled India and joined the ISIS in Syria only to be deported, after his arrest in India reportedly told interrogators that he was influenced by Naiks speeches.

In 2006, the Mumbai Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) arrested a man, Feroze Deshmukh, who was allegedly involved in the Aurangabad arms haul case and used to work in the library of the Islamic Research Foundation. Deshmukh is currently out on bail.

Soon after Deshmukhs arrest another accused in the case identified as Rahil, a Grant road resident, fled India and is said to be in Bangladesh. Deshmukh and Rahil were in constant touch with each other before the case.
A day after rural development minister Pankaja Munde lost two of her portfolios in the cabinet reshuffle, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis versus Munde spat played out on Twitter and then spilled on to the streets, with her supporters burning an effigy of the CM in Pathardi taluka in Ahmednagar and protests in Parli in Beed district.

The incident has brought to light the deep schisms within the state BJP.

Munde, seen as the CMs rival, lost two of her portfolios  water conservation and employment guarantee scheme  but retained the remaining two, rural development and women and child development. Fadnavis announced the portfolios on Saturday night.

The chief minister left for Russia soon after to attend the International Industrial Trade Fair INNOROM 2016 as member of the Central governments delegation and to avoid controversy on the reshuffle.

Controversy, however, followed him with Munde tweeting her unhappiness on Sunday morning, albeit indirectly. She tweeted: Reaching Singapore tomorrow on Monday, there is a world water summit, I was invited but now wont attend as I am not the minister in charge.

The CM on the way to Moscow swiftly replied on Twitter: Of course you must attend WLS 2016. As senior minister you will represent Government of Maharashtra.

While water conservation is not a significant portfolio, under the Fadnavis regime, it assumed importance owing to the ambitious Jal Yukt Shivar scheme that promises to make Maharashtra drought-free by 2019 by developing large-scale water shed structures in drought-prone districts.

The portfolio has gone to Ram Shinde, a former junior minister, who got promoted to the cabinet rank in the recent expansion.

Her other portfolio, EGS (which gets substantial Central funds) also went to a young minister, Jay Kumar Rawal, legislator from Dhule, north Maharashtra, to fill the vacuum left by former senior minister Eknath Khadse.

Munde was quick to tweet a quick congratulations to new ministers Shinde and Rawal, who got her additional portfolios. She said she was happy they had got such important portfolios and Jal Yukt Shivar scheme was currently at its peak.

Sources close to Munde said she was upset with the loss of the water conservation portfolio as she had been working hard to implement the Jal Yukt policy and saw the move as a bid to take away credit from her.

With the onset of monsoon, the policy is likely to be seen as successful, with a majority of the water-shed structures holding water.

In her hometown, Parli in Beed district, local leaders condemned the CM for the decision, while in Pathardi taluka, in Ahmednagar, the local in charge of the BJP Yuva Morcha, burnt Fadnavis effigy.

The rejig is widely seen as Fadnavis attempt to put his stamp on the government, after the ouster of his most vocal rival, Eknath Khadse, following allegations of conflict of interest.

Fadnavis, who was picked as the CM candidate after the party came to power in 2014, has been seen, so far as first among equals, as he is young and relatively inexperienced.

Khadse, Munde, education minister Vinod Tawde were seen as his rivals and senior ministers like public works minister and current number 2 in the cabinet Chandrakant Patil and finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar dont belong to his camp.

Patil is a confidante of party president Amit Shah, while Mungantiwar is close to Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari.

Munde, daughter of the late senior leader Gopinath Munde and his political heir, had earlier pitched for the post of the CM just before the new government got sworn in.

While she has been seen as Fadnavis rival, he has backed her so far, especially when the allegations of chikki scam surfaced. With this public stunt, however, she is likely to lose favour.

With Khadses ouster, Fadnavis had cemented his position as numero uno in the state and in the cabinet rejig he tried to bolster support in the cabinet by inducting younger ministers and his followers like Rawal and Sambhaji Nilangekar.

She had been told that she was likely to lose her additional portfolios, after all she has four of them. So the CM didnt expect this kind of a childish reaction. In the cabinet rejig, he has tried to maintain a balance and even another minister seen as close to him, Prakash Mehta, lost out on two portfolios including mines and labour, said a source close to Fadnavis.

Both Munde and Fadnavis, abroad at the moment, did not respond to HTs text messages.
Zakir Naiks Peace TV will continue to stream into homes in India despite the ban, a spokesperson for the Islamic preacher claimed. The channel was banned in 2012 as it was unlicensed and allegedly aired anti-Indian content.

The channel will continue to be on air, Mubarak Kapdi, brother-in-law of Naik, told HT while responding to questions on some of Naiks selfie-videos aired on Peace TV, following the recent controversies. A lot has been said and shown against Dr. Naik by twisting and blowing up facts out of proportion. He always spoke for unityWe have our own media to let our voice be heard.

To a question how the channel continued to be aired in India despite the ban on it since 2012, Kapdi said, that way, there are many local channels which have no licence at all. They are being aired completely over cable network, he said.

The privately owned Peace TV is headquartered in Dubai. Some cable operators are airing it in India in violation of sub-rule 6(6) of the Cable TV Rules. In fact, the I&B ministry on Saturday reiterated that the channel does not have the permit to downlink its content in India.

Peace TV was first launched in 2006 as English channel with Zakir Naik as its founder and president. It is registered as Lords Production Ltd (parent company), a subsidiary of Universal Broadcasting Corporation Ltd. In 2009, it launched its Urdu channel followed by Bangla and Chinese the next year. It has plans to launch Arabic and French versions soon.

Kapdi, meanwhile, alleged that draconian rules came on the way of Peace TV making an application for a licence. It is extremely difficult to obtain a licence under the present set of rules. If the government makes rational rules for license, like while issuing passport, we will certainly apply, he added.

He said technology has enabled everyone to transcend barriers of legality in making voices heard. The voice can be heard globally.

Meanwhile, a senior Mumbai police official told HT that the police are checking if cable operators in the city were complying with the I&B ministrys guidelines on not airing Peace TV. Those found violating the rules will be taken to task immediately, the official added. The police claimed to have found the editing studio of Peace TV in Tandel street in Dongri where videos are edited post-production and later sent to London and Dubai for broadcast.

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MUMBAI: Some have gained and emerged as new heavyweights in the state government while some have suffered a setback.

Doing a rejig of his 21-month old ministry following Fridays expansion, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis clipped the wings of established leaders such as rural development minister Pankaja Munde, education minister Vinod Tawde and housing minister Prakash Mehta by taking away some portfolios held by them. At the same time, new revenue minister Chandrakant Patil and cooperation minister Subhash Deshmukh emerged as new power centres in Fadnavis team. Water resources minister Girish Mahajan and energy minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule too got additional portfolios.

The water conservation portfolio, earlier held by Munde, will now be with Ram Shinde, who was elevated as cabinet minister on Friday. Fadnavis was reportedly unhappy with Munde over the implementation of his pet project Jalyukta Shivar by the department. Munde was also in controversy over the selfie she tweeted during her visit to a water conservation project.

Tawde has been stripped of the medical education department. It has now been allotted to Girish Mahajan in addition to the water Resources department he held.

The changes were also the result of complaints received by CM . Before making major changes, Fadnavis discussed the rejig with senior ministers Chandrakant Patil and Sudhir Mungantiwar on Saturday evening.

Fadnavis has tried to mollify the Shiv Sena which has been critical in recent times by offering them berths of minister of state (MoS) for Home and Cooperation.

Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray chose to hand over the responsibility of MoS Home (rural) to lowprofile Deepak Kesarkar. Another significance of the decision is that Kesarkar comes from Konkan where Sena will be facing Congress leader Narayan Rane who is eager to stage a comeback after suffering reverses in Lok sabha and assembly elections.

Another Sena minister Gulabrao Patil will be minister of state for cooperation. the Sena leadership will expect him to use his position to gain inroads for the party in the cooperation sector.

Meanwhile, Sena mouthpiece Saamna said the BJP did not deliberately fill the four berths in its quota as those could be used as a dangling carrot for its legislators in remaining tenure.
PHULBANI (ODISHA): Six people, including two women and a child, were killed and five others injured in a crossfire during an anti-Maoist operation in Odishas Kandhamal district, prompting the state government to order a judicial probe into the incident.

Police said the six were caught in an exchange of fire between security personnel and Maoists while they were travelling in an auto-rickshaw at Gumutmaha village in a dense forest area near Kuttamgarh on Friday night.

Five of those caught in the crossfire died on the spot, while another person succumbed to injuries later, Kandhamal SP Pinak Mishra said.

It is unfortunate that the civilians were caught in the crossfire. Those killed included two women and a minor boy, he said, adding the circumstances in which the incident took place were being probed.

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik announced Rs 5 lakh ex gratia for family members of the deceased.
NEW DELHI: Energy was never too far from Prime Minister Narendra Modi s mind as he embarked on his four-nation tour of Africa. There has been a long-standing trade in South African coking coal and briquettes. In Mozambique, he put a stamp on Indias ambitious investment plans in a country emerging as the world s third largest gas exporter. Even in Tanzania, Modi offered Indian know-how in that countrys nascent gas sector.

India has imported oil from Nigeria, Angola and Egypt and coal from South Africa for years, but has been a marginal player on the continent. However, global circumstances have placed India in a prime position to expand its energy stake in the continent.

The shale revolution has robbed Nigeria and many West African countries of the North American oil and gas market. This is one reason Nigeria is the second-largest source of crude imports to India in recent times. Chinas attempts to reform its economy have mean tits energy imports have slowed down.

The collapse in oil and gas prices has given India the opportunity to not only seek long-term supply contracts at low prices. Under some economic distress, African governments are more willing to offer equity in their energy assets. ONGC Videsh Limited says it plans to double its $8 billion worth of investments in Africa over the next three years. It already has oil and gas stakes in Mozambique, the two Sudans and elsewhere but is now eyeing North Africa, Angola and Equatorial Guinea.

India is now in a position to provide a combination package of aid, security and other forms of investment to African governments when it goes to seek energy investments. This is important as many African states lack the infrastructure to allow the extraction and transport of their oil, gas or coal or dont have trained personnel to run mines and refineries. New Delhi is now willing and able to provide that sort of support. While this benefits Indian companies, it also supports Indian security and diplomatic interests.

India has three good reasons to try and build up an energy relationship with Africa, despite the political risks involved with dealing in such countries. OVLs investments in Libya, for example, are not in great shape.

One is that African energy assets are often the cheapest. A McKinsey study looked at what the cost of liquefied natural gas from gas fields around the world would be for the Indian market. Most of the lowest LNG prices were from fields in Africa and North America, largely in the $8 to 12 mmbtu price range. Australian and Russian fields, for example, were in $12 and $14 range.

Two is that India has, until now, run a relatively balanced energy trade with Africa. While it imported a lot, this was offset by large exports of petroleum products from Indian refineries. In places like Kenya, private Indian hydrocarbon firms like Reliance and Essar invested in refineries and retail outlets. Since 2003, in fact, the rough pattern of Indian hydrocarbon trade with Africa was India importing from West and Central Africa and exporting to East Africa.

However, as Indias oil and gas consumption surges at home it will have less and less refined petroleum products to sell overseas. This seems to already be happening, with Indian petroleum products exports falling drastically the past year.
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Police in Kerala on Saturday launched a probe into the disappearance of several people from two northern districts even as a woman came forward to complain that her daughter was among the missing suspected to have joined militant outfits in the Middle East.

Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the mysterious disappearances from Kasargode and Palakkad districts were a serious issue and that central investigative agencies were in touch with the state police to determine the whereabouts of those missing.

Kerala has a history of being a breeding ground for radical Islamic ideology. Last year, a journalist from the state employed in Qatar joined a militant outfit fighting the government of President Bashal al-Assad in Syria. Four others were deported from the UAE for alleged ties to the IS outfit.

HT on Friday was the first to report that 16 youth have been missing from the state for the past one month. Police intelligence officials, however, said the actual number of people missing could be 20 or more. The police are investigating the authorities of a prominent public school chain and a Kozhikhode-based publishing firm for their suspected role in radicalising the missing persons.

A woman, meanwhile, went public about her missing daughter. Nimisha, 20, she said, has been missing since June 3 after she had converted to marry one Eeza. The woman said her daughter hasnt contacted her since she left for Sri Lanka with her husband.

Last November, I lost contact with my daughter all of a sudden. When I rushed to her college I was told she had married a Muslim youth, she said. Later she filed a habeas corpus petition in high court but the judge let her daughter go with the husband since she was 18 years of age. I was shocked to see my daughter, who loved to wear casual dress, in full purdah (veil). I was not allowed to talk to her fearing I may change her mind, she said, adding she somehow managed to revive contact with her later.

A man, whose son is among the missing, received a message from him a couple of weeks ago. Right now I am here living with izzah (pride) as a Muslim under the shade of Alhamdulillah, the son said in the message.

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NEW DELHI: Bhutan s gross national happiness philosophy seems to have put the ambitious sub-regional road plan involving Bangladesh, India and Nepal on a bumpy turf.

Concerns over a large number of vehicles entering Bhutan after it ratifies the pact have given rise to many stakeholders protesting against the Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) initiative.

The initiative is a sub-regional architecture to formulate, implement and review quadrilateral agreements in transport, water resources management, power connectivity and infrastructure.

Environment protection is one of the four pillars of Bhutans gross national happiness.

The pact passed the important hurdle of the lower house of Bhutan Parliament, National Assembly, last month. The upper house, National Council, is expected to debate on it in November.

To placate the opposition, transport operators and vocal citizens, Bhutan PM Tshering Tobgay said the pact will not allow free flow of foreign vehicles into the country but regulate their movement.

But it may be a bumpy ride ahead for the pact, which has been ratified by the three other countries. Under the BBIN agreement, the contracting parties will allow vehicles for inter-country cargo, including-third-country cargo and passenger vehicles or personal vehicles, to ply in the territory of another contracting country subject to the terms of the agreement. The larger objective is the seamless flow of people and goods in the region. Any restriction, which are beyond the reasonable, can bring trouble for any such agreements, said an official.
Cornering Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener Arvind Kejriwal for the partys manifesto gaffe, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) said that if Kejriwal is left with some veracity, he should resign from all his positions instead of finding a scapegoat for the blunder.

After holding a meeting with party workers, Veer Singh Lopoke, chairman, planning board, targeted AAP and said that till the culprits are punished, the resentment of people will not get satisfied.

In a press conference, Lopoke said the sentiments of Sikhs were hurt as AAP used a picture of the Golden Temple and a broom (AAPs symbol) on the cover page of the manifesto for which the Sikhs will not forgive him. The Akali leader also demanded action against AAP from the election commission on this issue.

Asking Kejriwal to take responsibility for the gaffe, Lopoke said it was important that Kejriwal, as party head, raises his hand and takes the blame rather than looking for other leaders.

However, the Akali leader had no answer when asked about usage of SADs symbol (scale) along with Golden Temple from time to time.

Answering a query about Kejriwals visit to the Golden Temple to perform sewa on July 18, Lopoke said, It is up to the Akal Takht to whether or not forgive Kejriwal. But his visit proves that he admits of making a mistake.

The SAD leader further said that they are thinking of filing a formal complaint against the AAP convener but the final decision will be made after a discussion among the party leaders.

AAP leader Ashish Khetan is already facing an FIR after All India Sikh Students Federation (AISSF) chief Karnail Singh Peer Mohammads complaint alleging Khetan of hurting Sikh sentiments by equating the AAP manifesto with Guru Granth Sahib.

On allegations that SAD was politicising the whole issue for political gains, the Akali leaders denied the same and kept criticising Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party.

The SAD leaders also criticised AAP on the SYL issue and removal of piao from Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib in Delhi.

Cabinet minister Gulzar Singh Ranike, MLA Manjit Singh Manna and other local leaders were also present.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) spokesman Sukhpal Singh Khaira alleged on Saturday that Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Congress leaders had hurt religious sentiments of Sikhs allegedly by using pictures of Golden Temple, Amritsar, with symbols of their parties on propaganda material. This came in response to a case against AAP leaders over the cover of its youth manifesto released a week ago; but both parties reacted by saying that the posters shown by Khaira were fake.

Read: Hang me if not satisfied with my apology: Khetan to SAD govt

At a press conference, Khaira showed a poster of Punjab Congress chief Captain Amarinder Singh next to the Golden Temple with the partys symbol, the right hand, in a corner. The poster talked about tubewell connections given during the Congress-led UPA regime at the Centre. In the SAD poster, the party symbol, scales, is on top of pictures of the Golden Temple and Virasat-e-Khalsa memorial in Anandpur Sahib; announcing free bus service between the two places for women. Demanding an apology from chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, his deputy and SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal, and from Amarinder, Khaira said they should be booked.

In reaction, a Congress spokesperson said, The picture has been mischievously crafted using Photoshop. AAPs dirty tricks department has used its expertise to create something that never existed.

Read: Broom with Golden Temple was not inadvertent error, says Capt

I challenge Khaira to prove the posters authenticity, said SADs information technology (IT) wing head Parminder Singh Brar.

Read: Manifesto row: SAD rejects Khetans apology, wants Kejriwal to say sorry

Khaira claimed he had downloaded the two posters from official Facebook pages of Amarinder and Sukhbir. Let the Congress and the SAD prove the posters are fake; I have snapshots of the Facebook posts.

A MYSTERY VIDEO

Khaira also released an undated video purportedly run by a vernacular news channel showing SAD leaders Prem Singh Chandumajra (now MP) and Surjit Singh Rakhra (now minister) and Congress leader Preneet Kaur (former union minister and now MLA) allegedly applying vermillion to Guru Granth Sahib during a religious ceremony. This was termed against Sikh tenets by Khaira, who said he had crosschecked the authenticity of the video but did not know when and where the ceremony took place. I am sure it is not older than 2014, when Chandumajra was elected MP, he said, and later put the video on his Twitter account too.

Chandumajra said the ceremony took place in the late 1990s and the Akal Takth took notice of the matter. It had become a big issue then, he said, It is unfortunate that AAP leaders are digging out these things to save themselves. If Khaira has become the devils advocate, he should use his energies on defending AAPs mistakes.
A non-government organisation (NGO) has taken financial responsibility of four acid attack victims treatment in Amritsar. The NGO will bear the medicinal expenses of the victims while the surgeries will be done for free.

We found four girls, two of them are victims of acid attacks. The other two have burn marks. We decided to bear the expenses of their treatment medicines which cost around Rs 4 lakh. The surgeries will be done by Dr Ravi Mahajan at his hospital, said Navtej Singh Gaggu, president of NGO Sarbat Da Bhala Humanity Club, Batala.

My attackers were released on bail after eight months. It not just pained me but also faltered my trust on the justice system. They were free before I was even healed, said Daljit Kaur (25), a resident of Nadala village, Kapurthala. She was attacked in 2010. She also wrote a letter to chief justice of India to express anger against the release of the accused.

Prabhjot Kaur, a student of Class 9 was attacked two months ago while returning from the school at Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur. The state government had announced to bear the expense of her surgery but she has not received any aid so far.

Charanjit Kaur (21) was burnt by her husband two months after her marriage in 2011. The doctor said four surgeries would be needed for her recovery.

The fourth girl, Dimple (19), a resident of village Umarpura near Batala (Gurdaspur) caught fire while celebrating Lohri festival. The fire left marks on her mouth and other parts of the body.

Rekha Randhawa and Dr Charanjit Kaur from the NGO brought the victims to the hospital on Saturday for the surgery.
A 40-year-old private security guard was shot at and injured after he intervened in a clash near his house between two groups at Bhaskar Colony, Sector 25, on Friday late night.

Police have arrested two residents of Bhaskar Colony  Rahul alias Chikna (25) and Sahil (19)  and claim that Rahul had fired at Dharmavir. The department also claimed that the accused had an old rivalry with two residents of the same colony, identified as Gullu and his brother Goliya.

The Police Control Room received a call around 11:29 pm that shots has been fired at the Bhaskar Colony and a person was injured. He was rushed to Government Multi-Specialty Hospital, Sector 16 and was later referred to the PGI to be operated upon, said Sector 11 SHO Narinder Singh.

A PGI doctor stated, He suffered bullet injuries on his left hand and stomach. The bullet was removed and he is in the intensive-care unit. He is stable, but will stay under observation.

Police have recovered the country-made pistol used in the crime.

There were two gangs in the area. While both Gullu and Goliya were members of Suraj group, Rahul and Sahil were associated with Nitu group. They had got cross-cases registered against each other after previous brawls. However, the groups again got into a fight recently that culminated into the clash on Friday, a police official said. The accused were fighting with Gullu and Goliya, Dharamvir who lives nearby intervened, added the officer.

The victims brother Dharmpal told HT, We do not know who was fighting and who opened fire. My brother is a religious person and never indulged in any arguments.

A case under Sections 307 (attempt to murder) of IPC and Arms Act has been registered at Sector-11 Police Station.

Previous firing incidents

July 5, 2016: 24-year-old Akhil of Manimajra was shot in his abdomen by two bouncers in a Sector 26 gym.

April 8, 2016: PU student leader Manpreet Aulakh shot at by rival outfit's members outside the law auditorium.

June 2, 2015: Three people, including a Delhi girl, were hurt after a group of four youth opened fire outside the Score discotheque in Sector 8.

March 19, 2014: A youth was injured in firing outside Buzz, a restaurant-cum-disco in Sector 17.
City based gynaecologist Neelam Sodhi who runs an NGO Ashirwad, home for special children is a fine example of grit and determination. Neelams awe inspiring story features this week on the Facebook page of the Ludhiana administration titled Idols of Ludhiana.

Born in Ahmedabad and married in Ludhiana since 1991, this womans world was shattered when her 12 month old son, who was born premature, was diagnosed with cerebral palsy.

Her initial reaction was a mix of shock, surprise and grief. We did not understand much about the implications of cerebral palsy except that our son needed therapy and the future was uncertain. Also, that we as parents had a tremendous responsibility to see that his future remained bright and secure, she recalls.

Her positivity and neverending determination to make her son succeed in life, bore fruit and her son is now pursuing M Tech from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Allahabad and is totally self dependent.

Neelam, vowed to inspire and motivate others, runs an NGO for special children in the city.

Cerebral Palsy occurs due to lack of oxygen at the time of birth causing damage to the brain. His premature birth and the few seconds of delayed cry also played catalyst in the adverse condition. God probably selected us to be his parents because we were capable of shouldering this responsibility, she says.

Neelam decided to take the challenge head on and became her sons physiotherapist and occupational therapist as there were no services available in Ludhiana at that time. I used to travel to Ahmedabad or Delhi often for assessment, therapy and medical consultations, she recalls.

Keeping the fact in mind that maximum brain development occurs till the age of 5, Neelam gave her best to ensure her sons brain stimulation so as to give him a good start in life.

Facing the challenge of imparting education to her child

He started playschool at the age of two when one day the teacher who was otherwise impressed with his verbal skills, told us that he was facing difficulty in drawing a circle. We were forced to acknowledge that education for our son might be a huge challenge, she said.

I took this challenge of dealing with my sons education as an opportunity to acquire the skills to teach him concepts of math and science and the foundation of language in the manner he could learn.

However, it was not easy to deal with the multiple responsibilities that awaited her as a busy obstetrician, a wife, a daughter in law and a mother who was fighting against all odds to give her son his rightful place in the world.

When strangers stopped to ask Is your child like this from birth, when school teachers asked me is he mentally retarded?, when I was told to shift him from mainstream school to a special school as he was not fit to study with normal children, it became clear that society needed to be sensitised about the abilities of children like my son to make inclusion a reality.

This was probably the life changing moment for her. I was motivated to set up the NGO for children with cerebral palsy who needed special education and individualised therapy to become independent and an integral part of society, she said.

She joined hands with other parents and philanthropists and created The North India Cerebral Palsy Association and NGO Ashirwad.

We started Ashirwad with three children and one therapist, providing in-house rehabilitation services. We also made an intensive effort to sensitise doctors, schools, administration and society in general about different types of disabilities, need of early intervention, inclusion of children with special needs in the mainstream schools, classroom teaching methods and abilities of people with disabilities, she says.

The NGO is working with 60 special children and is a well established name in city.Her hard work bore fruit and today her son is pursuing M Tech from IIT Allahabad and is now self dependent.

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The indefinite strike called by nurses and the ancillary staff since the beginning of last month has taken its toll on the working of labour room, emergency wing and operation theatres of Rajindra Hospital.

Although around 100 nurses, who were on strike, reportedly joined services, wards are being run under the supervision of nursing students from various colleges. Initially, when around 315 nurses called the strike, students were deployed in various wards under the guidance of a single staff nurse. Now, only trainees are serving the patients and assisting doctors in several sensitive wards.

It is very difficult to manage the work in absence of experienced nurses. The students are of little help and all the responsibility of taking care of patients falls on our shoulders, said a doctor.

Nursing students are taking care of work in emergency wards. The lack of nursing staff exits in all three shifts, said another doctor on duty in the emergency ward.

The nursing students have been called from various institutes, and have been serving here since the first week of June. We have been performing our duty in absence of staff nurses in this ward, said a student working at ward number 7.

Despite the best intentions of these budding nurses, patients are suffering in absence of proper care. These girls (nursing students) are not trained enough. Patients are crying with pain, and these girls cannot handle the situation. An experienced staff nurse should attend to patients, said Gurdev Singh, a relative of a patient.

Nurses superintendent Baljit Kaur said: We have deployed a large number of nursing students. Staff nurses are also serving in all wards. Also, around 100 agitators have joined work again. We are managing the situation.

Emergency wards of the hospital, however, were found being run by just nursing students on Saturday.

Nurses and ancillary staff union president Karamjit Kaur, however, claimed of the 60 nurses who had joined work in the emergency ward, 25 have again joined the protest.

She said a number of patients are returning from the hospital without treatment. When a doctor operates on a person, it is the nursing staff which has to take care of the patient. It seems the government is not serious about the problems being faced by the patients, she said. The union has been protesting for regular jobs.
Following the intervention of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, Goindwal Sahib police have booked a local Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader, Prem Singh, his wife and son-in-law, for committing atrocities on a labourer and his family members.

Zila Prishad member Prem Singh is former sarpanch of historical Goindwal Sahib village. He and his kin have been charged with Sections 370 (buying or disposing of any person as a slave) and 374 (unlawful compulsory labour) of Indian Penal Code (IPC), 16/17 of Bonded Labour Violation Act 1976 and 23/26 of Juvenile Justice case and Protection of Children Act-2000.

The victim, Sewak Singh, had met commissions vice-chairman Raj Kumar Verka a few days back with the complaint of atrocities being committed by the SAD leader, for whom he had been working for six years. When Sewak Singh, who is a labourer, got his leg injured in an accident, the farmer allegedly forced him to make his 15-year-old son Darshan Singh work for him.

On June 24, Darshans hand got cut while shredding the cattle feed. The farmer did not inform his family and took him to a hospital. After four days, he brought Darshan to his house and demanded ` 40,000 from the family against the expenses on his treatment. When they expressed their helplessness, he started beating them, alleged the victim.

Verka had ordered Tarn Taran Police to appear before him on Friday with the action-taken report against the Prem Singh. Superintendent of police (headquarters) Narinder Singh Bedi and station house officer (SHO) of Goindwal Sahib appeared before Verka without any action taken report.

During the appearance, the victim family said the farmer was pressuring them to reach a compromise.

Following which, the vice-chairman directed the police to book the accused. Notably, the social workers also held a protest on Saturday seeking action against the former sarpanch.
On July 8, a joint team of 19 Rashtriya Rifles (affiliated to the Sikh Ll) along with the Special Operations Groups (SOG) of Srinagar and Anantnag police forces eliminated Burhan Wani, poster boy of the Hizbul Mujahideen along with two other insurgents. Surprisingly, considering his image as a macho fighter, Burhan didnt put up much resistance. The social media face of insurgency, he had a reward of Rs 10 lakh on his head. His removal from the scene is a great fillip to the counter-insurgency campaign because of his value as a recruiter.

On May 21, 41 and 47 Rasthriya Rifles combined with the SOG of the Kupwara police located and killed five terrorists near the districts Dragmulla village. These were possibly from Jaishe-Mohammed having infiltrated from bases in POK. In both cases specific intelligence inputs about the presence of insurgents in a particular area were probably delivered by the police who have the best sources on the ground embedded as they are with the population. The army with its firepower and tactical strength did the rest. This has become a pattern in the counter-insurgency in J&K. The police with their extensive networks provide actionable intelligence in real time with the army conducting the elimination or apprehension operation. The symbiosis among the two forces has evolved over time through personal rapport.

ECHS POLYCLINIC, SECTOR 47

The Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme operates through 426 polyclinics spread across the country. These not only examine patients and supply medicines (where available) but also issue referrals for empanelled hospitals. According to veterans these clinics which are the first point of contact for patients are of varying quality, because of differing facilities and the calibre of staff. However, tricity veterans praise the working of the polyclinic in Sector 47. This unit reaches its peak patient footfall around noon. Nevertheless, Colonel TS Gill of Garhwal Rifles, officer in-charge, says with some pride that the rush is cleared by 1.30pm.

I spoke to the veterans who use the facility. Air Marshal RS Bedi spoke of the non-availability of medicines (a perennial complaint with most polyclinics) while praising the unit. Brigadier BS Bains felt that increased powers of local purchase of medical supplies should be vested with the officer in-charge. New accommodation, coupled with fully air-conditioned premises, adds sheen to the efforts of staff. An exemplary facility, it needs to be taken note of, if the scheme is to attain its full potential.

GROUP CAPTAIN HS GADHOK

Group Captain HS Gadhok has taken over command of 1 Technical Type Training School (TETTRA) at Air Force Station, High Grounds located off the Zirakpur-Patiala road. TETTRAs are specialised training institutions where maintenance engineers and technicians of the IAF are trained to service specific types of aircraft, equipment, radars, etc. TETTRA is meant for training on engines, airframes, avionics and electronics of MIG fighters (21s, 27s and 29s). Group Captain Gadhok is an aeronautical engineer (mechanical) with experience of over 27 years in maintenance activities on MIG-29.

Please write in with your narratives of war and soldiering to msbajwa@ gmail.com or call on 093161-35343
Nigerian officials say 16 Boko Haram fighters and two soldiers have been killed when the extremists tried to ride explosives-laden motorcycles into an army base in the countrys volatile northeast.

An army spokesperson, Col Sani Kukasheka, said in a statement on Sunday that soldiers at the base in Rann in Borno state repelled the extremists with a gunfight that went on for hours.

He said two soldiers were killed when a suicide bomber drove into a truck and exploded. Kukasheka said soldiers found most of the bodies of the attackers today morning, but he added that quite a number escaped with gunshot wounds.

Boko Harams nearly seven-year-old insurgency has killed some 20,000 people and forced 2 million from their homes. The Nigeria-based group last year began regular attacks in neighbouring countries.
Fifteen people, including 11 members of one family who were shot while still in their beds, died in a series of attacks by gunmen in the capital of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, officials said on Saturday.

The attacks took place late Friday and early Saturday in Ciudad Victoria, in which six minors were also killed. While officials didnt specify who was behind the violence, factions of the splintered Zetas Cartel are fighting for control of the city.

Herminio Garza Palacios, secretary of government in Tamaulipas, which borders Texas, said in a videoconference that the most serious attack took place early Saturday morning when gunmen entered a home and killed 11 members of the same family while they were sleeping. Shortly afterward, three people were killed in a neighbourhood in Ciudad Victoria.

A statement from the Tamaulipas Coordination Group, which is in charge of security in the state, said that four girls died in the first attack and another minor was killed in the second.

Also, reports from the police ministry to which The Associated Press had access said that more attacks took place around the city overnight, including one on a bus station that left a 16-year-old dead. Assailants also attacked a home with a grenade and burned it down.

The violent Zetas Cartel has splintered into factions following the capture or killing of many of its leaders. Authorities say various factions are fighting for control of Ciudad Victoria, including a group called Zetas Old School and the so-called Northeast Cartel, a grouping of factions led by the family of captured Zeta leader Miguel Angel Trevino Morales, or Z40.

Authorities say the battle for Ciudad Victoria began in late 2015 and has claimed at least 100 lives.

In another traditional Zetas bastion  the city of Nuevo Laredo on the Texas border  a series of cartel threats and internet warnings that people should stay off the streets created a climate of collective fear on Saturday. The messages warned of attacks on bars and businesses controlled by rival factions.
The son of slain al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has threatened revenge against the United States for assassinating his father, according to an audio message posted online.

Hamza bin Laden promised to continue the global militant groups fight against the United States and its allies in the 21-minute speech entitled We Are All Osama, according to the SITE Intelligence Group.

We will continue striking you and targeting you in your country and abroad in response to your oppression of the people of Palestine, Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Somalia and the rest of the Muslim lands that did not survive your oppression, Hamza said.

As for the revenge by the Islamic nation for Sheikh Osama, may Allah have mercy on him, it is not revenge for Osama the person but it is revenge for those who defended Islam.

Osama bin Laden was killed at his Pakistani hideout by US commandos in 2011 in a major blow to the militant group which carried out the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

Documents recovered from bin Ladens compound and published by the United States last year alleged that his aides tried to reunite the militant leader with Hamza, who had been held under house arrest in Iran.

Hamza, now in his mid-twenties, was at his fathers side in Afghanistan before the 9/11 attacks and spent time with him in Pakistan after the US-led invasion pushed much of al Qaedas senior leadership there, according to the Brookings Institution.

Introduced by the organisations new chief Ayman al-Zawahiri in an audio message last year, Hamza provides a younger voice for the group whose ageing leaders have struggled to inspire militants around the world galvanized by Islamic State.

Hamza provides a new face for al Qaeda, one that directly connects to the groups founder. He is an articulate and dangerous enemy, according to Bruce Riedel of Brookings.
The Bahamas on Friday issued a rare travel advisory for any of its citizens visiting the United States, recommending that young men in particular take care in cities affected by recent tensions over police shootings.

A statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs warns visitors to exercise appropriate caution in light of recent episodes involving police officers and black men. It also advises people not to get involved in demonstrations and to avoid crowds.

In particular young males are asked to exercise extreme caution in affected cities in their interactions with the police. Do not be confrontational and cooperate, the statement said.

The advisory comes after two black men were shot this week in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and suburban St. Paul, Minnesota, and five police officers were killed and seven others wounded at a protest in Dallas - marking the deadliest day for U.S. law enforcement since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The U.S. regularly issues travel advisories for Americans visiting other countries. In January, the US Embassy in Nassau put out a warning over crime in the Bahamian capital, which prompted complaints from business owners in the tourism-dependent island nation.

The statement from the Bahamian foreign ministry provided a list of consular offices in the U.S. for its citizens to contact in case issues arise.

Pay attention to the public notices and news announcements in the city that you are visiting, the advisory said. Be safe, enjoy the holiday weekend and be sensible.

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The suspect in the deadly attack on Dallas police officers scrawled letters in his own blood on the walls of the parking garage where officers cornered and later killed him, the police chief said on Sunday.

Micah Johnson, a 25-year-old Army veteran, taunted authorities during two hours of negotiations, laughing at them, singing and at one point asking how many officer he had shot, the chief said.

Johnson wrote the letters RB and other markings, David Brown told CNNs State of the Union.

Investigators are looking through evidence from Johnsons suburban Dallas home to try to figure out what those letters might mean, Brown said.

The chief defended the decision to kill Johnson using a robot-delivered bomb, saying negotiations went nowhere and that officers could not approach him without putting themselves in danger.

During the roughly two-hour standoff in the garage, Johnson insisted on speaking with a black negotiator, Brown said.

Parishioners of First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, gather to pray for the five police officers who were gunned down by 25-year-old black army veteran Micah Johnson. (AFP)

Johnson had practised military-style drills in his yard and trained at a private self-defense school that teaches special tactics, including shooting on the move, a manoeuvre in which an attacker fires and changes position before firing again.

He received instruction at the Academy of Combative Warrior Arts in the Dallas suburb of Richardson about two years ago, said the schools founder and chief instructor, Justin J Everman.

Evermans statement was corroborated by a police report from May 8, 2015, when someone at a business a short distance away called in a report of several suspicious people in a parked SUV.

The investigating officer closed the case just minutes after arriving at a strip mall. While there, the officer spoke to Johnson, who said he had just gotten out of a class at a nearby self-defense school.

Johnson told the officer he was waiting for his dad to arrive and pick up his brother. No one else was apparently questioned.

On Friday, Dallas mayor Mike Rawlings described Johnson as a mobile shooter who had written manifestos on how to shoot and move.

Authorities have said the gunman kept a journal of combat tactics and had amassed a personal arsenal at his home, including bomb-making materials, rifles and ammunition.

The academy website refers to one of its courses as a tactical applications program, or TAP.

A woman holds a banner during a protest in support of the Black Lives Matter movement in New York. (AFP)

Reality is highly dynamic, you will be drawing your firearm, moving, shooting on the move, fixing malfunctions, etc. all under high levels of stress, the website says. Most people never get to train these skills as they are not typically allowed on the static gun range.

The TAP training includes shooting from different positions, drawing under stress and drawing from concealment. Everman declined to specify which classes Johnson took.

I dont know anything about Micah. Im sorry. Hes gone. Hes old to us. I have thousands of people, Everman told The Associated Press on Saturday.

The two men, however, were friendly and talked in Facebook conversations in August 2014. Everman knew Johnson had been out of the country. Army officials said he had been deployed in Afghanistan around that time.

Everman suggested that Johnson let me know when you make it down this way.

Will be great to get you back in the academy, Everman said, according to a comment thread saved by the AP before Johnsons Facebook profile was taken down.

I concur! Johnson replied.

More recently, a neighbour reported to investigators that Johnson had been seen practicing some sort of military drill in his backyard in the Dallas suburb of Mesquite, said Clay Jenkins, the Dallas County judge, the countys most senior elected official.

The makeshift memorial at Dallas Police Headquarters is pictured following the multiple police shootings in Dallas. (Reuters)

Tensions were still high on Saturday in Dallas, where 20 square blocks of downtown remained cordoned off as a crime scene. The police department tightened security Saturday evening after receiving an anonymous threat.

Johnson, who donned a protective vest and used a military-style semi-automatic rifle for the shootings, which marked the deadliest day for US law enforcement since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

In all, 12 officers were shot just a few blocks from where President John F. Kennedy was slain in 1963.

Johnson was a private first class with a specialty in carpentry and masonry. He served in the Army Reserve for six years starting in 2009 and did one tour in Afghanistan from November 2013 to July 2014, the military said.

The attack began Thursday evening while hundreds of people were gathered to protest the police killings of Philando Castile, who was fatally shot near St. Paul, Minnesota, and Alton Sterling, who was shot in Louisiana after being pinned to the pavement by two white officers.

Video showed protesters marching along a downtown street about half a mile from City Hall when shots erupted and the crowd scattered, seeking cover.

Marcus Carter, 33, was in the area when people started running toward him, yelling about gunshots. Carter said the first shot sounded like a firecracker. But then they proceeded in quick succession, with brief pauses between spurts of gunfire.

It was breaks in the fire, he said. It was a single shot and then after that single shot, it was a brief pause, followed by many shots in quick succession.

Read: Dallas gunman learned tactics at Texas self-defence school

Read: Dallas shooter sexually harassed fellow soldier
The Minnesota police officer whose fatal shooting of a black driver this week led to nationwide protests against racial prejudice reacted to the mans gun, not his race, his lawyer said Saturday.

Jeronimo Yanez, a police officer in St. Anthony, a Minneapolis suburb, was reacting to the presence of a gun when he shot Philando Castile, Minneapolis attorney Thomas Kelly told The New York Times.

Castile, 32, was shot Wednesday after he was pulled over in Falcon Heights, near Minneapolis, for a broken tail light.

Amplifying the horror was the video live-streamed in the shootings aftermath by the slain mans girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, as she sat in the passenger seat. Her four-year-old daughter was sitting in the back seat.

Castile was shot after informing the officer that he had a gun and a permit to carry, and then reaching for his wallet, according to Reynolds.

He was the second black man in two days fatally shot by US police. They are the latest in a string of similar cases that have fueled outrage across the United States, from city streets to the White House.

Although Kelly provided the fullest account so far of Yanezs version of the shooting on Wednesday, many details remain unclear.

Yanez, who is Latino, is on leave while the state authorities are investigating the shooting.

The shooting had nothing to do with race and everything to do with the presence of that gun, Kelly told the Times.

Castile was not following the directions of the police officer, he added, declining to provide more details, the paper said.

There was more than the reason for the equipment violation to stop Castiles car, Kelly said, without specifying other reasons, the Times said.

Governor Mark Dayton, who met with protesters and black leaders, has expressed sympathy for the Castile family and concerns about the role of race in the shooting, infuriating some in law enforcement.

Would this have happened if those passengers - the driver and the passengers - were white? he said Thursday. I dont think it wouldve.

The fatal shooting of Castile and another black man, Alton Sterling, in Louisiana the previous day, prompted protests against police brutality toward African Americans under the banner of the Black Lives Matter movement.

During a protest in Dallas on Thursday, a lone gunman bent on revenge opened fire on police, killing five officers and wounding seven others, deepening divisions in a shocked country. The authorities identified the Dallas shooter, who was black, as an Army veteran who was later killed by police.
Nepal government decided on Sunday to gift two pairs of one-horned rhinos to China.

The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting held at Prime Minister KP Sharma Olis official residence.

China had requested Nepal to gift two pairs of rhinos during forest minister Agni Sapkotas visit to the northern neighbour in January this year. The request was reiterated during Olis China trip in March.

During Sapkotas trip, Beijing had agreed to provide financial and technical assistance to set up a forensic sciences laboratory near Kathmandu and also develop green economic corridors at two border points.

Nepal has 645 one-horned rhinos in the wild and the two pairs to be gifted to China will be selected from among the 605 in Chitwan National Park, which has the highest concentration of the species.

Nepal has gifted rhinos in the past to Bangladesh, Pakistan, USA, China and Germany. The last instance was in 2006, when crown prince Paras Shah gifted a pair to Austria.

Law and justice minister Agni Prasad Kharel told Kantipur daily that the gift of rhinos would further strengthen the friendly bilateral relations.

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About 100 naked people gathered in New York on Saturday to paint the town red - and blue, green, orange, magenta and neon yellow.

Dozens of artists used the naked bodies as canvases on the third annual NYC Bodypainting Day, which celebrates freedom of artistic expression and body acceptance.

The volunteer models, including Charles Darius, doffed their duds in Manhattans Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, outside the United Nations headquarters, for a few hours of painting before boarding double-decker buses and taking their art show throughout the city.

I enjoy being nude, said Darius, whose parents are from Europe and took him to nude beaches often when he was a child. Its a pleasure to indulge in that enjoyment on a sidewalk in Manhattan.

Onlookers, many snapping photos and shooting videos on their cellphones, shared words of encouragement with the models, who endured two- or three-hour painting sessions on an overcast day with temperatures in the low 70s.

Charles Darius poses nude after getting his body painted at the third annual NYC Bodypainting Day on Saturday July 9, 2016, New York. (AP)

Artist Andy Golub, who painted bodybuilder Vanessa Adams, created NYC Bodypainting Day as a way to promote human connection through art. He said he and the other artists were creating art inspired by the models inner beauty, the theme for this years event.

Adams, participating for the first time, said she had a bit of the jitters standing naked in front of scores of people.

Lets hurry up and paint my face so Ill be incognito, she said. If Im green, no one will know its me.

Public nudity is legal in the city when its for artistic purposes, such as a play, a performance or an art show. But Golub and model Zoe West were arrested in 2011 during a bodypainting project in Times Square. West sued over the arrest, and the city paid her a $15,000 settlement.

Golub said Bodypainting Day, which also takes place in Amsterdam and is scheduled for Brussels, makes the world a better place by benefiting everyone involved. He said the artists get to share their voices with the public, the models get to embrace their bodies and the public gets to appreciate all the types of people on display.
Protest demonstrations continued on Saturdday across the US following the police shootings of black men in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and suburban St. Paul, Minnesota, and the deadly sniper attack on police officers in Dallas.

California

Hundreds of outraged protesters took to the streets of San Francisco, blocking several roads and ramps to get on and off the Bay Bridge. The California Highway Patrol closed access to the bridge at least two times on Saturday afternoon when protesters took over freeway ramps, causing traffic to back up.

A demonstrator gestures during a protest against the police shootings in California. (Reuters)

The group began marching from the citys Hall of Justice to the downtown shopping area, causing a temporary shutdown of a popular mall as the crowd gathered there to chant slogans and make speeches.

In central California, protesters blocked several intersections as they marched against police brutality in central Fresno. Officers in riot gear blocked an on-ramp to keep the protesters from entering State Route 41.

Colorado

Black Lives Matter supporters said they plan to continue a sit-in in Denver through Tuesday for a total of 135 hours. Thats an hour for each of the black people they say have been killed by police across the country this year.

The gathering, across from the city and County Building, began Thursday afternoon, several hours before police officers were killed in Dallas.

People have been dropping off food and water for those camped out on chairs and blankets in Civic Center Park.

Florida

Hundreds of people marched in West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale as part of the Black Lives Matter movement in demonstrations that ended peacefully.

Protesters in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday chanted No justice, no peace and Hands up, dont shoot. At one point the protest stopped outside a Broward County jail and prisoners banged on windows in support.

A Palm Beach Post reporter tweeted a photo of a protester shaking a police officers hand as the West Palm Beach protest disbursed.

A third protest was planned in Miami on Saturday evening.

Protesters block Airline Highway, a major road that passes in front of the Baton Rouge Police Department headquarters. (AP)

Louisiana

A few hundred protesters have gathered at the Baton Rouge Police Department.

The demonstrators gathered Saturday to protest the shooting death of a black man, Alton Sterling, by two white police officers at a convenience store parking lot last week.

The protest was tense earlier as police in riot gear came out, apparently to clear the road so traffic could pass through.

A police spokesperson said two firearms were confiscated and several arrests made.

Police later went back inside their headquarters and traffic reopened.

Baton Rouge resident Marie Flowers came to the protest in with her three children. She said people in the north Baton Rouge neighbourhood where the shooting happened are frustrated.

Protesters waved homemade signs while drivers honked their support and some stopped by with bottles of water.

A demonstrator hold placards during a "Black Lives Matter" protest in front of the governor's mansion in St. Paul, Minnesota. (Reuters)

Minnesota

Police said arrests were made after protesters began throwing fireworks, bottles and rocks at officers during a protest that shut down a section of Interstate 94 in St. Paul on Saturday night.

The highway was blocked following a march that started outside the governors mansion, where protesters have been gathering since the fatal police shooting Wednesday night of Philando Castile. The 32-year-old black man was shot during a traffic stop in suburban St. Paul while, according to his girlfriend, he reached for his wallet.

St. Paul police said on the department official Twitter account that an officer was injured by a firework thrown by protesters. Police said protesters also were throwing objects and liquids from highway overpasses.

Police said some protesters sat down after being warned they were subject to arrest if they didnt disassemble.

The number of arrests made was not immediately released.

People shout slogans during a protest in support of the Black Lives Matter movement in New York. (AFP)

New York

Hundreds of people are marching in New York City to protest the police shootings.

The protesters chanted Black lives matter and No justice, no peace as they marched through Manhattan on Saturday.

As many as 1,000 people joined the protest, but many left when it started raining.

Police officers marched alongside the protesters and tried to keep them on the sidewalk. A police spokesperson said there were at least 20 arrests.

Protester Cynthia Howell said she is not against the police but she wants to see accountability.

Howell is a niece of Alberta Spruill, who died of a heart attack in 2003 after police threw a concussion grenade into her Harlem apartment.

Howell said officers who do reckless, dangerous things must be held accountable.

Pennsylvania

Several hundred people broke off from Pittsburghs 200th anniversary parade to protest recent police shootings across the country. Some were affiliated with Black Lives Matter movement.

They marched from Point State Park on Saturday afternoon to the county courthouse.

In Philadelphia, a group of about 100 protesters marched to two police precincts in the northern part of the city on Saturday.

Rhode Island

More than 150 people gathered in downtown Newport in support of the Black Lives Matter movement after a week of violence across the nation.

The Providence Journal reports the group marched on Saturday afternoon to call for changes after the police shootings of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota this week.

Utah

Protesters who support the Black Lives Matter movement rallied in Salt Lake City, with some saying they grieved both the losses of the black men in Louisiana and Minnesota and fallen Dallas police officers.

The answer to guns is not more guns, said Deyvid Morales, who directed the protest Saturday, told the Salt Lake Tribune.

Two black women and one Latina spoke at the rally, expressing fear for loved ones and themselves in dealings with police.

Its terrifying to be the mother of a black child, Jessica Lee said. Speaking from personal experience, it is terrifying to know that next year my son is going to be out driving, so I constantly have to grill him on things  what to say, what not to say.
Kathmandu

The appointment of Sushila Karki as Nepals first woman chief justice was today unanimously endorsed by a parliamentary panel, setting the stage for her to take charge at the Supreme Court to lead the judiciary.

The confirmation of Karkis appointment means Nepal now will have woman as its President, Speaker of Parliament and the chief justice of the Supreme Court.

The 64-year-old Karki, who has done her Masters in Political Science from Banaras Hindu University, is known for her zero-tolerance for corruption.

Speaking at the hearing by the Parliamentary Hearing Special Committee, Karki told lawmakers that the Supreme Court faces a tough time due to a shortage of judges, The Himalayan Times reported.

She asked the committee to conduct hearings for judges appointment soon. Currently, 11 nominees are awaiting the PHSC hearing for their appointment as the SC judges.

Karki was recommended for the top judicial post on April 10 this year by the Judicial Council.

Her appointment was pending because of the delay in the formation of the PHSC due to some technical reasons.

Karki is known for judgments like allowing women to pass their citizenship to their children, previously open only to men.

She took charge of the Supreme Court as the Acting Chief Justice since her predecessor Kalyan Shrestha retired on April 14.

Karki was appointed the Ad-Hoc Justice at the Supreme Court in January 2009. She was promoted as Permanent Justice in November 2010.

Karki began legal practice in March 1979.

She will head the judiciary till June 6, 2017.
US President Barack Obama has sought to reassure a nation rocked by racial tensions and violence in the past week, saying it may not be as divided as many would believe.

As painful as the week has been, I fully believe that America is not as divided as people have suggested, Obama said at a news conference wrapping up his NATO summit visit in Warsaw.

Americans of all races and all backgrounds are outraged and angered by the attacks on the police in Dallas and the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, he added.

The killings of black men Sterling and Castile last week had led to countrywide protests at one of which, in Dallas, African American Micah Johnson killed five white police officers.

Obama, who is cutting short his travels to visit Dallas, sought to frame the shooting in the context of previous such mass shootings, specially those during his tenure.

He portrayed Johnson as an outlier who was just as unrepresentative of blacks as Charleston shooter Dylann Roof was of whites, and Orlandos Omar Mateen was of Muslims.

They don't speak for us, Obama said. That's not who we are.

Protests and demonstrations continued across the country unaffected by the tragedy in Dallas and were marked by stray incidents of violence and arrests of scores of rights activists.

Five police officers were injured in St Paul, Minnesota, where Castile was killed by a police officer during a trap check last Wednesday, and dozens of protestors were arrested.

As estimated 30 people were arrested in Baton Rouge, capital of Louisiana where Sterling was fatally shot last Monday by two police officers while trying to arrest him.

Baton Rouges Marie Flowers, who brought her three children to the protests, told AP, Black boys are being killed and this is just the culmination of what has been going on for decades.

However, the lawyer of the police officer who killed Castile in Minnesota said his client was not motivated by racial consideration, but the fact that the African American was carrying a gun.

This is a tragic incident brought about by the officer having to react to the actions taken by Mr. Castile," Thomas Kelly, representing officer Jeronimo Yanez, said in a statement.

This case has nothing to do with race and everything to do with the presence of a gun. Again, it has nothing to do with race, it has everything to do with the presence of a gun.

Castiles girlfriend, who was with him in the car with her four-year-old daughter, has said he was only trying to reach for his ID and had told the officer he had a license to carry a weapon.

A live stream of the aftermath of the shooting by the girlfriend went viral online and on television news channels, adding to the outrage sparked around the country by the killings.
A rusted US-made World War 2 warship stands at The Philippines lonely outpost amid Chinas prowling battleships and frenetic island-building activities in the South China Sea.

The Philippines deliberately grounded the BRP Sierra Madre in the late 1990s on the Second Thomas Shoal, a chain of islets around shallow waters, to mark its claims on the Spratly archipelago.

China calls the archipelago Nansha islands and claims it along with nearly the entire SCS. Since 1999, the rat-infested warship has housed elite Filipino marine forces who have watched Chinese navy and coastguard ships becoming more aggressive over the decade and in recent years, reclaiming land and building artificial islands with airstrips.

China, Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan (which China claims as a breakaway province) have claims and counter-claims over islands, shoals and reefs in the SCS.

In the East China Sea, China is locked in separate but similar island-claiming dispute with Japan. US hasnt remained quiet. Armed with its military pact with the Philippines and better ties with Vietnam, Washington has not only repeatedly spoken on the freedom of navigation in the SCS but has also dispatched warships and aircraft to test how choppy the situation was in the region.

In 2015, Manila realised that a crumbling warship will not be able to hold off the worlds largest armed forces  and Beijings money-fueled international diplomacy -- for long. It decided to march to the UN International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) under the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague with maps, copies of claims and complaints.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague is set to announce its final decision on Tuesday.

The International Crisis Group said China claims all land features in the SCS and its claims slices into the Philippines claimed (maritime) Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The Philippines claims about 50 land features in the Spratly island chain and the Scarborough Shoal.

Manila opted to sue China, firstly on the jurisdiction of ITLOS on the maritime dispute and secondly on the legality of the historical claim of China's nine-dash line. The legal track proceeded after a reality check on the part of the Philippines that it could not level off with the strength of a giant neighbour. There is an asymmetry of military capability between China as Goliath and the Philippines as David in the maritime dispute, Professor Chester Cabalza fromNational Defence College of the Philippines told HT over email.

Ahead of the verdict, China dismissed it, particularly as theres a possibility that it might go against Beijing. It is a sheer delusion to expect to force China into accepting the decision via diplomatic channels or public fanfare, foreign ministry spokesperson Hong Lei said. The arbitration was unilaterally initiated by the President (Benigno S) Aquino administration and distorts the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), challenges the dignity of the international law and undermines the rule of law in essence, Hong said.

Zhu Feng from the China Center for Collaborative Studies of the SCS at Nanjing University told state media that the new Duterte government needs to refrain from hyping the arbitration ruling, not rely on it as the only basis for settling the disputes, and actively improve bilateral relations. The most expected action from the Duterte government ...would be to drop the case in the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.

To China, thats the only way out because as Hong put it: China will never change its stance.

The decision will be keenly followed. Global trade worth $5 trillion passes through the region annually, and SCS contains nearly 11 billion barrels of oil and 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in proved and probable reserves, as per US Energy Information Administration.

If it is in favour of China, Beijing is likely to flex its diplomatic and strategic muscles more in the region.

The increasing militarisation in the SCS definitely affects trade, commerce, diplomacy, ecological resources and power relations among major actors in the region including the US, China, Japan, and India. Global security is also at risk in the SCS conundrum, a choke point for trade and security, among claimant countries, Cabalza said.

If Manila emerges winner, the war of words between China and other claimants is likely to escalate with Beijing expected to dismiss the decision and increase its show of power in the region.

Cabalza expects India to be involved.

India has been playing its part to influence Asian neighbours to resolve their maritime differences peacefully. As a naval power itself, India has the moral responsibility to push for 'freedom of navigation' as a global interest in the hotly contested Indo-Pacific region. No state has the monopoly of seas and oceans. We need maritime and international laws to prevail in attaining an equi-balance of powers in an evolving multipolar world, he said.
JUBA: More than 150 soldiers died in fighting between South Sudans army and former rebels in the capital Juba on Friday evening, a spokesman for the former rebels said on Saturday.

The number of casualties is over 150 killed, said Roman Nyarji, a spokesman for rebel leader-turned-Vice President Riek Machar, adding that the combined death toll may rise further.

We are expecting a bigger number of casualties because the two units of the presidential guard were all engaged yesterday, he said referring to bodyguard units of Machar and his rival President Salva Kiir.

The violence came on the eve of the countrys fifth anniversary of independence and represents another blow to a shaky peace deal that has so far failed to end a civil war that began in December 2013.

The shooting began when Kiir and Machar met at the presidential palace and initially involved their bodyguards.

The shootout, lasting about half an hour, quickly escalated from small-arms fire to heavier weapons and spread with machine-gun and artillery heard in several parts of Juba before subsiding after nightfall.

Kiir and Machar described Fridays violence as unfortunate.

By this morning a tense calm had fallen over the city with a heavy security presence but few civilians on the streets.

Foreign governments, such as that of the United Kingdom, warned their nationals to leave the country if possible, or stay indoors.
BEIJING: Two Indians were arrested for allegedly assaulting a teenage Taiwanese girl inside the lift of a five-star hotel in Beijing early on Friday.

The two Indians, who were a part of a group of tea traders travelling through Shanghai and Beijing, were arrested after the 17-year-old girl complained to hotel authorities about the incident on Thursday night.

Following her complaint, the two men aged 30 and 49, were picked up by the Jianguomen Police from the same hotel early on Friday morning.

The incident occurred around 10pm on Thursday at Beijing International Hotel in the Chinese capitals central business district where the men and the girl and her parents were staying. The girl s family was visiting her elder sister, a student at the prestigious Peking University.

According to the girl, the men entered the lift on the 10th floor while the girl was already inside it. First, the youngman and then his older companion asked to take photographs with the girl. After clicking the photographs, the younger man forcefully kissed her and the older man then did the same.

As the elevator came down to the first floor, the girl tried to rush out but was pulled back by the older man. The duo then swiped the elevator card up to the 10th floor again and the older man assaulted her.

During the preliminary interrogation, both suspects denied the incident. But their defence crumbled when police showed them the footage from the elevator camera that corroborated the sequence of events narrated by the girl.

Source said the two men, who are both from Haryana, would be kept in detention till July 14 and then deported.
COLOMBO: The close relationship between China and Sri Lanka will have no bearing on their ties with other countries, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Saturday. Yi is on a three-day official visit to Sri Lanka ahead of President Maithripala Sirisenas China visit later this month. India has in the past expressed some concerns over a $1.5 billion Colombo Port city project which is to be built by China on reclaimed land in the sea. China says it intends to make the 21st century maritime Silk Road a priority.

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ISTANBUL: The first Russian flight carrying package tourists to Turkey since a diplomatic crisis erupted eight months ago landed on Saturday in the Turkish Mediterranean resort of Antalya. Russian President Vladimir Putin last month officially lifted restrictions on tourism to Turkey. Russia had banned the sale of agency tours to Turkey as retaliation for Ankara shooting down a Russian warplane in November. The move dealt a crushing blow to the Turkish tourism industry, which is hugely reliant on Russian tourists.

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LONDON: Talks with influential unions to resolve the issue of UK Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyns resignation were called off on Saturday after deputy leader Tom Watson said there was no realistic prospect of a compromise given the formers insistence he would not quit.

Britains main opposition party is in turmoil, with its leader, associated with the hardl-eft, enjoying strong support from party members but losing the confidence of its parliamentary party.

After the 232-member Labour parliamentary party passed a no-confidence motion against Corbyn by 172 votes to 40, Watson initiated talks with unions to find a way out of the crisis. But after Watsons statement, the party is now likely to hold another leadership contest by September.

Opposition to Corbyn within the party mounted after the June 23 EU referendum, when he was accused of not campaigning strongly enough for Britain to remain in the bloc. He has also been called unelectable and unable to lead the party to power in a general election.

It is with regret and profound sadness that I have concluded there is little to be achieved by pursuing wider conversations with our union affiliates at this time. The Labour Party was founded with the explicit aim of pursuing the parliamentary path to socialism, Watson said.

However, since the talks began Jeremy has publicly declared his intention to continue as leader come what may. This means there is no realistic prospect of reaching a compromise that satisfies the majority of colleagues in the PLP.

In a defiant article in The Guardian, Corbyn wrote on Friday: Those who want to challenge my leadership are free to do so in a democratic contest, in which I will be a candidate. But the responsibility of our whole party is to stand up in united opposition to the Tory government. If we come together, we can take them on and win.

Labour leaders Angela Eagle and Owen Smith are expected to launch a leadership bid early next week, setting the stage for an election for the post.

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ISLAMABAD: The death of philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi, on Friday at the age of 88, has robbed Pakistan of one its most beloved personalities.

His was the story of a man who set up a dispensary in 1951 when he discovered how poor the state of healthcare was in Pakistan following the death of his mother at a government-run hospital. By the time of his death, Edhi ran the largest social welfare organisation of its kind not only in Pakistan but possibly in South Asia. His ambulance service is arguably the largest in the world in a country where government ambulances, save in a few cities, are almost non-existent.

His was the story of a man who was known as Maulana but who never used religion to either further his cause or collect donations. In fact, so particular was he about donations that he never took money from the government and rarely from any foreign entity.

From humble beginnings in Bantwa, Gujarat, a young Edhi learnt charity from his mother, who would give him money to give to poor people. It was this desire for charity that turned him into a social worker.

Not only rich Pakistanis gave to Edhi, but the poor as well. When Edhi was raising money for the victims of the Bangladesh cyclone, it was Bengali-speaking beggars who gave the most.

Edhi had a zero discrimination policy. All were welcome, irrespective of caste and creed. And Edhi led from the front. During the tumultuous years of Karachi violence in the mid-80s, it was Edhi who would lead his fleet of ambulances into strife-torn areas and rescue the wounded or pick up the dead.

His charity was not restricted to Pakistan. Over the years, he helped in the Sabira-Shatilla camps in Lebanon, in the Gujarat earthquake, in the earthquake in Cairo and in different war zones across the world. At the drop of a hat, his organisation would be able to put together a massive relief operation after a natural disaster or calamity in Pakistan. Most people rely on Edhi more than they rely on the government machinery.

There were many close shaves for him but the biggest scare came in 1994, when a former ISI chief, General Hamid Gul, pushed Edhi to join a political campaign to save Pakistan by backing Imran Khan. When Edhi dithered, his foundations services were attacked.

He fled to London and the pressure was withdrawn. But Edhi made it very clear that he would have nothing to do with politics in Pakistan. Perhaps that is why he was not stopped from doing his work after that.
WASHINGTON: Russia expelled two American diplomats on Saturday, a day after the US announced it had expelled two of Russias on June 17 over an unprovoked attack on a US employee outside its Moscow embassy.

Moscow called the expelled US diplomats CIA agents. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said in a statement they were expelled for activities incompatible with their diplomatic status.

US State Department spokesman John Kirby had on Friday announced the expulsion of the two Russian diplomats. Kirby said that on June 6 an accredited US diplomat, who identified himself in accordance with embassy protocols, was attacked by a Russian policeman while entering the American embassy compound.

Bloomberg News Service said video footage that ran on Russian television this week showed a policeman emerge from his booth outside the embassy and wrestle a man, who had just got out of a taxi, to the ground.

The expulsions had been kept secret until the footage was aired on Russian TV, with Ryabkov accusing US diplomats in Washington of failing to keep their word after asking Moscow not to publicise the moves.

The action was unprovoked and it endangered the safety of our employee, Kirby said, adding, The Russian claim the policeman was protecting the embassy from an unidentified individual is simply untrue.

The Russians had said the man had punched the police officer after being stopped and asked for identification. A foreign ministry spokesperson said the man was an undercover CIA agent.

Russian security services have intensified their harassment against US personnel in an effort to disrupt our diplomatic and consular operations, Kirby said on Friday.

(With agency inputs)
SEOUL: North Korea on Saturday test-fired what appeared to be a submarine-launched ballistic missile, Seouls defence ministry said, a day after the United States and South Korea decided to deploy an advanced missile defence system in the South. The launch was apparently successful but the missile failed in the early stage of flight, the South Korean defence ministry said in a statement on Saturday. North Korea acquiring the ability to launch missiles from submarines would be an alarming development for rivals and neighbours because missiles from submerged vessels are harder to detect in advance.

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WASHINGTON: The US is planning to use the services of an Indian satellite to get quicker weather information in Afghanistan, crucial for the movement of its military assets, the Pentagon has said. The decision was made after European weather satellites were moved to cover operations in Iraq and Syria. The Indian satellite was settled on because it is already operational and its data is available at various American universities, senior Pentagon officials told US lawmakers.

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Ambrose Bierce would probably have been happier if he had never been born. Failing that, he would certainly have been more happy if he had not survived the Civil War; or, if he had, he would have been far happier if he had never left the Army at the wars end. Instead, almost against his will, he went on to become one of the sharpest American humorists who ever put pen to page. Today Bierce ranks second only to Samuel Clemens as a sarcastic chronicler of the quaint, the ridiculous and the downright idiotic in American life. In fact, Bierces short stories about his Civil War service were like literary cousins to the books Clemens wrote about his youth on the Mississippi. But the cousins were extremely distant ones; whereas Clemens remembered his time as a riverboat man with rich fondness, Bierce remembered the Civil War with bleakness, and the humor of his stories, unlike Clemens, was twisted and grotesque rather than simply funny. The Civil War blasted Bierces youth, and his recollections of the war turned up full of routine stupidities, wasted braveries and empty illusions. And perhaps for just that reason, Bierces memories of the Civil War rang truer than the memoirs of corps commanders and supply clerks.

His angular name, Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce, was part of a family tradition. His father was named Marcus Aurelius Bierce, his uncle was Lucius Verus Bierce, and all of the Bierce brothers and sisters were equipped with names beginning with A (Ambrose himself had been named for the obscure hero of an obscure 18th-century play). That, unfortunately, was where their fathers ingenuity exhausted itself, for Marcus Aurelius Bierce was otherwise a poor dreamer-farmer. The only thing he excelled at producing was children, Ambrose being the 10th, born on June 24, 1842, in the Western Reserve of Ohio. The Bierces family life was no country idyll, and apparently young Ambrose did everything he could to make it harder. He rebelled frequently and was frequently whipped. He rejected the old-time religion of his family and grew upsuspicious, introverted, and resistant to authority. Much of this he later blamed on his parents inattentiveness. There were, it seemed, too many competing egos in the form of brothers and sisters for Marcus Aurelius to shine any paternal warmth down to Ambrose, and Ambrose never forgave him for it.

Therefore, the boy got away from his family as early as he could. The Bierces had moved to Warsaw, Ind., in 1848, and in 1856 Ambrose got himself apprenticed to the editor of an abolitionist newspaper and moved into the editors home. Two years later, he quit his apprenticeship and was taken in hand by uncle Lucius Verus, who thought he would do the boy a favor by entering him into the Kentucky Military Institute. Ambrose wanted no more favors from his relations than he absolutely had to accept, and in two years he was back in Indiana, where he became a waiter and general handy man in a store in Elkhart. In April 1861, the war broke out, and five days after Fort Sumter surrendered to South Carolina forces, Bierce enlisted in Elkharts own Company C, 9th Indiana Volunteers.

Bierce remembered himself as a crusading idealist, probably the only time in his life he would admit to being such. At one time in my green and salad days, he wrote 36 years later, I was sufficiently zealous for Freedom to engage in a four years battle for its promotion. There were other issues involved; but they did not count for much with me. But instead of crusading for ideals, Bierce and the 9th Indiana got a month of drill, and then a summons to western Virginia as part of Maj. Gen. George B. McClellans expedition to wrest the pro-Union western Virginia counties away from the rest of Confederate Virginia.

Not until June 3 did Private A.G. Bierce and the rest of the regiment get their first whiff of military glory at Philippi, where Bierce noted that their chief accomplishment had been to shoot off a Confederates leg. That was enough for the 9th to take it as a victory, and we gave ourselves, the aristocracy of service, no end of military airs; some of us even going to the extreme of keeping our jackets buttoned and our hair combed. On July 10, Bierce was bold enough to try his hand at personal heroics. In a skirmish at Girard Hill he rescued a wounded comrade, Private Dyson Boothroyd, from within fifteen paces of the enemys breastworks. Although Boothroyd quite ungratefully died, Bierce was written up in the Indianapolis newspapers and, as he confessed, was vain enough to be rather proud.

By the end of July, the war was not any closer to being over than in April, and the 9ths enlistment time was nearly up. After seeing some last-minute action at Rich Mountain and Carricks Ford, they returned to Indianapolis and a tumultuous welcome. Bierce had never had a tumultuous welcome from anyone, and he enjoyed the swaggering so much that when the regiment was reorganized in August as a two-years regiment, he reenlisted and was promoted to sergeant, and then to sergeant major. Bierce and the regiment were then shipped back to western Virginia, but by then most of the action there had ended, and the 9ths colonel guaranteed their peace of mind by having the forethought to see that we lay well out of range of the small-arms of the enemy. Only once did ugliness intrude on them. After a skirmish at Camp Allegheny in December, Bierce passed something  some things  lying by the wayside. He recalled, during another wait, we examined them, curiously lifting the blankets from their yellow-clay faces. How repulsive they looked with their blood-smears, their blank staring eyes, their teeth uncovered by contraction of the lips. Bierce and his green recruits marched away in fearful silence. They had not known before that men died that way, and Sergeant Bierce was about to behold that sort of dying on a far more awful scale.

In February 1862, the 9th Indiana was transferred to Nashville, where it was brigaded under Colonel William B. Hazen. Hazen was the first real professional soldier Bierce had ever come into close contact with, and Hazen entranced him. A hard-boiled officer with a sharp tongue for superiors and subordinates alike, Hazen spun a gruff, fatherly spell over the young Bierce, who warmed up to good fathering. Hazen was also a skilled tactician and drillmaster, and he happily beat the freewheeling Hoosiers into something like military shape. Surprisingly, the beating only endeared him more to Bierce. The colonel became my commander and my friend, my master in the art of war, and Bierce noted gleefully that his memory is a terror to every unworthy soul in the service.

In April Hazens brigade was marched into Mississippi as part of Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buells Army of the Ohio, with the object of destroying the Confederate supply base at Corinth. But before Buell got anywhere near Corinth, the Confederates struck first. Side-stepping Buell, they struck at Maj. Gen. Ulysses Grants Army of the Mississippi, camped at Shiloh Church by the Tennessee River. Bierce, Hazen and the rest of their division were promptly force-marched all night to Grants aid through a country presenting nothing but interminable swamps and pathless `bottom lands, with rank overgrowths of jungle. They arrived on the opposite bank of the Tennessee that evening, breathless, footsore, and faint with hunger. It had been a terrible race; some regiments had lost a third of their number from fatigue, the men dropping from the ranks as if shot, and left to recover or die at their leisure. Across the river, at Shiloh, the situation was bad and getting worse. Crossing the Tennessee, Bierce found that Grants men had been utterly surprised andspitted on Confederate bayonets while still as naked as civilians. Now, in the night gloom, the riverbank was a confused mass of humanity. They were mostly unarmed; some dead. All the camp-following tribes were there; all the cowards; a few officers. They were defeated, beaten and coweddeaf to duty and dead to shame and whenever a steamboat would land, this abominable mob had to be kept off her with bayonets. The whole 9th Indiana cursed them for their cowardice, and in return they expressed their unholy delight in the certainty of our destruction by the enemy.

The 9th was wedged in the left of what remained of the Federal line, and on the next morning they were ordered to attack into the face of Confederate artillery. The Confederates, however, were exhausted from the previous days fighting, and Hazens men not only advanced for almost a mile, but handily beat off a Confederate counterattack. The Rebels withdrew, and the 9th garnered high praise from its division commander, Maj. Gen. William Bull Nelson, a man who usually did not hand out compliments. But Bierces mind was not on the congratulations. What he saw of war at Shiloh deeply shocked him, and the shock stayed with him for the rest of his life. He had seen where a forest fire had incinerated men immobilized by wounds: at every pointlay the bodies, half buried in ashes; some in the unlovely looseness of attitude denoting sudden death by the bullet, but by far the greater number in postures of agony that told of the tormenting flame. He had stumbled onto one Federal sergeant, still alive, taking in his breath in convulsive, rattling snorts, and blowing it out in sputters of froth which crawled creamily down his cheeks. He had been shot in the head, and the brain protruded in bosses, dropping off in flakes and strings. One of Bierces men, a womanish fellow, offered to end the mans agonies with a bayonet, but Bierce was too unnerved by the sight and the offer. I told him I thought not; it was unusual, and too many were looking.

In November, after doing nothing in particular at the battles of Corinth and Perryville, Hazen and Bierce were both promoted, Hazen to brigadier and Bierce to second lieutenant. Bierce promptly became as fierce a martinet as Hazen, but his men obviously refused to take Bierce with the seriousness he demanded. The American volunteer, Bierce discovered, wants to be a little general, deciding for himself, and is resentful of the despotism necessary to his success and his welfare. Bierce turned more and more taciturn, finding companionship largely with Hazen and amusement with bizarre feats of heroism. Pursuing Confederates in Tennessee, Bierce, single-handed, went galloping off toward the Rebels, exposing myself recklessly to draw the Confederate fire and disclose their position. At the Battle of Murfreesboro at the end of December 1862, the 9th Indiana was pinned down behind a railroad embankment where they were so badly cut up that they were down to taking orders from a major. The major then went down, and it was Bierce, under a blistering fire, who scooped him up in his arms and carried him to safety.

In February 1863, Bierce was promoted to first lieutenant, and Hazen got him assigned to brigade staff as a topographical engineer, a pretentious title for mapmaker. The staff job kept Bierce out of harms way until September, when, at Chickamauga, the Union Army of the Cumberland fell apart. Bierce and his brigade had done their part for two days with foul pieces and exhausted cartridge boxes until relieved, and then retired behind an artillery battery. Oddly, Bierce found his brother Albert there, an officer in the 18th Ohio Artillery. The two chatted with veteran nonchalance amongst such of the enemys bullets as had inconsiderably been fired too high until one of Alberts gunners fell dead. The brothers coolly propped the dead man up against a tree and went on talking.

Bierce vividly remembered the effect of the artillery on charging Confederates: the guns opened fire with grape and canister and for perhaps five minutes  it seemed an hour  nothing could be heard but the infernal din of their discharge.When all was over, and the dust cloud had liftedthe Confederates were still there  all of them, it seemed  some almost under the muzzles of the guns. But not a man of all these brave fellows was on his feet, and so thickly were all covered with dust that they looked as if they had been re-clothed in yellow. Hazen ordered Bierce off to find some artillery ammunition, but he was lost in the confusion and wound up attaching himself to Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas, who was trying to cover the jumbled retreat of the Union army with the broken bits and pieces of several corps and divisions. There, Bierce found that had the Confederates made one more general attack, we should have had to meet them with the bayonet alone. Thomas had run out of ammunition, too. While the sun was taking its own time to set we lived through the agony of at least one death each, waiting for them to come on. But the Confederates did not attack. Night fell, broken only by the Rebel yell, which Bierce called the ugliest sound that any mortal ever heard  even a mortal exhausted and unnerved by two days of hard fighting.

In the months that followed Chickamauga, Bierce turned into a first-class mapmaker for Hazen. It seemed as though something in his finicky nature was satisfied with the abstract precision of cartography. He developed an eye for ravines, bridges and hills, and years later his stories would abound in geographical detail. But his mapmaking also pulled him back far enough from combat for him to see more of the reasonless bloodletting that went on for the sake of putting points on maps. It is a business in which the lives of men counted as nothing against the chance of defining a road or sketching a bridge. Whole squadrons of cavalry escort sometimes had to be sent thundering against a powerful infantry outpost in order that the brief time between the charge and the inevitable retreat might be utilized in sounding a ford or determining the point of intersection of two roads. And where there was not slaughter, there was stupidity. Bierce carried orders to Colonel James Foy of the 23rd Kentucky to attack a Confederate position, but Foy managed instead to get lost in a heavy forest. Bierce found him, a half-mile off target, utterly isolated and marching straight to Kingdom come. Foy had not the faintest notion of where he came from, or where he was going to. `What are you doing here, Colonel? I asked.He looked at me for a moment in a helpless and bewildered way, then pulled on a grave face and replied: `O, Im sort o flankin em.

And yet Bierce made no effort to leave the Army when the opportunity presented itself. In December 1863, the 9th Indianas term expired, and the entire regiment, Bierce included, reenlisted. And, as if he could not find enough hot water to immerse himself in, that winter he became engaged to Bernice Wright, a girlfriend from his youth in Warsaw, Ind.Bierce had known Bernie Wright in his teenage days in Warsaw, and used to delight her with satirical cartoons of mutually hated persons, such as the schoolteacher. He nicknamed her Fatima, or Tima for short, and she flirted with him enough to convince him that he seriously loved her. Part of his eagerness to enlist in 1861 might have been a romantic attempt to impress her with his manliness, for he wrote her an embarrassingly passionate poem of farewell before the 9th Indiana marched off. By the time he came back to Warsaw, he was a veteran officer, and ready to put flirting behind him. He formally introduced Tima to his parents, and the two were summarily engaged.

By any standards, it ought to have been a storybook courtship. Bierces frame had filled out, and his profile was rugged and handsome, with his blond hair and mustache contrasting gaily with his blue uniform. And he decorously took long chaperoned rides with Tima and her sister Clara and read aloud to them to pass the time. But there was a tension pulling at Bierce below the surface of their romance, a slow, acid pain that had begun burning back at Shiloh, and about which frivolous Tima understood nothing. When Tima wanted to frolic, Bierce sharply ordered her to stop and be serious; when he read to her, it was from the melancholy works of Edgar Allan Poe. Tima comprehended little of his distress, and by the time Bierce left again in February 1864, he was depressed and full of forebodings. He grew more depressed when Tima stopped writing in June, and he scrawled a pathetic letter to Clara, forlornly observing that I hardly expect to see you again.Every day someone is struck down who is so much better than I.Since leaving Cleveland, Tenn. my brigade has lost nearly one third its numbers killed and wounded. He added, my turn will come in time.

The war was turning more bitter for Bierce, and he wrote, I am getting very tired of my present life and weary of the profession of arms. Certainly, he had good reason to be. Hazen had kept him on his staff, which meant that Bierce went on into Georgia as part of Shermans March to the Sea. On May 27, 1864, Bierce witnessed a suicidal attack at Picketts Mill, Ga., that administered another great shock to his youthful idealism. For no better reason than to test Confederate firepower, Hazen and his understrength brigade were casually ordered to attack two entrenched Confederate divisions.

The results were predictable. Bierce recorded that in less than one minute the trim battalions had become simply a swarm of men struggling through the undergrowth of the forest. The Confederates opened up on them and the forward fringe of brave and hardy assailants was arrestedthe edge of our swarm grew dense and clearly defined as the foremost halted, and the rest pressed forward to align themselves beside them, all firing. The Rebel artillery joined in, rather felt than heard, although the gusts of grape which they blew into that populous wood were audible enough, screaming among the trees and cracking against their stems and branches. The color-bearers held their colors erect, shook out their glories, waved them forward and back to keep them spread, for there was no wind.

Bierce, from the right of the line, saw that most of our men fought kneeling as they firedbut there were considerable groups that stood. Frequently, moved by a common despair, one of these groups would push forward, but in a second every man of the group would be down. Or an individual with levelled bayonet would spring forward, but he got no farther than his predecessors. The soldiers knew futility when they saw it, even if the officers did not, and man by man, the survivors withdrew at will, sifting through the trees into the cover of the ravines, among the wounded who could drag themselves back; among the skulkers whom nothing could have dragged forward. They lost 1,400 men in 30 minutes to no good purpose, except to teach Bierce (among others) that war was not only hell, but an utterly irrational hell.

The young idealist was not given much time to contemplate this irony. True to his forebodings, he was shot in the head by a sharpshooter on Kennesaw Mountain on June 23. He would have been left for dead had not his brother Albert found him lying on the field, still alive. Bierce was hospitalized in Chattanooga and furloughed back to Warsaw, only to find that his beloved Tima had forgotten him and taken up with another. Plunged into hysterical despair, Bierce broke the engagement with tears of hopeless, prayerless pain. Bierce never forgave her, or women in general, and when women later appeared in his short stories, they invariably showed up as seductresses who tantalized men into a madness that only death on the battlefield could cure.

Bierce probably should not have rejoined the Army. While his head wound had healed, it left himsubject to fits of fainting. But he had quarreled with his parents, and with Tima gone, he really had no other place to call home. In September 1864, he rejoined his old corps, which had been consolidated into the IV Corps, Army of the Cumberland. And in November, Bierce and the IV Corps, along with Maj. Gen. John M. Schofields XXIII Corps, were detached from Shermans March to the Sea to chase after Lt. Gen. John Bell Hood, who had gotten loose in Tennessee with a potentially dangerous Confederate army. Hood was heading for Nashville, but Schofield headed him off at Franklin, Tenn., where the Union corps, with their backs to the Harpeth River, dared Hood to attack. Hood obliged them grandly. From a slight rise, Bierce watched an advancing Confederate column come up the road, but  ominous circumstance!  it did not come on. It turned to its left, at a right angle, moving along the base of the hills, parallel to our lines. The other Confederate columns also came on, impudently deploying on the level ground with spectacular display of flags and glitter of arms. The ensuing battle was not so glittering. As Bierce could see, it was no more than a matter of two long, irregular, mutable, and tumultuous blurs of colorconsuming each others edge along the line of contact. Bierce saw the Confederates punch a hole in the Union blur, but Union reserves plugged it up and drove the gray blur back until it dissolved into its elemental units, all in slow recession. The Confederates pressed the attack again and again, and Bierce could make out dimly in the smoke, mounted officers, singly and in small groups, attempting to force their horses over the Union line, but all went down.

Hoods costly attacks failed. Schofield pulled his men back over the Harpeth and joined Thomas Army of the Cumberland at Nashville, where Hood followed. Hood foolishly thought he was investing Thomas and Schofield, but on December 15 Thomas moved out and in two days smashed Hoods army permanently. It was a brilliant Union victory, but what Bierce remembered in particular was the performance of the 13th Colored Infantry. Seeing the darkies go in on our left, Bierce wrote, I was naturally interested and observed them closely. Better fighting was never done. Bierce, something of a closet racist, was amazed at the vigor with which the black infantry rose to charge. Their advance was halted by an abatis of felled trees and its passage by troops under fire was hopeless from the first, but they did not hesitate a moment: their long lines swept into the fatal obstruction in perfect order and remained there as long as those of the white veterans on their right. And as many of them in proportion remained until borne away and buried after the action.

Still plagued by his wound, in January 1865 Bierce resigned. He was not, however, mustered out at once. In fact, he rejoined Sherman and marched with him up through the Carolinas until April, when his discharge came through. At last, Ambrose Bierces Civil War was over.

After that, Bierce drifted. He worked as a Treasury agent until September, when Hazen invited him to rejoin the Army. Hazen was mapping the Overland Trail westward and offered Bierce a captaincy if he would come along. Bierce leapt at the opportunity, which is perhaps odd, given his disenchantment with armies. But for Bierce, even if armies were governed by irrationality and stupidity most of the time, it was an irrationality and stupidity that he at least understood. The Army was a rootless and self-contained society that, for all its slouchiness, gave Bierce a profound sense of belonging, and for that reason it was the only place he was ever entirely at peace with himself. But when he and Hazen reached San Francisco, they found that the commission had fallen through, and Bierce angrily left Hazen and the Army for good. Instead, he got a miserable job as a night watchman in the San Francisco Mint, and to help support himself, he turned to writing. He published his first pieces in 1867 and rapidly built up a considerable reputation as a Western writer, publishing his first book in 1873. In 1887 William Randolph Hearst lured him onto the staff of the San Francisco Examiner, and by the 1890s, Bierce was the literary dictator of the West Coast.

But the Civil War haunted him. The finest of his short stories were those he drew from his memories of the war. And his most famous stories, An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge and Chickamauga, even drew their names from places where the 9th Indiana had fought. These stories were more than merely recollections of an old soldier. They were black, grotesque fables full of weird cacklings at the notion that war is full of anything more meaningful than offhanded slaughter. To be sure, there were heroic bugles blowing in Bierces stories, but they called men to suicidal, pointless charges. In A Son of the Gods, for instance, an officer rode forward to draw Confederate fire and spare the lives of his men, but when he was killed, his men, choking with emotion, rushed forward to avenge him and got themselves killed anyway.

For Bierce, the basic fact of soldiering was that the enemy was not really the gray-clad host at the other end of the field, but death, and the terror of death and wounds. If there was any glory to be had in war, it belonged to the lone individual who struggled to overcome his terror and stare down death, and did not shrink from the end even when ordered to it by some idiot in shoulder-straps. The truth was, however, that such individuals were very few in number, and Bierces characters, more often than not, broke under their terror. Captain Graffenreid in One Officer, One Man committed suicide when he could not bear his fear in battle; Jerome Searing, the sharpshooter in One of the Missing, died of fright when trapped in a collapsed building with his rifle pointing at his head. These ideas were wrenching stuff just by themselves, but Bierce then twisted his tales ironically. Graffenreid killed himself, but only over a skirmish; Jerome Searings rifle turned out to have been unloaded. Even Bierces heroes had their heroism twisted, like Carter Druse in A Horseman in the Sky, forced to shoot his own father; or Captain Coulter in The Affair at Coulters Notch, who shelled his own house on orders and killed his family. His heroes awe readers with a sense of duty, but appall them with the grimness of their choices. Bierce would remind all, that is what war is made of.

Bierce never seemed able to locate a place for himself in the world outside of war. His marriage in 1871 ended disastrously, two of his three children died tragically before him, and he was never able to accept the flamboyant materialism of the Gilded Age. The idealistic sacrifices of the Civil War had brought only greed, corruption and the presidency of Ulysses Grant. In 1912 Bierce was tired and ready for the end. He finished publishing his Collected Works, and in October 1913 packed his bags for a last nostalgic tour of the Civil War battlefields he had fought on a half-century before. In November he went to Texas and crossed into Mexico, where he joined Pancho Villas army as a reporter of one of the incessant Mexican civil wars. His last letter was dated December 26, 1913, announcing his intention to follow the Villistas to the town of Ojinaga. He was never heard from again, and was probably killed at the capture of Ojinaga on January 11, 1914. One civil war had lived with Ambrose Bierce all his life; he ended his life with another.

This article was written by Allen Guelzo and originally published in the October 2005 issue of Civil War Times Magazine.

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SHAPING THE FUTURE

It would take a railroad buff, a steel industry buff, and a history buff (and Im all three) to fully appreciate the photograph shown in the American Album for March/April 2000. The tables were arranged in a special shapeto form a cross-section of a railroad rail, one of the main products of the steel industry at the turn of the century.

Since the Carnegie Steel Company wasnt a corporation but a private partnership, Andrew Carnegies boys (the employees who showed promise) could be rewarded by limited shares in the company. When J.P. Morgan bought out Carnegie and 12 other companies in 1901 and formed the United States Steel Corporation, each of the boys became a millionaire. Some moved to New York, while others built mansions on Pittsburghs Fifth Avenue, which became known as Millionaires Row.

Martyn J. Hodes

President, Thomas Paine National

San Diego, California

A RUSSIAN SYMPATHIZER

IN THE WHITE HOUSE?

I found Bill McIlvaines article on Harry Hopkins, Lord Root of the Matter, (March/April 2000) very informative, even though I lived through the years he wrote about. I remember how important Hopkins was to President Franklin D. Roosevelt and for a short time President Harry S. Truman. Recent books and publications, however, question Hopkins absolute devotion to the United States. Their information relies on the Venona papers, a collection of more than 2,000 cables intercepted by the U.S. in the 1940s. The National Security Agency released these decoded cablessent by American-based agents to the home office in Moscowin 1995 and 1996. These papers include evidence that indicates Alger Hiss was an agent of the USSR and that Hopkins was sympathetic to Russia and Stalin. Perhaps this explains McIlvaines comment that Hopkins and Stalin liked each other. It also explains how Russia obtained U.S approval for taking over all of Eastern Europe. We must re-evaluate Hopkins, Hiss, FDR confidant Lauchlin Currie, and others through the Venona papers to assess the kind of latitude given to our present White House advisers.

Donald R. Hanson

Charlottesville, Virginia

Editors note: Readers who want to know more about the Venona papers can read Venona: Decoding Soviet Espionage in America by John Earl Haynes and Harvey Klehr.
An American Named Ulysses

Recent months have seen the publication of no less than three novels about Ulysses S. Grant. Even taking into consideration the publics enduring fascination with the Civil War, I find that somewhat astonishing. Yet, on further reflection, Grants life does provide the raw stuff of fiction, an epic tale of an ordinary man who rose to extraordinary heights through his talent at waging war. The only way to improve the story, I guess, would be to have Grant win his command by pulling a swordbetter yet, a saberfrom a stone.

But its Grants essential ordinariness that keeps him interesting and appealing, especially to an American sensibility that likes its heroes shorn of pretension. He was a man of few words and, unlike General George McClellan, Grant had no illusions of grandeur. He won promotion the old-fashioned wayby winning battlesand he rejected the trappings of fame and carried himself like a plain soldier. At Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865, when Confederate General Robert E. Lee met with Grant to surrender the Army of Northern Virginia, Lee was impeccably dressed, while Grant looked like a fly on a shoulder of beef, in the words of a staff member. In his 1997 Grant biography, Geoffrey Perret writes that Grant did not look like a great general, did not talk like a great general, did not dress like a great general, and did not even appear to consider himself a great general. No wonder Grant gained the approval of Abraham Lincoln, another man from a humble background who was devoid of pretentiousness.

Of course, fact and mythology dont run in parallel courses. In Homers epic poem, the Iliad, Ulysses was the king of Ithaca who feigned madness in an effort to avoid fighting in the Trojan War. Grant, of humble background, was eager to take part in the Civil War, but his initial requests for a command were ignored. Homers Ulysses was a crafty warrior noted for his guile. The Trojan Horse scheme that ended the wars stalemate was his idea. Grant was noted for more straightforward methods. His main strategy was to bring the battle to the enemy and wear him down. When he did attempt Homerian craftinesstrying to dig a canal to divert the Mississippi River around Vicksburg, for instance, or approving an attempt to tunnel beneath the Confederate defenses in Petersburg, Virginia, and blow them up with explosiveshis schemes usually failed. Then again, Grant was not a born Ulysses. He was christened Hiram Ulysses Grant, but the congressman who appointed him to West Point renamed him by mistake, and the young cadet became Ulysses S. Grant. It just helps reinforce the mythic elements of the Civil War that U.S. could also stand for Unconditional Surrenderor United States.

One appealing part of the Grant story is that he was able to succeed because of his abilities. The American self-image insists that anyone can become president, and Grants careerlike Abraham Lincolnscertainly supports that idea. Son of a tanner, born in a house just one step up from a log cabin, Grant had a phenomenal rise in fortune. When war broke out in 1861 he was clerking in his fathers store. Three years later he was general-in-chief of the Union Army; five years after that he was president of the United States. Again, it seems more the stuff of myth and legend than real life, although Grants less-than-stellar performance as president helps yank the tale back to earth. Still, its a story of which people obviously havent grown tired.

Tom Huntington, Editor, American History
Of all the special units that were formed to combat Confederate partisan rangers in Virginia during the Civil Warthe Blazer Scouts, the Jesse Scouts, Coles Maryland Cavalry and othersprobably the most promising was the Loudoun Rangers, an independent cavalry unit drawn from the largely Quaker and German farming communities of northern Loudoun County, Virginia.

Despite the pacifist beliefs of their church, many of Loudoun Countys Quakers took up arms on each side. The Loudoun Rangers founder and commander was Captain Samuel C. Means, himself a Quaker and the owner of a large grist mill in Waterford. Means also owned a substantial mercantile business in Point of Rocks, Md. Forced by vigorous Confederate persecution to take refuge in Maryland, Means was summoned to Washington and offered a commission to raise a cavalry company of disaffected refugee Virginians. He quickly raised two companies, which were mustered into Federal service on June 20, 1862.

Loudoun County was swarming with Confederates. It was the Loudoun Rangers job to make periodic raids to harass and capture them. To do so, the Rangers established camps on the Maryland side of the Potomac River. From there they made constant forays into Loudoun, Clarke and Jefferson counties.

Often the Rangers were merged into other commands and sent off to accompany the main army, fighting in such major battles as Fishers Hill, Cedar Creek and Monocacy, as well as in other engagements even farther from their native county. In fact, for Means men, the whole war was a constant struggle to maintain their units independence.

There was a curious parallel between the Loudoun Rangers and their archenemies, Lt. Col. Elijah V. Lige Whites 35th Battalion, Virginia Cavalry, also known as Whites Comanches. The first two companies were raised in exactly the same area of Loudoun County, and the same surnames appear in both the blue and the gray ranks. As the two groups clashed again and again, their special brand of warfare took on the nature of local family feuds.

The relationship between the two bands was especially antagonistic. Soldiers knew individual members of the opposing unit, exactly where they lived, their sweethearts and other loved ones. Like the Loudoun Rangers, the 35th Virginia had been raised for the specific purpose of ranging in the border counties, and the men never resigned themselves to being forced to follow the main army into distant regions in violation of their special enlistment contract.

Whites Comanches returned to Loudoun County as an entire unit only a few times during the war, but its smaller units and individuals of the regiment were constantly turning up there. Convalescent troopers were all too eager to rejoin the fight, and officers and men frequently went back home to recruit, forage or procure a new mount. At the beginning of the war, it was Means and other Loudoun Rangers who had to sneak back into Loudoun County to visit their homes; later in the war, the Confederates had to do so.

When General Robert E. Lees army moved north as part of the Antietam campaign, Whites Comanches were suddenly back in force in Loudoun County. The Rangers were sleeping in the Waterford Baptist Church when they were attacked by Whites men after midnight on August 27, 1862. Surrounded, the Rangers defended their position in the brick church until almost every man was wounded and ammunition was running low. When they surrendered, it was to relatives and to boys with whom they had gone to school. One of Whites men, William Snoots, loudly insisted on the right to kill his prisoner, and it took several of his fellow Confederates to force him to accept the rules of civilized warfare. The prisoner was Loudoun Ranger Charles Snoots, his brother.

On September 1, the Rangers hit nearby Hillsboro, driving off some of Whites cavalrymen and capturing two of them. Another clash the next day was much larger and much less successful. This time it was near Leesburg, a hotbed of Southern sympathizers, and the Rangers opponents were members of the 2nd Virginia Cavalry. These hardened Confederate veterans bested them in a pitched battle about a mile north of town. Coupled with the Waterford debacle, the costly defeat at Leesburg was very discouraging to recruiting efforts and probably kept the Rangers from raising enough men to make a full battalion.

Before Colonel Dixon Miles surrendered his 12,000-man force at Harpers Ferry to Confederate Maj. Gen. Stonewall Jackson later that same September, some 2,000 Union horsemen fought their way to safety. Among them were the Loudoun Rangers. Means, like most officers, was outraged at the plan to surrender. He and his Rangers had special reasons to avoid capture. Since they were Virginians, they could be hanged as traitors. Means already had a price on his head courtesy of Virginia authorities. He chose to live and fight another day.

The Virginia Yankees later fought Colonel Whites men again, as well as cavalrymen under the command of Colonel John S. Mosby. The Rangers fell upon and routed an unsuspecting company of Whites cavalry at Catoctin Mountain near Morven Park on September 13, 1863, and were ambushed in turn by a detachment of Mosbys men under Captain Dolly Richards on May 17, 1864.

The young men of the Loudoun Rangers, like their Rebel counterparts, were able to sustain fairly close relationships with the local womenfolk. Unlike the ordinary Union and Confederate troops who served far from home, the Rangers frequently saw girls they knew in the Waterford, Lovettsville and Taylorstown neighborhoods. Often they attended parties, dances, weddings and other social gatherings. The local boys in gray did likewise, and all too frequently the nicest parties were spoiled by gunfire.

On February 20, 1863, Sergeant Flemon B. Andersons sister Molly gave a ball at the James Filler house that was interrupted by some of Whites cavalrymen, led by a Lieutenant Marlow. When Molly begged and pleaded for the Rebels to spare her brother a trip to Libby Prison, Marlow finally agreed that Anderson would be paroled if she would dance the next set with him. Relieved, Sergeant Anderson took up the fiddle and played happily for the rest of the evening. The next morning he reported to Union headquarters at Point of Rocks and was sent to Camp Parole at Annapolis, where he stayed until properly exchanged.

Unfortunately, the party-going Anderson pushed his luck. On Christmas Eve 1864, a Ranger detachment left Maryland for a raid into their old home grounds near Waterford, knowing the Confederates were camped there. Andersons mother had arranged a dance at her home near Taylorstown, and the sergeant stopped by to visit. He was sitting beside his intended when Whites and Mosbys men surrounded the house around 9 p.m. Anderson tried to escape through the back door as they came in the front, but he was shot through the head and died in his mothers arms. The Confederates wanted to shoot captured Sergeant John Hickman as well for some alleged war crime in the past, but they desisted when one of Mosbys men who was related to the Andersons intervened.

The Rangers should have been successful in thwarting the Confederate partisans who preyed on communications and rear-echelon troops. The fact that they were not can be attributed to at least four identifiable factors.

First was a lack of formal training. The Rangers received no military training from the Union Army. Charles A. Webster, who was mustered in on June 20, 1862, did his best to teach the men how to drill. Webster, who apparently had prior military training, became the units drillmaster even before he was promoted to sergeant. He earned the Rangers undying gratitude for turning them into an efficient military unit with a working knowledge of cavalry drill, discipline and fighting techniques.

Webster was a terrific shot and a skilled hand with a saber, but he was quite reticent about discussing his past. It turned out that Webster was not really his name. He was Charles Brown from New Hampshire, and he was recognized by some Maine troops when they were camping nearby after the Battle of Antietam. He had taken the name Webster because his mother was distantly related to Daniel Webster and because his father, who had become a Californian in the 1849 Gold Rush, was a notorious Copperhead (anti-war Democrat). He never revealed where he had received his earlier military training.

Webster was captured in December 1862 and showed incredible toughness and an incorrigible fighting spirit in prison. He suffered numerous privations at Castle Thunder in Richmond and made three valiant efforts to escape. Finally, the Confederates hanged Webster on April 10, 1863, for the alleged murder of Confederate Captain Richard Simpson at the latters Loudoun County home in August 1862. (They had to put Webster in a chair for the hanging because he had broken both legs during his last escape attempt.) Apparently, there was nothing murderous about Simpsons death, which was rather typical of the Rangers brand of border warfare. Simpson, of the 8th Virginia Infantry, had been on a recruiting mission when he tried to visit his home at Mount Gilead. He was surrounded by the Rangers and shot down as he ran for the woods, ignoring demands to surrender.

The second factor working against the Rangers success was their original captain. Despite being a brave leader and a staunch loyalist, Means was always a bit suspect. He had no military background and had originally not wanted to take a stand. Means avoided joining the Union forces at first, he explained, because he had a brother serving in the Confederate Army and did not want to make trouble.

More important, Means was always in trouble with his Union superiors. Much of this friction arose from the Rangers attempts to preserve their status as an independent unit and serve in their home territory. This was a fight the Rangers ultimately lost. On March 31, 1864, Means was ordered to take his command to Parkersburg, W. Va., to be consolidated with the 3rd West Virginia Cavalry. Means refused to comply because this order violated Secretary of War Edwin Stantons specific directive that Means recruit the company for special service and that the unit be directly under Stantons orders. Stanton backed Means in the flurry of angry correspondence between officers that ensued, and the Rangers stayed in the East.

Means was victorious in the fight, but it cost him his command. The orders of consolidation were countermanded by Stanton on April 25, but Means had already resigned his commission and left the service as of April 13. Means, who could not go home to Waterford while there were still Confederates about, moved in with his daughter in Washington, D.C., apparently took to drink and died a broken man.

Whether Means drinking had affected his leadership during the war is an intriguing question. The reminiscences of at least one soldier from another unit described the commander of the Loudoun Rangers as a notorious drunk. To him the most hilarious moment of the whole war was when a very drunken captain tried to impress visiting government officials and their ladies on the riverbank at Lovettsville. Welcoming them to Virginia in cavalier fashion, he swept off his hat, bowed low, lost his footing and tumbled backward into the Potomac. Out of discretion, however, the soldier did not give the captains name, and without a precise date it is unclear whether it was Means or another officer who put on the embarrassing show.

The Loudoun Rangers generally seemed to have had, for a bunch of Quaker lads at least, a rather pronounced drinking problem, and that was the units third hindrance. A great many soldiers, both Northern and Southern, liked to get into peoples liquor when they could, but the Rangers had special opportunities. Operating on their own home ground, they tended to know exactly where alcohol could be found. They would pay visits to various local distilleries and cider mills in Loudoun County. If it was a Union sympathizers distillery and the liquor belonged to friends, it was drunk in friendship; if it was Confederate booze, it was treated as spoils of war. More than once this inebriation compromised the Rangers fighting ability and got them into trouble.

Finally, Federal Army commanders never really trusted the loyal Virginians. They were not true to their own state, and many Union military men tended to regard a turncoat as beneath contempt. A man once turned might easily turn again. The fact that the Rangers were specially recruited under the direct command of the secretary of war also rankled many Federal commanders.

Several times during the war, and at least three times on the Maryland bank of the Potomac, the Rangers were surprised in their camps and badly mauled by large, concentrated forces of Whites or Mosbys command. At least twice the Rangers claimed that the striking Rebels wore blue uniforms, which allowed them to get close enough to deliver a surprise knockout blow, but this has always been disputed.

When both companies of the Rangers were camped at Keyes Switch on the B&O Railroad just west of Harpers Ferry on April 6, 1865, few expected any threatening activity from the all-but-beaten Confederate Army. Military discipline, accordingly, was at low ebb. The Rangers were relaxing in camp when a force of 250 horsemen approached from the northwest on the Charlestown Pike. Since they wore blue uniforms, no one took undue notice. Mosbys troops, thus undetected, captured every horse and man in the camp, some 81 horses and 65 men.

This was the final blow to the Rangers. Chief of Staff Winfield Scott Hancock, when informed of the attack, threw away the tele-gram with a hearty laugh and said, Well, thats the last of the Loudoun Rangers.

In later years, the old veterans gathered to reminisce about the war and to remember their fallen comrades, many of whom had died in Southern prisons. The reunions were a lot like those of their Virginia Confederate neighborswith one notable exception: They met to celebrate a victory.

This article was written by Richard Crouch and originally appeared in the March 1998 issue of Americas Civil War magazine.

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Tales of the adventures that befell three conquistadores and their Moorish slave during the sixteenth century led to SpainsFrancisco Vasquez de Coronados exploration o what is now the American Southwest.

By Anne B. Allen

One of the greatest odysseys in American history began in the little town of Azamor on Moroccos west coast at the beginning of the sixteenth century. The young man who had spent his early years within sight of the Atlantic shore could have had no inkling of the bizarre future that fate had in store for hima journey across the ocean to lands and people unknown to the Islamic world in which he was raised, where he would die as a nominal Christian in a city reputed to contain fabulous riches. Yet, given the path he would follow, the youth must, even then, have exhibited a lively interest in the ways of other peoples, a sharp ear for different patterns of speech, hardy stamina, and the ability to adapt to rapidly changing circumstances.

The black-skinned Moor might have been purchased from slave raiders who worked the African coast or taken captive in one of the frequent military clashes between Spain and Morocco that continued long after the Moors were expelled from the Iberian Peninsula in 1492. Given the Christian name Estevanico when he was baptized by his Spanish owners, the Moorish youth was probably in his late teens or early twenties when he left Africa for the Caribbean as a slave.

By 1527, Estevanico was in the service of Andres Dorantes, commander of a company of infantry in the expedition being formed by Panfilo de Narvaez to explore and conquer the lands stretching west from Florida along the Gulf of Mexico. A man of fairly modest origin, Dorantes had come to the New World in search of gold and glory.

Narvaez, having spent more than twenty years as a conquistador in Mexico, had received a royal appointment as Spains governor in Florida and was eager to take control of his new territory, explore it, and begin exploiting its wealth. The companies assembled for this undertaking were a motley collection of soldiers of fortune from many lands, under the command of Spanish officers.

The expedition suffered one setback after another. A hurricane destroyed one of Narvaezs ships and damaged the others, forcing the party to winter in Cuba. When they set out again in February 1528, they had to weather still more violent storms before reaching Florida. It was mid-April when the four original ships and a brigantine purchased to replace the vessel that had been lost, with a complement of some four hundred men and the 42 horses that survived the trip, finally dropped anchor on the western coast of Florida, just north of Tampa Bay.

Going about his duties as Dorantes personal servant, Estevanico (or Esteban, as he was sometimes called) undoubtedly felt the same excitement that gripped the rest of the party as they set foot for the first time on Floridas soil. The natives of a small village nearby gave them a gift of fish and venison and then vanished into the night, leaving behind, among their fishing nets, a golden rattle. This find was a promising token to the Spaniards, eager as they were to find treasure.

After Narvaez went ashore to claim the territory officially in the name of King Carlos I of Spain, he divided his force, taking three hundred menforty of them on horsebackto explore the land. He sent the ships ahead to the fine harbor that his pilots claimed was somewhere in the vicinity.

Three long, desperate months later, the shore party reached a town called Aute. They had traveled through swamps and across rivers and fought with unfriendly natives, but they had found no sign of gold, pearls, or jewelsnothing, in fact, to make conquest of the area profitable. They also saw no sign of their ships.

By this time, more than forty members of the party had diedsome due to hunger or disease, others the victims of accidental drownings or the arrows of the natives. Narvaez, himself sick, hungry, and discouraged, decided to give up the expedition and return to civilization. Without vessels to carry them back, the survivors set about constructing five barges. For six weeks they worked, melting down spurs, bridles, stirrups, and crossbows to make nails; braiding ropes from palmetto fronds and horsehair; and sewing their shirts together for sails.

On September 22, 1528, having eaten all but one of their horses, they set sail for Mexico. The shallow, overloaded rafts each held about fifty men and their meager supplies. The water bags made from horses legs rotted within a day or two, leaving the men without fresh water, and the only food remaining was a little dry maize. Estevanico and his master, Dorantes, shared a raft with another company captain, Alonzo del Castillo Maldonado, and 48 men from their two commands.

So great is the power of need, wrote Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, the expeditions treasurer, that it brought us to venture out into such a troublesome sea in this manner, and without any among us having the least knowledge of the art of navigation. To compensate for their lack of seamanship, the travelers tried to keep their craft within sight of land. But, weak from hunger, thirst, and exposure, the men could do little more than let the barges drift with the wind and current. When, toward the end of October, they reached the strong current that flows from the Mississippi River into the Gulf of Mexico, it became impossible for the boats to stay together. One by one they were destroyed; some were wrecked against the shore, othersincluding Narvaezs own vesseldrifted out to sea and vanished.

Dorantes craft capsized, but all aboard made it safely to a nearby island, where they joined the survivors from the raft commanded by Cabeza de Vaca, whom the local natives had fed and sheltered. So pathetic were the strangers that the Indians sat down with us and all began to weep out of compassion for our misfortune . . . . Despite the natives show of kindness, the Spaniards worried that they would become the victims of some ritualistic sacrifice. Instead, they were treated so well that we became reassured, losing somewhat our apprehension of being butchered.

An attempt to retrieve Dorantes capsized boat failed, and the two groups of castaways were forced to spend the rest of the winter on the island, which they nicknamed Malhado, or Misfortune. Of the 80 men cast ashore, only 15 survived until spring. Gripped by hunger, one group of Spaniards shocked their comrades and their native hosts when in desperation they ate the flesh of those who had died.

In April 1529, Andres Dorantes gathered the survivors of his boat, including Estevanico and Castillo, and crossed to the mainland, leaving Cabeza de Vaca and his men behind. Captured by natives considerably less friendly than those on the island, Dorantes party spent the next six years doing heavy labor and enduring the taunts and blows of their captors. Five men who tried to escape were shot with arrows and killed; others died of cold and hunger, until only Estevanico, Castillo, and Dorantes remained.

Back on the island, Cabeza de Vaca had continued to live with the natives, working as a servant and then a trader, dealing in shells, beads, ochre dye, hides, and other commodities. He made no attempt to escape from Malhado Island, he later reported, because the only other survivor from his partyLope de Oviedacould not be convinced to leave. When he was finally able to persuade Ovieda to go in search of fellow Christians, Cabeza de Vaca took him away, and carried him across the inlets and through four rivers on the coast, since he could not swim.

Eventually, after six years of separation, Cabeza de Vaca met up with the other remnants of Narvaezs expeditionDorantes, Castillo, and Estevanico. The four men exchanged such news as they had gleaned from occasional encounters with other survivors, gradually putting together a picture of the fate of their comrades.

Dorantes told Cabeza de Vaca that he had attempted to convince Castillo and Estevanico to join him in trying to escape from the natives and head toward the Spanish settlements in Mexico, but they had refused. Their experience with the rafts had apparently unnerved them; there would be rivers to cross, they protested, and since neither of them could swim, they preferred to remain where they were. But by mid-September 1535, with Cabeza de Vaca having added his persuasive talents to Dorantes, the two holdouts finally agreed to attempt a getaway.

At first the four men traveled cautiously, fearful of being followed and murdered by natives. Then something happened that improved their circumstances dramatically. Natives, struck by the unusual appearance of the travelers, concluded that these men must possess magical powers. Soon after their escape, Estevanico and the three Spaniards met men who asked to be cured of severe headaches. As soon as [Castillo] made the sign of the cross over them and recommended them to God, Cabeza de Vaca recounted in his report to the Spanish king, at that very moment the Indians said that all the pain was gone.

The treatment having worked, others came to the strangers seeking similar cures. Fearful of what would happen should his efforts fail, Castillo surrendered the role of chief healer to Cabeza de Vaca, who soon was faced with a real challengea man who, to all appearances, was already dead. Cabeza de Vaca prayed over the man, and as if by a miracle, the man recovered. This caused great surprise and awe, according to Cabeza de Vaca, the equally incredulous healer, and all over the land nothing else was spoken of.

Predictably, this astonishing incident caused word of the castaways healing powers to spread like wildfire. An admiring escort followed the men from village to village. They were showered with giftsfood, deer skins, cotton blankets, and valuable trinkets such as coral beads, turquoises, arrow-shaped emeralds, and a large copper rattle embossed with the figure of a human facewhich they shared with their followers. As their reputation grew, the healers were treated with ever-increasing honor and called the children of the sun. Their patients became so numerous that all four men had to serve as healers, and their reputations were so solid that when someone died, the people assumed that the deceased had somehow offended the healers and deserved his fate.

Having acquired some fluency in six native languages, which they supplemented with sign language, the travelers generally made themselves understood as if they spoke our language and we theirs, Cabeza de Vaca claimed. But it was Estevanico who did most of the talking, since, in order to preserve their influence and authority, the three Spaniards seldom spoke directly with the natives. The young Moor was in constant conversation with the local people, finding out in what direction the party should travel, by what names the towns and tribes were called, and any other information that the Spaniards thought might be helpful.

At length, Dorantes and the others, along with their Indian followers left the coast, traveling inland across what is now Texas and northern Mexico until they were within a few days journey of the Pacific Ocean. Here they began to hear news of their own people, until in April 1536, they encountered a group of Spanish soldiers who were in the area on a slave-raiding expedition. The meeting between the castawaysdressed as their followers were in skins and carrying large gourds, decorated with feathers as signs of their officeand their fellow countrymen proved rather awkward. The latter were, to the dismay of the four healers, as interested in capturing the travelers native entourage as they were in hearing the tale of their adventures. Before moving on, Cabeza de Vaca extracted promises that the Indians would be allowed to live in peace.

Dorantes and the other survivors soon arrived at Culiacan, on the west coast of Mexico, where Spanish authorities gave them a warm welcome and questioned them closely about the country through which they had passed. There had been much speculation lately in New Spain (Mexico) about the Seven Golden Cities of Cibola, said to be located north of the Sonoran Mountains, where the streets were paved with gold and the walls were studded with precious stones. Dorantes offered to lead an expedition to explore this northern region, but his proposal came to nothing. In 1539, however, Don Antonio de Mendoza, the first viceroy of New Spain, authorized a reconnaissance expedition to Cibola under the leadership of a Franciscan priest named Marcos de Niza. Because of his familiarity with the people in the Sonoran region, Estevanico received an appointment as Fray (Brother) Marcoss translator and guide.

The Moor seems to have regarded this as a great opportunity. His journey through the mountains of Sonora was a triumphal procession. The natives, delighted to see one of the great healers return, thronged around, offering him the customary gifts of food, feathers, fine skins, turquoises, and beautiful women. He strode proudly among the villagers, speaking with them in their own languages, laying his hands on their sick, and receiving their homage.

Fray Marcos was annoyed to find himselfa man of God and titular leader of this enterpriserelegated to a secondary role. When the party reached the desert beyond the mountains, he suggested that Estevanico go ahead with a few of his men and send back word of his progress.

Estevanico gladly agreed. He thought he could get all the reputation and honor himself, reported Pedro de Casteneda, chronicler of Spanish explorer Francisco Vasquez de Coronados later expedition, and that if he should discover those settlements . . . he would be considered bold and courageous. Estevanico pressed rapidly ahead, making arrangements along the way for Marcos and the other friars to be housed and fed as they came behind him. Within a month, the Moor had reached the adobe walls of the town that, his followers assured him, was the legendary city of Cibola.

Hawikuh, the southernmost of the Seven Cities, was an unprepossessing place, a simple mud-walled pueblo on a small hill above a dry river. But Estevanico was not deterred. After sending word back to Fray Marcos that he had arrived at Cibola, he dispatched one of his men into the town with his ceremonial mace to inform the Zuni inhabitants that he was the representative of a great white king from across the sea, to whom Cibola would now be subject and whose God they would henceforth worship. He had come, he said, to receive their tribute.

The Cibolans were not impressed. Having had no contact with the armies of Spain, they did not fear them. When they met with Estevanico, they thought it unreasonable to say that the people were white in the country from which he came and that he was sent by them, he being black. And they suspected that he might be a spy for some invading armyperhaps from Chichilticalle, the land just south of the desert from which many members of Estevanicos escort came.

It was later rumored that those followers had proved his undoing. At some point on the journey, it was said, he had killed a Chichilticalle woman, and while his reputation as a great healer prevented her relatives from taking their revenge directly, they had no objection to allowing strangers to risk heavens anger by treating him as a mere mortal. They informed the Zunis that he was an evil man, who assaulted their women. The Zunis locked Estevanico in a hut while they debated what to do with him.

The chroniclers received conflicting stories of what happened next. Perhaps Estevanico panicked; apparently he tried to escape. However it came about, the would-be conquistador died ignobly, felled by the Zunis arrows as he ran from the pueblo.

All of Estevanicos escortexcept for one boy, the Moors closest friend, who remained behind as a hostagewere permitted to leave the town in relative safety. They rushed back to Fray Marcos with a frantic tale of Estevanicos murder and their own near brush with death. Some of them were bleeding; all were in a great state of excitement. Their story so alarmed the friar that he turned around immediately and headed back to Mexico. He gave all of his trade goods to the native escort, whom he feared might otherwise turn against him.

Fray Marcos, who had caught only a distant glimpse of Cibola, related to the viceroy the reports he had received indicating that the city was every bit as wealthy as had been rumored. In 1540, Marcos accompanied Coronado when he led a large armed force to conquer the fabled city. Coronados men took the pueblo with ease, its stout walls and valiant defenders not withstanding. They were shocked, however, to discover that the citys wealth was limited to corn and beans.

Coronado sent Fray Marcos back to Mexico to protect him from the wrath of the disappointed soldiers, who had expected great riches. Then, after rescuing the hostage and learning the details of the Moors death, he and his party moved on, methodically exploring the region from the Grand Canyon to what is now central Kansas, and on to the mouth of the Colorado River. Although they added a great deal to the European map-makers knowledge of the interior of North America, the members of the expedition found no sign of the storied wealth of Cibola.

No one knows where Estevanico is buried. Even Hawikuh no longer exists; it was abandoned in 1670 following a series of wars that the Zunis fought against the Spaniards and the Apache. But the Moors story, recorded in colorful detail by his fellow explorersCabeza de Vaca, Fray Marcos, Coronado, and Pedro de Castenedaendures as one of the great adventures of the American West.

Anne B. Allen is a freelance writer specializing in historical biographies.
On the Last Train to Berlin

The new German currencythe D-markwas distributed to West Germany on June 20, 1948. It caught the Russians flatfooted, and they were quite upset. Their goal was to get the West out of Berlin, and as payback, on June 24 they announced that access to Berlin by road, rail and water was terminated.

By June 26, General Lucius Clay directed that we resume rail traffic to Berlin. We had a train of 54 cars in Brunswick ready to go. As dusk fell, Ia 23-year-old MP lieutenantand six GIs armed with Thompson submachine guns climbed aboard. I was to permit the Russians to examine the paperwork, but they were not to open any car and examine the contents. Finally, I was to use such force as necessary to ensure compliance.

Surprisingly, we got the necessary locomotive change and reached the outskirts of Berlin early the next morning. After a couple hours of sleep, we climbed into a 3/4-ton truck for a long trip back to Brunswick. The next two trains also got through without incident.

With train No. 4, they got tough. It got nowhere. Later the Russians sank a couple of railroad ties vertically into the ground between the rails. That really terminated rail traffic.

Colonel H.V. Freitag

U.S. Army (Ret.)

Schofield, Wis.

Shell-shocked

I like Military History very much, but sometimes you really miss the target! Why in the world did you use a 7.62X39 AK cartridge for the letter I in Sniper [by Geoffrey Norman, March/April]? That represents sniper rifle performance about like a garbage truck represents elegance. You could have at least pictured a 7.62mm NATO/.308 Winchester cartridge used in the Remington 700 in Vietnam.

George Reynolds

Altona, Ill.

Joan of Arc



I thoroughly enjoyed Kelly DeVries article Joan of Arc [January/February]. A stern code of ethics, a strong sense of personal morality, obedience to the unenforceable [to quote John Fletcher Moul-ton]these are qualities a leader must have at the core of his or her being, as Joan of Arc had shown. This is why military schools and colleges stress duty and honor, love of God and country. They know that without a firm moral base a person is too unsure of him or herself to be an effective leader.

Evan Dale Santos

Adelanto, Calif.

Paths to Glory

David Zabeckis interesting and informative article on U.S. Marines Smedley Butler and Dan Daly [Paths to Glory, January/February] could have also included the information that retired Maj. Gen. Butler was involved in the 1932 Bonus March. He harangued the

assembled World War I veterans, labeling them as great Americans who deserved immediate payment of the bonus.

It would have been more than interesting had Butler decided to lead the Bonus Army in resisting when General Douglas MacArthur, assisted by his aide, Dwight Eisenhower, with Major George S. Patton in command of some troops, broke up the rally.

John Dellinger

Lakewood, Colo.

Truth Hertz

I found your article on the Hertz horn naval mine [Power Tool, by Jon Guttman, January/February] to be interesting. Bushnell (1777), Fulton (1812) and Immanuel Nobel (1855) all made and used contact-fused naval mines before the U.S. Civil War. During the war, the Confederates had a number of contact-fused mines, the one designed by Brig. Gen. Gabriel James Rains one of the most common and effective. These did not require someone to sight the oncoming target and detonate the weapon.

The Hertz horn first appeared in 1867 and was invented by Albert Hertz. The famous engineer Heinrich Hertz was only 10 or 11 years old when this mine was introduced.

Colonel William Schneck

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Fort Belvoir, Va.

Editor responds: Thank you for the info! Even the naval researchers at Annapolis had a hard time unraveling the history of the Hertz horn.

Life Is Like

I was pleasantly surprised to see listed Victorias Chocolate among the Christmas gifts given to troops in various wars [News, December]. The tin from my grandfather has been passed down through the family. Inside the tin Corporal Louis Squire kept his discharge papers. He served with the Leinster Regiment, Royal Field Artillery, in the Boer War, during which he was wounded. The tin is inscribed, I wish you a Happy New Year. Victoria.

Gloria Squire Malmud

North Arlington, N.J.

Au Contraire

I was disappointed in John Farrs article [Napoleonic Action, December] on the 10 top war movies of the Napoleonic era.

A Tale of Two Cities (1935) is a truly great movie, but it is not about Napoleon or the wars of that era. Woody Allens Love and Death (1975) is about the era, but it is a farce not worthy of a history magazines list. The Scarlet Pimpernel (1982) is not only set in the pre-Napoleon timeframe, but the last-minute rescues of people on the way to the guillotine were extremely implausible. In short, a nice story but it is too historically weak for a history magazine.

I am surprised that some version of War and Peace did not make Farrs list. The 1956 version, staring Audrey Hepburn and Henry Fonda, won three Oscars and several other awards. It is only 208 minutes long, thus under Farrs four-hour time limit. Not as well known, but a collectors item for students of Napoleons campaigns, is the 1970 Dino De Laurentiis production Waterloo, starring Christopher Plummer as Wellington and Rod Steiger as Napoleon. The battle scenes are some of the best ever filmed. Both these films were more worthy of this list as Napoleonic war movies than some of those selected.

Colonel Arthur Carey

U.S. Army (Ret.)

Jonesboro, Ga.

Vive La 4th!

I enjoyed the article and photographs of the August 1944 Liberation of Paris [La Liberation! September].

I was surprised that no pictures of the 4th Infantry Division were included. The 1st Battalion, 110th Regiment, of the 28th Division participated in the liberation and the parade, but the 4th Infantry Division took the city. After many weeks of contact with the enemy, the 4th was in no condition to do a parade; therefore, the 28th was called on. For some reason, the 4th Division is rarely mentioned in military history magazines.

Bert C. Nicholson

Danville, Ill.
In July 1861, three months after the bombardment of Fort Sumter, the 7th Infantry was in southern New Mexico Territory. Companies A, B, D, E, G, I, and K garrisoned Fort Fillmore, the regiments headquarters. Companies C, F, and H were on their way there from Fort Craig to the north and Fort Buchanan to the west (in present-day Arizona).

Meanwhile, menace was heading north from Texas in the form of Confederate Lieutenant Colonel John R. Baylor and the 350 men of the newly formed Texas Mounted Rifles. Baylor knew that the 700 Federals already at Fort Fillmore outnumbered him, but he marched up the Rio Grande Valley anyway.

He need not have worried about the U.S. Army Regulars of the 7th Infantry. Although their commander, Major Isaac Lynde, a 34-year veteran of infantry service, had been informed of the Confederate advance, he posted only the usual sentinels and no outlying pickets. Baylor was able to camp a mere 600 yards from the Union fort on the night of July 24 while he prepared for a dawn assault. During the night, a Confederate soldier who had served in the U.S. Army before the war felt a twinge of nostalgia, perhaps, and crept through the darkness to warn the Union forces.

When Baylor realized he had lost the element of surprise, he fell back to Mesilla, a village that his troops occupied, just northwest of the fort, and prepared for an attack by the 7th. Some of the villages inhabitantsmostly Confederate supporters but a few Texan-hatersgathered on a nearby hill to watch the fight they knew was coming.

Sure enough, Lynde advanced on the village that day and ordered a charge on the Confederates. But when four of his Federals were killed and seven wounded early in the fight, Lynde called off the attack and withdrew. He had the post at Fort Fillmore burned, and the next day, his seven companies of infantry and two companies of mounted rifles began a 150-mile march northeast over steep mountains and dry pinon forests toward Fort Stanton.

On July 27 Lyndes 700-odd Federals stopped to eat at San Augustin Springs in the San Andres Mountains. Displaying what a Union officer later called a sublimity of majestic indifference, Lynde failed to post pickets. An advance guard of Texans soon made him pay for that oversight. The Texans first encountered the 200 troops of Lyndes rear guard. Many of these Union soldiers had filled their canteens with whiskey before leaving Fort Fillmoreand emptied them along the march. The Texans found the Federals strung out along the trail, dehydrated, too drunk to walkmuch less fightand barely able to comprehend that they were being captured. The drunken prisoners were hauled back to Mesilla in wagons, like sacks of wheat.

Next, the Texans reached Lyndes main force and demanded surrender. The Federal officers knew their troops far outnumbered the ill-trained Texans, and they implored Lynde to let them defend their position and their honor. But Lynde chose to surrender. In an attempt to salvage, literally, some shred of honor, the Union officers saved their regimental colors from capture by tearing them up and distributing the pieces among themselves as keepsakes.

Three days later, the Union prisoners reached Las Cruces, where they were paroled and began a 300-mile march to Fort Union, the Unions key military post between Missouri and California, located in the northeast corner of New Mexico. The northward route was a formidable one through areas short on food, forage, and water. Even today, landmarks along the route are known by names like Starvation Peak. When the parolees reached the fort, they were immediately put to work, even though they had just hiked most of the length of New Mexico.

Fort Union was an attractive target to Trans-Mississippi Confederates. It was a huge supply depot with adobe warehouses full of gunpowder, rifles, artillery, uniforms, and foodand there were no fortifications to protect these valuables. So there they sat for the taking, only a two-day ride from the border of Confederate Texas. Attack could come at any time across the Oklahoma panhandle, or through the windswept grassland of western Texass Llano Estacado, or up the Rio Grande Valley. To make matters worse for the Federals, Confederate agents had enticed Cheyenne and Arapaho chiefs along the Santa Fe Trail to take the warpath for Jefferson Davis, thereby cutting off Fort Union from the eastern states.

By the summer of 1861, it began to appear that the Civil War could last a long time, and not only in Virginia. In early August, volunteer soldiers from New Mexico joined the U.S. Regulars at Fort Union to make a total force of more than 1,000 men.

The newly arrived men of the paroled 7th Infantry were not allowed to fight; parolees were sworn not to fight until an equal number of enemy prisoners were released in exchange for them. But nothing kept them from moving dirt. Just south of the old Fort Union parade ground, 200 men worked four-hour shifts plying picks and shovels, sweating in the summer sun, panting in the thin mountain air. They were turning the defenseless supply depot into a state-of-the-art four-bastioned rectangular polygon with inner redans and outer lunettes.

Not all of the 7th Infantrys time at Fort Union was spent digging; court-martial records show that. Just over the hill south of the fort, on the banks of the Mora River, was the village of Loma Parda, though the term village is an exaggeration. Loma Parda was nothing more than a dance hall, a bar, and a few small buildings that each held one bed and one prostitute.

Apparently the villages temptations were too strong for many of the 7th Infantrymen to ignore. I went to Loma Parda for my overcoat, which I had left there, wrote Michael Patton. A few of my friends asked if I would like to have something to drink. I said yes. I got into a house where I thought my overcoat was and got a drink. I didnt know anything for ten hours. When I woke up, my money was gone. Then I started home.

Patrick McKenney was convicted of being absent without leave for five days. As an excuse, he offered, I had the D.T.s. Jeremiah Nolan, Patrick OBrien, Edward OBrien, Michael Smith, and John Marks were convicted of being AWOL for two days. James Lloyd, tried for the same offense, explained, I went to Loma Parda on Sunday and intended to come right back, but met some of the boys and got drunk. When I got sober, I came back. Corporal Robert Walsh got drunk and released several men imprisoned at the fort. Each of the convicted visitors to Loma Parda were sentenced to three months of hard labor while wearing a 12-pound iron ball attached to the left ankle by a four-foot chain.

By the end of August 1861, the new Fort Union was in a condition to withstand a serious assault. Most of the 7th Regiment was ordered to proceed to Jefferson Barracks, near St. Louis, Missouri, whence they would eventually continue to noncombat posts along the Great Lakes. They were to leave Fort Union on September 19 and pass Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, along the Mountain Branch of the Santa Fe Trail.

A wagon train assembled in the plains just northeast of the fort several days before the 7ths scheduled departure. Private Thomas Hamilton, assigned to guard the wagon train on the night of September 17, left his post, hiked into the fort, got drunk, and was arrested on charges of disorderly conduct and leaving his post. The same night, another guard, Private Michael Runnels, was caught drunk on duty.

Two days later, the 7th Infantry headed for St. Louis, the advance guard scouting for danger and the rear guard alert for stragglers. On the night of September 23, the regiment camped near the Purgatory River in northern New Mexico, in an area probably filled with Confederates and hostile Indians. Private John Moloy, stationed as a sentry, was found sound asleep and was arrested.

Continuing its journey east, the 7th Infantry stopped at noon on October 2 for a rest along the banks of the Arkansas River in southeastern Colorado, a few miles upriver from Fort Wise. Proverbial wisdom has it that music soothes the savage breast, but this adage found no proof in Sergeant Hubert Auberly, the 7th Infantrys chief musician. Hubert had been taking an occasional nip from his whiskey bottle during the mornings plodding progress. As his peers settled along the riverbank for their repast, the sergeant lurched out of the Auberly family wagon and began to curse those about him. Private J. Isom responded in kind to the verbal barrage, apparently underestimating Auberly, who leveled him with a single blow. Mrs. Isom hauled her battered husband back into their family wagon, and he was heard from no more.

Lieutenant F.I. Crilly arrived at the scene and, noting Auberlys stare of drunken belligerence, ordered the sergeant back into his wagon. There Auberly stayed for a while, nursing his tendency to sullen outrageand his whiskey bottle. Feeling a renewed vigor, he reemerged drunker and noisier than before, apparently inflamed by the sense of having been mistreated, which seems to characterize the more obnoxious species of drunkard.

Crilly returned to the fray and had the guard arrest Auberly. The chief musician, however, broke from his captors, splashed across the river, and outran them in the thick underbrush. Many hours later, he emerged from bushes eight miles away and walked directly into his regimental commanders camp, where he was arrested a second time and put into more effective confinement.

Judging by court-martial records, peace seems to have settled over the regiment for the next two weeks. There was not another arrest until the evening of October 17. The regiment had paused for the night at Camp Number 29, apparently halfway between Fort Wise and Fort Leavenworth. As the corporal of the guard made his rounds of the camps periphery, he noticed that Private Hugh Campbell was too drunk to stand up straight, not to mention resist an approaching enemy.

After having Campbell arrested, the corporal came upon another drunk sentry, Private James Quigley. He sent Quigley to join Campbell in the guard tent. A few uneventful hours later, gunfire shattered the calm of the prairie night. Private Jeremiah Shea was firing wildly into the dark at approaching Confederate raiders, but the raiders existed only inside a brain marinated in Old Tanglefoot. Shea joined Campbell and Quigley in the guard tent.

The 7th Infantry advanced past Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and Independence, Missouri, without any further arrests, reporting in at Jefferson Barracks about November 5, 1861. The couple of quiet weeks probably owed less to a change in attitude than a dearth of whiskey along the trail.

Now that the troops were in the St. Louis area, however, there was plenty of whiskeyand trouble soon followed. In just three weeks, at least five privates were reported AWOL: Thomas Dolan on November 14, Frederick Beisner and Julius Steinmayer on the 26th, Calvin Anderson on the 27th, and Frederick Winsher the following week. Winsher, Beisner, and Steinmayer all returned on December 5. While they were away, Private James Tuomey got drunk on guard duty. The corporal of the guard found him passed out around 11:00 one night.

All the miscreants arrested during the journey from Fort Union to St. Louis were court-martialed at Jefferson Barracks in a trial presided over by Captain Alfred Gibbs of the 3d Cavalry. And finally, a little more than four months after he surrendered his command at San Augustin Springs, Major Lynde was summarily dismissed from the army by President Abraham Lincoln.

On arrival at its Great Lakes destination in January 1862, the 7th Infantry requested a set of colors to replace the one the men had destroyed to prevent capture. But the 7th, still on parole, had not fought in several months, so the army refused the request until the troops proved themselves.

It was not until September 1862 that the portion of the 7th Infantry stationed in the Great Lakes region was released from parole and sent to join Brigadier General George Sykess brigade in the Army of the Potomac. Three months later, Companies A, B, D, E, and G fought honorably at Fredericksburg, Virginia, below the area known as Maryes Heights. Within four weeks, the regiment received a new set of colors with suitable honors. For the men still with the unit, the shame of San Augustin Springs and the drunken march along the Santa Fe Trail had been redeemed.

Searching for a tidy, uplifting ending to the story of the 7th U.S. Infantry, it is natural to return optimistically to the three companiesC, F, and Hthat had remained in New Mexico, to chart their progress in virtue, too. Unfortunately, in late December 1862, nine soldiers from those companies were court-martialed at Fort Union. Sergeant Thomas Breen had been drunk while in charge of the battery guard. He was initially reduced to the ranks, but his sentence was remitted by Brigadier General James H. Carleton in consideration of his long service.

Eight privates were also tried on various charges. Robert McMenemy had been missing for two days, and Henry Ganton and Edward Scully had each disappeared twice. Martin Collins and James Kelly had vanished separately for three days, and Benjamin Barker, who had been working as a cook, for nine. While John McGuire had been posted as a guard on the night of November 12, 1862, he had got drunk and conducted himself in a riotous and disorderly manner. James Thompson became so intoxicated as to be incapable of performing his duty on the night of December 8, 1862. All eight privates were sentenced to hard labor while wearing a 16-pound ball and chain.

At a glance, the 7th U.S. Infantrys record looks less than impressive, but these troops were probably no worse behaved than most other Regulars steeped in the counterculture of the antebellum frontier army. The true test of a soldier is how he behaves in battle. And as the men of the 7th Infantry proved with a brave effort in the Battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia, late in 1862, and in subsequent battles, they could and would fight as well as anyone.

This article was written by Thomas Lowry and originally published in the August 1997 issue of Civil War Times Magazine.

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A letter from Pvt. William Christie, 1st Minnesota Battery, to his father. Christies battery lost three men killed and six men wounded.

I supposed you have heard of the great battle on the 6th and 7th of this month. You will be proud to know that we were in the front of the battle, and that our Battery did its duty nobly and well. On Sunday morning very early the enemy drove in our pickets. At 7 oclock we were ordered to the front. Nobody thought that it was anything more than a skirmish; we supposed that soon we should be back again in camp. We had marched only about 10 minutes when we were ordered to get into battery, action front.

We did so as soon as possible for the enemy were with[in] 20 rods of us. Just at this moment one of our men belonging to the right section was fatally shot as he was turning his team. The bullets were pouring upon us like a hail storm. Just as soon as we got our guns into position we began to give them our compliments with shell and canister.

But we had not been there long when the regiments that were supporting us broke and fled; the[y] had suffered terribly in a few minutes. So we had to get out of that place as fast as we could. Stinson was killed as we came into battery. Our captain was severely wounded in the thigh. His horse was killed; T. D. helped him to mount another. Another man was shot through the ankle (died of the wound.) and many others were hit by the bullets. We limbered-up and fell back a short distance; unlimbered again, and poured the canister into them. Lieut. Pfaender was then in command; he acted with the greatest skill and courage. Having fallen back half a mile though the camp of the 16th Wis., we had a little rest. But soon we were posted in a new position. While we were waiting for orders here the shot and shell from the rebel guns fell all around us, but without doing us much harm.

At about 10 oclock we were again ordered forward and took our position in front of the 25th Missouri, 12th Mich., and other regiments, or fragments of regiments, from out Division. When I say we, I mean our left section. The right section was a little distance to our right, with the 8th, 12th, and 14th Iowa. Our Center Section had been disabled and was ordered back to the Landing. Our guns were all right; we got a high compliment from gen Prentiss; he said he wasproud of the Minn. Battery. I tell you we raked down the rebels to some purpose; you would have thought so if you had seen the ground there after the battle. After some hours of this work and the repulse of several attacks, the enemy evidently saw that our guns were few in number. (I am speaking now of our own section, the left); they crept up through the heavy brush and timber, and suddenly poured upon us a terrible fire. Ten of our horses were instantly killed.Of the men, No. 3 on our gun and No. 1 on the howitzer were shot dead. Lieut. Peebles was shot through the throat; Sergeant Clayton in the thigh; Sergeant Conner in the side; Joe Johnson, an old friend of mine in Minn., was shot through arm and shoulder. Our two slain heroes, Taxdahl and Tilson, fell with their faces to the foe.

The balls flew fast and furious, Both my horses were killed while I was holding them. Not a horse belonging to the other gun was left alive. In the two gun detachments every man but one was hit. T. D. got a rap on the arm with a heavy bullet that passed between his arm and his body; I had still a more severe contusion, on the calf of my left leg; if it had not been for the tree top that I stood in (the tree had been felled by the infantry that lay behind us), I would have got a serious wound. The infantry shouted to us to fall back, and then they poured in their fire and heaped the ground with rebel dead and wounded. I cannot tell you how everything went on around us; but we saved our guns, losing only our limbers; but even these we found the next day, after Beauregard was driven from the field.

The fight was kept up until dark. Beauregard occupied our campground, sure of victory in the morning; in fact he told his men that they would water their horses in the Tennessee after only two hours of fighting next day.

He was so sure of victory that he did not destroy any of our tents; but his men despoiled us of everything else, clothing, letter-paper, etc.; in fact everything that they could carry away, thus leaving us nothing but the clothes we had on. On the next day we found many of their dead with three pair of pantaloons on. Nearly 20,000 of our men were killed, wounded, or taken prisoner; we think the rebels lost even more than that. What I have written is only a small part of what I saw; and that was very little in comparison with the whole. We faught a winning fight on Monday, from daylight in the morning till about half past two in the afternoon, when they left the whole battlefield to us.

I will close by saying I more fully appreciate the blessing of life after my many narrow escapes on Sunday.
VALLEY OF THE SHADOW

Overconfident and overextended, the Union Army

of the Cumberland advanced into the deep woods

of northwest Georgia. Waiting Confederates did not

intend for them to leave. At Chickamauga Creek,

the two sides collided.

By Mike Haskew

In the dimly lit log cabin of the Widow Glenn, the military map was spread. Worried Union officers of t he Army of the Cumberland crowded around as Major General William S. Rosecrans, their haggard commander,asked for an assessment of the situation facing his troops on the night of September 19, 1863. Sunday morning would certainly bring with it a renewal of the savage fighting that had swirled along the banks of Chickamauga Creek most of that day.

The Union army had been hard-pressed along an extended battle line, but had refused to break under the pressure of repeated assaults from General Braxton Braggs Confederate Army of Tennessee. The XIV Corps of Maj. Gen.George H. Thomas had borne the brunt of some of the fiercest fighting.Bone tired from his days work, Thomas settled back in a chair and napped.As was his practice, Rosecrans in turn asked each officer for his advice on the fight to come. Each time his name was mentioned, Thomas roused long enough to say, I would strengthen the left, before falling back asleep.

Though Rosecrans army had been bloodied, its line was still unbroken,and the decision was made to renew the battle on the 20th on essentially the same ground the troops now occupied. Thomas would be reinforced and charged with holding the left, which crossed the LaFayette Road, the vital link to strategically important Chattanooga, Tenn., 10 miles to the north.Major General Alexander McCooks XX Corps would close up on Thomas right,while Thomas Crittendens XXI Corps would be held in reserve. During the night, the ringing of axes told waiting Confederates their enemy was desperately strengthening his positions.

The Army of the Cumberland had fought bravely, and there was cause for optimism among the Union commanders. Since coming out of winter quarters,Rosecrans had brilliantly maneuvered Bragg and his army out of Tennessee and captured Chattanooga, virtually without firing a shot. In his moment of supreme success, however, Rosecrans made one error: he mistook Braggs orderly withdrawal for headlong retreat and rashly divided his force into three wings. As these separate forces moved blindly through mountain passes into the north Georgia countryside in pursuit of a beaten foe,each was too distant to lend support to the others in the event of an enemy attack. With the Federal troops spread over a 40-mile-wide front in unfamiliar terrain, Bragg halted his forces at LaFayette, Ga., 25 miles south of Chattanooga.

Bragg realized the magnitude of his opportunity to deal with each wing of the Union army in detail and win a stunning victory for the Confederacy.He ordered his subordinates to launch attacks on the scattered Federal units, but they were sloweven uncooperativein responding. The relationships between Bragg and his lieutenants had seriously deteriorated after questionable retreats from Perryville, Ky., and Murfreesboro, Tenn.Braggs corps and division commanders felt almost to a man that he had squandered victories by his inept handling of troops. The lack of cooperation in the higher echelons of Braggs army contributed greatly to the squandering of a chance for one of the most lopsided victories of the war.

In the nick of time, and with substantial help from his enemy, Rosecrans collected his troops in the vicinity of Lee and Gordons Mill along the banks of a sluggish little stream the Cherokee Indians had named Chickamauga after the savage tribe that had lived there many years earlier. Now, two great armies would prove once again that River of Death was an accurate translation. In the vicious but indecisive fighting of September 19, both Rosecrans and Bragg committed more and more troops to a struggle which began as little more than a skirmish near one of the crude bridges that crossed the creek. Though little was accomplished the first day, the stage was set for a second day of reckoning.

The importance of the war in the West was not lost on the Confederate high command. Already three brigades of the Army of Northern Virginia,under Maj. Gen. John Bell Hood, had arrived by rail to reinforce Bragg.Lieutenant General James Longstreet, Robert E. Lees Old Warhorse and second in command, was due at any time with the balance of his I Corps.These veteran troops would give Bragg an advantage few Confederate commanders would know during the warnumerically superiority. As the Virginia troops arrived, Braggs army swelled to 67,000 men, outnumbering the Federals by 10,000.

While Rosecrans convened his council of war at the Widow Glenns,Longstreet was searching for the elusive Bragg. Bragg unaccountably had failed to send a guide to meet him, and after a two-hour wait, Longstreet struck out with his staff toward the sound of gunfire.

As they groped in the darkness, Longstreet and his companions were met with the challenge. Who comes there? Friends, they responded quickly.When the soldier was asked to what unit he belonged, he replied with numbers for his brigade and division. Since Confederate soldiers used their commanders names to designate their outfits, Longstreet knew he had stumbled into a Federal picket. In a voice loud enough for the sentry to hear, the general said calmly, Let us ride down a little and find a better crossing. The Union soldier fired, but the group made good its escape.

When Longstreet finally reached the safety of the Confederate lines, he found Bragg asleep in an ambulance. The overall commander was awakened,and the two men spent an hour discussing the plan for the following day.Braggs strategy would continue to be what he hoped to achieve on the 19th.He intended to turn the Union left, placing his army between Rosecrans and Chattanooga by cutting the LaFayette Road. Then, the Confederates would drive the Army of the Cumberland into the natural trap of McLemores Cove and destroy it, a piece at a time.

Bragg now divided his force into two wings, the left commanded by Longstreet and the right by Lt. Gen. Leonidas Polk, the fighting bishopof the Confederacy. Polk would command the divisions of John C. Breckinridge, who had serves as vice president of the United States under President James Buchanan, and Patrick Cleburne, a hard-fighting Irishman.Also under Polk were the divisions of Benjamin Franklin Cheatham, States Rights Gist and St. John R. Liddell. Breckinridge and Cleburne were under the direct supervision of another lieutenant general, D.H. Hill. Longstreet was given the divisions of Evander Law and Joseph Kershaw of Hoods corps, A.P. Stewart and William Preston of Simon Bolivar Buckners corps, and the divisions of Bushrod Johnson and Thomas Hindman.

Breckinridge and Cleburne were to begin the battle with a assault on Thomas at the first light. The attack was to proceed along the line, with each unit going into action following the one on its right. Braggs order subordinating Hill to Polk precipitated some costly confusion among Southern commanders as the time for the planned attack came and went.Somehow, Hill had been lost in the shuffle and never received the order to attack. Bragg found Polk calmly reading a newspaper and waiting for his breakfast two miles behind the lines. Polk had simply assumed that Bragg himself would inform Hill of the battle plan.

When the Confederate tide finally surged forward at 9:45 a.m., Thomas was ready with the divisions of Absalom Baird, Richard Johnson, John Palmer and John Reynolds. Breckinridges three brigades hit the extreme left of the Union line, two of them advancing smartly all the way to the LaFayette Road before running into reinforcements under Brig. Gen. John Beatty, whose 42ndand 88th Indiana regiments steadied the Federal line momentarily. Are doubled Rebel effort forced the 42nd back onto the 88th, and several Union regiments were obliged to shift their fire 180 degrees to meet the thrust of enemy troops in their rear. Fresh Federal soldiers appeared and finally pushed Breckinridge back.

Cleburnes troops followed Breckinridges assault and suffered a similar fate. The hard-pressed Rebels pulled back 400 yards to the relative safety of a protecting hill. As he inspected the ammunition supply of his men before ordering them forward again, one of Cleburnes ablest brigadiers,James Deshler, was killed by an exploding shell that ripped his heart from his chest. Seeking shelter in a grove of tall pines, the Confederates traded round for round but could not carry the breastworks.

Thomas hastily constructed breastworks had proven to be of tremendous value, but several of the Union regiments suffered casualties of 30 percent or higher. The brigades of Colonel Joseph Dodge, Brig. Gen. John H. King,Colonel Benjamin Scribner and Brig. Gen. John C. Starkweather had held the extreme left of the Union line since the day before and had been engaged for over an hour when Cleburnes attacks gained their full fury. For all their seeming futility, the Confederate assaults against Rosecrans left did have one positive result. Thomas urgent pleas for assistance were causing Rosecrans to thin his right in order to reinforce the left through the thick, confusing tangle of forest.

At the height of the fighting on the left, one of Thomas aides, Captain Sanford Kellogg, was heading to Rosecrans with another of Thomas/ almost constant requests for additional troops. Kellogg noticed what appeared to be wide gap between the divisions of Brig. Gen. Thomas J. Wood on the right and John Reynolds on the left. In actuality, the heavily wooded area between Reynolds and Wood was occupied by Brig. Gen. John Brannans division. When Kellogg rode by, Brannans force was simply obscured by late-summer foliage.

When Kellogg informed Rosecrans of the phantom gap, the latter reacted accordingly. In his haste to avoid what might be catastrophe for his army,Rosecrans did not confirm the existence of the gap but, instead, issued what might have been the single most disastrous order of the Civil War.Headquarters Department of Cumberland, September 20th10:45 a.m., the communiqu? read. Brigadier-General Wood, Commanding Division: The general commanding directs that you close up on Reynolds as fast as possible and support him.

Earlier that morning, Wood had received a severe public tongue-lashing from Rosecrans for not moving his troops fast enough. What is the meaning of this, sir? You have disobeyed my specific orders, Rosecrans had shouted. By your damnable negligence you are endangering the safety of the entire army, and, by God, I will not tolerate it! Move your division at once as I have instructed, or the consequences will not be pleasant for yourself.

With Rosecrans stinging rebuke still echoing in his ears, Wood was not about to be accused of moving too slowly again, even though this new order confused him. Wood knew there was no gap in the Union line. Brannan had been on his left all along. To comply with the commanding generals order,Wood was required to pull his two brigades out of line, march around Brannans rear, and effect a junction with Reynolds right. In carrying out this maneuver, Wood created a gap where none had existed.

Simultaneously, Maj. Gen. Phil Sheridans men were ordered out of line on Woods right and sent to bolster the threatened left wing, and Brig. Gen.Jefferson C. Davis division was ordered into the line to fill the quarter-mile hole vacated by Wood. Almost three full divisions of the Federal right wing were in motion at the same time, in the face of a heavily concentrated enemy.

Now, completely by chance, in one of those incredible situations on which turn the fortunes of men and nations, Longstreet unleashed a 23,000-mansledgehammer attack directed right at the place where Wood had been moments earlier.

At 11:30 a.m., the gray-clad legion sallied forth from the forest across LaFayette Road into the fields surrounding the little log cabin of the Brotherton family. Almost immediately it came under fire from Brannans men, still posted in the woods across the road. Brannan checked Stewart in his front and poured an unsettling fire into the right flank of the advancing Confederate column. Davis Federals, arriving from the other side, hit the Rebels on their left while his artillery began tearing holes in the ranks of the attackers.

Johnson soon realized that the heavy resistance was coming from the flanks and the firing of scattered batteries. His front was virtually clear of opposition, and he smartly ordered his troops forward at the double-quick. As he emerged from the treeline that marked Woods former position, Johnson saw Davis troops rushing forward to his left, while twoof Sheridans brigades were on their way north towards Thomas. On Johnsons right, Woods two brigades were still in the act of closing on Reynolds.

While Johnson wheeled to the right to take Woods trailing brigade and Brannan from behind, Hindman bowled into Davis and Sheridan, throwing them back into confusion. When Brannan gave way, Brig. Gen. H.P. Van Cleves division was left exposed and joined the flight from the field. In a flash of gray lightning, the entire Union right disintegrated.

The onrushing Confederates were driving a wedge far into the Federal rear. They crossed the Glenn-Kelly Road just behind the Brotherton field,rushed through heavy stands of timber, and burst onto the open ground of the cultivated fields of the Dyer farm. One Confederate regiment overran a troublesome Union battery that had been firing from the Dyer peach orchard,capturing all nine of its guns.

Johnson paused to survey the progress of the attack. Everywhere, it seemed, Union soldiers were on the run, fleeing in panic over the countryside and down the Dry Valley Road toward McFarlands Gap, the only available avenue to reach the safety of Chattanooga. The scene now presented was unspeakably grand, the amazed general recalled.

The brave but often reckless Hood caught up with Johnson at the Dyer farmand urged him forward. Go ahead and keep ahead of everything, Hoodshouted, his left arm still in a sling from a wound received 10 weeks earlier at Gettysburg. Moments later, Hood was hit again. This time, aMinie bullet shattered his right leg. He fell from his horse and into the waiting arms of members of his old Texas Brigade, who carried him to afield hospital, where the leg was amputated. Meanwhile, Longstreet was ecstatic as his troops swept the men in blue before them. They have fought their last man, and he is running, he exclaimed.

Only two Federal units offered resistance of greater than company strength once the rout was on. Intrepid Colonel John T. Wilder and his brigade of mounted infantry assailed Hindmans exposed flank and drove Brig. Gen. Arthur Manigaults brigade back nearly a mile from the area ofthe breakthrough. Wilders stouthearted troopers from Indiana and Illinois were able to delay a force many times their size by employing the Spencer repeating rifle.

Sheridans only remaining brigade, under Brig. Gen. William Lytle, a well-known author and poet, was in the vicinity of the Widow Glenn house when Hindmans Confederates began streaming through the woods. A commander much admired by his troops, Lytle was famous for his prewar poem, Antony and Cleopatra, which was popular in the sentimental society of the day and familiar to soldiers on both sides.

Lytle found his brigade found his brigade almost completely surrounded by Rebels. With the prospect of a successful withdrawal slim, he gallantly ordered his men to charge. He told those near him that if they had to die,they would die in their tracks with their harness on. As he led his troops forward, he shouted: If I must die, I will die as a gentleman. All right, men, we can die but once. This is the time and place. Let us charge. Lytle was shot in the spine during the advance but managed to stay on his horse. Then, he was struck almost simultaneously by three bullets, one of which hit him in the face. As the doomed counterattack collapsed around him, the steadfast Lytle died.

Assistant Secretary of War Charles Dana was with the Army of Cumberland at Chickamauga to continue a series of reports to Washington on the progress of the Western war. Exhausted by the rapid succession of events the prior day, Dana had found a restful place that fateful morning and settled down in the grass to sleep. When Bushrod Johnsons soldiers came crashing trough the Union line, he was suddenly wide awake. I was awakened by the most infernal noise I ever heard, he remembered. I sat up on the grass and the first thing I saw was General Rosecrans crossing himselfhe was a very devout Catholic. Hello! I said to myself, if the general is crossing himself, we are in a desperate situation.'

Just then Rosecrans rode up and offered Dana some advice. If you care to live any longer, the general said, get away from here. The whistling of bullets grew steadily closer, and Dana now looked upon a terrible sight.I had no sooner collected my thoughts and looked around toward the front,where all this din came from, than I saw our lines break and melt way like leaves before the wind. He spurred his horse toward Chattanooga, where he telegraphed the news of the disaster to Washington that night.

With time, the Confederate onslaught gained momentum, sweeping before it not only the Federal rank and file but also Rosecrans himself and two of his corps commanders, Crittenden and McCook. After negotiating the snarl of men, animals and equipment choking the Dry Valley Road, Rosecrans and his chief of staff, Brig. Gen. and future president James A. Garfield,stopped for a moment. Off in the distance, the sounds of battle were barely audible. Rosecrans and Garfield put their ears to the ground but were still unable to satisfy themselves as to the fate of Thomas and the left wing of the Union army.

Originally, Rosecrans had decided to go to Thomas personally and ordered Garfield to Chattanooga to prepare the citys defenses. Garfield disagreed. He felt that Rosecrans should supervise the placement of Chattanoogas defenders, while the chief of staff would find out what happened to Thomas. Rosecrans assented and started toward Chattanooga while Garfield moved in the direction of the battlefield. By the time he reached his destination, Rosecrans was distraught. He was unable to walk without assistance and sat with his head in his hands.

Had he known the overall situation, Rosecrans might have been in a better state of mindif only slightly. Thomas, to the great good fortune of the Union cause, was far from finished. Those troops which had not fled the field had gathered on the slope of a heavily wooded spur that shot eastward from Missionary Ridge. From this strategic location, named Snodgrass Hill after a local family, Thomas might protect both the bulk of the army withdrawing through the ridge at McFarlands Gap and the original positions of the Union leftif only his patchwork line could hold.

An assortment of Federal troops, from individuals to brigade strength,came together for a last stand. Virtually all command organization was gone, but the weary soldiers fell into line hurriedly to meet an advancing foe flush with victory. The Rebels drew up around the new defensive position, and a momentary lull settled over the field.

Their goal clearly before them, the emboldened Confederates then rose in unison and assailed their enemy with renewed vigor. They pressed to within feet of the Union positions, only to be thrown back again and again,leaving scores of dead and wounded on the ground behind them.

With three of Longstreets divisions pressing him nearly to the breaking point, Thomas noticed a cloud of dust and a large body of troops moving toward him. Was it friend or foe?

When the advancing column neared, Thomas had his answer. It was Maj.Gen. Gordon Granger with two brigades of the Union armys reserve corps under Brig. Gen. James Steedman. These fresh but untried troops brought not only fire support but badly needed ammunition to the defenders of Snodgrass Hill, who had resorted to picking the cartridge boxes of the dead and wounded. For two days, Granger had guarded the Rossville Road north of the battlefield. By Sunday afternoon, he was itching to get into the fight. Finally, when he could stand it no longer, he bellowed, I am going to Thomas, orders or no orders.

At one point, the marauding Rebels actually seized the crest of Snodgrass Hill, planting their battle flag upon it. But thanks to numerous instances of individual heroism, the stubborn Yankees heaved them back. No single act of bravery was more spectacular than that of Steedman himself, who grabbed the regimental colors of a unit breaking for the rear and shouted:Go back boys, go back. but the flag cant go with you!

As daylight began to fade, Thomas rode to the left to supervise the withdrawal of his remaining forces from the field, leaving Granger in command on Snodgrass Hill. Longstreet had committed Prestons division in an all-out final attempt to carry the position, and the movement toward McFarlands Gap began while Prestons assaults were in progress. The protectors of Snodgrass Hill were out of ammunition again, and Grangers order to fix bayonets and charge flashed along the lines of the 21st and89th Ohio and the 22nd Michigan, the last three regiments left there. The desperate charge accomplished little save a few extra minutes for the rest of the army. While the last 563 Union soldiers on the hill were rounded up by Prestons Confederates, the long night march to Chattanooga began for those fortunate enough to escape. By Longstreets own estimate, he had ordered 25 separate assaults against Thomas before meeting with success.

The tenacity of the defense of Horseshoe Ridge bought the Army of the Cumberland precious time. It also contributed to Braggs unwillingness to believe his forces had won a great victory and might follow it up by smashing into the demoralized Federals at daybreak. Not even the lusty cheers of his soldiers all along the line were enough to convince their commander. Bragg was preoccupied with the staggering loss of 17,804casualties, 2,389 of them killed, 13,412 wounded and 2,003 missing or taken prisoner. The Union army, after suffering 16,179 casualties, 1,656 dead,9,749 wounded and 4,774 missing or captured, retired behind Chattanoogas defenses without further molestation.

History has been less than kind to Bragg, not without cause. True enough, over a quarter of his effective force was lost at Chickamauga.Nevertheless, at no other time in four years of fighting was there a greater opportunity to follow up a stunning battlefield triumph with the pursuit of such a beaten foe. Had Bragg attacked and destroyed Rosecrans on September 21, there would have been little to stop an advance all the way to the Ohio River. Bragg, however, was true to form. As at Perryville and Murfreesboro before, he quickly allowed victory to become hollow.

Rosecrans, on the other hand, had seen one mistaken order wreck his military reputation and almost destroy his army. His nearly flawless campaign of the spring and summer had ended with the Army of the Cumberland holed up in Chattanooga and the enemy tightening the noose by occupying the high ground of Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge. Lincoln lost faith in old Roseys ability to command, saying he appeared stunned and confused, like a duck hit on the head.

Chickamauga, the costliest two-day battle of the entire war, proved a spawning ground of lost Confederate opportunity. While Bragg laid siege to Chattanooga with an army inadequate to do the job, Maj. Gen. Ulysses S.Grant, the hero of Vicksburg, was given overall command in the West and set about changing the state of affairs. Reinforcements poured in from east and west. During the November campaign to raise the siege, the Army of the Cumberland evened the score with the rebels in an epic charge up Missionary Ridge. And when Union soldiers next set foot on the battlefield of Chickamauga, they were on their way to Atlanta.

Chattanooga, Tenn., native Mike Haskew is a frequent contributor to Empire Press publications. As further reading, see Glenn Tuckers classic Chickamauga: Bloody Battle in the West or William M. Lamers The Edgeof Glory: A Biography of General William S. Rosecrans, U.S.A.
OG Maco has now released his fourth project of the year, counting The Lord of Rage, which he dropped at the stroke of midnight on New Years Eve. In March, he released his 7FRVR EP, which included a couple of collabs with Harry Fraud, and just last month, he let loose a 12-track project: OG Maco 2. Todays release is a 5-track EP entitled Breathe 2: Episode 1 Unite. Its likely that Breathe 2 will be a two-part release, as was the case with OG Maco 2.

Released in December 2014, Maco dropped the original Breathe EP a response to the innocent verdicts given to the officers who killed Eric Garner in New York and Mike Brown in Ferguson. Once again, Breathe 2 arrives when much of the country is enraged over unchecked police violence, as two black men, Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, were both shot and killed by white officers this past week. Maco prefaced Breathe 2 with a lengthy statement in support of the Black Lives Matter movement as well as a quote from the late Black Panther leader George Jackson: Patience has its limits. Take it too far and its cowardice! Macos full introductory message can be read below.

The fact of the matter is, all of us just want better for our people.

I am proud of ALL of us who want to take action.

This is needed.

I want us to argue, I want us to challenge each others thoughts and opinions so that we can find the REAL answer.

Our passion, that fire that makes us challenge each others very essence is what THEY are afraid of!

Our passion creates change.

If me being wrong helps us discover that someone else is right , then I have never been more happy to be wrong because, we ALL win!

Silence and inaction HAVE to be deemed unacceptable at this point.

I challenge all the club promoters to use your promotion engines for your community!!!

I challenge the youth to embrace this fervor as easily as we embrace negativity.

I challenge the white celebrities who openly adopt our culture and profit from our communities to stand up for them.

I challenge the violent to be peaceful and the peaceful to be violent.

I challenge us to create new approaches to old problems.

BJ the Chicago Kid guests on the opening track, Alive (available as a free download), which is produced by Pablo Dylan, a frequent collaborator of Macos who happens to be Bob Dylans grandson. Additional guest features include Dillan Grey, Aspen Martin, and Tommy Swisher, while the remainder of the production comes from Phresh Produce, Toakescheap, and Paul Laffree. Stream the Unite episode of Breathe 2 below, and look out for a second installment in the near future.

OG Maco
BRAZORIA - Cynthia Ericson dangles a cone-shaped piece of stainless steel over a section of dirt where a couple of worn bricks poke through the surface.

Ericson, a graduate student working for University of Houston anthropology professor Kenneth Brown, uses what's known as a plumb bob to mark a straight line, and more importantly, let her colleagues know where to dig.

"This is like using a fine-toothed comb," she said, as she sectioned off the earthen plot. "If there's something here, we'll find it."

For the past few weeks, Brown and his students have been excavating parts of the former sugar mill connected to the historic Levi Jordan Plantation in Brazoria County. Among other things, they are searching for a large cache of metal, just like the one found outside the plantation house years ago.

Brown thinks the metal was part of the slaves' spiritual defense against life's many cruelties dealt to them on the plantation. Finding the deposit at the mill site would buffer his belief that Jordan's slaves somehow managed to retain their West African culture, once thought to be an impossible feat at most Southern plantations.

"They worked from sun up to sun down. In factories like this one, you could work 24 hours in a day," Brown said. "So in theory, the enslaved here wouldn't have had much time to practice their customs. But what we found in the slave quarters when they were excavated would suggest otherwise."

Indeed, the excavation of the slave quarters and the restoration of the plantation house - a Herculean effort that began in 1986 and wrapped up in 2002 - provided a cornucopia of artifacts that are changing the way historians view life on a Southern plantation.

Brown said artifacts from four plantations - the Jordan plantation and plantations in Louisiana, Georgia and South Carolina - make a strong case that slaves at large plantations were able to maintain many of their spiritual practices much like the famed Gullah and Geechee people of Georgia and the Carolinas.

His work at each of those sites has captured the attention of the Smithsonian Institution, which is set to open its National Museum of African American History & Culture in Washington D.C. in September. The Smithsonian is planning to display artifacts from the Magnolia Plantation in Louisiana and has expressed interest in the Levi Jordan site as well.

"Historians say what we are finding at these sites shouldn't be there," Brown said.

Treasure beneath Jordan plantation

The Brazoria County plantation, one of the most significant Antebellum sugar-producing centers of Southeast Texas, was founded by Levi Jordan, who arrived at the site with a dozen slaves in 1848.

By 1860, Brown said, Jordan's sugar and cotton plantation was worked by up to 140 slaves. Census data from 1850 indicate that at least some had been born in Africa. After emancipation, the cabins continued to be used by African-American sharecroppers. The houses were inhabited until 1887 when, amid economic and social conflict, the black farmers were forced to move.

Over time, the slave quarters and plantation house fell into ruin. In fact, when Jordan's descendants ultimately sold the land to a foundation that would later give it to the Texas Historical Commission, Brown said, "The house was pretty much being held together by termite spit."

Renovation of the house ensued as did the excavation in and around the former slave quarters, which yielded the treasure trove of artifacts. Many of them clearly demonstrated Jordan's slaves maintained their beliefs and customs, though likely practiced in secret.

Among the items found were chain bound-pots  amula  that served to ward off evil spirits; kettle bottoms similar to plates used in African healing ceremonies; items carved with six-pointed stars found in African textiles; a church, and an apparent curer's cabin. Just as important as the artifacts themselves was the location of the artifacts. Many were deposited at the north, south, east and western ends of the cabins, which in Brown's mind, was strong evidence of the crossroads, the symbolic connection of lines connecting the different directions to form an "X".

In West African spiritual practices, he said, east represented birth; north, the height of your adult powers; west, the transition to the spirit world; and south, the entrance to the world of spirits.

"For them it was the control mechanism," Brown said of the crossroads. "And they didn't have much control. The sugar mill was a very dangerous place. Put the cane a little too close to the crusher and you're lucky if it's only your arm that's ripped off."

Mystery of the cooking pot

Brown and his UH team first began digging around the sugar mill last summer, drawn in part by a historical mystery.

A contractor hired by the state to restore the plantation house found a buried cast-iron bucket - Brown thinks it was a cooking pot - filled with pieces of metal. Several West African cultures valued metal for its perceived ability to help ward off evil spirts.

Historians, however, think the pot may have been placed there by one of Jordan's descendants who lived in the house in the late 1940's. Brown, however, isn't so sure.

He said records indicate the boy was four years old at the time and has a hard time believing a child could be strong enough to bury such a heavy pot, especially through a thick deposit of mud deposited by river flooding in 1913.

"One of the things I thought was, OK if it wasn't Mikey, and it wasn't the mason, it was probably someone in the enslaved community," Brown said. "And they probably did the same thing here at the sugar mill."

If he's right, it wouldn't mark the first time Jordan's slaves had buried an object of spiritual significance.

When the Brazoria plantation's slave quarters were excavated, several coins were found. Likewise, a coin was found inside the pier of the plantation house. Based on the age of the coins, Brown thinks the slaves put it inside the house, not the mason that some historians have suspected.

Using that same logic, it seems likely those enslaved at the Jordan plantation would have deposited a metal cache at the sugar mill where they worked.

"What I'm operating under is the impression that the enslaved were trying to redefine the landscape around the house to have some kind of control over Jordan," Brown said. "It makes sense they would try to protect themselves at the mill, which was certainly a dangerous place."

Understanding survival

After a few weeks of digging, Brown and his students have yet to find a metal deposit in the remains of the old sugar mill, which is located on private property still owned by Jordan's descendants and has born the brunt of time, weather and rooting feral hogs.

Still, it's been a valuable experience for the students who are learning archaeological techniques and picking up new historical insights into plantation life.

For Ericson, it's personal. She grew up in Brazoria County, but left to join the military and later complete law school. It was only then that she got interested in local history.

"As I've been poring over census records, and birth and death certificates, it's been a strange sensation of seeing the last names of my classmates," Ericson said. "For me, this site ties a piece of history into my personal life."

For Brown, he'll continue to pursue research funding so he can continue looking for more clues that shed light on Southern plantations and the people who lived there.

"It was brutal. It was oppressive. But the enslaved at these plantations did survive," Brown said. "I think it's important to understand not only how they survived, but why they survived."
It isn't hard to argue that the Texas Republican Party has an ethics problem. The attorney general has been indicted for fraud. The agriculture commissioner spent taxpayer bucks to get a "Jesus Shot." The land commissioner spent $1 million paying ex-workers for not suing over their terminations.

As Harris County Democrats move to replace state Sen. Rodney Ellis in the race for Senate District 13, we can't help but feel like they've looked at the Republicans' mess and decided they want in on the action.

The leading candidate for the position is state Rep. Borris Miles, a man whose name has become synonymous with dirty politics.

In 2008 he was indicted (and later acquitted) for deadly conduct in a bizarre scenario that had him accused of crashing a holiday party at the St. Regis Hotel flashing a gun, threatening the host, and forcibly kissing a married woman on the mouth. In 2010, he had a constable call on him for illegal electioneering. Last year he tussled with a public safety officer after trying to force his way into a private dining room at an Austin restaurant. He went for years without revealing his personal business interests in violation of state law, and failed to maintain a proper certificate of occupancy for his cigar bar, Our Legends, a popular hangout for politicians and the politically connected.

Those political connections seem to come easily for Miles. As the owner of an insurance agency, the state representative has had contracts with the Houston Independent School District, Houston Community College and the city of Houston.

Miles told the Houston Chronicle editorial board that he earned these contracts before his election to public office in 2006. Legal or otherwise, the fact that a state representative's private company is underwritten by taxpayer-funded institutions perpetuates the image that elected officials have an insider track to the public trough. That image of impropriety is only underscored by the fact that, while selling insurance to the school district, he maintained a business relationship with the husband of one HISD board member and arranged vacations to Costa Rica for another board member under the pretense of studying medical treatment for teachers in the Central American nation.

Is this really the behavior that Democrats want to reward? Is this the image that they want to promote? We hope not.

We also wouldn't reward former City Controller Ron Green, who has thrown his hat into the ring. Green has been weighed down by unpaid taxes that reach into the six-figures. Despite that problem, Green is capable of discussing the issues and was the only candidate during an editorial board meeting to bring up the challenge of Houston's public pensions.

However, we endorse state Rep. Senfronia Thompson for Senate District 13, which stretches from northeast Houston to Fort Bend County.

Mrs. T, as she is known, was first elected to the House in 1972, and since then she has become a moral force in Austin. The longest-serving woman or African-American in Texas legislative history, Thompson has made it her personal duty to defend the "little dogs" of our state by raising the minimum wage, passing a hate-crime bill to protect gays and lesbians, requiring insurers to cover women's health, supporting rape victims and preventing racial profiling.

Texas Monthly has described Mrs. T as a "guardian angel of the process," standing at the front of the House chamber during debate to check over proposed amendments and ensure that nobody tries to pull a fast one.

This is the sort of experience and dedication that Texas Democrats should want to see in the Senate. To hear Thompson describe it, she already has a successful record in that upper house, having worked to soothe Republican knee-jerk opposition to an equal-pay bill supported by then-state Sen. Wendy Davis.

Miles told the editorial board that he can be abrasive because, "I demand respect." But respect isn't won through demands - it is earned through hard work. Thompson's years in Austin have earned her more respect than just about any other politician in Texas today. She deserves the support of the 95 precinct chairs in District 13 when they vote on Saturday, July 16.
Texas County Memorial Hospital will expand its Sleep Study Lab later this summer, board members heard at their monthly meeting on Tuesday.

Juan F. Mella, MD, a board certified pulmonologist, joined TCMH part time as a clinic-based pulmonologist in mid-June. The two-room lab in the TCMH Office Annex operates two rooms three days a week. Currently the lab is booked for the next three weeks.

We are already looking at increasing the number of days that we do sleep studies, Wes Murray, chief executive officer at TCMH, said.

New equipment also is on order. TCMH had $34,798 in the 2016 capital budget for an upgrade in equipment and software. When the new equipment is installed, TCMH plans to increase staffing and operating hours for the lab.

Dr. Mella sees patients Monday through Wednesday in the clinic, and hes very passionate about sleep and pulmonary issues, Murray said.

In addition to overseeing lab, Mella is working with the TCMH cardiopulmonary department to provide free testing for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), COPD, which is a top admission diagnosis for patients at TCMH.

If COPD is caught earlier, there are treatments available, Dr. Jonathan Beers, chief of the TCMH medical staff, said.

GRANT SOUGHT

TCMH is also pursuing a grant through the Missouri Foundation Health (MFH) to start a cardiopulmonary rehabilitation program for patients with moderate to severe lung disease.

The TCMH grant application to MFH was one of 20 selected for further review among 135 received this cycle. For additional review MFH sent a representative to the hospital for a site visit.

The grant would fund a multi-disciplinary program that patients would qualify for following testing for lung disease. The 12-week program would help patients improve lung function and activities of daily living.

Currently approximately 10 patients complete pulmonary function tests at TCMH each month. Over half the patients receiving pulmonary function tests at TCMH in the past year would qualify for a pulmonary rehabilitation program because they have moderate to severe lung disease.

Doretta Todd-Willis, TCMH chief nursing officer, met with MFH during the site visit.

We provided information explaining how the program would benefit our patients and our community, Todd-Willis said. We were encouraged to seek appropriate funding to meet all of the program participants needs including transportation and nicotine replacement therapy costs.

TCMH will receive word in September if it is approved.

NEW DOCTOR STARTS MONDAY

Cory Offutt, MD, a board certified family medicine and obstetrics physician, joined the June board of trustees meeting. Offutt has completed residency at the University of Missouri in Kansas City, and he and his wife, Samantha, have moved to Texas County.

Dr. Offutt begins seeing patients full-time on July 18, Murray said. Were very pleased to have him here, and we look forward to helping him grow his new practice.

Offutt is in the TCMH Medical Complex in Houston. He is doing an outreach clinic at the TCMH Mountain Grove Clinic, too. Board certified in family medicine and obstetrics, Offutt sees patients of all ages. He will deliver babies at TCMH as part of his practice.

GRIEVANCE PROCESS

Murray asked Amanda Turpin, quality management director at TCMH, to update board members on the grievance process at the hospital.

The majority of most hospital complaints around the nation generate in the ER due to the fast turnover of patients, Turpin said.

Turpin noted that the hospital complaint may be generated by the family member of a patient, too.

Many times a patient will bring their complaint to hospitals administrative office where the information is taken and quickly passed along to me, Turpin said.

TCMH has a formal grievance process. Turpin, physicians, nursing and ancillary staff members are involved in reviews of every complaint as needed.

Any complaint involving treatment must be reviewed by a physician, Turpin said. They review the processes of treatment to determine what, why, and how things were done.

Turpin noted that when the review process is lengthy, she tries to stay in touch with the patient throughout the process.

The TCMH medical staff meets monthly and reviews complaints with Turpin, who also meets monthly with Murray, per state regulations, to go over any grievances with the hospital.

After everything has been reviewed by appropriate parties, Turpin sends a letter out to the patient explaining the resolution to the situation.

Turpin includes some data regarding the grievance process in the information she provides monthly to the board of trustees.

We want you to know that there is a formal grievance process, and we take every complaint seriously, Turpin said.

MEDICAID STUDY

Murray presented a recent study from the Georgetown University Health Policy Institute and the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families. The study was an in-depth look at the effect of Medicaid expansion on hospitals, healthcare facilities and the states that have allowed expanded Medicaid coverage.

Highlights from the study which looked at all states included:

Medicaid expansion has led to major reductions in uncompensated care delivered by safety net institutions, significant drops in the number of uninsured residents, and budget savings for hospitals and community health clinics.

States with Medicaid expansion report opening new clinics, buying new equipment, and hiring new staff to fill gaps in the healthcare system.

States with Medicaid expansion report active integration and improvement of healthcare while states without expansion are maintaining status quo.

All states that have expanded Medicaid have experienced a positive financial impact to their overall state budget, Murray said, noting that Medicaid expansion has benefited the healthcare providers, the communities, the jobs, and the states where it has taken place.

The study found that in some situations, children are benefiting from insurance coverage for the first time. The numbers of uninsured are dropping to single digits, and the cost to the state is actually less that the cost of Medicaid prior to the expansion.

More than two years since states started expanding Medicaid coverage, there is an overall positive financial impact, Murray said.

Murray plans to share the study with the hospitals state legislators. The study is available to the public online.

LOSS RECORDED IN MAY

Linda Pamperien, TCMH chief financial officer, presented the financial report for May.

A five-week month and increased emergency department utilization by patients without an ability to pay led to $640,857 in bad debt for the month. According to Pamperien some of those funds will be collected later, but the initial monthly numbers reflect a high contractual adjustment.

Inpatient and outpatient volumes were down slightly during the month of May, and there were some budgeted but big ticket expenses for the month, Pamperien reported.

TCMH ended May with a negative bottom line of $196,273 and a negative year-to-date bottom line of $173,927.

Present at the meeting were Murray; Pamperien; Todd-Willis; Turpin; Beers; Offutt, Joleen Senter Durham, public relations director, and board members, Dr. Jim Perry, OD; Mark Hampton; Omanez Fockler, and Janet Wiseman.

Russell Gaither, a TCMH board member, was absent.

The next meeting of the TCMH board of trustees is noon Tuesday, July 26, in the hospital board room.
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Canadians are more forward-thinking than Americans on a vast range of social issues  with one surprising exception, a new poll suggests.

Abortion, pornography, and sex-same relationships are significantly more accepted in Canada than the United States, according to results published Saturday by Abacus Data.

But our feelings on the death penalty are about the same.

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The gurney in an execution chamber is shown in this May 27, 2008 file photo from Huntsville, Texas. (Photo: Pat Sullivan/Associated Press)

The poll suggests a majority of respondents in both countries support the death penalty, with 58 per cent of Canadians and 59 per cent of Americans labeling the practice "morally right."

But when it comes to abortion, assisted dying and same-sex relationships, attitudes between Canada and the U.S. are more than 20 percentage points apart.

The numbers "confirm a more progressive, secular and libertarian predisposition in Canada, Abacus Data chairman Bruce Anderson said in a release, even though the trend didnt apply to views on capital punishment.

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Abacus Data asked 1,500 Canadians whether they thought things like abortion, same-sex relationships, and capital punishment are morally acceptable.

Results were then compared to American data sets released by Gallup. The online survey, conducted between June 14 to 16, has a margin of error of 2.6 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

Last Canadian inmates hanged in 1962

The death penalty was officially abolished in Canada in 1976 by then-prime minister Pierre Trudeau.

No one had been executed for 14 years in Canada when the death penalty was scrapped.

However, the death penalty remains legal in 31 U.S. states. Use of the practice remains wildly uneven across the country.

In 2015, for instance, six states executed 28 inmates. Ninety-three per cent of those executions took place in Texas, Missouri, Georgia, and Florida.

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Organizers of the St. John's Pride Parade have asked police officers not to march in uniform  and it's a request police say they'll respect.

On Friday, organizers said they told the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary (RNC) it would be great if any police officers who were not working at the parade could arrive as off-duty community allies, rather than as a uniformed group.

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This request was not meant to inhibit any police presence. St. John's Pride organizers

They said this would better show their support for the LGBTQ community and to make the parade more accessible.

"We suggested police officers could represent their unit in other ways, such as wearing T-shirts or carrying banners, etc.," organizers wrote on Facebook.

"This request was not meant to inhibit any police presence, but to welcome and encourage police officers to attend while not on duty."

The RNC responded by saying they will be a "less visible component of the parade."

"We respect their guidance in this decision and will continue to offer our support for Traffic Services as we always do," the police force said in a Facebook post Saturday.

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But St. John's Pride clarified they will not be turning away participants in the parade, whether they show up in uniform or not.

"The Pride Parade has always been an open invitation event to anyone who wants to walk with us."

Organizers said they also plan to talk to the RCMP and the RNC to avoid any confusion.

'Exclusion is not inclusion': gay police officer

RNC Const. Mike Ghaney told The Telegram he hoped the organizers would reconsider their decision.

He wrote a letter to the St. John's Pride board, which he plans to deliver Sunday.

In his note, Ghaney said when he realized he was gay, he believed he could never become a police officer.

"I wish I had known that gay police officers existed when I was younger," he wrote.

"Seeing that a gay individual could have the career they wanted, while living their life openly, would have been life-changing for me.

#TBT#ThrowbackThursday to #Pride 2014. Here's to hoping for a day half as nice as we had last year for the parade! pic.twitter.com/vPeKqE5ljR  RNC (Police) (@RNC_PoliceNL) July 23, 2015

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He said he is aware of the anti-LGBT police actions that sparked the Pride movement, adding it's of personal significance to march in the parade with his uniform on.

"For me, marching in uniform in the Pride parade is a celebration of our progress, and a commitment to achieve greater successes," he wrote.

"Hiding LGBT police officers in plain sight at the St. John's Pride parade devalues our lived experiences, and is a step backwards in the move towards LGBT equality."

"As well-intentioned as it may seem, exclusion is not inclusion."

The parade is scheduled for Sunday July 17.

Also on HuffPost
Toby Melville / Reuters

Let me be very clear: this is not an "attack" on Andrea Leadsom. It is instead an expression of my genuine, head-scratching puzzlement. Profound puzzlement. Perhaps I'd go as far as to say bewilderment. And I am sincerely looking for an answer, if there is one.

I am puzzled as to why and how Andrea Leadsom has ended up in the final two, and how it was she secured such passionate support from 84 Conservative Members of Parliament, some of whom are my friends or people I respect enormously. I am puzzled as to why two former Conservative Party leaders, Michael Howard and Iain Duncan Smith, are backing her. I am puzzled as to why she had the naivity, or chutzpah, or hubris, whichever it was, to even run at this stage. And I am very puzzled by the bizarre protest march in her support, of the kind which activists for single-issue causes conduct and which have their place (I have participated in many for human rights in Burma and North Korea), but which seems adolescent and out-of-place when electing a country's Prime Minister.

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I have asked people this question, and most of the time the answer comes back: "She's a lovely, warm person." I am sure she is, but since when did being a nice person qualify you to become Prime Minister? I know plenty of lovely, warm people but I wouldn't necessarily recommend them as candidates to run the country.

Over the weekend, she introduced her second policy, after being "lovely and warm", and that's being a mother. Well, my mother is a mother: if that's the only qualification needed, I'll propose her for Prime Minister. Her comments in relation to Theresa May were extraordinary - and opened up a huge row. I personally don't believe they were intended to be as nasty as they appeared - it was a case of absurd naivity rather than malice because, after all, everyone says Mrs Leadsom is "lovely". But naivity is surely a serious disqualification for being Prime Minister in the world today? And she further confirmed her naivity by denying her own words, and blaming the media, even though the transcript showed that the reports were accurate.

The other, persistent answer is: "It must be a Brexiteer". I disagree, very profoundly. I agree with Stephen Crabb, who said that if we persist in using the labels "Remain" and "Leave" within the Conservative Party, we may split the party irrevocably. It is time to move on, beyond the referendum. A majority voted for Brexit, and that result must - and will - be respected and turned into action. The United Kingdom will leave the European Union. We all accept that. As William Hague said, we are all leavers now.

To qualify that, of course it was understandable - though deeply sad - that David Cameron felt he had to resign. To lead the campaign for Remain as passionately and vigorously as he did of course made it impossible for him to lead our exit. And of course it would be almost impossible for a passionate Europhile - a Kenneth Clarke, Chris Patten or Michael Heseltine - to lead us at this time. That I accept. But there were people who supported Remain but with reluctance, without enthusiasm, and such people are perfectly well positioned to implement the Brexit result.

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Three qualities are needed in a Prime Minister at this time more than anything else.

First, the ability to unite the party and the country.

Second, the ability to negotiate the terms of our exit from the EU effectively, and secure the best deal for Britain.

And third, an ability to recognise that, significant though it certainly is, Brexit is not all there is to governing Britain.

The new Prime Minister needs to be equipped to deal with Putin, Syria, ISIS' global threat, Xi Jinping's China and other global challenges as and when they arise, to represent Britain on the world stage, to stand tall alongside other heads of state and heads of government, and to protect Britain from terrorist threats, deal with home-grown extremism, strengthen our public services, guide the economy through what may likely be turbulent times, and work to keep our Union in these islands together. These are no small tasks. So I am surprised when Mrs Leadsom's campaign manager Tim Loughton MP - whose keen and outspoken support of human rights in Tibet I admire very much - says so easily of her: "Prime Minister? No problem."

Mrs Leadsom's inexperience is a problem, as Amber Rudd has pointed out, and it worries me profoundly. She has never sat in Cabinet. She has never taken tough decisions for the nation. She has only been a junior minister for two years. These are serious times. The nation has just undergone a major shock, whatever the rights and wrongs of it, and is embarking on a period of change which again, whatever the merits and challenges, will be turbulent. Now is not the time for a novice. When a learner driver almost crashes the car, it is time for an experienced driver to take over the wheel and avoid a pile-up.

The argument that David Cameron had no government experience before becoming Prime Minister is banal. He was in Opposition. He had five years to prepare. Whoever is elected in September becomes Prime Minister immediately. If we were in Opposition, it might be different, but we are in government and we need an experienced hand to steady the ship.

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I met Mrs Leadsom once, soon after she was elected to Parliament and before she became an MP. I went to see her, to try to interest her in the issues I work on: international human rights, the persecution of Christians around the world and freedom of religion or belief for all. I can confirm what everyone who has met her tells me: she is lovely, warm, friendly. But I left that meeting disappointed, feeling I had wasted my time. She essentially told me, in her lovely, warm way, that these were not issues that interested her or that she wished to engage with in her parliamentary career. Yet as Prime Minister, she will need to understand international affairs beyond simply a detailed knowledge of the EU, some financial and energy matters, and village life in Northamptonshire, or in Oxfordshire where she previously served as a councillor. Does her suggestion that she will "absolutely" tell Vladimir Putin that "he needs to abide by international law" sound plausible? Is Mr Putin likely to listen to Mrs Leadsom and say "oh okay, all right then, if you say so"? Unlikely, to put it as a typically English understatement.

Lastly, there are four other things about Mrs Leadsom that trouble me considerably. Her CV appears to be unravelling - or at least is now seriously questioned. Her financial affairs and her hitherto refusal to publish her tax returns are concerning. Her reported desire to scrap the minimum wage and maternity and paternity rights is alarming. And she is backed by UKIP and Britain First. No one would remotely suggest that she shares Britain First's far-right fascist agenda, nor even necessarily Nigel Farage's Little Englanderism, but to attract such backers is worrying - particularly at a time when racial hate crimes have increased significantly - and to fail, seemingly, to repudiate them, denounce them and reject their support is dangerous.

There is talk of Mrs Leadsom being the new Margaret Thatcher. A more accurate, though not exact, comparison is that in some way she could be a strange combination of Britain's Sarah Palin and the Right's Jeremy Corbyn, combining an ugly appeal to populism with a decent but naive inexperience. If the Conservative Party in the country choose Mrs Leadsom, they will inflict on the parliamentary party a leader whom the overwhelming majority of its MPs do not support - a very similar scenario to the Labour Party's. And that cannot be good for the country.

For all these reasons, I could never vote for Mrs Leadsom, and I question why 84 MPs did. I question why no one has been able to give me a reason why she should be Prime Minister other than that she is "warm and compassionate", "the real deal" and has "25 years in business and running charities". I know many people who fit those three descriptions, but I wouldn't propose them as Prime Minister.

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I bear Mrs Leadsom no ill-will at all. She is a "very committed" Christian and so am I, so I don't like to feel so opposed to her candidacy - though, oddly, she told the Daily Telegraph she is not a "regular" at church and she prays primarily "for support". I would rather she prayed for the country, the state of the world, the poor, victims of war, refugees, the persecuted and marginalised. For the sake of the party and the country, I pray that her prayers for support are not answered. A job in Cabinet maybe; running the country no.

There is an argument for fresh vision, for ideas, for new thinking. But at this rocky time for our country, that should be coupled with experience. There was, for me, a far, far stronger case for Liam Fox, Michael Gove and Stephen Crabb, all of whom would have coupled experience with radical thought. Mr Crabb was rejected on the basis that it might not be quite his time yet - surely further reason not to choose Mrs Leadsom either (though he now faces further difficulties of his own as reported over the weekend). And both Dr Fox and Mr Gove were, sadly, rejected for perceived momentary lapses of judgment on their part - the Adam Werritty case for Dr Fox, and his withdrawal from Boris Johnson for Mr Gove. Personally, I hope history will judge them all fairly, be forgiving of their errors of judgment or mishandling of situations, and give them senior positions in government, for their intellect and ideas are needed. I also hope in time we will come to thank Mr Gove for acting as he described, out of conviction and principle, and honourably saving the country from the disaster that would have been Boris. But whichever way I look at it, I cannot see the case for Mrs Leadsom to run the country now.
A short while back, I was sent a link to a story about an old mutual acquaintance on a UK website. An hour later, a second link appeared in my inbox: it was to NPR's version of the same story. "It's all over the web," I was told. Jamie Shupe, who had lived in western PA for a short time before moving with their wife Sandy out to Oregon a few years ago, had successfully petitioned their new home state to be legally registered as a third, non-binary gender -- reportedly the first granting of such a petition in the U.S. (a handful of other nations had already made it an option).

After a "Holy merde!" on seeing someone I knew making international headlines, I began reflecting on the future of the male/female gender binary; and before too long my thoughts returned to an idea I'd been mulling over for some time: the important role that the word "cisgender" is playing in our radical rethinking of the binary, and ultimately gender itself.

On first glance, "cisgender" seems an unlikely agent of revolutionary change. The word is a neologism a mere two decades old, after all, and it has gained broad currency only within the past few years, being chosen for inclusion in the Oxford English Dictionary just last summer, for example. And unlike some of its fellow 2015 OED inductees -- the in-your-face "Masshole," or "Twitterati" with its air of blithe jet-setter worldliness -- "cisgender" is, well, a textbook example of stolid, musty textbookese. Moreover, the word is vulnerable to the criticism that it reinforces the binary rather than undermining it, since it denotes someone whose sense of their gender identity conforms to their biological sex -- a girl who is assigned female at birth and vice versa -- someone, in short, who doesn't identify as transgender.

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First impressions can be deceiving, however, as the vigorous pushback the word has met with from some quarters since it began seeping into mainstream discourse suggests. The sources of this antipathy are varied: some members of the LGBTQ community have perceived in it an unwanted form of privilege being foisted on them, for example, while some (self-styled) feminists and haters on the right reject the word because it gives legitimacy to the trans condition, the existence of which they continue to deny. The common thread running through these reactions, though, is the sense that the ideas sprouting from or fallow in the semantic patch demarcated by "cisgender" pose a threat to the existing order.

And the truth is: they do.

As trans advocates and allies have pointed out, the primary menace the word poses is to a deeply entrenched form of privilege: the right to think of one's gender identity as "normal" -- and not to give it a second thought. What's at stake here? In the first place, when people who are "gender conforming" insist on their normality, they communicate to those of us who aren't that we're abnormal; and since the word "normal" carries such strong positive connotations -- most people, if asked, would surely want to be classified that way -- its opposite, by implication, carries equally strong negative connotations ("sick," "deviant," "unnatural," "evil," etc.). To describe one's condition as "normal," moreover, is to tacitly assert that it needs no explanation or justification: normality = normative, that which by general consensus should be, a status inherent in the words' common derivation from the Latin root norma, "rule." It's only the abnormal that, because it represents a deviation from what's generally held to be healthy, natural, good (Latin ab-, "away from"), must be accounted for, and accounted for in light of the "normal."

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The way in which the word "cisgender" threatens these largely unconscious assumptions is by serving as a simple tool for articulating them. As College of William & Mary English prof Paula Blank succinctly put it in a September 2014 article in The Atlantic, "'Cisgender' suggests a commonality among transgender and non-transgender people...It tells us that we all experience some kind of relationship between our bodies and our selves, whatever that relationship may be." It's the notion of "commonality" that's key here. The word "cisgender" counters the hierarchical, exclusionary, stigmatizing relationship inherent in the binary normal/abnormal with the implicit assertion that none of us can take the "relationship between our bodies and our selves" for granted because "we all experience some kind of relationship." A number of important corollaries follow from this assertion: that being "gender conforming" is its own condition, and not simply the lack of a condition, and thus is in need of being accounted for every bit as much as gender nonconformity is; that what is "normal" is having a relationship to gender, not a particular type of gender identity; as such, that "conformity" denotes a statistical relationship (think of the bell curve), not an ethical choice, and the different manifestations of gender nonconformity are simply normal variations within the universal human trait gender, rather than forms of moral or social deviance.

If this conceptual shift doesn't seem all that seismic, the practical implications that follow from it are shaking some foundations. Most importantly, the stark social, legal, and economic inequities still too often visited on those of us who are gender nonconforming lose any pretense to being mere expressions of the natural order of things. Put another way, firing or evicting us, and in general denying us basic civil rights and protections, can no longer be justified on the grounds of our being a threat to others simply because of who we are. It's this implication that's provoking the strongest pushback, notably in the form of the many "bathroom bills" that have popped up in state after state over the past year. The proffered rationales for these stoopid bills tend to be couched in plain-vanilla coded language like "privacy rights;" but the fears that conservative lawmakers are exploiting to push them through revolve around the thoroughly discredited right-wing fantasy of trans women as sexual predators, the implication being that because of who we are, we must be quarantined, aka made illegal -- the real end game of this legislation.

Fortunately, the changing views about gender conformity and nonconformity are already making it more difficult in a legal context to appeal to such "common sense" positions. By the same token, as the widespread outcry against anti-trans legislation in North Carolina and elsewhere attests, the de-normalizing of gender conformity is enabling more and more businesses to recognize in us potential customers and employees, and more and more people to think of us as neighbors and co-workers -- and ultimately fellow human beings.

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These and other sweeping changes, I've argued, inhere in the basic conceptual shift the coining of the word "cisgender" helped bring into focus. For the most part, however, these changes have only begun to manifest themselves, and we continue to face uphill struggles in many areas, notably in our ongoing effort to secure civil rights protections at the federal level (the Equality Act of 2015 having stalled in a stalemated Congress). And then there are all the quotidian changes that will only come with the gradual de-stigmatizing of gender nonconformity: the willingness of our gender conforming counterparts to see us as potential romantic partners (outside the realm of kink), or to mix freely with us in social settings (without our needing to be stealth), or to pass us in the street without feeling the need -- and presuming the entitlement -- to harass us or even just cast disdainful glances our way (as I'm reminded on occasion on my daily walks when my gaze meets the eyes of certain of my neighbors).
As presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton boarded Air Force 1 with President Obama Tuesday, the wind was most likely at her back. The cloud that hovered over her campaign had seemingly disappeared.

The FBI report stated that no charges would be brought against her, the last thing standing between her and her party's presidential nomination.

She was being accompanied by a popular president who is in a position to campaign for her in a manner not seen since Theodore Roosevelt campaigned for William Howard Taft.

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The historic symbolism of Clinton and Obama standing on the Charlotte podium together was not loss on the 7,000 in attendance. The day after the nation celebrated its 240th birthday as an independent country, Clinton captured the moment eloquently when she stated: "Nobody who looked like Barack Obama or me would have been included back then (1776). But we're here today because the story of America is the story of hard-fought, hard-won progress."

Regardless of one's politics, any understanding of history makes Clinton's statement irrefutable. Unfortunately for her, the narrative does not end there. The dark cloud that hovered over the Clinton campaign did not dissolve with the FBI report, it merely rose beyond eyesight.

Clinton as the presumptive nominee raises a question for Democrats to ponder: Did they find their Nixon?

I realize in popular culture to invoke the nation's 37th president equates to resurrecting the Watergate scandal. But one need not summon the Committee to Re-elect the President (CREEP) or the "plumbers" to find Nixonian comparisons between the two.

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From 1948, with the Alger Hiss case, to 1973, Nixon held a place on the national stage. For 20 years, with the exception of 1964, his name appeared on the national ticket. His qualifications and gravitas were not in question.

Clinton has also held a place on the national stage for more than 20 years. She was the most influential first lady since Eleanor Roosevelt, served eight years as the junior senator from New York, and four years as secretary of state. Like Nixon, her qualifications and gravitas are beyond reproach.

They also share an unflattering attribute. After lauding their political skills, one is apt to add the conjunction "but." It is this three-letter word that works against their accomplishments.

Even her rationale justifying her 2002 vote for authorizing the use of force in Iraq could be classified as classic Nixoian.

And then there was last week's FBI report that read: "Although we did not find clear evidence that Secretary Clinton or her colleagues intended to violate laws governing the handling of classified information, there is evidence that they were extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information."

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One must also factor in the aforementioned statement with Bill Clinton's decision to seemingly compromise the Justice Department's investigation by meeting with Attorney General Loretta Lynch privately. It matters little if the meeting between Clinton and Lynch was benign or intentional. It feeds the existing narrative about the Clintons.

Moreover, this latest upheaval is not part of some "vast right-wing conspiracy," nor is it the endless (which seems finally to have come to a merciful end) witch-hunt known as Benghazi.

Whatever it is, it reflects unbridled arrogance and entitlement. If this were any other election year, Clinton's political fortunes might be irretrievably damaged. At times, the Clinton's actions reprise Nixon's infamous statement to David Frost, "When the President does it, that means that it is not illegal"!

But like Nixon in 1968, Clinton is buoyed by the public perception of the opposition party as one of disarray. Nixon was never the darling of the Republican establishment. Conservatives never considered him one of them. But he could win, especially in 1968.

The inevitability of Clinton's 2008 campaign was inconveniently derailed by the chants of "Yes we can!" and she had to "feel the Bern" in order to be the presumptive nominee in 2016.

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None of this, however, suggests victory in November. The Democrats are poised to tout an experienced, smart and qualified nominee -- one with a firm grasp of the status quo politics, foreign and domestic.

But this may not be a moment for the status quo, as the United Kingdom's recent vote to leave the European Union bears witness.


"American schools are not failing; they are getting the best results in our history."

-- Richard Dufour

Educator and best-selling author Dr. Richard DuFour investigates the state of education today in his new book, In Praise of American Educators - And How They Can Become Even Better. Richard was a public school educator for 34 years, serving as a teacher, principal, and superintendent. He wrote his latest book because of what he calls the "continuing unfair characterization of American schools as failing." He believes US schools are currently showing their best results ever and he also believes the harsh policies being directed at US public schools have failed because they were based on "faulty assumptions." Dufour was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer last year. He hopes his book will persuade policy makers, educators and parents that the best way forward for sustainable school improvement is to build "the capacity of educators to work as members of a professional learning community." Richard is recognized as one of the leading authorities on helping school practitioners implement the Professional Learning Communities at Work process in their schools and districts. He joins us today in The Global Search for Education.

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"If the PISA tests were used to highlight and address the detrimental effects of poverty and how those effects can be overcome, they could be very beneficial. If they are used to disparage American schools with the blanket condemnation that they are failing, they are of no use." -- Richard Dufour

Welcome Richard. What do you hope will be the main takeaways from your book?

The main takeaways are first, American schools are not failing; they are getting the best results in our history in areas such as graduation rates, pursuit of more rigorous curriculum, performance on the Trends in International Mathematics and Science (TIMMS), achievement on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), parent satisfaction with their local schools, and student perceptions of their teachers compared with students around the world.

Secondly, because the consequences of a student's failure to succeed in the K-12 setting have never been more dire, educators must become much more effective in helping all students to learn at high levels.

Finally, we know the key to helping more students to achieve at higher levels - building the capacity of educators to work as members of true professional learning communities.

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"If we want the 4C's to be the focus, we must discover ways to monitor the presence of these skills in ways that will not put teachers at risk. Teachers must also be supported with focused professional development on the nature of the skills, the pedagogical practices that foster them, and varied assessment strategies to monitor them." -- Richard Dufour

How much attention should policy makers and educators be paying to international tests such as the PISA test in which the US continues to fare poorly. Are these tests an indicator of how we are doing?

These tests warrant attention but also require deeper analysis of the results. For example, the performance of American students on PISA is cited as proof that our schools our failing. But let's look deeper. The United States has one of the highest child poverty results of all the nations who take the PISA Exam. For the first time in history, the majority of students in public schools qualified for the free and reduced lunch program. One in five public schools in America have over 75% of their students living in poverty. It is the performance of these schools that drags down our national scores. If American schools with up to 25% of students living in poverty were considered as a cohort, we would be among the highest performing nations in the world. So if the PISA tests were used to highlight and address the detrimental effects of poverty and how those effects can be overcome, they could be very beneficial. If they are used to disparage American schools with the blanket condemnation that they are failing, they are of no use.

Given the shift in focus in the global education reform debate from the 3 R's to the 4 C's, what are the critical steps we need to take to produce a new education framework for the US?

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The United States is one of the few countries that tests all students every year. The rigor of those tests has typically rarely risen beyond recall of information on multiple choice questions. So teachers face the dilemma that their students' learning (and the individual teacher's effectiveness) will be judged on the basis of recall of information at the same time there is general agreement that the 21st century skills demand creativity, critical thinking and problem solving, communication, and collaborating with others. Until high-stakes assessments begin to reflect these priorities, higher order skills will continue to get short shrift in schools. The adage, "what gets monitored gets done," applies here. If we want the 4C's to be the focus, we must discover ways to monitor the presence of these skills in ways that will not put teachers at risk. Teachers must also be supported with focused professional development on the nature of the skills, the pedagogical practices that foster them, and varied assessment strategies to monitor them.



"We must change the narrative of what it means to be a teacher from the current story that paints uncaring educators as the problem of American education to one in which teachers are recognized as the crucial nation builders that they are."

-- Richard Dufour

How can we make teaching a more prestigious career? How can we entice better quality talent away from more lucrative careers and into classrooms? How do we retain good teachers and make sure they are where they are needed most?

We can raise the standards for entry into the profession and award full scholarships to those who agree to teach at least five years. In most high-performing nations, prospective teachers must earn the equivalent of a master's degree before they begin teaching. In the United States, we seem to assume that any college graduate can be a teacher in six weeks. We must stop issuing teaching certificates to people who have little or no training in either content or pedagogy. We must also stop assigning teachers to teach content in which they are not trained or certified. We are one of the only nations to use this practice. We have to raise starting salaries for teachers based on average salaries of those who enter the workforce with a bachelor's degree. College graduates in the United States in 2014 had an average college debt of $29,000. American teachers earn 68% of the average starting salary for graduates with bachelor's degrees. In industrialized countries whose students take the PISA exam, new teachers make 88% of the average starting salary for those with bachelor degrees. In Finland, it is 109%. We must also create meaningful career ladders that allow teachers to advance through stages of a career without being required to leave the classroom. Singapore offers three different multi-tiered tracks through which teachers can advance. We need to end the relentless criticism of teachers and schools, and ill-conceived and ineffective policies that punish teachers.

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Attempts to send highly effective teachers into troubled schools through higher salaries and bonuses have generally failed. Educators have consistently reported that the climate and culture of the school and the nature of its leadership have a greater impact on teacher satisfaction and retention. To keep good teachers in troubled schools, we must develop the collaborative culture, collective responsibility, widely dispersed leadership, schoolwide commitment to the learning of each student, and celebration of incremental progress that characterizes high-performing professional learning communities.

In conclusion, increasing access to education has been a hallmark of the American experience and a key to its progress. The common school, the Merrill Land-Grant Act that provided every state with the resources to build colleges for agriculture and manufacturing, the creation of public high schools, and the G.I. Bill which established that military veterans should have access to higher education are key elements of the expansion of educational opportunity. Now we must decide if we are committed simply to ensure students have access to school or if they are entitled to high levels of learning. Finally, we must change the narrative of what it means to be a teacher from the current story that paints uncaring educators as the problem of American education to one in which teachers are recognized as the crucial nation builders that they are.

(All Photos are courtesy of CMRubinWorld)



C. M. Rubin and Richard Dufour

Join me and globally renowned thought leaders including Sir Michael Barber (UK), Dr. Michael Block (U.S.), Dr. Leon Botstein (U.S.), Professor Clay Christensen (U.S.), Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (U.S.), Dr. MadhavChavan (India), Professor Michael Fullan (Canada), Professor Howard Gardner (U.S.), Professor Andy Hargreaves (U.S.), Professor Yvonne Hellman (The Netherlands), Professor Kristin Helstad (Norway), Jean Hendrickson (U.S.), Professor Rose Hipkins (New Zealand), Professor Cornelia Hoogland (Canada), Honourable Jeff Johnson (Canada), Mme. Chantal Kaufmann (Belgium), Dr. EijaKauppinen (Finland), State Secretary TapioKosunen (Finland), Professor Dominique Lafontaine (Belgium), Professor Hugh Lauder (UK), Lord Ken Macdonald (UK), Professor Geoff Masters (Australia), Professor Barry McGaw (Australia), Shiv Nadar (India), Professor R. Natarajan (India), Dr. Pak Tee Ng (Singapore), Dr. Denise Pope (US), Sridhar Rajagopalan (India), Dr. Diane Ravitch (U.S.), Richard Wilson Riley (U.S.), Sir Ken Robinson (UK), Professor Pasi Sahlberg (Finland), Professor Manabu Sato (Japan), Andreas Schleicher (PISA, OECD), Dr. Anthony Seldon (UK), Dr. David Shaffer (U.S.), Dr. Kirsten Sivesind (Norway), Chancellor Stephen Spahn (U.S.), Yves Theze (LyceeFrancais U.S.), Professor Charles Ungerleider (Canada), Professor Tony Wagner (U.S.), Sir David Watson (UK), Professor Dylan Wiliam (UK), Dr. Mark Wormald (UK), Professor Theo Wubbels (The Netherlands), Professor Michael Young (UK), and Professor Minxuan Zhang (China) as they explore the big picture education questions that all nations face today.

The Global Search for Education Community Page

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By Wendi C. Thomas

PITTSBURGH - Police have one standard for black people and another for white people - and as proof, comic W. Kamau Bell played at his show Friday a short video of Beaverton, Oregon police officers trying to subdue a white teen high on mushrooms.

The crowd watched, some mouths agape, as a scrum of officers took turns scuffling with the teen. At one point, the teen grabbed and fired an officer's gun. In his jail booking photo, he has a bruise on his cheek.

"I watch that every time another black person gets killed by a police officer," said Bell, host of CNN's United Shades of America. "By the end, I'm usually laughing and crying at the same time."

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"They (the officers) saved his life - were determined to save his life ... That's racism right there."

"Ending Racism in About an Hour" is Bell's sober social commentary leavened with biting humor on racial identity, privilege, racism in the media and his interracial family. His audience Friday were attendees at the People's Convention, a two-day convening of progressive organizations around the country, hosted by the Center for Popular Democracy.



Bell, who serves as the ACLU's ambassador of racial justice, is one in a growing list of woke entertainers - Beyonce, Jesse Williams and Kendrick Lamar among them - who unapologetically declare that #BlackLivesMatter.

He couldn't have found a more like-minded audience. An end to police brutality was just one of several issues - such as environmental justice, immigration reform, good jobs for all and restoration of voting rights - that centered the 1,600 attendees' public policy agenda.

"This is the left of the left of the left," he joked.

Because Bell's shows are as current as they are pointed, of course he had something to say about the police killings last week of two black men.

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"Philando Castile, who died, who was killed in Minneapolis," Bell said, before correcting himself, "murdered, murdered - and Alton Sterling who was murdered in Baton Rouge, their lives matter to us, even if we don't know those two people."

"But when white people die, the only white people who care about that white person dying are the white people... around that white person. White people don't feel connected in the same way."

Bell doesn't couch his comments by bothering to point out that not all white people are unmoved by the violence against black bodies. After all, he warns at the start he's not there to make you comfortable.

But Bell suggests that the path through the discomfort - such as white people's angst about #BlackLivesMatter - could lead to racial justice.

"White people on the left can't handle it. So they started doing this - #AllLivesMatter," he said.

"That's not a thing, that's not even a Beatles song... Nobody ever said #AllLivesMatter until #BlackLivesMatter showed up."

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Then Bell stepped to the other side of the political aisle. "The people on the right, they go one step further. They go #WhiteLivesMatter," Bell said.

"That one never trends. You know why? Because it's like saying, 'Water is wet.'"

Here you could insert a mic drop, but Bell wasn't done. Not by a long shot.

His hour-long show is as much stand-up as PowerPoint presentation, full of statistics and data and polls and even tweets that prove that "we're in a most racial America," not a post-racial America.

Bell flashed on the screen a since-deleted tweet from former Illinois congressman Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom): "3 Dallas Cops killed, 7 wounded. This is now war. Watch out Obama. Watch out black lives matter punks. Real America is coming after you."

While Iggy Azalea got suspended from Twitter for offensive remarks, no such censure fell on Walsh, who threatened the president. "He's still on Twitter right now," Bell said. "White privilege."

"White people, I need you to step into your whiteness and claim your whiteness, and then use that white privilege against that white privilege."



Wendi C. Thomas is a writing fellow for the Center for Community Change.
A protestor carries a sign during a Black Lives Matter protest march thru the streets in Washington, DC on July 9, 2016. / AFP / PAUL J. RICHARDS (Photo credit should read PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images)

Civilization rests on a rule of law. This requires citizen respect for the law.

12 years ago, then Illinois Senator Barack Obama said in a speech at the Democratic National Convention in Boston that there is not a white America, nor Black America, only "A United States of America."

Today, as then, his "United States of America" consists of an approximate 12-13% African-American population -- constituting 35% of jail inmates and 37% of prison inmates -- of the 2.2 million male inmates as of 2014 (U.S. Department of Justice, 2014).

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The proportion of blacks in prison populations exceeds the proportion among state residents in twenty states. African-Americans constitute nearly one million of the total 2.2 million incarcerated population. We experience nearly six times the incarceration rate of whites.



This is the current reality of President's Obama's "United States America," described 12 years ago.

No fundamental change will occur in the relationship between African-Americans and the police in our country today until we are comfortable talking about the history of slavery and white supremacy.

There is little likelihood that we as nation in 2016 will have the capacity to appropriately address the consequences of that legacy upon today's generational descendants of slaves and slave owners and upon the current relationship between police and African-Americans unless we are willing to confront our history.

In science and medicine, efforts are made to objectively study and examine the origins and genesis of a disease. Why do we so easily dismiss and/or appear unwilling to clinically examine the current consequences of the earlier institution of slavery and the companion history of police-enforced white supremacy?

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Our recognition of this issue was the raison d'etre for the creation and teaching of a 15-week college course, "FROM SLAVERY TO OBAMA: Renewing The Promise of Reconstruction." I currently teach it at the University of San Francisco. The syllabus description of the course says:

In his epic treatise, The Souls of Black Folk, published in 1903, renowned sociologist and historian, Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois, commenting on the legacy of Slavery in our country said, "the problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the color-line." More than a hundred years after he wrote those words, the racial struggles in the United States remain the most pervasive theme in our history. Slavery, the Civil War, and nearly a century of racial segregation stand as stains on the moral fabric of the United States.



Notwithstanding, the election and re-election of America's first African-American President of the United States, frank discussions on race relations in America and the historical impact of the institution of slavery upon our current society remain problematical. The events in Ferguson, Cleveland, Baltimore, Staten Island, NY, and Charleston, SC in 2015(now in Baton Rouge and Minneapolis) indicate "a fierce urgency of now" for our nation, once and for all, to confront the reality of the consequential impact of the legacy of slavery upon the current attitudes and conduct of the descendants of slaves and slaveholders.



Through an in-depth examination of the long history of white supremacy and the black struggle against it, this course is designed to enable honest and critical discussion about race in America. Readings, lectures, and activities will focus on those events and individuals that have decisively shaped and influenced America's efforts to abolish slavery and address its historical consequences and subsequent efforts to create a society based on values of racial equality and social justice.



Commencing this semester, a weekly video production of the course is being offered online to those colleges and universities interested in participating in its online access.

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On the basis of objective empirical evidence, it is an understatement to say that, generally, African-Americans distrust the police in their communities. For police lives to matter, African-Americans will have to come to believe that THEIR lives also matter to the police in their communities.

As the Democratic and Republican parties assemble in national conventions to nominate their respective candidates for President of the United States our immediate national challenge is to develop a national consensus which ultimately says: "Black Lives Matter/Police Lives Matter!"

Regrettably, recent statements by President Obama and the apparent Democratic and Republican presidential candidates, to put it charitably, seem to indicate that they are "out to lunch" about the experiences of African-Americans with police. Their statements indicate a regrettable 30,000 feet disconnect from the daily on the ground reality of the Black Experience with police across our nation.

For the Black community to respect and trust police in their communities they have to overcome the unavoidable historical presumption that police disrespect them and will preemptively elect to shoot them first in seeking an arrest.

In short, police lives will matter when police actively show and indicate that Black Lives are as important as white lives.

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Police, political leaders, media, our nation at large should heed the simple plea inscribed on one of the placards of demonstrators peacefully protesting in Dallas:

"STOP KILLING US!"

If not now when?
For a while, Mat Schaffer's Simon Says--which boasts Brian Murray in a return to the stage after a lengthy absence--looks as if it's going to be fun. The agitated drama, at the Lynn Redgrave, raises questions about the authenticity of paranormal activity.

Murray is Professor Williston, who's been dismissed from his position for reasons not fully explained and has been working for some time with James (Anthony J. Goes), a younger man with apparent gifts as a "channeler." After recovering from a childhood injury, James is in touch with a figure called Simon, who's been reincarnated over the millennia as numerous Simons.

Because of Williston's betrayal involving a stopped college tuition check, James is threatening to do no more channeling, but then Annie (Vanessa Britting) arrives for a scheduled session, Because she's a science teacher, she's skeptical about James's talents and demands impossible-to-supply proof, but as a recent widow still mourning her husband, she's decided to go through with the appointment in hopes that, despite her beliefs, she'll be able to contact her deceased spouse.

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For the first third of Schaffer's play, he gives the impression he's having fun with the at-issue issue. He may actually believe in the paranormal. He may be testing his ability to fool others into believing in it. He may want to examine the possibilities in a more serious fashion.

Not knowing precisely where he's leading is part of the appeal as James prepares to storm out, Williston tries to prevent him and Annie, forsaking her strict scientist's stance, succeeds in making him do his Simon thing. Then, with James going into his complicated trance, the enjoyment begins leaking out. Increasingly, it looks as though whether Schaffer believes in the paranormal or not, he's going to give the proceedings over to a demonstration of one man's supposed paranormal skills.

That's when Simon Says turns into a tour de force for Goes as James. He twitches, he writhes, he tumbles, he switches voices, he falls, he goes numb, he looks if he's dead. This continues, with the implication (at least to me) that Schaffer is now intent on selling spectators a bill of paranormal goods.

With Williston and Annie--who's also hoping Simon will disclose the whereabouts of a wedding ring that's gone missing--interrupting James/Simon only occasionally, the channeler's cavorting is initially engaging, then sillier and sillier until, finally, it's no more than tiresome. By fade-out, it hasn't delivered any substantive point at all.

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Myriam Cyr directs on a Janie Howland set exactly resembling an academic's lair--stacks of books piled in corners, comfy reading chairs, that sort of thing, curious knickknacks. Cyr certainly puts James through his paces with rewards, and Britting does her best to play a woman whose long-held convictions evaporate a bit faster than seems likely.

Murray is superb playing a man who's almost completely recovered from a heart attack. (Was this written in to accommodate a preexisting Murray condition?) He's quick to mollify; he's quick to anger. His voice commanding, he's thoroughly in control of Williston's determined authority.

What's mitigating here is Williston's eventual shift into an on-stage spectator, into top-billed Murray's being reduced to graciously witnessing a colleague take command of a scene, wrap it up and take it home. It's a treat to have Murray back behind the footlights. Let's hope what he does next is more rewarding for him and his fans.

******************

In time for July 4 and the weeks following, here's Liberty, described on the Playbill cover as "a monumental new musical." Too bad the pun-ny "monumental" doesn't quite live up to its promise.

Shaped primarily by bookwriter-lyricist Dana Leslie Goldstein and composer Jon Goldstein as an educational children's musical, it's undeniably well-intentioned but ultimately tepid in its recounting the tale of French sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi (Ryan Duncan) and his Statue of Liberty (the sweet-voiced Abigail Shapiro) as it's shipped to the United States and kept from being erected until Joseph Pulitzer (Mark Aldrich) mounts a successful campaign in his newspaper, The New York World.

The nice idea here is to have the statue portrayed by a young girl and treated very much like a living person. There's another strong idea couched in a song called "America for the Americans," which has the effect of reminding audiences that the victimizing of immigrants then is still going on today as Donald Trump campaigns.

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No surprise that Emma Lazarus (Emma Rosenthal) is among the characters, taking time to get right the "Give me your tired, your poor" poem that Pulitzer immortalizes on his front page--and composer Goldstein sets to music. It's a pity that in 2016 Lazarus's welcoming words have lost so much suasion and are now more like "Don't give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free."

The music throughout is generically rousing and the figures depicted are also generic--among them a woman pushing a cart on the Lower East Side and a socialite on the Upper East Side (Tina Stafford as both). Those so-so elements go only so far to enliven the patriotic tuner. On the other hand, a big contributing factor is Colin Doyle's expansive projection design.
There are many reasons why police stop and shoot people like Philando Castile. And it is not so much about good cop versus bad cop or individual racism. One can point to individual, institutional, or societal racism. There is racial and urban discrimination and poverty that was forcefully described back in 1968 by the Kerner Commission and which as a country we have done little to address nearly 50 years later. There is the flooding of guns onto the streets of America (thanks to the NRA and a weak-spine Congress which is afraid of them) which puts police on alert whenever they stop someone with conceal and carry. There is a 50 year legacy of politicians exploiting fear of crime and race including Nixon running on law and order, Reagan's war on drugs, and Clinton's 100,000 cops. There was the criminology theory of broken windows which said that the way to combat serious crime was to go after the small stuff first (such as broken tail lights) before it escalates. And then 9-11 gave new legitimacy to racial profiling. They were all part of a massive push to get tough on crime. All these are factors others cite in debates over police shootings of people of color.

But there are two other factors relevant to understanding why police stop and shoot people such as Philando Castle. The first is that the Supreme Court has empowered this behavior. Second, it is the rise of for-profit policing.

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Begin first with the Supreme Court. There are two lines of Supreme Court precedent that empower the police to stop and shoot people. The first line goes back to Terry v. Ohio. In that 1968 case the Supreme Court upheld as constitutional a police officer who stopped and frisked several Black men whom he observed walking back and forth in front on a store. He had a hunch they were casing the place. He stopped and frisked them. The Court said that such a stop did not violate the Fourth Amendment and it did not require the police to have probable cause to search. Instead, all the officer needed was reasonable suspicion based on ""specific and articulable facts" to stop and do a quick search for weapons.

Terry gave broad discretion to police to stop individuals, with articulable suspicion often times being no more than violation of minor driving offenses. Broken tail lights became the pretext to stop or search someone a police officer wanted to stop but otherwise lacked real probable cause to detain and search. Terry was further expanded in other cases where in Whren v United States (1996) the Supreme Court said that any traffic violation by a police officer was a legitimate basis to stop someone. And earlier in 1977 in Pennsylvania v. Mimms the Court said that there was no constitutional violation when police stop someone in a car for a routine traffic violation and to require them to submit to a pat down. These three cased among others give police broad discretion and ability to stop individuals and search them. Critics have correctly argued that these cases legitimize racial profiling by making it easy for police to justify any stop.



A second line of cases goes back to the 1985 Tennessee v. Garner decision which gave significant authority to the police to use deadly force. In Tennessee v. Garner the Supreme Court ruled that the use of deadly force is a Fourth Amendment violation, that is, a kind of illegal search and seizure. To determine police liability, one must balance the citizen's interest versus the government's. The citizen's interest is substantial, of course: not to die. To overcome that interest, police must show that the officer believed that the suspect poses an immediate threat of serious physical harm to the officer or others. In Graham v. Connor the Supreme Court created an even softer standard for the use of non-deadly force, based on whether the use of force would be justified from the perspective of a reasonable officer with 20/20 hindsight. To show that the police used excessive force one thus had to show that police officers in a particular cases were incorrect in their reasonable belief that a person posed an immediate physical threat.



Excessive use of force cases are hard to win. The law simply favors the police here and with other criminal and state tort liability issues for the misuse of force. Moreover, public fears of crime complicate matters. So does racism, especially in situations with mostly white officers -- and often mostly white prosecutors, judges and juries -- and people of color as victims. But another reason why these cases are hard to win is that the law determines excessive force from the perspective of the police officer, not the victim. Few juries are willing or able to second-guess a cop.

The point is that the law on use of force-including deadly force-has arguably so tipped in favor of the police that it is almost impossible to win a case against them, as can be seen in the recent Baltimore trials against officers accused of killing Freddie Gray.

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If the law were not enough in terms of empowering the police to stop and shoot then the rise of for-profit policing had given an economic incentive to do that. Specifically, again over the last 25 or more years the courts have sanctioned civil forfeiture laws which allow the police to confiscate and sell assets of those convicted of crimes. In addition, many cities, such as in Ferguson, Missouri as we learned last year, heavily depend on the revenue generated by routine traffic stops and fines to pay for cities services, including police salaries. In Minnesota, traffic fines are a part of general revenue that the state and many cities often depend upon as sources of revenue. Simply put, the more people whom you stop and ticket the more money you generate for a state or local government.
Pity the Arabs, so desperate for a victory that many of us would even rush to celebrate a non-achievement, or even worse, an adversity. Two examples of this sad phenomenon emerged recently out of the United Kingdom: Brexit, where a slim majority of the British population voted to leave the European Union, and the recently announced Chilcot report findings.

Let us start with the latter, an issue that relates much more directly to us, given that it is a public inquiry into Britain's highly-controversial role in the 2003 Iraq War.

Is it just me, or were the highly-anticipated findings not worth the wait? Frankly, the report didn't present anything we didn't already know. After all, we all knew - by now - that former British PM Tony Blair was pre-committed to the US military campaign, that the WMD evidence wasn't concrete and that the UK rushed into the war.

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Interestingly, Sir John Chilcot (who headed the inquiry) has not in any way expressed a view on whether military action in Iraq was legal or not; nor does his 2.5-million-word report resolve the question of whether Mr. Blair - and others responsible for the UK's involvement - must face court action.

At best, as pointed out by The Guardian, the inquiry has 'left the door open' for the former prime minister to be independently prosecuted. This, of course, will require plaintiffs coming forward, evidence that Mr. Blair did commit something illegal (which the inquiry didn't actually present), in addition to enormous financial resources and long years of litigation.

In other words, it seems that the Chilcot report is nothing more than a gigantic 'performance feedback form' that took seven years to fill; much like the government bureaucratic exercises that are often ridiculed in the classic BBC television series, "Yes, Minister."

How British papers covered Tony Blair's response to the Chilcot Inquiry.

Furthermore, unless those celebrating among us heard his words differently; the fact remains that - despite previously admitting Iraq war mistakes - Mr. Blair didn't actually apologize for going to war. On the contrary, he'd "do it again!"

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Nevertheless, it isn't surprising that some Arabs view this as a victory. After all, some of us also considered Hezbollah winning the 2006 war against Israel a victory, despite a death toll of over 1000 Lebanese, of which the majority were civilians.

If those causalities could speak, they'd probably have a different view of who won and who lost. Similarly, neither the half a million Iraqis who have lost their lives since 2003 nor the Iraqi people living under ISIS today will consider the Chilcot report a victory of any sort.

I, of course, say this while maintaining that Saddam was a mass-murderer and a brutal dictator who had to be removed; however, the way Iraq was mismanaged following the invasion was an utter disaster. The truth is, war in any way, shape or form will never be a pleasant choice, unless the outcome is. As such, going to Iraq and failing afterwards is just as bad as deciding not to intervene militarily to stop the Assad regime masters in Syria, a choice that has led to the death of 250,000 people.'Brexit' beyond immediate gainsThe other case where many Arabs rushed to conclusions was in the reaction to Brexit. Almost immediately following the EU referendum on June 23, many observers concluded that Britain leaving the European Union would be a good thing for the Middle East.

The majority of those with such arguments took a very narrow-sighted view. To them, the devaluation of the pound sterling meant an immediate opportunity to invest and better trade terms, particularly once/if the UK leaves the EU single market.

It is saddening that anyone would exchange short-term financial gains for principals, collective stability and a long-term mutually beneficial relationship. Indeed, one shouldn't forget that to many in the Arab world, the EU represented hope. It represented a much-needed real life example that warring nations could put their differences aside and work together for the benefit of their citizens.

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With the UK outside the EU, we lost a valuable partner at the decision-making table. Indeed, the UK maintains its seats at the Security Council and NATO, however, it served as an indispensable, influential and pragmatic ally in Brussels. This doesn't apply to a country like Holland (which we don't have the same strong ties with) nor with countries like Estonia or Luxembourg that are almost irrelevant from a Middle Eastern perspective.

More importantly, Brexit enthusiasts among us seem to forget that they are siding with the UK Independence Party (UKIP), a political bloc that has been described as both 'racist' and 'fascist.' In fact, many UKIP supporters voted in favor of Brexit because they thought it was a way to keep Arabs and Muslims outside the UK.

Finally, with the British pound at a 30-year low, global financial firms considering to move out of London, both Scotland and Northern Ireland opting to remain in the EU (and possibly out of the UK!), no clear post-Brexit plan and none of the Leave campaign's promises guaranteed, one has to wonder if Brexit enthusiasts seriously can't see what is coming, or they can, but only care about their own personal gains nevertheless, in which case they can only be described as selfish 'merchant-bankers' (no cockney pun intended!)

WATCH: Brexit voters think leaving the EU will stop Muslims coming in:
It's saddening as an American to watch the events in Dallas from overseas. I spend most summers in Japan, where the type of violence that Americans take for granted is unimaginable. My friends here look in horror and amazement at what transpires in the U.S. and constantly ask what's wrong with my country. It's a difficult question to answer when asked by people who live in a society largely without these problems.

You don't experience mass shootings or really much crime of any kind in Japan. Murders, thefts and other crimes do happen and occasionally someone goes after a group of people with a knife, but an event like Dallas or Orlando or Sandy Hook is improbable in Japan. Part of the reason is that ordinary people can't get weapons like AK-47s or even handguns, although they can own hunting rifles. The result of this is that there is never any reason to fear a mass shooting--or any kind of shooting -- in Japan.

You also don't see police very often in Japan. They're around and police boxes (stations) are readily evident in the cities, but patrol cars are not routinely visible and cops seem to stay in their police stations most of the time. The police don't wear flack jackets, don't carry high capacity 9mm handguns (they carry .38 revolvers), and when they go home their weapons stay at the police station. At the loud and angry anti-war and anti-government demonstrations I watched last summer, police were highly visible, but were wearing short-sleeve shirts and reflective vests rather than riot gear.

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What happened in Dallas is not really possible here, although there are certainly people who might feel enough anger to want to kill many others. The police in Japan don't need to militarize themselves because the public is not increasingly dangerous due to easy availability of weapons of war for private citizens. In other words, the police don't need to be suspicious and fearful of the general public; nor is the general public unduly afraid of the police. The police are there to help when help is needed and to arrest when necessary.

But the issues in the U.S. aren't just about guns and police.

The most important difference I see in Japan is that it's a society in which people don't constantly fear each other. There is a basic level of trust and sense of respecting one's fellow citizen that translates into low crime rates, very rare incidents of mass violence, and little desire for people to have guns for protection. As I write this from the Bullet Train, if I get up to buy a drink or walk around and leave my bag (with money in it) at my seat, it will still be there when I get back. I have no fear of it being stolen.

No doubt someone will comment that Japan is racially homogeneous and that's why there is little crime. This isn't the reason, because there is no necessary cause that forces people of different races to distrust each other. Racial hatred and distrust are cultural, and American culture has a lot of experience promoting it. There is racism in Japan, to be sure, and sometimes foreigners are blamed for crime and immigration laws are rigid. But there is also open welcoming of people from other countries and other races and a desire among many Japanese to befriend outsiders. Like any other country, Japan is complex and diverse, with people of many attitudes and behaviors.

American society suffers from a pervasive culture of fear, distrust, and selfishness. The desire to have guns for protection stems from fear of others and fear of losing one's material possessions. Racism is also a product of fear -- fear of those who look different or might have different ideas and beliefs from one's own combined with a selfish unwillingness to see the world through the eyes of others. And conflicts over religious belief are also a product of fear, selfishness, and distrust.

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Racism, wanting guns for protection, and religious intolerance are all symptoms of a society whose most serious problem is having become governed by fear and characterized by distrust.

When I look at America from abroad, that's really where the problem seems to lie -- Americans have created a culture of suspicion and distrust over the past few decades that pervades the relationships between and among those who have different opinions about how best to organize society and keep people safe, productive, and happy. Perhaps it has always been there, but the gap of distrust seems to be growing more intense over time and has become, somewhat ironically, increasingly noticeable since 9/11.

Why is this happening? One answer lies in the behavior of representatives in Congress and other politicians.

There is an old saying that actions speak louder than words. The actions of politicians have been screaming at the public for years an unwillingness to address, and in many cases even discuss, real social problems like institutional racism, extreme inequalities in distribution of wealth, unequal educational quality, and easy availability of weapons of war. And many in Congress and elsewhere have failed to display open respect for each other and the system in which they function as elected officials, instead showing contempt for those with differing viewpoints and political beliefs and in many cases for the political system itself.

The result of Congressional intransigence and stubborn self-centeredness by politicians in general is what we might call Trickle Down Culture. The problem of growing suspicion, distrust, and unwillingness to listen to those who are different from ourselves starts with the Congress and with other politicians, who have provided a stunning example of poor behavior the American public has increasingly come to mimic in both actions and words. Nowhere is this more evident than in the actions of many who support Donald Trump's presidential bid.

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Friends of the Wildcatters know that we have great affection for Ireland -- indeed, one of us is in Hibernia as we speak. And, Ireland is abuzz in political talk arising from events across the Irish Sea. There's a great deal of talk about Brexit, specifically concern that the long struggle for recovery will be undone by a loss of free trade with Ireland's 2nd-largest largest trading partner. There are specific worries about the loss of the open border between the Republic and Northern Ireland that go beyond trade -- the Irish have spent two decades moving back and forth across the border like one people. Sinn Fein is demanding a border poll. Republican and Northern Ireland leaders will need to confer on how to manage the coming changes of the next several months. We're going to get into all this in the coming month, but we thought we'd start with a little preview of the current electoral situation in the Republic.

Background: To explore this situation, the reader can benefit from a quick primer on the historic Irish parties. Fine Gael is a Christian democratic, market-oriented party that originated with the "pro-treaty" Michael Collins wing of Irish politics in the 1920s. Fianna Fail is a populist party that started from Eamon de Valera's "anti-treaty" wing of the same era. Both parties descend from the original Sinn Fein. The Labour Party was founded in 1912 by James Connolly and other members of the Irish labor movement. It is politically to the left of the other two historic parties. And finally, the modern Sinn Fein party emerged after a split with the Workers Party. It is active in Ireland and Northern Ireland, is historically tied to the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and is politically left of the other historic parties. Sinn Fein is historically supportive of separatist movements not just in Northern Ireland, but also Scotland. There are other minor parties in Irish politics, including Green Party which once held great promise.

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The Fragile Tiger: Ireland has had its woes. The seven centuries of English occupation, uprising, civil war, and the Troubles mark this still-developing country. The Celtic Tiger economy (An Tiogar Ceilteach ) collapsed after two decades of vibrant economic growth. There was dramatic popping of the property bubble, a loss of one-seventh of the economy in three years, and 14% unemployment as recently as 2011. Critics contend that, despite improvements in education and lowering of corporate taxes, Ireland's private sector wasted the opportunity to invest in its future, and that favoritism of special interests by government exacerbated the problem. David McWIlliams observed pithily that "The entire Irish episode will be studied internationally in years to come as an example of how not to do things."

At the time of the collapse, Fianna Fail was leading the government in coalition with the Greens and the Progressives. Then the government fell when the tiny number of Greens withdrew, thereby breaking the parliamentary majority in the Dail Eireann. But it was the financial crisis that doomed the Celtic Tiger, and which ultimately led to the coalition's ouster in the 2011 elections for the 31st Dail Eireann. Those elections held a startling rebuke for the governing party. The opposition Fine Gael took 76 seats of 166 seats and Labour another 37 seats; overall 46% of the members of the Dail Eireann were newly elected. The graphic below shows the contraction of Fianna Fail, which lost nearly 3/4ths of their seats and contracted to just 19 members.

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The Muddled Result of the 2016 Elections: It isn't getting any clearer. In case you missed it, in February of this year the Irish Republic had another parliamentary election for the 158-seat Dail Eireann. Again, the economy loomed large. The recovery was underway - Ireland's economy grew 6.2% in 2015 and was projected to grow 4.3% in 2017. But the efforts of the incumbent coalition to promote manifestos such as "Let's Keep the Recovery Going" (Fine Gael) did not resonate.

Voters again sent a governing coalition's numbers tumbling. Fine Gael and Labor had already lost a net of 14 seats in by-elections from 2011-15. In the 2016 general election, Fine Gael fell to 50 seats and Labour to just seven, far short of the 80 seats needed to create a government. Neither Fianna Fail (44 seats) nor Sinn Fein (23 seats) were willing to coalesce, and the remaining 34 seats went to a dizzying array of independents (19) and minor candidates from five other parties. The three old line political parties are holding roughly two-thirds of the seats in the Dail Eireann, but none is much above a quarter of all seats.

The Descent Into Fragmentation: William Butler Yeats observed, "being Irish, he had an abiding sense of tragedy, which sustained him through temporary periods of joy." For the last five years, the Irish have plodded through recovery. And the recovery has devastated every political party - except one.

Enda Kenny, leader of Fine Gael formed a minority government - if he's stepping aside, no one is sure who will lead. So, Ireland faces an opportunity for a sorting. But is there any party or leaders strong enough to create a stable governing coalition? The Ipsos/Irish Times poll doesn't show broad-based support for any current party leader. Fianna Fail's Michael Martin is at 43% approval, followed by Fine Gael's Enda Kenny at 33%, Brendan Howlin of Labour at 26%, and Sinn Fein's Gerry Adams at 31%. The government's approval rating is 33% -- still better than the American Congress! But no party or coalition

The National Question? So who is climbing? Sinn Fein. The party, focused on relatively liberal politics and also national identity, has quadrupled its seats in eight years. Gerry Adams party has very nearly replaced Labour as the largest principle left economic party. And, unlike the scattered but progressive Independents, Sinn Fein is well defined as a nationalist party. Recent polling performed indicates a decline in support for Independents and the minor parties are similarly crashing and Labour is stuck with very low support and threatens to disappear. And, there is overwhelming support for a one-state solution in Ireland after the Brexit.

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They say the things we worry about aren't usually the things that actually happen to us. They say what "gets us" are things we never see coming -- the things we never even think to worry about. That's obviously true when it comes to parenting...

My daughter called me last night as I was finishing up a phone call with a girlfriend. I want to tell you that I clicked right over to my daughter, but I confess that I was wrapping up a riveting conversation and decided I could call my child right back. After all, it's my 21-year-old daughter, who is down in Dallas (about three hours from our hometown) taking some dance training classes with the Mavericks Dancers and she's called me 10 times a day, every day this week to bubble over with joy and describe in minute detail every little aspect of her experience. I'll call her right back in just a second. I wasn't the least bit worried.

Except that when I called her back she didn't answer. 'There went my window of opportunity!' I thought to myself, 'I bet she called her boyfriend instead!'

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I tried again. And once more. Finally she answered. "Mom, there's been some kind of a shooting down here. There are police everywhere! They wouldn't let me turn back the way I came a few hours ago, so I'm trying to find my way out of the area. I've never seen so many police cars in my life! And, mom -- I'm scared. I'm really scared."

I could hear the sound of sirens all around her. I turned on CNN. Dear Lord. For once in her life, my little Drama Queen was potentially under-dramatizing the situation. My first thought was, 'What is happening in our world?' And my second thought was, 'I need to minimize her perception of the danger she's in, so she can keep her wits about her and not panic, while simultaneously emphasizing the gravity of the situation and how desperately Mommy needs her to get the heck out of Big D ASAP!"

As a veteran mother of five, I majored in girls, minored in boys and earned my Masters in Drama Management. This should be a cinch.

"Do you have the national news on Mom? Are they showing anything that's going on down here? It seems like it's a really big deal."

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"Yes, it's on the news. I need you to tell me exactly where you are. Do you see any street signs?"

I was Ground Control trying to help a novice pilot land a jumbo jet. I stayed on the line. Just to keep things interesting, like 21-year-old girls tend to do, she informed me that the gas light had just come on and asked me how many miles I thought she could drive from that point. The last thing she said to me was that she had 1 percent battery life and then her phone died.

I put on my PJs, brushed my hair 100 strokes and prayed for my kid. Lest you're impressed that I'm one of those calm, cool and collected moms, I must also add that I psycho-dialed her, all the while attempting to send brain-wave messages. "Remember I put that green car charger in the glove compartment!" "Don't forget you have the green charger!" "Call me back!" "Green charger, green charger, green charger!"

I kept one eye on the news, as the number of deceased police officers continued to rise and one eye on my telephone. This is real. She called me back about 15 excruciating minutes later (15 minutes = roughly 15 years when converted into Worried Mother Time). We eventually "navved" her right into my mom's driveway, on gas fumes and 1-2 percent battery life.

From her first phone call until she found her way into her Grandmother's arms, our entire ordeal lasted about an hour and a half. Our family was spared personal tragedy and except for some mild PTSD (both of us) there probably won't be any long-term repercussions for us. But, tragically, that's not the case for several families in Dallas, whose lives are forever fractured by this heartbreaking and devastating event.

It's hard to know when to worry as a parent. I used to worry about my college aged kids' study-abroad plans. Now it seems as though our children really aren't safe anywhere. At home or abroad. So, as far as when and what do we need to worry about?

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All the time and everything seems about right...

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It is the world's largest gathering of those who advocate freedom and democracy in Iran. A mass "Free Iran" rally is being held in the French capital, Paris, on July 9. The event attracted more than 100,000 people who come together from around the world in order to make their voice heard, and in hopes of freeing and liberating their homeland. They rallied and demanded a regime change in Iran, advocated for a democratic, non-extremist, pluralistic, and non-fundamentalist government. More than twenty Nobel laureates have declared their support for the "Free Iran" gathering.

The size, resources, and influence of this oppositional group shows that this is the movement that politicians, leaders, republicans, and democrats can join and support, if they are looking for the Iranian government turn into a rational and moderate state, by the Iranian themselves.

Former White House Director of Public Liaison Linda Chavez opened the Grand Iranian Gathering and said, "Let's honor and commend the bravery and dedication of Camp Liberty residents. We all know that Camp Liberty came under heavy missile attacks on July 4th, which left vast destruction and dozens of injuries. The Mullahs perpetrating this attack showed that what threatens them the most and what are they afraid of the most. Therefore let's make it clear to the mullahs that nothing can and would prevent the Iranian Resistance from forging ahead for democracy and freedom in Iran." U.S. Sen. John Boozman, addressing his 'friends' pointed out that he was 'disturbed' by the incresaing number of human rights violations in Iran.

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Chairman of the Board of the King Faisal Center for Research And Islamic Studies Saudi Prince Turki Al Faisal stated "In the pre-Islamic world, the Persian Sassanian Empire extended from Turkey and Egypt in the west to the Indian subcontinent in the east; it was a cultural and political force rivaling that of ancient China, India, or Rome. The Sassanians were envied by the Romans for their advanced military technology, Sassanian artists and musicians were welcomed by the royal courts of ancient China, and the Sassanian government was widely praised for its humane and effective style of rule. The Persians of the ancient world could even lay claim to one of the world's first monotheistic religions: Zoroastrianism, a faith based on the teachings of Zoroaster, who lived over 3,000 years ago," and he added that "And you, Maryam Rajavi, your endeavor to rid your people of the Khomeinist cancer is an historic epic that, like the Shanameh, will remain inscribed the annals of History."

The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), the parent coalition of the opposition People's Mujahedeen Organization of Iran (PMOI), has planned this rally that is normally preceded by round-table events.

Every year, the NCRI gathers the opposition and supporters of freedom and democracy in Iran. More than 100,000 Iranian expatriates attended the rally last year. The annual event attracts hundreds of prominent international personalities, many high-level politicians, political leaders, military officials, religious leaders, and former diplomats from around the world. This year high-profile American figures- such as former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former ambassadors to the United Nations John Bolton, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former FBI Director Louis Freeh, to name a few- have confirmed their attendance for the Free Iran rally. The number of officials endorsing and attending the NCRI's rally appears to increase every year.

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The United States Congressman, Brad Sherman, veteran of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives, emphasized the significance of the Free Iran rally and he congratulated the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI) for "the critical role it played in exposing the Iranian regime's nuclear weapons program." Patrizia Toia, a Member of the European Parliament from Italy, declared that she desires to "encourage everyone to join the event in Paris of 9th of July."

Free Iran: The Significance, Purpose, and Aspirations

For many, the significance of such event is that there exists a powerful and organized institution (NCRI/PMOI), holding the largest number of Iranian oppositions connected with people inside Iran, that can be a critical platform for facilitating a fundamental change in the Iranian government and its political establishment by the Iranian people themselves, and without the need for foreign or military intervention.

Maryam Rajavi is the president-elect of the NCRI and PMOI. The US Congressman, Brad Sherman commended Rajavi, for her "advocacy of democracy, human and women's rights in Iran."

Maryam Rajavi stated that the participants of the Paris convention represent the voice of millions of oppressed Iranians who long from freedom and democracy and expect the next U.S. President as well as other western leaders to stand with the Iranian people and stop appeasing the Tehran regime. She added that the international community must adopt a firm policy, which would have as its components the condemnation of the regime's human rights violation and its export of terrorism.

In addition, the organizers of Free Iran rally advocate these kinds of protests give voice to those people who are suffering in the Islamic Republic.

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The objectives of Free Iran rally are anchored in several themes as well. Firstly, many of the protesters emphasize and provide a clear understanding that the nuclear agreement - known as JCPOA- has not made Iran less repressive regionally and domestically, and that President Obama's message of Iranian moderation is inaccurate. They oppose the US appeasement policy towards the Islamic Republic, and contend that the nuclear agreement is encouraging Iran's aggressive and destabilizing behavior.

On a domestic level, the rate of execution has reached an unprecedented level in over 25 years, and any opposition is being silenced immediately. On the regional level, Iran has tested ballistic missiles several times, it is assisting Bashar Al Assad's forces, Hezbollah, Shiite militia groups and fueling sectarianism more forcefully, which is leading to more recruitments by ISIS and other radical groups. In addition, Iran is growing its IRGC stranglehold across the region.

On a humanitarian level, the protesters are demanding rule of law, equality for all nationalities, gender equality, implementation of Universal Declaration of Human Rights, freedom of expression and press, putting an end to discriminations against ethnic, religious minorities, and women, among others. Keyvan, an Iranian-American businessman who travelled from Washington DC to Paris to attend the rally said "Washington's appeasement policy towards Iran is empowering Iranian leaders and making them more interventionist and aggressive in the region. There is no difference between the moderates and hardliners. They have the same objectives. Hundreds of thousands of Iranians opposed the nuclear agreement. But Obama did not listen. The nuclear agreement is helping IRGC to dominate other countries in the region, crack down domestically, and help its proxies like Hezbollah".

Mohammad, an Iranian-Canadian policy analyst, attending the rally, pointed out that many protesters truly believe that the Iranian government is on the verge of collapse, the only thing that is needed is pressure from other countries. He also argued that other governments should support Iranian dissidents; "In 1978, no one thought that Shah was going to be overthrown in a year. Iranians are now ready to change their government. They need support from outside. The only difference between now and then is that US administration of Carter put pressure on Iran at that time, which was instrumental in helping people to change the regime. But Obama is supporting the Iranian regime. We are connected to the large, dissatisfied and organized opposition in Iran. We need support for bigger version of the 2009 protests. That is what the Iranian government is most afraid of."

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Many of the protesters argue that the next US administration should take bolder stance towards Iran by putting pressure on the Iranian government not only concerning the nuclear issues, but also human rights abuses.

The Iranian Leaders Fear: Uprising

From the perspective of Iranian leaders, NCRI/PMOI and Iranian dissidents are a graver threat to their hold-on-power in comparison to any other threat including foreign intervention. It was a major blow to Iran when NCRI revealed Iran's clandestine uranium enrichment site at Natanz. Iran state-owned media outlets do not report NCRI's annual rally. Iran also executes people who are linked to PMOI and NCRI.

NCRI's headquarter is in Paris, but it also has offices in Washington DC and several other major European countries. PMOI has a camp in Iraq, camp Ashraf, which has been attacked by the Iranian government several times. This week, according to Reuters, militias affiliated with IRGC Quds Force, a special elite unit of Iran's Revolutionary Guards that operates in foreign nations, bombarded the camp by firing tens of rockets and injuring more than forty people.

Iranian leaders are concerned that more politicians and governments, particularly the next US administration, might endorse NCRI, the Iranian resistance, and the Iranian dissidents. Although President Obama seems to have abandoned the Iranian resistance, more Congressmen and global leaders are becoming advocates of NCRI. From the perspective of Iranian leaders, Iranian dissidents abroad might inspire the disaffected youth to revolt inside the country. Khamenei has repeatedly warned the youth of such infiltrations from the West.

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For Iranian leaders, PMOI and Iranian dissidents, attending the Free Iran rally, can be significant threat because they can facilitate a popular uprising, a larger repeat of the 2009 protests, put pressure on Iranian politicians, and direct a change in the Iranian government, specifically when they are supported by regional and global powers. Finally, the size, resources, and influence of this oppositional group highlights the notion that, this is the movement that politicians, leaders, republicans, and democrats can join and support, if they are looking for the Iranian government to turn into a rational and moderate state actor, by the Iranian themselves.

_______________________

Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is an American political scientist, business advisor, best-selling author, and the president of the International American Council on the Middle East. Harvard-educated, Rafizadeh serves on the advisory board of Harvard International Review. An American citizen, he is originally from Iran and Syria, lived most of his life in Iran and Syria till recently. He is a board member of several significant and influential international and governmental institutions, and he is native speaker of couple of languages including Arabic and Persian. He also speaks English and Dari, and can converse in French, Hebrew.

You can sign up for Dr. Rafizadeh's newsletter for the latest news and analyses on HERE. You can also order his books on HERE.

You can learn more about Dr. Rafizadeh on HERE.
The Democratic Party has just completed drafting its 2016 Platform. Like all good platforms, this one provides a strong place to stand. One of its primary focuses is economic security. Social Security is a part of that security. Just as politicians stand on their Party platforms, workers and their families stand on Social Security's platform of security in the form of life insurance, disability insurance, and retirement annuities.

The 2016 Democratic Platform proclaims clearly and forcefully,"We will fight every effort to cut, privatize, or weaken Social Security... Democrats will expand Social Security... and we will make sure Social Security's guaranteed benefits continue for generations by asking those at the top to pay more." This call to expand, not cut, Social Security is extremely wise policy.

Expanding Social Security is a solution. It is a solution to the nation's looming retirement income crisis where most workers will be unable to cease work without a drastic reduction in their standards of living. In light of Social Security's near universality, efficiency, fairness in its benefit distribution, portability from job to job, and security, the obvious solution to the nation's looming retirement income crisis is to increase Social Security's modest benefits.

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Moreover, expanding Social Security, while requiring the wealthiest to pay more -- indeed, their fair share -- is a solution to the nation's perilous and rising income and wealth inequality. Expanding Social Security is a solution to the financial squeeze on working families.

Expanding, not cutting, Social Security represents the will of the people. As polarized as Americans are over many issues, Social Security is not one of them. Poll after poll shows that Americans are overwhelmingly united in their strong support for Social Security. They believe Social Security is more important than ever. They adamantly object to it being cut, and favor its expansion. These views are shared by Republicans, Independents, and Democrats. They are held by self-identified Tea Partiers and union households. All ages, genders, income levels, races, and ethnicities hold these views. Strikingly, a recent Pew poll discovered, toward the end of the Republican presidential primary race, that notwithstanding Senator Ted Cruz's and Governor John Kasich's support for deep cuts to Social Security, 66 percent of Cruz's supporters and 62 percent of Kasich's supporters opposed cutting Social Security. And, the survey found that 73 percent of Donald Trump's supporters opposed cuts to the program.

Recognizing the wisdom of expanding Social Security and its popularity, the Democratic Party has enshrined the position in its 2016 Platform.

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Now it is the Republicans' turn. The Republican leadership has long favored cutting Social Security or even dismantling it. During the Republican primary, Donald Trump opposed expansion, but did loudly state his opposition to cuts. But will he stick with that position and will his Party's Platform reflect it?

Since Trump became the presumptive nominee, he's been backing away from his pledge not to cut Social Security. Sam Clovis, Trump's chief policy advisor (and a longtime supporter of privatizing Social Security) said in May that "a Trump administration would be open to reductions in Medicare and Social Security spending." Revealingly, this statement was made immediately before Trump was to meet with Speaker Paul Ryan, a longtime advocate of cutting or privatizing Social Security.

Moreover, in a recent AARP Bulletin, Trump used "dog whistle" language that is very typical of Republican rhetoric on Social Security: "As our demography changes, a prudent administration would begin to examine what changes might be necessary for future generations." This is code for Social Security must be cut!

Furthermore, Trump's own past statements make his pledge of no cuts extremely suspect. In 2000, Trump wrote The America We Deserve, in which he referred to Social Security as a criminal Ponzi scheme, proposed increasing the retirement age to 70, and claimed, "Privatization would be good for all of us." In a 2011 Fox interview with Sean Hannity, Trump said that he agreed that Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid should be cut, but "You can't have the Republicans get too far ahead of this issue." He said that Republicans should be very careful "not to fall into the Democratic trap" by cutting these programs without bipartisan cover, or, he warned, if they did, Republicans "are going to lose elections." That cynical reasoning could explain his apparent last-minute conversion to no cuts.

This demography-is-destiny claim is an old and tired smoke screen to claim, simplistically, that Social Security is unaffordable. But this claim of unaffordability is ridiculous. As the wealthiest nation in the world at the wealthiest moment of our history, there is no question that we can afford a greatly expanded Social Security. As the following chart shows, Social Security spends around half what many other industrialized countries spend, as a percentage of GDP, on their counterpart programs. Indeed, it is projected that, at the dawn of the 22nd century, Social Security will cost the nation only about six percent of GDP, considerably less than most other industrialized countries are spending on their counterpart Social Security programs today.

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As our senior population is projected to grow from 12 percent to 20 percent, Social Security's costs, as a percentage of GDP, remain basically a level, horizontal line:

The late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan famously asserted that we are all entitled to our own opinions, but not our own set of facts. The question of whether to expand or cut Social Security is a matter of values, plain and simple.
The following is one in a series of adapted excerpts from "America's Other Army: The U.S. Foreign Service and 21st-Century Diplomacy."

Working saved David Lindwall's life -- literally. He was deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Haiti in January 2010, when a catastrophic earthquake flattened his house. He felt very lucky to be in the quake-resistant embassy building when the earth shook.

His colleague Victoria DeLong, however, wasn't that lucky -- she was killed when her house collapsed. Overall, hundreds of thousands of people and a quarter-million buildings perished. DeLong, who was the embassy's cultural affairs officer, spent 27 of her 57 years in the Foreign Service.

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For American diplomats serving abroad, natural disasters, along with terrorist attacks, carjackings, kidnappings, robberies and even murder, are part of their way of life. Yet many, including Lindwall, are drawn to dangerous postings more often than plush ones. After Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, Lindwall went to Iraq. He cut short his next assignment as consul-general in Guayaquil, Ecuador, to serve in Afghanistan, where he is currently the deputy chief of mission.

"Even though not every officer has had such experiences, dealing with disasters is very much a part of the Foreign Service life," Lindwall said. "After my house in Haiti collapsed, I slept with the Marines that first night. The second night, the Marines brought a cod, a pillow and a blanket into my office. I slept there for about six weeks."

Lindwall, who joined the Foreign Service in 1985, has also served in Colombia, Spain, Honduras, Nicaragua and Paraguay. He said the most significant change in what American diplomats do during his time in the service has been a shift from observing and reporting to advocacy and lobbying. "We used to lobby the executive branch, but that's not enough anymore," he said. "In many countries, the center of power is not only in the central government, and we have to deal with a much broader field of players, such as legislatures, mayors, governors and even the private sector. We have to build constituencies."

Beginning in the 1990s, the embassy in Guatemala tried for more than a decade to persuade the Central American country to reform its child-adoption system. Rampant corruption was hampering many Americans' attempts to adopt Guatemalan children. From 1999 to 2013, U.S. citizens adopted more children from Guatemala -- almost 30,000 -- than from any other country except China and Russia.

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The corruption "created a situation where babies were being stolen" without the future American parents' knowledge, said Lindwall, who was deputy chief of mission there in the mid-2000s. Congress put "an incredible amount of pressure" on the embassy to push for changing the system, he said. "Guatemala was a historic violator of human rights, but on that we didn't get nearly the pressure that we did on adoption."

Lindwall and his colleagues mounted an intensive lobbying campaign among Guatemalan legislators, government officials and others involved in the issue -- and finally succeeded.

While the executive branch of the U.S. government usually sets the country's diplomatic agenda -- and overseas missions often have flexibility in the daily management of foreign relations -- the field has become more competitive. Congress plays a major role in foreign policy through legislation, foreign travel and appropriating funds. In addition, the Senate must confirm every ambassador, as well as assistant secretaries and higher-ranking officials at the State Department.

During his time as the political-military counselor at the embassy in Baghdad, beginning in 2011, Lindwall was involved in another campaign driven largely by congressional pressure.

Camp Ashraf was a refugee camp in Iraq that looked nothing like the camps familiar to Americans from the news. Rather, it resembled a small town, with modern buildings, the latest communications technology and even its own university, Lindwall said. When he first visited, he was impressed by a "huge mosque with a monumental blue dome, a museum, water park, several monuments, a large conference center, and a tree-lined main boulevard."

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The camp was the headquarters of the People's Mujahedin of Iran, which is also known as Mojahedin-e Khalq or MEK, an Iranian resistance group designated by the State Department as a foreign terrorist organization "for the assassination of several U.S. military personnel and civilians in the 1970s." Following the 2003 U.S. occupation of Iraq, the American military disarmed the camp, which had about 3,400 residents, according to the department. The new Iraqi government was under pressure from Tehran to close Ashraf for years, but the MEK refused to leave. The Iraqi army attacked the camp more than once, killing several Iranians and provoking an outrage in Congress.



So it fell on the United States to help find a new home for the refugees and to close Ashraf. A direct link between Ashraf's future and the U.S. national interest was difficult to find, but it was the issue that occupied more of Lindwall's time in Iraq than any other, and the "U.S. government spent an incredible amount of time and resources on it," he said.

He explained that paradox with "an effective lobbying campaign that a few vocal MEK supporters" mounted in Washington. "Somehow, they persuaded 98 members of Congress to sign a letter" to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, calling for the group's removal from the terrorist blacklist. "These were very serious people," Lindwall said of the legislators, "so there was a great deal of pressure on us to resolve this problem."



In 2012, hundreds of Ashraf residents moved to a former U.S. military base near the Baghdad airport, Camp Hurriya. By 2015, most of the rest had been relocated as well.



Among the most lucrative and controversial trades the United States does around the world are the sales of weapons and other military equipment, which are overseen and authorized by the State Department. When authorizing deals, the department said it takes into account the overall situation in the purchasing country, including its human rights record, potential weapons proliferation and regional security.

Officers like Lindwall "do the screening and paperwork," he said, though the Pentagon "originates the deals." That was another part of his work in Iraq. Since Saddam Hussein's demise in 2003, the government there has made U.S. arms purchases worth more than $20 billion, including dozens of F-16 aircraft.

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"They ultimately want to have an air force to match their neighbors' who have hundreds of planes apiece," Lindwall said. "That creates a lot of jobs in the U.S."
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at the Sharonville Convention Center, Wednesday, July 6, 2016, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Donald Trump will be the nominee of the Republican Party. How he got to be the leader of the Grand 'ole Party of Lincoln and Eisenhower is very important to understand for those who want to stop him from getting to the White House and redecorating it with 24carat gold accents and marble walls and ceiling -- or worse -- and positioning the bronze statue of Eros and Psyche at the Diplomatic Entrance.

While the media and political analysts are writing the obituary of the Republican Party and predicting Trump's inevitable loss in November, I'm keen on illuminating his rise and why he might be able to win. In fact, if the Green Party's and the Libertarian Party's candidates are included in national polling, Clinton and Trump are only separated by the margin of error of 3-5 points. So if those opposed to Trump's election do not understand his capacity to bundle four separate messages about his candidacy and his vision for America -- two of which are contradictory -- then egg will be the new daily facial makeup for the pundits who previously declared Trump's candidacy dead on arrival a year ago.

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While the pundits are focused on the rift between Trump and the republican establishment, Trump remains laser focused on the rift between millions of voters and their government.

FEAR and ANGER: Most observers understand that Trump is a conduit for the fear and anger crashing across America, although far too many believe he is the cause of it, which blinds them to the reality that millions and millions of voters are suffering. As I pointed out in my Huffington Post posting on April 20, 2016, Trump is not the cause of the fear and anger, but rather, the conditions under which millions of Americans live are the reason for such a tsunami of fear and anger spreading throughout the country.

Trump's is an example of the power of unhappiness -- despair in many areas of America -- to drive and demand change. Of course, his role has not been to cause the unhappiness. He simply reflects back to voters their unhappiness with things as they are and with the establishment that is desperately trying to keep change out of the hallways of congress and out of the corridors of the executive branch.

Even a cursory look at the recent polling on people's attitudes and the lack of their trust for the basic institutions of America makes it clear that there are reasons to be afraid and angry. But unfortunately, Trump throws his own brand of DRUMPF gasoline on the fire that's already been burning for years. In 2010, I wrote about the perfect storm of fear and anger rolling across America.

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When over 50 percent of young people between the ages of 18 and 29 believe the American dream is dead, then the future looks as dismal for them as the present is for millions of older voters.

Trump sensed early-on what so many others did not: that millions of primary voters were ready to vote for anyone who seemingly listened to and then reflected and embraced their plight and their earnest demand to overthrow the establishment and make a dramatic change.

GETTING SCREWED: That while Trump is a conduit for these feelings of unhappiness and despair, he's also articulating the feeling that millions and millions of Americans have about getting screwed. Screwed while a very small percentage of the population grows wealthier and while the disparity -- actually a giant gulf between the wealthy and even the middle class -- is staggeringly wide and deep. In fact, today the top 1% own over 50% of the wealth. The bottom 80% own less than 7%.

As a result, it's not surprising that the majority of Americans no longer believe the American dream is alive and possible for their children; tomorrow will not be better for their children than it was for them today.

It's like Reverend Ike, the pastor of decades ago, who told his flock that they would never have the cars, the clothes, the homes, the boats, the women that he had. So it was best, he said, to give him the money and then live vicariously through his life. A bit of an abomination of "prosperity theology," which basically admonishes "forget about the pie in the sky; get yours here and now." Reverend Ike is famous for his "blessing plan" that urged listeners to send him money and then he would bless them. He reassured the listeners that those who sent him greenbacks would be more prosperous. The only difference between Trump and Reverend Ike is that Trump is asking for votes and promising a blessing in return.

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SCREWING the SYSTEM: Trump is using his successful gaming of the system as a significant plus and a distinct advantage. Every time an opponent or a member of the media points out yet another example of Trump beating the system, manipulating the system or in some way getting over on the system, his credibility is enhanced. It's hard to even begin to imagine, but in some way he's become the Robin Hood of this election. He is the representative of all those who want to beat the system that's been beating us - beating us down.

Quite remarkable that at any moment, he not only empathizes with those people being screwed, he declares himself to be one of them, he's getting screwed. Yet in another moment, he boasts of how he screws the system himself.

It was so remarkable to me that as he was wrapping up the nomination, and it was clear he had won the primaries, that he declared himself the victim of the Republican National Committee and his opponents in the Congress. Winner and victim, screwer and screwed -- all in the same sentence.

INSPIRATIONAL and ASPIRATIONAL: Trump is both inspirational and aspirational. He declares what everyone knows to be the truth; America is on the decline in many areas. And most importantly, the majority of us see the physical evidence of this decline every day from the rusting and deteriorating bridges to the crumbling and potholed roads to trains breaking down and airports decaying: infrastructure of all sizes and shapes falling apart..

And from this truth, however exaggerated Trump presents it, he promises that he will rebuild America -- and us, our belief in our institutions and the American dream! People know that much of what he says is a falsehood. But they seem to believe -- or simply want to believe -- that he is a builder. So when he talks about the obvious and irrefutable fact that the infrastructure is crumbling and that he can alone rebuild it, it has resonance for millions of voters.

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Trump speaks of America, not about the government. He talks about America the country, not rules and regulations and policy. He inspires people to believe that America can be great once again. That alone he can do it - there's no call to service other than "vote for me and I'll take care of everything."

Of course, none of this makes sense, especially since those with any experience in government know that the institutional constraints will prevent Trump from doing almost anything. But Trump's been very clever to stay out of the conversation about government and speak frequently of his track record of beating the system and building "stuff." No matter how loathsome that may be to the basic tenants of ethics and morality, he's convinced people that he can transcend government, our laws, and even the basic rules of life.

In my lifetime, I've never heard a candidate capable of carrying four distinct and often contradictory messages all at the same time. And too, I'm convinced and afraid that his support is broader and deeper than the polls and pundits believe. From my own experience in over 40 years in politics, I know that it is unlikely that many voters are willing to disclose to a pollster whether in person, on the phone or even online that they support Trump primarily because of the implied or explicit, depending on your viewpoint, endorsement of his racism, bigotry and class warfare.

And those who criticize Trump for his lack of knowledge about foreign and military affairs and his ignorance about how the political and legislative process work don't understand that it's dawned on a significant part of the electorate that all those politicians and government officials that claim to know so much about these matters have screwed it all up -- big time, leaving ordinary folks way behind. No one has to like Trump at all to see and understand this feeling.

So when Trump doles out his messages, especially with four doorways for voters to enter, he is a force to be reckoned with. Trump is truly a four-legged stool; mirroring the fear and anger, empathizing with the feeling of being screwed while doing some significant screwing of the system and of people himself, and inspiring a sense that only he can rebuild America and the American Dream.

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Quite a remarkable messaging strategy indeed. Whether it remains four-legged or loses one or more of its legs and collapses as his opponents from all sides of the establishment chip away, will be the drama of the next several months.

For those who dismiss Trump, beware. Remember BREXIT.

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The mentality and nature of the Islamic State group, and its brutal brand of terrorism and radical Islamic ideology, pose a challenge to moderate, tolerant, progressive Islam. Tackling ISIS requires an extraordinary breakthrough possible only through extraordinary measures, starting with primary education and not ending with the policies of both major and smaller powers in the region and the world. No one is innocent of this devastating scourge, and everyone is responsible for stopping it and stopping all kinds of extremist ideologies, be it Christian, Jewish, Shia Muslim, or even secular. The primary responsibility is Sunni and Islamic. Indeed, ISIS, al-Qaeda, and similar groups are the offspring of a rigid interpretation of Sunni Islam and authoritarian regimes and forces in many Islamic countries. The responsibility is also Arab, because most members of these jihadist groups are Arabs, from the Gulf and the Levant to North Africa. But "others" too are responsible. The manufacturing of Sunni fundamentalism in Afghanistan proceeded under US-Pakistani-Arab partnership, particularly with Saudi Arabia. It was this that spawned al-Qaeda and led to the Soviet Union's collapse, marking the point at which the US avenged its defeat in Vietnam. For its part, Shiite fundamentalism seized power in Tehran with European-American support. Decades earlier, the same Euro-American partnership helped create Jewish fundamentalism with Israel, which today boasts of its relentless construction of illegal settlement, rejecting an end to its occupation and effectively rejecting the two-state solution. With the release of the report of Sir John Chilcot, chairman of the British Commission of Inquiry into the Iraq War that was led by former US President Bush and UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, it became clear that the invasion had been prepared immediately following 9/11, and that the "mistake" of disbanding the Iraqi army and subsequent de-Baathification were a direct precursor to the creation of ISIS. Then the war in Syria came, and Russia found an opportunity to avenge itself for its defeat in Afghanistan. Russia thus turned Syria into a magnet for terrorists, as Bush had done in Iraq, thinking this would keep terrorism far from its own cities. However, Russia is now implicated in the Syrian war as a party to the ongoing conflict. At the same time, it is part of a partnership with Washington that includes engineering factions and militias to decide who is qualified to fight ISIS, but the deal between the two powers is fragile. Their policies have contributed to the rise of groups like ISIS, but no one is innocent of this. The biggest dilemma is that ISIS appears aware of the fragility of the stakeholders, and of the foolhardiness and arrogance of those who are enabling its adventures as we are seeing in the US presidential campaigns.

Indeed, ISIS may decide to become the swing voter in America. If it manages to carry out a major terror attack before election day in November, this would be a vote in favor of the presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump, who is appealing to the instincts of the American people, pledging to banish Muslims and promising fantastical schemes.

ISIS wants Trump to be president because it is eager to become an unequivocal enemy of the United States, something it believes would be a boon and a boost. Furthermore, Trump's arbitrariness and ostracizing of Muslims helps ISIS mobilize and recruit supports, not just in the US but all around the world.

This does not mean that ISIS will not try to lure the presumptive Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton to a duel, as it is keen to become an official enemy of the United States whatever happens in November. But one key difference is that Clinton would be a foreign policy hawk, building new partnerships and reviving old ones for a new approach against ISIS and similar groups. This would be to the disadvantage of the militant group, which prefers to face off with impulsive foes.

Now that the FBI has decided not to prosecute Clinton backed by the Department of Justice in the case of her leaked private e-mails, she will go to the Democratic National Convention this month free of this burden, meaning her nomination by her party is all but guaranteed.

The decision of the FBI has eliminated all of Bernie Sanders' chances, the other Democratic candidate who remained in the race up until now, hoping an indictment against Hillary would make him the front-runner.

But there is another dimension to the report released by FBI director James Comey, who offered damning evidence against damning evidence exposing Clinton's claims and her negligence, when she sent 110 classified e-mails through her personal account instead of her official one, including from "unfriendly" sites which could expose national security to breaches by foreign agencies.

This is powerful ammunition in the hands of the Republican Party, which wants to stop Hillary from taking the White House. The traditional leaders of the party are furious with Trump's antics, and some had decided not to back his nomination no matter what happens. However, with the approaching Democratic and Republican conventions this month, five months away from Election Day, the Republicans may find James Comey's revelations to be invaluable to prevent another Clinton from becoming president.

Whatever happens, the coming US president will have a difficult job, with ISIS mounting more attacks and its growing capabilities. Terrorist attacks ISIS may be preparing against the US could also influence the result of the US election. Future US policies in the world could be radically affected by the future track of groups like ISIS, though not exclusively.

The Iraq War, as the Chilcot inquiry established, highlighted Britain's role in fabricating premises for the invasion, co-prepared by the court jester Tony Blair. Blair could face charges of war crimes and be stripped of his title as former prime minister - but perhaps not of the money he collected from the Gulf states as head of a consultancy, using a post he never was eligible to occupy as Middle East peace envoy of the International Quartet.

Tony Blair has harmed Iraq as much as George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and their cronies have done. As soon as the terror attacks of 9/11 struck, this motley crew started preparing for the war on Iraq, fabricating justifications based on WMDs that the UN had succeeded in dismantling. Blair presented fabricated evidence. Paul Wolfowitz, the diplomatic godfather of the war, claimed it was for the sake of democracy in the Middle East. Thus the decision to destroy Iraq was taken on flimsy grounds, which then shifted to "not apologizing for getting rid of the dictator Saddam Hussein," and then to the claim by Bush that the war was meant to keep the war on terror away from US cities by fighting terror in Iraq.

It is said the disbanding of the Iraqi army was a mistake, rather than a deliberate strategic decision. This is nonsense of course. The decision was made to serve Israel and Iran, both of which saw the army as a strategic enemy that needed to be destroyed. It was no mistake. It is an affront to our intelligence to be claimed those behind the decision did not foresee that it would unleash partisan and terrorist groups, which would turn Iraq into a fertile ground for terrorism. The emergence of ISIS in Iraq in the battle of Mosul, and its triumph following the army's suspicious withdrawal under pro-Iranian PM Nouri al-Maliki also raises many questions.

The Syrian president Bashar al-Assad's release of terrorists he had used in Iraq before imprisoning them in Syria is also suspicious. Indeed, with support from Tehran and Moscow, Assad decided to turn the war from Syria from being a rebellion against his rule to a war on terror, and he needed the appropriate ammunition to achieve that. Thus emerged the axis comprising Russia, Iran, Hezbollah, and various imported militias alongside the regime in Damascus against ISIS and al-Nusra Front. The US president's reluctance to be more directly involved in Syria also contributed to the rise of these factions.

No one is innocent of what is happening in Syria, from Turkey to the Gulf states, not to mention wealthy donors who thought supporting terrorist groups is akin to fighting fire with fire in response to Iran's meddling. Everyone is to blame in the Afghanization of Syria, with malice aforethought, some believing it is best to confine the war to Syria to keep it away from the homeland. Everyone has miscalculated, however, because ISIS is now a Frankenstein, whose tentacles have spread all over the region and the world.

The terror attacks waged by the group have expanded into the US, Europe, Turkey, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait. The worst may yet to come, and could hit in Russia, neighboring Muslim republics, Arab countries, and Iran itself.

Clearly, it is wrong policies that are feeding this man-made monster. The destruction of armies paved the way for its rise, and fighting it using imported or local militias in Syria and Iraq may win a battle here or there, but it will not win the war. If ISIS's cadres left Iraq or Syria temporarily, they might relocate to Tunisia, Morocco, the Gulf, central Asia, and Chechnya.

Nor will it be sufficient to hold a dialogue of faiths or create centers to fight terrorism, despite the importance of this approach that ISIS deliberately challenged and struck to halt it, in Saudi Arabia in particular.

There is a need for a different kind of thinking that goes beyond intelligence cooperation. Perhaps there is room for a bigger role for technology in the fight against terror, which has been using technology without bounds or limitations.

The Gulf countries coming under terror attack are aware that ISIS and its ilk, and Shia Muslim fundamentalist groups, can now infiltrate and cause harm in their territories. They realize that sleeper cells are an existential threat to the entire Gulf region and its stability.

The governments are taking security measures. But what is also requires is to tackle extremist groups and the proponents of the view of fighting fire with fire, to head off their ideas and their support for radical movements. There is a need to acknowledge that the time has come for actual measures in the reams of education and school traditions, to promote a moderate, tolerant, and progressive Islam.

A fateful battle is afoot between modern Islam and a brand of Islam that is being rigidly interpreted by zealous ideologues and instigators. What is needed is to stop turning a blind eye to government-enabled religious voices and forces, who have been given a free hand to radicalize the cadres that eventually join or fund groups like ISIS.

This is the essence of our self-war. Indeed, the scourge is not just the result of mistaken outside policies, but also the result of a very local fundamentalist mindset.



Translated by Karim Traboulsi

http://www.alhayat.com/Opinion/Raghida-Dergham/16493962/%D8%AD%D8%B1%D8%A8-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B0%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A2%D8%AE%D8%B1


A version of this article was originally published on BetterAfter50.com.

July is my father's birthday month and I've recently returned from my latest trip to visit him in Florida. Over the past year he's faced a string of health challenges and though we live 700 miles apart, I manage to be his medical advocate and go-to girl.

To help him these past months, I've traveled to Florida frequently, week-long trips when my Dad had been in the hospital, had surgery, regained his strength in a rehabilitation facility, or recuperated at home. I've taken him grocery shopping and to a smorgasbord of appointments with doctors. I am grateful that I've shouldered these responsibilities with my brother (who doesn't live close to Dad either); my brother and I tag team being caregivers.

Once my plane touched down in the Sunshine State my father's needs were my 24/7 reason for being, and caregiving had its challenges. When I returned from these trips, I had to jump back into my life at a full run, so I researched advice for caregivers and a list on Today's Health and Wellness resonated with me. As my caregiving time in Florida rolled along, I noticed myself incorporating certain essentials to maintain my own well-being.

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Here's a list of what helped me so I could better help my dad.

1. I brought along something I enjoyed doing.

Whether caregiving time was spent at my father's home, a hospital, or rehab facility, I schlepped along my laptop and a book, or two. Writing and reading are my two favorite activities; I wrote the earliest draft of this essay while my father napped in a trauma step-down unit and I stole a few minutes for myself in the area's waiting room. Reading is my other happy place, so while I staked out doctors by my father's bedside, I let women's fiction take me away like in the old Calgon commercials.

2. I ate well.

Not at first though. At first, food happened at random. I covered part of the daily food pyramid with a coffee on the way to the hospital (half and half is dairy), Mounds bars (did you know coconut can be considered a fruit, a nut, or a seed?), and Reese's peanut butter cups (they're just yummy) from the hospital gift shop. The hospital cafeteria seemed to be closed whenever I had a few seconds to eat real food. After my father's initial medical situation stabilized, I packed a daily cooler with the things I wanted to eat -- keeping it healthy to boost my energy and spirits -- and I schlepped that along with my laptop and books. I loped through the hospital hallways like a Converse-shod pack mule, but I ate fairly well.

3. I slept.

This was tough. When life is rough, sleep can be elusive. Worry can make it impossible. Yet, I did my best to cast off the day's stresses and concerns so I could catch some quality shut-eye. A trick that helped me was coming up with three things I enjoyed during the day. A piece of candy (thanks again hospital gift shop!), a kind gesture from a nurse, or even a close-to-the-door celebrity-like hospital parking spot. Small stuff eased my turbulent mind enough to let me relax. And catch some zzzs.

4. Moving around was my daily priority.

This helped me the most. I'm a runner. While my father was ill, I tried to run early in the morning, before I headed to the hospital or rehab facility. Of course, that didn't happen every day. So when my father napped, I walked the hospital halls to boost my flagging energy and mood. Each day also involved a string of daily phone calls and emails, usually related to my father's present and future medical care, but some to family and friends seeking updates. I made these calls at night, after leaving the hospital or rehab facility. As much as I love to run, I also love to walk, so family calls -- and even voice-recorded emails -- took place during nighttime walks. This nightly habit cleared my head, and surely contributed to my ability to sleep before I had to hit the repeat button on the next day.

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5. I accepted one fact: I couldn't do it all no matter how hard I tried.

I didn't want to accept this, but eventually I faced a hard truth: Days and nights spent at the hospital with my father meant I couldn't get to every task around his house. Chores slid. Each visit, I chiseled his laundry mountain back down to a speed bump, wrestled the dust bunnies into submission, paid bills and handled other routine stuff, but I always intended to do more. I had to face the fact that I was only human and each day was still only twenty-four hours.

I found that by taking better care of myself in these small ways, I was more capable to help my father. I love my dad and learned that I also had to share some of that love with myself.

Earlier on Huff/Post50:
It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis

By Jim Swearingen

Let's assume--for one mad, grotesque moment--that he wins the whole shebang. The big, brass ring. The White House. No, no, it's too preposterous. Unthinkable. Americans would never allow such a thing. It can't happen here.

Roughly 80 years ago, as unlikely a soothsayer as Sinclair Lewis anticipated this 2016 election season and a host of uncanny particulars, including the rise of a brash, ill-informed dilettante to most powerful office in the land. His "futuristic" novel, It Can't Happen Here, written in 1935, chronicles the rise and fall of a completely unscrupulous Vermont Senator who launches a challenge to Franklin Roosevelt for the Democratic Presidential nomination of 1936.

Harry Truman is reputed to have said, "There is nothing new in the world except the history you do not know." Exploring this cloth-bound, out-of-print volume reminds us that the fascists and philistines have always been with us, and in cahoots against most of us, impatient with the delicate balance of the American experiment.

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In It Can't Happen Here, a dark-horse presidential candidate, with the appropriately dyspeptic name Buzz Windrip, wages an ideological campaign so vitriolic and dismissive of non-white-male-Christian-American-capitalists that it leads some of his more sober characters to switch their lifelong political allegiances and vote across party lines. It also garners the support of the Ku Klux Klan. And, in yet another detail that seems plucked from the 2016 headlines, Windrip's opponents indulge in gallows humor about relocating to Canada if the election goes against them. They are not serious, however -- at least not at first -- because, after all, it couldn't happen here.

In Lewis's dystopian narrative, President Franklin Roosevelt loses the nomination to Windrip, whose sanctimonious rhetoric and incoherent policy proposals -- again, reminiscent of much we have been hearing this year -- carry him all the way to the White House. Once there, President Windrip begins to deliver on his campaign promises.

He increases military spending to unprecedented levels, removes women from the workforce, bans labor unions, imprisons the leftists, and transfers all powers of the legislative and judicial branches to the executive, thereby ushering in a dictatorship. He never delivers on the promise of prosperity, instead tanking the national economy with his own idiosyncratic notions of economic recovery. Eventually, the regime engineers a trumped-up war against Mexico to distract the American people from their own oppression.

Windrip's successful campaign tactics are cynical and simple: appeal to the voters' hunger for a government that responds to the needs that have gone unanswered by more conventional politicians. Promise them money. Promise them efficiency. Promise them a return to greatness.

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The novel's main character Doremus Jessup--whose stream of consciousness analyses give voice to Sinclair Lewis' own political views--bears witness to every one of Windrip's blasphemies and atrocities. A local newspaper editor, Jessup is educated and sophisticated enough to perceive the hypocrisy and treachery of the new regime, but he has to lose nearly everything dear to him before venturing into serious counter-insurgency. The second half of the book reads like a cloak and dagger tale of the French Resistance transplanted to New England, complete with a "New Underground" railroad that smuggles renegade patriots into Canada.

Jessup, as we meet him in the first part of the novel, is a reflection of the complacency of journalists who propel a dangerous candidate's viability, no matter how repugnant he is, by -- again, awfully familiar -- talking about him incessantly. The newspapermen so disliked Windrip that "they, by the unusual spiritedness and color of their attacks upon him, kept his name alive in every column." Jessup -- whose given name, Doremus, translates roughly as "we sleep" -- also embodies the somnambulism of a citizenry that idly believes their shining city on a hill could never devolve into totalitarianism. It couldn't possibly happen here.

Windrip's base of support, which catapults him to world power, consists of legions of voters who have been suffering the effects of the Depression with no relief--angry, out-of-work Americans who think the system has ignored them. Windrip exploits their anger and resentment "coldly and almost contemptuously jab[bing] his crowds with figures and facts that were inescapable even when, as often happened, they were entirely incorrect."

Writing in an era when there were still large numbers of Communists and Socialists active in the American body politic, Lewis captures the lethal inefficacy of the left. Closely mirroring some of the fractures that exist among liberals and leftists today, Lewis's left-of-center characters resist forming a united front against disaster with their incessant bickering over granular points of economics and tactics. Even after being cooped up together in a concentration camp, six to a cell, these would-be challengers of the new order cannot put their divisions aside. With the opposition self-divided, the Windrip regime has little trouble picking them all off, one by one.

The people in Lewis's imperiled America who could save the nation from itself are hampered by a smug delusion that dictatorships are a European phenomenon -- a delusion that prevents them from taking action to stop the march of fascism until it is too late. That benighted attitude--that fascism and authoritarianism are innately German, or Russian, or Chinese, or North Korean, or indigenous to anywhere but our own country -- is a mistake our founding fathers didn't make. They deliberately crafted an inefficient form of government, full of checks and balances, because they understood that America was as liable to fall victim to totalitarianism as any other country.

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The #BlackLivesMatter movement is a movement specifically targeting police brutality against black people. It was founded because police were and are shooting unarmed black people and not being held accountable for their deaths. If you talk to anyone who has been involved with the #BlackLivesMatter movement, they will tell you that there is NOT an invisible 'only' in front of the hashtag. They're more likely to say there's actually an invisible 'too' at the end. BlackLivesMatter doesn't mean only black lives matter, nor is it a proclamation that black lives matter more. BlackLivesMatter is a declaration that black lives matter just as much as other lives, and police who unjustly end those lives should be held accountable.

When explaining the BlackLivesMatter movement to people who may not understand or see the necessity of the movement, analogies are often used. For example, imagine that your house is on fire. When the fire department arrives and you tell them that your house is on fire, you don't expect them to say "All houses matter!" and spray water on each house on the block. While it is true that all houses matter, the focus should be on the house that is currently on fire and in danger of being destroyed. Black victims of police brutality are the burning house. Statistically, black people are more likely to be killed by police than any other population. Across America, on average, unarmed black people are 3.49 times more likely to be shot by police than unarmed white people. In other words, black lives are more in danger, like the burning house.

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Some people will look at that analogy and say that it doesn't make sense because black lives are not the only lives being taken by police. Here is another analogy that may make more sense. Imagine that you have frequent fractures in both your left and right arms. If your left arm breaks 3.49 times as often as your right, it would make sense that you complain to your doctor about your left more than your right. Both arms are important, of course, but the left is harder to protect and needs more support. Similarly, since police kill black people more often than any other race, it makes sense to complain about police brutality against black people more. All lives matter, of course, but black people are harder to protect from police brutality and need more support.

At the end of the day, BlackLivesMatter is outraged by the fact that police who kill black people (both armed and unarmed) do not receive appropriate consequences for their behavior. Many are not even indicted, let alone convicted. At the heart of the movement is the firm belief that cops who kill people and people who kill cops should face the same justice system. If you believe AllLivesMatter, then you believe all criminals should face the same justice system. Sadly, police officers that murder black people do not face the same system as blacks who kill blacks, blacks who kill whites, or black who kill cops. That discrepancy is what BlackLivesMatter is all about.
- via Getty Images Indian police carry the body of a slain youth outside a hospital in Srinagar on July 9, 2016.Clashes spread across the disputed territory as protesters angry at the killing on Friday of Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) leader Burhan Wani torched police stations and threw rocks at army camps in the south of the restive region.Four have died of bullet wounds and 60 injured have been brought in so far, six of them are in a critical condition,' a staff member at a hospital in the southern town of Anantnag told AFP, asking to remain anonymous. / AFP / - (Photo credit should read -/AFP/Getty Images)

SRINAGAR -- A youth was today killed in fresh clashes between locals, protesting the gunning down of Hizbul Mujhaideen poster boy Burhan Wani, and security forces in Pulwama district, taking the death toll to 16 in the violence which also left 200 people injured.

An 18-year-old youth was critically injured in clashes between protestors and security forces at Newa in Pulwama this morning, a police official said.

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Irfan Ahmad Malik was rushed to SMHS hospital here but succumbed to his injuries, he said.

Four persons who were injured in the violent clashes yesterday succumbed to injuries during the night, the official said.

Violent protests broke out in most parts of Kashmir -- with the south districts of Pulwama, Anantnag and Kulgam being the worst hit.

As per consolidated information available now, more than 200 persons, including 96 security personnel, were injured in the day long clashes during which the mobs set on fire three police installations, three civil administration offices, the house of a PDP MLA, several vehicles and targeted a BJP office.

Meanwhile, curfew-like restrictions continued in parts of Kashmir Valley as a precautionary measure for the second day today.

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Normal life across Valley remained paralysed due to a strike called by separatist groups to protest the killings.

Separatist leaders, including Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, continue to be under house arrest while Mohammad Yasin Malik is also under preventive detention.

Amarnath Yatra, which was suspended from Jammu yesterday, also remained suspended.

Wani, a Hizbul Mujahideen commander, and two others were killed on Friday when security forces retaliated after being fired upon by the trio from a house in which they were hiding.

Mobile internet services were suspended and and a curfew was imposed across the Valley to contain the fallout of Wani's killing.

(More details awaited)

Also On HuffPost India:
DAR-ES-SALAAM -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi today held talks with Tanzanian President John Pombe Joseph Magufuli on a wide range of issues aimed at boosting ties in the African continent, particularly in the economic sphere.

The Prime Minister was accorded a ceremonial welcome when he arrived at the State House here.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted:

A ceremonial welcome, the East African way. PM's Tanzania engagements begin at the State House in Dar es Salaam pic.twitter.com/vkkgb3jsSt  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 10, 2016

The Prime Minister, who arrived here late last night on the third leg of his four-nation Africa tour, also played the drum along with the Tanzanian President for nearly one minute.

Swarup said:

Prime Minister Modi and President Magufuli first held restricted talks before holding delegation-level parleys.

Talking with Tanzania. PM @narendramodi and President @MagufuliJP in restricted talks following the welcome pic.twitter.com/EyIyFpGxmm  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 10, 2016

The visit will be aimed at giving an impetus to ties with Tanzania, a valued friend in Africa, Modi had said ahead of his visit.

He will also be meeting 'Solar Mamas', a group of rural women solar engineers from Africa who have been trained under Government of India-supported programmes to fabricate, install, use, repair and maintain solar lanterns and household solar lighting systems in their villages.

He visited Mozambique and South Africa before arriving here. He will also visit Kenya.

The focus of the African tour is on deepening cooperation in areas of hydrocarbons, maritime security, trade and investment, agriculture and food.

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Contact HuffPost India

Also On HuffPost:
Twitter

NEW DELHI -- Following the Centre's tough stand on Islamic preacher Zakir Naik's controversial comments on terrorism, nine teams from the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and other agencies are scanning the former's activities, while special teams are scanning every footage of his speeches.

According to sources from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), four teams have been constituted to scan the video footages and CDs of Naik's speeches and three teams are scanning social sites, while two teams are monitoring his Facebook posts.

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According to initial investigation, it has been found that Naik's speeches are provocative, objectionable and so is his writing. Besides, his NGO's operations have also been branded as suspicious.

It has also been found that the funds sent for his 'charitable activities' are being misused and the MHA is also examining his Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) funding clearance and irregularities.

Besides his phone calls and e-mails, the sponsors for his foreign trips and meeting are also under the scanner of the NIA.

Sources further state that Naik may be banned soon and the Centre has sought fresh legal opinion regarding the controversial preacher.

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The government is most likely gearing up to make a strong legal case against Naik.

According to reports, Naik has kept himself legally safe and he is also said to have the backing of the Saudi royal family.

The Centre will soon make amendment in the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA)- under which an individual can be put under ban list.

Under UAPA, the provocative or controversial speakers - whose speeches inspire terrorists - can be banned and action can be taken against them.

Asserting that the Centre has taken cognizance of Naik's controversial comments regarding terrorism, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh had earlier said that a proper probe would be conducted into the matter.

"We have taken cognizance of Zakir Naik's speeches and necessary instructions have been issued in this regard. His (Zakir Naik) speeches, CDs are being examined and whatever is justified will be done," Rajnath told the media here.

He added that the government would not compromise on the grave issue of terrorism at any cost.

According to a Bangladesh newspaper, militant Rohan Imtiaz, the son of an Awami League leader and one of the perpetrators of Dhaka's diplomatic zone terror attack, quoted the controversial Indian Islamic preacher Zakir Naik as urging all Muslims during his lecture on Peace TV to become terrorists.

Naik, a popular but controversial Islamic orator and founder of the Mumbai-based Islamic Research Foundation, is banned in the UK and Canada for his hate speeches.

He is among the 16 banned Islamic scholars in Malaysia.

Also On HuffPost India:
Advocates say healing takes time after former police officer arrested

After a former Hutchinson police officer was arrested in a series of rapes and sexual assaults, victim advocates worry some victims might stay silent.
Imperial Valley News Center

Anniversary of Crackdown on Lawyers and Rights Defenders in China

Washington, DC - The Department of State remains deeply concerned about the continued detention in China of at least 23 defense lawyers and rights defenders and denial of access to independent legal counsel. These actions violate Chinas international commitments.

A year ago, the Chinese government launched a nationwide campaign of intimidation against defense lawyers and rights defenders. More than 300 people have been interrogated, detained, arrested, placed under residential surveillance, or forbidden from leaving the country. This campaign undermines Chinas development of a judicial system that respects the rule of law.

Jailing those who seek to defend the legal rights of others harms Chinas international image and its ability to build a rule of law society, which is a critical component to fostering innovation and creating sustainable prosperity in the 21st century. To this end, we urge Chinese authorities to immediately release the lawyers and rights defenders still in detention, drop the charges against them, and allow them to move freely and reunite with their families who they have not seen in a year.
Imperial Valley News Center

Governor Abbott Unveils Texas Plan, Offers Constitutional Amendments To Restore The Rule Of Law

Austin, Texas - Governor Greg Abbott Friday delivered the keynote address at the Texas Public Policy Foundations Annual Policy Orientation where he unveiled his Texas Plan to restore the Rule of Law and return the Constitution to its intended purpose. In his plan, Governor Abbott offers nine constitutional amendments to rein in the federal government and restore the balance of power between the States and the United States. The Governor proposes achieving the constitutional amendments through a Convention Of States.

The increasingly frequent departures from Constitutional principles are destroying the Rule of Law foundation on which this country was built, said Governor Abbott. We are succumbing to the caprice of man that our Founders fought to escape. The cure to these problems will not come from Washington D.C. Instead, the states must lead the way. To do that I am adding another item to the agenda next session. I want legislation authorizing Texas to join other states in calling for a Convention of States to fix the cracks in our Constitution.

Governor Abbott went on to explain that dysfunction in Washington, D.C. stems largely from the federal governments refusal to follow the Constitution. Congress routinely violates its enumerated powers, while taxing and spending its way from one financial crisis to another. The President exceeds his executive powers to impose heavy-handed regulations. And the Supreme Court imposes its policy views under the guise of judicial interpretation. Governor Abbott urged action by Texas  and other states  to restore the Rule of Law in America.

Governor Abbott offered the following constitutional amendments:
Imperial Valley News Center

41 arrested in multinational human smuggling takedown in Central America and South America

Washington, DC - Forty-one individuals linked to transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) responsible for smuggling hundreds of individuals through South and Central America into the United States were arrested by foreign partners last week in two separate multinational operations under U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements (ICE) ongoing efforts in the region as part of Operation Citadel.

Operation Mesoamerica was a 15-month multinational investigation that began with a tip from the ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Assistant Attache Office in Merida, Mexico, and ended Tuesday, June 28, with the arrest of 27 individuals throughout Central America. A second human smuggling investigation yielded 14 arrests on Monday, June 27, in Colombia.

Operation Mesoamerica took place in Guatemala, Panama, El Salvador, Honduras and Costa Rica. Among those arrested was Luis Leonardo Mejia Pasapera, the alleged head of a TCO operating in Guatemala and the region. Pasapera, a Peruvian national, was fraudulently living as a Guatemalan citizen. He was arrested on June 28 by the Guatemalan National Police in Guatemala City, Guatemala.

This operation is a reflection of the multilateral commitment to identifying and dismantling criminal networks involved in the illicit movement of people, said ICE Director Sarah R. Saldana. Through this effort, we are demonstrating that when it comes to protecting our borders, the international community will operate as one in a united front against those involved in human smuggling.

Evidence gathered during the investigation revealed that Pasapera worked with other TCOs in Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras and El Salvador to smuggle individuals from Asia, Africa, Europe and the Middle East through South America and Central America. According to court documents, Pasapera charged approximately $20,000 USD per individual. He faces more than 20 years imprisonment, if found guilty.

The Guatemalan National Police arrested 10 individuals, including Pasapera. Of those, one was an alleged corrupt Guatemalan National Police officer. Guatemalan officials also executed 16 search warrants at different locations throughout the country, seizing vehicles, motorcycles, guns, ammunition, passports and money.

The Panamanian National Police arrested seven individuals and executed six search warrants, while Costa Rican authorities nabbed two individuals, executing two search warrants and seizing one weapon. Salvadoran officials arrested one individual and Honduran officials arrested six individuals to include two alleged corrupt immigration officials. A seventh individual, the main Honduran target, was arrested in Nicaragua and will be turned over to Honduran officials. All are alleged to have been working with Pasapera.

The following ICE Attache offices participated in the multinational investigation: Guatemala, Panama, Honduras, Mexico, Brazil, and El Salvador. HSI Washington, D.C., HSI New York and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (USCBP) also assisted with the investigation.

The following agencies conducted the arrests and are handling the prosecution of the cases: the Guatemalan National Police, the Guatemalan Attorney Generals Office, the Salvadoran National Police, the Salvadoran Attorney Generals Office, the Panamanian National Police, the Panamanian Attorney Generals Office, the Costa Rican National Police, the Costa Rican Attorney Generals Office, the Honduran National Police and the Honduran Attorney Generals Office.

In a separate human smuggling case not linked to Operation Mesoamerica, the ICE Attache Colombia supported the Colombian National Police in a human smuggling investigation that yielded 14 arrests in five Colombian cities and the execution of seven search warrants. Evidence uncovered during the investigation revealed that the TCO in Colombia was responsible for smuggling individuals primarily from Bangladesh through Colombia and Venezuela into the United States. During the operation, officials seized the equivalent of $6,000 USD in Colombian and Venezuelan currency and one weapon. The case is being handled by the Colombian Attorney Generals Office.

Operation Mesoamerica comes under ICE HSIs Operation Citadel, a multinational effort that focuses on increasing partner nation capacity to identify, disrupt, and dismantle transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and other support networks involved in human smuggling throughout South and Central America, and Mexico. The scope of the operation includes cross-border enforcement actions with partner nations, document and media collection at ports of entries and along illicit smuggling routes, and traditional training events.

The Department of Homeland Securitys (DHS) Joint Task Force for Investigations (JTF-I) provided

investigative and analytical support for Operation Citadel. JTF-I is one of three new inter-component task forces established as part of DHS Secretary Jeh Johnsons unity of effort initiative to better integrate DHS components capabilities, authorities and expertise.

Through its International Operations, HSI has 65 operational attache offices in 46 countries around the world. HSI special agents work closely with foreign law enforcement agencies through a robust network of specialized, vetted units known as Transnational Criminal Investigative Units. Additionally, HSI brings personnel from host countries to the United States to train at the Department of Homeland Security Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Georgia.
Defendants charged in large-scale Sierra National Forest marijuana grow appear in court

Fresno, California - One defendant was sentenced and a second pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court to conspiring to cultivate marijuana in the Sierra National Forest in Madera County, following a multiagency probe that included U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Francisco Javier Gomez-Rodriguez, 38, of Pihuamo, Jalisco, Mexico, was sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. ONeill to three years and five months in prison and ordered to pay $8,750 in restitution to the U.S. Forest Service. Judge ONeill also ordered the forfeiture of two firearms and ammunition seized in the case.

Meanwhile, a second defendant, Alejandro Ramirez-Rojo, 31, of Mexico, pleaded guilty to conspiring to grow marijuana with the intent to distribute. His sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 26. Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen A. Escobar is prosecuting the case.

According to court documents, between March 1, 2015, and Aug. 4, 2015, co-defendant Humberto Ceballos-Rangel, 37, of Mexico, was found at a campsite in the Saginaw Creek area of the Sierra National Forest at a marijuana cultivation site where agents discovered nearly 6,000 marijuana plants and a loaded firearm. Gomez-Rodriguez and two other co-defendants, RamirezRojo and Anthony Isaac Santibanez, 20, of Woodlake, California, were encountered a short time later approaching the grow site in a vehicle used for delivering supplies to the cultivation area. A .22-caliber rifle was found in the vehicle, along with multiple rounds of ammunition.

The marijuana grow caused significant environmental damage. Native vegetation was cut to accommodate the marijuana plants, foot trails, and cooking and sleeping areas. Water was diverted from a nearby creek for irrigation. A large quantity of trash was also found in pits and throughout the site.

The American public treasures its national forests and the federal government goes to great lengths to act as stewards of their protection. said Ryan L. Spradlin, special agent in charge of HSI San Francisco. Our forests are special and are holders of thousands of years of history. Their intentional destruction for the purpose of producing illegal drugs is inexcusable and shows a complete disregard for the special land.

Ceballos-Rangel pleaded guilty and was sentenced in April to three years in prison. Santibanez also pleaded guilty and is scheduled for sentencing Aug. 15. The maximum sentence for conspiracy to manufacture marijuana and to possess with the intent to distribute is 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine.

In addition to HSI, multiple other federal and state agencies are also involved in this ongoing probe, including the U.S. Forest Service, the California Department of Justices Campaign Against Marijuana Planting (CAMP), the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Madera County Narcotic Enforcement Team (MADNET).
Defense Contractor Employee Arrested for Selling Satellite Secrets to Undercover Agent Posing as Foreign Spy

Washington, DC - A Culver City, California, man was arrested yesterday on federal charges of economic espionage and violations of the Arms Export Control Act for his attempts to sell sensitive satellite information to a person he believed to be a foreign intelligence agent.

Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin, U.S. Attorney Eileen M. Decker of the Central District of California, Assistant Director in Charge Deirdre Fike of the FBIs Los Angeles Field Office and Special Agent John Rayho of the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) Detachment Commander at Los Angeles Air Force Base made the announcement.

Gregory Allen Justice, 49, who worked for a cleared defense contractor as an engineer on military and commercial satellites during his alleged crimes, was arrested yesterday by FBI special agents and made his initial appearance yesterday afternoon in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The judge ordered him detained pending trial.

Mr. Justice allegedly placed his own interests of greed over our national security by providing information on sensitive U.S. technologies to a person whom he believed was a foreign agent, said Assistant Attorney General Carlin. In the wrong hands, this information could be used to harm the United States and its allies. The National Security Division will continue to relentlessly identify, pursue and prosecute offenders that threaten our national security. I would like to thank the FBI and the Air Force Office of Special Investigations for their efforts in protecting our nations most sensitive information.

Our nations security depends on the honesty and integrity of those entrusted with our technological secrets, said U.S. Attorney Decker. In this case, the defendant sought to undermine our national security by attempting to sell proprietary and controlled information about satellites to a foreign governments intelligence service. Fortunately, law enforcement agents were able to timely and effectively intervene to protect this critical technology.

The enforcement of U.S. laws that prohibit the acquisition of specified economic information and defense-related items is vital to national security and can prove to be a challenging mission when set against the backdrop of legitimate international trade, vast amounts of which occur every day in the United States, said Assistant Director in Charge Fike. The cooperative effort among the FBI and Air Force OSI was critical in bringing this case forward for prosecution by the U.S. Department of Justice.

This investigation exemplifies the crucial law enforcement alliance the Air Force Office of Special Investigations enjoys with our DOJ counterparts, said Special Agent Rayho. We remain diligent in our mission to protect the vital technologies our national defense forces rely on.

According to the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint, Justice stole proprietary trade secret materials from his employer and provided them to a person whom he believed to be a representative of a foreign intelligence service, but who was in fact an FBI undercover agent. In addition to their proprietary nature, the documents contained technical data covered by the U.S. Munitions List and therefore controlled for export from the United States under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, according to the allegations. In exchange for providing these materials, Justice allegedly sought and received cash payments.

A criminal complaint contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. The defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.

If convicted, Justice faces a statutory maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison for the economic espionage charge and a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison for violating the Arms Export Control Act.

The FBI and AFOSI investigated the case. Attorneys from the U.S. Attorneys Office of the Central District of California and the National Security Divisions Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case.
Sacramento Man Sentenced to 8 Years in Prison for Child Exploitation Offense

Sacramento, California - Dean Lynn Christiansen, 70, of Sacramento, was sentenced today to eight years and one month in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, for receiving child pornography, Acting United States Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. U.S. District Judge Morrison C. England Jr. also ordered Christiansen to pay a $17,500 fine.

According to court documents, between October 14, 2010 and October 17, 2012, Christiansen used a peer-to-peer file-sharing network to search for and collect more than 790 files containing pictures and videos that depicted the sexual exploitation of children. A search warrant executed at Christiansens home revealed that, at various times, many of those images and videos were made available to others over the internet. The images and videos Christiansen possessed involved the portrayal of sadistic, masochistic, and other depictions of violence, and included depictions of prepubescent minors under 12 years old. On September 24, 2015, Christiansen pleaded guilty to one count of receiving child pornography.

This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Sacramento County Sheriffs Office, Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Assistant United States Attorney Andre M. Espinosa prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys Offices and the Criminal Divisions Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.
Redwood City Resident Pleads Guilty To Defrauding Produce Vendors Of Millions Of Dollars Worth Of Fruits And Vegetables

San Jose, California - Remon Issa Daniel pleaded guilty in federal court late yesterday to three counts of wire fraud for his scheme to defraud produce vendors, announced United States Attorney Brian J. Stretch and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge John F. Bennett. The plea follows charges Daniel pretended to be employed by reputable produce companies and ordered loads of fruits and vegetables on credit, when he knew he did not have the funds to pay for the loads and had no intention of paying for them.

In pleading guilty, Daniel admitted that between 2014 and his arrest on February 25, 2016, he defrauded at least 38 different businesses of more than $1.5 million worth of fruits and vegetables. Daniel ordered produce primarily from companies in California, Arizona, and Texas, and usually claimed to be from Bay Produce, New San Jose Wholesale, or General Produce, each a genuine produce wholesaler in Northern California. In fact, Daniel had no association with any of these companies. Daniel admitted to sending some of the vendors a copy of a deposit slip as proof that he had made a payment for the product. Only after the vendor released the produce to Daniel did the vendor learn that the deposited check was returned for insufficient funds.

Daniel was indicted by a grand jury on March 10, 2016, on 14 counts of wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C.  1343. Pursuant to yesterdays plea, Daniel has admitted he is guilty of three of the counts in the indictment and the remaining counts will be dismissed. He is currently being held in in the Santa Clara County Main Jail, pending sentencing, which is set for October 19, 2016, at 9:45 a.m., before the Honorable United States District Judge Lucy Koh. The maximum statutory penalty for a violation of 18 U.S.C.  1343, is 20 years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, plus restitution. However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C.  3553.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Amber Rosen is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Susan Kreider, Yolanda Singletary, and Nina Williams. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Long-term Pacific climate cycle linked to expansion of Antarctic sea ice

Seattle, Washington - The trend over recent years of increasing Antarctic sea ice extent - seemingly at odds with climate model projections - can be mostly explained by a natural long-term climate fluctuation, according to a paper published this week in Nature Geoscience.

The study, led by Colorados National Center for Atmospheric Research with co-authors at the University of Washington and other institutions, may resolve a longstanding mystery: Why is Antarctic sea ice expanding despite climate-related global warming?

A satellite image of sea ice circling the Antarctic continent in September 2014, the Southern Hemisphere winter.NASA

The study offers evidence that the current negative phase of the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation, which brings cooler-than-average sea surface temperatures in the tropical eastern Pacific, has created favorable conditions for additional Antarctic sea ice growth since 2000.

The winter sea ice around Antarctica is particularly susceptible to its influence.

Compared to the Arctic, global warming causes only weak Antarctic sea ice loss, which is why the IPO can have such a striking effect in the Antarctic, said co-author Cecilia Bitz, a UW professor of atmospheric sciences who studies sea ice. There is no comparable natural variability in the Arctic that competes with global warming.

The sea ice surrounding Antarctica has been slowly increasing in area since the satellite record began in 1979. But the rate of increase rose by nearly fivefold between 2000 and 2014, following the IPOs 1999 transition to a negative phase.

The new study used climate models that capture this transition to show that when the IPO changes phase, from positive to negative or vice versa, it touches off a chain reaction of climate impacts that may ultimately affect sea ice formation at the bottom of the world.

When the IPO transitions to a negative phase, the sea surface temperatures in the tropical eastern Pacific become somewhat cooler than average when measured over a decade or two. These sea surface temperatures, in turn, change tropical precipitation, which drives large-scale changes to the winds that extend all the way down to Antarctica.

The ultimate impact is a deepening of a low-pressure system off the coast of Antarctica known as the Amundsen Sea Low. Winds generated on the western flank of this system blow sea ice northward, away from Antarctica, helping to enlarge the extent of sea ice coverage.

The climate we experience during any given decade is some combination of naturally occurring variability and the planets response to increasing greenhouse gases, said lead author Gerald Meehl, a scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Its never all one or the other, but the combination, that is important to understand.

The authors suspect that in 2014 the IPO began to change from a negative to positive phase, and that sea ice growth may begin to slow and winter sea ice may shrink over the next decade as the oscillation switches to its positive phase and global warming continues.

Other co-authors are Julie Arblaster of NCAR and Monash University in Australia, Christine Chung at the Australian Bureau of Meteorology and Haiyan Teng at NCAR. The study was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation.
Standing Together to Stop the Violence

Washington, DC - In this week's address, Vice President Joe Biden commemorated the lives of the five police officers who were killed and the seven people who were wounded in Dallas. The police officers were providing safety to those who were peacefully marching against racial injustices in the criminal justice system  and the shocking images of the lives lost in St. Paul and Baton Rouge. Echoing the remarks of Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings and Police Chief David Brown, the Vice President called on the American people to act with unity and to stop the violence. He emphasized that it is the responsibility of everyone to speak out against disparities within the criminal justice system, just as much as it is the responsibility of everyone to stand up for the police who protect us every day.

Because together, we as a nation will persevere and overcome.

Remarks of Vice President Joe Biden as Prepared for Delivery

Weekly Address

The White House

July 9, 2016

Although I didnt know the five police officers who were killed, or the seven who were wounded in Dallas this week  I knew them.

They were the folks I grew up with: The boy with the most courage and the most compassion; the man with a brave heart and a generous soul, whose words were always encouraging; the son who made his mother proud every time he turned and smiled at her; and the friend who you could always count on. Being a cop wasnt just what they did. It was who they werelike every officer who joined for essentially the same reason. There was something about them that made them think they could help, that they should serve, that they had a duty.

So when an assassins bullet targeted the police force in Dallas, it touched the soul of the nation. Those killed and wounded were protecting the safety of those who were peacefully protesting against racial injustices in the criminal justice system. Those who were marching against the kind of shocking images we saw in St. Paul and Baton Rougeand have seen too often elsewhereof too many black lives lost.

I believe the Dallas Police Department is one of the finest in the nationand this incredibly diverse city can bridge any divide. To paraphrase Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings, let us use our words carefully. Let us act with unity, not division. As Dallas Police Chief David Brownone of the leading chiefs in Americasaid, There are no words to describe the atrocity that occurred to our city, all I know is that this must stop, this divisiveness between our police and our citizens.

As Americans, we are wounded by all of these deaths. Its on all of us to stand up, to speak out about disparities in our criminal justice systemjust as its on all of us to stand up for the police who protect us in our communities every day. In the days and weeks ahead, well continue offering our thoughts and prayers to provide comfort to the broken-hearted families. But they will only be redeemed by the courage of our actions that honor their memories.

So while were being tested, we cant be pulled apart. We are America, with bonds that hold us together. We endure, we persevere, we overcome, we stand together.
USDA Announces $49 Million Public-Private Investment to Improve Critical Wetlands in 12 States

Washington, DC - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that USDA is awarding $44.6 million through its Wetland Reserve Enhancement Partnership to support 10 wetland enhancement projects on private and tribal agricultural lands in 12 States. Recipients for each project are providing more than $4.3 million in matching funds, bringing the total investment to approximately $49 million. In total, the projects will help to protect, restore or enhance 15,000 wetland acres in critical watersheds across the United States.

"USDA is committed to protecting and enhancing our nation's wetlands, which are critical to the quality of our nation's waters, wildlife and landscapes," said Vilsack. "By collaborating with private partners at the local and regional level, USDA is able to support innovative conservations solutions and expand the amount of dedicated resources. These are high impact projects that will ensure our land and water resources are healthy now and for the next generation."

The Wetland Reserve Enhancement Partnership (WREP) was authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill and is administered by USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). WREP helps States, local governments, Tribes and other organizations collaborate with NRCS to work with private and Tribal landowners to voluntarily enroll eligible land into conservation easements that protect, restore and enhance wetlands on their property. WREP is a special enrollment option under the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP).

Wetland reserve easements enable landowners to successfully reduce impacts from flooding, recharge groundwater, enhance and protect wildlife habitat and provide outdoor recreational and educational opportunities. The voluntary nature of NRCS easement programs allows effective integration of wetland restoration on agricultural land, providing benefits to farmers and ranchers who enroll in the program, as well as benefits to the local and rural communities where the wetlands exist.

Projects announcement today bring together partners leveraging technical and financial resources to address local concerns, such as water quality and flooding. Since 2009 private landowners, tribes and entities like land trusts and conservation organizations have enrolled nearly 1.3 million acres in NRCS wetland easement programs for a total NRCS investment of $3.2 billion in financial and technical assistance.

Today's announcement includes projects in Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Tennessee, Washington and Wisconsin.

Examples include:

Iowa: Partners will address both long-term wetland restoration in the prairie potholes region and assist flood-affected landowners in the Iowa and Cedar River watersheds. The partnership will protect and restore up to 580 acres of prairie pothole wetlands and associated tallgrass prairie uplands on five sites within Prairie Pothole Joint Venture Priority Areas and Ducks Unlimited Living Lakes Initiative Emphasis Areas. Partner contributions will nearly double the acres of wetlands that will be protected and restored. NRCS plans to invest $3 million in this project.

Louisiana: Over the next three years, partners will enroll up to 2,100 acres of new conservation easements in seven Mississippi River Basin Initiative watersheds. Benefits to the region include increasing habitat for fish and wildlife, improving water quality by reducing nutrient and pesticide application, reducing flooding, recharging ground water and providing outdoor recreational opportunities. Significant wildlife benefits include restoration of critical habitat for the Louisiana black bear, migratory waterfowl and wetland-dependent wildlife. Special consideration will be given to historically underserved producers. NRCS plans to invest $5.1 million in this project.

New Hampshire: Due to projected increases in housing density by 2030, the U.S. Forest Service identified the Merrimack and Piscataqua-Salmon Falls River Watersheds as two of the most threatened watersheds in the nation. The goal of this project is to permanently protect, enhance and restore approximately 500 acres of wetlands, floodplains, riparian areas and upland forests in this rapidly developing area. The project will target priority wildlife habitat for the state-endangered Blanding's turtle and New England cottontail as well as critical water resources providing multiple benefits to local communities. NRCS plans to invest $1.6 million in this project.

Tennessee: Partners in six states will enroll an additional 5,000 acres in conservation easements to improve water quality, expand habitat for federally protected species, reduce soil erosion and provide additional outdoor recreation opportunities. This is the third phase of work begun in 2012 that is on track to enroll more than 20,000 acres by 2019. The project area includes portions of 35 counties/parishes bordering the Mississippi River in Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee. NRCS plans to invest almost $12.2 million in this project.
Commonwealth of the Bahamas Independence Day

Washington, DC - Secretary of State John Kerry: "On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I congratulate the people of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas on the 43rd anniversary of your independence.

"The Bahamas has shown remarkable leadership on many of todays challenges. Your Vision 2040 National Development Plan will create a brighter and more inclusive future for all Bahamians. Your expansion of Marine Protected Areas will help ensure that our oceans are healthy and sustainable for future generations. And your continued commitment to fighting human trafficking has set an example for the region, as you became the first country in the Caribbean to achieve a Tier 1 ranking in the Trafficking in Persons report in 2015.

"The United States is pleased to work with you through the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative and other programs to make our neighborhood safer and more secure. Our partnership has reduced violent crime, slowed the trafficking of firearms, and achieved a record number of drug seizures this year. We look forward to working with you to build upon these successes in the coming years.

"On this joyful day, I send you best wishes for peace, prosperity, and happiness."
Watch: Man Dodges Car But Ends Up Being Hit By Traffic Sign in Most Unusual Accident
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A physiologist with wide-ranging interests, Stephen Trumble studies everything from rats to zebrafish, but these days whale earwax is taking over his Baylor University lab in Texas. There are already 30 pieces of it lined up, each requiring about a years worth of analysis  and he hopes to obtain five times as many. Hes doing this because hidden in all that wax is information that could tell us how life has been changing for whales and the Arctic in the past 100 years or more.

For decades, cetologists, the marine scientists who study whales and dolphins, have had to gather data from dozens of different sources to reconstruct the life story of a specific sea mammal. For example, studying the scars in the ovaries could reveal the number of pregnancies a female whale had experienced; the bristly, filter-like baleen used to feed could give scientists information on what sorts of contaminants might have entered the whales food source in the most recent decade or two. Whale earwax has long had some use in this accounting. Earplugs  the scientific term for the lengths of wax that accumulate in the ears of some whales  grow in annual layers like tree rings, revealing the number of years a whale has lived.

But Trumbles team has discovered that much more can be learned from the aquatic mammals earwax  a veritable one-stop shop for all the whale data theyve been dreaming of. Using the foot-and-a-half-long earplug from one bowhead whale, Trumble and his lab collaborators were able to obtain the whales history, including its age, migrations and pregnancy. That small piece of wax  at 2 pounds, its 1/100,000th the size of a typical bowhead whales body  has also given Trumble and his team a history of the buildup and decline of pesticides like DDT in recent decades, as well as todays rapidly growing carbon concentrations in the Arctic.

A research group with unlimited resources could attempt to track a whale throughout its life, showing up every year to take a skin sample. Thatd provide great information on where the whale had been and what sorts of things it had been exposed to. But the logistical and financial costs of that sort of project make it essentially impossible. Trumbles work offers a realistic way to obtain all that Arctic intelligence.

Bowhead whale in Isabella Bay, Canada. Native communities are allowed to capture 67 of them each year (Rex)

Since US and international regulations protect whales  even when they wash ashore dead  fresh earplugs are hard to come by, so Trumbles project is at least as much about searching for earplug samples as making sense of them. Evolutionary biologist Hans Thewissen says he happened to be in Barrow, Alaska, the day that bowhead was brought ashore in a traditional, tightly controlled annual subsistence hunt. Native communities in the region can take at most 67 bowheads in a year.

Every animal harvested during such a hunt is towed back to the beach, and the meat is divvied up for the community; then wildlife managers begin taking measurements for research and extracting body parts to learn more about the whale population. At that point, the scientists stand around, and when theres an organ they want they ask for permission to sample it, says Thewissen, a professor at Northeast Ohio Medical University. He had his eye on the earplug because Trumble had told Thewissen how much information this tiny piece of whale might hold.

Trumble describes extracting the earplug of a beached whale as a crazy amount of work. The dead whale needs to be turned the right way, and bones and tissues  particularly their massive jawbone  might be obstacles. Heavy-duty construction equipment like front-end loaders are sometimes used. And thats assuming the whale has an earplug. Not every species does, and sometimes within a species some individuals do and others dont  an apparent randomness researchers dont fully understand. Its like humans, says Thewissen. Some people have more earwax than others.

 Two humpback whales freed from fishermens nets off US coast

Trumble has been travelling all over the world to raid museum collections for earplugs, and the backlog of work is growing at his lab. The analysis is labour-intensive; it takes about a year to separate each wax layer from adjacent ones. Researchers then run numerous tests to determine chemical composition. Each layer becomes its own sample, its own record of that year in Arctic living, and requires its own extensive tests and calculations. It adds up, but Trumble says its cheaper than taking skin samples each year for 30 years from a live whale in the wild.

The bowhead from Barrow, the team determined, was 65 years old. Each layer of its earplug was further divided into two sections, one dark and the other light  the colour change was due to the different prey the whale found and ate in the two seas it migrated between every year. Differences in the levels of the pregnancy hormones progesterone and estradiol in the earplug layers revealed she had been pregnant between 11 and 14 times, approximately every three to four years after reaching sexual maturity. Trumble says that his lab found a huge spike in the stress hormone cortisol during her first mating-and-pregnancy experience. By measuring nitrogen isotopes left by the whales plankton prey in the layers of wax, researchers could determine when and where she was feeding, and thus her movements. This whale, it seems, spent most of her decades moving between the Bering and Beaufort seas.

A curious Antarctic minke whale in Neko Harbor, Antarctica (Rex)

Scientists already know the Arctic ocean accounts for a disproportionate amount of the carbon dioxide that is absorbed by the worlds oceans  gases dissolve more easily in colder water. But most of what they know about the effects and extent of that increased carbon dioxide is only about specific, localised parts of the Arctic. The wider effects, and even whether the Arctic oceans ability to absorb carbon dioxide is increasing or decreasing, are still a matter of scientific debate. Bowhead whales spend at least some part of every year of their lives  sometimes as long as 100 years  in that changing Arctic, and their earplugs are something of an Arctic scorecard. The bands of wax extracted from a whales ear chart, year by year, carbon and nitrogen isotope levels.

Recommended Read more Antarctic sees highest level of greenhouse gas in 4 million years

The whale wax also acts as a record of which poisonous chemicals produced in the US and other more southerly latitudes make their way up north, and how long that trip takes. Trumbles team was able to figure out that approximately 10 years passed between the time now-banned pesticides like DDT, hexachlorobenzene and chlordane were produced in the US and when they showed up in the whale. The same was true of PCBs, carcinogenic chemicals previously used in things like electrical coolant but banned in the US since 1979. Though not much can be done to remove these chemicals from the Arctic waters now, pinpointing the exact lag time could inform future regulatory decisions on pesticides and other synthetic compounds.

In addition, all of this information can inform how native Alaskans manage their annual subsistence hunts. Eventually, global earplug analysis could help other regions set more sustainable rules for their traditional hunts  like that of minke whales in the Faroe Islands  since it can nail down with near certainty how frequently female whales can and do give birth. If they can have a baby every year or every two years, that really affects how fast the population can grow, says Thewissen. That information  as well as knowledge of what contaminants are affecting the whales and when  can help regulators make better decisions regarding ship traffic, oil exploration and all the other human activities that interfere with whales lives and have the potential to irrevocably damage the Arctic.

 Newsweek
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Ross Kemp has recalled how he and his crew were shot at by Isis fighters while filming his new documentary.

Isis has overtaken swathes of Syria and Iraq, subjecting those trapped in areas controlled by the group to brutal regimes and leaving millions internally displaced.

Kemp travelled to visit Kurdish fighters on the front line of the battlefield against the terror group for his forthcoming Sky One documentary, Ross Kemp: The Fight Against ISIS.

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

Recalling one of the most dangerous moments, the Eastenders actor said he and his crew were left dangerously exposed" while trying to cross to safety. The sniper opened fire on us as I was just a few feet from cover and the crew were still trying to get across.

Kemp said his journey to the frontlines had exposed him to a genuine movement for democracy, equality and tolerance" and praised Kurdish fighters for their enduring efforts in tackling Isis. The Kurds are a beacon of light in a sea of tyranny," he added. "Theyve taken the fight to Isis.

Ross Kemp: The Fight Against Isis will air on Sky One on 14 July at 9pm.
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The UK's oldest person has died at the age of 113.

Gladys Hooper died in Highfield Nursing Home in Ryde, Isle of Wight, on Saturday.

The former concert pianist had her birthday in January and had celebrated it with a cup of tea and cake. The same month, she had said I don't feel very different to when I was 75.

Born Gladys Nash on January 18, 1903, she was brought up in Rottingdean, Brighton, East Sussex, and went on to study at college.

Later, she became a concert pianist in London and played with famous band leaders of the time such as Jack Payne, Debroy Somers and Maurice Winnick.

In addition to playing the piano, she started one of the UK's first hire car companies and later ran Kingscliff House School, which went on to become Brighton College.

Gladys aged four (PA)

Mrs Hooper was widowed in 1988 when her husband, Leslie, who was a pilot in the Royal Flying Corps in both World Wars, died.

At 112, she had a hip replacement following a fall.

Gladys Hooper and her husband, Leslie, on their wedding day in 1922 (PA)

Following the operation, she moved into the Highfield Nursing Home in Ryde from a flat connected to the home of her son, Derek Hermiston, 85, where she had lived for 12 years.

Mr Hermiston, a retired pilot, said: I am very proud of her, I have known her for quite a long time and I have seen her life when she was young, when she was a very agile person and always the centre of parties.

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. 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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. 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She was a great pianist, I remember going to the Dorchester Hotel in London a few times where she was playing.

Music gave her a very happy life, she met a lot of people through music". He added that he believed music sustained through her in her later years.
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A man has been arrested after a pensioner was viciously beaten when he confronted someone urinating against his partner's home.

Derek Laidlow suffered severe injuries to his face after he was pinned against a wall and punched repeatedly.

The 70-year-old had confronted a man who was urinating against the wall of his partner's house in Failsworth, Manchester, on 2 July.

Police said the "horrendous act of brutality" continued even after Mr Laidlow had collapsed to the floor.

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Haaland went on to score a hattrick, his third of the season in the Premier League. City beat United 6-3. Manchester City FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 October 2022 Protesters hold up flags and placards at a protest in London. A variety of protest groups including Enough is Enough, Don't Pay and Just Stop Oil all demonstrated on the day AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 September 2022 British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has not been seen in days, leaves the back of Downing Street after a meeting with Office For Budget Responsibility following the release of her governments mini-budget Getty UK news in pictures 29 September 2022 The Virginia creeper foliage on the Tu Hwnt i'r Bont (Beyond the Bridge) Llanwrst, Conwy North Wales, has changed colour from green to red in at the start of Autumn. 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The attacker fled after a passerby pulled him away from Mr Laidlow.

Police released CCTV footage of a man they wanted to speak to in connection with the attack.

A police spokesman said: A 46-year-old man has been arrested following an assault in Failsworth."

At around 10.45pm on Saturday 2 July 2016, a 70-year-old man saw a man urinating against the wall of a house. He asked him to stop but the man punched him in the face."

The man remains in police custody for questioning.

Anyone with information should contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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The Archbishop of Canterbury has reportedly persuaded the government to drop some aspects of a counter-terror law after arguing it would unfairly affect church Sunday schools.

According to The Sunday Times, Justin Welby met with senior ministers to argue against draft measures in the new counter-extremism bill intended to test "fundamental British values".

The measure would have required out-of-school groups teaching under-19s for more than six hours a week to register with the local council, and would have left them open to snap inspections.

Church leaders feared Christian teachings on subjects such as gay marriage and gender roles would mean Sunday schools were flagged up as extremist under the criteria, according to The Times.

After the meeting with Mr Welby, the government has decided to discard the provision requiring these groups to register.

"That requirement has now been dropped," a Whitehall source told the newspaper. "It still means that Ofsted can go in if there is reasonable cause, but it will remove the requirement to register."

World's most popular religions Show all 7 1 /7 World's most popular religions World's most popular religions Christians Source: Pewforum Getty Images World's most popular religions Muslims Source: Pewforum World's most popular religions Hindus Source: Pewforum World's most popular religions Buddhists Source: Pewforum World's most popular religions Folk Religions Source: Pewforum Getty Images World's most popular religions Other religions Source: Pewforum World's most popular religions Jews Source: Pewforum Getty

The Church thought this idea of registration too draconian," the source said.

The forthcoming counter-terrorism bill, which was announced in the Queen's Speech in May, has been met with with concern from a wide range of religious organisations.

In May, a multi-faith alliance condemned the prospective bill, which contains a raft of new powers, including the ability to ban "extremist" organisations.

The bill does not contain a definition of extremism, however. Religious leaders said rather than fighting extremism, the bill would simply alienate religious communities.

In a statement declaring their objections, they wrote: "We are gravely concerned that the proposed counter-extremism and safeguarding bill will feed the very commodity that the terrorists thrive on: fear."

A spokesman for the Church of England said: "Representatives of the Church of England have taken part in consultations with the Government over the proposals to regulate out-of-school settings. We await the outcome of those consultation in due course."



Karen Bradley, the minister in charge of the bill, said the government will continue to consider to examine the draft bill to prevent it having "unintended consequences".

We dont want to impinge on religious freedoms. If this was easy then government would have done it years ago, she said.
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Six fire engines and 35 firefighters were called to battle a rooftop blaze at a four-storey building in London's Chinatown.

Firefighters tackled the fire at the Wan Chai Corner restaurant in Gerrard Street, which affected parts of the building's basement and its roof, with 20 per cent of the kitchen and basement set alight.

Thick black smoke could be seen billowing from the building.

The fire brigade was called around 12 o'clock and crews from Soho, Euston, Dowgate, Whitechapel, Chelsea and Paddington fire stations attended the scene.

Ten people left the building before the Bridage arrived and there were no reports of any injuries.

Station Manager Lisa Hicks, who was at the scene, said: "When crews arrived they were faced with a fire in the basement kitchen which they quickly extinguished.

"The fire also affected the restaurant's ducting and roof and firefighters worked hard in hot conditions to prevent it from spreading to neighbouring buildings."

The cause of the fire is currently unknown but is being investigated.
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A Conservative MP received an early diagnosis for Lyme disease after talking with a constituent about the infectious illness.

Michelle Donelan, MP for Chippenham, believes she was bitten by a tick a week ago.

The 32-year-old said she ignored the resulting rash until she researched the symptoms after discussing the level of care for Lyme disease.

Ms Donelan told the Gazette & Herald: "I knew that I wasnt well, I had the rash for a week and it was getting worse but I thought nothing of it.

On Friday I held my surgery and had a chap come in and he wanted to talk about level of care and Lyme disease.

I did a bit of research on it and saw the symptoms and thats how my rash looked."

She posted on Facebook, she has been receiving treatment at Bath's Royal United Hospital, joking that it "appears MP surgeries can help the MP too".

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

Lyme disease is contracted when infected ticks attach themselves to people, biting them and transferring a bacterial infection - Lyme disease - into the blood stream.

The illness causes flu-like symptoms, neurological damage and fatigue. It can also cause muscle and joint pain.

She added: I had a bullseye mark half the size of my arm and thats when I knew what it was.

I was quite lucky, as if you dont get it really early it can damage your nerves and can eventually lead to death.

Health news in pictures Show all 40 1 /40 Health news in pictures Health news in pictures Coronavirus outbreak The coronavirus Covid-19 has hit the UK leading to the deaths of two people so far and prompting warnings from the Department of Health AFP via Getty Health news in pictures Thousands of emergency patients told to take taxi to hospital Thousands of 999 patients in England are being told to get a taxi to hospital, figures have showed. The number of patients outside London who were refused an ambulance rose by 83 per cent in the past year as demand for services grows Getty Health news in pictures Vape related deaths spike A vaping-related lung disease has claimed the lives of 11 people in the US in recent weeks. The US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has more than 100 officials investigating the cause of the mystery illness, and has warned citizens against smoking e-cigarette products until more is known, particularly if modified or bought off the street Getty Health news in pictures Baldness cure looks to be a step closer Researchers in the US claim to have overcome one of the major hurdles to cultivating human follicles from stem cells. The new system allows cells to grow in a structured tuft and emerge from the skin Sanford Burnham Preybs Health news in pictures Two hours a week spent in nature can improve health A study in the journal Scientific Reports suggests that a dose of nature of just two hours a week is associated with better health and psychological wellbeing Shutterstock Health news in pictures Air pollution linked to fertility issues in women Exposure to air from traffic-clogged streets could leave women with fewer years to have children, a study has found. Italian researchers found women living in the most polluted areas were three times more likely to show signs they were running low on eggs than those who lived in cleaner surroundings, potentially triggering an earlier menopause Getty/iStock Health news in pictures Junk food ads could be banned before watershed Junk food adverts on TV and online could be banned before 9pm as part of Government plans to fight the "epidemic" of childhood obesity. Plans for the new watershed have been put out for public consultation in a bid to combat the growing crisis, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said PA Health news in pictures Breeding with neanderthals helped humans fight diseases On migrating from Africa around 70,000 years ago, humans bumped into the neanderthals of Eurasia. While humans were weak to the diseases of the new lands, breeding with the resident neanderthals made for a better equipped immune system PA Health news in pictures Cancer breath test to be trialled in Britain The breath biopsy device is designed to detect cancer hallmarks in molecules exhaled by patients Getty Health news in pictures Average 10 year old has consumed the recommended amount of sugar for an adult By their 10th birthdy, children have on average already eaten more sugar than the recommended amount for an 18 year old. The average 10 year old consumes the equivalent to 13 sugar cubes a day, 8 more than is recommended PA Health news in pictures Child health experts advise switching off screens an hour before bed While there is not enough evidence of harm to recommend UK-wide limits on screen use, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health have advised that children should avoid screens for an hour before bed time to avoid disrupting their sleep Getty Health news in pictures Daily aspirin is unnecessary for older people in good health, study finds A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine has found that many elderly people are taking daily aspirin to little or no avail Getty Health news in pictures Vaping could lead to cancer, US study finds A study by the University of Minnesota's Masonic Cancer Centre has found that the carcinogenic chemicals formaldehyde, acrolein, and methylglyoxal are present in the saliva of E-cigarette users Reuters Health news in pictures More children are obese and diabetic There has been a 41% increase in children with type 2 diabetes since 2014, the National Paediatric Diabetes Audit has found. Obesity is a leading cause Reuters Health news in pictures Most child antidepressants are ineffective and can lead to suicidal thoughts The majority of antidepressants are ineffective and may be unsafe, for children and teenager with major depression, experts have warned. In what is the most comprehensive comparison of 14 commonly prescribed antidepressant drugs to date, researchers found that only one brand was more effective at relieving symptoms of depression than a placebo. Another popular drug, venlafaxine, was shown increase the risk users engaging in suicidal thoughts and attempts at suicide Getty Health news in pictures Gay, lesbian and bisexual adults at higher risk of heart disease, study claims Researchers at the Baptist Health South Florida Clinic in Miami focused on seven areas of controllable heart health and found these minority groups were particularly likely to be smokers and to have poorly controlled blood sugar iStock Health news in pictures Breakfast cereals targeted at children contain 'steadily high' sugar levels since 1992 despite producer claims A major pressure group has issued a fresh warning about perilously high amounts of sugar in breakfast cereals, specifically those designed for children, and has said that levels have barely been cut at all in the last two and a half decades Getty Health news in pictures Potholes are making us fat, NHS watchdog warns New guidance by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the body which determines what treatment the NHS should fund, said lax road repairs and car-dominated streets were contributing to the obesity epidemic by preventing members of the public from keeping active PA Health news in pictures New menopause drugs offer women relief from 'debilitating' hot flushes A new class of treatments for women going through the menopause is able to reduce numbers of debilitating hot flushes by as much as three quarters in a matter of days, a trial has found. The drug used in the trial belongs to a group known as NKB antagonists (blockers), which were developed as a treatment for schizophrenia but have been sitting on a shelf unused, according to Professor Waljit Dhillo, a professor of endocrinology and metabolism REX Health news in pictures Doctors should prescribe more antidepressants for people with mental health problems, study finds Research from Oxford University found that more than one million extra people suffering from mental health problems would benefit from being prescribed drugs and criticised ideological reasons doctors use to avoid doing so. Getty Health news in pictures Student dies of flu after NHS advice to stay at home and avoid A&E The family of a teenager who died from flu has urged people not to delay going to A&E if they are worried about their symptoms. Melissa Whiteley, an 18-year-old engineering student from Hanford in Stoke-on-Trent, fell ill at Christmas and died in hospital a month later. Just Giving Health news in pictures Government to review thousands of harmful vaginal mesh implants The Government has pledged to review tens of thousands of cases where women have been given harmful vaginal mesh implants. Getty Health news in pictures Jeremy Hunt announces 'zero suicides ambition' for the NHS The NHS will be asked to go further to prevent the deaths of patients in its care as part of a zero suicide ambition being launched today Getty Health news in pictures Human trials start with cancer treatment that primes immune system to kill off tumours Human trials have begun with a new cancer therapy that can prime the immune system to eradicate tumours. The treatment, that works similarly to a vaccine, is a combination of two existing drugs, of which tiny amounts are injected into the solid bulk of a tumour. Nephron Health news in pictures Babies' health suffers from being born near fracking sites, finds major study Mothers living within a kilometre of a fracking site were 25 per cent more likely to have a child born at low birth weight, which increase their chances of asthma, ADHD and other issues Getty Health news in pictures NHS reviewing thousands of cervical cancer smear tests after women wrongly given all-clear Thousands of cervical cancer screening results are under review after failings at a laboratory meant some women were incorrectly given the all-clear. A number of women have already been told to contact their doctors following the identification of procedural issues in the service provided by Pathology First Laboratory. Rex Health news in pictures Potential key to halting breast cancer's spread discovered by scientists Most breast cancer patients do not die from their initial tumour, but from secondary malignant growths (metastases), where cancer cells are able to enter the blood and survive to invade new sites. Asparagine, a molecule named after asparagus where it was first identified in high quantities, has now been shown to be an essential ingredient for tumour cells to gain these migratory properties. Getty Health news in pictures NHS nursing vacancies at record high with more than 34,000 roles advertised A record number of nursing and midwifery positions are currently being advertised by the NHS, with more than 34,000 positions currently vacant, according to the latest data. Demand for nurses was 19 per cent higher between July and September 2017 than the same period two years ago. 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Getty Health news in pictures Over 75,000 sign petition calling for Richard Branson's Virgin Care to hand settlement money back to NHS Mr Bransons company sued the NHS last year after it lost out on an 82m contract to provide childrens health services across Surrey, citing concerns over serious flaws in the way the contract was awarded PA Health news in pictures More than 700 fewer nurses training in England in first year after NHS bursary scrapped The numbers of people accepted to study nursing in England fell 3 per cent in 2017, while the numbers accepted in Wales and Scotland, where the bursaries were kept, increased 8.4 per cent and 8 per cent respectively Getty Health news in pictures Landmark study links Tory austerity to 120,000 deaths The paper found that there were 45,000 more deaths in the first four years of Tory-led efficiencies than would have been expected if funding had stayed at pre-election levels. On this trajectory that could rise to nearly 200,000 excess deaths by the end of 2020, even with the extra funding that has been earmarked for public sector services this year. Reuters Health news in pictures Long commutes carry health risks Hours of commuting may be mind-numbingly dull, but new research shows that it might also be having an adverse effect on both your health and performance at work. Longer commutes also appear to have a significant impact on mental wellbeing, with those commuting longer 33 per cent more likely to suffer from depression Shutterstock Health news in pictures You cannot be fit and fat It is not possible to be overweight and healthy, a major new study has concluded. 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The class is therefore predominantly aimed at parents but you actually do not have to have children to take part Getty Health news in pictures 'Fundamental right to health' to be axed after Brexit, lawyers warn Tobacco and alcohol companies could win more easily in court cases such as the recent battle over plain cigarette packaging if the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights is abandoned, a barrister and public health professor have said Getty Health news in pictures 'Thousands dying' due to fear over non-existent statin side-effects A major new study into the side effects of the cholesterol-lowering medicine suggests common symptoms such as muscle pain and weakness are not caused by the drugs themselves Getty Health news in pictures Babies born to fathers aged under 25 have higher risk of autism New research has found that babies born to fathers under the age of 25 or over 51 are at higher risk of developing autism and other social disorders. 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According to Public Health England, there are around 3,000 new cases of Lyme Disease each year in the UK.

The number of diagnosed cases have quadrupled over the last 12 years.

Ms Donelan said of her current condition:"I feel absolutely terrible, im suffering from severe tiredness and feeling sick, its not just the rash but hopefully the antibiotics will kick in.

Its lucky I had the rash though otherwise I wouldnt have realised that I had been bitten. Im going to carry on working although I feel like I have been run over by a bus.
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A cross-party group of MPs has launched a fresh bid to return the so-called Elgin Marbles to Greece on the 200th anniversary of the British Governments decision to buy them  a move that campaigners said could help the UK secure a better deal during the Brexit talks with the EU.

The issue has long been a source of tension between, on one side, the UK Government and British Museum, where the 2,500-year-old marbles are currently on display, and, on the other, Greece and international supporters of the reunification of the Parthenon temple's sculptures.

About half the surviving sculptures were taken from the Parthenon in Athens by Thomas Bruce, the seventh Earl of Elgin, and later bought by the British Government after parliament passed an Act that came into force on 11 July, 1816. The other half are currently in the Acropolis Museum in Greece.

Recommended Read more Seven reasons to return the Elgin Marbles to Greece

The circumstances in which Lord Elgin removed about the sculptures are disputed, with some claiming he effectively stole them while Greece was ruled by the Ottoman Empire.

The Parthenon Sculptures (Return to Greece) Bill will be presented on the anniversary by Liberal Democrat MP Mark Williams, supported by Conservative Jeremy Lefroy and 10 other MPs from Labour, the SNP and Plaid Cymru.

Mr Williams said: These magnificent artefacts were improperly dragged and sawn off the remains of the Parthenon.

This Bill proposes that the Parliament should annul what it did 200 years ago. In 1816 Parliament effectively state-sanctioned the improper acquisition of these impressive and important sculptures from Greece.

Its time we engaged in a gracious act. To put right right a 200-year wrong.

The Elgin Marbles were created 2,500 years ago to decorate the Parthenon temple in Athens (Getty)

The sculptures are some of the finest ever created and the Parthenon is arguably Europes greatest monument. The French Romantic poet Alphonse de Lamartine once described it as the most perfect poem ever written in stone on the surface of the earth.

Greece has sought the return of the sculptures ever since victory in the War of Independence in 1832. During the war, Greek fighters even gave bullets to Ottoman soldiers besieged on the Acropolis because they were damaging the Parthenon by removing lead fittings to make ammunition after running out.

Andrew George, chair of the British Association for the Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures, said the Parthenon sculptures were some of the most remarkable antiquities on the globe and people should be able to see them in one place.

They were also, he said, a national symbol of Greece.

The issue has generated strong feelings in Greece and rightly so, Mr George said. We have to take seriously something which is clearly of great significance to the people of Greece.

Polls have consistently shown that a majority of the British people support reunification. A poll for the The Times newspaper found the general public backed sending the marbles back to Greece by two to one. And an Ipsos-Mori poll found 69 per cent of those familiar with the issue were in favour of returning the sculptures, compared to just 13 per cent against.

 Greece wants its treasured Elgin marbles back from the British

Mr George said the case for returning the sculptures was stronger following the Brexit vote.

If we are about the negotiate a decent trade deal with our European friends, the last thing we want to do is to show the kind of raspberries and two-fingers that [Nigel] Farage was displaying in the European Parliament the other day, he said.

It would be in the British interest to demonstrate that leaving the EU doesnt involve us becoming inward-looking and xenophobic towards the EU, but more confident, more able to be gracious

And there could be no better demonstration of that generosity and graciousness than to do what would be the right thing by the Greeks, Mr George said.

Professor Athanasios Nakasis, president of the Hellenic branch of the International Council On Monuments and Sites, said allowing reunification would mean a lot for his country, but would also be welcomed around the world.

Emotionally, the return of the marbles to the place where the rest of the monument resides would be a source of pride for Greeks, since the Athenian Acropolis is an important symbolic centre of the modern nation, he said.

From the perspective of the International Council on Monuments and Sites, the reunification of the scattered fragments of the Parthenon would be a positive development, since one of the fundamental principles of our organisation is that the integrity of monuments ought to be preserved, both internally and with respect to their historical contexts.

The British Museum argues that it "tells the story of cultural achievement throughout the world, from the dawn of human history over two million years ago until the present day".

"The Parthenon Sculptures are a vital element in this interconnected world collection. They are a part of the worlds shared heritage and transcend political boundaries," it says.

"The Acropolis Museum allows the Parthenon sculptures that are in Athens (approximately half of what survive from antiquity) to be appreciated against the backdrop of ancient Greek and Athenian history. The Parthenon sculptures in London are an important representation of ancient Athenian civilisation in the context of world history."

Under David Cameron, the UK Government has remained opposed to allowing the reunification of the Parthenon sculptures, which would require an Act of Parliament to change the laws governing the British Museum.

In 2011, he joked, predictably, that Britain was not going to "lose its marbles".
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A petition has been launched to try and ban people from smoking in parks.

Despite growing evidence of the dangers of secondhand smoke, and a ban in every enclosed public space, it is still legal to smoke in most public parks and playgrounds. But one woman has launched a petition try and bring the ban to public playgrounds, arguing that smoking in them can damage children's health.

Annie Dressner said that she had been inspired to launch the petition after a woman started smoking near her and her son in a public park. Despite Ms Dressner saying that she would rather she didnt, the woman continued to smoke, Ms Dressner wrote in the description of her petition.

Yesterday a woman asked if it would bother me if she smoked in the playground while on the seesaw with her young daughter, she wrote in the petitions description. When I said it would bother me, she told me that my one year old son would turn out to be "arrogant" and smoked anyway.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 26 October 2022 A meerkat explores a pumpkin in the enclosure at Wild Place, Bristol, where some of the animals are having pumpkin treats as part of their environmental enrichment PA 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

Ms Dressner said that she was worried not only about secondhand smoke, where the chemicals from a cigarette are breathed in by people around them  which poses a special problem for children because their airways and lungs are less developed. She was also looking to limit the danger posed by thirdhand smoke.

Thirdhand smoke is the smoke that is leftover as residue on surfaces, she wrote in the description. If, for example, someone is smoking on a seesaw, the dangerous chemicals from that smoke will then be touched and possibly ingested by the children who will next use that playground equipment.

Dogs are banned from kids' parks. Smoke should also be banned in and near them.

Recommended Read more Government rejects second EU referendum petition

Ms Dressner said that she wasnt looking to ban smoking from all public areas, and didnt think that would be right. She said that play areas and parks are different because they are made for children and so could pose an extra danger, she said.

I just feel the majority of people with children, even those who smoke, wouldnt want it in a playground, she told Cambridge News.

Ms Dressner grew up in New York, where smoking is already banned in public parks.

The petition has already picked up over 1,000 signatures. When it reaches 10,000 then the government will have to respond to it, and at 100,000 it will be considered for debate in parliament.

Similar bans have already been put in place for adults smoking in cars with children under 18. That followed the 2007 ban of smoking in enclosed public places like bars and restaurants.
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Oxford Street in central London came to a standstill on Sunday as hundreds of Black Lives Matter protesters gathered to demand justice for the killing of two black men by US police.

Demonstrators holding banners saying black lives matter and no justice no peace gathered this morning at Oxford Circus and marched down the busy shopping street towards Hyde Park.

The crowd stopped outside the American Embassy in Mayfair and chanted hands up dont shoot, in reference to the killing of Philando Castile in Minnesota and Alton Sterling in Louisiana by white police officers last week.

The rally, held in solidarity with protesters in the US, follows two similar marches that stopped traffic for four hours in Brixton in south London yesterday and outside the Houses of Parliament on Friday.

Stopping traffic everywhere. The streets are ours today, wrote Instagram user Ezzy Anya.

Some protesters started clapping and singing Michael Jacksons song They Dont Care About Us.

Any person of colour is affected, 24-year-old Lorraine Oclaa told Refinery 29.

Look around, there's people of all ethnicities here. We're all here to let people know that our lives matter, and we've basically shut down Oxford Street, it's incredible.

A placard held aloft at a Black Lives Matter protest in central London on 10 July (Rex Features)

Large crowds attended a sit-in protest in Brixtons Windrush Square until around midnight last night, with some chanting racist police, our streets.

Scuffles broke out at one point after protesters said a bus driver made a derogatory remark towards them. He was punched by one protester after being ushered away by six or seven police officers.

Officers then backed away from the crowd who remained in the road playing music.

The protest was one of a number organised in the UK since a shootout at a rally in Dallas on Thursday night, where five police officers were killed.

A suspect in the shooting was later killed by a police-operated explosive, and named as 25-year-old Micah Johnson.

Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas Show all 20 1 /20 Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas A Dallas Area Rapid Transit police officer receives comfort at the Baylor University Hospital emergency room entrance in Dallas Dallas Morning News/AP Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas Emergency services help an unknown patient on a stretcher as law enforcement officials stand nearby at the emergency receiving area of Baylor University Medical Center AP Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas Dallas Police shield bystanders after shots were fired, during a protest over two recent fatal police shootings of black men AP Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas Bystanders run for cover after shots fired at a Black Live Matter rally in downtown Dallas AP Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas Police check a car after snipers opened fire on police officers in Dallas AP Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas A man raises his hands as he walks near a law enforcement officer, following the shootings of several police officers in downtown Dallas AP Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas A Dallas police officer steps out of a vehicle as he arrives in front of Baylor University Medical Center AP Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas Dallas police officers face protesters on the corner of Ross Ave. and Griffin street after police officers were shot during a peaceful protest in Dallas EPA Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas A Dallas police officer covers his face as he stands with others outside the emergency room at Baylor University Medical Center AP Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas Law enforcement officials escort a couple in through the emergency room entrance at Baylor University Medical Center AP Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas Dallas Police respond after shots were fired at a Black Lives Matter rally in downtown Dallas AP Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas Dallas Police respond after shots were fired at a Black Lives Matter rally in downtown Dallas AP Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas Police cars sit on Main Street in Dallas following the sniper shooting during a protest AFP/Getty Images Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas A Police officer stands guard at a barricade following the sniper shooting in Dallas AFP/Getty Images Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas Police stand near a barricade following the sniper shooting in Dallas AFP/Getty Images Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas Dallas police check a car after detaining a driver after a shooting in downtown Dallas AP Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas Dallas police order people away from the area after several police were shot in downtown Dallas AP Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas Dallas police move to detains a driver after several police officers were shot in downtown Dallas AP Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas Dallas police detain a driver after several police officers were shot in downtown Dallas AP Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas Dallas Police respond after shots were fired at a Black Lives Matter rally in downtown Dallas Dallas Morning News/AP

Protests have been held in several US cities after a Minnesota officer shot Mr Castile dead while he was in a car with a woman and a child on Wednesday.

The aftermath of the shooting was livestreamed in a widely shared Facebook video.

A day earlier, Mr Sterling was shot in Louisiana after being pinned to the pavement by two white officers. That, too, was captured on video on a mobile phone.
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The family of American journalist Marie Colvin who died in Syria in 2012 has filed a wrongful death lawsuit in a U.S. court, accusing the Syrian government of deliberately killing her, the New York Times reported on Saturday.

Colvin and French photographer Remi Ochlik were killed in the besieged Syrian city of Homs in 2012 while reporting on the Syrian conflict, now in its sixth year.

The lawsuit, filed in Washington, said Syrian officials deliberately targeted rockets against a makeshift broadcast studio where Colvin and other reporters were living and working.

Marie Colvin in 2010 (Getty)

The lawsuit, to which the New York Times article provides an online link, said the attack was part of a plan orchestrated at the highest levels of the Syrian government to silence local and international media "as part of its effort to crush political opposition".

Advocacy group Reporters Without Borders said it supported the lawsuit.

The group's secretary-general, Christophe Deloire, said the group "hopes these efforts will help to expose the truth, namely that these journalists were deliberately targeted and killed because they were providing information about the Syrian army's crimes against civilians."

A murder and attempted murder investigation was launched in France in 2012 into the death of Ochlik and wounding of another journalist, Edith Bouvier, in the same attack.

Palmyra recaptured by Syrian government forces Show all 10 1 /10 Palmyra recaptured by Syrian government forces Palmyra recaptured by Syrian government forces Palmyra recaptured by Syrian pro-government forces Graffiti on the ancient stones reads in Arabic Shooting without the permission of the chief is prohibited Getty Palmyra recaptured by Syrian government forces Palmyra recaptured by Syrian pro-government forces Damaged artefacts lay inside the museum of the historic city of Palmyra Reuters Palmyra recaptured by Syrian government forces Palmyra recaptured by Syrian pro-government forces Syrian pro-government forces rest by Palmyra Citadel as they take control of the city from the hands of Isis Getty Palmyra recaptured by Syrian government forces Palmyra recaptured by Syrian pro-government forces The UNESCO world heritage site appears surprisingly intact after its recapture from the militant group Getty Palmyra recaptured by Syrian government forces Palmyra recaptured by Syrian pro-government forces Many had feared the ancient city would be destroyed following its capture by Isis in May Getty Palmyra recaptured by Syrian government forces Palmyra recaptured by Syrian pro-government forces Smoke billows from the Palmyra Citadel as Assads forces drive the Jihadist group from the city Getty Palmyra recaptured by Syrian government forces Palmyra recaptured by Syrian pro-government forces Palmyra is one of the most important cultural centers of the world Unesco says Getty Palmyra recaptured by Syrian government forces Palmyra recaptured by Syrian pro-government forces Pro-government forces play football in the streets following the recapture of the city Getty Palmyra recaptured by Syrian government forces Palmyra recaptured by Syrian pro-government forces The extent of the destruction caused by Isis 10 month occupation of the city has yet to be fully realised Getty Palmyra recaptured by Syrian government forces Palmyra recaptured by Syrian pro-government forces The City Council of Palmyra building in ruins Reuters

Reporters Without Borders, as an interested party in the case, said it will submit the Colvin family's U.S. lawsuit to the judge in charge of the French investigation on Monday

Colvin and Ochlik were both prize-winning reporters of wars in the Middle East, Asia and elsewhere. The Britain-based Colvin, who lost an eye while working in Sri Lanka in 2001, was working for The Sunday Times at the time of her death.
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Lifting the ban on women in combat roles will "drag our infantry to far below the required standard" and put people at greater risk of dying, according to a former SAS commander.

"The infantry is no place for a woman, and to permit them to serve in close combat roles is a pure politically correct extravagance," Colonel Tim Collins has said, following David Cameron's announcement on Friday that women will be allowed to perform combat roles in the army.

He added: "No one pretends that allowing women onto the front line enhances the armys capabilities."

Citing a report by the US Marine Corps from 2015, he added that having women in the armed forces would be more likely "cost lives on the battlefield".

But Hannah Bryce, from the Royal Institute of International Affairs, has said having women in the roles would make the army more operationally effective", as well as more reflective of society.

"Wars are not just fought by men, and do not just affect men, she told the BBC, the battleground has already moved from the remote frontlines of 20th Century warfare to a more urban environment and as a result is influenced by all society and not just military personnel.

 Female Kurdish army fight Isis

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"The armed forces need women in all military roles if they are to understand and influence events on the battlefield and beyond.

She continued: "This is not just about fairness, but about winning."

Women are currently able to fill 80 per cent of jobs in the armed forces and make up more than 10 per cent of the work force.

One test involved in joining the infantry is completing an eight-mile march in less than two hours, while carrying 25kg. The army's reseach suggests less than 5 per cent of 7,000 female recruits would currently pass the physical tests.

Writing in the Telegraph, Colonel Collins' comments come after the findings of the Chilcot inquiry, which condemned both the government and the British Army for their failures in Iraq.

The former soldier said: "The physical bar for joining [close combat] units may need to be raised, never lowered."

Army Photographic Competition 2015 winners Show all 20 1 /20 Army Photographic Competition 2015 winners Army Photographic Competition 2015 winners Winner of the Professional Op Herrick Portfolio category An air insertion operation mounted by British soldiers and Afghan police, re-establishing government control in an area of Helmand province, Afghanistan Sgt Rupert Frere Army Photographic Competition 2015 winners Best Overall Professional Army PR Image Former Garrison Sergeant Major, The Household Division and London District, WO1 William Mott OBE MVO inspecting Nijmegen Company Grenadier Guards. The photo is titled 'How can you forget to shave?' Sgt Rupert Frere Army Photographic Competition 2015 winners Winner of the Professional Portrait category Sergeant John S Kabia from the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF) at a camp in Kono, Sierra Leone during the Ebola outbreak Paul Shaw ABIPP Army Photographic Competition 2015 winners Winner of the Amateur Portrait category Cpl Dave Johns holding a photograph of his eldest son who in turn is holding a picture of his younger brother. The photo is titled 'Me and my boys' Pte Rebecca Brown Army Photographic Competition 2015 winners Best Overall Professional Op Herrick Image Private John Mitchell resting after patrolling through the night in the Upper Sangin Valley, Afghanistan. The photo is titled 'Black Watch' Sgt Rupert Frere Army Photographic Competition 2015 winners Winner of the Professional Op Herrick Portfolio category Cpl Carl Hines of the Royal Artillery providing covering fire while members of 4 Brigade Reconnaissance Force cross open ground in Lashkar Gah, Afghanistan Sgt Rupert Frere Army Photographic Competition 2015 winners Winner of the Professional Op Herrick Portfolio category Soldiers serving with 16 Air Assault Brigade seated on a Royal Air Force C17 for the final leg of their journey to Afghanistan Sgt Rupert Frere Army Photographic Competition 2015 winners Winner of the Professional Op Herrick Portfolio category Members of 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment resting in a secure compound while on patrol around Char Coucha village near Lashkar Gah, Afghanistan Sgt Rupert Frere Army Photographic Competition 2015 winners Winner of the Professional Op Herrick Portfolio category The US Army's 502nd Regiment supplying fire support for 5 Armoured Engineer Squadron, Royal Engineers during Operation HAMKARI in Afghanistan Sgt Rupert Frere Army Photographic Competition 2015 winners Winner Britain's soldiers at work. The photo is titled 'Mortar at Night' Cpl James McAllister Army Photographic Competition 2015 winners Winner of the Professional Sport category The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery has left the noise and confines of London for equestrian and military training in the rural West Country. Enjoying the best of the Indian Summer in Cornwall, twelve horses and riders from Centre Section left their temporary stables in RAF St Mawgan just after dawn this morning to take to the surf on Watergate Bay Beach. The photo is titled 'Surf's Up' Sgt Rupert Frere Army Photographic Competition 2015 winners Winner Soldiers at work. The photo is titled 'Sitrep' LCpl Paul-Rui Penu Army Photographic Competition 2015 winners Winner in the Professional Portfolio category, 2nd Place One of the ceremonial horses involved in the parade and a Grenadier Guard in the stables before the Colonels Review. Photo is titled 'Ceremonial Selfie' Cpl Jamie Peters Army Photographic Competition 2015 winners Winner Sergeant Richard McKinnon a Royal Logistic Corp Bomb disposal expert checks the fuse on the World War II era SC 250kg German Bomb. The photo is titled 'Bombs Away' Sgt Rupert Frere Army Photographic Competition 2015 winners Winner This is taken on a Civilian Aircraft, taking Troops from Aldergrove Airfield in Northern Ireland on their first leg of the long trip to southern Afghanistan at the beginning of op Herrick 10. The photo is titled 'Here I go again' Sgt Rupert Frere Army Photographic Competition 2015 winners Runner Up in Best Professional Op Herrick Portfolio category Ranger Pete Mawhinney returns fire, with his General Purpose Machine Gun, after Taliban attempt to ambush his patrol Sgt Rupert Frere Army Photographic Competition 2015 winners Winner in the Professional Op Herrick Portfolio, 2nd Place Corporal Calum Cooper Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, 5th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland talks to local children while he carries out searches on compounds. Photo is titled 'Kids' Sgt Rupert Frere Army Photographic Competition 2015 winners Winner in the Professional Soldiering category British Army Short Term Training Team (STTT) deliver training to the Ukrainian military Corporal Tom Evans Army Photographic Competition 2015 winners Best Overall Professional Op Herrick Image, Highly Commended Boy soldier, Fusilier John Bryant. an 18 year old soldier from A Company, The Royal Highland Fusiliers, 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland. In the muddy compound where he lives the 18 year old soldiers patrol on the front line in Helmand Province Afghanistan. The photo is titled 'Boy Soldier' Sgt Rupert Frere Army Photographic Competition 2015 winners Winner in the Professional Op Herrick Portfolio category, 2nd Place The photo is titled 'Re Supply' Sgt Rupert Frere

He added: "We cannot tolerate... any attempt to play politics or mount social experiments with the armed forces."

However Mr Cameron said the change "will ensure the armed forces can make the most of all their talent."
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Conservative Party leadership candidate Andrea Leadsom is under pressure to match competitor Theresa Mays level of transparency, after the former published just a single year tax return.

Declaring an income of nearly 85,000 in 2015, Ms Leadsom paid around 22,000 in tax, compared with more than 40,000 paid that year by frontrunner Ms May.

A surprise contender to be the next prime minister, the MP for South Northamptonshire published one year of tax information, just days after rival Theresa May released four years of returns.

Michael Gove, the Justice Secretary, said all Tory leadership candidates should be transparent about their income, but Ms Leadsom had refused to publish the information unless she reached the final two of the Tory leadership battle.

Ms Leadsoms tax return, calculated by Isis Accountants, shows she was due to pay an overall tax rate of 27 per cent, on income of 83,930  more than three times the average UK salary.

Calculated by Isis Accountants, the return shows Ms Leadsom has an income of 76,597, dividends and tax credits of 2,324 and interest income of 5,009.

She paid 6,544 of tax on 32,720 at the 20 per cent basic rate, 755.30 on her dividends at the higher rate of 32.5 per cent, and 15,554.40 on 38,886 at the 40 per cent higher rate of tax. She also received a 232.40 discount in tax credits on her dividend income.

 Ken Clarke caught on camera ridiculing Tory leadership candidates

Ms Leadsom earned 9,270 in capital gains but did not incur any tax on that income because it fell within HMRCs tax-free limit for capital gains.

She previously faced questions about her financial affairs, after using offshore bank accounts as part of a property business she ran with her husband.

The energy minister, who was a City banker and fund manager before entering politics, started a buy-to-let company called Bandal Limited with her husband in 2003.

The company invested 1m into three houses in Oxford with mortgages from the Jersey branch of Kleinwort Benson, a private bank specialising in wealthy clients.

Ms Leadsom later used an account at Kleinwort Benson (Channel Islands) Ltd, based in Jersey, to deal with charges before transferring shares to her two children to be held in trust.

The favourites in the Tory leadership race Show all 5 1 /5 The favourites in the Tory leadership race The favourites in the Tory leadership race Theresa May The longest-serving Home Secretary in 100 years took a back seat in the referendum campaign. While backing Remain, she did not hit the campaign trail and delivered only a handful of speeches and interviews, and was critical of many aspects of the EU, particularly the European Convention on Human Rights. Hedging her bets allows her to now emerge as a unity candidate, and she is said to have been building up her back-room staff in preparation for a leadership bid. She has the significant advantage of having served in one of the great offices of state, in a steady and competent manner that has won her many admirers within party and the civil service. At a time of great instability, it may be that she is viewed as steady hand on the tiller. Mrs May does however, lack the star quality of a Boris Johnson and party members may doubt her ability to connect with ordinary voters PA The favourites in the Tory leadership race Michael Gove The Justice Secretary may be able to set himself up as the thinking Torys Brexit candidate. Made an enormous political and personal decision to back Leave, taking on his old friend David Cameron. He performed well during the TV debates, and will be an admired figure among Eurosceptic Conservatives. Along with Johnson, he will be hindered by the fact that he led a very divisive campaign, characterised by blue-on-blue action. MPs may also judge that he lacks Boris Johnsons wider appeal with the electorate. Possibly more likely that he will settle for being his new bosom buddy Boriss Chancellor Getty The favourites in the Tory leadership race Stephen Crabb Highly-rated Work and Pensions Secretary, raised on a council estate, so could reach out to non-traditional working class Tory voters Getty Images The favourites in the Tory leadership race Andrea Leadsom Minister of State for Energy at the Department of Energy and Climate Change is one of the most prominent figures in the Leave campaign, seen to have performed well in TV debates Rex Features The favourites in the Tory leadership race Liam Fox British Conservative MP and former Secretary of State for Defence, as sources said he will stand for the leadership of the Conservative Party AFP/Getty

She later transferred the offshore charges to the UK before becoming a Treasury minister and subsequently stepping down as the director of her buy-to-let business, handing it over to her son instead.
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Former cabinet minister Iain Duncan Smith has defended Tory leadership contender Andrea Leadsom who has been criticised for her comments on motherhood.

The former Work and Pensions Secretary said Ms Leadsom was stiched up in an interview with the Times where she seemed to suggest she would make a better leader than Theresa May because she had children.

Mr Duncan Smith said Ms Leadsom's passion for children, highlighting her charity work with troubled families, led her to slip into discussing parenthood and its effect on leadership.

He criticised various Tory MPs sniping at the junior Energy minister in a Black Ops operation to denigrate her reputation.

Mr Duncan Smith told Robert Peston on his ITV politics show:

Ive been around in politics long enough to see plenty of incredibly experienced cabinet ministers and Prime Ministers get stitched up in the course of an interview.

Ive talked to her, shes actually mortified about that, really genuinely mortified.

After admitting Ms Leadsom was not manipulated into making the statements, Mr Duncan Smith said: The point about it is that she is really really passionate about children in general and her children and this is therefore easy to let her slip into this process where she talks about this because it is a big issue for her.

And really you know talking about your family shouldnt be a crime in politics, you know the question really is, is it because you talk about your family, youre juxtaposing it against somebody else, not at all.

 Theresa May vs Andrea Leadsom - who will be the next PM?

Mr Duncan Smith has called on Ms Leadsom's critics to let cooler heads prevail in the leadership campaign, saying: I have a simple comment to them, which is calm down for Gods sake. This is a leadership election and I think people come to regret some of the silliest things they say during a leadership election. Ive seen it all before  the reality is that both of them are qualified.

Look, if Andrea was so unqualified to be Prime Minister, and you know weve had a lot of sniping, a kind of real Black Ops operation to denigrate her reputation.

If she was so bad what in heavens sake would the Prime Minister be doing making her a serious Government minister?

Theresa May has invited Ms Leadsom to also sign a clean campaign pledge to stay within acceptable limits of political debate.

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, who is backing the Home Secretary, said of Ms Leadsom while at the Warsaw Nato summit: Most of my colleagues [fellow European foreign ministers] do not know Andrea Leadsom and have not heard of Andrea Leadsom.

 Leadsom on gay marriage

Andrea Leadsom said in the now-controversial interview: I am sure Theresa will be really sad she doesn't have children so I don't want this to be Andrea has children Theresa hasn't because I think that would be really horrible, but genuinely I feel that being a mum means you have a very real stake in the future of our country, a tangible stake.

She possibly has nieces, nephews, lots of people. But I have children who are going to have children who will directly be a part of what happens next.

Ms Leadsom has already caused controversy by her recent comments on gay marriage where she insisted she supports same-sex relationships but felt Gay marriage hurts Christian intepretation of marriage.
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Angela Eagle has said she is "not contemplating losing" the Labour leadership contest against Jeremy Corbyn.

Ms Eagle, who recently resigned as Shadow Business Secretary, plans to formally announce her bid to become leader on Monday. Her announcement will trigger a vote by party members.

Discussing Mr Corbyn's leadership on ITV's Peston on Sunday, Ms Eagle said Mr Corbyn had lost the confidence of the Labour party.

She told the programme: "He's not a bad man, he's not a leader though. He doesn't connect with Labour voters.

"He doesn't connect enough to win an election and he doesn't reach out in any meaningful way to other parts of the party.

"He's lost the confidence of his parliamentary colleagues. And I really think now the time is for him to consider his position."

Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Show all 12 1 /12 Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Corbyn's reshuffle Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Corbyn and the Syria bombing vote Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Corbyn asks questions from the public at PMQs, meanwhile backbenchers plot to oust him Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Corbyn is unavailable to attend the Privy Council Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Conference rejects Corbyns call to debate Trident Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn At Labour conference Corbyn and McDonnell press for a Robin Hood tax Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Corbyns hopes for a new politics look optimistic in the face of a media barrage Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Corbyn enters Labour leadership race

She added: "It's about effective leadership and whether we can return to government. We've all got Labour principles, Jeremy's got Labour principles.

"But to connect those principles, you have to be able to be elected and have Labour governments."

Mr Corbyn has struggled to fill all of his shadow cabinet posts, after dozens of MPs on his top team refused to work with him and resigned.

In a secret ballot, 176 MPs voted "no confidence" in Mr Corbyn, with just 40 backing him.

Mr Corbyn has refused to step down, citing his significant mandate from the party membership and trade unionists.

 Eagle repeats Corbyn warning

Rebel Labour MPs are now thought to be split on whether or not Ms Eagle or former shadow work and pensions secretary Owen Smith should the candidate to take him on.

Ms Eagle said the leadership contest was a battle for the future of the Labour party: "I think this is a battle for a healed and a united Labour party and a strong opposition to make our democracy work.

"If you want to take part in that battle, join the Labour party now. It's never been more important."
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Angela Eagle is expected to announce that she will stand for Labour leader against Jeremy Corbyn, triggering a contest.

The former shadow Business Secretary is hardly a household name  gaining just 1 per cent of support in a previous poll of potential successors.

An MP since 1992, she has a substantial voting record that is a useful guide to her political positions.

 Angela Eagle: Corbyn has to go

Foreign intervention

(Reuters)

Ms Eagle voted for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and repeatedly voted against various proposals for investigations into the war in 2003, 2006, and 2007. She voted in favour of bombing Syria in 2015.

Living Wage

Just 15 per cent of those over retirement age say they could live of the state pension alone (Getty)

In 2015 Ms Eagle said Chancellor George Osborne has introduced his so-called national living wage too quickly and that this might have an impact on businesses. She said there may be a case for a full statutory living wage but suggested she was happy with the Low Pay Commission continuing to set the legal minimum while people campaigned for a full living wage in their workplaces.

Public services

(Getty Images) (2011 Getty Images)

Ms Eagle has generally voted against academies and foundation hospitals  public service reforms championed by the Blair government that promote marketisation and autonomy in schools and the NHS. She has also supported restrictions on private provision in the NHS and against marketisation reforms to GPs.

Welfare cuts

(Getty Images) (Getty)

Ms Eagle was one of the MPs who did not vote against Conservative welfare cuts during Labours 2015 leadership contest  following Harriet Harmans party line. More generally throughout her career she has however voted against cutting benefits and for increases.

Tuition fees

The MP supported the introduction of tuition fees under Tony Blair and supported raising them to 3,000 in 2004. Once her party was out of power she voted against Tory plans to raise them to 9,000.

Civil liberties

Westminster Council say their cameras make up a tiny part of total coverage in the borough (Getty Images)

Ms Eagle consistently voted in favour of ID cards and in favour of snooping law requiring the mass retention of communications data. She also supported the Blair governments plan to detain people for 90 days without charge.

Trident

HMS Vigilant, one of Britains four Trident nuclear missile-armed submarines, at its Faslane base in Scotland (Getty)

The former shadow Business Secretary generally backs Trident and has consistently voted against motions calling for it to be scrapped.

Constitutional reform

Conservative ministers argue cutting ESA would incentivise people back into work (Getty)

The MP has backed a wholly elected House of Lords and lowering the voting age to 16. She opposed fixed term parliaments and has a mixed record on supporting devolution to local areas and regions.

Environment

Fracking at Barton Moss near Manchester (AFP/Getty)

Last year Ms Eagle voted in favour of stronger regulations on fracking in national parks and world heritage sites. She has also backed other measures to stop climate change including the climate change bill and the setting of a decarbonisation target. She generally voted against the badger cull.

Social issues

After the shoot, careful butchering may lower the risk to consumers (Getty)

Ms Eagle voted in favour of same-sex marriage, in favour of the ban on fox hunting, in favour of smoking bans, and in favour of assisted dying for terminally ill people.
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A cross-party alliance of MPs is pushing for Tony Blair to be declared guilty of contempt towards Parliament over the Iraq War  as calls for legal action against the former Prime Minister grow. A parliamentary motion, being tabled this week subject to approval by the Speaker, will declare that Mr Blair used deceit in the run-up to the invasion. Its proponents say it could see him barred from public office and stripped of his privy council position.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn today signalled his backing for the motion, urging MPs to examine evidence suggesting that Mr Blair had misled Parliament over the invasion. The parliamentary device, to be formally proposed by outspoken Conservative MP David Davis, has attracted the backing of MPs from Labour, the Tories, Scottish National Party, Green Party and Plaid Cymru.

The landmark Chilcot inquiry, which, since 2009 had been investigating the circumstances of the invasion, said last week that Mr Blairs intelligence case for the attack on Iraq was not justified by the facts. Mr Corbyns backing for the motion comes after John Prescott, the Deputy Prime Minister at the time of the invasion, said Mr Blair had led Parliament into backing an illegal war.

I urge colleagues to read the Butler report and the Chilcot report about the way Parliament was denied the information it should have had, the way there was lack of preparations for the conflicts aftermath, and the way in which assertions of weapons of mass destruction [were made], Mr Corbyn told BBC Ones Andrew Marr Show. Parliament must hold to account, including Tony Blair, those who took us into this particular war. That is surely how a parliamentary democracy works. I havent seen [the motion] yet, but I think I probably would [back it].

The Liberal Democrats, who opposed the war on the basis it did not have United Nations support, have also not ruled out backing the motion. The Independent understands that the partys MPs will be meeting on Monday to discuss their position. Other supporters include former Scottish first minister Alex Salmond, who has long opposed the war, and Plaid Cymru MP Hywel Williams. Green MP Caroline Lucas, who is supporting the contempt declaration, said the Chilcot report was a damning indictment of Blairs record.

 Jeremy Corbyn: We must hold Blair to account on Iraq war

It showed that the former Prime Minster actively deceived Parliament and led this country into a disastrous and bloody war under false pretences, she said. Im joining with fellow MPs to hold Blair to account by tabling a contempt motion which could see him barred from public office and have his privy counsellorship stripped from him. Mr Blairs office declined to comment on the motion when approached by The Independent. However, Dame Margaret Beckett, a close supporter of Mr Blair, said: The Chilcot report was never going to settle the arguments about the war.

The people behind this contempt motion were always going to use the Chilcot report for their own ends. It is, however, very clear from the Chilcot report that Tony Blair did not lie, did not falsify intelligence and that the Cabinet was not misled on the presentation of the legal advice. As a member of the Cabinet at the time, I am clear that the Attorney General provided a clear legal basis for military action which was consistent with all the information with which Cabinet had been presented on a regular basis over the previous weeks.

In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report Show all 10 1 /10 In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report Relatives and friends of the military personnel who died in Iraq, leave the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre PA In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report Dawn Holmes, the mother of L Cpl Sarah Holmes who died in Iraq, is consoled by solicitor Matthew Jury as she leaves the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre PA In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report A family member holding a photograph of Stephen Robert Wright (R), outside the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, after the publication of the Chilcot inquiry into the Iraq War PA In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report Families of soldiers killed in the Iraq conflict stand together outside the Queen Elizabeth II conference centre after the outcome of the Chilcot report Getty Images In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report Relatives of military personnel killed during the Iraq War talk at a news conference after listening to Sir John Chilcot present The Iraq Inquiry Report at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in Westminster Getty In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report Relatives of military personnel killed during the Iraq War react after listening to Sir John Chilcot presenting The Iraq Inquiry Report at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in London AP In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report Relatives and friends of military personnel killed during the Iraq War attend a news conference after listening to Sir John Chilcot present The Iraq Inquiry Report at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in Westminster Getty Images In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report Family of those who died in Iraq speak to the media as they leave the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in London PA In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report Relatives and friends of military personnel killed during the Iraq War attend a news conference after Sir John Chilcot presented The Iraq Inquiry Report at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in Westminster Getty Images In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report Victoria Jones (L), a relative of a British soldier killed in Iraq, holds a copy of The Report of the Iraq Inquiry, by John Chilcot, at the Queen Elizabeth II centre in London Reuters

A spokesperson for the group of MPs organising the censure motion said parallel legal action threatened by families of soldiers who served in the Iraq War could proceed separately to their efforts. This initiative does not interfere in any way with legal action either by the authorities in terms of criminal law or by the service families in the civil courts. However, there is a specific parliamentary matter of holding the former prime minister to account given the revelations in Chilcot, the spokesperson said.

Most damning of all is the detailing of what Blair was promising US President George W Bush in private memos while he was telling Parliament and people something entirely different in public statements.

If we are to prevent such a catastrophe happening again it is essential that parliamentarians learn to hold the executive to critical examination in a way that Parliament failed to do in 2003. Holding Blair to account will be an essential part of that process of parliamentary accountability. The case has been made by Chilcot and any Parliament worth its salt is duty bound to take action.

At a press conference last Wednesday, families of some of the British soldiers killed in Iraq said they reserve the right to call specific parties to answer for their actions in the courts. Roger Bacon, whose son Matthew died when his Snatch Land Rover was hit by an improvised explosive device in Basra in September 2005, named Mr Blair as someone who might face legal action.

The 2.6 million-word Iraq Inquiry report was finally released last Wednesday around seven years after its launch was announced by Gordon Brown. Overall, Sir John Chilcot, the investigations chair, was damning in his verdict on the invasion. We have concluded that the UK chose to join the invasion of Iraq before the peaceful options of disarmament had been exhausted. Military action at that time was not a last resort, he said.

We have also concluded that the judgements about the severity of the threat posed by Iraqs weapons of mass destruction were presented with a certainty that was not justified. Despite explicit warnings, the consequences of the invasion were underestimated and the planning for Iraq after Saddam Hussein were wholly inadequate.
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The governments of the United Kingdoms constituent countries should be fully devolved and the UK reconstituted as a voluntary union more akin to the EU, a group of constitutional experts are to argue.

The Constitution Reform Group, an all-party project that seeks to reform the UK, will this week set out plans for each country to become fully sovereign and take charge of its own affairs, the Guardian newspaper reports.

They argue that the likely impending break-up of the UK in response to the EU referendum vote requires a radical solution.

 6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you

The time for radical change has come. This country needs a new act of union, Lord Salisbury, the former Tory cabinet minister who chairs the group, told the newspaper.

Other members of the Constitution Reform Groups steering committee include former Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell, former Labour MP and House of Commons leader Peter Hain, and Labour MP Gisela Stuart.

Under the plans, the Westminster Parliament would be reduced to 146 MPs and the countries of the union could choose to delegate it powers where they believed pooled sovereignty was in their collective best interests.

The proposal would see the current system of devolution turned on its head, with the presumption of authority resting at the devolved level rather than in Westminster.

The Liberal Democrats have long supported the creation of a federal United Kingdom.

Leader Tim Farron told the Independent that the proposals could help prevent the break-up of the United Kingdom but that the details would be important.

Brexit reactions  in pictures Show all 10 1 /10 Brexit reactions  in pictures Brexit reactions  in pictures Supporters of the Stronger In campaign look at their phones after hearing results in the EU referendum at London's Royal Festival Hall AP Brexit reactions  in pictures Leave supporters cheer results at a Leave.eu party after polling stations closed in the Referendum on the European Union in London Reuters Brexit reactions  in pictures Mr Cameron announces his resignation to supporters Getty Brexit reactions  in pictures Donald Tusk proposes that the 27 remaining EU member states start a wider reflection on the future of our union Getty Brexit reactions  in pictures Ukip leader Nigel Farage greets his supporters on College Green in Westminster, after Britain voted to leave the European Union PA Brexit reactions  in pictures Supporters of the Stronger In Campaign react as referendum results are announced today Getty Brexit reactions  in pictures Boris Johnson leaves his home today to discover a crowd of waiting journalists and police officers Getty Brexit reactions  in pictures Leave EU supporters celebrate as they watch the British EU Referendum results being televised at Millbank Tower in London Rex Brexit reactions  in pictures Supporters of the Stronger In Campaign react as results of the EU referendum are announced at the Royal Festival Hall Reuters Brexit reactions  in pictures Supporters of the Stronger In campaign react after hearing results in the EU referendum at London's Royal Festival Hall PA

We welcome any proposals on keeping the union intact and of wider constitutional changes that empower and support proper devolution, he said.

We need to see the detail but this is a welcome step in the debate.

The plan comes amid a surge of support for Scottish independence as the EU referendum result threatens to take Scotland out of the European bloc against its wishes.

In Northern Ireland, too, the fragile peace process is under threat thanks to the referendum result, which is set to put the foundations out from underneath the Good Friday agreement
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Jeremy Corbyn has suggested he will mount a legal challenge to counter any attempt to keep him off the ballot paper in a snap Labour leadership contest.

Labours ruling National Executive Committee is due to decide this week whether the party leader must be re-nominated by MPs in order to run in the event of a challenge to his leadership.

The Labour party constitution says that where there is no vacancy for leader, nominations may be sought by potential challengers. They require 20 per cent of the partys MPs to be valid.

The constitution does not explicitly mention whether the leader would be automatically on the ballot paper and conflicting legal opinions have previously been stated on the issue.

Former shadow cabinet minister Angela Eagle has said she will challenge Mr Corbyn for the leadership on Monday  meaning a decision by the NEC will need to be made.

The leaders low level of support amongst his own MPs would make it difficult for him to secure nominations  but very high levels of support from ordinary party members mean he would stand a good chance of winning if people were allowed to vote for him.

Im expecting to be on the ballot paper because the rules of the party say that the existing leader should be on the ballot paper anyway, Mr Corbyn told BBC Ones Andrew Marr Show.

Ms Eagle will set out her vision 'for the country and the difference a strong Labour Party can make' on Monday (Getty)

He added that he had not been shown any legal advice suggesting he would not be on the ballot.

Asked if he would take the issue to court, he replied: I will challenge that if that is a view they take. Id just ask anyone in the party to think for a moment: is it really right that the members of the party should be denied a decision, a discussion, a choice in this.

Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Show all 12 1 /12 Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Corbyn's reshuffle Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Corbyn and the Syria bombing vote Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Corbyn asks questions from the public at PMQs, meanwhile backbenchers plot to oust him Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Corbyn is unavailable to attend the Privy Council Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Conference rejects Corbyns call to debate Trident Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn At Labour conference Corbyn and McDonnell press for a Robin Hood tax Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Corbyns hopes for a new politics look optimistic in the face of a media barrage Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Corbyn enters Labour leadership race

Half a million people are members of the party because they want the party to succeed. Surely theyre the people who knock on doors, theyre the people that deliver leaflets, theyre the people that raise the money.

Ms Eagle said this morning that she believe Mr Corbyn will have to find nominations.

I am ready to have a leadership contest and a debate with whoevers on the ballot, she told ITVs Peston on Sunday programme.

April legal advice to Labour from Doughty Street Chambers revealed by Sky News, suggested that, in absence of express provision or any basis for implying one, I also do not consider that an incumbent require nomination in order to appear on the ballot against a challenger, or to be deemed re-elected in a year in which no challenger emerges.

 Eagle repeats Corbyn warning

That advice described opposing arguments as weak. Other legal advice is said to suggest an alternative view.

Mr Corbyn was hit by a spate of resignations from his shadow cabinet last month, with dozens of MPs quitting and calling for him to step down. He has refused to resign, however.
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Jeremy Corbyn has backed a parliamentary motion declaring Tony Blair guilty of contempt, following the release of the Chilcot Report.

The motion, set to be tabled by outspoken Conservative MP David Davis, alleges that the former prime minister deceived the House of Commons while making the case for Iraq.

The Labour leader, who this week apogised on behalf of his party for the war despite being having long personally opposed it, said he would probably back the motion when asked.

I urge colleagues to read the Butler Report and the Chilcot Report about the way Parliament was denied the information it should have had, the way there was lack of preparations for the conflicts aftermath, and the way in which assertions of weapons of mass destruction [were made], he told BBC Ones Andrew Marr Show.

Parliament must hold to account, including Tony Blair, those who took us into this particular war. That is surely how a parliamentary democracy works. I havent seen [the motion] yet, but I think I probably would [back it].

The motion is likely to debated in the next few weeks if it is accepted by the Speaker.

The landmark Chilcot Inquiry, which has been investigating the 2003 invasion since 2009, said last week that Mr Blairs intelligence case for the attack on Iraq was not justified.

Mr Corbyns backing comes after John Prescott, the deputy prime minister at the time of the invasion, said Mr Blair had led Parliament into backing an illegal war.

Sir John Chilcot found Tony Blair presented the case for war with 'a certainty which was not justified' (Getty Images)

Writing in the Sunday Mirror newspaper, Lord Prescott said that following evidence in the Chilcot Report he had come to the conclusion that the war was illegal.

I will live with the decision of going to war and its catastrophic consequences for the rest of my life, he wrote.

The key players in the Iraq War Show all 11 1 /11 The key players in the Iraq War The key players in the Iraq War Jack Straw Jack Straw was the UK foreign secretary at the time of the Iraq invasion, and fully endorsed the decision Getty The key players in the Iraq War Geoff Hoon Geoff Hoon was Tony Blairs defence secretary from October 1999 to May 2005 Getty Images The key players in the Iraq War Alastair Campbell Alastair Campbell was involved in the drafting of two Downing Street dossiers on the war, in September 2002 and in February 2003 Getty The key players in the Iraq War John Scarlett John Scarlett was chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee at the time of the 2003 invasion Getty Images The key players in the Iraq War Peter Goldsmith Peter Goldsmith was Mr Blairs attorney general from 2001 to 2007 AFP/Getty Images The key players in the Iraq War Condoleezza Rice Condoleezza Rice was named as National Security Advisor to George W Bush in 2000, becoming the first woman to occupy the post, and argued publicly in favour of the 2003 invasion Getty Images The key players in the Iraq War Colin Powell Colin Powell was Secretary of State from 2001 to 2005 Getty Images for TIME The key players in the Iraq War Tommy Franks Tommy Franks was the leading US general at the start of the Iraq war The key players in the Iraq War Dick Cheney Dick Cheney was George W Bushs vice president from 2001 to 2009 Getty Images The key players in the Iraq War Paul Bremer Paul Bremer ran Iraq for 14 months after the invasion, appointed Bushs Presidential Envoy in charge of the occupying forces Getty Images The key players in the Iraq War Hans Blix Hans Blix was the UN weapons inspector tasked with monitoring Iraq from 2002 to 2003 Getty Images

In 2004, the UN secretary-general Kofi Annan said that as regime change was the prime aim of the Iraq war, it was illegal. With great sadness and anger, I now believe him to be right.

Mr Davis, who is tabling the motion, also told the Andrew Marr Show: I'm going to put down a contempt motion, a motion which says that Tony Blair has held the House in contempt. It's a bit like contempt of court. Essentially by deceit.

He added: If you look just at the debate alone, on five different grounds the House was misled, three in terms of the weapons of mass destruction, one in terms of the UN votes were going, and one in terms of the threat, the risks. He might have done one of those accidentally, but five?

Overall Sir John Chilcot, who chaired the Iraq Inquiry, was damning in his verdict on the invasion.

We have concluded that the UK chose to join the invasion of Iraq before the peaceful options of disarmament had been exhausted. Military action at that time was not a last resort, he said on Wednesday.

We have also concluded that the judgements about the severity of the threat posed by Iraqs WMD were presented with a certainty that was not justified.

Despite explicit warnings the consequences of the invasion were underestimated and the planning for Iraq after Saddam Hussein were wholly inadequate.
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The Ukip donor and millionaire businessman Arron Banks says he does not believe Theresa May would push through Brexit if she were to become Prime Minister.

Mr Banks, a key financial backer of the Leave.EU campaign, has said he will back Andrea Leadsom in the Tory leadership race, primarily due to a fear the Home Secretary would betray Brexit if elected leader.

Speaking on the BBCs The Andrew Marr Show, Mr Banks said he believed Mrs May would be the death of Brexit, by a thousand cuts, and would absolutely betray the referendum result.

He claimed she may delay triggering Article 50 until it is too late, and circumstances have changed, or echo the Norwegian political elite  allowing free movement in exchange for access to the single market.

The Tory leadership frontrunner has stated she fully intends to trigger Article 50 if she becomes Primer Minister  probably by the end of the year.

Her campaign chief, Chris Grayling, also insisted there was "no question" of a second referendum on the EU if the Home Secretary wins, with the UK severing ties with Brussels before the 2020 general election.

He added that he was expecting EU citizens to be able to remain in the UK after Brexit, something Mrs May has refused to guarantee unless she receives a similar commitment from the other 27 member states about the future rights of Britons overseas.

"I don't think there will be any change on either side," he said. "Everyone will take a grown-up approach to this. It would be too damaging to do otherwise. However, we should always make sure that we look after the interests of our own citizens. I don't think anything is going to change."

He added: "I'm expecting all EU citizens, perhaps bar those who've committed criminal offences and ones with individual circumstances, to be able to stay as they do now. And I'm expecting UK citizens in other countries to be able to stay there too. That's right and proper."

He told the BBC's Sunday Politics she had stressed that "Brexit means Brexit" and added: "We think she has got the weight and the experience to deliver what people want."

When asked if he would consider putting himself forward to replace Nigel Farage as Ukip leader, Mr Banks said he had not yet decided.

I havent discounted it completely, he said.

If Mrs May were to win, Mr Banks said it is likely a new party could be set up, ready to take on both Labour and Tory parties.

He has said the prospective new party would be more online-focussed, and have more direct democracy.

The elite have hated the referendum because it took the power away from them and actually I think this has been a wonderful thing.

The idea of more referendum and going down the Swiss model [of direct democracy] would be fantastic.

In Switzerland, any change to the constitution must be voted on in a public referendum. Referendums may also be requested for changes in law.

The favourites in the Tory leadership race Show all 5 1 /5 The favourites in the Tory leadership race The favourites in the Tory leadership race Theresa May The longest-serving Home Secretary in 100 years took a back seat in the referendum campaign. While backing Remain, she did not hit the campaign trail and delivered only a handful of speeches and interviews, and was critical of many aspects of the EU, particularly the European Convention on Human Rights. Hedging her bets allows her to now emerge as a unity candidate, and she is said to have been building up her back-room staff in preparation for a leadership bid. She has the significant advantage of having served in one of the great offices of state, in a steady and competent manner that has won her many admirers within party and the civil service. At a time of great instability, it may be that she is viewed as steady hand on the tiller. Mrs May does however, lack the star quality of a Boris Johnson and party members may doubt her ability to connect with ordinary voters PA The favourites in the Tory leadership race Michael Gove The Justice Secretary may be able to set himself up as the thinking Torys Brexit candidate. Made an enormous political and personal decision to back Leave, taking on his old friend David Cameron. He performed well during the TV debates, and will be an admired figure among Eurosceptic Conservatives. Along with Johnson, he will be hindered by the fact that he led a very divisive campaign, characterised by blue-on-blue action. MPs may also judge that he lacks Boris Johnsons wider appeal with the electorate. Possibly more likely that he will settle for being his new bosom buddy Boriss Chancellor Getty The favourites in the Tory leadership race Stephen Crabb Highly-rated Work and Pensions Secretary, raised on a council estate, so could reach out to non-traditional working class Tory voters Getty Images The favourites in the Tory leadership race Andrea Leadsom Minister of State for Energy at the Department of Energy and Climate Change is one of the most prominent figures in the Leave campaign, seen to have performed well in TV debates Rex Features The favourites in the Tory leadership race Liam Fox British Conservative MP and former Secretary of State for Defence, as sources said he will stand for the leadership of the Conservative Party AFP/Getty

Mrs May promised on Thursday that she would be bloody difficult when it came to Brexit talks: Ken Clarke might have found me to be a bloody difficult woman. The next person to find that out will be Jean-Claude Juncker, she joked.

A recent survey conducted for The Independent has revealed British voters value the access to the single market more than they value capping immigration from Europe.

48 per cent of respondents, including 76 per cent of Remain voters, said they would sacrifice an immigration cap in exchange for access to the single market, compared to only 37 per cent who said limiting immigration was more important.
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Hundreds of troops and dozens of civilians have died amid intensifying gun battles in the South Sudanese capital of Juba, which have forced residents to seek shelter at a UN base.

Fighting broke out on Thursday between troops loyal to President Salva Kiir and those loyal to Vice President Riek Machar, and have continued through to Sunday morning.

Many civilians have been forced to flee their homes to escape the violence, which has also hit a UN camp for displaced people sheltering from the violence.

"The condition is really very bad. We have a lot of casualties this side, I think around 50 to 60 besides those of yesterday," said Budbud Chol who oversees security at a clinic in the base. "We have civilian casualties. We have rocket-propelled grenades that have landed in the camp which has wounded eight people." Among the wounded are five children and two women while the rest were men, he said.

One resident, who gave the name Steven, said he had seen hundreds attempt to flee to safety.

I saw dead bodies of civilians and others, moving with blood on their bodies, he said.

In pictures: Hundreds killed in South Sudan clashes Show all 12 1 /12 In pictures: Hundreds killed in South Sudan clashes In pictures: Hundreds killed in South Sudan clashes The clashes began when uniformed personnel opened fire at a meeting of the governing party, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement Benjamin Lowy/Getty Images In pictures: Hundreds killed in South Sudan clashes Civilians queuing outside the UNMISS compound in Bor, South Sudan AFP/UNMISS/Rolla HinediRolla In pictures: Hundreds killed in South Sudan clashes The mission is stepping up provision of basic health facilities AFP/UNMISS/Rolla HinediRolla In pictures: Hundreds killed in South Sudan clashes South Sudanese civilians fleeing an outbreak of intense fighting between groups of government forces take shelter at the United Nations Mission to South Sudan base in Juba, South Sudan Benjamin Lowy/Getty Images In pictures: Hundreds killed in South Sudan clashes South Sudan's fugitive former vice president denied accusations he led a coup bid against his archrival President Salva Kiir after days of fierce fighting that has killed hundreds of people and sent thousands fleeing to UN bases Benjamin Lowy/Getty Images In pictures: Hundreds killed in South Sudan clashes An injured man sits in a shelter at the United Nations Mission in Juba, South Sudan Benjamin Lowy/Getty Images In pictures: Hundreds killed in South Sudan clashes French UN ambassador Gerard Araud, who holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council, confirmed that up to 20,000 people had taken refuge in the UN mission in Juba Benjamin Lowy/Getty Images In pictures: Hundreds killed in South Sudan clashes Fighting in South Sudan has claimed up to 500 lives in recent days Benjamin Lowy/Getty Images In pictures: Hundreds killed in South Sudan clashes Former Finance Minister Kosti Manibe, former Justice Minister John Luk Jok and former Interior Minister Gier Chuang Aluong were among the 10 people arrested Benjamin Lowy/Getty Images In pictures: Hundreds killed in South Sudan clashes South Sudan's President Salva Kiir gestures during a news conference in Juba. Kiir said he was ready for dialogue with his rival who he has accused of trying to force him out of power through fighting that has killed up to 500 people and brought the two-year-old nation close to civil war Reuters/Goran Tomasevic In pictures: Hundreds killed in South Sudan clashes South Sudan has struggled to achieve a stable government since becoming independent from Sudan in 2011. The independence referendum was intended to end a decade-long conflict, led by the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, against the north. But the oil-rich country remains ethnically and politically divided, with many armed groups active Benjamin Lowy/Getty Images In pictures: Hundreds killed in South Sudan clashes People arrive to seek refuge in the UNMISS compound in Juba Stringerstr/AFP/Getty Images

The conflict in Juba raises concerns that the already fragile peace deal which has been in place for the last 11 months may be in jeopardy, and the country could return to civil war.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said This outbreak of hostilities in the capital, on the eve of the countrys fifth anniversary of independence, is yet another illustration of the parties lack of serious commitment to the peace process and represents a new betrayal of the people of South Sudan, who have suffered from unfathomable atrocities since December 2013.

People all over the world have spoken out on social media claiming that conflict in South Sudan has been under-reported by the international press.

More than five million people are still in need of aid in South Sudan, and lack of press coverage in the West has led to concerns that other countries will not be urged to offer help.

Journalists in South Sudan have reported limited press freedom; eight journalists have reportedly been killed in the past five years, meaning international media plays a vital role in holding the countrys government to account.

The public are calling for media around the world to ensure the horrors in South Sudan are reported extensively, in the hope that this may help civilians affected by conflict.

War broke out in South Sudan in 2013, after tensions arose between President Salva Kiir and Vice President Riek Machar, who is of the Dinka ethnicity and Vice President Riek Machar, who is of the Nuer ethnicity.

The armed forces divided into two factions, primarily divided along ethnic lines, and Mr Machar was sacked.

What started as political infighting led to violence across the country, resulting in the death of tens of thousands of people, and more than two million South Sudanese citizens fleeing their homes.

After two years of civil war, a peace deal was signed by President Kiir under threat of EU sanctions, and Mr Machar was reinstated as vice president.

But the two are yet to integrate their armed forces, part of the peace deal, which has led to continual tension between the two factions.

The rival politicians both called for calm in Juba, and said they do not know what sparked the conflict, thereby raising concerns that they do not have enough control over their troops.

Neighbouring country Kenya has called for Mr Machar and Mr Kiir to move soldiers and weaponry out of civilian spaces to prevent further casualties.

Michael Makuei, Information and Broadcasting Minister for the South Sudanese government said the conflict had ended: At present, the situation is calm.

He said the government was calling those who fled back to their homes.
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Rights groups have welcomed the decisions both of Gambia and Tanzania to ban child marriage.

The two former British colonies made the decision to pass the legislation following lobbying by civil society groups.

In Tanzania, where the rate of child marriage is around 37 per cent - one of the highest in the world - the move represents a critical step forward according to Human Rights Watch.

Recommended Read more You can still get married at 12 in some parts of the US

Early marriage deprives girls of education and opportunities and increases the risk of death or serious childbirth injuries. Child brides are also at greater risk of domestic and sexual violence.

Womens advocacy group Msichana Initiative lodged a legal case against the Tanzania Law of Marriage Act earlier this year. The countrys high court ruled sections 13 and 17  which allowed girls as young as 15 to marry  unconstitutional. Marriage under 18 has now been outlawed.

In Gambia, where around 30 per cent of girls are married underage, President Yahya Jammeh announced on Wednesday: "As from today, child marriage below 18 years is illegal in the GambiaIf you want to know whether what I am saying is true or not, try it tomorrow and see."

His wife, Madam Zineb Jammeh, has also voiced her strong support for banning child marriage. We can't afford to allow child marriage to hold back our beautiful girls any longer," she said in June. "Eliminating child marriages should be our priority, to allow young girls to develop and contribute to development.

Gambia also outlawed female genital mutilation in late 2015.

Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Show all 19 1 /19 Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Afghanistan Recommendation: I urge the Government of Afghanistan to adopt legislative reforms to ensure that sexual violence offences are not conflated with adultery or morality crimes and to establish infrastructure for the delivery of protection, health and le gal services to survivors. I call on the Ministry of the Interior to accelerate efforts to integrate women into the Afghan National Police, thereby enhancing its outreach and its capacity to address sexual and gender-based violence Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Central African Republic Recommendation: I urge the authorities of the Central African Republic to ensure that efforts to restore security and the rule of law take into account the prevention of sexual violence and that monitoring of the ceasefire and peace agreement explicitly reflects this consideration, in line with the joint communique of the Government and the United Nations on the prevention of and response to conflict-related sexual violence signed in December 2012. I further encourage the authorities to make the rapid response unit to combat sexual violence operational and to establish a special criminal court Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Colombia Recommendation: I commend the Government of Colombia for the progress made to date and its collaboration with the United Nations, including through the visit of my Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict in March 2015. I encourage the authorities to implement Law 1719 and continue to prosecute cases of sexual violence committed during the conflict to ensure that survivors receive justice and receive reparations. Conflict-related sexual violence should continue to be addressed in the Havana peace talks, as well as in the resulting accords and transitional justice mechanisms. Particular attention should be paid to groups that face additional barriers to justice such as ethnic minorities, women in rural areas, children, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex individuals and women abused within the ranks of armed groups. I encourage the Government to scale up its protection measures and share its good practices with other conflict-affected countries Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Congo Recommendation: I urge the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to ensure full implementation of the armed forces action plan against sexual violence, to systematically bring perpetrators to justice and to deliver reparations to victims, including payment of outstanding compensation awards. I call on donors and the United Nations system to support the Government in its efforts and to pay increased attention to neglected areas, including unregulated mining regions Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Iraq Recommendation: I commend the Government of Iraq for its national action plan for the implementation of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) and urge its swift implementation, including by training its security forces to ensur e respect for womens rights. Programmes to support the social reintegration of women and girls released from captivity by ISIL are urgently needed, as is community-based medical and psychological care. The capacity of the United Nations system should be enhanced through the deployment of Womens Protection Advisers or equivalent specialists Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Libya Recommendation: I urge the national authorities in Libya to implement Decree No. 119 and Resolution 904 of 2014 to ensure redress for all victims, including those affected by the current conflict, through the establishment of multisectoral services and the adoption of legislation to categorically prohibit sexual violence Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Mali Recommendation: I urge the Government of Mali, with support from United Nations Action against Sexual Violence in Conflict, to develop a comprehensive national strategy to combat sexual and gender-based violence and to ensure the safety of humanitarian workers so that services can reach remote areas. I further call on all parties to ensure that conflict-related sexual violence is addressed in the inter-Malian dialogue and that perpetrators of sexual violence do not benefit from amnesty or early release Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Myanmar Recommendation: I urge the Government of Myanmar to continue with its reform agenda and, in the process, take practical and timely actions to protect and support survivors of conflict-related sexual violence and to ensure that security personnel accused of such crimes are prosecuted. Sexual violence should be an element in all ceasefire and peace negotiations, excluded from the scope of amnesty provisions and addressed in transitional justice processes. It is critical that women be able to participate consistently in and influence these processes Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Somalia Recommendation: I reiterate my call to the Federal Government of Somalia to implement the commitments made under the joint communique of 7 May 2013 and its national action plan to combat sexual violence in conflict, including specific plans for the army and the police. I encourage the adoption of a sexual offences bill as a matter of priority Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life South Sudan Recommendation: I urge the parties to the conflict in South Sudan to adopt action plans to implement the commitments made under their respective communiques. I call upon the Government of South Sudan to address the negative impact of customary law on womens rights and to reflect international human rights standards in national law. I also encourage the African Union to make public and act upon the report of its Commission of Inquiry on South Sudan Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Sudan (Darfur) Recommendation: I call upon the Government of the Sudan to grant the United Nations and its humanitarian partners unfettered access for monitoring and the provision of assistance to people in need in Darfur. Given that there has been grave concern over sexual violence in Darfur for more than a decade, I encourage the Government to engage with my Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict to develop a framework of cooperation to address the issue comprehensively Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Syria Recommendation: I acknowledge the Governments invitation to my Special Representative to visit the Syrian Arab Republic and call upon the authorities, in the context of such a visit, to agree on specific measures to prevent sexual violence, including by members of the security forces. I condemn the use of sexual violence by ISIL and all other parties listed in the annex to the present report and call on them to cease such violations immediately and allow unfettered access for the delivery of humanitarian assistance Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Yemen Recommendation: I urge the authorities in Yemen to undertake legislative reform as a basis for addressing impunity for sexual violence, ensuring the provision of services for survivors and aligning the minimum legal age of marriage with international standards. I further call on the authorities to engage with local community and faithbased leaders to address sexual and gender-based violence and discriminatory social norms Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Bosnia and Herzegovina Recommendation: I urge the relevant authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina to harmonize legislation and policies so that the rights of survivors of conflict-related sexual violence to reparations are consistently recognized and to allocate a specific budget for this purpose. I further call upon the authorities to protect and support survivors participating in judicial proceedings through, inter alia, referrals to free legal aid, psychosocial and health services, as well as economic empowerment programmes Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Ivory Coast Recommendation: I urge the Government of Cote dIvoire to ensure the effective implementation of its national strategy to combat gender-based violence and the action plan for FRCI, and call on the international community to support these efforts. It is critical to accelerate disarmament, demobilization and reintegration and strengthen law enforcement to ensure that ex-combatants who have been reintegrated into the transport sector do not pose a risk to women and girls who are reliant on those services. The Government and the international community must provide monitoring and awareness-raising to mitigate the possibility of a recurrence of sexual violence in the context of the presidential elections to be held in October 2015 Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Liberia Recommendation: I call on the Government of Liberia to continue its critical efforts to combat sexual and gender-based violence including through the United Nations-Government of Liberia Joint Programme, and in the context of recovery from the Ebola virus epidemic Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Nepal Recommendation: I encourage the Government to ensure that survivors of conflict-related sexual violence are recognized under the law as conflict victims, which will enable them to access services, judicial remedies and reparations. I further call on all parties involved in the transitional justice process to ensure that the rights and needs o f survivors of sexual violence are addressed in institutional reforms and that these crimes are excluded from amnesties and statutes of limitations Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Sri Lanka Recommendation: I call upon the newly elected Government of Sri Lanka to investigate allegations of sexual violence, including against national armed and security forces, and to provide multisectoral services for survivors, including reparations and economic empowerment programmes for women at risk, including war widows and female heads of household Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Nigeria Recommendation: I encourage the Government to implement its national action plan on the implementation of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) to ensure that womens protection concerns are mainstreamed throughout its security operations. I also call upon the authorities to guarantee security in and around internally displaced persons camps and to extend medical and psychosocial services to high-risk areas

The president warned that offenders will face heavy penalties over any reported child marriages, and said "if you ... failed to report, if we know about it we will deal with you". A punishment of 20 years in prison for both the husband and parents of the girl being married was confirmed.

The move was welcomed by rights groups in Gambia but some expressed concern that jailing parents who marry off their daughters could spark a backlash. In the country, around a third of girls are wed before they turn 18.

Legislation alone will not be enough to stop girls from being married before 18, said campaign group Girls Not Brides (GNB). "It is essential to empower girls, to protect their rights and provide meaningful alternatives to marriage that are valued by communities, such as education," said Ruth Koshal of GNB.

The government should engage with local communities to try to change attitudes towards child marriage, instead of threatening families with prison sentences, said Isatou Jeng of the Gambian women's rights organisation Girls Agenda, to the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

"I don't think locking parents up is the answer...it could lead to a major backlash and sabotage the ban," she said.
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Amid fears of a rollback of Polands democratic freedoms, President Obama had a harsh message of concern during a trip here for a NATO summit.

But viewers of Polands main evening news program saw exactly the opposite.

The twisted message would not instill confidence in the new Polish governments protestations that its media institutions remain independent. Add one more fear to U.S. concerns that a major ally is turning in a new direction after the right-wing Law and Justice party won a sweeping victory in October.

Since its election, the new government has taken steps that critics say eliminate the independence of Polands top court, the Constitutional Tribunal, taken control of the main public broadcaster by installing a former politician as its head and initiated prosecutions of members of the former ruling party.

Obamas tough message Friday, standing alongside Polish President Andrzej Duda, was that he expressed to President Duda our concerns over certain actions and the impasse around the Polands Constitutional Tribunal.

More work needs to be done, Obama said. And as your friend and ally, we've urged all parties to work together to sustain Polands democratic institutions.

But viewers of Telewizja Polska, the main public broadcaster, saw a very different suggestion on the evening news.

Ninety-five percent of the meeting was about issues of NATO and security, but Obama praised Polish efforts at democracy, the reporter said. Concerning the issue of the constitutional tribunal, he said he is sure that spreading democratic values in Poland will not stop.

Then the broadcaster played a clip of Obamas friendly cushioning of his criticism, while skipping the substance of the message.

In the clip played on Polish television, Obama was also translated by a dubbed voice-over as saying that Poland is and will be an example of democracy for the whole world.

What he actually said was that Poland stands and needs to continue to stand as an example for democratic practices around the world.

More than 100 journalists have been dismissed or have resigned from Polands public broadcaster this year, a measure of the major changes underway there. Some journalists say that anyone perceived as critical of the Law and Justice party is now under threat. Shortly after the party took office, it changed laws giving Polands Finance Ministry the direct power to appoint the head of the broadcaster. The new head is Jacek Kurski, a member of the Law and Justice party and a former member of European Parliament.

Copyright: Washington Post
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As the protests over police killings of black men continued in several US cities this weekend, the organiser of last weeks demonstration in Dallas, which ended when a gunman opened fire on police, has said he hopes to stage a new rally in the coming days.

Civil rights campaigner Dominique Alexander, the 27-year-old founder and president of the Next Generation Action Network (NGAN), said his group was in the process of planning another protest against police abuses in the Texas city this Wednesday.

Recommended Read more Louisiana police arrested activist Deray McKesson and several others

Were thinking about making it a silent march, what is called an Enough Said march, meaning that enough has been said already, and theres nothing else we can say now because our government already knows what needs to be done, Mr Alexander told The Independent.

A peaceful demonstration organised by NGAN last Thursday night was violently interrupted when Micah Johnson, a 25-year-old former US Army reservist, staged an ambush in downtown Dallas, shooting dead five police officers and wounding seven further officers and two civilians. Before he was killed using an explosive device carried by a robot, Johnson allegedly told police that he had intended to kill white people, especially white officers.

Activists were concerned that the attack could derail the momentum of the Black Lives Matter movement, whose national campaign had gathered steam and sympathy following the police shootings of Alton Sterling in Louisiana and Philando Castile in Minnesota last week. Both killings were captured on video, provoking widespread outrage.

Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick was among several conservatives to criticise campaigners in the wake of the Dallas shootings, suggesting they had helped to incite the bloodshed. I do blame people on social media with their hatred towards police. I do blame former Black Lives Matter protests, Mr Patrick told Fox News, adding: This has to stop.

 Black Lives Matter marches

There are some who would use these events to stifle a movement for change and quicken the demise of a vibrant discourse on the human rights of Black Americans, the Black Lives Matter network said in a statement. We should reject all of this. Black activists have raised the call for an end to violence, not an escalation of it.

Mr Alexander, whose group is not part of the Black Lives Matter network but stands in solidarity with the organisation, said he was concerned that comments such as Mr Patricks would cloud the national conversation around race and policing.

We are putting in a lot of hours to make sure we keep control of the narrative, to make sure that the hate doesnt breed, to make sure that tensions dont rise in the police reform activist community and the police community, he said. People will try to raise tension between us, but Im trying to eliminate that tension and prevent retaliation.

Protests over police brutality continued in multiple cities on Saturday. In Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where Mr Sterling was shot dead by police, nationally prominent Black Lives Matter activist Deray McKesson was among 125 people arrested during a peaceful march.

Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Show all 19 1 /19 Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protestors demand justice for Philando Castile on July 7, 2016 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Stephen Maturen/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protestors lie in an intersection during a demonstration for Philando Castile on July 7, 2016 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Stephen Maturen/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protestors lie in an intersection during a demonstration for Philando Castile on July 7, 2016 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Stephen Maturen/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protestors demand justice for Philando Castile on July 7, 2016 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Stephen Maturen/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protesters march throughout New York City. Timothy A Clary/AFP/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protesters march throughout New York City. Timothy A Clary/AFP/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protesters are arrested by NYPD as they call for justice throughout New York City. Timothy A Clary/AFP/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protesters are arrested by NYPD as they call for justice throughout New York City. AFP/Getty Images Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police AFP/Getty Images Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police AFP/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police AFP/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police AFP/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police AFP/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police AFP/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police AFP/Getty Images Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Getty

In St Paul, Minnesota, close to where Mr Castile was killed during a traffic stop, officials said some 100 protesters were arrested after blocking a freeway and throwing bottles, bricks and fireworks at police, allegedly injuring more than two dozen officers. Marchers also took to the streets in cities including New York, Washington DC, Miami and London.

Mr Alexander, an ordained minister at the True Love Missionary Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas, said he founded the NGAN in 2014 following the death of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager shot and killed by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. The group now has several hundred members and chapters in four other cities.

Mr Alexander said he was inspired by civil rights leaders such as Dr Martin Luther King Jr, Nelson Mandela, Gandhi, and Malcolm X. They were all under the age of 40 when they started  some of them never lived past 40  but they formed very impactful movements. I believed todays young generation was being choked from being able to lead change, and I wanted to create a social justice organisation structured, organised, and led by young people.

Arrested several times for minor offences in the years before he became a minister, Mr Alexander, a father of three, still has an up and down relationship with the Dallas Police Department, he said.

He and Jeff Hood, a white pastor with whom he organised and led Thursday's rally, both condemned the attack that ensued. We echo the words of President Obama yesterday when he stated that because black lives matter, it does not mean blue lives do not matter, Mr Alexander said at a press conference on Friday. Although officers volunteered to risk their lives, they certainly do not deserve to die.

Speaking to The Independent, the NGAN founder emphasised that the converse was also true. Those bullets had no names on them, he said. Everybody is talking about the officers who were hit, but there were also two protesters injured  including a mother who took a bullet while she was shielding her boy. Thats a child who could have been hurt. The rhetoric since then shows that to some people, officers lives are still more valuable than civilian lives.
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Dallas police say they are "taking seriously" an anonymous threat to law enforcement across the city, amid high tensions two days after five of the city's officers were killed by a gunman during a protest over police shootings of black men.

An apparent lockdown of the area around police headquarters began a little after 4pm as police set up a roadblock perimeter of several blocks surrounding the building in downtown Dallas.

Police said in a statement that they had received an anonymous threat against law enforcement across the city and taken precautionary measures to heightened security.

Media were ordered away from the plaza in front of the police department building, where a makeshift memorial has been swelling with flowers and other tributes since the shootings on Thursday night.

According to the departments official Twitter account, SWAT officers searched the police parking garage for a suspicious person. Officers set off a small device to break through a locked fence and used a shotgun to breach a closed door in the garage. The search was completed without any suspect being found.

There had been unconfirmed reports of a man wearing a black mask spotted in the car-park behind the building, while local TV station WFAA reported that the threat had come from an armed group based Houston. The department also took a city-wide roll call of its officers to ensure they were all safe.

The incident may simply represent an abundance of caution in a city that remains on edge less than 48 hours after the deadliest day for US law enforcement since 9/11. Senior officers met at police headquarters earlier in the afternoon to discuss the ongoing investigation into the shootings, as detectives tried to determine whether gunman Micah Johnson had acted alone or had co-conspirators.

Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas Show all 20 1 /20 Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas A Dallas Area Rapid Transit police officer receives comfort at the Baylor University Hospital emergency room entrance in Dallas Dallas Morning News/AP Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas Emergency services help an unknown patient on a stretcher as law enforcement officials stand nearby at the emergency receiving area of Baylor University Medical Center AP Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas Dallas Police shield bystanders after shots were fired, during a protest over two recent fatal police shootings of black men AP Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas Bystanders run for cover after shots fired at a Black Live Matter rally in downtown Dallas AP Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas Police check a car after snipers opened fire on police officers in Dallas AP Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas A man raises his hands as he walks near a law enforcement officer, following the shootings of several police officers in downtown Dallas AP Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas A Dallas police officer steps out of a vehicle as he arrives in front of Baylor University Medical Center AP Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas Dallas police officers face protesters on the corner of Ross Ave. and Griffin street after police officers were shot during a peaceful protest in Dallas EPA Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas A Dallas police officer covers his face as he stands with others outside the emergency room at Baylor University Medical Center AP Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas Law enforcement officials escort a couple in through the emergency room entrance at Baylor University Medical Center AP Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas Dallas Police respond after shots were fired at a Black Lives Matter rally in downtown Dallas AP Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas Dallas Police respond after shots were fired at a Black Lives Matter rally in downtown Dallas AP Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas Police cars sit on Main Street in Dallas following the sniper shooting during a protest AFP/Getty Images Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas A Police officer stands guard at a barricade following the sniper shooting in Dallas AFP/Getty Images Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas Police stand near a barricade following the sniper shooting in Dallas AFP/Getty Images Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas Dallas police check a car after detaining a driver after a shooting in downtown Dallas AP Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas Dallas police order people away from the area after several police were shot in downtown Dallas AP Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas Dallas police move to detains a driver after several police officers were shot in downtown Dallas AP Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas Dallas police detain a driver after several police officers were shot in downtown Dallas AP Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas Dallas Police respond after shots were fired at a Black Lives Matter rally in downtown Dallas Dallas Morning News/AP

Mr Johnson was killed with explosives carried by a robot after being cornered in a downtown car-park in the early hours of Friday. Police attempts to negotiate with the suspect had failed, after his attack left five officers dead and a further seven wounded.

Two civilians were also injured after taking part in the demonstration over two recent police shootings of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota.
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Police are trying to decipher the meaning of a cryptic message left by the suspect in the Dallas shooting amid reports that he was planing an additional attack on a much larger scale.

Micah Johnson, a black army veteran, shot at police officers from rooftops killing five and injuring seven during the Thursday night protest. Two civilians were also injured.

During two hours of negotiations with officers in, he taunted authorities, laughing at them and at one point asking how many officers he had shot, according to the city's police chief.

Johnson insisted on speaking with a black negotiator and wrote in blood on the wall of a parking garage where police cornered and later killed him, David Brown told CNN's State Of The Union.

 At least five police officers have died in Texas shooting

Upon searching Johnsons home, police found bomb-making materials, and deduced that he had moved up the attack to coincide with the protests  which were in response to the high profile police killings of Alton Sterling in Louisiana and Philando Castile in Minnesota.

The chief defended the decision to kill Johnson with a bomb delivered by remote-controlled robot, saying negotiations went nowhere and officers could not approach him without putting themselves in danger.

Mr Brown said he became increasingly concerned that "at a split second, he would charge us and take out many more before we would kill him".

Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas Show all 20 1 /20 Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas A Dallas Area Rapid Transit police officer receives comfort at the Baylor University Hospital emergency room entrance in Dallas Dallas Morning News/AP Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas Emergency services help an unknown patient on a stretcher as law enforcement officials stand nearby at the emergency receiving area of Baylor University Medical Center AP Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas Dallas Police shield bystanders after shots were fired, during a protest over two recent fatal police shootings of black men AP Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas Bystanders run for cover after shots fired at a Black Live Matter rally in downtown Dallas AP Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas Police check a car after snipers opened fire on police officers in Dallas AP Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas A man raises his hands as he walks near a law enforcement officer, following the shootings of several police officers in downtown Dallas AP Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas A Dallas police officer steps out of a vehicle as he arrives in front of Baylor University Medical Center AP Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas Dallas police officers face protesters on the corner of Ross Ave. and Griffin street after police officers were shot during a peaceful protest in Dallas EPA Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas A Dallas police officer covers his face as he stands with others outside the emergency room at Baylor University Medical Center AP Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas Law enforcement officials escort a couple in through the emergency room entrance at Baylor University Medical Center AP Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas Dallas Police respond after shots were fired at a Black Lives Matter rally in downtown Dallas AP Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas Dallas Police respond after shots were fired at a Black Lives Matter rally in downtown Dallas AP Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas Police cars sit on Main Street in Dallas following the sniper shooting during a protest AFP/Getty Images Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas A Police officer stands guard at a barricade following the sniper shooting in Dallas AFP/Getty Images Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas Police stand near a barricade following the sniper shooting in Dallas AFP/Getty Images Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas Dallas police check a car after detaining a driver after a shooting in downtown Dallas AP Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas Dallas police order people away from the area after several police were shot in downtown Dallas AP Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas Dallas police move to detains a driver after several police officers were shot in downtown Dallas AP Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas Dallas police detain a driver after several police officers were shot in downtown Dallas AP Police officers killed by sniper at protests in Dallas Dallas Police respond after shots were fired at a Black Lives Matter rally in downtown Dallas Dallas Morning News/AP

We think he was probably planning something bigger based on what we found at the house with the explosive materials, a source close to the investigation told ABC affiliate WFAA. He had a bunch of explosive materials. He didnt have the explosives created.

The source continued: I think that target of opportunity is what drove him as far as timing.  He literally had hundreds and hundreds of rounds in magazines attached to his body so it wasnt like he was running out of ammunition. He definitely was ready to go and intending to inflict more damage.

His plan was to kill as many as he could.

Police killed Johnson using explosives attached to a bomb squad robot after negotiations had failed.

Law enforcement originally suspected two shooters were present at the attack, but Chief David Brown said that Johnson, who was an Army reservist, had studied shoot and scoot tactics, where he would change locations quickly after firing off a series of rounds.

On Friday, Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings described Johnson as "a mobile shooter" who had written manifestos on how to "shoot and move".

Authorities have said the gunman kept a journal of combat tactics and had amassed a personal arsenal at his home, including bomb-making materials, rifles and ammunition.

Johnson donned a protective vest and used a military-style semi-automatic rifle for the shootings.

In all, 12 officers were shot, five fatally, just a few blocks from where President John F Kennedy was assassinated in 1963.
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As soon as it was reported that a sniper had opened fire in Dallas, the comparisons became unavoidable. Micah Johnson, the man believed to have shot dead five police officers and wounded seven more on Thursday night, launched his attack just yards from Dealey Plaza, where Lee Harvey Oswald shot President John F Kennedy in November 1963. The nearby memorial to the assassination remained taped off this weekend as part of the crime scene.

It wasnt just commentators who heard echoes of 1963 in the reports of last weeks violence. As it emerged that Johnson, a black former Army reservist, had told police he wanted simply to kill white people, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton invoked the bloodshed of half a century ago. Dallas had a tragedy when President Kennedy was shot here in the 60s, Paxton said. And this is as close to that feeling, I think, as the citys had in decades.

But to Pierce Allman, a lifelong Dallas native who witnessed the Kennedy assassination  and who was the first newsman to report from the scene in Dealey Plaza  there are as many differences between then and now as there are similarities. The older generation may be harking back to November 1963, Allman, who is 81, tells The Independent. But I dont think young people relate to it at all. To them, its just history.

At the time of Kennedys murder, Allman recalls, it was hard to accept that a nobody like Oswald could accomplish something so grand. But now its not so hard to believe that a warped gunman would go after people. Today, its whats this weeks tragedy? With the 24/7 news cycle and our limited attention spans, some people have already started to forget about Orlando. Right now its Dallas, but next week it could be Chicago or Cleveland or Baltimore.

When the Kennedys planned their 1963 trip to Dallas, it was thought of as a crucible of right-wing extremism, the only city in Texas to have voted against the Democrat three years earlier. But they were greeted by cheering crowds of up to 200,000 people  a quarter of the citys population at the time. The assassination was a total juxtaposition to that mood: so wrenching, so sudden and so shocking, Allman says. It was a gut punch to Dallas.

In pictures: JFK anniversary Show all 9 1 /9 In pictures: JFK anniversary In pictures: JFK anniversary dallas-9.jpg Reuters In pictures: JFK anniversary dallas-8.jpg Reuters In pictures: JFK anniversary dallas-7.jpg Reuters In pictures: JFK anniversary dallas-6.jpg Reuters In pictures: JFK anniversary dallas-5.jpg Reuters In pictures: JFK anniversary dallas-4.jpg Reuters In pictures: JFK anniversary dallas-3.jpg Reuters In pictures: JFK anniversary dallas-2.jpg Reuters In pictures: JFK anniversary dallas-1.jpg Reuters

Then 29 and a reporter for local radio station WFAA, Allman was in Dealey Plaza to watch the First Couples motorcade come through. He heard the shots and Jackies screams, and then saw the car speed away. Im still amazed that it happened, he says.

With the gunfire's echo still ringing around the plaza, Allman raced across the street to the Texas school book depository and asked a man emerging from the lobby where he could find a phone. The man, who Allman would later learn was Oswald, pointed inside. Allman called the radio station and became the sole journalist to report from the scene, staying on the line for 45 minutes, relaying developments as Oswalds rifle and shell casings were found upstairs.

For all the talk of Cold War conspiracies  talk that persists to this day  investigators soon concluded that Oswald had acted alone. The same may yet turn out to be true of Johnson. My impression has always been that Oswald just wanted to be somebody, to do something, Allman says. This was what he chose, and circumstances played into his hands.

Allman left WFAA in 1965 and went on to enjoy a successful career in marketing, PR and property. The Kennedy assassination was perhaps the first major breaking news story to be played out live on TV and radio, and he had grown increasingly dismayed by the conduct of his fellow reporters. It was a feeding frenzy, he says, and a new paradigm evolved from it.

The legacy of the assassination is still felt today, not least in the news coverage of dramatic events such as last week's attack. The 24/7 news cycle has so many effects, Allman says. When you have that much time to fill on thousands of news channels, you begin each hour with the facts  but by the end of the hour, where are you? The more disproportionately things are reported, the more some tortured soul out there might be watching and thinking, I could have my 15 minutes.

In 2016, a speculative tweet might be reported by a major news network. In 1963, Allman held himself to a higher standard. When I first went on the air, I didnt say, The President has been shot, it looks like hes been killed. That would have been irresponsible. I didnt know his condition at the time. So at first I just said that three loud explosions had been heard, and that we couldnt confirm whether the President had been hit.

Dallas retained the stigma of the assassination for several years, earning itself the sobriquet City of Hate. Allman says: First the President is killed, then the assassin is caught  and then 24 hours later the assassin is killed. If you were an outsider, you were looking at this city and thinking, what is wrong with you people? For about five years, I would tell people I was from Dallas and theyd say, oh, youre the guys that killed Kennedy.

Speaking after this weeks shootings, Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings reflected: For years, people around the world saw our city through the lens of the Kennedy assassination, [but] those of us who love this city always knew there was so much more to Dallas than what happened on that day in 1963.

The cloud of negative associations cast by Kennedys death was at last dispelled in 1972, when the Dallas Cowboys won their first Super Bowl. Today Dallas is one of the fastest-growing urban areas in the US and, Allman believes, far less fraught with racial tension than many other major American cities. Weve got problems, like any city, he says. But Dallas is a good place.
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Many problems faced by Americans, Donald Trump regularly proclaims, will be fixed when he builds a big, beautiful wall on the southern border of the US  and Mexico is going to pay for it.

But Mexican President Enrique Pena-Nieto says there is no way he will pay for Mr Trumps wall between the neighbouring countries, throwing a wrench in a major part of the real estate moguls bid for the presidency.

In an interview with CNN, Mr Pena-Nieto stressed that the two countries must have a solid relationship if they are expected to prosper.

Recommended Read more Donald Trump angry after golf tournament is moved from his course

We also have to bear in mind that the security of the United States is linked with the security of its neighbouring countries, he said. And this is what we have built. And I'll say it again, this is what we have been doing with the US government.

We have a relationship of coordination, of collaboration and of cooperation in the area of security, precisely in order to have security in Mexico, to have security in the US and...we are journey companions. We are strategic partners working for security in North America.

Inside Mexicos top drug lord El Chapos hideout Show all 4 1 /4 Inside Mexicos top drug lord El Chapos hideout Inside Mexicos top drug lord El Chapos hideout Inside El Chapo's hideout Pictures reveal how the Mexican drug lord had been living since his escape Getty Inside Mexicos top drug lord El Chapos hideout Inside El Chapo's hideout The inside of a house searched by marine special forces where Guzman was hiding Getty Inside Mexicos top drug lord El Chapos hideout Inside El Chapo's hideout Inside a house searched by marine special forces during the military operation to recapture Guzman Getty Inside Mexicos top drug lord El Chapos hideout El Chapo's attempted escape A marine stands guard next to a manhole of the sewer system through which drug kingpin Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman tried to escape Getty

There is no way that Mexico can pay [for] a wall like that.

Former Mexican President Vicente Fox had previously spoken out against Mr Trumps wall, telling Fusions Jorge Ramos, Im not going to pay for that f***ing wall, in February.

He later apologised in an interview with conservative news site Breitbart.

 Mexico parents angry at striking teachers

Mr Pena-Nieto shot down remarks Mr Trump made about Mexicans when he first entered the race, calling immigrants from the country rapists and criminals.

I cannot agree with such a generalisation for Mexicans, he said. There is no way to agree with comments like these which describe all Mexicans in such a way.

The president continued to explain that more than a million people cross the US-Mexico border from either side each day.

Not many people know, for instance, that every single day, one million people cross the border between Mexico and the US and they do it legally  every single day  one million people cross the border from the US into Mexico and from Mexico into the US, he said.

But regardless of who is elected  whether it is Mr Trump or Hillary Clinton  Mr Pena-Nieto looks forward to forging a strong relationship with them.

We are very respectful to whomever is elected, he said. We want to build a positive and constructive relation among Mexico and to whomever becomes president of United States.
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Police are currently arresting protesters, journalists, and apparently pointing loaded guns at a peaceful rally in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

America has been mourning after a spate of gun violence across the states. Baton Rouge is reeling after the death of Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old black father of three who was shot and killed at point blank range by at least two police officers last week. Minnesota is torn after the death of Philando Castile, a 43-year-old black man shot during a traffic stop.

Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Show all 19 1 /19 Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protestors demand justice for Philando Castile on July 7, 2016 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Stephen Maturen/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protestors lie in an intersection during a demonstration for Philando Castile on July 7, 2016 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Stephen Maturen/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protestors lie in an intersection during a demonstration for Philando Castile on July 7, 2016 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Stephen Maturen/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protestors demand justice for Philando Castile on July 7, 2016 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Stephen Maturen/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protesters march throughout New York City. Timothy A Clary/AFP/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protesters march throughout New York City. Timothy A Clary/AFP/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protesters are arrested by NYPD as they call for justice throughout New York City. Timothy A Clary/AFP/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protesters are arrested by NYPD as they call for justice throughout New York City. AFP/Getty Images Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police AFP/Getty Images Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police AFP/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police AFP/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police AFP/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police AFP/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police AFP/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police AFP/Getty Images Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Getty

Footage of both mens death have sparked protests in cities around the world, and in Dallas, five police officers were murdered by a sniper who claimed he was made about the recent killings of black people by police.

But tensions between police and protesters came to a head Saturday evening, as officers began arresting a number of activists on the ground  many of whom claimed they were unprovoked.

More than 100 protesters, including the prominent Black Lives Matter activist Deray McKesson, were detained by police on Saturday. McKesson's detainment was captured on his Periscope livestream.

A New Orleans public radio journalist was also detained at the scene.

Several videos on social media from the scene appeared to show a female officer point a rifle at crowds of protests.

The Advocate in Louisiana reports that police officers were apparently unprovoked before rushing in and arresting protesters.

Meanwhile, in St. Paul, Minnesota, hundreds of protesters were arrested after reportedly throwing rocks, bottles, fireworks and other items at police officers.
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Bernie Sanders may have another chance at becoming a presidential nominee, but theres a catch: He would have to join the Green Party.

Dr Jill Stein, the likely nominee for the progressive third party, told The Guardian that she is willing to offer the Vermont senator her slot on the ticket if he wanted to continue his revolution.

Recommended Read more Sanders expected to endorse Clinton after college fees pledge

Ive invited Bernie to sit down explore collaboration  everything is on the table, Dr Stein, a former Massachusetts physician and environmental-health advocate, said. If he saw that you cant have a revolutionary campaign in a counter-revolutionary party, hed be welcomed to the Green party. He could lead the ticket and build a political movement.

Dr Stein added that an overwhelming number of Sanders supporters have been flocking over to Green party events since Hillary Clinton clinched the Democratic nomination in June.

In pictures: US Elections 2016 Show all 15 1 /15 In pictures: US Elections 2016 In pictures: US Elections 2016 Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Bernie Sanders speaks to supporters after rival candidate Hillary Clinton was projected as the winner in the Nevada Democratic caucuses Reuters In pictures: US Elections 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton takes photos with workers at her campaign office in Des Moines, Iowa AP In pictures: US Elections 2016 Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, second from left, prays before lunch with supporters at Drake Diner in Des Moines, Iowa Reuters In pictures: US Elections 2016 Democratic presidential candidate and former Maryland Governor. Martin O'Malley, speaks during a campaign stop in Waterloo, Iowa AP In pictures: US Elections 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders speaks, as his wife Jane OMeara Sanders looks on, at a campaign event at Iowa State University Getty In pictures: US Elections 2016 Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio speaks at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa Reuters In pictures: US Elections 2016 Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson speaks at a campaign event at Fireside Pub and Steak House in Manchester, Iowa. Getty In pictures: US Elections 2016 Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum visiting supporters at a house party in West Des Moines, Iowa Reuters In pictures: US Elections 2016 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at a campaign event in Cedar Rapids, Iowa AP In pictures: US Elections 2016 Republican candidate Ted Cruz campaigns at Greene County Community Centre in Jefferson, Iowa AP In pictures: US Elections 2016 Senator Rand Paul speaks during a Caucus rally at his Des Moines headquarters in Iowa Getty In pictures: US Elections 2016 Republican candidate Jeb Bush speaks at a campaign event in Des Moines, Iowa AFP In pictures: US Elections 2016 Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin introducing the arrival of Donald Trump during a campaign rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa Reuters In pictures: US Elections 2016 A portrait of Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders at his campaign headquarters in Des Moines, Iowa Getty In pictures: US Elections 2016 Campaign badges on sale ahead of a Trump rally at the Ramada Waterloo Hotel and Convention Centre in Waterloo, Iowa Getty

If he continues to declare his full faith in the Democratic party, it will leave many of his supporters very disappointed, she said. That political movement is going to go on  it isnt going to bury itself in the graveyard alongside Hillary Clinton.

The Green Party was established in 1984 and has been included on every presidential ticket since 1996, when consumer advocate Ralph Nader was its candidate.

To be effective, a Green political organization must originate from a broad base of support, from natural allies concerned with ecological politics and social justice, peace and nonviolence, local and regional self-management, and grassroots democracy, the committees original mission states on the partys website.

Many of their political platforms are consistent with Mr Sanders, particularly when it comes to campaign finance reform, universal healthcare, relieving student debt, and supporting a living wage.

Mr Sanders has not responded to Dr Steins olive branch at the time of this writing.

The millions of young voters who support Mr Sanders would certainly give the Green party the boost it needs in order to be included in televised debates alongside the Republicans and Democrats. As it stands, the Green party would need at least 15 per cent in polling to do so. Dr Stein currently has 4 per cent according to the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll.

 Bernie Sanders says he'll vote for Hillary Clinton

But the unpredictability of the 2016 elections so far leaves Dr Stein feeling confident.

Im not holding my breath but Im not ruling it out that we can bring out 43 million young people into this election, she said. Its been a wild election; every rule in the playbook has been tossed out. Unfortunately, that has mainly been used to lift up hateful demagogues like Donald Trump, but it can also be done in a way that actually answers peoples needs.

On the presumptive Democratic nominee, Dr Stein is not so sure young voters will flock to Hillary Clinton, especially if they still back Sen Sanders.

[Clinton] is the fracking queen, she said. We would be fools to expect Hillary to deal with the climate crisis  the day of reckoning will come closer with her as president. As scary as Trump talks, Hillary has a scary record for warmongering and the neoliberalism.

Its a mistake to think the lesser of two evils will fix things. A lot of people are in the target hairs of a neoliberalist nightmare. Wars are bankrupting us morally and financially.

Dr Steins website boasts that she earned a record number of votes for any female presidential candidate in the general election, at 470,000  a record Ms Clinton is certain to break come November.

But a Clinton presidency will not be the answer to all of the problems Americans face, she believes.

At least when Republicans are elected, people fight, Dr Stein said. When Democrats are elected, people are lulled into complacency and fall asleep.
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It's easy to forget among the daily din of headline-grabbing tragedies, but historically speaking, we live in a time of unprecedented health, peace and prosperity.

Global life expectancy has more than doubled since 1900. The number of people who die in wars has plummeted. The percent of the world's population living in abject poverty is at record-low levels.

These surprisingly sunny facts are among the massive database of global statistics curated by Oxford economist Max Roser at his website Our World in Data. Most of the long-run trends are positive and paint an optimistic view of our world that is unknown to many who only follow the daily news, Roser writes.

But one of Roser's central theses is that this global well-being isn't equally distributed. On certain metrics, some regions of the globe lag behind others by literally hundreds of years.

Homicide statistics provide one striking illustration of this. Historians have managed to piece together surprisingly detailed estimates of murder rates in European countries going as far back as the Middle Ages. They're able to do this by looking at things like court records and coroners reports, which some European cities have maintained for centuries.

The top-line finding is that, according to the available scholarship, murder rates in Western Europe are one-fortieth or one-fiftieth as high as they were in the Middle Ages. In Italy, for instance, there were more than 70 homicides for every 100,000 people in the 1400s. Italy's murder rate is closer to 1 in 100,000 today.

You see similar patterns, to varying degrees, wherever in Western Europe there's enough data to estimate long-term trends. While estimated homicide rates in the 1300s ranged from 20 per 100,000 in England more than 50 per 100,000 in Italy, in those regions murder rates fell sharply over subsequent centuries, and converged to about 1 per 100,000 today, according to United Nations statistics.

But the United States stands as a country apart when it comes to homicide measurements. In 2014, for instance, the murder rate in the U.S. stood at 4.5 homicides for every 100,000 people. That's roughly equivalent to the murder rate in Italy in 1912, or England's murder rate in the 1600s.

(Manuel Eisner, Max Rosner, Washington Post/Wonkblog (Manuel Eisner, Max Rosner, Washington Post/Wonkblog)

If you start digging down to individual cities, the comparisons become more striking. The murder rate in Los Angeles in 2015 is similar to England's murder rate in the time of Shakespeare. Living in Chicago today is similar to living in Italy in 1700, murder-wise.

Washington's murder rate last year was higher than the murder rate in England in the time of Chaucer. Baltimore had the highest murder rate of any major U.S. city last year, at 55 homicides per 100,000. That's about the same as the murder rate in Dante's Italy.

We are, of course, engaging in a bit of an apples-to-oranges comparison here. We're measuring modern U.S. cities  densely-populated urban areas  with European countries containing a mix of rural and urban areas.

There's a fair amount of squishiness to the historic estimates, too. They're only as good as the municipal records they're based on. It's hard enough for official record-takers to maintain accurate criminal-justice statistics today, in 2016  one can only speculate how spotty the books were in Europe 700 years ago.

Still, the numbers provide useful context for understanding how crime and murder work in the United States today. One likely reason that murder rates were so high in Europe centuries ago is that there wasn't yet a robust legal system in place to help citizens resolve quarrels. In the absence of such a framework, people simply took matters into their own hands.

There's an analogous situation in some of the crime-ridden areas of today's cities. Criminal gangs working outside the law can't plea to the police when they need to settle a dispute with a rival organizations. So they take matters into their own hands, with bloody and often-tragic consequences.

Paradoxically, the historic data also provide some reassurance that Americans are not particularly unique when it comes to the petty trifles that we routinely kill one another over. Commentators decry the depravity of an American culture that leads to people killing one another over tacos and shoes. But in the year 1278 in London, there are at least two recorded of homicides arising from games of chess gone awry.

Copyright: Washington Post
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At least eight people have died and scores have been injured in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, as anger at the death of a young local militant leader erupted yesterday.

Burhan Wani, a social media savvy leader in the Hizbul Mujahideen separatist group, was killed in a shootout with Indian security forces on Friday. Despite a curfew and orders against congregating in public places, thousands of people mourned for Wani and vented their anger against the Indian authorities, leading to the violence.

A tip off to the authorities is believed to have led to Wanis death, along with two of his comrades, on Friday, in a shootout with Indian security forces in the southern Kokernag area.

Recommended Read more Six dead in Kashmir standoff between Indian forces and rebels

Muslim majority Kashmir is a flashpoint for tensions between the nuclear armed states of India and Pakistan, who have fought several wars over the region. Both countries lay claim to Kashmir but govern separate parts of it. On Indias side, separatist politicians and rebels reject Indian rule over the region and have been fighting for independence or merger with Pakistan since 1989.

Yesterday, tens of thousands of people  many encouraged by separatist leaders  defied the curfew to participate in Wanis funeral in Tral, 24 miles south of Srinagar, Indian Kashmirs main city. The event was reportedly marked by anti-Indian sentiment, with many people shouting Go India! Go back! and We want freedom!. Firearms were also discharged in a salute to the fallen commander.

Soon after, clashes erupted in several neighbourhoods in southern Kashmir as thousands of residents threw rocks at Indian troops, who responded by using live ammunition, pellet guns and tear gas. The street clashes also spread to Srinagar and at least a dozen places in central and northern Kashmir.

The funeral procession of Burhan Wani (EPA/FAROOQ KHAN)

Local police intelligence chief Shiv M Sahai said seven men were killed in retaliatory action by government troops. Another man drowned as he tried to flee government troops. At least 60 civilians were wounded in the clashes.

Mr Sahai said that protesters attacked several police and paramilitary posts in the region and 90 government troops were injured.

In response to the violence, phone, internet and train services have now been suspended in parts of Kashmir. A general strike has been called by separatists and shops, businesses and government offices are closed.

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. 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Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. 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Hizbul Mujahideen is one of the most powerful militant separatist groups in Kashmir and is listed as a terrorist group by the Indian, US and British governments. Wani is believed to have been one of the youngest divisional commanders of the pro-Pakistan group.

Noor Ahmed Baba, a political scientist at Central University of Kashmir, said Wani rose to become the symbol of resistance and defiance against the Indian state, mainly because he was politically sharp in his messages.

He added: He revived militancy at a time when people were waning away from armed struggle and became a youthful face of the rebellion, a hero for not just young men but even so many older people.

Graffiti in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir, (EPA/FAROOQ KHAN) (EPA)

Wani was known for openly using social media and videos to communicate with and recruit local youngsters, inspiring increased militant activity in the region. In a brazen display of defiance to the authorities, he was famed for not wearing a mask in his digital broadcasts.

Despite the outburst of violence, some Indian officials have welcomed his death. Inspector-general Syed Javaid Mujtaba Gillani described his killing as the biggest success against militants in recent years.

In Dehli, politicians said the protests were unfortunate. Ghulam Nabi Azad, leader of the opposition in upper chamber of parliament said: People should not condone the death of terrorists, who are responsible for killing hundreds of innocent people.

However, some Kashmiri politicians have called for cool heads. Omar Abdullah, former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, warned: Burhans ability to recruit in to militancy from the grave will far outstrip anything he could have done on social media.
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Italys foreign minister has suggested that Brexit may not happen after all, referencing points in recent European history when the public vote has been overturned.

Paolo Gentiloni said that some referendums that have taken place in Europe in the past two decades have not been enforced.

In the last 20 years we saw decisions, referendums in Europe changed by other referendums or even by decisions of the national parliament," he said.

The UK government has officially rejected the call for a second referendum, after reviewing a petition signed by 4.1 million people calling for a re-vote. The petition suggested that for the result to count, one side of the referendum should get 60 per cent of the vote.

A response to the petition from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said:

The [European Union Referendum] Act did not set a threshold for the result or for the minimum turnout.

The Prime Minister and Government have been clear that this was a once in a generation vote and, as the Prime Minister has said, the decision must be respected.

We must now prepare for the process to exit the EU and the Government is committed to ensuring the best possible outcome for the British people in the negotiations.

The day before the EU referendum, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi pleaded for British people to vote for the UK to remain in the EU.

Italian prosecco producers were left panicking following the Brexit vote, concerned that Britons, who buy one in five of the prosecco bottles produced in Italy, would lose their spending power due to the decline in the value of the pound.
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Angela Merkel is enjoying a 10-month high in popularity since Britain decided to leave the EU.

The German Chancellor, a firm supporter of the European project, has enjoyed a nine-point increase in backing since June, according to a poll by the German broadcaster ARD.

It found 59 per cent of 1,500 survey respondents said they were satisfied with Ms Merkels leadership, her best showing since September last year.

Another poll released on Saturday by Die Welt and Stern magazine found Ms Merkel has 48 per cent of the public's support.

Her approval ratings are recovering after they dipped because of her handling of the refugee crisis. The Chancellor has welcomed more than a million refugees into the country, which has provoked crticism among many right-wing Germans and been used by opponents to attack her. The CSU, the Bavarian affiliate of Merkels ruling CDU party, was highly critical of the decision.

However, it is now thought around three-quarters of the CSU party back Ms Merkel.

The enthusiasm for Ms Merkel mirrors growth in appreciation for the EU across Europe since the Brexit decision.

Support for the union has swollen across the continent, despite warnings Brexit would cause a chain of collapse.

In Denmark, before Brexit, 41 per cent of Danes wanted to hold their own referendum. Since the UK voted to leave, the figure has fallen to 32 per cent, according to polling.

The vote has been a wake-up call across Europe, Marlene Wind has said, a professor of political science at the University of Copenhagen.

Lonely Planet's Best in Europe 2016 list Show all 10 1 /10 Lonely Planet's Best in Europe 2016 list Lonely Planet's Best in Europe 2016 list 1. Peloponnese, Greece GETTY Lonely Planet's Best in Europe 2016 list 2. Aarhus, Denmark ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum Lonely Planet's Best in Europe 2016 list 3. Venice, Italy GETTY Lonely Planet's Best in Europe 2016 list 4. The Dordogne, France REUTERS Lonely Planet's Best in Europe 2016 list 5. Lviv, Ukraine GETTY Lonely Planet's Best in Europe 2016 list 6. Warwickshire, England GETTY Lonely Planet's Best in Europe 2016 list 7. Extremadura, Spain GETTY Lonely Planet's Best in Europe 2016 list 8. East Coast Tenerife, Canary Islands Getty Lonely Planet's Best in Europe 2016 list 9. Texel, the Netherlands REUTERS Lonely Planet's Best in Europe 2016 list 10. Northern Dalmatia, Croatia GETTY

European citizens see leaving the EU as a big gamble, she told The Times: "Nobody wants to put themselves in the kind of mess the British have created for themselves."

In France, far-right party leader Marine Le Pen was invigorated by the Brexit vote and called for an equivalent referendum in France.

The UK has begun a movement that can't be stopped, she said the day of the result. However, polls suggest people in France don't want to leave. Most are opposed to a referendum and 61 per cent said they would vote to stay if a vote happened.

A poll in Finland had similar results. If a referendum were held, 68 per cent of people in the country would vote to stay, this is up 11 per cent since March, according to the newspaper Iltalehti. Most people do not want a referendum to happen in the first place.

In Italy, an Ipsos Mori poll found only 28 per cent of the country were in favour of leaving, even though there has been a rise in Euroscepticism in the country.
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A medical student who joined Isis has become the first British female recruit to be killed after she was caught in an air strike in Iraq, reports claim.

Rowan Kamal Zine El Abidine, 22, died during the attack on Thursday, but her husband and baby daughter are thought to have survived.

News agencies in Sudan  where the students family are from - did not specify where in Iraq the strike took place, but it is believed Ms El Abidine was in Mosul, where foreign recruits often live in the terror groups main base.

Before joining Isis, Ms El Abidine left the UK to attend the University of Medical Sciences and Technology in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum.

She made headlines last year when it was reported that she and eight other British students from her university had left to join Isis.

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The students, who were born and raised in England, but had been studying medicine in Khartoum, flew to Turkey in March last year before crossing over the border into the Isis-controlled town of Tal Abyad, Syria.

One of the students reportedly told her parents via Whatsapp that they had gone to Syria to help, not to fight by treating victims of war.

The Foreign Office said it could not confirm Ms El Abidine's death.


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Isis has lost a quarter of its territory  an area the size of Ireland  across Iraq and Syria in the last 18 months, research firm IHS has said.

It found the territory controlled by the ultra-hardline Sunni group shrank from 90,800 sq km (35,000 square miles) in January 2015 to 68,300 sq km (26,370 square miles).

IHS said this has led the militant group to step up attacks on civilian targets in the Middle East and in Europe and that this is likely to intensify in the coming months.

Columb Strack, senior analyst at IHS and lead analyst for the IHS Conflict Monitor, said: "As the Islamic State's caliphate shrinks and it becomes increasingly clear that its governance project is failing, the group is re-prioritizing insurgency.

"As a result, we unfortunately expect an increase in mass casualty attacks and sabotage of economic infrastructure, across Iraq and Syria, and further afield, including Europe."

The Iraqi military's recapture of Falluja, an Islamic State stronghold just west of Baghdad, last month has led the insurgents to step up bombings on Shi'ite Muslim targets.

Nearly 300 people died when an Isis suicide bomber struck in a busy shopping district in Baghdad a week ago, in one of the worst such attacks by the group to date.

Isis lost control of the city of Ramadi at the end of last year, another key stronghold for the group which captured large swathes of Iraq in 2014. The army is now gearing up to retake Mosul, the largest city in Iraq's north and Isis' de facto capital.

In Syria, the militants lost ground this year to both Russian and Iranian-backed forces supporting President Bashar al-Assad and to the U.S.-backed Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance.

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

In February the SDF captured the town of al Shadadi, a major logistics hub for the militants, and in March Syrian and allied forces backed by Russian air strikes drove Islamic State out of the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra and surrounding areas.

An SDF advance is underway to retake areas north of Islamic State's de facto capital in Syria, Raqqa.

Last week, at least 35 people were killed and over 60 wounded in a triple suicide attack by Isis at a Shia holy site.

Several gunmen are alleged to have opened fire on Shia Muslims who were celebrating Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of the month of Ramadan, at a mausoleum in Balad, 58 miles north of Baghdad.
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Thousands of rapists and abusers in Turkey avoid jail time by marrying their victims, officials from the country's Supreme Court have warned.

Mustafa Demirdag, the head of the Supreme Court of Appeals department which oversees sexual crimes in Turkey, said around 3,000 such marriages had been registered officially, according to Turkish news website Milliyet.

Speaking to a parliamentary commission formed to investigate and prevent sexual crimes, Mr Demirdag mentioned several of the cases studied, which he said were found to affect adults and children as young as five.

In one particular case, a girl had been kidnapped and raped by three individuals, but when one of the men married her, the sentences for all three rapists were lifted.

That type of marriage is not acceptable, said Mr Demirdag, It is cruel to force someone to marry a person she does not want [to marry] and force her to spend the rest of her life with him.

According to the Appeals department, offenders of similar crimes can receive sentences of 16 years and eight months in prison.

There have been incidences, however, where this sentencing was not necessarily "fair", the department head added.

As an example, he talked about the case of a 15-year-old girl who fell in love with a boy in her neighbourhood. She called the boy on the phone that night and said she would commit suicide if he did not come to kidnap her, said Mr Demirdag, Then the boy kidnap[ped] her.

Afterwards they [got] married according to the norms of the neighbourhood. When the case came to us, they were already married officially and they had three kids. Before the [new] law came into force, the boy would have been sentenced to a minimum eight years and four months [in prison].

He went on: Now it is 16 years and eight months. Do I find this fair? No I dont. But I am the implementer of the law.

Not all the cases fit the same pattern. Yet we do not make categorisations among them.

Following a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights that Turkey had failed to protect a victim of domestic violence, Turkey enacted domestic violence legislation in 2012.

Last year, three men were sentenced to life in prison over the murder and attempted rape of 20-year-old student Ozgecan Aslan. The case led to nationwide street protests over the issue of violence against women in Turkey.
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We journos take a rather dim view of guns. We hate them, we loathe them, we know quite a lot about them, we wouldnt be seen dead next to them  in every sense of the word  but we cant deny they are part of the history of the last hundred years. Even of ourselves. Thats what happened to me at my birthday party a few hours ago when Walid Jumblat, the Lebanese Druze leader and the most intellectual cynic in his countrys politics, said he had a little gift for me to commemorate my soldier Dad in the First World War.

And with a flourish, my generous guest produced a bolt-action Lee Enfield 303 rifle, complete with shoulder strap, the very weapon my father carried in the conflict of 1914-18. And the moment I held it, the first thing I asked myself was: how could 19-year old Bill Fisk have tramped up to the Third Battle of the Somme in 1918 with this massive weight over his shoulder? I could hardly stand  let alone run  if I was encumbered by this 9-lb monster.

And then, of course, came the old question. What do you do with a rifle which may, albeit a century ago, have killed the innocent? Or the guilty? Im a journalist, not a soldier.

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And in an age when guns and bombs are used to kill the innocent in Paris and Belgium and London and Dallas as well as Baghdad, Aleppo and Kabul  indeed, in Birstall - even an old blunderbuss must acquire a disturbing symbolism. Is there something of primeval attraction about weapons? Is it the sense of power they convey? Or their commitment to fulfill human anger? We scribes might write about these things  but not touch them.

I know all the arguments. Back in 1980, I was put aboard a Soviet military convoy from the Salang Pass to Kabul in Afghanistan. The Russians wanted me to leave the area of the Panshir Valley and so  part-prisoner, part-guest  I found myself in a truck with a Soviet army driver. But a little later, our convoy was ambushed by the mujahedin and, after a few seconds hesitation, the driver handed me a spare but loaded Kalashnikov rifle. I would never, I hope, have used it. But if the mujahedin had managed to wrench open the truck door, they were unlikely to ask if I was a member of the National Union of Journalists before opening fire.

Soviet jets rescued the convoy, I handed back the rifle to its owner and arrived safely in Kabul. I reported it all to my then paper, The Times  only to have a now long-dead Reuters general manager condemn me, a reporter, for holding a rifle in Afghanistan, much though everyone will understand the natural instinct for self- preservation. From his air-conditioned London office 5,700 kilometres from Afghanistan, the dangers of the place were mercifully unknown to this paragon of journalistic virtue.

But I have to say Ive always been unhappy with the journos who wear military costumes when they go to war, are content to embed  that ghastly word  with NATO armies, and preoccupy themselves with guns and aeroplanes. A few reporters even used weapons in Vietnam and in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Ouch.

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But what to do about my birthday gift from Walid Jumblat? Most of the old British rifles to be found in the Middle East are veterans of the First World War invasion of Iraq and the 1916 surrender of Kut al-Amara, one of the most disastrous defeats in British army history. The Turks took the guns and resold them until some turned up in World War Two. Albeit introduced to the British army in 1895, it was also a much used rifle in the 1939-45 conflict and still manufactured afterwards.

Weapons I despise  their users even more so  and Americas regular mass murders have added a new psychological mystery to the US obsession with weaponry. But does this mean that every English civil war sword must be taken down from the walls of British pubs, or 18th century highwaymens pistols disappear from Cornish hostelries on the grounds that they may have been used to stab someone or shoot their head off? Is every Wexford pike to be destroyed because it might have been used against Protestants as well as Englishmen?

Guns are intended to kill and should be treated with respect

My father once taught me to shoot  a habit I put to use in the horrible Combined Cadet Force at my unpleasant minor public school in Kent. We boys were also trained then on the very same century-old Lee Enfield 303s that my father possessed in the Great War, and to fire on targets depicting German soldiers in coal-scuttle helmets. Stop calling them Germans, Fisk," the local ex-Royal West Kent major shouted at me once. You may be fighting other people!

Thanks be to God, no. But an awful lot of other people  Arabs, Israelis, Serbs, Algerians, Iraqis and Syrians  have tried to shoot in my direction over the past 40 years. Which is why I hate guns. They are intended to kill  and Im not fooled by the knife manufacturers who claim they cannot be held to account for stabbings since they never knew their buyer would use their product for murder. Arms manufacturers are well aware that their bombs and missiles are not intended for target-practice on balloons.

So back to the Lee Enfield. The first thing I did was rehearse my school-days practice of opening the bolt to ensure the wretched thing had no live rounds in the breach so I wouldnt shoot Jumblat or my other birthday guests. The second was to remember that Jumblat himself was master of a Druze militia during the 1975-90 Lebanese civil war. The third was to comfort myself that hitherto I was about the only inhabitant of Lebanon who did not own a gun  the Lebanese were legally allowed to keep small arms after the war ended, so as not to be afraid of their equally armed neighbours.

But Ive never been afraid of my neighbours. Do I hang my Lee Enfield on my Beirut apartment wall along with my old prints of French troops landing in Lebanon to protect the Christians from the Druze in August 1860? And if not, why did I keep that old, framed Illustration sketch of those blue-uniformed French soldiers on my wall in the first place? Look carefully at the picture and you can see rifles in their hands. But pictures of guns are not the same as real guns  and guns, alas, often possess the same lethality in old age as they did in their youth.

Well, the sea rusts most of the metal fittings in my apartment, just as it foxes my books with brown speckles. And as the years go by, I guess the Mediterranean will gradually reduce this memorial to my soldier Dad to the same state of decay as he himself became more than 70 years after his war ended. Its a memento of my father and of conflicts past, a birthday present which will amaze and perhaps frighten me in equal measure. Perhaps thats what Walid Jumblat intended. Journalist or not, the nearer you are to a gun, the more you should understand what it represents. Treat it with dangerous respect.
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During the Napoleonic wars Norway sought to keep its options open. The rulers of the then joint kingdom of Denmark-Norway remained neutral between the two belligerent European powers of France and Britain in order to carry on trading with both sides. Fast forward 216 years and, in a historical echo, some Britons are looking to Norway for inspiration on how to pull off a similar European economic balancing act.

The Norway model, or some variant on it, has been cited as a viable destination for post-Brexit Britain. As a member of the European Economic Area (EEA) this wealthy Scandinavian land of five million people and an impossibly crinkly coastline has access to the European Unions mighty single market. Keeping lines open to this enormous tariff-free level playing field for goods, services and capital is the overriding priority for many major UK exporters.

Yet Norway is not part of the political structures of the European Union. So no ever closer union, no pressure to join the single currency and no Common Agricultural Policy. And Norway is also free to strike its own bilateral trade deals with any other country, or even bloc of countries, in the world. It has control of its fisheries too. Norways waters are for Norwegians only.

So whats not to like? Isnt this the best-of-both-worlds European trade and political arrangement Britain should aim for?

Brexit reactions  in pictures Show all 10 1 /10 Brexit reactions  in pictures Brexit reactions  in pictures Supporters of the Stronger In campaign look at their phones after hearing results in the EU referendum at London's Royal Festival Hall AP Brexit reactions  in pictures Leave supporters cheer results at a Leave.eu party after polling stations closed in the Referendum on the European Union in London Reuters Brexit reactions  in pictures Mr Cameron announces his resignation to supporters Getty Brexit reactions  in pictures Donald Tusk proposes that the 27 remaining EU member states start a wider reflection on the future of our union Getty Brexit reactions  in pictures Ukip leader Nigel Farage greets his supporters on College Green in Westminster, after Britain voted to leave the European Union PA Brexit reactions  in pictures Supporters of the Stronger In Campaign react as referendum results are announced today Getty Brexit reactions  in pictures Boris Johnson leaves his home today to discover a crowd of waiting journalists and police officers Getty Brexit reactions  in pictures Leave EU supporters celebrate as they watch the British EU Referendum results being televised at Millbank Tower in London Rex Brexit reactions  in pictures Supporters of the Stronger In Campaign react as results of the EU referendum are announced at the Royal Festival Hall Reuters Brexit reactions  in pictures Supporters of the Stronger In campaign react after hearing results in the EU referendum at London's Royal Festival Hall PA

Well, theres a price attached to Norwegian-style access to the single market through the EEA. Norway contributes around 447m a year to EU Budget. The UK could expect to make a substantial contribution too; not as much as the 9bn annual net contribution it makes currently, but very far from zero.

And those who voted leave primarily because of concerns over EU immigration flows to the UK will also likely find much to object to about the Norway model. For as well as paying into the EU budget the country has to accept free movement of labour from the EU.

True, there is an emergency brake under the EEA settlement on immigration when serious economic, societal or environmental difficulties arise. But this brake is only temporary and Norway has never applied it. Indeed, Norway has higher levels of immigration from the EU per head than the UK.

And then theres EU law. To have access to the single market a non-EU country also has to play by single market rules. It is for this reason that Norway implements most EU laws domestically. Yet as a non-EU state it has no influence on shaping those same laws, or the evolution of the single market. Norway has no representation on the European Commission, no European parliamentarians, no spot around the European Council table of ministers.

So: continued payments to EU budget, continued free movement of people, continued application of EU laws but now zero say over the formation of those laws. Membership without a vote is how Jonas Helseth, a former Norwegian diplomat, describes it. That would seem to be a strange definition of take control, as advocated by Vote Leave in the referendum campaign.

But what is control anyway? Back in the early 1800s the British decided Norway wasnt really neutral at all, despite their best efforts to ride out the tempest of European power politics. A choice was forced on them and the Royal Navy ultimately blockaded Norways ports causing a famine in 1812 that is still remembered with a shudder in the country to this day.

What the Norwegians and most other mainland European nations have learned, the hard way, is that splendid isolation is usually an illusion. Nation states are inevitably affected by what their neighbours do and what is going on in their region, whether those are ructions in economics, strife in politics, or crises in the environment.

 Jeremy Corbyn Joins Socialist Leaders in Paris to Discuss Brexit

A country often secures a higher measure of control over its destiny by collaborating and, yes, by pooling a degree of sovereignty. How much sovereignty should be pooled is a fair question. So are questions around the transparency and accountability of the institutions that created and thereby empowered. Opting out can be an option, as Norway and also Switzerland have shown. But opting out is an option that comes at a cost: a de facto surrender of control.

A Norway-style trade arrangement for the UK is certainly feasible. It would please fearful businesses. It would satisfy the small but influential band of libertarian Brexiteers who have, for ideological reasons, fetishised a narrow definition of sovereignty and who are convinced a liberated Britain will be able to sign impressive new trade deals with the economic blocs of America and emerging Asia.

The majority of the 48 per cent of the electorate who voted to Remain could probably live with a Norway-style deal, albeit while wondering what the point of this whole disempowering revolution was.

The main barrier is those many millions who were induced to vote leave based on promises that quitting the EU would spell the end of immigration and who were sold a fantastical vision of a glorious return to the economic and social culture of 1950s England.

"You gotta dance with the one that brung ya as the saying goes in American politics. The anti-immigration vote brung Britain to Brexit. And perhaps the most important question now in British politics is: how will these voters react if they dont get their dance but are instead offered a remix of Norwegian Wood?
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So many predictions have been confounded recently that it seems reckless to make more. Let us therefore be reckless. Now that Theresa May is our next prime minister, the pressing question is what Mays plan for Brexit is, and we look forward to hearing more of it. But another important question is who will have which jobs in Mays cabinet. This is not merely gossip about personalities, because the men and women matter as much as the measures.

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That is why one of Mays first pledges was to appoint someone who had campaigned for Leave as Secretary of State for Brexit. My guess is that this would be Chris Grayling rather than one of the two most prominent leaders of the Leave campaign, Michael Gove and Boris Johnson. Like May herself, Grayling is the underwhelming but logical choice. The first non-lawyer to be Lord Chancellor (his career before politics was in television), he was shunted from the Justice Department last year to allow Gove to reform prisons. He currently manages Commons business as Leader of the House, but he is a Leaver and he is managing Mays leadership campaign.

 Theresa May vs Andrea Leadsom - who will be the next PM?

As for the great offices of state, I think May would probably make the swap that David Cameron was contemplating Before the Fall, moving George Osborne to Foreign Secretary and Philip Hammond to Chancellor.

Osborne wouldnt actually have Rest of the World in brackets after his title, but he would be responsible for everywhere except Europe. It would be a serious job, which he would enjoy, and which would still give him the prospect  hes only 45, after all  of the top job at some point in the next decade or two. The only question is whether he would be able to resist meddling and trying to prove how clever he is.

Hammond would again be the underwhelming but logical choice for the Treasury, with Sajid Javid, the Business Secretary, falling victim to the rule that it is best to leave ministers where they are for as long as possible.

Her own vacancy at the Home Office could be filled by Amber Rudd, the Energy and Climate Change Secretary who was a combative Remainer, or by Jeremy Hunt, who needs to move out of Health so that the junior doctors hate-figure is taken out of the dispute. The new Health Secretary could be Rudd or Jane Ellison, an emollient junior minister in the department.

What, though, for Leadsom, now that she has betrayed her inexperience by (a) saying it would be horrible to suggest that she as a mother would be a better leader than the childless May, before (b) going on to suggest precisely that, and (c) criticising the The Times for reporting both statements. The idea that this was a cunning Trump-style plan to say outrageous things has now been laid to rest by her withdrawal from the race.

Her daydream of being Johnsons Chancellor, if only he hadnt left the letter behind, could end in the reality of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Very important to have a Leaver in charge of sorting out the morass of EU habitat directives, May could say, as she switches the incumbent Liz Truss to Energy and Climate Change.

Leadsom and Johnson are the two Leavers who would have to be offered cabinet posts. Johnson could go to Culture, Media and Sport so that the red-tops can call him the Minister of Fun. Goves punishment for his serial betrayals could be to keep him where he is. May could tell him she believes in the rehabilitation of offenders, and that prison reform is very important to deliver her One Nation vision of social justice. But if reoffending rates havent fallen by a quarter in four years, she could say, out you will go.

In addition, it would make sense to offer Priti Patel, the Leaver and employment minister who has the right to attend Cabinet, a promotion. She could take Graylings job as Leader of the House.

The rest of the Cabinet could remain unchanged. Cameron was praised for keeping ministers in place for longer than usual  partly because the complexities of coalition made reshuffles harder. I doubt that he would want a post: he would want to set up a charitable foundation to promote his causes of foreign aid and the National Citizen Service, making contributions in the Commons as a backbencher on things that matter to him.

Finally, the creation of a new cabinet post to handle the Brexit negotiations would mean one of the existing posts would have to go. Oliver Letwin, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Camerons progress-chaser, could be thanked and asked to make a sacrifice in the national interest.

This may seem a tiny patch of lawn to be inspecting at a time when the vast landscape of British politics is beginning to realign into a Leave party and a Remain party. The old Conservative and Unionist party may turn into an England Alone party, while Labour, and possibly a rainbow alliance of others, could become the European Unionist party.

But while that is happening, there is Britains new relationship with the EU to negotiate. And this is my best guess at the team that will negotiate it.
UN envoy Mary Robinson has called for schoolchildren to be taught more about how their lives directly impact climate change.

At the end of a trip to Ethiopia, which has suffered its most severe drought in half a century, the former president of Ireland said youngsters born today will live through a potentially existential crisis.

The east African nation is among the countries worst affected by climate change - a devastating reality aggravated by the recurring misery of the El Nino weather system that disrupts and stops vital rains in the tropics.

The survival of tens of millions is threatened further by the ensuing La Nina cooling system which is expected to spark flash floods at the end of the year, washing away thin, arid soils.

"We have to be able to climate proof everything we do," Ms Robinson said.

"Everyone now, and I mean everyone, has to think about climate in the context of who they are and where they are.

"And we need to have a strong input into education, starting in primary schools."

Ms Robinson is to report to the UN later this year in her role as envoy for climate change and El Nino.

Her argument for more education is backed by startling figures that it takes 88 Ethiopians to emit as much carbon dioxide as one Irish person.

She was also told 10.2 million people are crying out for food aid in Ethiopia; the funding needed to save lives is 400 million (468 million euro) short; and 3 million youngsters have stopped going to school because of hunger.

Ms Robinson marked the crisis as "the emissions problem of a rich world punishing a poor world".

She said: "We have to really realise that we are into a potential existential problem where future generations, and when I say that I mean children born today, will live through the whole cycle ... they will potentially have incredible problems."

Ethiopia's foreign minister Tedros A Ghebreyesus added: "We have not contributed to the damage of our climate, nothing... we are the victims."

Every village Ms Robinson visited across Tigray - the vast northern region worst hit by the famine of 1984 - has stories of migration.

Seasonal rains failed in the last year leaving smallholders without enough wheat, maize or cereal crops to get through the Hunger Season - the traditionally lean months from March to September.

The vast majority of the six million people in Tigray are now surviving thanks to the distribution of seeds and nutrient rich parcels added to daily meals of soup and porridge.

Most of the trip saw the envoy on the ground talking to the mothers and farmers who eke out an existence on arid farmland, usually less than half a hectare for a family of five.

She toured the region with aid agencies Concern, Trocaire and Goal and witnessed first-hand the life-saving initiatives they support, including monthly nutrition and health clinics for hundreds of thousands of breastfeeding mothers.

The charities pleaded for world powers to do more to stop the drought in Ethiopia leading to the worst food emergency since the mid-80s.

Reflecting on Europe's response to the refugee and migrant crisis, Ms Robinson added: "If parts of the world warm more quickly and become unlivable, where do they do go?"

Ms Robinson will take her mission to Honduras and Vietnam before reporting on the crisis and efforts to plan for the future.

The UN said during her trip that 100 million people would be affected across the tropics by El Nino and La Nina.

"I think we have to understand the need to factor in the reality for millions of people, particularly children, of climate change in general but in particular when aggravated by El Nino followed by La Nina effect," Ms Robinson said.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights also said she met Nick Hurd, under secretary of state at the Department for International Development, in London in the week before she travelled to Ethiopia.

She said he gave an assurance that the UK would not renege on its commitments to spend 1% of GDP on overseas aid, regardless of Brexit.
Visitors to the Dundrum Town Centre can expect to see some welcome changes and innovations over the next six to 18 months as the south Dublin retail mecca's new owners, Hammerson and its partners, German insurers Allianz put their stamp on its already hugely-successful operations.

New international retailers, additional high-profile food offerings and more opportunities for customers to engage with Dundrum's operations through social media and via mobile apps are just some of the things the UK real estate giant's team will be working on to enhance the centre, the ownership of which they secured last Friday morning along with several other prime assets of developer Joe O'Reilly's Chartered Land.

Also included as part of the deal which originated with Hammerson's 1.85bn purchase of the 'Project Jewel' loan portfolio from Nama last year, are 50pc stakes in Dublin's Ilac Centre and the Pavilions Shopping Centre in Swords, as well as control of a major development site extending from the former Carlton cinema on O'Connell Street to Moore Street.

Speaking to the Sunday Independent shortly after the transaction's announcement, Hammerson CEO David Atkins expressed satisfaction that a "consensual arrangement" had been reached with Joe O'Reilly to enable the handover of Chartered Land's most-prized assets without any need for litigation.

"It was always our intention to undertake a consensual arrangement. That has to be best for everyone. It's quicker, it's more certain and ultimately it's probably less costly. That was always our ambition, and I'm pleased that we've reached that conclusion," Atkins said in a conference call in which he was joined by Simon Betty, Hammerson's Director of Business Improvement.

The successful completion of the deal, coming as it does in the midst of the uncertainty thrown up by the UK's momentous decision to vote for Brexit, served to underpin international ratings agency Moody's view that Hammerson's investments in Ireland and France were a "credit positive".

Asked if Hammerson's presence in Dublin would help to soften the blow of Brexit, Atkins said: "You're right. 40pc of our assets are euro denominated so that gives us a lot of diversification particularly compared with our UK peers, so we're delighted to get this deal over the line."

Commenting on the impact Britain's potential departure from the EU might have here, he added: "Obviously the Irish economy has been performing very strongly. We think Dublin will be a net winner from the UK Brexit decision. I think building on the very strong inward investment [that] it's seen over the last few years, the fact that it's English speaking and very much has a political and business theme that is open to business [will be to its benefit]."

In terms of Brexit's potential downside for Ireland, the Hammerson chief doesn't, at this juncture, really see any.

"If one looks at the landscape around Europe, then I think the uncertainty that's been created in the UK and arguably the prospects of lower growth; we think will lead to benefits elsewhere around Europe, and I think that Dublin will be a net winner from what's happened. [For] companies looking to relocate out of London, potentially financial services, then clearly an English speaking city such as Dublin with very similar legal and financial set up would be very attractive. All I can say is the major steps Dublin has made over the last few years, particularly around inward investment and lowering of unemployment, I can only see that continuing."

Asked if the current uncertainty in the financial markets would have any impact on Hammerson's plans for Dundrum and the other assets it has acquired, he said: "We have a very near term onboarding exercise with the assets. We want to take the shopping centres forward and then [we have] a slightly more medium term aspiration in terms of development."

He added: "Chartered Land was a very good operator; arguably it had limited capital available to it over the last few years, so I would say the assets have not yet reached their full potential. So with our expertise and our capital backing, and working with our partners, Allianz, I think we can take these assets beyond where they are today. We're really relishing the opportunity."

Hammerson's director of business improvement Simon Betty is ready to hit the ground running in Dublin, with Dundrum in the first instance, and then with the company's other newly-acquired Irish assets.

He said:"We've got pretty close to the assets over the past nine months, so we know them well. In the immediate term, the focus will be on onboarding activity, ensuring that we get them on to our relevant platforms and systems. That should be a relatively quick process."

In the medium to long term, Betty said Hammerson would look to improve its Dublin assets by enhancing its customer offering and the tenant mix.

He said this would be achieved by leveraging Hammerson's relationships across Europe to bring in more international retailers and more high-profile international catering operators.

"And we'll look to deploy some of our technological solutions through the introduction of apps and social media. So over a period of six to 18 months, I think you'll see a steady progression of asset management, operational and digital operations across the portfolio," he added

Asked when Hammerson would engage with the relevant stakeholders in relation to Hammerson's plans for development on its Dublin central site, which encompasses a 1916 Rising battlefield site, Betty said the process would begin immediately.

"We're aware of the sensitivities and we're very aware of our responsibilities in terms of bringing that forward in a sympathetic yet commercially acceptable manner. In the coming weeks and months, we'll be looking to reach out and hear from all the connected parties," he said.

Hammerson CEO David Atkins confirmed Chartered Land chief Joe O'Reilly would be engaged as a development manager on the Dublin Central site, but added that this "would be the extent of his involvement".

On the development of the Dundrum Town Centre's second phase, he said: "We haven't really taken forward our thoughts, because until we had ownership, that's difficult to do. But our thinking will be still that we will bring forward a mixed-use proposal that will complement Dundrum, but equally would benefit from the great access links with the Luas. You'd expect some form of residential, some retail and potentially some offices on that site."

Asked if Hammerson might look at further Irish acquisitions, Atkins said: "We remain open-minded to other opportunities, but I think for the time being, our focus will be very much on this portfolio."
Irish oil and gas explorer Aminex will accelerate its plans to make acquisitions after inking a deal with the wealthy Omani Al-Zubair family, the Sunday Independent has learned.

The Al-Zubairs' vehicle Eclipse Investments is the cornerstone investor in a planned Aminex capital raising of up to 19.5m. The family is also behind the Zubair Corporation, a conglomerate which has carried out projects in areas including real estate, financial services and manufacturing.

The proceeds will "principally" be used to drill exploration wells at Aminex assets in Tanzania, Aminex told the market on Friday, without making specific reference to acquisition plans.

A spokesman for the Zubair Corporation said it believes Aminex "can be rapidly built into a much larger oil and gas entity" with the family's support.

Aminex recently began producing gas at its Kiliwani project on an island off the Tanzanian coast but has limited financial resources. It has gone through a period of restructuring that included a previous equity raise. Shareholders will vote on the capital raise at an egm next month.

Aminex chief executive Jay Bhattacherjee said: "With such a cornerstone investor together with the anticipated proceeds from the fundraising and the cash flow from Kiliwani production, Aminex will be well-placed to build on its drilling success in the Ruvuma Basin of Tanzania and to realise the potential from the exciting Ntorya-2 and Ntorya-3 wells."

The company previously expressed an interest in Egyptian assets owned by bust Petroceltic, now in the hands of the latter company's new owner Worldview Capital Management.

The Al-Zubairs will put 12.8m into the company as part of the deal, while a separate share placing will raise 4.1m. Existing shareholders have the chance to take part in an open offer to raise up to 2.6m.

The shares will be issued via Shore Capital and Davy Stockbrokers.
Deutsche Bank is creating 700 jobs at a new office in Dublin.

The German bank, which employs 98,000 people worldwide, has signed a lease on 100,000 square feet of office space in the Eastpoint Business Park in Dublin.

Deutsche Bank already has 330 staff in Ireland across two IFSC-based offices so this will take its Irish total headcount to 1,000 - making it one of the largest employers in the country.

It is the biggest single Irish jobs announcement of the year.

The new jobs are primarily back-office roles in financial services and technology  Deutsche Bank is not setting up a high-street banking operation here.

They will expand on two divisions already operating in Ireland, Global Transaction Banking (GTB) and Group Technology and Operations (GTO). These provide financial services and technological support to commercial banks and corporate clients like Apple.

Neilus De Groot, a senior member of the banks management team, said the announcement was a vote of confidence in the Irish economy and workforce. He highlighted that the bank has doubled its headcount since 2009, despite the effects of the recession.

He said the decision to expand so significantly in Ireland was mainly motivated by the availability of skilled labour.

He added that the country's corporation tax was not an influence at all, and that costs were not a critical factor either.

"Dublin is not the cheapest location we operate in, but it's not the most expensive either" said Mr De Groot.

The bank will be looking for all levels of staff to fill the roles, from school-leavers to senior professionals.

In particular it is looking for people with technical experience and multiple languages.

Jobs Minister Richard Bruton said financial services jobs were supported by his department through IDA Ireland.

"This is a sustainable, export-driven industry where Ireland has developed major strengths and we have put in place important changes to target substantial jobs growth in the coming years," he said.

"In the past two years we have seen strong employment growth in this area and major announcements by companies like Northern Trust and Clearstream.

"Today's announcement that Deutsche Bank is creating an additional 700 jobs over the coming years in EastPoint is a huge vote of confidence in the sector and in Ireland's economy and great news for people looking for jobs in this industry."

The jobs boost comes weeks after Danske Bank, formerly National Irish Bank, announced 150 jobs cuts as it pulls all but its corporate services out of the Irish market.

ACC Bank also plans to close all its branches and business centres with the loss of about 180 jobs.

Mr De Groot said he did not perceive a shortage of either skill in Ireland, despite warnings to the contrary from other multinational chief executives like PayPal's Louise Phelan.

"The availability of technical skills has really improved. There has clearly been a swing back to more practical subjects like maths and technology post-recession, and the bonus points now associated with studying Higher Maths at Leaving Certificate level have helped too. There's a strong pipeline of candidates.

He added that the exit of several retail banks from Ireland this year will provide an extra source of talent as those banks' employees look for new jobs.

Recruitment will begin next year one the new office has been refitted.

The majority of roles will be filled in 2015 and 2016.

IDA Ireland chief executive Barry O'Leary said Deutsche Bank's investment news will be very helpful in encouraging more international banks to consider locating in Ireland.

"A lot of global institutions are now looking to develop centres of excellence in technology and operations" he said. The IDA has set up a team to target 25 of the largest of those.

"The brand recognition associated with Deutsche Bank is fantastic. Irish people might be used to hearing American banking names, but now we have Europe's biggest bank here too."

By Sarah McCabe
Name: Fionnuala O'Donovan

Rank: CEO, Enable Ireland

Salary: 145,679

Revenue: 46.87m

State investment: 38m in 2014

Enable Ireland provides free services to more than 5,000 children and adults with physical, sensory and intellectual disabilities.

The company needs to generate over 2m in revenue a year to meet the cost of delivering its services.

Last year, the company made an urgent appeal for extra stock after clothes donations were damaged by the weather.

Name Dee Ahearn

Rank: CEO, Barretstown

Salary: 142,800

Revenue: 4.84m

State investment: 151,000

Barretstown offers free, medically endorsed camps and programmes that are designed for children and their families living with cancer and other serious illnesses.

The charity also offers 24-hour on-site medical and nursing care.

Ms Ahearn was appointed CEO six years ago and has previously spent time as the chairperson of the board of Make a Wish.

Name: Mo Flynn

Rank: CEO, Rehab

Salary: 140,000

Revenue: 165m

State investment: 91.5m

Rehab helps people with disabilities or that are disadvantaged in society by improving their skills and confidence to become more active within the workforce.

The charity has 3,200 employees in over 170 locations in Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales and Poland.

The organisation has recently completed a review of its operations setting out a five-year plan.

Name: Ray Jordan

Rank: CEO, Gorta Self-Help Africa

Salary: 112,750

Revenue: 16.49m

State investment: n/a

Gorta was set up to tackle poverty and hunger in rural Africa with the charity focusing on small-scale farming and growing family farm businesses.

The reason behind the organisation's decision to pursue farming as a method of reducing poverty is down to its effectiveness.

Gorta says it is 11 times more effective than other approaches.

Name: Senan Mullins

Rank: CEO, The Care Trust

Salary: 119,500

Revenue: 5.724m

State investment: n/a

The Care Trust is owned on a 50/50 basis by the Central Remedial Clinic and Rehab.

The not-for-profit raises money for its two parent companies and has been doing so for the last 50 years.

As a result of the money raised children and adults with medical or intellectual disabilities are granted care. The parent charities look to maximise their beneficiaries' potential.

Name: Fergus Finlay

Rank: CEO, Barnardos

Salary: 114,651

Revenue: 23.1m

State investment: 14,784,000

Barnardos delivers services and support to children and families around the country from its 40 locations.

The organisation's main focus centres around increasing the child's emotional well-being as well as improving the learning and development of the child when going through difficulty. Its main aim is to improve the life of the child.

Name: Ashley Balbirnie

Rank: CEO, Focus Ireland

Salary: 115,000

Revenue: 19.6m

State investment: 11.3m

Focus Ireland was set up to tackle homelessness across the country.

While the company works with homeless people, it also works with those at risk of becoming so.

The charity is currently facing a new unique problem posed by the housing crisis in Dublin.

Increased rents have squeezed a number of families out of their homes while a supply shortage also looms.

Name: John McCormack

Rank: CEO, Irish Cancer Society

Salary: 135,000

Revenue: 22.8m

State investment: 377,000

The Irish Cancer Society funds research projects to help improve the lives of those affected by the disease.

The organisation also offers a range of services to cancer sufferers to improve their daily life and also raises awareness of the problem at government level.

The majority (72pc) of its overall spend goes into research and cancer services.

Name: Barry Dempsey

Rank: CEO, Irish Heart Foundation

Salary: 134,000

Revenue: 5.08m

State investment: n/a

The foundation was set up to tackle heart disease and stroke with the ambition of helping every Irish person live a long, healthy and active life.

The charity provides support to sufferers and holds heart health information programmes in schools and workplaces.

The group combats cardiovascular disease, which claims the lives of around 10,000 people a year.

Name: Adi Roche

Rank: CEO, Chernobyl Children International

Salary: 0

Revenue: 2.3m

State investment: n/a

The trust arranges trips for kids in disadvantaged areas of Belarus to Ireland where they stay with host families.

The average age of the children that go on the trips is 10 with the youngest children aged 7.

The trips aim to bring positivity into the lives of children that are disadvantaged.
Stormont's finance watchdog will be briefed by a team from the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) tomorrow about its ongoing investigation into the controversial sale of Nama's Project Eagle loan book.

The specially convened meeting at Parliament Buildings was requested by the Finance Committee before it takes its two-month summer recess until September.

Two high-profile businessmen have already been arrested by fraud squad chiefs in connection with the 1.6bn loan book sale by Nama to US investment fund Cerberus - the biggest ever property deal in Northern Ireland. More arrests are expected to follow in the coming weeks.

The investigation by the NCA, the UK's lead policing body, was sparked by the discovery of a 7m offshore transfer to an Isle of Man bank.

The deal has been the subject of parliamentary probes on both sides of the border, as well as an investigation by US authorities.

As well as getting an update on the NCA's investigation, committee chairwoman DUP MLA Emma Pengelly stressed that the meeting is to ensure its own examination of the sale did not prejudice the long-running fraud investigation.

In recent days, the North's Department of Finance has provided the investigating committee with new documents discovered in a fresh trawl of government files ordered by Minister Mairtin O'Muilleoir.

The new Department of Finance papers shared with the committee include a document which reveals that a former senior Anglo Irish Bank official had been nominated by former DUP Finance Minister, Sammy Wilson, to the Northern Ireland committee advising Nama.

The name of Neil Adair, as a nominee of then finance minister Sammy Wilson, has emerged in files newly disclosed and unredacted to the Stormont committee.

Adair's name was previously redacted from papers provided to the committee.

The Irish Government subsequently selected another of Mr Wilson's nominees, Frank Cushnahan, in 2010.

A committee spokeswoman said it has "no plans to further consider the papers made available by the Department until after its NCA meeting."

The committee's next scheduled meeting is on September 14.
Property developer Deirdre Foley has claimed that inspectors appointed by the Workplace Relations Commission to investigate the redundancy of 460 workers at Clerys department store, forwarded material from her laptop "while trying to erase the evidence of doing so".

Foley, the D2 co-founder and a director of Natrium - the vehicle which completed a takeover of the iconic Dublin department store last year - has also claimed that the WRC's inspectors accessed legally privileged (confidential) communications relating to the controversial purchase of the iconic Dublin store.

Foley has maintained a prolonged silence over the Clerys affair, which saw the Department of Social Protection pay 2m of taxpayers' money to staff left unemployed.

But she has now hit back at claims that she, D2 or Natrium took the decision to apply to wind-up the company operating Clerys, or to make its employees redundant.

Foley was responding in court papers to claims by James Kelly - one of the WRC inspectors - that Clerys was bought following a number of secret meetings as part of a plan dubbed 'Project Clock'.

The inspectors seized documents and computers, including her laptop, from D2's offices last May.

However Foley and D2 are challenging the powers of the inspectors, whom the businesswoman claims are engaged in "a far-reaching exercise in accessing information and materials which have no relevance to their investigation and which exercise is not supported by their statutory powers."

Foley, who denies D2 was given exclusive bidding status as a potential buyer of Clerys, rejected claims that the High Court was misled when an application to wind-up OCS Operations Ltd (the company that operated Clerys) came before the High Court hours after the takeover was completed.

And she defended obtaining legal advices and carrying out due diligence relating to "a potential transaction" - while insisting the transaction remained a potential one, right up until the early hours of June 12, 2015, when it finally completed.

Kelly claimed the decision to wind up the company was not taken on June 12. However Foley, who strenuously denies liquidators were engaged prior to the wind-up hearing, says there were points "right up until the end where the transaction may never have completed".

"The transaction did not complete until June 12, 2015," said Foley, who rejects "in the strongest possible terms" the inspectors' claims.

"It did not complete at that time for commercial reasons, which remain confidential and do not form part of any proper investigation".

The case continues in the High Court on Tuesday.
Tales of squandered monies and a dereliction of trust have engulfed Consoles Paul Kelly

The revelations about suicide prevention charity Console bears all the hallmarks of a Hollywood blockbuster. A horror one. As tales of squandered monies and trust engulfed Console founder Paul Kelly, the High Court heard that the treasurer and accountant of a state-funded charity providing education and support for teenagers misappropriated up to 161,000 of its funds for his own benefit.

Separately, the St John of God Group was forced to deny that it hid a payment of 1.64m from its order to 14 executives from the HSE.

St John of God, one of the country's best- loved charities, says the additional funds to its executives were undisclosed in its public accounts as they came from the order.

It also said the top-ups were paid to discharge pension and employment liabilities.

But the HSE, which obliges so-called Section 38 agencies to abide by public sector pay rules (Section 38 employees are regarded as public servants) has now sent in a team of internal auditors to do the math.

The infamous charity 'top-up' was the beast that slayed confidence in the Central Remedial Clinic, which has just confirmed that it will not pursue its ex-chief Paul Kiely over a 741,000 severance package that he received.

Owing to a complex history - which saw the Catholic Church monopolise the provision of education, health and social services - the State has sub-contracted much of its duties to charities with questionable levels of supervision or scrutiny by bodies such as the HSE, which provide taxpayers' funds to support them.

The betrayal of vulnerable families who have lost loved ones to suicide and countless others who accessed Console's national helpline at a time of deep personal crisis is unforgiveable.

What is equally unforgivable is the learned helplessness of the State in the face of a sustained series of charity scandals.

Prompted by an RTE Prime Time expose, a belated maelstrom of State inquiries, civil and criminal, have been unleashed in the wake of the Console revelations. And our charity regulator, set up two years ago (despite being on the statute books since 2009) was finally granted investigative and enforcement powers last week.

The real question that must be asked is why the HSE, which conducted an onsite examination of Console in June of last year - paying it 70,000 a month towards its helpline - did not intervene sooner?

It is not just charities who receive public monies and private donations that need strong oversight and regulation.

The ability of the State to follow the money and audit use of taxpayers' funds it extends to charities that are effectively state contractors, is also in need of serious review.

I'm less than optimistic about those prospects.

Because even where controversies do fall for public scrutiny, the role of the supervisory bodies is often open to question. And the response by occasionally over-zealous politicians is a cure that is often worse than the disease.

In this latter regard, the forthcoming legal action by former Rehab CEO Angela Kerins, who resigned from the disability charity group two years ago following scrutiny of executive pay levels, will be instructive.

Charity begins at home and the State has to get its house in order if it is to have any credibility in charity regulation.

Still dragging stilettos on female board posts

Britain's next Prime Minister will be a woman, America is poised to elect its first female President and Angela Merkel is holding Europe together.

Queen Bey (Beyonce) is rocking Croke Park and the Irish Defence Forces has just promoted a woman to the rank of Colonel for the first time.

So it was disappointing to see that of the four new non-executive appointments to the board of Ervia by Taoiseach-in-waiting Simon Coveney, there wasn't one woman amongst them.

Not one.

It's true that Ervia, the parent of Irish Water, once boasted a female chairperson and currently has two women on its board.

And no woman wants to be that dreaded token chick.

But we can and must do better.

Only 14pc of Irish CEOs and 10.5pc of publicly listed company board members are female and our gender pay gap is widening as other jurisdictions decrease.

Female UK FTSE board appointments have hit a five-year low, but the UK is still in better shape than Ireland which has less female women in senior management than Turkey.

It's frustrating as the business and economic case for gender diversity in the workplace has not just been met - it's beyond dispute.

Advancing women's equality can add $12 trillion to global GDP by 2025 according to the McKinsey Global Institute.

But Ireland is still dragging its stilettos (sorry, ladies) when it comes to board appointments.

A lot done, more to do, as the resurgent if gender diversity challenged Fianna Fail might say.

British Ambassador has last laugh before he goes

IN the unlikely event that the heat of Brexit proves too much for Dominick Chilcott, a career in stand-up comedy may beckon.

Britain's outgoing Ambassador to Ireland was honoured last Thursday night at a gala dinner hosted by the British Irish Chamber of Commerce and PwC.

Ambassador Chilcott exudes all the charm, reserve and restraint that one might expect of a representative of Her Majesty's Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

But he also revealed a capacity for perfectly timed, bawdy comedy that had luminaries such as AIB chairman Richard Pym, US Ambassador Kevin O'Malley, Garda Commissioner Noirin O'Sullivan and eir Chairman Padraig Mac Manus in stitches.

Chilcott began his speech by thanking BICC President Eamonn Egan for "the generous and sensibly proportioned gifts". The Snag? The Ambassador hadn't received any.

Egan, country manager for Lloyds and an amateur jockey, did pony up with a first edition of the Dublin Book of Irish Verse 1728-1909 and an Hermes tie for the guest of honour.

But not before Chilcott regaled the audience with fond dispatches from Ireland and by telling a series of risque jokes including one about two monarchs and a farting horse.

Chilcott returns to the FCO at the end of the month before he and his diplomatic fraternity are sent back out into the world to bat for Britain.

Brand Britain won't be an easy sell post-Brexit. But if all else fails, Chilcott can always laugh Blighty's critics into submission.
Dialysis patients who smoke are less likely to get kidney transplant - according to a new study from the University of Limerick

Many of the great problems of our time are social problems. Think global poverty, access to housing, the refugee crisis. The enormity of these problems is such that we often cannot imagine a solution. So as a society, whether through public or private donations, we transfer responsibility for developing solutions to charities.

And charities have delivered. Over the last 20 years the Irish Cancer Society has provided education, awareness and services, and has relentlessly campaigned for action and policies which have seen, for example, the smoking rate in our school-age children drop from almost one in four to less than one in 10.

To put this change into perspective, it means that 10,000 fewer children starting secondary school this September will become smokers, it means that 5,000 of them will not now go on to die prematurely from a smoking related disease, including many cancers. Our funding of high-quality research has underpinned and complemented state investments that now mean well over half of all cancer patients will be cured of their disease.

If we expect our charities to be truly transformative, to develop solutions to the great challenges of our time, we need them to think like an entrepreneur and act like a business.

Entrepreneurs display a disruptive mind-set, an innovation in thinking to challenge the status quo, to develop solutions for problems we do not even know we have. They focus on impact and outcomes. They often start with just a good idea from which a thriving and sustainable venture is created.

Charities can learn from this, investing donations almost like venture capital funding, challenging and changing the status quo with an eye to a sustainable future.

To truly drive delivery of a charity's vision, and develop long-term economic viability within the charity sector, we must apply the same models for success in our charitable organisations as we do in business.

Scaling a charity from an entrepreneurial idea to a sustainable entity requires a professional approach, an investment in good governance, such as publication of externally audited accounts, checks and balances scrutinised by the oversight of an independent board of directors.

It needs to provide reassurance that the investment of donor funds is not just supporting the immediate cause but is being strategically directed to provide solutions to long-term problems.

The Irish Cancer Society processes more than 20m in charitable donations, with tens of thousands of transactions, annually. Appropriately managing and utilising these funds requires professional staff and robust financial systems and procedures. Many of these donations are now electronic requiring investment in technology capable of safely transacting these funds.

Good fundraising practice requires prompt acknowledgement of payments and ongoing reporting as to the use of these funds. Like any business the structures put in place to deliver on good governance allow us to be more efficient and effective. They allow us to apply greater focus to our charitable activities.

Recently we have seen some in our community challenge the proportion of donated funds spent on governance by individual charities. And charitable governance itself does indeed need scrutiny and transparency.

Unfortunately, with Console, we see an extreme case of what a lack of such investment can lead to. So charities have to get this balance right.

Otherwise the sector remains open to challenge and is in danger of being brought into total disrepute. In the absence of any overarching sector regulation, we use company law, principles of best practice and business norms to ensure robust governance.

Charities come in many forms, from not-for-profit entities like St Vincent's Healthcare Group with an annual turnover in the hundreds of millions, to front-room groupings started by a few committed individuals hoping to mobilise action and inspire change. All charities will benefit from appropriate governance and oversight standards.

The Charities Regulatory Authority should be resourced to address the range of needs across all charities. The sector needs to embrace regulation, demand it as a stamp of high standards, a commitment to integrity and accountability.

The Irish Cancer Society is committed to working with our colleagues in the sector to rebuild public confidence in the value we provide for their investment in our work.

Like any investor the Irish public is, very reasonably, looking to understand the return on their money. They are looking for impact and sustainability. Thinking like an entrepreneur and acting like a business will help us achieve this.

Donal Buggy is head of Services & Advocacy, Irish Cancer Society
'On June 16 2013 my son Kevin was killed in a hit and run incident in New York City. He was 26.

"It's not something people are necessarily aware of, but when someone dies abroad, it is up to their family and friends to pay for the cost of bringing their loved one's body home. It can be complicated and expensive. The average cost of repatriating a body is about 5,000 (5,900).

"The town where we're from, Newry in County Down, went into fundraising overdrive overnight. Around 150,000 was raised in the space of one week, far more than we needed. As it happened, Kevin's employers in New York were kind enough to pay for his repatriation. So we were left with a large amount of generously donated money - and nowhere to spend it.

"We decided to set up a charity to help others who found themselves in the same situation. With so many young people living abroad, we knew we would not be the last family to be in that situation. We called the charity the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust - the KBRT.

"The KBRT has grown rapidly since then. In the three years since, we have helped to bring 197 people home. We raise around 1m a year.

"We decided at the very beginning, even though our ethos is very much about family and we run it as a family, that we wanted to do things very professionally and properly.

"We applied for charity status in Northern Ireland which took the guts of a year to get. One of the challenges there was the regulator wanted to see a real need for our service, meaning they wanted us to means test people who we gave money to. But that is not appropriate for what we do.

"So we got charity status based on relieving people in times of stress instead. We could have achieved our aims without getting charity status, but we wanted people to know we are recognised and regulated as a charity and do things by the book.

"Being a registered charity has certain requirements. For example, we must produce audited accounts which are submitted to the UK Charity Commission. I wouldn't describe it as a big cost burden, but it certainly takes up a lot of time.

"We have applied for charity status in the Republic too. We are still waiting, 18 months on. Though from what I can see there is not much difference between the two systems in the North and the Republic.

"Another thing we have done to ensure everything is done properly and professionally is put a really good board of trustees in place.

"Our trustees are professionals and know what they are doing. They have a big responsibility. It would be the same with Console.

"We don't take any payment for the work we do - I think that when people donate money the responsibility is on us to make sure as much as humanly possible of it goes directly to the cause they are trying to support.

"But in saying that, we recently applied for government funding, because the charity has gotten so big that we want to hire a part-time administrator and also find an office for it.

"We have been doing it from home until now but it has outgrown the house.

"I was recently invited by Micheal Martin to speak to TDs and have had lots of support from them so I'm hopeful.

"It is understandable that larger charities have overheads and need to hire staff, and those people deserve to be paid.

"Another challenge you hit as your charity grows is tax. One of the ways the KBRT raises money is by selling our own jerseys.

"They've been hugely popular - to the extent that for tax reasons we temporarily had to stop selling them. We had to set up a separate limited company to sell the jerseys, then the proceeds of that go to the charity."
At the end of 2015, a top China fund manager was so worried about the outlook for stocks that he held as much cash as he possibly could. Now, he's loading up on equities.

At the end of 2015, a top China fund manager was so worried about the outlook for stocks that he held as much cash as he possibly could. Now, he's loading up on equities.

Qiu Dongrong is buying shares in pharmaceutical, chemical and construction material firms, he said in an interview last week. The fund manager at HSBC Jintrust Fund Management Co has whittled down cash to about 7pc of assets from 15pc on December 31, and says his main strategy is to pick up stocks trading at low valuations. His $323m large-cap fund has beaten 94pc of peers over the past three years.

For Qiu, the Shanghai Composite Index's slump at the start of the year created a mismatch between stock prices and signs of a stabilising economy - and a buying opportunity. The measure is up 13pc from January's low, with consumer-staple and material stocks leading the rebound with gains of at least 25pc. "Lots of sectors and individual stocks have factored in extremely pessimistic expectations," said Qiu (32). "There's a chance for stock valuations to recover from those lows. The real situation actually isn't as bad as people expected."

While figures due next week are forecast to indicate a third straight monthly drop in exports, official data shows producer prices have risen for three consecutive months and manufacturing is stabilizing. The People's Bank of China may cut lenders' reserve-requirement ratios to cushion the impact of Britain's vote to leave the European Union, according to HSBC Holdings and AXA Investment Managers Asia

Qiu hasn't escaped the 2016 slide unscathed: his fund's down 6.2pc. Still, that beats 89pc of his peers, data compiled by Bloomberg shows. The Shanghai Composite sank 15pc in the same span.
The Irish Army heroes of one of the most successful defence actions in modern military history are to receive a special bravery award, the Sunday Independent can reveal.

The 150 soldiers, who in 1961 fought off 3,000 Congolese rebels and mercenaries backed by artillery and fighter jets, are the subject of a new Netflix movie, Jadotville, which premiered in Galway Town Hall theatre last night.

Fifty Shades of Grey star Jamie Dornan, 34, who is from Holywood, Co Down, plays the lead role of Cmdt Pat Quinlan, who led his men through the siege, emerging with only four wounded - compared with 300 dead and 700 wounded on the other side.

The special unit citation for bravery is to be awarded to survivors and families of the soldiers at a special ceremony to mark the 55th anniversary in September.

The news of the citation, which many soldiers felt should have been made decades ago, was given last night by the son of Cmdt Quinlan, Leo Quinlan, who also served as a commandant in the Army.

And, in another twist surrounding the forthcoming movie release, Cmdt Quinlan's son, Conor, the grandson of Pat Quinlan, also acts in the movie as one of the Irish UN soldiers in the siege.

The Irish action at Jadotville was never officially recognised by the government or Defence Forces, despite the extraordinary bravery and skill that saw the unit survive overwhelming odds.

The Irish Jadotville action is placed alongside other historical sieges such as the British Army's defence at Rorke's Drift in the Anglo-Zulu war in 1879, in which all 150 soldiers were eventually killed while fighting a force of between 3,000 and 4,000 strong. This event was commemorated with 11 Victoria Crosses.

Jadotville is also mentioned alongside the stand of the American revolutionaries at the Alamo in 1836, in which all were killed by an enormously larger Mexican force.

The Irish action, while little remembered here, has become a text-book study for young officers around the world.

The soldiers were serving with the UN mission in the former Belgian colony during the bloody transitionary period when they were surrounded by 3,000 to 5,000 Luba warriors with support from regular French, Belgian and Rhodesian mercenaries. The attacking force also had heavy artillery and Fouga fighter jets which strafed and bombed the Irish position.

The Irish soldiers, who had only light arms and mortars, held out for six days, inflicting heavy casualties on the attackers before surrendering after running out of ammunition.

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One of the last radio messages from the besieged soldiers before their surrender includes a line that has gone into Irish military history. It is said to have been: "We will hold out until our last bullet is spent. Could do with some whiskey."

The Irish action at Jadotville was the subject of two books by Cmdt Leo Quinlan along with author Rose Doyle, and former Army Corporal Declan Power.

The movie release on Netflix is set for September.
One hundred years ago this month, the cream of western Europe's youth were being slaughtered by the thousand in a battle so vast and chaotic it was almost without precedent. Unimaginative tactics, terrifying new weapons and the total disregard of the officer class for their supposed inferiors combined to turn the meadows around the River Somme into blood-soaked killing fields.

There were other big battles during World War One, like Ypres and Passchendaele, but The Somme was the worst, claiming more than 300,000 lives and permanently traumatising those fortunate enough to survive it. It was the muddy nadir of a conflict that's rightly remembered as an entirely pointless one: a Balkan spat ignited a simmering arms race, and a higgledy-piggledy system of alliances dragged Britain, France, Germany and Russia into a dreadful slugging match that lasted four years and solved precisely nothing.

But the Great War was also a new kind of conflict, industrialised and on a staggering scale, and the conditions of its fighting have left enduring symbols in the collective consciousness. The mud, the rats, the trenches, the rain, the mounted machine guns, foot-root, tin mugs, round and pointed helmets and the guy who gets shot by a sniper after ill-advisedly lighting a fag; all of these tropes and cliches summon up terrifying images of hell on earth, and of ordinary men caught up a slaughter from which there was no escape. Film-makers, of course, have always been fascinated by the stark visual possibilities of stories about World War One, and were making movies about the battlegrounds of France and Belgium even while the guns were still blazing.

By 1917, a young Charlie Chaplin had become a cherished icon among the troops, laughter being an especially precious commodity during times of war. But the same year, he began his journey towards artistic maturity when he made a film that reflected the hardship of life in the trenches.

When Chaplin announced his plans for Shoulder Arms, industry friends warned him against making a comedy about a war that had claimed anything between 10 and 15 millions lives.

"Dangerous or not," Chaplin would later recall, "the idea excited me," and he went ahead. In it, his bumbling every-man Charlie is sent first to boot camp and then to France, where he forms part of the "awkward squad".

In a magnificent extended dream sequence, he receives a package from home containing a lump of Limburger cheese so smelly it can only be handled with a gas mask. He throws it behind enemy lines and follows, capturing 13 German soldiers, and when his officer asks how he managed it, Charlie says "I surrounded them".

Humour can provide ways of dealing with unpalatable subjects, but the reality of the Great War's pitched battles was so gruesome that film-makers and their backers were reluctant to confront it. King Vidor had a go in The Big Parade (1925), a masterfully made silent melodrama that would have a great influence on war films to come.

Those movies that did address the subject to this point glorified the Great War shamelessly and ignored the unimaginable suffering of a conflict that often rendered honour and heroism meaningless. But Vidor did the opposite, spending an hour-and-a-half letting us get to know a group of cocky but likeable young men before exposing them to the slaughter of the trenches in a compelling and, for the time, shocking battle sequence. Our heroes lost limbs and lives, and the Western Front was depicted as something close to Dante's Inferno.

But The Big Parade seemed tame compared to Lewis Milestone's 1930 masterpiece All Quiet on the Western Front, which underlined the futility of war by considering it from the German perspective.

In Germany, as elsewhere, young men had been hoodwinked by poets and nationalists into imagining war as a high and noble endeavour, and Milestone's film followed the fortunes of a group of young military academy classmates whose romantic notions are about to be shattered by their experiences at the Front.

Soon the trigger-happy warriors have been transformed into bitter and battle-hardened veterans who grumble about the Kaiser and their officers, and dream of a new world order in which Europe's leaders would be forced to resolve their differences in hand-to-hand combat. All Quiet on the Western Front is full of unforgettable images, none more haunting than the final scene, in which Paul Baumer (Lew Ayres) is mesmerised out of hiding by a passing butterfly and gets shot by an enemy sniper.

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When Milestone's film was released in Germany, Joseph Goebbels and his henchmen released stink-bombs and mice in cinemas that were showing it.

The National Socialists didn't much care for Westfront 1918 either. Georg Wilhelm Pabst's sombre combat drama explored similar themes but was even bleaker in its conclusions. The Nazis would ban it, describing it as "a one-sided and very false representation of war": after all, they'd soon be asking their people to take part in an even nastier one.

When the Germans overran France in 1940, Jean Renoir fled to America, and with good reason. His films were detested by Goebbels, who described one of them, La Grande Illusion (1937), as "cinematic public enemy number one", and ordered all prints destroyed. By chance, one survived, and thank heavens, because Grande Illusion is an anti-war masterpiece.

The title came from a book by the English economist Norman Angell, who described World War One as "the great illusion" because of the similarities and common interests of the combatants. The illusion Renoir's film shattered the notion that war could be fought along honourable lines by gentlemen on opposing sides. Jean Gabin played a working-class air force pilot who's amused and baffled by the antics of the officer class during lengthy stays in German PoW camps.

Hitler's invasion of Poland in 1939 gave the world a brand new global conflict to worry about, and for several decades thereafter the Great War was forgotten by film-makers, who had more immediate problems to address. But in 1957, a talented young Hollywood director called Stanley Kubrick decided to make a film about the Great War based on a scathing novel by Humphrey Cobb.

Paths of Glory was inspired by the execution of four French soldiers for failing to following orders. Kirk Douglas played Colonel Dax, an infantry commander who's forced to lead his men on a suicidal assault on a heavily defended enemy fort which fails miserably. Dax then agrees to defend three men who are to be court-martialed as an example in a trial he describes as "a mockery to all human justice".

It's an extraordinary film, my favourite Kubrick movie, in fact, and his tracking shots through the warren of French trenches are unforgettable.

Even more subversive, in the context of postwar Italy, was La Grande Guerra (1959), a dark comedy about two Italian infantrymen who do their level best to avoid seeing action before ending up as inadvertent heroes. Mario Monicelli's film openly mocked the madness of nationalistic fervour, and focused on the problem of how ordinary men retain their humanity in times of war.

People tend to forget that Lawrence of Arabia (1962) was set during World War One, far from the trenches in the deserts of the Arabian Gulf. It certainly is an extraordinary film, a visually breathtaking account of the Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire led by a cultured and mysterious British army Lieutenant called TE Lawrence (Peter O'Toole). Things got good and nasty during the battles of Aqaba and Tafilah, but the desert campaign would have seemed like a walk in the park to the poor Tommies in the trenches.

In Joseph Losey's haunting 1964 drama King and Country, one of those Tommies reached the end of his tether and decided to walk home to London from Passchendaele. Private Hamp (Tom Courtenay) is clearly suffering from shell-shock, and his superior officer Captain Hargreaves (Dirk Bogarde) agrees to defend him at trial.

He's found guilty of desertion nonetheless, and in a devastating final scene, his firing-squad execution is botched, and poor Hargreaves has to finish him off with his revolver. Losey's film seemed the perfect indictment of a truly nonsensical war.

If you watch one film

Nothing in Rebecca Miller's rather dour cinematic output to date prepares you for the unalloyed joy of Maggie's Plan. Her new film, which opened here yesterday, summons memories of Woody Allen in his pomp, though it offers a very different take on the battle of the sexes. Greta Gerwig is Maggie, a young Manhattan woman who's decided to have a baby with the aid of a distant friend as a surrogate. Maggie believes in a meticulously planned life, but her grand plans are thrown into confusion when she falls for a married college professor.

John (Ethan Hawke) is clever and charming and tying to write a novel: Maggie agrees to read it, and next thing you know they're having an affair. He claims his brilliant wife Georgette (Julianne Moore) is suffocating him, so he leaves her, and he and Maggie have a child. But several years later, Maggie has grown tired of John's laziness and self-absorption, and hatches a plan to reunite him with his ex. Joyously messy, and very funny, Maggie's Plan is peopled by characters who seem real, and there are no villains here, just ordinary, imperfect people. Moore is hilarious as the terrifying but likeable Georgette.
Beyonce performs during the Formation World Tour at Croke Park Stadium on Saturday, July 9, 2016, in Dublin. (Photo by Andrew White/Invision for Parkwood Entertainment/AP Images)

Beyonce performs during the Formation World Tour at Croke Park Stadium on Saturday, July 9, 2016, in Dublin. (Photo by Andrew White/Invision for Parkwood Entertainment/AP Images)

All hail Queen Beyonce.

The undisputed princess of pop stormed the stage at Croke Park tonight and proved why shes Irreplacable on the world music stage.

The American superstar brought her Formation world tour to Dublin and wowed the 75,000 members of her Bey-hive during an energetic, two-hour long spectacle.

Fans at the sell-out gig were promised a jaw-dropping performance - and the former Destinys Child star did not disappoint.

Expand Close Beyonce performs during the Formation World Tour at Croke Park Stadium on Saturday, July 9, 2016, in Dublin. (Photo by Andrew White/Invision for Parkwood Entertainment/AP Images) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Beyonce performs during the Formation World Tour at Croke Park Stadium on Saturday, July 9, 2016, in Dublin. (Photo by Andrew White/Invision for Parkwood Entertainment/AP Images)

Such was the size of her production that the capacity of the Croker had to be reduced to accommodate the show, with Beyonce arriving into a balmy night in Dublin, fresh from watching the Wimbledon final.

The Bootylicious star opened her concert at 8.45pm to the mainly-female audience with the title track of her tour, before moving swiftly onto a string of songs from her critically-acclaimed album Lemonade.

A video posted by @meadhbhmcgrath on Jul 9, 2016 at 3:42pm PDT

She dug deep into her huge repertoire of hits from her stellar career, spanning four albums and clocking up 17 Grammy wins as she worked the stage in an energetic display.The 34-year-old star was accompanied by a giant, revolving screen and an impressive array of fireworks and pyrotechnics as she treated her adoring audience to a show theyre unlikely to forget.

She had constructed a lengthy walkway deep into the cheering crowd so she could strut her stuff like the Diva she is. Bringing lots of attitude and sass, she stunned in a dazzling array of skimpy, Swarovski-covered ensembles customised for her tour by Welsh designer Julien McDonald.

This has been going on for almost 5 minutes #beyoncedublin pic.twitter.com/bYPzRiZr35  rebecca (@rebeccabreene) July 9, 2016

She also paid tribute to her Irish fans by telling her they were always the loudest crowd in the world.

Ive had some of the best shows of my career in Dublin, Ireland. I want to tahnk you guys for your loyalty over the years, its been 19 years, she said.

A video posted by Sasha Brady (@sbebbles) on Jul 9, 2016 at 4:14pm PDT

She got the crowd on their feet with hits like Baby Boy and All Night as well as the appropriately-titled track Diva, Drunk in Love and Partition

But she ditched the fancy stage tricks for an acapella version of Love on Top, which she performed on her own, with the crowd roaring their approval.

Last time I saw her under a SuperValu sign, she was coming out with a breakfast roll #BeyonceDublin pic.twitter.com/ucaxxTVA3S  Kevi Ryansson (@KRyan2014) July 10, 2016

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Tribute was paid to the late superstar Prince with a moving rendition of his song The Beautiful Ones and his original version of Purple Rain while she performed her fifth costume change before she moved on to one of her biggest-ever hits Crazy In Love.

For the final part of the show, she blasted out an emotional version of Blue, the song she wrote for her little girl with hubbie Jay Z as well as a hark back to her Destinys Child days with Survivor.

The curtain came down with her blasting out her massive crowd-pleaser Halo, before finally finishing with Schoolin Life - and one very satisfied crowd.
As more and more women wait later in life to become pregnant, Spain has become a major international destination for fertility treatments because of new treatments and techniques as well as soft-touch legislation in relation to anonymous egg donation.

Now it has been confirmed that Clane Fertility Clinic in Kildare has been acquired by one of Spain's leading assisted reproduction centres, Institut Marques.

Spain has become a popular destination for Irish people seeking fertility treatment, thanks to its amenable attitudes to assisted reproduction, which have been enshrined in law since 1988.

And now Institut Marques plans to make the same treatments available to Irish couples at its clinic in Clane as it provides in its Barcelona base, including anonymous egg donation.

"We want to do all of the types of treatment that you can't do, or have been really hard to do in Ireland, and we want to do them here," Dr Hans Arce of Institut Marques told the Sunday Independent. "For example with egg donation; you cannot do egg donation because there are barely any egg donors here. Why? Because donors in Ireland cannot be anonymous and that scares a lot of these donors away, so now the idea is that if you have donors giving the eggs in Spain and we form the embryos in Spain, then Irish couples can just ask for their embryos to be brought into Ireland. So we will bring the embryos that were formed in Spain, under Spanish laws, and the patients can have them transferred here."

Embryo adoption is also available to Irish patients at the new clinic, provided that the official adoption of these embryos - the remaining embryos, which may be left over from another couple's successful in vitro fertilisation at the clinic - is completed in Spain beforehand.

"We have had an office here for five years now, so we wanted to base ourselves in Ireland," Dr Hans Arce said. "We hope to really change fertility treatment in Ireland because it is something that is really needed. Ireland has had many difficulties for many years in this area and this will definitely open up doors here."

The company is awaiting approval from Ireland's Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) to also provide the option of Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) whereby embryos are genetically analysed to make sure that only the healthiest are transferred to the womb, a procedure which can significantly reduce spontaneous miscarriage.

"There is a lot of fear about the genetic testing area, but I think it is something very necessary, especially here in a country where termination of pregnancy is not legal, so avoiding unhealthy pregnancies would be a huge thing to do," Dr Hans Arce said.

Clane Fertility Clinic will now be called Institut Marques and a specialised medical team from Barcelona will also be based here, joining the team of 23 professionals that were part of the existing clinic.
'While the incidence of TB in Ireland has been in continuous decline over the past 25 years, latest figures reveal 311 people contracted the illness last year' Stock photo: PA

Six people every week are still being diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB) in Ireland - and some die from complications arising from the disease.

TB caused heartbreak for thousands of Irish families up until the 1950s when a new strain of drugs and antibiotics became available.

For many decades, it also carried a serious social stigma, causing even further trauma for sufferers and their next of kin.

While the incidence of TB in Ireland has been in continuous decline over the past 25 years, latest figures reveal 311 people contracted the illness last year.

Ten patients subsequently died, but in only two cases was tuberculosis recorded as the official cause of death.

Latest figures obtained by the Sunday Independent from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC), reveal the majority of patients - 153 sufferers - were born in Ireland.

A further 130 people were immigrants, while the country of birth for the remaining 28 cases has not yet been reported to HPSC.

This compares with 328 cases in 2014, and 384 diagnoses recorded in 2013.

According to research from the Irish Red Cross, in 1904, there were in the region of 25,000 deaths from the disease in Ireland, with 12,000 of these young adults.

It continued to plague the health of the nation until the 1950s, when the health minister at the time, Dr Noel Browne, spearheaded the roll-out of a much-lauded and controversial universal vaccination programme.
Journalists are seen on the podium following sounds of gun shots before a news conference by South Sudan President Salva Kiir, First Vice President Riek Machar and other government officials in Juba (inset: Feargal O'Connell)

An Irish citizen is on lockdown in the capital of South Sudan as violent gun battles erupted on Friday.

Concern Country Director Feargal O'Connell from Dublin is currently seeking refuge from the violence with six other Concern staff at their headquarters in Juba.

Theres very intense fighting happening at the moment. The windows here at the Concern offices were all shaking a minute ago as an explosion went off nearby, Feargal told Independent.ie.

Theres small arm fire and large artillery explosions at the moment here in Juba.

Our immediate concern is that all our staff is safe. Were checking in with each other as often as possible and were trying to provide as much information as possible to keep everyone safe, he said.

Two other Irish citizens working with Concern are in "field" locations outside the capital of the world's newest country, now five years in existence and troubled with civil war since 2013.

The clashes follow days of fighting between supporters of President Salva Kiir and Vice-President Riek Machar.

Both men have said they did not know what had triggered the latest violence between their factions.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that the leaders must take "decisive action" to regain control of security and urged them to order their forces to disengage and withdraw to their bases.

"I am deeply frustrated that despite commitments by South Sudan's leaders, fighting has resume," Ban said in a statement. "This senseless violence is unacceptable and has the potential of reversing the progress made so far in the peace process."

The death toll from fighting in Juba has climbed to 272 people, including 33 civilians, a source at the country's ministry of health told Reuters on Sunday.

The violence has raised fears of renewed instability with a 2015 peace deal failing to stop the unrest.

The country was plagued with a civil war in 2013 which killed tens of thousands and displaced two million people.

Feargal told Independent.ie that he wouldnt be surprised if hundreds had been killed in the recent violence.

Concern Worldwide has 260 staff in South Sudan at present.

Four Concern staff have already been relocated to Nairobi and many others are seeking refuge in their offices and homes.
Some families in need may have purposefully made themselves homeless in order to access social housing more quickly, according to a letter sent on behalf of the chief executives of Dublin's four local authorities.

The letter, which was sent on April 22, urged the then Minister for the Environment not to renew a directive which allowed for 50pc of social housing to be allocated to the homeless.

It stated: "It is our view that this requirement is now having the effect of encouraging some households, who are in housing need and who are awaiting social housing, to enter the 'homeless' system in the mistaken belief that this will hasten the allocation to them of a social housing unit.

"In some cases, the accommodation being exited by these households is superior to the emergency accommodation that can be made available," it said.

The letter was signed by Dublin City Council chief executive Owen Keegan and copied to the chief executives of Fingal Co Council, South Dublin Co Council and DLR Co Council.

Since the letter was sent, the ministerial directive which was introduced in January 2015, was not renewed and the power to decide over the distribution of social housing has been returned to local authorities.

This comes as homelessness, and the costs associated with it, continue to rise as the Government struggles to regain control of the ongoing housing crisis.

The number of homeless people housed in hotel rooms in the Dublin region has nearly doubled since last summer, with 622 families recorded as living in hotel rooms for emergency accommodation in May of this year.

And the cost of housing the homeless in hotels is set to nearly triple this year, with the Department of the Environment estimating a spend of 46.8m for hotel rooms in the Dublin region in 2016 - nearly three times last year's spend of 16.5m.

Meanwhile, Dublin's local authorities spent nearly 1.5m on housing-authority homeless-services provisions in the first three months of the year - including a total of 29,165 on sleeping bags - and they expect to spend more than 8.5m in 2016.

In an effort to tackle the growing homelessness crisis, the Government is preparing to launch its Action Plan on Housing after lengthy consultations. Minister for Housing Simon Coveney said it will be launched in the next two weeks.

Meanwhile, some initiatives have already begun. The Government recently stepped up its efforts to keep people in their homes by increasing the maximum rent limits under the Rent Supplement scheme as of July 1 in a bid to help with rising rents, which included an average rent increase of 29pc in Dublin and 21pc in Cork and Galway city.

There are currently 55,000 people in receipt of the rent supplement at an estimated cost of over 267m for 2016. This new measure is estimated to cost 15m this year.
There has been a huge drop off in the number of people paying bills (stock photo)

An overwhelming majority want the Government to repay those who paid their water bills if charges are ultimately abolished, according a Sunday Independent/Millward Brown opinion poll.

More than seven out of 10 people polled insist those who paid should be refunded, while more than half believe those who did not pay should not be pursued though the courts.

Significantly, in a further blow to the long-term future of Irish Water, just one in five people claimed they are still paying water charges following the fiasco over the fate of the controversial state utility company that has rumbled on for months.

According to the poll's findings, less than half (46pc) of the public claimed to have ever paid Irish Water bills since charging was introduced by the Coalition two years ago.

Of those who said they paid, more than half (52pc) are now no longer paying for their water, they say.

Based on those poll findings, this means just one in five people said they are paying bills.

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The findings fly in the face of the claimed compliance rates published by Irish Water in April, which showed 64pc of households continued to pay their bills - despite the utter confusion over the future of charges following the general election.

The poll's findings are based on face-to-face interviews with more than 1,000 people between June 18 and June 29.

The opinion poll shows there is huge public appetite for water-charge refunds, just as the Government suspended water charges two weeks ago for nine months, pending the outcome of an expert commission which will examine how consumers pay for domestic water in the future.

Read more: Water review chief faces calls to quit just days after his new appointment

Some 71pc of people insist there should be refunds, while just 20pc said there is no basis to repay those who paid. A combined 10pc said they "don't know" or "it depends".

There was a higher demand for refunds from Labour Party voters and supporters of Independent TDs.

The majority (79pc) of people aged 25-34 also called for refunds as did those living in Munster.

Fine Gael voters, farmers and people over 65 were more likely to say households should not be repaid.

Just 68pc of people who ever paid charges said there should be refunds.

Almost three-in-five (58pc) said those who refused to pay charges should not be pursued for non-payment, while 29pc said people who had not paid should be forced to pay.

The majority of Sinn Fein (81pc) and Independent (75pc) voters said those who did not pay should not be chased for payment.

Fine Gael, Labour and Fianna Fail voters were more likely to call for people to be pursued.

There has been a huge drop off in the number of people paying bills since questions were raised over the future of Irish Water during government formation discussions, the poll suggest.

Less than half of people polled said they have paid bills and this was split in half again when asked if they have continued to pay charges.

Fine Gael supporters were more likely to keep paying, while the majority of Fianna Fail, Labour and Sinn Fein voters said they had stopped paying bills.

There is also an urban-rural divide, with most people living in Dublin saying they are still paying bills while voters in Leinster, Connacht and Ulster saying they stopped.

Read more: Abandoning water charges against law: EU

Overall, the poll suggests a mere 20pc of people kept paying for water after it was announced that charges were to be suspended.

According to Irish Water, 975,000 or 64pc of customers paid domestic water charges last year.

Former senator Joe O'Toole was appointed to oversee an expert commission tasked with recommending a future funding model for water charges but was forced to stand down after he publicly said he was in favour of a polluter-pays system of charging for water, which sparked anger among anti-water charge protesters.

He has now been replaced by ex-Labour Court chairman Kevin Duffy.

The water commission will also examine how the government utility can best raise the funding to update the country's water infrastructure and encourage conservation.

The report will be brought before an Oireachtas Commission, which will also make findings before the issue is finally put to a Dail vote.

Last week, the European Commission said Ireland can no longer apply for an exemption from water charges permitted under EU anti-pollution laws. The exemption allows member states to avoid introducing water charges by claiming it is not an established practice.

The Commission argues that Ireland committed to introducing water charges and has since billed people for domestic water since first applying for the exemption.

Sinn Fein and Fianna Fail disagree with the Commission's stance and believe it can be argued that paying for water through general taxation is the established practice in Ireland.
Coastguard search was focused off the coast at Blackhead, Co Clare

A woman has died after she was swept into the sea by a rogue wave in Co Clare early Sunday.

The 53-year-old is understood to have been in the water for almost an hour before she was located by a boat crew from the Doolin unit of the Irish Coast Guard.

The woman, believed to be from Eastern Europe but living in Tipperary, was part of a group that had been fishing at Ballyreen south of Fanore. The area has been the scene of several tragedies in recent years.

Its understood the woman was swept off the rocks by a wave and taken out to sea.

The alarm was raised at around 9.00am when the Irish Coast Guard received a report of a person in the water at Blackhead in Co Clare. Later it was confirmed the incident occurred further south at Ballyreen.

An ambulance crew and several Garda patrols were first to arrive at the scene while the Doolin unit of the Irish Coast Guard was alerted and mobilised.

A rescue boat was quickly launched however weather conditions at the time were reported to be almost too dangerous to put the boat to sea.

Conditions at the time reported to be 'close to the limit with winds reaching Force 6 to 7.

Coast Guard volunteers carried out a sea search while the crew of the Shannon based search and rescue helicopter, Rescue 115, undertook sweeps of the coastline. Teams were also sent to the scene by road and assisted from the shore.

The woman could be seen treading water for a time and was later seen floating on her back before her friends lost sight of her.

Members of Doolin Coast Guard located the woman and took her on board their boat. The casualty was found face down about 300m offshore and over a kilometre north of where she had fallen into the sea.

Personnel quickly administered CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) before the woman was airlifted from the boat on board the rescue helicopter.

The casualty was flown to University Hospital Galway for treatment.

A Garda spokesman said: We got a call around 9.00am to report a woman in the water on the Fanore shore near Doolin. A woman was recovered from the water at around 10.00am. She was airlifted to University Hospital Galway where she was pronounced dead.

Gardai have spoken to several people who were in the area at the time but have confirmed they are treating the incident as a tragic accident.

A Coast Guard spokesman said: Conditions were very poor and close to the limit which would have prevented us launching the boat. The first report was that there was a person in the water near Blackhead.

We were told later that the incident was at Ballyreen. The rescue boat located the casualty and took them on board. The crew administered CPR before the casualty was winched from the boat onto the helicopter and taken to hospital in Galway."

There have been several tragedies along the same stretch of coast in recent years.

In October 2013, a 42-year-old Latvian man drowned in the same area as yesterdays incident.

The father-of-one had been fishing for mackerel with two friends when he was washed into the sea by a rogue wave.

In July 2009, a 42 year old French man died after he fell from the rocks while fishing at Ballyreen. That incident occurred in front of the victim's family.

In November of the same year, in an almost identical incident, a 34-year-old man fell to his death while fishing at the same spot.

That tragedy happened in front of the victim's wife, 10 year old daughter and a family friend who were later treated in hospital for shock and hypothermia.
Kate Moss on the decks... now that's my kind of fashion party!

Brown Thomas fashion director, Shelly Corkery, below, was in top form on Tuesday when I met her instore for breakfast to mark the launch of CREATE. Shelly was just back from Milan and from Paris Haute Couture Week so I got the inside track, so to speak, on the party of the week with Kate Moss in action at the Miu Miu show at the Hotel de la Paiva.

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Hard to believe that this is the sixth year of CREATE, which showcases the best of emerging and established talents. This year there is a diverse selection of millinery magic, from creatives like Margaret O'Connor who has moved back from London to her native Boston - that's Boston, north Clare. I met Margaret (2) with Davina Lynch and caught up with artisan leather designer Una Burke, from Rosommon, whose clients include Rihanna, Madonna and the costumes for The Hunger Games. I was particularly thrilled to see Belfast-born designer Mariad Whisker, back in CREATE two years running. This year, Mariad has collaborated with knitwear entrepreneur, Elaine Madigan from Straffan and their work is stunning.

Talk about being blinded by the sight of diamonds, the guests at the Irish premiere and private screening of Crazy About Tiffany's all seemed to be wearing amazing, brilliant cut diamonds that would have seriously impressed Holly Golightly, and Audrey Hepburn too. Of course, Audrey had so many connections with Dublin and enjoyed a reunion with her dad, Joseph Ruston, at the Shelbourne Hotel.

It was the only Irish screening of the 87-minute film by Matthew Miele which explores the story of the world's most iconic jewellery brand. The glamorous guests sipped bubbles pre-show and, afterwards, I chatted with Laura Giuliani and Alice Herbert from Tiffany & Co London before we all disappeared into the night and I, for one, went home to watch Breakfast at Tiffany's.

Spotted

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Ian Dempsey looked tanned and relaxed after his holidays in Portugal when I met him with his wife, Ger at the launch of the all new Renault Megane at BrookLodge in Co Wicklow before the fourth generation car went on sale. The Today Fm broadcaster is gas - Ger told Ian he needed to use a face moisturiser and now it seems he's a regular Kiehl's Face Fuel user... like half the Irish rugby team, it seems. Former Dubs player Alan Brogan attended the dinner hosted by Paddy McGee, Renault's Country Operations Manager. The surprise of the night was Lorraine Keane, another brand ambassador, who arrived with her composer hubbie, Peter, after they attended Ivan Pratt's birthday party. Turns out La Keane has a cracking singing voice but sure wasn't her dad a musician with The Indians showband? No end to this fashionista's talents!

Psst! All eyes are peeled in Dublin 4 and 6 for sightings of Leinsters newest recruit, Robbie Henshaw, who moves across the Shannon from his native Athlone and Connacht club. He was last spotted having dinner at Al Boschetto in Ballsbridge
Yet another Irish abortion saga has made headlines in recent weeks. This time north of the border, where a young woman was given a suspended sentence for procuring an illegal medical abortion using pills she'd bought online.

The woman in question was 19 years old and single when she decided she didn't want her pregnancy to continue. She couldn't afford to travel to mainland UK where it would have been legal, albeit expensive, for her to terminate her pregnancy. So because she didn't have the money, she took the cheaper medical route.

She was prosecuted because her flatmates at that time were aware she'd ended her pregnancy and reported her to the police mainly because they were upset at her lack of contrition. One of them told BBC Radio Ulster: "She showed no remorse, she really didn't. She was completely fine about it."

That seemed to be the nub of the thing for them. The girl wasn't racked with guilt. Therefore she was not someone whose abortion was forgiveable.

There is a hierarchy of what many in society deem are acceptable reasons why they will allow a woman to have an abortion. Fatal foetal abnormalities are top of that list because these women's stories are tragic. So we can forgive them quite easily for having an abortion. Plus those babies are never going to survive so it doesn't really bother us if they aren't born at all.

In cases of rape and incest, abortion is also acceptable to the majority of us because again the woman is a victim - so we can sympathise and feel sorry for her. We can once more forgive her abortion - it sits fairly easily with us.

After that it starts to get a bit more ropey. If the life of the woman is at risk, we're mostly okay with her getting, and being forgiven for, having an abortion - it's a tough position for her to find herself in, it's probably reasonable. Unless, of course, it's because she's suicidal - in which case we're less sure, in case she's lying.

If the health of the woman is at risk - we're starting to lose interest and support now because maybe she's just a bit selfish and isn't really a victim at all. So we aren't sure we can be cool and forgive her abortion in that case.

And heaven help us if the woman has no victim-like status at all, has no tragic back-story and just doesn't want to be pregnant for her own personal, private reasons - she just wants an ABORTION ON DEMAND! Well then we couldn't possibly forgive that and we don't approve at all. So her being prosecuted and sent to prison for 14 years is perfectly reasonable.

Only nice, sad, tragic, remorse-filled women will get sympathy around here, you understand. The fact that the overwhelming feeling the majority of women describe after an abortion is relief and only 2pc of woman feel their abortion had an adverse psychological effect on them does not fit with what we are consistently told is the case. So we'll judge women harshly who conform to that norm.

The underlying theme is that we the right-minded people of Ireland should get to decide whether or not an abortion is acceptable for any given woman. We should practically be consulted at the same time as the obstetrician. And to gain our consent, the circumstances should preferably be as tragic as possible.

The idea that a woman should be able to decide herself what she wants to do with her own body still hasn't gained a great deal of traction here. Which is why the majority of us believe abortion is acceptable under certain circumstances, but abortion at the request of a woman who doesn't wish to discuss her private personal reasons with us remains anathema. The notion that we - like the rest of the Western world - might actually trust women to decide whether a pregnancy is right for them, remains an alien one. Maybe, just maybe, we should consider it.

#repealthe8th @ciarakellydoc
Not ready to let go: Sarah says she feels like she's not allowed to grieve for Liam like someone who lost their baby naturally. Photo: Caroline Quinn

In March this year, Sarah and her husband, Andrew, packed a bag and took a flight from Dublin to the UK to terminate their baby son's life at 23 weeks' gestation. It was, without doubt, the hardest decision the couple has ever had to make. Their baby was injected through his mother's tummy to stop his heart. Sarah was then induced and laboured for five hours before their little boy, Liam, was delivered and they held his tiny, lifeless body in their arms.

"It felt like a normal birth," says Sarah. "There was that amazing feeling of euphoria when the baby was born and then it hits you I felt like my body had played a very cruel trick on me."

When 33-year-old Sarah was 21 weeks pregnant, she was dealt the devastating news that her baby would be born with severe mental and physical disabilities that would, in all likelihood, render him unlikely to survive for long outside his mother's womb.

"Call it mother's intuition but I knew something wasn't right," says Sarah, who has a daughter, 20-month-old Zoe. "I fainted just before we went for the anomaly scan at 21 weeks because I knew there was something wrong."

But it was still a shock when the midwife doing the scan turned and said the words: "I'm sorry, it doesn't look good."

Meetings with neurologists, paediatricians and other medical professionals followed where it was revealed their baby had severe foetal abnormalities. He was diagnosed with severe spina bifida, Chiari malformation (where the lower parts of the brain have been pushed down towards the spinal cord) and hydrocephalus (fluid on the brain) as well as signs of intrauterine growth restriction, leaving him measuring much smaller than would be expected at this stage of pregnancy.

The couple were given two choices: carry to term then deliver a baby that is unlikely to survive past the delivery ward, or travel to the UK for an abortion. Sarah and Andrew deliberated for two weeks before making the heartbreaking decision to terminate the pregnancy. What has compounded their agony, both when they got the news and now dealing with the aftermath, is the fact that they were unable to have the operation in Ireland, close to their Dublin home with the medical team they knew and with the support of their friends and family nearby.

"After getting such devastating news, all you want to do is curl up and grieve, but for us that wasn't possible because the route we chose is illegal in Ireland," says Sarah, a part-time radiographer who is originally from New Zealand but has been living and working in Ireland for the last 10 years.

Expand Close Newly elected Kate O'Connell spoke emotionally last week on why she felt the Eighth Amendment needed to be appealed. Photo: Tom Burke / Facebook

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"We had to spend the next week ringing unknown hospitals in unknown towns, looking up hotels, booking flights and organising childcare. At the one time in our lives when we needed our friends and family the most, we were having to leave them.

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"We had to sneak off to another country and that made it so much harder, emotionally and physically. It feels like the Government is punishing women, so very harshly, for doing what we feel is best for our unborn children. At a time when you really need the support and help of your country, you're abandoned."

The voices involved in the debate are often loud and varied, but it's perhaps in listening to the softly spoken experience of someone who has been through the process that it becomes most clear that 'the abortion issue' isn't some abstract concept but a very real, difficult and personal battle.

"We feel we have to hide what happened to us and pretend Liam never existed, which has made my healing process so much harder," explains Sarah, her voice breaking with emotion.

"I feel like I'm not allowed to grieve because I chose to kill my child I'm not allowed to grieve like someone who lost a baby naturally - but I feel the same. He was a very, very wanted baby. It was a huge decision and we had to think of so many things. There was no real way out, I shouldn't be put down as a 'murderer' for it."

'Murder' is a word she says creeps up frequently on the many parenting forums she's on online.

"That's so hurtful and I think it's because people don't understand exactly what happens in this scenario, it's much more than just jumping on a boat or a plane."

Physically and emotionally, Sarah felt she couldn't carry her baby to term knowing that she was unlikely to ever bring him home. The couple had been trying for a second child for seven months and had suffered two miscarriages. Sarah's pregnancy was already starting to show and, at 19 weeks, she'd felt her baby kick.

To go through another 17 weeks of getting bigger, feeling him grow inside her and fending off questions from well-wishers wanting to know when he was due, what size he was, what gender, all the time knowing that his little life was unlikely to last past the delivery ward, would have been simply too much. She also believes it was the best decision for her baby.

"I just couldn't face the idea of him being born alive and suffering in pain for those few hours," she says.

"I thought that was more cruel, for me and for him. Some people might think 'why end his life early if he's going to die anyway?' But to put him through suffering just so we could have a few hours or maybe days with him seems selfish to me. I just wanted to spare him any pain."

One of the aspects she felt was particularly difficult to deal with, was the fact that she might have to pay to end her baby's life. Costs for flights, accommodation and a termination can average around 4,000, often placing a huge financial strain on women contemplating an abortion.

"But for me, the hardest thing about the cost was the mental trauma," says Sarah. "Having to spend that money to end the life of our child, which I didn't want to do but knew in my heart was the right thing to do. If someone had told me it was to cost a million euro to cure him, I would have jumped at the chance. But to spend a tiny amount to end his life, that was not something I coped with very well."

In the end, she was able to access the procedure, without having to pay, on the NHS, having lived as a UK citizen, and they were able to switch from a Liverpool hospital to an Edinburgh clinic where Andrew has family in the city. She opted for a medical termination, being induced and going through labour, rather than a surgical abortion which would have been conducted under general anaesthetic.

"I felt the least I could do was go through a little bit of labour for him," she says. "Surgery came with more risks and I wouldn't have been able to spend time with him."

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After she delivered him, Sarah and her husband dressed their son and spent three hours cradling him in a cuddle cot before they had to leave him in the hospital and fly home without him.

"That was the hardest thing I've ever had to do," says Sarah quietly.

She says simply that they wanted to "fall apart" but instead had to sort their travel documents and try and be polite with strangers as they boarded a plane, all the time knowing that they last time they took a flight, their baby had been alive and with them. Sarah cried the entire journey.

They discovered that it wasn't possible to bring the body home with them on the flight for burial, only via ferry, and so had to arrange for cremation in the UK then fly back again to bring the ashes home to Dublin. And yet, despite what they've been through, Sarah says she feels more fortunate than some women

"I think it's horrific that some women are forced to carry to term because they can't afford to go overseas," she says. "And other women are risking their lives buying pills online because they haven't the money to travel. Or they have the abortion but no access to aftercare at home. It's just so unfair. People might say that changing the law leaves it open to exploitation but I think leaving it as it is causes more harm.

"I find the arguments that it would 'open the floodgate' or that women would use abortions as contraception really insulting. Even if the baby is unwanted, it's not something that people do lightly. It's a massive decision and hugely traumatic, and it's being made worse by a system that turns its back on you when you're at your most vulnerable."

Reassuringly, she says the medical staff she dealt with at the Irish maternity hospital she was attending were "compassionate and helpful" and did as much as they could to ease her situation. She also feels fortunate to have had access to aftercare in Ireland - something many women travelling abroad for a termination miss out on. The day after the procedure, she had a call from her Irish midwife checking she was okay, then another one the following week to schedule a hospital check-up and counselling. And, while the online dialogue can be vicious, those close to her who she has told about the termination have been empathetic and supportive.

In fact, a poll carried out by Amnesty International last year found that 81pc of the population favoured significantly broadening access to abortion to Ireland.

Next week, on July 15, would have been Sarah's due date. She and Andrew planned to scatter their son's ashes on what could have been his birthday but Sarah's not ready to let him go, it's too soon to say goodbye. The urn will stay with his picture beside it in their Dublin home.

She still finds herself blindsided by grief, 'losing it' in unlikely places, tearing up in shops. There is guilt and "there are always 'what ifs'," she admits.

"What if they got it wrong? What if everything was fine? Did we do the right thing? What if it had just been a bit of spina bifida? I could have handled a disabled child."

But instead of forever wondering, the couple made the difficult choice to have an autopsy done after the pregnancy was terminated and it confirmed what doctors had said, their baby was severely handicapped and would have been unlikely to survive.

They still hope that one day they might have another baby, a little brother or sister for Zoe, but there's a very real possibility that they could find themselves in exactly the same position. Liam's autopsy also revealed Sarah has a rare condition that can cause her body to reject pregnancies. Having successfully given birth to Zoe, she knows she can carry a pregnancy to term but doctors have warned that there's a high possibility of what happened to Liam, happening again. It's too raw now to think about another child.

"I do want another baby," says Sarah. "But I also want the one I lost."

She hopes that speaking out about what she's gone through might make the experience that little bit less isolating for the next woman who has to go through it.

She also hopes that telling her story might help people realise the personal anguish involved in the abortion process and not see it as just something debated in the Dail, reduced to facts and figures.

"If I can change even one person's opinion from a no to a yes, it might help to get the law changed so more women don't have to go through what I did," she says.

Most of all, she wants to be able to grieve her dead child without fear of other people's judgment.

"People don't talk to me about the baby, they dodge the subject," she explains.

"I get that maybe they don't want to hurt me or they don't want to remind me - but I never stop thinking about him and all I want is for someone to acknowledge his existence."
Janet O'Sullivan was looking at old footage about the abortion issue on Today Tonight, RTE's 1980s precursor to Prime Time, in recent weeks and was struck by how similar the rhetoric was then to the soundbites of today.

"The language from the anti-side hasn't changed one bit," she says. "Sometimes it's hard to believe that it's 2016 and we're still talking about women's bodily autonomy."

O'Sullivan is spokesperson for the Abortion Rights Campaign (ARC), a lobby group seeking to repeal the Eighth Amendment - the contentious law that has been on the statute books since 1983 and places the life of the unborn child on the same footing as the mother - and to make abortion services widely available in Ireland.

She travelled to the UK when she was younger to have an abortion, making her one of 170,000 Irish women whom ARC conservatively estimates have had terminations in Britain since the early 1970s.

"Those women come from all walks of life and all parts of the country," she says. "They could be your sister, mother, wife. People have started telling their stories and that's really helped stop the stigma surrounding abortion. I remember meeting a woman in her 60s she had had an abortion years before and gone on to have several children, yet she had never told her husband.

"At the moment, the State is turning its back on an issue that won't go away. At the very least, we need a referendum on the Eighth Amendment. It's a human-rights issue, and yet many of our elected representatives are happy to think that we don't have abortion here, when in fact we do because so many of us are forced to leave the country every year."

In 2015, an estimated 3,400 women travelled to the UK for terminations, which averages around 65 per week, but O'Sullivan believes it is high time these people were catered for in Ireland. "Enough is enough," she says. "At the very least, a referendum on the Eighth needs to happen, and soon."

For the past fortnight, the abortion question occupied much of the discussion in the Dail, with independent TD Mick Wallace putting forward a bill to amend the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act. But the proposed bill was dogged by controversy, with Attorney General Maire Whelan insisting that it is unconstitutional.

The bill was a carbon copy of the one introduced by another independent TD, Clare Daly, during the last Dail and while there is still a sense that senior party TDs are dragging their heels on the issue, there has been a groundswell of support for a referendum among newer deputies, which appears to mirror that in society in general.

An Irish Times/MRBI poll in February showed 78pc of respondents wanted to see the amendment repealed - something which can only happen following a referendum - while a March poll conducted by Red C on behalf of Amnesty International indicated that 80pc of people wanted to repeal the Amendment.

Fine Gael's Kate O'Connell - one of a new batch of TDs - spoke movingly in the Dail last week about why the Eighth should be amended. She talked of the situation she and her husband faced when told their son had a "profound defect" during the neonatal scan.

"Today, as we sit here," she said, "people are receiving a diagnosis that tells them to prepare for a death, and not a birth - and that their misery cannot be relieved in their own country."

Her sentiments were echoed by junior minister John Halligan, who declared that he "doesn't know and doesn't care" if the proposed bill was unconstitutional. "I care about the women tomorrow, next week, the week after that, who will have to get on a plane or a ship and go to Liverpool, or Newcastle or Manchester, and bring the foetus back in the box in the back of a car, which has happened. This is Ireland 2016, not Ireland 1920."

O'Connell believes the abortion issue cannot be swept under the carpet any more. "I would hope that the Citizens' Assembly [to be established by the Government imminently] will operate in an entirely clinical and professional manner, free from hysteria or hyperbole, and that arising from it there will be a referendum on a repeal of the Eighth Amendment."

The deputy hopes that the referendum will happen by year-end 2017, at the very latest.

"Nobody sets out to have a crisis pregnancy, and no one ever imagines that they'll be the ones getting a diagnosis saying there is no possibility of a happy ending for their pregnancy," she says. "The Eighth doesn't stop Irish women having abortions. It just stops them having them here.

"The utter hypocrisy that enshrines 'the right to travel' simply compounds the idea that 'it's okay to have an abortion, once it's not here' and ultimately fails to consider the implications that such a statement has upon our citizens."

O'Connell believes some TDs are afraid to put their heads above the parapet on abortion, irrespective of their views, for fear that they will upset enough constituents to risk not being re-elected.

"The discussion around abortion is always so contentious and emotive, and I think that because of the depth of feeling around it - from both sides - it's a nightmare issue for politicians."

Those who consider that some TDs run scared from the issue would have had their views compounded by a survey undertaken by Journal.ie last month, which asked all 158 members of the Dail if they were in favour of repealing the amendment and if they wanted to see a referendum held on the matter. Just under half - 76 - responded and of those, 47 said they wanted it repealed and 49 thought there should be a referendum during the lifetime of the Government.

An advisor working for a Fine Gael TD, who does not wish to be named, says abortion excites emotions like no other subject does.

"It's about as complex as you can get, and there are no easy answers. The deputy I work with is in favour of abortion in the first trimester, but is horrified by the fact that some pro-choice campaigners feel there should be no time frame applied. And then, frankly, there are the career politicians who've made a fine art out of saying as little as possible and simply want to put their heads in the sand on the issue."

Although not an elected politician, 'First Lady' Sabina Higgins was strongly criticised from some quarters for suggesting that it was an "outrage" against women that in the case of "foetal abnormality" a person should be "made (to) carry" the baby.

Tracy Harkin of Every Life Counts, an advocacy group for parents of children with life-threatening conditions, says: "It is really appalling that, in an age where we expect our commentators to be cognisant of harmful language and of the rights of people with disabilities, that the President's wife has made these remarks."

And Senator Ronan Mullen said Mrs Higgins's intervention in the abortion debate was regrettable. "Many of those who voted for her husband in the 2011 presidential election would have done so on the understanding that there would be no inappropriate interference from the presidential household in political matters."

Cora Sherlock, deputy chairperson of the Pro Life Campaign, says she is not surprised that some politicians feel afraid to express an opinion either way. "It's a more contentious subject than any other," she says. "It's about life and death. There is so much unpleasantness in the way the debate has been conducted in the past, and as a pro-life campaigner, I've had a certain amount of abuse. Sadly, there are extremists on both sides of the debate."

She cites the #shoutyourabortion social-media campaign from last year as being particularly unedifying.

"They don't seem to be interested in hearing the stories of women who regret their abortions," she says, "and I know several people who do, including one who hasn't worked in 10 years because of the trauma of it."

Sherlock says such information is an "inconvenient truth" to pro-choice campaigners, and she finds herself regularly being shut out of debate.

"The other side often don't want to engage in any of the points I bring up," she says. "I try to be reasoned and yet I get blocked on Twitter for simply having an alternative opinion. In so-called liberal Ireland, I get accused of misogyny simply because I want all lives to be saved in a pregnancy. Why can't they see that you can be both a feminist and a pro-life advocate?"

Colm O'Gorman, who heads the Irish branch of Amnesty International, says he has been exposed to "the most horrific abuse" as a result of a long-held stance that abortion is a human right that should be extended to all Irish women.

"Some anti-abortion campaigners take a most toxic, aggressive approach," he says. "They deliberately try to shut down debate, they do things like picket the homes of TDs [as then minister Alan Shatter discovered in 2013] - it's an affront to honest debate."

O'Gorman believes there is a much greater willingness among politicians to engage with the subject now than at any time in the past and points out all political parties - with the exception of Fianna Fail - are committed to having a referendum.

At 22.1pc, this Dail boasts the highest proportion of women in the history of the State - a significant leap from the 8.4pc who made up the chamber when the Eighth Amendment was first introduced 33 years ago.

"It can only be a good thing that there are more women TDs now than then," Janet O'Sullivan says, "but there's still a long way to go.

"But it's not just female politicians who have to engage with this subject, but men, too, and it's good to see that has been happening. Hopefully, the days of turning a blind eye are gone for good."
The thought of another abortion referendum leads to a collective sigh among senior Church officials at Maynooth. And not because the Church believes that a vote to further liberalise abortion laws is inevitable (it doesn't), but because the hierarchy is reluctant to be dragged down the rabbit hole of yet another Church-State conflict and cast as the villainous 'enemies of progress'.

Most Church people I talk to believe that the promised Citizens' Assembly is little more than a window-dressing exercise to allow politicians to deflect responsibility for a referendum to repeal the eighth amendment. Some of the more confident members of the hierarchy - notably Bishop of Elphin Dr Kevin Doran - are saying so publicly. But, despite the machinations around the assembly, most observers expect a referendum sooner rather than later.

From a Church point of view, there is no room for compromise. Catholic teaching is clear that all human life is sacred and worthy of protection from the moment of conception up to natural death. The fact that an unborn child may not live for very long after birth doesn't alter that core value.

While Pope Francis has caused some confusion amongst some of the world's bishops over his fresh approach to cohabiting and same-sex couples, the Pontiff has been dogged in reasserting the Church's unambiguous opposition to abortion, describing terminations as part of a "throwaway culture".

The timing of any referendum will be fascinating. With the usual cautious caveats, Pope Francis is due in Ireland in summer 2018 to celebrate the World Meeting of Families. While no one expects a repeat of 1979 when some 2.5 million people - about two thirds of the population of the Republic at the time - turned out to greet John Paul II, Francis is hugely popular with the faithful. The pro-life cause will have a powerful ally in the Argentine pontiff, who has not been shy about expressing a view on domestic political matters.

But some Irish prelates - privately - will admit that they are reluctant to marshal the Pope to the cause. It goes without saying that the hierarchy is rock solid on the issue of abortion - but there are tensions around the approach to take. All are agreed, however, that this should not be seen as the latest in a long line of - perceived or real - Church-State battles.

Expect the Primate of All-Ireland, the ebullient Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh, to be active on the issue. He is a formidable media performer and gave short shrift to any interviewer who questioned his right to speak on the issue of same-sex marriage during last year's referendum.

In Dublin, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin would be more instinctively inclined by temperament to embrace a conciliatory approach. But, the archbishop is acutely aware that there's no middle ground when it comes to abortion and Catholicism - critics will accuse Catholics of backing themselves into a corner on the issue. But, just as one can't be a little bit pregnant, the Church has consistently taught that it is never permissible to permit abortion in any circumstances.

In the context of a referendum, we can expect the bishops to make their points clearly and consistently. But, this will probably be done more by way of pastoral statements rather than participation in contentious debates.

Advisors will be keen to avoid scoring a PR own-goal by handing pro-choice activists the opportunity to paint pro-life opposition to abortion as a throwback to past over-dominance of the Church. In short, they will be reluctant to feed the image of clerics telling people what do to.

We can expect the major running on the issue from the pro-life point of view to be done by laypeople - especially laywomen - and the arguments to be based on human rights rather than religion.

Bishops are likely to stick to where their influence is greatest - the faithful. By western European standards, Mass attendance in Ireland is staggeringly high. Around one third of Irish people report that they attend Mass weekly. The pulpit will become a key battleground in articulating the pro-life position. Likewise with the distribution of statements across the network of more than 1,300 Catholic parishes.

But, while clearly setting forth the Church's point of view, from both a faith-based and human-rights perspective, many bishops will want to stop short of telling Catholics - least of all Catholic politicians - how to vote on such a divisive issue. On this, the hierarchy will find themselves between a rock and a hard place. On one hand, they will be criticised by liberal Catholics who think the Church should have nothing to say on abortion. At the same time, they'll face a rear-guard action from reactionary elements within the Church who think that threats of excommunication are a credible approach to political debates in the 21st Century. The Church is certainly not itching for a fight over abortion, but as one senior cleric put it to me recently, "some things are just too important not to put up a fight".

Michael Kelly is editor of The Irish Catholic newspaper

@MichaelKellyIC
'Ireland is alone within the EU in not charging water users," said Xavier Leflaive, one of the members of the Government's Expert Commission that will examine the future of how to fund water services here.

He said that fewer countries are using flat charges and there is an increased use of meters to reflect actual water consumption.

"It is well acknowledged now that metering is the best [system]. It's fair and efficient," Mr Leflaive added.

He's the head of the water team at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which has supported the 'polluter pays' principle since the 1970s.

Mr Leflaive's remarks were reported in the media here two years ago. However, he was reluctant to discuss his views on the matter when contacted by the Sunday Independent.

Asked about his previous remarks, he said: "Frankly I'd rather not answer before the commission gets started."

It's a wise position perhaps, given that it was comments by former Senator Joe O'Toole - made after he was appointed chairman of the Expert Commission - that saw him resign after just a week in the job.

On radio, he spoke of the group's role: "Leinster House is not prepared to grasp that particular nettle, so we have to find a solution that will have enough sugar on it to make the medicine go down easily."

It wasn't long before anti-water charge campaigners like Anti-Austerity Alliance TD Paul Murphy were calling for him to go, while Fianna Fail's Barry Cowen said Mr O'Toole's comments had "undermined his position as chair".

Mr O'Toole blamed Fianna Fail for his departure, saying it threatened non-cooperation with the minority government if he stayed.

It's been a difficult start for the commission that is to examine the future of funding domestic water services - and that's before it gets down to the tough work of recommending what to do with the Irish Water mess.

The Group's establishment was perhaps the key plank of the deal that saw Fianna Fail facilitate the Fine Gael minority government. The eight members - with former Labour Court chairman Kevin Duffy replacing Mr O'Toole - are to report back with their recommendations by the end of November. TDs will then debate its findings before ultimately voting on them next March.

The selection of the commission's membership has been described in the Dail as "a complete sham" by People Before Profit TD Brid Smith. She said that members like Peter Peacock - the chair of the Customer Forum for Water Scotland - and Bill Emery, the chairman of the Northern Ireland Utility Regulator, are linked to water charging regimes in other jurisdictions. Both Mr Peacock and Mr Emery declined to comment on their views of the polluter pays principle this week.

Scottish academic Sarah Hendry, who specialises in water law, and Gritta Nottelman, a consultant for Dutch company Waternet, also declined to comment. An attempt to reach Dr Andrew Kelly of research agency EnvEcon was unsuccessful.

The remaining member of the Commission is Brendan O'Mahony, who has been a board member of the National Federation of Group Water Schemes since 1997.

He said asking his position on polluter pays was "jumping the gun a bit" adding: "The commission hasn't even met yet... I will go in there with an open mind and look at the situation and try and establish the best way forward."

An Environment Department spokesman did not respond directly to questions about Mr Leflaive's previous comments or Ms Smith's criticism in the Dail.

He said that Simon Coveney selected them after a public invitation for nominees was posted on the department's website. Details of candidates were also garnered through the department's own knowledge base and Mr Coveney was sent of a list of nominations by Fianna Fail. It's understood that two of the Commission's members were suggestions by the party.

The minister is said to have selected individuals with "the necessary professional expertise".

"It is envisaged that dialogue within the Expert Commission will be both constructive and challenging," he said, and added that decisions reached will represent their collective view.

Ms Smith argues the Commission "is not independent of an agenda". She claims: "It's made up very strongly of those who academically, legally and in their own lives believe in pricing for water and in privatising."

She predicted that the Expert Commission is "going to irritate people hugely" arguing that the majority oppose water charges.

She added: "We are already organising for a demonstration before the Dail returns in September."

Mr Cowen meanwhile, said he's satisfied with the Commission and that it now needs to be let do its work. He said he wasn't concerned at Mr Leflaive's previous comments, saying the commission's job is that "all avenues are explored and laid out".

"At the end of this process when the Dail does make a decision it will have explored, analysed and scrutinised every potential option to pay for an improved water service."

Even then it won't be plain sailing. One issue sure to be considered is if Ireland can scrap charges under EU law.

Mr Coveney met with EU Commissioner Karmenu Vella last Friday and he reported that EU authorities still believe water charges in some form are required for Ireland to comply with the law.

When he resigned, Mr O'Toole said "there are enough problems facing the Government without me adding to them."

The row over his departure will be long forgotten and the least of the Government's worries once the Commission reports and the thorny issue of charging for water becomes a problem for politicians again.
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Brendan OConnor Opinion The jig is up as Feis fixing has former winners like me reeling

As the holder of the Marie Cranny Perpetual cup for Extempore and Public Speaking (Under 15s) in Feis Maitiu in, of all years, 1984, I would like to use this platform to say this feis-fixing scandal has sullied my legacy, and that of all other holders of the cup down the years (you had to give it back at the end of the year).
My Week: Conor McGregor*

Monday: I wake up. Although, of course, I have not actually been asleep. No, no, my friend. Not in the way that other, mere mortal people sleep. Instead I have trained myself to metaphysicise; I have transmorgorified, I have metamorphisitised, I have fundamentally reimagined a way of resting my body, so that I am consciously wrestling with the inner movements of my muscles, even as my body believes it is sleeping. And while I do dat, my amigo, I am also full of the most beautiful feelings and emotions. My woman, my girl, the future first Lady of Ireland and myself, did go and promenade the town last night, with a pint of Guinness and my very good friend and training partner, Artem "The Russian Hammer" Lobov.
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Dan O'Brien Opinion While we catastrophise about Covid, we ignore risk of running out of cash

We Irish view the world in an increasingly strange and unhealthy way. We catastrophise about Covid in a way other European countries do not. We focus on how bad the effects of the virus could get, on how many more restrictions might be imposed by Government and how helpless we are in the face of the virus.
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Eoghan Harris Opinion Misery media fails to give due credit to the Taoiseach

Taoiseach Micheal Martin must drive his advisers mad. Unlike Leo Varadkar or Donald Trump, he never bigs up success stories such as the effect of Level 3 Plus on Covid or his visionary Shared Island project. Last Friday, Tony Holohan and RTE cheerleaders seemed to imply Level 5 was responsible for the improved Covid situation. Not so.
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New hospital for a tenner may come at too high a price

The Taoiseach is under a lot of pressure  the kind of pressure that leads to costly mistakes. It perhaps explains why he has been saying things that are not quite true. Micheal Martin is in a tight political corner. From all sides hes being told he has to get the contract signed for the new National Maternity Hospital.
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Ian O'Doherty Opinion For once, the UN is right  were standing on the edge of a deadly nuclear precipice

For those of us of a certain age, the last few months have felt as if we have somehow time-warped back to the 1980s. Stranger Things, which is set in that decade, has been the biggest show on TV. Kate Bush  thanks, incidentally, to Stranger Things  is now regularly played on the radio and she has reached number one in 2022 with the re-release of her 1985 hit, Running Up That Hill.
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Mary Kenny Opinion If men want to yammer on about sport, then let them  it helps them connect emotionally

I was travelling on a train from Dublin to Cork, and near me sat two Dublin men. Throughout the entire journey they managed to keep up a fluent dialogue about English football teams. From Aston Villa to Sheffield Wednesday, from Crystal Palace to Manchester City the conversation flowed eloquently. I was in awe at the minutiae of their knowledge and expertise. And if the topic of their discourse lacked a certain variety, it was nonetheless better than sitting in sullen silence, or glued to their phones.
Though he will probably reject it, I have some advice for Gerry Adams this morning. My advice is that he follow the example of his fellow Eurosceptic, Nigel Farage, and quit now, while the going is still (almost) good.

After nearly 10 years in the role, Farage has opted to relinquish the leadership of his ultra-nationalist outfit and get out of politics before his supporters start to suffer the consequences of the reckless policies he advocated.

After 33 years, Adams should look at doing the same.

I know some of Adams' supporters will be irritated by my comparing their leader with Farage. I take their point. To be fair to Farage, he remained a Eurosceptic to the end, whereas Adams has recently abandoned the Provo's 44-year long policy of opposing the EU and came out in favour of the UK remaining in the EU. But when it comes to holding multiple positions on any one issue and tailoring your response to suit your audience, Adams is way ahead of the Janus-faced Farage.

We see it on the issue of water charges, where Sinn Fein shifts ground and policy, depending on who they are addressing. Back in early October 2014, Pearse Doherty and Mary Lou McDonald were saying that they would pay the water charges. Fast-forward a few weeks to when Sinn Fein was being beaten in the Dublin South West by-election by the Anti-Austerity Alliance and suddenly it is implacably opposed to them.

Even after Fianna Fail had negotiated a way for the Dail to draw a line under the failed water charges regime Sinn Fein was still posturing. It was at it up to last week when it was revealed that 42,200 water meters have been installed in domestic properties across the North since 2007. The Northern Ireland government department responsible for the work has been headed up by two Sinn Fein ministers during that time: Conor Murphy and Chris Hazzard.

We see it too in the aftermath of Brexit. Within hours of the result being announced, Sinn Fein was calling for a border poll. Within 24 hours of issuing the statement, Martin McGuinness was on the BBC Sunday news shows saying that the border poll was not an immediate priority.

It appears that his colleagues down here missed Martin's interview, as they were in the Dail the next day saying that they "want to see a Border poll in the term of this Dail" (Pearse Doherty).

The party position was changed again a few days later with Gerry Adams putting pen to paper to write to Taoiseach Enda Kenny to ask him to consider establishing an all-island forum to consider Brexit - but only after almost everyone else had suggested it.

These are just two recent cases, but there are countless other examples of Adams and Sinn Fein flip-flopping and contradicting itself North and South, from the Special Criminal Court to its treatment of victims to its grotesque opposition, as reported by Willie Kealy in the Sunday Independent in February 2015, to naming the new N7 flyover at Newland's Cross after Veronica Guerin.

Sinn Fein is approaching, if not already having passed, its peak electoral performance. It has gone from securing 19.5pc in the 2014 European elections to getting 13.8pc in this year's general election.

It is basically downhill from here for Adams as he and his party come under increasing electoral pressure and while some of the many shadowy episodes from the Provos' past come to light.

Farage got out before he was found out by his own core supporters. Adams is now in that same space. He cannot continue to defy the simple laws of political physics as enunciated by a man I believe was one of Farage's idols, Enoch Powell: All political lives, unless they are cut off in midstream at a happy juncture, end in failure.

Willie O'Dea is the Fianna Fail TD for Limerick City
The Irish Government could be complicit in wholesale tax avoidance by foreign investment firms, which are generating huge profits in Ireland off the backs of Irish mortgage holders.

Sarah and Dominic (not their real names) live in Kilkenny with their two children. They bought their home in 2007.

The shop Sarah worked in closed during the recession - she lost her job and they started to fall behind on their mortgage payments.

They're getting back on their feet now, but with lower wages, they're struggling to make full payments. Their mortgage was with Irish Nationwide, which was nationalised, so it ended up in state ownership, along with about 13,000 other mortgages.

Two years ago, the Government sold these mortgages at big discounts, mainly to US investment funds. The Government refused to let individual mortgage holders bid on their mortgages. Sarah and Dominic's mortgage was bundled with about 1,400 others and sold to Mars Capital. According to finance minister Michael Noonan, this was done with "funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management".

Oaktree is a very large US-based distressed-debt firm that has bought up many of the mortgages sold by the Government.

Until recently, we didn't know how big the discounts were that the State was selling people's mortgages at. Mars Capital's newly filed 2015 accounts show they paid 42 cent in the euro.

Sarah and Dominic's mortgage was about 350,000, so Mars Capital got it for about 140,000 - an amount the couple could have afforded. Instead, they still owe the full 350,000 to Mars Capital and face the prospect of eviction.

It gets better (or worse if you are Sarah and Dominic, or an Irish taxpayer). Mars bought these 1,400 mortgages for 155m. About half of this was financed by a loan from Citibank, with the remaining 80m being, presumably, the "funds managed by" Oaktree Capital. The 2015 accounts of Mars Capital forecast that this 80m investment will harvest almost 400m (net of the Citibank loan) in mortgage interest and principal repayments (so that's the 80m back, plus almost 320m extra, less administration costs). And this is just Mars Capital's first estimate. It assumes a level of non-payment on the mortgages they bought. But as the Irish economy recovers and payment rates improve, profits could become much higher.

In May 2014, Ireland was borrowing 10-year money at 2pc. Mars Capital's accounts show them earning 14pc on their 80m, just taking into account mortgage interest payments, from the likes of Sarah and Dominic. Why sell an asset yielding 14pc when your cost of funds is 2pc? The Irish State could have given every one of those Irish mortgage holders a 60pc discount on their loan and still have made 14pc per annum in repayments. Wasn't Nama set up to do this?

However, it gets even better (and definitely worse, if you are an Irish taxpayer). The "funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management" seem to be accounted for in Mars Capital as "notes".

Essentially, the 80m was loaned to Mars Capital, and Mars must pay it back, plus interest. The interest on these notes is set at "10pc + variable residual".

In other words, the interest payable on the 80m can be hiked to soak up any, and all, profit Mars Capital makes.

The accounts of Mars Capital clarify that these notes will suck nearly all of the profits (interest and capital) from the company in excess of the Citibank loan. The 2015 accounts claim exactly 1,000 as taxable profit, while paying millions in interest on the notes.

This tax-management structure is similar to what is used by some multinationals based in Ireland. Often, such notes are registered in an offshore zero-tax location such as the Cayman Islands, where their "note interest" payments are made and accumulate tax-free, and get lent back to the parent as needed. As such, the profits are taxed neither in Ireland, nor in the US.

Irish accounting and legal firms provide the expertise to the multinationals to help them minimise their tax obligations. So what? Sure aren't they providing jobs here? Well yes, they are.

But if that same expertise is now being used to help foreign investment firms suck huge profits out of Ireland without paying tax on them, then we're all worse off.

We don't know where are the loan notes of Mars Capital located. We do know, from Oaktree's US SEC annual filings, that many of their funds linked with European distressed debt (ie Sarah and Dominic's mortgage), are listed in the Cayman Islands.

So, if the Mars Capital notes happen to have been issued by an Oaktree Capital fund located in the Caymans (and we have no evidence that they are), and if the interest on the notes is adjusted in a way that leaves Mars Capital with very little taxable profit (say the 1,000 filed for 2015), then not only will the State have missed the opportunity to retain hundreds of millions of euro of value (and maybe spare Sarah and Dominic's family the threat of eviction), it would also be the case that none of the profits will be taxed in Ireland.

To be clear - tax avoidance is, by definition, legal (as opposed to tax evasion, which is illegal). There is no suggestion that Mars Capital, or Oaktree Capital, have done, or are doing, anything illegal. They are clever investors who saw an opportunity and took it - if they are structuring their investments to minimise tax obligations, then they are acting rationally. The Irish Government, however, is not.

If very little tax ends up being paid in Ireland on the Mars Capital deal, the tax leakage could reach well over 50m. And this is a very small deal in the scheme of things - if other investment firms have structured their affairs to avoid paying taxes here, the total missed tax take will be in the hundreds of millions, conservatively.

Why did the Government not seek assurances from all foreign bidders that their structures would ensure they pay fair Irish tax on their Irish-generated profits? If some bidders organised themselves to move their profits offshore, did the Irish Government know? Did the investment firms seeks assurances from the Government that any proposed off-shoring of profits would be acceptable? Just how complicit is the Government in what could be large-scale tax avoidance on profits earned off the backs of ordinary families trying to recover from the collapse?

Best little country to do business in? I doubt Sarah and Dominic would agree. Neither would those using our underfunded public services and infrastructure.
There has been much debate about the Boyneside Trail and linking Mornington to Drogheda and on to Oldbridge House.

It came up for discussion at a recent Laytown/Bettystown area meeting in Duleek and it was agreed to start the planning process which will include discussions with local homeowners about the route.

It has drawn some debate - but a resolution must be found and agreed because this is too much of a goldmine in terms of tourism to be allowed slip away.

I popped down the Crook Road recently to have a look and as you glance back towards Drogheda from the old jetty area, it is one of the best views in the country.

The whole area is beautiful and that includes the little road leading to the Boyne, quiet and serene for most of the time.

Improvements have also taken place, and seem to be holding together for the moment, at the main entrances to the beaches here.

I've written about the area at the maiden tower enough times, huge potholes dotted all over the roadway, but a huge deposit of mixed stone and sand has certainly helped the surface.

And down by Harry's shop, a similar arrival of sand and stone has added to the entrance.

The bare rock had caused major problems , so much so a high ridge had meant it was almost impossible to drive in.

Chatting to a regular visitor to the site, Noel Maguire, he felt Mornington was now the poor relation when it comes to our beaches.

With the mouth of the Boyne nearby and some great scenery, he feels this area could have more going for it than Bettystown.

'Getting in and out is proving to be more of a challenge for people,' he stated.

He also says that one of the corners of the Maiden Tower does not look too safe and feels a repair job now, rather than later, could be in order.

'Mornington is a great spot and there's foxes and rabbits all over the place,' he added.

With road repairs and plans for walkways, Mornington's place as a tranquil and glorious location is secure.
Dublin Airport has won a major European award for the way in which it deals with disabled passengers and those travelling with reduced mobility.

Dublin Airport won the inaugural Accessible Airport Award at ACI EUROPE's Best Airport Awards in Athens last night. Separately Dublin Airport was also short-listed in the best large airport category, which was won by Heathrow Airport.

'We are absolutely delighted to win this prestigious award for accessibility ahead of all our European peers,' said Dublin Airport Managing Director Vincent Harrison. 'This award recognises the significant efforts that the Dublin Airport team makes on a daily basis to ensure that disabled passengers and those with reduced mobility have the best possible airport experience.

'Winning this prize is a major endorsement for what we have achieved in this area to date and will encourage us to continue to improve the service that we offer to our disabled customers and to travellers with reduced mobility.'

The judges for the award found that Dublin Airport 'excels in accessibility features and facilities, including adult changing places, two separate relief areas for guide dogs, fully accessible retail and catering areas' and had service level agreements for assistance provision that exceed the European standards.

The judges also cited Dublin Airport's website accessibility, which meets the required accessibility standards for persons with disabilities.

'This is Dublin Airport's second major customer-related award in just four months, which underscores our focus on ensuring that all our passengers have the best possible experience when they use the airport,' Mr Harrison said. Earlier this year Dublin Airport was rated number one for passenger experience ahead all other European airports of a similar size in the 2015 ACI Airport Service Quality survey.

'As passenger numbers increase, we intend to continue to enhance the passenger experience for all customers. We are currently investing 10 million to upgrade the arrivals area in Terminal 1 and we also have recently installed new automatic tray return systems at passenger screening to help make this process more efficient.'

The Award was introduced by ACI Europe this year to mark the 10th anniversary of the adoption of Regulation (EC) 1107/2006 which relates to the rights of disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility when travelling by air.

ACI EUROPE partnered with the European Disability Forum (EDF) to present the new award. As well as rewarding the best airport in Europe for accessibility the award was also designed to encourage other European airports to continue their work on removing the barriers that people with disabilities and people with reduced mobility still face when travelling by air.
Friends star Matt LeBlanc is the "captain" that Top Gear needs going forward, Chris Evans has insisted as he admitted his tenure at the wheel "was not meant to be".

The Radio 2 DJ, who quit Top Gear after one series, said the motoring show and the Friends star "were made for each other" and heaped praise on LeBlanc for his dedication to the programme.

Evans described working on Top Gear as an "honour, privilege and a pleasure" and he had tried his best, but said his stint in the driving seat was "not meant to be".

It comes after weeks of reports that the pair's relationship had broken down amid flagging audience numbers and unfavourable reviews for the flagship BBC Two programme.

Writing in the Mail on Sunday, Evans said LeBlanc was a "total mensch".

"For me, he is the man. He is the captain Top Gear truly needs going forward, the perfect torso for the rest of TG's limbs.

"Not only does he eat, sleep, breathe and dream engines, propshafts and trail-braking, but the overwhelming quality that struck me about him is that he's just such a pro.

"The whole time I worked with him, he never once looked at the clock, was never late on set, knew his lines inside out and back to front and, most importantly on such an intense production, he always had time for everyone, especially the crew.

"The simple truth is he and Top Gear were made for each other."

Evans said working on the programme for a year had been a "dream" and "the Top Gear ship has been steadily refloated" following the departure of Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond.

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He also paid tribute to the production team for their work on bringing the popular programme back on screen.

"The Top Gear gang are the most driven (forgive the pun) and dedicated I have ever worked with," he said.

"There is nothing those guys won't do to make every second of on-air content shine to its maximum potential."

The BBC said it has no plans to replace Evans when Top Gear returns for a 24th season.

However attention now turns to Clarkson, Hammond and May, whose new venture with Amazon, the Grand Tour, is expected to be released in the Autumn.
Bill Shorten conceded defeat in an election that has left Australia in limbo (AP)

Australia's prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has at last claimed victory in a dramatically close national election that has left the country in limbo for more than a week.

But with official results still days or even weeks away, it was unclear whether Mr Turnbull's Liberal Party-led coalition had won enough votes to govern in its own right, or whether it would need the support of independent and minor party lawmakers to form a minority government.

Either way, Mr Turnbull faces a rough road ahead with a divided party, a splintered Senate and a politically weary public that has endured five changes of prime minister in as many years.

Though millions of votes still need to be counted, there was no way for the opposition centre-left Labour Party to win a majority of seats in the House of Representatives, where parties form governments.

That prompted opposition leader Bill Shorten to formally concede the race on Sunday, which in turn triggered Mr Turnbull to announce that the coalition had won a second three-year term.

"We have resolved this election and done so peacefully," Mr Turnbull said.

Asked whether he thought his party would win a majority, Mr Turnbull replied simply, "We've won the election."

The coalition entered the race with a comfortable majority of 90 seats, and few had predicted it would suffer such steep losses. The result has raised the prospect that Mr Turnbull could face a leadership challenge from colleagues unhappy with the party's weak showing.

Even if he manages to hang onto his job, he has a slew of problems to contend with. The moderate leader needs to face the more conservative lawmakers in his party who are angry about his performance and upset that he ousted his predecessor, Tony Abbott, in an internal leadership ballot less than a year ago.

He will also need to deal with a fragmented Senate that could make it tough for him to pass laws. Though the final make-up of Parliament's upper house is unlikely to be known for weeks, no party will win a majority of seats.

That means even if Mr Turnbull gets contentious legislation passed by the House, he would still have to try and strike deals with the opposition or a disparate group of Senate independents and minor parties to get it signed into law.

Despite the tight race, it became clear in recent days that Labour would not be able to win enough seats to form a government, prompting the opposition leader to formally concede on Sunday.

"I hope for our nation's sake the coalition does a good job," Mr Shorten said. "I hope they run a good government."

He said that his party would work with the coalition to find common ground, saying he understood Australia's need for a functioning Parliament.

He also said it was time Australia considered ditching its pencil-and-paper ballots for a speedier electronic system. That is one area in which he and Mr Turnbull are aligned; the prime minister has long advocated for a move to electronic voting.

"We're a grown-up democracy," Mr Shorten said. "It shouldn't be taking eight days to find out who has won."
A man attempts to stop protesters from engaging with police in riot gear in front of the Baton Rouge Police Department headquarters (AP)

President Barack Obama has called for greater tolerance, respect and understanding from police officers towards the people they take an oath to protect, as well as from individuals who think officers are too heavy handed and intolerant.

Speaking during a visit to Spain, which has been cut short due to the shootings of two black men by police in Louisiana and Minnesota and the killing of five police officers by a sniper in Dallas, Mr Obama said: "I'd like all sides to listen to each other."

He said violence against police by anyone concerned about fairness in the criminal justice system does "a disservice to the cause".

He repeated that the vast majority of US police officers are doing a good job, and rhetoric that portrays them otherwise does little to rally allies to support efforts to change a system broadly recognised as biased against minorities.

"Maintaining a truthful and serious and respectful tone is going to help mobilise American society to bring about real change," Mr Obama said.

The president also called for balance from law enforcement. "I would hope that police organisations are also respectful of the frustrations that people in these communities feel and not just dismiss these protests and these complaints as political correctness," he said.

"It is in the interest of police officers that their communities trust them," he added.

The president travelled to Spain after attending a Nato summit in Poland, but the shocking series of events at home late last week has dominated most of his public appearances.

Mr Obama was supposed to spend two days in Spain but cut the visit short because of the shootings.

"We've had a difficult week in the United States," he told King Felipe VI before they met in private at the Royal Palace.

Meanwhile, there were reports of scuffles at several locations in the US in the wake of the shootings.

Police have arrested about 100 people in St Paul, Minnesota, during protests against the shootings of the black men.

Authorities said 21 St Paul officers and six state troopers were hurt during the fracas late on Saturday and early on Sunday.

Police chief Todd Axtell said officers were pelted with rocks, bottles and other objects.

The protest was among several demonstrations nationwide following the deaths of 32-year-old Philando Castile in suburban St Paul and 37-year-old Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

In connection with the killing of the officers in Dallas, it has emerged that gunman Micah Johnson had practised military-style drills and trained at a private self-defence school that teaches special tactics, including "shooting on the move".

Johnson, an Army veteran, received instruction at the Academy of Combative Warrior Arts in the Dallas suburb of Richardson about two years ago, said the school's founder and chief instructor Justin Everman.

AP
Angela Eagle, a senior Labour MP in Britain, is to challenge Jeremy Corbyn for the party leadership.

Eagle said in a statement: "On Monday, I will announce my candidature for leader of the Labour Party. I will explain my vision for the country and the difference a strong Labour Party can make."

She said Corbyn had failed to lead Labour MPs as an organised and effective force to hold the Conservative government to account.

Discontent with Corbyn has been simmering for months among Labour MPs.

Many were unconvinced of his leadership ability and their misgivings exploded into open crisis after the 'Leave' result in the EU referendum, with mass resignations from his shadow cabinet team and a motion of no confidence that was adopted by most Labour MPs.

The party's official stance before the referendum had been to support staying in the EU, but critics accused Corbyn of campaigning so half-heartedly that many Labour voters were unaware of the party's position or ignored it and voted Leave.

Corbyn's critics say that with Britain poised to negotiate an exit from the EU that risks being more painful than many voters had anticipated, Labour needs to present a strong, united alternative.

A spokesman for Corbyn said after Eagle's announcement that he would contest any leadership challenge.

"Jeremy is committed to fulfilling all his responsibilities as democratically elected leader and will not betray the hundreds of thousands of people who elected him for a different direction for the Labour Party and a different kind of politics," the spokesman said.

Media reports in recent days have suggested that there has been a new spike in Labour membership numbers since the Brexit vote, but it is unclear whether people were signing up to vote for or against Corbyn in the next leadership contest.

Eagle, who has been an MP since 1992, held several junior ministerial posts during the 13 years that Labour was in office under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.

She is deemed more centrist than Corbyn and more likely to have broader appeal beyond the party membership.

Eagle was business and trade policy chief in Corbyn's team until she quit on June 27 as part of the wave of resignations that plunged Labour into disarray.

Her statement on Saturday came after deputy Labour leader Tom Watson had announced that talks between key lawmakers and representatives of the trade unions, which support Labour financially and are allies of Corbyn, had broken down.

It is unclear what will happen to Labour if Corbyn is re-elected by grassroots members after the vast majority of the MPs rejected him as leader. There has been speculation that the party may split.
President Obama issued a call for unity yesterday, insisting that race relations in the US were not returning to the dark days of the 60s.

Mr Obama delivered his message as nationwide protests against police brutality towards black Americans led to further violence in the aftermath of the massacre in Dallas.

Expand Close People visit police cars decorated as a public memorial in front of Dallas police headquarters in honour of the officers who were killed Photo: AP Photo/Gerald Herbert / Facebook

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Whatsapp People visit police cars decorated as a public memorial in front of Dallas police headquarters in honour of the officers who were killed Photo: AP Photo/Gerald Herbert

Demonstrations and vigils have taken place in more than 18 cities since Thursday night's march in Dallas, which resulted in a lone sniper murdering five police officers and wounding seven others in the worst attack on US law enforcement agencies since 9/11.

Mr Obama, who has announced he is abandoning a European visit and will arrive in Dallas in the coming days in a bid to calm race relations, called the killer "demented" and insisted he in no way represents America's black community.

Yesterday morning Rochester police chief Michael Ciminelli was forced to defend his officers after 72 protesters were arrested during a demonstration in New York State on Friday night. Among those detained were two black local news reporters from a local station, who were briefly handcuffed before police realised their mistake.

In Phoenix, Arizona, protesters in a several-hundred-strong rally hurled rocks at police lines. Officers - who later donned riot gear - responded with tear gas and pepper spray.

Tensions continued to run high in Baton Rouge, where Alton Sterling was shot dead by police on Tuesday. In the early hours of yesterday morning riot officers dispersed a rally of about 300 people.

In Philadelphia, protesters promised a "weekend of rage".

The protests, organised by the campaign group Black Lives Matter, which formed in 2013 to highlight police violence towards black people, have gained traction this week after videos emerged showing the 37-year-old Sterling and Philando Castile, 32, dying at the hands of police officers in Louisiana and Minnesota.

The group can mobilise thousands online. But its reach and power lies far beyond a disenchanted youth; instead tapping into America's increasingly entrenched racial and political divisions.

A study published by the respected Pew Research Centre last month found more than two-thirds of African Americans support the Black Lives Matter movement. Only a minority of white people - and just 20 per cent of Republicans - support it. According to the Washington Post, which has been mapping the killings, of 509 people shot or killed by the US police this year, 123 have been black, despite comprising only 12 per cent of the country's population.

The latest incident occurred yesterday, when officers shot Alva Braziel up to 10 times after he apparently pointed a revolver at them on a Houston street.

While violence flares elsewhere, in Dallas itself residents have come together in peaceful mourning. Among the mourners was Keaka Williams, the patrol partner of slain transit authority officer Brent Thompson.

The city's police, meanwhile, hope the outpouring of grief towards their fallen comrades may prove a much needed force for unity.

Detective Major Berry was on duty the night of the attack and knew all the officers killed. He was a close friend of 48-year-old Corporal Lorne Aherns, one of the last two victims to be named alongside 55-year-old Michael Smith.

Berry, a father-of-three who is black himself, admits "there is always going to be racial tensions between groups", but says police officers cannot be allowed to face "trial by social media".

Black extremist groups are nothing new in America. They rose to prominence in the mid-Sixties as an alternative to the non-violent stance of Martin Luther King, but in recent years they have found a new, more powerful tool than mass rallies: social media and the internet.

Micah Johnson, the gunman who killed five police officers in Dallas, was a follower of several of America's most violent black rights groups, but may never have attended any of their meetings or rallies.

A group calling itself the Black Power Political Organization claimed on its Facebook account that it was behind the attack, though there is no evidence Johnson had any connection to it.

Police are investigating whether he had become self-radicalised by reading material posted online by the likes of the New Black Panther Party (NBPP), the African American Defense League, the Nation of Islam and Black Riders Liberation Party.

He had either "liked" or followed them on his Facebook page, but told police before he was killed in a stand-off that he was not affiliated to any groups.

The term "self-radicalisation" has become familiar through the catalogue of Islamist terrorist attacks the world over, and the tactics used by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and others bear clear similarities to the worst extremes of black separatist groups. Johnson was, after all, doing exactly what these forums of boiling hatred have been telling their followers to do for years.

Dallas is the home of the New Black Panther Party (which has no link to the now-defunct 1960s Black Panthers) and its website has a document titled The Nationalist Manifesto which claims that white men have a secret plan to commit genocide against all non-white people.

It believes black Americans should have their own sovereign nation, and its 10-point platform calls for a country in which black people can make their own laws, with all black prisoners in US jails released to "the lawful authorities of the Black Nation".

King Samir Shabazz, head of its Philadelphia chapter, said in 2009: "I hate white people. All of them. Every last iota of a cracker [white person], I hate it  You want freedom? You going to have to kill some crackers! You going to have to kill some of their babies!"

The group reserves particular hatred for the police, who it calls "pigs".

The Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate groups in the US, says there are 180 black separatist groups in the country, compared with 190 branches of the Ku Klux Klan (though neo-Nazi and other white power groups double that number).

Telegraph
Two Spanish men were in a serious condition after being gored during the fourth day of the running of the bulls at Pamplona's San Fermin festival.

Three others sustained head injuries, officials said.

The gored men, aged 29 and 34, were from the south-eastern town of Valencia, and were injured in an alleyway leading to the bullring. No further details were revealed.

The three others with head injuries, also Spaniards from Murcia, Madrid and Barcelona, were admitted to hospital. One aged 36, was under observation and the two others were in fair condition.

More than 1,000 participants packed the narrow cobblestoned streets of Pamplona's old town. The bulls came out strong from the starting gate and completed the 930-yard (850-m) run within 2.5 minutes.

Slips and falls, however, were constant by bulls and runners, and some participants were stampeded by the 1,300lbs (590-kilogram) animals on the way to the bullring.

Bull runs are a traditional part of summer festivals across Spain. The nine-day San Fermin fiesta became world famous with Ernest Hemingway's 1926 novel "The Sun Also Rises" and attracts thousands of foreign tourists.

Ten people, including four Americans, were gored in the San Fermin festival last year. In all, 15 people have died from gorings in the festival since record-keeping began in 1924.
PHOTOS BY KATIE MCLEAN/INDEPENDENT MAILThe wind blows through Kate Callaham's hair Thursday on her family's farm, Callaham OrchardS, in Belton. Callaham was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma, and the disease has been in remission for about four years.

SHARE The wind blows through Kate Callaham's hair Thursday on her family's farm, Callaham Orchards, in Belton. Callaham was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma, and the disease has been in remission for about four years. Kate Callaham started Kate's Crates, which provides care packages for young cancer patients.

By Charmaine Smith-Miles of the Independent Mail

When Kate Callaham heard the word cancer, she wanted to unhear it.

After all, she was only 16. She was busy planning her social life and studying for classes. She did not know what it would mean to fight for her survival.

"I thought that if you had cancer, you just died. That was it," said Callaham, a Belton resident. "I had no education about cancer. No one in my family had cancer. So when the doctor said I had cancer, I just lost it. I just lost it."

But now, she has found so much more. She still deals with anxiety and fear. But because of the cancer, she has also found her purpose, and a strength she didn't know she had.

She knows now, at age 21, that she wants to be a nurse, in particular one who cares for children and teens who have cancer. She has started her own charitable effort, Kate's Crates, to pack and deliver wooden crates filled with goodies to young people who, like herself, have been diagnosed with cancer.

Callaham, who is related to the Callaham family that owns Callaham Orchards in Belton, was diagnosed with stage four Hodgkin lymphoma in December 2011.

Hodgkin lymphoma is a form of cancer that attacks one's lymphatic system, which is part of the body's immune system. It can spread to the bone. But in Callaham's case, it had infected her lymph nodes.

She was diagnosed after her parents and doctors thought she was suffering from a virus.

Callaham had grown up working on her family's orchard. But suddenly, the teen who was used to toting crates around the farm, working in the farm store and running tractors around the property was unusually tired. At night, she would sweat a lot, soaking her sheets.

"I was in high school," Callaham said. "No one saw this coming."

By January 2012, in the middle of her junior year at Palmetto High in Williamston, she was going through chemotherapy treatments.

She did that for four months and then underwent radiation treatment for 14 days. All that was followed up with three months of physical therapy.

"When it was all over, my muscles were shot," Callaham said.

By April 2012, the cancer was in remission.

But Callaham was left with the fear that having cancer instills in a person. She wondered what was next for her life.

Every six months, Callaham still goes for checkups to see if the cancer has come back.

"When my friends were deciding what they wanted to do in life and where they wanted to go to college, I was worried about living," Callaham said. "I wasn't worried about a future because I wasn't sure I would have one."

For a while after she graduated high school in 2013, she tried to study business in college. But her heart wasn't in it.

Then, she started packing these crates  full of headphones, books, cards that could be used to buy music, and hygiene items  for young cancer patients. With the help of donations, Callaham delivers the crates to Greenville Health System and Bon Secours St. Francis Health System, also in the Upstate.

"I wanted to give them something at a time when they feel like so much has been taken away," Callaham said.

She also started volunteering with Camp Courage, a Greenville Health System camp for children dealing with cancer.

She started thinking about a career that was already deep-rooted in her family. She thought about those who helped her when she was in the hospital.

"Once I knew what I wanted out of life, and who I was, it became more evident what God was calling me to do," Callaham said.

Her mother, Suzanne Callaham; her aunt, Kristi Ledford; and her cousin, Brittani Robinson, are nurses. So was her late grandmother, Ellen Geddens.

While she was in the hospital, sometimes for days at a time, Kate Callham's family, her close friends and the nurses were the ones who made the stay bearable.

For example, one of the nurses who worked with Callaham would bring Harry Potter movies for her to watch.

So this fall, Callaham plans to attend Greenville Technical College and study nursing. She wants to specialize in serving hematology and oncology patients.

Recently, she received a $1,000 scholarship from South Carolina Rep. Anne Thayer of Belton to help pay for those studies.

"Maybe a I can be a piece of sunshine in someone's day," Callaham said. "I want to be what some of my nurses were to me. Those going through this need to know that they are loved."

Follow Charmaine Smith-Miles on Twitter@Charmaine_AIM

Want to help?



What: Kates Crates, started by 21-year-old Kate Callaham, who battled cancer beginning at 16. She packs crates full of items such as headphones, shampoo, books, iTunes cards, hygiene items and blankets, for teens who have been diagnosed with cancer.

Contact: email katecallaham@yahoo.com
Homes of Hope builds affordable rental homes on the corner of Southwood Street and Dooley Street on Friday, July 8, 2016 in Anderson.

SHARE Homes of Hope builds affordable rental homes on the corner of Southwood Street and Dooley Street on Friday, July 8, 2016 in Anderson.

By Abe Hardesty of the Independent Mail

A decade ago, Anderson contractors had trouble keeping pace with their requests. Between 2005 and 2007, they crafted an average of 100 single-family homes a month.

Multifamily units were also going up quickly  a combined 669 in those three years, with 600 of them involving more than five housing units.

Then the building stopped.

As builders wrestled with the recession over the next seven years  a period when banks tightened lending policies  permits for the construction of single-family units slowed to 32 a month, and multifamily units averaged five a month. In three of those years, not a single multifamily unit was built in Anderson County.

The result today, after a decade when the Anderson County population grew by approximately 30,000, is shortage of housing inventory for both sales and rentals.

Anderson County's population was 165,740 in 2005, according to Census Bureau estimates. By 2015, the number had soared to 194,692.

The shortage is most apparent on the rental side, which is getting the attention of both millennials and baby boomers.

"The rental property vacancy is the lowest it's ever been here," said longtime Realtor and property manager Bill Brissey. "There's a big demand for some of the 1,000-square-foot duplexes and two-bedroom units for starters and retirees, but we don't have it. Nobody is building them."

Brissey said he has been contacted in recent weeks by at least three apartment renters that are "ready to buy, but there aren't enough vacancies" among small houses.

McCoy-Wright real estate agent John Wright Sr., whose company also manages rental property, sees the same supply/demand imbalance.

"Three or four years ago, every market in South Carolina had an adequate stock of rental housing. Now it's a very, very tight market in Anderson.

"As soon as (a renter) gives notice that they're leaving a house, it's rented again," Wright said. "There's just not enough new housing to satisfy the demand."

Much of the demand, Wright said, comes from empty nesters who no longer desire the continual maintenance of a large house and yard. Even more comes from millennials who are leaving the parents' nest at a later age, and others who are more likely than previous generations to rent for convenience reasons.

Oddly, the shortage of housing hasn't had an impact on apartment rates. Among the 11 South Carolina counties included in the monthly statistics compiled by apartmentlist.com, Anderson's median price of a two-bedroom apartment on July 1 was the second-lowest.

Only Sumter County, with a median price of $640 for a two-bedroom unit, was lower. Charleston County ($1,500) had the highest median price, followed by Beaufort ($1,460), Berkeley ($1,360) and Greenville ($1,000).

The Anderson median was well below the South Carolina's median price for a two-bedroom unit ($1,010) and the national median ($1,300).

South Carolina's median was slightly higher than the price in Georgia ($990) and North Carolina ($920), according to the national publication.

In the first quarter of 2016, the national rental and homeowner vacancy rate stood at 7.0 percent  its lowest number in more than a decade. The number has dropped each quarter since mid-2009, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The vacancy rate stood at 11.0 percent in South Carolina, 8.2 percent in North Carolina, and 6.3 percent in Georgia. Vacancy rates by county are not available through the Census Bureau.

Anderson County's median one-bedroom price of $660 is also among the lowest in the state, but Anderson Housing Authority Executive Director Jeff Trahan said the units are increasingly hard to find.

Those who qualify for federal housing assistance are awarded vouchers that expire after 60 days  typically an ample period of time for an apartment-seeker.

Today, it is difficult even though the federal subsidy covers up to 110 percent of the rental cost, and the period has been doubled.

"If they're unable to find something in 120 days, the voucher expires, and we're seeing that," he said.

"Looking for one-bedroom units is the biggest challenge, and I'm seeing more of a challenge in the last couple years than in the previous four.

Trahan said 51 clients with active vouchers are seeking housing, about half of them in search of a one-bedroom unit. "Three are approaching the 120-day limit. That's something that didn't happen a few years ago."

The lack of construction is a byproduct of the banking problems that were connected to the recession of 2008, said Stephen Mudge, president of Serrus Capital Partners.

He doesn't expect a major turnaround soon.

"After that recession, the funding for projects turned off like a water facet," Hodge said. "Even today, a developer would have to put substantial equity into a deal. Most local guys don't have $3 million to throw into a project to develop 40 lots.

"In the old days, he could borrow 100 percent of the cost. Now he might can borrow 70 percent of the cost  if he can get that," Mudge said. "These days, you have to have serious equity."

Follow Abe Hardesty on Twitter @abe_hardesty
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By Ron Barnett, rbarnett@greenvillenews.com

The hot, dry spell of recent weeks came on so quickly and with such ferocity that the state Drought Response Committee voted Friday to move Pickens, Anderson, Oconee and Abbeville counties directly from no-drought status to moderate drought, the second level of seriousness.

"I'll be honest with you, I don't think I have ever seen a drought cycle develop and deteriorate as quickly as this has," committee member Dennis Chastain of Pickens said. "It's honestly like we have a big plastic bubble over us."

Greenville, Spartanburg and Laurens counties and most of the rest of the state except the northeastern section was declared to be in incipient drought.

Going directly to moderate drought from no drought is rare, according to Hope Mizzell, state climatologist. She had expected the region to be declared incipient drought.

"As you know we typically hate to jump two levels of drought," she told committee members on a conference call after Chastain recommended putting the northwest corner of the state in moderate drought status.

"Folks who live in this area, if we declare it incipient, they're going to say, 'have you been here, have you looked around?'" Chastain said.

So far water levels in rivers and reservoirs are not down precipitously, although the Saluda River stream flow is classified as in moderate drought conditions and the Chattooga River, on the border of Oconee County and Georgia, is in severe drought, a Department of Natural Resources official on the conference call said.

The state was fortunate in starting the spring with above normal levels of groundwater, after last fall's rains, he said.

But crops are suffering in much of the state, agricultural officials said.

"A lot of watermelons are starting to head south," said Brad Boozer, manager of the State Farmers Market.

Corn is not pollinating, soybeans and other row crops are suffering and cattle farmers have started feeding hay because their pastures have dried up, he said.

"It's not looking good," Boozer said.

Some areas have had scattered thundershowers  the Greenville-Spartanburg Airport has had about normal rainfall totals since the start of June because of brief storms  but the Anderson Airport went 32 days without any rain, its fourth-driest spell on record, officials said.

Even the storms aren't very wet.

"You're hearing about these thunderstorms, with wind and lightning and downed trees, but there's very little rainfall," Mizzell said.

Chastain said he fears the worst is yet to come.

The hot, dry, windy weather that has gripped the Upstate since the start of June came without the development of any El Nino or La Nina pattern, which are generally the culprits in driving moisture away from the Southeast, he said.

And the National Drought Mitigation Center is predicting a 75 percent probability that a La Nina pattern will develop later this summer or early fall.

"That is seriously bad news," Chastain said.

Declaring a moderate drought status requires the DNR to step up monitoring of deep water wells, stream flows and other drought indexes. Incipient is a recognition that an area is in an abnormally dry period and the future is uncertain.

Chastain expressed concern over the increased potential for wildfires started by campfires. A forestry official at the drought committee meeting said measurements of moisture from the upper levels of the soil up to the understory were extremely low in the mountains.

"Folks ought to use caution, and really, with the high temperatures we're having, people ought to second think whether they need a campfire at all," Chastain said.

Mizzell said the committee likely will meet again in three to four weeks.
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After Japan, PM Narendra Modi hit thedrums again  this time on his visit to Tanzania. He performed an improve duo with Tanzanian President John Magufuli.

BCCL

Modi played the traditional drums casually, like he was at a drum session with a friend. The Tanzanian President appeared to halt briefly but resumed the drumming again when he saw the Indian leader was in no mood to stop.

BCCl

Mr. Modis skills as a drummer was for the first time displayed in Japan in September 2014, when he joined the Japanese percussionists to perform a jugalbandi with them.
Even as the violence in Kashmir after the death of Hizbul's poster boy Burhan Wani resulted in the deaths of 11 people after protests turned violent, there was a storm of another kind brewing on social media.

Umar Khalid, who was at the centre of the storm after organising a memorial of parliament attack accused Afzal Guru put up a post comparing Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani to Che Guevara.

Read Who is Umar Khalid?

AP

Burhan Wani had become the face of Hizbul in the valley after videos featuring him were widely circulated in the valley. He reportedly joined the militia in 2010 at the age of 15.

Read Everything you need to know about Burhan Wani

Many actually questioned the terms of his bail in the Afzal Guru case

Dear @DelhiPolice Isn't it act of speaking agnst Indian-State? Bail terms violation? Plz report it 2 HC#UmarKhalid pic.twitter.com/II5eRgxShH  #Intolerant  (@goyalsanjeev) July 9, 2016

What are the conditions for bail in mr. Umar Khalid's case  shilpi tewari (@shilpitewari) July 9, 2016

Can you imagine how demotivating it is for our armed forces to see our media & netas side with terrorists like #BurhanWani & Umar Khalid?  IndiaSpeaks (@IndiaSpeaksPR) July 9, 2016

While Umar Khalid has always tried to raise a voice for a free Kashmir, he might have bitten off much more than he can chew by openly supporting mourning Burhan Wani who was openly identified as Hizbul commander and seen as the new face of terror in J&K.
The golden ratio, the number that best describes the proportions of Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man and Mona Lisa, wasn't as unknown a concept in India centuries ago as has been thought. Represented by the Greek letter phi, it has been a subject of study in the field of aesthetics and has relevance in both physics and maths. Of course, its presence is manifest in nature, from spiral galaxies to snail shells and from flowers to algae.

Now, a study by physicists Vijay Singh and Praveen Pathak from the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education has found that the sub-continent accorded the number both a scientific and a spiritual meaning ages ago. Their paper was published in the latest edition of the prestigious European Journal of Physics.

While staring at a folk painting of Lord Shiva in Bhojpur, Bihar, the two physicists were struck by the fact that the crescent moon which adorned Shiva's head resembled a circle removed from a larger circle, with the ratio of their diameters close to 1.618, which is a rounding off of the golden ratio. It wasn't mere coincidence either.Their study suggests that the number repeatedly occurs in a class of problems involving an object's centre of mass (roughly speaking, the point where all of the mass of the object is concentrated) and may be omnipresent.

The golden ratio is of great interest to the fashion industry

A lingerie giant has declared actor-model Scarlett Johansson to possess an almost perfect figure and reality TV personality Kim Kardashian as a close runner-up -- all on the basis of the golden ratio. It has been popularized by thriller writer Dan Brown in his books, mainly The Da Vinci Code. Leonardo himself was enamoured of it.

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Singh and Pathak did calculations that revealed a number of striking facts: an excised or truncated circle (a smaller circle removed from a larger circle) will be balanced exactly on the edge. To their amazement they found that all even-sided polygons -- a closed figure (on a plane) made by joining several line segments--had this property. When a smaller "self-similar" polygon is excised from the larger polygon, the latter stands balanced on the edge only if the ratio of the sides of the two polygons was the golden ratio. For any other ratio, the centre of mass (which indicates the balance point) is either inside the larger polygon or outside it, which implies that the polygon is unstable.

"Circles and polygons have been around since time immemorial. But such a simple fact has gone unnoticed," said Prof Singh, who is of Science Olympiad fame.

Digging into spiritual literature, Pathak and Singh found several references of balancing on the edge. The Katha Upanishad mentions that the path of spirituality is akin to balancing a scimitar precariously on the edge. The very notion of Paramhansa is one who is poised between the spiritual and the material, notes Prof Singh. He mentions allied notions such as the Chinese yin and yang and the Yogic ida and pingala.

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Pathak and Singh then undertook an analysis of three-dimensional structures such as the sphere and cube.And also of the higher dimensional tesseract, mentioned so prominently in the movie Interstellar. They have also discovered a sequence of polynomials (a type of mathematical expression) yielding a series of irrational numbers (numbers with decimal parts that go on and on, without segments of the digits ever repeating) between phi (1.618) and 2. These may provide additional figures of merit for the fashion industry, notes Singh wryly .

K Subramaniam, the Centre Director of HBCSE which is part of the TIFR, pointed out that the golden ratio and the Fibonacci series have a close connection and as one goes down the series and picks any two consecutive numbers and divides one by the other, the result comes close to the golden ratio.
The biggest challenge that the deaf community - not "deaf and dumb", just deaf - faces in India is communication. Statistics show that there are 18 million deaf people in India and only 250 interpreters. This means that there is only 1 interpreter for 72,000 people.

A new initiative is trying to fix that. Finger Chats was initiated simultaneously in Kolkata, Chennai and Bengaluru. The first event was hosted by Enable India which offers full-time courses in sign language in classrooms.

However, most of the time, before the term ends - most students have lost interest and left the class.

BCCL

Rupmani Chhetri was born deaf in Nepal. She is the first of five children to her parents. She was left to care for herself. She was put in a 'regular' school with other children but she could not cope with studies. She could hear or understand her lessons and no teacher made the time to help. She was fifteen when she was able to clear Class 5. By this time, her parents had moved into Darjeeling in India with the family, for a better life.

Her siblings tried to help her but since she was the eldest, didn't know how. "As I grew older, I started spending more and more time by myself. My father stop paying for any books. I had no new clothes. I was unwanted," she tells me in rapid sign language. "That is when I started working. No one would hire me, so I went and started helping other daily wage labourers who were laying a tar road. After a day or two, they started paying me and I bought myself food."

She has not been dependent on her parents since.

Facebook/Rupmani Chhetri

Rupmani went on to learn computer typing and soon found herself in Delhi. She took up a job with Aadi - Action for Ability Development and Inclusion and has since moved up in life with her grit and experience.

Unfortunately for us, India does not have too many Rupmanis.

Most deaf children never get a real shot to realise their dreams. There are only 397 schools in India, 95 of them are in Maharashtra, for children with hearing impairment. Even in these schools, there is continued struggle to find the right teachers to train them to lead an empowered life. Another challenge is the struggle for the deaf to communicate in Indian Sign Language as opposed to American Sign Language - like Hindi versus English. The deaf need to understand both sign languages and so do the communicators!

Facebook/Finger Chats

Rajesh Menon is one of the founders of Finger Chats, a free workshop held every week to teach people to communicate in sign language. "The first event was organised by Enable India, an organisation working towards creating an inclusive society," he shares. Rupmani, attended the first event and has been a regular, helping people learn the sign language. A few more volunteers who have experiences with the challenges that the deaf face in everyday life have also come together to keep the classes going.

A small group of volunteers is managing the weekly events in the hope that even if a few people are able to complete the three-month long freestyle course they have designed, there will be another voice for the DEAF.

You can join the effort, by contributing one hour on Saturday every week for three months. Join them here.
Over 600 lobsters destined for scorching hot water suddenly found themselves in the cold spacious comfort of the ocean.

Their savior? Buddhist monks in Canada, who bought eight crate-loads of live lobsters, to release them into the waters off the coast of Prince Edward Island.

CBC

"Hopefully, we can find a spot where there are no cages waiting for them, Venerable Dan, one of the monks from the Great Enlightenment Buddhist Institute Society told CBC News.

CBC

Before giving them their freedom, the lobsters received blessing with purified water and prayers. The monks had bought them on a benevolent lobster shopping trip across Canada's Prince Edward island.

The Huffington Post estimated that the monks may have paid over 4800 dollars (3.2 Lakhs) in this rescue effort.

CBC

This whole purpose for us is to cultivate this compassion toward others, he added to CBC News.

It doesnt have to be lobsters, it can be worms, flies, any animals, drive slower so we dont run over little critters on the street.
A group of cellmates in a Texas prison broke free last month to save a jailer's life after he collapsed from a heart attack. The Parker County jailer only has these prisoners to thank who put their lives on the line to help him.

The incident happened on June 23 in a holding cell located in the basement of the District Court Building in Weatherford.

WFAA

The jailer stood guard outside the prisoners' holding cell and was joking with them when he suddenly collapsed onto the floor. The prisoners, at least 8 in number, shouted for help but realizing the critical situation, somehow managed to break free of their cell to help the jailer.

"He just fell over. Looked like an act. Could have died right there," said Nick Kelton, one of the inmates, who is serving time for dealing drugs. "We were worried theyre going to come with guns drawn on us."

After the jailer showed no pulse, the inmates banged the door to garner attention which thankfully alerted the other guards to come running.

WFAA

"They thought it was a fight. They thought we were taking over," reported another inmate Floyd Smith.

Sergeant Ryan Speegle said the situation could have worsened, "He had keys. Had a gun. It could have been an extremely bad situation." Speegle had first roughed up one inmate who was standing on top of the unresponsive guard.

WFAA

After minutes of administering CPR, the paramedics arrived and the jailer finally sighed the life-affirming breath.

The jailer, whose identity remains protected, is recuperating well and is expected to resume work next week.

The inmates are back inside their cell but one has to applaud their effort that saved a man's life without putting anything at risk barring their own prison sentence.
It was yet another ISIS explosion, but this time it was not the terrorist who attained heaven.

Najih Shaker Al-Baldawi, a local resident of Balad city in Iraq stopped a suicide bomber from the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) from claiming many lives at his towns Sayyed Mohammad Shrine.

According to Al-Manar news, the attack was aimed at destroying the shrine

Najih physically stopped the terrorist from entering the shrine, hugging him before his explosive laden vest detonated, killing them. His body took direct impact of the explosion, reducing the death toll at the Shrine.

An honourable man from #Balad, Najih Shakir,holds the suicide bomber & attains martyrdom,preventing many more deaths pic.twitter.com/fFKZhxZvv7  Mohammed Al-Hilli (@malhilli) July 8, 2016

According to a Joint Operations spokesman in Iraq, the attack caused 70 injuries. The attack comes days after a an attack in Iraq's Karrada'area which claimed over 300 lives, the deadliest single attack in Iraq since the war to oust Saddam Hussein 13 years ago.

Instead of hundred, only 37 died, thanks to one selfless Muslim

ISIS bombers disguised themselves as local militia in an attempt to storm and destroy what is considered one of Iraqs most important Shia shrines. The last time such an attack happened, it sparked off the Iraq civil war. The man's sacrifice ensured that the shrine was not damaged.

Barbar ISID, Irak Balad'da Siilerin ziyaret ettigi turbeye bombal aracla saldr gerceklestirdi en az 50 kisi oldu! pic.twitter.com/AqjfnqZwEM  oy erseyi (@YuregiminEzgisi) July 8, 2016
The Pentagon in the US has decided to use the capabilities of an Indian satellite to record weather information in Afghanistan. The US Department of Defense is hopeful that this move will aid in better planning of its military movements in the war-affected country.

The decision comes after the European weather satellites were re-stationed to map operations in Iraq and Syria. The Pentagon did explore the option of using Chinese satellites but dropped the idea after evaluating the many hacking threats by the Chinese.

National Geographic/Getty Images

The Indian satellite to be used is already operational and its data is available across American universities. A senior representative, Ralph Stoffler from the Pentagon said, "Europe's Meteosat 8 is going to cover the critical components of our operations in Syria and Iraq. We will experience a short gap over eastern Afghanistan and our plan there is to work cooperatively with India to use Indian data to close that gap."

Wikipedia

The Director of Weather also added, "The Indian satellite is already operational. It's already there. The data is already available here in the US at a variety of Universities. It's a matter of getting it here quicker and more efficiently so we can use it operationally."

The Pentagon will work closely with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Governor Umaru Al-Makura of Nasarawa State, on Friday urged civil servants in the state to accept the 50 per cent cut in their salaries in good faith.

The governor made the appeal in Lafia in his speech at the commencement of sale of 150 metric tons of fertilisers at subsidised rates to farmers in the state.

He urged the striking workers to go back to work and suspend their strike in the interest of the state.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the workers embarked on the strike in protest against the decision of the government to cut the salaries of public officers and civil servants by 50 per cent across the board.

The governor, however, stated that the 50 per cent slash in salaries is a sacrifice every one needed to make.

He added that the sacrifice had become imperative in view of dwindling economy as well as fall in the price of crude oil and allocation from federation account.

Mr. Al-Makura explained that despite the drop in its resources, government decided to subsidise the price of fertilizers sold to farmers at N3,000 per bag.

He said the gesture was intended to boost farming in the state in line with federal governments drive to diversify the economy and reduce dependence on revenue from sale of crude oil.

We would continue to support farming activities in the state to enrich our farmers by supplying them with fertilizers and other farm inputs at subsidised rate.

We are more than ever before determined as a government to invest in other sectors of the economy given the current problems that have bedeviled the entire country.

This is a moment of sober reflection as a nation, hence our resolve to continue to subsidise farm inputs for farmers in order to guaranty better and quality live for the people in the state, the governor said.

Responding on behalf of the farmers, Mauzu Ishaq, Nasarawa State Chairman, All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), expressed gratitude to the government for supporting farmers in the state.

He appealed to the government to facilitate and encourage mechanized farming by reintroducing tractors hiring unit in the state Ministry of Agriculture for easy access to farmers.

Most farmers in the state are so poor that they cannot afford to buy their own tractors, hence the need for the government to reintroduce the scheme, Mr. Ishaq said.

Speaking at another fora, the governor threatened to commence recruitment of fresh graduates to replace striking workers if they fail to resume at their duty posts.

Gov. Al-Makura, who reiterated his appeal to the workers to call off their strike, recalled that the state was among the first in the country to implement the N18,000 National Minimum Wage in 2011.

The state government will take stock of striking workers who return back to work and invite applications from graduates in order to replace those who fail to return to work in the interest of peace and socio-economic development of the state, he asserted.

(NAN)
Fresh attacks by Fulani herdsmen on Benue communities have left some residents dead.

Although the traditional ruler of Logo, Chief Jimmy Meeme confirmed that at least 81 people were killed, the Benue state command of the Nigeria Police Force puts the death toll at 22.

It is the latest in a series of deadly attacks in communities in Benue as herdsmen and farmers clash over grazing land.

The Federal government has been roundly criticized for its nonchalant approach to a situation which has left at least 300 people dead this year.

Some residents of the Benue communities also accused security personnel of negligence.

The Benue state governor, Samuel Ortom has repeatedly called on the Federal government to intervene in the issue but his calls have gone unheeded.
The Ekiti State Government has raised the alarm over an alleged invasion of the state by policemen, whose sole aim is to arrest top officials of the government, leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as well as members of the State House of Assembly on Monday.

The state government alleged that the indiscriminate arrest of these group of persons was based on what it termed frivolous petitions orchestrated by the All Progressives Congress (APC) over the June 21, 2014 governorship election that it (APC) lost two years ago.

According to the government, the plan involves the deployment of 20 policemen to be led by an indigene of the state, ACP Olusola Oke, who incidentally hails from the same hometown as the immediate past governor of the state and Minister of Solid Minerals, Dr Kayode Fayemi.

It said the detachment of policemen were already in Alagbon, Lagos State ready to move to Ekiti by 9am on Sunday in three white coloured buses.

In a statement issued by the Special Assistant to Governor Ayodele Fayose on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, the government alleged that APC leaders like human rights activist, Femi Falana (SAN); Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Senator Babafemi Ojudu; Yinka Akerele and others, were coordinating the invasion in their desperation to destabilise the state because of the governors perceived opposition to the inhuman policies of the APC-led federal government.

We have been reliably informed that the latest onslaught against the PDP government of Mr. Ayodele Fayose is to begin on Monday, using the police to arrest top government officials, PDP leaders across the 16 local government areas and members of the House of Assembly, Olayinka said.

He disclosed that ACP Oke, who is to lead the policemen, is the immediate past Assistant Commissioner in charge of Operations and now the AC X-Squad, FCID, Abuja.

The operation is allegedly being funded by a former governor from the South South while a prominent aide of President Muhammadu Buhari is said to be directly coordinating.

ACP Olusola Oke will be accompanied by CSP Ayodele, CSP Enang, four Inspectors and others, the statement added.

The government said all attempts by the APC to return to power through the backdoor will fail, and advised the party to rather prepare for 2018, instead of running to the Army, DSS, EFCC and now the police.

The Ekiti government also cautioned the federal government against truncating democracy in the country by muscling opposition, alerting the international community to take note of the danger facing democracy in the country under the APCs watch.
England international, Wayne Rooney has been informed by Jose Mourinho he will stay as the clubs captain for next season, according to the Guardian.

The player is said to be delighted about the news and his return to play upfront after Mourinho claimed he would not be playing in the centre midfield role with Manchester United this season.

In his first press conference, Mourinho made it clear that Rooney will be a striker under him and will also remain as club captain. Fans are looking forward to seeing who will be dropped for Rooney, as United boast an attacking line-up of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard and the almost forgotten about Memphis Depay.

Under United, Rooney has enjoyed a great deal of success winning countless trophies while playing as a forward. His 245 goals for the club has him second in the all-time goals for the club, behind only Sir Bobby Charlton.
The member representing Sagbama/Ekeremor federal constituency of Bayelsa State in the House of Representatives, Mr. Fred Agbedi, has questioned the Federal Governments sincerity to clean-up Ogoni land in Rivers State.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who represented President Muhammadu Buhari, last month flagged off the clean-up of Ogoni land.

But Rep. Agbedi told reporters at the weekend in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital that the exercise was a photo-trick on the Ogoni people.

The lawmaker noted that several weeks after the ground-breaking launch of the clean-up exercise amid pomp and pageantry, men and materials have not been mobilised to site in Ogoni land.

The former chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Bayelsa argued that the delay by the federal government to commence the clean-up was an indication of its lack of seriousness to issues affecting the people of the Niger Delta.

The Federal Government said it is embarking on the clean-up of Ogoni land. Up till now, no equipment and personnel have been deployed for the clean-up. It is a mere photo-trick to deceive Ogoni people, he said.

Agbedi, who is Chairman of the House Committee on Gas Resources, also said that the fiscal policies of the Buhari administration were responsible for the economic hardship being faced by Nigerians, stressing that If drastic measures are not taken, it may turn the nation into crises.

Agbedi hinted that he and some members of the National Assembly would soon sponsor a bill for a referendum on true federalism and resource control as the panacea to the socio-economic challenges of the nation.

The Minister of Solid Minerals, Dr. Kayode Fayemi will appear before us and say one of his challenges was that of illegal miners, and that the Federal Government is working out ways to organise those that can be encouraged into co-operatives.

But when it comes to the Niger Delta region and our people refining our crude, they call it economic sabotage.

They dont see anything good in us. But our resources which they feel belong to them, with that posture, there will be no peace, he asserted.
A former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Ogbonnaya Onovo, yesterday faulted the compulsory retirement of senior officers by the Police Service Commission.

He said to just retire Deputy Inspectors General of Police (DIGs) and Assistant Inspectors General (AIGs) in one fell swoop amounts to a colossal waste and loss of valuable policing experience.

Mr. Onovo, who was appointed IGP in 2009 by late President Umaru Musa YarAdua, bared his mind at the Police Staff College, Jos, after the pulling out ceremony of Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) Joseph Mbu.

Mr. Mbu was one of the 21 AIGs recently forced to retire by the PSC for being senior to the Acting IGP, Ibrahim Idris, before his appointment.

Condemning the trend as dangerous for the police force, the retired IGP said The DIGs that were sent away, some of them still have about five years in service. Some of the AIGs have seven years in service.

It is not fair. When we joined this job as Nigerians no one told us we can be sent away by mere whims and caprices of politicians.

We were trained both internally and outside. So, all the experiences have gone with the officers. Who do you work with? These are some of the issues.

Mr. Onovo also showered encomiums on Mbu, who was Commandant of the college until his retirement.

According to Onovo, AIG Mbu (retd.) was an extremely professional, courageous officer.

Mbu ran and danced where others feared to thread. I think he was the only officer in this dispensation who could look the politicians in the eyes and tell them the truth.

Such people are rare to come by. Nigeria needs people like them to move the force forward.

I am happy for him because he is leaving this job with his integrity intact.
The All Progressive Congress, APC, at the weekend absolved President Muhammadu Buhari of any blame in the ongoing trial of the Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, for alleged forgery of Senate rules.

Mr. Ekweremadu, who is standing trial alongside the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, former Clerk to the National Assembly, Salisu Maikasuwa and his deputy, Ben Efeturi, described the trial as a clear attempt by the APC-led federal government to emasculate the parliament and silence me as the leader and highest ranking member of the opposition in Nigeria.

Debunking the allegation at an APC rally held at Awgu, the headquarters of Enugu West Zone in Enugu State, Vice Chairman of the party, Chief Anike Nwoga, said that President Buhari had no hand in Ekweremadus travails stressing that the deputy Senate presidents trial was prompted by complaints by members of the Senate Unity Forum that his election, and that of Saraki did not follow the 2011 Standing Orders of the Senate.

And that at no time did the 7th or 8th Senate amend Senate Rules to produce the purported 2015 Senate Rules used for their election.

Where is President Buhari in this matter? How is democracy being threatened? Why is he panicky, without exhausting the court process?

The Awgu APC rally held shortly after a pro-Ekweremadu group had protested against his perceived persecution, and was attended by the State Deputy Chairman of the APC, Comrade A.C. Ude; Woman Leader, Lolo Queen Nwankwo; Chief Flavour Eze, representing the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama; Barrister Juliet Ibekaku, Special Assistant to the President on Justice Reform; Mr Osita Okechukwu, Director General, Voice of Nigeria and Barrister Sharon Ikeazor, among others.

Nwoga also gave Ekweremadu knocks for writing a letter to the international community, alleging political victimization and urged him to retract the letter.

By this unwarranted letter, he has desecrated the Constitution, tarnished the image of Nigeria and by extension our dear president. As a senior lawyer, we had expected him to maintain his earlier statement that he has faith in Almighty God and the Nigeria courts.

Senator Hilary Clinton, presumptive presidential candidate of the Democratic Party in the United States, is being tried over the email issue, has she written to United Nations or Nigeria?

Truly, after careful analysis, I am yet to locate, where the rule of law is being breached, when judgment has not been delivered nor doctrine of separation of powers infringed upon, to warrant an assault to the Nigeria state by a high official of the state. Accordingly, I advise my dear brother to retract the letter forthwith, the APC Vice Chairman said.
The Nigerian Governors Forum on Sunday said it was concerned over the ongoing political crisis in Abia State and called on parties to the crisis to respect the rule of law.

Governor of Zamfara and Chairman of the Forum, Abdulaziz Yari, made this known while addressing traditional rulers from Abia State, who paid condolence visit to Sokoto State.

The monarchs were in the state to commiserate with the government and people of the state over the death of top politician, Alhaji Umaru Shinkafi.

In his remarks, Mr. Yari, who is a son-in-law to the late Shinkafi, said the 36 state governors in the country are worried about the political crisis in Abia State and are working behind the scene to ensure it does not degenerate further.

The NGF chair said it is important for all sides claiming victory over the governorship contest to respect the courts and avoid acts that would lead to violence.

As a forum, we are concerned about what is going on in Abia and we are working to ensure all sides respect the courts, and uphold peace. Abia is known for peace, as such we should not do things that would disturb the peace of the state, Mr. Yari said.

Earlier in his remarks, the Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, pointed out that the state has a long standing relationship with the people of the South East, saying the condolence visit by the traditional rulers reaffirmed that relationship.

Rather than harp on the things that divide the country, Gov. Tambuwal said Nigerians should focus more on those aspects that bind us together.

We are all on journey to unity, stability and progress of our dear country. Abia State governor is a very good friend of mine, so I am praying for him to overcome the present challenges hes facing as a public officer, he said.

The governor described the late Mr. Shinkafi as a man of wisdom and integrity, who enjoyed the respect and admiration of all Nigerians.

No doubt, Shinkafi is the father, and architecture of Nigerias modern security apparatus, Mr. Tambuwal said.

His ideas and handwork gave birth to our present security structure, so he fully deserved all the enconmiums that have come his way since his passage, he added.

The royal fathers, who were led by the Chairman of both the South East Council of Traditional Rulers and the Abia State Traditional Rulers Council, Eberechi Dick, commended the Sokoto State government for the warm relationship existing between indigenes and residents of other states, especially those from South East, living in Sokoto.
A few years back, popular award-winning Kenyan songstress, Emmy Kosgei, walked down the aisle with top Nigerian pastor, Anselm Madubuko of the Revival Assembly Church , in a lavish wedding that was highly publicized in the media.

Although after they exchanged vows, many Kenyans accused Emmy of being a gold-digger and predicted that their marriage would crumble within months but their marriage is still intact and Emmy seems to be living a rich lifestyle and enjoying the company of her lovely hubby.

She was recently spotted at the premises of an aircraft manufacturing plant, but Kenyan media are reporting that she accompanied the pastor to shop for a private jet.

Madubuko is one of the most successful pastors in Nigeria and may not be a surprise if the report of acquiring a private jet is true, as the man of God may need it to ease traveling around the world to spread the good news like many of his other successful colleagues.

Source: News Every Hour
The Laragunsin of Iyansan Oba Abiodun Oyewumi, who was kidnapped last week Monday, in his palace in Irele Local Government Area (LGA), Ondo State has regained his freedom.

Confirming the information, a palace source said the monarch was rescued in the early hours of Sunday in a thick forest in Edo State after spending six days in captivity.

The monarch is now recounting his ordeals with the chiefs and family members. According to him, it was a terrible experience, the source said.

The Ondo State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Femi Joseph also confirmed the rescue as he added that no ransom was paid to secure his release.

The monarch was released in the earlier hours of today [Sunday] in an area called Igbanke community in Edo State.

He was rescued unhurt and it was a combined effort. No ransom was paid, Mr. Joseph said.
The National Pension Commission, PenCom, have listed ten states currently remitting funds into the Retirement Savings Accounts of workers out of the 26 states that have enacted their Pension Reform Law.

Ten out of the 36 states have commenced remittance of contributions into the RSAs of their employees. Similarly, eight state governments have commenced funding of their retirement benefit bond redemption fund accounts, PenCom stated.

The states that have commenced the remittance of contributions to six PFAs and were funding their accrued rights include; Lagos, Ogun, Kaduna, Niger, Delta, Osun, Rivers and Anambra states.

The report added that Imo State had yet to commence remittance of pension contributions, but that the Imo State University was currently implementing the Contributory Pension Scheme but not yet funding its accrued rights while Zamfara State has also commenced remittance of contributions to the PFAs but yet to fund its accrued rights.

Jigawa State had transferred its pension assets to six PFAs for management, while Kano had yet to transfer its assets to the PFAs, the report explained.

Records from the commission showed that 673,116 contributors, who are workers of the various state governments, were registered with different PFAs.

The Director-General, PenCom, Mrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, said while some states had adopted the CPS, many had yet to fully implement it.

The situation, she explained, had denied the states of the advantages of the contributory pension model, including its sustainability as a system, robust framework that eliminates the incentives for corruption in benefits administration, and ability to access the pool of investible pension funds to drive economic and infrastructural development in their respective domains.

Anohu-Amazu stated that the scheme had so far delivered all the major objectives of the reform, adding that since its establishment in 2004, there had been no case of malpractice recorded in the administration of the CPS.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has disclosed that it is monitoring some commercial lenders for liquidity after Skye Bank failed to meet prudential ratios, prompting it to replace its top executives this week.

The Director, Banking Supervision, CBN, Mrs. Tokunbo Martins, said one or two commercial banks had failed liquidity tests but they were not in the same situation as Skye.

The central bank on Monday said Skye Banks liquidity ratio had been below the regulatory limit for a while and it had resorted to its rediscount window for support, prompting its top executives to resign.

But Martins said the central bank was working with the banks to restore their ratios and sought to reassure depositors that there was no need to panic.

We have our eyes on one or two other banks right now but they are not in a state of distress. We have our eyes on all banks, Reuters quoted her to have said on Channels television.

After replacing Skyes executives on Monday, depositors rushed to withdraw their funds. Martins said Skye was able to meet its obligations and that the central bank was providing support until the new management can bring in fresh funds.

She added that the banking industry was healthy.

CBN has the authority to remove bank executives, powers which it exercised during the 2007-2009 global financial crisis when it sacked nine CEOs at banks which were deemed under-capitalised.

Excessive risk taking and last years shifting of government funds from the banks into the central bank were partly responsible for the liquidity shortfalls, Martins said.

Skyes problems worsened after it used short-term funding to acquire Mainstreet Bank in 2014 but failed to attract fresh funds, she said.

Last year, the regulator gave three commercial banks until June 2016 to recapitalise after they failed to hit a minimum capital adequacy rate of 10 per cent.

The CBN during the week reiterated that no bank in the country is in distress, just as it reassured bank customers that their deposits are safe.

The acting Director, Corporate Communications, CBN, Mr. Isaac Okorafor said the attention of the central bank was drawn to malicious rumours and unfounded speculations that some banks in the country might have gone or be going into distress.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg in a report yesterday, indicated that the ousting of top management at Skye Bank had continued to deepen concern over the health of the industry.

Theres a chance were going back to several years ago when banks were taken over, a frontier markets analyst at brokerage Auerbach Grayson & Co, Zoran Milojevic said.

There are still way too many banks. Some of them have to go.

While problems are mounting, Nigeria isnt headed for the crisis it had in 2009, a Johannesburg-based executive director at business risk consultancy Exx Africa, Robert Besseling said.

The whole banking sector is under pressure in Nigeria given slowing growth and average loan-book exposure to oil and gas of 30 per cent, a London-based economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Oyin Anubi said.

Source: Thisday
Self-styled tamer of the Leopard of Port Harcourt, Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) Joseph Mbu, has said he is retiring to cocoa farming.

Mr. Mbu, who was among 21 AIGs retired by the Police Service Commission, spoke yesterday during his pulling out ceremony at the Police Staff College in Jos, Plateau State.

The former Rivers and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Commissioner, who will be remembered more for his several daring confrontations with former Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, than for his gallant exploits as a police officer, also said he is leaving the Nigeria Police Force a fulfilled man.

In his valedictory speech, Mbu urged senior officers to take the welfare of their subordinates seriously.

Give them words of encouragement. Send an officer to visit their homes when they are sick; accompany them when they are bereaved. Consider them for casual leave and off duty.

Addressing the media, the retired AIG said his sins during his stint as Rivers Police Commissioner, should not be visited on the entire Force.

To the Nigerian media and people, please, stop visiting the sins of an erring policeman on the entire force.

See the police as partners in progress and encourage them to do their jobs effectively. Be interested in their working conditions and environments.

Fielding questions from reporters after the pulling out parade, Mbu revealed that he came from a family of very rich cocoa farmers, therefore, he would be continuing in the family tradition now that he is retired.

I come from the cocoa producing area in Cross River State. We are very rich. In 1980 when I was going to the university I took $3,000. Then it was two naira to a dollar.

I have acres of cocoa farm plus the ones my father left. So, I want to go and concentrate on them.

I now have time to secure all the cocoa farms, plant cassava, watermelon, palms and plantain. There are alot of things to do and our soil is very fertile.

Looking back with nostalgia on his time in the Police Force, Mr. Mbu said: I am leaving the Police with my shoulders and head high because I have served my fatherland with commitment, professionalism and honesty.

I am proud to be a police man. I never regret joining the Nigerian Police Force and to retire as a policeman. If there is reincarnation, I make bold to say I will return to be a policeman.
Wife of the Vice President, Mrs. Dolapo Osinbajo, has paid a condolence visit to the family of the late Assistant Pastor of the Divine Touch Parish of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Abuja, Mrs Eunice Elisha.

The forty-two-year-old mother of seven was killed in cold blood by assailants while preaching around Gbazango-West area of Kubwa in the Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) early hours of Saturday.

Mrs Osinbajo, who visited the bereaved family around 1:30 pm on Sunday, was received by the deceaseds husband, Pastor Olawale Elisha; children and a host of church members and loved ones.

In her condolence message, the wife of the vice president wrote: May her gentle soul rest in perfect peace.
Punch

The Federal Government has begun the disbursement of the first tranche of the N90bn conditional loan facility to some of the 35 states that have so far applied for the loan.

Daily Times Dogara vows to strengthen capital market laws to sanction erring operators Speaker, House of Representatives Yakubu Dogara on Friday said that the parliament would strengthen capital market laws to empower regulators to sanction erring operators.

Vanguard

The National Coordinator of the Oodua Peoples Congress, OPC, Otunba Gani Adams, says recent killing of the Yoruba in some Lagos and Ogun communities by suspected Ijaw militants was unfortunate but said the OPC will not confront them.

Thisday

Armed militias have taken control of two local government areas in Cross River State and displaced virtually every civil authority in the area, THISDAY has learnt.

The Sun

NOTWITHSTANDING the disposition of President Muhammadu Buhari to the 2014 national confab report, the National Assembly has been given the nod by eminent Nigerians to incorporate the key recommendations contained in the document into the amendment of the 1999 constitution.

Daily Trust

The National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) has expressed its willingness to partner with the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to enthrone professionalism and efficiency in ports operations.

Leadership

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has berated the senior special assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Garba Shehu, for a piece he wrote on President Muhammadu Buharis focus on the Niger Delta region.

The Nation

Following his impressive performance, there were strong indications yesterday that President Muhammadu Buhari has written the Senate seeking the confirmation of Mr. Ibrahim Magu as the substantive chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Daily Independent

Mr. Jaafaru Ahmed, the new Comptroller-General (CG) of the Nigerian Prisons Service (NPS), has been accused of falsifying his age, contrary to Nigerian civil service regulations.

New Telegraph

The Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnay Onu yesterday said that the Federal Government is developing a draft action for the phasing out of mud houses across the country.
A delegation of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftains in Osun State have pleaded with the Ooni of Ife, Ooni Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi (Ojaja II) to intervene in the case between a former deputy governor of the state, Senator Iyiola Omisore and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

The EFCC picked up the PDP chieftain penultimate Sunday at his Maitama residence in Abuja after months of hide-and-seek.

He is being accused, alongside three companies, in which he has interests, of receiving about N1.3billion out of the arms procurement fund in the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) under embattled Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.). Omisore denied any wrongdoing.

A statement by the Director of Media and Public Affairs, Oonis Palace, Comrade Moses Olafare at the weekend, said the appeal for the Ooni to intervene was made on Wednesday by the Osun PDP Chairman, Hon. Adesoji Adagunodo, who led other leaders of the party on a courtesy visit to the revered monarch at his Ile Oodua Palace in Ile-Ife.

According to the statement, Adagunodo apologised on behalf of the detained former governorship candidate of the party for having failed to pay homage to the new Ooni since his enthronement in December, last year.

It also said the PDP Chairman pledged to personally bring Omisore to the palace upon his release to make his ways straight with Ooni Ogunwusi.

The statement read in part: Your Imperial Majesty, we are here to pay our homage to you as the father of our race who must be respected by all true sons and daughters of Yoruba Race. We also beg you in the name of Oduduwa to use your goodwill in assisting us to rescue one of our leaders, Otunba Iyiola Omisore, from the EFCC detention even though we are not unaware of his attitude towards this sacred palace as he has refused to pay homage since you were divinely crowned seven months ago.

We can assure you of his change of attitude as soon as he is released from detention.

According to the statement, Ogunwusi said he had no grudge against Omisore, who he described as a prominent Ife indigene that is entitled to his choice of relationship.

Nonetheless, the monarch assured the PDP chairman and his delegation of his readiness to assist them within his limited capability and prayed that God will set Omisore free if he has no skeleton in his cupboard over the matter.

The delegation to the Oonis palace included the Ife/Ijesa Senatorial leader, Hon. Wale Ojo; Ife Central Local Government (LG) Chair, Hon. Adebowale Adedotun (Meree); Ife East LG Chair, Hon. Durojaye Isaac; Hon. Funso Babarinde; Engr. Marcus Adedini; Prince Olajide Olaosebikan and Prince Tobi Akomolede.
The Presidency has said the support base of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration is still enormous, insisting that those complaining of the present tough times are in the minority.

It has, therefore, urged those complaining to be patient with the present administration as it is making efforts to correct the wrongs of the past.

Buharis Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina said this when he featured on a phone-in programme on Raypower 100.5FM in Abuja, yesterday.

Adesina said living in the midst of the people and feeling their pulse regularly, those working in government can conclude that those critising Buhari were in the minority.

Yes, you need to give me the statistics of those complaining.

We (government officials) are in the midst of the people and we can feel the pulse of the people. I maintain that the people who are complaining are in the minority. I can tell you that the support base of this government is still enormous. Yes, we know some people are complaining but, they are still in the minority.

The presidential spokesman reiterated that in 18-months, Nigerians will begin to feel the impact of governments efforts to revamp the economy.

Adesina further stressed that the waste that characterised the past administration is responsible for the nations current problems.

To every action, there is a reaction. To every action, there is a consequence. Before the present administration, crude oil is sold for as high as $140 per barrel. Where is that money?

We do not know what that money was used for. It was wasted, it went into private pockets and now we are seeing the consequences.

The people have to be patient, the economy is being retooled and it will surely be. The President has said it that in 18 months, the economy will begin to be retooled. Why cant they wait 18 months to two years? he asked.

Adesina assured Nigerians that the change promised them by the Buharis administration would come, but not through magic.

The Presidential Spokesman re-echoed Buharis promise that, monies recovered from those who looted public treasury would be spent on the development of infrastructure.

Source: Sun News
Facts have emerged on how some secondary school girls were tricked into prostitution by a suspected human trafficker, Abigail Nweke Alo, who promised to take them to Lagos.

Findings by Vanguard revealed that the four schoolgirls, Charity Nkwogor, Felicia Nzuworgar, Angela Benjamin amd Patience Williams all between 17 and 18 years old, were forced into prostitution by the woman who owned a brothel in Calabar business area.

The girls said to all be from Okun and Vandeikya local government areas of Benue state, were said to have been taken from their homes in January to work as sales girls in a supposed drinking spot in Lagos, but they narrated how Abigail, the woman they referred to as Chairlady, ended up using them as sex workers.

Speaking on her own plight, Felicia explained: I was selling oranges in our market in Okun when she tapped me on the shoulder and I turned thinking she wanted to buy oranges but she told me she had a business in Lagos and wanted me to follow her. I did not know what came over me. I just followed her without even telling my parents and friends where I was going.

On her own part, Patience, an SS2 student Vandiekya, stated that she was plating a friends hair in fron of her grannys house (where she lived) when a motorcycle rider in the neighbourhood informed her that someone from Lagos would like to employ her ton in a beer parlour.

And Patience said she replied thus: I told Mike that I was still in school and could not go with the lady and that she should look for someone else. But instead of looking for somebody else, Mike went and brought the lady and when she looked into my eyes, I simply went inside and packed my clothes and followed her without waiting for my grandmother who went out to come back.

Angela was on her way from school when she reportedly met Chairlady who told her that she had a beer parlour on Lagos where she could work for her. The young student subsequently followed Abigail into the bus where other girls were said to be waiting.

On their way to the expected Lagos, the girls reportedly stopped in Enugu, passed the night in the house of a man who was said to have seven wives.

It was this man who allegedly gave the girls concoctions to drink, after which the youngsters were warned never to attempt escaping otherwise, their private parts would rotand they would eventually die.

Felicia explained further that, The man took us into his medicine hut and gave us the concoction to drink and, when we refused to drink, he beat us. He told us that if we went out without drinking, we will die. After we drank, he said that if we ran away from Chairlady, our private parts would rot and we will die.

We got to Calabar in the night and when I asked Chairlady if this was Lagos, she said yes.

At the brothel where the girls allegedly lodged the next day, they said they boxer shorts from their boss and immediately started to hustle for men just like their counterparts whom they met there, but those who refused were badly beaten by Chairlady.

According to Patience: We arrived Calabar in the night and, the next morning, she collected our phones and brought boxer shorts to us that we should wear and, when we asked her where the drinking parlour was so that we could start work, she said we should hustle like other girls were doing by sleeping with men and, when we refused, she beat us up mercilessly.

Everybody in the hotel was afraid of her because she was their boss and, if anyone dared to challenge her, she will send the person out of the place.

Angela recalls that they had to start sleeping with men after some days because their boss would not stop beating them and also denied them food, adding: You can see marks on our bodies because of the beating we got.

They revealed how their average daily encounter was with 20 men and how they got N500 to feed daily after the Chairlady had collected all the money they made from sleeping with the men.

Patience lamented: It was very painful when we started. Everyday we slept with an average of twenty men for N500.00 each and, because we were young and new, men would line up and wait for us till about 12 midnight when the hotel closes and then Chairlady will come in and collect the money and, since she used to count the condoms she was giving us, if you did not give her all the money, she will beat you mercilessly.

The woman was said to have guys who conducted the search in the girls rooms and bodies and ensured that no money was hidden and having collected their phones since their arrival in Calabar, the Chairlady denied any one of them access to any where outside the brothel as Angela and Charity, two of the girls who had attempted to escape, were beaten silly.

Recounting her ordeal after trying to escape, Angela said: When I tried to run away, she brought a soldier and a policeman who were her friends who beat me up and poured tear gas in my eyes and, because of that, I became very sick and could not stand up for many days.

The girls confessed to have been hypnotised by the lady, whom they reportedly obeyed and followed immediately she touched their shoulders. But despite the claims and confessions of the schoolgirls, Abigail, the alleged trafficker, denied ever bringing the girls to Calabar for prostitution business.

The woman who claimed to be from Ebonyi state, insisted that she was arrested by operatives from anti-human trafficking unit of the Cross River state police command out of jealousy. Speaking on the incident, the police spokesperson in Cross River, John Eluu, confirmed that the suspected human trafficker will face the full wrath of the law, while warning young girls to be wary of people promising them lucrative jobs in Lagos without proof.

The suspect has now been charged to court on allegations of kidnap and for engaging in prostitution. Recently, a 28-year-old mother of two was arrested in Nigerias federal capital, by the Special Intelligence Response Team of the Inspector-General of Police for allegedly turning six girls into prostitutes.

According to police reports, the six girls aged from 19-22 namely Chidinma Amakwe, Blessing John, Nancy Azubuike, Chiamaka Eze, Amarachi Chinedu and Beauty Ndulue, had been found locked up in a room where they had been promised N200,000 after six months if they become commercial sex workers.

Source: Naij
The ruling party, All Progressives Congress has said through its National chairman that the anti-corruption war of the Muhammadu Buharis government is neither selective nor partisan.

INFORMATION NIGERIA in this piece brings to you what he said.

He noted that Peoples Democratic Party chieftains are being investigated because most of them received funds from Sambo Dasuki, former national security adviser.

He said that when the former NSA was sharing money from his ATM machine, he didnt extend an invitation to members of the opposition party.

Prosecution depends on evidence. Once there is evidence, if anyone has evidence, let him provide it. he also said.

He also said there are a few APC leaders who are being called to question and that the campaign is not as one sided as it seems and it is not something to be apologetic for.

Oyegun also said the ruling party is not interested in an opposition that is enmeshed in crisis, insisting that the APC is not in any way responsible for the internal strife in the PDP.

All I can say is that they cannot eat their cake and have it. When their factional chairman left us, they were celebrating, they were happy saying oh, weve got a big fish. Now that they see the kind of man he is, they are crying wolf. We have nothing to do with the travails of the PDP because in reality; we want a virile opposition. We want an opposition that is responsible, that has ideas to contribute he also maintained.

The APC chieftain further stressed that the federal government isnt investigating the campaign funds expended by the PDP, but rather, public funds that were pumped into the 2015 election.

Oyegun said individual donors, businesses and companies who contributed the election campaign of the PDP arent under investigation.
Chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP in the State of Osun have appealed to the Ooni of Ife His Imperial Majesty Ooni Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi(Ojaja II) to come to the rescue one of them Senator Iyiola Omisore.

Senator Omisore is being investigated for his roles in the criminal diversion of funds meant for arms by the former National Security Adviser Colonel Sabo Dasuki.

The appeal was made by the State Chairman of the party Hon. Adesoji Adagunodo who led other leaders of the party on a courtesy visit to the highly revered monarch at his Ile Oodua Palace in Ile-Ife.

The State party Chairman apologized on behalf of the detained Ife politician who has not visited the king since he was crowned seven months ago promising that as a true son of Ife and bonafide member of the Oduduwa House, Omisore will upon his release be brought to the palace to do the right thing.

Below in their own words is what transpired at the palace.

Your Imperial Majesty, we are here to pay our homage to you as the father of our race who must be respected by all true sons and daughters of Yoruba Race.

We also beg you in the name of Oduduwa to use your goodwill in assisting us to rescue one of our leaders Otunba Iyiola Omisore from the EFCC detention even though we are not unaware of his attitude towards this sacred palace as he has refused to pay homage since you were divinely crowned seven months ago.

We can assure you of his change of attitude as soon as he is released from detention. Adagunodo pleaded.

Responding, the Ooni said he has no grudge whatsoever against Omisore who he described as a prominent Ife indigene entitled to his choice of relationship and assured the PDP chairman of his readiness to assist them within his limited capability and prayed that God will set him free if he has no skeleton in his cupboard over the matter.

Omisore is a prominent Ife son, I dont have any grudge against him whatsoever over his refusal to visit my palace since I became the Ooni. You all must know that he is entitled to his right of choice on who and where to visit at anytime. Dont also forget he is undergoing a procedural investigation and laws of the land must be respected but I promise to assist you on this matter within my limited capability legally guided.

I heartily pray God should quickly set him free if he has no skeleton in his cupboard. Ooni said.
It was a Sallah of blood, destruction and tears in Barakuta village, Bosso local government area of Niger State as four persons were confirmed killed and several others injured in a reprisal attack between Fulanis and farmers.

Houses, four cars and 17 motorcycles were also torched during the violence, which erupted last Thursday when the Fulanis reportedly killed a Gbagyi man, who prevented them from raping a girl during the Eid-el-Fitri festivities.

In a revenge attack, the Gbagyis mobilized and killed some Fulanis, which led to the reprisal attack on the villagers.

Confirming the development on Saturday, the Niger State Police Command spokesman, Bala Elkana, said four people were killed while many houses and valuables were burnt down in the attack.

Mr. Elkana, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, disclosed that police and military joint forces have been deployed to the village to restore law and order.

He also called on the people of the community to remain calm and law abiding as security agencies were on top of the situation.
The Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) on Saturday advised the Federal Government against assisting state governments with bailout funds for the payment of workers salaries.

The unions South-West Chairman, Mr Tokunbo Korodo, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos gave the instruction.

Mr Korodo also adviced the state governments with huge salary arrears to look inwards and find new ways to generate revenue, without waiting for monthly allocations from the federation account.

Most of the governors have about 20 commissioners and over 42 special advisers, besides other large number of associates among whom they appointed the heads of various boards and agencies in the state.

Governors from the 27 states that cannot pay the monthly salaries of their workers should look inward to find new ways of generating income to settle their wage bills.

He suggested the reviving of agriculture as an alternative to the current over-dependence of such states on revenues from the federation account.

He also enjoined such governors to block all existing leakages in revenue generation in their states.
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command on Saturday said it made arrests in connection with the gruesome killing of a woman preacher in Kubwa, Bwari Area Council of the FCT.

The FCT police commands Spokesman, ASP Anjuguri Manzah, confirmed the arrest to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja yesterday.

According to Manzah, the Commissioner of Police, Alkali Usman, has directed the homicide section to take over the investigation.

We have made some arrests and they are helping in our investigation.

The commissioner of police has ordered the homicide section of the command to take over the investigation of the case, he said.

The spokesman, however, did not mention the number of suspects arrested.

He said that personnel of the command had visited the scene of the incident and that investigation had begun.

The victim, Deaconess Eunice Olawale, a mother of seven, was butchered to death by some unidentified persons while preaching in the early hours of Saturday at Gbazango community in Kubwa.
On this day in 1993; Kenyan runner Yobes Ondieki surprised the world when he became the first man to run 10 000 Meters in less than 27 minutes.

Ondieki was taking part in the Bislett Games in Oslo, Norway, when he made history.

This achievement saw him ranked number one in the world in the 10 000 meters.

Also on this day in 1964; MoAse-Kapenda Tshombe, leader of the Confederation of Tribal Associations of Katanga, became the Prime Minister of the Congo (now known as Democratic Republic of Congo).
The Nigerian Army has said that the Boko Haram insurgents last night attacked troops location at Rann, Kala Balge Local Government Area of Borno State and that, after a heavy gunfire confrontation, 16 of the terrorists were killed.

In a statement released by the Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Col Sani Usman, The terrorists came with motorcycles borne improvised explosive devices (MCBIED), anti-aircraft guns and other weapons at about 5.00pm and the exchange of fire lasted for some hours before they were overwhelmed by the troops firepower.

Unfortunately, one of the suicide bombers detonated himself at a gun truck, killing the driver and the gunner. The truck and the mounted weapon were also damaged beyond repairs. In addition, two soldiers were wounded in action while three others sustained minor injuries.

The troops killed seven of the attackers instantly while quite a number escaped with gunshot wounds. During clearance operations this morning, the troops discovered nine more Boko Haram terrorists dead bodies in the surrounding areas. Therefore the total number of terrorists killed was 16.

The troops also recovered a General Purpose Machine Gun, Rocket Propelled Grenade, ammunition and captured two of the terrorists alive.

The bodies of the two fallen heroes and the wounded in action soldiers have been evacuated to Maiduguri, while reinforcement was sent from Gomboru Ngala, the statement added.
National Coordinator of the Oodua Peoples Congress, OPC, Otunba Gani Adams, has described the killing of the Yoruba in some Lagos and Ogun communities by suspected militants as unfortunate.

While noting that the OPC has the capacity to repel the attackers, Mr. Adams said the organization will not confront them.

Speaking in Lagos at the weekend, he said the attacks have brought to the fore the sad reality of a major threat to the people of the South West.

Condemning the wanton killings and destruction of property, the OPC leader said: We are still talking about the menace of herdsmen and some hoodlums masquerading as kidnappers or militants started to kill our people to the extent that the Ogun State deputy governor came to the area and they chased the security of the deputy governor and the police could not do anything. The law enforcement agents should tell the whole world how many of the criminals that they have arrested after more than 50 people have been massacred.

Assuring that the group has the wherewithal to stop the hoodlums in their track, Mr. Adams called on leaders from the South West to support the OPC to fight for their interest.
Securing a modern day self-storage development warrants thoughtful planning and execution. Todays projects are more diverse than ever before. Properties require a combination of standard and custom-designed security components and practices. A proper strategy is essential to create a successfully secured and marketable site. Technology and components are ever-changing, so your security philosophy should be, too.

Site Plan and Access

From start to finish, security should play a role in the design and construction of your self-storage project. The first component to consider is your site plan. Before setting the building layout, establish the position of the gate in relation to the office. In a traditional storage property, the gate location is the single most important consideration in regard to security. When possible, create sight lines so you can see the storage units from the office, as this will discourage would-be thieves.

Of course, multi-story, climate-controlled storage presents a different set of circumstances. Instead of a gate, main access doors are usually placed near the office. Other entry points will need access-control devices to limit entry and exit to only those who are authorized. Hallways will require more cameras, too. These added components can drive up your security budget, so be prepared.

Traditional access control for self-storage properties generally includes keypads. Although other, more sophisticated technology is available, keypads are still the preferred tool at the majority of facilities. Thousands of properties are using these machines, which means they wont go away any time soon. Owners arent likely to scrap functional systems.

Keypad wiring and installation is simple and straightforward, and there have been many enhancements added through the years. Keypads now have onboard brains; if communication with the software fails, the keypad houses the access codes for continued operation. Intercoms can be housed in the keypad as well as pinhole cameras, which may be connected to a video-recording system. Communication with the keypad can now be accomplished via the Internet, eliminating the need for a computer at unattended sites.

New technology is adding to the way customers access properties, and specialty types of storage drive the need for different access-control components. Proximity or card readers make sense in applications where state-of-the-art security is desired. These might include multi-story buildings, or properties that offer storage for boats, RVs, classic cars, art or wine. These readers can be used with cards, key fobs or clickers. Smartphones can be used as proximity devices, and applications are being written to use them as a wireless keypad.

Door Alarms

The self-storage security system that ends with the access gate or door welcomes the would-be thief. Picture this scenario: A person rents a unit and is given an access code. He begins spending time on site, observing activity and whats inside any open units. All the while, hes making a mental and physical inventory, planning what to steal later. When the opportunity presents itself, he cuts the locks on select units and takes the goods, storing them in his own unit or moving them to the front of the original unit for later loading into a truck. He puts a lock back on each unit so no one is suspicious until a tenant comes in and cant open his space.

Individual door alarms eliminate this risk. As soon as the thief opens the first door that doesnt belong to him, an alarm sounds and the office or monitoring company is notified. The burglar has no choice but to rent at a facility where alarms havent been installed.

Wired door alarms consist of a switch, wire, multiplexer, communication module with power supply, relay module, siren, and software. The switch reads the status of the latch (open or closed). It wires back to a multiplexer, which poles the status of each door connected to it. A single communication cable from the series of multiplexers to the communication module, and then a USB cable to the computer with software, complete the path of intelligence. A relay module connects to a separate USB on the computer to drive a siren or annunciation in the case of an alarm situation.

Wireless door alarms consist of a switch with transmitter and battery, receiver, communication module, and software. Theyre not reliable or practical for a self-storage application as battery performance and longevity are affected by the cold. Other signals in the area can affect the signal at the site. Concrete and steel construction can also have an adverse affect on their overall reliability.

Video Cameras

Video cameras continue to evolve with better picture quality, recording capability and accessibility. If youre constructing a new site, youll benefit from using current technology. An existing site may need to consider updating the present equipment.

Digital cameras are taking the place of analog. Internet-protocol (IP) systems can send and receive data through a computer network and the Internet, and provide enhanced picture quality. If youre replacing analog cameras, youll also need to replace the video recorder to take advantage of the better quality picture in the recording phase. You should also consider upgrading your monitor quality.

High-definition cameras are another option for better resolution without going with an IP solution. Youll need to replace the other components of the system, including monitors, recorders and power supplies. The good news is with new recorders, youll be able to view camera activity remotely through a smartphone, tablet or any computer with Internet access.

Installation

The right installer can make or break your ability to secure your self-storage facility. It can mean the difference between a smooth running operation and an ongoing maintenance issue. Your installer will know the latest safety-device requirements for your gate and access controls.

Keep in mind that your best choice for an installer may not be the closest geographically or the least expensive. A great installer will provide valuable input. Make yourself available, and ask the company to be accessible to you in case you have questions or concerns later.

Evaluation

Revisit your security system every five years to evaluate the features and quality. Technology and components can become outdated quickly. Providers consistently refine their products, adding in or redesigning for enhancements in functionality and performance. Rotating new components in at different intervals will help minimize the cost.

Just be careful not to sacrifice aspects of your security strategy because you havent budgeted for ongoing expenditures. Your system can help you attract new renters, protect customers belongings and discourage potential wrongdoers. Your tenants will have peace of mind that their stored goods are safe, while you and your staff will be proud to provide a quality product and rental experience.

John Fogg is the general manager of Sentinel Systems Corp. He has worked in self-storage since 1986. Sentinel provides WinSen property-management software and security-access systems, individual door alarms, wireless door alarms, and more. The company celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2015. For more information, call 800.456.9955, ext. 405, e-mail: [email protected]; visit www.sentinelsystems.com.
Un ottobre da sogno per Antonio Conte: lex ct della Nazionale italiana, attualmente alla guida del Chelsea, nelle ultime quattro gare di Premier League ha collezionato solo successi, conditi da 11 reti segnate e addirittura nessuna incassata. Numeri da record che non sono certo passati inosservati alla Federazione inglese, la quale ha conferito al tecnico leccese lambito premio di Manager del mese.

Unavventura oltremanica iniziata in sordina, quella di Conte, pur a fronte di tre vittorie nelle prime tre gare di campionato. A far vacillare, anche se solo per un momento, le certezze del patron del club londinese, Roman Abramovich, i risultati conseguiti tra la 4a e la 6a giornata, coincisi con un pareggio sul campo dello Swansea City e, soprattutto, con le due pesanti sconfitte subite dal Liverpool, sul terreno casalingo di Stamford Bridge, e dallArsenal. In particolare, la debacle interna coi Reds, aveva irritato non poco il numero uno russo, poiche occorsa proprio nel giorno della sua 250esima partita da presidente della societa.

Come detto, solo un momento. Dopo lincontro dellEmirates, il tecnico salentino cambia modulo, adottando un piu equilibrato 3-4-3 e inserendo elementi di corsa come lo spagnolo Pedro. Una svolta totale perche, di li in poi, il Chelsea inanellera solo e soltanto vittorie: 2 gol allHull City e al Southampton in trasferta, 3 ai campioni dInghilterra del Leicester e 4 allo United in casa, con un meraviglioso numero zero nella casella delle reti subite. Un fantastico poker, ottenuto tra l1 e il 29 ottobre. Un cambio di marcia sbalorditivo, confermato dal 5 a 0 rifilato ai toffees dellEverton nel primo match di novembre, e una scalata che, man mano, ha portato i blues al secondo posto in classifica, a soli 2 punti dal Liverpool capolista.

E allora, non poteva mancare il riconoscimento di migliore allenatore del mese, ottenuto surclassando tecnici del calibro di Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool), Arsene Wenger (Arsenal) e Mark Hughes (Southampton). Tanta, ovviamente, la soddisfazione: E un grande onore e voglio condividerlo con i giocatori e con la societa  ha dichiarato Conte sul sito ufficiale della Premier League -. E la prima volta che lavoro in un altro Paese, con una cultura diversa, e portare la propria filosofia non e facile, ma ora sono contento di questa scelta.

A completare la festa, la premiazione del fantasista belga, Eden Hazard, come miglior giocatore di ottobre. Due risultati importanti per il club, ottimo incentivo per la rincorsa al trono dei campioni, occupato dal Leicester di Ranieri. Il prossimo appuntamento per l11 di Conte sara al Riverside Stadium, tana del Middlesborough neopromosso. Il tempo di festeggiare e gia finito.
Noi siamo fiduciosi del fatto che la Clinton comprenda il ruolo degli Stati Uniti nel mondo, non abbiamo dubbi che lei affrontera in modo assiduo i problemi che il nostro Paese deve affrontare, e lei ha dimostrato la sua disposizione allanalisi ed al duro impegno. E un estratto delleditoriale con cui il magazine The Atlantic ha palesato il suo appoggio alla candidata democratica alle elezioni presidenziali, Hillary Clinton.

Il magazine ha deciso di dare il suo endorsment alla Clinton definendola uno dei candidati piu preparati di sempre e, inoltre, ha bollato Donald Trump come demagogo, xenofobo, sessista, uno che non sa niente ed e un bugiardo, specificandolo che lo considera il candidato piu dichiaratamente non qualificato nei 227 anni della storia della presidenza americana e che sarebbe una minaccia esistenziale per la Repubblica.

Fondata nel 1857, la prestigiosa e storica rivista solo in altre due occasioni si era apertamente schierata a favore di un candidato alla Casa Bianca: nel 1860 con Abraham Lincoln e nel 1964 con Lyndon B. Johnson. A sottolineare limportanza e leccezionalita della decisione e il direttore di The Atlantic, Scott Stossel, che paragona la scelta di sostenere la Clinton a quella fatta nel 1964 a favore di Johnson che si scontrava con il repubblicano Barry Goldwater.
A master of business administration (MBA) degree is one of the most sought-after degrees for professionals looking to scale the corporate ladder, no matter whether they are in the business industry or a different one. While completing this degree, MBA candidates can make themselves even more employable by pursuing secondary degrees to complement an MBA. Some of the best double majors for business administration can highlight a core MBA subject such as finance, marketing, strategy, or economics. Alternatively, an MBA double major could be in a completely different arena such as information technology (IT), entrepreneurship, or healthcare.

Specialization vs. Double Major vs. Dual Degree

In addition to general MBA degree programs, many colleges now include specialization as part of the curriculum. Specialization simply means that you take a specified number of upper-level courses in a related field in addition to meeting requirements for an MBA. You could, for example, earn an MBA with specialization (often referred to as a concentration) in finance.

An MBA double major involves more time and coursework than specialization, as you would complete degree requirements in two areas, not just take additional courses. You would, however, end up with only one degree, such as a master of business administration in finance.

A joint or dual degree program is the most intensive educational option. A joint MBA consists of a single curriculum that integrates two programs at one school, while a dual program involves two separate curriculums at the same or different schools. In either case, the result is two degrees, such as a master of business administration and a master's in finance. Dual degrees take more time and cost more than a double major since they result in two diplomas.

Key Takeaways A master of business administration (MBA) degree is one of the most sought-after degrees for professionals looking to scale the corporate ladder.

Ultimately, the best double majors are ones that complement the industry a student wants to be in--whether that's in computer science, international relations, or a create-it-yourself degree program.

In terms of the best MBA concentration programs, consulting, entrepreneurship, and corporate finance are popular and lucrative options.

Do-It-Yourself Double Major

Alongside an MBA program, students can also create their own double major program. If you decide to follow this DIY approach, its important to meet with counselors from both degree programs to take advantage of classes that might count toward both majors. The more closely related both areas are, the more likely there will be common courses that will help you cut down the time and expense involved in pursuing a double major.

Ultimately, the best double majors are ones that complement the industry you want to be in. Since MBA degrees tend to be generalist degrees that are applicable in any corporate industry, students need to think about what the best double majors for business administration are in their field. Many MBA schools now offer a range of double major or degree programs, from a joint degree in Electrical Engineering to International Relations, or even a J.D. or Masters in Public Policy. All it takes is some research to see what options are out there.

Three MBA Double Majors to Boost Your Value

Any of the academic options listed above  specialization, double major, or dual degree  can be used to boost your value in the job market. As a double major falls in the middle of the three in terms of intensity, an examination of three of the highest-paying areas of MBA concentration may be helpful in deciding if the extra time and effort are worthwhile.

Consulting

According to Poets&Quants, the top-earning MBA concentration in 2018 was consulting. MBA candidates with concentrations in consulting made $101,108 early in their careers, which was $8,306 more than any other field of study. Consultant and strategy specialists are big picture people, well equipped to help a company improve its performance. With a consulting concentration, you may increase your chances of ending up in the C-suite as CEO or in another top management position. You will study the history of business decisions  both good and bad  to help you arrive at your own corporate philosophy. Management consulting is a versatile discipline and could lead to employment in a variety of fields or in the world of startups and entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship is also a popular double major for MBAs, with a less-impressive early career paycheck of $70,300 per year but a mid-career average of $139,000, a difference of $68,700 between that and starting pay. Graduates who attend a school like the Stanford Graduate School of Business will be frequently exposed to the Silicon Valley entrepreneurship culture. While many entrepreneurship majors hope to start their own companies, there are plenty of jobs in corporations and organizations for creative, innovative workers. As an entrepreneurship major, you could find yourself in mid-level management, consulting, sales, research, and development (R&D), not-for-profit fundraising, or teaching.

Corporate Finance

Corporate finance majors had an average starting salary of $88,493 in 2018--among the top five most lucrative concentrations within an MBA program. As part of your finance course of study, you would develop analytical skills and the ability to dissect complicated financial reports and documents. As money is the bottom line in business, there are many jobs available inside and outside the corporate world, including as a financial planner, investment analyst, investor relations associate, actuary, accountant, commercial real estate, and teacher.

The Bottom Line

In a competitive market, you need every edge you can get. A double major consisting of an MBA with an additional area of specialization helps you achieve that edge. Plan carefully, including consulting with appropriate university counselors in both areas, to minimize completion time by choosing a second major that complements your MBA.
What Is Italexit (Italeave)?

Italexit is a portmanteau of "Italy" and "exit," is the Italian version of Brexit where the EU's third-largest economy would potentially leave the European Union (EU). It may also go by the alternative portmanteau Italeave ("Italy" and "leave").

Key Takeaways Italexit, or Italeave, is the term given to the possibility of Italy leaving the EU, similar to the U.K.'s Brexit.

At the forefront of Italexit is the Five Star Movement, started in 2009.

Sentiment for leaving, whether it be Italexit or some other "-exit," is often related to a loss of sovereignty to the EU and high financial contributions that foment extremist thought.

Understanding Italexit

Each country in the European Union has a specific set of political interests that depend on the country's situation and its unique history and culture, as well as the values and ideologies of the extremist parties on either side of the political aisle. The prospect of Italy leaving the EU became more pronounced throughout the Spring of 2018 as national elections in March of that year were inconclusive, essentially leaving the country without a ruling government.

At the forefront of Italexit is the so-called Five Star Movement, started in 2009. The Five Star Movement is the second most popular party in Italy behind the Democratic Party. The Five Star movement was already gaining steam prior to Brexit, as the party experienced success in local elections, electing Virginia Raggi and Chiara Appendino as mayors of Rome and Turin, respectively. While the turnout was relatively low, the vote serves as an indication of the state of Italian politics.

During the last weekend in May 2018, Italy's president, Sergio Mattarella, appointed former IMF official Carlo Cottarelli as interim prime minister until new elections in early 2019. As Italian president, Mattarella has the power to nominate the head of the Italian government and its ministers. He nominated Cottarelli after refusing to accept the nomination of Paolo Savona as finance minister. Savona represents the Five Star Movement, which has pushed Italy to break away from the EU. This created an impasse that was solved by the formation of a coalition which saw the current Prime Minister, Giuseppe Conte, came to power in June 2018.

Motivation to Leave

Prior to the formation of the coalition between the Five Start Movement and the League, Italian political developments had rattled global markets as the prospect of a weakened EU was revived. Of central concern was the threat that Italy would default on nearly $2.7 trillion in debt, which would have had a massive impact on other countries, banks, and institutional investors.

Throughout Europe, nationalist political parties have latched on to the idea of leaving the European Union. The sentiment for leaving is often related to a loss of sovereignty to the EU government in Brussels, high financial contributions to the Union and specific issues that can vary by countryfor example, immigration and healthcare.

While the majority of academics and mainstream politicians tend to argue for the European Union, the Brexit vote has inspired nationalist parties to intensify their efforts to split from the EU. Other countries with extremist parties that have acknowledged their own versions of the possibility of leaving the EU include Greece (Grexit), France (Frexit), and the Czech Republic (Czech-out).

Italexit Economic Consequences

The immediate consequences of the Brexit vote in 2016 were not favorable to either the UK or the EU. Global stock markets plunged. The UK's credit rating was quickly downgraded by the three major credit agencies: Standard and Poor's, Moody's, and Fitch, and the British pound (GBP) hit its lowest exchange rate since 1985. David Cameron, who was PM at that time and who opposed Brexit, announced that he would step down and was succeeded by Theresa May. Similar political and economic turmoil can be expected if, and when, Italexit comes to fruition.
How do you look someone in the eye and admit you sent their loved ones into war for ill-considered reasons?

How do you tell them that their sons and daughters, husbands and wives died in vain for a conflict built on lies?

The answer is you don't, because no one could, even after the publication of the damning seven year, 2.6 million word Iraq War report by Sir John Chilcot and his committee released this week.

Chilcot, a pillar of the British establishment, had total access to secret documents including private communications between Prime Minister Tony Blair and President George W Bush, which under normal circumstances would not be released this year, or possibly ever.

In the run up to war Blair had made Saddam Hussein's alleged possession of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) his central justification for the invasion of Iraq, but those weapons of mass destruction simply did not exist.

The truth, confirmed now but at the time widely suspected, is that Bush administration intelligence about WMD was almost entirely wrong and much of it was utter fiction.

The new report claims that Blair was at times even less briefed about the real situation on the ground in Iraq than operatives at MI6, who were briefing him and who understood just how flimsy much of the intelligence on Iraq really was.

The invasion and the mayhem that quickly followed was due to poor intelligence and the failure to secure the peace after the invasion.

The false intelligence that justified and guided the Iraq war is now considered the worst failure in the history of the UK and the US's intelligence services.

One hundred and seventy-nine British servicemen and servicewomen lost their lives in Iraq, and three were from Ireland.

Lance Corporal Ian Malone, 28, came from Ballyfermot in Dublin; Captain Ken Masters, 40, came from Portadown, County Armagh and Lance Corporal Timothy Flowers, 28, came from Derry.

Lance Corporal Malone served in the 1st Battalion of the Irish Guards. He was reportedly killed by sniper fire during fighting in Basra in March 2003.

Lance Corporal Flowers served with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers and reportedly died after a mortar attack hit the British armys Basra Palace base in July 2007.

Captain Ken Masters, a father of two girls, served with the Royal Military Police and took his own life in Basra in October 2005.

Lance Corporal Malones funeral was held at the Church of the Assumption in Ballyfermot in Dublin. The following St Patricks Day May Malone, the soldier's mother, used a visit to the Irish Guards regiment in south Armagh to passionately condemn the war.

I dont think the war should ever have happened. It was not necessary. There was no need for the war at all, she said. Since the war has ended so many have died, I think it was totally unnecessary. I was fairly bitter, but you cannot go through life being bitter because Ian wouldnt have wanted that  my son was a proud man and very proud to be in the Irish Guards so for his sake I try not to be bitter.

Captain Master's wife Alison told the press his life could have been saved if had he been helped to cope with the great stress of the conflict.

We are asking far too much of our troops, they are working 24/7 without any help. They are overstretched and attitudes need to be changed, Masters told the BBC. Depression is an illness, but they really need to look at the stress and having somebody out there to look after them, she said.

Ms Masters added that her husbands colleagues in Iraq had noticed he was not well, but nothing was done for him.

Lance Corporal Flowers, a mechanic, died when his base was struck by a suspected mortar or rocket. From the Waterside area of Derry, he was buried with full military honors in Portstewart, County Derry where he had lived with his grandparents.

The Chilcot inquiry concluded this week that that the circumstances in which the Blair government decided that there was a legal basis for military action were far from satisfactory. That claim leaves the door open, some critics say, to a potential criminal prosecution.
On July 2, a procession of New Yorkers gathered at the Irish Hunger Memorial in downtown Manhattan and marched to nearby Bowling Green, hard by the Battery Park waterfront, in the shadows of the stately old Custom House at the southern tip of Manhattan.

The march was part of an Independence Day celebration, and the theme was the Irish contribution to New York City, in light of the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rebellion, which put Ireland on the path to freedom.

In other words, Britains exit -- Brexit, if you will -- from Ireland.

That term has been in the news endlessly of late, what with British voters deciding to leave the European Union. The only thing anyone seems to know about the long-term effects of Brexit is that no one is quite sure about the long-term effects of Brexit.

What we do know is that the march to Bowling Green on July 2 marked another Brexit, of sorts. And it was another one the Irish celebrated passionately.

Back in November, The New York Times published an article outlining local activists and their efforts to remember the by-gone holiday known as Evacuation Day in New York. (This is not to be confused with Bostons Evacuation Day, which marks March 17, 1776, so thats another very Irish story for another column.)

Evacuation Day was New Yorks biggest holiday in the 19th century, the Times noted.

The paper then added, however, that the anniversary of the British evacuation of New York in 1783 has been so forgotten that City Council lawyers are resisting efforts to name a street after the historical event the holiday commemorates.

Good old American patriotism was not the only thing that fueled raucous Evacuation Day celebrations. As Irish immigration to New York City increased, the anti-British sentiment of Evacuation Day was a perfect way for the newcomers to prove that they fit into this new land.

Read more: The Irishmen who fought in General Washington's army

The holiday (celebrated exuberantly by Irish Americans in the 19th century, according to the Times) technically marks the exit of British troops as well as the return of General George Washington to New York City, where Union Jack flags were still flying.

As legend has it, John Van Arsdale, an American former prisoner of war, finally managed to climb a flagpole mischievously greased by the British and replace the Union Jack with the Stars and Stripes, the Times noted. A departing British warship passing through the Narrows fired a spiteful parting shot -- purportedly the last round of the Revolutionary War.

Evacuation Day celebrations, often compared to todays July 4th, with copious amounts of food, drink and fireworks, began to wane as the United States relationship with Britain began to evolve. By the time of World War I, America was a strong ally of the British, much to the chagrin of many Irish Americans.

The late November date of New Yorks Evacuation Day celebrations also began to compete with the even more patriotic, yet solemn traditions of Thanksgiving.

And so, Evacuation Day celebrations in New York became a thing that only parents, and then grandparents, remembered with any specific details.

But there is a happy ending to this story. After the Times published its initial story in November, the New York City Council revisited the issue of commemorating Evacuation Day by renaming a stretch of the Bowling Green area.

It took an only-in-New-York, melting pot effort, led by Arthur Piccolo of the Lower Manhattan Historical Society as well as Councilwoman Margaret Chin.

Why is it so important to remember New Yorks own Brexit, some 233 years later?

Few Americans know that Brooklyn was the site of the biggest battle of the American Revolution  that the prison ships in New York harbor were the scene of the wars greatest tragedy, famed New York historian Kenneth T. Jackson told the Times, and that the war ended when the redcoats evacuated from Manhattan, and George Washington rode triumphantly down Broadway.

If you didnt think about that this July 4, try to remember next year.
UN envoy Mary Robinson has called for schoolchildren to be taught more about how their lives directly impact climate change.

At the end of a trip to Ethiopia, which has suffered its most severe drought in half a century, the former president of Ireland said youngsters born today will live through a potentially existential crisis.

The east African nation is among the countries worst affected by climate change - a devastating reality aggravated by the recurring misery of the El Nino weather system that disrupts and stops vital rains in the tropics.

The survival of tens of millions is threatened further by the ensuing La Nina cooling system which is expected to spark flash floods at the end of the year, washing away thin, arid soils.

"We have to be able to climate proof everything we do," Ms Robinson said.

"Everyone now, and I mean everyone, has to think about climate in the context of who they are and where they are.

"And we need to have a strong input into education, starting in primary schools."

Ms Robinson is to report to the UN later this year in her role as envoy for climate change and El Nino.

Her argument for more education is backed by startling figures that it takes 88 Ethiopians to emit as much carbon dioxide as one Irish person.

She was also told 10.2m people are crying out for food aid in Ethiopia; the funding needed to save lives is 468m short; and 3m youngsters have stopped going to school because of hunger.

Ms Robinson marked the crisis as "the emissions problem of a rich world punishing a poor world".

She said: "We have to really realise that we are into a potential existential problem where future generations, and when I say that I mean children born today, will live through the whole cycle ... they will potentially have incredible problems."

Ethiopia's foreign minister Tedros A Ghebreyesus added: "We have not contributed to the damage of our climate, nothing... we are the victims."

Every village Ms Robinson visited across Tigray - the vast northern region worst hit by the famine of 1984 - has stories of migration.

Seasonal rains failed in the last year leaving smallholders without enough wheat, maize or cereal crops to get through the Hunger Season - the traditionally lean months from March to September.

The vast majority of the six million people in Tigray are now surviving thanks to the distribution of seeds and nutrient rich parcels added to daily meals of soup and porridge.

Most of the trip saw the envoy on the ground talking to the mothers and farmers who eke out an existence on arid farmland, usually less than half a hectare for a family of five.

She toured the region with aid agencies Concern, Trocaire and Goal and witnessed first-hand the life-saving initiatives they support, including monthly nutrition and health clinics for hundreds of thousands of breastfeeding mothers.

The charities pleaded for world powers to do more to stop the drought in Ethiopia leading to the worst food emergency since the mid-80s.

Reflecting on Europe's response to the refugee and migrant crisis, Ms Robinson added: "If parts of the world warm more quickly and become unlivable, where do they do go?"

Ms Robinson will take her mission to Honduras and Vietnam before reporting on the crisis and efforts to plan for the future. The UN said during her trip that 100m people would be affected across the tropics by El Nino and La Nina.

"I think we have to understand the need to factor in the reality for millions of people, particularly children, of climate change in general but in particular when aggravated by El Nino followed by La Nina effect," Ms Robinson said.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights also said she met Nick Hurd, under secretary of state at the Department for International Development, in London in the week before she travelled to Ethiopia.

She said he gave an assurance that the UK would not renege on its commitments to spend 1% of GDP on overseas aid, regardless of Brexit.
The Hollywood star issued a statement following the publication of a coroners report into the death of Irish make-up artist Cathriona White.

Ms White, 30, died after taking a lethal cocktail of prescription drugs at her Los Angeles home in September.

The Los Angeles county coroners office released a report into her death earlier this week, which revealed she left a note for Carrey saying she was just not for this world.

In a statement following the reports release, Carrey said: When I came to Hollywood to make it as a comedian, I soon learned that the details of my private life would be handed out to the media like free dinner vouchers.

I never dreamed that the people I love most in the world would also be on the menu. What a shame.

The statement was signed regrettably, Jim Carrey.

The coroners office said California law states that it must release postmortem reports as part of the public record and, in this case, it was in touch with Carreys lawyer before the information was made public.

Carrey, 54, was a pallbearer at Ms Whites funeral in the village of Cappawhite, Co Tipperary, in October, following which she was laid to rest beside her late father, Pat.

The Canadian-born actor and Ms White had broken up a week before she was found dead on September 28, according to the coroners report.

In a note addressed to Carrey, Ms White wrote: Ive spent 3 days now in disbelief that youre not here.

I can go on broken-hearted and try to put the pieces back. I could, I just dont have the will this time.

Im sorry you felt I wasnt there for you. I tried to give you my best part.

Ms White signed off the note with the word Dewdrop, the report said.

A second note, also written to Jim, asked for his people to sell her belongings and give the money to her family.

I dont really know about burial or that sort of thing. You are my family so whatever you choose will be fine, she wrote.

Please forgive me. Im just not for this world.

Ms Whites cause of death was given as multiple drug effects after a toxicology report discovered prescription drugs in her system.

The coroner ruled her death was suicide.
The fire, which started on May 1, spread so quickly that the communitys inhabitants barely had time to leave and whole neighbourhoods were destroyed.

This is great firefighting weather, we can really get in here and get a handle on this fire, and really get a death grip on it, Alberta fire official Chad Morrison said.

The wildfire scorching through Canadas oil sands region in northeast Alberta had been expected to double in size, but light rains and cooler temperatures helped hold it back.

The temperature, which reached a high of 17C on Sunday, was expected to cool further, with Environment Canada forecasting a 40% chance of showers in Fort McMurray.

Cooler temperatures were expected from today through to Friday after last weeks record heat. Still, much of Alberta is tinder-box dry after a mild winter and warm spring.

Albertas government estimated that the fire had consumed 161,000 hectares.

Officials made clear it was too early to put a timeline on getting thousands of evacuees camped out in nearby towns back to Fort McMurray soon.

The citys gas has been turned off, its power grid is damaged and the water is undrinkable.

Alberta premier Rachel Notley said recovery efforts had begun, with 250 employees from power company ATCO working to restore the power grid and assess gas infrastructure.

Fort McMurray is the centre of Canadas oil sands region. About half of the crude output from the sands, or 1m barrels per day, has been taken offline, according to a Reuters estimate.

prices jumped almost two% in trading as Canadas fire contributed to tightening supply.

The inferno looks set to become the costliest natural disaster in Canadas history. One analyst said insurance losses could exceed C$9bn.

Nearly all of Fort McMurrays 88,000 residents have escaped the fire safely, although two people were killed in a car crash during the evacuation.

In his now regular evening message, Fort McMurray fire chief Darby Allen sent condolences to the families of the two teenage cousins in the crash. One of the victims, 15-year-old Emily Ryan, was the daughter of a fireman in the city.
The Germany-based SUSE Linux and Microsoft have inked a new deal that focuses on the public cloud business and has updated terms and commitments, according to Kristin Kinan, global alliance director for public cloud at SUSE.

This supercedes earlier agreements between the two companies, Kinan said, in response to queries from iTWire.

Microsoft and SUSE signed a patent-licensing deal in 2006, at a time when SUSE was operating under the Novell umbrella in the US. Novell was acquired by the Attachmate Group in 2010 and later sold to the British mainframe company Micro Focus in 2014. From the time of the Attachmate purchase, SUSE went back to operating as an independent business unit in Nuremberg as it had been before it was first bought by Novell in 2003. In July 2011, Microsoft announced the SUSE deal would be extended till 1 January this year.

Last year when Microsoft was asked about the continuation of the deal, the company refused to say anything openly. The 2006 deal did not go down well with the free and open source software community and one prominent developer, Jeremy Allison of the Samba project, left Novell in protest.

Asked whether Microsoft had been ignoring SUSE in recent times, with its deals focused on SUSE's competitors Red Hat and Canonical, Kinan replied that SUSE had launched offerings during the Microsoft Azure preview in 2012 and had been engineering solutions with the Microsoft Open Source Technology Centre and Azure Engineering ever since.

"New solutions include the SUSE High Performance Computing image, SUSE Manager Management Pack updates, and image infrastructure updates, whereas Microsofts partnership with Red Hat was launched in 2015," she said.

Questioned whether Microsoft had tied up with SUSE in 2006 from a position of strength while its deal with Red Hat in 2015 came from a comparative position of weakness, Kinan replied: "Microsofts Linux business has grown to over 22 to 25% of their public cloud business, demonstrating customer commitment to Linux. Their investment in open source solutions, selling initiatives and partnering has exceeded our expectations."

Image: courtesy techrights.org
The founder of the Debian GNU/Linux project, Ian Murdock, took his own life, according to a autopsy report obtained by CNNMoney .

The report, from the San Francisco medical examiner, said Murdock, 42, had hanged himself using the cord of a vacuum cleaner. The time of his death was put at 9am local time on 29 December.

The news of his death became public last December, coming soon after he wrote a series of disturbing tweets on 28 December, which made it appear that he had been arrested and mistreated by the police.

It now appears that some of his friends who were alarmed by the tweets, called the San Francisco police department and asked them to investigate. An officer who went to Murdock's home found him dead.

The report said there was no evidence of any illicit drug use but many empty wine bottles were strewn inside the house.

Murdock's neighbour told the police that he had been going through a series of problems, having broken up with his girlfriend, and facing eviction from the premises at the end of December.

The report said he had been arrested by police on 26 December on suspicion of being intoxicated, resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer.

Murdock founded Debian in 1993. The project has grown to be one of the most successful open source projects.
Many people are familiar with the laws of thermodynamics. But they are unaware that there's been an addition to the number recently. The new law states that if a technology company is successfully avoiding paying its fair share of tax, then it can do no wrong.

As exhibit A, I give you Google, now hiding behind the skirts of its parent company Alphabet.

Last week, as iTWire reported, we received a notice from Google asking for changes in an innocuous story published a decade ago, allegedly because it transgressed the conditions of Google's AdSense programme.

The story was straightforward; it was about an adult shop that was using mobile technology. There were no links to any third-party sites.

But the Google email said: "Google ads may not be displayed on adult or mature content. This includes displaying ads on pages that provide links for or drive traffic to adult or mature sites."

Google was contacted for comment on 6 July before the story was published. The response came through two days later. Quite fast for a company that many see as being on the cutting edge of today's tech industry.

There was no admission of anything wrong, or having screwed up because the system monitoring articles that are published on sites which are subscribers to AdSense is defective.

No, here the new law of thermodynamics took effect. When Google acts in a stupid way, it does not consider that an apology is in order. Because big banks are too big to fail and Google is too big to be stupid.

The response from Clare Creegan, communications and public affairs manager for Google Australia and New Zealand, said: "Our team monitors all sites participating in Google's AdSense program and frequently reviews cases where warning messages have been issued.

"After a further review of the content we have decided that we will not be taking any further action on the warning, and ask that you please disregard the warning message."

You just have to love it, don't you? Perhaps Google should consider rewriting some of its code that does the monitoring; if that's a problem, one can always take code from others. Google has expertise in this direction: after all, it stole than 11,000 lines of code from Oracle's Java to build its Android mobile operating system and then escaped with a "fair use" defence.
#SPC Group Deceased factory worker's family sues bakery giant SPC chairman The family of a young worker who died while working at an affiliate factory of food and beverage giant filed a complaint against the group's chairman on charges of violating the w...
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By of the

The presidential ad wars have begun, and theyre being waged almost entirely in nine key states.

Wisconsin isnt one of them, which raises some obvious questions.

Is this state, which has voted Democratic for president seven times in a row, a true presidential battleground?

Or is it not really in play?

Will Democrats decide its safe enough they dont need to pull out the stops to win here?

Will Republicans decide their best efforts are better spent elsewhere?

Ultimately, if youre advertising, youre serious. If (Wisconsin) is truly competitive or had a chance to be competitive we would be seeing advertising, says Ken Goldstein, a political scientist with the University of San Francisco, and formerly with the University of Wisconsin.

Right now, the people who invest money in elections have made the judgment Wisconsin is not a top-tier battleground, says Goldstein, an expert in campaign advertising. What the lack of ad buys tells us is that at best its number 11 or number 12 on the battleground list, he says.

Its still early, and campaign strategies change. The key indicator to watch will be whether Donald Trump makes a serious and sustained advertising effort here, because its up to Republicans to expand the map and try to put Wisconsin in play.

But Trump has yet to air any battleground-state ads, so we dont really know what his electoral strategy is.

Three other groups have launched presidential ad campaigns, however, and they are our best early guides to the battleground map.

On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton and a pro-Clinton PAC, Priorities USA, are both on the air.

And on the GOP side, the National Rifle Association is airing pro-Trump, anti-Clinton ads.

Where are they advertising?

Six states are seeing ads from all three groups: Florida, Ohio, Colorado, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Nevada.

Three more are seeing ads from the Clinton campaign and Priorities USA: Iowa, New Hampshire and North Carolina.

As far as the air wars go, these nine states are the premier presidential battlegrounds at the outset of the general election campaign.

The NRA has also advertised in Maine, and Clinton has advertised in Nebraska. (Both states award electoral votes by congressional district, and both have a single district that is more competitive than the state as a whole).

Reince Priebus, the Wisconsin attorney who chairs the Republican National Committee, asserts that his home state is an unquestioned battleground. He says the GOP has 50 paid staff in the state, proof of its commitment.

Our money is where our mouth is, says Priebus. I dont think the RNC has ever been in Wisconsin this early, with this many people, in (its) history.

Those efforts, which are also aimed at contests for U.S. Senate and other offices, are significant.

But in the end, targeted advertising and candidate travel will be the true tell of whether his side thinks it can win at the presidential level here, and whether the state is being hotly contested.

Not all Republicans are convinced that will happen.

I just dont see the chance of (Trump) being able to put Wisconsin in play, says GOP congressman Reid Ribble, who opposes Trumps nomination and refuses to support him in the general election.

Ribble points to several factors: statewide polling that has consistently shown Clinton ahead; Trumps weakness in the base GOP counties of southeast Wisconsin, where he did poorly in the states April primary; and continued resistance to Trump on conservative talk radio in the state.

Theyre going to have to direct resources to another state where they think they can win it. Every campaign has to make those decisions, Ribble says.

Ribbles GOP colleague, U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy, disagrees, saying Trump will be competitive here once GOP voters consolidate behind him.

Its tough to win Wisconsin in a presidential year  well cede that point, says Duffy. And if you have depressed (GOP) turnout in southeast Wisconsin, I dont think you will win.

But Duffy says, if you get a traditional GOP presidential-year turnout in southeast Wisconsin, we win, because the north is changing. Trump will do very well (there).

Because she leads here, Clinton probably doesnt need to advertise in Wisconsin until Republicans do. Gillian Drummond, a campaign spokesperson for Clinton in the state, said, "Hillary Clinton is committed to running hard in Wisconsin, both for her own race and to help other Democrats on the ballot.

Justin Barasky, a spokesman for the pro-Clinton Priorities USA, says his group is constantly assessing the map and the dynamics of the race, and will shift its targeting as needed.

Goldstein says a states battleground status is not just a matter of how close it is in the polling, but how competitive it is compared to other states  where it ranks in the hierarchy of battlegrounds.

In 2004, Wisconsin was a top five target for presidential ads.

In the run-up to the 2008 election, it ranked seventh in ad spending.

In 2012, it ranked ninth in the number of presidential ads aired.

It has been leapfrogged by other states, says Goldstein.

Wisconsin is shaping up to be more like the Wisconsin of 2012 and 2008 than it was in 2000 or 2004, says Joe Zepecki, a Democratic consultant who worked on the Obama campaign in Wisconsin four years ago. We simplify when we say battleground. There are tiers of battlegrounds.

Wisconsin was the closest state in the country in 2004. It was more competitive in 2004 than Colorado, Virginia, North Carolina and Pennsylvania  all states that have emerged since then as hotter battlegrounds.

In 2012, 10 other states were closer than Wisconsin.

Obamas relative popularity here made Wisconsin less competitive in 2008 and 2012. And unless its remedied, Trumps weakness here could have the same effect in 2016.

At this point, Pennsylvania appears to be settling into the role Wisconsin occupied in the Bush-Kerry election of 12 years ago  a blue-leaning state where Republicans sense real opportunity to go all out and win.

Political scientist Larry Sabato of the University of Virginia ranks 11 other states as more competitive than Wisconsin in his Crystal Ball Electoral College ratings. The website FiveThirtyEight lists Wisconsin among 12 states to watch, but rates it as less competitive than 10 of those states.

Wisconsin will surely see presidential ads and presidential campaign visits between now and November. But how big a role it actually plays is very much in question.

Follow Craig Gilbert on Twitter @WisVoter
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A 29-year-old man has been taken into custody in connection with a bomb threat made at an Oshkosh Walmart on Sunday, according to Oshkosh police.

Police found the suspect around 5:20 p.m. Sunday and took him to the Winnebago County Jail on a probation hold. Charges were referred to the district attorney's office, police said.

Oshkosh police searched the Walmart on Sunday morning after the man made an oral bomb threat to a clerk before fleeing the scene. Nothing suspicious was found, police said, and the store remained open.

Officers were called to the store at 351 S. Washburn St. around 11 a.m.
Rocketship Southside Community Prep charter school opened in Milwaukee in 2013. Credit: Journal Sentinel files

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In its three years in Milwaukee, Rocketship Southside Community Prep has distinguished itself as one of the city's higher-performing charter schools, earning praise from the state this year for its success in educating students from low-income families.

But the local nonprofit organization that runs the school has struggled on some fronts as well, falling short of its enrollment goals and posting a $1.4 million deficit over the last two years.

Rocketship Education, the California-based charter management organization that oversees the school, is covering the shortfall with a $1.5 million loan.

The City of Milwaukee's Charter School Review Committee has raised concerns about the financial viability of the school. But Rocketship representatives in Milwaukee and California say the operation is financially sound, committed to the south side site and exploring an expansion on the city's north side.

"We're not in this to make money. We're in this to serve children," Andrew Stern, chief business officer for the California nonprofit, said in an interview.

"We have the financial wherewithal to back this school and others. But we also have an organizational mandate...to make this school financially sustainable."

Kevin Ingram, who chairs the city's review committee, which heard from Stern and others connected with the school at its June meeting, said he was satisfied with their response.

"Given the fact that they're part of a network  and they're not collecting on the debt until after the school is on solid footing  I'm comfortable with their explanation at this point," Ingram said.

Rocketship Southside, at 3003 W. Cleveland Ave., is one of 13 schools  all kindergarten through grade 5  operated by the Redwood City, Calif., nonprofit, most of them in the San Francisco Bay Area not far from its Silicon Valley headquarters.

The network is known for its lower-cost model, blended curriculum that incorporates online learning with traditional classroom instruction, and higher-than-average scores on standardized tests. But it has been criticized for, among other things, an overemphasis on technology and test scores, skimping on fully certified teachers and not offering enough in the way of enrichment courses such as art and music.

Courted by local business and political leaders, Rocketship opened the Milwaukee school, its first outside California, to much fanfare in August 2013. Rocketship had initially planned to open eight schools in Milwaukee, but it quickly scaled back those plans to focus on the south side site.

It was among the city's largest school start-ups with 300 students its first year, but that was 100 fewer than it anticipated, and enrollment has lagged projections in the two years since.

At the same time, it attracted a larger-than-expected number of students with disabilities, who are more expensive to serve, and a significant portion of its enrollment has been 4K students, who bring with them just 60% of the state per-pupil funds that older students bring.

A financial narrative submitted with Rocketship's original charter application suggested that all of its schools were intended to break even in the first year. Stern, who joined the company in 2012, said that is now not the case and, if it was ever part of the model, that has changed.

Financials aside, Ralph Weber, president of the local school's board of directors, points to the latest state assessment scores as proof that the Rocketship model is working. On the 2014-'15 Badger Exam, released in January, 51.3% of its students were proficient or above in reading, almost double the percentage in Milwaukee Public Schools and on par with those statewide. In math, 32.4% were proficient or above, 11.3 percentage points below the state but almost triple Milwaukee Public Schools.

"There's very few schools that...after two years of operation are realizing that kind of success," Weber said. "That's why we feel good about growing here, and that's why we're ready to move to the north side."

In February, Rocketship filed with the city clerk letters of interest on three vacant Milwaukee Public Schools buildings  two on N. 37th St. and one near N. 41st St. and W. Silver Spring Drive.

Weber said it is also exploring the possibility of locating in the area surrounding the Westlawn public housing development, which is being targeted for redevelopment as part of a $30 million HUD grant awarded to Milwaukee last fall.

"They want high-performing schools in that neighborhood to give people an incentive to stay there," Weber said.

He said the hope is to open the school in August 2017, but that would be contingent on raising about $2 million in start-up costs. Given the enrollment challenges locally, he said, it would likely be a smaller school initially than the typical Rocketship start-up.

Rocketship, founded in 2006 with the idea of "rethinking elementary school from the ground up," had at one point envisioned serving 1 million students in 50 schools across the country. But it has had its own challenges, including the loss of its co-founder, fierce opposition in some communities, a drop in test scores in California and a $1.2 million deficit over the last two years. The network curtailed its expansions to focus on quality rather than quantity, according to Stern.

Rocketship's challenges locally underscore Milwaukee's intensely competitive education landscape, where hundreds of schools  traditional public, private voucher and public charter  vie for students, state funding and philanthropic dollars.

That competition is expected to intensify with the addition of St. Augustine Preparatory Academy, a new $80 million voucher school expected to open about two miles away from Rocketship in fall 2017.

Weber said he's not worried.

"We have three very strong years of performance. And we feel very confident parents will continue to appreciate the outstanding experience their children will get at this school," Weber said.

"If St. Augustine can be another high-performing school  and we hope they are  we wish them well."
A few posters of Alexis, her hair in pigtails, still hang in bus stop shelters and stores around Milwaukee. Once, they plastered nearly every available surface in the city. A toll-free number for information about the girl, once flooded with tips, soon will shut down. Read Full Article
Credit: Journal Sentinel files

It's relatively easy to catch Hillary Clinton or Robin Vos or the Obama administration or Donald Trump when they try to hide what they're doing from the public. The bigger the fish, the easier it is to see. The trickier thing is to catch the smaller fish; the school boards and common councils; the town boards and village committees that can be just as eager to work in the shadows.

One was caught in April after the Milton School Board adjourned a meeting early because resident Lance Fena insisted on video recording the meeting, according to the Walworth County GazetteXtra: "Halfway through Monday's meeting, Milton School Board member Rob Roy requested the camera be turned off because it made him uncomfortable and could change his behavior in the meeting. Fena refused, so the board adjourned its meeting."

The school district then consulted its attorney and learned  lo and behold  that the board actually has no choice in the matter: It must allow the public to video record its public meetings. Why the board didn't understand that before Fena started recording, and why Roy thought that his comfort level superseded the public's right to know is still open to question. Maybe the school district could offer a remedial course in open government.

Then there's the case of the Appleton Area School District, which actually is a case because the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty has taken the district to court over an open meetings violation.

Several years ago, the district created a committee to review its ninth-grade English reading list and refused to allow the public to attend its meetings or provide public notice of them. Nor were minutes kept of the meetings or of the votes taken. No open meetings and no records. That strikes me as a pretty blatant example of slamming a door in the public's face.

"State statutes give school boards the authority to select textbooks and approve curricula for their courses," Thomas Kamenick, associate counsel and open government specialist at WILL, said in a 2013 statement. "When a school board delegates that authority to another body, the open meetings laws still apply."

Kamenick was right  but, surprise, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals disagreed in a recent ruling, saying that the district did not violate the Open Meetings Law.

In an email this week, Kamenick told me, "Instead of following the Legislature's instruction to interpret the OML broadly, the court of appeals interpreted it narrowly, concluding that the term "rule or order" didn't apply to the board's rule or handbook because those documents merely AUTHORIZED the creation of a committee, they didn't create it directly. But several Attorney General opinions have concluded that merely authorizing the creation is good enough, for the reasons I've given. The court of appeals chose not to follow those opinions but didn't explain why not."

Furthermore, as Bill Lueders of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council told me in another email, "I would say unequivocally that whether or not the school district HAD to let in interested members of the public, it should have done so. What is the point of excluding people who care about this matter?"

Well, one point might be that the district doesn't want to hear from people critical of certain books on reading lists or of the district in general. "Please ignore the crazy crank in the corner," is often how government officials deal with their critics. In other times and places, they have cut off public comments or ignored citizens or barred them from recording meetings.

But shutting out the public only undermines the public's confidence in government and builds walls of distrust between citizens and their representatives. And that undermines republican government no matter at what level it takes place.

WILL is right on this. I hope it eventually prevails in the courts, demonstrating again that watchful citizens are not only necessary but can be successful in catching even the little fish.

Ernst-Ulrich Franzen is the Journal Sentinel's associate editorial page editor. Email: efranzen@jrn.com; Twitter: @efranzen1
State Sen. Van Wanggaard argues that Milwaukee leaders need to recognize and solve the citys problems because Milwaukees current path jeopardizes the future of the city and the state. Credit: Mike De Sisti

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Recent complaints from Milwaukee leaders about their lack of state funding are misguided and lack perspective. One Milwaukee alderman claimed that Milwaukee gets mere "peanuts" in funding. Another Milwaukee leader told state legislators to "leave us alone." They can't have it both ways.

In 2015, state taxpayers invested over $1 billion in Milwaukee. That amount does not include medical assistance benefits or transportation dollars. If Milwaukee was a single government program, it would be the third largest expenditure in the state, behind K-12 education and medical assistance. If you include MA and transportation, that billion-dollar amount skyrockets.

Aside from the constant complaints, what do we get for our billion-dollar investment? It seems like more costs to state taxpayers.

The $600 million that the state gives Milwaukee Public Schools has given us a school district in which 75% of schools fail to meet expectations, 86% of students aren't proficient in reading and 93% of students aren't proficient at math. Two schools had nobody proficient in math. This is unacceptable.

MPS has performed so badly for so long that almost 20 years ago, Gov. Tommy Thompson proposed the state take it over. The plan didn't pass, but MPS promised improvement. In 2009, Gov. Jim Doyle and Mayor Tom Barrett said that MPS performance was unacceptable, and proposed a mayoral takeover. Again, despite promises, there was little to no improvement. And this year, when a plan to remove the worst performing schools from MPS passed, people cried about a takeover, and we have been promised improvement, again.

We cannot lose another generation to the status quo.

The MPS environment is so poisonous and insular, that last month, a qualified, respected, expert volunteer helping to improve MPS quit because of MPS's unwillingness to accept outside help to solve Milwaukee's education crisis. Instead, MPS has another improvement proposal and asks for more money. Again.

The answer is not, and cannot be, more money. That isn't fair to state taxpayers who have spent $12.5 billion on broken MPS promises since the first takeover was proposed. The answer is not eliminating the school choice program, either. For 25,000 students, that is their ticket out of the MPS quagmire. Does anyone think MPS would miraculously improve if it had the chance to educate those 25,000 choice students? Of course not.

Milwaukee's failing education system robs many students of hope for a productive life. It leads only to two things  poverty and crime. Unfortunately, state taxpayers pick up the lion's share of those costs, too.

Milwaukee's poor account for more than one-quarter of the state's medical assistance recipients. Given the poverty rate in Milwaukee, this isn't surprising, but it should be regrettable. That's several hundred million dollars state taxpayers spend giving health care to Milwaukeeans. If Milwaukee's share of MA was roughly equal to its share of population, state taxpayers could invest millions elsewhere  in tax relief, economic development, schools, or roads. Unfortunately, the only way to cut this expenditure is to reduce the number of people needing assistance  reducing poverty. But the failing school system and Milwaukee's crime problem prevent that.

A person is five times more likely to be the victim of a violent crime in Milwaukee than in the rest of the state. In fact, you're more likely to be the victim of a violent crime in Milwaukee than in 96% of the country. Property crime rates in Milwaukee are more than double the rest of Wisconsin. Milwaukee's murder rate is at a 23-year high. Carjackings and car thefts are a daily occurrence.

But, the mayor says car thieves shouldn't be put into jail until their third offense, and police don't pursue the thieves. Violent criminals are released on bail based on their word, or on low cash bail. Light sentences in Milwaukee are the norm, not the exception. Even in this "soft" (now called "smart") on crime environment, over one-third of the state's prison population comes from Milwaukee. No one wants that percentage to increase, but it's a better and safer alternative than having criminals on the street  even if it drives up state costs.

Despite these faults, the Milwaukee area still is the economic driving force of our state. Almost one-third of the state's economy takes place in metro Milwaukee. Parts of the area are a hubbub of activity, with world class attractions, restaurants and festivals. It attracts visitors, investment and spending. Cranes and construction are everywhere. Wisconsin needs a healthy Milwaukee so that the state can continue to thrive.

And that's the crux of the issue. Despite the benefit of Milwaukee's people and economy to the state, Milwaukee still jeopardizes the state's fiscal health. That billion-plus dollars could be spent elsewhere, with better results. City leaders need to recognize that state taxpayers have subsidized Milwaukee for a long time, with little result  and we're frustrated. When Milwaukee spends its own money on wants instead of needs, we're baffled. State taxpayers can't keep throwing good money after bad.

Milwaukee leaders need to recognize and solve these problems. We need to see improvement in school performance and crime rates. We need results, not promises. Milwaukee's current path jeopardizes the future of the city and the state.

Van Wanggaard is a Republican state senator from Racine.
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FBI's outrageous decision

It is hardly a surprise that Hillary Clinton will not face criminal charges for her use of an unsecured private email server in her time as secretary of state ("FBI decision lifts legal threat to Clinton's bid," July 6).

However, FBI Director James Comey's justification for this decision in his July 5 news conference is stunning. After laying out, point by point, perhaps as clear-cut an example of gross negligence with regard to classified information as you will find  described by Comey as "extremely careless"  Comey went out of his way to add the following: "To be clear, this is not to suggest that in similar circumstances, a person who engaged in this activity would face no consequences."

Clinton, though, won't face prosecution, because the FBI judged that she lacked intent. The problem is that intent is not mentioned in the relevant statute. Indeed, requiring intent in the context of a gross negligence charge makes no sense.

It would be one thing if Clinton had gotten away with a coverup. She did not, though. Instead, we were treated to the spectacle of the FBI rewriting national security laws on the spot, in public, to ensure that a major party's presumptive nominee for president escapes indictment.

That is an outrage.

Jeff Adashek

Glendale



FDA should forbid ads

On the July 6 articles on drug companies creating a market for their wares, one question: If the Food and Drug Administration can forbid advertising of "dangerous" products such as cigarettes and liquor, how can they allow the flood of obnoxious pharmaceutical ads that daily assault viewers on national TV? ("Drug companies helped create market?" and "Risky drugs with minimal benefit being marketed to treat dubious conditions".)

I've never heard of tobacco or whiskey causing the horrendous and deadly side effects that finish off the drug's glowing description in their commercials. They read off the side effects to keep from being sued over the use of their 19th century Carnival Snake Oil.

Who is getting paid here? The doctors who help them peddle their deadly concoctions or the politicians who run the Food and Drug Administration?

Maybe the Journal Sentinel could inform readers about how they can remove these disgusting commercials from TV.

Carmel Schmidt

Milwaukee



Thanks to Lindenberg

Thanks for the Steve Jagler article on July 3 about Jim Lindenberg ("Entrepreneur racks up success").

In addition to his string of successful business ventures, not many people know that Lindenberg also helped his local community secure priceless Les Paul artifacts that are now in the Waukesha County Historical Museum. I was part of the management group that developed this long-overdue permanent exhibit for Waukesha's most famous native.

Just after Paul's death, the Les Paul Foundation auctioned off many items to raise money. Lindenberg recognized the importance of these items and led a team of investors to buy key items so they stayed in Waukesha.

Because of Lindenberg's foresight and swift action, music fans can now see many prized Paul possessions including guitars, recording equipment, handwritten cards and even a handmade trophy Paul made for his mother when she turned 100. These prized artifacts stayed in our state because of Lindenberg.

Thanks, Jim.

Brad Smith

Wauwatosa



Marijuana is dangerous

Because Colorado has materially experienced some advantages by legalizing the sale of marijuana for recreational use, one needs to evaluate what the real disadvantages are.

To say "marijuana does not kill anyone" is unrealistic when the use of marijuana many times leads to the use of heroin or other drugs that end in death, like my 20-year-old nephew, or may be a danger to others.

Marijuana is a drug. Use it only for medicinal purposes. If marijuana can be legalized for recreational use, then why are not other drugs being legalized for recreational use?

Ann C. Pendleton

Wauwatosa
Lincoln Hills School for Boys and Copper Lake School for Girls, which share a campus north of Wausau and are the subject of an 18-month-long criminal investigation into prisoner abuse and staff misconduct. Credit: Mark Hoffman

By of the

Madison  The former top psychologist at the state's troubled juvenile prison faced no discipline last year after mocking the breasts of a teenage girl with mental illness who had run down a hallway naked, records show.

Vincent Ramos used graphic and crass language to ridicule the appearance of the girl's breasts, and said he was surprised at how they looked for someone her age, according to the account of one of his co-workers.

Ramos later admitted making the comment to the co-worker, who told internal investigators she immediately left the area and asked a colleague to go with her because she felt uncomfortable and feared Ramos would follow her.

"I was in shock that a man of his profession would say something like that," she told investigators. "It made me feel extremely uncomfortable, and I just wanted to be away from him."

Ramos' bosses decided he needed counseling about appropriate work behavior rather than discipline for those comments and for complaints from others that he had invaded their personal space and used terms such as "babe" and "honey," documents released under the state's open records law show.

He was fired nine months later, in December, after allegations were leveled against him involving taking pictures of psychology interns while they were in his hotel room and he was wearing only his underwear and a shirt. Details about that incident have not yet been made public, and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is seeking a copy of the investigation report under the open records law.

Documents about Ramos are the latest shedding light on the culture of Lincoln Hills School for Boys and Copper Lake School for Girls, which share a campus north of Wausau and are the subject of an 18-month-long criminal investigation into prisoner abuse and staff misconduct.

In recent weeks, the Journal Sentinel has documented questionable workplace behavior at Lincoln Hills, including workers who improperly used pepper spray and failed to review sexual assault allegations.

Ramos did not return calls or respond to emails for this story.

Department of Corrections spokesman Tristan Cook said Ramos' behavior "was not acceptable" and he was later terminated when officials decided he hadn't met performance standards during his probationary period.

Cook emphasized that new leaders have taken over the Department of Corrections since Ramos was an employee and said Gov. Scott Walker's administration is committed to making substantial reforms at Lincoln Hills. In recent months, Lincoln Hills workers have been equipped with body cameras and given more training.

Ramos became the chief psychologist at Lincoln Hills in November 2014 at a salary of about $87,000 a year, but he didn't get a Wisconsin psychologist license until after he had worked there for six months. Licensing officials are investigating him, but his license for now is in good standing.

When he started, Ramos' bosses allowed him to live for four months in a lakeside house owned by the state. They kicked him out and took steps to treat the lake house stay as a taxable benefit after a union official filed a public records request in March 2015 that would expose the arrangement. Even then, officials did all they could to minimize the tax hit to Ramos.

Inappropriate comments

In early 2015, Ramos and other employees were present when the high-school-age Copper Lake inmate ran naked through her living unit. The next day, a female co-worker told Ramos she was sorry he had to see that situation, according to a transcript of her interview with internal investigators.

Ramos "kinda laughed," the co-worker told internal investigators, and then went on to denigrate the girl's breasts, saying among other things that they looked "worn out, used and abused." He also told her the girl's breasts were saggy and at her age should be perky, according to her account.

A psychology intern who worked with Ramos expressed alarm over the comment when she spoke with internal investigators.

"I've worked in corrections, I've worked in a number of professional capacities, and never in my entire existence have I heard a professional in my field make such an awful comment," she told investigators. "Never. And I've been doing this for 10 plus years."

After receiving anonymous letters about the comments, Ramos' bosses interviewed him and he acknowledged he made them.

"I shouldn't have said those things, it won't happen again," he said, according to a transcript of his comments. "Do you need to discipline me?"

Their answer: No.

In a March 2015 email sent soon after the meeting, the superintendent of Lincoln Hills at the time, John Ourada, told Ramos he couldn't call employees after hours, needed to avoid invading co-workers' personal space and had to refrain from using terms such as "babe." He told him to attend ethics and supervisory training and work with the psychologist supervisor at Stanley Correctional Institution so he could better understand boundaries and the work culture at the Department of Corrections.

"It was very surprising if not shocking to me that there was no discipline here," said Nick Fairweather, an employment attorney. "I've represented Department of Corrections workers who have done things of much lower magnitude who were terminated. I can't think of any scenario where this could not lead to any sort of discipline."

The department risks litigation if it doesn't address inappropriate comments, he said.

"If the institution fails to take proper steps to remedy the situation, that triggers liability," Fairweather said.

Kenneth Robbins, a clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said such comments should prompt questions about how psychologists comport themselves when they're with clients.

"There are lines that you should not be approaching, let alone crossing," he said. "When one looks at adolescents or adult women in corrections, disturbingly high percentages of them have been sexually mistreated. For that reason, in prisons especially, boundaries are extremely important."

Making the call not to discipline Ramos were Ourada, with the assistance of his deputy, Wendy Peterson.

Ourada and his boss, juvenile corrections administrator Paul Westerhaus, abruptly retired in December 2015, just before about 50 agents and attorneys raided Lincoln Hills to seize documents and interview staff and inmates. Ramos lost his job soon afterward.

Within a couple of months, Corrections Secretary Ed Wall stepped down and other top officials at the Department of Corrections were replaced.

As numerous top officials left the Department of Corrections, Peterson got a promotion from new Corrections Secretary Jon Litscher. She became the new superintendent of Lincoln Hills even though she had been demoted in a previous state job and Lincoln Hills workers had expressed grave concerns about her.

Tom Evenson, a spokesman for the governor, did not comment on whether Walker supported the decision to promote Peterson but expressed confidence in the department secretary.

"Governor Walker supports the new leadership at DOC and he is confident this conduct will not be tolerated by undersecretary Litscher," Evenson said in statement.

Staying at the lake house

Corrections officials allowed Ramos to live at a house on Horseshoe Lake that is owned by Lincoln Hills and situated about 2 miles from the prison.

In March 2015  four months after he started there  a union official who represents Lincoln Hills workers asked for documents about the living arrangement under the open records law. Within weeks, corrections officials told Ramos he had to promptly move out and they were amending a tax form to indicate the lake house stay was a benefit that had to be counted as income.

Rather than considering him to have received free rent for four months, they had him taxed only for the days that he actually stayed there. At the time, Ramos was traveling between Wisconsin and Texas, where his family lived. He kept his belongings at the lake house and others weren't allowed to use it during those four months.

Top officials at the Division of Juvenile Corrections said they believed Ramos was staying at the lake house for only a couple of weeks. When they learned in March 2015 he was still there, they said he had to move out within a week and told Ourada not to make housing arrangements for any Lincoln Hills employees, records show.

When he started, Ramos had a psychologist's license from Texas but not Wisconsin. Wisconsin law allowed him to work as a government psychologist without a state license, and he didn't get one until May 2015, records show.

Because he was not licensed, other psychologists assisted him with clinical supervision in his first months on the job, Cook said.

State licensing officials are investigating Ramos based on a complaint filed by the Department of Corrections, said Jeff Weigand, the assistant deputy secretary of the Department of Safety and Professional Services.
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By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) |  

The Clinton loyalists debating the Democratic Party platform have defeated an amendment that would have called for an end to the Israeli Occupation of Palestine and condemned Israeli squatter settlements illegal.

The Democratic Party, in other words, backs the principle of colonialism no less than if it declared that the British should take back over India, that French commandos should storm the presidential palace in Algiers, or that the US army should march through the streets of Manila and reoccupy the Philippines. Maybe, in fact, the Clinton wing of the Democratic Party would like to rescind the Declaration of Independence and accede to the United Kingdom? With Scotland talking about leaving, there might be a place opening up, and we could get the redcoats back to harass us.

The Israeli occupation of Palestine (the West Bank and the Gaza Strip) was not originally illegal in international law, since it grew out of the 1967 Six-Day war, and wartime occupations are a recognized legal category.

However, the Israeli government has not abided by the most basic provisions of the Geneva Conventions of 1949, which include:

the following acts are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever with respect to the above-mentioned persons:

(a) violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture;

(b) taking of hostages;

(c) outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment;

(d) the passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court, affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples.

and

Art. 49. Individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory to the territory of the Occupying Power or to that of any other country, occupied or not, are prohibited, regardless of their motive.

Israel expels Palestinians all the time, and does things like cut down their olive trees or undermine their village wells to encourage them to leave. All this is illegal. The relatively high rate of Israeli incarceration of stone-throwing children has to be considered a latent act of hostage-taking. Israeli troops invade peoples homes all the time without a warrant and there are allegations of theft on occasion. Palestinians are routinely humiliated on a daily basis. There are allegations of torture of Palestinian prisoners. Recent Israeli practices whereby knife-wielding resisters to occupation are shot dead even if disarmed and helpless or even if easily disarmed directly contravene (d) above. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu blasted the Swedish foreign minister for even daring complain about it. The Israeli establishment is openly contemptuous of the Geneva Conventions, which were passed to forestall the recurrence of the abuses and atrocities committed by the Axis powers during World War II.

The Hague Regulations forbid collective punishment. Israel routinely blows up the homes of Palestinian resistance fighters even if their families had no idea of their plans. That is not the only sort of collective punishment in which Israel engages.

Moreover, the Geneva Convention and its 1907 predecessor, the Hague Regulations, do not envisage occupations lasting for 50 years. They category is for the short term, during and immediately after the war. In fact, one of the actions forbidden to the occupying power is to alter the status of the occupied population. It even should have had to maintain Palestinian judges appointed by Jordan and allow them to rule on the law in accordance with 1966 statutes. Israel has occupied the 4.2 million Palestinians in Palestine for so long that their 1967 statuses are completely unrecognizable.

Most important, Art. 49 says,

The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.

So the hundreds of thousands of Israeli squatters on Palestinian land are engaged in an illegal act, an act which is aided and abetted by the Israeli government and by the government of the United States.

So, this is no longer a legal occupation. It has evolved into a permanent colonial Apartheid society, with the Palestinians left stateless and without basic human rights and ruled or besieged by the Israeli military. South African Blacks who lived under Apartheid and have visited the West Bank have in tones of horror pronounced the Israeli system much worse than Apartheid had been in white-ruled South Africa. It is an intolerable hell on earth with no end in sight.

If the Democratic Party cant even just state that the Israeli squatter settlements are illegal, which is what the US signed on to when it ratified the Geneva Conventions, then it should change its name to the Colonial Party.



Related video added by Juan Cole:

Cornel West: For Too Long, the Democratic Party Has Been Beholden to AIPAC [CC]
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By Bulent Gokay | (The Conversation) |  

Well before the US and UK led the invasion of Iraq, the two countries were under suspicion about their intentions for Iraqs oil. When asked on February 6 2003 in a BBC Newsnight programme whether the war in Iraq was about oil, Tony Blair responded:

Let me just deal with the oil thing  the oil conspiracy theory is honestly one of the most absurd when you analyse it. The fact is that, if the oil that Iraq has were our concern, I mean we could probably cut a deal with Saddam tomorrow in relation to the oil. Its not the oil that is the issue, it is the weapons.

But then again, the commander of the USCENTCOM during the Iraq War, General John Abizaid, came to see things rather differently: Of course [the Iraq war] is about oil, we cant deny that.

So what part did oil really play in the Iraq War? Various members of the US and UK administrations have provided evidence that Iraqs rich oil reserves were a major Anglo-American interest in the Middle East, and control of Iraqs reserves was always going to be a huge gain for US and British oil corporations.

But reducing the war in Iraq to this motive alone would be too simplistic, and as the Chilcot Report makes plain, the explanations for the war are highly complex. Still, some factors are more significant than others.

Oil does appear to be one of the central ones, if not in the way that most observers suggest  that is, to guarantee an open flow of Iraqi oil to the US and British economies. Instead, we should think of the oil imperative as part of a much more complex system of factors that drove the 2003 invasion.

Balance of power

The USs global hegemony  its capacity as a great power to get other states to support its geopolitical and economic goals  depends on a highly contingent and transitory set of circumstances. Since the late 1940s, Middle Eastern oil has only become more vital for maintaining the USs global supremacy, and in a more complex way than just a simple grab of oil reserves.

Above all, oil is part of a general strategy to maintain and exercise global power, and its a central part of the US-centred global system. Middle Eastern oil has played a central role in the rise and continuation of the supremacy of the US and its close allies, arguably the central geopolitical story of our times.

If a hegemonic power wants to impose its political and economic authority over a region, it doesnt do it by mere fiat, but by serving and balancing the interests of its allies and clients. The economies of various US allies, among them Japan and the countries of Western Europe, are to various extents dependent on oil imports; the USs Middle East clients, the oil monarchies, require American protection and support.

The US has accordingly consolidated its strategically dominant position in the Middle East by effectively controlling the global oil spigot. This is also an effective way to ward off any competition for the top position in this inter-state hierarchy, as all the USs competitors are heavily dependent on Middle East oil  in particular China.

The question of US influence over oil-rich countries in the Middle East has become increasingly important after World War II. The so-called Carter Doctrine sums up this development perfectly:

Let our position be absolutely clear: An attempt by any outside force to gain control of the Persian Gulf region will be regarded as an assault on the vital interests of the United States of America, and such an assault will be repelled by any means necessary, including military force.

Three and a half decades on, the Middle Easts oil remains one of the central pillars of world politics, to ensure, with the use of violence if necessary, that Middle Eastern oil remains accessible, free-flowing, cheap, and firmly under US control.

Since the end of the Cold War, the US has waged several ground and air wars in the region  two in Iraq, one in Afghanistan, and one in Libya  and is currently threatening more. Each conflict has of course its own specific objectives, but there is a common denominator: the need to keep the oil of the region free-flowing, inexpensive, and under the firm control of the US and its friends.

American strategists dont simply want to obtain oil. If you have money, thats easy. They also want to eliminate all potential competitors, safeguarding the region politically and militarily so that the flow of oil from the Middle East to world markets remains under their direct control.

Business as usual

As for Britain, which enthusiastically supported the US-led war in Iraq in sharp contrast to most of the USs European allies, the partnership with the US wasnt simply a manoeuvre for influence on the global stage, and nor was it the fruit of imperial delusion. Britain also had a clear material interest in being awarded a share of the spoils in the form of trade, contracts, and access to markets and natural resources.

This is not a matter of supposition or conjecture. In October 2002, five months before the invasion of Iraq, the then-trade minister, Baroness Symons, told BP executives that the British government was working to secure a good share of Iraqs oil and gas reserves for British energy corporations as a reward for Blairs strong military commitment to US operations for regime change in Iraq.

Confidential minutes released as a result of Freedom of Information request by Greg Muttitt, (co-director of the campaign group Platform), reveal that in several meetings with BP and Shell executives detailed plans were drafted by British government to exploit oil opportunities in post-Saddam Iraq.

Many view all this as evidence of a conspiracy, but that is reductive. These events are part of a larger balance of global economic and political mechanisms  a tangle of political and economic interests coverging under the rubric of regime change.

Vested interests representing energy, weapons and influential segments of the media and communications industries are entrenched in key sectors of Western governments. These interests are concerned with maintaining their privileged position, and key elements of the US and British elite respond directly.

This was not a conspiracy; it was simply business as usual.

Bulent Gokay, Professor of International Relations, Keele University

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.



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CCTV: Scathing report slams Blair over botched Iraq war
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Maan News Agency |  

BETHLEHEM (Maan)  An ongoing water crisis in the occupied Palestinian territory has been exacerbated by neglected infrastructure, the mayor of a town in the southern occupied West Bank said on Sunday.

Beit Fajjar Mayor Akram Taqatqa said that his towns water network had not had any maintenance work done in at least 15 years and was in very poor condition, further worsening the water crisis in the Bethlehem district town, as Israels national water company Mekorot suspended or limited water supplies to several parts of the West Bank since mid-June.

Taqatqa added that Beit Fajjar, which relies on Mekorot for its access to water, was only receiving very small amounts of water which did not cover residents daily needs.

Beit Fajjar also has hundreds of quarries which consume large quantities of water.

Infrastructure in Palestinian cities and towns are usually built and maintained by municipalities and local councils. However, most municipalities and local government institutions suffer from serious budget deficits.

A number of West Bank towns and cities which receive water supply from the Palestinian water authority have also complained about major water crises, especially during the summer.

Several areas of Bethlehem have suffered from longer-than-average water shortages in recent weeks, and the crisis has sparked clashes between Israeli forces and local youths. A Palestinian youth was injured in the al-Duheisha refugee camp in late June after Israeli forces suppressed a demonstration there with live fire.

Meanwhile, weeks-long water shortages have been reported from across the occupied West Bank, particularly in the northern districts of Nablus, Jenin, and Salfit, after Israels national water company Mekorot shut off supply.

Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah pledged on June 26 to find a resolution to the ongoing water shortages, although it remained unclear what steps were being taken to fix the issue

Hamdallahs office called the Israeli move to cut water access inhumane and outrageous earlier in June, particularly while Palestinian Muslims observing the holy month of Ramadan fast throughout the hot summer days.

Israel wants to prevent Palestinians from leading a dignified life and uses its control over our water resources to this end; while illegal Israeli settlements enjoy uninterrupted water service, Hamdallah said at the time. Palestinians are forced to spend great sums of money to buy water that is theirs in the first place.

While Mekorot released a statement admitting it had implemented a reduction of water supplies in the occupied West Bank, the Israeli Coordinator for Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) denied the reports, blaming water cuts in Salfit on a burst water pipe, and even claiming that the water supply had in fact been increased for Ramadan.

COGAT also told Maan at the time that Palestinians dont cooperate for the improvement of the water flow in the region.

Israelis, including settlers, have access to 300 liters of water per day, according to water rights NGO coalition EWASH, while the West Bank average is around 70 liters, below the World Health Organizations recommended minimum of 100 liters per day for basic sanitation, hygiene and drinking.

Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq estimated in a 2013 report that up to 50 percent of Palestinian water supplies are diverted by Mekorot over the summer months to meet the consumption needs of Israels illegal settlements.

According to Amnesty International, nearly 200,000 Palestinians in the West Bank do not have access to running water.

Via Maan News Agency



Related video added by Juan Cole:

France 24: West Bank: settlements expand amid tension and violence
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker [official website] signed [press release] a bill (S.2407) [text] into law on Friday protecting against discrimination on the basis of gender identity. The bill was passed [JURIST report] earlier in the week by both houses of the state legislature and has been praised as a compromise between anti-discrimination and public safety. The law requires places of public accommodation such as bathrooms to allow the use of those places based on ones sincerely held gender identity. Additionally, the public safety concerns raised by some were addressed through a portion of the law putting the state Attorney Generals Office [official website] in charge of issuing guidance for reporting any improper assertions of gender identity. After signing the bill Governor Baker stated, No one should be discriminated against in Massachusetts because of their gender identity. The law will take effect on October 1, after the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination [official website] and the Attorney General create appropriate regulatory guidelines, due by September 1.

Transgender access to public restrooms has been a controversial topic and has created a wave of legislative and judicial actions. Also Friday, ten states announced a lawsuit [JURIST report] against the Obama administration for its directive for schools to allow transgender to use the restroom correlating to their gender identity. In May the Obama administration issued the guidance to schools on ensuring transgender students enjoy a supportive and nondiscriminatory school environment, prompting a similar lawsuit [JURIST report] by 11 states. Also in May the Florida American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit [JURIST report] against the Marion County school district, challenging their bathroom policy as anti-transgender. The US Department of Justice filed a lawsuit [JURIST report] in May challenging North Carolinas controversial House Bill 2.
Seondal (played by Yoo Seung-ho) and his buddy Gyeon-i (played by Xiumin) are Koreans who have been conscripted to fight some random war in the desert to improve the international political standing of aristocrat Dae-ryeon (played by Jo Jae-hyeon). Although the opening scene is fairly bleak it does not take long for Seondal and Gyeon-i to run into Bo-won (played by Ko Chang-seok), a man who specializes in survival through scamming. Soon enough, the whole gang is free to run increasingly elaborate con jobs on pretty much everyone.

"Seondal: The Man Who Sells the River" is a comedy with exactly one joke- we get to watch Yoo Seung-ho put on a devilish smirk as he goes through with an elaborate plan that's designed for maximum humor rather than to be realistically effective. Which is fine by me. Seondal goes through a lot of costumes in pursuance of the latest scam, and the presentation ranges from regal to cornball to oddly enticing. The punchline to the scam is never as much fun as watching Seondal's team actually go through with it.

That, unfortunately, is also the movie's main downfall. There's no real dramatic tension. We know that even when the stakes seem utterly serious Seondal has planned for this eventuality somehow and everything will end up all right in the end- the only question is how. Some mild fun can be had paying attention to the clues, namely the specific skills demonstrated throughout that allow Seondal's later cons to work. Beyond that, though, "Seondal: The Man Who Sells the River" is a fairly basic heist movie.

There is one key distinction- set as it is during Joseon times, the requisite wacky comedy setpieces look very distinctive, and the rustic setting frequently makes Seondal's schemes seem disproportionately plausible. It helps that Yoo Seung-ho is consistently enthralling throughout the entire movie, such that it's easy to see why characters would rather just think that Seondal is a random fun guy as opposed to someone who seems just a little too friendly.

But the more complicated the plot point, the harder it is to focus on the adventures of Seondal's crew. This makes the inevitable takedown of Dae-ryeon feel unearned if only because Seondal needed a lot of luck to get that far. Additionally, while Yoo Seung-ho is extremely effective as a smooth con artist he's much less compelling in more romantic or dramatic scenes. Which is probably mainly a matter of presentation. Seondal is more a one-man comic relief crew than he is a main character.

That much is able to get writer/director Park Dae-min a pretty long way in terms of making "Seondal: The Man Who Sells the River" decently entertaining even though there's not enough depth to support much in the way of strong content. "Seondal: The Man Who Sells the River" is a fairly funny movie that starts to drag when the main plot comes up. The creativity in the gags more than makes up for the relative staleness of the central storyline, though, so I can mostly reccommend it.

Source:HanCinema
Our privacy rights are under continual assault from out-of-control government. Whether from the National Security Agency vacuuming up our telephone call data and various other electronic communications and documents, the FBI amassing a facial recognition database with hundreds of millions of photos, including those taken from state drivers licenses, local police mounting license plate trackers on patrol cars and using stingray devices to mimic cell towers and intercept data and track hundreds of cell phones at a time or Transportation Security Administration agents needlessly harassing travelers at airport security checkpoints, governments at all levels routinely violate our Fourth Amendment rights to be free from illegal searches and seizures.

Last month, a U.S. Senate amendment to an appropriations bill came within one vote of expanding the USA Patriot Act and granting the FBI access to citizens Internet browser histories without a court order. Moreover, this was a procedural vote that required 60 votes for passage, which means a solid majority of the Senate believes the government has the right to perform warrantless searches of every website visited by every person in the country.

A similar measure had sailed through the House the previous two years, only to get stripped out of the final budget deals, but fear in the wake of the Orlando nightclub attack weakened lawmakers resolve to protect constitutional liberties, and the measure went down to defeat.

If we let terrorism compel us to ignore the Constitution, then havent the terrorists won? Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who introduced the measure with Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., contended in a Facebook post shortly before the vote.

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Protesters gather outside the governor's residence Thursday, July 7, 2016, in St. Paul, Minn. A police officer fatally shot Philando Castile as a woman in the vehicle apparently livestreamed the aftermath in a widely shared Facebook video. The shooting happened late Wednesday during a traffic stop in the St. Paul suburb of Falcon Heights. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)
FILE -- In this May 11, 2016 file photo, Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry listens during a press conference after heading a Security Council meeting on terrorism, at U.N. headquarters. Shoukry will visit Israel Sunday, July 10, 2016, in the first such visit in nearly a decade. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu says he will meet Shoukry Sunday in a visit that reflects positive changes in relations between the two countries. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry says the visit is aimed at reviving the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)
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Have you ever stopped to consider who you are or what defines you? Is your self-worth or self-esteem wrapped up in those two little letters Dr.? How would you feel if they were removed? Would you know who you are without them?

As medical students we work hard, study long hours, sit tons of exams and tests, to ultimately prove we have what it takes  that we are intelligent enough, to be a doctor. Parents burst with pride on graduation day; watching what was once their little Johnny or Jane running round in nappies, now reach the dizzy heights of intellectual prowess required to be a doctor.

We feel good about ourselves, our many years of hard work paying off as finally we get the stamp that says, You are a doctor. Credit cards and checkbooks are changed to include those two little letters Dr. that the world too may know who they are transacting with. We introduce ourselves as Dr.  to patients, and we are there to answer the call should one go out on an airplane: Is there a doctor on board? We relish the new-found status those two little letters seem to bring  instant respect and authority, where people might actually listen to us and value our opinion.

We have gone from being a nobody student, to a somebody Dr.

A turbocharge boost to our self-esteem  that for some can lead to an air of superiority and arrogance, feeling better than and looking down on others. Those two little letters can cover up a host of insecurities and vulnerabilities  feelings of not being good enough or even enough, not being perfect, are pushed to the side because we have the title that tells the world we are OK, we are enough, we are intelligent  so please do not question my authority.

Hidden deep underneath the superiority and arrogance is the insecure little boy or girl who feels a fraud, feels like they will never be enough and lives in fear of being found out. Feelings they hide from themselves as they puff their chest out, blow their top and try to convince the world they are more than they feel they are. All hot air and steam, an illusion that can evaporate with a pinprick of truth.

For what we do is not who we are.

Many doctors associate what they do with who they are. In other words, they consider their job to define them, that those two little letters are them.

To define ourselves by what we do is a disaster waiting to happen; it is a fragile platform to stand upon and one that can easily crack and crumble to ruin, leaving the person inside feeling lost, empty, insecure, uncertain, anxious and deeply unsure of who they are.

Who we are is so much more than what we do. We are human beings before we are doctors, human beings who care, love, laugh, have fun, relationships and enjoy people. None of these things need to cease when we become doctors. We dont need to put on our serious face or professional mantle; we just need to be who we are, be ourselves, be natural and let the love in our hearts shine through all that we do.

When we stand on the rock of knowing who we are as human beings first and foremost, then we have no need to impress, be superior, look down upon others, be aloof and keep our distance. We know and can feel there is a place of greatness within us and within every human being, even if we are not all living that greatness. Just knowing it is there, to be tapped into and lived from as we choose to, can make all the difference. We know we are no longer dependent on two small letters for our sense of self and worth; for who we are already is so much grander than any amount of letters can bring, be they before or after our name.

And so whilst it can certainly be challenging if we lose our job, are made redundant, are suspended, or just retire, these challenges may be easier to deal with if we know that greatness is still there within, untouched and unaffected by any of that, for what we do is not who we are.

And on the other side of that coin, bringing that greatness within to all that we do can transform our lives, our work, and relationships. There is a different but grander sense of purpose, a spring of joy in our step and a sparkle in our eyes when we know that what we bring does not solely depend on what we know, but who we are. We underestimate the healing power we bring when we are just ourselves, being human, being present, being the natural loving and caring beings that we are with grace and greatness, where the love in our hearts can shine through our eyes, our gentle touch or tender words.

So by all means embrace the hard-earned title of Dr. and the responsibility it brings, but let us not misuse it, as I used to do to have power over others, to feel superior, or better than, or to bolster a fragile sense of self. Know first and foremost that we are much more than what can be defined by two little letters or any amount of degrees  and when we bring that to the fore, we know nobody is nobody, and everybody is somebody  somebody great, wise and beautiful, just like us.

Eunice J. Minford is a general surgeon in the United Kingdom who blogs at the Soulful Doctor. She can be reached on Twitter @thesoulfuldoc.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
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By Barbara McMichael

Sealed with a Secret  Lisa Schroeder

Scholastic  224 pp.  $16.99

Saving Wonder  Mary Knight

Scholastic Press  288 pp.  $16.99

We can leave it to professional educators to warn about summer learning loss, or "brain drain."

Instead, let's focus on the pleasures of summertime reading  books can introduce youngsters to fascinating new ideas, places and characters.

Here are a couple of stories for middle-grade readers that aim to do just that.

Beaverton author Lisa Schroeder is a veteran author of books for young readers. Her latest book, "Sealed with a Secret," brings back some characters she'd written about previously in "My Secret Guide to Paris." In the earlier story, two English sisters, Phoebe and Alice, get acquainted with Americans Nora and her brother Justin while they all are visiting France. Alice and Justin kindle a whirlwind romance, while Phoebe joins Nora on an adventure through Paris, following a treasure map left by Nora's grandma.

In "Sealed with a Secret," Phoebe and Alice are back home in London. Alice spends her time pining away for her American sweetheart, leaving Phoebe feeling unappreciated. She's particularly crushed because her big sister will be going away to college soon and doesn't seem to be worried about missing her.

But then Phoebe discovers that a locket she purchased in Paris has a letter tucked behind the photograph. Written from one sister to another when they were separated during the London Blitz in World War II, the letter mentions a magical spell for bringing people together again. Phoebe decides she will follow the instructions in the letter to try to get her sister to pay more attention to her.

Following the formula of the previous book, "Sealed with a Secret" takes readers all around London. Schroeder also offers up bits of British vocabulary in every chapter  "biscuits" are cookies, "chips" are fries. This simple introduction to a different culture may help young readers dream of broadening their own horizons.

Another book, "Saving Wonder," is all about appreciating one's roots. Seventh-grader Curley Hines wants nothing more than to stay put in his Appalachian hometown.

After his dad died in a mining accident and his mother and little brother died in a flood when a pond of mining sludge broke through its retention walls, Curley's Papaw came to live with him. Curley has seen enough change in his young life. He just wants to keep living in Wonder Hollow at the base of Red Hawk Mountain, learning a new vocabulary word every week under his Papaw's direction, going to school, and roaming the woods with his best friend, Julia, aka Jules.

But then the mine gets a new owner, and a new boss comes to town, bringing along his city-slicker son, who quickly turns Jules' head.

That isn't Curley's only problem. The new boss also plans to start mountaintop removal mining  on Red Hawk Mountain. Curley needs to summon all his wits and words to try to save Wonder Hollow.

Written by former Whidbey Island resident Mary Knight, "Saving Wonder" is a heartwarming story. Thumbs-up!
Bremerton Mayor Patty Lent wants to move some city offices, including utility billing, into the Norm Dicks Government Center downtown, allowing Housing Kitsap to leave the building for a more accessible location. LARRY STEAGALL / KITSAP SUN

By Josh Farley of the Kitsap Sun

BREMERTON  Bremerton City Hall is set to expand its footprint within the Norm Dicks Government Center, under a plan unveiled this past week by city leaders.

The city is prepared to pay Housing Kitsap just over $2 million to take over 9,000 square feet of space on the first and fifth floors of the Sixth Street government center. No formal paperwork has been signed but both Bremerton Mayor Patty Lent and Housing Kitsap Executive Director Stuart Grogan confirmed the deal is moving forward.

Lent said the plan will accomplish two of her long-term goals as mayor: it will give the public a "one-stop shop" for city services while also bringing more city employees under one roof, a move she said will make city government more efficient.

"The city is growing, and we need to have a campus that can accommodate all of our staffing," Lent said.

That comes at a cost. Most of the moves involve the city's public utilities. As a result, a maximum of 14 cents will be added to utility customers' bimonthly bills in 2017 to cover the debt service, according to City Finance Director Cathy Johnson. Much of the cost had already been planned for, as a consolidation of some staffing had already been in the works, she said.

For Housing Kitsap, the change represents a chance to lower their own office space costs while getting closer to the clients the agency serves, Grogan said. Formerly located in Silverdale, Housing Kitsap moved its operations to the downtown Bremerton location in 2011, though the agency has long served as the building's property manager.

"It's always felt a little strange to me that we're located in a city that already has a great housing authority," Grogan said, referencing the Bremerton Housing Authority, which has offices on Park Avenue.

Grogan also noted many of Housing Kitsap's clients come from points around the county, even to just deposit rent.

Where Housing Kitsap will ultimately be housed is still an open question, he said. The agency maintains a 6,000-square-foot building on Washington Avenue in Silverdale. That likely won't be big enough, however, and Grogan said they'll be searching for commercial space from Port Orchard to Poulsbo.

Grogan said he'd also like to consolidate his agency into one space. He said even having the agency within the Dicks center divides staff between the first floor and the fifth.

Even if Housing Kitsap leaves the building, they still own a space occupied currently by U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor, and will maintain their long-standing role as property manager.

The new space would bring to downtown a number of Bremerton city functions. Under plans still being ironed out, the city will move 11 staff members  mostly engineers  from an office on Olympus Drive in East Bremerton. Leaders of different city departments hailed the idea as a chance to work more closely with the engineers on projects involving streets and utilities.

"We're kind of an orphan out here right now," said Tom Knuckey, Bremerton's city engineer, who currently works on Olympus. "It moves us closer together as a city. There will be less wasted time and better communication."

The building those engineers will vacate already has a potential tenant. Public Works Director Chal Martin and Kitsap Mental Health Services CEO Joe Roszak said that while nothing is set in stone, the mental health agency has preliminary plans to move its administration and management into the Olympus building. The plan so far involves KMH making tenant improvements in lieu of payments to the city, Martin said.

The city's public works headquarters on Oyster Bay Avenue, home to much of its arsenal of trucks and equipment, would also see changes under the plan. Martin and some other public works managers will get offices on the fifth floor downtown. Utility billing, too, would move to the Dicks building, to go with permitting and licensing, which are located on the sixth floor.

Details are still being ironed out. But for Lent and other city officials, the overall move is a chance to make city hall not just about the sixth floor, they say. It would widen that concept to the front doors of the government center, to include the prospect of City Council offices relocating to the first floor.

"This is a very forward-looking and great investment for the city," said Martin. "It consolidates our staffs and facilitates internal communication  at a good price. This definitely is a positive thing for the city's future."

The Norm Dicks Government Center, named for the longtime West Sound congressman, was completed in 2004 at a cost of $25 million. It's "condominium" style ownership still includes not only Housing Kitsap and the city of Bremerton but also the Kitsap Public Health District and other agencies.
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By Tristan Baurick of the Kitsap Sun

Despite criticism that Bainbridge police should have done more to assist a mentally-ill man they shot in 2010, there was little anyone could have done to save him, an emergency room surgeon testified Tuesday in federal court.

Dr. Seth Izenberg told jurors that Douglas Ostling likely bled to death about 10 minutes after he was shot twice in his left leg, cutting open a major artery.

Ostling's family, who are suing the city of Bainbridge, say police failed to check on Ostling and prevented family members and a medical aid crew from checking on him for more than an hour.

But Ostling would have needed medical attention right after the shooting, according to Izenberg, who was hired by the city to testify in the case. Izenberg works at a Portland, Ore., hospital and has several years of experience treating gunshot wounds as a military and police medic.

"You would have needed to be on the scene in one to three minutes," he said. "Could you get away with five minutes? Maybe."

According to the 911 call log, medical aid was called by police two minutes after the shooting, which police say was provoked by Ostling, who was holding an ax and yelling at officers from his bedroom doorway. A Bainbridge Island Fire Department emergency crew arrived seven minutes later, making the total time between injury and response just under 10 minutes.

Even if medics arrived quickly, they would have needed to immediately identify Ostling's wound and have the proper equipment, training and presence of mind to quickly halt the flow of blood, which Izenberg estimates was pumping out of Ostling's body at a rate of two pints per minute. The emergency crew would also need to get Ostling to a hospital within minutes  not always an easy or speedy task when a patient must be taken across a bridge or be flown to Seattle to access the nearest emergency room.

"He would not have survived unless he got to the hospital alive," Izenberg said. "You've got to arrive alive. That's the issue."

Izenberg stressed that Ostling's femoral artery was perforated rather than severed, making it a more serious injury. He said artery walls can tighten to slow blood flow through a severed artery. Not so with a perforated one.

"The artery can't squeeze down on the blood flow, so that blood continues to flow," he said. "It's much worse in surgery to deal with a perforation."

The Ostlings' attorney, Nathan Roberts, stressed that Izenberg was paid $750 per hour by the city to provide testimony.

Roberts noted that the medical articles Izenberg cited were not about gunshot wounds, despite the fact that there are many articles on the subject.

Pressed by Roberts, Izenberg said he had saved dozens of men with similar gunshot wounds to Ostling during a stint at a Mobile, Ala., hospital. The men were in gangs that, for a time, targeted the legs of their rivals, Izenberg said.

"Should we believe all those gangsters were shot right in front of the trauma hospital?" Roberts asked.

Also taking the stand Tuesday was Ostling's mother, Joyce.

In emotional testimony, she said her son was confused and frightened by the police, but that he posed no threat to anyone.

The Ostlings are suing the city, its police chief and Officer Jeff Benkert, the man who shot Ostling, over what they say was an unnecessary use of force and a violation of their civil rights.

The trial, which began May 14, continues Wednesday and is expected to wrap up next week.
SHARE Fish story, or 22 1/2 pound king salmon? The answer is both. The happy smile of Port Gamble mill employee and salmon derby champion Earl Ferguson suggests the story of the 1939 derby would be told for years to come. Sport fishing and the competition of derbies have long been among the many recreational opportunities found in Kitsap County. To see more photos from the Kitsap History Museum archives, visitwww.facebook.com/kitsaphistory, Twitter KitsapMuseum, or stop by the museum at 280 Fourth St. in Bremerton. Call 360-479-6226 for information.

In 1941 (75 years ago)

At this rate, the pavement in the intersection of Fourth Street and Pacific Avenue in Bremerton should wear out before winter rolls around.

By actual count, 22,718 automobiles went through the intersection during a 15-hour period on Tuesday, according to field workers of Bremerton's traffic survey.

The count was made from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday, which is one of those "slack days" in the city's traffic.

Figuring conservatively that the average length of an automobile is 15 feet, these 22,713 cars parked bumper-to-bumper, would make a line more than 66 miles long. That's as far as from Bremerton to 3 miles south of Olympia.

Public Works Commissioner C.C. Casad's continued absence from the city today caused another postponement of the city commissioners meeting at which a successor to Bremerton Mayor Homer R. Jones is expected to be appointed.

The commissioners attempted to meet this morning at 10, but since Casad, who is been in the east for more than two weeks attending a convention and vacationing with Mrs. Casad, was absent, it was decided to reschedule the session for 2:30 this afternoon.

In 1966 (50 years ago)

Vandalism to mailboxes and road signs continued at a heavy pace during the weekend, and incidents resulted in the apprehension of three Bremerton youths, the sheriffs office said today.

The three boys, two 19 and the other 18, were picked up Saturday evening by Deputy Robert Rohr, following a report of mailbox vandalism and theft of mail on Old Belfair Highway.

Ralph Miles, told officers he saw the three boys take mail from his box and then later the box from his post. Ralph Zorda, a neighbor of Miles, Well sort of a neighbor of miles, also reported his mailbox knocked down and thrown on his lawn.

Demothballing a battleship like the USS Missouri for duty in Vietnam has already been considered and rejected and even suggesting it now is simply playing to the voters, GOP congressional candidate George Mueller said today.

The suggestion, offered by another GOP candidate, is neither "original nor practical at this time," Mahler said.

The Navy Department has already looked into the matter in an exhaustive study partly as a result of articles that have appeared on the Mighty Mo.

In 1991 (25 years ago)

After one of the stormiest winters on record, the Lions Park beach has borne out designer Wolf Bauer's claim that he can control erosion with only a few loads of gravel and a fine understanding of the dynamics of a shifting waterfront.

The gravel beach that Bauer designed last year to rescue the eroding shoreline at Lions Park, held its own against the pounding waves and high tides that assaulted shortly after its completion last October.

It was worth every penny of the $30,000 it cost the city of Bremerton, said city parks department director Vicky Vanneman.

"It succeeded beyond our wildest expectations," she said, "both in terms of access to the water and protection of the bird habitat."

In 2006 (10 years ago)

EMMITSBURG, Md.  "I'm standing outside and looking back at my house. My roof is all collapsed in. I was lucky to get out alive."

The man on the radio identified himself as Bremerton resident Arnie Svensson. The voice, with a Swedish accent, echoed through the Maryland training center where 71 Kitsap County officials were confined for a day.

The Kitsap contingent was carefully collected for the earthquake exercise. They ranged from CenCom dispatchers, who would take the first urgent calls in a disaster, to mayors and county commissioners who would lead the reconstruction of their communities.
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By Andrew Binion of the Kitsap Sun

PORT ORCHARD  A veteran District Court judge won't be hearing criminal cases for the foreseeable future, including drunken driving and misdemeanor assaults, after a disagreement with prosecutors over whether charging papers should explicitly say a crime occurred in Kitsap County.

Prosecutors say they have contemplated the move for months, and were convinced it was the appropriate step this spring after Judge Marilyn Paja ruled a drunken driving suspect not guilty because, they said, Paja objected to the police report that gave an address or milepost but did not state the alleged crime occurred in Kitsap.

"Now this person is on the street, and they should not be on the street," Prosecutor Tina Robinson said of the drunken driving suspect. "That is concerning for us."

For the indefinite future, starting late last month, Paja will hear only infractions and civil cases, with the other three District Court judges hearing the criminal cases.

Indefinitely blocking a judge from criminal cases is not an unprecedented move, but is extraordinary in that it prevents a judge from hearing cases voters elected her to hear. Defense attorneys can also file the affidavits of prejudice, which will bump a judge off a case they had been assigned as long as the judge has not made a ruling. The law says the affidavits are to be used when an attorney believes he or she cannot receive a fair trial in front of that judge.

Kevin Kelly, chief deputy prosecutor for District Court, said he could not recall the Prosecutor's Office issuing a blanket affidavit against a District Court judge.

"If we did, I can't recall it, and I've been here 26 years," he said.

District Court judges also preside over the first hearings of some felonies, before the cases are bumped up to Superior Court, in part to determine if the state has the right to hold somebody in custody and to set bail and other conditions of release. This is another function Paja won't be performing.

Paja declined to personally respond to questions about the issue.

Prosecutors say neither the county's other District or Superior Court judges, nor any defense attorney, has raised the issue. Police reports will, as a rule, indicate the address or intersection or milepost of an incident. Establishing it occurred inside Kitsap County is one of the things prosecutors must prove at trial. However, it is usually a formality and not something that is at issue during early hearings, prosecutors said.

Paja's insistence caused additional work, they said, and sometimes led them to scramble at pretrial hearings. However, it was the dismissal of the case  where the drunken driving defendant had entered a pretrial diversion agreement and then violated it  that convinced them to block Paja from hearing criminal cases.

Former Prosecutor Russ Hauge used the affidavits on Superior Court judges for what he saw as mistaken rulings, keeping the judges from hearing criminal cases for extended periods of time, and Robinson's office has routinely removed Superior Court Judge Bill Houser from some human trafficking and domestic violence cases, but has not barred him from hearing all criminal cases.

The Kitsap Sun asked prosecutors to provide the cases in question. Kelly said the office had not tracked them, but provided some details about individual cases.

Prosecutors said they have attempted to reach out to Paja and have contacted law enforcement to encourage them to include the word "Kitsap" in describing the location of incidents in reports.

"Again, it was totally a last resort thing," Robinson said, emphasizing the move was not personal.

Three attempts were made by the Kitsap Sun to contact Paja and have her explain her position. Paja declined and referred comment to District Court Administrator Maurice Baker.

Baker said Paja respects the law that gives prosecutors the power to block out judges and the court continues to have a good working relationship with the Prosecutor's Office.

"We totally respect the Prosecutor's Office, and as part of that, this is a right they have to disagree with a judge," he said.

Baker said a positive result of the move is that it will allow the court to focus on civil cases, which have languished following budget cuts.

"This gives us the perfect opportunity," Baker said, adding that civil trials typically face a six-month backlog. In addition to gross misdemeanors and citations, District Court also handles small claims court and civil suits up to $100,000. "It's not like she is going to get paid as an elected official and not do judge work."

Paja was first elected in 1998 and did not face an opponent in the following four general elections. To remain on the bench she will have to run again in 2018.
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Ed Palm, your former community columnist turned far-flung correspondent here, staying in touch just as I said I would in my "Farewell to rhetorical arms" column (June 5).

Something happened to me recently that, in the words of the poet, "has given me a change of heart ... and saved some part of a day I had rued."

As you may have heard, summers are hot and humid here in Virginia. Today found me not just overheated but generally frazzled over dealing with all the details of moving  so much so that I reverted to absent-minded-professor type.

I had just come out of Lowe's with a new weed eater and an $11 roll of laminate shelf paper. Needing both hands to load the weed eater into my truck, I set the shelf paper on the roof. (Don't get ahead of me now.)

Sure enough, I drove off with the shelf paper on the roof, and Mrs. Palm was sorely disappointed when I came home without it. So back to Lowe's to see if it was still there in the parking lot. It wasn't.

I went in to the customer-service desk and confessed to carelessness, asking if anyone had found and turned in a roll of shelf paper. Sure enough, someone had  a roll rendered unusable due to tire-tread marks running across it.

Would you believe that they gave me a new roll free of charge?

Mrs. Palm, who was born in North Carolina, wasn't surprised. (Ours is a mixed marriage. I self-identify as a Yankee.) "This is the South. People are nice here," she explained.

Of course, there are nice people all over  in Western Washington as well as Virginia. We just need more of them everywhere.

But enough about my trials and tribulations. On to the passing scene.

The big news out of the Pentagon lately has been the decision to allow transgender troops to serve openly in the military. I'm sure we'll be hearing the same objections to this development that we heard about allowing gays to serve openly  that it will undermine unit cohesion and threaten good order and discipline. I remember hearing the military enthusiast and popular novelist Tom Clancy sneering to the effect that the real men in the 101st Airborne wouldn't stand for having gays in their midst. But stand for it they did, and I predict that today's young troops will roll with this reform as well.

As for me, despite being an old fogey, I'm fine with allowing a transgendered person to enlist or be commissioned under the gender to which he or she has transitioned. But that should be it. My concern is that the Department of Defense will also shoulder the expense of surgery and treatment for those still in transition as well as for those who have yet to begin the process. Undoubtedly, some few will enlist just to change gender at taxpayer expense.

The irony is that the Pentagon is undertaking this reform at the same time it is whittling away at retiree medical benefits and otherwise looking to cut the exorbitant personnel costs of the all-volunteer force.

As I've argued before, the key to having a cost-effective military is simply to stop enlisting people with multiple dependents and to start restricting family benefits to career NCOs and officers. We have economic refugees enough in the ranks. We need more troops motivated to serve in the old selfless sense of the term  be they gay, straight, or transgendered.

Another blip still on my radar screen is the legalization of same-sex marriage.

Constitutional issues and societal objections aside, what I keep coming back to is our Declaration of Independence. Ever since Lincoln invoked that document in justifying the Civil War, affirming that "all men are created equal," another of Jefferson's presuppositions has done as much, if not more, to shape American attitudes and expectations. I'm referring to the claim that "the pursuit of happiness" is an "unalienable" right. If marrying makes a same-sex couple happy, who is it hurting? Gays and lesbians are merely claiming the same rights and legal protections afforded by heterosexual marriage.

The religious right, of course, will never be reconciled to same-sex marriage. "Chief Justice Roberts, tear down this wall of separation between church and state!" would seem to be what some are saying. That would be an outcome far worse than allowing gays and lesbians to marry. Like it or not, the Bible's strictures defining marriage and condemning homosexuality are not normative for everyone in our secular, pluralistic society.

For my part, I'm content to thank God for the blessing of air conditioning. It's so hot and humid here that adhesive Mylar numbers won't stick to our new mailbox.

Give thanks back there in Western Washington for your temperate climate.

Contact Ed Palm at majorpalm@gmail.com.
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There was a time when the Fourth of July meant something more than a three-day weekend. Speeches, writings and commemorative ceremonies reminded us of the origins and greatness of America. No matter where in the world our ancestors came from, we today are almost invariably better off because they came to America.

Independence Day signified much more than one country announcing its independence from another on July 4, 1776. It represented a new form of government  freer and more accountable to its own people than the monarchies common around the world for centuries.

What happened in America did not stay in America. The example of freedom inspired other peoples in other lands. As a famous poem put it, it was America's "embattled farmers," fighting for their own freedom and independence, who "fired the shot heard round the world."

There was no question then that the United States was "exceptional," however much the smug elites of today  including our President  try to dismiss the idea. Because self-government on such a large scale was a unique experiment, the founders of the American republic were very much aware that it had its dangers. Thomas Jefferson warned that "eternal vigilance" was the price of liberty. Even generations later, Abraham Lincoln expressed his fervent hope that "government of the people, by the people and for the people shall not perish from the earth." The survival of freedom was not something he took for granted.

Today, too many Americans take freedom for granted, as just another entitlement, something that does not require them to take any personal responsibility.

It is painful to watch people on the streets  or on college campuses  being interviewed by TV reporters who ask them elementary questions about the people and institutions that run the country, and see how uninformed they are. And how unconcerned about their own gross ignorance.

People like that are the natural prey of political demagogues, of which there has never been a shortage. We see the consequences in ever expanding arbitrary powers of government. Just last week, a U.S. Attorney threatened prosecution of anyone who made "inflammatory" statements about Muslim boys accused of raping a 5-year-old girl.

Surely that Justice Department official knew that the courts were not likely to violate people's right to free speech. But the real threat was to drag people through expensive and time-consuming legal processes that could disrupt their lives completely.

Such highhanded use of government powers has become increasingly common during the Obama administration. But an apathetic and uninformed public voted him a second term.

That is not the "eternal vigilance" required to preserve freedom. It is the widespread apathy and gullibility which accepts the coming of tyranny on the installment plan.

Earlier generations of Americans fought and died to preserve freedom. Today's generation cannot spare time from their selfies and twitters to think about such things. Neither the past nor the future seems to weigh on their minds.

A generation that owes so much to the past acts as if they owe nothing to anybody. Their idea of freedom is exemption from laws or obligations.

What many conceive of as freedom today is much more like anarchy: Who are the police to tell them what they cannot do?

But anarchy does not mean freedom. It means that people "become the slaves of ruffians." What was said in 19th century Britain remains painfully true in too many crime-ridden neighborhoods in 21st century America.

The orgy of anti-police rhetoric in the wake of riots in Ferguson, Missouri and in Baltimore has already been followed by a sudden surge in violence, including murders, as police pull back or get pulled back. Innocent people have paid with their lives for such self-indulgences by demagogues and the media.

Freedom is not free. It requires, at a minimum, maturity and a sense of the realities of life. No society of human beings has ever been perfect. But we need only think of whatever person we love most and ask: Is that person perfect?

Is a country that is not perfect nevertheless deserving of our respect, our gratitude or our love? The Fourth of July is a good day to ponder that question.

Thomas Sowell is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305. His website is www.tsowell.com.
Stuff reports:

Federated Farmers has said farmers should have the right to choose whether to use genetically modified organisms, but others says New Zealand is missing the opportunity to market the countrys products as GM-free. At its recent annual conference, the Feds voted unanimously that the Environmental Protection Authority should manage and make all decisions relating to GMOs.

Yes, let a scientific body decide, not stupid Councillors who pander to lobby groups.

However, Hawkes Bay farmer Simon Beamish said exporters should grab the advantage of being GM-free. A group of growers and farmers, campaigning under the Pure Hawkes Bay banner, have persuaded the Hastings District Council to ban GM crops and animals under its district plan for 10 years. But Federated Farmers is appealing against the policy, as the case heads to the Environment Court later this year. Auckland, Whangarei and Northland councils are considering following Hastings lead and becoming GM-free.

If an individual farmer wants to be GM free, that should be their decision. But these statists want to force their decision on all farmers in a district and remove choice from everyone.

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Members of the Milwaukee chapter of the Latin American Motorcycle Association gather at their southside clubhouse on June 9. (Rick Wood/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel/TNS)

SHARE Hispanics and other minorities are a growing customer base for Harley-Davidson motorcycles, as the company works to bring more consumers into the Harley fold. This is the showroom at Harley-Davidson of Knoxville on Clinton Highway. G. CHAMBERS WILLIAMS III/NEWS SENTINEL New motorcycles await buyers at Harley-Davidson of Knoxville on Clinton Highway. G. CHAMBERS WILLIAMS III/NEWS SENTINEL

By Rick Barrett, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (TNS)

They are factory workers, business owners, U.S. military veterans and more, all sharing a passion for Latino culture and Harley-Davidson motorcycles.

For more than 50 years, many Latino Harley riders have called themselves "Harlistas" as a way to proclaim their feelings for the Harley brand and the bonds shared between fellow riders.

It has helped make Harley-Davidson the No. 1 seller of new, on-street motorcycles among Hispanics in the United States, an important distinction as Harley broadens its market with sales to minorities and nontraditional customers.

Harley sells more than five times as many new bikes to African-Americans as its competitors and more than four times as many to Hispanics, said Shelley Paxton, Harley-Davidson's vice president of global marketing and brand.

There are many Harlistas in Milwaukee, Harley's hometown, some of them from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Central America and South America, bringing their cultural styling points to their motorcycles.

Sporting tall handlebars, a lowrider chassis and a sound system blasting Latino music, some of the bikes would be at home on the San Bernardino freeway in Los Angeles.

"Everybody has their own individual style and their own idea of how they want to be represented on their Harley. It's almost like a tattoo on your body," said Robert Miranda, a Harlista and a member of the Latin American Motorcycle Association  known as LAMA  chapter in Milwaukee.

For many Latino immigrants, especially, owning a Harley-Davidson represents their success in the United States.

"They feel as if they've graduated to the big boys of motorcycle riding," said Miranda, who owns a 2006 Harley Softail and a 2010 Harley Electra Glide.

Harlistas are Harley-Davidson enthusiasts, but not all LAMA members ride Harleys. Also, the Latin American Motorcycle Association, which is based in Chicago and has chapters across the nation, says it welcomes motorcyclists of all races.

The Milwaukee chapter members say they welcome spouses, children and extended family to their events.

They emphasize that LAMA is not an outlaw group like the Hell's Angels or the Pagans.

There are rules, for instance, against unruly behavior and drinking and riding.

It's the complete opposite of an outlaw club, said Jorge Valle, chapter president.

The Milwaukee group has raised money for local charities, but often its efforts are focused on helping families facing an unexpected need.

"We are totally family-oriented. That's the way LAMA was started 39 years ago in Chicago and that's the way we want to keep it," Valle said.

The group stands out when it rolls into small towns with loud, colorful motorcycles and the riders clad in biker leathers.

"But it's all good. A lot of people come up to us and want to talk about the bikes," Miranda said.

The Milwaukee chapter is 7 years old. It has only a couple of dozen members, which isn't many considering the growing number of Hispanics in the area.

The cost of owning a motorcycle is an issue for some new immigrants as they get established in this country.

Many people buy a used bike, partly because it's more affordable, and also because some of the older models haven't changed that much in appearance over the years.

"You can customize your bike, little by little, just the way you want it. You get attached to the bike itself," said Valle, who rides a 2008 Electra Glide.

Jose Ortiz, a quality-control technician at a manufacturer, recently bought his first Harley, a 2009 Road King Classic. Previously he rode foreign-made sport bikes built for speed, not comfort.

"When you get a little bit older, you just want to cruise. I am not into speed and crotch-rocket bikes anymore," Ortiz said.

Much of Harley-Davidson's success has come from its status as an American icon, and that it represents a rebellious, free-spirited kind of individual.

That image is popular outside the U.S., too.

Ricardo Rangel, a Harley dealer in Merida, Mexico, said he used to wear a suit and tie to work. But when he came to Milwaukee for Harley's 100th anniversary celebration in 2003, he shaved his head, got his ears pierced and switched to Harley T-shirts.

"When they put me in my wooden pajamas (a coffin), I don't want to be wearing a suit," Rangel said in a 2012 Journal Sentinel interview.

As the U.S. normalizes trade relations with Cuba, Harley-Davidson could benefit from the brand loyalty that's still intact decades after the company stopped selling motorcycles in the communist country.

Cuba's Harlistas have had to scrounge for spare parts to keep their vintage machines going. Urban legend has it that Fidel Castro's regime buried 1,000 Harley-Davidson motorcycles after the 1959 revolution that put Castro in power.

Harley is waiting for its opportunity on the island nation.

"We certainly have a passionate customer base in Cuba, so we have a great foundation laid for when it makes sense to enter the market," said Harley-Davidson spokesman Tony Macrito.

One of the most powerful documentary films about Latino motorcyclists is called "Harlistas: An American Journey."

In that film, director Alfredo de Villa follows the emotional journeys of real-life Harlistas. One of the stories comes from a biker who mourns his deceased father and copes with his grief through the motorcycle culture that his father loved.

The bonds that Harlistas have with their bikes, and with each other, are powerful.

The allure of a Harley, with its throbbing V-Twin engine that runs such a powerful machine, is bigger than anything Harley-Davidson controls and the brand itself, de Villa said.
SHARE Jacob Marquez Pyne

By News Sentinel Staff

KNOXVILLE  A man wanted in Georgia in connection with a fatal shooting was arrested Saturday night in Knoxville.

According to a release from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the Knoxville Police Department was notified that Jacob Marques Pyne, 23, may be in the Knoxville area. Authorities said that Pyne is one of two suspects wanted in connection with the July 6 shooting death of Gerald Foster, a 52-year-old man who was found in the stairwell of an apartment complex in Decatur, Ga.

Pyne was located at a house in the 2000 block of Dandridge Avenue by TBI agents and KPD officers.

Pyne also had an outstanding warrant on a violation of probation out of Knox County. He was booked into a Knox County jail and is being held without bond.
SHARE Sen. Steve Dickerson, R-Nashville (Legislature) State Sen. Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge

By Tom Humphrey of the Knoxville News Sentinel

NASHVILLE  State senators without re-election opponents this year have transferred thousands of dollars of state government funds used for voter mailings to challenged colleagues  a practice now banned for members of the state House.

The contrast reflects differing positions taken by Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey and House Speaker Beth Harwell on use of the "constituent communications" funds. A review of records also shows a striking disparity in the amount of money stockpiled in the accounts by senators compared with representatives.

Only two of the 99 members of the House have more than $10,000 in their accounts, and several have used their own money  or checks drawn on their political campaign accounts  to cover the cost of newsletters, constituent questionnaires and the like because they lack money in their taxpayer-provided accounts. Most senators, on the other hand, have far larger balances  topped by Senate Speaker Pro Tempore Bo Watson, R-Hixson, with $117,157 stashed in his communications fund.

Bills filed in the past legislative session would have prohibited transfers from one legislator to another and put limits on stockpiling. Yet another bill would have banned mailings to voters in a legislator's district for 90 days before an election instead of the current standard of 30 days.

The bills failed with Ramsey voicing opposition, but Harwell quietly last March acted on her own to ban transfers by members of the House, a fairly widespread practice for decades by both senators and representatives. The two speakers have overall control of how members can use the money allocated to them  $6,832 per year for senators; $2,016 for representatives.

"She firmly believes that postage money belongs to the constituents of that particular district, not the member. The funds are there to communicate with the constituents of that particular district," said Kara Owen, spokeswoman for Harwell.

Ramsey, on the other hand, said during the session that he prefers to leave things to the speaker's discretion on a case-by-case basis. His spokesman, Adam Kleinheider, repeated that position in an email response to an inquiry. Both Ramsey and Harwell declined to be interviewed on the matter.

Checks in the mail

The standout beneficiary of transfers among senators this year  receiving $32,000 before the 30-day mailing blackout began on June 30  is Sen. Steve Dickerson, R-Nashville, who faces a challenge from fellow physician Ron McDow in the Aug. 4 primary. The primary winner will also face a Democratic opponent in November.

Sen. Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, transferred $10,000 to Dickerson, and Sen. Frank Niceley, R-Strawberry Plains, added $7,500. Sens. Jack Johnson, R-Franklin, and Bill Ketron, R-Murfreesboro, provided $5,000 each. Other transfers were from Sens. John Stevens, R-Huntington ($3,000); Becky Duncan Massey, R-Knoxville ($2,500); Rusty Crowe, R-Johnson City ($500); and Paul Bailey, R-Sparta ($500).

None of the transferring senators faces an election this year.

The only other reported transfer was $5,000 from McNally to Sen. Doug Overbey, R-Maryville, who faces challenger Scott Williams in the Aug. 4 primary.

"I did have an excess and they didn't, so I was trying to even it out a little bit," said McNally when asked about his transfers to Dickerson and Overbey.

McNally, who still had a balance of $65,245 in his constituent communications account after the transfers, has announced his intention to seek election as Senate speaker next year and so far has no opposition in his bid to replace the retiring Ramsey. McNally, the Legislature's most senior member and currently chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said he would  if elected speaker  likely continue Ramsey's approach of reviewing transfer requests on a case-by-case basis.

Dickerson spent a total of $33,060 from his communications account during the past year, including a mail piece mostly touting passage of a bill to repeal the state's Hall Tax on investments "thanks to the efforts of Steve Dickerson." The mailer cost $11,213 and was sent shortly before the June 30 blackout deadline.

Also, on deadline day, Dickerson spent $2,290 from the account to host a "teletown hall" talk with voters on issues. Records show such events  basically a telephone conference call where constituents listen to a lawmakers report on legislative doings, then are given a chance to ask questions  are an increasingly popular form of constituent communication.

Thanks to the transfers, Dickerson still had $30,380 in his account. That money can be used for mailings after the Aug. 4 primary and until 30 days before the November general election, where  if he wins the primary  Dickerson will face a Democratic opponent in perhaps the most competitive Senate district in the state on a partisan basis.

Records show Overbey spent $22,117 from his account in the past year, mostly on newsletters and questionnaires sent to voters in Blount and Sevier counties while the Legislature was still in session. He spent $2,281 on a constituent conference call in May.

Without McNally's $5,000 transfer, Overbey could have run up a deficit. With it, he still has a $3,085  the lowest balance for any senator except Crowe but more than most state representatives have in their accounts. Most senators have five-figure balances.

The biggest account balance for a House member is $14,528, held by Rep. Curry Todd, R-Collierville, a veteran lawmaker facing three challengers in this year's Republican primary. He spent $5,329 on a mailer in May.

Only one other House member  Rep. Steve McDaniel, R-Parkers Crossroads, a veteran legislator who is unopposed for re-election  had more than $10,000 in his or her account. Many have less than $1,000.

Against transfers

Rep. Martin Daniel and Sen. Richard Briggs, both Knoxville Republicans, sponsored legislation in the past session to prohibit transfers. Daniel also handled the presentation before committee of a bill filed by House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick, R-Chattanooga, that would have expanded the pre-election mailer blackout period from 30 days to 90 days. Daniel and Briggs in 2014 defeated incumbents who had been engaged in transfer activity.

Daniel said he has no plans to renew attempts to block transfers, citing Harwell's action to end the practice in the House.

"Essentially, she did what we were trying to do," he said in a telephone interview. "I've always thought that money belonged to the people of the district and it shouldn't be sent by a member to another district."

He added: "As far as the Senate goes, that's their business. I wouldn't want to meddle in their business any more than I'd want them meddling in mine."

Daniel said, however, that he is inclined to try again next year, if re-elected, for expanding the mailer blackout period to 90 days. He faces three opponents in the August GOP primary, including former Rep. Steve Hall.

After losing in the 2014 primary, both Hall and former Sen. Stacey Campfield, defeated by Briggs, transferred funds from their accounts to other legislators before their terms officially expired. By doing so, they blocked Daniel and Briggs from having use of their leftover funds. Under legislative policy  unchanged by either Harwell or Ramsey  when a legislator leaves office, money in their constituent communications accounts goes to the legislator who takes the seat. That policy is partly responsible for the large stockpile of funds accumulated by senators such as Watson, who "inherited" much of the $117,000 he now holds.

Daniel has just $389 in his account, records show. He drew $2,563 from the account toward the cost of a newsletter in March, but said that wasn't enough to cover the cost and he wrote a $3,000 check himself to cover the rest of the bill.

McCormick wrote checks to the state totaling $5,000 to avoid running a deficit in his account with spending on a newsletter in January. Others did the same in lesser amounts  just $100, for example, in the case of Rep. Harold Love Jr., D-Nashville.

The amount allocated to the accounts has not been increased in decades, while the cost of postage and printing has increased. Daniel said an increase would be appropriate.

"In my opinion, there's not enough now to cover the cost of adequate communication to constituents, to keep them informed," he said.

Dick Williams, who has for years lobbied on governmental ethics and campaign finance matters as president of Common Cause in Tennessee, does not disagree with the idea of an increase. There is a "valid purpose" in providing some money for constituent communications, he said, and the cost of postage alone has escalated over the years.

At the same time, Williams has pushed legislation to ban transfers and praised Harwell for doing so. Still, he said, formal legislation would be a good idea since the Senate is not covered and a House speaker in the future could quickly reinstate transfers.

The transfers may be "smart political strategy" for legislators wanting to help re-elect colleagues, he said, but "it's not the alleged purpose of the constituent communication money to be a political slush fund, for lack of a better term."

Williams also said he favors an extension of the pre-election mailer blackout, though not necessarily to 90 days. That might be too long, he said, while 30 days might be too short and some middle ground  45 or 60 days  could be more appropriate.
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FBI Director James Comey on Tuesday said he recommended no criminal charges against Hillary Clinton for her use of a personal email system while secretary of state. But Comey made clear he believed Clinton had acted badly.

"Although we did not find clear evidence that Secretary Clinton or her colleagues intended to violate laws governing the handling of classified information," he said, "there is evidence that they were extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information."

Angry Republicans afterward said Clinton should have faced charges in the matter.

Is the system rigged? Does the scandal mean Clinton shouldn't be president? Joel Mathis and Ben Boychuk, the RedBlueAmerica columnists, debate the issue.

JOEL MATHIS

Hillary Clinton's decision to use a private email server was selfish, unwise and  it seems  borderline illegal. But it was also kind of understandable.

For most of the nearly three decades Hillary and Bill Clinton have been at the heart of American public life, and Republicans have hunted them with Captain Ahab-like zeal, launching years-long investigations by congressional committees and independent counsels at every sign of a misstep  no matter how big or small, real or imagined. Congressional Republicans just concluded a four-year investigation of Clinton's activities during the 2012 attacks on Benghazi, Libya; they were desperate to pin a crime on her and spent millions of taxpayer dollars trying to do so, yet came up with virtually nothing of import. Again.

It's in that context we can best understand the email scandal.

Hillary Clinton was widely mocked in the 1990s when she spoke of a "vast right-wing conspiracy," but it's not paranoia if they're really out to get you. The personal email system was an attempt to evade GOP scandal-mongers and to avoid the scrutiny she knew they would bring to bear no matter how benign her activities.

Here's where it's worth noting that the Clintons have continually assisted their tormentors. Whether it's sex in the White House or taking payments from foreign governments at the Clinton Foundation or, in this case, trying to avoid public-disclosure laws, Bill and Hillary Clinton were often careless and occasionally unable to curb their own worst impulses. They never seemed to understand that the appearance of a conflict of interest can be just as bad as an actual conflict.

So it's both the case that the Republicans overzealously pursued the Clintons  and that the Clintons were dumb enough not to let it force them to cling to the highest standards of appearance and conduct. It's enough to make you tear out your hair.

Fortunately for Hillary Clinton, it seems her Republican opponent for the presidency will be Donald Trump, which likely means the GOP will get another four to eight years to pursue their white whale. Lord, help us all.

BEN BOYCHUK

Hillary Clinton lied. Over and over again. That's what she does.

Clinton lied about her private email server. She lied when she claimed she turned over all work-related emails to the State Department and the FBI. Then she lied when she insisted she hadn't sent or received classified emails.

By maintaining a personal, unclassified email server, Clinton recklessly endangered the national security. The FBI confirmed that foreign agents hacked her aides' email accounts. It's likely that the Russians and the Chinese (and the Iranians and the North Koreans) got everything Clinton had, too  and in real time. That's what they do.

Comey laid out in excruciating detail the extreme carelessness Clinton and her flunkies took with U.S. secrets. My Gmail account is more secure than the email system Clinton used. Yet Comey said "no reasonable prosecutor" would bring a case against Clinton based on the facts he has.

Since when are prosecutors reasonable?

A U.S. attorney last year, for example, went after a Naval reservist named Bryan Nishimura for mishandling classified materials in almost exactly the same way as the former secretary of state. Nishimura even admitted to downloading top-secret briefings to his personal electronic devices. He had nothing untoward in mind; he just wanted to work from home.

Nishimura was fined $7,500, received two years probation and, naturally, will never again be allowed to have security clearance.

So when Comey speaks of what a "reasonable prosecutor" would or would not do, what he really means is no prosecutor would be crazy enough to pursue charges against the presumptive Democratic nominee for president and the first woman in U.S. history to hold such a distinction.

If Clinton wins the presidency, she will be expected to swear an oath to "faithfully execute the office of president of the United States," and will to the best of her ability, "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." But she's already demonstrated that her fidelity isn't to preserving the laws but to her own self-preservation.

She lies. She'll keep lying. And she'll get away with it  if we let her.

Ben Boychuk (bboychuk@city-journal.org) is associate editor of the Manhattan Institute's City Journal. Joel Mathis (joelmmathis@gmail.com) is associate editor for Philadelphia Magazine.
When Tennessee Democratic Chair Mary Mancini recently ordered the settlement of a Shelby County Democratic Party squabble over financial mismanagement, her Republican counterpart, Ryan Haynes, promptly issued a press release denouncing "Democrat dysfunction."

"Instead of taking responsibility and cleaning up the mess, the TNDP wants to ignore the problem in the hope that it goes away. It's part of a disturbing pattern for them: Democrat public officials do something wrong and their Party pretends nothing ever happened. It's right out of the Hillary Clinton playbook and it spells disaster for them this fall in Tennessee."

That followed, by a couple of weeks, a TNGOP news release  with the headline "Tennessee Democrats: Corrupt to the Core"  that recited a list of Democratic officeholders who have run afoul of the law, starting with former Gov. Ray Blanton in the 1970s and continuing to Rep. Joe Armstrong, D-Knoxville, who is facing trial on federal tax evasion charges.

The TNDP chair didn't have much to say about the Shelby situation, which involves a former county chairman and missing party money that would be settled under the Mancini mandate by him paying back $6,000. His intra-party critics say it should be more and call for criminal prosecution.

But when Republican Rutherford County Sheriff Robert Arnold was indicted in May on corruption charges, Mancini had this to say via press release:

"From Washington, D.C., to Murfreesboro, Tennessee Republicans' corruption goes from the top all the way to their roots. From Sen. Corker's insider trading scandal to Governor Haslam awarding no-bid contracts to his friends to Sheriff Arnold using his position to line his own pockets, it's clear Tennessee Republicans see our government as their personal piggy bank. Tennesseans are tired of being taken advantage of by Republicans at every level of government."

The TNGOP chair didn't have much to say about the latest Tennessee sheriff shenanigans  though, once upon a time, Arnold was cited as an example of success in the Republican "Red to the Roots" campaign to elect more Republican officeholders at the local level. Actually, that's not the latest example: In June, Republican Bradley County Sheriff Eric Watson, a former state legislator, became the subject of a state and federal investigation.

As a group, it might be noted, Tennessee sheriffs have long shown a propensity toward criminal or corrupt activity. One other former sheriff, Chuck Arnold of Gibson County (apparently no relation to Robert, since he's a Democrat), is currently awaiting trial on corruption charges.

Haynes has also been noticeably silent on various recent occurrences that just might be considered examples of Tennessee Republican Party dysfunction  say, perhaps, last week's resignation of state GOP Executive Committee member Mark Winslow while declaring in a letter, "Our soul rotted away some time ago."

Echoing Mancini, Winslow added: "As it's currently constituted, TNGOP is really nothing more than a small corrupt core group who view our party as their private club and personal piggy bank."

It seems fair to say, then, that dysfunction is afoot in both party operations. Both Democrats and Republican generally choose to emphasize the problems on the other side while ignoring those within the ranks.

Not always. Mancini did step in to try resolving an intra-party dispute, taking sides and being told to "go to hell" in a quote happily repeated by TNGOP. Haynes did call for the resignation of state Rep. Jeremy Durham, R-Franklin, who is facing investigation for alleged sexual harassment and other stuff  a probe deemed a dysfunctional "witch hunt" by some fellow Republicans. Durham has ignored the calls for his resignation.

Sleaziness among political officeholders is bipartisan. Probably, since more Republicans hold office these days in Tennessee, there are today more sleazy Republicans  just as, in days of Democratic rule, there were more Democrats in that category. Surely, these folks are a very small minority in both cases  they just get the attention.

Maybe it would be wise for both sides to follow an old piece of political operative wisdom: When your opponent is self-destructing, don't interfere with the process. In other words: Shut up and watch.
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The Knoxville Police Department's new policy on moonlighting is a much needed improvement over past practices, but its implementation demands close monitoring that could lead to further changes to prevent corruption and reduce fatigue among officers.

An in-depth News Sentinel investigation of law enforcement moonlighting practices published last week also found other agencies in East Tennessee have flaws similar to those found in KPD's previous policy.

Moonlighting is a longstanding tradition in law enforcement. Officers supplement their incomes by working security for businesses, directing traffic at churches and construction sites, and taking other jobs.

Under KPD's previous policy, officers would act as job brokers, matching employers needing workers with officers wanting extra work. The brokers scheduled assignments and took a cut of the officers' off-duty pay.

Moonlighting can be lucrative. Officers charge $30 per hour, with a four-hour minimum shift. An officer who piles on enough hours can make more in his or her second job than by working for the taxpayers.

KPD had to be prompted to make the change. Two lieutenants who were troubled by the existing system, Tony Willis and Robert Hembree, raised concerns and eventually met with Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero, who ordered a thorough investigation.

The probe, headed by Capt. Eve Thomas, commander of KPD's Internal Affairs Unit, found the system allowed abuses, including the overbilling of customers, officers working their second jobs while on the clock for the city, and favoritism. Some even went to work out of state when they were supposed to be on the job in Knoxville.

Four officers were disciplined as a result of the probe, and KPD Chief David Rausch, who had been a job broker before his appointment to the agency's top spot, introduced the new policy to address some of the issues raised by the investigation.

Under the new policy, a captain serves as KPD's secondary-employment coordinator, handling all requests for outside work and eliminating the need for job brokers.

The policy still allows businesses to pay officers directly for off-duty work, though the accreditation commission that certifies KPD recommends routing off-duty pay through the agency's payroll system to head off bribery and overbilling. The city should review the situation regularly and assume responsibility for handling the pay if abuses are found.

Fatigue should be another concern. Officers are allowed to work a total of 80 hours a week between their on-duty and off-duty jobs. Other agencies have lower limits  Metro Nashville, for example, caps moonlighting hours at 20 per week. Officers trying to balance two jobs and their family obligations run the risk of becoming too fatigued, which could impair their judgment and reactions and lead to traffic accidents and other dangers.

Policies vary from agency to agency. At the Knox County Sheriff's Office, as under KPD's previous policy, there is no prohibition against officers scheduling work for other officers and outside employers pay officers directly. KCSO also charges a fee if an officer uses his or her vehicle at a second job. Agencies would be wise to weigh their policies against the best practices promoted by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies and make revisions that promote integrity and inspire confidence.

Knoxville's changes are in the best interest of the city's citizens and police officers. Hembree, who has since died, and Willis deserve credit for recognizing the traditional ways as deeply flawed. Rogero, too, should be lauded for acting on their information instead of sweeping it under the rug.

Moonlighting helps officers make extra cash in a legitimate way while providing a service to local businesses, but law enforcement agencies must protect the public and their own integrity. Transparency and accountability should be the goal of all moonlighting policies.
A Hyundai Merchant Marine container carrier enters the port of Rotterdam, Holland. / Korea Times file



By Jhoo Dong-chan

Debt-ridden Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) seems fully geared up for a smooth return as the company said it expects to soon join the 2M container alliance, a key condition set by its creditors for debt rescheduling and its rehabilitation program.

A number of overseas industry watchers are, however, raising doubts about the real reasons behind the nation's second-largest shipping firm's bid to join the world's largest shipping alliance.

The U.K.-based marine transport research agency Drewry alleged in its newsletter last month that the Korean government may have pulled the strings in membership talks between HMM and the shipping container operators of the 2M alliance, Maersk Line and MSC, the largest two of the world.

"The Korean government, concerned for its ailing shipping and shipbuilding industries, may have called upon the 2M carriers to ride in and rescue HMM in return for favors," it said.

"Both Maersk and MSC already have extensive liner service networks in Korea. HMM's services would not appear to add anything to the 2M alliance, other than a bit more scale. Why would savvy carriers such as Maersk and MSC allow themselves to be used as a part of the conditions set by the ailing shipping company's creditors for the restructuring program?"







Drewry concluded that these three carriers, HMM, Maersk and MSC, are not obvious partners in terms of culture, size or trade mix, which hints at a hidden story behind the recent membership talks.

A number of industry insiders at home and abroad, thus, consider it may be advanced work for a possible acquisition of HMM by Maersk Line. Maersk Line management board member Jakob Stausholm partially admitted the allegations in an interview with Reuters.

"We are defending our leadership position. If we are strong, there is no reason for us not to grow," he said.

"If you look at the history of Maersk Line, we have achieved our leadership position by the combination of organic growth and acquisitions. If the right opportunity is there we will look into it."

According to the Reuters report, Maersk has not made any major acquisitions in over a decade but says it might be open to "the right opportunity," although doubters believe such deals risk accumulating ships without securing enough customers.

The Korean government, however, immediately denied the allegations.

"It is just groundless," Ocean and Fishery Minister Kim Young-suk said.

"The government wouldn't have struggled this much for restructuring if we wanted to sell HMM abroad. I believe Maersk and MSC expect HMM to play a role under the 2M alliance structure in the Asia-America route."

Drewry, however, rebutted that HMM's shipping capacity is not helpful enough for the 2M alliance's operation in the global market.

"HMM is a relatively minor player in the East-West trades with about 11 ships deployed on the Asia-Europe and Asia-North America trade routes, able to only swell the 2M's share of nominal capacity on the two trade routes by about 2 percent. It suggests that Maersk, the leading shipper in the 2M alliance, rather aims to prepare acquiring it or having a joint venture with it."

Such speculations delighted creditors of the ailing shipping company.

"It would be a huge boost to HMM debt repayments if Maersk intends to acquire it," a creditor party representative told The Korea Times.

The nation's maritime sector has been under pressure recently as shipping operators HMM and Hanjin along with three major shipbuilders, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME), Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) and Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI), are undergoing restructuring due to a downturn in the shipping and shipbuilding industries.

According to data released by the nation's ship owners' association, if the two shipping carriers fold, the consequences would include the loss of 5,400 jobs and damage to the country's economy worth a total of $19.13 billion.

The government has thus stepped in with a number of measures including a billion dollar fund to help the two carriers' creditors  headed by the state-run Korea Development Bank  withstand the losses.

The government outlined conditions that HMM should fulfill if it wants to be included in the rescue plan, one of which is joining a shipping alliance.

HMM was previously talking with THE Alliance, the world's third-largest shipping alliance, for possible membership, but things did not move forward because Hanjin, which already has a seat at the alliance, allegedly opposed HMM joining. A Hanjin official denied the allegations.
From left, British American Tobacco Korea Commercial Finance Controller Park Sung-hoon, Finance Head Gary Slaney, National Sales Manager Kim Eun-ji, and Culture Manager Kim Dong-sung pose at the Aon Best Employers Korea awards ceremony, Friday. / Courtesy of BAT Korea



By Jhoo Dong-chan

British American Tobacco (BAT) Korea, a local unit of global tobacco company BAT, has received this year's "Best Employer Award Korea" along with "Best Employer for Women" as a special recognition by the HR consultancy firm, Aon Hewitt.

According to an Aon Hewitt official, Sunday, BAT Korea has been selected as one of the winners of the 2016 Best Employer Award Korea for its excellence in high employee engagement, compelling employer brand, effective leadership and high performance culture.

The company also received the honor of winning the Best Employer of Women award in recognition of its effort to improve the working environment for female employees.

It offers flexible maternity leave in consideration of its female employees, which resulted in a 100 percent reinstatement rate. BAT Korea's women leadership group, "Athena," provides essential programs for female employees such as "Work and Life Balance," "Working Mom" and "Female Leadership Sessions." Consequently, 53 percent of employees who were up for promotion and 62 percent of employees for overseas-dispatch were women in 2015.

"Our employees represent the best values of BAT Korea and it is the obligatory duty of management to create the optimal working environment where they can achieve their peak capacity," Kim Young-wook, BAT Korea human resources director, said.

"Since this award means a lot to us, BAT Korea will continue to create a working environment where every employee is satisfied and receives systematic training and opportunities for mutual growth."

Founded in 1902, BAT Group is a global tobacco maker that operates in approximately 200 different countries. BAT Korea, founded in 1990, sells its key brands including Dunhill, Rothmans and KENT. The company employs about 600 workers, operating a manufacturing facility in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province.
By Choi Ha-young



Original equipment manufacturing (OEM) can alter the statistics in the Korean automobile market, since GM Korea and Renault Samsung's overseas productions are not regarded as imported cars.



According to the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association (KAIDA) in June, sales of Volkswagen's Tiguan topped among imported automobiles in the first half of the year standing at 4,164, followed by the E220 Bluetec from Mercedes Benz at 3,236.



While BMW Korea claimed its 520d and 520d xDrive were the best selling models if the two were combined; the statistics don't consider GM Korea's Impala and Renault Samsung's QM3, which are built overseas.



GM Korea has imported the Impala from Detroit, taking advantage of custom-free benefits from the KORUS FTA. Renault Samsung makes the QM3 in Valladolid, Spain, and has the tariff reduction from the EU free trade agreement.



Since the two companies are registered with the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association not KAIDA, sales of the Impala and QM3, which stood at 8,128 and 6,073, respectively, in the first half of the year are categorized as domestic items.



The domestic offices of the companies are in charge of the design of the cars, only assigning production to oversea factories on an OEM basis. Companies can satisfy Korean customers' preference for imported cars and be flexible on the Korean government's carbon emissions regulation.



According to the KORUS FTA, the U.S.-made Impala doesn't need to satisfy Korean environmental regulations when imported. After-sales service is same as domestic automobiles, which is another advantage of OEM production.



GM Korea decided to maintain OEM production for the Impala in April, despite its local union's opposition. The union wants the cars to be manufactured in Korea citing the company's competitiveness and the creation of extra jobs, but GM Korea is sticking to its OEM models for the foreseeable future.



Renault Samsung is also staying with OEM manufacturing for the Korean market, to include its Clio and Espas models, within the near future.




A nation-wide heat wave alert has been issued on Sunday, while a as the tropical storm is approaching the Korean peninsula. /Yonhap



By Lee Jin-a

Sweltering heat gripped the nation throughout the weekend. The mercury in Seoul and other major cities topped 30C, forcing the government to issue a nationwide heat wave alert to encourage people to stay indoors.

The noon high in Hanam city near Seoul spiked to 36C. Seoul's temperature reached 33C. The southern part of the country was literarily "boiling."

Police said two people drowned on Saturday while swimming in Gangwon Province, while more than 70 people suffered from heat-related illnesses.

Meanwhile, Typhoon Nepartak was downgraded to a tropical storm on Sunday morning as it lost strength significantly while sweeping through the Philippines, Taiwan and mainland China.

But the tropical storm, still unleashing thunderstorms and gusty winds, will influence Jeju Island and the southern part of the country from Sunday evening.

"Nepartak has been downgraded to a tropical storm 250 kilometers west of Fuzhou, eastern China as of 3 a.m. Sunday," said the Korea Meteorological Administration.

"The storm is moving west northwest and is expected to affect Jeju Island on Sunday afternoon."

The storm will also influence North and South Chungchung provinces on Monday and the central region of the peninsula on Tuesday. The weather agency forecasts torrential rain and thunderstorms to affect some parts of the country on Tuesday.

China, Taiwan devastated

The super typhoon landed on Taiwan on Friday, leaving three people dead and 172 injured. More than 17,300 people were evacuated from their homes, and more than 517,000 households suffered power outages.

Nepartak then struck Shishi, eastern China, on Saturday afternoon causing 420,000 residents in four cities in Fujian Province to be urgently relocated.
By Jung Min-ho



Living in Korea for five straight years will no longer guarantee an opportunity for foreigners to become Korean citizens, the Ministry of Justice announced Sunday.



Permanent residency (F-5 visa) will be required for those who are applying for naturalization in the country with a few exceptional cases, the ministry noted.



The ministry is seeking to revise the Nationality Act in order to strengthen the requirement.



Currently, foreigners who have lived in Korea for five straight years or longer can apply for naturalization, regardless of their visa types. Even if they neither have permanent residency nor qualify for it, they can still apply to become a citizen as long as they meet basic requisites such as the age limit.



The ministry said the current law has been abused by those who simply want to stay longer in Korea. It said, among 4,192 foreigners who applied for naturalization from 2011 to 2015, 26 percent of them were suspected as such abusers.



However, there will be exceptions, including the spouses of Korean citizens and foreigners with outstanding skills. Such people will still be allowed to become Korean citizens through the direct route.



According to the law revision, obtaining permanent residency will be shortened for skilled workers such as researchers and hotel chefs to four years from the current five years.



The new law will also strengthen screening for safety purposes as it requires the minister to approve whether citizen candidates are safe in terms of national security and the maintenance of order.



Currently, new Korean citizens receive the certificate of nationality by post after submitting the required paperwork and undergoing interviews. But under the revision, they will receive the certificate directly from the ministry after the naturalization oath ceremony.



According to government data from 2011 to 2015, an average of 18,893 foreigners applied for Korean citizenship annually. The ministry said 12,023, on average, got approval from the government.



The number of applicants seeking Korean citizenship is expected to continue to increase, fuelled especially by the inflow of Chinese people. According to government data released in March, Chinese nationals accounted for 50.8 percent of 1.9 million foreigners who are living in Korea, far ahead of Americans (7.4 percent) and Vietnamese (7.1 percent).




By Kim Se-jeong





Yu Hee-nam

Yu Hee-nam, a former sex slave for the Japanese military before and during World War II, passed away Sunday.

She was 88. Her death left the number of surviving former sex slavery victims in Korea at 40.

According to the House of Sharing, a shelter for the victims in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, where she stayed since 2012, Yu died of lung cancer and was pronounced dead at 8:23 a.m. Sunday at the National Medical Center in Seoul. She is survived by one son and three daughters.

The shelter said she was diagnosed with cancer in 2009, but had chronic insomnia and various heart problems as well.

According to the shelter, Yu, born in 1928 in Asan, South Chungcheong Province, was enslaved by the Japanese military in 1943 and sent to Simonoseki on the southwestern tip of Honshu.

She escaped from Osaka in 1944, with the help of local Japanese people, where she and other slaves were waiting for a ship to go to Singapore, and returned to Korea.

The Japanese military is accused of conscripting young girls from Korea, China, the Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam and other countries during the war to provide sex. The number of girls forced into sex slavery is estimated at 200,000, but accurate figures are unavailable.

Yu was one of the outspoken victims, demanding an apology and reparations from the Japanese government.

In July last year, she joined a group of victims to file a defamation suit against Shinzo Abe, the Japanese Prime Minister and the Japanese Emperor with the U.S. state court of California.

She was also a vocal critic of the Dec. 28 agreement last year between the governments of Korea and Japan. In the accord, Japan agreed to pay for an organization to take care of the survivors. In return, the two said they would consider the sexual slavery issue resolved irreversibly and forever. The controversy surrounding the agreement still continues, as many groups in Korea have refused to endorse it.
By Chung Hyun-chae

The Ministry of Education suspended a ranking official Saturday for making derogatory remarks describing the public as "dogs and pigs."

The suspension came immediately after local daily Kyunghyang Shinmun reported that Na Hyang-wook, 47, director general of the ministry's policy planning bureau, said that the public are nothing but "dogs and pigs."

Na was also quoted as saying during a dinner meeting with reporters on Thursday that the nation should "consolidate the class system because people are not all born equal."

Asked how he felt about a Guui Station accident in which a 19-year-old subcontract worker was killed by a train while repairing screen doors, he said that people acting as if their own children were dead were hypocritical.

The ministry explained that Na put his foot in his mouth by drinking too much.

"We placed Na on the suspended list after we concluded that he caused a problem," an education official said. "After conducting an investigation into how it happened, we will take further action against him."

In general, the order of placement on the suspended list may lead to disciplinary proceedings.












By Yi Whan-woo

Defense Minister Han Min-koo said Sunday that the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system can intercept North Korea's submarine launched ballistic missiles (SLBM).

Downplaying concerns over THAAD's counterbalancing capability against attacks from submarines, the minister said the advanced missile defense system is capable of intercepting any North Korean missiles targeting South Korea regardless of their range and trajectories.

"North Korea may fire an SLBM with a range of 2,000 kilometers by adjusting its angle if it were launched from the northeastern East Sea," Han said in a TV appearance. "It will be possible for THAAD to intercept the SLBM under such a scenario. And we'll detect and nullify the SLBM before it is launched."

Han's remarks came after North Korea test-fired an SLBM, Saturday.

The firing was seen as a move to show off Pyongyang's technological progress in SLBMs to protest a joint decision made between South Korea and the U.S. to deploy a THAAD battery on the Korean Peninsula, Friday.

Han said THAAD can also detect and shoot down Musudan intermediate-range mobile-launched ballistic missiles (IRBM) although it mainly targets intercepting short- and medium-range ballistic missiles with a range of up to 3,000 kilometers. A Musudan missile is estimated to have a maximum range of between 3,000 and 3,500 kilometers, and is believed to have been developed to strike U.S. naval and air bases on Guam.

"THAAD can still counter a Musudan missile if Pyongyang decides to use it against South Korea by firing at a high angle with an adjustment in its fuel capacity," Han said.

The defense chief said THAAD, once in operation, is expected to provide a layered defensive shield along with the Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC) low-altitude missile defense system currently deployed by the South Korean military.

"PAC missiles are to protect limited areas, such as major security-related sites, while the THAAD battery will be able to cover up to half of South Korean territory," he said.

However, he admitted that THAAD will not able to strike North Korea's long-range ballistic missiles aimed at the U.S. mainland, saying "The areas to be covered by THAAD will be limited to South Korean soil."

Han said South Korean Air Force's Operations Command will be in charge of the THAAD's operation during non-emergency situations while the Seventh U.S. Air Force will take over in the event of a war.

Regarding China's protest against deploying THAAD, Han said its AN/TPY-2 radar is "optimized" at a range between 600 to 800 kilometers and will only be used to monitor North Korea. Beijing and Moscow have protested that the THAAD's long-range radar, which has a potential range of 2,000 kilometers, can be used to spy on their military activities.
"Colombian Photography Exhibition" poster / Courtesy of the Embassy of Colombia



By Rachel Lee

Colombia, a Latin American country with many sun-drenched stretches, will bring a collection of photographs to Seoul to mark its National Day, which falls on July 20.

The "Colombian Photography Exhibition," organized by the Leo Matiz Foundation and the Colombian Embassy, will feature over 20 works by legendary photographer Leo Matiz (1917-98). It will be held at the Korea Foundation Gallery in Seoul from July 14 to Aug. 3.

Matiz was considered one of the most influential figures between 1940 and 1950 in Mexico, experimenting with abstract imagery.

Colombian Ambassador to Korea Tito Saul Pinilla Pinilla said the sample of the Colombian Caribbean by Leo Matiz is an institutional project that aims to "start the celebrations of the National Day of Colombia in this Asian country and seeks to contribute to the positioning of Colombian culture in this region of the world."

According to the Leo Matiz Foundation, Matiz's photos of the north coast of the Latin American country will also be on show in China this year, supported by the embassy in Seoul, which will be a "prelude to the Commemoration of the Centenary of Leo Matiz's Birth" next April in Mexico and Colombia.

"The magic of the endearing images of Leo Matiz reveal the Macondo atmosphere of daily life in the northern coast of Colombia, capturing the strength of popular traditions linked to the tropics," an embassy spokesperson said.

"And his incisive and alert eye gives us the immediate essence of the most forgotten places and vital geography of Macondo belonging to rural and urban world of the Caribbean."

The embassy said the Colombian government paid tribute to the artist in 1998, recognizing him as one of the major players in photography during the 20th century.

The Leo Matiz Foundation has disseminated and preserved the photographer's work for several decades in the United States, Europe and Asia to "publicize the diversity and universality of this Colombian artist, recognized as one of the great photographers of the 20th century," the embassy said.
OMAN



World's calligraphy on display



Ambassadors to Korea have gathered in Seoul for an exhibition dedicated to their countries' calligraphy.

The Multiculture Museum's 2016 World Script Exhibition features the "originality and scientific value of the Korean language Hangeul'" and calligraphy and manuscripts from other countries.

The Embassy of Oman is one of the participants.

At a launch on June 23, Omani Ambassador to Korea Mohammed Al-Harthy said the embassy has exhibited panels representing Arabic calligraphy, Arabic manuscripts, books on various topics, figurative shadow arts to show tolerance and a manuscript message of the Prophet Muhammad to people in the country.

Participation in this exhibition is part of the "Welcome to Oman" program. It aims to "introduce the country and highlight the historical, cultural and heritage aspects, beside achieving the objectives of the exhibition to introduce the Arabic language and the beauty of Arabic calligraphy and decoration of diverse scripts, and highlighting the features of tolerance and coexistence," the embassy said.



Multiculture Museum Director Kim Yun-tae said the exhibitionis a "space to recognize the beauty and the value of the world's diverse writing systems through the exquisite and detailed art of calligraphy."

The exhibition runs through Aug. 31.





EUROPEAN UNION




By Chung Hyun-chae



The Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) confirmed the country's seventh Zika virus infection, Sunday.



The KCDC said the seventh patient, 52, is a Korean national who resides in Guatemala.



He has lived in Guatemala since 2010 and was on a visit to Korea.



The patient entered the country, Wednesday, and showed symptoms of Zika infection, including a rash and nonsuppurative conjunctivitis starting Friday.



He was sent to a public health center after he visited Gangneung Dongin Hospital, Saturday.



He tested positive in urine and blood samples.



Given that the patient has no companion and did not donate blood, the KCDC predicted a low possibility of spreading the virus to other people.



The latest Zika patient was discovered nine days after the sixth case was confirmed here.



The sixth patient was a 28-year-old Korean woman who tested positive for the mosquito-borne virus after returning home from the Dominican Republic, June 23.



The first Korean case of Zika was reported in March.



Meanwhile, the first Zika-virus-related death was reported in the United States, Friday.



U.S. health officials confirmed that the death of an elderly woman late last month in Salt Lake City in Utah was related to the Zika virus.



Although the Salt Lake County health department said the patient contracted the virus while traveling abroad to an area with a Zika outbreak, they have yet to figure out if the virus was the sole cause as she had an underlying health condition.



According to the KCDC, 65 countries mostly in South America and Southeast Asia have reported at least one confirmed Zika cases.



Among them, 54 nations have reported cases in the past two months.



The Zika virus poses health concerns especially for pregnant women as it has been linked with microcephaly, a birth defect in which babies are born with abnormally small heads and underdeveloped brains.




The United Nations Command (UNC) has revised its armistice rules to allow South Korean and United States forces to carry machine guns, recoilless rifles and mortars into the military buffer with North Korea, a copy of the guidelines showed Sunday. The Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) was originally set up to be clear of heavy arms.



The revision to the United Nations Regulation 551-4 recently obtained by Yonhap News Agency governs compliance with the inter-Korean armistice agreement and authorizes South Korean and U.S. troops to not only carry individual small arms, like pistols and assault rifles, but also heavy weapons into the DMZ. The changes went into effect on Sept. 5, 2014, and mark the first time the unified command formally took steps to better arm its soldiers in the 257-kilometer-long and 4-kilometer-wide strip of land that divides the Korean Peninsula since the armistice was signed in 1953.



The armistice brought about the cease fire to the Korean War (1950-53) with the UNC signing the armistice agreement on behalf of South Korea with North Korea.



The changed regulation states the UNC's commander "has authorized the placement" of medium and heavy machine guns up to 12.7 millimeters, K4 40mm automatic grenade launchers, 57mm recoilless rifles, 60mm and 81mm mortars, Claymore anti-personnel mines and hand grenades.



The updated regulation said the change is "due to the weapon systems placed within the DMZ by (North Korea's) Korean People's Army."



The revision was agreed between the UNC and South Korea in advance in the Memorandum for Authorized Exceptions within the DMZ signed between the UNC commander and South Korea's chairman on July 17, 2014, a UNC official noted.



Originally the armistice allowed the use of only personal sidearms like pistols in the DMZ because the military buffer was designed to prevent any unnecessary military clashes between the two sides.



But North Korea has long deployed mortars and large-caliber anti-aircraft machine guns as well as anti-personnel and anti-tank land mines in the DMZ in violation of the armistice agreement, prompting South Korea's military to take countermeasures.



"The latest action means the UNC has allowed the use of heavy arms and reflects the shortcomings in the armistice rules that were not in touch with reality," a South Korean defense official said in regards to the revision. He pointed out that such a step is necessary since the North has declared the armistice pact null and void and has been arming its troops on the DMZ with more powerful weapons.



On the other hand, some experts argue the changes could increase the possibility of military skirmishes between the two Koreas and undermine the reason for creating the DMZ in the first place. (Yonhap)




By Rachel Lee

South Korea is strengthening diplomatic efforts to seek understanding from China and Russia about its recent decision to allow the United States Forces Korea (USFK) to deploy a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery here.

Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se convened a meeting of senior diplomats, Saturday, in an apparent move to discuss future diplomatic strategies with neighboring countries  especially China and Russia, which have opposed the deployment of THAAD in South Korea, sources said Sunday.

"We will cooperate closely with the two countries to prevent the agreement on THAAD from dampening economic and security ties with them," a South Korean diplomat said on condition of anonymity. "We will especially focus on continuing concerted international efforts regarding North Korea's nuclear and missile programs."

China and Russia expressed strong discontent and opposition after the South and the U.S. announced the decision, arguing that the THAAD's long-range radar can be used to spy on their military activities despite U.S. assurances that the missile shield will only be used for detecting and shooting down possible missiles from the North.

Beijing summoned the two allies' ambassadors to China  Kim Jang-soo of South Korea and Max Baucus of the U.S.  in protest of the decision.

"The THAAD system does not help achieve the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and also hurts peace and stability in the region," the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement.












By Kim Se-jeong

Residents continued their protests against the deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) over the weekend in regions considered as possible sites for the U.S. missile defense system.

The protests came after Seoul and Washington agreed Friday to deploy the advanced defense system on South Korean soil in an effort to deter North Korean ballistic missile threats.

The two countries' military officials said they were in the final stages of selecting the site for THAAD out of five candidates: Chilgok County in North Gyeongsang Province, Pyeongtaek in Gyeonggi Province, Eumseong in North Chungcheong Province, Wonju in Gangwon Province and Gunsan in North Jeolla Province. The two plan to announce the final candidate soon.

In front of Waegwan train station in Chilgok County, Saturday, 3,000 residents gathered to protest against a THAAD installation in the region. Waegwan seems to be one of the strongest candidates because of its small population and an existing U.S. military base.

"THAAD is a big threat to the safety and health of local residents. We say no to THAAD," read a sign held by a resident.












/Korea Times photo by Jung Min-ho



Renowned cardiologist warns of Korea's hubris, complacency

By Jung Min-ho, Kim Eil-chul

Over the past 20 years, many Korean doctors have visited China to share their knowledge of modern surgical techniques and research methods as the once-secluded country embraces change. But for how long will they do so?

Renowned cardiologist Jang Yang-soo was one of the popular lecturers who traveled to China. Since 1991, he went to medical schools in many different cities, including Beijing, Nanjing and Shenzhen, to share his know-how of treating coronary artery patients  until they stopped inviting him five years ago.

"They are so good at it now," Jang, a senior cardiovascular professor at Severance Hospital in Seoul, said in an interview. "They stopped calling me probably because they thought there would not be much to learn from me anymore."

"Doctors in China were learning fast, and I could see their improvement every time I visited there. They said it was not just Korean doctors they learned from but also Americans and Japanese."

This is just one of the many signs of a medical power shift in Asia: China is catching up fast to Korea and even to Japan. Although it is still unclear how much money China spends on medical R&D specifically, the country now makes up 20 percent of the world's total R&D expenditures, the second largest only after the United States (27 percent), according to the 2016 Science and Engineering Indicators report released by the U.S. government.

"Many Chinese doctors we used to teach have grown into towering figures whose influence now goes far beyond their country. Their global network, especially in Southeast Asia, is getting stronger every year," Jang said.

"Squeezed between China and Japan, which has invested in research and global network for decades as a medical powerhouse, Korea is in a bind."

It is no secret that Korea needs to spend more money on improving research infrastructure and collecting original clinical data. Such process, however, takes a long time. Thus, the best the country can, and should, do is to facilitate more collaboration among experts in different medical fields.

For example, he said, China has been trying to systematically integrate its traditional medicine into the West's modern medicine, encouraging the two expert groups to work together. Korea, on the other hand, completely separates them.

Such efforts by the Chinese government have borne fruit, most notably when Tu Youyou, chief professor at the China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, became the first Chinese scholar to win a Nobel Prize in medicine last year in an acknowledgement of her discovery of artemisinin, a drug that helps reduce the mortality rate from malaria. Many experts said her achievement stems from her effort to combine Chinese traditional herbal medicine with modern-day science.

"The Chinese government has tried to establish a scientific basis for its traditional medicine and has achieved commercial success in doing so," Jang said. "The same would be difficult to achieve in Korea because they don't cooperate."

He reckons that Korea is lagging far behind in terms of maximizing its potential as its doctors and regulators remain ignorant of the necessity of more cooperation at home and abroad.

"Many medical professionals from different fields and hospitals are reluctant to collaborate unless they have to, and the system is not designed to encourage it," he said. "Even if they do, it falls apart easily. I personally experienced a situation where my research partners suddenly quit in the middle of the project. The culture for academic collaboration isn't mature yet."

For other countries, Korea is an attractive potential partner for cooperative research, thanks to its excellent online network system, ideal population size and inclusive national healthcare system.

"I believe Korea can be very successful, but only if the country uses its huge potential," Jang said.





Jang Yang-soo is the first Korean doctor to develop vascular stent in 1998, but the potentially lucrative stent technology has failed to flourish due largely to the regulations that prevent local firms from entering the market.

/Courtesy of Severance Hospital in Seoul



Killing both imitation and innovation

Among Korea's imported medical devices, vascular stents topped the list last year with 120 billion won ($105 million).

The situation could have been different, had the government established the right system to preserve its stent industry in 1998 when Jang developed the nation's first vascular stent.

Even though he possessed the potentially lucrative stent technology, the Korean medical insurance policy, which sets certain prices for some medical devices such as stent, prevented local firms from entering the market. Such policy is still in place today.

"The stent technology could not flourish here because local companies were not allowed to compete in price," Jang said. "Think about it. Even if they developed their own stent that is as good as the original product, doctors would not have used it because they were already used to the old one and the prices were almost the same."

The failure of his stent business proved to be ominous for the future of Korean stents. The global market size of vascular stents has since increased to an estimated 10 trillion won ($.8.7 billion), according to the Korea Institute of Science and Technology.

Jang said he has tried for years to convince the government to ease the regulations, only to be rejected. It is a policy mistake that the government still refuses to admit.

History shows, however, that many innovations come from imitation; examples abound, from Japanese cars to Korean smartphones.

The government's inconsistent funding is another impediment to medical research. During his term as the director of the Cardiovascular Genome Center at Severance Hospital from 2001 to 2011, Jang, one of the first Korean doctors to study cardiovascular genetics, found some important facts, including CDH13 polymorphism's contribution to the development of coronary vascular diseases. But none of his discoveries turned into a commercial products, due partly to such funding issue.

"Foreign companies later studied our discoveries in an effort to develop products," he said. "This is one of the biggest regret of my career, and it is a big loss for Korea."

Launching the next-generation drug-eluting stent

A vascular stent is a metal or plastic tube inserted into a blood vessel to keep the clogged pathway open.

Although a drug-eluting stent containing cobalt and chromium has proved to be safer than a bare-metal stent, it still shows long-term complications and cannot be used for patients allergic to the elements.

Over the past five years, in cooperation with medical device company Koswire, Jang has developed a titanium-dioxide-coated stent, which is safer and suitable for such allergic patients.

"The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety is now checking the approval status," he said. "The final result is expected to come out in February."

Clinical trials showed, he noted, that the new stent causes almost no stenosis, an abnormal narrowing of a passage in the body, in one year.

"Although the data for the device's long-term safety for the human body are not yet available, animal tests show it is safe," he said.

Upon the stent's safety approval, Jang plans to export it to the European and American markets.
By Gokarna Dahal

The Dalai Lama, a great Tibetan Monk, once said happiness is not something readymade, it comes from our action. This means that at the end of the day, the only person that can make us truly happy......is we. Our mind and body are inextricably connected. Our thoughts, choices, and experiences influence our tendencies to be happy or worry. We should cultivate the dynamic balance between our mind and body. Every day people are knee deep in work, exhaustive to do lists, being stuck to our computer screens and Smartphones.

People have the unfortunate tendency to remember negative experiences but forget positive ones. Millions of people are suffering from decreased mental stamina, depression, anxiety and even the thought of suicide. Life nowadays is growing hectic. Hardly a day passes without a pang of stress or tension. Each stress leaves a scar inside the mind

In South Korea, young people feel the least happy of any members of the OECD nations. According to the 2016 8th International Comparative Study of Happiness, the index of children and young people in South Korea was 82, the lowest of the 22 members countries of the OECD covered in the study. Every day people bounce from one pleasant experience to the next. There is no one-size-fits-all principle for happiness. But millions of peoples are rushing for the quest to happiness. So for now, it is better to discover and follow the secrets to creating radiant, lifelong health, happiness, prosperity and flow. Meditation is a simpler path that creates a ripple of happiness and peace which spreads like waves all around.

In meditation one can be able to reenergize oneself again and again. It is not only the agenda of one religion but also the path of compassion. Meditation is an effective method for gaining control over the mind, allowing us to become comfortable and flexible no matter how crazy life gets. It is also a powerful tool for increasing our health, easing chronic pain, anxiety and stress. It is said that when a river is calm, the reflection is clear. When the mind is calm there is greater clarity in the field of expression and man can be forever happy.

Meditation also allows for rest from a worried mind so that negative thinking is no longer a stress of life. Studies suggest that in as little as eight weeks, meditation not only helps people become calmer, but also enhances memory, empathy, a sense of self confidence and lowers stress. A few years ago there was no scientific evidence to show the benefits of meditation but now so many quantifiable benefits evidence showed.

Globally happiness is increasingly considered a proper measure of social progress and a goal of public policy. Also from a holistic prospective, health is not merely the absence of disease or symptoms, it is a state of optimal wellbeing, vitality and happiness. It is time for all governments of the world to cultivate their people's happiness.

The Korean government should nurture its youngsters' hopes and happiness and make policy accordingly. The Meditation Campaign can help the Korean government achieve the ideal of the slogan, "An era of people's happiness." So let's start meditating, invest 10 minutes a day and try to be happy forever.

The writer is an officer in the Ministry of Health and Population of Nepal who has served more than 12 years in different government hospitals of Nepal. He is currently pursuing a master's degree in global health policy at Hanyang University through the support of KOICA. Write to Dahalgokarna7@gmail.com.
Speculation over Cheong Wa Dae's media control has been raised after allegations that a former aide to President Park Geun-hye attempted to censor news broadcasts on the Sewol ferry sinking two years ago.



Rep. Lee Jung-hyun of the ruling Saenuri Party, a third-term lawmaker and former senior presidential secretary for public relations, allegedly interfered with news reports by public broadcaster KBS on the government's rescue efforts.



The allegation came forth after a phone conversation between Lee and Kim Shi-gon, who led the KBS newsroom at the time, was made public by the Union of Media Workers last week. According to the transcript of the conversation on April 21, 2014, Lee pressured Kim to refrain from airing negative reports on the government's rescue efforts on its flagship news segment 9 O'clock News, saying "the President watched KBS." Lee also decried KBS for beating up the government during a national crisis and used profanity and insults during the conversation. At the time, the President and the now defunct Korea Coast Guard were slammed by the media for their mismanagement of the disaster and the failed rescue operation.



The most shocking part of the incident is how Cheong Wa Dae has responded to it. After the allegations against Lee were raised, Cheong Wa Dae and the Saenuri Party defended Lee, claiming that he was performing a regular duty as a chief press secretary for the President. It is outrageous that they maintain such an undemocratic view of government-media relations. The incident is reminiscent of the state media control during the 1980s.



If Lee's actions are considered "regular duty" by Cheong Wa Dae, it is not hard to assume infringements on the state broadcaster will continue to happen. It is no surprise that during Park's term, Korea's ranking in the freedom of press index has dropped to as low as 70.



Kim claimed that attempts to control new reports had been taking place by President Park's transition team even before taking office and that Cheong Wa Dae played a role in his departure from the state broadcaster.



If these allegations are true, Cheong Wa Dae is in violation of the Broadcasting Act which prohibits interference in public broadcasting.



Cheong Wa Dae should act responsibly by giving a clear explanation about the allegations of media control.




South Korea and the United States have agreed to deploy a high-tech antiballistic-missile interception system in the Northeast Asian country to upgrade the allies' defense against North Korea's increasing nuclear and missile threats, the defense ministry said Friday.

The decision came after five months of negotiations between Seoul and Washington over whether to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, an advanced air defense shield that makes up the U.S.' mainland missile defense system.

The allies started the negotiations shortly after North Korea fired a long-range missile in early February in a defiant test of intercontinental ballistic missile technology after conducting its fourth nuclear test the previous month.

"South Korea and the U.S. have made the joint decision to deploy the THAAD system with U.S. Forces Korea as part of a defensive action to guarantee the security of the Republic of Korea and our people from North Korea's nuclear weapons, weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile threats," the Ministry of National Defense said.

The deployment is also designed to protect the military power of the bilateral alliance, it said

The allies' joint working group is currently in the final stages of proposing a site for the THAAD deployment to the countries' defense chiefs, the ministry noted.

"South Korea and the U.S. are working closely together to deploy the THAAD system as soon as possible," according to the ministry.

When THAAD is deployed, it will not target countries other than North Korea and be exclusively used to deal with the communist country's nuclear and missile threats, the ministry also said, brushing off China's protests raised over the deployment move.

"The deployment of THAAD will contribute to (the buildup of) a multi-layer missile defense and strengthen the South Korea-U.S. alliance's missile defense capabilities against North Korea's missile intimidation," it said. (Yonhap)
By Andrei Lankov

Recent UN sanctions that have put so much emphasis on mineral exports from North Korea have unavoidably attracted much attention to exports of North Korean coal to China.

Indeed, coal shipments to China which were almost unnoticeable as late as 2000, currently constitute roughly 40% of all North Korean exports as reconstructed through the statistics of North Korea's trade partners (actual share is liable to be somewhat lower, since not all North Korean trade deals are counted). Because prices have been falling on international markets, the share of exports also began to slide in recent years, but still remain high.

However, the measure of commotion that followed China's decision to enforce a partial ban (for the time being, at least) on North Korean coal attracted attention to something that many observers had speculated about: the essentially private nature of some mining enterprises that sell their coal to China.

Indeed, the growth of the semi-legal private economy began in North Korea in the early 1990s and by the early 2000s it reached a point where many rich North Koreans had investable capital counted in the tens of thousands of US dollars. Such capital had to be invested somehow in order to produce profit. And in their search for yield, many North Korean capitalists began to look at the coal industry.

Of course, private mining remains illegal in North Korea. However, it helped that in the late 1990s, with the encouragement and approval of the central government, a number of foreign trade companies were established by North Korean bureaucratic agencies, military units and larger industrial enterprises. These companies were expected to make money selling everything that could be sold on international markets. They usually could secure export licenses (those much coveted "wakku") to sell coal or other resources. However, most of these companies, often technically established by the Korean People's Army or Korean Workers' Party, had neither the technical expertise nor operational capital to start digging for coal.

Thus, around 2000, it became possible to make a perfect match between a private entrepreneur who had plenty of money, but badly needed official protection and export licenses, and a state-controlled autonomous trade company with all the necessary paperwork, but without investment capital or right experience. In most cases, the private owners locate the abandoned old small mines which ceased operations during the Arduous March, and then pump out water and restarted production.

It did help that the Chinese economy was growing fast, thus generating a great demand for coal and, broadly speaking, mineral resources which came to lead North Korean exports in the early 2000s (in the 1990s, it was seafood which was the largest items in North Korea' exports list). The demand for coal began to dwindle after 2012, partially due to a slowdown of the Chinese economy (China's GDP annual growth, according to the World bank, was 11.3% in 2005, but merely 7.3% in 2014), but largely due to the growing environmental concerns and switch to cleaner sources of energy in China. Nonetheless, the period from the mid-1990s to the early 2010s was a golden time for the coal exporters dealing with the Chinese market.

So, in the early 2000s, North Korean private investors operating under cover of the state agencies, began to purchase mining equipment, hire workers and look for profitable export deals (many of them had Chinese partners since the 1990s). At the same time, their bureaucratic and military supervisors/protectors received generous payments. Since the bureaucrats, who allow the private entrepreneurs to use the name of their state companies to do mining, have little actual control over operations and seldom even know what is going on at the mines their company technically manages, they usually agree on a fixed sum to be paid by the private subcontractor monthly or annually. Part of the payments ends up in the state budget, while another part goes to the pockets of the officials who manage the state company.

There were good reasons why aspiring private investors piled into coal mining rather than, say, the extraction of iron ore or rare earth minerals. The major attraction was the low barriers to entry  coal mines were (and are) relatively cheap to start. If a business person wanted to start mining, say, iron ore, it would require rather sophisticated equipment and, as a result, a significant level of investment, while North Korean coal can be easily mined with the use of very primitive equipment by teams of unskilled workers.

The largest of the private mines now employs about 100 miners, but the majority are smaller-scale operations with just a few dozen workers being involved, and tiny mines with merely five to six workers are not unheard of.

Compared to other mineral resources, coal is also easy to sell domestically, since it is widely used for heating and in small-scale production. A majority of private mines sell high-quality coal to China, while lower quality coal is being sold at home. This would not be case with iron ore, hardly needed inside North Korea.

While the share of private mines to total nationwide coal production might remain relatively modest, their share of coal exports is significantly higher. Private investors operate under the cover of foreign trade companies that were created with the single purpose of exporting coal overseas. Thus the majority of what is produced by such companies ends up on the Chinese market. Conversely, big state enterprises have strict limits on how much of their coal they are allowed to export. As a rule of thumb, a state-owned mine is now allowed to send about 10% of production overseas, largely on the assumption that earnings will be used to finance continuing operations.

The transportation of coal is another challenge where private capital is important. North Koreans are fortunate that there are substantial coal deposits located near major seaports or on the Sino-North Korean border. This makes North Korean coal highly competitive because it costs on average 70 percent of Chinese coal of the same quality.

Nonetheless, even if transportation is relatively easy, it still has to be done. They usually use trucks rather than trains to move coal to seaports or China. In some cases, these trucks are owned by private mining companies, but often, mining companies make a deal with a semi-legal truck company (same scheme: using a government agency or state-owned enterprise in order to register trucks that are bought and operated by a private business). An interesting sub-branch of business is large storage facilities for coal that have been developed by entrepreneurs in recent years.

Storage facilities have made it possible to compensate for occasional fluctuation in coal prices on the market. It seems that storage facilities are independent from mines, thus their relationships are similar to that of truck operators: they work on a contractual basis.

The new system has led to competition for skilled workers. While miners are paid a tiny salary of $30-$50 a month, a skilled worker who can operate some piece of machinery, can easily make $100-$140 a month. This makes a job at the mines a much coveted occupation for those with the necessary skills. However, it is engineers and geologists who have benefited most from the coal mining boom. According to rumor, a good mining engineer can make upward of $500 a month when working for a private company.

Of course, one can only guess what will happen to this entire business structure with the advent of international sanctions (assuming, of course, that these sanctions are going to be implemented thoroughly enough). A lot will lose out, but as a few believe in the initiative, greed and the ruthlessness of capitalism and capitalists, I think that a significant part of the industry will survive both the collapse of prices and sanctions.

Andrei Lankov was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, and teaches at Kookmin University in Seoul.Reach him at anlankov@yahoo.com.
The North's Foreign Ministry made the demand in a statement after the U.S. Treasury Department blacklisted Kim and 10 other top officials and five powerful state agencies for their roles in the communist nation's human rights violations.

"This is the worst hostility and an open declaration of war against the DPRK," the North said, according to the official Korean Central News Agency.

It also called the blacklisting the "worst crime that can never be pardoned."

"The U.S. should immediately and unconditionally retract the recent step for sanctions which dared hurt the dignity of the DPRK supreme leadership," the North said. "Every lever and channel for diplomatic contact between the DPRK and the U.S. will be cut off at once in case the U.S. refuses to accept our demand."

The North also said it will deal with all issues arising from relations with the U.S. in accordance with the wartime law as the U.S. "declared a war."

"The DPRK will take the toughest countermeasures to resolutely shatter the hostility of the U.S. as regards the fact that the latter's hostile policy has reached the worst phase of hurting the dignity of the former's supreme leadership," it said.

"The U.S. ruling quarters will have to bitterly experience how foolish and reckless such deed was," it added.

It was the first time the U.S. has imposed direct sanctions on the North's leader and the designation also marked the first-ever U.S. sanctions on Pyongyang over its human rights abuses. That shows the U.S. is committed to ratcheting up pressure on Pyongyang.

The North, which tolerates no criticism of its leader, had been expected to respond angrily.

The U.S. has sought to increase pressure on the North, leading the U.N. Security Council to adopt the toughest sanctions ever on Pyongyang and enacting its own unilateral sanctions on the communist nation in the wake of the North's fourth nuclear test in January and a long-range rocket launch the following month.












By Lee Min-hyung



Consumer fears over toxic chemicals are showing no signs of abating as a growing number of electronic goods makers have come under criticism over hazardous substances found in their products.



Even before the nation's worst biocide controversy in May  surrounding toxic humidifier disinfectant products from Oxy Reckitt Benckiser  comes to a close, a group of consumer electronics manufacturers have reignited similar health risk concerns



Earlier last month, LG Electronics, Cuckoo Electronics and Dayou Winia invited public criticism as some of their air purifiers have filters from 3M containing the hazardous chemical Octylisothiazolinone (OIT).



They argued that the chances are slim for a significant amount of OIT being exuded into the air, as their products meet safety standards set by the Ministry of Environment.



In particular, LG Electronics said the filters contain 0.12 parts per billion (ppb) of OIT, a 20th of the ministry's standard and a 40th of that of its German counterpart.



Following the criticism, the environment ministry launched an in-depth investigation into the three firms' products. The regulator said it plans to announce a preliminary investigation report no later than mid-July.



As part of a responsive measure, LG recalled the controversial filters and offered to replace them with new ones without any toxic substances.



"We can announce more detailed countermeasures, after the environment ministry reveals the results of its investigation," an LG Electronics official said.



"For now, we are manufacturing air purifiers without the chemical," added the official.



The latest in a series of similar cases resurfaced last week when Coway, the nation's leading manufacturer of water purifiers, came under fire over nickel being detected in water from some of its products.



Amid mounting public anger, the company announced Wednesday that it will give a refund on three problematic models. The firm also pledged to suspend their production.



But the response failed to quell the anger, with a group of more than 3,000 customers planning to file a class action lawsuit against the company.



They are calling for Coway to offer a wider range of compensation, including healthcare costs for diseases related to heavy metals and punishment for those responsible for the incident.



The company officially apologized for the controversy in a statement, saying, "We apologize for any inconvenience our customers may have suffered."



"We are running an internal investigation over the issue," said the statement. However, the company has yet to announce whether it will accept the demands from customers.



The environment ministry said it will conduct a joint investigation with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, citing the gravity of the issue.



Following the series of chemical-related controversies, critics argue that the government should come up with tougher and more concrete regulatory measures to prevent any recurrence of such cases, and establish a control tower focusing solely on dealing with such issues.




This article appears in the July 8, 2016 issue of Executive Intelligence Review.

Russia and China Combine Efforts

To Preserve World Peace

by William Jones

[PDF version of this article]

July 2While the Obama Administration is rapidly pushing the world toward nuclear war in Europe and in Asia, the leaders of China and Russia have agreed to redouble their effortsand their partnershipin order to offer to the world the possibility of a new directionality toward peace and development and away from the present path toward war. Immediately following the summit meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which is now in the process of adding India and Pakistan to its membership, and represents around half of the worlds population, the meeting in Beijing of the two presidents represents an absolutely ground-breaking development.

The Joint Declaration issued by the two presidents takes aim at the underlying problem: the role adopted by the United States, during the successive presidencies of George W. Bush and Barack Obama, to act as the Roman Legion for the crisis-ridden and collapsing British trans-Atlantic London/Wall Street System, a role which has propelled the United States and the NATO alliance into a desperate drive to assert their will and dominance everywhere in the world. This grave threat has been further enhanced by the mental instability of a Barack Obama who views his own role as maintaining the sadistic geopolitical position of the United States as the worlds sole remaining superpower.

In the Joint Declaration, Russia and China voiced great concern over the increasingly negative factors affecting the global strategic stability. Some countries and military-political alliances seek decisive advantage in military and relevant technology, the statement reads, so as to serve their own interests through the use, or threatened use of force in international affairs, the statement says. Such a policy has resulted in an out-of-control growth of military power and has shaken the global strategic stability system.

A New Type of Relationship

Most significantly, the Joint Declaration characterizes the relationship of their two countries as a major power relationship, a characterization that China also applies to its relationship with the United States, but which U.S. representatives have refused to utter, as it would tend to diminish its status as a de facto imperial power. The joint declaration also lays out the principles undergirding their relationship, principles which should serve as a universal norm for relations between sovereign nations, namely, respect for the others particular choice of development path, non-interference in the internal relations of the other, mutual support in the core questions of sovereignty, defense, development, the principle of win-win all-sided cooperation, and a rejection of confrontation.

The signing of this agreement and its practical realization will have an important international dimension, the statement says, demonstrating to the entire world a successful example of the establishment of harmonic, constructive, equal, trustworthy, and mutually beneficial relations between major powers. The agreement between Russian and Chinese strategic foreign policy established on the basis of this cooperation will become a major factor in international life, permitting the formation of a just and rational multipolar world. In the declaration, the two sides also commit themselves to bringing this new model of international relations to the United Nations. Russia and China base themselves on the fact that the world architecture is experiencing a rapid evolutionary transformation in connection with the ongoing redistribution of forces on the world stage.

Combating Interventionism

The two parties support the idea of taking a resolution to the UN General Assembly condemning intervention and interference in a countrys internal affairs, opposing regime change in any country through unlawful intervention from the outside, and even through the extraterritorial use of the laws of one country in violation of international law. The two sides also condemned the imposition of unilateral sanctions without the backing of a UN mandate.

The Declaration also underlines the growing importance of multilateral institutions such as BRICS and the SCO in the formulation of the norms and procedures in the international arena. The two sides reiterated their unity as victorious allies during the war against fascism and as permanent members of the UN Security Council in upholding the rule of law as this has been defined by the United Nations after the defeat of fascism. The document also throws down the gauntlet to the unilateral interventionism of the United States and Britain during the last few decades which has caused so much chaos in the world. Some countries and military-political alliances seek decisive advantage in military and relevant technology, so as to serve their own interests through the use, or threat of the use, of force in international affairs. Such a policy has resulted in an out-of-control growth of military power and has shaken the global strategic stability system, the Declaration says.

U.S. Department of Defense

The Declaration condemns the deployment of missile defense systems, characterizing these as totally destabilizing, particularly the Aegis systems targeting Russia and the THAAD systems in the Asia-Pacific, targeting China. It also condemns the Prompt Global Strike system. The long distance precision attack weapons developed by some countries, such as the global system for instant attack, may seriously damage the strategic balance and trigger a new round of the arms race, the statement read.

Missile Defense Agency

Creating Synergy in Economic Development

The thirty agreements signed by the two parties indicate the efforts they have taken to combine Chinas Belt and Road Initiative with the Russian-backed Eurasian Economic Union. While many of the agreements are follow-ups to the oil and gas deals already concluded, there was also a panoply of other agreements, which are aimed at bringing the Belt and Road and the Eurasian Economic Union into a collaborative relationship. The Joint Declaration underlines the complementarity of the two nations development projects, in particular Russias plans to develop its Far Eastern regions and Chinas plans to revitalize its former industrial hub in Chinas northeast. The declaration also noted the complementarity between the development of their two riverine programs, in the Volga region of Russia and in the Yangtze Development Zone in China. In his comments to the press after the meeting with the Chinese President, Putin indicated that over twenty agreements have been signed within this particular format.

The two sides agreed to move forward on financing and construction of the high-speed rail system between Moscow and Kazan, a key element of the Belt and Road Initiative. China will also invest in the Yamal liquid gas project in Russias Far North. Agreements were signed to increase the export of Russian wheat to China and the construction of a major grain terminal in the southern Baikal region close to the Chinese border, creating what Putin called a new land grain corridor. China will also invest in several grain elevators in the region.

Nuclear energy will continue to be a major area of development, with Russia prepared to build two more reactors in Chinas Tianwan nuclear plant. The two countries will also work together to build a wide-bodied airplane and a new heavy-duty helicopter for both civilian and military use. Cooperation will also continue in aerospace. In their 2013-2017 program of cooperation in space, they will deepen their work on Earth observation, the study of the Moon and the outer planets, and the development of rocket engines, and they will conduct practical work in space navigation through collaboration between the satellite navigation systems of Russia (the GLONASS program) and China (the Beidou system).



View full size video grab/Russia Beyond the Headlines

Speaking to the press after their meeting on June 25, President Xi stressed the strategic importance of their relationship. President Putin and I have unanimously decided that the more complicated the international situation, the more determined we should be, guided by the spirit of strategic cooperation and the idea of eternal friendship. We should strengthen mutual support, enhance mutual political and strategic trust and cooperation, and unswervingly deepen our relationship.

The two sides have almost identical views on international issues, Putin said, and he underlined the importance of their cooperation in the SCO, the BRICS, and the United Nations. Both Xi and Putin are looking forward to the Sept. 4-5 G20 Summit in Hangzhou, where many of these issues of reforming international governance and avoiding war will no doubt be front and center. Given the escalating world-wide chaos and military dangers that are being spread by British-backed terrorism and the insane interventionism of the Obama Administration, this new paradigm is certain to muster strong support from the nations gathered there.
In praise of real-life human heroes

There is a great message in Amy Kaufmans interview with Alexander Skarsgard [The New King of the Jungle, July 3] in which he says his hero is Tarzan, not some animated figure shooting spiderwebs from fingers. I think boys need real-life heroes instead of Ninja turtles and special effects. Years ago, my older brother and I went to a Steve Reeves movie. I told my brother I wanted to grow up to be a man with muscles like that. It was an impossible challenge as I was in crutches and leg braces from polio. But my brother worked with me. Even after he died, I kept on with my gym training. Fast forward to the Beverly Garland Hotel, and Reeves and his wife were signing autographs. As I approached, he said, Great guns, man! You work out? I was too overcome to tell him that he was a disabled 10-year-old boys role model. How many kids get inspired that way by a turtle?

Kurt Sipolski

Palm Desert

:::

After seeing the tantalizing TV ads for the new Tarzan movie, I was anxious to see it. Then on opening day, before I went to an early screening, I read Kenneth Turans negative review [Film Cant Swing It, July 1] and almost stayed home. At the end of this visually stunning and truly entertaining movie, while most of the audience was applauding, I wanted to shout out, Take that, Kenny boy.

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Alan Segal

San Diego

End of Prairie Home Companion era

Regarding: Garrison Keillor Bids Farewell [July 4]: Somewhere on the National Mall, beside Lincoln, Jefferson, etc., a memorial to Garrison Keillor would be appropriate. His unique physicality needs no embellishment when the sculptures chisel carves Keillors hulking likeness into marble. He is a national treasure, to be preserved.

Jerry Collamer

San Clemente

A great TV movie passed by

Regarding: Spielberg From First to Worst by Marc Bernardin [July 3]. What about Duel, with Dennis Weaver? This 70s low-budget, unusual nail-bitter shot on lonesome back roads with just a few odd characters kept us on the edge of our couches, and we have never forgotten it. This is a much deeper film than the surface plot, featuring a plodding salesman with an off-screen nagging wife who is just trying to make a living and finds himself the target of a maniacal truck driver with a monstrous rig. This classic surely deserves mention along with the others.

Annette Halpern

Ventura

:::

Duel was not even mentioned. The film is a classic thriller with an outstanding suspenseful effect and performance by Weaver. It originally was a TV movie, but later released to theaters. It deserves an honorable mention at the least.

Chris Kozak

Granada Hills

:::

I was eager to see where Duel would place, as its one of my favorites, and it wasnt even listed. It should have been in the top 10.

Lyn Kraatz

Long Beach

:::

I disagree with Bernardins pick of 1941 as one of Spielbergs worst films. 1941 had a fresh premise, a wonderful cast and some of the most memorable scenes in movie comedy history.

Errol McCarthy

Long Beach

Too little progress, too late

Regarding: Academy Invitees: Face of Change [July 2]. The storys lead: The last week has been a watershed one for race and Hollywood. Watershed? The fact that the film academy has belatedly tried to rectify the problem of its largely white/male membership is certainly a step in the right direction, but it in no way has the import of the burning race issues that appear in the first section of this newspaper on a much too frequent basis.

Jon Schwartz

Santa Monica

Appreciation of a film classic

Thank you for Kevin Crusts highly informative piece on the production of Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf? [A Production as Nervy as the Material, July 3]. This is the most densely textured movie Ive ever seen. And Mike Nichols did a masterful job bringing it to film.

Pat Todd

Sherwood Forest

A new release from an old favorite

Thanks for the heads-up on Van Morrisons forthcoming release. [A Sequel to 1973 From Van Morrison, July 3]. Hes always been my favorite musician, and his music has been with me through good times and bad.

Nancy Roeger

Carlsbad

Too late for Stalin

Regarding: Foiling North Koreas Best-face Farce [July 6] Vitaly Manskys birth year is given as 1963 but the article also refers to his childhood under Soviet strongman Joseph Stalin. Stalin died in 1953. I believe Stalins successor Nikita Khrushchev was still the countrys leader in 1963.

Ron Williams

Culer City

Type of futility

Regarding The Artistic Type [July 6]. Tim Youd sits in a Hollywood Boulevard storefront window, squashing the book, as he puts it: retyping other peoples novels onto a single page. Its a performance and a learning experience, asserts the Calendar. Perhaps, but is it art? When Mr Youd completes one of his exercises, hes produced nothing but a block of black ink on a piece of paper. Is there a point? Comparisons are odious, but I cant help wondering if The Times ever gave this kind of front page exposure to Harlan Ellison on any of the many occasions when he sat at his typewriter in a store front window actually creating something, a story which could be published, read and enjoyed.

Preston Neal Jones

Hollywood
Memo to choreographer Alexei Ratmansky: Play Misty for me.

Yes, everyone in the ballet world is aware that youre one of the artists defining the art, someone renowned or notorious  depending on whom you ask  for reimagining ballet classics. (More on that subject shortly.)

But at least some of us are far happier when you step away from those secondhand projects and grapple with music and movement in your own voice, as you did at least part of the time during American Ballet Theatres run ending Sunday at the Music Center. The rest of the time, unfortunately, you left principal dancer and Internet sensation Misty Copeland dressed for action but far too often offstage with nothing to do but pluck her feathers like some neglected parrot.

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Watching Copeland dance Firebird at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, we saw a wonderful ballerina come to terms with a not-so-wonderful role. To begin with, you, Mr. Ratmansky, assigned to other American Ballet Theatre dancers much of the music that Igor Stravinsky composed for her character.

A Firebird corps inherited most of her opening solo and, later on, this Firebird was allowed only sporadic appearances in the sequence where, in other versions, she alone destroys the forces of evil.

Keeping a star-dancer offstage when the composer wanted her in the spotlight muted Copelands dazzle during a special Music Center benefit Thursday, though ticket holders paid up to $308 (not including the after-party) to see her decked out in Galina Solovyevas fiery tutu. (They also found Copeland-as-Firebird books and dolls on sale in the Dorothy Chandler lobby.) But the marginalization of the title character meant that the ballet belonged to the unusually playful hero Ivan, interpreted with great assurance by Marcelo Gomes.

As usual, Mr. Ratmansky, your expressive ambitions and showpiece instincts often clashed, so this Ivan didnt convincingly subdue or tame this Firebird in their pas de deux (a major plot point). Gomes and Copeland attended to its challenges masterfully, but crude and mostly ineffective comedy all but wrecked the contributions of the enchanted maidens. Stella Abrera coped resourcefully with a thankless part, and Cory Stearns did manage to dominate Simon Pastukhs large-scale scenic effects as an entertainingly deranged Kaschei.

1 / 6 The American Ballet Theatre, featuring Misty Copeland, perform Firebird for a benefit gala at the Music Center. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 2 / 6 Maiden (Stella Abrera), leads other maidens during the American Ballet Theatre performance of Firebird for a benefit gala at the Music Center. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 3 / 6 Firebirds dance in the opening sequence. as the American Ballet Theatre, featuring Misty Copeland, performs Firebird for a benefit gala at the Music Center. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 4 / 6 Maidens offer apples to Ivan (Marcelo Gomes), while Maiden (Stella Abrera), left, jealously looks on during the American Ballet Theatre performance of Firebird for a benefit gala at the Music Center. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 5 / 6 Ivan (Marcelo Gomes) dances with Firebird (Misty Copeland) during the American Ballet Theatre performance of Firebird for a benefit gala at the Music Center. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 6 / 6 Kaschei (Cory Stearns), left, faces off with Ivan (Marcelo Gomes) during the American Ballet Theatre performance of Firebird for a benefit gala at the Music Center. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

This one-act ballet premiered in Orange County four years ago, and Laura Bleibergs Times review was generally approving, though noting the mixed choreographic results. That hasnt changed and is typical of Ratmansky remakes of the most famous titles and scores in Franco-Russian ballet.

Those remakes include The Nutcracker in several versions (including ABTs) starting in 2001, Cinderella for the Mariinsky (2002), Romeo and Juliet for National Ballet of Canada (2011), this ABT Firebird (his second attempt, following 2012) and reconstructions of Sleeping Beauty for ABT (2015) and Swan Lake for the Zurich Ballet (2016). The Bright Stream may not be an iconic title outside Russia, but Josef Stalins hatred of the original production made Ratmanskys 2003 remake for the Bolshoi big news in the post-Soviet era.

Readers, it may help to know that Ratmansky, 47, was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, and trained at the Bolshoi School. His remakes brought him to international prominence because they filled a growing repertory need: With so few 19th century story ballets wearing out their welcome from relentless repetition, many companies, their dancers and their audiences welcomed his novelties  something new on paper but never genuinely transformative, just a comfortable rehash. No matter that such projects have inevitably betrayed his weaknesses in balletic storytelling and characterization.

In October, audiences at the Dorothy Chandler saw that Mariinsky Cinderella, and watched arguably the greatest classical company anywhere flounder in aggressive, heartless choreographic fragmentation.

Im happy to report that Ratmansky has long displayed a taste for something greater than new editions of ballets greatest hits. He has been so prolific with one-act music visualizations that hes now well-nigh inescapable on European and American ballet stages.

Dorothy Chandler audiences got a sample with a program that ABT performed starting Friday: two ambitious and largely successful works that, coupled with Firebird, represented the first time that Ballet Theatre has presented an all-contemporary program on this stage. Thats right: Nothing over 4 years old from a company that  on tour, at least has often seemed far more attached to the past than the present. The sense of adventure Friday remained palpable, especially with refined music-making under the leadership of David LaMarche and Ormsby Wilkins.

Besides Firebird, the three-part weekend program included a segment from Ratmanskys Shostakovich cycle, Symphony #9. Three years ago, ABT presented his Shostakovich Chamber Symphony here, but this time out, he camouflaged his limitations more adroitly with the deft alternation and then interplay of a perky couple in green (Craig Salstein and Abrera on Friday), a romantic couple in purple (Alexandre Hammoudi and Veronika Part), plus a virtuosic odd-man-out (Herman Cornejo) and a hardworking corps.

Unusual sliding steps and buoyant jumps-in-place linked this piece to Firebird (created the same year), and, midway through, the prevailing darkness of the stage yielded to a George Tsypin backdrop: people holding flags plus an occasional airplane or blimp.

Despite a few moments when it threw showy steps against inappropriate music (another Ratmansky trademark), Symphony #9" made the company look great. Whats more, his bold attempt to turn Leonard Bernsteins meditative Serenade After Platos Symposium into a ballet score changed eight of ABTs most distinctive soloists into paragons. Nine if you include violinist Benjamin Bowman.

Platos consideration of love in its many forms here became a series of showpieces testing the dancers and Ratmanskys ability to look at the ballet vocabulary from unusual angles, many of them bracingly idiosyncratic.

James Whiteside began the playoffs powerfully and, as the other six men clustered in support, a pattern emerged. Only a conventional pas de deux for Gomes and Devon Teuscher (the lone woman in the cast) broke the emphasis on experiment and self-realization.

The work premiered four months ago, and on Friday it reunited most of the original cast: Blaine Hoven, Calvin Royal III, Gabe Stone Shayer, Jeffrey Cirio and the high-flying Daniil Simkin besides those already mentioned. Jrme Kaplan costumed the men in a patchwork of patterns and colors suggesting many different eras and points of origin.

To close the evening, another Firebird. If Misty Copelands genuine star power brought a sense of occasion to the Thursday benefit, the fine but less starry Friday cast told a different story. Isabella Boylstons sharpness of attack distinguished her performance of the diminished title role, Hammoudi as Ivan forged an intense partnership with Cassandra Trenary as the lead maiden and Roman Zhurbin glowered impressively as Kaschei. But there are better versions than this one, even if the 1910 original has never been properly restored. Maybe thats a project, Mr. Ratmansky, you should consider.

You became American Ballet Theatres artist in residence seven years ago, and if your relatively recent interest in reconstructing (rather than supplanting) ballet masterworks continues along with your attempt to find his own true voice as a choreographer, there will no longer be any need to escape your inescapable prominence.
A first job is always memorable. Even more so when your boss is an irascible bearded maniac with a pungent habit of smoking cigars at his desk while railing at the antics of Al DAmato, the New York senator renowned for his filibusters, ethics issues and penchant for inappropriate utterances.

But working for Sydney H. Schanberg was the best journalism school I could have ever had. The news of his death on Saturday at the age of 82 leaves a hole in my heart  and a bigger one in this pixel-stained trade we call journalism.

In reporting circles, Sydney was legendary: A former correspondent for the New York Times, he had famously covered the 1975 fall of Phnom Penh to the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia and subsequently earned a Pulitzer for his work, carried out at great risk.

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The story of how he and his Cambodian reporting partner and photographer, Dith Pran, remained in Phnom Penh despite being ordered out became the basis of the Oscar-winning 1984 film The Killing Fields. (Schanberg managed to get out alive; Dith was sent to what seemed to be certain death in the countryside but ultimately escaped to Thailand after several years of barely surviving.)

Sydney Schanberg, left, with Dith Pran at the New York Times office in 1980. (Charles Kaiser / AFP/Getty Images )

By the time I met Sydney, his days of globe-trotting war reportage were behind him. (It was in the early 1990s and he was in his sixties.) He had left the New York Times and was working as a political columnist at New York Newsday, a now-defunct Manhattan tabloid that, for a time, was home to a motley, hard-drinking, hilarious cast of hyper-smart journalists.

I arrived in 1993  fresh out of college, as Sydneys research assistant  to a gray-paneled cubicle in the middle of a boisterous newsroom where my job was to dig stuff up in the days before Google. (It was a world of clip files and microfilm and trips to the library.)

From Day One, it was clear that it wasnt going to be an easy job. Sydney was demanding  of himself, as well as everyone else. He never accepted I dont know for an answer. Hed ask and ask and ask again until he was sure he understood the issues at hand. And he expected no less of me.

More than anyone, he taught me that as a journalist, there are no dumb questions  only dumb answers. He taught me the art of the follow-up question. And he also taught me a thing or two about persistence. They havent called you back? Call again, he would growl, before disappearing under a heavy cloud of smoke in his office.

For two years, I helped him on all manner of stories  chatting with police informants who would call into the office with colorful code names, filing freedom of information requests to an alphabet soup of government agencies, tracking down the latest of DAmatos doings during the whole Whitewater debacle. (Sydneys clip files on the senator were voluminous.)

The work (and Sydney) could be difficult, but it was a rich learning experience. He cultivated in me a profound appreciation for original reporting  something I continue to hold dear in this era of cut-and-paste journalism.

For all his newsroom gruffness, Sydney was exceedingly ethical and rewarded good work when he saw it. He could also be wonderfully warm, serving a mildly paternal role to the California girl (I was barely 21) who had somehow crash-landed into this very New York newsroom.

There were also the little things: His undying love of the Red Sox, who so often disappointed him (as they did for much of the 20th century). His imitations of public officials at uncomfortable news conferences. And the photo that hung near his desk: A picture of him looking tough on a trip to Cambodia  right as a spectacularly corpulent pig trotted casually through the frame. He was a big deal. But the pig was bigger.

We both left New York Newsday together, in 1995, after the paper was shut down by Times-Mirror (the company which then also owned the Los Angeles Times).

On our last day, as we cleaned out our desks, Sydney announced that he was taking a group of us to the Plaza Hotel for martinis. We stopped in Central Park and he bought a handful of helium balloons, which he let float one by one into an impossibly sunny sky. The rest of us behaved like a pile of raucous schoolchildren, nervous laughter covering up the fact that none of us knew what wed be doing the next day.

Dont worry, he told me later that evening. Youll be fine. One day Ill work for you.

I figured then Id somehow land on my feet. I had to. Id been trained by the best.

Find me on Twitter @cmonstah.

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Bill Cunningham dies at 87; iconic New York Times photographer who chronicled fashion high and low

Noel Neill dies at 95; first actress to play Lois Lane

Elie Wiesel dies at 87; Nobel Peace Prize laureate and renowned Holocaust survivor
Hello! Im Mark Olsen, and welcome to your weekly field guide to a world of Only Good Movies.

Since the writing of our last newsletter came the unexpected news of the deaths of the great filmmakers Michael Cimino and Abbas Kiarostami. One would be unlikely to place the two together were it not for this bit of timing, as they were two very different people who made very different films. And yet they both made movies that were formally daring and thematically rich and each carried a real personal mystique. They were film directors in the greatest, grandest, most exciting ways the term evokes.

Whether you are revisiting their work or encountering it for the first time, both Kiarostami and Cimino are deeply rewarding filmmakers well worth exploring. And they both have many of their titles easily available either online or on disc.

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Weve got some more screening/Q&A events coming up soon. Check events.latimes.com for more info.

Nonstop movies. Movies nonstop.

Captain Fantastic star Viggo Mortensen is photographed at the Cinema Bar in Culver City. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times )

Captain Fantastic

Matt Ross, writer-director of Captain Fantastic, is a familiar face from his long career as an actor, most recently on the television show Silicon Valley. In his new movie, Viggo Mortensen plays a father of six who is raising his brood off the grid in the woods of the Pacific Northwest. When circumstances set them on a road trip to New Mexico, the entire family finds their unconventional way of life challenged.

In his review for The Times, Justin Chang wrote, By the end, Ross initially disarming fusion of cleverness and whimsy has curdled into a dispiritingly familiar mix of sentimentality and self-satisfaction  I dont mean to make Captain Fantastic sound terrible; it doesnt risk enough to earn that designation.

In the New York Times, Manohla Dargis said, Its left to Mr. Mortensen, who can make menace feel like vulnerability  and turn vulnerability into a confession  to keep the movie from slipping into sentimentality. Hes the most obvious reason to see it, although Mr. Rosss insistence on taking your intelligence for granted is itself a great turn on.

Writing for the Associated Press, Lindsey Bahr called the film no flash in the pan success. Its a single, beautifully realized vision with edge and a true heart.

Josh Rottenberg recently spoke to Mortensen about the movie. The actor said of his character, Even though some of the things he does are extreme and some of his methods I wouldnt use, I did find something I really admired about him.

Nuts!

Documentarian Penny Lane previously made the sensitive and emotional Our Nixon, drawn from home movie footage of President Richard Nixon. Her new film, Nuts!, tells the story of John Brinkley, who achieved renown in the 1920s and 30s for a purported cure for impotence.

In his review for The Times, Robert Abele calls the film an entertaining hornswoggle of a movie. He added, You may think falling for goat glands is a pre-Internet age, snake-oil era folly. But call it something else, and who knows what youll believe if the spiel is powerful enough?

At the Washington Post, Ann Hornaday added, Lanes cheeky invocation of postmodern indeterminacy and the films overall tone of winking ridicule begin to feel glib and slightly superficial. Nuts! is an intriguing, if patronizing, curio from the cabinet of American arcana, a geegaw from the collective attic that, when dusted off, looks grotesquely funny in the light of today. We wonder how anyone could buy it. Just imagine what, one day, theyll say about us.

Writing about the film when it premiered earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival, Jordan Hoffman for the Guardian noted the film as a story pulled from the pages of the mythologized old, weird America and that it has all the whimsy of a tall tale, until a late change in tone surprises with genuine emotion. Nuts! is really a kick.

Zero Days

The Oscar-winning, blazingly prolific documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney has created a new film on cyber-security that continues to investigate questions some viewers may still have from his own We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks or even Laura Poitras Citizen Four. (Fans of Michael Manns recent cyber-security thriller Blackhat should also take note.) Gibneys new Zero Days examines the computer worm most commonly known as Stuxnet.

In his review for The Times, Justin Chang writes Gibneys film cuts across subjects and genres with its own fluid, quicksilver intelligence. It is by turns a coolly riveting geopolitical thriller, a potted history of Irans nuclear program, an alphabet soup of government acronyms, a detailed primer on exactly how malware operates, and a fascinating experiment in cinematic form that may test the limits of some viewers tolerance for lines of impenetrable code flooding a movie screen.

Writing for the New York Times, Stephen Holden said, To make a documentary on such a complicated, far-reaching subject and maintain a common-sense perspective requires formidable organizational skills and a steady narrative hand to keep the movie from straying into any number of theoretical byways. It takes the imagination of a science-fiction writer to make it coherent and entertaining enough to hold your attention.

The Times Steven Zeitchik talked to Gibney about the film. I wanted to make a movie about the future, Gibney said. He invoked words he heard from a war correspondent while making his Oscar-winning Taxi to the Dark Side when he added, Go not to where the attack was, but where the next attack is going to be.

Kirk Douglas tribute

Kirk Douglas will turn 100 in December, and the UCLA Film & Television Archive has gotten a head start on the celebrations by launching the program Kirk Douglas: A Centennial Celebration. Already underway, the series runs to Sept 30.

Times critic Kenneth Turan recently called Douglas one of Hollywoods most iconic stars, and this series will definitely prove why, with screenings of such films as Lust for Life, Ace in the Hole, The Big Sky, Spartacus, Lonely Are the Brave, Paths of Glory, Out of the Past, The Bad and the Beautiful and Two Weeks in Another Town. And thats only a partial list!

Email me if you have questions, comments or suggestions, and follow me on Twitter @IndieFocus.
For years, Jevon Goldie Lawson dealt crack on the steps of a 7-Eleven in a rough part of this blue-collar town. He smoked the rocks he didnt sell and often appeared as strung out as his customers.

But in 2008, he moved into a $400,000 house, started driving a champagne-colored Humvee, and made himself the star act of his own hip-hop label. He abandoned the crack business. Found something better, he told associates.

What he found was OxyContin from Southern California, where organized drug rings were colluding with rogue doctors and pharmacies to obtain enormous quantities of the drug.

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Illicit OxyContin devastated the entire Everett region. At the height of the drugs popularity, it was a factor in more than half of the crimes in Snohomish County. Abuse of the drug touched off an epidemic of painkiller and heroin addiction, which continues to this day. The crisis swept up many young people, such as Katie McKnight, the daughter of an Everett physician whose dependency outlasted seven trips to rehab, and Brandon Smith, who lost a promising career at Nintendo and, ultimately, his freedom to OxyContin.

Authorities in Everett knew much of the drug was coming from traffickers in the Los Angeles area, but they were unable to determine how pills were getting on the black market. A Times review of court records and law enforcement reports suggests that several people who sent OxyContin from Southern California to Lawson in Everett were buying pills from Lake Medical, a clinic near MacArthur Park that was a front for a drug ring.

The records, along with interviews of law enforcement officials, indicate that Inland Empire Crips gang members drove bags of OxyContin north on Interstate 5 to Washington State and sent couriers aboard planes to Seattle with pills strapped to their bodies.

At the time OxyContin was ravaging Everett, Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, was tracking the voluminous prescriptions written by Lake Medicals doctors as well as the extraordinary quantities of pills ordered by corrupt pharmacies filling those prescriptions. It did not track Lake Medical pills to their final destinations, however.

It wasnt until years later, after authorities brought down the ring, that Purdue shared the information with law enforcement. By then, 1.1 million pills had spilled onto the black market.

***

Everett, a city of 100,000, hugs Port Gardner Bay about halfway between Seattle and the Canadian border. Ferries crisscross the blue-gray waters of Puget Sound; the snowcapped Cascades rise behind the modest skyline.

A thriving mill town at the turn of the 20th century, Everett has seen its fortunes rise and fall with various industries -- shipbuilding, lumber, iron and canneries. The largest employers today are Boeing, which assembles four types of airliners at a plant along Interstate 5, and the U.S. Navy, which has a deep-water port on the north end of town.

The region had long grappled with methamphetamine abuse. But with the California pills flowing to Lawson, OxyContin became the communitys most pressing drug problem.

Lawson wasnt shy about the source of his new wealth. He wore a pendant necklace with a map of the West Coast in diamonds and a trail of gems the color of 80-milligram OxyContin connecting Los Angeles and Washington state.

He sold the 80-milligram tablets  the maximum-strength pill favored by addicts  in bulk to local gangs that used small-time dealers to peddle them for up to $80 a piece.

Dealers sold pills in parks, outside grocery stores and at car washes. The aluminum foil that addicts used to smoke the pills littered parking lots and sidewalks. Some grocery stores gave away foil squares to discourage the rampant shoplifting of Reynolds Wrap.

Addicts burglarized homes, picked pockets, stole identities, robbed businesses and prostituted themselves. Young women in pasties and thongs offered sexual favors alongside lattes at a proliferation of drive-in bikini espresso stands.

OxyContin seemed to attract people with no criminal records and stable homes, jobs, and families.

They were a segment of society you would never have anticipated, said Coleen St. Clair, a former Snohomish County prosecuting attorney who worked in the narcotics unit.

***

Katie McKnight was smart and beautiful, a gifted athlete and the daughter of an Everett internist. A friend had given her a pill in 2006 during her first year at a local community college and, in the words of her mother, Mary, that was it.

To buy pills, the young woman stole her sisters graduation money, her parents checkbook and, twice, her mothers engagement ring. She tried to snatch a womans purse in a grocery store parking lot, shoplifted and, for a time, worked as a stripper.

Her father was familiar with OxyContin, but in his many years at a busy city clinic, he had never come across a patient who required a maximum-strength dose. He struggled to comprehend how his daughter was getting her hands on large numbers of 80-milligram tablets.

It seemed so completely outside the realm of possibility, Robert McKnight said.

When Lawson began dealing OxyContin in Everett, the 24-year-old had finished a year in prison for theft and her parents were doing everything they could to help her stay sober. They let her move back into her childhood bedroom, drove her to 12-step meetings and supported her efforts to find a job.

But Katie relapsed, often spending nights at a motel where, the authorities said, dealers connected to Lawson sold 80s in the parking lot.

On one car ride to a treatment center, her mother recalled, Katie studied her reflection in the visor mirror. After several long moments, she said quietly to herself, I am so broken.

***

To Brandon Smith, who worked in marketing for Nintendo, OxyContin seemed less a dangerous narcotic than a status symbol. The popular crowd openly smoked the green beans on pieces of foil.

It was socially acceptable, said Smith, who lived near Everett. It was almost the new weed.

Smith became addicted, then got clean for a time. But in January 2009, at the age of 24, he relapsed. The flood of OxyContin into Everett had driven down prices and more people than ever were selling.

By the summer of 2009, Smith had a $150-a-day habit. Hed been forced out of his job for stealing. Hed spent his 401(k) and sold his belongings. On a July afternoon, he was out of cash and going into withdrawal. He saw only one way out. He walked into a tanning salon near Everett and pointed a gun at a clerk.

Give me all your money, he told her.

He committed another robbery later that day. And the next. And the next. The cashiers didnt notice the gun was a fake. What they did remember was that the man holding it was polite and apologized as he left.

Two weeks into the 2009 spree, a local TV news program broadcast surveillance video of the Tanning Salon Bandit. Smiths mother, watching at home, immediately recognized her son and phoned police.

Officers surrounded him as he left his apartment the next morning. As they trained their weapons on him, he would later recall, he felt a brief sense of confusion. Its just me, guys, he remembered thinking. Its just Brandon.

Smith confessed to at least 17 robberies. He was sentenced to 14 years in state prison, where he remains today.

I never meant to hurt anyone, he told detectives. One thing led to another.

***

Working OxyContin cases for the Snohomish Regional Drug Task Force, Det. Nicole Richardson spent many of her days talking to addicts and their families.

It impacted probably every aspect of the local community, Richardson recalled. A couple of individuals with the right connections in California flooded the Snohomish County market and unfortunately made a huge problem.

Investigators in Everett arrested Jevon Lawson in 2010, about the same time an L.A. drug task force was closing in on members of the Lake Medical ring. Federal prosecutors in L.A. won convictions of the clinic leaders while their counterparts in Seattle successfully prosecuted Lawson and several Californians supplying him with OxyContin.

A defendant in one of the Washington state cases, a San Bernardino woman who pleaded guilty to laundering nearly $1 million as part of a conspiracy to supply OxyContin to Lawson, had purchased large quantities of OxyContin pills from Lake Medical, according to a DEA analysts report and an informants statement to authorities.

The prosecutors did not allege in court that the OxyContin in Everett came specifically from the Lake Medical ring, and internal Purdue emails reviewed by The Times did not indicate that Purdue knew of a connection.

Ultimately, the authorities in Everett built their case against Jevon Lawson and his associates with old-fashioned police work  surveilling drug spots, working informants and carrying out buy-and-bust operations. He pleaded guilty to federal drug charges in 2011 and is serving an 8-year prison term.

In August 2010, two years after the OxyContin crisis began in Everett, Purdue introduced a new tablet that was more difficult to turn into powder. Addicts could no longer smoke the pills, but many of them moved to heroin, which is chemically similar and cheaper.

Dealers who had been selling heroin to the same small group of drug users for years suddenly found themselves with a booming new clientele of, as one former dealer from Everett recalled, upper- and middle-class children. Today, heroin addiction is a public health crisis in Snohomish County; more than 40 residents fatally overdose each year.

Katie McKnight had used heroin and other drugs when she couldnt afford OxyContin, but after the pill reformulation, she became a full-time intravenous heroin user.

In the fall of 2011, she was living in a squalid apartment with a drug dealer boyfriend and praying for sobriety.

God please give me some kind of way to get into detox to get the help I need to kick the dependence and have my life back, she wrote in pink cursive in her journal on Oct. 1, 2011. I seriously feel like Im slowly dying. I need help!

Nineteen days later, she overdosed in her apartment. Her parents stood outside in the cold, misty darkness for an hour while paramedics worked to revive her. Finally, a police officer came out and told them their daughter was gone.

The McKnights keep her ashes in an urn on their nightstand. Robert McKnight often wakes thinking about his daughter.

You kind of look back and ask yourself, What if the OxyContin was not there? he said.

harriet.ryan@latimes.com

@latimesharriet
The Dallas snipers home had bomb-making materials and a rambling journal which showed plans for a larger effort to target law-enforcement officers for what he saw as abuse of minorities, according to Dallas Police Chief David Brown.

Were convinced this suspect had other plans and thought that what he was doing was right, Brown said Sunday in an interview on CNN. He was going to target law enforcement and make us pay.

The videos of police shootings of suspects in Louisiana and Minnesota just sparked his delusions to fast-track his plans, Brown said. He saw the protest in Dallas as an opportunity to start wreaking havoc on our officers.

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1 / 103 Magnus, the 8-year-old son of slain Dallas Police Officer Lorne Ahrens, rides with his fathers coffin during the funeral Wednesday afternoon. Sr. Cpl. Ahrens and four other officers were killed in an attack during a Black Lives Matter protest on July 7. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 2 / 103 Pallbearers carry the casket of Dallas Police Sr. Cpl. Lorne Ahrens at Restland Memorial Park in Dallas on Wednesday afternoon. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 3 / 103 Magnus, the 8-year-old son of slain Dallas Police Officer Lorne Ahrens, speaks to officers after his fathers funeral Wednesday. Sr. Cpl. Ahrens was buried at Restland Memorial Park in Dallas. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 4 / 103 Funeral services are held for Dallas Police Sr. Cpl. Lorne Ahrens at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times ) 5 / 103 People line up outside the funeral service for Dallas Police Sr. Cpl. Lorne Ahrens at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 6 / 103 Vice President Joe Biden, left, Laura Bush and former President George W. Bush join President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama at the memorial service in Dallas for five slain policemen. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 7 / 103 Dallas Police Chief David Brown, center, listens as President Obama speaks at the memorial service. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 8 / 103 Police officers from across the country and civilians attend a visitation for slain Police Sgt. Michael Smith at Mary Immaculate Church in Farmers Branch, Texas. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 9 / 103 A crowd gathers before the memorial at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas, where President Obama and former President George W. Bush spoke. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 10 / 103 Police officers take part in the Dallas Strong candlelight vigil at City Hall on July 11, 2016, in honor of the five Dallas police officers killed last week. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 11 / 103 Police officers at the vigil. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 12 / 103 Kristy Zamarripa, daughter of slain Dallas Police Officer Patricio Zamarripa, is held by her grandmother in front of a photo of the officer at the vigil. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 13 / 103 A woman wipes her tears in a section of seats reserved for family members of the slain police officers. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 14 / 103 Dallas Police Officer Victor Guzman, who was at the sniper shooting scene, holds a candle. His wife, Ciprina, is in front of him. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 15 / 103 Family and friends of fallen police officers take part in the vigil. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 16 / 103 Officer Marc Macklemore tries to remain composed during a memorial for the slain officers at the vigil. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 17 / 103 Heidi Smith, center, wife of slain Dallas Police Officer Sgt. Michael Smith, is comforted by her dauther Victoria, left, as they take part in a candlelight vigil at City Hall on Monday. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 18 / 103 Rick Zamarripa, father of slain Officer Patrick Zamarripa, attends the vigil. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 19 / 103 Five portraits of the officers killed last week are displayed at the vigil. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 20 / 103 Honor guards put up the portraits. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 21 / 103 Community members hold hands in prayer at a Dallas church on Sunday. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 22 / 103 Porsha Jackson, right, speaks during a community meeting at a Dallas church on Sunday. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 23 / 103 Prayers continue to be said July 10 as the memorial in front of Dallas police headquarters continues to grow. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 24 / 103 Dallas police officers wipe tears following a prayer July 10.

(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 25 / 103 People pray July 10 at Dallas police headquarters. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 26 / 103 Black Lives Matter activists hold hands at a protest July 10 in Dallas. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 27 / 103 Black Lives Matter demonstrators share a group hug with All Lives Matter activists July 10 in Dallas. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 28 / 103 Samuel Barnes, left, who was dispatched with emergency medical services after the Dallas attack, watches a Black Lives Matter demonstration July 10. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 29 / 103 Ella Fest, 3, looks at a makeshift memorial in downtown Dallas on Sunday. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 30 / 103 A wounded Shetamia Taylor, center, tears up as she recalls the Dallas police officers who saved her after she was wounded during a sniper attack Thursday night in which five officers were killed. At the news conference at a Dallas hospital, Taylor is surrounded by her sister, Teresa Williams, her husband, Lavar Taylor, and her children behind her. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 31 / 103 Shetamia Taylor, right, who is recovering after being shot, hugs Angie Wisner, who helped save her son during the deadly attack when a gunman killed five police officers and wounded other officers and civilians in Dallas during a peaceful protest. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 32 / 103 Worshippers come together for a service and town hall meeting at the Potters House megachurch in Dallas on Sunday, days after five officers were killed by a sniper during a peacerful Black Lives Matter protest. Bishop T.D. Jakes told the mostly black congregation of the citys police officers: When wickedness raised its head, they stood up for our protection. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 33 / 103 Saundra Sterling, an aunt who raised Alton Sterling after his mother died, is welcomed by worshippers at the Potters House church in Dallas. Alton Sterling was shot to death by police in Baton Rouge, La., last week. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 34 / 103 Elizabeth Holmes, 87, gives out hugs during a service at the Potters House church in Dallas, days after five law enforcement officers were killed by a sniper. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 35 / 103 Father Stephen Jasso greets Rick Zamarripa, father of slain police officer Patrick Zamarripa, during Sunday Mass at All Saints Catholic Church in Dallas on July 10, 2016. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 36 / 103 A picture frame with two portraits of slain police Officer Patrick Zamarripa sits on the pew as family members stand to pray during Sunday Mass at All Saints Catholic Church, in Dallas on July 10, 2016. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 37 / 103 Rick Zamarripa, father of slain police Officer Patrick Zamarripa, weeps during Sunday Mass at All Saints Catholic Church in Dallas on July 10, 2016. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 38 / 103 Dallas residents add to the memorial for the slain police officers. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 39 / 103 People give hugs to Dallas police officers standing outside the memorial for slain officers in the recent attacks in Dallas. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 40 / 103 Tasha Lomoglio sits alone as she visits the memorial for slain police officers outside Dallas Police Headquarters. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 41 / 103 A memorial for the slain Dallas police officers. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 42 / 103 Community members pay their respects at the memorial for the slain officers in the recent attacks in Dallas. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 43 / 103 Police officer M. Argumedo shares encouraging words with Brielle Delgado, 8, at the memorial for slain police officers in Dallas, Texas. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 44 / 103 Tasha Lomoglio, of Dallas, pays her respects in front of a growing memorial at the Dallas police headquarters. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 45 / 103 DART Police officers pray in front of the Dallas police headquarters on Saturday. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 46 / 103 DART Police officers pray in front of the Dallas police headquarters on Saturday. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 47 / 103 A woman weeps at a memorial outside the crime scene where 5 police officers were killed and 7 more wounded, in Dallas, Texas. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 48 / 103 Officers are deployed around Dallas police headquarters because of an unspecified threat. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 49 / 103 Officers secure the scene around Dallas police headquarters because of an unspecified threat. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 50 / 103 Police locked down the area around the Dallas headquarters because of an unspecified threat. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 51 / 103 People wait for lock down to be lifter around Dallas police headquarters after an unspecified threat was made. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 52 / 103 Dallas police officers check out an unspecified threat around the headquarters. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 53 / 103 Mourners grieve in front of the Dallas Police Headquarters. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 54 / 103 The MVPz, a Central Texas, Softball Team, pray in front of the Dallas Police Headquarters. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 55 / 103 Assistant Police Chief, Gary Tittle, gets a hug at the Dallas Police Headquarters. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 56 / 103 Seven-year-old Jacob Flanagan greets Assistant Police Chief, Gary Tittle, with his Mom, Jennifer Cobb, in front of the Dallas Police Headquarters. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 57 / 103 Djuana Franklin is consoled by a passerby as she weeps at the memorial for slain police officers in Dallas. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 58 / 103 Investigators walk in a formation on Lamar Street to comb through the crime scene outside El Centro College in Dallas where a gunman killed five police officers and wounded seven others. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 59 / 103 People pray in front of a growing memorial at the Dallas Police Headquarters. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 60 / 103 Homeland Security Agent, Ron Miller, of San Antonio, works with his bomb sniffing dog, Mattie, along the Earle Cabel Federal Building in downtown Dallas. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 61 / 103 Rachel Simon embraces her daughter Abigail Simon, 13, as they pay their respects to the slain officers at a memorial outside Dallas Police Department. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 62 / 103 Retired Army Sgt. Chandler Davis, pays his respects at the growing memorial in front of the Dallas Police Headquarters. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 63 / 103 Investigators comb through the crime scene for evidence outside El Centro College on Lamar Street in Dallas where a gunman killed five police officers and wounded seven others. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 64 / 103 Flowers, handwritten notes, balloons, candles and other mementos are left on squad cars parked at the Dallas Police Department in a memorial to the slain officers. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 65 / 103 Djuana Franklin weeps for the slain police officers at a memorial at the Dallas police headquarters. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 66 / 103 Flowers, cards, balloons, candles and other mementos form a makeshift memorial at the Dallas Police Department. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 67 / 103 A large American flag flies at half mast framed by the Dallas skyline in the aftermath of the deadly police shooting. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 68 / 103 Roses are placed on a makeshift memorial near the shooting scene. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 69 / 103 From top left counter clockwise, Fermin Betancourt, Damien Betancourt, 10, Destiny Betancourt, 11, and Police Officer Yuridia Morales pay their respects at the memorial for slain Dallas officers. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 70 / 103 Police Officer Katherine Rhodes, right, embraces Officer Yuridia Morales at a memorial for the shooting victims. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 71 / 103 Flowers, notes, balloons and other mementos are left on squad cars outside Dallas Police headquarters in honor of the slain police officers. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 72 / 103 Shelby Garcia, 16, sticks a hand-written note onto the squad cars meant to memorialize the slain Dallas police officers. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 73 / 103 Kenneth Parsons leans on Veronica Jones as they pay their respects at a memorial for the fallen police officers in Dallas. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 74 / 103 Shelby Garcia, 16, writes a note for the slain Dallas police officers. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 75 / 103 Hand-written personal notes are left to honor the fallen police officers in Dallas. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 76 / 103 Dallas residents join in a United to Heal prayer vigil at the Cathedral Guadalupe the day after the sniper attack that left five officers dead. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 77 / 103 An officer wipes a tear as fellow officers adjust flowers left on a police cruiser in front of police headquarters in Dallas. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 78 / 103 Daniel Bray embraces Emilie Bedell during an interfaith prayer event in Dallas for the victims of the mass shooting that killed five police officers and wounded seven others. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 79 / 103 Concord Church in Dallas hosts a gathering after the sniper attack on police by Micah Xavier Johnson of Mesquite, Texas. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 80 / 103 DALLAS, TX July 8, 2016 Neftali Davila, of Sallas, prays as her husband Mayte holds their newborn, Mateo, as worshipper attend A United To Heal Prayer Vigil at the Cathedral Guadalupe July 8, 2016 following a sniper attack by 25-year-old Micah Xavier Johnson of Mesquite, Texas. that left 5 officers dead. (Barbara Davidson/Los Angeles Times) (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 81 / 103 Stacy Powell, center, prays with others at the Concord Church in Dallas following the police shooting. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 82 / 103 Texas Highway Patrol officers help out in downtown Dallas as investigators look for evidence from the sniper attack on police the night before. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 83 / 103 Eleina Martinez, 5, touches Dallas Police Officer Arnie Pargas badge, draped with a black band, at a memorial outside police headquarters. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 84 / 103 Community members pray during an interfaith prayer event for the victims of the mass shooting in Dallas. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 85 / 103 Tani Taylor claps for police officers during an interfaith prayer event for the victims of the mass shooting that killed five officers in Dallas. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 86 / 103 Izzy May sobs during an interfaith prayer service for the victims of the police shooting in Dallas. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 87 / 103 During a news conference Friday, Dallas Police Chief David Brown collects himself while talking about Thursday nights deadly shooting. (Mark Mulligan / Associated Press) 88 / 103 Noelle Hendrix places flowers near the scene of the shooting in downtown Dallas. (LM Otero / Associated Press) 89 / 103 Investigators document the crime scene outside El Centro College, where a sniper killed five police officers and wounding 7 others in Dallas. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 90 / 103 Investigators examine the crime scene outside El Centro College in Dallas, where a sniper unleashed a barrage of bullets, killing at least five police officers and wounding seven others during a protest over recent police shootings in Minnesota and Louisiana. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 91 / 103 Investigators document the crime scene outside El Centro College in Dallas, where a sniper shot 12 police officers, killing five of them. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 92 / 103 Dallas police officers stand guard at a roadblock to the crime scene at El Centro College in Dallas. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 93 / 103 Investigators search the crime scene outside El Centro College in Dallas where a sniper unleashed a barrage of bullets, killing five police officers and wounding seven others. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 94 / 103 A Dallas police officer, who did not want to be identified, takes a moment as she guards an intersection after the deadly shooting. (LM Otero / Associated Press) 95 / 103 Dallas police officers gather downtown after the deadly shooting. (Ralph Lauer / EPA) 96 / 103 Dallas police officers face protesters on the corner of Ross Avenue and Griffin Street after the shooting. (Ralph Lauer / EPA) 97 / 103 Police officers stand guard at a barracade following the sniper shooting in Dallas. (Laura Buckman / AFP-Getty Images) 98 / 103 Dallas police protest (LM Otero / Associated Press) 99 / 103 Police stop a driver in downtown Dallas. (LM Otero / Associated Press) 100 / 103 Dallas police stand watch after the shooting. (LM Otero / Associated Press) 101 / 103 Earlier in the day, people rally in Dallas to protest the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile in Louisiana and Minnesota, respectively. (Laura Buckman / AFP / Getty Images) 102 / 103 Marchers in Dallas. (Laura Buckman / AFP / Getty Images) 103 / 103 A man lies on the ground after yelling, Dont shoot me, at police during the rally. (Laura Buckman / AFP / Getty Images)

Micah Xavier Johnson, a 25-year-old Army veteran who served in Afghanistan, was killed by a bomb-deploying police robot after a standoff with police. Dallas officials say he was the sole shooter who killed five police officers and wounded seven other people during a Black Lives Matter protest march Thursday night.

During Sundays interview, Brown gave new details of his departments confrontation with Johnson, saying that the suspect had engaged in a mocking two-hour conversation after police had pinned him down in a parking garage.

He lied to us, he was playing games, laughing at us, singing, asking how many did he get, Brown said, saying he seemed very much in control and determined to hurt more officers.

Brown confirmed a report that Johnson had insisted on speaking to a black police negotiator, but said that Johnson initially did not believe the cop was black.

It didnt matter if he was black, because he was shooting at us, said Brown, who is also African American. It did not lead to any kind of peaceful resolution.

He said the shooter, apparently wounded, wrote in his own blood on the walls of the parking structure, including the initials RB. Brown said police have not made sense of the messages.

The chief said the protest had initially been planned as a static rally, not a march and that his officers had needed to scramble to clear intersections once the protesters began a spontaneous walk through downtown Dallas.

Because they had not planned on a march, they had not made security precautions along the route, the chief said.

Johnson took advantage, anticipating the route of the march and taking a position in a high building.

We were not planning on blocking streets. We had to scramble to block intersections, which did expose our officers to this attack, Brown said, adding that Johnson changed positions to shoot from different angles, almost triangulating our officers with this rapid fire.

He said that Johnson planned to use those military-style tactics, which proved especially deadly: We dont normally see this kind of moving and shooting from criminal suspects.

They were in a funnel, the chief said of his officers. It ended up being a fatal funnel.

They did things that day that are just hard to describe, he said. We are learning that officers that day exposed themselves to draw fire so they could see what floor the shooter was on.

Brown said Johnson was protected behind a brick wall and that police had no chance to get a shot without exposing themselves.

Before giving a news conference at the scene on Thursday, Brown said, he had told his staff to come up with a plan for dealing with the sniper; 15 minutes later, they proposed the robot, which Brown said was armed with a pound of C4 explosive.

I approved it, and Id do it again if presented with the same circumstances, he said, adding that he had no patience for a debate on whether using the robot presented an unwise escalation in police tactics.

He said investigators were still analyzing Johnsons cellphone, computer and journal and hadnt ruled out the possibility that Johnson had had help.

Three people were arrested at the protest; two were released and one was charged with a misdemeanor weapons charge, Brown said. Some protestors carried AR-15 rifles and wore body armor and camouflage, apparently for effect, he said.

It doesnt make sense to us, but thats their right in Texas, he added.

Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said those protesters led to some confusion during the shootings. So it sure took our eye off the ball for a moment, Rawlings said on CBS Face the Nation.

Brown declined to offer an opinion on whether the U.S. needs new gun-control measures. But, as the nation continues to be roiled by protests against police-involved shootings, Brown made an emotional plea for a silent majority of the public to express appreciation for officers.

We are sworn to protect you and your right to protest, and well give our lives for it, he said. Thats a tough relationship to be in.

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In the waning days of summer in 2008, a convicted felon and his business partner leased office space on a seedy block near MacArthur Park. They set up a waiting room, hired an elderly physician and gave the place a name that sounded like an ordinary clinic: Lake Medical.

The doctor began prescribing the opioid painkiller OxyContin  in extraordinary quantities. In a single week in September, she issued orders for 1,500 pills, more than entire pharmacies sold in a month. In October, it was 11,000 pills. By December, she had prescribed more than 73,000, with a street value of nearly $6 million.

At its headquarters in Stamford, Conn., Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, tracked the surge in prescriptions. A sales manager went to check out the clinic and the company launched an investigation, concluding that Lake Medical was working with a corrupt pharmacy in Huntington Park to obtain large quantities of OxyContin.

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Shouldnt the DEA be contacted about this? the sales manager, Michele Ringler, told company officials in a 2009 email. Later that evening, she added, I feel very certain this is an organized drug ring...

Purdue did not shut off the supply of highly addictive OxyContin and did not tell authorities what it knew about Lake Medical until several years later when the clinic was out of business and its leaders indicted.

By that time, 1.1 million pills had spilled into the hands of Armenian mobsters, the Crips gang and other criminals.

A Los Angeles Times investigation found that, for more than a decade, Purdue collected extensive evidence suggesting illegal trafficking of OxyContin and, in many cases, did not share it with law enforcement or cut off the flow of pills. A former Purdue executive, who monitored pharmacies for criminal activity, acknowledged that even when the company had evidence pharmacies were colluding with drug dealers, it did not stop supplying distributors selling to those stores.

Purdue knew about many suspicious doctors and pharmacies from prescribing records, pharmacy orders, field reports from sales representatives and, in some cases, its own surveillance operations, according to court and law enforcement records, which include internal Purdue documents, and interviews with current and former employees.

Joseph Rannazzisi, who was the top DEA official responsible for drug company regulation until last year, said he was not aware of the scope of evidence collected by Purdue. Under federal law, drugmakers must alert the DEA to suspicious orders. The agency interprets that law, he said, to include a duty to reject orders from customers if the company suspects pills are going to the black market.

They have an obligation, a legal one but also a moral one, he said.

The federal government has not accused Purdue of any wrongdoing in the case of Lake Medical or other suspected drug operations.

In a statement, a Purdue lawyer said the company had at all times complied with the law. General counsel Phil Strassburger said Purdue had reduced supplies of OxyContin to distributors servicing some pharmacies it suspected of corruption, but had to be careful such reductions did not to interfere with legitimate patients getting medication.

He defended the companys decision not to share all its evidence with authorities.

It would be irresponsible to direct every single anecdotal and often unconfirmed claim of potential misprescribing to these organizations, Strassburger said.

***

More than 194,000 people have died since 1999 from overdoses involving opioid painkillers, including OxyContin. Nearly 4,000 people start abusing those drugs every day, according to government statistics. The prescription drug epidemic is fueling a heroin crisis, devastating communities and taxing law enforcement officers who say they would benefit from having information such as that collected by Purdue.

A private, family-owned corporation, Purdue has earned more than $31 billion from OxyContin, the nations bestselling painkiller. A year before Lake Medical opened, Purdue and three of its executives pleaded guilty to federal charges of misbranding OxyContin in what the company acknowledged was an attempt to mislead doctors about the risk of addiction. It was ordered to pay $635 million in fines and fees.

After the settlement, Purdue touted a high-powered internal security team it had set up to guard against the illicit use of its drug. Drugmakers like Purdue are required by law to establish and maintain effective controls against the diversion of drugs from legitimate medical purposes.

That anti-diversion effort at Purdue was run by associate general counsel Robin Abrams, a former assistant U.S. attorney in New York who had prosecuted healthcare fraud and prescription drug cases. Jack Crowley, who held the title of executive director of Controlled Substances Act compliance and had spent decades at the DEA, was also on the team.

Purdue had access to a stream of data showing how individual doctors across the nation were prescribing OxyContin. The information came from IMS, a company that buys prescription data from pharmacies and resells it to drugmakers for marketing purposes.

That information was vital to Purdues sales department. Representatives working on commission used it to identify doctors writing a small number of OxyContin prescriptions who might be persuaded to write more.

By combing through the data, Purdue also could identify physicians writing large numbers of prescriptions  a potential sign of drug dealing.

Soon after Lake Medical opened, Purdue zeroed in on prescriptions of 80-milligram, maximum-strength OxyContin written by Eleanor Santiago. Once a respected physician, the 70-year-old was in failing health and drowning in debt when she took the job of clinic medical director alongside several other doctors.

The 80-milligram pills Santiago prescribed had the strength of 16 Vicodin tablets. Doctors generally reserved those pills for patients with severe, chronic pain who had built up a tolerance over months or years.

In the illegal drug trade, however, 80s were the most in demand.

At the time of Lake Medical, the pills could be crushed and smoked or snorted, producing a high similar to the drugs chemical cousin, heroin. On the street, the pills went for up to $80 apiece.

A physician writing a high volume of 80s was a red flag for anyone trying to detect how OxyContin was getting onto the black market.

The number of prescriptions Santiago was writing wasnt merely high. It was jaw-dropping. Many doctors would go their entire careers without writing a single 80s prescription. Santiago doled out 26 in a day.

Purdue was tracking her prescriptions.

Michele Ringler, the district sales manager for Los Angeles and a company veteran, went to Lake Medical to investigate. When she and one of her sales reps arrived, they found a building that looked abandoned, according to company emails recounting the visit. Inside, the hallways were strewn with trash and lined with a crowd of men who looked like theyd just got out of LA County jail, according to the emails. Feeling uncomfortable, Ringler and the rep left without speaking to Santiago.

When a Purdue security committee met in Stamford in December 2008, less than five months after Lake Medical opened, Santiago was under review, according to internal records and interviews. The panel, comprised of three company lawyers, could have reported her to the DEA. Instead it opted to add her name to a confidential roster of physicians suspected of recklessly prescribing to addicts or dealers.

Purdue calls that list Region Zero and has been adding names to it since 2002. A Times investigation in 2013 revealed the existence of the list. At that time, the company acknowledged that there were more than 1,800 doctors in Region Zero.

Purdue directed its sales reps to avoid those doctors, and it didnt tell physicians they had been placed on the list. Company executives told The Times in a 2013 interview that Purdue had reported about 8% of the doctors on the list to authorities.

One doctor Purdue put in Region Zero was Eric Jacobson, a Long Island, N.Y., physician prescribing huge amounts of OxyContin. The company stopped sending sales reps to his office in 2010. The following year, one of Jacobsons patients killed four people, including a high school student, in a pharmacy robbery.

In the investigation, authorities discovered that Jacobson had been selling prescriptions to dealers and addicts for years. The doctor directly contributed to the tragedy of prescription drug abuse that has swept our district and our nation, said Loretta Lynch, then the regions top federal prosecutor, now the U.S. Attorney General.

Jacobson was convicted of unlawful distribution of oxycodone. The prosecutor and lead investigator told the Times that Purdue did not disclose what it knew about Jacobson to them either before or after the pharmacy slayings.

***

 This motion graphic shows how OxyContin flowed out of Los Angeles.

In L.A., Santiago kept churning out prescriptions in ever larger numbers.

To keep the OxyContin flowing, Lake Medical needed people. Lots of them. Age, race and gender didnt matter. Just people whose time was cheap. For that, there was no place better than skid row.

Low-level members of the Lake Medical ring known as cappers would set up on Central Avenue or San Pedro Street. The stench of urine was everywhere. People were lying in doorways, sleeping in tents, fighting, shooting up. Who wants to make some money, the cappers would shout.

For as little as $25, homeless people served as straw patients and collected prescriptions for 80s. It just required a few hours at the clinic, filling out a few forms and sitting through a sham examination. They were then driven, often in groups, to a pharmacy, where a capper acting as a chaperone paid the bill in cash. He then took the pills back to the Lake Medical ring leaders who packaged them in bulk for sale to drug dealers.

The pills from Lake Medical coursed out of L.A. An informant would later tell an FBI agent that East Hollywoods White Fence gang trafficked pills to Chicago, according to the agents report. A Crips leader from the Inland Empire also bought OxyContin from Lake Medical, according to law enforcement records.

In the months after the Lake Medical ring started, Purdue was informed that homeless people were being used in an OxyContin ring. In December 2008, the same month Santiago was placed on the Region Zero list, a company sales rep visited Central Care Pharmacy, an Encino store filling Lake Medical prescriptions. The pharmacist said there appeared to be some kind of scam going on with 80-milligram pills, according the sales representatives report to headquarters. Theyre shuttling homeless people around to pharmacies, the pharmacist said.

Purdue sent Ringler to follow up and her report on the pharmacists concerns reached Purdues security and risk management teams the next day.

**

Pharmacist complaints about Santiago kept piling up.

The first few of these prescriptionslooked legitimate[but] after those were filled, a steady flow of younger, more ambulatory, customers came in with the same prescriptions, a Temple Street pharmacist told a Purdue representative, according to a January 2009 field report.

Pharmacists from La Canada, Glendale, Moreno Valley and elsewhere also complained to Purdue. Company executives and lawyers received at least 11 reports about Santiago in the four months after they placed her in Region Zero.

On June 10, the Encino pharmacist sent an email to her Purdue sales rep with the subject line urgent question. The pharmacist said she was being asked to fill prescriptions written by Santiago and other Lake Medical doctors for lots of Oxy patients.

I want to make sure Dr office is legit, Tihana Skaricic wrote. So wonderingif you know behind the scenes.

The email was forwarded to Ringler, who sent it to a company lawyer, who sent it to Crowley, an executive responsible for compliance with the federal controlled substances law. No one at Purdue ever got back to Skaricic, she said in an interview. Eventually she and some other pharmacists decided on their own to turn away business from Lake Medical.

Had Purdue passed on its concerns, Skaricic said, I would have stopped filling these prescriptions way earlier.

***

With a few keystrokes on his computer at Purdue, Jack Crowley could identify pharmacies around the country that were moving a staggering volume of 80s and almost nothing else.

I could punch it in at any timeBang, Crowley told the Times. I was sitting on a gold mine.

Crowley retired from Purdue in 2013 and works in Georgia for a pharmaceutical consulting company. After The Times approached him, he agreed to a series of interviews in which he talked at length about the inner workings of Purdues security operation.

Until a decade ago, Purdue, like most drug manufacturers, didnt monitor pharmacies for criminal activity. The DEA has held wholesalers, not drugmakers, responsible for identifying and reporting suspicious orders from their customer pharmacies.

In 2007, the DEA pressured drug manufacturers to do more to stem the prescription drug crisis and warned that it would be looking at every step in the supply chain. In response, Purdue decided to gather detailed information about pharmacies, Crowley said.

The company approached wholesalers and struck agreements allowing the company access to their sales reports. With the new data, the security team in Stamford could see all wholesalers OxyContin sales to individual pharmacies, down to the pill.

I can look at something and say, Geez, that stinks without me even visiting the place, Crowley recalled.

The DEA had access to similar pharmacy purchasing data, but many investigators regarded the database as unwieldy because it encompassed dozens of drugs sold by more than a thousand companies and could be up to six months out of date.

As Lake Medical entered its second year, Crowleys computer screen showed a handful of small pharmacies in the L.A. area suddenly ordering eye-popping amounts of maximum-strength OxyContin.

At one San Marino store, Huntington Pharmacy, monthly orders for 80s were up nearly 20-fold over the previous year. At another in East L.A., orders jumped 400% in two months. A small shop in Panorama City, Mission Pharmacy, became the top seller of OxyContin in the entire state of California.

Purdue added those store names to a long list of problematic pharmacies across the country. Each month, a group called the Order Monitoring System committee -- Crowley, company lawyer Abrams, the chief security officer, a sales executive and others -- met to discuss what to do about the stores, according to security team memos.

Some on the committee argued for reporting suspicious pharmacies to the DEA and instructing distributors to stop selling to those stores, Crowley said. But he and others felt it was up to the distributors to take action, he said, noting that company policy prohibited employees from reporting pharmacies to the DEA without first consulting their distributors.

In the case of Mission in Panorama City, a top supplier to the Lake Medical ring, the committee decided the best course was for Crowley to continue to watch the situation, according to an internal company email.

In an interview, Crowley said that in the five years he spent investigating suspicious pharmacies, Purdue never shut off the flow of pills to any store.

Pharmacies were allowed to buy OxyContin even in cases when Purdue security staffers personally witnessed suspicious behavior. Crowley said during visits to two San Francisco pharmacies, he saw homeless people filling prescriptions and then handing the bottles off to men he suspected were drug dealers. In 2009, he and a Purdue investigator went to Las Vegas to check on Lams, a pharmacy next to a bar in a mini-mall that Crowley said was one of the top five sellers of OxyContin in the nation.

He and his colleague sat in their rental car watching crowds of young people come and go with pills, Crowley said.

It was terrible, he recalled. It was just a drug-distribution operation.

Crowley said he phoned in a tip to a DEA agent he knew in San Francisco, and Mark Geraci, the companys security chief, wrote a letter to the DEA about Lams. But the company did not share the telltale sales data with the DEA or others in law enforcement, Crowley said. With Lams, some wholesalers decided to stop supplying the store and Purdue ultimately limited the amount of OxyContin the pharmacys remaining wholesaler could buy. But in that case, and in San Francisco, the company did not cut off the wholesalers completely.

Federal prosecutors in Las Vegas later targeted Lams, charging a local drug dealer, an 87-year-old doctor, a pharmacist and others with participating in a criminal ring that furnished pills to addicts as far away as Ohio and New Hampshire. Several were convicted. Others are awaiting trial.

In Southern California, one of Purdues OxyContin distributors eventually noticed a troubling spike in sales at St. Pauls Pharmacy in Huntington Park, which was filling prescriptions for Lake Medical.

They are buying a lot of Oxycontin 80s from us, the security chief for distributor HD Smith emailed Crowley in August 2009.

Purdue knew St. Pauls orders for 80s were up nearly 1400%. But the companys monitoring committee hadnt gotten around to discussing the store, Crowley wrote in an email to colleagues, and he asked Ringler, the L.A. district manager, to investigate.

The pharmacist told Ringler his business exploded when he started filling 80s for Lake Medical doctors, according to series of emails and reports on her August 2009 visit.

Ringler asked the pharmacist if the cash transactions for maximum-strength OxyContin concerned him, according to the emails, but he declined to answer. When she suggested he call law enforcement, he said he didnt want to get audited by the DEA, Ringler told supervisors. I told him that eventually the DEA will track down where these Rxes are getting filled.

HD Smith cut off shipments to the pharmacy after her visit, but other distributors still filled orders from the store and other pharmacies were filling prescriptions from doctors at Lake Medical.

In an email to Crowley and others at Purdue, Ringler said the drug sales were clearly diversion  illegal use or distribution of pharmaceuticals.

Reaching out to the DEA is under serious consideration, Crowley replied. Ringler pushed back, telling him that Lake Medical was very dangerous and an organized drug ring.

It just seems that trained professionals like the DEA would be better equipped to do further investigation of this clinic, she wrote.

Thanks, Michele, Crowley replied. We are considering all angles.

In his statement to The Times, Purdues general counsel, Strassburger, acknowledged that the company is required to monitor and report suspicious orders to the DEA, but he noted that Purdue does not ship prescription products directly to retail pharmacies; it sells only to authorized wholesalers, who maintain their own order monitoring programs.

Once Purdue identifies the potential suspicious activity of a wholesalers customer, Purdue informs the wholesaler, so they can perform their due diligence, Strassburger said.

In the case of Lake Medical, Purdue didnt notify some distributors that it suspected St. Pauls was part of a drug ring. Five months after HD Smith stopped shipments, another wholesaler concerned about St. Pauls reached out to Crowley seeking information about the store.

***

In the end, the Lake Medical ring was brought down by a team of state, federal and local investigators that collected tips from citizens and spent hours staking out the clinic, interviewing witnesses and turning junior ring members into informants. When Lake Medical closed in 2010, after a year and a half in business, Purdue had still not shared its wealth of information on the clinic with the authorities, according to law enforcement sources.

In an email to a distributor after the arrest of Santiago and the clinic operators, Crowley criticized the pace of the government investigation.

It really takes the G a long time to catch up with these jokers, he wrote.

In a memo to supervisors after the clinic was shuttered, Ringler noted that more than 20 doctors in her territory were still doling out large amounts of 80s, some using the same pharmacies Lake Medical had used. She suggested that Purdue use its databases to proactively report suspicious prescribing, across the country, to insurers as well as law enforcement.

Purdue did not respond to questions about the proposal. Crowley said he was never told about her plan. Ringler declined to speak to The Times.

The company introduced a new, tamper-resistant OxyContin tablet in August 2010. Addicts found them almost impossible to smoke or snort. Within months, the old 80s were gone from the streets and many dependent on the pills switched to heroin, which was chemically similar and readily available.

In December 2011, two months after the Lake Medical arrests, Purdue lawyer Abrams emailed a DEA official in L.A. the names of local doctors it suspected of misprescribing OxyContin. Santiago, who had already been arrested, was on the list.

Basically, it was old news, said Mike Lewis, then the agencys diversion program manager in L.A. The doctors were people we were already actively investigating or cases we had taken action on.

Two years later, in 2013, Abrams called the U.S. Attorneys Office in L.A. with an offer of assistance, according to an investigators report. The company turned over hundreds of pages of internal records about the Lake Medical ring and other suspicious operations in Southern California, which Purdues Strassburger said were used by federal prosecutors.

By the time Purdue approached prosecutors, the ring had been out of operation for more than three years and Santiago had pleaded guilty to healthcare fraud. (She was later sentenced to 20 months in prison.) Prosecutors had already built cases against the other ring participants.

Clinic operators Mike Mikaelian and Anjelika Sanamian pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and other crimes in 2014 and received sentences of 12 and eight years. The St. Pauls pharmacist, Perry Nguyen, was sentenced to six months in prison for financial crimes connected to the drug case.

In hindsight, Crowley said, he questions whether Purdue should have done more.

Are we responsible for diversion at the pharmacy level? Crowley said. Well, once we start to learn about it, weve got to report it. Thats for sure.

About this story

This is the second part of a Los Angeles Times investigation of OxyContin, the nations bestselling and widely abused painkiller.

The story is based on interviews with current and former Purdue employees, law enforcement officials, medical professionals, pharmaceutical industry experts and others as well as court filings, law enforcement records and internal Purdue documents. Those company records come from court cases and government investigations and include many records sealed by the courts.

harriet.ryan@latimes.com

@latimesharriet
About 700 firefighters on Sunday continued to battle a brush fire in the Santa Clarita Valley that has grown to more than 1,100 acres, officials said.

The Sage fire is 49% contained, said Inspector Gustavo Medina of the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

A small home caught fire in the burn area Sunday, but it was unclear whether that was the result of embers from the brush fire, Medina said.

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No other structures or homes have been damaged and are no longer threatened. The fast-moving brush fire forced about 2,000 residents to evacuate when it broke out shortly after noon Saturday.

All of the residents have since been allowed to return to their homes, Medina said.

But with forecasters warning of increased winds, firefighters are bracing for a prolonged firefight.

With the weather changing, were doing as much as we can, Medina said.

On Saturday, more than 1,200 county and city firefighters aggressively attacked the blaze that was fueled by hot temperatures and winds of up to 25 mph. They were aided by a DC-10 aircraft that dropped fire retardant near the fires perimeter.

Officials reported that two firefighters, including one inmate firefighter, suffered minor injuries.

Firefighters were aided Sunday by low winds and cooler temperatures.

Several media outlets have reported that a car that veered off an embankment sparked the blaze. But Medina said that the cause was still under investigation.

Authorities have not ruled out the possibility of arson, and several arson investigators have been dispatched to the scene, Medina said.

We are having to battle with Mother Nature, Medina said. The winds are blowing and the terrain is challenging. The firefighters are in dense, heavy brush, and after a five-year drought, all this vegetation is prime and ready to burn.

Hot, dry and windy weather could encourage the fires growth Sunday. The region will see temperatures in the low 90s, about 20% humidity and gusts of up to 30 mph at high altitudes, said Robbie Munroe, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard.

On Monday, windy and warm conditions are expected to continue, but some wind currents could bring wet ocean air to the area, which would lower temperatures and bring much needed moisture to the air, Munroe said.

frank.shyong@latimes.com

Twitter: @frankshyong

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UPDATES:

7:42 p.m.: This article has been updated with additional details on the size and containment of the fire.

5:08 p.m.: This article has been updated with new information regarding the number of firefighters battling the blaze and more details about weather conditions.
A suspected smugglers SUV overturned in a remote desert wash early Friday, killing one passenger, injuring two others and causing an extensive law enforcement search for the victims near the San Diego-Imperial County line.

Among the SUV occupants was a man from Brazil, five men and a boy from Mexico, and four men of unspecified national origin who are lawfully admitted permanent United States residents, a Border Patrol official said. The driver was arrested.

The driver called 911 on a cellphone, reaching San Diego County sheriffs dispatchers about 1 a.m. to report the crash involving several people allegedly smuggled across the Mexican border. The information was relayed to the Border Patrols El Centro office.

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The cellphone signal was centered around Ocotillo in Imperial County along Interstate 8 and agents began searching that area west into San Diego County, Border Patrol Agent Guillermo Esparza said. Other agents searched along county road S2 near state Route 78.

The Civil Air Patrol and Homeland Security Investigations were notified, Esparza said.

Authorities received another 911 call about 3:20 a.m. from a man who said his arm was broken and his chest crushed when the vehicle rolled on him and into a ditch. A second man had fallen and was unconscious, according to information from the California Highway Patrol.

Both callers tried to describe their location about five miles past train tracks running north into the desert, and a trestle bridge.

A CHP aircraft crew finally spotted the wreckage in a wash in the Carrizo Impact Range about 7:20 a.m. The area is within the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, and rangers assisted in the search, a parks official said.

Border Patrol agents reached the victims and found one Mexican man dead. A seriously injured man was airlifted to a hospital. A Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations helicopter crew helped agents on the ground follow footprints leading to the driver, who had walked away, Esparza said. The man was arrested on suspicion of smuggling people.

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President Obama on Sunday urged Americans on all sides of the Black Lives Matter debate to listen to each other and not undercut the cause of reform through violence or careless talk.

Whenever those of us who are concerned about failures of the criminal justice system attack police, you are doing a disservice to the cause, Obama said during a brief news conference after meeting with Spains prime minister here.

First of all, any violence directed at police officers is a reprehensible crime and needs to be prosecuted, Obama said. Beyond that, even rhetorically painting police with a broad brush or saying things that are stupid or imprudent risks harming the reform cause, he said.

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The majority of protesters who are doing the right thing, peacefully protesting should not be held responsible for everything that is uttered at a protest site, he added.

Any protest movement will have folks who say things that are stupid or imprudent or over generalized or harsh, Obama said. By contrast, he said, a thoughtful and respectful tone will help bring about real change.

He added that he thinks many law enforcement agencies, including the Dallas Police Department, are already taking seriously the problem of racial bias in criminal justice.

Obamas meeting with the interim prime minister was part of an abbreviated visit here. It was cut short by his decision to return to the U.S. early in the wake of a tumultuous week during which two black men were shot and killed by police officers in Louisiana and Minnesota and five police officers were killed by a sniper while guarding a peaceful protest in Dallas.

On Sunday morning, Obama tried to comfort and calm from a distance. He called on police organizations to be respectful of the frustrations that black communities feel and said he hopes people dont dismiss Black Lives Matter concerns as political correctness.

Id like all sides to listen to each other, he said.

As it was, President Obamas planned two-day visit to Spain after attending a NATO summit in Poland had an eighth year, box-ticking aspect to it.

Spain was the largest European country that the president had yet to visit as president, one through which, he noted here, he had backpacked before law school but not returned to since.

In the wake of this weeks shooting rampage targeting police officers in Dallas, which occurred barely hours after the president had first touched down in Poland, the add-on stop presented a challenge for a White House that has long made a point of saying it put a priority on substantive considerations over symbolism.

Given the acceleration of protests over police-involved shootings  which continued another day in the U.S.  and the shocking nature of the rampage targeting law enforcement, the president ultimately struck a middle ground.

I wish I could stay longer, Obama said as he stood alongside King Felipe VI at a formal welcome ceremony at the Palacio Real that had been moved up a day.

Weve had a difficult week in the United States.

Paying even a brief, one-day visit was important, Obama added, given the strong ties between the U.S. and Spain, a key NATO partner struggling with its own internal political turmoil.

It is incredibly important for us to have such a strong partnership with the Spanish government and the Spanish people, he said.

Obama was to have spent Sunday on a sightseeing tour through Seville, visiting sights such as the Alcazar and the Santa Maria de la Sede cathedral with the king.

Instead, he traveled directly to the Spanish capital for formal meetings with the head of state as well as the countrys interim prime minister, who is struggling to form a government after a second inconclusive election.

The president will continue with plans to visit a naval station in Rota where he will tour the guided missile destroyer Ross, which is stationed there, and later address American troops. That long planned stop was an especially important commitment to keep for the commander in chief, officials said.

The U.S. naval presence there is a strategic one, part of the Aegis missile defense program and with a force capable of deploying to nearby regional hot spots, including Northern Africa.

Obama will return to Washington late Sunday night, ahead of a visit to Dallas planned for Tuesday to mourn the five killed and others injured in the Thursday night attack.

As he prepared for a hasty departure, Obama said he would definitely come back to Spain after he leaves office. The food and climate are hard to resist, he said, even for teenagers.

As your children get older, they dont always want to spend time with you, but if you tell them, Well take you to Spain, then thats a good way to bribe them, he said.

michael.memoli@latimes.com

For more White House coverage, follow @mikememoli on Twitter.

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UPDATES:

10:30 a.m.: This article was updated with the announcement that President Obama will travel to Dallas on Tuesday for a memorial.

8:48 a.m.: This article was updated with additional remarks by President Obama.

The article was originally published at 7:24 a.m.
Health officials in Arizona attribute the largest current measles outbreak in the United States in part to the refusal of some workers at a federal immigration detention center to get vaccinated.

Authorities have confirmed 22 measles cases in Arizona since late May. All stem from the Eloy Detention Center, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility managed by the private Corrections Corp. of America.

Pinal County health director Thomas Schryer said that the outbreak probably began with a migrant but that detainees have since been vaccinated. Persuading employees to get vaccinated or show proof of immunity has proved more difficult, he said.

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And so theyre actually the ones that are passing along the measles among each other and then going out into the community, Schryer said.

The facility includes about 350 CCA employees and an unknown number of ICE staffers, although Schryer estimates its about 100. ICE doesnt publicly release staffing levels, nor does it require employees to be immunized. More than 1,200 detainees are being held at the facility.

Yasmeen Pitts OKeefe, an ICE spokeswoman, said that the agency is working closely with health officials to monitor detainees and employees and that it instituted several measures to prevent the disease from spreading further, including providing immunizations, referring staffers to nearby clinics, handing out fliers and pamphlets on the dangers of measles and providing masks and gloves.

CCA, the Tennessee-based corporation that operates the facility, said most of its staffers have been vaccinated or shown proof of immunity. Those who have not are required to wear surgical masks or stay home.

Arizona Department of Health Services Director Cara Christ said that the facility has been more responsive in the last few days and that a large number of CCA employees were immunized late last week. Once they understand how important it is and the outcomes it can have on the community, they tend to cooperate. So we hope to get a cooperative response from ICE, Christ said.

Measles is highly contagious and preventable through vaccines. It was eradicated in the U.S. in 2000. But new cases have emerged in the last couple of years in large part because of people shunning vaccinations based on unfounded fears that it causes autism in children, Schryer said. Measles symptoms are usually mild but can be deadly in babies, who cannot be immunized until they are a year old.

Officials last year said that a massive measles outbreak that erupted at Disneyland in California and spread to several other states was largely fueled by parents refusing to vaccinate children.

In Arizona, health officials are providing free vaccines, sending physicians to the detention center and providing educational outreach to staffers in an effort to contain the measles spread.

Schryer said officials were considering asking the Arizona governor to declare a state of emergency, although Christ said that might not be necessary.

Efforts to encourage immunization have been met with resistance in part because some people underestimate the danger of measles, Schryer said. One staffer spent about four days hospitalized after coming down with severe symptoms, he said.

To trigger a four-day stay in the hospitals, Schryer said, you [have to] be pretty darn sick. Its not really something to play with, and maybe they just underestimated the seriousness of it.

Galvan writes for the Associated Press.

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In a leafy, urban park, amid a backdrop of gleaming skyscrapers, a black mans body was found dangling from a tree.

Police officials said the incident early Thursday in Atlantas Piedmont Park appeared to be a suicide. The citys mayor, Kasim Reed, said evidence suggested no foul play. Yet the suspicion grew.

With African Americans across the nation on edge after consecutive fatal police shootings of black men  Alton Sterling in Louisiana and Philando Castile in Minnesota  rumor, and then panic spread. Within hours, the hashtag #PiedmontParkHanging was trending on Twitter.

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Just read that a black man was hung in Atlanta by kkk, one Twitter user wrote. And theyre saying its a suicide.

This was not a suicide, another declared. This was a public LYNCHING. AmeriKKKa

Questions abounded on social media. How, many asked, did the man get up the tree? Would a black man, particularly in the South, willingly hang himself in such a way?

By the afternoon, the tension was so thick that Reed announced he had referred the case to the FBI.

A black man hanging from a noose conjures up the ugliest images of Southern history. This man, however, was found not in a remote, backwoods rural area of the Deep South, but in a lush, urban oasis of the relatively affluent Midtown area, home to Fortune 500 companies, tech start-ups, upscale bars and a thriving gay community.

I feel like time is going backward rather than forward, said Alexander Torres, a 29-year old physicians assistant from Puerto Rico, as he walked his cockapoo around the parks lake

It doesnt make sense, he said. Im sorry, its hard getting my head around it.

A remnant of yellow police caution tape fluttered in the thick, summer breeze as a mix of Atlantans  black and white, straight and gay  mingled in the park Friday to jog, stretch, walk dogs and push strollers. Along a nearby trail, a discarded sign, STOP POLICE BRUTALITY, rested on the gnarled root of a tree.

Some feared the hanging was a symbol of extreme and horrific racism, a throwback to the Souths legacy of segregationist violence. Others wondered if the reaction was an overblown, Twitter-fueled panic attack amid a jittery climate following so many police shootings of black men.

Eddy Dixon, 48, a black acquisitions business owner who lives in the nearby neighborhood of Buckhead, said he believed the hanging was a suicide. This is generating a lot of anxiety, but I dont feel racial hostility exists here, he said as he gazed at a cluster of women performing yoga. The majority of people in this state, whether in small towns or big metropolises, generally accept people quite well. The difference between now and 50 years ago  its day and night.

Calvin Croom, 75, a black, retired public school teacher originally from Fairfield, Ala., was one of many who came to Piedmont Park to reflect. I want to accept what they say, but because of where I come from, it brings back painful memories.

Brandon Taylor, 23, an African American construction worker, nodded. Why would you jump up on a tree and hang yourself with a rope?

The Southern white supremacy movement is a far cry from its hey-day in the 1960s, said E.M. Beck, professor emeritus of sociology at the University of Georgia. But it is is certainly understandable why some would see a lynching when the body of a black man is found hanging.

According to police, a security officer discovered the mans body with a white rope tied around his neck, hanging from a thick branch. The man had no identification but had a backpack and a single earbud dangling from one ear.

Underneath the tree, detectives reported, was a large, wheeled garbage can about three-quarters full of trash. Fresh shoeprints, which appeared to be same pattern as the Converse Chuck Taylors the man was wearing, appeared near the top edges of the trash can. The report also noted that the man had marks on his jeans and light pollen on his shirt consistent with climbing a tree.

There did not appear to be any struggle or any foul play, a report stated. The scene and the body seemed to coincide with a suicide.

At a Friday news conference, Mayor Reed cautioned those spreading social media rumors of Klan involvement at Piedmont Park the night before the hanging. Ive been following Internet, social media chatter, and theyre just saying a bunch of things that are not true, he told reporters. We have reviewed our video cameras, we have spoken to a number of individuals, and we have not found any evidence that the KKK was in Piedmont Park distributing materials.

The practice of lynching reached its peak in the South during the 19th and early 20th centuries, and now is considered a relic of Southern history.

In recent years, several black mens deaths, officially ruled suicides, have stoked speculation. Last year, family members raised concerns when Otis James Byrd, a 54-year-old black man, was found hanging from a tree in Western Mississippi. In 2014, Lennon Lacy, a black 17-year-old, was found hanging from a swing set in a North Carolina trailer park and, four years before that, Frederick Jermaine Carter, 26, a black man from North Greenwood, Miss., was found hanging from an oak tree.

NEWSLETTER: Get the days top headlines from Times Editor Davan Maharaj >>

Authorities concluded none were homicides.

Suicide, unlike lynching, appears on the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions list of common causes of death of black men. In 2013, suicide was the No. 3 cause of death among black men ages 15 to 24, surpassed only by homicide and unintentional injuries, according to the CDC. Among black men 25 to 34, suicide was surpassed only by homicide, accidents and heart disease.

Still, many in Atlanta  a city with a black mayor and a black police chief  admit they remain suspicious .

I dont know that I trust it was a suicide, said Nick Herron, a white salon and spa manager who lives a few blocks from the park.

And yet, as he looked back up the park, he admitted he found it hard to imagine any act of violence near the Free Nelson Mandela monument, a sculpture of a metal railing flanked with barbed wire, erected in the park in honor of the South African civil rights icon.

Anyone hung from a tree, particularly in the South, its not a good thing, he said.

Jarvie is a special correspondent.

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Dallas police chief says shooter planned larger attacks on officers

UPDATES:

11:33 a.m.: This article was updated with a statement from the mayor of Atlanta.

This article was originally published at 4 a.m.
Baltimore States Atty. Marilyn J. Mosby instantly became a controversial figure across America  lauded as a hero by the left and decried as a demagogue by the right  when she brought charges against six police officers in the arrest and death of Freddie Gray.

More than a year later, her repute is even more debatable.

With two officers acquitted and a third now on trial, Mosbys critics are calling for her to resign and to drop the charges against all of the officers. Detractors say she has demoralized the Police Department and emboldened criminals, and speculation has begun about who would challenge her re-election in two years.

Shell try to say, At least I tried. Isnt that a good thing? said Roya Hanna, a former Baltimore prosecutor. But she added: I think indicting people when you have no evidence to convict them shows a serious lack of judgment.

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Boosters, meanwhile, applaud Mosbys efforts to seek justice. Win or lose in court, they say, her prosecutions helped to spur reforms by exposing deficient police policies and the purchase of safer police vans with cameras inside. Gray, 25, died after suffering spinal injuries as he was transported, shackled and unbuckled, in the back of a police transport van.

The fault lines over Mosby intensified after a judge acquitted Officer Caesar Goodson Jr., the van driver, on all charges.

Mosbys office provided The Baltimore Sun nearly two dozen racist, sexist and threatening emails as a sample of the type of attacks she receives. One includes a fake obituary of Mosby and describes her being gunned down and her family members being hurt.

Rochelle Ritchie, a spokeswoman for Mosby, said the office receives such emails, phone calls and posts on social media daily.

Baltimore police are looking into this situation, spokesman T.J. Smith said. David Fitz, a spokesman for the FBIs Baltimore office, said his agency is working with Baltimore police.

Ritchie said the threats are being taken very seriously but declined to comment on security measures.

She declined to discuss the Gray case, because the judge has imposed a wide-ranging gag order, but said that Mosby will continue to pursue justice for all victims of crime in Baltimore City in an attempt to make our city a safer place.

Those on either side of the Mosby debate seize on different crime and policing statistics.

Complaints against police officers are down sharply in Baltimore, and Mosbys supporters credit her decision to press charges as contributing to the decline. Through the first half of 2016, 215 citizen complaints have been lodged against the police  a 37% decline from last year, data show. Excessive-force complaints have declined to 41, a 39% drop.

Mosby has sent a clarion message to rogue city officers who believe they are above the law, that they better take heed, said attorney J. Wyndal Gordon, who has closely followed the case.

Testimony during the officers trials, Mosbys supporters said, alerted the public that police lacked training in how to handle detainees and were unaware of a new department policy to secure detainees in seat belts.

In a city that has paid out millions in recent years to settle lawsuits alleging police misconduct, the trials also focused attention on police accountability and misconduct. Mosbys backers said the case put pressure on Maryland lawmakers to pass legislation overhauling police discipline, hiring and training, and on city officials to equip officers with body cameras and implement a range of reforms.

But critics say Mosbys insistence on prosecuting the officers has opened a rift between police and prosecutors, who must work closely to bring criminals to justice.

Arrests declined sharply in Baltimore after Mosby announced the charges and have yet to fully rebound. In May 2014, for instance, there were 3,753 arrests in Baltimore compared with 2,165 this May. Last year ended with 344 killings, a record number of homicides per capita, and shootings are even higher this year.

City Solicitor George Nilson said its clear some officers have shied away from aggressive law enforcement because of the charges, prompting some criminals to feel empowered.

Their attitude is, We own the streets, Nilson said. How could criminal charges ... not have an impact on police culture? Its going to have an effect. One is a good effect; the other is a not-so-good effect. It could reduce the level of excessive use of force, but it could also make officers more timid and less willing to do the things we all thought the Supreme Court told us we could do.

Broadwater writes for the Baltimore Sun.

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To the editor: While I agree that free speech should include the right to criticize and even boycott Israel, I dispute that the anti-BDS bill by state Assemblyman Richard Boom (D-Santa Monica) is an infringement on that right. (Boycotts of Israel are a protected form of free speech, editorial, July 5)

California does not tolerate discriminatory business practices and shouldnt allow the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement to serve as a pretext for such practices. California has executed a memorandum of understanding with Israel to collaborate on projects of mutual concern, and the Los Angeles City Council created the Los Angeles - Eilat Innovation and Cooperation Task Force, which is actively pursuing partnership opportunities with Israeli companies, including innovation to mitigate the drought.

BDS efforts, including restricting participation of Israelis at academic conferences, are absolutely counter to these policies, and thats why the City Council voted unanimously to support Blooms bill to restrict the states business with companies that use their anti-Israel and anti-Semitic goals as a pretext for discriminatory business practices.

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By choosing not to do business with BDS-affiliated interests, California wont be complicit in efforts to undermine its own collaboration with Israel.

Bob Blumenfield, Los Angeles

The writer is a Los Angeles City Council member.

..

To the editor: The Times Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions editorial ignored BDS pernicious and hateful character.

Anti-BDS legislation doesnt stop anyone from speaking. Rather, it protects the interests of California, the United States and Israel, because Israel is a great ally, trading partner and friend.

The state of Israel came into existence only after the Nazis murdered 6 million Jews. It remains a safe home to Jews. Nonetheless, it faces an existential threat feeding off of anti-Semitism, and BDS cloaks that threat.

But anti-Semitism continues today. We see it, for example, in a tweet by a presidential candidate and in many City Council meetings, where some gadflies wear swastikas, among other offenses. Such vile communications are protected by the 1st Amendment.

While respecting free speech, anti-BDS legislation protects our interests without stopping or hindering BDS proponents from tweeting, hollering, blogging, carrying placards or otherwise venting, whether it be to malign and condemn Israel or share any other belief.

Paul Koretz, Los Angeles

The writer is a Los Angeles City Council member.

..

To the editor: After I watched the documentary 5 Broken Cameras (which was nominated for a 2013 Academy Award) at a screening, a brief talk was given.

We were told boycott referred to products made by Israeli businesses in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and the divestment referred to American companies doing business that promoted Israeli occupation in the West Bank (such as Caterpillar Inc., which has sold bulldozers to Israel used to destroy Palestinians homes in the West Bank).

I may have been given a wrong description of BDS, and there are differing views. Nonetheless, the news media (including The Times) have done a poor job of providing unbiased, in-depth information on BDS.

James Nelson, Stanton

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook
To the editor: The development of drugs such as Sovaldi is one of the crowning achievements of modern medicine, with its promise of eliminating the suffering and costs associated with advanced liver disease. (Were all paying a high price for drug company profiteering, Opinion, July 6)

Although pharmaceutical companies such as Gilead Sciences Inc. helped develop these drugs, they are all based on fundamental breakthroughs from the past decades, such as the discovery of the hepatitis viruses and the invention of measurement methods for virus in serum, essential for assessing the efficacy of a drug, with much of this research sponsored by the government.

Although I agree with Dr. Daniel J. Stone that the government should consider subsidizing [late stage] research, I would add that the pharmaceutical industry should subsidize fundamental research. The pharmaceutical industry has largely abandoned its support of basic investigation, leaving the underfunded National Institutes of Health to bear the burden.

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A tax on drug company profits used to support basic research would help the U.S. retain its current hegemony as a science power, assuring that similar breakthroughs will occur in the future.

Jonathan D. Kaunitz, MD, Santa Monica

..

To the editor: To find practical solutions to our nations drug cost challenges, we must accurately characterize the issue and the culprits. Turing Pharmaceuticals drug Daraprim is a brand drug, not a generic, as Stone erroneously asserts. (The Times ran a correction noting Stones error.)

Stone suggests overextending the U.S. Food and Drug Administration well beyond its public health and safety mission to regulate drug prices. Instead, the agency could expedite efforts to clear a backlog of more than 3,000 generic drug applications.

Generic drugs drive savings, not costs. A 2016 Department of Health and Human Services report states that generic drugs are not an important part of the drug cost problem facing the nation. Indeed, generics are 88% of prescriptions dispensed in the U.S. but only 28% of the total drug spending.

Any discussion of curbing drug spending should focus on promoting pharmaceutical competition and expanding patient access to safe, effective and more affordable generic drugs and biosimilar medicines.

Chip Davis, Washington

The writer is president and chief executive of the Generic Pharmaceutical Assn.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook
Democratic leaders had toiled past midnight for the second night in a row when they finally finished haggling over their platform, a compilation of the partys principles and proposals.

Dozens of printouts of amendments, covering issues from healthcare policy to industrial hemp production, were stacked on weary committee members tables.

There has been no deliberation of a party platform like this for decades, Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy, the committees co-chair, said early Sunday morning as he ended the two-day meeting in a hotel conference room.

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The intensity of the debate surrounding the platform  a nonbinding document often ignored by candidates and voters alike  was a reflection of the importance placed on the negotiations by Bernie Sanders, the Vermont senator who fell short in his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination but remains determined to push the party to the left.

When the meeting had ended, presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton had made several concessions to Sanders. The platform now calls for a $15-per-hour federal minimum wage, expansion of Social Security and setting a price on greenhouse gas emissions, positions that Sanders had embraced in contrast to Clintons more moderate stances during the primaries this winter and spring.

Warren Gunnel, a policy advisor for Sanders, said 80% of the changes sought by the Vermont senator were included in the final draft, which will be presented at the partys convention in Philadelphia later this month.

A noteworthy exception was the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, a trade deal championed by President Obama. Sanders wanted opposition to the agreement written into the platform, but his representatives were outvoted by other committee members determined to avoid a public breach with the administration.

Sanders team is considering whether to submit a minority report in Philadelphia to continue pushing the issue on the convention floor.

The Clinton campaign said it was pleased with the outcome of negotiations, which preceded an endorsement of Clinton by Sanders that is expected to come on Tuesday in New Hampshire.

We are proud of the work that Democrats did in Orlando and for coming together to further strengthen the most progressive platform in the history of our party, said Maya Harris, a Clinton advisor

However, the conversations over the platform reflected lingering distrust of Clinton on the part of some Sanders supporters, who have repeatedly accused her of not being progressive enough. They plan to use the platform as a benchmark if shes elected to the White House in November.

People are fully awake, and theyre engaged, said Nina Turner, a former Ohio state senator and a Sanders delegate. We got our scorecard right here, and its called the platform.

The challenge will be ensuring Sanders and the liberal voters hes energized remain committed and continue to wield political clout in the years to come.

You need to have a large grassroots movement that puts pressure on Congress and the White House every day, Gunnel said.

One of the most contentious debates in Orlando involved the TPP. The agreement would create the worlds largest free trade zone, and President Obama wants to ensure Congress ratifies it before he leaves office in January.

Although Obama didnt send representatives to Orlando, his presence was felt, and it forced political contortions by Clinton and labor leaders at the meeting.

Union leaders gave speeches blasting the TPP, but then fought Sanders attempts to enshrine that opposition in the platform. And even though Clinton opposed the trade deal during the primaries, her representatives on the committee rallied to defeat the amendment pushed by Sanders.

The final language in the platform urges higher standards in trade agreements to protect workers, but it doesnt make any specific reference to TPP.

I felt we couldnt embarrass President Obama, said Veronica Turner, a union official from Massachusetts. Its about respecting his leadership.

The debate reflected lingering concerns about Clintons chances in the general election. Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump has made fighting trade deals a cornerstone of his campaign, and Sanders supporters said failing to enshrine opposition to TPP in the Democrats platform would give him with a political opening.

People vote for jobs, said Benjamin Jealous, a former NAACP president who represented the Sanders campaign on the platform committee. And they vote to defend their jobs.

Jim Hightower, a progressive activist from Texas and Sanders delegate, said opposing TPP would be like political Viagra because it stiffens the backbone of our party.

Clinton allies at the meeting disagreed.

Mary Kay Henry, president of the Service Employees International Union, said labor leaders will still be able to deliver votes for Democrats.

Our message is based on trust and relationships, she said.

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Well, thats a relief.

For the last four weeks, Californians have ceased to be those goofy people on the left coast. For the last four weeks, we have been the people who cant count.

And now the votes from the June 7 primary, more than 8.5 million of them, have been counted; they are due to be certified by Secretary of State Alex Padilla on Friday.

The lingering question isnt who won the presidential primaries or the Senate race; the margins in those races, and most other regional and local contests across the state, were big enough that the winners have been known almost since primary day.

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No, this was the question: What took you so long?

The answer: Its complicated. More than voters know. But it may be about to get faster.

For voters, the most time-intensive part of balloting is deciding which candidate to like. The act of filling in the answers at a polling place or mailing it in from home doesnt take long. But this year, several factors combined to give elections officials a giant counting headache.

Elections officials say they understand that voters have been wondering what was up. Among other things, the delay fed countless conspiracy theories, particularly on the part of Bernie Sanders voters who saw in the extended count a false hope of eking out victory over Hillary Clinton.

I can certainly relate to the frustration of not knowing why it takes so long in California, but as an election official, if I had to choose I would err on the side of getting it right rather than getting it fast, Padilla said. (Dont blame him: The secretary of states office doesnt count ballots; it certifies the ballots counted locally.)

The biggest complication is size. More votes were cast in California in June than there are residents of the entire state of Virginia, or in Kentucky and Oregon combined. Another issue: a state policy change that, this year, allowed ballots to be counted if they were received up to three days after the election, so long as they were postmarked by election day, the previous deadline. That added, Padilla said, hundreds of thousands of ballots to the mix.

Mail-in balloting has boomed in California because of its convenience. But those ballots have to be checked and verified, acts which take longer than simply spinning them through the counting machine. Perhaps the worst complication in June was that the usual number of election day mistakes  primarily, voters going to the wrong precinct, or not appearing on the rolls due to an error  were magnified by the boost in new voters and differing rules about presidential voting on the part of Democrats and Republicans.

In Orange County, for example, 61,000 ballots were cast provisionally, meaning the ballots suffered some sort of glitch. Four years ago, there were only about 30,000 of those ballots. And it is those ballots that are the most labor intensive of all.

Heres the run-down, courtesy of Neal Kelley, the Orange County registrar of voters: When a provisional ballot is cast, election officials have to pull the record of the voter, searching databases to find out if, say, Joe Smith still lives in the same place in Orange County and didnt cast a ballot elsewhere.

Do you know how many Joe Smiths there are in Orange County? Hundreds, said Kelley, who is president of the California Assn. of Clerks and Election Officials.

Sometimes the address is wrong, and sometimes the signature looks off, and both have to be double-checked against the original registration document. Sometimes the voter went to the wrong voting location and thus cast a ballot in races outside his home precinct, and those local races would have to be stripped from the count.

All of that, Kelley said, takes two to five minutes, minimum, and sometimes up to half an hour. In Los Angeles County alone, about a quarter-million such ballots were cast. In California? More than 700,000.

Voters, Kelley said, dont have a concept of that. Its like me trying to explain to you how to build a jet engine over Twitter.

For more on politics 

As frustration has built, a solution for much of the mess has been winding its way through the Legislature. Senate Bill 450 would radically re-make the act of voting in California.

Californians would have the option of voting by mail or showing up over a 10-day period at a voting center. Voting centers would not be as ubiquitous as the corner coffee place, but they would be sited regularly enough that a voter can stop into one near home, school, work or grocery store, so long as its in the same county.

The voting centers would check eligibility before the ballot is cast using a statewide database currently unavailable. Because voting could be done anywhere, the biggest single reason for provisional ballots  going to the wrong place to vote  would no longer matter. (The second, being caught off the rolls, would be solved by same-day voting, which is due to go into effect in California next year under a separate measure.) In theory, the ballots would be counted almost instantly.

Elections officials, including Padilla, point to the success of a similar system in Colorado, which has dropped the number of hard-to-count provisional ballots there by more than 90%. The California measure must be taken up by the Assembly before being sent to the governor. If approved the system could be partially in place in 2018, and more so in 2020.

Im not taking anything for granted, but I am optimistic, Padilla said of its prospects.

Of course theres a catch: money. The measure does not include funding, but Padilla said he hoped to secure some from the state because the new system would be cheaper than the present one. Some counties will be able to use money theyve put aside to upgrade aging voting systems; others will struggle. But anything, election officials say, should be an improvement in terms of speed and voter confidence.

Weve been voting in this state essentially the same way since the 1800s, said Orange Countys Kelley. Does that make sense given that the population has now grown to 18 million voters?

cathleen.decker@latimes.com

Twitter: @cathleendecker

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A woman from Lowell, Mass. has won the right to wear a colander on her head in her drivers license photo, following an appeal citing her membership with the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

Last month, the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles overturned its previous decision denying Lindsay Miller from wearing the colander. The agency does not allow head coverings or hats in license photos, except for religious reasons. Miller is a practicing Pastafarian, considered by many to be a satirical religion that praises a flying spaghetti-and-meatball deity.

They were kind of laughing at me, Miller told the Boston Globe. I thought of other religions and women and thought that this was not fair. I thought, Just because you havent heard of this belief system, [the RMV] should not be denying me a license.' "

The Secular Legal Society, the network of attorneys for the American Humanist Assn., filed an appeal on Millers behalf.

The 1st Amendment applies to every person and every religion, so I was dismayed to hear that Lindsay had been ridiculed for simply seeking the same freedoms and protections afforded to people who belong to more traditional or theistic religions, attorney Patty DeJuneas said in a statement.

Q. Although the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster maintains that it is a legitimate religion, it is widely considered a satirical or parody religion. What do you think of the RMVs decision to overturn its previous ruling? Is it a harmless choice or should they have stood their ground?

--

The RMV probably should have stood its ground because when 1st Amendment issues come up  and Im suggesting this is a 1st Amendment, freedom of religion issue  I believe that people wearing colanders on their heads was not what the authors of the Bill of Rights had in mind. True, an argument can be made  and WAS made  for such shenanigans.

But what I think the RMV should have done was stood its ground, gone to court, and then asked the judge to dismiss the suit on frivolous grounds. Come on, people. Arent there more serious issues to spend time on than the god of the spaghetti monster?

The Rev. Skip Lindeman (who believes in and loves spaghetti, but not its god!)

La Canada Congregational Church

La Canada Flintridge

--

Well, I know what Ill be wearing for my next drivers license picture: I, and all newly apprised religious clergy, shall don elaborate miters, yarmulkes, turbans, and whatever else we can imaginatively connect to our sundry religions. As long as we dont cover our faces, I suppose nobody should care what any has on our heads (even if it is kitschy and overboard).

Anyone could shave their head, grow a mop, grease it, blow it or dye it, and it can always look different. The only problem I see would mainly be with covering the face. If that were claimed to be religious thing, then Id say a choice should be made by the adherent regarding the privilege of driving in America. If creative expression and simple religious preference are really the things that motivate this, then there is no absolute necessity, and I think government should probably say enough. I dont have to wear a hat with my religious collar affixed, and most likely there are no religions where a head covering is absolutely necessary lest drivers be condemned to hellfire. So putting a pasta strainer on ones head seems ridiculous, and Id say that anyone who does such probably already overcooked their noodle. This, and the fact that they really just hate God is what really cooks mine.

A spaghetti-monster created the universe, the Pastafarians say. Why say this? They dont mean to imply belief in an actual SpagMo any more than Satanists really believe in a red-drawered devil, but they both thoroughly deny the genuine creator of the universe: Jesus Christ. They hate God, and Pastafarianism is about not believing in him. Is that religion? I suppose in weird America it is, since our Buddhists believe their own minds are god, and our atheists only exist because of their disbelief in God. Since any theological philosophy seems to garner religious classification here, were stuck  stupid stuck, but assuredly stuck. My advice? Show up for your next DMV pic with an Oktoberfest hat. Say you belong to the Chicken Dance religion, and that beer is a sacrament. Maybe you could have some spaetzle and brewski with Ms. Miller afterward.

America, we are in serious deep linguine! The Bible says about our religious commitment, They didnt treat him like God, refusing to worship him, they trivialized themselves into silliness and confusion so that there was neither sense nor direction left in their lives. They pretended to know it all, but were illiterate regarding life (Rom 1:22-23 MSG). You really want to worship macaroni?

Rev. Bryan A. Griem

Tujunga

--

I assume the RMV overturned their previous ruling about religious head coverings in drivers license photos because lawyers for the state of Massachusetts advised them the ruling would not withstand a legal challenge. Make an exception to the bare-headed photo rule for head scarves or chadors or whatever and the door is open for colanders.

I am not ready to comment on the good people who seem to spend a fair amount of their time involved with the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. But I certainly understand the importance of the principle behind their humor, namely fair treatment under the law for all religions.

Actually, if I had any spare time and didnt so thoroughly dislike speaking in public, I would show up with a colander on my head and try to get on the list to offer a prayer (they can call it an invocation if they want, but I know praying when I hear it) at Glendale City Council some Tuesday evening.

Not because I have nothing better to do but because these municipally sanctioned wastes of time irritate me, and I am pretty sure they are unconstitutional. A rabbi shows up once in a blue moon, but by and large the prayers are Christian. It is practice ripe for scrutinizing, or at least satirizing.

Roberta Medford

Atheist

Montrose
Police are investigating whether a man arrested last week on suspicion of flashing a woman in Costa Mesa is responsible for almost a dozen similar incidents across the city.

A 38-year-old woman called police around 6:30 p.m. March 22 to report that a man had exposed himself to her near the 3400 block of Summerset Circle, according to authorities.

She told officers that the same man had flashed her in the same neighborhood in November, according to the Costa Mesa Police Department.

Based on a description of the man and the blue Toyota Camry he was driving, police detained 24-year-old Costa Mesa resident Marlo Ezekiel Afuang, police said.

After the woman identified Afuang as the man she said flashed her, police arrested him on suspicion of indecent exposure.

Police are now looking into whether Afuang is tied to a string of similar incidents, Costa Mesa police Lt. Paul Beckman said.

From the beginning of August to the end of December, police took 10 reports of a male exposing himself or acting lewdly. The incidents were in four neighborhoods throughout the city, according to a flier police distributed in January warning residents.

One of the neighborhoods identified in the flier includes Summerset Circle.

Afuang and the woman who was flashed twice did not know each other, Beckman said. Police are unsure whether the woman was specifically targeted, Beckman said.

However, Beckman added, it certainly leads one to question whether or not he was specifically there for that particular individual.

Afuang was booked into Orange County Jail and is free on $500 bail, according to Sheriffs Department records.
Southern California newspaper veteran John Canalis has been promoted to executive editor of Times Community News, which publishes seven community titles delivered with the Los Angeles Times.

Canalis, currently the TCN editor in Orange County, also will assume responsibility for TCN in Los Angeles County on Monday. He will divide his time between the Los Angeles Times in downtown L.A. and the Orange County office in Fountain Valley.

Canalis will report to Chris Argentieri, senior vice president and general manager of the California News Group, a division of Tribune Publishing that includes The Times, the San Diego Union-Tribune and TCN.

Placing our community news operation under one umbrella will allow us to better serve the print and digital needs of a vast and important readership, Argentieri said. John, who has lived in Southern California his entire life, knows the region, its people and its issues and is well-positioned for the assignment.

The L.A.-area titles  the Glendale News Press, the Burbank Leader and the La Canada Valley Sun  were overseen for nearly seven years by Editor Dan Evans, who is leaving Friday.

Canalis, 44, became editor of the Orange County newspapers  the Daily Pilot, the Laguna Beach Coastline Pilot and the Huntington Beach Independent  in February 2010. A fourth section, Weekend, which is circulated in The Times in all of Orange County, was added to the portfolio this year.

To be given responsibility for such a talented team of journalists  and a dedicated readership that spans from the foothills to the Orange County coastline  is an honor, Canalis said. I cannot think of a more interesting or diverse place to practice journalism. There are stories here you wont find anywhere else in the world.

Evans expressed gratitude to his staff and to the communities.

Leaving is bittersweet, he said. I have grown to know and love the communities of Burbank, Glendale and La Canada in the nearly seven years Ive been editor. Weve seen a lot and been through a lot, but its time for me to move on and see what else is out there for me.

But my leaving is made easier knowing that John will be at the helm. His abilities, ethics and hyperlocal sensibilities mean our papers will remain and thrive as the vital and indispensable news sources they are today.

Canalis started writing for community newspapers in college. His career has included a variety of reporting and editing roles at the Long Beach Press-Telegram, the Orange County Register weeklies and The Times. He teaches journalism part time at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa.

He has a bachelors degree in journalism from Cal State Long Beach and an MBA from Pepperdine.
SPAIN

Presentation

Tour leader Sheila Stone will share some of her favorite destinations in Spain, including the Mercado de San Miguel in Madrid and the Roman aqueduct of Segovia.

When, where: 7 p.m. Monday at Distant Lands, 20 S. Raymond Ave., Pasadena.

Admission, info: Free. RSVP to (626) 449-3220.

HIKING

Workshop

Experts will offer an overview of backpacking in Southern California, including planning, preparation and gear.

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When, where: 7 p.m. July 13 at the REI store in Woodland Hills, 6220 Topanga Blvd.

Admission, info: Free. (818) 703-5300

CUBA

Presentation

Angel Castellanos will discuss his recent trip to Cuba and the countrys top stops.

When, where: 6:30 p.m. July 15 at the Adventure 16 store, 11161 W. Pico Blvd., West Los Angeles

Admission, info: Free. (310) 473-4574

Please email announcements at least three weeks before the event to travel@latimes.com.
KODIAK, Alaska  As I made my way to Kodiak Islands Fossil Beach to watch surfers ride the waves, fall was in full force.

The air was crisp. Trees were painted in brilliant hues of red and yellow by a slanting sun. I reached the grassy edge of a cliff where the road stopped and footpaths plunged downward to the beach.

A dozen people in wet suits were taking their boards out onto the swells or coming ashore. An exposed reef forced waves coming from the south to break right and left.

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Now and then a strong riptide would take surfers around nearby Narrow Cape, where gale-force winds stranded them along narrow beachheads. Fortunately, Kodiak has one of the largest Coast Guard bases in the U.S.

Surfing may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Kodiak, but its emblematic of the surprises this island in southern Alaska springs on you.

Surfing is not confined to just one spot. Those who like to catch the waves also try their luck in the small settlements of Pasagshak and Mill Bay on the north side of Kodiak town. (Information and equipment are available at Scuba Do in Kodiak.)

And if there is one spot surfers, rock climbers, kayakers and hikers can be found, its the tasting room of the Kodiak Island Brewery Co., featuring long picnic tables covered with beer and pizza as visitors, adventurers and locals discuss the days adventures.

If surfing doesnt fit your image of Kodiak, then neither might the Kodiak Rodeo and State Fair, held on Labor Day weekend, with competing cowpokes from farms and ranches across the island.

This commercial fishing port is also a pilgrimage site for members of the Eastern Orthodox faith who come to visit the grave of St. Herman.

Montana by the sea

Kodiak is the second-largest island in the U.S. (its part of the much larger Kodiak Archipelago), more than 100 miles long and nearly 70 miles wide. If you were to hike its length, it would take about 11 days one way.

I was drawn to Kodiak after developing an addiction to Alaska, leading me to live and work in various regions of the state.

The island proved different from the rest of Alaska, where the mountains are jagged rock and ice. Kodiaks are still sharp-peaked and covered in vegetation. The island is more like Montana by the sea than Alaska.

Usually an Alaskan region is dominated by one type of fauna: rain forests in southeast Alaska, birch and black spruce in the Alaska interior, tundra in treeless west Alaska.

In Kodiak, dark green spruce forests dominate the north, woods and grazing lands in the mid-sections beyond Pasagshak Pass, grasslands farther south and tundra in southern Kodiak.

Wildlife follows terrain: elk and deer in the north, bison in the mid-sections, mountain goats in the higher elevations, caribou herds to the south.

Throughout the island is the massive Kodiak brown bear, a cousin of the grizzly. About 3,000 inhabit the archipelago. Where is the best bear viewing? Everywhere.

In October, churchgoers in Kodiak town were stopped by state troopers. One of these giants was asleep on the church steps.

The 1.9-million-acre Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge is home to much of the islands wildlife. It draws animal viewers and hunters.

On an autumnal night at Henrys Great Alaskan Restaurant in downtown Kodiak, I rubbed elbows with fly fishermen, goat hunters, duck hunters, caribou hunters and deer hunters.

Visitors to Alaskas oldest permanent European settlement will find a town that is surprisingly diverse. English, Alutiiq, Russian, Tagalog, Spanish and Aleut usage reflect its many cultures.

My landlord was Tasmanian, and the clerk at the hotel where I stayed when I first arrived was an Afrikaner.

The citys 12-cannery waterfront teems with Latino and Filipino workers. The Russian Orthodox Church maintains the white-and-green trim Holy Resurrection Cathedral and operates St. Hermans Seminary with its Yupik and Aleut students.

The Bulgarian Orthodox Church operates Monks Rock Coffeehouse and Bookstore with its eclectic array of gifts and snacks. Alutiiq dancers perform downtown in the summer.

Best time to visit

Kodiaks history is eloquently captured both in the Alutiiq Museum with harpoons, native masks, dolls and stone tools and in the Baranov Museum, housed in a fur warehouse built in 1806 by the Russians.

The Old Powerhouse with fresh sushi offers views of fishing boats passing nearby as well as sea lions at play.

Kodiak is peppered with excellent coffeehouses. And for the view? Try Harborside Fly-By on Mill Bay Road to watch float planes take off and land on neighboring Lilly Lake.

The best time to visit, from my perspective, may be late May for the week-long Kodiak Crab Festival, with parades, rides and endless cooked crab  and topped off with the blessing of the 800-vessel fishing fleet.

But it doesnt really matter what time of year you come here. Each season offers diverse adventures and scenery unique to the island for anyone yearning for the path less traveled.

travel@latimes.com

If you go

THE BEST WAY TO KODIAK, ALASKA

From LAX, Alaska offers connecting service (change of planes) to Kodiak. Restricted round-trip fares from $712, including taxes and fees.

WHERE TO STAY

Best Western Kodiak Inn, 236 W. Rezonof Drive; (907) 486-5712, www.lat.ms/bestwesternkodiak. Doubles from $149 a night.

Shelikof Lodge, 211 Thorsheim Ave.; (907) 486-4141, www.shelikoflodgealaska.com. Summer rates from $135 a night, May 1-Oct. 31.

WHERE TO EAT

Olds River Inn, 32233 Pasagshak Road; (907) 486-6040, www.oldsriverinn.com. Regulars rave about the halibut tacos, but the menu has much more. Entrees $9-$25.

Henrys Great Alaskan Restaurant, 512 W. Marine Way; (907) 486-8844, www.henrysgreatalaskan.com. Steaks, hamburgers, pasta; Fridays are prime rib night. $14-$42;

Monks Rock Coffeehouse, 202 E. Rezanof Drive; (907) 486-0905, www.lat.ms/monksrock. Sandwiches, soups and vegetarian options, $5-$15.

Rendezvous Bar & Grill, 11652 Chiniak Highway; (907) 487-2233, www.lat.ms/rendezvous. Great salmon dinner. Steaks, burgers, salmon pasta, $10-$35.

TO LEARN MORE

Discover Kodiak, (907) 486-4782, www.kodiak.org
Every year during the two Eid holidays, hundreds of men, women and children from all over Afghanistan line up outside Hamid Karzais house, hoping to meet the former Afghan president.

For those six days on the Islamic calendar, Karzai is the embodiment of the elder statesman  the first modern Afghan leader to play such a role after decades of war, assassinations and political instability.

Freed from 13 turbulent years in office, Karzai is viewed by many Afghans as a sociable and engaging father figure. He poses for pictures with visitors, shakes hands and asks the children about their hopes for their future.

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The warmth he displays now is a sharp departure from his successor, President Ashraf Ghani, often described as a temperamental intellectual who has been shackled by an economic downturn, an unemployment rate estimated at 40%, rising civilian casualties and a resurgent Taliban-led militancy.

By bombing and droning Afghans or Afghan villages, you will not win this war.  Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai

The contrast  combined with memories of the billions of dollars of foreign funding that flowed into Afghan cities following the 2001 U.S.-led invasion  has led to a nostalgic reimagining of Karzais presidency, with many Afghans saying only he can deliver the country from its problems.

In an interview at his home, a few hundred feet from the presidential palace, Karzai rebuffed the idea, saying Afghans must look to the future.

For me to return means that we have not done well, Karzai said. We should not be failing; we should succeed.

It is a sharp turnaround for a man who left office in 2014 exhausted, angry with his U.S. allies and increasingly unpopular. Afghans clamoring for change lined up by the thousands that year to register to vote for the first new government since 2001.

Now, it is not only ordinary Afghans who look to Karzai. The road leading to his home is also often filled with armored cars belonging to current and former Afghan officials.

Among those with whom Karzai meets are two of the governments most ardent critics: Mohammad Umer Daudzai, a former interior minister, and Abdul Rasul Sayyaf, a former Islamic militant commander and powerful lawmaker. Daudzai and Sayyaf have formed the Council for the Protection and Stability of Afghanistan, a collective of former Karzai-era officials calling for reforms in the current government.

The meetings have prompted rumors that Karzai is actively plotting against Ghanis government  a charge the former president denies.

People come to me. People see me, Karzai said. Its inevitable that such narratives will emerge.

Officials in Ghanis government sometimes take swipes at Karzai by referring to Afghanistans troubles, including extensive corruption, as inherited and part of his legacy. Karzai counters that both Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, the chief executive of a unity government, and many of their top deputies all served in his government.

[Ghani] is also a legacy of mine. So is Abdullah, Karzai said. Rather than going into the past, they should begin to deliver  not talk about the past [because] they were part of the past with me.

Karzai refrains from criticizing the government directly, but he has differed strongly with Ghanis approach to the war, which initially focused on reaching out to Pakistan to help make peace with the Taliban. Where Karzai frequently spoke out against civilian casualties from U.S.-led military operations and sought to curb the foreign military presence in Afghanistan, Ghani has been muted in his criticisms of Western countries and sought closer cooperation with the United States.

After President Obama drew down U.S. forces in 2014 and promised to withdraw all troops by the end of his presidency, his administration announced this week that it would keep 8,400 troops in Afghanistan through the remainder of his term  a recognition that Afghan forces are struggling to keep the Taliban at bay.

President Obama and then-President Hamid Karzai prepare to sign a strategic partnership agreement at the presidential palace in Kabul on May 2, 2012. (Charles Dharapak / Associated Press )

The Pentagon also has resumed airstrikes specifically targeting the Taliban, a move that Karzai would have denounced, but about which Ghani has remained largely silent.

The U.S. and its allies should not speak of more attacks, Karzai said. They must not justify their presence because there is war. They must justify their presence because they are bringing peace.

While Karzai was sometimes seen as being too soft on the Taliban  drawing criticism for referring to the insurgents as disgruntled brothers  Ghani has ordered Afghan security forces to step up operations against the militants and praised U.S. drone strikes for helping to reduce the foothold of fighters claiming allegiance to Islamic State.

Karzai said Ghani has not been vocal enough about increased Afghan deaths, including from U.S. drone strikes that take place in remote parts of the countries. The identities of those victims are often unknown.

I encouraged the president to speak about it, Karzai said. I hope that happens because it is the Afghan people [and] their lives that we are responsible for.

Karzai returned to a familiar theme: that the U.S. has prolonged the conflict with its policies. He urged more focus on rooting out militants in Pakistan, where former Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour was killed in a U.S. drone strike in May.

By bombing and droning Afghans or Afghan villages, you will not win this war because it isnt here, Karzai said. We are victims.

In the past, Karzai had accused foreign governments of making a film out of his country  depicting Afghanistan as a desolate and bloody war zone. He preferred to focus on his accomplishments, which he said were helping to rebuild government institutions from the rubble of the Taliban era, promoting a free media and putting large numbers of Afghan children in school for the first time.

He has urged young Afghans, who are leaving the country in their largest numbers since 2001, to stay behind and help build their homeland.

[Afghanistan] does break your heart every day ... but lovely things do break your heart, Karzai said. This is a romantic country, and romance breaks your heart  so sure, it will break your heart. But its a lovely country.

Latifi is a special correspondent.
A Van Gogh still life hangs in a budget hotel room. An abstract, black and gray composition brightens a corporate office. A Paris street scene gathers dust in a kitschy bar.

The artist behind any of these may well have been Xie Chunti, a 31-year-old resident of the Dafen Oil Painting Village, a community in the southern Chinese boomtown of Shenzhen that once produced 60% of the worlds imitation oil painting masterpieces.

The village, a labyrinth of low-lying tile buildings and dark, narrow alleys, is home to an estimated 5,000 workers and 800 shops, most of which sell huge stacks of imitation art. Its artists, many of them classically trained, spend their days painting replicas of masterpieces by Picasso, Warhol, Monet, Rembrandt and others, each a testament to Chinas prowess at producing mass quantities of inexpensive things.

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Shown are pictures for sale in Dafen Oil Painting Village in China. The sign says the paintings cost 15 to 20 yuan each, about $2 to $3. (Jonathan Kaiman / Los Angeles Times )

Yet hard times have fallen on Dafen. As labor costs rise, printing technology improves and foreign customers look elsewhere, artists such as Xie are struggling to survive. Some are hanging up their brushes entirely.

A lot of artists have given up and left, said Xie, an art school graduate from the southeastern province of Jiangxi, as she hawked small Van Gogh replicas by the roadside. Before, the international market was huge, and profits were high; wed sell two or three paintings a day and be able to feed our families. Now we sell five or six, and we still cant.

Experts say that Dafen is a microcosm of Chinas economy at large. Beijing is attempting to shed the countrys decades-old growth model  one based on manufacturing and investment  for a more sustainable, innovation-oriented economic future. Out are dingy factories; in are tech start-ups and shiny office parks.

The transition has been rocky. In 2015, China recorded its slowest growth in 25 years, and manufacturing workers in Guangdong province, a place once known as the worlds factory floor, have been among the hardest hit.

Dafen village is just like other coastal cities in Guangdong, said Zhou Zhengbing, a professor at the Central University of Finance and Economics in Beijing who researches Chinas cultural economy. Theyre focused on labor-intensive products. These years, the economy is slowing down, demand is decreasing, yet labor costs are going up. For all these reasons, there are limited opportunities for the people who work there.

Dafen was a farming and fishing village until 1989, when Huang Jiang, a Hong Kong entrepreneur and master art copier, moved there with about 20 other artists. The village was cheap, he told the state-run China Daily newspaper in 2011, and was only a short drive from Hong Kong. He had been selling a few dozen copied paintings each month to foreign buyers, most from the United States and Europe; knowing the markets potential, he began teaching other artists his trade.

Artists work in Dafen Oil Painting Village in China. (Jonathan Kaiman / Los Angeles Times )

Over the years, demand skyrocketed, the village blossomed and Huang grew rich. Graduates from Chinas art academies flocked to Dafen; theyd train for three to six months, learning to paint up to 20 masterpieces a day. Theyd specialize in certain forms: Renaissance portraits, floral still lifes, Monets.

Nobody would mistake them for con artists  their works are unabashedly copies, and cost anywhere from a few dollars to a few hundred. Dafens painters have argued that the original works are in the public domain, as their artists died more than 70 years ago (though the Andy Warhol and Thomas Kinkade estates would probably disagree).

Now, residents are trying to adjust their craft to accommodate the new economy. As foreign buyers flag, theyve been targeting the domestic market, swapping their Picassos for traditional Chinese landscape paintings and bright, colorful portraits.

Theyre also spending more time on their work. Rather than churning out 15 imitation Warhols a day, theyre painting originals  and selling them at a premium. A village museum showcases some of the local talent: Their paintings depict wind-swept Tibetan nomads, determined Peoples Liberation Army soldiers, young urban women speaking on cellphones.

Paintings are displayed on a street in Chinas Dafen Oil Painting Village. (Jonathan Kaiman / Los Angeles Times )

This is a common dynamic, according to Zhou. Across the province, factories are replacing their workers with automated systems. Some workers master the new technologies, and manage to live well; others fail and return to their rural hometowns.

I think we should place [Dafens] issues in a greater context, Zhou said. We shouldnt be looking at this issue as an art issue. This is a labor issue.

Lin Jinghong, the owner of Hongyi Oil Paintings, a small shop stocked with paintings of horses, said that his business has been performing well with domestic tourists and wholesalers from Russia. You build relationships, and people come back to you, he said. Only a few people leave  maybe theyre just bad painters. There are still opportunities here.

Yet he fears that improved printing technology could someday drive him out of business. This is really scary, he said. Its been a trend over the past two years or so. Hotels and other customers, now theyre using printing services.

Liu Yaming, a shopkeeper and 17-year Dafen resident, was also optimistic about the villages future. Some artists are very creative, and the market will acknowledge them, he said. People start by copying, then they want to create their own things. Thats a route to innovation.

He noted that most of Dafens paintings, especially its highest-quality ones, are not created on assembly lines; theyre painted by individuals. If a factory fails, its workers lose their jobs; if a Dafen workshop goes under, its artists still have the means to thrive.

Over the past 10 or 20 years here, people have just kept on adapting, he said. Its a place that emerged organically. So its not just going to disappear.

Nicole Liu in The Times Beijing bureau contributed to this report.

jonathan.kaiman@latimes.com

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President Obamas final NATO summit wrapped up Saturday as a testament to stalled progress he sought on two fronts at his first alliance meeting seven years ago: a bolstered commitment to Afghanistan to allow the U.S. to wind down its role there, and the pursuit of a constructive relationship with Russia, as he put it in 2009.

Instead, the alliance is preparing for a mission in Afghanistan that will continue into a third decade, and its leaders detailed on Saturday an increased military presence in Eastern Europe in a bid to thwart continued Russian aggression. A day earlier, the U.S. announced that 1,000 American troops will be stationed in Poland with complementary numbers from NATO allies in three Baltic states. Officials called it the largest deployment of military personnel by the alliance since the end of the Cold War.



For the record: An earlier version of this story incorrectly said NATO leaders were encouraging the Russian government to meet its obligations under the Minsk agreement. NATO leaders were encouraging the Ukrainian government, not Russia.

If Russia continues this pattern of aggressive behavior, there will be a response and there will be a greater presence in Eastern Europe, White House deputy national security advisor Ben Rhodes said. We will not be in any way deterred from fulfilling our commitments by anything that Russia says or does.

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The ongoing political and civil unrest in Ukraine has been the most obvious example of how Russian President Vladimir Putin has pushed what was first a Cold War alliance to return to its roots, even as it seeks to reorient itself to take on 21st century threats. Obama and other key leaders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization met Saturday with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko not only to demonstrate a united front, the White House said, but also to encourage the Ukrainian government to continue implementing its obligations under the 2015 Minsk agreement that called for an end to war in Ukraine.

NATO is also close to declaring that it has a working missile defense system in Eastern Europe, seven years after Obama scrapped plans for a separate system that would have been stationed in Poland and the Czech Republic. The change in plans was emblematic of how the U.S. and other Western nations were caught surprised by Russias actions, said Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio).

The United States was pursuing the reset plan while Putin was pursuing a reset of the Soviet bloc, said Turner, who attended the summit as president of NATOs parliamentary assembly. It took too long for the leadership of NATO to realize that they had a real adversary and they needed to respond.

Russia has also complicated Western efforts to end Syrias civil war; Putin is aligned with the Syrian government, which is fighting some U.S.-backed rebel groups as well as Islamic State extremists. A Russian helicopter was downed Friday by the militant group, the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed Saturday, according to Russia Today television. The helicopters two-man crew was killed in the crash.

On Afghanistan, the presidents decision this week to scale back planned reductions in U.S. troop levels helped lock in commitments to sustain the NATO-led military effort there through 2020. Afghan security forces will carry on fighting against the Taliban, Islamic State and other terrorist groups with the support of the international communitys train, advise and assist mission.

The president acknowledged that history will record him as the first to serve two full terms with the nation at war.

But because U.S. military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have shifted from combat to training and assisting local forces against militant groups, they are fundamentally different from when he took office, Obama said. He acknowledged that against terrorist groups, the end of a conflict might not be as discrete as it once was, citing the example of Gen. Douglas MacArthur meeting with Japanese Emperor Hirohito at the end of World War II.

Because theyre nonstate actors, its very hard for us ever to get the satisfaction of MacArthur and the emperor meeting and a war officially being over, Obama said.

He did reiterate to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani that the U.S. was open to reconciliation talks with the Taliban, should the latter be open to returning to the negotiating table.

It was a clear message for the militants to lay down arms and join the peace process. Otherwise, the international community is committed to fighting them, said Gen. Dawlat Waziri, spokesman for the Afghan Defense Ministry.

The support for the Afghan government would potentially affect the Talibans operational leadership. Waziri added, The Taliban are losing hope as they learn that we are capable of fighting them.

The reality on the ground belied his optimism. The Taliban controls more territory in the country than it has since the U.S.-led invasion 15 years ago, according to U.N. estimates. And more than 5,500 Afghan troops were killed last year in combat with the Taliban that revealed significant shortcomings among Afghan security forces.

The White House billed the summit announcements as a testament both to the strength of the military alliance, even as its European members face an uncertain future with Britains vote to leave the European Union, and to Obamas role in forging that unity.

We talk about NATO unity a lot every time theres a summit, said Elissa Slotkin, the acting assistant secretary of Defense for international security. But I think it was a particularly poignant message today, a few weeks after Brexit, and particularly because its both President Obamas and [British] Prime Minister [David] Camerons final summit.

Obama declared the outcome as a fulfillment of his overarching foreign policy goal: to strengthen Americas alliances.

We have delivered on that promise, he said Saturday. NATO is as strong, as ready and as nimble as ever.

Special correspondents Sultan Faizy in Kabul, Afghanistan, and Nabih Bulos in Berlin contributed to this report.

michael.memoli@latimes.com

For more White House coverage, follow @mikememoli on Twitter.

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UPDATES:

2:40 p.m.: This article was updated with developments in Syria.

This article was originally published at 11:19 a.m.
An interview that credits Pope Francis as saying about 2% of Roman Catholic clerics are pedophiles stirred controversy Sunday, as the Vatican sought to raise questions about the articles accuracy and others called on the pope to take more action on the issue.

The remarks, reported in in the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, came a week after the pope asked for forgiveness in his first meeting with victims of clerical sexual abuse.

The interview by Eugenio Scalfari, published Sunday, quotes the pope as calling the rash of sex abuse scandals a leprosy in our home and saying the pedophiles include priests and even bishops and cardinals, according to a CBS News translation. And others, even more numerous, know about it but keep quiet, they punish without saying the reason why. I find this state of things untenable and it is my intention to confront it with the severity it requires.

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The Vatican has pushed back on some points. According to Vatican officials, Scalfari does not record his conversations with the pope nor transcribe them word for word. News.va, an official Vatican news source, cited Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi as saying Scalfari quotes Francis from memory alone, and that the pope does not review the results before publication.

Lombardi did not rebut any assertions Francis was said to have made, but raised questions about the lack of a closing quotation mark at the end of the paragraph that included the 2% figure.

A lapse of memory or an explicit acknowledgment the naif reader is being manipulated? he asked.

Meanwhile, the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, said the real percentage of predator priests is much higher than 2% and called on the pope to defrock clerics who participate in cover-ups.

Im convinced that no threat of penalty will deter a child molester, David Clohessy, executive director of SNAP, told the Los Angeles Times. However, he said, defrocking a bishop or cardinal who hides abuse would have an enormous deterrent effect.

I would challenge fans of this pope to name a single step hes taken that has had a practical impact on the crisis, Clohessy said. Hes made significant, dramatic, quick effective steps to transform church governance and finances. He obviously has both massive power and the willingness to use it, but not on this crisis.

At a United Nations hearing this year, the Vatican said it had defrocked 848 priests over the last decade and ordered 2,572 to live a life of prayer and penance because of abuse allegations. There are about 414,000 Roman Catholic priests worldwide, according to the BBC; if 2% are pedophiles, that would be more than 8,000.

In his meeting last week with victims of clerical sexual abuse, Francis pledged that bishops who covered up such abuse of minors would be held accountable.

In late June, the Vatican defrocked its former ambassador to the Dominican Republic, who was accused of having sexually abused boys in Santo Domingo.

In May, members of a U.N. committee on torture questioned Vatican officials for two hours about the churchs handling of sexual abuse cases, and this year, the pope assembled a panel of advisors to create protocols to protect children from such abuse.

For more news, follow @raablauren on Twitter.
Authorities are investigating a Mumbai-based televangelist whose radical sermons are believed to have influenced at least one of the men who killed hostages in a Bangladesh cafe this month.

Bangladesh on Sunday suspended the satellite television channel owned by Zakir Naik, a controversial preacher who has justified terrorism against the United States and the killing of Muslims who convert to other religions.

Officials in India said they would take action against private channels airing Naiks speeches from Peace TV, his Dubai-based television channel, which is not licensed to broadcast in India. And the Home Affairs Ministry has ordered an investigation into Naiks Mumbai-based charity, the Islamic Research Foundation, over allegations that it was financing radicalism, according to multiple reports.

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Naik overcame a childhood stutter to become a widely popular orator with 14 million Facebook followers and an audience of tens of millions more on Peace TV. He claims to have a medical degree and has modeled himself on Western televangelists, addressing audiences in English and usually wearing a suit, skullcap and gentle smile.

Intelligence officials in Bangladesh are investigating reports that Rohan Imtiaz  one of the gunmen who stormed the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka on July 1 and methodically killed nearly two dozen patrons and staff, most of them foreigners  made reference to one of Naiks speeches in a Facebook post last year.

Naik has come under scrutiny before for his extremist teachings. He has been banned from Britain and Canada.

Indian investigators also believe that Naik inspired Mohammed Ibrahim Yazdani, who was arrested last month in the southern city of Hyderabad, accused of plotting to carry out attacks on behalf of Islamic State. Yazdani told interrogators that he had traveled to Mumbai to attend a Naik congregation and followed his speeches on YouTube, the Times of India reported.

In a series of videos transmitted from Saudi Arabia over the weekend, Naik rejected accusations that he had inspired terrorism.

Ive been giving lectures for 25 years, he said. There is not a single talk of mine where I have ever encouraged any human being to kill any other innocent human being, whether Muslim or non-Muslim.

Naik has criticized Islamic State  the Iraq- and Syria-based militant organization  as anti-Islamic. But many experts say his speeches teach hatred against the West and espouse a hard-line Salafi interpretation of Sunni Islam, which regards Shiites and members of other Muslim sects as apostates.

He frequently travels to Saudi Arabia, which last year awarded him the King Faisal International Prize for services to Islam.

His use of English and social media  and his interactions with young audiences  have helped him reach middle-class audiences, drawing comparisons to Anwar Awlaki, the American cleric who is believed to have inspired several terrorist attacks and was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Yemen in 2011.

Several of the Dhaka attackers were from comfortable backgrounds; Imtiaz was the son of a mid-level official in the governing Awami League party.

Naik is clearly problematic, said S. Irfan Habib, an Indian historian. There is a huge section in Islam as well Hinduism which is afflicted by victimhood. Naik is exploiting it.

It was not immediately clear what legal action India could take against Naik if he was not found to have directly incited violence. India has cracked down in recent months against nongovernmental organizations that receive foreign funds, although critics say most of the groups have been targeted for opposing Prime Minister Narendra Modis economic policies.

In one of his videos, Naik voices support for Osama bin Laden, saying, If he is terrorizing America, the biggest terrorist, then I am with him. He goes on to call the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks an inside job, saying, Even a fool would know this.

America is a frequent target of his lectures; he has said Americans engage in wife swapping because they eat pigs, which also swap sexual partners. He has claimed that that 50% of women who attend American universities are raped because the institutions practice intermingling of the sexes.

Naiks followers say the quotes are taken out of context. In an apartment building in the south Mumbai neighborhood of Mazgaon, where Naik grew up on the ninth floor, Qamar Qazi, a friend of Naiks family, dismissed the scrutiny as a media trial.

He is putting Islam into perspective, said Qazis daughter, Reshma Chouguley, 40. He is correcting people through his wisdom.

Neighbors said Naik grew up in a predominantly Christian neighborhood, where he observed Christmas and played sports. His sister would paint henna on Chouguleys hands, she recalled. He now lives in an apartment across the street from his aging parents and was reportedly planning to return to Mumbai within days.

Chouguley was covered from head to toe with only her face and wrists visible, in accordance with Naiks teachings. She said he also instructed men to lower their gaze when it comes to women.

A girl not dressed in proper attire is like not having a lock on your door, said her 17-year old son, Jibran.

Parth M.N. is a special correspondent.

shashank.bengali@latimes.com

Follow @SBengali on Twitter for more news from South Asia
Politicians in Mexico are serving up visual evidence in an effort to refute rumors that reputed drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman has escaped custody for a third time.

Mexican Secretary of Interior Miguel Angel Osorio Chung recently took to social media to post photos of a still-behind-bars Guzman. Chung captioned the photo "Los rumores, una images," which translates in English to state "For the rumors, an image."

Rumors began to spread after a fake article was recently posted online claiming Guzman was again on the loose.

Guzman Complains of Inhumane Treatment

Reports are jail has been hard on Guzman this time around, with his common law wife recently meeting with Inter-American Commission on Human Rights officials in Washington to complain about his treatment.

Emman Coronel Aispura recently meet with members of the Inter-American Commission and has deemed her husband's treatment "the worse torture that exists."

She claims that he is regularly denied sleep and often moved from cell to cell at all times of the night with at least part of the harshness being motivated by a desire to punish him for the embarrassment he caused Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto with his earlier escapes.

Just last month, Guzman was transferred from a top security prison near Mexico City to a jail in Ciudad Juarez, located near the Texas border.

Guard Murder Probe Ongoing

Meanwhile, the probe into the recent killing of a guard assigned to guard the outside of the prison housing the man once hailed as the "the biggest drug lord of all time" is ongoing.

Jorge Maurico Melendez Herrera, 20, is reported to have died of a blow to the back of the neck. He had also been stabbed numerous times. As many as 300 soldiers have now been assigned to provide security around the prison.

More recently, the remains of the seven men were discovered in Mexico's western Sinaloa state, otherwise known as the now jailed Guzman's old home turf.
Jul 10, 2016, 2:46pm ET

China's BAIC begins sales in Mexico

The company will sell three models for now, with hopes to expand its lineup rapidly.

China's BAIC has established a sales division in Mexico and begun selling its cars in North America's southernmost nation.

So far, Beijing Automotive Group has only six dealerships in Mexico, according to Automotive News. Only three models are for sale, according to BAIC's website, the compact D20, which is offered in both hatchback and sedan versions, and the X25, a small crossover based on the D20.

However, BAIC intends to expand its foothold by introducing three more models by year's end. "Mexico," BAIC vice president Wei Huacheng told AN, "is a very important part [of our] long-term vision." Wei also said that BAIC intends to build a factory in Mexico to manufacture both gasoline-powered and electric cars, but did not elaborate on details.

BAIC hopes to sell 5,000 cars in Mexico by 2018 and is thought to be using Mexico as a platform to gain access to North and Latin American markets. China's FAW also attempted entry into the Mexican market, but withdrew in 2009, making BAIC the only Chinese car company to have a presence in North America.
It was supposed to be a small store.

Easton's downtown was deserted, and city leaders reached out to Crayola in Forks Township in 1991 hoping the major international crayon maker would consider opening a store there.

The store morphed into an interactive museum, which morphed into the Crayola Experience. The wildly popular attraction has had more than 5 million visitors since it opened as the Crayola Factory 20 years ago on July 16, 1996.

"I don't think they ever thought it would be that big," said Easton Mayor Sal Panto Jr.

When the idea was first floated based on a downtown redevelopment study, no one came to Easton. Greater Easton Development Partnership Executive Director Jared Mast was 15 years old at the time.

"We came downtown when I was a kid to use the bowling alley and the movie theater. Once those two things went away, there was a period when there wasn't a whole lot of reason to come down," Mast said.

Cheeburger Cheeburger restaurant owner Frank Aversa said there's no way he would have opened a franchise in Easton 20 years ago.

"If you would have told me then that I'd open up a business in Easton, I'd say you were on the narcotics they're selling on the corner."

One Crayola executive said the international leader in art supplies didn't hesitate to locate in Centre Square Easton despite the bleak economic picture.

"Crayola has had facilities in various parts of Easton for more than 110 years," said Vicky Lozano, the senior vice president and general manager of Crayola attractions and retail. "To us, whether it's downtown or Forks Township, it's all 'Easton' and Easton is our hometown."

The one trailblazer before Crayola was the State Theatre, which underwent a multi-million-dollar makeover in 1990 and was among the first attractions to draw patrons downtown at night, the mayor said. But Crayola's impact was perhaps more profound because of the number of people it drew even from the beginning.

More than a million visitors had come through by 1999, about three times as many as projected. That translated into sorely needed revenue for the city through its amusement tax and parking fees.

Crayola showed that if they could make it, so could other businesses.

"It validated that people would come to downtown Easton if the right attractions were there," Mast said.

A turning point was the decision by the city to pay a McDonald fast food restaurant $300,000 and buy out its lease so Crayola could expand. The new four-floor attraction was rebranded the Crayola Experience and took off.

Aversa said he held off from opening Cheeburger Cheeburger until he knew Crayola wouldn't relocate to the suburbs.

"If they didn't do that, I would never have opened in Easton," Aversa said.

As one of the only family restaurants downtown, his successes and failures are strongly tied to Crayola's

"When Crayola is busy, we're busy. When Crayola is slow, we're slow," he said. "It's a large part of our business."

The Crayola Experience proved so successful it prompted the launch of similar attractions at the Mall of America in Minnesota and in Orlando, Lozano said.

"Easton is where we first debuted our unique attractions and were able to see how kids and families interacted with the brand via those attractions," she said. "We learned and optimized from there, bringing those improvement and new ideas to Easton as well as our new locations."

In the last five to 10 years, the city has seen an influx of dozens of restaurants. Hundreds of upscale apartments are being renovated in historic buildings and marketed to millennials and empty-nesters.

Crayola is a big part of the city's turnaround, but it isn't the only part, according to the mayor.

Lafayette College's decision to fund the Easton Ambassadors program is a huge help, the mayor said. The red-shirted ambassadors clean up litter, tend planters, greet tourists and answer their questions.

The Greater Easton Development Partnership leveraged state grants into three of its programs: the Main Street Initiative, which executes events and festivals, the Easton Farmers Market, and the Easton Public Market, a much-anticipated year-round farmers market half a block from the Crayola Experience.

All of these entities and programs work together to bolster the downtown's revitalization, the mayor said.

"Main Street, the ambassadors and the farmers market. You take away those three programs and you take Easton back 15 years," Panto said. "Take away Crayola and you take Easton back 20 years."

Crayola has no plans to relocate, according to Lozano. The company won't rest on its laurels, either.

"We plan to introduce new attractions every year," she said. "We want to continue to evolve and improve. We want families to have new and exciting experiences when they visit, so they keep coming back and having fun."

The mayor would love to see another major draw downtown, preferably something that appeals to young adults since Crayola has the younger children covered. That would give the downtown a great one-two punch that could keep visitors occupied all day.

"We're looking for something to be the next attraction to Easton," he said.

CRAYOLA EXPERIENCE BY THE NUMBERS

In its 20 year history, the Crayola Experience has...

hosted 31,500 shows

used 15,290,000 crayons

sold 500,000 crayons from the "pick your pack" wall

spawned the 70,000-square-foot Crayola Experience Orlando, which includes a mural the size of a football field

welcomed Big Blue, the world's largest crayon at 1,500 pounds

welcomed 5 million visitors

Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @RudyMillerLV. Find Easton area news on Facebook.
The focus of Monday's meeting of the Easton chapter of the of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is expected to be on violence, the chapter's president said.

Chapter president Lance Wheeler said he hopes to have open dialogue at the meeting on recent violent events in the United States.

A topic could include the shootings and ambush Thursday of 12 police officers and two civilians in Dallas, Texas, killing five of the officers.

Another topic could be the Orlando nightclub shooting on June 12, in which a 29-year-old security guard killed 49 people and wounded 53 others.

"It will be a normal meeting about what's going on in town; we also can talk about the issues going on in America," Wheeler said. "We're going to try and start a discussion and what to address."

Wheeler said there also will be plenty of time for questions and answers. The 6 p.m. general membership meeting is open to the public at Easton Area Neighborhood Center, 902 Philadelphia Road.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
"What are you walking for?" the driver called out to the group of two dozen people stretched down the sidewalk in Easton's West Ward.

"We're praying for the city," one person said back.

The car stopped, and after a moment the man -- already known to many of those walking -- asked if they could spare some prayers for him. "I need some," he said.

The gathering obliged. One man walked out to him and spoke quietly as the rest stood on the sidewalk, offering prayers and hymns of their own with outstretched hands.

"Prayer is the first step," Jason Vanderburg said at the start of the walk, one of two planned simultaneously Saturday in Easton as a response to recent local violence. "It's the foundation of what we believe."

Saturday's walks were the culmination of a series of prayer gatherings over the last week organized by Vanderburg, the visitation minister of the city's Greater Shiloh Church.

Greater Shiloh Church organized several prayer events after recent local violence.

One walk went through the West Ward, where a 62-year-old bystander was wounded June 29 in a shooting that also damaged several cars. The other went through the South Side, where Shaquille Burke, 23, was shot June 28.

"There's power in unity," said Baron Vanderburg, as he led the West Ward walk. "When you do something as sacred as prayer ... it just resets you. It brings everybody together."

Bishop Willie S. Rouse, of The Rose of Sharon Church of Christ in the West Ward, agreed: "With everything that's been going on ... you go walk and let the neighborhood know we are conquerers, based on everything Jesus has already done."

Though the demonstration was intended to combat local problems, recent national violence was also on participants' minds. Police killed black men in Louisiana and Minnesota, for which a sniper reportedly sought revenge by slaying five police officers in Dallas and wounding others.

"I think it's all related," Jason Vanderburg said. "I think peace overall is the goal. We should act because of some things that were happening in our city. But it's happening all over."

Easton police observed the gathering early on, and Vanderburg said officers have been welcome participants in the week's other gatherings.

"Each day this week," he said, "they've been hand-in-hand with us, praying with us. It's a privilege to work together, unify. Unity is the key."

As the walk proceeded through the city, participants young and old offered prayers and blessings to passersby and others who were outside. During a brief stop outside Rouse's church, he prayed out loud with the group.

"Wherever there's strength, there's unity," he declared. "And where there's unity, there's power."

Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @type2supernovak and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Colonial Regional police seek shoplifter July 8, 2016

Colonial Regional police say this woman stole clothes from Kohl's in Lower Nazareth Township on July 8, 2016, and assaulted store security before getting away. (Courtesy photo)

Authorities are looking for a woman who allegedly stole clothes from a Lower Nazareth Township department store on Friday and assaulted store security before making a getaway.

Colonial Regional police released a surveillance photo of the suspect on Saturday.

According to a news release, she stuffed clothes into her purse and left without paying on Friday afternoon at Kohl's in the Northampton Crossings Mall off Route 248. A security officer followed her into the parking lot, where she assaulted them and fled in a silver Volkswagen Jetta driven by a white man with long, black hair, police said.

Anyone with information about the woman, the vehicle or the driver is asked to contact Colonial Regional police Sgt. Mike Enstrom at 610-861-4820 or the Northampton County Dispatch Center at 610-759-2200. Callers can remain anonymous.

Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @type2supernovak and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
TRENTON -- New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie will join presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in Virginia on Monday as speculation continues to swirl over whom Trump will pick as his running mate.

Christie, one of Trump's top advisers, will be with the celebrity businessman as he hosts a rally at 1 p.m. at an arena in Virginia Beach, Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks confirmed.

The governor, one of a handful of Republicans that Trump is reportedly vetting for vice president, was supposed to be with Trump in Miami on Friday, but the real estate magnate canceled his speech in the wake of the Dallas shootings.

Trump is expected to pick his running mate before the Republican National Convention, possibly as early as this coming week.

Trump has been appearing with potential V.P. picks at events over the last week or so. On Tuesday, another contender, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, will appear with Trump.

Other possible running mates include former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and retired Lt. General Michael Flynn, whom the Washington Post reported is high on Trump's list.

Christie is also considered a contender to become Trump's U.S. attorney general or White House chief of staff.

Christie had scheduled a Monday event in Fair Lawn to promote his "Fairness Formula" school aide reforms.
A Saturday morning fire at a Moore Township home is under investigation, according to a report from WFMZ-TV.

The blaze was reported at 9:12 a.m. at 3200 Delps Road, near the intersection with Pine Road, a Northampton County dispatcher said. No injuries were reported.

Township fire Chief Jon Mann said the fire is "highly suspicious," the TV station reports.

Mann did not immediately return a call for further comment.

Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @type2supernovak and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
U.S. war veterans and prisoners of war were honored Sunday during an annual tribute that gathered hundreds at the Warren County War Memorial.

The 17th annual event began with the "Freedom Run," a 50-mile police-escorted ride through Warren County. It began at the Goodwill Fire Company in Belvidere and ended at the county memorial, 2nd and Mansfield streets.

Organized by a local chapter of the Rolling Thunder, the ride is meant to promote POW/MIA Awareness and Veterans Rights. About 400 motorcyclists participated.

At the memorial, guest speakers paid tribute to prisoners of war and local war veterans. An "empty table" was used to represent fallen soldiers, a wreath was placed at the memorial and a bagpiper played.

This year's event also honored Terry Lee. a U.S. veteran, former Warren County clerk and the Freedom Run's longtime organizer. Lee of Harmony Township died in January at age 68 following a battle with brain cancer.

Lee also was a Coast Guard veteran from the Vietnam War era and was known by many as "Mr. Warren County." A veterans memorial in Lopatcong Municipal Park, dedicated in May, also had been the vision of Lee and Bill Nixon, chairman of the nonprofit Phillipsburg Area Veterans group.

The 40-by-30-foot concrete pad and 24-by-28-foot pavilion includes a gazebo, sitting wall and memorial bricks, and it also honors Lee.

Freelance photographer Dave Dabour contributed to this report.

Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
As a boy Hubert McMorrow used to catch the SLNCR railway. Getting on at the big bog train station outside Glenfarne hed jump off at Manorhamilton junction to be met with a buzz of enterprise that would stay with him forever.

All around him was a hive of commerce that was the everyday life of the railways. The dash of 2-3 postmen with their carts arriving full of mail and parcels, bags of school clothes were also coming in from the posh private schools in England across the border for poorer backs and trying hard not to be found under the Customs' gaze.

Looking round the bustle of excitement he was well and truly smitten by the romance of the railway bug. He would manage to go to Central Station in New York years later but it couldnt compete to the 6-year boy looking round him in Manorhamilton station.

As you stand on the old track at Glenfarne station you capture that glimpse too of what must have been a great line. You are on the Glenfarne Kiltyclogher Heritage Tour, and Hubert is your guide.

Looking around, the old signal box is ahead and the space for the tracks still apparent through lush green growth now sweeping off into the distance. If you listen carefully you might just hear the whistle or a murmur of voices.

For someone who grew up picking blackberries on redundant tracks, this railway has an extra poignancy. Theres always a romance and intense sadness about a railway, lives full of hope setting off for new terrains, but many more forced to go though no choice of their own.

This route would have gone to Enniskillen, and then people would go onwards to the port of Belfast. The old Customs hut still stands, lovingly restored, as too the waiting room. There was also a separate waiting area, Hubert informs you, for the landlords family, not needing to mingle with the locals, a reminder of apartheid in a different time.

But there is a constant affirmation throughout the tour of stories of fearless resilience. Here in Glenfarne, Leitrims famous son Sean Mac Diarmada would have used this route to Belfast. It was on this platform Hubert recounts that Mac Diarmada returned when he got out of prison in 1915, arrested for making a speech against enlisting in the 1st World War.

He was met by a crowd and, never daunted, took the opportunity to address the people once more.

Further on the tour you get an opportunity to visit the Kiltyclogher Heritage Centre and his cottage, the only birthplace still standing of a proclamation signatory. A special place along with its surroundings, it breathes life once again into what made the incredible man in this centenary year.

The characters of history often seem to intertwine and so too here. The SLNCR railway was built by Arthur Loftus Tottenham. You move around the estate where the Tottenhams lived for four generations by Lough Mac Nean. It was Charles Henry Tottenham that was responsible for planning the beautiful village of Kiltyclogher. His descendent Arthur Loftus Tottenham was the last of the Tottenhams to have lived here.

The construction of the railway was however to prove his downfall. The monies he invested in it were too much and ended up bankrupting him. Harsh evictions of the Tottenham estate on its tenants would also be etched in the public mind and the folklore later heard by one of them, the young Sean Mac Diarmada, may have helped ignite the rebel heart.

The estate fell then into the hands of Sir Edward Harland of Harland and Wolff shipbuilding fame and one time Lord Mayor of Belfast. He would use the grounds officially for hunting and fishing. The story goes that the lake itself was often unofficially used by many more for smuggling with escapades to and from the Fermanagh headland, visible when you sweep around the green lined roads of the Glenfarne woods.

Harland himself was a proud fellow but would meet his match. He was to encounter a local strong man called James Clancy on the Leitrim road who would not give way to him, as his status would have dictated.

Do you know who I am? he is claimed to have said, I am the Lord Mayor of Belfast.

Unperturbed James Clancy stood his ground and was to have replied, I am the horse of the Black Island, the title he was known by.

Therein it was believed a respect was given by Harland to Clancy for it.

Harland was to eventually die on the estate in 1895. Paths of history once again crossing as the strength of a strong man was called upon and Mr Clancy was needed to carry his coffin down the stairs in the big house of the estate. Lifes intertwined.

And once again the railway was used to transport Harlands remains from Glenfarne to Belfast to be met by thousands of the shipyard workers.

As you drive back you approach the iconic shape of the last stop that is the original Rainbow, Ballroom of Romance, the brainchild of John McGivern. It has been given a new lease of life recently, further developed into a museum with memorabilia of the showband era under the vision of local councillor Sean McDermott and others.

From the Rainbow Ballroom the sense of Leitrim resilience still pervades, as a dream became reality and the words of Hubert ring true in your ears. The demise of the tradition of oral history is lamented in keeping tradition alive. Hubert has a love of the people that came before, and he is fascinated by their resilience against the odds.

He says, It's important to know where we came from. The more we learn from the past the more it helps make us all become better people today.
Alton Sterling shooting

The world watched two black men in two different US cities die at the hands of police this week.

In the first incident, an anonymous bystander filmed two Louisiana police officers find a gun in the pocket of 37-year-old Alton Sterling and then shoot him in the chest while he was pinned to the ground.

Another graphic video, shot by the owner of the store where the incident occurred, later emerged.

The next night, Philando Castile's girlfriend recorded a live Facebook video of the aftermath of a traffic stop that ended with a Minnesota police officer firing multiple shots into Castile's arm.

While police and state officials haven't confirmed many details, Castile reportedly informed the officer of his concealed weapon (for which he had a permit) and simply reached for identification, as instructed. The 32-year-old school-cafeteria worker died later that night at a local hospital.

Both incidents have fanned the flames of a national debate about the use of force and apparent racial bias in policing and prompted renewed calls for better policies. In an interview with CNN Friday afternoon, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton hinted at her plan for greater standardization in policing.

"As president, I would implement the very comprehensive set of proposals that I've been making for more than a year, including we must do more to have national guidelines about the use of force by police, especially deadly force," she said. "We need to do more to look into implicit bias. And we need to do more to respect and protect our police."

According to many experts, however, a general lack of effective training and uniformity within that training, acts as a significant block to a more peaceful future.

In fact, it's the "biggest issue" facing police departments today, Chuck Drago, a former police chief in Florida with over 30 years of experience, told Business Insider.

baton rouge

Story continues

Lower levels of force

No national standards exist for the use of force, or other policing tactics, for that matter. Pulling from various Supreme Court cases, an officer is legally justified using lethal force if the officer reasonably and objectively fears the person will cause death or serious injury to the officer, other officers, or the public.

"I think that officers are trained with the mentality that, 'Oh, if its reasonable, I can shoot.' It's a bad mentality," said Drago, who now acts as a consultant for various law-enforcement groups.

Even the way cops handle concealed weapons, which ultimately led to Castile's death, can vary from officer to officer. In many cases, critics, from law enforcement to activists, feel police have become overly reliant on their firearms and have failed to adequately de-escalate civilian interactions with lower levels of force and even simple communication.

These lower levels of force can include weapons less lethal than guns, like Tasers and other kinds of stun guns. Effective communication can also negate the need for weapons. Many police, however, may not feel as comfortable with these methods and instead turn to their holsters.

"A police officer in crisis will jump to the firearm quicker than other forms of force because he or she feels the most confident with the firearm," Drago told Business Insider in a previous interview. "We are not teaching police officers communication skills or how to be proficient with less lethal defensive skills."

'A bond between the police and the community'

The Dallas Police Department on Thursday night suffered the deadliest attack on police since the September 11, 2001, attacks on US soil. The death of five officers came at the hands of a 25-year-old US Army veteran "upset about Black Lives Matter," the city's police chief said, amid peaceful protests occurring in the city.

In an era of rising tensions, the Dallas Police Department served as a model for progress, as Business Insider's Natasha Bertrand reported.

Dallas police

Since the department instituted a shift to de-escalation, excessive-force complaints dropped 64% from 2009 to 2014, according to BuzzFeed criminal-justice reporter, Albert Samaha.

And after a string of officer-involved shootings in late 2013, Dallas Police Chief David Brown upped the frequency of mandatory lethal-force training from every two years to every two months, The Washington Post reported.

The Dallas Police Department's lethal-force policy also identifies the "protection of human life" as a primary goal, which emphasizes that officers should exercise "great restraint" with lethal force and treat it as a "last resort."

During the protests in the city Thursday night, Dallas police forwent riot gear and even stopped to pose for selfies with protesters.

"I listened to eyewitness accounts of the protest, and they praised the police and their tolerance and sense of commitment to the people in the protest," Drago said. "There does seem to be a bond between the police and the community."

Lack of national standards

With the lack of national policing standards, some organizations attempt to at least monitor and unify how various state and local departments create their individual policies.

The Commission on Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA), for example, bills itself as the "public-safety solution." Through joint efforts between elected officials, state Supreme Court justices, police chiefs, academics, and others, CALEA reviews and discusses police affairs in the US and creates standards with which jurisdictions must comply to receive accreditation with the organization.

"We tell the agencies what needs to be done. How they do that is dictated by the community, the demographics, lots of things," Travis Parrish, director of client services and relations for the CALEA, told Business Insider. "I would not want inner city Chicago policies applied to my very rural community that I live within."

Other organizations, such as the International Association of Police Chiefs (IACP), cite similar goals. Accreditation or adherence to any of these directives, however, remains optional for police forces across the country.

Among the federal, state, and local levels, the US boasts an 18,000-agency-strong police presence. On top of the obvious difficulties coordination poses, accreditation takes time and money, which some police departments may not have. Still, experts tout the benefits of a more standardized approach.

Taser International's X2 two-shot Taser for law enforcement is displayed.

"I would love to have a more consistent approach to training, policy, and procedure with regard to use of force," Seth Stoughton, an assistant professor at the University of South Carolina School of Law and a former Tallahassee police officer, told Business Insider. "Unfortunately, thats incredibly difficult in the US."

An excerpt from CALEA's fifth edition for standards for law-enforcement agencies emailed to Business Insider reads: "An officer may use deadly force only when the officer reasonably believes that the action is in defense of human life, including the officer's own life, or in defense of any person in imminent danger of serious physical injury."

It's similar to what Supreme Court cases have dictated, although CALEA does establish more specific standards, such as generally prohibiting warning shots and ensuring appropriate medical aid.

"I think it would be great if CALEA would get some better defined standards in some areas," Stoughton said.

Even though states typically create their own accreditation agencies and standards, some may allow the use of Tasers, while others don't. Some may prohibit choke holds  the physical tactic that caused Eric Garner's 2014 death in Staten Island  while others allow them.

"That's the downside to our factionalized policing, compared to the national policing like they have over there" in the UK, Drago said.

The United Kingdom has different demographics and a much lower rate of gun ownership than the US. But overall, a high degree of standardization exists among departments across the pond.

For example, the UK's College of Policing oversees firearms training nationally. And national legislation, such as the Police and Criminal Evidence Act of 1984 (PACE), help set and regulate standards of behavior for officers, including the use of force and videotaping interrogations.

In the US, however, "theres still a strong feel for state rights and state individualism, and thats what makes it difficult for national standards like what the UK and some other countries have," Drago explained.

Accreditation doesn't necessarily mean that organizations won't face problems or controversy though. The Dallas Police Department, for example, does not currently receive accreditation through CALEA. And the Baton Rouge Police Department, which was involved in Alton Sterling's death, does.

Neither department responded to Business Insider's requests for comment.

Twice the rate of whites

Even better training, however, may not be able to address one of the main complaints against police today: implicit, racially tinged bias.

Police can use lethal force when they reasonably and objectively fear for their or other's safety. The Black Lives Matter movement, however, argues that police are more likely to see blacks, especially males, as threats and thus are more likely to use lethal force.

After the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, President Barack Obama delivered an impassioned statement Thursday night filled with disturbing statistics about being black in America.

Philando Castile

Among those he offered: Last year, African-Americans were shot by police at more than twice the rate of whites.

Policies can't control what happens in the heads and hearts of police. But even some case law introduces the issue of race, perhaps unintentionally disguised as poverty, into discussions of crime and policing.

For example, a Supreme Court case from 2000, Illinois v. Wardlow, found that cops have a right to stop people for fleeing at the sight of officers as long as other suspicious factors are at play  like being in a high-crime area.

In many cases, high-crime areas double as areas with high rates of poverty. And it's no secret that poverty disproportionately affects people of color in the US.

"If its a wealthier neighborhood and you see a minority, you wont get suspicious," Drago said. "But if you see a 1989 car with one door painted a different color and six people packed into it around all these Mercedes, thats what draws suspicion."

NOW WATCH: US ATTORNEY GENERAL: Don't let this week of violence 'precipitate a new normal'





More From Business Insider


Local residents and community representatives came together at St Georges Heritage Centre, Carrick-on-Shannon on Tuesday (11th August) to celebrate the completion of Reaching Out, Looking Forward  an eight-month project involving cross-community events in Co. Leitrim aimed at promoting peace and reconciliation.

Local residents and community representatives came together at St Georges Heritage Centre, Carrick-on-Shannon on Tuesday (11th August) to celebrate the completion of Reaching Out, Looking Forward  an eight-month project involving cross-community events in Co. Leitrim aimed at promoting peace and reconciliation.

The project was funded by the International Fund for Ireland under its Peace Impact Programme and delivered by the County Leitrim Grand Orange Lodge, targeting members of the wider community in Co Leitrim, many of whom had not previously engaged in cross-community and peace building activities.

In particular, the project incorporated a series of events and initiatives aimed at helping to address some of the negative local attitudes to the Orange Order that exist within both communities.

The initial phase of the project incorporated a World War 1 research programme as a central theme, offering a unifying cross-community platform to bring both traditions together.

This element of the project involved both primary and secondary research into the estimated 2,000 men from Co. Leitrim who fought in WWI. The research included open public meetings and participative workshops, culminating in a very successful event last month in conjunction with the Carrick-on-Shannon & District Historical Society.

Results of the extensive research were brought together with the publication of Leitrim, a County at War  a commemorative book by historian Quincey Dougan which was launched at Tuesdays event. The book provides a detailed examination of the impact the war years had on Leitrim and its people from both traditions, bringing the stories of individuals and their families to the fore.

The book includes the compilation of an updated Roll of Honour commemorating the hundreds of soldiers from Leitrim who died during the war. The book will be available in public libraries, local schools and through the County Leitrim Grand Orange Lodge.

As part of a wider community activity programme, the project also delivered a diverse range of cross-community workshops, group trips and training courses which saw over 300 people engage with the project. Areas covered included first aid, CPC, food safety, health and nutrition, Safe Pass, farm safety, computers, creative writing, art, digital photography, flower arranging, interior design and antique restoration.

Much of the programmes training took place in the Orange Orders two active Lodges in County Leitrim, located in Portlongfield and Killegar  providing many members of the local community with an opportunity to visit an Orange Lodge for the first time.

Speaking at the event, Dorothy Clarke, Board Member of the International Fund for Ireland, said that the Fund is proud to be associated with the valuable work carried out by the County Leitrim Grand Orange Lodge as part of the Reaching Out, Looking Forward project.

The Fund is committed to the long-term task of breaking down traditional barriers and helping to build positive relations and contact between the two main communities on the island of Ireland, said Ms Clarke.

Were delighted to be associated with this unique project which has been enormously successful in fostering increased contact, dialogue and integration within and between both communities. We believe this project will continue to have a lasting, long-term impact on reconciliation in Leitrim and surrounding border area.

Alan Madill, Project Committee Chair said: On behalf of County Leitrim Grand Orange Lodge and everyone involved in this project, I would like to acknowledge the generous support weve received from the International Fund for Ireland for this important reconciliation initiative.

The response to the project has been very positive and surpassed all our expectations. By bringing together people who have not previously taken part in cross community activities, the initiative has made significant progress in creating greater understanding and building new relationships across both communities  helping to change mind-sets and create a shared future.

We believe the project will have a long-lasting and very beneficial impact by fostering relationships between people who may otherwise not have met outside this project.

Since commencing in 2013, the IFIs Peace Impact Programme (PIP) has supported 56 projects across Northern Ireland and the southern border counties of Ireland with 5,732,607/4,586,085 in funding.

It aims to build sustainable peace and reconciliation within and between communities suffering from high levels of economic and social deprivation; where there have been low levels of engagement in peace building and where there remains a continued risk of instability and violence.
A project working with County Leitrim Grand Orange Lodge members and families was launched at an event on Monday 7th July.

A project working with County Leitrim Grand Orange Lodge members and families was launched at an event on Monday 7th July.

The Emblems Project will host a series of educational and informative workshops based on the theme of emblems, particularly focusing on the Poppy and the Lily.

The first workshop took place at the launch event and was addressed by Vice Chairperson of the National Graves Association Joe Austin and renowned historian Philip Orr.

Joe Austin opened up the discussion by outlining the history of the Easter Lily and how it became the symbol for Irelands Republican dead.

Mr. Austin spoke of how the Lily dates back to 1925 when members of Cumann mBan starting selling lilies to raise money to help families whose loved ones were still in prison after the Civil War.

It was then adopted by republicans as a symbol to honour republican dead and still does to this day.

Philip Orr then addressed the seminar and outlining the origin of the Poppy and how it has been adopted by Britain, Canada, France and other countries to remember those who had been killed in the First World War.

It is the symbol used by the Royal British Legion to remember all British Soldiers who have been killed in conflicts around the world since the Great War and selling the Poppy every year allows them to not only remember but also to raise monies for soldiers and their families who have been injured or killed in conflict.

Speaking on behalf of County Leitrim PEACE Partnership, Paul Kirkpatrick commented, The issue of symbols and emblems is a divisive one and projects such as this one that set out to explain and demystify the meaning of some of them are useful and important as they can help people to understand the views of others more fully.

Carol Follis, Senior Project Development Officer at Groundwork Northern Ireland, based in Enniskillen, commented on the project; The Project provides an opportunity to explore the origins of the Poppy and the Lily leading to a greater understanding and appreciation of each of the symbols through discussing the esteem to which each symbol is held by the different communities.

The shared history tour of Dublin will enable participants to see how events in Irish history have been commemorated and challenge how we observe the Decade of Commemorations.

The Emblems Project is funded by the PEACE III Programme through the European Unions Regional Development Fund managed for the Special EU Programmes Body by County Leitrim PEACE III Partnership and will be delivered by Groundwork Northern Ireland and Hazel Hicks Consulting in the coming months.

All enquiries about the project should be directed to Carol Follis 00447793041339 carolfollis@groundworkni.co.uk or to Hazel Hicks 00447770852362 hazel6004@yahoo.co.uk
As we have a 13-years-too-late mea culpa (but a big boy made him do it) from John Prescott, Alistair Carmichael writes for the Times about Parliaments role in supporting the Iraq War.

He makes the very valid point that Parliament could have given Blair a much harder time, asking for more evidence, scrutinising every claim made, but they ducked it.

Too many of those who now say, Of course, if I had known then what I know now  must be challenged. For the most part they could not have known then what they know now because they were not prepared to ask the questions or to demand the evidence. Attention focuses on the actions of the prime minister and government of the day and rightly so  they failed to do what they should have done. That is, however, equally true of the Conservative opposition. Where they should have questioned, they acquiesced. Where they should have demanded evidence, they accepted assertions. As a party of the establishment, they could not allow themselves to believe that the various arms of government would be embarking on a war without a sound basis in law. Our parliament failed us and as a result we embarked on a war that was a catastrophic error of judgment, the consequences of which shall be with us for decades to come.

He also points out the vilification meted out in the Chamber to those who did stand up against the war  notably Charles Kennedy:

Reading again the Hansard record of Charles Kennedys speech in the final debate on March 18, 2003, you see the repeated interventions, not least from the Speaker demanding that he be allowed to have his say. Hansard does not record the wall of sound that I remember greeting Charles when he got to his feet in these debates or, for that matter, every week at prime ministers questions.

And he reminds of us his own prescient intervention.

I said this: The government cannot be allowed to ignore the fact that they have not persuaded the public of the case for war. They must understand that the consequence of entering a war supported by the British government but not by the British people will be to see an acceleration of that process of disengagement between people and politics. It would be a grotesque irony if we went to war in order to bring democracy to Iraq and in so doing dealt a fatal blow to the democratic institutions of our own country.

You can read the whole article here ().

* Newshound: bringing you the best Lib Dem commentary in print, on air or online.
If you change your mind, Im the first in line from Abbas Take a Chance on Me was not quite what we expected to come blaring out of the PA system at the Young European Movements rally after the March for Europe in Edinburgh this afternoon. The good tunes just kept coming, though, with Dancing Queen and the Proclaimers 500 miles featuring as well.

There was a pretty big turnout, which was amazing given that the event was up against Andy Murray winning his second Wimbledon mens singles title.

The Lib Dem contingent was pretty big, too. We were led by Edinburgh Western MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton who gave a stonking speech. We are here, we are united, and we are citizens of the European Union, he told the crowd. He told people from elsewhere in the EU living here that this was their home, they are our family and they are welcome here. His speech was extremely well received by the crowd. Watch it here.

Other speakers recounted incidents of horrendous racism experienced in the last few weeks. One young man told how he came home one night to find the Police in his house talking to his mother who had almost been pushed under a subway train by an attacker. Another young woman talked about the racial slurs that people seem to feel its ok for them to throw about. It was really disturbing stuff.

Former Big Brother winner and now youth leader John Loughton made his first rally speech. Hes been at events with world leaders, including President Obama but it was the first time hed addressed such a large crowd,

For a party with over 100 parliamentarians, the SNP were represented, very well, I should say, by an Edinburgh Councillor. I know folk are on holiday at the moment, but I would have thought they would have one MP or MSP available to show up. Labour and the Tories were nowhere to be seen, but there was a reasonable contingent of Greens. It was the Liberal Democrats who turned out in force, though.

The grieving process that started in the small hours o 24 June has a long way to go, but today was a good day for those of us who want to find a way through this that involves maintaining the closest possible ties with our European neighbours and allies.

All of Scotlands political leaders were unequivocal in their support for the EU. The campaign in Scotland didnt have any of the blatant racism and dog whistle politics that we saw south of the border. And we voted to remain by a big margin. Those two things arent unrelated. What a pity we couldnt have seen a better quality campaign south of the border. We might have been saved from what Alex described as a massive act of self harm.

* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings
AN ALTERNATIVE design for the proposed footbridge along the Shannon has been discussed by almost 15,000 people in ten different countries.

In response to huge criticisms of a footbridge proposed by the council to connect Arthurs Quay and the courthouse, running behind the Potato Market, city architects Richard Rice and Michael Healy have designed an alternative link.

Exclusively revealed by the Limerick Leader last week the walkway  provisionally titled The Peoples Bridge  would start at Honans Quay, and cross the rear of the island of Shannon Rowing Club. It would then link to the old Potato Market.

Speaking to the Limerick Leader this Wednesday, Mr Healy showed statistics from his companys social media accounts which reveal it has been reached by a total of 14,690 people in places as far afield as Poland, Austria, Croatia and Italy.

The comments have been mostly positive, Mr Healy said, People we meet in the street are discussing it, and the reaction has been overwhelmingly positive.

However, the Limerick Leader understands problems have been identified with the design, relating to its impact on the main drainage of the river.

Mr Healy rejected this, saying: The boardwalk is tidal. it works at low tide and high tide. These platforms would be similar to the platforms currently in the river, so youre changing nothing.

Healy and Partners has held no formal discussions with Limerick City and County Council, but have engaged with a number of councillors on an individual basis, Mr Healy said.

Corbally man Ray OHalloran, an experienced boatman though, has expressed concern over the design.

He explains the presence of a wall in the river, which would cause a waterfall in the water across from the Hunt Museum.

They are talking about pontoons running up along it. There is a breakwater at the end of the Abbey River. The tide runs down there at 900 cubic metres a second. Five minutes up the river, there is a pontoon similar to what they want to put there. It is mangled. The steel in it is twisted and contorted, Mr OHalloran said, You cannot believe the power of the water at that stretch, it is incredible.

Former metropolitan district mayor Michael Sheahan, who has been one of the more vocal voices against the proposed footbridge, is reserving judgement about the new design.

He said: Pardon the pun, but I have seen nothing concrete on what I am voting on as regards visuals. These are the most important things here. The visuals and the location. There is total confusion regarding the finished project, its possible shape and design, and most importantly of all, no-one can put a figure on what it is costing.

However, there has been praise for the new concept from former mayor of Limerick Jim Long, who said: It is a wonderful alternative to what was proposed. Well done to all concerned, and congratulations on their vision.

Mayor Kieran OHanlon has said the new proposal is worth considering alongside a list of other designs.He said: I hope it will become something iconic, another Thomond Park in a sense that when you look at it, you will say Thats Limerick.

On Monday week, metropolitan councillors will vote to decide whether they should seek consultants views on the bridge   despite the design of it remaining unclear.

It is understood that contrary to some reports, no formal party whip will be imposed.

This will mean councillors, regardless of party, can vote in whichever way they please.

There had been reports that Fianna Fail and Fine Gael may vote en-bloc in favour. See Letters Page 16.
BUSINESSES in rural Limerick are continuing to suffer from the lack of a high-speed broadband service.

And although the government announced a national five-year initiative this week which will see broadband rolled out to all rural areas in a private ownership deal, work is not expected to begin until next year and could take up to five years to complete.

Meanwhile, one of West Limericks most forward-looking small companies Greenspan has gone public about the problem.

Greenspan was established by Mike and Helen Cregan in the village of Ballyhahill in 1999 and supplies both interior and exterior boards to the building industry. More recently, it has pioneered a technology led system called Sup R Wall which offers a really rapid and inexpensive way of delivering fast-track housing and buildings.

It's ideally suited to building houses, apartments, student accommodation, hotels, nursing homes etc, managing director Mike Cregan epxlained to the Limerick Leader. The company has developed the system to a level whereby it can now export this technology under a licence agreement to anywhere in the world.

But broadband is key. And at the company offices in Ballyhahill it is inadequate.

Despite being linked in to a fibre-optic network that can deliver up to 70 megabytes per second (Mps), the system is only delivering on average 28 Mps. And, although he lives just five minutes away, Mike must return to the office if he wants to do any work at night because his home broadband doesnt even deliver that.

It is not high speed, Helen Cregan, financial controller and director at the company said. It is very frustrating.

And that frustration is growing as there seems to be little likelihood of really high-speed broadband coming to Ballyhahill any time soon. Last March, the government announced that broadband of up to 1 GB per second would be coming to nine locations in Co Limerick. These include Newcastle West, Rathkeale and Adare but not Ballyhahill, leaving Greenspan shouting into the wilderness and pleading with politicians to get something done soon and fast.

Since it developed its Sup R Wall system, the company has been successful in completing large projects in the UK using the system and it has begun to make inroads in emerging markets, especially in Africa.

Recently we have signed contracts to export products and technology to Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Kenya. The first Sup R Wall factories will be in production in these countries by mid August. We are also close to signing a licence agreement in Chile along with advanced discussion in several other countries, Mr Cregan said.

One thing that has surprised me is the fact that many people in Africa suffer from a lack of quality housing and infrastructure but almost everyone has a mobile phone and is well versed on social media. The internet service in these countries is also very good and in many cases better that that which is available to many rural areas in Ireland, he continued.

The importance of having high quality fibre broadband cannot be overstated when dealing with overseas markets, he continued.

On-line marketing and sales also demand good quality broadband, he pointed out.

Greenspan currently employs ten people in Ballyhahill with others on contract both here and abroad. But this is likely to grow as they expand internationally and as their manufacturing facility in Ballyhahill takes off.

However, connectivity is the key, Mr Cregan stressed. And he appealed to government representatives to make it a priority.

On a wider level, he continued: If companies are to set up and develop in rural areas then it's imperative that they have decent access to broadband. In fact you could argue the case that instead of location, for many businesses its now the availability to deliver information that is the crunch issue.

The roll out needs to be high on the governments agenda.
A LITTLE bit of local history was made last week when Mayor Kieran OHanlon became the first local politicians to hold the mayoralty of two different local authorities.

It was back in 1996 when he was elected the 800th mayor of the old Limerick City Council in a very close 9-8 vote.

And while the Garryowen man's margin of victory 20 years on was far more comfortable, the Fianna Fail councillor admits he had doubts he was going to be elected the third Mayor of Limerick City and County.

There always is a doubt: having been through as a city councillor some very exciting mayoral elections, it was with a sense of relief and happiness I got 29 votes, he says.

Twenty years ago, Cllr OHanlons then party, the Progressive Democrats (PDs) were in a pact with Labour which saw him over the line.

Id say it was the only deal of its kind in Ireland, a bit of a right-wing party, and a bit of a left-wing party. But it was a very honourable agreement: Jim Kemmy was a very honourable man to deal with.

It was nine-eight, and as you have seen at mayoral elections, it only takes one member to change sides, and youd be out of office, he said.

Relaxing in his mayoral suite overlooking the majestic river Shannon, with the three bridges and the Curragower Falls in view, Mayor OHanlon is enjoying the experience of being Limericks first citizen more this time around.

He says: Back then, I was trying to hold down a full time job [at Wyeth in Askeaton]. But trying to get in and out from Askeaton and run the office was difficult. I was new and inexperienced.

But now I feel I have the experience, I have grandchildren, and my own children are old enough to enjoy what it means to be mayor of Limerick.

At his mayoral election in County Hall, Cllr OHanlons family travelled from Britain and America to witness the moment.

They included his five proud children, Catriona, Therese, Adrian, Gareth and Ciaran.

In his victory speech, the mayor said, despite some of the lofty ambitions he set, he made sure he didnt make promises he couldnt keep.

Ive seen people making mayoral speeches before promising thousands of jobs for Limerick, and I'm still waiting to see where they are, he laughed.

But one thing key to his year in office, Cllr OHanlon says, is the promotion of city and county, with Limerick set to discover this month if it has been named Capital of Culture.

To this end, he says: I make no absolutely no apology for travelling. People can call them junkets if they like, but I think it is important we sell ourselves abroad.

One of these trips will be a visit to Boston to formalise a sister city relationship. He hopes to lead a delegation of businesses, educational professionals and other stakeholders at the end of his mayoralty.

The mayor raised eyebrows in his victory speech when he said the merger of the two local authorities had been an unqualified success.

In the past, Cllr OHanlon  one of the last remaining members of the class of 1991  has been hugely critical of the amalgamation.

He defended his comments in the pre-written speech, saying: I was not in favour of the amalgamation, and I make no bones about it. The City Council were not happy with it, but we were not given any say, or consultation. Be that as it may, the amalgamation took place. So I feel my duty as mayor is to make it work  and thats what Ill do.

However, he rather ruefully notes that a plan to merge Corks two local authorities appears to be off the table for now, pointing out the minister responsible for this, Simon Coveney, hails from the Rebel County.

While he is the mayor of Limerick City and County, Cllr OHanlon will continue to give a close nod to the citys storied history.

This was in evidence from the get-go, when he donned the robes of the old Limerick City Council, which had been consigned to the City Museum.

I think some of the county people were a bit confused  Id say they thought I was getting ready for bed, he laughs, Despite the wishes of some councillors, they are not going back into the museum while I am here.

As previously mentioned, Cllr OHanlon has spent over 25 years in local politics, and was a community activist prior to this.

Elected in ward two of the old Limerick City Council in 1991, has been returned at four elections since.

In his first election, Cllr OHanlon prevailed by just eight votes, taking the last seat with 539 first preferences, with former mayor Paddy Madden  still a long time friend  missing out.

Initially elected as a Progressive Democrat, he switched allegiance to Fianna Fail in 1998.

Recalling why he did this, he said: I became a bit disillusioned. The PDs were in government, and I felt I could deliver a lot more for the people in my area. I was not getting the response I wanted.

Mayor OHanlon outlined a number of projects he was seeking support for, including the then derelict St Patricks cemetery.

It was left to the civic trust to step in and restore it.

I asked for help from Mary Harney and got no response. Maybe I was naive as a councillor to expect ministers to do something for you, he added.

He left the now-defunct party  founded in the city  because his home place in Limerick was solidly Fianna Fail.

I met Willie ODea, and he was anxious I would join. Im glad he has stood by me 100%, and has remained helpful in all my elections, the mayor said.

For the third year in a row, Limerick has two mayors, with Fine Gaels Michael Hourigan holding the lesser office of metropolitan district mayor.

While Mayor OHanlon says the two get on, he added: I think the current set up is ridiculous, I really do.

The new senior mayor is looking forward to discovering rural Co Limerick during his year in office.

Indeed, he has asked his secretary Marianne OReilly to provide him with a list of national schools in Limerick that he can visit, and talk to children about civic pride.

When they see me coming in the robe, they might think Santa Claus is coming through the door, he laughed.

As for the legacy he hopes to leave, he concluded: I hope people will see I will be a hard worker for the city and county, and Limerick will be better placed when I am finished.
IT WAS proposed the council appoint a tourism officer immediately after part of County Limerick nearly missed out on being included in Irelands Ancient East.

Cllr Mike Donegan was speaking following a presentation by Amanda Slattery, Ballyhoura heritage and tourism officer, on Failte Irelands new multi-million euro tourism project.

The Cappamore-Kilmallock municipal district meeting heard that while part of the county was originally included in Irelands Ancient East it then came under review due to questions regarding geography.

Ms Slattery said that Ballyhoura spent months engaging with Failte Ireland to prove that Limerick deserved its spot. It was agreed that the part of County Limerick east of the N20 would be included.

Cllr Donegan said he felt embarrassed listening to the presentation.

A tourism officer needs to be appointed immediately. We missed the boat on the Wild Atlantic Way and we nearly missed the boat on Irelands Ancient East, thankfully we didnt. We fell asleep at the wheel, said Cllr Donegan.

While Limerick was not included in the original Wild Atlantic Way, the route to Foynes from Tarbert was later added.

Cllr Eddie Ryan, new cathaoirleach, said he has travelled the Wild Atlantic Way.

"A lot of the claims are bogus, we are closer than some of them," said Cllr Ryan.

The benefits to Limerick from inclusion in Irelands Ancient East will be capital funding support for projects, signage, orientation panels, guidebooks, visitor guides, and an increase of tourists.

Launched last year, it aims to tap into 5,000 years of history and has the potential to deliver an extra 600,000 overseas visitors and increase visitor revenue by almost 25% to 950m in the region by 2020, according to Failte Ireland. The concept is of a compact touring region full of Irish history that visitors can enter at any point and explore at their leisure.

The "relaxing journey of discovery" is seen as a follow up to the Wild Atlantic Way.

Cllr Lisa Marie Sheehy said there is massive need for Limerick City and County Council to have a tourism officer.

It is really important as we have so much to offer as a county and we need to get it out there, said Cllr Sheehy.

Cllr Brigid Teefy said Irelands Ancient East is a fabulous concept.

We have so much to offer here. It is a blind spot that we dont have the representation of a tourism officer, said Cllr Teefy.

Cllr Ryan said many American tourists get off the plane in Dublin, jump on a tour bus, visit the Rock of Cashel and then onto Killarney.

They dont know we exist. We are being bypassed. Well done on the inclusion in Irelands Ancient East, said Cllr Ryan.

Ms Slattery said overall it could be 2017 before an impact is seen visibly in terms of visitor numbers.

However, the hope that this area can begin to be seen as a touring destination in its own right and potentially improve our overnight stays is a very positive spin off for the region and important that our heritage and cultural attractions gain recognition is also a very positive step, said Ms Slattery.
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Gunmen kidnapped three Indonesian members of a tugboat crew off Malaysia's eastern state of Sabah, police said on Sunday, the latest in a string of abductions in a region noted for kidnappings by Islamist militants. It was not immediately clear whether the men were seized by Abu Sayyaf, a group linked to Islamic State that is responsible for recent beheadings of Western hostages and notorious for the extortion of millions of dollars in ransoms. The tugboat, with a crew of seven, was in waters off the east coast of Sabah on Borneo island, about 3.6 nautical miles from a nearby Kampung Sinakut beach, Sabah police commissioner Abdul Rashid Harun said, when it was attacked by armed men in a white boat late on Saturday. He said that based on early investigations, the three men kidnapped were 34-year-old Lorens Koten, 40-year-old Teo Dores Kopong and a 46-year-old identified only as Emanuel. Abdul Rashid said they are likely to be in the southern Philippines now but did not elaborate. Four other crew members were left behind by the kidnappers who came in a speedboat. "Victims released also said while the kidnappers were on their tugboat for nearly 30 minutes, no violence took place," he told reporters at a press conference in Lahad Datu. The five abductors were armed with rifles and also had a grenade launcher, the police added. In Jakarta, the Indonesian foreign ministry said it had no information yet on the abductions. The Abu Sayyaf militant group has beheaded two Canadian nationals recently after its ransom deadlines expired. It is still holding men from Japan, the Netherlands and Norway. (Reporting by Kuala Lumpur bureau; Additional reporting by Jakarta bureau; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Ryan Woo)
FARNBOROUGH, England, July 10 (Reuters) - The head of Boeing Commercial Airplanes said on Sunday that U.S. suppliers to Europe's Airbus and other planemakers should not be able to get licences to sell their wares to Iran if Boeing is blocked from completing a $25 billion deal with the country.

The remarks by the Boeing Co unit's chief executive Ray Conner come as Boeing and others face opposition in Congress over the sale of jets under a deal between Iran and world powers to ease sanctions in exchange for curbs on nuclear activities.

Both Boeing and European rival Airbus have lined up preliminary deals to sell or lease over 100 planes to Iran, subject to licences from the U.S. Treasury for aircraft more than 10 percent of whose components are made in the United States.

The potential sales come at a time when demand for wide-body jets is slowing, a factor which makes the task of ensuring smooth output of the current version of Boeing's 777 jet "a little more challenging", Conner told reporters.

(Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Mark Potter)
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By Adam Jourdan and Ben Hirschler SHANGHAI/LONDON (Reuters) - As China's medical bills rise steeply, outpacing government insurance provision, patients and their families are increasingly turning to loans to pay for healthcare, adding to the country's growing burden of consumer debt. While public health insurance reaches nearly all of China's 1.4 billion people, its coverage is basic, leaving patients liable for about half of total healthcare spending, with the proportion rising further for serious or chronic diseases such as cancer and diabetes. That is likely to get significantly worse as the personal healthcare bill soars almost fourfold to 12.7 trillion yuan (1.4 trillion) by 2025, according to Boston Consulting Group estimates. For many, like Li Xinjin, a construction materials trader whose son was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2009, that means taking on crippling debt. Li, from Cangzhou in Hebei province, scoured local papers and websites for small lenders to finance his son's costly treatment at a specialist hospital in Beijing, running up debts of more than 1.7 million yuan, about 10 times his typical annual income. "At that time, borrowing money and having to make repayments, I was very stressed. Every day I worried about this," said Li, 47, adding that he and his wife had at times slept rough on the streets near the hospital. "But I couldn't let my son down. I had to try to save him," he said. Li's boy died last year. The debts will weigh him down for a few more years yet. Medical loans are just part of China's debt mountain - consumer borrowing has tripled since 2010 to nearly 21 trillion yuan, and in eight years household debt relative to the economy has doubled to nearly 40 percent - but they are growing. That is luring big companies like Ping An Insurance Group, as well as small loan firms and P2P platforms, as China's traditional savings culture proves inadequate to the challenge of such heavy costs. The stress is particularly apparent in lower-tier cities and rural areas where insurance has failed to keep pace with rising costs, said Andrew Chen, Shanghai-based healthcare head for consultancy Parthenon-EY. "It's a storm waiting to happen where patients from rural areas will have huge financial burdens they didn't have to face before," he said, adding people would often take second mortgages on their homes or turn to community finance schemes. ROOTS OF POVERTY China's government has moved to ramp up rural health insurance, boost coverage for major illnesses and put pressure on drug companies to slash prices, but it is an uphill battle. Official data show up to 44 percent of families pushed into poverty were impoverished by illness. The Ministry of Health, which did not immediately respond to requests for comment, is currently investigating the impact of these costs on the country's labour force. "Typically, what happens in China is the whole family contributes when someone gets a severe disease like cancer," Severin Schwan, chief executive of Roche Holding AG, the world's biggest maker of cancer drugs, told Reuters. "When it comes to innovative medicines, the financial burden is just too much. Families can go broke." Roche itself has schemes in China to make cancer drugs more affordable, including an insurance scheme developed with Swiss Re. There are no reliable figures for total healthcare lending, as lenders do not usually advance the money for healthcare-specific purposes. "If you want to use it for medical bills, cosmetic surgery or plastic surgery that's all fine," says Ping An Puhui, which advertises that its loans can "alleviate the pain of illness" and "bring new hope to sick families". But there is plenty of anecdotal evidence from online lenders that it is a growing segment. "Our loan numbers have risen steadily, and no small number of people have used these for medical purposes," said Li Jin, a customer service worker at peer-to-peer (P2P) lender ppdai.com. "Healthcare costs are high, and lots of people don't have good state cover, so they need a loan." China Minsheng Banking Corp has launched a healthcare loan scheme in the western city of Chengdu, while Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Holding Co Ltd rolled out a loan scheme in April to help patients access expensive drugs. Some desperate patients are pawning their personal belongings. "They use things of various value from jewellery to purses and even cars," said Chen Yi, an office worker at online lender minbaodai.cn. "Previously the majority of people were looking for extra cash flow for their business, but last year and this we've seen a rise in healthcare loans." ($1 = 6.6696 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Additional reporting by SHANGHAI newsroom; Editing by Will Waterman)
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Crime, Press Releases

By Long Island News & PR Published: July 09 2016

The Major Case Bureau reports the details of an arrest for an attempted bank robbery that occurred in Hempstead on Saturday, July 09, 2016 at 11:50 A.M.

Prince Conteh, 26, of Lowell, Massachusetts, attempted to rob a bank in Hempstead armed with a shotgun. After failing he was involved in an auto accident with the responding police vehicle.

Hempstead, NY - July 9, 2016 - The Major Case Bureau reports the details of an arrest for an attempted bank robbery that occurred in Hempstead on Saturday, July 09, 2016 at 11:50 A.M.

According to detectives, Prince Conteh, 26, of Lowell, Massachusetts, armed with a shotgun, entered the Bank of America located at 3 Main St., and demanded cash from a female employee. When the victim refused to allow him entry into the teller area, he left the bank without proceeds.

While fleeing in his vehicle, the defendant was involved in an auto accident with one of the responding Hempstead police officers vehicle, then continued on and struck a pole. The defendant exited the auto and fled on foot, eventually dropping the shotgun nearby. Hempstead police officers were able to apprehend the defendant with the assistance of civilians. The shotgun was recovered. There were five bank employees and two customers in the bank at the time of the robbery.

The police officer involved in the auto accident, who suffered neck and back pain, was taken to a local hospital where he was treated and released. No other injuries were reported.

Conteh is being charged with Robbery 1st Degree (Attempt), Criminal Use Firearm 2nd Degree, Criminal Possession of Weapon 2nd Degree, Assault 2nd Degree and will be arraigned on Sunday, 07/10/16 in First District Court, Hempstead.
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Gold just posted its longest weekly winning streak since July 2011, but if investors missed out on the recent rally, fear not. One trader says the commodity has "unlimited upside," and investors have the Federal Reserve to thank for it.

On CNBC's " Futures Now " this week, Tom Colvin said that gold will remain in a bull market that will only come to an end "when central banks take their hands out of the cookie jar." The Federal Reserve is unlikely to hike rates in the foreseeable future, despite a blockbuster June employment report on Friday.

"The year-to-date rally in gold (CEC:Commodities Exchange Centre: @GC.1) has been nothing short of spectacular, benefiting from what we have seen as a 'confused Fed' or a Fed lacking action," the senior vice president of global institutional sales at Ambrosino Brothers explained.

Gold prices have rallied 28 percent in 2016, hitting a two year high earlier this week. Even as the yellow metal has pulled back from those highs in the last two sessions, Colvin expects these dips to arise as buying opportunities for investors.

Gold started the year in a rally "and it hasn't looked back," Colvin said. "While the first six weeks of 2016 were slow to develop, the Fed's inability to secure more rate hikes, or even convince the market they were coming , fueled the rally we are seeing," he added.

This week, Bank of America-Merrill Lynch forecast that gold was building up a full head of steam that could take it to $1,500 per ounce. Colvin also has bullish expectations for bullion. His near-term target for the precious metal is $1,400, roughly $50 above where it's currently trading. Gold has not been above that level in three years.

"The market can take good news and bad news," Colvin told CNBC. However, "a confused Fed, saying one thing but doing another over and over invites buyers of gold to jump into the pool with both feet and they have."

Story continues

Furthermore, Colvin says a "top heavy" equity marketthe S&P 500 (INDEX: .SPX) is within a hair of its all-time highshould continue to invite investors to buy gold as a hedge.





More From CNBC


In a newly released audio message, Osama bin Ladens son Hamza says that the number of mujahideen around the globe has grown despite a decade and a half of war. Hamza also threatens revenge for the death of his father, claiming that America has not yet witnessed al Qaedas retaliation.

Hamzas speech was released yesterday by al Qaedas propaganda arm, As Sahab. It is the latest speech by Osamas heir, who was given a starring role in al Qaedas productions last August.

The SITE Intelligence Group translated the 21 minute, 40 second audio, which is accompanied by images of various jihadists.

The message is titled, We Are All Osama. The same phrase was chanted during the al Qaeda-inspired protests at American diplomatic establishments in Cairo, Tunis, Sanaa, and elsewhere in September 2012. The cover of the tenth issue of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsulas Inspire magazine focused on this theme, celebrating the US Embassy protests and assaults. Footage from these rallies was also included in Hamzas first official al Qaeda message last year.

At the beginning of the 9/11 wars, Hamza says, the mujahideen were besieged in Afghanistan. But today the mujahideen are in Afghanistan and they have reached Sham [Syria], Palestine, Yemen, Egypt, Iraq, Somalia, the Indian Subcontinent, Libya, Algeria, Tunisia, Mali, and Central Africa. With the possible exception of Iraq, al Qaedas official branches and affiliated groups have a presence in each of the areas listed by Hamza.

The followers of the thought of Sheikh Osama, may Allah have mercy on him, which is represented by targeting the head of global disbelief that supports the Jews, have increased in number within a decade and a half, and became double in number, Hamza claims, according to SITEs translation. Osama bin Ladens followers today number in the hundreds of thousands, and his loved ones and supporters number in the millions, and that is due to the grace of Allah the Almighty.

Hamza says he discussed the US drone campaign in northern Pakistan with Abu Yahya al Libi, a senior al Qaeda official who was killed in an airstrike in June 2012. The increase in the Crusader American drone strikes in Waziristan resulted in convoys of martyrs departing one by one, and the killing of the sheikhs of jihad became rampant, Hamza laments. But Libi reassured Hamza that this was the path al Qaeda had chosen, with its leaders sacrificing themselves so that their nation (meaning the ummah, or worldwide community of Muslims) may live.

Hamza describes his father as the Reviver Imam. Al Qaeda regularly uses this honorific and its variants, including the Reviving Sheikh, to describe Osama bin Laden. The title is intended to mean that bin Laden helped reinvigorate the idea of jihad within Muslim-majority countries.

It was possible for the Reviver Imam, may Allah have mercy on him, to live a comfortable life, enjoying his fortune and wealth that reached millions of dollars, Hamza says of his father, according to SITE. But he and his companions preferred to have what is available within Allah in the hereafter. They preferred to defend the religion and support the vulnerable, especially our people in Palestine.

Al Qaeda often tries to tie its agenda to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but in realty the group has devoted only a small part of its resources to the Palestinian cause.

Hamza directly threatens retaliation against the US for the May 2011 raid on his fathers compound in Pakistan. If you think that your sinful crime that you committed in Abbottabad has passed without punishment, then you thought wrong, Hamza claims. What is correct is coming to you, and its punishment is severe. He then qualifies his threat, saying it is not revenge for Osama the person, but revenge for those who defended Islam and its sanctities and honor and for whoever revived jihad in the cause of Allah.

Osamas son taunts President Obama and his administration, claiming that Obamas arrival was accompanied with a huge media campaign, but it was hollow, containing many lies. Obama declared that he will end the wars, and that his era is an era of peace, and that he will close the open files that his predecessor left for him, meaning the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, among other issues. But Obama is now leaving the White House and also leaving open files for his successor, Hamza says, because he was incapable of solving them and because the force of the mujahideen stands before him.

Images of various jihadists are shown throughout Hamzas speech. Many of them are portrayed as martyrs, such as Abdullah Azzam (widely considered the godfather of modern jihadism), Abu Khalid al Suri (a veteran al Qaeda operative who doubled as a senior official in Ahrar al Sham until his death in 2014), Mullah Omar, and others. The photo of Abu Khalid al Suri can be seen in the upper right hand corner of the screen shot at the beginning of this article.

But some of the images are of jihadists who are presumably alive. One of them is Fayez al Kandari, whose picture is sandwiched between two photos of Osama bin Laden. A screen shot of Kandaris image, as included in al Qaedas video, can be seen on the right.

Kandari is an ex-Guantanamo detainee who was held at the American detention facility in Cuba until January 2016, when he was transferred to his home country of Kuwait. [See LWJ report, High risk Guantanamo detainee transferred to Kuwait.]

Another jihadist who is alive and shown in the video is Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman (also known as the Blind Sheikh), who is imprisoned in the US for his role in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and a follow-on plot against New York City landmarks. As Sahabs production begins with an old clip of Rahman reciting a verse from the Quran. Al Qaeda regularly agitates for Rahmans release, as he was one of Osama bin Ladens earliest and most influential ideological backers.

Thomas Joscelyn is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Senior Editor for FDD's Long War Journal.

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The government of Pakistan called the killing of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani by Indian troops deplorable and condemnable. This condemnation highlights Pakistans support for terrorist groups throughout the region. Hizb-ul-Mujahideen is listed by the US, the European Union, and India as a terrorist organization.

Indian troops killed Wani and two other Hizb-ul-Mujahideen fighters during a raid in a village in Indian Kashmir on July 8. Indian forces surrounded the village after receiving intelligence that one of Wanis associates was in the village, The Times of India reported.

Wani was a military commander for Hizb-ul-Mujahideen in Kashmir. He was described by the Hindustan Times as the new face of Kashmiri militancy in virtual world for his use of social media to recruit new fighters and spread Hizb-ul-Mujahideens message. His stated goal was to unfurl the flag of Islam on Delhis Red Fort and called for Kashmiris to wage holy war.

Pakistans Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a rebuke of the Indian operation that took out Wani, and described him as a Kashmiri leader.

The extrajudicial killing of Kashmiri leader Burhan Wani and scores of other innocent Kashmiris is deplorable and condemnable, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated in an official press release. Such acts are a violation of fundamental human rights of Kashmiris and can not deter the people of Jammu and Kashmir from their demand for the realisation of the right to self determination.

Pakistan has refused to recognize Jammu and Kashmir as an Indian state and has fomented a jihadist insurgency there since 1989. The Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate (ISI), the powerful military intelligence wing that secretly directs Pakistans foreign policy, has created and supported numerous jihadist groups in Jammu and Kashmir in an effort to separate the state from India.

Hizb-ul-Mujahideen ties to international jihad

Hizb-ul-Mujahideen is one of the more powerful jihadist insurgent groups operating in Jammu and Kashmir. It has close ties to other Pakistani terror groups that focuses on fighting in Jammu and Kashmir, but also supports al Qaeda and other jihadist groups in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Its leader, Syed Salahuddin, operates unfettered inside Pakistan and he and his group are directly supported by the state.

In May 2011, Salahuddin admitted that the Pakistani military allows him to run hundreds of training camps in the state where we recruit and train the mujahideen.

Salahuddin is also the chairman of the United Jihad Council, which is supported by the Pakistani military and the ISI as well. The Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, two groups that are on the US and United Nations lists of terror organizations, are similarly part of the United Jihad Council. Salahuddin has close ties to the Lashkar-e-Taiba and its charitable front, the Jamaat-ud-Dawa. Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jamaat-ud-Dawa, and Jaish-e-Mohammed are listed by the US government as terrorist organizations for their involvement in terrorist activities in India and Afghanistan.

Hizb-ul-Mujahideen chieftain Salahuddin is open about his support for jihadist activities in India and Afghanistan. In July 2012, Salahuddin spoke at a fundraising and recruiting drive for jihad in Afghanistan and India, and said Pakistan is the victim of a US and Israeli conspiracy. At the conference, which was held in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi, he stated that his fighters were waging jihad against the US.

Pakistan is the target of the US-Israeli nexus. Our fighters are defending Pakistan at a time when its geographical boundaries, its security and Islamic identity are at risk, Salahuddin said. We are fighting in Kashmir. It doesnt matter to us if we are labelled terrorists. We are proud to be called terrorists for fighting the US and its allies in Afghanistan.

The Pakistani government refuses to act against Salahuddin and other terrorist leaders, despite their direct involvement in terrorist activities.

Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of FDD's Long War Journal.

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The Islamic State downed a Russian helicopter east of Palmyra, Syria yesterday. The Russian Defense Ministry initially denied losing any helicopter. But the Russians changed their story after the so-called caliphate released a video of the attack today. The video can be viewed above.

On July 8, Russian military pilot-instructors Evgeny Dolgin and Ryafagat Khabibulin, were conducting a calibration flight on a Syrian Mi-25 (export version of the Mi-24) helicopter loaded with ammunition in the province of Homs, the Ministry of Defenses statement reads, according to Russia Today. The crew received a request from the Syrian command group to help defeat the advancing terrorists and fire for effect. The captain of the aircraft, Ryafagat Khabibulin, made the decision to attack.

The Russian statement continues: Having spent their ammunition, while turning back to the base, the helicopter was shot down by terrorists from the ground and crashed in an area controlled by the Syrian government. The crew did not survive.

Another Russian outlet, Interfax, cited a military source as saying that the chopper was shot down by an American-made TOW missile.

But the video released by Amaq News Agency, which is part of the Islamic States propaganda machine, does not appear to show a TOW strike. Instead, it looks like anti-aircraft fire hit the rear of the helicopter and led to the crash.

Backed by Russian airpower, Bashar al Assads military and its allies recaptured Palmyra from the Islamic State in late March. [See LWJ report, Syrian Army, allies retake Palmyra from the Islamic State.]

Since then, Amaq has repeatedly reported that the two sides have fought each other near Palmyra and elsewhere in the Homs province.

It is often difficult to verify claims about the fighting in Syria. In this instance, however, both sides now agree that the jihadists downed the Russian military chopper.

Before releasing the video earlier today, Amaq published Breaking News updates on the fighting near Palmyra.

Russian attack helicopter downed east of the Palmyra silos, the first Amaq update read yesterday. Shortly after, Amaq claimed that the Islamic States fighters had gained ground against fighters loyal to the Syrian regime. A second Amaq update read: Islamic State forces take control of 3 checkpoints belonging to Syrian regime forces and Shiite militias east of the Palmyra silos.

In March, Amaq claimed that five Russian soldiers were killed during fighting near Palmyra. Amaq posted photos and video to back up its report. One of the videos showed a slain Russian soldiers corpse. [See Threat Matrix report, Islamic State claims killing Russian soldiers at Palmyra.]

In June, Amaq reported that three Russian soldiers were killed by an improvised explosive device (IED) implanted along the Ithriya-Raqqa road, which connects the provinces of Hama and Raqqa. The road has been the site of multiple clashes between the jihadists and fighters loyal to Bashar al Assads government. Amaq posted photos allegedly taken from a dead soldiers phone and a video of the charred vehicle they were purportedly driving when the IED exploded. It does not appear that the Islamic State posted any images of the soldiers corpses and a spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry denied the report. [See LWJ report, Islamic State claims 3 Russian soldiers killed in Syria.]

Thomas Joscelyn is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Senior Editor for FDD's Long War Journal.

Are you a dedicated reader of FDD's Long War Journal? Has our research benefitted you or your team over the years? Support our independent reporting and analysis today by considering a one-time or monthly donation. Thanks for reading! You can make a tax-deductible donation here.
DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran on Sunday accused Saudi Arabia of backing terrorism after a senior Saudi prince, a former intelligence chief, addressed a Paris rally held by exiled Iranian rebels and told them he wanted the Iranian government to fall. Shi'ite Muslim power Iran and Saudi Arabia, bastion of Sunni Islam, are longstanding religious and political arch rivals. Relations are fraught as they back each other's foes in regional wars such as in Yemen, Iraq and Syria. "The Saudis are resorting to well-known terrorists ... as they have also done in Iraq, Yemen and Syria. This shows that they use terrorism and terrorists to further their aims against regional Islamic countries," an unnamed Iranian Foreign Ministry source was quoted by Iran's state news agency IRNA as saying. The rally addressed by Prince Turki al-Faisal on Saturday was held by the political wing of the exiled People's Mujahideen Organisation of Iran (PMOI), which seeks the overthrow of Iran's clerical leadership established by the 1979 Islamic revolution. Saudi media gave top coverage to the speech. The rally was also attended by a number of Western political figures, including former U.S. House of Representatives speaker Newt Gingrich. Also known by its Persian name Mujahideen-e-Khalq Organisation (MKO), the group sided with Saddam Hussein during Iraq's war with Iran in the 1980s but fell out of favor with Baghdad after he was toppled by a U.S.-led invasion in 2003. PMOI once had a presence in the United States and maintains offices in Europe. Critics have described it as a cult. Iran accuses Saudi Arabia of supporting Islamic State and other militant groups, which Riyadh denies. The Saudis say Iran is fomenting sectarian violence in the Middle East and has aspirations to dominate the region. "Your legitimate struggle against the (Iranian) regime will achieve its goal, sooner or later," Prince Turki, also an ex-ambassador to Washington and London, had said in his speech. "I, too, want the fall of the regime," he added. (Reporting by Dubai newsroom; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)
News reporters are known for their varied reporting from the news localities. But a Pakistan journalist gave a 'unusual reporting' after the death of the renowned Pakistani Philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi.

The Journalist from a popular channel decided to inform their viewers about details of the burial from inside the grave in which Edhi's body to be buried. Edhi, who dedicated his life for the poor has died at the age 88. However the news had gone viral on social media.
One week after the implementation of the new SOLAS regulation Verified Gross Mass (VGM), MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company confirms an outstanding early experience of compliance rates by shippers.

MSC France, which covers seven ports in the French Metropolitan area, saw a 100% verified record on all its initial sailings under the new jurisdiction.

Of 627 containers loaded on 1st July, every single one was found to be fully VGM ready and compliant.

In the days immediately after VGM coming into effect  from 2nd until 6th July  a total of 2,891 containers were loaded by MSC France, and every one of these was VGM compliant.

MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company also identifies a high statistic of customers uploading VGM through their designated portal, myMSC.com, as opposed to other reporting methods.

Philippe Lestrade, Managing Director of MSC France, said: We are really pleased with our early record for VGM compliance, and encouraged that clearly our customers have responded well to our communications about the impending regulation.

This is a challenging time for the industry and our expectation was that perhaps we would see rates of anywhere between 50 and 80% compliance on initial sailings  so this is a superb result.

Lestrade added: VGM brings clarity for all parties in the supply chain and ensures improvement in safety, as well as better efficiency around handling of containers and release of cargo.

We have been working hard to support our customers with the implementation of SOLAS VGM, investing in our eCommerce, which allows customers to have an easy method of communicating their VGM to MSC.
Last year saw an upswing in Capesize spot rates during the first seven months of the year, peaking in early August, rallying briefly in September and declining for the rest of the year, says ALIBRA Shipping in its Weekly Market Report.

This would seem to correspond with scrapping activity  owners sold many capes for demolition during the first half of the year but stopped scrapping as rates rebounded  which ultimately killed the market again.

Since 2016 began, some 64 Capesize bulk carriers have been sold for demolition, compared to 66 during the same period last year  almost identical. Does this mean we can expect to see the same trend in rates again this year?

Of course, demolition is only half of the story. In 2015, only 55 new Capesizes (10,999,600 dwt in total) were delivered between January 1 and July 8.

During the same interval this year, however, 104 Capesizes have hit the water (20,100,627 dwt in total), some of which will be vessels that were originally scheduled for delivery in 2015.

This is equivalent to net fleet growth of 2.6% since January 1.

As an interesting aside, new software has shown how sensitively Capesize freight rates respond when vessels are removed from the trading fleet.

MarineTraffic.com, with whom Alibra partners and provides charter rate data, is developing software that estimates how many Capesizes are currently in lay-up worldwide.

The draft software estimated that 37 Capesize bulk carriers (6.6m dwt in total) were laid up around the world, as of June 5. This number is equivalent to 2.4% of the 1,521 Capesizes currently on the water.

Most interestingly, MarineTraffic has found the number of laidup Capesizes identified by its software roughly tracks the trend shown by the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) week-by-week.

The highest level of Capesize lay-ups was shown during the week commencing April 18 (week 16) this year. The BDI hit an eight-month high of 715 points just a few days later, on April 27.

An estimated 30m dwt in Capesize tonnage will have to be scrapped during 2016 and 2017 in order to offset the same volume of tonnage awaiting delivery and create a floor for freight rates.

Research says this would result in the average age of a cape sold for demolition from the current 21 years to just 18 years.

This is pretty drastic  in shortening the cash flow period, early scrapping cuts future earnings and vessel values. Is the cape market really so bad that shipowners would opt for such drastic measures?
It was another lacklustre month for the shipping industry as freight rates in almost all sectors softened further. Drewrys Earnings Index declined by 0.5% during the month to 52.4.

The new locks of the Panama Canal finally became operational in June, enabling vessels of up to 49-metre beam, 366-metre LOA and 15-metre draught to pass through, which in turn will affect trade patterns in various sectors.

The canal can now accommodate containerships of up to 12,500 teu. As more ULCVs are being delivered each month, carriers are desperately looking for new homes for smaller vessels (8,000-12,000 teu) cascaded out of the Asia-Europe trade.

Drewry expects 8,000-12,000 teu vessels from Asia-ECSA (via Suez), Asia-Med, Asia-WCSA and Asia-West Africa trades to replace many of the existing Panamaxes transiting the canal.

However, Drewry believes that the short-term benefits of the new locks for USEC ports will be marginal as many East Coast ports are not ready to handle bigger vessels. Although plans to upgrade port infrastructure have been approved, implementation has been put on hold.

For the LPG sector, the new locks will have a negative impact on tonne-mile demand as it will shorten the voyage length between the US and Far Eastern countries, meaning fewer vessels will be required to carry the same quantity. Of the total US LPG exports in 2015, 31% was destined for the Far Eastern countries.

After the opening of the new locks, most vessels will move through the Panama Canal instead of the Cape of Good Hope. On the other hand, for LNG shipowners, the widened canal will not bring any immediate change in the current LNG trade pattern as LNG exports from the US are yet to increase.

The canal will enable Aframaxes, LR2 products tankers and some Suezmaxes to pass through. It currently handles only a small portion (0.3%) of global crude trade. Although the expansion is unlikely to have any significant impact on crude trade patterns, some of the existing trade such as Perus imports from the Caribs will now move on Aframaxes or Suezmaxes through the canal.

Similarly, products trade through the canal, which currently accounts for about 3% of the global products trade, will increase as US products exports to WCSA especially Chile will now move via Panama instead of Cape Horn.

This will reduce the voyage length of LR2 vessels, hurting tonne-mile demand. However, LR tankers will benefit from the expected increase in naphtha exports from the US to Far East once the planned condensate splitters come online.

The chemical trade pattern is likely to remain unchanged as most chemicals are traded on smaller vessels, but with the rise in US methanol exports to the Far East, the demand for large chemical tankers on the Transpacific route might increase. A similar trend is expected in the dry bulk sector with no significant change in the trade pattern.
Today, another milestone agreement was reached as Panama Canal Administrator and CEO Jorge L. Quijano and PortMiami Director Juan M. Kuryla renewed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to promote trade opportunities and share best customer practices.



The renewal of the MOUwhich extends the 13 year-plus alliance enjoyed by both partiesdemonstrates the value of the Panama Canal and its commitment to US East Coast ports. It also coincides with a ceremony held by PortMiami to celebrate the arrival of the MOL Majesty, the first Miami-bound Neopanamax vessel to transit the expanded Canal.



Owned by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd, the MOL Majesty measures 302 meters (990.81 feet) in length and 43.4 meters (142.39 feet) in beam, and called upon the port amidst much fanfare.



Administrator Quijano attended Saturdays celebration where he delivered remarks about the added trade opportunities and economic benefits the agreement will bring to their respective regions.



This is a great day that signals the beginning of a new era for shipping, said Mr. Quijano. For the first time, we have these mega vessels transiting our waterway and calling at your port. This groundbreaking development will undoubtedly bring economic prosperity, as well increased opportunities and revenues to both PortMiami and the Panama Canal.



Thirteen years ago PortMiami and the Panama Canal Authority first signed its MOU. Since then, PortMiami has invested in a number of critical infrastructure improvements to deepen its channel to accommodate Neopanamax vessels, and improve the traffic flow and movement of the cargo it receives.



With the new locks now operational, Neopanamax ships have begun transiting the waterway toward US Gulf and East Coast ports, such Port of New York and New Jersey and Houston, and are expected to call on additional ports which are similarly investing in infrastructure projects to take advantage of the Canal Expansion. Neopanamax ships transiting the Panama Canal have also headed to ports in Asia and the Caribbean, such as Cartagena.



Not only has the Canal successfully transited these vessels through its expanded waterway, several of them have called at Panamanian port terminals to discharge and load cargo on the way to its final destinations, thus making full use of the connectivity offered at the Panama Canal.
Sunday July 10th 2016 the first shipload of liquefied natural gas (LNG) arrived at the Gasums subsidiary Skangas LNG terminal in Pori. To be completed in August, the facility is the first LNG import terminal in Finland. LNG was brought with the time chartered Skangas Coral Energy carrier from the North West Europe. The Skangas LNG terminal is undergoing commissioning, and commercial deliveries to customers will begin in September. LNG will help diversify the Finnish energy market as it enables deliveries to industrial operators outside the gas pipeline network as well as for maritime and heavy-duty road transport.



The construction of the Skangas LNG import terminal in Pori has progressed according to the planned schedule without any accidents resulting in absence from work. The Skangas terminal project has provided 320 full-time equivalents of employment and at best the total number of people working on the site at the same time has been 230. Once operational, the terminal will employ around 10 people directly and around 50 other people indirectly. The projects total investment amounts to 81 million, and energy support at 23 million was granted for the terminal project by the Finnish Ministry for Employment and the Economy.



Finlands energy market will be diversified in September 2016 once the first commercial deliveries of LNG to customers take place. LNG enables deliveries to industrial operators outside the gas pipeline network as well as for maritime and heavy-duty road transport. Access to natural gas is an important competitiveness factor for current industrial operators in the area as well as for the Port of Pori, including Porin Prosessivoima, Huntsman Pigments and Additives Oy and Norilsk Nickel Harjavalta Oy.



As part of our progress toward a carbon-neutral society, were now able to improve access to energy-efficient and clean LNG as an energy alternative. LNG can help achieve significant emission cuts while also facilitating the preservation of the competitiveness of the Finnish export industry. With the Coral Energy LNG carrier now having arrived safely in Finland, well be able to begin LNG deliveries to our customers immediately on the agreed schedule. Im very pleased with the progress made with our strategy, and were strengthening our position as the leading LNG player in the Nordic countries, says Gasum CEO and Chair of the Skangas Board of Directors Johanna Lamminen.



LNG meets the requirements set by the Sulphur Directive regulating shipping emissions as well as the stricter emission limits to be applied in the future. LNG can be also used to replace the use of petroleum-based fuels in industry, energy production and heavy-duty road transport. Using LNG instead of oil helps achieve significant cuts in particulate as well as sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions. The use of LNG also enables a switch to liquefied biogas (LBG) without any additional investments.



In 2015 Skangas supplied a total of 376,700 tonnes (5.2 TWh) of LNG in Finland, Sweden and Norway. Skangas has an LNG production plant and terminal in Risavika, Norway, LNG terminals in ra, Norway and Lysekil, Sweden, and the Pori terminal in Finland will be opened in August 2016. Progress in the construction of the Tornio MangaLNG joint project is being made as planned, and the terminal will be completed in Tornio, Finland, in 2018.




Jared Sullinger, Kyle Lowry

Toronto Raptors' Kyle Lowry, center, drives past Jared Sullinger, behind, during action last season.

(AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

The Boston Celtics have rescinded Jared Sullinger's qualifying offer and he is now an unrestricted free agent, a league source confirmed Sunday morning. The news was first reported by RealGM's Keith Smith.

Celtics roughly $3.7m under the cap with Jared Sullinger renounced. Sullinger now a UFA and can sign with any team.  Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) July 10, 2016

Before signing Al Horford, the Celtics needed to clear some cap space to offer a maximum contract. They had other options, like renouncing Tyler Zeller, which makes the Sullinger renouncement an interesting decision. Boston no longer holds the right to match any offers the big man receives.

It's theoretically still possible for Sullinger to return to the Celtics, but he would need to re-sign using cap room. Boston could clear about $12.7 million in cap space, according to my calculations, by renouncing the rights to Zeller, waiving John Holland's non-guaranteed deal and agreeing to keep Guerschon Yabusele overseas for at least a year.

A league source said Saturday that the Celtics are still considering options with Yabusele but the most likely scenario includes the first-round pick continuing his career overseas for at least one more season. He impressed Saturday during a summer league loss to the Chicago Bulls.
Roger Ailes

FOX News president Roger Ailes

(AP file photo)

Former FOX News host Gretchen Carlson is not the only woman to make allegations of sexual harassment against CEO and president Roger Ailes.

Six other women, including former Republican National Committee field adviser Kellie Boyle, 54, and former model Marsha Callahan, 73, recounted incidents dating as far back as the late 1960s when Ailes was producing "The Mike Douglas Show," according to New York Magazine.

Boyle claimed that Ailes allegedly torpedoed her chance "to sign a major contract with the National Republican Congressional Committee" in 1989 after she declined his sexual advances.

"He said, 'You know if you want to play with the big boys, you have to lay with the big boys.' I was so taken aback," Boyle told the magazine. "I said, 'Gosh I didn't know that. How would that work?' ... He said, 'That's the way it works,' and he started naming other women he's had."

In response New York Magazine's report, Ailes' attorney, Barry Asen, said "It has become obvious that Ms. Carlson and her lawyer are desperately attempting to litigate this in the press because they have no legal case to argue. The latest allegations, all 30 to 50 years old, are false."

In a lawsuit filed on July 6 with the Superior Court of New Jersey, Carlson, 50, alleged that she was removed from "Fox & Friends" in 2013 after she complained about behavior by co-host Steve Doocy, and was moved to an afternoon program as a way to diminish her presence at FOX News. She also alleged she was subsequently propositioned sexually by Ailes and his decision to end her career at FOX News on June 23 was retaliatory.

Ailes' lawyers filed a motion on Friday in federal court in New Jersey seeking to move Carlson's lawsuit to arbitration, which would prevent witnesses from being called in court, according to The Washington Post.

"Gretchen Carlson had an arbitration clause in her contract, stating that any employment dispute regarding her employment at Fox News must be done via confidential arbitration," Ansen said. "Because Ms. Carlson's lawsuit violated the arbitration clause, a motion was filed in federal court to have the case arbitrated."

The parent company of FOX News has already launched what it described as an "internal review" of sexual harassment allegations levied by Carlson against Ailes, as well as Doocy.

"The Company has seen the allegations against Mr. Ailes and Mr. Doocy," 21st Century Fox said in a prepared statement. "We take these matters seriously. While we have full confidence in Mr. Ailes and Mr. Doocy, who have served the company brilliantly for over two decades, we have commenced an internal review of the matter."

Ailes, 76, has denied the allegations.

"Gretchen Carlson's allegations are false. This is a retaliatory suit for the network's decision not to renew her contract, which was due to the fact that her disappointingly low ratings were dragging down the afternoon lineup. When Fox News did not commence any negotiations to renew her contract, Ms. Carlson became aware that her career with the network was likely over and conveniently began to pursue a lawsuit," Ailes said in a statement. "Ironically, FOX News provided her with more on-air opportunities over her 11 year tenure than any other employer in the industry, for which she thanked me in her recent book. This defamatory lawsuit is not only offensive, it is wholly without merit and will be defended vigorously."

Carlson's afternoon show consistently won its time slot, but among Fox News shows, "The Real Story " was the 13th most-watched program for the second quarter of 2016, according to Ad Week. With 1.15 million viewers on average, it trailed all other FOX News shows except "Fox and Friends" (1.09 million), "Fox and Friends First" at 5 a.m. (446,000) and the 3 a.m. program "Red Eye" (356,000).

Carlson Complaint by Mediaite on Scribd
BARNESTABLE Three Cape Cod residents were indicted by a grand jury Friday for the murder of a woman who testified against one of the members of the Nauti-Block gang.

The Cape Cod Times reported that Denzel Chisholm, 25, of West Yarmouth, his sister Shannelle Chisholm, 27, of Mashpee and Tyrone Gomes, 30, of Hyannis were indicted on charges of murder, kidnapping, intimidation of a witness and conspiracy. Denzel Chisholm, the alleged leader of the gang, was also charged with use of a firearm causing serious bodily injury, two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury, possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony, possession of a firearm without a license as a subsequent offense and being an armed career criminal.

The indictments stem from the murder of Cape resident Christine Ferreira in September. Her body was found in a rest area on Route 6 on September 19. She had been shot and stabbed repeatedly.

Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O'Keefe said Ferreira was killed by the three in retaliation for her testimony against another member of the Nauti-Block gang, Browning Mejia.

Ferreira's testimony was instrumental in the 2011 conviction of Mejia after he shot up a car in which Ferreira was a passenger. According to the New Bedford Standard Times, she testified that Mejia and another man fired more than 15 rounds into the car she and a friend were sitting in. The two had arranged with Mejia to meet them at the secluded spot. Both were wounded in the shooting.

Mejia was sentenced to serve nine to 10 years in state prison. .
An Israeli gas platform is seen in the Mediterranean sea August 1, 2014. REUTERS/Amir Cohen/Files

By Barani Krishnan

(Reuters) - Oil's big rebound in the first half of the year was a squandered opportunity for most hedge funds with positions in crude, and a surge in volatility is likely to make it harder for them to call the market in the second half.

The majority of hedge funds in the oil universe posted sparse returns in the six months to June even as crude rebounded from 12-year lows to post a 30 percent gain.

Rather than extend risk through more bets on oil, some fund managers are cutting exposure to prevent further losses as volatility rises again on concerns about supply and economic demand.

"It's far less clear a position than it was a year ago when the oil market had been clearly trending downwards," said Chris Reeve, director of product management at Aspect Capital, a $6.4 billion trend-following hedge fund in London.

Aspect's flagship program, which trades oil among other commodities, was down 2.5 percent through June, based on data seen by Reuters. Last year, it gained nearly 8 percent, helped by a bearish bet on crude.

The average hedge fund with an energy-biased strategy rose by just 0.4 percent in the five months through May, after losing 1 percent in 2015, according to figures compiled by Chicago-based Hedge Fund Research. June data isn't available yet.

Trend-following energy funds - also known as commodity trading advisor funds, or CTAs - haven't done much better. A group of 13 such funds rose 0.6 percent through May, versus an 8 percent rise last year, according to data compiled for Reuters by hedge fund database BarclayHedge.

The second half could be as difficult for oil-focused funds. After touching a 2016 high of nearly $53 a barrel, oil has been trading in a choppy fashion, with volatility of late due to a murky supply-demand picture for crude and unsure economic outlook after Britain's exit from the European Union.

Oil's rebound this year was fueled by supply outages from Canada to Nigeria that, for a time, created the perception that a two-year-old supply glut might be easing. Those supplies are returning, boosting output within and outside OPEC.

Story continues

Hedge funds' bullish bets on U.S. crude hit a near four-month low earlier this week, data showed.

Pierre Andurand, another notable oil investor, who is up double digits this year, in a late June letter to his investors cited concerns over Brexit among other factors that could cause more volatility.

Andurand, who runs the $1.1 billion London-based Andurand Capital Management, expects crude to hit $65 a barrel or more by December. His fund gained 11 percent through June, data showed. Andurand Capital declined comment in an email to Reuters.

Oils volatility hit 4-month highs on Thursday as crude prices plunged 5 percent on disappointing U.S. inventory data.

BBL Commodities Value Fund in New York is among the few that may benefit from such volatility. The $500 million energy-focused hedge fund gained 13 percent in the first half, exploiting the relative value, or price differentials between crude and other petroleum products. Last year, BBL lost more than 10 percent.

"There could be lots of opportunities to make money on the relative value of oil in the second half," said an investor in BBL, who asked not to be identified, adding that large inflows into oil via ETFs have distorted its value compared with other products. Mark Strachan, a spokesman for BBL, declined comment.

The $1 billion Taylor Woods Capital Management in Greenwich, Connecticut, another prominent energy-focused fund, was down about 10 percent through June, after returning nearly 20 percent last year, sources familiar with the fund's performance said.

Taylor Woods did not respond to emails and phone calls seeking comment.

The share price of U.S. Oil Fund, the largest exchange-traded fund in oil, with $3.2 billion in assets, is down slightly on the year after hitting 6-month highs in early June. The number of open put contracts - which give the holder the right to sell the fund - has risen 30 percent since mid-January, suggesting increasing bets on oil's decline.

The ETF holds around 68 million barrels of oil, nearly 4 percent of U.S. crude's open interest, and is a popular hedging instrument.

One of the few hedge fund managers to make significant money off oil in the first half was Andy Hall, the market's biggest bull, who was up 24 percent through May at his $2.4 billion Southport, Connecticut-based Astenbeck Capital Management. But that was after a 35 percent loss in 2015, the worst in the fund's eight-year history, as he stubbornly stuck to his bullish wagers amid a 46 percent price rout.

In his investor letter last month, he pinned his bullish outlook on potential difficulties faced by top crude exporter Saudi Arabia in raising output.

(Additional reporting by Saqib Iqbal Ahmed; Editing by Andrew Hay)
By Bryn Stole and David Bailey BATON ROUGE, La./MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) - Protests against the shootings of two black men by police officers shut down main arteries in a number of U.S. cities on Saturday, leading to numerous arrests, scuffles and injuries in confrontations between police and demonstrators. Undeterred by heightened concerns about safety at protests after a lone gunman killed five police officers in Dallas Thursday night, organizers went ahead with marches in the biggest metropolis, New York City, and Washington D.C., the nation's capital, among other cities. It was the third straight day of widespread protests after the fatal shooting of Alton Sterling, 37, by police in Baton Rouge on Tuesday and the death of Philando Castile, 32, on Wednesday night in a St. Paul, Minnesota suburb, cities which both saw heated protests on Saturday. The most recent shooting deaths by police come after several years of contentious killings by law enforcement officers, including that of Michael Brown, a teenager whose death in the summer of 2014 caused riots and weeks of protests in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson. On Saturday evening, hundreds of protesters shut down I-94, a major thoroughfare linking the Twin Cities, snarling traffic. Protesters, told to disperse, threw rocks, bottles and construction rebar at officers, injuring at least three, St. Paul police said. Police made arrests and used smoke bombs and marking rounds to disperse the crowd. Protesters at the scene said police fired tear gas and rubber bullets. Police said early on Sunday they had begun clearing the highway of debris in preparation for re-opening it. A march in Baton Rouge saw scuffles between riot police and Black Panther activists, several of whom carried shotguns. Louisiana law allows for weapons to be carried openly. After a short standoff later in the evening, riot police arrested as many as 30 demonstrators and recovered weapons. Prominent black activist and former Baltimore mayoral candidate Deray McKesson was among those arrested. Protests also took place Saturday in Nashville, where protesters briefly blocked a road, and in Indianapolis. A rally in San Francisco also briefly blocked a freeway ramp, according to local media. Hundreds of protesters marched from City Hall to Union Square in New York. The crowd swelled to around a thousand people, closing down Fifth Avenue. Some chanted "No racist police, no justice, no peace" as rain fell in New York. "I'm feeling very haunted, very sad," said Lorena Ambrosio, 27, a Peruvian American and freelance artist, "and just angry that black bodies just keep piling and piling up." New York police said they arrested about a dozen protesters for shutting down a major city highway. (Additional reporting by Laila Kearney, Elizabeth Barber and Chris Michaud in New York; Writing by Nick Carey; Editing by Mary Milliken and Ryan Woo)
Elon Musk

Tesla has endured existential crises in the past, such as in 2008 when it was just days from bankruptcy.

But Tesla has never experienced a true identity crisis.

It is now.

The question for Elon Musk and his team to ask isn't, "Will we make it?" but rather, "What are we all about?"

Driving this identity crisis is the recent news that a driver was killed in May when his Tesla Model S running the Autopilot semi-self-driving technology went under a semi-trailer on a Florida highway, leading to a fatal crash.

But that's just one side of the crisis, which has intensified as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, already investigating the Florida crash, is now also gathering information on a nonfatal Autopilot-related crash in Pennsylvania.

The other aspect of the crisis is that Tesla has decided it doesn't want to be a car company anymore.

The master plan

Let's tackle that one first. The truth is Tesla never wanted to be a car company, not in the traditional sense that Ford or Honda is a car company, building cars and selling them. Musk invested in Tesla over a decade ago, and later became CEO, because he wants to accelerate humanity's shift from fossil fuels to sustainable power. Electric cars were a key component of his master plan.

But Tesla still had to, you know, construct cars, so in the short term  when Tesla was "Tesla Motors," before it became just "Tesla"  it was an automaker. And not a very efficient one, as we learned last week when it missed its production and delivery targets for the second quarter.

Tesla Model S Autopilot

In fairness, missing on guidance is nothing new for Tesla, and, unlike General Motors, it hasn't been in the car business for 100 years. A learning curve was to be expected.

The Autopilot crisis is more severe.

That's because Tesla has always stressed that its isn't a traditional carmaker  it's a fast-moving tech company, very much of Silicon Valley, actively disrupting the old way of doing things by using software to rapidly improve its vehicles and to pull the future forward.

Story continues

Autopilot is out there

Autopilot is a classic example. Tesla engineered self-driving systems into it cars and then, with a software update, integrated these capabilities and flipped the switch make them available to owners. You went to sleep with a car that couldn't drive itself (under specific circumstances) and woke up with one that could.

Autopilot, which I've tested out, was a step beyond any advanced cruise-control option currently available on any vehicle from a major automaker.

But there was a reason for that. Cadillac, for example, has been testing a similar system called "Super Cruise."

But Caddy, GM's luxury brand, hasn't yet made it available to customers. And given what's now happened with Autopilot, that might have been a wise call.

Tesla autopilot

Tesla argues, accurately, that there has been only one Autopilot fatality since the tech was introduced, and that the technology has so far indicated a much higher level of safe highway driving than what a human driver can manage.

If you follow a natural trajectory for Autopilot being improved, it leads to largely self-driving Teslas in a decade or two and the beginning of a rapid decline in the 35,000 deaths caused by auto accidents on US roads. The human driver has always been the most dangerous thing about the automobile.

But customers and the larger public are now spooked about Autopilot-level self-driving, even thought it isn't even close to full autonomy. The technology is being questioned. The performance of Tesla electric cars, which is generally impressive, isn't.

Cars are different

For Tesla, this is awkward. Any other tech company would have a hard time finding itself in a similar position because Silicon Valley app-makers and gadget companies such as Apple don't have technology platforms that can go from zero to 60 mph in less than three seconds and that routinely hit the legal speed limit on freeways.

Tesla is using its technology, quite literally, to solve complex physics problems, not to make it easier to find a date for Saturday night or tell you mom that you miss her apple pie.

In fact, I'd argue that the intensity of Tesla's tech, which decisively sets its apart from the more frivolous elements of the Silicon Valley ecosystem, is what's driving its identity crisis.

The traditional automakers are happy to let it go this way. They're fascinated by Tesla and envious of its ability to raise boatloads of cash with no profits and annual production that would embarrass a big carmaker. But they're also glad to let it ride on the leading edge of risk. For example, GM now has a clear example of something that Autopilot/Super Cruise can't handle: A large white semi-truck crossing in front of a vehicle.

In order for Tesla to be Tesla, is has to keep pushing the tech envelope. Autopilot was the furthest it's pushed  so far that the company required owners to acknowledge that, in activating a beta version of the software, they understood the risks.

I expect Tesla to keep right on pushing. But I also expect the company to have more debates about whether technologies that are closely connected with safety should be pursued a zealously as Autopilot was.

NOW WATCH: Elon Musk admits that Tesla may not be prepared to meet demands for $11 billion in preorders for their new Model 3





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Patients with metastatic colorectal cancer with greater baseline liver tumor burden (12%), who were treated with the combination of mFOLFOX6 and selective internal radiation therapy SIR-Spheres Y-90 resin treatment, experience a statistically significant greater depth of response than patients receiving chemotherapy alone. Share on Pinterest Results show a better response in metastatic colorectal cancer patients with the use of internal radiation therapy. The analysis, presented as an oral abstract at the European Society of Medical Oncologys 18th World Congress on Gastrointestinal Cancer, June 29-July 2, in Barcelona, Spain, showed that the depth of response analysis (DpR) rate was not statistically different for patients with smaller liver tumor burden (12%) at study entry. This analysis is the first in the history of metastatic colorectal cancer where the initial tumor burden has been factored in. It shows that initial tumor burden does play a role, said study presenter Volker Heinemann, from the Ludwig-Maximillian University in Munich, Germany. Selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT), also known as radioembolisation, allows tumors to be selectively irradiated, leaving healthy tissue relatively unaffected. For the technique, tens of millions of Yttirum-90 labeled coated resin microspheres (Sirtex) are injected into the hepatic arterial supply of the liver via a catheter inserted into the femoral artery thorough an incision in the groin. The spheres, which are 32 microns in diameter, deliver high doses of ionizing pure beta radiation to tumors. Key to maintaining radiation doses to the normal liver at tolerable levels is a procedure where interventional radiologists prophylactically occlude extra hepatic vessels branching off the hepatic artery to prevent deposition of radioactive microspheres outside the liver.

Patients with metastatic colorectal cancer randomly assigned to groups Although granted CE Mark approval for unresectable liver tumors in the European Union (EU) in 2002, until this year there had not been large randomized controlled trials for SIRT in combination with modern first-line standard of care. In the phase III SIRFLOX study, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology this February, between October 2006-April 2013, 530 patients with previously untreated metastatic colorectal cancer were randomly assigned 1:1 to FOLFOX (bev) plus SIRT (n=267) or FOLFOX (bev ) alone (n=263). Results showed median PFS at any site was 10.2 months in the FOLFOX (bev) plus SIRT arm versus 10.7 months in the FOLFOX (bev) only arm (HR 0.93, 95% CI, 0.77 to 1.12; P=0.43); and that median PFS in the liver by competing risk analysis was 12.6% in the FOLFOX plus SIRT arm versus 20.5% in the FOLFOX arm (HR 0.69, 95% CI, 0.55 to 0.90; P=.002). Although SIRT did not influence PFS at any site, the results showed it induced a 7.9-month prolongation of PFS in the liver.
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"This is an example of how tumors can quickly adapt to cope with their own higher biosynthetic needs," said Dario C. Altieri, M.D., President and CEO of The Wistar Institute, director of The Wistar Institute Cancer Center, the Robert & Penny Fox Distinguished Professor, and lead author of the study. "Mitochondria play a crucial role in a tumor's ability to process the energy needed to grow and spread, so identifying the mechanisms of how tumors maintain the function of mitochondria and exploit it to support abnormal cell proliferation and metastatic spread may uncover new therapeutic targets in a wide variety of cancers."Prior studies provided evidence that the ability to control the folding and stability of proteins, or proteostasis, was important to reduce cellular stress. It has also been known that tumors hijack mechanisms of proteostasis to their advantage, but how this happened in mitochondria had remained largely unknown. The network described by the Wistar scientists answers this question and confirmed its important role in tumor development. In particular, one of the components of this network - ClpP - was found universally overexpressed in primary and metastatic human cancer and correlates to shortened patient survival. In this study alone, the scientists identified overexpression of this subunit in breast, prostate, colon and lung cancers as well as melanoma and lymphoma."There's quite a bit of interest in targeting pathways involved in mitochondria function, and we've identified one such pathway that may provide a 'drugable' target for a variety of cancers," said Jae Ho Seo, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in the Altieri lab at Wistar and first author of the study. "Other studies have shown that it is feasible to target mitochondrial proteins in preclinical models, so disrupting the network we identified in this study could shut off key processes that lead to tumor progression."This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health grants P01 CA140043, R01 CA78810 and CA190027, R01 CA089720, F32CA177018, the Italian Minister of Health grant GR2011-02351626, the Prostate Cancer Research Program under Award No. W81XWH-13-1-0193, and a Challenge Award from the Prostate Cancer Foundation. Core support was provided by the Cancer Center Support Grant CA010815 to The Wistar Institute. Co-authors of this study from The Wistar Institute include: Dayana B. Rivadeneira, M. Cecilia Caino, Young Chan Chae, David Speicher, Hsin-Yao Tang, Andrew V. Kossenkov, and Lucia R. Languino. Other co-authors include: Valentina Vaira and Silvano Bosari from the University of Milan in Italy, and Alessandro Palleschi and Paolo Rampini from the Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico in Italy.Source: Newswise
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Typically, the estimated several thousand U.S. children with severe, early-onset scoliosis undergo a yearlong process known as growing rod treatment. To straighten the backbone, surgeons implant a rod in the spine and periodically replace it with longer ones as a child grows.Once the child reaches skeletal maturity, Sponseller explains, surgeons have routinely performed a final procedure in which they insert rods and screws to maintain the spine's alignment. They also use bone from a patient's hip or a tissue bank and implant it to "fuse" and stabilize the structure. Such fusion is thought to prevent the development of subsequent deformities.However, over the years, Sponseller says, he and other surgeons noticed during the rod insertion operations that the children's spinal bones began to stiffen, or fuse, on their own, suggesting that the final fusion might not be needed.To find out, Sponseller and his colleagues combed through an international database and picked out the records of 167 children who received growing rod treatments between 1995 and 2010. Some 137 of those patients underwent the final fusion, but Sponseller focused on the outcomes of the 30 who, in consultation with their doctors, opted out of that procedure. Half of those 30 patients were female; their mean age at first surgery was 7.1 years. They underwent an average of 5.4 lengthening procedures, and there was a mean of 3.7 years of follow-up after their last surgery.The team found that in the three to seven years following their last growing rod surgery, the spines of 26 stayed straight. The remaining four patients were considered special cases because their rods got infected and had to be removed.Sponseller cautions that the study was small and based on records from a variety of institutions, and that children who forgo the final fusion will require "continued observation" over the long haul. Moreover, he says, further research is needed to determine if similar results will be found for children receiving newer rod implants that can be lengthened magnetically without multiple operations.Nonetheless, he says, the Johns Hopkins findings suggest that the hundreds of early-onset scoliosis patients currently reaching their mature height in the U.S. can likely forgo a "grueling" final procedure. "These patients have gone through a long and arduous process," Sponseller says. "The payoff is that they often don't need a big surgery at the end."Sponseller's work is part of a larger effort at Johns Hopkins and elsewhere to challenge conventional wisdom in medicine and potentially do away with unnecessary medical procedures. The nationwide Choosing Wisely initiative, for instance, seeks to educate physicians and patients about more than 250 common tests and procedures that serve no conclusive or apparent purpose. Included in that list are stress tests for patients at low risk for heart disease and MRI or CT scans for uncomplicated headaches.While early-onset scoliosis is too rare to qualify for the Choosing Wisely campaign, says Sponseller, his research does point to a new model of health care in which patients - and their doctors - are encouraged to question recommended treatments.Other authors of the report include Amit Jain of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, John Flynn of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Suken Shah of Nemours/AIfred I. duPont Hospital for Children and the Growing Spine Study Group. This database used in this study is funded in part by the Growing Spine Foundation.Source: Newswise
The much anticipated and controversial phone company, Ringing Bells, confirmed the shipment of their equally controversial Freedom 251 handsets. Besides rolling out their staple model, the company has announced two more budget Android phones called the Ringing Bells Elegance and Ringing Bells Elegant. This is not it. The company has plans to launch four new feature phones, a series of three power banks and a high definition TV as well.

The Android phones will have a 5-inch 720p display powered by 1.3 GHz quad-core processor with 1 GB RAM and 8GB of internal memory, an 8-megapixel camera and a 3.2-megapixel self camera. The phones will be economically price at Rs 4,499 and Rs 3,999 respectively. The other four feature phones include the Ringing Bells Hit, which will be marketed for Rs 699, Ringing Bells King, which will be priced at Rs 899, the Ringing Bells Boss, which will be available for Rs 999 and the Ringing Bells Raja which will be priced at Rs 1,099. The three power banks that the company will launch will be in the price brigade of Rs 399 to Rs 699 and the HD LED TV, which will be around 31.5 inches, will be available for Rs 9,900. The new products are going to be launched on August 15th.
NEW YORK (AP)  Wendys said hackers were able to steal customers credit and debit card information at 1,025 of its U.S. restaurants, far more than it originally thought. The breach affects about 18 percent of the fast-food chains U.S. locations.

The hamburger chain said Thursday hackers were able to obtain card numbers, names, expiration dates and codes on the card, beginning in late fall. Some customers cards were used to make fraudulent purchases at other stores.

Wendys, which has about 5,700 U.S. locations, is among retailers and restaurants suffering through a spate of hacks in recent years.

Noodles & Co. said last week that a security incident may have compromised credit- and debit-card payment data at some of its locations.

Wendys urged customers to check their accounts for fraudulent purchases.

We are committed to protecting our customers and keeping them informed. We sincerely apologize to anyone who has been inconvenienced as a result of these highly sophisticated, criminal cyberattacks involving some Wendys restaurants, said CEO Todd Penegor. We have conducted a rigorous investigation to understand what has occurred and apply those learnings to further strengthen our data security measures.

The Dublin, Ohio, company first announced it was investigating a possible hack in January.

In May, it said malware was found in fewer than 300 restaurants. About a month later, it said two types of malware were found and the number of restaurants affected was considerably higher.

Customers can see which locations were affected through the Wendys website. The company said it is offering free one-year credit monitoring to people who paid with a card at any of those restaurants.
SAN MATEO COUNTY  Two dead birds tested positive for the West Nile virus on Wednesday in Redwood City and Atherton, the first time the disease has been detected this year in the county.

The birds, which were American crows, were collected in West Atherton and in the Eagle Hill-Mount Carmel area of Redwood City, according to the San Mateo County Mosquito & Vector Control District.

Summer is the peak season for West Nile. The virus has already been detected in adult mosquitoes several times in San Jose since early June.

Replication of the virus in mosquitoes occurs more quickly during hotter temperatures, which is why there tends to be more in the South Bay than the north, according to district spokeswoman Megan Caldwell. The native Culex pipiens mosquito is the insect primarily responsible for the spread of West Nile virus in the Bay Area.

Last year, the virus was detected in San Mateo County as early as April. Caldwell said the later detection this year was no indication this season would see less virus activity.

It doesnt mean well have an easier season, she said. The hotter, the better for mosquitoes.

The good news is that the type of mosquito that can carrry the Zika virus  the non-native Aedes aegypti  hasnt been detected locally since May 2015, according to the district, and Zika has never been transmitted by mosquitoes in the U.S. That means the district can put all its resources toward fighting West Nile.

However, Caldwell warned, given that there is a community of Aedes in other sections of the state, the closest of which is Fresno, the species could be reintroduced locally at any time.

If we have both going on at once, thats a real strain on us as an agency, she said.

The district said in a news release that while the risk of human infection remains low, county residents are asked to report fresh carcasses of birds or tree squirrels to the California West Nile Virus Hotline at www.westnile.ca.gov or by phone at 877-968-2473. The recently found dead crows were reported by residents.

The district is going back into the two neighborhoods with mosquito traps to collect adult mosquitoes for testing, and plans to issue the test results early next week. It is also continuing a pest management program to control mosquitoes in their immature stages  and treat mosquito-breeding sources throughout the county, according to a news release.

Over the hot summer months, residents are asked to help reduce the risk of West Nile by draining any standing water on their property; making sure their homes doors and windows have tight-fitting screens to keep mosquitoes out; and applying insect repellent containing DEET, picaradin, oil of lemon eucalyptus or IR3535 while outdoors between dawn and dusk.

Email Kevin Kelly at kkelly@bayareanewsgroup.com or call him at 650-391-1049.
Sundar Pichai

Investors are cautious going into Q2 earnings for Google parent company Alphabet, according to SunTrust's Robert Peck.

Expectations for the company's July 28 announcement are "modest," he writes in a note to investors this week, highlighting some of the biggest questions and concerns around Alphabet's results, including weakening search-revenue trends and the effects of Brexit. (Roughly 9% of Google's revenues are from UK and more than 20% are from Europe.)

He also highlights a topic that made analysts very nervous on Alphabet's last earnings call: How Google has increasingly been spending more money to make more money.

Google's total traffic-acquisition costs  the fees it pays to partner websites that run Google ads or services  were $3.8 billion, or 21% of total advertising revenue, but the portion of its TAC that goes to distribution partners  the one-off deals that Google strikes to make sure that its search engine is the default option on things like the iPhone  popped 33% year-over-year.

"Investors remain concerned about the growth of distribution TAC which rose more than expected during 1Q at +33% vs. revenue growth of 20% (~26% ex FX)," Peck writes. "This is the 3rd straight quarter of accelerating growth in TAC."

Peck attributes the swelling distribution TAC to Google's growth in mobile and programmatic advertising, and added that a renegotiated contract with Apple could be a potential risk going forward.

Earlier this year, now sealed court documents revealed that Google paid Apple $1 billion in 2014 to use its search on iPhones.

He sees distribution TAC as "continuing a steady upward trajectory" for the future:

Google

NOW WATCH: How to see everything Google knows about you





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Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias met in Warsaw yesterday, Saturday, 9 July, with the Foreign Minister of Albania, Ditmir Bushati, within the framework of the NATO Summit Meeting.



During the meeting, the two Foreign Ministers looked at the manner in which the resolution of a number of problems existing between the two states will be brokered, as well as at the prospect for development of bilateral cooperation in critical sectors of mutual interest.
Foreign Minster Nikos Kotzias met in Warsaw yesterday, Saturday, 9 July, with the Foreign Minister of Estonia, Marina Kaljurand, within the framework of the NATO Summit Meeting.



During the meeting, the two Ministers exchanged views on the situation taking shape in Europe following the result of the UK referendum and agreed on the importance of maintaining the unity of the European Union.



They also discussed the refugee and migration crisis, and Ms. Kaljurand expressed to Mr. Kotzias Estonias will to share the burdens arising from the refugee crisis and implement the decisions that have been taken on a European level for the relocation of refugees to its territory.
Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias met in Warsaw yesterday, Saturday, 9 July, with the Foreign Minister of FYROM, Nikola Poposki, within the framework of the NATO Summit Meeting.



During the meeting, the two Ministers looked at issues of bilateral cooperation, with emphasis on the promotion and implementation of confidence-building measures between the two countries, and discussed the latest developments in the region.
"Iran will strongly continue its missile program based on its own defense and national security calculations," foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi said in comments published on the ministry's website.

Iran's missile program is not linked to the nuclear deal and does not conflict with the U.N. Security Council resolution endorsing the agreement, he said. "Iran's missile program has aimed at defense and it is not designed to carry a nuclear warhead," he added.

In the first six-month report to the U.N. Security Council on the implementation of the resolution, the U.N. chief called on Iran to stop the tests and said they increase tensions in the Mideast. The resolution, which was adopted on July 20, authorized measures leading to the end of U.N. sanctions on Iran.

The U.S., France, Britain and Germany called in March for the Security Council to discuss "appropriate responses" to Iran's ballistic missile activity, which they said was "destabilizing and provocative."

Iran's nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi described the international response as "strange," adding that "I think a conspiracy is taking shape."

After the U.N. nuclear agency certified in mid-January that Iran had met all of its commitments under the nuclear deal, many Western economic sanctions that had been in place for years were lifted, unlocking access to $100 billion in frozen assets and unleashing new opportunities for the country's battered economy.

Iran is, however, still subject to a U.N. arms embargo and other restrictions, and the U.N. resolution includes a provision that would automatically reinstate sanctions if Tehran reneges on its promises.
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 presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is reportedly considering two retired generals for the vice presidency, according to news accounts.

The businessman and television star's list of potential candidates includes retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn, former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, and retired Army Gen. Jack Keane, former vice chief of staff, The New York Post and other outlets have reported.

With Keane already signaling he's not interested in the job, Flynn -- a 57-year-old registered Democrat but harsh critic of President Barack Obama and his administration -- is likely under more serious consideration.

"All I would say is that I have been honored to serve my country for the past three decades and look forward to serving in other ways now that I am retired from the U.S. Army," Flynn told The New York Post in an interview. "I've been a soldier too long to refuse to entertain any request from a potential commander in chief."

Flynn has criticized the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton for mishandling sensitive emails and called on her to end her bid for the presidency. On Tuesday, Flynn is publishing a book called, "Field of Fight: How We Can Win the Global War Against Radical Islam and Its Allies."

"FBI decision a direct slap @ anyone who ever held a security clearance & followed the rules," he tweeted July 5 after FBI Director James Comey, a Republican, concluded that Clinton's sending of secret emails on a private server was careless, not criminal.

Clinton "can never hold scty clearance & all Americans should demand she step down," he also tweeted July 8. "Lacks any accountability."

Keane, meanwhile, was a key architect behind the 2007 "surge" of U.S. troops in Iraq and who has pushed for a plan to defeat the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, that would involved thousands more troops, vehicles, attack helicopters and large-scale commando raids.

Even so, he's urging Trump against picking a retired general as a running mate.

"We have a sufficient political class and the military doesn't have to get involved in high national office," he told The Washington Post. "The days of doing that, post-Civil War and post-World War II, are gone."

Troop is also rumored to be considering for the ticket New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Republican Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, among others, according to The Boston Herald.

--Brendan McGarry can be reached at brendan.mcgarry@military.com. Follow him on Twitter at @Brendan_McGarry.
The U.S. and NATO committed Saturday to a "long haul" plan for backing the struggling Afghan military and police with funding projected at up to $5 billion a year through 2020 -- with the U.S. picking up most of the tab.

The agreements announced at the NATO summit in Warsaw essentially met the requests of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, who came to the conference with a long wish list and met with President Barack Obama.

A White House fact sheet on "NATO's Enduring Commitment to Afghanistan" said the alliance had agreed to provide "financial support to the Afghan National Security and Defense Forces (ANDSF) through the end of 2020 and to sustain the (NATO) Resolute Support mission beyond 2016 using a flexible, regional approach."

Under the agreement, a total of 39 NATO and partner nations, such as Georgia, committed to maintaining more than 11,000 troops in Afghanistan beyond 2016 in Resolute Support, which is strictly a non-combat train and advise mission for Afghan troops and police.

The "flexible regional approach" meant the organization would maintain a presence in Kabul and at the huge Bagram air base north of the capital, and at existing coalition bases in Jalalabad in the southeast, at Kandahar in the southwest, at Herat in the west and at Mazar-e-Sharif in the north.

"Four allied nations have agreed to continue serving as framework nations' -- Germany will lead in the north, Italy in the west, Turkey in the capital, and the United States in the east and south," the fact sheet said.

To pay for that, "the international community has pledged more than $800 million annually for 2018-2020, and the United States has requested $3.45 billion in our 2017 budget," the White House said. "President Obama also pledged that he will recommend to his successor that the United States continue to seek funding for the ANDSF at or near current levels through 2020."

"These funding commitments will allow the ANDSF to maintain its authorized force level of 352,000 personnel (including Afghan military, national police and local police) through 2020," the White House said.

As more international pledges are made, the total funding for ANDSF through 2020 was expected to approach $5 billion annually.

"We are very close and I am certain we will reach that level in order to maintain the same funding for Afghan security forces," Stoltenberg said. "So our message is clear: Afghanistan does not stand alone, and we are committed for the long haul," said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

Stoltenberg said the summit reached three key decisions on Afghanistan: "First, we agreed to sustain our Resolute Support mission beyond 2016, through a flexible, regional model.

"Second, we received firm national commitments to continue funding Afghan security forces through 2020. And third, we reaffirmed our support for a long-term political partnership and practical cooperation with Afghanistan," he said.

Earlier this week, Obama announced that 8,400 U.S. troops would stay in Afghanistan into next year, when a new president will have to decide on troop levels.

Obama had initially intended to cut the U.S. troop presence to 5,500 before he left office but changed course based on the recommendations of Army Gen John Nicholson, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan. The current authorized level of U.S. troops in Afghanistan through the rest of 2016 still stands at 9,800.

The U.S. troops are split between two missions that will continue -- NATO's Resolute Support mission and the separate Freedom's Sentinel solely U.S. counter-terrorism operation against the remnants of al-Qaeda, an emerging offshoot of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, and other terror groups.

On his plane enroute to the NATO summit, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter told reporters traveling with him that it was as yet unclear how many of the 8.400 U.S. troops in Afghanistan next year will be committed to Resolute Support, and how many to Freedom's Sentinel, The Washington Post reported.

"We haven't decided," Carter said.

Of the 9,800 U.S. troops now in Afghanistan, about 6,950 are in Resolute Support and the rest are in Freedom's Sentinel. Both Resolute Support and Freedom's Sentinel come under the command of Gen. Nicholson.

--Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com.
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The 1001 Woodward building

(Mike Russell/Wikimedia Commons)

DETROIT - A state-funded, non-profit organization aimed at attracting Chinese investment to Michigan is set to open Monday in downtown Detroit.

Crain's Detroit Business reports the Michigan-China Innovation Center will have its new office at 1001 Woodward in the city's core.

In March, the non-profit center was given a $5 million grant from the Michigan Strategic Fund Board.

That money will reportedly go toward salaries for center's staff of 10 full- and part-time positions, as well as to marketing, a Chinese website, start-up costs, travel expenses and the 2,000 square feet office space at the 1001 Woodward Building.

Brian Connors, the center's executive director and the former China business development manager for the Michigan Economic Development Corp, told Crain's the center will be aimed at Michigan benefiting from the growing Chinese economy.

"With the incredible growth of China's economy, it is a crucial strategic partner," Connors told Crain's. "We want to make sure Michigan is taking advantage of all the opportunities so we can drive economic growth and increase our competitiveness."
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Ann Arbor City Council Member Graydon Krapohl, D-4th Ward, speaks during a candidate forum on Saturday, July 9, 2016. Seated to his right is one of his opponents in the Aug. 2 primary, Eric Lipson, a former city planning commissioner.

(Ryan Stanton | The Ann Arbor News)

ANN ARBOR, MI - Eric Lipson wants to see the Gelman dioxane plume declared a federal Superfund site as soon as possible.

The 4th Ward contender for City Council said at a candidate forum Saturday, July 9, more needs to be done to address the toxic plume spreading through Ann Arbor's groundwater, and he believes neither the city nor the state are doing enough.

"This is probably one of the most important issues that we have. We're doing not very much," he said, accusing city leaders of dragging their feet.

Graydon Krapohl, who is defending his seat in the Aug. 2 primary, expressed a different point of view, saying he's not yet convinced petitioning the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and seeking a Superfund cleanup is the way to go.

"I'm not opposed to going to the EPA, but I think that is a measure of last resort," he said. "I think we need to fully understand what the consequences are to Ann Arbor and its residents because that's who we ultimately are responsible for."

Krapohl agreed the Gelman plume, a slow-motion environmental disaster decades in the making, is probably one of the most important issues facing the city. He noted the City Council will be further discussing it at a July 25 work session.

Saturday's forum was hosted by the Ann Arbor Democratic Party and took place at the Ann Arbor Community Center.

Diane Giannola, another candidate competing in the 4th Ward race, chose not to attend.

"If I was on City Council, I would start with a resolution -- just like Ann Arbor Township has done and the county I believe is about to do -- to petition the EPA to make this a Superfund site," Lipson said of the Gelman plume.

"This is an area in which I completely disagree with Mr. Krapohl," he added. "We do not need any more time. The DEQ has had 25 years."

Krapohl said there appears to be new pressure in Lansing to take action and maybe go back to empowering the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality with the regulatory authority it used to have.

To that, Lipson responded: "They are never going to be empowered because the underlying law is a mitigation law, which is why we've just wasted our time giving city water to people whose wells we have contaminated, rather than cleaning it up."

Lipson said the EPA would do more to hold the polluter, Gelman Sciences, accountable and make the company pay for a cleanup. Gelman was acquired by Pall Corp. in 1997 and last year Danaher Corp. acquired Pall.

"Danaher Corp., which is a successor to the Gelman corporation, has got $26 billion in assets, so the EPA can go in, can clean it up, and then can bill Danaher Corp. with the Justice Department," Lipson said.

Asked whether he had confidence in state government, from elected state leaders to the DEQ, to do anything in the near term, Krapohl responded: "I think it's evolving, because I think there's a lot of other pressures on them."

He added, "Even if we go to the EPA as a Superfund site ... no matter what, the federal government does have limited resources, and my fear would be that they would just kick it back down to the state anyways. I think we just need to make sure we make an informed decision."

Fortunately, Ann Arbor's new city administrator, Howard Lazarus, has experience dealing with the EPA and the Superfund program, Krapohl said, adding he will be looking to Lazarus for his advice.

In a statement released ahead of Saturday's forum, Giannola said she would not be attending because she was never contacted or invited to participate, and because of her concerns about the party's leadership.

"The Ann Arbor Democratic Party is a corrupt organization with leadership that are currently drunk with power," she wrote. "I refuse to sanction their behavior so will not be participating in this year's candidate forum or in any other activity until the local leadership has changed. However, I will be participating in the League of Woman Voters forum next week. Please contact me through my campaign website if you would like to hear more about any specific issue."

Party Chairman Mike Henry said he spoke with Giannola last month and she was invited to participate. He declined to comment on her accusations, but acknowledged he and Giannola have a strained relationship.

Regional transit

Krapohl and Lipson both voiced support Saturday for a proposed regional transit tax going on the November ballot.

The Southeast Michigan Regional Transit Authority is planning to put a 1.2-mill tax before voters in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb and Washtenaw counties. A portion of the revenue would fund commuter rail between Ann Arbor and Detroit.

"No one wants more taxes, but the RTA is important for the entire region," Lipson said. "We can't be disconnected from the entire region."

"No one wants more taxes, but the RTA is important for the entire region," Lipson said. "We can't be disconnected from the entire region."

When talking about how to address transportation and traffic congestion, it truly is a regional issue, Krapohl said.

"Because it's not Ann Arbor's problem necessarily, but it's the growth that has taken place within Ann Arbor, the success we have had, and it can only be addressed really at a regional level," he said.

"That's the only way we're going to be able to coordinate with the townships and other municipalities around us in terms of how we're designing our roads, how we're transporting, how we're getting workers in and out of Ann Arbor, which are essential to our local economy. If we don't take a regional approach, it's not going to help anyone. It's going to make the situation and the issues worse for the entire area."

Krapohl said another key part of reducing traffic congestion is making sure workers have affordable options to live in Ann Arbor.

He said it's also important to look at providing reliable rail transit as an option for commuters who are living further out, and having other connector services so people can get to where growth is taking place. For example, he said, the University of Michigan and its hospital system are growing.

"We have to recognize that -- that is where a number of the jobs are and we need to be able to get those people into work," he said.

Krapohl said roads need to be designed to accommodate not only cars, but also pedestrians, cyclists and transit.

Lipson said he agreed with everything Krapohl said on the subject.

"Balanced transportation is important," Lipson said. "We've spent our entire history concentrating on cars instead of foot transportation, instead of bikes and pedestrians. Ann Arbor is actually one of the more pedestrian-friendly towns, but I've been working and I hope to continue to work on some pretty simple but effective things. We need better bike lanes. We need better lights on our pedestrian corridors. We need better signage on our pedestrian crosswalks.

"We need more consistent signage on pedestrian crosswalks. There's a lot of things we can do right now and we don't need another study."

Lipson said zoning is another important factor in terms of creating the kind of community where people can get to places by walking and biking, as opposed to having to drive to get a gallon of milk.

"Why don't we allow little bodegas in the neighborhoods that you can walk to more?" he said. "That's the old model ... and I think it's the future model."

At another point, Lipson said Ann Arbor has to control growth. He said right now it's out of control and developments like Packard Square and the Foundry Lofts high-rise at 413 E. Huron St. are too intense.

Police oversight

Both candidates said they support the recommendation from the city's Human Rights Commission to create a civilian review board to investigate complaints against Ann Arbor police officers.

"I think we do need to explore other ways to be able to get information, whether it's through surveys, through the Internet," Krapohl said of engaging citizens.

Lipson said he thinks the police in Ann Arbor do an excellent job, but it's important to have an open dialogue and to have a variety of stakeholders in the room.

Krapohl suggested it should be an advisory board, while Lipson said the board should have power to do more than just make recommendations.

"I don't know exactly at this point what that would be, but what I do want to see is an open process," he said.

Krapohl, who sits on the Human Rights Commission, said fortunately Ann Arbor doesn't have a lot of the problems other communities do.

He said the city needs a board that can talk about issues and the police department's shortfalls, and then try to address gaps in understanding and improve dialogue between police and the community.

"And that will help as we move to more of a community-oriented police force, which would then integrate more than just the police, but all aspects of social services, to try to help prevent problems from happening," he said.

Listening to citizens

Lipson and Krapohl have been at odds on the question of putting the future of the city-owned Library Lot to a vote of the people. Krapohl voted against going to voters, while Lipson supports going to voters.

During Saturday's forum, speaking in general terms, Krapohl agreed the city could do more to engage residents. He said the city falls short there.

"I think we do need to explore other ways to be able to get information, whether it's through surveys, through the Internet," he said.

"I don't think the problem is the process. I think the problem is that the City Council has not been listening to the people," Lipson responded, arguing citizens want to see a downtown park on the Library Lot.

"It's time for us to listen to what people want, and not just have studies that then are ignored by City Council," he said. "And that's what's been happening over and over, because the City Council is trying to usurp the power of the people and trying to hide stuff from the people. This is unacceptable in a democracy."

Ryan Stanton covers the city beat for The Ann Arbor News. Reach him at ryanstanton@mlive.com.
ANN ARBOR, MI - What's the top issue facing Ann Arbor? What would you focus on if you were elected to City Council?

The two 5th Ward candidates competing in the Aug. 2 primary -- Democratic incumbent Chuck Warpehoski and challenger Kevin Leeser -- gave some indication at a candidate forum Saturday, July 9.

"I think the core elements of our city are fantastic, and I see us staying a great place to live. Maintaining our economic health is very important," Warpehoski said of what he would focus on if reelected to another two-year term.

"When I first was running for office four years ago, I still remember knocking on a resident's door on Crest," he said. "This was still during the downturn and she asked me, 'My kids are graduating -- will they have a job if they want to live here?' And at that point, we couldn't have a good answer."

Warpehoski said Ann Arbor had lost Pfizer, taking a hit to its tax base, and the economy was very tenuous back then.

Council Member Chuck Warpehoski, D-5th Ward, speaks during an Ann Arbor City Council candidate forum on Saturday, July 9, 2016.

"And so making sure that we have a diversified and vibrant economy is part of that," he said.

He added, "For me, the other part of that is making sure it's inclusive and that we continue to do the work again on affordable housing so that it's a great place to live, not just for the haves, but for everybody."

Leeser said the biggest thing the city needs to do is make Ann Arbor safer for pedestrians and cyclists, including adding protected bike lanes.

"I mean, one of my neighbors, she doesn't ride her bike to the School of Public Health anymore out of fear because it's becoming so aggressive," he said, adding the city is literally scaring cyclists off the road.

"We have no protected bike lanes downtown. We're behind every other major city right now, and that I think is where we're lacking."

Living on Seventh Street with young children, Leeser said he's been concerned about motorists speeding. He said he approached the city and got the city to reduce the speed limit in front of Waterworks Park to 25 mph in keeping with state law, as well as a new crosswalk for children crossing there.

"And now it seems like we're at the point where you can't just go to the city and ask for stuff like that," Leeser said, adding he feels he needs to get on council to accomplish more of his goals for improving pedestrian and bicycle safety.

The forum was hosted by the Ann Arbor Democratic Party and took place at the Ann Arbor Community Center.

Regional transit, trains and traffic

Both candidates voiced support for a proposed regional transit tax going on the November ballot.

The Southeast Michigan Regional Transit Authority is planning to put a 1.2-mill tax before voters in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb and Washtenaw counties. A portion of the revenue would fund commuter rail between Ann Arbor and Detroit.

5th Ward candidate Kevin Leeser speaks during an Ann Arbor City Council candidate forum on Saturday, July 9, 2016.

"On the RTA millage, I'm a strong supporter," Warpehoski said. "I've endorsed the campaign."

When looking at the community's transportation needs and environmental protection needs, Warpehoski said, having a regional transit system that includes commuter rail between Ann Arbor and Detroit is important.

"There are a lot of people who are working at the University of Michigan and there's not room for them all in Ann Arbor," he said, adding some of them also can't afford to live in Ann Arbor.

"Providing non-motorized, lower-emissions, more-affordable means for them to get to work and get home is absolutely important in terms of an economic equity issue and an environmental issue."

As a nurse at U-M, Leeser said he gets to see firsthand the huge influx of staff that comes in to work every morning.

"Anything we can do to get these rail cars moving, I feel like let's just try it, because especially the U of M population, we're nurses, we do pretty weird stuff," he said. "So, we're going to get in a train car and not be like, 'Oh, this is so weird,' whereas some people maybe aren't going to be jumping onto the public transportation bandwagon that quickly."

Leeser added, "But also I don't think we need this giant, fabulous train station. If you go to the eastern seaboard, little towns just have a cement platform. You park your car, you pay, you jump on the train, and off you go."

Instead of an expensive new train station, Leeser said the city just needs a simple rail platform right in front of the hospital.

"On the RTA millage, I'm a strong supporter," Warpehoski said.

Warpehoski said he's neutral on where a new train station should go and he's waiting to see how the city's ongoing site selection process plays out.

"Part of the problem with our existing site is that there's not parking on the existing site for even our current uses, much less expanded use," he said. "So, part of the site selection needs to figure out how is it going to include adequate room for all the users on the Amtrak service, as well as the regional rail service, and how is it going to be more accessible and inclusive for people with disabilities."

Warpehoski said the city scored low in a citizen survey when it comes to parking and traffic, so that's a quality-of-life issue to address.

"On the traffic piece of this, I think we have ReImagine Washtenaw corridor study that calls for things like bus pull-off lanes so that when a bus is dropping off and picking up, it's not holding up traffic," he said. "Prioritize queue jumping to get them through the traffic faster. Improving the flow on some of our corridors I think is going to make a real big difference for that side of the transportation piece, and making it more inclusive for both drivers and transit users."

Warpehoski recalled he championed the creation of the city's Pedestrian Safety and Access Task Force, which has recommended ways to make Ann Arbor safer for pedestrians and cyclists. It will be up to the City Council whether to implement the task force's August 2015 recommendations.

"We do need to work on implementing those," Warpehoski said.

As far as safety on Seventh Street, a major concern of his opponent who lives on that street, Warpehoski said the city has added new crosswalks on Seventh Street since he was elected to council in 2012.

"Some of that has been through citizen outreach, and some of it has been me helping making that connection," he said.

Affordable housing

Both candidates were asked to share their thoughts on how to make progress on the city's goal of adding nearly 2,800 new affordably priced rental units in Ann Arbor through a combination of public and private efforts by 2035.

"When I look at the affordable housing needs in the community, it's not one-size-fits-all solutions," Warpehoski said.

"When I hear 'supply and demand,' I think bubble," Leeser said.

For very low-income people, he said, there needs to be a supply of publicly subsidized housing.

"We've been able to increase that supply, but not enough," he said. "So, one of the things we need to be really looking at is how we have the resources to improve that supply for people who are at the bottom of the income spectrum."

Another part of the affordability problem in Ann Arbor is that even people who are working and making decent wages still can't find an affordable place to live in the city, Warpehoski said, suggesting there needs to be more workforce housing for middle-income workers and families.

He said it's going to take a combination of public subsidy and market solutions to address all of the community's housing affordability challenges.

"For people who work in Ann Arbor, part of it is looking at improving our zoning incentives so that in our downtown core and our transportation corridors, we provide sort of a carrot to developers to provide some of that workforce housing," he said, adding the city needs zoning that's welcoming and inclusive.

Responding to the question about housing affordability, Leeser raised concerns about new development happening in Ann Arbor.

He said one of the things that scares him is when people talk about supply and demand as if building more downtown high-rises is the solution.

"When I hear 'supply and demand,' I think bubble," Leeser said, recalling how he was working in Hoboken when the stock market crashed and people started vacating nice housing units and going home to live with their parents.

"And when we start building this, like, mentality that we have to build downtown, it's almost like we're rushing without seeing what's going on with our neighbors to the east," he said, making reference to Detroit.

"Detroit is coming through a huge re-vibrance right now and we're not even mentioning that. It's like, let's think outside of just housing in downtown," he said, going on to make the case for rail transit again.

Leeser also raised concerns about owners of rental houses letting properties fall into disrepair. He said they need to be held accountable.

Kevin Leeser and Chuck Warpehoski shared the stage during a 5th Ward City Council candidate forum at the Ann Arbor Community Center on Saturday, July 9, 2016.

Police oversight

Both candidates said they support the creation of a civilian review board for the Ann Arbor Police Department.

Asked to comment on what kind of authority such a board should have, Leeser began by raising concerns about the recent police chief hiring process.

"I've worked with the police department in Detroit. I worked with narcotics, homicide, the DEA. I know how police operations work," he added.

Asked again for his thoughts on the role of a civilian review board, Leeser responded: "I would say it almost is a way for promotion within the department. If you get a good review, if you sit down with the board and they review your actions as an officer ... that goes in your record. It's not like -- we're not going to be able to fire an officer." He said it should be more of an advisory board.

Warpehoski said part of such a board's responsibilities should be ongoing review of civilian complaints about officer behavior and making sure there's a higher level of transparency and review.

"I think that's an important part of it," he said. "Because of the city charter and because of our contract, and how safety services contracts are set up in Michigan, I think that needs to be in an advisory capacity."

Warpehoski said he likes how in Oakland there's a civilian review board that can make recommendations. If the police chief doesn't follow the recommendations, he said, then the chief needs to explain why.

"So, I think we can have an advisory board that still has some strong ability to make recommendations," he said. "The more important work is looking forward and saying -- what are our training practices? What are our policies?"

He said the city needs to continually look at how to improve the police department and how to prevent tragedies from happening.

Ryan Stanton covers the city beat for The Ann Arbor News. Reach him at ryanstanton@mlive.com.
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BAY CITY, MI - Downtown Bay City streets were turned into a showcase during the 22nd annual Cool City Car Show Saturday July 9, 2016.

350 cars parked along Center Ave and Washington Ave, as thousands of people walked around to see the classic and unique cars.

'It's a great family activity," said Dave Niemann, "we all love cars."

The event began at 9 a.m., an exhaust rapping contest for car show participants and a big wheel race took place throughout the day.

The Cool City Car Show raises funds for the American Cancer Society. The event has given more than $213,000 since 1995, said Kendra Christensen, co-chair of the event.

Car show participants were happy to display their vehicles. Angelo Ricupati brought his 1965 Fiat 600 to the event. Ricupati bought it brand new in Detroit, for racing, and was excited to let people see his car.
DETROIT - Detroit police are asking for the public's help in locating Pablo Medina, a suspect in a double-murder that happened early Saturday in southwest Detroit. He is accused of shooting to death two women outside a home in the 8000 block of Cahalan in the Springwells Village area.

Police say Medina's wife, 42, pulled up to the house with another female, age 27. Medina allegedly began firing shots at the car, striking the 27-year-old woman. The 42-year-old woman then exited the vehicle and began to run but was chased and gunned down by the suspect, according to police.

Medina and his wife were in the process of getting a divorce.

The suspect was last seen wearing a blue and white t-shirt and blue jeans. He is described as a Hispanic male, 41 years of age. He is considered armed and dangerous.

Anyone with information is asked to call Detroit Police Homicide at 313-596-2260. Anonymous tips can be made by calling Crimestoppers at 1-800-SPEAK-UP.
FLINT, MI - A discussion on racialized violence is set to take place Sunday afternoon at the University of Michigan-Flint after the deaths of Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, and five Dallas police officers last week.

The event is set to begin at 4 p.m. Sunday, July 10 and take place at the university's Intercultural Center, 303 E. Kearsley St., in downtown Flint.

"Dialogue can be an important mechanism for coming to a deeper and collective understanding of the causes of racialized violence and is an integral part of the process for social change, justice and healing," reads a message on the university's Facebook page about the event.

Sterling was shot and killed July 5 by police outside a convenience store in Baton Rouge, La.

Castile died July 6 after he was shot by an officer during a traffic stop in Minnesota, sparking marches and protests across the country on the use of force against African-Americans by police.

Five police officers were killed and seven others injured during a July 7 shooting in Dallas, Tx. Police said suspect Micah Johnson was upset about the recent shootings and wanted to kill whites, in particular white officers.

He died after police detonated a robot-controlled bomb during a standoff.

Demonstrations over the shooting deaths of Castile and Sterling have taken place across Michigan, including Saginaw, Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids, and Kalamazoo, where law enforcement met with residents and community leaders.

A July 9 rally in Flint in support of Black Lives Matter was cancelled by organizers after the Dallas shooting.
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A customer of largest privately owned indigenous financial institution, Fidelity bank in Takoradi has won the ultimate prize in the bank's Save for Gold promotion.

The ultimate winner, Festus Armoh Nweamah, from the Market Circle branch in Takoradi was honoured with a 1 kg 24 carat Gold Bar.

The 2nd runner-up, Mary Tumpi of the Nungua branch, earned half kg 24 carat gold bar and the 3rd runner-up, Sezan Houenou Elisee of Ridge Towers branch, won a 250 grams 24 carat Gold Bar.

17 other lucky customers received a gold coin each.

Fidelity Bank has so far empowered the lives of over 100 lucky customers through its successful 'Save for Gold' promotion, creating a golden experience for its deserving customers.

After five months of actively promoting savings, Fidelity ended its 'Save for Gold' promotion at a plush gold themed event at the Labadi Beach Hotel in Accra on 8th July, 2016.

The customer-focused bank rewarded a total of 80 customers with gold prizes across the country as promised. The official grand draw, held Friday night, was officiated by the National Lottery Authority (NLA).

Overall, the bank has rewarded 105 lucky customers with a total of over GHS500, 000 worth of gold prizes.

Speaking at the draw, Divisional Director for Retail Banking at Fidelity Bank, Julian Kingsley Opuni expressed appreciation to the customers.

Our customers are the life blood of our success. We are delighted to have come to a successful and exciting completion of the 'Save for Gold' promotion with the ultimate draw. As a dynamic indigenous bank, giving value to Ghanaians and all customers of the bank is something we deeply care about. This promotion was created to acknowledge and celebrate the excellent relationship we have with our customers, reward them, and also help them save for the unforeseen future.

Mr. Opuni thanked the NLA and congratulated all winners of the 'Save for Gold' promotion.

He also encouraged customers to continue banking with Fidelity as the bank continue to work tirelessly to adequately meet their banking needs.

The Fidelity Save for Gold promotion was a six month saving mobilization Promotion aimed at instilling positive saving habits, through financial literacy among customers and rewarding them with gold prizes.

The promotion was successfully organized in partnership with the National Lottery Authority (NLA) on the Caritas Lotteries Platform.



By: Godwin A. Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana

Follow @AlloteyGodwin
Employment Minister Haruna Iddrisu has said some legal commentators goofed when they suggested that the EC is not subject to direction by the Supreme Court.

Mr Iddrisu said such comment can only be erroneous because the Constitution vests in the Supreme Court the power to interpret the law and direct any institution that falls under that law.

The Electoral Commission cannot be above law, the Electoral Commission cannot be above the Constitution, the Electoral Commission cannot be above the ruling of the Supreme Court, he said whilst discussing the crucial voters register case in which the Electoral Commission has been directed by the Supreme Court to delete all names of NHI registrants on the voters registers.

Law lecturer Dr Raymond Atuguba has become a vanguard, explaining with vehemence the position of the Electoral Commission and saying categorically that the Supreme Court did not order an automatic deletion of the names of NHI registrants in the roll of voters.

He also stated in an interview it will be inappropriate for a court to meddle in the internal functioning of an independent constitutional body. It is not only inappropriate, it is impracticable for the Supreme Court to watch over the functioning of the Electoral Commission on a day-by-day basis.

Some other critics who hold similar views have also suggested that the EC is an independent constitutional body and can therefore not be subject to control or direction by any other institution, including the Supreme Court.

But Haruna Iddrisu said on a panel discussion program Newsfile, Saturday, such analysis is erroneous.

He said all institutions and individuals are under the constitution and it is only the Supreme Court that has power to interpret the constitution and by implication can direct any constitution.

Haruna Iddrisu argued it is not for nothing that all public officers, including the chairman of the Electoral Commission are made to swear an oath, part of which says; I shall uphold, preserve , defend the laws and constitution of Ghana.

He said by that oath, all public officers bring themselves under the control of the Supreme Court which interprets these laws within the constitution.

With barely four months into the November elections some critics have expressed fears over the delays in dealing with issues relating to the voters register but Haruna Iddrisu said there is time to clean the register.

Haruna Iddrisu suggested that with advances in technology, the EC can make use of image recognition software, some of which can use eye lashes of human beings to determine the identity of people.

-myjoyonline
The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has advised the citizenry, particularly the youth, to explore opportunities provided through the advancement in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for self-development.

ICT must become the carrier of an expanded educational system that makes it possible for learners to acquire the skills needed to function in the global economy, he said.

Otumfuo Osei Tutu, also the Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), who was addressing the 50th Congregation of the University in Kumasi, said the increasing use of ICT in higher education was one way to achieving educational outcomes.

Consequently, he cautioned the youth not to misapply ICT for unproductive ventures, saying they must be trained to appreciate its ethical and moral aspect to help build a stronger society.

This year's congregation saw a total of 8,081 students graduating including 51 for Doctor of Philosophy (PHD).

The Asantehene said the era of post-graduate guaranteed-employment was long gone, and, therefore, graduates must fashion out their own destiny by coming out with innovative means for self-employment.

The time calls for creativity, innovation and a can-do spirit, he said, adding that those were the essential ingredients to success.

Otumfuo Osei Tutu challenged the graduating students to make use of the knowledge acquired and resolve to put their expertise to use in addressing development challenges confronting the nation.

Touching on the KNUST's proposed Teaching Hospital project, the Chancellor appealed to the Government to make available funds to help complete the project.

Work on the project, which commenced in 2007, had been stalled due to inadequate funds.

Professor William Otoo Ellis, the Vice-Chancellor of KNUST, emphasised the critical role higher education plays in national development called on stakeholders to make the necessary investment to benefit the nation.

-GNA
The Ministry of Trade and Industry has expressed its readiness to assist foreign investors acquire lands to set up manufacturing firms in the country.

The assurance comes after the Chinese Ambassador to Ghana Madam Sun Baohong told Citi Business News that even though a number of Chinese investors are ready to relocate to Ghana to establish their businesses, the move could be hindered by challenges in land acquisition.

Earlier, the Minister for Trade and Industry Dr. Ekwow Spio-Grabrah announced that some Chinese investors have officially written to Ghana to relocate their businesses to the country to have access to raw materials.

Speaking to Citi Business News on the issue, the Deputy Communication Manager at the Ministry of Trade and Industry Nasir Ahmed Yartey explained that with the current administrative reforms, land acquisition is now less cumbersome provided an investor is ready to go through the legal processes to acquire it.

The acquisition of lands for investment purposes shouldn't be a challenge to any investor so long as the investor goes through the appropriate route and deal with the rightful authorities, he said.

Mr. Yartey explained that the Ministry of Trade and Industry has aided investors by directing them to the Ghana Investment Promotion Center, and the Lands Commission, guiding investors on the legal procedures in acquiring lands for manufacturing purposes.

Even under the Ministry of Trade and Industry, we have the Free Zones Board and they have the power to declare any area as a Free Zone enclave to aid in setting up manufacturing companies, he said.

Mr. Yartey stated that, as part of the conditions the investor must venture into production of value added products with the intention of exporting to generate income for the country.

As I speak to you we have Free Zone enclaves in Sekondi, Takoradi and Accra. So far as the purpose of the acquisition is value addition and manufacturing with the intended purpose of export, then an investor shouldn't have any challenges, he stressed.

He cited for example that the Lands Commission has in recent times outdoored a robust service to allow both local and foreign investors have access to lands for establishing manufacturing firms.



By: Lawrence Segbefia/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana
10.07.2016 LISTEN

Accra, July 10, GNA - The Council of State has given its advice on the new Constitutional Amendment Bill 2016 and sent it to Parliament six days after its first reading and referral to the Council.

The Bill will amend Article 112 of the 1992 Constitution to give constitutional backing to the change of the date for General Election from December 7 to November 7.

The amendment seeks to make the first Monday of November of an election year the tentative national date for general election. The proposed date for this year's general election - November 7 - also falls on a Monday.

The Speaker of Parliament, Mr Edward Doe Adjaho, last Tuesday after the first consideration of the Bill, referred it to the Council of State for advice.

Thus, the Speaker, at plenary on Monday, informed the House of the Council's advice and referred the Bill, together with the recommendation of body of eminent citizens, to the Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs for consideration and report.

One of the recommendations made by the Electoral Reform Committee after the election petition in 2013 was a change in the date for the conduct of general election from 7th December to the first Monday of November, in an election year, in order to have elections on a specific day, instead of having elections on specific dates.

The recommendation is based on the premise that the December 7 date, which has been used in six general elections, is no more convenient because of the lack of time for a hand-over on January 7 the following year when a new party is elected.

GNA

By Ken Sackey, GNA
The wind of change of change in political leadership is blowing in Ghana and it could also be felt among Ghanaian communities in the diaspora; from New York in the USA to the United Kingdom and other European countries, through to China and even Far East Australia.

Ghanaians abroad are yearning for change in their motherland. They want a leadership that will be able to explore the resources and opportunities that Ghana has to create the enabling and conducive platform that each and every citizen, particularly the teeming youth, could harness to develop their God-given potentials and create wealth for themselves and families. This is the vision that our forebears anticipated for us in the emergence of post-independence Ghana.

Events in the last 7 years under the leadership of NDC present us with another opportunity to stay true to the aspirations of the founding fathers of our nation. All hands, both home and abroad, are needed on deck to redeem our nation from the socio-economic woes that have bedeviled her under the corrupt, nepotistic, and incompetence leadership of John Mahama and the NDC. Ghanaians deserves far better than what they are currently experiencing!

It is in the light of this situation that the NPP-New York, a chapter of the NPP-USA fraternity is putting its shoulders to the wheels of change moving across the nukes and crannies of Ghana, as it has always done even prior the emergence of the fourth republican constitution of our motherland. The chapter has energized its base for the victory 2016 agenda of the NPP. And its members are leaving no stone unturned!

As part of its commitment to this cause, the NPP-NY chapter has adopted the Ketu South Constituency in the Volta region. Members of the chapter look forward to supporting the efforts of the party, constituents and parliamentary candidate of the NPP of the constituency to secure victory for the party and its candidate, the venerable Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. The task is huge and it will need an unwavering tenacity and persistence to achieve it.

As it moves to mobilizing its wherewithal towards campaigning for and winning elections 2016, the New Patriotic Party Chapter in New York under the able leadership of Dr. Akwasi Achampong is organizing a fundraising and dinner dance event and hereby warmly invites the general public to this all important occasion. With Akosua Busia, daughter of Prof. Kofi Abrefa Busia (one of United Party (UP)s giants and former Prime Minister of Ghana) as keynote speaker, and the Champion Chairman of NPP-USA, Nana Kwaku Agyei-Yeboah as guest of honor, this event promises to be historic!

Come and support the NPP and Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo to make Victory 2016 a reality; a victory that will usher our beloved nation into a new era of anti-corrupt regime, accountability, job creation, poverty reduction, high standard of living among others. Not only the NPP, but Ghanaians in general will be the victors in the outcome of this victory.

You are graciously called to duty, a duty you should not decline at this crucial stage in the life of our nation.

Come one, come all to support a worthy cause!

Program details are as follow:

EVENT: NPP-NY Fundraising and Dinner Dance Event

THEME: Mobilizing Ghanaians Abroad Towards Victory 2016

DATE: Saturday, July 9, 2016

VENUE: Sanbra Hall, Bronx (861 East Tremont Ave, Bronx, NY 10460)

TIME: 9:00pm  4:00 am

For more info, kindly CONTACT:

Dr. Akwasi Achampong  646 342 1738

Kwame Agyeman-Budu  646 436 7008

Kofi Osei-Owusu  646 207 9377

Kwabena Manu (Pancho)  914 260 8100

Mujeeb Mogtari Sahanu  347 258 0600

Clement Afriyie  347 961 4976

Ballah Issah Saeed  917 860 4864

Barbara Boafo  347 575 5600

Maazu Muftaw  347 295 5288

Louisa Nana Akua Boakye  929 332 3982

Joseph Adwapa (Jojo)  646 620 0115

Agartha Nyamekye  646 387 9678

Kukrudu,.

Kukruduu,.

Kukruduuuuu,.

Amponsah Stonash

NPP-NY Public Relations Team
Perhaps, I need to revisit my books more often, because I never knew that elected leaders of modern democracies derive their authority from God. And when you express your dissatisfaction in a very colourful language you can incur the displeasure of the almighty. I read with mixed feelings and consternation about a week ago a piece entitled Insulting a sitting president is the most unfortunate sin against God. The following is the link: http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Insulting-a-sitting-president-is-the-most-unfortunate-sin-against-God-450716 . To be honest, I quite agreed with the introduction and share the sentiments of the writer regarding the example of a three-year-old insulting President Mahama. I have not seen the clip and I dont intend to, but I take his word for it. Besides, I must add, it is appalling and it should not be entertained in any society whatsoever.

However, my beef is with the main reason for his effort. His rendition of Kojo Yanksons comment, which has incurred the displeasure of many Ghanaians was a bit inaccurate to say the least. The fact is the presenter did not categorically label the president as an armed robber. It was a joke that came too close for comfort in the wake of the Dailyguide story that the president has made a formal request to carry a pistol. And I honestly believe the president has himself to blame.

We all know that the job comes with its inherent dangers. Nevertheless, since when did presidents carry gun for their own personal safety? Does the president have doubts about the integrity of his bodyguards? If as a president, his preoccupation is about his personal safety then what time does he have to think seriously about the needs and problems of the country. There is a reason why he is provided with a 24-hour security detail. The import is to ensure his absolute peace of mind to think about the county. What will be the essence of those professionally trained bodyguards provided by the state? If he feels that his guards are not adequate, then he should make formal request to parliament to make changes to meet his needs, but not requesting for a personal gun, which is superfluous. How is he going to use it? Will he be clutching his gun in its holster while delivering a speech at the independence square? Will he be looking around for potential assailants when he enters a room?

The above is just a side track. For Mr Anthony Obeng Afrane to suggest that all authority comes from God is to deprive the bible of any contextual meaning. We submit to authority simply because we prefer order to chaos. Is he trying to argue that Kotokas coup that overthrew Nkrumah was sanctioned by God? What about Acheampong, did his authority come from God to terminate Busias regime? Did Mr Afrane think about the butcher, Rawlings, whether God anointed him to come and brutalise Ghanaians?

Now, all authority is authority irrespective of its dominion on earth. So let us leave Ghana for a while and go further afield for more clarity. Did Hitler obtain his blessings from God to murder six million Jews and plunge the whole world into a war that destroyed the lives of 54 million body count in WWII. What about the brutality of Stalin; did he seek permission from God to murder 20 million of his own citizens? It will be redundant to even talk about the atrocities of Mao let alone defend that his callous regime was decreed from God.

Our knowledge of history over millennia proves that authorities do not come from God. And if they do, I dont think God will allow flawed characters to ascend thrones. In other words, am I to conclude that God allowed King Charles I of England to be crowned and then conspire to have his head chopped off. A similar tragedy played out in France a century and a half down the line. Did God allow Louis XVI of Frances head to be guillotined after legitimising his authority?

The biblical verse that Mr Afrane quoted to support his argument was written by St Paul to the Romans at a time when Christians were despised in the Greco-Roman world. Does anybody think St Paul was going to write any other for the beleaguered first century Roman Christians? They would have been crushed if he had advised them otherwise against a blood thirsty sovereign like Nero. It was a calculated advice St Paul gave to his fellow Christians in Rome to submit to authority for their own safety.

Philip Kobina Baidoo Jnr

London

[email protected]
TO THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

FLAGSTAFF HOUSE, ACCRA

Dear Mr. President

THE POLICE ARE DYING WHILST ALL STAKEHOLDERS ARE LOOKING ON WITH NO INTEREST.

I write to you from Peki in the Volta Region. I am a young Police lance corporal stationed there. I write this letter because I am gripped with fear of death. There is a situation in the police which currently demands your attention and quick interventions else more lives will be wasted whilst the state looks on. I have at least served in the police for some seven and half years so I can confidently tell you that I am abreast with situations in the Police. I know by the time I finish writing this letter to you, I may have been taken through some service enquiries leading to my dismissal and if I am spared at all, I may be transferred to the remotest place in Ghana where the sun never shines. I may be charged with doing an act which brings the name of the service into disrepute contrary to regulation 82(iv) of C.I 76 (Police Service Regulations 2012). It will surprised you that writing a letter to my own president will attract sanctions but that is the order of the day in the police so we will put up with it. We are very quick to be punish under the C.I 76 than be given the benefits that the C.I 76 prescribes but I will leave that one to a later date. In my next writing to you, whether I still remain in the police or not, I will write extensively on how the C.I 76 is largely ignored to the detriment of we the junior ranks but today I want to go straight to the point and be very brief as well so spare me just some few minutes of your time. I know we are in election year but please for the sake of God and country, kindly bear with me and grant me some audience.

Mr. President the police are dying. Almost every day a police officer dies through the gun of an armed robber or through some kind of violent death especially this year. We are dying but it appears nothing is done about it because there is this notion that there are thousands and one youths out there who want to join the police. Should that be the case? Should the police be the quickest avenue to waste our youths? It is very sad my President. Life in the police can be compared to prisoners on death roll with an unknown executioner. You wake up in the morning and fear of death grips you because your colleagues are dying through the bullets of robbers. Though we are personnel of a giant security service like the police, there seems to be no strategic solution to the everyday killings of the police especially the junior ranks. One will wonder why trained police officers are being mulled by unskilled armed robbers but that is a question that I will leave to the police administration to answer but in my clueless opinion, I know training and retraining coupled with required accoutrements will enhance efficiency which is likely to win the war over robberies. Those of us in the villages are worse off Mr. President. We are still fighting robberies with knowledge that some of our senior colleagues acquired some 20 years ago whilst new forms of threats and risks keep emerging every day. If you complain, they tell you to use your discretion. Which discretion should we use to the fight the robbers? Discretion not to go to robbery scenes after you have an information that some poor innocent Ghanaians are suffering in the hands of unscrupulous armed robbers? It places questions on the oath we took as police officers but which discretion are they talking about? Life in the police is nothing apart from providence. Very little is done to protect us to protect the nation. Who cares if a police officer dies? I know you are the only one who cares that is why I am writing to you against all odds.

Mr. President, the killings in the police is creating a situation that needs your serious attention. Many young and energetic gallant men have had their lives shortened whilst serving their country Ghana and in the end, their wives and children are neglected by both the state and the police administration. Our wives are being widowed at the ages of 20, 25 or at most 35. Our children are increasingly becoming fatherless. There is always a neglect for the family of a police officer who died in the course of duty. I have once witnessed a situation where young constable who was shot by armed robbers entitlements were not paid to the family after 10 good years. Some children eventually drop out of school because their fathers have been killed by armed robbers. Most of these children are likely to become social misfits who may even end up joining the armed robbers and also to ensure that they kill somebody's father so that his children end up just like them. Their wives are ejected from barracks few months after their husbands have died. The rooms are needed for new police officers who are likely to end up like their colleagues. The situations is very bad Mr. President.

I promised to be very brief though I have lot to say but going forward into the near future, I want to see your quick interventions as to how the incessant killings of the police will be reduced or if possible be stopped completely. I do not know how possible it is but can we have a situation where a very single police officer is insured by the state or police administration? Or can we have a situation where there are funds set aside to take care of children and wives of police officers who die through accidents whilst performing official duties or robbery attacks? There should be ways and means Mr. President to take care of police wives and children if they should die unexpected whilst performing their statutory duties. If nothing at all, impress on the police administration to fully implement the C.I 76. Every welfare situation of the ordinary police can be found it. The sad situation is after a police officer has been killed by armed robbers, they mobilise all the resources at their disposal to organize a grand funeral where all the dignitaries attend. I recently attended one where the Minister for Interior himself was in attendance at Leklebi. I know he will take some lessons for himself.

I know you have good listening hear so I am very confident that I will see something positive soon. Don't keep long Mr. President.

Yours faithfully

L/Cpl Daniel Kwofie (Ahanta)

Ghana Police Service,Peki
The shootings last week in USA of Black Americans by the hands of White Americans is a clear demonstration of the path for the downfall of USA as a Superpower. The enquiry report released the same week into UKs engagement, under the leadership of USA, into the Iraq conflict cements this statement.

USA wants to be seen as the World Police Officer with the highest moral standards of mankind protecting them on behave of other nations to widen their influence on the international stage politically and economically ignoring that these values are not originating from USA but Europe (Human Rights, Rule of Law/French Revolution, Democracy/Greece, Capitalism/Holland, Italy, Spain)

Coming from the slave trade, civil war in USA to end slavery, the Civil Rights movement of Dr. Martin Luther King jr.up to the proclamation of a mixed raced President Barack Obama to market him as a Black Man shows the Spirit and State of mind the USA is in currently and the road ahead to its downfall as a Superpower.

It is certainly not by coincident that Dallas was the city of the shooting down of 5 white Police Officers by Black people protesting against the two shootings the days before of innocent Black People. The inequality of Blacks in USA is heartbreaking while there are no reports out of Europe of any Black Man shoot dead by a White Police Officer and the numbers of casualties is limited to a few very unfortunate hate crimes caused by mislead Whites.

The Spirit of destruction in USA in a city once the scene of the assassination of former President John F. Kennedy, a true fighter for the equality of African decedents living in America is more than symbolic, goes deep down to the spiritual problems and incapability of the European Settlers decedents to accept that life is not about the possibility to make all your dreams come true but to show respect and tolerance for other peoples values and dreams. The Settlers came out of oppressive Regimes in Europe seeing and hoping for a better life in North America to make their lives desire come true. This Settler spirit has not only made easy gun access possible but shows itself in the bullets killing Blacks and White alike.

Considering that the Police Chief of Dallas, David Brown, is a Black American himself and Dallas being considered as a mostly peaceful city in the racial conflicts is another cornerstone of the spirit that will over time to come destroy the position USA is currently in now in our time of history. Empires and Superpowers, History teaches us, never exist for ever; they come, are strong and over time go again for other Empires and Superpowers to emerge. The signs of downfall of such Powers are historically always the same, it is not an explosion rather an inner implosion to end the legacy of an Empire.

America certainly has no capacity and strength anymore to show itself as the moral leader of this world and take mankind to the next higher level.

Asian Politicians and Investors know, the future of Politics and Business is no longer in their region. Beginning from the end of World War II Europe became politically and economically strong after which the economic focus for mass production and consumption shifted to Asia. The Tiger countries and China are settled and strong Nations, economically and socially, constituted with no interest and capacity to have moral leadership for mankind, never in the past, nor present or future. China knows the time comes to readjust its policy towards Africa as once no more natural resources can be extracted from African soil which makes people poor and not able to consume their products and services.

As Asians are aware of the road ahead they are also conscious of the fact that money alone cannot change African countries for the better rather make them loose their investments over time in a bucket full of holes. While Europeans have problems openly to confess the only way forward to save Africa and their own societies is to take again control of Africa as a Servant to the various Countries is being seen not to be politically correct, for that matter only expressed in inner circles behind closed doors. Asia is more openly seeing Africa as the future Continent with the need to change the political systems based on which the economic and social situation in Africa can be turned around for better and set unto a long and stable basis.

The combined political and economic power of Europe and Asia will make it easy to buy one African country after the other not by force, but by wisdom and determination to subsequently help themselves from the hungry Black Man to cross the Mediterranean See, die in it or forcing himself into the White Mans societies with increasing resistance of the Citizens of Europe leading to social, economic and political unrest.

The future moral leadership will be a combination of the European Value Traditions supported by the wisdom of Asian Nations and drafted with the positive Spirit of Africans that was once so prominent in this world when the African continent was the birthplace of Mankind, Civilization and Humanity.

Africans rise up to your assigned destiny!

Author: Dipl.-Pol. Karl-Heinz Heerde, Sakumono Estate, Block D10, Aprt.9, Tema West, Ghana, phone +233(0)265078287, [email protected] , 09.07.2016
10.07.2016 LISTEN

For the purposes of this periodical, I will define an expert as a person with a high degree with skill in, or knowledge of a particular subject (Oxford English Dictionary).

Whereas an expertise is the dexterity of an individual to apply the acquired skill or knowledge,---also known as the motivation to transfer.

Based on the Oxford English Dictionary definition of expert, we, Ghanaians, prefer to call the vast majority of higher degree achievers as experts. Nevertheless, whether if the so-called experts have the needed expertise to transfer is a million dollar question.

For, in Ghana today, you hear all sorts of experts, ranging from security , communication, labour, energy, governance, sanitation, finance to marketing, etc. But the big question is, do the experts really have the expertise?

Tell me, for instance, if we really have energy experts, why the dumsor?

For if anything at all, we are being swamped by tons of rubbish, yet our so-called energy experts are unable or unwilling to apply their expertise to generate power from the tons of rubbish.

And how come we have free flowing rivers and streams and the energy experts among us cannot see the need to come up with prudent plan to generate power through the construction of mini dams?

How come we have abundant sunshine and our so-called energy experts are lacking the expertise to generate solar energy from the copious sunshine? Experts without expertise indeed.

And how come we boast of communication experts, yet communicated abysmally during the 59th independence anniversary celebration?

They are experts with inconclusive expertise, so to admit.

As a matter of fact, we are a nation fond of bestowing accolades on individuals unnecessarily. For if that was not the case, how come we have tagged our own President Mahama as a communication expert, yet he more than often fail to communicate to an acceptable standard?

Take for instance, in one of his recent changing lives speeches, President Mahama sarcastically suggested that Bawumia has not been a vice president before and therefore cannot impugn incompetence on his government. President Mahama went ahead and uncharacteristically asserted that only our two former Presidents, Kuffour and Rawlings have the pedigree and therefore may criticise him.

I also recall some time ago, President Mahama went to Kumasi and castigated the entire people of Ashanti region. He referred to Ashantis as ungrateful lots who would never even be content with gold plated roads. How bizarre?

To be quite honest, it was uncharacteristic on the part of a supposedly communication expert to suggest that all Ashantis are unappreciative.

I recollect in one of the Parliamentary sittings, President Mahama had the cheek to insult Ashantis indiscriminately.

He openly said: People of the Ashanti origin have problem with letters L&R. In other words, Mahama was implying that Ashantis cannot pronounce words that have letters L&R.

That was an impertinent boldness from a supposedly communication expert. Do Ghanaians call such an individual a communication expert ?

Again, in the wake of the public discourse on the suitability of the proposed burial place of our departed president Mills, President Mahama incoherently stated that Ghanaians who took part in the debate both on radio, television and even in their private homes and work places engaged in a USELESS discourse.

That was uncharacteristic of a President who is being tagged as a communication expert, humble, respectful, God fearing etc.

With due respect, Mahamas use of intemperate words is out of this world. He is simply not an expert communicator.

As a matter of fact, President Mahama has a predilection to abuse those who show divergent views to his.

For example, during the debate on the STX Housing deal, President Mahama, then Vice President, abused our Members of parliament who opposed the deal.

He told them: BALONEY. In other words, President Mahama was suggesting that the Parliamentarians were engaging in foolish discourse. How bizarre?

An expert communicator and Humble President indeed.

I also witnessed Mahamas lividness when the Attorney Generals office charged Kennedy Agyepong with Treason, Terrorism & genocide and former President Kuffuor humbly appealed for calm, and suggested that the government should avoid killing a fly with a Sledge Hammer.

President Mahama subsequently replied hastily and lividly: We will kill a fly with a Bulldozer.

Honestly speaking, that incoherent remark can only come from the lips of a bellicose and not from the lips of a supposedly communication expert, submissive and a peaceful President.

We also claim to have sanitation experts among us, yet we are being swamped by tons of rubbish.

Well, all that one can conclude is that our so-called sanitation experts lack the motivation to transfer. In other words, they are experts without expertise. For they lack the practical ability to transfer their acquired skills to work settings.

Then again, you hear of all sorts of financial gymnastics by the so-called financial experts who have been entrusted with our economy .

Regretfully, however, they lack the motivation to transfer. For the so-called financial experts are often failed to put in place expedient measures to transform the ever so unstable economy.

They are experts of dubitable expertise, so to speak.

So, let the so-called experts among us give us a break and go ahead and apply their expertise to advance the nation meaningfully.

For they will remain experts without the needed expertise, so long as they lack the motivation to transfer.

K. Badu, UK.
Submitted to Sheffield Hallam University, UK Faculty of Health and Wellbeing-Radiotherapy and oncology on ,24-08-2015

Abstract

The following is a case study to illustrate the impact of the Enhancing Prostate Cancer Care MOOC on my work in transforming the patient pathway for prostate cancer in Ghana. Participation in the course has sharpened my knowledge and enabled me to provide relevant information to Ghanaian men diagnosed with prostate cancer.

I come from the Shai-Osudoku district in the greater Accra region in Ghana. In June, 2013 prior to the EPCCMOOC, I founded the mens charity, Mens Health Foundation Ghana with the broad aim to raise awareness of prostate cancer and offer free screening using ultrasound and PSA testing using the local churches. Simultaneously I developed and provided information for Ghanaian men regarding prostate cancer treatment.

I have used my experience and the knowledge acquired during the course to inform and develop a road map for prostate cancer in Ghana. This gave me the confidence to write to the Minister of Health, to recommend developing a prostate cancer awareness program. This recommendation was acted upon by the Director General of the Health Service who tasked myself and the Men s Health Foundation, Ghana to collaborate with the Non-communicable Disease Unit of the Ministry of Health to inform and implement a National Cancer Plan for prostate cancer. This work is ongoing.

Subsequent to the EPCC MOOC, I have undertaken a significant amount of media work and promotion. One initiative I proposed, was a TV talk show called Mens Health TV on ATV in Ghana. This proposal was accepted and I am now the host of the TV program to educate men on prostate health. I have appeared on a national television-GTV program on mens world in 2014 to discussed interventions on prostate cancer. In addition I have appeared on a number of local TV stations in Ghana to discuss issues relating to prostate cancer. My media work has also included radio. I have appeared on a numerous local radio stations to discuss issues concerning prostate matters in Ghana e.g. the Joy FM Ultimate Health show.

The media work also extends into press work. I have featured in the Daily Guide newspaper -Tackling Prostate Cancer (2014) and the Daily Democrat-Mens Health Crusader (2015) In addition I now write weekly columns in major newspapers including writing features in the National Daily Graphic to help raise awareness of the disease. I also write Fridays columns for the New Statesman, The Weekend Sun, The Weekend Finder, Today Newspaper and The Briefing Newspaper.

I recently called for a specific prostate cancer screening policy for men 40 years and above (and 35 years for men with a family history of the disease) on the NHIS in Ghana once in a year using the district hospitals or the government empowering prostate charities to undertake this. I did this by writing an article in the widely read national newspaper which is the Daily Graphic Ghana needs Prostate Cancer Screening Program on the NHIS (1st June 2015).

I am currently encouraging the government and tertiary institutions to introduce courses in prostate cancer to train health workers interested in prostate cancer to help deal with the high mortality rates in Ghana.

Another development I initiated was the proposal to the President of the Republic of Ghana, to recognize Fathers Day as a National Prostate Cancer Day. The proposal is currently under consideration. I also proposed a course in psychosocial oncology to Akona School of counseling, Ghana that was accepted in 2015, I provide lectures on psychosocial oncology to psychosocial counseling students at the Akona School of Counseling, Ghana, to enable psychosocial counselors help men diagnosed with prostate cancer. I also proposed a course in integrative approach to prostate cancer management to the Traditional herbal and alternative medicines practice council of the Ministry of Health to help herbal practitioners in the management of prostate cancer which was accepted.

I also help men to deal with the side effect of prostate cancer treatment by providing complementary medicine in my clinic; De Mens Clinic & Prostate Research Lab in Dodowa-Akoto House. The prostate research Lab at Dodowa, aims to provide research locally into prostate cancer in Ghanaian men.

This demonstrates the many ways in which the Enhancing Prostate Cancer MOOC and studies at Sheffield Hallam University, UK transformed my career and helped to transform the patient pathway for prostate cancer in Ghana.

References:

Declare Fathers day as Prostate Cancer day in Ghana(2015) m.peacefmonline.com/pages/news/social/201506/244077.php Mens Health Foundation Ghana(2014)To be accessed at www.wishesalliance.org/ngo-index/ngo.php?n=1032 Mens Health Foundation Ghana Changing lives(2015) to be accessed at newsghana.com.gh  Health Mens Health Foundation Ghana called for Prostate Cancer Policy for Ghanaian men (2014) vibeghana.com/.../mens-health-foundation-called-for-prostate-cancer-pol... Mens Health Foundation Ghana to stage first ever symposium on prostate cancer (2014)to be accessed at www.dailyguideghana.com/mens-health-foundation-to-stage-first-prostat.. Foundation Launches Prostate Cancer awareness Program (2014) accessed at graphic.com.gh/.../25402-foundation-launches-prostate-cancer-awarenes... Column: Making Fathers Day as National; Prostate Cancer day(2015)www.todaygh.com/column-making-fathers-day-national-prostate-cancer... Prostate cancer expert writes expert letter to the president (2015) to be accessed at theheraldghana.com/prostate-cancer-expert-writes-expert-letter-to-the-pr. National Cancer Plan Submission by Mens Health Foundation Ghana (2014) To be accessed at www.modernghana.com/.../national-cancer-plan-submission-by-mens-he... Raphael Nyarkotey Obu (2015) An Open Letter to the Minister of Health. To be accessed at theheraldghana.com/an-open-letter-to-minister-of-health/ Raphael Nyarkotey Obu (2015) Ghana Needs Prostate Cancer Screening Program on NHIS. Daily Graphic, Page 34. No. 19781 Raphael Nyarkotey Obu modernghana columnist. To be accessed at https://www.modernghana.com/author/NYARKOTEYRAPHAELOBU Raphael Nyarkotey Obu. Cameronweb Columnist. To be accessed at www.cameroonweb.com/.../columnist.php?...Raphael%20Nyarkotey%20... Raphael Nyarkotey Obu. Ghanaweb Columnist. To be accessed at www.ghanaweb.com/.../columnist.php?...%20Raphael%20Nyarkotey%2... Mens World With Raphael Nyarkotey Obu (2015) To be accessed at www.todaygh.com/mens-world-with-dr-raphael-nyarkotey-obu-nd-msc-...

Unplugging Breast and Prostate Cancers. To be accessed at thesunonlinegh.com/2015/06/unplugging-breast-and-prostate-cancers/
10.07.2016 LISTEN

The World Leader of Tijaniya Muslim sect received the President and leader of Tijaniya Muslim Council of Ghana (TMCOG) in his palace at Ain Madhi in Algeria. Sidi Sharirf bin Arabi Al-Tijani is the occupant of the Khalifat Amm stool (Overall successor).

The son of the current Khalifa Sidi Umaru took the entourage round the facilities which also took them to the ancient cemetery where the father, mother and other relations of Shiekh Ahmad Tijani were interred. During the visit to the palace, Shiekh Khalifa Abul-Faidi Abdulai Maikano and his entourage were taken round the historical facilities serving as tourist attraction sites. Among some of the places visited were the ancient abode of the parent and grand parent of the sheik Tijani including the very room in which he was put to bed, mosque and the shrine of his son and successor Skeikh Muhammad Kabiru and many others all embody in the edifice.

Interacting with the TMCOG entourage, Sharirf bin Arabi Al-Tijani endorsed sheikh Abul-Faidi Abdulai Maikano and Tijaniyya council of Ghana as one of his affiliates around the globe. He has also assured them of working together to ensure the development and progress of the faith. According Sharif bin Arabi Mureedes come all over the world to pay homage but this is the first time they are receiving members of the faith from Ghana.

He therefore expressed his appreciation and happiness to the Ghanaian entourage and hope the visit will not be the first and the last but will continues. The chairman of the Tijaniyya Muslim Council of Ghana, who is also the deputy regional Imam of the Upper East, Sheikh Tahiru Saeed recounted all the events and activities carried by the TMCOG and opined for possible collaboration and assistants most especially in the field of education. On his part the President and leader of TMCOG commended the world leader for the audience and reception granted his entourage. Shekh Khalifa was grateful to him for the endorsement and said this will urge him and his members to work more harder than before for the benefit of the faith and mankind.

He was also grateful to all those who made the trip successful and assured them of the councils prolific mutual cooperation. The initiator and founder of the Tijaniyya sect, Sheikh Ahmed Ibn Muhammad Ibn Mokhtar Tidjani (May Allah be pleased with him) was born in a small town of Algerian desert called Ain Madhi in 1737. Sheikh Tijani the son of Sidi Muhammad Ibn Mokhtar Tijani and Lala Aisha (May Allah be pleased with them) memorized the whole Quran at the age of seven. He became an orphan when he was only 16 years old as a result of the death of his father and mother on the same day. This event did not demoralize him and kept studding with even more determination. At the age of 21 he left Ain Madhi to Fes under the impulsion of an extremely strong desire for learning which at that time was well known city of knowledge.

During his spiritual retirement in the village of Boussemghoune, Sheikh Ahmed Tijani (May Allah be Pleased with him) obtained the great spiritual opening (Fath El Akbar) when he was 46 years old. After his demise his son Sidi Muhammad Kabiru succeeded him. Since then there has been lineage of succession. The other members of the entourage who together with sheikh Khalifa proceeded to Boussemghoune were Imam Abdul Rahim, Public relation officer, Abubakar Baba Yara and Media relatinon officer Muhammed Muhtari Ibrahim

Adnan Adams Mohammed

News Editor, Economy Times

Accra

Mobile: 0244-653664

Email: [email protected]

"Even the best writer has to erase." and "If you believe everything you read, better not read." -- Japanese
10.07.2016 LISTEN

I have always maintained that I believe in beauty with brainy potential, but I lament the gross misdirection among the vast majority of young Ghanaian women. Contemporary Ghanaian ladies would flaunt their sexually oriented outward beauty on social media as if they were brand ambassadors. Yet how many of such people spend ample time to develop their intellects? Well, your guess is as good as mine. Look, the make-up or personality of a woman largely influences the course of her life. That is why Spaa Divas is here to assist the Ghanaian lady to build a priceless personality.

Ha-ha, Spaa Divas is not a restaurant, hotel or boutique located at East Legon, Accra. It is a leadership and women empowerment firm that seeks to promote the voice of women. Indeed, Spaa Divas actually leads a renaissance in corporate women empowerment across our dear country Ghana. And I feel so proud of Spaa Divas because it is championing a feminist cause with a sense of entrepreneurial dynamism. S.P.A.A is an acronym which simply means "Strategically Positioned to Attract and Allure." So who is a Spaa Diva? She is a young woman who knows her worth, true values and principles, and strategically positions herself to be attractive in mind and body.

Moreover, Spaa Divas has dazzling mission and vision statements as a corporate entity. Their mission is to inspire leadership, entrepreneurship, mentorship, health education, technology and cultural excellence for the African woman; equipping her with the skills set, requisite minds, and an attitude for transformation in society. And their vision is to be the best if not the first as leaders in women empowerment in Africa via leadership and entrepreneurial training, mentorship program, health education, technology and promotion of cultural excellence. Yes, Spaa Divas embarks on a variety of incredible initiatives such as Spaa Divas Show, Spaa Divas Tour, Divas Outspoken, National Divas Summit, Spaa Divas Awards, Fashion Cliq, Campus Gig etc.

I therefore urge young Ghanaian women to join the family of Spaa Divas, especially in tertiary institutions like Spaa Divas GIJ, Spaa Divas UG-Legon, Spaa Divas UCC, Spaa Divas Central University, Spaa Divas A-Poly etc. The President of Spaa Divas UCC, Lorreta Kemeh, had this to say, "Spaa Divas is a dynamic platform for Ghanaian ladies which enlightens them on feminine issues, personal development, corporate success, cultural excellence etc. In fact, it is the feminine voice in Ghana." Folks, I am a writing entrepreneur with a huge interest in women empowerment, and I endorse Spaa Divas.

Source: sirarticle.blogspot.com
10.07.2016 LISTEN

Having monitored the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) for quite sometime, the way they behave and conduct their investigations, I am compelled to believe that they no longer worth their salt. They seem to be, if not already, living, in the 18th Century where official criminal investigations were probably conducted without any properly laid down procedures or seriousness, but recklessly.

The BNI is supposed to be a security institution that is neutral with its operatives being fair, firm and friendly, in the execution of their investigative duties into discovering committed fraudulent activities by individuals, corporate bodies and, or institutions against the State. However, in most cases, they seem to practice selective justice thereby being biased and completely unprofessional.

It is an open secret how they treat people who do not belong to the ruling NDC party when such people fall foul of the law or are presumed to have committed fraudulent activities against the State or against allegedly important personalities in the society. They BNI are all over the place performing the duties which normally fall under the remit of the Police Criminal Investigations Department (CID).

For why they do that, only they themselves and the government know.

They have no respect for the laws themselves, I can conclude. Not long ago, the court had granted bail to the three South African nationals who had allegedly come to Ghana to train the Close Protection personnel for the NPP flag bearer and other personalities within the NPP, when they were charged with working in Ghana illegally. The BNI disobeyed the courts by not releasing the accused to the registrar of the court to be processed for bail. They rather bundled them back into their car, drove them away and the next thing we heard after the public outcry condemning the action by the BNI was that the accused had been deported from Ghana. How on earth could the BNI behave in that irresponsible manner as though they are above the laws of the land?

Do they have more powers than the courts and if yes, can anyone direct me to that source of information? It was only the NDC who defended that roguish attitude by the BNI as being the right decision to take.

The BNI appears to be heavily politicised with their allegiance lopsidedly tilted towards the NDC. It is only a fool who will dispute this fact.

Anyway, the last straw that broke the camels back, necessitating this write-up is their recent investigations into the publicly disclosed intentions by some two NDC fanatics to kill some Supreme Court and High Court judges in the country. Having done a quickie unprofessional investigations into the guys untoward pronouncements, the BNI rushed out with their reckless if not vicious, declaration, that these fanatics (Alistair Nelson and Ako Gunn) have no means of executing their threats and that their bragging was just a witty banter. Therefore, they pose absolutely no threat to the judges or the society at large.

What a heck and an insult to the intelligence of discerning Ghanaians? Had the mentioned NDC little-minds who walk with their stomach not demeaned the person of the Chief Justice, the Supreme Court and the entire judiciary by their inward-looking pronouncements? Were we not in Ghana when some three High Court judges, Justices Agyei Agyepong, Mrs Koranteng Addo and Opoku Sarkodie with retired Army Major Acquah were murdered in cold blood on 30th June 1982 by some peeved PNDC fanatics for some stupid reasons? They were killed because they were honestly performing their legal duties to the nation and the people of Ghana according as their profession obliged them to.

Now, similar NDC rogues have gone on air to declare with bravado their evil intentions that do not only border on exterminating the judges but also, denigrating the Supreme Court and the entire judicial system of Ghana and here we are with the BNI saying their threats were just mere jokes. Nonsense!

Insulting, say, the Supreme Court judges or the President is not the same as going on air to declare to the whole world that you will kill them. When you tell the public that you will kill the judges, indicating where they live, is a grievous offence. Whether you are able to kill them or not, is irrelevant. It is the intent that you have expressed that counts. That intent can influence someone to go and kill the judges and when it does happen, who is to blame? Who incited that person to take that action?

To the BNI, I invite you to go to the United States of America, board a plane and then announce in mid-air that you are going to explode a bomb in your holdall bag without actually having a bomb on you. See what will happen to you when the law enforcement agents lay their long arms on you even though, you have no bomb in your bag but only playing pranks on the air passengers.

Again, come to the UK and start walking in the streets proclaiming on top of your coarse voice that you have a bomb on you that you will set off anytime should you be angered by whomever even though you may have no bomb as alleged. Trust me; you will be lucky if you were not shot dead. Certainly, you will be arrested, prosecuted and imprisoned.

Go to France, wear a big jacket and start shouting in a public place that you are a suicide bomber about to explode your jacket. See if any armed police officer on hand (in the vicinity) will not take you down with volleys of bullets aimed at you even though, you may be playing silly jokes.

What then are the BNI telling us that those people do not have the capability to execute their threats of deaths to the judges? Is their threatening pronouncements not in the same bracket as the person claiming to have a bomb on him but who actually does not have any but gets arrested when in the US or UK? Is their crime not similar to that of a fake suicide bomber who will be taken down in France?

Come on BNI, you are not playing with kids but far intelligent people. The BNI in their current state seem to have outlived their importance. I find their assertion unfortunate, unprofessional and utterly outrageous.

Those two criminals including the host of the programme, Salifu Maase alias Mugabe, must be imprisoned for not less than a year to teach them a lesson as bushmen as they are. They think they own Ghana because their President and party are in power.

Read what the BNI said that has angered me so much hence this publication, by checking the web link below.

http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Threat-on-judges-BNI-s-political-statement-inept-Baako-454069

For justice and peace to prevail in Ghana, I call on all reasonable Ghanaians to vote OUT President Mahama and NDC come election 2016. They have corrupted and weakened all State institutions hence this ridiculous behaviour by the personnel of the BNI.

Shame on you, BNI.

Rockson Adofo
10.07.2016 LISTEN

The empires of the future are empires of the mind  Winston Churchill.

Man often believes what he believes himself to be. If I keep on saying to myself that I cannot do a certain thing, it is possible that I may end by really becoming incapable of doing it. On the contrary, if I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning- Mahatma Gandhi.

Youth unemployment has been a burden on Ghanas economy for many years. With an estimated 230,000 youth entering the labour market every year with no hope of gainful employment (GLSS 5 2005-2006), having a visionary leader who could turn dreams into reality is non-negotiable. Is the one district, one factory agenda being championed as a campaign massage by the largest opposition party in Ghana a dream or a hoax?

Small scale industries play an essential role in the development and growth of a country. Countries like India and China have benefited greatly through small scales industries. Almost 40% of gross industrial value of the Indian economy comes from small scale industries. Small and medium-size enterprises accounted for 99% of all registered industries in China in 2001.These small industries played a vital role in stimulating economic growth, increasing employment, expanding exports and promoting science and technology in China. In terms of economic growth, the output value, sales and tax revenues of the small scale industry accounted for 60, 57 and 40 per cent respectively of the total industrial sector of China in 2003.

Almost all industrialized economies, started with small scales industries through government support for the development of township, collective and self-employed enterprises. Historically, villages in India have been self-reliant. Every village used to have its own cottage and small industry which fulfilled the needs of the village. It is this Indian example, which I honestly believe the main opposition party, the NPP is trumpeting as one district, one factory, and it aligns with the path India and China took towards industrialization. Modern day small industries in India manufacture rubber and plastic products, glass and ceramics, chemical products, transport equipment and many more.

Is it a dream or a hoax? I belong to the school of thought that believes the one district, one factory is a dream. If this dream becomes a reality through effective and efficient policies, the one district, one factory could be the antidote for Ghanas high youth unemployment challenges, and the benefits would be countless. Small scale industries created about 79% of new jobs in China in 2003. In terms of foreign trade and exports, the export value of China in 2003 amounted to over US$430 billion. To be plain without statistics, lets capture a few obvious benefits;

a. Mobilization of resources of capital and skills and their optimum utilization.

b. Creation of greater employment opportunities and increased output, income and standard of living.

c. Meeting a substantial part of the economys requirements for consumer goods and simple producer goods.

d. Providing employment and a steady source of income to the low-income groups living in rural and urban areas of the country.

e. Providing substitutes for various industrial products now being imported into the country.

In a bid to avoid political policy hacking, let me keep the mind-blowing benefits from the Value and Supply Chain perspective of this one district, one factory dream in my safe box.

Author: Atoapem Frimpong Barimah.
By George-Ramsey Benamba, GNA

Kumasi, July 10, GNA - Government has released 37 million Ghana cedis to the Controller and Accountant's Department for onward disbursement as book and research allowances to for the public universities.

Plans are also afoot to re-tool workshops and laboratories to enable them to carry out their duties effectively towards development and growth.

President John Dramani Mahama, who announced this during a congregation at the Graduate School of the Kwame Nkrumah University for Science and Technology (KNUST), said all those interventions were being carried out to facilitate teaching and learning in the tertiary institutions.

In all 476 students graduated out of which 51 received Doctorate of Philosophy honours.

The delay in the payment of book and research allowances to the country's public universities had remained one of the thorny issues that had, over the years, created acrimony between government and academia.

In some cases it had degenerated into sit-down strikes to drum home the issue and, therefore, the payment of the allowances could serve as a catalyst that would propel them to work peacefully to achieve set targets.

President Mahama explained that a situation where students had to rely on external sources to carry out laboratory tests and other experiments was not healthy for the growth of students, hence the Government's resolve to fully equip their workshops and laboratories.

He said science and engineering in the universities were crucial for the socio-economic growth of the country and that was why government was taking up the re-tooling exercise through the Ghana Education Trust Fund.

President Mahama said in order to increase manpower in vocational and technical skills, government had disbursed a total of 124 million dollars to various schools to train students.

Professor William Otu Ellis, the Vice Chancellor of the KNUST, said the university would next year establish a Masters programme in Law.

He said the KNUST had the capacity to train Community Health Nurses and Environmental Health workers and gave the assurance that the construction of the new Teaching Hospital would help them to actualise that vision.

Professor Ellis, who is ending his term of office as the Vice Chancellor of the university, said the university would do everything possible to maintain its position as one of the best science and technology universities on the continent.

President Mahama later inaugurated a new lecture hall for the Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources and a new Centre for Pharmacy at the university.

GNA
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The success of the Amazon show The Man in the High Castle, based on a book of the same name, is the latest in a long line of examples of great alternative history. Have you ever wondered what if..? If so, youve thought of a plot yourself.

Want to write your own alt. history short story or even have a crack at a novel (for NaNoWriMo, for instance)? Here are a few tips.

Point of Divergence

This is the most important thing. You want ONE of these to begin with. Some stories have a couple or more, but ideally you want to confuse your audience as little as possible. Some of the more established ones include:

Hitler hands power over the army to a more competent general in 1935: the Nazis win WWII

Electricity was discovered 100 years early

The French Revolution never happened

A famous historical person didnt die when they actually did

This is, effectively, your what if question. For example, Im running with What if Prince Arthur [son of Henry VII and older brother of Henry VIII of England] didnt die in 1501.

Setting

You can set your story AT the point of divergence if you want, but it is more popular to set it some time later. This gives your reader a chance to see how the world has developed. In my case, the story begins twenty-five years after he recovers from his illness, in 1526.

I wanted to follow the story of his life and his family, so my setting is the English court. You could follow a series of characters all around your alternative world, or pick on one person close or far away from the change.

It is completely possible to set an alternative history story in what is currently the present. You just have to think of how life would be changed by your nudge in time. Your imagination is the only limit.

Developments

If you have only one point of divergence, you must assume that anything not related to the change will remain much the same. In my example, Arthur not dying in 1501 means he remains married to Katherine of Aragon (changed), his brother Henry enters the church as planned (changed) but his mother and father still die (in 1503 and 1509, respectively). This of course means that Arthur is King of England, Katherine is still Queen of England and Henry VIII isnt going to happen at least not yet.

Guesswork

Its pretty easy to start the obvious changes. If a major historical figure dies early, policies they pursued, inventions they created or religions they founded simply dont happen unless someone else has the same idea. If they die late, they can keep making policies and inventing things and developing theories. Would they have come across a detail years later that might have changed everything they believed in?

The smaller stuff can be harder. What happens to Henry, Duke of York when he enters the Church? A rich man with powerful relations in the Catholic Church would quickly rise high I make Henry a Cardinal. This puts him in all sorts of interesting historical places he wouldnt have been like the Conclaves following the deaths of Pope Leo X and Pope Adrian VI.

You also have to guess at things that there is no logic or formula to work by. Katherine of Aragon is known to history as he dowdy old woman who failed to produce a proper heir for Henry and was disgraced when he said she had been married to his brother. But if we imagine that the fault for the lack of strong, healthy children is Henrys then Katherine could have had many heirs for Arthur. Or not. Thats completely up to you.

And what happens to characters who are known to us for things they couldnt possibly do? Anne Boleyn, famously sweeping the heart of Henry VIII away from the woman hes not married to hmn well, I guess Anne is going down in alt. history as being the mistress of the cardinal instead.

Realism, people

You have the power to change anything, which can create any sequence of events. But for a really good alternative history, you need to be able to explain why Julius Caesar not dying in 44BC means the Roman Empire is still going strong in 2016. Its no good just to say because. And if your point of divergence is Henry, Duke of York murdering Arthur, you really need to explain how this means the Austro-Hungarian Empire made it to the Moon in 1943.

Thats just one of many lazy mistakes you can make. Another is to give one person or nation a ridiculous amount of power with no conceivable reason. King Arthur lives another forty years and he could, realistically, win wars against the usual English enemies of Scotland, France and Spain and theoretically take more land for the future United Kingdom. But he would not be able to take all of the Americas, Australia and Antarctica.

Realistic map if Nazis win WW2 (see full map)



Unrealistic map if Nazis win WW2 (see full map)

Not Into Writing?

You dont need to enjoy writing to explore alternative histories. You could just amuse yourself by drawing the alternative timeline. Or draw a picture of what the world would look like if Ancient Greek religion was still going strong in the early 19th century. Alter a map of the world to reflect the rise and fall of your empires. Whats the national anthem of the Greater Welsh Protectorate of Wessex? What fashions are prevalent in a world where Qing Dynasty emperors expanded and conquered as far as Finland? And if Arthur and Katherine have ten healthy children, who do they marry?

Save

Save
July 10, 2016

Reuters Colludes With Terrorists By Disguising Them As "Rebels"

The British news agency Reuters seems to have difficulties distinguishing between various forms of militancy.

Thus it categorizes designated terrorists as "rebels".

July 1 2016 : Syria rebels retake key town in western coastal province: monitor, rebels

Insurgents seized a strategic town from Syrian government forces and their allies in the western coastal province of Latakia on Friday, a monitoring group and the rebels said, in a rare advance for them in the area.

...

Nusra Front said in an online statement that an alliance of Islamist rebel groups including itself had captured Kansaba and a number of other villages, seizing several tanks and artillery guns.

The Nusra Front is Al Qaeda's organization in Syria. Two UN Security Council resolutions call on all UN members to "eradicate" the terrorist organization's safe havens.

July 10 2016: Iran says Saudis back terrorism after senior prince attends rebel rally

(Reuters) - Iran on Sunday accused Saudi Arabia of backing terrorism after a senior Saudi prince, a former intelligence chief, addressed a Paris rally held by exiled Iranian rebels and told them he wanted the Iranian government to fall.

...

The rally addressed by Prince Turki al-Faisal on Saturday was held by the political wing of the exiled People's Mujahideen Organisation of Iran (PMOI), which seeks the overthrow of Iran's clerical leadership established by the 1979 Islamic revolution.

With backing from Saudi money and extensive bribing in Washington DC the MEK managed to be taken down from the U.S. list of designated terrorists. But it has neither changed its aims nor its terrorist methods and clearly continues to deserve that label.

By disguising designated and well established terrorist groups as "rebels", not once but twice within a short time frame, Reuters colludes with these groups. This demonstrates that Reuters has serious problems with providing objective news.

Posted by b on July 10, 2016 at 14:47 UTC | Permalink

Comments
WASHINGTON  The greater sage grouse, famed for its elaborate courtship rituals, has bedeviled Texas oil and gas companies trying to drill in the rocky high plains of the western United States for more than a decade.

The tension seemingly should have dissipated in September, when Interior Secretary Sally Jewell announced that her agency would not place the grouse on the federal endangered species list and effectively block drilling across the ground birds expansive habitat.

But an alternative federal conservation plan has set off a new fight, as Republicans lampoon the Obama administration for allegedly forsaking Western economies through overly restrictive rules.

The Bureau of Land Management, a branch of the Interior Department, has identified 67 million acres of federal land as sage grouse territory, capping the amount of that land that can be drilled for gas, grazed by cattle or sited for a wind farm at less than 3.5 million acres.

Oil and gas lease sales across the West have been delayed while the new conservation rules are finalized.

Virtually everyone agrees this magnificent bird should be protected, said Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho. Im frankly disgusted with the way the federal government has gone about this. States have made solid good-faith efforts for these birds.

The grouse is perhaps best known for its courtship dance, in which males inflate a yellow pouch on their necks to impress females.

At the turn of the 20th century, the grouse population was estimated at up to 16 million. Their presence in the West was once so great that Teddy Roosevelt is said to have watched the sky turn black with grouse over a morning cup of coffee at a campsite in Wyoming, said Brian Rutledge of the Audubon Society.

But the sagebrush in which the grouse nest was decimated by overgrazing of cattle and sheep throughout the 1900s and later by oil and gas drilling, mining and other development.

With the sagebrush went the grouse. Current estimates put the grouse population at less than 500,000.

We know what to do, and in many cases we just dont want to do it, Rutledge said. Thats to minimize the destruction of the sagebrush habitat.

A recent rise in population counts of the grouse has given some hope for its survival, but conservationists worry that the numbers are an anomaly.

As with past attempts to protect the grouse, the new federal plan is disputed. Lawsuits to block the Interior Department have been filed by groups representing oil companies, miners and cattle ranchers, along with state attorneys general, including those from Idaho and Nevada. Western lawmakers complain about a far-off bureaucracy making rules for a region it doesnt know or understand.

Theres been other lengthy battles over a species.  But this one is particularly high-profile, said Tom Jackson, an attorney who represents energy companies for the Houston law firm Baker Botts. This particular species is relatively widespread and shows up in a lot of different places. Thats going to result in land use conflicts.

Republicans are attempting to block the plan by inserting a condition in an appropriations bill that prevents the Fish and Wildlife Service from putting the grouse on the endangered species list in the future.

Listing the grouse as endangered is not supported by every environmental group, some of which recall the political backlash when the northern spotted owl was listed in 1990, limiting logging and hurting rural economies in the Northwest.

The grouse was an obscure species for many years, so even some conservationists are surprised that the bird has inspired so much passion.

Steve Holmer of the American Bird Conservancy wonders whether it doesnt have something to do with its courtship rituals. Maybe its the dancing, he said.
About 35 years ago, Ed Hirs, now a University of Houston energy fellow, worked in mergers and acquisitions for the old Houston conglomerate Anderson, Clayton and Co.

At one point during his brief time there, Hirs began to worry about the health of a portfolio of companies, all of which were publicly traded. So he began compiling data. He landed on a business-school standby, the comparison of net debt to operating cash flows.

Net debt is essentially all of a companys borrowings minus the cash it has on hand to pay down the debt. Operating cash flows is the cash generated through normal company operations, and is a sign of a companys ability to sustain and grow its business.

Comparing them measures whether, and how quickly, a company will be able to pay down its debts.

Hirs figured a company with six times more debts than cash flow was in trouble. And his calculation, in turned out, was a harbinger. Within months, several companies he had identified had gone bankrupt, he said.

So - what if we applied the same logic to todays oil crash?

Over the last decade, as companies were drilling thousands of wells and pulling up oil in unprecedented volumes, operating cash flows were steadily rising. By 2014, cash flows at publicly-traded oil field companies had climbed by 60 percent, to $376 billion.

At the same time, net debt rose 10 times more quickly - from about $60 billion to more than $411 billion.

In 2015, oil prices tanked. And so did operating cash flows, by $145 billion, a one-year drop of almost 40 percent.

But net debt rose, to $455 billion last year.

Few companies have escaped the trend. Net debt at Exxon, the industrys gold-standard, ballooned by $56 billion, and cash flows dropped by $18 billion over the decade. The storied independent oil producer Anadarko reported a 400 percent increase in debt, to $15 billion last year, and a negative cash flow of almost $2 billion.

Everybody went after the shale plays, Hirs said. Companies spent billions of dollars to join the fracking revolution. But those wells, they needed $80 a barrel to make them profitable, Hirs said.

When oil prices dropped to $26 a barrel this winter, company cash flows dropped along with them.

Something is going to have to give, Hirs said recently. This is not a sustainable trend.
The owner of an 11,000-acre ranch south of Marfa has filed suit in federal court, claiming the use of eminent domain by a private pipeline company to take part of his land is unconstitutional.

Filed in Pecos, the lawsuit by lawyer John Boerschig of Katy against Trans-Pecos Pipeline LLC comes as construction of the 148-mile natural gas line through the unspoiled Big Bend is already underway.

In his lawsuit, Boerschig claims that Texas law deprives private property owners  of any opportunity to challenge the pipeline companys right to take their property in advance of the company taking possession of the property.

A hearing has been set for Tuesday in Midland on his request for a preliminary injunction to halt the condemnation of his land.

The pipeline is being built for Mexicos Federal Energy Commission by a bi-national consortium that includes billionaires Kelcy Warren of Energy Transfer Partners and Carlos Slim, the richest man in Mexico.

Citing company policy, Lisa Dillinger, a spokeswoman for Energy Transfer Partners, declined to comment on the lawsuit.

If completed, the 42-inch pipeline will daily deliver 1.4 billion cubic feet of natural gas  enough to meet San Antonios needs for a week  from the Permian Basin to Mexico. It will cross the international border 12 miles upriver from Presidio.

For more than a year, organizations from Defend Big Bend to the Big Bend Conservation Alliance have fought to block the $767 million project on public safety, environmental and aesthetic grounds.

They have failed to block it thus far, in large part because Texas law is favorable to energy companies, giving them the power to decide a pipelines route and take land necessary to build it.

Its not a done deal. Were still fighting it, and well continue to fight it while its going into the ground, and after its in the ground, said Coyne Gibson of the Big Bend Conservation Alliance.

Boerschigs lawsuit claims that the pipeline companys use of eminent domain power denies him his constitutional right to due process under the 14th Amendment.

Under Texas law, the amount of land that Trans-Pecos will take, the location of it and the necessity for it, all are within Trans-Pecos sole discretion, he asserts.

It also claims that Texas Energy Partners avoided greater federal scrutiny by artificially dividing the project into two pieces, leaving only a 1,093-foot border crossing section for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to review.

In January, FERC approved that limited project after receiving letters in opposition from more than 600 individuals, many asking the agency to take jurisdiction over the entire project.

The rest of the 148-mile pipeline is classified as an intrastate project, though its only function is to deliver gas to Mexico, and is under the nominal supervision of the Texas Railroad Commission.

Clark Richards, one of Boerschigs lawyers, said his client decided to sue after deciding that the energy company was low-balling him in negotiations over the right of way.

My understanding is that he felt like they werent very serious about the compensation they were offering, Richards said.

Boerschig is one of 39 property owners in Pecos, Brewster and Presidio counties who have been sued by the pipeline company to force resolution of right-of-way differences. Each case is being heard by a three-person commission, which can only decide reasonable compensation to the landowner.

There is no legal or administrative mechanism for preventing the pipeline from digging where it chooses.

Richards said that while there have been various legal challenges to the Texas eminent domain law, which gives private companies powers normally reserved for governmental bodies, Boerschigs lawsuit is taking a new legal approach in claiming a denial of constitutional due process rights.

Its a somewhat novel theory. We havent seen any appellate opinions about it, he said.

For the most part, people take the money because they dont want to have to pay for lawyers to assert their rights. Fortunately, Mr. Boerschig is willing to assert his rights, he said.
Houstons C&J Energy Services is proposing a debt-for-equity swap to avoid bankruptcy under another newly appointed CEO.

The struggling oil field services is teetering on the brink of financial survival under its third CEO in four months after the sudden death of its founder, Josh Comstock, in March and the rapid ouster of his replacement, Randy McMullen, in June. The chief operating officer, Don Gawick, is now serving as president, CEO and COO.

At the risk of defaulting on its debt at the end of June, C&J announced a second forbearance agreement with its creditors to extend its grace period until July 17. C&J is proposing converting $1.4 billion of its debt into new common equity shares, which would dilute the value of existing shares.

We are pleased to have reached an agreement in principle with our secured lenders to restructure the companys balance sheet, which will provide solid financial footing for the companys future operational success as the commodity pricing environment begins to recover, Gawick said in the announcement. We appreciate the continued support of our lenders as negotiations continue around the final outstanding terms.

The companys stock has traded for less than $1 a share since May 10.

Once growing rapidly, the oil field services company started 2016 with what it called its worst quarter ever, including widespread job cuts, dramatically lower revenues and the sudden death of its 46-year-old founder and CEO. Comstocks death was ruled natural and caused by acute bacterial pneumonia, according to the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences. Then, McMullen was removed from the CEO position and left C&J completely after just three months in the top job.

C&Js growth was spurred in part by acquiring the well production and completion businesses of Nabors Industries as the oil sector went bust more than a year ago. The deal actually gave Nabors a majority 52 percent ownership stake of C&J, although Nabors doesnt have majority control of the C&J board. C&J grew to about 10,000 employees in early 2015 but later slashed nearly 4,000 jobs to bring employment to about 6,100 at the end of February. More jobs have been cut since then, but the company wont disclose the number.

Marshall Adkins, director of energy research at Raymond James in Houston, noted that C&Js proposed restructuring would eliminate most of its debt and reduce Nabors interest in the company.

C&J currently holds $1.6 billion in liabilities, so the agreement effectively extinguishes the firms debts, Adkins stated in an analyst note. The agreement will also allow for the issuance of new equity through a backstopped equity rights offering. Not surprisingly, the swap significantly dilutes Nabors interest in C&J.

A note from Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. energy investment banking firm added about C&J, While there is lots of wood left to chop to cross the restructuring finish line, the outcome is one which fixes the only thing we didnt like about the company  its over-leveraged balance sheet.
Guilty pleas accepted and sentences imposed by district Judges Robin Darr, George D. Gilles, Elizabeth B. Leonard and Rodney W. Satterwhite:

June 20-24

Nicholas Barrientez, 29, driving while intoxicated third or more time, revoke supervision, two years TDCJ.

Carlos Jose Ramos Barbeito, 40, possession of a controlled substance, six months state jail, $180 restitution.

Jorge Manuel Batista-Gonzalez, 36, violation of motor fuel tax requirements, deferred adjudication three years, fine, 200 hours community service.

Avian Leonora Brown, 24, credit card or debit card abuse, revoke supervision, seven months state jail.

Jonathan Andrew Brown, 26, manufacturer/delivery of a controlled substance, three years TDCJ.

John Matthew Cervantez, 34, evading arrest/detention with a motor vehicle, six years TDCJ.

Amanda Jean Chandler, 35, credit card or debit card abuse, revoke supervision, six months state jail; possession of a controlled substance, revoke supervision, six months state jail; tampering with or fabricating physical evidence, revoke supervision, two years TDCJ.

Mario Perez Covarrubias, 54, burglary of a building, 12 months state jail; possession of a controlled substance, 12 months state jail.

Bradley Lee Davis, 53, theft of property $200,000 or more, revoke, five years TDCJ; two counts of theft of service $20,000 to $100,000, revoke, five years TDCJ; four counts of theft of service $1,500 to $20,000, revoke, 22 months state jail; two counts of theft of property $1,500 to $20,000, revoke, 22 months state jail.

Miguel Diaz, 33, possession of a controlled substance, 10 years TDCJ suspended for five years probation, pay restitution, 200 hours community service.

Raul M. Fuentes, 26, aggravated assault, deferred adjudication, 10 years community supervision, fine, 200 hours community service.

Miguel Angel Garcia Jr., 24, attempted escape from custody, nine months state jail.

Hermelinda Aracelia Gonzalez, 51, possession of a controlled substance, deferred adjudication, four years community supervision, fine, $180 restitution, 250 hours community service, TAIP.

Terrance Duane Guess, 36, possession of a controlled substance, two years TDCJ suspended for three years probation, fine 175 hours community service, TAIP; possession of a controlled substance, two years TDCJ suspended for three years probation, TAIP.

Miguel Hardemon, 37, driving while intoxicated third or more times, revoke supervision, two years TDCJ.

Korin Heinzman, 28, tampering with physical evidence, deferred adjudication, 10 years community supervision, fine, 150 hours community service, TAIP, parenting classes, GED.

Allen L. Hicks, 35, assault, 10 years TDCJ suspended for 10 years probation, fine, court cost, TAIP, 150 hours community service; possession of a controlled substance, two years state jail suspended for five years probation, fine, court cost, TAIP, 200 hours community service; tampering with physical evidence, 10 years TDCJ suspended for 10 years probation, fine, court cost, TAIP, 150 hours community service.

Christopher Blaine Hopper, 21, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, 18 months state jail.

Brandi Lashay Jones, 30, evading arrest/detention with a motor vehicle, deferred adjudication four years, fine, 150 hours community service; abandoning/endangering a child imminent bodily injury, deferred adjudication four years, fine, 150 hours community service.

Cassie Frances Julian, 32, retaliation, 10 years TDCJ suspended for five years probation, fine, 400 hours community service, Springboard program.

Hardy Lenard, 43, sex offender duty to register with previous convictions, eight years TDCJ.

Robert Jermaine Lopez, 31, assault family violence impeding breath, deferred adjudication five years, fine, 150 hours community service, AA meetings, Project Adam.

Angela Kay McCoy, 34, failure to appear, extend supervision three years, 30 days jail; failure to appear, extend supervision three years, 30 days jail. Charles Edward Martinez, 29, driving while intoxicated third or more times, extend supervision two years, CRTC.

Aaron Hernandez Moreno, 19, evading arrest/detention with a motor vehicle, 10 years TDCJ suspended for three years probation, 30 days jail, fine, drivers license suspended for 365 days.

Bruce Ronald Pettersen, 66, intoxication manslaughter with vehicle, 13 years TDCJ.

Don Edward Powell, 65, sex offender duty to register life/90 days, five years TDCJ suspended for four years probation, fine, 150 hours community service.

Phillip Zachary Rivera, 25, evading arrest with a motor vehicle, deferred adjudication, three years community supervision, fine, 120 hours community service.

Virginia Rodriguez, 38, theft of property more than $1,500 but less than $20,000 with two or more previous convictions, three years TDCJ; failure to appear, three years TDCJ.

Rita Marie Saenz, 24, aggravated robbery, extend deferred adjudication, four years community supervision, fine, 150 hours community service, cognitive behavioral program.

Kenneth Sanchez Hernandez, 19, evading arrest with a motor vehicle, deferred adjudication two years, fine, 150 hours community service, drivers license suspended for 150 days.

Michael Sarmiento, 36, violation of motor fuel tax requirements, deferred adjudication three years, fine, 200 hours community service.

Valerie Zapata Solis, 34, theft of property more than $1,500 but less than $20,000, revoke, six months state jail.

Brandon Chase-Wayne Stewart, 22, two counts criminal mischief more than $1,500 but less than $20,000, deferred adjudication two years, fine, 150 hours community service.

Jonetta Fastoria Tate, 52, driving while intoxicated third or more times, two years TDCJ.

Miguel Angel Villafranco, 33, sex offender duty to register life/annually, 10 years TDCJ suspended for three years probation, fine, 200 hours community service.

Bradley Don Wilkerson, 28, assault family violence with previous convictions, revoke, two years TDCJ.

Adrian Amaya Zuniga, 38, prohibited substance/item in a correctional facility, deferred adjudication four years, fine, TAIP, 200 hours community service.

June 27-July 1

David Foster Alderidge, 53, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, six months state jail.

Jose Luis Alvarado, 29, assault family violence a lesser included offense of injury to a child, elderly or disabled individual, one year county jail suspended for two years probation, fine, court cost, Project Adam, 100 hours community service.

Larry Anthony Bruns, 52, theft of property $1,500 to $20,000, eight months state jail; credit card or debit card abuse, eight months state jail.

Valarhea Hope Cobb, 29, possession of a controlled substance, deferred adjudication, four years community supervision, fine, 200 hours community service.

Natalie Jane Cota, 25, injury to a child, elderly or disabled individual with intent bodily injury, six years TDCJ suspended for six years probation, fine, court cost, anger management, 250 hours community service.

Ernesto Erives, 46, possession of a controlled substance, revoke supervision, six months state jail.

Monica Gallardo, 35, prohibited substance in a correctional facility, revoked, two years TDCJ.

Ray Charles Green Jr., 27, tampering with physical evidence with intent to impair, 10 years TDCJ suspended for three years community supervision, fine, 150 hours community service, TAIP.

Cory Lanier Haynes, 41, theft by repetition, nine months state jail.

Francesca Manette Henderson, 29, theft of property more than $20,000 but less than $100,000, deferred adjudication, 10 years probation, court cost, restitution, 150 hours community service; two counts of forgery, deferred adjudication, 10 years probation, court cost, restitution, 100 hours community service.

Eric Lee Hopkins, 20, evading arrest/detention with a motor vehicle, deferred adjudication, three years community supervision, fine, 150 hours community service.

Jessica J. Joshlin, 29, forgery, adjudicated, five years TDCJ suspended for three years community supervision.

Robert Jermaine Lopez, 31, aggravated assault, deferred adjudication, five years probation, court cost, AA meetings.

Christina Ruth Masdon, 33, driving while intoxicated with a child passenger, six months state jail; driving while intoxicated with a child passenger, six months state jail; prohibited substance in a correctional facility, adjudicate, 10 years TDCJ suspended for seven years probation.

Juan Pablo Payen, 19, tampering with physical evidence, deferred adjudication, four years probation, fine, 250 hours community service, TAIP; prohibited substance or item in a correctional facility, deferred adjudication, four years probation, fine, $180 restitution, TAIP.

Luis M. Perez, 26, driving while intoxicated with a child under 15, revoke supervision, nine months state jail.

Armando Ramirez Jr., 40, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, six years TDCJ.

Raymundo Deanda Rayos, 22, aggravated robbery, five years TDCJ.

Jacob Tarin Rosas, 42, driving while intoxicated third or more times, three years TDCJ.

John Eric Saenz, 26, burglary of a habitation, 10 years TDCJ suspended for 10 years community supervision, fine, 100 hours community service; unlawful possession of a firearm, 10 years TDCJ suspended for 10 years community supervision, fine, 100 hours community service.

Jordan Keyshawn Sansom, 20, burglary, extend probation two years.

Patrick Ryan Smith, 29, possession of a controlled substance, six years TDCJ suspended for six years probation, fine, court cost, TAIP, 100 hours community service.

Joe Elivorio Valdez, 29, tampering with physical evidence, two years TDCJ.

Gilbert Vasquez Vasquez, 46, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, 15 months state jail.

Thurman Oneil Williams, , 46, evading arrest, 15 months state jail; theft by repetition, 15 months state jail.

[TDCJ = Texas Department of Criminal Justice; TAIP = treatment alternative to incarceration program, CRTC = court residential treatment center; ISP = intensive supervision parole; SAFT = substance abuse felony treatment]
Associated Press

DALLAS  Dallas police officials have issued an all-clear after searching for a suspicious person in a parking garage next to the departments headquarters.

A Dallas police spokeswoman said earlier Saturday that the department tightened security after receiving an anonymous threat against law enforcement across the city.
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 []
Some government officials and politicians are ...
The man suspected in the deadly Winter Haven home invasion has died, the Polk County Sheriff's Office said.



Victim Paul McLees, 78, died at the scene

Mary McLees, Paul's wife, was shot twice

The suspect, Ricardo Gomez, 25, was also shot and later died

According to Polk County deputies, Ricardo Garcia Gomez, 25, broke into a home located in the 5400 block of Laurel Oak Drive around 3:30 p.m.

Gomez forced 78-year-old Paul McLees, the homeowner, to open a safe at knifepoint. When McLees opened the safe, he grabbed a gun and fired a shot at Gomez, deputies said.

During the struggle, McLees wife Mary, 72, was shot. She managed to flee the home and called for help.

When deputies arrived they found both men in a back bedroom, suffering from gunshot wounds. Paul McLees was pronounced dead at the scene.

Gomez was transported to a local hospital for treatment. He later died from his injuries, deputies said.

Investigators say they are unsure why Gomez chose to rob the McLees home or how Paul McLees and Gomez were shot.

Polk Sheriff Grady Judd called the incident "tragic" and "horrific."

At 78 years old, Paul McLees was willing to give his life to protect his wife and stop a robber and that robber wont ever rob anyone else, said Judd.

Judd went on say that Gomez lived close to the neighborhood where the crime took place, and walked there. He seemingly chose the home he targeted to rob at random.

The incident has left neighboring residents shaken.

"There's a lot of people being extra cautious," said neighbor Chris Welch. "When anything like that happens, you want to be extra safe."



According to investigators, Gomez had previously been arrested by Winter Haven Police for shoplifting in 2009, by Lake Wales Police in 2009 DUI, resisting arrest and disorderly public intoxication, and Polk County deputies three times in 2010 for trespassing, violation of probation, driving with a suspended license and harrassing a working police dog.

Gomez also had one prior arrest in Hillsborough County in 2014 for battery domestic violence and resisting arrest.


Polk County Sheriff's deputies are investigating a shooting in Winter Haven in which three adults were wounded, two of them critically.

Homeowner Paul McLees, 78, died at the scene

Mary McLees, 72, shot twice

Suspect Ricardo Garcia Gomez, 25, also shot

Deputies say the incident occurred on the 5400 block of Laurel Oak Drive. Once on scene, deputies found Mary McLees, 72, outside the home, shot twice. She told deputies an armed intruder was still in the house with her husband.

Upon entering the home, deputies found McLees' husband, Paul, 78, and Ricardo Garcia Gomez, 25, in a back bedroom. Both men had suffered gunshot wounds.



Investigators currently believe that Gomez entered the house armed with a large knife and ordered Paul McLees at knifepoint to open a safe. McLees complied, only to pull a firearm from the safe and fire it at Gomez.

In the process, Mary McLees was struck by gunfire, and fled the home to call for help.

First responders were unable to revive Paul McLees, and he was declared dead at the scene. Gomez was transported to a local hospital for treatment of life-threatening injuries.

At this time, investigators are uncertain why Gomez chose to rob the McLees home, or how both Gomez and Paul McLees were shot. The investigation is ongoing.



This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
A woman was shot after a fight with her boyfriend in Deltona early Sunday morning, according to the Volusia County Sheriff's Office.



Woman called 911 to report domestic disturbance

Deputies found the woman with multiple gunshot wounds

Residents were told to stay inside their homes

The shooting happened at a residence in the 1100 block of Michael Avenue at about 12:30 a.m.

Terra Lynn Wilcox, 37, called 911 and told dispatchers that her boyfriend had smashed out the windshield of her car with a chainsaw, choked her and then threatened her with a gun. While on the phone with dispatchers, authorities say Wilcox started screaming, saying her boyfriend was coming toward her with a gun. Moments later, the sound of gunfire could be heard over the phone. Wilcox told dispatchers she had been shot.

When deputies arrived at the scene, they found the woman with multiple gunshot wounds.

She was taken to Central Florida Region Hospital in Sanford and is listed in critical condition.

While searching for the shooter, deputies said they heard a shot fired in their direction. Deputies were unable to determine where the shot was fired from or who fired the shot.

Deputies later found a man's body in a wooded area near the home. The man, who was indentified as Earl James Pallasch, 34, appeared to be dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. According to investigators, a shotgun was found on the ground beside his body.



The street was blocked off during the search and residents were told to stay inside their homes.


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A manager of a Papa John's pizza business who called 911 to report that he'd been robbed of $1,300 at knifepoint Saturday was arrested after deputies say he stole the money himself and made up the story.

Deputies say Papa John's shift manager made phony robbery call

Justin Miller, 24, booked into Volusia County Branch Jail

Search for 'robber' included helicopter, more than 12 law-enforcement officers

Volusia County deputies say that Justin Miller's 911 call prompted a 40-minute search for a fleeing suspect that included more than a dozen Sheriff's Office deputies and DeLand Police officers, a K-9 unit and Sheriff's Office helicopter.

Deputies said that just after 1:30 a.m. Saturday morning, they received a 911 call from Miller: "I'm the manager up here at Papa John's, and I was just robbed."

Miller, 24, said he was closing the business at 1129 N. Woodland Blvd. in DeLand and was out back stacking trays when someone came up behind him, stuck a pocket knife in his back and demanded money. Miller denied getting a good look at the robber and didn't hear much because he said he was wearing headphones at the time.

He provided a vague description of a robber to dispatchers  I couldnt really tell. It looked like he was wearing all black clothes  maybe a hoodie, and a ball cap. I couldnt see his face  and told them he turned over two deposit bags with $1,332 inside, deputies said.

But when no sign of a robber was found, and deputies thought Miller was being deceptive, they said he admitted that he'd lied and led them to where he'd hidden the money.

Miller faces charges of grand theft and making a false crime report. He was booked into the Volusia County Branch Jail in Daytona Beach on $3,500 bond.


WALLINGFORD  Local chemical manufacturing plant Allnex is forming a community advisory board after a river advocacy group raised concerns about the company discharging a toxic chemical into the Quinnipiac River earlier this year. Allnex later came to an agreement with the environmental group. But company representatives say the ordeal made clear the importance of maintaining open communication.



The recent process we went through on our permit modification where we met with the River Advocates... really highlighted for us that just needs to be the normal process, said Allnex Site Manager Frank DiCristina. We just want to be an active visible participant in the community ... this is a good way to do it.



River Advocates of South Central Connecticut requested a public hearing on Allnexs discharge permit earlier this year with concerns that the company would be discharging tetrahydrofuran, a toxic chemical, into the Quinniapiac River. The group wanted a standard put in place to regulate the chemicals concentration in the watershed.



After meeting with company representatives and officials from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, the group was able to come to an agreement with Allnex to limit the discharge of the chemical to no more than 11,000 micrograms per liter.



River Advocates subsequently rescinded their request for a public hearing.



The Community Advisory Board will be made up of 15 community members, including State Rep. Mary Mushinsky, D-Wallingford, who helms River Advocates and School Superintendent Salvatore Menzo. DiCristina said the company will allow Menzo to invite a student to the boards meetings for educational purposes. The group will meet every two months.



Our typical topics are going to be what are we doing at Allnex, growth of products, or changes in our process or changes in our permit that we are maybe trying to implement and what does that mean, DiCristina said. We want to try to pro-actively draw out any concerns or questions so we can address those in a quicker, more efficient fashion.



Mushinsky said she was happy to join. We are trying to keep communication open and work together towards cleaning up the river and protecting the neighborhood, Mushinsky said. The advisory board is a good move on their part to encourage communication.



The application deadline for residents interested in the group is July 22. Those interested in applying should email DiCristina at frank.dicristina@allnex.com with their name, address, phone number and a statement regarding their interest to serve on the board. The groups first meeting will be held Aug. 11 at noon at the companys 528 S. Cherry St. facility.



DiCristina said Allex hired public relations firm MartinB+Company shortly after the situation with River Advocates was resolved. The two are not related, he said.



We dont have in-house expertise, were not good at that stuff, DiCristina said. Its bringing in the resources that know how to communicate and get the widest broadcast for our message.



ltauss@record-journal.com 203-317-2231 Twitter: @LeighTaussRJ






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A protest sparked by police killings of African Americans and conceived by recent high school graduates turned into an afternoon-long march that at different times closed three ramps leading to and from the Bay Bridge.

Our objective was to be heard and seen, said Tanashia Lynch, one of the organizers, who graduated in May from Lincoln High School in the Sunset District. We saw what was happening in the rest of our nation and decided, Lets do something.

The marchers briefly blocked the entrances to Westfield shopping mall and other shops near Powell and Market streets. For more than an hour, protesters were clustered on the Fremont Street off-ramp from the Bay Bridge in a sometimes tense standoff with police, after on-ramps from Essex and Bryant streets were closed briefly as well.

At the peak, roughly 500 people were marching down Third Street past Moscone Center amid gridlocked cars while chanting, Black Lives Matter and Hey hey, ho ho, these killer cops have got to go. But it began much smaller, with perhaps 100 mostly young protesters near the Hall of Justice.

They had wanted to close down Interstate 80 by charging up the off-ramps near the Hall of Justice. But that idea had been announced in the social media messages spreading word of the planned protest, so police were out in force.

Instead, protesters blocked the intersection of Fifth and Bryant streets while lines of police stood on the on-ramp, with seven motorcycles end to end as a barrier. Most of the protesters were young and African American, but not all.

What I see here are that people are sick and tired of being sick and tired, said Valerie Tulier-Laiwa of Daly City, who grew up in the Mission District. Their purpose is to make other people hear the message, and the way to do that is to make them feel discomfort.

Watching the standoff were older men and women standing in line at the homeless shelter at Fifth and Bryant, the citys largest. Some raised a fist, but none left their place in line.

If they think this will help, go for it, shrugged one man, who identified himself only as Daryl.

The most combative moments were at the ramp standoffs at Fremont and Essex streets, with brief scuffles where at least one police officer raised a baton before protesters intervened between the police and other marchers. Some shouted obscenities into the faces of police, or chanted, How do you spell murder? SFPD!

More often the mood was celebratory: Look at how much attention we got, one organizer told protesters as they blocked Market Street near the cable car turnaround. Give the person next to you a hug.

The Fremont Street ramp closure ended at 6:15 p.m. after police ordered the crowd to disperse. Those remaining then marched through the Financial District to Justin Herman Plaza.

This is not where it ends, Hezekiah Walker, a student at San Francisco State University, told others as they prepared to disperse. This is where it starts.

John King and Kevin Schultz are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: jking@sfchronicle.com , kschultz@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @johnkingsfchron, @kevinedschultz
The second program of the Cactus Pear Music Festival on Saturday night skipped hither and yon in periods of composition and styles.

The extreme example came in the first two pieces  two Domenico Scarlatti piano sonatas followed by the premiere of a new string quartet.

Pianist Ellen Pavliska expertly motored her way through the enchanting Scarlatti pieces to start the concert. The sonatas require the pianist to cross hands, the left hand reaching over the right hand to hit high notes that accentuate the melody. Pavliska made it look easier than it is.

From the 1700s, it was a giant leap to Tommy Dougherty's "Propel, Glide, Wind," a short, dissonant quartet that won the festival's composition prize last year.

The music featured quick stop-starts as it advanced from wide note gaps and up-and-down lines to wind-like gusts. The quartet was led by violinist Colin Sorgi.

The third piece jumped to more conventional chamber music territory, but from distant Armenia. Arno Babadjanian's Piano Trio opened with a folk-song largo that included an appealing solo by Pavliska, a line of music in which violinist Stephanie Sant'Ambrogio and cellist Lachezar Kostov joined.

The Babadjanian highlight flowed from the andante, a day-dreamy, polyphonic theme in which all three musicians took turns with solos. The finale brought back themes from the first two movements for a satisfying conclusion.

The program finally landed on familiar ground with the Johannes Brahms Piano Quintet, which had been performed during the 2006 Cactus Pear festival. After a forceful initial attack, the string players frequently echoed the pianist, Ryo Yanagitani.



The andante was the kind of heart-filling theme typical of Brahms, played with intensity. The third-movement march stepped right into the finale, which sounded a farewell theme leading up to the cascading concluding bars.

About 500 people attended the Saturday night program at Coker United Methodist Church.

The program repeats at 2 p.m. Sunday at Boerne's First United Methodist Church to finish the first week of the festival, which begins its final week Thursday.

dhendricks@express-news.net

Twitter: @davidahendricks
The 2002 chemical release would haunt the tiny village near Rochester for years. The accidental discharge at the Diaz Chemical plant showered contaminants on the residential neighborhood surrounding the facility, blanketing homes and playgrounds with potentially toxic substances.

A few months later, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which would declare the plant a federal Superfund site, took over responsibility for relocating the occupants of eight homes who fled and refused to return to their residences. It took another nine years for the EPA to settle on a plan to fully clean up the site. Two weeks ago, workers finally began relocating a public water line that runs through the abandoned factory site in Orleans County.

"Anytime you have a time lag like we experienced, it's always frustrating," said John W. Kenney Jr., who was mayor of the village of Holley for 10 years beginning in 2006, and a village trustee for three years before that.

A 75-year-old who has lived in the village for more than 50 years, Kenney said it was frustrating that it took so long for the EPA to mobilize its cleanup plan and arrange for the eventual sale of the abandoned residences, which the EPA last week said is "being worked on in preparation to have the eight homes placed back on the real estate market."

For the embattled EPA, the arguably slow response times to many environmental disasters  some of which cost hundreds of millions of dollars to clean up  may be tied to dwindling funding rather than a lack of urgency.

A trust fund that was set up when President Jimmy Carter signed the 1980 law establishing the federal Superfund program began to run short of cash in the 1990s. The decline came after Congress  and also President George W. Bush during his two terms  repeatedly declined to support renewing a federal tax previously imposed on petroleum and chemical companies, which are often blamed for the nation's worst environmental disasters.

About the series A Times Union investigation of polluted Superfund sites across the region focused on locations where cleanups are unfinished or people are concerned about exposure to hazardous chemicals from manufacturing or dumping. Coming Monday: Al Tech, riddled with PCBs and heavy-metal contamination in Colonie, is about a mile from million-dollar homes. See More Collapse

The "polluter pays" tax, as it's sometimes called, expired in 1995 and was never restored despite urgings to Congress from every U.S. president since Carter  except the most recent Bush.

Without the money, many Democratic lawmakers say the EPA has been hobbled and fallen behind in its mission to clean up the nation's most severely polluted sites. In a report to Congress last year, the U.S. Government Accountability Office said that in 2013 roughly 39 million people  13 percent of the U.S. population  lived within three miles of a federal Superfund site. The report said more than a third of those living near the sites were either under the age of 18 or were 65 years or older. The EPA's Region 2, which includes New York, had the largest number of people  10 million, or about one-third of the region's population  living within a three-mile radius of a federal Superfund site.

"We have a serious problem in our country with these Superfund sites, and nobody is doing enough to address it," said U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-New Jersey, who is the driving force behind a stalled congressional bill that would restore the excise tax on petroleum and chemical companies.

The measure, which Booker has introduced repeatedly in the Senate, has not gained traction with the Republican majority, which opposes the measure and has been highly critical of the EPA and its administrator, Gina McCarthy.

Booker, whose home state has more federal Superfund sites (114) than any other state, said the GAO report revealed that funding of the EPA has declined  from $2 billion in 1999 to about $1.1 billion in 2013  while the number of Superfund sites has increased.

There are more than 1,300 federal Superfund sites.

"This is a problem growing worse," Booker said. "We now know the health perils for families living within three miles of these sites is extremely dangerous," he added, saying increased cases of autism and birth defects have been documented in populations living near Superfund sites.

The GAO report noted that in the 15-year period it examined, the EPA saw a steady decline in cleanups and completions of remedial action plans, while experiencing an increase in the number of unfunded projects, which at one point included the abandoned Diaz Chemical company site in Orleans County.

New York's U.S. senators, Kirsten Gillibrand and Charles E. Schumer, both Democrats, declined to be interviewed for this story. Still, Schumer has publicly supported Booker's bill, and in August 2014 he visited the village of Holley to boost it. "I will do everything in my power to get the funding the program needs so cleanup projects like the one at Diaz Chemical can get under way," Schumer told the Democrat & Chronicle newspaper at the time.

In an analysis of the EPA on its 35th anniversary last year, the Center for Health Environment and Justice, a Washington D.C.-based environmental advocacy group, said the "decreased funding and the slowdown of the cleanup of Superfund sites have resulted in increased toxic exposures and health threats to communities across America. ... Without industry fees to replenish Superfund, there is simply not enough money to do the critical job of cleaning up hundreds of abandoned toxic waste sites and the American taxpayers are unfairly burdened by paying 100 percent of the annual costs."

U.S. Rep. Chris Gibson, R-Kinderhook, who successfully urged a House congressional oversight committee to investigate the state and federal government's handling of a water-contamination crisis in Hoosick Falls and Petersburgh, said the government needs to do more to address the fallout from the toxic waste that has permeated communities across the country. Gibson also said the crisis in Rensselaer County reflected failures at the state and federal level. Health officials did not warn residents in the Rensselaer County communities for more than a year to stop drinking the water contaminated with a toxic chemical, PFOA or perfluorooctanoic acid, once used by several small manufacturing companies in that area.

"We need to use all the powers of information technology to go through and sort through these unregulated chemicals and find out what risks we have," Gibson said.

The congressman, who is stepping down after his current term ends in January, said the shuttering of factories should oblige regulators to determine what contaminants were left behind.

"This is the legacy of the larger issue of the transformation of the economy," Gibson said. "We are left with legacy (pollution) issues. What I have been pressing government to do is ... look at the legacies of former manufacturing and industrial sites and look at the risk to human life and to the environment, and then budget for actions to properly address those risks."

There has also been intense criticism of McCarthy's management of the Superfund program. In its report on the 35th anniversary of the Superfund program last year, the Center for Health, Environment and Justice accused McCarthy, who was appointed head of the EPA in 2013, of delegating Superfund duties and contributing to the slide in the cleanup of Superfund sites the group said has continued under President Barack Obama.

Booker, who was the mayor of Newark before becoming a U.S. senator in 2013, said the GAO's report concluded the EPA lacks the resources to clean up all the sites on the agency's list of most polluted areas, including 89 locations that have "unacceptable human exposure" risks to substances that can cause cancer, birth defects and developmental disorders.

In New York, home to 85 federal Superfund sites, state officials said they have maintained a long-term commitment to cleaning up hundreds of state-level Superfund sites, which are generally not as severely polluted as federal sites.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation said that as of March there were 775 state Superfund sites "scheduled to be addressed." Of these, 449 are "class 2" sites which are in the investigation, design or construction phases of the Superfund program "being led by a responsible party or the state," the agency said in a statement.

Last year, state leaders authorized the commitment of $1 billion to fund the state's Superfund program, established in 1986, for at least another 10 years.

"I would say absolutely it is one of the most important tools in our arsenal," DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos said. "We are the envy of many states that don't have similar programs."

Since 1986, New York has spent more than $2.3 billion on the state Superfund program, not including an estimated $10-$12 billion that has been leveraged from suspected polluters.

"I can't tell you in New York state whether the lack of federal funds is impeding federal cleanups," Seggos said. "We're taking a fresh look at all Superfund sites ... and making sure there is an aggressive approach to clean-ups. That has been one of my priorities."

On the federal level, Booker said the bipartisan support that once existed for the EPA and the federal taxes used to fund it have faded. Several Republican senators on the Senate's Environment and Public Works Committee did not respond to requests for interviews.

"We need to get some Republican support for this bill or it's going nowhere," Booker said. "People want these Superfund sites gone from our country, especially these orphan sites where there's no businesses to hold accountable. We still need more public outrage. ... As each day goes by without actions, the health of more Americans is being threatened."

blyons@timesunion.com  518-454-5547  @brendan_lyonstu
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GARLAND, Texas  There was a time when he was known as a well-mannered young man  a regular at his church and a pleasant presence on a tree-lined, suburban, multicultural street in a neighborhood called Camelot. He grew up to serve his country in Afghanistan.

But Thursday night, 25-year-old Micah Xavier Johnson, an African American, drove his car to a rally against police violence and began killing officers in downtown Dallas, hoping to single out the white ones. In the process, he also managed to bring his war back home, killing at least one fellow military veteran and heightening fears that the nation he had been deployed to protect overseas was now failing to address its growing racial divide at home.

Dallas police remained on edge Saturday. In the late afternoon, officers drew their weapons and cleared an area near the back of their headquarters complex after a report of a suspicious person in a department parking garage. The agency later said that no one had been found.

Method of attack

In the past several days, as demonstrators have jammed the streets in a number of cities, protesting police violence, new details emerged about Johnsons life. They revealed a young man who had returned in disgrace from his stint abroad in the Army Reserve but then continued a training regimen of his own devising, conducting military-style exercises in his backyard and reportedly joining a gym that offered martial arts and weapons classes.

A Dallas County official also revealed Saturday that Johnson  who killed five officers and wounded seven others, as well as two civilians, before police killed him with a robot-delivered explosive device  had kept an extensive journal and described a method of attack in which a shooter fired on a target and then quickly moved to another location to confuse an enemy.

Although it did not seem to be a precise plan for Johnsons ambush, it was strikingly similar to the tactics he used.

Its talking not only about how to kill but how to keep from being killed, said Clay Jenkins, Dallas Countys chief executive and director of homeland security and emergency management, who said he had not read the original journal but had reviewed summaries. It shows that hes well prepared.

Johnson showed an affinity for radical black-power organizations on his Facebook page. Organizers of the Black Lives Matter network and others have denounced Johnsons shooting spree. In a news conference Saturday in Warsaw, President Obama said it was very hard to untangle the motives behind the shooting.

Johnson spent some of his childhood at the home of his father and stepmother in Garland, about a half-hour drive north of downtown Dallas. Their neighborhood, Camelot, is a collection of one- and two-story ranch-style houses of late-20th century vintage, and their house is set in the middle of a tree-lined block, where a number of neighboring houses this weekend still displayed American flags from the Fourth of July. The neighbors walking by or working on their lawns were black, white, Latino and Asian.

Courtney Williams, 37, an electrician who lives in Forney, just east of Dallas, said he had known Johnson during his teenage days, when Johnson would stay with his mother in the Pleasant Grove area of Dallas. The two young men attended the same church, and Williams recalled Johnson as a well-mannered youth who was active in church events and the typical pursuits of a teenager.

Video games, the whole nine yards, he said. Johnson showed no interest in weapons, Williams said.

JROTC program

Williams lost touch with Johnson after the younger man graduated from John Horn High School in Mesquite, Texas, where he had shown some interest in the military, going so far as to participate in the schools Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps program.

He enlisted in the Army Reserve in 2009 and was assigned to a unit  the 420th Engineer Brigade  near Dallas. More than four years later, the unit deployed to Afghanistan. But before the soldiers left for the Afghan theater, they stood in formation not far from the streets where Johnson would stage a siege. An officer urged them to take care of their families and cultivate their faith.

While overseas, a female soldier in Johnsons unit accused him of sexual harassment. When the Army considered kicking him out, he waived his right to a hearing in exchange for a lesser charge.

Soon he was back in Texas, living with his mother. Ron Price, 49, the former president of the Dallas school board, lives in Mesquite, about four blocks away. He used to see Johnson in the neighborhood and exchange hellos. He said he noticed nothing really remarkable about him.

He was just another guy at the gas station, he said.

But Jenkins said a neighbor had seen Johnson doing military-like exercises in his backyard in Mesquite in the last couple of weeks.

He had also attended a self-defense and personal protection gym, the Academy of Combative Warrior Arts in Richardson, the gym owner and chief executive officer, Justin Everman, told the Daily Beast.

Its disgusting, what he did, Everyman told the Daily Beast. Im disgusted.

Semiautomatic rifle

Johnson used a semiautomatic SKS rifle and a high-capacity handgun, Jenkins said. Johnson drove his vehicle to the demonstration and parked it, but was on foot at many points throughout the attack, he said.

Jenkins said Johnson did not appear to have advance knowledge of the march route. Parts of the route were determined on the spot without planning, he said.

Throughout a sweltering Saturday, a swath of downtown Dallas remained a closed-off crime scene as investigators began a second day of piecing together the details of the attack, an investigation that had included more than 200 interviews. More than 20 square blocks remained cordoned off.

Two squad cars outside Police Headquarters have become memorials, covered in flowers, balloons, posters and handwritten notes.
One man is under arrest and another is being sought after a shooting Saturday night at the San Antonio Public Safety Headquarters.

"We are not going to be targets; we are not going to allow officers to be targets," SAPD Chief William McManus said. "This is not open season on police officers here in San Antonio or anywhere else. We're not going to allow that to happen."
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SAN ANTONIO  Jonathan Campos, a 22-year-old suspect in the shooting death of 7-year-old Iris Rodriguez in June, was found dead in his cell Saturday morning of an apparent suicide according to Bexar County Sheriff's Office spokesman James Keith.

The 22-year-old inmate was found this morning alone in his cell, although how he committed suicide has not been released.

He was pronounced dead shortly before 8:30 a.m. Saturday.

RELATED: SAPD arrests 4th suspect in 7-year-old Iris Rodriguez's death

Campos was being held in a portion of the jail that holds only people accused of committing murders and violent crimes, he said.

"We will launch an internal investigation to determine if protocol was followed and talk to the people who are responsible for checking on him," he said.

Keith noted that an initial investigation shows all procedures had been followed properly prior to his suicide. He also noted that Campos showed no signs of suicidal tendencies nor was there any evidence discovered in the cell prior to the incident.

There is no sign of foul play, said James Keith.

RELATED: 3rd suspect in fatal shooting of girl, 7, who was walking with family arrested

Campos was the second person arrested in the death of Iris Rodriguez, having been taken into custody June 14 at an apartment in the 2500 block of Clara Lane, 10 miles away from where the child was gunned down, authorities said.

"I ain't guilty," Campos told reporters the day he was arrested. "I don't regret nothing because I don't have no ... reason."

RELATED: Officials: 40-year-old inmate at the Bexar County Jail hung himself

Keith confirmed an autopsy will be performed to determine the exact cause of death.

This marks the second suicide at the jail in 2016 within a month, according to Bexar County Jail Records.

The last suicide occurred June 28, when 40-year-old Victor Casas hung himself, according to a previous report.

In 2014 and 2015, there were three suicides at the jail.

twhite@mysa.com

Twitter: @tylerlwhite
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San Antonio residents gathered on the city's East Side to march for peace and unity in the wake of multiple shootings across the United States.

Chanting "Stand Up, Guns Down," and "Stop the shooting, stop the killing" a few dozen marchers started at Antioch Baptist Church in the 1000 block of N. Walters.

Their numbers grew as they marched and according to San Antonio about 150 people were soon marching.

The mood of the marchers was calm, peaceful and even jovial at times as the crowd walked the streets of the East Side.

RELATED: Local leaders urge unity, communication after ambush slayings of Dallas cops

They were greeted by motorists honking in unison with the marchers as they drove by. Several families who lost their loved ones also joined to advocate against the violence.

The family of Marquise Jones, who was fatally shot by off-duty officer Robert Encina at an area restaurant in February 2014, joined the walk.

His mother, Cheryl Jones, said the violence needs to stop also with police officers who are quick to resort to such measures.

The Stop the Violence Block Walk is being put on by Stand Up S.A., a program of the City of San Antonio Metro Health. Groups including SATX4, Moms against violence and the Black Panthers were among the community marchers.

The march comes a day after the killing of five Dallas police officers during a protest over the officer involved killings of two black men, Alton Sterling in Louisiana and Philando Castile in Minnesota.

But the march was planned weeks ago said march organizer Mycheryl Price, StandUp SA Program Manager, and not as a response to the recent shootings as reported here earlier.

Jada Wilson said she joined the walk because it's the community her dad was raised in.

"Black lives matter not outside of us if they don't matter within ourselves," Wilson said. "Our own black lives don't matter if we can't appreciate our own black lives."

On Friday city leaders including, Mayor Ivy Taylor, urged civic duty and unity among residents of San Antonio.

"We all know that our city of San Antonio is a city with a deep heart, and today our heart aches with the victims and their families," Taylor said. "I want to remind all of my fellow San Antonians that the way we stay safe is by staying engaged."

Marchers seemed to heed that call Saturday as they marched, some arm in arm.

Mike Lowe, organizer with SATX4, said the block walk is a great way to build trust and unity in the community, adding that it's something the San Antonio Police Department and other city leaders need to do all the time.

"You don't build trust by over policing a community," Lowe said, noting that there was a greater police presence at a Black Lives Matter march that was held earlier Saturday downtown.

SAPD Lt. Troy Torres, one of two uniformed officer at the walk said he came out when he heard it was happening.

He said SAPD knew of and supported the walk, asking to keep it to one lane of the street.

"We want the violence to stop too," Torres said. "It's great for the community to come together."

The March ended where it began, at about 8:30 p.m. with a barbecue in the Antioch church parking lot.

Staff writers Elizabeth Lepro and Kate Carlson contributed to this report.
Were visiting the first born in the family.

Thats what the NASA spacecraft Junos visit to Jupiter  a five-year, $1.1 billion trek  is. But it is also perhaps the key to how the solar system was formed.

More than that, the journey represents the proposition that, though our political discourse these days seems centered on what we feel rather than know, there are real quests for knowledge still under way.

Jupiter, the experts say, was the first planet formed in the solar system. Juno, in nearly flawless execution, began its orbit of the systems largest planet a week ago. Its images will bring us closer to Jupiters clouds than any previous spacecraft.

The spacecraft will measure the amount of water in Jupiters atmosphere  to tell us where in the solar system the planet formed, hints also forthcoming about how. Other measurements could tell what kind of core it has.

Juno wont solve world hunger or address the pernicious effect of money on our political system. It is after something more grand  the keys to our origin.

This is undertaken on a relative shoestring, despite the $1.1 billion price tag. NASA funding is less than 0.5 percent of federal spending.

Juno will end its journey in 2018, when it plunges into Jupiters clouds to avoid contaminating one of the planets moons, Europa. The moon, thought to be covered with ocean, may be among the likeliest places in the solar system for harboring life.

Want to keep America great? Continue exploring space. The payoff will be the stars  and knowledge that makes us wiser and that means richer.
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San Antonio developer Weston Urban will break ground this winter on its most ambitious project yet  a gleaming 23-story glass skyscraper amid a sea of concrete and stone buildings downtown that president Randy Smith says will redefine the citys unremarkable skyline.

Designed by world-renowned architecture firm Pelli Clarke Pelli, the tower rises 400 feet high, culminating in a crown unlike anything else in San Antonios skyline.

The new Frost headquarters, at the northwest corner of Houston and Flores streets, will be the first office tower built downtown since 1989, when the Weston Centre was built as the NBC Plaza. The family of Weston Urbans co-founder, local tech magnate Graham Weston, bought the tower in 1992 and changed its name.

Frost Bank will occupy about 250,000 square feet on the lower floors, leaving another 150,000 at the top for other tenants. A six-story parking garage will wrap around the building, with 20,000 square feet of retail space on the ground level that Weston Urban hopes to fill with high-end shops facing Houston Street and San Pedro Creek.

Construction of the tower is expected to take about two years, Weston Urbans Smith said. When its finished, it will be the sixth-tallest building in San Antonio, after the Tower of the Americas, the Marriott Rivercenter, the Weston Centre, the Grand Hyatt San Antonio and the Tower Life Building.

Weston Urban is co-developing the project with KDC, a Dallas firm that is working on Toyotas new North American headquarters in Plano.

For more on this story, visit ExpressNews.com or read the Sunday edition of the San Antonio Express-News.

rwebner@express-news.net

@rwebner

Correction: This report was updated to correct the history of the Weston Centre. The Weston family bought the tower a few years after it was built in 1989 as the NBC Plaza.
On July 1, I participated in Canada Day celebrations in Vita and Steinbach. It was a pleasure to see so many familiar faces and to connect with others for the first time. We live in a truly great country, and we have so much to celebrate.

Canada turned 149 years-old this past week  a young age compared to many other countries around the world  yet we have one of the most stable and prosperous democracies the world over. This is no accident. The ideals held by Canadians past and present have made this country worth celebrating. There are many characteristics I could list here, but I want to focus on one in particular that I believe residents of Provencher are masters of: generosity.

Generosity is a defining characteristic of southeastern Manitoba. Whether its helping a neighbor experiencing hardship, donating goods to a local foodbank, or providing a financial boost to a favorite charity, southeastern Manitobans recognize the value of helping those who need it most.

This isnt just one mans opinion. To offer an example, Aaron Hutchins, writing for Macleans Magazine about figures released by Statistics Canada, wrote: The gold standard for generosity in the country-by a long shot-is Steinbach, Man. In the provinces third-largest city, located about 6o km southeast of Winnipeg, the median donation was $1,830 in 2013. That was equal to 6.6 per cent of the median total income in the city. Now compare that with the silver-medal winner, Abbotsford-Mission, B.C., where the median donation was 2.7 per cent of incomes.

Although this article focused on comparing Canadian cities, smaller communities across southeastern Manitoba are right at the top of the list as well. But the culture of generosity in southeastern Manitoba extends beyond financial donations. Over the last number of weeks I have been overwhelmed by the generous support of constituents. Im grateful to all who took the time to offer words of encouragement. Its an honour to represent a constituency known for its astounding generosity.

As we look forward to celebrating Canadas 150th birthday in 2017, lets be sure to uphold the culture of generosity that makes southeast Manitoba a great place to live.
Lambert here: This post shows how to add narrative analysis to your toolkit of critical thinking skills.

By Roy Poses, MD, Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at Brown University, and the President of FIRM  the Foundation for Integrity and Responsibility in Medicine. Originally posted at Health Care Renewal website

Tales of medical research misconduct seem increasingly prevalent in the media, and are getting increasing attention. They often may present a simple narrative, like this recent story in the New York Times, An NYU Study Gone Wrong, and a Top Researcher Dismissed.

The Narrative Arc

A Renowned Researcher

The researcher in question was one Dr Alexander Neumeister. Oddly enough, the article provided very little information about his background, but made it clear he was at New York University, and was a top researcher.

The Potentially Ground-Breaking Studies

The NY Times article noted that the studies were of an experimental, mind-altering drug. In particular,

In one of the shuttered studies, people with a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress caused by childhood abuse took a relatively untested drug intended to mimic the effects of marijuana, to see if it relieved symptoms.

The study was ground-breaking, in that

Its a critical time for two important but still controversial areas of psychiatry: the search for a blood test or other biological sign of post-traumatic stress disorder, which has so far come up empty, and the use of recreational drugs like ecstasy and marijuana to treat it.

The drug was not identified, but the article noted that it was

a drug intended to produce some of marijuanas effects, made by Pfizer

and was thus like the drug in a French trial, that caused six patients to be hospitalized with severe neurologic problems.

The study was apparently a small short-term randomized controlled trial

Some participants took the drug over a seven-day period; others took a placebo pill. The N.Y.U. team performed scans on each person to see whether brain activation patterns correlated with symptom relief.

The study called for recruiting 50 people with a PTSD diagnosis, according to study documents.

Research Misconduct Discovered

Initially, apparently,

Dr. Charles Marmar, the chairman of the psychiatry department at N.Y.U., said that people working with Dr. Neumeister had reported concerns about the labs compliance with research standards.

This led to

The federal inspection, from July 16 to Aug. 5 last year, found that the research team had failed to assess at least three subjects 24 hours after they had taken the experimental drug, contrary to study protocol, according to the F.D.A. letter. In several instances, the agency found, Dr. Neumeister had falsified documents by signing a fellow investigators name on reports. However, in fact, you or another study employee actually conducted these study procedures, not the colleague, the F.D.A. concluded.

In summary

The violations jeopardize subject safety and welfare, and raise concerns about the validity and integrity of the data collected at your site, the F.D.A. said in a letter

Note that the article did not explain why the FDA was called upon to investigate this problem.

Aggrieved Research Subjects

The article focused on one Ms Diane Ruffcorn, who writes a popular Facebook blog on trauma,

I think their intent was good, and they were considerate to me, said one of those subjects, Diane Ruffcorn, 40, of Seattle, who said she was sexually abused as a child. But what concerned me, I was given this drug, and all these tests, and then it was goodbye, I was on my own. There was no follow-up.

After the trial, she was concerned because

Ms. Ruffcorn said she had several odd symptoms after the trial, including a hyper, wired sensation that occurred without the usual memories of abuse. For months, she tried to find out whether those reactions were tied to the experimental drug, but because the study was shut down and the data belonged to Pfizer, the N.Y.U. doctors could not tell her whether she had taken the drug or placebo.

However,

Earlier this month, after much persistence, she found out that shed taken the placebo. It was a big relief, she said.

Note that the article did not explain by Pfizer owned the data, and would not reveal it.

The Researcher Punished

The researcher did not agree that things were so bad,

Georges Lederman, a lawyer for Dr. Neumeister, said there may have been protocol violations, but N.Y.U. has taken the position that those violations were more egregious than we believe they actually were. The issues could have been easily remedied, he said, and noted that they did not cause the sponsor of the research, the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, to shut it down.

Note that the article did not explain why Pfizer was empowered to shut such a study down.

In any case,

Dr. Neumeister and N.Y.U. continue to disagree over the seriousness of the research violations, both sides said. But the university has tossed out all of the data as unreliable, and tracked down the study participants to check on their health, Dr. Marmar said.

And apparently Dr Neumeister quit, or was fired, although the article only said NYU parted ways with a top researcher.

Summary

So, in summary, the story was that a prominent researcher was doing cutting edge research at a big university, but people onsite noted some problems, the government was called in to investigate, the investigation found problems, the research was stopped, and the researcher lost his job. However, while the article mentioned that Pfizer sponsored the study, Pfizer had control of the studys data, and Pfizer had the power to shut the study down, the article did not comment on whether the involvement of Pfizer could have had any relationship to the narrative of alleged individual researcher misconduct.

Research Misconduct as a Problem with Bad Apples

Thus, in my humble opinion, this story followed the usual narrative arc of research misconduct stories: an individual scientist over-reaches, possibly in pursuit of fame and money, is discovered and punished, and things get back to normal. The implication is that research misconduct is a bad-apple problem, although fueled by a hyper competitive research environment. For example, last week the (UK) Times Higher Education Suppplement published an article entitled, Is There a Problem with Research Integrity, that opened,

For many academics today, research is not about pushing intellectual boundaries. It is not about investigating a fascinating issue so much as it is about churning out publications, demonstrating impact and generating revenue in order to meet the performance targets upon which institutional reputation and individual careers depend. The temptation to cut corners is immense. Tricks include getting your name on a paper that you contributed little towards, or salami-slicing the same research across several publications. More seriously, some researchers falsify  misrepresent  their data, or even fabricate them entirely. Some universities tacitly encourage such behaviour and the boundary between academic integrity and malpractice is becoming blurred.

The current case seems to be on of attempted falsification, misrepresentation of research data.

Notice the use of the pronoun you, emphasizing that research misconduct is about individual misconduct. Similarly, tha THE article included commentaries by various individuals. One was by a research integrity expert, who began,

Having positive and preferably spectacular research findings is wonderful. It helps you to get a publication in a journal with a high impact factor, which will be cited often and may attract a lot of media attention. This is not only a pleasant ego boost but may also be instrumental in getting your next grant or strengthening your academic position. So, in an ever more competitive and metrics-driven scientific environment, it is tempting to make such results occur by any means necessary.

All this is true as far as it goes. But in my humble opinion, the usual research misconduct narrative is vastly oversimplified, as is the case reported by the New York Times.

We have been writing for years about massive problems with manipulation of clinical research to increase the likelihood that the results would satisfy vested interests, and suppression of research whose results remain unsatisfactory after such manipulation. The vested interests are most commonly pharmaceutical, biotechnology or device companies and those working with them. Such suppression and manipulation may make treatments that do not work look efficacious, and treatments that are dangerous look safe, and may lead to excess costs, and worse, harms to patients. This kind of research misconduct may be facilitated by individual researchers seeking fame and fortune, but is hardly an individual sport.

Focusing on individual research misconduct thus leaves the larger problem of vested interests dominating clinical research anechoic.

Looking carefully at the NYU/ Neumeister case as reported, and a little research on the web suggests that there may be more involved than just the conduct of one researcher. But that could only be confirmed, or refuted, by investigation beyond what this humble blogger can do.

A Pharmaceutical Company Sponsored, Likely Pharmaceutical Company Designed, Phase II Drug Study Gone Wrong

The NY Times article acknowledged, almost parenthetically, that the study on which the article was focused was sponsored by Pfizer, although it first did so in the context of Dr Neumeisters lawyer arguing that the problems with the study were not that serious:

[he] noted that they did not cause the sponsor of the research, the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, to shut it down.

Later, the article stated,

Pfizer said that N.Y.U. was responsible for conducting the trial,

but noted

the company had previously tested the same drug, known as an F.A.A.H. inhibitor, for osteoarthritic pain, without significant side effects. The safety profile we observed does not preclude future development of our compound, a Pfizer spokesman said by email.

So this was not a case of a company funding a study merely to advance medical science. The implication was that the company was testing its own compound in hopes of seeking approval from the US Food and Drug Administration. That must be why it was the FDA that investigated the research misconduct, particularly to the extent that the conduct of the research violated a protocol to which the FDA was apprently privy.

More evidence that the study was under the control of Pfizer, rather than of Dr Neumeister, could be inferred from the problems Ms Ruffcorn had in determining whether she had taken the drug or placebo.

For months, she tried to find out whether those reactions were tied to the experimental drug, but because the study was shut down and the data belonged to Pfizer, the N.Y.U. doctors could not tell her whether shed taken the drug or a placebo.

Note that the data belonged to Pfizer, not to NYU or Dr Neumeister.

In fact, in perhaps the only critical look given to this story, in a post on Neuroskeptic,

I believe the compound in question is PF-04457845. I believe this because ClinicalTrials.gov lists a trial of PF-04457845 for PTSD, a trial which was recently terminated. NYU was one of the research sites. I also think that this trial is the fateful one, as it matches the NYTs description of that study. Interestingly, ClinicalTrials.gov says that the trial was stopped based on Pfizer portfolio prioritization and not due to safety and/or efficacy concern or change in benefit:risk assessment of PF-04457845.

So given that the study was a small randomized controlled trials of patients, not of healthy volunteers, it appeared to be a Pfizer sponsored, Pfizer designed, Pfizer controlled Phase II study being done in the hope of eventually marketing PF-04457845.

As noted in an article about agreements between academia and industry on the conduct of randomized controlled trials(1),

Many randomized clinical trials (RCTs) are designed and sponsored by for-profit companies. Companies typically contract academic investigators to identify, recruit, and manage patients. Clinical research under these circumstances is a business transaction that bears the potential for conflicts of interest, including those regarding the publication of trial results

It also appears that Pfizer was spending a more than tiny sum on this work. A Politico article from 2014 revealed that Dr Neumeister at that time had a $1.7 million grant from Pfizer, presumably for this particular study. Thus this drug trial was likely providing NYU with more than negligible monetary support, most likely including salary support for Dr Neumeister.

Dr Neumeister apparently has had some previous involvement with pharmaceutical companies, and with Pfizer specifically. A search of the ProPublica Dollars for Docs 2009-13 database revealed that Dr Neumeister received consulting, travel funds and a more than $227,000 grant from Eli Lilly. Dr Neumeister apparently is currently on the advisory board for Fiorello Pharmaceuticals. In a 2015 article in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry(2), Dr Neumeister acknowledged that he has received consulting fees from Pfizer.

Conclusion

So it seems that in this case a study which may not have been conducted according to research standards was likely a pharmaceutical sponsored, designed, and controlled Phase II trial done as part of an effort to seek approval for a new drug. Hence this case was not only about allegations of individual research misconduct, but about yet more problems with the implementation of commercially controlled human experiments designed to ultimately further marketing as well as science. Yet none of the public discussion so far of this case was about whether Pfizer had any responsibilities to assure the quality of the research in which it was so involved, much less whether interactions between the company, the university which was being funded by the company, and the researcher employed by the university but whose salary was probably partially underwritten by the company might have affected how the study was implemented.

There may be many problems with individual misconduct affecting clinical research. But failure to consider how this research is now mainly conducted within a commercial milieu seems to be missing the elephant in the room. If we cannot plainly discuss research misconduct as part of the larger picture of health care dysfunction, we will not be able to do much about it. True health care reform would help end the taboo on discussion about how powerful organizations and their wealthy and powerful leaders distort health care.

References

1. Kasenda B, von Elm E, You JJ, Blumie A et al. Agreements between Industry and Academia on Publication Rights: A Retrospective Study of Protocols and Publications of Randomized Clinical Trials. PLoS Med 13(6): e1002046. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1002046. Link here.

2. Mota N, Sumner JA, Lowe SR, Neumeister A et al. The rs1049353 Polymorphism in the CNR1 Gene Interacts With Childhood Abuse to Predict Posttraumatic Threat Symptoms. J Clin Psychiatr 2015; 76(12):e1622e1623. Link here.
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Catching Em All at NYPL with Pokemon GO New York Public Library. Cool!

He Tried to Be a Badger NYRB

US stocks and bond yields in record territory due to uncertainty FT

Meanwhile, in Japan, Household Consumption Continues to Fall CFR

Barroso chez Goldman Sachs, un bras dhonneur a lEurope Liberation (translation). Former President of the European Commission joins Goldman. How cozy.

Dark days flag up challenges for Deutsche Bank FT

Piles of Dirty Secrets Behind a Model Clean Coal Project NYT

Standards Body Whines That People Who Want Free Access To The Law Probably Also Want Free Sex Tech Dirt

In clinical trials, for-profit review boards are taking over for hospitals. Should they? STAT. What could go wrong?

Theranos CEOs 2-Year Ban Leaves Few Options to Save Startup Bloomberg. What a shame. And so innovative.

Unexpected Deaths Put Promising Immunotherapy on Hold MIT Technology Review

Brexit

Imperial Collapse Watch

2016

What I Saw at the Summit In These Times

Clinton Email Tar Baby

Dallas Shooting

Black Injustice Tipping Point

Class Warfare

Forget Montauk: Why Maine Should Be Your Modern Summer Retreat Bloomberg. No! Stay away! This article is a tissue of lies!

Do You Own Your Own Fingerprints? Bloomberg

Data Mining Reveals the Six Basic Emotional Arcs of Storytelling MIT Technology Review

When Narratives Go Bad Epsilon Theory (CL). Must read, and keep going. Maybe we need to replace animal spirits with the power of narrative?

Antidote du jour (via). Ducks are big in Japan:

See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here.
By Lambert Strether of Corrente.

The Iraq Inquiry, whose work product is called the Chilcot Report after its chair, Sir John Chilcot, was commissioned in 2009 by then Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and released last week. The print version of the report is in 12 volumes that take up a table several meters long. The @ChilcotBot will take about a year to tweet the 2.6 million words, at a rate of one tweet over four minutes or so. (Searchable electronic versions can be found here and here.) Heres a hot take, from the not-actually-that-leftist Guardian.

The Iraq Inquiry commissions scope, from the Executive Summary (itself 150 pages long):

The Inquirys report sets out in detail decisionmaking in the UK Government covering the period from when the possibility of military action first arose in 2001 to the departure of UK troops in 2009. It covers many different aspects of policy and its delivery.

And one important conclusion (page 113):

Did the UK achieve its objectives in Iraq? 792. The Iraq of 2009 certainly did not meet the UKs objectives as described in January 2003: it fell far short of strategic success. Although the borders of Iraq were the same as they had been in 2003, deep sectarian divisions threatened both stability and unity. Those divisions were not created by the coalition, but they were exacerbated by its decisions on deBaathification and on demobilisation of the Iraqi Army and were not addressed by an effective programme of reconciliation.

And (page 115):

796. By 2009, it had been demonstrated that some elements of the UKs 2003 objectives for Iraq were misjudged. No evidence had been identified that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction, with which it might threaten its neighbours and the international community more widely. But in the years between 2003 and 2009, events in Iraq had undermined regional stability, including by allowing Al Qaida space in which to operate and unsecured borders across which its members might move.

Oops. Continuing:

798. The Inquiry has not been able to identify alternative approaches that would have guaranteed greater success in the circumstances of March 2003. What can be said is that a number of opportunities for the sort of candid reappraisal of policies that would have better aligned objectives and resources did not take place. There was no serious consideration of more radical options, such as an early withdrawal or else a substantial increase in effort. The Inquiry has identified a number of moments, especially during the first year of the Occupation, when it would have been possible to conduct a substantial reappraisal. None took place.

So, even in its own, imperial terms, the Iraq War was a debacle. The UKs strategic goals were not achieved, and when it became evident that they were not, the government was unable to change course. Insofar as the Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) were the justification for war, as opposed to a convenient pretext, that justification was false. In other words, the political class was not self-correcting, although some correction after the fact may be the outcome of the report.

The Chilcot Report has been released when British politics are in an overly dynamic situation, what with Brexit and its politically risky aftermath, the potential disintegration of the United Kingdom, and leadership fights in both Tory and Labour Parties; surely the role of Tony Blair will figurely largely in the Labour fight. Even if Blair is a mere scapegoat for the failings of the political class as a whole, Blair  who seemed close to tears at his Chilcot presser  deserves that role so very, very richly. The Chilcot report is also being used to relitigate the run-up to the war, and so there is a constant stream of stories in the press as nuggets of horror or idiocy and occasional heroism are dug up, and scores are settled, and quite rightly. Whether the British political class can manage to hold itself accountable for their part in a strategic debacle that left hundreds of thousands of dead and set the Mediterranean littoral on fire is, at this point, unknown.

The Chilcot report shows, then, not merely a lost war, but a failure of statecraft, and even of the State itself. (War on the Rocks has a fine summary of governance dysfunction; the Institute for Governance has a report.) The Chilcot Report is also too big, and the story too fast-moving, for me to give the 30,000-foot account I would prefer to give, so Im going to cover some topics small enough for me to get my arms around. First, I want to give shout-outs to people who got it right. This is important from the American perspective, since most serious people in the United States were for the war and are still in positions of power and influence (including, in the world of Democrat journalism, Ezra Klein, James Fallows, Jonathon Chait, and Josh Marshall, among many others; liberal goodthinkers all.) It is true that one reason Clinton lost in 2008 was her vote for the war, in contrast to Obamas dumb war speech against it, when a state Senator in Illinois, but not much else seems to have changed; in regard to Iraq, we in this country are still stuck at the mistakes were made, and look forward and not back stage. If it is a stage. Its a shame to think that the British political class is more functional than our own, but thats where we are. It is what it is. Next, Ill look at an utterly spectacular intelligence omnishambles. After that, Ill take a look at Tony Blair. Ill conclude by asking what the Iraqi people think of the Iraq War. They were, after all, its ostensible beneficiaries.

People Who Got it Right, Then and Now

The millions of demonstrators marched against the war, in Washington, London, and all over the world, got it right:

These millions were, of course, ignored by serious people everywhere, there and here, on a thoroughly bipartisan basis.

Next, whistleblower David Kelly (and BBC reporter  and not stenographer  Andrew Gilligan) got it right:

The UKs Iraq War inquiry vindicates a whistleblower who took his own life What Kelly told Gilligan in that hotel room in 2003 was laid out in the 2.6 million-word document released on Wednesday. Blairs decision to write a foreword for the dossier that concluded Iraq had or could quickly deploy WMDs indicates a distinction between his beliefs and the [Joint Intelligence Committee]s actual judgements,

In less measured terms, Blairs 45-minute claim (contemporaneous coverage) was wrong, and he over-rode intelligence professionals to make it.

Chilcots report reads.The assessed intelligence had not established beyond doubt that Saddam Hussein had continued to produce chemical and biological weapons, it adds. In 2003, Gilligan asked Kelly about the unreliable evidence: What do you mean? They made it up? Kelly replied, according to Gilligans notes: No, it was real information. But it was included in the dossier against our wishes because it wasnt reliable. It was a single source and it was not reliable. Kelly blamed Campbell and his press office for that  the same Campbell who, this week, said the BBC was to blame for Kellys death. He gave a classic example: The statement that WMD were ready for use within 45 minutes. Most things in the dossier were double-source but that was single source. And we believed that the source was wrong.

(Like every other episode in the history of the Iraq War, massive conflicts of interpretation have accreted around the record; see the Gilligan link above, and see here for Kellys death.) Well get to another intelligence omnishambles below.

This week, former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott gets it right:

[PRESCOTT] As the Deputy Prime Minister in that [Blair] Government I must express my fullest apology, especially to the families of the 179 men and women who gave their lives in the Iraq War. In 2004, the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said that as regime change was the prime aim of the Iraq War, it was illegal. With great sadness and anger, I now believe him to be right.

And also this week, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn gets it right:

[CORBYN:] Politicians and political parties can only grow stronger by acknowledging when they get it wrong and by facing up to their mistakes, he said. So I now apologise sincerely on behalf of my party for the disastrous decision to go to war in Iraq in March 2003. That apology is owed first of all to the people of Iraq. Hundreds of thousands of lives have been lost, and the country is still living with the devastating consequences of the war and the forces it unleashed.

And showing what the Labour leadership conflict is about:

As Corbyn issued his excoriating statement to the House of Commons, he was heckled by his own backbencher Ian Austin, who shouted: Sit down and shut up, youre a disgrace.

Whether its possible for the political class to award power to those who get it right is an open question, isnt it? But at least its a question there, unlike here.

Intelligence Omnishambles: The Linked Hollow Glass Spheres

Foreign Policy summarizes this particular nugget of horror and idiocy:

If you thought the intelligence leading up to the Iraq war was bad, heres something to chew over: British intelligence used fabricated information about Saddam Husseins chemical weapons program that appears to have been cribbed from the Michael Bay thriller The Rock. And, yes, thats a true sentence. On September 23, 2002 British intelligence issued a report from a source that MI6 chief Sir Richard Dearlove had described as having phenomenal access to Iraqs biological and chemical weapons programs. That report claimed that VX, sarin, and soman  all nerve agents  had been produced at Iraqs Al-Yarmuk facility. The nerve agents had been put in a variety of containers, one of which was linked hollow glass spheres. MI6 quickly realized the connection  but it was apparently not enough to immediately cast doubt on the sources veracity. In October, the Chilcot Report says, questions were raised about the glass containers, noting that they are not typically used in chemical munitions and that a popular movie (The Rock) had inaccurately depicted nerve agents being carried in glass beads or spheres. Despite these questions, MI6 gobbled up the information supplied by the source. On September 11, 2002, an MI6 report attributed to the same source claimed that Iraq had accelerated its manufacture of chemical and biological weapons, that it had built additional facilities for that purpose, and that Hussein wished to maintain to his chemical and biological weapons capability

Just for grins, here is an image of those linked hollow glass spheres; Sean Connery is on the left, and Nicholas Cage on the right:

So, when U.S. Iraq Proconsul L. Paul Bremer III writes that later, it turned out the intelligence was wrong, those glass spheres are the sort of thing he means. Sadly, Richard Dearlove was also CCed by the author of the famous Downing Street Memo, whose key words  the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy  confirmed so many of us in our view that the Bush administrations case for war was, er, rigged. Honestly, words fail me on this one; we seem to have entered, long ago, some alternative universe where cynicism and ineptitude have inflated to occupy so many dimensions that they are no longer distinguishable. Could MI6 have actually believed Dearloves source? Did MI6 persuade itself into belief? Were they browbeaten into writing as they did? Did they simply not care? In terms of the health of a political class, do these questions matter?

Tony Blair in the Dock

The wonderful book Military Misfortunes: The Anatomy of Failure in War cautions against Man in the Dock accounts of defeat, since debacles of epic scale, like Iraq, are caused by systems failures, not individual failings. Nevertheless  and it couldnt have happened to a nicer guy  Fleet Street is baying for Blairs blood.

But if one does look for individual failings, the special relationship between Bush and Blair provides plenty of material. First, a smoking gun of a memo:

The Chilcot report included a previously classified memo from Blair to Bush written on July 28, 2002  many months before the invasion  in which the then prime minister said: I will be with you, whatever. Removing Saddam Hussein from power is the right thing to do, wrote Blair, noting that while he could be contained, such a decision is always risky.

Second, a private meeting between the two friends in Crawford, TX:

What exactly happened on 6 and 7 April in Crawford, Texas, between the US president, George W Bush, and the man who was determined to be his best friend, not even Chilcots 2.6m-word report has been able to entirely unravel. But if there was one event that changed the conversation about Iraq, it was this. Because while Blair insisted no deal was done and no hands shaken on military action, Chilcots report describes how the mood changed thereafter and how the Whitehall machine, at different speeds in different departments, reacting to different voices, began to hum; the tempo changed. And little wonder.

The article provides many examples of the body language of the US military, all of which go to show Blair had committed the UK to go to war in Iraq with the US well in advance of his government and that, crucially, the war was about regime change, and not the last resort.

The Chilcot Commission summarizes (Section 7, page 3):

10. By early March, the US Administration was not prepared to allow inspections to continue or give Mr Blair more time to try to achieve support for action. The attempt to gain support for a second resolution was abandoned. 11. In the Inquirys view, the diplomatic options had not at that stage been exhausted. Military action was therefore not a last resort . 12. In mid-March, Mr Blairs determination to stand alongside the US left the UK with a stark choice. It could act with the US but without the support of the majority of the Security Council in taking military action if Saddam Hussein did not accept the US ultimatum giving him 48 hours to leave. Or it could choose not to join US-led military action. 13. Led by Mr Blair, the UK Government chose to support military action. 14. Mr Blair asked Parliament to endorse a decision to invade and occupy a sovereign nation, without the support of a Security Council resolution explicitly authorising the use of force. Parliament endorsed that choice.

As we saw from John Prescott above, when war is not the last resort, thats criminal, although the Chilcot report only edges up to the brink of that conclusion. Unfortunately for the political class as a whole, they voted for it, which is, presumably, why theyre putting Blair in the dock, and not themselves. Blair now faces a motion of parliamentary contempt:

The Conservative MP David Davis, backed by the SNPs Alex Salmond, has said he will present on Thursday the motion accusing the former prime minister of misleading parliament. MPs could debate the issue before the summer if it is accepted by the Commons Speaker, John Bercow. Sir John Chilcot said in his long-awaited report on the Iraq invasion that the legal basis for the war was reached in a way that was far from satisfactory , but he did not explicitly say the war was illegal. Davis said: Its a bit like contempt of court, essentially by deceit. If you look just at the debate alone, on five different grounds the house was misled  three in terms of the weapons of mass destruction, one in terms of the UN votes were going, and one in terms of the threat, the risks. He might have done one of those accidentally, but five?

(I think far from satisfactory deserves a place in the Hall of Understatement Fame with not necessarily to our advantage.) Corybn (despite the Independents deceptive headline) says hell probably back the motion, though hell have to read it. Corbyns Blairite opposition[1], as one might expect, has a different view. Leadership challenger Angela Eagle: I think Tony Blairs been put rightly through the mill about the decisions he took. (This looks like the UKs equivalent of our hes suffered enough.

The Reaction of the Iraqi People Today

Remember when Saddams statue was toppled? That great blow for freedom, and especially for public relations? After the Chilcot report, the BBC found the Iraqi man who organized it, and asked him what he thought of the war:

Kadhim, like many Iraqis, blames the invaders for starting a chain of events that destroyed the country. He longs for the certainties and stability of Saddams time. First, he says, he realised it was not going to be liberation, but occupation. Then he hated the corruption, mismanagement and violence in the new Iraq. Most of all he despises Iraqs new leaders. Saddam has gone, and we have one thousand Saddams now, he says. It wasnt like this under Saddam. There was a system. There were ways. We didnt like him, but he was better than those people. Saddam never executed people without a reason. He was as solid as a wall. There was no corruption or looting, it was safe. You could be safe. I asked Kadhim he would do if he could meet Tony Blair. I would say to him you are a criminal, and Id spit in his face. And what would he say to George Bush? Id say youre criminal too. You killed the children of Iraq. You killed the women and you killed the innocent. I would say the same to Blair. And to the coalition that invaded Iraq. I will say to them you are criminals and you should be brought to justice.

And Kadhim is right, as we have seen. The Iraq War was not a last resort; it was criminal. Whether the British political class is heatlhy enough to agree with him, instead of scapegoating (the truly vile) Tony Blair, is still an open question.

Conclusion

If the state has a monopoly of violence, it had better not butcher the job when it exercises that monopoly. The clever writers at The Economist conclude:

Before contemplating any similar undertaking, it advises, there must be a clear understanding of the theatre of operations; a hard-headed assessment of risks; realistic objectives; and sufficient resources. It concludes: All of these elements were lacking in the UKs approach to its role in post-conflict Iraq.

Oops. Well see if the UKs political class can hold itself accountable for the Iraq debacle, or whether theyll settle for Tony Blairs head on a pike (not that theres anything wrong with that). As for our own political class, it has yet to even consider an inquiry on the scale and scope of the Chilcot report. I wonder if whoever is the next President will commission one?

NOTES

[1] Writes the Canary: Of the 100 Labour MPs in office during parliamentary voting on whether to investigate the Iraq War, almost all of them voted against any sort of inquiry at all. Thats 98 out of 100 Labour MPs who tried to veto Chilcot. Of the 100 Labour MPs in office during parliamentary voting on whether to investigate the Iraq War, almost all of them voted against any sort of inquiry at all. Thats 98 out of 100 Labour MPs who tried to veto Chilcot.
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Real estate show

Jim York, a local Realtor, hosts a real estate update show each week on current issues or trends. Join York every Thursday afternoon from 1:30 to 3 p.m. There will be a different guest who specializes in a current topic each week. Any questions about upcoming topics or to be an audience guest, contact U.S.A. Marketing LLC by email: usamrktggroup@cs.com. All shows can also been seen at NaplesYorkRealEstate.com or their Real Estate News Blog: YorkRealEstateGroupSWFL.com.

REIS to meet

Recent changes to the Lee County Plan and Land Development Code have established a program that allows property owners to Transfer Development Rights (TDR) from Pine Island to other parts of Lee County, thereby increasing the potential of the off-island development sites. Lee County Attorney Michael Jacob and Community Development Section Manager Mikki Rozdolski will explain the Greater Pine Island Transferable Development Rights (TDR) Program at the Real Estate Investment Society (REIS) Tuesday, July 12 luncheon. The meeting will begin at 11:45 a.m. in the Magnolia Room at Pelican Preserve's Town Center, on Treeline Avenue at Colonial Boulevard, one mile east of Interstate 75, Exit 136 in Fort Myers. Admission: $30 for members; $40 for guests, which includes lunch. Reservations may be made at the REIS website: www.reis-swfl.org.

Property purchased

Oakbrook Properties Inc., a local owner and developer of residential and commercial real estate, purchased the 1,268-acre Bonita Grande mine property in Bonita Springs. The sale closed July 1. The terms were not disclosed. The property, which has operated as an active limestone mine since the late 1980s, was annexed into the city of Bonita Springs in 2003. More than 370 acres are protected under a permanent conservation easement, with another 400-plus acres in large freshwater lakes from the mining operations. For four decades, Oakbrook Properties has participated in the master-planning and development of many of the area's most successful developments in Estero and Bonita Springs, including Lee County's first gated planned community, Spanish Wells, as well as The Brooks and Coconut Point which includes the Simon Town Center, Hertz Global headquarters, and Lee Memorial Health System's new Healthcare Village.

Service center completed

Owen-Ames-Kimball Co. (O-A-K), a Fort Myers-based construction contracting and management company, has completed the Sam Galloway Ford Service Center renovations. The project included renovations to the interior of the existing service building, as well as a remodel of the center's service drive. The project encompassed renovations to the service center's waiting area, restrooms, car rental booth, concierge, hospitality, business development and cashiers areas. The service drive-thru area underwent a variety of improvements, including demolition of the existing service writers' kiosk and construction of new service writers' booths, installation of porcelain tile on the service drive and replacement of existing grid ceiling with new stucco ceiling and LED light fixtures. The O-A-K team on the Sam Galloway Ford Service Center project included Abrie Spies as project manager and Rick Gutkneckt as superintendent.

Program completed

Seventeen members of Stevens Construction's management team completed ICRA (Infection Control Risk Assessment) certificate training, a hospital educational program for contractors and health care engineers. Presented by health care hygiene consultants, Oncore Inc., the ICRA training involved identifying infection risks associated with health care construction and improving hospital compliance. Program curriculum also included development of risk assessment documents, risk monitoring tools and review of common practices. The following Stevens Construction team members completed the course on June 17: Norm Nobles, Wilmer Granera, Sergio Granera, Elmer Juarez, Manuel Castillo, Angel Merced, Alexander Reyes, Joel Estrada, Noberto Cisneros, Enrique Granera, Dennis Simo, Sam Lane, JJ Slaugh, Scott Wells, Ben Perry, Tom Dyer and Troy Hernly.

CoolAir, Ferguson Enterprises team up

On June 23, Lee BIA (Building Industry Association) Builders Care surprised a local veteran and cancer survivor, Margit Fagan, with a new air-conditioning unit with the help of CoolAir Air Conditioning and Heating and Ferguson Enterprises. The new unit will aid in Margit Fagan's overall health and keep her home cool during the warm summer months. To the Fagans' surprise, team members of CoolAir Air Conditioning and Heating and Ferguson Enterprises marched down the street with trucks full of materials to surprise the couple. The failing unit was replaced with a three-ton American Standard unit, consumer rated No. 1 most reliable product. A Honeywell Thermostat Vision Pro 8000 with a handheld remote was also donated.

Transactions

Investment Properties Corp. (IPC) negotiated this deal:

Cell Phone Repair of SWFL LLC leased 1,200 square feet from Kite Eagle Creek, LLC at Shops at Eagle Creek. Rob Carroll of IPC and Joshlyn Steele of Kite Realty negotiated this transaction.
They're like ninjas.

Or stealth planes.

Or maybe they're just folks wanting to dabble in politics for a few weeks.

However you view them, a handful of last-minute write-in candidates have roiled the state legislative races in Southwest Florida.

Similar candidates have entered nearly two-dozen races for the state House and Senate elsewhere in the state, leading to calls to change the law that allows the slightest political exertion to close a race to thousands of voters who otherwise would be allowed to cast a ballot.

Their origins are as mysterious as their campaign platforms. Neither party nor any of the affected candidates claim responsibility for them getting in the race.

Yet their presence is so ubiquitous across the state in districts dominated by both Republicans and Democrats that it's hard to believe their presence is just happenstance.

Write-in candidates have closed Aug. 30 votes in Republican primary races that would have been open to Democrats and independents in Southwest Florida's state Senate districts 27 and 28, covering most of Lee and Collier counties, and state House districts 80 and 106 taking in much of Collier County.

None of the candidates has raised any money or put up a campaign website. Calls to the phone numbers listed on qualifying documents went unanswered, messages unreturned.

The particulars of their individual paperwork raise more questions than answers about their motives for running.

For example, in the Senate District 28 race pitting Republican state Rep. Matt Hudson against Rep. Kathleen Passidomo, two write-in candidates filed in the days before the June 24 deadline.

MaryKathryn Johnson lists a St. Petersburg address, is using a Melbourne bank account as her campaign repository and has a phone number with the iconic 321 Space Coast area code. Yet she's running to represent coastal Collier and Lee counties.

Raymond Mazzie, the other write-in for Senate District 28, lives in Tallahassee, where he is a full-time student. He also lists a 321 area code.

Closing the primary to Democrats and independents would tend to favor the more liberal of the two Republicans in a race but Passidomo and Hudson are both trying to out-conservative the other. "Matt and I have similar voting records. The main thing that distinguishes us is our personalities. How do you quantify that?" Passidomo said.

Some party candidates might see an advantage to stretching an election out past August to raise money and have their name appear on the November ballot, when the likely one-sided race with the write-in will be decided. Passidomo doesn't agree. "I'd like it to be over after the primary. Then I can start working on legislation. From a practical standpoint, there's a lot of things I'd like to do."

Passidomo says she doesn't know either of the write-ins or why they got into the race. But, she says, she favors open primaries. "The bottom line is, I think the system needs to be changed," she said.

In the House District 106 race, Connor Maguire, a Publix employee who lives in Golden Gate Estates, filed as a write-in at 11:14 a.m. on June 24, 46 minutes before the deadline. That closed the three-way race between Republicans Nick Ballo, Lavigne Kirkpatrick and Bob Rommel to non-Republicans.

At that same exact time, Anthony Cetrangelo Jr., a Naples attorney, filed papers to run for House District 80, closing the contest between Republicans Joe Davidow and Byron Donalds.

Donalds and Davidow take decidedly different views of the filing.

The fact that the papers of two write-in candidates for different seats were delivered to the Secretary of State in Tallahassee at the exact moment is suspicious, Davidow said.

"They both appear to be political novices. The concept that there isn't some sort of collusion is highly unlikely," Davidow said.

Donalds enjoys solid name recognition among tea party conservatives, having made a strong showing in Collier County in a 2012 run for Congress. His wife, Erika, is a school board member often at odds with left-leaning groups such as the teacher's union.

Davidow thinks the exclusion of Democrats and independents will benefit Donalds. "It changes the nature of the election," he said.

Donalds said he doesn't know Maguire or Cetrangelo and played no role in their candidacies.

"From my perspective, it looks like one of my opponents is just screaming bloody murder because he's losing. This time of year there's always something going on. It's politics," he said.

He doesn't want the presence of write-in candidates to take his attention from the campaign. "We're doing everything we're supposed to be doing, focusing on voters," Donalds said.

If the same person turned in both sets of paperwork, it would offer a clue as to who, if anyone, is behind the stealth candidates.

But Mark Ard, communications manager with the Secretary of State, says election workers don't keep a log of who brings in qualifying documents. "We do not track that," he said.

Ballo, who ran for the Collier County School Board in 2006 while still a student at Naples High, thinks the closed primary will hurt his chances. "Everyone is running far to the right but the people far to the right don't make up the majority in Southwest Florida," Ballo said.

Rommel was philosophical when he learned of the write-in candidate. "It just makes me work harder," he said.

Kirkpatrick, like Davidow, thinks there's more to it.

"It's kind of odd, to be honest with you," she said. "Why would these two gentlemen do this? It doesn't make sense."

Closed primaries are fine when it's a matter of a party picking its nominee for office, Kirkpatrick believes. But when only one party fields candidates, the race amounts to picking a representative for the district. Then all voters should have a say, Kirkpatrick said. "We've disenfranchised 50 percent of the voters and that's wrong," she said.

Max Steele, spokesman for the Florida Democratic Party, said the party doesn't encourage or facilitate write-in candidates as a way of closing primaries to non-Democrats. About 10 Democratic primaries for state Legislature have been closed by write-ins this year.

Individual candidates may see an advantage to running in a closed primary and enlist a write-in to give them an advantage, he said.

Similarly, Mike Lyster, chairman of the Collier County Republican Party, said the state party doesn't have a policy or practice of recruiting write-ins.

Lyster makes no secret of the fact that he prefers closed primaries, but said the state or local party didn't play a role in getting the write-ins into the legislative races.

In the Senate District 27 race between Republicans Lizbeth Benacquisto and Jason Maughan, Cape Coral write-in Dakota Austin Eads' participation blocks Democrats and independents from voting.

Like all the other area write-ins except Johnson, who has no party affiliation, Eads is registered as a Republican.

Curiouser and Curiouser.

(Connect with Brent Batten at brent.batten@naplesnews.com, on Twitter@NDN_BrentBatten and at facebook.com/ndnbrentbatten)
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Have you ever asked yourself if you live in paradise why leave for vacation? Many people dont. Weve all heard the term staycation. In this edition of Behind the Headlines, we are sharing ideas to help you do Southwest Florida like a tourist.

Behind the Headlines airs at 10 a.m. Sundays on ABC-7. Learn more about the program at naplesnews.com/headlines.
Surterra Therapeutics Cultivation Manager Wes Conner walks through one of the rooms within the company's 6,000-square-foot facility where marijuana plants are in their initial stages of growth. (Joe Rondone/Democrat)

SHARE Surterra Therapeutics Cultivation Manager Wes Conner holds a 441-gram bag of harvested marijuana buds, which according to Surterra, is the first of it's kind to be harvested in Florida under the new medical regulations passed in 2014 and 2016. (Joe Rondone/Democrat) Surterra Therapeutics officials lead a tour through one of the rooms within the company's 6,000-square-foot facility where marijuana plants are in their initial stages of growth. (Joe Rondone/Democrat) Susan Driscoll, president of Surterra Therapeutics, stands inside their 6,000-square-foot indoor growing facility where they have begun harvesting their marijuana crop to produce a high cannabidiol (CBD), low tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) Cannabis extract. (Joe Rondone/Democrat) Marijuana plants in their initial stages of growth are cultivated in one of the rooms within Surterra Therapeutics 6,000-square-foot facility. (Joe Rondone/Democrat)

By Frank Gluck, The News-Press

TALLAHASSEE  Florida's first legal harvest of marijuana is stored in multiple vacuum-packed, 441-gram bags in a freezer on the outskirts of Tallahassee.

Each is the result of months of careful growing, monitoring, coaxing and cultivating scores of plants in a hidden farm overseen by horticulturalists and protected by armed guards.

This is one of two production facilities operated by Surterra Therapeutics, the first of six companies to win state approval to grow and harvest medical marijuana for the seriously ill and dying.

It is part pharmaceutical production facility, part grow house. Its operators say it is just the start of new business they hope will bring high-quality, and formerly unavailable, medicine to patients who need it the most.

"This is a mindset transformation in the treatment of patients, probably tens of thousands of patients whose symptoms are not completely relieved right now," said Dr. Joseph Dorn, Surterra's medical director.

Florida law allows two types of medical marijuana: noneuphoric strains, such as "Charlotte's Web" that is thought to help control seizures, and full-strength marijuana to alleviate pain, nausea and other symptoms for terminally ill patients.

Since Surterra won approval to harvest last month, Florida has allowed four other companies to do the same.

Such businesses are poised to expand considerably if the required 60 percent of voters in November cast "yes" ballots for Amendment 2, which would legalize full-strength marijuana for an estimated 450,000 Floridians with debilitating illnesses.

The Atlanta-based Surterra operates a 6,000-square-foot facility in rural Tallahassee to grow the noneuphoric strain; another slightly smaller facility outside Tampa grows the full-strength variety. Each is expected to supply medicine for 2,000 to 4,000 patients per month.

"Surterra's key thing is producing a consistent, high-quality, safe product," said Susan Driscoll, the company's president. "It's for people who are sick."

Surterra's Tallahassee grow operation is housed in a windowless structure in a sparsely populated, rural area. The building is under 24/7 video surveillance and is surrounded by a chain-link fence with barbed wire.

The facility can't be seen from the main road, and no signs announce its presence.

Each plant, and anything harvested or discarded, is weighed and tracked by individual bar code.

"Nobody can slide away with it," Driscoll said. He motioned to the pockets in the protective jumpsuit workers are required to wear: "In fact, these are sewn together."

It's a lot of expense and effort for marijuana that would be useless to most would-be recreational smokers.

This high-cannabidiol, low-tetrahydrocannabinol cannabis does not produce the high typical of recreational marijuana.

"You'd probably just get a headache," Driscoll said.

Matthew Hunter, a 33-year-old Jacksonville man with stage 4 esophageal cancer, wants to be among the first to benefit from the newly available strains.

Hunter started his third round of chemotherapy last week and hopes marijuana can help alleviate the resulting nausea and pain. Other drugs have not helped, he said.

"My understanding is that it has some benefits during the chemotherapy process, which is pretty rough," Hunter said. "If it's something that can be regulated and administered by a doctor, I just don't see why that wouldn't be the best route to go."

Four physicians in Lee, Collier and Charlotte counties have received approval to order marijuana for patients.

Dr. Paul Arnold, a Cape Coral physician, said he has no patients who would qualify. But he said he regularly fields calls from interested patients.

"It's coming down the path of things available to a physician to treat pain, uncontrollable seizures," he said. "And apparently it's effective. So I wanted to be able to do it, of course."

Each of the plants must go through differing, highly controlled stages of growth to properly bloom the flowers that are the main source of marijuana's potency.

They are all born from "mother plants," whose clippings take root over the course of two weeks in small pots.

Young, newly rooted plants are moved to progressively larger pots and left to grow for about a month in a room that is brightly lit for 18 hours a day to encourage growth.

They then move to one of two "flower rooms," each housing about 200 plants, for the next two months. Here, the smell of fresh marijuana is overwhelming. They are exposed to a yellow-hued light and more darkness (about 12 hours), meant to mimic the changing seasons. This is what encourages the flowers to develop.

"You're kind of artificially messing with their grow cycles a bit," said Wes Conner, cultivation manager at the facility.

Harvested product is taken to another room, where it is dried and ground. Workers then vacuum seal it and stick it in a freezer.

Smoking marijuana for any reason remains illegal in Florida. So all of this harvest will eventually be processed into cannabis oils, sprays, balms and capsules that are expected to be ready to ship next month.

Though marijuana remains illegal under federal law, 25 states, the District of Columbia and Guam allow comprehensive marijuana use for medical purposes, and several others are considering it this year, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Another 17, including Florida, allow for more limited medical marijuana use.

Recreational marijuana use is allowed in Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Alaska and the District of Columbia.

With such a regulatory patchwork, running a marijuana production and distribution operation in Florida comes with some unique logistical challenges, Surterra officials say.

Simple things for most businesses, such as insuring vehicles used to transport the product, cost 10 times what they normally would, Driscoll said.

Employee background checks require extra scrutiny. And Surterra is still meeting with several banks to make sure they won't have difficulty in depositing earnings, a problem some marijuana businesses have had in states like Colorado.

Driscoll praised Florida's approach to medical marijuana.

"This is a state that we thought was taking the medical part of it very seriously," she said. "Whereas a lot of the states are 'wink-wink' medical or recreational. And that was something that we were not interested in. We wanted to go where we could really focus on the medical parts about it."
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Letters to the editor:

Monday, July 11, 2016

Don Richmond, Naples Co-founder Ayn Rand Society for Individual Rights of Naples

Meaning of July 4

Every Independence Day, we hear about the unselfishness and sacrifices of the founders. Wrong! Their actions were extremely selfish and non-sacrificial.

Selfishness means "concern for one's own interest" (Ayn Rand). Rand further explained that selfishness, i.e. rational selfishness, is to attain and keep "the values required for human survival," not the immediate physical survival of a brute, but the life of a civilized human being.

The Revolutionaries were willing to risk their lives and fortunes to be able to pursue the values required for a proper human existence. This was not a sacrifice, but a rational commitment to their most important values. To sacrifice is to "surrender a greater value for the sake of a lesser one" (Rand). To risk one's life for freedom is to seek a much greater value than mere existence under a tyranny. It is a sacrifice only if one prefers to live under a tyranny.

The founders recognized that a proper human survival, i.e. civilization, is only possible under a government that protects the rights of all citizens. In Rand's words, "a 'right' is a moral principle defining and sanctioning a man's freedom of action in a social context." "All men are created equal" means that everyone, by their nature, has equal rights to life, liberty, property and the pursuit of happiness. If anyone's rights are not protected, no one's are.

It is the failure to correctly grasp the concepts of selfishness, sacrifice and rights that are destroying what the founders established. For a fuller explanation of the proper meanings of selfishness, sacrifice and rights and the crucial importance of understanding them, read Rand's book "The Virtue of Selfishness."

Hy Bershad, Naples

Exceptional

We are indeed an exceptional country. Compared to European countries, where their health care costs are less than half our costs  and where their outcomes are better by having longer life expectancies and lower infant mortality rates, we strongly believe that we are still the best. Not simply in health care, but in everything.

The New York Times published a chart on June 14 showing the gun death rate in European countries and in the U.S. Not surprisingly, they calculated that with equal populations, the death rate/per day from guns ranged from less than one to five per day for every country in Europe, while in the United States, the gun death rate was about 27 per day. We are indeed exceptional and very obviously cannot learn anything from our European friends.

Anne Hartley, Naples

Take action

Florida voters have an opportunity now to influence state laws that govern education. One education issue upon which all agree is the need to reduce standardized testing.

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) (www.ed.gov/essa) is a federal law that gives states more control. The Florida Department of Education invites input and guidance from the public until Aug. 1.

Our first public comment should be to ask for roundtable dialogues among stakeholders to discuss our existing system and offer suggestions for improvement. Email that request to ESSA@fldoe.org.

At the Florida Department of Education website, the public can suggest specific changes with respect to: 1. Challenging State Academic Standards. 2. Academic Assessments. 3. State Assessment Grants. 4. Statewide Accountability System. 5. School Improvement. 6. School Support and Improvement Activities. 7. Direct Student Services. 8. General Comments by Title of the Act (Titles I-VIII). 9. U.S. DOE Draft Regulations on Accountability, State Plans and Data Reporting.

Let's insist that test scores be removed from teacher evaluations so the district can drop the district-level end-of-course exams. Let's stop using school grades and instead look at a set of progress indicators.

Stop complaining and take action. Suggest constructive changes at www.fldoe.org/academics/essa.stml.

Elect candidates who will mobilize all constituents to effect constructive change. Stephanie Lucarelli recommended lobbying the state regarding ESSA at a recent forum. Come listen to Stephanie Lucarelli and Erick Carter at an upcoming forum:

July 11, 6:45 p.m., Golden Gate Community Center, 4701 Golden Gate Parkway (straw poll).

July 12, 6 p.m., Jewish Congregation of Marco Island, 991 Winterberry Drive.

July 14, 6:15 p.m., First Baptist Church, 3000 Orange Blossom Drive. (straw poll)

Alina Valdes, Pembroke Pines

Trump

Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president of the United States, has delusions of grandeur and an exaggerated ego to go along with his insecurities.

He belittles others to give himself a sense of superiority that could only come from a man with no moral compass. Trump was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and has taken advantage of people he finds inferior by calling them names and then saying how wonderful he treats Hispanics because he has employed so many.

His hatred of anything not white, male and straight has been broadcast time after time for all to hear, yet he has his "uneducated" sheeple following him and believing he can do all that he says. His Trump Hotel in Doral, the same city with a large population of Venezuelans, is now in foreclosure.

He has stiffed many workers and contractors by underpaying or not paying them. This is the same man who claims to be worth $10 billion but refuses to show his tax returns. My suspicion is that if he does, it will show him to be what we know he is and that he has probably never paid taxes using loopholes to get out of his civic responsibility.

This is one of the best examples of corporate welfare, which continues to plague our American democracy. In spite of all this, the incumbent Republican in Florida's Congressional District 25, a Cuban-American representing a large Latino population, has stated that he will vote for Trump. The mere thought of supporting a man for president with such hateful rhetoric against your own people should be evidence enough that Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart is part of the problem and I am the solution.

Alina Valdes is a candidate for U.S. House, District 25

Gwen Baker, Marco Island

In agreement

I wholeheartedly agree with Gordon Skrede's recent letter regarding abortion in America.

What have we become? How can doctors and nurses go to work in the morning, knowing they will be killing the unborn and how can they feel good about themselves when they go home at night?

There is so much birth control available, why aren't funds spent on handing these out free or inexpensively or to assist adoption agencies instead of killing babies as a means of birth control.

Supreme Court Justice's Ruth Ginsberg's statement that abortion is actually safer than childbirth made me sick to my stomach. Certainly not safer for the unborn child!

Jeff Hartzler, Marco Island

Dixon courageous

The newly formed Coalition for Quality Public Education (C4QPE) recently held a School Board candidate forum. Despite the fact that board members of C4QPE, Beth Povlow and Norine Hemping, have publicly and financially supported his opponent, Lee Dixon chose to participate in the forum.

Although the C4QPE's stated mission is "to represent all stakeholders in public education, and not place one group above all others," one board member has told the Collier Democrat Club the group was formed to stop "extremists" on the School Board. I hardly think that the junior members of the board, who are highly educated professionals, not to mention the parents of students attending Collier County Public Schools, deserve to be labeled "extremists."

But why would Dixon attend a forum sponsored by an organization that openly supports his opponent? The answer is simple. Dixon is courageous. He is willing to face the voters and defend his positions on important issues, regardless of the venue or the sponsoring organization's bias. Unfortunately, candidate Erick Carter hasn't displayed this same courage. In fact, he has abandoned the voters at two other forums sponsored by the Florida Citizens Alliance. After Carter failed to attend the first Alliance candidate forum, his excuse was that he was only going to participate in the major forums. After he blew off the voters at the second Alliance forum, Carter said it was because the Alliance was biased against him. That's two unexcused absences for Carter.

The Collier County School Board needs more courageous leaders. Vote Lee Dixon on Aug. 30.

Don Heflin, Naples

Entertaining

I recently was entertained at the Sudgen Theatre on Seventh Street South and Fifth Avenue South in Naples.

What a show it was. Every square foot of floor space was filled with feet, almost the entire two-plus hours, singing and dancing.

I have seen many live shows from Sacramento, San Jose, Santa Barbara, Lexington, Kentucky, etc., and none exceeded this performance.

I started seeing their shows when they were over on Goodlette-Frank Road where Bayfront is now. Go see it.

My heartfelt thanks to everyone involved.

Robert P. Sanchez, Naples

Fear

Fear is not just another "four-letter word." It is in fact a powerful term laden with meaning and evocative of all manner of implications in our lives.

Starting with "fear of God" we can define the word in positive ways, indeed, making it into an attribute. After all, isn't fear of the Lord a motivator for moral behavior?

Lacking such fear has consequences, chief of which would presumably be eternal damnation. So fear can be a blessing. Right?

But that is not the only definition of fear. We increasingly hear the word used in context with our response to threats to our well-being. Creating a sense of fear is used often as an instrument to affect behavior, to force conformity to the will of others.

Just look at the changes that fear of terrorism has brought about in our day-to-day lives.

Metal detectors and restricted access appear wherever we gather. Overreaction to a careless word or action can quickly lead to a tension-filled confrontation. Failure to observe "political correctness," no matter how innocently committed, can escalate to everything from lawsuits to shattered friendships.

What has happened to the respect for a fair difference of opinion? Civil and hopefully temperate debate has fallen victim to the perceived need for a hotheaded rejoinder that creates much heat and little light. Much of this stems from the fear of losing stature and is driven by inflated egos and super-sensitive nerve endings.

How about taking the time and making the effort to think through how to best respond to fear-inducing challenges?

Ray Marasco, Naples

Great show

I just saw a Broadway show for $40! It was at the Sugden Theater in Naples and "Catch Me If You Can" was the best play put on by The Naples Players in a long time.

The dancing and singing were top-notch. Costumes were superb with some of the 40 cast members having eight changes during the show.

The story is about a real con artist traveling the world writing bad checks. There is much humor and some sadness in the play but an outstanding performance will be appreciated by all. This is a must-see as a standing ovation occurs with each play. In fact I purchased tickets to see it again.

Carl Wassmer, Naples

Hobby Lobby

While reading your July 4 edition, I came upon page 9A, which was described as an advertisement.

The headline reads "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord," Psalm 33:12.

This article puts forth many quotes, including those from our "founding fathers," quotes from five U.S. presidents, from four U.S. Supreme Court justices and opinions from foreign notables all proclaiming God's blessing on our nation.

This page exemplifies how blessed are we to live in a nation where "freedom of religion" is one, if not the best, of our assets.

This was a full-page "advertisement" exemplifying the blessings, with which we in the U.S. are endowed.

It took me a while to find who sponsored this article for I had to go to the very last line of this full-page advertisement to see, in small print, the sponsor.

In very small letters I finally found Hobby Lobby.

Thank you, Hobby Lobby.

K. Olson, Naples

Shooting them off

We always attend the Fourth of July parade and enjoy the variety of participants. After the horrendous year of violence with guns, we were hoping the military would not be shooting off the loud "pretend" bullets.

The noise is deafening for adults, children and pets and reminiscent of all the bad events of late. Hopefully next year, the parade can celebrate our nation with patriotism in all ways that don't involve guns.

John Thomas, Naples

Guns

I just read a first-person account of the mass shooting in Orlando. He went into a crowded club and shot more than 100 people.

The picture that keeps playing over and over in my mind is a video game I saw a 12-year-old boy playing recently, where many targets came available and he gleefully blasted away.

We are raising a generation of youths who have no more concern or compassion for others, (and it's great fun to kill) than do the neglected young people of the Middle East. Why should they have any morals or scruples about shooting and blowing people up? Daddy and granddaddy have been doing it their entire lives.

Gun-rights activist Larry Pratt, executive director of the Gun Owners of America, (they think the NRA is too timid!) is calling for bars to limit the consumption of alcohol so that there will be fewer problems when people carry guns into bars. Yes, you read that correctly.

Back in the early '70s, Archie Bunker's idea to handle airplane hijacking was to hand out a pistol to every passenger when they embarked, and collect them when they got off. I thought that was funny, but to today's gun enthusiast, it makes good sense.
Ralph Maccarone: Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award finalist Meet Ralph Maccarone and his cause, Who We Play For. Ralph is one of four finalists chosen for the Betty Jane France Humanitarian award for his dedication to helping children.
Vaccine intimidation and force shows what vaccines are really all about

You are not born deficient in vaccine chemicals

(NaturalNews) A nurse from northern Morocco recently refused to administer a large amount of vaccines to children at the Rural Health Center in Al Hoceima. The nurse stopped administering the injections because she was concerned that the lots had expired and would cause further medical complications for the children. In fact, the vaccines in question had been stored in an unsuitable environment. The vaccines were not handled properly, and over heated to 18 degrees Celsius, which is 10 degrees above the legal limit. This temperature change most likely rendered the vaccines even more dangerous than what they already were. This nurse did the right thing and kept the injections out of the children.But, instead of being praised for preventing medical complications , this nurse was suspended from her job. The nurse, Azzahra Al Fiafi, is also being required to report to a disciplinary committee where she may face punishment.On June 16th and on June 20th, Azzahra Al Fiafi wrote two letters, notifying public officials about the potentially contaminated vaccines. The letters were ignored, and her supervisors verbally ordered her to use the vaccines. Azzahra Al Fiafi stood strong in her conscience and refused to inject children with the expired vaccines, fearing further medical problems. In an attempt to silence her, officials have accused her of disclosing confidential professional information and are threatening to have her punished.Vaccine intimidation and force is a growing problem throughout the world, as authorities feel compelled to push filthy injections on unsuspecting and trusting populations. All drugs, especially mass produced vaccines, should be met with skepticism, mistrust and scientific scrutiny . When these injections are ordered with force and without transparency, there should rightfully be resistance. In the case of Azzahra Al Fiafi, the intimidation against her was blatant, and should serve as a reminder to everyone what vaccines are really all about: enforcing compliance. Vaccines today are used to instill subservient behavior in the population, to make people fearful of asking questions so that they will always accept whatever they are told.Historically, this is exactly how psychopaths have gotten away with mass murder. Vaccines are a perfect method for psychopaths to do whatever they want to people, whether by exposing them to cancer-causing viruses , or by destroying their cognitive abilities using common vaccine ingredients like aluminum and thimerosal It's no laughing matter; in fact, it's something to take very seriously. Every single person who is born is not deficient in vaccines, as we are led to believe. The human immune system works based on the fundamentals of nutrition bestowed from the earth and accessible to all. There's no need to retrain children's immune systems with multiple doses of vaccines that can cause autoimmune reactions and nervous system disorders. Any attempt to control pathogens through vaccine injection methodology ultimately destroys the human body's innate ability to adapt to its environment and build immunity on its own. With the proper nutritive instructions, a body can overcome and build lifelong immunity to measles, mumps, chickenpox, rotavirus, flu and other pathogens it may face.It's a violation of human rights when governments such as California's forcefully require children to submit to vaccines for these simple viruses. Powerful plant nutrients, like the chlorophyll in spirulina or the curcumin in turmeric strengthen the body's ability to adapt to its surroundings. The basic vitamins, such as A, Bs, C and D, obtained from natural sources, and utilized properly in the body, are an incredible arsenal to help anyone overcome pathogenic infections.The most courageous souls of our time, who are willing to say NO and protect children from tainted vaccines, should be applauded. The improvement of natural immunology should be welcomed, not criminalized. Always question the medical system. Never react out of fear.
Students react positively to program

Even if zombies don't come, being prepared is still vital

(NaturalNews) You never know when the zombie apocalypse might strike , so it's a good thing that the Pentagon is training military nurses how to respond in such a situation.At the Uniformed Services University of the Healthcare Sciences, military nursing students are required to take a population health course to earn a family nurse practitioner doctorate. The online population health course in this program has students working through a number of creative scenarios, one of which is a zombie pandemic.In the imaginary scenario, students must use their knowledge to quarantine people, administer vaccines and make use of international resources in accordance with actual Department of Defense guidelines. The DoD says that the program serves as a creative way to keep students engaged and make the material more memorable.In the course, students are shown video clips outlining different zombie apocalypse scenarios. In one, a fictitious president delivers a "State of the Zombie Pandemic" address, while others show the impact that the zombie virus has had on the imaginary population, right down to realistic anti-zombie posters strewn about the streets.While some people might find the idea of training nurses to administer vaccines on a wide-scale unsettling, educators believe it's a crucial skill right now.Catherine Ling, assistant professor and family nurse practitioner for the PhD and DNP programs at USU's Daniel K. Inouye Graduate School of Nursing, says that the global increase in antibiotic resistance is one reason this skill is necessary. She also points to pandemics like Zika and Ebola as examples of situations for which this type of training is useful.Ling says that the course allows students to use "the other side of their brain," fostering critical thinking and problem-solving skills, while allowing them to think creatively.The program seems to be well-received by students. Air Force Captain Marcie Hart, who also considers herself a fan of, told thethat she felt the videos had been done tastefully, and that it was a fun and wonderful twist to the course.She added that the "infected" could be cured later on in the scenario, which made it less violent than it might sound.Using this type of fictional scenario for training is not a new concept. For example,reported in 2012 that a counter-terrorism program attended by 1,000 participants from military, law enforcement and medicine, would use a zombie apocalypse scenario for training. The idea was to challenge authorities as they responded to real-world conditions where people could become crazed and violent. Zombies also feature in a comic book produced by the CDC While a zombie apocalypse seems pretty unlikely, other scenarios have a disturbingly reasonable chance of one day occurring, such as a solar flare or EMP attack. These fictional zombie scenarios underscore just how important it is for people to be prepared for pandemics, natural disasters and other emergencies. Right now, we are living in dangerous times, where civil unrest and social chaos are very real possibilities, and you can never rule out natural disasters.Building up a supply of storable food is one of the most basic steps of preparedness that you can take. However, it's not quite as easy as just filling up your cabinet with canned goods. You'll want to find foods that are free of chemicals and GMOs, like the Health Ranger Organic Emergency Survival Food Buckets . The best choices for survival food will contain real nutrients in the form of whole foods to ensure you get plenty of protein, fiber and minerals. After all, you'll need to be strong, alert and healthy to fight off those zombies!
Evidence of what appears to be water clouds was found on the coldest object outside the Solar System.

WISE 0855 was discovered in 2014 is known as the brown dwarf. Brown dwarfs are failed stars that were formed the same way as stars but lacks the physical compositions for it to shine.

The coldest known brown dwarf or failed star has been discovered, and it looks like it's shrouded in clouds of water. pic.twitter.com/2CZWQYt7UU  Science WTF (@ScienceWTF) August 31, 2014

WISE 0855 is the coldest object outside the Solar System at 7.2 light-years away from Earth. The conditions within the brown dwarf are comparable to that of Jupiter and yet there is strong evidence that suggests water clouds exists on WISE 0855.

Researchers and astronomers from UC Santa Cruz conducted a study by using an infrared spectrum of WISE 0855 using the Gemini North telescope in Hawaii. The spectrum provided the astronomers with the data regarding the composition and chemistry of the WISE 0855. Its water clouds are the first spotted outside the Solar System. "We would expect an object that cold to have water clouds, and this is the best evidence that it does," Andrew Skemer, assistant professor of astronomy and astrophysics said in a statement published by Daily Mail.

The study was published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. The astronomers said that although the brown dwarf is too faint to be observed, obtaining data from it is not impossible. "It's five times fainter than any other object detected with ground-based spectroscopy at this wavelength," Skemer said in a statement. "Our spectrum shows that WISE 0855 is dominated by water vapor and clouds, with an overall appearance that is strikingly similar to Jupiter," Skemer added.

To study the brown star a broader wavelength than the conventional spectroscopy at optical wavelengths was used. The similar characteristics of WISE 0855 and Jupiter made astronomers hopeful that they could now study the coldest object, almost the same as Jupiter, but outside the Solar System.

Astronomers will continue to study the water clouds found outside the Solar System and how they formed within the coldest environment in their host object.
The doomed Japanese spacecraft "Hitomi" still managed to deliver valuable science when it documented hot winds from a galaxy cluster before it died in space.

#Hitomi observed Perseus cluster (brightest X-ray source in extragalactic sky) one week after launch, before altitude anomaly! #head16  AAS High Energy (@AAS_HEAD) April 5, 2016

The hot winds of stirring gas within a galaxy cluster are an ingredient of a supermassive black hole formation. The stirring process keeps the star formation at the minimum. The new findings from the doomed spacecraft will help scientists answer the question as to why very few stars are formed in clusters composed of hundreds or thousands of galaxies.

"We already knew that supermassive black holes, which are found at the center of all galaxy clusters and are tens of billions of times more massive than the sun, could play a major role in keeping the gas from cooling by somehow injecting energy into it," Norbert Werner, a research associate at Stanford University said in a statement. "Now we understand this mechanism better and see that there is just the right amount of stirring motion to produce enough heat," Werner added.

The Hitomi X-ray observatory didn't last for a very long time after the rocket carrying it suffered a glitch that sent Hitomi into a crazy spin damaging the equipment. But before it happened, astronomers were able to use it to peek at a galaxy cluster Perseus, according to Sky and Telescope.

The study from the analyzed Hitomi data was published in Nature. "It was very exciting to get the science, but it's devastating to lose the spacecraft," Andrew Fabian, director of the Institute of Astronomy at the University of Cambridge said in an interview with the Verge. "It feels like a door was opened and we can see through it and then immediately the door is slammed shut," Fabian added.

Prior to its death, Hitomi is observing X-rays from Perseus cluster, including the hot gasses between galaxies. In the center of the clusters is a supermassive black hole that interacts with the gasses from the clusters. This is what expert call "black hole feedback" that keeps the gasses hot. It was thought that there exists a turbulent process but Hitomi's findings proved otherwise.

Hitomi's soft X-ray spectrometer's precision was praised by Fabian and he hopes that this finding will inspire developers and the Japan Space Agency (JAXA) to create another spacecraft with the same features as Hitomi to continue the study that the doomed observatory started.
The search for life is now pointed towards Saturn's moon, Titan. A Recent study suggests that the moon holds the right chemistry to hold life

There have been a lot of theories suggesting that the most conducive to life are Jupiter's moon Europa and Saturn's moon, Titan. But today, astronomers and scientists are looking more closely at Titan since a study was conducted and it was revealed that the chemical composition found on Saturn's moon might indeed breed life.

Titan, as the name suggests, is Saturn's second largest moon. NASA considered it as one of the Earth-like bodies due to its dense atmosphere and river-like structures full of methane. But the gravity on Titan is said to be weaker than the moon.

The recent study that supports the claim of Titan's chemical properties was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study suggests that the prebiotic chemical conditions in Titan are the same chemicals found on Earth able to build life.

"We are used to our own conditions here on Earth. Our scientific experience is at room temperature and ambient conditions. Titan is a completely different beast," Martin Rahm, author of the new study said in a statement published by Washington Post. "So if we think in biological terms, we're probably going to be at a dead end," Rahm added.

Hydrogen Cyanide was found in the atmosphere of Titan that can produce polyimine. Polyimine can shift to a form that enables the atmosphere to absorb light and energy to pass through despite the cold, according to ScienceRecorder.

Titan is too cold for liquid water to exist, but if polyimine found on its atmosphere could indeed allow light to pass through, then it's a different story. This prompted researchers to look at life-giving chemical reactions that can potentially host life on Titan. "We are postulating that the polymers form on the surface of Titan from hydrogen cyanide that has sedimented out after being made in the atmosphere," Professor Jonathan Lunine from Cornell University in New York said in an interview with Daily Mail.

Due to the coldness of Titan, researchers are looking at a new prebiotic condition where non-water-based life might exist in conditions present on Titan today.
Extending Dawn's mission to Ceres proved to be worth it as scientists, with the help of the spacecraft, identified shadowed regions where water ice accumulates on the dwarf planet.

Water ice on dwarf planet #Ceres? Permenantly shadowed area may have trapped it there: https://t.co/XXNtCcbWiChttps://t.co/WZWNTLHurQ  NASA (@NASA) July 8, 2016

Some areas in Ceres, located in the asteroid belt, are permanently "shadowed" and scientists have long been suggesting that the region is cold enough to trap water ice for billions of years. "The conditions on Ceres are right for accumulating deposits of water ice," Norbert Schorghofer, a Dawn guest investigator at the University of Hawaii said in a press release. "Ceres has just enough mass to hold on to water molecules, and the permanently shadowed regions we identified are extremely cold -- colder than most that exist on the moon or Mercury," Schorghofer added.

The regions where water ice is believed to accumulate don't receive direct sunlight. These are mostly found on crater floors or in hidden sections of the crater wall facing the pole. NASA believes that if the temperature stays below minus 240 degrees, then those places are a good area to find water ice collected for years. It is the first time these "cold traps" was distinctly identified.

In the study, images of Ceres' northern hemisphere, the more illuminated region, were combined to render the dwarf planet's shape in 3D. Dozens of permanently shadowed regions were discovered; the largest is inside a 10-mile-wide crater less than 40 miles from the north pole.

A total of 695 square miles of shadowed region was identified, less than one percent of the total surface area of Ceres' northern hemisphere. "On Ceres, these regions act as cold traps down to relatively low latitudes," Erwan Mazarico, Dawn guest investigator said in a statement. "On the moon and Mercury, only the permanently shadowed regions very close to the poles get cold enough for ice to be stable on the surface," Mazarico added.

Dawn recently completed its mission on the dwarf planet Ceres on June 30. Scientists proposed that Dawn utilized its remaining fuel by performing a flyby in another mysteries body, but NASA's Planetary Mission Senior Review Panel decided to extend Dawn's mission in Ceres instead.
An Escondido woman accused of filming the molestation of two girls in her care recently worked for an Oceanside youth care center where she passed a background check, the organization said Friday.

Brittney Lyon, 22, was arrested by Carlsbad Police following a tip police received July 5 from Oceanside Police.

Carlsbad Police say Lyon would take two 7-year-old girls she was babysitting to her boyfriend's relatives home in the Bressi Ranch Community where he allegedly molested them while she recorded the acts. One of the victims is a child with special needs.

"We had a 7-year-old female report to her mother that she didnt want to go to the babysitters, because the babysitter used to bring her over to Sams house," Carlsbad Police Lt. Marc Reno said.

Investigators say they uncovered video evidence when they executed two search warrants at the home on Greenhaven Drive, north of Poinsettia Lane and west of El Fuerte Street.

Lyon and her boyfriend, 22-year-old Samuel Cabrera, Jr. were arraigned Friday on eight felony counts that included conspiracy and lewd and lascivious conduct with a child under the age of fourteen. They could face up to 90 years in prison if convicted.

Lyon and Cabrera met in high school, and the alleged assaults started in January 2015, and happened repeatedly with the same two victims, for over a year. The special needs victim was incapable of communicating the details of the incident to her parents, officials said at the arraignment Friday.

Lyon worked at Mottino Family YMCA in Oceanside for six days before her arrest July 7. The YMCA of San Diego County told NBC 7 that Lyon cleared a background check before her employment.

Prior to the Oceanside location, Lyon worked at the Palomar Family YMCA in Escondido from May to August 2014.

The YMCA said it is working with Carlsbad Police in the investigation.

In a written statement, the YMCA added, we have no reason to believe any child in the care of the YMCA has been harmed by this individual.

Lyon has been placed on unpaid leave of absence until the investigation is complete.

Lyon advertised her services on Sitter.com, saying she was taking college classes online and had two years of experience as a special needs sitter.

A spokesperson for the website told NBC 7 they could not comment specifically on Lyon's profile but did say it had been removed from the site and that they were working with Carlsbad police.

Anyone can post a resume on Sitter.com. The website only does background checks when requested by users and for an additional fee.

Cabrera also had Lyon hide a video camera in her purse and record women undressing in gyms and dressing rooms, according to officials at the arraignment.

Both suspects have been booked into Vista Detention Facility. Bail for Lyon was set at $100,000 and bail for Cabrera was set at $2.3 million.

Investigators believe there may be more victims. Anyone who has further information is asked to call Carlsbad Police Departments tip line at (760) 931-2293.

The YMCA of San Diego County requires that all employees and volunteers complete Child Abuse Prevention training and sign a Code of Conduct statement.

Here is the statement in full:

The following is a statement from the YMCA of San Diego County regarding yesterdays announcement from the Carlsbad Police Department:

We strive to provide excellent service to the community through high quality safe and enjoyable programs and facilities. The safety of our children, staff and volunteers are of the utmost importance and our number one priority at any YMCA of San Diego County facility.

The YMCA of San Diego County received notification about the arrest of Brittney Lyon from the Carlsbad Police Department on July 7, 2016. We are actively working with the Carlsbad PD on this ongoing investigation and appreciate all they are doing with the disturbing allegations.

We can confirm that Brittney Lyon was employed with the Mottino Family YMCA in Oceanside for six days before the arrest was made. Ms. Lyons is on an unpaid leave of absence until further information or investigation is complete.

 Background checks are performed for every YMCA staff member and volunteer, and we have confirmed that Ms. Lyons check came back clear. Carlsbad PD confirmed that she had no prior record.

 Ms. Lyon was also previously employed by the Palomar Family YMCA in Escondido from May 2014-August 2014.

At this time we have no reason to believe any child in the care of the YMCA has been harmed by this individual.

The YMCA has zero tolerance policy for any type of abuse against a child, and any abuse is cause for immediate dismissal. Every YMCA employee or volunteer is required to complete Child Abuse Prevention training and signs a Code of Conduct statement. At no time during a YMCA program may a staff person be alone with a single child. Additionally, YMCA policies prevent employees or volunteers from any interaction with children or babysitting outside of YMCA programs. YMCA staff is also not allowed to transport children in personal vehicles.

At the YMCA we share a commitment to nurturing the potential of all members, giving back and supporting our neighbors. We encourage anyone with information or concerns to contact the Carlsbad Police Departments tip line at 760-931-2293.
A hospitalized man found attacked and set on fire has died, bringing the death toll in a series of attacks on San Diego's homeless population to three, San Diego police announced Sunday.

The victim, identified as Dionicio Derek Vahidy, 23, of San Diego, was found on the 700 block of Kettner Boulevard when police responded to a violence disturbance call at an apartment complex on Wednesday.

When officers arrived, they found the victim, later identified as Vahidy, with extensive damage to his upper body.

Police determined Vahidy had been physically attacked and set on fire.

He was not expected to survive his injuries. He was taken to the hospital after the attack, but was pronounced dead on Sunday just before 1 p.m.

A man who lives near the park where Vahidy used to sleep said he didn't look homeless to him.

"We always wondered 'why are you here?' He was just too young to be out on the street," he said.

Marina Park resident Denise Johnson said Vahidy was a 'nice boy' she had spoken to several times.

"Not a typical homeless," she told NBC 7. "He was very, very clean, he was very sweet, and he was a God fearing man."

Marina Park resident Kathy Krainock wrote a note with Vahidy's name on it, and left it at the spot where he was attacked.

"You know someone might be homeless, but they're someone's child, they're someone's brother, they're someone's cousin," Krainock said.

Vahidy's death brings the death toll to three. Investigators said they believe the death was related to a series of attacks on homeless men that occured between July 3 and July 4. Two others have died and a third is in grave condition.

Read more about the attacks here.

On Thursday, SDPD Homicide Division Capt. David Nisleit announced that authorities had arrested Anthony Padgett on allegations of murder and attempted murder in a series of violent killings against homeless San Diegans.

Four days later, on Monday July 11, homicide investigators announced Padgett had been released from custody because officials said they have examined the evidence in the case and found reason to exclude Padgett as a suspect.

No motive has been assigned to the attacks.

Anyone with information related to this incident is encouraged to call the San Diego Police Departments Homicide Unit at (619) 531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.

No other information was immediately available.
A tow truck operator was arrested after leading police on a chase while drunk and intentionally ramming an unoccupied Connecticut State Police cruiser on I-95 in Greenwich early Saturday morning, police said.

According to Trooper First Class Kelly Grant, police in White Plains, New York, notified Troop G that they were in pursuit of a Bobs Towing truck on I-95 Northbound.

Police in White Plains, New York, stated that the truck was responsible for a possible hit and run accident involving a pedestrian.

Troopers positioned themselves on I-95 Northbound at exit 8 with stop sticks. The truck did not strike the sticks and continued on I-95 Northbound.

The driver of the truck, Jheison Callecastro, 21, exited the highway at exit 14, then reentered I-95 Southbound.

Troopers set up more stop sticks at exit 8 southbound, which deflated one tire. Callecastro continued driving and encountered more stop sticks at exit 4, which again deflated a tire.

With the two front tires deflated, Callecastro encountered two unoccupied state police cruisers in the median at exit 3. Callecastro intentionally swerved into the state police cruiser stopped in the median.

Both the cruiser and the tow truck sustained heavy damage. The tow truck became fully engulfed in flames.

Callecastro was taken into custody and charged with multiple crimes including criminal attempt/assault on a police officer, assault with a motor vehicle, criminal mischief, engaging in a pursuit, reckless driving and DWI for alcohol.
Nineteen people were arrested in protests Saturday night that clogged traffic in the Loop to cap a day of rallies here and elsewhere following police shootings of African-American men in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and outside St. Paul, Minnesota, and the deadly attack on police by a sniper in Dallas.

A total of 19 protesters were arrested, a Chicago Police spokeswoman said Sunday.

Four protesters were arrested in the 18th District, police said. One person was being charged with felony counts of aggravated battery to a police officer and the other three were being charged with misdemeanors.

Fifteen arrests happened in the 1st District, police said. Three people were facing felony charges and the other 12 were facing misdemeanors.

In downtown Chicago, the group, including Black Lives Matters activists, began with about 50 people outside Taste at Michigan Avenue and Van Buren Street, the Chicago Sun-Times is reporting. They were met by a dozen police officers who wouldnt let them in the free festival with the oversized signs they carried, calling for Justice for Alton and Philando  Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, who were killed by police officers in in caught-on-video shootings that have rocked the nation in recent days.

There needs to be more checks and balances on cops, and thats what the system is lacking, said Tayla Moore, who was among the protesters. What we fear is that these cops are supposed to serve and protect and uphold law and justice and peace in our community  and theyre shooting us.

We have the right to show America the right way to treat individuals, said another marcher, Jashaun Bowens.

The protesters ditched their signs and made their way through Taste, as curious onlookers took photos with their cellphones and some join the marchers.

Semial Jones, 34, of Harvey, was munching on a turkey leg at Taste while watching the protesters stage a die-in at Columbus Drive and Jackson Drive.

I love what theyre doing, Jones said. Theyre mad, and they want you to know it. Police need to respect that.

The protesters swelled to more than 200 marchers as they left Taste and began circling the Loop, staging periodic sit-ins at major intersections, including shutting down traffic at Michigan Avenue and Jackson Boulevard.

Greg Tully, a North Sider, got out of his car and watched as the marchers blocked his way south on Michigan Avenue. But he didnt mind.

I can wait, Tully said. I think this is more important than one person getting somewhere on time. Theyre fighting for recognition.

The march continued north on Michigan Avenue to the Water Tower. Chicago cops on bicycles tried to corral protesters at the Chicago River but eventually gave ground, letting the marchers pass. Outside of a few testy staredowns, there appeared to be no clashes between protesters and the police.

Chris Towers, a 19-year-old from South Shore, said officers treated him and other protesters well.

Theyre doing their jobs. A lot of them are good people, Towers said, but he added, Were out here fighting a system that represses us.

One police officer, Tony Famiglietti, said he has no opposition to the protest.

I just have to keep an eye on them to make sure nothing happens, the Chicago cop said. As long as its peaceful, it doesnt bother me.

The march circled back through River North into Saturday evening still with well over 100 protesters outside Trump Tower, chanting, You cant stop the revolution.

After the sun set, some pushing and shoving broke out as police tried to stop protesters from circling east on Jackson Boulevard from State Street, but marchers kept heading south in a cat-and-mouse game until the police held them up at Clark Street.
Activists held a rally at Daley Plaza in downtown Chicago Sunday afternoon, then led a march through the Loop, marking the fourth consecutive day of protests in Chicago.

Sunday's rally, organized by Violence Interpreters, Freedom First International, and Midwest Coalition for Social Justice, was planned to "address national police brutality murders of Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, gun violence, and the dismal failure of Chicago police to stop its growing homicide level," according to a release.

"We want to bring a little bit more trust in the Department of Justice in particular, because they were given the task of helping bring an end to excessive force and police brutality nationwide, but so far we're not seeing any results," community activist Tio Hardiman said.

"Obviously something has to be done because this is an ongoing thing and the problem is it's increasing," said protester Bill Tongue. "People are talking about it but things aren't happening and people really have to take action."

The rally turned into a march through downtown Chicago around 2:45 p.m., with dozens of protesters carrying signs and chanting. Protesters briefly stopped traffic at Michigan Ave and Jackson Blvd, and confrontations with police officers grew heated. At least two protesters were arrested, according to the Chicago Police Department, with charges pending.

Sunday's protest comes just one day after activists marched for hours throughout the city's Loop, even attempting to "shut down" the Taste of Chicago.

On Saturday, protesters converged at Daley Plaza around 9 a.m., and at Millennium Park around 1:30 p.m. Participants at Millennium Park then embarked on a march through the city's Loop shortly thereafter.

Protesters then attempted to "shut down" the Taste of Chicago around 4 p.m., kicking off at 325 S. Michigan Ave with activists making their way into the festival, linking arms, and chanting.

"No Justice, NO REVENUE!," the event description on Facebook read. "lets show the country that we are going to set the tone. No more being scared, now its time to stop losing this war."

While hundreds particpated in the march, even staging a die-in, the Taste of Chicago was not closed, and reactions at the festival were mixed. Some joined in the protest, while others thought it was the wrong approach.

After leaving the Taste of Chicago, protesters continued to march through Chicago's downtown area, staging sit-ins and blocking traffic at multiple locations throughout the city's Loop for several hours. At least 19 people were arrested in Saturday's protest, according to police.

The weekend's events followed days of protests throughout Chicago and across the country in response to the fatal police shootings of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling earlier in the week.

On Friday, activists staged a "die-in" near President Barack Obama's home in the Kenwood neighborhood. Hours later, religious leaders and even celebrities kicked off a peace walk from St. Sabina Catholic Church in the city's Auburn-Gresham neighborhood.

On Thursday, roughly 400 people marched in a demonstration organized by Black Lives Matter. The protest began on the city's South Side, briefly blocking traffic on the Dan Ryan Expressway during the evening rush hour.

Castile, 32, was killed Wednesday night during a traffic stop in Minnesota. His girlfriend, who recorded the aftermath of the shooting, said Castile did nothing but what the police officer asked of us, which was to put your hands in the air and get your license and registration.

Sterling was killed during a confrontation with police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. His death was recorded, with footage appearing to show two officers tackling and shooting the 37-year-old outside a convenience store. The U.S. Department of Justice said it will investigate his death.

Thursday's protest organizers are also calling for an economic boycott on the Magnificent Mile on July 30.
A 3-year-old boy who was found unresponsive in a hot car outside a relative's home has died at an Ohio hospital, authorities said.

The boy was reported missing Wednesday evening in Moraine, just south of Dayton, and after a brief search involving dozens, he was found in an inoperable vehicle with the windows up. Temperatures in the area were in the mid-80s at the time.

Moraine police said he died Friday at Dayton Children's Hospital. They identified the boy as Camilo Juarez, the Dayton Daily News reported.

It's unclear how long he had been in the vehicle. Police said it appeared he got into the car on his own, WDTN-TV reported.

An autopsy was expected, but the coroner's office said it wasn't releasing any information on the case Saturday.

Moraine police Sgt. Jon Spencer told the Dayton newspaper there were no immediate charges, but the case will be reviewed by the Montgomery County Prosecutor's Office in accordance with local procedure.

Dayton Children's Hospital reported that as of late May, eight children around the U.S. had died after being trapped in hot cars. The head of the hospital's Center for Child Health and Wellness has said the temperature in a car can rise sharply in as little as 10 minutes even in mild weather, and a child's body can heat several times faster than an adult's body.
A Connecticut man was arrested in Rhode Island on charges connected to a fatal pedestrian-involved crash.

Rhode Island state police say Jeremy Flippo, 26, of Rockville Road in Voluntown turned himself in Sunday. Flippo is accused of striking a pedestrian with his car then leaving the scene of the accident. The victim, identified as Christian Costigan, 20, of Exeter, Rhode Island, died of his injuries at the hospital.

The incident occurred around 9:50 p.m. on Friday on Route 165 in Exeter, Rhode Island, near the Connecticut state line. Police say Costigan was walking west on the shoulder of the roadway with a friend when he was hit by a vehicle traveling west. The vehicle fled.

Connecticut State police found and seized a vehicle with damage that was consistent with the crash in Voluntown. A search warrant was obtained to return the vehicle to Rhode Island.

Police say investigation led to the conclusion that the owner of the vehicle, Flippo, was driving at the time of the crash. An arrest warrant was obtained for the charge of leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death.

Flippo turned himself in to Rhode Island State Police Sunday and was arraigned before a Justice of the Peace. He was released on a $10,000 surety bond.
A Connecticut man was arrested after making a post to social media calling for officers to be killed, police say.

According to Norwalk Lt. Terrence Blake, the detective bureau received information about threatening social media messaging that was advocating violence against police officers.

Detectives located the posts on Facebook and identified the author as Kurt Vanzuuk, 34, of Norwalk.

Vanzuuk indicated in the posts that the Dallas shooter who shot and killed five police officers Thursday night was a hero and called for more police officers to be killed.

Detectives arrested Vanzuuk July 9. He was charged with inciting injury to persons or property.

Vanuuk is scheduled to appear in court on July 19. Information on an attorney for him wasn't immediately available.
The states largest seed-oyster bed has been shut down because of contamination concerns tied to illegal harvesting.

The Department of Agriculture says the Housatonic River Natural Oyster Seed Bed was shut down after several incidents involving commercial fisherman breaking harvesting regulations related to contaminated oysters.

Commercial fishing firms are supposed to transfer oysters from the river, which contains pollutants from nearby sewage treatment plants, to relay beds in the Long Island Sound for six months so they can be naturally cleansed. Oysters that do not go through this process could contain bacteria and viruses that would make people sick if eaten.

An oyster boat captain was arrested on June 7 on accusations of illegally transplanting contaminated oysters from the bed onto oysters in the Sound. Since then the state has increased patrols in the area and the Dept. of Agriculture says they have spotted other suspicious activities around the bed.

On Friday, patrols reported that two vessels sped away from a Dept. of Agriculture boat attempting to monitor their harvesting activities and made other evasive maneuvers on the water to conceal the dumping of oversized oysters, according to Dept. of Agriculture officials.

Officials say about a dozen firms harvest from the bed, which is approximately 1250 acres, and only one harvester has consistently complied with harvesting regulations.

The bed is normally closed from July 20 through October 20 for oyster spawning season. The earlier closure will prevent contaminated oysters from reaching the public and give the state time to determine new regulations to combat the harvesting issues.
The smell of food, sight of crafts and sound of music filled New Londons Historic Waterfront District on Sunday at Sailfest.

Organizers expected approximately 250,000 people to attend the three-day event.

There were about 250 food and craft vendors available for the public including Reel It Up. The company brought nautical merchandise up from Florida.

"We had a good turnout and the weather has held up. It is bad when you have pillows and sailboats and it starts raining," said Cindy Sutton, Reel It Up.

Even the bands drew crowds. Sundays lineup included The Morrison Brothers Band.

"I love the band, it is actually one of my favorite bands. I saw them out in Las Vegas and loved it there so we drove up from Fairfield to see them," said Cindi DeNatale from Fairfield.

NBC Connecticut sponsored Sailfest and fans had the opportunity to check out First Alert 1, as well as get signed autographs and take pictures with Heidi Voight, Todd Piro, Tara Joyce and Kevin Nathan.

"I think it is real good. I wish it was sunnier, maybe there would be more people. But overall I think it is good for New London, said Calvin Cross from Bristol.

"Nothing better than being out on the water with your family, watching great music, having a beer and just enjoying the afternoon," said DeNatale.
Dozens of Black Lives Matter protesters snarled traffic in San Francisco Saturday as they denounced police brutality by blocking on-ramps to Interstate 80 before marching to Union Square.

Police spokeswoman Grace Gatpandan took to Twitter around 2 p.m. saying that people should expect delays in the vicinity of 5th and Byant streets due to "peaceful demonstrations."

California Highway Patrol officials said via social media that police activity has shut down the 5th Street on-ramp to eastbound I-80. They asked people to avoid the area.

Officials said around 3:30 p.m. that the freeway had been reopened as demonstrators moved toward in downtown San Francisco, blocking Market and 5th streets. However, protesters then proceeded to block Essex and Harrison streets and the Essex Street on-ramp to eastbound I-80, according to CHP officials. As of 4:45 p.m., law enforcement officials had prevented the group from getting on I-80. Shortly after 5 p.m., CHP reported that the Essex Street on-ramp had reopened to traffic.

San Francisco Municipal Railway bus lines were being rerouted, officials said. As of 5 p.m., delays on lines 8, 30, 45 and 47 had been cleared. As of 7 p.m., the protest was winding down and people began to disperse. The protesters never managed to get onto the Bay Bridge, according to CHP Officer Vu Williams.

Witnesses tweeted videos showing officers in riot gear climbing out of police vans.

Rallies are sweeping the United States on the heels of two police-involved shootings in as many days and the gunning down of five police officers in Dallas.

Another Black Lives Matter in San Francisco Friday evening started at Justin Herman Plaza. Hundreds of outraged demonstrators marched to a well-guarded City Hall.

Emotions ran high in reaction to the shooting deaths of Alton Sterling in Louisiana and Philando Castile in Minnesota.

"Stop killing black people," protester Imani Brown said. "We're human beings. We matter just as much as anyone else. The murders of black women's sons should matter as much as the murder of white women's sons."

An estimated 2,000 people also marched in Oakland late Thursday. A group of marched onto Interstate 880, shutting down all lanes of the highway, until the early hours of Friday.

Bay City News contributed to this report.
A Union Pacific employee was arraigned Tuesday on felony negligence charges for his role in a fatal crash at a Gilroy railroad crossing last year.

Lindberg Thompson, 58, slammed a massive rail maintenance vehicle weighing an estimated 50 tons into a pickup truck making a left turn across the tracks on a green arrow at Masten Avenue and Monterey Avenue.

Don Williams, 55, was killed in the collision as he returned home from work.

According to the California Highway Patrol accident investigation and multiple witnesses, the rail maintenance vehicle never activated the crossing gates or warning bells at the crossing, giving drivers no warning the vehicle was approaching.

Witnesses say the same rail maintenance vehicle failed to activate the crossing gates at other railroad crossings minutes before the crash.

Thompson, who was operating the maintenance vehicle in reverse with an obstructed mirror, violated multiple Union Pacific safety policies, according to the Federal Railroad Administration.

According to the accident investigation, Thompson never stopped the rail vehicle when the crossing gates failed to activate, blindsiding Williams as he crossed the tracks.

Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Traci Mason said they decided to file felony negligence charges because of the multiple safety precautions Thompson failed to take.

"We filed these charges in part because of the negligent operation we believe occurred in this case, but also because there was a tragic death," Mason said. "The message that we have is that when there are rules and regulations in place, they need to be followed."

Thompson, with the aid of a Navajo interpreter, pleaded not guilty to the charges. NBC Bay Area could not reach him for comment.

A May NBC Bay Area investigation found rail maintenance vehicles don't always activate the crossing gates and warning bells at railroad crossings, putting drivers at risk.

According to the Federal Railroad Administration, there have been at least 187 accidents involving these types of vehicles over the past five years.
Vallejo police said Saturday that they are investigating a kidnapping for ransom case in which a woman was taken hostage and her dog was found dead.

Police said during a 5 p.m. news conference that they received a call from Vallejo resident John Babb, 36, who said his mother, Elvira, 57, had been taken hostage from her home. Babb reported receiving a text message and a call on June 30 from an unknown number demanding money for the return of his mother and threatening her with violence.

"The caller advised him that he had his mother and he demanded money and threatened her life if he didn't pay or if he went to the authorities," Lt. Jeff Bassett of the Vallejo Police Department said.

LT. JEFF BASSETT/VALLEJO POLICE DEPARTMENT SAYS:" the caller advised him that he had his mother and he demanded money and threatened her life if he didn't pay it or if he went to the authorities" :48-5

After receiving the message, Babb rushed to his mother's home at 101 Daniels Ave., where he found her small dog dead and no one home. Police said there appeared to be no signs of forced entry.

Neighbors say they are shocked that something like this happened in their community.

"...I don't believe it," said Patricia Carr, Elvira's neighbor. "I hope they find her -- she is just too nice to have anything happen to her."

Police said they have executed numerous search warrants while investigating the case, but none have borne fruit when it comes to locating the victim. Officers have, however, arrested four people who they believe are responsible for the kidnapping: Emmanual Espinoza, 26, of Stockton, Jalon Brown, 32, of Sacramento, Larry Young, 23, also of Sacramento, and Lovely Rauzol, 27, of Vallejo.

Police identified Espinoza as the "primary suspect" and say none of the alleged kidnappers are divulging the victim's location. All of the suspects have criminal records and are "well acquainted with one another," police said. A neighbor who lived near the victim told NBC Bay Area that Espinoza used to live in the building a few years back.

Espinoza posted a status update saying "Its obviously something serious they kickin in the doors and looking for me...its ma time to go yall" the night he was arrested.

The Federal Bureau of Investigations has been assisting on the case, but the police are now reaching out to the public in hopes of finding Elvira.

The kidnappers have asked for less than six figures, but police are not releasing the exact amount.

Elvira was last seen on June 29 at Sea Food City Market in Vallejo after a coworker dropped her off after work.
After officers investigated the report of possible human remains found in a Brentwood dumpster, they discovered it was actually just raw chicken meat, the Los Angeles Police Department said Saturday.

LAPD officers initially were called to a "death investigation" in the 11800 block of Kiowa Avenue Saturday afternoon after a pungent odor was reported.

When they arrived, the LAPD used a cadaver dog to investigate. The only death that had occurred was that of something seen in the frozen food section: officers found raw chicken meat in the dumpster, and cleared the scene.

No word on who was suspected of dumping the chicken's remains.
Hundreds of dogs and cats on "doggy death row" were flown to new homes across the nation Saturday after Fourth of July fireworks and recent wildfires pushed shelters to capacity.

Bruin, a Jack Russel Terrier, was the "20,000th" rescue to find a forever home in Seattle. He had been in the shelter on "death row" after his owner surrendered him weeks ago, but now has a new lease on life.

Nonprofit Wings of Rescue flew 400 animals who had been in the shelter for weeks or months as part of a two-day trek to New Jersey and Seattle after shelters saw high-intake of SoCal dogs and cats after Independence Day fireworks and wildfires.

Overcrowding put the pooches and kitties at risk in Southern California, so Wings of Rescue came to the rescue. The animals were flown to Seattle and New Jersey where shelters were underpopulated or in need of animals for adoption.

Wings of Rescue was founded by two pilots in 2009. Yehuda Netanel and Cindy Smith have been flying shelter pets to their new homes since then, relying solely on donations to pay for the flights.

Kriser's Natural Pet headquartered in Santa Monica and St. Hubert's Animal Welfare Center, based in New Jersey, partnered together with Wings of Rescue to send the 400 on their "freedom flights."

Kriser's Natural Pet raised $20,000 to contribute to the shelter pets, including the flights.

In addition, Kriser's and The Honest Kitchen will send each pet with a voucher for a "free box of high-quality, all-natural food to get their new lives started out right."
Prominent Black Lives Matter activist DeRay Mckesson was among more than 100 protesters arrested Saturday night during demonstrations over the death of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Mckesson, who live-streamed his arrest on Periscope, was taken into custody while walking along the side of the Airline Highway with fellow protesters, NBC News reported.

Mckesson was released Sunday afternoon, according to facility records from the East Baton Rouge Parish Jail. He and fellow protesters were charged with "simple obstruction of highway commerce," according to court records.

About 1,000 protesters gathered outside the Baton Rouge Police Department, waving homemade signs as passing cars honked their support. The protests lasted well into the evening but died down a little after midnight.
A man physically and sexually assaulted his new girlfriend's 2-year-old daughter before she died, and the couple waited an entire day to seek medical treatment while twice going shopping at a mall, investigators said Friday.

Michael Disporto Jr., 22, of Manahawkin, New Jersey, was charged Thursday with murder and first-degree aggravated sexual assault. The girl died Tuesday from blunt-force trauma to the head. He was being held on $1.5 million bail.

The girl's mother, 26-year-old Amber Bobo, was charged with second-degree endangering the welfare of a child. It wasn't immediately clear if Disporto and Bobo had attorneys to comment on their behalf.

Investigators said Bobo noticed bruises on the girl's forehead at her Gloucester home on July 3 and suggested taking her to the hospital, but she waited seven hours because Disporto waved her off, investigators said in a probable cause statement. The couple had been dating for two weeks, investigators said.

In between, the three went to a nearby mall, where the girl began vomiting. They took the girl back to Bobo's home, where she vomited again before the three returned to the mall, investigators said. They shopped until around 3:30 p.m., then returned home again.

After the girl vomited for a third time and her eyes rolled back into her head later that afternoon, Bobo told Disporto that she wanted to take her daughter to the hospital, investigators said. But Disporto said the girl was "just tired" and told Bobo he would never see her again if she took the girl in, investigators said.

She finally called 911 at 6 p.m. and the girl was taken to the hospital, where she required brain surgery. She also had a fractured arm, pulmonary contusions and genital injuries. She died two days later.



Disporto said the toddler received the injuries by falling in the park the night before, investigators said.
A Miami truck driver is charged with shooting a gun at another truck during a road rage incident in Immokalee.

The Collier County Sheriff's Office charged 32-year-old Carlos Dearmas of Miami with firing into an occupied vehicle on Friday. Investigators say he shot at a fellow truck driver over an argument over who had the right of way while exiting Interstate 75.

Both drivers were headed to the same sand mine. The victim suffered minor cuts from glass that broke when the bullet shattered two windows.

Deputies found Dearmas in line to have his truck filled with sand after the shooting. They didn't find a gun, but he tested positive for gunpowder residue.

It was not immediately known if Dearmas had a lawyer and a phone listing for him wasn't available. Dearmas' bond has been set at $15,000.
Church leaders in South Florida are addressing the strained relationship between law enforcement and members of the black community.

Outside of the Faith Center in Sunrise, Sheriff Scott Israel is met with a big hug and friendly reminder Sunday, after a difficult week.

"My goal is for the community not to see an African American officer or Hispanic officer or a female officer or White officer. Just to see an officer who is there to do their job," said Israel.

Inside, police, community and clergy join hands for a unity prayer.

"We pray for comfort and support for the families of those who have lost their loved ones whether by the hands of police officers or civilians killing police officers," said Pastor Henry Fernandez.

Pastor Henry Fernandez says the death of Alton Sterling, Philando Castile and the men and women in Dallas is a reminder that our country is struggling.

"They're saying bishop what do we do? What do I tell my sons when they are stopped by the police? We have to give them answers," says Pastor Fernandez.

Each elected official and officer at shares their message. For Sheriff Israel, it's one of transparency within the community he serves.

Sheriff Israel adds: "I have a person coming in to teach our officers about deescalation. We're going to hire a consultant firm or bring in the department of justice and ask them to watch our trainers train and tell us everything we're doing right and if they're are recommendations, make those them so we can police the way we need to police."

The Sunday service focused on equality, justice and progress.

Pastor Fernandez says he hopes at the end of the day we're not just talking, we're not just protesting, but that we will have an outcome of that will bring community together.
The suspect in the deadly attack on Dallas police taunted authorities during two hours of negotiations, laughing at them, singing and at one point asking how many officers he had shot, the police chief said Sunday.

Micah Johnson, a black Army veteran, insisted on speaking with a black negotiator and wrote in blood on the wall of a parking garage where police cornered and later killed him, David Brown told CNN's "State of the Union."

Johnson, who was apparently wounded in a shootout with police, wrote the letters "RB" and other markings. Investigators are now trying to decipher the writing by looking through evidence from Johnson's suburban Dallas home, Brown said.

The chief defended the decision to kill Johnson with a bomb delivered by remote-controlled robot, saying negotiations went nowhere and that officers could not approach him without putting themselves in danger.

Brown said he became increasingly concerned that "at a split second, he would charge us and take out many more before we would kill him."

Johnson had practiced military-style drills in his yard and trained at a private self-defense school that teaches special tactics, including "shooting on the move," a maneuver in which an attacker fires and changes position before firing again.

He received instruction at the Academy of Combative Warrior Arts in the Dallas suburb of Richardson about two years ago, said the school's founder and chief instructor, Justin J. Everman.

Everman's statement was corroborated by a police report from May 8, 2015, when someone at a business a short distance away called in a report of several suspicious people in a parked SUV.

The investigating officer closed the case just minutes after arriving at a strip mall. While there, the officer spoke to Johnson, who said he "had just gotten out of a class at a nearby self-defense school."

Johnson told the officer he was "waiting for his dad to arrive" and pick up his brother. No one else was apparently questioned.

On Friday, Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings described Johnson as "a mobile shooter" who had written manifestos on how to "shoot and move."

Authorities have said the 25-year-old gunman kept a journal of combat tactics and had amassed a personal arsenal at his home, including bomb-making materials, rifles and ammunition.

The academy website refers to one of its courses as a "tactical applications program," or TAP.

"Reality is highly dynamic, you will be drawing your firearm, moving, shooting on the move, fixing malfunctions, etc. all under high levels of stress," the website says. "Most people never get to train these skills as they are not typically allowed on the static gun range."

The TAP training includes "shooting from different positions," "drawing under stress" and "drawing from concealment." Everman declined to specify which classes Johnson took.

"I don't know anything about Micah. I'm sorry. He's gone. He's old to us. I have thousands of people," Everman told The Associated Press on Saturday.

The two men, however, were friendly and talked in Facebook conversations in August 2014. Everman knew Johnson had been out of the country. Army officials said he had been deployed in Afghanistan around that time.

Everman suggested that Johnson "let me know when you make it down this way."

"Will be great to get you back in the academy," Everman said, according to a comment thread saved by the AP before Johnson's Facebook profile was taken down.

"I concur!" Johnson replied.

More recently, a neighbor reported to investigators that Johnson had been seen practicing some sort of military drill in his backyard in the Dallas suburb of Mesquite, said Clay Jenkins, the Dallas County judge, the county's most senior elected official.

Tensions were still high Saturday in Dallas, where 20 square blocks of downtown remained cordoned off as a crime scene. The police department tightened security Saturday evening after receiving an anonymous threat.

Earlier in the day, President Barack Obama called Johnson a "demented individual" who does not represent black Americans any more than a white man accused of killing blacks at a church in Charleston, South Carolina, represents whites.

"So we cannot let the actions of a few define all of us," Obama said from Warsaw, Poland, where he attended a NATO summit.

The president planned to visit Dallas in a few days and to convene a White House meeting next week with police officers and community and civil rights activists.

It was the third time in as many days that Obama has spoken about the fatal police shootings of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota that were immediately followed by the sniper attack in Dallas.

Johnson, who donned a protective vest and used a military-style semi-automatic rifle, was killed by a robot-delivered bomb Thursday after the shootings, which marked the deadliest day for U.S. law enforcement since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

In all, 12 officers were shot just a few blocks from where President John F. Kennedy was slain in 1963.

Johnson was a private first class with a specialty in carpentry and masonry. He served in the Army Reserve for six years starting in 2009 and did one tour in Afghanistan from November 2013 to July 2014, the military said.

The attack began Thursday evening while hundreds of people were gathered to protest the police killings of Philando Castile, who was fatally shot near St. Paul, Minnesota, and Alton Sterling, who was shot in Louisiana after being pinned to the pavement by two white officers.

Video showed protesters marching along a downtown street about half a mile from City Hall when shots erupted and the crowd scattered, seeking cover.

Marcus Carter, 33, was in the area when people started running toward him, yelling about gunshots. Carter said the first shot sounded like a firecracker. But then they proceeded in quick succession, with brief pauses between spurts of gunfire.

"It was breaks in the fire," he said. "It was a single shot and then after that single shot, it was a brief pause," followed by many shots in quick succession.

After shooting at the Dallas officers, Johnson tried to take refuge in a parking garage and exchanged gunfire with police, authorities said.

During negotiations, he said he wanted to exterminate whites, "especially white officers," the police chief said.

Associated Press writers Nomaan Merchant and Jamie Stengle in Dallas and Hannah Cushman in Chicago contributed to this report.
Hundreds of people took to the streets of New York City Saturday for the third consecutive day of protests against recent police shootings in Louisiana and Minnesota.

The protesters chanted "Black lives matter" and "No justice, no peace" as they marched up Broadway from an area near City Hall.

Police officers on foot and on motorcycles kept the marchers on the sidewalks. However, more than a dozen protesters were arrested at Union Square.

Some of those arrested had marched to Union Square from Brooklyn to protest the death of Delrawn Small who was shot by an off-duty police officer in what is being described as a road-rage incident.

Small was shot just after midnight July 4 in the East New York section of Brooklyn. The state attorney general's office is reviewing surveillance video of the incident.

Protester Cynthia Howell said she isn't anti-police, but wants to see accountability.

Howell is a niece of Alberta Spruill, who died of a heart attack in 2003 after police threw a concussion grenade into her Harlem apartment.

Howell said officers who do "reckless, dangerous things" must be held accountable.

Earlier in the day, the Rev. Al Sharpton called the killings of five police officers in Dallas a "horrific, despicable" act during his weekly address at the National Action Network's "House of Justice" in Harlem.

But he argued that bad police officers need to be prosecuted in the deaths of innocent people.

About 200 people attended the event, including Gwen Carr, the mother of Eric Garner, who died in a police chokehold in 2014.

Sharpton is a talk-show host on MSNBC, which is owned by NBCUniversal, the parent company of this site.

On Friday night, about 300 people took to the streets to protest the recent police shootings.

One group marched across the Williamsburg Bridge into Brooklyn while another went uptown and marched through Grand Central Terminal.

The protesters were demanding justice for black men killed by officers and were still holding signs saying "Black Lives Matter." But some also held signs saying, "We mourn for Dallas too."

Forty people were arrested in Thursday's protests in New York City before news of the Dallas shootings broke.

The NYPD said Friday it had received 50 threats against officers since the fatal police shootings of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling but none of those threats have been deemed credible.

The department issued a memo requiring all officers to double up on patrols and to take their meals and breaks in pairs.
A would-be robber fled a Long Island bank empty-handed Saturday morning and was captured after crashing his getaway car into a police vehicle, authorities said.

Prince Conteh, 26, of Lowell, Massachusetts, entered a Bank of America in Hempstead at about 11:50 a.m. and demanded cash from a woman employee, Nassau County detectives said. He was armed with a shotgun, they said.

The employee refused to allow Conteh to enter the teller area, so he left the bank empty-handed, police said.

While making his getaway, Conteh crashed his car into a Hempstead patrol car. He continued driving, but struck a utility pole.

Conteh hopped out of car, dropped his shotgun and ran, but officers caught him with help from people in the vicinity.

The officer whose patrol car was struck was taken to a local hospital and treated for neck and back pain, police said.

Conteh was charged with first-degree attempted robbery, second-degree assault and criminal use of a firearm.

There was no information as to whether he had obtained an attorney who could comment on the charges.
Presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton called this week's two police involved shootings and the ambush shooting of police officers in Dallas vicious and appalling" during a speech in Philadelphia Friday.

Clinton addressed the 50th Quadrennial Session of the African Methodist Episcopal General Conference in Philadelphia  the day after the attack in Dallas, which left five officers dead and seven others injured.

"There is too much violence, too much hate, too much senseless killings, she said. We know there is something wrong with our country.

During her speech, Clinton listed some of the fatal shootings that have taken place across the country, including the two latest. On Tuesday, Alton Sterling was tackled and shot by officers during a confrontation outside a convenience store in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The following day, an officer shot Philando Castile during a traffic stop in a St. Paul, Minnesota, suburb. Castiles girlfriend recorded the events after the shooting.

CARSON, CA  OCTOBER 13: Philip Rivers #17 of the Los Angeles Chargers plays during a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Dignity Health Sports Park October 13, 2019 in Carson, California. (Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images)

Implicit bias still exists in our society even in our best police departments, she said, calling on an end to the systemic racism that plagues our country.

She urged white Americans to do a better job of listening when African-Americans talk, something she said would help quell racial disparities and the tension many black people feel when dealing with law enforcement.

"There is clear evidence that African-Americans are much more likely to be killed in police incidents than any other group of Americans," she said.

Clinton postponed an earlier campaign event in Scranton, Pennsylvania, with Vice President Joe Biden hours after the Dallas attack.

Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump also put off Fridays campaign event, which was scheduled in Miami.

Due to the horrific events taking place in our country, I have decided to postpone my speech on economic opportunity- today in Miami, he tweeted Friday morning.

Due to the horrific events taking place in our country, I have decided to postpone my speech on economic opportunity- today in Miami.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 8, 2016

In a video posted to Facebook, Trump called Thursday's attack in Dallas "brutal," and said Americans must stand in "solidarity with law enforcement."

"Every American has the right to live in safety and peace," he said. "The deaths of Alton Sterling in Louisiana and Philando Castile in Minnesota also make clear how much more work we have to do to make every American feel that their safety is protected."

President Barack Obama, speaking from the NATO summit in Poland, condemned the attack Friday morning.

"There is no possible justification for these kinds of attacks or any violence against law enforcement," Obama said. "Anyone involved in the senseless murders will be held fully accountable. Justice will be done."

He said Friday should be dedicated to honoring the victims and their families.

Other politicians echoed these sympathies on Twitter as well, including former Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz, who praised the bravery of the police.

"Men & women of law enforcement selflessly run into harm's way to save the lives of others," he wrote. "May God protect them and bring peace upon Dallas."

Senate Minority Leader and Nevada Senator Harry Reid also issued a statement about the attacks Friday morning, calling for those responsible for the attack to "be brought to justice and held accountable for these horrific crimes."
Two Russian pilots were killed after their military helicopter was shot down by ISIS fighters in Syria, according to the Russian military, NBC News reported.

The pilots were on a test flight with ammunition near Homs when they responded to a call asking them for help fighting an ISIS offensive east of Palmyra, Russias defense ministry said in a statement reported by state media Tass.

"After having run out of ammunition, the turning around helicopter was hit by militants' gunfire from the ground and crashed in the area controlled by the Syrian governmental army. The crew died," the defense ministry said in the statement.

Russian forces began intervening in September on behalf of Syrian President Bashar Assad in the governments efforts to fight ISIS.
Falls Township Police are on the look out for burglars who broke into multiple homes and stole cash and electronics in Bucks County early Saturday morning, all while people were sleeping inside.

Police believe more than one person broke into rear windows of homes located on Simons Drive in Morrisville overnight. Among the wallets, cash, cell phones and laptop computers stolen was a 55" screen TV that was mounted to a wall.

Resident John Mason and his neighbors woke up to investigators asking if anyone saw the burglars going in through back windows.

"It makes you nervous," Mason said. "I would think it was professionals and more than one person because there's four houses that were hit ... They'd have to do it pretty quick and go."

Police say the thieves also tried breaking into homes on another nearby street but were not able to find any unlocked windows. Neighbor David Bowers believes they skipped his home because he was right in their path.

"I was sleeping on the couch, right by the back door," said Bowers. "I think we're going to be a lot more careful now."

The Falls Township police department is asking people to be vigilant, lock every possible entryway, and call in any suspicious activity to police.

Anyone with information on the thefts can contact Detective Matt Tomcho at 215-949-9100
A man was killed while another was injured after two boats collided on the Barnegat Bay in Ocean County, New Jersey Sunday afternoon.

New Jersey State Police told NBC10 a 36-foot speed boat and a 16-foot Carolina skiff collided at 2:23 p.m. on Barnegat Bay off Barnegat Light in the area of the Oyster Creek Channel. The skiff sustained the brunt of the damage during the collision, investigators said.

A man on the skiff, identified by police as Chan-Hee Kang, 26, of Hainesport, New Jersey, died from his injuries. Another man on the skiff suffered minor injuries and is being treated at the Southern Ocean Medical Center in Stafford Township. A third person on the skiff as well as four people who were on the speed boat were not hurt during the incident.

Officials continue to investigate the cause of the crash.




What to Know Former Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey leads the White House Task Force on 21st Century Policing.

Violent crime in Philadelphia dropped during his tenure at the helm of the department, where he emphasized community policing strategies.

Ramsey said he fears the Republican and Democratic National Conventions will bring with them more incidents, as tensions remain high.

Former Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey told NBC News Sunday morning that the United States is "sitting on a powder keg" as tensions between police and communities across the nation boil over into tumultuous and sometimes violent protests.

Ramsey, who passed the helm of the Philadelphia Police Department last year, was tapped in 2014 by President Obama to lead his Task Force on 21st Century Policing. The White House established the task force to take a hard look at police-community relations in the wake of calls for more police accountability and a number of earlier killings by police that stoked controversy.

"You can call it a powder keg, you can say that we're handling nitroglycerin," Ramsey told NBC News' Chuck Todd on "Meet the Press." "But obviously when you just look at what's going on, we're at a very critical point in the history of this country."

Ramsey went on to day that he fears the Republican and Democratic National Conventions won't go off without some kind of incident occurring. The climate is simply too volatile, he said.

"[The conventions] are going to be very challenging to handle, and I don't think they're going to go without some incident taking place. It's unfortunate, but that's what I personally think," Ramsey said. "I hope that's not the case, but you've got too many people that are now with this extreme rhetoric, and that is just not good for anybody. We need to come together. We need thoughtful people to sit down and engage in dialogue and actually come up with solutions."

Ramsey also talked about the vast differences among police departments across the country, saying that training and standards need to be made more consistent across the board for all law enforcement. Todd pointed out that many of the police-involved incidents that have sparked protests and outrage have occurred in smaller suburban police departments.

"There are approximately 18,000 police departments in the United States. In my opinion, that's far too many," Ramsey said. "In your larger cities, where you have a lot of diversity, obviously you have officers that are very accustomed to dealing with a variety of people. We still have parts of our country where that is not the case."

[NATL] Photos: Police Shootings of Black Men Spark Protests Across U.S. Cities

In Philadelphia, Ramsey placed a heavy emphasis on community policing, putting new recruits out on the street in some of the city's most challenged neighborhoods to interact with citizens on the ground level. His eight-year tenure leading the city's police force boasted a drop in violent crime, with the city recording nearly 150 fewer homicides in 2014, toward the end of his leadership, than it did in 2007 before he took the reins.

Ramsey also gained notoriety in the city when he called for the United States Department of Justice to come review Philadelphia's police-involved shootings at a time when they seemed to skyrocket in the city.

Ramsey cautioned against reading too far into statistics recently published by the Washington Post saying that police killings of civilians and police being killed in the line of duty are both up this year compared to last, warning people to keep the numbers in context.

"We do have some rising crime rates, and let's face it, we have on average about 13,000 murders in the United States every year. These are not shootings by police. These are people killing people," he said. "There's a disproportionate amount of it going on in many of our more challenged communities. Who do you think goes after the people responsible for these crimes? It's the cops, and we encounter a lot of very dangerous people out there on the street."

He also told NBC's Todd that he agreed with FBI Director James Comey's worry that police may be hesitant to act as aggressively now in light of recent events and officers' actions immortalized in viral videos. Both Ramsey and Comey did point out that no official statistics have shown this phenomenon, sometimes referred to as the "Ferguson effect."

"Police officers are human beings, and when you're being attacked like that, or at least you're perceived of being attacked, it does create some issues and some problems," Ramsey said.

"I think we all need to recognize that there are changes that need to be made," he continued. "We can't look at it from a defensive posture. How do we move forward? How do we create an environment where we're on the same page? There's only one issue, and that's creating safe neighborhoods, but also neighborhoods where people who live in [them] have a sense of justice and fairness as the law is being applied."
A Pennsylvania woman has pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct for having sex so loudly it shook her neighbor's furniture, then threatening her row house neighbors for complaining.

Twenty-five-year-old Amanda Marie Warfel has been jailed since March 22.

The York Daily Record reports the woman pleaded guilty Wednesday and was sentenced to 45 to 90 days in jail, which she's already served but remained jailed for another case.

Warfel said during the hearing that she just wanted to go home and regretted her neighbors weren't in court because she wanted to apologize to them.

Warfel had pleaded guilty previously to disorderly conduct and harassment charges based on the same complaints.

Police say Warfel's neighbor has dealt with the issues for two years.
After the deadly sniper attacks in Dallas that killed 5 police and left 7 wounded, residents have began to show their local police departments how much they appreciate the work their officers do for the community.

The Evesham Police Department received a special 'thank you' from the residents of Marlton, New Jersey.

In a Facebook post on Saturday, the department shared a photo of the surprise breakfast, lunch and dinner that was dropped off to officers from residents in the community.

"In the wake of the tragic Dallas shooting that left five officers dead and seven wounded, the Evesham community has shown it's support for their local police force," the department writes. "Its great knowing that our residents are fully behind us in our mission to keep our exceptional community safe."

Residents provided West Chester Police Department officers lunch as well on Saturday. Along with the meal came flower arrangements for the officers from Kati Mac Floral Designs.

"In light of recent events that have taken place in our country, our department is grateful to have the continued support from our residents and local business owners," the department writes.
Protesters marched through Philadelphia Sunday following deadly shootings by police in Baton Rouge and Minnesota.

The protesters gathered at 40th and Market streets around 7 p.m. in West Philadelphia and then marched to Center City. They then stopped at City Hall around 9:15 p.m. and held a rally, blocking 15th and Market streets, for about a half hour. They then continued east on Market toward Front Street. Philadelphia police closed the entrance ramp to I-95 to prevent any of the protesters from walking onto the highway.

A peace rally also took place earlier Sunday at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. A flier promoting the event, which took place at 4 p.m., stated it was a "Philly Pop-Up Peace Rally" meant to mobilize the Philadelphia community to build peace and unity.

Sunday marked the fifth consecutive day of protests in Philadelphia. A march to the police departments 24th and 25th District headquarters on Whitaker Avenue near Erie Saturday night was the most aggressive demonstration in Philadelphia so far with protesters screaming at police. Protesters vowed to "shut down" the districts, saying they were responsible for perpetrating brutality. Despite the tension, no arrests or injuries were reported.

Philadelphia's demonstration without arrests stood in stark contrast to others across the nation, some of which left officers with injuries and protesters in handcuffs.

Groups of protesters numbering in the hundreds have taken to the streets in Philadelphia each day since Wednesday in response to the police shootings of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Philando Castile in St. Paul Minnesota.

Friday and Saturday's protests came on the heels of an attack on police at the end of a protest in Dallas Thursday night that left five officers dead, seven others injured and two civilians wounded. Police have said so far that the gunman acted alone in that shooting, but the investigation is still active.

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Police are searching for a man who was caught on camera stealing bicycles at two separate locations, according to investigators.

Police say the man was first caught stealing a bike after gaining entry to a residential garage on the 300 block of Brown Street at 11:28 p.m. on July 2. Once inside, the suspect took a silver bicycle valued at $600 and fled in an unknown direction, according to investigators.

The second incident occurred on July 4 when the same man gained entry to Trophy Bikes located at 712 North 2nd Street, police said. The suspect shattered the glass window with a metal cap from the sidewalk, according to investigators. Once inside, the suspect took a Jamis Coda Sport bicycle valued at $549 from a rack in the window and fled in an unknown direction, police said.

The suspect is described as a thin, white male in his mid 20's with short hair and light facial hair. In both of the incidents caught on camera, he appears to be wearing dark sneakers with light color laces, police said.

Police ask if you have any information on these thefts or the suspect, to please contact Central Detective Division SIU at 215-686-3047 or text a tip to PPDTIP. All tips are confidential.
A prosecutor alleges that a man charged in a suburban Philadelphia home invasion slaying last fall had told his former girlfriend that "If we can't be together, someone's got to go."

Twenty-one-year-old Naadir Abdul-Ali is charged in Montgomery County in the shooting death of the woman's father hours later.

Police found 53-year-old Kevin Brown on the front lawn of the Lower Moreland Township home with a gunshot wound to the neck.

Twenty-one-year-old Desmond Smith and another man are also charged. A fourth defendant pleaded guilty to third-degree murder and is expected to testify against the others.

Smith's attorney says his client was nowhere near the scene that night. Abdul-Ali's attorney argues that it was all part of a staged kidnapping that wasn't his client's idea.
A woman apparently posing as a police officer broadcast a false report of a hooded man inside the parking garage at Dallas Police Headquarters, prompting a SWAT team response.

Nobody was found and police issued the all-clear, but not before the drama played out on live television.

"There's a guy on the second floor of the parking garage," the woman said in a frantic tone. "You cannot see his face. You cannot tell what he has on."

Other officers said the voice was not that of a fellow officer but, at first, nobody seemed sure.

"We got units coming to you," a dispatcher responded.

It was unclear how the woman accessed a police radio channel, but Dallas uses older, unencrypted radios.

Earlier, Dallas Police Sr. Cpl. Monica Cordova released the following statement:

"The Dallas Police Department received an anonymous threat against law enforcement across the city and has taken precautionary measures to heightened security."

The threat appeared to be separate from the radio broadcast, but heightened tensions in a department and a city already on edge.

Officers have completed manual search of the garage. No suspect found.  Dallas Police Dept (@DallasPD) July 10, 2016

There were reports on social media of shots fired and a lockdown of the entire headquarters building.

Police said the reports were not true.

There has been media reports of shots fired at police HQ, there has been NO shots fired. SWAT set off a device to enter a locked fence.  Dallas Police Dept (@DallasPD) July 9, 2016

Dallas Rapid Area Transit officials closed the Cedars Station due to the police activity nearby.

Dozens of people have been at DPD headquarters recently to pay their respects at a growing memorial for the officers killed in the line of duty Thursday night in downtown Dallas. Reporters from around the world are also camped out there.

NBC 5's Holley Ford contributed to this report.
Black Lives Matter activists marched through Downtown San Diego Sunday morning, holding signs condemning police brutality.

The rally began at 10 a.m. at the San Diego Convention Center, where activists gathered to meet.

Holding signs, and chanting hands up, dont shoot and black lives matter, they marched down Park Boulevard.

"We just want the police to know that there are officers abusing their badges and that's not right and that has to stop, participant Andrea Malloyd told NBC 7.

San Diego police followed the protesters along their route to make sure the rally was safe, and Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman addressed protesters at the start of their rally.

Let's all come together, Zimmerman said. That's what this is about. It's not us versus them, it's we."

Protesters agreed, and many of them denounced the killing of officers in Dallas.

Just about everybody in that group said we're sorry about what happened to those police officers, and that's what today is all about, Zimmerman said.

It was a sharp contrast to the clashes that erupted in other cities like Baton Rouge and St. Paul Saturday that injured several officers.

San Diego Protesters even advanced onto police lines to extend a hand in peace and say thank you.

Participant Nate Howard said it gave him optimism.

It did give me a little a bit of hope, Howard said. I am feeling a little bit excited. Just from the community and the support of the officers and I will say that this is only the beginning."
IMF says EU on brink of collapse

IMF chiefs warned the UKs decision to leave the EU would seriously hamper growth prospects in the region.Before the Brexit vote, the IMF forecast a 1.7 per cent expansion for the eurozone.However, post Brexit the organisation revised that down to 1.6 per cent this year and 1.4 per cent next year.The IMF did warn of economic chaos in the event of a Leave victory and has urged for a smooth transition for post-EU Britain.The international organisation said: The euro area is at a critical juncture. Muddling through is increasingly untenable.Unless collective problems are solved, the euro area is likely to suffer repeated bouts of economic and political instability leading to crises of confidence and economic setbacks.In the damning statement, it said the migrant crisis could even spell the end of free movement and warned that other countries in the bloc could want their own referendums following the Brexit vote.A Nobel Prize winning economist even said that Europe may have to abandon the euro.The economist, Professor Christopher Pissarides, has said that the uncertainty would reduce investment and hit job creation.His warnings came as:* French bank Societe Generale analyst warned Italy and France could quit the single currency EU* Rating agency Moodys said the future of the entire EU was at risk* Banks across Europe came under increasing stress* The worlds biggest hotel group predicted that the fall in the pound would lead to a tourist boom for the UK.But the IMF has also said that the outlook would be even worse if there are long, drawn-out negotiations between the UK and the EU.Mahmood Pradhan, deputy director of the IMF's European Department, said: "If that risk aversion is prolonged, we think the growth impact could be larger and at this point, it is very difficult to tell how long that period lasts.The Washington-based fund hightlighted the UK's importance as a trading partner for the EU as the destination for 13 per cent of EU exports.
A San Carlos woman donated her tenth gallon of blood at the San Diego Blood Bank Saturday morning.

Barbara Haney was inspired by her father, who was a regular donor. She often makes donating into a girls day out that includes lunch and shopping.

She has donated blood every eight weeks for the last 20 years.

"I really think it's a good cause and I think everybody should support giving blood," said Haney. "It's something everybody can do."

Haney brought friends Mary and Stephanie for her milestone Saturday.

To be eligible to donate blood you must be at least 17 years old (15 and 16 year olds may donate with parental consent), weigh at least 114 pounds and be in general good health.
A Mississippi woman has made a 1,000-mile trip to Washington, D.C., on foot in an effort to share the harsh realities of breast cancer.

Paulette Leaphart is a breast cancer survivor and had a double mastectomy. She made part of her trip topless to bring attention to the toll the disease takes on women.

Leaphart left Biloxi, Miss., in April and arrived in the District last week. On Saturday, supporters and other survivors joined her on a walk to Capitol Hill.

She said after her diagnosis, she lost everything trying to take care of her family while getting treatment.

"No American should have to choose between food and medicine. So, it's time for a change and I'm fighting. I have meetings set up with members of Congress next week and I'm praying they will open their hearts, not just their ears, but their hearts to hear from us, the people," said Leaphart.

Leaphart will also meet with District leaders to discuss cancer research and the effort to find a cure.
A Maryland man has been arrested and charged with first and second-degree murder in the killing of his estranged wife, police say.

Prince George's County police said 41-year-old Daron Lincoln Odom, of Oxon Hill, Maryland, shot his estranged wife, 41-year-old Jamila Odom, several times Saturday night.

Officers responded to the 7400 block of Oxon Hill Road about 10:10 p.m. and found Jamila Odom inside of a car suffering from gunshot wounds. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Daron Odom drove to the District IV police station in Oxon Hill and turned himself in after the shooting, police said.

Odom is being held without bond at the Department of Corrections.

Police did not give any information about a possible motive.

"It is again horrific what were seeing this year, so many of the domestic homicides," Prince George's County State's Attorney Angela Alsobrooks said.

Domestic violence has been a priority of her term as state's attorney, she said.

"Drugs and family violence are two areas we have to address," she said.

Police ask that anyone with information call (301) 772-4925 and anonymous callers can call Crime Solvers at 1 (866) 411-TIPS.
A police officer shot at a man who had a weapon in Oxon Hill, Maryland, Saturday evening, but no one was shot or injured, Prince George's County police say.

The shooting incident happened on Audrey Lane, police said.

Police said they received calls about a man with a gun in the 600 block of Audrey Lane.

When officers arrived, the suspect started to run. He then pointed the weapon toward officers and one officer shot toward the suspect, police said.

Prince George's County Police Chief Hank Stawinski said the suspect, a 23-year-old man, then ran into a nearby apartment building. Officers surrounded the building and the man surrendered a short time later.

Stawinski said the suspect's weapon turned out to be a BB gun.

The suspect is in custody and is currently being interviewed by police.

Stay with News4 as we continue to update this developing story.
D.C.-area residents took part in rallies and gatherings following the recent police shootings of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota as well as the killings of five police officers in Dallas.

A Black Lives Matter rally was held in the Stadium-Armory Metro Station parking lot Sunday afternoon.

"Make them be held accountable - period," demonstrator Beverly Simmons said.

At the same time, a rally for peace and justice was held at Freedom Plaza near the White House. The rally, which was organized by local churches, included some speakers that were religious leaders as well as some members of the law enforcement community.

"We gather here today for the express purpose of standing up to make a commitment and a covenant," said one speaker at the rally.

Attendees were asked to "take a stand against injustice" by committing to do seven things, including becoming more informed about community issues and expressing "support and appreciation for the sacrifices that most law enforcement officers make on my behalf."

Later in the evening, The National Black United Front hosted Beyond the HashTag - A Call to Action and Prayer Vigil for Alton Sterling and Philando Castile at the African-American Civil War Memorial and Museum.

"When we say black lives matter, we don't mean black lives matter only. We don't mean black lives matter exclusively. We mean black lives matter equally, and that's what we deserve!," one demonstrator said to the crowd.

The organization was joined by 15 other African-American national and local organizations and businesses. The rally focused on taking action to seek justice and break[ing] down the barriers of hatred, racism, and prejudice that influence these crimes against humanity, according to the events page.

At the Smith Public Trust restaurant in Brookland, there was a discussion on issues facing the black community -- specifically, black males.

"We're over hash-tagging, we're over marching. We've done that enough," said organizer Lauryn Scott.

D.C. District 5 Commissioner Kathy Henderson led a D.C. police safety walk with officers at 5 p.m. in Northeast. The walk focused on standing together for peace, safety, justice and a community that embodies the best that we have to offer, Henderson said in a press release.

Countless other protests and demonstrations took place this weekend around the country.

Saturday evening, dozens of protesters were arrested in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, including prominent Black Lives Matter activist DeRay Mckesson.
It took the White House more than seven years to lock in Spain on President Barack Obama's foreign travel schedule. But events beyond Obama's control have turned his first and only visit to Spain, the largest European country that had yet to welcome the president, into a rushed one.

Instead of spending two days sightseeing in southern Spain and tending to more official business in the capital of Madrid, the White House scrapped some of Obama's events  including a staple of his foreign travels, a question-and-answer forum with young adults  and crammed the rest of his schedule into Sunday.

Deadly shootings last week of black men by police in Louisiana and Minnesota, followed by the sniper killings of five police officers in Dallas, led Obama to make the unusual choice to return to the White House late Sunday, a day earlier than originally planned.

Obama has been loath to tear up his schedule in response to previous acts of violence, saying repeatedly that altering his plans would be tantamount to giving in to terrorists. But terrorists didn't strike in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, near St. Paul, Minnesota, or Dallas. The assaults followed June's deadly shooting at an Orlando, Florida, nightclub and the rise in so-called lone-wolf terrorism, heightening fears about public safety.

Obama noted the "difficult week" as he made small talk Sunday with King Felipe VI after arriving at Spain's Royal Palace for a meeting.

The king thanked Obama for visiting under the circumstances. He also gave the president an English edition of Don Quixote, the famed Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. The book's leather cover is stamped with the U.S. seal and the seal of Spain's Royal House.

"I wish I was staying longer," Obama said Sunday. His wife, Michelle, and their daughters, Malia and Sasha, stopped in Spain in late June during the first lady's three-country trip to promote education for adolescent girls in developing countries.

After meeting with acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, Obama lauded the long-standing ties between the U.S. and Spain and complimented economic policies put in place under Rajoy's leadership, saying the changes have begun to "bear fruit." The economy is a top concern of the Spanish public, with nearly 5 million people out of work and the unemployment rate at about 20 percent.

Spain has been gripped by a political stalemate for months, with Rajoy unable to rally the political support he needs to form a new coalition government following a late-June election. It was the country's second round of inconclusive balloting in the past year.

Rajoy's party also won an election in December, but no other major party would help him form a government.

Rajoy thanked Obama for visiting and offered his condolences for the Dallas shooting. He touched on Spain's improving economic outlook and the political crisis, saying that having a third election in less than a year would be "a joke" that would damage the economy.

Obama also thanked Rajoy for his government's contributions as a fellow NATO ally, and for hosting U.S. sailors and guided missile destroyers at a naval base on the southern coast. A visit to the base, including an event with troops, was to be Obama's final stop before the flight to Washington.

Shortly before departing for the base, the White House says he met with leaders from Spain's main opposition parties.

Obama originally planned to spend Sunday and Monday in Spain, including a half-day of sightseeing in the south. But he cut it to one day by scrapping the sightseeing and his standard question-and-answer session with young adults.
Police in Nashua, New Hampshire, are investigating an incident in which one man was stabbed and another was shot.

Authorities say officers went to a Nashua address shortly before 2:30 a.m. Saturday after a report of a disturbance involving possible shots fired. Two men were taken to local hospitals. One suffered a stab wound to the neck and later was transported to a Boston-area hospital for treatment. The other suffered a gunshot wound to the leg and is in stable condition.

Police did not identify the men and no arrests have been made.

No further details were disclosed but authorities say there was no threat to public safety.
Someone just became a millionaire in Massachusetts thanks to Saturday night's Powerball drawing.

A $1 million Powerball ticket was sold at AM/PM Convenience at 489 Bearses Way in Hyannis, according to the Massachusetts State Lottery.

The identity of the winner is unknown at this time.

Your dreams of winning big aren't dashed. The Powerball jackpot was not hit last night. Wednesday's Powerball jackpot is an estimated $311 million.
An arrest has been made in the murder of a young woman in East Boston.

Jose Hernandez, 16, of East Providence was taken into custody on Sunday following an arrest warrant on Saturday, the Boston Police Department confirms.

Blanca Lainez, 19, was found in an East Boston garage in June. Construction crews found the teen's body where they store equipment at 54 Princeton Street.

"We worked very hard over the last several weeks to get who's responsible Sunday morning," Boston Police Commissioner William Evans said. "Police arrested 16-year-old Jose Alejandro Hernandez on Marion Street, just a couple of blocks away from where Lainez's body was found."

Evans would not comment on a motive or if the two knew each other.

"It's sad that a 16-year-old would commit such an act but that's why we are here so that less violence happens on our street," Evans said. "Together we have to make it happen because police can't do it all."

Hernandez will be arraigned Monday on first degree murder in East Boston Municipal Court.

"This arrest is evidence of our commitment to justice for the victims and survivors of homicide," Evans said. "I want to commend the efforts of my detectives and all those who worked tirelessly during this investigation. I pray that this arrest brings some level of comfort to the family."

The investigation remains under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to share it with Boston Police homicide detectives at 617-343-4470.
A man police say was unarmed but suicidal has been hospitalized after a standoff Sunday in Mansfield, Massachusetts.

Police cut off access to Eddy Street, where the man was barricaded in a home. Officials say he had made threats to commit suicide and potentially harm others.

The man called Mansfield Police around 5:30 and said he was in his bedroom with a handgun, the department said. Officers from Mansfield and neighboring town responded, only to learn that he was "highly intoxicated and suffered from multiple mental health issues."

Around 7:15 p.m., the man agreed to come out of the home. He was hospitalized for evaluation, and no weapons were found.

No one was injured.
In a 21-minute speech released by Al-Qaeda, Hamza bin Laden promises to continue the global militant groups fight against the United StatesThe son of Osama bin Laden has threatened revenge against the US for assassinating his father, according to an audio message posted online by Al-Qaeda.Hamza bin Laden promised to continue the global militant group 's fight against the United States and its allies in the 21-minute speech entitled "We Are All Osama," according to the SITE Intelligence Group, an organisation that tracks white supremacist and jihadi organisations online."We will continue striking you and targeting you in your country and abroad in response to your oppression of the people of Palestine, Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Somalia and the rest of the Muslim lands that did not survive your oppression," Hamza said.mo
A missing Fair Haven, Vermont, man has been found dead, according to police.

Around 7 p.m. Saturday, police were called to Cottage Street for a possible death. Upon their arrival, Jeremiah Rudnicki, 37, was found dead.

The man was reported missing Thursday.

Rudnicki was discovered in a heavily wooded area off Cottage Street, police say.

The case remains under investigation.
Boston police and elected officials joined the congregation at Morning Star Baptist Church in Boston's Mattapan neighborhood for prayer and soul searching Sunday.

Attorney General Maura Healey, Police Commissoner William Evans, and Mayor Marty Walsh, briefly spoke.

"Thank you for our prayers for our city," said Mayor Marty Walsh.

Many people watched the horror unfold last week when back-to-back fatal shootings of two Black men by police in Louisiana and Minnesota occurred. Then a military veteran murdered five Dallas cops, fueled by his hatred of white officers. The nation pluinged into fear and anger, a blame game, and another time of sober reflection.

Bishop John Borders says this isn't just a Black problem or a police problem, it's an American problem.

"To understand how Black people feel, you have to be in the shoes of Black people. To understand what law enforcement feels, you have to be in their shoes. That's the hard part," said Borders.

Borders believes this hard conversation needs to be engaged by everyone, working towards a solution.

During service, attendees prayed for Boston police officers. some who cried and hugged complete strangers. Then, the pastor taught the children's Sunday school an important lesson from the heart.

"Don't be afraid of these uniforms," said Borders.

Borders hopes the nation can focus on this spirit of love and humility, turning to a higher power to heal and unite a country tired of violence.
Obama was quick to racialize the deaths of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling, but reticent on Dallas.(that's because he's an agitating prick...but anyway)America has just experienced one of the saddest weeks anyone can remember, certainly since the 9/11 Al Qaeda attacks. Two young black men shot to death by policemen, one white, the other Asian, in episodes that seem, in early perceptions, to have been senseless. Then eleven Dallas police officers shot from ambushat least five fatallyin a racially charged spree of savagery. Such events, and certainly such events in confluence, defy efforts to give expression to the human emotions they unleash. We try, of course, reaching for the most powerful and outrage-charged words we can muster, but everything seems to fall short. Its too sad, too numbing, too disheartening.Such events also are too easily exploited for political advantage or philosophical leverage. Whenever a black is killed in confrontation with a white policeman (or, it seems now, an Asian American), the cry goes up that racism must have been at the heart of it.read on
Atwrites Is America Repeating the Mistakes of 1968? When questions over race and policing were front and center in a national debate in 1968, the federal government failed to take the steps necessary to make any changes. The government understood how institutional racism was playing out in the cities and how they exploded into violence, but the electorate instead was seduced by Richard Nixons calls for law and order, as well as an urban crackdown, leaving the problems of institutional racism untouched. Rather than deal with the way that racism was inscribed into American institutions, including the criminal-justice system, the government focused on building a massive carceral state, militarizing police forces, criminalizing small offenses, and living through repeated moments of racial conflict exploding into violence.In July 1967, during the aftermath of the devastating race riots in Detroit, Michigan, and Newark, New Jerseyeach of which started after incidents of police brutality against African AmericansPresident Lyndon Johnson established the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, known popularly as the Kerner Commission (for the chairman, Otto Kerner), to examine the roots of the violence. The rioting had taken place at a politically fraught time for Johnson. Southern Democrats and Republicans were leading a resurgence of the conservative coalition following the midterm elections of 1966. The disastrous Vietnam War had consumed all of the presidents remaining political capital, and conservatives on Capitol Hill were forcing him to make a decision between spending for guns or butter. Meanwhile, the civil-rights crusade had splintered, with the Black Power movement insisting that activists needed to take a bolder stand on issues like housing discrimination, policing, and unemployment.Desperate to do something, but not in a position to do much more than defend his existing accomplishments, Johnson created the high-profile commission. The president stacked the commission with established political figures who were moderate and committed to the existing economic and political system. He wanted them to demonstrate to the public that the administration took the problems seriouslybut he also wanted them to avoid recommendations that would embarrass him. Johnson was deeply cognizant of the economic and racial problems afflicting cities, but he felt that there was not much more he could do politically at that moment in time.Which is why the first version of the report was killed.Segregation and poverty, the report said, have created in the racial ghetto a destructive environment totally unknown to most white Americans. What white Americans have never fully understoodbut what the Negro can never forgetis that white society is deeply implicated in the ghetto. White institutions created it, white institutions maintain it, and white society condones it. The riots in Newark and Detroit, the report continued, were not caused by, nor were they the consequences of, any organized plan or conspiracy. The rioters were educated and had been employed in recent years; most of them were furious about facing constant discrimination when seeking new employment, trying to find a place to live, or, worst of all, interacting with hostile law-enforcement officials.more
Final test results returned Sunday morning from the Nebraska Department of Health indicate no bacteria or contaminants in Fremonts water supply.

The (precautionary boil and bottled water) period has been lifted, said Brian Newton in a brief phone call Sunday Morning. The water is safe to drink.

Residents may resume regular usage of water for drinking and cooking.

The precautionary warning came just as thousands of people descended on Fremont for the annual celebration of John C. Fremont Days. Vendors arrived at their designated sites in JCF and other various parks around the city to discover their usual access to the water system had been cut. The situation create a slight crimp in operations for those vendors as they initially scrambled to make adjustments for other water sources (bottled) to accommodate their operations.

However, vendors and festival goers endeavored in the face of inconvenience with the same enthusiasm that intrepid Pathfinder John C. Fremont most likely mustered up before each exploration into the unknown West. The numerous young faces hidden behind mounds of shaved ice, bottles of Root Bear or tall glasses of lemonade served as testament to that enterprising spirit.

Mayor Scott Getzschman thanked residents and businesses for cooperating with the City's recommended boil warning over the past several days.

"I know it was an inconvenience for many folks (especially over John C. Fremont Days), but the safety to the public was paramount. Fremont is known for great-tasting water and we didn't want to jeopardize our reputation by providing anything less than the best," Getzschman said.

After suffering from several direct lightning strikes early Thursday morning, Fremonts water system lost pressure for about 30 minutes. When water pressure drops that low, the State recommends that community leaders issue a boil warning until the water is thoroughly tested.

Testing Fremonts water represents a scrupulous and vital task for the employees with the Department of Utilities. State regulations require two sampling periods spaced 24 hours apart in order to confirm and ensure the accuracy of final result.

Starting immediately on Thursday, DU official conducted a multitude of sample collections from 16 different designated water sampling zones in the city. From each zone a total of five samples were taken for a total of 80.

Employees then transported those 80 samples to Lincoln for testing in the State certified lab  a process that takes 24 hours. Those result were returned all clear Friday afternoon. However the precautionary period was not lifted at that time because of the State regulation mentioned above; a second set of 80 samples still need testing but DU officials were required (by the state) to wait 24 hours before sending the new samples to labs in Lincoln.

The second set of water samples reached Lincoln Saturday morning. On Sunday the lab verified the results and returned the all clear on Sunday.

All told, DU employees collected nearly 200 samples of Fremont's water since Thursday and drove them to the Department of Health in Lincoln for testing.

DU General Manager, Brian Newton said he's pleased with the results. He said the decision to recommend boiling Fremont's water was not popular, but was absolutely necessary to protect the public until testing was complete.

"Our employees take great pride in providing quality water and we want to keep it that way," Newton said.

More information can be found at the City of Fremont website at fremontne.gov or the City of Fremont/Police Facebook pages.
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University Hospitals Case Medical Center is among the first in the country - and the first in Ohio - to offer and deploy the Abbott Absorb stent, a completely bioresorbable stent. The Absorb stent works exactly as its traditional metallic predecessors in that it opens a blocked coronary artery, with one major exception - it dissolves completely in the body two to three years after implantation.

On July 8, University Hospitals (UH) implanted its first Absorb dissolving stent on a patient with coronary artery disease. There are only 50 sites around the nation which will launch the Absorb product and UH is the only hospital in Ohio.

Recently approved by the FDA, Absorb is the first and only fully dissolving stent approved for the treatment of coronary artery disease which impacts over 15 million people in the United States and is the world's leading cause of death.

Made of naturally dissolving material, the new device provides the same benefits as traditional stents and trial data supports its potential benefits in restoring long-term vessel function. The stent utilizes the same cath lab equipment already in place and study data supports comparable healing with the traditional metallic stent.

Hiram Bezerra, MD, and Gui Attizzani, MD, of the UH Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute, played a significant role in assisting Abbott in bringing this technology to market.

"Absorb is a new, potentially game-changing therapy for coronary artery disease," said Dr. Bezerra, Medical Director, Cardiovascular Imaging Core Laboratory - UH Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute. "While it may never totally replace traditional DES, this novel technology gives us the ability to repair a patient's artery with comparable healing and safety and reduces long-term complications."

Like traditional metallic drug-eluding stents (DES), Absorb opens a patient's blocked artery but then disappears after leaving no metal behind to restrict natural vessel motion. Absorb is made of polyactic acid similar to material used in dissolving sutures. Through the process of hydrolysis, the scaffold is metabolized after two to three years.

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In clinical studies conducted throughout the world, the new Absorb stent demonstrated comparable short-term and mid-term outcomes compared to the leading metallic stent. After the first year of the clinical trial of approximately 2,000 patients in the United States (Absorb III randomized trial) patients who received the Absorb experienced comparable rates of specific adverse events in the intended patient population.

It also eliminates the need for layer upon layer of metal in a situation where patients experience in-stent restenosis. Additionally it reduces the amount of metal in the coronary arteries when the patient requires multiple stents.

"The device restores vasomotor function and pulsatility allowing the artery to move and more naturally regulate blood flow," says Dr. Bezerra, who is Assistant Professor, Medicine, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. "It also avoids the long-term future complications related to metallic stents, such as inability to graft to a fully stented artery in the event that a patient needs coronary artery bypass grafting."

Drs. Bezerra and Attizzani have both been involved with the imaging core lab for Absorb studies around the world. While studying structural cardiology in Italy, Dr. Attizzani, a Clinical Assistant Professor, Medicine, CWRU School of Medicine, also had opportunity to implant hundreds of Absorb BVS and participate in European studies of the device. The device has been widely used in Europe for about five years.

Abbott is using Dr. Bezerra's imaging expertise to teach and train staff and physicians around the world about the importance of vascular imaging and why it makes a difference in the proper deployment technique for Absorb.
On June 30, 2016, a team of researchers led by Thomas Buchanan, MD, Michele Kipke PhD and Jonathan Samet, MD, of the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC) received a prestigious Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The award, which was made to USC and Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA), is the second in the history of the two institutions. It will provide $36.6 million over five years to support continuation of the Southern California Clinical and Translational Science Institute (SC CTSI), the hub for community engagement in clinical and translational research at USC and CHLA. The grant will allow the SC CTSI to continue to provide critical resources to help advance cutting-edge research and scientific breakthroughs in patient and community health, with a special focus on diverse and vulnerable populations.

"This was a major team effort," said Thomas Buchanan, MD, director of the SC CTSI. "The SC CTSI has been a driving force behind the development of a culture that translates scientific discoveries into improved health care and health in the communities that we serve. The award will let us continue this important work. It also secures our place in the national CTSA consortium, where our faculty members can participate in multi-site clinical trials and compete for other research awards open only to CTSA institutions."

Since its initial funding in 2008, SC CTSI has supported more than 800 investigators and nurtured research at USC and CHLA, successfully building interdisciplinary teams, advancing drug and device development, supporting clinical trials, engaging diverse communities in research, and training clinical and translational researchers. Its efforts have contributed more than $90M in new extramural funding, more than 500 scientific publications, more than 80 patent applications and three start-ups, in addition to tangible health improvements in surrounding communities.

Michele Kipke, PhD, who co-directs the SC CSTI with Buchanan and leads the Community Engagement group, added, "We are placing increasing emphasis on clinical and community trials, where the 'rubber meets the road' in transforming research into solutions for better health. We want to make a real difference in the health of the communities we serve."

Jonathan Samet, MD, principal investigator of the Institutional Career Development component of the new NIH award, explained, "The award provides crucial resources for early career development in clinical and translational research. It is absolutely critical for developing the human capital that the Keck School of Medicine faculty need to succeed."

The NIH award will support a wide range of new initiatives including:

Collaboration with USC's Institute for Creative Technology to create "virtual humans" - an interface similar to a sophisticated computer game - to engage children and their families in clinical research.

Working closely with the Los Angeles Department of Health and Human Services to transform the way health care is delivered to vulnerable populations.

Training community members to provide crucial support in order to increase engagement of under-represented persons in clinical trials.

Use of social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter to increase recruitment and compliance in clinical trials.

Development of robust electronic platforms for data warehousing and clinical trials management.

Senior leaders of USC and CHLA were quick to praise this significant accomplishment. "Receiving this award is a hallmark of a leading research university," said Michael Quick, USC's provost and senior vice president for academic affairs. "This is exactly the kind of work we want to be doing: creating significant advances in scientific research and patient care among underserved populations."

Keck School of Medicine Interim Dean Rohit Varma stated, "Translation of research into better health care is a top priority for us. This major NIH award, while highlighting the strength of our faculty, will also be an important catalyst for our faculty in driving translational research." CEO of Keck Medicine of USC, Thomas Jackiewicz, added, "A hallmark of a top-level academic medical center is its ability to integrate outstanding clinical care with research and education. The new CTSA will be a very strong resource to drive this integration."

Paul Viviano, president and CEO of CHLA, commented, "The SC CTSI is a wonderful example of the strong collaboration between USC and CHLA. This renewed support from the National Institutes of Health will permit us to strengthen our efforts to accelerate the pace with which research discoveries from both campuses can be translated into benefits for patient and community health, especially for diverse and underserved populations."

The Clinical and Translational Science Award program was established by the National Institutes of Health in 2006. The program provides funding to more than 60 major research universities to support the development, conduct, and improvement of clinical and translational research.
New Delhi: Terming the government's decision to go ahead with merger of State Bank of India and its associate banks as a "right idea", eminent economist Meghnad Desai has said other PSU banks should also be merged from the current 24 to 3-4 large banks.



"The consolidation of the State Bank of India is very much the right idea. The other PSU banks should also be merged from the present 24 (excluding SBI and its partners) into 3-4 large banks," the India-origin British politician said.



The Union Cabinet in June gave the go-ahead to the proposal of merger of SBI and its subsidiaries that could make the state-owned lender a bank of global size.



SBI has five associate banks -- State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Travancore, State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Mysore and State Bank of Hyderabad.



Chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya had also termed the proposed merger as a "win-win" for both sides.



Among the associate banks, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Mysore and State Bank of Travancore are listed.



The merged entity is expected to compete with the largest in the world, with an asset base of Rs 37 lakh crore, or over US $555 billion, with 22,500 branches and 58,000 ATMs. It will have over 50 crore customers.



SBI has close to 16,500 branches, including 191 foreign offices spread across 36 countries.



The state-owned lender first merged State Bank of Saurashtra with itself in 2008. Two years later, State Bank of Indore was absorbed.
At least four of the 16 people who have gone missing in Kerala over the past one month converted to Islam in recent years, their family members have said.



Two brothers Yahya and Easa , were Christians from Palakkad district, who became Muslims. Yahya's wife Merin Jacob and Easa's wife Nimisha also subsequently converted to Islam.



The four were among at least 16 people - all of them Muslims - who went missing from Kerala since May.



There is no confirmation on where the two brothers and their wives might have headed to.



The agencies are now probing immigration details to understand how they might have left the country.



Earlier, Intelligence sources have confirmed that at least two among the missing total 16 have joined the Islamic State.



One of the missing woman Nimisha, a final year dental student from Century college in Kerala became Fatima after she got married to Easa a year ago.



Her mother Bindu who confirmed this information added that she was told by Nimisha's friends that she used to download videos of controversial preacher Zakir Naik's speeches.







Nimisha's mother has also told CNN News 18 that her daughter and her husband had left Kerala in May 2015 on the pretext of business engagements in Sri Lanka.



The mother says that she hasn't spoken directly to Nimisha alias Fatima since May apart from the occasional voice messages.



When she was asked about her location, a message from Nimisha's Facebook said that she was in some remote location.



"I have the last information through Whatsapp on June 4th. After that no messages, calls or voice messages. On June 15 I went to Palakkad to my son-in-law's family and told them to take this issue seriously and give a joint complaint. They also agreed," Nimisha's mother Bindu added.



On Sunday, Bindu met Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and handed over a copy of the police complaint she had registered a month back.



Vijayan assured her that the state police is investigating the matter along with central agencies like IB and the matter has been taken very seriously.
Everything, including the sitting arrangement, was meticulously planned and executed to a tee. A brocaded shamiana was pegged well outside the main compound to keep prying journalists at bay. It doubled up as media centre and reception lounge for participating delegates.



The RSS was holding its annual national executive meet in Ranchi amidst the growing chorus of 'intolerance' just ahead of the Bihar polls last year. As joint general secretary Dattatreya Hosebole took stage to address the inaugural press conference, a man in off-white sarong and bush shirt in-conspicuously walked up and took seat amongst journalists.



"Ye asahashunta ka nanga naach chal raha hai"; Hosebole thundered. Dr. Manmohan Vaidya, RSS media in-charge sitting on Hosebole's right nodded in agreement. The man in off-white sarong scribbled furiously on his notepad.



On discreet queries, I was told that the gentleman's name was J Nandakumar. That he was a senior pracharak from Kerala, and that he was currently posted to Bhopal.



"Watch out. He is being drafted for a larger role at the national level"; sources indicated.



In these nine months, Nandakumar has shifted base to Delhi, he's deputy to RSS Prachar Pramukh Manmohan Vaidya; and is handling an interesting assignment for the sangh.



His workstation now is one of those ubiquitous Lutyens-Delhi's prefab structures tucked away at the back of impressive facades. Meeting in the small conference room adjacent to his modest office, over a cup of herbal tea we discuss a host of issues - from JNU to BJP's performance in recently concluded assembly polls in his home state.



"What we witnessed during the JNU drama is nothing but the derisive rhetoric of divisive politics"; he says.



But did the RSS feel it couldn't somehow effectively counter this rhetoric- if one may call it that- during the intolerance debate and Rohith Vemula episode, followed by the JNU standoff?



Nandakumar wouldn't accept that in as many words, but yes, there persists a nagging recognition within the RSS that the Left liberals still have enough in their repertoire to influence public discourse to their advantage.



They know when and how to raise the pitch - and perhaps most importantly - when and how to make a tactical retreat to survive and fight another day. For instance, the award-vaapasi campaign melted away after achieving a strategic purpose. "Even on the JNU row, we created a hero out of Kanhaiya Kumar by launching an all-out attack on a non-descript student union leader," admitted a senior RSS leader in retrospect.



So despite a pracharak now heading the first full majority single party government at the centre, the RSS is yet to conquer the last frontier in this ideological battle - the intellectual mind space. The challenge thus is to create its own set of 'intellectual warriors' or even reach and start a dialogue with those who are seemingly neutral across the sharp divide.



Influencing these influencers or opinion makers who in turn trigger debates and dialogue among masses at large is thus of critical importance.



As a first step, the RSS has opened up and increased its interaction with 'influencers' hitherto hemmed by impermeable ideological fencing. Opinion makers - from all walks of life are increasingly being invited for important functions in Nagpur and elsewhere. Two senior editors, one from Delhi and the other from West Bengal were present at the valedictory function of the RSS third year training programe in Nagpur last month. Towards this end, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has also been meeting important dignitaries and influencers during his travels after the annual Vijayadashmi speech.



But communication wars now are increasingly fought on digital platforms. This transformed hybrid media environment requires entirely different skill sets and communication techniques where often the timing of a response could be the difference between success and failure. In this context, it helps to have on your side key opinion makers embedded in the maze of a complex media matrix.



So as a long-term plan, as RSS is quietly preparing for a sustained fight for the mind space, its operations on this front are now being coordinated from Delhi- the national capital being the nerve-centre of the political activity.



That perhaps also explains Nandakumar's transfer to Delhi to from Bhopal.
Two days after 21-year-old Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani was shot dead, Jammu and Kashmir continued to be on high alert as the Centre roped in additional CRPF teams to quell any violence and unrest that broke out in the Kashmir valley and claimed more than 14 lives.Widespread mob violence and clashes left 14 people dead and 126, including 96 security forces personnel, injured even as curfew was clamped across the Valley and mobile internet services suspended to contain the fallout of gunning down of Wani.Three policemen were also missing after a large mob attacked a police station, set it ablaze and used its weaponary to shoot and injure three cops, police said.Amid the protests, militants attacked a police station in Pulwama, which was thwarted by the security forces.In view of the volatile situation, Amarnath Yatra was also suspended, with police saying it will be resumed "as soon as it is possible to ensure security of yatris".Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti appealed for calm while expressing "profound" grief and agony over the deaths during the protests and asked security forces to avoid use of disproportionate force for crowd control.Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said Centre is working with the state government to bring normalcy in the Valley. He also expressed "deep anguish" over the "loss of precious lives in the incidents of violence" in Kashmir and appealed for calm.As Burhan, the poster boy of Hizbul Mujahideen militant outfit, was laid to rest in his native place Tral, violent mobs attacked installations of police and paramilitary forces at various places in the Valley and set ablaze several buildings including three police installations, as a result of which three cops were missing.Burhan's funeral was attended by thousands of people. There was no deployment of security forces in Tral and adjoining areas to avoid a confrontation with the people coming to participate in the funeral."We have had a very difficult day today," said ADGP (CID) of J&K Police SM Sahai while describing the situation "bad in certain segments", "not critical" in areas like north Kashmir and under control in Srinagar.The militants are trying to "superimpose their attacks" on public protests, he said, while informing that there was also a militant attack on District Police Lines in Pulwama which the security forces thwarted.(With additional information from PTI)
Earlier in the day, a police driver Feroz Ahmad was killed after a mob pushed his mobile bunker vehicle into river Jhelum at Sangam in Anantnag district, the official added.

The @JKNC_ will never be an irresponsible party & opposing you will never mean setting the state on fire for narrow political ends.  Omar Abdullah (@abdullah_omar) July 10, 2016

Three policemen, who went missing after a large mob attacked a police station in Damhal Hanjipora on Saturday, are still untraceable, state Education Minister Naeem Akhtar said.



Kashmir remained on the edge with three more persons, including a cop, getting killed in violence on Sunday, raising the death toll to 19 even as curfew-like restrictions and suspension of mobile internet services continued.A grenade was hurled at CRPF post late in the evening by some unidentified men injuring two jawans, a police official said.The unrest began on Friday following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani leading to the suspension of Amarnath Yatra for the second consecutive day, although some stranded pilgrims were escorted to safety.Efforts were on to fish out the body of the deceased cop.In Delhi, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh reviewed the situation in the Valley and spoke to Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, assuring her of all possible help.Mufti also urged protesters to maintain calm and allow the government to restore peace.The state police also urged protesters not to resort to violence, saying it does not bring the right consequences, and that it would like to avoid the killing of the youth.Meanwhile former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah extended support towards starting a peace process and urged CM Mehbooba Mufti to lead the way.Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu however lashed out at people who supported Wani and wondered how could any Indian show sympathy for a Mujhahideen commander.On Sunday Newspapers in the valley were full of advertisements announcing the cancellation of feasts and invites related to ceremonies planned post Ramadan owing to the violence.Even as curfew-like restrictions remained in force, violence was reported from a number of places.An 18-year-old youth was critically injured and succumbed to death in clashes between protestors and security forces at Newa in Pulwama on Sunday, a police official said.In another incident, a head constable of police was shot in both legs by militants last night at his residence in Tral area of Pulwama district, the official said.Three youth were injured in security forces firing when a mob attacked a police post in Achabal area of Anantnag district with stones, the official said.Another youth was injured when he was hit by firearm in Pampore town on Srinagar-Jammu National Highway on Sunday.At least six other persons were hospitalised with minor injuries at various places in south Kashmir, which has seen widespread protests.As per consolidated information, more than 200 persons including 96 security personnel were injured in the clashes during which the mobs set on fire three police installations, three civil administration offices, the house of a PDP MLA, several vehicles and targeted a BJP office.(With PTI Inputs)
Dar-es-Salaam: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday arrived in Tanzania as part of his four-nation Africa tour aimed at enhancing ties with the continent, particularly in the economic sphere.



"From Durban to Dar-es-Salaam! Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives late night in Tanzania on the third leg of his African sojourn," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted on Modi's arrival in Dar es Salaam.



Modi was received at the airport by Tanzanian Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa and Foreign Affairs Minister Bernard Membe, Swarup said.



In Tanzania, Modi will hold talks with President John Pombe Joseph Magufuli on a range of issues.



The visit will be aimed at giving an impetus to ties with Tanzania, a valued friend in Africa, Modi had said.



He will also be meeting 'Solar Mamas', a group of rural women solar engineers from Africa who have been trained under Government of India-supported programmes to fabricate, install, use, repair and maintain solar lanterns and household solar lighting systems in their villages.



Modi is on five-day four-nation tour. He visited Mozambique and South Africa before arriving here. He will also visit Kenya.



The focus of the African tour is on deepening cooperation in areas of hydrocarbons, maritime security, trade and investment, agriculture and food.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's skills as a drummer were on Sunday on full display in Dar-es-Salaam as he along with Tanzanian President John Pombe Joseph Magufuli played the traditional drums for a minute."New beats to the India Africa rhythm! PM Narendra Modi and President John Magufuli play the drum," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted.Both the leaders played the wooden drums after the Prime Minister was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the State House in Dar-es-Salaam.65-year-old Modi was seen enjoying the drumming session with the Tanzanian President, who appeared to halt briefly but resumed the drumming again when he saw the Indian leader was in no mood to stop.Modi's skills as a drummer was for the first time displayed in Japan in September 2014 when he joined the Japanese percussionists to perform a 'jugalbandi' with them.He gave tough competition to the professional drummers as he tried his hand on the drum at an event to launch TCS Japan Technology and Cultural Academy in Tokyo.
Normal life was hit for the second day on Sunday in Kashmir Valley due to curfew-like restrictions and strike following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani.The restrictions have been imposed in most of Kashmir Valley as a precautionary measure.Restrictions have been imposed in most areas of Srinagar city and four districts of south Kashmir, officials said.They said the decision to impose restrictions was taken to maintain law and order in the Valley.On Saturday, the restrictions were imposed only in some parts of Srinagar, Pulwama and Anantnag districts.Meanwhile, the separatist-sponsored strike, which was extended for two more days on Saturday, also affected normal life in the Valley.Shops, private offices, business establishments and petrol pumps were shut, while government offices and banks witnessed thin attendance, the officials said.They said public transport was completely off the roads, while cars and auto-rickshaws were seen plying at a few places where there were no restrictions.Educational institutions in the Valley were closed on account of the ongoing summer vacations.The separatist groups on Saturday extended the strike to protest the killings of civilians in alleged firing by security forces.Meanwhile, Central University of Kashmir (CUK), Islamic University of Science and Technology (IUST) and Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education (JKBOSE) have postponed the examinations due to the prevailing situation in the Valley."IUST has also postponed all the examinations scheduled for July 11 and 12. New dates will be notified separately," an official of the University said.The Board of School Education (Kashmir division) has postponed the entire Examination of Class 11 regular (term Ist) 2016, a BOSE spokesman said.He said a revised date sheet on this behalf shall be issued later on.Meanwhile in a statement issued on Saturday night, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti urged the Centre to reach out to the people of Jammu and Kashmir to resolve the issues confronting the state through reconciliation efforts on internal as well as external front for ending the violence that has left behind a trail of death and destruction.The pain of Kashmiris has reached a level where the hope of peace is sure to gain substantial local support if tangible confidence building measures are taken to address the issues concerning the state and its people, the Chief Minister said.Mehbooba said the people of Jammu and Kashmir, irrespective of their age, gender, status or the political affiliation, have been suffering the terrible consequences of the pernicious turmoil over the last more than two decades.They now want peace and stability to take roots, and even within the prevailing circumstances there lies an opportunity to consolidate the peace efforts, if substantial steps are taken in the right direction to positively impact the ground situation, she said.The Chief Minister stressed on the need and urgency for reviving the peace and reconciliation initiatives, both on the internal and external fronts.Seeking people's cooperation in stabilising peace, Mehbooba said the government is responsive to the people's needs and concerned about their problems and is working judiciously and in a transparent manner to fulfill their aspirations and expectations.Flagging the problem of unemployment as a matter of grave concern, she said every section of the society including individuals, institutions and organisations, have to be brought together in a spirit of creative enterprise to widen the economic and employment space for the State's youth and channelise their energies productively.While reacting to the civilian deaths in security forces' firing on Saturday, Mehbooba had asked security forces to follow the standard operating procedures for crowd control and avoid disproportionate use of force."Disproportionate use of force for crowd control results in loss of precious lives and grave injuries which should be avoided at all costs," she said asking the police and the paramilitary forces to use Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) while dealing with protesters to avoid loss of precious human lives or injuries.Urging for calm, Mehbooba sought people's cooperation in restoration of normalcy in the Valley. Violence only brings miseries to the people and tragedies for the victim families, she said.The Chief Minister appealed to the people, especially the youth not to fall prey to the machinations of the vested interests, who play politics over the bodies of Kashmiris.
Islamic preacher Zakir Naik's Peace TV channel is not permitted by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to downlink and warned the cable operators that action will be taken for transmitting the channel, the ministry said on Saturday.



In view of reports that the channel's content aimed at inciting communal violence, the ministry issued a notification directing officials to take action against those transmitting the channel.



The ministry's Deputy Secretary Shankar Lal said: "Reports are being received of such content being broadcast through private satellite TV channels, such as Peace TV channel, which are not permitted by this ministry for downlinking into the country."



Naik is under the scanner following revelations that two of the five terrorists who massacred 20 hostages at a cafe in Dhaka on July 1 drew inspiration from his speeches.





"Some unauthorised private satellite television channels are being transmitted by some cable operators. This is a clear violation of the sub-rule 6(6) of the Cable TV Rules under programme code and needs to be acted upon immediately," Lal said.



"Necessary action must be taken by the authorised officers promptly against the defaulters to stop transmission of these channels," he added.



Issuing a list of 892 private channels which are permitted to telecast in the country, the ministry has advised all state governments to constitute state- and district-level monitoring committees for broadcast content.



It also said that people can send their complaints against telecast of non-permitted channels.



It said that cable TV rules specifies that no cable operator shall carry or include in his cable service any television broadcast or channel which has not been registered by the central government for being viewed within the territory of India.



"Transmission or re-transmission of any TV channel in violation of the Section 5 of the Cable TV Act read with Rule 6(6) by any cable operator is an offence which attracts action against the operators by the authorized officers," it said.



As per cable TV Act, if any authorized officer has reasons to believe that various provisions of the Act including the programme code are violated by any operator, he has the powers to take against that operator either by seizing his equipment or punishment for contravention of provisions of the act under Section 16.



The ministry said that either a district magistrate, sub-divisional magistrate or a commissioner of police is authorised officer to keep account of cable TV operators.


Los Angeles: Rapper Jay Z has released a new song addressing police shooting against black Americans, following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile. Sterling, 37, and Castile, 32, were fatally shot by police officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Falcon Heights, Minnesota, respectively, this week.



"I'm saddened and disappointed in THIS America we should be further along. WE ARE NOT," he wrote in a statement accompanying the new release He revealed the song was made at least a year ago, said the Hollywood Reporter.



"Blessings to all the families that have lost loved ones to police brutality," he added. His wife Beyonce also addressed the police brutality by posting a call to action on her website and asking for a moment of silence at her Glasgow show, while projecting dozens of victims' names onstage.



Five police officers were shot dead and seven others injured in firing by snipers in Dallas during a late night demonstration protesting the fatal police shootings of Sterling and Castile.




New Delhi: Rahul Gandhi on Saturday warned the warring factions of the party's Mumbai unit to work together ahead of crucial civic polls telling them that he would ensure accountability after the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation election results.



Rahul's over two-hour-long meeting with Mumbai leaders was aimed at putting the house in order in the megapolis at a time when Shiv Sena and BJP are at increasing loggerheads in the state and in the city.



The Congress vice president's warning to top city leaders was significant in the backdrop of the internecine quarrels that had come to fore after AICC general secretary Gurudas Kamat announced his retirement from active politics in June.



Upset over being sidelined by Mumbai Pradesh Congress Committee president Sanjay Nirupam and AICC general secretary Mohan Prakash in party's city affairs, Kamat had announced that he was retiring from active politics.



He later resumed his duties AICC general secretary after being convinced by top leadership.



Kamat was present at the meeting along with Nirupam and Prakash. Rahul also sought to play a peacemaker between the two leaders.



"If I am the problem, I am ready to correct myself," Nirupam said after the meeting, seeking to extend an olive branch to Kamat.



The meeting was also attended by former MPs Milind Deora and Eknath Gaikwad, city party MLAs Varsha Gaikwad, Amin Patel, Aslam Sheikh, Janardhan Chandurkar, Amin Patel.



Despite faring well in the city in 2004 and 2009 Lok Sabha and Assembly polls, Congress is in opposition in the cash-rich BM for over two decades now with Shiv Sena calling the shots in alliance with BJP.



In 2014 Lok Sabha and Assembly polls, Congress has lost power tally in the state and win in the crucial BMC polls could prove to be boost to the party cadre.



Rahul could also be visiting Mumbai in a month's time for attending a meeting of block presidents.



Earlier this week he had also called leaders from Kerala to end factionalism in the southern state in the wake of its defeat in Assembly polls.
The first bendable smartphones, capable of rolling up around the owner's wrist, could be on the market in five years' time, the Co-President of Lenovo's Mobile Business Group, Aymar de Lencquesaing, said in a recent interview with CNBC. The news comes after the firm demoed a flexible prototype mobile at Lenovo Tech World in June 2016.At the Lenovo Tech World event in June 2016, the Chinese manufacturer presented two prototype handsets with varying degrees of flexibility. The Lenovo Folio takes the form of an 8-inch tablet that can be folded in two, whereas the Lenovo CPlus is an otherwise regular-looking 4.26-inch smartphone that can be rolled around the owner's wrist like an oversized bangle. Both devices run Google's Android OS.Note that Lenovo already got the tech world talking this year by bringing Tango augmented reality technology, developed by Google, to its PHAB 2 Pro phablet, scheduled for release in September 2016.Lenovo isn't the only manufacturer working on projects of the kind, however. South Korean manufacturer Samsung is in the process of developing a smartphone concept with a screen that folds in half, codenamed Project Valley. This original device could initially be sold in Asian markets.Samsung already previewed its own flexible displays, made from plastic, at the 2011 CES in Las Vegas, USA, as part of a project to build an unbreakable phone. This technology can evidently be rolled out to tablets too. What's more, Samsung, like LG, is also said to be working on transparent displays.Samsung has suggested 2017 as a probable release date for a first foldable smartphone, although this might be less sophisticated and spectacular than the Lenovo CPlus.
BEIJING  Chinese warships, fighter jets and submarines held live-fire war games in the South China Sea, state media reported, just days ahead of an international tribunal's ruling on a challenge to Beijing's expansive claims in the waters.



The high-profile display of naval hardware is China's latest salvo in a propaganda offensive aimed at demonstrating its military might and asserting its sovereignty over the disputed region.



Though China has said the exercises are routine, they come ahead of The Hague-based arbitration tribunal's ruling Tuesday in a case brought by the Philippines contesting China's claims in the South China Sea. China says the tribunal has no jurisdiction and says it will not accept the verdict.



China Central Television showed video of Friday's drills, conducted by three fleets of the People's Liberation Army Navy in and around the Paracel Islands, which are also claimed by Vietnam.



The footage showed missiles and torpedoes being launched from ships, jets flying in formation and releasing flares, and submarines surfacing in the water. The drills are aimed at testing the navy's battle-readiness and are scheduled to run till Monday, CCTV said.



Zhao Yanquan, a commander of a guided missile destroyer, said the scenario tested the troops' ability to locate enemy submarines, where enemy warships are attacking from and when enemy jets are taking off.



"We gather the information, analyze it and make decisions upon it. For us, it is a real war situation and therefore a test to that effect," Zhao said.



Earlier in the week, Vietnam protested the Chinese drill and has demanded that Beijing stop acting in a way that threatens security and maritime safety.



Vietnam, China and Taiwan all claim the Paracelss, which are occupied by China, and those three along with the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei claim all or parts of the Spratly Islands, which are believed to be rich in natural resources and occupy one of the world's busiest sea lanes.




ST. LOUIS  Iowa fisheries research biologist Jonathan Meerbeek was recognized as the Fisheries Biologist of the Year by the Midwest Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (MAFWA) at its annual meeting in St. Louis.

MAFWA, an organization of 13 state and three provincial Midwest fish and wildlife agencies, exists to share ideas and information, pool resources and initiate action to benefit the management and conservation of fish and wildlife resources in the Midwest. This award is presented annually to a fisheries biologist that demonstrates unparalleled initiative towards the better understanding of fishes and their conservation.

Meerbeek, DNR natural lakes fisheries research biologist working out of the Spirit Lake Fish Hatchery, was recognized for his quality walleye and muskellunge research and other efforts to improve fishing in Iowas natural lakes.

Meerbeek works closely with DNR management biologists and northwest Iowa fishing clubs to identify and prioritize natural lakes research needs.

Jonathan does an excellent job designing research projects to answer questions posed by district fisheries biologists managing fisheries in Iowas natural lakes, said George Scholten, DNR fisheries research supervisor. His research doesnt just end up on a shelf  rather it yields useful information that is integrated into natural lakes management and ultimately helps to shorten the time between bites for Iowa anglers.

Meerbeek worked with the Upper Great Plains and Heartland chapters of Muskies Inc. on a project that should yield useful information for muskellunge management in Iowa.

This project will follow yearling muskellunge immediately after stocking to assess survival and movement during their first months in the wild.

Members of these chapters donated funds and obtained a grant from the Hugh C. Becker Foundation to purchase the radio telemetry equipment used to follow these fish.

Meerbeek also has been working with the Iowa Board of Regents Lakeside Lab and the Friends of Lakeside Lab to collect data to assess the effects of zebra mussels on aquatic vegetation in the Iowa Great Lakes. Information gathered from his research will help lake managers plan and prepare for future zebra mussel infestations in other lakes.
Home News Sports Social Obituaries Events Letters Looking Back Health Jewels Stitch in Time Boundary County family conserves open space along area lake July 9, 2016 About 700 acres surrounding Bonner Lake, a popular recreation area, will be permanently protected through a Forest Legacy Program conservation easement. Four generations of the Wages family have owned the property surrounding Bonner Lake since the early 1950s. These lands contain forests, wet meadows and hay ground that provide economic, recreational, wildlife and scenic benefits to the community.



"My grandfather's original intent was to keep the properties together as a working farm and forest," said Adrian Wages. "Through this agreement we were able to honor his wishes, and keep the family lands undeveloped and whole for our children and future generations."



Located between the Purcell and Selkirk mountains, the undeveloped property and surrounding areas provide exceptional habitat for a diversity of wildlife including elk, deer, grizzly and black bears, and contain a variety of rare plants. The property provides a picturesque backdrop from the northwest end of the lake which is accessible to the public for canoeing and year-round fishing.



In partnership with the Idaho Department of Lands (IDL), The Nature Conservancy and the U.S. Forest Service, the Wages family will be protecting working forest and farmland, fish and wildlife habitat, and public recreation opportunities.



"We are thankful to the Wages family for having the foresight and commitment to conserve this beautiful and unique property," said Kennon McClintock, watershed manager in Boundary County for the Nature Conservancy. "In partnership with IDL and the Forest Service, we are conserving a place that provides public access, timber, and habitat for fish and wildlife." The project received letters of support from local governments, the timber industry, and the Kootenai Valley Resource Initiative.



Funding for the project came through the Forest Services Forest Legacy Program, which seeks to protect working foreststhose that support the natural resources economy, protect water quality, provide habitat, opportunities for recreation and other public benefits. The conservation easement was purchased for a discounted price, with the Wages family generously contributing the difference as donated land value.



Forest Legacy projects are voluntary and support local people and companies that want to keep working forests working, benefiting the local economy, IDL Director Tom Schultz said. The counties benefit because they continue to receive property tax from the landowner, and people benefit with access to recreation.



The Forest Legacy Program is designed to protect and maintain private working forest for future generations. It is a privilege to be able to help families like the Wages keep their family forest as well as providing for wildlife, clean water and recreational experiences, said Janet Valle, U.S. Forest Service. It is truly a conservation partnership.



The Wages family will continue to own and manage the property under a conservation easement that guarantees it will remain a working forest and will always provide significant environmental and social benefits. The easement will be held by the Idaho Department of Lands, which will be responsible for long-term monitoring. With the easement recently finalized, the Wages made a lasting contribution to forest conservation for Idaho.



In partnership with other willing landowners, future Forest Legacy conservation easements will protect working forests in Boundary and Bonner counties within the McArthur Lake Wildlife Corridor, Hall Mountain near the Canadian border, and Clagstone Meadows near Careywood.



No taxpayer dollars are being used to fund Forest Legacy. The money comes from the Land and Water Conservation Fund, earnings from offshore oil and gas leasing that is allocated specifically for conservation purposes. Forest Legacy funds are used for forest conservation throughout the United States, and Idaho receives project grants through a nationally competitive process.

Questions or comments about this article? Click here to e-mail!
Home News Sports Social Obituaries Events Letters Looking Back Health Jewels Stitch in Time NewsBF writer's article featured in

statewide agricultural journal July 9, 2016 An article published by NewsBF six weeks ago about the Farm Tour, organized and sponsored by the Boundary County Soil Conservation District and the Idaho Farm Bureau, has been picked up and re-published statewide in the Idaho Farm Bureau's Gem State Producer magazine.



The NewsBF article, entitled "Couldnt make last Fridays Farm Tour? The full story on Farm Tour 2016," was written by NewsBF newswriter Mary Fioravanti, and was originally published on our online news website on May 26. The article described Ms. Fioravanti's impressions of the day she spent with this year's Boundary County Farm Tour.



The Farm Tour is organized annually by the Boundary County Soil Conservation District and the Idaho Farm Bureau, and is always an anticipated, educational, and fun event. This year's Farm Tour stopped by the Search and Rescue Dock to participate in releasing juvenile sturgeon, raised in the Kootenai Tribe's hatchery, into the Kootenai River. The tour then traveled to different areas of the county where participants learned about dikes on the Kootenai River, about the role of forest management in fire prevention, then later about invasive weeds in Idaho. The tour was wrapped up with a trip to Houck Farms, owned and operated by Tim and Julie Dillin, where tour participants had the opportunity to inspect the newly-started flour mill, learn about the operation of the farm, and learn about and actually ride in some of the farm's equipment,



Shortly after Ms. Fioravanti's article appeared on NewsBF, we were contacted by John Thompson, Director of Public Relations for the Idaho Farm Bureau. Mr. Thompson indicated he had enjoyed reading the article about our local Farm Tour, and inquired about the possibility of re-printing the article in the Farm Bureau's statewide magazine. Ms. Fioravanti's article has just appeared, with accompanying photographs, in the July 2016 issue of the Gem State Producer.



The Idaho Farm Bureau Federation, headquartered in Boise, was originally organized in 1939 as an independent farm organization, according to their website. "Idaho Farm Bureau Federation is a free, independent, non-governmental, voluntary organization of farm and ranch families united for the purpose of analyzing their problems, and formulating action to achieve educational improvement, economic opportunity, and social advancement and thereby, to promote the national well-being."



To read the original NewsBF Farm Tour article written by Mary Fioravanti, click here.



To see the online version of the Idaho Farm Bureau's Gem State Producer magazine where the article is reprinted, click here and go to page 13 of the online magazine. Questions or comments about this article? Click here to e-mail!
Breaking Blue, therapy in Art

This weekend people with depression will be bearing their so uls in a very unique exhibition entitled Breaking Blue - Impressions on Depression from the Art Therapy Room.

The interactive exhibition is presented by the newly formed The Art Therapy Association of Trinidad and Tobago and is being put on at the Medulla Art Gallery at 37 Fitt Street, Woodbrook.

Last week Sunday Newsday visited the gallery and chatted with three of the associations directors, whose clients works will be on display: Sian McLean, psychotherapist and art therapist; Kim Bryan, art psychotherapist; and Sarah Soo Hon, art therapist. Not present during the interview but participating in the exhibition is Kristy Anatol, art therapist and Satori Hassanali, art psychotherapist.

On art therapy, Soo Hon explains it is art being used as a major tool and the psychotherapist takes the client through change and transformation.

It is art focused as the catalyst for the therapy, she says.

Bryan describes art therapy as a triangular relationship as art plays a in role fostering communication and is psychotherapeutic, helping one to work on internal processes. She says some clients may not necessarily understand what their true challenge may be and art helps process things in a different way.

Bryan explains the clients who do not have language include those with autistic spectrum disorders, and, in terms of engagement, art is very useful for fostering and building social relationships.

They are learning new skills, building and integrating different aspects of self through the use of art, she explains.

Some people think the therapy is only art making, Bryan discloses but says the goal is to help the client process their issues verbally and not only visually.

Soo Hon has many non-verbal clients but says through art they are still expressive. For McLean, the images help clients find the words they need to express themselves verbally. She recalls a client who had done two years of talk therapy but unsuccessfully. She saw the client for two years and did little talking, only art and sensory activities.

The client when making marks in the paper felt different things in the body Soo Hon works alongside other therapists and says clients uncover and discover things that they were not conscious of. She has been an art therapist since 2009 and observes the field is only now growing and expanding. McLean has been in art therapy for five years.

Bryan, who is from Barbados, practised in her home country - where she was the sole art therapist - and in the United Kingdom.

She recalls that when she came to Trinidad she was thrilled to find other art therapists and have that support.

She cautions that many people are promoting themselves as art therapists but without qualifications, and one of the associations major concerns is that unqualified persons could really damage what we do. They could give people the wrong idea. (And) cause damage to the client if they dont know what they are doing, she stresses. The association wants to raise awareness about art therapy via workshops and seminars and discuss issues such as peer supervision.

They also hope to educate other professionals about art therapy.

Soo Hon says doctors who have referred clients to her believe she is doing an art class and have a wrong impression of what art therapists do, declaring the therapeutic process requires a commitment to change.

For their sessions, they have group and individual therapy and see a wide range of clients, not just persons with mental disorders or disabilities, and also work in schools, hospitals and private practice. Soo Hon explains therapy is not children focused, which is another misconception. The age range of her clients is from two years up to 70.

Bryan observes research on art therapy has shown benefits for different age groups including the elderly with Alzheimers and dementia, persons with childhood trauma, mood disorders and autistic spectrum disorders. Art therapy comes with a lot of research and documentation, she says.

McLean notes art therapy has been around for awhile but just not in this country.

And Soo Hon elaborates that art therapy does not depend on a clients pre-existing skills with art, sharing that many of her clients have never touched paints before starting the therapy.

On the exhibition, McLean says they have been planning it for awhile and their first is meant to raise awareness for depression.

A lot of people dont get it. The public as well. So much stigma with mental health, she laments.

She says some people view those who are depressed as lazy, unmotivated and they simply need to think about being happy or get over it. She expresses hope that the visual work in the exhibition will give people a sense of what it is like.

On the theme of depression, Soo Hon says the condition is quite common but misunderstood.

Almost all of the 60 pieces are works by clients who have suffered with depression, with just a few response pieces from the art therapists.

The clients have varied responses about their work being displayed in public. McLean recalls one client was very excited and wants to be there the whole night, while another wants people to see the story but does not want to be present nor have their family view it.

Bryan says her clients are mostly nonchalant and their major concern is remaining anonymous.

Soo Hons clients are excited about sharing their stories but also want to feel safe and protected doing so.

They are going through so much they want people to know their experience but it is hard for them to know it is you, she explains.

The stories shared through the art are very deep, Bryan says, and are things they have not shared with their family and friends. She points out that as therapists they would accept and understand but the clients are not sure whether other people will.

It is part of the process on how people respond to their stories but with the distance of not being impacted by that response or being identified, she elaborates.

Soo Hon says they took careful consideration of which clients would be ready to have their work on display and ensures they give their full consent and have awareness of what would happen to their work. Bryan says they have been told their work could end up in the media and they have to be ready for that.

The exhibition includes drawings, paintings, sculptures, masks, group drawings and response pieces.

There will also be an interactive space for those in attendance to respond to the pieces. The works range from impressionistic, idyllic nature scenes, objects, monstrous creatures, a hand with a slit wrist and body ripping out of another.

The works are their records and will not be for sale.

Asked about the aesthetics of the work, McLean says it varies but they are all very expressive.

Soo Hon says they do not focus on aesthetically pleasing art but on expression, and points out that as the clients make more art they get more comfortable with the materials and exploring their own aesthetic.

Not the type of work typically seen in a gallery, she adds.

As a therapist, McLean says it is difficult to see all the work together and some pieces are extremely painful, emphasising they are really trying to raise awareness about art therapy and depression.

We want people to see it, reflect on it, start a dialogue, she hopes.

If someone attending the exhibition is depressed, or has a family member who is depressed, there will be resources available where they can get help and information on depression. McLean says there are many stories and those in attendance will see these stories and be a part of their journey and experience.

Soo Hon hopes patrons will think more carefully about mental health and the experiences people go through with mental health.

Bryans wish is that the exhibition will give people the opportunity to see and think more deeply about depression.

Breaking Blue runs until July 23 from 6 pm-9 pm. For more information you can call 680-1041, 622- 1196 or email medullaartgallery@ gmail.com.
Kwesis Love Groove

The seven-track album will be launched at an event bearing the same name at Kaiso Blues Caf?, Woodford Street, on July 24. The event will also feature the talents of K9, Hayden Brown, Makela London and Tracy Gopichan.

It is Pauls aim that the album and event will draw a young crowd and demonstrate to them that pan - the countrys national instrument - is versatile and capable of a lot more than it is often given credit for.

It is pan with a different taste. People think that pan can only play jazz music.

But this will draw the youth. Get them interested, says Paul.

The idea for the event came as he sought a way to promote and market his album. Paul wants to get the music that is not played on many of the nations radio stations out there.

With the help of producer Ishamel Tommy and DJ Ahkeel Benjamin, it was decided that the best way to get this done would be to have a concert featuring different artistes singing about love.

Paul spoke to Carl Jacobs, owner of Kaiso Blues Caf?, who agreed to host the event.

The 35-year-old pannist is an arranger for Pandemonium Steel Orchestra, Norfolk Street, Belmont.

The love of pan runs through Pauls veins.

His father, the late Oscar Paul was a former arranger for Soul City and who also played for Amoco Renegades (now bp Renegades)- being the driving impetus for Pauls musical choice.

He recalled his fondest moment being looking on as his father arranged in the pan yard and also playing beside his father.

Pauls love for the instrument and wanting to see it grow has led to him developing sounds for the ear of a new generation. His album, which will be featured during his hour-long performance at the concert, will spotlight Pauls own stamp on contemporary songs by Chris Brown Back to Sleep, Ed Sheeran Thinking Out Loud, Neyo So sick and Wizkid featuring Drake and Skeptas Ojuelegba.

Although Paul has no formal certification in music yet, he is working hard to get to the Berklee College of Music. He also plans to begin working on another album featuring his own compositions in August. The arranger for Pandemonium, who also plays for Phase II Pan Groove and has arranged for WITCO Desperadoes, has learnt patience through pan.

Pan is very cool instrument.

It is one of the best instruments that there is. It taught me to have patience, he says.

He has performed in the production of Derek Walcotts Steel in 2005.

The ultimate fulfilment of Pauls love for pan would be to see pan, on the red carpet. He believes there has been a missed opportunity in the commercial marketing of pan.

They are not doing as much to market the product. If it had been marketed properly it would not be suffering as much as it is today, he says.

Pan, he adds, needs to be taken seriously in TT .

One day, too, Paul hopes that pan would take home a Grammy award demonstrating to TT and the world that it is an all-encompassing, all-capable musical instrument.
My father, my hero

My father was my hero, the younger Manning declared as he eulogised his father during a State funeral service at the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in Port-of-Spain.

I wanted to be just like my father, my hero, he told the packed congregation that included a host of dignitaries headed by President Anthony Carmona, Prime Minster Dr Keith Rowley, Chief Justice Ivor Archie and their wives, as well as some regional leaders.

Reading from a prepared text, Brian reflected on Mannings positive attributes as a father and husband, many of which the public was unaware.

Brian said his father, with whom he often had intimate conversations, led by example both within and outside of the home.

For that, I am eternally grateful, he said.

Manning, this countrys fourth Prime Minister and longest serving parliamentarian, died at the age of 69 at about 8.15 am last Saturday (July 2) at the San Fernando General Hospital after being diagnosed earlier in the week with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia, a rare form of blood cancer.

His State funeral service at the Holy Trinity Cathedral yesterday and private interment at Belgroves Funeral Home, Tacarigua, capped a week of tributes and personal testimonials from a wide range of persons in Trinidad and Tobago and the rest of the region, including Dominica, which designated a two-day period of mourning for the former TT Prime Minister.

Supporters of the Peoples National Movement (PNM), Opposition parliamentarians and members of the public also got the opportunity to view Mannings body which lay in state on Thursday and Friday at the National Academy of the Performing Arts (NAPA) in Port-of-Spain  a cultural monument which he conceptualised and saw to completion  as well as at the counterpart Southern Academy of the Performing Arts (SAPA) in San Fernando. And while many of the speakers at the funeral service focussed heavily on Mannings savvy as a Prime Minister, politician, public servant and regionalist, his son Brian opted to focus on the former Prime Ministers softer side.

Brian revealed that in the years that he had known his father, Manning was a man of character who never uttered a curse word. Brian elicited chuckles from the congregation, though, when he said he had fallen hopelessly short of that expectation.

Saying that Manning had given up alcohol during his 30s, Brian said his father treated all who visited their home with kindness, love and respect.

He was a father to all who needed one, he said.

It was through Manning and his mother, Hazel, Brian said, that he cultivated an interest in reading and books. His father is also the reason why he wears the face of his watch on the inside of his wrist.

His father, Brian said, also gave him a small clock and Bible when he went off to university abroad, telling me that is all I would need to be successful. Brian recalled jokingly that he had locked horns with his father during his high school years, navigating from Port-of-Spain to San Fernando.

I enjoyed that sense of independence, he said.

Brian told mourners that he had loved travelling in maxi taxi taxis and listening to the music of Chinese Laundry at ear-splitting decibels, but reminded them that the Peoples National Movement (PNM) had passed legislation to address noise pollution.

The bill brought increased relief to people but my friends were crushed, he said amid chuckles from listeners. Brian said his father also was willing to discuss the merits and demerits of any issue.

I will miss those long discussions, he said.

According to Brian, his fathers focus was never on the accumulation of wealth but insisted that ones name was of greater importance.

Touching on Mannings life as a politician, Brian said he learnt early on that he and his brother, David, had to share their father with not only all of TT but the rest of the Caribbean.

He noted, though, that while his father may have been criticised unfairly at times during his stewardship, Manning would often say that no great achievement comes without criticism. Being unfairly criticised is a part of success, he added.

Reflecting on his fathers compassion and policies to enhance the socio-economic realities of the disadvantaged and less fortunate, Brian again drew applause from the audience when called for the re-establishment and expansion of the Divine Echoes Orchestra which Manning had conceptualised in 2007 in an attempt to revive the big band era.

Young people need a creative outlet to achieve their fullest potential in these challenging economic times, he said. Brian said his father understood that music had the power to transcend race, ethnicity and class to give a sense of hope to those who have lost all hope. He will be most pleased to give the youths the opportunity to live their best selves, he said.

Members of Divine Echoes, which is based in Charlieville, Chaguanas, attended yesterdays State funeral for Manning but did not have an official role in the programme.

Instead, the band performed in the bandstand of Woodford Square, the place where this countrys first prime minister Dr Eric Williams launched the PNM in in 1956 and which has been the scene of some of this countrys most spectacular political rallies, including Mannings swearing-in ceremony as Prime Minister in 2007.

The band, which has performed at several functions over the years, has never been invited to perform at events during the tenure of the former Peoples Partnership administration.

In his eulogy, Brian also proposed that a fund be established at the International Financial Centre (IFC), Port-of-Spain, in his fathers memory, to facilitate housing for low income earners in TT and throughout the region, including the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Cuba, in keeping with his fathers compassion for the socially dispossessed.

It would be called the Patrick Manning Fund, he said of the proposed initiative.

Towards the end of his reflection, Brian made it clear that his father did not leave his family with a huge inheritance but offered a life that was dedicated to service and love, something far more precious. He told mourners,  I come to you not with eyes of tears but filled with gratitude. To his father, he said, One day we will sit and laugh together again
Picture this ...

Its 2 a.m. and a bunch of sleepy people enter an airport transport bus that will take them to the first leg of their journey to another country. Its a pretty quiet bus ride as its too early to be chatty.

My husband and I get off the bus, gather our luggage and start wheeling it into the airport, following another couple with the same travel companys tag on their luggage. I chose to follow the woman who looked like she could lead us anywhere, as she walked with a purpose and had that certain look of determination on her face. After a lot of waiting time and a layover in Chicago, we met each other and found we were indeed on the same company trip.

Flash forward a few days to the point when strangers have become friends, and she told me, This was my first time in a planeever! Ive never been out of the country! I never would have guessed that! She laughed when I told her how she looked so confident in the airport that I thought she had done it a million times. Perspective No. 1 changed.

My next perspective had to do with weather. If you know me at all, you are aware of my love for winter ... or at least extreme air-conditioning in the summer to keep me from melting. Since our destination was the Dominican Republic, I knew I was in for probably the hottest weather I would ever experience. I packed sleeveless things, which I thought necessary even though my Scandinavian upper arms prefer to be hidden. I asked in advance if our room was air-conditioned and did some copious research on travel sites to see what was in store.

Nothing  I repeat, NOTHING could have prepared me for the shock of the sweltering Caribbean heat that slammed me in the face as I walked off the plane. Ahhh! Feel that heat! one father exclaimed to his family. Really? Dont remind me, I thought. Im channeling cool memories to help me make my way from the airplanes steps across the tarmac into the hopefully polar inside of the airport.

Once we were there, we headed toward the baggage claim. As sweat developed in places I didnt even know I had, I looked up at a huge thatched roof with the biggest ceiling fans I had ever seen. What?!? Where was the A/C? A ceiling fan wont even cut it on a normal humid summer day in Iowa. This baggage claim was in the open air. I left my husband to pick up the bags as I made my way to the womens restroom where surely it must be cooler. You guessed it. Not even a ceiling fan there to give people the illusion that they were being cooled off.

Flash forward a few days to the point where weather wasnt even a second thought. Air-conditioned suites kept us in cool comfort at night while our daily hot and humid walks to the beach were rewarded with shaded tiki huts, lovely ocean breezes, and waiters attending to our every need.

Three days into our trip, dressed in evening wear and sipping a new favorite icy drink in the resorts gargantuan open-air lobby, I looked at my husband and said, Im not even hot! Perspective No. 2: unbelievably blown away.

It seems this trip was placed in my life to prove me wrong on many accounts. Another day brought another excursion to different parts of the Dominican to experience life-changing sights. Staying at a beautiful 5-star resort made me long to live there. Traveling through the countryside and seeing the reality of living there made me thankful for my own home.

As our tour bus snaked its way through seemingly impassable spots, I looked out the window and saw tiny huts with doors that were wide open and roofs made of corrugated steel. People, young and old, were sitting outside, or if they were walking, many had some kind of covering on their heads (if only a piece of cardboard from a box) to shade themselves from the wicked sun beating down on them.

I saw motorbikes dragging low to the ground as 3 or 4 people were on them, driving entirely too close to the road where traffic could have led them to an easy death. No helmets, eitherpeople just grasped onto each other with blind faith, hanging on for dear life as they at times peered up into the bus windows to give us a quick smile.

Our tour guide told us that Dominicans are happy people. No matter what, they are happy. Over the week, we found this to be completely true. No air-conditioning, no electricity, and sometimes nowhere to dry your clean clothes except the branches of a tree next to your tiny huthow could a person be happy enough to smile in those conditions, anyway?!? And how could I feel so entitled to living a life of luxury in our amazing resort after seeing what I saw? Perspective No. 3: Changed.

Travel. No matter what, do it. Go somewhereeven if its out of your comfort zone, and ESPECIALLY if its out of your comfort zone. Get away and change your perspective ... or better yet, take me with you. Ive discovered Im okay in any climate!
Govt to honour former PM

Cuffie and Al-Rawi were speaking with reporters outside Port-of- Spain City Hall, following the official State funeral for Manning who died at the San Fernando General Hospital on July 2 at the age of 69.

Im sure the Cabinet will be looking at that over the next few weeks and find a way to do justice to his immense contribution in TT, Cuffie stated.

During the funeral, Mannings son Brian urged Government to consider re-establishing the Divine Echoes Orchestra, which was developed under his father. The band played on the bandstand in Woodford Square as the Manning family and invited guests took a break between the funeral service at the Holy Trinity Cathedral and the interment at Belgroves Funeral Home in Tacarigu. Mannings son also called for the establishment of a special region-wide fund for low income housing to be called the Patrick Manning Housing Development Fund. When asked by Sunday Newsday whether these were proposals which Cabinet would be willing to consider, Cuffie replied, Im sure all those suggestions will be taken into consideration. Also asked about the fund, Al-Rawi said, Right now the wishes of the family are still in process of coming forward.

He continued: Obviously the State now has to balance its perspective. Certainly Dr Rowley has been championing a Caricom initiative in very significant ways. He pointed out that as Attorney General he heads the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) and there has been a cohesion there as well.

So theres definitely a thrust into Caricom and a request like that would have to be put to the Cabinet and would have to be laid against the current realities of our economic position, Al Rawi said. But that isnt to say that our situation is one that cant necessarily facilitate management. Al Rawi pointed out that they are looking at issues with the Heritage and Stabilisation Fund and Caricom has had significant support from this country and Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has pledged various versions of it.

What one would need to do is analyse is this in effect already? Is it something that can be fleshed out? What are the mechanics behind it? And that would ultimately fall to the Minister of Finance, the Prime Minister and the entire Cabinet of Trinidad and Tobago, he said. Al Rawi continued: So its very early days. But what we will certainly take away from the request is that its a very noble intention and it is keeping with the lot of reflections upon Mr Manning himself. On the suggestion to revive the Divine Echoes band which Manning had championed, Al-Rawi responded that Rowley has spoken to the need for events such as this.

I can tell you that the Cabinet is considering and the Finance and General Purpose Committee is considering a number of initiatives.

The Divine Echoes is certainly one of the initiatives that fall into social programmes, et cetera, and I expect that that enunciation today could be factored into some of the ongoing work. Again that will be a matter for the Cabinet to speak to and obviously some details would have to be coordinated, he said.

He recalled that Rowley, when he was Opposition Leader, he did speak about it and Divine Echoes in the past and now it is to make sure that we get the whole fabric together and right.

Cuffie described yesterdays State funeral as a massive undertaking and said, it came off successfully. Cuffie said the number of persons who attended the funeral, from this country and outside of it, clearly demonstrated the amount of love for Manning across the political divide in TT and across the Caricom region. TT Ambassador to the United Nations, Pennelope Beckles- Robinson, said the funeral was a fitting send off for someone who loved TT and the Caribbean. Beckles-Robinson, who served under Manning at one time, said she was proud to be part of history and to have been privileged to have known Manning.

She recalled the assistance that TT gave to Grenada in 2004 after it was devastated by Hurricane Ivan, as a prime example of Mannings leadership skills.

Planning Minister Camille Robinson-Regis said she remembered Manning for his fortitude and his love for the Caribbean, adding this was why Manning had the vision to develop the Caricom Petroleum Fund.

Former government minister Kennedy Swaratsingh said he was very grateful to Manning for giving him an opportunity to serve the country. Swaratsingh expressed regret that TT did not benefit a lot more from Manning after he retired from politics because Manning still had a lot to give.

He disclosed that he and Manning talked regularly on Skype within recent years. In extending his condolences to Mannings wife Hazel and his sons Brian and David, Swaratsingh remarked, I will miss our conversations.
A final 21-gun salute

Dozens gathered outside the funeral home and peeked through the fence to try and catch a glimpse of the private proceedings.

Although they could not see much, many were happy that they got to walk alongside the procession to the funeral home.

The Military Cortege began the procession at about 4 pm from Caura Junction, El Dorado with Mannings casket draped with the national flag on a carriage. His wife, Hazel, their sons Brian and David walking behind the casket and with several other family members with them. Also seen amongst the family were former MPs Amery Browne and Nilueng Hypolite. It was a solemn march with onlookers silently taking pictures and videos with their cellphones. They only sound heard was the Defence Forces band playing Frank Sinatras My Way and The Mighty Sparrows Memories.

The procession was delayed by more than an hour as sources told Sunday Newsday that Brian, who was out of the country at the time of his fathers death, was given the opportunity to see his father one last time.

As people waited, they expressed their love for the former Prime Minister.

He was a good man and everything they doing here for him is not enough for what he has done for us, one man said.

Earlier in the day, those who gathered in Port-of-Spain cheered and applauded as the casket was hoisted on the shoulders of officers before it was taken into the Trinity Cathedral. The hearse carrying Mannings body stopped near the corner of Queen Street and Abercromby Street and the minute it was opened, the national flag could be seen draped over the coffin and those who braved the hot sun, applauded.

Eight officers stood nearby in preparation to receive the casket to place onto their shoulders.

When the casket was slowly raised onto their shoulders the applause got louder and they cheered.

One man saying Wow! and another saying there will never be another man like him. People gathered on pavements, in their business places and on the Brian Lara Promenade with their cameras and cell phones in hand to capture the procession which began at the corner of South Quay and Broadway, a few minutes after its planned 9 am start.

As the black hearse turned onto Broadway, a white hearse drove behind, many onlookers wondered which one carried Mannings body. A young boy was heard asking his mother, mummy why they have two hearses? The white hearse, Sunday Newsday was told, carried the wreaths.

At about 9.21 am, the officers received their orders to begin the slow march and the Defence Force band began playing their instruments. It was a solemn march as the Military Cortege made their way onto Independence Square and turned onto Abercromby Street.

After the body entered the church, those who lined the streets walked quickly to Hart Street and Woodford Square to take in the service.

A woman told Sunday Newsday, Manning did too much for her and her children for her to watch his funeral service at home.

I needed to be here, I needed to be in the middle of it all, that man did a lot for me and my children and for this country, the least I could do was come down in town to bid him farewell, she said. One man, who gave his name as David, waved a small Trinidad and Tobago flag and described Manning as one of the best prime ministers any country could have had.

He really did a lot for this country, I mean mistakes were made but show me a person who has never made a mistake, he said.
Mannings did not request Trinity crypt

He was speaking with the media outside City Hall, Portof- Spain, following the funeral service for Manning at the cathedral.

His body was subsequently placed in a crypt in Tacarigua following a private service. He said despite reports that the Manning family asked for the entombment at the cathedral, that is not so.

This has come from different persons but is now represented by arms of the State, Bishop Berkley said. But it was never the request of Mrs Manning and the family and that is something of a miss. You know people look at these things and say (to the family) what happen to you? What wrong with you? and so on. So that didnt come from there. That came from someone who felt, given his contribution to the society, given that he was an Anglican as well, it would be a fitting tribute that a tomb or a monument or whatever is commemorative would be in the capital city where it is easier to access. Berkley reported he did not know who made the initial request.

It came up and we are going to treat with it because there seems to be some people who are desirous of having it done and it is not an objectionable idea either.

It is an idea that will fall in line with what happens to a lot of our other churches, just (that) this is a church in the city and being in the city there would be certain guidelines that we would have to respond to and so forth, the Anglican Bishop added.

On the entombment, the Berkley said he did not know what they have in mind specifically. He explained firstly they must have the ground declared as a place of burial because the cathedral grounds are not so declared.

He explained that to interfere with the churchs structure and put in a crypt may be difficult for its foundation because that was not originally done and I suppose the plans and drawings are not now...easily available, and maybe the cost as well.

He said with the declaration of the grounds they can design something that is comfortable for family and all interested parties.

I would say it would take a little time. If I hazard a guess I would say two months or so, he said.

He explained there would be some legal paperwork, site visits and then designs. He also pointed out the churchs committee will have to deliberate.

But I could see that there wouldnt be objections because most of our churches where there is space will have a cemetery. This is a given. But this is in the city so therefore we have to be mindful of the city rules and regulations and what applies, he said.

On where former Anglican bishops had been buried locally, Berkley pointed out Bishop Emeritus Clive Abdulah was the first local Bishop in 1970 and prior to that heads of the local church were all English bishops.

He said Abdulah is still alive and participated in yesterdays service and that would be very nice if that could come into place on time for any of the bishops including myself. Berkley stressed, however, that he is Tobagonian and would hope to be buried next to his father in Tobago.

So I am not to be reckoned in the lot of that but at the same time it would be a fitting tribute I think given that he was the first local Bishop which sort of changed the scheme of things in respect of everything, he said.

Yesterday PNM PRO Stuart Young, in a brief telephone interview, said the decision on the entombment is up to the family and they will provide support to whatever decision they make
Carmona: Manning no armchair leader

Patrick Manning was not a Caribbean armchair integrationist, he declared while delivering a tribute at Mannings State funeral service at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Port-of-Spain.

His commitment to the unfinished business of the full integration of the region should be documented for posterity.

This should be compulsory reading for future leaders in whose hands we would inevitably pass the baton and who must seek to build on his unfinished work. Carmona said Manning was bold enough to champion the cause of regional integration wherever he went.

I recall in one of his addresses to the United Nations General Assembly he advanced that Trinidad and Tobago, within its limited means, continues to recognise the importance of building a Caribbean civilisation based on the common history we share with our neighbours, the TT President said, adding, He went on to postulate that Trinidad and Tobago was determined that no member of our Caribbean family must be left behind, as the region seeks to maximize the benefits of the CSME (Caricom Single Market and Economy), in order to provide a better way of life for all of our peoples. The President, who, like Manning and St Vincent Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonzalves, also attended the University of the West Indies (UWI) in Mona, Jamaica, said Mannings love for TT and the wider Caribbean was unmistakeable but recognised that he was also an internationalist.

We would, however, be incomplete in our assessment of this veteran political leader and former Prime Minister if we do not recognise that he was also an internationalist, Carmona suggest ed.

This must not be seen solely in the context of bringing to the shores of our beloved republic, leaders from diverse corners of the globe through the hosting in one year, 2009, of the Summit of the Americas and the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).

It must also be seen through the lens of his African oil initiative, and here I am referring to his initial work with Ghanaian authorities to assist that country to develop its infant hydrocarbon industry. President Carmona continued,He saw Trinidad and Tobago playing an important role based on its experience of over a century of involvement in the oil industry to aid African countries in this area of development.

It is a fitting tribute to his legacy that his work in this area continues to engage astute attention of the Government of Trinidad and Tobago. Carmona described Manning as a true statesman with a formidable legacy. It is not easy to live in a country where patience is sometimes thin, memory is short and everything must be made instant like coffee, a society where there are Gods, men and women who make no errors, and countenance none, where compassion, kindness, mercy, forgiveness and mediation are expendables on the altar of political expediency and pragmatism, Carmona said.

In his remarks, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley alluded to Mannings stubbornness in office but said such attributes were subject to relative interpretations.

Some believed that he was stubborn but if you knew where we both came from that stubbornness could disappear, he said.

Saying he had often challenged some of Mannings ideals, Rowley recalled that on one occasion the former Prime Minister had insisted that ministers of government should not take holidays.

Rowley said he told Manning that he had children and needed at least one months vacation. He said it often broke my heart when his young daughter would ask him if he was going out again. Rowley said Manning also wanted his male ministers in Government to wear dark suits and ties at all times.

He said that ministers should respect the dignity of the office but he left and I have worn all kinds of suits ever since, he joked.

Rowley, who succeeded Manning as PNM leader, said during their 35-year relationship his plans for the development of T&T were always outrageous He said the establishment of the University of Trinidad and Tobago and efforts at Liquefied Natural Gas expansion were manifestations of this thrust. Rowley said the lofty tributes to Manning from regional leaders during the recently concluded Caricom Heads of Government Meeting in Guyana made him feel proud.
Still no backpay for port police

Members of the Estate Police Association (EPA) met with Port Authority officials, last Friday, as part of ongoing wage negotiations at the Port Administration Building in Port-of- Spain. EPA representatives reportedly left the meeting after they were dissatisfied with the approach taken by the Port Authoritys Management.

Richard Ryan, president of the EPA branch of the Port Authority Police Department, said officers are tired of the same excuses each time they hold discussions and want the authority to say when they will receive their monies.

We need to hear they they would have called the (Finance) Minister and that they are trying to resolve this situation as speedily as possible and some possible timeline at which we can receive our backpay, whether it be two days, whether it be three days, because the officers really want their money.

Because we didnt get a timeline, we told them that there is no use that we are around this table, if we cant get that sort of mandate, so we eventually left the table. Ryan said since discussions have been halted, similar action to what was seen last Monday, when protest delayed the sailing of the ferry, can be expected in the near future.
Praises for Manning

Under one of the tents outside the cathedral to accommodate persons who could not go inside to attend the funeral, some sang jubilant hymns, many in the tempo of Spiritual Baptists, clapping their hands as they called Manning by name. While they were singing, Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh arrived interacted with them before going inside. As they waited for the service to begin, several of the mourners openly discussed the many contributions that Manning made to national development.

A few wore T-shirts or buttons with Mannings face on them.

A man dressed like this countrys first prime minister Dr Eric Williams (in a business suit, with a hearing aid, Balisier tie and carrying a briefcase) also mingled with the mourners. He wore a button with Mannings face on it and a button bearing the face of Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley.

The crowd gathered under tents, cheered when images of Manning appeared on large screens set up for them to view the service inside of the Cathedral.

As dignitaries started to arrive for the funeral, the crowd welcomed them with varying degrees of enthusiasm. Minister in the Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs Stuart Young was cheered and hugged when he arrived. Similar treatment was accorded to Tobago House of Assembly (THA) Chief Secretary Orville London before he entered the cathedral. Finance Minister Colm Imbert smiled and shook hands with mourners when he arrived, with one woman towering over him in a warm embrace.

The crowd repeatedly shouted Rowley! Rowley! when the Prime Minister and his wife, Sharon, arrived at the cathedral.

They were accompanied by their daughter Tonya Rowley-Cuffy and her husband Kareem Cuffy.

Rowley smiled at the crowd and waved at them as they went inside . Also receiving warm welcomes as they arrived were Portof- Spain South MP Marlene Mc- Donald, Public Administration Minister Maxie Cuffie, former President George Maxwell Richards and his wife Jean and US Ambassador to TT John Estrada.

Opposition MPs Ganga Singh, Fazal Karim and Barry Padarath entered the cathedral without any fanfare from the crowd.

During the service, mourners cheered every time something was said about Manning or a member of the Government appeared on the large screens. Brief shots of Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar on the screen caused some of the mourners to grumble and wave their hands in a dismissive manner. She has money for me. I want her to give me my money when she comes outside one woman quipped.

There were repeated groans from the crowd when there were interruptions with the public address system, preventing them from hearing some of the persons giving tributes to Manning during the service.

Tributes made by Rowley and St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves were well received by the crowd.

During a video tribute for Manning some laughed at clapped at a photo showing him and his political rival and former Prime Minister Basdeo Panday. They also cheered at a photo showing Manning with United States President Barack Obama.

Obama! one woman shouted.

At one point in the service, there was a call for paramedics as someone in one of the tents was thought to have fainted. However when the paramedics arrived on site, it turned out to be a false alarm.

When the service ended, the crowd outside cheered when Rowley and his entourage decided to walk through Woodford Square to Port-of-Spain City Hall where a repast was held after the service. As dignitaries emerged from the cathedral to board their vehicles on Hart Street, a disc jockey assailed the immediate surroundings with a pop song titled Celebration. A flag bearing male, accompanied by four females broke into the latest dance moves as others on the perimeter of the Square chipped along.

After the service ended Divine Echoes, the band which Manning had championed to transform the lives of youth through music, played to the happy crowd. The bands contract came to an end in 2012 after three years and was not renewed by the Peoples Partnership administration. During the funeral yesterday Mannings son, Brian, asked that the band being reinstated as a tribute to his father.

The band played some up tempo calypso and some of the patrons danced alone or in couples.

The orchestra played some tunes they said were from Pal Joey Lewis, who was said to be one of Mannings favourite musicians, and Manning had attending Lewis funeral earlier this year.
Thanks to FDA, Women Will

Be Told of Their Breast Density
BRITT  The Hancock County Freedom Rock appears to have new home across Main Avenue in the Monson Memorial Veterans Park in Britt.

Jerry Christensen recently told the Britt City Council he'd like the rock to move "to the middle of Vets park."

The Freedom Rock is in the southeast corner of the Britt Municipal Building lawn. City officials have said they've received comments about the visibility of the rock, because landscape plants are tall enough to obstruct the view.

Britt's Freedom Rock could move to Veterans Park BRITT  Jerry Christensen told the Britt City Council recently he has a plan for Hancock Co

Christensen proposed moving the Freedom Rock at a meeting in June. The Britt City Council discussed Christensen's idea and Mayor Ryan Arndorfer said he'd follow up with Christensen.

Council members liked Christensen's idea.

Christensen built a model of the park that showed where the Freedom Rock would be located. The nearby streetlight and other lights in the park would light the Freedom Rock at night, he said.

Christensen said he's already received offers of volunteer labor and equipment to move the rock and install it.

The Freedom Rock would be placed on an elevated platform in its new location, Christensen said.

The Freedom Rock was painted in 2014 by Ray "Bubba" Sorensen, an Iowa artist who paints patriotic scenes on large rocks in Iowa counties. Funds were gathered to pay for the Hancock County Freedom Rock to be placed in Britt.
(Newser)  FBI chief James Comey called Hillary Clinton "extremely careless" over her use of a private email server, and Maureen Dowd goes him one better in the New York Times. She likens Bill and Hillary Clinton to Tom and Daisy Buchanan of the Great Gatsby in that their "vast carelessness drags down everyone around them"while they themselves just keep rolling on. In the last two weeks, the Clintons have managed to sully not just Comey, but President Obama, Attorney General Loretta Lynch (remember this?), and the political futures of top aides to Hillary Clinton (just imagine the hearings over their next appointments after the email fiasco). Obama, for instance, had the misfortune of being on the campaign trail praising Clinton "on the very day that his F.B.I. director lambasted her errant judgment ... (and) making clear that she had been lying to the American public for the last 16 months."

But this is what we get with the Clintons, writes Dowd. In the case of the email server, Hillary felt that the rules didn't apply to her, and now everyone around her, including the president, is forced to help clean up the mess. Don't expect anything to change if she becomes our next president. With the Clintons, it's always a "Faustian deal," writes Dowd. "This years election bargain: Put up with our iniquities or get Trumps short fingers on the nuclear button." Click for the full column.

(Read more Hillary Clinton stories.)
(Newser)  Prominent Black Lives Matter activist DeRay Mckesson was released from jail Sunday after spending a night in lockup following his arrest in Baton Rouge while protesting the shooting death of a black man by police, reports AP. McKesson, 31, was arrested Saturday night while at a protest for Alton Sterling. "The only people that were violent last night were the Baton Rouge Police Department," he said upon his release, per this video from ABC News. Mckesson and others were taken into custody while walking along the side of the Airline Highway and charged with "simple obstruction of highway commerce," reports NBC News.

Mckesson is one of the most recognizable faces to emerge from the Black Lives Matter movementa former educator who built a national following after leaving his then-home and job in Minneapolis in August 2014 for Ferguson, Missouri, to document the rising anger over race relations after an unarmed black man, Michael Brown, was fatally shot by a white police officer. He now lives in Baltimore, where he grew up, and he waged an unsuccessful campaign for mayor this spring. (Read more Black Lives Matter stories.)
(Newser)  Police say a would-be bank robber tried to pull a heist in Long Island, but pretty much everything that could go wrong did go wrong. Authorities say a man with a shotgun entered a Bank of America in Hempstead about noon Saturday and demanded cash, reports NBC New York. His first problem came when the teller refused to give him money or let him enter the teller area. At that point, he left the bank empty-handed, save for his shotgun, only to crash into a police car arriving on the scene, reports Newsday. He managed to drive on, only to smash into a utility pole. He then fled on foot, but local residents pointed him out to police. Prince Conteh, 26, is charged with first-degree attempted robbery, second-degree assault, and criminal use of a firearm. (Read more weird crimes stories.)
MASON CITY  Hart Bros. South will mark its latest chapter when the store moves into a new location on Federal Avenue this fall.

Since 2010, the store has catered to Mason City gun owners with a large inventory of new and used handguns, rifles and shotguns, ammunition and accessories under brand names including Bushmaster, Browning, FN, Kahr, KelTac, Remington, Ruger, Smith & Wesson, Springfield and Taurus.

Owner Kemlin Hart, 33, believes that home-grown expertise is partly why his longtime customers return.

I just assume its because were awesome, he said jokingly.

Hart learned the trade practically from infancy by going to gun shows and then later working with his father, Milan Hart, who founded Hart Brothers Weaponry in 1977 in Albert Lea, Minnesota.

Kemlin opened the first Mason City location on 12th Street Southwest in 2010, before moving it to its 19th Street location in 2012. By fall, he plans to move the shop again to the former Party Store on 613 S. Federal Ave. The latest move will provide a better layout with more room for the business to grow, he said.

The backbone of sales in the industry come from handguns and AR-15, semi-automatic rifles he said his shop often sells to coyote hunters.

Many of his customers are part of a tight-knit, supportive culture, he said.

You could go out to the trap ranges and say, Hey fellas, Ive never shot a shot gun before, Ive never pointed a gun at a clay bird. You guys show me how to do it, Hart said. Its a really great group of people.

Hart emphasized his shop follows state and federal regulations for firearms purchases and does on occasion refuse sales. He said his shop must be as proactive as possible to avoid selling firearms to anyone that could go commit a crime.

Even if you take the moral aspect out of it, theres still a gigantic liability and paperwork side of it, he said. Then you put the moral aspect back into it and its a really big deal.

For dealers like myself, there are no loopholes, he said. Theres no way around background checks. We deal with it. We do it. Thats what we have to do.

Hart emphasized responsibility was the key both with novices and experienced gun owners.

Safety is always No. 1 with firearms, Hart said. Those pistols, if I have a display model (are) opened 200 or 300 times before it leaves the building. Its never going to have a round in it.

In the span of four days last week, the United States has had to come to terms with the deaths of two African-American men at the hands of police  the first caught on video and the aftermath of the second livestreamed on Facebook  as well as the deadliest day for U.S. law enforcement since 9/11.

Five police officers were fatally shot and seven were injured in Dallas on Thursday evening when shots were fired during a downtown protest over the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile. Two civilians were also injured.

Hart said his shop has not seen an increase in sales with other recent tragic mass shootings in Orlando and San Bernardino, California. The last time there was a major increase in sales after a mass shooting was following Sandy Hook in Newtown, Connecticut, in late 2012, he said.

Hart said he felt adding additional laws wasnt necessarily an easy answer in tackling gun crimes. But, he said, he believes an answer would be in simplifying the patchwork of current gun laws to make regulations more uniform across state lines.

There are so many firearms here in the U.S, Hart said. Theres well more than one per person. So, you can shut off the faucet of firearms being manufactured and you still wouldnt correct the criminal side of it. You never would.

We obey the law; criminals dont, he said. Its like the state legislators just dont see that.

Information from the Associated Press contributed to this report.
The Daily News-Miner encourages residents to make themselves heard through the Opinion pages. Readers' letters and columns also appear online at newsminer.com. Contact the editor with questions at letters@newsminer.com or call 459-7574.
Patna:

RJD chief Lalu Prasad said all secular parties should come together to fight the Uttar Pradesh Assembly election, slated to be held next year, and he would try to convince Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav for this.

I will try to convince Mulayam Singh Yadav, who is my relative, that all secular parties should fight the upcoming Uttar Pradesh election together to defeat to Prime Minister Narendra Modis party, he said.

Addressing a Eid milan function of Jamiat-Ulema-e-Hind, Prasad said secular parties should come together to check fundamentalist forces led by RSS and other right wing organisations.

The RJD chief claimed that during UP elections he would reveal why Modi visited a mosque in Dubai recently and alleged that RSS wants to hoist the saffron flag in place of the Tricolour.

Expressing anxiety over provocative statements made by some ruling party leaders, Jamait-Ulma-e-Hind president Sayeed Arshad Madni said, This sounds an alarm bell over the unity and secular fabric of the country.

He also lauded Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar for coming together to ensure victory of secular forces in Bihar polls and said the same thing should happen in Uttar Pradesh too.

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Mumbai:

Controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik is scheduled to land in Mumbai from Saudi Arabia on Monday. Amid demands from various leaders of his arrest, Mumbai Police is still looking for a reason that can allow them to take him under custody.



Mumbai Police on Friday formed a special investigation team to probe Zakir Naik's controversial speeches.



"A special team, which comprises cyber cell experts, has been formed to probe Naik's speeches. Police will examine his speeches on Youtube and also scrutinise the CDs, books and other documents at his office here," a senior Mumbai police official said.



Earlier, the Home Minister Rajnath Singh also claimed that CDs of Zakir's speeches are being examined for necessary action and asserted that the government will not compromise on the issue of terrorism.



Naik, however, had released a statement, saying he "totally disagreed" that he inspired the act of killing innocent people in Dhaka. "There is not a single talk of mine where I encouraged one to kill another, whether Muslim or non-Muslim," he said.



Zakir's speeches are believed to have inspired some militants involved in Dhaka killing.

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STACYVILLE  Beginning Aug. 1, the city of Stacyville could have new law enforcement coverage.

Mitchell County Sheriff Greg Beaver informed the Mitchell County Board of Supervisors he had been approached by Stacyville Mayor Harold Isaac regarding the possibility of the Sheriffs Department providing coverage for that city.

He was requested to attend the July 11 meeting of the Stacyville City Council.

Beaver said the council was looking at a possible cost savings by hiring the Sheriffs Department instead of continuing with its part-time officer, Kim Orth, who has served the community since 2013.

The Sheriffs Department provides coverage for the city of Riceville, specifically the Mitchell County side of town, for a cost of $7 per capita, renewed annually. Beaver said the cost for Stacyville would be $3,458 as opposed to the $26,689 the city is paying for the position.

Beaver said the council still had additional questions regarding how the coverage would work.

At the June 13 meeting, the Stacyville City Council discussed with community members if theyd rather have their own police officer than contract with the county.

Council members stated the city officer could spend time in town patrolling the streets and watching for speeding vehicles. The county could provide officers to take care of matters when they are called and cannot guarantee set hours in the community.

I told the mayor there wouldnt be a regular schedule of hours, said Beaver. We would patrol and take calls at the call center.

Beaver said he invited Isaac to attend a supervisors meeting to ask any questions prior to the July 11 City Council meeting.

At the June meeting, the Stacyville City Council voted to have the contract presented at the July council meeting in anticipation of contracting with the Mitchell County sheriff for protection starting Aug. 1.
Thiruvananthapuram:

Kerala government on Saturday ordered a probe into reports that at least 17 youths, including three women, from the state who travelled to the Middle East and reportedly went missing, may have joined the Islamic State (IS), with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan saying it is a "very serious issue".



The disappearance of the youths, some of whom are medicos and engineering graduates, came to the fore after their relatives brought the matter before the authorities.



Some families from Kasargod and Palakkad districts had approached Kasargod MP P Karunakaran and expressed fear that their children were missing for the past one month and they have no contact with them.



The Chief Minister termed the issue as "very serious" and ordered an urgent probe. "This is a very serious issue. This has to be examined," he told reporters in Kochi.



When contacted, DGP Loknath Behara said on the basis of information provided by the families, police has started investigation.



"We do not know if children and women are part of the group. But they (families) say that some women are in the group. We also do not have any confirmation so far that the missing youths have joined the IS. But we have started investigation", Behara told PTI.



Of the 17 persons, 11 hail from Padna and Thrikaripur in the northernmost Kasaragod district while the others hailed from Palakkad. There are at least three women including an eight month pregnant woman.



Meanwhile, families of two more youths filed a complaint before Chandera police in Kasaragod tabout their disappearance.



The two youths had called up to say they would return during Eid. But they have not returned and their relatives have filed a complaint, police said.



However, the complaint does not state that they are suspecting IS links.



All the missing persons are below the age of 30 and highly qualified, including medicos and engineering graduates, family members said.

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Washington:

Tired of the alleged double game being played by Islamabad, American lawmakers have announced to hold a Congressional hearing next week to discuss whether Pakistan is a friend or foe of the US in the war on terror.



This hearing will give members the opportunity to learn more about Pakistans longstanding ties to terrorist groups and allow for a more informed reassessment of US foreign policy priorities vis-vis Islamabad, said Congressman Ted Poe Chairman of Subcommittee on Terrorism, Non-Proliferation and Trade of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.



The hearing titled Pakistan: Friend or Foe in the Fight Against Terrorism? has been convened by the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Non-Proliferation and Trade and Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.



The US has spent tens of billions of taxpayer dollars in aid to Pakistan since 9/11. Now, fifteen years later, Pakistans military and intel services are still linked to terrorist organisations and little success has been made to stabilise the region, said Congressman Matt Salmon, chairman of the subcommittee about the alleged double game played by Pakistan.



We must take a closer look at US goals, expectations and our aid spending in the region. In this hearing, we will discuss the Administrations failed policy toward Pakistan and debate the best way forward, Salmon said.



Among the witnesses include former US ambassador to Afghanistan and United Nations, Zalmay Khalilzad. The other two witnesses are Bill Roggio, senior editor, Long War Journal and Tricia Bacon, Assistant Professor, American University.



Pakistans long history of ties to terrorist groups, including those with American blood on their hands, is well documented, Congressman Poe said.



Pakistans military intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), provide support to various terrorist organisations, including the Taliban, al-Qaeda, and the Haqqani network, in a bid to exert influence over Pakistans regional rivals, Poe said in a statement.



In May 2016, the leader of the Afghan Taliban Mullah Akhtar Mansour was killed in a US drone strike while in Pakistan, reinforcing Pakistans image as an unquestionable safe haven for terrorist groups, he said.



In fact, in the most recent Country Reports on Terrorism, the State Department noted that Pakistan did not take substantial action against the Afghan Taliban or HQN [the Haqqani network], he added.



Despite the mounting evidence of Pakistans collusion with global terrorism, Pakistan is among the leading recipients of US foreign assistance, with Congress appropriating more than USD 33 billion to Islamabad since 2002, Poe said.

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New Delhi:

Amarnath Yatra, which was halted 2 days back to ensure safety of pilgrims, has been resumed, confirms Home Ministry official.



The announcement was made after Home Minister Rajnath Singh chaired a High level emergency meeting to discuss tense situation in Kashmir.



Normal life was hit for the second day today in Kashmir Valley due to curfew-like restrictions and strike following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani.



The restrictions have been imposed in most of Kashmir Valley as a precautionary measure.



Restrictions have been imposed in most areas of Srinagar city and four districts of south Kashmir, officials said.



They said the decision to impose restrictions was taken to maintain law and order in the Valley. Yesterday, the restrictions were imposed only in some parts of Srinagar, Pulwama and Anantnag districts.



Meanwhile, the separatist-sponsored strike, which was extended for two more days yesterday, also affected normal life in the Valley.



Shops, private offices, business establishments and petrol pumps were shut, while government offices and banks witnessed thin attendance, the officials said.



They said public transport was completely off the roads, while cars and auto-rickshaws were seen plying at few places where there were no restrictions.



Educational institutions in the Valley were closed on account of the ongoing summer vacations.



The separatist groups yesterday extended the strike to protest the killings of civilians in alleged firing by security forces.



Meanwhile, Central University of Kashmir (CUK), Islamic University of Science and Technology (IUST) and Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education (JKBOSE) have postponed the examinations due to the prevailing situation in the Valley.



"IUST has also postponed all the examinations scheduled for July 11 and 12. New dates will be notified separately," an official of the University said.



The Board of School Education (Kashmir division) has postponed the entire Examination of Class 11 regular (term Ist) 2016, a BOSE spokesman said.



He said a revised date sheet on this behalf shall be issued later on.



(with PTI Inputs)

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Dar-es-Salaam:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's skills as a drummer were today on full display here as he along with Tanzanian President John Pombe Joseph Magufuli played the traditional drums for a minute.



New beats to the #IndiaAfrica rhythm! PM @narendramodi and President @MagufuliJP play the drum, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted.



Both the leaders played the wooden drums after the Prime Minister was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the State House here.



Watch video here:

#WATCH: PM Modi tries his hand at traditional drum in Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) #ModiInAfricahttps://t.co/8I0l4F30Ym  ANI (@ANI_news) July 10, 2016



65-year-old Modi was seen enjoying the drumming session with the Tanzanian President, who appeared to halt briefly but resumed the drumming again when he saw the Indian leader was in no mood to stop.



Modis skills as a drummer was for the first time displyed in Japan in September 2014 when he joined the Japanese percussionists to perform a jugalbandi with them.



He gave tough competition to the professional drummers as he tried his hand on the drum at an event to launch TCS Japan Technology and Cultural Academy in Tokyo.



Earlier today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with Tanzanian President John Pombe Joseph Magufuli on a wide range of issues aimed at boosting ties in the African continent, particularly in the economic sphere.

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Mumbai:

Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadvanis was locked in a Twitter spat with senior minister Pankaja Munde on Sunday morning.

Soon after news of her being relieved from the water conservation portfolio became public, Munde tweeted she was to reach Singapore to attend a global water leaders summit on Monday but wont do so as she was no longer the minister of that department.

Fadnavis, who is out of the country on an official tour, responded by saying that she must attend the event.

Reaching singapore tomorrow on monday there is world water leader summit i was invited but now wont attend since i m not minister incharge  PankajaGopinathMunde (@Pankajamunde) July 9, 2016

As a senior minister, you (Munde) would be representing the government of Maharashtra, Fadnavis tweeted.

Of course you must attend WLS 2016.

As a senior Minister you would be representing 'The Government of Maharashtra'. https://t.co/czMYpLepMA  Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) July 9, 2016

Earlier, as the water conservation minister, Munde had courted controversy in April by posting a selfie online.

She had later said that she posted selfies on her tour of parched Latur on the weekend in appreciation of the work done there by the local administration for drought relief. Congress had then accused Munde of gross insensitivity.

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Dar-es-Salaam:

Seeking to enhance its ties with resource-rich Tanzania, India today extended its full support to it to meet its development needs and signed five agreements, including one for providing a Line of Credit of USD 92 million in the water resources sector.

Describing India as a trusted partner in meeting Tanzanias development priorities, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he along with President John Pombe Joseph Magufuli agreed to deepen our overall defence and security partnership, especially in the maritime domain.

Our in-depth discussions on regional and global issues reflected our considerable convergence on issues of common interest and concern, he said.

Indias cooperation with Tanzania will always be as per your needs and priorities, Modi said at a joint press interaction after his bilateral meeting with President Magufuli.

The two sides signed an agreement under which India will provide a Line of Credit of USD 92 million for rehabilitation and improvement of Zanzibars water supply system.

Other agreements signed include an MoU on water resource management and development, MoU for establishment of vocational training centre at Zanzibar, MoU on visa waiver for diplomatic/official passport holders and an agreement between National Small Industries Corporation of India and Small Industries Development Organisation Tanzania.

Prime Minister said the two countries are also working on a number of other water projects for 17 cities in Tanzania. For this India is willing to consider an additional USD 500 million line of concessional credit, he said.

Describing Public Health as another important area of bilateral engagement, Modi said India is ready to meet the healthcare priorities of the Tanzanian government, including of supply of medicines and equipment.

I am told that an Indian radio-therapy machine is being installed at Bugando medical centre to treat cancer patients, he said.

He said during his meeting with President Magufuli, they detailed discussions on the full spectrum of bilateral partnership.

Our focus was to shape an action oriented agenda of cooperation, so that we talk less of potential and more of achievements on the ground. We agreed that our common desire of economic prosperity for our societies is creating new opportunities for expanding our cooperation, he said.

To achieve this, the two nations agreed to deepen partnership in agriculture and food security, including through enhanced export of pulses from Tanzania to India.

They also decided to work together in development and use of natural gas.

India agreed to partner Tanzania in building of industrial economy, capacities and institutions.

The two leaders also decided to deepen bilateral trade and investment partnership by encouraging greater industry to industry ties.

The Eastern coast of Africa, and Tanzania in particular have enjoyed strong links with the India. We are old maritime neighbours. Together, our leaders and our people have fought colonialism and racial oppression, Modi said.

Our merchants have traded since early nineteenth century. And, the vast stretch of Indian Ocean has kept our societies and our people connected.

President Magufuli has a vision for nation building, development and industrialisation a vision that is my dream for India too, he said.

As a developing country, Modi said India understands the need and urgency to improve the lives of our people.

In this regard, the completion of 100 million dollar water supply augmentation project for Dar es Salaam is a good achievement, he said.

Education, vocational training and skill development are other areas of your priority and where India is willing to offer all possible assistance.

I also understand that the IT Resource Centre at the Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science & Technology, Arusha is close to completion, he said.

The two leader agreed to work closely, bilaterally, regionally and globally, to combat the twin threats of terrorism and climate change.

On climate change, he said India had led the efforts to form an International Solar Alliance at climate conference in Paris.

In this Alliance, which has the support of over 120 countries, we welcome Tanzania as a crucial partner, Modi said.

He also invited President Magufuli to visit India at the earliest possible opportunity.

Earlier, the Prime Minister was accorded a ceremonial welcome when he arrived at the State House in Dar-es-Salaam.

He arrived here late last night on the third leg of his four-nation Africa tour.

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New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on a five-day tour to Africa, is all set to address the Indian diaspora at Kasarani Stadium. Kenya President Uhuru Kenyatta joins PM Modi ahead of the function.

Earlier, PM Modi, who arrived in Tanzania last night, held talks with Tanzanian President John Pombe Joseph Magufuli on a wide range of issues.

During the visit, he extended India's full support to Tanzania to meet its development needs and signed five agreements, including one for providing a Line of Credit of USD 92 million in the water resources sector.

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Nairobi:

Describing terrorism as one of the two major challenges facing the world, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tonight said all forces believing in humanity must come together to defeat this anti-humanity menace. Addressing the Indian diaspora, he also said that India was marching towards economic progress despite the global recession and his government was aiming at over 8 per cent growth, up from the current level of 7.6 per cent.

During his hour-long address amid repeated chants of Modi, Modi, he spoke on a number of issues, including the initiatives taken by his two-year old government for transforming the lives of common people in India and fulfill their dreams.

Significantly, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta accompanied Modi to the Kasarani Stadium where he addressed the gathering of estimated 20,000 Indians and people of Indian origin, soon after his arrival from Tanzania.

Talking about the challenges facing the world, the Prime Minister identified terrorism and global warming as the two problems.

These are challenges to the entire humanity...The world needs to come together to deal with these, he said.

Those believing in humanity must come together. The sooner they come together, the sooner terrorism can be ended... Therefore, those believing in humanity must join forces to defeat anti-humanity forces. We need this resolve, he said.

Talking about domestic issues of India, he said in the run up to 2014 Lok Sabha elections, his critics would question as to what he would do by becoming the Prime Minister as he belonged to a small state of Gujarat.

Several questions were raised, he said, pointing out that his critics even wondered whether he had any knowledge about foreign affairs.

I have no complaints against anyone....It (questions) was correct also. I saw Parliament after becoming the Prime Minister, Modi said.

The Prime Minister then added that during the two years of his rule, India has seen good governance and implementation of announcements, unlike the past when decisions were taken without anybody bothering as to what happened to them.

The last two years saw less rainfall in many parts of India, so much that we had to run trains to ferry water...Apparently God also wanted to test me, he said.

Also, the world was going through recession. Despite that India saw a growth of 7.6 per cent. This is a matter of pride.

But we are not going to stop here. We have to move ahead, go higher and reach over 8 per cent growth, he said.

Contending that India has started to change and move towards progress, he said whatever has happened is due to work being conducted in a planned fashion.

The country is changing because of its 125 crore people and their resolve... I recognise the strength of 125 crore Indians who are determined to move ahead. This is the real public power, the Prime Minister said.

He spoke about his resolves like ensuring toilets are built in government schools and making available electricity within 1000 days to 18,000 villages which have remained without power for 70 years.

He also talked about Start-Up programme and the Mudra Bank to fund such initiatives, saying 3.5 crore people have been given Rs 1.25 lakh crore as loans without any guarantees under the programme.

Our youth have the initiative, innovation and energy. They just needed somebody in New Delhi to hand-hold them, he said, adding under the Start-up initiative, they would not only be getting employment for themselves but would also be giving jobs to others too.

He told the Indian diaspora that details of all the work done by his government could be obtained from the Narendra Modi App.

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ALTA VISTA  Engineering skills came in handy for a 1957 Osage High School graduate while he was stationed in Vietnam.

Chuck Machin, Alta Vista, enlisted and first served in the Air Force from 1958 to 1962, later working as a foreman in an Osage body shop for a few years.

I didnt have no money to buy the place, so thats when I decided to go back to the Air Force, said Machin, 77, who re-enlisted and served from 1965 to 1969.

While in the Air Force, Machin attended six different schools, learning to repair aircraft with sheet metal and to X-ray planes to find internal cracks.

He had no combat training when he was deployed to Vietnam in 1965 at age 26.

Although Marines could fix aircraft in a neighboring hangar with an M16 slung across their back, Machin said he wasnt allowed to have a weapon due to his lack of training.

When I got there, they took our rifles away, he said. I didnt have a rifle or pistol the whole year there, no protection.

Machin worked on planes within a guarded perimeter in Da Nang, the central part of the country. Since he had to start over when he re-enlisted, he often worked on big jobs, which meant a number of second shifts.

While their compound was supposed to be guarded, Machin said they were overrun by the enemy one time.

I had bullets flying by me, he said.

He was often in downtown Da Nang riding around in trucks, something he said wouldnt have been safe near the end of war. They would have shot you in a minute, he said.

Skilled in plumbing and carpentry, Machin transformed his tent into deluxe accommodations, making a screened-in porch, floor, sidewalls and picnic table. He also had electricity, but since the wattage was different the light from bulbs was dim.

I was kind of an engineer, he said.

A handmade sign on the entrance read, Home sweet home.

But sometimes it wasnt so sweet, sleeping close to the flight line.

The young lieutenants would take off straight up, causing a sonic boom, Machin said. It was terribly noisy.

He was also responsible for installing plumbing in a building that went up and he made a couple of inventions  a motor-operated sled ejection system and an apparatus to keep hands from getting burned while using flares at night.

Machin, who was married at the time with a family, was paid $3,000  about $23,000 in todays dollars  for his year in Vietnam. He fixed bicycles as a side job and used some of his earnings to buy equipment to shoot photos and video.

He also got to see a couple of celebrities  Roy Rogers and Dale Evans  in a USO show while in Vietnam, and was able to see Bob Hope from a distance.

He laments the fact that he missed an opportunity to talk with John Wayne by just a couple of minutes.

As he repaired bullet holes on aircraft, Machin was exposed to Agent Orange, which he said was stored in huge tanks inside the planes.

It soaked into my shoes, he said. They didnt wash the aircraft, so you had to watch your step because it was slippery.

Machin has since had health problems he believes are related to Agent Orange exposure. He also struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder, which he says comes and goes.

My opinion of PTSD, it is real and it will get you, he said.

After he returned home from Vietnam  to not one person shaking your hand, no party, no parades  he built an auto body shop in Topeka, Kansas.

Machin, who says he struggled in school and had trouble reading, has since owned five businesses and has been a plumber for 58 years. He is also a classic car enthusiast.

Proud to wear his newly-acquired Vietnam veteran cap, Machin has kept track of everyone whos thanked him for his service  30 people to date, he says.
The Cerro Gordo County Sheriffs Office reported that deputies were sent about 1 p.m. to a report of an assault at 312 Larch St. in Thornton. Sandie Lea Knutson, 37, of Thornton, was charged with felony domestic assault (strangulation). She is being held in the Cerro Gordo County Jail.
I had the opportunity to walk with Barb Hovland, the GOP state representative candidate for District 53, in the Fourth of July parade in Clear Lake. I have gotten to know her and her husband, Tom. They are quality individuals who have long track records of giving back to our community. I volunteer my time to help out with her campaign.

What happened during the parade disturbed me. After the parade started, we noticed a young man walking directly in front of our entry with a phone pointed backward toward us. I politely asked him to move to the sidewalk because he was not a member of our entry. At first he did not comply, but eventually he moved to the sidewalk and proceeded to videotape us for the length of the parade. I found this to be very uncomfortable.

When we reached the downtown area, a female carrying an opposing sign slowed down to disrupt our entry. She came from behind Barb and grabbed her right arm aggressively. Barb politely asked her to leave but she refused to listen.

I asked her, Maam, would you either please move up to your float or move to the sidewalk. She snapped at me and said, Young man, you cant tell me what to do. The lady finally left our entry and caught up with her float.

After the parade was over, the young man who was videotaping walked over to join Sharon Steckmans group.

I am a 23-year-old law student who has become passionate in politics because I want to make a difference. I am tired of the nasty, partisan, mud-slinging behavior that we have become accustomed to from our representatives.

I believe that political campaigns should be focused on answers to issues that the constituents are concerned about, not personal attacks. This showing of a lack of decorum and poor manners is contrary to the Iowa values in which I was raised. It distracts from the traditional and meaningful discussion of political issues.

Josh Congello, Mason City
WEST HAVEN, Conn., July 10, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Watson Inc. is proud to announce a roundtable discussion to be held at the IFT Food Expo in Chicago, Illinois. The title of the roundtable is "Innovation in Spray Drying Technology". The discussion will be held in a meeting room at the Watson booth on the IFT show floor. Leading the discussion will be Alice Wilkinson, Vice President of Innovation at Watson.

Spray driers are very effective; in a single step, they can turn a solution into a dried powder. Dry powders are often easier to handle in production, allowing ingredients that would otherwise be liquids to be incorporated into dry powder blends such as premixes. The resulting powders formed from the spray-drying process are free-flowing and easy to handle and scale.

In the roundtable discussion, Wilkinson will review how a spray drier works by separating the solids from a liquid through evaporation. To do this, a liquid is sprayed through a nozzle into a hot vapor stream. The solids form from the liquid as the moisture leaves the droplets. The solid is then collected as it passes through the outlet.

Wilkinson will also review the differences between the particles made by fluidbed and and those formed via spray-dried microencapsulation. Examples for spray drying applications include the fat-soluble vitamins, such as vitamin A, vitamin D, and vitamin E. When spray dried, these vitamins are much more stable for shelf life, however there will always be some amount of surface oil.

Participants will discuss the functionality changes created by the makeup of the emulsions. Wilkinson will lead the discussion to cover typical emulsions, micellar dispersions, and colloidal dispersions. Examples will be shown to illustrate the differences in the finished particles resulting from the type of emulsion utilized.

Additional information on spray drying can be found on the company website: http://www.watson-inc.com/our-capabilities/spray-drying/

Additional information on this and other events, as well as registration information, can be found on the Watson website at this link: http://info.watson-inc.com/ift-2016

About Watson:

Watson is one of the highest quality suppliers of products and services geared towards enhancing human health and nutrition around the world. We are a leader in developing quality products and innovative ingredient systems for the food and supplement industries. Expertise in custom nutrient premixes, microencapsulation, agglomeration, micronizing, spray drying, and film technology allows us to develop unique formulations and products using Watson manufactured, value-added ingredients. For more information on Watson see www.watson-inc.com.



Company info:

Watson Foods Co., Inc. DBA Watson Inc.

Corporate headquarters: 301 Heffernan Drive, West Haven CT 06516

CEO: James T. Watson

Website: www.watson-inc.com

Employees: 300

A photo accompanying this release is available at: http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=40791
RALEIGH, N.C., July 10, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Optometrists are pleased to present patients with the new addition of an optical coherence tomography (OCT) machine to the roster of services available, reports Family Eye Care Center. For patients with macular degeneration, glaucoma or other eye health conditions, the OCT machine provides a more accurate diagnosis. Eye doctors are now able to detect eye conditions earlier, as well as monitor the progression of eye conditions and treatments. The OCT machine will be used in conjunction with regular eye exams to offer patients and optometrists additional information on an individuals eye health needs.



An optical coherence tomography machine delivers non-invasive testing which produces cross-section retinal images by way of light waves. This machine allows for mapping and measurement of the layers of the back of the eye. Such measurements are used to diagnose, give treatment guidance and monitor the progression and treatment results for eye conditions including glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, and diabetic eye disease. Glaucoma and macular degeneration are often seen in aging populations. Early detection can slow the progress of certain eye conditions and reduce related vision loss. Regular eye tests do not provide sufficient data about the retina because detection of eye diseases often occurs at later stages, once the condition has already progressed. Eye doctors and patients can now benefit from the OCT machine by receiving more accurate data earlier and throughout the stages of a condition, which allows optometrists to implement a treatment program sooner.

The OCT machine will provide our macular degeneration and glaucoma patients with more details about the progression of their condition, said Dr. Jeffrey Handschumacher. Early detection of retinal changes can help us effectively slow the progression of many eye conditions. We continue to partner with clients to make the best treatment decisions possible with the higher standard of accuracy afforded to us by OCT tests. We challenge ourselves to exceed patient expectations and provide the highest quality of eye care at Family Eye Care Center.

Dr. Handschumacher, optometrist at Family Eye Care Center, serves residents of Raleigh, Rocky Mount and the surrounding communities. Their staff offers caring and comprehensive vision care for children and adults. Services include comprehensive vision services for children and adults, contact lens exams, hard-to-fit specialty contacts and lenses, diagnosis and treatment of eye diseases, computer-related vision problems, eye emergencies and frames. Patients can seek eye care treatment at their Raleigh or Rocky Mount locations.

Call (919) 981-4444 to schedule an appointment or to learn more about optical coherence tomography. Visit http://www.familyeyecarecenternc.com/ for more details on their full range of optometry services.
Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, has promised to sponsor the funeral ceremony of the late literary icon, Cap...

Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, has promised to sponsor the funeral ceremony of the late literary icon, Captain Elechi Amadi.Amaechi made the promise when he paid a condolence visit to the family of Amadi in Mbodo, Aluu community in Obio /Akpor Local Government Area of the Rivers State.Amaechi said his decision to sponsor the burial of the late literary giant was to reciprocate his sterling contribution to the development of Ikwerre ethnic nationality in particular and Rivers State in general.Amaechi, like Amadi, is from the Ikwerre ethnic group in Rivers State. To achieve this, the minister said he would set up a burial organizing committee with his wife to liaise with the Amadi family in order to give the late literary icon a befitting burial.
Some Ijaw elders and traditional rulers under the aegis of Bayelsa Elders for Progress, Peace and Good Governance, have accused some of aide...
A group of Christians in Nigeria led by National Christian Elders Forum has condemned the extension of the Eid-el-Kabir public holiday b...

A group of Christians in Nigeria led by National Christian Elders Forum has condemned the extension of the Eid-el-Kabir public holiday by the Federal Government.The development was due to the non-sighting of the moon during the just-concluded Eid-el-Kabir celebration by the Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Alhaji Saad Abubakar III.While insisting that the trend portends a dangerous precedent, the Christian group said it means that the government of President Muhammadu Buhari took instructions from the Sultan.The coalition said the government and Islamic leaders should repay the country the extra day that was lost during the next Eid-el-Kabir: in which we expect that only one day should be approved as Public Holiday.Key members of NCEF include Mr. Solomon Asemota (SAN) (Chairman); Gen. Joshua Dogonyaro (rtd); Prof. Joseph Otubu, Gen. Zamani Lekwot (rtd), Dr. (Mrs) Kate Okpareke, Dr. Ayo Abifarin, Bishop Joseph Bagobiri, Archbishop Magnus Atilade, Elder Moses Ihonde, Elder Nat Okoro and Prof. Vincent Anigbogu.Others are Gen. Ishaku Dikko (rtd), Justice Kalajine Anigbogu (rtd), Elder Shyngle Wigwe, DIG P. L. Dabup, Sir John W. Bagu, Dr. Saleh Hussaini, Elder Mike Orobator, Chief Olaniwun Ajayi, Justice M. Ogebe (rtd), Mrs. Priscilla Kuye, Chief Debo Omotosho, Dr. Musa Asake, Joseph Daramola, Pastor Olatunbosun Emmanuel (Secretary).The coalition in a statement by Asemota in Abuja on Sunday said it was obvious that the government is drifting the country to a wrong direction.Apart from NCEF, other members of the coalition include Nigerian Christian Graduate Fellowship; Think Tank for the body of Christ; Christian Lawyers Fellowship of Nigeria; Association of Christian Schools in Nigeria; Students Christian Movement; Christian Professionals Forum; Intercessors for Nigeria and International Prophetic Ministerial Association (Inc. Worldwide College of Bishops and Ministers: Africa, UK and USA.The coalition also has Intercessors without Walls; Wailing Women International; Full Gospel Businessmen Fellowship; Nigerian Fellowship of Christian Students; Ministers Prayer Network; International Christian Embassy Jerusalem and University Joint Campus Christian Fellowship as members.The statement by Asemota reads: As Nigerians, we congratulate the Muslims in the nation on their successful completion of the Ramadan fast in 2016. However, we are disturbed by the apparent shoddiness and confusion the Federal Government brought into the declaration of the Public Holiday rounding up the Muslim religious exercise.The Federal Government had earlier declared Tuesday 5th and Wednesday 6th July as Public Holiday only to reverse itself and declare Wednesday 6th and Thursday 7th July 2016 as Public Holiday. If this was done before Tuesday was observed as Public Holiday, it would have been tolerable but declaring Thursday 7th as Public Holiday in addition to Tuesday and Wednesday is bad. The implication now is that three days would be work free in the week.We are equally appalled that the Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau based the decision to declare Thursday as Public Holiday on the directive by the President General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Alhaji Saad Abubakar III, the Sultan of Sokoto, to the effect that the Ramadan fast continues today (last Tuesday) as a result of the non-sighting of the moon.We are not aware that Nigeria has transmuted into a religious theocratic state in which the leader of a religious group issues directive to the Federal Government. If the President General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs confirmed Wednesday and Thursday as Public Holiday for the Ramadan fasting, then who advised the Federal Government to declare Tuesday a Public Holiday?As innocuous as some people may want to present this development, it is a dangerous signal confirming the worrisome direction of the party that promised Nigerians change from the lawlessness and impunity that seem to characterize this nation. Since the inception of the Buhari administration, it has left no one in doubt of its discriminatory leaning towards Islam as the preferred religion in Nigeria, in violation of Section 10 of the constitution.The Buhari Administration needs to be reminded again that Nigeria is not an Islamic Theocratic State that receives directive from a Sultan. Nigeria is a democratic and secular nation and preferential treatment should not be accorded any section of the nation but all should be treated equally.If indeed a mistake was made in declaring Tuesday a Public Holiday that does not warrant declaring Thursday a Public Holiday. Both the Federal Government and leaders of Islam should have maintained the statutory two days Public Holiday and learnt a lesson on how to not to repeat the mistake in future.It is very embarrassing the tardiness and shoddiness that the Buhari Administration has brought into governance in Nigeria.We wish to state clearly that declaring Thursday an additional Public Holiday is not only wrong but an insensitive approach to the management of the economy. The economic well being of the nation should not be sacrificed on the altar of religious fervor.Nevertheless, having illegally appropriated an additional day as Pubic Holiday during the Eid-el-Fitri, the Federal Government and leaders of Islam should be prepared to repay the nation the extra day during the next Eid-el-Kabir in which we expect only one day should be approved as Public Holiday. Nigeria should not be turned into a lawless nation.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has told the immediate past Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Adesola Amosu (retd.); a former ...

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has told the immediate past Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Adesola Amosu (retd.); a former Chief of Accounts and Budgeting in Nigerian Air Force, Air Vice Marshal Jacob Adigun; and a former Director of Finance and Budget, Air Commodore Olugbenga Gbadebo, to forfeit the 33 properties they allegedly bought with stolen funds.This, it was learnt, was part of the conditions for the plea bargain given to the three accused persons.A security agent, who did not want his name in print, revealed that apart from forfeiting the properties, Amosu, Adigun and Gbadebo would be asked to plead guilty, after which the EFCC would appeal to the court to temper justice with mercy.The accused persons alongside eight companies are being accused of stealing N22.8bn from the coffers of the NAF between 2014 and 2015.A source said, We will not want to rock the boat because negotiations are still ongoing. However, since Amosu, Adigun and Gbadebo have opted for plea bargain, we expect them to permanently forfeit all the properties linked to them.Afterwards, they will enter a guilty plea and receive a reduced sentence. This was what we did for the Managing Director of the defunct Oceanic Bank, Mrs. Cecilia Ibru, who was jailed after she pleaded guilty and forfeited 103 choice houses and shares in 77 companies in Nigeria in 2010.It is the standard practice worldwide and it will save everybodys time.Documents showed that Amosun, Adigun and Gbadebo had returned over N2.8bn to the Federal Government, while properties such as plazas, schools, mansions, farms, a hospital and a quarry had been seized from them.While almost N2.6bn cash has been recovered from Amosu, Gbadebo has returned N190m. Adiguns wife, returned some money as well.The document further stated that properties recovered from Adigun were worth N9.6bn.Some of the properties include a shopping plaza known as Capadar Plaza on Adetokunbo Ademola Crescent, Wuse 2, Abuja, which is worth N980m; a residential mansion on Lake Chad Street, Maitama, worth N450m; an executive mansion in Imo River Close off Dandube Crescent, Maitama, worth N710m, and a four-unit terrace on Agadez Street off Aminu Kano crescent, Wuse 2, worth N720m.Some other properties said to belong to Adigun included a 35-room uncompleted hotel on Salt Lake Street, Maitama, Abuja; a parcel of land located on Bourdillon Street, Ikoyi, Lagos; a block of 12 service flats located on Agodogba Street, Park View Estate, Ikoyi, said to be worth N1.8bn and a quarry in Bwari area of Abuja worth about $694,000.The source added that all the properties had been seized temporarily.He added that some of the properties seized from Amosu were worth N1.5bn. They included a house on Adeyemo Alakija Street, GRA Ikeja, worth N250m; a duplex at House 11, Peace Court Estate, GRA Ikeja, worth N110m; a N40m property located at NAF Harmony Estate, Asokoro Base, and a five-bedroomed house at Valley NAF Estate, Port Harcourt, worth N33m.Others include a hospital on Adeniyi Jones Avenue known as St Solomon Hospital, with equipment worth $2.15m; and a N95m house on Umaru Dikko Street, Jabi.The properties seized from Gbadebo are said to be worth N495m. They include a fish farm worth N10m; a N20m poultry Lagos and a school known as Bloomsville International School, Divine Estate, Isheri Olofin , off Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.Apart from Nigeria, Adigun and Amosu also own two homes in posh areas of London in the United Kingdom.A detached house worth 875,000 (N333, 375, 000) at 93b Shirehall Park, London, NW42QU allegedly belonging to Adigun and another house at 50 Tenterden Grove, NW41TH allegedly belonging to Amosu and worth 1m (N381m) are also expected to be forfeited to the Federal Government.However, investigations showed that the value of the houses had increased.A visit to Zoopla.co.uk, which real estate agents use in valuing properties in the UK, showed that both properties were bought in August 2014.According to the website, the property, which Adigun allegedly bought in August 2014 at the cost of 875,000 currently goes for 1,046,000, (N398,526,000).It added that Amosus property, which it said was purchased in November 2014 at 1,850,000, (and not 1m as claimed by the EFCC), was now worth 2,175,000 (N828, 675, 000).According to the property website, Amosus property has six bedrooms, six bathrooms and two sitting rooms.Calculations showed that the cash and assets which the air force men might forfeit permanently added up to about N15bn which was more than three quarters of what they allegedly stole.Speaking with newsmen recently, the Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, Prof. Itse Sagay, said once a criminal matter had been brought to court and the accused person brought up a negotiation, there must be some form of punishment.According to him, plea bargain is done all over the world, adding that it saves time and money.The Senior Advocate of Nigeria explained that plea bargain in Nigerian law is for the purpose of saving the state the time and resources from prosecuting a case over a long period of time and still end up not achieving a conviction.He added, The point I want to make is that once a case has been taken to court, there can be no negotiation of return of money without punishment. That is impossible and can never happen because if that happens, then it is breach of the law.
By Kayode Tani-Olu The governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, recently deployed a militia of local hunters to hunt down Fulani h...

The governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, recently deployed a militia of local hunters to hunt down Fulani herdsmen in reaction to a recent incident in Ikole Ekiti, where some local people were killed as a result of clashes between Fulani herders and the local agrarian community. I have been trying to follow the arguments of those supporting the governors reaction to this unfortunate  but avoidable  incident.Please allow me to shed a bit of light on this subject which is currently generating so much debate within the Nigerian community. I wish to begin by saying, without equivocation, that I write this piece as a Nigerian patriot and as a former Nigerian career diplomat. Least of all, I write as a human being.The so-called cattle-herders are the Bororo or the Wodaabe. They are ethnically related to the Fulani  although some of the Fulani people will not agree they are Fulani. They are made up of many clans which are spread all over West Africa. Their relationship to the Fulani is similar to what the Itsekiri have with Yoruba. Their culture is so similar. Some others describe the Fulani, Fula or Peul as the town or settler Fulani and the Wodaabe as the cattle Fulani. My personal opinion is that both cultures and languages are mutually intelligible, hence the similarity. In this write up, I would like to refer to them as the Wodaabe. The Wodaabe have never been educated, they have never owned land, and they dont even have an ancestral home. For those of us that do, not having an ancestral home is incomprehensible  I can understand that. The Wodaabe often migrate north and south, east and west, and have done so for centuries within a very large area, criss-crossing the borders of more than 15 countries in the search for pasture (they move anywhere from Chad in the east, to Mauritania in the west, depending on the movement of the dry season).In every country where they exist, their itinerant lifestyle has often put them in conflict with agrarian communities. In the last few decades, they have been victims of cattle rustlers and of recent Boko Haram. They probably carry AK47s to protect themselves. I personally know of instances when even local communities have stolen or killed their cattle and they have reported to the police, and the police had done nothing.Their cattle are their lives and they will kill defending their livestock. It is a wrong assumption to think that these cattle herders are working for big men, like some people have been saying. I can understand why some people think this way  how can such uneducated people have so much wealth in cattle and livestock? However, we own homes, cars, books, electronics, investments, etc. Those cattle are simply what the Wodaabe own.A Wodaabe will never hold or care for another mans cattle. Its anathema to their culture- they simply dont do it. Their itinerant lifestyle has also not allowed them to mix with other tribes in marriage  in fact they never intermarry with other groups  hence resulting in much inbreeding, and the side effects of this. I believe every Wodaabe in this world is related, hence in the event of a vendetta against a local community, it is easy for them to rely on reinforcement, support and logistics of other Wodaabe. Whenever you see them with a large herd (sometimes in thousands) of cattle, its usually because a whole clan  grandfather, husbands, cousins, brothers, etc  are herding together. The strange thing is each animal knows his masters voice  just the way Jesus Christ described his sheep  that they know HIS voice. For the Wodaabe, while many have embraced Islam, most are still for the most part predominantly animists.Some have said, since they have no homeland, why dont we ranch them in Sambisa Forest? The problem with that is that Sambisa Forest spans more than five states in Nigeria. We all know every inch of terra firma in Nigeria is owned by at least one tribe or ethnic group, so to give away any part of Sambisa Forest will be giving away land that belongs to another ethnic group to the Wodaabe. However, the British colonial administration provided for the Wodaabe (especially in the Northern Region which now comprises at least 24 states) in the various colonial constitutions, including the one Nigeria inherited at independence. In those constitutions, grazing areas were provided for them in many locations.Those areas have since vanished  since various states governments, over the years, have stolen or appropriated the land meant for them. Even when the government in the spirit of the various colonial institutions that we inherited, recently tried to revisit the issue of the grazing areas in order to address the problem, most Nigerians from the southern states said it was a ploy to establish the Fulani hegemony over locations outside the northern states of Nigeria. Hence, the Wodaabe had no other choice than to look for pasture wherever they can find it  bringing them into endless clashes with just about every agrarian community they come in contact with.Like in every civil society, town and country, the Wodaabe also have vagrants and criminal elements who commit violent crimes against local communities under the guise of herding their livestock. These vagrants need to be identified and made to face the full wrath of the law. Another point worthy of note is that because of the Woodabe lifestyle, it is very hard to tell who amongst them is Nigerian, and who is not. They have no homeland, they have never had one and international boundaries have no meaning to them; neither do they have ID cards or passports.I doubt if they have representation in the parliament of any West African country let alone Nigeria. These people are still many centuries behind the rest of us. I have related all these things in the hope that we can begin to properly examine this as a complex problem, and put it in its proper context. I have also tried to put the Wodaabe under the periscope so that as we continue this debate, we can take some of these things into account.The Federal Government, no doubt, has a complex problem, but Fayoses solution is certainly not the right one. I know it is easy for some people to go after the low hanging fruit by just concluding that I am pandering to the Wodaabe in this write up. However, I am not Wodaabe.But the fact is that sometimes we attempt to turn a blind eye to the truth, even when it is staring us in the face; and when you make a different contribution in a debate or hold a different point of view, some of us get so unreasonable. We as Nigerians make a claim for democracy, but we do not want the dialogue and debate (and contrary views) that come with it.The officials, whom we freely elected to represent and govern us, have decided to start acting like despotic rulers and we see nothing wrong with that. As a matter of fact, we have continued to cheer them on.In the light of this, has it occurred to those supporting Fayose that we are yet to see the section of the Nigerian law that permits a state governor to arm and maintain a militia, even when the constitution does not allow state police? As a side note, can the flintlock rifles Fayoses militiamen (local hunters) are armed with compete against the herdsmens AK47s? And when the local hunters find themselves overpowered by the superior firepower of the herdsmen, what is he going to do? Is he going to start importing ammunition for the local hunters  especially when he has told them he would give them anything they need? The fact of the matter is, Fayose has raised an armed militia even when he lacks the constitutional power to establish a state police force! The Nigerian constitution only allows for a federal police force and federal law enforcement agencies.Lastly, what do you think the Serbian, Radovan Karadzic, was found guilty of by the International Criminal Court, ICC, regarding the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina? In case you do not remember, he was convicted for arming, enabling and maintaining a Serbian militia (just like Fayose is doing with local hunters), to kill ethnic Bosniaks. Karadzic claimed he was protecting Serbs. Now, Fayose says he is protecting the people of Ekiti by commissioning a local militia to hunt down errant herdsmen. He went as far as saying that he could no longer guarantee their safety in Ekiti  he actually said he did not want to see them in his state.Do you remember the time when former Gov. Fashola of Lagos State deported (ok  I found a better wordrepatriated) some people back to the South East? Remember how people from those areas reacted? How come people are not reacting the same way this time? Therefore, to those encouraging Fayose, I hope they are aware that they are encouraging ethnic violence even if there are criminal elements within the migrant herdsmen.I also hope they are prepared to continue their support for him all the way to the ICC when he faces charges of crimes against humanity. THE SOLUTION Unfortunately, I am not in a position to recommend a comprehensive solution to this complex problem, which is also on-going in many other West African countries at this time. One person cannot have all the facts  I am not an exception to this rule. Some have talked about ranching. I have lived in the United States for the last 20 years; and not many states in the US can afford or have the capacity to establish and support ranches.It is usually very capital intensive and the cost of entry (to establish them) is huge. Apart from cost, in Nigeria, we currently lack the capacity in infrastructure, technology, science and support services to do it on a massive scale. Ranching could yet be a long term solution. For an immediate solution, a good place to start will be the identification, re-possession and re-establishment of the previously established grazing areas.To accomplish this will require collaborative effort on the part of our elected officials at the local, state, and federal levels; our elected officials can, in good time, fashion and execute policies that address the root of the problem, because we need to avoid further bloodshed on all sides  violence begets more violence.
Lagos State Police Command said it had arrested two suspected militants, who attempted to attack Igando community, a suburb in the state.





Lagos State Police Command said it had arrested two suspected militants, who attempted to attack Igando community, a suburb in the state.Spokesperson for the command, Mr Dolapo Badmos, a Superintendent of Police, disclosed this in Lagos, yesterday.Badmos said that the suspects were nabbed on Thursday and three guns and ammunition were recovered from them.She said that some residents of Igando alerted the police of the attempted attack by the suspected militants, who came in a boat through the waterways.Immediately, the Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, deployed his men to the area. Two suspects were arrested with some weapons, the spokesperson said.The security of the area has been beefed up; the command has begun investigation into the attempted attack.The police will find out who they are, where they came from and their mission. We advise members of the public in the area and other parts of the state not to panic as the police are on top of the situation.
The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has warned that anyone who attempts to stop the actualisation of Biafra will die mysteriously.

The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has warned that anyone who attempts to stop the actualisation of Biafra will die mysteriously.IPOB gave the warning while reacting to President Muhammadu Buharis recent comment that the unity of Nigeria was not negotiable.Buhari had recently insisted that the unity of the country was not negotiable.The President had voiced out his stance while warning Niger Delta militants to desist from carrying out attacks on pipeline installations due to their struggle for resource control.But in a statement by the Media and Publicity Secretary of the group, Emma Powerful, IPOB asserted that the marriage between the North and South is no longer working.IPOB stressed that Buhari had lost touch with modern reality, stressing that the people of 1914 and 2016 are not the same.The statement reads, It is unfortunate that somebody in that cadre cannot ascertain and did not know that the situation in the country now calls for unity renegotiation.The colonial masters amalgamated the northern and southern protectorates together without consultation in 1914 and now no section of the country wants to stay with each other.It is embarrassing that the present government doesnt have good advisers who have knowledge of the precarious situation the country is facing.We IPOB have decided not to go back in the quest for the restoration of Biafra and no human being can bring us back because it is the project of (Chukwuokike Abiama) God Almighty.Anybody who betrays this noble project will die mysteriously because God is spirit not man.
Minister of state for Petroluem Dr. Ibe Kachikwu recounted his achievements in the 11 months he held sway as Group Managing Director, GM...

Minister of state for Petroluem Dr. Ibe Kachikwu recounted his achievements in the 11 months he held sway as Group Managing Director, GMD, of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, when he formally assumed the position of Chairman of the Board of NNPC, and handed over the office of GMD, to Dr. Maikanti Baru.The Minister said on assumption of office as NNPCs GMD in 2015, the President had asked him to re-position the operational direction of the corporation by tackling problems such as poor profitability index; loss of business transparency and focus and its poor perception.In tackling the challenges, the Minister said in the 11 months he was NNPC GMD, he was able to cut operational losses; deregulate the countrys downstream petroleum sector; initiate a creative means of meeting the corporations Joint Venture (JV) contributions; ensuring that the Corporation meets its statutory payments to the federation account among others. 11 months ago, when the president asked me to take over the mantle of leadership of the NNPC, there was indeed an urgency of now, morale was low, things were haywire, there were lots of issues of transparency on the table. The profit index was very poor and the belief of Nigerians in the functionality and reliability of the NNPC was quite frankly at a questionable level.And the president felt the best way to start my career in the public service under him was first to go to NNPC as outsider and try and bring in certain new structures to help the place change its direction and focus. Looking back now, I think one must be very grateful to the president not just for the opportunity but for the foresight because I had my own doubts whether I could actually do that given the fact that I was an outsider and this is a very huge institution with over 30-40 years of experience which I was not built into. But he was persistent on that and looking back at what we have accomplished, I well understand now why he is the very wise president of the nation and I thank him very much for the opportunity that he has given me.Even when he appointed me minister of state sometime in September, despite all the pressures that he had to quite frankly decouple both positions, understandably, he remained steadfast in feeling that that process should run a course to a point where he is comfortable to decouple it. I think we have gotten to that point and I thank him for that opportunity.In the 11 months, let us just rethink some of the things we have achieved. First, we managed after very great difficulties to restructure the NNPC. It is a very massive restructuring that has been able to set out various parameters of the business as profit focused entities of their own. That was a major massive work. We have been able to cut operational cost by 30 per cent and save a massive amount of money for the group.We undertook deregulation at the time nobody thought was possible and if there is anything we leave for the industry, it must be the legacy of that deregulation. Today, our fuel consumption has gone down by about 30 percent. We have no queues in the filling stations, we have about one and half months of self-sufficiency.We have strategic reserves that we are putting together. We have downstream that is for the first time focused on a very strong P&L and I note with very strong satisfaction that if you compare the April results of downstream group with May results, you will see a massive turnaround from about N19 billion in loss to some level of profits. We succeeded in removing subsidy and saving over N1.4 trillion on yearly basis for this country. We have reduced upstream contracting period from average of two and half years to between six and seven months.He added that by 2018, 60 per cent of refined products importation will stop and by 2019 Nigeria must become a net exporter of refined petroleum products. Kachikwu said the evidence of the turnaround that has been recorded in NNPC in the 11 months he was at the helm of affairs was the fact that the Corporation recorded a profit of N270 million in May, 2016 for the first time in many years.He said when he took over, NNPCs losses were in excess of N150 billion. Kachikwu also said attacks on oil installations in the Niger Delta; the countrys daily crude oil production capacity was still at 1.9 million barrels.
DURHAM, N.C., July 10, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- When pets are endangered by sudden accidents or illnesses, the experience is particularly fearful for owners who are not well established with a veterinarian and do not know where to go for help, says New Hope Animal Hospital.



Crises may range from a pet being hit by an automobile, to a pet accidentally ingesting a toxin. Often, owners can see that their pets are in trouble, but do not know the cause. They may doubt whether an incident is serious enough to require immediate care.

However, Dr. Soren Windram of Durham's New Hope Animal Hospital, 5016 Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd, identifies numerous situations in which pet owners should not hesitate to seek immediate veterinary advice and treatment.

For example, Dr. Windram cites choking, fractures, heat stress, neurological difficulties such as seizures, dry heaves after eating and prolonged diarrhea or vomiting lasting 24 hours or longer.

"Seek help immediately," Dr. Windram says, "if you suspect that your pet has eaten something toxic, such as antifreeze or a poisonous plant."

Also, Dr. Windram emphasizes that pet owners should pay close attention when dogs and cats chew on their paws, bat at their ears or make sounds expressing major discomfort. This may indicate that an object has embedded itself in their digestive system and can further penetrate a pet's body and cause damage.

New Hope Animal Hospital is a full service clinic that is well prepared to handle emergencies during regular operating hours. However, if trouble occurs outside regular hours, Durham and Chapel Hill pet owners are not left on their own to find help. Dr. Windram notes that, after hours, "Our animal hospital refers pet owners to emergency clinics we trust."

This full service clinic provides a broad range of care, including routine wellness exams, vaccinations, diagnostic lab testing, radiographic imaging, pharmaceutical services, pain management for elderly pets, vaccinations and planned surgical procedures ranging from dental cleaning to corrective surgeries. They also offer safe, sanitary boarding.

Dr. Windram says that when owners seek regular veterinary wellness care for pets, it helps cats and dogs become familiar with, and more trusting of, animal doctors. He adds that this can make emergency treatment easier to manage and less stressful for pets.

Preparedness also helps to minimize the difficulties of emergencies. Keep your veterinarian's phone number handy in a number of locations.

New Hope Animal Hospital is open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday to Friday, and from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturdays. To contact the clinic, they can be reached by phone at (919) 490-2000. Information on their full range of veterinary service can be found on their website at http://www.nhah.com/.

New Hope Animal Hospital, (919) 490-2000

https://www.avma.org/public/EmergencyCare/Pages/animal-emergencies.aspx
Mr Chika Emehelu, a 36-year-old Nigerian businessman in South Africa, on Sunday appealed to the Federal Government to persuade the South A...

Mr Chika Emehelu, a 36-year-old Nigerian businessman in South Africa, on Sunday appealed to the Federal Government to persuade the South African government to pay him compensation. Emehelu, a native of Udi in Enugu State, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Johannesburg that he lost more than R800,000 (N12million) in the May 2013 xenophobic attacks in that country.The businessman, who is married to a South African and has three children, said three shops at Portnolloth, a community in Northern Cape Province of South Africa, were looted during the attack.Emehelu also said local authorities in the province came and took an inventory of the items stolen and destroyed, promising to pay him compensation. He, however, said nothing had been done since then, adding that his family members were going through hard times.Emehelu also said he had submitted all relevant documents to the South African authorities after the incident, adding that he was running a duly registered business outfit. He also said officers from the Nigerian Mission in South Africa had visited his shops to take inventory.Emehelu appealed to the Federal Government to remind the South African government to pay compensation to Nigerians who suffered losses during the xenophobic attacks. As I speak, I lost everything to the mob attack and I need government`s assistance to revive my business, he said.Mr Ikechukwu Anyene, President of Nigeria Union in South Africa, said the body had compiled a list of Nigerians affected in the attacks and submitted it to the Federal Government through the Consul General.
The Presidency has said the support base of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration is still enormous, insisting that those complai...

The Presidency has said the support base of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration is still enormous, insisting that those complaining of the present tough times are in the minority.It has, therefore, urged those complaining to be patient with the present administration as it is making efforts to correct the wrongs of the past.Buharis Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina said this when he featured on a phone-in programme on Raypower 100.5FM in Abuja, yesterday.Adesina said living in the midst of the people and feeling their pulse regularly, those working in government can conclude that those critising Buhari were in the minority. Yes, you need to give me the statistics of those complaining. We (government officials) are in the midst of the people and we can feel the pulse of the people. I maintain that the people who are complaining are in the minority. I can tell you that the support base of this government is still enormous. Yes, we know some people are complaining but, they are still in the minority.The presidential spokesman reiterated that in 18-months, Nigerians will begin to feel the impact of governments efforts to revamp the economy. Adesina further stressed that the waste that characterised the past administration is responsible for the nations current problems.To every action, there is a reaction. To every action, there is a consequence. Before the present administration, crude oil sold for as high as $140 per barrel. Where is that money?We do not know what that money was used for. It was wasted, it went into private pockets and now we are seeing the consequences.The people have to be patient, the economy is being retooled and it will surely be. The President has said it that in 18 months, the economy will begin to be retooled. Why cant they wait 18 months to two years? he asked.Adesina assured Nigerians that the change promised them by the Buhariss administration would come, but not through magic.Even if we do economic restructuring now, will it be a magic wind? We will still have to wait. So I am imploring all Nigerians to please wait because the change that has been promised will come but it is not a magic wind.Change is a process, we will go through that process and we will get there.The Presidential Spokesman re-echoed Buharis promise that, monies recovered from those who looted public treasury would be spent on the development of infrastructure.
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command said it has arrested some suspects in connection with the killing of a woman preacher...

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command said it has arrested some suspects in connection with the killing of a woman preacher in Kubwa, FCT.The FCT commands Spokesman, ASP Anjuguri Manzah confirmed the arrest to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Abuja.He said the Commissioner of Police, Alkali Usman, has directed the homicide section to take over the investigation.We have made some arrests and they are helping in our investigation.The commissioner of police has ordered the homicide section of the command to take over the investigation of the case, he said.The spokesman, however, did not mention the number of suspects arrested.He said that personnel of the command had visited the scene of the incident and that investigation had begun.NAN reports that the woman, whose name was not disclosed, was killed while preaching in the early hours of the day around the pipeline area of Kubwa, a satellite town of the FCT. (NAN/Channels TV)
Fresh facts have emerged as to the underlying reasons the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, was removed as the ...

Fresh facts have emerged as to the underlying reasons the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, was removed as the Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation(NNPC), after serving in that capacity for a period of 11 months.Before his appointment as GMD of NNPC last August, he was the Executive Vice Chairman and General Counsel for Exxon Mobil (Africa).Armed with private sector experience, Kachikwu, on assumption of office, introduced some swift reforms geared towards the restructuring of the NNPC, the resuscitation of the refineries, and deregulation of the downstream sector of the petroleum industry.He also sought to introduce transparency and accountability in the huge oil corporation in such a way that each subsidiary would be required to render profit and loss accounts at the end of each fiscal year.There have been speculations that Kachikwu came under attacks from various quarters and interest groups who felt threatened by these reforms.Telegraph learnt that Kachikwu had to give way because, apart from the abnormality in one person holding the two strategic positions, he was too fast and reform-minded for the NNPC and ruffled not a few feathers while he held sway as the NNPC boss.An oil industry source told Telegraph that the first factor that led to his exit was that it was not legal for one person to be the Minister of Petroleum Resources and Group Managing Director of NNPC, at the same time.It was an anomaly and supposed to be a temporary arrangement. It was not supposed have lasted that long. In addition, he brought private sector initiatives into a largely conservative and bureaucratic system. Normally, reforms will be resisted by those used to the old system.But one of the things he didnt do well was not carrying the people along. There was a lot of disenchantment in the system because of the sweeping reforms Kachikwu tried to introduce.
Earlier today, online news portal, Signal, shared a photo of President Buhari rocking a Gucci shoe which they claim cost $640 and when ...





 @da_taf pic.twitter.com/lugAZCOmbZ Though it doesn't worth any reply. This was from campaign's days. If they like they can write on it too. July 10, 2016

@BashirAhmaad @da_taf the same Buhari that was drinking satchet Milo, wearing Gucci shoes? Thank God I never believed this man July 10, 2016

@BashirAhmaad @da_taf during the campaign we were told he was so poor he had 2 borrow 2 pay for his nomination form. U guys r jst hypocrites July 10, 2016

@BashirAhmaad @da_taf A President wore Gucci  and to the opposition that is an issue? C'mmon are these people okay at all? July 10, 2016



Gobless Hello @BashirAhmaad please just tweet in Hausa next time and stop embarrassing the Presidency with this manner of English.Gobless July 10, 2016

@BashirAhmaad @da_taf Nobody said Buhari has stolen public fund buy shoe,but I hope d president will listen & think carefully.Is EXTRAVAGANT July 10, 2016

@BashirAhmaad @da_taf PMB is better than those who pointed out his weakness,let him take correction.Simple!Such amount can save many lives July 10, 2016

PDP guys are busy talking about Buhari's shoe. If we had focused on cost of Jonathan's Fedora Hats, we wouldn't have won the election.  Imam Imam (@imamdimam) July 10, 2016

Earlier today, online news portal, Signal, shared a photo of President Buhari rocking a Gucci shoe which they claim cost $640 and when converted to Naira is valued at N223, 905.Reacting to the tweets, the PA to the president on New Media, Bashir Ahmad, shared a photo of President Buhari wearing the pair of shoes during his election campaign days and said he didn't just buy them.However Nigerians on social media are still reacting to the reports that alleged that the president spent N223, 905 on a shoe.
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, has condemned the Lagos State government and political authorities in the Federal...

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, has condemned the Lagos State government and political authorities in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, for strictly enforcing some policies, it said, are aimed at stifling the economic activities of the poorest majority of their citizenry.This was as the civil society organisation handed a 48-hour ultimatum for Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State to abrogate the recently introduced obnoxious law that criminalises street trading or face a legal battle.HURIWA, in a statement jointly signed by its National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and the National Media Affairs Director, Miss Zainab Yusuf, specifically listed the various policies in operation in the political and commercial capitals of Nigeria which outlaws street trading as some of the most draconian, unconstitutional, Un-African and Uncharitable actions that are not only anti-poor but targeted at the further economic enslavement of the poorest of the poor.The Rights group disclosed that it has commenced consultations with like-minded stakeholders with a view to appealing to credible legal practitioners to head to Court this week to challenge this evil legislation by the Lagos State government targeted at driving millions of poor Nigerians to their early grave through mass hunger which the anti street trading law will instigate.HURIWA said it was a shame that self acclaimed human rights activists and lawyers affiliated to the Lagos State Government have maintained graveside silence whilst their political friends in the All Progressives Congress administration in Lagos State imposed this draconian law.It stated that in an event that the matter against the Lagos State government could not be filed this week, it will begin the mobilization of Nigerians using the social media to stage mass action against Governor Ambode and his anti poor policy.HURIWA condemned the Lagos State government and the FCT environmental enforcement authority for pursuing these evil policies which goes contrary to the clear provision of the Nigerian Constitution as enshrined in Section 14 (1) (2); Section 15(2) (a)(b) (c) and (d);(14)(1) The Federal Republic of Nigeria shall be a State based on the principle of democracy and social justice.(2) It is hereby, accordingly, declared that (a) Sovereignty belongs to the people of Nigeria from whom government through this constitution derives all its powers and authority; (b) the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government; and (c) the participation by the people in their government shall be ensured in accordance with the provisions of this constitution.The Rights group said these unfair and anti -poor policies are targeted at concentrating wealth only in the hands of the rich which is absolutely unlawful.HURIWA said it was an act of pure evil of the most outrageous dimension for political authorities to enact legislations which will drive away the largest majority of the struggling masses out of their self created jobs even when these same governments have failed spectacularly to provide the needed infrastructures such as affordable shopping outlets in strategic parts of Lagos and Abuja for these low income earners and traders to embark on decent economic ventures.We watch in absolute shock and trepidation as brutes in police and military uniforms arrest hundreds of poor street hawkers in the streets of Abuja and subject them to severe dehumanizing treatments such as public flogging and the forceful capture and confiscation of their only sources of livelihood even as hundreds of these unfortunate persons who cant bribe their way out are left to rot in police detention centers.The Lagos State governor has just gone on air (TV.C) this morning to announce that the laws on street trading in Lagos will be strictly enforced from today, July 1st 2016. Both buyer and seller are equally guilty and the penalty is N90, 000 or 6 months in prison or both, the statement noted, adding that this is the most brutal anti poor policy to have churned out any where in the World in this 21st century global community.
Three pilots who were suspended by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) for allegedly taking alcohol before operating their fligh...

Three pilots who were suspended by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) for allegedly taking alcohol before operating their flights are to undergo psychiatric evaluation before rejoining the service, the authority said on Friday.Sam Adurogboye, acting general manager, public relations, NCAA, disclosed this while speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.The NCAA had recently withdrawn the licenses of the three pilots and placed them on a three-month suspension for breaching civil aviation regulations in the country.According to the rules, a pilot is prohibited from taking alcohol for at least three hours before flight time.Mr. Adurogboye noted that such act could compromise the safety of their passengers, adding that the NCAA was very vigilant in ensuring strict compliance to safety rules.It is very clear. They are to be off duty for three months. While on suspension, they are to be made to go through psychiatric evaluation before rejoining the service, he said.Mr. Adurogboye advised airline operators and pilots to abide by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations (Nig.CARs), warning that offenders would be visited with severe penalties. (NAN)
Meaning analysis:

Error Analysis:

which has proved useful in decreasing mortality among young leukemia patients

A substance derived, ..., is cultivated

Answers analysis:

As pointed out in the error analysis



A Derivative,..., is cultivated --> Incorrect as pointed in the error analysis.

Derivative is cultivated--> As pointed in the error analysis, this distorts the meaning

"that" has a hanging precedent noun. In this statement "that" can refer to patients

This correctly addresses the mistakes.


Niger Delta Avengers, NDA, weekend, said since President Muhammadu Buhari had decided to shun the demand for legitimate dialogue with mi...

Niger Delta Avengers, NDA, weekend, said since President Muhammadu Buhari had decided to shun the demand for legitimate dialogue with militants and stakeholders on the Niger Delta question, it would continue to encumber all avenues by him to export crude oil from the region.Avengers disclosed that the struggle has entered a new phase with Buharis disposition of winning the battle and losing the war.It also denied the widespread belief that ex-militant leader, Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, recently nominated by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, MEND, as a member of its Aaron 2 Negotiating Team, was the sponsor of Avengers.This came as another militant group, Niger Delta Revolutionary Crusaders, NDRC, declared that it was ready to fight government and the Saudi Arabia mercenaries it was allegedly engaging over the God-given resources of Ijaw people, while the Ijaw People Development Initiative, IPD, insisted that the way out was to conduct a referendum for the people to make their choice.In a related development, a group, the Toru-Ebe State Creation Movement, said the quick fix to the ongoing bombings was for the federal government to create Toru-Ebe state for the Ijaw in the western flank of Niger Delta inhabiting Edo, Delta and Ondo states.
WENONAH- In a spirited homecoming, second-class petty officer Christina Baez was reunited with her pitbull, Laila, Saturday after serving a year overseas.

Laila ran enthusiastically to Baez as she entered the yard of the family who had been caring for the dog over the past year.

Although the two had been apart for a year, it was not the first time Baez had seen her dog. Earlier this year, the foster family had posted a video which went viral of 8-year-old Anna Masusock singing "You are my sunshine" as she laid in bed next to Laila.

The Masusock family fostered Laila for Baez, who serves in the Navy, through PACT for Animals, an organization which allows families to foster pets for people who are deployed overseas or unexpectedly hospitalized.

"With PACT, you become a family," Donna Masusock said. "Laila's like a family member, I'm even friends with Christina's family on Facebook."

This is the Masusock family's second round of fostering dogs with PACT. The first time they fostered three dogs at once, but Masusock added that Laila "was the most laid back dog we've ever had."

"You're fostering so they don't have to go to a shelter," she added. "If it wasn't for PACT, Christina would've lost Laila."

In the moments leading up to Baez's arrival on Saturday, Masusock's children, 8-year-old twins Liam and Anna, said their goodbyes to Laila as they threw a pink frisbee around the yard.

Masusock said that PACT allows visitation rights for the foster family after the pet is returned to its owner, so they will stay in contact with Baez.

"You're sad because you do have that attachment, but they're happy tears because Laila will finally get her mom," she said.

Moments before the reunion, Masusock fought back tears of her own.

"My time with Laila has been awesome," she said while wiping her eyes. "She's been a great impact in her house. I'll really miss her."

She added that Laila was a big cuddler and that everyone in the neighborhood knew her.

Baez, who is from Hoboken but stationed in Virginia Beach, pulled up to the house with multiple family members to partake in the reunion.

She described being both excited and nervous.

"When you're away from an animal, and even a child, you're nervous coming home and afraid that they won't remember you," she said.

Before she saw her dog, Baez said her biggest fear was that Laila wouldn't remember her, but all it took was that first sniff, and then Laila remembered.

Baez said the video of Anna singing to Laila warmed her heart while she was stationed overseas.

"It was so sweet," she said. "She [Laila] has gotten so much love and attention from the family. It brought me to tears, it brought everyone on my ship to tears."

Beaz said she's grateful for the support from the Masusocks.

"Laila has learned so much and grown so much with them," she said. "I wouldn't have it any other way, I wouldn't want it with any other family."

CJ Fairfield may be reached at cfairfield@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @fairfielc4. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Ryan Wall | For The Jersey Journal

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Antique cars sit parked next to small pedicabs on a road in Old Havana. (Ryan Wall | The Jersey Journal)

Ryan Wall | For The Jersey Journal

A new era for Cuba

For decades, Cuba has remained shrouded in a sense of mystery. A strict trade embargo, allegations of human rights violations and bitter memories from Cuban exiles have fueled a tense relationship with the island nation. All of this started to shift in late 2014 when President Obama and Raul Castro announced the U.S. and Cuba would restore diplomatic relations, paving the way for a new era of business and communication.

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The famous -- or infamous -- Che Guevara installation on the side of the Ministry of the Interior building at the Plaza de la Revolucion. (Ryan Wall | For The Jersey Journal)

Ryan Wall | For The Jersey Journal

An island stuck in time

Despite being only 90 miles south of Key West, Cuba is a world unto itself. I was fortunate enough to visit for one week this May as part of my universitys travel study program. While in Cuba, I was awed by the culture, history, and beauty of the island. I talked to several professors and students at the University of Havana, toured historical monuments, and had the chance to explore a nation seemingly stuck in time. It was an eye-opening experience to say the least.

These are the 14 things that surprised me the most about Cuba...

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Ryan Wall | For The Jersey Journal

1. Don't forget the TP!

Many Cuban restrooms do not have toilet seats or toilet paper. Jose Marti International Airport had just roll placed next to the sink that was to be shared by all bathroom users (many tourists mistook it for a roll of paper towels). Its a good idea to tuck a roll in your purse or backpack (just in case!)

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The Parque Central of Old Havana is in the heart of the tourist district. Similar to Times Square, people will try to attract tourists to purchase souvenirs or ride around in 1950s-era cars. However, some might use misogynistic language to attract female customers. (Ryan Wall | For The Jersey Journal)

Ryan Wall | For The Jersey Journal

2. Machismo abounds

There is a noticeable culture of machismo -- an aggressive form of male pride that can result in the poor treatment of women -- in Cuba. One female law professor at the University of Havana said many Cuban women have come to accept this culture, which includes frequent cat calling and flirtation in public plazas or on streets. Interestingly enough, women receive equal pay in Cuba and nearly half of the Cuban Parliament is female.

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A run-down, proverity-stricken street in Cienfuegos, at left, is just two blocks from the Central Plaza. At right, the former house of nobility is now converted into a fine arts museum in Havana's Miramar neighborhood. (Ryan Wall | For The Jersey Journal

Ryan Wall | For The Jersey Journal

3. Poverty and affluence exist side-by-side

In Cienfuegos, the ninth largest city in Cuba, step two blocks away from the nicely-manicured central plaza and you will find yourself immersed in poverty. The same exists in tourist-friendly Havana: pothole-ridden streets are lined with animal feces and piles of trash, while locals live in crumbling buildings. Meanwhile, neighborhoods like Havanas Miramar district feature well-maintained homes and paved streets for an emerging upper class.

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A street on the outskirts of Havana. (Ryan Wall | For The Jersey Journal)

Ryan Wall | For The Jersey Journal

4. The infrastructure is in decline

Many Cuban buildings are literally falling apart. Faded paint peels from the walls and chunks of concrete routinely fall off buildings. This crumbling infrastructure spans a variety of architectural styles, with influences from Spain, the Soviet Union, and the United States.

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All of this money is equivalent to only 5 CUC, or $5. Cubans have been told publicly that the country will transition to one currency, but many expressed privately that this will come in many years, after Raul Castro's term ends in 2018. (Ryan Wall | For The Jersey Journal)

Ryan Wall | For The Jersey Journal

5. More money, more problems

Cuba has two types of money: the peso/moneda nacional and the CUC (convertible currency). The CUC is used primarily within the tourism industry and is worth about $1. Cuban workers are paid in pesos, and roughly 24 pesos is equivalent to $1. The average salary fluctuates around the equivalent of $20 in the United States a month. The two types of money can be exchanged at cadecas, or exchange houses. Helpful hint: CUCs feature monuments while Pesos feature historical figures.

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The Granma is sold on the streets by locals who often mark up the price to tourists to try to make some money of their own. (Ryan Wall | For The Jersey Journal)

Ryan Wall | For The Jersey Journal

6. Media access is heavily regulated

The Granma, the official newspaper of the Communist Party, is one of the main news outlets for many Cubans. Television channels (for those who have access to television) include channels from China, Vietnam, Russia, Bolivia, Venezuela, and the United States. Internet cards for one hour of Wi-Fi can be purchased for about 2 CUC (about $2), but the average Cuban cannot afford this. Random Wi-Fi hotspots cause some street corners to become community hangouts as locals try to connect to the internet.

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A line outside one of the cadecas in Havana. (Ryan Wall | For The Jersey Journal)

Ryan Wall | For The Jersey Journal

7. Waiting "in line," without a line

Waiting in line in Cuba is a far different experience than in the United States. While in line, it is appropriate to ask "Quien es el ultimo?" (Who is the last person?). Sometimes, people will wander off to sit and wait in the shade, so lines at the bank, market, or cadeca can be deceivingly short. It is the individual's responsibility to know who is in front of them and who is behind them to maintain the order of the line.

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At left, one of many signs promoting the revolution.The insignia is the logo of the CDR. At right, murals on the side of buildings in Old Havana depict revolutionary heroes and Cuban symbolism. (Ryan Wall | For The Jersey Journal)

Ryan Wall | For The Jersey Journal

8. Propaganda is part of daily life

Propaganda promoting the government, communism, and Cuban heritage is found everywhere. Highways have billboards promoting state ideals, street art glorifies figures from Cuban history, and flag seemingly fly everywhere. Next to most flag poles are busts of Jose Marti, the national hero of Cuba whose ideas sparked the Cuban independence movement. Marti and other figures are memorialized with countless statues, monuments, and art throughout the island. Cuba is a proud and patriotic country, to say the least.

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The Plaza of San Francisco de Asis in Old Havana. (Ryan Wall | For The Jersey Journal)

Ryan Wall | For The Jersey Journal

9. Cubans can have differing political opinions

Contrary to popular belief, Cubans do have dissenting opinions about their government. However, these thoughts are not to be expressed in public. One University of Havana student said in hushed tones that he wanted to get the hell out of this country and noted that if this belief were to be made public, he would lose his job. Every neighborhood has a CDR (Committee for the Defense of the Revolution), similar to a neighborhood watch, to ensure that citizens do not stray too far from the Communist party line.

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"The Corner of Cretins" at the Museum of the Revolution in Havana features caricatures of Ronald Reagan, second from left, George H.W. Bush, third from left, and George W. Bush, right. The signs criticize how these presidents have hampered U.S.-Cuban relations. (Ryan Wall | For The Jersey Journal)

Ryan Wall | The Jersey Journal

10. There's a genuine interest in American politics

Cubans are generally interested in American politics, and especially the presidential election. However, there seems to be a general concern that powerful politicians -- from both American political parties -- could undo some of the progress that has been made in the easing tensions between the two nations.

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An American Student describes American law enforcement to a Cuban military guard. (Ryan Wall | For The Jersey Journal)

Ryan Wall | The Jersey Journal

11. Cubans love to talk

The Cuban people are very friendly and receptive to Americans. A maid at the hotel I stayed at was very excited about the new tone between the two countries and was fascinated by my description of Manhattan. A guard at the Che Guevara Monument in Cienfuegos spoke to a fellow American for nearly 20 minutes about the role of American law enforcement. Overall, I found Cubans to be warm, conversational, and eager to learn from tourists they meet.

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Old Cars in Havana's Parque Central sit in the shadow of the Capitolio. The building in the middle is the theatre where President Obama gave his speech to the Cuban people. (Ryan Wall | For The Jersey Journal)

Ryan Wall | For The Jersey Journal

12. Cubans enjoy American culture

Despite the embargo on U.S. trade, Cubans still have access to American culture. Several students at the University of Havana talked about the package -- a weekly mailing containing a flash drive loaded with the most recent episodes of American TV shows sent from relatives living in the U.S. Popular shows include Scandal, House of Cards, and Greys Anatomy. American music is also popular in Cuba, especially in dance clubs and public areas.

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A look side Harris Brothers Centro Commercial. (Ryan Wall | For The Jersey Journal)

Ryan Wall | For The Jersey Journal

Out of stock? Out of luck

I noticed that markets have less inventory than their American counterparts. Cubans do get ration cards for some products, but many still need to use personal income to supplement that. Some Cuban stores are set up so customers pay for their products by type: all toiletries are purchased together at one counter, all dairy is purchased at another counter, and so on. Outdoor markets also offer fresh produce throughout the island.

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A plate at the paladar "La Moneda." (Ryan Wall | For The Jersey Journal)

Ryan Wall | For The Jersey Journal

14. Paladars offer world-class food

Privately-owned restaurants serving homemade Cuban food provide for a growing tourism industry. These relatively new enterprises represent the governments attempt to allow a highly-regulated private sector to exist. At paladars, food prices are comparable to American restaurants, and the average Cuban is unable to afford eating out more than once a year (if that). There, tourists can also feast on lobster, which is illegal for Cuban citizens to consume.
BAYONNE -- The "swift and skilled" actions of a lifeguard and a police officer saved the life of a 6-year-old city girl who was found unconscious in a municipal pool yesterday, City Chief of Staff Andrew Casais said today.

Around noon on Friday, 18-year-old lifeguard Luke Bilotta noticed the 6-year-old wasn't resurfacing from the DiDomenico Pool on 16th Street, according to city Recreation Director Pete Amadeo.

Bilotta immediately pulled her out of the water and began administering CPR on her, Amadeo said. The recreation director said a police officer, Jessica Lyons, joined in to assist Bilotta.

The girl then fully regained consciousness, according to Amadeo. She was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where she was joined by her parents, he said.

"She left 16th Street pool alert and conscious," Amadeo said.

A Bayonne Medical Center spokesman said last night that the 6-year-old was initially taken to Bayonne Medical Center. After her condition stabilized, she was transferred to Saint Peter's Hospital in New Brunswick, he said.

Saint Peter's Hospital said today that the girl has since been released.

Casais said he and Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis visited the pool yesterday "to personally thank Luke for his life-saving actions."

"It is without question that the swift and skilled actions of Luke and Officer Lyons saved the life of this child," he said. "The mayor also thanks McCabe Ambulance as well as the Bayonne Police and Fire units that arrived on scene minutes after the call was issued."

Amadeo said yesterday that the incident wasn't due to a lapse in supervision. He couldn't say how long the girl, who is a camper in the city's Horace Mann Day Camp, remained underwater.

Police couldn't provide details yesterday or today about the incident.

Casais said while the hope is that city personnel never have to use the training they receive for emergency situations, the reality is that "things of this nature will occur" over the course of time.

"With that said, it is of great comfort to know that when a serious situation presents itself our team knows what their roles are, and what needs to be done," the city chief of staff added.

Note: This story has been updated to include a response from Saint Peter's Hospital.

Jonathan Lin may be reached at jlin@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @jlin_jj. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.
wicked.jpg

Wicked Riders Motorcycle Club on Harrison Avenue in Jersey City where a North Carolina man was arrested after allegedly firing a round yesterday, July 9, 2016. Photo by Joe Shine for The Jersey Journal

Jersey City police arrested a 31-year-old North Carolina man after he allegedly pointed a gun at a 45-year-old man during a dispute at a Harrison Avenue motorcycle club and discharged one round into the courtyard just before 5 a.m. yesterday, officials said.

There were no injuries and police recovered the one spent shell casing. The gun was also placed inside a safe at the motorcycle club and was turned over to police, Jersey City spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill said today.

The alleged gunman, Ronald Stevens, also returned to the Harrison Avenue motorcycle club an hour later and pointed a firearm at two women who were sitting in a vehicle and had been present at the time of the earlier incident, Morrill said, adding that Stevens then fled the scene.

Stevens, who was arrested around 4:40 p.m. Saturday on Woodlawn Avenue, was charged with aggravated assault knowingly pointing a firearm, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a weapon for unlawful purposes and unlawful possession of a weapon, Morrill said.

He is expected to make his first court appearance on the charges tomorrow in Central Judicial Processing court in Jersey City.
Lantern Hill, a new Erickson Living continuing care retirement community located in New Providence, welcomed its first residents to campus June 27. Residents were greeted by more than 50 employees holding "Welcome Home" signs as they entered Union Square, the large central building on campus.

"We are so excited to welcome our first residents to campus," said Patricia Swan, executive director. "Residents are embracing their new home and enjoying our beautiful campus and fantastic amenities."

Boasting 20 acres of stunning green space and elegant, contemporary architecture, Lantern Hill's independent living community provides a vibrant lifestyle to seniors with abundant amenities and a broad spectrum of activities and services, complemented with integrated health care and wellness.

Amenities include three on-site restaurants, an all-season pool, an art studio, a library, a fitness center, transportation, 24-hour concierge services, secure underground parking and a theater.

Lantern Hill's on-site medical center is operated by Summit Medical Group, the largest and oldest physician-owned, multidisciplinary medical practice in New Jersey. Residents can enjoy prompt appointments in a location that's just steps from home.

Residents will continue to move into the 161 independent living apartments of Phase 1, which sold out in 10 weeks, this summer followed by the opening of 85 continuing care residences. Within the first few years, the community will add 114 more independent living apartment homes, for a total of 275.

Lantern Hill is looking for outstanding employees to join its team.

"We are looking for exceptional individuals to join our dedicated and talented team at Lantern Hill," Swan said. "Our staff is passionate about our mission of creating a community where our residents can enjoy a dynamic and secure retirement lifestyle."

In order to staff Tall Oaks, the new upscale dining venue, kitchen and dining room positions are available for dining director, executive chef, line cooks, prep cooks, utility workers, wait staff, hosts and bartenders. In addition, jobs are available in housekeeping, transportation, as well as evening, night and weekend shifts for the hospitality and security functions. All open positions may be viewed at https://jobs.ericksonliving.com.

Lantern Hill employees experience an excellent work environment, competitive pay and comprehensive benefits. Erickson Living strives to be the most valued and trusted leader in senior housing and services through operational excellence, integrated senior health and wellness, and a commitment to the "Erickson Way" culture and values. Many Erickson campuses have been chosen the "Best Place to Work" in their communities. Based in Baltimore, Erickson Living is a leading developer and manager of continuing care retirement communities.

More information is available at ericksonliving.com.

For more advice on the job market, click here.
"Commemorative plaques cast from brass are a characteristic art form of the Benin culture of West Africa." - This background information tells us that cast-brass plaques are a typical form of art in Benin culture.

"The oldest surviving plaques date to the 1400s." - These plaques have been a part of Benin culture since at least the 1400s (maybe earlier).

"Some scholars hypothesize that brass-casting techniques were introduced by the Portuguese, who came to Benin in 1485 A.D." - How did the people of Benin learn brass-casting techniques? Perhaps from the Portuguese. This hypothesis is consistent with the date evidence (the earliest known plaques date to the 1400s, and the Portuguese came to Benin in the 1400s).

However, "Portuguese records of that expedition mention cast-brass jewelry sent to Benins king from neighboring Ife." - When the Portuguese first showed up, Benin already had cast-brass jewelry from Ife. This means that Benin had already been introduced to cast-brass prior to the arrival of the Portugal. This evidence seems to hurt the hypothesis of some scholars. The author thus concludes that Benin's knowledge of brass casting probably did not derive from (or "originate from") the Portuguese.

author's

Quote:

(A) The Portuguese records do not indicate whether their expedition of 1485 included metalworkers.

not

possibility

Quote:

(B) The Portuguese had no contact with Ife until the 1500s.

originated

derived

Quote:

(C) In the 1400s the Portuguese did not use cast brass for commemorative plaques.

how

Quote:

(D) As early as 1500 A.D., Benin artists were making brass plaques incorporating depictions of Europeans.

origin

Quote:

(E) Copper, which is required for making brass, can be found throughout Benin territory.

The author concludes that "it is unlikely that Benins knowledge of brass casting derived from the Portuguese." Since we need to strengthen the argument, let's make sure we understand the author's logic:We need something that strengthens theargument (not the scholar's hypothesis):Notice that (A) does NOT say, "Portuguese records indicate that the expedition didinclude metalworkers." (A) says that the records don't indicate either way. So perhaps the expedition included metalworkers and perhaps it did not. Although this leaves open thethat the expedition did not include metalworkers, the evidence in (A) is not very strong. Let's look for something better.The evidence tells us that Benin had cast-brass objects from Ife before they encountered the Portuguese. This suggests that the people of Benin may have learned about cast-brass from Ife, not from the Portuguese.But what if the people of Ife learned about brass casting from the Portuguese? In that case, any knowledge about brass casting transferred from Ife to Benin actually(or derived) from the Portuguese. In other words, if the Portuguese taught the people of Ife about brass casting and then the people of Ife taught the people of Benin about brass casting, then Benin's knowledge of brass castingfrom the Portuguese (even though it was not transferred directly from the Portuguese to Benin).This would obviously hurt the argument. Choice (B) eliminates this possibility and thus strengthens the argument. Hang on to (B).All that matters is that the Portuguese knew how to cast brass. We don't carethe Portuguese used cast brass. Even if the Portuguese did not make cast brass commemorative plaques, they still could have taught the people of Benin how to cast brass. Thus, (C) does not strengthen the argument and can be eliminated.This statement doesn't tell us anything about theof the artists' knowledge of brass casting. This statement could be true whether their knowledge derived from the Portuguese or from the people of Ife. Thus, (D) can be eliminated.This simply tells us that Benin had one of the materials needed to make brass. As with (D), this doesn't tell us anything about the origin of the artists' knowledge of brass casting. Eliminate (E).(B) is the best answer._________________
vladmoney wrote:

Kitchen magazine plans to license the use of its name by a line of cookware. For a magazine, licensing the use of its name for products involves some danger, since if the products disappoint consumers, the magazine's reputation suffers, with consequent reduction in circulation and advertising. However, experts have evaluated the cookware and found it superior to all other cookware advertised in Kitchen. Therefore, Kitchen can collect its licensing fees without endangering its other revenues.



The argument above assumes which of the following?

a. No other line of cookware is superior to that which will carry the Kitchen name.

b. Kitchen will not license the use of its name for any products other than the line of cookware.

c. Makers of cookware will not find Kitchen a less attractive advertising vehicle because the magazine's name is associated with a competing product.

d. Consumers who are not regular readers of Kitchen magazine will be attracted to the cookware by the Kitchen name.

e. Kitchen is one of the most prestigious cooking-related magazines.



I wasn't even close in my guessing, hopefully this is an 800 type question. Please explain your answers. OA will be posted later.

Premise 1: Kitchen magazine plans to license the use of its name for a line of cookwarePremise 2: Licensing the name of the magazine generates some risks since if the products disappoint customers, the magazine's prestige will be affected, therefore, magazine's advertising rev will be impacted negatively.Premise 3: According the evaluation of some experts, this cookware is the most prestigious brand compare to other brands advertised on Kitchen magazine.Conclusion: Kitchen magazine can collect licensing fee without endangering its other revenues.Considering the 5 answer choices:a. This is the refrase of one premise, not an assumptionb. Out of scope answerc. This is the correct answer. The Kitchen magazine has its own strengths and it can evaluate and agree to license its name to the cookware line. But the cookware line has its own position - it is superior to other brands advertised on Kitchen magazine - and the brand also considers if it's worth to pay for licensing fee on the Kitchen magazine while there are other cookware brands already advertised in this magazine. The assumption close the gap in the argument "yes, I agree with the proposition from you".d. Out of scope answere. The magazine is prestigous, the cookware brand also prestigious. So, one side agree to do business does not mean that the other side also agree.
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New York's elite club of upper-class coke users are paranoid and jittery, and not just because they've been up all night. It turns out that getting high has become a headache since authorities busted a cadre of drug dealers operating out of the Lower East Side, as well as nabbing 18 alleged customers including Chipotle executive Mark Crumpacker, Fox Business producer Katie Welnhofer, and Merrill Lynch associate Christopher Dodson. The bust has some users so shaken that they told the New York Post that while they won't be cutting back, they are being super careful about getting the coke.

"This is actually terrifying. Everybody is scared, a Manhattan publicist who said she does coke on the weekends told the Post. The woman, who the tabloid left anonymous for obvious reasons, admitted that the widely-reported arrest is encouraging her to cut back. "Your face is all of a sudden all over the world," she said. "Your career is over."

The arrested buyers were each charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance and in the seventh degree, a Class A misdemeanor in the state of New York, and many of them were refused bail by a judge at their arraignments. Crumpacker has been placed on administrative leave by Chipotle.

Charges for the four cocaine dealers arrested in the operation include criminal sale of a controlled substance, conspiracy, and, in the case of alleged kingpin Kenny 'Jay' Hernandez, operating as a major trafficker. The dealers allegedly operated primarily out of nightclubs, bars, and Duane Reades, using livery services for transportation.

Another anonymous source told the Post he has no plans to quit his 3.5 grams-per-week habit. The 45-year-old restauranteur described the horrors of having to actually wait for his dealer. "[L]ast week, I was with a client at a bar in the Meatpacking [District] and we wanted some stuff...My [dealer[ was stuck in Queens and the bartender told us about a guy we could talk to [in a corner of the bar]. Before the bust was in the news, we would have taken a shot. But now Im more cautious. We thought he looked too clean-cut. We didnt get involved.

The Post also got a hold of one of those millennials, who was predictably so entitled and probably posting selfies as they called arresting people for cocaine use in New York "crazy."

"It's like busting people for drinking coffee," the anonymous millennial said. "[Cocaine] makes you energetic and social...[But] Ill be 100 percent more cautious. I wont go out and get [cocaine]. Ill have somebody get it for me.

Finally, a 37-year-old described as a "web entrepreneur" admitted to using cocaine on a monthly basis, and offered a highly disruptive take: that like brunching at Prana and bankrupting Gawker Media, cocaine can be a status symbol of the 21st Century digital economy. "In a weird way, it advertises and elevates cocaine," the developer said. "You see successful, well-off people using it and wonder why you shouldnt.


WASHINGTON (AP)  The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol has issued a subpoena to Donald Trump. The nine-member panel sent a letter to the former president's lawyers on Friday, demanding his testimony under oath by mid-November and outlining a series of corresponding documents. The decision by lawmakers to exercise their subpoena power comes a week after the committee made its final case against the former president, who they say is the "central cause" of the multi-part effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election. It remains unclear how Trump and his legal team will respond to the subpoena, if at all.
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The video showing an off-duty police officer fatally shooting an unarmed man during a Brooklyn road rage incident was called "damning" by a NY Post source who is close to the investigation.

Another police official who spoke with the tabloid said "Youll see some sort of charges filed. You have a person who is unarmed and theyre going to say the level of force used, versus force used against him, does not add up. When you use deadly force, there has to be some sort of grave danger to him. He cant just say, I got punched so I shot him."

The police officer, Wayne Isaacs, 37, was driving his 2002 Nissan Altima around midnight on Monday, July 4 when he got into the dispute with Delrawn Small, 37, who was in a 2016 Kia EX, at Atlantic Avenue and Bradford Street. Small got out of his car and approached Isaacs' vehicle. Initially, one account given was that Small punched Isaacs, causing Isaacs to believe his life was in danger and open fire.

However, the video shows Small falling the ground immediately after approaching Isaacs' car:

Small, 37, had thought that Isaacs had cut him off earlier.

Former NYPD sergeant and adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice Joseph Giacalone told the Post, "Deadly physical force is supposed to be used as a last resort. [Isaacs] could have rolled up his window. He could have backed up his car... It doesnt appear as if he was being physically assaulted, as he was claiming. So I think this video is going to be a problem for this officer."

Defense attorney Ron Kuby agreed, "What Im seeing is the police officer engaging in intentional unjustifiable killing of a human being, which is known as murder."

A friend of Small was glad the video emerged, telling the Daily News, "They tried to paint him out to be some gorilla  like, he jumped out the car to go attack this person not knowing that he was a cop."

Small's friends and family had been protesting the shooting and last night's Black Lives Matter march addressed the new video evidence, with Smalls' nephew saying, "Whether you want to admit it or not, we're out here dying from police, and the police are allowed to walk free."

Isaacs has been placed on administrative duty. Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is investigating the shooting.


In the wake of three high-profile police shootings of black men and the murder of five Dallas police officers by a heavily-armed sniper last week, one would hope to hear calm, thoughtful calls for peace from our nation's pundits and elected officials. Unfortunately, someone at MSNBC decided to book Rudy Giuliani and ask for his current thoughts on the Black Lives Matter movement. Rudy's take? "The real danger to you is that black kid who is going to shoot you on the street."

Giuliani spoke with Brian Williams on MSNBC Friday, and began his master class in racist belittling of those protesting police brutality. "Let's teach everyone, including the children of the black community, that most of those police officers are the reason youre alive," the former Mayor said. "Because the real danger to you is that black kid who is going to shoot you on the street because that happens many, many more times than police officers. Lets talk about it honestly."

Giuliani also insisted that while blacks are being killed by police officers, so are whites. Brian Williams failed to press him about the truth: that blacks are being killed by law enforcement at a much higher rate. The Washington Post reported last year, "unarmed black men are seven times more likely than whites to die by police gunfire."

Giuliani, who has (allegedly!) struck a deal with Donald Trump to be Homeland Security Secretary, also went on to directly blame Black Lives Matter for "the reason theres a target on police officers backs."


There's no one in New York City who would try to convince you that the Newtown Creek is anything close to a clean waterway. Hell, there might be some people who look at the chemical composition of the creek and argue that it's not even technically water. It turns out the creek could be even grosser than we thought, though, thanks to a newly-planned lawsuit against the Department of Environmental Protection, in which the plaintiffs allege the agency falsified water quality reports.

DNAinfo reports that almost a dozen current and former DEP employees sent a letter informing the city that they plan to sue the agency, Mayor de Blasio and recently retired commissioner Emily Lloyd over allegations that they were instructed to falsify water quality reports to bring them in line with Clean Water Act standards. Specifically, the plaintiffs accused William Kelly, the chief of the DEP's Newtown Creek Lab, of ordering employees to go through testing logbooks, flag any water test samples that violated federal guidelines and then change them so they would pass. A photo of the allegedly tampered-with logbook can be found on ProgressQueens. In addition to the data falsifying, the lawsuit alleges that employees who complained about the practice were fired.

An attorney for the plaintiff also claimed that they can also prove that the DEP engaged in other water quality cover ups, including misleading figures about brown drinking water incidents, and lead testing from the city's Health and Hospitals Corporation. A spokesperson for the city dismissed the letter and the lawsuit threat at meritless, but stopped short of making any wild claims about the Newtown Creek being anything close to clean.
Gasoline Market Gutted

As Americans enjoyed the Independence Day holiday last weekend, they likely noticed lower gasoline prices as they fueled up their cars and boats.

U.S. refineries have been running near full speed for months, making more gasoline than drivers are using. This led to all-time high gasoline stockpiles, nearly 10 percent higher than last year. Even if refineries slow down, some analysts expect that prices could stay lower for the foreseeable future as crude oil stockpiles are at record high levels as well.

Gasoline futures, which represent wholesale prices at the New York harbor, without taxes or other costs included, stood Friday at a four-month low of $1.36 per gallon, down 30 cents since mid-May.

Some drivers may not reap this full discount, as gasoline is not easily transported. This factor can create local aberrations in pricing, keeping costs higher in areas with tighter supplies.

Rains Sink Soybeans

Soybean prices plummeted by $1.10 per bushel during the week as much-needed rains fell across the Midwest. Traders grew wary of bets on crop shortages while farmers got more confident that theyd grow hearty soybean crops this year, causing both camps to sell aggressively this week.

By midday Friday, prices for July soybeans stood at $10.80, down sharply from recent highs over $12.00.

Silver Bullets Higher

Silvers meteoric rise continued this week, topping out over $21 per ounce.

Prices exploded after the UK voted to leave the European Union, but the rally has been sustained as buyers rush to the metal on additional news of economic and political uncertainty. Last weekend, terrorist attacks on Turkeys main airport killed 45 people, underscoring the political instability in the Middle East. In times of turmoil, investors frequently favor hard assets.

Gold and silver dealers have noted a sharp increase in retail business, as people flock into stores both to buy and sell coins and bars. Large-scale investors have been more active as well, with trading volumes on the silver futures market nearing multiyear highs this week.

By the end of the week, profit-taking knocked the market back as low as $19.40, a warning that silver trading can be both profitable and treacherous.

Opinions are solely the writers. Walt and Alex Breitinger are commodity futures brokers with Paragon Investments in Silver Lake, Kansas.
I came across some information this week that both caught my eye and troubled my heart.

An article published online by The Huffington Post said that Americans give more than $1 billion each year to animal welfare groups.

Good news for an animal person like me, right?

Well the writer went on to point out that only a tiny amount of those donations  about 0.8 percent  go to non-profits devoted to protecting farm animals.

"True, hundreds of thousands of dogs and cats are euthanized each year in shelters," the article says. "Plenty of other animals are killed to produce clothing or are used in lab tests, circuses or theme parks.

"But all of them combined dont add up to even a half percent of the animals killed for food each year."

Don't get me wrong. I am thrilled that people are so generous in helping dogs and cats.

I give lots of my own time to helping orphaned dogs find homes through the local Lakeshore PAWS dog rescue. Few things make me as happy as hanging out with Lakeshore's dogs and being present when one finds a great home.

I have always been that guy who cannot pass a dog on the street without going in for a pet or hang out with a cat who crosses my path.

But I feel the same heart warming feeling when I see any animal, domesticated or not. I have visited Uplands Peak Sanctuary in Salem, Indiana, a few times and absolutely love hanging out with the pigs, goats and the newly arrived chicken and cattle.

I look into the eyes of so-called "farm animals," and I see the same precious life I see in dogs and cats. It's the the same with deer, birds and other "wild" animals, and even mice, insects and others we label pests for convenience sake.

As I have talked about before in this blog, I think Dr. Melanie Joy does a great job explaining why we treat a small number of animals so well while either ignoring or waging all sorts of horrors on so many others.

I recently saw the documentary Vegan Everyday Stories, which is currently streaming for free online. During the film, musician/artist and fellow vegan Moby made the insightful comment that people already love animals. The challenge, he said, is help people understand "the dog they love is emotionally the same as the cow they eat."

The opinions expressed here are solely that of the author.
Allegius Credit Union has hired Marcelina Ramirez as a vice president/chief financial officer. Ramirez will focus on the credit union's financials, asset/liability management policies and procedures, along with overseeing the comptroller and accounting department. Prior to working for Allegius, Marcelina had 11 years of auditing experience with the past eight focusing on credit unions.

Professor Jeff Shires has been appointed executive director of concurrent enrollment/dual credit at Purdue University Northwest. He will provide leadership and strategic vision, managing daily operations and facilitating partnerships with local school systems to meet the Indiana objective of increasing the number of in-state college graduates.

Purdue University Northwest Dean of Technology Niaz Latif was recently honored with a Frederick J. Berger Award presented by the American Society for Engineering Education at its 123rd Annual Conference and Exposition in New Orleans. The award is presented to individuals and schools that have demonstrated leadership in curriculum, scholarly contributions, innovative techniques, or administration in engineering technology education.

Family practice physicians Raphael Albert and Isidora Nantes have joined the Methodist Physician Group Network. Both have served Northwest Indiana families for many years at the same location at 251 W. 84th Drive, in Merrillville. With their joining the Methodist Physician Group, their patients are now supported by the advanced, nearby resources of Methodist Hospitals.

Porter Health Care System has welcomed Dr. Vijaya Chapala, to its medical staff. Chapala, a board-certified Internal Medicine physician, will practice at Portage Medical Group, 3630 Willowcreek Road, in Portage. She earned her medical degree at Ross University School of Medicine and completed her residency in internal medicine at the Allegheny University Hospitals in Philadelphia and continued as an attending physician at the VA hospital in Asheville, North Carolina.

Allstate agency owners Nick Adams and Travis Huber, have had their agencies designated as Allstate Premier Agencies. Adams owns the Adams Insurance Agency Inc., in Griffith, and Huber the Team Huber agency, in Highland. The Premier Agency designation is awarded to Allstate agency owners who have demonstrated excellence in delivering an accessible, knowledgeable and personal customer experience while achieving outstanding business results.
In June an associate professor at Purdue University Northwest Calumet received praise for a watercolor piece named Nostalgia.

Yueqi Zhang, associate professor of Communication and Creative Arts Department, was one of 56 artists accepted into the Northwest Watercolor Society 76th annual International Open Exhibition. Of the 56 artists, Zhang was awarded the Past Jurors Innovation Award by Jeannie McGuire, 2016 juror and longtime artist. There were 400 submissions that were either watercolor, acrylic, gouache or egg tempera entered into the exhibit from around the world.

Zhang said in a news release the idea came to him when he visited Seattle years ago. As he walked downtown, he heard different musicians playing a variety of music. He said it reminded him of emotional homesickness and the music evoked strong creative desires within himself.

Nostalgia communicated the complexity of a spiritual world by conveying a subject of harmony between humanity and nature, Zhang said.

McGuire, the 2016 juror that selected the watercolor for the award, said in the news release that Nostalgia was selected because of its distinct variety of style. She admired the contrast between the different figures in the work such as the vivid red background balanced with bluish leaves.

As a juror Im drawn to paintings that invite me to participate in the action or observe the presence of the subject, McGuire said. In Nostalgia, I can hear the sound of the flute and sense movement as though the flowers are reacting as the man and his music moves along.

Zhang completed his watercolor Nostalgia last summer and received the Gold Level Jack Richeson Award at Pikes Peak Watercolor Societys International Watermedia 2015 Exhibit.

Zhang taught at University of South Carolina Upstate and Southern Utah University before coming to Purdue in 2009. He holds two master degrees  one earned from Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia and the other earned from Saginaw Valley State University in Michigan. He has a bachelor of fine arts degree in graphic design from Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts in Tianjin, China.

For more information on Zhangs work, visit www.yueqizhang.com
The Northwest Indiana Symphony celebrates the 10th anniversary of the South Shore Summer Music Festival with an Indiana Bicentennial program of concerts. The list is Cedar Lake on July 23; Crown Point on July 30; Hammond on Aug. 5; Griffith on Aug. 6; and Schererville on Aug. 13. Concerts begin at 7:30 p.m., but come early, bring lawn chairs and blankets, relax and enjoy the music! For locations, call (219) 836-0525 or visit www.nisorchestra.org.

A Neil Simon Classic

A staggeringly successful play, movie and television series (not once but twice!), The Odd Couple reveals the adventures of two mismatched roommates  the neurotic fusspot Felix Unger, who, thrown out by his wife, moves in with his friend, the slovenly sportswriter Oscar Madison. The men attempt to adapt to each others wildly divergent idiosyncrasies with side-splitting results. Written by iconic playwright Neil Simon, this riotously funny work is one of Broadways most enduring favorites. The Odd Couple runs at the Center for Visual and Performing Arts, Munster, Thursday to Aug. 14. (219) 836-3255 or www.theatreatthecenter.com.

House of Mirrors & Hearts

A chilling and intimate chamber musical with a striking and haunting musical score, The House of Mirrors and Hearts focuses on three complex but strong women and a young academic who inadvertently finds himself tangled in their story, seven years since the husbands death in a tragic accident. The production runs through July 24 at the Towle Theater. Join in on a Talk Back with writer Eamonn ODwyer, the cast and production team following the July 21 performance. (219) 937-8780 or www.towletheater.org.

The Papal Basilicas of Rome

Experience the treasures of Romes four papal basilicas  St. Peters, St. John Lateran, St. Mary Maggiore and St. Paul Outside the Walls  at Schererville 16, 7 p.m. Thursday. The creators of Florence and the Uffizi Gallery take you on a journey through these majestic buildings containing precious papal altars and treasure troves of timeless, spiritual artworks by Giotto, Bramante, Michelangelo, Borromini and Bernini. (219) 322-9762 or www.fathomevents.com.

A Park Full of Art Its been 42 years since the Griffith Park Board established a fine arts fair in Griffiths Central Park. A committee of people who appreciated art and culture was formed in 1974, and A Park Full of Art debuted with 54 artists. Today the fair hosts more than 120 artists, continuing as a juried show with specific guidelines to ensure that only the finest art will be accepted. Upward of 5,000 people visit Griffith for the two-day fair every year. Participating artists represent states as far flung as New Mexico, Florida, North Carolina and Wisconsin, as well as a number of artists who reside locally. This years event is July 16 and 17. www.aparkfullofart.com.
Lake County's system of justice for drunken driving is receiving a new sobriety test.

State police recently began gathering records and conducting interviews into whether someone in Lake Station City Court intentionally withheld alcohol-related convictions over a four-year period from the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles for inclusion on drivers' records  and all the consequences that imposes.

No one has yet been charged with criminal wrongdoing in that case. In Indiana, the charge is called operating while intoxicated, or OWI.

But three decades ago, an investigation by state and federal police called Operation Bar Tab bagged Lake County Court judges, a county clerk, a deputy prosecutor, a former director of the county court's alcohol counseling service and several minor court officials and attorneys.

They were convicted for their roles in fixing driving tickets, the bulk of them for drunken driving, for political favors.

Bar Tab, in connection with Operation Lights Out, a simultaneous federal investigation of non-court corruption, resulted in the conviction of more than 15 elected officials and county government employees.

Shaken Democrats at the time beheld the state replace two judges and the county clerk with Republicans, the first to occupy countywide offices in half a century.

Testimony from more than a dozen Operation Bar Tab trials and guilty pleas demonstrated drivers connected to Lake's sprawling patronage system could avoid the embarrassment of being judged in open court, and then fined, jailed, and having their licenses suspended and auto insurance premiums increased.

John Hoehner, a former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana, is quoted in a 1986 Times story as calling this practice "an aged cancer that permeates the political system of Lake County and casts an ugly pall over its system of justice."

Birth of Bar Tab

Bar Tab began in the early 1980s under former U.S. Attorney R. Lawrence Steele who assigned a major role to his assistant, James Meyer. Both are now private lawyers.

Meyer recalls, "(State) troopers noticed they were arresting drunken drivers who they had arrested just six months earlier who shouldn't have had a license. Further checking showed one guy pleaded guilty, but nothing showed up on the police record."

They tracked the problem to Lake County Courts, created in the mid-1970s to put on the bench judges who had formal legal training. They replaced justices of the peace, quasi-judicial officials who weren't required to have law degrees to handle traffic violations.

However, these new judges, unlike their Superior Court counterparts, were elected through Lake's powerful Democratic party with all the partisan influences and obligations that come with having to marshal campaign funds and voter support.

Meyer said, "It wasn't the whole county, but certain individuals were known to, not so much stop a prosecution, but keep the records from going downstate ... if you bought $1,500 in (campaign fundraising) tickets."

Another former Assistant U.S. Attorney, Gregory Vega, complained in 1986 of "the use and sale of political tickets, which has been called the currency of corruption, and which has perpetuated the stigma of Lake County throughout the state."

A federal court document indicates that Bar Tab's earliest inroads came the summer of 1982 when Kenneth Anderson received a call from a Dan Mingo, complaining he had just been jailed for OWI. Anderson was a Crown Point barber who had an inside connection to the courts.

Anderson invited Mingo to the shop. They agreed to fix Mingo's problem for $1,600, much of which Mingo put in a blue envelope.

Anderson then called John Marine, a county courts administrator with access to court records. Marine was seen leaving the shop later that day with a blue envelope in his pocket.

Mingo was a state police informant. He was wearing a wire. The FBI had tapped the phone. The fabricated ticket was bait.

Anderson assured Mingo he wouldn't have to appear in court. But Anderson and Marine did  after they were indicted and brought to trial in 1984 in U.S. District Court.

The racketeering and mail fraud charges against them also alleged that a trucker who knew Anderson, got his driver's license back in the mail without ever appearing in court. Another trucker who did go to court, later said a deputy prosecutor there noted the trucker must know somebody, because he didn't have to go to jail or pay a large fine.

Marine's lawyer attempted to bolster his defense at trial by calling to the witness stand Lake County Court Judge Orval Anderson, no relation to Kenneth Anderson, to talk about court procedures.

Federal investigators believed Judge Orval Anderson, elected on a promise of being tough with drunken drivers, had presided over several of the fixed-ticket cases.

Orval Anderson was asked, under oath, if he ever disposed of drunken driving cases behind closed judicial chamber doors without a prosecutor present.

"No, no. Always prosecutors there," the judge answered, according to a court document.

Not only did the jury convict Kenneth Anderson and John Marine, a federal grand jury also indicted Judge Orval Anderson for lying under oath and obstruction of justice.

Months after that, Marine reportedly was cooperating with federal authorities to lighten his 20-year sentence. Bar Tab was picking up steam.

More indictments, convictions

Orval Anderson's trial, which ended in his conviction in June 1985, featured nine offenders accused of driving under the influence.

They testified Orval Anderson gave them breaks behind the closed doors of his judicial chambers, after they had contacted Lake County officials to petition Judge Anderson for leniency.

Former county Clerk John Krupa, former county Recorder William Bielski and then St. John Township Trustee Gerry Scheub, now a county commissioner, were among those who intervened for the offenders. The three testified for the government and were never charged with wrongdoing.

Bielski said officeholders were always asking one another for favors. Edward Lukawski, the county clerk, was called to testify at Orval Anderson's trial, but refused under his right against self-incrimination.

He was trying to avoid Orval Anderson's earlier mistake of boldly denying wrongdoing under oath. Nevertheless, the U.S. Attorney charged Lukawski seven months later of conspiring with judges and other court personnel to secretly dispose of at least 30 driving under the influence cases as personal favors, or in exchange for political fundraising tickets.

Lukawski's defense lawyer said Lukawski never solicited anyone to buy fundraising tickets, but accepted them when someone who benefited from a fixed case rewarded Lukawski for having done them "a good turn."

Indictments over the the coming months also included the following: Judge Steven Bielak and Robert Balitewicz, Bielak's court administrator; Lee J. Christakis, lawyer and occasional county courts judge; William Huber, a former county courts bailiff; Paul Kutch, former Gary police officer, county court bailiff and director of the county courts alcohol counseling service; defense lawyer Stephen Goot; and former Deputy Prosecutor Nick Morfas.

Bielak, Balitewicz and Morfas pleaded guilty. So did Huber and Kutch, who it later was revealed, had been working for several months undercover for federal authorities and wore body recorders in return for leniency.

Goot chose trial and was convicted of conspiring with Morfas to make 10 OWI tickets disappear under a scheme in which Goot challenged the legal validity of OWI tickets his clients received. A judge properly dismissed the tickets, but gave the prosecutor several weeks to file new charging documents.

Morfas used his position in the prosecutor's office to steal and destroy the case files associated with the dismissed tickets. No one noticed because of disarray in the prosecutor's office and the Lake County Courts records system; the dismissed tickets were never refiled, and the drivers were off the hook.

Jack Crawford, then prosecuting attorney for Lake County and now a private attorney in Indianapolis, said recently his office cooperated with Operation Bar Tab. He declined to comment further.

Christakis prepared for his trial by lining up at least 22 or 23 of his drunken driving clients to testify they never paid him to keep their record from going downstate. "Their records were already downstate," he recently recounted.

He changed his strategy when the federal trial judge dismissed some of the fraud counts against him. He and his defense lawyer thought the judge had essentially crippled the government bribery case. However, he learned too late the judge would permit the bulk of the of the government cases to go to the jury. "So there I was with the witnesses gone home," Christakis said.

The federal jury did acquit Christakis of a tax violation, but convicted him of two fraud and two obstruction of justice counts.

Attorneys convicted in the scandal lost their law licenses, as did Christakis.

But four years after Christakis' conviction, a federal judge overturned Christakis' fraud convictions on grounds Christakis never received money for anything improper.

Eight years later, the Indiana Supreme Court followed up by letting Christakis recover his law license. He is practicing law these days in Crown Point.

Christakis said, "(U.S. Attorney) Steele thought he was going to prove up bribery. He wasted a lot of investigatory resources."

Steele said recently, "The investigation was very successful in discovering what was going on at the time and taking steps to alleviate the problem. At least back in those days, the problem was solved."

Former Gov. Robert Orr, a Republican, appointed Republicans to replace the disgraced Lake County officials, including Kenneth Peterson as the first Republican county clerk in decades. Peterson initiated reforms to prevent future corruption, including closer tracking of traffic tickets. Previously, tickets were held in a file cabinet for a month before they were forwarded to court.

Former federal prosecutor Meyer said current electronic record-keeping has probably made it even more difficult for corrupt officials to lose or tamper with drunken driving cases.

Five years ago, the Indiana General Assembly voted to remove Lake County Court judges from partisan political elections. Its judges now will run for election without party labels.

Fresh problems convicting drivers of OWI?

A recent Times review of police arrests in 2014 in Lake County showed more than half of those arrested had their charges reduced from operating a vehicle while intoxicated to reckless driving, a lesser violation. This is unlike neighboring Porter County, where 81 percent were convicted of operating while intoxicated, The Times found.

Leal Hill, lead victim-services specialist for Indiana's Mothers Against Drunk Driving office, said, "We have had three calls in the last two years from concerned citizens who have expressed concern about leniency for drunk driving charges. Lake County is one place where we have received the most calls."

Hill said, "Over 300 people are killed in drunk driving-related crashes every year in Indiana. Thousands more are injured and thousands more are victimized, so for every one person killed in a drunk driving crash, 10 to 15 family members get a life sentence of grief.

"We have to show the public that if you drive drunk, we are going to take it seriously. You are going to jail, possibly prison, if you repeat. People are going to be more likely to designate a driver and drink responsibly, than if they think they are just going to get a slap on the wrist," Hill said.

Lake County Prosecutor Bernard Carter has said the sheer volume of cases, more than 800 in 2014 alone, compels his office to plea bargain charges down, or risk having most of the cases dismissed for failing to meet speedy-trial deadlines mandated by state law.

While such reductions are opposed by MADD, it is perfectly legal under the discretion the state permits local officials. But state law does compel local court officials to report traffic convictions and court-ordered driving restrictions to the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles.

Carter initiated a state police investigation in May after discovering Lake Station City Court failed to report to the BMV a 2011 reckless driving conviction for Randolph L. Randy Palmateer, 37, business manager for the Northwestern Indiana Building and Construction Trades Council.
HAMMOND  Homes along a stretch of Lyman Avenue were briefly evacuated Saturday as a precautionary measure while the Porter County Bomb Squad unit conducted a search of a suspicious vehicle in the area.

Police were called about 12:30 p.m. Saturday to the 6600 block of Lyman Avenue in Hammond for a report of a suspicious driver. He was holding some type of rag over his face, according to reports to police.

A strong chemical odor was present when police stopped him a short time later. A search of the vehicle yielded the discovery of a cache of illegal fireworks and drugs, police said. A piece of steel pipe also was found in the vehicle.

A 49-year-old Valparaiso man was taken into custody for probable cause for a hoax device, and more charges may be added later, Hammond Police Lt. Richard Hoyda said.

His name is being withheld pending any formal charges being presented to the prosecutor's office, Hoyda added.

Despite rumors in the neighborhood to the contrary, no bomb threat was made, according to Hoyda. No one was injured.

The residence where the vehicle was stopped and six neighboring homes were evacuated as a precaution, according to Hoyda. The scene was being cleared as of 4:15 p.m.

A woman who lives on that block and had asked not to be identified said a vehicle in her driveway was being investigated.

The woman said she was sleeping when police came to her door around 1 p.m. and told her and her son they had to evacuate because of the potential threat.
Three new school superintendents in Northwest Indiana have ambitious plans for their districts.

Jeffery Studebaker, former superintendent at Clinton Central School Corp. since 2013, was named superintendent of Merrillville Community School Corp. and began in the spring.

Cindy Scroggins, who had been assistant superintendent in the School City of Whiting, was named superintendent, replacing longtime Superintendent Sandra Martinez.

Paige McNulty, who had been assistant superintendent in School City of East Chicago for one year, was named superintendent replacing Youssef Dr. Joe Yomtoob.

Merrillville: Studebaker said its been a fast-paced transition as he hit the job with a 100-day plan, which he completed in June.

In that first 100 days, I met with many, many people and had a parent round-table session, he said.

Studebaker has restructured the district, and has developed a career and technical education department.

Last school year was the first year the district did not send students to Gary Area Career Center. Instead, officials provided the districts own career and technical education classes and will roll out 25 new career and technical classes this fall.

Studebaker said in his previous school district, administrators developed two student-run restaurants within the high school, and he is looking to construct a restaurant at Merrillville High School that will be totally operated by students. He said plans have not been fully developed yet.

Studebaker said the district does not have a deficit and has a healthy rainy day fund.

He said he and key administrators devoted considerable time to researching and putting administrators in place. Former elementary school Curriculum Director Kara Bonin became the new principal at Merrillville Intermediate School for fifth- and sixth-graders.

Whiting

Former secondary Curriculum Director Lorri Covaciu left Merrillvilles district to become the new assistant superintendent at Whiting. Erin Nolan-Higgins will be the new Whiting Middle School principal.

Whitings new Superintendent Scroggins said her goal for the upcoming school year is to maintain a focus on student achievement, instructional practices and academic growth for all students.

I will be working with the Board of School Trustees to set priorities for spending to ensure the budget is aligned with priorities and to maintain responsible and accountable fiscal planning, she said.

One of my long-range plans is to implement a 1-to-1 technology plan. I also will be working on initiatives such as an effective new teacher mentoring program in order to recruit and retain highly qualified staff, she said.

East Chicago

McNulty said the district will consolidate its new middle schools for the next school year.

Both schools were only half full, and it didnt make financial sense to keep them both open, she said.

Block Middle School is the bigger of the two, so it will house both middle schools in the fall. We have obtained a general obligation bond and will be doing some improvements to Block.

Our districts long-range plans are to continue to enhance our educational services by adding more to our Career and Technical Education program, partner with many of the community agencies to provide services to our parents as well as students, and to increase the rigor in the classrooms so that students are challenged and, ultimately, our students academic growth will improve, she said.
LAPORTE  There's more than tourism in LaPorte County and a new branding effort is emphasizing its economic development potential as well as the county's quality of life attributes.

"Your open door to the future" is the slogan for the new brand, along with a logo depicting images of two open green doors.

LaPorte County Commission president Dave Decker said about $15,000 was allocated for developing the new marketing strategy that includes distributing a new informational brochure.

The brochure lists strengths like being a short commute of four colleges, including Purdue University Northwest and the University of Notre Dame and other quality of life positives such as Lake Michigan, the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Blue Chip Casino, Premium Outlets mall along with culture and museums.

The first asset listed is Kingsbury Industrial Park for prospective developers and firms looking to take advantage of industrial-zoned land served already by rail. Work is ongoing to expand rails service throughout the 627 acres of shovel ready sites. The county being within a 600-mile radius of 130 million consumers and a two-hour drive from the rail yards in Chicago are among the strengths highlighted in the brochure.

Dave Christian, director for the LaPorte County Office of Economic Development, said the brand and brochure are the outcomes of a new marketing plan still being crafted.

"Based on that marketing plan, we'll be moving in the direction that it dictates. We're getting great results out of it," said Christian.

Other assets listed in the brochure include the area's rich history in manufacturing with a workforce of highly skilled employees. The county listing by the Wall Street Journal as the second least expensive place to live, along with having one of the lowest corporate tax rates in the Midwest are also noted.

"We keep taking these baby steps but pretty soon all of these things we've had to contend with are going to come together. It's taken a long time to get this done, but we're getting it done," said Decker.
LAKE STATION  The first six months of the year have been busy for Lake Station's administration.

City leaders believe the municipality is heading down the right path, but more work is needed to overcome obstacles.

We've still got a lot to do, Mayor Christopher Anderson said. He said the city has focused attention on being more transparent with residents.

The City Council began hosting regular study sessions this year to discuss matters before voting on them in regular meetings.

Anderson said Lake Station leaders are promoting more participation in the community, and the study sessions provide another opportunity for residents to share their concerns and opinions with city administration.

He said Lake Station also is close to launching its new website. Information about meetings, departments and other topics will be posted there.

City Councilman Carlos Luna said Lake Station was unorganized under prior leadership, but the current administration is holding people accountable.

We're getting a lot of that straightened out, Luna said.

Anderson said Lake Station also made a commitment to making ethical decisions by joining the Shared Ethics Advisory Commission this year. Representatives from the city are scheduled to attend ethics programs through the organization. They will then provide training to other Lake Station employees, Anderson said.

A goal moving forward is bringing economic growth to community. There are efforts to attract an Aldi location to Lake Station, Luna said.

Addressing the city's financial struggles also is a priority in the community.

City leaders continue to explore selling the municipal water department. It has been valued at slightly more than $20 million. Selling the operation would eliminate the city's debt and create a surplus in Lake Station.

Luna said the city's water rates have been a major concern for residents. He and other officials believe rates would go down if a private utility operates the department.

Luna said he supports selling the department, but there are many steps that would need to take place before that happens.

It's not an overnight thing, Luna said.
Tom Cordingleys first appearance on stage came when he was cast as a furniture mover in a 1967 Great Falls community theater production of "A Raisin in the Sun."

Cordingleys wordless showing in the acclaimed Civil Rights-era play -- about a black family struggling to move into an all-white neighborhood in Chicagos South Side -- was not without its benefits.

For one, unlike the main players, Cordingley didnt appear in blackface. For another, the role sparked a decades-long love for theater that, nearly a half-century later, helped see the 66-year-old receive the American Association of Community Theatres David C. Bryant Outstanding Service Award -- one of fewer than a dozen awards given annually to members of the nationwide theater organization.

Cordingley, who retired in 2012 after 30 years spent doing everything from acting to fixing the toilets at Helenas Grandstreet Theatre, still remembers his first on-stage appearance fondly.

Even in retirement, the former Grandstreet manager and board member often finds ways to get on stage or to help high school students find their way in the theater world.

A statement issued by the AACT lauded Cordingleys work with those students, noting a scholarship backed by he and his wife Lisa that has paid for countless students to attend the Grandstreet Theatre School.

We encourage kids to stay in theater because it teaches them life skills, he said on Thursday. It gives them a place to be when they dont have a place to be.

We support their choices, and thats a confidence builder.

Cordingley needed some confidence of his own to commit to the theater after years spent screenprinting and selling advertisements for the Great Falls Tribune and other Montana publications.

He chalked up that dramatic move to a willingness to turn a hobby into a career -- something they say youre not supposed to do.

But I always loved it, he said about being on stage. It just satisfied me. Its an adrenaline rush.

Cordingley and his family planned to spend a week in New York after attending the AACTs Saturday awards ceremony, where he said it was a huge honor to be recognized with an award that normally goes to theater managers in much larger markets.

For more information on the award, visit www.aact.org/awards.

For more on Grandstreet Theatre, visit grandstreettheatre.com.
Porter County Aging and Community Services staff, family and friends recognized Josephine Purevich for her years of service to the community.

Purevichs 27-year career was celebrated at a retirement luncheon at the Hebron Senior Center, where she served as director for about 10 years. She also was named the Hebron Fourth of July parade grand marshal, which was announced by her son-in-law and Hebron Clerk/Treasurer Fred Siminski during the party.

We are so appreciative of Josephines years of dedication, said Bruce Lindner, PCACS executive director. Through her various roles over the years, she really made an impact on so many seniors lives.

Even more than just the senior site, Josephine has contributed so much to our agency, said Judy Peracki, PCACS deputy director.

Purevich began her full-time career at the age of 60 working with the agency through the Title V (Senior Community Service Employment) program, before becoming a PCACS employee.

I started working full-time because my husband (Alex Jr.) was forced to retire after he had open-heart surgery. He told me I would never be able to get a full-time job at 60 years old, she said. I said that I bet I will. ... I proved him wrong.

Throughout her 27-year career, she had worked with the energy assistance, senior nutrition and former Lifeline programs before settling in at Hebron.

When Josephine came to my office for the Title V job, I said, You have to be 55 or older. She was such a perky lady  I said, Youre not old enough, said former PCACS Executive Director Marion McDougall, who retired in 2005. She was somebody who learned to do almost everything. She went from one thing to another.

Over the years, she has enjoyed connecting with the seniors and taking trips with the group.

I enjoy being with people, mingling and socializing, she said.

While the Hebron Senior Center is no longer a meal site operated by PCACS, Hebron officials are continuing to open up the community center for seniors to meet and socialize.
Its festival season in the Region, a great time for those of us who like to sample the food and activities from Hammond to Valparaiso.

Enjoy all of this, and consider joining us at the end of the month in Whiting if youd like to combine fun with greeting visitors and extending a Region welcome.

A few groups have volunteered for two-hour time slots at the Pierogi Fest in the second annual Community Civility Counts-led greeting initiative.

A few more groups and individuals are needed to cover the entire July 29-31 festival and welcome about 300,000 people before they head to their favorite food stand.

Its a grand time, and weve heard only good things from volunteers last year. So were at it again in partnership with the Pierogi Fest and the Whiting-Robertsdale Chamber of Commerce.

Community Civility Counts, which started in April 2015 as a partnership between the Gary Chamber of Commerce and The Times Media Co., broke out in visibility at the Pierogi Fest last year.

A simple welcome meant a lot to visitors, weve heard, and we invite you to join us this time around.

Initial interest has been high for Friday of the festival, but there are two-hour shifts available from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

It could make a great family or group activity, or just something youd enjoy doing.

To volunteer, call Debbie Reilly in our office at (219) 933-3329 or email her at debbie.reilly@nwi.com.

Honor for Times writer

Health writer Giles Bruce has received a prestigious honor that eventually will benefit readers throughout the Region and state.

Bruce has been awarded a 2016 National Health Journalism Fellowship from the University of Southern Californias Annenberg School of Journalism.

He and news editor Crista Zivanovic will attend a five-day program in Los Angeles later this month along with other fellows and their editors. The intensive training will focus on community health issues and the impact of health experiences in childhood.

As part of the fellowship, Bruce will produce a series of stories on infant mortality, a topic of statewide concern. Indiana consistently ranks near the bottom of all states for infant deaths, and state and local health officials have been stymied for years on how to stem the problem.

Im thrilled at the opportunity because of the knowledge and resources the fellowship will provide, said Bruce, who has been on our staff for two years. Im hoping we can finally get to the bottom of why Indiana has such a high infant mortality rate and what can be done to fix it.

Youll read his report later this year.

Thanks for reading us. Please contact me with any questions about The Times or our many publications.
I went to Cuba in 2011 on an expeditionary trip with the DuSable Museum of African American History in Chicago. The museum takes frequent trips to sites of the African diaspora. Its trips are open to the public, at a cost. A current exhibit focuses on art in Cuba and the Caribbean.

Our itinerary included the capital city of Havana along with Trinidad and Santiago, cities with a dominant presence of African descendants. We flew from OHare to Canada and then Cuba; the U.S. travel embargo to Cuba was still in place then.

Visual memories

Even in fall, Cuba was warm and bright with sunshine. In Old Havana, most of the buildings were old but very well maintained. Along cobblestone streets were the buildings that evidenced a former Spanish presence, painted in soothing shades of warm creams and pastels with arches and red tile roofs.

Havana's commercial district was bustling with people shopping, dining and watching street hawkers  just like any other large tourist city. The street scene included black Cuban women dressed in traditional folk clothing holding baskets of fruits and flowers and willing to take photos with you for a price. Older black Cubans took advantage of this opportunity as well. They posed for pictures, often holding exaggeratedly large cigars as props.

The Malecon is a roadway bordering the coast in Havana. A seawall separates the thoroughfare from the water. Once an architectural paradise of grand Spanish colonial buildings, they have seen better days as the elements have eaten away their beauty.

Another once elegant but now weathered building that I saw was a dance studio. Ironically, it was a former stylish ballroom for the privileged but now is used for dance lessons for girls from families of limited means.

Cars are a source of pride and income in Cuba. Old American sedans are exquisitely maintained. Owners park them in areas with high tourist traffic and then allow visitors to take pictures in them  for a fee.

Outside the city, you may still see occasional horse-drawn wagons. Hitching rides are common in more rural areas. Infrequently, you will find people selling food from small baskets on rural roads. Goats roam the streets in small villages.

Obesity was not a problem in Cuba, nor is anorexia. People look healthy and trim. This is, in part, because people are more mobile there and have food ration books.

Two-thirds of Cubans are categorized as white, and the other third as black or mixed race. The indigenous presence is missing or difficult to discern. Therefore, Cubans come in many skin tones. Almost all have notably black hair.

I am told that many dye their hair black because the strong sun fades it.

Most women wore their hair up, also because of the heat I suspect. Their dress was similar to that in the United States. In addition to black hair, they phenotypically have dark, almond-shaped eyes, narrow faces and long legs.

Political and historical memories

In Havana, we stayed at the historic Hotel Nacional. Before 1959, it was the Caesars Palace of Cuba.

There is still evidence of that time. There is memorabilia of celebrities of every kind from around the world  politicians, artists, entertainers and gangsters. You will find images of Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner.

But the largest image is a life-size statue of Nat King Cole.

Another building that stills pays homage to Havanas former nightlife is the Tropicana Club. The lush vegetation on its grounds lives up to its name. It still exists as a nightclub today with performers, chorus girls and all the accouterments of a nightclub in Las Vegas. It felt as if Ricky Ricardo would come on stage and perform.

Just to the rear of the Hotel Nacional is testament to a very different era. Beyond its palm trees and fountain is a system of underground tunnels used to spy on the United States during the 1962 Cuban missile crisis. The subterranean area also houses a museum of the crisis, offering a Cuban government interpretation of the events.

Like America, Cuba lines its thoroughfares with billboard advertisements. But you will not find ads selling cars, food or other commodities like you would here. Almost every sign sells the same product  socialism.

In America, we call the Cuban government communist. We identify the Scandinavian countries and Canada as socialist, and they self-identify by that name. But we call Cuba (and China) communist even though they call themselves socialist.

The United States has its national mall. China has Tiananmen Square. Cuba has Revolution Square (or Plaza). Art and politics come together to pay tribute to socialist leaders Jose Marti, Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos.

In another section of the city, there is a building dedicated to one of our leaders  the Martin Luther King Memorial Center.

Religion

Being what we call a communist country, I was surprised to find sightings of religion in Cuba. We visited many museums on our tour. In one old, historic fort was a crucifixion of Jesus hanging on the wall. In the city, we passed a Baptist church in operation.

Renowned artist Jose Fuster, dubbed Picasso of the Caribbean, has transformed a whole neighborhood into an ongoing work of art. Symbols of Santeria, a religion popular in the Caribbean, are embedded throughout his work.

Some indications of religion were very subtle. Women dressed in a single color may have been paying homage to their orisha (Santaria god or goddess). Each orisha is associated with a color.

Aroma

Beyond my trip to Cuba, my amazing high school geography students have taught me some things. In their research, my students found the Cuban people had to become very resourceful.

The Cuban people created manuals that shared tips for daily life. One student found a recipe in a manual that made a grapefruit rind taste like a steak.

At a workshop, I learned some people illegally raised pigs. To keep the pigs from getting the attention of the authorities, the people had the pigs' vocal chords removed.

Aural memories

The volume of Cuba is relatively low and laid back. Blaring car horns, music or loud voices do not stand out in Cuba. You do not have to holler to be heard. The pace is slower than in our biggest cities.

It is hard to say what Cubans are more known for, their art or their music. In the United States, we know them more for their music. Their most famous genre of music is called son (pronounced like tone). A musician there told me that son is a predecessor to salsa. According to some people, salsa is son spiced up to appeal to exotic images that some vacationers have, but son is the real thing.

What you will not hear in Cuba is the name Fidel Castro. According to our tour guide, the people feel close to Castro, so they just refer to Castro as "him" while moving their hand on an imaginary beard.
Editors note: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump had not selected a running mate at the time this column was written.

Ive got to wonder whats been going through the mind of Gov. Mike Pence.

Hes fighting for his political life, trailing in some polls as he seeks re-election as governor.

But as bad as things may seem, somebody is thinking he might make a pretty good vice president of the United States.

So what does it mean if Donald Trump selects Pence as his running mate?

And what does it mean if he doesnt?

What is Pence telling Indiana by even considering running with Trump as opposed to completing his bid to win a second term as governor?

Is Pence saying he has a better chance of winning with Trump than he does being re-elected in Indiana?

Or is Pence saying his chances are better with Trump than counting on the people of Indiana?

Or, perhaps, the answer is none of the above.

Could it be that talk of Pence and the vice presidency is little more than a publicity stunt that goes over the heads of most Hoosiers?

Could it be that Pence has kept the possibility of him becoming vice president alive simply for political gain, while hes known all along he wouldnt accept an offer?

Could it be Donald Trump thinks so much of Pence that Hoosiers surely will think he deserves another term as governor?

On the other hand, Hoosiers may not take too kindly to Pence bailing out on Indiana while hes being courted by Trump.

Perhaps Trump made a decision between today and the writing of this column. And Pence, lets say, wasnt Trumps selection.

If that is the case, I suspect Pence would have accepted the veep candidacy if offered. After all, Pence didnt say thanks but no thanks, as some of the other possible vice presidential candidates have.

So what does it all mean?

Would Indiana Republicans be pleased to say that one of their own was offered the vice presidency, even if Trump was the guy making the offer?

Or will Hoosier Republicans be pleased Pence either declined or didnt receive an offer, meaning the party wont have to groom a new candidate with the election just over four months away?

Or would some Republicans be happy they would have someone other than Pence to embrace for governor?

The answer to all those question could, in part, be yes. Politics is such a fickle game.
It's an unacceptable outcome to a case involving some of the most serious subject matter handled by our courts.

Now Porter County Prosecutor Brian Gensel must act to admonish those responsible and train his assistant prosecutors and local police detectives to build better, honest cases against alleged child molesters.

Porter Superior Court Judge Bill Alexa recently acquitted 39-year-old Eric Knowles and ordered the defendant released from jail. The child molestation case against Knowles ended after one of two alleged victims  a 12-year-old boy  admitted some of the allegations against the defendant were lies.

It put Alexa in the unenviable position of having to outright acquit Knowles. The judge no longer had the trust our court system demands to go forward with the prosecution because Alexa could no longer discern fact from fiction in the case.

Either allegations against Knowles were only partially true or completely false. The shortcomings of prosecutors and detectives in building this case mean we'll never know.

Making matters worse, the boy revealed to Portage police and prosecutors that the worst alleged sex act against him was false the week before he took the witness stand, again admitting it during questioning by Knowles' defense attorney.

Allegations of child molestation require the greatest of care when handled by prosecutors and law enforcement.

If true, victims often are in the incredibly painful position of potentially having to face their assailants again at trial  and relive unspeakable brutality.

If false, the names of the innocent are forever tarnished by the stigma of being accused.

Gensel's office owed all parties  and all residents  a better effort.

In the end, Judge Alexa, through no fault of his own, couldn't carry out the most basic function of our criminal court system  weighing evidence and determining guilt or innocence.

This embarrassing miscarriage of justice should be keeping Gensel and his staff awake at night.

They shouldn't sleep soundly until they have an answer for all of us regarding how such a debacle will be prevented in the future.
WARSAW, Poland  NATO allies agreed Saturday to provide increased military support to countries in the Middle East and North Africa that are targets of Islamic extremism, including using NATO surveillance planes in the fight against the Islamic State group.

Alliance leaders also agreed to launch a new naval mission in the Mediterranean, and made commitments to maintain a stable military presence in Afghanistan and to fund Afghan security forces through 2020.

Were moving forward with the most significant reinforcement of our collective defense any time since the Cold War, U.S. President Barack Obama said at a news conference at the end of a crucial NATO summit in Warsaw.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said NATO will start a training and capacity-building mission for Iraqi armed forces in Iraq, a country he called central in the fight against IS. NATO is also working to establish an intelligence center in Tunisia, a major recruiting ground for IS, and will shortly start providing support to Tunisian special operation forces.

Today we have taken decisions to strengthen our partners and to project stability beyond our borders, Stoltenberg told reporters. He said millions of people in Africa and the Middle East have been rendered homeless and helpless by radical organizations like IS and that the extremist groups are also to blame for organizing terrorist attacks in Europe and America.

Obama, who was attending his last NATO summit, called it a pivotal moment for our alliance.

In nearly 70 years of NATO we have perhaps never faced such a range of challenges all at once  security, humanitarian, political, he said. But he concluded that with the multifaceted efforts being made, NATO is as strong, as nimble and as ready as ever.

Stoltenberg said Obama and leaders of the other 27 NATO countries also agreed in principle for alliance surveillance aircraft to provide direct support to the U.S.-led coalition fighting IS in Syria and Iraq. NATO diplomats say they expect flights by alliance AWACS planes to begin this fall and Stoltenberg labelled the move a clear signal of our resolve to help tackle terrorism.

He said the alliance will launch a new maritime operation in the Mediterranean called Operation Sea Guardian, whose responsibilities will include counterterrorism. NATO will also cooperate with the European Unions efforts to shut down human smuggling operations that have fueled Europes greatest migrant crisis since World War II.

The alliance will also increase cooperation with Jordan, and is preparing to help the new government in Libya design policies and institutions to help it better defend itself against extremist organizations, Stoltenberg said.

We will provide greater support to our partners, so they can secure their countries and push back against violent extremism, he said.

Obama had been urging his fellow NATO leaders in Warsaw to expand their support for the war in Afghanistan against the Taliban. Meanwhile, violence in the U.S. led him to cut his Europe trip short so he can return home Sunday.

The U.S. has pledged to provide $3.5 billion annually to fund Afghan forces, and the government in Kabul is expected to contribute as much as $500 million. Allies would provide the remaining $1 billion. The funding would maintain a total of 352,000 Afghan Army troops and police officers.

We are very close and I am certain we will reach that (funding) level, Stoltenberg told reporters. A senior U.S. administration official said NATO has commitments for about 90 percent of the goal.

Stoltenberg said its too soon to say exactly how many troops individual allies will agree to keep in Afghanistan under NATOs Resolute Support training and advisory mission. But he said he believed that, based on commitments made Saturday, force levels will remain largely stable. Specific numbers will be finalized this fall, he said.

U.S. administration officials said they believe the number of forces dedicated to the NATO mission will be a bit more than 12,000. The officials were not authorized to discuss the details publicly, so spoke on condition of anonymity.

U.S. Army Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, the NATO supreme commander, told reporters the U.S. has pledged about 6,700 of that total, about 200 fewer than it currently provides.

He said training and advising of the Afghan air force and special operations forces wont be affected. But he said there will be fewer U.S. troops training Afghan conventional forces, although the U.S. will still send teams into the regions to assist the army and police.

Earlier this week, Obama announced that overall he would keep 8,400 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, rather than cut their numbers to 5,500 as he once planned. In addition to taking part in the NATO advisory-and-assist mission, the U.S. has special operations forces in the country that conduct counterterrorism missions.

The planned force levels allow NATO allies to remain in regional hubs around Afghanistan, with Germany in the north, Italy in the west, Turkey in the capital of Kabul and the United States in the east and south.

Scaparrotti said the Afghan mission is key to global security.

We know that there are al-Qaida and (Islamic State) components in Afghanistan, he said. If we fail there we will certainly see that impact in our global counterterrorism campaign that were executing. It will make it harder.

The Warsaw summit, NATOs first in two years, was considered by many to be the alliances most important since the Cold War.

On Friday, NATO leaders approved the deployment of four multinational battalions to Poland and the Baltic states to deter Russia, as well as a Romanian-Bulgarian brigade for the Black Sea region. Germany will lead a multinational battalion in Lithuania, with similar battalions to be led by the United States in Poland, Britain in Estonia and Canada in Latvia.

Obama pledged an unwavering commitment of the United States to the security and defense of Europe and said the common defense of the trans-Atlantic alliance would never change.

In good times and bad Europe can count on the United States, he said.

The NATO plans to build up its forces was strongly criticized Saturday by Mikhail Gorbachev, the former Soviet president during the Cold War.

NATO has begun preparations for escalating from the Cold War into a hot one, Gorbachev was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency. All the rhetoric in Warsaw just yells of a desire almost to declare war on Russia. They only talk about defense, but actually are preparing for offensive operations.

The White House, meanwhile, announced Obama would cut his Europe trip short by one day in the wake of the attack in Dallas that killed five police officers and wounded seven others during protests over fatal police shootings of black men in Minnesota and Louisiana.

Obama will attend meetings in Warsaw on Saturday before heading to Spain for meetings with Spanish leaders and a visit with U.S. troops.

He returns to Washington on Sunday and will visit Dallas early next week at the request of Mayor Mike Rawlings.
In addition to visiting historical locations like the Eiffel Tower and The Louvre, Region students studying abroad in Paris were able to see another historical sight during their monthlong stay in the City of Light: the worst flooding since 1982.

Despite the Seine River rising as high as 20 feet, Purdue Northwest communication student Stephanie Hamilton said the itinerary for the trip, which consisted of art and photography classes, was not interrupted, just slightly altered.

The flooding, although scary, did not affect us much, she said. There would be certain train lines that would close due to the flooding, so it would just result in us finding a new train or taking a cab, Overall, we made the best of being there during the floods and continued with our program.

Indiana University nursing student Bridget Protsman said that any inconveniences they experienced due to the flooding paled in comparison to the people who were truly affected, such as those who were forced to evacuate their homes.

We were extremely fortunate. A lot of us took the time to take pictures of the flooding as part of our class work, Protsman said. I dont think any of us expected to be documenting history during our time in Paris.

Dr. Thomas J. Roach, PNW Communication and Creative Arts Department head, who taught the Intro to Photography class, said that the floods caused the artwork at The Louvre to be boxed up for safe keeping.

The day after the rain stopped, I went out and there were so many people. They werent tourists, these were French people who came to Paris to take pictures of the flooding then leave. The French were acting like tourists, Roach joked.Hamilton said her most memorable moment of the trip was not viewing the Mona Lisa in person or experiencing the flooding, but sitting on the steps of The Louvre with her classmates after completing a photography shoot in the museum.

Class was over at this point, but nobody wanted to move. We all kind of just sat there watching the sun slowly start to go down, Hamilton said. It was so relaxing and all I remember thinking was Can this get anymore perfect?

Protsman said she enjoyed befriending both her classmates and Parisians during her time in Paris, as well as the performances at open mic nights by Roach and PNW communication student Erica McDermott, both of whom are musicians.

By going and supporting them, I got to know some of the performers. Many of the people who were studying abroad made friends at the open mics over the span of a month, Protsman said. The one thing I really wanted out of this experience was to make a friend.

This summers trip was the second consecutive year PNW has offered the Paris study abroad program, which will continue next year. Roach said there are plans to add a third class to the program, such as a cinematography course.

I think the students come back different. Theres these buildings and objects that they see and think belong to the world of television, but then they go there and see it and touch it and begin to take it for granted, Roach said. I think Paris facilitates that more than any other city.
A man is in the hospital after he was shot by police in Brooklyn.

It happened around 7:15 a.m. Sunday on Rogers Avenue near Lefferts Avenue.

Officers responded to a call about shots being fired in that area, and their Shot Spotter technology also detected gunfire.

They say 31-year-old Paul Mathurin was holding a gun and acting irrationally.

"The officers are approaching the male," said Steven Powers, NYPD Chief of Brooklyn South. "And he has a gun in his hand. Once again, as I stated before, they told him to stop. And when he didnt stop, they fired, all three of the officers, fired twelve rounds in him."

Mathurin was hit in the thigh. Police say a 9mm gun was recovered at the scene.

Mathurin is in stable condition at Kings County Hospital.
After the deadly police shootings across the country last week, Mayor Bill de Blasio was bringing a message of unity to the pulpit and the street. He says our country is afflicted with centuries of racism, but here he thinks the NYPD and community are coming together. Political reporter Courtney Gross filed this report.

It was a tour to spur unity.

"This week is different," the mayor said from the pulpit Sunday. "This week is harder."

Mayor de Blasio hit the church circuit on Sunday following the deadly shootings of two African American men by police in Baton Rouge and Minnesota and the killing of five police officers in Dallas, Texas.

Hizzoner's message: we have a problem with history.

"We have a history of division, a history of discrimination," he said. "We have to be honest about structural racism. We have to be honest about the biases that absolutely suffuse our entire society."

Four hundred years of racism is our problem, de Blasio says. However, at the same time, he warned, we must support our police.

"Our police are our guardians," the mayor said. "An attack on the police is an attack on all of us."

De Blasio tried to balance between both worlds. First, at a church in Harlem. Then an hour later, he repeated that message to a different crowd in St. Patrick's Cathedral, sitting in the front row during mass, and later standing alongside Cardinal Timothy Dolan.

"In this city we aspire to a different and better relationship between police and community," de Blasio said. "We believe it can happen."

"He called yesterday and said I am going to be praying at different congregations this morning is it ok if I come by St. Patrick's and I said come by you are always welcome," Cardinal Dolan said.

The mayor continued this message of unity at this street party in East Harlem where he told the crowd every community needs to come together. It was a receptive crowd, for sure.

The mayor spent much of his time here taking selfies.

"She needs this picture," he said. "Here, turn this way."
Season 2, Episode 13: Dragonfly in Amber

Dragonfly in Amber makes clear that the failings of the second season are undeniable. The first season of Outlander deftly melded historical drama, fantasy and romance. It worked because the focus was on Claire and Jamies relationship. But this season widened its perspective. The show opened up its world, pushed its visual boundaries and incorporated an even more sprawling cast. But the writing has shortchanged important relationships at nearly every turn in favor of intrigue and political maneuverings.

In this season finale, moments of utter brilliance come on the heels of leaden plot twists. Even with the episodes extended runtime, the Battle of Culloden, which the entire show has been working toward, feels shortchanged. As the credits rolled, one word came to mind: unearned.

The finale jumps between two timelines: the day of the Battle of Culloden, and Claire in 1968 as she returns to Scotland for Reverend Wakefields funeral. Much has changed for Claire in the past 20 years. Shes now a successful surgeon living in Boston. Frank is dead. And she shares what can best be described as a prickly relationship with her college-aged daughter, Brianna (Sophie Skelton).

The fact that weve known Franks existence would be O.K. thanks to seeing him alive in the premiere has made Claires increasingly irrational actions to protect him in the past seem unreasonable, even out of character at times. This makes it all the more frustrating that we dont learn anything about the details of their marriage following her return. The story line feels light because weve spent so much time watching her save Frank but not enough time watching her with Frank. Did their marriage contain any love? Was it a marriage in name only? When and how did he die? The greatest strength of Outlander isnt its view of history or its great production design, its the emotional tapestry that the show carefully weaves together. Having Frank dead by the time we return to Claire gives the writers an easy out for the decision shes faced with at the end. It also makes the time spent on protecting his future feel almost unnecessary.
Ronda Sue (Byrd) Scott left us all behind on Thursday, July 7th. We lost a daughter, sister, mother and grandmother but the world lost a truly amazing person and friend. She was a loving kind individual who became a friend to anyone she ever encountered throughout her life. Ronda was one of those rare individuals who could make humor out of any situation and keep people laughing. She never lost her spirit or love of life during her brief battle with bone cancer.

Ronda was born on January 7, 1954 to Ronald Byrd and Mary Lou Rook. She attended school in Helena and graduated from Helena High School in 1972. Her college career resulted in an associate degree from Western Montana College.

Prior to starting a career, Ronda married Ken Tetrault and together they had two sons, Kenneth (Chip) Tetrault and Brian Tetrault. Ronda and Ken later divorced. Ronda met the love of her life, Gary Scott, and they were married in 1993. He passed away unexpectedly while she was serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom. She came home to lay him to rest and returned to finish her deployment. Ronda later met her future husband, Vern Wingerter and they married in 2016.

Ronda spent the large part of her working career with the National Guard (19752009) and as a federal employee (19782009). She leaves behind all of those close friends she met during her service. While in the military, Ronda was a member of the Honor Guard and served in Operation Iraqi Freedom. She was proud to be the first female Command Sergeant Major in the Montana National Guard and to be the recipient of both the Bronze Star and Legion of Merit Medal. Ronda retired in 2009.

During her retirement she had the good fortune to spend more time with her six grandchildren who she loved dearly. She also found time to bowl and play cards (cribbage, pinochle and Texas hold 'em) with family and friends. She especially liked to play cribbage with her dad and brother with whom many a pennies per points changed hands. Some people believe she may have even been born with a deck of cards in each hand.

In addition, Ronda volunteered for such events as Oktoberfest, Race for the Cure and the Wine Fair. She was never one to say no when asked to help out. Ronda was active in Toastmasters and got many individuals involved who benefited greatly from the experience.

Ronda was preceded in death by her father (Ron Byrd), husband (Gary Scott), son (Chip Tetrault) and baby daughter (Laurel). She is survived by her husband (Vern Wingerter), parents (Mary Lou and Bill Rook), sisters and spouses (Vickie and Curt LaFountaine), (Maggie and Hank Peterson), (Mary and Kelley Patzer), brother and spouses (Rob and Vicky Byrd), (Bill and Nicky Rook), her son and daughter-in-law (Brian and Angel Tetrault) and their children (Honora and Allison), and daughter-in-law Tammy Tetrault and her children (Austin, John Thomas, Natasha, and Sierra). She leaves behind many nieces and nephews along with her large military family and close friends who are too many to list.

Her family would like to send out a special thank you to Dr. Weiner, Emily, the Oncology Floor nurses and physical therapist Jane. They all made her journey less painful.

Viewing will take place from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Monday, July 11th at Anderson Stevenson Wilke Funeral Home, 3750 N. Montana Ave. Funeral services will be at 11:00 a.m. Tuesday, July 12th at the Helena First Assembly of God Church, 2210 Dodge Ave. Burial with full military honors will follow at the Montana State Veterans Cemetery at Fort Harrison. A reception will follow the burial at the Fort Harrison Service Club. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Ronda Scott Memorial Fund (for the benefit of her grandchildren) in care of Mary Patzer at PO Box 159, Helena, MT 59624. Please visit www.aswfuneralhome.com to offer a condolence to the family or to share a memory of Ronda.
In The Night Of, a Muslim student takes a cab ride to hell and ends up charged with murder. The Circus: Inside the Greatest Political Show on Earth returns to parse the presidential race. And Ten is available to stream in tribute to the Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami, who died on Monday.

Whats on TV

THE NIGHT OF 9 p.m. on HBO. Nasir Khan (Riz Ahmed), a son of Pakistani immigrants, drives his fathers cab from Queens to Manhattan for a party. But when a sad-eyed young woman (Sofia Black-DElia) hails a ride home, an evening of drugs and sex ensues. He wakes to find her stabbed to death and is charged in the killing. Enter John Stone (John Turturro, in a role James Gandolfini was to play), a defense lawyer trolling for work, who recognizes the stakes. As conceived by Steven Zaillian and Richard Price, Nazs walk on the wild side quickly turns into a pit of circumstantial quicksand: the casual encounters that will become eyewitness testimony; the chain of bad breaks, bad timing and bad decisions, James Poniewozik wrote in The New York Times. Mind your armrests when you watch it all unfold; you may clutch them right through the upholstery.

THE CIRCUS: INSIDE THE GREATEST POLITICAL SHOW ON EARTH 8 p.m. on Showtime. Cant look away from the political train wreck? Then this is your show. Mark Halperin and John Heilemann, the authors of the best-selling Game Change, return to examine the fallout from the F.B.I. investigation into Hillary Clintons emails, and Donald J. Trumps links to an ailing Atlantic City.
Dr. Heather Ann Wasserstrom, a daughter of Wanda Scheuer Wasserstrom and Steven Wasserstrom of Tenafly, N.J., is to be married July 10 to Gregory Livshitz, the son of Vieta G. Losik of Decatur, Ga. Rabbi Dr. Marc E. Mandel is to lead the ceremony at the Glen Manor House, a wedding venue in Portsmouth, R.I.

The bride, 39, will keep her name professionally. She is a pediatric oncologist who works in Bridgewater, N.J., as a medical director at Eli Lilly, the pharmaceutical company. She helps develop drugs for cancer treatment. She graduated cum laude from Duke University and received a master's degree in clinical research from Mount Sinai School of Medicine. She received a medical degree from Robert Wood Johnson University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in New Brunswick, N.J.

Her father is the president of Iamindependent, a Tenafly payroll processing company for independent contractors, from which her mother retired as the vice president of public relations and advertising. Until 2015 she was on the board of the Jewish Family Service of Bergen County in Teaneck, N.J., of which she was president until 2007.

The groom, 40, is a manager at Accenture, the consulting firm in New York, where he oversees the implementation of human resource software systems for global companies. He graduated from Georgia Tech, from which he also received a master's in computer science. He earned an M.B.A. from Georgia State University in Atlanta.
Tracy Kyle Ten Eyck, the daughter of Linda K. Hitch of East Lansing, Mich., and Richard T. Ten Eyck of Okemos, Mich., was married July 9 to Joseph Philip Michaels, the son of Clarice H. Michaels and Anthony T. Michaels of Rochester Hills, Mich. The Rev. John E. Phelps, a Roman Catholic priest, performed the ceremony at the St. James Chapel in Chicago.

Mrs. Michaels, 30, is a senior associate director of alumni relations and fund-raising at the University of Chicago. She graduated with distinction from the University of Michigan, and is now a director of the University of Michigan Club of Greater Chicago.

The brides father retired as a senior adviser and vice president for group programs in the East Lansing, Mich., office of Al Bourdeau Insurance Agency. The bride is also the stepdaughter of Thomas M. Hitch.

Mr. Michaels, 29, is an associate specializing in corporate matters at Sidley Austin, the Chicago law firm. He graduated summa cum laude from the University of Connecticut and received his law degree cum laude from the University of Michigan.
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While most incumbents generally talk about how horrible their opponents are, lawmakers in tough races also like to have something to show voters for their time in Washington. This is especially vital for Republicans who, in many races, find that their partys presumptive presidential nominee, Donald J. Trump, may be more of an anvil than a rocket booster to their own fortunes.

Some of the legislation has been bipartisan, some purely partisan, but all of it stems from promises that Republicans have made  and found themselves often struggling to keep  to create a functional Congress and mollify voters who consistently say they are sick of a Washington that does not work.

When Senator McConnell became leader, he chose a dramatically different approach than his predecessor, Don Stewart, a spokesman for Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, said in an email. He opened the Senate, returned to a more functioning Senate, and allowed senators to participate in the legislative process, Mr. Stewart continued, claiming that when Senator Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada, was the majority leader, thorny issues often were not voted on. While this isnt the easy way, it allowed members to have more than dysfunction to show for their time in the Senate.

Many of the measures are partisan message bills that flop like so much hair in the July humidity. The bill that would have prevented certain federal grants from going to sanctuary cities, where law enforcement officials are banned from cooperating with federal immigration authorities on detention requests, was popular in Mr. Toomeys home state.

The measure failed, 53-44, along party lines, but Mr. Toomey, who has formulated his reputation on a mix of law and order and modest gun safety advocacy, can still boast that the bill came to the Senate floor.
SERANG, Indonesia  Lying on the floor against a gym bag full of clothes in a two-room shack in the West Java town of Serang, Saeni tried to explain how her life had been turned upside down, but she fainted before she could finish.

Last month, Ms. Saeni, 53, a mother of four, was cooking in her tiny open-air food stall in preparation for customers about to break fast during the holy month of Ramadan, when local public order officers entered. They angrily accused her of violating a local bylaw against serving meals during the day and confiscated all her food.

Ms. Saeni, who like many Indonesians has only one name, has since been threatened by hard-line Islamic groups, clerics and Muslim organizations that have demanded the local government throw her in prison.

Traumatized and in shock, she said, she went into hiding at a relatives house. She denies breaking any laws.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan  Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif returned to Pakistan on Saturday after an absence of more than a month because of heart surgery in London, but his health problems have not softened the political opposition he faces.

Mr. Sharif, 66, who underwent four bypasses on May 31, landed at Lahore, the eastern city that is his political power base. A special plane from the state airline brought Mr. Sharif and a group of officials and his relatives back to Pakistan.

The welcome accorded to Mr. Sharif by party loyalists was muted, however, as the country mourned Abdul Sattar Edhi, the famed social worker who was buried earlier in the day in Karachi after a state funeral.

Mr. Sharif has been entangled in an uproar over revelations in the so-called Panama Papers that his family has amassed enormous wealth in offshore accounts. The Panama Papers indicated that three of Mr. Sharifs children control shell companies through which they own expensive residential properties in London.
BOSTON, England  A few days after Britain voted to leave the European Union, Monika Baginski was in a supermarket, chatting with a friend on the phone in her native Polish, when a man followed her down the aisle. You foreigner, Ms. Baginski recalled him saying. Youll be out soon.

Ms. Baginski, 32, said she was stunned. Until that moment, she had never been the target of abuse, even in Boston, a port town on the east coast of England where rancor between longtime residents and the fast-growing population of recent immigrants has been simmering for years.

But since Britains referendum vote to leave the European Union, latent hostility toward the new arrivals  most of whom came to Boston from Central and Eastern Europe under rules that let European Union citizens live and work anywhere in the bloc  has burst into the open, many immigrants say. Many in the Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish and Romanian communities in the area are anxiously considering whether they should stay in Britain, or whether they even want to.

Something is broken in this town, said Paul Gleeson, a Labour Party councilor in Boston, where 76 percent of voters supported leaving the European Union, the highest pro-Brexit proportion in the country. This veneer of propriety has suddenly disappeared.
A professional bullfighter was gored to death and a man was killed in a bull run in Spain on Saturday, while 13 other people were injured at the world-famous running of the bulls in Pamplona, according to news reports and a government website.

The matador, Victor Barrio, 29, was performing on live television in his first bullfight at Los Manos, a ring in Teruel, a town in eastern Spain, when a bull punctured his lung. He was treated by medical personnel at the scene but was pronounced dead at a hospital, according to the Spanish newspaper El Periodico.

Mr. Barrio began his career as a novillero, or a young bullfighter, in 2010.

His last post on Twitter, on July 4, featured a photo of him practicing with a calf captioned, mind focused on #Teruel. He is the first Spanish bullfighter to die in a ring in at least 16 years.

Separately, in Pedreguer, a southeastern village near Valencia, a 28-year-old Spaniard was killed in a bull run, during which people race with the animals through narrow streets.
The financial vulnerability is what led the states secretary of culture, Jose Maria Lassalle, to impose restrictions on the archives. In an interview, Mr. Lassalle said that he did not know whether the foundation was planning to sell off parts of the archives. The Spanish news media has raised the possibility that the University of Texas at Austin is interested, but a university spokesman declined to comment.

The foundation has been an effective tool, and I am not questioning their capacity to protect the archives, Mr. Lassalle said. But I understand that responsible politicians have to give the strongest protections possible.

The Garcia Lorca family, which created the foundation in 1984 with proceeds from the sale of some Salvador Dali works, has overcome obstacles before. In the mid-1970s, it battled city plans to raze the family summer home to build a highway. In the 1980s, it successfully opposed a proposal for a stadium in the area of the mass graves where Garcia Lorca is believed to be buried.

Now the foundation has reached a tentative agreement with its bank, La Caixa, which is willing to forgive the foundations construction loan, according to Matias Cortes, the foundations lawyer and a board member. In return, he said, the bank will become a chief sponsor of the center, but he added that a new agreement on the governing structure of the center and the foundations role is still being negotiated. He expects that with an accord this month, the archives could move to Granada by the end of the year.

For some, patience is wearing thin as they await the international debut of a center first conceived in 2004 by the foundation. Laura Garcia Lorca joked that she felt like Dona Rosita, the spinster heroine of one of her uncles plays, who waits years for a fiance who never returns.

New houses get built, and new songs are sung, she said, paraphrasing the character. And I am the same, in the same trembling state.
About 35,000 Montanans could see huge increases  some up to 60 percent or more  in what they pay for health insurance purchased on the federal marketplace.

On Friday, the Commissioner of Securities and Insurance released the proposed rates for the three providers that sell insurance to Montanans through the marketplace. Those companies are PacificSource, Montana Health Co-op and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Montana.

The increases wont affect everyone who buys insurance on the marketplace, since about 85 percent of Montanans who purchase insurance there receive a premium tax credit that will offset the rate increase. However, about 35,000 Montanans do not receive this credit and could have to pay the full increase. The companies also increased rates last year.

For individual plans, Blue Cross had the highest requested rate change at an average of 62 percent, taking effect at the start of 2017. The company said overall increases could range from 40 to 108 percent.

Blue Cross said the increase is needed because claims and health care costs have been higher than expected. The company collected $174.7 million in premiums for individual plans and paid out $220.6 million in claims in 2015 for a loss ratio of 126.3 percent, according to a rate change request summary.

All three companies took in less in premiums than they paid out in claims for individual plans. Montana Health Co-op, which requested a 22 percent increase, took in $73.5 million in premiums and paid out $102 million in claims in 2015.

John Doran, a spokesman for BCBS, said that this is the first year the company is working off current data to file its rates and thats part of the reason for the increase.

Its really the first year we ever had actual data for the ACA marketplace, he said.

When were filing 2017 rates, were finally able to use two years worth of data to gauge what our medical expenses actually are, he said. Its a much more accurate picture. The marketplace population is using far more medical and pharmacy services than we anticipated.

Doran said for every dollar BCBS gets in premiums, it paid out $1.40 in claims. What that adds up to is about $24 million in losses in the individual marketplace last year.

PacificSource, which requested a rate change of almost 20 percent, took in premiums of $37 million and paid out $48.5 million in claims. That company is also planning to eliminate some of their catastrophic plans and limit the sale of other less expensive plans to only five counties around Missoula and Billings. People enrolled in the less-expensive plans who renew with PacificSource will be placed into a higher plan and see rate increases that will average 51 percent.

All three companies expect medical and prescription drug costs to go up around 8 percent, another reason they said the increases were needed.

Montana Health Co-op and PacificSource also cited the sunsetting of a federal program that helped stabilize premiums in the individual marketplace as a reason for their requested increases. The transitional reinsurance program expires at the end of 2016.

For small-employer group plans, Blue Cross again requested the highest rate change at 32 percent. Montana Health Co-op proposed a 3 percent increase and PacificSource requested a 6.5 percent increase.

BCBS is committed to staying in the marketplace for the long run, Doran said, but for that to work four things need to change.

He said health insurance companies must run more efficiently and need consistent marketplace rules that are enforced. He said companies can suffer when people sign up outside of open enrollment periods to get insurance to deal with emergencies like a broken leg and then drop coverage once theyre healed. Better enforcement can help make sure insurers dont pay out high claims for clients who only pay premiums a short time.

Doran also said insurers should work to promote whats called value-based care over fee-based care, or paying doctors for better health outcomes like people losing weight or stopping smoking over treating more patients. He also said companies like BCBS need adequate rates.

State Sen. Fred Thomas, R-Stevensville, criticized Democrats, specifically U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, for allowing the Affordable Care Act to become law.

Its sad to see this huge increase, Thomas said. Weve already seen premiums doubled in Montana since this new Obamacare law went into effect.

Thomas said Republicans predicted the cost increase from the start of Obamacare. It will skyrocket and skyrocket up until it crushes this program, he said. It must be repealed.

Thomas said tax credits that offset the increase for some Montanans can be maxed out. Its a disaster for Montana families, he said.

In a statement Friday, Tester said: It is outrageous that a major corporation is trying to raise insurance rates on Montanans as they hand out lavish bonuses to their executives. In order to lower the costs of health care, its going to take all folks working together to come up with solutions. I am glad that Commissioner Lindeen is holding a public hearing so folks can be held accountable for these unprecedented rate hikes.

The commissioners office does not have the authority to disapprove rates or prevent them from taking effect. It can review the factors insurers use in setting rates and if increases are found to be unjustified or excessive, the insurer can voluntarily lower the rate increase. If the insurance doesnt lower the rate, the commissioner will issue a public finding announcing the increase is unjustified.

The Commissioners office is holding a public hearing on the rate increase on July 26 at 9 a.m. at the Scott Hart Auditorium, 302 N. Roberts St., in Helena, Pubilc comment can also be submitted at www.csimt.gov through Aug. 5.

About 78,500 Montanans have individual plans from the three providers; Blue Cross is the largest provider with 55,000 customers About 47,500 have small-employer group plans through the three providers, with Blue Cross having the most customers. Open enrollment for 2017 begins in November.
For a reflective pause in the storm that is the 2016 presidential election, see The White House: Inside Story, Tuesday night on PBS.

No, its not about the scandalous and dirty deeds that have taken place there over the centuries. Its about the building, what it represents and what living or working in it is like. Its about the weight of the place and the remarkable achievement it represents.

One of the really great things about our country is the peaceful transfer of power, Laura Bush, the former first lady, says just after an image flashes by of Barack and Michelle Obama in a moment of electoral triumph. Its a wonderful symbol for the rest of the world. There is a great continuity in the White House.

The documentary zips through a history of the building  constructed in part by slave labor; burned during the War of 1812; in such disrepair in the middle of the last century that one recommendation was to tear it down and start over. Along the way, the White House evolved from a residence where just about anyone could come to call on the president to more of a fortress, albeit one that offers formal tours for the public.
It took three decades, but Jorge Luis Rodriguez is finally savoring the full flowering of a seed he planted in an East Harlem park.

When his metal sculpture Growth was installed at Harlem Art Park in 1985, he had envisioned it as the first of many others that would grace the tiny, shaded haven beside the Harlem Community Justice Center. Indeed, the work itself, a slender, red metal sculpture, looks like a seedling sprouting from the cobblestones. But for one reason or another  lack of money, attention or advocates  the piece stood alone in the park on 120th Street near Lexington Avenue.

It took long enough, but the sculpture finally has some company besides the people who seek the parks cool shade. In May, Jose Sotos visually playful installation Focus was placed there as part of the Flux Art Fair. It will soon be joined by another piece from Frances Gallardo. The two newer pieces will stay through November, said Warren James, an East Harlem architect who curated the temporary installations. Still, they bring deep satisfaction to Mr. Rodriguez, who never wanted his work to be alone.

It was never just about my work, said Mr. Rodriguez, 71, a retired art professor who lives in Brooklyn. I did Growth so other artists could participate in this space, too. Im secure enough with my work that I dont feel I have to compete with anyone or block anyone.
This is a part of England that most English people  and almost all foreigners  ignore. Thats why so many of us were surprised by the referendums result. This is a nation that feels left behind  by political parties, by globalization, by immigration, by the new social customs. Its a nation afraid of the future, one that never came to terms with Europe and its strange habits in the first place. Its easier to find a sea gull than a bidet in the bathroom of the Pink Palace Hotel, where they play Paul Ankas Diana at breakfast and the matronly landlady hands you the key with a wink: Sleep well, babe.

In the past, until holidays in the sun became affordable, Londons working class brought its children here to spend their summers digging for worms and making sand castles on the beach. For Dad, there were the pubs; for Mum, bingo on the boardwalk. Today this white, conservative segment of society flies to Spain and the Canary Islands. The only foreigners here are workers, mainly doing construction and plumbing jobs, from Poland and elsewhere in Eastern Europe. The locals are not happy about that either. They say the Europeans are here to steal their jobs and mooch off the welfare system. Out! they say at the Moon and Starfish pub facing the pier.

Eastbourne, on the Sussex coast, is a different place. Like Clacton, it is mostly white: more than 92 percent. And like Clacton, it voted Leave. Out of 53,598 ballots counted, 30,700 were for quitting the European Union. Thats 57 percent, close to the nationwide percentage of people over 65 who voted Leave.

But Eastbourne is closer to London, both literally and emotionally, and a more genteel sort of place. George Orwell lived here for a while. Marx and Engels vacationed in its Victorian hotels. In 1905 Claude Debussy retreated here with his lover to the Grand Hotel, where he finished composing La Mer. Theresa May, the Conservative politician who is now considered Britains most likely next prime minister, was born here in 1956. Today the town is full of retired people in search of better air and cheaper housing, day-trippers from London and hordes of foreign students, here to learn English. In the summer of 1972, I was one of them, experimenting with the mysterious food (like beans on toast) and competing with the local skinheads for the attentions of Scandinavian girls. At the time, Britain was months away from joining the European Economic Community. And it is now almost back out again.
DALLAS  The gunman who killed five police officers in Dallas had enough bomb-making materials in his home to lead the authorities to believe he was planning a larger attack, the citys police chief said on Sunday. He provided new details of how, during two hours of negotiations, the gunman sang, laughed and asked how many officers he had killed before he was killed by a bomb-equipped robot.

David O. Brown, the police chief, said evidence showed that Micah Johnson, 25, an African-American Army Reserve veteran who told the police that he wanted to kill white officers, had been practicing detonations and that the explosive material had the potential to have devastating effects throughout our city and our North Texas area.

Were convinced this suspect had other plans and thought that what he was doing was righteous, Chief Brown said on CNNs State of the Union.

Mayor Mike Rawlings of Dallas, in an interview near the shooting site, described Mr. Johnson as having employed tactics designed to cause as much harm to people as possible. He was really well trained in becoming a killing machine, O.K.? he said. Shooting low, fighting hand-to-hand at that one point, going high, shooting down another street. This guy trained himself not for that exact location, but he knew how to elicit pain on people.
DeRay Mckesson, one of the best known voices for the Black Lives Matter movement, was among hundreds of people arrested at weekend demonstrations across the country. He spent 16 hours in a Baton Rouge jail cell until he was released Sunday afternoon, vowing to continue demonstrating because he was convinced that the authorities want activists to be too afraid to protest.

Mr. Mckesson, in a telephone interview shortly after his release, said he believed that his arrest was unlawful and that the police unfairly conducted mass arrests while people were peacefully assembled and out of the way of traffic along a highway.
ST. PAUL  Police officers in riot gear clashed with protesters who blocked a major highway here for hours on Saturday night, marking a tense turn for the demonstrations that have continued almost nonstop since a black man, Philando Castile, was fatally shot by a suburban police officer during a traffic stop on Wednesday.

The protesters marched from the Minnesota governors mansion onto Interstate 94, chanting refrains such as Were peaceful, yall violent as the police urged them to leave. Officers struggled for more than four hours to disperse the crowd, at times deploying smoke and marking rounds in a standoff that stretched into early Sunday before snowplows cleared debris and the highway was reopened to traffic.
WASHINGTON  The Obama administration on Sunday announced that it had transferred a Yemeni detainee to Italy. The United States military had held the man in indefinite wartime detention without trial at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for 14 and a half years.

The transfer of the prisoner, Fayiz Ahmad Yahia Suleiman, reduced the detainee population to no more than 78. The move comes at a time of heightened scrutiny on detainee releases because of the disappearance of a former prisoner who had been resettled in Uruguay, which Republicans have cited in expressing opposition to further transfers.

The transfer on Sunday showed that the Obama administration, which will most likely be thwarted by Congress in its efforts to close the prison before President Obama leaves office, continues to pursue a lesser goal of getting out every detainee on a list of men recommended for transfer if security conditions are met in receiving countries.

Mr. Suleimans departure leaves no more than 29 detainees on the list of those awaiting transfers.

He was among the earliest detainees taken by the George W. Bush administration to the wartime prison when it opened in January 2002. According to a leaked military dossier, he was arrested near the Afghan border by the Pakistani police in late 2001 and was turned over to the American military.
Justice Ginsburg, 83, said she would not leave her job as long as I can do it full steam. But she assessed what is at stake in the presidential election with the precision of an actuary, saying that Justices Anthony M. Kennedy and Stephen G. Breyer are no longer young.

Kennedy is about to turn 80, she said. Breyer is going to turn 78.

For the time being and under the circumstances, she said, the Supreme Court is doing what it can. She praised Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.

He had a hard job, Justice Ginsburg said. I think he did it quite well.

It was a credit to the eight-member court that it deadlocked only four times, she said, given the ideological divide between its liberal and conservative wings, both with four members.

One of the 4-4 ties, Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, averted what would have been a severe blow to public unions had Justice Scalia participated. This court couldnt have done better than it did, Justice Ginsburg said of the deadlock. When the case was argued in January, the majority seemed prepared to overrule a 1977 precedent that allowed public unions to charge nonmembers fees to pay for collective bargaining.

A second deadlock, in United States v. Texas, left in place a nationwide injunction blocking Mr. Obamas plan to spare more than four million unauthorized immigrants from deportation and allow them to work. That was unfortunate, Justice Ginsburg said, but it could have been worse.

Think what would have happened had Justice Scalia remained with us, she said. Instead of a single sentence announcing the tie, she suggested, a five-justice majority would have issued a precedent-setting decision dealing a lasting setback to Mr. Obama and the immigrants he had tried to protect.

Justice Ginsburg noted that the case was in an early stage and could return to the Supreme Court. By the time it gets back here, there will be nine justices, she said.
We want to be able to be a part of the solution, not a part of the problem, he said. But where do we start?

Pastor Seefeldt, whose congregation is mostly white, mentioned white privilege and urged members to think deeply about their actions and hidden biases.

I have a real and tremendous guilt response, he said. What have I done to contribute to racism as a white male?

This peculiar and tangled American moment seemed even more vexing for Rose Tolbert, 58, a member of the Friendship-West church in Dallas. Ms. Tolbert works for the Dallas County Sheriffs Department and has two sons in law enforcement.

Ms. Tolbert is also African-American, and she had wanted to attend Thursdays protest in a stand against police killings of black men but had to work that night. When she got news of the shootings, she called to make sure her family was O.K. Then she fell asleep crying over the tragedy that had befallen her fellow law enforcement officers. At the same time, she remained devastated by the deaths of Mr. Sterling and Mr. Castile.

On Sunday morning, her preacher invited her to the altar for a special prayer for law enforcement officers and their families, for protesters, and for children who he said were being traumatized by violence.

Ms. Tolbert went to the altar, then returned with tears streaming down her face.

I needed consolation  I needed the word from God, she said, her voice breaking. She paused and then collapsed against a pole in the church lobby, sobbing.

I came here to get refilled, she said. We need to pray and get active. We need to stand up.
JUBA, South Sudan  Armed clashes between two factions and waves of heavy gunfire spread across South Sudans capital on Sunday, a day after the nations fifth anniversary of its independence.

Military helicopters swooped over the city, Juba, and armored vehicles rolled through streets, witnesses said. People took shelter in their homes and hid beneath their beds as the sounds of guns and heavier weapons rose, fell and rose again.

We are fighting at Gudele, Rock City and Jebel, said William Gatjiath Deng, a spokesman for Vice President Riek Machar, referring to neighborhoods and suburbs of Juba. There are a lot of bodies. I cant even count them.

Each side blamed the other for initiating the new outburst of violence. Michael Makuei, South Sudans information minister, said President Salva Kiir would soon declare a unilateral cease-fire.
ROTA, Spain  For President Obama, war is never far from his thoughts. On Sunday afternoon, he flew to this sprawling naval air station near the mouth of the Mediterranean to tour the Ross, one of four guided-missile destroyers that patrol from the Baltic to the Black Sea, potent symbols of Americas military presence in Europe.

Thats pretty impressive, Mr. Obama said to Petty Officer Second Class Garrett Nelson, after the sailor told his commander-in-chief about the accuracy of a five-inch, 54-caliber gun mounted on the ships foredeck. Thats better than I do at skeet shooting.

Mr. Obamas advisers fought to keep this stop on his five-day trip to Spain and Poland, even after he decided to cut the trip by a day and return home on Sunday to deal with the deadly shootings in Dallas. Sightseeing in Seville, as the president had planned to do, was easy to skip; surveying the military hardware in Rota was not.

Throughout this trip, Mr. Obama has confronted the reality that the United States is engaged in military operations around the world. At a NATO summit meeting in Warsaw, he announced that American troops would lead a battalion stationed in Poland to deter an aggressive Russia. The destroyer in Rota is a pillar of a missile-defense program that Mr. Obama has stuck with despite the tensions it raises with Moscow.
BEIJING  Hillary Clinton is blunt, negative on China, friendly toward homosexuals, and female  all reasons some Chinese give for not wanting to see her as the next president of the United States.

She is highly qualified, visionary, caring, and will support women and children and development around the world  reasons others give for wanting her to win the November election.

As China looks ahead to a new American administration, opinions on the front-running Mrs. Clinton veer from admiration, mostly among women and civil libertarians, to distaste, mostly among male policy makers and an often nationalistic public.

Donald J. Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, has his critics in China, too, but his brand of shock-populism attracts more vocal support in a society where a woman has never sat in the inner circle of power, the Standing Committee of the Communist Partys Politburo.
TOKYO  Voters helped Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan move closer on Sunday to securing the lawmaker support he needs to revise a pacifist Constitution that has been in place since American occupiers created it in 1947.

An official count on Monday morning showed the governing coalition and its allies had captured two-thirds of the seats in the upper house of Parliament, the amount required to proceed with the constitutional revision.

Despite a weak economy and divided public opinion on the expanded role for Japans military that Mr. Abe is seeking, his Liberal Democrats and their allies again won a commanding majority in the upper house.

This is the peoples voice letting us firmly move forward, Mr. Abe said. When asked whether he would proceed with a revision of the Constitution, he said it had long been the Liberal Democrats goal.
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia  A prominent Cambodian political commentator who had recently helped found a new independent political party was gunned down at a gas station in central Phnom Penh on Sunday morning in what analysts called a major setback for democracy and freedom of expression in the country.

The commentator, Kem Ley, 46, had stopped in for his morning coffee at the stations convenience store when he was shot and killed.

The offender was arrested and is being interrogated, said Gen. Kirth Chantharith, a spokesman for the Cambodian National Police. The general added that the man had identified himself as Chuob Samlab, an unlikely name that translates as Meet Kill in the Khmer language.

The police said in a statement that the suspect, 38, was from a rural area along Cambodias western border and had migrated to Thailand to work on a plantation.
An international tribunal in The Hague released a landmark decision on Tuesday in a dispute between China and the Philippines over the South China Sea. Here are answers to six questions about the case.

What is this case about?

The Philippines filed a complaint in 2013 after China took control of a reef about 140 miles from the Philippine coast. It accused China of violating international law by interfering with fishing, endangering ships and failing to protect the marine environment at the reef, known as Scarborough Shoal.

But the Philippines also went further, asking an international tribunal to reject Chinas claim to sovereignty over waters within a nine-dash line that appears on official Chinese maps. The dashes encircle as much as 90 percent of the South China Sea, an area the size of Mexico that is vital to global trade and rich in natural resources, including potential oil deposits.
SYDNEY, Australia  More than a week after one of the closest and longest Australian national elections in half a century, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull declared victory on Sunday after the leader of the opposition Labor Party conceded defeat.

We have won the election, Mr. Turnbull, the leader of the Liberal Party-led conservative coalition, said at a news conference on Sunday.

The Australian Electoral Commission has forecast that the coalition could win a combined 76 seats, which would give it an absolute majority in the 150-seat House of Representatives. Two independent members of the House have also pledged their support to the coalition, solidifying its chances of forming a government.

It is clear Mr. Turnbull and his coalition will form a government, Bill Shorten, the Labor Party leader, said at a news conference on Sunday afternoon. I hope they run a good government.
BERLIN  A simmering dispute between leftist squatters and the authorities in Berlin erupted overnight into what the police on Sunday called the most aggressive and most violent protest in the past five years.

What began late Saturday as a peaceful demonstration in the German capital led by groups associated with anti-fascist and far-left movements ended in violence outside a disputed building. Members of the leftist groups and their sympathizers have been protesting the gentrification spreading into Berlin neighborhoods that have been home to squatters for decades.

The Berlin police said they had deployed 1,800 officers, nearly a third of them brought in from outside the capital, and used a helicopter to monitor the protest in an effort to maintain the peace. But as the demonstration progressed into the evening, the number of protesters swelled to 3,500 and some began lobbing cobblestones, firecrackers and glass bottles at the officers, injuring 123, the police said in a statement.

Officers responded with pepper spray and billy clubs to push back surges of demonstrators, some of whom were masked. Eighty-six people were detained on suspicion of disturbing the peace, resisting arrest, causing injuries and the illegal use of explosives, the police said. Most were released.
Egypt backs the Arab Initiative, a 2002 plan that offers Israel diplomatic relations with the Arab world in return for withdrawing from all the territory Israel seized in the Arab-Israeli war of 1967 and agreeing to a just solution for Palestinian refugees. Egypt has also expressed its support for a French initiative for an international peace conference, which Israel has rejected.

Mr. Netanyahu, who also serves as Israels foreign minister, insists on bilateral talks with the Palestinians, but has also expressed enthusiasm for a regional process that would, in turn, help resolve the Palestinian issue. The Palestinian leadership says that more than 20 years of on-and-off direct negotiations for the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel have proved futile, and it has sought to internationalize the conflict.

Israel and Egypt signed a peace treaty in 1979, ending decades of hostilities, but the relationship remained cold. It grew chillier after the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak and the 2012 election of Mohamed Morsi, a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood.

But the toppling of Mr. Morsi by the military in 2013 and the ascendance of Mr. Sisi, a former general, seems to have ushered in a new era for Israeli-Egyptian relations. Experts say there have been new levels of coordination and cooperation between the two sides as Egyptian forces have battled Islamic State militants in the Sinai Peninsula, along Egypts border with Israel.

Mr. Sisi told The Washington Post last year that he had spoken a lot with Mr. Netanyahu.

This is another stage in the process of normalization between Israel and Egypt since Sisi became president, Mira Tzoreff, an Egypt expert at the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies at Tel Aviv University, said of the visit. She added that Mr. Sisi had presented the relationship with Israel openly, as an Egyptian interest.
TEHRAN  Gunmen ambushed a car carrying a lawmaker and a local governor on Sunday in Irans restive Kurdish region, state news media reported. Both men were wounded, and the driver and a veterinarian traveling with them were killed.

The lawmaker, Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, a member of a key foreign council in Irans Parliament, escaped with minor injuries, according to the Mizan news agency.

Mr. Falahatpisheh and the others were traveling in a sport utility vehicle near Irans border with Iraq, apparently without security forces protecting them. As they were driving near the county of Dalahu, four men fired on their car. The governor, Faramarz Asghari, was hit several times and was reported to be in critical condition.

In recent weeks, Irans Kurdish regions have seen an upsurge in violence, with several clashes erupting between Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and Kurdish fighters belonging to the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan and Pejak, an offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers Party, better known as P.K.K. According to official reports and statements by the groups, dozens of people have been killed on each side, although none of those claims could be verified.
Whether it was about honoring a survivor or tuning up for hunting season, the 2016 Shoot for the Cure inspired hundreds of archers to take aim for a good cause near Townsend on Saturday.

The first day of the annual two-day charity shoot sent archers prowling the Huth Ranch in search of challenging shots at 3-D targets. Now in its eighth year, proceeds from Shoot for the Cure are donated to the Susan G. Komen Foundation for breast cancer research.

We get a lot of donations so our sponsors have been really good to us, said organizer Al Bodle. Its just amazing to see where this thing has gone.

Area residents Ann and Dave White were inspired to launch a Montana Shoot for the Cure after learning about the Pink Arrow Project, an effort to put a single pink arrow in archers quivers to raise awareness about breast cancer. Bodle, his wife Mary Huth and the Whites co-founded the nonprofit and in 2009 the Huth Ranch hosted 150 archers at the first shoot. This year Bodle expects close to 400 shooters.

Theres no award for first place  everyone is here for the cause, he said.

Shoot for the Cure Montana has donated more than $62,000 since its founding, with a goal of $11,000 this year. Along with the entry fee, raffles and silent auctions put money towards the donation.

While the event takes a lot of time and the efforts of about 30 volunteers, Bodle says organizers are always thinking ahead, looking for sponsors for targets or donated auction items.

Getting ready for next year will probably start on Monday, he said.

Campers and tents lined a field off Gurnett Creek Saturday with many families planning to stay through the evening barbecue and shoot again Sunday. Archers lined up for a 100-yard shot at a 3-D elk target while families and friends hiked the four, 20-target loops.

Shoot for the Cure has a different flavor than many 3-D shoots. Competitiveness is limited to friendly challenges between archers, and range finders are allowed and distances are only a suggestion. The goal is to foster a more casual atmosphere than other more intense archery events, Bodle said.

Its a family-friendly event and we dont want anyone to feel intimidated, he said.

Pink was a popular color among the archers, but John Geier of Helena took it a step beyond with a fluorescent tutu and matching angle wings. The ensemble was the loss of a bet at last years shoot, he claimed.

This is actually the G-rated version, he joked to several fellow archers.

Shoot for the Cure has become an annual outing and a good experience both for archery and atmosphere, Geier added.

Many parents and sons and daughters saw the shoot as both quality archery practice, but the loss of a loved one to cancer or the life saved by successful treatment remained foremost in many minds.

Patrick Bishop of Bozeman shot the course with his three sons, John, Benjamin and Joshua. Bishops mother is a breast cancer survivor and in remission for six years, he said, plus the shoot is a way to teach his kids the importance of hunting ethically.

This is the best way to train for hunting season, he said. If (his sons) want to put an animals life on the line, they need to show me they can put an arrow where it needs to be.

Shoot for the Cure continues throughout the day Sunday at the Huth Ranch, 589 Gurnett Creek, and is open to the public. More information is available at http://www.shootforthecuremontana.com/ or by calling 266-3659.
New home ownership recently took place in Forest Park Estates in Clancy. Normally, our community is welcome to new residents. However, this home was purchased by Benchmark for patients at the Montana Developmental Center. When one reads the homepage for the MDC, she will discover that it states The purpose of the Montana Developmental Center is to provide treatment to people with serious intellectual disabilities who have been determined by a court to pose an imminent risk of serious harm to self or others.

I and many others in my community find this disconcerting. How can this take place? We are not familiar with this new group home, which violates our Forest Park covenants (but is overruled by ADA). Our community feels threatened by this lack of knowledge and understanding. If a judge has decreed that these patients must be placed in an environment providing mental treatment, why would we as a community not feel that our safety is threatened  not to mention that this group home is barely 200 yards from our school bus stop and is also surrounded by homes with young children. This home is a residential home, not a secured home for mental patients.

As a community, we can and do assume the worst for our kids sakes. And since its possible some of these patients were sexually abused and/or assaulted, it is plausible that they could also commit this heinous crime themselves.

Several other homes were already purchased by this company in the Helena area. One is near Eastgate Elementary School.

If you live near these group homes, which could possibly be housing MDC patients, you may have a complaint regarding neighborhood safety.

I urge Mary Caferro and Gov. Bullock, to explain their purpose for this. Is this what you intended when you wrote and signed SB411 to mainstream these individuals? How would you feel if your children, grandchildren and other loved ones lived right next door? MDC patients rights are protected, so you would know nothing about them  only the statistics that are listed on their website.

Lisa Wright

Clancy
Something incredible is playing out in the Anaheim resort district, the flagship of Orange Countys tourism industry.

More than $2 billion is being invested to bring the magic of Star Wars to Disneyland, expand the Anaheim Convention Center, enhance hotel choices and improve parking and traffic for visitors and residents alike.

The changes are the most significant since the late-1990s expansion that turned the Anaheim resort district into a world-class destination.

Anaheims City Council on Tuesday can seize the chance to build on the resorts transformation by clearing the way for modern luxury hotels as part of the city program adopted in 2015 to encourage four-diamond-quality lodging in Anaheim.

Luxury hotels are critical to Anaheims continued success.

The forthcoming Star Wars-themed lands and convention center expansion will bring millions of new visitors to the city. Part of providing a magical experience in our destination is also providing a variety of accommodation choices that meet a visitors specific needs. Adding additional luxury hotels is the best way to ensure those visitors also stay in Anaheim and uphold the important role hotels play in supporting services for residents.

By keeping more visitors in Anaheim, the city increases revenue to support police, firefighters, community programs and paying down debt.

Presently, Anaheim is the only major visitor market with so few luxury hotels. The city, which sees nearly 25 million annual visitors, is home to just two AAA four-diamond hotels.

Comparatively, the Orlando area, home to Walt Disney World, has more than 30 four-diamond hotels. San Francisco has 20, while Los Angeles, San Diego and Las Vegas have 13 each. Phoenix, with no coastline or famous theme park, has seven.

You can chalk up Anaheims lack of luxury hotels to a historical anomaly.

While hard to imagine today, many questioned whether Disneyland would work when it opened in 1955.

Walt Disney was doing something no one else had done  creating a clean, appealing theme park where families would want to go.

But as an untested idea in the farm fields of Anaheim, hotel developers werent rushing to build alongside the new theme park.

Disneyland soon proved a hit, albeit a seasonal one. During summers, the park was packed. Other times, not so much.

So motels where family operators could live onsite and cater to summer visitors while waiting out the slower months sprouted up along Harbor Boulevard.

As Anaheims hotel market evolved, the 1980s saw the addition of convention hotels including the Hilton Anaheim and the Anaheim Marriott. Today, limited-service hotels for families are replacing many of the outdated motels of yesterday.

Whats missing? Luxury hotels.

Anaheim is proud to have two four-diamond Disney hotels, but they sell out months in advance. If youre here to visit the Disneyland Resort, attend a convention or catch an Angels or Ducks game, odds are youll have to go to another city to find upscale accommodations.

While Anaheim has evolved from a seasonal visitor town to a year-round attraction, our hotel market is still playing catch-up.

Recognizing how Anaheim has changed, the City Council last year adopted a comprehensive program to encourage the development of luxury hotels.

As a city that relies on a thriving visitor industry to provide vital resident services, Anaheim cannot afford to see its hotel market lag as game-changing expansions play out at Disneyland and the Anaheim Convention Center.

Anaheim will never realize its potential without a full spectrum of hotel choices. On Tuesday, the City Council can make an investment that will pay off for decades to come  not only for visitors but for the residents whose lives they impact.

Jay Burress is president and chief executive officer of Visit Anaheim.
ARCALIS, Andorra  Defending champion Chris Froome held on to the yellow jersey and eliminated several of his main rivals in the toughest stage in the Pyrenees of the Tour de France on Sunday.

Dutch rider Tom Dumoulin won the ninth leg with a solo breakaway in a hailstorm on the uphill finish, a beyond-category climb.

That was a tough stage and the weather made it even tougher, Froome said. One minute we were pouring water over our heads and ice packs down our backs and the next minute there was ice falling from the sky.

We were just trying to ride face down so the hail didnt hit our faces, added Froome, who took the yellow jersey with a downhill attack and stage win a day earlier. It was pretty difficult out there.

Part of an early breakaway, Dumoulin attacked with 12 kilometers remaining in the 115-mile leg from Vielha dAran, Spain, to Arcalis in the principality of Andorra.

A few days ago if you said I would win maybe the hardest day in the whole Tour de France this year, I would say you were crazy, said Dumoulin, who was sick last week. But sometimes it all comes together and the legs were feeling good today.

Im a time trialist so if I have a gap its difficult to close it on me, Dumoulin added.

Two-time champion Alberto Contador pulled out with a fever midway through the stage.

Among those who couldnt keep up with Froome on the final climb were French favorite Romain Bardet, top American hope Tejay van Garderen and Fabio Aru of Italy.

Froome crossed 11th, 6:35 behind Dumoulin, right behind fellow British rider Adam Yates and immediately ahead of top rival Nairo Quintana of Colombia.

In the back of my mind I was waiting for (Quintanas) attack all the way up the last climb, Froome said. I thought he was saving it for one big one. But that never came. I would like to think he was on his limit. It was a tough day out there. He just stuck to my wheel like glue.

He seems to be going well but right now hes not showing anymore than anyone else, Froome added.

In the overall, Froome holds a 16-second lead over Yates, with Dan Martin of Ireland third, 19 seconds behind, and Quintana fourth, 23 seconds back.

Its a very open race at this point but Im very happy to have the lead going into the first rest day, Froome said.

Bardet is sixth, 44 seconds behind, Van Garderen is 11th with a gap of 1:01 and Aru is 13th at 1:23.

We went through all states, Bardet said. In the valley, the heat was suffocating. Then in the finale it was apocalyptic.

The stage featured five demanding climbs, including an uphill, beyond-category finish in Arcalis.

On Team Giant-Alpecin, Dumoulin won the opening time trial in this years Giro dItalia and wore the overall leaders pink jersey for six stages before withdrawing midway through the race with saddle sores.

He also won two stages in last years Spanish Vuelta.

Approaching the finish line Sunday, Dumoulin turned around to make eye contact with his team director in a car behind him and then, on the verge of tears, stuck his tongue out and raised his arms in celebration.

Rui Costa, the former world champion from Portugal, crossed second and Rafal Majka of Poland was third, each 38 seconds behind.

Contador crashed in each of the opening stages  damaging his right shoulder, elbow and hip  and had already dropped significant time to the other overall favorites. He was in 20th position at the end of Saturdays eighth stage, 3 minutes, 12 seconds behind Froome.

Slightly more than 60 miles from the end of Sundays stage, the 33-year-old Spaniard stopped at the side of the road, hopped off his bike and got into the passenger seat of his team car.

I could not keep going, Contador later said at his team hotel. This morning I had a fever. And I did not feel good since I crashed on the first day.

During Sundays stage, Contador dropped back to his team car four times before finally withdrawing. He had started the stage in a bright fashion, though, attacking alongside fellow Spaniard Alejandro Valverde to catch a group of early breakaway riders on the first climb.

But Contador could not continue his effort and was quickly brought back by the pack before he pulled out in the Port del Canto climb. He then handed his bike to a mechanic and waved to TV cameras as he exited the race that made him famous.

It was quite a surprise to hear on the radio that he was in the car, Froome said. Its a shame. Hes a great rider and he would have only added to what is already quite an exciting race.

The withdrawal occurred on Contadors home roads near the town of Vilamur in Spain.

Its bad news for me, said Tinkoff team owner Oleg Tinkov, who is planning to leave the sport. It was my last try to win the Tour de France. But who knows, maybe Ill come back in a few years.

Contador, who won cyclings showpiece race in 2007 and 2009, had made the Tour de France his main goal of the season, skipping the Giro to focus on the Tour.

If he recovers, Contador is still expected to compete in the road race at the Rio Olympics last month.

I will undergo tests to find out what is going wrong, Contador said.

Contador was stripped of the 2010 Tour title and suspended for two years after testing positive for the banned steroid clenbuterol in the final week of the race.

For the second consecutive day, there was an incident involving a spectator. George Bennett of New Zealand knocked down a fan blocking his way while coming around a tight turn.

Monday is the races first rest day. Then there is one more stage in the Pyrenees on Tuesday, a 122-mile leg from Escaldes-Engordany, Andorra, to Revel, France.

The three-week race ends in Paris on July 24.
Millions of Californians are newly eligible for a health care benefit that could determine the treatment they receive in their final days  and most dont know it.

Medi-Cal, which covers more than 13 million Californians, and Medicare, with more than 5 million California enrollees, now pay for advance care planning discussions with doctors.

Advance care planning isnt about long-term care options, such as nursing homes or assisted living.

Its about your wishes for your care if you are not able to speak for yourself, says Helen McNeal, executive director of the California State University Institute for Palliative Care.

If youre incapacitated, if you need someone to speak for you, who do you want to speak for you? And what would be your medical wishes? she says.

If, for instance, you have a stroke that leaves you unconscious and unable to communicate, with little hope for improvement, would you want to be kept alive with a feeding tube and or ventilator?

These decisions may have consequences for the quality of life you have for the rest of your life. They may also have consequences for whether you live or die, McNeal says.

In other words, theyre important. But many doctors and patients dont yet realize that talking about these decisions  and possibly putting them into writing  is a covered benefit.

Starting in October, Medi-Cal  the states version of the federal Medicaid program for low-income residents  began covering advance care planning discussions between doctors (or other qualified providers) and patients (or a family member), says Tony Cava, spokesman for the state Department of Health Care Services, which administers Medi-Cal.

Any Medi-Cal recipient can use the coverage regardless of age, he says. Doctors can bill for the conversation twice a year per patient  plus an additional 30 minutes for one of the conversations  before they have to seek authorization for more coverage.

Medicare, the federal health insurance program for people 65 and older, and for people younger than 65 who have certain disabilities, started covering the discussions Jan. 1. Medicare does not limit the number of discussions per patient each year.

Some private insurance plans cover these discussions and some dont, McNeal says. Check with your plan.

Both Medicare and Medi-Cal will cover the conversations even if patients dont end up completing an advance care directive as a result. Thats a document that formalizes your wishes, which should be shared with your family and doctor.

McNeal believes that anyone over 18 should have this discussion and complete an advance directive.

But dont expect your doctor to initiate the conversation.

Many physicians may not be very comfortable having this conversation, says Dr. Richard Thorp, president of the Paradise Medical Group near Chico, and past president of the California Medical Association, which represents the states doctors.

A poll of more than 700 doctors, released in April, found that nearly half of them feel unsure some or much of the time about what to say when discussing end-of-life care with patients. (The poll was commissioned in part by the California Health Care Foundation. California Healthline, produced by Kaiser Health News, is an editorially independent publication of the California Health Care Foundation).

Thorps patients are mostly older, so he incorporates advance care planning into their annual Medicare Wellness exams. Medicare reimburses him about $86 for the initial 30-minute discussion, and about $75 for each additional 30 minutes, he says.

Theres an art to having the discussion, he says. Theres an art to recognizing when people are uncomfortable.

McNeals institute, in partnership with the Coalition for Compassionate Care of California, offers online training for doctors about advance care planning. One course specifically focuses on how to have an effective conversation with patients.

Because many doctors dont know about this benefit  or may feel uncomfortable broaching the topic  most people should start by having a conversation with family and loved ones, suggests Mark Beach, an AARP spokesman based in Sacramento.

Its difficult to discuss, but when youve done it, its a comfort, Beach says. Not only will your wishes be followed, but your loved ones will know what to do.

A variety of forms and templates are available. Thorp sometimes uses whats called a POLST form, which is a medical order that must be completed and signed by a health care professional. It is typically for seriously ill or frail patients, McNeal says, whereas an advance care directive is a legal document for people of any age or condition.

McNeal recommends the Five Wishes form, which can be personalized and is available online for $5 at AgingWithDignity.org. Other options for advance directives can be found at CaringInfo.org or at this AARP site: bit.ly/28TtVVy. (A lawyer can help you prepare an advance directive, but you usually dont need an attorney to get it done.)

After you have filled out your advance care directive, discuss it with your doctor, McNeal says. Dont forget to give your doctor a copy.

The role of the physician is really to provide information, not to persuade one way or the other, Beach says.

Thorp explains to his patients what it means to be intubated, fed artificially and kept on life support.

Most are open to the discussion, he says, and their responses are mixed. Some older or sicker patients tell him they dont want any extraordinary measures if theyre incapacitated. Others, who are younger and healthier, say they would probably want medical intervention if they might have a chance to thrive afterward.

Most people dont want to be kept on life support indefinitely. They really dont want that, Thorp says. They want to live a productive life.

Send questions for Emily to AskEmily@kff.org. This story was produced by Kaiser Health News, which publishes California Healthline, a service of the California HealthCare Foundation.
During the first four months of 2016, Costa Mesa police arrested more people for prostitution than they had in the five previous years combined. The city police department is being very proactive in regard to prostitution enforcement, Captain Bryan Glass told the Los Angeles Times last month. But why the sudden focus and intensity?

According to statements made by Glass and other Costa Mesa officials, there may be several reasons. None of them are good from a public policy standpoint  at least not if you believe the first job of police should be protecting public safety rather than scoring public relations points or helping the city increase tax revenue.

Glass said the major spike in prostitution arrests  from just one in 2015 to 69 in the first quarter of 2016 alone  stems from a decision to refocus the departments special investigations unit away from focusing mainly on gangs, drugs and career criminals and toward those involved in the commercial sex trade. The special squad, composed of around 10 officers, had historically taken on a broad array of complex investigations. But a series of prostitution stings earlier this year changed that.

The stings, which involved undercover officers posing as prostitution clients in order to bust those selling sex, yielded 32 sex-worker arrests in two weeks. Costa Mesa is not a safe haven for prostitutes, the city boasted in a statement. Glass told the Times these busts proved far less labor- and resource-intensive than the departments usual fare yet they made the squads enforcement efforts instantly visible. The Orange County District Attorneys Office even commended them for their work.

While the shift may be fine for making the investigative team look and feel more useful, diverting attention from serious crime to stopping prostitution seems ill-suited to making Costa Mesa a safer or more pleasant place to live.

But police may have an additional motive for the new focus. Most of the arrests took place at one of two Costa Mesa motels. Theyre among a cluster of affordable motels that city authorities would like to see go. The motels attract all sorts of vice crime, say city leaders  drug use, prostitution  and policing them is a drain on public-safety resources.

Rather than reconsider their investment in stopping adults from deciding whom they have sex with or what they put in their bodies, officials envision driving the cheap motels out of business to make room for high-end hotels housing units. As the Register reported last October, the scheme could make the land much more valuable to the city. Areas nearby many of the motels have been gentrifying, and apartment or condo buildings erected in their place likely wouldnt be priced cheap.

Some Costa Mesa city officials want to go ever further. Councilwoman Katrina Foley said she would like a row of boutique hotels to spring up in the area. The increase in prostitution arrests are just one part of the citys push to rid Costa Mesa of the old motels  which also functioned as affordable housing for longer-term residents  in order make way for more lucrative and politically favored businesses.

In 2014, the City Council banned motel stays of longer than 30 days and voted to fine motel owners for excessive nuisance complaints on their properties. Last April, the city filed a public nuisance complaint aimed at shuttering the New Harbor Inn.

The only reason sex workers and drug users warrant so much policing is because we have unnecessarily criminalized these people. Based on this whim, Costa Mesa police have spent countless hours trying to shut down motels where drug use and prostitution take place. After hitting these motels  many of whose owners are just squeaking by as is  with whatever code-violation and nuisance fines they could, authorities complained that hotel owners werent making more cosmetic improvements or refusing unsavory clientele.

Now, city leaders and police are colluding to take out these motels and the affordable privacy they provide. Small-businesses owners, low-income travelers and sex workers simply arent as profitable to the government as wealthier transplants, tourists and boutique hotels, so Costa Mesa police are on the case.

Elizabeth Nolan Brown, associate editor at Reason.com.
We need to stop giving away our taxpayers dollars to wealthy developers. The policy of handing out hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to subsidize luxury hotel development must end. The people of Anaheim need that money to provide essential city services. The developers simply dont.

On Tuesday, Anaheims city council will consider extending a bizarre giveaway program to the influential and powerful. We wont address funding public safety, providing transportation for seniors, creating transitional housing for working mothers, or creating after school programs for at-risk youth. Instead, well discuss why our city should give over $550 million, ($27.5 million per year for 20 years) to two hotel developers to do what they would do otherwise  build luxury hotels. One of the developers happens to be Disney.

To give perspective, our citys annual general fund budget is about $300 million, of which the city already spends over $90 million annually in the resort district to support Disney and the other resort businesses. Whats left goes to support vital city services for our residents. Taking out another $27.5 million annually will have devastating effect on our ability to deliver vital city services to the people who live in the city.

Proponents of the luxury hotel program want Anaheims residents to believe their policy of giving away general fund money works. They claim that our citys general fund is better off keeping only 10 percent of the tax from a four diamond hotel than it would be by receiving the taxes from a three diamond equivalent. Then somehow, through the magic of luxury hotels, by gifting hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to corporations that dont need it, benefits will trickle down to residents, who ultimately will pay less in taxes.

This is a fantasy. This is dishonest. We need a policy that reflects our shared reality. We need to stop gifting tax dollars to luxury hotel developers.

Over the years, our economy has grown because good people with great imaginations have worked hard and staked their familys future on a dream. We should learn from the lessons of people like Walt Disney and build our businesses on the strength of our ideas and the quality of work and not through the charity of government.

What I simply refuse to support is a system that encourages luxury hotel developers to negotiate a refund of the taxes that the people of our city voted for. This is exactly what Anaheim has done. Its not right, and its not fair. We shouldnt tell the owner of a Motel 6 or the owner of the Candy Cane Inn that her business is any less valuable or worthy of a place in Anaheim than one built by Disney. If you operate a hotel in Anaheim, you collect a tax paid by the guest. The city should keep that for all hotels. It shouldnt matter if your hotel is large or small, luxurious or basic. We should not tell our businesses that they are winners or losers; we should simply tell them they are welcome here. Doing anything else is the opposite of the free market and common sense.

I want all businesses in Anaheim to grow. I want to see our city be a good partner by setting fair and equitable conditions that allow everyones business  from a hot dog cart to a hotel  to compete and prosper. I believe a fair and free market works. In the last two years, hundreds of new hotel rooms have opened in Anaheim, all of them without taxpayer subsidies.

Our city has a tremendous obligation to its residents and that should be the focus of our city council. Instead of wasting $550 million on a fantasy, lets debate how we can improve reality for all of Anaheim  not just a small, luxurious part of it. That should be the councils business  not just next Tuesday, but every day.

Tom Tait is the mayor of Anaheim.
After numerous one-sided investigations costing thousands and thousands of taxpayer dollars, all conveniently summarized in a mere 800 pages by the related House committee, were back to the same basic facts. Yes, Secretary Clinton used her private email for official, non-classified government business  just as all four secretaries of state did before her (and nobody called them out on it). FBI Director James Comeys evaluation of the situation is valid. Knowing what we know today about email and the internet, it was not a wise choice, but was considered fine at the time. Apparently what is needed is an official, up-to-date, printed, non-party-slanted rule bank regarding email and texting used today by government officials  a well-thought-out policy coming from top computer experts, not from power-hungry politicians.

Thank you, Mrs. Clinton, for your many years of selfless service to the people of Arkansas, and then to the entire nation. Despite these despicable, desperate attempts to smear your character and reputation, your integrity comes shining through. Cant wait for your inauguration!

Bonnie Compton Hanson

Santa Ana

  

I agree with Comeys conclusion that Hillary should not be indicted and prosecuted. During my career in the defense industry for more than 30 years, I had the privilege of working on several top secret programs requiring a TS Special Access clearance. Not once was anyone I worked with prosecuted for mishandling classified material, even though it certainly did occur. Even though by law it is not necessary to show intent when it is concluded that the rules were broken, prosecution was reserved for spies and traitors. However, on several occasions, when the rules were broken because of negligence and carelessness, the violator had his clearance revoked. So to be consistent with the rest of the community, Comey should recommend that Hillary not be indicted, but simply have her clearance revoked. Problem solved.

Robin Purciel

Anaheim

  

Re: Should the Hillary Clinton email controversy be over? [Opinion, July 6]: Its not a question of whether Mrs. Clintons opponents will continue to hammer her on this issue. Its now a matter of how to make them stop.

Sadly, this world leader, whos had success both as a United States Senator and as our nations top diplomat, has been found guilty in the court of James Comey of carelessness.

But there is something even more careless than Mrs. Clintons email indiscretions: a vote for Donald Trump.

Ben Miles

Huntington Beach

  

I totally agree with the FBIs assertion that Clintons use of a private email server does not meet the requirements to be prosecuted with criminal charges. This determination has no effect whatsoever on my thinking about her presidential qualifications. Her opponents need to turn their full attention to their candidate and build a viable platform for their party. Stop the trashing. Bring us some vote-worthy ideas.

Joyce Vlaic

Seal Beach

  

Although it is disappointing that she was careless in how she handled classified information, there was no evidence that the information was sent to people unauthorized to receive it. Trump was wrong when he tweeted that what Gen. Petraeus did was less than what Clinton did. What Petraeus did was worse. He gave classified information to people unauthorized to receive that information. Considering how much Trump has lied when he speaks at rallies, it seems that many of us in the middle have to consider whether to vote for a person who was careless with some classified information or for a person who cares more for what profit he can make on the backs of the poor, undocumented and other immigrants. Given the dismal choices, it seems that Clinton is still a better choice than lying Trump.

Bob Machado

San Clemente
We may never know whether Hillary Clintons several private email servers and numerous mobile devices were hacked by hostile actors, but we certainly do know that her actions imperiled the publics right to know. Despite her claim to the contrary, her communication choice was never a matter of simple convenience. It was about asserting control at the expense of transparency and possibly national security. The former has been made clear through results obtained in litigation initiated by Judicial Watch, the self-described conservative, nonpartisan educational foundation, the latter by the FBI investigation.

This was about keeping stuff secret from the American people, Tom Fitton, Judicial Watchs president, told me in February. That Fittons group has a history of antagonism toward the Clintons does not diminish what its efforts generated.

Undeniable is that, by her actions, Clinton supplanted the role of Freedom of Information Act officers within the State Department whose job it is to satisfy the publics access. Her use of private email servers, unlike using a private email address, enabled the deletion of messages to avoid FOIA requests. Her representatives never should have been the sole arbiters of which of the 60,000 emails that passed through her servers would enter the public domain. More than half were destroyed without any chance for second-guessing. FBI Director James Comey made it clear the review by her functionaries was cursory.

The lawyers doing the sorting for Secretary Clinton in 2014 did not individually read the content of all of her emails, as we did for those available to us, Comey said. Instead, they relied on header information and used search terms to try to find all work-related e-mails.  It is highly likely their search terms missed some work-related emails, and that we later found them, for example, in the mailboxes of other officials or in the slack space of a server.

Something else does not pass the smell test: The determination that all those emails were either entirely public or private defies common sense. Think about your own workplace  how often do emails combine work and play?

Compounding the situation was the equally disquieting sworn testimony of Patrick Kennedy, the State Departments undersecretary for management, who on June 29 answered deposition questions for Judicial Watch attorney Michael Bekesha for two and one-half hours at the Justice Department. Bekesha asked Kennedy how, during his receipt of 50 to 75 emails from Clinton via her private servers between 2009 and 2013, he did not recognize that they were coming from @Clinton.email and not @State.gov.

Said Kennedy: I did not focus on the from line, adding that he often just hit Reply all.  It did not register as  it did not strike any bells in my mind, no.

Really? The nation is evenly divided as to whether the Clintons are unscrupulous grifters or lifelong public servants who are the targets of a vast right-wing conspiracy. What seems obvious is that, to shield her conduct from those in the former category, Hillary Clinton went too far. In the process, she created a black hole into which information that might have been the publics business was lost to history.

Comey said no reasonable prosecutor would bring a case against Clinton despite her having been extremely careless, as evidenced by her sending 110 emails which contained classified information, even if not so marked, at the time they were sent. But what is gross negligence if not extreme carelessness? Clearly, Comey could have met the requisite probable cause to warrant an indictment. But he sounded dubious of meeting his criminal burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

Our investigation looked at whether there is evidence classified information was improperly stored or transmitted on that personal system, in violation of a federal statute making it a felony to mishandle classified information either intentionally or in a grossly negligent way, or a second statute making it a misdemeanor to knowingly remove classified information from appropriate systems or storage facilities, Comey said.

Dan Abrams, ABCs legal analyst, supplied one of the more sober analyses of the laws to which Comey referred. Abrams opines that, under the misdemeanor statute, the requirement of knowingly removing such documents cannot be met, and that even if the gross negligence requirement can be satisfied under the applicable felony statute (Espionage Act), the Supreme Court has interpreted that law as requiring both intent that the information be used to cause injury to the United States and bad faith.

But Comey was unwilling to let a jury make that determination. Instead, he said similar cases that were prosecuted involved some combination of: clearly intentional and willful mishandling of classified information; or vast quantities of materials exposed in such a way as to support an inference of intentional misconduct; or indications of disloyalty to the United States; or efforts to obstruct justice.

So Comey left the nation with flawed choices.

Michael Smerconish can be heard from 9 a.m. to noon on SiriusXMs POTUS Channel 124 and seen hosting Smerconish at 9 a.m. Saturdays on CNN.
LOS ANGELES  The Dodgers have long been clear about their desire to limit the number of innings that Julio Urias, their highly regarded 19-year-old prospect, pitches this season.

The next measure to ensure that happens is by trying Urias out of the bullpen in the minor leagues.

Urias, who was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City earlier this week, will make appearances there in relief, as well as a handful of starts, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Saturday.

We definitely want him to reset and kind of control his innings, Roberts said.

In eight starts with the Dodgers, Urias went 1-4 with a 4.95 ERA. Splitting time in the majors and minors, the left-hander has tossed 771/3 innings this season, putting him on track to throw a career-high number of innings. He threw 872/3 innings in 2014 at Class-A Rancho Cucamonga. Last season, he saw 801/3 innings across three levels.

The club has not publicly disclosed a cap on his innings. Its possible he might not throw much more than 100.

Beyond conserving his workload, Roberts said Urias work in relief would be constructive, offering him the chance to learn how to warm up quickly and to pitch on consecutive days.

I think it just only makes sense, Roberts said. Its something that he wants, and he feels comfortable. We as an organization knew (not) to put him in a situation where he hasnt done it, and youre sitting in a pen and getting loose and getting hot quicker.

Urias will not pitch on back-to-back days initially, but might do so in the future.

There is not a plan to shut him down, at least not immediately, nor will he follow the Ross Stripling path.

In an effort to curtail Striplings innings, the Dodgers sent the 26-year-old right-hander to Arizona for much of June, enabling him to primarily throw bullpen sessions and make one-inning appearances in relief in extended spring training games. But Stripling was coming off 2014 Tommy John surgery.

Asked if he could return to the Dodgers in a relief role, Roberts acknowledged the possibility.

At some point, it is an option, he said. Its also contingent on starting pitching. If we need a starting pitcher, that changes things as well.

And their hope is that they might add two more arms to the rotation, along with welcoming back Brandon McCarthy and Hyun-Jin Ryu over the last week.

Alex Wood, who has been out since late May because of an impingement in his left elbow, and Brett Anderson, who has not pitched this season because of bad surgery, might be back in August.

Wood recently threw a couple bullpen sessions, and Roberts said his progression was really close Andersons.

Before he was shelved in May, Wood made 10 starts, going 1-4 with a 3.99 ERA.

Roberts did not offer a specific timetable for when he might face live batters or start out on a minor-league rehabilitation assignment, but said, were pretty optimistic. Hes progressing pretty well.

Anderson, because he has not pitched in 2016, would see a more significant workload in the minors, as he looks to build up.

ALSO

The Dodgers have not yet determined how they will line up their rotation for after the All-Star Break.  Andrew Toles started his second straight game in center field over Trayce Thompson after he was called up on Friday. Toles had not advanced past Class-A before this season.

Contact the writer: jkaufman@ocregister.com
DECATUR  The extra nickel a gallon at Decatur gas pumps was a bitter pill for many to swallow.

But nickels add up. City officials have prepared a list of residential streets for repair this year, with even more slated for 2017 and 2018. The work is spread throughout the city, and it comes in addition to more heavily traveled routes that will be addressed with state motor fuel tax proceeds.

We made a real effort to spread it around so that no one particular area or group of people is going to receive all the attention, Public Works director Rick Marley said.

Between both state and local motor fuel tax dollars, the city will spend $3 million on street repairs this year, Marley said. In the next two years, that number will be closer to $4.5 million, near the amount that the city spent on road work in the years before the recession.

How we got here

The local motor fuel tax  5 cents a gallon on unleaded gasoline, 1 cent a gallon for diesel  began in April. Decatur City Council members approved it after years of strained, sporadic discussion about how to address the city's roads, which get more expensive to fix as they age.

The tax was expected to generate about $300,000 per penny. But the council is getting a jump on the work, giving City Manager Tim Gleason the authority to seek a loan with a local bank for $7.5 million. The loan would be repaid with the local motor fuel tax proceeds.

There is no question that Decatur's streets need attention. If anecdotal evidence wasn't enough, city workers also catalog the street conditions each year, said city engineer Matt Newell. They make a note of cracking, base failures and other deficiencies, then feed those into a computer program that essentially gives them a grade.

Ten years ago, the city's overall pavement condition was rated nearly 88, which would be a B. Last year, the number had fallen to 79.5, roughly a C.

In the years before the recession, the city combined money from its general fund with state motor fuel tax proceeds to spend about $4 million on pavement projects each year.

But in 2009, financial pressures led to the redirection of about $2 million in capital funding toward higher pension costs and other needs.

At the same time, state motor fuel tax revenue has declined. High gas prices made people cut down on driving; more fuel-efficient cars caused them to buy less gas.

Most painfully, people left Decatur. The population drop meant that it was entitled to less of the state motor fuel tax money.

We're getting a smaller slice of a smaller pie, Marley said.

The city estimates it will receive $1.8 million in state motor fuel tax this year. That number used to be closer to $2.5 million, according to Marley.

But the city didn't lose roads when it lost people. And the streets aren't getting any newer, or any less costly to fix.

Better roads ahead

When city staff members evaluate how to spend their road repair budget, they look at the age of the streets, the rate of decline and the number of people who will benefit.

With state motor fuel tax money, the city looks to get the most bang for its buck, and will often target roads that are used by a lot of people. This year, sections of Jasper Street, Mound Road and West Main Street make that list.

Local motor fuel tax money will be aimed at the worst streets in the city, Newell said. They are primarily low-volume residential streets that otherwise might have languished at the bottom of the pile.

These are ones that unless you target money for this particular group or class of streets, the needs on the larger traffic volume streets would command more money or command more attention than these, Marley said.

Longer sections targeted for repair are Edward Street from Grand Avenue to Garfield Avenue and Excelsior Street from North Fork Road to Illinois 105. Other streets that will receive attention include Baywood Drive, Cleveland Avenue, Benton Drive, Cerro Gordo Street, Leafland Avenue, Olive Street, Huron Street, Waggoner Street, Harrison Avenue, Oakcrest Court, Robinson Avenue and Allen Bend Pointe.

Marley said the target date to award the contract for local street repairs is Aug. 1. The projects are split into bids for asphalt and concrete work, which will also include redoing accessible curb ramps.

So, how quickly will the average resident notice the payoff from those nickels at the pump?

Unfortunately, the backlog of work means that it might take some time.

The folks who live on those streets, they will immediately see that, Marley said. But it will take quite a while until we build up enough volume where folks just driving around the city, going and visiting friends somewhere else, will start to see it.

It takes a long time to get caught up.
SACRAMENTO  A for-profit company that operates online charter schools in California has reached a $168.5 million settlement with the state over claims it manipulated attendance records and overstated the academic progress of students.

The deal announced Friday by Attorney General Kamala Harris also requires Virginia-based K12 Inc. to take a slew of corrective actions, the East Bay Times reported Saturday.

The settlement comes almost three months after the Bay Area News Group published an investigation of K12 Inc., which received more than $310 million in state funding for its profitable but low-performing network of California Virtual Academies, or CAVA, which serve about 15,000 students.

Harris office found that K12 and its 14 virtual schools in California used deceptive advertising to mislead families about students academic progress, parents satisfaction with the program and their graduates eligibility for admission at the University of California and California State University.

The Attorney Generals office also found that K12 collected more state funding than it was entitled to by submitting inflated student attendance data.

K12 and its schools misled parents and the State of California by claiming taxpayer dollars for questionable student attendance, misstating student success and parent satisfaction and loading nonprofit charities with debt, Harris said in a statement.

Under the settlement, K12 will pay $8.5 million to settle the states claims. It also agreed to expunge about $160 million in credits it has issued to the California Virtual Academies since 2005 that have helped the schools cover the cost of the contracts they hold with the company.

K12 said in a statement it had admitted no wrongdoing and insisted it had already planned to take up several of the corrective actions required under the agreement.

Despite our full cooperation throughout the process, the Office of the Attorney General grossly mischaracterized the value of the settlement just as it did with regard to the issues it investigated, K12 Chief Executive Officer Stuart Udell said in the statement.

Udell said that the credits should be called subsidies, not debts, and that the companys commitment to expunge them shouldnt be used by Harris to hike the size of the settlement. He also defended the credits, saying they had protected the schools against financial uncertainties.
WARSAW, Poland  NATO allies agreed Saturday to provide increased military support to countries in the Middle East and North Africa that are targets of Islamic extremism, including using NATO surveillance planes in the fight against Islamic State.

Alliance leaders also agreed to launch a new naval mission in the Mediterranean, and they made commitments to maintain a stable military presence in Afghanistan and to fund Afghan security forces through 2020.

Were moving forward with the most significant reinforcement of our collective defense any time since the Cold War, President Barack Obama said at a news conference at the end of a crucial NATO summit in Warsaw.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance will start a training and capacity-building mission for Iraqi armed forces in Iraq, a country he called central in the fight against Islamic State. NATO also is working to establish an intelligence center in Tunisia, a major recruiting ground for the militant group, and will shortly start providing support to Tunisian special operations forces.

Today we have taken decisions to strengthen our partners and to project stability beyond our borders, Stoltenberg told reporters. He said that millions of people in Africa and the Middle East have been rendered homeless and helpless by radical organizations such as Islamic State and that the extremist groups also are to blame for organizing terrorist attacks in Europe and America.

Obama, who was attending his last NATO summit, called it a pivotal moment for our alliance.

In nearly 70 years of NATO we have perhaps never faced such a range of challenges all at once  security, humanitarian, political, he said. But he concluded that with the multifaceted efforts being made, NATO is as strong, as nimble and as ready as ever.

Stoltenberg said Obama and leaders of the 27 other NATO countries also agreed in principle for alliance surveillance aircraft to provide direct support to the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. NATO diplomats say they expect flights by alliance AWACS planes to begin this fall, and Stoltenberg labeled the move a clear signal of our resolve to help tackle terrorism.

He said the alliance will launch a new maritime operation in the Mediterranean called Operation Sea Guardian, whose responsibilities will include counterterrorism. NATO also will cooperate with the European Unions efforts to shut down human smuggling operations that have fueled Europes greatest migrant crisis since World War II.

The alliance also will increase cooperation with Jordan and is preparing to help the new government in Libya create policies and institutions to help it better defend itself against extremist organizations, Stoltenberg said.

We will provide greater support to our partners, so they can secure their countries and push back against violent extremism, he said.
IRVINE  Sue Parr always answers the same way.

Hotline, she says.

Then she listens. She hears desperation, fear, rage, sadness and bewilderment. And in 10 years, the proper British-raised woman has kept her calm. Speaking softly but with authority, she goes through a checklist of questions to determine if the caller is in a domestic violence situation.

It was about two years ago that a call from a 30-something mother at a homeless shelter rattled her calm. The woman said she was still with her abuser and that she had two young children with her. She begged Parr for a place to stay. But Parr wasnt the decision-maker. It was her job to take down information and send it to a case worker at the shelter to determine if the person qualifies for Human Options assistance.

Parr ran through her questions  always first asking if the person is in a safe place. If not, she immediately encourages women to call 911. As part of Parrs interview with the woman, she asked for her childrens birth dates. The woman on the other end of the phone quickly rattled them off.

I realized it was her sons birthday and she didnt know it, Parr said, her eyes tearing up a bit. I will never forget that. Heres a child that has to live with this horrible situation and his mother doesnt even realize its his 10th birthday. It just got me.

Parr, 65, hasnt forgotten the call. She still wonders about the boy.

Its not just that boy, Parr says. Its an example of what happens again and again. Its not just physical abuse. Verbal abuse can be just as damaging. If a woman believes shes not worth something, thats how she is isolated. And then its pretty easy to destroy self worth. If a child hears this, their damaged by the words. I feel upset when they say, Oh, they didnt hit me. I feel worse because a child has no say in the matter.

Parr started volunteering at Human Options in Irvine when her youngest son, James, graduated from Woodbridge High School.

Human Options was founded in Laguna Beach in 1979 by Vivian Clecak, Carolyn Churm and Margaret Thoreau. In 1981, a fourth woman, Anne Wright, joined them. The group, which saw a growing need to help women caught in domestic abuse, began with a hotline.

In October 1982, the women raised funds with foundation grants and individual donations, and opened the first battered womens shelter in South Orange County. Over the years, Human Options has grown from a small grass-roots agency to a multi-service, countywide program working to break to break cycle of domestic violence by ensuring safety and aiding in recovery.

When Parr learned about the organization, she was instantly attracted to its cause. She started at the consignment store. Then she moved to baby-sitting children in the shelter. At least two-thirds of the shelter cases involve children, she says.

For more than eight years, she has volunteered weekly for the hotline. She has been the voice of calm compassion to nearly 2,000 women in a desperate time of need. She works a four-hour shift each week, handling about five calls that often last 30 minutes each.

For five years, Parr has also logged nearly 500 volunteer hours to bring an art therapy program to the homeless and others served by nonprofits that included Human Options Minnie Street facility, Illumination Foundation, Wounded Warriors at Camp Pendleton, Project Hope Alliance, Orange County Rescue Mission and Kinship Shelter.

Helping others

Helping others is in Parrs DNA.

I was born this way, she says. My family was always caring. My dad was always trying to solve the problems of the world through science.

Parr was born in London. Rationing after World War II was still in place and Parrs parents lived with her grandparents. Her grandmother was descended from sea captains who worked the North Seas  they were always rescuing people, Parr recalls.

Her parents modeled caring for others. Her father, a physiologist and biochemist, was an eye researcher. He went to Liberia to aid those with river blindness, she says. Parr and her family moved to Boston when she was 5 years old, after her father had been offered an associate professor position at Harvard.

There, her mother volunteered at Johns Hopkins University. It wasnt long before Parr, the oldest of four daughters, started helping others. First, it was at home: She had three younger sisters and she regularly helped her mother take care of them.

As a teen, she worked with special needs children at the local YMCA. But her family moved around a lot. By the time she graduated from high school, Parr remembers moving at least seven times. That made it difficult to make lasting friendships, she says. So the empathy she would have had with close friends was funneled back into her family  helping any way she could.

In college, she came to realize the impact she could make with just a few words. She recalls meeting with a college roommate five years after graduating with an anthropology degree from Duke University.

I asked her, Oh, did you ever marry Tom?  Parr recalls. She told me, No, you said I didnt seem myself with him. I thought it was amazing how much influence a few words could have.

Parrs impact

Loren Sedano, residential case manager, has worked side-by-side with Parr on the emergency hotline.

Sedano says one of the most important attributes a hotline volunteer must have is a sense of calm and the ability to make the woman on the other end of the phone feel like she is being listened to and believed.

It can be really difficult listening to phone calls where clients are disclosing physical or sexual abuse for the first time, she says. Its her tone and patience that is important. What comes out is that pain, when clients talk about physical or sexual abuse for the first time and they say they just cant take it anymore. Sometimes clients will be on the phone for an hour. Shes always telling them to take their time. She gives them that space and time to hear their story.

Sedano says its Parrs experience and years of consistent volunteering that sets her apart. Sometimes volunteerism is like a revolving door in which people come and go. Sedano says Parr is the volunteer that comes in early and stays late.

Sometimes we get calls back to back, sometimes its less busy, she says. Sue goes the extra mile to bring in desserts for clients. She recently took it upon herself to make new sandals for the shelter. She decorated them herself.

What drives her

It gives me something to do that is worthwhile, Parr says. I feel people look up to me for advice and that Im a good example for my children and grandchildren.

James Parr, 26, says his mothers volunteerism has definitely opened his eyes to living outside the Irvine bubble.

It has also made him think about giving back.

The stories she brought home were absolutely awful, James Parr says. Growing up in a lucky household, I couldnt believe things like that actually existed. It fueled her to keep going because she realized how bad it was.

Hes not surprised to hear his mother has been a calming force at Human Options. To him, she has always been a good listener and a caring mother. She has never been one to feel her problems are more important than what others go through.

When her sister passed just days ago, she was at the shelter a few days later, he says. And Im sure she wasnt talking about it. Was it therapy for her? Or was it more that other people in the world might need more help than she did?

Contact the writer: 714-796-2254 or eritchie@ocregister.com or on Twitter:@lagunaini
The people, about 150 of them, stood in the church gym and lifted their arms, palms pushing toward the two officers on stage, uniformed one in blue and one in green.

Their eyes clenched closed, their heads bowed and they murmured from around the room as the pastor stood behind a small, pale wooden pulpit and prayed.

Protect these officers, give them wisdom, said the pastor, Fernando Tamara, in Spanish, his voice rising earnestly. May they judge with wisdom and may they act with love and compassion.

Around the room, slightly wrinkled white table clothes topped the tables. The plates of pancakes, bacon and eggs were largely gone but small paper cups of coffee remained.

The second annual Latino Prayer Breakfast of Orange County, held at First Assembly of God Church in Santa Ana Saturday morning, was supposed to be about immigration. But the violence of the last week couldnt be ignored.

Maybe it was meant to be for us to be gathered, said John Leon, who prayed at the breakfast.

Last Tuesday in Baton Rouge, two white police officers had a black man pinned to the ground when at least one of them shot and killed him. Wednesday night, in Minnesota, a black man died after being shot a nearly point-blank range by a police officer. Videos of both incidents were widely circulated on social media.

Then, on Thursday, a black military veteran shot and killed five police officers during a protest in Dallas over the weeks earlier shootings.

Saturday, the local pastors beseeched God for protection for police officers and called for unity among people of different skin colors, asking for comfort for the wounded officers and the families of the injured and the dead.

Give them strength, Lord. May your Holy Spirit go to their side, Leon prayed. We lift up their families that have been stricken with grief. We call upon you to bring comfort.

But even as the people gathered mourned the recent violence, they called for political reform in another hot-button issue: immigration.

Its not fair for the millions and millions of people in the shadows who live in permanent fear of whats going to happen tomorrow, Martin Garcia, the pastor of Agape Presbyterian Church in Wilmington, said before the event. They are constantly in fear of facing deportation.

Garcia said immigrants are too often exploited by scammers posing as lawyers who say they can arrange work papers or residency permits. People believe it because they are so desperate, he said.

Immigrants play a crucial role in society, Garcia said. Theyre teaching kids to read, working on a cure to cancer, traveling to space, designing airplanes, fighting in the military, picking food, building houses, cleaning hotel rooms and parking cars  working to make the American dream a reality in their lives and the lives of their families.

In book of Ezekiel, God commanded the Israelites to accept foreigners as their own, Garcia said. The Bible encourages us to treat them as citizens.

Counter to what many people believe, immigrants dont seek to intentionally flout rules, said Michelle Warren, the advocacy director at the Christian Community Development Association. For most, there is no feasible legal path to citizenship, she said.

If youre rich and powerful, you can get in, she said before the breakfast.

It doesnt help that some people in immigrant communities also dont trust law enforcement because of experiences in untrustworthy police forces in their home countries, said Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens, who spoke at the breakfast.

There are people in Orange County who think there isnt poverty in Orange County, Hutchens told the audience. But you and I know its there. You and I see the social problems everyday and we deal with them.

Contact the writer: aorlowski@ocregister.com. Twitter: @aaronorlowski
O.C.-L.A. home values lagging from peak

The widely watched Case-Shiller home price indexes show values in Los Angeles and Orange counties still 10 percent below their all-time high.

Standard & Poors reported that the Case-Shiller L.A.-O.C. price index for April was still working to top its September 2006 high after rising 55 percent off its post-recession bottom of February 2012. The L.A.-O.C. index was up 6 percent for the 12 months ended in April.

L.A.-O.C. values by this math werent alone in remaining below peak levels. In April, 13 of the 20 major markets tracked had yet to recoup losses from the housing collapse. The 20-city composite U.S. index for April was 10 percent its old high.

Las Vegas is still 37 percent below its recent peak even after rising 65 percent from the post-recession bottom. Phoenix is 30 percent off its top despite a 58 percent jump off its cyclical low.

Case-Shiller shows seven markets in April at all-time high pricing among the 20 tracked are: San Francisco, up 93 percent vs. bottom; Denver, up 51 percent vs. bottom; Boston, up 28 percent vs. bottom; Charlotte, up 28 percent vs. bottom; Portland, up 54 percent vs. bottom; Dallas, up 44 percent vs. bottom; and Seattle, up 53 percent vs. bottom.

 Jonathan Lansner

Residential projects increase

Developers in Los Angeles and Orange counties have increased plans for residential projects by 10 percent so far this year, according to one industry estimate.

Dodge Data & Analytics reported that plans for $2.7 billion of new housing were filed with government planning agencies in the first five months of 2016 vs. $2.45 billion a year ago. Residential projects  including single-family homes and multifamily housing  grew by 7 percent last year vs. 2014.

Nonresidential plans  including building for office, retail, hotels, warehouses, manufacturing, educational, healthcare and government activities  were off 27 percent to $1.5 billion in the years first five months. In 2015, nonresidential permitting was flat vs. 2014.

Overall, L.A.-O.C. building permit values were off 7 percent vs. 2015 through May after growing 4 percent last year vs. 2014.

 Jonathan Lansner

Transactions

Coldwell Banker Commercial Advisors represented the buyer and the seller in the sale of a 9,939-square-foot multitenant retail strip center in Lakewood just off the 605 Freeway on Del Amo Boulevard. The property sold for $6.15 million. It has eight stores and is anchored by a 7-Eleven.

On the move

Design firm Gensler has appointed Kim Graham as co-managing principal of the Southwest Region and Chip Williams as co-managing director of the firms Newport Beach office. Graham will lead the 900-person region, overseeing offices in Los Angeles, Newport Beach, San Diego, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Denver.

Coming up

Commercial Real Estate Women, Orange County will host a lunch 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. July 19 at the Pacific Club in Newport Beach to discuss the Superior Performance in Real Estate Awards. The event costs $45 for CREW-OC members and $70 for guests who register by Wednesday. After Wednesday the event will cost $60 for CREW-OC members and $80 for guests.
A colleague known for her professionalism and good cheer came into my office Thursday. Near tears, she was having trouble concentrating on work after watching the video of yet another in the seemingly endless string of police killings of African Americans. This one showed a man named Alton Sterling being thrown to the ground by Baton Rouge, La., cops who shot him repeatedly in the chest.

My colleague  Christina is her name  was shaken by the video. So was I. Shed heard news that morning of another killing, this one during a traffic stop outside St. Paul, Minn. Christina couldnt yet bring herself to view this footage, but I had.

As a young reporter on the police beat, I learned to withhold final judgment on cases like these  a lesson all Americans should have learned after Ferguson  yet it was shocking to see streaming video of a motorist bleeding to death while a patrolman stood over him with a gun. Phil Castile was a beloved school cafeteria worker described as Mr. Rogers in dreadlocks.

Are those dreadlocks  and his black skin  the reason why he was killed while driving his girlfriend and her 4-year-old daughter home from the grocery store? Or is it because he resembled a robbery suspect who used a gun in a holdup two days earlier, which is what made the cops jittery?

Christina had heard that I might have a megaphone she could borrow. She was heading after work to a march from the White House to the U.S. Capitol to protest the murders committed by police. A thoughtful person, Christina hesitated over that word, repeating it as if weighing it. I mentioned that murder is a word with legal connotations, and the full story often takes time to emerge.

She didnt argue with that. She simply said, Im hurting.

There are times when empathy isnt enough, when more is needed than the ubiquitous thoughts and prayers. Sometimes protest marches are exactly the right response, along with legislation, sit-ins and even civil disobedience. This issue of police violence strikes me as one of those times.

Although I expressed solicitude for her anguish, one thing I told Christina wasnt strictly true. I do have a megaphone. Its this column. And I have something I think needs to be said again and again about how Americans talk to each other about their politics. Id like to start a movement myself. We could call it Words Matter.

Truth matters, too. Facts matter. On August 9, 2014, no one in the criminal justice system had any idea how many Americans are actually killed by law enforcement officers in this country each year. Based on voluntary reporting by local agencies, the FBI estimated that the number was between 500 and 600.

Now, thanks to the uproar over the killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown on that hot August day two years ago, we know that the real death toll is almost twice that high. But we dont know that from the Justice Department. We know it from The Washington Post, which tracked every police killing in 2015. The number was 990, almost three per day. Thats a disturbing statistic.

The problem is that many of those focused most closely on it are making the problem worse. They do this by name-calling and spewing inaccurate slogans. Shooting off at the mouth might seem infinitely less dangerous than shooting a gun maliciously or out of fear. George Orwell didnt think so, however, and neither do I.

Hands up, dont shoot! This is supposedly what Michael Brown said and did when confronted by Ferguson patrolman Darren Wilson. But the facts dont support it.

Even if you dont find that its true, its a valid rallying cry, a Ferguson protester named Taylor Gruenloh told the Associated Press. Its just a metaphor.

This metaphor was mimicked by professional athletes, members of Congress and in numerous protests, including one in St. Paul last week. It fueled the riots that torched Ferguson while radicalizing millions of people. Among those motivated by the Hands up refrain was Ismaaiyl Brinsley, a career criminal who assassinated two NYPD officers in December 2014, citing Michael Brown as a reason.

This double murder came after a group citing solidarity with Michael Brown organized a Brooklyn rally in which marchers chanted, What do we want? Dead cops! When do we want it? Now!

Last summer, the police protecting a march of the St. Paul chapter of Black Lives Matter were thanked for their service with chants of Pigs in a blanket, fry em like bacon.

It was a chant, local organizer Rashad Turner said dismissively. The crazy thing is that theres all this uproar about rhetoric but there isnt uproar about the facts. Just because they provide us with their self-appointed escort does not mean it erases the fact that they are the deadliest police department in the state.

This was a reasonable point, and hes right about the record of the St. Paul police force, which has killed 11 men since 2009, nine of whom were people of color. But heres my question: How could threatening to kill cops conceivably make them less trigger-happy?

While accepting this years BET humanitarian award, Greys Anatomy actor Jesse Williams delivered a widely praised rant on race and policy brutality. His heart seems to be in the right place  hes certainly passionate  but consider this line in his speech: Now, what weve been doing is looking at the data and we know that police somehow manage to de-escalate, disarm, and not kill white people every day.

When I heard that, I doubted that Williams has looked at much actual data on police shootings. If hed read The Washington Post, hed know that 494 of those killed by police last year were white, while 258 were black and 172 were Hispanic. (The races of the rest are unknown.) Whites make up 72 percent of the people in this country, not 50 percent, but when you airbrush half of the victims of police killings out of the equation you, sound like someone who is posturing, not trying to address a difficult problem.

Hes hardly alone. Within hours of the disturbing video of Phil Castiles shooting, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton injected race into the equation by saying the shooting likely wouldnt have happened if Castile were white. Im forced to confront and I think all Minnesotans are forced to confront  that this kind of racism exists.

Did Dayton know the officer who killed Castile was Hispanic? Does he know what lies in the heart of a policeman he never met? What I think all Minnesotans are forced to confront is that they have a governor who spews whatever comes into his head without waiting for the facts.

Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison, a House Democrat from an adjoining congressional district, publicly described Castiles shooting as part of a systematic targeting of African Americans and a systematic lack of accountability when police use excessive force. I agree with his point about the lack of accountability for officers who shoot citizens. But systematic targeting of blacks, well, thats more akin to lynching.

And lynching was exactly the analogy used in an op-ed published in Thursday mornings Dallas Morning News. Written by Texas journalism professor Meredith Clark, it was headlined, Im tired of watching state-sanctioned lynchings.

I found myself wondering whether Micah Xavier Johnson read that column. Well never know because a police robot killed Johnson, but not before he ambushed and killed five Dallas police officers.

This is now war, tweeted former Illinois congressman Joe Walsh, now a Chicago-area radio talk show host. Watch out Obama. Watch out black lives matter punks. Real America is coming after you. This stupid, incendiary tweet was later deleted, but an unrepentant Walsh suggested that this was Twitters doing, not his own. Good for Twitter. Now hopefully the Secret Service pays him a visit. As for the rest of us, can we think before we speak? Lives depend on it.

Carl M. Cannon is executive editor of RealClearPolitics.com.
FULLERTON  As he worked day-shift patrol Friday, less than 24 hours after five uniformed officers were ambushed and gunned down in Dallas, Fullerton police Sgt. Jon Radus felt solace, not fear.

Kindness was coming from everywhere.

There was the woman who delivered 10 pizzas to police headquarters. There was the dark-haired girl who flashed a toothy grin and waved when she crossed the street. There was the man in the restaurant who approached Radus  to thank him for his service.

While the country reels from a week of video-streamed violence committed by and against police  and while law enforcement locally and elsewhere expressed fears of copycat violence against police  Radus felt a different vibe in Fullerton.

We have to be vigilant, but no more vigilant than peace officers in the past have had to be, Radus said. But do we drive around with our ballistic helmets and our AR15s in our lap? Absolutely not.

Which isnt to say Fridays workday was without stress.

Radus, who is stocky and has an American flag tattoo on his right arm, began the shift by putting on a badge wrapped by a black mourning band, a reminder that men in uniform took bullets a day earlier.

He and other officers also spent some time watching video from Dallas, discussing what they saw and how to prevent it from happening to them.

We knew the assailant in this particular incident was well trained, by his movements and tactics. And it served as a reminder that we have to stay one step ahead of those who might want to hurt us.

And if he was a target Friday, Radus said it was no different than any other workday.

At any time, a police officer could be ambushed. If someone wants to pull up next to me at a light, and pull out a gun and try and hurt me, they know they are going to do that before I do.

TENSION EXISTS

Radus spent much of Friday saying thanks.

Repeatedly, as he answered calls ranging from a possible break-in at a church to helping a homeless man, Radus ran into people offering condolences about the Dallas shooting.

Today, it must be tough for them to do their jobs, said George Mendoza, a 48-year-old barber who spoke with Radus when he provided information about an attempted bicycle theft at Orangefair Marketplace.

I love Fullerton police.

Radus, a 13-year veteran in Fullerton, understands that police arent uniformly loved. But he believes police critics are a vocal minority in Fullerton, and the vast majority of residents agree with Mendoza.

I dont know any officer who gets up in the morning and says, I want to go to work to beat somebody up, Radus said.

Thats an ugly reality of our job, in some instances, but thats not our goal.

In recent years, Fullerton police have drawn criticism and scrutiny.

In July 2011, Fullerton officers were caught on video violently subduing Kelly Thomas, a homeless man. Thomas, who was badly injured and left unconscious, died five years ago today.

Fullerton police Officers Manuel Ramos and Jay Cicinelli were found not guilty in a 2014 criminal trial and charges were dropped against Officer Joseph Wolfe in the death of Thomas. All of the officers were fired from the department.

Thomas death  and the departments role in that death  set off numerous protests in Fullerton. It also led to, among other things, more transparency within the Police Department.

We have had a complete leadership change since that incident, Radus said. As a result  our agency is really focused on community engagement.

So were the officers who died in Dallas.

Though homicide rates in that city recently rose (as they did in many big cities nationally), sparking some recent criticism, the Dallas Police Department mostly has been praised in recent years for a shift toward community outreach and transparency and away from violent tactics.

Still, Radus isnt surprised a gunman opened fire on that department. He suggests tension that exists between police and civilians isnt necessarily directed at any particular department.

A lot of people have shown distrust and distaste for law enforcement, Radus said.

Weve seen this coming.

What next?

Radus knows what its like to be involved in a shooting.

In 2007, Radus was one of several officers who responded after two men, suspected of a series of home invasions, opened fire on police. One suspect was killed and another was wounded.

They shot at us first, Radus said. We had an obligation to ourselves and our families to defend ourselves.

Radus believes Fullerton police, just like Dallas police, could be a target.

There is no doubt a similar, well-orchestrated attack on police could occur in Fullerton or any other city, Radus said.

Thats why police officers carry, among other things, AR15 rifles, ballistic helmets  and wear body armor.

Since 2013, theyve also been wearing body cameras, creating video recordings of every police encounter. Fullerton was the first department in Orange County to adopt body cameras.

(The cameras) provide an opportunity for the community to see what we have done.

It also protects the officers against frivolous complaints.

Radus sees two possible futures, post-Dallas. It could be a flashpoint for more violence against police, or a wake-up call for meaningful dialogue between law enforcement and those who want law enforcement to change.

Sometimes, these events have the ability to unify both sides, he said. (Or) they can create division. Only time will tell.

Contact the writer: 714-796-7767 or sschwebke@ocregister.com Twitter: @thechalkoutline
The gunman who killed five police officers in Dallas had enough bomb-making materials in his home to lead the authorities to believe he was planning a larger attack, the citys police chief said Sunday. He provided new details of how, during two hours of negotiations, the gunman sang, laughed and asked how many officers he had killed before he was killed by a bomb-equipped robot.

David O. Brown, the police chief, said evidence showed that Micah Johnson, 25, an African-American Army Reserve veteran who told the police that he wanted to kill white officers, had been practicing detonations and that the explosive material had the potential to have devastating effects throughout our city and our North Texas area.

Were convinced this suspect had other plans and thought that what he was doing was righteous, Brown said on CNNs State of the Union.

Mayor Mike Rawlings of Dallas, in an interview near the shooting site, described Johnson as having employed tactics designed to cause as much harm to people as possible. He was really well trained in becoming a killing machine, OK? he said. Shooting low, fighting hand-to-hand at that one point, going high, shooting down another street. This guy trained himself not for that exact location, but he knew how to elicit pain on people.

The details emerged as the nation was immersed in protests, vigils and calls for peace from many pulpits after a week of unsettling violence that began with the fatal police shootings of Alton Sterling, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. The attack on officers on Thursday night in Dallas turned a peaceful demonstration against the earlier shootings into a scene of bloodshed and chaos.

President Barack Obama cut short an overseas trip and planned to travel Tuesday to Dallas, where he, along with former President George W. Bush, will address a memorial service. Vice President Joe Biden and Laura Bush will also attend, White House officials said.

Obama, speaking in Spain, urged protesters to avoid inflammatory words and actions, but also defended the right to demonstrate, saying that one of the nations great virtues is its openness to protest and efforts to speak truth to power. He said Black Lives Matter had grown out of a long protest tradition that dated to the abolitionist movement.

In such movements, Obama said, theres always going to be some folks who say things that are stupid or imprudent, or overgeneralize, or are harsh.

Demonstrators gathered again Sunday in cities as scattered as Dallas; Falcon Heights, Minnesota; Memphis, Tennessee; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Atlanta; and New York City, where 300 people marched silently, fists raised in the air, from Times Square to Union Square, with signs proclaiming Stop police terror! and Stand together.

In Baton Rouge, police officers in riot gear and flanked by SWAT trucks were trying on Sunday night to turn back protesters who had come from a peaceful rally earlier and were trying to march to the police headquarters a few miles away. A Baton Rouge police spokesman said 48 arrests had been made by 10 p.m., most on charges of obstructing a road. No weapons had been confiscated, he said.

News outlets in Memphis reported that protesters there had blocked traffic on the Interstate 40 bridge spanning the Mississippi River, after a rally downtown.

Some activists began circulating text messages asking African-Americans around the country to boycott major retailers and to deposit $100 into a black-owned bank as a means of economically stopping the slaughtering of black lives.

Hundreds of demonstrators had been arrested Saturday night and into early Sunday, in San Francisco; New York City; Chicago; St. Paul, Minnesota; and Baton Rouge, including DeRay Mckesson, a prominent activist in the Black Lives Matter movement who was released Sunday afternoon. In Phoenix, officers used pepper spray to disperse crowds.

In St. Paul and Baton Rouge, the mood had been tense overnight Saturday into Sunday morning. In St. Paul, protesters had shut down an interstate highway for hours. At least 20 officers were injured as people threw rocks, bottles and bricks, the police said.

The authorities in Baton Rouge, where Sterling was fatally shot early Tuesday, said they had arrested more than 100 people, charging most with obstructing the road. Among them were three members of the media and Mckesson, who filmed his encounter with the police using the live-streaming app Periscope.

John Bel Edwards, Louisianas governor, said Sunday that the vast majority of protesters had behaved lawfully and that the police response had been moderate. He said some of the disturbances had been caused by demonstrators from outside Louisiana, but pledged that they will not be allowed to incite hate and violence.

Pastors across the nation called for reconciliation and compassion. At St. Patricks Cathedral in New York, Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan spoke of a country worried, frustrated and fatigued over senseless violence.

From Minnesota to Louisiana and Texas, one nation under God examines its soul, he said. Sadness and heaviness is especially present in our African-American and law enforcement communities.

He added, We pray with and for them.

In his television appearance, Brown provided new details of the two hours of negotiations that the police conducted with Johnson, saying he had demanded to speak to a black negotiator, had sung and laughed, and had asked how many officers he had killed. Johnson also wrote the letters R.B. in blood on the walls of the parking garage where he had hidden, Brown said, an indication that he may have been wounded. It was not clear what those letters referred to, the chief said.

Brown said Johnson obviously had some delusion. He described the gunman as doing quite a bit of rambling at the scene.

The police chief said investigators were examining Johnsons laptop, journal and cellphone and had not completely ruled out the possibility that others were involved. He said he believed Johnsons aim was to make us pay for what he sees as law enforcements efforts to punish people of color, including fatal police shootings of African-Americans in Louisiana and Minnesota in the days before the ambush. Those deaths, Brown said, prompted Johnson to fast track plans to kill police officers.

Describing the moments that occurred just before Thursdays shootings, Brown said that once the protesters had started to march through downtown Dallas Johnson had driven his vehicle, a black Chevrolet Tahoe, well ahead of the group to prepare for the attack on police officers escorting the demonstrators.

You could easily see the march coming down the street they were walking, and saw an opportunity with some high-perched positions, a couple of buildings in the pathway of the marchers, and decided to take the high ground and start shooting right away, Brown said. And we had to scramble to block intersections, which did expose our officers to this attack. And this suspect took advantage of that. And once he was in a high-perched position, officers did not know where the shots was coming from.

Officials in recent days have revealed that Johnson, who served in the Army Reserve from 2009 to 2015, had bomb-making materials, ballistic vests, rifles, ammunition and a journal of combat tactics in his home. His journal described a method of attack in which a gunman can keep moving to confuse the enemy.

The chief and Rawlings, the Dallas mayor, defended the Police Departments use of the robot bomb that killed Johnson. Critics have raised questions about the episode, which may have been the first time a local law enforcement agency in the United States had used such a device to kill a suspect.

Brown said that the suspect had hidden in a corner in the garage and that deploying a sniper would have exposed the police to great danger.

We believe that we saved lives by making this decision, he said.

Rawlings, in the interview Sunday, described Johnson as having employed tactics designed to cause as much harm to people as possible.

The mayor, who heard portions of Johnsons discussions with police negotiators, said the gunman was just talking about how he was just upset with the whole world and upset with police, upset with white police. He added, I believe he was mentally ill.

Rawlings added, I believed he wanted to kill officers. He did it, and a person like that would never be satisfied usually until they were taken down.

In a separate interview on CBS Face the Nation, he said that he supported the departments use of the bomb, and that the authorities had opted to use it only after negotiators had been unable to persuade Johnson to surrender.

It was a difficult decision because the safety of our police officers were in our mind, Rawlings said. The chief had two options, and he went with this one. I supported him completely because it was the safest way to approach it, and we talked to this man a long time and he threatened to blow up our police officers. We went to his home, we saw that there was bomb-making equipment later, so it was very important that we realize that he may not be bluffing.

The Dallas Morning News published a front-page editorial urging the city to emerge as an example of how to bring the nation together.

Today our country seems capable of pulling apart in ways that have not seemed possible in many decades, the editorial said. Dallas, again, has been bathed in blood and grief. How we respond will help show a path forward to a divided, reeling nation.

Brown called for Americans to support police officers, but acknowledged that were not perfect. Theres cops that dont need to be cops. And he had a message for the protesters: Were sworn to protect you and your right to protest. And we will give our lives for it.
SANTA ANA  Former City Councilman and State Assemblyman Jose Solorio is taking several necessary steps toward pursuing the City Council Ward 3 seat that will presumably be left vacant by the incumbent.

Those steps include obtaining keys to an apartment in Ward 3 on Tuesday, and the next day, resigning from his seat on the Rancho Santiago Community College District board. He also sent an email blast to friends July 1 announcing his candidacy.

Solorio, 46, for years has lived with his wife and two sons at a home in Ward 1, and needed to live in Ward 3 by mid-July  30 days before the nomination papers deadline  in order to run for that seat. Seventeenth Street forms a boundary between the two wards, with Ward 3 to the north and Ward 1 to the south.

Ward 3 Councilwoman Angie Amezcua has decided not to run for reelection in November, Solorio said, while Mayor Pro Tem Vincent Sarmiento representing Ward 1 is seeking to return to his seat.

I was encouraged by many of my supporters to run for this open Council seat, Solorio said. And given my belief that we need to focus a little bit more strongly on public safety and public education, I felt driven to seek out that opportunity and move to Ward 3 to be eligible to run for City Council and move our city forward.

Solorio said he signed a lease through January at an apartment off North Grand, and with his oldest son going to Stanford University, will consider relocating his entire family in the future. He has lived in the city for about 20 years.

I actually lived in Ward 3 earlier, so this is like officially moving back to Ward 3, he said.

Solorio served as Ward 1 councilman from 2000 to 2006 and sat on the citys planning commission for three years before that. During his tenure on the City Council, Solorio said he improved parks citywide with artificial turf fields, helped revitalize South Main Street and pushed more resources toward the police departments gang unit.

In 2006, he was elected onto the State Assembly and served three terms ending in 2012. In 2012, Solorio began serving as a trustee on the Rancho Santiago Community College District board. As a trustee late last year, Solorio raised some eyebrows when he stayed two nights at a $400-per-night suite at Aria Resort & Casino in Las Vegas using taxpayer money, to attend a National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials conference.

As its customary by other Rancho board members as well, I stayed in the lowest-cost room at the NALEO-selected hotel, Solorio said on Friday.

Solorio said his new apartment in Ward 3 falls outside of the area of the community college district he represents, so I thought it would be best for me to resign right away from that position.

He works as a senior policy adviser for Nossaman LLC, with clients including the Orange County Water District and the countys toll roads agencies.

The Michoacan, Mexico, native said he moved to Kern County as a child and spent seven summers as a farm worker. Thats where I got my appreciation for hard work and education, he said.

He began thinking about running for City Council a month ago, troubled by a recent rise in crime and not wanting to stay on the sidelines.

Solorio said he has always enjoyed a large support base and has about $200,000 in his campaign account from community college and legislative runs, most of which can be transferred to his City Council race.

I think our top priorities in our city need to be public safety, public education and making investments citywide, south and north of 17th Street, Solorio said. I also know, as all our residents know, that Santa Ana is a big city with big city problems and I feel like I can put my experience and connections to move our city forward.

Contact the writer: 714-796-7762 or jkwong@ocregister.com or on Twitter: @JessicaGKwong
 

       

         23  2021    ,      3  2021      2022 ".
CLINTON  The process of formally changing the name of Clintons city-owned hospital is under way.

Effective in the next few months, the hospital will officially change its name to Warner Hospital and Healthcare Services. The city council approved the name change last month.

The city councils approval was the first major step in the process, said hospital CEO Paul Skowron.

Since the hospital is not changing ownership, the process won't be complicated, he said. Internal Revenue Service paperwork will be filed, which will trigger notification to the state, the Center for Medicare Services, and insurance companies such as Blue Cross and Humana.

"We want to make sure we get the billing set up correctly first, Skowron said.

After that, officials will be evaluating the current signage, he said.

We want to do this and keep the costs as low as possible, but we do have to change some exterior and interior signage, he said. As far as paper and business cards and things like that, we are going to use everything we have up and we are not going to waste any paper.

Hospital board president Aaron Kammeyer said response from the public has been mostly positive.

The most common response I have heard to the name change is, 'Why?' he said. Paul has been very diligent in explaining the why over the last few weeks, citing things such as growth, sustainability and rejuvenation of the brand that we feel that DJWH wants to be known for today and into the future.

The hospital was named after Dr. John Warner, who arrived in DeWitt County in 1842 and practiced medicine until 1856. He went into banking and accumulated a fortune.

Before Warner's death in December 1905, he announced plans to build a hospital and donate it to the public. His will provided for construction of the $25,000 hospital that was completed in 1906. The city took ownership of the Dr. John Warner Hospital in 1909.

John Warner IV, great-great-grandson of Dr. John Warner, lives in Clinton and is the founder and president of Moore & Warner Farm Management in Clinton. He could not be reached for comment last week.

He has supported the name change, and when we narrowed it down to four options, I brought all four of them to him, and he really liked this one, Skowron said.

Skowron said the name change will provide a fresh perspective for those outside the community who may not be familiar with the hospital and will help in recruiting providers and physicians.

The hospital will have a ribbon-cutting ceremony to formally initiate the name change, a new vision and mission statement, and unveil a new admitting and registration area, Skowron said. That has not yet been scheduled but is expected to be around Labor Day.

In addition to the name change, the hospital will have an updated website, Skowron said.

We are reviewing that this week and we think that will be ready to go by mid-August.
JUBA, South Sudan  Fighting between competing factions of South Sudans government in its capital left the worlds youngest country teetering on Saturday, the fifth anniversary of its independence. The government reported dozens of casualties, and there were unconfirmed reports that up to 150 people had been killed.

Outbreaks of shooting on Friday night between forces loyal to the countrys president, Salva Kiir, and forces loyal to its vice president, Riek Machar, surprised both leaders, said Ateny Wek Ateny, a spokesman for Kiir. Heavy gunfire was exchanged across neighborhoods during the night, including outside the presidential palace, where the two leaders were meeting.

Machar became the leader of a formal rebellion in December 2013, until he returned in April to join the government.

Ateny said many people, mostly soldiers, were said to have been killed in the latest bout of fighting. It is too early to talk about the number of casualties because the fighting was heavy, and the military is actually forming a committee to investigate, he said.

The Associated Press reported that scores of bodies had been taken to Jubas hospital and morgue.

The morgue at the main hospital in Juba was roped off and guarded by policemen, who did not relay information about the casualties inside.

A lot of people were wounded, hurt and killed, last night, said Juerg Eglin, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross in South Sudan.

The general situation is confusing, Eglin said. We have no clear picture of what actually happened, or who was attacked.

Soldiers rode along the main thoroughfares in trucks and motorcycles on Saturday, or stood watch on street corners. But with shops closed and most civilians staying at home, the streets of Juba were mostly quiet.

The U.S. Embassy in Juba warned that the capital was not stable, and warned civilians against venturing outside.

The situation in Juba remains fluid, the embassy said in a statement. Government leaders are attempting to restore calm. However, these actions are not yet successful. Large numbers of troops remain on the streets.

The secretary-general of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, said he was deeply alarmed by the fighting.

Tensions between the forces of Kiir and Machar, always lurking beneath the surface, first erupted Thursday night, when two factions confronted each other at a roadside checkpoint. Five government soldiers were reported killed.

South Sudans military said it was treating that attack as an isolated incident, but heavy exchanges broke out again Friday. At one U.N. camp, up to 25,000 peopletook shelter from the fighting.

For many years, southern Sudans political factions worked together in brittle alliances to fight for independence from Sudan.

The United States played an instrumental role in securing South Sudans independence and statehood from Sudan, after decades of resistance fighting, and Kiir became South Sudans first president, and Machar its first vice president, on July 9, 2011. But factions soon turned their grievances toward one another.

Kiir dismissed his cabinet in July 2013 over the tensions, and violence broke out that December, quickly splitting the nation along largely ethnic lines. Kiir belongs to the Dinka ethnic group, the countrys largest, while Machar is a member of the Nuer minority.

Machar fled the capital and became the leader of a formal rebellion, but he returned this year under a peace agreement.

Tens of thousands of civilians and soldiers were killed in the civil war and in related violence.

This is the most perilous moment for South Sudan since the violence of December 2013, said John Ryle, the director of the Rift Valley Institute and an analyst on the two Sudans.

The shooting that erupted as both leaders were meeting inside the presidential palace, Ryle said, reveals the uncertain control they exercise over their own security forces  and the extreme fragility of the peace accord.
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Going To The States? The Bahamas Issue A Travel Advisory Due To Police Violence Abel Shifferaw

The Bahamas Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration has released a travel advisory for Bahamians traveling to the United States of America, where ethnic violence has and continues to plague the nation. The travel advisory begins, The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration has taken a note of the recent tensions in some American cities over shootings of young black males by police officers.

A slew of indiscriminate and racially motivated killings of black citizens at the hands of heavily armed law enforcement agents, caught on cell phone camera, has rocked the country of over 300 million people. According to The Guardian, 569 people have been killed by law enforcement this year alone. 136 of those were Black, a startling number considering African Americans are only around thirteen percent of the total U.S. population. The Bahamas is a largely black nation, with the overwhelming majority identifying as African or Afro-Bahamian.

The rampant racial bias within U.S. law enforcement agencies was exemplified by the recent killing of 32-year-old Philando Castile in a suburb of St. Paul, Minnesota. According to an audio recording from a police scan obtained by KARE 11, a local affiliate of NBC, the law enforcement agents that initially pulled Castile over suspected he was involved in a robbery because of his, wide-set nose. A physical attribute many white Americans negatively associate with Blacks. The recording has yet to be verified.

Read the travel advisory from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs office below and make sure to take precaution while in the U.S.

Particularly if you are black.
At the Freedom Fund Banquet sponsored by the Rock Island NAACP Branch, the pastor who gave the benediction concluded with the statement, Black Lives Matter, All Lives Matter.

Some in the audience flinched as the latter part of the statement was made. Some African Americans find the phrase all lives matter offensive. It is often perceived as a means to demean the true meaning of Black Lives Matter.

However, the pastor was right. All lives matter.

With the horrific incident in Dallas that was preceded by the untimely deaths of two African-American males in Louisiana and Minnesota, the proof is self-evident that All Lives Matter. Thus, if we believe that all lives matter, then it behooves each of us to treat each other with respect and deliberately seek justice for all.

Black America is tired and disgusted over grieving for the loss of loved ones at the hands of a few policemen. In addition, Black America is tired of the appearance of the lack of accountability for those responsible for the deaths of black men and women. African Americans often wonder why the color of their skin appears to be the impetus for their being the targets of injustices and dying at the hands of those sworn to protect all citizens.

In spite of it all, murdering police officers must be condemned. That is not the way of the Black Lives Matter movement. The movement is to seek justice, in particular, for police misconduct. Condemnation must be expressed when heinous acts, such as the killing of policemen, is associated as part of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Young people of all races and ethnicities created the Black Lives Matter movement. It is their voice. Understanding the Black Lives Matter movement is no joke for those who are in the throes of it. It is a movement of expression of how people feel about what is happening relative to the senseless shootings of their loved ones, friends and family by some policeman who tend to evade any convictions.

While admittedly no one has all the answers for the quagmire of injustices, one thing is for certain. Something needs to be done.

Dr. King and Malcolm X had different ideologies on how to solve the problems of the 1960s. W.E. B. Dubois and Booker T. Washington were embroiled in a difference of opinions on how to best educate African Americans. One thing that all four men had in common was the desire for blacks to have a better quality of life with equality and justice. All worked diligently in pursuit of the goal.

All Lives Matter must not become a cliche but symbolize those reforms and initiatives that should be implemented which diminish inequalities and injustices. The time has come for us to learn to live harmoniously together, regardless of the color of a persons skin.

It was apparent that the African-American community and the Dallas police department had developed a working relationship. The NAACP Decatur Branch along with the Decatur Police Department has begun to work together to explore how to build better relationships, as well as how to handle matters in the event of a volatile situation.

It was a powerful statement for the Decatur police to attend the MLK March as participants and for their presence at many African-American events. Hopefully, in Decatur, the drum roll has begun that will lead to better relationships between the African-American community and the police.

There is much work to be done, but working together as a community of ONE, better relationships can and will happen!
Bengaluru: Ammu, mother of 8 puppies that were murdered, dies from trauma

Bengaluru

oi-Shalini

Bengaluru, July 10: After going through a long mental trauma, Ammu, a two and half year old female dog, whose eight puppies were mercilessly killed in front of her eyes breathed her last on Saturday,(July 9).

Her new-born eight puppies were brutally killed by a woman named Ponnamma, the wife of an ex-honorary flight lieutenant, in Krishnanagar near Peenya in March this year, in order to "teach lesson" to Ammu.

After watching her puppies' death, devastated Ammu passed away following canine distemper (a contagious and serious viral illness with no known cure) caused by mental trauma.

According to reports, residents of Krishnanagar complained that Ammu was in depression and refused to eat and was often found near the place were their eight puppies were buried. [Bengaluru shocker: Woman brutally kills 8 new-born puppies]

Nishant and his family members in neigbourhood was taking care of Ammu. However, on July 6th, Ammu's health deteriorated and they rushed her to Veterinary hospital at Queen's road which was run by an NGO.

After killing Ammu's puppies, the accused woman, Ponnamma was arrested under Section 429 of the IPC but later she was released on bail. K B Harish of CUPA, the NGO which took up the case, said that the police have still not filed any chargesheet against her.

Talking about this inhumane act, PETA spokesperson said: "One way of reducing animal cruelty is to increase the penal provision in The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. It is a toothless law. Anyone committing a crime can get away by paying a maximum fine of just  50."

OneIndia News
PM Modi likely to visit Arunachal on Oct 30 to inaugurate greenfield airport

Narendra Modi meets Solar Mamas from Tanzania trained in Rajasthan

Feature

oi-Lisa

By Lisa

Tilonia is a non-descript village in Ajmer district of Rajasthan in India. The village has been put on the world map by the efforts of a renowned social worker Bunker Roy. Bunker Roy started an NGO Barefoot College and since the founding of this NGO the village has become a role model for all remote villages who want to become economically and socially developed.

The Barefoot College connects rural communities to solar, water, education, professions and advocacy to help communities and individuals take control of their lives and the wellbeing of their communities.

The Barefoot College respects and upholds Mahatma Gandhi's spirit of service and commitment to sustainability. The college is being talked about as Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with a group of 'Solar Mamas' during his visit to Tanzania.

'Solar Mamas' are women from developing countries from African, Latin American and South Asian countries who have been trained in harnessing solar energy at the Barefoot College.

The Solar Mamas are trained in solar electrification and entrepreneurial skills such as bee-keeping& tailoring pic.twitter.com/9hLoivxICj  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 10, 2016

Celebrating the Solar Mamas!PM interacts with women trained in vocational skills under India's developmental support pic.twitter.com/ar5Cr92zed  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 10, 2016

The Solar Mamas come from across Africa, and are trained at Barefoot College in Rajasthan, or the centre in Tanzania pic.twitter.com/3ulVyHd9Tg  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 10, 2016

One for the cameras and an iPad! PM @narendramodi poses with the Solar Mamas pic.twitter.com/C7Cy9p4SzC  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 10, 2016

No Problem! You can watch the extraordinary story of Solar Mamas & their journey to become barefoot engineers here https://t.co/Vj6k4K2odY  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 10, 2016

And some more visuals of PM's interaction with the extraordinary group of Solar Mamas earlier pic.twitter.com/vK9DMOJ5c2  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 10, 2016

A group of about 30 "solar mamas" from Tanzania and a few other African countries demonstrated their skills in fabrication, repair and maintenance of solar lanterns and household lighting systems to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. They also presented their honey-extraction and stitching practices and sung a song "we shall overcome".

Barefoot College, Tilonia (Rajasthan) has been promoting and training rural women solar engineers (solar mamas) from Africa in fabrication, installation, use, repair and maintenance of solar lanterns and household solar lighting under Government of India supported programmes.

They have set up a Barefoot women vocational training college in Zanzibar Islands of Tanzania and other countries in Africa for imparting solar electrification skills (training) and distributing solar kits to trainees.

These colleges also support various entrepreneurial skills such as bee-keeping, tailoring, etc. The solar mamas have fabricated and installed solar kits, and now maintain these solar electrification systems in their communities.
In the name of charity, Rs 50 lakh transferred to personal A/C: ED in chargesheet against Rana Ayyub

Ghaziabad: Biker loses life as kite string slits his throat

Ghaziabad

oi-Preeti Panwar

Ghaziabad, July 10: In a tragic incident, a man lost his life while he was riding a bike on Ghaziabad flyover and the reason behind his death was not any accident, but a kite string (manjha).

According to reports, the shocking incident took place on Thakurdwara flyover in Ghaziabad, when 52-year-old Yogesh Sharma, a resident of Delhi, met a deadly fate.

He was wearing a helmet, but a kite string slit his throat, killing him instantly. A cab driver spotted him lying in a pool of blood and informed the police.

The driver was disturbed after seeing the blood oozing out of Sharma's throat and could not take him to the hospital.

The police team rushed him to a nearby MMG District hospital, where he was declared brought dead by 6 pm.

Doctors who attended him said the string had left a deep wound inside his windpipe. Police informed his family after going through his identification documents.

Sharma, who ran a property dealing business in Indirapuram, was on the way back to his home in Delhi's Maujpur, HT reported.

OneIndia News
Capt Radhika Menon, 1st woman captain of Indian Merchant Navy to receive 'Bravery at Sea' Award

India

oi-PTI

New Delhi, July 10: Captain Radhika Menon, first woman captain of the Indian Merchant Navy will receive IMO Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea, the government on Saturday, July 9 said.

"Menon, Master of the oil products tanker Sampurna Swarajya, is to receive the 2016 International Maritime Organisation Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea for her role in the dramatic rescue of seven fishermen from a sinking fishing boat in tumultuous seas in the Bay of Bengal in June last year," Shipping Ministry said in a statement.

The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) is the United Nations specialised agency with responsibility for the safety and security of shipping and the prevention of marine pollution by ships.

"Captain Menon was nominated by the Government of India, for the rescue of all seven fishermen from the fishing boat Durgamma, which was adrift following engine failure and loss of anchor in severe weather," the statement said.

Food and water had been washed away and they were surviving on ice from the cold storage. The IMO Council, meeting for its 116th session in London, endorsed the decision of a panel of Judges that Captain Menon displayed great determination and courage in leading the difficult rescue operation, the statement said.

"Through wave heights of more than 25 feet, winds of more than 60 knots and heavy rain, on 22 June, the second officer on the Sampurna Swarajya spotted the boat 2.5 kilometres away, off the coast of Gopalpur, Odisha. Captain Menon immediately ordered a rescue operation, utilising the pilot ladder and with life jackets and buoys on standby," it added.

It took three arduous attempts in the lashing wind and rain and heavy swells before all seven weak and starving fishermen, aged from 15 to 50 years old, were brought to safety on board the ship.

Captain Menon is the first woman captain in the Indian Merchant Navy and will be the first woman to receive the IMO Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea. The Awards ceremony is expected to take place at IMO Headquarters on November 21 at the end of the first day of the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC).

This annual Award was established by IMO to provide international recognition for those who, at the risk of losing their own life, perform acts of exceptional bravery, displaying outstanding courage in attempting to save life at sea or in attempting to prevent or mitigate damage to the marine environment.

PTI
Ishrat Jahan case: Discharge plea of two ex-cops to be heard on Aug 7

MHA declines to share details on officer who probed Ishrat files

India

oi-PTI

New Delhi, July 10: The Home Ministry has declined to share details of file notings related to extension of service granted to senior IAS officer B K Prasad, who went into the missing files related to the alleged fake encounter killing of Ishrat Jahan, saying being an adjunct to proposal of a Cabinet panel it cannot be disclosed.

The Ministry was asked to provide copies of file notings on two-month extension given to Prasad who was to superannuate on May 31, 2016.

As the file notings in this regard are an adjunct to an Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) proposal, the same is exempted under Section 8 (1) (I) of the transparency law, it said in reply to an RTI query filed.

The section bars disclosure of "Cabinet papers including records of deliberations of the council of ministers, secretaries and other officers".

Prasad, a 1983 batch IAS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre, was due to retire in May end. He was granted extension for a period of two months with effect from June 1, 2016 to July 31, an official order had said without mentioning the reason behind it.

When asked for the reason for granting extension to Prasad, the MHA said, "As far as asking the reasons for a decision is concerned, the same is not covered under the RTI Act".

The officer was recently in news for allegedly "tutoring" witnesses in the missing files case, a charge denied by him.

The Home Ministry had recently asked an RTI applicant to prove he is Indian before disclosing details on the extension given to Prasad.

"In this connection, it is requested that a proof of your Indian citizenship may please be provided," the Ministry had said in its reply.

As per Right to Information Act, 2005, only Indian citizens can seek information under it. Usually, a proof of citizenship is not required to file an application under the transparency law. In rare cases, a public information officer can seek proof of nationality in case he has doubt over citizenship of an applicant.

Following an uproar in Parliament in March this year, the Home Ministry had asked Prasad to inquire into the matter of missing papers.

The panel submitted its report last month. 19-year-old Ishrat Jahan and three others were killed in an alleged fake encounter in Gujarat in 2004.

The Gujarat Police had then claimed those killed were LeT terrorists and had gone there to assassinate the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

The papers, which disappeared from the Home Ministry, include the copy of an affidavit vetted by the then Attorney General and submitted in the Gujarat High Court in 2009 and the draft of the second affidavit vetted by the AG to which changes were made by the then Home Minister P Chidambaram.

PTI
Municipalities and counties benefit from large state facilities  jobs and taxes always are welcome  but costs come at a high price when the state spends its way into a deep hole.

More than two dozen Illinois cities, and several public utilities, face that pickle now, waiting on a total of $34 million to pay for water, sewer, electric and gas bills accrued by the state's prisons and correctional facilities.

That doesn't include developmental centers, schools for the deaf and visually impaired, government buildings, museums, parks and other sites whose property titles list "State of Illinois" as owner.

Lee Enterprises' Springfield bureau used the state's open records act to obtain a list of unpaid bills by Illinois Department of Corrections related to the state's budget mess. The IDOC summary shows $34 million is owed for IDOC facilities located in 27 cities or counties. The biggest outlay, by facility, is for Stateville prison in Joliet, which has almost $4.5 million in outstanding bills for utilities, water and sewer. Fifteen other locations owe a minimum of $1 million each just for those categories.

Constellation Energy is owed almost $13 million, with Ameren Illinois owed $2.5 million and Illinois American Water, $1.4 million. The cities of Decatur, Pontiac, Taylorville all are owed money ($133,836, $732,747 and $293,187, respectively); the cities of Lincoln and Pinckneyville are owed $446,293 and $623,174, respectively.

The Rend Lake Conservancy District is owned $386,675, and Shelby Electric Cooperative is owned $917,856. The Taylorville Sanitary District gets off easy with an unpaid bill of $161.

If a resident of Taylorville owed that money, the mailbox would be filled with "bill overdue" letters and, eventually, the threat of court action or shut-off.

But state facilities have a card up their collective sleeve: Shut off the water, and the state will move out the prisoners  and the jobs of those who guard, feed and mop up after them. But there's no guarantee when or if they will return, because the facility first will need repairs and inspections that, of course, cost money the state doesn't have.

The stopgap budget recently signed into law does provide some money for the state's prison system to pay its bills. Comptroller Leslie Munger says she'll pay those bills as soon as IDOC turns them over to her office.

That's welcome news, but the state owes money to private businesses and agencies everywhere. The numbers add up blindingly fast and without a full budget, a number of overdue bills will continue to grow.

The fallout from the state's lack of a complete budget will reverberate for months, if not years.

It is unfair and wrong for the state to get away with unpaid bills when the rest of us cannot. The longer the state proceeds with its current leadership, the longer residents will end up paying the price.
Fact Check: This BJP worker from Gujarat is not rooting for AAP in the state

Punjab police again questions Naresh Yadav over scripture 'desecration'

India

oi-PTI

Chandigarh, July 9: AAP MLA from delhi Naresh Yadav was on Saturday,July 10 questioned by Sangrur Police in connection with the Malerkotla sacrilege incident during which he accused the policemen of misbehaving with him.

Police, however, charged the MLA with not cooperating with them and said it may approach a court to seek his arrest warrant.

Yadav, accompanied by AAP's Punjab convener Sucha Singh Chhotepur and AAP leader Himmat Singh Shergill, appeared before the Sangrur police for the second time to join the investigation. He was questioned for more than eight hours, officials said.

Yadav was earlier questioned for five hours on July 5. After coming out of the Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) wing of Sangrur police, Yadav alleged that police misbehaved with him during questioning. "I cooperated with police during questioning but they misbehaved with me. They asked me improper questions and in an indecent way.

I have already said that I am available for investigation whenever police calls me," Yadav said. Denying Yadav's allegation, Sangrur SSP Pritpal Singh Thind said "It is completely wrong. It is a serious case which we are investigating.

There is nothing political in it." Thind accused Yadav of being non-cooperative with the police. "He did not cooperate with us. He could not give replies to our questions. Today his answers were different from what he had given to the same questions asked earlier," the SSP said.

Asked if police sees any role of the MLA in Malerkotla incident, he said, "from questioning, so far, I feel that he (Yadav) was involved." Asked whether police will arrest the AAP MLA, the SSP said a decision regarding his arrest or calling him again for investigation will be taken in a day or two.

"We are investigating the matter and we are collecting evidence which will be presented in a court to seek his arrest warrant. Or we may also call him again to join investigation. A decision regarding what course of action we adopt will be taken in a day or two," he said.

AAP MLA had claimed that he was deliberately dragged into the case as part of a political conspiracy. "I will cooperate with the police during investigation all the time," Yadav said.

Yadav had been booked under relevant sections of the IPC after one of the accused Vijay Kumar, arrested in June 24 Malerkotla sacrilege incident, claimed that he had done at the behest of AAP MLA.

PTI
Russian researchers claim 'World's oldest woman' lied about her age when she died

Watch: Car in flames after it rams into gate of Russian embassy

Saas-Bahu feud: Russian woman thrown out of house in Agra for not bringing dowry!

India

oi-Preeti Panwar

Agra, July 10: Saas-bahu (Mother-in-law and daughter-in-law) disputes on trivial issues are very common in India. A Russian woman married to an Indian woman could also not escape herself from this common phenomemon in Agra district of Uttar Pradesh.

In protest against her mother-in-law, Olga Efimenkova, a Russian woman was seen sitting at the door step of her in laws.

"I am sitting in protest at entrance of our house as my mother-in-law kicked us out. I have nowhere to go", she was quoted saying as to a news agency.

"I won't eat anything and will keep on protesting until I have a place to live. Police didn't lodge my complaint saying it's a family matter", she further said.

Olga also alleged that she had to face torture and mental abuse, as she was taunted for not bringing enough dowry and for being a foreigner.

Vikrant, her husband also claimed that his wife had been physically assaulted by his mother for not bringing Rs 11 lakh and dowry with her.

Olga got married to Vikrant Singh in 2011 and the couple has a daughter. All three of them have been reportedly kicked out of their home by her in-laws.

Olga has also reached out to the Russian embassy, in an attempt to get help.

Meanwhile, Nirmala Chandel, Olga's mother-in-law claimed that her son and daughter-in-law were indulged in gambling and did not take care of her.

She also said that she gave the house to her daughter, where she stays now.

Agra (UP): Russian daughter-in-law sits at the door step of her in laws in protest against her mother-in-law pic.twitter.com/8yatzOagy6  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) July 10, 2016

OneIndia News
Talks with managements fail; bank workers to strike work on July 12, 13

India

oi-IANS

By Ians English

Chennai, July 10: Bank employees are preparing to strike work on Tuesday and Wednesday after talks between their representatives and bank managements failed on Friday, C.H. Venkatachalam, a union leader, said on Saturday.

The managements "made no concrete proposal" to the employees who have been opposing the proposed merger of the State Bank of India (SBI) with its associate banks as also privatisation of the IDBI Bank, Venkatachalam, the General Secretary of the All India Bank Employees' Association (AIBEA), said in a statement.

The talks were convened by the Chief Labour Commissioner of the central government in his office in New Delhi on Friday.

Officials of the Department of Financial Services, the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) and five associate banks of the SBI, and the union leaders attended the meeting.

Venkatachalam said the union leaders stated at the meeting that instead of taking stringent measures against wilful and deliberate defaulters of bank loans, the government is diverting public attention by such steps as privatisation and consolidation of banks.

The unions also explained as to why the proposed merger of the SBI with its associate banks, the proposed privatisation of IDBI Bank, and other such measures are unwarranted, he said.

The unions emphasised that effective measures to recover the alarmingly high levels of bad loans is the real top priority for the banks today, Venkatachalam said.

The managements of SBI's associate banks made no concrete proposal except making a statement that they are always willing to talk to the union, he said.

The government has approved the merger of the SBI with its five associate banks -- State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur (SBBJ), State Bank of Travancore (SBT), State Bank of Patiala (SBP), State Bank of Mysore (SBM) and State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH) -- as well as Bharatiya Mahila Bank.

The AIBEA had called on about 45,000 employees of the SBI's associate banks to strike work on July 12 to protest against the proposed merger.

The AIBEA had also announced support for another strike planned the next day, on July 13, to be observed by employees of all banks.

IANS

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Sunday, July 10, 2016, 12:08 [IST]
Modi in Africa: What PM said in his Kenya address

International

oi-Shubham Ghosh

Nairobi, July 10: Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached out to the people of Kenya and also the Indian diaspora based in that country during his visit there on Sunday (July 10).

Read more on Modi in Africa 2016

Modi, who visited Kenya in the final leg of his four-nation tour to Africa which started with his arrival in Mozambique on July 7 (Thursday), addressed an audience at the Kasarani Stadium here. He was given a red-carpet welcome in Kenya.

Here are some of the high points of what Modi said at the gathering:

It is a great honour for all of us that the president of Kenya (Uhuru Kenyatta) is present among us to grace the occasion.

For me, for India and for the Indians, it is a great, great honour. He termed it a "symbol of love and affection".

When we set our foot here, it felt we have come to "Mini Hindustan".

Our ancestors had come here as labourers.



They must have only heard about Ganga, Assam.Despite this,it's commendable that they have been able to preserve the (Indian)culture.

Recently, the Indian-African summit took place in India, many African countries came, president of Kenya invited me to visit Kenya then.

Africa is vital for India

India is not a selfish nation, only bothered about ourselves. We believe in "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam".

India's real ambassadors are my Indian brothers and sisters spread all over the world.

I have visited so many countries but never have I heard any complaint from Govts about Indians living in their respective countries.

The world is facing an economic crisis but India is growing at a quick pace.

Last 2 years, India faced drought like situation despite this we have been able to project 7.6 per cent growth rate.

But we won't be stopping here, we have to attain 8 per cent growth rate, for which we are taking various measures.

Today India is transforming, its because of the dedication and determination of 1.25 billion people of India.

Improving the quality of life for the ordinary Indian, that is the main task of my government.

World is facing 2 problems, today- Global warming and Terrorism.

India's message for the world is that people who believe in humanity must come together to fight anti-human elements.

It is our responsibility to conserve and preserve the nature for the coming generations.

Oneindia News
PM Modi likely to visit Arunachal on Oct 30 to inaugurate greenfield airport

Watch: PM Narendra Modi beats traditional drums with Tanzania President

International

oi-Preeti Panwar

Dar es Salaam, July 10: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who on Sunday, July 10, reached Tanzania on the third leg of his four-nation tour of Africa, enthralled Tanzanians with his drumming skills.

PM Modi's skills as a drummer were on full display as he along with Tanzanian President John Pombe Joseph Magufuli played the traditional drums for a minute.

"New beats to the #IndiaAfrica rhythm! PM @narendramodi and President @MagufuliJP play the drum," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted.

Both the leaders played the wooden drums after the Prime Minister was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the State House here.

65-year-old Modi was seen enjoying the drumming session with the Tanzanian President, who appeared to halt briefly but resumed the drumming again when he saw the Indian leader was in no mood to stop.

#WATCH: PM Modi tries his hand at traditional drum in Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) #ModiInAfricahttps://t.co/8I0l4F30Ym  ANI (@ANI_news) July 10, 2016

This is the first prime ministerial visit from India to Tanzania in five years since the visit of then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2011.

Thereafter, he will leave for Nairobi, Kenya, where he will address an Indian diaspora rally on Sunday evening.

Modi's skills as a drummer was for the first time displayed in Japan in September 2014 when he joined the Japanese percussionists to perform a 'jugalbandi' with them.

He gave tough competition to the professional drummers as he tried his hand on the drum at an event to launch TCS Japan Technology and Cultural Academy in Tokyo. [PM Modi takes Japan by surprise, plays traditional drums]

Then, he charmed Meghalaya with his drum-beating skills in May this year, during an event orgainsed in his honour on his arrival at Mawphlang village in the North-Eastern state. [PM Narendra Modi beats drum in Meghalaya]

In February 2016, he beat a Maadol---a form of tribal drum, along with former Union minister and currently Assam's Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal at a public rally in Moran in Dibrugarh district of Assam ahead of the state's election.

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Can American democracy survive this presidential election? We assume any framework that has endured through the Civil War, the Great Depression, the violent upheaval of the 1960s and more can survive anything. But no earthly institution is eternal, and it's hard to think of a campaign that has done more damage to our system of government than this one.

Amid our misery, we take comfort in the belief that once the election is over, things will get better. More likely, they will get worse.

On the Republican side is a candidate who appears incapable of telling the truth, trying to gain a basic understanding of policy or speaking in anything but childishly simplistic sound bites. Donald Trump has made himself so radioactive that for the first time in memory, dozens of Republican politicians are shunning their nominee, repudiating many of his statements and boycotting their national convention.

Has any major-party nominee ever been tarred with the brush of racism by the party's highest-ranking officeholder as Trump was by House Speaker Paul Ryan? Has any former president in the past century refused to endorse his own party's nominee -- much less two former presidents -- as both Bushes have done?

On the other side, has any major-party candidate ever come so close to being indicted just before being nominated as Hillary Clinton did? Has one ever been criticized more thoroughly and damningly by the director of the FBI than she was on Tuesday, when James Comey presented a picture of her as dishonest, reckless and incompetent?

None of this comes as a shocking discovery. From their decades in the public eye, we knew Trump as a bombastic fraud with an ego as big as the Titanic and Clinton as a ruthless power seeker with a compulsion to deceive. Yet the political order has enabled them to reach the threshold of our highest office.

The latest Gallup Poll found that these two arouse more negative feelings than any presidential nominee in the past 60 years. Barry Goldwater was perceived in "highly unfavorable" terms by 26 percent of Americans on his way to one of the most crushing defeats in American history. Clinton is regarded that way by 33 percent of Americans, and Trump by 42 percent.

Those figures came in before the FBI director's report and before the controversy over Trump's use of anti-Semitic imagery. They also come before the candidates and their allied super PACs have spent hundreds of millions of dollars showcasing the flaws of the other. By election night, the loser may qualify as the most hated person in America -- and the president-elect may be the runner-up.

The problem is not so much that voters will spend the next four months being disgusted by Trump and Clinton before having to suppress nausea long enough to cast a ballot for one of them. It's that the citizenry will be forced to submit to one or the other of them for four years that may feel like 40.

Consider how bitter and polarized the climate has grown under Barack Obama, a president who has a temperate disposition, is careful with words and has managed two terms without a major scandal or catastrophe. Under him, two costly wars have wound down, the economy has climbed back from the worst downturn since the Depression and crime has declined. But many Republicans regard him as not only unsatisfactory but completely illegitimate. They will almost certainly greet Clinton with even more hostility.

If Trump wins, though, Democrats will not be alone in seeing him as an intolerable usurper. After George W. Bush emerged victorious from the five-week legal battle over the 2000 election, his inauguration attracted thousands of demonstrators chanting, "Hail to the thief," with a few throwing eggs and bottles. Imagine the protests that would engulf the capital for a Trump inauguration.

Is America lurching toward collapse, disintegration or civil war? It may sound far-fetched. But delegates to this year's Texas state Republican convention spent two hours debating whether to put a plank on secession in their platform.

The simple fact is that the next president will be detested by half the country, if not more, from day one. How long till impeachment hearings begin?

We don't know who will be in charge of the next administration. But it already has a haunting theme song: "Eve of Destruction."
CBS Dallas Digital 08 Jun 2020

A Travis Air Force Base airman is under arrest and facing charges for the murder of a Santa Cruz sheriffs deputy on Saturday...
SPRINGFIELD  Despite a bill on Gov. Bruce Rauners desk that would block its plans, the Illinois Department on Aging is moving forward with proposed changes to a program that provides care to elderly Illinoisans so that they can remain in their homes.

The departments community care program is designed to keep people out of more-costly nursing homes by providing help with tasks such as cooking, laundry and bathing. But facing an aging population and dwindling state resources, the department has proposed shifting more than half of the roughly 84,000 participants into a new community reinvestment program.

The new system would cover those who are eligible for the current program based on their need for care but dont qualify for Medicaid. Thats currently about 43,000 people.

The Rauner administration estimates that the change would save nearly $200 million a year by delivering services more efficiently: hiring services to pick up and drop off laundry rather than paying workers to do it in clients homes, for example.

Spokeswoman Veronica Vera wrote in an email that the department remains committed to the implementation of the Community Reinvestment Program  and its mission to continue providing the services necessary to keep seniors in their homes longer and do so in a fiscally responsible and sustainable manner.

The department is continuing to meet with the local agencies that will implement the program in anticipation of a January launch date, Vera said.

But the bill that was sent to him Rauner last month would prevent the department from making its proposed changes. It would also codify in state law eligibility standards that the Rauner administration had previously attempted to tighten.

Sponsored by state Rep. Greg Harris, D-Chicago, the bill was approved with strong support in both chambers of the General Assembly but fell shy of veto-proof majorities.

Proponents say the departments proposed changes could result in more elderly residents ending up in nursing homes, which would cost the state more in the long run.

At an April news conference announcing the legislation, Harris called the departments plan a bad experiment, especially when thats being done in an untested way statewide.

Ryan Gruenenfelder, manager of advocacy and outreach for AARP Illinois, which opposes the new program, said the group is urging Rauner to sign the bill but acknowledges that its unlikely he will.

Given that it would block changes Rauner has advocated, Gruenenfelder said, were not naive enough to think he will sign the bill into law.

Instead, AARP is focusing its attention on winning the support of the additional lawmakers whose votes would be needed to override a seemingly inevitable veto.

This is just so important to prevent these cuts from happening, Gruenenfelder said.

While the department says it will continue providing services to all those eligible for the current program, he said AARP is concerned that a waiting list could be implemented for the new program if there arent enough resources to go around.

Under a 1982 federal court order stemming from a class-action lawsuit, the state is required to begin providing services to those eligible for the current program within 60 days of receiving their applications.

Vera said the department "does not anticipate a wait list for the implementation" of the program and "is diligently working to avoid the possibility of a wait list and intends to abide by all federal and state laws."
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Addition by Subtraction? Netherlands Passes Remote Gaming Bill

Published July 10, 2016 by Lee R

The good news for the EU couldn't happen at a better time.

Amid the fallout of the Brexit, another much speculated upon event of potentially huge consequence has taken place after years of stops and starts--for the good of iGaming.

Netherlands In

As of Thursday, the lower house of the Dutch Parliament has finally passed the Netherlands' first bill to regulate online gaming.

ETA

Implementation is still pending full approval by the Dutch Senate later in the year, which still would keep the online gambling market on track for opening in the cash-heavy country by the start of 2017.

New Adaptations

Key new provisions to the approved bill include prohibitions on lotteries as well as the use of existing player databases by land-based operators to promote online offerings.

Stricter protections will also be placed on existing land-based companies, including physical entry and player identification barriers, and a new mandate to contribute to a problem gambling fund.

Revenue Engineers

Revenue Engineers co-founder Jaspar Hoekert commented on the news with delight, saying that While there are some aspects of the legislation which are not ideal, this is still a very workable framework and I am confident that the Netherlands will quickly emerge as one of Europes most important gaming jurisdictions.

In the Works

The approval was indeed a triumph for all 16 gaming experts serving on the Revenue Engineers staff, with the Amsterdam organization having already worked with other local and global clients as consultants on regulation. Word is that Revenue Engineers already has joint ventures and international partnerships in development for the Netherlands market as well.

Potential Benefits

The reason the Dutch passage is of note to iGaming is because of the society's reputation for incorporating ideals into its social infrastructure and programming. After over two years of adaptations and various bills passing through for consideration, the achievement of a workable model up to Dutch standards can remove more stigma regarding gambling, as well as potentially provide a leading online revenue model for passing along the benefits of iGaming take to the people most effectively.

EU Nudge

The passage took some prodding from the EU, which suggested to the meticulous Dutch legislators to resolve all lingering debates by creating the clearest market conditions for new entrants as possible. As the EU iGaming regulatory authority crosses off the British contribution, the welcoming of the Netherlands softens the blow considerably.
Reprinted from Smirking Chimp



Syrian conflict: Obama and Putin

(Image by abc.net.au) Details DMCA



The long internal political struggle within the Obama administration over policy toward Syria has intensified following a proposal by President Barack Obama to cooperate with Russia in an air campaign against Al Qaeda's Syrian franchise.

The proposal, in response to an overture from Russia in May, would coordinate airstrikes against al-Nusra Front -- the most powerful force in the war against Bashar al-Assad's regime -- in return for Russian agreement to constrain the Syrian regime from bombing non-jihadist forces willing to comply with the ceasefire.

If fully implemented, such a joint U.S.-Russian military campaign against Nusra could help hasten an end to the war by weakening the jihadist group cited by the Syrian regime as a major reason it has refused to make sufficient political concessions. In theory, such cooperation could strengthen both the regime and the so-called "moderate" rebels at the expense of the jihadists.

But Obama's proposal is under attack by powerful elements of the national security bureaucracy. Even though the opponents have been unable to stop the proposal, they continue to press their case and it is not clear how committed the proponents are in pressuring their Syrian clients to comply with an agreement.

Last week, opponents of the proposal within the Obama administration leaked its existence to Washington Post columnist Josh Rogin, whose sympathies clearly lie with the U.S. advocates of direct U.S. war against the Assad regime.

Rogin's story confirms that one major source of opposition to the proposal is Secretary of Defense Ash Carter and his staff. The article suggests, moreover, that the Pentagon opposition has less to do with Syria than with the Pentagon's interest in preventing any softening of the new U.S.-Russia Cold War.

Carter opposed the Obama plan for a joint military strategy with Russia, Rogin writes, because Russian President Vladimir Putin sees military cooperation with Washington in Syria as "a way to gradually unwind Russia's isolation following the Russian military intervention in Ukraine."

But the primary argument against a joint campaign with Russia targeting Nusra Front is that it would jeopardize the military strength of Al Qaeda's Syrian franchise and thus help the Assad government reclaim key territory.

Rogin quotes a complaint from Andrew Tabler, senior fellow at the pro-Israel Washington Institute for Near East Policy, that, even if Russia delivers on a commitment to halt regime bombing of non-jihadist armed groups, the other armed groups fighting Assad would be in a much weaker position.

The on-the-ground subordination of the so-called "legitimate opposition" to the command structure of Al Qaeda's offshoot, which is officially designated a terrorist organization, has been at the center of the diplomatic maneuvering between the Obama administration and Russia over possible military cooperation in Syria.

Russia's Overture

The original Russian proposal to the United States for a joint air campaign, announced by Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu on May 20, was conditional on non-jihadist armed groups separating physically from Nusra. The Russians had made that same condition part of the agreement for the partial ceasefire in February.

Secretary of State John Kerry agreed to the condition but never delivered on the pledge to get the "moderate" armed groups to move away from Nusra and its jihadist allies. Nusra and another hard-line jihadist group, Ahrar al-Sham, have been the leaders of the powerful Saudi-backed rebel umbrella group, the Army of Conquest.

The subordinate non-jihadist groups have made it clear they have no intention of abandoning Nusra Front and its superior fighting capabilities. Instead of separating themselves from Nusra, the non-jihadist forces in northeastern Syria joined Nusra in breaking the ceasefire.

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Reprinted from Truthdig

Truthdig Editor in Chief Robert Scheer, in the immediate aftermath of FBI Director James Comey's announcement that the bureau would not seek an indictment against Hillary Clinton for her misuse of and failure to secure classified information, asked me to write about the decision. I said that I would but found that I was so angry about the Justice Department's hypocrisy that I just couldn't put pen to paper until I had cooled off for a few days. I was further angered by what I heard in the nationally televised Comey congressional hearings two days after the announcement, from both Democrats and Republicans.

I've not yet cooled off, but I feel as though my anger is focused enough to offer a few thoughts.

First, I want to be clear that I'm not angry at Hillary Clinton personally. I don't like Hillary. I don't support her. I don't trust her. I don't think she would be a good or trustworthy president. But that's not the issue here. The issue is the inherent unfairness in the system.

I was arrested in January 2012 and charged with five felonies, including three counts of espionage, one count of violating the Intelligence Identities Protection Act, and one count of making a false statement. The espionage charges stemmed from conversations I had had with reporters from The New York Times and ABC News about the CIA's torture program. Four of those five charges eventually were dropped.

For the record, I had not made a false statement. That's what is called a "throwaway" charge that the Justice Department files and then offers to bargain away. And I hadn't committed espionage, either.

I did plead guilty to confirming the name of a former CIA colleague to a reporter -- who never made the name public. I did it. I admit it. And I paid a price for it.

That said, providing or confirming the names of former or current CIA officers happens all the time and is almost never prosecuted. Former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage outed CIA officer Valerie Plame and was never prosecuted for it. Former CIA Director David Petraeus revealed the names of at least 10 CIA officers to his mistress, lied to the FBI about doing it and still was never charged. Former CIA Director Leon Panetta exposed the name of the Navy SEAL who killed Osama bin Laden, and Panetta was not charged.

The Justice Department calls that "prosecutorial discretion." I call it an iron fist that came down on my head because I exposed the torture program while those who were politically connected or were friends of the president got a pass on their misdeeds.

Several members of Congress this week raised my case and stated -- as if they had any idea what they were talking about -- that I had had "criminal intent." That's bull. I never had criminal intent. But I still never had a chance. Here's why:

In my very first hearing in the federal Eastern District of Virginia, my judge said that she would not respect precedent as it related to having criminal intent in a national security case. In plain English, she didn't care one whit if there was intent or not. Either I did it or I didn't. If I did it, I should be punished.

At the same time, the Justice Department came up with the novel idea that I had exposed the name and spoken to reporters because I was trying to build a consulting business and sell books. In fact, my book wasn't written at the time, and it didn't come out until two years later.

Furthermore, all the prosecutors had to do was look at my bank account, which I'm sure they did, to see that I was broke. I had no consulting business. It was a lie that was somehow treated as fact because it had been spoken by the Justice Department. But that didn't make it true.

When I finally stood to be formally sentenced in January 2013, the judge asked me if I had revealed the name on purpose.

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Over and over again, those of us who keep watch over the world from unofficial cathedra in the belly of the beast, wonder where it all will end, knowing our voices are heard by too few to change the drift toward war and/or climate catastrophe.

As the NATO Summit met in Warsaw we were haunted by the nineteen-thirties, realizing that for all our 'freedoms' -- and even our alternative press, like the Germans of that time, we are powerless. Today it is Americans who bear the heaviest responsibility for what is happening in the world, yet increasingly, the system of government we would foist upon others degenerates from a laughing stock to a disaster.

Later this month, Hillary will become the Democratic Candidate at a Convention in Philadelphia, the city in which the Declaration of Independence was signed, and shortly thereafter, Donald Trump will be anointed as the Republican candidate in Cleveland, home of a once famous automobile industry. Hillary risks indictment for having an email server in her basement, while Donald Trump flirts with White supremacists. Yet in the last few days, events have taken uncertainty to a new level. After two black men were shot by white police officers in different places for no reason, a lone shooter in yet another city killed five of their colleagues. In a hideous close-up, Donald Trump declared that the police stand between civilization and "complete chaos". Yet many of his followers own guns and some have announced they plan to appear at the convention carrying them.

Hillary will perhaps not be indicted, however it is extremely likely that Donald Trump will make new converts after the damning testimony by the head of the FBI concerning her 'carelessness' in leaving classified information open to discovery by the entire world. The Republican Convention precedes the Democratic one by just a few days, and although they will be held in separate cities, both could be disrupted, Trump's by Black Lives Matter activists confronting armed militias, Hillary's by Bernie supporters.

We haven't seen 'long, not summers' since the race riots of the sixties, but these will probably be seen as piddling compared to what could happen during the last ten days of Independence month.


Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore

(Image by Michael Spicer) Details DMCA



My guest today is Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore. Sycamore is most recently the author of The End of San Francisco, winner of a Lambda Literary Award, and the editor of Why Are f*ggots So Afraid of f*ggots?: Flaming Challenges to Masculinity, Objectification, and the Desire to Conform, an American Library Association Stonewall Honor Book.

Joan Brunwasser: Welcome to OpEdNews, Mattilda. You wrote a recent piece, "'Transgender Troops' Should Be an Oxymoron," in reaction to the Pentagon's decision to lift the ban on trans people serving openly in the US military. Can you please get us started? Why did you write this piece?

Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore: As soon as news spread of the Pentagon's impending decision, the two major LGBT lobbying groups, the Human Rights Campaign and the LGBTQ Task Force, praised it as a civil rights victory. To me, it is not a victory for trans people, or for anyone else, to become part of one of the central institutions of global oppression. The US military is currently bombing Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, Iraq, Somalia, Yemen and who knows how many other countries around the world. That some out trans person might soon be able to press buttons in Nevada to destroy a village in Somalia or Pakistan is not progress. We don't need more militarism, we need more resistance to this brutality. The trillions of dollars in US military funding siphons resources away from literally everything that matters in this country, from education and health care to housing and social welfare. We need to fight for dramatic cuts in military funding, otherwise we will never have the structural change we need in this country, and around the world.

JB: Naively, I imagined this would be hailed as some sort of moral victory. But, now that I think about what you're saying, I believe there's a lot of merit to your perspective. Are you getting much push back for your outspokenness on this issue? And, did you see this Pentagon decision coming?

MBS: I think the Pentagon is always looking for a new batch of marginalized people to exploit, right? So, in that way, it's not a surprise. I think the ensuing debate over the next year, as the military implements the policy change, will also serve to distract from continuing oppression here and abroad, so, in that sense it's also a smart strategic move. The Pentagon, after all, does have trillions of dollars to think about strategy. And, the strategy of the gay establishment has, for decades, been assimilation into straight privilege, at any cost. It's tragic. Trans people have always been pushed to the side--they call it an "LGBT" movement, but really it's mostly about white gays and lesbians with power and privilege. So, yes, gay powerbrokers are never exactly pleased by this sort of critique. In fact, they have systematically kept radical queer and trans voices out of the picture. They'd much rather argue with some foaming-at-the-mouth Christian fundamentalist who thinks that all queer are going to burn in hell than have a principled debate with other queers.

JB: How did you come by your activism in the first place?

MBS: I grew up in an upper-middle-class assimilated Jewish family where I was sexually abused by my father from a young age, and his economic and professional success camouflaged the violence. I thought that in order to get away I had to beat my father on his terms--go to a better college, make more money, etc. I did go to that type of school, but there I realized that I was only learning how to be my father. I realized I needed to leave school in order to become my own person. I needed to find direct action activism and radical queers, I needed to be able to create my own value system, I needed to be able to define lust and love and intimacy and accountability on my own terms. So, after a year at an elite Ivy League university, I fled to San Francisco, where I found other incest survivors and dropouts, vegans and hookers and anarchists and direct action activists and other assorted troublemaking queers trying desperately to create ways of taking care of one another and challenging the violence of the status quo that were not predicated on anything we had been taught to believe. That's where I learned the most.

JB: That's an awful way to grow up. Did you ever have it out with your dad? Reconcile? How have you dealt with all that understandable rage and betrayal and all the other emotions?

MBS: As a kid, I blocked it all out. There was no other way to survive. I remembered the abuse in the context of my first sexual relationship, after I moved to San Francisco, when I was 19. It changed everything about how I saw the world, and my place in it. Two years later I confronted my father, and told him I would never speak to him again unless he acknowledged the abuse. He was a psychiatrist--he had every means available to do this work. He chose not to. Eleven years later, I learned that he was dying of terminal cancer. I decided to visit him, even though he hadn't acknowledged anything. I didn't want to realize, 10 years down the line or whenever, that I wished I had visited him, because that would no longer be possible. It was one of the best decisions I ever made. I mean, it was traumatic and overwhelming, but I felt so present. I was sobbing. I told him I didn't want him to die. I told him I loved him. I didn't even realize I felt those things before, but I wanted to say everything. That's when I really realized that I had changed. I didn't need to shut off my emotions in order to exist in the world, like when I was a child. I was a totally different person. And this whole experience opened up the possibility to write my next book, The End of San Francisco, about all my formative moments, and their undoing. The book ultimately circles around the myths and realities of San Francisco--or anywhere--as a refuge for radical queer visions in community building, it's about the possibilities and failures of this dream, but it starts with visiting my father before he died. That's what made it possible.



cover art, 'The End of San Francisco'

(Image by City Lights) Details DMCA



JB: A courageous move that has ultimately paid big dividends. Where did the writing come from?

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This is Peter Hitchens's Mail on Sunday column

Oh, for goodness sake leave the pathetic Blair creature alone. He will never understand what he did and probably didnt understand it at the time.

He isnt very bright and now lives a lonely, meaningless life of empty speeches delivered to bored businessmen in return for money, which will have to be penance enough.

If you want to blame anyone for the Iraq disaster, look at yourselves. I opposed it at the time, and remember how few others did. I dont really count the Leftist demonstrators, who oppose all wars, just or unjust.

I mean the great mass of patriotic Middle Britain, normal decent people, who were so willingly misled. I mean those scores of MPs of both parties who scuttled, bleating, through the war lobby and now claim, falsely, that they didnt know the facts.

I mean my media colleagues, who have been trained from their earliest years to doubt what they are told, yet swallowed Alastair Campbells great dish of steaming tripe without a thought.

Come on, how hard was it to see that the danger was invented, that the war was illegal and that it was none of our business? I have no prophetic powers but I could see it.

And yet, diddled so blatantly that even an official report now confirms it, you still dont learn. How many supposedly responsible voters are currently being fooled by todays attempt to spin us into a stupid conflict with Russia, a country almost nobody in Whitehall knows anything about or understands?

At least as many as were misled by claims of a fictional massacre into supporting the Libya disaster. At least as many as were persuaded by a media chorus to admire Hilary Benns feeble, poorly argued speech urging us to bomb Syria.

Is there no idiocy you cant be gulled into by a bit of atrocity propaganda or the endlessly recycled claim that the chosen target is the new Hitler, who must not be appeased? A word of advice: if you dont like atrocities, dont start wars. Wars are the mother and father of atrocities, and one day they will come home to us, if we keep launching them against others.

Vladimir Putin is already being turned into the new Hitler. Nobody who knows anything about Russia thinks this is true. But a couple of weeks ago we more or less secretly sent British troops to Ukraine, a country with which we are not in any way allied, and which is a war zone. Was Parliament asked about Exercise Rapid Trident? I can find no record of it.

We have just made the daft decision to send 650 scarce troops to Poland and Estonia. This is supposedly in response to a Russian threat to these countries for which there is no actual evidence. Apart from the tiny exclave of Kaliningrad, Poland doesnt even have a border with Russia. As the wise academic Professor Richard Sakwa, whose father served in the pre-war Polish Army, has rightly said: Nato grew to meet the threat it had itself provoked.

If we are not careful, we shall once again create a war out of our own exaggerated fears and by believing our own propaganda. Any of you who are taken in by this have no right to attack Mr Blair. You are as bad as he is. He and his like couldnt do what they do without your help.

Baffled by the barmy NHS

A member of my family had to hurry to a major hospital casualty department at the weekend. It was the usual NHS mixture  dedicated, overworked and kind doctors and nurses cunningly concealed behind a barrier of wooden bureaucracy bad enough to make you scream, even if you werent already in pain.

All ended quite happily. Soon afterwards she received this ludicrous text, which I at first thought was a joke: We would like you to think about your recent experience at the **** **** hospital.

How likely are you to recommend our Emergency Department to your friends and family if they needed similar care or treatment today? Reply 1 for extremely likely, 2 for likely, 3 for neither likely nor unlikely, 4 for extremely unlikely, 5 for dont know.

How does one begin to respond to this? She was in considerable pain and distress. She did not consult the Good Hospital Guide (not that there was any choice, given the sparseness of A&E facilities in modern Britain). Its not a market. Its organised mercy, and it would be better if it concentrated exclusively on that.

The campaign for justice for the late Bishop George Bell goes on. Bell has been denounced by Church and media as a child abuser without the semblance of a trial.

This was recently the main subject of a powerful debate in the House of Lords. The Churchs response, as ever, was to use the alleged victim as a human shield.

Arrayed in his flowing clerical robes, in a chamber where all speak upon their honour, the consecrated Bishop of Chelmsford asserted that campaigners for justice for George Bell had made hurtful comments about her (the alleged victim).

Have they? I have challenged him to say who these people were and what these comments were. He has not replied, though the Church press office has emitted some irrelevant and evasive guff.

******

A florid face we should save for the nation

How we shall all miss Ken Clarke. This week, while looking like some hedge-dwelling creature roused early from a comfy hibernation, he accurately summed up modern British politics in a few very funny words uttered when he thought the TV cameras werent rolling. Typically, he hasnt complained about the recording being leaked. I disagree with almost everything he thinks, though he was dead right about Iraq and gets too little credit. But he is a modest, thoughtful and funny person, with a real life outside politics, whose wisdom we badly need. Cant he be saved for the nation? ********

Look, I am resigned to the coronation of Mrs Theresa May as our next Prime Minister. In a cynical way, I am quite pleased by it, as she is so Left-wing that she may well achieve my main aim in life  the final and utter destruction of the Useless, Fraudulent Tory Party.

But spare me the suggestion that she is the new Margaret Thatcher. Im not actually a Thatcherite, and disapprove of a lot of what the Iron Lady did.

But I did meet Mrs Thatcher, and talk to her, and watch her in action. And Mrs May is no Margaret Thatcher. She is in fact the new John Major.

If you want to comment on Peter Hitchens, click on Comments and scroll down
On June 22, 2016, Gerard Araud, French ambassador to the United States, twitted: "The next President will face a multipolar world where the U.S. will be the main but not the only power. Realism is the only possible agenda." This is a bold statement for an ambassador. Is the statement accurate?

In fact, one could argue the opposite. The United States is more powerful today than it has ever been. It is strengthening its grip on South America, in Argentina and Brazil, in particular. Venezuela is next. It controls Europe as never before thanks to NATO and an unrelenting anti-Russian propaganda. In South Asia including the Middle East, the United States destroyed Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Libya. It subdued Iran with economic sanctions, forcing its leaders to ask for mercy. It has bases all over Africa. In Asia, its potential opponent is China. However, China is entering some are predicting will be a "lost decade", it may be in no position to challenge the United States.

This leaves Russia. It is singled out as the United States' main threat by neoconservatives. We are constantly reminded that Vladimir Putin's "Russian aggression" is an immediate threat to Poland and the Baltic States. Is it really?

NATO's 2014 military expenditures total $864 billion against $92 billion for Russia, i.e. a 9:1 ratio in favor of the NATO alliance. The gross domestic product picture is even worst. NATO's gross domestic product amounts to $37,378 billion against $1,860 billion for Russia, i.e. a 20:1 ratio. In a prolonged war, Russians would starve to death. NATO membership rose from sixteen in 1991 to twenty-eight today, in violation of the United States' verbal commitment not to move east as a quid pro quo for Germany's reunification (the Warsaw Pact was dissolved in 1991).* NATO's on-going war game in Eastern Europe is the largest military exercise on Russia's borders since Operation Barbarossa of June 1941. Russia is surrounded by ballistic missile sites, officially aimed at Iran. American troops are based in the Baltic States and Poland on a rotating basis.

Naturally, these developments cause great concern in Moscow. In June, at the Saint-Petersburg International Economic Forum, Vladimir Putin told Western journalists: "We know year by year what's going to happen, and they know that we know". He added: "the world is being pulled in an irreversible direction". If pushed too far, Putin will have no choice but react to American provocations.

If the French ambassador is right: today's unipolar world will eventually evolve into a multipolar world. But, for the moment, the United States is the dominant power. It faces no threat other than those it is dreaming up to achieve world hegemony, but this is a dangerous game. Neither Russia nor China will willingly pledge allegiance to Washington. As tension rises with Moscow, the risk of an inadvertent, accidental or deliberate nuclear detonation cannot be ruled out.** The United States is its own worst enemy. Its policies threaten its security and world peace for all.





*At the request of the United States, Russia is subject to economic sanctions. But the Russian-made RD-180 rocket engine is not included because the United States uses it to orbit satellites critical to America's defense.

**In a study entitled: "Too close for comfort -- Cases of nuclear use and options for policy", a report by Chatham House lists thirteen cases of nuclear incidents during the Cold War which might have resulted in an undeclared war by mistake.
This piece was reprinted by OpEd News with permission or license. It may not be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source.

Reprinted from Consortium News



Martin Luther King Jr. meeting with President Lyndon Johnson at the White House in 1966.

(Image by White House Photo) Details DMCA



In 1967, Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. faced a painful dilemma. How could he tell oppressed young blacks and police to shun violence on the streets of our country, but rather to behave nonviolently, when the entire country watched state-sanctioned violence in Vietnam on evening TV?

What Dr. King chose to do then needs to happen again -- NOW. Against the "practical" advice of virtually all his Realpolitik associates, King asked one of his closest advisers, Vincent Harding, to draft a speech, Beyond Vietnam, in the dangerous prophetic tradition of speaking truth to power. (Thirty-five years later, I studied under the late Dr. Harding at Word and World, a timely workshop in Greensboro, North Carolina, aimed at making faith relevant by closing the gaping gaps between Seminary, Sanctuary, and Street.)

In that momentous Vietnam speech before 3,000 people at Riverside Church in New York, Dr. King broke multiple taboos by making unmistakably clear and explicit the organic connection between violence at home and abroad. The date of the speech was April 4, 1967; King was murdered exactly a year later.

But who will be today's Dr. King? Who will have the courage of Harding and King to tell it like it is -- to draw the connections between 15 years of state-sanctioned violence abroad and what is happening in our streets at home? Are there no prophets left?

I edged toward this key issue in an article that I wrote last year, which Consortiumnews.com dusted off from the archives and posted again in the wake of the despicable, but -- I would suggest -- largely explainable violence in Baton Rouge, Minneapolis and Dallas.
Reprinted from Smirking Chimp

Racism is complicated. When America's most brilliant thinkers set out to explain its nature in terms as clear as the English language allows, as Michael Eric Dyson did in his searing July 7th essay "Death in Black and White," even the relatively sophisticated readers of the New York Times didn't get it. Commenters didn't understand that Dyson wasn't criticizing every white person, but "white America" -- shorthand for a dominant power structure that is fundamentally racist while (of course) not every white person is.

If anti-racist white people take writing as straightforward as Dyson's personally, if they take offense at his passion and so miss his message, is there any hope of "black America" and "white America" just getting along?

It's been a hell of a week. Two more black men, Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, were gunned down by the police under the usual incomprehensible circumstances -- events the media, and thus the government, are paying attention to only because someone invented the smartphone. Then a 25-year-old sniper, a veteran of America's brutal war against Afghanistan, shot 12 police officers at a march in Dallas protesting the deaths in Minnesota and Louisiana. Five died.

Needless to say, the Dallas cops didn't have it coming. They didn't have anything to do with what happened in entirely different states.

Well, it shouldn't need to be said. But it does. Because, no matter how many times we hear public officials tell us that the police protect and serve us, it doesn't ring true. Three out of four African-Americans tell pollsters they don't think police are held accountable for their actions. So do 40% of whites.

The truth is, Americans don't like cops.

Let's be honest. If we think about them at all, we don't mourn the slain Dallas police officers as deeply as we did the children who died in the day care center blown up in Oklahoma City, or the nightclubbers murdered in Orlando.

We need to talk about why that is.

We have been hearing more about racial profiling, how blacks are targeted by police officers more than whites, how they are physically assaulted more often, how they are charged with more serious crimes for the same offenses, how they get longer prison sentences and harsher fines. Good. This discussion is long overdue. Way too many people still don't get it.

It is right and proper to focus on Black Lives Matter. To say it. To believe it. A retort that All Lives Matter is far worse than pabulum. Because it distracts from a point that still hasn't received proper consideration in the media or in electoral politics, All Lives Matter is racist. Even the first black president has addressed the racism behind police violence only in "it sure is sad, we should do better" niceties rather than meaningful, sweeping policy changes. (He could start with blanket presidential pardons of black inmates serving ridiculously long prison sentences.) Black Lives Matter. That's what we need to talk about now. For a good long time, too.

One possible place to start is the reaction of many people to the Dallas sniper attack. Like 9/11, it was shocking. Like 9/11, it also wasn't surprising. You can't go on acting like a bully forever. The powers that be can't pressure their victims forever. Eventually the prey strike back. No, it isn't justified. Nor is it right. But it is chickens coming home to roost.

Like the Bush Administration after 9/11 ("Why? Why do they hate us?"), the police and the political elites the police actually protects and serves look silly when they pretend that they can't possibly imagine why anyone might dislike them. "There is no possible justification for these kinds of attacks or any violence against law enforcement," President Obama said after Dallas. No justification? Sure.

No possible justification? Before they blew him up with a robot bomb in an extrajudicial assassination (there weren't any hostages), suspect Micah Johnson told police negotiators that he was "upset about the recent police shootings"[that] he wanted to kill white people, especially white officers." You'd have to be especially thick, or really really white, not to see why a black guy might snap after watching the Alton Sterling and Philando Castile snuff videos.

Obama continued: "Anyone involved in the senseless murders will be held fully accountable. Justice will be done." Naturally, Obama was referring only to justice for the murdered police officers. There's never any justice for those murdered by police officers (c.f., Freddie Gray, Michael Brown, Walter Scott, Eric Garner, etc.).

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Barack Obama,King Felipe VI

President Barack Obama walks with Spain's King Felipe VI in the Salon de Collonas of the Palacio Real de Madrid in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, July 10, 2016. This is Obama's first presidential trip to Spain but he is cutting his trip short a day after the fatal shooting of five police officers in Dallas.

(Susan Walsh/The Associated Press)

MADRID -- President Barack Obama called Sunday for greater tolerance, respect and understanding from police officers toward the people they take an oath to protect as well as from individuals who think the police are too heavy handed and intolerant, particularly toward people of color.



"I'd like all sides to listen to each other," Obama said as he answered a reporter's question after meeting with Spain's acting prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, during his shortened first visit to Spain as president.



It was the fourth straight day that Obama has commented on a series of distressing events back home: the fatal shootings by police of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota, and a sniper attack that killed five police officers and wounded seven in Dallas.

In San Antonio, police on Sunday said shots were fired overnight near the department headquarters and hit the building, but nobody was hurt.

Chief William McManus said investigators are trying to determine whether the building was targeted Saturday night or if someone was randomly firing.

Police detained one person for questioning after the man was seen running from the area.

He said violence against police by anyone concerned about fairness in the criminal justice system does "a disservice to the cause."



He repeated that the vast majority of U.S. police officers are doing a good job, and rhetoric that portrays them otherwise does little to rally allies to support efforts to change a system broadly recognized as biased against minorities.



"Maintaining a truthful and serious and respectful tone is going to help mobilize American society to bring about real change," Obama said.



The president also called for balance from law enforcement. "I would hope that police organizations are also respectful of the frustrations that people in these communities feel and not just dismiss these protests and these complaints as political correctness," he said.



"It is in the interest of police officers that their communities trust them," Obama said.



The president traveled to Spain after attending a NATO summit in Poland, but the shocking series of events at home late last week dominated most of his public appearances. Spain, nevertheless, appeared thrilled to welcome the first U.S. president to visit in more than a decade. Tourists and curiosity seekers lined some streets in hopes of catching a glimpse of him, and local TV aired wall-to-wall coverage of his movements.



Obama was supposed to spend two days in Spain, but cut the visit to about a day because of the shootings.



"We've had a difficult week in the United States," he told King Felipe VI before they met in private at the Royal Palace.



After meeting with acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, Obama lauded the long-standing ties between the U.S. and Spain and complimented economic policies put in place under Rajoy's leadership, saying the changes have begun to "bear fruit." The economy is a top concern of the Spanish public, with nearly 5 million people out of work and the unemployment rate at about 20 percent.



Spain has been gripped by a political stalemate for months, with Rajoy unable to rally the political support he needs to form a new coalition government following a late-June election. It was the country's second round of inconclusive balloting in the past year.



Rajoy's party also won an election in December, but no other major party would help him form a government.



Rajoy thanked Obama for visiting and offered his condolences for the Dallas shooting. He touched on Spain's improving economic outlook and the political crisis, saying that having a third election in less than a year would be "a joke" that would damage the economy.



Obama also thanked Rajoy for his government's contributions as a fellow NATO ally, and for hosting U.S. sailors and guided missile destroyers at a naval base on the southern coast. A visit to the base, including an event with troops, was to be Obama's final stop before the flight to Washington.



It's taken the White House more than seven years to lock in Spain on Obama's foreign travel schedule. But events beyond his control ended up turning his first and only visit to Spain, the largest European country that had yet to welcome the president, into a rushed one.



Obama originally planned to spend Sunday and Monday in Spain, including a half-day of sightseeing in the south. But he cut it to one day by scrapping the sightseeing and his standard question-and-answer session with young adults.



-- The Associated Press
EUGENE -- Multi-talented Oregon star Devon Allen won the Olympic track and field trials title in the 110-meter hurdles Saturday afternoon at Hayward Field to win his second U.S. title and first Olympic berth.

Allen, who also has won three NCAA titles in his career, ran a lifetime best of 13.03 seconds to win amid the roar of 22,847 fans on his home track.

Allen's time is also the third-fastest in the world this year.

"Most amazing thing I've ever done in my life," Allen said over the stadium public-address after his race.

Ronnie Ash was second in 13.21, outleaning Jeff Porter by one one-thousandth of a second.

David Oliver did not run in the final due to injury during the semifinal, and Aries Merritt, the world record-holder, finished fourth by 0.02. Merritt, who underwent surgery for a kidney transplant 10 months ago, and said he tore his groin during May's Prefontaine Classic, said afterward he would "probably" file a protest, believing he finished third.

After he blew through the finish line, Allen leaped over a railling to meet with family.

Watch the video of his race here:

DEVON ALLEN 



He wins the men's 110m hurdles with a blazing 13.03! More highlights: https://t.co/s8sasnBSYw https://t.co/LuPeshQnvV  #TokyoOlympics (@NBCOlympics) July 10, 2016

This story will be updated.

-- Andrew Greif
UPDATE, 5:55 p.m.: Allen has won the U.S. title.

EUGENE -- Oregon's Devon Allen secure his first Olympics berth later Saturday after winning his heat in the 110-meter hurdles earlier in the day.

Allen, a three-time NCAA champion and Ducks wide receiver, was even with star David Oliver at the final hurdle of the third semifinal heat Saturday before summoning a final burst to win in 13.40 seconds.

World record-holder Aries Merritt was third in the heat, and though he didn't make the final automatically, he got in on time.

Allen is attempting to become the first active University of Oregon athlete to make Team USA bound for the Olympics since 2008, when Andrew Wheating qualified in the 800 meters and Galen Rupp in the 10,000.

Watch:

The field for the 5:52 p.m. final will include -- in order of semifinal qualifying time -- Ronnie Ash, Devon Allen, David Oliver, Jeff Porter, Jason Richardson, Aleec Harris, Aries Merritt and Jarret Eaton.

UPDATE: Allen has won the U.S. Olympic trials title in a new lifetime best of 13.03 seconds, run with a legal tailwind.

Allen won by a healthy margin of nearly 0.2 seconds after breaking away from second-place finisher Ronnie Ash after the eighth hurdle.

Read more about Allen's title here:

-- Andrew Greif

agreif@oregonian.com

@andrewgreif
Photo provided

Student Veterans of America (SVA) recently announced the award of $7,000 to Delta College in the form of gift cards from The Home Depot.

To ensure more student veterans have access to campus veteran centers, SVA and The Home Depot Foundation have awarded grants that allow 50 SVA chapters across the country to build or renovate space. This years grantees received up to $10,000 each totaling $422,747 in grants given to student veterans. Recipients span the nation from California to New York.
Four Northeast Middle School faculty members are part of a select group of teachers helping to craft the future of middle school science education in Michigan through the Michigan Science Teaching and Assessment Reform (Mi-STAR) Project.

Robin Allen, Rebecca Stinson and Bernadette Wood, who currently teach science, and recent retiree Barbara McIntyre are among 21 teachers from around the state attending a number of intensive summer workshops. They will help develop a radically new middle school science curriculum. The Mi-STAR curriculum will empower students to learn science by thinking and acting like scientists and engineers while investigating phenomena and developing solutions to real-world problems.
Nearly five years after making the ultimate sacrifice for his country, U.S. Navy Corpsman Aaron D. Ullom was remembered Saturday by his friends, family and local legislators at a bridge dedication ceremony that will leave his name and memory above a busy thoroughfare in his hometown.

A crowd gathered at the Midland Armory at 2 p.m. Saturday to hear from those who knew and loved Ullom from his early years and from his time in the service. Ullom was a 2009 Midland High School graduate, who joined the U.S. Navy and was killed by enemy gunfire on July 12, 2011 while in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.

It was a simple action on Ulloms behalf, a natural instinct to leave the safety of a small ditch to apply a tourniquet to a wounded Marine nearby, but an action that has left a tremendous impact on his community and now a permanent fixture in Midland. Gov. Rick Snyder signed Senate Bill 513, now Public Act 21 of 2016, in February to designate the bridge in recognition of Ullom.

During the ceremony, State Sen. Jim Stamas said he was proud to call Ullom one of our own, and to have helped his family with the bridge dedication which serves as a permanent reminder of a native son who gave his all.

A prayer was said, and military servicemen shared their stories of Ullom, including his best friend Keith Adams, who serves as a Hospital Corpsman, second class in the U.S. Navy and traveled from California to be with Ulloms family for the dedication ceremony. Adams read a short speech from his phone, pausing at times and hugging Ulloms father, mother and brother at the end.

I didnt realize today would be so hard for me, said Sean Bartley, Ulloms brother. A hero isnt a superhero; it isnt Spiderman, it isnt Superman. My brother is my hero.

He reminded the crowd that the ceremony wasnt just about a bridge, but a way to remember Ullom and the heroic action he took that day in 2011.

This bridge is something that will be here forever for us, and not us, his family, but everyone, Bartley said.

It is that impact that people may not realize, said Rep. Gary Glenn, who spoke at the ceremony.

Families serve and sacrifice when they have loved ones in harms way, said Glenn, adding that he has been privileged to meet Ulloms family and encounter their strength and grace.

Ulloms father Kevin credited his wife and her strength that has kept him going through the years. The family started a program called Aarons Gifts From Home, which enlists volunteers to create care packages for Midland soldiers.

Aarons a hero but Debis mine, too, he told the crowd. Our family has been through a lot but I think weve grown stronger because of it.

The ceremony ended with the unveiling of a brown sign declaring the bridge on U.S. 10 over Eastman Avenue as the Corpsman Aaron D Ullom Memorial Bridge and with the send-off of red, white and blue balloons that drifted over the highway into the blue sky and the sunshine beyond.

To learn how you can support a local soldier and remember Ullom, go to www.aaronsgiftsfromhome.com.
For some time, the Michigan state legislature has been debating and discussing how to best provide electricity to the residents, businesses and organizations of Michigan. As it stands now there are two distinct extremes being advanced in Lansing.

The first is total regulation by a state appointed committee which approves or disapproves suppliers, their investments in electricity production, their rate structures and their business practices so that all state residents will be treated fairly and receive reliable, cost effective electricity to their homes, businesses and institutions.

The more extreme second option is complete deregulation where electric customers must choose from any electricity supplier, whether operating in the state or outside the state. Lawmakers like Midlands state Rep. Gary Glenn claim that complete deregulation results in lower energy costs as a result of free market competition.

But the market for electricity is different than a market for goods and services. First, electricity cannot be stored as physical products can. The amount used must equal the amount produced. Electricity is transmitted long distances on very high voltage (Le. 50,000-250,000 volts) power lines to local areas where the voltage is reduced by stepdown transformer substations to distribute to businesses and residences. All of these power lines are commonly called the grid or electricity infrastructure.

Since electricity travels at the speed of light, there is very little time from production to usage. So the balance between the amount of electricity produced and the amount used must be managed very closely. In order for every consumer in Michigan to be able to turn on a switch for lights, appliances, machines and have that electricity be there, it requires that someone is managing that balance at all times. Peaks and valleys of usage must be responded to by increased or decreased energy production.

For a specific geographic area, it is far more efficient to have one expert entity managing that energy balance. That company can then plan its supply, production and distribution resources to match the area demand.

The company can effectively and responsibly manage and maintain the entire energy supply infrastructure to ensure reliable supply to all its customers from its production facilities. In a completely regulated structure, that company works with the approval of a state regulatory committee so that investments, quality, reliability and prices (rates) are all designed to provide all customers with the most reliable and cost effective supply of electricity.

In addition, if that one company acts as a good corporate citizen, it will partner with other responsible local businesses and contractors in the construction of its electricity production facilities and infrastructure, boosting the local economy in revenue and jobs.

It will also choose electricity production technologies that will provide a balance between cost effectiveness and environmental desirability, subject to the state regulatory commission and the state legislature, encouraging environmental desirable and cost effective energy sources like wind, solar, biomass, fossil fuels, hydroelectric or nuclear. These are the benefits of the completely regulated electricity approach. That one company will be required to have not only capacity for anticipated usage, but also an additional amount of capacity as a margin of safety against unanticipated excess demand. That margin is like insurance against blackouts.

The contributions to Michigans economy besides the reliable, cost effective supply of energy to 99 percent of Michigan customers by Consumers Energy and DTE Energy, Michigans two major regulated utilities, have been substantial.

In 2015 for example, Consumers and DTE provided $252 million in property taxes that were earmarked for Michigan schools, supporting 4,000 teachers. From 2017-2026 capital investment by DTE will increase the tax base by $9.5 billion. Schools would receive an additional $711 million in funding from taxes on those increased investments supporting 11,000 teaching positions. Capital investment increases by Consumers Energy in that same period would be about $7 billion, resulting in a tax base of $17 billion. Schools would receive an additional $517 million from the taxes on that increased investment supporting 8,300 teaching positions.

Power purchased from retail alternative energy suppliers or electric brokers outside Michigan have no capital investment in Michigan, contribute no property taxes and therefore provide absolutely no financial contribution toward the operation and upkeep of Michigan public schools.

The completely deregulated approach requires that a customer buy electricity from any supplier. However, there is still only one company providing the infrastructure from grid to customer in that local area because it would be unaffordable to have duplicate infrastructures. The problem with a completely deregulated market is who is insuring that each customer is receiving a reliable cost effective supply of electricity. There is no longer a state commission overseeing every supplier.

Other than the one local company with the investment in production, infrastructure and service, the new suppliers are not local, provide no service or infrastructure and their rates are free to go up or down as they choose, again with no regulatory oversight. There is no assurance that the rate paid today will be in effect tomorrow. Just look at the gasoline market. In a day the price can jump 30 cents a gallon and then be reduced at a penny a day. Every gas station in town has the same price. That is not a cost based system, it is monopoly spot pricing.

Is that how you want to pay for your electricity, with no idea what your rate is from one day to the next and nothing you can do about it? A common approach for retail marketers is to start with low prices like an introductory offer that eventually are increased substantially. Then the customer tries to return to his regulated utility whose capacity has been reduced. If there is no warning, that regulated utility will not have existing capacity and will have to buy electricity on the open (spot) market for who knows what, and the customers have to pay more than they did under a regulated system.

Eleven states have tried deregulation, and it has failed miserably for all in terms of huge rate spikes, consumer fraud and in some cases statewide rolling blackouts. Those 11 states are Illinois, California, Maine, Pennsylvania, Arkansas, New Jersey, Maryland, Connecticut, Ohio, Montana and Texas. They have had different degrees of bad experiences. In several cases the state attorneys general filed lawsuits to recover damages for excessive rates to customers, consumer fraud and false advertising, while some states experienced unreliable electricity supply to the point of rolling blackouts.

Five governors (Christie-New Jersey, LePage-Maine, Huckabee-Arkansas, Kasich-Ohio, OMalley-Maryland) have stated that deregulation was a disaster for their states. The following retail market suppliers have been sued to recover damages:

Illinois: One retail energy supplier agreed to pay $1 million in customer refunds after charges of price gouging and collusion.

New Jersey: HIKO paid $2.1 million ($1.8 million for customer restitution).

Connecticut: Residents filed class action lawsuits for consumer fraud against Starion Energy, HIKO Energy, Direct Energy, North American Power and Gas, Viridian Energy and Discount Power.

Michigan tried total deregulation in 2000, and about 16 percent of Michigan customers initially participated in the experiment. But by 2008, only 3.8 percent of Michigan customers were still using the free market retail suppliers. The rest had returned to their regulated utilities (Consumers Energy and DTE). Apparently, the free market was not the benefit it had been advertised. Then the Michigan legislature passed a law in 2008 creating the system we have now where 90 percent of the load is regulated with a maximum of 10 percent of the load (about 1 percent of the customers) able to buy from other than Consumers or DTE.

With the experiences of 11 failed deregulated states and Michigans ended experiment in 2000-2008 with deregulation, why does Midlands state Rep. Gary Glenn think that deregulated electricity provides an advantage to all Michigan customers?

Or is Glenn, vice chair of Michigans House Energy Policy Committee, really not concerned about ALL Michigan electricity customers, but rather only a few customers with big money who could care less about the rest of us.

Last year, Glenn confidently told a group of local business owners that he knew who his constituents were: Dow Chemical and Midland Cogeneration Venture (MCV). The 1 percent who are apparently benefiting from the free market electricity from the 10 percent load choice are being subsidized by the other 99 percent (us) because Consumers and DTE have to maintain capacity in reserve in case the 10 percent decides to return to Consumers and DTE, as they did by 2008.

The best way to provide affordable electricity to the residents and businesses in the state of Michigan is not difficult to decide if you study the experiences of other states and the experience of our own.

Deregulation has resulted in huge rate increases after initial lower rates, a classic bait and switch, in every state it has been tried. That has been compounded by energy shortages, rolling blackouts and fraudulent consumer practices to obtain customers without their agreement.

Regulation provides reliable supply of electricity by utilities that know the demands of their marketplace, and provide large investments and taxes that support the schools far more than an electricity discount from an out of state supplier that has no investment in Michigan.

Consumers Energy provides jobs for 7,500 Michigan employees and utilizes 7,500 Michigan contractors. They paid $193 million in corporate taxes (not counting property taxes), $138 million in energy efficiency discounts, and wrote off $600,000 in bills for hardship. They also gave $8.5 million to communities in the form of grants. Rep. Glenns favorite out of state retail marketers, energy brokers and alternate energy suppliers provide none of those economic benefits to Michigan.

When you study the facts, it is easy to see that the best way to provide reliable, cost effective electricity to the state of Michigan now and in the future is by a regulated system where the Michigan Public Service Commission oversees and ensures that the Michigan public utilities have the necessary electricity production capacity and infrastructure at reasonable rates to best serve all the residents of Michigan.

Ron Parmele is a Midland resident.
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LAHORE, Pakistan  Parveen Rafiq screamed from her rooftop, "I have killed my daughter. I have saved my honor. She will never shame me again."

In the room below lay the charred body of 18-year-old Zeenat. Neighbors in the narrow alley who saw the smoke and heard screams rushed to Rafiq's home, but the door was bolted from within. Zeenat was dead. Her mother had choked her, and while the girl was still alive she doused with kerosene and set her on fire.

Zeenat's crime was to marry a childhood friend she loved, defying her widowed mother's pressure for an arranged marriage and, in the mind of her mother and many of her neighbors, tarnishing her family's honor.

Her death on June 8 was the latest in a series of increasingly gruesome "honor" killings in Pakistan, which has one of the highest rates of such killings in the world.

In one case, a mother slit the throat of her pregnant daughter who had married a man she loved. In the city of Abbottabad, a teenage girl who helped a friend elope was tortured, injected with poison and then strapped to the seat of a vehicle and set on fire. A jirga, or council of local elders, ordered her killing as a message to others.

The brutality and rapid succession of killings horrified many Pakistanis. The numbers of such killings have been climbing. Last year, 1,096 women and 88 men were killed in "honor" crimes in Pakistan, according to the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. In 2014, the number was 1,005 women, including 82 children, up from 869 women a year earlier. The true numbers are believed to be higher, with many cases going unreported, activists say.

Some human rights and women's rights activists believe the rise in numbers and brutality reflects an older generation digging in against creeping change.

Over the years, more women have been going to school and working outside the home, and social media have helped women raise their voices. More than 70 percent of Pakistan's 180 million people are under 30, and some are challenging traditions to an unprecedented degree.

"The old order of misogyny and extremism is falling apart, is really crumbling," says Marvi Sermid, a women's rights activist.

Centuries of tradition in Pakistan tie the idea of a woman as an untouched commodity to a family's honor. Traditions have been further strengthened by governments that often curried the support of religious hard-liners with legislation enshrining the old ways.

Those who kill for "honor" are almost never punished in Pakistan. A law based on Islamic Shariah allows the family of a victim to forgive a killer, and in these cases the killers are almost always family. So other relatives give their forgiveness, unwilling to see loved ones jailed.

Still, outrage over recent killings and other violence against women has fueled an outcry against the establishment. One target has been the Council of Islamic Ideology, a body of conservative Muslim clerics that advises the government to ensure laws don't stray from Shariah.

When the government proposed a law aimed at protecting women against violence, the council in May put forward an alternative allowing men to "lightly beat" their wives.

Young people replied with a Twitter campaign with the mocking hashtag #TryBeatingMeLightly. On TV talk shows, guests denounced the council as misogynist and out of touch. Some lawmakers called for it to be disbanded.

The outcry appears to be having an effect. The council in June decreed that honor killings are un-Islamic.

Meanwhile, police and prosecutors have found a way around the forgiveness loophole. Rafiq and one of her sons suspected of helping in Zeenat's killing have been detained and face charges under the anti-terrorism law, which defines any act that causes general panic as terrorism.

Zeenat's death underscores the social traditions that underpin "honor" crimes.

For months, neighbors said, her mother complained about her two elder daughters, who married men of their own choice.

Zeenat was Rafiq's last chance to save her honor. She planned an arranged marriage for Zeenat with a member of their own social caste, the Rajput, which is said to be descended from kings.

But Zeenat had her heart set on a childhood friend, a 20-year-old motorcycle mechanic named Hassan Khan who lived nearby in their crowded Lahore shantytown.

"We were in love," Khan said, his voice barely a whisper.

He showed a collection of selfies on his phone that Zeenat had put together to the rhythm of their favorite song, an Urdu pop tune called "You Made Me Your Lover." As the music played, Zeenat in the photos struck different poses, always smiling, her black hair falling past her shoulders.

She loved taking selfies, music and poetry, he said. She had memorized the Quran and taught it to local children.

Zeenat and her mother fought about Khan, and Zeenat told him her mother beat her. Khan said Zeenat pleaded with him to marry her.

In May, they finally did, marrying at a courthouse. Zeenat moved into Khan's home.

A few days later, Zeenat's mother and uncle came, begging her to come home, just for a few days. They said they would arrange a proper wedding for her and Khan, which would save their honor by showing neighbors she didn't elope. Zeenat's uncle promised she would be safe.

Khan's elders eventually agreed that Zeenat would go with her mother.

At first, it seemed Zeenat's mother had accepted their marriage, Khan said.

But on the fourth day, Zeenat called him, afraid. Her mother was yelling at her threateningly.

"I told her to not worry. It was just two more days and she would be back home with me."

The next morning, she was dead.

Neighbor women outside Rafiq's home all agreed that the mother was driven to kill Zeenat, and she should go free.

"Daughters are duty-bound to maintain the honor of the family," said Muneeba Bibi. "It's better to have no children than to have a daughter who brings you shame."

Zeenat's killing was "a good lesson for all the girls here to protect the family honor," she said.

The little girls playing in the alleys all knew Zeenat was killed by her mother. But they weren't sure why. All they knew was she had done something very bad.

"She was strangled and then they burned her," said 11-year-old Sameera. "When I think about it I get scared."

In the home he briefly shared with Zeenat, Khan showed a poem she had written on a tissue paper.

"I love you. I kiss you

I love you. I miss you

I take your name with every breath

I see you in every dream

I want to see you all the time."

Khan refolded the fragile tissue and returned it to his wallet.
On behalf of the Sound of Illinois, I want to thank the 800 supporters who came to our send-off concert at the BCPA June 28. We were overwhelmed by the turnout, by far the largest of the nine straight years weve been Illinois representative at the international competition. Our 82 men carried that inspiration to Nashville when they took the stage July 8. We appreciate the BCPA staff for being very accommodating and the Vermillion Valley Show Chorus for adding their voices to our show. Next year is our 75th anniversary, and were planning some special events, including our March 11 shows at the BCPA. Our website, www.soundofillinois.org, will have details.
Although arranged marriages, as well as child marriages, have seemingly completely disappeared from many developed countries, they are still quite prevalent in underdeveloped countries such as India. In fact, a new study recently conducted by the United Nations Population Fund or the UNFPA has revealed that nearly a third of all child brides come from India. What's worse is that the study also reveals that nearly half of all Indian women get married before they turn 18 years old.

"Adolescents (10-19 years) form 21 per cent of India's population, of which adolescent girls constitute 48 per cent (115 million)," said an official press release from the UNFPA. "Around 14 per cent of girls aged 15-19 years are illiterate, and 73 per cent never get to complete more than 10 years of school," their statement adds. These are primary reasons why this year's theme for World Population Day, "Investing in Teenage Girls," is highly relevant for Indian society.

One of the reasons why there are many child brides in India is poor reproductive health. The fact that a lot of adolescent Indian girls are marginalized means that they do not have access to reputable reproductive health, which makes them prone to being child brides at a very young age. A lack of sufficient education also means a lack of economic opportunities, which may result in to them being married off by their families for financial gain. There are even mass child bride marriage ceremonies in India, per reports from the Daily Mail.

These issues are still quite noticeable even though a lot of steps have been taken to lessen them according to a news article from Gulf News. The UNFPA's statement also cited their executive director Babatunde Osotimehin, stating that "leaders and communities must focus on and stand up for the human rights of the most marginalized teenage girls, particularly those who are poor, out of school, exploited, or subjected to harmful traditional practices, including child marriage."
President Barack Obama has been pushing to pass bipartisan criminal justice reform in Congress. The plan, however, was shoved into the back burner due to the presidential campaign trail taking center stage in the country. Regardless of the delay, New York is pursuing the plan and is now making progress.

Taconic Correctional Facility in Bedford Hills, New York has sought the help of professors from Ivy League universities as part of its prisoners' rehabilitation program, CBS News reported. Almost 900 inmates in New York state prisons are enrolled in an education program that involves professors from 22 colleges and universities such as Bard, Columbia, Cornell, and Vassar. One of the subjects being taught is philosophy.

NY Governor's Efforts To Expand Education Program

New York's education program will continue to expand despite state lawmakers' efforts to halt the plans. Gov. Andrew Cuomo's request for more criminal justice reform funding was stopped by lawmakers, but he sought the assistance of Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance. A total of $7.5 million in criminal forfeiture money was diverted to accommodate inmate students.

When asked why he supports Cuomo's efforts, Vance said reforming prisoners will benefit the community and ensure the public's safety. Criminal justice reform could potentially reduce America's recidivism problem as well.

Recidivism is a prisoner's relapse into criminal behavior after undergoing sanctions or interventions. This year, more than 600,000 prisoners will return to American communities and around one-third of those people will likely be rearrested during the first year out of jail, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Half will be rearrested within three years, and over three-quarters in the course of five years, the Bureau of Justice Statistics noted.

Recidivism Drops In New York

In New York, 39 percent of prisoners will likely commit another crime after they get out of jail. The education program, however, helps the recidivism rate drop to 16 percent. New York's education programs offer associates, bachelors, and Master's degrees, which can all help prisoners achieve better quality of life once they return to their communities.

New York's criminal responsibility is 16 years old. In March 2015, Cuomo launched a campaign that aims to raise the age of criminal responsibility in the state.

Jonathan Lippman, chief judge of the New York State Court of Appeals, said raising New York's age of criminal responsibility would lower crime statewide and would save taxpayers' money. He added that imprisonment will ruin a 16- or 17-year-old's life before they have a chance to contribute to the society, according to CBS News.

Other states have also made efforts to reform prisoners. California's San Quentin Prison offers the Prison University Project while Texas has the Prison Entrepreneurship Program. Both of these programs saw positive recidivism results.
The education of the younger generation is extremely important, seeing as how they are considered to be the future of our society. However, these days there is evidence showing that the quality of education for children is stagnated or is even on a decline, and some states in the United States are not putting enough money into funding early childhood education. Reports also show that there is a palpable discrepancy in the wages of preschool teachers in the United States.

"Rhode Island pays its preschool teachers a median wage of $15.82 an hour. Massachusetts pays a median wage of $15.18 while Connecticut pays $15.20," says an article from the Providence Journal. These do not seem like high enough wages at all for such a seemingly important profession. It appears as though all 50 states do not provide enough funding for this sector, and they have been "shortchanged" according to the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment, on the University of California - Berkeley campus.

It is important to put more money into these early education childhood programs, as studies show that children who attend high-quality early education are more successful in school. However, there seems to be a decreasing number of students taking up early childhood education in their college years due to low wages.

"Currently, a bachelor's degree in early childhood education occupies the dubious distinction of the college major with the lowest projected lifetime earnings," states the study from UC Berkeley. In fact, nearly half of all childcare workers need financial aid such as medical insurance (Medicaid) as well as food stamps.

"Without transforming policies that shape how we prepare, support and pay early educators, the 21st-century goal of quality early learning opportunities for all children will remain elusive," says Marcy Whitebook, one of the three authors of the study. "As a nation, we will continue to place unconscionable demands on the dedicated women, who, day and day out, do their best to support the learning and well-being of children, often against enormous odds," she adds.
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Nikola Tesla, engineer both electrical and mechanical, physicist, futurist, and inventor was born on this day in 1856 in the village of Smijian, in what is today Croatia, although at the time a province of the Austrian Emprie. His father was a Serbian Orthodox priest as was his mothers father. After a number of adventures, most of which probably happened, he entered the Austrian Polytechnic in Graz. There his brilliance became apparent. However he quickly found himself in several conflicts and became addicted to gambling. He ended up leaving without a degree. Later he audited classes at the Charles-Ferdinand University in Prague.

From there Tesla worked as a draftsman and electrician. He is said to have developed a telephone amplifier, but he didnt pursue a patent. This would not be the first time he developed or said he developed an invention but did not patent it. This would in fact become a theme of the legend that grew around him.

In 1882 he moved to France where he went to work for the Continental Edison Company. After two years he immigrated to the United States where Thomas Edison personally hired him for his machine works in New York. There Tesla quickly moved from simple assignments to be given complex problems to solve. Tesla would later claim that Edison, a notorious skin flint told him if he solved several problems with Edisons direct current project he would give him a bonus of fifty thousand dollars. Teslas story is that he did it, Edison reneged, and Tesla walked. Whatever actually happened their personal enmity for each other would grow over the years to epic proportions.

He found backers to form the Tesla Electric Light & Manufacturing firm. Here he, or rather his company received patents for several electrical arc light illumination systems and electric machine commutators. Soon, however, Tesla found himself forced out by his partners. He spent a hard year doing odd jobs and even digging ditches to put food on the table.

Eventually he found new backers and started the Tesla Electric Company which developed generators and electric motors. It was at this company that he developed an induction motor that ran an on alternating current, which would prove to be a revolutionary development.

Westinghouse purchased the licenses to the motor and engaged Tesla to work for them. And with this Tesla found himself a principal player in what would come to be called the War of Currents.

Now free to do what he wanted the way he wanted, Tesla opened his own lab. Here, among other things, he developed and patented his Tesla Coil. For the next years he worked on numerous projects and involved himself in several disastrous business dealings that brought him to economic ruin.

But he continued to work. He experimented with X rays and radios. In 1900 he thought he detected radio messages from outer space. And there was a rush of publicity. Here the hint that while he was brilliant, he might also be unstable began to be whispered. The contours of a mad scientist began to take shape.

In 1915 Reuters reported that Tesla and Edison were the joint winners of the Nobel Prize for physics. But it was soon corrected that the prize went to two other scientists. Stories have spun out of that event ever since, mostly of the conspiracy sort.

In 1928 Tesla received his last patent for a biplane that could take off vertically.

Tesla never married and maintained a limited social life. He lived at the New Yorker Hotel for the balance of his days. Eating almost always by himself at Delmonicos and later at the Waldorf-Astoria. He was obsessed with pigeons and was diligent in taking a daily walk into the park where he would feed them.

In later years he claimed to have developed a death ray. He wrote and gave talks on the subject. And he claimed to have actually built one, but no one ever saw the device.

On January 7th, 1943, Tesla died alone in his room at the hotel.

He was said to have collected three hundred patents in his life-time. Eventually the stories about him began to grow to epic proportions. His rivalry with Edison became the stuff of legend. Stories of his inventions real and imagined catapulted him into the public imagination as the brilliant if mad scientist who touched the very face of God.

Some like to celebrate his birthday, which I remind you is today as Tesla Day.

Im one of them
Imagine opening the doors to a room and stepping over the threshold to days long gone.

Thats what it was like for local philanthropist and businessman Tim Rochford and real estate agent J. Jeffry Dill when they explored the top floor of the Columbia Building in downtown Redlands a few years ago.

Shuttered for decades, the top floor of the building had remnants of the last party it hosted, with streamers still hung across the ceiling that pointed to architecture dating back to the late 1800s.

For both men, the sight was something out of an old movie.

It was as if you walked in after the party was over, Rochford said as he stood inside the space he bought back in 2012.

Shortly after escrow closed, Rochford oversaw restoration of the site. A new staircase and some coats of paint helped breathe new life into the space, with its history as a clubhouse and speakeasy well-documented in newspaper publications of the past, many of which are housed in the Heritage Room at the A.K. Smiley Public Library.

The Columbia Building at 10 and 12 E. State St.  on the south side of State between Orange and Fifth streets  was constructed in 1899 by Karl Wells, according to Nathan Gonzales, a local historian and the librarys head archivist. Wells, Gonzales noted, not only had a reputation in town as a businessman and banker but also donated the original land for the University of Redlands in 1907.

The Columbia Building was the last built on that block of State, he said, and sat between two adjacent buildings, both of which were two stories in height according to the 1900 Sanborn map and historic photographs.

Many businesses succeeded in the buildings bottom floors over the years, but the top floor originally was designated as the Pythian Castle and home to the Knights of Pythias.

The Knights, Gonzales said, were a fraternal organization founded during the American Civil War. By the late 19th century, chapters had been formed in numerous cities across the country, and Redlands was no exception.

At some point, the Knights of Pythias moved on and the top floor of the building was used for other purposes. In fact, it served as the venue for the Rotary Club of Redlands second-ever meeting in 1920.

Today, the building is home to retail shops on the first floor. A new event space, Speakeasy on State, has set up shop on the top floor, paying tribute to its original use.

Windows lining the ceiling allow natural light into the space, and the original speakeasys light burns red when turned on.

Rochford and crew worked with a restoration expert to ensure authenticity during the buildings makeover and enlisted well-known mural restorer Tom Medlicott to restore painted ads that had once adorned some of the walls.

Contact the writer: Kristina.Hernandez@inlandnewspapers.com; @TheFactsKris.
America is not as divided as some have suggested, President Barack Obama said Saturday, spurning the notion that a week of jolting violence is a signal that the U.S. has returned to the darkest days of its past.

Americans of all races and all backgrounds are rightly outraged by the inexcusable attacks on police, Obama said in Warsaw, Poland, where he was attending a NATO summit, whether its in Dallas or anyplace else.

That includes protesters, Obama added. It includes family members who have grave concerns about police conduct and theyve said that this is unacceptable. Theres no division there.

But back home, unity continued to prove elusive. Several people around the country were arrested for making threats against law enforcement in the wake of a week of racially charged bloodshed that included shootings by police in Louisiana and Minnesota and Thursdays rampage that killed five Dallas law enforcement officers.

Vigils and protests, calm in some places, boisterous in others, continued to sweep the nation.

Demonstrations in scores of U.S. cities were not unlike the myriad rallies staged on and off since the killing of African American Michael Brown by a white police officer in Ferguson, Mo., almost two years ago.

Marches and community meetings took place in New York, Detroit and Philadelphia; in the shadow of recent deaths of black men near Minnesotas Twin Cities and Baton Rouge, La.; in still reeling Dallas, where anonymous threats forced police to put their headquarters on lockdown Saturday; and in cities scattered around Southern California, from Moreno Valley to Eastvale and Santa Ana to Inglewood.

The topic was unavoidable. I definitely feel like the killing of police is the same as police killing innocent black people. Theyre both innocent, said Jalia Washington, 20, of Pasadena, a Cal State Northridge junior majoring in psychology. I think the president tries his best to unify, to make us feel safe, but we dont.

Obama , speaking for the third time since Thursdays shooting, summed up the emotions of his fellow Americans: This has been a tough week.

OBAMA WILL GO TO DALLAS

White House officials said Obama will shorten his European trip and travel to Dallas later this week.

Obama still planned to go ahead with his first visit as president to Spain and was to arrive late Saturday in Madrid, the capital. But he has scrapped a stop in the southern city of Seville and will cram two days of events into one, including meetings with interim President Mariano Rajoy and a visit with U.S. sailors stationed at a naval base in Rota.

The president said he planned to convene a White House meeting in coming days with police officers, community and civil rights activists and others to talk about next steps. He said the empathy and understanding that Americans have shown in responding to the events of the past few days, including Dallas police officers even as they came under attack, had given him hope.

Thats the spirit that we all need to embrace, Obama said. Thats the spirit that I want to build on.

But Obama, who has angered his political opponents after every deadly mass shooting by calling for tighter gun laws, made clear that he will continue to speak out about the need for such measures, which the Republican-controlled Congress has refused to go along with. He said the U.S. is unique among advanced countries in terms of the scale of violence that it experiences.

Obama said the Dallas shooter was a demented individual who does not represent black Americans, any more than a white man accused of killing blacks at a church in Charleston, South Carolina, represents whites.

So we cannot let the actions of a few define all of us, he said.

MILITARY OVERTONES

A more complete picture of suspected Dallas gunman Micah Xavier Johnson, killed by a bomb-loaded robot during a standoff with police in a parking garage, continued to emerge Saturday.

Johnson was described as a loner who followed black militant groups on social media and amassed a personal arsenal at his home in the Dallas suburb of Mesquite. Included in his cache: Bomb-making materials, rifles, ammunition and a journal of combat tactics, authorities said.

The 25-year-old was believed to have shared a two-story tan brick home with family members, who didnt immediately comment. He graduated from John Horn High School in Mesquite, where he was a ROTC member, school district officials said.

Johnson, who served in the Army Reserve for six years and did one tour in Afghanistan, practiced military exercises in his yard and wrote about the shoot-and-move combat tactic in a journal found in his home, a senior local official told the New York Times. Police say Johnson moved quickly from one vantage point to another, leading the police to believe there were several snipers.

He also received instruction at the Academy of Combative Warrior Arts in the Dallas suburb of Richardson about two years ago, a person who said he was in charge of the organization told The Associated Press.

The veteran followed black militant groups on Facebook, including one that posted a message Wednesday encouraging violence against police.

The African American Defense League, one of the groups Johnson liked, posted a message that referenced the police shooting of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and said: You and I know what we must do and I dont mean marching, making a lot of noise, or attending conventions. We must Rally The Troops! It is time to visit Louisiana and hold a barbeque.

Another group Johnson liked was the New Black Panther Party, whose leaders have long expressed virulently anti-white and anti-Semitic opinions, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate crimes and right-wing extremism.

Johnson also liked the Nation of Islam and the Black Riders Liberation Party, which the center described as hate groups.

Johnsons Facebook photo showed him wearing a dashiki and raising his fist over the words Black Power, and his cover shot carried the red, black and green Pan-African flag.

It wasnt immediately clear if Johnson had any connection to the Black Lives Matter movement, which has disavowed violence against police.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REFLECTIONS

Around Southern California, people reflected on a week steeped in heartache.

A throng of more than 100 people marched down Eastvales Hamner Avenue chanting We want peace.

Gemit Williams, 51, of Yorba Linda, said his daughter told him about the rally after learning about it on Instagram. An associate minister at a Friendship Baptist Church in Orange County, he wore a cross on a chain around his neck, and a black T-shirt with a picture of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the quote: I have a dream.

I see young people, said Williams. What Im seeing here encourages me. Theyre doing what they can to voice their objections.

Williams said he hoped the young would follow up on their activism by connecting with government representatives and voting in elections.

It takes more than this, he said. This is good, but it takes America to wake up and say, OK, we do have a problem.

In and around Cal State Northridge, students and parents agreed the issues were too complex for any quick fix  but that an enduring solution would require mutual respect.

Nowhere is safe, said student Jalia Washington. Anything can happen, no matter what your race. It just seems like black people are the target.

Patty Romero, the mother of a student, said police officers were in a no-win situation. If theres a shooting of a suspect, if theyre fearing for their lives, it may be justified. And it may not be, said Romero, 49, of North Hills. But if its justified, theres never enough media coverage.

Romero said she feared the presidents words wouldnt have much impact.

His message is not coming across, she said. Celebrities speak out, and people hear what they want to hear.

We just need to learn to respect one another.
After days of rallies in the Inland Empire decrying perceived police brutality in the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, protestors marched through Riverside on Sunday, July 10, urging an additional message  unity.

Riverside residents Jeff Luckey, 22, and Anthony Curtis, 23, said that was the goal in organizing the march, which started at noon outside City Hall, continued with a march toward Riverside Plaza about 2 1/2 miles away and ended about 3 p.m.

Right now nobodys together, Luckey said. We dont want this to be a black thing or a white thing, we want to develop a solution.

The march came after a tumultous week in which Sterling and Castile  both black men  were shot to death by police officers in Louisiana and Minnesota, and five police officers in Dallas were killed during a protest against those shootings.

About 75 people set off for the plaza about noon. Some held signs, and as they walked, many chanted, Hands up, dont shoot, a slogan that has become a rallying cry for those protesting police shootings of black men.

Hennesy Brown, of Ontario, attended the march with her 1-year-old son King and her 9-month old son Angel. Brown chose to participate in the event to raise awareness in the community so that her sons wont share the fates of Sterling and Castile.

I dont want my sons to become a hashtag, Brown said.

As the protesters marched, they were met with honking car horns and cheers of support.

By 2 p.m., the crowd at the plaza had grown to about 100. People were initially standing in the street in front of the movie theater, blocking traffic and forcing cars to turn around, but they moved when requested by police.

The group assembled near the fountain in front of the theater, where speakers talked over megaphones. Subjects included former New York City Mayor Rudy Giulianis comments Sunday that the phrase black lives matter is inherently racistand the 1998 shooting of 19-year-old Tyisha Miller in Riverside.

Unlike rallies Saturday in Eastvale and Moreno Valley, Sundays was not organized by the local chapter of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Brown, the Ontario mother, said she was pleased to see how many people of different races were marching.

I love the diversity, it shows that its not just black people who are affected, Brown said.

Abraham May, 19, was encouraged to see so many other Riverside residents rally behind a common cause.

Im glad to see that Riverside does care about its people, May said. The city has a lot of heart.
Fidelity Bank, the largest privately indigenous bank, has empowered the lives of over 100 lucky customers through its successful Save for Gold promotion, creating a golden experience for its deserving customers.



After five months of actively promoting savings, Fidelity ended its Save for Gold promotion at a plush gold themed event at the Labadi Beach Hotel in Accra on 8th July, 2016.



The customer-focused bank rewarded a total of 80 customers with gold prizes across the country as promised. The official grand draw, held Friday night, was officiated by the National Lottery Authority (NLA).



The ultimate winner, Festus Armoh Nweamah, from the Market Circle branch in Takoradi was honoured with a 1 kg 24 carat Gold Bar. The 2nd runner-up, Mary Tumpi of the Nungua branch, earned half kg 24 carat gold bar and the 3rd runner-up, Sezan Houenou Elisee of Ridge Towers branch, won a 250 grams 24 carat Gold Bar. 17 other lucky customers received a gold coin each.



Overall, the bank has rewarded 105 lucky customers with a total of over GHS500, 000 worth of gold prizes.

Speaking at the draw, Divisional Director for Retail Banking at Fidelity Bank, Julian Kingsley Opuni expressed appreciation to the customers. "Our customers are the life blood of our success.



We are delighted to have come to a successful and exciting completion of the Save for Gold promotion with the ultimate draw. As a dynamic indigenous bank, giving value to Ghanaians and all customers of the bank is something we deeply care about. This promotion was created to acknowledge and celebrate the excellent relationship we have with our customers, reward them, and also help them save for the unforeseen future " Mr. Opuni thanked the NLA and congratulated all winners of the Save for Gold promotion.



He also encouraged customers to continue banking with Fidelity as the bank continue to work tirelessly to adequately meet their banking needs. The Fidelity Save for Gold promotion was a six month saving mobilization Promotion aimed at instilling positive saving habits, through financial literacy among customers and rewarding them with gold prizes. The promotion was successfully organized in partnership with the National Lottery Authority (NLA) on the Caritas Lotteries Platform.

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.

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According to this unconfirmed report by Zambezi Reporters, Malawi pastor and the founder of ECG ministries, Prophet Shepherd Major 1 Bushiri is allegedly selling 'blood of Jesus" in plastic bottles. Prophet Bushiri is one of the richest pastors in Africa and had made news earlier this year when he acquired his third private jet in a space of two years.

Below is what the report alleged:



"The blood is being sold in 500ml and 750ml plastic bottles. One congregant who confessed to be a loyal member of ECG ministries revealed that the blood heals every calamity and problems.



"We have been using anointing oil which is called The Lion of Judah before and we have been using anointed mantles, bracelets and DVDs but this time the power is released. Major 1 introduced The Blood of Jesus which is real blood of Jesus which was extracted at Calvary when the Son of God was crucified. As sons and daughters of Major 1 we dont really care what people will say, we understand this revelation as a ministry (ECG family), people are on the move to drag our fathers name into disrepute but God elevated him to address our problems.



The blood of Jesus is being sold at our worship center the smallest bottles 500ml are costs R20 000 and the 750ml bottle costs R30 000. We dont care about the price but the results, as we are speaking the Blood of Jesus has resurrected reported five people and healed hundreds since launch."

http://dailytimes.co.za/

The founder and leader of ECG ministries Prophet Shepherd Major 1 Bushiri is alleged to have launched the blood of Jesus. According to unconfirmed reports, the blood is being sold in 500ml and 750ml plastic bottles.



One congregant who confessed to be a loyal member of ECG ministries revealed that the blood heals every calamity and problems.



We have been using anointing oil which is called The Lion of Judah before and we have been using anointed mantles, bracelets and DVDs but this time the power is released. Major 1 introduced The Blood of Jesus which is real blood of Jesus which was extracted at Calvary when the Son of God was crucified.



As sons and daughters of Major 1 we dont really care what people will say, we understand this revelation as a ministry (ECG family), people are on the move to drag our fathers name into disrepute but God elevated him to address our problems.



The blood of Jesus is being sold at our worship center the smallest bottles 500ml are costs R20 000 and the 750ml bottle costs R30 000. We dont care about the price but the results, as we are speaking the Blood of Jesus has resurrected reported five people and healed hundreds since launch.



Efforts to get a comment from ECG spokesperson were fruitless, since he is reported to be in Mauritius on holiday.

Source: http://dailytimes.co.za/









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.

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The chief of Yamfo Traditional Area in the Tano North constituency in the Brong Ahafo Region, Nana Ansah Adu Baah II has said his critics should go ahead and kill him if they so wish, for his decision to choose opposition leader Nana Akufo-Addo over President John Mahama and also for saying Ghanaians are suffering, thus, the need to vote for change in the 2016 polls.



We are going to vote and elect someone, who is coming to help Ghana. As I sit here, I am suffering, my people are suffering. If you want to kill me because of what I have just said, go ahead. What matters is how Ghana moves forward.



We need to elect someone, who has Ghana at heart and will work for the benefit of successive generations, so that Ghanaians will know that the country, which was once in a deplorable state, only moved forward under the able leadership of Nana Akufo-Addo, Nana Ansah Adu Baah II said on Friday, July 8, 2016, when the New Patriotic Party flagbearer paid a courtesy call on him at his palace in Yamfo.



Nana Ansah Adu Baah II said the current economic hardships and difficulties confronting his people require nothing short of a change of government in this years elections.



Re-echoing the sentiments of his linguist, Nana Badu, who prayed to the gods for a change in government, Nana Ansah Adu Baah II stated that: We have suffered too much in this country and we need change. I am a chief and I dont engage in partisan politics. However, I will never spoil my vote. If you live in a country and youre suffering, be minded by what our father, President Kufuor, said sometime back, which was: Take a look at the circumstances of your life and vote wisely. Over the last few years, we have seen those, who are in politics to help us and those, who are in for their own selfish, parochial interests.



The chief of Yamfo bemoaned the situation in Ghana where anytime policies and programmes are outlined by a particular political party and parliamentary candidate, the chorus that follows is: It cannot be done, and it is impossible, only for some to turn around and try to implement it.



Additionally, he noted that: Because of politics, some, who dont even know Nana Akufo-Addo, have demonised and bastardised him. That is what hurts me. Do not be perturbed by this. God will fight your battles for you [Nana Akufo-Addo] and has already ordained you to lead this country.



The chief urged NPP supporters to emulate the leadership style and patience of the NPP flagbearer in their discourse with opponents, indicating that: This is the only way by which others, who dont belong to your political party, can be brought in.



Nana Ansah Adu Baah II appealed to Nana Akufo-Addo not to forget the people of Yamfo when he wins the elections. We have no jobs here, except engaging in agriculture. In the 1970s, Yamfo was the leading producer of cocoa in Ghana. We have an abundance of foodstuffs and we want to add value to them. If we do not adhere to your vision of 1-District-1-Factory, very soon, all the young people will migrate to the cities in search of non-existent jobs.





Source: classfmonline.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.

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John Nichols: Paul Ryan should be a lot more aggressive in calling out Donald Trump
The Presidential Candidate of the Convention Peoples Party (CPP), Ivor Kobina Greenstreet, has assured the youth of Ashaiman of his intention to establish a nationwide project of the cultivation and processing of the Ghanaian Almond (Abr)fo Nkatie) for export.



At the recent IEA evening encounter, Ivor Kobina Greenstreet stressed the need to mobilize thousands of Ghanaian youth into the cultivation and processing of almond.



At a mini rally held in Ashaiman, he said, the CPP will provide incentives for those youth who will register and seek employment in the cultivation of almond in this our vast rich land.



Although Almond as an international commodity, has many uses, the oil extracted from it has a high value of 10,000 dollars per ton, far more than cocoa and oil palm. The almond development programme by the CPP Government will augment already existing cash crops cultivated and exported into the world market. Already, the CPP proposal has been endorsed by Professor Tano Debrah of the Department of Nutrition and Food Science of the University of Ghana, Legon.



Ashaiman, which is densely populated, has a lot of settlers from the Northern region who therefore are not remotely removed from farming practices. Unemployment is a major problem affecting the people in the area with low level of trade in retail goods.



Together with the CPP Parliamentary Candidate for the constituency, Hajia Hamida Damba, they visited some key areas of the constituency to interact with residents amidst chants and music.

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.

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An aspiring Member of Parliament for Wassa East, Wilson Arthur, has lashed out at President John Mahama, saying the Presidents posture suggests he is now the mouthpiece for the Electoral Commission and the Electricity Company of Ghana.



President Mahama behaves he is the PRO of the ECG and EC because he always speaks for such institutions, the New Patriotic Party candidate said on Onua FMs morning show, Yen Sempa, on Friday. Mr. Arthur was commenting on the statement delivered by President Mahama last Wednesday at the Eid-Ul-Fitr celebrations where explained some developments in the energy sector regarding the ECG, and also asked people to allow the EC to do its work without harassment.



The ECG bills have been made more transparent. So that you can tell with every unit you buy how much the value of the unit is. It is not a subsidy. It is a re-alignment of the billing system that makes it possible for us to able to know how much we are spending on electricity. I believe the Electoral Commission should be left in peace to do its work, this harassment is not necessary. Why do we sit in IPAC and confer with the Electoral Commission and our peers in IPAC and then we come out and do manifestations and other things and say it is our way or it is the highway. If we dont have our way then nobody must have his way, I mean it really doesnt help anybody President Mahama said in his Eid-Ul-Fitr address.



But Mr. Arthur argues the utterances by the President tend to suggest he is the public relations officer for the two institutions, noting the President is interfering in the affairs of the ECG and the EC. President Mahama should leave that communication to the various public affairs directorates to communicate to the public and not interfere in their communications.



He added: I dont see the vision for this country. I have not seen any vision under President Mahama and this is what he must focus on than to serve as PRO for government institutions.

Source: 3news









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.

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A full week after the polls closed for the federal election, opposition leader Bill Shorten has finally, officially, conceded defeat to the Coalition.

In a press conference given in Melbourne, Shorten admitted the 74 to 66 seat lead Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbulls posse holds is insurmountable.

Whilst counting has not concluded in a number of very close seats, it is clear Mr Turnbull and his coalition will form a government. Whether or not its a minority government, or a majority government of one or two seats, it is clear they will form government. So I have spoken to Mr Turnbull early this afternoon, to congratulate him and Lucy, and to wish him the very best.

#BREAKING Bill Shorten says it is clear Mr Turnbull and his coalition will form a government #ausvotes https://t.co/yL6R4qk72Y  Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) July 10, 2016

Referencing the need of the government to, you know, govern, Shorten said I understand we need to make this parliament function and well be up for that.

While the exact numbers are yet to be determined, we finally know who our Prime Minister will be, 63 days after the election was first announced.

Source: ABC.

Photo: Sky News / Twitter.
Nintendo, The Pokemon Company, and Niantic have actually bloody done it. Theyve come through on the promise of an immersive augmented reality Pokemon game that gets wannabe trainers exploring the real world, while making m8s along the way.

As evidence, you neednt look further than the fan-led Pokemon GO Walk that ambled around Sydney Harbour this morning. The event totally came through on the promise of assembling stacks of players with the singular goal of well, catching em all.

If you werent lucky enough to be in that number, scope out some of the snaps taken at the event, and rue the fact your Krabby wasnt snatched from directly underneath the Harbour Bridge:

All of the Pokemon Trainers are out for #PokeGoWalk Sydney! A photo posted by Oz Comic-Con (@ozcomiccon) on Jul 9, 2016 at 7:14pm PDT

Such an awesome turnout for the start of the Sydney #PokeGOwalk!! A photo posted by Guy Blomberg (@yugstar) on Jul 9, 2016 at 5:12pm PDT

A photo posted by Jiggsy (@jiggsy2point0) on Jul 9, 2016 at 5:15pm PDT

A photo posted by Guy Blomberg (@yugstar) on Jul 9, 2016 at 5:30pm PDT

A photo posted by Gene Taylor (@gene.t.taylor) on Jul 9, 2016 at 8:57pm PDT

Beautiful day to find some Pokemon! A photo posted by Nadia McCarthy (@bassplayingcheeseidiot) on Jul 9, 2016 at 6:49pm PDT

A photo posted by ?? Tori ?? (@toripokemon) on Jul 9, 2016 at 8:53pm PDT

As an added bonus, it doesnt even appear anyone in that number stumbled across a dead body, nor did they get into trouble with the 5-0. Thats a solid result all around, tbqh.

Earlier, the Pokemon GO Adventure Party in Melbourne also saw some of Victorias most serious Ash, Misty, Brock and Professor Oak emulators charge around town in search of the more elusive critters:

A photo posted by Luke Maizey (@lukaonline) on Jul 8, 2016 at 10:13pm PDT

Look, if you were unfortunately tied up with employment or, God forbid, life outside of a phone app, there will be more opportunities for you to chuck yer balls: Melbourne is playing host to a party/piss-up in a few weeks time.

Residing in other capital cities? Dont even worry, there are posses forming around you right this moment. At this stage, its Gyarados world, and we just live in it.

Source: Facebook.

Photo: @mr_poohbear / Twitter / @yugstar / Instagram.
Calvin Potter: The Wisconsin Legislature is vastly changed  and not for the better
Lagniappe

Suzanne Nossel: The world's rising

powers have fallen



FP /Nelson Almeida



There will be no bloc of emerging economies rising up to challenge the Western order. But what comes next may be more chaotic and dangerous. As analysts and scholars compose their first drafts of the history of the Obama administration's foreign policy, a chapter will surely address what were once dubbed rising powers, a group that included Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, and others. But the optimism of 2008  when the so-called BRICS were ascendant, ready to reshape global economics and politics  has turned to doubt. The impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and a Russian doping scandal that only a Soviet could be proud of are just the latest unmistakable signs that a surge of newly powerful nations collectively remaking the world stage is hardly a sure thing. A few years ago, a mortal rupture in Europe would have invited crowing over the demise of the West and the rise of the Rest. Now, the picture is more complicated: Europe is in disarray, as are several of the might-have-been beneficiaries of the continent's turmoil. And as the United States looks ahead to a new administration come January, its approach to shifting global power relations will be ripe for a rethink. Amounting to neither a freshly minted set of trusty democratic allies nor a cohesive counterweight to the Western order, newly powerful nations are proving to be less predictable, more fragmented, and ultimately more reinforcing of U.S. power than even Washington's own intelligence establishment predicted a decade ago. In the latter years of the George W. Bush administration and the early part of the Obama years, rising or so-called emerging powers seemed to captivate the foreign-policy establishment. Foundations and think tanks proffered rising powers projects, conferences, and white papers. Some were bullish. Analysts, including Princeton's Anne-Marie Slaughter and John Ikenberry, predicted the rise of a group of new democracies  with Brazil, India, and South Africa topping the list  that would grow into natural allies for the United States. Everyone from John McCain to Madeleine Albright (who promoted the idea nearly a decade before others cottoned on to it) advocated uniting democracies in a global alliance premised on shared values and joint action. On the flip side, other academics and analysts anticipated that the rise of new powers could only herald an American decline. In 2010, University of Wisconsin-Madison professor Alfred L. McCoy predicted imperial collapse and painful daily reminders of what such a loss of power means for Americans in every walk of life. A detailed study prepared by officials from rising powers and published by Oxford University Press in 2012 explicated the synergies and complementarities that had already catapulted the BRICS into a leadership position globally. As Autonomous University of Madrid professor Susanne Gratius wrote in 2008: In recent years a number of emerging nations have been challenging the position of dominance of the old powers, which are dropping down the international pecking order. The downcast lot predicted that the decline in relative importance of the United States would be matched only by that of Europe, inaugurating what historian Timothy Garton Ash termed  Europessimism , a creeping sense that the continent was being edged out by the fast-rising states of China, India, Brazil, and Russia. The one thing the two sides agreed on was that the shifts wrought by rising powers would be tectonic. In Mapping the Global Future, an influential analysis published by the U.S. National Intelligence Council (NIC) in 2004, intelligence experts predicted that the arriviste' powersChina, India, and perhaps others such as Brazil and Indonesiahave the potential to render obsolete the old categories of East and West, North and South, aligned and nonaligned, developed and developing. The report made headlines like 2020 Vision: A CIA report predicts that American global dominance could end in 15 years. Not so fast, as it turned out. Many of the premises undergirding these predictions evaporated in the ensuing decade. Not so fast, as it turned out. Many of the premises undergirding these predictions evaporated in the ensuing decade. The genesis of global focus on rising powers was a 2001 analysis by Goldman Sachs's Jim O'Neill that forecast faster, more consistent growth rates among emerging economies that would position them to gradually dominate the world stage, eventually leaving only the United States and Japan among the traditional industrial powers still ranking among the top six global economies. The bank focused on Brazil, Russia, India, and China  a group that O'Neill dubbed the BRICs and, later, the BRICS, after South Africa's induction. While Goldman's analysis was full of caveats, policy wonks focused on the breathless expectation of sustained, rapid growth by emerging economies. Goldman's anointment of the BRICs as the emerging markets most likely to succeed prompted a flurry of prognosticators to formulate their own acronym accolades: MIST (Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea, and Turkey  which O'Neill designated as next in line after the BRICs) and SANE (South Africa, Algeria, Nigeria, and Egypt  supposedly the African continent's leading up-and-comers). Britain's Telegraph went so far as to publish a full lexicon of the emerging-market alphabet city. Fifteen years later, several of those BRICS (not to mention MIST or SANE) are crumbling, done in by self-dealing, asset bubbles, stock market swoons, commodities fluctuations, and finite supplies of low-wage workers. In a warning published in January, the World Bank predicted negative growth in Brazil and Russia, just over 1 percent growth in South Africa, steady growth of 7.8 percent in India, and a shortfall from expectations in China topping out at 6.7 percent. As the Financial Times put it : What had once been the brightest spark in the global economy has now become its big headache. Late last year, Goldman finally shuttered its BRICS investment fund, which had lost 88 percent of its value since its 2010 peak. The problems aren't merely economic. Politically, several of the BRICS have proved similarly unstable. The rise of emerging powers was premised on the notion that they were domestically stable, ready and able to consistently project global influence. While some analysts spotlighted corruption, institutional weakness, and political dysfunction as risks, such concerns were often relegated to the footnotes. As the 2020 NIC project put it in its report: Only an abrupt reversal of the process of globalization or a major upheaval in these countries would prevent their rise. Yet in South Africa, Brazil, and Russia, corruption and governance failures have proved catastrophic. Whether you think Rousseff is being rightfully targeted or unfairly scapegoated  and no matter what you make of charges that her interim successor is trading favors for the votes to impeach her  none of it augurs well for Brazilian governance. In South Africa, President Jacob Zuma narrowly withstood an impeachment campaign and now clings to office as a lame duck in what is effectively a one-party democracy. While Russia and China continue to project firm centralized authority, their intensifying crackdowns on dissidents, lawyers, and influential cultural figures bespeak regimes nervous that corruption and economic slowdowns could turn their populations restive. Back when rising powers were in style, theorists diverged on what to expect from their foreign policies. Some expected the leading democracies to align with Washington, whereas others foresaw a solid political bloc of BRICS holding Western influence in check. Neither vision came true. In their approach to international human rights and humanitarian intervention, rising democracies have been influenced by their post-colonial identities far more than their modern political bedfellows, emphasizing respect for sovereignty over the moral imperative of civilian protection or conflict prevention. Brazil and India abstained on the 2011 U.N. Security Council resolution authorizing the use of force against Libya's Muammar al-Qaddafi, anxious about the prospect that intervention could lead to regime change. Those two countries and South Africa have taken a reticent approach to handling the civil war in Syria, straddling the middle, but with a tilt more toward Russia and China than the United States and Europe. But while dreams of a powerful alliance of democracies have been dashed, the nightmare scenario of a solid BRICS wall has also failed to manifest. But while dreams of a powerful alliance of democracies have been dashed, the nightmare scenario of a solid BRICS wall has also failed to manifest. While the BRICS do meet periodically as a group, diverse growth rates, population sizes, carbon emissions levels, wealth, and other indicators dictate diverging interests on issues including the global economy and trade, climate change, nuclear proliferation, and conflicts in the Middle East. BRICS countries have come together to form their own development bank, a rebuke to the Western-dominated International Monetary Fund and World Bank system. But the two most powerful and stable nations in the bloc, India and China, are increasingly at odds over terrorism, Beijing's regional ambitions in the South China Sea and beyond, and New Delhi's strategy of hedging through strengthened relations with the United States and Japan. Analysts were right to draw attention to the rapid growth and expanded international profile of a new set of countries. Individual nations, including China, Russia, and India, have become far more important to the United States and the rest of the world than they were a decade ago. Yet the expectation that this group  as a group  would collectively remake global power relations has not materialized. With most of the emerging-powers programs and projects having gone the way of Goldman Sachs's erstwhile fund, it falls to the rest of us to consider what conclusions to draw from the rise and fall of the concept of rising powers. A few observations arise. First, the United States' status as what Madeleine Albright once called the indispensable nation remains intact. The United States is far from omnipotent and has bumped up hard against the limits of its diplomatic influence and military capabilities in places like Iraq and Afghanistan. But when it comes to catalyzing global action and providing the decisive voice in whether, and to what degree, a global conflict  Libya, Syria, the Islamic State, Ukraine, climate change, Ebola, take your pick  will be addressed at a global level, no other country's say comes close to Washington's. With the exception of Russia (where President Vladimir Putin seems motivated by dual desires to check the United States and perpetuate his own personal power), no other rising power has sought to call the shots nor assumed an obligation to lead outside its region. Second, Europe still matters. The implicit logic of the rising powers was that they would leave the continent a relic of a bygone era of power relations. Despite its economic stagnation, political malaise, refugee crisis, and rising right wing, Europe remains, by far, the United States' most stable and reliable major ally. While Brexit has dealt a major blow to the European Union, it is likely to further strengthen U.S. relations with Berlin, Paris, and any other European capital that may stand in for London as Washington's go-to conduit within the union. Just as many Brits belatedly seem to be awakening to just how important the EU is, so Washington may emerge from the crisis with a heightened sense of appreciation for the bloc. Whether on Iran, Ukraine, the Islamic State, or virtually any other issue, European support is the necessary  if no longer sufficient  precondition for U.S. action to enjoy legitimacy. As President Barack Obama came to recognize this, he was forced to maneuver what Politico described as a pivot from a pivot of sorts, turning back from his heralded rebalance to Asia to try to keep the continent in one piece amid severe political and humanitarian strains. Rather than a series of rotating pivots, each of which cancels the other out, Washington needs to perfect a 360-degree model of leadership, where focusing on one region does not come at the expense of others. If U.S. diplomats can pursue major new trade agreements at the same time as a nuclear deal with Iran and a climate change accord, there is no reason the commensurately robust, parallel regional overtures should be mutually exclusive. A third conclusion derived from the uneven rise of new powers is that China's rise has rendered the United States more, not less, globally important. Rather than becoming the has-been many predicted, the United States, due to China's surging influence, has become a far more important ally to countries throughout Asia and beyond. As China's regional neighbors seek to fortify themselves against the behemoth next door, their relationships with the United States have both broadened and deepened. The U.S. pivot to Asia is now being driven as much by local demand for an American presence in the region as it is by Washington's fear of being edged out. Recent discussions about arms sales and even the possibility of a renewed U.S. military presence in Vietnam are only the latest manifestations of thickening ties between the United States and numerous allies in the region, including South Korea, Japan, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia. The reality of geopolitical ups and downs also warrants revisiting some of the major policy prescriptions that grew out of the rising powers literature. Many analysts stressed the urgent need to reform the U.N. Security Council to reflect updated global power dynamics. Analysts called for permanent seats for Brazil and India on a revamped U.N. Security Council and urged the United States to take the lead on restructuring, lest a reconfigured group be somehow foisted upon it. If one subscribes to the idea that overhauling the Security Council (which still operates as it did when it was originally established in 1946, with five permanent veto-wielding seats reserved for Britain, China, France, Russia, and the United States) is inevitable in the near future, it may be to Washington's advantage to push reform through sooner rather than later. But, unlike a decade ago, the incentive to move now is not because excluded countries are so strong. It's because they are relatively weak. Brazil and South Africa, two of the most prominent Security Council aspirants, are limping. While India is in good shape, regional resistance to enhanced status for New Delhi remains entrenched. A new U.S. administration may be able to advance a proposal to address the Security Council's anachronistic makeup while perpetuating a council that Washington can work with. Few countries will be fully satisfied with proposals to leave most of the council's structure (including the crucial five veto-wielding permanent seats) intact while creating about half a dozen semi-permanent members that serve renewable, four- to five-year terms. But Washington and many others could live with this rather modest version of reform. The United States may be well-served by helping to effectuate it rather than awaiting a time when new powers are back in a position to demand more. Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has a tendency to describe rising powers in apocalyptic terms: In 2007, he said , We've gone from this tremendous power that was respected all over the world to somewhat of a laughing stock. And all of a sudden, people are talking about China and India and other places. This year, he repeated his prediction that a Chinese economic tsunami that will engulf the United States. His Democratic counterpart, Hillary Clinton, has looked at rising powers pragmatically, helping to engineer a heightened U.S. focus on Asia and forging regular strategic dialogues with Brazil, India, and South Africa. As secretary of state, though, she resisted calls to privilege an anointed few and instead worked to cultivate a broad portfolio of partners, including Indonesia , Nigeria , the Philippines , Kenya , Chile , Japan , and many others. This portfolio approach to alliances  investing broadly, with the knowledge that some of the energy expended will be wasted, that other relationships will prove indispensable, and that it is hard to know in advance which is which  acknowledges that country trajectories hinge not just on growth fundamentals and geopolitics, but also on individual leadership qualities and luck. After 9/11, and once the long-term damage to the United States' global standing began to recover from the 2003 Iraq War, foreign-policy thinkers started opining about what would come after what Charles Krauthammer once dubbed the country's unipolar moment following the end of the Cold War. Richard Haass of the Council on Foreign Relations projected a nonpolar era, with power widely dispersed. New America's Sherle Schwenninger and others forecast a multipolar world. The prognostication-defying fate of the BRICS over the last decade, not to mention last week's Brexit shocker, may point to a more unsettling prospect: an ambipolar world  ambivalent, ambiguous, ambient  where power is diffuse and national fortunes rise and fall to a rhythm too complex for any theory to adequately reflect. So rather than betting heavily on specific winners and losers, the United States should diversify its diplomatic capital, recognizing that predicting the path of the world's rising powers is an uncertain business at best Suzanne Nossel is executive director of the Pen American Center and was formerly deputy assistant secretary of state for international organizations at the U.S. State Department. . Petroleumworld does not necessarily share these views Editor's Note: This commentary was originally published by Foreign Policy , on July 6, 2016. Petroleumworld reprint this article in the interest of our readers. All comments posted and published on Petroleumworld, do not reflect either for or against the opinion expressed in the comment as an endorsement of Petroleumworld. All comments expressed are private comments and do not necessary reflect the view of this website. All comments are posted and published without liability to Petroleumworld. 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Oil storage tanks full, doubt over crude demand



U.S. Labor Day drivers enjoy lowest gasoline prices since 2004



LONDON

Petroleumworld.com 07 11 2016

The levels of diesel, gasoline and heating oil in storage tanks in Europe this week are so high they are causing delivery backlogs and are casting doubt on whether demand for oil to be refined can be sustained.

High levels of oil product stocks have plagued the market for months but the increase seen this week in Europe has come despite a series of factors that should be reducing gasoline and distillate inventories.

French refineries have been hit by strikes over the past few weeks causing shutdowns, it has become unprofitable to ship diesel to Europe from the United States and demand typically climbs in the summer months as holidaymakers take to their cars.

However, PJK International, a Dutch consultancy that tracks independent storage in Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) hub, said gasoil stocks rose by more than 4 percent this week.

Industry monitor Genscape also recorded a nearly 4 percent rise this week, putting all ARA gasoil stocks at 6 million tonnes, or 34 percent above the level this time last year.

Genscape's data put stocks of gasoline, naphtha and blending components at 2.9 million tones, or a 2 percent rise this week.

"There is so much stock in the system," Steve Sawyer, head of refining at FGE Energy, said.

"We had almost 600,000 barrels per day of refining capacity out in France and margins barely moved."

Strikes across France in May crippled its energy sector, shutting half its refineries. At least two, Total's Donges and Gonfreville, were still getting back to full capacity this week, according to Genscape.

Yet storage tanks for diesel and heating oil are already so full in Germany, Europe's largest diesel consumer, that barges looking to discharge their oil product cargoes along the Rhine are being delayed, sources told Reuters.

"Inland inventories are quite full," PJK International analyst Patrick Kulsen said, adding there is "no tankage left".

The sheer volume of gasoline in the system, despite surging demand, has more than halved gasoline refining margins in Europe over the past two weeks to just $5.75 per barrel on Thursday, a fifth of where they stood at the same time last year.

Margins for distillate products, however, held their ground, due to French imports and hot weather across Asia that boosted demand for distillates to be used in power generators.

But rising stocks despite the buying signaled there was likely to be pressure on those margins as well, with some are expecting refineries in Europe to cut back production, as has already been the case in the United States and Asia.

"The strong demand we saw in May and June ... will evaporate," Sawyer said. "I do see margins weakening in Europe, and we could see run cuts."






IRVINE, Calif. - With sadness and heavy hearts we share news that we lost Jacqueline Lindquist Dey on Wednesday, June 22, 2016, in Irvine, Calif. Jackie died peacefully in her home and is now in the loving arms of Jesus. We miss you and love you so much Mom, Gran, Great Grandma, Sister and Friend.

Jackie gave 100% in everything she did. Born in Madison, Wis., to Alice and Martin Julseth of Verona, she started playing the piano when she was six years old. She was a straight-A student from first grade all the way through college, where she was Phi Beta Kappa and president of her Tri-Delta sorority at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Upon marrying, she and her husband immediately moved to California, where her first two daughters were born. Shortly thereafter, the U.S. Navy took the family to Hawaii, where they lived for five years, and their third daughter was born. Living in Hawaii was one of the highlights of Jackie's life. She loved being an officer's wife and entrenched her family in the Hawaiian culture.

Jackie was artistic, creative, strong and accomplished in so many ways. Founder of the Jacqueline Dey Company, she mastered her career in executive search in the homebuilding industry and was a highly respected leader in her field. Executive, mentor, musician, artist, Jackie played the guitar, piano and ukulele. She sang beautifully - Hawaiian songs, folk music and hymns. Jackie was a member of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Newport Beach; She loved her women's Community Bible Study (CBS); ski trips and Hawaiian vacations with her children and grandchildren; spending Octobers in Boston with her family; current events and news; working out with her trainer; and keeping abreast and supporting her daughters and grandchildren through all of their activities, joys, sorrows and accomplishments. She had a fun sense of humor and great passion for life. She was one-of-a-kind wonderful. Her gifts and strengths are too many to count, but we count ourselves blessed to have learned and to have received so much of life and love from her.

Jacqueline is survived by her three daughters, Susan Lindquist de la Parra (Arturo), Nancy Gill Olson (Todd) and Stephanie Allen (Don); her four grandchildren, David Gill (Andrae), Miranda Craik (Kenny), Laura Valley and Alison Valley; her three great-grandchildren, Jackson, Madeleine and Averie; and her brother, Russell Julseth of Hong Kong.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a donation to either the Young America's Foundation or the Salvation Army, Orange County.
The moment that changed the direction for CraftOptics came in 2011 at one of the largest rock shows in the world.

Thats where a chance meeting of a Stoughton woman helped lead CraftOptics into the world of trade shows and selling directly to customers instead of using eye clinics as distributors. The Madison company that makes specialized telescopic lenses affixed to prescription glasses with an LED light on the bridge is helping artists and others who work with tiny stitches and parts better see what theyre doing and reducing neck and back problems.

Jeff Caplan co-founded the company in 2009, but it was his father, Charles, who lives in Arizona, who had a set of the companys telescopic lenses draped around his neck as he strolled the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show that draws more than 50,000 people from around the world.

Remarkably, they caught the attention of Chris Mode, organizer of the Madison Art, Glass & Bead Show. That led to a booth at her show for Jeff Caplan to showcase his products to Modes crafters and artists, many of whom also sew and quilt.

Thats what opened the door to the (craft show) market, Jeff Caplan said. We learned what people were having a hard time seeing and what was causing the most trouble and the most stress.

CraftOptics initially focused on selling its products to jewelers and beaders. Now, most of its sales are in person at trade shows, over the phone and through the CraftOptics website to the needle and thread crowd, although jewelers and beaders are still key segments for the company.

In 2012, CraftOptics did 17 trade shows, expanded to 25 shows in 2013 and since then has done more than 30 art and craft shows a year around the country. Earlier this month the company, with three full-time employees and five part-time employees, moved into a larger space to better accommodate its growing business that is revamping its website and selling to customers throughout the U.S., Canada and Australia.

After five years in a 700-square-foot space in the Madison Enterprise Center, 100 S. Baldwin St., CraftOptics is now housed in an 1,800-square-foot space in the Main Street Industries building, 931 E. Main St. The facility is home to several small businesses that include metal and wood artisans, a photography studio, a personal training gym, a lotions company and another that makes eco-friendly flooring. CraftOptics neighbors in the building are Quince & Apple, Old Sugar Distillery and Undergound Meats.

Its booze and meats and preservatives, Caplan said. Thats not a bad combination.

Caplans new space is flooded with natural light, has room for assembling products, offices, display areas for retail sales and to show off the work of the artists who use his products, best described as custom prescription glasses in titanium frames fitted with telescopic lenses and a light.

One version is designed for those, like jewelers, who work at benches and need to be 12 to 14 inches from their work. A second model is typically used by quilters and sewers who are 14 to 16 inches from their work, while a third product is good for those who are up to 18 inches away.

The lenses have helped many continue their craft as their eyesight diminishes and can reduce back and neck pain.

A lot of people who are doing this fine detail work are hunched over their work for hours and they have terrible pain and they go to chiropractors every week and they have all kind of issues, Caplan said. This can help them sit upright and see.

The products at CraftOptics are based on those used in the medical industry, something Caplans father, now a retired dentist, designed in the 1980s. Charles Caplans optics business eventually became Orascoptic Research, still based in Middleton but now owned by Washington, D.C.-based Danaher Corp.

Through the years, the Caplans thought the product could be used in the craft industry, but they needed to develop something that was lighter and less expensive than the medical lenses that can cost more than $1,000.

In 2007, the Caplans landed on a prototype that was 40 percent lighter and cost below $400. Prices now start at $524. That includes the glasses, prescription and the telescopes. A kit that includes a light and battery pack is $773. The company employs Lynn Richgels, an optician who guides customers with their orders and prescriptions and holds live chats on the companys website. Caplans wife, Stacey Caplan, is a graphic designer who develops marketing material while Mira Sloane has been with CraftOptics for two years and is the assembly manager. Sloane uses a laser to ensure that telescopes are properly aligned when placed on the glasses. Her mother, who lives in Philadelphia, is also legally blind but uses CraftOptics products for painting.

Its extremely meaningful for me, said Sloane, 35. She paints flowers and shes now able to see her flowers better. Its been really cool. I like being a part of helping people see.

Caplan, 51, grew up in Middleton, graduated from Washington University in St. Louis and returned to Wisconsin to earn a graduate degree from UW-Madison in real estate investment analysis. He worked in real estate in Philadelphia and Milwaukee, worked with his father at Orascoptic Research and when the company was sold in 1996, he stayed with the firm, but went to France for four years to develop the companys European distribution program.

Caplan returned to Madison in 2001 and worked for a company that made flexible lab equipment before working with his father on the prototype, obtaining a patent on the telescopes and launching CraftOptics in 2009. The idea came from patients who had seen their dentists wearing the devices and thought they would work well for their art projects.

We heard that enough but we were geared to the medical and dental world, that was our whole angle and thats what our whole sales force was all about, Caplan said. We werent geared to go off into other markets but we kept in the back of our minds that this could be something that would be interesting.

Besides the craft, art and jewelry industry, CraftOptics products are also being used by fly fishing anglers, goldsmiths and computer technicians. But the growth for the foreseeable future will come from those who quilt and sew. Caplans company is now a staple at the annual Quilt Expo, held each September at the Alliant Energy Center. The three-day event draws more than 24,000 people and is one of many large shows held each year around the country.

Its a really big market and its a very organized market, Caplan said of sewers and quilters, many of whom belong to clubs and guilds. Were just scratching the surface.
This is a year to have fun with Shakespeare, and the Madison Early Music Festival is no exception.

The festival, now in its 17th year, is presenting a full week of Elizabethan music at UW-Madison from July 9-16 to help mark the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeares death.

Sundays offering in Mills Hall, for example, includes the screening of a silent, 1912 Sarah Bernhardt movie about the legendary Queen Elizabeth I, monarch during Shakespeares time. The film will be accompanied by live period music from the acclaimed Chicago-based Newberry Consort.

Tuesday night, the visiting Baltimore Consort is scheduled to perform some of the greatest hits of the Bards songbook.

In other concerts, Shakespeare will be celebrated in both words and music.

The idea is to be part of a worldwide celebration, said Cheryl Bensman Rowe, a founder and artistic director of the Madison Early Music Festival. Its not just happening in Wisconsin  its happening all over.

Across the globe this year, theater groups, literary groups, libraries and countless others are taking part in celebrating four centuries of Shakespeares legacy, still very much alive and well. Events are happening throughout Wisconsin, culminating with the arrival in Madison this fall of a precious copy of a First Folio of plays by Shakespeare, to be displayed at the Chazen Museum of Art.

So it made sense for the Madison Early Music Festival  which since 2000 has transported players and listeners into the musical past for a week each summer  to go all out with the theme, said MEMF program director Sarah Marty.

The festival, a program of the UW Arts Institute, provides specialized workshops for professional and amateur musicians throughout the week. More than 90 participants, ranging in age from their teens to 90s, are expected this year.

MEMF also welcomes the public with a Festival Concert Series in Mills Hall, located in the UW-Madison Humanities Building at 455 N. Park St. Evening concerts are preceded by a lecture, and are designed for a broad audience, Marty said.

Sundays concert, for example, will likely draw both fans of Elizabethan music and silent movie buffs  An interesting mix, right?, Marty said. The showing of the Bernhardt film Les amours de la reine Elisabeth (The Loves of Queen Elizabeth) will feature music performed by a Newberry Consort violin string band and acclaimed soprano Ellen Hargis.

Poetry and music will both be center-stage Friday evening with Sonnets 400, 40 of Shakespeares finest sonnets with selections of music by Anthony Holborne played on recorder and lutes. On Saturday, festival musicians will perform Shakespeares Musical World: A Day in the Life of Elizabethan London, a program created and directed by Grant Herreid exclusively for MEMF.

The summer festival selects a different historic time period to focus on each year. This year stands out because so much Shakespeare-related music already is woven into our everyday lives  whether we realize it or not, said MEMF co-founder and artistic director Paul Rowe.

I think a lot of it will sound familiar, Rowe said. Audiences will hear a lot of familiar songs that we hear every day now in movies and on TV.

I think its interesting that every educated person (in Shakespeares day) was expected to know how to dance, how to play music, Bensman Rowe added.

Shakespeare used so much music in his plays, she said. Its nice to connect it all together.
Nestled among the bustling sidewalk cafes on the 100 block of State Street, nine artists were making their Art Fair on the Square debut in the Emerge Block section of the fair on Saturday.

As the fair marks its 58th anniversary this weekend, the Emerge Block is celebrating its inaugural year as the Madison Museum of Contemporary Arts largest annual fundraiser.

While the fair, which continues Sunday, boasts upwards of 500 established artists from all over the state, country and the world, the Emerge Block was created to help support artists whose careers are just taking shape.

Having the Emerge Block is a great opportunity, said artist Rhea Ewing, 27, of Madison.

Ewing has been doing art professionally for about 10 years and is currently in gallery shows at the Overture Center and Gallery Marzen, 2345 Atwood Ave.

A UW-Madison graduate with a degree in fine arts with an emphasis on drawing and printing, Ewing primarily creates giclee prints with natural themes, along with books and  more recently  coloring books.

Giclee prints are archival, high-quality prints, said Ewing, who enjoys events like Art Fair on the Square because of the opportunity to meet new people and talk about their art.

I try to make work that people can have access to, Ewing said, adding that not everyone has space for a $3,000 painting, but people probably have space for a book or a small print.

Understanding what the average patron might want also was a theme for another Emerge Block artist, Bailey Marable, whose best selling piece on Saturday was a hand-sawed, sterling silver pendant in the shape of Wisconsin.

Marable, 35, of Lawrence, Kansas, created the Wisconsin pendants just for Art Fair on the Square.

Jewelry with a personal touch resonates with people all over, said Marable, whose work focuses on mottos, nature and ideas of home.

While all of the Emerge Block artists spent Saturday greeting and meeting new faces, one had more than one face to introduce.

Sofie Kennedy, of Seagrove, North Carolina  home to the largest group of working potters in the United States  focused primarily on putting a face to her work, literally.

Kennedy, 23, a 2015 graduate of Alfred University in New York with a degree in ceramics, specializes in face jugs, a form of Southern folk pottery that involves molding a face onto a jug or a other object.

Her works  which also includes cups, mugs and candle holders  feature a face that she designed and hopes will become a label for her work.

My pieces are all handmade, coil by coil, said Kennedy, who doesnt use a pottery wheel. She runs a studio called Studio 144 Ceramics with fiance Arthur Gross.

Emerge Block features artists who are first-time Art Fair on the Square exhibitors who havent shown at more than two other juried art fairs.

They were given a reduced booth fee of $364, instead of the normal $520, for a 10-by-10-foot space.

Fifty-three artists applied for the fairs newest addition. Ten were chosen to attend, but one had to bow out at the last minute.

Erika Monroe-Kane, communications director for MMoCA, said the emerging artists were given extra support, including mentoring on setting up, displaying their wares and attending to all the little details that go into participating in a large art fair.

Art Fair on the Square  which has catered to nearly 200,000 visitors in recent years  has ranked among the top 25 art fairs in the country. Last year, it was recognized as one of the top 10 art fairs in the country by ArtFairCalendar.com and Art Fair Sourcebook, and it is known for its art interested patrons, Monroe-Kane said.

People are a lot more open to different kinds of art, Ewing said. The prestige and traffic at this event is good.

Ewing, who had mainly done outdoor art fairs and gallery shows in the past, said that MMoCAs fair has very impressive organization and care within the event.

Monroe-Kane said that featuring a section for emerging artists had been batted around in years past, but never fully executed. The Emerge Block will likely continue because there has been a lot of interest in it, she said.

(Emerge Block) is great for people at the fair to have the opportunity to connect with artists, she said.

The museum is looking to support artists, Monroe-Kane said. The Emerge Block fits into that philosophy.
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Both Rudy Giuliani and Bill OReilly, among others, have made outrageous claims about Black Lives Matter. Giuliani claimed Friday on MSNBC Live that,

I think that the reason theres a target on police officers backs is because of groups like Black Lives Matter.

Giuliani has long had a problem with the truth. Politifact, for example, rated his oft-repeated 2014 claim that President Barack Obama said that everybody should hate the police, to be not just pants on fire but an outlandish distortion.

And Bill OReilly, who thinks its insane to criticize Trump for his taco bowl tweet, used his show to show he doesnt think its insane to say something as stupid as this:

Black Lives Matter was just exactly who they are then as who they are today. Theyre a terrorist group. Theyre quickly becoming a terrorist group committing hate crimes.

Crimes like protesting violence against blacks by pointing out that black lives, like all others, matter.

Remember back in May when OReilly claimed Sympathetic media and many race hustlers are backing Black Lives Matter and that there is a violent sub-culture in the African-American community that should be exposed and confronted?

What needs to be confronted is the culture of pervasive racism of the sort promoted by OReilly, that we could only wish qualified for the sub category.

If you need a further demonstration, look at what OReilly also said Friday, that there are very few white Americans who respect Black Lives Matter, and that, based on this false premise of Fox News virtual reality,

[I]f African-Americans really want to bring the country together and have good racial relations, they have to distance themselves from Black Lives Matter. Am I wrong?



Yes. You are wrong.

This frequently heard claim that saying black lives matter means other lives dont, has been rebutted again and again, but conservatives refuse to hear the logic. Their brains seem to seize up at sight of the words black and matter in the same sentence.

Two months ago a law professors open letter to some concerned students (concerned because he had the audacity to wear a BLM shirt), was posted on Imgur. The students claimed that his wearing the t-shirt was inappropriate, also highly offensive and extremely inflammatory. Because racists think it is inflammatory to say black lives also have value.

In his response, the professor used this letter as an opportunity to teach. To the premise that there is an invisible only in front of Black Lives Matter, the professor said, There is a difference between focus and exclusion. He pointed out to the concerned students that if something matters, this does not imply that nothing else does.

The professor used the example of the statement, Law students matter. As he pointed out, so too do others, like friends and family. Black Lives Matter, he said, is about focus, not exclusion. It is not, he said, a statement about white people. It does not exclude white people, it does not accuse white people.

The students, he suggested, were seeing the world in either/or, black/white terms, what he called a constricting ideology. As he pointed out, this does not entitle you to project your either/or ideology onto people who do not share it.

The world is quite full enough of people who do this sort of projection, like conservative Christians who accuse non-Christians of cavorting with a devil they do not believe in, and other sorts of illogical madness. And we certainly see it from racists like Bill OReilly and Rudy Giuliani.
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Obviously, says Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, what we saw in Dallas was a Tet Offensive American style. Keep in mind there was just one shooter. If he had been white, wed be hearing about how he was a lone gunman. But because he was black, right wing crazies like Rhodes start seeing Commies everywhere.

To meet the imaginary threat of subversive leftists, Rhodes wants patriotic Americans to go armed at all times and to reestablish the militia system. Rhodes, whose followers have all been radicalized by Fox News and years of racist Republican rhetoric, says the attack does not come as a surprise given the incessant Marxist mantra that America is a racist nation.

Of course, America IS a racist nation. Rhodes is living proof of it. And contrary to Rhodes line of bull, Black Lives Matter is not about inciting violence against all police officers but pointing to the fact that black lives matter as much as white lives. It is an unceasing source of amazement that conservatives can deny racism even as their own words embody racist attitudes.

Here is the entirety of Rhodes tirade, posted at the Oath Keepers website Friday:

Sadly, this sniper attack does not come as a surprise after the incessant cop killer inspiring rhetoric of Black Lives Matter and similar radical leftist groups, inciting violence against all police officers while alleging that any and all shootings of black or Hispanic suspects in this nation just must be driven by racism, with condemnation and cries of racist! coming before any investigation has a chance to even start. And it also does not come as a surprise given the incessant Marxist mantra that America is a racist nation and that police serve as the weapons of that racist nation against all people of color  all of which serves the Marxist agenda to divide and conquer along racial lines and inspire blind hatred against all police, and against this nation in general (which is clearly successful, judging from the many photos and videos of Black Lives Matter activists standing on the American flag, burning the flag, and even wiping their rear ends with the flag, with many favorable comments and thumbs up given in support online).



And this attack shows the extreme vulnerability of police officers to sniper fire during such events. From here forward, officers would be well advised to treat all such public protests as magnets for snipers and terrorists, and take appropriate countermeasures, such as active patrolling and/or police occupation of any elevated location that may serve as a possible sniper position. You can also expect officers to end the practice of going alone on patrol, and instead teaming up in buddy pairs (and that was already starting to happen in response to the increasing targeted assassination attacks on officers in the past two years).



And this attack will cause police to want to further militarize, in their own defense, to include deployment of counter-sniper and armored vehicles, and will cause police to be even more jumpy and on-guard during contacts with the public. No doubt, that is what the Marxists want as well, so they can further justify their cop hating rhetoric and incitement to violence. And it will also further their agenda to trample on the right of the people to keep and bear arms. The blame will not fall on their rhetoric and incitement, but will instead fall on gun ownership in general. The Marxists only proposed solution to an attack they caused will be to disarm the rest of us, and to insist on the nationalization of all police, bringing them under the heel of the DOJ. In other words, they will blame the victims of this attack, and innocent American gun owners, since they see both as their enemies.



Therefore, I call on all Oath Keepers, and all patriotic Americans, to come to the aid of their local police, and to the aid of their communities, and unite and coordinate in mutual defense against this orchestrated campaign of Marxist terrorism, which is the modern version of the wave of terrorism we saw in the late 60s and early 70s by the Marxist Weather Underground and related groups (who also frequently targeted police), along with the closely related Jihadist terrorism offensive, with Orlando being merely the latest in an ongoing wave of attacks. What is now needed, more than ever, is the reestablishment of the militia of the people, trained, equipped and organized in each town, to defend against what is now clearly a Tet Offensive American style, as Navy SEAL veteran Matt Bracken warned. While we work to reestablish that militia system, you must go armed at all times, and be prepared, at all times, to defend your community against these Marxist terrorists as well as their Islamist terror allies. Remember, they are in league, and you are their common enemy and their common targets.



The power elites who control, aid, abet and fund these terrorists will attempt to use these attacks to further destroy what little is left of our Constitution, but the one thing they do not want, and the one thing they truly fear, is for We the People, who are still armed, to come together and restore the militia of the several states. And the elites terrorist proxies among the Marxists and Islamacists also fear such a revitalization and restoration. So, lets do what our enemies all fear most. Let us resurrect and restore the militia system of this nation, which the Founders told us is necessary for the security of a free state, and which must consist of ALL of the able bodied citizens of your community. It is time to finally get down to doing what is necessary. It starts with you and your neighbors coming together, now, to address this grave threat, and for you to lead them toward the only constitutional solution  the revitalization of the militia.



For the Republic,



 Stewart Rhodes

Rhodes denounces the imaginary power elites who control, aid, abet and fund these terrorists  meaning the Black Lives Matter movement, because, apparently, if you find fault with the idea of white privilege you must be a terrorist. Rhodes doesnt want his special rights taken away, after all.

He claims these power elites do not want We the People, who are still armed, to come together and restore the militia of the several states. Fact is, we still have militia  they are called the National Guard these days. What Rhodes wants is a vigilante force of angry white Americans. Hardly the same thing.
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By Ayesha Rascoe and Ernest Scheyder

WARSAW/DALLAS (Reuters)  President Barack Obama urged Americans on Saturday not to see the country as being riven into opposing groups, seeking to soothe raw emotions after the attack that killed five policemen in Dallas and the high-profile police shootings of two black men in Minnesota and Louisiana.

As painful as this week has been, I firmly believe that America is not as divided as some have suggested, Obama said at the start of a news conference during a trip to Poland.

Thursdays attack in Dallas by a black former U.S. Army reservist who expressed a desire to kill white people added a new layer to the emotional national debates over racial injustice and gun violence.

We cannot let the actions of a few define all of us, Obama said, adding that he did not believe that the country was descending into the polarization seen in the 1960s.

As tough, as hard, as depressing as the loss of life this week was, weve got a foundation to build on, he said.

Authorities have named Micah Johnson as the lone gunman in the Dallas attack, saying he had served in Afghanistan, embraced militant black nationalism, professed anger over police shootings and a desire to kill white people, especially white officers.

The demented individual who carried out those attacks in Dallas, hes no more representative of African-Americans than the shooter in Charleston was representative of white Americans or the shooter in Orlando or San Bernardino were representative of Muslim-Americans, Obama said, referring to a string of mass shootings in roughly the past year.

They dont speak for us. Thats not who we are.

Seven other officers and two civilians were wounded in the ambush in downtown Dallas.

Johnson, 25, was killed by a bomb-carrying robot deployed against him in a parking garage where he had holed up and refused to surrender during hours of negotiations with police, authorities said on Friday.

The attack came at the end of a rally to protest police shootings  prompted by the deaths of Philando Castile, 32, near St. Paul, Minnesota, on Wednesday, and Alton Sterling, 37, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Tuesday.

PROTESTS CONTINUE

While Thursdays attack stunned Dallas into mourning, it did not stop demonstrations against police killings around the country.

Thousands of protesters took to the streets in several cities on Friday for a second day. They clogged roadways in New York, Atlanta and Philadelphia, and events in San Francisco and Phoenix also drew large crowds.

More demonstrations were planned for Saturday in Minnesota, Louisiana, New York and Washington, D.C.

At least two protests were planned in Baton Rouge, and demonstrators expected to gather in Minneapolis in late afternoon for a rally. Demonstrations were also expected on Saturday night, in New York kicking off at the Brooklyn Bridge, and in Washington at the African American Civil War Memorial.

Police use of force, particularly against African-Americans, has come under intense and sometimes angry scrutiny in the past two years because of a string of high-profile deaths in cities from Ferguson, Missouri, to New York.

The death toll in Dallas was the highest for U.S. police in the line of duty from a single event since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington. It was especially devastating for the city, which struggled for decades to heal scars left by the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

(Additional reporting by Brendan OBrien in Milwaukee, Eric M. Johnson in Seattle, Jon Herskovitz in Austin, Texas, Letitia Stein in Tampa, Florida, Laila Kearney and Gina Cherelus in New York, Fiona Ortiz in Chicago and Mark Hosenball in London; Writing by Steve Gorman and Frances Kerry; Editing by Leslie Adler)
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Donald Trump brought many firsts to this years presidential election. He is the first to exploit the hatred and division by race, gender, religion etc. that Republicans pushed for years. Hes the first to incite and reward violence at his white power rallies and most notably he is the first to mainstream fascism in America. So much so that David Duke is openly praising and defending him.

Throughout his campaign the spray-tanned worshiper of dictators like Saddam Hussein, Kim Il Jong and Vladmir Putin, invoked Wharton as a testament to his very good brain and the image of business prowess.

Over 600 faculty, former and current students of Wharton school of business have had enough and said so in an open letter, where they state in part:

We, proud students, alumni, and faculty of Wharton, are outraged that an affiliation with our school is being used to legitimize prejudice and intolerance. Although we do not aim to make any political endorsements with this letter, we do express our unequivocal stance against the xenophobia, sexism, racism, and other forms of bigotry that you have actively and implicitly endorsed in your campaign.



The Wharton community is a diverse community. We are immigrants and children of immigrants, people of color, Muslims, Jews, women, people living with or caring for those with disabilities, and members of the LGBTQ community. In other words, we represent the groups that you have repeatedly denigrated, as well as their steadfast friends, family, and allies.

The Wharton community is a diverse community just like the America that Trump and his party denigrates with the Hitleresque slogan make America great again. The 602 people who signed this letter did what the Republican Partys leadership should have done the day Trump announced his candidacy. But, that is another story.

Its an America that mourns with the families of citizens who were murdered by police simply for living while black and equally mourns the police officers in Dallas who were brutally murdered as a result of hate.

Its an America that recognizes the difference between anti-police rhetoric and anti-police brutality rhetoric.

Its also an America that will do whatever it takes to kick Donald Trump and his message of hate straight back to the fringes of darkness, because its an America that knows the difference between love of country and hate of its citizens. In short, its an America that knows the difference between patriotism and nationalism.
Herman the Duck is returning to the air along with memories of a beloved Wisconsin airline company that operated at a time when stewardesses doled out matches and cigarettes to passengers and security lines and liquid restrictions were nonexistent.

Officials with the Aviation Heritage Center of Wisconsin announced last week that the nonprofit museum at the Sheboygan County Memorial Airport has spent $175,000 to buy a DC-3 once used by North Central Airlines. The regional carrier has its roots in Clintonville, had its hub in Madison for a time, and in the 1950s and 1960s even served the northern Wisconsin resort community of Land OLakes. The town on the Michigan border is home to the Kings Gateway Lodge, a resort that in its hey day attracted performers such as Bob Hope and Lawrence Welk.

The airline, known for its flying duck emblem on the tail of its aircraft, shuttled guests from Milwaukee, Minneapolis and Chicago to the resort and operated for more than 40 years with stops as far away as Florida and Arizona.

At its peak, the company serviced more than 90 cities but ultimately was consumed during the deregulation of the airline industry in the 1970s.

But North Centrals storied history is being gathered for a permanent exhibit that will help preserve memories of the airline. Volunteers have collected dinnerware, matchbooks, photographs, a baggage cart and clothing worn by employees. The museum has been promised a simulator that was used by North Central pilots while signs from the airline ticket office in the former Lorraine Hotel in Downtown Madison have also been acquired.

The plane will be the museums centerpiece but will be far from just a static display. The aircraft will be flown and serve as a traveling promotion for the airlines history and the Heritage Center, built in 2005 and home to displays about Wisconsin aviation. Officials say they would like to offer rides to visitors of the museum but also have the plane make trips to cities that North Central once served.

Weve been looking for suitable aircraft for the last year or more, said Jon Helminiak, executive director of the Heritage Center. There are DC-3s out there but to find one that actually has a North Central Airlines history is unique because thats whats going to tug at the heart strings of the North Central alum. This aircraft actually flew for the airline and it actually carried passengers.

The aircraft, built in 1941, can seat about 26 passengers and is being stored near Los Angeles. Helminiak wants to fly the plane to Wisconsin this fall and have it painted in the color scheme used by North Central in the 1950s and 1960s, a trip and project that could cost $35,000.

The Heritage Center is in the midst of raising money and earlier this year secured $70,000 that has gone toward the planes purchase. That included $25,000 from the city of Clintonville to name the plane after the city in which the airline got its start. That can be traced to 1939 when executives of the Four Wheel Drive Co., a manufacturer of transmissions and heavy duty trucks, needed more convenient and faster transportation than trains.

The plane service proved popular with other local business people who would hitch rides so, in 1944, the company created Wisconsin Central Airlines. In 1947, the airlines headquarters moved to Madison at what is now Wisconsin Aviation and a year later was serving 14 airports in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Illinois using three Lockheed 10A nine-passenger planes. By 1949, the airline had 32,000 passengers and continued to grow, which led to the addition of six DC-3s in 1951.

The headquarters moved to Minneapolis in 1952, which resulted in the name of the company being changed to North Central, but the airline continued to serve Madison until 1979 when it merged with Southern Airways to become Republic Airlines. Northwest purchased Republic in 1986, and Delta merged with Northwest in 2008.

Roger Hallingstad, a volunteer with the Heritage Center, is also traveling the Upper Midwest raising money and awareness for the exhibit project.

One of the donations received by Hallingstad, a Sparta native, was $14,000 from a Wisconsin man who wished to remain anonymous.

The money was used to buy a 33-foot motor home and cover it with signage touting the proposed exhibit.

We need to preserve Wisconsins aviation history and it would be a shame to not let future generations know about this significant airline that was founded right here in Wisconsin, Hallingstad said. We want to do this exhibit now while those men and women who worked for the airline are still with us. It means a heck of a lot to them.

The evidence can be found on the second Tuesday of each month. Thats when retirees of the airline company who still live in the Madison area gather for coffee and cinnamon rolls and to reminiscence. Last month, about a dozen former employees met at the Jet Room on the north side of the Dane County Regional Airport property where they also took in a presentation by Helminiak about the Heritage Center and the planned North Central exhibit. Hallingstads motor home was parked outside the front door and served as a billboard on wheels.

Trudi Theisen showed up with the uniform worn by her husband, Robert, when he was a ground agent in Green Bay and Madison. The size 46, one-piece jumper had hung in a closet of their home for over 30 years.

Im sorry I couldnt get the oil spot out of the back, Theisen said. I tend to like history and I just thought this was something Roger could use.

Audrey Grimm, 69, of Wyocena, was a ticket agent in Wausau before she transferred to Madison in the 1960s. Her husband, Delbert, 75, was in operations and a ticket manager for the company. They donated pictures and a few sets of glasses to the exhibit.

Everybodys kind of donating stuff of whatever we can find, Audrey Grimm said. It was just a big family. There were just wonderful people.

Isie Weisensel Derr, now of Portage, worked from 1959 to 1999 under the North Central, Republic and Northwest airlines banners. Her work included staffing a ticket office in downtown Chicago across from the Palmer House Hotel, a stint in Milwaukee, five summers in Traverse City, Michigan; and customer service jobs in Minneapolis, Green Bay and Denver. Her last four years were in Madison.

I loved it because of the traveling, Derr said. It was amazing, but after 9/11, I wouldnt want to be working for an airline.

Diane Serslands late husband, Ken Sersland, who died in 2008, started in Clintonville, worked in Eau Claire and Oshkosh and spent 35 years in operations with the airline before he retired in 1981. Diane was a reservation agent for Northwest before becoming a ticket agent at the Park Motor Inn on the Capitol Square. She quit the business in 1963 after she met her husband but then became close with those with North Central.
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By Steve Holland

(Reuters)  In the hours after a gunman shot 12 police officers, killing five in Dallas, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton abruptly canceled campaign events. Their Twitter accounts largely went quiet.

The shootings marked yet another convulsive event in the 2016 political season, one in which Clinton and Trump have scrambled to find the right response to terror attacks abroad, mass shootings at home, and protests over police killings of African Americans.

Much of the violence, captured live on smartphones and endlessly replayed on cable television news, has fueled Americans fears about their personal safety, polls show. It has evoked memories of 1968, when civil rights leader Martin Luther King and Democratic presidential candidate Robert Kennedy were assassinated in a turbulent era of protests against the Vietnam war and racial segregation.

Were seeing wild acts of gun violence and we are polarized in our politics and in the public square, said historian Douglas Brinkley. Every 48 hours there seems to be some horrific event that jars and jerks our consciousness into a new dimension.

Historically, uncertain times tend to push the party out of power. Witness Republican Ronald Reagans defeat of incumbent Democrat Jimmy Carter in 1980 during the Iran hostage crisis, or Obamas victory over Republican John McCain in 2008 as the U.S. economy collapsed.

But that may not be the case for Trump, who has yet to convince a majority of Americans that his would be a steady hand at the tiller.

Trumps initial reaction to Dallas suggested he understands the stakes. He issued a sober statement of unity that was unlike many of his public utterances that are often derided by critics as hyperbolic or inflammatory.

Our nation has become too divided. Too many Americans feel like theyve lost hope. Crime is harming too many citizens. Racial tensions have gotten worse, not better. This isnt the American Dream we all want for our children, he said.

This is a time, perhaps more than ever, for strong leadership, love and compassion. We will pull through these tragedies.

BRIDGING THE DIVIDE

With race relations becoming a more prominent issue in the White House race, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a top contender to be Trumps vice presidential running mate, told Fox News that Trump and his No. 2 can help broaden their appeal by going to inner cities, where many African Americans live.In responding to the spasm of gun violence, Clinton has called for more regulations on the gun industry and has aligned herself with the Black Lives Matter movement, which campaigns against violence against African-Americans.

In a round of TV appearances, Clinton said she had been working her whole life to try to bridge the racial divide. Her comments follow the police shooting of two black men in two separate incidents in Louisiana and Minnesota over the past week. The Dallas gunman told police he was angry about the killings.

I will call for white people, like myself, to put ourselves in the shoes of those African American families  who fear every time their children go somewhere. Im going to be talking about white people, Clinton said on CNN.

Democratic strategist Bud Jackson said she is hitting the right tone.

I dont think this is an issue that she needs to take advantage of, he said. In fact it would probably hurt her if she is perceived as taking advantage of it.

But the demand for change is sweeping among voters. According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll taken over the last five weeks, nearly two-thirds of Americans feel the country is on the wrong track, reflecting their general unease with the economy, terror threats and violence.

Her challenge is to show she can cope with these issues and that she would bring change and would not be the same, said presidential historian Thomas Alan Schwartz.

Trump has said a Clinton win in the Nov. 8 election would amount to a third term for President Barack Obama. Clinton has embraced many of the policies of her former rival in the 2008 presidential election and campaigned with him this week.

Lanhee Chen, who advised 2012 Republican nominee Mitt Romney and 2016 presidential candidate Marco Rubio, said a more civil discourse in American politics would help to calm peoples general fears.

I think theres bigger issue around civility and rhetoric and discourse and how our leaders appeal or dont appeal to our better angels. Thats really what this is about. I see this as an absence of leadership all around.

(Reporting By Steve Holland; Editing by Paul Thomasch and Ross Colvin)
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As presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump divides the country with proud racism, bigotry and sexism, he tweeted this morning that the division in our country is President Obama and Hillary Clintons fault.

Trump tweeted, Look what is happening to our country under the WEAK leadership of Obama and people like Crooked Hillary Clinton. We are a divided nation!

Look what is happening to our country under the WEAK leadership of Obama and people like Crooked Hillary Clinton. We are a divided nation!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 10, 2016

The truth of the matter is the only reason we are divided is because conservatives freaked out when President Obama was elected and they have indulged themselves in a 7 plus year temper tantrum.

White supremacist groups grew in reaction to white fear and anger that a black person dared to have the power of the White House.

This is not Obamas fault; this is the fault of the people who want to deny minorities a seat at the table. That is the position of conservatives, and so if anyone is to blame, it is them.

Conservatives announced that the election of Obama made America post-racial. The media followed suit. Then when it turned out to not be true, they blamed Obama. They said and say that the country is more divided under Obama, as if it were something about him that he is responsible for that created this. Obama is not responsible for the color of his skin being unpalatable for certain white people.

And of course the only reason Republicans announced the post-racial America result of Obama being elected was to put a period on the end of discussing racial inequalities and close the book.

But one black person being elected president does not change systemic racism and barriers, nor did it remove the target on black people. Anyone who imagines it would be that easy to erase ingrained power imbalances is not fit to run the country, because that is a very simple and empty belief, lacking both plain logic and historical knowledge.

In fact, a black person gaining a power that some white people feel belongs to their race exclusively will create a backlash in an attempt to restore power solely to white people. This is not the black persons fault. A person would have to be pretty childish to think black people bear the responsibility for white peoples actions.

Donald Trump is blaming Obama and Clinton for the division as he runs to be the guy to fix it. But Donald Trump is division personified. Donald Trump is campaigning on the division conservatives carefully carved out so they could hold on to a section of the electorate as their policies robbed those same people blind.

Donald Trump is a disgrace. Trump is deliberately with malice dividing this country for his own gain, and then he turns around and blames the division he and his people stirred up on the people who have been victims of discrimination due to skin color and gender.

Shame on Donald Trump.
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During a press conference with Spanish Prime Minister Rajoy and Spanish media, when asked about the U.S. election, President Obama said he has great confidence in the goodness of the American people

The President declined to comment on the U.S. election, pointing out that it was for the American people to decide, but he added that he had great confidence in the people.

What I would say is I have great confidence in the American people, their goodness. Their values. Their decency. Their common sense, President Obama said, according to a pool report.

Obama acknowledged that our political process is messy and dominated by money, Although our political process is messy and dominated by too much money and it lasts too long, theres a lot of rhetoric that is all over the place.

But he still has faith in the American people, At the end of the day I think people recognize the importance of the office of the president, and that the United States occupies a unique role in the world, and will take that decision about who sits in the Oval Office very seriously.

Contrary to media narratives, this President has consistently brought out the best in the majority of American people. That is why he got elected twice. It wasnt because of white guilt as Republicans like to claim. It was because regardless of his skin color, President Barack Obama is a moral leader, a person who lifts the country up and points the way down a better path.

Obama knows that when people vote, goodness often prevails. Republicans know this, too, and that is why they work so hard to restrict voting rights and dampen turnout by depressing the publics morale with ideas like both sides do it, voting doesnt matter.

Voting does matter. It is a huge power that has a collective voice that can actually overcome the dark money buying politicians when the people are united.

And that is precisely why those in power who are buying politicians dont want you to vote.

Image: Reuters
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Donald Trump is supposedly running for president, but instead of campaigning after a horrible week of shootings, Trump is sitting on his butt at home sending hate tweets to CNN.

Here is what Trump has been tweeting:

I heard that the underachieving John King of @CNN on Inside Politics was one hour of lies. Happily, few people are watching  dead network!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 10, 2016

The media is so dishonest. If I make a statement, they twist it and turn it to make it sound bad or foolish.They think the public is stupid!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 10, 2016

Trump is losing in every credible poll. The Republican Party is flailing around deeply divided. The nominee should be leading the party, but Republican primary voters picked Donald Trump, so what they are getting is a lazy candidate who holds a few events each week, and spends most of his time obsessing about his media coverage.

Donald Trump is destroying the Republican Party through a combination of incompetence, poor judgment, and neglect.

Nominees for the White House are normally concerned about dozens of things other than their media coverage, but for Trump, the media seems to be his one and only constant obsession. Trump is glued to cable news all day.

Republicans are already in a state of despair over the fact that they cant seem to get their lazy nominee to turn off cable news, get off of the couch, and actually run for president, and the depression only deepens when they think about how Trump is wasting days that should be spent campaigning plopped in front of television.

Trump is a joke. On a week when he could have been showing voters that he has the mettle to be president, Donald Trump is watching TV and whining about CNN.

It isnt just a matter of fitness for the position; Donald Trump is acting like he as no interest in being president.
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Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani embarrassed himself today by going on a sick racist rant about black kids while on CBS Face the Nation.

Giuliani said, If I were a black father I would say be very respectful to the policeId also say be very careful of those kids in the neighborhood, dont get involved with them because son, theres a 99 percent chance they are going to kill you not the police.

Video:

Giuliani said:

Mayor Rudy Giuliani has some advice for black fathers on @FaceTheNation: https://t.co/CNstFReXnE pic.twitter.com/xsjJZhMzvI  Sopan Deb (@SopanDeb) July 10, 2016

In reality, what has been so shocking for many is how African Americans are being shot while being respectful, while doing nothing wrong, while not escalating a tense situation.

This idea that African Americans dont feel the target on their backs and dont teach their children how to behave could only be held by someone who refuses to face the fact that too many African Americans are being targeted for no reason other than the color of their skin. That is the problem. Where has Giuliani been? Has he watched the videos?

Giuliani is also avoiding the entire point of Americans outrage  it is time for our criminal justice system to right these wrongs. Rather than lecture victims about how its their fault because they werent careful enough when they told the officer that they were reaching into the glove compartment to get their ID but that they have a concealed carry permit and there is a gun in there, its time to hold law enforcement accountable when they fail to act appropriately to the situation.

Giuliani also expressed his belief that the African-American fear of police may be irrational because it isnt like black people havent been targeted by US law enforcement for centuries.

The media continues to give Giuliani and his twisted racist views a national platform. Why is the press turning to Rudy Giuliani on issues of policing and law enforcement? Giuliani has revealed himself to be a bigot and a racist on the level of Donald Trump.
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It is being reported that there is a 95% chance that Trump will name anti-gay extremist Indiana Gov. Mike Pence as his running mate on Tuesday. If Trump picks Pence, Hillary Clinton couldnt have made a better choice herself.

The Washington Times reported:

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, little known nationally but highly admired in conservative circles, has a 95 percent probability of being Donald Trumps choice for vice president, The Washington Times has learned.

The sources for that assessment are Republicans close to the campaign and to the governor.

A tipoff came a few days ago when Indiana House Speaker Brian C. Bosma, 58, a conservative Republican, sought advice on running for governor from constitutional lawyer James Bopp, an Indiana delegate to the Republican National Convention and a member of the convention rule committee.

If Pence is Trumps choice, it will signal that Trump is still trying to unify the Republican Party. Gov. Pence is only known nationally for his religious freedom law which was nothing more than a bill to discriminate against gay people in Indiana. Pence isnt known nationally, and what is known about him is likely to push more voters towards Hillary Clinton.

The reality is that the kind of Republican who could have helped Trump wouldnt be caught dead on his ticket, so the GOP nominee was forced to pick a running mate that could have been cast by Hillary Clinton herself. Pence is a red state governor with an extremist political history who does nothing to help Trump nationally, or with any key voting constituencies.

Trump wanted a star for his VP. Instead, he got Mike Pence.

Hillary Clinton has a clean slate and a wide open variety of choices for her running mate. If Trump goes with the extremist all white male red state appeal only ticket, the sky is the limit for Clinton.

Clinton set Trump up for this lousy decision, and the blustering political blunder stumbled helplessly into her trap.
I recently spent a short family vacation in Madison. It was my first visit back since I moved to Charleston, South Carolina, in 2005.

I was in Madison to attend my nephews graduation from West High School, and I was supposed to be finding a place for my family to live. I had accepted a position at UW-Madison working under my mentor, Emily Auerbach, for the Odyssey Project, which provides a free humanities class for adult students facing economic barriers to college.

The first part of my visit was great. I was a very proud uncle. But the other part of my stay wasnt as much fun, and I ultimately decided Madison wasnt the place for my family, even though its my wifes hometown.

The Madison I left in 2005 and the Madison I visited last month are not the same. I often wondered, after moving to Madison in 1998 for a better life, if I made the right move for my children.

Charleston is a diverse city where my children would have to face the prejudice and racism of the South. Its as racist and segregated today as it was when I left nearly two decades ago. And the thing that has frustrated my wife and I the most is we seem to be the only ones mad about it.

So my wife, Kevette, and I thought getting back to the Mad City made sense. A police officer in North Charleston had shot a man in the back last year while he was running away, and a kid decided to walk into a Charleston church and murder nine innocent people, including a personal friend of ours.

That was the final straw  or so I thought.

In the months after committing to accept the job at UW, I started paying attention to what was going on in Madison. I am the father of four young black males, and my main objective is to put them in a position to be successful. I started Googling Madison, Wisconsin, and I stumbled across some troubling facts.

I read where Wisconsin is considered the worst state to raise a black child. I read about the high incarceration rate of black males in Wisconsin. I also read that half of blacks in Madison are considered poor.

I thought back to last year when a Madison police officer went into a house and gunned down an unarmed young man. I started seeing on local Madison news stations that young black males were shooting and killing each other almost on a daily basis. I see that one of the men that I thought was a leader in the black community was taking advantage of innocent young ladies.

I think the governor of Wisconsin could be the governor of Mississippi. While I was in Madison, I was riding with my niece and I asked her what she thought about me working at UW. She told me UW was racist because one of her friends got spat on because she was black.

This was not the Madison I anticipated bringing my family back to.

So here I was with the opportunity to come back to Madison and work for the Odyssey Project, which I credit for changing my life. I would be able to do the job I always wanted to do, and make a pretty good living at it.

Yet I had my doubts. As bad as racism and segregation are in Charleston, was it really worth the risk to moving my family back to Madison. At least in South Carolina, I know what to expect.

This was my mindset when I sat down with my wife to decide. Two days after we came home, my wife showed me a video of the young lady being arrested and getting beat up by a police officer at East Towne Mall.

That sealed the deal for me. I wasnt there, and I dont know what led up to the beating. But I know what I saw was excessive. All I kept thinking was: What if that were one of my sons. How would that have ended? Would another young black man be dead by the hands of the Madison police.

Thats a chance Im not willing to take. Im disappointed in the city I fell in love with in 1998. I have to step back and see what the future brings, and hope I can feel comfortable enough to one day move back to the city I used to call home.

Mad City is a term of endearment for Madison. But I keep wondering if the Mad City has really gone mad.
Listening to liberals like Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, you would think that enormous numbers of black men are being gunned down by police officers. When the issue is debated, many take it for granted that a vastly disproportionate number of blacks are involved in police shootingsin fact, if you didnt know better, you might think that only blacks are ever shot by policemen.

The numbers tell a different story. Like all statistics, they bounce around from year to year, but lets go with the Washington Posts study of police shootings in 2015. The Post found that 990 people, almost all of them men, were shot and killed by law enforcement last year. Before you start calling them victims, however, note that the Post also found that in three-quarters of these incidents, police were defending either themselves or someone else who was, at that moment, under attack. That leaves around 250 cases that were not obvious self-defense or defense of a third person. That doesnt mean, of course, that those shootings were unjustified.

What was the racial breakdown of those who were shot by police in 2015? The largest number, 494, almost exactly half, were white. 258 were black, 172 were Hispanic, and the remaining 66 were either other or unknown. (Interestingly, Asians are rarely shot by police officers.)

The 258 blacks represent 26% of the total. That is about double the percentage of blacks in the American population. Is that prima facie evidence of racism on the part of law enforcement? Of course not. It is common knowledge that blacks have an unusually high rate of contact with the police, both as victims and as perpetrators. In 2012-2013, the Department of Justice found that blacks were the perpetrators of 24% of all violent crimes where the race of the perpetrator was known (in 7.8% of violent crimes, it was unknown).

So the percentage of blacks fatally shot by police officers (26%) is almost exactly equal to the percentage of blacks committing violent crimes (24%) [to be clear, that is the percentage of violent crimes committed by blacks, as stated above, which is the relevant comparison]. Indeed, given that the black homicide rate is around eight times the white rate, it is surprising that the portion of blacks fatally shot by policemen is not higher.

Liberals might argue that blacks are disproportionately the victims of unjustified shootings by law enforcement, but I have not seen anyone try seriously to make that case. The Post took a pass at supporting the liberal narrative by arguing that unarmed blacks are shot at a higher rate than whites. But the Post failed to note that, according to its own data, blacks are much more likely to attack police officers while unarmed. I dont know why this is, but in general, I think that unarmed people who assault police officers are likely to be high on drugs. The Post also failed to point out that blacks are much more likely to assault police officers with motor vehicles. That counts as unarmed. We had a case like that recently in Minnesota, where a black perpetrator tried to run down a police officer and the officer shot him in self-defense.

One can slice the Posts 2015 data in various ways. One question is whether there is a racial disparity with regard to whether the policeman or someone else is under direct attack by a perpetratori.e., an obvious case of self-defense. I did the math, and it turns out that, for whatever reason, the percentages are a little different for each ethnic group. (You can measure anything by ethnic group, and in all likelihood the numbers wont be exactly the same. If it is to your political advantage, you can call that difference a disparity or a gap.)

According to the Posts numbersand you should bear in mind that a subjective process of classification lies behind each instance80% of whites who were fatally shot by police officers in 2015 were in the midst of an attack on the policeman or someone else. According to the Post, 71% of blacks were shot while attacking someone, while 66% of others and 62% of Hispanics were shot while attacking the policeman or someone else. If you take these differences seriously, which you probably shouldnt since re-classifying a small number of instances would dramatically change the results, they might be an argument for discrimination against Hispanics and Asians. Blacks turn out to be a relatively favored group, by this measure.

In short, the data on police shootings show that blacks are involved in such incidents just about exactly as often as one would expect, given their violent crime rate. Slicing and dicing the numbers is interesting, but doesnt generate any obviously relevant correlations that would change that finding. Which means that, unless someone can make a compelling argument based on the data, which we have not yet seen, the Black Lives Matter movement is founded on a lie.
The newly appointed Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Maikanti Baru, on Friday pledged to work closely with staff to find lasting solutions to the challenges facing the industry.

The pledge was part of a 16-point agenda he unfolded shortly after taking over from his predecessor and Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu.

Mr. Baru said it was Mr. Kachikwu who recommended him to President Muhammadu Buhari for his appointment. He said his management would continue the on-going comprehensive restructuring of the NNPC, describing it as inevitable.

Assuring the oil workers that he would exploit their experience to maximize output under the on-going restructuring exercise, Mr. Baru said such engagement would be a key success for his administration.

In his handover statement, Mr. Kachikwu said within the period he remained at the helm of affairs at the corporation in the last 11months, he recorded modest achievements. He mentioned the achievements to include sanitizing the fuel supply and distribution system with the introduction of the downstream liberalization regime; reducing upstream contracting period to nine months from initial average of two years, and redirection of NNPC on the path of profitability as witnessed in the May 2016 NNPC monthly financial report, which posted a profit of N274 million.

16 Point Agenda of the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Maikanti Baru Implement new business models that would grant autonomy required to empower the strategic business units and autonomous business units deliver on their mandates Provide relevant directions and controls to ensure their growth and profitability Continue exploring ways of relieving government the burden of cash calls obligation as well as address and defray the agreed cash call arrears of the IOCs Restore oil and gas production and grow the national reserve portfolio; Increase crude oil production capacity by the NNPC upstream subsidiary, the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) Review all weak contractual agreements and terminating bad ones as appropriate Leverage on equity positions to cause the development of key gas assets for both domestic and export Pursue the expansion of gas networks across the country Repair and restore oil and gas pipeline infrastructure and providing robust security system for both detection and deterrent in conjunction with the existing security arrangement Improve refining efficiency of the four existing refineries to pave the way for future expansion Pursue diversification of businesses by refocusing on the implementation of renewable energy programmes and frontier exploration services Continue the drive to make the venture businesses profitable and ensure service delivery Continue the drive to make the venture businesses profitable and ensure service delivery Ensure adequate staff welfare and motivation, training and capacity building. Creating an all-inclusive internal advisory council on security, comprising representatives from NNPC, the international oil companies, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association and National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, and security operatives to brainstorm and address host community agitations to complement government security teams efforts in the Niger Delta region

He listed other achievements to include prompt remittance of oil proceeds to the Federation Accounts; transparency and accountability through the monthly publication of NNPC financial reports; and review of old models of contracts like crude oil swap which saved the NNPC money annually.

The minister said his management also recently secured an $80 billion memorandum of understanding with several Chinese investors interested in coming to help develop various infrastructure in the countrys oil and gas industry.

Other items in the 16-point agenda include:

creating an all-inclusive internal advisory council on security, comprising representatives from NNPC, the international oil companies, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association and National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, and security operatives to brainstorm and address host community agitations to complement government security teams efforts in the Niger Delta region;

implement new business models that would grant autonomy required to empower the strategic business units and autonomous business units deliver on their mandates;

provide relevant directions and controls to ensure their growth and profitability;

continue exploring ways of relieving government the burden of cash calls obligation as well as address and defray the agreed cash call arrears of the IOCs;

restore oil and gas production and grow the national reserve portfolio;

increase crude oil production capacity by the NNPC upstream subsidiary, the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC);

review all weak contractual agreements and terminating bad ones as appropriate;

leverage on equity positions to cause the development of key gas assets for both domestic and export;

pursue the expansion of gas networks across the country;

repair and restore oil and gas pipeline infrastructure and providing robust security system for both detection and deterrent in conjunction with the existing security arrangement;

improve refining efficiency of the four existing refineries to pave the way for future expansion;

pursue diversification of businesses by refocusing on the implementation of renewable energy programmes and frontier exploration services;

continue the drive to make the venture businesses profitable and ensure service delivery;

entrench the culture of professionalism by doing the right things at all times through transparency, accountability, and respect for all, and

ensure adequate staff welfare and motivation, training and capacity building.
At least 272 people have died in fighting between South Sudans rival factions in the capital Juba, including 33 civilians.

A government source said on Sunday that heavy gunfire erupted again in the city and many residents sought shelter at a UN base.

The fighting first broke out on Thursday and Friday between troops loyal to President Salva Kiir and soldiers who support vice president Riek Machar.

The violence raised fears that South Sudan could slide back into conflict after emerging from a two-year civil war, which began in December 2013 after Kiir sacked Machar as vice president.

Neighbouring Kenya called for urgent action by the two leaders to move troops away from civilians and end the crisis.

Michael Makuei, Minister of Information, said in a broadcast that the situation had been brought under control.

At present the situation is calm, Mr. Makuei said.

He said the government was calling on people to go back to their homes and that the situation was under control.

On Saturday, Juba had been calm, but on Sunday a witness and residents said gunfire was heard in Gudele and Jebel suburbs of Juba, near the military barracks that hosts troops loyal to Mr. Machar.

For about 30 to 40 minutes we heard sounds of heavy artillery in the direction of Jebel area, an aid worker based in Juba who did not want to be named said.

(Reuters/NAN)
The son of slain al-Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden, has threatened revenge against the U.S. for assassinating his father, according to an audio message posted online.

Hamza bin Laden promised to continue the global militant groups fight against the U.S. and its allies in the 21-minute speech entitled We Are All Osama, according to the SITE Intelligence Group.

We will continue striking you and targeting you in your country and abroad in response to your oppression of the people of Palestine, Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Somalia and the rest of the Muslim lands that did not survive your oppression, Hamza said.

As for the revenge by the Islamic nation for Sheikh Osama, may Allah have mercy on him, it is not revenge for Osama the person but it is revenge for those who defended Islam.

Osama bin Laden was killed at his Pakistani hideout by U.S. commandos in 2011 in a major blow to the militant group which carried out the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

Documents recovered from bin Ladens compound and published by the U.S. last year alleged that his aides tried to reunite the militant leader with Hamza, who had been held under house arrest in Iran.

Hamza, now in his mid-twenties, was at his fathers side in Afghanistan before the 9/11 attacks and spent time with him in Pakistan after the U.S.-led invasion pushed much of al Qaedas senior leadership there, according to the Brookings Institution.

Introduced by the organisations new chief Ayman al-Zawahiri in an audio message last year, Hamza provides a younger voice for the group whose ageing leaders have struggled to inspire militants around the world galvanized by Islamic State.

Hamza provides a new face for al-Qaeda, one that directly connects to the groups founder. He is an articulate and dangerous enemy, according to Bruce Riedel of Brookings.

(Reuters/NAN)
No fewer than 182 civilians have been killed since US-backed, Kurdish-led forces launched an offensive to seize the strategic northern Syrian city of Minbij from Islamic State jihadists at the end of May, a monitoring group said on Sunday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights alleged that the victims included 56 children, adding that 64 of the civilians, including 22 children, died in airstrikes by a US-led coalition.

The Kurdish-led Democratic Forces of Syria (DFS) launched an offensive against Minbij, which lies about 30 kilometres from the Turkish border on May 31, backed by intensive coalition airstrikes.

Capturing the city and its hinterland would cut Islamic State off from its last access route to the border and the outside world.

The DFS quickly surrounded Minbij but had made slow progress since then, with Islamic State jihadists fiercely resisting in street fighting inside the city.

The Observatory said that 29 rebel and al-Qaeda fighters, including field commanders, had been killed in fierce battles as they attempted to force government troops back from the last road into rebel-held eastern Aleppo.

Government forces cut off the Castello Road on Thursday, effectively imposing a siege on the estimated 250,000 to 300,000 residents remaining in the divided citys bomb-shattered eastern sector.

Also on Sunday, the World Food Programme (WFP), announced that it had airlifted 40 tons of food to the mostly Kurdish-held north-east of Syria.

A total of 25 flights are planned over the coming month, prioritising supplies for displaced people in shelters and unfinished buildings, female-headed households and some vulnerable Iraqi refugees, the UN agency said.

Syrias north-eastern al-Hassakeh province had been inaccessible for aid agencies as land routes within the country are controlled by Islamic State and the Turkish and Iraqi borders had been largely shut in recent months.

Aid deliveries had been a contentious issue in the Syrian war, with the government frequently preventing or restricting convoys to rebel-held areas besieged by its forces despite widespread malnutrition and some cases of death by starvation.

Three besieged areas on the outskirts of Damascus had received aid supplies, for the first time since 2012, after an international deadline for relief provisions expired at the beginning of June.

The U.S., Russia  an ally of the Syrian government  and other countries had jointly announced that if humanitarian aid was denied to besieged areas from June 1, WFP would pursue air drops.

The UN, however, subsequently made it clear that it was still focusing on getting approval for overland deliveries, saying airlifts would be technically difficult and could not be carried out without government approval.

The Syrian conflict, which began with peaceful protests against al-Assads regime, had turned into a four-way war between the government, mainly Islamist rebels, the Islamic State extremist group and leftist Kurdish forces.

Some 4.8 million Syrians had fled the country since 2011, with another 6.6 million displaced inside its borders, according to the latest UN estimates.

(dpa/NAN)
Perhaps Nigerias most controversial police officer of the modern era, Joseph Mbu, on Saturday formally bowed out of the force after 31 years in service, with an appeal to the Nigerian media not to exaggerate his sins and those of his colleagues.

Officers and men of the police bided Mr. Mbu goodbye at a stepping-down ceremony at the Police Staff College, Jos.

The assistant inspector-general of police, who enrolled into the force in 1985, was commandant of the college until he was suddenly retired along with 20 other colleagues on July 1.

At the ceremony, Mr. Mbu described his service years as fulfilling and urged men and officers still in service to always eschew eye service in the discharge of their duties.

Mr. Mbu himself is believed to have engaged in excessive eye service to please the Goodluck Jonathan administration during his tenures as police commissioner in Rivers and Abuja, and assistant inspector-general in charge of Zone 2, Lagos.

I am privileged as a police officer to head various formations and commands, including the political capital, Abuja, and the economic capital, Lagos, he said.

Other formations and commands I headed as commissioner of police include the Directorate of Police Education, Mobile Force, Oyo, Rivers and the FCT.

I was also the Assistant Inspector General of Police Zone 7, Abuja, Zone 2, Lagos and also the Elite College, the highest Police institution in Nigeria.

He then called on the media not to overflog the alleged sins of officers and men of the police in the course of duty, but rather to seek and understand their peculiar circumstances and work as partners with them to ensure peace and sanity in the country.

Mr. Mbu, who once described himself as a radical rebel and a lion, left the force without achieving his ambition of becoming Nigerias inspector-general of police, having told officers and men of the Ogun State Police Command on February 12, 2015 that he was working hard to get to the top of the police hierarchy.

At the Jos event, he was sober, and perhaps remorseful. He did not roar like a lion or sound boastful, violent or dictatorial. Rather, he spoke gently, and penitently.

In the past three years, Mr. Mbu had gained notoriety as a brutal, partisan and medieval police officer who had no regard for professionalism and human rights.

The retired AIG bounced to national prominence in 2013 shortly after he was posted to Rivers as police commissioner. Rotimi Amaechi, the governor of the state at the time, soon accused him of partisanship, saying he had taken sides with Patience Jonathan and her husband, who were fighting him.

At a point, Mr. Amaechi petitioned the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), accusing Mr. Mbu of orchestrating a grave and deteriorating human rights situation in the state, and requesting the commission to use its legal power and competencies to salvage the strategic security formation infrastructures and networks in the state allegedly compromised by Mr. Mbu through his pattern of actions and utterances.

Mr. Mbu, however denied victimising the governor. He described Mr. Amaechi as a power-hungry dictator who hated him because he refused to be subservient to him.

Mr. Mbu and Mr. Amaechi remained estranged until he (Mbu) was moved to Abuja as commissioner.

While in the nations capital, the police officer recalled his time in Rivers with relish, describing himself as a lion who succeeded in taming Mr. Amaechi, a leopard.

The then Rivers governor shot back describing the cop as a puppet who completely lacked the steel and strength of character of a lion, and is rather a shameless, corrupt puppet and toothless attack dog of a woman.

In Abuja, controversies continued to swirl around the police officer.

In June 2014, the #BringBackOurGirls campaign group sued him after he announced a ban on their protests in the Nigerian capital.

The group has been holding daily sit-ins since May 2014 to demand that government does more to free the over 250 girls kidnapped by Boko Haram from the Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, in April 2014. But Mr. Mbu moved to halt the daily peaceful gathering.

In October that year, Justice S.E Aladetoyinbo of an Abuja High Court ruled that the police did not have the right to ban protests, saying while citizens were mandated to notify security agencies before protesting, they were not obliged to obtain permission from the police to stage protests.

But shortly after that case was resolved, Mr. Mbu courted controversy again. He ordered that a journalist with the African Independent Television, Amaechi Anaekwe, be detained for describing him as controversial on a TV programme. The journalist was only released after the police headquarters compelled Mr. Mbu to do so.

While several Nigerians, who considered him barbaric and an embarrassment to the police, continued to call for his retirement from the police, the Goodluck Jonathan government rewarded him with promotion to the rank of AIG and deployed him to Lagos as AIG in charge of Zone 2.

While in Lagos, Mr. Mbu continued to attract controversy to himself like bee to honey.

On January 15, 2015, Mr. Mbu threatened to bring down any community where the killing of a police officer takes place.

Honestly, any policeman who is killed by any community in my zone, I will bring that village down, we have to rise against the killing of policemen, he said.

About a month later, on February 12, 2015, the AIG said he would order the killing of 20 civilians for any police officer killed during the 2015 elections.

That threat sparked anger across the land, with the Afenifere Renewal Group demanding his redeployment from Lagos, and a lawyer, Tope Alabi, asking a Federal High Court in Lagos to strip Mr. Mbu of his police rank and declare his office vacant.

Months before then, Nigerias main labour union, the Nigerian Labour Congress, had described Mr. Mbu as a serial embarrassment to the police.

He does not seem to represent the mainstream 21st century police if his routine primitive, partisan and primordial outbursts are anything to go by, the NLC had said in a statement by its General Secretary, Peter Ozo-Eson.

He is a serial embarrassment to the Police Force we need. The Police Force we need is the one that is concerned with public good, law, order and justice. We doubt Mr Mbu is in the right company.

All however went quiet at Mr. Mbus end after his major backer, Mr. Jonathan, lost the 2015 presidential election and he (the AIG) was redeployed to the police college in Jos.
Buharis kept his promise to Nigerians  out-going U.S. Ambassador

James Entwistle assumed duties in Abuja as United States ambassador in the country on October 28, 2013. After almost three years working in the worlds most populous black nation, Mr. Entwistle is counting down to the end of his tour of duty in Africa, and final exit from the American foreign service after 35 and half years.

For his exit interview, Mr. Entwistle sat with a select group of Nigerian journalists at the U.S. Embassy in Abuja, Nigerias capital. BASSEY UDO was there for PREMIUM TIMES.

Excerpts:

INTRODUCTION: Im very happy to see all of you. I always love the chance to sit down with the media, particularly since I am leaving definitively later this month at the end of my assignment as U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, and at the end of July, I am retiring from the U.S. Foreign Service after 35 and half years of service.

I had a tremendous career all over the world and a number of assignments in Africa. As I get ready to leave, I think back, and I cannot think of a better way to wrap up my career than to be entrusted by President Obama with the stewardship of what I believe was the most important relationship in Africa.

I say in public all the time, and I actually believe that what our two countries have is a partnership. That means, in the way I always describe it  two great democracies working together to make the world a better place. Thats absolutely true.

I have been warmly received in every corner of this country. Its been a marvellous experience. The other day I was asked: Whats the most unpleasant experience I had in Nigeria? I was stuck, and fought for a long time, and responded that I havent had any unpleasant experience in this country. They were very disappointed. But, thats the truth.

So, I will leave here having enjoyed every minute of my time as the U.S. Ambassador. I will leave with a sense of satisfaction, because I think our relationship, by and large, is in very good shape.

And one thing Ill never forget is the election process last year in March. In my over 35 years career, that was the most inspirational thing I have been part of. The process here, the way in which the Nigerian people made clear that this time they wanted their vote to count, and would accept nothing less. I found that inspirational.

I was proud in my small way to have been part of it. Thats something I will carry in my heart forever. So, its up to all Nigerians to make sure that 2019 is even better.

PT: President Buhari recently celebrated his first year in office. Youve just spoken so glowingly about the process that brought him to office. But, its like Nigerians are a little impatient with him, particularly achievements so far. They say they want to see the change he promised. Whats your take on this?

ENTWISTLE: I see a parallel between President Buhari and President Obama. President Obama had not been in office for a long time before people began to have the same kind of impatience. I think in the U.S., a lot of people forgot how difficult the situation President Obama inherited was at the time. I think the same thing is happening with President Buhari to a certain degree.

Its completely understandable for people to have high expectations. They are impatient, because they want to see change. But, President Buhari inherited a pretty difficult set of circumstances, and some of the things hes identified that needed to be done  end corruption, reform the petroleum sector, end the conflict in the North East region  are things that even if he works as hard as he can, they are going to take some time to yield the kind of results people expect.

I understand why people are impatient. I remember a week after inauguration, looking at the newspapers, there was already an editorial that said: Well, Mr. President, its been a week, we havent seen much yet. And I thought to myself: Whao! Expectations are high. There is not going to be much of a honeymoon. So, I think its good that the expectations from Mr. President are very high. But, I think we have to remember what he inherited. And in my opinion, I try always to be neutral and balanced. I think Mr. President and his team have done a good job this first year. They need some patience.

PT: But, the massive slide in the economy in the last one year seems not to bear your view out?

ENTWISTLE: Well, I think its true with Presidents in any democracy. When times are good, you take the credits for it, fairly or unfairly. When times are bad, you get the blame, fairly or unfairly.

At the moment, oil prices are down. The Nigerian economy is affected by some of the things he (Buhari) inherited, like poor infrastructure in the petroleum sector, and things like that.

I am not much of an economist, But, I think what he has done with the exchange rate of the Naira, removal of fuel subsidies, and so on are things that had to be done. I think in very deliberate fashion, the economy would, hopefully, begin to improve.

But, remember in this day and age, no country is an economic island. We are all tied together. What happens in one country affects the economy in every other country. So, I give the President pretty good marks. Lets see how he marches forward in the next few years.

PT: You said you had a great time in Nigeria. What areas of bilateral trade relations did you improve upon between the U.S. and Nigeria during your time?

ENTWISTLE: By myself, I did not come with anything. But, as the head of the U.S. team in Nigeria, I think we had some tremendous achievements. On the economic front, we have a number of the biggest U.S. companies in the world in Nigeria and very active  General Electric, Proctor & Gamble, big oil companies, some of the Hi-tech boys, like Google and Microsoft, are here.

I think with our support, the U.S. commercial presence here has increased. Thats a good thing. Under my stewardship here, the U.S. team has put in a huge effort in helping the Nigerian government in North East. Some of that have been military training, equipment, etc.

We are also doing a lot to help the government get ready for the next stage in the North East, which will be the return of civilian administration; getting the police up and running again in the North East.

The U.S. government is doing a lot, about $700 million this year to respond to the humanitarian crisis in the North East. There is a food crisis in the North East. I think all Nigerians should get involved in finding solutions to this crisis. They are Nigerians dying of starvation in Nigeria. How can that be in this marvellous country?

I think the government and the donor agencies, like the U.S. government, we all need to up our game in the humanitarian front. But, lets be clear, these are Nigerians in distress in Nigeria. The primary responsibility lies with the government of Nigeria.

The U.S. government and many other donor agencies stand ready to help in every way we can. But, they are Nigerians in a bad way in the North East. I think we all have to do more to help them.

So, those are some of the big areas I focused on in my time here. I already talked about the elections.

We also had some fruitful cooperation on health issues. Sometimes we are judged by what doesnt happen. I think we were very effective working together to prevent Ebola from breaking out across the country. I think it was a very effective collaboration. Thats the approach I tried to take  collaboration, cooperation  two great democracies working together to make the world a better place.

PT: After the March 2015 elections, there have been a number of other re-run elections. But, there have been a lot of outcry that INEC under the new leadership does not seem to do as much as the previous one. How do you respond to this?

ENTWISTLE: I dont agree with that. I was a big admirer of Professor (Attahiru) Jega. I think hes Nigeria true hero. But, in my dealing with Professor Mahmood Yakubu, Ive been very impressed as well. I think we do not have to be an election expert to know.

If we look at everything INEC is responsible for, it is a huge array of responsibilities  from conducting elections, to voter education, to this and that. And we look at the fact that they would have to depend on volunteers they do not always have control over, all of the challenges they have, I think they are doing a pretty good job.

Obviously, they have been some re-runs were people have found fault with the results. I am not sure if you can put a lot of that on INEC. I think you have to put it on the candidates and the political parties. Have they been inciting violence, fraud? All the things I spoke out against in the general elections campaigns, I think there is a sense, and understandable that, well we dont have to worry again about the 2015 elections until 2019.

So, I will call on all candidates to make public commitments to non-violence, participation in fraud and manipulation or intimidation. I hope the media and civil society in Nigeria will continue to hold all candidates (even in out of the ways elections that dont get national attention) to very high standards.

PT: Whats been the level of investment by the U.S. in Nigeria, particularly in energy projects?

ENTWISTLE: We are doing a lot on the energy front. Much of these are through President Obamas Power Africa Initiative. Through that we are trying to help power generating and distribution companies (DISCOs) privatize and get in business.

We have put some advisers on various DISCOs and so on. We are focused on developing more solar energy. There are some rural communities that would probably never be on the national grid. So, solar energy makes tremendous sense. We also use the opportunity to promote U.S. business, through U.S. companies that provide cost-effective solar energy equipment. So, the power system in Nigeria is probably the key thing that has to be fixed for the economy to grow. We are trying to help in every way we can to power Africa.

PT: There have been allegations that the fight against corruption does not follow due process; that it is selective, politically-motivated to witch-hunt, and all that. Do you agree?

ENTWISTLE: I dont agree. I have a lot of respect for President Buhari on the corruption issue. He made it clear during the campaigns that he was going to make that his focus. He has done exactly what he said he would do. Its clear that he has unleashed the investigative agencies, and told them to follow evidence and information wherever it goes.

I have followed all the things you have just mentioned, that there are prosecutions that are politically-motivated and so on. I have been following this, looking for either investigations or arrests that are solely politically-motivated, or only political, I havent found any. I think there are cases where there might be a political angle to it, but are also some real evidence to support the real case.

Thats something we follow very closely, just as you do. Narrow are the paths of investigations, making arrests, but what I hope Nigerians will follow very closely in the next few years is, as these cases go to court, how they are handled in court, how the courts do their job, how the government reacts when inevitably they would lose a case in court, whats the reaction to that. All these are things that have to be observed and handled very carefully.

But, the premise of your question is absolutely correct. In any country, it is easy for corruption cases to begin to spin out of control. I dont see that happening here. I hope all Nigerians will follow that very closely, and if you see it, say it.

PT: You are about to end your tour of duty in Nigeria in a matter of weeks. In your handover note, which area would you advice your successor to focus on to strengthen the relations between Nigeria and the U.S.?

ENTWISTLE: My successor is very good and talented. I know that Nigeria will be in very good hands. I dont think you would have to break new grounds that would need inclusion in my handover note. I think he will continue work on the things we have been working on, particularly all the areas we have been cooperating on  from security assistance to health and everything in between. I will encourage him to travel as much as he can and spend as much time as he can to meet and spend time with young Nigerians.

In my time, when I travel I tried to go to some universities or some places I can sit down with young Nigerians. I always find it incredibly impressive  the energy, dynamism, ideas, brainpower and all that. Thats Nigerias greatest resources  dynamic and talented young people, who have a vision of the future for their country. I found that very inspiring.

PT: Nigeria is seen as the giant of Africa, but a lot of Nigerians are worried that President Obama has visited Africa a couple of times and has not found it necessary to visit Nigeria. Whats going on?

ENTWISTLE: Nobody would be happier to see President Obama come to Nigeria than me. But, let me remind you that President Obama is in office for six more months, which is a long time. So, well see what happens. Keep in mind that there are other ways to do finer relationships than just a visit by a president.

When President Buhari went to Washington a year ago this month, he met for long time with President Obama in the Oval office. So, we have a very good high level relationship even when President Obama has not been to Nigeria. But, as I said, he will be in office for six more months. We will see what happens.

PT: The U.S. and Nigeria have had very good trade relations over the years. But, in recent times, it appears that is fast losing ground to China. Are there areas of the relationship you would recommend to your successor to make amends to restore those good old days?

ENTWISTLE: I dont agree we are losing grounds to anybody. China has its relationships with Africa. They have a different approach than we do. Thats fine. But, I think people will find that if they go American way they will get a better product and so on.

I think all the things that Nigeria needs to do are well understood, and have been done  the fight against corruption, trying to renovate and improve infrastructure in the oil industry, improve education and health systems. These are things we have already identified in our programmes. I really cant think of anything else. The issues are fairly obvious. The leadership in Nigeria, and more importantly the ordinary citizens, need to understand what needs to be done.

I dont agree that the U.S. private sector is not in Nigeria. Some of our biggest boys are here. They are very interested in doing more. Thats why I ask government to continue to do everything it can to maintain a climate that attracts foreign investments. A responsible foreign investment pays taxes, provides revenue, and creates jobs.

PT: Earlier, you said you could not find any unpleasant experience in Nigeria during your time. What then would you say was your most pleasant moment?

ENTWISTLE: I will have to go back to the elections. I found that to be a positive, almost euphoric experience. Thats something I will always carry in my heart forever. I will never forget it.

On Election Day, I stayed in Abuja, but we had our own teams all over the country. I went to a polling station in FCT and talked to an old woman. Shes been there all morning till that afternoon, and she said to me: This is elections day. If I have to stand here all day in order to vote, then I will stand all day.

I said to myself Whao! Sometimes it is easy to take the right to vote for granted. We forget what people have gone through all over the world to get their right to vote, and how precious it is.

Listening to the elderly woman reminded me how precious the right to vote is, and what people go through to get it.

I was there in Alabama when Martin Luther King made his now famous speech. I remember African-Americans protesting, because they wanted to vote, even though theoretically they have had the right for a hundred years. They wanted to have the right to vote. I remember the people being attacked by the police in Alabama with water and dogs.

That underlines to me how precious a thing the right to vote is. I think about what people have gone through. I saw the emphasis Nigerians put on, the patience that they stood in line, and the way the system worked after that. The votes were counted and tabulated; the incumbent president conceded defeat and stepped down. I thought the whole process was incredibly inspirational. Thats the high point of my time here.

PT: During the Chibok girls saga, the U.S. government raised the hopes of Nigerians when it offered to assist in locating the girls. But, it appears all that hope was dashed. What happened?

ENTWISTLE: Those Chibok girls and everyone else that have been captured and abused by Boko Haram are Nigerians in distress in Nigeria. The first responsibility lies with the Nigerian government. What the U.S. government offered to do was to help the Nigerian government with information and everything we could help with.

But, the notion that we were going to shove the government out of the way and bring back the girls would have been a great insult on the government and Nigerians.

Since the time of the kidnap, cooperation in the North East with the military and intelligence fronts have grown tremendously. So, the struggle is not over. The military has continued to make steady progress. They are opening areas and finding people inside. We all pray that the day will come that we will find some of the Chibok girls.

PT: What would you say has been your best Nigerian food, and may be the best place you would always want to return to?

ENTWISTLE: My second tour of duty here back in the 1980s was in the North of Nigeria. So, I learnt a lot about Kilishi (local dry meat) there. So, Ive enjoyed a lot ofKilishi here in Nigeria.

On the place I will return to, I have to be careful, because whatever I say people will criticize me. But, I remember I took a trip to the northern part of Cross River state to look at the wild life that is still alive in this country  gorillas, elephants and all sorts of things.

That was a tremendous trip, but I came away with a sense that they were under tremendous threat, and hope Nigerians would do everything they can to preserve that population. If I come back, I would not mind spending some more time there.

PT: If you were to write your memoirs today, how would the chapter on your experience in Nigeria read?

ENTWISTLE: It will read exactly as I have said before. It was fascinating and incredible time to be here during the elections. I was impressed with Nigerians. I enjoyed my time. But, I have no particular plan to write memoirs.

PT: Any final word to all Nigerians

ENTWISTLE: Thank you.
Yunusa Dahiru, the alleged abductor of Ese Oruru, has been released on bail and reportedly taken to Kano.

Yunusa is facing a five-count charge of abduction, illicit intercourse, sexual exploitation and unlawful carnal knowledge of a minor, Ese Oruru.

Confirming Yunusas release on Sunday in Yenagoa, his lawyer, Kayode Olaosebikan, said the accused family took him away. He did not disclose where he was taken to.

A source within the prison, who sought anonymity as he was not permitted to speak to journalists, also confirmed Yunusas release.

Yunusa left custody of the Okaka prison, Bayelsa after spending over four months, the source said on Sunday evening, adding that the accused was taken to Kano.

Yunusas legal team, which includes a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, had battled since March to secure his release from prison following the bail conditions given by Justice Ajiya Nganjiwa of the Federal High Court in Yenagoa.

Mr. Nganjiwa had set a N3 million bail bond and two sureties in like sum, resident within the jurisdiction of the court. He also ordered that one of the sureties must be a traditional title holder, while the second person must be a civil servant on Grade Level 12 or above.

The bail conditions also stipulated that the two sureties must submit their three-year tax clearance receipts and that the defence counsel must sign an undertaking that the accused would not jump bail.

However, the Judge later relaxed the conditions after he was approached by Yunusas lawyers that they could not meet some of the bail conditions.

The court reduced the bail conditions to a level nine civil servant and further granted the prayer of the defendant to also allow any traditional ruler from any community in the country to stand as surety.

Justice Nganjiwa had on Friday adjourned the trial to September 13 for further cross examination of Ese Oruru by Yunusas defence counsel.
The place of the Nigerian millennial in nation building was the overriding theme of a keynote address by Pius Adesanmi, the Director of Institute of African Studies at the Carleton University in Canada. The event was the 50th birthday celebration and book launch of PREMIUM TIMES columnist, Bamidele Ademola-Olateju, in Lagos on Saturday.

The speech titled: Delivery by Fidihe: Apologies to 21st Century Nigerians highlighted he watering down of values among millennia. It squarely placed the blame on the generation before them, which, according to him failed in the task of leading the them on the right path.

Describing Mrs. Ademola-Olatejus passion for a better Nigeria and in championing the course of the downtrodden in the society, Mr. Adesanmi, a Professor of Literature and African Studies, said her work with millennia in the country is unrivalled.

Whenever Nigeria happens to the downtrodden her friend friends have had to surrender their spot for her attention, Mr. Adesanmi said.

Mr. Adesanmi said Mrs. Ademola-Olateju was an impeccable intellectual, a city crawler who drives to dingy parts of Lagos just to understand the downtrodden she fights for.

Of all the constituencies that she exercises her energy, none takes her time like the Nigerian millennia- those born in the 1980s and 1990s.

Speaking further on the collapse of value among Nigerian millennia, Mr. Adesanmi said: they are the first generation we taught to rationalise crime, theft. That was the first generation we taught not to spell or write leave correctly in aluta placards.

He said it is hard for one to criticise people like the immediate past National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, who is facing corruption charges for the alleged diversion of $2.1 billion, without being challenged.

Im neither blaming nor criticising millennia for this, Im criticising the previous generation.

He said it was unfair for the previous generation to blame millennia for every conceivable vice in the country, when indeed they had failed in guiding them toward the right part.

In fact, he said, millennia should be praised for making something out of their lives in a country that has given them nothing.

I feel unease about Nigeria

Speaking during an interview session, Mrs. Ademola-Olateju said her desire to see change from the status quo propelled her to champion the cause of the poor and to continue to write about the Nigerian situation.

I feel unease about Nigeria. Until I begin to see change, I cannot be fulfilled. Writing for me is a way to vent, it is a way to voice out my frustration with the society.

Speaking about how her articles have been received by readers, she said her readers were most outraged by her piece titled Nigeria and we its 170million stupid people, published on PREMIUM TIMES on 22 October, 2013. She said people called her names for referring to Nigerians as stupid but she was happy that it eventually made them to think deeply about certain issues in the country.

For Love of Country, her book, which was launched during the celebration is a compilation of her opinion pieces published on PREMIUM TIMES.
The Nigerian Governors Forum on Sunday expressed concern over the political impasse in Abia State and called on parties to the crisis to respect the rule of law.

The Chairman of the forum and Zamfara State Governor, Abdulaziz Yari, made this known while addressing traditional rulers from Abia State who paid condolence visit to Sokoto State.

The monarchs were in Sokoto to commiserate with the government and people of the state over the death of top politician, Umaru Shinkafi.

Mr. Yari said the 36 state governors in the country are worried about the political logjam in Abia State, and are working behind the scene to ensure there is no breakdown of law and order in the state.

The governor said it is important for all sides claiming victory over the governorship contest to respect the courts and avoid acts that would lead to violence.

As a forum, we are concerned about what is going on in Abia and we are working to ensure all sides respect the courts, and uphold peace. Abia is known for peace, as such we should not do things that would disturb the peace of the state, Mr. Yari said.

Earlier in his remarks, the Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, said the state has a long standing relationship with the people of the South East. He said the condolence visit by the traditional rulers reaffirmed that relationship.

Rather than lay emphasis on things that divide the country, Mr. Tambuwal said, Nigerians should emphasis on those aspects that unite the nation.

We are all on journey to unity, stability and progress of our dear country. Abia State governor is a very good friend of mine, so I am praying for him to overcome the present challenges hes facing as a public officer, he said.

The governor described the late Mr. Shinkafi as a man of wisdom and integrity, who enjoyed the respect and admiration of all Nigerians.

No doubt, Shinkafi is the father, and architecture of Nigerias modern security apparatus, Mr. Tambuwal said.

His ideas and handwork gave birth to our present security structure, so he fully deserved all the enconmiums that have come his way since his passage, the governor added.

The royal fathers were led by the Chairman of both the South East Council of Traditional Rulers and the Abia State Traditional Rulers Council, Eberechi Dick.

In his address, Mr. Eberechi commended the Sokoto State government for the warm relationship between indigenes and residents of other states, especially those from South East, living in Sokoto.
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) says the point system copied from its website as criteria for admission into tertiary institutions in the country and currently circulating was a mere illustration.

This is contained in a statement by the boards Head, Media and Information, Fabian Benjamin, and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Lagos.

It said that on the contrary, the Federal Government had approved the re-enforcement of admission guideline as recognised by law.

According to the statement the admission of candidates into tertiary institutions will be based purely on three pillars namely: merit, catchment and educationally less developed states.

It said that the point system that was wrongfully copied from the boards website and currently being circulated by some media was used for illustration by the Registrar, Prof. Dibu Ojerinde.

Sequel to the recent workshop convened by the Minister of Education on the modality for 2016 admission into tertiary institutions in Nigeria, the Federal Government approved the re-enforcement of admissions guideline recognised by law.

This is following the cancellation of the post Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

This is not the point system as widely circulated in some media.

For the avoidance of doubt, the board wishes to state clearly that the point system is an illustration by the Registrar of JAMB.

It is meant to demonstrate how a few institutions were using the point system to select candidates while some of their counterparts were subjecting candidates to written test.

The illustrations are contained in a paper presented by the registrar and placed on our website and was adopted by the media wrongly as the 2016 guideline for admission, the statement said.

It added that the 2016 admissions would be conducted purely on the three existing admission pillars of merit, catchment area and educationally less developed states through the following process.

According to the statement, firstly, a list of candidates who qualified for screening into individual institutions based on the three stipulated criteria will be presented.

It added that such screening did not demand for another test in any form, written, oral or electronic.

According to the statement, candidates are to present their Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) results/Advanced Level (AL) results for verification and clearing purposes.

It noted that WAEC, NECO and NBTE results or its equivalent were acceptable as matriculation requirements.

The statement added that each candidate was expected to have a minimum of five credits at SSCE, including English, Mathematics and any other three relevant subjects to his or her discipline.

It said that the list of qualified candidates awaiting SSCE/AL results could be kept in view pending the release of their results.

Any candidate that does not possess the requirements as listed above is deemed to have failed the screening.

Consideration of the recommended list as forward by JAMB should be completed within one month from the date of receipt of the list.

Any institution that has a shortfall in the admitted candidates could make-up for candidates from other departments on the institutions list.

Reasons for rejection of candidates on the list should be clearly stated with proof provided alongside.

This is imperative so that the general public will note the correct process, the statement said.

It said that the government had directed that the guidelines must be strictly adhered to without any alterations.

(NAN)
An anti-graft coalition, the Civil Society Network Against Corruption (CSNAC), has urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate the Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, over alleged diversion of funds to purchase properties in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

In a petition forwarded to the anti-graft commission and signed by the groups chairman, Olanrewaju Suraju, the group said such act was a violation of the law of public service.

According to the group, if the revelation is found to be true, based on evidence adduced by a newspaper, then the actions of the COAS is a great disservice, an act of sabotage against the Nigerian State and a violation of the law prohibiting public officer from investing or participating in any other business safe for farming.

Taking a cue from a publication of June 24, 2016, by Sahara Reporters, an online newspaper, the group said the newspaper revealed how the Chief of Army Staff, Major General Buratai and his two wives were alleged joint owners of a Dubai Property that was paid for in one transaction.

The funds for the said properties were alleged to have come from a vehicle contract scam, executed while Mr. Buratai was the Director of Procurement at the Army Headquarters. Our correspondents discovered that the Nigerian Army had awarded an apparently bogus contract for the supply of vehicles and motorcycles for the use of troops involved in an anti-terrorism offensive in Nigerias beleaguered northeastern zone.

According to the publication, The allegation that General Buratai might have pilfered funds meant for the purchase of military vehicles has sparked outrage among soldiers and officers, especially those from the northeastern part of the country. Two military sources disclosed that irate officers had petitioned President Muhammadu Buhari, urging him to order an investigation into the contract scam.

In the petition, exclusively obtained by SaharaReporters, the aggrieved soldiers and officers, under the umbrella of Concerned Soldiers and Officers from the North East, had accused the COAS of executing the contract through a proxy. According to the petitioners, the proxys name is Usman Gamawa, founder of Baggash Investment Limited. The petition stated that, rather than supply new vehicles, as contained the contract awarded, Mr. Baggash allegedly purchased second-hand vehicles and motorcycles from Niger Republic.

On arrival in Nigeria, the vehicles were said to have been refurbished at Mogadishu Cantonment under the supervision of Staff Sergeant Dadan Garba. SaharaReporters said some of the vehicles and motorcycles had since broken down.

CSNAC noted further that, The disaffected soldiers and officers alleged the property acquired by the COAS and his wives was bought from a company, SIGMA 111 Limited. They attached a document showing the purchase agreement. According, to the document, General Buratai and his wives had, on January 13, 2013, reached an agreement with the seller for the purchase of the property; Project TFG Marina Hotel, Unit 2711. The asking price was AED 1,542,000.00 (or $419,826.06 or N120m). They alleged that General Buratai paid a total sum of AED 1,498, 534.00 (N115.6m) because the sellers gave concessions of AED 43,466, made up of incentives, promotions, and early payment bonus.

The agreement indicating full payment for the house and the handing over of ownership to the Buratas was signed on January 13, 2014. The document identified the COAS as Mr. Tukur Yusuf Buratai, holder of passport No. A04250623. The generals wives were identified as Mrs. Aishatu Tukur Buratai, holder of passport No. A03400260, and Mrs. Umar Kalsum Tukur Buratai, holder of passport No. A03239920.

The petitioners further claimed that, since his appointment as COAS last July, General Buratai had been making numerous hefty deposits in his various bank accounts. For example, his Skye Bank account (1770380452) received a deposit of N10 million on July 24, 2015. On August 7, 2015, another N10 million was paid into the same account. Three days later, the account was credited with yet another sum of N10 million. On August 11 and 17, N4 million and N3, 270,000 were credited to the account respectively.

SaharaReporters contacted the owner of the phone number on the Skye Bank Lodgement Voucher which was found to belong to a Major Adegbola, according to TrueCaller. According to Saharareporters, Mr. Adegbola confirmed to our correspondent that he was Major Adegbola by saying correct but denied knowing Mr. Buratai and later said that his name was actually Joshua. An aide of General Buratai also confirmed that the general owned a house in Dubai, but denied the allegation that the COAS and his wives had purchased a home in Dubai by making a single payment.

He also said that the Chief of Army Staff had nothing to do with the contractor and that when it came to his knowledge, he instituted a commission of inquiry, which investigated it and made far-reaching recommendations which were being implemented and also found out that the said vehicles were not refurbished.

It noted further that, In defence of General Buratai, Colonel Sani Kukasheka Usman, acting Director of Army Public Relations, in a statement, claimed that General Buratai and his family owned two properties in Dubai that were paid for in installments through personal savings. But Colonel Usmans claim that the two homes were bought three years ago is at odds with purchase documents displayed by SaharaReporters.

Though, Colonel Usman claimed that General Buratai was never a Director of Procurement at the Defense Headquarters. Yet, evidence from the website of Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) proves the military spokesman wrong. According to the site bpp.gov.ng, General Buratai attended the 2014 Defence Headquarters Procurement Seminar as the Director of Procurement.

The anti-graft coalition stated that, The Nigerian Military in times past was known for diligence, professionalism and high level discipline. However, it is quite unfortunate that in recent times, corruption has continued to wreak havoc within the once revered organization.

More heartbreaking is the facts that these corrupt practices were perpetrated by top officials saddled with the responsibility of the welfare of gallant officers and men/women of the force. If the above revelation is found to be true, based evidence adduced by the newspaper, then the actions of the COAS is a great disservice, an act of sabotage against the Nigerian State and a violation of the law prohibiting public officer from investing or participating in any other business safe for farming.

A situation where the funds allegedly meant to equip the soldiers as well as cater for their welfare in their bid to protect the territorial integrity of the country and internal security is allegedly diverted for personal use by the COAS deserves urgently attention without further delay, it said.
A key speaker at a session on proper parenting, organised by PREMIUM TIMES, has advised parents on how to ensure their babies are well-fed even after they had outgrown breastfeeding.

The event, which focused on how good parenting can help in nation-building, held in Abuja on Saturday. It was co-sponsored by TW Magazine, and Parenting Resources and Initiatives of Atlanta USA. A similar event had held in Lagos.

Delivering a lecture on the topic, Reconsidering the nutritional culture of families and its effects on childrens health, the speaker, Adewumi Ayodele, said parents should find healthy ways of enriching breastmilk substitutes, like pap, to encourage children embrace feeding.

According to Mr. Ayodele, a nutritionist, a large number of children experience feeding difficulties after they had been weaned.

The problem, he said, was largely because most parents fail to apply simple tips that would make food products adopted as substitutes of breastfeeding, as enticing as breastmilk.

The result of such poor nutritional culture is always a depreciating state for the child, said Mr. Ayodele.

He suggested ways parents can make their children eat better.

Blend groundnuts and add Soya beans. Blend that too a little then add blended fish, but be mindful of how your children react to such kinds of fish. If they like it, go ahead with it, but if they dont, just avoid using it, he said.

Once you have done all that, that is where you have your reinforced pack, you will then sweeten it by adding your table spoon sugar and the normal milk for children, make sure that the quantity is sufficient enough to change the colour of the pap. Note that until the brown colour changes, you havent added enough milk, he advised.

Another guest speaker, Sunday Dogonyaro, Nigerias former ambassador to Sao Tome and Principe, who spoke on the topic, Fundamental life values, said families should help children understand the virtue of tolerance and co-relation, as a key to addressing social problems in the society.

Mr. Dogonyaro said schools play a major role in molding children, and that most schools in Nigeria have failed to impact the culture of basic reasoning in children.

No child should grow like an Island, Mr. Dogonyaro said. Look for the school that is a leveler to a large extent. Critical thinking is at the root of progress and it is what brings development to any nation.

Another speaker at the event, Binta Max-Gbinije, said parents must watch the kind of reward packages they give to their children.

Let the reward be appropriate, at the right time and accurate, she noted. Let them know that not all that comes to them should be theirs.

Mrs. Max-Gbinije spoke about the power of savings and how important it is for parents to save for years for their childrens future.
As part of measures to stem the increasing spate of armed robbery in Cross River State, the Governor, Ben Ayade, on Saturday led security chiefs in a show of force across Calabar Metropolis.

Mr. Ayade went on the operation barely 24 hours after reading the Riot Act to criminals to leave the state.

The state Commissioner of Police, Ozi Obeh; Commander, 13 Brigade, A.B Biu; and the Commander, NNS Victory, Marcus Bobai, led their officers and men to the operation.

Armed robbers, cult gangs and sundry criminals have during the past one month terrorised residents of Calabar and its environs.

Briefing journalists shortly after the operation, the governor explained that the exercise was a deliberate measure to let criminals know that his team was in absolute control of the entire situation.

We are out here to demonstrate that we are in absolute control and we are going to keep Calabar totally safe, Mr. Ayade said.

We have done a complete surveillance of all the possible routes, all the waterways through which these criminals escape.

The governor said a ransom of N10 million would be paid to anybody with useful information on each of the wanted criminals, whose names would soon be published in newspapers.

We know who they are. The security and intelligence report has shown clearly the people who are behind all these activities and I can assure the people of Cross River State that Calabar is indeed peaceful and they should go about their legitimate businesses, the governor said.

Mr. Ayade said specific hideouts had been uncovered and access to water fronts would soon be cut off as security operatives begin on a door-to-door search of locations in Calabar Metropolis.

I am sure with the number of combat vehicles and the armoury they (criminals) saw on display today, they would know that Cross River State is an action state and we cant afford the agony of having any tension anymore, Mr. Ayade said.

As a fallout of our security meeting yesterday (Friday) and today, we will make adequate budgetary provision, reduce some of our spending while transferring some of the overheads to guarantee sufficient ammunition as well as other security and logistics support.

Also speaking, the Cross River Commissioner of Police, Jimoh Ozi-Obeh assured that his men would continue to protect the lives and property of the citizenry.

Those who have legal businesses should go about them peacefully, but those who have illegal businesses should run away, Mr. Ozi-Obeh warned.

The state Security Adviser, Jude Ngaji, expressed governments readiness to tackle the rising wave of crime, saying in a couple of days, the security challenge being experienced in the state would soon end.
The Oyo State Government has reopened public secondary schools earlier closed in the wake of the education crisis in the state.

The crisis was due to opposition to Governor Abiola Ajimobis proposed policy to involve private bodies in the operation of the schools.

The schools will resume on July 11.

However, pupils of 17 schools who protested against Mr. Ajimobis policy over fear the governor was planning to privatize their schools will remain at home.

This information was contained in a statement by the states Commissioner for Information, Toye Arulogun, on Saturday.

On June 6, students of some schools in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, embarked on anti-Ajimobi protest, after organised labour in the state opposed the governments proposed public private partnership policy on education.

The government said the protesting students indulged in violence and destroyed government property and those of individuals and corporate bodies by students and teachers of some schools in Oyo State.

This violent activity threatened the peace and security of the state and endangered the lives of the students who participated in this breach of peace and affront on constituted authority, Mr. Arulogun said. He added that Consequently, the Oyo State Government was constrained to shut down public schools throughout the State to safeguard the lives of the students and protect the lives and property of the citizenry; a decision that was taken in the line of its primary duty of ensuring peace and safety in the state.

He announced that, Following several representations by the Parents Teachers Association, Community Leaders, Religious leaders, Traditional Rulers, Prominent and well meaning Nigerians at home and abroad, the Oyo State Government has decided to reopen public schools in the State with effect from Monday 11th July 2016.

However, the 17 schools that participated in the demonstration, as stated by Mr. Arulogun, are excluded from governments reopen order.

The affected schools are Baptist Secondary School, Senior and Junior; Ansarudeen Secondary School; Ansarudeen High School; Ibadan Grammar School, Senior and Junior; Olubi Memorial Grammar School; St Luke Grammar School, Senior and Junior; St Luke College; and Yejide Girls Grammar School.

Others are Methodist Grammar School, Senior and Junior; Methodist Secondary School; Oba Akinyele Memorial High School; Ikolaba Grammar School; Ikolaba Secondary School; Ikolaba High School; Lagelu Grammar School; Okebadan High School; Ibadan Boys High School.

All the schools are in Ibadan.

Mr. Arulogun disclosed that the affected schools would remain shut until the principals and the management of the schools submit an undertaking to the government that the students under their care will not engage in nor be used for violent acts and that their safety will be guaranteed.

Considering the need for strong character moulding and to emphasize the importance of good conduct and acceptable behaviour for the leaders of tomorrow, the students must tender a written apology to the government through the school management.

The Government of Oyo State wishes to reiterate its commitment to ensuring the security and safety of lives and property within the state, the Information Commissioner said.

However, it is not immediately clear if the teachers will resume work on Monday, despite the Governments order.

The Nigerian Labour Congress, including Nigerian Union of Teachers, in Oyo State had declared indefinite strike just almost the same time the Government announced closure of schools.

Before the proposal to involve private bodies in the running of the schools, the government and the workers had been squabbling over unpaid salaries.

The Oyo State Labour leader, Waheed Olojede, could not be reached to know if teachers will return to classes tomorrow following the governments order.
Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, on Sunday said policemen numbering 20 were on their way to Ekiti State to arrest government officials, leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party and members of the House of Assembly to give effect to the petitions by members of the All Progressives Congress.

The alarm was contained in a press statement signed by the Special Assistant to Mr. Fayose on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka.

But the Police in Ekiti promptly denied the allegation, saying nothing of such has happened.

Mr. Fayoses statement said the planned arrest was to give effect to the petitions by the APC members on the 2014 governorship election.

The governor alleged that the 20 policemen, riding in three white Toyota buses, were led by one ACP Olusola Oke, a native of Isan Ekiti, hometown of the Minister of Solid Minerals, Kayode Fayemi .

He also accused prominent indigenes of the state, such as Femi Falana(SAN), Babafemi Ojudu, Yinka Akerele among others of coordinating the invasion.

We have been reliably informed that the latest onslaught against the PDP government of Mr Ayodele Fayose is to begin on Monday, using the police to arrest top government officials, PDP leaders across the 16 local government areas and members of the House of Assembly, the statement said.

ACP Olusola Oke, who is to lead the over 20 policemen to carry out the operation is said to be a native of Isan Ekiti, hometown of the Minister of Solid Minerals, Dr Kayode Fayemi. ACP Olusola Oke is equally the immediate past Assistant Commissioner in charge of Operations and now the AC X-Squad, FCID, Abuja.

The operation is allegedly being funded by a former governor from the South-South while a prominent aide of President Mohammadu Buhari is said to be directly coordinating.

ACP Olusola Oke will be accompanied by CSP Ayodele, CSP Enang, four Inspectors and others.

But the Police Public Relations Officer in Ekiti State, Alberto Adeyemi, told PREMIUM TIMES on telephone that there was no truth in the allegation.

My brother there is no truth in that, it is not true, he said. We are here in Ekiti with over 5000 policemen, and we are talking about 20 policemen invading.

There cannot be such a thing, it is not true.

Mr. Ojudu, the Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, in a telephone chat with PREMIUM TIMES, denied any involvement in any invasion by policemen.

This is not worth a response, he said. I dont know anything about police invasion..

Mr. Odudu, a former senator, said he left Abuja on Saturday morning to attend a wedding in Lekki, in Lagos.

I am not in charge of security and if he (Fayose) has committed any crime, he should wait to face the result of his action, he said.

The police know how to deal with criminals, and they know how to do it better, I dont have any business with that.
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.




TORONTO, July 10, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Nintex today during the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference, https://partner.microsoft.com/en-US/WPC/, announced 18 winners for the 5th annual Nintex Partner Awards.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160707/387268

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150810/257450LOGO

In its fifth year, the Nintex Partner Awards recognize the valuable contributions channel partners--resellers, value added resellers (VARs), system integrators (SIs), independent software vendors (ISVs)--have made in helping organizations of all sizes, in every industry, automate workflows and the generation of documents to improve how business gets done. To learn more about successful Nintex partners, download the new e-book "Partner with Nintex: The path to profitability" at http://www.nintex.com/...

The Nintex Partner Awards recognize the valuable contributions channel partnersresellers, value added resellers (VARs), system integrators (SIs), independent software vendors (ISVs)have made in helping organizations of all sizes, in every industry, automate workflows and the generation of documents to improve how business gets done. More than 100 submissions were received in this year's awards competition.

"Our 2016 partner award winners demonstrate the best of workflow and document generation automation success," said Nintex CEO John Burton. "These channel leaders are taking the Nintex Workflow platform and successfully putting it to work on-prem, in the cloud, and in hybrid scenarios to power customers' automation of processes across geographies, industries, and departments."

To learn more about successful Nintex partners, download the new e-book "Partner with Nintex: The path to profitability" at http://www.nintex.com/-/media/corporate/files/downloadables/ebook/partner-with-nintex-the-path-to-profitability.ashx.

Winners across six award categories include:

Business Excellence  recognizes partners for driving strong revenue growth

Americas: DocPoint Solutions in Maryland

APAC: Empired, Ltd. in Australia

EMEA: Exceed IT Services in United Arab Emirates

Document Generation Breakthrough  recognizes partners for their success and ROI with Nintex document generation capabilities

Americas: Marquam Group in Oregon

APAC: Japan Business Systems in Japan

EMEA: Modern.Work GmbH in Germany

Marketing Impact  recognizes partners for delivering revenue-generating marketing campaigns

Americas: Neudesic in California

APAC: Provoke Solutions, Ltd. in New Zealand

EMEA: IOZ AG in Switzerland

Mobile Innovation  recognizes partners for their impactful use of Nintex technology for mobile apps in the field or wherever business takes them

Americas: Aptera Inc. in Indiana

APAC: Total Ebiz Solutions in Singapore

EMEA: ProActive in Denmark

Nintex Choice  recognizes strategic and promising partners

Americas: Avtex Solutions in Minnesota

APAC: CELGO Systems Limited in Hong Kong

EMEA: Synergi in the United Kingdom

Solution Innovation  recognizes partners for their ingenuity, technical sophistication, and business impact

Americas: Protiviti, Inc. in Virginia

APAC: Ebiz Cipta Solusi in Indonesia

EMEA: Technology Services Group in the United Kingdom

Media Contact

Kristin Treat

Nintex Public Relations

kristin.treat@nintex.com

cell: (215) 317-9091

Product or service names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

Related Links

http://www.nintex.com



SOURCE Nintex
RAS AL KHAIMAH, UAE, July 10, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Ras Al Khaimah played a crucial role in the growth of the UAE industrial sector in the first quarter of 2016. Whilst data showed that the emirate of Dubai accounted for about 50% of the number of new factories built in the country during the first quarter of 2016, Ras Al Khaimah ranked second with 30% of the total new industrial licenses.

Industrial investments recorded within UAE had a total value estimated at nearly USD 40 million (AED 139.8 million) in the first quarter of 2016, helping the Emirates to prosper and grow. Foreign investment has doubled in the industrial sector in UAE during the past eight years assisting in this growth.

Ras Al Khaimah, which means 'head of the tent' in Arabic, is the northernmost of the seven emirates that constitute the United Arab Emirates. Covering 1,684 km, it has a population of 345,000 (2015) with tourism and industry forming the foundations of the economy. It has one of the fastest growing economies in the MENA region, with a yearly growth rate average of 8.8%.

The Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah H.H. Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, has overseen growth in the region since succeeding his father in 2010.

Ras Al Khaimah has some of the most successful free zone operations in the region and MENA's largest bulk handling port (Saqr Port), which serves the Emirate's quarrying industry that has provided the materials for much of the Gulf's construction boom over the past 50 years.

SOURCE RAK Media Office
LEEDS, England and GHENT, Belgium, July 10, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Following the announcement made March 2016, Betafence, the global perimeter security specialist, has received approval to complete the acquisition of Hesco, a leader and innovator in the design and manufacture of rapidly deployable barrier systems.

The acquisition was closed Thursday 7th July, 2016 having obtained regulatory approval from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). This acquisition underpins Betafence's high security strategy accelerating organic growth with the recent acquisition of SecureUSA and the intellectual property rights agreement with Gibraltar US.

Operating as separate brands, Hesco and Betafence will work to expand their product portfolios with immediate focus on innovation and delivery of security solutions to protect critical infrastructure and people against the threats of terrorism and vandalism worldwide.

Michele Volpi, CEO of Betafence Group, commented:

"Market reaction to the transaction has been very positive and I am sure that with Hesco, Betafence Group is well positioned to accelerate the growth of its global high security business. Customers will benefit from our combined product portfolio and expertise. Together we will provide comprehensive security know-how with trusted brands that have been tested to the limit and proven in the field across numerous key markets around the world."

Michael Hughes, Hesco Group Chief Executive, said:

"There are numerous opportunities for partnership in our key markets and within these first four months of collaboration a clear synergy has developed between both companies creating a pathway to develop our business in our focus markets of defence, oil and gas and energy."

Betafence and Hesco are dynamic players in a market facing a growing global need for comprehensive security solutions for critical assets. This partnership presents a significant opportunity for both to address this demand and strengthen their position as the provision of solutions for high security perimeter protection around the world.

Please visit http://www.betafencehesco.com, for further information about the transaction.

About Betafence

Betafence (http://www.betafence.com) is a world market leader of integrated perimeter security systems and solutions.

Betafence protects critical infrastructure & sensitive sites in the public and industrial sectors as well as in the residential market. With over 130 years' experience, Betafence sets standards of excellence in its industry and is recognised as leader in perimeter systems, service and integration.

Betafence has a strong brand heritage with companies including SecureUSA and products like TerraBlock, Blastguard, Securifor, Guardian, Bekasecure and Nylofor.

CVC Capital Partners owns a majority stake in Betafence. The company currently employs 1400 people with 9 production sites and a network of sales offices throughout the world. Headquarters are located in Belgium.

About Hesco Group

Hesco (http://www.hesco.com) is a world leader and innovator in defense, perimeter protection and security systems, including defensive barriers, flood barriers, rapid deployment systems, safe haven bunkers and ballistic resistant body armor.

Founded in 1991 by the late Jimi Heselden OBE, Hesco engineers products across the world that inspire confidence for multiple uses in military, security and environmental applications.

Hesco is synonymous with force protection and is recognized across its industry for its commitment to saving lives, property and the environment, whenever and wherever it is needed.

Hesco currently employs over 150 people around the world, with over 500,000 sq ft across its operations in the UK and the US and further storage facilities in the Dubai Free Trade Zone.

SOURCE Betafence & Hesco
WASHINGTON, July 10, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A prominent Irish-American leader has declared that the only moral and democratic position for anyone to take on the battle between King Billy of Orange and King James II is to wish both had lost.

In Ireland, mostly in The North, "The Twelfth," (12 th. of July) commemorates the victory of the Protestant King William of Orange over Catholic King James II at the Battle of the Boyne in Ireland in 1690.

Fr. Sean Mc Manus  President of the Capitol Hill-based Irish National Caucus said: "I wish both sides had lost! The Catholic Irish owed King James II no allegiance, and the Protestant Irish should not have been supporting treason against their King, whose daughter was married to King Billy, for goodness sake. Not only that, but the Pope of that time (whom the Protestants hated) was supporting King Billy. It was a squalid terrorist affair played out on the soil of poor Ireland, which lead to centuries of brutal anti-Catholic oppression, ethnic cleansing and genocide And to compound the injury, the British powers that be named this period the "Glorious Revolution."

Fr. Mc Manus explained: "If people want to find appropriate language to say something about 1690, they should go back about one hundred years earlier to when Romeo and Juliet was written and borrow The Bard's immortal words, "A plague on both your houses" on both King James II and King Billy, scoundrels both. Now, there's an Englishman, whom both Protestants and Catholics can celebrate Shakespeare. Forget the other two terrorists, stick with a great Englishman."

Fr. Mc Manus concluded: "Full disclosure: even though I am a native of Fermanagh one of the Six Counties in Northern Ireland and even though I know the history and culture well, I've never quite understood the mania for marching/parading in Northern Ireland. And, above all, it is impossible to understand the Orange Order's pathology of insisting to march in poor Catholic areas where they are not wanted. How can rational people understand that without seeing it as a desire to assert Protestant dominance and supremacy? One thing is sure: if Catholic nationalists and republicans insisted on marching through all-Protestant areas, the Irish National Caucus would be the very first to oppose it."

Fr. Sean Mc Manus

President

Irish National Caucus

P.O. BOX 15128

Capitol Hill

Washington, DC 20003-0849

Tel. 202-544-0568

Fax. 202-488-7537

[email protected]

SOURCE Irish National Caucus
FARNBOROUGH, England, July 10, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- FARNBOROUGH AIR SHOW -- UTC Aerospace Systems, a unit of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX), will display several of its new, advanced technology systems at the Farnborough Air Show. Among the innovative products to be showcased is the company's next-generation Advanced Concept Ejection Seat 5, or ACES 5, a product that helps save lives and prevents ejection-related injuries. Built on the outstanding record of performance and the life-saving legacy of ACES II, the ACES 5 ejection seat offers advanced safety features that not only allow the pilot to eject from the aircraft safely, but also reduce the risk of ejection-related injuries. The ACES 5 safety enhancements meet the U.S. Air Force's latest ejection requirements and can also accommodate the entire population of pilots flying our U. S. Air Force aircraft today.

"Our world-class engineers created a modular design that is embedded with unique safety features and more intelligent technology. The enhanced safety features of the ACES 5 are among the industry's best," said Jim Patch, senior program manager for ACES 5 at UTC Aerospace Systems. "UTC Aerospace Systems made a significant investment in the development of ACES 5 to protect our aircrew and mitigate risk of injury so that they have the best opportunity to escape and evade capture, if necessary. Our design is focused on saving lives and preventing ejection-related injuries."

The ACES 5 ejection seat's advanced safety features include a passive head and neck protection system designed to prevent injuries for aircrew wearing helmet-mounted devices, passive limb restraint systems to prevent arm and leg flail injuries, and an improved recovery parachute to reduce the risk of injury upon reaching the ground. In addition, ACES 5 is equipped with unique and innovative technologies designed to stabilize the seat during ejection. These unique safety features allow the ACES 5 seat to accommodate the entire weight range of aircrew and may overall facilitate safer aircraft ejections.

"As a former U. S. Air Force fighter pilot, I recognize the critical need for ejection seats in an emergency situation, and I take that responsibility very seriously," said Patch. "In the event of an emergency, our goal is for each pilot to safely eject with our seat so that they have the opportunity to fly another day. Nothing is more important to our team than keeping those who defend and protect us safe."

UTC Aerospace Systems has been engineering and manufacturing ejection seats since the late 1970s. The company's ACES II is on board the A-10, F-15, F-16, F-117, F-22, B-1 and B-2. ACES II has been credited with saving more than 630 lives since its introduction in 1978.

To learn more about the new features of the ACES 5 ejection seat, click here or visit the UTC Aerospace Systems exhibit OE3 at the Farnborough Air Show July 11-17.

UTC Aerospace Systems designs, manufactures and services integrated systems and components for the aerospace and defense industries. UTC Aerospace Systems supports a global customer base with significant worldwide manufacturing and customer service facilities. Follow the company on Twitter: @UTCAeroSystems.

United Technologies Corp., based in Farmington, Connecticut, provides high-technology systems and services to the building and aerospace industries. To learn more about UTC, visit the website at www.utc.com or follow the company on Twitter: @UTC.

SOURCE UTC Aerospace Systems

Related Links

http://www.utcaerospacesystems.com


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Gurgaon, July 7 : Union Minister Rao Inderjit Singh on Thursday said two-bit politicians and bureaucrats in Haryana were taking developmental decisions that had proved unfruitful.

The situation in Haryana had not changed much even though the Bharatiya Janata Party was in power in the state, the BJP parliamentarian from Gurgaon said.

He said he had advocated the setting up of a Gurgaon Development Authority (GDA) a few years ago for faster development of the millennium city, but his suggestion was sabotaged by the then Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda by forming the Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon.

The new Minister of State for Planning (Independent Charge) was addressing a seminar organised by the Haryana Institute Public Administration here.

He said Gurgaon needed the GDA for development or else a National Capital Region Development Authority could be planned and Faridabad, Mewat, Rewari, Mahendergarh, Rohtak and Jhajjar along with Gurgaon included in it.
New Delhi : Mid-July marks the 22nd anniversary of the belated end of the Rwandan genocide - one of the worst mass slaughters in modern times with at least 800,000 people brutally killed in 100 days in 1994. Most victims were the minority Tutsis, but moderates of the Hutu majority were not spared, and the perpetrators included their long-standing friends, neighbours and sometimes families too. Meanwhile, the world not only remained passive but also hindered those in a position to make some difference.

There can be few more shameful instances for the global community, and its representative organisation, the United Nations, which did not cover itself with much glory in the early 1990s - remember Bosnia?

It was however more humiliating for its peacekeepers in the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR), a manifestly insufficient force not only rendered ineffective by apathy and competing agendas, but its members forced to forsake their military honour, as its Canadian commander recounts in harrowing and heart-breaking detail.

There is no dearth of work on the Rwandan genocide - Alison Des Forges' "Leave None to Tell the Story: Genocide in Rwanda" (1999), Philip Gourevitch's ominously-titled but most disturbing "We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families: Stories From Rwanda" (1998) while Samantha Power's "A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide" (2002) provides the American response, Michael Barnett's "Eyewitness to a Genocide: The United Nations and Rwanda" the failure of the UN during the crisis and Shaharyar Khan's "The Shallow Graves of Rwanda" (2000) its continuing failure to help the survivors.

But Lt. Gen. Romeo Dallaire's account is especially piquant - for his honest and candid portrayal of his helplessness, despite his best efforts, in the face of a monumental tragedy that could have been averted, or at least mitigated, with a little courage and concern by responsible nations.

"Shake Hands With The Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda" (2003) is his "story of what happened in Rwanda in 1994... a story of betrayal, failure, naivete, indifference, hatred, genocide, war, inhumanity and evil". Dallaire says he regrets not writing it earlier despite requests and trying to "find some respite" from his harrowing memories, which instead took him into "a disastrous mental health spiral that led me to suicide attempts, a medical release from the Armed Forces, the diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder..."

It was only after he retired in 2000 that he began work on it, and the title comes from his response to a Canadian military padre, who asked Dallaire how he could still believe in God after all he had seen and witnessed - "I know there is a God, because in Rwanda I shook hands with the devil...."

Beginning with the surreal experience of coming across a young oblivious infant in a forested area and finding what he thought a home still had the decaying bodies of his massacred parents and other siblings, Dallaire paints how the UN and the world ignored, or even abetted the genocide.

But he could have well discerned the outcome in the penny-pinching ways of the UN bureaucrats, the perceived partiality of its civilian representative (former Cameroonian foreign minister Jacques-Roger Booh-Booh) and some unique ways of his troops. The Belgian troops of UNAMIR lived separately around the town since it was their policy that in Africa, their soldiers would not live under tents "because it was imperative that they maintain a correct presence in front of Africans".

Dallaire came to know about the impending genocide in January and given locations of the arms caches but permission to seize them was denied by his UN bosses and he was rebuked for even considering it.

As the genocide started in April, 10 Belgian peacekeepers were disarmed and murdered - prompting Belgium to pull out their troops. The UNAMIR, soon reduced to a 10th of its strength even as Dallaire pleaded for more troops to fulfill its mandate, could save some lives but were mostly spectators - thought there were heroes like Sengalese military observer, Captain Diagne Mbaye, who spirited murdered Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana's children to safety.

Dallaire was scathing about the Belgian withdrawal - remembering his own father and father-in-law had fought for liberation for Belgium in World War II while it was despoiling its African possessions like Rwanda and "now he was watching Belgian troops abandon us" only because "they had lost some of their professional soldiers to soldierly duties".

But who all could he blame? As he tells us: "Engraved still in my brain in the judgment of a small group of bureaucrats who came to 'assess' the situation in the first weeks of the genocide: 'We will recommend to our government not to intervene as the risks are high and all that is here are humans."

What else need be said to reveal what the "civilised, powerful" world thought? Has it changed since 1994?

(Vikas Datta is an Associate Editor at IANS. The views expressed are personal. He can be contacted at vikas.d@ians.in)
New Delhi : There are many deeply worrisome aspects of the Brexit, one particularly so. There are fault-lines in the functioning of democracies not only in the United Kingdom but elsewhere as well.

Democracies are anchored in the will of the people. This presumes, at the very least, that the people know what their will is or have been made aware of the consequences of their actions. Because democracy plays on a dumbed-down, lowest common denominator, this is often not the case.

A discussion on the eve of the Brexit merits recall. The question: what would have a more negative implication for the world, a Brexit in Europe or a Trump victory in the US? The answer, overwhelmingly, was the Brexit. Many believed, prior to the referendum, in a close call in favour of 'remain', as the outcome would mean 'business as usual'. Some of us were less sanguine, however, not because we predicted Brexit, but because a 'referendum' is dangerous at the best of times.

Delusional politicians frame the proposition to be voted, most often, in rather simplistic terms. Gullible voters, or at least some of them, participate without a full understanding of the matter or an application of mind. Thus, 52 per cent decided to 'leave'. Clearly, there had to be fundamental issues responsible for their alienation.

This became evident when the better educated, economically well-off and young people, with the most at stake, voted to 'remain'. That would also have been the case had the verdict been in favour of 'remain'. Nearly half the population still had serious grievances. Sensible and mature politics should try to address those grievances rather than inflict further damage through self-mutilation. Both Brexit and Trump feed on the same anxiety.

Voters in favour of the Brexit were not sufficiently aware that putting a brake on the number of Poles who can work in the UK cannot co-exist with the economic benefits of a large single market. The verdict appears irreversible and could be followed by Scotland asserting its independence quite soon, and possibly Northern Ireland thereafter.

In a powerful opinion piece for the New York Times on June 29, 2016, Senator Bernie Sanders argued that the Brexit is actually a wake-up call against the present policies of globalization. The British, he argued, are not the only ones suffering. The globalized economy, established and maintained by the world's economic elite, is failing people everywhere.

The world's wealthiest 62 persons own as much wealth as the bottom half of its population - around 3.6 billion people. The top one per cent owns more wealth than the whole of the bottom 99 per cent. One could argue, as several have done, that this is somewhat simplistic. It probably is. The Brexit, nonetheless, is a wake-up call, a reflection of the social exclusion that is an inevitable result of policies that produce inequality. This, however, requires corrective action, not the overthrow of an entire system. It requires course-correction and not self-amputation.

At the heart of the Brexit fiasco is delusional politics and at the centre of it is the delusional politician. A referendum on the matter was not at all necessary. It was a short-sighted response against Euro-scepticism for electoral gains. It was similar delusional politics that advocated the "use of force" and the "arming of rebels" in Libya, which led to the country's eventual unravelling -- and the same accounts for the current mess in Syria.

The actions of these advocates resulted in the desperate westward migration that followed. The fear of this inward migration, even when legitimate, has now culminated in the Brexit and the self-mutilation of the United Kingdom. This is what may be termed Post-Imperial Stress Disorder.

Markets do not like uncertainty even when they can recover. The advocates of the Brexit, Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage, may have won the referendum, but they do not have the administrative acumen to deal with its fallout. The barely concealed glee, or the "delicious irony", as some of my friends have chosen to term it, regarding the Brexit among some sections of educated Indians may also turn out to be short-lived. Many of them have their historical consciousness solely shaped by colonial actions and pontification.

A 'referendum', no matter how many people vote in it, is not one of democracy's better products. Neither is a "plebiscite". Third-party mediation, suggested by Britain's Labour Party in 1995 to resolve the India-Pakistan divide, is also a lousy idea. A bad electoral verdict, on the other hand, can always be corrected.

The UK today has the world's fifth largest economy and is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. It was never "a third-rate power" as Indian Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral described it in 1997. Even a truncated United Kingdom will be a force in global politics. The cost of the adjustment could, however, be painful.

The people of Britain deserve better political leadership. Yet, this may not be forthcoming in the short run.

(Hardeep S. Puri is a former Indian diplomat and the author of a forthcoming publication, "Perilous Interventions: The Security Council and the Politics of Chaos". The views expressed are personal. He can be contacted at hardeepsinghpuri@yahoo.com)
Bengaluru, July 10 : Terming the findings of a fresh inquiry into diversion of funds worth Rs 1,225 crore from United Spirits Ltd (USL) to his firms unfounded, liquor baron Vijay Mallya on Sunday said all transactions were legal, above board and approved by USL auditors and shareholders.

"I can only reiterate that all transactions were legal, above board and approved by USL auditors, board and shareholders," Mallya said in a statement from London where he has been staying since he left India on March 2.

In a regulatory filing to BSE and NSE on Saturday, the Diageo-led USL said a fresh inquiry by independent experts found Mallya had diverted Rs 913.5 crore to his overseas and Indian firms, including Kingfisher Airlines Ltd and carried improper transactions up to Rs.311.8 crore when he was its non-executive chairman.

Asserting that he had no knowledge of the inquiry by global consulting firm Ernst & Young or charges against him, Mallya said neither USL nor E&Y gave him details of the allegations or opportunity to respond.

"Diageo conducted an extensive due diligence on USL prior to acquiring shares. It is surprising and unfortunate that unfounded allegations are now being made without any reference to me whatsoever," Mallya said in the statement.

The London-based spirits major Diageo acquired majority stake (54.78 per cent) in the city-based USL in July 2014 and took full control of it after Mallya resigned from its board as chairman and director on February 25 as part of a $75 million (Rs.516 crore) mutual deal.

The USL board, however, clarified on Saturday that the mutual deal with Mallya did not extend to matters arising out of the additional inquiry.

As mentioned to the stock exchanges on April 25, the board initiated a fresh inquiry into improper transactions by USL, which appeared, prima facie, to be diversions of funds to various UB Group companies, including Kingfisher.

"The board noted that only a court or concerned regulatory authority would be in a position to make final determinations as to fault or culpability," the filing said.

The diversions as well as transactions occurred during the review period from October 2010 to July 2014.

"The overseas beneficiaries or recipients of these funds include Force India Formula One, Watson Ltd, Continental Administrative Services, Modall Securities Ltd, Ultra Dynamix Ltd and Lombard Wall Corporate Services Inc., in each of which Mallya appears to have a material, direct or indirect, interest," the filing said.

The main Indian beneficiary of the funds was the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines.

The board has also directed the company to review each case of fund diversion to recover from the relevant parties and individuals.
Dar-es-salaam, July 10 : India and Tanzania on Sunday agreed to deepen their partnership in agriculture and food security and work together in the development and use of natural gas.

"We agreed that our common desire of economic prosperity for our societies is creating new opportunities for expanding our cooperation," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a joint press statement with Tanzanian President John Magufuli following delegation-level talks here.

"For this, both of us felt that we need to: One, deepen our partnership in agriculture and food security, including through enhanced export of pulses from Tanzania to India; two, work together in development and use of natural gas; three, partner in building of industrial economy, capacities and institutions in Tanzania; and four, deepen our trade and investment partnership by encouraging greater industry-to-industry ties," Modi said.

The partnership in the area of natural gas development and use is significant as Tanzania has been emerging as a gas giant with a series of finds since 2011.

In March this year, a Dubai-based company said it has discovered 2.7 trillion cubic feet of gas in Ruvu Basin in the country's Coast region.

Modi said that India was already a substantial economic partner of Tanzania and the whole range of economic ties were healthy and on the upswing.

"Our two-way annual trade stands at around US$ 3 billion, Indian investments in Tanzania already total around US$ 3 billion and Indian businesses in Tanzania continue to grow and expand," he said.

Modi described as a "good achievement" completion of a water supply augmentation project in Dar-es-Salaam with Indian aid of $I00 million.

"We have just now also signed an agreement on water supply project in Zanzibar for a line of credit of $92 million," the Prime Minister said.

"We are also working on a number of other water projects for 17 cities. And for this, India is willing to consider an additional $500 million line of concessional credit."

India and Tanzania signed five agreements after the delegation-level talks, including two on water supply and water resource management.

Modi flagged public health as another important priority in India's engagement with the east African country.

"We are ready to meet the healthcare priorities of the Tanzanian government, including supply of medicines and equipment," he said, adding an Indian radio-therapy machine was being installed at Bugando Medical Centre in the country's Mwanza city to treat cancer patients.

The Prime Minister said education, vocational training and skill development were other areas of priority where India was willing to offer all assistance.

"Being neighbours across Indian Ocean, President and I agreed to deepen our overall defence and security partnership, especially in the maritime domain," Modi said.

"Our in-depth discussions on regional and global issues reflected our considerable convergence on issues of common interest and concern."

Modi said both sides agreed to work closely, bilaterally, regionally and globally, to combat the twin threats of terrorism and climate change and described Tanzania as a "crucial partner" in the India-initiated International Solar Alliance..

Prior to Sunday's talks, Modi was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the State House here.

Modi also played a traditional drum along with Magufuli, adding a local and informal touch to the ceremony.

The Prime Minister arrived in Tanzania on Saturday night from South Africa on the third leg of his four-nation tour of Africa.

This is the first prime ministerial visit from India to Tanzania in five years since the visit of then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2011.

Modi will leave for Kenya later on Sunday on the fourth and final leg of his African visit.
New Delhi, July 10 : Union Information and Broadcasting Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday accused Pakistan of influencing sympathisers of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani, who was killed in Kashmir, and warned it of a policy rethink on Delhi's part.

"Some people, inspired by our neighbour, are trying to create disturbances. This is not going to help," the minister said.

"India is willing to work with Pakistan and would like to have friendship with the country. But if Pakistan continues to do such things, the (Indian) government has to think about its own policy. Pakistan should give up such tactics...," Naidu said.

He asserted that Kashmir is an integral part of India and there is no question of any negotiation and discussion on this point.

Violence erupted in south Kashmir districts of Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian and Kulgam and later spread to other districts in the valley after security forces killed Hizbul Mujahideen militant Wani and his two associates in Anantnag on Friday.

Wani was buried in his native Shariefabad (Tral) village on Saturday where thousands defied curfew restrictions to attend his funeral prayers.

"(Wani) was a Hizbul Mujahideen commander. How can any Indian have sympathy for such people? Really surprised to see that some people are trying to support those so-called protesters sympathising with a terrorist," the minister said.

"Terrorism and violence are not acceptable at all in any form."

"The Centre and the state together will tackle the situation. The situation in Jammu and Kashmir will be brought to normalcy at the earliest," he added.

Curfew was imposed in the Kashmir Valley after widespread clashes between security forces and demonstrators protesting Wani's killing.

The toll in Kashmir Valley violence on Sunday rose to 19, with the death of four more people in continuing protests.
London, July 10 : John Prescott, who was British Deputy Prime Minister during Britain's participation in Iraq war, said on Sunday that it was an illegal war and violated international laws.

Prescott said he changed his mind about the legality of the action four days after the publication of the Chilcot Report, which said that London ordered the military intervention in Iraq before all other options were exhausted, Efe news reported.

"In 2004, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said that as regime change was the prime aim of the Iraq War, it was illegal," he said, adding that "with great sadness and anger" he "now believes him to be right".

Remembering the days before the beginning of the operations, Prescott said the then Attorney General Peter Goldsmith assured members of the government that the attack was legal, but "provided no documentation to justify it".

On Wednesday, Tony Blair, who was the British Prime Minister during the Iraq war, admitted that the intelligence on which the attack was based was flawed. But he insisted no lies were told and that he believed the right move had been made.

The Chilcot Inquiry, headed by Sir John Chilcot, is a British public inquiry into the nation's role in the Iraq war.
Vijayawada, July 10 : Andhra Pradesh will sign a MoU with Kazakhstan's capital Astana to work together on building new state capital Amaravati, an official statement said on Sunday.

This was decided when Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, who is currently on a visit to Kazakhstan, met Astana Mayor Asset Issekeshev.

The MoU will be signed in a few months, said a statement from the chief minister's office here.

It was decided to set up a joint working group with members from both the sides.

Andhra Pradesh's working group will be headed by Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister P. Narayana. The working group will have four more members.

Both the groups will work closely and share their experiences to build a world-class capital.

The mayor showed keen interest to share their experiences in building Astana as the new capital. Astana became a new capital of Kazakhstan in 1997, replacing Almaty.

"We will share where we did well and where we went wrong so that you can learn from our experience and avoid mistakes and improve your performance," said Issekeshev.

Naidu told him that Prime Minister Narendra Modi who visited Astana suggested to him that he take a cue from this futurist city of symbols.

"I am very impressed seeing how Astana is built. I have seen almost the entire city and found it very beautiful," the chief minister said, asking the mayor to share details of their architects, designers, and builders involved in the construction of Astana.

Issekeshev informed him that more than 150 architects have worked for 10 years on the project.

Stating that this relationship will be beneficial to both, the mayor said that Kazakhstan has a lot of opportunities for business people from Andhra Pradesh.

To increase the tourist traffic between Kazakhstan and the south Indian state, the mayor promised to speak to their transport minister to introduce a direct flight from Amaravati.

Earlier, the delegation led by Naidu met Kazakhstan Defence Minister Imangali Tasmagambetov in Almaty. They discussed the difficulties faced in building the new capital city.

The defence minister recalled that they had to float a global tender and pool investments from government, foreign companies, and private companies as well for formulating a city design.
New Delhi, July 10 : Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday spoke to Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on the flood situation in the state.

"Spoke to CM Madhya Pradesh who apprised me of the flood situation in the state. Rescue and relief operations are in full swing," Rajnath Singh tweeted.

Chouhan also tweeted: "Highly thankful to central government for valuable support and assuring all possible assistance to deal with the crisis."

At least 15 people were killed in rain-related incidents in different parts of Madhya Pradesh.

However, lately there have been reports of rains declining a bit giving relief to people in the excessive rain affected areas. Chouhan also reviewed the flood situation at a high level meeting in Bhopal.
New Delhi, July 10 : Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh Governor Tathagatha Roy on Sunday lauded Bangladesh government's decision to ban controversial preacher Zakir Naik's Peace TV.

"Bangladesh has banned Zakir Naik's highly peaceful Peace TV. Long live Sheikh Hasina. She acted as befits Bongobondhu's daughter," Roy tweeted.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is the daughter of Bangladesh founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, popularly known as "Bangobandhu (friend of the people of Bangladesh)".

Earlier in the day, the Bangladesh government decided to close down Peace TV. Bangladesh Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu said his ministry will evaluate the issue and adopt administrative measures to take the channel off air on Monday.

"Peace TV is inconsistent with Muslim society, the Quran, Sunnah, Hadith, Bangladesh's Constitution, our culture, customs and rituals," Inu said.

The ban came in the wake of the recent bloody terror attacks which rocked Bangladesh. For the infamous July 1 Dhaka siege, two of the seven young militants, who struck at an upscale cafe in Dhaka's diplomatic Gulshan enclave, were reportedly inspired by the Salafi tele-evangelist's speeches.

The attack had claimed the lives of 22 people, including one Indian girl.

In India also, several government agencies have started probe on the functioning of Peace TV and the controversial preacher Zakir Naik.

The Information and Broadcasting Minisry in an advisory to all state governments has also asked them to ensure that cable operators do not broadcast the TV channels like Peace TV that are not permitted to downlink in India.
Jerusalem, July 11 : Israel's Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit announced on Sunday that he had ordered to open an initial probe amid criminal allegations against Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The attorney general did not specify the nature of the probe, and stressed the examination is an initial probe and not a criminal investigation, according to Xinhua.

"I wish to inform you that in light of information received regarding affairs that pertain to the prime minister, among others...the attorney general has conducted a number of discussions... decided to instruct that an examination of the matter be opened," the Attorney General's office said in a statement.

The statement also said that recent reports by Israeli media outlets on the matter were not accurate.

On Friday, Channel 2 news reported that the new affair involved the transfer of large sums of money to Netanyahu's family member for non-political purposes.

Channel 10 news reported that Netanyahu and a senior official in the judiciary establishment were involved in a corruption affair, possibly involving money laundering.

"In recent days, many reports -- which are inaccurate, to say the least -- have been published in the media. Naturally, we will not be able to refer to these reports or to elaborate as to the process of the examination at this stage," the statement added.

A spokesperson for the prime minister said in a statement to the press that allegations against the prime minister are unfounded.

"As was the case in previous affairs, when things that turned out to be baseless were attributed to Netanyahu, there will be nothing here as well, because there is nothing," the statement said.

This is not the first time Prime Minister Netanyahu and his wife have allegations surface against them.

Israeli authorities have embarked last month on investigating Netanyahu's alleged connections with French businessman Arnaut Mimran, who was recently found guilty by a French court over a massive fraud case.

The attorney general ordered to open a probe into the French businessman's claim, made during the trial, that he gave Prime Minister Netanyahu about one million euros ($1.1 million) in 2009 for campaigning. Such sums are considered as a violation of Israel's campaign finance law.

In May, the Israeli police recommended to the Jerusalem prosecution to file an indictment against Sara Netanyahu, the prime minister's wife, for alleged improprieties at the family residence, including fraud charges.
San Diego Symphony Orchestra musician, Jory Herman, has recorded his second solo album, titled "Life," which will be released on July 14, 2016. Vier ernste Gesange (Four Serious Songs) by Johannes Brahms is the capstone work on this album. Adapted from the solo baritone work, this arrangement for double bass gives the disc emotional depth and highlights the rich sonorities unique to the lowest instrument of the string family. The Skellet Knell by up-and-coming composer David Kirkland Garner is a world-premier commissioned by 25 nationally recognized bassists and organized by Mr. Herman himself. This uniquely crowd-sourced composition pushes the boundaries technically while capturing sonorities that are idiomatic to only the bass. Self-produced by Jory Herman and recorded by Daniel Rumley of Rumley Music and Audio Productions in 2015, the album captures the incredible depth and resonance of the double bass in contrast with the powerful yet nimble piano accompaniment of both San Diego local musicians Brendan Nguyen and Bryan Verhoye. This album will be available for pre-order at http://JoryHerman.bandcamp.com and will be released to the public and distributed digitally to iTunes and physical sales on CdBaby.com after July 14th.

The performance on his debut album release in 2013, titled "J.S. Bach: Unaccompanied Suites Performed on Double Bass," was described as:

"Proof that bassists can be just as nimble and expressive as cellists."The Strad Magazine

"You'll never think of the bass the same way again."San Diego Union Tribune

Mr. Herman joined the San Diego Symphony in 2010, and beyond the performance schedule of the Symphony, he has been active in the San Diego community performing solo recitals, chamber music recitals, and weekly instruction for the school orchestra programs at Mira Mesa High School and Rancho Bernardo High School. He launched the first annual San Diego Bass Fest! on June 23-26, 2016 that brought local area student bassists together to study for 4 days with internationally recognized performers and faculty such as Mark Dresser, Andres Martin, Rob Thorsen, PJ Cinque, Sayuri Yamamoto, and more.

Upcoming events to showcase the release of the recording are:

Album Release Recital: July 10, 2016 at 3pm



Point Loma Presbyterian Community Church; 2128 Chatsworth Blvd, San Diego, CA 92107

Album Release Date: July 14, 2016
Mongolia's National Day

Washington, DC - Secretary of State John Kerry: "On behalf of President Obama and the American people, I extend my best wishes to the people of Mongolia as you celebrate your 95th National Day on July 11.

"When I visited Ulaanbaatar last month, I was deeply impressed by how the Mongolian people have combined your ancient traditions with a modern, forward-leaning society.

"In the short 26 years since Mongolias transition to democracy, you have made remarkable progress in developing a robust free-market economy, promoting human rights both at home and around the world, and strengthening democratic institutions  as exemplified by your recent parliamentary election and the transition of power from one political party to another.

"The United States is deeply committed to helping Mongolia continue down its road to economic and democratic development, and we stand with you as you celebrate this important day."
EVERGREEN PARK, Ill. (AP)  A suburban Chicago woman is accused of posting a threat on Facebook to shoot any police officer who pulls her over and asks her to get out of the car.

Police say 24-year-old Jenesis Reynolds was arrested Friday at her home in Evergreen Park and charged with disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor.

She's accused of posting a Facebook message saying "all I know is if the police stops and request me to get out of the car I'm shooting instantly."

that Reynolds was released on her own recognizance.

A phone listing for her was disconnected or out of service, and it was not immediately clear if she had an attorney who could comment on her behalf.
Nestled amid rural Iowa landscape and hugged by a thick border of pine trees, Lost Grove Lake is as off the beaten path as its name would suggest.

Step several feet into the wildlife habitat, however, and life roars into focus: a cacophony of birds, critters and even several enthusiastic bullfrogs.

Since opening to the public, the 1,700-acre wildlife spot in northeast Scott County, which encompasses a man-made lake, has become a popular destination for boaters, kayakers, wildlife and bird watchers, fishermen or just those looking to spend a few hours away from the hustle and bustle.

"Even on a weekday, we're busy out here," said Chad Dolan, a fisheries biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, adding all three parking lots are usually full on weekends. "You're going to see something different every time."

On Saturday morning, in conjunction with Davenport's River Action Inc., Mr. Dolan led a group of about 15 people on a two-mile riverine walk through the wildlife dotting Lost Grove Lake.

"It's come a long way," Mr. Dolan said of the land. "If you saw this 30 years ago, it would have been lined with old farmhouses, agricultural ground and barbed wire."

The creation of Lost Grove has been a three-decades-long project, costing approximately $13 million in public and private investments.

Its name draws from history of the surrounding landscape, Mr. Dolan said. In addition to "Lost Creek" which ran through the area, Mr. Dolan said there used to be a schoolhouse in a community off 250th Street named "Lost Grove."

"Some of the biologists that preceded me and our bureau chief looked at a map and said, 'that's it -- that's what we're going to name it,' Mr. Dolan said. "So that became Lost Grove Lake."

Mr. Dolan, who worked for the Illinois Natural History Survey before joining the Iowa DNR in 2008, said he felt lucky to be a part of the Lost Grove project and its success.

"Just imagine -- how many biologists get a chance to build a lake from scratch?" he said. "Really, for all that time period of construction, it was my playground. I got to come here and build fish habitats, and direct traffic in terms of construction questions, things like that, and really shape how this thing turned out."

Although his primary job is two hours away in Lake Darling State Park, Mr. Dolan visits Lost Grove to oversee improvement projects. On Saturday, he pointed to spots with names inspired by other local agriculture and landforms, such as "Old Red Barn" boat stop, "Sliding Rock," and "Scout's Rest" (the latter paid tribute to Buffalo Bill's ranch).

At "Backcast Bay," a platform that extends into the water for fishermen to stand on was among recommendations by The Hawkeye Fly Fishing Association.

The clear water attracts algae and duckweed, which is common for new lakes, as well as canary grass where fish often seek refuge.

The 400-acre lake is stocked with varieties of fish including bluegill, channel catfish, redear sunfish and walleye.

On Saturday, a boat of fisherman exclaimed excitedly about the bass they had caught that morning.

The lake allows fishermen to catch bass up to 18-inches in length. As the "number one predator" in most Iowa lakes, bass help control bluegill and crappies populations, Mr. Dolan said.

The group wound along "Weather Vane" trail, which was funded by River Action Inc. First-time visitor Barb Sodac, of Bettendorf, was encouraged with her husband to join the walk by several friends who kayak and fish at Lost Grove.

The couple recently got back from a trip to Mount Hood, Ms. Sodac said, and enjoy different opportunities for hiking and spending time outdoors.

Wintertime at Lost Grove attracts ice fishermen, but in the summer months, the area is also full of boaters, kayakers and other water enthusiasts.

Talk of building the man-made lake began in the 1980's, with studies for potential sites beginning in 1987. After feasibility studies were conducted throughout central Iowa, the current location was selected for its characteristics conducive to a fishery.

"It was really a community project," Mr. Dolan said, recalling how the idea was initially met with resistance from some area farmers. "We weren't the most popular people at that point," he said, but over time said the project's value became recognized.

The DNR offered landholders the chance to sell their property, sometimes helping with their relocation.

For those unwilling to sell, "We just wait," Mr. Dolan said, adding none of the owners were forced to sell. However, "attitudes change over time," he said, and by 1995, about 99 percent of the land necessary for the Lost Grove project had been acquired.

Another eight years would pass before the final land parcel was purchased. In 2010, construction started for a dam situated on Lost Creek, which flowed to the Mississippi River. The dam, which was 75-feet tall and 1,200-feet long, stopped water from flowing in from the creek and helped the lake fill with rainwater.

"Obviously this wasn't an overnight process," Mr. Dolan said. "It took a long, long time and that's what people really don't understand, is that you don't just build a lake in a matter of a couple years."

The Scott County Conservation Board takes care of mowing, garbage pickup and trail maintenance at Lost Grove. Mr. Dolan said the public can expect to see improvements in the coming months such as restroom facilities, additional signs, fish cleaning stations near the ramps and interior access roads that are paved.

Mr. Dolan said about 250,000 households visit Lost Grove Lake annually, generating about $20 million in revenue per year for the surrounding area -- specifically, money spent in the community as a result of the lake, from stops for lunch at neighboring restaurants to canoe rentals and sporting outfitters.

Despite Lost Grove's popularity, Mr. Dolan said he doesn't foresee a similar project being built in the area any time soon. Land prices are expensive, he said, and the state can buy only at appraised value.

"So this is something we should really be proud of and appreciate," he said. "It took almost 30 years to get done, but it got done."

By 11:30 a.m. Saturday, a stream of kayakers, boaters and fishermen had begun filling Lost Grove.

Walking the opposite way was Mary Jarrett, of Camanche. Fishing pole in hand and fold-up chair slung over her shoulder, she'd already put in a full morning of fishing.

She and her husband have become regulars at Lost Grove and once or twice a week come to fish, not looking for any type in particular, just "fish that bite," she said.

Along for Saturday's walk were Anne and Fred McGlynn, of Milan, who after their daughter's kayaking and canoeing trips there, had to check it out themselves.

"We didn't know what to expect -- we've never done this before," Ms. McGlynn said. The verdict was a strong thumb's up.

"That it's being kept wild, that's what I like about it," she said. "It's kind of a quiet place that nobody knows about -- it is lost."
Austin, Kelton J., 12/28/1973, of 1311 Iowa St., Davenport; charge dismissed April 28 on mfg/del cannabis 30 less than 500 grams/school, possession of meth less than five grams, meth delivery/100 less than 400 grams and possession of meth/100 less than 400 grams; $63 court costs.
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LOGO Lounge by Lori Goldstein French Terry Cascade Front Hooded Cardigan is rated 3.9 out of 5 by 109 .

Rated 1 out of 5 by cclno from Ratty Looking I purchased this cardigan in the Maple in an xs about a year ago. I kept it because it was comfortable but it was never particularly flattering. Im only 50 so the front of this garment is super long and does nothing for me. Too, its my tush Id like to cover so Im always perplexed when the front of a piece of clothing is longer than the back. I usually love LOGO French terry but truthfully this did not hold up to washing. There are now strange veins of white running throughout as though there was a flaw in the material. Save your money. Just not worth the price.

Rated 5 out of 5 by LogoLibrarian from One Of My All Time Faves. No fuss. No muss. Feminine but not girly. Sporty but not boyish.

Rated 2 out of 5 by ghall from Not for me Im returning this cardigan because I dont like the color blue and the fit is not flattering on me. The cardigan hangs like a bad and I ordered my usual Large size. Two stars because the material is nice and feels so soft. The color blue is not attractive and looks old and dingy. It is not a bright or pretty blue. I have other LOGO cardigans that I love but this one did not meet my expectations. It looks sloppy on me so sale or not it is going back.

Rated 5 out of 5 by Savor the Thyme from Love LOGO Cardigans Another lovely, and versatile cardigan from LOGO - love the Cocoa color

Rated 1 out of 5 by JoeyCC from Horribly Long This item was terribly proportioned! I like longer length sweaters, but this one was laughable! I took it off immediately and sent it back. It is insulting to have to pay for return shopping on something so ridiculously sized .

Rated 5 out of 5 by Writereen from LIGHTWEIGHT! CHARMING! ELEGANT! I Love this Hoodie, also. Bought it in Quartz. I love wearing these - it goes with Everything I own. If I ever give up LOGO for Lent - it would really hurt - my groans would be heard far and wide! I would be soo Righteous!

Rated 4 out of 5 by pilates4850 from Good buy I bought two of these as a OTO recently, at a pricer lower than the current clearance price. At that price, it was an extremely good buy for me. I had purchased a number of LOGO leggings last fall, but I run cold, and found that even though Lori's leggings are a good weight, I need a good cover-up to make life more comfortable in cold weather. These should help. I am only 5 ft tall and the front is very long, but with leggings or another slim pant, it is not overwhelming, especially since the fabric is not too heavy. The armhole is very tight, however, and wish it provided more room for layering. At the price however, I will keep both the black and the maple I purchased.
LOGO Lounge by Lori Goldstein French Terry Top with Sharkbite Hem is rated 4.2 out of 5 by 46 .

Rated 5 out of 5 by Oppdal from Comfy top Very comfortable and nice looking. Love putting it on.

Rated 5 out of 5 by Joan of Greencastle from Nice Quality Top I love the feel and design of this top. The pockets are nice and I like to coverage the bottom provides. Perfect top to wear with leggings. I am a large and could have gone with medium. It is sized large.

Rated 5 out of 5 by Margo in Manhattan from One of LOGO's best Please bring this back in lots of colors. Simplicity at its best. Great fit. Great year-round wearability: light enough weight for warmer weather (sleeves easily rolled up) and easily warn with a LOGO -- or other -- vest or cardigan in cooler temps.

Rated 5 out of 5 by fashionlvr1 from Awesome!! More colors please! This is LOVE!! Love Love Love!! So cozy and the perfect shape, as always from LOGO! I got this in Ivory which was the only color available in my size. I love it and would buy this top in multiples if there were more colors! PLEASE Lori (and I know you read this) bring this top back to your fans in more colors! Love you Lori!!! :)

Rated 5 out of 5 by Vicki L from Bedford MI from Perfect Light Weight French Terry! So soft and cute. Nice and light weight so it can be layered. It is not a plain ivory, it has some heathering to it. I didn't know it was heathered when I ordered it (not listed as so), but I am actually glad it is, it gives it more character. Washed well. Will look cute with a vest.

Rated 5 out of 5 by TexasShoppingGal from Adorable, Comfortable and Love the Pockets! Lightweight and so comfortable! Yet it looks great paired with a scarf and casual slacks to wear to the office. The ivory is a nice shade, not a stark white. Wish I had ordered other colors when they were on sale.

Rated 5 out of 5 by beaubo from Love IT Got the very pretty mocha. Really do love this top, would love it better if it had a straight hem. The V neck is perfect, not low. Fabric is light weight, can wear now but will be fine in a Texas summer.
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!
Filming is now underway on Sky 1 original drama series Jamestown, from Carnival Films.

Jamestown tells the story of three courageous, dynamic women who leave their dark pasts behind in England and make the journey of a lifetime for a new life in early 17th century America, in one of the first English settlements in the new world.Written by Bill Gallagher (Lark Rise to Candleford, The Paradise), Jamestown is set in an all-male frontier town thats been without women for 10 years. It tells the story of Jocelyn (Naomi Battrick), Alice (Sophie Rundle) and Verity (Niamh Walsh) who enter this ruthless, male-dominated town. Their unknown future husbands have paid for their passage across the ocean, and the female arrivals send tremors of anticipation, excitement and trepidation throughout the settlement.Jamestown is a dangerous place where each day brings new adventures and challenges to overcome. The courageous heroines learn that they need to use their wit and guile in order to survive, battling inhospitable wilderness, hardship of the town and suspicious indigenous people to achieve the new lives they want.Joining the cast as tribal chief Opechancanough is Raoul Trujillo (True Blood, Da Vincis Demons). Kalani Queypo (The Royal Tenebaums, Saints & Strangers) will play Pamunkey warrior Chacrow, and Roseanne Supernault (Blackstone, The Drive) acts as Matachanna, an Appomattock woman.The natural balance of an all-male environment is shaken up, inciting love triangles, bitter rivalries and fierce competition, but bound together by their resolute will to survive, their courage, their hope, their ambition to create better lives for themselves, and ultimately, their friendship, the settlers come together to adjust to the realities of their new lives in Jamestown.
The Killid Group, May 6, 2016

By Abeda Moadeb Telayee

Nearly a third of girl students drop out of school mid-way. The reasons could vary from lack of security to discriminatory social customs.

Mujib Mehrzad, spokesperson of the Ministry of Education, says traditional ways have sunk deep roots in society. Even where schools may be close to their homes, families do not let their daughters study after middle school.

In many district schools, either there are not enough teachers or very few students. Mehrzad said teachers only want to be posted to schools in urban centres even in provinces that are considered safe. In conflict-wracked provinces like Kandahar, three out of 17 districts have no functioning school, while eight of the remaining districts have schools but no girl students. People are scared to let their daughters go to school.

Nazar Mohammad Samimi, spokesperson of the Kandahar education department says that in three districts girls-only classrooms have been created. But even there, the dropout rate in the higher classes is high because of social customs.



Schoolgirls are treated in an Afghan hospital May 12, 2009 after they took ill in Kapisa province, north of Kabul. At least 98 people were admitted to hospital. (Photo: Ahmad Masood/Reuters) Schoolgirls are treated in an Afghan hospital May 12, 2009 after they took ill in Kapisa province, north of Kabul. At least 98 people were admitted to hospital. (Photo: Ahmad Masood/Reuters)

Head of education in Arghestan district told Killid that some 110 girls were enrolled in a school in the past year, but this year (since March 22, 2016) there is not a single girl student. In Shahwalikoot district too there are no female students. For Ruqia Eshaqzi, the head of womens affairs in Kandahar, the practice of child marriage is a major impediment to female education. Families take huge dowries for the marriage of minor daughters. Some 30,000 girls registered their names in schools, but more than half never attended. Parents are reluctant to send daughters to schools that have no female teachers.

Ministry of Education spokesperson Mujib Mehrdad explains that female teachers who were appointed after clearing an exam in provinces and districts fail to attend school. We (the ministry) had to hire teachers on contracts, he says. Trying to find a long-term solution to the problem, officials considered offering monetary incentives to tempt teachers to schools in remote rural areas. But even the proposal of raising salaries by 30 percent failed to help.

Shahla Arefi, the head of the womens education department, thinks another way to increase female education levels would be to make it mandatory for girls to study up to grade 12. She calls for the strict enforcement of laws governing the minimum age of marriage. For girls the legal age of marriage is 16 years. Around half the marriages are of under-age girls, says Baheer Weyar, deputy director of the national programme of education in the UN childrens agency UNICEF.

The Ministry of Womens Affairs has created a campaign together with the Ministry of Education to enlist girls in the school system. The five-year plan also includes incentives for female teachers in remote areas, increase in the number of female teachers, and teacher training, according to Mahrukh Yusufzai, the head of cultural affairs in the Ministry of Womens Affairs.

Influence of religion

Ruqia Eshakzai from the womens affairs department in Kandahar would like tribal and religious leaders to get involved in keeping girls in schools. They are responsible for raising public awareness, she says. The department has held several meetings with mullahs and community leaders but the mullahs feel embarrassed to speak about the rights of women, she says.

Lutufullah Haqparast, a religious studies scholar, said Islam encourages female education, and it is the responsibility of Islamic clerics to deliver the message to people through their sermons in mosques and other places.

For Mahrukh Yusufzai, in the Ministry of Womens Affairs, raising public awareness is essential. She says the ministry holds conferences every year and invites mullahs from all provinces. Each year, they promise to educate their congregation on the importance of female education and rights of the girl child.

Quality matters

While the Ministry of Education focuses on enrolment figures and teacher recruitment, Rafiaullah Bedar, spokesperson of AIHRC or the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission calls for quality education. Raising the capacities of school-going children should be the goal, he feels.

A 2013-study by AIHRC showed there were many schools without buildings and furniture. Some 4,200 students in 17 provinces were interviewed by AIHRC researchers. Only half the students said they sit on chairs in their classrooms, while 62.5 percent said their classrooms were in permanent structures.

Engineer Mohammad Yusuf who heads a non-governmental organisation for streetchildren called Ashiana is adamant that the quality of education matters more than the enrollment figure. When children have come from far to a school and either the teachers do not teach properly or the students do not have books, obviously they will learn nothing, he says. However, officials in the Ministry of Education think the focus for now should be only on basic education. The government should set aside adequate funds to meet the goal.

Meanwhile in Ghor, Masooma Anwari, the head of womens affairs, feels the province has been ignored by the Ministry of Education. There are interested girl students, she says, but there is no infrastructure for their education. Bibi Hawa Khoshiwal, the head of womens affairs in Paktika, says social prejudices and the absence of professional teachers are big obstacles in the way of female education.

Originally published on May 1, 2016
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NO RESERVE, NO MONTHLY PAYMENTS, HIGH BID OWNS LOT LIVE THE MAGIC PINE COVE / IDYLLWILD Riverside County, CA. This unique land is in Pine Cove surrounded of threes and amazing views all around. Idyllwild, Pine Cove, and Fern Valley are three adjacent unincorporated communities, of which Idyllwild is the largest, located in the San Jacinto Mountains in Riverside County, California, Idyllwild is nestled in the San Jacinto mountains. Set among tall pines, sweet smelling cedars and Legendary rocks. ...

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In this June 29, 2016, photo, Mike Stangle, right, blows a kiss to his brother Dave during an interview in Los Angeles. The brothers posted an ad on Craigslist in search of dates for a cousin's wedding back in 2013. The ad went viral and the two parlayed a slew of crazy dates into book and a movie deal for, "Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates." (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

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By LEANNE ITALIE, Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP)  Adventure. Suspense. True Love. Royalties!

Those are just a few of the things Mike and Dave Stangle promised in a Craigslist ad they posted in search of dates for a cousin's wedding in 2013. The royalties part  assuring prospects they would refuse Ashton Kutcher for either of their characters  was just in case "our night's story is developed into a romantic comedy."

Fast forward to "Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates," which opens Friday, July's boozy, degenerate Hollywood take on what transpired after the ad went viral and the two parlayed a slew of crazy dates into book and movie deals.

Oh, and forget Kutcher. Zac Efron and Adam Devine got the parts, along with Anna Kendrick and Aubrey Plaza as a couple of skanks masquerading as classy for the big wedding of a sister in the film rather than a cousin.

"People don't believe that it's completely ironic we put a line about it becoming a movie in there, but it really is," Dave said in a recent interview. "We didn't even know how to get something to go viral. It was sort of before either of us really knew what viral was."

A lot has stayed the same for the two, who grew up near Albany but went on their dating rampage in New York City, where they were living that crazy summer. They've still got regular jobs, for instance. Dave, at 31 the older bro, pushes pet-themed products for a box delivery service and Mike, 27, is a bartender in Brooklyn because, health insurance.

But some things have indelibly changed. For starters, when they visited the movie set in Hawaii to hang out and shoot cameo roles, Kendrick yelled at them to whip out their you-know-whats.

"She did. I think she pantomimed," said Mike.

Dave deadpanned: "I was like, do we have to? I'll do it if I have to. I didn't."

Mike: "She was going full method into her character."

Dave: "I was, like, you don't want to see this. It's not good."

And so it goes as the brothers help promote the film and try to figure out their next move, which  they say  hopefully will involve more writing.

"We've really just held on for the ride and enjoyed every part of it from the same seats we were in before it happened," Mike said of their viral-turned-Hollywood riches. He added: "We have to kind of remind ourselves that it's a dumb-luck crazy thing."

Crazy, indeed, as they so chronicled in their wry but oddly touching book that takes on details of their dating escapades and other adventures, offering their parents props for putting up with them.

The movie takes license, they said, but gets some key stuff right.

"The family dynamics and the characters are very true and representative of us, and that's really all we wanted," Dave said. "They've included enough of our stuff that we kind of deferred to them on what's going to make the movie great, and they did it."

So how many dates did they actually go on in those heady weeks after the internet took hold? Reports at the time estimated up to 800, mostly as doubles. The brothers counted about 20 in the first 21 days or so as they went from seeking out merely crazy companions to the truly insane. Once word spread, the women were well aware of their prospective place in viral history.

"Neither of us were big daters before this," Dave said. "And now we were, like, well we have this opportunity to go on a lot of dates. We probably should."

Mike: "And double dates with your brother is a different story. ... Everyone you got was crazy at that point."

Dave: "It was much different than like dating, dating. ... I love feeling used. It was cool."

There was the girl who jumped off a second-story balcony. Another was a biter.

"I feel like there were a lot of injuries, physical injuries," Mike said.

Dave: "Yeah, mostly to us."

So how did the actual wedding go? They decided against bringing the crazy, unlike their movie selves.

"A lot of them thought it was a competition and so they would just do like really over-the-top things to try to convince us," Dave recalled. "And we were, like, this isn't really a competition, it's just something that turned into something crazy, and that in the end was a little bit what spooked us about bringing really crazy girls to the wedding."

The bride, they said, was grateful.

"She deserves a lot of credit," Dave said. "She was very patient about it all."

Mike: "We didn't really bring any of it with us to the actual wedding. We were very cognizant of that, you know. You don't want to ruin your cousin's wedding and turn it into a circus."

___

Associated Press writer Ryan Pearson contributed to this report.
FILE - In this Aug. 31, 2015 file photo, a grizzly bear looks up from foraging in Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska. There's a basic rule on what to do if you encounter a bear in the wilderness. That says, "If it's brown, you lie down. If it's black, you fight back." A biologist at Denali National Park says the idea is to play dead only after a brown bear has struck or is about to, not before. The advice comes after a woman hiking in Denali immediately played dead when she saw a grizzly but was attacked anyway. The woman survived. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer, File)

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By RACHEL D'ORO, Associated Press

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP)  A basic rule on what to do when encountering a bear in the wilderness is so common, it's long been a mantra: "If it's brown, you lie down. If it's black, you fight back."

But there's a caveat for run-ins with brown  or grizzly  bears. The idea is to play dead only after a brown bear has struck or is about to, not before, wildlife biologist Pat Owen said Tuesday, following an attack on a female hiker last week at Alaska's Denali National Park.

"The right thing to do is not drop until that bear is practically on top of you," said Owen, who teaches bear safety training at the park.

The woman survived, but the Friday bear attack was among the latest in the U.S. Just days before, a man was killed by a grizzly bear while mountain biking near Montana's Glacier National Park last week. At least three others have been reported this year.

Bear attacks are rare, although the chances of being injured by one multiply in the backcountry. For example, 45 people were injured by bears at Yellowstone National Park between 1980 and 2014 out of the nearly 100 million visitors to the park during that time.

Some tips to keep in mind when enjoying the outdoors in Bear Country this summer:

GRIZZLY GRAY AREA

The 28-year-old woman attacked at Denali was hiking a trail with two friends Friday evening when they saw the bear. Park officials said the bear charged and the three immediately played dead. The bear bit and scratched the woman before walking away. The animal returned a few minutes later and one of the hikers threw rocks at it. Park officials said later playing dead is appropriate when physical contact has happened or is imminent. But done prematurely, Owen said, the bear can grow curious.

The problem, Owen said, is the definition of imminent. "Your perception of imminent contact and my perception of imminent contact might be vastly different," she said.

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MAKE YOURSELF BIGGER

Before the Friday attack at Denali, a large group of park visitors there encountered the same young grizzly. Instead of playing dead, they bunched together, shouting and waving their arms until they scared it off. Park officials say that's exactly what to do.

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THE NOISER, THE BETTER

It's a good idea to make a lot of noise when traveling through bear territory to avoid the element of surprise, which is behind a good number of bear maulings. Around Alaska, in fact, it's not unusual to hear hikers and other outdoor enthusiasts repeatedly calling out, "Hey bear!" Some people clap their hands. Some wear bear bells. The idea is to alert bears and avoid creeping up on them.

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WATCH OUT FOR MAMA BEARS

Sows with cubs are especially sensitive to the presence of humans, so make sure you're never between a mama bear and her young, experts said. Brown bears can be especially dangerous in protecting their young, according to Alaska Department of Fish and Game spokesman Ken Marsh. "Brown bears are particularly aggressive," he said.

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BE ALERT

Most of the time, nothing is going to happen if people take common precautions, such as traveling in groups, keeping dogs on leashes, carrying bear spray and being aware of their surroundings, notes Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks spokesman Ron Aasheim.

"Gosh, 99.999 percent of the time, nothing is going to happen," he said Friday. "Most bears want to avoid you."

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Associated Press writer Matt Volz in Helena, Montana, contributed to this report.
SHARE David Bryon Brushett Date of birth: Nov. 30, 1963 Vitals: 6 feet, 4 inches; 205 pounds; blond hair, blue eyes Charge: Burglary Daric James Boughton Date of birth: May 18, 1977 Vitals: 5 feet, 10 inches; 160 pounds; brown hair, brown eyes Charge: Burglary Kaila Mae Covert Date of birth: Aug. 29, 1988 Vitals: 5 feet, 1 inch; 106 pounds; black hair, brown eyes Charge: Spousal abuse Dylan Andrew Fravel Date of birth: Feb. 8, 1991 Vitals: 6 feet, 3 inches; 165 pounds; brown hair, brown eyes Charge: Termination of probation

By Staff Reports

Shasta's Most Wanted, featured in the Record Searchlight in cooperation with local law enforcement agencies, targets people who have failed to show up in court for sentencing after being convicted.

As of Friday a total of 642 arrests have been made through the Most Wanted program since it began in September 2013. Authorities say they have seen an increase in criminals failing to appear in court since the onset of Assembly Bill 109. Also known as prison realignment, the state program shifted certain state prison inmates to county supervision.

Redding Police Chief Robert Paoletti said court appearances have been going up since the rollout.

Five new people are added each week. Those caught will be held until at least their next court appearances. Shasta County Secret Witness is offering a reward of up to $250 for information leading to an arrest. Tips can be provided anonymously at 530-243-2319 or at www.scsecretwitness.com/home/submit-a-tip.

Anyone with information also can call SHASCOM at 245-6540. The feature appears Sundays in the Record Searchlight's Northern California section and on Redding.com.
Greg Barnette/Record Searchlight

California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection firefighters set up a collapsible water tank Saturday at the Fiddler Fire in remote part of southwest Shasta County.

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Update 2:40 p.m.:

The man accused of starting the Fiddler Fire pleaded not guilty to arson charges today in Shasta County Superior Court.

Daniel Lee Bentley, 36, entered the plea and was assigned a public defender.

Update 8 a.m.

The Fiddler Fire is now 85 percent contained and has burned 441 acres, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection reported Monday morning.

Firefighters continue to strengthen containment lines, mop up and patrol the fire, Cal Fire spokeswoman Cheryl Buliavac said.

The fire is burning in the Ono area and has destroyed a travel trailer and sent one person to the hospital.

There are currently no road closures and no evacuations.

Fire investigators arrested Daniel Lee Bentley, 36, on Friday night on suspicion of arson to forestland and possession of concentrated cannabis. He was booked into Shasta County Jail on Saturday morning.

Original Story

The Fiddler Fire, burning in the Ono area, destroyed a travel trailer and sent one person to the hospital.

The wildfire, which is now 80 percent contained, has burned 441 acres and is being investigated as caused by arson, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Daniel Lee Bentley, 36, was arrested on suspicion of setting the fire on Friday night, said Cal Fire officials.

He was booked into the Shasta County Jail Saturday morning on suspicion of arson to forestland and possession of concentrated cannabis after he was arrested by Cal Fire law enforcement officers.

He remains in jail in lieu of $100,000 bail.

According to Shasta County court records Bentley has a minimal criminal history, pleading guilty to burglary in February 2000.

His burglary conviction was reduced to a misdemeanor and he was sentenced to 15 days in Shasta County Jail, placed on probation for two years and ordered to stay away from a retail store. His probation ended in 2002.

One person was sent to the hospital on Saturday for smoke inhalation and a home was damaged by the fire and a travel trailer was destroyed, according to Cal Fire.
Daniel Lee Bentley was arrested by Cal Fire law enforcement officers on suspicion of setting the 431-acre Fiddler Fire. He was also arrested on suspicion of possessing concentrated cannabis.

SHARE Greg Barnette/Record Searchlight Inmate fire crews mop up hot spots on the Fiddler Fire on Saturday in remote southwest Shasta County. The fire had burned 431 acres by Saturday evening and was 50 percent contained. Greg Barnette/Record Searchlight Cal Fire Battalion Chief Andy Reiling (second from right) discusses firefighting strategy Saturday with Cal Fire Captains (left to right) Jason Collins, Troy Velin and Merrick Field. The four were standing on a ridge at the 431-acre Fiddler Fire. Greg Barnette/Record Searchlight California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection firefighters set up a collapsible water tank Saturday at the Fiddler Fire in remote part of southwest Shasta County. Greg Barnette/Record Searchlight Firefighters on Fiddlers Road in remote southwest Shasta County survey the Fiddler Fire, which burned 431 acres as of Saturday morning and was 50 percent contained.

By Sean Longoria of the Redding Record Searchlight

UPDATE at 2:31 p.m. Monday

The man accused of starting the Fiddler Fire pleaded not guilty to arson charges today in Shasta County Superior Court.

Daniel Lee Bentley, 36, entered the plea and was assigned a public defender.

UPDATE 10:15 p.m.

California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection officials confirmed that Daniel Lee Bentley, 36, was arrested on suspicion of setting the Fiddler Fire on Friday night. Bentley was booked into Shasta County Jail on Saturday morning for investigation of arson to forestland and possession of concentrated cannabis after he was arrested by Cal Fire law enforcement officers.

Fire crews saw a man in the area of the fire when they first arrived Friday night and reported him to a Cal Fire prevention officer, Cal Fire spokesman Jimmy Zanotelli said.

UPDATE: 8:10 p.m.

Road closures that were going to be lifted at 8 p.m. have been extended another hour due to fire activity, according to scanner reports. Meanwhile, an air tanker has dropped its load of retardant and is done for the night.

UPDATE: 8 P.M.

Cal Fire reports crews have made good progress and will continue to work through the night until full containment is achieved, Cal Fire spokesman Jimmy Zanotelli said. The flare-up between Fiddlers and Strait Arrow roads grew to between 15 to 18 acres when it was hit with fire retardant.

UPDATE: 7:30 P.M.

A flare-up between Fiddlers Road and the fire was reported this evening, reported to be 5 acres in size. The fire was sending up a new column of smoke and putting residents on edge.

Cal Fire was sending two air tankers in response at 7:21 p.m.

ORIGINAL STORY:

An arson arrest was made Saturday in Shasta County's biggest wildland fire so far of the summer, which spread quickly after it started Friday night and then smoldered most of the day Saturday.

A man was in custody in connection with starting the fire, said Jimmy Zanotelli of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. He didn't have further details Saturday evening. A man named Daniel Lee Bentley, 36, was booked Saturday into Shasta County Jail on suspicion of arson of forestland and possession of concentrated cannabis, according to jail records.

The Fiddler Fire burning in the Igo-Ono area was at 431 acres Saturday evening as cooler weather gave firefighters a hand in keeping the flames at bay, although the wind started to pick up late Saturday afternoon.

The fire was 50 percent contained Saturday evening and was mostly burning in a remote, sparsely populated area of southwest Shasta County.

Still, some 50 homes were evacuated.

Alyssa Reed, manager of Ono Store and International Cafe on Platina Road, said she didn't know whether any evacuees had stopped by the store, which is located about 8 miles away from the fire.

"We're OK, we're farther away," she said. But as soon as she heard news about evacuations, she drove up the road to pick up her friend and help her get situated.

"Most of the residents are sticking around," Zanotelli said.

Zanotelli said Saturday no evacuation center had been set up. A message to a spokesperson for the American Red Cross of Northeastern California wasn't returned Saturday.

The fire started before 11 p.m. Friday on Straight Arrow Road, more than a dozen miles southwest of the Redding city limits.

Initial reports put the fire at 30 acres, but the fire quickly grew to an estimated 75 acres by 11:30 p.m. Friday, according to scanner reports.

Fire officials said residents threatened by the fire already were self-evacuating starting Friday night into early Saturday morning. At 1 a.m., residents on Straight Arrow Road who said they had animals were told to leave their home immediately because flames were approaching both sides of the roadway.

Earlier, at 11:45 p.m., the incident commander called for a medic unit to aid a Fiddlers Road resident who was suffering from smoke inhalation.

That was the only injury reported in the fire as of late Saturday afternoon, according to Cal Fire.

Two road closures were to remain in effect until 8 p.m. Saturday: Bland Road at Roaring Creek Road and Yolla Bolly Road at Platina Road. The intersections of the winding roads sit about 3.5 miles apart.

Firefighters spent much of Saturday building control lines in the grass and brush, and favorable weather with light wind and cooler temperatures earlier in the day allowed them to make good progress, Zanotelli said.

Cooler than normal temperatures for this time of year should continue through the weekend, said Idamis Del Valle, a National Weather Service meteorologist.

Del Valle expected the night to drop to about 58 degrees in the area, while Sunday should reach about 84 degrees at its warmest.

"That's a couple degrees below normal," she said.

Light winds were also expected, with gustier winds to the south, Del Valle said.

Redding Fire Chief Gerry Gray, who sent city crews to aid Cal Fire, said on Twitter that fuel moisture in the brush will drop to its lowest by possibly August but will definitely burn now, too.

"We have very active fire seasons, no reason this year will be different," Gray said.

Andy Reiling, incident commander at the scene, said winds from Friday night and early Saturday morning caused the fire to push east, which is why it spread so rapidly. Grassland and shrubs have more moisture than usual due to fairly recent rain, but dead trees, grass and brush were still as dry as last year, he said.

Lois Whitlock, 68, said she didn't plan to evacuate her home because it's a bit farther away from the fire. She said the neighbors watch out for each other and started calling one another around midnight as soon as they heard about the evacuations.

"Everybody keeps an eye out for fires out here," Whitlock said. "It's been a long night."

Firefighters continue to aggressively battle the wildland fire in the Igo area and have made good progress. Due to more accurate mapping the acreage of the fire has been changed to 431 acres. Fire crews will continue to work hard through the night until full containment is achieved. Evacuations: None Road Closures: All road closures have been lifted.
Greg Barnette/Record Searchlight

Bud tender Ben Diem (left) and Stacy Lidie, owner/director of the Leave It To Nature medical marijuana collective in Shasta Lake, talk with patients Brian Mantay and Bree Hanes of Redding.

SHARE Greg Barnette/Record Searchlight Leave It To Nature manager Laurie Stickney waters marijuana plants at the store Thursday.

By Joe Szydlowski of the Redding Record Searchlight

In November, Shasta County voters will join Californians in deciding whether to legalize recreational marijuana use for adults.

The details are still being worked out as various experts, authorities, health workers and officials comb through the 65-page proposal, but key pieces have emerged since Secretary of State Alex Padilla announced June 30 that the Adult Use of Marijuana Act, aka Proposition 64, will go before voters.

If voters approve, and polling indicates they will, the act would allow adults to have up to an ounce and grow up to six plants, according to a brief summary by the Legislative Analyst's Office. The law would tax sales at 15 percent and levy a per-ounce fee on growers.

Those fees would bring in more than $1 billion annually, the LAO estimates.

The act also would allow marijuana-related businesses that local governments can regulate or outright ban.

Reactions from Shasta County law enforcement, medical marijuana patients and dispensaries are mixed. But they all agree its potential effects, both good and ill, will be huge.

'This is coming'

Redding's chief of police, Rob Paoletti, said he discourages drug use  but legalization appears to be looming.

"As a chief, I say stay away from all drugs, but this is coming and we'll be prepared for it," he said.

For those individuals who indulge, their interactions with police won't change much.

"Quite frankly, for less than an ounce of marijuana, instead of issuing a citation, we won't," he said. "I like the fact they're going to regulate it like alcohol. I don't think it's healthy for our youth."

Most complaints about cannabis to police concern the smell, he said. But stoned drivers cause him the most concern, he said. No good tests or standards exist to gauge how much is too much, he said. However, he acknowledged officers can arrest drivers who show objective signs of impairment regardless of the amount in their bloodstream.

"They can, but it makes the prosecution harder," he said.

He sees body cameras, along with anti-DUI education, as ways to counter it.

But Paoletti and Shasta County Sheriff Tom Bosenko both expressed worries about minors having more access to pot. Several organizations have reported statistics that connect legalization with higher use of marijuana by minors, Bosenko said.

States that have legalized pot make up four of the nine states where one in 10 high school seniors admitted to using marijuana within the previous month in 2013 or 2014, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration annual survey.

But Crystal Plotner, general manager of Pharm-To-Table pot dispensary in Meford, Oregon, said legalization has helped keep marijuana out of the hands of minors because while her dispensary IDs customers, drug dealers don't.

"The only times we've had shoulder tapping are middle-aged adults who didn't have their ID," she said.

What about 215 users?

The city of Shasta Lake is home to the only pot dispensaries in Shasta County. It's also the home of Rose Smith, a former city councilwoman, who treats anxiety and arthritis pain with a high CBD-strain of medical marijuana.

She supports legalization, but considers the Adult Use of Marijuana Act a cash grab by the state that's riddled with contradictions.

"Once you have six plants, you harvest them," she said. "You might have 6 pounds of dried marijuana, so then you're breaking the law again, you'd have too much."

But Queen of Dragons dispensary owner Dr. Tammy Brazil said the type of high-CBD-strain cannabis that Smith and others dispense encapsulates a big reason why she doesn't like the proposed act's method of legalization. High-CBD pot, one of her best sellers, typically won't get someone high, she said.

As more recreational users swell the market, expert growers may switch to the more lucrative  and much easier to grow  strains used just to get high. That would leave little supply for patients who, like Smith, depend on special strains, Brazil said.

The high-CBD strains also sell well at Leave It To Nature, a collective that opened in Shasta Lake less than two weeks ago, said Stacy Lidie, its director.

But unlike Brazil, she supports the proposed act because the state already has laws on the books that protect patients.

She agrees with Brazil that large commercial businesses getting in on the trade worry her and understands the concern about specialty strains. But the act only allows small-scale operations until the early 2020s, she said.

In addition, demand from Proposition 215 patients who use the specialized strains will remain, she said.

But those fears may be unfounded, Pharm-To-Table's Plotner said.

"We have a ton of recreational interest in CBD," she said. "Clientele want to use it for the more therapeutic side of things. They're really not using it to get high. They're using it for a medical condition just without a (medical marijuana) license."

Lidie said Californians should realize the proposed act, while imperfect, is still a good law that can be patched up later.

"It's time we got on the bandwagon and showed other states how it's done," she said.
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Somehow, you knew it was too good to be true.

It's been evident for years that the State Bar  the quasi-public agency that licenses lawyers  is an organizational mess.

It has functioned, illogically, as both regulator of the legal profession and as a trade association that promotes economic interests of the profession.

It's as if the Medical Board of California, which licenses physicians and is supposed to crack down on those who go astray, had been merged with the California Medical Association, which protects physicians' professional and financial interests.

To add even another complication to the State Bar's place in the scheme of things, it also is an arm, after a fashion, of the state Supreme Court, which holds the ultimate authority over lawyers' ethics.

The State Bar's incompatible functions, coupled with financial shenanigans and administrative shortcomings detailed in a state auditor's report, finally sparked a reaction in the Legislature.

When the State Bar made its routine request to the Legislature for authority to impose mandatory "dues" on attorneys to support its operations, a rank-and-file revolt among the Assembly's members resulted in a fairly strong bill to reform some of its operations.

It deals with a shameful backlog of disciplinary cases and its finances, requires a majority of nonlawyers on its governing board, and begins the process of separating its licensure and trade association functions.

But when Assembly Bill 2878 reached the Senate Judiciary Committee last week, the legal empire struck back.

The committee's chairwoman, Hannah-Beth Jackson, called the bill "heavy-handed" and insisted on amendments that would water down the reforms, apparently with tacit support from Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye.

One would allow the chief justice to appoint a "special master" to study the State Bar's organizational structure, rather than the committee proposed by Assembly Bill 2878.

Assemblyman Mark Stone, who chairs the Assembly Judiciary Committee and is carrying the bill, told Jackson that he couldn't accept the amendments because it would render the bill unacceptable to his reform-minded Assembly colleagues.

Jackson told The Recorder, a legal newspaper, "The bill was supposed to be heard in my committee, and we were basically told to go pound sand."

The State Bar bill appears to be one of many points of friction between the two legislative houses that could make the last month of the session in August more contentious than usual.

Another is that the Assembly Labor Committee summarily killed a Jackson-authored bill to expand family leave after the women's legislative caucus called on the committee's chairman, Roger Hernandez, to resign because of spousal abuse allegations by his ex-wife.

Internal friction aside, the State Bar reform measure is a very important piece of legislation. The State Bar is a mess, and thousands of cases involving attorney misconduct have piled up while it trades allegations with its former executive director, Joe Dunn.

However it happens, the Legislature shouldn't adjourn without cleaning up the mess.

Email Dan Walters at dwalters@sacbee.com.
Sirica Bolling raises her fist as she walks down Jefferson Avenue during a Black Lives Matter protest against police brutality in Newport News, Va., on July 10, 2016. (Aileen Devlin / The Daily Press)

BATON ROUGE, La.  Officers stared down hundreds of shouting protesters near a ramp onto Interstate 110 in Louisiana's capital Sunday night before another squad in riot gear arrived to make arrests.

Earlier Sunday, some 2,000 people rallied outside the Capitol building to protest police killings of black people, State Police Maj. Doug Cain said.

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"They didn't have any problems out there. They seemed to be very organized and peaceful," Cain said.

But as night began to fall, a few hundred people aimed for an on-ramp, trying a tactic protesters were using this weekend in multiple cities.

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And after a lengthy standoff, more police in full riot gear moved in, pinning some of the protesters as others fled. Some 30 to 40 people were jailed for trying to block a highway, sheriff's spokeswoman Casey Rayborn Hicks said.

That could push Baton Rouge's weekend arrest total above 160, with just one reported injury to a police officer.

Gov. John Bel Edwards said he's "very proud" of the Louisiana law enforcement response to protests over the fatal shooting of a black man by white police officers in the city.

Flanked by law enforcement leaders, Edwards said he doesn't believe officers have been overly aggressive by using riot gear to push protesters off a highway.

"The police tactics in response have been very moderate. I'm very proud of that," said the Democratic governor, who comes from a family of sheriffs.

Tensions between black citizens and police have risen palpably over the past week or so amid police shootings of African-American men in Minnesota and Louisiana and the gunning down of five white police officers by a black suspect in Dallas in apparent retaliation.

"I remain disappointed in the Baton Rouge police, who continue to provoke protesters for peacefully protesting. There's a lot of work to be done, with this police department specifically," said DeRay Mckesson, a prominent Black Lives Matter activist who embraced supporters Sunday after spending the night in jail.

The Baton Rouge police spokesman, Sgt. Don Coppola, blamed some violence and the large number of arrests on outside agitators. One officer lost teeth to a projectile thrown outside police headquarters, and police also confiscated three rifles, three shotguns and two pistols during that protest, he wrote in an email.

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"It appears the protest at Baton Rouge Police Headquarters have become more violent as out of town protesters are arriving," he said.

But most of those detained live in Louisiana and faced a single charge of obstructing a highway, sheriff's spokeswoman Hicks told The Associated Press.

The tumult reached well beyond Louisiana. In Minnesota, authorities said 21 law enforcement officers were hurt and about 100 people were arrested late Saturday and early Sunday during clashes in the state capital over the police killing of Philando Castile.

There was very little violence by comparison in Baton Rouge.

"I can assure everyone we are hearing the protesters," the governor said. "We are listening to their voices. But I'm especially gratified that our citizens here in Louisiana, to a very large degree, have decided to protest in a constructive and peaceful manner."

Edwards said hundreds have marched around the city, with only one injury to an officer and mostly misdemeanor arrests. Protesting peacefully is the best way to honor those killed, he said, adding that authorities won't allow people "to incite hate and violence."

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Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 72 A makeshift memorial grows outside of the Dallas police department headquarters on July 12, 2016. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)

"I want to be clear that will not be tolerated. We don't operate like that in Louisiana," he said.

The list of those arrested released by the sheriff's office included two homeless people, and 18 are from out of state, including Mckesson. The vast majority of the Louisiana residents were from the Baton Rouge and New Orleans areas.

Kira Marrero, 21, of New Orleans, also charged with obstructing a highway, said she did nothing of the sort. "I have no doubt in my mind that I did nothing wrong," said Marrero, a 2015 graduate of Williams College in Massachusetts

A police affidavit of probable cause says Mckesson "intentionally" placed himself in the road after protesters were repeatedly warned by loudspeaker not to step off the curb.

"During the protest, the defendant entered the roadway and was provided another verbal order to exit the lanes of travel. Moments later, the defendant entered the roadway again and was taken into custody by officers on scene without incident," the affidavit said.

Activist Brittany Packett, who was with Mckesson, wrote in an email that he was on the highway shoulder when "multiple police crossed onto the shoulder, tackling Deray and arresting him."

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Associated Press photos show police apprehending Mckesson and pulling him to his feet before leading him away with his hands secured behind his back.

Darren Bowers, 26, of Baton Rouge, said his girlfriend, 26-year-old Ariel Bates, called him from the jail early Sunday. "She told me that they jumped all on her and her cousin on the grass. They weren't on the street or anything," Bowers said.

He said he believes police are "antagonizing" protesters.

"People are peacefully protesting. Why are (police) in riot gear?" he said.

In Louisiana, Saturday's demonstration began at the convenience store where 37-year-old Alton Sterling was killed by police, then fanned out through the state Capitol.

Members of the New Black Panther Party for Self Defense called for the arrest and indictment of the officers involved in Sterling's death, shouting "Black Power" and raising their fists. The U.S. Justice Department has launched a civil rights investigation.

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"These are human rights violations," Krystal Muhammad shouted to the crowd at the convenience store before heading over to the police department. "They are not operating as human beings. They are being predators on our communities across America."

In Minnesota, police used smoke bombs to clear more than 200 people blocking Interstate 94, the main highway in and out of the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Protesters pelted police in riot gear with rocks, bottles, firecrackers and other objects, and they refused to get off the highway, prompting officers in riot gear to move in just after midnight.

Roughly half of the arrests happened during that standoff. Most of the others happened early Sunday in another part of St. Paul.

Police Chief Todd Axtell called the violence against officers "a disgrace."

Mike Martin, who wore a guitar on his back and said he was trying to promote peace, was pepper sprayed by an officer on a pedestrian bridge overlooking the interstate. He said he was trying to move the crowd along and keep the peace.

"I guess I wasn't moving fast enough for him," said Martin, who said the officer was six feet away when he sprayed him without warning. "He just got it out and bam, I saw a cloud. It's burning pretty bad."

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A leader on a loudspeaker urged the group to march to the governor's mansion, where protesters have been gathering since the fatal police shooting Wednesday of a black driver, Philando Castile, in the suburb of Falcon Heights. The 32-year-old school cafeteria supervisor told officers during a traffic stop that he had a gun in the car and a permit to use it, and one of them shot him when he reached for his wallet, according to his girlfriend, who live-streamed video of the immediate aftermath on Facebook.

Tyree Johnson, a protester who said he was Castile's cousin, said officers on the highway fired pellets and gas in his direction.

Misty Macon, 20, of St. Paul, said the protest was mostly peaceful, though at least one protester aimed a firework at an officer. She said she saw about 30 people being peacefully taken away by officers, who said they warned protesters they would be subject to arrest if they didn't leave the interstate, which reopened early Sunday.

The protest was among several demonstrations nationwide, including New York.

Hundreds of demonstrators marched through the streets of New York on Saturday in a third night of protests against shootings of black men by police officers.

The protesters marched up Broadway from lower Manhattan, paused for speeches in Union Square, then marched to Times Square and around midtown.

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As many as 1,000 people joined the protest, but many left when it started raining late Saturday night.

Police officers marched alongside the protesters and tried to keep them on the sidewalk by playing a recorded announcement warning them that they risked arrest if they stayed in the street. A police spokesman said there were at least 20 arrests.

Zayanahla Vines, a nephew of Delrawn Small, who was shot to death by an off-duty officer in Brooklyn during a road-rage incident Monday, choked back tears before kicking off the march.

"My uncle was killed in cold blood by somebody who was wearing a badge, and that man's still walking free today," Vines said.

He added, "This is about black people in America, this is not about me. This is not about any of us as an individual."

New York state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced that he will investigate the death of Small, who was black, as were the men fatally shot by police officers in Baton Rouge and a suburb of Minneapolis.

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Protester Cynthia Howell said she wants to see accountability for police misconduct.

"We are not against the police, but we want accountability and we want justice," said Howell, a niece of Alberta Spruill, who died of a heart attack in 2003 after police threw a concussion grenade into her Harlem apartment during a mistaken raid. "We want those who do reckless, dangerous things held accountable."

Danny Salk, a filmmaker from Brooklyn, brought his two young daughters, Indigo Hubbard-Salk, 10, and Cypris Hubbard-Salk, 14, to the protest.

"I came out to protest the killing of black people by cops and racism in general," Salk said. "I think it's time we stopped racism."

He said his daughters were the ones who inspired him to come.

"They're the activists. They said it's very important that we go," he said. "It's very empowering to stand in the street and chant and practice democracy. This is the only way we're going to wake people up."

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Associated Press
The unions have called for a strike against proposed closure of associate banks and their merger with the State Bank of India

Bank employees have decided to go strike, as earlier planned on July 12 and 13, since the conciliation meeting failed to yield any results. The unions have called for a strike against proposed closure of associate banks and their merger with the State Bank of India (SBI), and proposed privatisation of IDBI Bank, among other issues.

C H Venkatachalam, general secretary of All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) said the chief labour commissioner convened a conciliation meeting at his office in New Delhi on Friday. The meeting was attended by representatives from all bank unions.

Officials of the department of financial services, finance ministry, Indian Banks Association and executives from the five associate banks were also present.

AIBEA explained the issues mentioned in its strike notice in detail are unwarranted and emphasised that effective measures needed to recover the increasing bad loans should be given priority instead.

We stated that instead of taking stringent measures against wilful and deliberate defaulters, the government is diverting the attention by steps such as privatisation and consolidation as a means to improve efficiency and profitability of banks, said Venkatachalam.

He added that the unions had also pointed out that even on issues like violation of settlement, negation of collective bargaining, imposition of unilateral and adverse service conditions on employees of associate banks, the response of the management was disappointing and discouraging.

In response to the chief labour commissioners appeal to defer the strike, the unions informed they were ready to consider deferment of the strike if the proposed merger of was put on hold.

However, there was no positive response from their side, said Venkatachalam.

Since the conciliation meeting did not yield any result, the unions have decided to go on strike as planned.
In 2007, Essar had said it would set up a $1.8-bn unit in Minnesota, but scaled down from a full-scale taconite steel mill project to pellet plant after the 2008 financial crisis

In a setback, the Ruia family-owned Essar Steel Minnesota (ESML) has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States.

The filing follows Minnesota governments decision to revoke Essars mineral leases for non-payment of dues worth $66 million. Essar had sought extension of leases for another nine months.

The mineral leases will now be allotted to Essars rival companies. Essars American unit, owned by London-based Ruia holding company, has $1 billion debt.

In 2007, Essar had said it would set up a $1.8-billion unit in Minnesota, but scaled down from a full-scale taconite steel mill project to pellet plant after the 2008 financial crisis.

The project was scheduled to start production from 2014 onwards. But cheap supply of steel from China made production unviable. Another North American Essar unit, Essar Steel Algoma, is also bankrupt and its steel mill is up for sale, according to media reports.

Essar group did not comment on the bankruptcy filing till this paper went to press. . Another India based group, Tata Steel, is facing a similar crisis with its British steel mill operations which are losing 1 million pounds a day. On Friday, Tatas decided to hold the sale and look for other alternatives.

Back home, the Essar group is in talks with Rosneft to sell its 49 per cent stake in refinery for $2.8 billion in cash. It will sell another 25 per cent stake in the refinery to a commodity trader at a similar valuation.

Funds raised from the sale will be used to reduce the groups India debt of Rs 88,000 crore (Rs 880 billion). The group says post refinery stake sale, its debt will reduce by half.

After the Indian government imposed restrictions on steel imports from China, Essar Steel has ramped up steel production at its Hazira, Gujarat plant to 70 per cent. Its earlier plan to sell 30 per cent stake in Essar Steel failed as there were no takers.

Image: Essar Group chairman Shashi Ruia (left) with vice-chairman Ravi Ruia. Photograph: PTI
Firm makes disclosures of improper transactions worth Rs 1,225.3 crore with entities linked to beleaguered businessman

United Spirits Limited (USL), owned by British beverage giant Diageo, on Saturday said it found evidence of funds diversion worth Rs 1,225 crore from the company when it was managed by Vijay Mallya.

In a statement to the stock exchanges, United Spirits said a follow-up investigation by E&Y found that Mallya diverted funds to Kingfisher Airlines, Force India Ltd and Watson Ltd. The E&Y report will now be shared with Indian law enforcement authorities and regulators for further action.

An earlier investigation by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) UK was placed before the USL board in April 2015 which had asked Mallya to step down.

Mallya, however, refused to do so and had trashed the investigation by PwC saying Price Waterhouse (PW) India cannot sign the accounts and later conduct an independent investigation. Mallya also questioned the due diligence conducted by Diageo before taking over the company.

Diageo later signed a peace deal with Mallya and paid him an additional $75 million. Diageo had taken over the company in November 2012.

USL officials along with Mallya are currently under investigation of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for funds diversion from India to tax havens abroad.

USL shared the outcome of the board meeting held on Saturday in relation to the additional inquiry into certain matters referred to in the companys financial statements for the years ended March 31, 2015, and 2016.

The findings relate to historical matters before Diageo consolidated the USL business in July 2014. Based on our understanding as of today, we believe there will be no further material financial implications to USL, USL said.

The USL board has directed the management to pursue recovery from the relevant companies and individuals and undertake any action including legal and regulatory as deemed necessary.

It should be noted that the February 2016 agreement did not release the former chairman (Mallya) from any claims arising out of the Additional Inquiry, it said. Diageo had signed an agreement with Mallya in February this year that it will not pursue any cases against Mallya. It had also agreed to pay an additional sum of $75 million to Mallya which is now under investigation by market regulator Sebi.

USL will share the report with the appropriate authorities and will cooperate with them fully in any action they may take, USL said.

There were no immediate comments from Mallya.

USL said the overseas beneficiary or recipients of the diverted funds include entities such as Force India Formula One, Watson Ltd, Continental Administrative Services, Modall Securities Ltd, Ultra Dynamics Ltd and Lombard Wall Corporate Service Inc. in each of which Dr Mallya appears to have a material, direct and indirect interests.

Mallya is currently living in London and has evaded summons from the ED, which is investigating fund diversion by Kingfisher Airlines. Several banks have declared him wilful defaulter for failing to pay back loans amounting to thousands of crores.

Mallya is wanted in India and is facing charges of money laundering. A consortium of 17 banks lead by the SBI has been trying unsuccessfully to recover dues of over Rs 9,000 crore (Rs 90 billion) from the now defunct Kingfisher Airlines, which was promoted by him.

Last month, the Enforcement Directorate had attached assets worth Rs 1,411 crore (Rs 14.11 billion) belonging to Mallya and one of his companies in connection with its money laundering probe in the alleged IDBI Bank loan default case.

Mallyas passport has been revoked by the Indian government. He has been showing no signs of returning to India soon in the wake of various legal and regulatory troubles.

Photograph: Reuters
Insurers cover the house on market value, and not on construction cost. They also dont insist on bills when giving the policy

This years monsoon showers will definitely remind Chennai residents of the ordeal they underwent during the floods last year. The rising frequency and unpredictability of natural disasters underlines the importance of buying home insurance cover. This is also a policy that can protect your home against the rising incidence of terrorism, burglary, etc.

The penetration of home insurance stands at an abysmal 0.7 per cent in India, compared to 90 per cent in the US and the UK. Most people are unaware of how the valuation of houses and contents is done, how claims are calculated and paid for.

However, a few recently launched products attempt to deal with some of the long-standing issues that customers had with this product besides providing comprehensive cover for fire, earthquake and burglary.

Structure of house

Earlier, houses were insured at the prevailing reconstruction cost. This meant that whether you lived in a well-furnished house in a posh society with the best of amenities or in a middle-class locality with basic amenities, the sum insured (or the value of the house) would be the cost of construction.

This would usually not exceed Rs 2,000 per sq ft, which means that a 1,500 sq ft house would be valued at Rs 30 lakh (Rs 3 million). A few insurance companies have now started covering homes at market valuations based on government rates.

If there is a major damage, it will pay you the agreed market value instead of the reconstruction cost. Similarly, contents in the house can now be covered at new-for-old basis instead of on indemnity basis, the current market value of the old products.

Content

Paintings, curios: Getting paintings and curios covered was a complicated affair earlier. Many insurance policies excluded them from coverage. Now, you can get such items covered by giving a valuation certificate.

No need for micro-details: One of the main reasons customers who showed interest in home insurance ended up not buying it was that insurance companies or their intermediaries asked for invoice copies and serial numbers of the assets you wanted covered. Most customers were not able to retrieve these details.

They soon lost interest and skipped buying the cover altogether. A few insurance companies now do not insist on such micro-details in the proposal form (in most cases).

Portable equipments: Gadgets like laptops, iPods, expensive mobiles and tablets run the highest risk of getting damaged or stolen.

Most insurance companies were earlier reluctant to cover any kind of portable gadget, especially mobile phones and tablets. Recently, many have started covering such assets, usually if they are less than five years old, for damage and theft.

Customisations available: Damage to a house due to a natural calamity can make it uninhabitable. One needs to find and pay for alternate accommodation till the house is restored. New home insurance policies provide add-on covers that pay for rent for an alternate accommodation for the time your house is getting repaired if you were living in the house, and loss of rent in case you had a tenant living in it.

Maids and servants are exposed to accidents in the house. You can be held liable to compensate them in case of an injury.

Many insurance policies cover civil liability for disability or injury caused to third party or maids and servants in your house due to error or negligence on your part. This is a part of the core benefits in many policies, it is available as a paid add-on in a few others.

Some other add-on covers that have now become available include the following: worldwide coverage on loss or damage of portable equipment; keys and lock replacement cover; dog insurance cover (covers death only); lost wallet cover; and ATM withdrawal robbery cover.

Caveats

Home insurance being modular and comprehensive, you need to be aware of the important things that are covered and those that are not.

In case you have covered your house under reinstatement or indemnity basis, and at the time of claim it is found that your house is valued higher than the sum insured you declared at the time of buying the policy, your claim will be proportionately reduced.

Insurers do provide agreed value coverage instead of valuing the house at construction cost. However, the insurance company will pay you the sum insured as per the agreed value coverage only if you dont retain the house but hand it over to the insurance company. If you retain the house with or without repair, the amount payable will be the cost of reconstruction of a similar flat.

Earthquake and terrorism are generally not covered in the core policy. You need to opt for these covers by paying additional premium.

Damage caused due to sub-standard workmanship by the builder, negligence, or due to seepage may not be covered by your policy. Home insurance policies have deductibles for each claim you make. Be aware of this amount. For each claim, the insurance company will deduct this deducible amount before making a payment to you.

While home insurance covers theft and burglary, there is a catch. Theft and burglary claims are not generally payable if your house is unoccupied for a long time, generally 30-45 days (the duration varies from one policy to another).

Many insurance plans cap jewellery coverage at an absolute value or as a percentage of the total cover. Contents are depreciating assets while the value of gold may appreciate year upon year.

After a certain time, when the house is a few years old, the value of your jewellery may not be covered entirely. If you have a considerable amount of jewellery to be covered, check with your agent or insurance company about the capping in the policy before you purchase it.

Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com

Mahavir Chopra is director, Coverfox.com
Reader Virat Gangurde (left) and Dattatray Babar met actor Ashish Vidyarthi in Bangkok, Thailand, and sent us a picture.

If you encounter/meet/see film or television personalities and take a photograph or a video of the star(s), mail us your pictures at moviesdesk@rediff.co.in

Or, upload the picture on ZaraBol
Britain and Canada have already banned Naik from visiting several years ago, while Malaysia banned his lectures fearing that they could instigate inter-racial tensions.

Bangladesh on Sunday banned the broadcast of controversial Indian preacher Zakir Naiks Peace TV, cracking down on the channel and radical sermons after reports that provocative speeches inspired some of the militants who carried out the countrys worst terror attack at a cafe in Dhaka.

The decision to ban the Mumbai-based preachers Peace TV Bangla was taken during a special meeting of Cabinet Committee on Law and Order, Industry Minister Amir Hossain Amu, who chaired the meeting said.

In the meeting, attended by senior ministers and top security officials, it was also decided to monitor the sermons given during the Friday prayers to check whether any provocative lectures are delivered, Amu told reporters.

Doctor-turned Naiks speeches are believed to have inspired some of the Bangladeshi militants, who killed 22 people, mostly foreigners, at an upscale restaurant in Dhaka on July 1.

The government also appealed to the Imams in the country to deliver lectures in line with real Islamic ideology of denouncing terrorism and extremism, the minister said.

Besides senior ministers, the meeting was attended by chief of police and head of the elite Rapid Action Battalion, paramilitary border guards and top officials of different security agencies.

Deployment of additional security forces at export processing zone was also ordered.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan had on Saturday said that Bangladeshs intelligence agencies were investigating the 50-year-old Naiks possible role in the attack.

He is on our security scanner... Our intelligence agencies are investigating his activities as his lectures appeared provocative, Khan had said.

Khan said the investigators were also probing Naiks financial transactions in Bangladesh.

One of the slain attackers of the terrorist attack in Dhakas high-security Gulshan area, the 22-year-old Rohan Imtiaz quoted Naik in a Facebook post in January this year where he urged all Muslims to be terrorists.

Twenty-two people were killed in the brutal late-night attack. Six days later, militants attacked police guarding the largest Eid gathering in Bangladesh and killed three more people.

The activities of Naiks Mumbai-based Islamic Research Foundation are also under the scanner of Indian home ministry amid allegations that funds from abroad received by it have been spent on political activities and inspiring people towards radical views.

The Maharashtra government has also ordered a probe into the sermons by the 50-year-old televangelist that has kicked up a storm.

Britain and Canada have banned Naik from visiting the two countries several years ago, while Malaysia banned his lectures fearing that they could instigate inter-racial tensions.

Naik denies encouraging acts of terror through his speeches.
Bangladesh on Sunday said there was no direct involvement of the Islamic State in the recent attacks, including on Hindus and others minorities, but acknowledged that homegrown Islamist outfits may be trying to establish links with the dreaded terror group through the social media.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said Islamists appeared to have set soft targets that included Hindus, Buddhists, Christians and even Muslims to grab global attention by staging major terror attacks in the country.

I dont admit Hindus are their target alone as assault on the Sholakia Eid congregation three days ago and their past attacks on Shiite mosques and rallies indicate their motive, he said.

You can see a change in the pattern of their attacks also, initially they staged a series of small attacks on individuals and now they are staging bigger attacks targeting foreigners, policemen and ordinary Muslims, he said.

Asked if Bangladesh has revised its stance on possible IS link to the two recent Islamist attacks in the country, Khan said, Our initial investigation suggests both the attacks were carried out by homegrown Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh.

Bangladesh authorities have repeatedly blamed the outlawed JMB for the recent attacks on secular writers and minorities.

But it appears that they (terrorists) are trying to establish links with IS through the social media...however, none of them came from Syria or any other country to stage the attacks, Khan said.

Law minister Anusul Huq also said that no legal evidence was found so far suggesting IS involvement in the attacks in Bangladesh.

However, the terrorist may have an access to the IS media outlet to lodge the claims of their acts in the name of the Syria-based terrorist outfit, BSS news agency quoted Huq as saying.

Khan said extra security was provided when the militants carried out clandestine attacks on some Hindu priests but soon we saw they are carrying out attacks on Buddhists, Christians and even Muslims as well.

Islamist attacks have clearly appeared as a global phenomenon and everywhere they are setting soft targets to grab the world attention... they are targeting Buddhists, Christians and even Muslims, the minister said.

He said law enforcement agencies were asked to keep an extra vigil for the security of Hindus in Bangladesh which is the largest minority community in Muslim-majority Bangladesh.

The comments by the two ministers indicate a slight shift in the governments stance about the ISIS claims of staging a series of isolated attacks on liberal and secular writers and activists, religious minority people, moderate Sufi leaders and Shias in recent years.

Asked what measures Bangladesh has taken to assure the international community after the July 1 Holey Artisan Bakery attack in which 22 people, including 17 foreigners were killed, Khan said law enforcement agencies have intensified their vigil for the security of the foreigners and foreign missions.

But we are preparing to launch a massive social campaign involving religious scholars and imams to disseminate the real Islamic spirit that denounces terrorism and extremism in the name of religion, he said.

The minister said Bangladesh currently has agreements with some 15 countries for sharing information on terrorism or militancy while we now planned to expand the network as it appeared as a global problem with many countries becoming its victim.

Our law enforcement and intelligence agencies are competent enough, but they need to share and exchange information with other countries as well to combat the

terrorists, he said.

As part of immediate steps, Khan said, his ministry on Sunday issued an order asking police to prepare a list of missing youths across the country as perpetrators of the last weeks Gulshan attack had gone missing for months and reappeared only to stage the carnage.

Today I have sent a letter to the inspector general of police asking him to instruct all police stations across the country to prepare a list of missing youths in their respective areas, he said.

Asked for comments about media reports suggesting as many as 150 youths remained missing, he called the report speculative.

On the other hand, he said several youths were found to have returned home while some of the missing cases were not found to have no link to terrorism.

Once the police stations compile their reports, we will have an idea about the number of missing youths, which will be required for our anti-terrorism security campaign, Khan said.

He said police would seek help of people in neighbourhoods in gathering information about the background of the missing youths and talk to their guardians as well.

Education minister Nurul Islam Nahid earlier said directives were issued asking schools to report to police if any of their student remained absent for 10 days due to unknown reasons.

Most of the youths, who carried out the Dhaka cafe massacre had been missing for six months or more and their families came to know about them only after they were killed in army-led operation on July 2.

Image: Members of the Rapid Action Battalion are seen outside the Holey Artisan restaurant, where gunmen had taken hostages, in the upscale Gulshan area of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Photograph: Reuters
Territory controlled by the Islamic State shrunk by 12 per cent in the first six months of 2016, according to new analysis released today by IHS Inc, the leading global source of critical information and insight.

The analysis published on Sunday says the jihadist group, which proclaimed its self-styled caliphate in the two countries in 2014, is continuing to lose ground after a string of setbacks last year.

The territory controlled by the ultra-hardline Sunni group shrank from 90,800 sq km in January 2015, six months after it declared a caliphate in Syria and Iraq, to 68,300 sq km (26,370 square miles), the research firm said.

Furthermore, the Islamic State has also seen a decline in its primary revenue sources. In mid-2015, the Islamic States overall monthly revenue was around $80 million (Rs 537 crore). As of March 2016, the Islamic States monthly revenue dropped to $56 million (Rs 375 crore).

The Iraqi militarys recapture of Fallujah, an Islamic State stronghold just west of Baghdad, last month has led the insurgents to step up bombings on Shi'ite Muslim targets.

Nearly 300 people died when an Islamic State suicide bomber struck in a busy shopping district in Baghdad a week ago, in one of the worst such attacks by the group to date.

Islamic State lost control of the city of Ramadi at the end of last year, another key stronghold for the group which captured large swathes of Iraq in 2014. The army is now gearing up to retake Mosul, the largest city in Iraqs north and Islamic State's de facto capital.

In May, the Pentagon said that IS had lost some 45 per cent of the territory it held in Iraq and between 16 and 20 percent of its territory in Syria.

IHS senior analyst Columb Strack said the losses were likely to mean IS would redouble its attempts at mass casualty attacks.

As the Islamic States caliphate shrinks and it becomes increasingly clear that its governance project is failing, the group is reprioritising insurgency, he said.

We unfortunately expect an increase in mass casualty attacks and sabotage of economic infrastructure, across Iraq and Syria, and further afield, including Europe.

Image: Members of Iraqi government forces celebrate on a street in Fallujah after government forces recaptured the city from Islamic State militants, Iraq. Photograph: Thaier Al-Sudani/Reuters
The son of Osama bin Laden has threatened revenge against the United States for assassinating his father, according to an audio message posted online by Al Qaeda.

Hamza bin Laden promised to continue the global militant groups fight against the United States and its allies in the 21-minute speech entitled "We Are All Osama," according to the SITE Intelligence Group, an organisation that tracks jihadi organisations online.

We will continue striking you and targeting you in your country and abroad in response to your oppression of the people of Palestine, Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Somalia and the rest of the Muslim lands that did not survive your oppression, Hamza said.

In the message, Hamza goes on to say, As for the revenge by the Islamic nation for Sheikh Osama, may Allah have mercy on him, it is not revenge for Osama the person but it is revenge for those who defended Islam.

In 2011, US commandos killed Osama at his Pakistani hideout in a covert operation in response to the 9/11 attacks.

Hamza, now in his mid-twenties, was at his fathers side in Afghanistan before the 9/11 attacks and spent time with him in Pakistan after the US-led invasion pushed much of Al Qaedas senior leadership there, according to the think tank Brookings Institution.
Weve won the election, thats what weve done. The most important people to thank are the Australian people because we have resolved this election, Turnbull said after claiming victory.

IMAGE: Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull kisses his wife Lucy as members of his family look on. Photograph: David Gray/Reuters

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Sunday declared victory for his conservative coalition in the closely fought general election after opposition Labor conceded defeat, ending the week-long state of political paralysis in the country.

Turnbull, whose victory speech came hours after opposition labor leader Bill Shorten rang him to conceded defeat, said it was vital for the country that all sides of politics worked together to make this term of parliament work.

Weve won the election, thats what weve done. The most important people to thank are the Australian people because we have resolved this election and have done so peacefully, Turnbull, 61, said.

It is vital that this parliament work. It is vital that we work together and as far as we can ensure that we all agree.. Consistent with our policies that we took to the election, he said.

According to media reports, Turnbull will not be officially sworn in for at least one week as the governor general is overseas and was unable to oversee the ceremony.

Turnbull indicated that some changes in his cabinet team after losing some of his cabinet members.

A number of our members have not been returned, I want to acknowledge them for their candidacy, I want to thank them for their service and acknowledge their going through a tough time and it is a tough business, Turnbull said at a press conference.

I also want to acknowledge the new members. We have some great new stars coming into parliament, I want to welcome them, it will be a new parliament with many new faces  new and younger faces. It will be a new parliament and I believe a very exciting and constructive one, he said.

Welcomed Shortens statement on reaching common ground on key issues with the government, Turnbull said his granddaughter was on his lap when he took Shortens call and he was deeply, deeply touched by the moment.

Thats a moment Ill never forget. It was a reminder that we are trustees for future generations. Everything we do is about the future, Turnbull said.

These challenges are not easy, theres no simple solution but thats why they need our best minds, our best brains, above all our best goodwill in our new parliament to deliver that, he said.

IMAGE: Australian Labor Party opposition leader Bill Shorten and wife Chloe cast their ballots at a polling station at Moonee Ponds West Primary School in Melbourne on July 2. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/Pool/Reuters

After eight days of vote counting, Liberal-National coalition has won 74 seats in the 150-seat House of Representatives and Labor was at 66 seats with five seats still too close to call. The coalition needs 76 seats to claim a majority in the lower house, the House of Representatives.

It is something we should celebrate, but not take for granted that here in Australia we settle these big political issues, we settle who sits in our parliaments, we settle who governs our country, and we do so peacefully through our democratic processes, Turnbull said.

I have spoken to Turnbull early this afternoon to congratulate him and Lucy, and to wish them the very best, Shorten said.

He said his party was willing to work to find common ground with the government and that Australians deserved nothing less.

I understand we need to make this parliament function and well be up for that, Shorten said, adding that his Labor party would stick to its guns on key issues such as Medicare.

I expect them to do nothing less than to keep their promises they made to the Australian people. And as I said, I wish Malcolm Turnbull well in what the future holds, he said.

Shorten said they had a mandate to stand up for Medicare to make sure schools are properly funded and to prioritise Australian jobs.

One thing which unites Turnbull and I is our love of Australia and our huge respect for our democracy. Therefore I want to thank the Australian people, he said.

Thanking his voters, Shorten said, I want to reassure them, that despite Labor not winning enough seats this time, that the Labor party will stick true to its core values, its and promises and beliefs.

He further said that he would write to Turnbull to suggest adopting electronic voting system for the country in order to speed up the results which should not hang in the balance for so long.

Turnbull called the election early, hoping to shore up his power after ousting fellow conservative Tony Abbott in a Liberal Party vote in September but the move appears to have backfired.

Sundays victory came a protracted eight days after the July 2 polls - gave Turnbull only a narrow victory, with uncertainty over whether he will form a minority or majority government.
Kashmir remained on the edge with six more persons, including a cop getting killed in violence on Sunday, raising the death toll to 21, while 200 have been injured.

IMAGE: Protesters throw stones amid tear gas smoke fired by Indian police during a protest against the killing of Burhan Wani, a separatist militant leader, in Srinagar. Photograph: Umar Ganie/Rediff.com

Kashmir continued to be on the boil with six more people, including a cop, getting killed in violence on Sunday, raising the death toll to 21, even as curfew-like restrictions were in place and mobile internet services remained suspended.

The Amarnath Yatra also remained suspended for the second day owing to the unrest in the valley in which over 200 people, many of them police and security personnel, have been injured.

The Jammu and Kashmir Cabinet, headed by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, met and expressed anguish over the situation and the death of civilians in clashes with security forces following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani.

The government promised to investigate if there was any instance of disproportionate use of force by security forces even as it appealed to the people not to become tools in the machinations of instigators of violence.

IMAGE: Amidst tear gas being used by security officials, protesters pelted stones and damaged property in several places in the Valley. Photograph: Umar Ganie/Rediff.com

The Cabinet also appealed to separatists, including the Hurriyat Conference, as well as mainstream political parties like National Conference, Congress to help restore normalcy if they want peace in the state.

In Delhi, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh reviewed the situation that has developed in Kashmir and spoke to Mehbooba Mufti, assuring her of all possible help.

The state police also urged protesters not to resort to violence, saying it does not bring the right consequences, and that it would like to avoid the killing of the youth.

Even as curfew-like restrictions remained in force, violence was reported from a number of places.

An 18-year-old youth Irfan Ahmad Malik was critically injured in clashes between protestors and security forces at Newa in Pulwama on Sunday morning, a police official said. He was rushed to SMHS hospital but succumbed to injuries.

IMAGE: Policemen stand guard in front of closed shops during a curfew in Srinagar. Photograph: Danish Ismail/Reuters

An unidentified person was brought to district hospital Pulwama in a critical condition but succumbed to injuries, he said, adding efforts are on to ascertain his identity.

A police driver Feroz Ahmad was killed after a mob pushed his mobile bunker vehicle into river Jhelum at Sangam in Anantnag district, the official said. Efforts were on to fish out the body of the deceased cop.

One more civilian was killed in a clash with security forces while another, who was injured on Saturday, succumbed to injuries, police said.

In another incident, a head constable of police was shot in both legs by militants on Saturday night at his residence in Tral area of Pulwama district, the official said.

Three policemen, who went missing after a large mob attacked a police station in Damhal Hanjipora on Saturday, are still untraceable, state Education Minister Naeem Akhtar said.

IMAGE: The CM appealed to the people, especially the youth not to fall prey to the machinations of the vested interests, who play politics over the bodies of Kashmiris. Photograph: PTI

One more police post was burnt by some mobs on Sunday. Three youth were injured in security forces firing when a mob attacked a police post in Achabal area of Anantnag district with stones, the official said.

Another youth was injured when he was hit by firearm in Pampore town on Srinagar-Jammu National Highway on Sunday.

At least six other persons were hospitalised with minor injuries at various places in south Kashmir, which as seen widespread protests following the killing of Burhan Wani in an encounter with security forces in Kokernag area on Friday.

Four persons, who were injured in the violent clashes on Saturday, succumbed to injuries during the night.

IMAGE: Security personnel have imposed a curfew across the Valley to ensure that law and order is maintained. Photograph: PTI

As per consolidated information, over 200 people, including 96 security personnel were injured in the clashes since Saturday while the mobs set on fire police installations, three civil administration offices, the house of a Peoples Democratic Party MLA, several vehicles and targeted a Bharatiya Janata Party office.

The violence continued on Sunday despite restrictions imposed in most of KashmirValley, including many areas of Srinagar city and four districts of south Kashmir.

The separatist-sponsored strike, which was extended for two more days on Saturday, also affected normal life in Kashmir.

Shops, private offices, business establishments and petrol pumps were shut, while government offices and banks witnessed thin attendance, the officials said.

They said public transport was completely off the roads, while cars and auto-rickshaws were seen plying at few places where there were no restrictions.

IMAGE: CRPF Jawans patrol after clashes with protesters in Srinagar on Sunday . Photograph: S Irfan/PTI

Educational institutions in the Valley were closed on account of the ongoing summer vacations.

Meanwhile, Central University of Kashmir, Islamic University of Science and Technology and Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education have postponed the examinations due to the prevailing situation in the Valley.

The chief minister, while appealing for calm, has urged the Centre to reach out to the people of the state to resolve the issues confronting them through reconciliation efforts on internal as well as external front for ending the violence that has left behind a trail of death and destruction.

The pain of Kashmiris has reached a level where the hope of peace is sure to gain substantial local support if tangible confidence building measures are taken to address the issues concerning the state and its people, Mehbooba said in a statement.

IMAGE: Locals rush an injured man to the hospital. Over 250 people have been injured in the violence that followed the protests over the killing of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani. Photograph: S Irfan/PTI

She said the people of Jammu and Kashmir, irrespective of their age, gender, status or the political affiliation, have been suffering the terrible consequences of the pernicious turmoil over the last more than two decades.

They now want peace and stability to take roots, and even within the prevailing circumstances there lies an opportunity to consolidate the peace efforts, if substantial steps are taken in the right direction to positively impact the ground situation, she said.

She stressed the urgency for reviving the peace and reconciliation initiatives, both on the internal and external fronts.

Seeking peoples cooperation in stabilising peace, the CM said the government is responsive to the peoples needs and concerned about their problems and is working judiciously and in a transparent manner to fulfil their aspirations and expectations.

IMAGE: Protesters throw stones on police during a clash in Srinagar on Sunday. Authorities imposed restrictions in most parts of Valley following the killing of most wanted Hizbul Mujahideen commander, Burhan Muzaffar Wani. Photograph: S Irfan/PTI

While reacting to the civilian deaths in security forces firing on Saturday, Mehbooba had asked security forces to follow the standard operating procedures for crowd control and avoid disproportionate use of force.

Urging for calm, Mehbooba sought peoples cooperation in restoration of normalcy in the Valley.

Violence only brings miseries to the people and tragedies for the victim families, she said.

The chief minister appealed to the people, especially the youth not to fall prey to the machinations of the vested interests, who play politics over the bodies of Kashmiris.

In view of unrest, Amarnath yatra remained suspended for second consecutive day from Jammu, with officials saying it will resumed when there is confidence about security of the pilgrims.

However, the yatra from the base camps in Kashmir is on, said Deputy Commissioner Jammu, Simrandeep Singh.

Around 1,18,747 pilgrims have so far paid obeisance at the cave shrine in the mountains of south Kashmir.

Mobile internet services across Kashmir remained suspended for the second day while mobile telephony was also snapped in south Kashmir areas.

The internal communication of the police department has been badly affected as the wireless communication system, damaged during the 2014 floods, has not been fully restored, a police official said on condition of anonymity.

We were using mobile telephones for communication but that is not working at the moment, he added.

The separatist leaders including Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq continue to be under house arrest while Mohammad Yasin Malik is also under preventive detention.

-- 'Wani will draw mega sympathy, but his killing is a huge success'

-- 'Not easy to know when, what will erupt in Kashmir and where'
Seeking to enhance its ties with resource-rich Tanzania, India on Sunday extended its full support to the country to meet its development needs and signed five agreements, including one for providing a Line of Credit of $92 million (Rs 617 crore) in the water resources sector.

IMAGE: New beats to the #IndiaAfrica rhythm! tweeted external affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swaroop, as PM Modi played traditional drums with President Magufuli. Photograph: PTI

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses a news conference as Tanzania President John Magufuli listens during the official welcoming ceremony at the State House in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Photograph: Saad Said/Reuters

Describing India as a trusted partner in meeting Tanzanias development priorities, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he along with President John Pombe Joseph Magufuli agreed to deepen our overall defence and security partnership, especially in the maritime domain.

Our in-depth discussions on regional and global issues reflected our considerable convergence on issues of common interest and concern, he said at a joint press interaction after his bilateral meeting with President Magufuli.

The two leaders agreed to work closely, bilaterally, regionally and globally to combat the twin threats of terrorism and climate change.

In a joint statement, the two leaders expressed their strong condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and stated that there can be no justification for terrorism whatsoever. They expressed satisfaction on the holding of bilateral counter-terrorism consultations in early-2016.

Indias cooperation with Tanzania will always be as per your needs and priorities, Modi said.

IMAGE: Discussing India-Tanzania relations with President Magufuli during the bilateral meeting and delegation talks. Photograph: PTI

The two sides signed an agreement under which India will provide a Line of Credit of $92 million for rehabilitation and improvement of Zanzibars water supply system.

Other agreements signed include an MoU on water resource management and development, MoU for establishment of vocational training centre at Zanzibar, MoU on visa waiver for diplomatic/official passport holders and an agreement between National Small Industries Corporation of India and Small Industries Development Organisation Tanzania.

The PM said the two countries are also working on a number of other water projects for 17 cities in Tanzania. For this India is willing to consider an additional $500 million line of concessional credit, he said.

Modi said during his meeting with President Magufuli, they had detailed discussions on the full spectrum of bilateral partnership.

Our focus was to shape an action oriented agenda of cooperation, so that we talk less of potential and more of achievements on the ground. We agreed that our common desire of economic prosperity for our societies is creating new opportunities for expanding our cooperation, he said.

To achieve this, the two nations agreed to deepen partnership in agriculture and food security, including through enhanced export of pulses from Tanzania to India.

They also decided to work together in development and use of natural gas. India agreed to partner Tanzania in building of industrial economy, capacities and institutions.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inspects a guard of honor during his official welcoming ceremony at the State House in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Photograph: Saad Said/Reuters

The two leaders also decided to deepen bilateral trade and investment partnership by encouraging greater industry to industry ties.

India is already a substantial economic partner of Tanzania. The whole range of our economic ties are healthy and on upswing. Two way annual trade stands at around $3 billion. Indian investments in Tanzania already total around USD 3 billion.

The Eastern coast of Africa, and Tanzania in particular have enjoyed strong links with the India. We are old maritime neighbours. Together, our leaders and our people have fought colonialism and racial oppression, Modi said.

Our merchants have traded since early nineteenth century. And, the vast stretch of Indian Ocean has kept our societies and our people connected.

The two leaders agreed to ensure that the Tanzania India Joint-Commission Meeting and Joint Trade Committee session is held within the coming year to take advantage of the current momentum of cooperation between the two countries, the joint statement said.

IMAGE: Modi being warmly welcomed by the locals at the airport late Saturday night. Photograph: PTI

As a developing country, Modi said India understands the need and urgency to improve the lives of our people.

In this regard, the completion of 100 million dollar water supply augmentation project for Dar es Salaam is a good achievement, he said.

Describing public health as another important area of bilateral engagement, Modi said India is ready to meet the healthcare priorities of the Tanzanian government, including of supply of medicines and equipment.

I am told that an Indian radio-therapy machine is being installed at Bugando medical centre to treat cancer patients, he said.

Education, vocational training and skill development are other areas of your priority and where India is willing to offer all possible assistance.

I also understand that the IT Resource Centre at the Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science & Technology, Arusha is close to completion, he said.

President Magufuli has a vision for nation building, development and industrialisation  a vision that is my dream for India too, he said.

IMAGE: Modi with the Solar Mamas. They are a group of women solar engineers who have been trained under government of India-supported programmes. Photograph: PTI

On climate change, Modi said India had led the efforts to form an International Solar Alliance at climate conference in Paris.

In this Alliance, which has the support of over 120 countries, we welcome Tanzania as a crucial partner, Modi said.

In the joint statement, India and Tanzania expressed satisfaction at the conclusion of bilateral agreements that covered fields of water, small scale industries, development partnership and economic cooperation.

Modi and Magufuli recognised positive developments in terms of bilateral trade, investment and collaboration between the businesses of the two countries in various areas and appreciated the contribution of the Indian duty free tariff preference scheme towards boosting considerably Tanzanias exports to India in recent years.

In the joint statement, Modi welcomed the resolve of the President of Tanzania for nation-building through industrialisation, developing agro-based enterprises and promoting small and medium sector businesses in the country which would create opportunities for enhanced business cooperation between the two countries.

The two leaders agreed that it was imperative to broaden cooperation to include potential areas such as manufacturing, development of small scale industries for rural developmental needs, power production and distribution, gas exploration and usage, infrastructure development, agriculture especially in crops like pulses, mining and information technology.

The two leaders commended the recent completion of Upper Ruvu potable water supply project that was executed with support from India through concessional credit, which will more than double the supply of clean water to the city of Dar es Salaam and its surroundings.

IMAGE: Modi interacting with the Solar Mamas, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Photograph: PTI

They noted the excellent progress of other water supply projects to include that of distributing and utilising waters of Lake Victoria in the towns of Tabora, Nzega and Igunga as well as the water project in Chalinze region.

They welcomed the extension of Indian concessional credit facility for the water supply project in Zanzibar.

Prime Minister Modi affirmed Indias continued readiness to extend further support towards development objectives of the government of Tanzania in line with its development vision in the fields of water, small scale industries, e-governance, and health care.

The two leaders recognised the growth in vibrancy of people-level relations between the two countries that were encouraged by the introduction of e-tourist visas to Tanzania last year and the subsequent removal of visa fees for Tanzanian business travellers to India since December 2015.

IMAGE: Modi and the President of the United Republic of Tanzania, Dr John Magufuli, witnessing handing over of a navigational chart of Mkoani Harbour prepared by the Indian Hydrographic Survey, at the State House, in Dar es Salaam. Photograph: PIB

The two leaders then jointly announced the holding of a festival of Indian culture in Tanzania within a year.

President Magufuli reiterated Tanzanias continued support for India as a permanent member of an expanded UN Security Council.

Prime Minister Modi extended an invitation to the President to pay a reciprocal visit to India in the future and Magufuli accepted the invitation.

Earlier, the Prime Minister was accorded a ceremonial welcome when he arrived at the State House in Dar-es-Salaam.

He arrived late Saturday night on the third leg of his four-nation Africa tour.
The situation in Kashmir remains fluid as protests continued in many localities over the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Muzaffar Wani.

Here are the recent developments:

1. A policeman was feared dead after he was pushed into water along with his vehicle by mob in Anantnag area in South Kashmir. The incident took place near sangam in river Jhelum.

2. The death toll in the mob violence and clashes has gone up to 17. Three policemen are missing and around 90 personnel have been injured.

3. At least 20 additional Central Reserve Police Force teams have been called in to control the situation.

4. Home Minister Rajnath Singh chairs high-level meeting to review law and order situation in Kashmir. Home Secretary, Joint Secretary (Kashmir division), I&B chief and senior home ministry officials are present at the meet being held at Rajnath's residence in Delhi.

5. Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has called for an urgent meeting to assess the situation on the ground. She had earlier urged for peace, saying disproportionate use of force for crowd control results in loss of precious lives and grave injuries which should be avoided at all costs.

6. Amarnath Yatra resumed in Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday. The yatra was suspended temporarily on Saturday in view of the violence in the state. The pilgrims were accommodated at various community halls, temples and shrines by the government. Amarnath Yatra resumed in Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday. The yatra was suspended temporarily on Saturday in view of the violence in the state. The pilgrims were accommodated at various community halls, temples and shrines by the government.

7. The UGC-NET exam scheduled to take place on Sunday have been postponed. There are 16 examination centres in Srinagar in which 10,255 candidates are registered for UGC-NET July 2016. The next date of examination of UGC-NET for all these candidates will be informed in due course of time, the press release stated.

8. Moderate Kashmiri separatist Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who has been put under house arrest, says: "Today, we see Burhan not as a hardcore militant but as a symbol against them, knowing that he cannot beat the military might of India. These are young and educated Kashmiri boys who have joined militancy. They are part of the struggle at the indigenous level. They are not the ones going anywhere outside for trainings nor is anyone anchoring them from behind. They are symbols of resistance."

9. Syed Salahuddin, chief of the United Jihad Council -- a conglomerate of terrorist organizations -- says: "Wani not only gave sleepless nights to 8 lakh Indian armed forces and their supporters but also gave a new lease of life Kashmir freedom struggle. Under the banner of Hizbul Mujhadeen, Burhan Wani produced scores of Burhans and every drop of his blood will continue to produce thousands of Burhans in Kashmir Valley."

10. Normal life was hit for the second day on Sunday in Kashmir Valley due to curfew-like restrictions and strike following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani. The restrictions have been imposed in most of Kashmir Valley as a precautionary measure. Restrictions have been imposed in most areas of Srinagar city and four districts of south Kashmir, officials said. Shops, private offices, business establishments and petrol pumps were shut, while government offices and banks witnessed thin attendance, the officials said.
The killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani is a huge victory for security forces, a security expert has observed, adding that it would have huge repercussions and ramifications.

"His killing is a huge success for the security forces, for the last seven years they were looking for him. His killing would have huge repercussions and ramifications in that area because he was quite loved one and because he was 22 years old, there is going to be mega sympathy for him," Defence expert Major General (retired) PK Sehgal told ANI.

Normal life across the valley was affected in response to a joint shutdown call by the separatists' against the killing of Wani and his two associates.

In view of the shutdown call by the separatists, the authorities imposed curfew in Pulwama district and other areas in south Kashmir.

The Army and the Jammu and Kashmir Police have described his killing as 'blow to militancy and major success for the security forces.'

Responding to question related to the deteriorating law and order situation in the state, Sehgal said that it was bound to happen.

'This was bound to happen. He was a young boy who became a terrorist at the age of 15 and now has been killed at the age of 22 -- for the last seven years he has been ensuring that his friends join terrorism," he said.

The 22-year-old Internet-savvy Kashmiri militant was reportedly a resident of Dadsara village in south Kashmir's Tral area. He had left home in 2010-days before he was to take the Class 10 examination to join the region's front-line indigenous militant outfit Hizbul Mujahideen.

He soon rose to become its district commander and figured in the list of most wanted militants.

Wani featured in videos circulated on Facebook and WhatsApp aimed at recruiting young Kashmiri men for terror.

Last month, Wani released a video warning of attacks on separate colonies for Sainiks and Kashmiri Pandits if they are set up in the Valley.
Reading, math scores down in 1st test since COVID. How Indiana did.
In comparison to the hailstorm that hammered Abilene in June 2014, the damage from the Memorial Day storm is hardly worth mentioning.

In fact, the Insurance Council of Texas won't even issue an assessment of the damage as it deals with multibillion dollar payouts in San Antonio and the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

'It didn't even register on the scale,' said Mark Hanna, the spokesperson for the Insurance Council.

Hanna said that the insurance payout in San Antonio alone will reach $2 billion, the largest insurance payout in U.S. history.

Local roofers didn't need to hear from the ICT to know the damage in Abilene in late May didn't compare with that two years ago.

'If that was a 10, this was a two or three,' said Gary Sitton, owner of Sitton Roofing. 'This didn't compare to that one. The hail wasn't as big and it wasn't as widespread.'

According to Hanna, the damage done by the 2014 storm was around $400 million. However, it isn't as if local roofers aren't staying busy.

'We'll get to keep the lights on this year,' joked Jon Rogers, of Hartmann Roofing.

Rogers' assessment of the damage was that the storm clipped the west side of the city and was 'pretty spotty.'

John Bunton, of Barr Roofing, found that the damage was a little more widespread, spanning Willis from North 20th to South 20th streets. He said he was surprised at the severity of some of the damage.

'We saw some of the laminated shingled roofs that were less than five years old destroyed,' he said. 'You don't always see that in a storm this size.'

Teo Garcia of T&T Roofing in Anson said the storm came up through Hamlin and down through Anson, Hawley and Hodges before striking Abilene, adding that he was seeing a lot of wind damage. He said he had been busy with roofing in the Hamlin area, but hadn't gone into Abilene as he had in 2014.

'It's nothing like that,' he said.

The local roofers noted that they hadn't been competing with out-of-town roofers, sometimes referred to as 'storm chasers.'

'They're too busy in Dallas and in San Antonio,' Sitton said. 'At least, that's my opinion.'

Rogers said that choosing from local companies would benefit people who needed work done on their roofs.

'A lot of times, a customer would try to call one of those (out-of-town) roofers with a problem,' he said. 'And guess what? The number was no longer in service.'

Sitton said the severity of the 2014 storm was so great that many people were forced to use whoever came out there first. Some of the hail went right through the decking.

'In that case, you can't wait to get it fixed,' he said.

Hanna agreed that it was good for people in Abilene to use local companies.

'We always urge people to use companies in their cities that have been around 40 or 30 years and have built a good reputation,' he said.

Bunton said that since insurance companies can give you the names of reputable companies, but won't mention companies with spotty reputations, a good way to find a roofer was word-of-mouth.

'Ask the people at church who they've used,' he said. 'Ask your neighbors who have had roofing done who've they've used. Ask people at work. They'll tell you.'
In Cisco, you can have your pie and eat it, too. Or three. Or more ...

Greg Jaklewicz
Incidents reported Saturday by the Abilene Police Department:

Assault  citizen with weapon, 5400 block of South Seventh Street, Saturday.

A woman reported being beaten by her cousin, with whom she was staying. The woman was found without a shirt and said her cousin had beaten her and ripped off her shirt and bra. The woman was uncooperative and would not give a report.

Theft  other, South 23rd and Willis Streets, Friday.

A man reported $1,500 worth of Iowa Steak Co. steaks were stolen by a previous employee.

Assault  citizen, 1900 block of Chestnut Street, Friday.

Police said a man and woman reported being assaulted by the same female acquaintance. Neither victim will press charges.

Criminal mischief, 1300 block of South Danville Drive, Thursday.

Someone threw a large stone through the window of a vehicle belonging to a car dealership. Damage was estimated at $1,500.

Burglary  vehicle, 100 block of Caddo Drive, Friday.

A south side business owner reported that someone stole $4,700 worth of tools from the back of a company truck.

Theft  firearm, 5300 block of Castle Road, Friday.

Police said a woman reported that someone broke into her vehicle and stole a firearm and a purse, as well as other items. The missing items are worth around $1,100. A window was broken to enter the vehicle.

Theft, 4300 block of Bluebonnet Court, Friday.

A man reported that his $500 lawn mower was stolen.

Aggravated assault  family violence, 1300 block of Musken Road, Friday.

A man reported being assaulted and threatened by a family member with a knife. The man refused to make a statement or to press charges.

Criminal mischief, 2000 block of Woodard Street, Friday.

A woman reported that a man damaged her vehicle by throwing a large stone at it, kicking a dent in the passenger door and breaking the windshield with his hand. Damage was estimated at $700.
All Ok Dam and Norm Koeon could do Saturday evening was smile as well wishers greeted and hugged them at a celebration in their honor at First Central Presbyterian Church.

They were among the first Cambodian refugees to come to Abilene in July 1980, and their sponsors said they felt it was 'time to have a celebration.'

'Ok Dam and Norm Koeon were brave pioneers in Abilene,' said Carolyn White, a member at First Central, and sponsor not only of Ok Dam and Norm Koeon but of nearly 160 total Cambodian refugees who have made their way to Abilene since 1980.

'When they arrived here, they came with very little; they had five, precious children in tow, and they had a dream of a better life,' White said.

The family was brought to Abilene by First Central Presbyterian Church through an arrangement with Church World Service.

The refugees escaped the Uddor Mean Chey area of Cambodia in the wake of atrocities and genocide being committed by the communist Khmer Rouge.

Saturday's celebration was attended by more than 100 people, some of whom were the adult children of Ok Dam and Norm Koeon, their grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

'This is a very special day, and I'm very happy,' said Norm Koeon, who worked several jobs after arriving in Abilene, including Motel 6 and Luby's. 'We could not imagine what we started 36 years ago, but we are very proud of our children, and we love Abilene.'

Ok Dam became an American citizen in 2001. He worked as a grounds keeper at Hendrick Medical Center before retiring at age 65, about 20 years ago.

Norm Koeon became an American citizen in 2000. Two of their five children still live in Abilene, and the other three live in the Fort Worth and Austin areas.

Kimhun Dam, son of Ok Dam and Norm Koeon, currently teaches government, history and economics at the Academy of Technology, Engineering, Math and Science, a high school that is part of the Abilene Independent School District.

'I am thankful for Carolyn and all she's done for our family over the years,' said Kimhun Dam, who was a partner with Byron Huang in the Szechuan Restaurant until selling his share in 2006. 'These days are important to remind us who we are, and to not let the next generation forget where they came from. We are thankful that America is a free country, but it's not free to live here. You have to work.'

Another of Ok Dam and Norm Koeon's children, Sokhoun Dam, is responsible for starting AM Donuts in Abilene.

Today, AM Donuts operates five locations in Abilene and Baird.

Saturday's celebration featured a traditional Cambodian meal, along with Cambodian music and dancing.

'We are all thankful for an opportunity to live and work in the United States,' said Kimhun Dam. 'We are even more grateful to everyone who has helped us in some way, but more importantly, been our friend and loved us over the years.'
Donald Trump is on a campaign to win over conservative Christians.

This would be laughable except that Christian conservatives appear to be buying it. Even James Dobson testified that Trump, who recently stated he had nothing to confess to God because he didn't do many bad things, is now a 'baby Christian.'

This particular sideshow is not so much about Trump but about how, once again, this presidential campaign is forcing Christians to become spiritual contortionists.

Four years ago, Robert Jeffress, senior pastor at First Baptist Church in Dallas, stated during the Republican primary that he never could endorse the member of a cult. He was referring, of course, to Mitt Romney, a Mormon. Once Romney became the candidate, though, Jeffress endorsed him wholeheartedly. The circus 'rubber man' would have been proud.

The same thing is happening this time around, putting many conservative Christians in a quandary. A Republican endorsement, generally a no-brainer with evangelicals, is now an endorsement of someone who embodies all manner of things evangelicals abhor. If Trump were a Democrat, conservative Christians would be planning a pre-emptive impeachment rather than trying to figure out how to vote for him without really endorsing him.

Spiritual contortions. We all do this to justify actions, beliefs, and prejudices that we know, beyond all doubt, are counter to who we want to be. We mentally bend and twist and gyrate until we can rationalize whatever we need to.

Trump is helping evangelicals with these contortions by saying what they want to hear to sleep well at night. It matters not if he means what he says, or even understands what he says. He is saying the right things, awkwardly, and in this case, having the right language will substitute for genuine faith. He's a salesman after all, and his evangelical bandwagon is filling up.

Most versions of Christianity we hear on the campaign trail are patriotic American-style versions, with little or no resemblance to what we read in the gospels. Every candidate at the local, state, and national level hopes he or she can sound 'Christian enough' to garner support.

What's a good Christian to do? Think? Pay attention?

My suggestion is that we not have a Christian president. Well, maybe the president could be Christian, but we shouldn't know it until after the election.

Before the election, candidates may not talk about their faith. The candidates may only talk about what they have done and about their vision for the country. They can cover all the topics we need to hear about to make an informed decision, but they may not trot God out as if they have had a divine revelation or have received a divine endorsement. Then, if Christians want to make a 'Christian choice,' they can decide which person's words and actions are most in line with the teachings and example of Jesus.

Can you imagine someone espousing a true Christian message during the campaign? Someone committed to living and governing according to the words and example of Jesus would never survive a primary, and certainly not the presidency. How long would a candidate last who is truly meek, who seeks to be a peacemaker, who would not retaliate but instead turn the other cheek?

What would happen in a debate to the one who insisted that as a country we love our enemies, even the ones who are trying to kill us, and that we humble ourselves, repent and seek first the kingdom of God above all the trade agreements and homeland security policies. And what would a candidate say about the economy and caring for the poor from a Christ-like perspective?

I doubt I would vote for a candidate who presented that political agenda.

As Christians we must stop rationalizing our vote as 'the Christian choice.' If we want to cast a Christian vote, we must do our homework. We must ask tough questions and not settle for bumper-sticker answers. Then we must vote for the person whose demonstrated ethics and world view align most with our nation's history of protecting freedom, seeking justice, and insuring the inclusion and well-being of everyone, not just the ones like us.

John Powell is a member of the Reporter-News Community Advisory Board and lives in Abilene.
'Terrorism can hurt us. ... But it doesn't win. This is our city, and we won't let it.'

Lest you think this observation is left over from the tragic shooting at the Orlando nightclub Pulse, it was written Friday by Jacquielynn Ford of the Dallas Morning News.

Hours earlier, a sniper shot 12 of her city's police officers, killing five.

If what Ms. Ford said sounds like what we've heard before in the aftermath of tragedy, it's because we have.

Insanity continued its heartbreaking road trip across America, this time coming to Texas.

A protest had been organized in Dallas, to lament two more shootings of African-Americans by law enforcement.

Of course, Dallas police were on hand to make sure protesters and those who would protest their freedoms of speech and assembly did not get out of hand. Early accounts were that the event had gone well; the interactions between protesters and police, in fact, were called cordial. This was peaceful.

And then a sniper opened fire. Police were prepared for many scenarios but not this. One by one they were picked off and the panicked crowd scattered in fright. Police officers stayed in harm's way to make sure people were safe. Only two civilians were injured.

The suspect was killed  terminated seems a better verb, actually  after a standoff with police.

Sept. 11, 2001, comes to mind. The audacity of the attacker. A plan  an ambush  that was carried out. And first-responders doing what they do  protecting and serving even with their lives on the line.

'Our worst nightmare,' Mayor Mike Rawlings called it.

As with Orlando, details came to us as Friday wore on.

One question raised was if the sniper acted alone. Here we are in Dallas again, pondering that same question we did in November 1963. Authorities saidFriday no one else was involved.

The suspect told police that he 'wanted to kill white people, especially white officers.'

That brings to mind the killings in Charleston, just 13 months ago. A man wanted to kill African-Americans.

Like the Dallas killer, he chose his setting  a church  and began his carnage on the unsuspecting.

Undoubtedly, we'll learn more

President Obama called the attack 'vicious, callous and despicable.' He must by running out of phrases to uniquely describe these shootings.

The president was in Poland. What must the United States look like to those in other countries. Is the violence in Paris, Brussels, Istanbul and Dahka that made headline news here any worse than what goes on here?

If we are to make America great again, as one presidential candidate vows to do, we'd better start on our soil first.

How can the world look to us when we look so awful?

We'll talk more about guns and race and mental health, and we should. But we need to talk about our country rather than pointing the same fingers. America, we are better than this.

And so, another sad chapter in our history and a sad end to a week that began with so much promise  the celebration of our nation's independence.

Then a death in Louisiana.

Then another the next day, in Minnesota.

And then five more the next day, three hours' driving time east of Abilene.

'If we continue to turn to violence, we are going to continue to see heartache and devastation,' said the Rev. Jeff Hood, an organizer of the protest. Well said.

#PrayForOrlando has given way to #PrayForDallas.

Will it ever end?
Slain activist Kem Leys body lies in the Buddhist temple Watt Bodhiyarame in the Cambodin capital Phnom Penh, on July 10, 2016.

UPDATED at 11.55 P.M. EST on 2016-07-10

Cambodian civil society expressed shock on Sunday at the shooting death of an activist and critic of Prime Minister Hun Sens government, a killing that came amid months of political tensions as the country faces elections next year.



Kem Ley, 46, researcher and leader of the advocacy group Khmer for Khmer was shot two times in a store at a gas station in the capital Phnom Penh. The ministry of interior said he was shot dead at 8:50 a.m. Sunday local time.

Phnom Penh Police Commissioner Chuoun Sovann told a news conference that authorities arrested a suspect near a Buddhist temple in the capital's Tonle Bassac precinct. The man, whose name was not disclosed, fled the scene of the shooting carrying a gun, he said.

"We examined what happened at the crime scene, and after conducting a forensic examination of the evidence confiscated from the suspect, confirmed that the suspect is a murderer who killed Mr. Kem Ley, said Chuon Savann.

Hun Sen took to social media to condemn the slaying and order an investigation.

"I pay my condolences over the death of Kem Ley, who was shot by a gunman," Hun Sen said on his Facebook page. "I condemn this brutal act.

Ou Virak, founder of the NGO Future Forum, said Cambodia has lost a hero in the hearts of all Khmer. 

We lost a good human being who has participated in social and political activities to push Cambodia to move forward, he told RFAs Khmer Service.

An official of the domestic human rights group LICADHO, Am Sam Ath, told RFA that his and other watchdog groups demand that the government handle the investigation carefully.

We of civil society insist that authorities investigate the motive of this shooting death properly to dispel suspicion that the killing of Kem Ley is political, he said.

Official account doubted

The executive director of the Cambodian Commission on Human Rights, Chak Sopheap, called on civil society to step up activism and not be cowed by the killing of Kem Ley.

I hope that all the citizens will continue participating in social-political activities despite what has happened, she said. It is only our participation to ensure that Cambodia can develop human rights and democracy.

Political tension between long-ruling strongman Hun Sens Cambodian Peoples Party and the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) has been intensifying this year as the parties prepare to contest local elections in 2017 and a general election in 2018.

Reuters quoted Kem Ley's pregnant wife, Pou Rachana, as saying I don't know what happened. Somebody just called me and said that he's been shot."

Thousands of supporters followed a procession taking Kem Leys body to a Buddhist pagoda in Phnom Penh, where his coffin was covered with flowers and fruit.

University student Kem Kim from Kampong Cham province told RFA he did not accept the police account of the killing.

I want to find justice for him and find the real murderer. I do not believe that he owed other people money. I dont believe it, he said as he fought back tears.

A widely quoted analyst, Kem Ley had appeared on a RFA Khmer Service call-in show to discuss a report by the London-based NGO Global Witness documenting how Hun Sen and his family have amassed a $200 million fortune. The Hun family has dismissed the report.

Reported by RFAs Khmer Service. Translated by Yanny Hin. Written in English by Paul Eckert.
Thousands of people paid homage to the victims of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, raising their hands in prayer as a truck passed through the capital, Sarajevo, carrying the remains of 127 newly identified victims for a final burial.

The ceremony on July 9 was part of events that will mark the 21st anniversary of the massacre in which more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys were systematically rounded up and killed by the Bosnian Serb army.

The violence, which occurred five months before the end of Bosnia-Herzegovina's interethnic war, was Europes worst atrocity since World War II.

In 2004, the United Nations tribunal prosecuting Yugoslav war crimes officially designated the Srebrenica events as a genocide.

The truck carrying the coffins stopped outside the presidency in Sarajevo where residents, officials, and foreign ambassadors paid tribute.

Many in the crowd wept and tucked flowers into the truck's canvas tarp before it slowly drove down the street, covered in white rose petals.

The bodies were found in mass graves and were the latest to be identified. They will be buried on July 11, the anniversary of the massacre.

Every year forensic experts find new bodies in the nearly 100 mass graves so far found. The remains are identified through DNA analysis before they are buried again at a memorial center near Srebrenica, where the victims were last seen alive.

Srebrenica, located in eastern Bosnia, fell to Bosnian Serb forces on July 11, 1995. Its Muslim population fled the town which had been declared a UN "safe haven" for civilians. They rushed to the UN compound in hopes that the peacekeepers would protect them.

When Serb forces led by Serb General Ratko Mladic arrived at the UN compound, the peacekeepers quickly handed over the base. The Bosnian Serb forces then separated out men and boys for execution and sent the women and girls elsewhere in territory under their control.

Thousands of male residents of Srebrenica tried to flee through the woods but were hunted down and killed by Bosnian Serb forces.

Former Bosnian Serb political leader Radovan Karadzic was convicted in March of war crimes for his role in Srebrenica while Bosnian Serb military chief Ratko Mladic is still on trial at The Hague.

With reporting by AP and AFP
Ukrainian troops are holding out against attacks near two towns in the eastern Donbas region, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy reported on October 26, saying the front line has not significantly changed.



Zelenskiy said the fiercest battles were taking place near Avdiyivka and Bakhmut.

Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's ongoing invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, Russian protests, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here.

"This is where the craziness of the Russian command is most evident. Day after day, for months, they are driving people to their deaths there, concentrating the highest level of artillery strikes," he said in his nightly address.



Russian forces have repeatedly tried to seize Bakhmut, which sits on a main road leading to the cities of Slovyansk and Kramatorsk. British intelligence has said Moscow may see the capture of Bakhmut as a prerequisite for advancing to the two cities -- the most significant Ukrainian-controlled parts of the Donetsk region.



Russian-installed authorities in Shakhtarsk, east of the city of Donetsk, said Ukrainian shelling had set ablaze fuel tanks at the town's railway station.



The reports could not be independently verified.



Zelenskiy did not provide an update on the situation in the Kherson region in southern Ukraine, which has been the scene of recent movements on both sides.



"Generally, we are strengthening our positions all over the front line, reducing the invaders' capabilities, destroying their logistics, and preparing good news for Ukraine," he said.

Russia, meanwhile, repeated the unfounded claim that Ukraine plans to set off a dirty bomb.



This time it was Russian President Vladimir Putin who made the accusation, speaking in remarks carried by Russian TV.



Putin said Ukraine plans to use a so-called dirty bomb as a provocation. It was the first time the Russian president made the unsubstantiated allegation, which his officials have been repeating since the weekend.



Putin made the remarks as he monitored drills of Russias strategic nuclear forces.



"Under the leadership of...Vladimir Putin, a training session was held with ground, sea, and air strategic deterrence forces during which practical launches of ballistic and cruise missiles took place," the Kremlin said in a statement.



Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu reported to Putin that the exercise simulated a massive nuclear strike retaliating for a nuclear attack on Russia.



The United States said Russia provided advance notice of the annual drills, which are taking place as NATO carries out its own annual nuclear exercises.



NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called Russias unsubstantiated statements about the use of a dirty bomb "absurd."



The NATO allies reject this blatantly false accusation, and Russia must not use false pretexts to escalate the war further, Stoltenberg told reporters at NATO headquarters in Brussels.



Ukraine and its Western allies have denied the claims and contend that Russia might itself try to detonate a dirty bomb, a weapons that would use the explosion of a conventional warhead to spread radioactive, biological, or chemical materials over an area.



Shoigu on October 26 called his counterparts from India and China to share Moscows concern about possible Ukrainian provocations involving a dirty bomb, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.



Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on October 26 that Russia would "vigorously" continue to make the case to the international community that it believed Ukraine intended to detonate a "dirty bomb" with radioactive contaminants.

U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said the United States has communicated directly and very clearly to the Russians the consequences of such an attack.



Blinken, speaking at an event sponsored by the U.S. news outlet Bloomberg, did not specify when the Russians were informed or who did it.



Blinken repeated that the United States is "very closely" following Russias comments about the use of nuclear weapons but "does not see any reason to change its nuclear position."



Russia's statement that Ukraine is considering the possibility of using a dirty bomb is "another fabrication and is the height of irresponsibility on the part of a nuclear state," Blinken said.



He noted that Russia has a history of accusing others of doing something they themselves have done or are about to do. He also said the United States was in direct communication with the Russians about their attempts to use the false claim as a pretext for any escalation.



Moscow over the weekend claimed Ukraine was preparing to use a so-called dirty bomb on its own territory, drawing immediate dismissal from the United States and other countries that have backed Ukraine.

Kyiv and its allies suspect Russia might have made the claim to set up a "false flag" attack in which it would use a dirty bomb itself but would blame the attack on Ukraine and use it to justify the use of conventional nuclear weapons by Moscow.



"Let me just say Russia would be making an incredibly serious mistake were it to use a tactical nuclear weapon." U.S. President Joe Biden told reporters on October 25 . "I cannot guarantee you that it is a false flag operation yet. We dont know. But it would be a serious mistake."

Shoigu presented no evidence for the claim when he spoke on October 23 with his counterparts from several NATO countries, including Britain, France, and the United States, who dismissed the claim after the series of calls.

WATCH: Speaking to Current Time in Riga on October 22, Latvian Defense Minister Artis Pabriks said Russian President Vladimir Putin cannot change the course of war in Ukraine by dropping nuclear bombs.

Moscow took its accusations against Ukraine to the UN Security Council on October 25, and the country's UN ambassador, Dmitry Polyanskiy, said afterward that Russia was "satisfied because we raised the awareness."

Speaking to reporters, he added: "I don't mind people saying that Russia is crying wolf if this doesn't happen because this is a terrible, terrible disaster that threatens potentially the whole of the Earth."



The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said earlier on October 25 that it was preparing to send inspectors to two Ukrainian sites in the coming days in reaction to Ukraine's request for an inspection following Russia's claims.



Enerhoatom, Ukraines nuclear energy operator, issued a statement on October 24 voicing its concern that Russias statements may indicate that Russia is preparing an act of nuclear terrorism.

Russian troops have occupied Ukraines Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, Europe's largest, since March. It is still run by Ukrainian engineers though Russia claimed after its illegal annexation of the Zaporizhzhya region that it is on Russian territory.

Enerhoatom said that Russian forces have carried out unauthorized, secret construction work over the last week at the plant in the area of the spent nuclear fuel storage facility.

Russian officers controlling the area wont give access to Ukrainian staff or monitors from the IAEA that would allow them to see what they are doing, the operator said.

Enerhoatom added that it assumes the Russians are preparing a terrorist act using nuclear materials and radioactive waste stored at the plant.

With reporting by AFP, dpa, BBC, 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."
Iraqi forces have recaptured a key air base from the Islamic State militant group, a victory hailed by the government as a major step ahead of the long-awaited operation to retake the northern city of Mosul.

In a statement issued on his website on July 9, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi described the air base in the northern town of Qayara as an "important base to liberate Mosul."

He called on Mosul residents "to get ready for the liberation of their areas."

Mosul, the countrys second largest city, fell to IS militants in the summer 2014, when the extremist group captured large swaths of northern and western Iraq.

In March, Iraqi forces launched an operation aimed at uprooting the militants from areas to the south and southeast of Mosul and gradually cutting off the city's supply lines.

Baghdad has not yet announced when the operation to retake Mosul will begin.

Based on reporting by AP and AFP
Russia has slammed NATO for focusing on what it called a "nonexistent" threat from Russia at a summit in Warsaw.

During the two-day conference, alliance leaders endorsed new major troop deployments in Eastern Europe in response to Russias forcible annexation of Ukraines Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and its backing for armed separatists in Ukraine.

"A preliminary analysis of the results of the meeting shows that NATO continues to exist in some sort of military-political looking-glass world," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on July 10.

The statement added: "Contrary to the objective interests of maintaining peace and stability in Europe... the alliance concentrates its efforts on deterring a nonexistent threat from the east."

The spokeswoman for the Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, said in a statement that Moscow will seek explanations for the alliance's plans at a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council on July 13.

The Russian Foreign Ministry also said it will seek explanation from NATO for a Finnish plan to improve air defenses over the Baltic Sea.

NATO has previously said it is looking to step up defense cooperation with Finland and Sweden by way of more joint exercises and increased information-sharing following increased activity by the Russian military in the air and the sea.

Part of the NATO summit, which concluded on July 9, was dominated by the formal authorization of plans for multinational battalions of up to 1,000 troops each to be stationed on a rotating basis in Poland and the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

The battalions will be led by the United States, Canada, Britain, and Germany.

NATO officials termed the deployment a direct response to Russian belligerence and the biggest such move by the alliance since the end of the Cold War.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on July 9 that a "more assertive" Russia has built up its military capabilities, modernized its armed forces, and tripled its defense spending in recent years.

He also said Moscow has been "willing to use military force against neighbors, against Ukraine, illegally annexing Crimea, and destabilizing eastern Ukraine."

With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and TASS
Russia's Foreign Ministry said it expelled two U.S. diplomats from Moscow last month in response to what it called a similar "unfriendly" move by Washington, amid a deepening diplomatic dispute between the two countries.

The tit-for-tat explusion of the diplomats, in both the United States and in Russia, was an echo of a common practice during the Cold War, but one that hadn't occuredin some years. It was also a reflection of the increasingly strained relations between the two nations.

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said in a statement released the ministry July 9 that one of the expelled Americans was involved in an incident with a Russian guard near the U.S. Embassy entrance in Moscow, and he called him a "hooligan."

Another diplomat was "also a CIA operative", Ryabkov said.

The statement came one day after the United States announced it had expelled two Russian officials following the violent altercation that occured June 6 in Moscow.

U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said the Russians were thrown out on June 17 in connection with that incident, but gave no further details.

It wasn't immediately clear who the Russians were and whether they were accredited diplomats.

The June 6 altercation occurred when a man identified as an accredited U.S. diplomat was tackled and injured by a Russian security service guard outside an embassy entrance.

U.S. officials said the American had just shown his embassy badge to the guard, one of several that help monitor the perimeter of the massive embassy complex and who work for the Federal Security Service, the country's main security agency.

The guard then tackled the diplomat, leaving him with a broken shoulder.

Russia later accused the man of being a CIA agent.

Earlier this week, the state-controlled TV channel NTV broadcast a surveillance video of the incident, showing a uniformed man springing from a guard station outside the Embassy entrance and tackling another man after the latter exits a taxi.

They struggle on the floor until the American manages to force himself along the ground through the door of the embassy, whose premises are "inviolable" under a United Nations convention.

NTV also identified the American, published his photograph and said he had been made persona non grata in Russia.

There have beenincreasing number of tense, publicized encounters, between U.S. diplomats and Russian security officials in Moscow and elsewhere in recent months.

Moscow traffic police have stopped U.S. embassy personnel about five dozen times over the six weeks, according to the U.S. official -- an unusual number in a city where diplomats are usually afforded leeway for things like minor traffic violations.

And the spokesman for the U.S. diplomatic post last week reported returning home to find cigarettes in his apartment; another reportedly returned home to find the water taps turned on.

Secretary of State John Kerry discussed the incident with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in a phone call on June 7, the day after the altercation, Kirby told reporters July 7.

In Washington, American officials have given few details publicly about any of the incidents, but stressed on several occasions that they wanted to resolve the harassment behind closed doors and without publicity.
The United States is urging Western Balkan countries to intensify efforts to consolidate their democracies.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland began a regional tour on July 10 in Kosovo by calling on its leaders to strengthen the rule of law, the justice system, and the fight against corruption and organized crime, according to a statement from President Hashim Thaci's press office.

She also called on Pristina to further its dialogue with Serbia and also approve a border demarcation with Montenegro.

Nuland is to proceed from Kosovo on a tour that also includes Albania, Macedonia, and Serbia.

Based on reporting by AP
The Richmond mayoral contenders were asked for their positions on some of the major issues. Here are answers on their initiatives, schools, debt, taxes, the citys chief administrative officer, stadiums and the Washington Redskins.

What would your first major initiative be?

Baliles: It will be a Herculean task, but with only a couple months lead time, rework the budget. It will start to be assembled by the outgoing mayor, but its going to need to be reworked with a priority on making sure that services are delivered and schools are the priority.

Berry: The first job will be to get ahold of the budget situation because the new mayor will have to produce a budget within 90 days of taking office. Related to that is to get a full understanding of the problems in the finance department and get that department back on track.

Junes: I think we need to start by cleaning up city politics. Weve got to get everybody on the same page with similar strategy. Ive got a system where we would be able to prioritize which projects are No. 1 to the city. ... I would present it and they would rate it and from the rating the system, wed be able to see which pressing obstacles and opportunities the city needs to confront.

Morrissey: No. 1, were not going to have any more discussion about where the ballpark is going to go. Its going to stay right there on the Boulevard with a public-private partnership to finance a portion of it. The other thing is, within the first two years of my administration, were going to put $50 million into brick and mortar for the schools.

Mosby: Well, I guess it would all depend on where we are with our funding for schools. Thats something that I spearheaded even now so I would like to see that continue, making sure that theres a dedicated source of funding for our schools.

Stoney: On the first day of this campaign, I called for a comprehensive performance review and audit; I want to see who are the top performers, who are the underperformers in every single department.

Tyler: Ive said from day one that the first thing we have to do is get our financial house in order and get government to be accountable because until we do that, nothing else will be able to function at the level we need it to function.

Williams: My first major initiative would be to restructure City Hall. I would focus on the Department of Budget and Strategic Planning.

So far, all candidates have said they will focus on schools and basic services  how would your approach be different?

Baliles: Well, Ive already started. Ive been an ally of the schools for years now. Im not coming to this game late with promises. Ive been delivering.

Berry: The only way to transform our schools is to unite the community around the priority and bring school leaders and city leaders and community leaders together to tackle the problem. We will never get where we want to go with all the fighting that weve seen in the past.

Junes: Theres a big difference when you have long-term problems and youre applying short-term solutions. So we have to realize where those long-term problems are and identify where there are long-term opportunities.

Morrissey: Find the money to do that, No. 1. Its simple to say Im going to focus on schools. Sidebar: Those that have had an opportunity, why havent you been focusing on schools? Second, look at the possibility of consolidation, construction and renovation together.

Mosby: Im different because Im a woman and they cant beat me there. I think that because Im a councilperson today, I know whats happening with this particular budget.

Stoney: Im not just going to say, Hey, Im going to add money to your budget and write you a check. Im going to be a partner to Superintendent (Dana) Bedden and the School Board to achieve some of their goals, whether that means raising graduation rates, raising attendance rates or bringing high-performing schools online.

Tyler: I think for me its about our future and that we need to have what I call a 2020 Vision and that is in four years, were going to have the best-managed city in the United States; I want us to have 40 of the 45 schools accredited or on their way to accreditation; and I want to see our roads be 75 percent in excellent or satisfactory condition.

Williams: Well, my approach focuses on changing the culture within the schools. And, sometimes, your management culture can be changed without any changes in budget.

Do you support Dwight C. Jones proposal to raise the citys debt ceiling to allow more borrowing?

Baliles: No.

Berry: City government has already maxed out one credit card. We cant max out a second credit card, which would require payments that would squeeze every operating department in city government, including police, fire and schools.

Junes: I believe thats a question that goes to the City Council. Im as much a top-side management down as I am a bottom employee up when it comes to seeking solutions. You dont rule out the top end, but you certainly dont neglect the bottom end.

Morrissey: Short answer, yes, with some brakes on it.

Mosby: I do not see today any option. We need to be able to put some things in place so that we can have the services that we need and take care of our facilities for our young people.

Stoney: If you match it with raising revenues, yes, I support it.

Tyler: My first choice is to look at other ways to fund this so we wouldnt have to go into debt. My belief is we should be able to find a fair amount of money to begin to be able to fund these capital projects or have the income stream to find it.

Williams: When you increase the debt ceiling, youre really trying to build more schools from my perspective.

If yes, what taxes would you support raising to pay off that additional debt? If no, how do you propose addressing the capital needs of Richmond Public Schools over the next five years?

Baliles: We ought to look at a public-private partnership, which has been talked about but ignored by the administration, as the first alternative to the mayors proposal, which is to raise taxes.

Berry: Citizens will never accept a tax increase as long as there is dysfunction and distrust in City Hall. We have to find where the money has gone in what is a very strong economy and get our house in order.

Junes: The state of Virginia just recently passed a low-income poverty factor and they havent set the amounts of money, but theyve certainly realized that the number of people who are in poverty have a more difficult time keeping up with current school standards. And I would propose going to that newly created fund.

Morrissey: I would reprioritize how were spending our money right now. I would get away from getting into the private-sector businesses and doings and focus just on municipal needs.

Mosby: Theres no tax I wouldnt consider raising if we have to figure out how we get to this place. I want us to get to a place where the conversations not always about taxes. And the only way that were going to get there is to begin to do some things and bring revenue into the city.

Stoney: Before we get to that step, have we exhausted every avenue? Have we fought for our fair share from state government? Have we teamed up with the federal government to bring dollars back to Richmond, and have we gone out and found those philanthropic dollars ... to help augment our current financial situation? I think we have not done that.

Tyler: I think we have to start by doing a budget that starts with a zero balance and building it up as opposed to starting with what we have and adding and subtracting a little bit. One of the things we have to do is have every department justify what they are doing.

Williams: I would not raise real estate taxes because I think it impacts the average citizen too much. ... At this point in the election cycle, I would say we need to focus on corporate businesses.

Would you keep the citys chief administrative officer, Selena Cuffee-Glenn, in her current position?

Baliles: Absolutely.

Berry: Yes, Selena is a tremendous resource and a tremendous leader in our city, and I look forward to teaming up with her to improve every city department from top to bottom.

Junes: Id be very open. I would be very open to speak with her, meet her for lunch and let her communicate to me what has happened and what she thinks can happen. That way, we can look at the past, present and future.

Morrissey: Right now, Ive heard good things about her and would have no reason to replace her. I had the benefit of being in state government and saw really good people put together $75 and $80 billion biennial budgets, and on time.

Mosby: Yes.

Stoney: Its very difficult to say that because Im not the mayor yet, but Id welcome her to my administration, yes. Shes sort of the quality of person I would want to hire as CAO.

Tyler: Ive heard a lot of good things about Selena, and Im not one to come in and do a scorched-earth approach. I think you have to sit down and have those conversations where you talk in a way that you get a good understanding of her capabilities and based on what Ive heard from people at this point, theres no reason to come in and say that first thing were going to do is find a new CAO.

Williams: I know her from years past, but I would say Id have to interview her with other candidates and make a decision at that point. Im not automatically locked into her.

Do you support public financing for a new baseball stadium?

Baliles: I would consider some public financing as an element of the stadium, but I dont view that as the solution. At the very least, it would have to be a combination of regional public-private partnership.

Berry: The city cannot use all of its limited debt capacity for a stadium when it has so many pressing school needs. The stadium will have to be largely financed by the private sector and the counties that generate most of the fans.

Junes: Yes, because that may be the best piece of the puzzle for the city at this point.

Morrissey: I would limit it to $7 or $8 million. It would have to be public-private financing. And if our regional friends dont want to join us, well go it alone, but limit it to that cap of $7 or $8 million.

Mosby: The dollars have to really make sense for me because I am focused today on city services. Im focused on education. ... It would really, really have to make some real sense for me.

Stoney: I would only support public financing if it included our friends in the counties paying their fair share.

Tyler: I am very cautious about how we finance the baseball stadium because the first priority is schools, and anything that takes away from that would be difficult to support. This falls under we cant be all things to all people.

Williams: No, I do not support public financing.

Would you support extending the citys partnership with the Redskins beyond the current eight-year contract?

Baliles: Not as its structured. I would not renegotiate with the Redskins unless the $500,000 contribution is taken out.

Berry: Not if it involves any payments by the city to the Redskins.

Junes: I havent really had a lot of time to think about the concept, but if thats already a done deal, wed have to ride that one the way its already been presented.

Morrissey: The only way were going to continue that partnership is the following: If Im mayor, youre going to find Richmond high school football teams playing in that stadium. And the only way the deal will continue is if its a fair deal to the city of Richmond. The Redskins got a great deal.

Mosby: I wasnt here when that was consummated, so under these terms, no, I would not. I think the presence of the Redskins in Richmond is great.

Stoney: I would look to rework the deal. I think the Redskins in the city of Richmond is a good thing. Do I think the deal is good for the citys taxpayers? I dont think so.

Tyler: Only if there is no subsidy on the part of the city of Richmond.

Williams: I cant commit to the Redskins because they have their own moving-target agenda.
Michelle R. Mosby is the lone woman in a crowded field of mayoral candidates  a fact that she says will help guide Richmond out of financial turbulence and into a promising future.

Because Im a woman, Im able to have people work and like working for me, Mosby said from inside her office at International Hair Salon, of which she is the owner.

Once we get the right people in finance, then well begin to see a different turnover in our finances and well be able to pay persons salaries they deserve. But, until then, I believe that I am the candidate that can hire people, and theyll want to work for me.

Mosby, 46, is casting herself as a coalition builder as she vies to become Richmonds mayor. Moreover, shes emphasizing her experience on the City Council, where she has served since 2012 and was elected president in 2015. The resident of South Sides Fawnbrook subdivision represents the 9th District.

Being involved in the discussions during the most recent budget season, which was among the most difficult and contentious in recent memory, gives her an upper hand and the knowledge to move the city forward, she said.

She wants to focus on staffing various city departments, foremost the Finance Department, which has been mired in turnover for several years and filed its state-mandated financial statement for fiscal 2014 nearly a year after the deadline.

Im not going to personally say our finances are in a shamble, she said. You dont have a AA (bond rating) if youre in shambles. What I would say is that we need our structure, which is the right people in the right places who are accountable, responsible and efficient to do the job.

Mosby also intends to similarly review staffing in Richmonds public works and procurement departments. Asked how she would ensure there is money to keep people from leaving and assure efficient operations, Mosby turned to her experience as a business owner and what she described as an ability to motivate and inspire.

I have the ability to empower, to be there, until we can get to that next place. I think its about relationship building, I think its about empowering people and having people want to be a part of a team, she said.

She added: The persons that are in these different departments today, they dont mind working for me. ... As mayor, I can only imagine how that will expand.

Mosby is not opposed to raising the citys debt ceiling and increasing taxes to pay off additional debt. But she would like for the city to limit its reliance on taxes for revenues and pointed out Richmonds deal with Stone Brewing Co. as an example of an alternative revenue-generating avenue.

The city financed more than $30 million for the brewerys construction, and city officials said the project would result in a $74 million investment.

Right now, taxes are 50 percent of how we get our revenues and so, if we dont begin to do something to bring revenues into the city without taxes, then taxes will always be the conversation, Mosby said. I would definitely encourage more businesses that are going to bring a return on investment to our city.

Should she be elected mayor, Mosby said she would hold town halls coined Mosbys Moments in at least one district every month.

I intend to be a mayor that people can touch, that will listen to their issues and work to find some resolve for our city, said Mosby, whose campaign has raised $14,230, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.
DALLAS (AP)  The suspect in the deadly attack on Dallas police taunted authorities during two hours of negotiations, laughing at them, singing and at one point asking how many officers he had shot, the police chief said Sunday.

Micah Johnson, a black Army veteran, insisted on speaking with a black negotiator and wrote in blood on the wall of a parking garage where police cornered and later killed him, David Brown told CNN's "State of the Union."

Johnson, who was apparently wounded in a shootout with police, wrote the letters "RB" and other markings, but the meaning was unclear. Investigators are trying to decipher the writing by looking through evidence from Johnson's suburban Dallas home, Brown said.

The chief defended the decision to kill Johnson with a bomb delivered by remote-controlled robot, saying negotiations went nowhere and that officers could not approach him without putting themselves in danger.

Brown said he became increasingly concerned that "at a split second, he would charge us and take out many more before we would kill him."

Johnson had practiced military-style drills in his yard and trained at a private self-defense school that teaches special tactics, including "shooting on the move," a maneuver in which an attacker fires and changes position before firing again.

He received instruction at the Academy of Combative Warrior Arts in the Dallas suburb of Richardson about two years ago, said the school's founder and chief instructor, Justin J. Everman.

Everman's statement was corroborated by a police report from May 8, 2015, when someone at a business a short distance away called in a report of several suspicious people in a parked SUV.

The investigating officer closed the case just minutes after arriving at a strip mall. While there, the officer spoke to Johnson, who said he "had just gotten out of a class at a nearby self-defense school."

Johnson told the officer he was "waiting for his dad to arrive" and pick up his brother. No one else was apparently questioned.

On Friday, Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings described Johnson as "a mobile shooter" who had written manifestos on how to "shoot and move."

Authorities have said the gunman kept a journal of combat tactics and had amassed a personal arsenal at his home, including bomb-making materials, rifles and ammunition.

The academy website refers to one of its courses as a "tactical applications program," or TAP.

"Reality is highly dynamic, you will be drawing your firearm, moving, shooting on the move, fixing malfunctions, etc. all under high levels of stress," the website says. "Most people never get to train these skills as they are not typically allowed on the static gun range."

The TAP training includes "shooting from different positions," ''drawing under stress" and "drawing from concealment." Everman declined to specify which classes Johnson took.

"I don't know anything about Micah. I'm sorry. He's gone. He's old to us. I have thousands of people," Everman told The Associated Press on Saturday.

The two men, however, were friendly and talked in Facebook conversations in August 2014. Everman knew Johnson had been out of the country. Army officials said he had been deployed in Afghanistan around that time.

Everman suggested that Johnson "let me know when you make it down this way."

"Will be great to get you back in the academy," Everman said, according to a comment thread saved by the AP before Johnson's Facebook profile was taken down.

"I concur!" Johnson replied.

More recently, a neighbor reported to investigators that Johnson had been seen practicing some sort of military drill in his backyard in the Dallas suburb of Mesquite, said Clay Jenkins, the Dallas County judge, the county's most senior elected official.

Johnson donned a protective vest and used a military-style semi-automatic rifle for the shootings, which marked the deadliest day for U.S. law enforcement since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

In all, 12 officers were shot just a few blocks from where President John F. Kennedy was slain in 1963.

Johnson was a private first class with a specialty in carpentry and masonry. He served in the Army Reserve for six years starting in 2009 and did one tour in Afghanistan from November 2013 to July 2014, the military said.

The attack began Thursday evening while hundreds of people were gathered to protest the police killings of Philando Castile, who was fatally shot near St. Paul, Minnesota, and Alton Sterling, who was shot in Louisiana after being pinned to the pavement by two white officers.

Video showed protesters marching along a downtown street about half a mile from City Hall when shots erupted and the crowd scattered, seeking cover.

Marcus Carter was in the area when people started running toward him, yelling about gunshots. Carter said the first shot sounded like a firecracker. But then they proceeded in quick succession, with brief pauses between spurts of gunfire.
By Dennis G. Stevens

One of the things that has made this campaign season so surprising is the extent to which it has been energized by anger against political correctness. But theres a problem. Political correctness is widely misunderstood  sometimes because of ignorance and sometimes because public figures willfully misuse the term, hoping to benefit from its unpopularity.

What is political correctness? Its a term that until recently has described ideas which are considered to be beyond question, sacrosanct. The Communist Party brought the term into prominence in the 1930s, when it labeled certain opinions as approved by the party and therefore not to be questioned.

In every political community throughout history, some ideas have taken on this special status  almost a religious status  that places them above inquiry or debate, which means that anyone who calls them into question is committing a kind of heresy. The term is modern, but the concept is as old as political life itself.

***

To challenge political correctness is to question powerful political orthodoxies. This is what Socrates did when he asked questions about the Athenian gods, and he was put to death for it.

Political correctness can be liberal or conservative, depending on the time and place. On many college campuses today, liberals have determined what is politically correct. Conservative professors who harbor doubts about issues such as the extent of human responsibility for global warming or the new Title IX definitions of sexual harassment often feel they have to stay silent or risk being shunned by their students and colleagues or even opposed for tenure.

Another example of political correctness is the issue of same-sex marriage. Those who hold traditional, religious objections to it feel political correctness demands they endorse same-sex marriage or be labelled as bigots. It makes them angry when this happens. They dont want to be quiet about their religious views, but they feel theres a growing movement to silence them. The more theyre called haters, the angrier they get, and the likelier it is that theyll be easy prey for politicians who want to take advantage of their anger.

***

In the past few years, and especially during this campaign season, theres been an attempt to redefine what it means to oppose political correctness. Some are suggesting that its really about saying whatever one wants to say and not being held back by the possibility that one might offend others.

According to this new perspective, people have become so oversensitive that they complain about almost everything. The Urban Dictionary joins in promoting this recent view by defining political correctness as a way we speak in America so we dont offend whining (wimps).

What we need, according to those who advocate this new view, is the freedom to offend. This means the most offensive person can claim to be the bravest. George Orwell would recognize this attempt to redefine political correctness for political advantage.

While its true that some people and some groups can be overly sensitive, its also true that its sometimes right to be offended. When politicians mock a disabled person, they are not challenging true political correctness. Even if they claim theyre just joking, theyre simply appealing to those who enjoy watching the disabled ridiculed.

Using the I was just joking defense is never a real defense, but its often used to bolster the claim that people are oversensitive today. Why cant people take a joke? When public figures threaten violence against transgender people  even if they claim theyre just joking  they are not standing up for traditional family morality. Theyre betraying that very morality by tapping into violent urges waiting impatiently to be legitimized.

And when politicians lash out against a womans appearance or suggest shes asking them challenging questions because shes menstruating, theyre not bravely opposing reigning orthodoxies. Theyre only revealing themselves to be crude and mean-spirited and asking others to join them.

The fight against political correctness should not be about encouraging those who actually do hate others to come forward and be heard. During this presidential campaign, a new definition of political correctness has been promoted in order to create a punching bag to capitalize on voter anger.

Opposition to political correctness has stopped being a true battle against political orthodoxies; rather, it has become a get-out-of-jail free card for politicians who want to pander to the worst tendencies of a disturbingly large segment of the electorate. In this new order, cowardice masquerades as courage.

We need political leaders who will challenge political correctness, but those who pander to fear and hatred for political gain are not leaders. They are followers. This may be how to win an election during difficult times. It is not how to make American great again.
By Pete Sepp

President Harry Truman coined the term do-nothing Congress to describe the gridlock and inaction among his counterparts on Capitol Hill in 1948. Today that charge is still leveled at lawmakers, often by other lawmakers!

What are taxpayers to think of the situation? This Congress has made progress in some areas  such as enacting legislation to help reduce tariffs (taxes on trade) and making the federal ban on Internet access taxes permanent. And in fairness, sometimes its easier to reach the goalpost by moving the ball down the field a few yards at a time rather than constantly throwing long passes that bounce into the end zone.

Unfortunately, for Virginians, the playing field for progress on overhauling the tax system has looked too barren for too long.

An analysis by the National Taxpayers Union Foundation found compliance with the federal tax code costs Americans $234.4 billion  on top of what the IRS actually collects. That reflects not only out-of-pocket expenses like software and professional support, but also lost productivity.

Taxpayers spend more than 6 billion hours filing their returns.As Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) put it, thats a long time just to figure out how much the government is going to take.

***

Here in Virginia, countless individuals and businesses are struggling to navigate the complexities of the federal tax code and its regulations, which total over 10 million words. Those laws are constantly in flux, at a rate thats equivalent to one change every single day between 2001 and 2012.

But whats worse, Virginians also face one of the highest effective tax rates. According to research by the Tax Foundation, Virginia families paid 9.3 percent of their income in tax burdens in fiscal year 2012. Coupled with the near-highest corporate tax rate in the world, that means businesses and individuals are keeping less and less of what they earn.

Theres plenty of blame to pass around for the countrys thicket of tax law  and leaders on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue need to accept their share. But it is inexcusable that 30 years have gone by since the U.S. tax code was last updated.

Every day our elected officials wait, the greater the drag the tax system is putting on the economy, driving businesses overseas and discouraging growth.

***

The spike in the frequency of companies exercising corporate inversions to manage their tax burdens is evidence of how corrosive the tax laws have become. The Treasury Department recently issued new regulations to discourage the maneuver, but more regulation wont fix the root problem: high rates, harsh treatment of foreign earnings, and crushing complexity.

In fact, more crackdowns from the Treasury will add even thicker layers of bureaucracy for honest business owners.

What does the alternative  serious reform  look like?

Certainly there are a lot of wrinkles lawmakers will have to work together to iron out, but there are fundamental principles leaders from both parties can, and should, support. They include lowering rates; smoothing out and streamlining all the deductions, credits, claw-backs, and carry-forwards without bias against one sector or another; and refraining from using the tax code as an instrument to pick winners and losers.

To their credit, at least some leaders in Washington pledged to support tax reform. Last fall, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan said he would prioritize bipartisan reform efforts.

We have a tax code that no one can understand, he told reporters. We need the IRS and a tax code that works for the taxpayer.

Indeed, Speaker Ryan and Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, have now released a tax reform blueprint  A Better Way to Tax Reform. Among other pro-growth reforms, the plan reduces the corporate rate to 20 percent (as it stands now, the countrys combined rate exceeds 39 percent), more in line with most developed countries. It also lowers the top individual tax rate to 33 percent.

***

Sadly, for its part, the Obama administration has largely used tax policy to push forward its political agenda and to give a leg-up to industries it has courted.

For example, President Obamas latest budget plan proposes to raise oil taxes by $10.25 per barrel, which inevitably would get passed on to consumers. The same budget would selectively repeal protections for oil and gas  provisions that have equivalents in most other industries.

Virginia Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner must recognize the urgent need for comprehensive, bipartisan tax reform. Otherwise, Virginia taxpayers will continue to foot the bill  and watch from the sidelines of a politically-driven game that ultimately leaves all of us on the losing side.
A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
Theyre marked wanted on Virginias sex-offender registry after eluding authorities, but that didnt prevent them from getting on Gov. Terry McAuliffes list of felons worthy of having their political rights restored.

Two fugitive sex offenders with ties to Richmond appeared in the states database of roughly 206,000 felons whose rights McAuliffe restored on April 22, a review by the Richmond Times-Dispatch found. Both men have outstanding arrest warrants and active probation violation charges.

McAuliffe spokesman Brian Coy said fugitive data from the Virginia Department of Corrections was not accounted for during the preparation of the felon restoration list. The governors executive order was meant to apply only to ex-offenders who had completed their sentences and supervised release.

It was just basically an oversight, Coy said. It just didnt factor into the initial pass.

Coy could not say immediately how many people were included in the overlooked fugitive data.

Vashawn Gray, 30, has a 2004 conviction in Henrico County for aggravated sexual battery of a minor, according to the state registry, and five convictions in Richmond for failing to register as a violent sex offender.

Grays probation officer filed a major violation report in 2014 saying Grays whereabouts are unknown. The sex-offender registry lists him as wanted, but he showed up on McAuliffes list as having regained the right to vote, serve on a jury, hold public office and notarize documents.

The second wanted sex offender on the restoration list was locked up in New York on the day of McAuliffes order.

James Hyams, 42, who has a 2000 conviction in Kentucky for rape of a minor, violated his probation in late 2012 after he pleaded guilty to grand larceny for stealing a wallet at a Shockoe Bottom restaurant.

Hyams left Virginia without permission shortly thereafter. He was released from custody in New York on June 30.

The Times-Dispatch identified the fugitive errors by checking about 80 names pulled from recent police reports, news stories and the states list of wanted sex offenders with known addresses in Richmond.

Social Security numbers and dates of birth were obtained from court records. The information for each individual then was entered into the states searchable online database maintained by the Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth, which oversees rights restoration.

Gray and Hyams were marked ineligible in the rights restoration database after The Times-Dispatch inquired about their approved status.

A systematic review of the list is not possible because the McAuliffe administration has refused to release it to the news media, prosecutors and the General Assembly.

McAuliffe pledged to clean up the list more than a month ago after errors first were reported, and he has stressed repeatedly that no one mistakenly put on the list has regained his or her civil rights.

In an interview last week, Levar Stoney, a Richmond mayoral candidate who oversaw rights restoration for most of the McAuliffe administration, called the executive order a huge undertaking and said that, to his knowledge, all errors had been fixed.

No one has gotten the right to vote back that should not have gotten the right to vote back. And if you were to actually vote or register and you were, you know, a felon, thats against the law, said Stoney, who resigned his state post April 15 and announced his mayoral run one day before McAuliffes felon rights order.

So Im very, very comfortable with what the governor did, because it was the right thing to do and the just thing to do.

Other discrepancies

Two other men incarcerated at the Richmond Justice Center on recent felony charges are shown as having their rights restored on the state website, despite having records that appear to disqualify them.

Brandon Brown, 23, is facing attempted murder and arson charges after being accused of lighting a mattress on fire and placing it against a door to trap a woman inside.

Tyquane Lynch, 25, was accused of pointing a gun at a state trooper while fleeing police in South Richmond in May.

Brown, who was featured in February on a local TV news segment called Most Wanted Wednesday, was convicted on a felony drug possession charge April 26, a few days after McAuliffes order. Browns trial on the attempted murder charge is scheduled for August, but Coy said there was no error in Browns case.

New felony convictions are uploaded to a prohibited voter list in the states voter registration system, Coy said, but are not used to update the publicly accessible secretary of the commonwealth database that shows Browns rights as being restored.

He was eligible at the time that we restored his rights, and he has since become ineligible, Coy said. That process is actually working as it always has.

Coy said the administration may explore syncing the two systems so that people barred from voting by new felony convictions will not show up as approved in the public database.

Browns pending attempted murder charge, Coy said, would not have disqualified him from the governors order.

Thats just the American justice system, Coy said. You dont incur the penalties of a conviction until youre actually convicted.

Lynch, who has an extensive criminal record that includes multiple gun charges, was ordered to Richmonds day reporting center in 2015 after a probation violation.

He incurred nine new charges while in the program, an alternative to incarceration that involves close supervision, according to an April 15 letter to the court from the program manager that said all resources are exhausted in trying to remedy Lynchs non-compliance.

Lynch has a hearing scheduled for September on a felony charge of violating probation. The governors office could not explain why he was included on the restoration list.

Brown and Lynch also were marked ineligible after questions were raised about their status.

Potential for human error

Coy said any large government list never will be totally free of errors. He acknowledged some mistakes have involved entire categories of offenders that were missed as the McAuliffe administration processed data from state agencies.

With any government database, theres going to be some potential for human error, Coy said. But that doesnt mean that the government cant function or thats an excuse for denying hundreds of thousands of peoples rights.

The governor has said his order ends a restrictive lifetime disenfranchisement policy that puts Virginia at odds with many other states where felons rights are restored automatically after completing the terms of their sentences.

McAuliffe also has highlighted the policys disproportionate impact on African-Americans and said the order does away with one of the states last remaining mechanisms of suppressing the black vote.

McAuliffes order has been praised by many who see it as a bold step to right a long-standing injustice, but the missteps in the orders planning and implementation have provided ample fodder for critics.

Republicans have waged a furious legal and public-relations battle against the order, calling it a politically motivated overreach by a Democratic governor trying to help his friend Hillary Clinton win the White House.

Leaders of the GOP-controlled General Assembly are asking the Supreme Court of Virginia to declare the order unconstitutional. They claim McAuliffe does not have the power to issue a blanket order with no case-by-case review of individual felons. Republicans want the high court to throw out more than 8,000 new voter registrations from restored felons.

McAuliffe has said he has the constitutional authority to issue blanket orders. But if he loses, McAuliffe has vowed to sign 206,000 individual orders.

If that occurs, the integrity of the governors list could take on greater significance. Thus far, the McAuliffe administration simply has removed from the list felons who dont meet the criteria, but erroneous orders issued to named individuals would be much more difficult, if not impossible, to undo.

Asked if McAuliffe would use the same error-stricken list to issue personalized orders, Coy said the database gets more accurate by the day and, if necessary, the governor would be able to do large-scale individual restorations with confidence.

We knew that there were going to be some growing pains, and were working through them, Coy said. This has never been done before.
Medics noticed the patient showed known Zika symptoms while being alive: conjunctivitis, rash and fever. According to spokesman Benjamin Haynes for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention department, it is currently still unclear how or even if the virus really contributed to the persons death. But, according to executive director of the Salt Lake County Health Department the lab tests confirmed their suspicions. This looks to be the first death related to the Zika Virus recorded in continental U.S.

The Zika virus, which spreads mainly through the bite of a tropical mosquito, is known to cause only mild illnesses in most cases. Recent outbreaks in Latin America showed however that the Virus can do much more damage. For example, when pregnant women who have the Zika virus also have an infection, their pregnancy often leads to severe neurological birth defects.
Carrie Underwood and husband Mike Fisher are celebrating their six year wedding anniversary on the beaches of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

Underwood and Fisher were spotted basking in the sun and walking along the beach in Cabo San Lucas, according to E! News. Underwood also uploaded a photo on Instagram of her coffee mug with what appears to be water in the distance.

"Why does vacation coffee always taste so much better? Yes, I just took a picture of my coffeeI'm one of those people. #vacation #coffee #lame" she writes. She also posted an adorable photo of their son Isaiah pretending to drink from mommy's empty coffee mug while sitting his diaper.

Underwood also sported some bikinis from her own clothing line, Calia By Carrie, in a number of photos as well.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Entertainment News
Citizen killed, another injured in Saudi raids on Yemen





SANAA, July 10 (Saba)  At least one citizen was killed and another was injured in an airstrike by Saudi-led war jets on the coastal district of Mocha in Taiz province, a military official said Sunday.



The official pointed out that the Saudi warplanes and mercenaries continued to breach the ceasefire through flying and bombing on a number of provinces in the country during the past 24 hours.



In Sanaa province, the hostile war jets launched four raids on al-Dhaboah area in Nehm district, four others on al-Majaweha area, two on al-Saltaa, one on Yam area and another one on al-Manara area. In the same district, the hirelings bombarded Bani Bareq area with missiles.



In Taiz province, the military official said the Saudi warplanes and a drone waged two raids on al-Amri area in Thubaba district in the province.



He pointed out that the aggressions hirelings in Taiz bombed the areas of Thi al-Barh, al-Nidani and al-Sarari in Sabr al-Mawadem district with heavy and medium weapons and opened fire at the areas of al-Shaabya, al-Jorah and al-Hayar, which led to injuring a women in the head.



The hirelings also targeted Thubab city with a missile bombing and al-Hamra village in al-Wazeyah district with artillery shells.



According to the military official, a number of the mercenaries were killed in an attempt to advance on Dhabi area in Haifan district, and several others were injured while trying to progress toward al-Shaabya and al-Jorah villages in al-Sarari area.



The army and popular committees forces repulsed an attempt by hirelings to advance in Thuabat area in Taiz, the official said.



The Saudi-led war jets waged three raids on Harf Sufian district in Arman province, and two others on al-Maslob district and one on al-Ghail district in Jawf province.



The mercenaries launched a Katyusha rocket attack on the villages of Al Hajlan, al-Ramdha and Dhowar in Serwah district of Mareb province, and pounded Kahbob area of Lahj province with artillery.



The military official affirmed that the hostile warplanes flew intensively in the sky of the capital Sanaa and the provinces of Taiz, Hajjah, Mahweet, Shabwa, Saada, Jawf, Lahj and Mareb.



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[10/July/2016]
Karapatan welcomes GPH-NDFP Joint Statement to pursue peace talks

By KARAPATAN

June 17, 2016

QUEZON CITY  On June 15, we received two good news for peace and human rights advocates, Karapatan Secretary General Cristina Palabay said in a press conference of advocates led by Pilgrims for Peace.

Representatives of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) panel and the incoming Duterte administration signed Wednesday a joint statement to hold the formal peace talks in July. Also, on Wednesday afternoon, political prisoners Sharon Cabusao and Isidro de Lima were released from the Taguig City Jail and the Special Intensive Care Unit-1 at Camp Bagong Diwa.

We welcome the Joint Statement of the NDFP and the peace panel of the incoming Duterte government. We fully support the efforts to finally address the roots of the ongoing civil war through the peace talks, which the Aquino regime had intentionally bungled in the last five years, Palabay said. The Joint Statement said the July peace talks would also tackle the Amnesty Proclamation for all political prisoners.

We hope that all political prisoners  victims of illegal arrest, torture and detention because of their activism and political beliefs  will be immediately released, as the GPHs obligations under the Comprehensive Agreement on the Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) and the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG), Palabay continued.

The fabricated charge of illegal possession of firearms and explosives against Cabusao, de Lima and NDFP peace consultant Adelberto Silva was dismissed by the Bacoor Cavite RTC Branch 19. The said court granted Silvas motion to dismiss, saying that the search and seizure conducted during their arrest is "unreasonable," as the purported evidence is the "proverbial fruit of the poisonous tree."

Said Court decision is similar to the basis of withdrawal of charges against the 43 health workers or the Morong 43, whose arrest and detention, like Cabusao, de Lima, Silva and all political prisoners, is illegal because the charges against them are fabricated and planted; and their right to due process was grossly violated in the conduct of the illegal search and seizure.

At least 297 out of 509 political prisoners (as of May 31, 2016) were illegally arrested under BS Aquino. Almost all of the 509 were slapped with trumped-up criminal charges to hide the political nature of their arrest, Palabay said.
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A prisoner who escaped from jail, managed to secure a visa and skipped the country, is to be brought back to Samoa to serve the rest of his sentence.

Valufitu Uolilo, who was jailed for causing actual bodily harm and being armed with a dangerous weapon, was recently found by Australian authorities.

But Police Spokesperson, Maotaoalii Kaioneta Kitiona said they want him back in Samoa.

He needs to serve his time in prison here in Samoa, Maota said.

The criminal charges he was found guilty of, were committed here. We also want to find out how was he able to flee the country in the first place.

Maota said the Police investigation is continuing. At the moment, no one has been charged yet for this case, he said, adding that the Police are working with other agencies such Immigration to determine what happened. But we need the prisoner back to tell us what happened and how he did what he did.

After being on the run for more than a year, Police Commissioner Fuiavailili Egon Keil confirmed last month, that Uolilo had been captured.

He is going through a legal process in Australia and they had to decide whether to deport him back or keep him there, said Fuiavailili at the time.

Fuiavailili told the Samoa Observer the process could take months and years.

He said the Transnational Crimes Unit has been in contact with the Australian Federal Police about the matter.

I dont know why someone would want to keep a criminal there especially an escaped prisoner, I would rather have that person out of my country as well but thats their opinion. They are going to do what they need to do, added Fuiavailili.

We did the best we can and we do with the resources we have. We are just going to hang tight until we hear anything else from Australia.

Fuiavailili also thanked the Australian Government and their law enforcement for playing their part and they are still cooperating with them on the legal framework.

We thank the Australian Government and their law enforcement on doing their side of the job but we are still trying to work with them in the legal framework of everything else.
A 45-year-old mother from Siumu who had her home raided last year by armed Police officers, wants some answers.

Silafai Tupito is desperate to know why the Office of the Ombudsman has yet to look into her case.

When they raided my home, it was like the actions of Saddam Hussein  something you see only on television, said Mrs. Tupito told the Samoa Observer.

They were armed and entering my house without notice or a warrant.

I felt humiliated and scared for my children. Even up until now, people in my village and some family members still look at me as if Im a criminal.

That is why I wanted the matter to be looked at by the Ombudsman so they can clear this up and for me to have some peace.

Contacted for a comment on Friday, a staff member who was not authorised to speak to the media, said the Ombudsman, Maiava Iulai Toma, was in a meeting.

She added that many cases investigated by their Office are hampered and delayed by the lack of responses from the Ministries or individuals concerned.

Mrs. Tupitos home was raided by armed Police officers in September last year where her husband was taken into custody.

He was accused of being in possession of marijuana. Days later, her home was raided by armed Police officers again and this time she was alone at home with her two young children. They did not find anything at the house.

Mrs. Tupito said they did not show her a search warrant. Frightened and threatened by how the armed Police officers handled the matter while her children looked on, the mother said she wrote to the Office of the Ombudsman last year to lodge a complaint.

I wanted justice to be done, she said. Up until, now she said she has not heard from them.

In raising the matter through the Samoa Observer, the mother said she wanted to know whether the Ombudsman had looked at her case.

Almost a year after that incident, Mrs. Tupito says she feels traumatised from what happened that day.

Its sad because my children one of whom is a two year-old and disabled and the other was five, had to witness it, she said. I was scared seeing them armed and pointing the gun around and my children did not know what was happening. Since that day Im still carrying this humiliation and the sad thing about it is even my extended family is bearing that humiliation.

Up until now, the mother said she had not received an apology or anything from the Commissioner of Police or from the Ministry of Police for the way she was treated with her children.

It was not possible to get a comment from the Police Commissioner, Fuiavailiili Egon Keil. However in the wake of the incident in September last year, he told the media that the police were armed but denied the officers pointed a gun at a child or in the presence of a child.
LAKE CITY, S.C. - The regular meeting of the Lake City City Council will be at 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 12 in council chambers in the judicial center at 202 Kelley St.

Council members will hear citizens comments, which are limited to two minutes per person and then receive a legislative update.

A resolution being considered by council members is to ratify the juvenile curfew contained in Sections 7-39.1 through 7-39.4 of the City of Lake City Code of Ordinances. Based upon current conditions within the city, it authorizes the enforcement of the juvenile curfew by the City of Lake City Police Department.

Council is expected to take action on second reading on an ordinance to amend Ordinance No. 2013.388, as amended by Ordinance No. 2016.416, establishing the facade improvement program; and to have first reading of an ordinance to amend and restate Article III of Chapter 6 of the City of Lake City Code of Ordinances, pertaining to Lake City dwelling units unfit for habitation.

Council will receive the administrator's report, give reports of their district's activities, and authorize payments for bills. If needed, an executive session is included on the agenda.
FLORENCE, S.C.  Following shootings involving police in Louisiana, Minnesota and Texas, some in the Pee Dee say the solution to the country's divide is fairly simple: prayer.

At least it's a starting place, they say.

We need prayer all the time. Weve got to continue marching, praying, said Barbara Carraway of Hartsville. Its about all people.

Carraway and dozens of others met Saturday for a Put Prayer Back in Schools rally in Hartsvilles Pride Park.

Though the rally focused on putting prayer back in schools, attendees agreed that prayer could also could be beneficial for the healing of the nation.

More prayer, more power, said Jimmie Peterson of Maryland. He grew up in Oates and attended the rally while visiting his hometown for the week.

Carraway suggested that patience also is key to enacting change.

Its not going to happen overnight, Carraway said. It has to be a joint effort of people working together, coming together.

Religious leaders, government officials, school board members must stand together for justice, she said.

Michael Parnell, who leads the Call to Life Family Worship Center in Lamar, agreed with Carraway. He said leaders must learn to stand up for their beliefs.

To Parnell, America looks quite different than it did when he was growing up.

The America I grew up in pretty much is no more We are at a breaking point in this nation where something has got to give. Somethings gotta change, he said.

While Parnell believes that a lot of the tension in the country is based on ideological issues rather than racial issues, he said that events like Saturdays prayer rally are a good first step in bringing together people of different races, cultures and ethnicities.

The only way these racial barriers are really going to fall, are really going to drop is a movement of God in this country, he said, later adding, Its a battle, but its a winnable war, I think. The more churches and pastors that stand up and let their voice be heard, let their voice be known, I believe that we can win this.

Corey Dixon said that a lot of the work needs to start with the youth.

Were not born racist. Its taught, he said. Were going to have to get with the younger generation, the ones thats ready to work, ready to do something.

Dixon and Parnell both said the media can play a role in how an issue is perceived.

Mainstream media outlets, in particular, tend to shift the focus and emphasize negativity, both men said.

A lot of the mainstream media, they want to emphasize the negative. And then they dont even emphasize it, but they twist it. And they put out what they want us to hear instead of putting out the truth, Parnell said.
Press Release

July 8, 2016 Zubiri calls for election of 86 independent Concon delegates

alongside October barangay polls Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri has filed a bill calling for the election of 86 independent delegates to a Constitutional Convention (Concon) alongside the October 10 barangay polls. Zubiri said his still unnumbered bill is the answer to the growing public clamor for constitutional reform -- a clamor reinforced by the election of President Rodrigo Duterte who ran on a federalism platform. "There shall be an election of delegates to a Concon simultaneous with the holding of the October 2016 barangay elections," according to the senator's proposed Concon Act of 2016. "We are proposing to constitute a Concon of exactly 100 delegates -- one delegate from every province, or a total of 81 from all provinces, five delegates from the National Capital Region, plus 14 delegates to be appointed by the President," Zubiri said. The Concon is expected to complete the draft of a proposed new Constitution inside 36 months. Thereafter, the draft shall be submitted to the people for ratification in a plebiscite within 90 days. The proposed new Constitution shall become valid once ratified by a majority of the votes cast in the plebiscite. As proposed by Zubiri in his bill: Any person may aspire to be Concon delegate, as long as he or she is a natural-born Filipino citizen, at least 25 years of age on election day, a registered voter, able to read and write, and a resident for at least one year of the province or region which he or she seeks to represent;

All persons who filed certificates of candidacy (COCs) for any national or local position in the May 9, 2016 elections, including nominees as party-list representatives, whether they won or lost, are disqualified as candidates for election as Concon delegates;

The same disqualification applies to any person who is related within the second civil degree of consanguinity or affinity to any incumbent elected national official, or to any sitting elected regional, provincial, city, municipal or barangay official in the administrative region where the person seeks to be elected as Concon delegate;

Any person holding appointive public office or position, including members of the Armed Forces and officers and employees of government-owned and -controlled corporations, shall be considered resigned from his or her position upon the filing of his or her COC as Concon delegate;

No candidate for Concon delegate shall represent or allow himself or herself to be represented as a candidate of any political party, party-list group or any other organization;

No political party, party-list group, political association, political committee, civic, religious, professional or other organized group or aggrupation of whatever nature shall intervene in a Concon delegate's nomination, or in the filing of a delegate's COC, or give aid or support to, directly or indirectly, material or otherwise, favorable to or against, a delegate's campaign for election;

Any person elected as a Concon delegate shall not be eligible to run for any public office or position in the first national and first local elections to be held after the ratification of the new Constitution;

No elected Concon delegate shall be appointed to any public office or position while the Concon is in session and within a year after the plebiscite to ratify the new Constitution. The bill proposes to earmark P5 billion for the Concon, which shall establish its own rules and regulations for the effective and efficient conduct of its purpose and proceedings. The measure specifies that except for the Supreme Court, no other court shall have jurisdiction to issue any restraining order or writ of preliminary injunction against the Concon, in any case or dispute arising from or necessary to, the application and enforcement of the provisions of the law that formed the convention. It also provides that a Concon delegate shall not be questioned nor held in any other place for any speech or debate in the convention or in any committee thereof, or in any public hearing conducted by the convention or any committee thereof. A Concon delegate shall, in all offenses punishable by not more than six years imprisonment, be privileged from arrest while attending the convention's session, and in going to and returning from the same. The Concon shall have the power to cite any person in direct or indirect contempt, and impose the appropriate penalties for contumacious conduct.
Press Release

July 9, 2016 Pimentel bats for Clark Airport development Leading senate president aspirant Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III (PDP Laban) today said he will push for the development of the country's two major international airports, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Paranaque City and the Clark International Airport at the Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga. "We need the two airports as our main international gateways, NAIA to serve South Metro Manila and Southern Luzon to Bicol, and Clark to serve North Metro Manila and Northern Philippines, to ease travel and flow of logistics," Pimentel said. Pimentel's position coincides with the position of a group called Advocacy for Dual Airport Priority (ADAPT), a group that pushes for the development of Clark International Airport to decongest Metro Manila and promote the development of Central and Northern Luzon. ADAPT has identified a six-point strategy aimed at positioning Clark at par with NAIA as the country's premier international gateways. These include the adoption by the new administration of a "dual airport strategy" as a national priority, according to ADAPT lead convenor Alex Cauguiran. The group is also pushing for the implementation of the Clark Airport Masterplan designed to increase the Clark terminal capacity to 15 million passengers per annum in the next three years. Incentives such as non-imposition of travel tax and exemption from excise tax and value added tax on aviation fuel are also being proposed for Clark and all other Philippine airports, except NAIA, to encourage full utilization of these airports. Since the bulk of passengers are departing and homecoming overseas Filipino workers from Central and Norther Luzon, government agencies serving OFWs should also make available their services in Clark, said Cauguiran. According to Pimentel, the development of Clark and decongestion of Metro Manila are key commitments of the Duterte administration that would be given urgent attention. "I am studying the position paper of ADAPT on the matter, and I believe that after all the lip-service at developing the Clark International Airport in the past, it is time to act decisively," Pimentel said. The underutilized airport in the former US military base at Clark in Pampanga has an area of 2,367 hectares as compared to the 700 hectare area of the NAIA. With its single runway, flight delays averaging to 45 minutes are a daily occurrence at the NAIA, aside from monstrous traffic jams leading to the airport. Clark has two runways that can accommodate the largest planes. Its fully developed terminal capacity can reach 46 million passengers per year by 2025. Pimentel said the full utilization of the Clark airport would also spur the development of business and infrastructure North of Manila, including railways and fast trains connecting Manila to Clark and to the rest of Northern Philippines.
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A protest sparked by police killings of African Americans and conceived by recent high school graduates turned into an afternoon-long march that at different times closed three ramps leading to and from the Bay Bridge.

Our objective was to be heard and seen, said Tanashia Lynch, one of the organizers, who graduated in May from Lincoln High School in the Sunset District. We saw what was happening in the rest of our nation and decided, Lets do something.

The marchers briefly blocked the entrances to Westfield shopping mall and other shops near Powell and Market streets. For more than an hour, protesters were clustered on the Fremont Street off-ramp from the Bay Bridge in a sometimes tense standoff with police, after on-ramps from Essex and Bryant streets were closed briefly as well.

At the peak, roughly 500 people were marching down Third Street past Moscone Center amid gridlocked cars while chanting, Black Lives Matter and Hey hey, ho ho, these killer cops have got to go. But it began much smaller, with perhaps 100 mostly young protesters near the Hall of Justice.

They had wanted to close down Interstate 80 by charging up the off-ramps near the Hall of Justice. But that idea had been announced in the social media messages spreading word of the planned protest, so police were out in force.

Instead, protesters blocked the intersection of Fifth and Bryant streets while lines of police stood on the on-ramp, with seven motorcycles end to end as a barrier. Most of the protesters were young and African American, but not all.

What I see here are that people are sick and tired of being sick and tired, said Valerie Tulier-Laiwa of Daly City, who grew up in the Mission District. Their purpose is to make other people hear the message, and the way to do that is to make them feel discomfort.

Watching the standoff were older men and women standing in line at the homeless shelter at Fifth and Bryant, the citys largest. Some raised a fist, but none left their place in line.

If they think this will help, go for it, shrugged one man, who identified himself only as Daryl.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

The most combative moments were at the ramp standoffs at Fremont and Essex streets, with brief scuffles where at least one police officer raised a baton before protesters intervened between the police and other marchers. Some shouted obscenities into the faces of police, or chanted, How do you spell murder? SFPD!

More often the mood was celebratory: Look at how much attention we got, one organizer told protesters as they blocked Market Street near the cable car turnaround. Give the person next to you a hug.

The Fremont Street ramp closure ended at 6:15 p.m. after police ordered the crowd to disperse. Those remaining then marched through the Financial District to Justin Herman Plaza.

This is not where it ends, Hezekiah Walker, a student at San Francisco State University, told others as they prepared to disperse. This is where it starts.

John King and Kevin Schultz are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: jking@sfchronicle.com , kschultz@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @johnkingsfchron, @kevinedschultz
Rhonda Ross got her first taste of music while her mom, Diana Ross, pregnant for the first time, was working on Lady Sings the Blues. Then the younger Ross made her public singing debut a few years later at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, joining in on Reach Out and Touch (Somebodys Hand). At 13, Rhonda Ross learned that her biological father was family friend and Motown founder Berry Gordy. Now 44, the former cast member on Another World is on tour, supporting her mother, and ready to launch her own music career. We spoke to her from her home in New York.

Q: Do you think the main reason your mom invited you to tour with her is so she could hang out with her grandson, Raif?

A: Shes going to be hanging out with me, but not my son. Its hard for me to be the kind of mom my son is used to me being, and be that for the music and the art, so hes not with me on this tour.

Q: Your mom managed to pull it off when you were a kid.

A: I dont know how she did it. Ive had almost seven years of being a parent, and each day Im shocked by what she accomplished.

Q: Was it a given that you would become a singer, having grown up watching her perform?

A: That is all I saw. I feel like if my parents were lawyers or accountants, I would do that. There are five of us, and were not all performing artists, but were also not traditional 9-to-5ers, because thats not what we experienced.

Q: Does the stage feel like your living room, or do you get nervous before going out?

A: It does feel like my living room. I focus solely on the conversation between me and the audience. I would feel nervous if I was going out there trying to impress them, but Im not out there to impress them.

Q: Are you playing mostly originals or covers?

A: I put many of my originals in there, but I do throw a couple covers in there just to cool the people in there. Its my take on it. If I can bring Rhonda Ross spirit to any situation or any piece of music, it is mine. Thats what I know I bring.

Q: I admire you for holding out until you felt ready rather than cashing in on the family name straight out of the gates.

A: I was given those opportunities, and I turned them down. I knew somewhere deep down that instinctively I wanted a career that was more authentic, more organic. I knew it wasnt a copy of anybody else. Im in an exciting space. Ive been singing all my adult life. Ive been writing all that time. I took time away to have my son. Once he was here, it was like I turned 40 and I thought, I know who I am now. I know what I want to say now. I feel like I get it now. I see myself as a beginning of something so exciting.

Aidin Vaziri is The San Francisco Chronicles pop music critic. Email: avaziri@sfchronicle.com Twitter: MusicSF

Rhonda Ross/Diana Ross: 5:30 p.m. Sunday, July 10. $50.50-$165.50. Mountain Winery, 14831 Pierce Road, Saratoga. 8 p.m. Tuesday, July 12. $72-$298. Orpheum Theatre, 1192 Market St., S.F. www.shnsf.com. 8 p.m. Wednesday, July 13. $66.50-$226.50. Marin Center, 10 Avenue of the Flags, San Rafael. www.marincenter.org
The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, which comprises both the de Young Museum and the Legion of Honor, has announced the appointment of Claudia Schmuckli as curator-in-charge, contemporary art and programming.

According to a museum spokeswoman, Schmuckli was appointed by FAMSF Director Max Hollein, who started in his own job only on June 1, based upon her reputation, experience and achievements but without a wide search. She will take up her new role beginning Sept. 1.
Consumer Reports says one Samsung phone thats advertised as being water resistant actually isnt.

The problem appears limited to the Galaxy S7 Active, a rugged model available only through AT&T in the United States. The standard S7 and S7 Edge models have the same claims on water resistance and passed tests.

Consumer Reports, a nonprofit organization that is well respected for its product testing, said last week that it cant recommend the Active because it doesnt meet Samsungs own claims. By contrast, Consumer Reports rates the S7 and S7 Edge phones as Excellent for their displays, battery life and cameras.

Maria Rerecich, Consumer Reports director of electronics testing, said she was surprised that the Active failed. She said Samsungs claims are usually fairly good.

Samsung said it has received very few complaints and had subjected the phone through strict testing for quality assurance, but there may be an off-chance that a defective device is not as watertight as it should be. The company said it was in touch with Consumer Reports to learn more about its tests.

Samsung says all S7 phones, including the Active, are designed to survive in up to 5 feet of water for 30 minutes. Consumer Reports says that after a half-hour in water, the Actives screen flashed green and other colors and didnt respond to touch. Tiny bubbles appeared on the camera lenses. Consumer Reports tested a second Active phone to verify results and it also failed.

Rerecich said its likely that the problems affect only some of the units manufactured, but we bought two and they both failed. Both units were bought online.

Samsung says the Active can withstand drops of up to 5 feet on a flat surface, though Consumer Reports did not test those claims.
After all this talk of San Francisco's music scene being dead and all, it's refreshing to actually take a look at the numbers proving it isn't.

Fans in San Francisco are just as rabid to consume new music as they are anywhere else, and bands are just as creative. Venues are closing  let's blame that on the rising cost of real estate  but many are still chugging along as they have for years. Bands faced with financial hardships are still here too, making it work.

A site called Value Penguin, which describes itself as "a free source for information and tools to help you make consumer spending decisions," crunched a bunch of numbers to back up the claim that San Francisco (and the area around the city between Oakland and Hayward) are one of the ten best cities for people who love music.

Researchers looked at an extensive 15 different data points across three categories ("The Band," "The Crowd," and "The Intangibles") to rank 200 American metropolitan areas' musical prowess. Nashville fared the best, probably unsurprisingly, with Honolulu and Seattle trailing. Austin landed at fifth, and the San Francisco area just made the top group at tenth place.

Using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. Census, the survey examined the number of musicians in metro areas, radio stations, recording studios, and the frequency with which people hold music degrees per 1,000 people (San Francisco landed the third place spot in this last one). It also looked at the average hourly wage for performers (also using the BLS data), and "intangibles" like average precipitation, percentage of people who use public transportation, and bars' average closing times.

San Francisco fared poorly when it came to the number of radio stations and record stores in the area, but slayed when it came to the sheer numbers of artists in the Bay.

However, keep in mind most surveys aren't perfect  it doesn't seem to take into account the exorbitant cost of living here and that most of those musicians likely hustle with a day job or two, but it at least is a bit of hard numerical proof that music lives here.

See the other top ten cities for music in the above gallery, and read the whole survey here.

Alyssa Pereira is a staff writer for SFGATE. Follow her here on Twitter.
DALLAS  The gunman who killed five police officers in Dallas had enough bomb-making materials in his home to lead the authorities to believe he was planning a larger attack, the citys police chief said Sunday. He provided new details of the gunman singing, laughing and asking how many officers he had killed during two hours of negotiations before he was killed by a bomb-equipped robot.

David Brown, the police chief, said evidence showed that Micah Xavier Johnson, 25, an African American Army Reserve veteran who told the police that he wanted kill white officers, had been practicing detonations and that the explosive material had the potential to have devastating effects throughout our city and our North Texas area.

Fast-tracking plans

Were convinced this suspect had other plans and thought that what he was doing was righteous, Brown said on CNNs State of the Union. He said he believed Johnsons aim was to make us pay for what he sees as law enforcements efforts to punish people of color, including fatal police shootings of African Americans in Louisiana and Minnesota in the days before the ambush.

Those deaths, the chief said, prompted Johnson to fast-track his plans to kill police officers.

The details emerged Sunday as the nation was immersed in protests, vigils and calls for peace from many pulpits after the week of unsettling violence that culminated in the attack on officers in Dallas, which turned a peaceful demonstration against the killings of Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minn., and of Alton Sterling, in Baton Rouge, La., into a scene of bloodshed and chaos.

President Obama cut short an overseas trip and planned to travel Tuesday to Dallas where he, along with former President George W. Bush, will address a memorial service.

Obama urged protesters to avoid inflammatory words and actions, but also defended the right to demonstrate. He said Black Lives Matter had grown out of a long protest tradition that dated to the abolitionist movement.

Demonstrators gathered again Sunday in cities as scattered as Dallas, Falcon Heights, Memphis, Baton Rouge and New York City.

In Baton Rouge, police in riot gear and flanked by SWAT trucks were trying to turn back protesters who were sought to march to the police headquarters. Police arrested protesters as the standoff continued into the evening.

Negotiations

In his television appearance, Brown described the two hours of negotiations that the police conducted with Johnson, saying he had demanded to speak to a black negotiator, had sung and laughed, and had asked how many officers he had killed. Johnson also wrote the letters RB in blood on the walls of the parking garage where he had hidden, Brown said, an indication that he may have been wounded. It was not clear what those letters referred to, the chief said.

Brown said investigators were examining Johnsons laptop, journal and cell phone and had not completely ruled out the possibility that others were involved.
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It felt like a watershed moment for a scattered and still-young civil rights movement.

Inside Black Lives Matter, the national revulsion over videos of police officers shooting to death black men in Minnesota and Louisiana was undeniable proof that the groups message of outrage and demands for justice had finally broken through.

Even the white governor of Minnesota, Mark Dayton, in a pained public concession, embraced the movements central argument. Would this have happened if those passengers  the driver and the passengers  were white? he asked. I dont think it wouldve.

Then, in an instant, everything changed.

Black Lives Matter now faces perhaps the biggest crisis in its short history: It is both scrambling to distance itself from a black sniper in Dallas who set out to kill white police officers and trying to rebut a chorus of detractors who blame the movement for inspiring his deadly attack.

What I saw in Dallas was devastating to our work, said Jedidiah Brown, a Chicago pastor who has emerged as an outspoken Black Lives Matter leader over the past year. The moment he learned of the attack on the police, he said, he immediately sensed that any emerging national consensus would tear down the middle.

The thing I vividly remember thinking was, this is going to show exactly how divided this conversation is, he said.

For those who have harbored doubts or animosity toward Black Lives Matter  among them police unions and conservative leaders  the Dallas attacks are a cudgel that, fairly or not, they are eager to swing.

Placing blame

In Texas, several state officials, including Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, lashed out at the group, directly linking its tone and tactics to the killings. Patrick acknowledged that the demonstration in Dallas on Thursday night had been peaceful until the gunman struck, but he accused the movement of creating the conditions for what happened. I do blame former Black Lives Matter protests, he said.

State Rep. Bill Zedler, a Republican, was equally blunt in his assessment of the groups influence on the 25-year-old gunman, Micah Xavier Johnson.

Clearly the rhetoric of Black Lives Matters encouraged the sniper that shot Dallas police officers, he wrote on Twitter.

But a bigger problem for Black Lives Matter, supported by many liberals, is that Johnsons actions could jeopardize the movements appeal to a broader group of Americans who have gradually become more sympathetic to its cause after years of highly publicized police shootings.

In the days before the Dallas massacre, Aesha Rasheed, 39, of New Orleans, felt that at long last, white and black America were watching the same images with the same horror: two Louisiana police officers tackling and then shooting Alton Sterling, 37, at point-blank range; the slumped, blood-soaked body of Philando Castile, 32, after a Minnesota police officer shot him through a car window, with his girlfriend and her daughter sitting inches away.

It seemed like a national consciousness was sinking in, Rasheed said.

After the massacre in Dallas, she said, it turned on a dime.

She now worries that the episodes involving black men may be overshadowed and overlooked.

Does this get ignored? she asked. Do five officers take center stage?

Formal statements

Black Lives Matter usually spurns central planning and management. But in a sign of alarm over the volatile situation, leaders of several organizations associated with the movement put out formal statements that repeatedly describe the Dallas attacker as a lone gunman, unconnected to the groups cause.

Police have said that Johnson  a military veteran who told authorities that he had hunted down white police officers as retribution for their abuses  had no direct links to any protest group.

But in recounting Johnsons final hours, Chief David Brown of the Dallas Police Department mentioned the movement by name. The suspect said he was upset about Black Lives Matter, he said.

Black Lives Matter was born, as a phrase and a rallying cry, after the 2013 acquittal of George Zimmerman in the Florida shooting death of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed African American 17-year-old. By the time demonstrators took to the streets of Ferguson, Mo., a year later to protest the killing of Michael Brown, another unarmed African American, it was the motto and name of a decentralized collection of activists.

Today, at least 37 groups operate under the movements name, and tens of thousands of supporters identify with its cause.

In interviews Friday, leaders scoffed at calls to recalibrate their message or their strategy, or to temporarily pause protests out of respect for the dead police officers in Texas.

Protesters return

By Friday night, protesters had returned to the streets in the Bay Area and elsewhere, swarming the Williamsburg Bridge in New York City; shutting down a major highway in Atlanta; and marching through downtown Phoenix, where officers used pepper spray and beanbag guns to keep the demonstrators from taking over Interstate 10. In each city, protesters were trailed by police, as they were in Dallas.

But it was clear that the national conversation had changed. On social media, Black Lives Matter activists watched with dismay Thursday night as a squall of outrage and mourning over the shootings of Sterling and Castile was suddenly overwhelmed by a furious outcry over the shooting of Dallas police officers and messages of rage directed at activists and protesters. The hashtag #blacklivesmatter was joined by #bluelivesmatter, a reference to police officers.

This anti-cop rhetoric has to stop. Its sickening, wrote one Twitter user using the hashtag. We will not forget or forgive, wrote another.

Sitting in his bed after midnight with an iPhone, DeRay Mckesson, 30, who is active in Black Lives Matter, watched the rapid change in tone. It suddenly became about blame, he said. People wanted to link it to the protesters no matter what.

Wake-up call

Undeterred, several in the movement rebuffed the view of the carnage in Dallas as a potential setback to their cause. JaMal Green said the killings were, in their own grisly way, a powerful wake-up call.

Its not a setback at all, Green said. Thats showing the people of this country that black people are getting to a boiling point. We are tired of watching police kill our brothers and sisters. We are tired of being tired.

He insisted that he was not encouraging violence. But he said there comes a time when black people will snap.

As conservative commentators like Rush Limbaugh assailed Black Lives Matter as a terrorist group committing hate crimes, people like Wendi Moore-ONeal saw echoes of repeated attempts throughout American history, including efforts by the federal government, to discredit civil rights groups and leaders.

Its just made up, she said of those who held Black Lives Matter responsible in any way for the Dallas attack. Its not true.

I cant think of any of the justice or liberation organizations that I know, Moore-ONeal said, that have an investment in shooting cops.
DeRay Mckesson, one of the best known voices for the Black Lives Matter movement, was among hundreds of people arrested at weekend demonstrations across the country. He spent 16 hours in a Baton Rouge, La., jail cell until he was released Sunday, vowing to continue demonstrating because he was convinced that the authorities want activists to be too afraid to protest.

Thousands of people took to the streets in San Francisco, New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia and other cities. More than 200 people were arrested in just two cities  St. Paul, Minn., and Baton Rouge.

In St. Paul, protesters angered by the killing of Philando Castile in nearby Falcon Heights clashed late Saturday with police officers wearing riot gear, shutting down an interstate for hours. At least 20 officers were injured as people threw rocks, bottles and bricks, the police said.

Mckesson, in a telephone interview shortly after his release Sunday, said he believed that his arrest was unlawful and that the police unfairly conducted mass arrests while people were peacefully assembled and out of the way of traffic along a highway.

In a booking record, Baton Rouge authorities said Mckesson ignored a police officers order to stay out of the road and as a result was charged with simple obstruction of a highway of commerce. He was released on his own recognizance.

The police want protesters to be too afraid to protest, which is why they intentionally created a context of conflict, and Ill never be afraid to tell the truth, he said.

Mckesson and several others traveled to Baton Rouge to protest the death of Alton Sterling, who was fatally shot early Tuesday. The authorities arrested more than 100 people in connection with a protest outside the citys police headquarters, charging most of them with obstructing the road.

At a news conference in Baton Rouge, law enforcement officials defended arresting people who had stepped onto a highway against police commands, saying that streets had been closed for marches elsewhere but that this was a major thoroughfare and needed to remain open.

Mckesson filmed his encounter with the police using the live-streaming app Periscope. On camera, he told viewers that there was no sidewalk where they were walking. An officer could be heard shouting, You with them loud shoes, I see you in the road. If I get close to you, youre going to jail.

I think hes talking to me, yall, said Mckesson, who often wears red sneakers to demonstrations. Then, about 5 minutes into the broadcast, the video becomes shaky and a police officer can be heard saying: City police. Youre under arrest. Dont fight me. Dont fight me.

Mckesson, 31, a public school administrator turned activist, first gained national notice with his blunt critiques on Twitter of the police response in Ferguson, Mo., after the death of Michael Brown in 2014.
Delhi cops suspect that Dr. Sarvanan G from Tamil Nadu might have died due to overdose of an injection as two syringe needle marks were spotted on his body.

By India Today Web Desk: The Delhi Police recovered the body of a Junior Resident Doctor form his rented flat in Gautam Nagar area of South Delhi today.

Twenty six-year-old Dr. Sarvanan G from Tamil Nadu, who had joined AIIMS as a JR for his MD degree, was found dead under mysterious circumstance.

Delhi cops suspect Sarvanan might have died due to overdose of an injection as two syringe needle marks were spotted on his body.

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He had joined the institute about a week back in the July batch of admissions.

NEIGHBOURS FOUND HIM DEAD

After he did not report to duty this morning, his colleagues and senior residents of the Department of Medicine started calling him, but not getting any response from his phone they tried calling his neighbours who then found him in his flat No 83 non-responsive.

The residents of the area immediately informed the Police and his AIIMS colleagues. Around 3 pm today the body of the deceased was brought by police at AIIMS Emergency Department where the MLC was made and the body was thereafter shifted to the mortuary.

Ishwar Singh, DCP (South), said the body has been sent for post-mortem. No any suicide note was found. The post-mortem, conduct by a team of doctors, will be videographed.

FAMILY TO REACH ON MONDAY

His parents in Tamil Nadu have been informed who are learnt to be reaching on Monday morning.

The AIIMS faculty and administration said they are deeply concerned about the incident and will cooperate with the police in its investigations whenever necessary and asked for.

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Many San Franciscans were just stepping out of bed Sunday morning as several dozen volunteers gathered on Ocean Beach to pull garbage from the sand.

Beneath the rising sun, they grabbed neoprene gloves and bright-orange buckets and set off in search of what others had discarded  bottle caps, cigarette butts, a cardboard pizza box, a bra.

Its scary what we found, said Lupe Kesel of Burlingame, who brought her daughter.

Sofia, 9, said she was surprised by what people had left behind.

We found a sock, she said, eyes widening. This is not a Laundromat; this is a beach.

Free hot chocolate

The Surfrider Foundations San Francisco chapter hosted the cleanup at the popular oceanside hangout, providing supplies and hand sanitizer to anyone who showed up to help. To entice volunteers, the nonprofit environmental organization also teamed up with Ghirardelli, which offered free hot chocolate and vouchers for ice cream sundaes.

Before heading out, participants were instructed to leave natural debris, like wood and seaweed, on the beach and to steer clear of anything potentially hazardous, such as dead animals, condoms or hypodermic needles.

Some who came were from other countries  exchange students from France, Switzerland and Taiwan and new California residents from places like Australia and the Philippines  eager to participate in a community activity. Others were locals who have long aided Surfrider, which holds beach cleanups several times a month.

Surfrider estimates that its volunteers have cleared 3,000 pounds of garbage and 15,000 cigarette butts from San Francisco beaches this year.

Its a nice place to spend a Sunday morning, said Gwen Joe, 66, of San Francisco, holding a bucket in one hand and a hot chocolate in her other. Its kind of like a treasure hunt, even though its bottle caps and cigarette butts.

Many were parents hoping to mix a morning by the ocean with a valuable lesson about the environment.

We started giving our son responsibilities and letting him know there are things we can do to help the environment, said Tania Castor, who traveled from San Jose with her husband and 9-year-old son.

Carrie Hadler and Kevin West, who also brought their children, said they wanted their daughters to understand the importance of keeping such a valuable natural resource clean.

This is like a second home to us, said West, surveying the expanse of sand and breaking waves.

Sifting the sand

Eric Edward, program director of another environmental nonprofit, Waves Not Plastic, sat nearby running sand through a metal sifter.

Are you panning for gold? asked Gage Anderson, 5, who was also helping his parents at the cleanup.

No, Im panning for garbage, said Edward, pointing to the bits of plastic, glass and clothing fibers left in the catch. All this little stuff ends up in the ocean.

We really need people to understand that there is no, away, Edward said later. You are throwing something somewhere and its going somewhere.

Cynthia Dizikes is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: cdizikes@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @cdizikes
By PTI: circumstances

New Delhi, July 10 (PTI) A 26-year-old Junior Resident Doctor who was doing his MD degree at AIIMS was today found dead under mysterious condition in his rented flat at Hauz Khas in South Delhi with police suspecting the death due to overdose of an injection.

Sarvanan Ganeshan, who had taken admission for his MD degree at AIIMS 10 days back, was today found dead at his flat at Gautam Nagar of Hauz at around 9.30 AM.

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It is believed he died around 6 AM but the exact time and cause of his death will be revealed after receiving the post mortem report, said a senior police officer.

Sarvanan had taken some injection which is suspected to be potassium chloride which is used as a medicine as well as for causing cardiac arrest. Investigation has been undertaken covering all the angles including suicide, he said.

"Sarvanan was found dead in mysterious condition at his flat. Legal action has been initiated. Post mortem report would clarify the reason of death," said additional DCP(south) Nupur Prasad.

"A very unfortunate news was brought to the notice of AIIMS administration this morning around 11.30 AM recently joined Junior Resident Dr Sarvanan G from Tamil Nadu who had joined AIIMS as a JR for his MD degree in Medicine was found dead in an apartment in Gautam Nagar area of South Delhi, said an AIIIMS spokesperson.

After he did not report to duty this morning his colleagues and senior residents of the Department of Medicine started calling him, but not getting any response from his phone they tried calling his neighbours who then found him in his room non-responsive, said the the spokesperson.

The residents of the area immediately informed the Police and the AIIMS colleagues. Around 3 PM, the body of the deceased was brought by police at AIIMS Emergency Department where the MLC was made and the body was thereafter shifted to the mortuary.

His parents in Tamil Nadu have been informed, they said. PTI VIT DEY PLB BUN RG

--- ENDS ---
Air India will drop fares on four key routes--Delhi-Mumbai, Delhi-Chennai, Delhi-Kolkata and Delhi-Bengaluru--four hours before the departure of flights to these destinations.

By Press Trust of India: Aiming to attract more fliers and achieve higher seat occupancy in its flights on trunk routes, Air India has decided to lower its last minute ticket fares to the level of 2-tier AC of Rajdhani trains.

As part of the pricing strategy, Air India will drop fares on four key routes--Delhi-Mumbai, Delhi-Chennai, Delhi-Kolkata and Delhi-Bengaluru--four hours before the departure of flights to these destinations.



RELIEF TO PASSENGERS

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Air India Chairman and Managing Director Ashwani Lohani said the move is aimed at providing relief to the passengers from last minute sky-rocketing fares and also to fill the vacant seats.

A Delhi-Mumbai Rajdhani AC II-Tier ticket costs Rs 2,870, while Delhi-Chennai Rs 3,905. The fare of second AC Rajdhani ticket for Delhi-Kolkata is Rs 2,890 and Rs 4,095 for Delhi-Bengaluru Rajdhani.

Air India has an average load factor of 74 per cent across its domestic network while the seat occupancy on these trunk routes stands at around 80 per cent, he said.

"Our objective is to fill these remaining seats as well. This can be achieved with such affordable fares. In addition, this would also help us increase our passengers' revenue," Lohani added.

CHALLENGE TO PRIVATE CARRIERS

Air India's decision to lower fares is likely to give jitters to the private carriers who are accused of jacking up fares to 2-3 times of the normal fares for the last-minute bookings.

Last month, Air India had floated a limited period scheme to fly unconfirmed passengers of Rajdhani trains at the fares matching with the AC first class ticket prices.

Under the 'Super Saver' scheme, which started from June 26 and end on September 30, passengers of Rajdhani Express trains who have wait-listed ticket could book four hours prior to the flight departure at a fare which match with the ticket price of Ist AC Rajdhani trains.

ALSO READ: Air India pilot insists for particular woman co-pilot, delays flight



--- ENDS ---
It's been quite a long time since Akshay Kumar and Twinkle Khanna have been travelling across the United States.

By India Today Web Desk: Even in his busy schedules, Akshay Kumar squeezes out time for his family. It's been quite a long time since Akshay and Twink l e Khanna have been travelling across the United States. And now it's time that they bid a farewell to the city.

ALSO READ: I can only protect my daughter Nitara if she learns to protect herself, says Akshay

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The Airlift actor took to Twitter to share a picture and wrote, "Like all good things, this holiday too comes to an end!Bidding goodbye to New York with the lil one,until next time (sic)."



Like all good things,this holiday too comes to an end!Bidding goodbye to New York with the lil one,until next time.. pic.twitter.com/zNWVGDkvVs Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) July 9, 2016

In the picture, his little angel Nitara is seen in his arms and Akshay is seen wearing pyjamas. They are overlooking the New York city through their glass door and saying bye to the city. Isn't that adorable?

Akshay has always been a protective father for daughter Nitara. Whenever the Airlift actor stepped out with his three-year-old daughter, in public, he preferred to keep her away from the media glare.

On the other hand, Twinkle Khanna doesn't mind on being clicked with Nitara. She also shared a picture on Twitter from their New York trip.



Hijacking some good humor on a hot day with my little partner in crime #IscreamIcecream #traveldiaries pic.twitter.com/jXxA7bKEcf Twinkle Khanna (@mrsfunnybones) July 1, 2016

On the work front, Akshay Kumar will next be seen in Rustam.

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Refuting USL's allegations, liquor baron Vijay Mallya today said It is surprising and unfortunate that unfounded allegations are now being made without any reference to him.

By India Today Web Desk: Refuting all allegations levelled against him by United Spirits Ltd (USL), liquor baron Vijay Mallya today said all transactions were legal, above board and approved by USL auditors and shareholders.

Diageo-controlled United Spirits on Saturday disclosed fund diversion and improper transactions worth Rs 1,225.3 crore involving entitles linked to Mallya including Kingfisher Airlines and Force India Formula One.

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USL AUDITORS APPROVED TRANSACTIONS: MALLYA



"I can only reiterate that all transactions were legal, above board and approved by USL auditors, board and shareholders," Mallya said in a statement from London where he has been staying since he left India on March 2.

In a regulatory filing to BSE and NSE on Saturday, the USL said a fresh inquiry by independent experts found Mallya had diverted Rs 913.5 crore to his overseas and Indian firms, including Kingfisher Airlines Ltd and carried improper transactions up to Rs 311.8 crore when he was its non-executive chairman.

Asserting that he had no knowledge of the inquiry by global consulting firm Ernst & Young or charges against him, Mallya said neither USL nor E&Y gave him details of the allegations or opportunity to respond.

"Diageo conducted an extensive due diligence on USL prior to acquiring shares. It is surprising and unfortunate that unfounded allegations are now being made without any reference to me whatsoever," Mallya said in the statement.

USL'S ENQUIRY REVEALS FUND DIVERSION BY MALLYA



The London-based spirits major Diageo acquired majority stake (54.78 per cent) in the city-based USL in July 2014 and took full control of it after Mallya resigned from its board as chairman and director on February 25 as part of a $75 million (Rs.516 crore) mutual deal.

The USL board, however, clarified on Saturday that the mutual deal with Mallya did not extend to matters arising out of the additional inquiry.

As mentioned to the stock exchanges on April 25, the board initiated a fresh inquiry into improper transactions by USL, which appeared, prima facie, to be diversions of funds to various UB Group companies, including Kingfisher.

"The board noted that only a court or concerned regulatory authority would be in a position to make final determinations as to fault or culpability," the filing said.

The diversions as well as transactions occurred during the review period from October 2010 to July 2014.

"The overseas beneficiaries or recipients of these funds include Force India Formula One, Watson Ltd, Continental Administrative Services, Modall Securities Ltd, Ultra Dynamix Ltd and Lombard Wall Corporate Services Inc., in each of which Mallya appears to have a material, direct or indirect, interest," the filing said.

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The main Indian beneficiary of the funds was the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines.

The board has also directed the company to review each case of fund diversion to recover from the relevant parties and individuals.

Official statement from Vijay Mallya on USL allegations: I have absolutely no knowledge about this purported enquiry by audit firm EY nor the suggested allegations: Mallya Surprisingly neither USL nor EY have given me any details of the allegations or any opportunity to respond: Mallya I can only reiterate that all transactions were legal, above board and approved by USL Auditors, the USL Board and shareholders: Mallya Over and above this Diageo conducted an extensive due diligence on USL prior to acquiring shares: Mallya It is surprising and unfortunate that unfounded allegations are now being made without any reference to me whatsoever: Mallya

ALSO READ:

Delhi court asks Vijay Mallya to appear on September 9Spotted! Vijay Mallya appears for F1 meet in UK

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SRINAGAR, India  The death toll in Kashmir rose to 18 Sunday as clashes between Indian troops and protesters continued despite a curfew imposed in the disputed Himalayan region to suppress anti-India anger after the killing of a popular rebel commander.

Anti-India protests have been reported in many places across Kashmir since Burhan Wani, chief of operations of Hizbul Mujahideen, Kashmirs largest rebel group, was killed Friday in fighting with Indian troops.

The dead included 17 civilians killed in two days of clashes between angry, rock-throwing protesters who defied the curfew and Indian troops, a police official said. The other fatality was a police officer who was killed Sunday after protesters pushed the armored vehicle he was driving into a river during clashes in the southern Anantnag area, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

After the protests erupted, Indian troops used live ammunition, pellet guns and tear gas to try and control the angry crowds, police said. More than 150 civilians have so far been injured.

Police intelligence chief Shiv Sahai said protesters attacked several police and paramilitary posts in the region. Around 90 government troops were also injured, he said. Thousands of government forces in riot gear have fanned out across towns and villages in Kashmir.

Officials at the regions main hospital, in the city of Srinagar, said Sunday that they were dealing with a medical emergency as they tried to attend to at least 80 civilians admitted with bullet and pellet injuries, local media reported.

Coalition of Civil Society, a prominent local rights group, said Sunday that government forces assaulted the patients and attendants at four hospitals in the region and also attacked ambulances carrying patients.

Indian paramilitary spokesman K.K. Sharma said the complaint would be investigated, but called the allegations baseless.

Wani, in his early 20s, had become the face of militancy in Kashmir over the last five years, using social media like Facebook to reach out to young Kashmiri men.

Kashmir is evenly divided between India and Pakistan, but claimed in its entirety by both. Most people in Kashmir have long resented Indias presence, and support rebel demands for an independent Kashmir or a merging with Pakistan. More than 68,000 people have been killed in the uprising and the subsequent Indian military crackdown.
JUBA, South Sudan  South Sudans capital was rocked Sunday by heavy arms fire between forces loyal to the president and those of the vice president, causing widespread casualties and raising fears the country is returning to civil war.

The fighting began in the morning and continued until about 8 p.m. local time, when a thunderstorm seemed to calm the violence, said U.N. mission spokeswoman Shantal Persaud. She confirmed that a U.N. armored personnel carrier was hit by a shell at a camp to protect civilians. U.N. peacekeepers in the vehicle were wounded, said witnesses.

The condition is really very bad. We have a lot of casualties this side, I think around 50 to 60 besides those of yesterday, said Budbud Chol who oversees security at a clinic in the base.

At least one person has died in the camp, he said, but he did not know about casualties outside where the fighting was heavy between government troops supporting President Salva Kiir and opposition forces loyal to First Vice President Riek Machar.

The opposition side blamed government forces for starting the fighting Sunday morning with an attack on a rebel base in the Jebel area of the capital. Three helicopter gunships bombed rebel camps, said William Gatjiath Deng, a spokesman for the rebel forces.

South Sudans army confirmed the Sunday clashes but it is not clear how the fighting started, said army spokesman Lul Ruai Koang.

The U.N. Security Council, in a statement released after a nearly three-hour emergency meeting Sunday, condemned in the strongest terms the escalation of fighting in Juba and expressed particular shock and outrage at the attacks on U.N. compounds and protection of civilian sites. The council members urged an immediate end to the fighting, stressing that attacks against civilians and U.N. premises and personnel my constitute war crimes.

One Chinese officer was killed, and several Chinese and Rwandan peacekeepers were wounded in the attacks, said Japans U.N. Ambassador Koro Bessho.

About 10,000 Juba residents fled neighborhoods where there was fighting, said Jeremiah Young, policy adviser for World Vision in South Sudan.

Sundays fighting was a resumption of clashes on Friday in which more than 100 people died. A precarious calm was restored on Saturday the day South Sudan marked its fifth independence day.
1 Iraq fighting: Government forces recaptured an air base Saturday in northern Iraq from the Islamic State group, a victory hailed by the prime minister as a key step ahead of the long-awaited operation to push the militants from the northern city of Mosul. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi described the air base in Qayara as an important base to liberate Mosul, and called on the citys residents to get ready for the liberation of their areas. Mosul, Iraqs second-largest city located about 225 miles northwest of Baghdad, fell to Islamic State militants during their summer 2014 onslaught that captured large swaths of northern and western Iraq.

2 Territorial dispute: Chinese warships, fighter jets and submarines held live-fire war games in the South China Sea, state media reported Saturday, just days ahead of an international tribunals ruling on a challenge to Beijings expansive claims in the waters. The display of naval hardware is Chinas latest salvo in a propaganda offensive aimed at demonstrating its military might and asserting its sovereignty over the disputed region. The exercises come ahead of a Hague tribunals ruling Tuesday in a case brought by the Philippines contesting Chinas claims in the South China Sea. China is boycotting the case and says it will not accept the verdict.
WARSAW  One man is 101 years old. Others are in their 80s and 90s and arrived in wheelchairs, with a walker, or leaning for support on children who are themselves past middle age.

A group of Polish Christians who risked their own lives to help Jews during the Holocaust were brought together Sunday to be honored by a Jewish organization based in New York City that provides financial aid to these rescuers  an attempt to give back something to people who gave the gift of life to thousands of Jews in Europes darkest days.

Words are truly inadequate to express the gratitude of the Jewish people to each and every one of you, Stanlee Stahl, executive vice president of the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous, said to 35 rescuers.

In a short speech, Stahl called them the precious few who chose not to be bystanders.

The organization was founded in 1986 by a rabbi who wanted to fulfill a traditional Jewish commitment of seeking out and recognizing goodness, called hakarat hatov in Hebrew. The foundations main role is to supplement state pensions and provide rescuers with medication, hearing aids or other medical support that they might not otherwise have in a nation where state pensions and medical services remain meager.

In Poland, the rescuers now receive about $3,000 a year per person, which includes a special bonus at Christmas for food and heating. The amount varies, depending on how much the foundation can raise from donors, who are mostly American Jews.

The luncheon on Sunday, which has become a yearly event, is an addition to that financial help  a way to show their gratitude in person. It was also attended by the ambassadors of the United States and Israel.

The rescuers expressed satisfaction that their deeds, and those of their families, live on in memory. Most of the surviving rescuers were teenagers or young adults at the time who collaborated with their parents to hide and feed Jews being hunted by the Germans in their occupied homeland. The penalty for helping Jews was death, and some helpers were caught and executed.

This help is very important to us because our retirement payments are truly tiny, said Alicja Szczepaniak-Schnepf, an 85-year-old who helped her mother shelter Jews in their Warsaw apartment. But beyond that, this is a recognition that we are being remembered and honored.
Fab Group, a skincare and appearance medicine company that includes the Caci Clinic franchise, has appointed former NZ Venture Investment Fund chief executive Franceska Banga to chair its new board ahead of a potential public listing by 2019.

The Auckland-based company was founded in 1994 by husband and wife, Jackie and David Smith, and is aiming to have another go at a public listing after a dismal attempt under the Caci Group banner on the NZX's alternative market nearly a decade ago.

As a step towards a potential listing on either the NZX or ASX by 2019, the company is establishing a formal board which is currently exclusively female with Banga as independent chair alongside co-founder Jackie Smith and chief executive Glenice Riley. Another two independent directors, including one with public listing experience, are to be appointed.

The company is 100 percent owned by a trust associated with the Smiths and owns and operates a number of brands and other products beyond being franchisor for the 36 Caci clinics, which offer treatments such as laser hair removal and botox. It provides the training for the beauty and skin clinicians, the medical equipment used in the clinics, and also sells a range of skincare products and cosmetics such as Smashbox and Murad.

Fab's group revenue of $38 million include franchisees and the company has had steady profit growth in the past five years as it takes advantage of scale.

The outlook hasnt always been that rosy as the Smiths last public listing attempt demonstrated. In late 2000 Caci Group issued 1.2 million shares to the public at the price of 50 cents per share and listed on the New Capital Market (predecessor to the NZAX) which purchased the then 15 franchised Caci clinic operations. Following a varied operating performance and sluggish share price, the companys 200 or so shareholders accepted a 38 cents-per-share takeover offer by the Smiths in 2007 after the shares last traded at half their issue price.

In an independent report on the takeover, Grant Samuel said the offer was fair and included a premium for control given it was operating in a niche industry that was likely to have only a limited pool of potential acquirers and competition within the beauty therapy industry had intensified.

Banga said that listing was in the very early days when it wasnt the right time for the company and it was now in a much better position to be able to get to the next stage.

Thats why theyre bringing on a board to have the right governance and right systems and processes to ensure it is successful, Banga said.

A public listing is just one of several options for capital raising over the next few years as the company wants to grow to 50 clinics in New Zealand and expand offshore under another brand, she said.

It has the New Zealand rights to the brand Caci which is a market leader in this country. Caci started with the Computer Aided Cosmetology Instrument machine developed by Californian doctor Thomas Wing for the treatment of soft tissue injuries such as whiplash and sprains and pain relief. The machine gained popularity in medical clinics in the UK and the US before the Smiths introduced the brand to New Zealand with a clinic in Newmarket.

Work will be done in the new few months on identifying the best overseas opportunities though Australia is a likely candidate, Banga said. The idea is to get some runs on the board with offshore growth before taking the company public or seeking private equity funding.

The companys back-end systems and processes stand it in good stead for expansion although the international market is highly competitive, Banga said.

You have bedroom beauty therapists at one end and cosmetic surgery at the other end. We sit in the middle piece for appearance and skincare and its a very crowded but very fragmented market. Theres an opportunity in that space for a company that knows how to do it well.

Banga left NZVIF earlier this year and has a broad range of directorships including for Auckland Tourism, Events, and Economic Development, Frog Parking, Continuity Capital, and Constellation Capital.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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Andy Macleod, the chief executive of the Chinese-owned Pengxin New Zealand Farm Group, has resigned.

Macleod has led the group since April 2013, overseeing the management of the 16 Central North Island 'Crafar' farms, part of New Zealand's largest family-owned dairy business which had been put into receivership, and 13 farms in Canterbury previously owned by Synlait Farms, which supplies processor Synlait Milk.

Milk New Zealand, Shanghai Pengxin Group's local unit, said it appreciated Macleod's contribution to the business and wished him well for the future. The statement from managing director Terry Lee didn't say why Macleod had resigned, although it said recruitment is under way for a new chief executive. The resignation took effect from July 8.

An advisory board has been established for the farm group, which will oversee the appointment of a new chief executive and advise the company on farm operations. The board is chaired by former Fonterra Cooperative Group director Greg Gent and includes directors Matt Ross, Craig Hurst, Terry Lee and Tony Nie.

Shangai Pengxin hit the headlines in September last year after the government scuttled its proposed $88 million purchase of Lochinver farm, saying the transaction failed on the test of providing a substantial benefit to New Zealand. The decision ended a long wait for the diversified investor, owned by Chinese billionaire Jiang Zhaobai, which had agreed to buy the 13,843 hectare farm near Lake Taupo from concrete, quarrying and engineering firm Stevenson Group in 2014. Lochinver was then sold to New Zealand farming group Rimanui Farms, and Pengxin withdrew from buying the neighbouring Taharua Farm, and a separate deal to buy the so-called 'Pinny' farms in Northland.

Macleod's exit follows the departure of former Fonterra executive Gary Romano, who resigned his directorships with Pengxin's local units over November and December last year.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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On the first anniversary of Baahubali: The Beginning, fans are trending the hashtag '1 Year For Indian Epic Baahubali' on Twitter.

By India Today Web Desk: It's been a year since the release of SS Rajamouli's magnum opus Baahubali: The Beginning, whose visual experience made some of the Hollywood films pale in comparison.

While we have lauded Baahubali enough for its quest to deliver a whole new experience in the realm of cinema, it is the triumph of Rajamouli's artistry and his creative team who have invested blood and sweat.



OPINION: A year of Baahubali- Why SS Rajamouli's epic became what it did

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ALSO READ: SS Rajamouli ups curiosity quotient, shares a photo from film the sequel

Since midnight, fans have been pouring relentless wishes celebrating the first anniversary of Baahubali, trending the hashtag '1 Year For Indian Epic Baahubali' on Twitter.

Here are some of the tweets:



A film that has become a pride of Telugu Cinema & will be remembered forever. #1YearForIndianEpicBaahubali pic.twitter.com/r8DU96bNXk VamsiKaka (@vamsikaka) July 10, 2016

#1YearForIndianEpicBaahubali - The war scenes were astounding. A triumph of all film making departments.??? Hope Part 2 offers more of this Kaushik (LMK) (@Lmkmoviemaniac) July 10, 2016

The movie which showed all these elements#1YearForIndianEpicBaahubali pic.twitter.com/H0J7pJd3Sh Mounika Uppalapati (@Mounikauppalap2) July 9, 2016

Written by ace writer Vijayendra Prasad, Baahubali is based on the two warring brother for a kingdom Mahishmati.



Among several tweets, fans are still puzzled about 'Why did Kattappa kill Baahubali', a question which has been following SS Rajamouli like a shadow.



Also, as a treat to fans, the makers are planning to release the deleted scenes from Baahubali.

Meanwhile, the team are in a full swing shooting for the sequel Baahubali: The Conclusion, which is slated to release next year.

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Naik's speeches are believed to have inspired some of the Bangladeshi militants, who killed 22 people, mostly foreigners, at an upscale restaurant in Dhaka on July 1.

By Press Trust of India: Bangladesh government today banned the broadcasting of India-based controversial preacher Zakir Naiks Peace TV channel after reports that his "provocative" speeches inspired some of the militants who carried out the countrys worst terror attack at a cafe here.

The decision to ban the Mumbai-based preacher's Peace TV Bangla was taken during a special meeting of Cabinet Committee on Law and Order, Industry Minister Aamir Hossain Amu, who chaired the meeting said.

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In the meeting, attended by senior ministers and top security officials, it was also decided to monitor the sermons given during the Friday prayers to check whether any provocative lectures are delivered, Amu told reporters.

NAIK'S SPEECHES INSPIRED BANGLADESHI MILITANTS



Naik's speeches are believed to have inspired some of the Bangladeshi militants, who killed 22 people, mostly foreigners, at an upscale restaurant in Dhaka on July 1.

The government also appealed to the Imams in the country to deliver lectures in line with real Islamic ideology of denouncing terorism and extremism, the minister said.

Besides senior ministers, the meeting was attended by chief of police and head of the elite Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), paramilitary border guards and top officials of different security agencies.

Deployment of additional security forces at export processing zone was also ordered.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan had yesterday said that Bangladeshs intelligence agencies were investigating the Islamic preacher Naik.

"He is on our security scanner... Our intelligence agencies are investigating his activities as his lectures appeared provocative," Khan had told PTI.

Khan said the investigators were also probing Naiks financial transactions in Bangladesh.

ALSO READ: UPA took no action on my 2008 report on Zakir Naik, says BJP MP Satyapal Singh



--- ENDS ---
By PTI: From Anisur Rahman

Dhaka, Jul 10 (PTI) Bangladesh today banned the broadcast of controversial Indian preacher Zakir Naiks Peace TV, cracking down on the channel and radical sermons after reports that "provocative" speeches inspired some of the militants who carried out the countrys worst terror attack at a cafe here.

The decision to ban the Mumbai-based preachers Peace TV Bangla was taken during a special meeting of Cabinet Committee on Law and Order, Industry Minister Amir Hossain Amu, who chaired the meeting said.

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In the meeting, attended by senior ministers and top security officials, it was also decided to monitor the sermons given during the Friday prayers to check whether any provocative lectures are delivered, Amu told reporters.

Doctor-turned Naiks speeches are believed to have inspired some of the Bangladeshi militants, who killed 22 people, mostly foreigners, at an upscale restaurant in Dhaka on July 1.

The government also appealed to the Imams in the country to deliver lectures in line with real Islamic ideology of denouncing terrorism and extremism, the minister said.

Besides senior ministers, the meeting was attended by chief of police and head of the elite Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), paramilitary border guards and top officials of different security agencies.

Deployment of additional security forces at export processing zone was also ordered.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan had yesterday said that Bangladeshs intelligence agencies were investigating the 50-year-old Naiks possible role in the attack.

"He is on our security scanner... Our intelligence agencies are investigating his activities as his lectures appeared provocative," Khan had told PTI.

Khan said the investigators were also probing Naiks financial transactions in Bangladesh.

One of the slain attackers of the terrorist attack in Dhakas high-security Gulshan area, the 22-year-old Rohan Imtiaz quoted Naik in a Facebook post in January this year where he urged "all Muslims to be terrorists".

Twenty-two people were killed in the brutal late-night attack. Six days later, militants attacked police guarding the largest Eid gathering in Bangladesh and killed three more people.

The activities of Naiks Mumbai-based Islamic Research Foundation are also under the scanner of Indian Home Ministry amid allegations that funds from abroad received by it have been spent on political activities and inspiring people towards radical views.

The Maharashtra government has also ordered a probe into the sermons by the 50-year-old televangelist that has kicked up a storm.

Britain and Canada have banned Naik from visiting the two countries several years ago while Malaysia banned his lectures fearing that they could instigate inter-racial tensions.

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Naik denies encouraging acts of terror through his speeches. PTI AR PMS AKJ NSA

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The poster for La Isla Bonita, or The Beautiful Island, was created by Colombian artist Lili Cuca. Isla Bonita Festival is July 10, 2016. (Courtesy the artist)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Back again to prove that Staten Island is a cultural force to be reckoned with is "La Isla Bonita," an all-day festival in Port Richmond casually spreading positive vibes.

The free festival, now in its second year, lands again in Faber Park on Sunday, July 10, from 3 to 8 p.m. It includes music, art, storytelling, skateboarding, picnicking and other delights from around the world and from right in our backyard.

If last year's Isla Bonita is any indicator, it'll be nothing but happy, beautiful faces, coming together for an afternoon of fun. Check out photographer Kristopher Johnson's portraits above from last year's festival to get the idea.

"There are so many issues that everyone else is talking about -- fights between people, racism, social justice issues," said artist Lina Montoya, a co-organizer of the event. "The festival is showing that even if we are different, we're in the same place. This is the perfect example of getting together and improving something."

New to this year's lineup of activities is a bit more art, some wellness and self expression. Artists will set up booths, a yoga instructor will lead a sunset yoga session and the Five Borough Story Project and NYSAI will be leading a story circle for people to share their experiences about life on Staten Island.

All together, the events will provide some much-needed, quality, free programming for the many cultures represented in Port Richmond, said Natalia Linares, who helped start the collective ISLA, one of the event's organizers.

"Growing up in the North Shore, I don't remember there being free events focused on me being proud of who I was, whether that was being a Staten Islander, or just my community and every shade of people in it, or of being born to immigrant parents," Linares said.

"Sometimes we don't think we're worthy of this kind of thing," she said of the festival.

Pictured here on November 16, 2015, Lina Montoya waves at a passing neighbor as she works on a mural at a storefront on the corner of Richmond Terrace and Jewett Avenue in Port Richmond. Montoya is behind some of the borough's brightest, most collaborative public art. She has worked with schools and the surrounding community for her Isla Bonita beautification series. (Staten Island Advance/Lauren Steussy)

THE LA ISLA BONITA LINEUP

Live musical performances include New York City-based "tropical circus punk band" Consumata, the kind of band that will make festival-goers get their groove on with funky horns and catchy percussion.

Then, it's the Los Angeles-based Gingee, who combines traditional Filipino drums with electronic beats and her own spoken word.

And, representing Staten Island, it's the female-fronted dream punk band Yeti and Staten Island-via-Bermuda's Dizzle for those eclectic electric Island vibes.

In addition to the music, there will also be a station for people of all ages to create "rhyme books" with Stapleton's Nani Castle, a teacher and musician. Festival-goers can make their own zines with NYC-based La Liga Zine. And photographer Kristopher Johnson will be back taking more beautiful portraits with his photo booth. Island Voice Inc. will bring the chess boards for anyone to play.

In addition to Montoya and ISLA, the festival is also thanks to the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, Partnerships for Parks and California organization Sol Collective.

Everyone's welcome to bring picnic baskets, blankets and chairs, and visit the park's skatepark and pool.

BRINGING S.I. AROUND THE WORLD

Operating under the guiding principal that whatever's happening here on the rock is also happening around the world, the festival's organizers have brought in acts from Cuba to Colombia to fuel our local conversations, Linares said.

Nati's motto -- global is local -- has been somewhat of a self-fulfilling prophesy for her and others involved in the festival. She represented Staten Island in Cuba recently, and will be bringing back a Cuban DJ -- his identity will be a surprise -- for his first performance in the United States.

Likewise, Montoya, a Colombian-born artist who has made her mark with uplifting public murals all over the North Shore, is bringing back a fellow Colombian artist named Lili Cuca. Cuca designed the poster for the event and will be painting a mural in the North Shore this summer.

"We're actually living out what we want this to be," Linares said.
Photos of the Week: July 11 - 17

Gwen Carr, speaking at a 2014 press conference in Harlem. (Staten Island Advance/Mira Wassef)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- On Tuesday -- the day when Alton Sterling was shot by police in Baton Rouge, La. -- Gwen Carr's phone was ringing off the hook.

Carr, the mother of Eric Garner, who died while in police custody, said the barrage of phone calls was a reminder of her son's death in July 2014.

"It's so heart breaking to hear all this disparaging news all over the land," said Carr on Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network Saturday morning radio show.

"I was getting so many calls in the morning. 'Did you see what happened to Sterling?' I said, 'No I didn't because I don't look at the news any more.' People said to me, 'This reminds me of Eric Garner. This reminds me of your son.' The only thing is they shot this poor man."

After her calls died down, Carr said she sat down and cried.

"It just brought tears to my eyes. I cried. ...Then we had the Minnesota and Brooklyn incidents. We have incidents happening all over the place. I could honestly say I know what the families are feeling," she said.

"I know what you're going through. Just try to be strong. ...Rev. Sharpton made me know I'm part of a movement, not a moment. If you have a National Action Network in your town, you get with them because they will stay with you," Carr added.

DALLAS SHOOTINGS

Of the five police officers shot in Dallas, Carr said: "Why kill the innocent? They're not the ones who shot your loved one. ...We don't go gunning down the innocent. We are about peace."

Al Sharpton called the Dallas shooting a "horrific, despicable act."

"It's time to come together. With people being shot all over the country we need to stand up. We need to stand together," said Sharpton.

"We are not the killers, we're the healers," he added.

Other community leaders also spoke out about the recent shootings.

"The Louisiana one reminded me of Eric Garner. It's so sad -- police brutality and misconduct continues to happen. It feels like a never-ending battle," Cynthia Davis, president of the Staten Island Chapter of NAN, told the Advance on Friday.

Carr said she will participate in a unity march that will be held at 9 a.m. on Atlantic Ave. in Brooklyn on Saturday, July 16.



Advance Reporter Mira Wassef contributed to this report.

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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.-- Police are investigating an incident where a suspect took a package from atop the front door stairs of a North Shore home, police said.

At approximately 1 p.m. Tuesday, an unknown male removed the package from the front door of the home on Crystal Avenue in the Port Richmond-Willowbrook area, according to an NYPD spokesman.

There have been no arrests yet, police said.

According to NY1, the homeowner said the package contained about $500 worth of merchandise.

The incident was captured on surveillance video, obtained by NY1.
UPDATE, 3:30 p.m. July 21: This story has been updated to reflect that Gonzalo Mercado is not executive director of El Centro del Immigrante. Favio Ramirez-Caminatti holds that position.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Dozens of Staten Islanders marched through the streets of New Brighton and St. George Saturday evening in response to the recent spate of shootings across America.

Nearly 100 community members gathered in front of St. Peter's High School in New Brighton to unite in solidarity as the nation mourns the deaths of two black men and five police officers killed, during separate incidents, this past week.

"The energy has been really negative after these past few incidents around the country, and there have been people looking to riot," said community activist Bobby Digi, co-founder of Occupy The Block and one of the event organizers.

"But I see nothing positive in that because it is not going to benefit our community," he added.

Organizers from M.A.S.K. (Mothers Against Senseless Killings), Black Business Chamber, Clergies & Churches, former principal of PS 57 Larry Ambrosino, Island Voice and Youth for Justice choreographed a family friendly march down Richmond Terrace to the stairs of Borough Hall where participants joined a discussion about police brutality, gun violence, black-on-black crimes and to remember the lives of each individual murdered this week.

NYPD officers were on hand to safely escort the crowd down Richmond Terrace.

"We have our own set of problems we need to address (on Staten Island) and we have the constitutional right to speak out," said community activist and Occupy the Block President John McBeth "It's vitally important to address these problems within the police force as well as our own communities."

After assembling on the steps of Borough Hall, Digi proposed a three-point plan he and his supporters hope will quell further deadly encounters between police and African Americans.

"We would like when incidents like these happen to have the officers' names released. There's a trust issue that is so bad in our communities, so transparency is what we are asking for," he said.

"Secondly, we have to begin to address the cultural issues between police and residents... and we need to have a lot of young people, who are disconnected, to get together and incorporate ideas with police."

Other speakers included Ed Josey, president of Staten Island Chapter of the NAACP President; Judge Ronald Gregg, president of Staten Island Black Chambers; former PS 57 principal Larry Ambrosino; poet Tariq Zaid; Tanisha Franks, M.A.S.K.; Ralph Vogul, director of Staten Island LGBT; Gonzalo Mercado; artist Eric Mapp and LGBT community member Bryan Elliott.

"The truth of the matter is that all lives matter. None of these killings should be happening," said Josey. "To everyone on Staten Island: Please try and make this a better place to live."

On Monday, there will be a community discussion about addressing the recent shootings and gun violence in the United States. The event will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Canvas Institute of Arts Culture and Civic Engagement at 150 Victory Blvd., Tompkinsville.

Rallies have been taking place across the country, including in Union Square, following the police-involved shooting deaths of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, La., on Tuesday, and Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minn., a day later.

On Thursday, five Dallas police officers were killed after a sniper opened fire on them during a protest over police violence on Thursday. Seven other officers were wounded.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- "The Infiltrator" movie -- based on the true story of federal agent Robert "Bob" Mazur, a former Staten Islander who uncovered one of the biggest drug rings in history -- is being released in theaters on Wednesday.

Mazur, who grew up in Mariners Harbor and Port Richmond, and graduated from Port Richmond High School and Wagner College, went deep undercover in 1986 to work his way into Pablo Escobar's drug trafficking ring by posing as money-laundering businessman Bob Musella.

Mazur is an executive producer and is portrayed by Bryan Cranston in the movie.

While at Wagner, Mazur stumbled on his career as a federal agent when he read an announcement for a job opening at the Intelligence Division of the IRS.

When the IRS built its case against the bank that laundered millions for Harlem heroin trafficker Frank Lucas, Mazur learned early on how important banks were to major dealers who raked in millions dealing narcotics.

To tell his story, Mazur's very first media interview was with the Advance in 1992.

During the late 1980s, Mazer working undercover as Musella. He washed dirty drug money and forged a blood trust with international power player Amjad Awan, a Miami-based bank officer with BCCI -- the Bank of Credit and Commerce International -- who personally served the money-laundering needs of Panama's dictator Manuel Noriega.

Ziauddin Akbar, BCCI's treasurer who laundered money for Noriega with backing from Saudi Arabia's intelligence community, and cocaine trafficker Roberto Alcaino, a middleman between the Medellin cartel and the Russian Mafia, also entrusted Musella to hide millions handed down from Pablo Escobar himself.

Musella lived in lavish homes and partied in $1,000 hotel suites. He drove Rolls Royce convertibles and flew on the Concorde when he wasn't using a private jet. He gave exclusive gifts, once handing Alcaino a $25,000 gold cross.

"I felt I had an obligation here," Mazur, told the Advance in 2010. "I'm not a hero. I'm not the all-star. I am a member of a team who got the privilege to serve the public in a very unique capacity."



"Without their help, Lucas's dirty mountain of cash was a huge liability. It drew too much attention," Mazur wrote in his book, "The Infiltrator," which was published in 2009.

"It dawned on me then that the Achilles' heel of the drug trade was the banks that supplied it with money-laundering services."

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It is believed that ten terror suspects might have sneaked into the Indian territory from Bangladesh.

This image shows ten terror suspects that may have sneaked into the Indian territory from Bangladesh.

By Manogya Loiwal : The Bangladesh government has sent a list of ten possible terror suspects to the government of India.

It is believed that the suspects might have sneaked into the Indian territory.

The entire Indian border is being alerted with the photographs and other details of the suspects.

These suspects may also have involvement in the July 1 terror attack in Dhaka in which as many as 20 persons were killed after armed assailant opened fire at an upscale cafe in Gulshan neighbourhood of the Bangladeshi capital.

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The possibility of them carrying out further attacks is also not being ruled out.

On July 7, militants attacked Bangladeshi police guarding the country's biggest festival marking the end of Ramzan, killing three people and wounding 14, days after Islamic State claimed the attack on Holey Artisan Bakery in the capital and warned of more violence.

BANGLADESH SCHOOL, COLLEGES ORDERED TO REPORT ABSENT STUDENTS

Meanwhile, the Bangladesh government has ordered all educational institutions in the country to give lists of students who have been absent for over 10 straight days.

Bangladesh government took the step after five militants killed 22 people after attacking a cafe in Dhaka's upscale Gulshan area on July 1 night. According to reports, some of the militants who carried out the recent terror attacks in Dhaka had joined militant groups after running away from home. The suspected attacker of Sholakia Eid gathering last Thursday, who was killed in a firefight, had also been missing since March, police said.

The decision to demand the lists of students was taken at a meeting of education ministry officials, chaired by Minister Nurul Islam Nahid, at the Secretariat.

The ministry later issued an order in this regard, which said the institutions will have to make the lists of the absentee students and submit them to the Upazila education officers, the bdnews reported.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has also asked people to inform police if any of the children in their families are missing.

After the cafe terror attack, parents of 10 more youths, who have been missing for several months, have sought police help to find them.

Security forces have also alerted parents to report their missing children.

(With inputs from agencies)





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By PTI: Dhaka, Jul 10 (PTI) Bangladesh today ordered all educational institutions to notify authorities about students who have been absent for over 10 straight days following reports that some of the militants who carried out recent terror attacks were students who had been missing for months.

The decision to demand the lists of students was taken at a meeting of education ministry officials, chaired by Minister Nurul Islam Nahid, at the Secretariat.

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The ministry later issued an order in this regard, which said the institutions will have to make the lists of the absentee students and submit them to the Upazila education officers, the bdnews reported.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina last week also appealed to parents to inform authorities of their missing children.

"Terrorism will never be tolerated in Bangladesh. The government will do everything to establish peace," she had said and vowed to track them down using modern technology.

After the July 1 Dhaka cafe attack, Bangladesh police and Rapid Action Battalion issued an alert, saying leaving home and joining militants had become a trend among youths.

The five militants who killed 22 people, including an Indian, at the Dhaka cafe had been missing or not contacting their families for several months, their relatives have said.

The suspected attacker of the second attack on a Eid gathering, who was killed in a firefight, had also been missing since March, police said.

Four of these six youths were students of top English medium schools in Dhaka. Two of them were students of private North South University and another of BRAC University.

Security forces have also alerted parents to report their missing children.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has also asked people to inform police if any of the children in their families are missing.

After the cafe terror attack, parents of 10 more youths, who have been missing for several months, have sought police help to find them. PTI PMS AKJ NSA

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Buyers can easily reap profits of $1500 to $2500 a kilogram of gold. Credit:Creativ Studio Heinemann When someone buys investment-grade gold bullion that has been stamped into bars and coins, no GST is payable. But the 10 per cent tax does apply to so-called "scrap" gold, which can be anything from cheap jewellery to fragments of 24-carat (pure) gold. The fraudsters figured out that stamped, GST-free bullion could be smashed into pieces or melted down into scrap, making it suddenly eligible for GST when it was sold on to precious metals dealers and jewellers. The 10 per cent tax was paid by the new buyer, then pocketed by the seller, never reaching the Australian Taxation Office. These so-called "missing traders" found they could easily reap profits of $1500 to $2500 a kilogram of gold, industry sources say. But the scam grew exponentially when established players in the gold industry realised it was also possible to claim a GST tax credit after buying bullion that had been melted or even just re-labelled as scrap.

"When word got out you could make a lot of money on this, it spread like wildfire," a gold industry insider says. "Criminals and con men have always been a problem in the industry. But they've flooded in to make a quid." The result was the creation of a series of what the ATO has called organised criminal syndicates  buyers, dealers and refiners  who sourced vast amounts of gold bullion from around the country to fuel the fraud. Hundreds of kilograms of gold began to flow in questionable transactions between members in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane each week, then recycled back through the legitimate industry in order to repeat the process. The demand for gold became so intense that some participants allegedly faked transactions, creating paper trails for bullion and scrap gold that never actually changed hands. And by 2013, the ATO had been flooded with GST claims that it had flagged as suspicious or potentially fraudulent.

The crackdown, known as Operation Nosean, began in October that year. The ATO, Australian Federal Police and the Australian Crime Commission staged more than a dozen raids in Victoria and NSW. At that point, the fraud had cost taxpayers $65 million. Another $65 million was levied in fines and interest as the ATO sent out penalty bills to gold industry players around the country, who they have refused to name. The AFP launched proceeds-of-crime actions against at least 10 individuals and companies involved in one of the Sydney-based syndicates. A Supreme Court judge has refused Fairfax Media's request to review the court file. But the scam carries on. The ATO reports the cost to taxpayers has now ballooned to more than $550 million and continues to grow. Based on volumes, industry sources guess it may be twice the size. This would make it the second largest tax scam to hit Australia after Project Wickenby, which yielded $985 million in tax and prompted 46 convictions.

While the ATO believes the conduct in the gold industry is fraudulent, traders argue they are just businesses playing the margins. While the suspected criminal activities of at least one syndicate have been referred to federal prosecutors, so far not one criminal charges has been laid. Fairfax Media understands that, in late 2014, authorities raided a commercial office in Sydney that houses numerous major gold industry traders. Another six "new significant cases" were under investigation by 2015. But despite all the attention, gold industry sources say that, in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, the trade goes on, albeit on a smaller scale. "You still see strange people buying bullion and then a few days later trying to sell scrap in approximately the same amount," a source said. "The scam is so easy to run and not get caught. By the time the ATO catches onto a missing trader, they've shut down and moved on to a new company or a new false ID."

Many of the gold industry businesses allegedly involved in the GST rebate rort since 2013  who cannot be named for legal reasons  continue to operate, despite being hit with enormous tax bills, which are being contested in the courts. The ATO, which has declined to comment on the effectiveness of Operation Nosean, said a "number of syndicates" had been identified since 2012. "The high value of gold and relative ease of availability provides significant opportunity for exploitation, particularly by organised networks," ATO assistant commissioner Ian Read said. "The Australian Taxation Office continues to review various entities in the gold bullion industry to verify their entitlement to GST credits and to ensure they have reported GST correctly." Questions about the escalating size of the scam were put to Commissioner of Taxation Chris Jordan by Senator John Williams during a Senate committee hearing early last year.

Senator Williams: Would they not be liable for fraud charges? Mr Jordan: If it was fraud we would have taken action with the Australian Federal Police. What they would be arguing, though, is they would be asserting they were doing what the law allows. Fairfax Media understands a major problem hampering the ATO is the difficulty in distinguishing between legitimate operators and potential fraudsters in an industry that is only lightly regulated. Gold trading is a volume industry and mid-tier bullion dealers sell three to five kilograms worth of gold on a regular day. No licence is required to trade in gold bullion, a situation that has allowed organised criminals and professional fraudsters to infiltrate the industry. Brisbane precious metals trader Robert Bourke, a self-confessed "middle man" in a one of the alleged GST syndicates, was a veteran criminal with more than 20 fraud, dishonesty and theft convictions and yet was still able to act as a gold buyer on behalf of self-managed super funds.

Bourke was accused of orchestrating the theft of 100 kilograms of solid gold, but died of cancer last year before he could face court. Investors and creditors lost more than $20 million when his business collapsed. Another veteran convicted conman, Rocco Calabrese, and a bankrupt Sydney businessman have also been implicated in the GST scam. In a licensed industry  financial planning, pawnbroking, used cars or real estate  convicted criminals and bankrupts would face (and fail) a "fit and proper person" requirement. But the GST scam has only exacerbated the infiltration of organised crime figures into a business that is already being exploited to launder money and hide the proceeds of crime. Under current laws, no identification needs to be presented when buying or selling less than $5000 worth of bullion. Dodgy gold traders can easily circumvent this rule by allowing customers to conduct multiple deals below the threshold.

Deals of more than $10,000 require customers to present ID, and the transaction must be reported to the federal agency, the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre. But that is no major obstacle for criminals given the easy availability of false identification papers. Like the world's central banks, criminals have also realised that gold is the ultimate form of money. Compact, anonymous and highly valuable, it is used to pay debts, hide money and buy drugs and weapons, sources say. One kilogram of gold is worth more than $58,000 and is about the size of an iPhone 5. In comparison, the same amount in $50 bills would fill a shoebox. Unlike cash, property or luxury cars, gold is effectively untraceable. It can be melted and moulded into any shape and it won't degrade when buried or submerged in water. Stolen jewellery is easily melted down in smelters that can be bought on eBay or from jewellery supply shops for a few hundred dollars, tools also used by "missing traders" to convert their bullion to scrap.
Tesla Motors and General Motors' Chevrolet are preparing to bring out mass-market electric cars next year. If you plan to buy one and help save the planet, people who live near the Atacama salt flat in Chile ask that you spare a thought for the flamingos.

The vehicles will be powered by rechargeable batteries containing lithium, a silver-white metal found in brine deposits under the world's driest desert in northern Chile. The 3000-square kilometre Salar de Atacama is also known for wild flamingos, who feed and breed in its lagoons. Some locals say miners sucking water out of the earth to get to the lithium are starving the long-legged birds in the process.

A flamingo in the Atacama Desert in Chile.

"They are pumping up an absurd amount of water," says Rolando Humire Coca, a biochemist who heads the Naturalist Society of San Pedro de Atacama and is a member of Chile's National Institute for Human Rights. "If they keep using the same methods to extract water, the consequences will be disastrous. All forms of life will be destroyed."

Satellite images indicate some lagoons and meadows in the salt flat are shrinking or drying up, while the Chilean Forestry Commission has recorded a drop in the flamingo population. A parliamentary commission set up this year to look into the depletion of water resources across the country has yet to connect it to the lithium miners, leaving it to the local community to drum up interest in the fate of the flamingos.
Advertising insiders have rejected Facebook's accounts that show the social media giant generated just $33.6 million in revenue in Australia.

One executive said: "If they only wrote $33 million in revenue I'll dance nude in the city during peak hour."

Facebook Australia's accounts show its revenue soared 27 per cent to $33.6 million in the 2015 calendar year, but its loss widened to almost $1 million.

The revenue figure might rise significantly in the 2016 calendar year as Facebook Australia no longer books its local revenue in Ireland. The accounts state Facebook Australia restructured to meet the government's multinational anti-avoidance legislation (MAAL) that took effect this year.
But unlike some American companies including shoe vendor Zappos, her management approach is not purely consensual. Zappos, owned by Amazon, has embraced a system called "holacracy" which replaces the management hierarchy with a democratic system of self-managed teams. "I'm not suggesting there is no leadership here, there has to be," Brittain-White says. "It is allowing people to express a view and then having someone who actually has to own the decision. "It is important to me ... to say to people you are not barred from this meeting, this is not about seniority and hierarchy. It is about getting things done." Australian companies including Retriever Communications avoid the extremes of human resources trends  everybody runs the company at one end, brutal rankings and top-down management hierarchy at the other.

When it comes to performance reviews, the focus for Brittain-White is on the quality of the conversation and setting career goals for the benefit of staff. "It is for the employee to feel they are getting the level of feedback they need, rather than the business needing it," she says. "The individual gets very frustrated in terms of not having a career path planned, not having a formalised assessment." The so-called "rank and yank" approach tested and ultimately abandoned by Microsoft, General Electric and other companies in recent years resulted in the bottom 10 per cent of employees being culled. While setting worker against worker might encourage competition between sales staff, Brittain-White believes it fails miserably when applied to creative types.

"Conflict is not the best way to get the best out of engineers. What they are looking for is a more harmonious environment and encouragement. They need that," she said. Anxiety over job security and rankings breeds internal competition and in worst cases, gaming and cheating of the assessment system. Before founding her company, Brittain-White worked for many years in large corporations including IBM and Motorola in Silicon Valley. "I came from high sales and everyone was competing with the other bastard," she says. "In a smaller business like mine where you know everyone personally, I have made two people redundant in 20 years. We are desperate to find people with programming skills, we are trying to keep them, not get rid of them."

The approach to human resources management in larger corporates was more brutal in the US, where employees are more easily sacked at will. In an apocryphal story, a former human resources manager at Netflix named Patty McCord reportedly convinced her boss Reed Hastings that he should re-evaluate everyone in the executive ranks by asking the question: would you hire the same person again today? Reed took McCord's advice to heart and used it to oust her from her job after 20 years in his service. Tighter regulation of unfair dismissal under workplace laws makes sackings more difficult in Australia. Even so, significant down-sizing in recent years has still led to brutal retrenchments. The rhetoric of retaining and developing staff talent operates in sharp contrast to the cold efficiency of downsizing. "You are valuable until a company decides it doesn't need you," says John Shields, professor of human resource management at the University of Sydney business school.

"When it doesn't need you, it will move you out as quickly and clinically as possible." Since the global financial crisis, many companies have moved away from reward payments towards talent development and training. "The performance pay side of things really did take a hiding because of the way that executive rewards were exposed during the GFC," Shields says. The recent move away from performance reviews  universally hated and often criticised as an empty ritual  has surprisingly also led to employees becoming less engaged according to new research. Aaron McEwan from best practice company CEB, said its survey of 9500 employees and 300 heads of human resources managers found employees, particularly high performers, had become disengaged without performance reviews.

The study of staff and managers at global companies including those operating in Australia found the move away from performance ratings resulted in a 28 per cent drop in the productivity of high performers. In tossing out the bureaucratic box-ticking exercise, the valuable conversation between employee and manager had also been sacrificed, leading to staff, particularly high performers, withering without constructive feedback, recognition, goal-setting or encouragement. Academics like Shields say the performance review format needed to be improved instead of jettisoned to protect the valuable time for a conversation between staff and managers. Roy Green, dean of the University of Technology Sydney business school, found Australia is lagging behind many other countries including the US and Japan when it comes to promoting workplace productivity and creativity. "We are not good in Australia at engaging talent and creativity in the workforce," he said.

Harsh culling techniques used in company downsizing do little to encourage the talent and confidence of staff that remain. "They are characterised by a survivor syndrome in that they wonder why they are still there and will they be the next to go," Green says. "I think the evidence is now suggesting that a very authoritarian approach to managing and constructing your workforce is instilling approaches that are the very opposite of the kind you would like to see occur, which is greater collaboration, greater commitment to the ethos of the organisation, greater participation ... "If you have a workforce that is so alienated that they don't do these things, you are compromising the future success of your organisation." Performance reviews had become so "bureaucratic, over bearing and intrusive" in recent years that they had failed to give employees a greater sense of autonomy or enable them to participate in the innovation and growth of an organisation. The performance review had also become the proxy for ongoing dialogue with the workforce.

"Performance reviews have a role as long as they are a servant and not a master of job performance," Professor Green says. "Some of the old ideas of authoritarian management are disappearing but we still have many managers who are not well trained for their roles, who are insecure and who feel they need to have control over everything." Professor of human resource management at the University of South Australia business school Carol Kulik says there were conflicting purposes of performance reviews, including rewarding high performers with higher pay and laying off the bottom performers. The administrative and punitive side of the reviews had stifled the candidness needed in genuine conversations that encouraged development and had led to some people trying to game the system. The "rank and yank" technique often created internal competition and conflict among staff.

She says about 20 per cent of the Fortune 500 companies in the US had some form of forced distribution system which put employees on a bell curve. "A forced distribution system only works if you are going to have some reward or punishment to attach to the ratings. Otherwise you are creating turmoil for nothing," Kulik says. "We haven't seen forced distribution being that popular in Australia and part of the reason for that is because we've historically had such a strong centralised industrial relations system where a much smaller percentage of people's pay is based on individual performance. Most of it is based on the award rate." Companies like GE and Microsoft that had eliminated 10 per cent of staff saw good performers lost. Peter Freedman, the chief executive officer at RODE Microphones in Sydney, China and the US, says he avoids putting his 150 Australian staff through the hoops of "horribly confronting" performance ratings and has kept good employees for 10 years or longer "because that's how you get a good business because they know what they are doing".

"What we do is ask them what the highlights of the year were and what they have achieved," he says. "If the company is doing really well, and we have had another cracker year, then I come out there and increase everybody's wages by 10 per cent. If you are doing well, why wouldn't you share it. "And that's a huge motivator, otherwise they see me driving around in my hot car and they aren't getting anything." The business also has a very flat management structure. "Everybody could articulate why we are doing what we are doing. And they are super proud how we are beating multi-billion dollar companies because we are fast," Freedman says.
Zed Seselja's recent attack on the safeguards enjoyed by ACT women undertaking an abortion should disqualify him from promotion to the federal ministry. He should take a leaf out of the book of Labor deputy leader Tanya Plibersek, who comes from a similarly tough background. However, she has managed to adopt enlightened attitudes to social and health issues and promotes these in an intelligent and articulate manner. Chris Smith, Kingston Fluffy inquiry Andrew Barr's comment that a board of inquiry in the Fluffy asbestos disaster would not unveil anything new ("Not much to gain from a Fluffy inquiry", June 22, p2) is a joke.

He insists without federal government input there is no point having a royal commission-style inquiry. It is no secret the federal government were warned of potential risks associated with loose-fill asbestos insulation going back to 1968. Cabinet papers can be obtained from National Archives which reveal what they knew about loose-fill asbestos insulation now referred to as "Mr Fluffy" and; what if anything they did to protect consumers. Mr Fluffy home-owners have every right to demand a transparent independent inquiry into recent events leading up to and including; the establishment of the buy-back program, lack of flexibility and compassion, all management aspects of the taskforce including; contracting, breaches of safety, on-site pilfering, land sales, and the involuntary nature of the program. Holding an inquiry is the only way Canberrans' will be able to put to rest this sorry saga plaguing our community. This is not about ego; nor is it about cost-saving measures. It's about doing the right thing for rate payers and the community's basic health and safety.

L. Carvalho, Lyons ABC's agenda Rosemary Walters (Letters, July 7) is very wide of the mark if she thinks the role of the ABC is to balance the commercial media. The problem with the The Drum and Fact Checker is they enjoy massive public funding and therefore compete unfairly with commercial offerings. The Drum squeezes out left of centre private entities who need to turn a profit, and Fact Checker has already played a significant role in crowding out the market to the detriment of similar commercial initiatives. There was a time when publicly funded ABC journalists kept their politics and opinions to themselves but the Drum brought that practice to an end once and for all and not surprisingly, the result was a torrent of green left opinion from ABC celebrities with the occasional nod to conservative views in clumsy attempts at balance. As for the public benefiting from ABC views on important issues such as for example, climate change, Walters is again wide of the mark. The ABC is the last place to get a balanced view on climate change as it rarely presents serious discussion on any view that does not conform to the green left orthodoxy on the subject.

Both examples clearly contravene ABC internal guidance on impartiality. H. Ronald, Jerrabomberra, NSW Horrors of war I will have to visit the Australian War Memorial to view Harry Daziel's VC ("Family pilgrimage honours heroic 'two-gun Harry"', July 6, p7). To millennials, World War I is a footnote in history that probably leaves many bewildered as to why young men would fight in such horrific conditions particularly since Australians suffered terribly as a function of their 4-million population.

Older people will remember aged veterans, especially one-legged, former warriors. As a primary school-aged child in the US, I remember an old neighbour who invited us to swim in his pool. He served on the western front. If you consider the Yanks only arrived en masse in April 1918, and suffered almost a quarter of a million killed-in-action in eight months, the numbers speak volumes about the carnage. Jules Dumergue only told one story albeit reluctantly. He needed new boots, so he went to the dead man's pile and selected a pair. After he fitted them he discovered to his horror they were covered in mustard gas. It was ghastly, he said. Gerry Murphy, Braddon

Cotter Dam overflow It is great news that the enlarged Cotter Dam is about to overflow. However, it would be nice to know why the dam was kept at 80 per cent full, for over 18 months? M. Arnold, O'Connor Use windfall from Symonston for oval The ACT government was quick to follow the NSW Government's lead in banning greyhound racing ("Barr bans greyhound races after inquiry", July 8, p1). Although Canberra's Greyhound Racing Track in Symonston won't command the same premium price as Wentworth Park in the Sydney suburb of Glebe, I would still expect the ACT government to receive a considerable windfall from any sale of the Symonston site for high density residential redevelopment.

If the ACT government wasn't so beholden to its well-heeled Labor mates and their property developer cronies it would make use of the expected windfall from the redevelopment of the Symonston site to fund its own upgrade of Manuka Oval. That, in turn, would obviate the need for the Barr government to entertain the 'unsolicited' offer from Grocon and GWS Giants and, thereby, remove the threat to public amenity that is posed by their voracious Manuka Green redevelopment. Bruce Taggart, Aranda Gun proliferation We don't want to be like the United States where gun sales rocket after yet another massacre, leading inevitably to a further increase in distrust and violence in the land of the free ("Americans flock to gun show after Pulse Massacre", canberratimes.com.au, July 5).

Citizens fearing the dangers of gun proliferation here in Australia need to vote against the continuation of council-approved events such as Narooma's HuntFest before the gun lobby entrenches the false ideas that Australians are under attack from within, the police force is inadequate, and that gun ownership is necessary and desirable for people's personal protection. Susan Cruttenden, Dalmeny, NSW Can't believe this government's election promises on Medibank D. Zivkovic (Letters, July 7) is apparently one of those suckered in by the Coalition's desperate claims that Labor's stance on the necessity to save Medibank was a "big lie". The privatisation option raised during the early stages of the Abbott government was still on the table until during the election campaign the PM was questioned on the issue and, realising that this could be an election-loser, offered a quick promise that privatisation would not occur. But hey, we know from experience how little reliability can be placed in the election promises of this government.

T.J. Marks, Holt Medicare levy I could not agree more with Ian De Landelles (Letters, July 7) about the revenue remedies needed to maintain Medicare. The Australian people have indicated that they do not want cuts to Medicare on the expenditure side so the only way to maintain these services is on the revenue side. As a taxpaying retiree I am quite happy to pay an increased Medicare levy to help with this problem. What sticks up my craw though is the thought of well provided for self funded retirees who pay no tax (fair enough!) but as a consequence of no taxable income therefore pay no Medicare levy, but they expect to be able to access Medicare services which I and others are paying for. This is entirely unequitable in relation to taxpayers who faithfully pay their Medicare levy every year.

Robert Mair, Crace I believe Medicare should be a "sacred cow" by agreement ("Medicare must not be a sacred cow", Editorial, Times2, July 7, p2). Without an ethical commitment it is not logical to expect any political party to treat Medicare with integrity when that virtue in far too many parliamentarians is like a mirage in a political desert. The Coalition denied wanting to privatise Medicare, but even if it did, to criticise it for that would be like criticising an elephant for having a trunk. It's the nature of the beast. Colliss Parrett, Barton Chilcot report

Following the Chilcot report on Britain's involvement in the Iraq war, the defenders of Blair (and Howard) are saying that they followed the best intelligence available from our intelligence services. I seem to remember exactly the opposite; that ASIO, MI5 and the CIA all said the evidence for WMD was unconvincing. The strongest evidence came from disaffected Iraqi exiles like Achmed Chalabi and from tortured prisoners. Scott Ritter, once a UN weapons inspector engaged in Iraq, threw buckets of cold water on the WMD story with his booklet, War in Iraq. The Bush administration's subsequent strenuous attempts to assassinate Ritter's character are evidence that they had a plan to attack Iraq; evidence just as strong as the evidence mentioned just above. As for the argument, which I saw put by Bill Molan, that resources for a lengthy occupation were insufficient because the US envisaged a short campaign, I might say that the looting and destruction in the aftermath of the invasion show that both thinking and resources were inadequate for even a short campaign. S.W. Davey, Torrens

Your editorial about the Chilcot report ("Blair, Howard co-operate with war mongering", Times2, July 8, p2) reminded me that it has become an article of faith in America, Israel and among their allies that Iran wants nuclear weapons so as "to wipe Israel from the map". I suppose it's just possible that a nuclear-armed Iran would attempt such a monumentally stupid act and thus commit instant national suicide, as America, Israel and possibly Pakistan retaliated in kind. Consider instead, that this might just be political rhetoric: a bit like "evil empire", "axis of evil", "cut off the head of the snake", "shirtfront" and so on. Consider also, that Iran is surrounded by enemies, sectarian and secular, including America, which has several military bases in nearby former Soviet republics and which has threatened in the past to attack Iran. Consider finally, and in light of the Chilcot report, that a major qualifier to be on the receiving end of a gratuitous, sustained and nation-destroying American bombing campaign (think Iraq twice, Afghanistan, the former Yugoslavia, Libya, Syria and Lebanon by proxy) is that the recipient nation does not have nuclear weapons, and you might just conclude that 80 million Iranians would be foolhardy not to want an independent nuclear deterrent.

After all, it worked for the Soviet Union for a long time and is working, so far, for China and North Korea. Peter Moran, Watson Same-sex marriage Thank you to Rev. JR Huggett (Letters, July 4) for acknowledging the threat of theologically driven anti-gay violence, and the risk that a plebiscite on same-sex marriage pose in this regard. His view, based on experience, is a refreshing change from the views of conservative elements, who are now disturbingly playing victim in the war of words on the issue in their latest and increasingly desperate ploy to gain support for their views.

They have even undertaken the extraordinary and disturbing step of seeking to suspend anti-vilification laws in the event of a plebiscite. What exactly do they propose to say that is so offensive they fear these laws? The internet is continually full of stories of the violence inflicted on LGBT people, such as the recent Orlando tragedy, and other acts around the world. Now we also see a trend of these elements focusing on back-room political lobbying of like-minded politicians, who thereby fail in their responsibility as secular leaders. This happens in preference to engaging openly with the Australian public, whose views they no doubt realise from numerous polls broadly support same-sex marriage and pro-LGBT rights. Our political leaders need to show some courage and do what is right, rather than give in to back-room pressure that seriously undermines human rights. The anti-gay marriage lobby is not about religious freedom. It's about religious conservatives forcing their outdated views on others, and denying LGBT people the human rights and freedom they're entitled to.

Richard Roberts, Farrer TO THE POINT IRAQ'S DEMISE Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis were killed in the 2003 invasion and its aftermath who were no threat to Australia, and were never counted. No thanks to the war launched by Bush, Blair and Howard, Iraq is now a terrorist state. Richard Ryan, Summerland Point, NSW

DO IT AGAIN, MIKE Now that Mike Kelly has been returned as the MP for Eden-Monaro, will he be occupying the offices he had refurbished for $400,000, as reported in this paper at the time, and the subject of my letter (September 16, 2013), before his last electoral defeat, or will he stimulate the economy with another taxpayer-funded extravaganza? Ian Jannaway, Monash GREYHOUND BAN Thank you, Canberra, for finally calling "time" on greyhound racing. If truck drivers, green grocers and whitegoods retailers don't get millions in taxpayer subsidies each year then why, across Australia, do the dog and horse racing and industries? It's outrageous and it should end, now.

Lawrence Pope, Victorian Advocates for Animals, North Carlton, Vic Well done, ACT government. The greyhound ban is not before time and it reflects well on its sense of humanity. Compliments also to the ABC, whose agitation to rid us of such cruelties were also amplified in their later efforts in raising the shameful live cattle industry. Let us all hope that this will also be discontinued. Rex Williams, Ainslie The greyhound racing association is condemning the NSW government for banning it, saying it hasn't been given time to "clean up the industry". It had 18 months to clean up and chose to do nothing. Personally I would like to see it go ASAP. V. Harris, Yass, NSW

JUMP TO THE RIGHT In light of The Canberra Times' editorial of July 1 endorsing the re-election of the Turnbull government, J.R. Hugget (Letters, July 6) asks if "Emperor Rupert owns Fairfax now?". Not monetarily, but certainly intellectually. I suspect the jump to the right of The Canberra Times is just the next step in its ultimate sale of the newspaper to the Murdochracy. John Passant, Kambah UPS AND DOWNS
The election result has produced no definitive mandate for either the Coalition or Labor. But a number of policy starting points exist for stable government. It's up to Malcolm Turnbull, Bill Shorten and the crossbenchers to find that common ground.

Rather than waiting on parliamentary jostling, the Herald hopes Mr Turnbull will be proactive in bringing competing interests together in the national interest.

Winners - and losers - have emerged as grinners, but the tough tasks of reform lie ahead. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

The sooner the nation knows what government policies are achievable, the sooner economic confidence rises and budget repair begins.

One option worth considering is a national summit to draw on the best ideas from all sides both inside and outside the Parliament.
The first casualty of war, as everyone knows, is the truth. What's equally depressing, though, is that despite the release of the long-awaited Chilcot report last week  a chronicle of Britain's involvement in the Iraq War  it may also be the last.

In the wake of the excoriating 6000-page investigation, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has emphatically refuted Chilcot's conclusion that the decision to invade Iraq was wrong, insisting  against all reason, possibly  that the world is "better and safer" as a result.

John Howard says there is no need for another inquiry. Credit:Edwina Pickles

Blair's denials are echoed by those of former US president George W Bush and our own former PM John Howard  who together made up the three amigos of that deadly trinity, the Coalition of the Willing. As it turns out, they were just a little too willing.

Chilcot makes it only too clear that Blair drew some fairly reckless, possibly fanciful, conclusions from MI6 intelligence material. The very same drama was played out here in February 2003, when John Howard delivered his febrile assessment on Iraq to the community: Saddam had an "arsenal"; a "stockpile"; "a massive program for developing offensive biological weapons  one of the largest and most advanced in the world".
By PTI: From Lalit K Jha

Washington, Jul 9 (PTI) Honouring the lives of the five police officers killed in an ambush in Dallas, Vice President Joe Biden today called on all Americans to act with unity in stopping the violence and to speak out against "disparities" in the US criminal justice system.

"As Americans, we are wounded by all of these deaths. Its on all of us to stand up, to speak out about disparities in our criminal justice system ? just as its on all of us to stand up for the police who protect us in our communities every day," Biden said in a recorded weekly radio and web address usually done by the US President.

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Biden commemorated the lives of the five police officers killed and the seven people wounded in the Dallas shootings.

The police officers were providing safety to those who were peacefully marching against racial injustices in the criminal justice system and the shocking images of the lives lost in St Paul and Baton Rouge.

"When an assassins bullet targeted the police force in Dallas, it touched the soul of the nation. Those killed and wounded were protecting the safety of those who were peacefully protesting against racial injustices in the criminal justice system," Biden said.

"Those who were marching against the kind of shocking images we saw in St Paul and Baton Rouge ? and have seen too often elsewhere?of too many black lives lost," he said.

Echoing the remarks of Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings and Police Chief David Brown, Biden called on the American people to act with unity to stop the violence.

He emphasised that it was everyones responsibility to speak out against disparities within the criminal justice system, just as much as it is the responsibility of everyone to stand up for the police "who protect us every day."

"So while were being tested, we cant be pulled apart. We are America, with bonds that hold us together. We endure, we persevere, we overcome, we stand together," Biden said.

The incident yesterday was one of the deadliest attacks on law enforcers in America since 9/11.

The main suspect was 25-year-old Micah Johnson, who was later killed in a blast triggered by a robot. Johnson was an army reservist and Afghan veteran, officials have said. PTI LKJ ABH MRJ

--- ENDS ---
How many times have you heard a woman who has a perfectly healthy body weight complain that she needs to lose weight, that she needs to devote a significant amount of her waking hours to the gym and that she can't eat cake because she's too large?

The Australian government should follow the lead of governments overseas and take more action to help improve women's body image.

For several decades, there has been extreme pressure on women to be extremely, unhealthily thin. Images of models who are extremely skinny are everywhere. Many of these images are Photoshopped, so the images do not look like the women in reality.

Research has found that when women see images of women who look unhealthily thin, they compare themselves with the images. If they feel they are larger than the women in the images, they may develop poor body image, which can contribute to them developing an eating disorder. These images impact upon women and children. So much so, that 10-year-old Tish Metton started a petition asking the media to show more diverse images of women. While it's inspirational that a 10-year-old wants to have a positive impact upon women's body image, it's also sad that so many images of women are sufficiently unrealistic that they trouble someone so young.
It is the art prize that stops a nation or at least Sydney.

The Melbourne Cup for artists, this year's field jockeying for the Archibald Prize is particularly unpredictable, according to the curator of the Archibald Prize exhibition, Natalie Wilson.

Natasha Bieniek's small portrait of Wendy Whiteley is a strong contender to win the Archibald Prize. Credit:Mim Stirling

"It is like a horse race in a sense," she said. "There can always be a complete unknown coming from behind and taking out the prize."
Big heads have long crowded the Archibald Prize, but this year's exhibition is filled with long faces.

Few of the 51 finalist portraits could be described as happy, with federal Liberal MP Josh Frydenberg almost the only subject to greet visitors with a smile.

Former Archibald Prize winner Marcus Wills has painted a forlorn James Batchelor, perhaps worried he has lost his clothes. Credit:Brook Mitchell

In contrast, the majority of sitters appear stern, sombre, downcast or at best, pensive.
Thousands of people have stripped and been painted blue as they starred in a huge installation to celebrate a British seaside town's relationship with the sea.

Hull City Council said 3200 people took part in the event  the largest of its kind ever to be staged in the UK by New York-based artist Spencer Tunick.

Tunick's Sea of Hull installation involved participants from 20 countries, including American Stephane Janssen, 80, who has posed for him on 20 previous occasions.

The hundreds who gathered at dawn were daubed with four shades of blue body paint in celebration of Hull's maritime heritage and then posed for a series of site specific installations around some of the city's best known historic locations.
Set in a Manhattan defined by college campuses and rainy weather, the fulcrum of Miller's fifth independent feature film is Maggie (Greta Gerwig), a self-contained young achiever ready to bypass a relationship and go straight to motherhood. Her intended sperm donor is Guy (Travis Fimmel), a soulful artisanal pickle maker, but the situation is complicated by Maggie meeting John (Ethan Hawke), a frustrated novelist living in the imposing shadow of his wife, Georgette (Julianne Moore), a "glacial and terrifying" Danish professor.

Maggie's Plan maintains writer-director Rebecca Miller's close fascination with the turning points in female lives, but drama has given way to screwball momentum. It's a jaunty movie, often amusing and sometimes despairing, about a woman who thinks she knows what she wants in life, and unfortunately keeps getting it.

Miller has great fun riffing on academic culture's pretensions. John is "one of the bad boys of ficto-critical anthropology", Maggie learns. These are nominally smart people, but when it comes to love they are as mistake-prone as the rest of us, even if their subsequent recriminations display a terrific vocabulary.

When John professes his love for Maggie she accepts him, and the film jumps to three years later. They're married with a two-year-old daughter, his unfinished novel and many obligations. One shot of the couple arranged on a couch, with John splayed across Maggie, reveals their dynamic. Maggie's practicality and overcommitment has left her unfulfilled.

In the films Gerwig has made with Noah Baumbach, most recently Mistress America, she has created her own screen persona, the Millennial whose entertaining delusions are eventually self-destructive. Maggie's Plan turns that around, so that Gerwig's protagonist believes she knows best, eventually deciding it would be better for everyone if John went back to Georgette.

The plot's turns are close to farcical, but Miller's deft mix of tones slowly reveals depths. Even Georgette, whose icy accent is satire personified, is opened up by her response to Maggie's proposal. And while the characters' work is full of theories, their own lives have messy ramifications that the talented cast subtly bring to bear.
AFTER HOURS 

M, 97 minutes. Australian Centre for the Moving Image, Friday July 15 Linda Fiorentino and Griffin Dunne in the film After Hours. Full of shotgun swift dolly shots and lengthy pans around leading man Griffin Dunne to emphasise the story's eccentric change in perspective, Martin Scorsese's 1985 black New York comedy remains one of the great outliers of his storied career. Boyishly blank, Dunne's Paul Hackett travels downtown to Soho one night, hoping to meet up with Marcy (Rosanna Arquette), who like virtually every character in the story keeps him at a frustrated distance even when pledging their assistance. Without money or satisfaction, Paul has his psychological kinks tickled by the likes of Kiki (the wonderful Linda Fiorentino), a punk sculptor and Marcy's roommate, before stumbling through neighbourhood-specific set-pieces such as a punk club where it's literally mohawk night before becoming a fugitive from both a mob and reality. The film is riddled with cryptic mysteries, not to mention Cheech and Chong, and it plays as an urbane older brother to David Lynch's psychosexual masterpiece Blue Velvet.

SCANDINAVIAN FILM FESTIVAL scandinavianfilmfestival.com. The Astor Theatre and Palace Cinemas

Brighton Bay, Como and Westgarth, until Wednesday July 27 Scandinavian cinema's knack for refashioning familiar genres is to the fore in The Wave (, 18+, 105 minutes), an acutely made Norwegian disaster movie that takes terrifying advantage of the country's unstable mountains and adjacent fjords to deliver on the title's promise as part of this year's Scandinavian Film Festival. "The mountain is quiet," a colleague assures Kristian (Kristoffer Joner), a wary geologist leaving the real life village of Geiranger with his family for a new job, but it's only a matter of time until the starkly beautiful surrounds become life-threatening. Roar Uthaug's movie doesn't offer a new take on the genre, but the skilful building of tension and the expertly staged scenes of sudden escape give it an intimate scale distinct from the Hollywood conveyor belt, so that the aftermath doesn't feel merely like an afterthought. There's no Charlton Heston, but tinges of the 1970s remain in the plot of this nonetheless gripping survival story. SHAKESPEARE ON FILM
Evans stepped aside from his role hosting the popular motoring show last week.

In his column in British newspaper The Mail on Sunday , Evans endorsed LeBlanc as the "captain Top Gear needs going forwards".

Departed Top Gear host Chris Evans has backed co-host Matt LeBlanc to take over the show.

Ratings had plummeted since he took over the reins from the sacked Jeremy Clarkson, and his "shouty" hosting style was said to be driving viewers away.

'Not meant to be': Chris Evans with Matt LeBlanc and the Stig.

Evans is also reported to have been interviewed by London police over historic sexual harassment claims.

"It seems I may well have been a square peg in a round hole ... I think the phrase is 'not meant to be,'" Evans wrote in his column, which was published on Sunday.

However, he assured fans that co-host LeBlanc was the man for the job.
Pharmaceutical testing and corporate kickbacks are the subjects of this seven-part British thriller that begins in a shady-looking laboratory in India where a group of tourists have volunteered to participate in a drug trial. Six years later, the body count among the volunteers is rising and two very different coppers  Polish-born fraud investigator Stefan (Mark Strepan) and aspiring detective Rash (Ben Tavassoli, pictured)  find themselves on the case but approaching it from different directions. Slow-build suspense, zappy visual energy and odd shots of humour.

Unavailable in time for preview, this special is nevertheless noteworthy as it's a celebration of a half-century of a children's program that's become a cherished cultural icon. A saviour of the sanity of parents of toddlers seeking a half-hour of quiet time and a safe viewing playground for young children inclined to sing, dance and be inspired to make things from coloured paper and toilet paper rolls. So head through the round window and join Big Ted, Jemima and co in marking a milestone.

THE RISE OF THE SUPERGAMER



Thursday, 10.25pm, SBS2

British blogger and YouTube channel presenter Dan Howell's illuminating exploration of the burgeoning world of e-sport follows three gamers at different stages of their careers through a heady summer of competition. Visiting the vast arenas in which contests play out, capturing the passionate dedication of fans and outlining the huge numbers of people and massive amounts of money involved, Howell offers an insightful picture of a rapidly growing subculture and examines the pressure it puts on the young men who aspire to succeed in it.

Gerard Depardieu in Credit:David Koskas/Netflix

MARSEILLE



Netflix
Cliff Richard is suing the BBC and South Yorkshire police for 1 million ($1.73 million) over live coverage of a police raid at his home.

The veteran entertainer is understood to have launched legal action alleging there was collusion between the broadcaster and the police that led to the search appearing on television.

Cliff Richard is suing the UK police and the BBC over raids of his home. Credit:Christy Goodwin

Officers investigating allegations of historic sex offences were filmed searching Richard's apartment in Berkshire in August 2014, leading to him being publicly named as part of the probe. The 75-year-old was never arrested or charged.

The Crown Prosecution Service dismissed the case on grounds of insufficient evidence in June and both the BBC and South Yorkshire Police have apologised to the star.
By PTI: From Aditi Khanna

London, Jul 10 (PTI) Britains 2003 Iraq war was "illegal", the countrys former deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, who was Premier Tony Blairs deputy when UK joined the US-led invasion of Iraq, said today days after a long- awaited inquiry report slammed UKs role in the conflict.

Labour heavyweight Prescott, who supported the decision in 2003, said he would have to live with the "catastrophic decision" for the rest of his life.

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"A day doesnt go by when I dont think of the decision we made to go to war. Of the British troops who gave their lives or suffered injuries for their country. Of the 175,000 civilians who died from the pandoras box we opened by removing Saddam Hussein," Prescott wrote in the Sunday Mirror.

Earlier this week, Blair apologised for mistakes he made but has said he stands by his decision to take the country to war after the seven-year-long official Iraq War Inquiry report was released by Sir John Chilcot on Wednesday.

Prescott said Blairs statement that "I am with you, whatever" in a message to US President George W Bush, months before the invasion in March 2003, was "devastating".

Blair, UK prime minister from 1997 to 2007, eventually sent 45,000 British troops into battle without exhausting the peace options, the Chilcot report said.

"In 2004, the UN secretary general Kofi Annan said that as regime change was the prime aim of the Iraq war, it was illegal. With great sadness and anger, I now believe him to be right," Prescott wrote.

He also praised Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for apologising on behalf of the whole party and expressed his own "fullest apology", especially to the families of British personnel who died.

As many as 179 British soldiers and more than 150,000 Iraqi civilians died in the Iraq war in the following years.

The former deputy PM said the Chilcot report had gone into great detail about what went wrong, but he wanted to identify "certain lessons we must learn".

"My first concern was the way Tony Blair ran Cabinet. We were given too little paper documentation to make decisions," he wrote.

No documentation was provided to justify Attorney-general Lord Goldsmiths opinion that action against Iraq was legal, he added.

Meanwhile, Conservative party MP David Davis said he will file a motion to hold the former PM Blair in contempt of Parliament over Iraq war.

If the motion is accepted, MPs could debate and vote on whether he is guilty of misleading the House of Commons before the summer recess.

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"Its a bit like contempt of court. Essentially by deceit," he said.

Referring to the 2003 vote to invade Iraq, he added: "If you look just at the debate alone, on five different grounds the House was misled, three in terms of the weapons of mass destruction, one in terms of the UN votes were going, and one in terms of the threat, the risks." PTI AK SUA AKJ SUA

--- ENDS ---
It wasn't just Malcolm Turnbull's Liberals who had a near-death experience in the days after July 2. The whole system has experienced a crisis of confidence and it will take the enlightened efforts of political leaders on all sides to restore some level of equilibrium.

It will be the making of them.

Australia's federal election occurred at a perilous moment in Western democracies, in which such a figure as Donald Trump has emerged as the serious choice of millions of Americans, and when a simply mediocre politician such as British Labour's Jeremy Corbyn has retained rank-and-file support even as his parliamentary colleagues have walked out in disgust.
Business leaders have warned the 45th parliament a brake on migration would hurt economic growth, as Malcolm Turnbull's Coalition government claimed victory eight days after the election.

Pauline Hanson's resurgent One Nation party called for a ban on Muslim immigration to Australia and is set to wield some power in the Senate.

Simon Swanson, managing director of financial services company ClearView Wealth, said the economy was doing reasonably well but it was "migration that's holding up the economy".

"I don't believe real incomes are growing anywhere as strongly as we'd like. The GDP of the country, the gross domestic product, is increasing because we've got an increasing population."
The close-run general election has triggered a bipartisan push for the introduction electronic voting as five crucial seats remain undecided after more than a week of counting.

The Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, and Opposition leader, Bill Shorten, both called for electronic voting to be considered for future ballots when the outcome of the election was formally resolved in favour of the Coalition on Sunday.

While conceding the Coalition's win, Mr Shorten expressed frustration at the slow progress of the count and said electronic voting was long overdue.

"We're a grown up democracy - it shouldn't be taking eight days to find out who won and who lost," he said. "We can't afford to let Australia drift for eight days after an election."
Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce says the Nationals will "drive a hard bargain" in the next Parliament, including a likely extra position in cabinet, but that he wants to keep secret the conditions of a written agreement to be signed with the Liberal Party.

When Malcolm Turnbull was elevated to the prime ministership last September he signed a new Coalition agreement with then Nationals leader Warren Truss.

Although never released publicly, the agreement was widely reported to include support for a new "effects test" in competition law, a plebiscite on same-sex marriage, more support for stay-at-home mothers and the return of the water portfolio to the Nationals.

Asked what he would be pushing for under a new agreement with Mr Turnbull following the election, Mr Joyce told Sky News on Sunday: "The first aspiration is the agreement remains confidential. That's aspiration one, two, three, four, five and six."
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has declared victory in the federal election, saying it is vital for the nation that all sides of politics work together to make this term of parliament work.

Mr Turnbull's victory speech on Sunday afternoon came just hours after Opposition Leader Bill Shorten rang him to concede defeat.

"We have won the election," Mr Turnbull told reporters, noting that the Coalition has received around 800,000 more first preference votes than Labor.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has drawn a line under one of the longest elections in Australian history by declaring victory and urging all politicians to work together to make the next Parliament a success.

While counting continues in a handful of marginal seats, the Coalition is confident it will gain at least the 76 seats required to form government in its own right.

Following an eight-week campaign and eight days of further uncertainty sparked by the closer-than-expected result, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten rang Mr Turnbull on Sunday to concede defeat.
Youth are taking over NSW Parliament this week, and they have a lot to say about what our government needs to change.

Abby Butler, 17 from Newcastle, is this year's NSW Youth Premier for the 15th annual NSW Youth Parliament, which runs until July 15.

Abby Butler, who is this year's NSW Youth Premier.

"Young people, and the issues we really care about, have been neglected in this federal election," she said.

"It's the young people that are really the drivers of our society and we need our voices to be heard in order for those big changes to be made."
The cancer cell named PULSE 7. Credit:istock "Did he pay for three-quarters of me, too?" "For everyone. But his condition was that he be included, too." Alexander Masters helped to launch the iCancer campaign initially seeking a cure for his friend Dido Davies. "I thank him with all my heart. He is a good man."

There are four and a half of us fluffy-headed media types who have flown out here to Uppsala University Hospital, in Sweden, to gawp at Jan's middle bits: Liz Scarff who, with her partner David Carter, runs a strategic creative consultancy called Fieldcraft Studios; Dominic Nutt, a communications expert (who has just contracted a cold, gone red in the face and disappeared back to our hotel); me, a biographer, and Stella (daughter of Liz), aged 11 months. None of us knows a thing about medicine. Will Smith stars in the movie I Am Legend in in which a modified virus kills 90 per cent of the world's population. Yet without us, Jan wouldn't be lying here. We are the ones who discovered AdVince lying neglected in Uppsala's research-lab freezer, formed a campaign group called iCancer and, together with the 2001 other donors around the world whom Jan has never met and who have never heard of him, raised 2 million to get the drug defrosted and infused into the top of his thigh. We are also here because, during the process, we think we discovered a radical new way to raise money for the vast numbers of potential medications currently neglected in laboratories around the world. It is such a simple idea that it's astonishing no one has thought of it before. Jan is taking part in Phase One not just of AdVince, but also of what we've dubbed the Plutocratic Proposal.

AdVince is a genetically modified oncolytic adenovirus. In medical parlance, it's "an advanced biologic". In campaigner talk, it's a cancer-eating bug. It has been engineered from a virus that causes flu. It is mutant sniffles. I first heard about AdVince (or Ad5[CgA-E1A-miR122]PTD, as it was then called) four years ago and 8000 kilometres away from Jan's village on the Swedish coast. I was sitting in my girlfriend's apartment in New York, watching a YouTube video about diseased Canadian pigs. My best friend, the biographer Dido Davies, was dying of NETs that had begun in her pancreas  the same disease that killed Steve Jobs  and for 18 months I'd been hunting through the web, trying to find new treatments for her. Dido's tumours had come back. They had seeded in her blood and were crowded in her liver. The YouTube lecture had been up for three years, had recorded a total of 48 views, and the man presenting the talk claimed his biotech company (whose name he forgot to mention) had discovered a virus in diseased pigs that killed NET cells in humans. The drug had been approved for clinical tests by the FDA (the Food and Drug Administration  America's all-powerful and perfectionist medical approval body) and two human trials were under way. I spotted an address on a poster behind the lectern, froze the film, enlarged the picture until I could read the name Neotropix, and rang the company up. No answer. It had gone bust two years earlier. The venture capitalists backing the research hadn't seen a quick enough return, so had abandoned everything: the company, the drug, the hospitals running the trials, even the patients whose tumours were starting to disappear. It turns out this is a common situation. But the failure put me on the right track. A link on the company's defunct website led me to a series of articles in internationally respected journals by Professor Magnus Essand and Dr Justyna Leja at Uppsala University. They had also developed a virus that specifically targeted neuroendocrine cancer cells, and had been forced to abandon their promising work for lack of funds. But they were still answering the phone.

"If I raise the money you need to get this drug back into clinical research, will you promise to put my friend Dido on the trial?" I asked. It was a question that showed absolutely no understanding of accepted medical practice, was perhaps ethically abhorrent and quite possibly illegal. "Yes," said Professor Essand. The first thing I did was the only thing a part-time hack like me could think of doing: write an article and send it to The Sunday Telegraph, where I'd once published some travel pieces: ''A virus that kills cancer: a cure that's waiting in the cold". Then I waited. Monday passed, Tuesday the article went, appropriately, viral, but my phone stayed silent. Wednesday, Thursday Two Sundays later, I got a beautifully written response: another article in the Telegraph, by Dominic Nutt. ''Would I take an untested cancer treatment myself? Hell, yes!" He had recently had a neuroendocrine tumour removed, and said that if he'd had the 2 million I needed, he'd give it to me; only, he didn't have it. It felt as though we were characters in a Sherlock Holmes story, calling to each other through the columns of a newspaper.

The next day, I met Dom on the balcony of the Wetherspoons pub in Victoria station. He introduced me to his friends Liz and Dave, whose award-winning company specialises in social media campaigns, and over beer and lemonade we set up iCancer. Eight months later, the money raised from crowd-funding online was on Professor Essand and Dr Leja's lab bench. Beyond the window of Jan's room there are enormous building works. Cranes hum and clank as they lift concrete hoppers high into the air, then reel them down again at speed to be disgorged into the sprawling foundations. Uppsala is extending its oncology, radiotherapy and surgery departments with a nine-floor new building costing 2 billion Swedish krona (165 million). The Swedish population is growing fast, and cancer is booming. The fact that certain viruses successfully attack cancer cells has been known since the 1890s. What's taken 130 years to figure out is a) how to make the effect last longer than a few weeks and b) how not to kill the patient in the process. When modern scientists began to investigate the field, genetically engineered examples such as AdVince were treated with the same caution as Ebola. One fear was that these modifications of a sneeze might break out of the labs and infect the fuel in aeroplane tanks: regulators actually believed it would make Boeing 747s drop out of the sky. The film I Am Legend is about an artificially modified cancer-eating measles virus that takes over the world by killing 90 per cent of the population. The film is set in 2012, the same year that our campaign group, iCancer, handed over the money to the University of Uppsala. These days the panic has died down. After AdVince enters Jan's body, it will swarm down his hepatic artery, confined inside the catheter until the final second, and be released into his tumour-infested liver. The reason for the catheter is not to protect Jan from the virus, but the virus from Jan. Professor Essand and Dr Leja's main concern is that Jan's immune system will eliminate the drug before it has a chance to attack his tumours. However, AdVince is a self- amplifying drug: the viruses work by replicating themselves inside the tumour cell until it bursts. So there is just a chance something might happen even in the early, timid doses of a Phase One trial.

A nurse knocks on Jan's door and strides in carrying a metal tray of implements, flustered by the squash and squeeze in the room. Before Jan can receive his innocuous dose he needs to be washed and checked "for vital signs". "This is a very big chance for me," says Jan merrily, swinging off the bed and beginning to undress. "We are pretty sure he is alive, but it is good to check," jokes Professor Oberg, as we leave the room. "Essentially what Dave and I do for a living is tell stories on a huge scale," says Liz. "And this is just such a brilliant story: here in Sweden is a potential treatment that could help save thousands of people's lives. Why would you not donate 5, 10, 15? I never for a minute thought we wouldn't raise the money for the trial." According to the Financial Times, the crowd funding part of our campaign, which Liz set up and ran, is the most successful of its type in web history. Of the final amount, she and Dave raised 700,000 this way. Yet Liz has not charged iCancer a penny for her work.

I have sometimes wondered about this. Why did she choose to join iCancer? There are dozens of good stories of neglected drugs not being developed for want of a few pounds. "Aren't there also inheritable forms of the disease?" Liz asks Professor Oberg in the corridor, as we're waiting for Jan's injection to begin. This is unexpected, because Liz usually insists she knows nothing about the illness, so when she adds, bafflingly, "Men to be?" it sounds as though she's talking about another sci-fi film in which all the men of the future die, this time of neuroendocrine cancer. "Yes," says Oberg, also surprised. "MEN-1, MEN-2a and MEN-2b are all genetic variants that can be inherited. Why?" For a second Liz does not reply. She returns to her notepad and jots down a few marks. "My mother has it," she says.

Half an hour later, the tube penetrates Jan and six years of research, two years of neglect and eight months of fundraising flow into his diseased liver. Liz sat up sharply when the light above the door into the operating room turned from green to red. "Jan is in there because 2000 people in 40 different countries paid for him," she repeated. "They paid for him to have this chance. That will never cease to amaze me." She was close to tears. Now that Jan is dosed up and the new drug is getting the testing it needs to see if it's any good, there's no longer any reason for us to go on with our work. Dido died three years ago. Vince died eight months after making his extraordinary donation. From my point of view, the money was raised in the hopes of getting them on this trial. Neither lived long enough to claim the prize. We found AdVince and began our fundraising too late.

These days what worries Dom most is his diabetes, not his cancer. But iCancer will continue. We want now to show that Uppsala wasn't a fluke: that the fundraising approach, which we accidentally developed, is a good way to get other neglected drugs out of their freezers and into clinical trials. Generalise our tactic in a way that does not promote quackery and you have, we believe, the chance to raise billions of pounds of new money for peer-reviewed, quality medical research. I call it the Plutocratic Proposal, and I can sum up the idea in three words: "sell" trial places. It's effectively what I wanted Professor Essand to do for Dido when I first rang him in 2011. It's what Vince was after, when he made his extraordinary donation. The trick is to do it sooner, quicker, not towards the end of a patient's life, but at the point of diagnosis, at the start of a disease. Everything honourable and judicious about the idea depends on those quotation marks around the word "sell". It's not a standard sale. What the plutocrat who provides this new type of funding is saying is: "I will finance this neglected drug (that otherwise would not stand a chance of being developed) to be tested in all the poorer patients on a trial. All I ask in return, is that I be allowed to tag along." Every year, dozens of promising new cancer treatments are thrown out. There is nothing wrong with these drugs and interventions: they have been developed in leading laboratories by respected scientists around the world. In pre-clinical studies they have shown remarkable potential to lessen suffering and prolong thousands of lives. Why are they discarded? Because the researchers have run out of money. How much money? Around 2 million, or roughly just under one half of one per cent of what Sir Philip Green creamed off BHS.
A few weeks ago, I wrote an article aimed at helping you build a diversified portfolio. One of the tests of diversification I provided was that you should own at least 15 companies.

A reader emailed me in reply. "What you didn't mention", she said, was "what sort of monetary investment you should aim for". In other words, how much should you invest in each company's shares?

Illustration: Simon Letch

I'm going to let you into a little secret, here. Investment advice is rarely about the most rational answer. For better or worse, the job of the investment adviser is to help his or her clients get the best outcomes, not to give the most rational advice.

Condescending? No. But vital. As a sales director I worked with used to say "'message sent' is not 'message received'". Or, in investment parlance, the best advice in the world is useless if it's not followed.
Australia's peak AIDS organisations and scientists have announced an end to the AIDS epidemic, as the country joins the few nations in the world to have beaten the syndrome.

The number of annual cases of AIDS diagnoses is now so small, top researchers and the Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations have declared the public health issue to be over.

Since the 1990s, treatment that stops HIV from progressing to AIDS  which damages the immune system to the extent that it can no longer fight off infection  has become more effective.

AFAO CEO Darryl O'Donnell said AIDS cases have dropped to small enough numbers to no longer be routinely recorded.
By PTI: New Delhi, Jul 9 (PTI) In the ongoing probe into the alleged bribery case against suspended Principal Secretary of Delhi Chief Minister, CBI today arrested former and present Managing Directors of a PSU for allegedly favouring a private company in awarding of tenders.

Both R S Kaushik and his predecessor G K Nanda, present and former Managing Directors of Intelligent Communication Systems India Ltd (ICSIL), a Delhi Government undertaking which is a joint venture of Telecommunication Consultants India Ltd (TCIL) and Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation, were taken into custody.

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The two have been arrested as they were allegedly evasive during their questioning. They will be produced before a competent court tomorrow, Chief Information officer of CBI R K Gaur said here.

CBI also claimed that the duo had been intimidating some of the officers whom the CBI had been calling for questioning in the case involving Kumar, suspended Principal Secretary of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

With these fresh arrests, the number of people nabbed by the CBI has gone up to six. Besides Kumar, Deputy Secretary in Kejriwals officer Tarun Sharma and two owners of Endeavour Systems Private Limited-- Sandeep Kumar and Dinesh Gupta-- have been arrested by the agency.

All of them have been named in the FIR by the CBI for allegedly abusing official position by "favouring a particular firm in the last few years in getting tenders from Delhi government departments".

The case has been registered under 120-B of IPC (criminal conspiracy), and 13(2), 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act (Criminal conspiracy, criminal misconduct etc) for allegedly favouring a private company in five contracts worth Rs 9.5 crore during 2007-14.

The CBI had also conducted searches at six premises--in Delhi, Noida and Agra--including office of Kumars Chartered Accountant (CA) in the national capital during which they claimed to have recovered Rs 27 lakh in cash.

The CBI claimed that investigation so far show that the money from the accounts of M/s ESPL was routed to a Noida-based firm and a real-estate company and a publication in Agra.

The arrest of the top Delhi government official had triggered a political storm with the Delhi government accusing the Centre of indulging in "political vendetta" and "paralysing" governance. PTI SKL VMN

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"Nearly 95 per cent of the Australian Chinese newspapers have been brought in by the Chinese government to some degree," said an editor who works at a pro-Chinese government publication in Australia, speaking on condition of anonymity.

One way or another, Beijing has extended its messaging control over almost all the Chinese language media in Australia, Australian Chinese media sources say. Politically sensitive or unfavourable coverage of China and the ruling Communist Party has been effectively stopped outside all but a couple of Chinese language outlets, as the government steps up efforts to filter what the Chinese diaspora consumes.

It can come in the form of an admonishing phone call, blocking reporters from a public event, via directives for mainland-linked businesses to pull advertising, or even direct investment from Chinese government bodies.

The terms for the media are clear: "To report the good news about the Chinese government, not the bad news of course," the editor said.

Journalist from the Sydney office of the Epoch Times Lorrita Liu, who was asked to leave a Fair Work Ombudsman function by Chinese consular officials

The tactics employed involve both stick and carrot, and exploit the commercial pressures small independent publications routinely face. Advertisers, usually Chinese-owned firms or businesses which rely on good relations with the Chinese government, are told by consulate officials to pull advertising from non-compliant media outlets, and are directed instead to divert their dollars to those who toe the party line, the editor said. Consular advertising budgets are directed to friendly media, and Australian Chinese newspapers rely on the income stream from state-owned publications in China paying to place several editorial pages  which are laid out in China  in each edition. The end result, the editor said, is that almost all the Australian Chinese newspapers only publish what the Chinese government wants them to.

An independent Australian Chinese-language newspaper and website in Sydney, which has defied Chinese consular pressure to censor sensitive subjects including the recent anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, told Fairfax Media it has had advertisers pull out after Chinese consular and government pressure.

In one instance earlier this year, kitchen appliance manufacturers from Zhejiang Province withdrew their one-year advertising contracts after a Chinese government official visiting Australia saw the ads and asked the companies to do so, the sources say. Fairfax Media has seen emails and text messages from two of the companies terminating their contracts, which say it was necessary "due to urgent instructions from Ningbo Zhejiang government".
Cutting the private health insurance subsidy, increasing the Medicare levy and tackling the overuse of pathology and diagnostic imaging services are just some of the ways to tackle rising medical costs, the University of Canberra's Professor Laurie Brown has said.

Professor Brown, who said the Turnbull Government should drop the freeze on indexing the Medicare rebate for doctors if it is returned, told Fairfax many critics thought the $6 billion per annum private health insurance subsidy was poor value for money.

Professor Laurie Brown. Credit:Rohan Thomson

The Greens called for the subsidy to be abolished earlier this year, saying up $10 billion could be saved over the next four years.

A 2014 Grattan institute report put the savings at $3 billion a year at a time when the subsidy was costing about $5.5 billion a year.
His wife was overseas when a Newcastle GP decided to prey on vulnerable female patients, using their personal information to try to start intimate relationships.

Nauman Zafar Khan said he began to "reach out" to patients because he was miserable about his family being in Pakistan and found Skype was unsatisfactory.

He sought out eight female patients who had been suffering from mental health issues because they "would be able to understand better" what he was going through.

"I have unconditional love for you," he texted a 20-year-old patient with anxiety and depression. "If you ever want to be with me I'm ready for you  I wanted you the first time I saw you."

One day in July last year he sent the woman 120 texts.
Arborists started cutting down a beloved Moreton Bay fig tree in Randwick, known locally as the "Tree of Knowledge", for construction of Sydney's eastern suburbs light rail line on Sunday night.

About 40 people gathered at the intersection of Wansey Road and High Street where the tree, believed to be about 150 years old, had been enclosed by two-metre-high fencing earlier in the afternoon.

Randwick City councillors Kathy Neilson and Tony Bowen, and NSW Greens MP Mehreen Faruqi stood alongside residents on the street after work to cut down the tree began about 6.30pm.
Rescuers have found a man whose car broke down in the Tallaganda State Forest near Captains Flat on Sunday.

The 25-year-old man called police about 6pm to report he was lost and his four-wheel-drive had broken down in the state forest close to two-and-a-half hours south-east of Canberra.

The man was believed to still be with his vehicle with access to water.

Police, State Emergency Service and Rural Fire Service volunteers searched for the man until the early hours of Monday morning.

The search began again about 8am Monday.
Sydney's train commuters can tell many tales of testing journeys, but a Fairfax Media analysis has revealed the hardiest passengers of all.

The analysis of new transport statistics provides deep insight into rising overcrowding on the city's ageing rail network, which has led passenger numbers on some lines to increase by more than 10 percentage points.

The analysis identifies the stations and commuters bearing the brunt of Sydney's 10,000 new peak-hour passengers a year.

Commuters getting on a 3.25pm service from Redfern to Helensburgh, a suburb on the city's southern outskirts, halfway to Wollongong, endure carriages with more passengers than seats for the longest period of all: 50 minutes.
"It's not like my family used to have, you know, a daily Nazi lesson," said Amy Shira Teitel.

Teitel, 29, is a US space flight historian, author and fast-rising YouTube star. Her speciality is the early days of rocket science and space travel. In researching her first book, however, she encountered a very difficult and very personal problem.

US spaceflight historian, author and fast-rising YouTube star Amy Shira Teitel. Credit:Science in Public

The book, Breaking the Chains of Gravity, charts the history of space flight up until the formation of NASA. It is a story that cannot be told without extensive reference to one of her childhood heroes, America's earliest and most successful rocket designer Wernher von Braun.

Growing up, Teitel learned that von Braun was one of the chief architects of the Saturn rocket in the late 1950s. She was unaware that before he shifted to the US from Germany he was already infamous as the inventor of the V2 rocket  a terrible bomb that killed thousands of people, particularly in London, during World War II.
Thirty-nine years ago, Iain Nicolson and his wife, Caryl, left England for the charms of country Victoria.

Dr Nicolson was taking up a practice as a country GP in Toora - population 887 at last count  in South Gippsland, a practice that he said could attract no Australian graduate at the time.

Victorian Governor Linda Dessau admits Dr Iain Nicolson as a Knight of the Order of St John for his services as a volunteer. Credit:St John Ambulance

But the couple, who moved with the first of their four children, had made a pledge to see things through in their new home.

Picking a footy team, Collingwood, to barrack for was the first step towards being accepted as a local.
Melbourne may soon be able to boast a truly world-class skyscraper, after a tower designed by legendary architect Zaha Hadid was approved by the Andrews government.

The tiered building, wrapped in white latticework, will rise 54 storeys above the western end of Collins Street.

It has been declared Melbourne's first "destination tower". Its attractiveness as a tourism destination is likely to be magnified by the fact the building was one of the last designed by the world's greatest female architect before her unexpected death aged 65 from a heart attack in March.



The $300 million high-rise at 600 Collins Street will be home to 420 apartments and 10,000 square metres of office and retail space.
The boyfriend of a woman whose baby died in Gippsland has been charged with murder in the sixth suspicious baby death in the past year.

It is also the second death of an infant in the small coastal town of Paynesville.

Jason Noy has been charged with the murder of his girlfriend's 11-month-old baby. Credit:Facebook

Just over a year ago, a newborn was found dead in a house a block away from the latest incident.

Last Tuesday night, emergency services were called to a report of an unresponsive baby at a home in Digney Street, Paynesville.
By PTI: Mumbai, Jul 10 (PTI) Pharma firm Cadila Healthcare sees big growth opportunity in US and Latin American formulation markets and plans to enhance share in the US generics market by launching complex, oral solids and formulations.

"Going forward, the companys focus will continue to be on launching complex, difficult-to-make oral solids and formulations of other dosage forms like injectables, nasals, creams and ointments in order to enhance share in the US generics market," Cadila Healthcare Chairman Pankaj Patel said in the companys annual report.

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The US is the worlds largest pharma market, both for branded and generics drugs, accounting for around one third of the global market. The company is present in generics market through its wholly owned unit Zydus Pharmaceuticals (USA) Inc.

During 2015-16, the companys business in the US remained the largest contributor to the consolidated revenue, which crossed USD 600 million in sales for the first time.

In rupee terms, the US business posted sale of Rs 4,021 crore during the year, up 19 per cent. The company is ranked amongst the top 3 players for around three fourth of the products being marketed by it in the US.

Cadila Healthcare launched 3 new products in the US in FY16. In terms of Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) filings, 30 more ANDAs were filed with the USFDA during the year, taking the cumulative number of ANDA filings to 269.

In terms of approvals, the company received 10 more ANDAs approvals, taking the cumulative number of ANDA approvals to 103. This includes the first ANDA approval from the formulations facility located in Ahmedabad SEZ and the first ANDA approval from its own filings made from the Nesher facility in the US, the company said.

The company also sees big opportunity in the USD 80 billion Latin American formulation market, which is one of the fastest growing pharma market in the world with double digit growth.

Brazil, the largest pharmaceutical market in Latin America, offers significant potential on account of its expanding middle class with greater spending power and the increased government spending on healthcare. Despite the slowdown in the overall economy, the Brazilian pharma market grew by 14 per cent last year. Cadila Healthcare launched 2 new products in the Brazilian market.

In Mexico, the second largest pharma market in Latin America, valued at around USD 9 billion, the company launched 2 new products taking the cumulative number of launches to 16. The company filed 1 new product dossier with the regulatory authority COFEPRIS, taking the cumulative number of filings to 43 and received approval for 12 dossiers, taking the cumulative number of approvals to 36. (MORE) PTI AP RSY ABK ABM RDS

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A 15-year-old boy has been taken to hospital and two police cars have been damaged after a dramatic car chase that started in Point Cook in Melbourne's west and ended an hour later in Carlton.

Police spotted the four teenagers in a stolen silver car about 12.20am on Sanctuary Lakes Boulevard in Point Cook on Monday, following them for an hour before intercepting the car.

Ranjana Sharma looks out of the window through which her home in Williams Landing was invaded overnight. Credit:Darrian Traynor

Police stopped the Nissan in Palmerston Street, Carlton, at about 1.20am and arrested the four teens in relation to an alleged aggravated burglary and the theft of the car.

Two police cars and the Nissan received minor damage during the intercept.
Resident groups and Melbourne City Council say entry ramps from Transurban's new Western Distributor toll road would dump too much traffic in the city's north, adding to traffic woes rather than helping to fix them.

Premier Daniel Andrews on Sunday released the final "reference design" for the $5.5 billion freeway that would link the West Gate Freeway to CityLink.

An artist's impression of the government's preferred route for Transurban's Western Distributor project.

Under the plan, twin tunnels will be built beneath Yarraville as part of the toll road, largely avoiding damage to homes and parks by staying mostly within the existing West Gate Freeway reserve.

But at the road's other end, two new entry and exit ramps would be built from the freeway onto Spencer Street in North Melbourne, and from the freeway onto Wurundjeri Way in Docklands.
The miserable weather is expected to continue for Perth on Sunday morning after a heavy soaking over the past two days.

More showers are on the way, while hail is tipped to fall again in the Perth hills.

The cold front brought hail to many parts of Perth on Saturday. This picture was taken in Kalamunda. Credit:James Mooney

The Bureau of Meteorology, however, expects the showers to ease later in the day, as the low pressure system that has drenched much of the metropolitan area since Friday moves east.

From 6.30pm on Saturday to 8am Sunday, more than 20 millimetres of rain fell in Perth, while Pearce, just east of the city, copped the most during the same period with 25mm falling, bringing its total rainfall in the 24 hours to 9am Sunday to more than 40mm.
His comments come in the wake of a critical report on the decision.

Then: British Prime Minister Tony Blair, flanked by Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, left, and Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown, in 2007. Credit:AP

The Labour heavyweight used his strongest language yet to condemn Mr Blair's decision to take party in the Iraq War, a decision he supported at the time.

London: John Prescott, who was British Prime Minister Tony Blair's deputy PM at the time of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, now says the war was illegal.

A seven-year inquiry by Sir John Chilcot concluded on Wednesday that Mr Blair's justification, planning and handling of the Iraq War involved a catalogue of failures, but did not rule whether the war was legal.

Protesters wearing Tony Blair and George W. Bush masks protest in London shortly before the publication of the Chilcot report. Credit:AP

Eight months before the 2003 invasion, Mr Blair told US President George W. Bush "I will be with you, whatever", eventually sending 45,000 British troops into battle when peace options had not been exhausted, the long-awaited British public inquiry said.

Mr Prescott, writing in the Sunday Mirror newspaper, said he had now changed his view on the legality of the war and criticised Mr Blair for stopping his ministers from fully discussing in advance whether the war would be legal.

"In 2004, the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said that as regime change was the prime aim of the Iraq War, it was illegal. With great sadness and anger, I now believe him to be right," Prescott wrote.
Warsaw: President Barack Obama has urged Americans not to view the United States as being torn apart by racial tensions, seeking to soothe raw emotions after a former soldier killed five policemen in Dallas and high-profile police shootings of two black men in Minnesota and Louisiana.

"First of all, as painful as this week has been, I firmly believe that America is not as divided as some have suggested," Mr Obama, visiting Poland, told a news conference in Warsaw.

"When we start suggesting that somehow there's this enormous polarisation, and we're back to the situation in the '60s, that's just not true," he added. "You're not seeing riots, and you're not seeing police going after people who are protesting peacefully."
Dallas: Micah Xavier Johnson used blood to write the initials "R.B." on the walls of the downtown Dallas parking garage where he was barricaded last week after he opened fire on police and protesters, killing five officers, wounding seven more and injuring two civilians.

"He wrote some lettering in blood on the walls, which leads us to believe he was wounded on the way up the stairwell," Chief David Brown said on CNN Sunday, adding that police were trying to decipher what RB meant.

The bloody markings indicate that Johnson was wounded when he barricaded himself in the downtown building, where Brown later ordered officers to use a remote-controlled robot armed with explosives to kill him.
Warsaw: NATO allies have agreed to help fund Afghan security forces to the tune of around $US1 billion ($1.3 billion) annually over the next three years, despite public fatigue in Western countries about their involvement in the long-running conflict.

Fifteen years since the United States invaded to topple the Taliban rulers who had harboured al-Qaeda militants behind attacks on the United States, the West remains entangled in a costly effort to stabilise a country facing resurgent rebels.

A woman holds a banner during an anti-NATO protest joined by hundreds in Warsaw, Poland, on Saturday. Credit:AP

US President Barack Obama said completely withdrawing from Afghanistan risked seeing the country collapse and then having to send American troops back in again to deal with a new threat.

"We have an option of ... pulling out and potentially then seeing a country crumble under the strains of continued terrorist activity or insurgencies," Mr Obama told a news conference at the end of a NATO summit in Warsaw.
Tokyo: Voting has begun for an election to Japan's upper house that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has billed as a chance to pass judgment on his economic policies.

Opposition parties, however, are focused on preventing a resounding victory for the premier that would allow him to take the next step toward revising the pacifist constitution.

A man casts his vote for parliament's upper house election at a polling station in Himeji, Japan on Sunday. Credit:Getty Images

Polling stations opened at 7am Tokyo time and will close at 8pm, with media exit polls generally published immediately afterward and official results later in the evening.

Media surveys showed Mr Abe's Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner Komeito are likely to win a simple majority of the 121 seats in contention. With support from two smaller conservative parties, the premier has a good chance of gaining the two-thirds of seats in the chamber needed to embark on constitutional change.
New Delhi: When Vishva Vamja's father died seven years ago from diabetes-related complications, her world collapsed. Overnight, aged 19, she became the head of the household, supporting her mother and siblings at their tiny home in Surat, Gujarat.

"If there was one thing I never thought about, it was getting married. We only had the money I earned so how could my mother ever have paid for my wedding? I didn't even think about it," said Vamja.

Mahesh Savani with some of the hundreds of brides he has helped. Credit:Gaytri Studio

As it turned out, she got married last December and it was a grand affair. Her dowry included gold jewellery, crockery, cutlery, cooking utensils, electric gadgets and a dozen saris. But Vamja did not pay a single rupee for any of this, nor for the wedding feast, the flowers, the lighting, or for the venue. "Mahesh Papa", as she calls him, spent some 400,000 rupees ($8000) on the wedding.

"On my wedding day, I felt as though my father was still alive. That is how Mahesh Papa made me feel when he fulfilled the responsibility that was my father's but which he took on as his," she says.
New York: Sydney Schanberg, a former New York Times correspondent awarded a Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of the genocide in Cambodia in 1975 - and whose story of the survival of his assistant inspired the film The Killing Fields - has died aged 82.

Schanberg died on Saturday in Poughkeepsie, New York, according to Charles Kaiser, a friend and former Times reporter who said Schanberg had a heart attack on Tuesday.

Sydney Schanberg, left, talks with Dith Pran at the New York Times office in New York in 1980. Credit:NYT

"Sydney Schanberg was an historic and courageous correspondent," Dean Baquet, executive editor of The New York Times, said in a statement.

"He was part of a generation of war correspondents who made America understand what was truly happening in Vietnam and Cambodia."
By PTI: Colombo, Jul 9 (PTI) The close relationship between China and Sri Lanka will have no bearing on their ties with other countries, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here today.

Yi is on a three-day official visit to Sri Lanka ahead of President Maithripala Sirisenas China visit later this month.

"There is a consensus between China and Sri Lanka that our cooperation does not target any third country nor will it affect our respective relations with other countries. We stand ready to work more closely with other regional countries for the purpose of achieving common development," Yi said in an obvious reference to India.

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In the past, India has expressed some concerns over the USD 1.5 billion Colombo Port city project which is to be built by China on reclaimed land in the sea.

"No matter what changes in the international situation and domestic agenda our strategic and cooperative partnership will continue to develop," the Chinese foreign minister said.

China intends to make the 21st century maritime Silk Road a priority and help Sri Lanka build itself into a shipping centre in the Indian ocean, he said.

Sri Lankan foreign minister Mangala Samaraweera said the island was looking forward to Chinese enterprise to make contribution towards developing the Lankan economy.

Sri Lanka also expressed hope that the South China Sea dispute would be resolved through "constructive dialogue". PTI CORR SUA SUA

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Maher Assad gave Fares a black luxury vehicle as a reward for the killing of Colvin and Ochlik, the lawsuit asserts. Marie Colvin, left, and French photographer Remi Ochlik were killed in Homs by Syrian government artillery in February 2012. Credit:AP "The thought that she was being watched the whole time, and she didn't know it, is chilling," said Cathleen Colvin, her sister and the lead plaintiff. "I feel really strongly that Marie was silenced, and I can't let that stand without bringing her killers to justice. I'm sure if the roles were reversed, she would do the same and more." Colvin, a native of New York, spent 26 years in war zones on three continents, drawn to the plight of war's civilian victims. In the 1991 Iraq War, she stayed behind enemy lines. In 1999, when others fled, she remained in East Timor to document the 1000 refugees in a UN compound under attack by government-backed militias. The war in Syria is now in its sixth year. A fire burns after the attack in Sayyida Zeinab, Damascus. Credit:SANA/AP

In 2001, she was blinded in one eye by the blast of a Sri Lankan army rocket-propelled grenade. Her black eye patch symbolised her commitment to telling the stories of civilians who, she reminded her worried friends and readers, "endure far more than I ever will" and cannot escape to the comforts of London, where she lived. When others at the media centre wanted to leave, Colvin would not budge, recalled Javier Espinoza, a Spanish journalist who survived the attack, in an interview. "Marie wanted to stay in Baba Amr," he said. "She said it was her duty." Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Credit:AP At least 100 journalists, most of them Syrian, have been killed since war broke out in 2011, according to press advocacy groups. Many others have been detained or kidnapped. Among them is American freelancer Austin Tice, a former Marine who was kidnapped six months after Colvin's death. The Syrian government has never acknowledged detaining Tice, but US officials think the government or a group affiliated with it is holding him. The lawsuit against the Syrian government, filed by lawyers from the California-based Center for Justice & Accountability and the Shearman & Sterling firm, draws on insider information from former Syrian government officials and other defectors, some with direct knowledge of the assassination plans, said Scott Gilmore, the lead attorney in the case.

Gilmore said he and others from the centre spent three years tracking down former regime members, informants, citizen journalists and other witnesses to the attack and its planning from among the vast Syrian diaspora that fled the war and entered Europe. It is the first lawsuit to use as evidence some of the more than 600,000 documents obtained by the Commission for International Justice and Accountability. CIJA is an independent group of war crime investigators and lawyers who have trained and organised Syrian students, researchers, activists and lawyers to find and cart away official documents they hope to use to eventually prosecute Dr Assad and others for war crimes and atrocities during the conflict. One of the documents, dated August 6, 2011, and reported to be from Syria's National Security Bureau, instructs provincial commanders to apprehend "those who tarnish the image of Syria in foreign media and international organizations". The Colvin case is likely to take years to wind through the courts, Gilmore said. But even if the Syrian government never answers the charges, a judge can still rule in the matter. The US government holds millions of dollars in frozen Syrian assets which a court could use as restitution, Gilmore said. "I can assure you that this is false by all standards and is certainly not true," said Mohammed Ramez Turgeman, the Syrian minister of information, in a brief phone interview.

The suit seeks unspecified punitive damages for the intentional infliction of emotional distress to Colvin's family and others. "The Assad regime's assassination of Marie Colvin," it says, "was designed to intimidate and terrorize the civilian population of Syria, the victim's loved ones, other journalists, and the international community." Last month, in a case also brought by the Center for Justice & Accountability, a civil jury in Orlando found former Chilean army officer Pedro Pablo Barrientos Nunez liable for the 1973 murder of singer and activist Victor Jara. It awarded Jara's widow and daughters $US28 million. The Colvin lawsuit lays out a detailed chain of events that led to her killing in Baba Amr, the epicentre of opposition activity. "Silencing journalists was central to the Assad regime's strategy to crush political opposition," it says. Prominent freelancers, citizen journalists and cartoonists began to be arrested or killed in late 2011. Intelligence branches received instructions to target media critics and wanted lists were distributed, the lawsuit says. Rewards were offered for the capture of any foreign journalist. In January 2012, high-ranking Syrian officials met with Arab League monitors and demanded to know where they had met journalists during their visit. They accused reporters associated with the media centre of being terrorists, denounced The Washington Post and The New York Times as "terrorist newspapers" and accused foreign journalists of being spies, the lawsuit states in a chronology of events.

Deputy Defence Minister Assef Shawkat told the monitors "he could destroy Baba Amr in 10 minutes . . . if there were no cameras", according to the lawsuit. At around the same time, intelligence sources in Lebanon were reporting that teams from CNN, the BBC and The Sunday Times were being smuggled into Homs, it said. The Computer and Signals Section of Military Intelligence Branch 261 swung into action. It used intercept devices to monitor satellite-dish and cellphone communication to trace journalists' location. By then, regime officials monitoring the news had ordered forces to recruit more informants to help find journalists. Shelling intensified, lasting from dawn to nightfall. Conroy, a Times photographer accompanying Colvin, said he thinks her lengthy broadcasts with the BBC and CNN the night before she was killed were intercepted by authorities. "That's when everything came together," he said. During those broadcasts, Colvin described watching a two-year-old die of shrapnel wounds. Conroy's footage captured the child's passing.
Moscow: Militants have shot down a military helicopter near Palmyra in Syria, killing two Russian pilots on board, Interfax news agency said, quoting Russia's defence ministry.

The two men had been attacking a detachment of Islamic State fighters in the Homs region on Friday, when the Syrian Mi-25 helicopter they were in ran out of ammunition, the ministry said.

"The turning helicopter was hit by militants' gunfire from the ground and crashed in the area controlled by the Syrian government army. The crew died," it added.

Video footage published on Saturday by Islamic State's affiliated news agency Amaq showed a helicopter being shot and crashing to the ground against cries of "It's fallen, God is greatest".
Local Ophthalmologist Discovers New Gene Mutation

The ability to drive a car, recognize friends and family in public and see words on your computer, cell phone or on a printed page are a few of the many activities in our daily lives that depend heavily on the normal function of the macula; the part of the eye that deals with fine focus. Dr. Kent W. Small, an ophthalmologist who practices in Glendale and Los Angeles, has made an exciting discovery on a gene that directly effects the vision loss for individuals with an eye disease called North Carolina Macular Dystrophy (also known as MCDR1). Macular dystrophy is a hereditary condition, which is a type of macular degeneration.

For Kent Small, M.D., the formidable, 28-year search for the gene mutations causing the rare retinal disease known as North Carolina macular dystrophy (NCMD) was highly personal and career-defining.

"My first academic position after leaving Duke did not work out so well because, against the wishes of my chairman, I went to Marshfield, Wisconsin, for two weeks to learn genetic testing methods from Dr. James Weber to help find the NCMD genes," recalls Dr. Small. "I made a commitment to the families with NCMD and became too deeply entrenched in the pursuit of this disease to ever give up. It consumed me sometimes at considerable cost personally, emotionally and financially."

But thanks to his collaboration with 12 affected families and 20 researchers - including Ed Stone, M.D., Ph.D., at the University of Iowa, who provided powerful, state-of-the-art genetic discovery technologies for the effort - Dr. Small finally got his answer. Mutations involving the genes PRDM13 and IRX1 were identified as the culprit. The first mutations in both genes were difficult to find, because they were located outside of genetic regions known as exons, which code for proteins and are where disease-causing defects are most likely to occur. Results of the long-standing research project were published recently in the journal Ophthalmology.

These findings are so significant that Dr. Small has been invited as a keynote speaker of the Global Ophthalmology Meeting on July 18, 2016 and an invited speaker at the American Academy of Ophthalmology meeting in October 2016In addition, Dr. Richard G. Weleber wrote an editorial in the Journal Ophthalmology of the American Academy of Ophthalmology in January issue of 2016 stating that this is "one of the most important studies in our field in the past several decades."

Dr Small began working on this disease 28 years ago when he encountered a patient at DUKE University with this disease at the Oteen VA Hospital. Early on his research was funded by NIH but the last 14 years it has been funded by himself and his non-profit organization. Within the last year, with the help of colleagues at University of Iowa and the Stephen Wynn Institute for Vision Research they were finally able to find and confirm the mutations causing the disease.

Eye with Macular Corneal Dystrophy

What's more exciting is that it opens the doors for future research on similar mutations. The gene affected is involved in the development of the human macula and opens a new pathway for research into future therapeutics. North Carolina Macular Dystrophy has several similarities to Age Related Macular Degeneration, the number one leading cause of blindness in the United States for individuals about the age of 65. Therefore, understanding the MCDR1 gene will shed light on and contribute to future discoveries on the development of treatment and management of age-related macular degeneration. MCDR1 and Age Related Macular Degeneration can be diagnosed after examination by your ophthalmologist. Dr. Small is one of the world's leading specialists on these diseases.

Dr. Small is very proud of his findings and expects to expand his research in the future and hopes that outside funding becomes available to offset his personal expenditures. Dr. Small has established a non-profit corporation to help fund his future research.
For the first time, the United States has sanctioned North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for human rights abuses. among 23 individuals and entities cited for their role in serious human rights violations, hunting down defectors or censorship in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea

The United States sanctioned North Korean leader Kim Jong Un today for human rights abuses "without parallel in the Modern world."

The Treasury Dept. added Kim and 10 other North Korean individuals and five entities, to the U.S. sanctions list. The "Marshall" as he is called in North Korea, is among 23 individuals and entities cited for their role in serious human rights violations, hunting down defectors or censorship in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

"Human rights abuses in the DPRK are among the worst in the world," U.S. Department of State spokesman John Kirby said in a statement today. "The government continues to commit extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrest and detention, forced labor and torture. Many of these abuses are committed in the political prison camps, where an estimated 80,000 to 120,000 individuals are detained, including children and family members of the accused."

It is the very first time the US has sanctioned Kim personally.

The department added that this is part of "the most comprehensive U.S. government effort to date" to identify and sanction North Korea's leaders responsible for the widespread abuses - which they hope will "send a signal to all government officials who might be responsible for human rights abuses."

The sanctions, which target property and other assets under U.S. jurisdiction, follow a 2014 report by the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in North Korea, which details a harrowing system of extrajudicial killings, forced labor camps and torture under Kim's rule.

North Korea's human rights record is among the worst in the world and has been globally condemned - especially by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the European Union and the United Nations. The country has spent decades near or at the top of virtually all measures of state repression. Indeed, most international human rights organizations consider North Korea to have no contemporary parallel with respect to violations of liberty.

The General Assembly of the United Nations has since 2003 annually adopted a resolution condemning the country's human rights record. The latest resolution of December 19, 2011, passed by a vote of 12316 with 51 abstentions, urged the government in Pyongyang to end its "systematic, widespread and grave violations of human rights", which included public executions and arbitrary detentions. North Korea rejected the resolution, saying it was politically motivated and based upon untrue fabrications. In February 2014, a UN special commission published a detailed, 400-page account based on first-hand testimonies documenting "unspeakable atrocities" committed in the country.

The U.S. action comes at a time when the North Korean government is pushing ahead with its nuclear weapon and ballistic missile programs, despite the threat of international sanctions. Just days after the reclusive country test-launched two medium-range ballistic missiles last month, the top North Korean official for U.S. relations told The Associated Press that Washington can expect more nuclear tests and missile launches as long as it tries to force his government's collapse through a policy of pressure and punishment.

"It's the United States that caused this issue," Han Song Ryol, the director-general of the department of U.S. affairs at North Korea's Foreign Ministry, told AP in his first interview with an American news organization since assuming the post three years ago. "They have to stop their military threats, sanctions and economic pressure. Without doing so, it's like they are telling us to reconcile while they are putting a gun to our forehead."

Human rights in North Korea are severely limited. Despite numerous rights being enshrined in the country's constitution, in practice, there is no right to free speech, and the only radio, television, music and news providers that are deemed legal are those operated by the government.

For the first time, the United States has sanctioned North Korean leader Kim Jong Un

Based on defectors' testimonies, an estimated 150,000200,000 prisoners are incarcerated in various prison camps, including camps that are dedicated to political crimes, and are subject to forced labor, physical abuse and execution.[citation needed]

The North Korean government makes it very difficult for foreigners to enter the country for purposes other than tourism and it strictly monitors their activities when they do. Aid workers are subject to considerable scrutiny and are excluded from places and regions the government does not wish them to enter. Since citizens cannot freely leave the country, it is mainly from stories of refugees and defectors that the nation's human rights record has been constructed. The government's position, expressed through the Korean Central News Agency, is that international criticism of its human rights record is a pretext for overthrowing its Juche-based socialist system, while the abuses of its critics go unpunished.
"The animals we've studied appear to be reproducing successfully"

The first litter of kittens, tagged June 8, are two females now known as P-48 and P-49. Their mother is P-35, an approximately six-year-old female that the National Park Service has been tracking since April 2014.

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- National Park Service researchers recently discovered two litters of mountain lion kittens in the eastern Santa Susana Mountains. A total of five kittens, three females and two males, were eartagged and returned to their respective dens earlier this month.

The Santa Susanas are a large mountain range that provides a critical habitat connection between the Santa Monica Mountains to the south and Los Padres National Forest to the north.

"Despite the challenges mountain lions in this area face, the animals we've studied appear to be reproducing successfully," said Jeff Sikich, a biologist with Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. "The real challenge comes as these kittens grow older and disperse, especially the males, and have to deal with threats from other mountain lions and also road mortality and the possibility of poisoning from anticoagulant rodenticide."

The first litter of kittens, tagged June 8, are two females now known as P-48 and P-49. Their mother is P-35, an approximately six-year-old female that the National Park Service has been tracking since April 2014. Based on remote camera images, biologists suspect her previous kitten, P-44, did not survive into adulthood.

Video of the Mountain Lion kittens:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/santamonicamtns/27494982164/in/photolist-HTCYhC-HJ81YT-Jxv6ED-HJbZcE-HJc1by-Jxv1NK-Jxv2yc/

The second litter of kittens belong to P-39, an approximately five-year-old female researchers began tracking in April 2015. She gave birth to three kittens, a male known as P-50, a female known as P-51, and another male known as P-52. The den, discovered on June 22, was located in a cave-like area hidden beneath large boulders.

In both cases, the father is suspected to be P-38, based on GPS locations of him traveling and spending multiple days with P-35 and P-39 months before the kittens were born. Samples from the kittens were taken for genetic testing, in order to determine paternity with certainty.

Researchers locate the kittens' den by analyzing the GPS locations transmitted from the mother's collar. For the first three weeks after the kittens' birth, the GPS points are typically localized in a cluster that is then used to determine the den's location. Even with GPS device in hand, the den can be difficult to find because of the thick brush and hidden crevices that mothers choose to hide their kittens in for protection.

The second litter of kittens belong to P-39, an approximately five-year-old female researchers began tracking in April 2015. She gave birth to three kittens, a male known as P-50, a female known as P-51, and another male known as P-52. The den, discovered on June 22, was located in a cave-like area hidden beneath large boulders.

These are the tenth and eleventh litters of kittens marked by National Park Service biologists at a den site. Two additional litters of kittens were discovered when the kittens were already at least six months old.

Since 2002, the National Park Service has been studying mountains lions in and around the Santa Monica Mountains to determine how they survive in an increasingly fragmented and urbanized environment. Funding for mountain lion research in the Santa Monica Mountains is provided in part through private donations to the Santa Monica Mountains Fund.

Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA) is the largest urban national park in the country, encompassing more than 150,000 acres of mountains and coastline in Ventura and Los Angeles counties. A unit of the National Park Service, it comprises a seamless network of local, state and federal parks interwoven with private lands and communities. As one of only five Mediterranean ecosystems in the world, SMMNRA preserves the rich biological diversity of more than 450 animal species and 26 distinct plant communities. Visit http://www.nps.gov/samo.
Franklin D. Roosevelt's flagship for trip to Tehran to meet Winston Churchill, Josef Stalin in 1943

Volunteer shows a visitor how to hold a hundred-pound bag of gunpowder . The USS Iowa boasts special quarters created for Franklin D. Roosevelt for his trip to Tehran to meet with Winston Churchill and Josef Stalin in 1943

Battleships, once thought to be the ultimate weapon, are now a relic of the past. For a chance to visit this past - and enjoy 360-degree breeze-swept views of Los Angeles Harbor, the USS Iowa at Berth 87, is a great place to go.

A self-guided tour takes one in and out of sailors' quarters, mess halls and up and down ladders leading to almost all levels of the ship's significant superstructure and winding around the impressive armaments. It's easy to get distracted by views of yachts sailing in and out of the channel and the work of the giant cranes unloading ships from China.

The USS Iowa, Battleship 61, was constructed beginning in 1939 and completed in 1942. She's the only battleship of her class to have served in the Atlantic during World War II. Her biggest claim to fame is possibly the special quarters created for Franklin D. Roosevelt for his trip to Tehran to meet with Winston Churchill and Josef Stalin in 1943. A bathtub - the only one in the entire navy - was installed in his quarters as well as an elevator to transport him between decks. Roosevelt had suffered polio and was paralyzed from the waist down.

Upon her transfer to the Pacific Fleet in 1944, the Iowa participated in shelling of beachheads in the Marshall Islands and was present at the surrender of Japan in Tokyo Bay. After some service during the Korean War, the Iowa was mothballed until 1984, with Ronald Reagan sought to beef up the navy's fleet. Following a tragic accident in 1989 in which 47 sailors were killed by a mysterious explosion in her No. 2 gun turret, the Iowa was decommissioned for the final time.

Alyssa Ganezer View of the famous 16-inch guns on the foredeck, USS Iowa Battleship, Long Beach.

In other words, there's a lot to see here, especially if you're at all interested in World War II, the navy, or armaments.

Parking is easy, right next to the ship in her permanent home. A ramp onto the ship shifts in steepness according to the tide, but they'll get you onboard if you're in a wheelchair, no matter the time of the month or day. Prices are discounted for military, seniors, and children. They're not cheap, but this tub receives no government money and relies entirely on admission and donations.

Often, you run into a few of the tens of thousands of men who served aboard the USS Iowa during her more than 50 year tour of duty. Some of them are volunteer docents. Talking to them is in itself, worth the drive to Long Beach.

For more information, visit http://www.pacificbattleship.com/
Dynamo LED Displays Voted The Leading Specialist in Retail Digital Signage

Dynamo LED Displays is committed to providing [LED sign](http://dynamo-led-displays.co.uk/) solutions that fit the customer requirements. This is the right place to look for a scrolling LED ticker, countdown clock, full color LED video display board or a low budget shop window LED sign to show a message or advert. Its really simple to change LED display content which offers the flexibility to keep information up to date and enables the targeting of potential customers according to time of day, week or season. The right message to the right people at the right time. The perception or view of a brand image is the most important and Dynamo [LED Displays](http://dynamo-led-displays.ae/) gives customers the opportunity to raise awareness of products in an attractive manner. Retail digital signage will give any store the edge customers are looking for over the competition and can boost a companys revenue while keeping costs under control.

Retail LED signage gives stores the edge needed, and can increase revenue while keeping costs under control.

Dynamo LED Displays has completed installations all over the U.K. and Europe including London, Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Birmingham, Newcastle, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Cardiff. Dixons Carphone PLC, Europes largest technology retailer and winner of the prestigious retailer of the year accolade at the retail week awards chose Dynamo LED to install 14 LED video displays at their brand new flagship store on Londons Oxford Street.

The leading specialist electrical and telecommunications retailer and services company  which consists of PC World, Currys and Carphone Warehouse declared the LED feature wall, made up of four individual LED video displays and spread over a 4K resolution with over 4.3 million pixels a total success.

The brand new store also boasted a custom built, creative LED window display with 9 separate LED screens that are programmed to show the latest offers alongside manufacturer Logos and videos. The custom built design also doubles as a product display stand which allows the latest products to sit on top of it.

Daniel Reynolds, director of Dynamo LED Displays when talking about the LED window displays was quoted as saying One of the things that really stuck out for me was the vast amount of people who stopped to view the display as they were walking past, this demonstrates the power of creative LED to engage with prospective customers and increase footfall within retail stores

The store didnt stop there either, the success of the LED installation inspired the designers to request that Dynamo LED Displays install a landscape LED video display measuring 4416mm x 960mm above the exit showing custom made content to further enhance the digital customer experience befitting of Europes largest technology retailer. For more information, visit dynamo-led-displays.co.uk.
"The Dallas Police Department received an anonymous threat against law enforcement across the city and has taken precautionary measures" to heighten security, Dallas police said earlier in an emailed statement.

"The Dallas Police Department received an anonymous threat against law enforcement across the city and has taken precautionary measures" to heighten security, Dallas police said earlier in an emailed statement.

By Reuters: The Dallas police headquarters and the surrounding blocks were placed under lockdown on Saturday, and SWAT teams were deployed throughout the area, after the department received an anonymous threat against officers citywide.

Officers were sweeping a large parking garage outside its headquarters, two days after a gunman killed five policeman during a protest march.

"The Dallas Police Department received an anonymous threat against law enforcement across the city and has taken precautionary measures" to heighten security, Dallas police said earlier in an emailed statement.

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Before starting the sweep of the garage, officers pushed back reporters and camera operators who had gathered outside the headquarters in the Texas city's downtown after initial reports of the lockdown.



Also read

Dallas shooting: Police killed armed suspect using a robot

Dallas shootings: Black US military veteran who wanted to kill 'white people' was lone gunman



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Hospitals feeling surge of RSV locally and across state

Post-pandemic easing of isolation is fueling rise in the respiratory RSV illnesses in children in the South Bend area.
A senior police officer said they have unearthed a gang of private detectives operating as pre-matrimonial investigation agencies but who were actually involved in leaking call records with the help of some cops from neighbouring states.

By Shashank Shekhar: City police have blown the lid off a nexus involving cops and freelance investigators that sold off thousands of telephone call detail records (CDRs) in an incident that raises concerns about privacy and security.

Sources say those affected by the leak may include politicians, businessmen and eminent personalities and the data could be used for snooping and extortion.

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According to an estimate, over 4,000 CDRs were leaked by a Delhi-based company, which used to sell them for hefty amounts

A senior police officer said they have unearthed a gang of private detectives operating as pre-matrimonial investigation agencies but who were actually involved in leaking call records with the help of some cops from neighbouring states.

WHAT HAPPENED

The breach took place despite a recent tightening of the process of obtaining call data. According to rules, only an officer- of the rank of superintendent of police or above- is authorised to seek such details from telecom operators.

The directive was enforced after three Delhi Police personnel and as many private detectives were arrested for allegedly obtaining call records of several prominent people including BJP leader Arun Jaitley in 2013.

"We got information about such a leakage and a team member posing as a potential customer reached a pre-matrimonial investigation company in Janakpuri area to buy CDRs," a senior officer of the Crime Branch involved in the investigation of the case told Mail Today.

The company owner was found flouting the rules and preliminary inquiry shows that he was in touch with over 40 other private agencies and some policemen in Uttar Pradesh from where he was arranging the CDRs."

Police are now conducting raids to arrest members of the syndicate.

WHO IS A PART OF THIS GANG

"The gang was active for the last one and half years," the Crime Branch officer said.

Police sources say they have identified the officers involved but are yet to arrest them. The syndicate is hi-tech and to avoid any exchange of mails cops under the scanner used to attach the digital copy of the CDRs in emails and save them in the draft folder, while accomplices in Delhi downloaded and forwarded them to clients.

"We are verifying the log of mails used by them to establish a link between them. Once the private detective used to get the digital copy of the CDRs he used WhatsApp to communicate with his clients so that they cannot be tracked," an officer explained.

Investigators said that the private detectives were selling the CDRs and the police officers involved were being paid Rs6,000-15,000 for each record depending upon the user's profile.

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The detective agencies were in touch with over three dozen other firms.

The illegal obtaining of Jaitley's CDR caused political furore in 2013. Then 52 CDRs, including three belonging to him, were sought by the group involved in the crime by using the e-mail id of Assistant Commissioner of Police (Operations) New Delhi district.

The police personnel obtained CDRs of influential people in this way and handed them over to the private detectives for cash and other benefits.

NOT SO PRIVATE Delhi Police have found that private detective agencies are leaking call data records with the help of cops According to an estimate, over 4,000 CDRs were leaked by a Delhibased company, which used to sell it further for a hefty amount The list of leaked data may include politicians, businessmen and other eminent personalities Police is still verifying if the leaked CDRs are being possibly used for snooping and extortion Cops unearth a gang of private detectives who were operating as pre-matrimonial investigation agencies but were actually involved in leaking CDRs Police have initiated action and are conducting raid to arrest gang members

Also ReadEssar snoop diaries: All you need to know about the phone-tapping controversy



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Dakhla (refugee camps), July 10, 2016 (SPS) -The new Secretary General of Polisario Front and elected President of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) Brahim Ghali was sworn in Saturday in Dakhla (Saharawi refugee camps), following the Polisario Extraordinary Congress.

Brahim Ghali was elected by the overwhelming majority of participants in the Extraordinary Congress, as Secretary General of the Polisario Front and President of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, replacing Mohamed Abdelaziz, who died last May 31st due to illness, according to the Constitution.

The Article 51 of the Sahrawi Constitution stipulates that "the Polisario Front General Secretary assumes the Presidency of the Republic.

Brahim Ghali collected 1,766 votes out of 1,895 cast in the election, said the Electoral Commission after the counting and announcement of final results.

Activist in the movement against the Spanish colonization, Brahim Ghali is a founding member of the Polisario Front which he was the first general secretary in 1973.

He was the leader of the first military operation against the Spanish colonial rule, behind the outbreak of the armed struggle on 20 May 1973.

Later in 1975, he was member of the delegation in charge of negotiations with Spain for Western Sahara people self-determination.

He also participated in the exchange of Sahrawi prisoners in Spanish jails, before being appointed as defense minister in SADR first government (from March 1976 until 1989).

Ghali assumed several positions at the Polisario Front from 1976 to 2015.

From 1993 to 1998, he also served as Minister of Defence.

He was also a member of the Sahrawi delegation responsible for negotiations with Morocco before being appointed Minister of Occupied Territories from 1998 to 1999, and Polisario Front representative in Spain from 1999 to 2008 and SADR ambassador to Algiers in 2008.

Brahim Ghali is the third Secretary-General of the Polisario Front after El-Ouali Mustapha and late Mohamed Abdelaziz. (SPS)

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Dakhla (refugee camps), July 10, 2016 (SPS)  New president of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), Secretary General of the Polisario Front, Brahim Ghali, announced Saturday in Dakhla that Algeria will be his "first destination" before participating in the African Union summit (AU).

"Algeria will be my first destination before leaving to attend the AU summit," scheduled from July 10 to 18 in Kigali, Ghali told a press conference after the Polisario Front extraordinary congress held Friday and Saturday.

The head of the Polisario Front political secretariat Brahim Ghali was officially elected on Saturday as president of the SADR and Secretary General of the Front by the overwhelming majority of participants in the Extraordinary Congress of the Front.

The Sahrawi president welcomed "the massive participation of all classes of the Sahrawi population to the Congress," saying that the "union of the Sahrawi people is a message to the Moroccan occupier."

"The Sahrawi people and Polisario Front leadership took up the challenge and were able to assume their tasks of organizing this conference," added Ghali.

The Congress under the slogan "Strength, determination and will to impose national independence and sovereignty" started Friday with the participation of over 2,400 participants came from around the world to elect a new SG of Polisario Front and the president of the SADR. (SPS)

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Connecticut seems to accept a constricted vision of education for its neediest children that is never imposed on more affluent districts. The most recent example of this disparity is the recent partnership between the New Haven Public Schools and an outfit called Relay Graduate School of Education, to provide alternative certification for would-be teachers.

Relay was founded by representatives of three charter school chains, Achievement First, KIPP and Uncommon Schools  chains with a troubling record of suspensions, harsh discipline and attrition. It was founded to train charter school teachers. Relay employs not one professor of education.

The Relay vision of teaching is narrow. Its primary goal is to train teachers to raise test scores. Consequently, Relay focuses on giving its trainees a prepackaged set of skills that focus mainly on classroom management and getting students to do what teachers want. The contrast between Relays methods and goals and those of existing Connecticut schools of education is stark.

For example, UConns teacher education program strives to establish a safe and positive learning environment and promote democratic participation and community. UConns core practice principles focus on helping prospective teachers learn to use their professional judgment, and to help students develop into independent thinkers. UConns principles help teachers develop strategies, activities and approaches that are responsive to cultural, linguistic, ability and other student differences, plan learning opportunities that teach content through inquiry and use knowledge of students as individuals and members of cultural and social groups to inform instruction. The aim is to help teachers meet students where they are and develop each students capabilities.

Relay employs the principles of one of its star faculty, Uncommon Schools Doug Lemov. Those principles focus on control and compliance. For instance, Lemov instructs trainees that (a) sequence that begins with a student unwilling or unable to answer a question ends with that student giving the right answer as often as possible even if they only repeat it. Even if they only repeat it!

The principles also instruct trainees to set and defend a high standard of correctness in your classroom and control the physical environment to support the specific lesson goal for the day. Relays prescriptive, robotic methods churn out teachers focused on getting students not to think for themselves, but to regurgitate the one correct answer.

Relay falsely claims its methods are proven. As University of Washington Professor Kenneth Zeichner has found, there is no peer-reviewed evidence demonstrating the success of Relay Graduate School of Education. In fact, even education reformers have called into question Relays methods. Kathleen Porter Magee, of the conservative Fordham Institute, criticized one Relay lesson video, noting it included low-level questions and inadequate wait time, and was generally rushed and superficial.

Connecticut has several university-based schools of education. Three  Albertus Magnus, Southern Connecticut and Quinnipiac  are in the New Haven area. Yet New Haven partnered with Relay. Why do New Havens children, the majority of whom are poor children of color, need teachers trained only to control them, when Connecticuts schools of education focus on developing children based on their individual needs and strengths?

This partnership must be seen in the larger context of Connecticuts abandonment of its previous deep commitment to robust teacher training. Connecticut used to be a national model for teacher education. Its BEST program was state-funded and developed by the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) over 15 years, in conjunction with developing the states academic standards. CSDE ensured that a robust teacher induction system was designed, implemented, researched and evaluated. The state raised teacher salaries; required, funded and trained experienced teachers as mentors; developed licensing requirements and a staged licensing process; and required ongoing professional development.

Although the successful BEST program was lauded nationwide, Connecticut abandoned BEST, because it was seen as too costly. Apparently, Connecticuts leaders viewed providing tax subsidies to insurance companies and hedge funds as more worthwhile than investing in Connecticuts children. Connecticut has also in recent years cut state programs for alternative teacher certification. Thus, the burden and cost of certification increasingly falls to school districts.

At the same time, Connecticut has imposed more mandates on university-based teacher education programs. It is almost as if the state wants to drive existing schools with a proven track record into the ground and replace them with cheap, fly-by-night operations.

Connecticut children deserve teachers who can help them reach their potential, not parrot from canned scripts. They deserve better than teachers trained in five-week Teach for America training programs or quick certification factories such as Relay.

Wendy Lecker is a columnist for the Hearst Connecticut Media Group and is senior attorney at the Education Law Center.
The lovely couple had a fairy tale wedding. Don't believe us? Check out these pictures from the ceremony.

Divyanka and Vivek during their wedding ceremony. Picture courtesy: Instagram/vivekdahiyafanclub

By India Today Web Desk: So, small screen beauty Divyanka Tripathi finally got married, and wait for it, we have the INSIDE PICTURES from the wedding ceremony. Yes, you read that right.

The wedding was every bit breathtaking as you and I would have imagined it to be. Looking drop-dead gorgeous in her wedding attire-a red and gold lehenga, the talented actress looked like a dream. Her handsome beau, Vivek Dahiya, was not far behind as he looked like a royalty in his beige sherwani, giving tough competition to his bride.



Also read:Divyanka-Vivek wedding: Tinsel town showers the couple with best wishes



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Can't wait to check the pictures out? Have a look at them and tell us whether you agree with us, or not.

The Dabang Divyanka looked stunning. Picture courtesy: Yogen Shah

Vivek Dahiya dazzled everyone when he showed up in a white sherwani. Picture courtesy: Yogen Shah

Divyanka looked like the princess she is in her gorgeous lehenga. Picture courtesy: Instagram/vivekdahiyafanclub

Vivek and Divyanka perform one of the rituals of the wedding. Picture courtesy: Instagram/vivekdahiyafanclub

It is 'phera' time for the stunning couple. Picture courtesy: Instagram/vivekdahiyafanclub

Vivek lovingly puts the sindoor on Divyanka. Picture courtesy: Instagram/vivekdahiyafanclub

It is official, folks. Divek are married. Picture courtesy: Instagram/vivekdahiyafanclub

The bride and groom pose with their friends for a picture. Picture courtesy: Instagram/vivekdahiyafanclub

Just look at the way Vivek is staring at Divyanka. Adorable, isn't it? Picture courtesy: Instagram/vivekdahiyafanclub

Look how happy they are during their jaimala ceremony. Picture courtesy: Yogen Shah

Congratulations, you two!





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It seems like every week brings more news of trouble in Rio.

The run-up to the Winter Olympics in Sochi were hardly rosy, but the problems in Brazil go beyond infrastructure. There are health concerns, safety concerns and dead bodies washing up on popular beaches.
F rom the Margarita to an Espresso Martini the art of cocktail making is much more than just serving drinks.

Flair cocktail making is the practice of showmanship from bartenders that involves throwing, catching and mixing a wide range of drinks.

There is even a World Flair Competition that is held annually to crown the World flair champion.

In London, the Graffiti cocktail bars in Balham and Earlsfield bring flair to their customers.

Owner, Jimmy Greenhalgh, showed the Standard the three essential beginner moves to flair cocktail making:

The Stall

The Stall brings the routine to a standstill as balance the bottle on any flat part of your body, most commonly your hand.

Whats key, is not simply to stick your hand and allow the bottle to fall on top of it because this will really heart. What you need to do is meet the bottle on the way up and follow it down again so you cushion the fall and get a nice, steady catch.

Behind the Back Catch

Its impressive because you are not looking at the bottle when you catch it but it also helps you tie all your other moves together.

Once you get into a nice routine of throwing the bottle over your shoulder, its going to come down as if it will land on your shoulder and you simply step forward and your hand will do the rest.

The Pour

All we are doing is interrupting the pour we were going to do and splitting it into two. We will pour into the tin, stop, rotate the tin and pour again.
S eventeen young men were found packed inside a three-bedroomed house in north-west London when council officers raided the home.

A catalogue of shocking squalor was uncovered by police and enforcement officers during a swoop on the overcrowded property in Kingsbury.

Up to five people were discovered sleeping on filthy mattresses squashed inside tiny rooms with no hot water or heating throughout the house.

Rubbish strewn across the backyard, faulty appliances, a dirty kitchen with a leaking sink and protruding electric cables were also uncovered during an inspection.

Squashed: The tenants were found living in cramped conditions inside the house / Brent Council

An investigation found all 17 tenants were paying cash in hand to one person living at the house who then passed on the 1,200 rent.

Brent Council said the head tenant now faces prosecution after the total rent collected was found to be 3,400.

The council said two rent recipients have been told to leave the property or face an unlimited fine.

Police made one arrest during the raid in connection with a previous offence.

Squalid: Filth was uncovered throughout the home which had no hot water or heating / Brent Council

The raid was carried out as part of a council crackdown on rogue landlords letting out squalid and unlicensed properties.

Sky News joined enforcement officers ahead of an expected TV programme next week to shine a light on overcrowding in London.

Cllr Harbi Farah, Brent Council's cabinet member for housing, said: "Having to live with 16 other people in these cramped conditions is unacceptable.

We are talking about people's lives and no one deserves to spend theirs in a grimy, overcrowded house with no hot water or heating.

"While there are many good landlords in Brent who have licensed their properties, there's still a significant number who haven't, who are operating illegally and exploiting people for profit.

"We are in the process of identifying and taking enforcement action against unlicensed properties and I'm happy to see actions including the raid last week, taken against landlords who do not comply with the law.

"Licensing is good for everyone in Brent. It drives up standards in the private sector and ensures a good standard of living for our residents, something we are committed to providing."
T wenty-eight people were found to be living squashed together in a terraced house in Stoke Newington.

The two-storey house had just one bathroom shared between the huge number of tenants, as well as a single kitchen and no fire alarms.

The property in Allerton Road had been divided into seven cramped rooms, including in the attic, which were filled with bunk beds.

The cramped, unsafe conditions were exposed after a dawn raid by police and council inspectors in October following a tip-off from neighbours.

A room in the attic / Hackney Council

Landlord Alfred Landau has now been fined 20,000 after being prosecuted by Hackney council.

Landau, of Queen Elizabeths Walk, Stoke Newington, was also ordered to pay costs of 1,845 after admitting managing an unlicensed house at Thames magistrates court.

Cllr Philip Glanville, Hackney councils housing chief, said: The lack of any basic fire safety at this jam-packed property put lives at risk, and this maximum fine serves as a warning that we wont stand by when we see unsafe conditions in Hackneys homes.

Were determined to drive up standards for private renters in Hackney, and we wont hesitate to take enforcement action and press for the strongest penalties for landlords who flout the rules.

Those who seek to take advantage of Londons housing crisis for personal profit have no place in our borough.
Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Ferozepur and Fazilka districts sharing the border with Pakistan are part of the drug smuggling route which the Pakistan or Afghanistan based drug smugglers use to route their consignments.

The Parkash Singh Badal-led Punjab government is planning stricter measures to restrict smuggling of drugs through the porous Indo-Pak border.

By Manjeet Sehgal: Punjab is both a transit point and a market for the drugs smuggled from the Golden Crescent (Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran). While the Afghanistan heroin is smuggled from the porous Indo-Pak border, opium and poppy husk is smuggled from Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh where poppy cultivation is legal.

Charas and Hashish is smuggled from Himachal Pradesh besides the synthetic drugs. Drug units located on Himachal-Punjab borders produce ICE drugs. The 553-km-long International Border with Pakistan is porous at many places which also include local rivers where fencing is missing.

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Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Ferozepur and Fazilka districts sharing the border with Pakistan are part of the drug smuggling route which the Pakistan or Afghanistan based drug smugglers use to route their consignments.

HOW ARE DRUGS SMUGGLED The residents of villages located on the borders work as couriers for smugglers. They get Rs 3,000 to Rs4,000 to receive and forward each kilogram of heroin valued around Rs5 crore in the international market. As farmers are given permits to grow crops near the fence at many places, they receive consignments via plastic pipes or directly thrown from the other side. The consignments are either buried in the fields or is transported by hiding in tree trunk cavities. It remains with the local courier for some time and then is handed over to the other courier whose responsibility is to deliver the same to the one who either sends it further to New Delhi or to the local towns to sell the same in small quantities. New Delhi is the major transit point for the quality Afghanistan heroin.

Also Read



India bans hundreds of drugs including household medicines: Things you should know about FDCs





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A retired prize-winning race horse has died after being shot in the head with a handgun in an apparently random attack as he grazed near his south east London stables.

Officers from Bromley CID are investigating the shooting, which happened near Kemnal Manor Stables in Chislehurst on Friday afternoon.

Shocked staff at the yard had gone to check on the horses as normal at around 3pm and found Woolfie slumped on the ground with a bullet wound to his head.

Stables manager Justine Bowdery is now putting up 3,000 of her own money as a reward to catch the gunman.

She said: The police said the gun they used is highly dangerous. It wasnt an air rifle. This was a proper handgun.

Whoever did it, they went up to the horse and shot him at point blank range in the head, she went on.

Its just incredible really. This kind of thing just doesnt happen. Chislehurst is a nice place.

The yards been here for 30 years and nothing like this has ever happened.

The 11-year-old white thoroughbred was originally trained by Gary Moore and raced under the name Woolfall Treasure, being ridden by jockeys including A P McCoy and Richard Hughes.

Since he retired in 2013 after 42 flat and 15 jump races, Woolfie had been owned and cared for by Myra McKenna, 58, and lived at the stables.

A distraught Ms McKenna told the Standard: Hed just had a leg injury back in April and hed been kept in for all that time until Thursday when I took the decision to let him go out again.

Id spent two years nursing him back to health, feeding him up and he was just up to health again.

He meant everything to me, absolutely everything. I spent nearly every night going down to see him and Id just give him attention and look after him, she said.

He was a real character, so many people loved him. The people at the yard have been absolutely fantastic to me since it happened.

Cared for: Woolfie with owner Myra McKenna / Myra McKenna

Ms McKenna, whose friends have set up a fundraising page to pay for Woolfie's cremation, went on: The vet and police said theyve not seen anything like it before.

Police said it was somebody who had a powerful weapon that shouldnt be on the streets.

She added: I just think it must be someone thats very sick. There are no words to describe them. I wouldnt even know what would go through their minds to do such a thing as this.

Ms McKenna said: I obviously want this person caught and I dont want it to happen to anybody else. Even the police have said these people can progress on to humans after this.

I just want to say what a special horse he was. He was such a beautiful animal.

A spokesman for the Met Police was unable to confirm what type of gun had been used but confirmed officers had been called at 3.20pm on Friday.

He said: Officers attended and found a horse deceased. A vet was called and enquiries are underway to establish the cause of the animal's death.

Detectives from Bromley CID are investigating.
A woman who was sent home from work for not wearing high heels in an incident which attracted global attention has donated her shoes to a musuem.

Actress Nicola Thorp, 27, was sent home without pay when she arrived to work as a corporate receptionist at PricewaterhouseCoopers Embankment offices in flat footwear.

The company said the dress code was not its policy and that the Hackney resident was employed by corporate reception services Portico.

Ms Thorp said she was left upset and confused by the incident and also claimed she was told to wear make-up for the receptionist role and supplied with a colour chart of acceptable shades.

Popular cause: Nicola Thorp / Facebook

The decision sparked a huge backlash with just under 150,000 people signing a petition set up by Ms Thorp to make it illegal for firms to require women to wear high heels.

Last week, Ms Thorp attended a parliamentary home affairs select committee after the petition triggered a Commons debate.

Now, the shoes which she had been chastised for wearing are to go on display at Hackney Museum for a new exhibition which celebrates female activism.

Ms Thorp told the Standard she received the request out of the blue following the whirlwind of publicity since she made her stand.

Exhibit: The shoes were donated by Ms Thorp to Hackney Museum / Hackney Council

She said: The museum made contact with me on Twitter and I just laughed. Im not sure there has ever been so much fuss over a pair of shoes.

It was out of the blue and obviously I was very happy to donate. I think it's wonderful that attention is being paid to it.

Ms Thorp said she attended Parliament last week and is waiting to hear the nature of the debate which will be held in the Commons after calling for the Sex Discrimination Act to be updated.

She added: It has never been about the shoes but about women's equality. Hopefully the focus will turn on women's ability to do their jobs and not how they look doing it.

Hackney Council announced the shoes had been donated to the museums collection in Reading Lane to coincide with the parliamentary debate.

Cllr Jonathan McShane said: We are delighted to receive this donation from Nicola. Hackney has a proud history of residents fighting for social and political change.

"The shoes are a great addition to the collection at Hackney Museum, and have already been attracting visitors.
A top London law school has reported a surge in demand to take the US bar exam as solicitors hunt for options following the Brexit vote.

Barbri International said twice as many applicants from London's major city firms had contacted the specialist tuition provider in the past two weeks than would normally.

The school, which is headquartered in the capital but has offices around the world, offers courses in US law which enable solicitors to train as American attorneys.

Managing director Sarah Hutchinson said: "What's been interesting for me is that in the last 10 days, 100 per cent of the people who have come to see us, about 50 enquiries, have all been working in major city law firms.

"Normally it's a much more diverse intake."

Ms Hutchinson said usually her organisation could expect to receive about half as many enquiries from similar lawyers over a two week period.

Most of the London-based applications were from young lawyers under 35, she added.

"I think what we're seeing is concern driven by the Brexit vote that the UK legal market could become less international," Ms Hutchinson said.

"In the short-term I think there's going to be a huge demand for legal services.

"What we're seeing with these young lawyers is people trying to get an extra string to their bow, looking long term."

Ms Hutchinson said post-Brexit jitters did not spell the end for London's dynamic legal sector but predicted it would take less of an "EU focus".

Britain's vote to leave the EU on June 23 has sent shockwaves through the UK economy, with the pound plunging to a fresh 31-year low even two weeks after the referendum.

London house prices have also been affected, with falls of up to 40 per cent forecast in some of the city's more affluent areas.
M ore than 30 council across the UK have urged the Government to back a third runway at Heathrow, which they believe will better support job creation and benefit the economy.

The leaders of 34 local authorities including Harrow and Tower Hamlets have sent a signed letter to Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin urging him to expand the west London airport.

In the letter, they urged Mr McLoughlin to make the decision during "uncertain times".

Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye said: "Councils from across the country recognise expansion at Heathrow will benefit their local economies by creating skilled jobs and connecting exporters to growing markets overseas.

"Their support is further evidence that the next prime minister has the opportunity to make the right choice in the whole of Britain's interest by expanding Heathrow."

Any decision on whether to build a new runway at Heathrow or Gatwick will not be made until October.

The Davies Commission recommended the building of a third runway at Heathrow in July last year.

But in December, the Department for Transport announced that further investigation into noise, pollution and compensation would be carried out before a decision is made.
P arts of Oxford Street have been shut down after a second Black Lives Matter protest today.

Protesters took to Oxford Street to march against the killings of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling in America.

Last night, dozens of protesters brought parts of Brixton to a standstill, chanting "black lives matter".

TfL have told people to expect delays in the area.

Black Lives Matter: Protesters march on Oxford Street / Phillip Gee

Many carried placards reading "black lives matter" and "no justice, no peace".

Protester Fahad Mirza said he was marching today because he was sick of hearing news about black people facing injustice.

He said: "The atmosphere here encompasses unity and the real meaning of Black Lives Matter is embodied by the people here protesting.

London Live reports on the Black Lives Matter protests across London

"I, as an Asian person, decided to go as I am sick and tired of waking up to hear of another black person facing injustice."

Crowds chanted together "No justice, no peace, no racist police" and "I'm black, don't shoot."

Met Police officers are at the scene.

Yesterday's march passed off peacefully, with only one arrest for obstruction.

The group of protesters were camped outside the US Embassy before moving through Hyde Park and Regent Street.

This page is being updated.
J eremy Corbyn has shown support for a parliamentary motion which declares Tony Blair guilty of contempt over the 2003 Iraq invasion.

Conservative MP David Davis is set to table the motion which alleges the former prime minister deceived the Commons in the run-up to the war.

Mr Corbyn, who this week apologised on behalf of his party following the long-awaited release of the Chilcot report, said he backed the move.

He told the Andrew Marr Show: I urge colleagues to read the Butler Report and the Chilcot Report about the way Parliament was denied the information it should have had, the way there was lack of preparations for the conflicts aftermath, and the way in which assertions of weapons of mass destruction [were made],

Support: Jeremy Corbyn said he would probably back a motion which aims to hold Tony Blair to account over Iraq / PA

Parliament must hold to account, including Tony Blair, those who took us into this particular war.

That is surely how a parliamentary democracy works. I havent seen [the motion] yet, but I think I probably would [back it].

The motion could be debated in the next few weeks providing it is approved by the Speaker.

Tabled: David Davis said he was going to submit a "contempt motion" / PA

Mr Davis told the Andrew Marr Show: I'm going to put down a contempt motion, a motion which says that Tony Blair has held the House in contempt.

It's a bit like contempt of court. Essentially by deceit.

He added: If you look just at the debate alone, on five different grounds the House was misled, three in terms of the weapons of mass destruction, one in terms of the UN votes were going, and one in terms of the threat, the risks. He might have done one of those accidentally, but five?

On Wednesday, the Chilcot inquiry was published amid a series of delays of setbacks seven years after it was ordered by then prime minister Gordon Brown.

Chilcot Report: Will Tony Blair be tried for war crimes?

The report, about 2.6 million words in length, was a damning verdict on the 2003 invasion which concluded the Mr Blairs intelligence to go to war was not justified.

Pressure has continued to build on Mr Blair after former deputy prime minister John Prescott declared the war was illegal.

Writing in the Sunday Mirror, Mr Prescott described the Chilcot report as a "damning indictment of how the Blair government handled the war, adding he took responsibility for his share of the blame.
A state-of-the-art jail cell has been lavished with praise after a prisoner penned a hilarious Trip Advisor-style review.

The inmate created the handwritten tongue-in-cheek appraisal of the Perry Barr station in Birmingham with a three-star rating.

The review was revealed by West Midlands Police who tweeted: Our new state-of-the-art custody suite has won praise from an unlikely source  a detainee whos written a review!

It was created after a 24-year-old man spent 16 hours in the cell following an arrest for alleged criminal damage.

Scene: Perry Barr police station in Birmingham / Google Maps

The man wrote: On arrival at Perry Barr I was impressed by how modern and clean the building looks. I was dealt with promptly by the custody officer and shown to my cell.

Once in my cell I was pleasantly surprised by the cleanliness and decor neutrally decorated to please all parties but done to a high standard.

Despite the prisoners glowing tribute to the cells decoration, he was less than impressed by the amount of brews he received while locked up.

He added: I rated Sutton very highly on their tea making skills, every hour I was offered a tea and was with me within minutes.

I feel this is something staff at Perry Barr should take note of.

Police said they were pleased with the complimentary review but added the facility deserved a five-star rating.

Chief Inspector Paul Minor, West Midlands Police criminal justice manager, told the Birmingham Mail: We feel its a five-star facility: its designed to be safer for staff and guests and the more efficient check-in process means we can get arresting officers back out on the streets more quickly.

The cells have cameras, anti-graffiti surfaces, and reflective ceiling domes so occupants can be seen at all times, it means officers arent tied up on cell-door watch so can be out on patrols protecting the public.

The reviewer has been very complimentary about the facility and staff, but I think hes been a little harsh by awarding it just a three-star rating.
A heartbroken immigrant who says he has experienced racism after the Brexit vote phoned Nigel Farage on his first LBC radio show as a presenter.

The former leader of UKIP was confronted by a Londoner who said my heart is broken after racism appears to be out of control since the Brexit vote.

The caller, identified only as Fatim, said he had not previously been the victim of a racist attack before the EU referendum result.

Fatim, who moved to the UK 18 years ago and now lives in Walthamstow, told Mr Farage: I just wanted to explain what is happening after the referendum.

I was sitting outside of my house with my wife and kids born here in this country  and a van stopped in front of my house, and [they] used abusive language against me and my family.

Rise in racist and homophobic incidents reported following Brexit result

The kids turned round to me and said: what is this daddy?

After the referendum, Ive been insulted two times now. Ive been very hurt, after 18 years in the United Kingdom. My heart is broken.

Mr Farage then asked Fatim if he had ever before experienced a similar incident while living in the UK, to which he replied: Never in 18 years.

Mr Farage said on air: This is a horrible thing thats happened to you and happened to your wife and children. It is deplorable that people should be behaving like this, and Im very, very sorry for whats happened.

Nigel Farage resigns as UKip leader

We need to unite, we need to accept the result of the referendum, and everybody needs to understand that a new Prime Minister has now got a job to do.

Fatim added: Nothing happened before [the EU referendum] and now its totally out of control.

I really cannot sleep, I feel like I need to get lost, like I really need to do something.

Mr Farage replied: We need leadership on both sides of this debate, and we need people on my side of the debate to say look, we have made a decision here.

We need to be absolutely clear that anybody that has come into this country legally, has full rights, and is entitled to be here  in future were going to do things a bit differently, were going to have smaller numbers coming into Britain but  everybody who is here legally must be treated the same as absolutely everybody else.

Several callers phoned in to praise Mr Farage on his campaign for Britain to leave the European Union, including Steve from Dorset who phoned in to say: Well done mate, good job getting us out.

The former UKIP leader, who has previously said that he has been a victim of hatred, began presenting his new radio show on LBC today for the first time.

Nigel Farage victim of hatred

Mr Farage also discussed his support for Andrea Leadsom in the Tory leadership race against Theresa May, and described the Labour Party as being in absolute turmoil and chaos, and probably on course to split at some point.

In a comment directed a Vote Remain campaigner Bob Geldof, who clashed with Farage in a bizarre battle on the Thames on propaganda flotilla, Mr Farage said there will not be a second referendum on EU membership.

Farage and Geldof clash

He said: Weve had the referendum, its over, the war is finished Mr Geldof. There is not going to be a second referendum.
By PTI: From Harinder Mishra

Jerusalem, Jul 10 (PTI) Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry today met Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu during a rare visit to the Jewish state in an effort to rekindle the stalled peace talks between Israel and the Palestine that has stoked anger in the region and escalated violence.

Shoukry, who arrived here to discussan Egyptian initiative to break the deadlock, said his trip was a "continuation of Egypts longstanding sense of responsibility" towards peace for itself and all the people of the region.

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Shoukrys visit marks the first by an Egyptian foreign minister in nine years.

Netanyahu welcomed the Egyptian initiative. "I welcome President al-Sisis recent offer of Egyptian leadership in efforts to advance peace with the Palestinians and a broader peace in our region," he said.

"Today I call again on the Palestinians to follow the example of Egypt and Jordan and join us for direct negotiations. This is the only way we can address all the outstanding problems between us and turn the vision of peace, based on two states for two peoples, into a reality," he said.

Emphasising that Egypt was keen to promote peace, Shoukry thanked the two sides for showing faith in Cairo.

"Today is a continuation of Egypts longstanding sense of responsibility towards peace for itself and all the people of the region, particularly the Palestinians and the Israeli people, who have suffered for many decades due to the perpetuation of the conflict between them," Shoukry said.

"President al-Sisi is seeking to bring the long conflict to an end," he told reporters.

"Such a monumental achievement would have far-reaching, dramatic and positive impact on the overall conditions in the Middle East region... Egypt remains ready to contribute towards achieving this goal. We greatly value the trust of both sides and the international community in our commitment to peace, stability and justice," Shoukry emphasised.

A spokesperson of the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Abu Zeid, earlier said Shoukry and Netanyahu "will be to discussing the understandings that have already been reached, they will solidify trust between Israel and the Palestinians and renew negotiations, in an effort to arrive at a comprehensive and just solution to the conflict."

"As part this joint effort, Egypt is looking to help "establish a sovereign Palestinian state within the 67 borders, whose capital is East Jerusalem," Abu Zeid added. PTI HM ABH AKJ ABH

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By PTI: Mumbai, Jul 8 (PTI) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today expanded his council of ministers by inducting 10 new faces and elevating BJPs Ram Shinde to Cabinet rank, leaving the bickering ally Shiv Sena to settle for two additional Ministers of State.

Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray skipped the swearing-in ceremony.

The exercise, which reflected 45-year-old Fadnavis tightening his hold on the first ever BJP-led regime in the state, raised the strength of the ministry to 41, of which 27 are from the BJP, 12 from Shiv Sena and two from minor partners like Rashtriya Samaj Party and Swabhimani Party.

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Six legislators were today sworn-in as Cabinet ministers, including Shinde who was earlier MoS (Home), while two from the Sena took oath as Ministers of State at the ceremony held at Vidhan Bhawan here.

Governor C Vidyasagar Rao administered the oath of office and secrecy to the new ministers.

Besides Shinde, Pandurang Fundkar, Jaykumar Rawal, Sambhaji Patil Nilangekar and Subhash Deshmukh were inducted as Cabinet ministers BJPs ally Rashtriya Samaj Partys (RSP) Mahadev Jankar too was inducted as a Cabinet minister.

The BJP did not oblige the demand for an additional Cabinet berth from Sena.

Senas Arjun Khotkar and Gulabrao Patil, BJPs Ravindra Chavan, Madan Yerawar and Swabhimani Partys Sadabhau Khot were inducted as MoS.

With todays expansion 24 ministers are of Cabinet rank while 17 are Ministers of State.

Among the Cabinet ministers, 18 are from the BJP, 5 from Shiv Sena and one of Rashtriya Samaj Party. Out of the 17 MoS, BJP has 9, Sena-7 and Swabhimani Party-1.

The main opposition Congress kept away from the ceremony, saying that the state was not going to benefit from the exercise in any way.

"We were not too keen on participating in the event because there was no quality in the expansion. Maharashtra will not benefit in any way from this expansion. The BJP is only indulging in Apna saath apna vikas. This was a quantitative expansion, not a qualitative one," MPCC president Ashok Chavan told PTI.

NCP leader Ajit Pawar said there was no need for his party to boycott the event.

"Sunil Tatkare, Dhananjay Munde were present at the swearing-in ceremony. Jayant Patil was in Sangli for the election of Zilla Parishad president. Dilip Walse Patil was busy in some meeting. But our main party leaders were present," he said. (MORE) PTI MM VT GK NM VMN VMN

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A small prayer meeting in the memory of Burhan Wani was organised at Hizbul's Muzaffarabad base. Both Saeed and Salahuddin addressed a gathering of Hizbul militants from a makeshift stage which also had posters of killed Hizbul militant Burhan Wani.

A small prayer meeting in the memory of Burhan Wani was organised at Hizbul's Muzaffarabad base.

By Ankit Kumar: Hafiz Saeed accompanied by some of the key members of JuD's cyber cell held extensive meetings with Hizb-ul-Mujahideen chief Sayeed Salahuddin and his close associates in Muzaffarabad, on Saturday.

RISING TO THE OCCASION

A small prayer meeting in the memory of Burhan Wani was organised at Hizbul's Muzaffarabad base. Both Saeed,the mastermind behind 26/11 Mumbai attacks, and Salahudding addressed a gathering of Hizbul militants from a makeshift stage which also had posters of killed Hizbul militant Burhan Wani.

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If sources are to be believed, it was Hafiz's idea to use social media extensively in order to fuel the anti-media sentiments in the Kashmir valley. Saeed's Jamaat-ud-Dawa already has several well trained social media cells across Pakistan.

Hafiz has been working extensively on these cells over last few years in order to defy a ban imposed on JuD's media coverage in Pakistan. This media gag was imposed sometime back by Pakistani authorities but Saeed managed to escape it through events organised under the banner of several parallel platforms such as Difa-e-Pakistan Council and Falah E Insaniat foundation Pakistan.

HIZBUL-JUD JOINT HANDIWORK

So far this unholy alliance of JuD and Hizbul has been working well to advantage of separatist groups and Pakistan.

Compared to Hizbul, Jamaat-ud-Dawa has a weaker presence in the valley and hence it was virtually impossible for Hafiz to control and coordinate the series of protests in Kashmir valley.

However, soon after the news of Burhan's encounter floated, Saeed reached Muzaffarabad along with his team and facilitated anti-India sentiments among Kashmiri youth.

Apart from generating hashtags, the campaign to user's change display pictures and names on social media to Burham's was the handiwork of these cells.

This recent unrest in Kashmir has seen a unique social media strategy where provocative anti-India contents kept flooding the social media at a regular interval.

Pakistan's ministry of foreign affairs was also quick to take advantage of the situation in Kashmir and called the encounter of wanted Hizbul militant Burhan Wani an "extrajudicial killing of a Kashmiri leader".

As the valley burns and Islamabad keeps playing to the international gallery, it intentionally chooses to overlook the fact that one of its own, well protected non-state actors were responsible for one of the bloodiest Kashmiri unrest in 2016.

ALSO READ:

Kashmir violence: Death toll 21, Omar asks Mehbooba to lead from front

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By PTI: Mumbai, Jul 10 (PTI) Aditya Puri, the chief executive and managing director of the second largest private sector lender HDFC Bank, has been ranked as the best banking CEO in Asia by the investor community. The banks chief financial officer Sashi Jagdishan has been ranked as the best CFO, apart from getting ranked as the best IR company as well, thereby making it the most honoured one in the Institutional Investor magazine. Called the All-Asia Executive Team rankings 2016, the survey had 1,394 investment professionals from 582 financial institutions participating in it. They picked HDFC Bank in the Best CEO, Best CFO, and the Best IR company categories. The survey encompassed 1,541 companies from 18 sectors across Asia, excluding Japan, the bank said in a statement today.

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The research reflects feedback from both buy and sell-side analysts, with an unparallelled level of detail on the IR efforts of companies across the region. Respondents from the buy-side work at firms that collectively manage an estimated USD 963 billion in Asia ex-Japan equities.

Citing HDFC Bank as an example, the publication highlighted its use of technology as a key trend this year, particularly in semi-urban areas. PTI BEN GK MR SDM

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Do you ever have one of those weeks when everything you run across increases your blood pressure a couple notches? The older I get the more weeks like that I have. This past one was a bit more extreme though.

It began when a Star-Herald subscriber contacted me saying they didnt get their newspaper only to discover it was on their roof! We really want to put the paper on the porch, not ON the porch if you get what I mean. We have visited with that newspaper carrier.

Then TransCanada officially files a claim in NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) court, asking the American taxpayers to pony up $15 billion because they feel their Keystone XL pipeline was unfairly denied. They want back the $3 billion they already spent and $12 billion in unrealized profits!

The NOGCC (Nebraska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission) got caught approving out of state toxic fracking wastewater permits allowing Colorado and Wyoming wastewater to be disposed in Nebraska. The court ruled they overstepped their authority, and how! I am not upset they got caught, I am glad they did, but who in their right minds would tell Colorado and Wyoming to ship their toxic waste here so we could force it down a hole in the ground where we hope it will stay forever.

Hillary getting a pass on her, as the FBI calls it, extremely careless behavior dealing with classified information on her private email server. I guess it is who you know, not what you know, for clearly she knew what she was doing was wrong. Pretty good example of her abilities to make sound decisions, isnt it? You want someone with that type of judgment deciding if we will go to war? Not me.

And then there is The Donald. He thinks about everything he says. Unfortunately, it is after he says it. Talk about a mouth being five minutes ahead of a brain. What was the line comic Bill Engvall always used? Heres your sign! (For those not familiar with Engvall, his routine made fun of stupid people and thought they should all wear a sign saying, I am stupid!) Donald, heres your sign!

And then there was that new Congressional legislative maneuver of staging sit-ins on the floor of the House of Representatives. How ridiculous was that? What did it get them  a couple of Dominos pizzas while they sat around on the floor singing protest songs? Hey, we elected these people to represent us, not embarrass us.

Then there is this endless allergy, an allergy I managed to live 60 years of my life without, before it crawled up into my sinuses, apparently bound and determined to live there forever. And those child-proof over the counter decongestion pills; whats the secret on how to get them out of those little cellophane bubbles? You know, with paper and tinfoil on the backside. You are supposed to bend down a corner and peel off the paper and push the dang little pill out the back? Sure! I am now convinced whoever puts those things in there has never tried to get one out with watering eyes and a running nose! Someday a thousand years from now they will unearth the remains of humans trying to open allergy pill containers.

And finally, dont you hate those Facebook messages telling you who is having a birthday, and then asking if you want to write a message on their wall? I hate birthdays. Every year older I get shortens my patience, as you can tell from this column. Two years ago, after my birthday, my knees started wearing out. This year, that aforementioned allergy that wont leave me alone. So yes, I want to write a message on your Facebook birthday wall about getting older. Be afraid, be very afraid. And stay off my lawn! And heres your sign!

Thanks, I feel better now. What things bother you, (besides grumpy old opinion writers)? Share them with me at greg.awtry@starherald.com
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In a 20 km-long traffic jam in Indonesia, 12 people died of heart attacks and heat exhaustion over three days. They got stuck in a jam while returning from their Eid al-Fitr holidays.

By India Today Web Desk: The main highway toll junction in Berbes, Java, witnessed such a severe traffic that it earned a famed name among locals - Brexit - but this time, it's 'Berbes' and 'exit'.

In the holy month of Ramzan, millions in Indonesia went on a holiday, leaving the city for villages, to celebrate Eid which commonly makes the state traffic chaotic.

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The jam at the Brexit junction was particularly bad this year, transport ministry spokesperson Hemi Pramuraharjo told AFP, with families stuck in cars and buses in scorching temperatures over three days.



Udah teler nihh yah... Kena maceeettt ?????????????bucukkk kita.. Panassss ?????? A photo posted by Megga (@megga_wee) on Jul 7, 2016 at 12:08am PDT



The victims, some of whom were elderly, died from fatigue and other health complications, said Pramuraharjo.

Local media reported that one of the fatalities was a toddler who was poisoned by exhaust fumes.

More than 400 motorists died across Indonesia during the holiday season, with the recent Brexit jam adding to the death toll.





Akhirnya keluar tol juga??? #edisijalanjalan A photo posted by ???Kevin Zarlis??? (@kevnz16) on Jul 6, 2016 at 11:53pm PDT

The overcrowded roads in Java experience a lot of traffic and road accidents are common in the area. It is home to more than half of Indonesia's population of 255 million people.

The exhausted motorists who lost their cool in this 20 km-long traffic jam posted pictures from the Brexit toll gate on social media, showing the agony of the people on the toll highway.

The country's health ministry denied previous reports that victims from the traffic jam died in a single day and urged people to take necessary precautions during long journeys.

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Vijay, who played dual roles in the director's Azhagiya Tamil Magan, is playing a single role in the upcoming actioner.

By India Today Web Desk: Actor Vijay is currently in the US, shooting for his upcoming actioner. Earlier, reports surfaced online that Vijay will be seen donning two avatars in the film, which is directed by Bharathan of Azhagiya Tamil Magan fame.

Now, sources close to the actor has cleared all the rumours and clarified that Vijay is playing single character with three different makeovers in the film.



ALSO READ: Ilayathalapathy Vijay and Mahesh Babu in the same film?

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ALSO READ: Ilayathalapathy Vijay to feature in India's costliest film?

The film also stars Keerthy Suresh, Sathish, Aparna Vinod and YG Mahendran in the lead roles. Bankrolled by Vijaya Productions, the film has music by Santhosh Narayanan and expected to hit the screens by the end of the year.

Vijay is still basking in the success of his last film Theri, which was directed by Atlee.

Also, it is rumoured that Vijay's Theri, is likely to have a Hindi version in which Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan is rumoured to reprise the role of Ilayathalapathy.

Notably, Vijay's also rumoured to play the lead role in Sundar C's next which is touted to be the costliest Indian film ever made. However, we await an official confirmation.

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BALLWIN  The Ballwin police officer shot in the neck at a traffic stop Friday morning has been identified as Michael Flamion, a member of the force since December 2014.

In a video posted on the Ballwin Police Department Facebook page Saturday night, Chief Kevin Scott said Flamion has been a police officer for nine years. Before joining the Ballwin force, he was an officer with the De Soto department for seven years, Scott said.

Flamion, 31, remained in critical but stable condition Saturday at Mercy Hospital St. Louis in Creve Coeur, police said.

Flamion lived with his wife in House Springs in Jefferson County, where neighbors described him as a nice guy always willing to lend a hand.

Neighbors said Flamion and his wife were living with his parents while they built a home. Family members said he had attended St. Pius X High School in Festus.

In the Facebook video, Scott said Flamion is an outstanding officer whom the citizens of Ballwin should be proud to call their own.

Scott said the community has shown Officer Flamion, his family, and the entire Ballwin police family an amazing amount of support and compassion. We are overwhelmed by the communitys response, and we thank you from the bottom of our collective heart.

Our heartfelt thoughts are with Officer Flamion and his family during this difficult time.

Antonio Taylor, 31, of the 1200 block of Tower Grove Avenue in St. Louis, was charged Friday with first-degree assault of a law enforcement officer, armed criminal action and unlawful possession of a weapon. Bail was set at $500,000.

The St. Louis County Police Department is seeking information or witnesses related to the shooting. A notice from Ballwin police on Saturday said investigators believe several unidentified witnesses were driving or running in the immediate area during the time of the incident.

People with information should call the St. Louis County Police Departments Bureau of Crimes Against Persons at 314-615-5400.

Flamion stopped a car for speeding northbound on New Ballwin Road about 11 a.m., police said. As the officer went back to his car, the driver of the stopped car got out, came up behind him and fired three shots, police said.

Make no mistake, we believe that Ballwin officer was ambushed, St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar said Friday.

The gunman fled north on New Ballwin Road and was captured in Manchester several miles northeast of the shooting scene, after jumping out of the car and running, police said.

A semi-automatic handgun was recovered.

St. Louis County police are handling the investigation.

Court documents said Taylor used a .22-caliber gun to shoot Flamion. Authorities said Taylor has a lengthy criminal history.

Police had no information about a motive.

A GoFundMe account was established for Flamion and his family on Saturday by other Ballwin officers. It is seeking to raise $250,000.
MUMBAI, India  Just hours after Shagufta Sayyd was married, her new husband told her he was having a relationship with another woman.

He was clear that he and his wife would have no future, said Sayyd, 21. He was only marrying her to please his mother.

He said, No, I dont want to keep you, she said. So he said, divorce, divorce, divorce, three times, and that was it.

Sayyd still insists on using her husbands surname, until she can end the marriage officially in an Indian court. But like many other women from Indias large Sunni Muslim minority, her fate and status are governed by Muslim Personal Law that follows the tenets of the Islamic faith, as interpreted by local imams and religious schools across India.

The so-called triple talaq, or instant divorce, has been banned in more than 20 Muslim countries, including neighboring Pakistan and Bangladesh. But in India, the practice is allowed thanks to the countrys rules protecting Muslim, Christian and Hindu groups following religious law.

Most of the 170 million Muslims in India are Sunnis governed by Muslim Personal Law for family matters and disputes. Those laws include allowing men to divorce their wives by simply uttering the word talaq, or divorce in Urdu, three times  and not necessarily consecutively, but at any time, and by any medium including telephone, text message or social media post.

Some women are fed up with what they say is an archaic and patriarchal rule that too often leaves them destitute. Muslim women do not have the same right, and those left by their husbands have no claim to alimony though they can collect a small payment for three months after divorce.

Then, theyre on their own.

They have been divorced by speed post, by sending out letters. Some have just simply said talaq three times and the divorce has happened, Noorjehan Safia Niaz, co-founder of Bhartiya Muslim Mahila Andolan, or the Indian Muslim Womens Movement.

The movement has been fighting for equal laws for Muslim women for six years.

There are cases where women dont even know that theyve been divorced, Niaz said. The children are without any support. So, it has become very convenient for Muslim men to just say talaq thrice, and it is just so easy for him to get the woman out of his life.

Legal experts say the practice is unconstitutional, and the Supreme Court has been pushing for uniformity in laws. In 1985, the top court ordered a man to pay alimony to his elderly wife, after he verbally divorced and abandoned her.

The Indian government in office at the time, however, managed to overturn the verdict retroactively by passing a law to protect Muslim divorce law. Many suspect the government was under pressure from Muslim leaders to stay out of their business or lose their electoral support.

The move frustrated womens rights activists. India had long since banned dowry payments from a girls parents to the family of a groom before marriage, though many still practice the ancient Hindu tradition openly, they note. And more recently, India threw out Hindu laws that barred women from inheriting property from their fathers.

What makes the instant divorce laws so difficult, some say, is the fact that they are not codified and so are open to interpretation and adjustment.

One Supreme Court lawyer called the practice barbaric.

This is a kind of an ISIS-like rule prevailing in India, the advocate, Monika Arora, said, referring to the militant group Islamic State that controls much of Syria and Iraq. No progressive country can tolerate this.

This month, the womens movement collected more than 50,000 signatures, calling for a nationwide ban on instant divorces. That petition was being added as evidence in an appeal filed to the Supreme Court to ban instant divorces. The court has asked the central government for its opinion before scheduling a hearing.

Since the 1950s, Hindu personal law has been constantly evolving and codified, Arora said. Why this touch-me-not perception for Muslim laws?

She said India should follow the example set by other Islamic nations, including Turkey, Cyprus, Pakistan and Bangladesh, in banning the triple talaq.

But there is sure to be resistance. Some Islamic bodies, including the hardline Raza Academy based in Mumbai, say any women who dislike the laws of Islam can always leave the religion.

One academy cleric, Mohammad Saeed Noori, said it was possible that men were not performing the triple talaq correctly.

Dont give three altogether in one go. People who do that are doing it wrong, Noori said. But if he says it thrice, then the divorce is immediately confirmed. Then that woman has to immediately leave his house.
By India Today Web Desk: Actor Trisha is currently busy shooting for her upcoming horror comedy film Nayaki. The Ghilli actor is reportedly playing dual roles in the bilingual flick for the first time in her career.

While appreciation from counterparts are a rarity, actor Ileana D'Cruz is all in praise for Trisha and the Barfi actor has shown interest in watching the film.

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ALSO READ: Nayaki: Trisha is the hero of the film, says director Govi

In an interview to Indiaglitz , Ileana said, "I am scared of watching horror flicks. But I have made an exception for Nayaki. I have asked my manager to make arrangements so I can watch the film when it releases. I have really loved the trailer and the songs. I am eager to watch the film. Besides delivering a very good performance, Trisha is looking very glamorous in the trailer."

According to reports, Trisha has apparently rendered a song in the film, which is directed by Telugu filmmaker Goverdhan Reddy.

The film also stars Ganesh Venkataraman, Brahmanandam, Jeevi, Jaya Prakash, and Sushma Raj in lead roles.

Nayaki has music by Raghu Kunche and slated to release later this year.

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By PTI: Dar-es-Salaam, Jul 10 (PTI) India today handed over to Tanzania a navigational chart of the east African countrys Mkoani harbour which will be used by port authorities and ships for the navigation operation.

"Indian Hydrographic Survey Ship, INS Sutlej had conducted a joint hydrographic survey of Mkoani harbour, Tanzania in early 2016," Office of the Prime Minister of India tweeted.

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It said the chart will be used by port authorities and ships in the harbour and nearby areas for the purpose of navigation.

Based on the joint survey, navigational charts for Mkoani harbor and the approach to the harbor have been prepared by National Hydrographic Office of India.

The chart was handed over to Tanzanian authorities during the joint press statement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Tanzanian President John Magufuli shortly after their bilateral meeting in which the two sides signed an agreement under which India will provide a Line of Credit of USD 92 million for rehabilitation and improvement of Zanzibars water supply system. PTI MPB CPS AKJ CPS

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A diabetes patient has her pulse checked by a diabetes specialist doctor during a medical check-up at a hospital in Beijing, China March 19, 2012. REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo

By Adam Jourdan and Ben Hirschler

SHANGHAI/LONDON (Reuters) - As China's medical bills rise steeply, outpacing government insurance provision, patients and their families are increasingly turning to loans to pay for healthcare, adding to the country's growing burden of consumer debt.

While public health insurance reaches nearly all of China's 1.4 billion people, its coverage is basic, leaving patients liable for about half of total healthcare spending, with the proportion rising further for serious or chronic diseases such as cancer and diabetes.

That is likely to get significantly worse as the personal healthcare bill soars almost fourfold to 12.7 trillion yuan ($1.9 trillion) by 2025, according to Boston Consulting Group estimates.

For many, like Li Xinjin, a construction materials trader whose son was diagnosed with leukemia in 2009, that means taking on crippling debt.

Li, from Cangzhou in Hebei province, scoured local papers and websites for small lenders to finance his son's costly treatment at a specialist hospital in Beijing, running up debts of more than 1.7 million yuan, about 10 times his typical annual income.

"At that time, borrowing money and having to make repayments, I was very stressed. Every day I worried about this," said Li, 47, adding that he and his wife had at times slept rough on the streets near the hospital.

"But I couldn't let my son down. I had to try to save him," he said.

Li's boy died last year.

The debts will weigh him down for a few more years yet.

Medical loans are just part of China's debt mountain - consumer borrowing has tripled since 2010 to nearly 21 trillion yuan, and in eight years household debt relative to the economy has doubled to nearly 40 percent - but they are growing.

That is luring big companies like Ping An Insurance Group <601318.SS><2318.HK>, as well as small loan firms and P2P platforms, as China's traditional savings culture proves inadequate to the challenge of such heavy costs.

The stress is particularly apparent in lower-tier cities and rural areas where insurance has failed to keep pace with rising costs, said Andrew Chen, Shanghai-based healthcare head for consultancy Parthenon-EY.

"It's a storm waiting to happen where patients from rural areas will have huge financial burdens they didn't have to face before," he said, adding people would often take second mortgages on their homes or turn to community finance schemes.

ROOTS OF POVERTY

China's government has moved to ramp up rural health insurance, boost coverage for major illnesses and put pressure on drug companies to slash prices, but it is an uphill battle.

Official data show up to 44 percent of families pushed into poverty were impoverished by illness.

The Ministry of Health, which did not immediately respond to requests for comment, is currently investigating the impact of these costs on the country's labor force.

"Typically, what happens in China is the whole family contributes when someone gets a severe disease like cancer," Severin Schwan, chief executive of Roche Holding AG (NYSE: ROG), the world's biggest maker of cancer drugs, told Reuters.

"When it comes to innovative medicines, the financial burden is just too much. Families can go broke."

Roche itself has schemes in China to make cancer drugs more affordable, including an insurance scheme developed with Swiss Re .

There are no reliable figures for total healthcare lending, as lenders do not usually advance the money for healthcare-specific purposes.

"If you want to use it for medical bills, cosmetic surgery or plastic surgery that's all fine," says Ping An Puhui, which advertises that its loans can "alleviate the pain of illness" and "bring new hope to sick families".

But there is plenty of anecdotal evidence from online lenders that it is a growing segment.

"Our loan numbers have risen steadily, and no small number of people have used these for medical purposes," said Li Jin, a customer service worker at peer-to-peer (P2P) lender ppdai.com.

"Healthcare costs are high, and lots of people don't have good state cover, so they need a loan."

China Minsheng Banking Corp <600016.SS> has launched a healthcare loan scheme in the western city of Chengdu, while Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Holding Co Ltd <601607.SS> rolled out a loan scheme in April to help patients access expensive drugs.

Some desperate patients are pawning their personal belongings.

"They use things of various value from jewelry to purses and even cars," said Chen Yi, an office worker at online lender minbaodai.cn.

"Previously the majority of people were looking for extra cash flow for their business, but last year and this we've seen a rise in healthcare loans."

(Additional reporting by SHANGHAI newsroom; Editing by Will Waterman)
The small Waikato town of Kawhia is buzzing after a double Lotto win on Saturday night.

Rumours are rife that one of its 300 or so residents may be holding the $13.3-million winning ticket.

The tickets were sold at Oparau Roadhouse near Te Awamutu, Pak N Save in Dunedin and online to a MyLotto player from Hamilton.

HAMISH MCNEILLY / FAIRFAX NZ Dunedin Pak N Save sold one of the three winning $13.4m Lotto tickets.

Each prize was made up from Powerball First and Second Divisions.

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* Ashburton couple 'stunned' after massive Lotto windfall

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But the shop that sold it is definitely a winner, the owners Bill and Brenda Rogers say. And as they are selling after 26 years of operating the roadhouse, someone could inherit all that good luck.

TVNZ/LOTTO NEW ZEALAND Did your numbers come up in Lotto's biggest ever draw?

It was a double celebration for Oparau Roadhouse, and one that has put the remote Waikato town of Kawhia on the map, owner Bill Rogers said.

Not only did the store sell one of the winning $13.3m tickets, Rogers got a call from Lotto at 3pm on Saturday to say his shop had sold a $10 crossword scratchy worth $200,000.

"We were sitting on high then, as we had never sold a ticket that high before, so that was super exciting.

MICHAEL BRADLEY The $40 million Lotto jackpot was split three ways.

"Then about 8.30pm we were locking up, carrying the tools home and we get a phone call from Lotto telling us we'd sold a $13 million ticket. That blew us away - we were over the moon."

The couple, who have owned the roadhouse for 26 years, didn't get much sleep overnight. Phone calls streamed in until 11pm.

"The shop is buzzing, the amount of people coming in to check their tickets and say congratulations, it's been amazing," Rogers said on Sunday morning.

MICHAEL BRADLEY The Lotto winners' room.

"We have always wanted to get a major winner here and to get two in one day, we are ecstatic."

Further south, at the Pak N Save in Dunedin, punters were slowly trickling in to check if they'd bought the golden ticket.

A staff member said they hadn't seen any sign of the winning ticket holder.

MICHAEL BRADLEY Lucky number 7 came up as the Powerball.

The store had it's fair share of millionaires, with 25 First Division tickets being sold over the years.

Check your tickets New Zealand: the winners from last night's $40m record prize draw are yet to come forward to claim their prize.

A Lotto spokeswoman said the three winning Powerball ticketholders who won nearly $14m in last night's were biding their time, and hadn't been in touch yet.

MICHAEL BRADLEY Saturday night's winning numbers.

Lotto's website came to a crashing halt as punters from across the country tried to check whether they had the winning numbers.

More than half a million prizes were won, with two lucky players in Auckland and Waipapa taking home $405,792 in Strike Four.

Seven Lotto players from Gisborne, Tokoroa, and Auckland won a $142,857 share of Lotto First Division.

NEW, CASHED-UP LIFE

But now that three tickets have made newly minted millionaires out of at least three people - what will they do?

It's an all-time fantasy for many Kiwis and the possibilities are endless, but financial adviser Liz Koh urged them to "sit on it for a while".

"Being in that situation, you have to sort of re-evaluate your life and think about what's important to you," she said.

"Think, 'how do I want to make this money last for me so I can enjoy my life?'"

She said they should seek independent advice to help them prioritise their goals.

Past Lotto winners said they would urge others to keep the news of the windfall to a small circle of friends and family.

Psychologist Sara Chatwin said keeping it quiet for a while would also help prepare the winners for changes in their relationships, which would inevitably happen when large sums of money were involved.

"You will be treated differently for different reasons by different people. Some people will be really genuinely happy for you and ask for nothing. But a certain percentage will ask for something," she said.

"They can be quite dispirited because usually they thought their friendships were better than that."

New Zealand's most high-profile Lotto winner Trevor Cooper was working at Countdown when he won $27m.

He reportedly struck family problems soon afterwards, with some skipping out on his wedding to wife Sharie. He initially said he would stick with his job but later ditched it, and invested in property instead.

One Lotto winner, who in 2015 picked up $12.3m, sums it up: "It's a pretty amazing feeling to know that you don't have to worry about money again."

Since then, she has paid off the kids' mortgages, taken a couple of holidays and bought a new home. "Winning has opened so many doors for us. We have been able to help out those closest to us and we can now live where we want to, rather than where we need to for work."

She offers some advice for anyone left reeling by the results of last night's record draw.

"Let your family know that you've won and be clear about how you want to help them - and how much - at the same time. Being open and honest with everyone makes life so much easier. Get advice straight away  the people we've been dealing with have been an enormous help."

Financial adviser Robert Oddy says winners should have a clear plan for their money.

"Logically there will be some who say let's just leave it in the bank and that's a reasonable enough suggestion for those that are quite happy to see it disappear."

He added that if the winners wanted to help out a charity, it was wiser to donate money from investments rather than handing out lump sums.
Ngapari Nui of Ngati Ruanui was stood down from his volunteer work in prisons last week because of his life membership to the Black Power.

A top ranking officer says a Taranaki Black Power member who was recently stood down from his prison volunteer role has been called on by police to help defuse gang tensions in the past.

Superintendent Wally Haumaha, deputy chief executive of Maori, Pacific and Ethnic services, said Ngapari Nui had been approached by police to assist in the de-escalation of situations where violence threatened to break out.

"As a result of gang tensions that have occurred in the past, police have engaged with members of the community, including Mr Nui and other representatives, to help de-escalate those situations. It is not uncommon for police to talk with respective gang leaders to assist in preserving the peace. It is just one of a range of initiatives used by police to keep our communities safe," he said.

JOHN KIRK-ANDERSON/FAIRFAX NZ Superintendent Wally Haumaha, deputy chief executive of Maori, Pacific and Ethnic services.

Last week, Nui was suspended from his role as kaiwhakamana in prisons after Corrections Minister Judith Collins found out he was a life member of the Black Power. The decision has upset many, including Nui's iwi Ngati Ruanui, who called for the resignation of Corrections' boss Ray Smith over the issue.

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The 57-year-old had been approved to go into prisons for the past five years.

While Haumaha declined to comment on Corrections' decision, he said police officers enjoyed a "positive relationship with South Taranaki iwi, of which Mr Nui is a member."

Former public servant Harry Tam, who has ties to the Mongrel Mob, said inmates would lose hope following the sudden loss of Nui.

Tam, who joined the Mongrel Mob at 16, had made headlines twice in the past 20 years over his appointment to roles within government departments, including a stint at Corrections, where he worked for four and a half years as a senior policy advisor.

Following this, Tam worked as a policy manager for Te Puni Kokiri where he managed the criminal justice portfolio and from time to time was directed to organise and lead mediation processes after gang violence, including homicides.

Tam said Nui may have been the sole visitor for some of the inmates he met during his time as a volunteer and losing that contact would be detrimental to their wellbeing.

"Those people will lose hope and that is far more damaging," he said.

Tam said he empathised with Nui's situation and it was unfair for a blanket judgement to be made of them just because of any gang affiliation.

"Yes, we've had a past, we paid for it and we've gone on to make a contribution to society," he said.

He said a much better approach by Corrections would be to focus on changing offending behaviour rather than breaking gang connections.

He believed Collins' decision was shortsighted and a wider discussion about how the likes of Nui and other pro-social gang members could be better used to engage with hard to reach communities was needed.

Tam said he knew Nui personally and believed he was genuine in his desire to help people regardless of who they were or to which gang they belonged.

"All I can do is judge the man from what I know about him. He is a good man."

Prison reform advocate Kim Workman has also been critical of Collins' stance. He said bail laws and the increased number of custodial remands for young offenders were to blame for gang recruitment behind bars.

He said young men who went into custody were vulnerable and often sought protection from older gang affiliated inmates.
Blenheim resident Jordan Nickerson tries to limit the amount of negative feedback businesses receive in her role as moderator of two popular Marlborough Facebook pages.

Businesses should respond quickly to prevent negative comment threads becoming a "festering sore", a Blenheim social media expert says.

A mixture of compliments and complaints are offered on more than 200 Marlborough businesses through the popular travel planning tool, TripAdvisor, while a Facebook page set up for members to share feedback on Marlborough businesses has 1640 members.

Social Guy owner Mark Shaw said negative online comments had the potential to escalate quickly and damage the reputation of a business, regardless of whether they were true.

It was important to engage with negative commenters early and ask them to continue the conversation offline.

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"You want to nip it in the bud before they start ranting.

"Don't let it grow into a festering sore."

People would abuse a business on Facebook but as soon as they were approached by the Blenheim social media agency they would back down, Shaw said.

"They're happy to rant online where they're 10-foot tall and bullet proof but face to face or even via email they won't engage."

Blenheim resident Jordan Nickerson volunteers her time administrating two popular social media pages, Marlborough Cool Cat Chat and Marlborough Online Garage Sale.

There were more than 15,000 people signed up across both forums.

Nickerson said she tried to limit the amount of bad feedback people posted about businesses on the pages, and would remove roughly ten posts each week for that reason.

"We try and keep the negativity off the pages we moderate.

"There's two sides to every story - I don't think social media should be the first port of call if you're disappointed with a business."

When she removed posts that criticised businesses from the groups, she would often contact the commenter and suggest that they get in touch with the business directly.

Marlborough Chamber of Commerce general manager Stephen Gullery said when a business received negative comments on social media, the impact was more in how a business reacted than the comments themselves.

"Don't give that quick off the cuff kickback response that you will regret in the light of day."

Blenheim Electronics store manager Phillip Albrey said the business used a Facebook page as another avenue to keep in contact with customers.

"Social media definitely has it's place."

However, sometimes online forums where people offered feedback on businesses could have a negative impact.

"It's a place where people go and complain and they don't give the retailers an opportunity to fix things ... That's the downside of social media - it can be very unfair."

Charisma Social owner and digital marketing strategist Lisa Byrnes Whiting said people discussing their opinions on a business was not a new thing.

"If a person goes out to a restaurant and they have a bad experience they go and tell family and friends."

However, the anonymous aspect of social media meant that people could be harsher in their criticism online, Byrnes Whiting said.

"They do say that people can hide behind their laptops.

"I think sometimes people forget that there's humans on either end."
By PTI: Shimla, Jul 10 (PTI) The Indian Institute of Advanced Study will host a two-day India-Indonesia symposium from tomorrow on several social challenges and concerns being faced by both the countries.

Eminent social science scholars from Indonesia and India will speak at the symposium - Thinking Social Sciences - being convened by Peter Ronald deSouza, Professor at Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, New Delhi, a release said.

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A delegation from the Indonesian Embassy, including Ambassador Rizali Wilmar Indrakesuma, Deputy Chief of Mission Dalton Sembiring will also attend the symposium, it said.

Leading scholars from both the countries will share insights to understand the complex and diverse problems being faced by India and Indonesia as both these countries are going through a phase of social transformation, the release stated. PTI PCL NSD ZMN NSD

--- ENDS ---
4-year degrees obsolete as technology advances rapidly; lifelong learning the future By Feizal Samath Microsoft Philanthropies Summit on education and empowerment View(s): View(s):

SINGAPORE  Not leaving people behind. This is the stated objective of Microsoft Philanthropies and if theyre committed to this task and implementing this goal by the letter, then the world is surely going to be a better place. What does it mean? Using technology to break through poverty barriers, racial discrimination, gender imbalance and equality imbalances. A tall order one might say; not for Microsoft however whose reach far supersedes any other corporate body across the world, for the simple reason that it has a powerful tool at its disposal: technology.

Consider this: More than 100 million students from 180 countries (just one event) have so far taken part in the

Hour of Code organised by www.code.org in partnership with Microsoft as a means of increasing access to computer science education; a sizable reach for a company founded by childhood buddies, Paul Allen and Bill Gates in 1975. Learning about the work of Microsoft Philanthropies through its June 27-29, 2016 Enabling Opportunities Summit in Singapore resulted in a profound understanding on how technology can help disadvantaged communities to reach out and be counted with the rest of the world, improve the skills of differently-abled people and make elders in society more productive and acknowledged as equally responsible citizens as they age.

The conference brought together 50 non-profit organisations, about 10 government officials, representatives of Microsoft offices across Asia and senior management of Microsoft Philanthropies. Sipping a cup of tea during a break in the sessions on an upper floor of the Microsoft office, through the window I see the Singapore skyline with towering skyscrapers filled with technological savvy professionals and tools to boot, resonating with the message in the auditorium that technology is the driving force to empower the underprivileged, particularly rural women and create an inclusive world for all.

Through its philanthropic arm, Microsoft is investing assets to drive greater inclusion and empowerment of people who do not have access to technology and the opportunities it offers and enables. As we do so, we will build on the foundation of Microsofts 30-plus years of giving, seeking new ways to achieve greater outcomes for a broader segment of the worlds population, a publicity blurb says in the many literature on the global technology company that Gates built, not only making him the richest man in the world but also scaling up philanthropy to new heights.

Special village which Sri Lanka should emulate

Seeing is believing, literally as we find out when the 60-odd conference participants were taken to The Enabling Village a new space in Singapore for differently abled children and adults initiated by the Ministry of Social and Family Development and SG Enable Ltd, an agency dedicated to enabling persons with disabilities. People with different disadvantages move around freely; feel accepted for who they are and are valued for their contributions. The store in the complex has various handicraft, pictures, drawing and other craft made by those from the village.

The retail art gallery features resident artists, art workshops and merchandise by talented artists with special needs and organised by the Autism Resource Centre (ARC).

The supermarket provides an accessible shopping experience with barrier-free design, wheelchair-friendly pushcarts and specially trained staff. Soul Food is the restaurant which provides home-style modern European cuisine in a private dining setting. Chefs and stewards are young people who would never have had an opportunity in normal circumstances. As we sit down to dinner, a smart young girl approaches with a note pad and takes down our order. It take a while for the food to come  possibly to ensure that this group of 60+ VIPs get the best meal  but when our fish course finally arrives, its nicely laid on a plate, tastes delicious and can compete with the best in a 5-star hotel!

Drawing on a computer

In two mobile vans, instructors provide different forms of learning through computers. In one demonstrated technique, a teacher simply stares at the screen as we watch in anticipation. The screen is blank; onlookers are puzzled. Then a line moves across the screen and starts drawing. By just moving her eyeball, the teacher controls the line and makes a perfect drawing, a technology to help those without limbs. Showcasing this facility for those with special needs on the eve of the Microsoft summit, was a perfect start to an interesting and engaging 36-hours of listening and learning how technology is bridging the gap in education and opportunities.

Also how technology can empower women and make them not only more productive and valued but also key decision makers in their communities. Coding! The name conjures difficult maths, testing diagrams, complicated numbers and an effort that I for one would not engage in. Maths has never been my forte, failing miserably in college. Today the calculator is a must-have tool when writing a complex economic story. Its not as difficult, I am told, as explained during one session on coding. The Hour of Code event is an example of how children have taken to coding like a duck takes to water.

Coding the key

The Hour of Code is a global movement, we are told, reaching tens of millions of students in 180+ countries. Anyone, anywhere can organise an Hour of Code event. One-hour tutorials are available in over 45 languages. No experience needed and age group? From 4 to 104! The conference opened with Microsoft Philanthropies Corporate Vice President Mary Snapp saying that their mission is to empower every person on the planet to achieve more. Delivering on this mission starts with great technology, but great technology alone is not enough. Microsoft Philanthropies is working to increase access for all youth, especially those from underserved communities, to learn computer science and develop the skills which are critical for their future.

She dealt at length on various industrial revolutions to illustrate the power of technology and Microsofts advanced platforms and tools. If the first industrial revolution was about the steam engine and railroads, the next revolution was about industry powered by electricity and creation of the sewing machine. The next level, which is today, is Internet, ICT, Windows and the like; major advances with automation, electronic data, social entrepreneurship and efforts to provide Internet connectivity to women so they could work from home, all part of a process where connectivity will ensure deprived communities are not left behind. According to Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum, the fourth industrial revolution is building on the third, the digital revolution that has been occurring since the middle of the last century.

It is characterised by a fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological sphere. Snapp believes engineering and maths will provide the key to the next stage of development. That is reflected to some extent in the Education to 2030 study done by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) which found that with increasing use of technology, jobs of the future will demand a different mix of skills. STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) will feature prominently in that mix and the economies that perform best are those that, annually, graduate the most students with STEM degrees as a percentage of the overall labour force. By 2030, Russia, Australia, Israel and Turkey will see new STEM graduates equivalent to one per cent or more of the entire existing labour market, the report said.

Teaching analytical and computer science skills

In fact, the EIUs report shows that while 15 out of the 25 economies covered by the study are expected to raise public expenditure in education, schools today are not focused on teaching analytical and computer science skills. Part of a panel on why computer science education is important, Randeep Sudan, Adviser, Digital Strategy and Government Analytics, World Bank Group, spoke on how the labour landscape was changing with jobs being increasingly outsourced online.

He illustrated this argument pointing to research done by burning-glass.com which analysed 40,000 websites in 2015 and found 26 million jobs of which 7 million were in occupations that required coding skills. The company  Burning Glass Technologies  says it is reshaping how the job market works, with data that identify the skill gaps that keep job seekers and employers apart and tools that enable both sides to bridge that gap and connect more easily.

Another interesting piece of information from Sudan was about Xavier Niel, a 49 year-old French entrepreneur and businessman, who in 2013 set up a tech school for coders named 42  sans teachers, books or tuition. Training is inspired by new modern ways to teach which include peer-to-peer learning while students dont receive any official degree. The university is known to promote advanced knowledge, skills in computer programming and novel ways of thinking.

Says Sudan, All you need for admission is your name, last name, birth name and taking an online test of logic. This is the future of education. Christopher Clague, senior editor at the EIU who led the editing team for the Education to 2030 study, said one of the issues raised is in the quality of graduates in India. There is quantity but not quality. Modern teaching methods, he says, should focus on teaching students how to think and not what to think.

4-year degree obsolete

Some of the issues that surfaced at the discussion were:

The 4-year degree in the US is under threat because technology is progressing very rapidly that what was studied two years ago has become obsolete. As a result, a large number of those enrolled didnt complete a degree. Lifelong learning, defined as all learning activity undertaken throughout life, with the aim of improving knowledge, skills and competences within a personal, civic, social and/or employment-related perspective, is the new manthra of education.

The old model of getting a job and learning on the job, doesnt work anymore. During a break in the sessions, the panelists and other speakers met the media to discuss the conference and its objectives. Microsoft Philanthropies Snapp said that the company aims to empower underserved communities to achieve more economically. With the coming digital revolution we want to improve non-profit organisations to have tools and also create a high skilled workplace, she said adding that creating a force of volunteers with high skills using the varied talents in the workplace was also among their goals.

It was the consensus view that the future lies with people with digital skills with the job market favouring those with these skills. For example, a marketing manager with a marketing degree would be less attractive than a marketer with a general degree but highly proven digital skills. The conference was an eye-opener on two fronts: the skills set required for countries like Sri Lanka and other middle income nations to compete on a level playing field with more advanced nations, and the charitable pursuits of a company that has changed the way the world thinks.

Will Microsoft deliver the goods of reaching out to all the people in the world and not leave anyone behind or become another do-gooder boosting a brand and creating wealth for the company at the expense of others? Wait and see, says Snapp, philosophically. She believes Microsoft is on the threshold of a new era where the company will redefine philanthropy and the pursuit of philanthropy for societys good. If they succeed in the next decade, I for one will cheer them to the winning post along with millions of other beneficiaries!!!
Govt-Air Force dispute over management of domestic airports By Sunimalee Dias View(s): View(s):

The government has made a policy decision to transform domestic airports run by the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) for civilian operations but the Batticaloa facility which was recently re-furnished at a cost of Rs. 1 billion to be re-opened today  is still under military control. The opening is expected to be graced by President Maithripala Sirisena while the Transport and Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva, under whose purview civilian airports come, is a doubtful attendee due to the issue of the SLAF not handing over the airport.

A few months back on May 15, the Cabinet decided to hand over the SLAF base at Batticaloa for civilian operations to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Following this decision a gazette notification was issued dated July 1 stating that the Batticaloa airport has been handed over to the CAA with effect from May 31. But the airforce continues to control the airport and all invitations for the re-opening were sent by the SLAF with the CAA, owners of the airport, also among the invitees.

Transport and Aviation Ministry Secretary Nihal Somaweera told the Business Times on Friday that other than the two international airports, the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) and Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA), and Ratmalana airport all other regional airports were run by the SLAF, but now the government wants them to be converted to civilian airports, He noted that in a bid to promote the local aviation industry, the government wanted the ministry to take over Batticaloa and some other airports for tourism development.

The Ministry had called for tenders to construct a terminal building and other renovation work of the airport for which the SLAF was awarded the tender since it was the lowest bidder. The Road Development Authority (RDA) was previously awarded the contract to carry out construction and renovation work however; this was stalled since the bid was too high. As a result the Minister had sought Cabinet approval to continue the rest of the work under his ministry with 80 per cent of the work already completed.

The RDA is learnt to have carried out work on the ground preparation for the renovation of the airports taxiway and runway. Ministry Secretary Somaweera, when asked whether this continue under military control or operative as a civilian airport, said they had to work out some arrangement regarding this issue. The gazette regulations and a cabinet decision clearly reveal that the airport should have been handed over to civilian authorities some months back. However another problemis that the CAA is yet to certify the airport ready for civil operations, it is learnt.

We will run the airport, says SLAF spokesman Work at the airport was accelerated with a view to opening it prior to the commencement of the UNWTO conference scheduled to take place in Passikudah (next week), Air Force spokesman Group Captain Chandima Alwis told the Business Times.

Asked whether they would hand over the airport to the CAA, he said he was unaware of any such move and that the SLAF would continue to operate the airport.

But he pointed out that the airport was reconstructed to suit civilian operations and that airforce personnel will man the new terminal building to be opened today.

However, he admitted that though the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards have been met the facility needs to obtain clearance from the CAA for civilian operations.

Opening of the airport is carried out as part of the SLAF tradition of opening the runway with its first flight after reconstruction, the spokesman said.

Group Captain Alwis said that during the ceremony an MA 60 aircraft, a passenger flight manned by the SLAF would be flown in for the first time with invitees and crew.
Lanka Hospitals announces most successful year in 2015 with pre-tax profits up 16% Directors fees doubled in 2015 View(s): View(s):

Sri Lankas internationally acclaimed multispecialty tertiary care hospital, Lanka Hospitals has announced record gains in the year 2015 as a result of exceptional quality of care for its patients, stringent administrative measures and reinforcing good management practices, the company has said in a media release. Lanka Hospitals group; Lanka Hospitals Corporation and Lanka Hospitals Diagnostics (LHC & LHD) reported a turnover of Rs. 5.5 billion for the year, up 16 per cent from Rs. 4.8 billion in 2014. The groups profit before tax rose by 85 per cent to Rs. 968 million from Rs. 522 million the previous year (2014).

This increase in profit growth created history in Lanka Hospitals financial reports, the release said. In 2015, Lanka Hospitals says it introduced many ground breaking interventions which helped make it a truly world class facility. During the year in review, Lanka Hospitals performed its first Blastocyst culture pregnancy procedure, an important technique which increases the pregnancy rate in IVF treatment while reducing the risk of multiple pregnancies. Awake Craniotomy; Open brain surgery with an actively participating patient was another successful intervention that was introduced. LHC also completed the first Bone Marrow Transplant procedure in 2015.

Lanka Hospitals also concentrates on a range of Centers of Excellence, some of them pioneering in the one-stop model such as the newly launched Gastroenterology Center, the Womens Wellness Centre that will be unveiled in the coming weeks, where diagnosing, consultation and treatment can be done holistically in one centralized location within the hospital premises. The guidance rendered by Chairman Dr. Sarath Paranavitane, a veteran in the countrys health-care industry has contributed immensely to turn Lanka Hospitals to an exceptional profit-making venture.

At the occasion of the 14th anniversary of Lanka Hospitals, the Board would like to sincerely thank the staff of Lanka Hospitals, for their hard work that has made Lanka Hospitals a trusted and a sought after healthcare services provider in the country and beyond. It has been nothing but the collective strength and the focused efforts of our dear staff members and our visiting consultant medical practitioners that have made Lanka Hospitals a house hold name in the country, said Chairman Dr. Sarath Paranavitane.

Meanwhile the Business Time perusing the groups annual report found directors remuneration and fees have risen sharply. Page 96 of the report reveals that this item rose to Rs.31.84 million in 2015 from Rs.16 million in 2014 in terms of the group while at Lanka Hospitals alone it was Rs.28.8 million versus Rs. 14 million in 2014. The main shareholders in the company are Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation with a 54.6 per cent stake while India-based Fortis Global Healthcare Ltd has 28.66 per cent.
LayUp named Sri Lankas best start-up at Seedstars Colombo View(s):

Seedstars World, the global seed-stage startup competition for emerging markets and fast-growing start-up scenes, brought its Sri Lankan round to a successful close during Seedstars Colombo. The event took place last week at Trace City Expert Colombo where eight selected start-ups were invited to present their ideas in front of the local jury panel. The local winner, LayUp, a learning driven social platform to discover a new way to train, engage and reward employees, was selected as the best startup in Sri Lanka for its user-friendly solution, a media release by the local organisers said.

I realised during my corporate tenure there was no effective, engaging product on the market that addresses the problem of online training, explained Sheran Corera, founder of LayUp. As a part of the prize, LayUp will be participating at Seedstars Summit, taking place in Switzerland in March 2017, a weeklong training programme with the opportunity to meet the other 60 winners, as well as investors and mentors from around the world. Traditionally, the final day of the summit will be dedicated to pitching in front of an audience of 1000 attendees, with the possibility of winning up to US$1 million in equity investment.

NicNac with its personal digital butler service came second and Katha, a social, audio content creation platform, grabbed the third position. The other startups invited to pitch were PayMedia, Foodie Global, Touristeun, Hype Hash and PreviewVR. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe attended the event along with Mano Sekaram, Chairman of SLASSCOM. Continuing on its world tour of startup competitions in emerging markets and fast-growing startup eco system, Seedstars Worlds next stop is Hong Kong at the newly opened entrepreneurship space in LKF, Metta to select the best startup in the city. Seedstars World is looking for smart startups that solve regional issues and/or develop profitable products for the global market.
Maj. Gen. Upul Perera reappointed IMSL President for 2016/17 View(s):

The 38th Annual General Meeting of the Institute of Management of Sri Lanka (IMSL) was held recently, which saw the reappointment of Maj. Gen. Upul Perera as the President of IMSL for 2016/17. IMSL is the national apex body in the field of professional management in Sri Lanka dedicated to promoting professional management in the country. IMSL President Maj. Gen. Perera said he was humbly honoured to be re-elected as the President of the national apex body of management in Sri Lanka for the third time.

Im very confident that the new Council of Management will serve the institute with highest commitment and passion and support our journey from good to great, he added. On this occasion IMSL conferred an Honorary Fellowship on veteran banker Aravinda Perera, Managing Director of Sampath Bank PLC. Presently IMSL has 28 Honorary Fellows and 66 Fellows, which comprise the College of Fellows which shall function as the Think-Tank of the institute and as an advisory body to the council.

The Council of Management for 2015/16 comprises office bearers: President  Maj Gen Upul Perera (Rtd), Former Deputy Chief of Staff, General Manager Central Workshop of Ideal Motors (Pvt) Ltd; Vice President  Errol Smith  CEO Lumbini Aquaria Wayamba Ltd; Vice President  Prof. Sarath Kodithuwakku, Head of the Department of Agricultural Economics and Business Management University of Peradeniya; Vice President  Patrick Rodrigo, former Head of Administration at MTD Walkers PLC; Vice President (Institutional) Malraj Kiriella, Director General of the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority; Secretary  Saroj Lama Hewa, General Manager of Emerald (Pvt) Ltd;

Treasurer- Adrian Samarasekara, Deputy General Manager of Laugfs Gas PLC; Assistant Secretary  T. Ishan Buhar, Senior Manager Commercial of Print Care PLC; Assistant Treasurer  Tharindu Dakshitha Wijetunga, Finance Manager of Maliban Biscuits Manufactories (Pvt) Ltd; Director Studies  Aruna Siriwardena, Managing Director of Agio Tobacco Processing Co Ltd and Immediate Past President  Anver Dole Executive Director of Austin Gloves (Ceylon) Ltd. Members of the Council of Management are Chandika Dedigama, Head of HR & Administration of Associated Battery Manufacturers (Ceylon) Ltd; Prasad Wijesuriya, Regional Head of Sri Lanka and Maldives of Sophos Ltd (UK);

Wg Cdr Sanjaya Fernando (Rtd), Manager Administration of Brandix Apparel Solutions Ltd; Salinda Perera, Senior Manager Administration of HNB Assurance PLC; Piyal Pathmanatha, Assistant General Manager of National Water Supply and Drainage Board; T. Sayandhan, CEO, Health Care Cluster of Delmege Forsyth & Co Ltd; Ms. Manu Tissera Gunasekera, Country Communications Manager of Plan International Sri Lanka; Samantha Rathnayake, Management Consultant of Postgraduate Institute of Management, University of Sri Jayewardenepura; Ranganath Kirindage, Director Industrial Chemicals of Ceynergy Dynamic Holdings (Pvt) Ltd; Ms. Gowri Rajan Director and Chief Marketing Officer of Sun & Asoka Group; Wg Cdr Titus Peiris (Rtd), Assistant General Manager Technical of United Motors Lanka PLC and R.M. Samarakoon, Senior Manager of Bogawanthalawa Tea Estates PLC.
New Governor says Central Bank will fully cooperate with COPE probe on the tainted Treasury bond issue By Bandula Sirimanna View(s): View(s):

Sri Lankas Central Bank will fully cooperate with the Parliamentary probe on the tainted Treasury bond issue and await its finding, newly-appointed Governor Indrajit Coomaraswamy told reporters on Tuesday. Responding to questions, Dr. Coomaraswamy said an internal inquiry was not warranted as the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) was a high powered body. The new Governor was meeting the media for the first time after being appointed to the post by President Maithripala Sirisena at the weekend.

During former Governor Arjuna Mahendrans tumultuous 17-month tenure, the bank was reluctant to release information to the Auditor General on bond issues saying these trades were too sensitive for public dissemination, triggering a row between COPE, the AG and the Central Bank.

But the new Governor said he would abide by the findings of COPE on bond issues in which Mahendran is accused of fixing in favour of his son-in-laws firm, Perpetual Treasuries, a charge the former Governor has strenuously denied.

Dr. Coomaraswamy, an accomplished economist with impeccable credentials for the job with the only black mark being serving as a one-time advisor to jailed Sri Lankan-born bond trader Raj Rajaratnam in the US, told reporters that he would uphold the honour and integrity of the Central Bank in the discharge of his duties. When questioned about his relations with Rajaratnam, who was convicted in 2011 on insider trading charges, Dr Coomaraswamy said that he did macroeconomic research for his company whom he knew as a friend.

He noted that he has provided some professional services involving macroeconomic research before Rajaratnam was charged with insider dealing. He said that he had a friendship with him for a long time starting from the days when he was a research student at the University of Sussex. Rajaratnam helped a lot in Sri Lanka. He helped this market, he helped after the tsunami, and he had done a lot of positive things. He had set up a charitable fund which helped projects in the north and south of the country, Dr Coomaraswamy said.

He said Sri Lanka has a great chance to develop having missed many opportunities in the past decades, partly due to the conflict. He said the country needs to leapfrog its development path with the use of modern technology. Responding to a question from the Business Times, the new Governor said under consideration is for departments dealing with the Employees Provident Fund, Staff Training and Public Debt to move out and allow the bank to focus on its core functions. These are still under consideration, he added.

He pointed that Sri Lanka needs to stabilise the economy and get strong macro economical fundamentals. That is the key building block and the central bank has a key role to play towards this end, he said. Sri Lanka now has the best chance to make a great leap forward in terms of its development trajectory as it has developed excellent relations with all countries he said adding that we have an excellent opportunity to leverage our strategic location to our advantage. Referring to financial sector consolidation, he noted that it will be allowed to happen organically as the overall sector remains stable.

If you look at the non-performing loans and capitalisation taken as a whole, the system is in good shape. If we look at the non-bank finance companies there is quite a long tail where there is vulnerability. The Central Bank is vigilant and has instructed the more vulnerable organisations to restructure themselves. So it is a process that will take some time but we are very vigilant, he said. He emphasised that it was the responsibility of his institution to provide the foundation for the country to leverage its geographical location and strong relations with other nations to attract investment to promote strong economic growth.
By PTI: Juba, Jul 10 (PTI) Indian embassy in South Sudan today asked Indians stranded here to stay calm, assuring them that they are in constant touch with authorities in India and all options are being considered to provide relief to them amid heavy in fighting between South Sudans army and former rebels.

"The Indian embassy is in regular touch with concerned authorities with concerned authorities in India and all options are being considered for providing relief to Indians stranded here in Juba. All are requested to keep calm and await further development and further inputs from the embassy," External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj retweeted Indian embassy in South Sudans statement.

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Bhupat Patel, an Indian resident in South Sudan, tweeted to Swaraj asking for help, saying that they are stuck in between heavy gunfire. Swaraj retweeted the Indian embassy in South Sudans statement and said that concerned authorities have been intimated to extend help.

Heavy fighting in South Sudans capital was witnessed today as former rebels and government soldiers exchanged fire in several parts of the city.

The violence comes a day after the worlds youngest country marked its fifth independence anniversary. PTI UZM

--- ENDS ---
Protests over state revenue collection overhaul View(s):

A government move to overhaul revenue collection agencies in an effort to boost dwindling income has irked employees in the Inland Revenue Department (IRD), Sri Lanka Customs (SLC), and the Excise Department (ED) with trade unions threatening action. Trade union leaders of three entities warned in a letter to the President, Prime Minister and the Finance Minister not to kill the goose laying golden eggs by amending acts of the three agencies and appointing a Revenue Efficiency and Investigation Unit under the Finance Ministry above their management.

The Ministry has already prepared a draft bill to repeal the Customs Ordinance prepared by a special committee spending a sum of Rs. 9 million, a leader of All Sri Lanka Customs Services Union (ASLCSU) told the Business Times.

He noted that according to information unearthed by them, the new bill will remove the power vested in the SLC under the existing ordinance.

It will contain provisions to ease punishment against illicit importers, drug dealers and allow the free flow of foreign items as well as flora and fauna species without any restrictions, he said alleging that it has proposed to impose a maximum penalty of Rs. 5 million for smuggling any quantity of dangerous drugs and remove the provision of imprisonment. The Sri Lanka Customs Ordinance was introduced in 1861 and 50 amendments have already been made since its inception.

The aim of the government to amend the Customs Ordinance is to absorb modern industrial trends in the current global market and other relevant technologies in order to reap maximum benefits for the country, a top Finance Ministry official said adding that it will enable Sri Lanka to update the prevailing import mechanism and minimise current trade irregularities. Customs collects 52 per cent of the total tax revenue of the country, the ASLCSU leader said adding that this government was brought to power for good governance and not to allow illegal monitoring units to interfere in the affairs of government departments.

The joint committee of IRD trade unions has vehemently protested against the governments plan to amend the Inland Revenue Act separating the implementation of statutes and tax administrative functions of the department. This will affect the promotional prospects, job security and benefits of employees a member of the joint committee said adding that they have written to the President, Prime Minister and Finance Minister to withdraw the proposed amendment to the IRD Act and protect the rights of employees. They also emphasised the need of carrying out tax administration and revenue management in accordance with the present constitution and regulation requirements without the interference of outside monitoring units.

These unions vowed to stage protest demonstrations and intensify their campaign to strong trade union action, if the authorities failed to withdraw the proposed amendments to the IRD Act and the interferences of the monitoring unit. Meanwhile employees of the Excise Department (ED) have also protested against the Governments move. A member of the All Lanka Excise Services Union said they are against appointing special units headed by retired military officers or police officers above their administration. -(Bandula)
Separate funding for Megapolis Project raises concerns from Treasury By Bandula Sirimanna View(s): View(s):

The Sri Lankan Government is planning to set up a separate fund to implement the Western Region Megapolis Project (WRMP) with a gigantic investment of US$44 billion, not without problems however. The Ministry of Finance is raising concerns over the issue citing the practice of all funds for government projects coming from and being managed by the Treasury. There was only one instance in the past where a project deviated from this practice and that was the Akuregoda Defence headquarters building project fund set up with finances collected through CATIC and Shangri-La deals and managed by the Defence Ministry during the previous regime.

That project has raised many issues which are being probed by the present administration. A top official of the Megapolis and Western Development Ministry said the aim for a separate fund is to quicken the cash disbursement process in the implementation of 10 mega projects and 200 smaller projects, including the controversial Chinese-funded Colombo Port City development, At present, big infrastructure projects are treated equally with other projects under the annual development programme of the government budget especially in the process of fund disbursement, he said.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Management (CCEM) was of the view that there has to be a separate account and fund for the massive sum of money running up to billions of rupees to be handled under the WRMP. The Finance Ministrys concern was raised at the CCEM meeting recently but it has agreed to iron out bottlenecks in the setting up of this fund in consultation with the Megapolis and Western Development Ministry. Its Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka told the Business Times that the WRMP plan would be funded by the Government of Sri Lanka, private sector, foreign governments and foreign investors as well as the Asian Development Bank and other international funding agencies.

Touting it as a flagship project, the government aims to merge the Colombo, Gampaha and Kaluthara districts and create a cluster of towns and cities with new infrastructure to attract foreign investment. A Treasury official said that operating an account outside the purview of the Finance Ministry will result on Treasury losing control over the financial transactions of the Megapolis Project. Managing such a massive fund without the control of the Treasury could also lead to corruption and irregularities, he warned. Even a mega project like Development Project was carried out with funding managed by the the Treasury.
SriLankan to re-lease 3 old A330  300 to PIA By Duruthu Edirimuni Chandrasekera View(s): View(s):

SriLankan Airlines is in talks to re-lease three A330 aircraft to the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), officials at the national carrier said.

This is a part of the restructuring of the debt-ridden airline by the Ministry of Public Enterprise and Development. The lease payments of these three aircraft (leased out a long time ago) were too much for the airline, an official told the Business Times. He said that these are to be disposed of in order to accommodate part of the new fleet. He added that some top management at the airline met recently with PIA officials in Pakistan. This week the Ministry through media advertisements called for Request for Proposal (RFP)s to select a financial advisor to restructure the national carrier.
A lot to be learnt View(s):

My Dear Mervyn,

I never thought I would be writing to you in this manner but now I think I must. That is to tell you that you now have a competitor who seems to have beaten you hands down, just as much as Angelo Matthews and his team were well and truly beaten on their recent tour of England.

Mervyn, I am not sure whether you have heard of him because a few years ago no one had. His name is Palitha and he goes around trying to admit children to schools in the area that he represents, just as much as you went around trying to eliminate dengue mosquitoes in the Kelaniya electorate.

Remember how you lashed out at anyone who stood in your way in your crusade for justice and made a general spectacle of yourself, including getting assaulted and bathed in paint at Rupavahini? And people always criticised and condemned you, even though you were fighting for justice?

Well, this chap is much smarter, Mervyn, and you have a thing or two to learn from him. He too creates a scene and generates headlines whenever he tries to do something but he doesnt seem to get assaulted  not yet, anyway. And instead of condemning him, people are now hailing him as a hero!

I suspect that he has been watching you when you were in your prime, threatening television stations, walking in to newspaper officers to threaten journalists and tying public officers to trees. After seeing all that, he has learnt the tricks of political thuggery from you and started to intimidate others.

He always had a reputation of being a troublemaker and he didnt begin with intimidating the small fry either. At a meeting of Green MPs, when he didnt get his way with his boss, the Green Man, he lunged at him, trying to assault him. One Shot had to come to the Green Mans rescue.

I suppose the Green Man should have realised at that time that this chap was trouble and discarded him, but he didnt. I am not surprised by that because he should have realised that Arjuna at the Big Bank was trouble and discarded him too, but he didnt  and look at the mess that got him in to!

Anyway, this Palitha chap graduated to taking on more and more challenges for causes that were seemingly noble. Once, he started one of those fasts unto death because a hospital was closed. I am not sure whether he had Lemon Puff like Wimal did, but he did succeed in getting the hospital re-opened.

Soon after the election that signalled the dawn of the Yahapaalanaya era, he was out and about damaging the offices of his political opponents. He was arrested and should have been dealt with. He was dealt with indeed  he was rewarded with a Deputy Ministers job by an unsuspecting Maithri!

Like you, Mervyn, I think he was emboldened by all the media attention he was getting. So, he tried something even more daring  he attempted to intimidate the Principal of a leading school in Kalutara into admitting a child. Looking back, I think that must have been the turning point in his career.

If Yahapaalanaya had any meaning, he should have been given marching orders then. Not only should he have been punished for threatening a public officer, he should have also been ordered to mend his ways, if he wanted to remain an MP. Instead, they obeyed his orders and admitted the child!

You cant blame him, can you, when he then tries the trick on a larger scale? So, he tries to admit not one, but nine children by threatening another Principal. The icing on the cake is when he tries to hang himself from a fan, in full view of dozens of men, women and children when his demands are not met.

They say that no one in his right mind tries to take his own life. On the other hand, only a very smart man will try to take his own life, watched by dozens of people, while all the cameras are rolling. And that is why, Mervyn, I say that this Palitha chap is much smarter than you ever were.

So, instead of saying that this fellow should have his head examined because he was trying to commit suicide, I think that those who allow him to continue in this way without taking any action against him should have their heads examined. They do not seem to have learnt any lessons after dealing with you.

Mervyn, some people are now saying that they would rather untie public officers from trees than lift overweight deputy ministers hanging from ceiling fans. Seeing this chap in action, I am sure you must be very happy  if he can continue as a Deputy Minister, surely there must be a chance for you to return?

Yours truly,

Punchi Putha

PS: I heard that Mahinda maamas team has announced a shadow Cabinet of sorts. I was disappointed not to see your name there. If they could have appointed that Gammanpila chap who was recently released on bail as the Minister for Law and Order, they could have appointed you as Minister for Justice and surely this Palitha fellow could have been appointed as the Minister for Education!
Four soldiers forced to work for ex-officers sordid guest house View(s):

The Commanding Officer of an Army unit is in hot water after he failed to recall four soldiers attached to a retired Major General.

The fact that these four soldiers were working in a guest house owned by the retired officer, who served in key locations, came to light when Army Commander Lt. Gen. Crisantha de Silva received a telephone call.

The caller, one of those who were deployed at the Guest House in the outskirts of Colombo said he and his colleagues were being forced to work on things which were below their dignity. It was alleged that the guest house had been rented out by the hour to young couples.

Lt. Gen. de Silva directed the Military Police to arrest the four soldiers and later a court of Inquiry was appointed to probe the incident.

Muslims blame Hakeem for waterless Eid

In the Greater Colombo area, most Muslims, like their brethren all over Sri Lanka, ended their 29th day of fast in the Holy month of Ramadan last Tuesday. However, they were an unlucky lot.

They broke fast at dusk. Within an hour they heard the good news that the next day, Wednesday, would be Eid ul Fitr, an important religious event observed worldwide. It marks the culmination of the holy month of Ramadan. The moon had been sighted in the east coast obviating the need for fasting for a 30th day.

They also heard the bad news that in some areas there would be prolonged water cuts. The taps ran dry by Tuesday evening. The reason  a main pipeline feeding a distribution tower in Ratmalana had burst.

Sri Lanka Muslim Congress Leader, Rauff Hakeem, under whose purview the National Water Supply and Drainage Board operates, was on state radio expressing regret over the unexpected breakdown. He said by dawn there would be water on the taps since additional work teams had been deployed.

Some who waited till dawn to cook their festival breakfast and lunch found there was no water. Crowds formed outside supermarkets and shops and bottled water was soon sold out.

Thus, Eid was a troublesome day for many who had to go without a bath or were unable to cook a meal. They queued outside catering outlets only to be told that biriyani was cooked only after orders were received, and stocks had run out.

As promised, the water did come on taps. However, that was on Wednesday night. Though the water cut was unexpected, for most households Mr. Hakeem was not a favourite name last Wednesday among his community. They argued that they should have been given some time to store water whilst others said the minister in charge, who also heads the SLMC, did not keep to his promise.

Police chief preaches bana at FCID, CID

Police Chief Pujith Jayasundera perhaps created a record this week. During his first visit to the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID), he spent nearly four hours talking to the staff there.

Thereafter, he moved over to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) headquarters and spent three and half hours there.

IGP Jayasundera not only inspected the premises, spoke to officers and men. During his talk, he quoted at length from Lord Buddhas teachings and asked his men to follow them.

During his first official visit to the FCID and the CID, former IGP N.K. Illangakoon did not spend more than half an hour each in those headquarters.

Yahapalana champions seeking privileges

They were once forerunners in civil society organisations. They held placards high during demonstrations on the values of not only good governance but also financial discipline.

Now that the United National Front (UNF) Government is in power, they have ensconced themselves into new positions and enjoy the perks of office. That seems to be not enough, at least for some.

One such activist who championed the cause of unity and found himself a position as a member of a commission which has a lot to do with voting and votes.

He has written to President Maithripala Sirisena asking that he be allotted an official bungalow in Colombo from where he could attend to his duties.

Unhealthy trend in huge health tender

Most ministers have been speaking of eliminating corruption, particularly when it comes to government tenders.

Recently the Health and Indigenous Medicine Ministry and the Kurunegala Teaching Hospital had placed an advertisement calling for the supply of Homium Laser for Urology  20 Watt machines. The deadline for the submission of bids is next Wednesday.

But prospective bidders were perturbed to see that the technical specifications required in the bidding document were identical to those of a manufacturer whose product is displayed on its website.

They have noted that the bidding document was different to those published by other government hospitals in the recent past.

They are now awaiting the outcome of the tender to see if their guess will be confirmed.

Monitor monitors his better half

The once powerful jack of all trades who was asked to monitor everything local and foreign under the previous regime may be under probe for different reasons.

But that has not deterred him from conducting his own probe, of all things, on his other half. He fixed a tracking device on her car to monitor her movements. A nosey detective found out details of the operation. Of course that part was not official and doesnt come under his investigations on the monitor.

PC caught robbing medicines worth half a million

At Police Headquarters, Police Chief Pujith Jayasundera was convalescing in an upstair room after surgery.

Down below, a police constable was caught red handed when he was robbing medicine worth more than Rs. 500,000.

Investigations had revealed that the constable had been in the habit of stealing medical supplies. In his neighbourhood, where his new lifestyles had been noticed, the constable had said that he won a sweep ticket. The prize money was being paid to him in instalments, he had said.

Confusion over politicos secret foreign account

A Gampaha District politico, now indicted for bribery, caused some confusion to banking authorities in an island nation.

He had a secret account, one that was without local authorisation. At first, the bank had assumed that his name was that of a private company.

It took the bank a while to realise that he was a single person and one who had strong links to petroleum deals.

Insiders say that this politico was also serving as a front for a senior type and was in the habit of parking assets abroad.
Improving macroeconomic fundamentals vital to cope with global uncertainties View(s):

The adverse impact of Brexit on the economy may be overstated and will take time to manifest. Of more concern are the fundamental weaknesses of the economy highlighted by Moodys and Fitch. The downgrading of the country rating by these international rating agencies just prior to Brexit compounded the economic anxieties of the country.

Improving the fiscal and trade balances and managing the foreign debt are absolutely important to stabilise the economy. Had Sri Lankas macroeconomic fundamentals been sound, Brexit would have only been a transitory set back, as is the case with India.

The weaknesses in external finances and the need for international commercial borrowing make the country vulnerable due to the immediate global uncertainties. The costs of borrowing are made more onerous owing to the volatility of capital markets and the latest downgrading of country risk.

Risk assessment

Moodys Investors Service changed the country outlook to negative from stable.It affirmed the Sri Lankan governments foreign currency issuer and senior unsecured sovereign ratings at B1 and said that rising debt and less than expected fiscal reforms were lowering Sri Lankas economic performance.

Fiscal indicators

Furthermore, Moodys added that two key drivers underpinned the change in outlook. These were the expectation of a further weakening in some of Sri Lankas fiscal indicators in an environment of subdued GDP growth which could lead to renewed balance of payments pressure, and the possibility that the effectiveness of the fiscal reforms envisaged by the government may be lower than they currently expect, which could further weaken fiscal and economic performance.

Growth potential

However Moodys also pointed out that at the same time, Sri Lankas B1 rating is supported by the economys robust growth potential and higher income levels than similarly-rated sovereigns. It said that with the effective implementation of some of the fiscal policy measures and other structural reforms planned under the IMF programme, the government would be able to tap a significant potential revenue base. The pertinent question is whether these reforms would be effectively implemented.

Respond to ratings

There has been a tendency for the government and the Central Bank to dismiss reports of international rating agencies as being incorrect or biased whenever such assessments were unfavourable. The last administration did so quite often. The current crisis is a consequence of not heeding these warnings.

Whatever the government may say about these reports, the international community would be guided by them. These reports are based on an analysis of the countrys own economic statistics and economic indicators. Instead of debunking or ignoring them a wise administration would look at the reasons behind such assessments and take their warnings and admonitions seriously and work out policies that would improve the economic indicators.

Reasons

The reasons for their assessments are even more important than the ratings themselves. Government policies must respond to their warnings. The latest international ratings cannot be ignored as the vital economic indicators on which they are based did not arise suddenly. They were a deterioration over the past few years and indicative of the countrys economic mismanagement.

Foreign debt

The countrys massive debt and its debt servicing cost, the low level of foreign reserves, the trade deficit and the weak balance of payments position and above all the fiscal deficit and the lack of prudent management of public finances are the underlying economic reasons for the lowering of the countrys risk ratings. The deterioration of the country ratings unfortunately compounds the problems as the countrys costs of international borrowing could increase owing to it.

Furthermore, owing to the large amount of loan repayments, government foreign borrowings this year are high. This would mean that the costs of borrowing would be high. The result is that the countrys debt would increase further this year. The foreign debt is likely to increase to about US$ 54 billion at the end of 2016 from US$ 49 billion at the end of last year.

Fiscal reforms

The possibility of the fiscal reforms envisaged by the government not being implemented could weaken fiscal and economic performance in the medium and long term. Fiscal consolidation cannot be postponed any further. The recognition of this must be backed up with effective tax reforms.

Economic growth

Despite the fiscal and balance of payments problems, the economy grew by 5.5 per cent in the first quarter of the year. According to the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS), economic growth was mainly supported by the expansion of Industry and Services. Industries grew by 8.3 per cent and services by 4.9 per cent during the first quarter of 2016 compared that of the same period last year. Agriculture grew by 1.9 per cent during this period. The economic growth rate in the first quarter was broadly in line with expectations for the year.

External trade

There have been some improvements in the trade balance and earnings from services that would improve the current account of the balance of payments. The trade deficit decreased by 2.4 per cent in the first four months of the year owing to imports declining more than decreases in exports.

Tourist earnings increased by about 18 per cent in the first five months and the feared decrease in remittances did not happen. In fact remittances increased by 4.1 per cent. While these improvements would improve the current account of the balance of payments, the capital account is likely to have a large net outflow.

Conclusion

In a context of global uncertainty, it is important to ensure careful management of public finances. The fiscal reforms must be implemented to increase government revenue, while considerably better management of public expenditure is vital. Achieving this years fiscal targets is vital to put the economy on an even keel.
On that Judicial Coup and other aberrations View(s):

One must confess to being somewhat tickled this week by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghes use of the Singarasa precedent in making such a sparklingly scandalous allegation as a judicial coup against Parliament.

Sorting out the fundamentals

The Speaker is now expected to rule on the relevance of Singarasa on the peoples (and the Parliaments) sovereignty in respect of the validity and applicability of the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) in Sri Lanka. This Protocol gives the right to Sri Lankans to file individual petitions before the juristic body of the United Nations Human Rights Committee alleging violations of ICCPR. The Committee comprising of reputed jurists and experts in turn, hands down Views as to the measures that it recommends the State should take.

Let us first sort out a few fundamentals in this unhappily convoluted mix. In its Comments on the nature of its own authority, the Committee has been quite categorical that its Views have no binding force within a nation-state. No new domestic remedies are directly attracted by the Protocol. Instead, where specific domestic incorporation of international treaties is required on a countrys Constitution, it is up to each State to enact laws or reform policies.

Against that background, the Singarasa precedent handed down by a Divisional Bench under the hand of retired Chief Justice Sarath Silva in 2006 exhibited judicial adventurism of an unpleasantly novel kind. The President of Sri Lanka was pronounced to have exercised legislative power in acceding to the Protocol by promising to give a remedy for the violation of ICCPR rights. The Court further opined that the Presidency had acted in excess of its powers in the decision to accede as the Committee had been allowed to exercise judicial power within the country.

Atrocious contradictions of international law

These views amounted to an atrocious contradiction of international law and international practice. The Singarasa ruling reverberated far beyond the facts of the particular case and indeed, beyond the national sphere. It struck a chilling blow to the very basis of Sri Lankas adherence to international law.

In fact, both the Kumaratunga Presidency which had acceded to the ICCPR Protocol in the late nineties on the sagacious advice of the late Lakshman Kadirgamar, then Foreign Minister and the later short lived United National Front government under Ranil Wickremesinghe had airily ignored the Committees Views. But no visible displeasure was evidenced from the UN system, other than protests by advocates monitoring the process.

But a Governments amnesia is entirely different to the highest Court of the land proclaiming that the very act of Presidential accession to the Protocol was unconstitutional. Notoriously slow to intervene in the internal judicial functioning of a member state, jurisprudential organs of the United Nations woke up and started rubbing their eyes. From demonstrating a healthy and measured approach to international law by judges who once stood their own in the Commonwealth, the Sri Lankan judiciary began to be eyed askance with a degree of startled alarm.

Reaffirming state commitment to the ICCPR

At the time, reactions to the Singarasa precedent within the country were muted. Indeed, yahapalanaya born-again corruption crusaders from the Attorney Generals Department gleefully hinted before the Supreme Court that the UN Committee was made up of nonentities. Senior lawyers from the unofficial Bar whose knowledge of international law was sketchy at the best, defended the indefensible. In academia which should have engaged in exceedingly sober discussion of a dangerous precedent, silence prevailed in the main.

In that sense, the Prime Ministers statement on the floor of the House that the Court meandered into a totally irrelevant area, holding forth on the constitutional competence of the President is understandable. Thus the acerbic note that the Supreme Court does not have the power to violate the basic tenants of the Constitution which unfortunately the SC had been doing in the last decade.

But while the reaffirming of State commitment to the implementation of the ICCPR is reassuring, parts of that statement invoke concern. Indeed, we are familiar with the concept of peoples sovereignty being commonly and cynically tossed about at various points of time to aid a particular argument, judicial or parliamentary as the case may be. As a case in point, Articles 3 and 4 of the Constitution on the separation of powers cited by the Prime Minister constituted the very same basis on which the Silva Court handed down the Singarasa decision in the first instance.

Eschewing short term solutions

Granted, as long as the Singarasa precedent is in force, Sri Lankas signing of international conventions would have no effect. And the predicament of the Government in hesitating to go the correct way, namely in inviting a Full Bench of the Court to reconsider this decision, is obvious.

But the Prime Ministers stress on the parliamentary exercise of judicial power is worrying. Of course Sri Lankas parliament is no stranger to the unedifying practice of legislative judgments. Barely three months after a new Constitution was promulgated in 1978, a Parliament under the iron Presidential hand of the late JR Jayawardene nullified an appellate court ruling that a Special Presidential Commission of Inquiry inquiring into the actions of former Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike could not be vested with retrospective powers. Similar precedents have been evidenced in earlier times.

Yet this political undermining of constitutional norms is precisely why the very idea of the Constitution has lost all meaning for Sri Lankans, from the North to the South. And as Humpty Dumpty realized full well at a point, all the kings horses and all the kings men could not restore public faith in that regard.

A palpable irony

Wrongs of the past must be corrected. But notwithstanding the classic Scylla and Charybdis dilemma faced by this Government, short term and expedient measures is not the way to go. This solution would be as perilous as President Maithripala Sirisena dismissing a Chief Justice by executive fiat last year with an ingratiating Bar and sundry lawyers groups cheering on the sidelines. This controversy of a judicial coup emanating from the Singarasa precedent has surfaced exactly at the same time that the Government advances a package of constitutional reforms before the people.

Surely that palpable irony should not be lost on us.
President responds to widespread protests: VAT relief for the people View(s):

Ministers told to cancel overseas visits, go to their electorates and solve peoples problems

Sirisena accuses media of being heavily against the Govt, takes measures to strengthen control over SLFP

CBK also enters the fray, calls for sacking of top members of Joint Opposition, but dissidents form shadow Cabinet while Rajapaksa waits in the shadows

By Our Political Editor

Countrywide protests over living costs, the result of the increase in Value Added Tax (VAT), appear to have spurned the Government into action. President Maithripala Sirisena was to initiate a string of measures after Tuesdays weekly ministerial meeting where issues arising out of this situation figured prominently. He told ministers that they should put on hold overseas visits, return to their electorates and counter the fallout from the protests.

For a second time this month, President Sirisena was responding to growing public opinion. It was only a week earlier, he heard civil society activists. The move led to the change of Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran. The President picked Indrajit Coomaraswamy to succeed Mahendran.

A new trend with the advent of the United National Front (UNF) Government has been the proliferation of protests over different issues. The exercise seemed to have shades of the Arab spring, the uprisings that spread across West Asia in early 2011. Those in the Government say it showed tolerance on their part when the previous Mahinda Rajapaksa administration used brute force to suppress such protests. This is true though the self-congratulation itself is now pyrrhic. The protests highlight something significant  growing public discontent over mundane to serious issues. It reflects non-action or more pointedly less governance. Thus, Sirisenas initiatives show the Government could no longer sit on its laurels and take delight that it has created new space for protests. To the contrary, yahapalanaya or good governance would have ensured there was little or no room for protests.

A sampling of such protests against VAT alone just this month: Western Province  July 7  Panadura, Negombo, Maharagama, Kiribathgoda, July 8 Ja-ela, Kalutara Southern Province  July 7  Tangalle, Hungama, Beliatte, Walasmulla, Weeraketiya, Katuwana, Middeniya, Elpitiya, Tissamaharama, Hambantota, Suriyawewa, Lunugamvehera, Ambalantota Uva Province  July 8  Wellawaya Central Province  July 8  Kandy Sabaragamua Province  July 7  Kuruwita, Ratnapura, Balangoda, Opanaike, Nivithigala, Godakawala, Kalawana, Ehaliyagoda, Kiriella, Rakwana, Asgama, Weligepola, Kegalle, Embilipitiya, Udamaluwa Wayamba Province  July 7  Kurunegala Eastern Province  July 8  Ampara. The United National Party (UNP) staged a counter protest in Ratnapura on Thursday. Protests in other provinces including ones mentioned here have been held in late June too. If they were backed by the Joint Opposition, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) also launched a string of protests for six days. It will end today.

Besides agitation against VAT, there were other protests too. From dawn Friday, residents at Kosgama blocked the High Level Road demanding the promised compensation for the damage caused by the Salawa armoury fire. They came to console us, made promises and went back. We are still waiting, said a state service officer who did not wish to be identified because of the sensitive job he holds. His house and personal belongings were destroyed by the devastating fire at the Armys Central Armoury last month. Then, along the rail track in the southern coastline, fishermen halted trains. They demanded that the Government fulfil an earlier promise to blast rocks near the shore to allow easy passage for their boats into the deep seas. Train services were disrupted. Students of the Sri Jayawardenapura University continued their protests in Nugegoda on Friday.

An adverse fallout of all these protests is the diversion of Police resources to cope with them. This is at the cost of other tasks related to maintaining law and order. Added to it is the inconvenience caused to the people as a result of traffic interruptions during peak hours.

Preceding Tuesdays discussion was a meeting President Sirisena and Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake had with a group of traders. These traders made clear they should not be viewed as anti-Government. All they had sought, they said, were revisions in the VAT to help both themselves and the consumers. Karunanayake acknowledged that the traders had helped Sirisena in the campaign for the presidential election on January 8 last year. He said they should be aware that the VAT then stood at 11 per cent and it has now been raised to 15 per cent. Later, President Sirisena had discussed areas where the VAT could be revised to exclude some sectors and include some new items. Different proposals including a possible revision in petrol prices are also being looked at. A formal announcement of the revision is to be made this month.

Discussions also extended to the cost of living which has further skyrocketed after the new VAT. It was decided to appoint a ministerial subcommittee to examine and recommend ways of reducing the prices of essential consumer items. In this regard, the team is to study the pricing structure resorted to by importers. This is to determine whether their profit margin could be pruned. The ministerial team comprises Karunanayake, Mahinda Amaraweera, Duminda Dissanayake, Malik Samarawickrema and Rishad Bathiuddin. Sirisena has advised MPs going to their electorates to report back to this Committee any suggestions they could offer.

Ministers also discussed on Tuesday moves to expedite different development projects, a means of providing employment. They noted that there were inordinate delays in procurements arriving in Colombo. This was despite such procurements being put through after a duly appointed Tender Board had examined them. It was decided to study the matter and take corrective action.

It was only the previous day (Monday), President Sirisena told the Government Parliamentary Group at a meeting at the Presidential Secretariat that he would not allow anyone to disrupt this administration. There would neither be an SLFP nor a UNP Government. He asserted that the present national unity Government would be protected. He said parliamentarians must be mindful that the media were not with them. He alleged that they (the media) were weighted against the Government. He was critical of the state run newspapers. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe who spoke next criticised the Sunday Times. He said the newspaper had asked him whether there was a tug of war between President Sirisena and himself. The Premier said he had replied that there was no such tug of war or Kamba adilla since there was no kamba or rope in the first place. Like Sirisena, he spoke in Sinhala.

Peoples woes were not the only issue for President Sirisena. He was also concerned about an issue which he has been dealing with since assuming the Presidency. That was taking fuller control of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), His party stalwarts have been briefing him on the new developments that called for responsive action. Sirisena discussed the issue with Minister Mahinda Amaraweera, General Secretary of the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA). Later, Amaraweera held a meeting of several senior members at his residence to discuss strategy. Two main factors seemed a cause for concern. One was steps taken by former Minister Basil Rajapaksa to launch a new political movement. Senior SLFPers believe it is a precursor to the launch of a new political party, perhaps when the local government elections are due. The other was the United National Party (UNP) launching a membership drive. The UNP has gone hi-tech by introducing a new app for this purpose. Senior SLFPers were worried that their party would be politically dwarfed by these developments.

This saw SLFP Deputy Ministers and State ministers holding a meeting at the Colombo Hilton last Wednesday night to discuss counter measures. Speaking at length was former UPFA General Secretary Susil Premajayantha. He noted that despite protests that would make it seem that the Government is unpopular, they were far from being in a position of facing defeat. After a lengthy discussion where several spoke, they decided that the SLFP should launch its own campaign in the districts to consolidate the partys position and counter moves to split it. The first public meeting in this regard will be held in Kandy. Though several venues were suggested for subsequent meetings, no decision has been taken.

Another dimension to this development is the former President Mahinda Rajapaksas role in the Joint Opposition. It is becoming increasingly clear that he has restrained himself from getting too involved. He did not sign their Vote of No-Confidence on Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake. Now, he has distanced himself from a so-called shadow cabinet named by the Joint Opposition. It is noteworthy that Rajapaksa has not involved himself in news releases issued by them. He is known to have prevented a group of MPs supporting him from going back to the mainstream SLFP fold. The idea, as one ally points out, is to keep his options open until the proposed political movement gains ground paving the way for a new party.

Serious concerns over the future of the SLFP also reached former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga. She met SLFP parliamentarians at the Heritance Hotel in Ahungalla on Tuesday. She said there were moves to divide the SLFP and the Joint Opposition was part of that attempt. In a strong speech, she said former President Rajapaksa and six others  Dullas Allahapperuma, Kumara Welgama, Prasanna Ranatunga, Mahindananda Alutghgamage, Rohitha Abeygunawardena and Bandula Gunawardena  should be sacked from the party. She said this was the only way the SLFP could be strengthened. Minister Mahinda Amaraweera, however, struck a sober note. He said that the political circumstances were not appropriate for such a course of action. He cautioned that such a step would lead to other issues and they must act with greater circumspection. The participants decided to seek a meeting with President Sirisena and discuss the situation further.

Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is at the centre of concerns in the SLFP, is set to travel to South Korea. Preparations for the visit, which will include meetings with Sri Lankans there, are under way. Like in any coalition, there are marked differences between partners on serious issues. This is by no means to suggest that such diverse positions would automatically lead to a breakup or one can be perceived as anti-government for pointing them out. Last Monday, Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera told a news conference that consultations were taking place to determine the character of the accountability mechanism to probe alleged war crimes in accordance with the UNHRC Geneva Resolution against Sri Lanka. This is to ascertain whether it would be domestic or should include foreign judges.

Just one day later, President Maithripala Sirisena responded to the remarks. Though he did not make a pointed reference to Samaraweeras statements, Sirisena declared that he would not allow any foreign court, judge or organisation to interfere in the internal administration and the judiciary. This is not withstanding whatever views are expressed in various places regarding bringing of foreign judges and establishing foreign military courts to take action against the so-called human rights violations during the period of the war, he declared. He was speaking at the 70th National Upasampada Vinayakarma (Higher Ordination) ceremony of Sri Lanka Ramanna Maha Nikaya in Panadura on Friday.

That Sirisena has said a firm no to foreign judges is all too well known. His most recent comments came in an interview with the Sunday Times. He said: We dont need foreign judges. We can resolve any problem within the country without foreign intervention, the President re-iterated commenting on his previously declared position. If necessary we can obtain foreign technical support but without commitments or conditions attached, he said. Sirisena added, any technical assistance to the proposed inquiry into alleged war crimes would be without any commitments or conditions attached. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe also told a group of Army officers on May 26, the judicial mechanism would be made up entirely of Sri Lankan judges.

Samaraweeras remarks came after he returned to Colombo from Geneva where he attended the 32nd sessions of the UN Human Rights Council. The issue did figure during his meetings with counterparts and senior officials from member countries. On Wednesday, the Brexit notwithstanding, the House of Commons discussed human rights in Sri Lanka. Several MPs whose electorates consisted of Tamil voters were to raise issue. Hugo Swire, Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, responded. Noting that the issue of international involvement in the prosecution of war crimes has been highlighted, Swire said the British Government has always been clear that any accountability mechanism needs to be credible and meet international standards. ..we have re-iterated our commitment to its full implementation on a number of occasions, most recently in Geneva last month.

As noted previously, there has been less diplomatic sabre-rattling over the issue of foreign judges though UN Human Rights High Commissioner Zaid Raad Al Hussein and some speakers made strong references. The issue will be on the Governments agenda for next year. It would thus have to be weighed in the context of the prevailing political situation then. Naturally, the question whether even local judges could constitute such an inquiry mechanism comes to the fore. One of the factors likely to impact on this aspect of the resolution is the November elections in the United States, a co-sponsor of the UNHRC resolution. This is particularly in the event of a victory for likely Republican candidate Donald Trump though some argue US foreign policy will not change with the change of the president.

The US position will no doubt be in focus when Nisha Biswal, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, arrives in Colombo on Tuesday for a three-day visit. Immediately after she leaves, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will arrive. Besides bilateral talks, Sinhala speaking Lavrov is expected to declare open Russias newly built Embassy along Bullers Road. He previously served in the Soviet Embassy in Colombo. Thereafter, Japanese Defence Minister General Nakatani is due followed by the Canadian Foreign Minister Stephane Dion. These visits, no doubt, are a huge task for the Foreign Ministry which usually copes with just three or four such high-profile visits each year.

Chinas Foreign Minister Wang Yi surprised Foreign Ministry officials in Colombo just a week ago when he sent a message that he wanted to visit Sri Lanka. He is the highest ranking Chinese dignitary to visit Colombo since the UNF Government took office and questions were raised why he was coming over. It later turned out during talks with Foreign Minister Samaraweera that it related to bilateral issues. The Chinese were keen to ensure that the projects they had committed themselves to in Sri Lanka under the Mahinda Rajapaksa Administration and were stalled got off the ground. At the end of the talks, one source said, Foreign Minister Wang mentioned Chinas position on the South China seas. The Philippines, with whom China has a dispute, has gone to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague to ask for a technical ruling about the extent of the territorial waters that can be claimed on the basis of the possession of various coastlines, islands and rocks. A ruling is expected soon.

During the post-talks media briefing, the lady Chinese interpreter translated the remarks made by Minister Wang to say China understands Colombos stance on the South China seas and Colombo supports Beijings position. Li promptly intervened and corrected her to say Beijing understands Colombos stance and asked her to delete the words supports. In fact, Foreign Minister Samaraweera had told the Chinese Foreign Minister that the issue should be resolved through dialogue and discussion which is Sri Lankas position. Before departing Colombo yesterday, Wang paid a visit to the Kelaniya Raja Maha Viharaya.

Another issue where there were strong differences of opinion between the SLFP and the UNP resurfaced this week. This is when the joint ministerial council of the two sides met to discuss common issues. The SLFP side expressed the view that they were strongly in favour of electoral reforms being introduced in Parliament as the 20th Amendment to the Constitution. However, the UNP members were not in favour. They said there were three major elements that should be incorporated into the proposed new Constitution. They were the devolution of power, the abolition of the executive presidency and electoral reforms. There was a lengthy discussion but no settlement was reached.

The SLFP members of the Joint Council are ministers Sarath Amunugama, Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, Susil Premajayantha, Lasantha Alagiyawanna and Mahinda Amaraweera. The UNP is represented by ministers Kabir Hashim, Ravi Karunanayake, Malik Samarawickrema, Akila Viraj Kariyawasam and Sagala Ratnayake. The two sides also discussed how the local government bodies should be administered. The SLFP sought a bigger role. The imposition of Business Turnover Tax (BTT) by local authorities also came up for discussion.

The Joint Council discussions came as the Steering Committee involved in the constitution making process met Chief Ministers. They gave their own views on how the local government institutions or the provincial councils should be structured in a new Constitution. Among those who turned up were Northern Provincial Council (NPC) Opposition Leader S. Thavarasa and Provincial Education minister Thambyrajah Gurukularajah. The latter represented Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran who has been admitted to the Cardiology Unit of Jaffna Teaching Hospital following a brief illness.

They made an oral presentation based on the constitutional proposals prepared by the NPC. Earlier, a set of reform proposals adopted unanimously by all sides in the Council had been handed over to Premier Wickremesinghe, Speaker Karu Jayasuriya and Opposition leader R. Sampanthan. This was done by Chief Minister Wigneswaran.

Mr. Thavarasa said he elaborated why the NPC had recommended for a merged North and East with a federal structure. He said they were seeking land and police powers. He said it was proposed that a special arrangement be made to accommodate the Muslim majority areas in eastern provinces to the federal structure.

When NPC Opposition leader Thavarasa was explaining the shortcomings of the 13th Amendment, Megapolis and Western Province Development Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka intervened to comment that the 13thAmendment was imposed on us. Thavarasa had replied that the Constitution is the supreme law of the country and argued that personal opinions of any citizen were only a comment.

Premier Wickremesinghe also chaired a separate meeting of the UNP ministers and later addressed a meeting of their MPs on Thursday. The all UNP ministers meeting which took place at the Parliament Complex in Kotte, saw a lengthy discussion on how to take the party forward. Wickremesinghe emphasised the need for a proactive programme for the next four years. Several proposals in this regard were discussed. A five-member team of UNP ministers was tasked with preparing a programme to educate the public of the progressive measures taken and their future plans. The five ministers are Harin Fernando, Gayantha Karunatilleke, Mangala Samaraweera, Kabir Hashim and Akila Viraj Kariyawasam. Premier Wickremesinghe who briefed UNP parliamentarians at Temple Trees on Thursday evening also told them that they should be prepared to ensure the victory of the party at the next local government elections. The Premier answered a variety of questions posed by the MPs.

References in these columns on June 26 that exports to EU exceeded three trillion dollars and UK a trillion dollar should really be in billions of dollars, Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake said. He told the Sunday Times the exact volume was now being worked out.

Quite clearly the ongoing protests have had their result though not in all areas. One area where the UNF Government is still found wanting, an issue that has caused concern among most MPs, is the snails pace at which action against those involved in bribery, corruption and other crime during the previous regime is moving. If the Government leaders are to convince the public on their bona fides, there is only one way they could do so  ensure the machinery works faster and as promised the culprits are brought to book. The credibility gap is ever widening.
The return of the prodigious son to brave Central Bank challenge View(s):

Dr. Coomaraswamy vows to instil credibility to the nations supreme board of fiscal policy

The confounding fog that had descended on Lankas Central Bank and turned it into Bleak House was dispelled on Monday morn when a welcome ray of English summer sunshine streamed through its portals to illumine the dark interior with sterling integrity and spirited professionalism, not forgetting a touch of old world charm and class.

While Britains Old Lady of Threadneedle Street, the Bank of England, was rocked with the nose diving pound following the nations decision to exit from the European Union, the Sri Lankan Central Bank had for long been engulfed in controversy over its scandal hit chief Mahendrans reluctance to exit from his post as Governor after serving his term of office which was scheduled to end on 30th June.

The crisis was exacerbated by his publicly declared ambiguous intention to hang around near the Colombo Fort clock tower for as long as it takes, in the forlorn hope that the parliamentary committee on public enterprises will clear him of any wrong doing in the bond scam and thus make possible his grand comeback to his 15th floor Governors office at No 80 Janadhipathi Mawatha, Colombo 1.

Thus for the first time in its 66 year history, the countrys supreme board of monetary policy was without a Governor, left rattling like a headless spitting cobra on the 1st of July. Two days prior to that on the 29th of June, President Sirisena at a meeting held in Girandhurukotte on eradicating chronic kidney diseases, had compared the Central Bank crisis as being similar to the chronic kidney disease prevalent in the country and had publicly announced that he would appoint a new governor to head the Central Bank and that he would name him within a few hours that same day.

The die was cast for Arjuna Mahendran when the termination notice was relayed thus. As the 13th Governor of the Central Bank, he was, perhaps, also unlucky to have been one of the banks shortest serving chiefs, sharing the dubious honour with N. U. Jayawardena who held the post from 1953 to 1954, and left under a cloud.

It took the President a further 40 hours to break his silence and announce the name of the man who will henceforth sign the nations banknotes for the next six years. But when he did last Saturday, and simultaneously released the nations bated breath, it was well worth the wait. The name alone sufficed to lift the bank from its doldrums and resurrect visions of Lankas legendary grandiose pre historic past to provide a morale boost to a nation that was badly in need of one.

This Monday morning, Indrajit  named after Ravanas eldest son who conquered Vedic Hinduisms King of the Gods, Indra of the Devas, and brought him prisoner to Ravanas feet as related in the Ramayana  Coomaraswamy was officially appointed as the 14th Governor of the Central Bank. But even before he arrived at the Bank, his reputation as an economic scholar of note and a technocrat to his digital tips, vested with the aura of being a paragon of virtue no less had preceded him; and had placed a deserving halo over his silvery hair.

His credentials are impeccable. He hails from a highly respected family of distinguished civil servants, the only son of the legendary Rajendran Coomaraswamy who became the strident voice of the newly independent Ceylon at the United Nations in the Fifties. After a British public school education at Harrow  which, no doubt, made a gentleman out of him after his stay at the learn or get out motto tattooed Royal school till the age of eleven  he entered Emmanuel College, Cambridge where he earned his general degree followed by a doctorate from the University of Sussex.

He returned to Lanka in 1973 and, in the footsteps of his father and his grandfather, entered public service. He joined the Central Bank as a staff officer in the Economic Research, Statistics and Bank Supervision divisions. Seconded to the Finance Ministry in 1981 as advisor on macroeconomic issues and structural reforms he remained in public service until 1989. Thereafter he joined the Commonwealth Secretariat in 1990 and held various posts including Chief Officer, Economics in the International Finance and Markets Section, Director of the Economic Affairs Division and Deputy-Director of the Secretary-Generals Office. In 2010 he was also appointed as the Interim Director of its Social Transformation Programme Division.

The trophies gained throughout his illustrious career have earned him the reputation of not only being a top notch economist but also a first class administrator as well. On Monday when he arrived at the Central Bank door after a period of twenty seven years to assume office as its new Governor, it was nothing less than the welcome coming home of the prodigious son   a native here and to the manor born  back to the old residence to take his rightful seat.

From his maiden address to the bank staff, made no sooner he was ensconced in the Governors seat that Monday, it was clear that, though he may have been away from these isle shores and involved with great global issues, he had kept close watch on the gradual erosion of the banks credibility in international financial eyes during the last decade. Perhaps he had even bemoaned and watched with growing alarm and horror the trend continuing, the assault on the banks reputation carried on regardless despite the paradigm shift made in the political ideology of the nation with the advent of the new government and its professed commitment to good governance.

But good governance is no chariot conjured out of a pumpkin which can be wished into instant existence by a series of wand waving accompanied by magical intonations on public stages. It has to be worked at, not only by the president and the prime minister but by the entire body politic. Thus Coomaraswamy hit the nail on the head when he told his staff that he will do his utmost to uphold the credibility and reputation of the Central Bank. He said, The primary responsibility of the Governor is to uphold the reputation and the credibility of the Central Bank. I assure that I will do my utmost to do so at all times. He added that he required the cooperation of all the staff to do so.

It is this credibility and this reputation of the Central Bank which is vital to be upheld at all times and at all costs that mattered most to him. Not the credibility or reputation of the individual who heads it or who serves on its staff whose actions, howsoever innocent it may appear to be on legal paper, might cast an iota of doubt in the minds of reasonable men and serve to slander and besmirch the good name and integrity of the nations bank.

Tasked as the Central Bank is under the Monetary Law Act of 1949 for the maintenance of economic and price stability and the maintenance of financial system stability, the coin of credibility must be genuine mint and its reputation forged to withstand the hottest furnace of international inspection.

The Central Bank is the nations bank; and it is heartening to note that the new governor has ingrained in him the realization that the credibility and good image of the bank cannot be trifled with or placed at risk.Much though it may be to the chagrin of the joint opposition, prophesying as they had done the imminent interment of Yahapalanaya and the bout of revelry they had planned to hold post July 1st when they would dance upon its freshly dug grave, the nation would be relieved to learn that infant Yahapalanaya is still alive and well  had not transgressed beyond the pale of redemption, had not met with a premature end but had somehow survived to find, within its palpitating heart, the faint pulse of a nations aspirations for good governance still beating, though irregular.

Both President Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe have thus demonstrated their commitment to Yahapalanaya by taking the necessary steps to reset its course whenever it is found straying from its chartered path. Many a time have they recognized its tendency to waywardness; and many a time have they come forth to guide its return to the straight and narrow.

Not only must President Sirisena be congratulated for his wise decision to appoint Dr. Coomaraswamy as the new Governor, but his instructions to him upon handing over the monetary brief must be commended. As Mr. Coomaraswamy said in his speech, President Sirisena told me, work honestly and do not fear anybody in the discharge of your duties.

And thats not all. Mr. Coomaraswamy is twice blessed. Shortly after the President had decided on his appointment, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe also extended his blessings and gave a detailed account of his vision for Lanka to the chosen one.

As Coomaraswamy recounted in his address, When I met the Prime Minister he read out the vision he has for the country and said that there is a big role for the Central Bank to play. If we do not work the way we should, the country will not be where it should be. Strong macroeconomic stability is essential. If that does not exist nothing can be done.

Now armed with presidential licence to shoot the moon if he must sans fear to achieve his aims and blessed with prime ministerial grace to receive the vision the prime minister beholds for a brave new Lanka, Indrajit Coomaraswamy will have no excuse if he fails to live up to the great feats expected of him.

But emboldened though he maybe with presidential fiat and entranced as he surely must be by prime ministerial vision, the new guv of the last resort bank must peg his hard earned credibility buck to the state ships mast with extreme caution. For many a qualified man, steeped in specialized navigational knowledge and immaculate of character had stepped aboard many a ship as captain only to end up walking the plank, due to the sudden landing of a political albatross.

In his address Dr. Coomaraswamy spoke of the dangers of politics mixing with economics. He said, Ever since this country gained Independence, economy has been mixed up with politics. I dont want to point the finger at any party but just want to emphasis that politics and economics have been mixed up by all governments. But I would like to stress that good economic policies result in good politics, he said.

Aye, there lies the rub: for in that bourn of politics, expediency rules, whereas in the sterilised sphere of economics, theories hold centre stage. Both may claim its right of way but history, especially modern Lankas, has always held it to belong to the one who had the bigger tipper.

But thats no cause for alarm. No reason for Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy to lose heart. Though history often repeats itself, thats no compelling reason to give up the ghost and rashly jump overboard and swim back to old Blighty where he sojourns four months of the year. For twice blessed as Dr. Coomaraswamy is with both President Maithripala and Prime Minister Ranils blessings, he is also thrice blessed.

He has the blessings of all Lanka who rise today as one  20 million of them  to anoint him with their best wishes and to pin upon the lotus adorned lapel of his honourable character their utmost trust and supreme confidence in him to lift the central bank from its nadir and make it soar to reach the ideals it was created to achieve 66 years ago in 1950, the same year Coomaraswamy was born.

And if it be of any comfort to him  given the fact that he revealed last year in a media interview that what he appreciates most is when people he has worked with say to him that they have benefitted from working with him  let it be known to him as he starts the first year as the Governor of the Central Bank that at the end of his six year term, that all Lanka hopes to say in one voice: Thanks for the experience, thank you for the music and play it again, Indra of the CB.

Gammanpila drops his dung in the nations pot of milk

While the entire country, including senior members of the joint opposition, have welcomed the appointment of Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy as the new Governor of the Central Bank, one lone figure, namely, Udaya Gammanpila, has crawled out from his remand prison to come out to the open and drop his excreta on the nations pot of milk.After being sprung from a remand cell where he had been kept incarcerated on a charge of using a forged power-of-attorney to sell shares held by Digital Nominees (Pty) Ltd and thereby causing a misappropriation of Rs. 110 million, Udaya Gammanpila was released back into society on bail last Thursday. Like those insects that perish in light denied, he immediately sought the limelight of television cameras to recharge his egoist cells and denounce the appointment of Dr. Coomaraswamy. At the media event held this Tuesday, he charged: Coomaraswamy was involved in an insider trading case. Founder of the Galleon Group, an American-based investment fund management firm Raj Rajaratnam was jailed for 11-years in that case. In 2009, when the incident took place, our newly appointed Central Bank Governor was an adviser to the group. He claimed that Mr. Rajaratnam was a person who funded the LTTE and implied that Coomaraswamy being a Tamil was also a Tiger sympathiser. The Governments decision to appoint Dr. Coomaraswamy to replace former CB Governor Arjuna Mahendran is similar to exchanging a woman with snot with a woman with whooping cough, he said, revealing in one bizarre 10 minute spot of television glory, how one could be a racist and a sexist all rolled into one; and simultaneously pass judgment upon another while claiming that he himself was innocent of the crimes he had been charged with till proven guilty in a court of law. The fact that Dr. Coomaraswamy had been a consultant of a subsidiary of the Galleon Group was known right from the start. It did not take, it did not need this self appointed leader of the one man party of Pivithuru Hela Urumaya to come from his remand prison and reveal it to the public. Dr. Coomaraswamy need not even have bothered to reply. But he did and this is what he had to say. I set a framework when I was in London to provide him with macroeconomic research. He knew my background and he wanted me to help. This happened for about 10 to 11 months and then he was charged. So it took about a year after that for me to legally wind up the operations, he said. My job was to provide him with research reports, I provided him with professional services. Perhaps Gammanpila does not understand the independent nature of professionals. That professionals are independent entities who are merely paid for their professional services and are not tainted by the company their professional life demands they keep, even as lawyers representing swindlers cannot be branded as despicable rogues. To their credit, Dinesh Gunawardena, Bandula Gunawardena and other seniors of the joint opposition have hailed President Sirisenas choice of Dr. Coomaraswamy as the new Governor. The sooner Udaya Gammanpila, this wagging tail of JO and acolyte of opportunity, crawls back into the hole from whence he emerged, the better it will be for the rest of decent society.
War crimes probe: Double standards exposed View(s):

Muslims around the world observed Eid-ul-Fitr this week, the end of the month-long annual fast in rather sombre mood. Blood-letting sectarian strife has torn them apart in no less a place than West Asia, their citadel.

In Saudi Arabia, the holiest of holy places was not spared; nor were other Islamic nations  Iraq, Turkey and Bangladesh apart from the ongoing civil war in Syria. What crimes are so often committed in the name of religion? Or were they the machinations of spy agencies, the arms industry, the whole gamut of beings that profit from violent conflict?

Just this week, the New York Times published leaked reports, showing how Jordanian Intelligence officers tasked by the United States to arm anti-government militia in Syria had sold some of those weapons in the black-market. When will they ever learn was a popular anti-war song during the Vietnam War.

The entire West Asian region is in flames and the heat engulfs the world. Almost on cue with Eid festivities came a long awaited report  the Chilcot report; an inquiry into Britains decision to invade Iraq in 2003. The report took seven years to complete and was made public 13 years after the invasion led by the US and a motley group of nations called the Coalition of the Willing (because so many were unwilling).

On the false pretext that Iraq had chemical and nuclear weapons, which the West called Weapons of Mass Destruction (which the US also has) and had to be therefore neutralized, they toppled the Iraqi Government and had Iraqi President Saddam Hussein judicially executed following a sham trial. The Chilcot report says the legality of the invasion was in question and it was against the weight of world opinion. On March 23, 2003 this is what we had to say in an editorial;

Rivers of blood may flow from the Tigris, one of the cradles of ancient civilisation in ancient Mesopotamia (now Iraq) in what is being seen by many as a crusade by the Christian world against the Muslim world tempered only by the fact that more than half the Christian world and the Pope himself have condemned this unnecessary and unwarranted war.

The then US and British leaders  President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair  have now been accused of crimes against humanity and are being called war criminals in their own countries. Indeed, it seems the boot is on the other foot. These were the two countries that campaigned so vigorously to enter a Resolution against Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, calling for a war crimes tribunal to inquire into the manner in which the Sri Lankan Government militarily overcame a brutal terrorist organisation  the LTTE. It was Britain under Tony Blair that was instrumental in the whole of the EU supporting that Geneva Resolution against Sri Lanka.

The Chilcot report said that the Iraqi invasion was a political decision and the post invasion consequences were under-estimated. One can say that these same factors are relevant to Sri Lanka.

Today, it is open season for militant groups ranging from the Taliban to al Qaeda and the ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and Syria) to carve out their own patch in Iraq and Syria with the people split on sectarian lines and society deeply fractured. Last weekend the violence climaxed with a truck bomb killing nearly 300 innocent civilians in a crowded market in Iraqs capital, Baghdad. The people are longing for the bad days of yesteryear; a telling indictment on what state the Western powers have left the country in.

Yet, these same countries continue to preach. When the UNHRC met last week to discuss the Geneva Resolution against Sri Lanka, the British Ambassador, whose country has militarily occupied swathes of territory in southern Iraq, told the Government of Sri Lanka that it should release more civilian lands occupied by the military (in the North of Sri Lanka) and to repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act. This holier than thou attitude is what has earned them the ire of the wider world.

Sri Lanka faced the scourge of terrorism for decades and knows its full import. At the UN this week, Sri Lankas Ambassador told the world community to break the current impasse surrounding the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism, where it has deliberated since 2006 and only after the aftermath of the deadly terrorist attack on 9/11, 2001 in the US, that the UN strategised a Plan of Action to combat terrorism. The impasse is the failure by the nations of the world to come to any consensus on the definition of who is a terrorist.

The invasion of Iraq after that fateful 9/11 attack has changed the modern world. It has sown the seeds for a virulent, violent backlash from Islamic Jihadists who have mobilised and taken the fight back to Europe and the US.

Partially lifting the secrecy that has cloaked one of the USs most contentious tactics for fighting terrorists, the US Administration under President Obama, Friday last week tacitly admitted that it does not know the exact number of deaths following drone attacks from the air in an open-ended war against terrorists in West Asia. These attacks may have succeeded in targeting terrorist leaders but the collateral damage caused in civilian deaths  the pain and suffering to many civilians in parts of Pakistan, Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq and even Libya, Yemen, Somalia etc., has been the nursery for new recruits to the Jihadist movement and driven the fight against the West to new heights. You reap what you sow is a Biblical saying and when you sow the wind, you reap the whirlwind.

President Obama has seen the folly of US foreign and military policy and has tried to pull back on US involvement in theatres of conflict initiated by his predecessors. But he fights a lone battle. Within the US hes been portrayed as a sissy by warmongering power blocs who criticise him for not taking the US role to police the world, far enough. Moreover, his days in office are numbered.

The Chilcot report exposes the false premises on which Western Intelligence services have been placed on such a high pedestal. Their think-tanks and strategists have been found out for not warning of ground situations. The US-Britain led Resolution against Sri Lanka is a textbook case of such failure and these countries trying to impose their will irrespective of ground realities. Their double standards are exposed as they flag their standard manual for good governance and human rights in other countries, while blacks in the US demand equal rights saying Black lives matter and new immigrants get a raw deal in Europe. They too need a Lessons Learnt Commission for themselves.

The UNHRC itself is now in focus as to what action it will take after a domestic inquiry such as the Chilcot report has found grounds for a further probe into violations of International Humanitarian Law by US and British leaders. This is not to say that the world must do nothing when genocides are taking place but the R2P (Right to Protect) doctrine pronounced by Western human rights groups seems a mere attempt at neo-colonialism when Western leaders are not brought to trial for alleged crimes they commit against humanity on the world stage.
By PTI: From Shirish B Pradhan

Kathmandu, Jul 10 (PTI) An Indian soldier has been killed after being hit by an overspeeding bus in Nepal close to India border.

Romiyo Beniya of Indias central armed police force Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) met with the accident late last night when he was riding his motorcycle at Haripur village in Sunsari district of southern Nepal along the East-West highway.

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The overspeeding bus hit his bike from behind, leaving him in a pool of blood. He was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital in Birpur in India where he was declared brought dead upon arrival.

Two pedestrians were also injured in the accident and their condition was said to be out of danger.

Police have impounded the bus and arrested the errant driver. PTI SBP CPS

--- ENDS ---
Juno: What will we learn about planet Jupiter? View(s):

A Nasa spacecraft called Juno has begun its orbit of the planet Jupiter.

July 5, 2016

Scientists held their breath as they waited to see whether Juno would make it into orbit  or whether it would just fly off and miss Jupiter completely. Luckily, it successfully began its orbit on Tuesday.

Its part of a special mission to help scientists find out more about our biggest planet, and how the solar system began.

Juno blasted off in 2011, and will now orbit Jupiter 32 times  floating just 3,100 miles above the planets cloud tops, for around one year.

During this time it will be gathering lots of research and feeding it back to scientists here on Earth. There will also be three passengers on the spacecraft  these three Lego figures. They are the Roman god Jupiter, his wife Juno and the 17th century Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei.

They had to be made from aluminium rather than plastic so they could cope with the extreme conditions of going into space.

What are we hoping to learn about Jupiter?

Junos main goal is to try to understand how Jupiter was formed and how it has changed over the years.

Scientists hope that by researching this, they will have a better idea of how other giant gas planets are created in different solar systems as well as our own.

This is because Jupiter is one of our largest planets, and its likely it was one of the first planets in our solar system to form when a huge cloud of dust and gas collapsed more than four million years ago.

Its mostly made from two gases, hydrogen and helium, which are also present in the Sun.

So, scientists think that by studying Jupiters atmosphere they will learn more about how our planets formed.

What is Jupiters atmosphere like?

Jupiter has a very thick layer of gas and cloud surrounding it.

Scientists hope that by observing these clouds, and discovering what they are made of, monitoring their temperature, and movements, they can learn more about the planet and other gas planets.

One of the things they are hoping to find out, is how much water and ammonia is in Jupiters atmosphere.

Does it have a core?

Researchers are hoping to find out whether or not Jupiter has a solid core in the middle of the planet.

As it is covered in a thick layer of gas, it has been very hard for scientists to learn more about its structure in the past.

However, Juno is equipped with some pretty special gadgets which they are hoping will reveal the secrets of Jupiters centre.

It will help to research Jupiters gravitational and magnetic fields, to help figure out how big its core is, or if it even has one!
Just for laughs with Playing Doctor By Duvindi Illankoon View(s): View(s):

R ob Brewster is in trouble. Hes a struggling writer scraping his way through city life with an interesting circle of friends but a not so interestingly poor fortune to his name. His parents think hes a doctor, hes definitely not a doctor, and now theyre about to pop in for a long overdue visit. Rob has to think fast-does he own up to his lies or live a double life for the day?

Since we cant have a farcical comedy without an actual farce, and because you would have been thoroughly disappointed if Rob had chosen the morally righteous path, playwrights Billy Van Zandt and Jane Milmore chose the latter option for their protagonist. Playing Doctor unravels as Rob hilariously stumbles his way through this parental visit, casting his friends as colleagues and patients in an imaginary life as a doctor.

Director Vinodh Senadeera chose the script for his 60th production as he is quite fond of this particular play-he first staged it in 1996 with a cast from S.Thomas College Mt Lavinia (where he used to be a teacher before joining the faculty of Colombo International School) and it was met with resounding success.

Vinodh returns with not just one, but three original cast members from that 1996 production reprising the same roles. Shanaka Amarasinghe plays Rob Brewster, Delon Weerasinghe his roommate Jimmy and Ravin Fernando Chuck, their slightly psychotic next door neighbour. Shanaka says that he has more empathy for his character this time around-now that hes taking it on with 20 years of hindsight. His character Rob holds the plot together; as in most farces, hes the solid, grounded character while those around him take on exaggerated, more comic roles.

Delons character Jimmy is a struggling actor-hes not very good, smiles Delon but hes enthusiastic. Jimmy plays multiple patients to Robs doctor. Ravin, on the other hand, plays the psychotic Chuck who has it out for Jimmy-Chuck knows that Jimmy and his ex-wife Maureen are on more than friendly terms.

Then we have Chucks ex-wife Maureen, played by Pramukshi Kariyawasam. This is Pramukshis first time on the stage for a public production; Vinodh was her speech and drama teacher during school and somehow she never found time to be more involved afterwards. Hopefully, this is just the beginning, she says -Ive already learnt so much from everyone in the cast. Maureen is a naive, idealistic young woman. Shes also Jimmys love interest.

Ashini Nanayakkara plays Max, a seemingly naive, yet strong willed young woman. Max pretends to be Robs secretary when his parents visit. Working with Vinodh has been a learning experience, says Ashini. Comedy requires a lot of pacing and energy and working on that hasnt been easy. But Vinodh has given us space to breathe and develop our own characters and thats been very nice.

And what of the poor Brewsters who think their son Rob saves lives by day? Michelle Herft and her husband Jivan Goonetilleke are simply exchanging their own home for the stage to play a married couple-but with very different dynamics. In the play, Michelles character Janet has one of the most interesting story arcs-shes a submissive society wife who finds her own voice over the plays duration to stand up to her bully of a husband Robert, played by Jeevan.

Rounding up the cast we have Danu Innasithamby, playing Uncle Harold. The ultimate hypochondriac, Uncle Harold is brought over by the Brewsters to be diagnosed by Rob. He does not walk away from this well. To find out just how (and also whether Robs farce turns out to be a success) catch Playing Doctor at the Lionel Wendt next weekend.

Playing Doctor is on at the Lionel Wendt from 15-17 July from 7.30 pm onwards. Tickets priced at Rs 1500, 1000, 800 and 600 (balcony) are available at the venue. This production is staged by arrangement with Samuel French Inc.Directed by Vinodh Senadheera and produced by Marlon Jesudason as a Combined Theatre Company production.
Sharing spaces with books and coffee By AnneMarie De Silva Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf partner with British Council Library to open a cafe in the tech hub of Orion City View(s): View(s):

Over the years coffee and tea have become staples in the lives of both students and professionals; helping them meet deadlines, stay up late or simply just get through the day. Coffee houses have been known to be the favoured meeting places of some of the greatest writers, philosophers, scientists and entrepreneurs the world has ever seen. Previous centuries saw coffee houses bringing people together to brainstorm, share ideas and debate.

An ice blended coffee and a fascinating book is a welcome escape from the dusty pavements and scorching hot sun down Baseline Road, Colombo 9. Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (CBTL) have paired with the British Council Library to offer a refuge for those who enjoy a good book with a cup of coffee or tea at Orion City.

In this day and age of change and innovation, CBTL has adapted to meet the needs of different customers around the world. Not only can you hold meetings or catch-ups in their cafe, you can start-up your laptop, plug in your earphones, connect to the free WiFi and simply isolate yourself from the outside world while you study or race against time to meet deadlines.When you decide to take a break, there is a PlayStation console and screen to help you de-stress.

Established in California in 1963 by founder Herb Hyman, the CBTL is known for providing great coffee with tailor-made blends and roasts for their customers. There are 20 different varieties of tea, hand-plucked and hand-blended under the direction of CBTLs tea master. They offer 30 different types of coffee that consist of the worlds top 1% of Arabica beans.

Director and CEO of Orion City Jeevan Gnanam shared that, this collaboration is very much in the spirit of what we believe is the future of knowledge-sharing spaces in Sri Lanka.

The British Councils Country Director Keith Davis expressed his delight at being part of the partnership. This is a time when libraries are being reinvented  as convening spaces, providing access to the highest quality print and digital resources in an informal and welcoming environment, together with good coffee and other refreshments and we are at the forefront of this Library Revolution, he said.

The casual California-style layout of the cafe is designed to be your home away from home.With free WiFi and a great selection of books, magazines and newspapers, this cafe will cater to your every need. The cafe also provides meeting rooms and can host private events that can accommodate up to 125 people. It also provides an outdoor smoking and socialising terrace.

If you arent a big coffee or tea-drinker, you can tuck into the food. The cakes and pastries are baked in-house, every day. Some of the best-selling items on the menu include wraps, sandwiches, an all-day breakfast and their recently added gourmet pizza and burgers.

The Chairman of Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf in Sri Lanka Roman Scott explains that our vision is to create Colombos version of the great 18th century coffee houses of Europe. Stocked with books, fuelled by caffeine and patronised by the great minds of the day, they were the ultimate catalyst for creativity and innovation. Our hope is that this space will become the second home not just for Orion Citys tech talent, but for all of Colombos thinkers, writers and dreamers.
TEDxColombo 2016: Blueprint of Change! View(s):

In a world sworn by the mannerisms of a status quo, the only way to break out would seem to lie in the hands of select individuals who strive to make a difference- a difference that we can all relate to. TEDxColombo is one of Sri Lankas oldest and largest TEDx events having sparked inspiration since 2011.This year the energetic team behind the brand will be hosting their next grand scale TEDx event with a seating capacity of over 900. With six speakers and two performers carefully handpicked after a thorough screening process based on global TED standards and regulations, the event presents itself with a new theme this year around, aptly titled- Blueprint of Change.

Change is a constant process that affects us as a society and as an individuals. It can cut across different fields and disciplines, impacting human lives in multiple areas. Sri Lanka has seen an increased development in infrastructure, connecting diverse people from across the island. Simultaneously, there is a boom in different industries with startups and small industries mushrooming across the country. Therefore, it is now more important than ever to engage with these phenomena of change in everyday life.

This years TEDxColombo event will revolve around the concepts of original ideas, challenges, passions, experience and inspirations. The event seeks to help the audience ideate the theme of Blueprint of Change and to then try and define it in their own terms. It is set to spark the thought process of what influenced the idea, and how it has unleashed a method to meet unmet needs. Individuals at the event would be induced to question themselves as to what change they can make, be it even on a personal level in order to be able to cope and adapt to the inevitable boon of variation that stands before us.
Brave ranger killed in showdown at poisoned waterhole By Kasun Warakapitiya Ruthless poachers kill innocent animals for festival gluttony View(s): View(s):

Six Wildlife Department officers, two armed with rifles, waited in ambush for more than two hours in the Sinukkugala jungles 16km from Hambantota town. Their mission was to arrest poachers poisoning wild animals to sell their flesh.

Leading the party, the Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the Hambantota Wildlife Range, Ajith Gunatunga, waited patiently in the scrub close to a pond to which poison had been introduced by the poachers; nearby lay a deer that had died after drinking the water.

The officers had received information that this waterhole had been poisoned.

Shortly before dawn, two men approached the carcass of the deer. One of them waited at a distance near his motorcycle while the other approached the dead deer. As he tried to carry the carcass away the officers pounced.

One officer grabbed one of the hunters while the other fled and some of us gave chase. The officers struggle with the captured hunter intensified but the hunter escaped his grip, Mr. Gunatunga said.

Our Deputy Ranger, Jagath Seneviratne, who was armed with a rifle, jumped on the hunter who was trying to escape. A few minutes into the struggle the weapon went off, causing injury to the officers stomach region.

The injured officer was rushed to Hambantota Hospital but was pronounced dead on admission.

Ranger Seneviratne, 43, was a father of two and had taken part in several raids.

The suspect was eventually apprehended and produced in court and remanded until July 20. The other man escaped.

The team of wildlife officers mourned not only the loss of another officer but also a close friend.

The loss of our comrade is a loss for us. We will help his family and continue our fight against poachers, OIC Gunatunga said, adding that the department had put on extra patrols after receiving information about poachers.

The OIC revealed that poaching in Hambantota during the Kataragama Perahera season had increased as poachers were providing wild meat for perahera visitors as well as ordinary tourists.

Small deer species, wild boar, porcupines, birds and even bats and squirrel fell victim to the poachers, who used nooses, traps and trap guns to kill the animals.

Even other animals that are inedible end up maimed and dead due to these hunting methods, the OIC said.

This time they were using agricultural chemicals in water to kill animals and we had to take urgent action to prevent further animal deaths, Mr, Gunatunga said.

The police said the poacher would be charged under the Wildlife Conservation Act.

The President of the All-Island Wildlife Association, Chaminda Priyalal Attanayake, said the weapons given to wildlife rangers were too bulky for use in such raids. The officers use shotguns, repeater rifles that need to be manually loaded.

Poachers have better guns, better camouflage and political backing from various ministers and even from religious leaders who want to encroach on jungle land, he said.

He said the rangers need a camouflage uniform and automatic pistols.

The incident comes in the wake of the increase in poaching in wildlife parks and forest reserves. Among the detections this week, a local politician from Wennappuwa who was transporting a slaughtered sambar deer was arrested in Nuwara Eliya and remanded (see side story on this page).

Supun Lahiru Prakash, environmentalist and researcher at the Biodiversity Conservation and Research Circle of Sri Lanka, said wildlife officers should be able to draw on assistance from the armed forces and police.

The wildlife officers should be empowered to carry out raids even on eateries where they sell animal flesh and even places where they store carcasses, he said.

Whenever people are allowed to travel through forest or wildlife reserves or parks during religious festivals the government should also be able to deploy officers to ensure that the wild animals are protected, Mr. Prakash said.

Sajeewa Chamikara of the Environmental Conservation Trust said poaching was taking place in Yala, the Knuckles Range, Panwila, Sinharaja, Wasgamuwa and Hambantota wildlife parks and forest reserves.

He said that due to poaching some endemic animals have been wiped out in areas which also disturbed the food chain eco-system.

Mr. Chamikara said wildlife officers needed more training in use of weapons and combating poachers.

He said currently the Department lacked a Director-General and this adversely affected its work.

Environmental lawyer Jagath Gunawardena said the killing of any animal with poison was illegal according to the Flora and Fauna Protection Act while culling fish using poison was also outlawed by the Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Act and culprits could be fined as well as imprisoned.

Dont eat poisoned jungle meat Eating the flesh of poisoned wild animals can be dangerous, the Colombo Municipal Councils chief veterinary surgeon, Dr. Vipula Dharmawardena warned.He pointed out that in the meat industry animals were never slaughtered with poison because poison given to the animal could be transferred to the consumer. In slaughterhouses, animals were checked by a vet before and after they are killed. Usually wild animals are killed in a hurry by unconventional methods as the slaughter is illegal, and usually hidden in the jungle until the killers find a means of transport, Dr. Dharmawardena said. Because of these conditions the meat can be poisonous, rotten, eaten by other animals, infected with maggots and contain unknown bacteria, he said. The transport of this meat is carried out without using freezers  the animal is just skinned and the meat is even wrapped in the same skin. This meat can make people seriously ill, he warned.

Brave rangers family calls for justice The family of the Department of Wildlife officer killed during a raid on poachers this week called for stern action to control poaching.The government should to take serious action against poachers who kill animals. Otherwise people like my son who protect the rights animals, would meet with such tragic incidents, Giyagunage Wijeratne, father-in-law of the dead ranger, Jagath Seneviratne, said. He called on the government to take care of his daughter and two children, who are eight and four years old. Mr. Wijeratne said his daughter, 40-year-old Madurangi Pushpa, a teacher of Konkarahena School, did not earn enough to provide enough for her boys, Dananjaya and Dinedya. The widowed Mrs. Seneviratne said her husband was a brave officer who regularly took part in such raids. He sacrificed his life while trying to protect animals. The authorities should take stern action against those involved in poaching, she said. The Director of Operations at the Department of Wildlife Conservation, S. Pathiratna, said the department would take care of the dead rangers funeral.
Compromise on fishing dispute: Northern fishermen vow to overturn boats View(s):

Northern fishermen leaders have sought a meeting with President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to protest over proposals to grant fishing licences to a limited number of Indian fishermen to fish in Lankan waters.

The Sunday Times last week exclusively reported that a proposal to grant fishing licences to a limited number of Indian fishermen was under consideration. Jaffna Fishermen Association leader Naganathy Ponnambalam said this proposal came from the Indian side and Sri Lankas fishermen would oppose it strongly. He said they would not allow anyone to impose a proposal on them.

He said the fishermen would seek a clear decision by the Government before the proposed visit of Fisheries Minister Mahinda Amaraweera to New Delhi soon.

Meanwhile, the Northern Fishermens Unity Alliance, which consists of fishermen cooperative societies across five districts, is scheduled to stage a protest on Tuesday outside the Northern Provincial Council (NPC) building to oppose the proposal.

We will not allow Indian fishermen to fish under any circumstances or special arrangements, said V. Sumbramuniyam, President of the Jaffna Fishermens Cooperative Societies Union.

This week alone, at least 39 Indian fishermen were arrested for poaching in the northern seas and have been remanded. At present, 73 Indian fishermen and 101 fishing trawlers are in custody.
Conditional promotion for absent war-time officers View(s):

Army Headquarters has adopted a new policy in respect of promotions for officers who had been absent without leave (AWOL) before May 20, 2009; the date coincides with the death of Velupillai Prabhakaran and the military defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

The LTTE leader was killed on May 19. The war years, an Army source said, saw a spike in officers and other ranks being absent without leave, especially as the war intensified in May, 2009.

In terms of instructions sent out by Major General N.J. Walgama, Military Secretary (on behalf of the Commander of the Army), officers in the rank of Majors and below will be considered for promotion to Lieutenant Colonel if all other perquisites are completed. However, they will not be considered for career courses/foreign visits/UN deployment. They will still be eligible for non-career courses with duration of less than 90 days.

Officers who have already been promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and commanding a battalion will be promoted to the next rank of Colonel a day prior to their retirement. They will not be considered for further command or granted career or other courses exceeding 90 days.

The Army circular comes after a Board of Officers was named to recommend policy for promotion purposes since such criteria did not exist in an expanding Army. The policy has different criteria for different ranks depending on those who were AWOL for less than 14 days and between 15 and 21 days before 20 May, 2009.
Free stents not this year; sales continue at exorbitant prices View(s):

By Chrishanthi Christopher

The provision of free stents for heart patients has been shelved till next year due to the lack of budgetary allocations this year  while private company sales representatives are hanging around the Cardiology Unit selling stents at exorbitant prices.

Health Ministry Secretary Anura Jayawickrema said the Government had earlier promised to provide stents free of charge this year, but this would not be possible.

He said a committee comprising top officials and cardiologists would discuss the costs, the quality, the quantity and other aspects before importing the stents next year.

Last week, Health, Minister Rajitha Senartne said arrangements were underway to provide stents free of charge to heart patients at an estimated cost of Rs. 1.2 billion.

He said the Government wished to intervene because private companies were selling low quality stents at exorbitant prices.

Sri Lanka Heart Association President Dr. Rohan Gunewardena welcomed the move saying several patients with coronary diseases needed stents. He said that even those who needed bypass surgery but had no means of doing it were managing with stents.

He said it would be beneficial as buying stents from outside was expensive and beyond the means of a common man. The prices could range from Rs. 100,000 to Rs. 250,000. The stents would be less costly when the Government called for tenders and bought in bulk, he said.

Dr. Gunawardena has been trained in Cardiac Electrophysiology at Royal Freeman Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. His expertise is in management of cardiac rhythm disorders, syncope and resynchronization therapy for heart failure.

He said the stents would be given on a first come first basis, but those with multiple blocks and serious conditions would be given preference.

Commenting on pharmaceutical companies whose sales representatives hang around selling stents at the Cardiology Unit of the National Hospital, Dr. Gunawardena said that at present they are a necessary evil because of the non-availability of stents in the hospital.

P. Sayanthan, president of the Chamber of Medical Devices Industry, he was confident the demand for the stent will not drop as the Government could not give stents free of charge to all heart patients. He said they would also be able to sell their stents in private hospitals.
GSP Plus  EC shortens list of conditions View(s):

The European Commission has imposed upon Sri Lanka fifteen conditions in return for granting the GSP Plus trade concession  considerably whittled down from the list of 58 strictures it had originally slapped on.

The shorter list  which was first communicated to the Sri Lanka Government in June 2010 and to which the European Commission (EC) has now reverted  calls upon the Government to carry out such reforms as reducing the number of derogations to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

Sources close to the European Union said the shift from the longer list of 58 conditions to the revised one was due to concerns about Sri Lankas economic health and about the legality and fairness of imposing new, more stringent, criteria on the new Government than what was required of the Rajapaksa Government.

The shorter list was sent to the Government in June 2010, six months after the GSP Plus was withdrawn, stating that the preferences could be extended for a limited additional period subject to a clear commitment by Sri Lanka to fulfill all 15 conditions spelt out.

But in an official response to the European Commission sent that same month, the Sri Lanka Government contended that the position taken up by the Commission involves the imposition of a series of conditions, the cumulative effect of which is clearly inconsistent with Sri Lankas sovereignty.

When President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe assumed power, however, they started fresh negotiations through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. And, in a marked departure from earlier policy, the current regime has already implemented several of the demands made by the EC in exchange for the GSP Plus concession. The Government has gone far enough in the process to be able to lodge its application for the GSP Plus, which it recently did.

The EC list urges the Government to ensure that the key objective of the 17th Amendment to the Constitution, namely to provide for independent and impartial appointments to key public positions, is fully safeguarded; and to repeal those sections of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) which are incompatible with the ICCPR or amending them so as to make them clearly compatible with ICCPR.

It wishes the Government to respond to a significant number of individual cases currently pending before the UN Working Group on Enforced Disappearances; and to ensure journalists can exercise their professional duties without harassment. It calls upon the Government to take the legislative steps necessary to allow individuals to submit complaints to the UN Human Rights Committee under the First Optional Protocol to the ICCPR and to the UN Committee against Torture (UNCAT) under Article 22.

The Optional Protocol establishes an individual complaints mechanism for the ICCPR; Article 22 allows State parties to recognise the competence of the Committee against Torture to hear complaints from individuals about violations of the Convention against Torture by a State party.

Additionally, the EU wants Government to repeal the remaining part of the 2005 Emergency Regulations  notably those concerning detention without trial, restrictions on freedom of movement, ouster of jurisdiction and immunity  and to repeal the 2006 Emergency Regulations. If the Government considers it essential to retain certain provisions which are compatible with the ICCPR or UNCAT, such as provisions concerning possession of weapons, such provisions should be transferred to the Criminal Code.

Among the ECs conditions which the incumbent Government has announced its intention to comply with is the adoption of amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure. These provide for the right of a suspect to see a lawyer immediately following his or her arrest. The Government has already provided for the visits of several UN Special Rapporteurs. This was another stipulation. It is also finalising the first draft of the new counter-terrorism legislation to replace the PTA. Several other measures remain to be adopted.

However, the shorter list is considerably more lenient than the earlier one which the EU had conveyed to the Government. This had imposed more detailed and specific requirements complete with timelines for implementation.

They included revoking the PTA; expediting cases of remaining detainees; introducing a new Human Rights Action Plan (also in the shorter list); reviewing the status of Tamil diaspora organisations and individuals on the terrorist list; devolving power under a new Constitution; returning all private lands to owners in the North; adopting a policy of National Reconciliation and on National Resettlement; finalising the resettlement of all displaced persons; ratifying the Convention on Enforced Disappearances with accompanying legislation; and issuing certificates of absence.

They also comprised rehabilitation of all ex-combatants; amending the Code of Criminal Procedure to include the rights of detainees (also in shorter list); adopting new regulations for public disorder management by police; reviewing the Public Security Ordinance; and establishing an Office of Missing Persons. The Government is now implementing a mixture of both lists.
Litro Gas tender under a cloud, Minister orders independent probe View(s):

The Ministry of Public Enterprise Development will commission independent procurement specialists to investigate the recent award of a lucrative gas tender to a Singapore-based company by Litro Gas Lanka Ltd.

I am not happy with what happened, Public Enterprise Development Minister Kabir Hashim told the Sunday Times. I have received complaints that the process was not transparent. However, the Board of Directors of Litro is defending it. The Ministry has some issues.

Instructions have been given to the Secretary to the Ministry of Enterprise Development, Ravindra Hewavitharana to look into the award of the tender and file a report, a spokesman for the Ministers office said. Litro Gas is a fully-owned subsidiary of Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation (SLIC) which falls under the Ministry of Enterprise Development. However, its majority shareholder is the Treasury.

In April 2016, Litro Gas called for tenders for the supply of 250,000 metric tons of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) for the period 2016/2017. The requirement was to be evenly spread over a period of one year. LPG was to be supplied in ocean tankers and discharged at the Litro Gas terminal off Kerawalapitiya or at the Hambantota Port. The Bid Bond was specified at US$ 1 million.

Under the National Procurement Guidelines, when the bids are opened, the Bid Opening Committee must read out to those present the names of each bidder and the bid amount in the form of bid; whether or not a bid security or bid security declaration was submitted; and any discounts offered. However, these were not observed by the Committee appointed for this particular tender. Only the names of the bidders were revealed, according to a participant. After receiving complaints in this regard from bidders who participated in the tender, Mr Hewavitharanathe and SLIC Chairman Hemaka Amarasuriya wrote separately to the Litro Gas management, instructing them to suspend the process until further inquiry. These instructions were ignored, according to Minister Hashims office.

Soon afterwards, Litro Gas, in half-page advertisements in local newspapers, featuring its Chairman Shalila Moonesinghe and its Managing Director Muditha Pieris, said that, both the technical and commercial evaluation teams ranked and picked Shell Eastern Trading Pte Ltd as the winner of the tender. The notice also stated that the tender Board meeting was held with the participation of an official from the Public Enterprise Development Ministry.

Unsuccessful parties were notified by way of a letter dated June 21, 2016, of their failure to be awarded the contract, without any reasons given as to why their applications did not make the cut. These, and other factors have caused failed bidders to suspect that the decision to award the tender to Shell Easternwhich was also the winner for the 2015/2016 contractwas predetermined.

We feel this was predetermined, said the local representative of one company who reached out to this newspaper. Already, the supplier was selected. They fabricated the atmosphere to award the tender to the favoured party.

Litro Gas Chairman, Mr Moonesinghe, said they had followed in-house procurement guidelines, if not the National Procurement Guidelines. He said it was the first time all participating bidders had been invited to be present at the bid opening. Asked whether all parties had submitted the bid bond on time, he said the relevant information can be obtained from the Ministry if requested, and in the proper forum. He said it had been a collective decision to award the tender to Shell Eastern.
While the news of Suleiman emerging victorious on India's Got Talent must've already reached you, we bet you still don't know these things about him .

Suleiman was declared the winner in a star-studded ceremony last night. Photo: Yogen Shah

By India Today Web Desk: Serving as a perfect conclusion to the latest season of India's Got Talent, flautist Suleiman was declared as its winner in a star-studded Grand Finale last night.

While the news of the phenomenally talented boy emerging victorious on the seventh edition of India's Got Talent must've already reached you, we bet there are some things you still don't know about the 13-year-old prodigy who hails from Amritsar.

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Also Read: Congrats! Flautist Suleiman, 13, wins India's Got Talent Season 7

6 of them being:



Suleiman started taking flute-playing lessons from his father--who himself is an eminent flautist--at the age of three. The talented boy's performances had already kick started at the age of five. Suleiman is currently training under maestro Hariprasad Chaurasia. Bollywood action movies have a special place in Suleiman's heart.His favourite actors include John Abraham( whom he had the pleasure of meeting on IGT's finale) and Hrithik Roshan. Suleiman is obsessed with popular cartoon character, Doraemon. After being declared the winner on India's Got Talent season seven, he now plans to study for his upcoming exams.

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Over-staffed Fisheries Corp. offers Voluntary Retirement Scheme View(s):

The Fisheries Ministry has run into a crisis over the loss making Ceylon Fisheries Corporation with an over staffing issue and workers demanding that Government offers them compensation by selling the premises of the corporation.

Fisheries Minister Mahinda Amaraweera told the Sunday Times that the Ministry had offered a Voluntary Retirement Scheme, but only 105 workers had agreed to accept the scheme.

He said that workers have pointed out that if the State did not have money to pay them adequate compensation, the Government should sell the CFC premises located at Modera and pay compensation.

He said discussions are underway on how to resolve the matter.
Billion-rupee eco-tourism hotel project in Delft Island falls apart By Namini Wijedasa Four years of paperwork comes to naught; developer asked to find an alternate location View(s): View(s):

A billion-rupee project to erect an eco-tourism hotel on remote Delft Island in the North has been vetoed by the Prime Ministers office even after developers spent four years finishing paperwork.

Proposed by a local company called Palk Bay Resorts Ltd, the venture was backed by the Northern Provincial Council and the Board of Investment. But the Prime Minister recently decided it should be shifted elsewhere, BOI sources said this week. Therefore, the developers  who had taken four years to complete tedious approvals  have now been told to find a different location for the project.

We spent several years travelling up and down, dealing with government departments, ministries, meeting the Chief Minister and BOI officials, said Bernard Goonetilkeke, a Director of Palk Bay Resorts along with Kandasamypillai Balasundaram and Rajan Asirwatham. Considerable human effort was expended.

The project was pushed by the previous regime through the Ministry of Investment Promotion. However, it became victim to a Government and policy change, illustrating the risks companies face in considering Sri Lanka as a venue to park their monies. The developers experience also provides insight into the multitudinous steps that must be followed to jumpstart a private venture, particularly if State-owned land is involved.

Palk Bay Resorts was floated as a special purpose BOI-approved company by Mercantile Merchant Bank Ltd (MMBL) in 2012. MMBL had earlier teamed up with Jetwing Hotels to set up the three-star Jetwing Jaffna which opened this year and the intention was to replicate the success of that project. It was initially proposed to spend Rs. 600 million on the hotel but the figure was revised to Rs. 1 billion.

We did not have a foreign investor, to begin with, Mr Goonetilleke explained. Our modus operandi is to get the necessary approvals, then go for investors and put up the project. This was how we did Jaffna Jetwing. The major investors for Jaffna Jetwing were local but it also had the backing of a party from Norway.

Negotiations to set up the ecotourism hotel in Delft, or Neduntheevu, started in 2012. The priority was to secure via lease a 40-acre plot of State-owned land on the island. A suitable property was identified in 2014 in conjunction with the then Northern Province Governor G. A. Chandrasiri, and Northern MP Douglas Devananda, a strongman in Delft.

The developer approached the Department of Land Administration in the North and also met Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran. He secured the consent of the Northern Provincial Council within two weeks and a recommendation was sent to the Land Commissioner Generals Department in Colombo, Mr Goonetilleke recounted.

The Land Commissioner then wanted Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority approval in order to lease out the land. But the SLTDA wanted title deeds to the land or the lease agreement. Without it, we couldnt submit an application to the SLTDA and, without an application, the SLTDA could not say yes to the project, Mr. Goonetilleke said. Meanwhile, the Land Commissioner wanted SLTDA approval. He asked how else he could guarantee that we would implement the project after securing the land. After much to-and-fro, the problem was solved when the SLTDA and Urban Development Authority issued no-objection letters.

A Cabinet paper was then presented by the Ministry of Investment Promotion. This led to the Ministry of Finance advising that the project be referred to the Standing Cabinet Appointed Review Committee (SCARC), which was the procedure followed for unsolicited proposals. More form-filling followed before the papers were sent in to the SCARC.

In the meantime, however, the Government changed and the SCARC was disbanded. And the developer, one year and two months later, received a letter from the BOI hailing the project as a good one but stating that a different location will have to be found for it in consultation with the Northern Provincial Council.

Our point was that this was a neglected island, Mr Goonetilleke said. While the population in other parts of the Peninsula had risen, it had gone down in Delft. The young people had no jobs. The only employment was generated by a small, Navy-run garment unit.

The developer had planned to build on Delfts colonial heritage and to also introduce a breeding programme for the islands famed wild ponies after learning that many of them perished without water or fodder during dry season. Construction of the hotel was to have been done using local materials so as not to be obtrusive to the natural surroundings of the island.

Environmentalists interviewed by the Sunday Times said that a well-conceptualised eco-tourism project implemented on the basis of a professionally conducted Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) would serve an underdeveloped island like Delft well. However, the Palk Bay Resort venture did not go that far.

To do anything, we must have the land with clear parameters; a document in your hand in the form of a title deed or lease, explained Mr. Goonetilleke. We cannot do EIAs for Government land. Trying to do things with Government land in Sri Lanka is like hitting ones head against a rock.

Only a project of this kind can be effectively used in a place like Delft, a senior Government official said, on condition of anonymity. No other agricultural or industrial project is feasible on that island. If there is someone willing to invest that amount of money, it is plain silly not to use it after a proper EIA and so forth.

It was also a comprehensive proposal that included the building of a small reservoir and a breeding ground for the world famous wild ponies, he continued. It would have used the local attractions like the unique Delft corals. It would have been ideal for tourists who prefer seclusion. Infrastructure would have come up with a new jetty and ferry service. One cannot understand why, when an investor is willing to invest in all that, we are not encouraging that investment.
Port workers death: Coroner summons Indian skipper View(s):

The Colombo city coroner has ordered police to produce the captain of an Indian ship for an inquiry over the death of a Port worker who was assisting to dock the vessel. A co-worker who was also injured and is currently in hospital said he and the victim had boarded the ship on Monday to secure the hawser to the dock when the rope hit both of them.

The victim fell on the deck of the ship hitting his head. Both were rushed to the National Hospital, where the victim passed away on Thursday. Colombo coroner Ashroff Rumi ordered that the captain be produced in court on July 11. The postmortem was conducted by the National Hospital J.M.O. Dr. Utpala Artigalle who concluded that death was due to injuries to the brain and spine.
Presidents visit to Batticaloa marred by killing View(s):

By Chris Kamalendran

The killing of a villager during a party by construction workers has led to the postponement of todays opening by President Maithripala Sirisena of a tourist hotel at Pasikudah in Batticaloa.

The President will, however, go ahead with other events including the opening of the domestic airport in Batticaloa, the refurbished Webber Stadium, an upgraded school play ground and a school prize giving.A senior police officer said the clash occurred a few metres away from the hotel when the constructions workers were having a party to mark the completion of their work on the four-star hotel, part of a chain owned by a Colombo-based businessman.

There was an argument among the workers. A village fishermen tried to settle the dispute, but was beaten up and then stabbed with a bottle, the officer said. The victim was identified as Thambipillai Thangarasa, 51.

Eight suspects have been arrested and remanded till July 22.
RTI law now in force View(s):

The Right to Information Act is now in force with Speaker Karu Jayasuriya giving his assent to the Act on Thursday.

The Bill was passed unanimously in Parliament on June 24. However, in terms of the Act, certain provisions will come into effect only after six months.

The law provides the citizens the right to access official information with certain exemptions such as information relating to national security. Sri Lanka became the fifth country in South Asia to enact Right to Information legislation.
Salawa disaster: Bailout package Rs. 1,200 million View(s):

By Sandun Jayawardana

The bailout package for the civilians who lost their property in the Salawa ammunition depot explosions will cost more than Rs. 1,200 million, a senior Government official told the Sunday Times.

Colombo District Secretary Sunil Kannangara said officials had completed the final damage assessment of the incident and had found 2,014 houses and business establishments had either been destroyed or damaged.

It has been estimated that Rs.1,209 million will be needed to pay compensation. We conveyed this to the Ministry of Disaster Management on Thursday. It will now have to go before Cabinet for the necessary funds to be approved, Mr. Kannangara said.

In Salawa, residents on Friday launched fresh protests, holding up traffic on the Colombo-Avissawella main road for two hours claiming that the Government was delaying the payment of compensation and the monthly house rent.

While the Government has estimated that the compensation payment will amount to Rs. 1,200 million residents have claimed that the valuation was much lower than the actual damage.

They have threatened to intensify their protests from tomorrow if they were not paid the monthly rental of Rs. 50,000 as promised.

However, Seethawaka Divisional Secretary M.M.S.K. Bandara said that 401 families were already getting the monthly rental of Rs. 50,000 and a list containing the names of about 200 more families was sent to the Ministry of Disaster Management this week for approval.

He said appeals regarding damage assessments could be made to a committee appointed for this purpose.

District Secretary Kannangara said the Governments position was that families whose houses were heavily damaged would be paid the monthly rental of Rs. 50,000 to live elsewhere until their houses were rebuilt.

That should not be misconstrued as meaning all those whose houses sustained damage would be paid the allowance, he said.

Disaster Management Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa said they had been able to assess the property damage within a short period.

Once the final assessment comes to us, we will go to the Cabinet and get the money, he said. The Minister insisted the Government had expedited the payment of compensation.

He said that in addition to the Rs. 50,000 rent for those whose houses were heavily damaged, the Cabinet last week approved the payment of Rs. 10,000 each for those who had lost their means of livelihood as a result of the disaster.

Meanwhile, the military has repaired about 825 houses damaged by the explosions while repairs to a about 40 more houses were ongoing, according to Military Spokesman Jayanath Jayaweera.
Write on, say these writers Louis de Bernieres, Rohan Candappa, Peter Grimsdale and Stephanie Calman who are here for the two-day literary event, Words on the Mount, that ends today,talk about their experiences as authors with Purnima Pilapitiya View(s): View(s):

Just keep writing. It may sound cliched, hardly a profound piece of advice, but for acclaimed writers- Louis de Bernieres, Rohan Candappa, Peter Grimsdale and Stephanie Calman, its the best nugget of advice they can offer, and probably the hardest to follow. Here for Words on the Mount a two-day literary event, it is still possible to catch the authors at the hotel for their late morning/ afternoon master classes at the Mount Lavinia Hotel today.

Louis de Bernieres needs little introduction. The British writer first came into the limelight four books into his career with Captain Corellis Mandolin winning the Commonwealth Writers Prize. Whether it is remembered by A/L students as a school text or the 2001 film starring Nicholas Cage and Penelope Cruz, the novel has quietly established itself as a contemporary classic and a pivotal book in de Bernieres career. I cant get away from it, he shrugs.

Much like the foreign setting of Captain Corellis Mandolin, many of de Bernieres stories take place around the world, a tribute to his own familys travels. Interestingly, the first book of his 2015 trilogy, The Dust that Falls From Dreams ends in colonial Ceylon. He first visited Sri Lanka five years ago but his relationship with the island rewinds back to his grandparents in the 1920s. They came here as planters, he explains, which formed the basis for the trilogy. During WWII, his mother would return to Ceylon to serve in the Royal Navy, carrying with her a notebook in which she made notes about her stay in the country. Seated comfortably in the lobby of the Mount Lavinia hotel, de Bernieres own notebook sits close to him on the coffee table.

Although he never received formal training in writing- Ive never gone for a writing class he believes he grew up in an artistic home. My father used to write poetry, and his younger sister would take on the role of his first editor for his early scribbles. One of my teachers told me to read from all over the world, he says and with an armada of knowledge behind him, he confesses, Im easily influenced, falling in love with and learning from different styles of literature.

For de Bernieres, reading is essential in order to discover and develop ones style of writing. You cant write a thriller if you dont read one, he says pragmatically. Unassumingly, he does little to romanticize the life of a writer. I usually write very early or when everyone is asleep  for the simple reason of having to attend to his young children during the day.

You need to have faith, he adds. His decision to become a writer was one he was certain of by the time he was twelve. But it was only in his thirties that his dream would see first light. A schoolteacher when he first began, it took him a long time to find his writing voice. A good book has to give you something- intellectually and emotionally. Candid about his first novella and early works which he continually developed over time, the only good way to write, he reveals is to write for pleasure. I write for myself, he smiles.

Suspense and humour are two of the harder genres to master. But tackling the subjects at their master classes today will be writers Peter Grimsdale and Stephanie Calman. The couple had successful careers writing in television before finding their niche in writing thrillers and humorous fiction, respectively.

Born into a literary family, Calman who has authored over five books and is the founder of the successful www.badmothersclub.com grew up with a funny family. Her father, a political cartoonist was a major influence in her career. As a teenager she dabbled in improvised theatre with the Anna Scher Theatre where she met notable comic actors such as Andy Serkis . Her husbands family on the hand, she tells us had proper jobs. The two balance each other off in a typical ying-yang fashion. They shrug off the myth of a writers life, the same as de Bernieres. Peter even writes on the train, she reveals. She, on the other hand needs her cup of coffee before starting her writing ritual.

Grimsdales career as a television journalist brought him to Sri Lanka in 1984. During his stint, he kept a journal which years later would be the base for his first novel- A Perfect Night. The idea to switch careers had been at the back of his mind toward the tail end of his career in television. I felt like I had done everything I could with my job, he reflects quietly. Although he had written and won a few short story writing competitions in university, his writing career started from scratch.

Although A Perfect Night is based on Grimsdales diary, he realized while writing it that most of his initial content would go unused. I didnt know I was writing a thriller when I started, he admits. After having spent most of his adult life writing factual stories, writing fiction was a refreshing change for the author. But its also made him realize the need for writers to balance their passion for certain material against the practicality of their novel. It sounds very pretentious, but he isnt new to harsh criticism and the need to constantly re-mould his work. He remembers the first draft of his second book which his agent spent an entire hour critiquing and rejecting as Grimsdale sat in front of him, taking it all in. But I went back,  he recounts, waking up at three a.m. to rewrite the whole thing. Its best to just let your ideas run, adds Calman, recalling a piece of advice her mother once gave her.

Before becoming a writer in the 90s, Calman tried her hand at acting. Vivacious and uninhibited with her opinions, she is sure that her picture for the paper will do her dramatic mouth justice. Growing up with frizzy hair unlike the sleek, blonde actresses who were required, she discovered her own appeal in her self-deprecating, relatable sense of humour. I always looked like the odd one out, she says, ruffling her short wavy hair.

For Rohan Candappa, his ability to laugh at himself became a form of self-defence and helped shape his identity while growing up in England. Born to a Sri Lankan father and a Burmese mother, Candappas upbringing as a second generation immigrant has had a great influence on his novels over the past 18 years. His brand of humour goes back to his childhood where he would be one of the few brown kids in school. I knew I would get bullied about it, he smiles, but he took control of the situation and his sense of humour also became his identity.

When he lost his job in advertising, there was the opportunity to make writing a career. I had always wanted to write, he says. Yet, with 18 successful years behind him he has yet to accept his status as a writer. I write, he tries to explain himself. Looking back at his journey he feels that age has shaped his idea of success. He now sets his own goals. I really like meeting people now. Back in Sri Lanka after 25 years, his young family will be joining him next week. He remembers visiting once when he was 14, watching his fathers relationship with his friends and knowing that I had a connection with Sri Lanka, I just couldnt feel it then.

Over the past 18 years his best review, he describes, was a post he saw online. This lady had read my book and enjoyed every bit, just before she went in for chemotherapy, he says. For Rohan Candappa, a good book is just that- to know that what Ive written means something to someone. For him, the formula for writing is simple. Find the joy in the process, he smiles.

Today at Mount Lavinia Hotel Todays session of Words on the Mount will see Master classes for adults and young writers conducted by these four writers and local writers including Lal Medawattegedara, Shehan Karunatilaka and Ashok Ferrey. There are also workshops for children conducted by writer and illustrator Nicholas Allan. Entrance is free.
MRCP, FRCS and PhD View(s):

My readers will, I trust, forgive me if todays headline reads like the brass plate of a highly qualified medical specialist.

In the old days before Sri Lanka established its own Post Graduate Institute of Medicine, all medical specialists in this country had to obtain specialist qualifications from Britain. Physicians obtained the qualification MRCP (Member of the Royal College of Physicians) while surgeons qualified as FRCS (Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons). In order to obtain a specialists post in a government hospital, a doctor required either an FRCS or an MRCP as an essential qualification.

Unfortunately in our country over the past decade, important posts in the government appear to have been especially reserved for people who had a special kind of MRCP or FRCS. During the Rajapaksa regime, you had to be an MRCP (one of Mahinda Rajapaksas Catchers and Pandankaarayas) to be appointed to important posts. Like Sajin de Vass Gunawardena, you did not need a degree or any qualification  you just needed to be one of these special MRCPs.

After Mahinda was defeated and Maithripala was ushered in we expected an era of paalanaya by yahapath rulers. Unfortunately, once the old MRCP characters lost their influence, we saw a new set of MRCPs  Maithripala and Ranils Catchers and Pandankaarayas.

Interestingly, some of Mahindas loyal Catchers seemed to easily transfer their loyalty and convert themselves into Maithripalas Catchers  and found themselves richly rewarded. But Yahapaalanaya also bred a new breed of fortunate specialists. After 2015 it became the turn of the FRCS crowd (Former Royal College Students) to get their hands on the plums of office. Whether it is Finance, Trade, Highways, Public Enterprise, Development Strategies or any important post in the inner cabinet, the President seems to have his choice limited to these FRCS types. While Mahinda Rajapaksa trusted only his kith and kin, Ranil Wickremesinghe seems to repose his trust only in his old schoolmates.

So it was refreshing for me this week to learn of the appointment of Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy as the new Governor of the Central bank.

The Central Bank of this country, established in 1950, is one of the great institutions of this country. It has had a long history of distinguished governors, from renowned economists like the American John Exter (who was its founder governor) and Dr. Warnasena Rasaputram (one of the Central Banks first graduate recruits) to respected civil servants like Sir Arthur Ranasinghe. These were leaders of whom the institution and the country could be justly proud.

Sadly during the last decade, those appointed to the post of Central Bank Governor fell somewhat short of maintaining the banks reputation and credibility. First, a politician Nivard Cabraal  whose greatest claim to fame was that he was the accountant of the Renuka Hotel  was catapulted into the office of Governor by President Rajapaksa. When Cabraal resigned following President Rajapaksas election defeat, he was followed by the appointment of a Singaporean economist Arjuna Mahendran (who just happened to be the son of one of Ranil Wickremesinghes close associates and supporters within the UNP, Charlie Mahendran).

While Cabraal travelled to St Kitts in the West Indies in 2011 to make  unsuccessfully  a bid to host the Commonwealth games (at a cost of Rs 760 billion to the country, according to the present Minister of Finance), Mahendran stands accused of leaking insider information to his son in law Arjun Aloysius  allowing Aloysius firm Perpetual Treasuries to make a profit of over Rs.300 million within a week as the result of a controversial bond offer.

Men of integrity like Exter and Ranasinghe must have been shuddering in their graves!

So it was with a sigh of relief this week that I heard of the appointment of Dr. Coomaraswamy  a Cambridge educated economist with a PhD from the University of Sussex who started his career as a junior staff officer at the Central Bank in the seventies. Not only did he have a distinguished career overseas at the Commonwealth Secretariat (from where he retired as a Deputy Director a few years ago) but he had an enviable record as a sportsman in this country, playing rugger for Sri Lanka and captaining the national team.

At his inaugural speech earlier this week, Dr. Coomaraswamy reminded the staff of the Bank that a captain is only as good as his team. However well reputed a captain is, he cannot succeed if the team does not work well together  and conversely, however talented the players of a team are, they will find it difficult to succeed if the team is not well led.

Dr. Coomaraswamy prudently stressed the importance of striking a balance between politics and economics. Sadly in our country, politics has often trumped economics  but if one intelligently considers this situation, good economics actually results in good for the body politic.

As a rugger fan I have watched Dr. Coomaraswamy playing his guts out for the national team, taking on and tackling huge opponents (like Bosuns from Britain and solidly built Japanese ruggerites). He will need the sort of courage he displayed on the rugger field to tackle the issues facing our economy  as well as some of the political heavyweights who might try to push him around.

Citizen Silva is pleased with the choice of new Governor  and takes this opportunity to wish this young man well as he undertakes the task of restoring and upholding the credibility of our nations Central Bank.
Port City is bad for the country as developer neglected socio-economic and opportunity costs of the project View(s):

Dr. Sellakapu S Upasiri de Silva

Why the Port City Is Bad for the Country written by Carmel L. Corea, published in The Sunday Times of June 12 2016 is a good eye opener for the President, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Megapolis & Western Development to re-design this project to meet the Socio-Economic, Financial Implications and to achieve the best Benefits from this Project in addition to meeting Environmental Impact Assessments and the long term cost of maintaining the subsidiary services required for this project to operate and for maintenance of this mega project for the duration of the project.

I am not against this project, but my opinion is based on, why the developers CCCC Ltd, ignored the practicability of applying social discounting and economic parameters using a cost-benefit analysis for a project of this magnitude to make it a sustainable development, where environment has become a very sensitive issue. I would like to share my knowledge in applying discount rates for environmentally sensitive projects of this nature and how high discount rates have a very bad economic Effect on Environmentally Sensitive Major projects in Developing Countries like Sri Lanka forced me to enter into this discussion.

Sustainable development

The theory of Sustainable Development touched on many issues, but this government, promised during the 2015 presidential election campaign to abandon this Colombo Port City project, calling it an unsustainable white elephant project. Since suspension of this Contract, (I brought up this issue with the President) without using proper legal avenues allowed in the Condition of Contract, they appointed an Expert Committee to mitigate the environmental implications, and to prepare a supplementary Environmental Impact Assessment, ignoring more essential economic requirements (factors) to make this project a Sustainable Development, ignoring that these resources, necessary to maintain the environmental implications can be mitigated.

An economy needs to develop a system of resource allocation among members of society. In allocating these resources the economy should consider the future members of the society or the future generations. But this Government due to its ignorance to understand what a Sustainable Development is, failed to consider the future members of society or the future generations are a party to this project. It has become important to consider how economists value the distant future, when planning a Sustainable development project, as the members of present society now possess the ability to irreversibly alter the resources, environmental qualities and total level of welfare available for the future society.

Sustainable development is not necessarily limited to sustaining and protecting the environment alone, as generally agreed by many economists, Sustainable Development lies in optimising and achieving the goals set across the three systems identified as basic development: the economic system, social system and biophysical resource system. For sustainable development, the goals of these three systems should be captured and sustained. Economic growth of a country depends on its human, education, industries, employment and the environmental resources. Environment falls into two categories  those to do with protecting the environment and to do with the sustainable use of the environment.

Concessions granted for this project as a method of discounting

Tax concessions to China for 25 years:

Why concessions, profits and other benefits should be granted to China? If this tax concession is to be granted what extra benefits Sri Lanka is expecting from this project, to the cost of materials and other expenses the taxpayer is going to support to complete this project, but not taken into account by the developer or any other party to this contract? As I have not seen the agreements, I am not in a position to include other extra services Sri Lankan Government is going to provide for this project?

The concessional agreement places the obligation of obtaining approval on the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA). Why is this burden placed on the SLPA when the investor pronounces it as a PPP Venture? The entire burden of the approvals should be taken care by the Consultants CCCC Ltd under this contract, if this is a PPP venture? Is the Developer CCCC Ltd misleading the Sri Lankan public for its own benefit? Unsolicited proposals are the responsibility of the developer as the client is not responsible for construction obligations of unsolicited bids.

The Concessional agreement states (according to the writer of the article) that the government of Sri lanka is responsible for providing all service utilities such as water, power, sewage and solid waste disposal, telecommunication required for the operation of the Colombo Port City with an estimated population exceeding one million people. Under International Contract Law if a developer is placing an unsolicited bid for a project then the developer should undertake all the subsidiary services required to make that project workable.

Has the original agreement now been changed? If so, is the Central Engineering Consultancy Bureau (CECB) responsible to estimate the cost of this massive financial burden taxpayers should undertake to provide these services for the Colombo Port City to be workable or has Project Director Nihal Fernando obtained estimated costs from service providers, as this is going to be a massive cost to the Sri Lankan Government? Will this burden come under the responsibilities placed on the CECB as Consultants.

As myself a Cost Engineer (with over 40 years experience in costing major projects), in the absence of detailed site plans and detailed drawings I assume all these services may cost around US $ 1 (One) Billion or close upon that amount, using the square metre workable floor area.

After reading Port City Project Director and Dy. Director General UDA Nihal Fernandos Right of Reply statement in response to the June 19, 2016 article headlined Port City is Bad for the Country by Carmel L. Corea, , I strongly believe Mr. Fernando has failed to impress me or any other reader with a little knowledge in major construction, with his answers as he does not answer the important points raised by the writer of the first article but trying to cover-up his inability to understand the contents of that article. It is my professional opinion that this gentleman may be an engineer, but I wonder whether he is fit to handle a complicated project like this as the Project Director.

My opinion is based on his inability to answer any of the questions raised by the writer in a sensible manner. But he seeks redress using CECB (Central Engineering Consultancy Bureau) as a scapegoat.

Mr. Fernando, before seeking solace by trying to explain the capabilities and the efficiency of CECB, should look into to the following projects handled by CECB during its founding chairmans time and explain why they failed to extend their Duty of Care in providing their best consultancy services for the Sri Lankan taxpayers who paid them to design, construct and manage these projects creating massive mistakes, costing millions to the taxpayers even today.

The two most important projects CECB failed to provide the Duty of Care are:

The Samanalawewa Hydro Power Project  the local Consultants CECB (to External Consultants) without discussing with the main Consultants shifted the Dam 300 metres away from the original position without any site investigation and this unwise act forced the Contractor to construct the Dam on a lime stone bed and the dam started leaking 34 thousand litres a minute when completed, sufficient to run another turbine to provide electricity and this leak reduced the power output by half. The leaks other than this leak were mud bath costing US$ 200,000 to pump mud to stop the leaks. If the CECB did a proper site investigation this costly blunder could have been averted. Will they do the same with the Port City, as the lead consultants for the SEIA is the CECB?

Upper Kothmale Hydro Power Project and Housing for the displaced Estate workers was another project where CECB took the lead role as a Consultant. In 2001/2 there was a big discussion about this project, and the Sunday Times allowed experts to express their opinion about the 10% Discounting factor included by the Lender, and the CECB designed of Oxford-Lindula scheme became a strong point of discussion. As I had a better understanding about Discounting of projects as I completed a doctoral thesis on Effects of Discounting on Environmentally Sensitive Major projects I took part in those discussions and managed to prove that CECB proposal was not economically viable and the then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe agreed with our arguments. CECB failed to estimate the actual construction cost for the Oxford-Lindula project in its proposal and after I proved that the estimate was short of US$ 200,000, CECB withdrew its argument. I noticed massive design defects in the Houses designed by the CECB and some of the houses were re-designed to meet the required living conditions.

Sink or Swim with Colombo Port City

Mr. Fernando, without considering the knowledge of the people who wrote about this project at the early stages, is trying to condemn their work as poorly researched inaccurate articles written by various persons. This is unprofessional. The article headlined Sink or Swim with Colombo Port City written by Eng. Channa Fernando, Coastal and Port Engineer and member of the Expert committee appointed by Prime Minister Wickremesinghe was an excellent one. He enlightened most of us about the hidden flaws in this project.

As I know CECB Chairman Eng. Piyathilake well, I believe he may take appropriate precautions to see that this project is well handled, but my question is why everyone is running after the environmental aspect of this project while ignoring the economic and contractual damages this project may heap on the Sri Lankan people.

The consultants working for the CCCC Ltd are Atkins of UK, AECOM of USA and SWECO of Sweden. They are responsible for all Engineering (Civil & Structural) Architecture, Quantity Surveying, Environmental Engineering, Cost Engineering, Coastal protection Engineering and Contract law Etc.

Mr. Fernando must read Eng. Channa Fernandos article about the opportunity cost lost by allowing free sand, as he says he is not an economist to further discuss about the subject. But Sea sand and quarry metal is not provided free to a development project where the International Investor is going to make or earn the profit, as the opportunity cost of these materials are part of Sri Lankas contribution to this project.

Most politicians and others supporting them are not aware these small amounts exceeding US$ 2 billion is the amount discounted by developer CCCC Ltd from this investment proposal, just allowing Sri Lanka to suffer the loss due to this discounting, and if economists are correct, this huge discount will cripple the economic viability of this projects  40 to 60% per year for the duration of this project, as the Developer CCCC Ltd will wash its hands of after 25 years.

Sri Lanka has thrown its valuable resources to satisfy the Investors thinking they are going to make Sri Lanka a miracle for many years. Salawa Plywood Factory later became the Salawa Central Armoury is one project we talked very loud during the early 60s. There is a Sinhala saying that even when you throw anything to the sea, keep account of the things you throw away, as Consultants like Atkins of UK will count every cent they can get for their client due to any mistakes made by the UDA whose record of handling Construction Projects are very weak. I learned this during my days working as a Consultant to the then Minister of the Urban Development Authority.

[As Port City Director is very keen to know the Technical Qualifications of the people who discuss about the weaknesses of this project, I give my qualifications to satisfy him. I am a Former Construction Expert CFTC/UN, Former Senior Academic University of Technology, Sydney, Dip. St.Eng (Lond), Dip Q.S (London), G.Dip.Edu (Tech) (UTS), M. Proj. Mgt (UNSW); PhD, LLB, Mast Build Sc (UNSW) , FRICS, MICost Eng.; MCIArb; (Construction Economist). [Former Volunteer Consultant to the SL Government]
Port City poses serious environmental questions View(s):

Right of reply

By Carmel L Corea

In his Right of Reply article under the headline Port City Project: Megapolis Ministry Clarifies, Nihal Fernando, Project Director (Colombo Port City) and Deputy Director General/Urban Development Authority, states,  He is compelled to respond with the Ministrys point of view, and adds Carmel L Corea who authored the article (12-06-2016) Why the Port City is Bad for the Country has to be educated on the SEIA of December 2015.

This is my response to his article: The information detailed below will hopefully clarify the Megapolis Ministrys concerns. My qualifications queried by the Megapolis Ministry are given at the end of my reply.

The Supplementary Environmental Impact Assessment (SEIA) report of December 2015 was carefully analysed by a panel of experts comprising Prof. E. I. L Silva. Prof. Jinadasa Katupotha, Capt. O.L. Samaranayake and myself. The experts reported findings to the Supreme Court including examples of their lack of proper monitoring etc., for this Mega Project.

Aspects of the findings were reported in the Ceylon Today (23-01-2016) under the headline More Studies Should Be Done  Experts.

The experts analysis details

The SEIA consultants had not even cared to consider how a series of large explosions would impact those living near the quarries and in the environment. No mention of explosion times, vibrations and its impact on the immediate and neighbouring communities, public and private properties. Its effect on flora and fauna and archaeological sites, stated Prof. Jinadasa Katupotha (Emeritus Professor), Department of Geography, University of Sri Jayawardenepura.

Aspects of the above findings are mentioned in the article Why the Port City is Bad for the Country. The purpose of my article was to inform the citizens of Sri Lanka of the possible hazards and setbacks posed by this mega Port City Project, with a minimum use of technical jargon.

Landslides now not limited to Sri Lankas hill country

Dr. Gamini Jayatissa, Senior Research Scientist at the National Building Research Organization (NBRO) states, We are already experiencing intensified rainfall in concentrated periods of time; this is believed to be linked to climate change, so we are heading for a period where there will be more landslides. (Sunday Times 02-11-2014)

Despite clear warnings of academics, including the Ministry of Disaster Management  circular 2011 and without even consultations with NBRO, the Southern Express Highway was constructed. It is reported, a contractor dammed a stream running through the area with concrete, and this caused the Kokmaduwa landslide, resulting in the closure of the Southern Express Way for almost a week, and 30,000 people requested to evacuate. (Where?) The Road Development Authority (RDA) had to undertake remedial measures. (Sunday Times 25-10-2015). If researched academic warnings and the Governments Safety guidelines were implemented, this landslide, which caused human misery and a massive financial loss to the country, would not have occurred.

The quarrying for large volumes of granite using explosives from this small country to dump in the sea to construct a port city, when the country requires urgent infrastructure development, needs honest and ethical evaluation.

Expansion of the port city project

At the Supreme Court (10-05- 2916 Daily Mirror ), Dr. Aventi Perera (appearing for the Attorney General) stated, the Port City Project was initiated to reclaim 120 hectares of land, the entire project now is about 485 hectare.

We understand (from the values quoted) this to be over a 200 percent expansion of the initial project. This obviously needs additional sand, granite, water and power for this expanded construction. Can Sri Lanka, a small country of area about 25,333 square miles with an increasing population of about 21 million people (same as Australia which is 100 times larger), afford to use explosives, destabilise the environment and dump a vast amount of granite, equivalent to about two Giza Pyramids in the sea, to construct a Port City? This will destabilise the marine environment and surrounding coral reefs, which protect the country. The reefs may possibly be destroyed causing a massive loss to the fishing and tourism trades.

Coastal erosion now a reality in Sri Lanka

Coastal erosion is a reality. Sri Lankan newspapers regularly publish reports on coastal erosion with supporting photographic evidence. This islands coastal fishing communities have been seriously affected by erosion caused by sand mining. The Government has acknowledged this fact and offered Rs. 500 million as compensation for three years.

However fishing communities (over 30,000 people in Negombo) have rejected this offer of compensation. Fr. Sarath Iddamalgoda stated these fisher folk wanted their rights to their livelihood secured, which is now threatened by sand mining.

We strongly believe the Government should invest and upgrade the Coastal Fishing Industry. This industry, contributes about two thirds of our countrys protein requirements, essential for our peoples health and wellbeing, which is obtained daily from our rich coastal waters.

Scientists and navigators report that even at a depth of 15 metres the Sri Lankan coastal waters are teeming with marine life. It is the feeding and breeding ground for economic fish.

Navigators report that the coastline and sea bed have still not recovered from the effects of the 2004 tsunami that devastated Sri Lanka. To extract large volumes of sand for the construction of the Colombo Port City, in addition to the sand extracted for the countrys essential infrastructure development, on balance, we believe, this to be detrimental to the marine environment, on which the Coastal Fishing Industry survives.

Faecal pollution of coastal waters  unacceptable

We appreciate Mr. Nihal Fernando, the Dy. Director General of the UDA, disclosing to the public that  thousands of metric tonnes of raw sewage annually discharged to the sea presently. This possibly continues for 5-7 years.

His statement was confirmed by Capt. O. L Samaranayake, Master Mariner and Marine Surveyor. Capt. Samaranayake stated that the raw untreated sewage outfalls are about 1.2Km from the beach.

He further elaborated on marine environmental conditions affected by this massive sewage outfall:

The inshore currents are not strong enough to dilute the effects of the untreated sewage outfall.

The South West Monsoon winds which affect the sea currents are mostly westerly or southwesterly and this tends to drive the effluents (sewage) towards the beaches of Sri Lanka.

The gradual accumulation of sewage inshore will damage the beaches and marine life.

As a result of Colombos sewage outfalls, it is clearly observed that the coastal waters remain turbid for long periods of time, even after the monsoon ends. The reduced light penetration will adversely affect the marine ecosystem destabilising it. This situation will adversely affect Sri Lankas income generating fishing and tourism industries.

The turbidity caused by metric tonnes of untreated sewage in coastal waters blocks the effective light reaching the sea bed, essential for plant growth and marine life. Under normal conditions even at 15 metre depth marine life and soft corals abound in Sri Lankan waters  their survival is now under threat due to massive untreated sewage outfalls. Can this fragile important ecosystem survive another 5-7 years under these clearly adverse environmental conditions?

Aesthetically the outfall is described as a disgusting sight, identified by scavenging sea birds constantly soaring over it.

It is suggested that if this situation continues, polluted water will even enter coastal canal systems, a health hazard to the citizens of this country.

In view of the above disclosures the Government, we believe, should take immediate action to upgrade the sewage system which is a potential health and safety hazard to the citizens of this country. We appeal to President Maithripala Sirisena, who is also our Minister of Environment, to speedily eradicate the faecal pollution of our coastal waters.

With respect to the important disclosure by Mr. Fernando, will the UDA publish the faecal coliform levels in our coastal waters to safeguard the health and safety of residents and tourists? Faecal coliform levels are stated as MPN/100. We understand the Primary Contact Level (e.g for swimming) is internationally at 150/100. For Secondary Contact (e.g boating) the International level is 1000/100. No doubt, residents and the tourism industry will look forward to this valuable information important for human health and safety.

It is hoped that the Megapolis Ministrys concerns have been clarified and it will give adequate attention and study the issues raised in the interest of our environmentally unique and beautiful country.

*The author Carmel L Corea, is a Honours Graduate in Marine Zoology from Queen Mary College, University of London. She has a Post-Graduate Science Research Degree from Birkbeck College, University of London and a Post-Graduate Certificate in Education from Cavendish College, University of London. She is an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Health (London).
This daring Iraqi man stopped an Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) suicide bomber from killing innocent civilians, and saved so many lives.

By India Today Web Desk:

An Iraqi man stopped a suicide bomber of the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) from reaching his intended target on Thursday night and saved dozens of lives at the Sayyed Mohammad Shrine in the town of Balad.

According to Iraqi activists, the real-life superhero was identified as Najih Shaker Al-Baldawi -- a local resident of Balad -- who physically stopped the terrorist from entering the shrine before he could detonated his suicide vest.

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The explosion killed the suicide bomber and sadly, the Iraqi man who saved dozens of lives also died in the horrible incident.



An honourable man from #Balad, Najih Shakir,holds the suicide bomber & attains martyrdom,preventing many more deaths pic.twitter.com/fFKZhxZvv7 Mohammed Al-Hilli (@malhilli) July 8, 2016





The death toll at the Sayyed Mohammad Shrine could have risen exponentially if the suicide bomber had detonated his vest but the wits and bravery of Najih Shaker Al-Baldawi saved the day, and so many lives.

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One magical ancient relic, one power hungry warlord, 100 trained assassins  just three girls.

Its a tantalising teaser and the premise of a short film the Bay of Plenty Film Collective will be shooting in and around downtown Tauranga during the weekend of July 16-17.

Titled Just Three Girls, BOP Film president Anton Steel says theyre creating the Tarantino-esque short film as part of the upcoming Tauranga Winter Carnival from July 15-23.

I wanted make something fun and entertaining and didnt take itself too seriously, so therell be plenty of action, some funny one-liners and some brilliant stunts, says Anton.

Were hoping to make a nice little showpiece for BOP Film and something highlighting the city and what a beautiful place it is, which could be potentially utilised by BOP Tourism.

Just Three Girls will star actors Katherine Kennard  from Street Legal and Spartacus, BOP actors Tanya Horo  who has starred in The Z Nail Gang and Shortland Street and up-and-coming local actress Melanie Bevan.

The stunt team will be headed by Mana Davis, whos just returned from working on Ghost in the Shell in Wellington, and Thomas Kiwi whos credits include The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

The script has been written by local screenwriter Darry Belbin and the film will be shot by director of photographer Chris Kirkham, while Anton will be at the helm as the films director.

Anton says Just Three Girls is kind of an extension of what they did for The Z Nail Gang which was filmed in Te Puke in 2014.

It was very community-based and we tapped into a lot of different community organisations to make the film, so its the same model.

Were absolutely spoiled for choice here.ne of the things Ive come to realise is we made The Z Nail Gang with 10 per cent of the talent and resources that I now know are available in this area.

What were also discovering with BOP Film is the networking and job opportunities that are opening up, and all the talent thats out there. Theres lots of people starting to come out of the woodwork, people we didnt know were down here.

Once everything is shot itll be a tight turnaround, with plans to premiere the short film before the Open Air Movie Night screening of Rio, which takes place on Wharf Street on Saturday, July 23.

Anton is also offering an opportunity to locals to be a part of the film.

Wed love to get people along as extras for our final scene, we want as many as possible. Theyll be making up the mob and the dress code for the baddies is bring your own hoodies and bandanas, says Anton.

To express your interest in being an extra, contact the Bay of Plenty Film Collective via their Facebook page click here.
"The turning helicopter was hit by militants' gunfire from the ground and crashed in the area controlled by the Syrian government army. The crew died," said Interfax.

By Reuters: Militants shot down a military helicopter near Palmyra in Syria, killing two Russian pilots on board, Interfax news agency said, quoting Russia's defence ministry.

HELICOPTER RAN OUT OF AMMUNITION

The two men had been attacking a detachment of Islamic State fighters in the Homs region on Friday, when the Syrian Mi-25 helicopter they were in ran out of ammunition, the ministry said, according to Interfax.

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"The turning helicopter was hit by militants' gunfire from the ground and crashed in the area controlled by the Syrian government army. The crew died," it added.

IT'S FALLEN: THEY SHOUTED

Video footage published on Saturday by Islamic State's affiliated news agency Amaq showed a helicopter being shot and crashing to the ground against cries of 'It's fallen, God is greatest'.

Russian forces entered the conflict at the end of last year, backing the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

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Naeem Akhtar, the State Education Minister and the state government's spokesperson, urged the civil society and the parents to counsel the youth against indulging in violent protests and targeting public and private properties and police and security forces installations.

By Ashwini Kumar: The Jammu and Kashmir Cabinet expressing condolence over the lost lives in Kashmir violence has called upon various shades of political opinion, including the mainstream and the separatists, to help restore calm in the state.



Naeem Akhtar, the State Education Minister and the state government's spokesperson, urged the civil society and the parents to counsel the youth against indulging in violent protests and targeting public and private properties and police and security forces installations.

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LET THERE BE PEACE

"The parents of young children also have a responsibility to keep an eye on their wards," he said adding; "If you see the footages, you see small kids who do not know why but are still having stones in their hands," he said.



The Cabinet also asked the police and the security forces to exercise restraint to prevent any further loss of human lives.

Admitting that the loss of property can be compensated, while the loss of lives cannot, Akhtar said that the complaints of disproportionate use of force are being looked into to restore public confidence in the law and order setup.

Akhtar also cautioned the people, especially the youth, against the machinations of the forces who want to add fuel to the fire for their vested political interests.

DON'T MAKE FORCES USE WEAPONS

The Minister asserted that number of attacks on police stations and security force camps forced the law enforcement agencies to retaliate. "Even today when I am talking to you, a cop was pushed into river Jhelum near Sangam along with his vehicle by a violent mob resulting in his on the spot death," he said.

"I urge the youth not take protests to a level where the forces are forced to use their weapons in retaliation," Akhtar added.



Akhtar further assured government assistance to any injured person who requires treatment outside the State.



Trying to stabilise the situation in the valley, the government has asked various airlines to provide additional flights for the stranded tourists. Government also assured that measure are being taken to resume the Amarnath Yatra.



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Artist rendering of the Ardie R. Copas State Veterans Nursing Home in Tradition.

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By Nicole Rodriguez of TCPalm

ST. LUCIE COUNTY  Despite the questionable implementation of a more expensive set of design standards for veterans nursing homes by the federal government in the early 2000s, not one facility built in the state since then was held to the requirements, Treasure Coast Newspapers found.

The same set of standards, however, recently were imposed on St. Lucie County's planned 120-bed Ardie R. Copas State Veterans Nursing Home just before ground breaking. The sudden mandate from Washington, D.C., has stalled the project  if not killed it  and sent state officials scrambling to apply for more money to save the project.

Of Florida's six existing veterans nursing homes, three were built since 2001, according to state veterans officials. Nursing homes in Panama City, Port Charlotte and St. Augustine were opened in 2003, 2004 and 2010, respectively.

There were "totally different standards from the (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs) than the standards that are in place now," said Steve Murray, Florida Department of Veterans' Affairs spokesman.

Florida  home to the nation's third-largest veterans population  learned of the standards change only by word-of-mouth at a February meeting of state veterans affairs directors in Alexandria, Virginia, state officials said. And Florida wasn't the only state left in the dark. At least two other states said they never were formally notified of the policy change. Rhode Island and Idaho learned of the change only after inquiring about the design guide.

It costs an estimated 30 percent to 40 percent more to build and operate a home to the higher standards than a traditional veterans nursing home, veterans officials said. The total cost of the local facility has skyrocketed from approximately $39 million to $58.9 million.

Why the sudden strict interpretation of a guide veterans officials  and the design guide itself  call mere suggestions? Federal official have no answers.

"I can't answer your question (referencing) building codes (in the area) at this time, but I will research and get back to you soonest," a federal VA spokesman said in an email more than a month ago. The question still remains unanswered.

Sen. Marco Rubio in May urged Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald to step in and ensure the St. Lucie County home gets its funding and is built swiftly. On June 9, Rubio voiced frustration with the communication breakdown between the federal government and the states.

"The VA has once again created a mess through the poor communication of its USDVA policy and design standards for veterans nursing homes, which has led to much confusion and delayed construction for critically needed facilities," Rubio said in a statement to Treasure Coast Newspapers. "It needs to fix this situation in a timely manner and accommodate projects that have fallen trap to the needless red tape and bureaucratic hurdles."

While Rubio has been outspoken on the matter, Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Jupiter, has failed to address specific questions from Treasure Coast Newspapers on the communication snafu and why the Department of Veterans Affairs seems to have imposed different standards on different Florida projects.

"While the delay is certainly frustrating, the updated standards will result in a better facility to provide our veterans with the quality care they so richly deserve after their service to our nation," a Murphy spokeswoman said in an email June 10. "The congressman is continuing to work with the VA and county officials to support the new grant application and help see this important project through."
By Nicholas Samuel of TCPalm

FORT PIERCE  Police Chief Diane Hobley-Burney on Saturday denied accusations she ordered investigations of City Commissioner Reggie Sessions and city critic Rick Reed.

Sessions and Reed had pushed for a Justice Department investigation into the police-involved April 23 fatal shooting of Demarcus Semer.

"I have not asked for an investigation of any citizen regarding Demarcus Semer. I would never do such a thing," Hobley-Burney said Saturday evening. "I am being judged. I am asking for citizens to please be patient and wait until the conclusion of the investigation before they judge."

City Manager Nick Mimms placed Hobley-Burney on administrative leave on July 5, days after the City Commission was told she had ordered the investigations of Sessions and Reed.

Hobley-Burney said she wants an unbiased and independent investigation into the accusations made against her, and then the "truth will be revealed."

"If there's corruption in the city, I'm sure citizens would want it to be investigated," Hobley-Burney said.

Police Special Investigator Borthland Murray wrote a memo to the commission July 1 that stated Hobley-Burney mismanaged the department, misused her official position, selectively enforced rules and mishandled the department's accreditation process.

"I'm hurt by the person who made the allegations toward me. I considered him an officer and friend," Hobley-Burney said. "I'm not angry. My God would not allow me to be angry about this."
All in the course of one year, nearly 3 million teenagers in the United States were struck with a major bout of depression, a new federal study revealed.

Depression is a common but severe type of mood disorder that affects how a person thinks, feels and handles everyday activities, including eating, working, or sleeping.

Teenagers and young adults, no matter how young, can suffer the symptoms of depression.

According to the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the agency that conducted the study, young people lose interest in activities and feel depressed for at least two weeks. They may find it difficult to sleep, eat, or focus on what they need to do.

Paolo del Vecchio, director of SAMHSA's Center for Mental Health Services, says adolescence is a crucial period for a person's development. Battling with the effects of depression can be even more upsetting for teens, unless they go through an effective treatment, he says.

Effective treatment against depression is available, but del Vecchio says teachers, members of the community and parents in particular must work to make sure that teens get all the help they need.

Depression In Teens By State

According to the SAMHSA report, the overall depression rate among young people increased to 11 percent from 2013 to 2014  higher than the 9.9 percent rate for the past year.

Thirteen states in the U.S. saw statistically significant increases in the prevalence of major depressive episodes among adolescents, while 37 states and the District of Columbia experienced no noteworthy change.

In Oregon, the rate of major depressive episodes among those aged 12 to 17 years old was highest in all states, with a yearly average of 14.6 percent.

Other areas with high prevalence of major depressive disorder include Indiana, Arizona, Maine, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Utah, Wisconsin and Washington State.

On the other hand, the District of Columbia saw the lowest prevalence of depression with a yearly average of 8.7 percent. Rates were also low among teenagers in Connecticut, Alaska, Hawaii, Georgia, New Mexico, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Dakota and South Dakota.

Finding A Confidante

Multiple studies have found ways to battle the symptoms of depression.

A previous study suggests that having just one person as your trusted friend and confidante may help you recover from depression. In this study, researchers found that those who had closer ties and relationships with others were four times more likely to recover and achieve improved mental health.

Another study suggests that surrounding yourself and your home with plants may improve your overall mental health.

Photo: Sander van der Wel | Flickr

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Months after the Zika virus was declared a global public health emergency by the World Health Organization, a Zika-related death has occurred in the continental United States.

The distinction between a Zika-related death and someone actually dying from Zika is important, however. The unidentified elderly woman from Utah had underlying health issues and had contracted the virus when she traveled to a region with a Zika outbreak, according to health officials. As such, while she did test positive for Zika virus - even displaying symptoms such as rash, fever and conjunctivitis - it's unclear if or how the virus contributed to her death.

Salt Lake County Health Department Executive Director Gary Edwards said that officials became aware of the case as they were looking at death certificates for review. And while laboratory testing in Utah for the virus came up positive, they only received the results after the individual had died.

Where she traveled, what health condition she had, or any relevant factors won't be released because of health privacy laws, according to health officials.

This may be the first death to occur in the continental United States, but it isn't the first to occur in a U.S. territory. Back in April, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported the first U.S. death from Zika was a patient in Puerto Rico. The victim was a man in his 70s who died from internal bleeding after developing severe thrombocytopenia because of the infection. The autoimmune bleeding disorder is characterized by abnormally low levels platelets that help blood clot.

Zika is spread primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes aegypti or Aedes albopictus mosquito. And, fortunately for anyone in the Salt Lake area who has now become concerned because of this death, neither of those species are present in the county.

The majority of people who are infected exhibit no symptoms, and those who do only exhibit them for about a week at most. However, in rare cases it has been linked to microcephaly, a congenital birth defect that produces an abnormal smallness of the head and is associated with improper brain development.

To date, there have been no reports of the virus being locally transmitted in the continental United States. However, the CDC has recorded a total of 1,132 reported cases of travel-associated Zika in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. With that in mind, officials in the federal, state and local governments are preparing for the worst-case scenario of the virus being spread locally.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
By Naseer Ganai: Facing worst crisis after the killing of Hizbul Mujahedeen militant commander Burhan Muzaffer Wani that claimed the lives of 19 protesters in security forces firing, Jammu and Kashmir government on Sunday urged the police and paramilitary forces to exercise restrain while dealing with the growing dissent. In what appears to be a rare sight, the government also sought the support of the separatist Hurriyat Conference and the pro-India opposition party National Conference.

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ASKS FORCES TO SHOW RESTRAIN



After the cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, the government spokesman and senior Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader, Naeem Akhtar, said the government was fully aware of its duty towards people. "Whatever steps we will have to take, we will take to restore peace. The cabinet has decided that the security forces should exhibit maximum restrain and endeavor that no collateral damage takes place", Akhtar, who is also Minister for Education, told reporters at the Civil Secretariat. "The government appeals to all political forces, who have expressed concern that lives shouldn't be lost, for support. We appeal to the mainstream political parties including National Conference and also to those who are not in the mainstream, the Hurriyat Conference. We need the support of Hurriyat Conference as well", Akhtar said. He said wherever the disproportionate force had been used it would be probed in what circumstances it had been used. But, he hastily added, that the protesters have tried to overrun police stations, burned down SDPO's residential house, attacked army camps forcing the security forces to use weapons. He said at one place a police vehicle was thrown into a river along with a driver and the driver has died. In the evening J&K police claimed that unidentified gunmen lobbed grenades at two places on paramilitary forces in south Kashmir.

WILL MEHBOOBA RESIGN?



"The cabinet appeals to parents of the children, who don't know why they are throwing stones and for what, to counsel their wards", Akhtar said. The Minister said additional flights will be arranged for tourists, who are leaving Kashmir, to move out of the restive region. He said as the situation returns to normalcy the Shri Amarnath yatra, suspended since Saturday, will be resumed. However, Akhtar walked out of the press conference when asked whether Mehbooba Mufti will resign as she in 2010 after series of killings of youngsters by police and CRPF, had sought the resignation of the then Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. "I will not take this question. I will not take any question", Akhtar said.

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OurMine, the three-man "security team" that puts the accounts of prominent tech industry celebrities to the test, has done it again, striking at Twitter's core.

The hacking trio recently targeted Jack Dorsey, the CEO and founder of Twitter, and did nothing less than hack his Twitter account.

The security team usually posts the default message "Hey, it's OurMine, we are testing your security, visit ourmine.org" on its victim's account. Such a message was reported as appearing on Dorsey's Twitter feed at about 2:50 a.m. EST.

The tweet also contained the other signature sign of OurMine, namely an embedded video of their theme song. Despite the fact that the respective tweet disappeared, a lot more poured in.

It looks like Dorsey got full control of his Twitter feed 45 minutes after the hack occurred. However, taking over the Twitter account of the company's founder is something of a defiant action, so the shame remains.

There is a high chance that OurMine did not actually breach the security of Dorsey's Twitter account. It is likely that the group used another social media account, one where Dorsey had a shared password with someone else or an account that had Twitter posting rights. This theory is backed by the fact that Dorsey's post landed through Vine.

The same strategy seems to have been deployed when OurMine broke into the Twitter account of Google's helm, Sundar Pichai. The Google CEO's illegitimate posts came from an old Quora account.

OurMine does mention that it digs and finds its victims' passwords in their browsers, but the group does provide follow-up and offers data protection services to its victims.

This is not the first time when OurMine unveils how careless celebrities are when choosing a weak password. The hacking team recently exposed Mark Zuckerberg's Twitter password, which was an incredibly unsafe "dadada." For what it's worth, OurMine did point out that hacking Zuckerberg's Twitter account was achievable in most part due to the massive leak of LinkedIn passwords in May.

Security experts repeatedly advise internet users to choose strong passwords that contain capital letters, normal characters, numbers and special characters to boost their strength. If you are engaged in many social media accounts, different passwords are a must and a password manager can help you keep track of them. A constant refresh of the passwords is also highly recommended.

We are curious to know about your experience with using passwords: do you follow the recommendations above? Let us know in the comments section below.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Authorities captured and put to death an alligator on Friday, July 8, after the animal bit a woman who was wading in the waters of the Econlockhatchee River in the Little Big Econ State Forest, officials from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said.

The alligator, which measured almost 11 feet bit the woman, who was not publicly identified, at about 2:30 p.m. as she was standing in the waist-deep water.

Wildlife officials believe that they captured the animal that had perpetrated the attack because it was still in the area where the incident happened. It was trapped and killed later in the evening.

The woman was taken to the Central Florida Regional Hospital in Sanford and was treated there for her injuries. She is expected to fully recover.

The incident is not the first alligator attack that happened in the Little Big Econ State Forest.

In July 2013, an alligator measuring between 9 and 10 feet also bit a 17-year- old boy. Andrew Hudson, who was bitten on the back of his head and neck, had to undergo 19 stitches and 12 staples after the attack.

Florida has recently witnessed a series of alligator attacks. Last month, an alligator snatched a 2-year-old boy who was wading into a foot-deep lagoon at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa in Orlando.

Although alligators are also found in other states including North Carolina, Mississippi and Louisiana, they abound in Florida following a successful conservation program. More than 1 million alligators currently occupy all 67 counties in Florida.

Alligators tend to be less dangerous compared with crocodiles because they are more choosy when selecting their prey. While crocodiles eat anything that moves including large mammals, alligators target prey animals that are often smaller than adult humans so they normally target birds, fish, other reptiles and small mammals.

Experts, however, said that alligator attacks are likely to become more common since both the populations of humans and alligators are increasing. In many coastal regions, for instance, humans encroach on alligator habitat so there are high chances that the two species will cross paths.

Experts said that being aware of the risks and following the rules outlined by wildlife authorities may help prevent attacks.

"Coexisting with large dangerous predators requires us to understand their behaviour and behave responsibly around them," said Simon Pooley, who works with the Crocodile Specialist Group of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
List Of 9 Messaging Apps That Provide End-To-End Encryption

Messaging app developers know that end-to-end encryption (E2EE) is way to go to keep the customer data secure. The latest messaging app to offer the security feature is Facebook Messenger. With the widespread increase in leaks, users are continuously looking for apps that not only send the message across but also keep it out of the view of snooping eyes.

What is End-to-End Encryption?

End-to-end encryption (E2EE) is a method of secure communication that prevents third-parties from accessing data while its transferred from one end system or device to another, especially as they travel across the social web. In other words, it is designed to keep eavesdroppers out of the conversation. Even companies that own the messaging platform wouldnt have the means to decrypt the files.

In E2EE, the data is encrypted on the senders system or device and only the recipient is able to decrypt it. Nobody in between, be they an Internet service provider, application service provider or hacker, can read it or tamper with it.

NOTE: Not all apps willing install end-to-end encryption by default. Some will require users to set chats in certain modes or enable specific functions before the messages are kept off the record.

In this article, we bring you nine messaging apps that currently makes use of the more secure end-to-end encryption.

1. Facebook Messenger

Facebook Messenger is now providing a small batch of users the Secret Conversation mode with end-to-end encryption. Theres also an optional timer that shows how long a secret message would stay visible.

By default, Messengers end-to-end encryption would not be used, though: secret conversations will be available only on the two devices used by the sender and recipient, at the time of the conversation.

You cannot access specially encrypted messages just anywhere  if users switch from device to device  the way regular chats or calls are logged across devices.

Still, with 900 million users on Facebook Messenger each month, the option for a full-on E2EE by default looks like long overdue.

2. WhatsApp

Facebook-owned WhatsApp rolled out E2EE for all types of messages on the platform in April. These include video and voice calls, photos and regular text (which had already been encrypted before). This guarantees conversations of the 1 billion WhatsApp users are unobtainable by authorities and even WhatsApp itself.

3. iMessage

Apple is one company that has undergone a long and hard battle to keep device owners data (on the device) private, even amidst a battle with authorities.

For one, iMessage is secured by E2EE. Unless users store their messages in the cloud, it is a line that Apple cannot cross. If they are stored in iCloud, then they are freely available to Apple and can be handed over if the company is served a warrant.

4. Allo

By default, Googles own messaging app, Allo, does not provide end-to-end encryption. However, as an option, it does have the Incognito Mode. Google believes E2EE cannot cover the messaging app across the board for its artificial intelligence (A.I.) systems to work. It is exactly this A.I. that classifies it from other competitors too.

5. Viber

A popular messaging app for long, Vibers Version 6.0 brought in E2EE for texts and voice chats between individuals and groups. This app is functional on both the desktop and mobile platforms. Color-coded locks are also visible to show different E2EE settings.

6. Line

Line also provides optional E2EE through Letter Sealing. Only if the sender and recipient both turn on the function, then it will be activated. All other messages without this layer of security can be accessed by Line and, if necessary, can turn over to Japanese authorities.

7. Signal

Signal is a favourite of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden who uses it almost every day. Text, photo and video messages are heavily encrypted on the app. What is interesting is that Signal is open source and can construct upon feedback and suggestions from other privacy-focused occupants.

8. Cyber Dust

Messages on Cyber Dust are covered by E2EE (the company cannot spill the data to authorities, even with a warrant). Not only are the messages locked away and unreachable even to Cyber Dust, but also like Snaps on Snapchat, they are deleted from the users device instantly after they have been read.

9. Telegram

Only when users activate the Secret Chat mode, Telegram messages get protected by end-to-end encryption. Messages which are included in this mode are logged in Telegram servers.

Source: Techtimes
The CELAC countries also proposed holding a meeting of economy ministers in order to design a common agenda that can respond to the global crisis. | Read More
By PTI: Srinagar, Jul 10 (PTI) Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) today termed the current unrest in the Valley as unfortunate and anguishing and sought support from the people to end the cycle of violence.

The current unrest is unfortunate and anguishing.

We seek support and co-operation from the people especially from the members of civil society, responsible citizens and media fraternity in order to end the current unrest, so that peace prevails besides safety of precious lives and property ensured, JKPCC president G A Mir said here.

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Mir cautioned that violence was in nobodys interest and it has serious implications on the progress, development and safety of the people.

Violence cannot be solution to any problem.

It is in nobodys interest, rather it has serious implications on the progress, development and safety of the people, he said.

The JKPCC chief said casualties on either side were highly condemnable, unacceptable and a matter of serious concern.

"I appeal to the people to maintain calm and defeat the design of elements vitiating peace to serve their vested interests.

"They should stay away from the violence and maintain peace, as the prevalence of peace is must for their safety and security," he said.

Mir urged the security forces to deal with law and order problem by adopting peaceful methods to control the situation and to ensure maximum restraint while dealing with protestors. PTI SSB MIJ RG

--- ENDS ---
The Vietnamese fishing boat is damaged after the crash by the Chinese armored vessel. Photo credit: VTC

Border guards in Quang Tri Province have confirmed that a Chinese steel fishing vessel rammed and sank a Vietnamese fishing boat off Quang Tri, VTC News reported.

Senior Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Huy Tho of the Quang Tri Border Guard Command said the sinking occurred around 40 nautical miles east of Con Co Island on January 1.

The foreign boat left even as the 10 fishermen on board who had fallen into the water pleaded for help, Huynh Hop, the boat owner said.

They then tried to swim and hold to anything they could until other fishing boats arrived and rescued them.

Tho said the site where the boat was sunk is located in Vietnams exclusive economic zone, making Chinas action a serious violation of Vietnamese sovereignty.

An official from the Vietnam Directorate of Fisheries told news website VnExpress a note has been sent to Chinese authorities informing that 10 Vietnamese fishermen from Quang Ngai Province have accused a Chinese vessel of ramming and sinking their boat.

Chinese authorities have promised to investigate and sought more information about the Chinese boat, according to Ha Le, deputy chief of the department.

He said the boat sank near the Tonkin Gulf that the two countries are negotiating for demarcation, and therefore Vietnam can seek Chinas cooperation in investigations even if the culprit is not Chinese.

Hop, 69, said his boat had been captained by his son Huynh Thach and had nine others on board when the Chinese boat crashed into its port at around noon last Friday.

The fishermen had been sleeping at that time.

Thach told news website VnExpress the foreign vessel had been around 30 meters in length and three times the height of the fishing boat.

After a first crash, seven of the 10 men on the fishing boat were thrown into the sea.

The foreign vessel rammed a second time, causing the boat to sink.

Thach, the captain, told VnExpress he saw Chinese characters on the foreign vessel and two foreign men sitting in it when his boat sank.

The fishing boat was salvaged and brought ashore badly damaged Saturday afternoon.
Around 17,000 workers of Pouchen company in Dong Nai Province go on strike on Thursday. Photo: Le Lam

Thousands of workers at a Taiwanese footwear factory in southern Vietnam were on strike for a second day on Friday to protest a new rule that they have called unfair and unreasonable.

The 17,000 workers, out of a total of 21,600 workers of the Pouchen shoe company in Dong Nai Province, are expected to resume the strike next week.

Strikers said the company is bleeding them dry with the new regulation, which punishes workers who take four days off or more a year by withholding their year-end bonuses, according to a Lao Dong Newspaper report.

In Vietnam, employees are entitled to at least 12 days of fully paid annual leave.

On Thursday, the company's management agreed to discuss and explain the new regulations later, asking the strikers to return to work the next day.

The strike continued on Friday as workers demanded the regulation be reviewed and changed immediately.

At around 2 p.m. on Friday, there was a clash between an unidentified man and a group of workers. Three strikers were injured, including a 31-year-old woman.

Nguyen Thi Ngoc An, director of the labor confederation in Dong Nai's Bien Hoa Town, told Thanh Nien that her office is working out a solution with Pouchens managers.

We are waiting for a decision from the parent company, said An.
Nguyen Thi Nang sits next to a radio operator, waiting for news from her husband, captain Vo Van Luu, after his boat was reportedly sunk by Chinese vessels in the East Sea.

A Vietnamese fishing boat was rammed and sunk by Chinese vessels Hoang Sa (Paracel) Islands in the East Sea on Saturday, an official has said.

The five-member crew of the boat was being brought back to shore, Pham Truong Tho, Vice Chairman of Quang Ngai Province's People's Committee, said on Sunday.

Nguyen Van Truc, a radio operator at Binh Chau Commune of Quang Ngai, told Thanh Nien that the boat of captain Vo Van Luu was anchoring near Da Loi (Discovery Reef) when it was chased and sunk by two Chinese vessels named 46102 and 56103 at around 11 a.m.
Workers at a garment factory of South Korean Panko in Quang Nam Province express frustration over their salaries on July 9, 2016. Photo: Anh Vinh

More than 1,000 workers went on strike at a South Korean-owned garment factory in the central province of Quang Nam, demanding the salaries they agreed to when signing contracts.

The workers of Panko Tam Thang, a factory under Panko Corporation, said they have been paid less than promised, and the factory lunches are of low standards.

Many workers went on the first strike on June 10, many others joined for the second one Saturday.

They said the company offered VND4 million (US$178) a month in the contract but they have received less than VND3 million for several months.

Labor officials in the area have urged the company to meet with workers, make good of its promises and apologize to the workers if necessary.

But the workers will have to wait for at least several days for the companys head of board of directors to come from South Korea.
State divestment slows down in Vietnam Despite the government's intention to sell its stakes in 10 major companies like Vinamilk and FPT, progress is tardy.

Vietnamese scoff at bike-ban plan for Hanoi 'It's impossible. It will cause difficulties for bureaucrats, employers, students and traders,' says a driver.

Vietnam province demands $180 mln from Formosa for mass fish deaths The Taiwanese company has pledged a compensation fund of $500 mln for the toxic spill disaster in four provinces.

Plastic buckets, broken printers shine light on Hanoi's poor Vietnamese families living in slums along the Red River in Hanoi are using red plastic buckets and old printers to help light homes.

Vietnam renews visa waiver program for Europeans Citizens from Germany, France, the UK, Italy and Spain can continue to travel to Vietnam without obtaining a visa.
In view of the unrest, Amarnath Yatra also remained suspended for the second day, although some stranded pilgrims were escorted to safety.

By India Today Web Desk: Kashmir continued to be on the boil with six more people, including a cop, getting killed in violence on Sunday, raising the death toll to 23, even as curfew-like restrictions were in place and Mobile internet services remained suspended.

In view of the unrest, Amarnath Yatra also remained suspended for the second day, although some stranded pilgrims were escorted to safety.

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In Delhi, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh reviewed the situation in the Valley and spoke to Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, assuring her of all possible help.

The state police also urged protesters not to resort to violence, saying it does not bring the right consequences, and that it would like to avoid the killing of the youth.

Even as curfew-like restrictions remained in force, violence was reported from a number of places.

The Jammu and Kashmir government urged parents of young demonstraters to tell their wards not to take part in street protests that were leading to firing by security forces and civilian casualties.

"We are appealing to parents to restraint their children from getting involving in incidents of stone pelting at security forces, which forces the security forces to open fire leading to the loss of innocent lives," Education Minister and government spokesman Naeem Akhtar told the media.

Police and CRPF jawans clearing the road after chasing away the protesters during a clash in Srinagar on Sunday. (Photo: PTI)

Akhtar also urged the separatist Hurriyat Conference to help restore calm in the Kashmir Valley, where a separatist campaign raging has left tens of thousands dead since 1989.

The government said it was also trying to arrange flights to fly out tourists stranded in the Valley due to the violence. Their number has been put at between 10,000 and 20,000.

OMAR TWEETS ADVICE TO MEHBOOBA

Omar Abdullah has tweeted advice to Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on how to handle the aftermath of Burhan Wani's death. Here's what he wrote:



Dear @MehboobaMufti We in @JKNC_ are always ready to contribute towards maintaining peace but you must take the lead & show the way.&; Omar Abdullah (@abdullah_omar) July 10, 2016

This is the time to lead from the front. You must accept the responsibility both for letting things get to this point as for the recovery.&; Omar Abdullah (@abdullah_omar) July 10, 2016

Please don't take the easy option of hiding behind your spokesperson & your police officers. No one elected them, the people elected you.&; Omar Abdullah (@abdullah_omar) July 10, 2016

More than anyone else I know what you're going through @MehboobaMufti & I can assure you that we will follow your lead but lead YOU must.&; Omar Abdullah (@abdullah_omar) July 10, 2016

The @JKNC_ will never be an irresponsible party & opposing you will never mean setting the state on fire for narrow political ends.&; Omar Abdullah (@abdullah_omar) July 10, 2016

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AI WAIVES CANCELLATION CHARGE ON KASHMIR FLIGHTS

Air India today said it will not charge any ticket cancellation or rescheduling fee for travel to and from Kashmir, which has been rocked by violence.

Air India has decided to waive cancellation and no-show charges from the customers who had booked their flights to or from Srinagar due to the prevalent situation in Kashmir, an Air India spokesperson said.

The spokesperson also said that the airline will also not charge any amount for the rescheduling of pre-booked flights.

The relaxed norms would be applicable for both domestic and international flights to and from Srinagar on tickets booked before July 9 for travel up to July 11.

GOVT APPEALS TO SEPARATIST FOR HELP IN RESTORING NORMALCY IN VALLEY

Moderate Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq today wondered how can the separatists be of help to authorities in Jammu and Kashmir to restore normalcy when they are labelled as a "threat to peace" and blamed the ruling dispensation for the fresh cycle of violence.

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The Mirwaiz's remarks came hours after the state government appealed to separatist Hurriyat Conference, besides mainstream parties, to assist in its efforts towards restoring normalcy in the state, which has been rocked by violent protests following the killing of young militant commander Burhan Wani.

Security personnel stand guard on a deserted street during a curfew imposed by the authorities in Srinagar on Sunday.(Photo: PTI)

"What do they want us to do? They label us as a threat to peace and cage, confine and gag us. We are not even allowed to offer Eid prayers! so how can we be of help?," said the Mirwaiz when asked about Hurriyat's response to the appeal.

PAK ACCUSES INDIA OF RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN KASHMIR

Pakistan today accused India of committing human rights violations in Kashmir following the killing of a top Hizbul Mujahideen commander and said the resolution of Kashmir issue is only possible by realising the right to "self determination" of the people there.

"Pakistan strongly condemns continued killing of innocent Kashmiris," Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

SECURITY FORCES SHOT DEAD BURHAN WANI

Kashmir Valley erupted in anger on Saturday after security forces shot dead Burhan Wani, a top leader of the Hizbul Mujahideen, along with two of his associates on Friday. His funeral was attended by thousands.

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Wani was buried in his native Shariefabad village on Saturday where thousands gathered defying curfew restrictions to take part in his funeral prayers.

The separatists have called for a valley-wide shutdown till Monday to protest against Wani's killing.

Protesters throw stones on police amid tear smoke during a clash in Srinagar on Sunday. (Photo: PTI)

Wani's killing has triggered widespread protests, most of them in the northern districts of Anantnag, Pulwama, Kulgam and Shopian. Wani hailed from Pulwama. In most places mobs have attacked security forces, leading to tear-gassing and firing.

Those who died in clashes on Saturday following the killing of Wani include Adil Bashir, Danish Ayub, Abdul Hamid Moochi, Jahangir Ganai, Aijaz Ahmad Thokru, Ashraf Dar, Showkat Ahmad, Haseeb Ahmad and Saqib Mir (all from Annatnag), Khurshid Ahmad (Kulgam) and Azad Hussain (Shopian).

Fallout of the unrest in Kashmir: SMHS Hospital in Srinagar received 40 patients with critical eye injuries. Most of them were operated upon but the doctors at the hospital were not sure how many of them will regain their eye sights. Most of the patients alleged that they were hit by the non-lethal weapon called pellet gun used by the security forces during the protests. Since Friday evening, there have been a series of protests and clashes that have taken places across the valley. The government has asked the people to remain calm and requested the parents to keep their kids inside their homes till situation comes under control. We request the parents not to allow the children out. We have to help maintain calm and bring the situation under control: Nayeem Akhtar, PDP minister

Also Read

Kashmir on boil: 18 killed, over 150 injured, Amarnath pilgrims stranded

Top Hizbul commander Burhan Wani killed in Kashmir encounter Kashmir in chaos after Hizbul commander's death, CM Mehbooba mufti urges peace

--- ENDS ---
Syria's President Bashar al-Assad (R) meets with European Parliament delegation headed by Javier Couso (L), vice-president of the European parliamentary committee on foreign affairs, in Damascus, Syria, in this handout picture provided by SANA on July 10, 2016.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad told a visiting group of European parliamentarians on Sunday that western governments' support for opposition groups in Syria caused terrorism in Europe.

"The problems Europe faces today of terrorism, extremism and waves of refugees are caused by some western leaders' adoption of policies which do not serve their people," Assad told a delegation of members of the European Parliament headed by Javier Couso, vice chairman of its foreign affairs committee.

"Especially when those leaders give support and political cover to terrorist groups inside Syria," Syrian state news agency SANA said in a summary of Assad's comments.

The Syrian government, supported by Iran and Russia, refers to all groups fighting it in the five-year-old conflict as terrorists. Of such groups, the U.N. classifies only Islamic State and the al Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front as terrorist.

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad (C-R) meets with European Parliament delegation in Damascus, Syria, in this handout picture provided by SANA on July 10, 2016. SANA/Handout via REUTERS.

A range of countries provide financial, logistical and training support to the many armed opposition groups in Syria, including Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United States and the United Kingdom.

Western and Gulf Arab countries which want Assad out of power blame him for the displacement of tens of thousands of Syrians, through air strikes on rebel-held areas that have killed thousands.

Opposition groups accuse the government of deliberately targeting civilians and breaching ceasefires. United Nations-brokered peace talks broke down in late April as violence escalated, without a set date to resume.
Soldiers walk at the national stadium where the NATO summit takes place in Warsaw, Poland on July 9, 2016. Photographer: Stephane de Sakutin/AFP via Getty Images

Leaders at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit that ended Saturday sought to demonstrate unity among the 28 alliance members as they face multiple threats and uncertainties, from Islamic State to Russia to Brexit. In that, they appeared to succeed.

The seeds of discord, however, were also evident, as leaders wait to discover what Russias response to the decisions made at the Warsaw summit will be.

For Poland and the Baltic states, the 4,000 troops that NATO members agreed to deploy across four countries may not be the end of whats required, depending on Russias actions. At NATOs last summit just two years ago, leaders announced a smaller rapid reaction force for the Baltic states, to similar fanfare.

Further south, Romania and the U.S. are now looking to shift attention to beefing up defenses in the Black Sea region. Saturdays communique upgraded the Black Sea to an area of strategic importance for the alliance. Member governments were given until a meeting of defense ministers in the fall to produce proposals on how to strengthen security there.

French concerns

For France, however, according to a senior French official, its now time for NATO to pause. We dont want NATO to do anymore, he said.

One concern for France and some other alliance members is that they want to avoid forcing Russia into a corner, triggering an escalation. Like other NATO leaders, President Francois Hollande called for dialog with Russia and stressed that the alliances deployments were purely defensive.

Russia, however, has already said it will respond to NATOs plans by deploying three divisions in its western and southern military districts, a force that would dwarf NATOs tripwire. On Saturday, Russias Interfax news agency quoted former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, often a more moderate Russian voice, as saying that the rhetoric in Warsaw just yells of a desire almost to declare war on Russia. They only talk about defense, but actually are preparing for offensive operations.

Look at where the main challenges from Russia have been, Romanian Foreign Minister Lazar Comanescu said in an interview as the summit ended. Crimea, Abkhazia and South Ossetia in Georgia, Transdnistria in Moldova -- these are all in the southern part of NATOs eastern flank.

Securing agreement to form a NATO fleet in the Black Sea could also be more complicated than deploying troops in the Baltic states. Romania is a keen proponent, but Bulgaria, a NATO member with strong economic and historical ties to Russia, has expressed opposition. In June, Prime Minister Boyko Borissov warned it would turn the Black Sea into a territory of war.

Turkey, too, has mixed feelings about the idea, due to sensitivities over its relations with Russia as well as over the international treaty that controls access through the Bosporus strait, according to Ahmet Unal Cevikoz, a former Turkish ambassador to Azerbaijan and Iraq, attending a summit conference.

This weeks drive for unity seems to have papered over those differences for now, but that may not last for long. As Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst said: Its going to need clear vision and serious U.S. leadership.
U.S. President Barack Obama (L) shakes hands with Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani next to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (R) and Afghanistan's Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah at the NATO Summit in Warsaw, Poland July 9, 2016. Photo: Reuters/Kacper Pempel

NATO allies agreed on Saturday to help fund Afghan security forces to the tune of around $1 billion annually over the next three years, despite public fatigue in Western countries about their involvement in the long-running conflict.

Fifteen years since the United States invaded to topple the Taliban rulers who had harbored al Qaeda militants behind attacks on the United States, the West remains entangled in a costly effort to stabilize a country facing resurgent rebels.

U.S. President Barack Obama said completely withdrawing from Afghanistan risked seeing the country collapse and then having to send American troops back in again to deal with a new threat.

"We have an option of ... pulling out and potentially then seeing a country crumble under the strains of continued terrorist activity or insurgencies," Obama told a news conference at the end of a NATO summit in Warsaw.

He defended his decision, along with other NATO allies, to reverse plans to sharply reduce troops levels, saying Afghan forces still needed training, funding and support.

"The Afghans are fighting. They are much more capable now than they were when I came into office, but they still need support because it is a really tough territory and it is a really poor country," Obama said.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said he had won almost $3 billion in commitments from allies to help the United States pay for the Afghan military until 2020, which now has ground forces but still needs to develop an air force.

A senior U.S. official said, on condition of anonymity, that the allies had made pledges that put them at more than 90 percent of the funding levels agreed to at a 2012 NATO summit in Chicago.

The United States has been keen to secure the target of one billion dollars annually from other countries to support more than 350,000 Afghan security forces as it draws down its own military presence in the country.

The Pentagon has budgeted $3.45 billion in annual U.S. funds to pay for the Afghan forces, with the Kabul government providing an additional sum of around $420 million, for a total yearly budget of nearly $5 billion.

For the United States, the stakes are high as it seeks to prevent Afghanistan from once again becoming a haven for groups hostile to the West, including al Qaeda and Islamic State, also known as ISIL, which has made some inroads in the country.

"We know there are al Qaeda and ISIL components in Afghanistan and if we fail there, we know that it'll be a safe haven for those," U.S. Army General Curtis Scaparrotti, the top NATO commander, told reporters on the sidelines of the summit.

Resolute support

Obama announced this week that the United States was shelving its plans to cut the U.S. force in Afghanistan nearly in half by the end of 2016, opting instead to keep 8,400 troops there till the close of his presidency next January. That still implies a 1,400-troop reduction.

There are currently about 13,000 U.S. and international troops serving in the NATO mission, called Resolute Support, in Afghanistan, with Germany, Turkey and Italy as the biggest non-U.S contributors. Their role is to train the Afghan forces.

The United States has additional troops in Afghanistan focusing on counter terrorism operations.

Stoltenberg said it was too early to say what troop levels the NATO allies would maintain in 2017 and said those decisions would be made in the autumn.

A senior U.S. official said the non-U.S. allies would collectively contribute about the same number of troops to the mission as they do now, although individual countries' numbers may vary. The size of the NATO mission is on track to be more than 12,000 troops after the adjustments, U.S. officials said.

Afghanistan faces a number of crises, including a faltering economy, a government weakened by infighting between rivals and endemic corruption. Both President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, Ghani's runner-up in the 2014 presidential election, attended the NATO summit.

A U.S. official said the United States and its allies were encouraged by the fact that some cabinet-level appointments had recently moved through the Afghan parliament, that the government was doing better in collecting tax revenues and that Ghani had diligently pursued anti-corruption measures.

"We expect they (Afghan leaders) will step up their efforts to fight corruption and to implement reforms," Stoltenberg said.
Gunmen kidnapped three Indonesian members of a tugboat crew off Malaysia's eastern state of Sabah, police said on Sunday, the latest in a string of abductions in a region noted for kidnappings by Islamist militants.

It was not immediately clear whether the men were seized by Abu Sayyaf, a group linked to Islamic State that is responsible for recent beheadings of Western hostages and notorious for the extortion of millions of dollars in ransoms.

The tugboat, with a crew of seven, was in waters off the east coast of Sabah on Borneo island, about 3.6 nautical miles from a nearby Kampung Sinakut beach, Sabah police commissioner Abdul Rashid Harun said, when it was attacked by armed men in a white boat late on Saturday.

He said that based on early investigations, the three men kidnapped were 34-year-old Lorens Koten, 40-year-old Teo Dores Kopong and a 46-year-old identified only as Emanuel.

Abdul Rashid said they are likely to be in the southern Philippines now but did not elaborate. Four other crew members were left behind by the kidnappers who came in a speedboat.

"Victims released also said while the kidnappers were on their tugboat for nearly 30 minutes, no violence took place," he told reporters at a press conference in Lahad Datu.

The five abductors were armed with rifles and also had a grenade launcher, the police added.

In Jakarta, the Indonesian foreign ministry said it had no information yet on the abductions.

The Abu Sayyaf militant group has beheaded two Canadian nationals recently after its ransom deadlines expired. It is still holding men from Japan, the Netherlands and Norway.
Iraqi government forces react to the camera in Falluja after government forces recaptured the city from Islamic State militants, Iraq, July 1, 2016.

Islamic State lost an area the size of Ireland - a quarter of its territory - to hostile forces in the last 18 months in Iraq and Syria and is likely to further step up attacks on civilians in coming months, IHS said in a report on Sunday.

The territory controlled by the ultra-hardline Sunni group shrank from 90,800 sq km (35,000 square miles) in January 2015, six months after it declared a caliphate in Syria and Iraq, to 68,300 sq km (26,370 square miles), the research firm said.

This has led the group to step up attacks on civilian targets in the Middle East and in Europe and this is likely to intensify, IHS said.

"As the Islamic State's caliphate shrinks and it becomes increasingly clear that its governance project is failing, the group is re-prioritizing insurgency," said Columb Strack, senior analyst at IHS and lead analyst for the IHS Conflict Monitor.

Flowers and candles are seen at the site of a suicide car bomb attack over the weekend at the shopping area of Karrada in Baghdad, Iraq July 6, 2016.

"As a result, we unfortunately expect an increase in mass casualty attacks and sabotage of economic infrastructure, across Iraq and Syria, and further afield, including Europe."

The Iraqi military's recapture of Falluja, an Islamic State stronghold just west of Baghdad, last month has led the insurgents to step up bombings on Shi'ite Muslim targets.

Nearly 300 people died when an Islamic State suicide bomber struck in a busy shopping district in Baghdad a week ago, in one of the worst such attacks by the group to date.

Islamic State lost control of the city of Ramadi at the end of last year, another key stronghold for the group which captured large swathes of Iraq in 2014. The army is now gearing up to retake Mosul, the largest city in Iraq's north and Islamic State's de facto capital.

Iraqi security forces hold an Islamist State flag which they pulled down at the University of Anbar, in Anbar province July 26, 2015.

In Syria, the militants lost ground this year to both Russian and Iranian-backed forces supporting President Bashar al-Assad and to the U.S.-backed Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance.

In February the SDF captured the town of al Shadadi, a major logistics hub for the militants, and in March Syrian and allied forces backed by Russian air strikes drove Islamic State out of the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra and surrounding areas.

An SDF advance is underway to retake areas north of Islamic State's de facto capital in Syria, Raqqa.
The U.S. Department of Defense and Lockheed Martin Corp are in the final stages of negotiations about two contracts for 160 fighter jets, tandem deals valued at more than $14 billion, the Pentagon's F-35 program manager said on Saturday.

"We're in the end game," Air Force Lieutenant General Chris Bogdan said in an interview at the Royal International Air Tattoo the world's largest military airshow, where six F-35 Lightning II jets are flying this week.

Bogdan said an agreement could be finalised soon, but declined to predict if it could be announced at the Farnborough International Airshow next week. He said all the major issues had been resolved and the fate of the deal was largely in Lockheed's hands at the moment.

Lockheed's F-35 program manager Jeff Babione had told reporters on Thursday that he expected to reach an agreement soon about contracts for the ninth and 10th production contracts for the new warplane.

Sources familiar with the two contracts said they would likely be valued between $14 billion and $15 billion.

Babione said the price of the F-35A conventional takeoff and landing version of the jet would drop to under $100 million per plane in the 10th low-rate production batch, including an engine built by Pratt & Whitney, a unit of United Technologies Corp.

Bogdan said he was continuing to work on a block buy deal for international partners on the $379 billion warplane project, the largest arms program in the world, as part of a larger effort to drive down the jets' cost.

Buying larger numbers of jets at a time -- starting with the 12th production batch of jets -- could generate savings of $2 billion to $2.8 billion, even if the U.S. military was not able to join in until it got congressional approval, he said.

The U.S. military services would likely join in starting with the 13th and 14th production lots, which would reduce the initially anticipated savings by "hundreds of millions of dollars," he said.

Bogdan told reporters the program office was carefully assessing any potential impact on trade and tariffs stemming from Britain's vote to leave the European Union, but the initial expectation was that it would not have much impact.
A protester shouts 'Look at me' towards a NYPD police officer during a march against police brutality in Manhattan, New York, U.S., July 9, 2016. Photo: Reuters/Bria Webb

Protests against the shootings of two black men by police officers shut down main arteries in a number of U.S. cities on Saturday, leading to numerous arrests, scuffles and injuries in confrontations between police and demonstrators.

Undeterred by heightened concerns about safety at protests after a lone gunman killed five police officers in Dallas Thursday night, organizers went ahead with marches in the biggest metropolis, New York City, and Washington D.C., the nation's capital, among other cities.

It was the third straight day of widespread protests after the fatal shooting of Alton Sterling, 37, by police in Baton Rouge on Tuesday and the death of Philando Castile, 32, on Wednesday night in a St. Paul, Minnesota suburb, cities which both saw heated protests on Saturday.

The most recent shooting deaths by police come after several years of contentious killings by law enforcement officers, including that of Michael Brown, a teenager whose death in the summer of 2014 caused riots and weeks of protests in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson.

On Saturday evening, hundreds of protesters shut down I-94, a major thoroughfare linking the Twin Cities, snarling traffic.

Protesters, told to disperse, threw rocks, bottles and construction rebar at officers, injuring at least three, St. Paul police said. Police made arrests and used smoke bombs and marking rounds to disperse the crowd.

Police officers are seen as people gather on Interstate 94 to protest the fatal shooting of Philando Castile by Minneapolis area police during a traffic stop, in St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S., July 10, 2016. Photo: Reuters/Adam Bettcher Protesters at the scene said police fired tear gas and rubber bullets. Police said early on Sunday they had begun clearing the highway of debris in preparation for re-opening it.

A march in Baton Rouge saw scuffles between riot police and Black Panther activists, several of whom carried shotguns. Louisiana law allows for weapons to be carried openly.

After a short standoff later in the evening, riot police arrested as many as 30 demonstrators and recovered weapons. Prominent black activist and former Baltimore mayoral candidate Deray McKesson was among those arrested.

Protests also took place Saturday in Nashville, where protesters briefly blocked a road, and in Indianapolis. A rally in San Francisco also briefly blocked a freeway ramp, according to local media.

Hundreds of protesters marched from City Hall to Union Square in New York. The crowd swelled to around a thousand people, closing down Fifth Avenue.

Some chanted "No racist police, no justice, no peace" as rain fell in New York.

"I'm feeling very haunted, very sad," said Lorena Ambrosio, 27, a Peruvian American and freelance artist, "and just angry that black bodies just keep piling and piling up."

New York police said they arrested about a dozen protesters for shutting down a major city highway.
A still image taken on July 10, 2016 from a video posted by Islamic State's affiliated news agency Amaq purportedly shows the moment a helicopter is shot down east of Palmyra in Syria. Social Media

Militants shot down a military helicopter near Palmyra in Syria, killing two Russian pilots on board, Interfax news agency said, quoting Russia's defense ministry.

The two men had been attacking a detachment of Islamic State fighters in the Homs region on Friday, when the Syrian Mi-25 helicopter they were in ran out of ammunition, the ministry said, according to Interfax.

The turning helicopter was hit by militants gunfire from the ground and crashed in the area controlled by the Syrian government army. The crew died," it added.

Video footage published on Saturday by Islamic States affiliated news agency Amaq showed a helicopter being shot and crashing to the ground against cries of 'It's fallen, God is greatest'.

Russian forces entered the conflict at the end of last year, backing the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

A still image taken on July 10, 2016 from a video posted by Islamic State's affiliated news agency Amaq purportedly shows a helicopter (R) spinning near another helicopter after it was shot down east of Palmyra in Syria. Social Media
Senior AAP leader H S Phoolka said that Kejriwal has already apologised along with two other party leaders including Ashish Khetan after the alleged sacrilege controversy.

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal on July 18 will render a day long service to show his respect for the Sikhism. (Photo: PTI)

By Manjeet Sehgal: The Aam Aadmi Party on Sunday clarified that party's National Convenor and New Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on July 18 will render a day long service to show his respect for the Sikhism instead of seeking any pardon from the Sikh temporal authorities.

ALL APOLOGIES

Senior AAP leader and Supreme Court lawyer HS Phoolka, who performed a similar service on Sunday at Golden Temple Complex, said that Kejriwal has already apologised along with two other party leaders including Ashish Khetan after the alleged sacrilege controversy.

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Phoolka, who tendered his apology at Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple complex), claimed that the comparison of party's Youth Manifesto with Guru Granth Sahib by Ashish Khetan was inadvertent.

"We have already tendered apology. It was not Arvind Kejriwal but the Punjab team which made a mistake. He (Kejriwal) will visit Darbar Sahib for service only," H S Phoolka said.

Phoolka washed utensils at Guru Ram Das Langar (free kitchen) ,cleaned shoes of the visitors and the floor as part of the apology. He offered his prayers and sought pardon from the Sikh gurus for the 'mistake' made by party's leaders including Ashish Khetan.

"I am a true Sikh and a faithful party worker. I came here to tender my apology for the mistakes which were unintentional," Phoolka said.

SACRILEGE CONTROVERSY

While, other party leaders including Punjab in-charge Sanjay Singh and State Convenor Sucha Singh Chotepur were absent, Phoolka confirmed that they will visit the complex along with Arvind Kejriwal on July 18.

AAP Spokesperson Ashish Khetan while reading out party's Youth Manifesto on July 3 in Amritsar had said that the document was as pious to them (AAP) as Bible,Quarn, Geeta or Guru Granth.

Khetan has been booked under section 295A of IPC for hurting religious sentiments of Sikhs on the basis of a complaint filed by All India Sikh Students Federation (AISSF) Karnail Singh Peer Mohammad. He is facing arrest as the offence is cognizable and a non-bailable

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Kejriwal's youth manifesto receives flak from Sikhs

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As with other attacks, the underlying message from IS is that creating order brings legitimacy. If IS can dictate the order of Iraq through terror, it challenges the legitimacy of the Iraqi government.

The bloodiest event of recent days, however, was in Iraq. As many as 292 lives were claimed when a truck bomb went off in the Karrada shopping area in Baghdad. The bombing, the worst single atrocity since the US-led invasion of 2003, shows that by far the biggest victims of Islamist terrorism continue to be Muslims themselves.

IS hasn't claimed the attack in Turkey but Ankara blames the group. The ambiguity of attribution underscores the fluid nature of the organisation, planning and funding some attacks, while inspiring others. In Dhaka, 22 mostly foreign nationals were killed in a siege at a bakery. There have been further suicide attacks in Saudi Arabia.

A wave of suicide bomb attacks has rocked the Muslim world in the past fortnight in Istanbul, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, pointing to new phase in Islamist terror. The slaughter of civilians comes as Islamic State, the suspected co-ordinator of the blasts, has been pushed out of its stronghold of Fallujah, Iraq, by US-backed Iraqi forces. As IS loses more of its territory, the organisation wants to show its power, and so urged adherents to attack vulnerable targets during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which ended last week.

Tellingly, in the immediate aftermath, the greatest anger in Iraq has been for the government of Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, for its inability to protect its citizens from such violence. Iraqis hurled rocks at Abadi when he visited the site. He has pledged a series of "routine" fixes, such as creating a security belt around Baghdad and banning the use of fake bomb detectors.

Though it appears ridiculous to Western eyes, the use of fake bomb detectors point to two other realities: the rampant corruption in Iraq which delivered this fraudulent equipment into the hands of authorities, but also the risks of "security theatre" where effective security is needed  a problem by no means limited to the Middle East. The recent spate of geographically diverse attacks shows IS exists not just as a physical militia claiming Iraqi and Syrian land but a force in cyberspace.

The relatively muted response from the Western public after such slaughter has important implications. Western governments and leaders were quick to offer statements of condolences. But in this globalised age, where ideologies and perceptions are shaped on the internet, a mass, apolitical show of sympathy with the victims from Western communities, like that which occurred globally after the attacks in Paris last year, and the Brussels attacks this year, could go a long way in showing solidarity against the forces of extremism that threaten us all.

The Arab Spring flourished across the region not simply in reaction to the repression of governments there but also through the ease with which the message of change spread through young users of the internet in the shared language of the region, Arabic. Leaders highlighting sectarianism within Iraq have long contributed to internal divisions, so doing the opposite in the form of a global expression of sympathy in the aftermath of such bombings could help bring Iraqis together.

Such efforts won't stop violence or division in the Middle East. But as the region reorders around new realities  a smaller US military footprint, structurally lower oil prices, the escalating Saudi-Iran rivalry  this sort of strategic message of solidarity from the wider world to the Middle East could become another counter-radicalisation tool in what is proving to be a long struggle against terrorism.
There was mould on the walls, ice pipes and bongs thrown over her back fence, addicts assaulting her and even a thief that broke into her home while she was in labour.

But that wasn't the worst of Kailah Longbottom's housing woes.

Kailah Longbottom with her daughter Elizabeth in their new home. Credit:Steven Siewert

When the new mother asked Housing NSW to move her out of the drug-addled Eastlakes complex, she was ignored.

It took two years and two court battles handled by the Kingsford Legal Centre to finally be moved to a safe, clean home in Kingsford last month.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has conceded defeat a week after Australians went to the polls and says he accepts that Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has a mandate to pursue the policies he took to the election.

Mr Shorten said he had spoken to Mr Turnbull on Sunday to congratulate him on his victory.

The Coalition is confident it will win the 76 seats required to form a majority government and could win 77 seats if the counting of postal and absentee votes continues to trend its way.

"I respect that Mr Turnbull has won government - be it a minority government or a majority of one or two seats," Mr Shorten said.
Dr Sara Imari Walker, from Arizona State University, has co-authored a paper with Paul Davies arguing that information rather than chemicals could be the basis for life. "Without an understanding of 'life'," Davies and Walker write, "we can have little hope of solving the problem of its origin or provide a general-purpose set of criteria for identifying it on other worlds." The nature of information Their paper  The "Hard Problem" of Life  has yet to be formally published. Drew Barrymore in ET.

Last month the pair posted it on a science pre-print server called arXiv, and already it is generating discussion among astrophysicists, bioastronomers and science philosophers. The reason is clear. If "information" is shown to be the fundamental building block of life, the discovery will be a scientific revolution as game-changing as those of classical physics and quantum mechanics. Many pop culture extra-terrestrials, including the Sontarans from Dr Who, are assumed to have similar life structures to Earth's life forms. Mind you, it's a very big "if", and one that is attracting curt dismissal from some of Davies' peers. "I think their idea is interesting, but it begs the enormous question of how information can be causal in a physical system," said Dr Charley Lineweaver, of the Planetary Science Institute at the ANU's Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the Mt Stromlo Observatory in the ACT.

The aliens from Mars Attacks!. "I see no way to get around this obstacle." Lineweaver's objection was echoed by many  though not all  scientists and philosophers contacted for this story. It can be illustrated by a simple example. Yoda with R2D2 and Luke in The Empire Strikes Back. The fundamental unit of DNA is the gene  humans have around 25,000 of them. If you were to make a computer model of the human genome you could represent each gene with the smallest unit of computer code, known as a "bit".

One gene equals one bit. Dr Charley Lineweaver says the theory raises questions about how information can be causal in a physical system. Credit:David Moir But the gene exists in the real physical world, and does stuff  like giving you brown eyes or red hair, for instance. The bit is a description of the gene. It does nothing, because it does not exist in the physical world. Davies and Walker, however, raise the possibility that this basic distinction between real and not-real might be way wrong. Mr Spock of Star Trek.

It is a contentious suggestion. "This is a category error," said Dr John Wilkins, honorary fellow at Melbourne University's School of Historical and Philosophical Studies. Jar Jar Binks - formerly of Star Wars fame. Philosophical roots Wilkins specialises in studying the relationship between information and evolutionary theory. Davies and Walker's paper, he noted, being speculative, falls as much into the realm of philosophy as physics.

"It's a long-standing category error that goes back a very long way in philosophy  arguably back to Plato," he said. "It's the idea that the way we represent something is somehow the essence of the thing being represented. It's mistaking the map for the territory." Wilkins suggested that the authors had fallen into the trap of failing to distinguish between the complex mathematical modelling that physics demands and the actual physical world being thus modelled. Their conclusions, he said, "are not philosophically well supported". Which brings us, in a weird kind of way, to the bit about gods. Wilkins' assertion that mathematics model and measure a separate physical reality seems obvious  in the same way that you wouldn't confuse a map of a town with the town itself. Surprisingly, however, it is not a universally held view, even among hard-nosed scientists. From the Big Bang onwards, the universe has developed in line with precise mathematical laws, leading to the idea (seductive or repulsive, depending on your point of view) that maths is not a human invention but a fundamental force.

"Scientists have embraced a kind of mathematical creationism," wrote New York Times science writer George Johnson back in 1998, "God is a great mathematician, who declared, 'Let there be numbers!' before getting around to 'let there be light!'" Davies and Walker come intriguingly close to allowing a Great Mathematician to enter the story of how the universe, and thus life, came into being. From one perspective it is the central assertion  revolutionary or shocking, take your pick  in their paper. The 'hard problem' Bear with us here. This requires a short diversion. By using the term "hard problem" to describe life Davies and Walker are deliberately echoing the landmark work of Australian philosopher and cognitive scientist Dr David Chalmers. In 1995 Chalmers declared consciousness to be a "hard problem"  by which he meant that although it is theoretically possible to measure precisely every neuron in the human brain, and track the sparks that flash between them, this understanding still doesn't explain how thoughts, daydreams, or states of mind arise.

Self-awareness, he said, is not an obvious product of the electrical activity inside your head. Davies and Walker see a possible similarity with life. Assuming things live on other planets, they say, the question is whether all types of alien can be "accounted for in terms of known physics and chemistry, or whether certain aspects of living matter will require something fundamentally new". The "hard problem" in this instance, they add, "is the problem of how 'information' can affect the world." It is a problem that they suspect "will not ultimately be reducible to known physical principles." Or, in plainer terms, physics and chemistry won't cut it alone: there's something else in the mix. That something, they think, is "information"  but what exactly is that, and where did it come from? The Reverend Dr Stephen Ames thinks he might have an idea. He is a canon at St Paul's Cathedral in Melbourne, and a lecturer at Melbourne Uni who holds dual doctorates in physics and the history and philosophy of science.

"I do think of the universe as being structured towards an end, and part of that end is that it is knowable through empirical inquiry," he said. In other words, the laws of physics are what they are  but studying them, in time, over generations of scholarship, will lead to the understanding that in a fundamental way the universe was kick-started by what Ames terms a "powerful agent"  or, in more traditional terms, God. External force Regardless of what anyone chooses to call it, the interesting (and to many scientists troubling) thing is that by suggesting that life may not be completely explicable through physics and chemistry, Davies and Walker implicitly leave open the possibility of some sort of metaphysical force playing a hand. The pair is quick, however, to rule out one popular, contentious idea. Basic logic (and math) tell us that in order for the universe, and life, to develop in the way that it has, there must have been very precise initial conditions at the instant of the Big Bang. Even the most minuscule difference in any one of scores of things  the number of electrons, for instance, or the ratio of matter to antimatter  would have resulted in a universe in which planets and people were impossible.

The problem, say Davies and Walker, is that to get to where we are today those initial conditions "must be selected with extraordinary care, which is tantamount to intelligent design: it states that 'life' is 'written into' the laws of physics". There is no evidence, they conclude, of "this almost miraculous property". Ames agrees with them in dismissing ideas of intelligent design, a largely creationist idea equally unpopular among mainstream physicists and theologians (of which, of course, he is equally representative). "The word 'design' brings to mind too many ideas of engineering and blueprints," he said. "But I'm personally very interested in Davies' endeavours to give an account of the universe in terms of information and in terms that would appear not to need any special initial conditions. If he can do it, that would be remarkable." For many in the physics and astrophysics games, however, even the simplest suggestion that hard science can't ultimately account for the entire universe and everything in it  alive or not  sets off warning bells.

And in this area, it should be noted, Davies has form. You would struggle to find a definite pro-deity statement is any of his writing, but he is very fond of religious metaphor  one of his books is called The Mind of God  and some of his statements are, well, a tad ambiguous. "If there is an ultimate meaning to existence, as I believe is the case, the answer is to be found within nature, not beyond it," he wrote in a 2007 newspaper article. For mainstream physicists any suggestion of "ultimate meaning" is close to salivating, revival tent fundamentalism. "He's on that edge of philosophy and physics all the time," said Ames. 'Deliberate' ambiguity Sydney astrophysicist and bioastronomer Dr Maria Cunningham, of the UNSW School of Physics, said she found Davies and Walker's paper fascinating but was troubled by its possible theological implications.

"Davies' ambiguity is deliberate, I think," she said. "Since before the term intelligent design was coined  going back 25 years or so  he has maintained that the parameters and constants of our particular universe are so finely tuned that it does make you wonder whether this is just a random thing. "It's something that physicists and philosophers have been talking about for a long time. I think maybe [Rene] Descartes was one of the first to actually come up with the idea that there had to be something separate for life  that it couldn't just be a mechanistic process." Cunningham described herself as a "hard-headed reductionist" who sees neither a way, nor a need, for information to exert an influence. Eventually identifying the deep laws that govern life  which she feels to be rare in the rest of the universe, but there, nevertheless  will not need the "new physics" Davies and Walker suggest. "I don't feel comfortable with the suggestion that because living things exist there has to be new physics explaining living things," she said. She pointed to recent studies revealing that hydrogen cyanide and hydrogen sulfide  both floating around in outer space  when exposed to ultraviolet light can form nucleic acids, amino acids, and lipids, the basic building blocks of life. These and similar research projects may one day sufficiently answer the question of how life comes to exist, without reference to new science or old gods.
A family who spent five days trapped by flooded waterways in Victoria's east have made the long journey home after a successful rescue mission in wet and rugged bushland.

The missing Bunyip family of six, and their two dogs, were found on Sunday and flown to safety, bringing an end to a long and rainy camping trip.

Dave Davies, 34, his 36-year-old partner, and their two girls, 12 and 10, and two boys, 8 and 2, were all smiles as the rescue bid came to an end in the late afternoon.

The family, who had set off on a camping trip in their white 1990 Nissan Patrol on June 29, were taken in a police helicopter to a nearby airfield at Bulldog Junction before driving off to be reunited with worried friends and family.
A 27-year-old man who fought off two armed men before he was shot in Melbourne's western suburbs waited more than 10 hours to call for help.

Two men had stormed the Deer Park home late on Saturday night, pulled out their guns, and shot the man multiple times in the leg while he tried to fight back during the two-on-one brawl.

Police will be asked to examine the various allegations. Credit:Georgia Matts

He managed to stab one of the two men during the fight before the pair ran from the Winslow Crescent property and fled in a car, police said.

The shot man's partner was home at the time, but she was uninjured during the home invasion.
Residents could be forced to move out of their homes while the Melbourne Metro Rail project is built, but they are yet to be told where they would go or how long for.

Documents outlining the construction process have revealed that some people living near the project route could be required to relocate due to "unavoidable" noise and vibration, which may occasionally occur after hours.

While the state government insists it will do everything possible to minimise the disruption, locals say they are being kept in the dark about the details.

Lorraine Parker, who lives along St Kilda Road, said she found the possibility of relocating "very frightening", particularly given the project would not be completed until 2026 and it was not clear if disrupted residents would be required to move for days, weeks or months at a time.
A seven-year-old boy is fighting for life after he was hit by a car at Bairnsdale in Victoria's east on Saturday.

The boy was struck in Main Street shortly after 3pm and taken to Bairnsdale Hospital with head injuries.

Paramedics attend to the injured boy in Main Street, Bairnsdale, on Saturday. Credit:Seven News

Ambulance Victoria spokesman John Mullen said the seven-year-old was flown to the Royal Children's Hospital.

On Sunday morning hospital spokeswoman Laura Richards said the boy remained in a critical condition.
Madrid: A man participating in a village bull run and a bull fighter have been killed in Spain while another two men were gored at the world-famous festival in Pamplona.

Victor Barrio, a 29-year-old professional bullfighter, was killed when a bull's horn pierced his chest in front of spectators as he competed in a fight in the town of Teruel in the eastern region of Aragon on Saturday.

His death, shown live on television, was confirmed on the website of Madrid's Las Ventas bullring, where Barrio began as an apprentice bullfighter in 2010. He is the first Spanish bullfighter to die in a ring since the turn of the century.

In the southeastern village of Pedreguer near Valencia, a 28-year-old Spaniard was killed during a bull run, in which people risk life and limb by racing alongside specially-bred fighting bulls through narrow streets.
Hunt on for 'crown prince of terror'

The bin Ladens: a family divided Dubai: The son of slain al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has threatened revenge against the United States for assassinating his father, according to an audio message posted online. Hamza bin Laden promised to continue the global militant group's fight against the United States and its allies in the 21-minute speech entitled "We Are All Osama," according to the SITE Intelligence Group. A young boy, left, identified as Hamza bin Laden holds what the Taliban say is a piece of US helicopter wreckage in Ghazni, Afghanistan in November 2001. Credit:AP "We will continue striking you and targeting you in your country and abroad in response to your oppression of the people of Palestine, Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Somalia and the rest of the Muslim lands that did not survive your oppression," Hamza bin Laden said.

"As for the revenge by the Islamic nation for Sheikh Osama, may Allah have mercy on him, it is not revenge for Osama the person but it is revenge for those who defended Islam." Osama bin Laden was killed at his Pakistani hideout by US commandos in 2011 in a major blow to the militant group which carried out the September 11, 2001 attacks. Documents recovered from bin Laden's compound and published by the United States last year alleged that his aides tried to reunite the militant leader with Hamza, who had been held under house arrest in Iran. Hamza bin Laden, now in his mid-20s, was at his father's side in Afghanistan before the 9/11 attacks and spent time with him in Pakistan after the US-led invasion pushed much of al-Qaeda's senior leadership there, according to the Brookings Institution. Introduced by the organisation's new chief Ayman al-Zawahiri in an audio message last year, Hamza bin Laden provides a younger voice for the group whose ageing leaders have struggled to inspire militants around the world galvanised by Islamic State.
By Sanjay Austa: For the lay, Eat, Pray, Love tourist, Indonesia is Bali and Bali, Indonesia. For them, it is as if the other 17,000 or so islands of this archipelago do not exist at all.

But Indonesian islands were to British naturalist Alfred Russell Wallace, what Galapagos islands were to Charles Darwin, both regions helping them formulate their theory of evolution independent of each other. Interestingly however, in what may be one of the scientific world's freakish misses, Wallace, who spent eight long years painstakingly studying, chronicling and discovering thousands of species in this part of the world, lived much like the Bali revelers, in complete oblivion of a beast that today is wild Indonesia's hottest emblem. The Komodo Dragon, in fact remained shrouded in mystery until as late as 1910, when one of them was killed and its skin sent to scientists in Java.

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Today komodo dragons cold-stare you from hoardings, coins, souvenirs, brochures and Tshirts across Indonesia. "Komodos here are not tame. Not like in zoo".Our guide is at pains to impress on us the ferocious side of the world's largest lizard. He is one of the many who narrate to us the unfortunate incident of a Swiss trekker who went off the beaten path in the Komodo National Park and was made short work of by the dragons.

"It is lucky if you find the Komodos and lucky if you don't", the guide concludes epigrammatically. We take it all in, in the 40 minute speedboat ride to Komodo National Park from Labuan Bajo, the largest city in Flores Island, and a springboard for Komodo National Park excursions.



Also Read: Planning a trip to Bali? 5 places on the island you must not miss

Komodo National Park includes four of the five islands where the dragons live. These four islands are brown with clumps of green clinging only about their coast.

A perfect habitat for the coldblooded that like to sun in the dry savannah grass. The dragons however also sun themselves right on the pier making for a frightful reception committee. However, when we alight at Komodo Island, we meet only fork stick wielding rangers at the other end of the long wooden pier. Along with the island's herbivores; the buffalos, the wild boars, and the deers, humans are also on the dragon's menu and the forked sticks come in handy to stave them off .

Thankfully on our trek in the savannah , the rangers don't launch into a maddening dragon chase, a la the tiger safaris in India. Our ranger, like a latter day Wallace stops for every bird sound in the trees and any scampering in the undergrowth. However in the dappled light of the midday sun, the birds are camouflaged and we only get a good glimpse of a brightly coloured jungle fowl. The ranger then turns his attention to the trees.

He tells us in particular about the galand or the palm tree. It's different from the palm tree whose cultivation has wrecked havoc in large swathes of Indonesian jungles, particularly in Borneo. This one is a wild variant, with no oil, bearing fruits only once in its lifetime. After bearing fruit- perhaps having thus fulfilled its evolutionary duty- it dies. "There is a soft place inside this tree which is inhabited by geckos and baby dragons", the ranger informs us. The baby dragons, barely twelve inches at birth, no sooner hatched, scamper up trees like this, to hide from cannibalistic dragons including their mother.

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The baby dragons live in their arboreal confines for as long as four years until they become bigger, eventually tipping the scale at about 70 kilos. This is when they lose their ability to climb, keeping in turn other baby dragons out of their reach. A short walk away we see an array of fork stick armed rangers hard pressed to keep a menacing dragon at bay. He swaggers, head swinging from side to side, tasting the air with its forked tongue. Another dragon - the bigger of the two - lies absolutely stationary.

From both their mouth drips saliva, which scientists say has over sixty deadly bacteria. The aggressive one is the female, says one ranger. No, it's an adolescent, says another. They debate. But soon concede that it is hard to tell a male from a female. Males in the dragon world however are pretty much dispensable. The dragons are one of those remarkable creatures capable of the miracle of Immaculate Conception.

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In the absence of a male, the female dragon can reproduce asexually. What made these dragons so big? The dragons are a perfect example of what biologists call 'island gigantism'. Cold blooded reptiles if geographically isolated for a long time have a tendency to grow larger while other mammals have a tendency to grow smaller, a tendency the scientists call 'island dwarfism'. Before man introduced the buffalo, the wild boar and the deer on these islands, the dragons used to feed on the now extinct pygmy elephant.

Wallace, besides chasing butterflies and insects, was always on a look out for fascinating fauna in Indonesia. He found many but missed the most unusual of them all. How the dragons might have shaped his ideas of evolution, is only a matter of speculation.

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London: Andrea Leadsom, one of two candidates vying to become the next British prime minister, has caused an uproar by suggesting that being a mother means she has a greater stake in the country's future than her childless rival Theresa May.

A little-known junior energy minister until she emerged as one of the most ardent voices in the campaign to leave the European Union, Mrs Leadsom is the outsider in the contest to succeed David Cameron as Conservative leader and Prime Minister. Home Secretary Theresa May is the front-runner after a party ballot last week.

The two contenders to become the leader of the Conservative Party and British Prime Minister: Theresa May, left, and Andrea Leadsom, right. Credit:AP

Mr Cameron, who had campaigned for Britain to stay in the bloc, announced he would quit after the June 23 referendum delivered a vote for Brexit.
A Nils Bohlin-Volvo Invention in All Cars 3-Point Seat Belt, a Volvo Safety Development, Has Saved Thousands of Lives

3-Point Seat Belt, a Volvo Safety Development, Has Saved Thousands of Lives

SEE ALSO: Nils Bohlin Articles From The Auto Channel News Archives

IRVINE, Calif., May 26 -- "There's a little bit of 'Volvo' in every vehicle on the American road," says Anne Belec, president and CEO, Volvo Cars of North America. Such a bold assertion is based on Nils Bohlin's development of the three-point safety belt. No single safety device has saved more lives than the 3-point safety belt. In the 1950s, Bohlin, a passionate Inventor brought his background with aircraft pilot ejector seats and his concern for human safety to the Swedish automaker that shared his interests.

During this time the lap belt -- a safety belt anchored at two points, for use across the occupant's thighs/hips -- was the technology of the day. These crude implements managed to hold vehicle occupants in place, but were plagued by a variety of health issues resulting from the forces against the body during a crash. Lap belts were mostly used by race car drivers at that time, and were only available to motoring public as an option, and a not very popular one at that. In fact, given the choice between lap belts and white wall tires ... white walls won.

The ideas of Nils Bohlin came to the attention of Gunnar Engellau, then president of AB Volvo in Sweden. Engellau, who loss a relative in a car crash, brought Bohlin into Volvo and supported the continuation of his work. Applying the concepts of pilot restraint in the cockpit of a plane, Bohlin engineered a system combating 'decelerative forces,' such as the effect of abrupt stops characteristic in a car crash.

In 1958 Nils Bohlin, Volvo design engineer, patented the "Basics of Proper Restraint Systems for Car Occupants," better known as a three-point safety belt. A year later, Bohlin's lap-and-shoulder belt was introduced by Volvo as standard equipment on all of its cars, in Sweden. Today, the 3-Point Safety Belt -- not the first but the modern seatbelt -- is now a standard safety device in almost every car and truck.

The 3-Point Safety belt is a safety belt with both a lap and a shoulder portion, having three attachment points (one shoulder, two hips). Volvo's unique design allowed for the single belt to 'slip' through the center attaching point thereby increasing comfort and making adjustments a simple task.

In 1963, Volvo introduced the 3-point safety belt into the United States.

Beginning with New York and Texas in 1985, states began to make the use of safety belts mandatory in vehicles. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), if all vehicle occupants had used safety belts during the period of 1975 and 2000, nearly 315,000 deaths and 5.2 million injuries could have been prevented.

"Statistics clearly indicate that safety belts save lives," said Belec. "As we approach the Memorial Day weekend, one of the busiest driving periods of the year, initiatives like 'Click It or Ticket' bring awareness that we must do everything that we can to encourage people to wear them."

In 2002, Nils Bohlin was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, which honors men and women who have had a significant impact on the way people live through their patented technologies. CLICK HERE for complete story

Volvo Cars of North America (VCNA) -- part of the Volvo Car Corporation of Gothenburg, Sweden -- provides marketing, sales, parts, service, technology and training support to Volvo automobile retailers in the United States, and oversees Volvo operations in Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico.

Volvo has been building cars with Safety in mind for over 75 years. Startling facts: Front 3-point safety belts reduce fatalities by 45% in cars and 60% in light trucks(1) Rear 3-point safety belts reduce fatalities by 44% in cars and 73% in light trucks(1) Safety belt usage has gone from 14% in 1984 to 80% in 2004(2) The rear seat is equally important. A 60 pound child is the weight equivalent of 2,700 pounds upon impact at 30 mph. It's like having an elephant in the back seat. 1. NHTSA: Lives Saved by the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and Other Vehicle Safety Technologies, 1960 - 2002, pg. 203 2. NHTSA: Lives Saved by the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and Other Vehicle Safety Technologies, 1960 - 2002, table 1-2. 2. NHTSA: 19 City Survey, 1976 - 1991; NOPUS, 1994 - 2004
Letter From Europe; '76 British Grand Prix, Masada, Monaco, Maranello ansd More Ferrari, Prius,

by Andrew Frankl

European Bureau Chief

The Auto Channel

This months assignment started as always with a quick trip on Virgin Atlantics new 787 Dreamliner to London and my new home- the Royal Automobile Club.

To make things even better, to commemorate the 1976 British Grand Prix James Hunts winning car was displayed in the Clubs rotunda. The fact that the car was several weeks later disqualified was neither here or there, on that day 80 thousand Brits came to see James Hunt take the chequered flag. And yes, I did start the riot which got James to the restart.

The icing on the cake was the dinner to remember James in the presence of Murray Walker, the BBCs much loved TV commentator who is now 90 years old and going strong. His tales of James misbehaving are amazing, no driver could get away with that sort of thing today. As this is a family site I will skip the details.

This was followed by a quick trip to Hungary where I saw numerous Ferraris, the local dealer seems to be thriving.

On to Monaco courtesy of Wizzair, one of those new Southwest type airline sprouting up all over Europe. An hour and a half later I was at my Monaco home of some 33 years, the Meridien Beach Plaza. Same room, same great staff. Same awful food. Certain things never change.

It was good to see Lewis Hamilton win, it was well overdue.

From Monaco it was a quick, very quick trip in Maseratis excellent Quattroporte to Maranello. This has to be one of the nicest long distance cruisers in the World.

The speedo was showing 130, I can only assume that it was in kilometers. As always, it was a great pity that we had to return it to Modena, Maseratis HQ where we are on first name terms with the man on gate having known him for well over 10 years. Digressing slightly I should mention that Maserati are the No 1 luxury brand in Israel.

Ferrari are also present  I sat in the latest 488 spider in their immaculate Tel Aviv showroom but I think the numbers are pretty small. Still, there are no Lamborghinis, no Aston Martins or any other exotic cars so they have the field to themselves.

Returning to Maranello for a second, we had our traditional lunch at Montana and a quick drive in Ferraris latest California. As I am driving one at present in San Francisco it was familiar territory. Unfortunately it was raining so testing the special handling package was out of the question. When I got off the tarmac to take some pictures the Pirelli's and the wet gravel had a very unhappy relationship. Still, as always, Ive managed to get the car back in one piece. There is now a huge local industry in letting people drive Ferraris for anything from 10 minutes to an hour. And not any old Ferraris-if there is such a thing but 458s, FFs, some pretty quick machinery. 10 minutes is enough for a quick photo op to make the neighbors envious in Oklahoma, for a few hundred euros a real trip into the hills gives these eager punters a taste of the real thing.

On Israel's roads there is an amazing mixture of cars from all or the world. Kia Optima, Prius, Mazda, Renault something you dont see in the US any more-plus of course Mercedes taxis for the grand hotels. All cars large and small are air conditioned, it would have been difficult to make the trip to Masada in anything else as the temperature was around 120 degrees but as it was bone dry it didnt particularly effect me. Masada is an amazing place from the historical point of view and is one of Israels foremost tourist attractions. 5 million people visit the Jewish State every year, many of them from faraway places such as China and Japan.

Before I left for Europe I had a chance to spend some time in Kias excellent Sorento. My best friend just bought his second . Loves it. Not really surprising. Although the price is now up to 46 thousand dollars the list of standard features is astonishing.

Since my return I have been driving the latest Toyota Prius. These days most people just say Prius, this name is now a generic term. The so-called car buff magazines didnt think much of it when it first came out, now after sales in excess of 6 million they are changing their minds. My wife is on her third one and has tested the latest one.

There is no doubt that dynamically the difference is chalk and cheese but her current one is doing just fine. The test car did not have electric seats and I personally hate those clumsy levers you have to use instead. This of course is the base model at 25 thousand dollars, there are other, better equipped ones at around 30 thou. I found it fascinating that the mpg gauge never moved below 50 miles per gallon, a truly remarkable achievement-especially with the cheapest gas.

Our third Prius is only a year old but there is no question in the familys mind that Prius No 4 cannot be too far away. The fuel consumption is a genuine 55 miles per gallon and the car is more robust than ever. And still on the subject of Toyota I went to a pre-race press conference in San Francisco where their man Hamlin was talking about the trials and tribulations of racing at Sonoma.

For those who dont know the track let me explain. Unlike most Nascar tracks this one has lots of twists and turns so the skills required on ovals are not the same as on what I would call a proper race track. Hamlin did predict that it would be a bit like dodgem with lots of cars bumping into each other. He should have been soothsayer-he was nudged out of the lead on the very last corner of the last lap! Thats motor racing. And that's this months letter from Europe (and Israel), see you next month.;.
Two years  perhaps to the very day  before he murdered five Dallas police officers, Micah Johnson returned from Afghanistan a changed man.

"He was withdrawn, didn't want to talk to people anymore, didn't believe in God anymore," a family friend named Myrtle Booker recalled to the Dallas Morning News.

And Booker was not the only one who described Johnson as withdrawn. The obvious explanation would have been that he was suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, as have too many returned vets who experienced the horrors of our longest war.

But by numerous reports, Johnson and his Army Reserves engineering unit did not see so much as a moment of combat.

At least part of Johnsons manifest transformation seems to have been the result not of PTSD, but of what might be termed PTDD, Post Traumatic Disgrace Disorder.

As reported by one of his bunkmates in Afghanistan, Johnson suffered a particular shame.

We all knew he was a pervert cuz he got caught stealing girls panties, the bunkmate later said in a Facebook post.

Johnsons military lawyer, Bradford Glendening, says that a female corporal mentioned Victorias Secret underthings when she filed a sexual harassment complaint against his client.

The lawyer further reports that the corporal was worried enough to seek an order of protection against Johnson and to recommend that he receive mental health treatment.

All this seems to have transpired shortly after Johnsons unit was detailed to assist in the preparations for what was described as a surprise thank you visit by President Obama to Bagram Air Base on the evening before Memorial Day in 2014.

To all of you, Im here on a single mission, and that is to thank you for your extraordinary service., Obama told the assembled troops. I thank you as your Commander-in-Chief because you inspire meIm also here representing 300 million Americans who want to say thank you as well. When it comes to supporting you and your families, the American people stand united. We support you. We are proud of you. We stand in awe of your service.

Nobody was prouder than Johnsons sister, Nicole Johnson, when she posted a front page newspaper photo of the event on Facebook the next day.

Happy Memorial Day!...Obama went to visit my big bro in Bagram!

Her excitement and the presidents praise could have only deepened the shame when he was deemed a panty perv and and shipped home three months early to face sexual harassment charges.

On a date that his lawyer sets as somewhere around 7 July 2014, Micah Johnson arrived without the rest of the 284th Engineer Company at the units home base in Seagoville, Texas.

He had joined JROTC (Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps) in high school. He had enlisted in the Army Reserves immediately upon graduating. He had studied at the private Academy of Combat Warrior Arts and he had kept a notebook on tactics. He and the rest of his unit had received a heros send-off as they departed for Afghanistan the previous November. And now he was back, just him, having tumbled from awe to awful.

Not two weeks later, on July 17, the whole country was shocked by the video of Eric Garner's death while struggling with New York cops who seemed not even to hear him repeatedly saying, I cant breathe!

Three weeks after that, on August 8, an unarmed Michael Brown was shot to death in an encounter with a cop in Ferguson, Missouri.

Down in Texas, Micah Johnson waited for his lawyer to work out some kind of deal with the Army. Family friend Myrtle Booker noted that along with becoming withdrawn, Johnson had developed an increased interest in firearms, as might befit a onetime panty stealer who found himself lacking.

Also in August, Johnson discovered that a gun stealer had burgled his home in Mesquite and made off with two of them.. Johnson of course called the police and two cops responded, making out a report.

By April of 2015, the Army had surprised even his lawyer by dropping the charges. Johnson received an honorable discharge and remained a member of the ready reserve. He apparently resumed attending the Academy of Combat Warrior Arts on North Greenville Avenue in Richardson.

A month after his severance from the army, he was sitting in a car on North Greenville Avenue, when two Richardson police officers approached. They said they had received a report of suspicious males in the car.

As reported this week by the Dallas Morning News, Johnson told the cops that he had been at a martial arts class. The cops left a few minutes later, but Johnson may well have taken it as harassment because he was a young black male. He had by then begun to take interest in a number of black militant groups, as was reported earlier this week by The Daily Beast.

Johnson likely recalled the encounter last Tuesday and again on Wednesday, when the killing of Alton Sterling by cops in Baton Rouge was followed by the killing of Philando Castile by a cop outside Minneapolis.

Both deaths were captured on video. Castiles girlfriend recorded the aftermath of that shooting on Facebook live as he was dying beside her and the cop was still pointing his gun and her 4-year-old daughter was in the back seat.

On July 6, the Johnson sister who had been so proud that Obama had visited Bagram when her brother was there went on Facebook to suggest that perhaps the time had come for police to get a taste of the life we now fear.

On July 7, if not the second anniversary of his early return in shame from Afghanistan then very close to it, Johnson drove in his mothers car into Dallas. He took position clad in body armor near the end of the route that had been announced for a march through downtown Dallas to protest these latest killings.

The police in Dallas have made great progress in their relationship with the community. Cops were taking selfies with protesters when Johnson began proving as Lee Harvey Oswald previously had a few blocks away what one man with a rifle can do.

When he was cornered, Johnson told the police that his aim had been to kill white people, especially police officers. He mentioned his military service, but made no reference to the circumstances in which that ended.

On Friday, Obama took time from a NATO meeting in Warsaw to denounce the killings as vicious, calculated and despicable. He would be cutting his European trip short in order to visit Dallas next week.

"The demented individual who carried out those attacks in Dallas, he's not more representative of all African-Americans than the shooter in Charleston was representative of white Americans. Or the shooter in Orlando or San Bernardino were representative of Muslim Americans, Obama said. They don't speak for us. That's not who we are.

And those who knew Micah Johnson were saying that he had been a changed man when he returned from Afghanistan. The former bunkmate went on Facebook to note the maniacal absurdity of his onetime comrades decision to avenge the killing of an innocent by killing more innocent (s).

He got caught stealing girls panties but murdering cops is a different story, his former bunkmate wrote. You really never know what someone is capable of until its too late.
San Diego  I spent Friday morning, processing the horrible events in Dallas, alternating between sorrow and rage, and crying over the deaths of complete strangers as if Id lost a member of my own family. Actually, I lost five.

My dad is a retired cop who was on the job for 37 years, and so my childhood didnt come with guarantees that hed come home at the end of his shift. In fact, I remember the day that my dad, in his uniform, sat me down and told me that he might not be coming home. A man had been going around town, threatening his life, and my father wanted me to know that he loved me and that he expected me to take care of the family. I was 10.

By excusing irresponsible rhetoric, and refusing to acknowledge the ugliness in causes we agree with, and making weapons of war readily available to people who shouldnt have them, we have arrived at the darkness.

The protectors need protecting. How long before the police qualify as a protected class, where prosecutors can charge with hate crimes those who attack cops because theyre cops?

For years, the Fraternal Order of Police  the nations largest police union, representing 333,000 officers  has been pushing unsuccessfully for a federal law that would designate as a hate crime killing someone because theyre a police officer. Hate crimes usually carry stiffer penalties.

Attorney General Loretta Lynch seems to be nibbling around the edges. On Friday, she said the Justice Department will investigate as hate crimes the killing of five police officers in Dallas, and the wounding of seven more.

But that probably has something to do with the fact that it sounds as if the now-deceased shooter, 25-year-old African-American Micah Johnson  an Army veteran who served in Afghanistan  was an anti-white racist intent on murdering white cops. Dallas Police Chief David Brown, who is also African-American, told reporters that Johnson wanted to kill white people, especially white officers. Brown also said that  while the shooter opportunistically took advantage of the fact that police officers were out in the open providing security for a peaceful protest by supporters of the movement known as Black Lives Matter  Johnson was not affiliated with any group. The chief did also make clear, however, that Johnson was  like the movement  extremely upset by police shootings of black men.

The Justice Department has also opened a civil rights inquiry into the death of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, and it is monitoring the shooting of Philando Castile in Minnesota.

Those are but the most recent in what seem to be a long series of recent and unfortunate cases of unarmed black men being killed by white police officers. Its those deaths that are the kindling that, with just a spark, turn into a bonfire.

Whether were ready to confront it or not, there is a segment of the African-American population that perceives itself to be under attack by police officers.

In fact, in what is a prime example of hyperbolic and heated rhetoric taken too far to the point where people lose perspective and relationships are poisoned, there are those who insist that police are now hunting black people.

A group of anti-police violence activists in Los Angeles has even printed up T-shirts with the acronym for their slogan  Hate Us, Not Today or H.U.N.T. After the deaths of Sterling and Castile, but before the cop murders in Dallas, Columbia Professor and novelist Trey Ellis wrote a defiant column for the Huffington Post titled: The Police Hunting and Killing of Black Men Stops Today.

And then people wonder why some African-Americans feel they have to respond with deadly force.

Its ridiculous and outrageous for anyone to advance the narrative that police have declared open season on African-Americans. And anyone who has up to now accepted, or shrugged off, that claim whenever theyve heard it should be ashamed of themselves.

Ellis wrote something else in his piece  something about responsibility that goes far and wide. He is no fan of Fox News which he accuses of being an accomplice to The Blue Wall of Silence in reinforcing inherent black criminality and a world where cops can do no wrong and blacks no right. For that, Ellis wrote, both Fox News and entire law enforcement community are guilty as sin for the deaths of Sterling, Castile, and the countless black men who came before them. As he put it, Both of them have blood on their hands today.

Thats an interesting theory. Now lets fast forward to whats happening at this hour where liberals and other well-meaning supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement rush to exonerate the group of even a shred of responsibility for the deaths of the Dallas police officers.

Never mind that there is that unfortunate video of anti-police violence protesters marching in Minnesota behind a Black Lives Matter banner, chanting: Pigs in a blanket. Fry em like bacon. And there is another video of protesters in New York, chanting: What do we want? Dead cops.

Never mind that weve already established a precedent in these kinds of debates of holding people accountable  or at the very least, subjecting people to criticism  when their rhetoric is incendiary. Remember when the left blamed Rush Limbaugh and conservative talk radio for the Oklahoma City bombing?

Hell, Ill plead guilty. I myself have blamed hate crimes where Latino immigrants have been beaten and killed by racist white people on an immigration debate marinating in nativism, xenophobia and racism and irresponsible fear mongering politicians who use this poison to fuel their re-elections.

You dont get to stir up all this sewage and then, when it backs up and flows into the street, you wash your hands of the unpleasantness and say: Not me, I had nothing to do with it.

Thats the real problem plaguing our society, the one that prevents us from solving the others. When it comes to debates and dialogues and disagreements, Americans dont fight fair. We throw honesty, logic, consistency, and common sense out the window. And, as often as we can, we apply situational ethics.

We point out the flaws, the mistakes, and the irresponsible rhetoric of movements we disagree with. But we ignore the flaws, the mistakes, and the irresponsible rhetoric of those we agree with.

Let me tell you something you probably already know: Our country is in terribly bad shape. Americans need to feel safe again, and to stop being afraid that the land they love is careening into the abyss. They need to, once again, recognize their society and be proud of their country.

And in the middle of all this, the political parties are getting ready to nominate in the coming weeks  in Cleveland and Philadelphia  as their candidates for president, Hillary Clinton (who is untrustworthy, unreliable, and untruthful) and Donald Trump (who is unserious, unlikable, and unhinged).

The parties can do better. The activists can do better. The politicians can do better. The media can do better. The police can do better. We can all do better.
VATICAN CITYIn yet another example showing just how out of touch celibate prelates can be when it comes to the realities of modern sexuality, a conservative Catholic bishop in the United States has come up with what amounts to a handbook about how not to have sex.

New guidelines (PDF) issued by Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia lay out the don'ts and donts, as it were, when it comes to the implementation of Pope Franciss landmark Amoris Laetitia apostolic exhortation on love  at least as this conservative bishop sees it.

His guidelines are aimed at divorced and remarried Catholics and people in same-sex relationships who wish to receive the sacrament of the Eucharist or holy communion. Essentially, confessing to having forbidden sex, which is any sex outside of the original singular heterosexual Catholic marriage, isnt enough. Instead, they must give up sex altogether.

With divorced and civilly-remarried persons, Church teaching requires them to refrain from sexual intimacy, Chaput says. This applies even if they must (for the care of their children) continue to live under one roof. Undertaking to live as brother and sister is necessary for the divorced and civilly remarried to receive reconciliation in the Sacrament of Penance, which could then open the way to the Eucharist. Such individuals are encouraged to approach the Sacrament of Penance regularly, having recourse to Gods great mercy in that sacrament if they fail in chastity.

Good luck with that.

Chaput says that even if the remarried Catholics somehow manage celibacy within their marriage (and manage to stay married without what many consider vital intimacy), they shouldnt be allowed any role of responsibility.

In other contexts, also, care must be taken to avoid the unintended appearance of an endorsement of divorce and civil remarriage; thus, divorced and civilly remarried persons should not hold positions of responsibility in a parish (e.g. on a parish council), nor should they carry out liturgical ministries or functions (e.g., lector, extraordinary minister of Holy Communion).

That ought to keep people in the pews.

Chaput is even harder on LGBT Catholics under a section of the document entitled, For persons who experience same-sex attraction. Here he says that same-sex couples should also live as brother and brother or sister and sister. And, as with those who are attracted to the opposite sex, some can find chastity very difficult, he writes.

Catholic belief, rooted in Scripture, reserves all expressions of sexual intimacy to a man and a woman covenanted to each other in a valid marriage, he writes. We hold this teaching to be true and unchangeable, tied as it is to our nature and purpose as children of a loving God who desires our happiness. Those with predominant same-sex attractions are therefore called to struggle to live chastely for the kingdom of God. In this endeavor they have need of support, friendship and understanding if they fail.

They, too, should apparently be kept as far away from the altar as possible, according to Chaput. Finally, those living openly same-sex lifestyles should not hold positions of responsibility in a parish, nor should they carry out any liturgical ministry or function.

Chaputs take on Franciss document on love comes as a disappointment to many who had read the document as one of greater flexibility on the various versions of marital love. Thats especially troubling since Chaput has been named by the U.S. Conference on Bishops to actually lead American clergy in the implementation of the papal exhortation.

When Francis put out the document in April, remarried Catholics saw hope in phrases like, The divorced who have entered a new union, for example, can find themselves in a variety of situations, which should not be pigeonholed or fit into overly rigid classifications leaving no room for a suitable personal and pastoral discernment.

He also wrote that the confessional must not be a torture chamber but rather an encounter with the Lords mercy. Francis also rationalized that receiving the Eucharist is not the only way for Catholics to feel blessed, quoting his own Evangelii Gaudium exhortation that he published shortly after his coronation in 2013. I would also point out that the Eucharist is not a prize for the perfect.

Instead, Chaputs vision of pastoring to these groups amounts to nothing more than a cold shower, which will ultimately push people away from the church in what is inarguably against everything Francis has been working towards in his papacy.

Still, Chaputs guidelines only apply to those in the archdiocese of Philadelphia. Maybe it should be renamed the City of No Love, at least for Catholics.

Chaput does have a clause that some might take comfort in: But since well-meaning people can err in matters of conscience, especially in a culture that is already deeply confused about complex matters of marriage and sexuality, a person may not be fully culpable for acting against the truth.

Thank God for that.
As we mourn the loss of Elie Wiesel, who described himself as a witness having survived by chance, and whose Nobel Peace Prize award hailed him as a messenger to mankind, we remember how he taught us to never forget.

I am a child of Holocaust survivors and arrived in the United States as a refugee myself, having escaped from Hungary to France in 1948. We lived in France for several years while we awaited our papers to enter the United States. On the passenger manifest for the ship that brought us to America, our nationality was listed as stateless. For these reasons, Ive felt compelled to act in the face of the immense suffering of the Syrian people. Syrians take their lives in their hands every day as they abandon their homes and belongings to resettle in vulnerable tent cities within Syriaescaping barrel bombings of their towns and villages, airstrikes on their hospitals and schools, and starvation tactics by their government. They risk their lives trying to cross the closed borders into Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon, and risk drowning in the Aegean while seeking permanent safe haven in Europe.

The United States ranks fourth among nations whose people identify as highly religious, according to a 2015 Gallup Poll. And in a 2012 Pew Survey, U.S. religiosity stands out among economically advanced countries. Indeed, religiosity seems to have become a litmus test for holding office. Given this claim to piety, it is surprising that the U.S. House of Representatives is fast-tracking bills that violate the core principles of all the great faiths: to care for the stranger and act in the face of human suffering. Such bills seem designed to ensure that those beleaguered people never make it to U.S. shores.

The bills have innocuous names that cloak their anti-humanitarian intent: The Refugee Program Integrity Restoration Act of 2016 and the Visa Integrity and Security Act (VISA) of 2016. The work of the current Congress generally grinds exceedingly slowly, but these bills moved like a bullet train through the House Judiciary Committee, without subcommittee review, hearings, expert witnesses, and little discussion of either bill. Opponents could barely raise challenges before the bills were gaveled approved.

Ostensibly, the bills would prevent terrorists from sneaking into America through the refugee resettlement program. Supporters maintain that they will improve the systems security checks on refugees both before and after they arrive here. In reality, religious intolerance and the equating of Islam with terrorism fuel these bills. They fail to reflect American values or our respect for all faiths.

The truth is that before being admitted into the United States, every refugee undergoes a rigorous process of interviews, screenings and security clearance that can take at least 18 months and often many years to complete. Since the Syrian war began five years ago, we have admitted only 4,777 Syrian refugees of the 13 million who have been forced from their homes. And according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, another 24 people are fleeing from their homes every minute.

There is a compelling need to fix our refugee resettlement system. Funding increases are needed for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to speed screenings without compromising security. Hiring additional personnel with Middle East backgrounds could facilitate intelligence-gathering. Women and children -- the most vulnerable -- and medical workers who can assist underserved U.S. populations should be prioritized. A uniform protocol and standard criteria across agencies should be established. And adequate funding should be given to expedite refugee integration once they arrive.

Among other burdensome mandates of the VISA Acts proposals, potential refugees would have to demonstrate that they were fleeing from violence specifically directed at them. As Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York poignantly noted, had this been the law during WWII, Jews fleeing Nazi Germany would have had to show that they were specific targets of vandalism and brutality. California Rep. Zoe Lofgren pointed out that under this bill, Syrians would need to prove that barrel bombs dropped on their town had directly targeted them.

If these bills become law, more money, time and people will be needed at every step of the resettlement process. They also risk causing unintended consequences. Trade associations, for example, warn of potential problems for travelers seeking visas and businesses bringing in employees.

Syrian refugees, many of whom are skilled and well educated, can be valuable assets to American life, as demonstrated in cities already being revitalized by their contributions. Many faith-based and civic organizations that are willing to sponsor Syrian refugees flatly reject the religious intolerance surrounding these legislative proposals, which will only further obstruct the process and ultimately keep refugees out. Where is the integrity in that?

The House Judiciary Committee has approved both bills. While it is unclear when or if they will be taken to the House floor for a vote, the public must let their representatives know that they do not support anti-American, religiously biased lawmaking. We cannot tolerate legislation that cloaks bad intentions in the guise of doing right. These bills can hurt a lot of innocent people: those escaping a humanitarian crisis, and Americans going about their business trying to make a living.

Legislators, who are zealous about thwarting Syrian refugee resettlement, would do well to remember a phrase we used after World War II: Never again.
In the summer of 1984, crossing the streams was the ultimate male taboo the original Ghostbusters broke to defeat ghoulish evil from another dimension. In 2016, its female solidarity among four heroines whom the world has labeled hysterical, defying the odds and historically ingrained sexism, that ensures that the world as we know it can keep turning.

More than thirty years after Ivan Reitmans iconic first Ghostbusters movie delighted fans and mildly impressed critics, the rebooted, estrogen-fueled new Ghostbusters comes loaded with a mission. After all, in the new millennium just being a woman and a hero in a mainstream summer blockbuster is both triumph and political statement.

Unfortunately Ghostbusters also comes saddled with the trappings of 21st century studio filmmaking: lulls in pacing, kiddie-safe comedy, choppy editing, and the general sense that a sharper, ballsier version exists in an alternate Hollywood universe. Nevertheless, with a crackling sense of purpose and a surplus of reverence for their predecessors, new Ghostbusters Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, and Saturday Night Live standouts Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones plant their own flag on a beloved sci-fi comedy franchiseeven if itll still take a miracle from beyond to convert the hypercritical haters.

McCarthy is arguably the Bill Murray of the group, having teamed up with writer-director Paul Feig on career-boosting comedy vehicles like 2013s The Heat and last years surprising Spy. But its her Bridesmaids co-star Kristen Wiig who carries the dramatic thrust of a story penned by Feig and co-writer Katie Dippold, in which New York City can only be saved from a brewing supernatural apocalypse by a quartet of misfit paranormal exterminators.

Wiig plays Erin Gilbert, a meek physicist up for tenure at Columbia University who wears her unhappiness with the strict patriarchal establishment on her face and in her stodgy, joyless wardrobe. When her academic future is threatened by a ghost from her past, Erin begrudgingly ends up on a hunt for paranormal activity with her estranged ex-BFF Abby Yates (McCarthy), a fellow scientist who never stopped believing in the supernatural, and Jillian Holtzmann (McKinnon), Abbys oddball-genius engineer. They come face to face with a class 4 apparition who projectile-slimes Erin head to toe. She hardly minds. After a lifetime of being doubted so much by others that she began to doubt herself, being ecto-barfed on by a plot-driving wailing ghost named Gertrude is instant vindication. Even her wardrobe loosens up, freed from self-imposed repression.

The women open their own ghostbusting agency and start investigating a string of spooky happenings that have been plaguing Manhattan, brushing off skepticism from all sidesthe university set, the bewildered media, a singularly misogynist paranormal debunker, and an image-conscious mayor played by Andy Garcia. It turns out the abandoned firehouse rental market is still exorbitantly pricey in 2016, so the ladies move in above a crappy Chinese restaurant. You wont see a single Chinese person in the greater metropolitan NYC of Ghostbusters, but the film does set up a recurring joke about Abby being obsessed with wonton soup. LOL?

Better laughs come when the Ghostbusters hire a male secretary named Kevin (Chris Hemsworth), a dim bulb with a pretty face who Erin takes an unsubtle shining to. Its a role Hemsworth commits to with relish: Thor, God of Thunder, fetching the lady Ghostbusters coffee and answering their phones. Hes terrible at all of it but they keep him around just to have something nice to look at. The joke is broad and obvious, and yet so, so very satisfying.

Rounding out the squad is Patty Tolan (Leslie Jones), an MTA worker who leaves her thankless job to join the team after being screamed at by the ghost of a deranged death row inmate in the subway. It is vexing to find that Patty, an African-American woman, is the only Ghostbuster whos not a scientist, even if she is a low-key NYC history buff whose gregarious energy and expansive knowledge of the city adds actual life skills to a team of science-dork eggheads.

Thankfully, Jones is such a force that her natural strength and charisma brings human balance to an otherwise underwritten character. When a crowd of metalheads fail to catch her after successfully helping Abby crowd surf toward a demonic specter, Joness ad lib pierces through the screen: I dont know if it was a race thing or a lady thing, but Im mad as hell.

McKinnons Holtzmann, meanwhile, is the secret weapon of this Ghostbusters. Aside from spewing rapid-fire technical jargon as the teams resident eccentric gearhead, McKinnon oozes visceral charisma with the swaggersans the womanizing douchinessof Murrays Venkman. She flirts brazenly with Erin, emanating cocksure confidence even if we learn very little about Holtzmann as a character. Hemsworth might be the beefcake on paper but its McKinnon wholl leave moviegoers crushing.

For the most part the script knows what its up against, and so do Feig and his stars. Huddled around a computer screen after their ghost sightings go viral on the news, the ladies encounter a new kind of dark evil even more insidious than ghosts: internet trolls.

Aint no bitches gonna bust no ghosts, Wiigs Erin reads aloud, puzzled by the animosity.

McCarthys Abby, the fearless leader of the group, knows better. She chimes in with a message to haters on and off-screen, jabbing back at the unprecedented wave of backlash Feig, Sony, and the films stars received the instant the reboot was announced and later, when its first trailer garnered the most hate in history on YouTube: Youre not supposed to be reading what crazy people write online.

Their villainous foil misses the point, too. SNL and Inside Amy Schumer writer Neil Casey gets his big screen break as Rowan, a bitter white dude turned murderous by a lifetime of bullying who manages to make the worlds problems all about him. Hes a self-righteous sad sack who fails to see the irony standing in front of him: four women unsupported and written off by society, one of them African-American and another who may or may not be gay but cant say so because shes trapped in a PG-13 summer studio blockbuster. We get shit on all the time, McCarthys Abby counters.

Ghostbusters die-hards might disagree, but the remake is conceived with more complex aims than the first two films. The greatest upside is a new generation of youngsters now have a Ghostbusters movie of their own, with a disparate team of adult women to idolize, that holds dear the rules and tone and sweet core of the original films. Ghostbusters is remake as homage, swapping the gender of its heroes while keeping the bones of the plot and signatures of the first film.

Feig overdoes it with the weightless CG ornamentation as an action-packed third act rushes into gear, and crams in too many earnestly cutesy flourishes only parents with young kids might love.

There is, for example, a choreographed dance sequence led by Hemsworth, of all peoplebut why it exists is an unanswered, and probably unanswerable, question. Better to willfully forget about it, like you will the updated cover theme song by Fall Out Boy and Missy Elliott that plays after several plays of the Ray Parker, Jr. classic.

The biggest enemy these Ghostbusters face, anyway, is the audience. Franchise fans who grew up with the 1984 film will worry that Feig has bastardized the Ghostbusters they love. At my screening, the grown man next to me enjoyed it so much he snored softly throughout the final act. But two young boys who caught an early screening told me they loved itand loved Holtzmann most of all.

Its those youngsters who Ghostbusters will serve best, the kids growing up in 2016 dealing with new realities like YouTube commenters and gender parity in the workplace and, sadly, domestic terrorism. And as a shot across the bow for women in Hollywood and girls looking for big screen role models that look like them, its a step forward.

The fact that theyre women never defines these heroes, but the way the world reacts to them reflects why the gender swap is significant. When these Ghostbusters are labeled delusional by a skeptical public and smeared by a city government that slanders them for the greater good, theyre not just crazy peopletheyre crazy women, a pejorative far more loaded than it ever is when foisted on men. As the Ghostbusters have always been, theyre heroes who must prove themselves not just to their peers, but also to their audience.

That was a far easier task for Murray, Ramis, Aykroyd, and Hudson to do in 1984 as comedians and actors starring in a comedy designed to showcase their talents. McCarthy, Wiig, Jones, and McKinnon tackle the challenge of doing that while proving their worth as heroes without being heavy-handed about it, striking a natural chemistry thats easy to root for and believe in. They dont rise to the occasion because they are women but because theyre the only heroes equipped for and interested in the job.

Plus, theyre already used to being underestimated. Theyre women, after all.
By Hemul Goel: It's a regular day in Delhi ready to assault you with its heat, only worsened by the fact that the post-rain air is rather humid, turning any person into a sticky sweaty mess.

Yet, inside the Capital's Le Meridien, unaffected by the heat and visibly awestruck by the grandeur of the hotel are 18 spirited girls, ready to make a move towards a better life. Courtesy a skill development initiative launched earlier this year by the Union Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi, starting mid-July, a batch of 25 underprivileged girls will undergo a rigorous training for six months wherein they will get a chance to study the various aspects of hotel operations.



Also Read: People are leaving food for the homeless in this fridge installed by a Kochi restaurant

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In a bid to increase financial independence among women, Joining Hands--a Badarpur-based NGO--has collaborated with Le Meridien in order to train females in departments like House Keeping, Food and Beverage Service, Food and Beverage Production and the Front Office.

"I have just completed 12th and since I have two more sisters, my parents are in a hurry to get us all married off and out of the house," says one of the aspirants. While another aspirant is already married and rest of the girls have similar stories to share, they are going to try their best to jump the various hurdles that lie ahead, starting with their participation in a special cook-out organised by the hotel.



Motivating the girls by cooking with them at the event was ace trap shooter Shagun Chowdhary-who holds the distinction for being the only Indian woman to have qualified for the Olympics in her sport. While she personally believes that she has "two-left hands when it comes to cooking," she applauded the initiative, saying, "I have broken the stereotype of only men coming forward in the area of shooting by becoming the only woman to qualify for trap shooting in the Olympics. I am happy to see that Le Meridien New Delhi has a unique way of supporting the cause of women by avenues for underprivileged women to equip themselves to earn their livelihood in the competitive hospitality sector."





Shagun Chowdhary with the visibly delighted girls. Picture courtesy:

Joining Hands, the NGO behind it all is also undertaking special counselling sessions with the girls and their parents to help bring about a change in their preconceived notions about the hospitality industry.

The event also marked the beginning of the hotel's latest season of Family Cooking Date, a service offered by Le Meridien at a fixed price that can be availed by any family, willing to learn new dishes while bonding over a cooking session under the expert guidance of the hotel's chefs.



--- ENDS ---
When FBI Director James Comey recommended the government bring no criminal charges against Hillary Clinton over her use of a personal email server while secretary of state, he removed the last serious obstacle to her becoming the first woman president of the United States. As genuinely disliked as she is by voters (56 percent disapprove), Donald Trump, who lurches from embarrassment to embarrassment like a drunk stumbling through a restaurant knocking over every table in his path to the bathroom, inspires even more contempt.

And therein lies a problem for Clinton. Now that her path to the White House is clear, her absolute lack of an original, coherent, compelling vision for 21st-century America will move front and center. Love her or loath her, we voters deserve better than a figure who has spent a quarter-century in the public eye and yet has had to go on more listening tours than musicologist Harry Smith ever did. She is forever reintroducing herself to the American people because she is an empty pantsuit except when it comes to her sense of historical destiny and righteousness.

For better and mostly worse, Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump have at least laid out bold, sweeping platforms that would radically change the status quo at a time when fully two-thirds of us believe the country is headed in the wrong direction. Clinton has simply indulged in lame me-tooism, strategic vagueness and flip-floppery, and a willingness to manage Barack Obamas third term for him.

Clinton has never been a socially progressive candidate, still opposing marijuana legalization and only coming out for marriage equality in 2013. Her favorable views toward immigrants are of equally recent vintage as well. She supported her husband's anti-immigrant positions back in the 1990s and ran for Senate in New York as hostile to everything approaching amnesty for illegals. As a member of the Obama administration, she stood by as the president deported record numbers of migrants.

When Sanders pushed for a $15 an hour federal minimum wage, Clinton rolled her eyes and opted instead for a more-modest $12 version (that both figures are stupid is beside the point). As Donald Trump powerfully (and stupidly) attacked free-trade deals such as the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, Clinton shushed him and then embraced exactly the same protectionist positions even though 56 percent of Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters believe such deals have been a good thing for the country. She rightly notes that Donald Trump is a know-nothing when it comes to the Constitution yet agrees in almost exactly the same language that social media platforms should do the government's bidding and restrict free speech in the name of the war on terror.

As Obamacare limps along with a 49 percent disapproval rating (47 percent say they like it), Clinton says she wants to stick with it. She similarly voices continued support for banking regulations that have actually increased concentration in the financial industry and has laid out plans to jack up federal spending from a well-above-average 22.1 percent of GDP to a mind-boggling 22.7 percent of GDP. As the Committee For A Responsible Federal Budget notes, her unwillingness to reduce spending, reform entitlements, and attack the national debt virtually guarantees weak economic growth for decades. Despite overwhelming anti-war sentiments among Democrats and independents after 15 years of failed intervention after failed intervention, she remains an unreconstructed hawk.

This goopy melange of positions may be enough to win in an election where Donald Trump is her main challenger, but it shouldn't be confused with anything approaching leadership, statesmanship, or vision. No wonder her supporters are quick to judge her not on the quality of her ideas but on the content of her resume.

America is floundering in the 21st century, the victim of indefensible foreign policy that Clinton herself helped to mis-execute; of out-of-control government spending and regulatory excess under successive Republican and Democratic presidents that has dampened economic growth by 50 percent compared to post-war averages; and a hollowing out of faith in government due to endless scandals and malfeasance stemming from plutocratic contempt for transparency on the part of our leaders (something else with which Clinton is familiar).

So when Hillary Clinton ascends the throne next January, the least we can do as a serious people is to acknowledge that a person who hates the sharing economyone of the few bright spots in the economyis a time-server at best, an enemy of our future at worst.

And we'd do well to remember the last president who lacked the "vision thing" and got elected on the strength of his resume. That would be George H.W. Bush, whose single term as president was nobody's idea of a success. Bush was the end of the line, not the start of something. He was the last president from the Depression era and the last to have fought in World War II. He was clearly unprepared for the post-Cold War world that began under his presidency. In a similar way, the 2016 election will likely be the last in which a Baby Boomer becomes president (here's hoping, anyway). That is as it should be, as both Clinton and Trump, despite claims to the contrary, are relics of the past, not heralds of the future.
President 35- John F Kennedy

January 20, 1961  November 22, 1963

Money does not buy class nor does it by style; just look at Kanye. The national obsession with tacky over-the-top celebrities, who are unapologetically self-obsessed, has not always been our way. America did have once had a celebrity couple who embodied true elegance. They came on the scene when the television was making itself at home in most living rooms across the country. They werent showy. They were great parents. No matter what was brewing behind closed doors, they were aspirational and positive. They made the country feel like they could do anything, even put a man on the moon. They were John Jack and Jackie Kennedy.

Food is fashion. A beautiful plate feeds your eyes before a forkful ever reaches your mouth. Jackie understood this and the menu served at the White House dining room was as impeccable as her wardrobe. Though they were the all American family, their tastes were exclusively French. From entrecotes to coq au vin to trout almandine, only Jefferson could surpass them in their love of the classics. The Kennedys were the first administration to only offer four perfect courses, forsaking the endless courses offered by previous administrations. They understood that quality over quantity was always a winning recipe. As a couple they were not huge drinkers but glasses of wine were paired carefully and the President himself often decanted and sampled the nights offerings before they reached the table. They never shared their wine selection, in order to avoid favoritism and controversy (my guess is they favored French in this area as well).

Jackie also made it her mission to make sure the White Houses ambience was impeccable. At first view, she felt the property looked like a house that had been decorated by a whole furniture store during a January clearance. Redecorating began, at large expense, and when the money ran out, she did what any woman would do: she got resourceful. Paintings were loaned to them by the Smithsonian and money was raised to complete renovations of the property by selling a printed guide to the White House (which was later translated into multiple languages as it was so popular). For parties, she was the first to fill urns and vases with fresh flowers throughout the house. She also changed the centerpieces to high and narrow ones, so people could see the other guests across the table from them. The couple received guests as any normal party hosts would do, by moving through the room, and got rid of the receiving line.

When they werent entertaining, the family ate New England classics John grew up with. He was not a big eater but enjoyed small portions that kept him energized. His familys hearty clam chowder (the recipe is accessible on the JFK library site) was the Presidents lunch staple, normally accompanied by fruit or a side salad. Soups, of all varieties, were his favorite, and he often had a cup before bed. A dunce in the kitchen, a White House butler fondly recalled that it took him eight months to learn how to use a can opener. Jackie had equal difficulties. When she married the then Senator Kennedy, Jackie was determined to make the ideal housewife. She wrote, Id heard those silly stories about the bride burning things, but I just knew everything was going right when suddenlyI tried to pull the chops out the oven and the door seemed to collapse. One of the chops fell on the floor but I put it on the plate anyway. The chocolate sauce was burning and exploding. I burned my arm and it turned purple. Then Jack came home and took me out to dinner. Things are never perfect as they seem.

This snack; however, is pretty close to perfection. The Kennedys enjoyed many an oyster at their compound in Hyannisport on Cape Cod and it makes the perfect snack for those enjoying the water this weekend. These are a version of Oysters Rockefeller, aptly named Oysters Kennedy and God Bless America, they are tasty.

Oysters Kennedy

Adapted from: In the Kennedy Kitchen: Recipes and Recollections of a Great American Family

24 shucked oysters on the half shell

10 ounces fresh spinach, chopped

3 Tbsp butter

1 large shallot, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1/3 cup chopped prosciutto

2 Tbsp Pernod or anisette

Light cheese sauce (below)

Salt and pepper

Panko bread crumbs

Sprinkle of paprika to top

Light Cheese Sauce

2 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

1  cups half and half

 cup shredded parmesan

 cup shredded cheddar

 tsp fresh nutmeg

Salt and pepper

Directions:

Make sure your fish monger shucks the oyster for you. Keep them on ice till you need them

In a medium skillet, melt the butter. Add the shallot and garlic. Saute 5 minutes.

Add the prosciutto and spinach. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Remove any excess water from the spinach.

Stir in the Pernod.

Add cheese sauce and stir. Add salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until completely cool.

Preheat the oven to 375F

Add 1 Tbsp of filling to the oyster. Sprinkle with panko breadcrumbs and a little bit of paprika.

Bake on a baking sheet until browned and bubbling, 15-20 mins

Serve with a slice of lemon

For the sauce:

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. When liquid, add the flour. Stir to combine.

Add half and half, whisking to thicken

Add cheese, nutmeg, and s & p. When it has melted take off heat.

Notes: My changes are included in the recipe above. My additional suggestion for those not fond of Pernod, feel free to use champagne instead for a milder flavor.
There are few cocktails that have their own theme song. But not only does the Pina Colada have one, but Rupert Holmes 1979 hit Escape (listen to it here), which immortalizes the creamy tropical concoction, is a guilty pleasure that is nearly impossible not to sing along with: Yes, I like Pina Coladas, and getting caught in the rain./Im not much into health foods,/I am into Champagne.

No doubt at some point youll hear it today (July 10), since it is, after all, National Pina Colada Day.

But Holmes didnt set out to be the Pina Coladas international ambassador and, to be honest, wasnt a huge fan of the drink. In fact, the song is barely a blip on his long and impressive resume. He went on to write acclaimed and best-selling books, record a number of other albums and even won a Tony Award for the musical The Mystery of Edwin Drood, which he wrote.

Unbelievably, he had never even tried a Pina Colada before writing the song. He thinks the first time he encountered it was at the Montauk, Long Island, resort Gurneys Inn, where it was listed on a drink specials card. I wasnt even sure what it was, he admits and didnt know how to pronounce it. I didnt order it but it just sort of planted itself in my mind.

Even more amazing, originally Escape didnt mention the drink. It was the final track for his Partners in Crime album and he needed it to be upbeat to balance the rest of the record.

I wrote that song at 1 AM the night before I recorded it, he remembers. The original lyrics were If you liked Humphrey Bogart and getting caught in the rain."

The next day when Holmes was in the studio, he realized the album was a little Bogart-heavy, having already done a song, which gave a nod to the actors famous 1941 film noir masterpiece, The Maltese Falcon.

I said this couple, theyre looking for an escape, Holmes explains. You know, when you go on vacation, the first day youre out on the beach, you would never ever order a Budweiser. You want something in a hollowed-out pineapple or served in a coconut or in a tiki glass.

Holmes finally tried a Pina Colada after his song was a hit at a party his record label threw.

As you can imagine, it wasnt his last oneEverybody thought that they were the first person on Earth to buy me a Pina Coladaand he has consumed more of them than anybody should in a lifetime.

He has since become a devotee of the cocktail. I actually happen to think that when theyre properly made and if the ingredients are very fresh, its a terrific drink, he says. And it makes you feel like youre on a bit of a vacation.

The secret to its preparation, he says, is using fresh pineapple juice. That makes sense, since Pina Colada literally means strained pineapple and, according to tiki expert Jeff Beachbum Berrys Potions of the Caribbean it was originally dreamed up at one of Conrad Hiltons properties in the 1950s.

Holmes insists he remains more of a wine and craft beer drinker than a cocktail guy, and that he has moved past the Pina Colada as a muse. Hes working on several new projects, including a play about a meeting between Kennedy and Reagan, as well as a book series called The McMasters Guide to Homicide.

So today, put on Escape and fix Berrys delicious take on the Pina Colada that he serves in his New Orleans bar Latitude 29. Getting caught in the rain is optional.

Latitude 29 Pina Colada (A.K.A. Luau Coconut)

Contributed by Jeff Beachbum Berry

Ingredients:

1 Whole young coconut

2 oz Fresh coconut water, drained from the young coconut

.5 oz Fresh lime juice

.5 oz Unsweetened pineapple juice

1 oz Sugar syrup (1 part cane sugar, 1 part water)

1 oz Canned coconut milk (Thai Kitchen Organic preferred)

1 oz Light Virgin Islands rum

1 oz Gold Virgin Islands rum

Glass: Coconut

Directions:

Remove the top of the coconut. Drain the coconut water into a container and set aside. Save the empty coconut shell, too. Add the rest of the ingredients to a shaker and fill with ice. Shake and pour unstrained into the coconut shell.
I have a theory about Donald Trumps success. I think that one reason he manages to survive the terrible things he says and does is that he gives liberals too much material. With so much insensitivity, racism, and misogyny pouring out of his campaign, its hard to focus on one thing. Complimenting Saddam Hussein? Racist slurs about Mexicans? Misogyny? Its like being at IkeaI feel overstimulated and exhausted.

The notorious Star of David Hillary graphic, however, seems to be holding peoples attention. After tweeting the image of Clinton accompanied by a six-pointed star over a pile of money with the words most corrupt candidate ever, Trump denied that he intended to imply anything anti-Semitic. It was, he says, a simple sheriffs star; he never meant to invoke anti-Semitic tropes that link Jews to corruption and money. The country western explanation was rejected not only by media commentators but also by David Duke, former Grand High Wizard of the Klu Klux Klanand he should know anti-Semitism when he sees it.

While this particular invocation of the Star of David invokes dangerous anti-Semitic caricatures, Trump is hardly the first person to appropriate the religious symbols of another group. Religious appropriation has a longer history and is more prevalent than you might think.

Syncretism, appropriation, cultural minglingcall it what you want, religious appropriation is as ancient as imperialism. The Romans, in a magnanimous display of noblesse oblige, allowed conquered subject peoples to continue to worship their own deities and imported those religions to Rome. The cult of the Persian god Mithras proved exceptionally popular among soldiers, as did the cult of the Egyptian goddess Isis. In the cafeteria of ancient paganism, people enjoyed sampling the full length of the buffet.

The first Christians, too, appropriated the religious imagery of their predecessors. In the catacombs of Rome, some of the earliest visual images of Jesus portray him as a shepherd with a sheep slung over his shoulders. The idea of Jesus as the Good Shepherd is well known to any readers of the New Testament, but the image was based almost entirely on depictions of the Greek god Hermes. Other images show him in the guise of Orpheus, the romantic poet of Greek mythology, who descended into the underworld to rescue his beloved Eurydice, or as Helios, the sun God.

The reason for this adaptation is two-fold: in the first decades of the Christian Era artisans were skilled in carving Orpheus and Helios. Assimilating Jesus to mythological figures was pragmatic. At the same time, the assimilation was communicative: both Jesus and Orpheus were believed to have descended into the underworld. Both Jesus and Helios were believed to be deities with power over the order of the universe. Appropriating pagan symbolism allowed the fledgling religious movement to communicate something about their beliefs in a way that would be broadly intelligible to their contemporary audience.

But today and in recent history religious appropriation has a different kind of history. The most blindingly horrific example of appropriation must be the lifting of the Hindu symbol of auspiciousness or good fortunethe svastikato make the Nazi swastika. But Nazi fondness for the symbol didnt emerge out of vacuum: as Steven Heller showed in his book The Swastika: Beyond Redemption?, the beginning of the twentieth century saw a huge fad in which everyone from Coca-Cola to the Girl Scouts to the British and American military adopted the symbol.

Children of the 80s will remember the sacrilegious imagery of Madonna videos and the frequent juxtaposition of the rosary in her attire. The trend of ironically wearing Catholic jewelry as an act of subversion or mockery is prevalent to this day. Buddhist, Hindu, and Muslim symbols are also favorite accessories for Westerners, but theres something a little less sacrilegious in their application. In the case of the latter there is usually aesthetic appreciation that accompanies the blissful ignorance about a symbols origins. As many have pointed out, theres no merit to be had in appreciating the beauty of a culture if you dont also want to understand its history and suffering.

In many cases religious appropriation is well-intentioned and shrouded in blissful ignorance. There is a fierce debate over whether or not the Western practice of yoga and meditation is inherently colonialist. Full disclosure: I am exactly the kind of Lululemon-wearing yoga practitioner you might accuse of this. I have none of the knowledge of my sensitive and well-informed yoga teacher Lauren Harris, and its convenient for me to follow this argument about why yoga isnt cultural appropriation. But colonialist or not, good intentions dont obscure the fact that very few of us aspiring yogis could name the elephant-headed god in the room. (Wikipedia tells me that its Ganesh.)

Interestingly, religious appropriation is generally more accepted than other aspects of cultural appropriation. The pushback against appropriating Native American dress receives less attention than the appropriation of Native American spirituality at sweat lodges or on Oprah. This is in part because of the commodification of religion in general and in part because of our cultural commitment to the process of conversion. Sometimes the line between cavalier accessorizing and sincere religious practice is hard to discern.

Whats the difference between adaptation and appropriation? Two things: knowledge and power. The ill-informed appropriation of a marginalized and/or oppressed religious groups heritage by members of the dominant group is more problematic than the ironic critique of mainstream religious power. Madonnas use of Catholic religious imagery in her music videos may have been in poor taste, but it was better informed than her appropriation of vogue-ing from Latino and African-American dancers.

At the end of day, whether or not its your body or your propaganda, accessorizing with religious symbols matters, especially when those symbols belong to someone else.
In the final scene of Some Like It Hot (1959), Jack Lemmon, who is so good at female impersonation that he has provoked a proposal of marriage, is trying to explain to the man in love with him why a union between them wont work. He offers a series of arguments, but each is rebutted by Osgood (played by Joe E. Brown) who continues to smile serenely. Realizing that that the only thing left to him is to deploy the one argument he regards as irrefutable, the Lemmon character (Jerry) rips off his wig and declares, Im a man. Unfazed, Osgood replies on the half beat, Nobodys perfect.

With Nobodys perfect, Osgood seems to have found what everyone who enters the arena of argument seeks: a reply that clears the decks and leaves the guy (or gal) on the other side with nothing to say. Of course, Jerry had thought that he was in possession of just such an argument, but his triumph lasts less than a second. What defeats him is not a counter-argument that refutes his, but a declaration that nothing he says or might say will be of any force. Nobodys perfect is an all-purpose retort that nullifies in advance any objection Jerry might raise. It is the non-sequitur aspect of the declarationit doesnt meet Jerrys Im a man head on but outflanks it and renders it, and any subsequent argument for not marrying, irrelevantthat makes it unanswerable. This may be the ultimate example of what we mean when we say, I wont take no for an answer.

In American literature the best practitioner of this strategylets call it winning the argument by refusing to engage in itis Herman Melvilles Bartleby (Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street) who when asked by his employer to do somethinganythingreplies, I would prefer not to. Not, I wont because or Thats not in my job description, but just a flat unwillingness either to perform or to explain why he will not perform. In the days that follow, Bartlebys employer tries maneuver after maneuverincluding asking, Tell me where you were bornin order to get a rise out of his clerk, but nothing succeeds. I would prefer not to is always the answer. I would prefer not to is the perfect response to any suggestion put to one. It invites no counterresponse and, in fact, repels it in advance by advertising itself not as a reason, but as a preference, and theres no comeback to a preference. What can you say to someone who has been offered chocolate ice creamthe only kind you haveand who says, I prefer vanilla?

Right now theres a pop-culture version of this strategy in a radio ad for a firm offering a home appliance repair contract that covers everything. The firm makes its case by dramatizing a conversation between a consumer whose appliance is not working and the administrator of the warranty she thought she had. She is told that she is covered for earthquakes and zombie apocalypses but not for the failure of her air-conditioner. Distressed, she points out that a zombie apocalypse will never happen. Yes, is the nonplussed reply, but if it does, youre covered. Or in other words, Nobodys perfect and I would prefer not to.

The trick common to these examples is to act as if you were engaging in a dialogue but to say things that short circuit it. According to the philosopher Richard Rorty, this is what happens when in a conversation about a disputed matter one of the participants supports his position by citing the Bible or a command he has received from God. After that, Rorty complains, there can be no further conversation (Religion as a Conversation Stopper). Its like a preference for vanilla ice cream. What can you say in response? I dont care what the Bible says or God didnt say anything to you? The I read it in the Bible or God told me to move has the effect of saying, Dont ask me for reasons, while presenting itself as the best reasonor argumentof all. Rorty condemns this move as a conversation stopper, but isnt that what we all hope for when we lay down our trump card, our ace in the hole, and hope that others will find it as unanswerable as we do? Dont answer that question.

The author of Winning Arguments: What Works and Doesn't Work in Politics, the Bedroom, the Courtroom, and the Classroom and How to Write a Sentence: And How to Read One, Stanley Fish is a literary theorist, legal scholar, author, and public intellectual. He is currently the Floersheimer distinguished visiting professor of law at Yeshiva University's Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York City.
In 1847 and 1848, as their fellow Americans fought the Mexican War, crowds in Washington, DC, and then all over the nation, flocked to see her.

In an era that had much less leisure time and fewer artistic crowd scenes, as many as 100,000 people ultimately flocked to worship at her shrine of beauty. She was breathtaking, heartbreaking, endlessly fascinating. In a Victorian Age that often choreographed elaborate emotional operas ping-ponging back and forth between repression and abandon, men and women indulged themselves, becoming overwrought. Some sighed. Some wept. This beauty is so pure, so lofty, so sacred, it takes such a clinging hold upon the heart, and so subdues the whole man, that time must pass before one could speak of its merits in detail without doing violence to the emotions awakened in him, The Courier and Enquirer reported. I could have wept with a perfect agony of tears upon seeing her, wrote Clara Cushman in Neals Saturday Gazette. The two great sources of human interest, the human body, and, shining through it, the human soul, are here, wrote G.H. Calvert in The Literary World, overcome by her indescribable symmetry  matchless grace and infinite beauty.

A poet R.S.C. in The Knickerbocker Magazine revealing one striking factor  that she was naked  gushed:

NAKED, yet clothed with chastity, SHE stands;And as a shield throws back the sun's hot rays,Her modest mien repels each vulgar gaze.Her inborn purity of soul demandsFreedom from touch of sacrilegious hands.

Her nakedness was so scandalous many exhibit halls posted certain hours for male-only viewing, and other times allowed men and women to visit together. Seeking to preserve mass virtue amidst this affront, The Reverend Orville Dewey insisted she was nevertheless clothed all over with sentiment; sheltered, protected by it from every profane eye. Brocade, cloth of gold, could not be a more complete protection than the vesture of holiness in which she stands.

The National Eras cynical correspondent dismissed the one offended schoolmarm he saw at the exhibit by recalling the English prude at the Louvre, relishing her moral superiority saying Oh! La! That is a very indelicate picture. A pure-minded daughter of France replied: I think the indelicacy is in the remark, not in the painting.

Part of the passion stemmed from the paradox you encountered. You were drawn to her faces beauty, her shoulders sensuality, her bodys smoothness. But as you gazed downward, you saw her left hand delicately covering her most private parts was bound with a heavy chain to her right hand, which rested on her discarded robe.

Surprisingly, this sensation was a marble statue, The Greek Slave, sculpted in 1842 by Hiram Powers. The statue ostensibly condemned the Ottoman Turks brutal crackdown during the Greek War of Independence, from 1821 to 1822. But Powers friend and tour manager, Miner Kellogg, explained in a visitors pamphlet that: The cross and locket, visible amid the drapery, indicate that she is a Christian, and beloved. More than that, the statue represents a being superior to suffering, and raised above degradation, by inward purity and force of character. Thus the Greek Slave is an emblem of the trial to which all humanity is subject, and may be regarded as a type of resignation, uncompromising virtue, or sublime patience.

To many Americans, the symbolism was less universal, more pointed. Abolitionists resented the hypocrisy on display, especially in the South, with the sculpture appearing in Baltimore, Washington, Louisville, St. Louis and New Orleans, after New York, New England, Philadelphia. One anonymous anti-slavery crusader wondered how someone can weep at sight of an insensate piece of marble which images a helpless virgin chained in the market-place of brutal lust, and still more brutal cupidity, and yet listens unmoved to the awful story of the American slave! Why limit your sympathies? was the mute language of the marble, another abolitionist in The National Era seethed. Why limit your application of the principles of justice?

Of course, even many Northerners sympathized more easily with a white, Christian inanimate object than with real black slaves. And it is not clear that Hiram Powers intended to boost abolitionism, although the older he got, the more anti-slavery he became.

Still, modern scholars including the Smithsonians Karen Lemmey, consider the oft-forgotten Greek Slave arguably the most famous sculpture of the 19th century. Usually, the 1852 novel Uncle Toms Cabin gets the credit as abolitionisms great artistic trigger, especially because President Abraham Lincoln supposedly told the author Harriet Beecher Stowe when they met in 1862: So you're the little woman who wrote the book that made this great war!

Adding The Greek Slave to the storyline helps. We love Grand Slam History, reducing the past to one base-clearing wallop after another. And while big moments sometimes leave huge legacies, history is more fully lived and made in the play-by-play rather than the highlight reel.

And, lest we be too judgmental about our morally obtuse ancestors, who cried over a single block of marble while oppressing 3.2 million people, lets consider our own moral selectivity. In March, 2001, the Talibans dynamiting of the worlds two largest standing Buddhas - one of them 165ft high, ignited more outrage than had any previous Taliban murders. Moreover, we ignore the 27 to 30 million people the United Nations estimates are enslaved today, with 18.4 million in India, 3.4 million in China, and 4.4 percent of the North Korean population, 1.1 million people.

It is best, therefore to learn from Hiram Powers, the sculptor born in 1805. Raised in Cincinnati, apprenticed as a clockmaker before learning sculpture, he spent much of his career sculpting striking busts and statues in Florence, to which he moved in 1837. He constantly spoke of returning to America but he was still in Florence when he died in 1873. Powers distance from his beloved country may have helped him see its sins more clearly.

No one should need to travel 4,672 miles to be the kind of loving critic healthy democracies need. A passion for justice is more important than wanderlust, just as a voting card is more important in pushing reform than a passport. Especially during this demoralizing election season, we all should find a medium, to make our equivalent of The Greek Statue forcing our fellow citizens to see some of the flaws we must fix in this 240-year-old experiment we nevertheless love called America.
The Wu-Tang Clan is with her.

Yes, on the heels of Ghostface Killahs endorsement of Hillary Clinton for president comes the news that the Wus de facto leader, RZA, is on Team Hillary as well. Speaking to The Daily Beast in support of his new group Banks and Steelz, a collaborative project between RZA and Interpol frontman Paul Banks, The Abbot launched into a long explanation about why hes backing Hillary over presumptive Republican nominee Donald J. Trump.

I think America is a place that has a great image around the world, says RZA. As a musician, we travel the world. Ive been traveling the world from [Bill] Clinton to [George W.] Bush to Barack Obama, right? And when I was going around the world during Clinton, the party was good, people came in and paid for the tickets, I wasnt mad, room service was good, the restaurant treatment was good. When I traveled the world during Bush, people was hating on me. I had to wait for the waiter, you know what I mean? And then when I traveled when Barack was president, everything was good again. What that means for me as a world traveler, he continues, is the image of our president affects us who travel around the worldit affects the worldview of us. So when we put in a black man as president, we kind of fulfilled what the principles of our country are: to look at us as that guiding light. So, if we did it with a black man, I think, for our image, it would be very unique for us to do it with a woman, because that follows the principles of what we are saying this country is.

Both RZA and Paul Banks sat down about a month ago to discuss Banks and Steelz, whose debut album, Anything But Words, is out August 26th. Its an inspired effort, melding the Wus furious beats with Interpols moody minor chords, punctuated by Bankss ethereal voice. The impressive album boasts RZAs trademark eclectic production, as well as cameos from the likes of Florence Welch (of Florence and the Machine) and Wu members Method Man, Ghostface Killah, and Masta Killa.

I feel like part of why my instinct was that the collaboration would work was because of the minor chords and the atmosphere, because I feel like RZAs production also exists in that kind of space. Even though its different genres, I feel like we have similar aesthetics in that way, says Banks. It felt like I dont have to dig into the crates for those sample hooks that I always do, adds RZA. Im digging to find old songs to express what Im feeling. This became a case of he [Banks] can actually sing it.

Instead of being forged in the fires of Staten Island like the Wu, the origins of Banks and Steelz can be traced back to Interpols East Village stomping ground. According to Banks, hed referenced RZA as an influence while promoting his first solo record, and subsequently received an email from an acquaintance of RZAs who arranged a meeting between the two. And what a meeting it was.

We ended up hooking up at a tequila bar [Mayahuel on 6th Street], says RZA. I actually had mezcal for breakfast yesterday. No, seriously, it was good. From there, we ended up making a night of it, went down to Chinatown to this noodle bar that makes handmade noodles, then jumped into a club after that. We learned a lot about each other.

The two jammed for about a week before they generated their first demo, which became the track Cant Hardly Feela song RZA attests to being his favorite, remarking that it makes me feel like Im back in high school... I miss those innocent days. Then, RZAs manager brought the demo to Warner Bros. Records, who informed them that theyd be interested in an album if the fellas were, too.

Banks and Steelzs music is difficult to categorize, owing to a wide variety of genres, but its certainly more of a departure for Banks, whos been firmly entrenched in the rock arena since Interpol broke onto the scene in the early aughts with Turn on the Bright Lights.

As for the current state of rock music, which appears to be in decline, Banks offers, That might be because theres not as much space on the radio for rock music, but I think rock will survive and it is out there because its fun playing instruments, its fun being in the basement with a live drummer and making a ton of noise. And the live experience of a rock concert is something that is unmatched. So I think it will always survive. Right now, the moment with the popular mainstream has definitely moved away from rock, but I dont think its going to kill rock.

During the Wus 90s heyday, New York was the hip-hop mecca. Now, however, the rap capital has moved down south to Atlanta, where rappers like Future, Big Boi, 2 Chainz, Killer Mike, Young Thug, Jeezy, Gucci Mane, and more have influenced the rap zeitgeist to the point where even New York rappers like A$AP Rocky and Desiigner sound southern-fried.

You can never sleep on New York hip-hop. You hear the new Fat Joe joint? says RZA, referring to All the Way Up. New York is always going to apply the New York vibe to hip-hop. And panda panda? Thats my joint, kid! he adds. You cannot deny it. If you have a drink in your hand, youre up in the spot, youre getting into it, kid! Youre gonna move!

In addition to his music exploits, RZA wears numerous other hatsacting, scoring films, and directing. Back in 2012 he released his debut feature, the martial arts flick The Man with the Iron Fists, and next year will unveil Coco, about an aspiring hip-hop artist (played by rapper Azealia Banks) who navigates the world of slam poetry.

You never really now what youre going to get with Banks, whose volatile Twitter persona has threatened to overshadow her musical bona fides, but RZA says she was a pro on set.

I think it will be out February, to be honest with you, RZA says of Coco. Look, Ill be a hundred percent honest: Azealia showed up on time every day, she delivered a great role. Im not selling hershe has to sell herselfbut she did a great job in the film, she was totally professional. I didnt know so much about her, personally. I only knew a small bit from the 212 song and the Ebro interview, which actually led to my casting her, because I liked the conviction of what she stood for. Banks and Steelz, meanwhile, is set to embark on a mini-tour this summer and fall in support of their debut album, and remain optimistic concerning a possible sequel. We got more material and I would love to make another record with RZA, says Banks. I think this collaboration is dope, and its real, and its an organic kind of experience.

If theres a demand, we will give you the supply, chimes in RZA. Supply-and-demand. If ya want more, we got it! Alright, kid?!
The witness has forced himself to testify. For the youth of today, for the children who will be born tomorrow. He does not want his past to become their future.

--Night, by Eli Wiesel.

This week, just after the death of Eli Wiesel, I traveled with my family to Auschwitz, the largest crime scene in world history.

Nowadays its a gruesome but essential tourist destination in Oswiecim, Poland, an hour and a half west of charming Krakow. A visit to Auschwitz (the German name for the area) includes a devastating three-hour guided tour, the only way summer visitors are allowed in the camps.

Wiesels classic book Night, which went from selling 1,000 copies when first published in the indifferent 1950s to more than 10 million today, offers a shattering supplement to the experience.

Last weeks Wiesel obituaries were all fine, but they couldnt fully bear witness to his ordeal. The important thing for this most honored of survivors wasnt remembering him as much as remembering his Holocaust experienceand the lives and deaths of the millions who werent lucky enough to tell their own stories.

Any one of the fields of ashes in Birkenau carries more weight than all the testimonies about Birkenau.

Wiesel was being modest about his own historic testimony, which will no doubt still be read a century from now. But he was right about seeing those ash pitswhere small flecks of human bone are still visible in a swampy hole.

The remnants the Poles have preserved at Auschwitz are less artfully mournful than the Holocaust Museums of Berlin and Washington--and less sacred than Israels Yad Vashem--but they deliver emotional body blows impossible to replicate beyond the fences of concentration camps.

While the site features the usual snack shops and even some unwelcome graffiti in a cellblock reserved for non-Jewish children (the Jewish children there were all annihilated), the experience is tasteful, and it generally silences even the noisiest of tourists.

In our tour group of 30, led by a bright and emotional Polish mother raised nearby, few took pictures and noneincluding usasked questions. Even the most substantive ones would have felt trivial amid the Zyklon B canisters and mounds of hair, shoes and eyeglasses taken from Jews and piled in the rough-hewn museum housed in one of the barracks.

Our guide started by explaining that Auschwitz, where more than 1.1 million Jewsplus two hundred thousand Poles, gypsies, homosexuals and othersdied between 1940 and 1945, is actually three large sites, now known as: Auschwitz I, the original camp commandeered from the Polish Army by the Nazis, where the mocking ARBEIT MACHT FREI (Work makes you free) sign greeted Polish inmates who were quickly worked to death; Auschwitz II, better known as Birkenau, the sprawling extermination camp built from scratch by inmates three kilometers away and named for the surrounding birch trees, where once stood scores of wooden barracks, four gas chambers and four crematoria; and Auschwitz III, also known as Monowitz-Buna, an I.G Farben rubber plant that employed slave labor and where another factory sits today.

Wiesel spent time in all three at various times in 1944 and 1945, with Auschwitz-Birkenau the first and worst.

There are eighty of you in the car, the German officer said. If anyone goes missing, you will all be shot like dogs.

As late as the spring of 1944, the Wiesel family of Sighet, Hungary (the country with the most Auschwitz victims) thought it was safe from the distant war. But in a matter of weeks, their lives were upended. A fascist party preaching hate and exclusion took power in Hungary; the once-friendly Hungarian policecollaborating like so many when faced with a strong handplaced the Jews in ghettos, with many Jews still rationalizing the change as not so bad; and Wiesels father, a highly cultured store-owner, rejected an offer from their Christian housekeeper to hide them in the countryside. Then they were told to reduce all of their worldly possessions to 25 kilograms (about whats allowed today in airline carry-on) and crammed into a sealed cattle car with a bucket for waste, destination unknown.

Within moments of arrival, Elie, a 15-year-old Torah student, was quickly advised by an inmate to say he was 18. His 50-year-old father was told to say he was 40. This helped make them the right ages to be slave laborers.

Men to the left! Women to the right! I walked on with my father, with the men. I didnt know that this was the moment in time and the place where I was leaving my mother and Tzipora [his seven-year-old sister] forever.

The selection area by the railroad siding, depicted in many movies, seems ordinary enough in the summer sun. This is where Dr. Josef Mengele decided whether to send the new arrivals to be registered as inmates orif too old or young for back-breaking workright to the gas chambers.

Wiesel, who told Mengele he was a farmer (the best answer because it helped him avoid rough construction duty), was pointed left. His odds of survival remained terrible. Those who couldnt somehow find extra rations lasted just a few months. Seven decades ago, the fields we see contained little grass because inmates ate it.

Something was being burned there. A truck drew close and unloaded its hold: Small children. Babies! Yes, I did see this, with my own eyeschildren thrown into the flames.

Our group began walking right, about a half mile down a road lined with ditches. We imagined seeing smoke pouring out of the crematoria as the kaposthe inmates in charge of other inmatesbeat us into line, hoping a little cruelty would curry favor with the Nazis. After a few Germans died of typhus during a 1942 outbreak, they generally used kapos to touch or strike inmates, though shooting them remained a task for Nazis.

But shooting was very inefficient. At Auschwitz, the machinery of death required an assembly line. The condemned, just off the train, were sent into undressing rooms and told to strip for a shower. The gas chambers were designed by Nazi architects to be below ground and half the size of the undressing rooms in order to hold the heatthe body heatnecessary to activate the Zyklon B.

We learned that 700-2000 people could be crammed into a gas chamber at one time and all would be dead within 20 minutes.

The gas chambers were blown up by fleeing Nazis and the ovensso inadequate to the task of incinerating thousands of bodies a dayare twisted ruins now. For greater efficiency, most of the bodies were eventually burned in large open pits. Today, on ground still full of human ashes, one pit has become a little memorial.

The barrack we had been assigned to was very long. I thought: This is what the antechamber of hell must look like. So many crazed men, so much shouting, so much brutality.

The prisoners had to sleep sideways on wooden slats with no bedding. Eight prisoners crammed together in the favored top compartment. Six in the middle. Five in the desperate bottom, sleeping on the freezing ground, fighting off rats and almost certain death.

That evening, in the latrines, the dentist pulled my [gold] crown with the help of a rusty spoon.

We learned that inmates got a showerfreezing in the winter and boiling in the summer, for maximum psychic tortureonce a month at best. In the latrine, they had 20 seconds to defecate and no toilet paper. Our guide reminded us of the scene in Schindlers List where a boy in another concentration camp in Nazi-occupied Poland hides in the hole. Not here. The Nazis put in screens to prevent it.

What had happened to me? My father had just been struck, in front of me, and I had not even blinked. I had watched and kept silent.

As the Soviets advanced, the Germans transported Wiesel and other inmates to Buchenwald at the end of the war, where he watched his father die beside him shortly before liberation. Wiesel's two older sisters also survived and he was reunited with them after the war.

Drained after the long tour, we took the bus back to Krakow. I read the appendix to the new edition of Night. Its Wiesels 1986 Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, which he devoted to the plight of suffering people everywhere.

What all of these victims need above all is to know that they are not alone; that we are not forgetting them, that when their voices are stifled, we shall lend them ours; that while their freedom depends on ours, the quality of our freedom depends on theirs.
Strip Club Death Trial Delayed by Lawyer Dying in Same Club

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The second death at Shotgun Willies in Colorado was called kind of weird by the attorneys co-counsel.
By India Today Web Desk: Prime Minister Narendra Modi while addressing Indian Diaspora in Nairobi praised Indian for holding their roots intact in a foreign land." The Indian community in Kenya has kept its tradition alive. We are proud of you," said Modi.



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More than 50 Brazos County residents packed the pews of the tiny Roans Chapel Baptist Church last week to demand answers regarding plans for a 10-acre docking station that would send trucks hauling crude oil down Roans Chapel Road.

Sunoco Logistics Partners plans to expand operations within its crude oil segment by building the truck station site to tie into its existing 12-inch pipeline in Brazos County. The trucks would transport about 8,000 barrels of oil from area wells each day and bring it to the site to be injected into the pipeline, sending it to the company's terminal facility in Nederland. Residents of the Rainbow Acres and Dawn Meadows subdivisions voiced their displeasure for the plans Thursday, saying the project would disturb their land and affect their property values. Residents also cited noise and safety concerns.

Sunoco Logistics' contract on the property is still pending, but the project looked inevitable at the start of the meeting. Depending on regulatory approvals, the proposed truck station is projected to be in service by the end of the year. However, residents seemed willing to gamble that by having Brazos County Precinct 2 Commissioner Sammy Catalena tell the company that the county would not participate in upgrades to Roans Chapel Road, the project might be relocated.

Grant Ruckel, director of government affairs for Energy Transfer, the parent company of Sunoco Logistics, said the company would be willing to pay for the upgrades -- paving the road, widening it and straightening out the curves -- needed to meet the needs of the trucks.

Catalena, after listening to his constituents, said he called the company's representatives Friday morning to let them know that the county would not be participating in the road improvements.

Brazos County Judge Duane Peters reminded the residents at the meeting of the risks involved.

"Let's say that the county says we're not going to participate in the upgrades of that road," Peters said. "Maybe they say 'We're gonna drive down the existing county road just like it is,' and we know that road is gonna be demolished, and it's narrow, and it's unsafe. And at that point we know we've got way unsafer conditions, and the county won't be receiving any funds to get the road upgraded."

An informal vote of the residents taken Thursday by standing up from their seats showed they were nearly unanimous in their opinion that it was a risk they were willing to take.

Ruckel said if the road upgrades are not an option, there will be an internal discussion within the company as to what its next steps will be, and could not say if it would continue with the plans.

He had told the residents at Thursday's meeting that "destruction of life" and "quality of life" are phrases the company takes seriously, and a number of factors are taken into consideration when approaching this type of project.

"But not us" was the resounding response of the residents.

Mothers said they would no longer be able to let their children play in the front yard or wait outside for the school bus. Many people were worried about the traffic problems the trucks would cause on Texas 30, and the noise they would create driving up and down the road outside the 132-year-old church they sat in, where weddings and funerals are frequently held.

Minnette Bilbo, a longtime resident of the area, said her house is located only 200 yards away from the proposed truck station.

"What are y'all gonna do for us?" she asked. "You're talking about noise. You're gonna have lights. We have been here for almost 26 years, and nobody has ever said anything to us about this. I don't think y'all considered anybody. Y'all are backing that docking station right up to our back fence."

Representatives from Sunoco Logistics said they had scoured Brazos County for appropriate locations for months looking for a landowner who was willing to sell property with direct access to a highway or major thoroughfare, had adequate acreage for the site design and was in close proximity to the pipeline and proposed and existing wells, among other factors. After looking along William D. Fitch Parkway, University Drive, Nunn Jones Road and Bird Pond Road, the company said the Roans Chapel Road property -- a 50-acre parcel -- best fit the criteria.

But residents aren't buying that the property off the quiet country road is the best place in Brazos County to put the truck station, or that the decision to locate it there had only been reached two to three weeks ago after several meetings between the company and the county.

"I moved out here for some peace and quiet -- we have good neighbors. We have generally quiet neighbors. But here's the thing that I haven't really heard about tonight," said Roans Chapel Road resident Jay Brewer, speaking toward the end of the meeting. "I don't believe for one minute that people in this room didn't know about this a long time ago. That is wrong. It's unethical."

Catalena, responding to increasingly frustrated demands for an explanation, said that the county tried to get Sunoco Logistics to choose a different location or take a different route to the site, and was only told a few weeks ago that they would be sticking to the plans to use Roans Chapel Road for public access to the property.

"If there's a different route that they can pick, then that's entirely up to them, but we can't dictate what they can do," Catalena said Thursday."I know that doesn't sound right, but the legislature does not give us that authority to do that."

Catalena said he understands where the residents are coming from, and doesn't want the truck station on Roans Chapel Road either.

"We fight these battles every day, being in the position that we're in," Catalena said. "A lot of those people have lived out there their whole lives. It's a quiet little community. I don't want to see that disrupted."
Addressing the Indian community at Kasarani Stadium in Nairobi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "India is not a selfish nation, only bothered about ourselves. We believe in Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam."

By India Today Web Desk: On the final leg of his four-nation African tour, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is addressing the Indian community at Kasarani Stadium in Kenya today.

Here are the live updates:

It is our responsibility to conserve and preserve the nature for the coming generations.

India's message for the world is that people who believe in humanity must come together to fight anti-human elements.

World is facing 2 problems, today- Global warming and Terrorism.

Youth in India are intelligent, they have the strength to "turn soil into gold" in foreign land as well.

Improving the quality of life for the ordinary Indian, that is the main task of my government.

What could not be achieved in 70 yrs how will this Govt achieve in 1000 days?, they asked. I'm sure, we'll achieve this before 1,000 days.

Questions were raised when I announced from the Red Fort that 18000 villages will b electrified in 1000 days.

Today India is transforming, its because of the dedication and determination of 1.25 billion people of India.



But we won't be stopping here, we have to attain 8 per cent growth rate, for which we are taking various measures.

Last 2 years, India faced drought like situation despite this we have been able to project 7.6 per cent growth rate.

The world is facing an economic crisis but India is growing at a quick pace.

I was surprised as Kerala receives immense rains yet they did not enjoy till it rained in Kutch, such is the connection in India.

When I was Gujarat CM, I once visited Kerala. They organised a great feast when there was news of rains in Kutch.

I have visited so many countries but never have I heard any complaint from Govts about Indians living in their respective countries.

India's real ambassadors are my Indian brothers and sisters spread all over the world.

India is not a selfish nation, only bothered about ourselves. We believe in "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam".

That is why when we talk about strengthening Africa-India ties, we also think of the well being of the entire world.

We are those people who have considered the entire world as "one family".

Recently, Indian-African summit took place in India, many African countries came, President of Kenya invited me to visit Kenya then.



Indian community in Africa has preserved our culture.

India can connect the entire world into one family.

Africa is vital for India.

Recently, Indian-African summit took place in India, many African countries came, President of Kenya invited me to visit Kenya then.

When we came here, it feels like we have come to "mini Hindustan".

They must have only heard about Ganga, Assam.Despite this,it's commendable that they have been able to preserve the (Indian)culture.

Decades ago, our ancestors came here (Kenya) as labourers, many may have not got an opportunity to come to India.

I salute the organisers for organising this event in such a fine way keeping minute details in mind.

Today, after what I am witnessing here, people in India must be thinking, "may be the event is taking place in India".

For me and for India, and for Indians it is a great, great honour. Its a symbol of love and affection.

It is a matter of great privilege and honour for all of us that President of Kenya is also among us to grace this occasion.

PM Modi on behalf of the people of Kenya I take this opportunity to welcome you to our country: Kenya's President

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A day after Pankaja Munde was divested from Water Resources Ministry, her supporters took to the streets and burned an effigy of CM Fadnavis.

By Kamlesh Damodar Sutar: It seems Pankaja-Fadnavis alleged tiff is now spilling onto the streets. Angered by Pankaja's ouster from the Water Resources Ministry, her supporters in Ahmednagar district's Pathardi locality burnt an effigy of Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.

In a major rejig of his Cabinet, chief minister taken away Pankaja's Water Resources Ministry and handed it over to Ram Shinde. Pankaja who is in Singapore to attend the World Water leader's Summit had earlier expressed her displeasure by tweeting that she won't be attending the Summit now as she is not the in charge of the Ministry anymore.

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PANKAJA, FADNAVIS TWITTER SPAT

Upset by Pankaja's remarks in the public domain, CM had asked her to attend the Summit as a representative of the state govt. But Now Pankaja supporters have taken this war of words to another level by burning the CMs effigy.

Pankaja has been stripped of the Water Conservation Ministry. The Jalyukt Shivar program introduced to tackle drought under the Ministry was a flagship program of the state government under he tenure. Pankaja was quick to express her displeasure with the Cabinet rejig.

PANKAJA SELFIE ROW

Pankaja courted controversy recently after she posted selfies on Twitter clicked in Latur which is reeling under drought. She has been accused of gross insensitivity by the opposition for posting the selfies. Her pictures also triggered an online outrage.

Also read:

Pankaja, Tawade's wings clipped in Maharashtra Cabinet rejig



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When will it stop, Lord? When will we stop killing each other?

Last week was a sad week -- the latest in a long line of sad weeks this nation has experienced and, frighteningly, likely will continue to experience. Two men died, obviously because they were black. At week's end, five more men died because they were officers of the law.

None of the deaths make any sense.

On Tuesday, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 37-year-old Alton Sterling died in a scuffle with two police officers responding to what we have learned was a questionable 911 call. Sterling had a gun, which, as a convicted felon, he legally was barred from carrying. Despite the events being captured on cell phone video, it is unclear exactly what happened, but Sterling apparently did not pull his weapon. An investigation is underway, but it is difficult to understand why the black father of five was shot by the two white police officers.

The next day, Philando Castile, 32, another black man, was shot inside his car after two white officers stopped for a broken tail light in suburban St. Paul, Minnesota. In an absolutely chilling cell phone video, his girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, caught the minutes following the shooting as a bloodied Castile died. Reynolds can be heard repeatedly saying Castile was reaching for his wallet when one of the officers shot him. She said Castile had a gun, but told that to the officer and said he was reaching for his carry permit. The highly agitated officer said he had warned Castile not to reach inside his pants.

And then, the next day, police officers in Dallas were watching a peaceful march by people protesting the shooting of Sterling and Castile. The officers were there to protect the protestors and to ensure there was no violence. In the end, those officers were the victims of terrible violence when a man identifies as Micah Xavier Johnson, a black Army veteran, opened fire, killing five officers and wounding seven others and two civilians. Before he was killed by police officers, Johnson reportedly said he was upset by the recent black deaths at the hands of police and wanted to kill white people, "especially white officers."

It was the worst day for law enforcement since the horror of 9-11. And other states reported police officers targeted by shooters.

The five officers who died in the line of duty in Dallas on Thursday were:

 Lorne Ahrens was a senior corporal who served the Los Angeles Police Department for a decade before joining the Dallas Police Department in 2002. He was 48 and leaves a wife and two daughters.

 Michael Krol was a prison guard in his native Detroit before joining the Dallas Police Department in 2008. He was 40.

 Michael Smith was a sergeant in the Dallas Police Department. A former Army Ranger, Smith recently was awarded the "Cop's Cop" award from the Dallas Police Association. He was 55 and leaves a two and two daughters.

 Brent Thompson had been a police officer with the Dallas Area Rapid Transit department for seven years and was the first department officer killed in the line of duty. He was 43 and had recently married.

 Patrick Zamarripa was a veteran of three tours of duty in Iraq. He was 32 and leaves a wife and two children.

The deaths of the five police officers was terrible, but so were the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile. Nothing can justify any of them. And once again, we are left to mourn and to wonder why.

In the days to come, there will be plenty of fingers being pointed, blame being assessed, calls for new gun laws and insistence that the Second Amendment prohibits them.

There will be funerals, far too many funerals. We'll learn more about the victims and the people who loved them. We'll learn about the shooters, police and civilian.

And then? Well, and then we will do nothing. We always do nothing, which is why we are so good at it.

Guns are part of the problem, to be sure. We must move past the entrenched positions on both sides of the gun issue and find ways to keep guns out of the hands of people who shouldn't have them.

We must ensure our law enforcement officers have all the training they need to best handle even the most routine situations, such as everyday traffic stops. Our law enforcement officers have difficult and dangerous jobs, no question about it. They must make life and death decisions in a split second. Everything they do, every action they take carries risk. The vast majority of police officers are good, decent, honorable people. But just as in journalism and every other profession, there are bad people in law enforcement. Although few in number, the damage they do to their fellow officers is incalculable.

We are so thankful for the men and women who protect us each and every day. They deserve our respect.

Still, the untoward violence to black Americans by law enforcement officers is troubling and must be addressed.

Sadly, we have become a nation divided by race, by national origin, by income, by education, by age and gender and orientation. We are split north from south, east from west. This year in particular we are alienated one from another by politics, including one candidate who spreads hate everywhere he goes.

We must start talking with each other and, important, we must start listening, really listening, to each other. We must hold the uncomfortable discussions necessary to be reunited once again.

It has been said America is the great melting pot, implying that our differences, our individual uniqueness disappears into a giant commonality.

Rather, America is a rich and hardy stew, full of many flavors and textures, all adding to the marvelous whole. That stew would not be the same, would not be as good without any one of us.

We love America and our fellow Americans. We fear we are becoming disconnected, one from another.

As we pray for the Dallas officers and all those who have died violently, let us pray for ourselves so that we may begin the task of making America safe again -- for all of us.
Think you know the pin to the ATM? Have a crack to win your share of $100k
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By Erin Schmitt of The Gleaner

There are three school board seats up for election this November, but so far only one person has filed paperwork with the Henderson Circuit Court to run.

People have until Aug. 9 to file their intent to seek one of the three vacant seats on the Henderson County Board of Education. The three seats up for grabs are Districts 3, 4 and 5.

"I feel very comfortable that folks will come forward and think about running and be a part of a tremendous school system in moving forward," said Superintendent Marganna Stanley.

So far, only Board Chair Lisa Baird has filed the necessary paperwork to seek the District 3 seat. She is the longest-tenured board member, having first been elected in 2008.

The school board voting districts were modified in May 2014 to align with the magisterial districts. Baird and current Vice Chair Jennifer Keach drew lots to see who would represent Districts 3 and 4, respectively since they both live in District 3.

Baird drew the short straw and has been representing District 4 since then. None of the current board members live in District 4. Keach would be seeking the District 3 seat if she chooses to run for a four-year term.

Brad Staton, who was elected last November to fill a vacancy, holds the District 5 seat. He is running for Henderson City Commission and his name cannot be on the ballot for both races.

Seats held by Tracey Williams, District 1, and Sally Sugg, District 2, are not up for election this year. Their terms expire in 2018.

The school board is the governing body of the school system. Being a board member requires a lot of conversation and decision making, said Stanley.

The board's responsibilities include looking at law, and establishing policies and procedures. This is implemented by the superintendent.

The board also takes a close look at expenditures and revenues.

"Budget is a huge piece that they help guide and direct," said Stanley.

Meetings are typically held twice a month. There's usually a workshop on the first Monday and a regularly scheduled board meeting on the third Monday in the month, both in the early evening.

Digital learning and literacy are strong areas of focus for the school system, said Stanley. There is also a push to ensure students have a community and global focus when they graduate, or, in other words, be able work with other people.

This is also a good quality to have in a board member. School board members should be willing to work and solve any issues the school district might have, she said.

"A person who is collaborative in nature would be a good school board member," said Stanley.

Being a person who loves and has a passion for children and the Henderson community, as well as supports public schools are all desirable qualities for a school board member, Stanley said.

"We want to be unique," Stanley said. "We want to be extraordinary and I would want people with that kind of passion on our school board."

Henderson County Schools is a fairly large district, with about 7,600 students.

"What our public school system looks like could be very different from any surrounding county or any other county in the nation," she said. "It has to be what works for Henderson County kids."

People seeking to run for school board must live in one of the three districts with open seats.

The District 3 voting precincts are Geneva, North Cairo, South Cairo, East Corydon, North Corydon, South Corydon, Pennyrile, Smith Mills, West Fair and West Weaverton.

The District 4 voting precincts are Audubon Heights, East Bells, West Bells, East Fair, Harris, Young and Kavanaugh.

The District 5 voting precincts are Balmoral, East Bend Gate, West Bend Gate, East Richardson, West Richardson, Frontier, Kimmel, Newcomb and Pebble Creek.

"I feel confident that we have lots of productive, great citizens in our community," Stanley said.
Bill Nye, left, and Answers in Genesis president Ken Ham during the creation debate at the Creation Museum in Northern Kentucky in December 2014. (Photo: By Matt Stone/The CJ)

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By Phillip M. Bailey, The Courier-Journal / USA TODAY Network

Bill Nye, "the Science Guy," got a private tour of the Noah's Ark replica Friday, according to a blog post by Australian-born creationist Ken Ham.

During his visit, I was able to personally share the gospel with him very clearly, Ham, founder of Answers in Genesis, wrote in the blog post.

Ham had invited Nye to the Ark Encounter, whichopened in Northern Kentucky on Thursday, to show the celebrity scientist its exhibits. The 500-foot-long vessel located in Grant County is based on the biblical story of the Genesis flood by which God destroys the world but saves Noah, his family and the world's animals.

Ham said the two ended the tour in a prayer after they had a passionate discussion that turned from science to their differing worldviews.

Ultimately, this is the heart of the issue  we have two different worldviews and two different interpretations of the same evidence because of our different starting points, he wrote.

Nye and Ham drew worldwide attention two years ago when they jousted over the merits of evolution versus creationism, a religious belief that holds a literal interpretation of the Bible that the world was created in six days and is about 6,000 years ago.

Scientists and other observers ripped Nye at the time for engaging in the conversation with Ham, saying it did little more than legitimize his position. Overwhelming scientific evidence shows the universe is about 13.8 billion years old, for example.

Nye did not immediately respond to a request for comment but told National Geographic in a January 2015 interview that he engaged Ham to prove how silly creationism should be considered.

When you understand anything about astronomy or have just a rudimentary understanding of radioactivity, the Earth is patently not 6,000 years old, Nye said in the article.

The Ark Encounter, which drew more than 15,000 visitors, is considered the sister attraction to the Creation Museum, also located in Kentucky, which presents a biblical view of creation.
The angry mob in Meerut said the building was demolished by authorities while a family was still trying to vacate their belongings inside.

Remains of collapsed buildings during an anti-encroachment drive in the Meerut Cantonment area in Meerut on Saturday. (Photo: PTI)

By India Today Web Desk: Emotions are running high in Meerut city after four persons were killed on Saturday as they were buried under the debris of an "illegal" multi-storey building in cantonment area when it was being demolished by civic authorities.

Bungalow No 210, was demolished by the Cantonment Board authorities during an anti-encroachment drive during which a few people, who apparently were still in the building, were buried under the rubble. Four of them died while five were injured. They have been admitted to a hospital, Meerut Division Commissioner, Alok Sinha said.

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The angry mob said the building was demolished by authorities while a family was still trying to vacate their belongings inside. Family members of the deceased said that they were not informed about the demolition. Locals said they were aware of a court saying the building was constructed illegally and had to be demolished, but that on Friday night they were given three days to vacate.

"A family was inside the building. I kept telling them to take their belongings and vacate the house. As they went inside to take their belongings, the building collapsed on them," said a local, Kuldeep.

Family members of the people who died under the rubbles after a building collapsed during an anti-encroachment drive in the Meerut Cantonment. (Photo: PTI)

Acting District Magistrate Dinesh Chand has ordered a magisterial enquiry by city magistrate Keshav Kumar and has given 15 days to submit a report.

According to Meerut Cantonment Board's Assistant Engineer, Piyush Gautam, "A prior notice was sent to its occupants to vacate the building as it had been illegally built. The area was marked for demolition and the timing of 3 am was decided."

"We even gave three more hours to the occupants to take out their belonging and began the demolition at 6 am only," he claimed.

According to officials, the building was a disputed property and the High Court had ordered its demolition.

Police have registered a complaint under section 302 (punishment for murder), 147 (punishment for rioting) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the IPC in Sadar Bazar police station against Rajeev Shrivastav (CEO, Cantt Board Meerut), Anuj Singh (Executive Engineer), Piyush Gautam (Assistant Engineer), Yogesh Yadav, Arvind Gupta and Avdesh Yadav.

They have arrested Anuj Gupta and Piyush Gautam while teams have been formed to nab remaining accused.

Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Nagma with family members of people who got trapped under rubble after the building collapsed. (Photo: PTI)

Families of the victims staged a protest against the authorities and blocked Abu Lane and gheraoed Shrivastav's residence.

Meanwhile, senior Congress leader and party general secretary in charge of Uttar Pradesh, Ghulam Nabi Azad met the families of the deceased and condemned the incident. He also demanded an enquiry into the case.

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Congress spokesperson Nagma reached the spot and demanded compensation and jobs for the affected families.

Ex-State BJP president Laxmi Kant Bajpai also condemned the incident and asked for an enquiry and compensation of Rs 50 lakh for the families of the deceased.

The national rescue agency has joined the rescue operations in hopes of still finding people trapped alive under the rubble.

The injured were admitted in hospital after the rescue operation while the bodies have been sent for post-mortem.



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Iowa Poll: Most say Iowas caucuses should stay first in the nation
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NORWALK  People poured into Oyster Shell Park on Saturday for the first annual NICE festival, a multicultural celebration hosted by the Norwalk International Cultural Exchange.

The festival overlooked the Norwalk Harbor near the Maritime Aquarium. Attendees bustled along the streets of SoNo making their way toward the live music and high-flying kites.

The NICE festival hosted over 20 food vendors wish dishes from India, Venezuela, Turkey, other parts of the Middle East, Italy, Asia, the Caribbean and more. The fare included empanadas, falafel, barbecue, items from the Valencia Luncheria truck, ice cream, fresh fruit, Asian style grinders, pizza, grilled cheese and more.

Katherin Cheverra, 18, an intern and assistant to the executive director of NICE, had been working on this festival for close to six months, recruiting and organizing vendors.

Were here to show and celebrate every culture here in Norwalk, to show that we have more in common than we do different, which is important with everything going on in the news right now, Cheverra said.

Alongside the tempting array of food included traditional Indian and Latin American clothing, jewelry, childrens toys and artwork.

Vendor Salina Paul sold traditional Indian clothing and jewelry including colorful saris and bangles.

I wanted to be a part of this multicultural festival so I could represent my country, Paul said.

In the background, live music could be heard from a variety of cultural entertainers. Ethnic dances were performed.

Many children were drawn to the festival. There was kite flying, flag face painting, henna, mural painting, bubble and instrument exhibits, stationary kites, origami and cultural games.

Many vendors also promoted education for their charitable causes such as the Naragote/Norwalk Sister City Project, Norwalk Community College and Common Ground farmers market.

Director of Common Ground farmers market, Linda Troy, has been running the market for nearly five years and started the market to bring quality produce closer to those living at or below the poverty line. Troy works alongside the Food Access Coalition, which provides quality food to those in need and through Common Ground runs a teaching kitchen for students at Fodor Farm.

Also on hand were students from the Center for Global Studies program in Norwalk. The secretary of the student government for CGS, Brendan Murtha, 16, co-ran the booth promoting Arabic, Japanese and Chinese culture with games and origami for children as well as information on the program for parents.

This festival promotes culture and thats what CGS stands for, to represent all religions and cultures. Were all about promoting the global community and this is a great place to exhibit that, Murtha said.

The NICE festival highlighted the growing community of Norwalk, the SoNo area in particular and the immense diversity, cultural acceptance and appreciation that the city has to offer.
NORWALK  Margaret Benedict and her team have heard stories of struggle from more than 100 high school students.

We wear sunglasses a lot, said Benedict, sitting in her living room, which doubles as headquarters for the Gaffney Foundation.

With a shock of curly blonde hair, a sheen of pink lipstick and prominent red glasses, Benedict was quick to speak about the stories of her students, and quick to tear up at the thought of how far theyve come  hence the need for sunglasses.

The Stamford-based Matthew Gaffney Foundation identifies 10 to 15 Fairfield County high school juniors each year who are first generation, low-income and high-achieving, and provides free counseling services to help them get into the best colleges with the least amount of debt. The students receive more than 80 percent of their college tuition in grants and scholarships, Benedict said.

You want to save every single one but you just cant, she said, her eyes shimmering and vulnerable without the sunglasses.

Benedict, a former professor of 16th century English literature, now dedicates her life to helping low-income students get into the same colleges as their similarly performing, but higher-income peers. And as she has learned, its much harder than one might think.

What bugs me the most is schools say, Please send me these first-generation kids, but were not going to make it any easier for them, she said.

The Foundation is currently helping nine recent high school graduates  all from Norwalk  and 11 rising seniors, eight of whom are from Norwalk and three of whom are from Stamford.

(The colleges) will say they want them but they dont give them any money, she said. If they really wanted these kids, theyd make it possible.

Beating the system

For the first two years of high school, Victor Borges, 18, was an A-plus student on free and reduced lunch. He never imagined he could go to the prestigious schools where some of his friends were applying.

At first I thought I cant afford an Ivy League school. I cant afford the top schools in the nation. Im going to have to go to community college, Borges said. And then after meeting the Gaffney Foundation, thats what changed it all.

The students have come to know Benedict as The Money Fairy, he said, for her uncanny ability to get students financial aid packages with little to no debt.

Shed make a phone call to the financial aid office and shed wave her magic wand and the financial aid package would just change from one day to the next, Borges said.

One of the problems with getting good financial aid for those students, Benedict said, is that many times colleges and universities replace need-based financial aid awards with merit scholarships. In doing so, the only students who can benefit from the merit awards are those who dont require financial aid.

This is generally accepted as the norm but this is holding this generation back, Benedict said.

She said its all like a game  you just have to know the rules. And many first-generation students dont know the tips and tricks that those with college-educated parents do.

Its like the IRS, she said.

There are certain tricks so if you dont have that available to you, its hard, Borges said. I wouldve had to pay for (Scholastic Aptitude Test) preparation, and I couldnt afford that, so how could I get a good score?

Its so unfair, Benedict said.

Lifting them up

The Gaffney Foundation provided free SAT prep, tutoring, college trip visits and guidance counseling to this years seniors, including Borges, Valeria Baltodano and Laura Veira, the class valedictorian who revealed her undocumented status during her graduation speech.

The foundation also takes the juniors on a week-long summer camp, which started last Sunday in New Jersey. Benedict said it gives them the chance to bond as a group and a taste of the independence theyll have in college.

While every high school student in Norwalk has a guidance counselor, Benedict said they often cant give the extra attention a first-generation student might need.

Guidance counselors are meant to guide you along and tell you what they want to do, but they cant take the time of day to tell you how to do it and how to apply because theyre busy people and have their own fish to fry, Baltodano said.

The Gaffney Foundation also lifts its students sense of hope, encouraging them to aspire to prestigious colleges and instilling optimism in their ability to secure a good financial aid package.

Dr. B. was really good at changing my mindset, setting bigger goals for me and achieving them, Borges said.

Without guidance from his parents, Borges said he was prepared to navigate the college application process alone. And so was Baltodano, 17, whose parents moved here from Costa Rica when she was very young.

The language of higher education

Many high school students rely on their parents to be financially savvy, Baltodano said. But for her and the others in the Gaffney program, they were going to have to do it themselves.

In Baltodanos case, she said her parents dont know English well enough to fill out the forms even if they tried.

It was scary, mostly because I didnt know anything about it, Baltodano said of the application process. I genuinely had no idea what I was going to be doing. I didnt even know what colleges I was interested in, and of the ones I was interested in, those that gave a lot of money.

But when the Gaffney Foundation came in, everything changed.

They really see your potential and push you past that. They push you to be the best possible student or applicant that you can possibly be, Baltodano said. So with them, they always say whatever we achieve, it was always within our reach, we just needed the push, the little extra help, to get us there.

Baltodanos parents, a custodian and a massage therapist, work long hours and cant afford the time to take her on college trips. So the Gaffney Foundation did that for her.

Borges and Baltodano both said they couldnt pay for all the SAT preparation materials. So the Gaffney Foundation did that for them.

They also didnt know how to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, had never heard of the College Scholarship Service, or CSS Profile, and didnt realize that sometimes small, private schools, with their large endowments, can provide more financial aid than their cheaper, state school counterparts.

So the Gaffney Foundation, and the money fairy, guided them through it.

Throughout this entire college admissions process (my parents) were busy working, paying bills and worrying about things at home, Borges said. But I told them, I said you dont have to worry about it because Im in the hands of the Gaffney program.

Borges was accepted to Columbia University on a full ride. Baltodano will attend Williams College with $60,000 a year in scholarships. She will still owe the college $8,000 a year, which she plans to pay off through work study, parental help and some loans.

These kids have a fire in their belly and theyre going to change the world, Benedict said. They believe it and theyre going to do it.

SFoster-Frau@CTPost.com; @SilviaElenaFF
By PTI: Dar-es-Salaam, Jul 9 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi today left for Kenya on the final leg of his four-nation Africa tour aimed at enhancing ties with the continent after wrapping up his visit here.

"So long Tanzania! A brief but fruitful visit ends as PM @narendramodi enplanes for Nairobi, the last leg of his tour,: External Affairs Spokesman Vikas Swarup tweeted.

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Modi, who arrived in Tanzania last night, held talks with Tanzanian President John Pombe Joseph Magufuli on a wide range of issues.

During the visit, he extended Indias full support to Tanzania to meet its development needs and signed five agreements, including one for providing a Line of Credit of USD 92 million in the water resources sector.

He also met Solar Mamas, a group of rural women solar engineers from Africa who have been trained under Government of India-supported programmes to fabricate, install, use, repair and maintain solar lanterns and household solar lighting systems in their villages.

Modi is on five-day four-nation tour. He also visited Mozambique and South Africa before arriving here.

The focus of the African tour is on deepening cooperation in areas of hydrocarbons, maritime security, trade and investment, agriculture and food. PTI NSA AKJ NSA

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The 7th Annual Soupstock Music and Arts Festival in Shelton, Conn. on Saturday July 9, 2016. Soupstock features 2 stages of live music, a chili competition on Sunday, Kids Zone, over 50 handmade artisans, an Artisan Expo Pavilion, a variety of food trucks and more. The festival continues on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m
If youre a police officer, if you have one in your family, or if you call a cop your friend, you might have an opinion about what has been happening to police around the country. Police are being attacked, ambushed, and murdered with alarming frequency. If thats not bad enough, police officers are now being targeted by agenda-driven politicians and so-called activists who select and skew facts to fit their biased rhetoric to gain popularity and promote their careers. Facts proven through science, due process, and laws - much like the ones that police have been sworn to uphold - are often ignored by those quick to make a claim of police misconduct. In some cases, the proven process of conducting a thorough investigation, drawing a conclusion based on facts, and then applying laws to an incident has been tactfully ignored by those who spin information to support their argument.

The fact is, even with the current anti-police culture permeating our society, we, as police officers, will outlive this era of anti-police sentiment that has come to infect our nation. Our profession will endure, our mission will stand unchanged, and the great men and women that I am proud to call my brethren will continue to do the incredible deeds that make them such outstanding people. It takes resiliency, fortitude, and, above all, extraordinary character to work every day as an emergency responder - helping complete strangers through their own personal crises day or night while putting your own needs aside. It is the resiliency and fortitude that police officers rely on daily that will carry them through this dark time, and it is my belief that the collective character of police officers (which has recently come into question) will be one of the main factors that helps restore this country to greatness.
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Linkedin (Associated Press) New York, United States  Sun, July 10, 2016

USS Enterprise helmsman Hikaru Sulu is portrayed as gay in "Star Trek Beyond," but George Takei, who originated the role, isn't pleased.

A scene in the upcoming film plainly presents Sulu, played by John Cho, with a male spouse raising an infant daughter. Cho told Australia's Herald Sun that he liked that the approach doesn't "make a big thing" out of it.

(Read also: SUV that rolled, killed 'Star Trek' actor is under recall)

But Takei, who came out in 2005, called the decision "unfortunate." The 79-year-old actor told The Hollywood Reporter that he didn't like the character being altered. Takei instead urged the filmmakers to create a new gay character.

Screenplay writer Simon Pegg and director Justin Lin say they intended to pay homage to Takei as an LGBT activist. In a statement Friday, Pegg said he "respectfully (disagreed)" with Takei.
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Linkedin Agnes Anya & Ni Nyoman Wira (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sun, July 10, 2016

Indonesias Resonanz children's choir came out as the overall winner, or Winner of the Grand Prix, at the Claudio Monteverdi Choral Festival and Competition held in Venice, Italy.

The Resonanz beat other child choirs from countries like Romania and Slovakia in the event held from July 7 to July 10.

Led by conductor Devi Fransisca, the 42 children of The Resonanz won the competition after performing traditional Papuan song Yamko Rambe Yamko, rearranged by Agustinus Bambang Jusana, with dynamic and lively choreography in the final round.

At the same occasion, they also sang Tancnota, a song by Hungarian composer Zoltan Kodaly.

The Resonanz amazed the jury and audience in the Santa Margherita auditorium. That could be seen from the standing ovation they gave the choir," said The Resonanz project manager Dani Dumadi in a press release on Sunday.

Aside from coming out as the overall winner, the choir was also named the first winner of the Children and Youth category in the competition with 94.5 points.

(Read also: Indonesian childrens choir wins big in San Fransisco)

The competition is part of the choirs concerts and competition tour dubbed the Musical Journey 2016. Prior to the contest, the choir held a concerts at Balai Resital Kertanegara in April as well as in Hannover and Berlin, Germany.

The Jakarta-based choir is under The Resonanz Music Studio led by Avip Priatna, one of Indonesias outstanding conductors. It was not the first international achievement for the troupe, which also won the 2015 Golden Gate International Choral Festival in San Fransisco, California, as well as international competitions in Hungary and Hong Kong. (rin)
Seeking to enhance its ties with resource-rich Tanzania, India today extended its full support to it to meet its development needs and signed five agreements, including one for providing a Line of Credit of USD 92 million in the water resources sector.

By Maha Siddiqui: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today held talks with Tanzanian President John Pombe Joseph Magufuli on a wide range of issues aimed at boosting ties in the African continent, particularly in the economic sphere.

The Prime Minister was accorded a ceremonial welcome when he arrived at the State House in Dar-es-Salaam.



PM @narendramodi greeted the traditional Tanzanian way at State House pic.twitter.com/KoLkoA8KMx Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 10, 2016

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The visit will be aimed at giving an impetus to ties with Tanzania, a valued friend in Africa, Modi had said ahead of his visit.



Here's the full transcript of Modi's speech



I am also grateful for the generous hospitality extended to me and my delegation.

Today, on day four of my visit to four African countries, it is indeed a pleasure to be in this vibrant city of Dar-es-Salaam. Excellency, I am in agreement what you just said about the strengths and future potential of our relationship.

Friends,

The Eastern coast of Africa, and Tanzania in particular have enjoyed strong links with the India. We are old maritime neighbours. Together, our leaders and our people have fought colonialism and racial oppression.

Our merchants have traded since early nineteenth century. And, the vast stretch of Indian Ocean has kept our societies and our people connected.

Friends,

I am deeply grateful to President Magufuli for agreeing to my visit on a Sunday. It is a tribute to his motto of "Hapa kazi tu", meaning-here work only.

President Magufuli has a vision for nation building, development and industrialization - a vision that is my dream for India too.

Friends,

India is already a substantial economic partner of Tanzania. The whole range of our economic ties are healthy and on upswing.



Our two way annual trade stands at around US$ 3 billion;

Indian investments in Tanzania already total around US$ 3 billion; and

Indian businesses in Tanzania continue to grow and expand.

Today, President Magufuli and I held detailed discussions on the full spectrum of our partnership.

Our focus was to shape an action oriented agenda of cooperation, so that we talk less of potential and more of achievements on the ground.

We agreed that our common desire of economic prosperity for our societies is creating new opportunities for expanding our cooperation.

For this, both of us felt that we need to:

One, deepen our partnership in agriculture and food security, including through enhanced export of pulses from Tanzania to India;

Two, work together in development and use of natural gas;

Three, partner in building of industrial economy, capacities and institutions in Tanzania.and

Four, deepen our trade and investment partnership by encouraging greater industry to industry ties.



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As a developing country, India understands the need and urgency to improve the lives of our people.

And, as a friend, what you want to achieve for your people would also be the focus of our efforts.

In this regard, the completion of 100 million dollar water supply augmentation project for Dar es Salaam is a good achievement.

We have just now also signed an agreement on water supply project in Zanzibar for a line of credit of $92 million. We are also working on a number of other water projects for 17 cities. And for this India is willing to consider an additional $500 million line of concessional credit Public Health is another important area of our engagement.

We are ready to meet the healthcare priorities of the Tanzanian government, including of supply of medicines and equipment. I am told that an Indian radio-therapy machine is being installed at Bugando medical centre to treat cancer patients.

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Education, vocational training and skill development are other areas of your priority and where India is willing to offer all possible assistance.

I also understand that the IT Resource Centre at the Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science & Technology, Arusha is close to completion.

India's cooperation with Tanzania will always be as per your needs and priorities.

Friends,

Being neighbours across Indian Ocean, President and I agreed to deepen our overall defence and security partnership, especially in the maritime domain.

Our in-depth discussions on regional and global issues reflected our considerable convergence on issues of common interest and concern.

We agreed to work closely, bilaterally, regionally and globally, to combat the twin threats of terrorism and climate change.

On climate change, India had led the efforts to form an International Solar Alliance at COP 21 in Paris. In this Alliance, which has the support of over 120 countries, we welcome Tanzania as a crucial partner.

Friends,

We in India have had the honour to receive every President of Tanzania. I look forward to welcoming President Magufuli in India at the earliest possible opportunity. Let me in the end thank you Excellency the President for your friendship and for receiving me so warmly.

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The Prime Minister, who arrived in Dar-es-Salaam late last night on the third leg of his four-nation Africa tour, also played the drum along with the Tanzanian President for nearly one minute.



Prime Minister Modi and President Magufuli first held restricted talks before holding delegation-level parleys.



Talking with Tanzania. PM @narendramodi and President @MagufuliJP in restricted talks following the welcome pic.twitter.com/EyIyFpGxmm Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 10, 2016

The visit will be aimed at giving an impetus to ties with Tanzania, a valued friend in Africa, Modi had said ahead of his visit.

He will also be meeting 'Solar Mamas', a group of rural women solar engineers from Africa who have been trained under Government of India-supported programmes to fabricate, install, use, repair and maintain solar lanterns and household solar lighting systems in their villages.



Celebrating the Solar Mamas!PM interacts with women trained in vocational skills under India's developmental support pic.twitter.com/ar5Cr92zed Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 10, 2016

Modi visited Mozambique and South Africa before arriving here. He will also visit Kenya.

The focus of the African tour is on deepening cooperation in areas of hydrocarbons, maritime security, trade and investment, agriculture and food.





Also Read:

Durban to Dar es Salaam: PM Modi arrives in Tanzania, to meet 'solar mamas'



--- ENDS ---
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Linkedin (Associated Press)  Sun, July 10, 2016

Jay Z has released an emotional new song in response to this week's fatal police shootings of two black men in Minnesota and Louisiana.

On "spiritual," Jay Z raps, "Got my hands in the air, in despair, don't shoot, I just want to do good."

(Read also: Video shows gruesome aftermath of Minnesota police shooting)

In a statement accompanying the song's release, the rapper says he began working on it "a while ago." He says someone encouraged him to release it following the 2014 shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, but he says he knew Brown's death "wouldn't be the last." He says he's "saddened and disappointed in THIS America  we should be further along," He adds, "WE ARE NOT."

The song is available on Tidal , the subscription-based streaming music service that Jay Z owns.
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Linkedin Janie Har (Associated Press) San Francisco, United States  Sun, July 10, 2016

San Francisco, say goodbye to those squeaky, Styrofoam-like coffee cups that have long been a staple of picnic outings.

In fact, people in San Francisco won't be able to buy polystyrene foam coolers, kiddie pool toys or packing peanuts after supervisors approved a measure in June that goes far beyond the prohibition on foam food carryout containers in effect in dozens of cities and counties.

Environmentalist are cheering San Francisco's ban as the most comprehensive by a large U.S. jurisdiction on the cheap insulating foam that cushions goods and keeps drinks hot or cold. They say the lightweight plastic is extremely slow to decompose, and it pollutes waterways, harming marine life and birds.

Detractors, however, say the legislation does nothing to stop foam-wrapped goods that are shipped into the city  such as heaters, computers and just about everything else  defeating San Francisco's stated purpose of reducing waste. They'd rather San Francisco recycle the product.

What's formally known as "expanded polystyrene" is the latest plastic to be targeted by cities and counties, much like the single-use plastic bag, which San Francisco outlawed in 2007. Most people recognize the material by its brand name Styrofoam, although Styrofoam is not used to make disposable cups or packing peanuts.

The San Francisco measure builds off a 2006 ordinance mandating food vendors and restaurants use recyclable or compostable carryout containers. That meant no puffy polystyrene.

Cities such as Seattle, Los Angeles, and Portland, Oregon, followed suit. New York City tried, but a state judge last year overturned a ban on plastic foam containers and packing peanuts, saying they could be recycled.

A 2015 study found 8 percent of microscopic particles found in the San Francisco Bay were identified as foam, likely from polystyrene products, said Rebecca Sutton, a senior scientist with the nonprofit San Francisco Estuary Institute. Overall, the amount of plastic bits found in the bay was seven times greater than in Lake Erie, which is the most polluted of the Great Lakes.

"It's a timely response to recent studies that show the San Francisco Bay contains an abundance of micro-plastics, including foam fragments, that come from plastic products that fragment easily," said Miriam Gordon, California Director of Clean Water Action.

This July 6, 2016 photos shows foam cups, left, displayed on a shelf at a market in San Francisco. Consumers won't be able to buy polystyrene kiddie floats, egg cartons, or coolers in San Francisco after supervisors approved what environmentalists are calling the most comprehensive ban in the country on the cheap insulating foam.(AP/Jeff Chiu)

(Read also: Reusable grocery bags: How to use them properly)

Debbie Raphael, director of the San Francisco Department of the Environment, acknowledged the city can't control its borders but said it can lead the way.

"Like so many of the policies that start in San Francisco, we're hoping that this policy gets picked up in surrounding communities and at the state level so its maximum impact can be realized," she said, adding that San Francisco's contracted garbage company cannot recycle the product.

Businesses are on board, said Jim Lazarus, a senior vice president at the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, committed to the city's goal of sending nothing to landfill by 2020.

"It's just a fact that a lot of polystyrene ends up in landfill," he said, "and where there are reasonable alternatives, packaging options, we support that."

The measure prohibits San Francisco businesses from using the material to sell goods, so butchers within city limits, for example, can't use the foam to wrap meat and poultry.

But the city can't stop meat packed elsewhere from using foam trays. It can't stop Amazon from shipping people their new electronics in foam.

And that's why Walter Reiter, deputy director and legal counsel for the EPS Industry Alliance, said the ordinance is a sham. The alliance represents businesses that make and use expanded polystyrene. It is pondering a legal challenge.

"It's going to do nothing about the protective packaging coming in," he said. "I don't know how it reduces their waste stream."

San Francisco Supervisor London Breed proposed the ordinance. The ban on the retail sale of foam goods is effective Jan. 1. The prohibition on meat and fish trays is effective July 1.
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Linkedin Gillian Wong (Associated Press) Beijing  Sun, July 10, 2016

Chinese warships, fighter jets and submarines held live-fire war games in the South China Sea, state media reported, just days ahead of an international tribunal's ruling on a challenge to Beijing's expansive claims in the waters.

The high-profile display of naval hardware is China's latest salvo in a propaganda offensive aimed at demonstrating its military might and asserting its sovereignty over the disputed region.

Though China has said the exercises are routine, they come ahead of The Hague-based arbitration tribunal's ruling Tuesday in a case brought by the Philippines contesting China's claims in the South China Sea. China says the tribunal has no jurisdiction and says it will not accept the verdict.

China Central Television showed video of Friday's drills, conducted by three fleets of the People's Liberation Army Navy in and around the Paracel Islands, which are also claimed by Vietnam.

The footage showed missiles and torpedoes being launched from ships, jets flying in formation and releasing flares, and submarines surfacing in the water. The drills are aimed at testing the navy's battle-readiness and are scheduled to run till Monday, CCTV said.

Zhao Yanquan, a commander of a guided missile destroyer, said the scenario tested the troops' ability to locate enemy submarines, where enemy warships are attacking from and when enemy jets are taking off.

"We gather the information, analyze it and make decisions upon it. For us, it is a real war situation and therefore a test to that effect," Zhao said.

Earlier in the week, Vietnam protested the Chinese drill and has demanded that Beijing stop acting in a way that threatens security and maritime safety.

Vietnam, China and Taiwan all claim the Paracelss, which are occupied by China, and those three along with the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei claim all or parts of the Spratly Islands, which are believed to be rich in natural resources and occupy one of the world'sbusiest sea lanes. (dan)
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Linkedin Agnes Anya (The Jakarta Post) Tangerang  Sun, July 10, 2016

This year marks the seventh Idul Fitri that the countrys former antigraft commission head celebrated behind bars. Ahead of his upcoming release, Antasari Azhar looks at the positives of being looked up at the Tangerang penitentiary.

"There are lots of lessons I learned here, particularly after I became a mentor to other inmates," said Antasari, who several times was assigned by penitentiary officials to hold seminars for other inmates.

"I now can sincerely accept everything that happened in my life," he told The Jakarta Post at the Tangerang penitentiary on the first day of Idul Fitri.

Antasari was sentenced by the South Jakarta District Court to 18 years in prison in 2010 for masterminding the murder of business executive Nasrudin Zulkarnaen. Nasrudin, a director of state-owned pharmaceutical company PT Putra Rajawali Banjaran, was killed in a drive-by shooting in Tangerang, Banten, on March 14, 2009.

Many suspect that Antasari was set up in a plot to prosecute him while he chaired the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). Under his leadership, the KPK made a bold move to prosecute former deputy governor of Bank Indonesia Aulia Pohan, the in-law of then-President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, in a bribery case.

Repeatedly maintaining his innocence and having exhausted all legal avenues of challenging the verdict, Antasari agreed to ask for clemency from President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo. However, the president was reluctant to grant him a pardon, as Antasari was no longer eligible to apply for the clemency.

Antasari received Idul Fitri remission on Wednesday, paving the way for him to be freed in September. After all of his efforts to defend himself in the case, he said he had come to terms with his fate.

"I won't continue my case. I have accepted it.

"However, many parties are still determined to reveal the truth. I cannot stop them," he said.

Antasari expressed his desire to teach at several universities after his release to "share knowledge and experiences". But the main thing he looked forward to, he said, was to take care of his grandchildren, whom he had barely met during his time in prison.

"I just found that having grandchildren is more exciting than having children," he said with a laugh after Idul Fitri prayer at the prison. (rin)
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Linkedin Sinan Salaheddin (Associated Press) Baghdad  Sun, July 10, 2016

Iraqi forces recaptured a northern air base from the Islamic State group on Saturday, a victory hailed by the prime minister as a key step ahead of the long-awaited operation to retake the northern city of Mosul.

In a statement issued on his web site, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi described the air base in the town of Qayara as an "important base to liberate Mosul," and called on Mosul residents "to get ready for the liberation of their areas."

Mosul, Iraq's second largest city, fell to IS militants in the summer 2014, when the extremist group captured large swaths of northern and western Iraq. In late March, Iraqi forces launched an operation aimed at dislodging IS from areas to the south and southeast of Mosul and gradually cutting off the city's supply lines.

But retaking Mosul itself is not likely to come anytime soon. It will be an enormous undertaking for Iraqi troops, even though they are backed by airstrikes from the U.S.-led coalition and have been joined by pro-government fighters  mostly Shiite militias.

In the mostly Sunni province of Anbar, west of Baghdad, government troops on Saturday consolidated their grip on the provincial capital of Ramadi, retaken from the IS last year, when they captured two villages just north of the city.

An Associated Press video of the fighting showed government troops rocketing IS positions and black smoke pillowing up in the distance. Troops backed by armored cars were later seen marching inside a date palm grove.

The IS group was pushed out of the Anbar city of Fallujah last month after holding it for more than two years.

But despite recent territorial losses in both Iraq and Syria, where the group has established its self-proclaimed caliphate, IS has demonstrated its continued ability to launch offensive attacks in Iraqi government government-held territory and beyond. The militants still hold large pockets of territory in northern and western Iraq.

Last Sunday, a massive truck bombing in Baghdad killed at least 186 people in a predominantly Shiite neighborhood  . the deadliest attack in Iraq since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. And late Thursday, an attack at a Shiite shrine north of Baghdad killed 37 people. IS has claimed responsibility for both attacks.

On Friday, the prime minister accepted the resignation of Interior Minister Mohammed Salem al-Ghabban. Hours earlier the prime minister fired Baghdad's security chief over the attacks that hit in or near the capital during the past week.

Al-Abadi described the recent attacks as the militants' response to Iraq's "great victory in Fallujah, which stunned the world." (dan)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sun, July 10, 2016

Police are hunting down a rape and murder convict who escaped from the Salemba penitentiary in Central Jakarta by posing as a woman, donning female Muslim attire allegedly provided by his wife.

Cempaka Putih Police chief Comr. Iwan Gunadi said detectives were looking for Rizal, aka Anwar, 26, near his house in Bendungan Hilir and in the Tanah Abang area, both in Central Jakarta, as well as in his hometown of Kuningan, West Java.

"Our detectives are tracking down his whereabouts. We advise the convict to turn himself in. We also call on his family to help us find him instead of hiding him, Iwan was quoted as saying by Tribunnews.com on Saturday.

Meanwhile, a spokesman with the Law and Human Rights Ministrys Directorate General for Penitentiaries, Akbar Hadi, said Anwar had exploited a hectic day on Thursday, when only 50 guards were on duty to handle thousands of visitors flocking the prison to visit their relatives on the second day of Idul Fitri.

Rizal has been convicted of raping and murdering his 12-year-old niece in Jasinga, Bogor, West Java, on Oct. 23 last year. The Central Jakarta District Court sentenced him to life in prison. (dmr)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sun, July 10, 2016

A South Korean shoe producer will invest US$150 million to develop a shoemaking factory Jepara, Central Java. The South Korean firm is likely to employ thousands of local workers, the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) chairman said on Sunday.

The development will help boost the local economy, BKPM chairman Franky Sibarani said, adding that the factory was likely to employ as many as 15,000 local laborers. He declined to name the investor.

"Production is 100 percent export," he said as quoted by Antara news agency.

The investor reportedly targeted Central Java as the location of their plant due to sufficient infrastructure and the competitive cost of local labor for labor-intensive industry. The South Korean company have acquired a principle permit from BKPM and are expected to start factory construction and machine installation soon, Franky said.

BKPM have welcomed the investment plan. The agency is pushing to boost investment in Indonesia amid a challenging global economic situation, he added. As added value for the local administration, BKPM have encouraged the firm to use local raw materials, he said.

With a total investment of US$188 million with 435 projects in the first quarter of 2016, South Korea is the sixth biggest source of foreign investment in Indonesia, according to BKPM data. The investment provides employment for more than 28,000 workers. In 2015, South Korea reported a total investment of US$ 1.2 billion in Indonesia, a 7.6 percent from the same period the previous year. (rin)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sun, July 10, 2016

A group of five armed men are alleged to have kidnapped three Indonesians fishing in Malaysian waters late Saturday night, an official said on Sunday.

The three Indonesian men hail from East Nusa Tenggara explained Indonesian Consul in Tawau Abdul Fatah Zainal, adding that the men had been identified as tugboat captain Lorens Koten, as well a Emanuel and Teodorus Kopong, who reportedly worked as crew onboard the tugboat owned by Chia Tong Lim. The kidnapping took place in Felda Sahabat waters at midnight on Saturday in Lahad Datu, Sabah, Malaysia.

The tugboat owner, Chia Tong Lim reported the kidnapping to Malaysian authorities at 4:17 a.m. on Sunday.

The tugboat was intercepted by five armed men, alleged to be Filipino, who had approached the vessel aboard a long boat. They kidnapped three Indonesian sailors, Abdul said as reported by tribunnews.com.

There had been seven crew members onboard the tugboat. Four of the crew came from East Nusa Tenggara while three were from Palau in the Philippines. Lim explained to the Indonesian Consulate Office in Tawau that the armed men had pointed guns at the crew during the raid.

"Three crew members carrying Indonesian passports were taken by the kidnappers. The remaining four, an Indonesian and three Filipinos were released because they did not have documents," Abdul said, adding that the armed men took the passports as well as mobile phones belonging to the crew.

The boat and the remaining four crew members were taken to Marobong Tungku port in Lahad Datu. No details have been released regarding the kidnappers. This incident represents the fourth case in which Indonesian sailors have been kidnapped by armed Filipino militants in recent months. Seven Indonesian sailors were taken hostage by the notorious Abu Sayyaf militant group in the Sulu Sea on June 20. (rin)
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Linkedin Stephanie Lee (The Star) Kota Kinabalu  Sun, July 10, 2016

Three Indonesians were believed to have been kidnapped by five armed men off Lahad Datu late Saturday.

Three Indonesians were believed to have been kidnapped by five armed men off Lahad Datu late Saturday, the latest in a spree of abductions.

It is believed that the Indonesians were on a tugboat when the incident occurred at about 11:40pm.

Sabah police commissioner Abdul Rashid Harun said a press conference would be held in Lahad Datu on Sunday afternoon, without elaborating further.

On June 20, seven Indonesian seamen were taken hostage in the Sulu Sea, allegedly by Abu Sayyaf militants.

The Abu Sayyaf, notorious for kidnapping people and demanding millions of dollars in ransom for their return, in April abducted a group of Malaysian sailors in the same waters, releasing them last month.

The militants abducted 10 Indonesian sailors on March 29, and another four on April 15. All were also released last month.
In Assam, a man and his son were washed away in strong currents of Bhogdoi river in Jorhat district when they were taking bath, officials in the state said.

By Press Trust of India: Floods have wreaked havoc in the Indian states of Madhya Pradesh and Assam killing 17 people and affecting over a lakh even as monsoon rains brought temperatures below normal in several northern states.

BHOPAL INUNDATED

In the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, 15 people have been killed in rain and flood-related incidents. Bhopal city recorded over 11 inches of rainfall since Friday. Around 20,000 people have been evacuated to safer places.

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Railway tracks were submerged at Bhopal, Habibganj, Itarsi, Jabalpur, Sagar and Bina stations. In many low-lying areas in the city boats were pressed into service to rescue stranded people.

Indian Meteorological Department's Bhopal Centre Director Dr Anupam Kashyapi told PTI that heavy to very heavy rains are likely to lash Indore, Ujjain and Hoshangabad divisions, besides some parts of the state capital in the next 24 hours.

ASSAM HARD HIT

In the north-eastern Indian Assam state, a man and his son were washed away in strong currents of Bhogdoi river in Jorhat district when they were taking bath, officials in the state said.

Assam State Disaster Management Authority said over 1.05 lakh people are reeling under the flood in 138 villages in Lakhimpur, Golaghat, Morigaon, Barpeta and Jorhat districts.

Brahmaputra is flowing above the danger mark at Nematighat in Jorhat, Dhubri town, and at Numaligarh in Golaghat.

AUTHORITIES REACHING OUT

Authorities are operating eight relief camps and distribution centres in two districts.

NORMAL MONSOON IN NORTHERN INDIA

Northward, in the national capital, high humidity (between 92 and 57 per cent), however, troubled Delhiites though the maximum and minimum temperatures settled within comfortable levels.

"The minimum and maximum temperatures were recorded at 27.8 and 36.8 degrees Celsius, both normal for this time of the year," a MeT official said.

In the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, southwest monsoon has been normal so far where rains and thundershowers occurred in few places since Friday.

Normal monsoon has been recorded in Himachal Pradesh with the state receiving 157.8 mm rains as against average rainfall of 166.4 mm. Moderate to heavy precipitation occurred some parts of the lower hills on Saturday.

Pandoh was wettest in the state with 79 mm rain, while Gaggal recorded 78 mm followed by Nagrota Suriyan 37 mm.

North Indian Punjab and Haryana states, which received nearly no rainfall during the past few days several places recorded precipitation on Saturday which brought relief to people.

UT Chandigarh, joint capital of Punjab and Haryana, registered rainfall of 0.2 mm. In Punjab, Amritsar, Ludhiana and Patiala received rainfall of 1.2 mm, 2 mm and 1 mm respectively. Haryana's Hisar recorded rainfall of 1 mm.

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In the north Indian Rajasthan state, light to moderate rains occurred in several parts of the state with Kota receiving the maximum 63.4 mm.

Conditions are becoming favourable for further advancement of the monsoon and it will cover the western part of the state in the next 3-4 days, the MeT Department said.

Day temperatures at most of the places were below 40 degree Celsius barring Bikaner where the maximum temperature was 40.7 degrees Celsius.

ODISHA PREPARES FOR HEAVY RAIN

In the east Indian state of Odisha, where Cuttack received the maximum rainfall (85.6 mm), the MeT department has warned of likelihood of heavy precipitation till July 12.

--- ENDS ---
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Linkedin Julie S. Alipala (Philippine Daily Inquirer) Basilan, Philippines  Sun, July 10, 2016

Fresh clash between the Abu Sayyaf and the military has driven out at least 7,000 residents from their homes in southern Philippines.

The terror group Abu Sayyaf continued its offensive against the Army Friday with gun battles spreading to three towns in Basilan province and sending at least 7,000 residents fleeing their homes and pleading for government help.

No official, however, had come to visit the evacuees as of Friday, according to some residents who fled the fighting on Thursday.

Hadjiya Asjail, 60, resident of Barangay (village) Magcawa in Al Barka town, Basilan, said there was no help from the government since the residents fled.

I have been here for two days now and we just rely on good neighbors for food, said Asjail, who had sought shelter in houses of fellow Yakans in Barangay Cabangalan in Tipo-Tipo town.

Abdulbaki Kadari, another evacuee, said the lack of food forced some of the residents to risk getting caught in the crossfire to return to their homes to get supplies.

We will die here, we cannot wait for them, we need to eat and we feel ashamed relying on our good neighbors, Kadari said.

Anwary Akalun, the provincial social welfare officer, admitted that the provincial government could not provide food yet to the evacuees.

Akalun said the immediate need of the evacuees was food and the provincial government needed at least 365,000 pesos (US$7400) initially.

The offensive, a first by Abu Sayyaf in recent years, led to clashes that started on Wednesday evening when at least 200 terrorists attacked the headquarters of the Armys 18th Infantry Battalion (IB) here.

Authorities said there were brief respites from the clashes.

Joel Maturan, former mayor of the Ungkaya Pukan town, said the terrorists, some of whom armed with .50 cal. machine guns, had positioned themselves on four hills surrounding the community of Punoh Butigan in the village of Sungkayot, where the 18th IB headquarters is located.

The terrorists, said Maturan, seemed to be determined to get the headquarters.

Maturan said he and his rubber plantation workers had armed themselves to help government soldiers repel the Abu Sayyaf.

The fighting, he said, is on and off. But he said he wondered why these bandits are not running out of ammunition and food.
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Linkedin (Viet Nam News) Hanoi  Sun, July 10, 2016

More than 1.2 million Chinese tourists visited Vietnam in the first six month of 2016, a 47.5 per cent growth compared with the same period last year, straining its tourism industry.

The rocketing number of Chinese tourists coming to Vietnam in the first half of the year was putting pressure on the tourism industry, said the authority in charge yesterday, days after several Chinese tour guides were found working illegally in the country.

The number of Chinese tourists visiting the Southeast Asian nation in recent months soared out of the blue, said Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) Director General Nguyen Van Tuan in its half-year review meeting on Friday, adding that Chinese visitor growth scored more than 47.5 per cent compared to the same period last year.

The latest VNAT report shows more than 1.2 million Chinese tourists visited Vietnam in the first six months of 2016, making up roughly a quarter of the total international tourists visiting.

The thing is that Vietnam tourism industrys capabilities in terms of both personnel and services failed to adapt to such a sudden growth (of Chinese tourists), Tuan said.

Worse still, Chinese visitors do not spread evenly across the country but only focus on some tourism sites, particularly Nha Trang in Khanh Hoa Province and Da Nang.

Da Nang was also where a Chinese tour guide  an illegal worker as Vietnams law bans foreign tour guides operating in the country - was reportedly recorded distorting the history and culture of Vietnam when introducing the country to a group of Chinese tourists late last month. A clip of the event immediately went viral on the Internet, prompting legal action from the local authority to curb such violations.

The central city of Da Nang on Wednesday decided to fine six Chinese nationals for the illegal operation of tourist services and for violations of resident laws in the city with 20 million dong (about US$890) each.

But in a complaint sent to Da Nang Tourism Department late June, a group of Mandarin-speaking Vietnamese guides in the city said that there were at least 60 such Chinese guides working illegally in the city, and most of the Chinese travel agencies serving Chinese tour groups disguised their operations with a Vietnamese licence, which were directed by Chinese managers.

Tuan acknowledged the illegal participation of the Chinese in the tourism industry, saying that VNAT has urged local authorities to immediately roll out strict measures to inspect and put tourism services under control.

They were asked to report the results of the implementation of these measures to VNAT by August 30.

On Wednesday, VNATs head also sent a letter to his Chinese counterpart Li Jinzao, asking for co-ordination in addressing violations of the law committed by a particular Chinese tourist in Vietnam last month.

On June 14, a Chinese man, Hou Genshun, burned a Vietnamese dong note in a Da Nang bar, severely violating Vietnams law. He was deported two days later.
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Linkedin Goh Sui Noi (The Strait Times) Singapore  Sun, July 10, 2016

On Tuesday, the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague will be issuing its ruling, which is legally binding, on the arbitration initiated by the Philippines against China over the latter's expansive claims in the South China Sea. The Sunday Times takes a look at the case, views and responses of direct and indirect players involved in it, and how the ruling - expected to largely favor the Philippines - might affect the region.

The arbitral tribunal ruling on Tuesday on the case against China's claims in the South China Sea brought by the Philippines looks set to increase tension in the region - not least because it has become the new testing ground for Asia's regional order, say analysts.

It has also brought to the fore the rivalry between the United States and China, with Washington putting pressure on Beijing to recognise the ruling although Beijing has refused to take part in the arbitration and has said it will not accept the verdict.

US lawmaker Randy Forbes was quoted by the Associated Press as remarking on Thursday that the world is watching whether China behaves as a responsible stakeholder in the international system and, if not, to see how the US responds.

US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence for East Asia Abraham Denmark said on the same day the ruling could determine "whether the Asia-Pacific's future will be defined by adherence to international laws and norms that have enabled it to prosper or whether the region's future will be determined by raw calculations of power".

China, for its part, has called the tribunal farcical and tainted "with illogical and flawed application of procedures, laws and evidence". "Any award it makes in disregard of the laws and facts is naturally not legally binding," said its Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday in a telephone conversation with his US counterpart John Kerry.

Earlier, in May, China's Ambassador to Asean Xu Bu in an article accused the US of driving a wedge between China and Asean, and of rendering support to countries having disputes with China, which he said encouraged the Philippines to initiate the arbitration case. China has rival territorial claims with four Asean states - the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei - in the potentially resource-rich South China Sea, also an important sea lane.

Beyond the rhetoric, China is conducting military exercises around the disputed Paracel Islands in the north of the South China Sea that will end tomorrow. The US has sent destroyers to patrol around Chinese-held reefs in the Spratlys in the south of the contested waters, US Navy officials said on Thursday.

It was in early 2013 that the Philippines brought the case against China, after China had wrested control of the Scarborough Shoal from the Asean state in June 2012, following a two-month military stand-off that began when the Philippine navy tried to arrest Chinese fishermen found fishing in the disputed area.

Manila in July 2012 tried to have the dispute over Scarborough Shoal included in a joint statement of the Asean foreign ministers. But that was blocked by Cambodia.

Manila later went to the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) to challenge China's expansive claims in the South China Sea through a nine-dash line map of the 1940s that covers nearly the entire sea.

The court at The Hague in October last year decided that it had jurisdiction to consider seven of Manila's 15 submissions, including whether Scarborough Shoal is entitled to an exclusive economic zone and whether some reefs are low-tide elevations and therefore not entitled to a territorial sea.

Manila also asked the tribunal to find that China's claims to sovereign rights and jurisdiction, and to "historic rights", of the areas encompassed by the nine-dash line are contrary to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. But the court in October reserved consideration of its jurisdiction to rule on this and will announce its decision on Tuesday.

Analysts say the ruling will largely favour the Philippines but that the judges may find a face-saving way out for the Chinese, for example, by not mentioning the nine-dash line.

Even so, the ruling will be a test for everyone, said Professor Hugh White of the Australian National University in Canberra. "It will test China's willingness to challenge the established order in Asia, America's willingness to resist that challenge, and the willingness of Asean members to stand up to China's assertiveness and support the United States.

"It will therefore serve to increase tensions in Asia," he said.

How far tensions will increase depends on how China responds if, as expected, the key findings in The Hague go against it, he said.

It could take some action in retaliation, such as developing a base on Scarborough Shoal or declaring an air defence identification zone over part of the South China Sea.

"If China does any of these things, tensions will increase very fast and very dangerously between America and China," he said.

Singapore's Ambassador-at-large Bilahari Kausikan, however, is less pessimistic. "There will be a lot of shouting, but nothing is going to change on the ground," he said.

He pointed to signs in the run-up to the PCA ruling that showed both sides were "taking pains" to ensure that the risk of accidents happening that may lead to confrontation is minimised. For example, he said, the US Pacific Commander, Admiral Harry Harris, said at the Shangri-La Dialogue security forum last month that the Chinese military was behaving in a more positive way and that unsafe incidents involving its fighter pilots were rare.

The Chinese have also made conciliatory remarks towards the US, including by veteran diplomat Dai Bingguo, who in Washington last Tuesday said China had "no intention or capability to engage in 'strategic rivalry' with anyone".

Kausikan said that Dai's visit, during which he met US National Security Adviser Susan Rice, and Kerry's call to Wang on Wednesday, showed the two sides were "making sure that accidents don't happen because of miscommunication" after the PCA ruling.

Still, says Prof White, any resolution of the maritime disputes in the South China Sea, or even reduction of tensions there, "is very unlikely as long as the whole issue remains embroiled in the deeper rivalry between Washington and Beijing over who will be the primary power in Asia over the coming decades".
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Linkedin (Associated Press) Istanbul  Sun, July 10, 2016

Turkey's state-run media says the first plane in months carrying Russian tourists to Turkey has arrived in the southern beach resort of Antalya as tense relations between the two countries ease.

Turkey's Anadolu Agency says airport officials greeted the passengers with flowers and a cocktail party after the Rossiya Airlines flight from Moscow landed Saturday morning with 189 passengers.

(Read also: Cambodia says visitors to Angkor temples must dress properly)

Relations were strained after Turkey downed a Russian jet in November 2015. Russia responded with economic sanctions, including a ban on travel packages to Turkey. Russian President Vladimir Putin lifted the ban on travel sales after receiving a letter of apology from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last month.

Tourism in Turkey has taken a hit with the Russian travel ban and a string of deadly suicide bombings targeting tourism sites.
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Linkedin Masajeng Rahmiasri (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sun, July 10, 2016

Instead of focusing only on formal education, why not wider your repertoire of talents by taking on some extracurricular activities. Especially for teenagers, engaging in the right amount of extracurricular activities can give them more life skills and better mental and physical health.

Aside from those offered at school, here are some activities worth a try that are fun as well as good for body and soul.

Ballet

There is no age limit when it comes to ballet. Even if someone doesnt start early, he/she can still enroll in an adult ballet class. Namarina Pusat and Namarina Kebayoran, for example, are attended by junior high school students as well as workerseven those without experience. As there are no tests, the main goal of this class is for students to improve their posture and physical health. You can look for class schedules here.

Price: Rp 300,000 per month (US$ 22.79) for a maximum of five classes per month in Namarina Kebayoran.

(Read also: 5 important points in teaching children about money)

Music

Just like ballet, children who are more than 12 years old and interested in taking music lessons can join classes for teens and adults. One example is the piano study class at Yamaha music school, where students will be given private classical piano lessons, from the most basic level to the most advanced. They will also be given the chance to display their skills at several events, including final tests, concerts and competitions. Aside from piano, there is also classes for other instruments available.

Price: Rp 400,000 (registration) + Rp 540,000 per month (weekend class) for piano study class. Maximum four classes per month.

(Read also: Community service or self-service?)

Traditional dance

It is possible to learn Indonesian traditional dance for free in Jakarta. One place that makes this possible is the National Museum in Central Jakarta. The place hosts Balinese dance class by Prajnapramita Dance School every Saturday at 10.00 a.m. As it is totally free and open to everyone, around 150 dance enthusiasts of various ages regularly come to join the classfrom children to grandmothers. Although the only dance currently taught is Balinese, teacher Pinkyvi Tiffany has said that there are plans to start other dance lessons as well.

(Read also: ITB and UI, state-owned universities with highest acceptance score average)

Language

Adding a new language skill is never a bad option. If you are looking for an institution that has several language courses, you could explore the courses offered at Lembaga Bahasa Internasional Universitas Indonesia (LBI FIB UI). LBI FIB UI Salemba or Depok offer 10 languages: English, Arabic, Dutch, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Russian and Spanish. As there are several registration periods within a year, we advise that you check the schedule regularly through its site. It is also important to be aware that tuition fees vary for different levels. (kes)

Price: Rp 75,000 (registration) + tuition per level
By PTI: policy

New Delhi, Jul 8 (PTI) Hitting the ground running, Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu today directed officials in his ministry to prepare a comprehensive policy on information and communication at the earliest.

According to I&B Ministry sources, Naidu this moring held a 90-minute meeting with heads of different departments in which he raised a fundamental issue on whether there is a government policy on information and communication.

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"Apparently, there is no such policy document. So, the minister directed I&B officials that a policy be prepared at the earliest," a senior official said.

The policy will specify role and responsibilities of various organisations and stakeholders with the objective of maximising the communication outreach to the people, he added.

"The minister also directed the officials that a concrete and achievable way forward should be prepared for the next three years," the official, who was present at the meeting, said.

Aiming to cut delays and red tape, Naidu, who took charge of the I&B Ministry from his cabinet colleague Arun Jaitley on Wednesday, also made it clear that files shall be cleared at all levels quickly and in no case they should be held for more than a week.

"In case of delay, the reason for holding back the file should be mentioned or indicated on it," the official added.

Naidu has also sought a detailed presentation on the functioning of Prasar Bharati and its achievements in the last 5 years, an official said.

He also asked I&B Ministry officials to prepare the agenda for various policy and sectoral issues.

Naidu told the officers that development and good governance is the mantra of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and added that best efforts should be made to empower people with information so that the intended change can be carried out. PTI ADS PAL

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Hundreds of demonstrators protested in London against the killing of two black men in the United States.

A #blacklivesmatter protest in Windrush Square #Brixton around 200 people about to march toward police station pic.twitter.com/C8QCdJV78Y  David Wilcock (@DavidWilcockPA) 9 July 2016



Brixton was brought to a standstill as a crowd chanting black lives matter and hands up, dont shoot took to the streets on Saturday.

The crowd of approximately 300 people gathered in Windrush Square before marching to the nearby police station, and then through neighbouring streets.

It followed a protest in central London on Friday after the shooting of black men by US police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and St Paul, Minnesota. Those deaths were followed by the reprisal shooting of five officers in Dallas, Texas.

Many took to Twitter under the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter to air their support.
The next prime minister of the United Kingdom; either Theresa May or Andrea Leadsom will have a significant number of issues to address from the moment that they enter Downing Street.

However, there are three particular issues that will test their determination and competence the most;

1) The negotiations for Britains exit from the European Union. May or Leadsom will have to engage in discussions about Britains trading status with the bloc. They will have to try and get the best deal for Britain from areas such as fishing quotas to the levels of VAT that the British Parliament can implement.

As if this was not difficult enough they will also need to draw up trade agreements with other countries who have an agreement with the EU but not the UK specifically. Then comes the task of immigration and how the future PM will bargain over introducing limits on the number of people entitled to come to Britain.

This is without even mentioning leading the UK legal system through the transition from European oversight back to Parliamentary control. It will be a mammoth task and one that could destroy either of the two women, however Brexit was obviously going to be the biggest job for the next Prime Minister, at least in this parliament anyway.

2) The ongoing refugee crisis in Europe. No matter what our relationship with EU may be, we still have a duty to address the refugee crisis in the Mediterranean for a number of reasons.

Firstly, as it was the US/UK coalition that originally fuelled tensions in the region in 2003 and of course the air strikes carried out by the coalition has caused many to flee from their homes in Syria and the fact that Britain has received the equivalent of 111 asylum applications per day since January 2016.

The next PM has the duty of drawing up a plan that actually works on this issue. So far the British and many other European governments have failed to address this crisis effectively, so if May or Leadsom do not succeed on this matter then they could be up against a lot of scrutiny, especially from those who believe it is Britains duty to care for those who are seeking refuge. This issue could become even more urgent if the French choose to relocate the British border from Calais to Dover, which has been suggested by both the mayor of Calais Natacha Bouchart and the French presidential hopeful Alain Juppe.

And also with the added emphasis on immigration throughout the EU referendum, it is clear that the refugee crisis will become a hot potato if the next PM proves ineffective. I believe that the extensity of the crisis has grown so grave that with every day that the European continent refuses to address the issue, lives of innocents go abandoned. The next PM will have little choice but to balance the fears of further mass immigration and the ongoing plea for refuge from the Mediterranean.

3) The ever increasing possibility of a post-Brexit recession. It is important that the British public have faith in the next Prime Minister and possibly more importantly the next Chancellor to steer the economy in the right direction. The majority of voters will not be happy if the lowest earners have to bear the brunt of the economic slump like they have recently. Fortunately for the lowest earners both candidates have pledged to slow down austerity, however this may have come too late for some services such as the NHS.

We have seen the pound fall to a 31-year low, companies entering talks of leaving Britain and moving their legal headquarters over to Europe and also the increasing possibility of EU funding drying up and taking jobs with it. May or Leadsom will have to be stern but prudent when dealing with the economy and whoever they appoint as Chancellor will have a huge impact on this.

So from 9th September either Theresa May or Andrea Leadsom will be given the keys to Downing Street and after the initial jubilation of winning the leadership will come a flurry of important tasks that they will need to carry out.

Every task will be a potential legacy maker or premiership destroyer, but the three biggest issues that they face in my opinion will be entirely dominated by the decision of the UK electorate to leave the EU.

I do not envy the tasks that only one of the two women will face, but I do hope that whoever is victorious can address these problems as effectively and competently as possible.
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By PTI: Aligarh, Jul 10 (PTI) Islamic preacher Zakir Naik was elected to the managing body of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), in category of religious scholar, in 2013 and his name was cleared as he was largely considered a non-controversial figure, varsity officials said today.

Naik has come under scanner after it was reported that Dhaka attackers were allegedly inspired by his speeches.

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The officials also pointed out that Naik did not attend any subsequent meetings of the University Court and in fact had not paid a visit to AMU ever since his election.

"The 180-odd strong AMU Court, includes prominent Muslims from different walks of life and there are categories like, prominent professionals, educationists and religious scholars," member in-charge of Public Relations AMU and Director of Urdu Academy at AMU Rahat Abrar told PTI.

At that particular time, he said, Naik was largely considered a non-controversial figure and when his name came under the category of religious scholar, it was cleared.

Abrar, however, said that the Salafi school of thought, which is close to the school of thought which Naik is propagating, has not made any headway at AMU.

"There is not even a remote possibility of any official patronage to such radical schools of thought at AMU," he added.

Secretary of the AMU Teachers Association (AMUTA) Mustafa Zaidi said "At the time in which Naik was elected to the AMU Court his overwhelming image was that of a Muslim preacher who championed the cause of inter religious understanding. He has an elephantine memory and his speeches were interspersed with quotations from all religious scriptures, which included the Gita, Bible and many others."

"However, even at that time, there was opposition from some AMU staff members, because of some controversial utterances by Naik against some other traditional schools of Islamic thought," Zaidi said.

"AMU would certainly not permit any hardline school of thought to flourish here, because they believe in a very inclusive form of Islam which embodies the spirit of secularism and tolerance," he said.

"We certainly disapprove of the radical school, which is today being linked with teachings of Naiks sermons. If there is any content of religious hatred in Naiks sermons, it should be investigated and necessary action taken," Zaidi said, adding at the same time, we would want that action should also be taken against all others who preach religious hatred and intolerance.

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"If we are really serious about curbing religious hatred in the country, then similar punitive action should be initiated against Hindutva proponents, who are occupying high offices in the present BJP-led government and are yet indulging in spreading religious hatred," Zaidi said.

There can be no double standards in dealing with religious hatred or ideologies which breed terrorism in the country, Zaidi said. PTI CORR AVA SMJ RT SMJ

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Coping in the jungle: As Colombia peace nears, rebels tend to their wounds

COLUMBIA: Sofia writhed from the pain of her first combat wound  a mortar blast in mid-February had pierced the 18-year-old guerrilla with shrapnel.

politicsmilitaryviolencedeath

By AFP

Sunday 10 July 2016, 03:00PM

Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) member Sofia, who was injured by a mortar explosion, is helped by FARC nurse Olga at a camp in the Magdalena Medio region. Photo: Luis Acosta/AFP

We didnt expect it, the young woman muttered as she was being treated in a rebel encampment in the Magdalena Medio region of north-western Colombia.

She is among what the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) hope will be the last casualties of its long insurgency against the state.

The FARC has been observing a unilateral truce for the past eight months, and the government has suspended air attacks, while rebel and government negotiators hammer out a peace accord in Havana to end the more than 50-year-old conflict.

But deep in the Colombian jungle, the FARC is still tending to its wounded.

Sofia grimaces as Olga, a 30-year-old rebel nurse, yanks off the bloodstained bandages from her thigh to inspect the wound.

Sofia enlisted in the insurgent ranks at the beginning of the year, and had never been in combat when she was felled by the mortar.

She and four fellow guerrillas were wounded but they survived.

At first, they didnt know exactly what had happened.

The FARCs top leader, Timoleon Jimenez, told reporters that the army attacked them as they headed to a meeting with a FARC negotiator who was to brief them on the Havana talks.

The army knew of our presence, said Sofia.

The Colombian army declined to comment on the incident.

Thousands of combatants on both sides have been wounded or maimed in the conflict which has claimed the lives of some 260,000 people, many of them civilians, since the FARCs founding in 1964.

The conflict has also involved a second guerrilla group, the National Liberation Army, as well as right-wing paramilitary bands and drug traffickers.

Julian, who has a stitch in his neck, is proud of having convinced Sofia to join the FARC. Now lovers, they both were wounded in the mortar explosion. It was he who lifted her in his arms after she went down.

It is very difficult to think you may be the last to die in the war, especially with a peace process underway, said Julian, who is 23.

Near Sofias bed, 18-year-old Michael sits on a pad, all smiles even though a projectile nearly severed three fingers on his left hand in the same attack.

We are under orders to avoid [contact with the enemy] because the peace process is under way, he said, looking down at his bandaged hand.

Ending the war has not been easy. More than three years in, negotiators admitted they would miss a self-imposed March 23 deadline for drafting a comprehensive agreement, with differences over disarmament and other issues still unresolved.

Eight years ago, Enrique was not as lucky as his wounded comrades.

He lost his left arm in an air strike, and since then the guerrilla chief, who has spent 16 of his 33 years in the FARC, wears the rebel groups colours just above his stump.

We suffered a lot of losses because of the very rawness of the conflict, he recalled.

Throughout it all, the FARC buried its dead and healed its wounded under extreme conditions, far from the eyes of its enemies.

Enrique recalled that in the attack in which he lost his arm, three of his comrades were killed.

Today, he carries a holstered pistol and employs a one-hand balancing act to operate his radio telephone.

What will become of the FARCs maimed fighters once a peace agreement is signed?

I think that if weve been marked by the toughest part of the war, the moment will come when we choose a speciality that will allow us to have a role in the new process, he said.

But Enrique doesnt really know what he will do once he surrenders his weapons, and obediently awaits instructions from the rebel commanders negotiating the peace.

Meanwhile, the guerrillas take classes on peace in the same jungle where the FARC has fought for decades but otherwise follow the unchanging routine of camp life.

They get up before dawn and at night they slip through the humid jungle on long marches. They cut firewood, cook rice and pork, and wash as well as they can in streams.

They rarely stay for long in one place.
Always the same old story. We only want rich foreigners here (or just their money more accurately). ...(Read More)
Dolphin rescued on Koh Lanta

PHUKET  A dolphin was rescued by the navy at 8am this morning (July 10) after being washed onto Lanta Noi beach off of Krabi.



By Eakkapop Thongtub

Sunday 10 July 2016, 05:05PM

The dolphin was rescued by the Navy Rescue. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub

Lt Cdr Peerapon Pantasopon, Chief of the Security Division at the Royal Thai Navy Third Area Command in Phuket, said, A dolphin that has been grounded cannot be expected to push against heavy winds and tides. It could not swim back into the sea. Navy personnel stationed at Lanta Noi helped move the dolphin, 1.5 metres long and weighing 70 kilogrammes, onto a pickup truck. The dolphins spine was weak, and coupled with wounds, was unable to swim back into the sea. Authorities took the dolphin to temporarily be kept in Lanta district, to await marine experts from Phuket, who have expertise in treating marine animals.
"My visit to South Africa has become like a pilgrimage to me as I have got the opportunity to visit all the three places that are significant to Indian history and Mahatma Gandhi's life," said Modi.

PM Narendra Modi with Ela Gandhi, granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi, during a visit to Sarvodaya-Gandhiji's residence at Phoenix Settlement in South Africa. Modi (below) waves from a train at Pietermaritzburg Railway Station

By Press Trust of India: Reliving Mahatma Gandhi's historic train journey, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday travelled to a railway station where the 'Father of the Nation' was thrown out of a train compartment, an incident that proved to be a turning point in his fight against racial discrimination in South Africa.

PM MODI: TRIP TO SOUTH AFRICA LIKE PILGRIMAGE

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On the second day of his South Africa visit, Modi boarded a wood-panelled carriage at Pentrich and travelled to Pietermaritzburg railway station where a young Gandhi was ejected from a train in 1893 for refusing to obey an order to move from a firstclass compartment to a third class one because of his race. The incident on June 7, 1893 had strongly influenced Gandhi's decision to fight racial discrimination in South Africa and later the freedom struggle in India. Paying glowing tribute to Gandhi, PM Modi said the visit to South Africa was like a pilgrimage as he was visiting places which were linked to India's history.

"My visit to South Africa has become like a pilgrimage to me as I have got the opportunity to visit all the three places that are significant to Indian history and Mahatma Gandhi's life," said Modi.



Also Read

PM Modi in Johannesburg: India's success can be defined in 4 letters HOPE



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Drought kills Paraguays thirsty alligators

PARAGUAY: A drought in northern Paraguay has driven thousands of thirsty alligators to crowd around lakes and wells, scaring off cattle from the dwindling water sources, environmentalists and locals say.

environmentnatural-resourcesweatheranimalsdeath

By AFP

Sunday 10 July 2016, 11:00AM

A dead caiman is seen in General Diaz, Paraguay. Photo: Norberto Duarte/AFP

Parched leathery corpses of the reptiles lie on the cracked earth near the Pilcomayo River where the borders of Paraguay, Argentina and Bolivia meet.

The Chaco region is suffering its worst drought in 19 years, Public Works Minister Ramon Jimenez Gaona said recently.

Trying to survive, the reptiles are on the move.

When they find themselves in very dry conditions they tend to walk long distances in the wood in search of food, said Aida Luz Aquino, a biologist with the Paraguay branch of the World Wildlife Fund.

The alligators are scaring off local residents and livestock.

Cattle cannot approach to drink for fear of being attacked by alligators, said Alcides Gonzalez, a local herdsman.

Dozens of environmentalists have come to the region to try to help.

The head of the state environment department Rolando De Barros insisted there are different parts of the river where there is still a lot of water.

But Aquino rejected suggestions that the alligators be rounded up and taken away from areas where they pose a threat.

It is not advisable to move alligators from one place to another, she said.

Some of them have already gone back into the woods. Others are waiting by the water to save energy and stress. Moving them would stress them more.

The Pilcomayos waters usually diminish at this time of year.

But this time authorities have been accused of failing to dredge sediment from the riverbed which has blocked up its course in places.

President Horacio Cartes said it was a critical situation. But he accused the media of exaggerating a natural phenomenon that happens all the time.

Locals have been drilling new wells and leaving meat on the riverbanks to feed the alligators.

We prefer to do that than see our animals devoured, Gonzalez said.
Representing Phuket

Meena Kit-Hen is ready to take on the Miss Hooters International Pageant.



By Matt Pond

Sunday 10 July 2016, 04:18PM

At 30 years of age, Meena Kit-Hen is lucky in that, unlike a number of other Thai nationals, she has already been able to set foot outside of her home country. Yesterday (July 7), when she boarded a flight from Bangkok, she began what can only be described as a once-in a-lifetime journey when she headed towards Las Vegas, in America, where she will represent Hooters Phuket in the annual Miss Hooters International 2016 beauty pageant.

Meena was crowned Miss Hooters Phuket at the Miss Hooters Phuket Swimsuit Pageant held at the iconic American bar and restaurant in Patong on April 3, and not only did she take the title and the trip to Las Vegas, she also took home some B20,000 cash in prize money.

She is a native of the northeastern province of Chaiyaphum and has been working at Hooters Phuket since its opening in 2014. However, previously, as a way of financing her education she took up various positions within the hotel and service industry, including a stint on an around-the-world Disney cruise.

The Phuket News was recently lucky to have an opportunity to catch up with Meena before she took off on her epic journey to the fantastic Viva Las Vegas to find out more about her job at Hooters and what she hopes to achieve in Miss Hooters International Pageant 2016.

Meena started by explaining that the general perception about Hooters girls is that its all about being sexy. She does agree that being sexy is a small part of being able to fit into the role, mainly due to the outlets uniforms, but the most important thing is to be able to be friendly.

We are like friends to our customers, she said, and we have to make them happy. But dont forget, our customers are not only single men, we also entertain a lot of couples, families and groups of friends.

When asked about life working for Hooters, Meena said, Its an amazing opportunity, all the girls enjoy working here, we are friends, we are one big family.

Its a very good job for me because I like to meet new people and I like to entertain, she said. But what I like most about my job is that it is so much fun. I have worked on a world cruise before, but this is far more fun, she added.

Since being selected to represent Hooters Phuket in the annual beauty pageant, Meena said that her confidence has grown immensely, but more importantly it has made her take more care of her body and her looks.

Now I go to the gym more often and I eat a lot more healthily than I did before, she said.

Despite her job being located in Phuket, it doesnt necessarily mean that shes there 100 per cent of the time, and with more branches set to open in more countries across Asia, Meena knows that she will soon be stepping away from the island to greet and introduce more girls to the Hooters world.

We are soon to open new branches of Hooters in Hong Hong, Phnom Penh, Bali, Manila, Malaysia, Singapore and more locally Koh Samui, and that will mean I will be able to travel to those countries and teach the girls there all about being a Hooters girl, she said.

Turning the subject to the big competition, which this year will be the 20th edition and will see nearly 300 Hooters girls show off their assets in three main categories: bikini, cocktail dress and Hooters uniform. Each are vying for the chance to win a grand prize of US$30,000 (about B1.05 million) cash as well as a lucrative contract to become the international brand ambassador for Hooters restaurants. Meena says that she has been doing a lot of preparation for the big event.

Ive been doing so much leading up to this competition. Ive been improving my runway walk and working out a lot more than usual, she said, and of course Ive been praying to Buddha, she said with a laugh.

When asked what she is most looking forward to about the competition, Meena explained that for her, personally, it is not just about gaining more confidence, experience and meeting new friends. She will also be able to present Thai culture to the judges and to the other contestants.

I am so proud to be representing Thailand and showing the rest of the world what Thailand has to offer when it comes to national costume and customs. But most importantly, I will be showing everybody how beautiful and intelligent us girls from Thailand really are, she said.

It is not only Meena who will be representing Thailand, she will be joined by the winners of the Miss Hooters Bangkok and Miss Hooters Pattaya 2016 pageants  Neera Wongai and Jessica Arra, respectively, both of whom Meena already knows, especially Jessica who initially worked alongside Meena in Phuket but recently decided to join the team in Pattaya.

The Phuket News wishes all three girls the best of luck and hope that the judges will agree with so many men from around the globe that Thai ladies are certainly some of the most beautiful and intelligent you can find.
By PTI: Kathmandu, Jul 10 (PTI) Nepal will gift two pairs of endangered one-horned Asiatic Rhinos to China which in return is expected to provide financial and technical help for a proposed forensic lab.

A Cabinet meeting held in Prime Ministers official residence Baluwatar today decided to gift two male and two female rhinos as gifts to China, said Pramod Dahal, press advisor to Prime Minister K P Oli.

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According to the cabinet sources, in January Chinese side had expressed interest for acquiring the mammals.

In exchange for the rhinos, the Chinese side is considering to provide financial and technical assistance for the proposed Forensic Science Laboratory in Bhaktapur, assist in establishing an international center on community forests.

Nepal is home to some 645 one-horned rhinos, which is regarded as endangered species.

Chitawan National Park, the main protected area of Nepal, has at least 600 rhinos. PTI SBP NSA

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Though Rajnath Singh's residence was dotted with posters, bouquets and gifts from well wishers, he had no time to cheer.

By Kamaljit Kaur Sandhu: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh chaired a high level meeting on Jammu and Kashmir to review the law and order situation in the state, today on his 65th Birthday.

Though Rajnath Singh's residence was dotted with posters, bouquets and gifts from well wishers, he had no time to cheer.

HOME MINISTER'S BIRTHDAY BASH

Home Minister also spoke to the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti regarding the tense situation in the valley and offered assistance.

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Meanwhile the Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi tried to downplay the situation. While speaking to reporters outside Singh's residence, He said "Situation in Kashmir valley is under control", With 18 dead, and 200 injured, many are asking questions regarding handling of the situation both by the Central and the state forces.

On being asked whether the situation in valley was mis read by the forces, and that Burhan Wani, the poster boy of Hizbul Mujahideen, could have been arrested, senior MHA official said, 'that they stand by the action of its forces'.

Minister of state Dr Jitendra Singh said, that "Centre was proud of its forces." That there was a good coordination between them. The leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha and also a resident of JK, Ghulam Nabi Azad of the congress party also said "terrorist who live by the gun die by the gun."

However, Congress believes the sitatution could have been handled much better. Omar Abdullah, NC chief and former CM has already forewarned of" tough days ahead."



VIOLENCE IN THE VALLEY

The meeting conducted at Singh's residence was attended by Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi, Joint Secretary (Kashmir division) Gyanesh Kumar, Intelligence Bureau (IB) Chief Dineshwar Sharma, along with Director General of CRPF K Durga Prasad, BSF Chief KK Sharma and senior Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) officials

Following the death of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani, violence in state spiraled out of control with inability of state and central government to assess the situation in valley. This amidst fresh reports of violence in South Kashmir.

Meanwhile even as the Centre asserted that the Amarnath Yatra was resumed merely two hours after the encounter, ground report suggested that Yatra continued to be suspended.

A senior official told India Today, that 4000 yatris had visited Amarnath, since last evening. Though many were stuck both at Baltal who wished to return to Jammu for onward journey. While thousands were stuck in Jammu Katra region.

ALSO READ:

Over 200 militants ready to infiltrate into Kashmir

Clashes in Kashmir claim 8 lives, 60 injured



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An opportunity for foodies and beer lovers to get lost in a world of food and drink from a hand-selected range of food trucks and breweries from around New Zealand.
Hamza bin Laden promised to continue the global militant group's fight against the United States and its allies in the 21-minute speech entitled "We Are All Osama," according to the SITE Intelligence Group.

By Reuters: The son of slain al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has threatened revenge against the United States for assassinating his father, according to an audio message posted online.

Hamza bin Laden promised to continue the global militant group's fight against the United States and its allies in the 21-minute speech entitled "We Are All Osama," according to the SITE Intelligence Group.



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HAMZA BIN lADEN THREATENS REVENGE

"We will continue striking you and targeting you in your country and abroad in response to your oppression of the people of Palestine, Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Somalia and the rest of the Muslim lands that did not survive your oppression," Hamza said.

"As for the revenge by the Islamic nation for Sheikh Osama, may Allah have mercy on him, it is not revenge for Osama the person but it is revenge for those who defended Islam."

Osama bin Laden was killed at his Pakistani hideout by US commandos in 2011 in a major blow to the militant group which carried out the September 11, 2001 attacks.

HAMZA PROVIDES A NEW FACE FOR AL QAEDA

Documents recovered from bin Laden's compound and published by the United States last year alleged that his aides tried to reunite the militant leader with Hamza, who had been held under house arrest in Iran.

Hamza, now in his mid-twenties, was at his father's side in Afghanistan before the 9/11 attacks and spent time with him in Pakistan after the US-led invasion pushed much of al Qaeda's senior leadership there, according to the Brookings Institution.

Introduced by the organisation's new chief Ayman al-Zawahiri in an audio message last year, Hamza provides a younger voice for the group whose ageing leaders have struggled to inspire militants around the world galvanized by Islamic State.

"Hamza provides a new face for al Qaeda, one that directly connects to the group's founder. He is an articulate and dangerous enemy," according to Bruce Riedel of Brookings.

Also Read

Pakistan knew about Osama bin Laden's hideout: Hillary Clinton



Osama Bin Laden poster signed by US Navy SEAL team auctioned for $100,000





--- ENDS ---
By PTI: New Delhi, Jul 10 (PTI) Faced with resistance in disclosures by those named in the Panama Papers, the Income Tax department has made foreign references to about a dozen countries in order to obtain actionable evidence against such Indian entities.

Officials said a special wing under the Central Board of Direct Taxes has made multiple requests to their counterparts in foreign nations as part of the I-T departments tax evasion probe against those named in these leaks.

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They said that the taxman, in numerous cases in this list, was faced with non-cooperation and and non-acceptance of their accounts as revealed in the Panama papers and hence the department had to approach the foreign jurisdictions including Switzerland, British Virgin Island and the UK among others.

"The I-T department has approached close to a dozen overseas jurisdictions in order to obtain actionable evidence and legal material to act against those who has been reported to have stashed black money abroad as per the Panama Papers disclosures.

"In many cases, the department has reported, that those named in the list are refusing to be the beneficial owners despite the taxman getting some evidence that they actually are the ones who were involved in creating these assets," a senior official said.

India has tax treaties with 137 countries at present.

SIT Chairman Justice (retd) M B Shah, in a recent interview to PTI, had said investigating agencies are facing "difficulties" in reaching to the bottom of the matter as they are not getting specific account numbers and people named in the list are also "not disclosing" the details to the taxman.

A Multi-Agency Group created to probe these cases has already submitted four reports to the government and to the Special Investigation Team on black money in this regard.

The department already had sent adetailed questionnaire to a number of individuals and entities figuring in the list of those allegedly holding offshore assets in tax havens.

There are about 500 Indians named in the list which includes prominent businessmen, film celebrities and those belonging to lucrative professions.

The government has created a Multi-Agency Group (MAG) of probe agencies to go into these cases, comprising the I-T department (CBDT), its foreign tax wing, the RBI, Financial Intelligence Unit and the Enforcement Directorate.

The names were released by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) with Indian Express newspaper in India.

The ICIJ added a disclaimer that there are also "legitimate uses for offshore companies".

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The Panama Papers leaks contain an unprecedented amount of information, including more than 11 million documents covering 2,10,000 companies in 21 offshore jurisdictions.

Each transaction spans different jurisdictions and may involve multiple entities and individuals. PTI NES RCJ RG RCJ

--- ENDS ---
By PTI: Mumbai, Jul 10 (PTI) Pankaja Mundes apparent unhappiness over being divested of the important water conservation portfolio today spilled onto the social media while her supporters burnt an effigy of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in Ahmednagar district.

Soon after news of her being relieved from the water conservation portfolio became public, a peeved Munde took to Twitter to announce that she was to reach Singapore to attend a global water leader summit on Monday but wont do so as she was no longer the minister of that department.

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Fadnavis, who is out of country on an official tour, responded on Twitter, saying she must attend the event.

"As a senior minister, you (Munde) would be representing the government of Maharashtra," Fadnavis said.

After the reshuffle in the Council of Ministers on Friday, Munde has been left with the portfolios of Woman and Child Welfare and Rural Development.

Mundes supporters, mostly BJYMs activists, today staged a protest in Ahmednagar district and shouted slogans against Fadnavis.

Earlier, as the water conservation minister, Munde had courted controversy in April by posting a selfie online during a visit to drought-affected Latur.

Congress had then accused her of gross insensitivity.

Meanwhile, the opposition lost no time to latch on to the online exchange between the CM and his minister to take a dig at BJP.

"Signs of BJP inner party democracy pouring out on streets! Pankaja Munde supporters burn effigy of CM," Congress MLC Sanjay Dutt said. PTI VT ARS GK NSK GVS RT GVS

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By Kamlesh Damodar Sutar: In a move that will raise many eyebrows Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has clipped the wings of Pankaja Munde and Vinod Tawde. After the Cabinet expansion on Friday, Fadnavis has done a major rejig before embarking on a tour to Russia. Both Tawade and Pankaja have been embroiled in controversies earlier.

The move to cut their portfolios is seen as a direct result of their controversial stint. Also political circles are abuzz with speculations that after Eknath Khadse's exit whether Devendra Fadnavis is slowly clipping wings of his onetime competitors.

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Khadse's Revenue has been given to Chandrakant Patil, who is known to be close to BJP president Amit Shah. Patil's PWD has been retained, however, has lost out on Co-operative Dept. Vinod Tawde once known as a chief ministerial aspirant lost Medical Education portfolio, which has been given to Girish Mahajan, a close confidante of Fadnavis.

PANKAJA EXPRESS DISPLEASURE ON TWITTER

Pankaja Munde has been stripped of the Water Conservation Ministry. The Jalyukt Shivar program introduced to tackle drought under the Ministry was a flagship program of the state government. Pankaja was quick to express her displeasure with the Cabinet rejig. Pankaja took to social media after she was shunned from Water Resources Ministry.

"Reaching Singapore tomorrow on monday there is world water leader summit I was invited but now won't attend since I m not minister incharge," tweeted Pankaja.

Reaching singapore tomorrow on monday there is world water leader summit i was invited but now wont attend since i m not minister incharge PankajaGopinathMunde (@Pankajamunde) July 9, 2016

Fadnavis who was on his way to Russia replied to her tweet by tweeting her to attend the summit as a representative of the state Government.

Of course you must attend WLS 2016.

As a senior Minister you would be representing 'The Government of Maharashtra'. https://t.co/czMYpLepMA Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) July 9, 2016

Pankaja made headlines after her name surfaced in Rs 206 crore Chiki distribution scam. The Ministry has now been given to another Ram Shinde another close aide of Fadnavis who was promoted as a Cabinet Minister in Friday's expansion.

CABINET UNDERGOES MAJOR REJIG

Senior Leader Pandurang Fundkar who made a comeback to active politics will be the new Agriculture Minister, another key portfolio vacated after Khadse's resignation.

Shivsena that got the MoS Home portfolio in the new adjustment has handed over the responsibility to Dipak Kesarkar. Kesarkar hails from the Konkan region and is a known as an arch rival of Congress strongman Narayan Rane.

Ally RSP's Mahadev Jankar has got the Animal Husbandry portfolio, while Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana's Sadabhau Khot will be MoS for Agriculture and Marketing.

Newly sworn in young faces too have got crucial departments. Jaykumar Rawal will be the new Employment Guarantee Scheme and Tourism Minister while Sambhaji Nilangekar-Patil will be Labor Minister. Subhash Deshmukh has got the Co-operative as well Textile Ministry that was with Chandrakant Patil earlier.

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NEW MINISTERS AND CHANGE IN PORTFOLIOS :

Chandrakant Patil BJP - Revenue, PWD

Pandurang Fundkar BJP - Agriculture

Ram Shinde BJP - Water Resources

Jai kumar Rawal, BJP - Employment Guarantee Scheme and Tourism

Girish Mahajan , BJP - Medical Education and Water Resources.

Chandrashekhar Bawankule BJP - Power and Excise.

Sambhaji Nilangekar-Patil - Labor and skill development

Subhash Deshmukh BJP - Textiles, Co-operative. Marketing

Mahadev Jankar, RSP - Animal Husbandry , Dairy development

Dipak Kesarkar , Shivsena - MoS Home (Rural)

Gulab rao Patil Shivsena - MoS Co-operative

Arjun Khotkar Shivsena - MoS Animal Husbandry

Ravindra Chavan BJP : Ports and Public health.

Sada bhau Khot SSS : MoS Agriculture and Marketing.



Also read:

Maharashtra minister Pankaja Munde in trouble over Rs 206 crore scam



--- ENDS ---
A mural of President John F. Kennedy is seen on the wall of a business, Saturday, July 9, 2016, in Dallas. After five police officers were killed in a shooting Thursday, a city forever haunted by the assassination of John F. Kennedy is trying to not let the worst America attack on police since Sept. 11 define it again. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
NEW YORK - Since the birth of the Black Lives Matter movement three years ago, many white Americans have wrestled with how to respond. Some ch
By PTI: Dar-es-Salaam, Jul 10 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi today interacted with Solar Mamas, a group of rural women solar engineers from different African countries who have been trained under programmes supported by India for harnessing solar energy.

"Celebrating the Solar Mamas!PM interacts with women trained in vocational skills under Indias developmental support," Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted.

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He interacted with each woman who have been trained to fabricate, install, use, repair and maintain solar lanterns and household solar lighting systems in their villages.

The women, who are also known as solar engineers, showcased some products to Modi they had made.

The Solar Mamas, who come from across Africa, are trained at Barefoot college in Rajasthan or the centre in Tanzania.

Modi, who arrived here in Tanzania yesterday as part of his four-nation Africa tour aimed at enhancing ties with the continent, particularly in the economic sphere, posed for photographs with Solar Mamas following the interaction.

The women are also trained in solar electrification and other entrepreneurial skills such as bee-keeping and tailoring.

Under Government of India-supported programmes, the college in Rajasthan has been promoting and training rural women solar engineers from Africa in household solar lighting systems.

A barefoot women vocational training college in Zanzibar Islands of Tanzania and other countries in Africa has also been setup for imparting solar electrification skills and distributing solar kits.

These colleges also support various entrepreneurial skills such a bee-keeping and tailoring among others. PTI CPS AKJ CPS

--- ENDS ---
Bangladesh government on Sunday banned the broadcasting of India-based controversial preacher Zakir Naik's Peace TV channel after reports that his "provocative" speeches inspired some of the militants who carried out the country's worst terror attack at a cafe in Dhaka.

The decision to ban the Mumbai-based preacher's 'Peace TV Bangla' was taken during a special meeting of Cabinet Committee on Law and Order, Industry Minister Amir Hossain Amu, who chaired the meeting said.

In the meeting, attended by senior ministers and top security officials, it was also decided to monitor the sermons given during the Friday prayers to check whether any provocative talks are delivered, Amu told reporters.

Naik's speeches are believed to have inspired some of the Bangladeshi militants, who killed 22 people, mostly foreigners, at an upscale restaurant in Dhaka on July 1.

The government also appealed to the Imams in the country to deliver talk in line with real Islamic ideology of denouncing terrorism and extremism, the minister said.

Besides senior ministers, the meeting was attended by chief of police and head of the elite Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), paramilitary border guards and top officials of different security agencies.

Deployment of additional security forces at export processing zone was also ordered.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan had on Saturday said Bangladesh's intelligence agencies were investigating the Islamic preacher Naik.

"He is on our security scanner... Our intelligence agencies are investigating his activities as his lectures appeared provocative," Khan had told PTI.

Khan said the investigators were also probing Naik's financial transactions in Bangladesh.
"Solar mamas" are women from developing nations who have been trained in harnessing solar energy at the Barefoot College at Tilonia near Ajmer, in Rajasthan.

By Indo-Asian News Service: Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on Sunday accorded a ceremonial welcome at the State House here marking the start of his engagements with the Tanzanian leadership.

WHAT A WELCOME!



"A ceremonial welcome, the East African way. PM's Tanzania engagements begin at the State House in Dar es Salaam," tweeted Vikas Swarup, spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, on Sunday.

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"A rapturous welcome for PM," posted the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) on Twitter.

A rapturous welcome for PM @narendramodi in Tanzania. pic.twitter.com/ucJEgfI25y PMO India (@PMOIndia) July 10, 2016

Modi arrived in Tanzania on Saturday from South Africa on the third leg of his four-nation tour of Africa.

"From Durban to Dar es Salaam! PM @narendramodi arrives late night in Tanzania on the 3rd leg of his African sojourn," Swarup posted on Twitter.

#WATCH: PM Modi tries his hand at traditional drum in Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) #ModiInAfricahttps://t.co/8I0l4F30Ym ANI (@ANI_news) July 10, 2016

FIRST SINCE AFTER MANMOHAN SINGH'S VISIT



This is the first prime ministerial visit from India to Tanzania in five years since the visit of then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2011.

On Sunday, Modi is set to hold bilateral discussions with Tanzanian President John Magufuli which will be followed by signing of several agreements.

Tanzania: PM Narendra Modi meets Tanzanian President Dr. John Magufuli #ModiInAfrica pic.twitter.com/vMHsHjhrE4 ANI (@ANI_news) July 10, 2016

SOLAR MAMAS



A highlight of Modi's visit to Tanzania will be a meeting with a group of "solar mamas".

"Solar mamas" are women from developing nations who have been trained in harnessing solar energy at the Barefoot College at Tilonia near Ajmer, in Rajasthan.

INTERACTION WITH INDIAN DIASPORA



Modi will also interact with members of the Indian community, which numbers around 50,000 in Tanzania.

Thereafter, he will leave for Nairobi, Kenya, where he will address an Indian diaspora rally on Sunday evening.

--- ENDS ---
President Barack Obama on Saturday rejected any notion that the past weeks stunning violence signals a return to racial brutality of a dark past, saying that as painful as the killings of police and black men were, America is not as divided as some have suggested.

With five Dallas police officers dead at the hands of a sniper and two black men dead at the hands of police, Obama appealed to Americans not to be overwhelmed by fear of a return to 1960s-style chaos and to understand the progress that has been made in racial relations since that time.

Youre not seeing riots and youre not seeing police going after people who are protesting peacefully, he said. Youve seen almost uniformly peaceful protests and youve seen, uniformly, police handling those protests with professionalism.

Obama spoke at the conclusion of a NATO summit in Warsaw before leaving for Spain, part of a farewell trip to Europe he was cutting short by one day because of the developments at home.

The comments marked the third time in as many days that Obama has spoken, from a distance, about the police-involved fatal shootings of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota that were followed by a sniper attack in Dallas that killed five police officers. Seven other officers and two civilians were also injured.

Obama said the Dallas shooter, a black Army veteran who was later killed by police, was a demented individual who does not represent black Americans any more than a white man accused of killing blacks at a church in Charleston, South Carolina, represents whites.

The president said he would visit Dallas in a few days to pay respects and mourn with the stricken Texas city. The shootings, and the ensuing protests in some U.S. cities, led to an uncharacteristic response from the president: He cut his five-day, two-country European trip to four days. On his flight to Spain, he called Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to offer his condolences on behalf of the American people, the White House said.

While Obama proceeded with his plan to visit Madrid, he scrapped a stop in the southern city of Seville. He was cramming two days of events into one, including meetings with interim President Mariano Rajoy and a visit with U.S. sailors stationed at a naval base in Rota.

In his news conference before departing Poland, Obama said that while there is sorrow, there is anger, there is confusion in the U.S., theres unity in recognizing that this is not how we want our communities to operate. This is not who we want to be as Americans and that serves as the basis for us being able to move forward in a constructive and positive way.

The president said he planned to convene a White House meeting in coming days with police officers, community and civil rights activists and others to talk about next steps. He said the empathy and understanding that Americans have shown in responding to the events of the past few days, including Dallas police officers even as they came under attack, had given him hope.

Thats the spirit that we all need to embrace, Obama said. Thats the spirit that I want to build on.

But Obama, who has angered his political opponents after every deadly mass shooting by calling for tighter gun laws, made clear that he will continue to speak out about the need for such measures, which the Republican-controlled Congress has refused to go along with. He said the U.S. is unique among advanced countries in the scale of violence it experiences.

The president spoke sympathetically of police officers in gun-filled communities who have very little margin of error when deciding how to engage with people on the street who may well be armed, whether they mean harm or not. Police have a really difficult time in communities where they know guns are everywhere, he said.

If you care about the safety of our police officers, then you cant set aside the gun issue and pretend its irrelevant.

Citing laws allowing the carrying of guns in Texas, he said that even some of the Dallas protesters who staged a peaceful rally before the sniper attack were armed. He also cited the presence of an apparently legally owned gun in the car where motorist Philando Castile was shot dead during a traffic stop in suburban St. Paul, Minnesota.

Obama also tried to calm public anxiety about personal safety, saying violent crime is actually down in the U.S.

So as tough, as hard, as depressing as the loss of life was this week, weve got a foundation to build on, he said. We just have to have confidence that we can build on those better angels of our nature.

(AP)
Newt Gingrich says that he thinks Donald Trump is a necessary candidate who reflects a global anti-establishment sentiment, but that he wouldnt automatically say yes to an eventual proposal to become Trumps running mate.

In an interview Saturday with The Associated Press, the former House Speaker also said a test should be devised to check the safety credentials of Syrian refugees based on Sharia, or Islamic law.

Its a very important way to vet Muslims if you believe in Western civilization, he said.

Gingrich said that he thinks Trump will make his choice on a running mate late next week  Thursday or Friday  so they go into the weekend with the new vice presidential candidate as a positive story leading into the convention Monday.

Gingrich said he has been vetted for the job, but he has yet to decide whether to partner with Trump were he to be asked.

I think we would want to talk it through and make sure we knew what the job was and what he had in mind because its not an automatic yes, he said.

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie are other possible Trump running mates.

While Gingrich may be reflecting about his own choice, he said in the interview that Trumps presidential candidacy is not happenstance.

I think hes a necessary candidate, Gingrich said.

The British vote to leave the EU, and electoral successes in Europe by populists, is part of a worldwide movement toward really being angry at the establishment, really feeling cheated by the establishment, really feeling that government has failed and I think Trump is part of that worldwide movement, he said.

Trump is perceived as divisive only in the sense that the establishment is faced with a popular uprising and the establishment doesnt want to give up all of its perks and all of its power, Gingrich said.

Do I think Donald Trump is perfect? No. Do I think compared to Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump would be a radically better president? Yes. Hillary Clinton is a nightmare, he said.

Gingrich was one of numerous former U.S. officials and international dignitaries attending a giant annual gathering of the Peoples Mujahedeen of Iran outside Paris. The exile opposition group calling for regime change in Iran is based in France.

Gingrich said he counts them as modern Muslims but has less tolerance for some Syrian refugees and other Muslims.

I think particularly with regard to Syrian refugees it is just plain a lie for the United States government to suggest that they have any ability to vet who these people are, Gingrich said. Officials dont know their loyalties, he claimed, and lack intelligence capabilities in Syria to find out.

A test on whether or not a person believes in Sharia law would be revelatory because belief in Islamic law is incompatible with secular law, he said.

He didnt elaborate on how such a test would be administered.

Gingrich also reiterated remarks made a day earlier on CNN about racism in the United States, saying white parents cannot know the fears of black parents.

Its an objective reality that if you are a white parent with teenagers you have dramatically less fear of the police walking up to them than if youre a black parent with black teenagers, Gingrich said.

And until we can have an open conversation both of how do you protect the police but also how do you protect the innocent I think were not going to solve this problem, he said.

The issue came into focus again following fatal police shootings of black men in Minnesota and Louisiana and the slayings Thursday of five Dallas police officers guarding a protest march over those shootings.

(AP)
In the span of four days, the United States has had to come to terms with the deaths of two black men at the hands of police  the first caught on video and the aftermath of the second livestreamed on Facebook  as well as the deadliest day for U.S. law enforcement since 9/11. The shootings in Louisiana, Minnesota and Texas are all in the initial investigation stages. Heres what we know about each:

___

BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA

WHAT HAPPENED?

Alton Sterling, 37, was fatally shot Tuesday during a struggle with two police officers outside a convenience store where he was selling CDs. Sterling, a father of five, was black; both officers are white. Police said that Sterling  who was a convicted felon and barred from legally carrying a gun  was armed, and an eyewitness said he had a gun in his pocket.

WHAT WAS THE REACTION?

Sterlings shooting was caught on cellphone video by an anti-violence group. It quickly spread online and sparked several days of protests in the city where 54 percent of the population is black and more than 25 percent live in poverty.

The demonstrations in Baton Rouge had been largely peaceful, but there were some tense moments Friday night and early Saturday. Nearly 30 people were arrested.

Baton Rouge Lt. Jonny Dunnam said in an emailed statement Saturday that the department is reviewing a newspaper websites video that appears to show an officer with his weapon temporarily drawn at one point early Saturday morning as angry protesters confronted police.

Its difficult to tell why the officer pulled his weapon. We are working to identify this officer so we can better understand the reason he might have done this, Dunnam wrote.

Both officers involved in Sterlings shooting  four-year member of the department Blane Salamoni and Howie Lake II, who was on the force for three years  have been placed on administrative leave and had prior use of force complaints.

WHATS NEXT?

The U.S. Justice Department has opened a civil rights investigation into the shooting.

In announcing the Justice Department investigation, Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards was accompanied by black Democrats from Baton Rouge who praised him and others for quickly asking the federal government to get involved.

We know theres going to be an external investigation. I think it makes all the difference in the world, state Sen. Regina Barrow said.

___

FALCON HEIGHTS, MINNESOTA

WHAT HAPPENED?

Philando Castile, a black 32-year-old cafeteria supervisor at a public school, was shot Wednesday night in suburban St. Paul, Minnesota, during a traffic stop that involved two officers. He died a short time later at a hospital. Castiles girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, says he was shot while reaching for his wallet.

Reynolds began livestreaming on Facebook from the vehicle shortly after Castile, who was bloodied, moaning and slumped in the drivers seat, had been shot. She describes being pulled over for a busted tail light as an officer with the St. Anthony Police Department, which polices Falcon Heights, points a gun into the car and speaks with her, saying, I told him not to reach for it.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which is leading the investigation, has not released details about the incident.

WHAT WAS THE REACTION?

Black Lives Matter protesters gathered that night outside the Minnesota governors mansion, which is close to the shooting site, and a smaller group remained there into Saturday.

St. Paul Public Schools said in a statement that Castile was a team player who maintained great relationships with staff and students alike.

The officers involved, Jeronimo Yanez and Joseph Kauser, both had been with the St. Anthony Police Department for four years and were put on administrative leave. Yanez, who fired the shots, is Hispanic.

Minneapolis attorney Thomas Kelly, who is representing Yanez, told The Associated Press that Yanez was reacting to the presence of that gun and the display of that gun when he opened fire on Philando Castile.

WHATS NEXT?

The state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is investigating the shooting. Ramsey County Prosecutor John Choi said Friday that he asked for a prompt and thorough investigation, but declined to comment on it. He also said that he would decide whether to turn the case over to a grand jury once the state presents its findings to his office.

___

DALLAS

WHAT HAPPENED?

An Army veteran fatally shot five police officers and wounded seven other officers during Thursday nights downtown protest over the deaths of Sterling and Castile. Two civilians were also injured.

Dallas Police Chief David Brown initially blamed snipers, but authorities Friday said Micah Johnson, 25, had acted alone. He was killed by a robot-delivered bomb after a standoff with police.

Authorities said that Johnson, who was black, told officers he was upset about recent shootings and wanted to kill whites, especially white officers. The races of the officers who were shot have not been released.

WHAT WAS THE REACTION?

Video from the scene showed protesters marching along a street when shots erupted and the crowd scattered, seeking cover. Officers crouched beside vehicles, armored SWAT team vehicles arrived and a helicopter hovered overhead.

Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said that its within peoples rights to protest, but that protests can put our police officers in harms way.

Republican state Rep. Roger Williams blamed the words and actions of President Barack Obama and other prominent leaders for contributing to the deadly violence.

Center for Media Justice director Malkia Cyril defended the Black Lives Matter movement, saying it advocates dignity, justice and freedom, not the murder of cops.

WHATS NEXT?

Authorities are investigating the shootings. Johnson had amassed a personal arsenal at his home, including bomb-making materials, rifles, ammunition and a journal of combat tactics.

Obama, who on Saturday described the gunman as a demented individual, plans to visit Dallas in a few days to pay respects and mourn. He also planned to convene a White House meeting next week with police officers and community and civil rights activists to talk about next steps.

(AP)
A few hundred protesters are gathered at the Baton Rouge Police Department.

The demonstrators gathered Saturday to protest the shooting death of a black man, Alton Sterling, by two white police officers at a convenience store parking lot last week.

The protest was tense earlier as police in riot gear came out, apparently to clear the road so traffic could pass through.

A police spokesman said two firearms were confiscated and several arrests made.

Police later went back inside their headquarters and traffic reopened.

Baton Rouge resident Marie Flowers came to the protest in with her three children. She said people in the north Baton Rouge neighborhood where the shooting happened are frustrated.

Protesters waved homemade signs while drivers honked their support and some stopped by with bottles of water.

(AP)
A look at protests and related events nationwide Saturday following the police shootings of black men in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and suburban St. Paul, Minnesota, and the deadly sniper attack on police officers in Dallas.



CALIFORNIA

Several hundred protesters outraged by the police killings of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota took to the streets of San Francisco, blocking several roads and ramps to get on and off the Bay Bridge.

The California Highway Patrol closed access to the bridge at least two times Saturday afternoon when protesters took over freeway ramps, causing traffic to back up.

The group began marching from the citys Hall of Justice to the downtown shopping area, causing a temporary shutdown of a popular mall as the crowd gathered there to chant slogans and make speeches.

In central California, several hundred protesters blocked several intersections as they marched against police brutality in central Fresno. Officers in riot gear blocked an on-ramp to keep the protesters from entering State Route 41.



COLORADO

Black Lives Matter supporters said they plan to continue a sit-in in Denver in response to the police shootings of black men in Minnesota and Louisiana through Tuesday for a total of 135 hours. Thats an hour for each of the black people they say have been killed by police across the country this year.

The gathering, across from the City and County Building, began Thursday afternoon, several hours before police officers were killed in Dallas.

People have been dropping off food and water for those camped out on chairs and blankets in Civic Center Park.



FLORIDA

Hundreds of people marched in West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale as part of the Black Lives Matter movement in demonstrations that ended peacefully.

Protesters in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday chanted No justice, no peace and Hands up, dont shoot. At one point the protest stopped outside a Broward County jail and prisoners banged on windows in support.

The demonstrations came after police shootings of black men in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and suburban St. Paul, Minnesota, and the deadly sniper attack on police officers in Dallas.

A Palm Beach Post reporter tweeted a photo of a protester shaking a police officers hand as the West Palm Beach protest disbursed.

A third protest was planned in Miami on Saturday evening.



LOUISIANA

A few hundred protesters have gathered at the Baton Rouge Police Department.

The demonstrators gathered Saturday to protest the shooting death of a black man, Alton Sterling, by two white police officers at a convenience store parking lot last week.

The protest was tense earlier as police in riot gear came out, apparently to clear the road so traffic could pass through.

A police spokesman said two firearms were confiscated and several arrests made.

Police later went back inside their headquarters and traffic reopened.

Baton Rouge resident Marie Flowers came to the protest in with her three children. She said people in the north Baton Rouge neighborhood where the shooting happened are frustrated.

Protesters waved homemade signs while drivers honked their support and some stopped by with bottles of water.



NEW YORK

Hundreds of people marched in New York City to protest police shootings in Louisiana and Minnesota.

The protesters chanted Black lives matter and No justice, no peace as they marched up Broadway from near City Hall on Saturday.

The protesters kept to the sidewalk at first, but they took to the streets after the march reached Union Square.

A police spokeswoman said there were an unknown number of arrests.

Protester Cynthia Howell said she is not against the police but she wants to see accountability. Howell is a niece of Alberta Spruill, who died of a heart attack in 2003 after police threw a concussion grenade into her Harlem apartment.

Howell said officers who do reckless, dangerous things must be held accountable.



PENNSYLVANIA

Several hundred people broke off from Pittsburghs 200th anniversary parade to protest recent police shootings across the country. Some were affiliated with Black Lives Matter.

They marched from Point State Park on Saturday afternoon to the county courthouse.

In Philadelphia, a group of about 100 protesters marched to two police precincts in the northern part of the city on Saturday. A leader of the group, which calls itself the Philly Coalition for REAL Justice, told the Daily News (http://bit.ly/29pHEkY) that it wants to disrupt and shut down police activity and traffic in the precincts.

Earlier, organizers told the newspaper that the shooting deaths Thursday night of five white police officers in downtown Dallas by a black sniper would not deter them.

Im not concerned for what that brother did when he killed those cops, march leader and coalition member Kamau Becktemba said. It was justified rage.

About 50 uniformed police officers watched the protest, the newspaper reported.



RHODE ISLAND

More than 150 people gathered in downtown Newport in support of the Black Lives Matter movement after a week of violence across the nation.

The Providence Journal reports the group marched on Saturday afternoon to call for changes after the police shootings of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota this week.

Speakers urged the crowd to get involved in grassroots efforts to improve law enforcement across the country.

Seneca Pender of Middletown organized the rally. He told the crowd that the senseless killings of black people have to stop.

Pender also thanked law enforcement officers who provided security at the rally in Newport and denounced the deadly attack Thursday on police officers at a Black Lives Matter rally in Dallas that left five officers dead.



UTAH

Protesters who support the Black Lives Matter movement rallied in Salt Lake City, with some saying they grieved both the losses of the black men in Louisiana and Minnesota and fallen Dallas police officers.

The answer to guns is not more guns, said Deyvid Morales, who directed the protest Saturday, told the Salt Lake Tribune (http://bit.ly/29vvYAl.) The answer to stop this violence is to peacefully talk things out, to come together as a community.  We just want peace.

Two black women and one Latina spoke at the rally, expressing fear for loved ones and themselves in dealings with police.

Its terrifying to be the mother of a black child, Jessica Lee said. Speaking from personal experience, it is terrifying to know that next year my son is going to be out driving, so I constantly have to grill him on things  what to say, what not to say.

The protesters included Carl Moore of Orem. He did a dance in traditional Native American clothing. The dance was a tribute to the human race, he said.

When I see this All Lives Matter, what it does is it dilutes the situation, Moore said. What were doing right now is Black Lives Matter.

(AP)
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry arrived in Israel on Sunday afternoon 4 Tammuz and will attend a ceremony marking the 40th anniversary of the rescue at Entebbe being held Sunday evening at the Jerusalem Theater.

At the opening of the weekly Sunday cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu announced the senior Egyptian official was arriving later in the day for important discussion. He is the highest ranking Egyptian official to arrive in Israel in a number of years. Mr. Netanyahu thanked his senior confidant, Yitzchak Molcho for contributing significantly to making the visit a reality.

According to Ynet, Foreign Minister Shoukry is coming at the behest of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to discuss restarting the Israeli-PA (Palestinian Authority) talks.

They will also discuss Israel turning over recently-found debris believed to be from EgyptAir flight 804 along with common security concerns.

Shoukry met in Ramallah two weeks ago with PA Chairman Abu Mazen during which time the media stated he transferred an important message from al-Sisi to the PA leader.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
A 25-year-old Jordanian male was shot and wounded on Erev Shabbos after attacking a female motorist in her 20s along Route 90 in the Kinneret area. The woman was attacked with rocks, resulting in her losing control of her vehicle, running into the guardrail. Bchasdei Hashem she was only lightly injured in the attack and accident.

According to the official IDF statement, the attacker is mentally unstable and he crossed into Israel from Jordan and began attacking motorists with rocks along Route 90.

Reports add the suspect then ran over and tried pulling the woman from her vehicle. Passersby intervened and the suspect was shot, listed in moderate-to-serious condition.

The assailant was transported to Poriah Hospital in Tiveria. The woman was taken to the same hospital.

Officials are probing the attack, which is viewed as an attempted kidnapping.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Senior Hamas official Ismail Haniyeh announced on erev Shabbos that reports of secret negotiations for the return of the bodies of IDF Lt. Hadar Goldin and Sgt. Oren Shaul are untrue.

Haniyeh insists the reports are fabricated, stating there are no talks whatsoever taking place.

Goldin and Shaul fell in battle in Gaza during Operation Protective Edge almost two years ago and their bodies taken by Hamas fighters.

Israeli officials have reported talks are ongoing but Haniyeh says this is untrue, adding there will not be talks until the terrorists re-arrested following the Shalit prisoner exchange are released by Israel.

Haniyeh refers to approximately fifty terrorists who were re-arrested after it was determined they returned to the life of terrorism. Haniyeh vows there will be no negotiations with Israel until they are all released, speaking at an Id el-Fitr event on Friday, 2 Tammuz.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Mrs. Rina Ariel, the daughter of terror victim Hallel Ariel HYD, who was recently stabbed to death by a terrorist in the familys Kiryat Arba home, has asked Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to permit holding a memorial on Har Habayis this Tuesday, 6 Tammuz. Mrs. Ariel wishes permission for the memorial, which would be attended by 250 people.

In her letter written to Mr. Netanyahu while on a state visit to Africa, she wrote Even as youre busy with diplomatic issues in Africa, I excuse myself based on my daughters blood, Hallel, who was murdered in her bed.

She details their deep connection to Har Habayis, frequently visiting, realizing it is the House of HKBH, the place that gives koach to the Jewish People. It is only from this place that deficits can be filled and only from there can we receive solace. Hence, we are asking to visit to daven for Hallels neshama this Tuesday, accompanied by 250 people who have promised to join me.

Mrs. Ariel explains it is most important to her that this is coordinated in advance with police to make sure there is no confrontation whatsoever, simply a memorial.

Family representatives have met with Jerusalem Police Chief Yoram Halevy last week, hoping to persuade him to permit them to organize and hold the event. Police suggested a different location on Har Habayis, not at the Mughrabi Gate which is closer to al-Aqsa but the northern Gaza and the family agreed. However, while police seem on board final approval is pending from PM Netanyahu. Following the meeting with the Jerusalem Police Chief, Mrs. Ariel decided to write to the Prime Minister directly.

I am asking you now to make an exception in light of Hallels horrific murder so please permit this event for us. Please do not divide us into groups, but permit all 250 of us to stand together on Har Habayis. I would like to give a short speech there, as would a few others, in what would not take more than an hour.

Mrs. Ariel stressed that Recently, 200,000 Muslims performed a mass prayer on the site. Would a Jewish group comprised of a tenth of that number not be permitted to gather for an hour?

Gedolei Yisrael over the generations and the Chief Rabbinate of Israel prohibit visiting Har Habayis.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
By PTI: New Delhi, Jul 10 (PTI) President Pranab Mukherjee today extended greetings to the government and people of Mongolia on the eve of their National Day.

"On behalf of the government, the people of India and on my own behalf, it is with great pleasure that I extend warm greetings and felicitations to you, to the government and the friendly people of Mongolia on the occasion of your National Day," Mukherjee said in a message to his Mongolian counterpart Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj.

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He said India and Mongolia share a civilisational bond based on deep rooted cultural and historical ties.

"Although we do not share a border, India and Mongolia are spiritual neighbours since time immemorial. Mutual trust, goodwill and friendship are the hallmarks of our relations.

"Our shared vision of peace, prosperity and harmony are shaped by cherished democratic and Buddhist ideals," he added.

Mukherjee also said that he was happy to note that the positive momentum generated by the elevation of relations to a strategic partnership during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May 2015 has been sustained by regular exchanges of high-level visits.

"I am confident that as we enter a new era of co-operation, we will further deepen our relations and open new areas for our engagement aimed at fulfilling the true potential of our ties," he added.

Mongolia observes National Day on July 11 to commemorate its freedom from Chinese rule in 1921. PTI MP SMJ ZMN SMJ

--- ENDS ---
Galei Tzahal (Army Radio) affiliate Galgalatz suspected its movie critic, Gidi Ohsher for a social media post stating Those professional drivellers from the east, understood to be an insulted directed at Sephardim. The storm following his remarks resulted in the station announcing Gidis suspension pending a probe.

Needless to say the Shas response was quick and harsh as well.

On Sunday morning 4 Tammuz Gidi apologized on the air, explaining during the program hosted by Niv Raskin he intended to write against producer Ron Kachlili, not against the Sephardim. (Drivellers in Hebrew are ).

He explained that his words were not understood correctly and he had no intention to insult Sephardim. He slammed politicians including the Prime Minister and Defense Minister, who he accuses of attacking him simply to advance their own image at his expense.

When Minister of Culture & Sport Miri Regev saw the post she immediately turned to Galei Tzahal CEO Yoram Dekel to fire Ohsher.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
The vivid, horrifying videos of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling dying at the hands of police officers have brought new attention to fatal police shootings. The terrifying ambush that took the lives of five Dallas police officers and wounded seven others has brought new attention to attacks on the police.

And so, I am afraid. Not of the violence itself. Even considering recent high-profile events and heightened attention to police shootings, violence both by and against police officers remains relatively rare and has been in decline for years. But I am afraid of the impact these events will have on the already-strained relationship between police and the communities they serve.

Those effects are perhaps most visible in the significant tensions that exist between the Black Lives Matter movement and the Blue Lives Matter movement. Despite their very different perspectives, participants in both movements have essentially the same concern: a perception that society does not value members of their community. Attempts to discredit that perception or demonstrate that it is exaggerated or inaccurate have proved counterproductive. Perception becomes reality.

Both communities feel embattled and victimized. Both are angry. The sad truth of the matter is that there are good reasons for both to feel the way they do. Meanwhile, the consequences of this mistrust are draining and pernicious.

The safety of officers and civilians alike depends, in large part, on the strength of the relationship between the police and the public. Public distrust of the police can decrease cooperation with law enforcement, which can, in turn, lead to an increase in violent crime and resistance. Police distrust of the public, in turn, can lead to an increase in officer misconduct and the use of force, as well as the adoption of aggressive, zero tolerance tactics that further exacerbate the tension, perpetuating a downward spiral.

Distrust can have even more immediate effects. In the aftermath of the Michael Brown shooting in Ferguson, Missouri, many people in the local community and across the country rejected the official version of events: that Brown was shot while aggressively moving toward an officer he had already assaulted. Instead, they believed that Brown was shot while surrendering, with his hands up.

Why, in the face of two conflicting stories, didnt they credit the official version? The answer has very little to do with the shooting itself and everything to do with trust. The official story was rejected  even after an extensive Justice Department investigation supported it  because people did not trust the police.

The fractured relationship between the local police and the community ultimately endangered hundreds of officers and thousands of civilians, resulting in millions of dollars of damage. This is nothing new. Half of the 10 most violent and destructive riots in U.S. history were responses to perceived police abuses.

Further, while policing in the United States is primarily a local affair, police-community relationships are not. Police shootings, especially in the age of the Internet and viral video, echo far beyond the communities where they take place. The death of Sterling in Louisiana and Castile in Minnesota, reinforcing the perception that law enforcement too often views black men as presumptively dangerous and black lives as cheap, gave rise to protests across the country.

The same is true when officers are shot. The attack that took the lives of five Dallas officers will haunt police, buttressing the perception that they are besieged by a hostile populace.

Im afraid that incidents such as those of the past several days will reinforce a view that violence is not only justified but appropriate. That such incidents will drive police and the communities they serve further apart, dampening any interest in reconciliation.

But Im also optimistic. Even relationships that have been undermined by a long history of distrust and anger can be repaired. We have seen some remarkable progress in truly challenging situations, including police departments in Richmond, California, and Camden, New Jersey, just to name a few.

We can learn from those successes, and from successes outside the United States. In Northern Ireland, for example, police and the Irish Republican Army were in a state approaching open warfare for years before establishing a tentative, then more lasting, relationship in the late 1990s. More recently, U.S. military personnel put community policing principles into practice with great effect in counterinsurgency operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

If positive relationships can be established or repaired in those environments, surely we can do the same in the context of domestic policing. Surely we must.



(c) 2016, Special to The Washington Post  Seth Stoughton
[COMMUNICATED CONTENT]

By: L. Halevi

The Jewish nation has kindness in their DNA. It isnt just something we do (and we do it on a big scale!) and it isnt just something we believe in, it is part and parcel of our very character; Chesed pulsates in our blood and is ceaselessly beating in our hearts. Modern day Chesed initiatives abound, each with their own unique twist, but one common denominator is that those who are involved from the inside as well as those who support them from without, carry it as a badge of Jewish pride.

There are so many communal organizations that are devoted to kindness, and each in their own right is unique and worthy of our support. Be it an organization that alleviates financial strain or one that lifts the spirits of the ill, be it an organization that assists wayward souls or one that tasks itself with caring for deceased ones, the altruistic activities of these organizations  local, regional, national or global  deserve our support and deserve our being there for them as they are there for those amongst us that they help virtually 24/7.

The conundrum, however, is figuring out which particular organizations to choose as the recipients of our sometimes limited Tzedaka dollars. Each one has merit and each one fills a void that must be filled by the community, and thus are acting as our representatives. Yes, it is sometimes very hard to decide which Chesed organization takes precedence over another.

On July 12, 2016, a unique and important Charidy campaign will take place that will in many ways alleviate this conundrum, and hopefully alleviate a lot of the financial stress experienced by so many wonderful Chesed organizations. Dubbed A Day of Chesed Giving, this campaign will dedicate 24 hours exclusively to raise funds for an alliance of organizations from cities around the globe, with causes that run the gamut from Bikur Cholim to Hachnosas Kallah, from Chesed Shel Emes to Tzorchei Shabbos and everything in between. All in all, the goal of this day of giving  which is cleverly employing the Hashtag #AllKindsOfKindness  is to raise a significant sum of money which will collectively be used for one purpose: Chesed.

As with previous Charidy campaigns, its success will be reliant on the generosity and involvement of the individual members of Jewish communities from around the world. Every dollar donated will be matched by 3 benevolent matchers, ensuring that the power of every donation is quadrupled.

Will this campaign be a success? Judging by the indefatigable Chesed spirit of Klal Yisroel, Gomlei Chasadim bnei Gomlei Chasadim, it sure seems positive that a successful outcome will be achieved.

Mi KAmcha Yisroel!

To participate in this campaign visit https://www.charidy.com/givingforchesed

To get involved or to volunteer, please contact [email protected]
[COMMUNICATED CONTENT]

By Raizel Druxman

Chaya Gittel Lachman was 16 when she moved into Seeach Sods group home last year. Although she and her brother, Refoel (14), have been enrolled in Seeach Sod schools for 11 years, her parents, Sue and Frank Lachman, were very hesitant and nervous about the transition. It took me nearly a year to realize that we were holding her back, Sue Lachman said, Because I felt like I was giving her away.

Seeach Sod is Israels leading center for special education, and has programs for people with special needs from infancy through adulthood, including 40 group homes for 250 men and women. Its natural for parents to coddle and protect their special needs children. However, these group homes are giving parents the opportunity to see a different side of their children.

The Lachmans fears began to dissipate when they saw immediate changes in Chaya Gittel. Within a few weeks we saw a huge difference, Lachman said. The first thing we noticed was she lost weight. She looked so happy, tidy and neat.

The Division Manager of the mens homes, Chaim Hershman, is constantly blown away by the progress he sees after the boys move into the group homes. The second that the boys come to the house, its better for them because they are surrounded by people similar to them, Hershman said. Each resident wants to see that he has worth and the homes give them the independence they need.

To ensure the success of each resident, Seeach Sod staff is comprised of social workers, psychologists, physical therapists, occupational therapists and speech therapists. Hershman reflected on one resident who moved into Seeach Sod last year who didnt know how to do anything by himself. Before he came to Seeach Sod he stayed at home, couldnt travel or do anything, Hershman said. Nine months after moving to Seeach Sod he is now able to travel by himself, gets himself ready in the morning, opened a bank account, and even found work.

Seeach Sold isnt just a place to live, the residents quickly bond with their housemates and the staff. They are really a close knit group, like one big family, Lachman remarked.

Hershman added, When one of the madrichim got married, he invited all the boys from his home to the wedding. You could see the excitement on their faces. They were dancing and happy as if it was their own brother.

Although Refoel Lachman doesnt live in the group homes, he spends the entire day at the Seeach Sod school.. He loves going to school, Lachman said, But we decided to give him a day off and take him fruit picking with his nephews. We thought he would like it but he went berserk because he just wanted to be in school.

Seeach Sod takes their role as caretakers and family very seriously. We tell the parents to come and give their children love, but we will worry about everything else, Hershman said. We will take care of their health, food, doctor visits and more, but the warmth and love of a parent, only a parent can give. We strongly encourage parents to come and be a crucial part of their lives,Hershman offered.

However, when parents cant fill that role, Seeach Sod steps in as well. Two years ago, two boys who lost their mother moved into a group home. Their father was sick and couldnt take care of them. Six months later he passed away. While speaking to the social worker, Hershman realized the crucial role Seeach Sod had in their lives. We took them to funeral and saw that we were the only family they had. We did shiva and kaddish at the group home and I realized how meaningful and important we were for them..

The kids are not the only ones who benefit from these unique services. Its a win-win situation as the families and staff also benefit enormously from the program. The benefit for each person who is in our home also influences everyone else in their entire extended family, Hershman said. The second that they are okay, its good for everyone else as well.

Lachman also explained. Even on a practical level, parents are more freed up to have more flexibility in their lives. We dont have as many time constraints and have much more freedom. Especially if we need to travel, we dont have to worry because we know our kids are taken care of.

Every parent wants to provide their children with whatever they need to realize their potential and Seeach Sod is providing the foundation for thousands of children in Israel.

Hes found his place, Lachman said. Its given him a sense of self-worth. He knows who he is, and that is one of the most precious things you can give to a child with special needs.

For more information about Seeach Sod : http://charidy.com/seso

Photo captionBoys fulfilling their potential at Seeach Sod.
The decision of several high profile investment managers to prevent investors from liquidating their holdings in commercial property funds is the first concrete evidence we have that life in a Brexit world is going to get tough. Extremely tough.

It's a worrying development  and not just for investors trapped in these funds  because it is exactly what happened in the 2008 financial crisis.

Some commentators are now warning that a prolonged slump in the commercial property market could cause a ripple effect, impacting adversely on the banking sector (Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland especially, given their exposure to the asset class) and triggering a slump in the residential market.

Some commentators are now warning that a prolonged slump in the commercial property market could cause a ripple effect, impacting adversely on the banking sector (Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland especially)

It's a scenario that cannot be ruled out.

For commercial property fund investors, the immediate outlook is a bleak one as the capital value of their investments are given a stiff haircut.

But for those who are prepared to hang on, there is the silver lining of an attractive income (four per cent plus) to cling on to.

And as Brian Dennehy, managing director at funds specialist FundExpert is keen to point out, capital values could bounce back strongly as demand for commercial property space (buoyed by overseas demand and a weak pound) exceeds supply (suppressed by a drop in new builds).

'It would be churlish to ignore we are living through a period of uncertainty,' opines Dennehy. 'But there is no need for investors to panic or make ill-advised commercial property fund sales at depressed prices.' Food for thought.

Brexit opportunities...

Although financial life in the wake of the Brexit vote is looking grim, there are opportunities that some may want to grasp while they are available.

One is the chance to lock into a competitively priced long-term fixed rate mortgage.

According to mortgage broker London & Country, ten-year fixed rate loans are getting cheaper by the day with Coventry Building Society setting the pace. Barclays, HSBC and West Bromwich Building Society have also trimmed rates.

Coventry's offering is priced at 2.39 per cent for those with 50 per cent equity (or an equivalent deposit) and 2.49 per cent for those with at least 35 per cent equity.

Barclays, HSBC and West Bromwich Building Society have also trimmed rates for ten-year fixed rate loans

David Hollingworth, London & Country's mortgage guru, describes the deal as a 'step changer' and now makes ten-year fixed rate loans more mainstream than ever before.

Yet there are traps borrowers need to be aware of. Like all ten-year deals, Coventry's loan carries a hefty arrangement fee (999) and there are early repayment charges throughout the ten-year fixed period that borrowers need to be aware of.

These start off at five per cent (of the amount to be repaid), reducing to three per cent in years six to eight, and then dropping to one per cent in the final two years. Provided homeowners understand these penalties, the certainty that a ten-year mortgage will bring into their financial world could be too tempting to resist.

New Nationwide boss

Since April, Nationwide Building Society has been under new leadership. Joe Garner, former boss of BT subsidiary Openreach, has taken over the hot seat from Graham Beale, who after 30 years of loyal service (nine as chief executive) has gone off to paint and take photographs.

Garner has a big job in emulating Beale's success.

Joe Garner, former boss of BT subsidiary Openreach, has taken over the hot seat at Nationwide

It was Beale who steered Nationwide through the financial crisis (with some aplomb). Maybe Garner will have a similar job on his hands in the months ahead as the economy, property and financial markets falter in the wake of the Brexit vote (I sincerely hope not).

Beale was also responsible for ensuring the society remained focused at all times on delivering customer service par excellence. It's a quality that Garner would be wise to uphold.

While Nationwide and its customers (savers especially) face an uncertain world, what is certain is that Beale will have no money worries in this world  or the next.

Former boss Graham Beale was also responsible for ensuring that Nationwide Building Society remained focused at all times on delivering customer service par excellence

Society accounts for 2016 state that he walked away from Nationwide in April with a pension worth 286,000 a year plus 1,278,050 for 'loss of office' (strange term that, given he stepped down voluntarily). This is on top of remuneration for the year to April 4 of 3,413,000.

Customers may well think Beale is entitled to every penny  I couldn't possibly comment.
The Brexit crowd refused to believe the experts in the run-up to the referendum vote. The warnings from every leading economic body, including the Bank of England, were dismissed as scaremongering that should be ignored.

Now, apparently, the words of the Governor of the Bank of England and other economists are so influential they can talk us into a recession  I am baffled by this double-think. But we need not agonise over all the talk now, because the facts are mounting up.

Last week, we reported exclusive figures showing a sharp fall in the number of shoppers out on our high streets.

Now, apparently, the words of the Governor of the Bank of England and other economists are so influential they can talk us into a recession  I am baffled by this double-think

That has now been more than confirmed by the latest figures from the most highly respected survey of its kind, the GfK Consumer Confidence survey. It showed the sharpest drop in confidence since 1994. Confidence has fallen even among Leave voters.

Political uncertainty of a kind unseen for at least a generation will not be helping, but that too was eminently predictable (and indeed predicted) before the vote.

The freezing of many leading property investment funds last week heralds sharp falls in the value of commercial property values  it should not be surprising that with consumer confidence down so badly, shops and offices are likely to be less valuable.

The one small silver lining may be the fall in the value of the pound which may provide a lift to exports, but it also means UK companies that buy raw materials or components abroad will face higher costs.

A weaker pound is unlikely to offset the negative effects of those higher import costs and a general slowdown in the economy.

I, too, will now be accused of talking down the economy  if I had that power I would be doing everything to talk it up. I have a job that I want to be secure; I have a house I am trying to sell; I have family who run small businesses which I want to prosper. But I cannot make it so by burying my head in the sand.

A weaker pound is unlikely to offset the negative effects of those higher import costs

There are things that can be done to mitigate the problems we face as an economy. The Bank of England can do some things, but as the Governor said, its powers are limited.

There are some measures that the Government can take to ease the pressures on business. The call from many to slash business rates, which we report this week, is one such action. (Scrapping the sugar tax as demanded by Coca-Colas UK boss is rather more a case of an opportunistic gesture.)

But action is needed on a truly national and strategic scale. Major investment in our infrastructure is one such action. Measures to encourage business investment would help, but few can act with the force and immediacy of Government.

What a pity Brexiteers didnt listen to George Osborne before blowing his economic strategy out of the water

And distasteful as it will be to some, Government borrowing is the only way this can be achieved. Stephen Crabb, until recently a candidate for the Tory leadership, proposed a 100 billion fund to spend on public projects; other senior Government figures including both candidates for PM have indicated that an end to austerity is now in order.

They are right, but if the country is to mitigate the damage done by Brexit this will have to be more than piecemeal. It will have to be bold. It has never been cheaper for Britain to borrow money. We must do so now.

There will be some reading this who will cry in despair, having been solid believers that austerity was the only sensible way to proceed.
In the aftermath of the EU vote, an immediate issue is emerging where strong, collective business leadership is needed.

We are all, rightly, focusing attention on the impact that the result will have on businesses across the nations and regions of the UK.

Yet, at the same time, something ugly is happening in our cities, towns and counties that we must address. That something is affecting people whom many of us call co-workers and friends.

Troubled: Many individuals and businesses are understandably worried about a rising climate of fear

It is racism. It is discrimination. Sadly, it is spiking all around us.

Weve all seen shocking news reports detailing these incidents. Businesses, large and small, are worried about the reprehensible verbal and physical attacks targeting people from other parts of the EU, and indeed elsewhere.

These individuals have done nothing wrong. They have done little more than work hard and make significant contributions to local businesses  side-by-side with their UK-born co-workers.

Many individuals and businesses are understandably worried about a rising climate of fear.

EU nationals in Britain have to contend with this while facing uncertainty over their future rights to live and work in the UK  something that the British Chambers of Commerce will work hard to guarantee, in the interests of our businesses and their staff.

Chambers of commerce have long played a local leadership role, and we pride ourselves on making the places where we do business better.

It is a big part of why local businesses come together as part of a chamber  to make a local community stronger.

Disgusting: A Polish community centre in Hammersmith, west London, is daubed with racist graffiti

This is a time when we will put our centuries-old civic commitment into action. We must step up and confront the discrimination affecting people in our communities and businesses.

Company owners, managers, staff and our friends in the media and Government must join together and make a stand. We must not put up with this treatment of colleagues and friends in the face of ignorance.

Discuss the issue with staff. Raise your voice in the media and online. Attend civic events and support local charities fighting discrimination. Or donate time and resources to community centres. These are just some of the things that businesses can do to tackle the issue.

We must be clear. Businesses are rightly proud of the contribution that their UK, EU and global employees make  and we say a robust and clear no to racism and discrimination.

We have much to do in the forthcoming period of change and transition brought on by the vote to leave the EU.
Letters from a young Audrey Hepburn to her mentor Sir Felix Aylmer fetched 11,250 this month at auction thanks to the enthusiasm of collectors for the handwritten word.

Matthew Haley, head of books and manuscripts at auction house Bonhams, says that authentic letters by famous or noted people have appreciated in value in recent years.

He cites the example of a letter by artist and poet William Blake, which sold for 35,000 in 2015, having previously made 15,000 in 1992.

Poster featuring Audrey Hepburn in 1957 musical romantic comedy 'Funny Face'

The Hepburn letters, which were auctioned by Bonhams, were particularly interesting because they documented the early part of her career.

They include a postcard from 1951 when Hepburn was filming Monte Carlo Baby. 'This place is heavenly the best thing that's happened to me,' Hepburn writes, while another letter announces the breaking off of her engagement to British industrialist James Hanson, which she describes as 'unhappy making'.

'The letters are candid,' Haley says. 'Context is everything with letters, and this is a young Audrey Hepburn near the beginning of her career, with enthusiasm bubbling out of her.'

Hepburn's letters are not the only ones to have fetched a high price at auction in recent years. A letter from author Virginia Woolf to a sick friend, urging him to 'go on living', fetched 1,150 last December. The letter was written the year before Woolf committed suicide.

Chris Albury, auctioneer and senior valuer at Dominic Winter auctioneers, where the letter was sold, says that the subject matter, as well as the fact that Woolf died relatively young, helped to push up the price.

The Hepburn letters were particularly interesting because they documented the early part of her career

'Anything that gives a little buzz to it is good,' he says. 'If it had just been a letter responding to an invitation to give a talk and saying that she couldn't attend, it would have been worth far less.'

Adrian Roose, of website JustCollecting, agrees that a letter's value is down to its content as well as its author. He says: 'Salacious gossip, discussing historical events, is gold dust.

'A good example is Albert Einstein. He wrote to his wife on an almost daily basis. The content of these letters is pretty unremarkable and they tend to sell for a few thousand pounds. But find a letter where he discusses E=mc and the price jumps to 100,000 plus.'

The auctioned Hepburn letters included a postcard from 1951 when Hepburn was filming Monte Carlo Baby

As a result of their content, letters are generally worth more than autographs, and even those that are not from famous people can be valuable if associated with historic events.

The last letter written from the Titanic, just eight hours before she sank, sold last year for 119,000  and a letter from Wallace Hartley, the ship's bandmaster, sold for 93,000 the year before.

Letters from soldiers in famous battles, such as Waterloo, also fetch a high price. 'They give us a different perspective on history,' Haley says.

Other factors affecting the value of letters include their rarity. 'Letters by politicians are usually collectible,' Albury says.

The last letter written from the Titanic, just eight hours before she sank, sold last year for 119,000

'But the works of particularly prolific letter writers, such as British Prime Minister William Gladstone, are worth little because there are so many of them. A letter by Gladstone could be worth between 30 and 40 while one by Churchill could be worth more than 300.'

Potential pitfalls for collectors include buying letters that are in poor condition  and accidentally buying fakes or copies. Albury says that forgery is not a new crime, and that prolific writers such as Byron were forged in their own time.

Many popular figures also sent out lithographed letters that may look handwritten but were actually machine made. The best way to check this is to look through a magnifying glass, as those letters that are genuinely handwritten will look less uniform in terms of the distribution of the ink.

Expert valuers, such as those at auction houses, may also be able to help. Check any vendors for membership of trade associations  such as the Autograph Fair Trade Association  as they will face penalties if they sell fake items.

Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly and George Peppard as Paul Varjak in 1961's classic Breakfast at Tiffany's

It is still possible to make amazing finds. One collector found an original US Declaration of Independence at a flea market. 'From memory he paid $4 and sold it for $4million. A good day's work,' says Roose at JustCollecting.

Letters can easily be damaged by poor conditions such as damp or sunlight. If you want to frame letters, ensure you use a framer who is an expert and uses UV protective glass and acid free paper.

Albury says that for many collectors, letters are more exciting than first editions of books because they are unique.

He says: 'A first edition  even if it is beautiful  is a machine made thing. Handwritten letters are so much closer to the creator.'
By India Today Web Desk: Pulkit Samrat separated from his wife Shweta Rohira after one year of being together and their impending divorce is getting murkier by the day. Shweta has always stated that the reason behind their separation is Pulkit's proximity with co-star Yami Gautam.

ALSO READ: Pulkit Samrat began dating Yami Gautam after wife Shweta's miscarriage?

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ALSO READ: Was this HUGE fight between Yami Gautam and Shweta Rohira the beginning of the mess?

There were reports doing the rounds that the Fukrey actor started dating Yami after his wife had a miscarriage. And now Pulkit has finally opened up and said that Yami wasn't even there in the picture when the miscarriage happened.

In an interview to Hindustan Times, Pulkit said, "I was shocked to read news articles about the miscarriage. I was like, "This is such a personal thing for any couple." It was a tragic time for both of us. To put it out in public is not right. What shook my faith further was the fact that it was about a pious thing like motherhood, and the person, with whom I have spent so many years, would go to the extent of falsifying facts to malign my image and put it out in the public to gain sympathy. I was like, "Ab tak main chup raha hoon (I have been quiet till now), but this is a big blow to the entire issue. The miscarriage happened four years ago; it was tragic for both of us. I wonder, "Itni personal cheez bahar kaise aa gayi (how can such a personal fact become public)."

"Reading that article truly ended my relationship [with Shweta], because it was ethically unacceptable. I had no option but to dig deep. The moment I got to know that it had come from the 'horse's mouth', and that they had the hospital bills, totally fabricated, totally false evidence, it shook me. There were fabricated stories in the past, but I don't have any words to react to this," added Pulkit.

When asked whether the reports of him dating Yami after Shweta's miscarriage were true, he refuted all such rumours. He said, "It's misusing a miscarriage that happened four years ago, when somebody (Yami) wasn't even in the picture. I started shooting for Sanam Re four years after that incident. Aap kitna bada jhooth bol loge (How much can you lie)? There's a limit. You're saying that we (Yami and Pulkit) took advantage of the miscarriage since she [Shweta] was advised bed rest. That's such a big lie. All I can say is, this is the point where my relationship ends because I was never with this person (Shweta). I would never expect someone to stoop to this level."

Pulkit also revealed to the daily that Shweta had always been insecure about him and when they separated she started reaching out to his close friends. The Junooniyat actor also said that he had enough of all this and he has given their relationship many chances and is not ready to negotiate anymore.

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The Bangistan actor also added that their relationship started turning sour way before Yami entered his life. He said, "Before marriage, our respective mothers had become close. In fact, my mum asked me to propose to her because we were good friends. But when we started dating, it was like a U-turn. There were fights when I went on a holiday, or to celebrate Diwali at my Delhi house. I had stopped making friends."

On the work front, Pulkit Samrat was last seen in Junooniyat.

--- ENDS ---
The rate at which individuals' personal details are being stolen by criminals is rising fast. Fraud experts say the public need to be more vigilant than ever.

Laura Shannon explains the different fraud types, how they are committed, and explains ways to keep your money safe.

Identity fraud claimed more than 148,000 victims last year  a 57 per cent rise compared to the year before. Cifas, the financial crime prevention service, says every demographic is being targeted  with fraud affecting all age groups.

The high life: Melissa McCarthy in 2013 movie Identity Thief about a man whose identity is stolen by a woman

But how it happens remains a mystery to many victims.

This was the case for retired couple Mike and Sheila Fairholm, both 67, who had 8,000 looted from their joint account with NatWest while they were on holiday in Berlin last December  and where they had not used their cards and only took cash.

When they returned to their home in Wallsend, Newcastle upon Tyne, they found Mike's log-in password for online banking had been changed.

After using Sheila's log-in, which was unaffected, they discovered 8,000 had been spent at a spread-betting company. Curiously the sum was returned to them in three instalments  all while they were still away.

The Fairholms also noticed 1,000 had been transferred from their savings account to their current account.

Despite not having lost any money, the couple are concerned about how this could happen and keen to get answers. Sheila says: 'The bank cancelled my husband's debit card, which had been compromised.

Mystery: Mike and Sheila Fairholm had 8,000 looted from their joint account while they were on holiday

'But it seemed unconcerned that someone had been able to access our online banking details, change passwords and spend a huge amount of money leaving us overdrawn for a couple of days. We were astonished at its reaction and worried it was not taking the fraud seriously.'

It was suggested to the couple there was a virus or malware on their home computer. But they took it to PC World to be checked over, at a cost to themselves, only to be told the device was secure.

The Fairholms also use F-Secure software to help keep their information protected.

Mike visited his local NatWest branch to discuss the fraud with a manager, only to discover the couple also had a 10,000 overdraft on their account, which they weren't aware of and did not ask for. This has now been reduced.

The manager suggested Mike's card had been compromised in the run-up to Christmas when he had bought items online, but Sheila says this does not explain how someone could access their account and change passwords.

NatWest says: 'We take fraud extremely seriously. We are working with the Fairholms to ensure their accounts are kept secure.'

The couple took the computer to PC World to be checked over only to be told the device was secure

The different types of fraud

Identity fraud

Criminals glean personal information about an individual to open accounts in their name, order a mobile phone contract, request other goods in their name or empty their current account.

Investment fraud

Sometimes known as 'boiler room' fraud.

Savers are convinced by phone or email to invest in 'unbeatable opportunities' and with high yields 'guaranteed'.

The fraudsters will try to build a rapport with their victims over time, and may even produce sham brochures and make false claims about how the company is regulated.

The investment itself will often be a high-risk unregulated product  such as wine, art or diamonds  if it exists at all.

Scams

This is a general term covering a broad number of rip-offs affecting people in the UK on a daily basis.

They range from bookings for holiday homes advertised by fake landlords, a sham adviser promising to unlock money from a pension before the age of 55, or demands for payment by doorstep tradesmen for 'urgent' property repairs.

Scams can include demands for payment by doorstep tradesmen for 'urgent' property repairs

All scams and frauds combined are thought to cost individuals nearly 10billion a year  the equivalent of 202 for every UK adult and more than 300 per second.

This figure comes from the UK Fraud Costs Measurement Committee, and is based on academic research by the University of Portsmouth's Centre for Counter Fraud Studies.

Consumer group Citizens Advice is running Scams Awareness Month throughout July to help people learn more about common scams and how to spot them.

For more information visit citizensadvice.org.uk or call the charity's consumer helpline on 03454 040506.

The methods used

Social engineering

Specific details about victims are taken from information freely available online, such as addresses and ages posted on social media.

Often this will be all that is needed to open an account in that person's name or to tease more information needed from an account holder.

Phishing/ smishing

People are tricked into clicking on links in emails or texts  perhaps because it looks to be from an official source, such as Revenue & Customs, a popular shop or someone they know.

Clicking on the link downloads 'malware' on to a computer or phone. This is software that lets crooks see account numbers and passwords that have been used on that device.

Pressing issue: Clicking on a dodgy link downloads 'malware' on to a computer or phone, which is software that lets crooks see account numbers and passwords that have been used on that device

Phone fraud

Skilled scammers impersonate bank employees or police to find out a person's account PIN or password.

The caller will suggest there is evidence of fraud on an account and recommend the person phones their bank's fraud department.

When the account holder hangs up and dials the number, the original call is never disconnected.

The fraudster then plays out a script pretending to be a bank employee and once they have the householder's trust, will ask for a PIN or password.

Hacking

Customer data, such as debit or credit card details, are traded by criminals in hidden corners of the internet not visible to the average computer user.

This information is available because of data breaches by companies or hackers targeting businesses  such as what happened with TalkTalk last October.

Hackers can also tap into public wi-fi hotspots.

Wi-fi hotspots are not secure and a fraudster would be able to see whatever other users are looking at

Stephen Proffitt, deputy head of Action Fraud, the UK's national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime, says: 'These internet connections are not secure and a fraudster would be able to see whatever other users are looking at  such as internet banking and passwords. It is better to use your mobile phone's data allowance for this as it is more secure.'

A flaw in NatWest's security was highlighted earlier this year by BBC Radio 4 programme You And Yours, which found it was possible to hack into a person's account using a stolen mobile phone, with no need for log-in or password information.

The programme demonstrated how a criminal could take a victim's phone, contact their bank claiming to have lost log-in details, and then be sent a unique activation code that gives access to the account.

The fraudster was then free to change the account password and PIN so only he or she could access it. NatWest consequently made changes to its security to address these concerns.

Card skimming and shoulder surfing

Cloning technology on debit and credit card terminals or on cashpoints copy a user's card details. A camera or someone hovering over a customer's shoulder at a till or ATM will then pick up what PIN is entered  giving them easy access to the account and its contents.

Proffitt says: 'There may be a device on a cash machine that you are unaware of. Always cover your hand when entering your PIN.'

Customer fraud and failure

Customers are often blamed for fraud as a result of being careless about their details. But sometimes the bank's lax security and crooked employees are responsible.

The Mail on Sunday has been told privately by a bank employee that staff need to be trained about the dangers of 'phishing' just as keenly as their customers.

In other words, customer details have been or could be compromised just as easily by bank employees falling for fraudsters' tricks.

Insider fraud is another problem, where rogue employees drain customer accounts.

Less than a fortnight ago a Barclays apprentice cashier working at the Kensington branch of the bank in London was sentenced to 33 months in prison at the Old Bailey for using details of 25 customer accounts to open new accounts, take out loans and request new cards and PINs.

He intercepted the post and used these new cards to empty customer accounts. Victims all received refunds but the loss to Barclays was 167,370.

Meanwhile, two bank insiders at Halifax and Lloyds were jailed on June 8 after working with a wider gang on a series of frauds to steal more than 400,000 from customers.
Top groups representing more than 100,000 firms have written to Chancellor George Osborne to demand an urgent cut in business rates coupled with action to help companies cope with the Brexit fallout.

Those issuing the demands include the British Chambers of Commerce, the Federation of Small Businesses, the British Retail Consortium, the Association of Convenience Stores and the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers. They represent a range of businesses from FTSE retailers to corner shops.

Companies are offering to ringfence the money they save from any reduction in business rates and then to reinvest it in their firms.

Slashing tax: The Chancellor has already shown a willingness to act to mitigate the effects of Brexit by announcing last week an intention to cut corporation tax to less than 15 per cent

They want the date for the introduction of planned reforms to the rates system  due in 2020  to be brought forward.

The companies also want many firms to be relieved of the obligation to pay business rates altogether and they are calling for the whole system to be simplified.

The Chancellor has already shown a willingness to act to mitigate the effects of Brexit by announcing last week an intention to cut corporation tax to less than 15 per cent.

James Lowman, chief executive of the Association of Convenience Stores, told The Mail on Sunday: 'Brexit and the Chancellor's announcement last week have reopened the debate about business taxes.

'If we are going to do that then we need to recognise that business rates are a much bigger burden  especially for small businesses.

'Business rates are the thing that weighs on the operating model of business and more directly affects whether they can invest.'

Instant: The British Chambers of Commerce are among the top groups issuing demanding an urgent cut in business rates coupled with action to help companies cope with the Brexit fallout

The 27billion business rates tax system, which is based on property, not on profit, has been lambasted by firms and trade groups since the banking crisis.

Osborne reviewed the system in March, but for some businesses it still represents their single highest cost by far.

Mike Spicer, director of research and economics at the BCC, said: 'A lot of businesses feel their change in circumstances in recent years has not been reflected in their rates bills. Business rates are too costly and too complex.

'There is a lot of frustration that the valuation of business rates was delayed in the aftermath of the financial crisis, which means many areas outside London saw big rises in rates even as their property values and rents fell.'

The business rates tax system, which is based on property, not on profit, has been lambasted by firms

Spicer said the system discourages reinvestment into property because improvements force up values and prompt further hikes in business rates.

He suggested reducing the scope of the tax to the size and position of the plot rather than including fittings or equipment.
American aircraft maker Boeing is set to win nearly 3 billion of orders for 50 Apache helicopters and nine P8 maritime patrol aircraft this week from the UK and has promised to boost investment here following the referendum result.

Boeing chairman and chief executive Dennis Muilenburg told The Mail on Sunday the world's biggest aircraft maker was confident that orders for the attack helicopters for the Army and the P8s for the Royal Air Force were on track despite the mayhem in British politics following the EU vote.

The orders are likely to be unveiled at the Farnborough Airshow this week.

Boeing is set to win nearly 3 billion of orders for 50 Apache helicopters this week from the UK

'The Apache fleet is very important to the UK forces and will continue to be, and we're confident that programme will continue to proceed,' he said.

'And then the P8 will bring a new maritime surveillance capability to the UK that I think is much needed. Again, we anticipate that programme will move forward regardless of who is in power.'

There has been considerable controversy over both programmes, with fears from politicians and unions that the Government's decision to buy equipment from the US company will hit UK industry.

In response, Boeing said it will boost its existing investment in the UK. It employs more than 2,000 staff here and spends more than 1.4 billion annually with 250 suppliers in the country.

'We've doubled our presence over the last five years, we intend to continue to ramp that up and also continue to deepen and broaden our supply chain. And these new programmes, like the P8, will just add to that momentum. Ramping up our local capability is part of the solution,' said Muilenburg.

Prince Harry standing next to an Apache helicopter at Camp Bastion southern Afghanistan

He also stressed that the referendum result would not affect Boeing's commitment to the UK, noting that the company had dealt with Britain's airline industry and its Armed Forces for decades.

'I think it's really important to have a long-term perspective. We don't anticipate any significant changes to traffic and air travel in terms of market impact.

'So whether it's our customers or our supply chain or our direct presence, we've made a commitment to the UK for the long term and that is not changing.'
Figures out this week will give the first indication if Britain's decision to leave the EU will lead to a big fall in house prices.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors will say on Thursday if its members are seeing new buyer interest  regarded as a strong indicator of price movements  collapse.

All the responses to the survey were filled in after the referendum, meaning it will be one of the first concrete indicators for Britain's economic performance following the Brexit decision.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors will say on Thursday if its members are seeing new buyer interest  regarded as a strong indicator of price movements  collapse

In the latest RICS study in May, surveyors said the then-impending referendum was a reason for a slowdown in activity.

Richard Banks, of Worcester-based estate agent G Herbert Banks, said at the time: 'The referendum has slowed things down and if we get a Remain vote I believe things will pick up again.

'An out vote will be a disaster for the property market.'

There are fears that commercial property prices could sink after several funds investing in the sector closed the shutters and refused to allow investors to take money out.
Britain's manufacturers would reject any plan to open up the country to unrestricted foreign trade, fearing it could wipe out their businesses, an industry body is warning.

The Engineering Employers' Federation is to poll its members on which countries they would support the UK striking a trade deal with.

The organisation, whose members employ 2.6million workers across the country, said it was in favour of trade deals, but not at any price.

The Engineering Employers' Federation, whose members employ 2.6 million workers across the country, said it was in favour of trade deals, but not at any price - with unrestricted trade a definite 'no-no'

'Unrestricted trade would be a no-no, particularly around steel. That would be very difficult for manufacturers,' an EEF spokesman told The Mail on Sunday this weekend.

The EEF's concern comes as Vote Leave campaigners were last week trumpeting the deals the UK could do around the world. Chinese newspapers reported last week that a deal with the UK could be 'fast-tracked' amid frustration at attempts to negotiate a deal with the European Union.

There were also suggestions the UK could join a deal between 12 countries, including the US and Japan.

The Trans Pacific Partnership was signed in February, but has yet to come into force. However, such deals could alarm many UK businesses, particularly those already fighting the dumping of Chinese steel in the UK market.

'The difficulties come from the state support and subsidies the Chinese give to their manufacturing base,' the EEF spokesman said.

Trade experts also warn that any Chinese deal could disrupt attempts to secure a good deal with Britain's biggest trading partner  the EU.

Stephen Woolcock, at the London School of Economics, said: 'You have to think about the sequence of agreements. If the UK were to negotiate a tariff-free agreement with China, then negotiate with the EU it could cause problems. The EU would insist on rules to ensure Chinese products didn't enter Europe duty free.'

London Stock Exchange boss Xavier Rolet has said 100,000 City jobs could be lost if City firms do not have unfettered access to the single market as Norway, which is in the European Economic Area, does

He added that any deal could disappoint those who voted Leave in the referendum believing the EU to be 'the first step in globalisation'. He said: 'There was unhappiness in the North of England and West Midlands about the lack of jobs and downward pressure on wages.

'If the UK negotiates a free trade agreement with China, competition would be much more intense.'

Some economists backing Brexit have advocated unrestricted free trade, in which the UK unilaterally offers tariff-free access to its markets.

Patrick Minford, at Cardiff University, has argued this would boost economic activity, increasing gross domestic product by 4 per cent, but at the expense of Britain's manufacturing sector  which he concedes would be 'eliminated'.

Remain campaigners in the run-up to the referendum argued the UK was woefully unprepared to do trade deals with the rest of the world.

The UK has not negotiated a single trade deal since it joined the European Economic Community back in 1974. That means Whitehall and regulators may have to bring in foreign trade specialists at a time when it would be expected to be closing its borders to more migrant workers.

The UK has not negotiated a single trade deal since it joined the European Economic Community back in 1974

Leave campaigners have argued that it will be possible to secure access to the European single market while limiting the free movement of people into the UK  a claim that senior EU officials, commissioners and European heads of government have poured cold water on.

Norway, which is in the European Economic Area, has full access to the single market but must accept the free movement of EU citizens.

London Stock Exchange boss Xavier Rolet has said 100,000 City jobs could be lost if City firms do not have unfettered access to the single market.

A more radical option would see the UK pull out of such Europe-wide deals and trade with the EU under World Trade Organisation rules.

Critics warn that while WTO rules specify relatively low tariffs for trade between countries, they do not deal with regulatory rules on potentially harmful products. These can cost exporters 20 per cent of the value of their goods  with the figures even higher for food.
Tata Steels proposal to put its European operations into a joint venture with ThyssenKrupp have been criticised by British steelmaker Liberty House as a blow to its own plans to acquire and revive Tatas UK business.

Nor is there is any guarantee that Tatas giant Port Talbot steelworks would be included in such a joint venture.

Liberty House said it feared the move would lead to greater uncertainty for steel in the long run.

The Indian firm said on Friday that it was looking at options for its European steel business

It planned to buy Tata UK and build a steel industry based on recycled steel. It is understood to be a bidder for Tatas speciality steel business in the North of England, employing 2,000 people, which Tata said is still up for sale. Tata Steel employs 11,000 staff in the UK.

The Indian firm said on Friday that it was looking at options for its European steel business and had entered into discussions with other steel makers, including Germanys ThyssenKrupp  and possibly Indias JSW and Hebei of China.

However, Koushik Chatterjee, Tata Steels executive director for Europe, said: It is too early to give any assurances about the success of these talks.

'Such success, especially the inclusion of the UK business in a potential joint venture, would depend on several issues, including finding a suitable outcome for the British Steel Pension Scheme, successful discussions with the UK trade unions and the delivery of policy initiatives and other support from the Government.
BAD BANKS Italy is in crisis talks with the European Commission to shore up its struggling banks, which are saddled with 308billion in bad debts.

Prime Minister Matteo Renzi is said to be seeking a taxpayer-funded bailout, which goes against EU rules.

FAST FOOD Pret a Manger is to open its first outlet at a motorway service station after launching a partnership with roadside rest-stop company Welcome Break.

The store will open at South Mimms Services on the M25 in Hertfordshire at the end of the summer.

AWAY GOAL EE is offering its customers free BT Sport for six months, marking its first cross-over deal since the 12.5billion merger of the two companies in January.

BT has bought the rights to broadcast the Champions League, the FA Cup and 42 Premier League matches as well as the Aviva Premiership Rugby, European Rugby Champions Cup and MotoGP.

FLOATING ALONG Comparison website Comparethemarket is stepping closer to a stock market float which could value the firm at 2billion.

Owner BGL Group has hired Rothschild to provide guidance, and it is understood to have invited banks to pitch for the key role of global co-ordinator.

NO CHANGE Rolls-Royce is keeping its chairman for another three years, despite a torrid period under his stewardship.

Ian Davis, 65, who became chairman in 2013 and earns 425,000 a year, has seen five profit warnings and a 40 per cent dip in shares at the engineering giant.
Trade mission: George Osborne is to travel to the US today to herald Britain as a beacon for free trade

George Osborne is to travel to the US today to herald Britain as a beacon for free trade amid mounting uncertainty in the wake of the Brexit vote.

In a series of trade missions, the Chancellor will speak to Wall Street investors before heading on to China and Singapore next week.

The US is the largest single destination for UK exports, which amounted to 88billion in 2014.

Osborne is expected to say: 'Britain may be leaving the EU, but we are not quitting the world.

'We will continue to be a beacon for free trade, democracy and security, more open to that world than ever.'

The trip comes as leading economist Douglas McWilliams called for Osborne to speed up a cut to corporation tax to boost investment.

Last week the Chancellor pledged to cut the tax from 20 per cent to 15 per cent by 2020, but McWilliams, president of the Centre For Economics And Business Research, is urging for that to be brought forward to 2017, and claims it would boost investment by 10.7 per cent within ten years.

The Brexit vote looks to have hit businesses hard with the latest report by accountants BDO revealing that optimism and output in the UK have slumped to three-year lows for the second month running in June.

The firm's business trends report shows that business output, which reflects company orders for the next three months, slipped to a reading of 99 last month, compared to 99.7 in May and 100.6 in April.

The report showed business optimism also took a hit, falling to 98.9 in June from 99.4 in May, with UK manufacturing holding the bleakest outlook for future trade.

Peter Hemington, partner at BDO, said that while Brexit has impacted investment in the UK economy, the slowdown was already in full swing when the vote took place.

He said: 'In all likelihood, whatever arrangements the UK eventually arrives at with the EU won't look very different from what we have at the moment. So businesses cannot afford to get caught up in the hysteria. They need to hold their nerve and continue to invest in the UK.

'We are at a crucial moment where we must be sensible in protecting the UK economy. We need a plan of action now that gives businesses the added confidence to progress with investment plans.'

But the survey was not enough to dampen investor sentiment this morning, with the FTSE 100 up 24.7 points at 6,615.1 in early trading after global markets got a lift on Friday from a robust US jobs report.

On currency markets, however, the pound was marginally lower against the dollar, down 0.2 per cent at $1.2923. There is likely to be more caution on sterling ahead of a key Bank of England policy meeting this Thursday.

Spotlight: Economists believe the Bank of England will likely cut rates this week or at the meeting in August

The Bank is expected to do its bit this week to soother the post-Brexit vote trauma, with a cut in interest rates to a new low of 0.25 per cent a firm possibility.

The Banks monthly Monetary Policy Committee meetings have been predictable affairs in recent years as rates have remained unchanged at 0.5 per cent for seven years.

But a post-Brexit vote plunge in consumer confidence and evidence that the economy is in for a sharp slowdown could force the Bank to take action.

Last week, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research said the UK economy experienced an 'intensifying contraction' in June, and growth over the next few months is forecast to deteriorate rapidly following the Brexit vote.

GDP estimates from the think-tank showed that output grew by 0.6 per cent in the three months to June, but that was largely due to a strong April skewing the figures.

However, recent official data and a string of surveys showed a mixed picture of the UK economy in the run up to the Brexit vote.

The UK's manufacturing industry beat expectations in May despite activity easing back from a surge in the previous month.

The Office for National Statistics said last week that UK manufacturing output came in with a better-than-predicted fall of 0.5 per cent, dropping from April's rise of 2.4 per cent, but remaining ahead of a predicted slide of 1.1 per cent.

Last week's Markit/CIPS UK June Manufacturing purchasing managers' index also showed the industry had stepped up to a five-month high and broke free of its 'early year sluggishness' in the run up to the Brexit vote.
Boutique E hotel pioneer Ken McCulloch, founder and former owner of the Malmaison chain, has hit out at 'groovy' hotels that lack manners and claims it is 'nonsense' that there is a skills shortage in the UK.

McCulloch, who has moved back to Scotland from Monaco to work on his latest venture, Dakota Hotels, said: 'Hotels should do the simple things brilliantly. 'Good morning', 'good afternoon', 'what can I do for you?' It's easy: look after people and they will come back. You don't have to be Mr Groove all the time.

'We've built reputations on classical values. I like trendy boutique hotels if they're well run. I don't like them for the sake of it. I stayed at a place recently, it was the phoniest thing I've ever been in. It was a disaster. And it thought it was the coolest place in town.

Values: Ken McCulloch has moved back to Scotland to work on his latest venture, Dakota hotels

'I thought, 'Why did you do that?' Because hotels cost so much money to do. People tend to think there is a formula out there. There isn't.'

And he complained about comments over skills shortages. He said: 'When people say 'you can't get the staff these days', it's nonsense. You never could. It's a privilege to work with young, enthusiastic, intelligent, people who want to make a career in hospitality. That's the atmosphere we create.

'We have a number of programmes. We have one called Learn More, Earn More. That gets their attention. It means, let's say they're doing a wine course and they get through and tick all the boxes, then they may well get a trip to Italy or France.

'We work with suppliers to do it and they come back totally enthused. If we want people to get what it's all about, they have to travel.'
By Shreya Goswami: Tasty and healthy just don't coexist in our heads, because junk food has always tasted so much better than something like spinach or oats. The image of balanced and healthy food we have rarely includes something delicious that looks like a gourmet dish. But this image is changing now, and ingenuity is the key.



"If you are clever enough, you can take a grain like oats and make it tastier," says chef Saransh Goila who led his team last evening to a glorious Chinese-flavoured victory. His opponent, MasterChef India winner Shipra Khanna led the Italian Mafia team in the best Chinese vs Italian food truck competitions Gurugram has ever seen. Chef Kunal Kapur, as mentor and judge of the Saffola Fit Foodie food truck challenge, oversaw the proceedings at the event.





Saransh Goila, Kunal Kapur and Shipra Khanna start off the Saffola Fit Foodie Chinese vs Italian challenge. Picture courtesy: Twitter/ChefKunalKapur

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The concept was simple--use oats in innovative ways and sell them to the crowds at Ambience Mall, Gurugram. The teams were led by Goila and Khanna, and consisted of three bloggers each. Kapur, Goila and Khanna had selected these bloggers through a previous competition. The recipes served yesterday were original Goila and Khanna creations cooked by these bloggers, while the team leaders mingled with the crowds to increase sales.



Also Read: Chef Saransh Goila on food, travel, and why butter chicken should rule the world



"We served three dishes, and each was priced at Rs 250. But the crowds kept flocking to us and soon we had to increase the rates to 300 per dish," quipped Khanna. For both the chefs the event was exhilarating as well as tiring. Feeding a live audience is a tough job, but it's good fun too.





Shipra Khanna's Italian Mafia team cooked up delicious dishes using oats and Italian flavours. Picture courtesy: Twitter/HukkaKing1

"It was an amazing experience. My team lost the challenge, but it was a competition and somebody had to win," Khanna told us. While Khanna's Italian-themed oats were quite popular, Goila's Chinese flavours turned out to be the crowd's favourites.

The best part was that though this was a competition, the underlining motto was #BreakUpWithJunk. "Ultimately, it didn't matter which team won or lost because it was all about saying no to junk, and we all scored there," Khanna said.



Saransh Goila served Chinese flavoured dishes with his team last evening. Picture courtesy: Twitter/theFit_Foodie

Goila made the same point: "Oats are slowly getting popular, along with other Indian grains like ragi, jowar and my favourite, buckwheat or kuttu. The idea is to take these and adapt them to identifiable delicious dishes. You don't have to deep fry everything to make it delicious, but you could include a little cheese or butter to balance the dish."



Saransh Goila, Kunal Kapur and Shipra Khanna introduce the concept of #BreakUpWithJunk. Picture courtesy: Twitter/FoodBloggerAI

Last evening at Ambience Mall, Saransh Goila, Shipra Khanna, and their teams showed the national capital just how much you can do with simple oats. This is one small step we needed to take, and let's hope it leads to a permanent break up with unhealthy-but-good-looking junk food.



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By PTI: New Delhi, Jul 8 (PTI) BJP President Amit Shah today held meetings with the partys core groups in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana during which leaders, including Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu and General Secretary Ram Madhav, deliberated on expanding the organisations base in the two states.

BJP National Secretary Sidharth Nath Singh, who is Andhra Pradesh in-charge, said they have decided to launch programmes to spread the word about the central governments works for the two states and also undertake measures to expand the organisation.

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The saffron party has been traditionally weak in these states. Its ally TDP is in power in Andhra Pradesh.

Amid attacks on the Centre, at times even by TDP leaders, for not granting special category status to Andhra Pradesh, BJP has planned to inform people about huge increase in the central allocation to the state.

Against the total award of Rs 98,820 crore to the state under the 13th Finance Commission, Rs 2.06 lakh crore will be awarded under the 14th (2015-20), an increase of 109 per cent, sources said.

"We will launch a publicity exercise, including showing video films, about the various central works, including setting up of IIT and AIIMS," a source said.

Shah held separate meetings with the states core groups. PTI KR SMJ ZMN SMJ

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Are you ready to witness the naughty side of Angoori Bhabhi?

By India Today Web Desk: Ever since the show, Bhabi Ji Ghar Par Hai started, Aasif Sheikh has been trying his luck to impress Bhabhi ji (Shubhangi Atre).



And finally his 'dil ki tamanna' will be fulfilled this week. Yes, you read it right.

To his surprise, Shubhangi's character will be seen teasing co-actor Aasif's character Vibhuti. And the actress confesses she is excited about exploring the "chhichhora" (naughty) side of Angoori Bhabhi.

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"It will indeed be a pleasant surprise for the audience of Bhabi Ji... who will witness a role reversal. Angoori will be seen teasing Vibhuti, but he will be running away from her. I will be seen teasing Aasif ji in the upcoming episode and believe me, it was a lot of fun. I hope the audience appreciates this 'chhichhora' side of Angoori," Shubhangi said in a statement.



Are you ready to witness chhichhora side of Angoori Bhabhi? (Photo: @iaasifsheikh/Twitter)

The show is also set to welcome the star cast of Great Grand Masti. Actors Ritiesh Deshmukh, Vivek Oberoi and Urvashi Rautela are going to visit the sets in a bid to promote their upcoming film.

The show, which airs on &TV, is inspired by 1995 hit Hindi serial, Shrimaan Shrimati.





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By PTI: Houston, Jul 10 (PTI) A group of eight handcuffed inmates in the US state of Texas busted out of their cell and saved the life of a prison guard having a heart attack, a media report said today.

The eight inmates were locked up in a holding cell at the District Courts Building in Fort Worth city when the incident happened.

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The only guard posted next to the cell had been cracking jokes with the inmates when he suddenly collapsed in his chair due to a cardiac arrest, New York Daily News reported.

The prisoners then began shouting for help but no one was there nearby.

In the meantime, one of the prisoners managed to break the cell door open and the group approached the fallen guard who had no pulse at that time.

The inmates kept screaming for help and started banging on doors in a desperate bid to get someone down to the cell. Deputies upstairs in court heard the ruckus and rushed down, thinking they had a fight on their hands.

"It never crossed my mind not to help whether hes got a gun or a badge. If he falls down, Im gonna help him," inmate Nick Kelton told 11 WFAA TV station.

When officers finally arrived, they locked up the inmates back into the cell and called emergency services and started performing Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on the breathless guard in a bid to save him.

Medics used a defibrillator to shock the guard, and his heart started beating again as the inmates looked on.

Captain Mark Arnett said the prisoners breakout likely saved the guards life.

"He could have been there 15 minutes before any other staff walked in and found him," Arnett said.

The cells locks have been strengthened after the inmates escape for a good deed, the report added. PTI CPS AKJ CPS

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The Jammu and Kashmir Police made it clear today that Amarnath Yatra will not be allowed from Jammu to Baltal and Phalgam till situation improves there.

Tension continues to embroil Kashmir valley after 12 protestors were killed. (Photo: Reuters)

By India Today Web Desk: Tension continues to embroil Kashmir valley after 18 protesters were killed in the aftermath of the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani (22). Wani's killing was followed by wide-spread protests and violent clashes between people and security forces.

The Jammu and Kashmir government has appealed for calm as four more people died in continuing protests against the killing of a top guerrilla leader, taking the death toll to 19. Over 200 persons have been reportedly injured in the commotion.



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Around 8,000-10,000 Amarnath pilgrims are stuck between Kathua and Joha tunnel after authorities suspended movement of all vehicular traffic along the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway as part of precautionary measures, reports said. The Jammu and Kashmir Police made it clear today that Amarnath Yatra will not be allowed from Jammu to Baltal and Phalgam till situation improves there.

All stranded yatris in Baltal and Kashmir vally will be sent back to Jammu as soon normalcy is restored, the police said.



IGP Jammu Danesh Rana and Deputy Commissioner Simrandeep Singh said the Jammu and Kashmir Police are looking into pilgrim's sanitation and food needs in collaboration with the civil administration and there is no problem in Jammu's base camp.

Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) today termed the current unrest in the Valley as unfortunate and anguishing and sought support from the people to end the cycle of violence.



Amarnath Yatra suspended indefinitely. (Photo: PTI) Amarnath Yatra suspended indefinitely. (Photo: PTI)

Here are the latest updates: A policeman was killed after protesters pushed his vehicle into Jhelum river in Sangam area of south Kashmir's Anantnag district today. In another case, protesters did not allow a police van carrying an injured cop to enter the premises of the district hospital in Pulwama. Amaranth Yatra pilgrims stranded: The DGCA today issued a circular to all concerned airlines asking them not to charge for rescheduling of flights that are going to or taking off. Migrant Kashmiri Pandits protested in Jammu today after miscreants pelted stones at them in the valley. The centre reportedly sent 1,200 paramilitary personnel to the valley. About 96 security and police personnel were injured in the clashes. Police and the paramilitary forces were asked to use Standard Operational Procedure (SOP) while dealing with protesters to prevent loss of lives or injuries. Separatists' leaders have been placed under house arrest or detained. Additional companies of security forces were called from Delhi to control law and order situation. Mobile internet services will remain suspended till the situation improves. Sources said close to one lakh people attended the funeral of Hizbul commander Wani. Eyewitnesses claimed that armed militants too attended the funeral. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti expressed grief over civilian deaths in the valley. Mufti asked people, especially the youth, "not to fall prey to the machinations of the vested interests, who play politics over the dead bodies of Kashmiris." Home Minister Rajnath Singh chairs high level meeting to review law and order situation in Jammu and Kashmir. Rajnath Singh appealed to the people of Kashmir to maintain peace and help in restoring the law and order situation in the state. Singh asked Jammu and Kashmir Govt to ensure the safety of Kashmiri Pandits, say top MHA Sources.

Curfew imposed in parts of J&K following protests over #BurhanWani's killing (Visuals of shutdown from Srinagar) pic.twitter.com/wOk4amQCqh ANI (@ANI_news) July 10, 2016

Top Hizbul commander Burhan Wani killed in Kashmir encounter

Kashmir in chaos after Hizbul commander's death, CM Mehbooba mufti urges peace



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By Philip Newman

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) said the federal Department of Transportation has agreed to provide $432 million for repairs to the East River tunnels heavily damaged by Superstorm Sandy despite a federal court decision posing possible delays in the project.

Schumer said a delay in repairs to the tunnel would have been unacceptable, even dangerous and would have given hundreds of thousands of LIRR and other commuters a giant headache.

The senator said a recent U.S. District Court decision to stall Amtraks $550 million in Sandy-related insurance payouts had put the much-needed repairs in limbo, which Schumer said spurred him to push for federal action.

The U.S. Department of Transportation and Secretary Foxx have rightfully heeded the call and will inject $432 million into the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for critical projects like the Long Island Rail Road tunnel projectand this not a moment too soon, said Schumer.

This news is a godsend for the hundreds of thousands of Long Island commuters who rely on the service to earn a living, shop, visit loved ones and more.

Last August, upon learning of the projected cash crisis caused by an insurance shortfall, Schumer began working personally with the U.S. DOT, the FTA and FEMA to secure the release of the necessary Sandy-related funds to the MTA to cover the shortfall in money.

Superstorm Sandy, which struck in 2012, badly damaged the East River tunnels with an estimated 14 million gallons of floodwaters and Amtrak reported that corrosive salts and chlorides from the storm are still affecting the structures of the tunnels. Delays in LIRR service caused by the storm damage are still going on with 1,458 incidents last year alone.

Schumer said the East River tunnels are a critical part of the transit system in the New York City metropolitan area and now carry around 300,000 persons daily. Although owned by Amtrak, the tunnels are a shared regional asset providing invaluable service to the railroad and major transit agencies.

He said a decision by a U.S. district judge to low ball Amtraks Sandy-related insurance settlement posed the possibility of late repairs to East River tunnels and, in turn, even a delay in the East Side Access project to bring Long Island Rail Rail Road trains into Grand Central Terminal.
Hopewell Community Park remains a 'labor of love' for local community

The lush green park is a product of the combined efforts of the Hopewell Township community and a symbol of decades of conservation efforts in Beaver County.
photos by John Ingle/Times Record News Frank & Joe's Coffee House, named after city fathers Frank Kell and Joseph A. Kemp, is open for business in Parker Square in Wichita Falls. The store is co-owned by Carol Murray and her daughter, Jessica Edwards.

By John Ingle of the Times Record News

It takes a vision to make something great. It doesn't just happen.

When Joseph A. Kemp moved to Wichita Falls in the 1880s to begin his business ventures in North Texas, he ultimately needed a partner. Enter Frank Kell, his brother-in-law, who followed with wife, Lula, in the mid-1890s. The two visionaries would put Wichita Falls on the map and set it on course to make the prairie town into something more.

Two more entrepreneurs are looking to make a name for themselves as well as put their mark on a specific business niche, too, in present-day Wichita Falls, both with business backgrounds and a love for the city to which they moved. Enter Carol Murray and her daughter, Jessica Edwards, and their new retail store Frank & Joe's Coffee House in Parker Square.

"It's been crazy, but in a good way," Edwards said Friday, just six days after opening. "We've had a lot of community support. It's just been amazing."

The idea of a coffeehouse came about five years ago when Murray was frustrated with standing in long lines for up to 20 minutes for a cup of coffee at her go-to place. After much thought and research, she decided it was something she wanted to do. She approached Edwards, who worked at Wells Fargo at the time, and invited her to join in.

The duo didn't want the store to be a run-of-the-mill establishment. They wanted it to be representative of their new hometown.

"We wanted to do something that honored the history and the founding fathers of the city of Wichita Falls," Murray, an H&R Block franchise owner, said.

She said the second reason, and perhaps the main purpose, for opening the store is to provide coffee connoisseurs another option for fresh coffee made from beans that come from a Texas roaster, who travels the world looking for the best beans. While coffee shops can keep beans for a little more than a year, customers at Frank & Joe's won't receive a cup of coffee made from beans more than 2 weeks old.

The store also gives Murray and Edwards another opportunity to give back to the community through nonprofits. Several made presentations to the owners and their roughly 30 employees a few weeks ago, and five were selected  The Arc, Big Brothers Big Sisters, CASA, Phased In and P.E.T.S.  to be recipients of 10 cents per cup of coffee sold, one nonprofit per quarter.

"They (the employees) chose based on the presentations that the nonprofits gave," Edwards said. "That was really important to us because we are going to be talking about those nonprofits when we're here and we want our employees to fully understand what that nonprofit stands for and have them also stand with it and be able to describe that to our customers."

Frank & Joe's has five house-branded coffees that, like the store itself, are representative of the city's history, starting with its "1889", which is named for the year Wichita Falls became incorporated. "Union Station" is in memory of the old train depot, which was demolished when passenger trains bypassed the Wichita Falls station in 1967.

The place in downtown Wichita Falls where land was auctioned off and deals were made is also on one of their house brands  "8th & Ohio." "Texas Gold" is reminiscent of the oil boom of the early 1900s that made many a Wichitan wealthy, and finally "The Pavilion," the destination location at Lake Wichita for area residents as well as out-of-towners.

Edwards said there's even something for the "coffee nerds" in farm-sourced, single-origin coffee that has nerdy language such as altitude, varietal, how it's processed and more. In addition to coffee, the mother-daughter pair also selected some local retailers to set up displays, and artwork created by employees  barista Caleb Brantley painted the portraits of Frank and Joe that hang above the fireplace  adorn a couple of walls.

For those not in the mood for a cup of coffee, the store has beer on tap and a selection of wine to choose from.

A feature of Frank & Joe's that wasn't originally in the plans is outside seating on the patio. Edwards said they were faced with spending thousands of dollars on a fire suppressant system to meet city code, or come up with another option. She said their landlord, Mike Schallenberger, came up with the idea of the patio, and it has been hit.

"Everybody loves the patio," she said. "The thing about the patio is it actually stays cool because it's never in direct sunlight."

Frank & Joe's is also a place for people just to hang out to study or work. A conference room is available to rent for $10 an hour, and can accommodate up to eight people. Three smaller suites are also available for people to rent by the hour, day or month to conduct business.

For more information about Frank & Joe's, visit their page on Facebook. The store is open daily from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Tinsley: The taboo word

There is a particular word in the Bible that is seldom heard in church although it is widely used in private and public conversations.
By PTI: Kozhikode, Jul 10 (PTI) The Indian Union Muslim League today came out in support of preacher Zakir Naik, saying the "advocate of peace theory in Islam" is being harassed for no "valid reason".

Addressing a press conference here, IUML MP and former minister E T Mohammed Basheer said, "Naik is anadvocate of peace theory in Islam. The action by the authorities against the Islamic preacher is a violation of the freedom of expression. He is being harassed for no valid reason."

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"The probe against Naik is being carried out in a prejudiced manner," Basheer alleged and demanded that authorities stop harassing the preacher.

"Since the launch of Islamic Research Foundation in 1991, Naik has travelled to many parts of the world and delivered a large number of speeches and organised several debates. In view of these facts, he should not bebe harassed," he said.

Basheer alleged that the Maharashtra government has launched an investigation in a "prejudicedmanner" intending to oppose his activities and portray him in a "wrong way".

"Those who believe in the Indian Constitution which guarantees freedom of expression should come forward to oppose the move," he said.

A video footage of a speech by Naik in which he speaks against Islamic State, was also played during the press conference.

Naik has come under scanner over reports that one of the Dhaka attackers were allegedly inspired by his speeches. PTI KV BN EMY NSD

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The ambush of Dallas police officers has left me without effective words to express how I feel.

I turn to the words of others.

As I write this, before lunch on Friday, the morning after five law enforcement officers were killed and many others wounded in the streets of downtown Dallas, my vision is blurred by tears.

I can't stop.

My heart has been in my chest since I started following the news and discovered a Facebook post from a friend, a wife of a Wichita Falls police officer:

"I can't breathe."

Three simple words, speaking volumes.

Her husband was home, safe, Thursday night, on vacation. She would not get the call she fears. Not on that night.

But she knew another wife would be.

"Somewhere in Dallas is a wife waiting to find out if her husband will come home. I am her and she is me."

The Dallas police officers were gunned down while protecting protesters wanting justice for the seemingly senseless killings of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota just days earlier. The rally was billed as a peaceful demonstration. The outcome was anything but peaceful.

When the shots rang out and police officers fell to the ground, their fellow police officers ran toward the gunfire. Like those killed on 9/11, they ran toward the danger, not from it.

Some witnesses recall at least one police officer throwing his body in front of the very people protesting the bad apples in their profession.

Even after fringe members of the protest movement define all police officers by the acts of a few, they still served to protect the protesters Thursday night. And they died protecting the right to protest peacefully.

Peace.

That's what we all want. For black motorists guilty of nothing more than a broken taillight. Peace for the police officers dedicated to keeping us safe.

Peace is what we want. Peace is what we need.

Peace is not always what you find on social media after an event such as this. People pick sides and nothing gets done. Wounds scab over but are not healed.

Peace is what we need.

"Please, for the love of God or whoever motivates you, please think before you post," another of my friends, whose loved ones have worked in law enforcement, posted on Facebook. "We don't need anymore hate or divisiveness right now. We don't need to be pointing the finger at cops or protesters or politicians. We just need to stop. Whatever you think you know, you don't."

Stop. Just stop. Give peace a chance.

Another friend, searching for the right words, posted a meme with these:

"One day I would like to turn on the news and hear, 'Today we have peace on earth.'"
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Maybe Hillary Clinton shouldn't have to worry about prison, but she surer than anything should not be an unchecked president of the United States.

As secretary of state, she was downright reckless in ways that could endanger American lives. She disobeyed the law. It's probable some of our worst enemies have read every email word she wrote and received. Maybe they have already used some of that information against us  or will.

That's what we got from a world-watched press conference in which FBI Director James Comey said he was not recommending criminal prosecution over Clinton's email adventures. He said interviews, a diligent investigation of thousands of documents and still other research showed no criminal intent on Clinton's part. But it's not as if the FBI found nothing amiss.

He said, for instance, that Clinton and her colleagues "were extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information." Despite her lies to the contrary, Clinton had to know some of it was indeed top-secret stuff and, said Comey, she had to know something else  that the sloppy system she was using was "no place" for the communications in which she was engaged.

Whatever your politics may be, do you think it possible any halfway responsible person would not have sat back one day and asked herself what in the world she was doing? After all, being secretary of state is one of the more important positions in the world and the information she was dealing could have adverse impacts on all kinds of matters if it fell in the wrong hands. Wouldn't it at least have occurred to her that the system could easily enough be hacked?

Comey in fact said that it seemed possible that "hostile actors" did hack her computers. As I heard an expert explain before the press conference, nations such as Russia, China and Iran probably had access to every word that went between her, the president and other officials. Just consider for a moment what that maybe means. Might Iran, for instance, have been that much better prepared to outwit us in negotiations over a nuclear deal?

Clinton has all kinds of problems, such as messing up on a whole long list of tasks while accomplishing something once maybe, at least if we keep looking. A real biggie is that she is not trustworthy. Reflect on the unbelievable conflicts of interest with the Clinton foundation, the speeches given for hundreds of thousands of dollars and the hidden conversations with special interest groups and on and on. Defenders say, well, no quid pro quo has been absolutely proven. Right. And Jesse James was never convicted of robbing a bank.

Even though some other legal matters are still brewing out there, it no longer seems possible that an indictment will get between her and the White House. Even so, and even though it has already been attacked by many, Comey's advice against prosecution does not strike me as unreasonable. By countless observations, he is an honest man and there is in fact an important legal principle that provable criminal intent should be a major factor in deciding whether or not to try someone in certain kinds of cases.

Comey also said, however, that many who acted as Clinton had could be subject to security sanctions. Think about that for a minute  we could end up with a president who otherwise might not be able to obtain a national security clearance.

It's true that the alternative to Clinton this year is in many ways more frightening than she is. What seems to me hugely important is for Republicans to get enough votes in House and Senate races to help forestall disaster through checks and balances.

Jay Ambrose is an op-ed columnist for Tribune News Service. Readers may email him at speaktojay@aol.com.
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Black holes are described as so dense that nothing can escape their gravitational pull. The newest black hole discovered is the STAAR, State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness. Although untold millions have been spent on high stakes testing in Texas, little, if any, discernible value has escaped.

Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath described numerous problems with how STAAR tests were delivered, scored and administered in the spring of 2016. According to TEA, 14,220 exams were affected by a "computer glitch." Parents, teachers and school superintendents have questioned the appropriateness of using STAAR results after so many problems with the current testing. STAAR results are used to assess student achievement and subsequently rate teacher performance and schools in Texas.

The problem is much greater than those identified with this year's testing. A single test that will meaningfully assess students, teachers and schools cannot be designed. Every test must possess two essential qualities, reliability and validity. Reliability is a measure of consistency, asking, is each answer of each student given the same credit no matter who scores it or when it is scored? Validity answers the question, "does this test measure what it was intended to measure?"

Think of testing as analogous to target shooting. There are two things we would like to see happen when shooting at a target. One, we would like to hit the target in the bull's eye and two, we would like for it to happen every time we pull the trigger. Testing is much like this process in that we would like to get an accurate assessment, also referred to as validity and we would like for it to happen every time we use the assessment, no matter who is conducting the test. In the above example, it is possible for our rifle to hit in the same place every time (i.e. reliable), but if it doesn't hit where we want it to (i.e. valid), it is of little use.

Test reliability is much easier to achieve than validity and achieving reliability can make validity very difficult to achieve. The easiest and least expensive way to achieve reliability is to use multiple-choice tests. A computer can score each test and there can be very high reliability, but potentially at the expense of validity. Just because a student can find the correct answer does not mean the student can write an essay or even construct a sentence correctly. An extensive essay may be the most valid measure of writing ability, but it is very difficult and expensive to score an essay and, insure reliability of scoring. Reliability and validity require very explicit scoring guides, very careful scoring by highly trained test scorers and a lot of time and money. Each response of each student must be scored multiple times to insure reliable (consistent) and valid results, meaning the essay actually measures student ability. All of this is to insure that a single test, given once per year, is a true measure of what a student knows and when summed for all students in a class or school is a true measure of the work of a teacher. This is an impossible task. As a student, I would never have wanted my entire grade to hinge on a single final exam. As a high school math teacher, I graded homework for every student daily, gave regular exams, quarterly exams and semester exams and used all of this information to measure student learning.

Because so much hinges on student STAAR test scores, teachers spend countless hours in exam preparation, often to the neglect of other learning. If we, as a state, place this much pressure on children and their teachers to pass an exam, we cannot be surprised by their actions.

According to both Forbes and AARP, the top abilities employers say they seek in a new employee are, working in a team, decision making and problem solving, communication, planning, organizing and prioritizing work, obtaining and processing information. These are valuable skills, which can be learned and assessed, but not with a multiple-choice test. Let's give up on high stakes testing as a way of improving schools and spend our time and money more wisely. The state of Texas has employed the same style of assessment and accountability system for about 30 years. Through all of that time, despite the millions of dollars spent on assessment and preparation, Texas children have remained in the same educational position, near the bottom. If we keep doing what we have been doing, we are going to keep getting the same thing. Close the STAAR black hole.
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Albany

Officer George Brice, his muscled and heavily tattooed biceps crossed firmly over his chest and flak jacket, offered a raw, real-life scenario of how a traffic stop might go down for an audience of 35 Albany teenagers.

Brice said if he pulled over a group of kids in a car, smelled marijuana and spotted in the ashtray a roach  the extinguished butt of a marijuana cigarette  the next few seconds and the attitude of the teens would influence the outcome of the police stop.

"If you are respectful and cooperate, I'm going to tell you to throw the roach away, wish you a good day and send your on your way," Brice said.

As he spoke, there was a burst of muttered hostility from several boys in the back of the classroom and an undercurrent of disrespect.

"If you get all cocky and give me attitude, I am going to write you up for every possible ticket in the book," Brice said. "And if you continue to argue and disobey my orders and fight, fight, fight, you could lose your life."

In response, Officer Nicole Reddix, one of several police department members at the workshop, deadpanned: "Make it easier for us. We don't want to deal with all that paperwork."

There was a ripple of laughter among the youths as her joke lightened the mood.

The at-times heated exchange among cops, teens, lawyers and youth advocates stretched across nearly three hours Friday morning at Capital South Campus Center. It was part of a legal rights workshop led by the Center for Law and Justice for 100 youths working in the city's Summer Youth Employment Program.

There was tension, spoken and unspoken. Cops suggested placid compliance was the safest, best course in a confrontation with police. Lawyers countered that the teenagers should exercise their rights to demand an attorney, refuse to answer questions and not be coerced into signing any statement.

The discussions were tinged with anger, confusion and heartache stirred by a paroxysm of racially charged gun violence over the past three days, including fatal shootings of black men by cops in suburban St. Paul, Minn., and Baton Rouge, La., and a sniper's massacre that killed five police officers in downtown Dallas on Thursday.

"The country is really corrupt right now and we've faced racism since the time of slavery," said Keduse Morgan, who will be a freshman at Green Tech High Charter School in Albany. "Cops are killing innocent people, but we can't start shooting cops. Violence is not the way to go. We need to unite."

He said he had never been stopped by police, but the workshop gave him good tips on how to react if he ever is detained by cops.

"Keep your mouth shut and say you need to have a lawyer," said Stephen Gottlieb, a professor at Albany Law School who teaches a class on constitutional law. "What's convictable is what can be proved. We all know people convicted who were innocent. The point is to try to stay out of trouble in the first place. Don't expect a lawyer will be able to fix everything after the fact."

The teens were shown videos of mock encounters between young people of color and cops, which spurred further discussion.

"Are all cops hot heads?" one girl asked. "They all seem so aggressive in the videos."

"Unfortunately, justice is not blind," said attorney Jessica Gorman of the Center for Law and Justice. "The neighborhood you're in matters in terms of how the cops act in a stop."

Bernard Bryan, an attorney and president of the Albany branch of the NAACP, emphasized legal rights during a police stop. "We're all saying we want you to survive and to err on the side of caution by de-escalating the situation," Bryan said.

At the end of the workshop, Brice rattled off "basic rules" for cop stops.

"I need to see your hands. I need to know you're not a threat to me," he said. "Coming in with attitude only makes it worse. If I say move away from the car, don't plant your feet. You move away. Comply, so you live through the situation."

Afterward, identical twins Sydney and Taylor Kimbrough, both 16 and seniors at Albany High School, expressed mixed emotions. Their father, Kelly Kimbrough, is a retired Albany cop who is now a member on the Common Council who represents the 4th Ward in North Albany.

"I learned a lot of nuances I didn't understand before, but I'm really sad about the killings going on now," Taylor said.

"I'm glad my dad's retired and I don't have to worry about what could happen to him on the job anymore," Sydney said. "I feel the pain on both sides of the killings."

Alice Green, executive director of the Center for Law and Justice, tried to put the week's devastating events into context for the teens.

"It's all so heavy, but I wanted to let the kids talk about their feelings about Dallas and Louisiana and Minnesota," she said. "Everyone is feeling frustrated, worried and in pain. We need something dramatic, like a Marshall Plan, to address racism. I tell the kids do not turn to violence, but also don't give up. I invoke Martin Luther King and urge them to continue the struggle and protest in a peaceful way."

The workshop ended and the teens scattered out into Arch Street under a searing noontime sun, their eyes locked onto cellphone screens, two blocks from the police station. They checked texts and social media posts and tried to process the grim, whorling rush of violence in America.

It was only the start of what portends a long, hot summer.

pgrondahl@timesunion.com  518-454-5623  @PaulGrondahl
East Greenbush

A vacant house on Columbia Turnpike burned to the ground in the early morning hours Sunday.

Clinton Heights Fire Chief Seth Tracy said by the time firefighters were called around 1:45 a.m. Sunday, the two-story structure at 104 Columbia Turnpike was engulfed in flames.

Tracy said firefighters spent the next three hours just trying to keep the fire contained without burning embers landing on other structures. That section of the turnpike is a mix of businesses and residences.

Tracy said he could not comment on a possible cause, and the investigation is ongoing.

Meanwhile, two people were displaced in Watervliet following a small kitchen fire on Second Avenue Saturday afternoon.

Watervliet Fire Department Captain John Mazzariello said Sunday that a small grease fire broke out around 1 p.m. Fire crews were able to knock down the flames quickly, though they had to rip open parts of the wall and ceiling in the home to check for additional sources of heat.

Fire crews were back in service by about 2:30 p.m., he said.

The Red Cross said it provided assistance to two people. Mazzariello said the occupants planned to stay with family.

 By Matthew Hamilton and Lauren Stanforth
A prayer vigil Sunday in Albany and community memorial service in Schenectady Monday are among the latest gatherings being held in the region on the heels of a violent week of deadly shootings by and of police officers nationally.

The vigil at The Cathedral of All Saints, on 62 S. Swan St., is scheduled for 5 p.m. with a silent prayer, followed 90 minutes later by a blessed sacrament that will proceed from West Capitol Park to offer God's benediction over the city.
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Even as a young boy, the Rev. Rene Robert, a Waterford native, knew he wanted to pursue a life of ministry.

He devoted his life to serving the less fortunate, for years ministering to the poor, the deaf, the blind and those in prison.

But on April 11, Robert was allegedly killed by a man he was trying to help.

Georgia prosecutors have accused Steven James Murray of killing Robert and dumping his body in Georgia.

More Information To read the Florida Times-Union story, click here See More Collapse

Steven Murray, a deeply troubled 28-year-old, said in interviews with the Florida Times-Union that he committed the crime, the newspaper reported Sunday. A Georgia prosecutor is seeking the death penalty.

Yet even in death, Robert chose to cherish life. In 1995, Robert signed a document that asked, should he ever be killed, that the person responsible be spared the death penalty.

Ashley Wright, the district attorney for the Augusta Judicial District, didn't seem moved by Robert's wishes, the Florida Times-Union reported. She learned about them after filing her notice of intent to seek execution. "The state's decision to seek imposition of the death penalty is based on legal reasons which arise from the unique facts of each case," she said. "While many who are affected by a loved one's loss would wish the state to seek the maximum penalty, it is reserved for certain cases based on aggravating circumstances. That's how the decision is made. It's not sought based on public opinion," the newspaper reported.

Robert was assigned to the Diocese of St. Augustine, Fla., and often worked with the prison population, attending public prayer in an effort to protest the death penalty, according to the Florida Times-Union. The 71-year-old priest was trying to help his accused killer, according to Robert's obituary.

The document he signed states, "should I die as a result of a violent crime, I request that the person or persons found guilty of homicide for my killing not be subject to or put in jeopardy of the death penalty under any circumstance, no matter how heinous their crime or how much I have suffered."

Waterford resident Brian Robert said he knew of his brother's wishes, but didn't know of the Declaration of Life, which Rene Robert signed in 1995.

"I understood my brother's thoughts, and we talked in the past," Brian Robert said. "I was not going to go against them."

"He cherished life on every part you can think of, animal and human being," he said. "He always thought they could be forgiven. He just didn't believe in the death penalty."

Rene Robert was adopted by the late Bernadette and Donat Robert, of Waterford, and early on knew he wanted to pursue a life of ministry. He entered the Conventual Franciscan Brothers Seminary in Watertown after graduating from Catholic Central High School in Troy in 1962.

After studying for three years, he professed his vows and began ministering to the Catholic deaf community in 1966 in the Diocese of Albany.

His pastoral pursuits took him across Central New York and to other states, where he eventually settled to work at the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind in St. Augustine.

He obtained a bachelor's degree in deaf education from the University of Alabama in 1975 and a master's in education from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh in 1977. He also earned his master's in theological studies from Washington Theological Union in Maryland.

While prosecution is seeking the death penalty for Rene Robert's murder, his siblings hope that his wishes may be considered. The declaration does not carry any legal weight, the Florida Times-Union reported.

Brian Robert said whatever course prosecution may take, he'd like it to be final. "I just want to see that this young man doesn't have any chance of parole," he said. "We don't want to go through this over and over again when he comes up for parole."

afries@timesunion.com  518-454-5353  @mandy_fries
Glens Falls

A second Herkimer County man has been arrested in connection with the death of Kevin Jenks.

According to reports, Robert Henry, 45, of Ilion was charged with second-degree murder and first-degree robbery late Saturday. A message left with city police Sunday morning was not immediately returned.

Henry's arrest followed the arrest earlier Saturday of another Ilion man, Kevin Chapman, 49, who was charged with second-degree murder and first-degree burglary.

Jenks' body was found Thursday afternoon at 70 Dix Ave. An autopsy revealed the cause of death was a homicide. The Post-Star of Glens Falls reported that Jenks' death was caused by strangulation.

Credit cards and other valuables were stolen from Jenks' home and some of them were sold to a Central New York pawn shop, the newspaper reported.

Anyone with additional information regarding the incident is asked to call police at 518-761-3840.
In the span of four days, the United States has had to come to terms with the deaths of two black men at the hands of police as well as the deadliest day for U.S. law enforcement since 9/11. Here's what we know about each:

Bouton Rouge, La.

What happened?

Alton Sterling, 37, was fatally shot Tuesday during a struggle with two police officers outside a convenience store where he was selling CDs.

What was the reaction?

Sterling's shooting was caught on cellphone video by an anti-violence group. It quickly spread online and sparked several days of protests in the city where 54 percent of the population is black and more than 25 percent live in poverty.

The demonstrations in Baton Rouge had been largely peaceful, but there were some tense moments Friday night and early Saturday.

Both officers involved in Sterling's shooting  four-year member of the department Blane Salamoni and Howie Lake II, who was on the force for three years  have been placed on administrative leave and had prior "use of force" complaints.

What's next?

The U.S. Justice Department has opened a civil rights investigation into the shooting.

Falcon Heights, Minn.

What happened?

Philando Castile, a black 32-year-old cafeteria supervisor at a public school, was shot Wednesday night in suburban St. Paul, Minn., during a traffic stop that involved two officers. He died a short time later at a hospital. Castile's girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, says he was shot while reaching for his wallet.

What was the reaction?

Black Lives Matter protesters gathered that night outside the Minnesota governor's mansion, which is close to the shooting site, and a smaller group remained there into Saturday.

The officers involved, Jeronimo Yanez and Joseph Kauser, both had been with the St. Anthony Police Department for four years and were put on administrative leave.

What's next?

The state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is investigating the shooting. Ramsey County Prosecutor John Choi said Friday that he asked for a "prompt and thorough investigation," but declined to comment on it.

Dallas

What happened?

An Army veteran fatally shot five police officers and wounded seven other officers during Thursday night's downtown protest over the deaths of Sterling and Castile. Two civilians were also injured.

Dallas Police Chief David Brown initially blamed "snipers," but authorities Friday said Micah Johnson, 25, had acted alone. He was killed by a robot-delivered bomb after a standoff with police.

What was the reaction?

Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said that it's within people's rights to protest, but that protests can "put our police officers in harm's way."

Republican state Rep. Roger Williams blamed the words and actions of President Barack Obama and other prominent leaders for contributing to the deadly violence.

Center for Media Justice director Malkia Cyril defended the Black Lives Matter movement, saying it "advocates dignity, justice and freedom, not the murder of cops."

What's next?

Authorities are investigating the shootings. Johnson had amassed a personal arsenal at his home, including bomb-making materials, rifles, ammunition and a journal of combat tactics.

Obama, who on Saturday described the gunman as a "demented individual," plans to visit Dallas in a few days to pay respects and mourn.
For a self-professed progressive state, New York has fallen far short of its advertising when it comes to providing effective legal services to the poor facing criminal charges.

Two years after the U.S, Supreme Court ruled that states must provide a competent lawyer for those who can't afford one, the state kicked the can down to our 62 counties. That was in 1965. Since then, counties  we local taxpayers  have been responsible for providing and paying for public defenders, which has led in turn to dramatically uneven and often inadequate legal representation for the poor. The quality of such representation varies county to county, depending on political will and financial ability or both. Over the years it's gone from poor to worse. A report a decade ago by our late eminent jurist Judith Kaye found the system "severely dysfunctional."

In terms of locally borne expenses on your county tax bill, providing indigent legal services is second only to Medicaid. In Albany County, it's a $7 million a year budget item.

So the Public Defense Reform Bill, passed by both houses of the state Legislature in the waning hours of the last session and expected soon for the governor's signature should have great appeal for the tax paying public, the governor, the indigent, and not the least, the image of the state as the driver of a progressive agenda in troubling times. It's landmark legislation with national implications that originated with Albany County Executive Dan McCoy and his staff. Kudos to them.

It's long awaited, much delayed, meaningful mandate relief for counties. Over seven years of increments, the state by 2023 will assume the full cost of administering a more uniform, enhanced public defender system statewide through the existing Office of Indigent Legal Services that more than meets the spirit and letter of the original Supreme Court decision. This will be a huge relief for local taxpayers, and is a strong reason the bill received wide bipartisan support.

With his signature, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, whose own criminal justice reform agenda has stuttered, will be able to sign on to a significant reform of legacy quality.

The meat of the bill brings more muscle to the public defender program to begin to approach parity with prosecutors, more resources, more lawyers, higher expectations in terms of contacts with those in need at every step of the legal process. Caseloads, typically crushing at the moment, will be reduced for public defenders, and a set of uniform standards developed.

Perhaps most significantly for the indigent is that the bill greatly increases the number of people who would now qualify as eligible for these services, up to those earning about $30,000 a year.

This public defense reform bill is not an original idea, but rather an expansion of a 2014 settlement of a class action suit brought by the state Civil Liberties Union against five New York counties. The counties, Onondaga, Ontario, Schuyler, Suffolk and Washington, were found inadequate in providing legal services to the poor, and the state was mandated to reform the public defender system in those counties. The new wrinkle in the bill awaiting the governor's signature is the full takeover of the cost by the state.

Yes, the cost is high. Exactly how much it will cost is hard to say, because of factors that are hard to pin down, such has how many more eligible poor will be drawn into the system. Former Albany city and county judge Larry Rosen, a passionate advocate for everything the Public Defense Reform Bill hopes to accomplish, told me he's heard numbers up to the neighborhood of $500 million once the state takeover is complete.

That's some neighborhood, and is apt to bring a gulp to the governor with a pen in his hand. Fiscal implications are always a major consideration at signing time.

Sign up for The Knick  Get the latest news and features with our afternoon newsletter.

But it's a rare opportunity to do the right thing, and the prudent, responsible public policy to advance during a time of an increasing racial divide over the fairness of our judicial system. Counties cannot afford the manpower upgrades required by the mandates of the class action settlement that sooner or later will catch up to the 57 other counties. Eventually, the state is going to be on the hook for it all anyway.

We are witnessing a slow deterioration in this country of civil order that is horrifying to watch and which we are seemingly helpless to prevent, or curb. The sniper deaths of five Dallas police last Thursday is sickening and chilling. This is homegrown terrorism of another sort. Where do we go from here? We are beginning to see familiar signs that we are heading down a road that got us to the urban nightmare of the 1960s, right down to a tinder dry, scalding hot summer and growing racial tensions.

Two systems of American justice along racial lines, whether real or perceived or both, is at the heart of these growing tensions. Strictly speaking, the public defense reform bill soon before the governor is about services for the indigent regardless of race. But as a practical matter, as widely attested by statistics, there is a correlation with race and poverty and jails. Young black males are especially vulnerable to being caught in the schools-to-prison pipeline.

So consider the state providing effective legal representation from the very beginning of the first confrontation with the criminal justice system as an act of good faith that we are committed to creating one criminal justice system in New York state and really mean it. It's a start.

flebrun@timesunion.com  518-454-5453
77 Tymon Crescent,

77 Tymon Crescent,

Old Bawn,

Tallaght,

Dublin 24.

Dear Mickey Byrne,

Im sitting here reading your book and enjoying every line. There are tears in my eyes, most of them there because Im laughing so much but maybe a few caused by a feeling of sadness knowing that even people with a heart as large as Mickey Byrnes are not allowed to live for ever, I really wish they were.

I dont suppose youd remember me but I sure do remember you. I enjoyed watching you when you proudly wore the blue and gold for Tipperary also when you cleared everything in sight for the Sarsfields. But, I enjoyed you even more when you drove the lorry for the Sugar Co. I was just a campaign worker - I was big Paddy Corbetts helper, taking the beet samples from the wagons and I always looked forward to day work when you transported the samples to the tarehouse. Mutty Kinehan did it some days and we always had fun but nothing like the fun we had when you drove the lorry.

I remember all your funny stories and have told them to so many people down through the decades. I remember how you explained to that farmer how easy it was for him to become Mickey (Burns) if he so wished and Ill never forget the expression on Paddy McLoughneys face when you gave him a blow by blow description of how to do the ratdance, as Paddy always acted the Holy Joe.

But the funniest one of all was one morning in the weighbridge when Mick Carroll was telling one of his never ending stories, that he made up as he went along. The phone kept ringing and interrupting him after about five attempts he had almost forgotten what the story was supposed to be about, he began pouring out a cup of tea and tried to get his thoughts together, when the phone rang once more. He looked as if he was going to throw it out the window. You Mickey, were sitting in a corner drinking a mug of tea and you shouted Pour the tea into the phone and roast the ear off the bastard, We all laughed. Mick got thick and that finished the story.

I remember one evening shortly after I came to Dublin to work, I went for a spin on my bike up Ballymount Lane. I was going to have a stroll in Tallaght of the green hills. I saw a lorry parked by the roadside, as I got nearer I saw a man between the lorry and the ditch, Id say he was having a wee - and to my delight, who did it turn out to be but the bould Mickey Byrne. You didnt know me at first as we hadnt met for some time and you werent expecting to meet a mountainy man from Upperchurch so far from home. We talked for at least a half hour and I got great pleasure in telling my workmates in Premier Dairies next day, who were almost all Tipp. men that I had a long chat with Mickey Byrne the evening before. From then on, I found they all had great respect for me, I think they felt that anyone who was friendly with the Rattler, must be a little bit famous too.

Well thats over forty years ago and we havent met since. I saw you on Up For The Match in 2010 and I got great delight in seeing you looking so well and sounding as funny as ever.

I mentioned you in a poem I wrote after we beat Kilkenny that year. It was called All Ireland Glories and it was printed in the Tipp. Star. My name is John Brett. I am now in my seventies and seeing that we havent met in the last forty years, its unlikely that well meet again at this side of the great divide but Im sure glad that our paths did cross and Ive always considered it a privilege to have known you.

Who knows, maybe some time, somewhere in the great blue yonder we might meet again and have a deep and meaningful man-to-man chat. In the meantime, look after yourself. Good men are scarce.

John Brett.

Seeking Birth Mother

7 Emmets Place,

Waterford.

7th January 2012.

Dear Editor,

My name is John Keane, I was born in Sean Ross Abbey, Roscrea, Co. Tipperary on 24th July 1978.

My mother aged 16 approx at the time was Nora Keane originally from Kerdiffstown, Naas, Co. Kildare. I am looking to seek any information on her whereabouts, whether she is alive or deceased.

We were separated shortly after birth and I would like to be able to have some closure of comfort to know what happened to her.

Id appreciate if any of your readers would be able to provide information.

Yours sincerely,

John Keane.

Clarification

Rahealty,

Thurles.

Dear Editor,

I wish to clarify my position regarding the article on the Nenagh News page of last weeks issue of the Tipperary Star highlighting the incredibly poor condition of the car park at Tyone, adjacent to the Nenagh Hospital. I submitted the article with the heading Who is Responsible for Such Neglect? because I feel it is time that the body responsible should be compelled to rectify the situation. The fact that the heading was changed is neither here not there at this stage. However, when I read that I did not wish to be named as the person submitting the observations on the neglected car park I became concerned.

Perhaps where some confusion arose, was when I sent in the article, I asked that it be inserted as coming from me as a person who like thousands of others has occasion to visit the Out Patients Clinic, or perhaps drive others to appointments from time to time; and not as a comment from me in my capacity as a member of Thurles Town Council. But I certainly didnt intentionally indicate that I did not wish to be identified as the author. In fact, the person not wishing to be named line whether in print or on television / radio reports, leads to my losing interest in the issues being outlined and Im sure it has exactly the same effect on the vast majority of people.

In conclusion I hope, as Im sure many others who frequent this car park do also, that the disgraceful condition of the surface in this busy area will be rectified without delay. Thank you for permitting me to clarify this slight confusion.

Yours sincerely,

Noel ODwyer.
Lawrence County Council approve transfer and appropriation requests

During Tuesday evenings meeting of the Lawrence County Council, budget transfers and additional appropriations were approved for county offices.
Last month our blog community revealed a- A controversial building that was not not only $20 MILLION over budget but also displaced several residents.Still, the recent mainstream media focus on deadly police shootings and a tragic massacre aimed at white people in Dallas has moved local clergy into action.Check the notice:In light of the recent violence and hatred in our nation now is the time for the church to stand together in unity and to shine the love of Christ in a dark world. This is the time for the church to show the world what unity looks like. We are in terrible times, but we serve an awesome God.Please join us in gathering for prayer and unity this Sunday, July 10th at 5 PM at the Kansas City Missouri Police East Patrol Campus gymnasium at 2640 Prospect Ave., KCMO 64127. Chief Forte and his team will share a proclamation and a diverse group of pastors and leaders will lead us in prayer.Please join us as we unite for the good of our city and move toward action that will prayerfully lead to change.Hope to see you there.Pastor Gregory Ealey, Th.M, Pastor, Paseo Baptist Church/Executive Director, Elevate KCGary Schmitz Pastor, Executive Director, Citywide Prayer MovementPastor Cassandra Wainwright, Executive Director Concerned Clergy CoalitionPastor L. Henderson Bell, President Baptist Ministers Union##############
"The Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation (commonly called Penance, Reconciliation, or Confession) is one of seven sacraments of the Catholic Church, in which the faithful obtain absolution for the sins committed against God and neighbour and are reconciled with the community of the Church."

Do You Accept An Apology From The Kansas City Star For Slut-Shaming?!?!

RAGED

Will The KCPD Community Outreach Overcome Ongoing Social Justice Outrage Over The Shooting Death Of Ryan Stokes???

Some People In Kansas City Don't Want Forgiveness: Will Mayor Sly's Abandon His Development Crusade Amid Repeated Rejection And Castigation From Voters???

Let's talk about forgiveness on this Kansas City Sunday morning.From the world's most accurate encyclopedia here's a quick summary of what the nuns attempted to beat into us . . .It's also a great way to pass the time between a relapse.However, whilst calls for peace and prayer after a week of violence dominate the news cycle in the metro this week . . . The question of absolution if not exoneration comes to mind in three difference but still connected local circumstances.Take a peek:Avid Kansas City news readerson Saturday overor at least the last remaining people who pick up the paper. More strident advocates against rape demand that The Star trash their "Midwest Voices" section while journalism enthusiasts want more professional oversight and lament fading experience at the daily rag. It's unknown if even forgiveness from angry women (a rare gesture which most men know is nothing more than a myth) can save a paper from obsolescence in the digital age.At the beginning of this year there wasDuring recent outrage over police killings on the national level, the controversy surrounding the death of Ryan Stokes was touted again. In turn, after a racist terrorist massacre of Dallas police,Still, if we're talking about better relations betwixt community and police and reducing the overall level of discontent on local streets . . .is a major part of the conversation that more informed denizens of our local Democracy need to understand.Meanwhile . . .Voters hated Mayor Sly's plan for a new airport so much thatThen weeks later it was revealed FIRST ON TKC that the plan wasAdditionally,and now there's an effort toStill, even though we clown the streetcar advocates mercilessly, we hope for an honest or at least entertaining discussion beyond all the vitriol that some supporters express when their opinions are challenged and defeated at the ballot . . . At lease in cases where they don't redesign ballots and endanger voting rights for all of Kansas City.Accordingly . . .Given thataccording to my favorite nun from my childhood who absolutely hated Mexicansbecause Sunday readers have clearly forgiven TKC for our many misdeeds, bad jokes and typos if they're checking the blog today . . .The topic of reconciliation in the religious sense seems to be appropriate as we move forward during an extremely violent 2016 Summer amid socioeconomic, political and cultural divisions that continue to drive the nation apart.Developing . . .
Greece's main opposition leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis vehemently ruled out all prospects of cooperation with left-wing SYRIZA and the current Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, in an interview with Deutsche Welle published on Friday. Making it clear that there was "an abyss" separating Tsipras and himself politically, New Democracy's leader said he would never agree to rule with Tsipras in a coalition government.

During the interview, which took place during Mitsotakis' visit to Frankfurt on Wednesday, Mitsotakis also repeated his demand for early elections.

"The cost of a pre-election period will be much smaller than the benefit for Greece. The reply to populism is not more populism," he said, though noting that he could not force elections.

He also pointed out that an ND-SYRIZA government would automatically make far-right Golden Dawn the country's main opposition, with all that entailed.

ND's leader also referred to the claims made by U.S. economist James Galbraith about a 'Plan B' drafted under former minister Yanis Varoufakis in the case that Greece left the euro, noting that this had the hallmarks of a coup and once again calling for an inquiry into the issue by Parliament.

The political cost of necessary measures

Talking about his programme for economic growth in Greece, Mitsotakis said he had proven that he was not a populist and was not afraid of the political cost of necessary measures. "We voted for a framework that will include structural changes that we support, not because this was imposed by the Germans or Brussels but because they are right for the country," he said.

Expressing his disagreement with the government's policies, ND's leader pointed out that Greece had the highest taxation rates of most countries in Europe and that this overtaxation was not bringing in revenues but achieving the precise opposite. Not only were the high taxes crushing businesses and driving away investors, they were also pushing workers into the black economy and decimating tax compliance rates.

Mitsotakis noted the need to reduce the primary surplus target from 3.5 pct to 2 pct, combined with an agressive structural reforms programme that will "break the vicious cycle" for the Greek economy and privatisations to attract investors.

"I am building a climate of confidence. I want [our] European partners to know that they can have faith in me. I am not the kind of person that calls referendums and then changes no to yes. I want them to know that the next government will be a government that is permanently divorced from populism," he added.

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
Telegraph poses the question if Greek island Naxos is the most family friendly island in Greece. The feature piece concludes it is the perfect playground for a young god.

Zeus was born on Crete. But legend has it that he spent his childhood in Naxos and, perhaps thanks to this divine connection, today when you ask Greeks for their favourite island for families, many point to the largest of the Cyclades. Its sandy and abundant beaches are the primary draw, but its good and largely native produce (flocks of sheep and goats are everywhere) also stands out, as does its laid-back vibe  if theres luxury here, its of the barefoot variety.

This island in the South Aegean draws sophisticated families from around Europe but remarkably few Brits, perhaps because of its lack of the sort of sprawling beachside hotel complexes that come with all-singing and dancing kids clubs (and relatively little sense of place) that often draw British families to Greece.

And yet, this is a terrifically child-focused island, for activity is everywhere: Naxos is large enough (population 20,000) to offer most water and outdoor sports, and small enough that these are never more than a few minutes drive away. With my very active daughter Antonia in tow, I went to test this Greek theory.

The Cyclades are notoriously arid and barren, thanks to the strong winds that blow through  making this area an excellent destination for windsurfers and sailors. To take advantage of this  and to see if a four-year-old could grasp the geographical concept of island with live visuals  on our first morning we boarded Penelope (actionseaze.com; 80/67 per person), a small yacht, to spend the day sailing to beaches accessible only from the water.

An enthusiastic pre-swimmer, Antonia donned the life jacket provided, grabbed a noodle, and jumped off the back of Penelope, armed with a torch to explore the dark interior of the magical Rina cave. We dried off on deck while the boats friendly Greek and Albanian crew speedily sailed over to the tiny neighbouring islands of Koufonisia (population: 366), periodically allowing Antonia to steer the ship.

Greece from the Sixties

To visit Koufonisia is to step happily into Greece from the Sixties; just 24 hours after leaving London  including some fairly anti-social flight times  we were immersed in exploration and relaxation. Over a simple lunch of fresh red mullet in a taverna called Captain Nikolas, we were content, looking out over a blue-capped whitewashed church, a fishermans work yard and blue sea and sky  the sort of timeless, unspoilt atmosphere that can be easy to miss on more popular nearby islands like Mykonos.

Most hotels are small, and charming family-run options abound. Where you stay will be dictated by budget, which is one of the joys of package-free Greek holidays; you can partake of the best activities and save money on accommodation in a destination that still represents good value.

A short walk from Agios Prokopios is the islands best hotel, Naxian Collection (read the full review here; from 210 per night for a large family room), a group of stylish, traditional, whitewashed villas on a green hillside with views of the sea and the capital, Naxos Town. From the hotels excellent but unpretentious restaurant  in a glass box on the top of the hill  this view is particularly stunning lit up at night. To be right on Prokopios beach, and to save a bit of money, the less chic Naxos Island Hotel (read the full review here; rooms from 124) has a rooftop infinity pool by the breakfast bar  perfect for impatient children.

Regardless of your budget, when travelling with a child of four, lounging in the room isnt on the cards. Naxoss biggest draw is the length of its southwest-facing coast which, from Agios Prokopios down to the islands southernmost tip, is basically one long sandy beach, separated by little headlands into different sections, and backed by the occasional taverna and little else.

Plaka: The best beach

Antonia ruled Plaka the best beach: with a long stretch of sand, gradually shelving sea, windsurfing, pedalos, and a range of lunch spots. Many  particularly the young  would concur.

But parents and children often seek slightly different things on holiday. For me, a taste of isolation is always a treat, so one morning we went to the wilder Kastraki, a little further south along the coast, to explore. The shelving here is a bit steeper, and the tourists far fewer; the long winding beach is backed by only a small convenience store. We spent a sunny morning entirely alone, as if washed up on a deserted island.

Bliss, I murmured to the industrious builder of sandcastles next to me. A bit lonely, replied my companion, so we headed to lunch. After its stellar beaches, its a relief to get away from the heat of the sun by heading to the islands lush interior. Here youll find 25 miles of hiking trails through beautiful and ancient-looking hilly farms (for a fantastic farm-to-table lunch, go to Matinas, in the hilltop village of Koronos).

Halki, the Venetian-style former capital in the centre of the island, is well worth a visit  particularly the arts centre revived by a talented husband-and-wife team of potters (fish-olive-creations.com): she throws, he paints, and their elegant fish-themed pieces show great vibrancy and humour. You could also tour the century-old Vallindra Kitron distillery, where a potent alcohol is made from citrus leaves. This may not hold the attention of children, but the artistic flair in this tiny hilltop village is a special moment in your Greek holiday

Parental art-gazing

Having indulged in a bit of parental art-gazing, it was time to shift the focus to the child and, specifically, to horses. The English-owned Naxos Horse Riding Club (naxoshorseriding.com; 45/37.73 for a two-hour trek), opens up another dimension to the island. We took a magnificent ride through the countryside, and onto the beach just as the sun was setting.

If the gods are in the details, here is where, Naxos shines: after a dinner at the modern and creative Typografio (typografio.com), on a terrace perched next to the castle in Naxos Town, Antonia and I strolled down to the harbour, to catch another sunset over Apollos doorway, a 2,500-year-old marble ruin that looms above the capital. It leads nowhere, as the rest of the temple has crumbled, but it is the perfect passage for young children and old into the world of ancient Greece. Later, we sat on the hill overlooking the doorway, sketching the scene before us, and imagining the world that had led to its construction.

I went to Naxos with a Thoreauvian desire to holiday more simply  and deliberately. I wanted to spend time exploring a country I love with my daughter, unencumbered by the commercialism that so often clogs up modern tourism. Sitting by ancient ruins and sketching, was my moment of Zen: we were surrounded by sea, sun and sky, but few people, and spent old-fashioned, companionable time together.

This, for me, is luxury on a family holiday. Naxos does not have any of Greeces most famous sites. Its a place to test the waters, to linger on the sand, have a go at windsurfing, marvel over the mysteries of ancient ruins. But it is also not Greece lite; its a microcosm of the larger wonders.

It is, in fact, the perfect playground for a young god.

Source: telegraph.co.uk

Author: Selly Peck

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
MasterCard, a technology company in the global payments industry, has set a goal to connect 40 million micro and small merchants to its electronic payments network within five years.



This expands on the companys Universal Financial Access 2020 commitment made last year.



To date, financial inclusion has been predominantly centered on providing the underserved and the unbanked with tools and transaction accounts, said a statement from MasterCard.



This remains a critical need with two billion unbanked people, the majority of whom are women, forced to operate in a cash economy. In order for financial inclusion efforts to truly have an impact, there needs to be an equal focus on both access and usage, it stated.



Since 2013, MasterCard has delivered programs and services to more than 200 million people previously excluded from the financial mainstream. The company is committed to reaching at least 500 million by 2020.



Through broad-based collaboration with public and private sector entities, MasterCard is bringing the benefits and security of electronic payments to the unbanked around the world, it added.



In Rwanda, MasterCard is collaborating with the government to fast-track the countrys move to include 90 percent of its citizens in the financial mainstream, as set out in its Vision 2020 strategy.



In Egypt, the company is helping the government roll out a digital ID program that links citizens national ID to the existing national mobile money platform, allowing 54 million Egyptians to participate in the formal electronic economy through a single, easy-to-use cashless program.



In Bangladesh, bKash, Western Union, BRAC Bank and MasterCard launched an international remittance service that gives bKashs 22 million registered customers the ability to receive international remittances directly into their bKash mobile wallet.



In the US, the Direct Express program, a partnership between the US Department of Treasury, Comerica Bank and MasterCard, delivers federal benefit payments electronically and recently launched a mobile app to help people easily access account information.



Across five countries, Vodaphone, HomeSend and MasterCard expanded the real-time, mobile receipt of remittances by M-Pesa users in Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Lesotho, Mozambique, and Albania, said MasterCard in its statement.



However, a number of large scale programs have seen limited success during the initial phase, as a majority of micro and small merchants - where most of the underserved shop each day - do not accept electronic payments, it stated.



Where this occurs, accounts go unused or, in the case of social disbursement programs, funds are immediately withdrawn at ATMs, it added.



Real financial inclusion happens when people can use their new financial accounts to do what many of us take for granted, remarked Ajay Banga, the president and CEO of MasterCard.



Helping micro and small merchants connect to electronic payments will accelerate adoption and usage of new financial tools for the unbanked and will have a true impact on peoples daily lives, he noted.



Earlier this month, MasterCard announced an expanded effort with the IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, to broaden the use of electronic payments by micro, small and medium enterprises.



The Financing Facility for Acceptance Development is designed to address specific challenges faced by banks and these businesses, with a focus on Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and parts of Europe.-TradeArabia News Service
Bahrain Technology Companies Society (BTECH) chairman Ubaidly Al Ubaidly has won a Middle East Security Award (Mesa) 2016 for distinguished information technology executives, reported the Gulf Daily News, our sister publication.



To read further, please visit GDNonline.






Caparol Paints, a leader in the paints industry, has signed a partnership agreement with RAK Research and Innovation Center to effectively test its external thermal insulation composite system (Etics) for sustainable buildings in the UAE.



As per the agreement, Caparol Paints and RAK Research and Innovation Center will extensively test Etics, known to improve the energy efficiency of both existing and new buildings once installed with the insulation boards.



Caparol pointed out that it has been at the forefront of adopting new technologies which complement the local market conditions.



The RAK Research and Innovation Center specialises in sustainable system solution development related to solar technologies.



On the partnership, Martin Rosocha, the general manager at Caparol Paints, said: "Partnering with RAK Research and Innovation Center has given us the opportunity to test Caparols Etics in hot climate conditions such as the UAE."



"The process can significantly contribute to reducing thermal transmission through the buildings exterior. At Caparol Paints, we continuously research on incorporating innovative methods to enhance the sustainability of buildings while maintaining the exterior visual appearance," observed Rosocha.



To achieve optimum results, the research involves continuous monitoring and data logging by using various sensors installed on all testing cubicles which will receive the necessary data. We have allocated a period of one year for the testing. Data logging will be carried out for seven consecutive days every month and the results will be reported monthly, he stated.



With the temperatures soaring in the UAE, Caparol Paints has seen an advanced and growing need to involve sustainable building and coating methods while maintaining the visual appeal of a structure. The first test involved insulating three standard cubicles (3x3x3) with three different types of insulation systems, Rosocha added.



Mowaffaq Balish, the commercial director for Middle East, said: "With energy efficiency and sustainability being at the forefront of the UAEs vision, coupled with a market ready to overcome environmental challenges for a modern and progressive nation, we see tremendous value and potential in our Etics system solution."



"Sustainability and innovation is at Caparols core; by providing a thermal insulation system that saves energy and ultimately provides health benefits, we are setting Caparol apart from others in the industry. We also hope to continue contributing to the GCCs ambitious plan to set new sustainability standards," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
The son of slain al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has threatened revenge against the United States for assassinating his father, according to an audio message posted online.



Hamza bin Laden promised to continue the global militant group's fight against the US and its allies in the 21-minute speech entitled "We Are All Osama," according to the SITE Intelligence Group.



We will continue striking you and targeting you in your country and abroad in response to your oppression of the people of Palestine, Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Somalia and the rest of the Muslim lands that did not survive your oppression, Hamza said.



As for the revenge by the Islamic nation for Sheikh Osama, may Allah have mercy on him, it is not revenge for Osama the person but it is revenge for those who defended Islam.



Osama bin Laden was killed at his Pakistani hideout by US commandos in 2011 in a major blow to the militant group which carried out the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.



Documents recovered from bin Ladens compound and published by the United States last year alleged that his aides tried to reunite the militant leader with Hamza, who had been held under house arrest in Iran.



Hamza, now in his mid-twenties, was at his fathers side in Afghanistan before the 9/11 attacks and spent time with him in Pakistan after the US-led invasion pushed much of al Qaedas senior leadership there, according to the Brookings Institution.



Introduced by the organisations new chief Ayman al-Zawahiri in an audio message last year, Hamza provides a younger voice for the group whose ageing leaders have struggled to inspire militants around the world galvanized by Islamic State.



Hamza provides a new face for al Qaeda, one that directly connects to the groups founder. He is an articulate and dangerous enemy, according to Bruce Riedel of Brookings.-Reuters
Militants shot down a military helicopter near Palmyra in Syria, killing two Russian pilots on board, Interfax news agency said, quoting Russia's defence ministry.



The two men had been attacking a detachment of Islamic State fighters in the Homs region on Friday, when the Syrian Mi-25 helicopter they were in ran out of ammunition, the ministry said, according to Interfax.



"The turning helicopter was hit by militants' gunfire from the ground and crashed in the area controlled by the Syrian government army. The crew died," it added.



Video footage published on Saturday by Islamic State's affiliated news agency Amaq showed a helicopter being shot and crashing to the ground against cries of 'It's fallen, God is greatest'.



Russian forces entered the conflict at the end of last year, backing the forces of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad.-Reuters
Kenya Airways said on Sunday it was suspending flights to South Sudan's capital Juba after a flare-up of fighting between rival factions in the unity government.



"We wish to advise our guests that we have suspended flights to Juba, South Sudan due to uncertain security situation," the airline wrote on its Twitter account.



The clashes in Juba that first erupted late on Thursday have left scores dead. - Reuters




New Delhi, July 10

In mounting troubles for embattled Vijay Mallya, markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India has stepped up investigations into suspected fund diversion from his erstwhile listed group firms to other entities, including some abroad and his various sport ventures.

With the latest disclosures taking total suspected fund diversion at United Spirits alone to over Rs 2,500 crore, SEBI is also consulting other agencies investigating the cases, such as Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) under the Corporate Affairs Ministry, a top official said.

"We have taken note of the latest disclosure by USL and have begun looking into suspected violation of various securities market regulations including those relating to related party transactions, corporate governance and diversion of funds by promoters and top management," he said.

"Also under the scanner are Mallya's close confidantes and others who were at senior levels at various listed companies of the group, as also some former auditors at certain group firms," the official said.

Action is already underway for violation of listing agreement by some group companies, he added.

The matter of fund diversion would also need to be looked into by SFIO, while ED would also come into the picture as the funds are suspected to have been diverted to entities abroad, the official said, adding that necessary assistance would be sought from foreign regulators including in the UK and the US, where his overseas brewery firms and other ventures are based.

Mallya and his group firms are already facing a probe by Enforcement Directorate for alleged diversion of loans taken by long-grounded Kingfisher Airlines.

SEBI has also received complaints about the alleged use of overseas instruments in violation of norms for movement of funds and the matter is being separately looked into.

In a statement, Mallya denied any wrongdoing in the USL, in which he had sold the controlling stake to UK-based liquor giant Diageo in 2013 in a multi-billion dollar deal, and said all the transactions were 'legal and above board'.

USL on Saturday provided information on alleged fund diversion and improper transactions worth Rs 1,225.3 crore involving entities linked to the former Chairman, including Kingfisher Airlines and his Formula One team.

The company also made it clear that the earlier settlement reached with the Indian businessman would not absolve him of the claims arising out of the latest findings of an internal 'Additional Inquiry'.

Mallya, who has been in UK for months despite an arrest warrant in India, Had struck a settlement with USL in February. Under the deal, he was promised an over Rs 500-crore payout to leave the company and was also absolved of any 'personal liability' at that time.

"The additional inquiry prima facie reveals further instances of actual or potential fund diversions amounting to approximately Rs 913.5 crore (using exchange rate as on March 31, 2015) as well as other potentially improper transaction involved USL and its Indian and overseas subsidiaries amounting approximately Rs 311.8 crore," USL said.

Several banks have declared Mallya a 'wilful defaulter' for non-payment of dues worth over Rs 9,000 crore by his now-defunct Kingfisher.  PTI
Tribune News Service

Amritsar, July 10

Although a week has passed, there has been no breakthrough in the investigation of the tiger and leopard skin, seized by the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA). The skin was handed over to officials of the Forest Department for further testing to check its authenticity.

Sukhwinder Singh Randhawa, SHO of the Civil Lines police station, said the investigations would progress only after checking genuineness of the skin recovered by the SPCA. A one-man team of the SPCA had raided a secluded place at Ranjit Avenue on June 30 and seized the skin. According to the SPCA official, the skin was found abandoned at the place and there was no one near it. He said the suspect might have run away after seeing the raiding party.

The police registered a case under Sections 9, 49 and 51 of the Wild life Protection Act, 1972, against unidentified persons in this connection.

However, the one-man show by the SPCA inspector, Ashok Joshi, did not go down well with the Forest Department and police officials, who said the SPCA should have informed them before raiding the spot. They said this might have led to the arrest of smugglers involved in the illegal trade.

An official of the Forest Department said if there were any smugglers present at the spot, the situation could have taken a dangerous turn. Taking other departments and officials into confidence could have led to the arrest of those, who had come at the spot with the skin,he added.

Joshi said he risked his life to make the seizure. He said a lot of time would have been wasted in informing and taking other officials along for the raid. This would have given smugglers a chance to take away the skin.

Meanwhile, officials of the Forest Department said they would send the skin to Dehradun in the next couple of days to check its genuineness.
Vivek Katju

OVER the next few weeks, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his advisers will have to take a hard look on how to proceed with India-Pakistan bilateral relations. The first decision to be taken relates to Home Minister Rajnath Singhs visit to Islamabad for the SAARC home ministers meeting to be held on August 4. Confirming that the meeting is being held, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup cautiously said Singh's visit was under consideration.

Even if Rajnath Singh travels only for the SAARC meeting, the media focus will inevitably be on India-Pakistan ties. It is customary for a visiting SAARC minister to meet his host bilaterally on the sidelines of the meeting. Thus Singh could hardly avoid meeting Pakistan interior minister Nisar Ali Khan. Such an interaction, even if it is brief, will overshadow everything else. During and after such a meeting, the main issues of bilateral contention  the lack of progress in the Mumbai attack trials, Pakistans silence on the Pathankot attack even after the JIT trip to India, increased levels of infiltration in J&K and the Kulbhushan Jadhav concoction  would acquire renewed salience.

If India avoids a Rajnath Singh-Nisar Ali Khan bilateral meeting, it would only profile that relations are at an extremely low ebb. On account of these considerations, Modi will need to take a comprehensive view on what he wishes to do with Pakistan. Besides, with the SAARC Summit to take place in Islamabad in November, questions will also inescapably be raised about Modis participation in it.

As Modi considers his Pakistani policy, he would cast an eye on the Pakistani scene. His counterpart PM Nawaz Sharif, with whom he has struck a positive chord, has substantially weakened both physically and politically. He is recovering from an open heart surgery. While it has been successful, it will take an inevitable toll, reducing Sharifs energy at a time when he needs to be in prime vigour to extricate himself from the Panama Papers quagmire. The opposition parties led by Imran Khan have smelt blood and have stymied Sharifs moves. The supreme court chief justice has declined to establish a court inquiry under the present rules. Above all the army, subtly but effectively, has put Sharif on the mat by hinting at the need for probity in public life.

Already controlling Pakistans security and sensitive areas of its foreign policy, especially concerning India, army chief Gen Raheel Sharif has reinforced his larger-than-life image. He is by far the most popular and trusted public person in the country. Raheel Sharifs term comes to a close in November. To end speculation if he will insist on another three- year period, an official announcement was made at his behest some months ago that he will retire in November. Some knowledgeable Pakistanis, including retired generals, had emphasised then that this was likely as Raheel Sharif was unlikely to take any step that would cast a shadow on the heroic image of his family. That public respect has been earned by his maternal uncle and brother, both of whom were posthumously awarded Pakistans highest gallantry awards in wars against India. However, doubts are now emerging about his intentions as nothing has been heard about his retirement for many months now. Even if Raheel Sharif goes, his successor, even one handpicked by Nawaz Sharif, will continue to follow the armys basic negative approach to India.

In a recent interview, Modi alluded to the Indian dilemma in dealing with two separate power centres in Pakistan. Expectedly, Pakistani spokespersons stressed that the countrys institutions act as one. This is also the mistake that Indian policy makers made in the closing months of 2015 when they thought that the Pakistan army was in agreement with Nawaz Sharifs ostensible desire to open up with India. The Pathankot attack halted that process. Thus it is all to the good that Modi has now realised the true nature of Pakistan decision making on India. It is always prudent for an Indian Prime Minister to be conscious that in dealing with his Pakistani counterpart he is not doing business with an equal but with an interlocutor controlled in large measure by the generals.

Pakistan is repeatedly calling on India to begin the Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue process that was agreed between the two countries last December. The two foreign secretaries were to meet to work out its modalities. The Indian position is that it is awaiting concrete action by Pakistan on the Pathankot attack. India has stressed that Pakistan has not denied the involvement of its nationals. This is true but it has so far not acknowledged that fact. Interestingly, in a recent weekly briefing, the official spokesperson did not refer to Indias demand for an NIA teams visit to Pakistan. It is also noteworthy that while he recalled Indias request for consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav, he did not link it to the resumption of the dialogue process.

The central point is that the government has not given any clarity on what it expects Pakistan to do. Is it that it expects it to arrest some individuals and prosecute them? If so, in what courts, civil or military? These are important issues, for Indias objective has to be to ensure that the Pathankot does not go the Mumbai way. If in the quest to defreeze relations, it will be a pity if India does not show resolve on Pathankot and the Kulbhushan Jadhav matter. It will only add to the Pakistani generals feeling that India under Modi can be pushed, as it was during earlier dispensations.

There are a few other points that Modi needs to consider. Pakistan is on a high for it feels that it has been instrumental, through China, in preventing India from succeeding on becoming a NSG participating state at Seoul. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor will add to the cement of the relationship. Despite the recent downturn in the US-Pakistan ties, the China factor will make the generals more obdurate on India.

Modi wishes to expedite SAARC integrative processes. This is a legitimate aspiration but past experience has shown that SAARC has not contributed to South Asian integration because of Pakistani intransigence. The sub-regional processes undertaken by India offer the way, even if partial, to give SAARC more teeth.

Perhaps the prudent course would be to go ahead with Rajnath Singhs Islamabad visit and a meeting with Nisar Ali Khan. During this meeting, the Indian message should be firm and unrelenting. It can also be spelt out that the Prime Ministers participation in the SAARC Summit would depend on Pakistan meeting all of Indias concerns.





The writer is a former Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs
The Supreme Court has come out strongly in favour of the human rights of Indian citizens, including those living in the disturbed areas. The courts direction on a PIL petition on the 1,528 alleged killings by security forces and the police in Manipur shows that it was not satisfied with the submissions made in defence by the government and the Army. After a long time the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) has come under a critical review. The court has asserted that there is no absolute immunity under the Act.

While the Army maintains that it needs AFSPAs protection, allegations of misuse of power have surfaced frequently and bred resentment against the state and its armed forces in Manipur and Jammu and Kashmir. Ideally, the Army should not deal with terrorism. Punjab was able to contain militancy without Army help. Whenever the Army is deployed, it has to be ensured that excessive or retaliatory force is not allowed to be used. A prolonged Army deployment with unlimited powers under AFSPA can prove counter-productive as has happened in Manipur. For many years now Manipur has lived with internal disturbances, fake encounters and protests against AFSPA. The Centre and the state government are to blame for the excessive reliance on the Army to contain insurgency.

The Supreme Court has called for an inquiry by an independent agency into all Manipur encounters that have happened in the last two decades. This will hopefully make the powers-that-be realise that no matter how difficult and challenging a situation, violations of the rule of law cannot be overlooked or sanctioned. The Army, at best, can supplement the civil administrations efforts to control a volatile situation in the short term. If allowed to carry on beyond a point for whatever reason  political convenience or inadequacies of the state/Central forces  the arrangement is bound to backfire. When AFSPA is allowed to stay for six long decades, instances of abuse of power are bound to crop up. As and when excesses happen, these must be investigated thoroughly and swiftly so that the guilty dont go unpunished.
Sushil Manav

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 10

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today came to the rescue of a Kazakhstani girl married to a Fatehabad youth by assuring help, as she was left with no option but to leave the country before August 1 when her visa expires.

Reading Kazakhstani girl Zhannas predicament on social media posted by her husband Teenus friend, Swaraj today Tweeted in Haryanavi as well in English, Thari Bahu Ne Kaho Visa Badhan Khatar Arzi Daal De, Hum Uski Madad Kar Diyange. Pl apply for visa extension. Will help.

Teenu Jangra (23), a youth from Samain village of Fatehabad, had gone to Saudi Arabia to work as a welder in a construction firm where he developed online friendship with Zhanna (34) on Facebook.

Teenu is an ITI certificate holder in welding while Zhanna is a law graduate with a translators diploma who knows six languages, including English, French, Persian and Kazakh.

After eight months of friendship, Zhanna expressed her desire to marry Teenu. I told her that she will have to come to India for it and she instantly agreed to it. On May 29, Zhanna came to India on a tourist visa and on June 2, we married in Vishwakarma temple at Tohana, said Teenu.

He said their struggle began the moment they married as the local authorities did not register the marriage for a month on one pretext or the other.

Once our marriage was registered on July 5, the SP office at Fatehabad expressed its inability to extend permission for Zhannas stay in India beyond August 1, since her visa, they said, was a non-extendable one, he said.

He said they went to the authorities in the External Affairs Ministry in Delhi with the problem, but they were told that the extension of her visa would take time.

After running from pillar to post, we had finally decided that Zhanna will return to her country before August 1 and come back once she gets visa again on the basis of our marriage, but Swarajs Tweet has come as a major relief for us, he said.

An elated Zhanna told The Tribune on phone that she was very happy in India and was in deep distress as she was supposed to leave the country in the next 20 days.

I am happy that the minister has understood my pain and has assured help, added Zhanna.
Tribune News Service

Shimla, July 10

The CPM today blamed HP university Vice-Chancellor Dr AND Bajpai for the ongoing unrest and violence on the campus charging that he had unleashed a rule of terror and corruption during the last four years.

The CPM sought the Governor-cum-Chancellors intervention and his sack for creating chaos on the campus and hurting the university due to his failure to act as the progressive, secular and non-partisan head. RUSA has dimmed the prospects of thousands of students.

Reacting to the statement issued by the Vice-Chancellor in which he had blamed the SFI for the present unrest, CPM state secretary member Tikender Panwar alleged it was the Vice-Chancellor, and not the SFI, who was responsible for the present violence.

Panwar alleged organizations have been staging agitations, but the V-C had failed to act. Instead, he was finding fault with the SFI.

He charged that it was the VC who had instigated a particular organization to create tension by resorting to violent tactics so that the three-month-old agitation by the SFI was sabotaged. At the same time, he is always shielding the ruling party outfits, he added, referring to the ABVP and the NSUI.

The students led by SFI have been agitating peacefully for more than two months on the issues that affect their interests and education. He did not even once call them for talks, he alleged.

Instead of talking to the students, the Vice-Chancellor is resorting to acts which are against the ethics of the office he is holding, CPM charged. He hiked fees, but students are not able to get basic facilities. He is wasting universitys scarce resources on personal publicity propaganda and wasteful expenditure like new luxury vehicles, Panwar charged.
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 9

The Enforcement Directorate has arrested LIC agent Anand Chauhan in connection with the money laundering case against Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh. It is the first arrest in the case.

Chauhan was arrested from Chandigarh under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after he refused to cooperate, sources said.

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The LIC agent was brought to Delhi, where he was produced before a special money laundering court, which remanded him to four-day ED custody. The ED had conducted searches in Delhi, Maharashtra and West Bengal last year and attached assets owned by the Congress leader, worth about Rs 8 crore, earlier this year.

The ED and the CBI believe that Chauhan put the CMs tainted funds in life insurance policies. A complaint in this regard was filed by the CBI in September last year.

In its FIR, the CBI had named Virbhadra Singh, his wife Pratibha Singh, Chauhan and his brother CL Chauhan. All four have been charged under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The agency is investigating the allegation that Virbhadra Singh and his family members amassed wealth totalling Rs 6.1 crore between 2009-11.
Tribune news Service

Jalandhar, July 9

State Agriculture Minister Tota Singh today blamed the previous Congress-led central governments for the farm crisis in the state.

Speaking at a conference on organic farming organised by Sarbat da Bhala Trust and Punjab Jagriti Manch, he said the farmers from Punjab and Haryana were ignored. We increased land under the maize crop, but it was not bought at MSP. The Centre urged us to bring more area under pulses. At the same time, it imported pulses from abroad that led to a fall in the prices.

Talking to the media, he said now, the BJP-led Union Government was doing its best for the farm sector. He said: The Punjab Government lacks resources to bail out the farmers. We only have electricity that is being provided free of cost to them. We also provided funds to clear dues of sugarcane farmers.
Amit Khajuria

Tribune News Service

Jammu, July 10

Tension in Kashmir triggered by the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani continued to affect the Amarnath yatra for the second consecutive day today. All social and religious places, including Yatri Niwas in Jammu, were jam-packed with stranded pilgrims.

The Amarnath yatra continued to remain suspended for the second consecutive day as the administration did not allow pilgrims to move towards the Kashmir valley.

Some pilgrims went back home due to the uncertainty over the situation in Kashmir. Some others went to Vaishno Devi while more than 5,000 pilgrims remained stranded in Jammu city.

Tension in Kashmir prevented the administration from allowing the yatra to continue as some vehicles ferrying pilgrims were attacked by protesters in Kashmir on Saturday.

Thousands of pilgrims were stranded at both the base camps in Pahalgam and Baltal in south Kashmir. Their evacuation was the biggest challenge before the state government.

The district administration made arrangements for the comfortable stay of pilgrims in Jammu. Apart from Yatri Niwas, where about 2,000 pilgrims were staying, many social and religious organisations provided their community halls for pilgrims.

About 5,000 pilgrims are stranded in Jammu. Some are going back while some went to Vaishno Devi. We have sufficient arrangements for all pilgrims, said Simrandeep Singh, Deputy Commissioner, Jammu.

Mobile internet services continued to remain suspended. People in Jammu were complaining to their service providers, but telecom operators had been directed by the IGP, Jammu, to snap mobile data.
Tribune News Service

Srinagar, July 10

The J&K Government today appealed for help from separatists for bringing calm after holding an emergency Cabinet meeting in Srinagar.

I seek support of political stakeholders, including those who are not from mainstream, for helping restore calm in Kashmir, Minister for Education Naeem Akhter said here while briefing reporters after the Cabinet met under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti. The violence has neither served any purpose in the past nor is it going to do so in the prevailing circumstances.

The Cabinet expressed deep grief and anguish over the loss of precious human lives during the prevailing law and order situation in Kashmir. The minister, who is also the spokesman of the J&K Government, said law enforcing agencies at most of the places were compelled to use force on protesters.

There were a number of attacks on police stations and security forces camps which forced the law enforcement agencies to retaliate. Even today, a cop was pushed into Jhelum river near Sangam along with his vehicle by a violent mob resulting in his on-the-spot death, Akhter said, adding that the mobs set ablaze many police stations and police vehicles and tried to overrun camps of security forces at various places.

I urge the youths not take protests to a level where the security forces are forced to use their weapons in retaliation, he said. The minister said they would investigate the disproportionate use of force and the government had also asked the police and the security forces to exercise restraint to prevent loss of human lives.

The complaints of disproportionate use of force are being looked into to restore public confidence in the law and order set-up, Akhter said.
Tribune News Service

Jammu, July 10

There has been widespread condemnation of mob attacks on Kashmiri Pandits in the Valley. The community said with the attacks, separatist parties have made their intention clear towards minority Hindus.

Various representative organisations have demanded additional security for the employees, especially living at transit camps in the Valley, which have been facing repeated stone-throwing by mobs.

The Youth All India Kashmiri Samaj (YAIKS) has termed the situation grim and an attempt to force another exodus. Hundreds of youths returned to the Valley with a hope that they can again live there but recent targeted attacks have dashed every effort in this direction, said RK Bhat, president, YAIKS.

The Kashmiri Pandit Sabha (KPS) has also condemned the stone-throwing incidents at the Haal transit camp. The camp was under siege and a majority of the vehicles parked in the compound were extensively damaged due to heavy stone-throwing, said KK Khosa, president KPS.

He said the incident had completely demoralised the residents and created a sense of fear and helplessness amongst them.

All State Kashmiri Pandit Conference (ASKPC) has also demanded safety of the minority community. We appeal to the government to shift Pandit employees to Jammu till normalcy. Many of the women employees are quite frightened by the situation, said Ravinder Raina, president, ASKPC.

Conference general secretary TK Bhat also expressed concern over tweets of former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah over the killing of a dreaded militant by security forces.

Meanwhile, employees appointed under Prime Ministers Employment Package (PMEP) in the Valley have strongly condemned the repeated incidents of stone-throwing at migrant transit camps and urged the Centre and state governments to ensure safety of all Kashmiri Pandits working across the Valley.

If no measures are taken in this regard, we would be forced to quit our jobs. There is shortage of essential commodities and medicines in the camps due to which women and children are facing worst kind of situation, said Rubin Saproo.
Sumit Hakhoo

Tribune News Service

Jammu, July 10

Kashmiri Pandits have been subjected to concentrated attacks by rampaging mobs across the Kashmir valley following the death of terrorist Burhan Wani in an encounter with security forces at Kokarnag on Friday, creating fear psychosis among the community who are now considering migration.

Reports emerging from the Valley highlight the precarious situation of more than 2,000 Pandit employees who returned to the Valley in 2010 under Prime Minister rehabilitation package.

Attacks at transit camps at Haal (Pulwama), Vessu, Mattan (Anantnag) have refreshed the memories of 1990s for the Hindusin the Valley.

Eyewitness accounts explain the harrowing experience of inhabitants at the Haal transit camp which saw heavy stone-throwing by a mob which also made repeated attempts to enter the camp which houses several women and children.

After the word of Burhans death spread, villagers surrounded the transit camp and subjected it to a heavy stoning. In the first wave, a few security force personnel and Pandit youths forced the mob to retreat. However, again at 10:30 pm, the attack was commenced from three sides, with many making attempts to enter. It was again thwarted after police personnel fired in the air.

Employees posted in Handwara, Baramulla, Pattan, Sopore and Anantnag, the epicentre of present turmoil, are feeling uneasy with developments in the Valley.

We thought it was end now as the people had encircled us. The pre-fabricated huts were totally damaged in the stoning. It was for the braveness of some youths and security personnel that families are safe, said another employee from the Haal camp. Most of the employees are still struck in the camp awaiting evacuation.

Though senior police officials maintained that efforts were being made to strengthen security for minorities, the community was living in constant anxiety, despite having cordial relationship with Muslim villagers surrounding their transit camps till now.
Azhar Qadri

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, July 10

It is a deja vu in Kashmir as protesters mourning the death of Burhan Wani, a militant commander who became a brand ambassador of the new insurgency, continued demonstrations in most localities of the region for the second day amid governments desperate appeal for calm and help.

The roads and streets in Srinagar were littered with rocks and blackened by burnt tyres as protests appear to be growing in a situation that emerged fluid, unpredictable and increasingly getting out of control.

On Sunday, the second of day demonstrations in the region, all markets were shut and the highway that runs through the Valley, connecting it from north to south, was hauntingly deserted.

The number of fatalities  18 dead, including one policeman, in the last 48 hours  is an indicator of deep anger that has swamped the region into fresh turmoil following the killing of the militant commander on Friday evening. Burham, who commanded a group of militants in south Kashmir, had become one of the most influential figures in Kashmir in recent years and a face of new-age militants.

Inside the surgical emergency wards of Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) Hospital here, 61 people were being treated on Saturday night for bullet and pellet injuries as ambulances kept arriving at regular intervals bringing more wounded for treatment. All fatalities and most of the injured were from south Kashmir districts, the epicentre of militancy in recent years and the heartland of ongoing unrest.

The doctors have not taken rest entire day. All operation theatres have been functional and we are working non-stop, a senior doctor at SMHS Hospital said. He described the medical situation as reminiscent of summer agitations of past years.

The protests that emerged following Burhams death are so widespread and intense that there are apprehensions it may already have triggered summer unrest, similar to the ones that had paralysed the state administration in 2008 and 2010.

A police spokesman said unruly mobs attacked security forces, civil and police establishments, and vital installations throughout the Valley in the first of demonstrations on Saturday.

At many places the mobs forcibly tried to enter security force establishments with the intention to seize weapons and harm force personnel, the spokesman said. The details of the situations of second day were still being catalogued.

The demonstrations, most of them involving stone-throwing at the police, paramilitary personnel and security installations, have taken place across the region, including in Srinagar and in north Kashmir towns. However, the most intense impact of the protests has been in south Kashmir which remains cut off following suspension of mobile telecommunication services.

The state government appealed to the separatists for help to contain the deteriorating situation in the region, but so far there were no indicators of return to peace.
Mukesh Ranjan

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 10

Home Minister Rajnath Singh today reviewed the situation in Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of protests over the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander and spoke to Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti. He assured the Chief Minister of all possible help by the Centre in bringing normalcy to the state.

The Home Minister held a 30-minute review meeting with senior officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Intelligence Bureau and other security agencies, where he was briefed on the law and order situation in the Valley. He also had telephonic conversation with the Chief Minister during which the Home Minister assured her of all Central assistance, a Home Ministry official said.

The official said Singh directed the senior officers to ensure that paramilitary forces in the Valley provided all assistance to the state government for restoration of peace and normalcy in strife-stricken areas at the earliest.

The Home Minister is believed to have told the officials that all steps should be taken for ensuring safety of Amarnath pilgrims and Kashmiri Pandits. Houses of some Kashmiri Pandits were attacked in some parts of the Valley on Friday.

Meanwhile, questioning the support by some quarters to those protesting the gunning down of Hizb poster boy Burhan Wani in Kashmir, Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said, As far as the government is concerned, we are very clear that the government will not tolerate any such activities. But you cant have overnight readymade solution to such a long-standing issue. 
Manpriya Singh

The good girl Jassi (remember Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin) is happy to turn grey now, exploring the darker shades and the world of demonic possession, exorcism and paranormal activities. I have always played a good girl, so it feels challenging and different and even good to be playing an evil character, Mona Singh talks of her latest outing Kawach...Kaali Shaktiyon Se, a finite paranormal thriller series aired on Colors. Given her thirteen years in the television industry, means there is a lot to chat about.

Punjabi by nature

Her Punjabi roots (she hails from a Gursikh family) and fluency in the language, only lead to the obvious question, why hasnt she stepped on to the mustard fields so far, clad in a colourful salwar kameez. She laughs, My parents would love to see me in a Punjabi film. Long back I got a script which demanded me to be in Canada for three months, at the time, I didnt have dates. After that, I got no offer. May be everybody thought, I was too busy. On the same note, shed love, something very challenging. I would love to work with all the Maans in the industry. The last movie I saw was Jatt and Juliet and it was really entertaining.

No Plan B, only acting

Admittedly, she is living her dream. I always wanted to act. I was in college, when my dad was posted in Pune. She continues, Thats when I told him that I wanted to act. Every week and for 5 days, each week, I would travel to Mumbai from Pune for auditions. This process continued for one and a half years. I would be disappointed when shortlisted did not turn to selected but I still never lost hope.

One fine day, a call came for Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin and the rest is history. Only when I got something concrete, did my father let me shift to Mumbai.

TV actors in Bollywood

Its a known fact that television actors are hardly given meaty portions in B-town. Thats true. May be because television actors dont pursue roles that aggressively. Personally speaking, I am not going to do something for the heck of it. Only if something really good comes my way. Meanwhile, coming up is an English play titled Unfaithfully Yours. I would also really like to play a painter or something like that, an eccentric creative person. Till the time, she is happy to be playing a possessed.

manpriya@tribunemail.com
Gurvinder Singh

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, July 10

Despite saving on power bills and being environment-friendly, not many institutions in the city have gone for the rooftop solar panel installations which can be installed at subsidised rates to residential and non-profit institutions by Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA).

Barring a few institutions, the installation of these rooftop solar panels has not been done at majority of the institutions in the city under PEDA. There is a 30 per cent subsidy for installation of these units at domestic and non-profit institutions.

While the 50 kw unit is installed at Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College, 100 kw unit has been installed at Kundan Vidya Mandir.

College Prof Arvind Dhingra said Thanks to cuts in the power bills, another 100 kw unit is going to be installed at the college. The college has been saving around Rs 45,000 a month on power bills, and that is the reason, the college is going to have another 100 kw unit installed.

It is strange that despite the benefits of saving on power bills, not many institutions have got solar power units installed. The government must start with government institutions and buildings first. Though there has been a sanction of the rooftop solar installations at the government colleges, these have not yet been installed, a professor said.

According to PEDA official, the cost of installation per kw was between Rs 85,000 and Rs 95,000 on which there was a subsidy of Rs 22,500, but the maximum installation should not be more than 80 per cent of the sanctioned load.
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, July 10

Six students from Drishti Dr RC Jain Innovative Public School along with their four teachers will be participating in the 17th World Council of Curriculum and Instruction (WCCI) to be held at Budapest, Hungary. WCCI is a non government and non-profit organisation and is recognised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

Though teachers have been participating in the conference from the past few years, it is for the first time that students are also accompanying them. The students left for the conference today evening and will be there till July 18.

Aayra Singh of Class XII will be co-presenting with her teacher, Preeti Jain, on the topic Educating for Democratic Governance. This is the first time I am accompanying my teachers to participate in an international conference. I am excited and have my fingers crossed for the event. During the cultural performance, I will be presenting Bharat Natyam and I am really looking forward to present an Indian form of dance at a foreign land, she smiled.

Another student, Jeevesh Jain, who will be co-presenting with his teacher Jasbir Bal said I am looking forward to participate in the conference and after the conference will also be seeing few of the famous tourists spots in the country. We are scheduled to visit a museum and Parliament. At the cultural performance, boys will be performing bhangra and we are all ready to rock the stage. he said.
Vikramdeep Johal

AN iconic painting of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, with the Golden Temple in the background, was made by a Hungarian artist who never met the Sikh emperor. Whats more amazing is that the phirangi miraculously survived to create his masterwork.

August Theodore Schoefft landed at the Lahore Durbar in 1841, two years after the Maharajas death, on the invitation of the court physician, Dr Johann Martin Honigberger. His strikingly lifelike sketch of Bhai Gurmukh Singh, an influential priest from Amritsar, so impressed Maharaja Sher Singh (Ranjit Singhs son) that he took him on board as the royal artist.

In his insightful travelogue-cum-medical treatise, Thirty-five years in the East, the Romanian doctor writes (never mind the spellings): During our stay at Umritsir it happened that the inhabitants gave an invitation to the court to visit the sacred temple at night time, when it was gorgeously illuminated Sheer Sing inquired of my friend, Herr Schofft, if he could take for him a drawing of that brilliant scene. He proposed to the maharajah that it would be better if the scene was sketched under the effect of daylight He was accordingly ordered to adopt that suggestion.

The next day, Schoefft got down to work from an elevated terrace which offered a clear view of the Golden Temple and the surrounding buildings. Near sunset on the second day, he asked Dr Honigberger to go to their quarters and get some boxes in which he could carry his sketches back to Lahore. The cigar-loving artist was aware that the Sikhs, particularly the Nihangs, regarded smoking in or around a holy place as sinful. So, he cautiously avoided a fag. However, he often put one of his pencils in his mouth, out of habit. His move was spotted by the vigilant Nihangs. Having no CCTV cameras to rely upon, they hastily assumed that he was committing sacrilege by smoking in their sacred place. As the word spread, a mob converged on the spot in no time. The artist soon realised from the shouts and threats that he had somehow angered these people.

Their leaders rushed up the terrace and tried to grab Schoefft. A strong man, he managed to escape from their clutches. Using his tempting gold watch to trigger a free-for-all among the protesters, he was able to enter a street. With the Nihangs baying for his blood, he made a desperate dash for the house of his protector, Baii Goormukh Sing; The door was immediately shut, and Schofft was saved The mob not evincing any inclination to disperse, the police interfered, and compelled them to retire. Eventually, the wounded painter left the holy city on horseback, disguised in an oriental costume and accompanied by a police escort.

On his return to Europe, he captured the entire Lahore Durbar on a grand mural. This work, along with the Ranjit Singh painting, won him plaudits at the Vienna exhibition of 1855. Sadly, his later years were spent in poverty and oblivion. Declared bankrupt, he tried to revive his fortunes in California, circa 1881. Back in Europe, Schoefft died penniless in 1888, succumbing to injuries suffered while hurtling down the stone steps of an institute. Hes all but forgotten today, almost 175 years after the Amritsar misunderstanding, even as the formidable Nihangs are still a law unto themselves, to be trifled with only at ones peril.
New Delhi, July 10

Air India has decided to lower its last-minute airfares to match that of an AC 2 seat in the Rajdhani Express on key four routes, the airline announced on Sunday.

The national carrier will charge the same fares as the Rajdhani on Delhi-Mumbai, Delhi-Chennai, Delhi-Bengaluru, Delhi-Kolkata routes.

The fares however will be applicable only for bookings made four hours before flight.

Air India Chairman and Managing Director Ashwani Lohani said the move is aimed at not only making last-minute bookings more affordable but also to fill up vacant seats.

Air India has an average load factor of 74 per cent across its domestic network while the seat occupancy on these trunk routes stands at around 80 per cent, he said.

"Our objective is to fill these remaining seats as well. This can be achieved with such affordable fares. In addition, this would also help us increase our passengers' revenue," Lohani said.

An AC 2 seat on the Delhi-Mumbai Rajdhani costs Rs 2,870; Delhi-Kolkata Rs 2,915; Delhi-Chennai Rs 3,820; and Delhi-Bengaluru Rs 4085.

The decision is likely to make private airlines, which have been accused of inflating airfares 23 times their original cost for last-minute bookings, gittery.

Last month, Air India offered a limited period scheme to fly unconfirmed passengers of Rajdhani trains at the fares matching with the AC first class ticket prices. Under the 'Super Saver' scheme, which is open from June 26September 30, passengers of Rajdhani Express trains who have waitlisted tickets can book an air ticket at the price of AC 1 seats.

Airlines waive cancellation charges for Kashmir flights

Air Indian and Jet Airways announced on Sunday they would not charge rescheduling flights to and from Kashmir, which has been witnessing violent protests against Fridays killing of top Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani.

Air India has decided to waive cancellation and no-show charges as well as rescheduling costs from the customers who had booked their flights to or from Srinagar due to the prevalent situation in Kashmir, an Air India spokesperson said here.

The relaxation applies for both domestic and international flights booked before July 9 for travel up to July 11.

Jet Airways has also announced that it would reschedule flights without charging a fee. "Due to the current unrest situation prevailing in Srinagar, we have been informed by DGCA to allow guests to rebook their tickets without charges," Jet Airways spokesperson said.

All domestic airlines currently charge up to Rs 2,000 for cancellation and rescheduling.

Some 18 people have been killed an up to 200 injured in violent protests that began on Saturday.

Wani  one of the most prominent faces of the outlawed Hizbul Mujahideen  and two other militants were killed in an encounter with security forces on Friday.  Agencies
New Delhi, July 10

For the first time, civilian victims of cross-border firing along the Indo-Pak border will be given a compensation of Rs 5 lakh similar to those who die due to terrorism or Maoist violence.

The decision to give compensation to the victims of cross-border firing and enhancing the amount from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 5 lakh to the victims of terrorism or Maoist violence was taken by Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday.

Now onwards, any civilian who dies anywhere in the country due to terror attack, Naxal violence, firing from across the border, shelling or IED explosion will be given Rs 5 lakh as compensation uniformly. The amount will be given next of kin of the victim, an official said.

Rs 5 lakh will also be given to those who receive 50 per cent or more disability or incapacitation due to the same reasons.

The compensation amount will be given subject to the condition that no employment has been provided to any of the family members of the victims by state or central government.

A formal notification in this regard will be issued by the Home Ministry after taking an approval of the Union Cabinet soon, the official said.

More than 50 civilians die every year due to shelling and cross border firing along the Indo-Pak order in Jammu and Kashmir.

Seven persons died due to terror attacks in the country in 2015, while the civilian toll due to militancy in Jammu and Kashmir in 2015 was 17. As many as 168 civilians were killed due to Naxal violence in Maoist-hit states in 2015.

Home Ministrys scheme for Assistance to civilian victims of terrorist and communal violence has been effective since April 1, 2008.

Under the scheme, an amount of Rs 3 lakh was given to the civilian victims or next of kin of the victim in the case of death or incapacitation or disability with 50 per cent or more, subject to the condition that no employment has been provided to any of the family members of the victims by the state government.

This Rs 3 lakh has been enhanced now to Rs 5 lakh, the official said.

An ex-gratia lump sum compensation of Rs 15 lakh is admissible to the next of kin of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) personnel, who die in harness in the performance of their bona fide official duties under various circumstances.

Also, the next of kin of deceased is entitled to get liberalised family pension i.e. last pay drawn.

In addition, the CAPFs have their own compensation regime, apart from ex gratia payment. Further, compensation is also paid under different schemes of the Home Ministry like the Security Related Expenditure Scheme etc.

Similarly, the defence forces have their own system of compensation for the defence personnel.  PTI
Mumbai, July 10

After divesting Pankaja Munde of the important water conservation portfolio in the Cabinet rejig, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has now asked her to attend an international meet she wasn't inclined to.

Soon after news of her being relieved from the water conservation portfolio became public, Munde tweeted she was to reach Singapore to attend a global water leaders summit on Monday but won't do so as she was no longer the minister of that department.

Fadnavis, who is out of the country on an official tour, responded by saying that she must attend the event.

"As a senior minister, you (Munde) would be representing the government of Maharashtra," Fadnavis tweeted.

Earlier, as the water conservation minister, Munde had courted controversy in April by posting a selfie online.

She had later said she posted selfies on her tour of parched Latur on the weekend in appreciation of the work done there by the local administration for drought relief.

Congress had then accused Munde of gross insensitivity.  PTI
Dar-es-Salaam, July 10

India offered to extend $492 million line of credit to Tanzanias water resources sector on Sunday as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi sought to deepen ties with the resource-rich African nation.

The two countries have signed five agreements as they decided to cooperate in a number of areas, including food security and natural gas sector to boost bilateral ties.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who held wide-ranging talks with President John Pombe Joseph Magufuli, also agreed to work closely, bilaterally, regionally and globally to combat the twin threats of terrorism and climate change.

"Our in-depth discussions on regional and global issues reflected our considerable convergence on issues of common interest and concern," he said at a joint press interaction after his bilateral meeting with President Magufuli.

In a joint statement, the two leaders expressed their strong condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and stated that there can be no justification for terrorism whatsoever. They expressed satisfaction on the holding of bilateral counter-terrorism consultations in early-2016.

"India's cooperation with Tanzania will always be as per your needs and priorities," Modi said.

The two sides signed an agreement under which India will provide a Line of Credit of $92 million for rehabilitation and improvement of Zanzibar's water supply system.

Other agreements signed include an MoU on water resource management and development, MoU for establishment of vocational training centre at Zanzibar, MoU on visa waiver for diplomatic/official passport holders and an agreement between National Small Industries Corporation of India and Small Industries Development Organisation Tanzania.

Prime Minister said the two countries are also working on a number of other water projects for 17 cities in Tanzania.

"For this India is willing to consider an additional USD 500 million line of concessional credit," he said.

Modi said during his meeting with President Magufuli, they had detailed discussions on the full spectrum of bilateral partnership.

"Our focus was to shape an action oriented agenda of cooperation, so that we talk less of potential and more of achievements on the ground. We agreed that our common desire of economic prosperity for our societies is creating new opportunities for expanding our cooperation," he said.

To achieve this, the two nations agreed to deepen partnership in agriculture and food security, including through enhanced export of pulses from Tanzania to India, which is experiencing a shortfall leading to price rise.

They also decided to work together in development and use of natural gas. India agreed to partner Tanzania in building of industrial economy, capacities and institutions.

The two leaders also decided to deepen bilateral trade and investment partnership by encouraging greater industry-to-industry ties.

Like many African nations, Tanzania has been reeling severe water crisis since several years, a problem that has affected the countrys hydroelectric power supply.

Kenya is next on Modis agenda  the last leg of his visit.  PTI
Dhaka, July 10

Bangladesh today banned the broadcast of controversial Indian preacher Zakir Naiks Peace TV, cracking down on the channel and radical sermons after reports that provocative speeches inspired some of the militants who carried out the countrys worst terror attack at a cafe here.

The decision to ban the Mumbai-based preachers Peace TV Bangla was taken during a special meeting of the cabinet committee on law and order, Industry Minister Amir Hossain Amu, who chaired the meeting, said.

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Naiks speeches are believed to have inspired some of the Bangladeshi militants, who killed 22 people at a restaurant in Dhaka on July 1.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan had yesterday said Bangladeshs intelligence agencies were investigating Naiks possible role in the attack. He is on our security scanner... Our intelligence agencies are investigating his activities as his lectures appeared provocative, Khan had said.

Khan said the investigators were also probing Naiks financial transactions in Bangladesh.

Britain and Canada have banned Naik from visiting the two countries several years ago while Malaysia banned his lectures fearing that they could instigate inter-racial tensions.

Naik denies encouraging acts of terror through his speeches.  PTI
Simran Sodhi

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 10

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today visited Tanzania and later Kenya as he wrapped up the last leg of his Africa tour. In Tanzania earlier today, he was accorded a warm ceremonial welcome following which he held talks with Tanzanian President John Magufuli. The PM proceeded to play the traditional drums along with the Tanzanian President.

The PM also met a group of about 30 solar mamas from Tanzania and a few other African countries. Solar mamas are a group of rural women solar engineers from different African countries who have been trained under programmes supported by India for harnessing solar energy. India also handed over a navigational chart of Mkoani Harbour (Tanzania) which has been prepared by the National Hydrographic Office in India.

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India and Tanzania also signed five agreements, including a $92 million water supply deal to 17 Tanzanian cities. India has also decided to step up its cooperation with Tanzania in the area of gas as Tanzania has emerged as a serious player in the field of gas production following a series of finds since 2011.

After holding delegation-level talks with the Tanzanian President, Modi said, Both of us felt that we need to: One, deepen our partnership in agriculture and food security, including through enhanced export of pulses from Tanzania to India; two, work together in development and use of natural gas; three, partner in building industrial economy, capacities and institutions in Tanzania; and four, deepen our trade and investment partnership by encouraging greater industry-to-industry ties. Defence and security cooperation is an area that the PM has raised with all African nations he has visited. In Tanzania, Modi stressed the need to closely work together to combat terrorism.

Being neighbours across Indian Ocean, President and I agreed to deepen our defence and security partnership, especially in the maritime domain, Modi said.

Our in-depth discussions on regional and global issues reflected our considerable convergence on issues of common interest and concern, he said.

Modi said both sides agreed to work closely, bilaterally, regionally and globally, to combat the twin threats of terrorism and climate change and described Tanzania as a crucial partner in the India-initiated International Solar Alliance.

Health care is another sector that Modi highlighted and said: We are ready to meet the health care priorities of the Tanzanian government, including supply of medicines and equipment. The PM added that an Indian radiotherapy machine was being installed at Bugando Medical Centre in the countrys Mwanza city to treat cancer patients.

Later in the day, the PM left for Kenya which is the last leg of his Africa tour.
Shubhadeep Choudhury

The Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal Government claims to have created lakhs of jobs during its first five-year term in office. State Finance Minister Amit Mitra puts the exact number at 68,00,912, with school-teachers (primary and secondary) accounting for 56,696.

In the organised sector, including big industry, shops and cooperatives, the government says it has created 35.83 lakh jobs and In the unorganised sector, including real estate, house-keeping, fishing, khadi and infrastructure, 28.21 lakh jobs. Even as these figures have left the TMCs opponents stumped, the government has announced that it aims to generate 22 lakh more jobs in the current fiscal.

Mitra says employment generation is their top priority. Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) create maximum jobs. These sectors are labour intensive. We are focused on this sector. Bank funding to the sector in the past five years has increased and is the highest among states, he says

Coffee conversations

The Coffee House run by the Coffee Board at Jadavpur in Kolkata is not as well known as its illustrious cousin at College Street. Located in Jadavpur Bazar, one has to climb a couple of flights of dirty stairs and walk a dirty corridor to suddenly encounter a hall bustling with people. If the College Street Coffee House served as a haunt primarily for the students of Presidency College, the one at Jadavpur is Jadavpur Universitys answer to that.

This joint is a better representative of Kolkata of the turbulent Sixties and Seventies. Besides the chattering young men and women, the clientele includes the intellectual types who sip their coffee while flipping through pages of books. At one table, three elderly men listen attentively to a fourth who reads to them from a piece of paper, presumably a poem written by him.

None of this can any more be found in the College Street Coffee House, which has become just like any other restaurant.

Playing Feluda

There is a dearth of actors in the Bengali film industry for playing Feluda, the private detective created by the legendary Satyajit Ray for his whodunit fictions. Ray had made two Feluda movies with his favourite actor Saumitra Chatterjee playing the lead in both. Chatterjee is still around but can no more play a young man. Rays son Sandip has made a number of movies based on Feluda stories. Initially, he had cast Sabyasachi Bhattacharya as Feluda. After experimenting with another actor, Sandip Ray has now returned to Bhattacharya for his latest Feluda movie.

Shashi Kapoor played Feluda when Sandip serialised a Feluda story for Doordarshan. In her memoirs, Bijaya Ray, Satyajit Rays wife, mentions that Sandips first choice for Feluda was Amitabh Bachchan. He was agreeable but dates posed a problem.

Chatterjee stories

News from Bollywood suggests that Ramer Sumati, the tearjerker written by Bengali writer Sarat Chandra Chatterjee, could be made into a movie by a well-known director. In the recent past also, two movies based on Chatterjees novels (Devdas and Parineeta) were made by Bollywood directors and both turned out to be huge hits. It shows the eternal nature of Chatterjees works.

But Chatterjee, who was also a social reformer and took part in the freedom movement, was shown in negative light in a recent article that paid tribute to humour writer Sibram Chakraborty.

Chakraborty had dramatised one of Chatterjees novels and the play was a huge commercial success. Chakraborty was in desperate need of money at that time. But Chatterjee refused to give any money from the proceeds of the play, saying it was because of his name that people were flocking to the theatre to see the play.
Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, July 10

Kashmir continued to be on the boil on Sunday with the death toll in the violence that erupted following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani mounting to a staggering 21.

Edit: Pen vs gun challenge

On an appeal by separatists, the Valley observed a complete shutdown today. A desperate Jammu and Kashmir Government, after a Cabinet meeting, appealed to various stakeholders, including separatists, to help restore normalcy. Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, though, was quick to reply, asking how they could appeal for peace when they were caged and gagged.

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In Anantnag district, angry protesters pushed a mobile police bunker into the Jhelum, killing a policeman, identified by the state police chief as Afroz Ahmad. The situation in Srinagar turned tense after a protester was killed in police firing while three civilians were killed in South Kashmirs Pulwama district.

Irfan Ahmed Malik was killed in Muran Pulwama. He was among a group of youths that came on to the streets, defying curfew restrictions. Gulzar Ahmed Pandit was killed in Lassipora after a police vehicle was torched. Fayaz Ahmed Waza died in Nilora during clashes with security personnel.

Meanwhile, five youths wounded in the clashes on Saturday succumbed to their injuries today. They were identified as Haseeb Ganai of Batpora and Imtiyaz Mandoo of Nandpora in Anantnag district, Muzzaffar Ahmed of Keegam Shopian, Mashooq Ahmad of Qazigund in Kulgam district and Altaf Rather of Rajpora in Pulwama district. State police chief K Rajendra Kumar claimed the situation was under control and that curfew has been imposed as a precautionary measure only in areas where there is tension, despite reports of clashes having spread to Budgam, Kupwara, Ganderbal, Bandipore and Baramulla districts.

In Kupwara, protesters set a building on fire. A GRP guard room, an RPF barrack at the Bijbehara Railway Station and a police post at Damhal Khushipora were set ablaze too. A building housing a police office at Soibugh Budgam was torched. Curfew was clamped in parts of Anantnag, Kulgam, Tral, Pampore and Awantipore, that saw violent clashes on Saturday.

Meanwhile, there was still no word on the three policemen missing since Saturday.

We request all political forces, including the NC, Congress and CPM, and those as much concerned as we are, including leaders from the Hurriyat, to help restore peace. - Naeem Akhtar, Education Minister

What do they want us to do? They label us as a threat to peace and cage, confine and gag us. How can we be of help? - Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Hurriyat leader
Fatehgarh Sahib, July 10

Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Amarinder Singh on Sunday rejected Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sukhpal Khaira's charges that Congress used pictures of the Golden Temple on its posters.

"Whole of Punjab and the Punjabi community world over knows my commitment and the credentials too well to be questioned by someone like Khaira," he said.

"Khaira was trying to be more loyal than the king without realising that the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, whom he was trying to please, will just use and throw him like a paper napkin," he said here after attending a 'bhog' ceremony.

He accused Kejriwal of having a "congenital habit of using and throwing away" people, like he did with Anna Hazare, Prashant Bhushan, Yogendra Yadav, and "many others".

AAP spokesman Sukhpal Singh Khaira on Saturday accused the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Congress of having used photos of the Golden Temple with party symbols on their posters.

Amarinder Singh also dismissed reports of having differences witth party's Chief Spokesman and senior leader Sunil Jakhar.

"I am completely with him on the issue of SYL," he said.  PTI
Sushil Goyal

Tribune News Service

Sangrur, July 9

The district police today grilled AAP MLA from Delhi Naresh Yadav for eight hours in connection with the desecration of the Quran at Malerkotla on June 24, claiming there was enough proof to arrest the legislator.

However, Yadav alleged that the police not only harassed him but misbehaved too though he answered all their queries.

Yadav said he would not succumb to their pressure tactics, reiterating that he had been falsely implicated under a political conspiracy.

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A large number of AAP workers remained present in front of the CIA office during Yadavs questioning.

Pritpal Singh Thind, SSP, said after todays interrogation, they had enough evidence to proceed against Yadav, but would arrest him (from Delhi) after collecting more proof.

The SSP said the police had prepared 100 questions and had grilled the MLA thoroughly. Besides Yadav, they had questioned Sanjay Kumar, the owner of the vehicle used in the sacrilege, and an NRI from Moga, Kewal Singh Sangha.

Sangha, he said, did not know Yadav but had admitted meeting key accused Vijay Kumar though no talks were held on paying Rs 1 crore to Yadav for AAP ticket.
Tribune News Service

Amritsar, July 10

Aam Aadmi Party leader HS Phoolka today visited the Golden Temple to seek pardon on behalf of the party for its unintentional mistake of using the shrines picture along with the partys symbol broom on the cover of its youth manifesto and equating it with Guru Granth Sahib.

Phoolka turned up at the Langar Hall at 3 am. He volunteered to wash utensils and clean floor with a broom as a common devotee till 5 am. Thereafter, he visited the Diwan Hall of Gurdwara Manji Sahib and performed joda sewa (cleaning of shoes of the devotees) between 11.30 am and 12.30 pm. He then performed ardas at Akal Takht and tendered an apology before it.

Though Phoolka had given a call to AAP volunteers through the social media to join him, none except some local workers turned up.

AAPs Punjab affairs incharge Sanjay Singh, state convener Sucha Singh Chhotepur and partys Punjab Dialogue Committee head Kanwar Sandhu and his team, which prepared the manifesto, were supposed to tender an apology by doing sewa at the Golden Temple.

Taking on Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, Phoolka asked why the CM had not resigned when Cabinet Minister Bikram Singh Majithia had deliberately distorted the verses of Gurbani at a rally while canvassing for Arun Jaitley in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

Badal should maintain the sanctity of the Fakhr-e-Quam title bestowed upon him and desist from adopting double standards. Badal asked Arvind Kejriwal to resign. Did he resign over Majithias mistake? Did he expel Majithia from the SAD? We admit that the mistake was inadvertently committed by our Delhi or Punjab team, for which we have submitted an apology at the Golden Temple. The matter should not be politicised, he said.
Our Correspondent

Abohar, July 10

Punjab Additional Chief Secretary Nirmaljit Singh Kalsi today told officials of the Agriculture Department to organise camps in the villages affected by the whitefly attack on the cotton crop.

Kalsi visited Alamgarh, Dangarkhera, Khippanwali and Gidderanwali villages and inspected farms and orchards which had been affected by whitefly attack and waterlogging.

At a meeting with Deputy Commissioner Isha Kalia and other officials, Kalsi told them to resolve the grievances of the farmers within a week.

Earlier, at Gidderanwali village, Vijay Karagwal and other fruit growers said water logging had hit orchards, but there was no provision for giving compensation.

Ramesh Bishnoi alleged that the Irrigation Department had not been following rules over the closure of canals. Punjab should follow the Rajasthan pattern to constitute water users committees to streamline the rotation system for sub-canals, he said.

Leading fruit exporter Surinder Charaya said the state government should provide better infrastructure for maintenance of fruit grading and waxing plants.

In Dangarkhera village, Kalsi inspected the cotton fields of Faquir Chand which have been the worst affected in the whitefly attack.

He advised cotton growers to grow maize or barley crops around the cotton field as it would protect against whitefly.

It is learnt that Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal is planning a Sangat Darshan for farmers of the affected villages in the last week of July. He had last visited the rain-ravaged area in Khuyiansarwer block on Abohar-Sriganganagar road in September 2014.

Badal had earlier asked Jitender Pal Singh, Chief Engineer, Canals, to visit tail-end villages to resolve their canal water woes. Now, Kalsi too was reportedly told by the CM to visit the Abohar area.
Himanshu Kumar Lall

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 10

There is fear of an epidemic outbreak in the flood-hit areas of Pithoragarh and Chamoli districts as torrent rains, flash floods and landslides have killed humans and livestock.

People living in rural areas are complaining of gastroenteritis-like diseases as potable water pipelines were damaged in landslides.

The latest data compiled by the State Emergency Operation Centre shows that the maximum number of villagers (11) were killed in Basedi village in Pithoragarh, followed by three in Naulra village and two in Patharkot village. Eight villagers, including an eight-year-old boy, are still missing since the disaster occurred in Pithoragarh district 10 days ago. A total of 174 heads of livestock, including milch animals, had been killed in the district.

In Garhwal division, Chamoli is the worst-hit district where four casualties have been reported while three villagers are still untraceable. About 168 heads of cattle, including 130 poultry, perished in flash floods in the district. Nine villages, including Vaduk, Jakhni, Siranji, Kumartoli, faced the brunt of floods on July 1.

State Health Minister SS Negi said teams of specialist medical officers had been deployed in the disaster-hit areas. Doctors had been told to be on high alert to prevent an outbreak of epidemic in the affected areas.

Negi said the Health Department has full stock of anti-pyretic, antibiotic and other life saving drugs to deal with any kind of medical emergency. Dr Piyoosh Rautela, Executive Director, Disaster Mitigation and Management Centre, said chlorine tablets had been distributed in the affected areas. He added there was no sign of an epidemic as special focus was being laid on proper sanitation.

Medical experts said decomposing human and livestock bodies, contaminated potable and natural water resources coupled with poor sanitation in the disaster-hit areas could lead to an outbreak of serious diseases such as cholera and dysentery.

Although several teams of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Uttarakhand Police and other government agencies have been deployed for rescue and relief operations, missing people have not been traced. The affected villagers are not getting the best medical care.
Beirut, July 10

At least 29 Syrian rebels were killed in clashes with regime troops overnight during a failed bid to reopen the opposition's key supply route into Aleppo city, a monitor said on Sunday.

The fighters from the Faylaq al-Sham Islamist faction and Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front were killed trying to reopen the Castello Road, which regime forces effectively severed on Thursday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said.  AFP
Dallas, July 10

The shooter in the Dallas ambush had been practicing detonating bombs and planned some kind of major attack even before the sniper-style assault in which he killed five police, the city's police chief said on Sunday.

Releasing chilling new details of the attack by Micah Johnson, police chief David Brown said Johnson taunted police as he negotiated with them during an hours long standoff  "playing games, laughing at us, singing"  asking how many cops he had killed and saying he wanted to take out more.

And at one point, Johnson, apparently wounded, wrote the letters "rb" in his own blood on a wall at the community college where he holed up during the shooting last Thursday.

Seven other cops and two civilians were wounded.

Brown said it was not clear what those letters meant.

Johnson, who was black, also insisted on speaking only to a black police officer when he began negotiating with the police, Brown said.

The 25-year-old army vet opened fire with a powerful rifle during a peaceful protest Thursday evening in Dallas against the shooting deaths just days earlier of two black men, in Louisiana and Minnesota.

But a search of Johnson's Dallas-area home after he was ultimately killed by police turned up bomb-making materials and a manual in which he wrote about military tactics.

Police now believe he had been planning something long beforehand, and that the two killings last week were a trigger that prompted him to act, Brown told CNN.

Investigators believe "based on evidence of bomb-making materials and a journal that the suspect had been practicing explosive detonations and that the materials were such that it was large enough to have devastating effects throughout our city and our north Texas area," Brown said.

"We're convinced that this suspect had other plans. And we believe that the deaths in Minnesota and the deaths in Louisiana just sparked his delusion to fast-track his plans and saw the protest in Dallas as an opportunity to begin wreaking havoc on our officers."

Johnson was a private in the army reserve and had served in Afghanistan.

He knew the route of the Dallas march, and his military training apparently benefited him during the shooting, as he effectively triangulated police and started taking them out with his high caliber rifle, Brown said.

'High alert'

Dallas police headquarters temporarily heightened security after receiving a threat; two days after a gunman killed five policemen in the Texas city.

The Dallas Police Department received an anonymous threat against law enforcement across the city and has taken precautionary measures, Dallas police said in an emailed statement to media.

Though police officers told AFP the headquarters were on lockdown, the department tweeted that that was not the case.

SWAT officers were deployed at the main building, local media reported.

The sight of a masked man caused police to go on heightened alert, the Dallas Morning News reported.

A man wearing a black mask was spotted in a parking garage behind the headquarters, the paper said.

Officers have completed manual search of the garage. No suspect found, the police department tweeted.

Great job by our officers! police chief David Brown tweeted after an all-clear was issued soon after.

The Dallas ambush on Thursday marked the single biggest loss of life for law enforcement in the United States since the September 11, 2001, terror attacks.

Police were set further on edge on Friday as it emerged that several officers had been targeted across the country by individuals apparently angered at the recent fatal shootings.  AFP
Beirut, July 10

The family of American journalist Marie Colvin, who died in Syria in 2012, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit in a US court, accusing the Syrian government of deliberately killing her.

Colvin and French photographer Remi Ochlik were killed in the besieged Syrian city of Homs in 2012 while reporting on the Syrian conflict, now in its sixth year.

The lawsuit, filed in Washington on Saturday and seen by Reuters, said Syrian officials deliberately targeted rockets against a makeshift broadcast studio where Colvin and other reporters were living and working.

The suit alleged the attack was part of a plan orchestrated at the highest levels of the Syrian government to silence local and international media "as part of its effort to crush political opposition".

The lawsuit included as evidence a copy of an August 2011 fax which it alleges was sent from Syria's National Security Bureau instructing security bodies to launch military and intelligence campaigns against "those who tarnish the image of Syria in foreign media and international organisations".

"This case is about carrying on Marie's work," plaintiff Cathleen Colvin, Marie Colvin's sister, said.

Advocacy group Reporters Without Borders said it supported the lawsuit. The group's secretary-general, Christophe Deloire, said Reporters Without Borders "hopes these efforts will help to expose the truth, namely that these journalists were deliberately targeted and killed because they were providing information about the Syrian army's crimes against civilians."

A murder and attempted murder investigation was launched in France in 2012 into the death of Ochlik and wounding of another journalist, Edith Bouvier, in the same attack.  Reuters
Dhaka, July 10

Bangladesh dismissed claims of Islamic States direct involvement in last weeks attacks in Dhaka, although it admitted that homegrown Islamic radicals could be trying to get in touch with the militant outfit.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said Islamists appeared to have set "soft targets" that included Hindus, Buddhists, Christians and even Muslims.

"I don't admit Hindus are their target alone as assault on the Sholakia Eid congregation three days ago and their past attacks on Shiite mosques and rallies indicate their motive," he said in an interview.

You can see a change in the pattern of their attacks also, initially they staged a series of small attacks on individuals and now they are staging bigger attacks targeting foreigners, policemen and ordinary Muslims," he said.

He said investigations suggested both attacks  the Dhaka attack and the bombing at an Eid gathering less than a week later  were carried out by Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), a militant outfit with roots in the country.

"But it appears that they (terrorists) are trying to establish links with IS through the social media...however, none of them came from Syria or any other country to stage the attacks," Khan said.

Law minister Anusul Huq also claimed that investigators have found no evidence to link the Islamic State with the attacks.

"However, the terrorist may have an access to the IS media outlet to lodge the claims of their acts in the name of the Syria-based terrorist outfit," BSS news agency quoted Huq as saying.

More than 20 people  mostly foreigners  were killed when some Islamic militants stormed a cafe in Dhaka on July 1.

Less than a week later, some militants bombed Bangladeshs biggest Eid gathering at Kishoreganj on July 7, killing four people.

Although the Islamic State claimed the deadly attack in Dhaka, Bangaldesh has dismissed it, as it has done several times in the past.

The establishment has blamed the JBM for the growing number of attacks on secular writers and minorities in the country.  PTI
Kathmandu, July 10

The appointment of Sushila Karki as Nepals first woman chief justice was today unanimously endorsed by a parliamentary panel, setting the stage for her to take charge at the Supreme Court to lead the judiciary.

The confirmation of Karkis appointment means Nepal now will have woman as its President, Speaker of Parliament and the chief justice of the Supreme Court.

Karki (64), who has done her Masters in Political Science from Banaras Hindu University, is known for her zero-tolerance for corruption.

Speaking at the hearing by the Parliamentary Hearing Special Committee, Karki told lawmakers that the Supreme Court faces a tough time due to a shortage of judges, The Himalayan Times reported. She asked the committee to conduct hearings for judges appointment soon.

Currently, 11 nominees are awaiting the PHSC hearing for their appointment as the SC judges. Karki was recommended for the top judicial post on April 10 this year by the Judicial Council.

Karki is known for judgments like allowing women to pass their citizenship to their children, previously open only to men. Karki began legal practice in March 1979. She will head the judiciary till June 6, 2017.  PTI
The PNM is saluting one of its former Senators, Dr Lester Henry, for his contribution to nat
Tonight Four Corners screens a Canal+ report Soldiers of Allah by Said Ramzy, who goes undercover with an ISIS terror cell.

With a tiny hidden camera, I am going to try to show what happens  to show what is really going on in their heads.

For six months this intrepid reporter infiltrated and secretly filmed a terrorist cell as they made plans for an attack.

You wont see my face. You wont hear my real voiceI am a Muslim and a journalist. I can go to places that my colleagues cant.

Deep undercover, posing as a fellow follower of ISIS, he joined this group of young men who called themselves Soldiers of Allah and he captured it all on camera.

I have to be careful, one mistake and Ill be found out.

Meeting in parks and fast food restaurants, they declare their hatred for anyone failing to follow their version of Islam, especially other less fanatical Muslims.

I want to throw myself upon the infidels. I want to kill them and I want to die afterwards. I want Allah to make me a martyr. Oussama

The group sets about turning those words into action. Using guidance from an ISIS handler recently returned from Syria, they start sourcing weapons and drawing up a list of targets. The priorities: military bases and television broadcasters.

Blood needs to run. It needs to run a lot. They have to die in their thousands. Oussama

This extraordinary film from France takes you deep inside the minds of these angry young men who have little understanding of the religion they claim to fight for.

As the planning escalates, the undercover reporter finds himself sent to rendezvous points where messages are passed hand to hand with chilling instructions to prepare for a suicide mission.

The authorities swoop and he cuts off contact, but not without one last communication from the group.

After six months of infiltrating the group, I received a message that made the consequences clear, youre dead.

This film starkly exposes the challenge facing authorities the world over: How to combat the threat posed by young men determined to wreak violence.

Monday July 11 at 8.30pm on ABC.
Nines upcoming season of The Block will feature its first female gay couple when it begins, likely after the Olympics.

Melbourne couple Julia, 31, and Sasha, 42, have been partners for four years, and mark the first same-sex couple on the series since 2004.

They join the shows oldest ever couple Dan, 55 and Carleen, 52, from Perth.

Also featuring are:

Andy (25) and Ben (24), best mates, from Geelong

Kim (32) and Chris (34), married four years, from Newcastle

Dan (55) and Carleen (52), married 30 years, from Perth

Shooting is currently underway at a vast art deco building constructed in the 1920s in Port Melbourne.

The huge site will deliver the biggest apartments ever seen on the Nine series.

Host Scott Cam says: This series has gotten off to a cracking start  one of our best yet. It is going to give Aussie viewers great pleasure watching these Blockheads restore this building to its former glory.

Its a magnificent building rich in history, and will hopefully make a few more couples rich too.

Scott Cam will again be joined by co-host Shelley Craft, judges Neale Whitaker, Shaynna Blaze and Darren Palmer, foreman Keith Schleiger and Dan Reilly.
Ann (Milne) Irvine, 79, of Fort Collins, Colo., passed away June 8, 2016. Alzheimer's impacted her abilities but it could not strip her positive nature. Ann was born to Esca and Kathryn Milne on 3/31/1937 and was raised Grand Island with three sisters, Sue, Jo, and Jean.

Ann graduated from Grand Island Senior High in 1955 and attended Kearney State Teacher's College. In 1959 Ann married Larry Irvine and they began a family in Milford where she taught Home Economics at Milford HS. She then earned a master's degree at the University of Nebraska.

From 1974 to 1998 she was the F&C S curriculum consultant for LPS. In addition to that responsibility she took on the role of educational equity administrator from 1980-1998. Ann's vision, diligence and collaboration ushered in implementation of multicultural education, equity training; and the creation of the student parenting program. Concurrently she served on the Human Rights Commission as well as held leadership within the state and national level professional organizations.

After retirement, Ann became a Success: Full & Sylvan trainer and an adjunct professor for Critical Thinking courses at UNL. Over the years she was a member of many community boards and received multiple awards.

Survivors include Karen (Fort Collins), Brad (Jennifer), Mark (Ginny), 10 grandchildren, ex-husband Larry Irvine; sisters Sue Kempkes, Jo (Gary) Sanders; brother-in-law Dave Ely; many nieces and nephews as well as many dear friends.

A celebration of life will be from 1-4 p.m. on July 14 at First Plymouth Church in Lincoln. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the Lincoln Public Schools Foundation directed toward the Student Parenting Program.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/MIKE COMEAUX Tony Bean (left) regains possession of a treasured heirloom that was mistakenly given to Peter Leon (right). Leon, of Simi Valley, returned the tapestry the same day he read in The Star about the Bean family's search for it.

I confess to an admittedly self-serving bias. I believe the best people read a newspaper.

Count yourself among them, dear reader.

How you read it  in print, online, with an app  doesn't matter. That you read it makes a difference, sometimes a world of difference.

Which brings us to Peter Leon, of Simi Valley.

You can count on the retired aerospace artist and Air Force veteran to read the paper first thing Sunday morning. July 3 was no exception. On that day, though, what he saw was about to make him a hero to a grieving family.

"That's the picture in our garage," he told his wife, Nancy, pointing to a somewhat blurry photo in The Star.

The photograph ran with my last column about Sofia Bean's Aunt Cathy, struggling with Alzheimer's disease, who gave away a tapestry sewn by an ancestor. The 66-year-old Simi Valley woman gifted the heirloom to a good Samaritan who gave her a ride home, but no one knew his identity.

Bean contacted The Star hoping we could help find the handiwork.

The tapestry's loss, she told me, added to the grief the family was suffering after their matriarch, Zoe Kazamas Bean, died in late May. It was one of the few possessions that survived Zoe's journey from Greece to America.

Before noon on the day the column ran, I had an email from the Leon family stating they had the heirloom and were more than happy to give it back to the Bean family.

As it happened, Tony Bean, Cathy's brother, was driving to his Lakewood home after visiting her in Kern County and could swing by the Leon home to fetch it.

Tony fought back tears when he walked into the Leon home and spotted the tapestry.

He offered what he knew of the piece's history, which delighted Nancy Leon, a nurse and fan of the PBS program "Antiques Roadshow."

"My great-great grandmother sheared the sheep for the thread and made the dyes herself," he said.

For his part, Peter Leon shared with Tony the back story of how he came to possess it.

Leon met Cathy last December at the state Department of Motor Vehicles office in Camarillo, where the native of Peru was working as an on-call interpreter. She needed a ride home after failing a driver's test due to the Alzheimer's. With the approval of Cathy's husband, Leon drove Cathy to her Simi Valley home, not far from his house.

When they arrived at Cathy's home, almost everything was packed for the family's move to Wofford Heights in Kern County. The tapestry rested against the wall.

"Do you want to take this?" she asked him.

When Leon declined, she said there was no wall space for it in their new home, and it might end up in a garage sale.

"When my sister was herself, she would never have given it away, except maybe to the Smithsonian," Tony said.

Although the piece was not to his taste, Leon appreciated the time that went into it.

"The details are magnificent," he said of the tapestry that depicts two women at a village well.

Leon agreed to take it. Recognizing the distinctly Greek design of the border, he contacted St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in Camarillo to see if the congregation was interested. When that didn't work out, he stored it in the garage.

Cathy stayed on his mind. He worried about her fate when he heard news of the deadly Kern County wildfire a couple of weeks back. Tony told him the blaze came close, but Cathy's new home was untouched.

When Tony asked Leon if he wanted a reward, he answered, "Hell, no."

Then he smiled and said, "Just promise me you won't give it away."

The two men embraced and together they carried the treasure out of the Leons' home, past the American flag flying over the front door, to Tony's truck.

Neither could have imagined that when he woke up that day, he would have such an encounter. They were brought together by a newspaper.

Newspapers cover plenty about the bad in America, particularly in the past week when a hate-fueled gunman killed five Dallas police officers assigned to protect a peaceful demonstration protesting the deaths of two black men at the hands of police officers.

They also carry the stories about what is good about us. About how in every neighborhood you find decent, solid, forgiving, caring people. Newspapers unite and celebrate them. They encourage good folks to keep doing the right thing, and reading about them inspires others to be a little better. They make communities closer, and our ties tighter.

Or as Peter Leon observed, "The world is small sometimes. Today we had a happy ending."

Email Colleen Cason at casonpoint101@gmail.com.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/CAL FIRE Ventura County firefighters were sent to help battle a brush fire Saturday in the Santa Clarita Valley.

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By Megan Diskin of the Ventura County Star

Ventura County crews were sent to help battle a brush fire that broke out in the Santa Clarita Valley on Saturday, while others continued to work at the Pine Fire north of Ojai.

The Ventura County Fire Department was sending a strike team of 17 firefighters to join more than 200 battling a blaze that was initially reported at 12:05 p.m. near Sagecrest Circle and The Old Road near Interstate 5 in Los Angeles County. About 800 acres had burned and 700 homes had been evacuated but residents were allowed back into their homes at 9:30 p.m., fire officials said. The Santa Clarita Valley fire was 15 percent contained.

Meanwhile, more than 600 people are fighting the Pine Fire in the Sespe Wilderness of Los Padres National Forest. The fire, first reported June 30, had burned 2,304 acres about 11 miles north of Ojai and was 71 percent contained as of Saturday night.

Crews and firefighting aircraft continue to work the north and west sides of the fire. They are still trying to establish final containment lines from Pine Mountain Ridge to the Cedar Creek Trail, with work nearing completion, officials said.

High winds, increasing temperatures and decreasing humidity could ignite unburned pockets of brush in the area, officials said. Winds up to 30 mph are forecast and humidity levels could drop to 10 percent, forecasters said.

A red-flag warning and wind advisory are expected to be declared for Ventura County mountain areas from 3 p.m. Sunday through 6 a.m. Monday.

Adding to the trouble for firefighters, temperatures across the county are expected to increase in the next few days. Coastal areas could reach the high 70s to around 80 degrees and inland areas are expected to reach the high 80s to low 90s.
More than 120 comfort dogs travel the country to help people in crisis, and now Lincoln has one to call its own.

Comfort dogs are trained to help anyone in a time of need, unlike other service dogs trained to help a specific person.

Priscilla, a 14-month-old golden retriever, left Chicago for her new home at Trinity Lutheran Church at the end of June.

She has had more than 4,000 hours of training and will have 12 handlers and one caregiver through the church.

Priscilla will visit people in hospitals, schools, nursing homes and college campuses and go to places hit by natural disasters or schools that lose students to shootings, accidents or suicide.

A lot of times with kids who have been through a trauma, they may not know how to talk about it or tell an adult or another person what theyre going through, but they will start talking to the dog, said Jane Bedient, one of Priscilla's handlers. The dog is just a comfortable presence. Its not threatening.

"The dog is just gonna listen. Its just a way to open up that healing process and foster some communication.

Commands in Priscilla's repertoire include Check it out, which tells her it's safe to approach something she might be uncertain about. When she hears Lap, she jumps up and puts her paws across the lap of someone in a wheelchair so the person can reach her.

Her handlers from the church at 724 S. 12th St. say things are going well after just a couple of weeks.

One of the hardest parts, said caregiver Carolyn Jones, is not treating Priscilla like a pet.

Unlike many dogs, she is not allowed to sit on chairs or jump onto couches.

We make it sound like the rules are very, very rigid and that shes not a happy girl, but she really is, Bedient said. Just like all of us have expected manners, she does as well.

Priscilla is allowed to run around, but no until her vest is off, letting her know shes no longer on the job.

Priscilla is dual-vested. Her blue vest says, "Priscilla" and "Please pet me," and she wears a camouflage vest when she comforts Gold Star families and veterans.

Her title became a little more official Sunday, when her handlers took her to two services at the church for Passing of the Vest ceremonies and presented her to the congregation. She'll go to church with Jones each Sunday.

At 14 months, the puppy already knows her job.

One day she came to the church for an unofficial meet and greet. An individual was having a tough time and no one really knew it, but she just gravitated toward them, Jones said. Priscilla just knew who she needed to work with.

Hearing how comfort dogs affected people in Orlando after the nightclub shooting, Priscilla's handlers are ready to get her into the community and to work.

The possibilities are endless, Bedient said.

People can donate to help send Priscilla to areas of crisis online through Lutheran Church Charities or website, or through Trinity Lutheran.
CHUCK KIRMAN/THE STAR Jacob Murphy wears a sumo outfit as his brother Aaron Okayama and Sakura Okamura assist during Saturday's Obon Festival at the Oxnard Buddhist Temple.

SHARE CHUCK KIRMAN/THE STAR Japanese dancers perform during Saturday's Obon Festival at the Oxnard Buddhist Temple. CHUCK KIRMAN/THE STAR Lily Sumida was among the participants in Saturday's Obon Festival at the Oxnard Buddhist Temple. CHUCK KIRMAN/THE STAR Mny varieties of traditional Japanese food were offered Saturday during the Obon Festival at the Oxnard Buddhist Temple. CHUCK KIRMAN/THE STAR Japanese dancers perform Saturday during the Obon Festival at the Oxnard Buddhist Temple.

By Anne Kallas, Special to The Star

Each year in the middle of July, the Oxnard Buddhist Temple opens its doors to the community while celebrating Japanese culture during the Obon Festival.

The festival is a way to honor ancestors while bringing people together said Lori Usuki, a temple member who helps with cooking during the festival each year.

"We remember people of our past while honoring our traditions," Usuki said, adding that one of those traditions is the food. "Our food is the best of any Obon around, even Los Angeles. We're famous for our chicken teriyaki."

Master of ceremonies David Shudo added, "We country people know how to make food."

The various dishes served included sushi, beef and chicken teriyaki skewers prepared on massive grills, udon noodles and gyoza dumplings, all of which are made using traditional recipes handed down through the years.

Many of those recipes originated with people who have since died, which makes the foods more coveted at a festival that honors ancestors, Usuki said.

"When we are doing the sushi, we remember people who used to come here in the past. We still use their method, and it's been carried on year after year after year. It's not our recipe. It's from people who passed," she said.

Among the activities was a row of easy games geared toward children that included tic-tac-toe, a pull-the-string game, a plastic duck pond and a toilet paper toss where Dharma teacher Helen Takanabe kept adjusting the distance of the toilet seat children were tossing rolls into.

The festival is a way "to let people know we are here," Takanabe said.

"We want people to see what we are all about," she said. "Many Japanese are Buddhists, but you don't have to be Japanese to be a Buddhist or a member of the temple."

In the kitchen area, where a team of cooks was preparing meals at one end while various dancers and other entertainers performed on the stage at the other end, people were enjoying plates filled with food.

Rachel Villicana, who was at the festival for the first time, said she was thrilled to find Spam musubi, which she always enjoyed while living in Hawaii.

"This is the best snack. When you go to Hawaii, instead of chips, children get Spam musubi. I decided to try it one day, and it's the best snack ever," Villicana said. "I just love everything Japanese."

A festival organizer, Aletha Watanabe, was helping out this year doing whatever needed to be done.

"If they need help with dancing, I'll help out. Whatever needs to be done, I fill in the gaps. I take the trash out or if the people at the barbecue want water, I get them water," Watanabe said.

The Obon Festival is a great way to introduce others to Japanese and Buddhist culture, including bonsai plants, judo demonstrations and the revered Bon Odori dances, she said.

"It's critical that everyone have outreach to other cultures to enlighten ourselves and make us more conscious and aware of others so we can live in peaceful harmony," Watanabe said.

In the large dining room, Vanessa Baca, of Oxnard, was feeding her 17-month-old son Adam Langarica some rice.

"We come every year," she said. "I like to see the music, dancing and the food."

Her husband, Miguel Langarica, said he attended the festival for years with his father.

"Now that I have a son," Langarica said, "I want to make it a tradition for him."

Learn more: Call 483-5948 or visit http://www.oxnardbuddhisttemple.org for information about the Oxnard Buddhist Temple, 250 South H St., and its programs.
SHARE Ara Ghazarian, accused of swapping out customers' diamonds, was found dead.

By Megan Diskin of the Ventura County Star

The owner of a Ventura jewelry store committed suicide after being accused last month of switching his customers' diamonds for less valuable stones, authorities said.

Ventura police Sgt. Terry Medina on Friday confirmed the death of Ara Ghazarian, owner of Jewelry Unlimited, 4738 Telephone Road.

Ghazarian had been arrested June 16 on suspicion of grand theft, police said.

According to the Los Angeles County coroner's office, Ghazarian's body was found June 28 in a home in the 6200 block of Tunney Avenue in Tarzana. Authorities said he hanged himself. Ghazarian's body was reportedly found in a relative's home.

The Los Angeles Police Department responded to the scene to investigate the death, Medina said. After reviewing reports, Medina confirmed the suicide victim was the same man suspected in the Ventura jewelry theft case.

An investigation into Ghazarian started in May when a woman realized something was wrong with her wedding ring after she had taken it to the store for a new setting, authorities said.

She took it to a jeweler, who told her the diamond had been replaced with less valuable Moissanite, police said. Another victim came forward about the same time and learned her diamond had been switched out when she had taken in her family heirloom ring for repair, authorities said.

As news of Ghazarian's arrest spread, additional victims came forward, saying their diamonds also had been switched, bringing the number up to 16, Medina said.

Ghazarian had not been formally charged, Medina said.

The Ventura County District Attorney's Office plans to go ahead with a civil suit against Ghazarian's estate to seek restitution for the victims, Medina said.
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While the world seems preoccupied by the independence of Britain from the E.U., a less known and easily ignored but important plea for independence is coming out of West Africa.

Nigeria has a population of roughly 180 million people with a balanced religious mix of 49.3 percent Christian and 48.8 percent Muslim. Most of the Christians live in southern Nigeria, a land previously controlled for thousands of years by a people living in a land known as Biafra.

Biafrans were a proud people. They were mostly Christian and a bastion of free-enterprise in West Africa. With the formation of Nigeria in the breakup of Great Britain's empire, Biafra lost its independence when it was unilaterally combined with the Muslim-dominated north.

Today, the drive for a Muslim caliphate in Africa remains focused on three primary African states  South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria, where large populations of Christians remain. The all-out effort to destabilize the Christian power base has been carried out by al-Shabaab in Kenya and Boko Haram and Fulani herdsmen in Nigeria.

Boko Haram, an extremist Sunni Islamic fundamentalist sect strongly influenced by the Wahhabi movement, is committed to establishing Nigeria as an Islamic State under Sharia law. Its impact is strongest in the north.

Seeking more grazing land for their herds, Fulani militants linked to Boko Haram have killed at least 20,000 people since 2009. The Fulani have been moving south to areas dominated by Christians and nonreligious farmers. They are well-armed, and their coordinated attacks are increasing.

The atrocities against moderate Muslims and Christians are well-documented but not widely covered in the Western media. Recently, angry Muslim youths in Kano, Nigeria, decapitated a woman plastics trader, alleging that she blasphemed the Prophet Muhammad. When the shop owner refused to allow a young man to wash his legs for the usual Muslim prayers in her shop because other customers were there, the young man shouted "Allahu akbar" ("God is greater") and lied to his friends that the owner had blasphemed. They dragged her away, beheaded her and carried her head through the market and town center.

Many feel that now is the time for Biafra independence. The Biafran "George Washington," Nnamdi Kanu, remains in jail on trumped-up charges. Judges have refused to officially charge him. But fearing his leadership, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has kept him under lock and key. His sustained incarceration has just fueled the flames for independence. The number of supporters of freedom for Biafra has quadrupled since Kanu's imprisonment.

Recently, the Niger Delta Avengers blew up vital Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. oil pipelines. A new militant group, Red Egbesu Water Lions, has joined in demanding that Nnamdi Kanu be released. Unless the Buhari government releases Kanu and moves toward a referendum on independence for Biafra, militants promise to shut down oil and gas production in the region.

In the past, Shell and British Petroleum have formed lucrative agreements with northern Muslim politicians to control 80 percent of Nigerian oil, primarily from wells in the south. Not only are resources from Biafra being sold and profits diverted, the lack of environmental controls have resulted in pollution, hurting farming and fishing in the south.

Freedom isn't free, but nowhere in Africa is freedom more important than in Biafra. And what are the Western powers doing? Unfortunately, very little.

Britain has called for the release of Nnamdi Kanu but said little about the freedom referendum he supports. While covering the atrocities of Boko Haram in the north, there is little or no coverage of the Islamic terrorists brutalizing the Biafran Christians in the south.

This is about more than stopping Islamic extremism in Nigeria. Supporting the freedom of Biafra establishes a beachhead for Christian capitalism in Africa that could put a stop to a vision of a united Muslim caliphate in all of Africa.

America received support from France in breaking free from England. It's time for the United Nations and Western powers to do their part to free the people of Biafra while independence is still possible without expanded bloodshed.

Terry Paulson, of Agoura Hills, is a speaker and author of "The Optimism Advantage." Email him at terry@terrypaulson.com.
The Ventura County community came together in a big way for the Feed SoCal Stuff-A-Truck event at Vons in Simi Valley on Friday June 17th. The one-day event, hosted by ABC 7 and FOOD Share of Ventura County, raised 523,133 meals for food-insecure residents across the county.



The Stuff-A-Truck event was part of ABC Channel 7s 5th annual Feed SoCal initiative and encouraged locals to bring non-perishable food items or cash donations to the Vons of Simi Valley parking lot to help feed the 1 in 6 Ventura County residents who still experiences food insecurity. Shoppers also had the opportunity to make a donation by purchasing pre-filled bags of non-perishable food items from Vons for $5 through June 28th. The month-long initiative provides millions of meals to food banks across Southern California.



Dole Packaged Foods, led by President Brad Bartlett, made a 22,000 pound food donation at the event, and contributed an additional $50,000 in cash to FOOD Share. Dole is happy to support FOOD Share with its nutritious foods, but we know it also takes significant funds to support the operational expenses of the organization, said Bartlett. Were grateful to Bettaway Trucking for partnering with us to deliver our food donation today, and were proud to do our part to feed the county we call home.



Longtime FOOD Share partner Farmers Insurance also made a significant cash donation of $50,000. Mission Avocado added $25,000 to the effort, and Kirby Subaru was on-hand to stuff a car full of $500 in pre-filled grocery bags. Bank of America provided the volunteer-power for the day, with over 40 team members on site to assist with the festivities.



Tackling hunger is a critical first step in helping people achieve financial stability, which is why more than 40 of our employees participated in the Stuff a Truck event, said Diana Gleason, Bank of America Ventura & Santa Barbara Market President. This volunteer event provides an opportunity to provide healthy food to hungry families and individuals in Ventura County.



Were grateful to our local partners and ABC7 for helping to raise the food and funds needed to close the meal gap for the 1 in 6 Ventura County residents who just need a little help to make ends meet each month, said Bonnie Atmore, President and CEO of FOOD Share of Ventura County. Solving hunger is a county-wide effort and we couldnt do it without the generous support of these organizations.





About FOOD Share:

More than 35 years ago, eight citizens performed a good deed by distributing food to those who were in need underneath a Ventura bridge. The early philanthropic movement quickly formed into what is now Ventura Countys regional food bank, FOOD Share, which has grown from serving a few hundred hungry people per month to 74,500 people. Today, staff and volunteers distribute more than 12 million pounds of food annually from two warehouses; more than 200 partner agencies, which include neighborhood and church food distributions and soup kitchens; as well as hunger assistance programs. FOOD Shares programs provide healthy nutrition and education to children, families and seniors, which include: Kids Farmers Market, SENIOR Share, Nutrition Education, Community Market, SoCal Gas CARE Program and more. A 501(c)3 non-profit organization, FOOD Share is a member of the Feeding America network, the nations largest hunger-relief organization.



In 2016, FOOD Share is rallying the community behind a viral initiative encouraging the public, local businesses, major corporations and community leaders and stakeholders to help combat hunger through an outreach campaign called Share16. The Share16 Challenge asks the community to share ways in which they support FOOD Share by documenting their experiences and efforts on social media with the #Share16 hashtag.



For more information about FOOD Share, visit www.foodshare.com. Find us on Facebook and Twitter.


UFC fighters, Nick Diaz and Julianna Pena, partied the night away in celebration of the UFC 200 fight last night at Chateau Nightclub & Rooftop at Paris Las Vegas (Pictured: Julianna Pena on the Red Carpet at Chateau  Photo credit: Chateau Nightclub & Rooftop).

The athletes arrived at the club with a group of friends after the UFC bout to walk to the red carpet. Diaz sported grey jeans and a simple black v-neck t-shirt, while UFC 200 winner, Pena, opted for a white lace crop top, black printed skirt and completed the look with gold hoop earrings and gold bangles. The fighters mingled with the crowd and took photos with fans before making their way to a few of the clubs VIP booths where they partied with close friends for the rest of the night under the iconic Eiffel Tower.

Diaz is the former Strikeforce Welterweight Champion and WEC Welterweight Champion, and can also be seen in the award winning MMA documentary Fight Life, released in 2013.

Pena, the first woman to win The Ultimate Fighter, competes in UFCs Bantamweight division. She defeated Cat Zingano last night in UFC 200 and she too can be seen in the documentary Fight Life.


Last night (Saturday, July 9) MMA fighter Anderson Silva hosted the official after-party for his UFC 200 Light Heavyweight fight at 1 OAK Nightclub inside The Mirage Hotel & Casino (Photo credit: Bryan Steffy / WireImage / www.BryanSteffyPhoto.com).

Despite losing to opponent Daniel Cormier in an exciting and last minute matchup, Silva was seen in high spirits as he arrived to the nightspot around 1 a.m. The former UFC Middleweight champion looked handsome and fashionable dressed in black leather pants, red t-shirt and black jacket.

Upon arrival, Silva and his group were escorted to a VIP table behind the DJ booth where 1 OAK resident, DJ Gusto, was laying down chart-topping hits for the crowded room. While spending time in his booth with his friends, the fighter jumped on the mic to greet the crowd and thank them for coming.

Silva was seen enjoying his night out, taking photos with fans and mingling with his group before leaving shortly before 3 a.m.

Photo credit: Tony Tran Photography.

Also spotted at the Vegas nightspot was comedian Wayne Brady. Stopping by after his comedy show at The Mirage, Brady was seated at a VIP table where he could be seen having fun, sipping on cocktails, and mingling with his small group before leaving around 1 a.m.
On a clear summer evening, we squinted into the sun setting over the softball field on our U.S. Army base in Germany. One of my friends, who hailed from a small Pennsylvania town, said: "Look out there, Will, and tell me that isn't cool. There's a good old boy from West Virginia pitching; in center field, we have a black power-lifter from Florida; in right field, there's a Puerto Rican; at first base, an Irish-American from South Boston. I went to West Point, and you went to Princeton. If we were back home, what would be the chances that all of our paths would ever cross?"

I was reminded of that moment the other night as my wife and I watched the final scene of "Band of Brothers," in which the soldiers play softball as the narrator explains what became of them after the war. After a few moments sitting in stunned silence as the credits rolled, in awe of the almost unimaginable self-sacrifice of Dick Winters and the men of Easy Company, "Band of Brothers" gave way to a cable news show and its cacophony of pundits shouting party-issued talking points at one another, without a trace of original thought. It was hard to avoid a sense of melancholy at the abrupt transition from Easy Company's selfless service to today's toxic political discourse, and to a social fabric that appears to be unraveling along partisan and socioeconomic lines.

How has the country for which our grandparents sacrificed so much come to this?

Yes, we have serious issues, but we are not confronted with an imminent existential threat. We are not experiencing anything as ruinous as the Civil War or either of our world wars. So why this sense that the ties that bind our country together are fraying while we furiously pull in opposite directions?

One powerful step that could begin moving us toward a sense of shared destiny would be a period of national service, either military or civil. The question over whether it should be mandatory, or merely incentivized and encouraged, as the bipartisan Franklin Project is working toward, can be debated. But, as Gen. Stanley McChrystal writes, the "need to create a culture of service where we are all invested in our nation's future and feel a shared sense of responsibility to our nation and to each other" should not require extensive deliberation.

Many Americans have just about given up on our political class, sensing that it does little besides raise money and protect incumbency. This political paralysis threatens the health of our republic more than the Islamic State, or ISIS, ever could. Though many have "chosen sides" in this self-defeating political bloodsport, how many feel inspired by a sense of a collective national mission? But watching the selflessness of the Band of Brothers as they jumped into Normandy and endured the Battle of the Bulge reminds us of what Americans are capable of, and that we do not need to resign ourselves to this civic fragmentation.

In a society that continues to divide between red state and blue, the very rich and everyone else, encouraging everyone to spend a year working together to perform a mission focused on the collective good would bridge some of the divides that are weakening us as a country. How often do the "coastal elites" express befuddlement at the support for Donald Trump, confiding to one another that they've "never met a Trump voter"? Likewise, some people in the reddest of counties rarely, if ever, come face to face with a committed progressive. Last month's "Brexit" vote, when Britain elected to leave the European Union, illustrates what happens when socioeconomic elites have grown so detached from the rest of the citizenry that a factory worker in Manchester seems more foreign to a banker in London than a fellow financier in Frankfurt.

Throw us all together as bunkmates in Basic Training, though, or the austere conditions of the FEMA Corps or the Peace Corps, and it is possible that the shared sacrifice could help us see what we have in common, and feel more invested in our collective success.

Would the experience lead to instant national harmony? No. But it would help us to humanize those whom we may otherwise be conditioned to disdain by partisan insiders and their media enablers, who perversely benefit from the increasingly corrosive status quo.

Remarkably, the demand of those looking to serve actually exceeds the supply of opportunities. Beyond military service, we need not look far to see domestic problems that could be addressed by a workforce of thousands of young people, from our crumbling infrastructure to our deteriorating school system to homelessness.

The benefits of the service would go beyond the children taught by Teach for America or homes built by Habitat for Humanity. It would even go beyond the estimated $4 returned to society in benefits for every $1 invested in these programs. The most valuable result would be in the volunteers themselves, many of whom would go on to become more productive and engaged citizens, as studies of AmeriCorps have shown of its alumni.

My friend's observation at our Army softball game was simple yet profound. It is why so many veterans, when asked what they miss about the military, mention the camaraderie and shared sense of purpose. If we are lucky, circumstances will not soon require the scale of self-sacrifice exhibited by the greatest generation. But the type of brotherhood displayed on that German softball field should not be beyond our reach.

National service is an idea whose time has come, assuming it's not already too late.
Many foreigners and Viet Kieu (overseas Vietnamese) are buying apartments in Viet Nam, especially in HCM City. - Photo bighomes.com.vn

Over 10,000 apartments were sold in the second quarter of this year, many to foreigners who are permitted to buy up to 30 per cent of the units in a project.

Property consulting firm Jones Lang Lasalle Viet Nam told Viet Nam News that there had been a strong increase in condo sales to foreigners in HCM City.

Since the law was amended last July, foreigners have bought over 1,000 apartments in HCM City alone, according to the company.

The total number of units sold in 2015 was double that of 2014, thanks to growth in both demand and supply and support from banks for both developers and buyers, Stephen Wyatt, country head of the company, said.

"This trend is expected to continue this year and foreigners buying houses in Viet Nam will remain an interesting topic.

"We believe that the Vietnamese real estate market is going to attract further attention from investors in neighbouring countries."

CBRE, another international consultant, said there are more foreigners buying for investment purposes in HCM City.

Major projects like Vinhomes Golden River, Vinhomes Central Park, The Nassim, and Estella Heights have all seen large purchases by foreign buyers.

Some projects have even sold out 30 per cent of their units to foreigners.

Property developers report a significant increase in the number of foreign clients visiting their projects.

Novaland said since the law was amended, it had seen a regular increase in buying by foreigners.

The company said this was to be expected since over 500,000 foreigners reportedly live in Viet Nam, including around 30,000 CEOs.

The company quoted a report from the Japan External Trade Organisation as saying that 66 per cent of Japanese companies want to expand their business in the country and stay for a long time.

Recent projects by Phu My Hung Development Corporation like Le Jardin or Happy Residence have seen big volumes of visitors and buyers.

The company said there had been a boom in buying by foreigners since the second quarter of last year with foreigners accounting for 10-15 per cent of buyers.

At Le Jardin, the ratio was 30 per cent.

According to developers, foreigners mostly want to buy luxury apartments with full, high-quality facilities in central areas.
Conservative Party members will choose between Andrea Leadsom (L) and Theresa May (R) as Britain's next prime minister after they were selected as the top two candidates in a poll of Tory MPs AFP/Chris J Ratcliffe

"Is this all a happy coincidence? Has the glass ceiling finally been smashed?" the Guardian newspaper asked this week.

In the race to succeed David Cameron, who resigned as premier after last month's vote to leave the EU, one thing has been certain since Thursday -- the next leader will be a woman for the first time since Margaret Thatcher resigned in 1990.

Conservative party members must now choose between Home Secretary Theresa May and energy minister Andrea Leadsom.

In Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon is first minister and leader of the pro-independence Scottish National Party since 2014, while Ruth Davidson leads the Conservatives and Kezia Dugdale heads up Labour.

In Northern Ireland, the first minister is Arlene Foster of the Democratic Unionists while one of Wales' main parties, Plaid Cymru, is also led by a woman, Leanne Wood.

"That suggests that what might have been barriers to high office have completely evaporated," Professor Iain Begg of the London School of Economics told AFP.

BREAKING THE MOULD

Experts say it was Thatcher, who became Conservative leader in 1975 and prime minister in 1979, who opened the door for the current generation.

That happened nearly 60 years after the first woman took her seat in the House of Commons -- Conservative Nancy Astor in 1919.

"She (Thatcher) was the one who broke the mould and made it possible in future for other women to become leaders," Begg added.

The Conservatives have been slower than the main opposition Labour to recruit large numbers of women MPs, though.

In 1997, they only had 13, including May. By 2005, the figure stood at 17 and today the figure is 68 out of 330.

Cameron has pushed for more women MPs while groups such as Women2Win, founded by May and Anne Jenkin, a Conservative member of the House of Lords, has helped the push, supporting figures like Leadsom.

"We're getting there. We are still miles behind Labour (who have 99 female MPs out of 230), even though we will have produced two female prime ministers before they've had one woman as permanent leader," Jenkin said.

'BOYS MESSING ABOUT'

That situation could soon change. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is facing a huge rebellion by his MPs and the leading contender to replace him if he falls is Angela Eagle, an MP since 1992.

"In parallel we've got that societal evolution which says that being gay, being a woman is no longer an obstacle," added Begg. Eagle, Davidson and Dugdale all have female partners.

Evening Standard journalist Rosamund Urwin drew a parallel with the current situation in Britain and the success of Hillary Clinton in the US and Angela Merkel in Germany.

"Merkel, May, Clinton and Eagle seem to come from a similar mould. They're authoritative, tough, have far more impressive CVs than their rivals... the kind of person you want at the tiller of the boat during a perfect storm," she wrote.

Facing the political turmoil that followed the Brexit vote, Jenkin suggested that "there is a feeling of 'Yes, Nanny, please come and tell us what to do.'"

"I think they feel that at a time of turmoil that a woman will be more practical and a bit less testosterone (driven) in their approach," she added.

Business minister Anna Soubry told BBC radio: "Perhaps we've had enough of these boys messing about".
Diary of terror: The world lost someone to a terrorist attack each day in April
Prominent Cambodian political activist and commentator Kem Ley was shot dead in broad daylight while sitting in a coffee shop at a gas station in Phnom Penh Sunday.

The popular public figure was an outspoken critic of the government and the founder of the Grass Roots Democracy Party.



His killing has intensified growing public outrage at the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen, with a large crowd of protesters at the scene convinced this was just the latest act in a wave of government intimidation of opposition politicians and civil society ahead of elections next year.



An eyewitness, who asked reporters to conceal her identity, said two men walked into the shop where Ley was drinking coffee and shot him in the head repeatedly at point blank range.

National Police spokesman Kirt Chantarith said a suspect had been arrested who told them he had shot Ley over a debt. He did not give the suspects name.



He was shot at about 9 a.m. We arrested one of the suspects by 10 a.m. - we found him with a gun.



After questioning him, he said he lost some of his land because Kem Ley had not paid his debt to him. It is a $ 3,000 debt. But we dont believe him yet, this is under investigation, he said.





Leys body remained in a pool of blood at the Caltex coffee shop for hours as protesters refused to let police remove the corpse. Police at the scene blocked one of Leys relatives, an aunt, from seeing the body as anger boiled over.



Eventually police relented and hundreds, perhaps thousands of people marched through the streets with his body in a car filled and surrounded by family, heading to Kdey Chas pagoda to commence his funeral.

Global Witness report on PM Hun Sen



Luon Sovath, a monk and prominent rights activist who has himself repeatedly been the target of government intimidation, noted that Ley had spoken at length the previous day about a highly provocative Global Witness report that revealed some of Prime Minister Hun Sens familys fortune and vast business empire.



Kem Ley had analyzed that issue. It is such a very sensitive story since it is a hot issue now, that combination cost him his life, he said outside the mart.



It shows the political threat - kill one to scare the 15 million people. Its meant to scare all the intellectuals; the other political analysts will not dare analyze the truth.



Another prominent activist, Tep Vanny, said the failure of the courts to find justice for Chea Vichea, a unionist who was murdered in 2004, and Chut Wutty, an environmentalist who was gunned down in 2012, left her with little faith Kem Leys murder would be handled any differently.



We can see that other nationalists such as Chea Vichea and Chut Wutty were shot and no suspects were arrested. The question is why? Because they [the government] are involved, she said.

The U.S. embassy tweeted that it was shocked and saddened by Leys murder and expressed its condolences to his family.



Kem Ley was a charismatic and immensely popular political figure who frequently criticized both the government and the opposition for failing to implement democratic structures within their own parties. He sought to generate greater public participation in politics, but maintained he sought no political ambitions for himself.

He was particularly popular on radio  a medium that remains one of the most powerful in Cambodia because of its deep reach into rural areas.

Government's crackdown



In recent months the government has made sweeping arrests of opposition members and outspoken members of civil society, repeatedly threatened the media and launched a sustained attack on deputy opposition leader Kem Sokha.



The Cambodia National Rescue Party deputy leader remains holed up in CNRP headquarters trying to avoid a charge related to allegations he engaged in prostitution and corruption by having an extra-marital affair.



Cambodians are set to head to local elections next year and a national ballot the following year, having almost voted the ruling party out of its more than three decades in office in 2013.
Australia's opposition Labor party conceded defeat Sunday in national elections, eight days after voting concluded.

Labor party leader Bill Shorten said he was certain Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and his coalition government would secure enough seats to retain power.

Shorten said he had called Turnbull to congratulate him.

Turnbull said later his conservative coalition will remain in power for a second three-year term.

As vote counting continues, however, it is not clear whether the coalition will win enough seats to form a majority government, or be forced to ally with independent and minority party lawmakers to form a minority government.

Parties need to hold at least 76 seats in the 150-seat House of Representatives in order to form a majority government.

Voting in Australia is compulsory. Australians went to the polls in large numbers more than a week ago in a close federal election shaken by a number of minor parties, including a candidate from the Greens and other independent parties.

While climate change, immigration and education were key issues of the electoral campaign, the economy has been the determining factor of the outcome.

Britains decision to leave the European Union created great anxiety in Australia, and political leaders put economic security at the heart of their election campaigns.
Prominent Cambodian political activist and commentator Kem Ley was shot dead in broad daylight while sitting in a coffee shop at a gas station in Phnom Penh Sunday.



The popular public figure was an outspoken critic of the government and the founder of the Grass Roots Democracy Party.



His killing has intensified growing public outrage at the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen, with a large crowd of protesters at the scene convinced this was just the latest act in a wave of government intimidation of opposition politicians and civil society ahead of elections next year.



An eyewitness, who asked reporters to conceal her identity, said two men walked into the shop where Ley was drinking coffee and shot him in the head repeatedly at point blank range.

National Police spokesman Kirt Chantarith said a suspect had been arrested who told them he had shot Ley over a debt. He did not give the suspects name.



He was shot at about 9 a.m. We arrested one of the suspects by 10 a.m. - we found him with a gun.



After questioning him, he said he lost some of his land because Kem Ley had not paid his debt to him. It is a $ 3,000 debt. But we dont believe him yet, this is under investigation, he said.

In a video taped confession circulating online, the suspect bizarrely claimed his name was Chuab Samlaap, which translates to "meet death" in Khmer.

Leys body remained in a pool of blood at the Caltex coffee shop for hours as protesters refused to let police remove the corpse. Police at the scene blocked one of Leys relatives, an aunt, from seeing the body as anger boiled over.

Eventually police relented and hundreds, perhaps thousands of people marched through the streets with his body in a car filled and surrounded by family, heading to Wat Chak pagoda to commence his funeral.

Global Witness report on PM Hun Sen



Luon Sovath, a monk and prominent rights activist who has himself repeatedly been the target of government intimidation, noted that Ley had spoken at length the previous day about a highly provocative Global Witness report that revealed some of Prime Minister Hun Sens familys fortune and vast business empire.



Kem Ley had analyzed that issue. It is such a very sensitive story since it is a hot issue now, that combination cost him his life, he said outside the mart.



It shows the political threat - kill one to scare the 15 million people. Its meant to scare all the intellectuals; the other political analysts will not dare analyze the truth.



Another prominent activist, Tep Vanny, said the failure of the courts to find justice for Chea Vichea, a unionist who was murdered in 2004, and Chut Wutty, an environmentalist who was gunned down in 2012, left her with little faith Kem Leys murder would be handled any differently.



We can see that other nationalists such as Chea Vichea and Chut Wutty were shot and no suspects were arrested. The question is why? Because they [the government] are involved, she said.

The U.S. embassy tweeted that it was shocked and saddened by Leys murder and expressed its condolences to his family.



Kem Ley was a charismatic and immensely popular political figure who frequently criticized both the government and the opposition for failing to implement democratic structures within their own parties. He sought to generate greater public participation in politics, but maintained he sought no political ambitions for himself.

He was particularly popular on radio  a medium that remains one of the most powerful in Cambodia because of its deep reach into rural areas.

Government's crackdown



In recent months the government has made sweeping arrests of opposition members and outspoken members of civil society, repeatedly threatened the media and launched a sustained attack on deputy opposition leader Kem Sokha.



The Cambodia National Rescue Party deputy leader remains holed up in CNRP headquarters trying to avoid a charge related to allegations he engaged in prostitution and corruption by having an extra-marital affair.



Cambodians are set to head to local elections next year and a national ballot the following year, having almost voted the ruling party out of its more than three decades in office in 2013.
The slain suspect in an ambush that killed five Dallas police officers last week had plans for larger attacks, the city's police chief said Sunday.

The man also left a cryptic message in blood on a wall before police killed him in a targeted explosion, Dallas Chief of Police David Brown told CNN.

"We're convinced that this suspect had other plans and thought that what he was doing was righteous and believed that he was going to target law enforcement  make us pay for what he sees as law enforcement's efforts to punish people of color," Brown said.

WATCH: President Barack Obama comments on incident

Police believe Micah Xavier Johnson, 25, is the lone shooter in the deadly attack Thursday night during a protest against police killings of African-American men. The Dallas police chief said Friday that during hours of negotiations with Johnson, the gunman told police he wanted to "kill white people, especially white officers."

Before he was killed by police, Johnson also told negotiators he acted alone and was unaffiliated with any group. Brown said investigators have not definitively ruled out that Johnson had accomplices.

The police chief also revealed to CNN that police found the letters "RB" written in blood on a wall in the parking garage where Johnson was killed by police after he refused to surrender.

The meaning behind the message remains unclear, he said.

Seven other officers and two civilians were also wounded in the shooting; but new information released by Brown indicates the violence could have been even worse.

Bomb-making materials



Bomb-making materials and a journal were found at Johnson's home during a search Friday.

"The material were such that it was large enough to have devastating effects throughout our city and our North Texas area," Brown told CNN.

He added that the shooter "obviously had some delusion. There was quite a bit of rambling in the journal that's hard to decipher."

Johnson, an African-American man from the Dallas suburb of Mesquite, was a U.S. Army Reserve veteran who served in Afghanistan, according to U.S. defense officials.

Though trained in carpentry and construction through the military, NBC News reports that Johnson was most recently working for a company that provides care for people with disabilities. The owner of Touch of Kindness, a community social services organization based in Dallas, told NBC Johnson was paid an hourly wage to care for his brother at the family's home.

A woman who answered the phone at the company said she was shocked that Johnson was connected to the attack.

"He's not that kind of person," she said. "He's not violent. That can't be him."

The lead instructor at a private self-defense school near Dallas confirmed to the Associated Press that Johnson trained at the Academy of Combative Warrior Arts about two years ago; the school teaches special tactics, including how to change positions in between firing off a gun.

In Pictures: A Nation Protesting and Mourning

Nationalist groups

Although officials have not established any links to political groups, media reports suggest Johnson expressed sympathies on social media to several black nationalist organizations, including the New Black Panther Party.

Krystal Muhammad, national chair of the New Black Panther Party, told VOA that she didn't know Johnson and had never heard of him before the Dallas attack.

"I don't know where they're getting that information," Muhammad said. "People say a lot of stuff but that doesn't mean it's accurate."

When asked her opinion on the attack, Muhammad said: "My moral judgement is an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth."

"What happened in Dallas, who knows, this could be happening all across America. Because people are fed up. You cannot continue to brutalize human beings and think that some human beings are going to fall for it," she said.

The New Black Panther Party is a black political organization founded in Dallas. It is named after, but not an official successor to the now defunct Black Panther Party, the black nationalist group that frequently clashed with police in the 1970s.

Other than Johnson's social media activity, there was no indication that he had any ties to the Panthers or any other group.

An obscure organization, called Black Political Power Organization, appeared to claim responsibility for the attack on Facebook, but the page was later deleted, and no other information about the group, if it even exists, was readily available.

U.S. law enforcement officials say Johnson did not have a criminal record.

Army record

In an emailed statement, the U.S. Army said Johnson was a carpentry and masonry specialist during his time in the service from March 2009 to April 2015. He was deployed to Afghanistan from November 2013 to July 2014.

Johnson received several low-level military awards during his time in the Army, according to the statement, including the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, which is given to service members who have served in support operations in support of the U.S.' Global War on Terror (GWOT).

Johnson left Afghanistan when a fellow soldier brought sexual harassment charges against him saying he needed mental health counseling.

VOA's Jeff Seldin contributed to this report updated July 10, 2016.
Americas farmers have been tinkering with machinery for years, saving crucial hours by doing repairs themselves out the fields and sometimes coming up with innovations that improved on the manufacturers original design.

So its no surprise that farmers are irked that they no longer have the right to repair their own equipment.

Elected officials at the state and federal level need to take action to loosen up the restrictions to introduce more competition into the repair business.

Urbanites might be scratching their heads over newfangled self-driving cars, but in the giant fields of modern agriculture some farmers have been using auto-steering tractors for years, glancing at screens in their air-conditioned cabs to check if seeds and chemicals are being deposited precisely.

A story by Nicholas Bergin in the June 30 Journal Star delved into the legal restrictions that can mean that a piece of equipment like a combine worth more than $100,000 might sit idle in the field for a couple days at harvest time if the computer decides there is problem.

Waverly farmer Mick Minchow said he cant even check the system codes himself on his John Deere tractor to see whats the matter  if its an easy fix like changing a filter.

Its a national problem that has farmers riled up all across the country. Kyle Wiens, co-founder and CEO of iFixit, an online repair community and parts retailer, has been fighting the battle for years.

The dealer-repair game is just too lucrative for manufacturers to cede back any control to farmers, Wiens wrote last year.

The heart of the problem is the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The federal law is so protective of manufacturers rights that its entirely possible that changing the engine timing on his own tractor makes a farmer a criminal, Wiens wrote.

A bill titled the Nebraska Fair Repair Bill (LB1072) introduced by Sen. Ken Haar didnt get far, but it looks like the push for action at the state level will be stronger next year.

The Agriculture Committee chaired by Sen. Jerry Johnson of Wahoo is studying the issue this summer, and Johnson hosted a web seminar last month on High Tech Agriculture.

Repair.org described the problem as a stranglehold by manufacturers. They rigorously guard access to diagnostic software, most wont sell parts of proprietary tools to independent mechanics, and many wont release service documents for a fair price.

As John Hansen of the Farmers Union and others have pointed out, the success of the American economic system is due to competition. Monopolies have too much control over the business of repairing farm equipment. Elected officials need to bring competition back.
Family members of veteran American Sunday Times of London correspondent Marie Colvin have filed a lawsuit against the Syrian government, claiming the government targeted her and killed her in 2012 to stop her reports about Syrian atrocities and the besieged city of Homs.

The suit claims Colvin and French photographer Remi Ochlik were killed when the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad acted "with premeditation" when it launched a rocket attack on a makeshift media center in the rebel-held Homs district of Bab Amr on February 12, 2012. Three other reporters were wounded in the assault.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said in 2012 that Colvin and Ochlik were killed reporting on a story the Syrian government had tried to "choke off." It said their deaths represented an "unacceptable escalation in the price that local and international journalists are being forced to pay."

The Syrian Information Ministry said at the time the government did not know Colvin and Ochlik were in the country.

The civil complaint was filed Saturday in federal court in Washington by the Center for Justice and Accountability on behalf of Colvin's sister Cathleen Colvin and other family members.

The lawsuit is based on information from captured government documents and defectors. It names several Syrian officials including Assad's brother Maher.

Colvin, who was 56, was born in New York state. She earned a reputation as a courageous reporter covering some of world's deadliest conflicts for the Sunday Times, where she had worked for two decades.

Colvin wore an eye patch that concealed an injury she suffered in an explosion while covering Sri Lanka's civil war in 2001.

She acknowledged the risks of her work in a 2010 speech in which she paid tribute to other slain journalists. Speaking at London's St. Bride's Church, she said: "We always have to ask ourselves whether the level of risk is worth the story. What is bravery, and what is bravado? Journalists covering combat shoulder great responsibilities and face difficult choices. Sometimes they pay the ultimate price."
The death toll in Kashmir rose to 15 Sunday as clashes between Indian troops and protesters continued despite a curfew imposed in the disputed Himalayan region to suppress anti-India violence following the killing of a popular rebel commander.



Six civilians who had been injured after Indian troops fired on rock-throwing protesters died overnight while a man was killed on Sunday as hundreds of people defied the curfew and clashed with troops in southern Pulwama town, a police official said on condition of anonymity becasue he wasn't authorized to speak to reporters. Eight people were killed on Saturday.



The massive anti-India protests erupted after Burhan Wani, chief of operations of Hizbul Mujahideen, Kashmir's largest rebel group, was killed fighting with Indian troops on Friday. Two rebel comrades of Wani were also killed.



Indian troops used live ammunition, pellet guns and tear gas to try and control the angry crowds, police said. More than 100 civilians have so far been injured in the clashes.



Police intelligence chief Shiv M. Sahai said that protesters attacked several police and paramilitary posts in the region. Some 90 government troops have also been injured, he said. Thousands ofgovernment forces in riot gear have fanned out across towns and villages in Kashmir.



Wani, in his early 20s, had become the iconic face of militancy in Kashmir over the last five years. His video clips and pictures were widely circulated among young people in Kashmir.



Inspector-General Syed Javaid Mujtaba Gillani described his killing as the "biggest success against militants'' in recent years.



Indian officials, fearing that the killing could lead to violent protests in the already troubled region, have also indefinitely suspended an annual Hindu pilgrimage to a mountain cave which draws about half a million people each year.



Cellphone services in southern parts of Kashmir remained suspended for a second day and mobile internet was blocked in rest of the region to prevent anti-India demonstrators from mobilizing.



Shops, businesses and government offices remained closed. Authorities also postponed school and college examinations and suspended rail services.



Wani was a small-town boy and the son of a school principal. Handsome and media savvy, he was widely credited for reviving armed militancy in Indian Kashmir in recent years, using social media like Facebook to reach out to young Kashmiri men.



Most people in Kashmir have long resented the Indian presence, and support rebel demands for an independent Kashmir or a merging with Pakistan.



More than 68,000 people have been killed in the uprising and the subsequent Indian military crackdown.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi boarded a train Saturday in South Africa to commemorate a historic 19th-century confrontation that led independence icon Mahatma Gandhi to formulate his renowned policy of nonviolent disobedience.

Modi, on a four-nation African tour aimed at strengthening economic ties with the continent, traveled to the eastern province of KwaZulu-Natal, the home of most of South Africa's 1.3 million people of Indian origin.

Gandhi was removed in 1893 from a train in the provincial capital, Pietermaritzburg, because of his race, after refusing to leave a first-class carriage. He later described the event as an insult that led him to resist racial segregation and other injustices both in South Africa and later in British India.

Modi told a large diaspora gathering in Johannesburg on Friday that Gandhi had "conceptualized" his politics of resistance in South Africa. He called the country "the birthplace of Satyagraha"  the policy of nonviolent struggle that led to India's independence from British rule in 1947.

Both Modi and South African President Jacob Zuma paid tribute Friday to what Zuma called "two liberation icons": Gandhi and Nelson Mandela, who was elected South Africa's first black president in 1994.

The Indian leader's itinerary, including visits to Mozambique, Tanzania and Kenya, has been billed as a mission to raise India's economic profile in Africa, where China has had an increasingly dominant role in trade.

China says its trade with Africa has grown tenfold in the past decade, approaching $300 billion last year.
Iraqi government forces said they seized back control of a major airbase on Saturday, a staging post on their way to the Islamic State stronghold of Mosul.

Special forces and regular troops, under air cover from the U.S.-led coalition, entered Qayyara airbase from the south and found fighters from the militant group appeared to have fled, said a senior army officer from the frontline.

"It's a strategic advance ... It will help speed up the offensive on Mosul," he added. The army has long said it wants to use the airbase as a launchpad for the recapture of Mosul about 60 km (40 miles) further north.

There was no immediate comment from Islamic State.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi hailed the advance on his website, saying it would "be important for the liberation of Mosul".

Two years since Islamic State seized wide swathes of northern and western Iraq in a lightning offensive, the tide has begun to turn as an array of forces lined up against the militants have made inroads into their proclaimed "caliphate".

Abadi has pledged to retake Mosul - the largest city under control of the ultra-hardline Sunni Muslim militant group in both Syria and Iraq - by the end of the year.

The military's recapture of Falluja, an hour's drive west of the capital Baghdad, last month lent fresh momentum to the campaign to recover Mosul, the largest city in northern Iraqi with a pre-war population of about 2 million.

The insurgents stepped up a campaign of bombings on Shi'ite Muslim targets since the battle of Falluja, reigniting fears of an escalation of the sectarian strife.

The Shi'ites form a majority in Iraq but Sunnis are predominant in northern and western provinces where Islamic State proclaimed its "caliphate".
Exit polls from Japan's parliamentary election show Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling coalition will take the majority of the seats in the House of Councilors; parliament's less powerful upper house.

Media projections from Sunday's vote show the coalition may have won the two-thirds majority in the contested body, despite voters' doubts about Abe's economic policies and his goal of removing a war-renouncing clause from the country's post-World War II constitution.

Analysts say if Abe takes two-thirds of the seats up for grabs in Sunday's vote, he will have a good chance of revising the country's postwar pacifist constitution for the first time. A referendum, however, would be needed and many Japanese still support the country's pacifist stance.

Some Japanese agree with Abe that a constitutional change is needed because of growing fears about terrorism, as well as concerns about a nuclear North Korea and China's military assertiveness.

Abe has stressed during his campaign that there has not been enough time for people to feel the results of his so-called "Abenomics" monetary program.

"Abenomics has never failed, but is still half done," Abe said Saturday in Tokyo."All we have to do is to push for the policy firmly and steadily."He urged voters for patience with his economic program.

Critics say despite frustration with "Abenomics" conservative fiscal policies, the opposition has been unable to offer persuasive alternatives.

Sunday's balloting is the first election since the voting age has been lowered from 20 to 18.Japan has not been able to determine just how many of the more than two million new eligible voters will actually vote in the polls or how they will vote.
The young Liberian man went through hell, but when he reached Libya he hoped that there he'd be able to make a living and get an education. Instead, he entered another hell of imprisonment, then near death at sea.



The ordeal of Laye Donzo is a cautionary story for the tens of thousands of Africans each year who take the migrant road to Libya, seeing it as the gateway to life and prosperity in Europe. Instead, for many the war-torn country has meant only torture, imprisonment, rape or death.



It also illustrates the problem for European countries trying to stop the stream of migrants to their shores. By trying to prevent them from taking the dangerous sea journey across the Mediterranean, they are dooming the migrants to prolonged abuse in Libya at the hands of authorities and the country's many militias, rights groups warn.



Donzo was among dozens of Italy-bound, would-be migrants rescued off the coast of Libya on June 23 by the Aquarius, a boat chartered by the charity Doctors Without Borders and the rescue group SOS Mediterranee.



On that day, the Aquarius rescued two boats, one of them after nightfall when the captain happened to spy it in the spotlight just as he was giving up the search. Then it took on hundreds more from an Italian navy ship so it could deliver them to shore while the navy vessel continued the search.



So as it headed back to Sicily, the Aquarius was swelling with more than 650 migrants, well over its official capacity of 400. The exhausted migrants - men, women and young children - crowded on the ship's decks and in the halls, wearing white overalls distributed by the aid group and wrapping themselves in gray blankets.



After the initial shock from days on open water subsided, the tales of trauma and torture they endured in Libya poured out.



Donzo and his family had fled the civil war in his homeland Liberia to neighboring Sierra Leone. There, many in his family died in an Ebola outbreak. So Donzo made his way to Libya, where he did various jobs, mostly construction.



Early this year, he was detained by armed men at a checkpoint.



He spent the next five months imprisoned in a house with hundreds of other Africans, eating a single meal every three days. He's not even sure who detained him. In lawless Libya, the lines between criminal gangs, militias and the security forces of rival governments are often blurry.



"They beat you like animals,'' he said. "As long as you're in prison they would beat you. I don't know how many times they beat me. They beat everyone.'' He showed scars running along his back, legs and arms from being bound and hit with rubber tubes.



Then one day they blindfolded him, took him to the coast and forced him into a boat. He has no idea why.



After the fall of Moammar Gadhafi in 2011, Libya was plunged into chaos, with rebel groups evolving into militias loosely aligned with various competing governments or operating on their own and carving out fiefdoms around the country. The collapse of state control and enforcement of borders proved a draw for migrants. Some militias use smuggling as a revenue source.



But the chaos has also made Africans vulnerable to abuse, whether they are working in Libya or seeking to head on to Europe. Armed groups often detain Africans, ostensibly claiming to be enforcing the laws but really just to extort money or labor. Various factions run detention centers largely on their own without answering to central authorities.



On the Aquarius, Baba Ali, from Mali, said he was detained by local fighters in the town of Bani Walid, east of Tripoli. He was held captive in a factory-turned-prison along with 1,500 other Africans. He sat down and hugged his knees to show how tightly they were squeezed in.



"It was packed,'' he said. "We couldn't sleep, we had to sleep sitting down.''



Ali said he and the others were forced to work in construction and menial labor and were beaten regularly. Their captors fired in the air to intimidate them. Ali escaped during the holy month of Ramadan. Others had to pay to get out.



"We were looking for a job and got kidnapped by people with police uniforms,'' says Mostafa Dumbia, a native of the Ivory Coast. He said he was held in a prison for six weeks. His captors only released him and piled him onto a boat after his family sent payment of $1,000.



Erna Rijnierse of Doctors Without Borders says the accounts are consistent from dozens of survivors who passed through Libya. The scars on many survivors, including the combination of fresh and older scars, amount to evidence of ``long-term torturing.''



"I see a lot of bruises on places it's impossible to bruise yourself,'' she told The Associated Press.



For the past year, EU naval vessels in the Mediterranean have been working to intercept smuggling boats in a program called Operation Sophia. In June, the operation was extended for another year and expanded, with the EU now training the Libyan coast guard and navy in stopping smuggling. The EU also asked NATO to get involved, a request that will be discussed at the alliance's summit in Warsaw that began Friday.



The aim is in part to save lives. In 2015, at least 3,771 would-be migrants died in the Mediterranean, according to the International Organization for Migration. So far, 2016 is looking as bad if not worse. The IOM has so far documented nearly 2,920 deaths, the vast majority of them from African nations.



Operation Sophia is also aimed at deterring migrants from coming by shutting down the smuggling routes. Europe absorbed more than a million irregular migrants in 2015, a five-fold increase compared to 2014.



But in a report released Wednesday, Human Rights Watch said the effort "risks condemning migrants and asylum-seekers to violent abuse.''



"It's unacceptable to save or intercept people at sea and then send them back for abuse on land,'' said Judith Sunderland, associate Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "The EU - soon perhaps with NATO's help - is basically outsourcing the dirty work and deputizing Libyan forces to help seal Europe's border.''



NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told NATO leaders meeting in Warsaw that the organization had decided to launch a new security operation in the Mediterranean, Operation Sea Guardian, which will have a broad range of missions including counterterrorism.



"We intend to work closely with the European Union's Operation Sophia in the central Mediterranean, building on our swift and effective cooperation with the EU to cut the lines of international human smuggling in the Aegean,'' Stoltenberg said Saturday.



The Human Rights Watch report and another issued in June by Amnesty International include accounts from dozens of migrants that document rampant torture, beatings and sexual abuse in Libya. HRW's Associate Program Director Fred Abrahams noted that Sudanese women migrants take contraceptives before reaching Libya because the problem has become so well-known.



A 26-year-old Ivorian woman interviewed by Human Rights Watch said she was detained in June and July 2015 at an official facility in the Libyan city of Tajoura. She spoke of being forced to give oral sex to a Libyan guard almost daily. A failed attempt to escape by a group of women only led to further sexual violence.



"Seven girls got away but they caught the rest of us,'' she said. "The guards stripped one of us, a Nigerian girl, and raped her in front of us in the courtyard.''



On the morning of June 26, the Aquarius pulled along the Sicilian coast and into the port of Messina. The migrants are given medical checks and registered and housed in so-called `hotspot' migration centers so authorities can process their asylum applications. Some, however, leave the centers and head elsewhere in Europe as undocumented migrants.



As the ship cruised past the Sicilian hills, women looked curiously out the portholes as others went up on deck to get a view.



Like others, one man from Mali who gave his name only as Suleiman was weeping.



"I'm thinking about everything I've been through,'' he said. And he was thinking of his parents and siblings left behind in his homeland. "My brothers and sisters, that's why I'm crying.''
U.S. President Barack Obama is calling on Americans to mutually respect fellow citizens days after two fatal police shootings of African Americans and an ambush that killed five policemen in Dallas, Texas.

"Maintaining a truthful and serious and respectful tone is going to help mobilize American society to bring about real change and that is our ultimate objective," Obama said in a response to a question from a reporter as he met Sunday in Madrid, Spain, with Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.

"I would like all sides to listen to each other," Obama said in reference to protestors such as those involved with the 'Black Lives Matter' movement and police organizations throughout the U.S.

Obama said violence against police by anyone concerned about fairness in the criminal justice system does "a disservice to the cause."

The president also called for balance from law enforcement. "It is in the interest of police officers that their communities trust them."

In Pictures: A Nation Protesting and Mourning

The president was on an abbreviated first presidential trip to Spain, a day after attending the NATO summit in Warsaw, Poland, where he devoted much of his news conference to events back home.

"I firmly believe America is not as divided as some have suggested," Obama said. He said the country has a foundation to build on to tackle the very real problems it faces, including tensions between law enforcement and minority communities.

Obama is cutting his trip to Europe short by one day and will return Sunday to Washington in order to travel to Dallas in the coming days at the invitation of Mayor Mike Rawlings.

WATCH: Dallas Honors Fallen Officers

The city remains on edge, especially after Dallas police received an anonymous threat against officers across the city Saturday. The threat led officials to lock down the headquarters and several blocks surrounding the building as a "precautionary measure," a police statement said.

When asked in Poland about how he would characterize Dallas shooter Micah Johnson, Obama called him a "demented individual."

The Dallas shooter is not representative of blacks, the president said, just as the man who killed people at a historic African-American church last year in Charleston is not representative of whites, and the Muslim-American who killed 49 people at an Orlando nightclub last month is not representative of Muslim-Americans.

'Part of the problem'

On the issue of gun violence, in response to a question, Obama said, "I am not going to stop talking about guns, because they are part of the problem."

He said if people care about the safety of police officers, they cannot pretend that the gun issue is irrelevant. He said it would never be possible to stop every violent madman intent on carnage, but the U.S. could make it much harder for them.

He said the scope of gun violence in the United States is unique.

Race relations

Obama spoke at length in Poland on race relations, rejecting any suggestion that the country is returning to the strife and urban riots of the 1960s, and that police in Dallas kept on protecting protesters even while they were being shot at.

He said the country has made tremendous progress, both in lowering violent crime rates and on racial equality. But, the president added, the legacy of racism endures, and there is much work still to be done.

Obama said he hopes his two daughters, Sasha and Malia, and their children can live in a more just and equal country, but that progress takes time.

Asked about his legacy on race as the first African-American president, Obama said: "We plant seeds. And somebody else maybe sits under the shade of the tree that we planted."

Details of attack

Dallas Mayor Rawlings confirmed the shooting of five police officers on Thursday was carried out by a lone gunman, identified as Micah Johnson. The attack, which city officials labeled an "ambush," happened toward the end of a peaceful demonstration against the killing of two black men by police officers in Minnesota and Louisiana earlier in the week.

During a search of Johnson's home Friday, Dallas police detectives found bomb-making materials, ballistic vests, rifles, ammunition and a personal journal of combat tactics, the police department said. The gunman was a former Army reservist who served in Afghanistan.

The attack was the deadliest day for U.S. law enforcement since the terror attacks of September 11, 2001.
U.S. President Barack Obama has praised America's relationship with Spain as a "bond of friendship" with "shared economic and security interests" and warned that the two nations must be inclusive in an increasingly global society.

We have a world that is integrating rapidly and presents enormous opportunities, but if our institutional arrangements do not ensure inclusion, if we do not coordinate effectively on economic and security issues then it can presents great dangers," Obama said Sunday after meeting in Madrid, Spain with acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.

Not being inclusive in world affairs, Obama said, could alienate citizens throughout the world, causing conflict, mass immigration, and the creation of safe havens for terrorism.

If global integration does not work for everybody, if it simply helps elites, and you see growing inequality, and people feel left behind then you will get a crude populism that often is divisive and thats not good for anybody," Obama added.

Obama's meeting with Rajoy came as Spain grapples with high unemployment and remains in the grip of a political crisis sparked by two general elections that produced no clear winner.

Since democracy returned in the late 1970s, a center-left and a center-right party have dominated Spanish politics. But insurgent leftists have prevented the dominant parties from forming a government.

Obama also met in Madrid with leftist leaders and with Spain's King Felipe.

The president later arrived at Rota Naval Station in southern Spain, where he was greeted by Spain's Acting Defense Minister Pedro Morenes. Obama addressed U.S. and Spanish troops, saying, "We are going to keep standing together to meet the challenges of our time in the face of terrorists networks that seek to destroy. We are going to prevail not only because of our military strength, but because we will stay true to our values."

"And at this moment of uncertainty in Europe, well remain steadfast allies through NATO, the strongest alliance that the world has ever known," the president added.

The trip to Spain was cut short in order for Obama to visit Dallas, Texas, where five police officers were fatally shot last week in an ambush by an African American man who officials said was upset about recent fatal police shootings of two African-American men in Louisiana and Minnesota.

It was Obama's first presidential visit to Spain, the largest European country that had yet to welcome him. He traveled to Spain after attending a NATO summit in Warsaw, Poland.




Pakistan on Saturday reacted sharply to Afghan President Ashraf Ghanis latest aspersions on Islamabads counterterrorism efforts.

The Afghan leader told the NATO summit in Warsaw earlier in the day that Kabul was receiving cooperation from regional countries  except for Pakistan  to promote peace and stability in Afghanistan.

The exception is with Pakistan. Despite clear commitments to a quadrilateral peace process, their dangerous distinction between good and bad terrorists is being maintained in practice, Ghani asserted.

He was referring to the four-nation group  Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and the United States  that is working for a peaceful settlement of the Afghan conflict.

Ghanis criticism stemmed from allegations that Pakistani security forces are conducting operations against militants linked to the anti-state Pakistani Taliban but are not taking action against leaders of the Afghan Taliban, which is allegedly based in Pakistan.

Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Nafees Zakaria rejected Ghani's allegations.

Pakistan is disappointed with the remarks of President Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan at the NATO summit. ... The need of the hour is close cooperation between Afghanistan and Pakistan rather than the constant blame game by the Afghan government based on inaccurate assumptions, Zakaria said.

He added: We also expect cooperation of the Afghan government in our fight against terrorism through effective border management and denying sanctuaries to anti-Pakistan terrorists from TTP [Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan]."

Pakistani authorities allege that TTP militants have taken refuge on Afghan soil after fleeing security operations and, from there, stage cross-border terror attacks.

Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have deteriorated in recent months over the mutual allegations of sponsoring terrorist attacks on each others soil. The tensions have also prompted Islamabad to introduce strict monitoring of its long, porous border with Afghanistan to prevent illegal movement on either side.
Critics of former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the expected Democratic presidential nominee, have been questioning FBI Director James Comey's decision this week by not to pursue criminal charges over her use of a private email server while serving as the nation's top diplomat.

After Comey announced the findings of an FBI investigation into the matter and defended them before members of the House of Representatives, critics cried foul and the State Department reopened an internal investigation into the matter. At issue is whether Clinton mishandled classified information in a manner that amounts to an offense for which she could be prosecuted.

Comey said Clinton had been "extremely careless" in setting up a private computer server at home rather than keeping her email stored on a government computer designated for classified information. But he said he could find no evidence that she sought to violate U.S. laws on purpose, or covered up her actions.

Clinton's likely main rival in the U.S. presidential election later this year, Republican Donald Trump, tweeted in response to Comey's comments, "No charges. Wow! Rigged System."

Political pedigree

Clinton's critics, including some members of the House Oversight Committee who heard Comey's testimony Thursday, say Clinton got special treatment because of her political pedigree. Utah Republican Jason Chaffetz, chairman of the committee, said he was "mystified and confused" about how Clinton had escaped criminal charges. "If your name is not Clinton," Chaffetz said, "or you're not part of the powerful elite, then Lady Justice will act differently."

The chairman of the Republican National Committee, Reince Priebus, told conservative radio host Mike Gallagher on Thursday that Comey admitted in his report that Clinton had lied.

"James Comey announced to the world that Hillary Clinton is a liar," Priebus said. "I mean, she's lied about everything. ... Like about not having classified information [in her email]  a lie. She lied about saying she turned over all the emails [to federal authorities after leaving office]. Another lie. She lied about the fact that she never sent or received classified information."

But Comey drew a different conclusion, which he emphasized Thursday in his testimony: "We have no basis to conclude she lied to the FBI."

Political communications expert Lauren Wright said Comey made clear he did not believe Clinton intended to commit a crime, a big factor in a decision to prosecute.

No cover-up

A case often brought up as a contrast to the treatment of Clinton is that of former CIA Director David Petraeus, who resigned his post in 2012 after admitting he shared classified information with his biographer, who was also his lover, and lied about it to federal authorities. Asked about the retired four-star general, Comey said there was "clearly intentional conduct" and that Petraeus "knew what he was doing was in violation of the law."

Clinton's deeds may have been born of ignorance, the FBI director noted. He said Clinton was not "sophisticated" in the handling of classified information, and may not have recognized the symbol in her emails designating classified materials.

Although classified information turned up in email stored on her personal server, which authorities say was vulnerable to hacking, there was no evidence that she shared it with unauthorized parties on purpose and tried to cover that up.

Security clearance was another issue. Comey admitted during Thursday's hearing that FBI employees found to have misused classified information could suffer consequences ranging from a reprimand to outright dismissal. But he was carefully noncommittal when asked whether Clinton's actions would have affected her clearance if she had been an FBI employee. He said only that it would be "a very important consideration."

Wright, the political communications expert, said it is impossible to compare security standards at the FBI with those at the State Department.

"Each agency has a fair amount of autonomy," Wright said. "They also have a fair amount of discretion about how they deal with these things."

Clinton's use of a private email system was common knowledge among her aides at the State Department, Wright noted, and "since the State Department did have knowledge of the private server, and her co-workers had knowledge, it becomes a question of who should have flagged it and when."

Personal knowledge

In addition, Wright said, if Clinton's critics are really worried about her sharing state secrets, her emails are not the real threat; her personal knowledge is.

As a former secretary of state and former first lady  married to former President Bill Clinton, who held office from 1993 to 2001  Hillary Clinton is "already a walking encyclopedia of classified information," Wright said. "Even as first lady, [she would] have access to highly sensitive information, just by the fact of their close relationship with the White House and staff."

Whether the controversy over the private email server will affect Clinton's run for the presidency remains to be seen. Wright, who has written a book on presidential spouses and communication strategy, said polling numbers this far ahead of the election have little bearing on how people will vote in November.

"Those polls are shaky even a week before the election," according to Wright, who conceded that questions about Clinton's judgment and trustworthiness are likely to swirl about her for the duration of the campaign.
I am greatly saddened and disturbed by the loss of life of a convenience store worker in our community ("Slayer of Kwik Shop clerk still at large," July 8). We cannot stand by and do nothing. We must come together to teach the troubled and lost the difference between right and wrong. Someone knew the murderer and had a relationship with this person before they committed this tragic act. If you live your life ignoring the troubled and lost and knowingly do not reach out to help guide them, then you too could end up a victim of a senseless crime. Everyone must open their eyes, ears and hearts to their family, neighbors, coworkers and anyone else they contact on a regular basis. Develop meaningful relationships and, hopefully, when the troubled and lost think about committing a senseless act, they will think of you and decide against it, as to not disappoint people that matter to them.
South Sudan's rival leaders have called on their forces to halt fighting which threatens to tear apart a fragile peace agreement and unity government.

Speaking to a local radio station Monday, First Vice President and former rebel leader Riek Machar urged his forces to honor a cease-fire declared hours earlier by President Salva Kiir.

"I am informing all the troops that have been fighting, defending themselves, to respect this cease-fire and to remain where they are now," Machar told independent Eye Radio.

Kiir's "declaration of cessation of hostilities," issued Monday, ordered both sides to stop fighting at 6 p.m. local time in Juba. It directed commanders to control their forces, protect civilian life and property and safeguard any ethnic group that may be targeted by soldiers under their command.

Later, government officials ordered army troops to return to barracks immediately.

Fighting raged across Juba for a fifth day Monday, hours after the United Nations Security Council called on leaders in South Sudan to control their rival forces, and warned that ongoing attacks on civilians and U.N. facilities may constitute war crimes.

Thousands of frightened civilians have crowded into U.N. bases to escape the clashes between pro-Kiir and pro-Machar forces that erupted on Thursday, and a witness told VOA Monday that Kiir forces had shelled a U.N. protection of civilians site.

Local radio in the capital earlier reported as many as 276 dead in several days of violence, while a spokesman for Machar said at least 150 were killed with scores of others wounded.

In Washington, the State Department welcomed the call for a cease-fire.

"Today, we welcome the presidential decree declaring a unilateral cease-fire to take effect at 6 o'clock," said State Department Spokesman John Kirby on Monday, urging leaders of both sides to "do everything in their power to ensure these decrees will be fully respected, and unfettered humanitarian assistance will be provided."

Meanwhile, the U.S. Embassy in Juba has reduced the number of staff in response to the deterioration in the security situation. But the ordered departure of non-emergency personnel is not an evacuation.

Samantha Power, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., said the attacks in South Sudan are "deplorable" and that the "targeting of what are meant to be inviolable U.N. premises is totally outrageous and unacceptable and goes beyond even the savagery that we've seen over the life of this conflict."

Akshaya Kumar of Human Rights Watch said, "For too long, the U.N. Security Council has relied on the goodwill of South Sudan's leaders, neglected accountability and brandished empty threats of an arms embargo and individual sanctions." Kumar said that was a "losing strategy" that has "obviously failed."

"The council should make clear that attacks against civilians will not be tolerated and that U.N. peacekeepers will use the full force of their mandate and military capabilities to protect civilians under their care," said Kumar."It should also finally impose an arms embargo, which could immediately ground the South Sudanese attack helicopters that are operated by foreign crews and constrain the ability of armed forces to target civilians going forward."

WATCH: Fighting Mars S. Sudan Independence Anniversary

Ambassador Koro Bessho also urged Kiir and Machar to "genuinely commit themselves to the full and immediate implementation of the [2015] peace agreement" that ended a devastating two-year civil war in the impoverished country.

The war erupted in December 2013, a few months after Kiir fired Machar as South Sudan's vice president.

Machar has since been reinstated as part of the peace deal, reached last August, which also led to the formation of a transitional unity government.

Neither leader, however, has yet offered a workable plan to integrate their forces.

The latest fighting in Africa's newest nation was the first major outbreak of violence since Machar was reappointed vice president in April.

The World Food Program says 4.8 million South Sudanese are facing severe food shortages this year, with parts of the impoverished country on the brink of famine. It also says fighting has driven 2.4 million residents from their homes, while hundreds of thousands of others have fled the country as refugees.

With the country's fragile economy in shambles, monitors predict as many as 1 million South Sudanese will have fled the country by the end of the year.
The violent ambush that killed five Dallas police officers and wounded seven more could have been a lot worse, the city's police chief says.

Dallas Chief of Police David Brown told CNN Sunday that the slain gunman told police negotiators he wanted to "kill white people, especially white officers."

Bomb making materials and a journal were found at Johnson's home during a search Friday.

"The material were such that it was large enough to have devastating effects throughout our city and our North Texas area," Brown said.

Micah Xavier Johnson, 25, was killed by police in the deadly attack Thursday night during a protest against police killings of African American men.

Since the shooting deaths of two black men by white police officers over two days last week, protests have been held across the country. Scores of demonstrators have been arrested, with one flash point being the southern city of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where DeRay McKesson, one of the most prominent activists linked to the police reform protest movement Black Lives Matter, live streamed his own arrest.

Police defended his arrest as a matter of public safety, but demonstrators told U.S. news outlets they believe McKesson was targeted.

McKesson was freed on bond Sunday afternoon after being charged with obstructing a highway. "I remain disappointed in the Baton Rouge police, who continue to provoke protesters for peacefully protesting. There's a lot of work to be done, with this police department specifically,'' he said.

But Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards disagreed with McKesson's assessment. The governor told a news conference Sunday that he is proud of the state's law enforcement officers, calling their response to the protests "moderate."

In the northern city of St. Paul, Minnesota, where a second man, Philando Castile, was shot to death last week by a policeman after a traffic stop for a broken tail light, hundreds of protesters hurled firecrackers, rocks and bottles at police on Saturday.

The heavily armed officers used smoke grenades and pepper spray to break up the demonstration, with about 100 arrests. Authorities said 27 police officers were injured in the clashes.

Protests were held in other cities, too, including Washington, New York, San Francisco, Nashville and Indianapolis.

Individuals fired at police in at least two states -- Tennessee and Wisconsin -- and numerous police officials in major cities ordered their officers to patrol in pairs to give them a measure of safety.

In Pictures: A Nation Protesting and Mourning

President Barack Obama, who cut short a visit to Spain and will visit Dallas this week, said police and activists need to listen to each other. He said violence against police officers is a "reprehensible crime" that needs to be prosecuted.

"But even rhetorically, if we paint police in broad brush without recognizing that the vast majority of police officers are doing a really good job and are trying to protect people and do so fairly and without racial balance ... then we're going to lose allies in the reform cause," Obama said Sunday in Madrid.

The president will deliver remarks Tuesday at an interfaith memorial service in Dallas. The White House says he is making the trip at the invitation of Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings.

Also Sunday, Brown defended his decision to end the hours-long standoff in Dallas, ordering the use of a robot equipped with a bomb that police detonated to kill Johnson after negotiations for his surrender failed.

WATCH: Dallas Honors Fallen Officers

Some law enforcement officials have questioned use of the robot to kill an active shooter, apparently a first in U.S. law enforcement, that some say draws a close parallel with the use of U.S. military drones to killed terrorists in the Middle East.

But Brown said the gunman was hiding behind a brick wall and that police assault teams would have been exposed to "the gravest danger" if they had tried to rush Johnson to end the mayhem.

The police chief told CNN, "I approved it and I'd do it again if presented with the same circumstances. (Johnson) seemed very much in control and determined to hurt more officers."

Brown dismissed critics "sitting in the comfort of their homes" about the use of the robot because "they're not on the ground" trying to end Johnson's assault on police.

Dallas Mayor Rawlings, speaking on CBS' Face the Nation, said he agreed with the decision. He stressed that Johnson was given an opportunity to surrender.

"We ask him, 'Do you want to come out safely or do you want to stay there and we're going to take you down?' And he chose the latter," Rawlings said.

At churches around Dallas Sunday, people offered prayers for the victims and their families.

"We need to come together and pray for our leaders. And we need to pray for God's healing on our nation," said Robert Jeffress, senior pastor at First Baptist Church in Dallas.

VOA's Mike O'Sullivan in Dallas contributed to this story.
The U.S. Defense Department says it has transferred a Yemeni terror suspect from the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to the custody of the Italian government.



A statement Sunday said the transfer of Fayiz Ahmad Yahia Suleiman was approved unanimously by the Guantanamo Review Task Force after a comprehensive review of the case. The statement said the task force examined key factors, including potential security issues, before approving the transfer.



Authorities say Suleiman's departure leaves 78 detainees at Guantanamo, a controversial facility that President Barack Obama pledged to close during his time in office.



Obama issued an executive order in 2009 aimed at the eventual closing of Guantanamo, which critics argue has housed hundreds of prisoners, some of them for years, without formal charges and without trial. His efforts have been strongly opposed by Republican lawmakers who have cited the potential security risks posed by closing the facility.



Suleiman, now 41, was originally brought to the facility in 2002 and first recommended for transfer in 2010.



U.S. documents published by The New York Times in 2008 described the Saudi-born Suleiman as a militant trained in Afghanistan who fought with the Taliban. He is also alleged to have been one of seven Mujahideen who traveled with Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan in 2001 as the terror leader fled the U.S.-led alliance that hunted him in the weeks after the September 11 attacks on the United States.



The document also describes him as having been schooled as a medic who was trained in Kandahar, Afghanistan to make poisons, and who earlier fought in Bosnia during the Balkan wars of the 1990s.
Warsaw Summit Communique

Issued by the Heads of State and Government participating in the meeting of the North Atlantic Council in Warsaw 8-9 July 2016

1. We, the Heads of State and Government of the member countries of the North Atlantic Alliance, have gathered in Warsaw at a defining moment for the security of our nations and populations. We are pleased to have been joined by Montenegro, which we have invited to become the 29th member of our Alliance.

2. NATOs essential mission is unchanged: to ensure that the Alliance remains an unparalleled community of freedom, peace, security, and shared values, including individual liberty, human rights, democracy, and the rule of law. We are united in our commitment to the Washington Treaty, the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations (UN), and the vital transatlantic bond. To protect and defend our indivisible security and our common values, the Alliance must and will continue fulfilling effectively all three core tasks as set out in the Strategic Concept: collective defence, crisis management, and cooperative security. These tasks remain fully relevant, are complementary, and contribute to safeguarding the freedom and security of all Allies.

3. We owe a deep debt of gratitude to all the brave men and women from Allied and partner nations who have served or are serving in NATO-led missions and operations and in Allies missions and operations that contribute to the security of the Alliance. We honour all those who have been wounded or paid the ultimate sacrifice while serving our common purposes and values.

4. Since our last Summit in Wales in 2014, we have taken a range of steps to reinforce our collective defence, enhance our capabilities, and strengthen our resilience. We have committed to providing our armed forces with sufficient and sustained resources. Today, faced with an increasingly diverse, unpredictable, and demanding security environment, we have taken further action to defend our territory and protect our populations, project stability beyond our borders, and continue the political, military, and institutional adaptation of our Alliance.

5. There is an arc of insecurity and instability along NATOs periphery and beyond. The Alliance faces a range of security challenges and threats that originate both from the east and from the south; from state and non-state actors; from military forces and from terrorist, cyber, or hybrid attacks. Russias aggressive actions, including provocative military activities in the periphery of NATO territory and its demonstrated willingness to attain political goals by the threat and use of force, are a source of regional instability, fundamentally challenge the Alliance, have damaged Euro-Atlantic security, and threaten our long-standing goal of a Europe whole, free, and at peace. Our security is also deeply affected by the security situation in the Middle East and North Africa, which has deteriorated significantly across the whole region. Terrorism, particularly as perpetrated by the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)/Daesh, has risen to an unprecedented level of intensity, reaches into all of Allied territory, and now represents an immediate and direct threat to our nations and the international community. Instability in the Middle East and North Africa also contributes to the refugee and migrant crisis.

6. The changed and evolving security environment demands the ability to meet challenges and threats of any kind and from any direction. Based on solidarity, Alliance cohesion, and the indivisibility of our security, NATO remains the transatlantic framework for strong collective defence and the essential forum for security consultations and decisions among Allies. The greatest responsibility of the Alliance is to protect and defend our territory and our populations against attack, as set out in Article 5 of the Washington Treaty. And so renewed emphasis has been placed on deterrence and collective defence. At the same time, NATO must retain its ability to respond to crises beyond its borders, and remain actively engaged in projecting stability and enhancing international security through working with partners and other international organisations.

7. Allies confront a wide range of terrorist challenges that pose a direct threat to the security of our populations, and to international stability and prosperity more broadly. In the past months, we have faced terrible terrorist attacks on our soils and in our cities. In particular, ISIL/Daesh poses a grave threat to the wider Middle East and North Africa region and to our own nations. In response, all NATO Allies and many NATO partners are contributing to the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL. Thanks to that determined action, the Global Coalition campaign has made considerable progress, building on our experience in working together and with partners in NATO-led operations, training, and exercises. ISIL/Daesh is losing territory, control of strategic supply routes and resources, as well as its leaders, fighters, and followers. To ensure ISIL/Daeshs lasting defeat, our nations remain committed to sustaining the momentum and work of the Global Coalition. In this context, it is important for the Iraqi authorities to continue to promote policies to ensure inclusivity at all levels of government, including the defence and security forces. We also recognise that an effective and enduring fight against ISIL/Daesh in Syria will only be possible with a legitimate government in place, and stress the need for an immediate and genuine political transition in this country. We condemn ISIL/Daeshs unrelenting barbaric attacks against all civilian populations, in particular the systematic and deliberate targeting of entire religious and ethnic communities. We also condemn in the strongest terms ISIL/Daeshs violent and cowardly acts in Allied territory. If the security of any Ally is threatened, we will not hesitate to take all necessary steps to ensure our collective defence. In light of the dramatic humanitarian consequences of this crisis and its repercussions on regional stability and security, Allies are offering security and humanitarian assistance across the region.

8. The global threat of terrorism knows no border, nationality, or religion. We will continue to fight this threat in accordance with international law and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, with determination, and in solidarity with those Allies and partners that have been victims of terrorist attacks. We are ready to do more to counter this threat, including by helping our partners provide for their own security, defend against terrorism, and build resilience against attack. While we enhance our cooperation to prevent, mitigate, and respond effectively to terrorist attacks, including through our efforts to project stability, we are also mindful of the need to address the conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism.

9. For over two decades, NATO has striven to build a partnership with Russia, including through the mechanism of the NATO-Russia Council (NRC). Russias recent activities and policies have reduced stability and security, increased unpredictability, and changed the security environment. While NATO stands by its international commitments, Russia has breached the values, principles and commitments which underpin the NATO-Russia relationship, as outlined in the 1997 Basic Document of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, the 1997 NATO-Russia Founding Act, and 2002 Rome Declaration, broken the trust at the core of our cooperation, and challenged the fundamental principles of the global and Euro-Atlantic security architecture. Decisions we have taken, including here at our Summit, are fully consistent with our international commitments, and therefore cannot be regarded by anyone as contradicting the NATO-Russia Founding Act.

10. Russias destabilising actions and policies include: the ongoing illegal and illegitimate annexation of Crimea, which we do not and will not recognise and which we call on Russia to reverse; the violation of sovereign borders by force; the deliberate destabilisation of eastern Ukraine; large-scale snap exercises contrary to the spirit of the Vienna Document, and provocative military activities near NATO borders, including in the Baltic and Black Sea regions and the Eastern Mediterranean; its irresponsible and aggressive nuclear rhetoric, military concept and underlying posture; and its repeated violations of NATO Allied airspace. In addition, Russias military intervention, significant military presence and support for the regime in Syria, and its use of its military presence in the Black Sea to project power into the Eastern Mediterranean have posed further risks and challenges for the security of Allies and others.

11. NATO has responded to this changed security environment by enhancing its deterrence and defence posture, including by a forward presence in the eastern part of the Alliance, and by suspending all practical civilian and military cooperation between NATO and Russia, while remaining open to political dialogue with Russia. We reaffirm these decisions.

12. As we agreed, talking to Russia allows us to communicate clearly our positions, with the crisis in and around Ukraine being, in current circumstances, the first topic on our agenda. We remain open to a periodic, focused and meaningful dialogue with a Russia willing to engage on the basis of reciprocity in the NRC, with a view to avoiding misunderstanding, miscalculation, and unintended escalation, and to increase transparency and predictability. We also have military lines of communication. We have agreed to continue to use all these channels to address the critical issues we face, and call on Russia to make good use of all lines of communication.

13. Reciprocal military transparency and risk reduction has the potential to improve stability and security in the Euro-Atlantic area. In this context, we call on Russia to constructively engage in the ongoing discussions in the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to modernise the Vienna Document, to help close the loopholes that reduce military transparency.

14. The Alliance does not seek confrontation and poses no threat to Russia. But we cannot and will not compromise on the principles on which our Alliance and security in Europe and North America rest. NATO will continue to be transparent, predictable and resolute.

15. As we agreed at our Wales Summit, we will continue our strategic discussion on Euro-Atlantic security and our approach to Russia. As we also agreed at Wales, we continue to believe that a partnership between NATO and Russia, based on respect for international law and commitments, including as reflected in the NATO-Russia Founding Act and Rome Declaration, would be of strategic value. We regret that despite repeated calls by Allies and the international community since 2014 for Russia to change course, the conditions for that relationship do not currently exist. The nature of the Alliances relations with Russia and aspirations for partnership will be contingent on a clear, constructive change in Russias actions that demonstrates compliance with international law and its international obligations and responsibilities. Until then, we cannot return to business as usual.

16. An independent, sovereign, and stable Ukraine, firmly committed to democracy and the rule of law, is key to Euro-Atlantic security. We stand firm in our support for Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders and Ukraines right to decide its own future and foreign policy course free from outside interference, as set out in the Helsinki Final Act. We strongly condemn Russias aggressive actions against Ukraine and its continued violation of international law and its international obligations, which have serious implications for the stability and security of the entire Euro-Atlantic area.

17. Russia bears full responsibility for the serious deterioration of the human rights situation on the Crimean peninsula, in particular the discrimination against the Crimean Tatars and other members of local communities. We demand that the Russian de facto authorities take the necessary measures to ensure the safety, rights, and freedoms of everyone living on the peninsula. International monitoring structures must be allowed to carry out their essential work in view of the protection of human rights. We condemn Russias ongoing and wide-ranging military build-up in Crimea, and are concerned by Russias efforts and stated plans for further military build-up in the Black Sea region.

18. We are committed to a peaceful solution to the conflict in eastern Ukraine, which has claimed nearly 10 000 lives, and reintegration of the areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions controlled by the Russian-backed militants. This will require full implementation of the Minsk Agreements based on a comprehensive ceasefire and an internationally verified withdrawal of weapons. We urge all signatories to fully comply with the commitments they signed up to.

19. Russia, as a signatory to the Minsk Agreements, bears significant responsibility in this regard. Despite its declared commitment to the Minsk Agreements, Russia continues its deliberate destabilisation of eastern Ukraine, in violation of international law. Russia continues to provide weapons, equipment, and personnel, as well as financial and other assistance to militant groups, and to intervene militarily in the conflict. We are extremely concerned by the destabilisation and deteriorating security situation in eastern Ukraine. We call on Russia to desist from aggressive actions and to use its considerable influence over the militants to meet their commitments in full, especially to allow for the observation of the ceasefire regime, implementation of confidence-building measures, and disarmament.

20. We fully support the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM), which has a key role in helping to de-escalate the conflict and stress the importance of full and unhindered access by the OSCE monitors. Impediments to the SMMs work, which continue to occur overwhelmingly in areas under the control of the Russian-backed militants, represent a violation of the Minsk Agreements and seriously hamper the monitoring function of the SMM. We call on those responsible to stop any attacks against OSCE observers, and for the perpetrators to be held accountable. We also commend the work of the EU Advisory Mission to assist Ukraine in the field of civilian security sector reform, including police and the rule of law.

21. We welcome the efforts of the Normandy format and the Trilateral Contact Group to advance the implementation of the Minsk Agreements to open the way to the full reintegration of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, including passing a local election law for eastern Ukraine; carrying out local elections, when the security situation allows, in accordance with Ukrainian law and relevant OSCE standards and with a strong presence of international observers; implementation of special status and amnesty; withdrawal of foreign forces; and restoration of Ukraines control over its side of the international border. We condemn the militants use of residential areas to launch heavy weapons. We urge all parties to take concrete steps to reduce civilian casualties and to adhere strictly to the requirements of international humanitarian law.

22. We remain committed to a continued coherent international approach, in particular between NATO and the European Union (EU). NATOs response is in support of this overall effort, which includes sanctions as decided by the EU, the G7 and others, to promote a peaceful solution to the conflict and to address Russias actions.

23. We face evolving challenges in the Baltic and Black Sea regions, the North Atlantic, as well as in the Mediterranean, which are of strategic importance to the Alliance and to our partners. Russia continues to strengthen its military posture, increase its military activities, deploy new high-end capabilities, and challenge regional security. These developments have resulted in increased unpredictability that could be mitigated through reciprocal transparency and risk reduction measures. Recognising the indivisibility of Allied security, we will continue to closely monitor the situation in these regions. Our response will be tailored to specific circumstances in each region. We will also work with interested partners to enhance our situational awareness and to develop common approaches to evolving challenges.

In the Baltic Sea region, where the security situation has deteriorated since 2014, the Alliance has developed mutually beneficial partnership relations with Finland and Sweden on a broad range of issues. We appreciate the significant contributions of Finland and Sweden to NATO-led operations. We are dedicated to the continuous process of further strengthening our cooperation with these enhanced opportunities partners, including through regular political consultations, shared situational awareness, and joint exercises, in order to respond to common challenges in a timely and effective manner.

In the Black Sea region, the security situation has also deteriorated in recent years. We will continue to address the implications for NATO of developments in the region and take them into account in the Alliances approaches and policies. We will continue to support, as appropriate, regional efforts by the Black Sea littoral states aimed at ensuring security and stability. We will also strengthen our dialogue and cooperation with Georgia and Ukraine in this regard.

In the North Atlantic, as elsewhere, the Alliance will be ready to deter and defend against any potential threats, including against sea lines of communication and maritime approaches of NATO territory. In this context, we will further strengthen our maritime posture and comprehensive situational awareness.

24. We continue to support the right of all our partners to make independent and sovereign choices on foreign and security policy, free from external pressure and coercion. We remain committed in our support for the territorial integrity, independence, and sovereignty of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and the Republic of Moldova. In this context, we continue to support efforts towards a peaceful settlement of the conflicts in the South Caucasus, as well as in the Republic of Moldova, based upon these principles and the norms of international law, the UN Charter, and the Helsinki Final Act. We urge all parties to engage constructively and with reinforced political will in peaceful conflict resolution, within the established negotiation frameworks.

25. The continuing crises and instability across the Middle East and North Africa region, in particular in Syria, Iraq and Libya, as well as the threat of terrorism and violent extremism across the region and beyond, demonstrate that the security of the region has direct implications for the security of NATO. In addition to the spill-over of conflict from failing and failed states, terrorism and violent extremism, we face other common transnational security threats and challenges, including trafficking of small arms and light weapons, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery means, and threats against maritime security and energy supply. Criminal trafficking gangs have exploited this situation at the expense of displaced people. Peace and stability in this region are essential for the Alliance. Therefore, we emphasise the need to do more to achieve lasting calm and an end to violence.

26. We are adapting our defence and deterrence posture to respond to threats and challenges, including from the south. At the same time, we are continuing to draw on our cooperative security network to enhance political dialogue, to foster constructive relationships in the region, and to increase our support for partners through practical cooperation, as well as defence capacity building and crisis management. We are also exploring options for possible NATO contributions to international efforts to bring stability in the region, building on decisions taken by our Foreign Ministers in May.

27. We remain concerned and vigilant towards the ongoing crisis in Syria, which has direct ramifications for regional stability and for the security of NATOs south-eastern border. The dynamics of this conflict  including terrorism and violent extremism in all their forms and manifestations, the humanitarian tragedy it has caused, and the massive flow of migrants  present challenges and threats for international stability, security, and prosperity. We reiterate our full commitment and determination to defend NATO territory and borders against any threats and address challenges emanating from the Syrian conflict. We condemn all kinds of indiscriminate violence against civilians and civilian infrastructure. We also condemn in the strongest terms the unabated and indiscriminate campaign of bombardment, including the use of incendiary weapons, and violence by the Assad regime and its supporters deliberately targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure. We also condemn indiscriminate violence against civilians, in particular by ISIL/Daesh, the Al Nusra Front, and other groups designated as terrorist organisations by the UN.

28. We call on the Syrian regime to fully comply with the provisions of all relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs), and to immediately take steps for a genuine political transition in accordance with UNSCR 2254 and the 30 June 2012 Geneva Communique. We underline that stability and security cannot be reinstated in Syria without a genuine political transition to a new, representative leadership, based on an inclusive and Syrian-led political process. In this vein, we support the political process under the auspices of the UN and the efforts of the International Syria Support Group to assist the political process. We call for full implementation of the humanitarian provisions of the UNSCR 2254 and the Cessation of Hostilities (CoH) agreement. We strongly condemn the violations of the CoH, in particular by the regime and its supporters. These violations constitute a serious hindrance for the political process. We call upon the parties to the CoH to remain committed to the agreement and its full implementation.

29. We stand in support of Iraq in its efforts to build institutions that could restore stability and security in the country. We commend the success to date of the Iraqi security forces in pushing back and reclaiming key territories from ISIL/Daesh. The participation of all Iraqis through national reconciliation and inclusive governance is crucial, and we therefore encourage the Iraqi authorities to continue to implement policies to bridge ethnic, sectarian, and religious divisions, and ensure inclusive representation in all governmental institutions, and to develop the countrys security forces.

30. We welcome the political developments that have taken place in Libya since December 2015: we support the UN and Libyan-led efforts, which have led to the Libyan political agreement, and recognise the Government of National Accord as the sole legitimate government of Libya. We encourage full implementation of the political agreement, and we express support to efforts by the Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidency Council towards an inclusive political process aimed at promoting national reconciliation in order to establish functioning state structures. These efforts mark an important step to strengthen Libyas democratic transition. The unification of all Libyan forces under the authority of the Presidency Council will be key for Libyas ability to fight terrorism.

31. Terrorist acts and the trafficking of arms, drugs, and human beings across the Sahel-Sahara region continue to threaten regional and our own security. We welcome the efforts of the UN and the EU, and underscore the importance of a strong commitment by the international community to address the complex security and political challenges in this region. In Mali, we welcome the endorsement of the peace agreement, the steps taken in its implementation, and the support of the international community to the stabilisation of the country. We also welcome the robust military commitment of Allies in the Sahel-Sahara region, in support of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the countries in the region, and of the security of the Alliance. We commend our African partners action to deepen regional cooperation to confront security issues in the Sahel.

32. The Alliance military posture is defensive in nature. Deterrence and defence are at the heart of the Alliances mission and purpose  as the fundamental means of preventing conflict, protecting Allied territories and populations, and maintaining the Alliances freedom of decision and action at any time, as well as upholding the principles and values enshrined in the North Atlantic Treaty. We will ensure that NATO has the full range of capabilities necessary to deter and defend against potential adversaries and the full spectrum of threats that could confront the Alliance from any direction.

33. All of the actions that we have taken to strengthen our deterrence and defence posture require appropriate investment in capabilities and the development of highly-capable and deployable forces. Our overall security and defence depend both on how much we spend and how we spend it. Increased investments should be directed towards meeting our capability priorities. It is essential that Allies display the political will to provide required capabilities and deploy forces when they are needed. Allies also need to ensure forces are deployable, sustainable, and interoperable. The Defence Investment Pledge we agreed at the Wales Summit is an important step in this direction and today we reaffirm its importance. Through this Pledge we agreed to reverse the trend of declining defence budgets, to make the most effective use of our funds, and to further a more balanced sharing of the costs and responsibilities.

34. Since Wales, we have turned a corner. Collectively, Allies defence expenditures have increased in 2016 for the first time since 2009. In just two years, a majority of Allies have halted or reversed declines in defence spending in real terms. Today, five Allies meet the NATO guideline to spend a minimum of 2% of their Gross Domestic Product on defence. Ten Allies meet the NATO guideline to spend more than 20% of their defence budgets on major equipment, including related Research & Development. Output is also important, in particular deployability and sustainability of Allied forces. Allies continue to make important contributions to NATO operations, missions, and activities, as well as the NATO Command and Force Structures. Allies invest considerable resources in preparing their forces, capabilities, and infrastructure for Alliance activities and Allies operations that contribute to our collective security. There is still much work to be done. Efforts to achieve a more balanced sharing of the costs and responsibilities continue. Defence Ministers will continue to review progress annually.

35. In Wales, we approved our Readiness Action Plan (RAP) to respond swiftly to the fundamental changes in the security environment on NATOs borders and further afield that are of concern to Allies. It responds to the challenges posed by Russia and their strategic implications. It also responds to the risks and threats emanating from our southern neighbourhood, the Middle East and North Africa. Less than two years later, it has already contributed to a substantial adaptation of NATOs military posture. The RAP has significantly enhanced our readiness, responsiveness, and flexibility required to deal with the changed security environment. We welcome the Plans implementation.

36. The Readiness Action Plan Assurance Measures have provided continuous military presence and meaningful activity in the eastern part of the Alliance, on a rotational basis, for the past two years. These defensive measures demonstrate our collective solidarity and resolve to protect all Allies. Assurance Measures provide the fundamental baseline requirement for assurance and deterrence. In addition, tailored assurance measures for Turkey to respond to the growing security challenges from the south contribute to the security of the Alliance as a whole, and will be fully implemented. Assurance Measures are flexible and scalable in response to the evolving security situation, and will be kept under annual review by the Council.

37. Through the longer term Adaptation Measures of the Readiness Action Plan, we have:

a. Enhanced the NATO Response Force (NRF), increasing its readiness and substantially enlarging its size, making it a more capable and flexible joint force comprised of a division-size land element with air, maritime, and special operations forces components.

b. Created a new Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF), able to begin deployment within two to three days. It has been certified, exercised at short notice, and on stand-by since 2015. Seven VJTF framework nations1 have been identified and a VJTF rotation plan established through 2022.

c. Established eight multinational NATO Force Integration Units on the territory of Allies in the eastern part of the Alliance to assist in training of Alliance forces and in the reception of reinforcements when needed.

d. Taken the necessary steps to increase NATOs ability to reinforce through new infrastructure projects and increased flexibility in the rapid movement of forces across national territory.

e. As part of the NATO Force Structure, made the Headquarters of a Multinational Corps Northeast in Poland fully operational, and established the Headquarters of a Multinational Division Southeast in Romania to take command of the NATO Force Integration Units and to provide flexible command and control options in their regions.

f. Decided to enhance NATO Standing Naval Forces with additional capabilities.

g. Delivered a more ambitious NATO exercise programme. National exercises are an important part of this effort. In 2015 alone, NATO and Allies conducted 300 exercises, including NATOs largest and most complex exercise in over a decade  Trident Juncture 2015 in Italy, Portugal, and Spain.

h. Enhanced advance planning and enabled accelerated decision-making to ensure both military and political responsiveness.

i. Agreed a strategy on NATOs role in Countering Hybrid Warfare, which is being implemented in coordination with the EU.

j .Established a framework for NATOs adaptation in response to growing challenges and threats from the south.

These Adaptation Measures will remain a major driver of NATOs military adaptation and need to be sustained over time.

38. In light of the changed and evolving security environment, further adaptation is needed. Therefore, we have decided to further strengthen the Alliances deterrence and defence posture. Building on the success of the Readiness Action Plan, today we are adopting a broad approach to deterrence and defence which draws upon all of the tools at NATOs disposal. This will provide the Alliance with a range of options to be able to respond to any threats from wherever they arise. Given the different nature, types and origins of threats, we will tailor our response to specific circumstances. Taken together, the measures we are approving at this Summit will enhance the security of all Allies and ensure protection of Alliance territory, populations, airspace and sealines of communication, including across the Atlantic, against all threats from wherever they arise. In this context, our response is united and adequate to the new security environment, demonstrating our ability and willingness to defend one another. As part of the Alliance posture, these measures are defensive in nature, proportionate, consistent with our international commitments and demonstrate our respect for the rules-based European security architecture.

39. As a means to prevent conflict and war, credible deterrence and defence is essential. At the same time, as part of the Alliances overall approach to providing security for NATO populations and territory, deterrence has to be complemented by meaningful dialogue and engagement with Russia, to seek reciprocal transparency and risk reduction. Those efforts will not come at the expense of ensuring NATOs credible deterrence and defence.

40. We have decided to establish an enhanced forward presence in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland to unambiguously demonstrate, as part of our overall posture, Allies solidarity, determination, and ability to act by triggering an immediate Allied response to any aggression. Beginning in early 2017, enhanced forward presence will comprise multinational forces provided by framework nations and other contributing Allies on a voluntary, sustainable, and rotational basis. They will be based on four battalion-sized battlegroups that can operate in concert with national forces, present at all times in these countries, underpinned by a viable reinforcement strategy. We welcome the offers of Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States to serve as framework nations for the robust multinational presence in Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Poland respectively. We have also accepted the Polish offer to provide an existing division headquarters as a basis for the establishment of a multinational division headquarters, pending agreement on the modalities by the Council. We recognise the integral role host nations will play in enhanced forward presence. We further welcome additional contributions from across the Alliance to support this important endeavour. We recognise the significant resource commitments of Allies.

41. We will also develop tailored forward presence in the southeast part of the Alliance territory. Appropriate measures, tailored to the Black Sea region and including the Romanian initiative to establish a multinational framework brigade to help improve integrated training of Allied units under Headquarters Multinational Division Southeast, will contribute to the Alliances strengthened deterrence and defence posture, situational awareness, and peacetime demonstration of NATOs intent to operate without constraint. It will also provide a strong signal of support to regional security. Options for a strengthened NATO air and maritime presence will be assessed.

42. As part of the Readiness Action Plan and as a contribution to our deterrence and defence posture, we have established a framework for NATOs adaptation in response to growing challenges and threats emanating from the south. The framework focusses on better regional understanding and situational awareness, the ability to anticipate and respond to crises emanating from the south, improved capabilities for expeditionary operations, and enhancing NATOs ability to project stability through regional partnerships and capacity building efforts. We will proceed with the implementation of this framework.

43. As part of a broader approach and the concerted efforts of the international community, we also need to deter and defend against non-state actors that have state-like aspirations, capabilities, and resources, and that threaten or affect the security of Allied populations and the integrity of Allied territory. We have agreed a series of measures to respond to this threat, including ensuring that it is appropriately monitored and assessed and that relevant plans will be updated as necessary.

44. We will not accept to be constrained by any potential adversary as regards the freedom of movement of Allied forces by land, air, or sea to and within any part of Alliance territory. Alliance capabilities, training, and exercises contribute to our ability to operate freely. We remain ready to rapidly reinforce any Ally that comes under threat, when needed, to counter all contingencies.

45. We will ensure that NATO has the full range of capabilities necessary to fulfil the whole range of Alliance missions, including to deter and defend against potential adversaries, and the full spectrum of threats that could confront the Alliance from any direction. In line with our defence planning priorities, we are committed to delivering heavier and more high-end forces and capabilities, as well as more forces at higher readiness. The primary responsibility for achieving this remains with Allies, individually. Multinational approaches are valuable in meeting these vital needs.

46. We will ensure that the NATO Command Structure remains robust and agile, and able to undertake all elements of effective command and control for simultaneous challenges across the full spectrum of missions. In light of the changed and evolving security environment and the increased overall requirements, we will conduct a functional assessment of the current structure.

47. We will further improve our strategic anticipation by enhancing our situational awareness, particularly in the east and south and in the North Atlantic. Our ability to understand, track and, ultimately, anticipate, the actions of potential adversaries through Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities and comprehensive intelligence arrangements is increasingly important. These are essential to enable timely and informed political and military decisions. We have established the capabilities necessary to ensure our responsiveness is commensurate with our highest readiness forces.

48. The Alliance maritime posture supports the four roles consisting of collective defence and deterrence, crisis management, cooperative security, and maritime security, and thus also contributes to projecting stability. The Standing Naval Forces are a core maritime capability of the Alliance and are the centrepiece of NATOs maritime posture. They are being enhanced and will be aligned with NATOs enhanced NATO Response Force to provide NATOs highest readiness maritime forces. We will continue to reinforce our maritime posture by exploiting the full potential of the Alliances overall maritime power. Work is under way on the operationalisation of the Alliance Maritime Strategy, as well as on the future of NATOs maritime operations, which are key to NATOs maritime posture. Allies are also considering complementary maritime governance initiatives to contribute to this endeavour.

49. Interoperability of our armed forces is fundamental to our success and an important added value of our Alliance. Through training and exercises, the development of NATO standards and common technical solutions, the NATO Response Force, Assurance Measures, forward presence in the eastern part of the Alliance, and joint operations in Afghanistan, Kosovo and the Mediterranean, all Allies are also reinforcing their interoperability within NATO as well as with partners, as appropriate. This enables our armed forces to work together successfully, be it in NATO operations or in national, coalition, EU or UN formats, which contributes to our common security.

50. We welcome the many concrete multinational and national initiatives, carried out independently or under the auspices of Smart Defence or the Framework Nations Concept, which strengthen the Alliance. They contribute directly to capability development and to our strengthened deterrence and defence posture. We will ensure overall coherence and unity of effort across all elements of Allied capability development and military presence, including between forward presence and Allies multinational and national military activities and initiatives.

51. The greatest responsibility of the Alliance is to protect and defend our territory and our populations against attack, as set out in Article 5 of the Washington Treaty. No one should doubt NATOs resolve if the security of any of its members were to be threatened. NATO will maintain the full range of capabilities necessary to deter and defend against any threat to the safety and security of our populations, wherever it should arise.

52. As a means to prevent conflict and war, credible deterrence and defence is essential. Therefore, deterrence and defence, based on an appropriate mix of nuclear, conventional, and missile defence capabilities, remains a core element of our overall strategy. A robust deterrence and defence posture strengthens Alliance cohesion, including the transatlantic link, through an equitable and sustainable distribution of roles, responsibilities, and burdens. NATO must continue to adapt its strategy in line with trends in the security environment  including with respect to capabilities and other measures required  to ensure that NATOs overall deterrence and defence posture is capable of addressing potential adversaries doctrine and capabilities, and that it remains credible, flexible, resilient, and adaptable.

53. Allies goal is to bolster deterrence as a core element of our collective defence and to contribute to the indivisible security of the Alliance. As long as nuclear weapons exist, NATO will remain a nuclear alliance. The strategic forces of the Alliance, particularly those of the United States, are the supreme guarantee of the security of the Allies. The independent strategic nuclear forces of the United Kingdom and France have a deterrent role of their own and contribute to the overall security of the Alliance. These Allies separate centres of decision-making contribute to deterrence by complicating the calculations of potential adversaries. NATOs nuclear deterrence posture also relies, in part, on United States nuclear weapons forward-deployed in Europe and on capabilities and infrastructure provided by Allies concerned. These Allies will ensure that all components of NATOs nuclear deterrent remain safe, secure, and effective. That requires sustained leadership focus and institutional excellence for the nuclear deterrence mission and planning guidance aligned with 21st century requirements. The Alliance will ensure the broadest possible participation of Allies concerned in their agreed nuclear burden-sharing arrangements.

54. The fundamental purpose of NATOs nuclear capability is to preserve peace, prevent coercion, and deter aggression. Nuclear weapons are unique. Any employment of nuclear weapons against NATO would fundamentally alter the nature of a conflict. The circumstances in which NATO might have to use nuclear weapons are extremely remote. If the fundamental security of any of its members were to be threatened however, NATO has the capabilities and resolve to impose costs on an adversary that would be unacceptable and far outweigh the benefits that an adversary could hope to achieve.

55. Missile defence can complement the role of nuclear weapons in deterrence; it cannot substitute for them. The capability is purely defensive. The threat to NATO populations, territory, and forces posed by the proliferation of ballistic missiles continues to increase, and missile defence forms part of a broader response to counter it.

56. At our Summit in Lisbon in 2010, we decided to develop a NATO Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) capability to pursue our core task of collective defence. The aim of this capability is to provide full coverage and protection for all NATO European populations, territory, and forces against the increasing threats posed by the proliferation of ballistic missiles, based on the principles of indivisibility of Allies security and NATO solidarity, equitable sharing of risks and burdens, as well as reasonable challenge, taking into account the level of threat, affordability, and technical feasibility, and in accordance with the latest common threat assessments agreed by the Alliance. Should international efforts reduce the threats posed by ballistic missile proliferation, NATO missile defence can and will adapt accordingly.

57. At our Summit in Chicago in 2012, we declared the achievement of an Interim NATO BMD Capability as an operationally significant first step. At the Wales Summit, we welcomed the forward deployment of BMD-capable Aegis ships to Rota, Spain that could be made available to NATO. Today a new milestone in the development of NATO BMD has been reached and we are pleased to declare the achievement of the NATO BMD Initial Operational Capability. This is a significant step toward the aim of NATO BMD that offers a stronger capability to defend our populations, territory, and forces across southern NATO Europe against a potential ballistic missile attack. The Aegis Ashore site in Deveselu, Romania represents a significant portion of this increase in capability, and the command and control (C2) of the Aegis Ashore site is being transferred to NATO. We also welcome that Turkey hosts a forward-based early-warning BMD radar at Kurecik and that Poland will be hosting an Aegis Ashore site at the Redzikowo military base. We are also pleased that additional voluntary national contributions have been offered by Allies, and we encourage further voluntary contributions, all of which will add robustness to the capability.

58. As with all of NATOs operations, full political control by Allies is essential and will be ensured over the BMD capability. We will continue to deepen political oversight of NATO BMD as the capability develops. It is essential that the functionality of the Alliance C2 network for BMD matches that development. In this context, the next necessary major milestone for NATO BMD capability will be the completion of the next core element of the NATO BMD C2. Overall completion of the NATO BMD C2 will then provide the additional functionalities required for the BMD system to reach maturity.

59. We will develop further our engagement with third states, on a case-by-case basis, to enhance transparency and confidence and to increase ballistic missile defence effectiveness. This could involve information exchange, consultation, and cooperation. NATO missile defence is not directed against Russia and will not undermine Russias strategic deterrence capabilities. NATO missile defence is intended to defend against potential threats emanating from outside the Euro-Atlantic area. We have explained to Russia many times that the BMD system is not capable against Russias strategic nuclear deterrent and there is no intention to redesign this system to have such a capability in the future. Hence, Russian statements threatening to target Allies because of NATO BMD are unacceptable and counterproductive. Should Russia be ready to discuss BMD with NATO, and subject to Alliance agreement, NATO remains open to discussion.

60. NATO BMD is based on voluntary national contributions, including nationally funded interceptors and sensors, hosting arrangements, and on the expansion of the BMD capability. The command and control systems for NATO BMD are the only portion for NATO BMD that is eligible for common funding.

61. We also task the Council to regularly review the implementation of the NATO BMD capability, including before the Foreign and Defence Ministers meetings, and prepare a comprehensive report on progress and issues to be addressed for its future development by our next Summit.

62. Arms control, disarmament, and non-proliferation continue to play an important role in the achievement of the Alliances security objectives. Both the success and failure of these efforts can have a direct impact on the threat environment of NATO. In this context, it is of paramount importance that disarmament and non-proliferation commitments under existing treaties are honoured, including the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, crucial to Euro-Atlantic security. Allies therefore continue to call on Russia to preserve the viability of the INF Treaty through ensuring full and verifiable compliance.

63. We remain deeply concerned by the proliferation of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction (WMD), as well as their means of delivery, by states and non-state actors, which continues to present a threat to our populations, territory, and forces. Addressing serious proliferation challenges remains an urgent international priority.

64. Allies emphasise their strong commitment to full implementation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The Alliance reaffirms its resolve to seek a safer world for all and to create the conditions for a world without nuclear weapons in full accordance with all provisions of the NPT, including Article VI, in a step-by-step and verifiable way that promotes international stability, and is based on the principle of undiminished security for all. Allies reiterate their commitment to progress towards the goals and objectives of the NPT in its mutually reinforcing three pillars: nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation, and the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

65. After the end of the Cold War, NATO dramatically reduced the number of nuclear weapons stationed in Europe and its reliance on nuclear weapons in NATO strategy. We remain committed to contribute to creating the conditions for further reductions in the future on the basis of reciprocity, recognising that progress on arms control and disarmament must take into account the prevailing international security environment. We regret that the conditions for achieving disarmament are not favourable today.

66. We call on all states to commit to combatting effectively the proliferation of WMD through the universalisation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention, and the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, negotiation of the Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty, and through the Proliferation Security Initiative. Continued use of chemical weapons in Iraq and Syria, which we condemn, further underscores the evolving and increasing WMD threat to the Alliance.

67. We are deeply concerned about the persistent provocative behaviour by the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK), and we strongly condemn the DPRKs nuclear test of 6 January 2016, the 7 February 2016 launch using ballistic missile technologies, and multiple tests of ballistic missiles since then. We urge rigorous implementation of UNSCR 2270 and other relevant Security Council resolutions. We call on Pyongyang to immediately cease and abandon all its existing nuclear and ballistic missile activities in a complete, verifiable, and irreversible manner and re-engage in international talks.

68. We commend the conclusion of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) between the E3/EU+3 and Iran, signed on 14 July 2015, and its ongoing implementation since 16 January 2016. We also underscore the importance for Iran to fully cooperate in a timely manner with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in implementation of the JCPOA. However, we remain seriously concerned by the development of Irans ballistic missile programme and continuing missile tests that are inconsistent with UNSCR 2231.

69. We remain committed to conventional arms control as a key element of Euro-Atlantic security. Full implementation and compliance with these commitments is essential to rebuild trust and confidence in the Euro-Atlantic region. Russias unilateral military activity in and around Ukraine continues to undermine peace, security, and stability across the region, and its selective implementation of the Vienna Document and Open Skies Treaty and long-standing non-implementation of the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty have eroded the positive contributions of these arms control instruments. Allies call on Russia to fully adhere to its commitments. Allies are determined to preserve, strengthen, and modernise conventional arms control in Europe, based on key principles and commitments, including reciprocity, transparency, and host nation consent. We underscore the importance of modernising the Vienna Document to ensure its continued relevance in the evolving security environment, including through its substantive update in 2016.

70. Cyber attacks present a clear challenge to the security of the Alliance and could be as harmful to modern societies as a conventional attack. We agreed in Wales that cyber defence is part of NATOs core task of collective defence. Now, in Warsaw, we reaffirm NATOs defensive mandate, and recognise cyberspace as a domain of operations in which NATO must defend itself as effectively as it does in the air, on land, and at sea. This will improve NATOs ability to protect and conduct operations across these domains and maintain our freedom of action and decision, in all circumstances. It will support NATOs broader deterrence and defence: cyber defence will continue to be integrated into operational planning and Alliance operations and missions, and we will work together to contribute to their success. Furthermore, it will ensure more effective organisation of NATOs cyber defence and better management of resources, skills, and capabilities. This forms part of NATOs long term adaptation. We continue to implement NATOs Enhanced Policy on Cyber Defence and strengthen NATOs cyber defence capabilities, benefiting from the latest cutting edge technologies. We reaffirm our commitment to act in accordance with international law, including the UN Charter, international humanitarian law, and human rights law, as applicable. We will continue to follow the principle of restraint and support maintaining international peace, security, and stability in cyberspace. We welcome the work on voluntary international norms of responsible state behaviour and confidence-building measures regarding cyberspace.

71. We will ensure that Allies are equipped for, and meet requirements tailored to, the 21st century. Today, through our Cyber Defence Pledge, we have committed to enhance the cyber defences of our national networks and infrastructures, as a matter of priority. Each Ally will honour its responsibility to improve its resilience and ability to respond quickly and effectively to cyber attacks, including in hybrid contexts. Together with the continuous adaptation of NATOs cyber defence capabilities, this will reinforce the Alliances cyber defence. We are expanding the capabilities and scope of the NATO Cyber Range, where Allies can build skills, enhance expertise, and exchange best practices. We remain committed to close bilateral and multilateral cyber defence cooperation, including on information sharing and situational awareness, education, training, and exercises. Strong partnerships play a key role in effectively addressing cyber challenges. We will continue to deepen cooperation with the EU, as agreed, including through the on-going implementation of the Technical Arrangement that contributes to better prevention and response to cyber attacks. We will further enhance our partnerships with other international organisations and partner nations, as well as with industry and academia through the NATO Industry Cyber Partnership.

72. We have taken steps to ensure our ability to effectively address the challenges posed by hybrid warfare, where a broad, complex, and adaptive combination of conventional and non-conventional means, and overt and covert military, paramilitary, and civilian measures, are employed in a highly integrated design by state and non-state actors to achieve their objectives. Responding to this challenge, we have adopted a strategy and actionable implementation plans on NATOs role in countering hybrid warfare. The primary responsibility to respond to hybrid threats or attacks rests with the targeted nation. NATO is prepared to assist an Ally at any stage of a hybrid campaign. The Alliance and Allies will be prepared to counter hybrid warfare as part of collective defence. The Council could decide to invoke Article 5 of the Washington Treaty. The Alliance is committed to effective cooperation and coordination with partners and relevant international organisations, in particular the EU, as agreed, in efforts to counter hybrid warfare.

73. Today we have made a commitment to continue to enhance our resilience and to maintain and further develop our individual and collective capacity to resist any form of armed attack. Civil preparedness is a central pillar of Allies resilience and a critical enabler for Alliance collective defence. While this remains a national responsibility, NATO can support Allies in assessing and, upon request, enhancing their civil preparedness. We will improve civil preparedness by achieving the NATO Baseline Requirements for National Resilience, which focus on continuity of government, continuity of essential services, security of critical civilian infrastructure, and support to military forces with civilian means. In this context, we welcome the Resilience Guidelines approved by Defence Ministers in June 2016.

74. We will ensure that NATO continues to be both strategically and operationally prepared with policies, plans, and capabilities to counter a wide range of state and non-state Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) threats, based on NATOs Comprehensive Strategic-Level Policy for Preventing the Proliferation of WMD and Defending Against CBRN Threats that we endorsed in 2009, and look forward to a report on its continued implementation at our next Summit.

75. At Chicago in 2012, we launched the Joint Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (JISR) initiative. JISR is a high-value, complex, and wide-reaching capability area. Following up on our commitments, we welcome the February 2016 declaration of the initial operational JISR capability, centred upon enhancing the situational awareness of the NATO Response Force through heightened proficiency in collecting and exchanging information and intelligence. Allies also intend to work together to promote intelligence-sharing, as appropriate, by using NATO platforms and networks and optimising use of multilateral platforms and networks to enhance overall JISR efforts, including but not limited to the JISR Smart Defence project.

76. Moving forward, we will sustain these achievements and support future NATO Response Force rotations with the necessary JISR capabilities. We will also expand the scope of our JISR initiative, making the most effective use of Allies complementary JISR contributions to enhance both strategic anticipation and awareness. It is within this context that we also note the significant progress made on NATO Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS). This capability will become operational in 2017 as planned, and will be complemented in some cases by Allies contributions in kind.

77. NATOs Airborne Early Warning and Control Force (AWACS) continues to prove itself instrumental not only to monitoring our airspace, but also as a critical part of NATOs command and control capabilities. NATO AWACS will continue to be modernised and extended in service until 2035. By 2035, the Alliance needs to have a follow-on capability to the E-3 AWACS. Based on high-level military requirements, we have decided to collectively start the process of defining options for future NATO surveillance and control capabilities.

78. Multinational and national initiatives provide an important contribution to capability development and our strengthened posture. NATO will continue to work closely with the EU, as agreed, to ensure that our Smart Defence and the EUs Pooling and Sharing initiatives are complementary and mutually reinforcing, and to support capability development and interoperability with a view to avoiding unnecessary duplication and maximizing cost-effectiveness. At the Wales Summit, six Allies launched a multinational effort, led by Denmark, to address their requirements for air-to-ground Precision Guided Munitions. We welcome the progress achieved in this group since then, including its expansion by two Allies and the processing of its first multinational acquisition employing the US Lead Nation Procurement Initiative. We welcome the progress made in implementing NATOs Framework Nations Concept. A group of 16 Allies, led by Germany, is working on establishing larger formations to deliver usable forces and capabilities. Another group, led by Italy and composed of six nations, is developing programmes and activities aimed at supporting the Alliances operational commitments. We welcome the United States European Reassurance Initiative, including the rotational Armoured Brigade Combat Team and US Army prepositioned stocks. We welcome the Transatlantic Capability Enhancement and Training Initiative (TACET), which will promote capability development, interoperability, and training, and will enhance NATO resilience in response to the challenges in the Baltic region. We also welcome the Combined Joint Enhanced Training Initiative (CJET), which provides similar engagement with Romania and Bulgaria. We welcome progress on delivering the United Kingdom-led Joint Expeditionary Force, made up of high readiness, flexible, integrated forces from seven Allies. We also welcome the validation, through an exercise in 2016, of the UK-France Combined Joint Expeditionary Force, which will enhance the Alliances ability to respond rapidly to any challenge. We welcome the decision of the Visegrad Group to provide rotational presence in the Baltic states in 2017 to conduct exercises in support of Allied activities. We further welcome the Letter of Intent on multinational cooperation for the provision of Airborne Electronic Attack. We welcome Allied efforts to address, as appropriate, existing dependencies on Russian-sourced legacy military equipment.

79. To position the Alliance in responding to evolving threats, NATO intelligence reform must be an ongoing, dynamic process. The importance of intelligence in informing our planning, operations, and decision-making continues to increase. To improve NATOs ability to draw on a wide range of intelligence resources, we have agreed to establish a new Joint Intelligence and Security Division to be led by an Assistant Secretary General for Intelligence and Security. The new Assistant Secretary General for Intelligence and Security will direct NATOs intelligence and security activities, ensuring better use of existing personnel and resources, while maximizing the efficient use of intelligence provided by Allies.

80. Against the background of an increasingly unstable, global security environment, and based on a broad and strengthened deterrence and defence posture, we seek to contribute more to the efforts of the international community in projecting stability and strengthening security outside our territory, thereby contributing to Alliance security overall.

81. Our efforts to enhance the Alliances role in projecting stability will be guided by enduring principles, including a 360 degree approach, commitment to democracy, human rights and the rule of law, complementarity with international actors, in particular with the UN, EU, and the OSCE and focusing on NATOs added value, local ownership and buy-in, partner involvement, inclusiveness, tailored cooperation, long-term commitment, prioritisation and sustainability, and overall coherence.

82. The Alliance is already responding to these challenges and will continue to do so, building on its recognised experience and its crisis management and cooperative security toolkit. NATOs added-value in contributing to the international communitys efforts includes its ability to offer defence reform assistance and advice in a coherent way, its recognised track record in the training and development of local forces, including in more difficult circumstances, and defence education. The Defence and Related Security Capacity Building (DCB) Initiative that we adopted in Wales has proven a particularly important tool to help project stability, providing support to Georgia, Iraq, Jordan, and the Republic of Moldova. We are committed to further develop and adequately resource our capacity building efforts.

83. While retaining our ability to respond to crises beyond our borders, NATO will continue to pursue cooperative security through partnership with relevant countries and other international organisations, and investing in capacity building and training efforts enabling countries to enhance their resilience and to provide for their own security.

84. NATO will continue to enhance its role in projecting stability, including through enhancing regional understanding and situational awareness, further adapting to the challenges and threats from all directions, reinforcing its maritime dimension, and developing a more strategic, more coherent, and more effective approach to partnerships. These efforts will draw upon the important contributions that partners can bring. The Alliance, including with partners where appropriate, will continue to help manage challenges  before, during, and after conflict  where they affect Alliance security. The implementation of the agreed Alliance policies and initiatives must also continue. At the same time, we will continue to consider the political implications of our effort.

85. We are facing long-term challenges, and we are committed to ensure that NATO has a long-term and sustainable approach to projecting stability with adequate and sustainable resources and structures, making best use of existing funding mechanisms. We task the Council to evaluate progress made regarding the implementation of our efforts to project stability, including the specific areas put forward by Foreign Ministers in May 2016, emphasising how efforts can become sustainable, better organised and supported, and to report by the time of the meeting of our Foreign Ministers in December 2016.

86. In a separate declaration issued today, together with Afghanistan and our Resolute Support operational partners, we have reaffirmed our mutual commitment to ensure long-term security and stability in Afghanistan. NATO and its operational partners have committed to sustain the Resolute Support mission beyond 2016 through a flexible, regional model, to continue to deliver training, advice, and assistance to the Afghan security institutions and forces; continue national contributions to the financial sustainment of the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces, including until the end of 2020; and strengthen and enhance the long-term Enduring Partnership. Afghanistan has made a significant set of commitments. NATO and its operational partners will continue to play an important supporting role in their delivery.

87. Together with the rest of the international community, our aim remains that Afghanistan will never again become a safe haven for terrorists who can pose a threat to our security, and that it is able to sustain its own security, governance, and economic and social development, while respecting human rights for all of its citizens, notably those of women and children. We remain resolute and united in our commitment to a secure and stable Afghanistan.

88. Good neighbourly relations, and regional cooperation and support to a secure and stable Afghanistan, remain essential. The pathway to a sustainable resolution of the conflict is an inclusive Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace and reconciliation process, which respects the Afghan constitution and human rights, including notably the rights of women. The region and the international community at large must respect and support such a process and its outcome.

89. In accordance with UNSCR 1244, the NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) will continue to contribute to a safe and secure environment and freedom of movement in Kosovo, working in close cooperation with the Kosovo authorities and the EU. While we welcome the progress achieved through the EU-facilitated dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, the security situation in Kosovo is broadly stable, though challenges remain. Changes in our troop presence will remain conditions-based and not calendar-driven. Furthermore, the Alliance will continue to support the development of the security organisations in Kosovo, including through the NATO advisory team on the ground and in accordance with Allied decisions, and will keep the nature of further support under review. We note Kosovos request for an enhanced relationship with NATO and will respond no later than the December Foreign Ministerial on ways to further develop our support.

90. NATO has made an important contribution to international efforts to fight piracy off the coast of Somalia through Operation Ocean Shield, which has achieved its military strategic objectives. We note that the last successful pirate attack in the Indian Ocean took place in May 2012. While we have agreed to terminate the Operation at the end of 2016, NATO will remain engaged in the fight against piracy by maintaining maritime situational awareness and continuing close links with other international counter-piracy actors.

91. We have transitioned Operation Active Endeavour, our Article 5 maritime operation in the Mediterranean, which has contributed to the fight against terrorism, to a non-Article 5 Maritime Security Operation, Operation Sea Guardian, able to perform the full range of Maritime Security Operation tasks, as needed.

92. Following decisions by our Defence Ministers in February 2016, Allies have swiftly contributed maritime assets to international efforts to stem the flow of irregular migration in the Aegean Sea in the context of the refugee and migrant crisis. The NATO activity has added value by providing real time information on irregular migrant flows to Turkey, Greece, and the EUs Border Management Agency, FRONTEX. The activity is being conducted in cooperation with relevant national authorities and through the establishment of direct links between Maritime Command (MARCOM) and FRONTEX at the operational level. It is an effective contribution to existing efforts in controlling irregular migration in the area, and has also offered new opportunities for enhanced cooperation with the EU at tactical and operational levels in the context of stemming irregular migration. This activity will be evaluated in September and reviewed in time for the meeting of our Defence Ministers in October.

93. We have agreed, in principle, on a possible NATO role in the Central Mediterranean, to complement and/or, upon European Union request, support, as appropriate, the EUs Operation Sophia through the provision of a range of capabilities including Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance, and logistics support; through contribution to capacity building of the Libyan coastguard and navy, if requested by the legitimate Libyan authorities and/or the EU; and in the context of the implementation of UNSCR 2292 on the situation in Libya, in close coordination with the EU.

94. We reaffirm our commitment to a long-term partnership with Iraq, as well as to assisting the country through the Defence and Related Security Capacity Building (DCB) Initiative agreed in Wales. We are committed to strengthening Iraqs defence forces and institutions through the defence capacity building assistance measures agreed in August 2015, on the basis of Iraqs request. We have made progress in implementing the tailored package of DCB assistance for Iraq as agreed, taking advantage of the availability of the King Abdullah II Special Operation Forces Center in Jordan and of training and education centres in Turkey.

95. Through DCB activities being implemented in Jordan, which include counter-improvised explosive devices, explosive ordnance disposal and demining, as well as civilian-military planning and advice on security sector reform in Iraq, NATO is training Iraqis in selected areas. Building on this effort, we have decided to respond positively to the 5 May 2016 request of the Prime Minister of Iraq and agree to provide in-country NATO training to Iraqi security and military forces, in agreed areas, including, as part of the DCB programme, to continue to support institutional capacity building, in order to contribute to effective and efficient structures and policies to sustain advancement in Iraqi training capacity over the medium- and long-term. This NATO effort in Iraq will continue to be conducted so as to ensure complementarity and added value; inclusiveness; local ownership; sustainability and prioritisation; overall coherence; and tailored cooperation. The continued inclusivity of the Iraqi government and defence and security forces, will be of key importance. The initial planning for implementing these activities in country should be completed in time for Defence Ministers review in October, which will enable the training and capacity building to start in Iraq by January 2017.

96. Bearing in mind the threat that ISIL/Daesh poses to all our nations and populations, we have agreed in principle to enhance the Alliances contribution to the efforts of the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL by providing direct NATO AWACS support to increase the coalitions situational awareness. This support is planned to start in the autumn, pending national approval procedures, and the NATO Military Authorities are now developing the details. By providing such support, we reaffirm our resolve to help tackle the security challenges coming from the south, including terrorism. This contribution to the Global Coalition does not make NATO a member of this coalition.

97. In accordance with our Wales decision, we are ready to provide Libya with advice in the field of defence and security institution building, following a request by the Government of National Accord, and to develop a long-term partnership, possibly leading to Libyas membership in the Mediterranean Dialogue, which would be a natural framework for our cooperation. Any NATO assistance to Libya would be provided in full complementarity and in close coordination with other international efforts, including those of the UN and the EU, in line with decisions taken. Libyan ownership will be essential.

98. NATOs partnerships are, and will continue to be, essential to the way NATO works. The success of NATO partnerships is demonstrated by their strategic contribution to Alliance and international security. Over the last decades, the Alliance has developed structured partnerships  Partnership for Peace, Mediterranean Dialogue, Istanbul Cooperation Initiative, and partners across the globe  with countries interested in pursuing political dialogue and practical cooperation, and engaging actively with other international actors and organisations on a wide range of political and security-related issues. Together we have built a broad cooperative security network. The complexity and volatility of the security environment underscore the need for a more tailor-made, individual, and flexible approach to make our partnership cooperation more strategic, coherent, and effective. We reaffirm our commitment, based on the objectives, priorities, and principles of the Berlin Partnership Policy, to expand political dialogue and practical cooperation with any nation that shares the Alliances values and interest in international peace and security. We will further develop our partnerships so that they continue to meet the interests of both Allies and partners.

99. We salute the ongoing and substantial contributions that our partners make by deploying together with Allies in operations and missions, and contributing to practical cooperation activities, including Trust Funds and capacity building efforts. Partners are also serving alongside the armed forces of several Allies outside existing formats, in particular to combat terrorism. This has increased our interoperability and strengthened resilience in a changed security environment.

100. At Wales, we endorsed the Partnership Interoperability Initiative, launching the Interoperability Platform, which has become a key format for working with partners on the broad range of issues related to interoperability and preparedness for future crisis management. Since then, the number of partner units certified and evaluated to NATO standards has increased, new partners have joined interoperability programmes, and opportunities for partner participation in NATO exercises have been widened. Here at Warsaw, Interoperability Platform Defence Ministers endorsed a roadmap to guide our joint work on preparing for crisis management for the coming year and discussed future opportunities for NATO-partner cooperation to project stability.

101. As part of the Partnership Interoperability Initiative, at Wales we also agreed to offer enhanced opportunities for cooperation to Australia, Finland, Georgia, Jordan and Sweden, in recognition of their significant operational contributions to NATO. These partners have been increasingly involved into NATOs work on our common security challenges. Their participation at this Summit testifies to the deep links we have built with them. We engage with each of them individually, according to our and their needs, circumstances, and ambitions, and in line with NATOs own security interests. We have developed our practical cooperation to varying degrees and in different formats: enhanced opportunities partners are now pre-approved for a range of NATO exercises; they are also engaged in NATO defence capacity building work, participating in the enhanced NATO Response Force and developing joint threat assessments with us. We stand ready to consider offering enhanced opportunities to other partners as their contributions and interests warrant.

102. We welcome the opening of diplomatic missions to NATO Headquarters by several of our partners as an important step in our cooperation. In line with our Berlin Partnership Policy and the Brussels Agreement, we encourage other partners to follow the same path.

103. We will continue to develop our partnership with countries of the Middle East and North Africa region through deeper political dialogue and enhanced practical cooperation. The Mediterranean Dialogue (MD) and the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI) remain complementary and yet distinct partnership frameworks. We remain open to welcoming new members in both partnership frameworks. We are providing assistance to 11 partner countries in the region to help them modernise their defence establishments and military forces, through the MD and the ICI.

104. MD and ICI are unique frameworks that bring together key NATO partners: Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia, and Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, respectively. Regular political consultations improve our mutual understanding and our situational awareness. We have also developed tailor-made Individual Partnership and Cooperation Programmes with all our MD and ICI partners. We will continue to enhance practical cooperation, including through further support in the areas of counter-terrorism, small arms and light weapons, counter-improvised explosive devices, and military border security.

105. Bearing in mind the strategic importance of the Gulf region, we look forward to the establishment of regular working-level ties between the international secretariats of NATO and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and to the launch of practical cooperation with the GCC as well as with its member states. Increased information exchange to promote a better mutual understanding of our functions and policies would be a solid basis for more regular political dialogue and possible practical cooperation regarding our shared security challenges. We task the Council to report on progress to Foreign Ministers at their December meeting.

106. We welcome the long-standing partnership with Jordan, a key partner in the Middle East, and the success of NATOs existing Defence and Related Security Capacity Building (DCB) assistance to Jordan. Our efforts are in seven priority areas: information protection; cyber defence; military exercises; counter-improvised explosive devices; communication, command and control; harbour protection; and border security. We remain committed to strengthening NATO-Jordan relations through enhanced political dialogue and practical cooperation in the framework of the Mediterranean Dialogue, as well as through the DCB Initiative and the Interoperability Platform, including the enhanced opportunities. We are grateful to our partner Jordan for its contributions to NATO-led operations over many years, and for hosting our DCB training activities for Iraq.

107. The Western Balkans is a region of strategic importance, as demonstrated by our long history of cooperation and operations in the region. We remain fully committed to the stability and security of the Western Balkans, as well as to supporting the Euro-Atlantic aspirations of countries in the region. Democratic values, rule of law, domestic reforms, and good neighbourly relations are vital for regional cooperation and for the Euro-Atlantic integration process. We welcome recent progress on border demarcation in the region. The Alliance will continue to work closely with the Western Balkans to maintain and promote regional and international peace and security. We task the Council to prepare a report on NATOs activities and relations in the region for submission to Foreign Ministers in December.

108. Strengthening NATO-Serbia relations are of benefit to the Alliance, to Serbia, and to the whole region. We welcome the continued progress made in building the NATO-Serbia partnership and support further political dialogue and practical cooperation to this end. We also welcome the progress achieved in the EU-facilitated Belgrade-Pristina dialogue and encourage both parties to implement the agreements reached and to sustain continued progress. We welcome Kosovos aspirations to improve its ability to ensure safety and security for all its inhabitants, as well as to contribute to security in the Western Balkans.

109. The invitation to Montenegro in December 2015 to join our Alliance and the subsequent signature of the Accession Protocol in May 2016 recognise the reforms Montenegro has undertaken, the commitment it has shown to our common values, and its contribution to international security. Montenegro now has Invitee status and is integrating into NATO activities. We look forward to the expeditious conclusion of the ratification of the Accession Protocol, and to Montenegros continued progress on reform, before and after accession, in order to enhance its contribution to the Alliance. We appreciate the significant contribution Montenegro makes to NATO-led operations.

110. Today we reaffirm our commitment to the Open Door Policy, a founding principle of the Washington Treaty and one of the Alliances great successes. Montenegros presence with us today is a tangible demonstration of this, and we look forward to welcoming the country as our next member as soon as possible. Euro-Atlantic integration advances democratic values, reform, and respect for the rule of law. The freedom and prosperity of our societies are built on these foundations. Euro-Atlantic integration also provides a path to stability and strengthens collective security. Successive rounds of enlargement have enhanced our security and the security of the entire Euro-Atlantic region. NATOs door is open to all European democracies which share the values of our Alliance, which are willing and able to assume the responsibilities and obligations of membership, which are in a position to further the principles of the Treaty, and whose inclusion can contribute to the security of the North Atlantic area. Decisions on enlargement are for NATO itself. We remain fully committed to the integration of those countries that aspire to join the Alliance, judging each on its own merits. We encourage those partners who aspire to join the Alliance  Georgia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia2, and Bosnia and Herzegovina  to continue to implement the necessary reforms and decisions to prepare for membership. We will continue to offer support to their efforts and look to them to take the steps necessary to advance their aspirations.

111. At the 2008 Bucharest Summit we agreed that Georgia will become a member of NATO with MAP as an integral part of the process; today we reaffirm all elements of that decision, as well as subsequent decisions. We welcome the significant progress realised since 2008. Georgias relationship with the Alliance contains all the practical tools to prepare for eventual membership. This years parliamentary elections will be another key step towards the consolidation of democratic institutions. We encourage Georgia to continue making full use of all the opportunities for coming closer to the Alliance offered by the NATO-Georgia Commission, the Annual National Programme, its role as an enhanced opportunities partner, its participation in our Defence Capacity Building Initiative, and the Substantial NATO-Georgia Package. NATO highly appreciates Georgias significant and continuous contributions to the NATO Response Force and the Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan and recognises the sacrifices and contributions the Georgian people have made to our shared security.

112. We welcome the important progress made in implementing the Substantial NATO-Georgia Package, which we initiated at the Wales Summit. More than 30 experts from Allied and partner countries are now supporting Georgia across various areas of cooperation. Georgia is doing its part in allocating significant resources to this effort. The Joint Training and Evaluation Centre, which helps strengthen Georgias self-defence and resilience capabilities, is up and running. We will continue to provide the resources needed to implement the Substantial Package, which aims to strengthen Georgias capabilities and, thereby, helps Georgia advance in its preparations for membership in the Alliance. We have agreed additional practical ways to intensify efforts, including support to Georgias crisis management capabilities, training and exercises, and improvements in strategic communications. Allies will provide support to the development of Georgias air defence and air surveillance. We will also deepen our focus on security in the Black Sea region.

113. We reiterate our support to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Georgia within its internationally recognised borders. We welcome Georgias commitment not to use force and call on Russia to reciprocate. We call on Russia to reverse its recognition of the South Ossetia and Abkhazia regions of Georgia as independent states, to stop its construction of border-like obstacles along the administrative boundary lines, and to withdraw its forces from Georgia. NATO does not recognise the so-called treaties signed between the Abkhazia region of Georgia and Russia in November 2014, and the South Ossetia region of Georgia and Russia in March 2015. These violate Georgias sovereignty and territorial integrity and blatantly contradict the principles of international law, OSCE principles and Russias international commitments. We encourage all participants in the Geneva talks to play a constructive role, as well as to continue working closely with the OSCE, the UN, and the EU to pursue peaceful conflict resolution in the internationally recognised territory of Georgia.

114. We reiterate our decision made at the 2008 Bucharest Summit and reiterated at subsequent Summits that NATO will extend an invitation to the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia2 to join the Alliance as soon as a mutually acceptable solution to the name issue has been reached within the framework of the UN. We therefore strongly urge intensified efforts to find a solution to the name issue. We encourage further efforts to develop good neighbourly relations. We also encourage the building of a fully functioning multi-ethnic society based on full implementation of the Ohrid Framework Agreement. Given concerns over political developments in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, which have taken the country further away from NATO values, we urge all political leaders in the country to fully implement their commitments under the Przino Agreement of June/July 2015, as the framework for a sustainable solution to the political crisis. Acknowledging initial steps on implementation, we renew our call to all parties to engage in effective democratic dialogue and to put in place the conditions for credible elections, strengthening the rule of law, media freedom, and judicial independence. We will continue to follow closely Skopjes progress in these areas, which reflect NATOs core values. We appreciate the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonias commitment to international security, as demonstrated by its steadfast contribution to our operations, its participation in fora and organisations for regional dialogue and cooperation, and its commitment to the NATO accession process.

115. We reaffirm our commitment to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of a stable and secure Bosnia and Herzegovina and our full support for its membership aspirations. We encourage the leadership of Bosnia and Herzegovina to continue demonstrating political will and to work constructively for the benefit of all its citizens in pursuit of reforms. We will offer our continued support to defence reform efforts in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We welcome the recent agreement by the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina on principles for the defence review and urge its completion as soon as possible. We welcome the progress made on registration of immovable defence property to the state, but we look to the leadership of Bosnia and Herzegovina to accelerate efforts toward meeting the requirements set by NATO Foreign Ministers in Tallinn in April 2010 so that its first Membership Action Plan cycle can be activated as soon as possible, which remains our goal. Allies will keep developments under active review. We commend Bosnia and Herzegovina for its contributions to NATO-led operations and for its commitment to regional dialogue, cooperation, and security.

116. In Wales, we extended the Defence and Related Security Capacity Building Initiative to the Republic of Moldova. Since then, Allies and partners have provided expertise and advice in support of the ongoing defence reform process to strengthen the capabilities of the Moldovan armed forces and the defence sector. Allies remain committed to this work so that the country can enjoy a stable, secure and prosperous future in accordance with the values shared by European democracies. In order to realise such a future, it is important that the Republic of Moldova remains committed to the implementation of reforms that benefit all its citizens. We thank the Republic of Moldova for its contribution to NATO-led operations.

117. Ukraine is a long-standing and distinctive partner of the Alliance. At our Summit here in Warsaw, we are meeting with President Poroshenko and issuing a joint statement. An independent, sovereign and stable Ukraine, firmly committed to democracy and the rule of law, is key to Euro-Atlantic security. We stand firm in our support for Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders and Ukraines right to decide its own future and foreign policy course free from outside interference, as set out in the Helsinki Final Act. Russia continues to violate Ukraines sovereignty, territorial integrity, and independence. Despite these challenging circumstances, Ukraines government is making progress in implementing wide-ranging reforms towards European and Euro-Atlantic standards, based on democratic values, respect for human rights, minorities and the rule of law, which will be essential in promoting prosperity and long-term stability. We welcome the steps Ukraine has taken to fight corruption, maintain International Monetary Fund conditionality, reform the judiciary, and move towards decentralisation, but substantial challenges remain and continued efforts are required. We strongly encourage Ukraine to remain committed to the full implementation of these and other necessary reforms and to ensuring their sustainability. Recalling our previous Summit decisions, NATO will continue to support Ukraine in carrying out its reform agenda, including through the Annual National Programme in the framework of our Distinctive Partnership.

118. NATO-Ukraine cooperation is an important part of the Alliances contribution to the international communitys efforts to project stability in the Euro-Atlantic area and beyond. We welcome Ukraines intent to further deepen its Distinctive Partnership with NATO, as well as its past and present contributions to NATO-led operations and the NATO Response Force even while it has been defending itself against Russias aggressive actions. Ukraines choice to adopt and implement NATO principles and standards, for which its Strategic Defence Bulletin provides a roadmap, will promote greater interoperability between our forces. The Lithuanian-Polish-Ukrainian Brigade is an important element of this effort. It will also enhance Ukraines ability to better provide for its own security, through functioning security and defence institutions under civilian democratic control that are accountable, sustainable, and effective. Ukraines participation in the Defence Education Enhancement Programme is an important effort in this respect. NATO will continue to provide strategic advice and practical support to the reform of Ukraines security and defence sector, including as set out in the Comprehensive Assistance Package which we are endorsing together with President Poroshenko at todays meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission. The Comprehensive Assistance Package is aimed at consolidating and enhancing NATOs support to Ukraine, including by tailored capability and capacity building measures for the security and defence sector, which will contribute to enhance Ukraines resilience against a wide array of threats, including hybrid threats.

119. In light of NATOs operational experiences and the evolving complex security environment, a comprehensive political, civilian, and military approach is essential in crisis management and cooperative security. Furthermore, it contributes to the effectiveness of our common security and defence, without prejudice to Alliance collective defence commitments. NATO has developed a modest but appropriate civilian capability in line with Lisbon Summit decisions. We will continue to pursue coherence within NATOs own tools and strands of work, concerted approaches with partner nations and organisations such as the UN, the EU, and the OSCE, as well as further dialogue with non-governmental organisations. We look forward to a review of the 2011 Comprehensive Approach Action Plan for consideration by our Foreign Ministers in 2017.

120. As challenges to international peace and security multiply, cooperation between NATO and the United Nations is increasingly important. We welcome the continued growth in political dialogue and practical cooperation between NATO and the UN, covering a broad range of areas of mutual interest. At last years Leaders Summit on Peacekeeping, NATO pledged to enhance its support to UN peace operations, including in the areas of counter-improvised explosive devices, training and preparedness, improving the UNs ability to deploy more rapidly into the field, and through cooperation on building defence capacity in countries at risk. We stand by this commitment and remain ready to further deepen our interaction in these and other fields, including through NATOs participation in the follow-up conference to be held in London in September of this year.

121. The European Union remains a unique and essential partner for NATO. Enhanced consultations at all levels and practical cooperation in operations and capability development have brought concrete results. The security challenges in our shared eastern and southern neighbourhoods make it more important than ever before to reinforce our strategic partnership in a spirit of full mutual openness, transparency, and complementarity, while respecting the organisations different mandates, decision-making autonomy and institutional integrity, and as agreed by the two organisations.

122. We welcome the joint declaration issued here in Warsaw by the NATO Secretary General, the President of the European Council, and the President of the European Commission, which outlines a series of actions the two organisations intend to take together in concrete areas, including countering hybrid threats, enhancing resilience, defence capacity building, cyber defence, maritime security, and exercises. We task the Council to review the implementation of these proposals and to report to Foreign Ministers by December 2016.

123. We welcome the European Council Conclusions of June 2016, calling for further enhancement of the relationship between NATO and the EU. We also welcome the presentation of the Global Strategy for the European Unions Foreign and Security Policy.

124. NATO recognises the importance of a stronger and more capable European defence, which will lead to a stronger NATO, help enhance the security of all Allies, and foster an equitable sharing of the burden, benefits and responsibilities of Alliance membership. In this context, we welcome the strengthening of European defence and crisis management as we have seen over the past few years.

125. Non-EU Allies continue to make significant contributions to the EUs efforts to strengthen its capacities to address common security challenges. For the strategic partnership between NATO and the EU, non-EU Allies fullest involvement in these efforts is essential. We encourage further mutual steps in this area to support a strengthened strategic partnership.

126. We welcome the Secretary Generals report on NATO-EU relations. We encourage him to continue to work closely with the President of the European Council, the President of the European Commission, and the High Representative, on all aspects of the NATO-EU strategic partnership and provide a report to the Council for the next Summit.

127. NATO and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation both play important roles in maintaining stability and addressing security challenges in the Euro-Atlantic area. We appreciate the OSCEs comprehensive approach to security, covering the political-military, economic-environmental, and human dimensions. We also value the OSCEs important role in trying to bring an end to several protracted conflicts in the Euro-Atlantic area. The crisis in Ukraine has once again highlighted the significance of the OSCE for international efforts to support the peaceful resolution of conflicts, confidence- and security-building, and as a platform for cooperation and inclusive dialogue on security in Europe. We also underline the value of confidence- and security-building and transparency measures within the framework of the OSCE. We are committed to further enhancing our cooperation, at both the political and operational level, in all areas of common interest, including through the newly appointed Secretary Generals Representative for the OSCE.

128. NATOs cooperation with the African Union (AU) encompasses operational, logistic and capacity building support, as well as support for the operationalisation of
Today, our nations face an unprecedented range of security challenges, including the terrorism that has struck hard in many of our countries; Russias actions, especially in Ukraine, that undermine the rules-based order in Europe; and the instability in the Middle East and North Africa. We stand together, and act together, to ensure the defence of our territory and populations, and of our common values. United by our enduring transatlantic bond, and our commitment to democracy, individual liberty, human rights and the rule of law, NATO will continue to strive for peace, security and stability in the whole of the Euro-Atlantic area, in accordance with the principles of the UN Charter.

Because of the decisions we are taking here in Warsaw, as set out in detail in our communique, NATO will be stronger in defence and deterrence, and do more to project stability beyond our borders.

Collective defence remains NATOs fundamental responsibility. Our deterrence and defence is based on an appropriate mix of nuclear, conventional and missile defence capabilities. We have already improved NATOs readiness and capability, and Allied defence budgets are beginning to increase towards the goals we pledged in Wales.

We are now taking further steps to strengthen our deterrence and defence against threats from any direction. Building on the Readiness Action Plan adopted in Wales, we will enhance the presence of our forces in the Eastern part of the Alliance. We are bolstering our defences and resilience against cyber attacks and hybrid threats. And we are stepping up our defence against ballistic missile attacks from outside the Euro-Atlantic area.

All these measures are defensive, proportionate, transparent and fully within the Alliances legal and political commitments, demonstrating our respect for the rules-based European security architecture. We remain committed to arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation.

NATO poses no threat to any country. In that spirit, we remain ready for a meaningful dialogue with Russia, to communicate clearly our positions and, as a first priority, to minimize risk from military incidents, including through reciprocal measures of transparency. We continue to aspire to a constructive relationship with Russia, when Russias actions make that possible.

If our neighbours are more stable, we are more secure. That is all the more relevant today, in light of the arc of instability beyond our borders. We are united in solidarity against terrorism, which represents an immediate and direct threat to our nations and the international community. We are ready to do more to help our partners provide for their own security, defend against terrorism, and build resilience against attack.

NATO will therefore step up political dialogue and practical cooperation with our partners in the Middle East and North Africa. NATO will enhance training and capacity building for Iraq, and NATO AWACS aircraft will be made available to support the Counter-ISIL Coalition. NATO is contributing effectively to addressing the refugee and migrant crisis in the Aegean Sea, and stands ready to consider possible additional support to international efforts in the Mediterranean, in complementarity and cooperation with the European Union. And we will sustain our support to Afghanistan, a partner to which we are committed for the long term.

We believe in a Europe whole, free and at peace. NATO will provide more support to Ukraine and Georgia, and continue to assist the Republic of Moldova. We will deepen our engagement with partners in the Black and Baltic Sea regions, and in the Western Balkans. We will also maintain our important operation in Kosovo.

Strategic partnership between NATO and the European Union is increasingly essential for the security of our nations and the Euro-Atlantic area. We are therefore stepping up NATO-EU cooperation in defending against hybrid threats, through operations in the Mediterranean, and in helping partner countries to provide for their own security.

We remain committed to NATOs Open Door policy, which has strengthened the Alliance and contributed to Euro-Atlantic security. We look forward to welcoming our newest member, Montenegro, to our community of values.

We pay tribute to the brave men and women in uniform who serve and have served under NATO Command. We owe a solemn debt of gratitude to those who have lost their lives or been injured while protecting our security.

Our Alliance faces complex and evolving security challenges. NATO will continue to assess changes in the security environment and continue to adapt to play its essential roles, based on the enduring transatlantic bond that unites our countries.
Recently, local communities in Sioux County won a major battle in the fight for local control over fracking as Judge Derek Weimer overturned a decision to allow a Colorado gas company to operate a fracking wastewater injection well in Mitchell ("Disposal decision overturned," July 1). The well in question would have been the largest in the state, dumping 10,000 barrels per day of waste from Colorado and Wyoming.

The out-of-state waste would have been dumped on the community, bringing with it risks to health, safety and the environment. Fracking's wastewater is especially dangerous because it contains thousands of chemicals, many of them known to harm human health and spills have been proven to be quite common. Judge Weimer's decision was celebrated by landowners, activists and elected officials alike who opposed the well for its potential to damage roads, increase traffic and contaminate the Ogallala aquifer, which supplies drinking water to nearly 2 million people.

Because communities bear the brunt of fracking's impacts, they should have the power to choose whether they want dirty drilling and its toxic waste within their borders. Sioux County spoke up for the safety and health of its residents and I'm glad to see its right to do so upheld in court.

Korinna Garfield, Environment America, Wellesley, Massachusetts
Photo: 2016 Getty Images

Funk songstress Chaka Khan and her sister, Yvonne Stevens, have entered into an intensive drug-rehabilitation program to treat their addictions to prescription drugs. The news comes days after Khan unexpectedly pulled out of a scheduled performance at the California State Fair. Unfortunately, I will miss concert appearances over the summer, Khan said in a statement to the AP. However, its vital that I put my health and well-being first. I know that I am disappointing some of my fans, but I also know they would want me to recover and be well and healthy. The Grammy-winner also noted that her addiction involved the same medication that led to Princes death, and the Purple One himself  who was a good friend of Khans  helped inspire the sisters to seek treatment. The tragic death of Prince has had us both rethinking and reevaluating our lives and priorities, she continued. We knew it was time to take action to save our lives. My sister and I would like to thank everyone for their support, love, and prayers.
Grady Fulbright, principal of Bruceville-Eddy High School, has been selected to represent the Texas Association of Secondary School Principals as Region 12s Outstanding High School Principal of the Year.

TASSP recognizes outstanding principals and assistant principals from the 20 region Education Service Centers in the state. School administrators are nominated and chosen by their peers within their regions.

Nominations are based upon exemplary performance and outstanding leadership.

A 16-year campus administrator, Fulbright has headed the leadership team at Bruceville-Eddy High School since July 2012. Prior to coming to Bruceville-Eddy, he served as principal at West Middle School from 2002 to 2012, and as assistant principal at West High School from 2000 to 2002.

West Middle School was rated exemplary in 2008-09, and was rated as recognized six of the nine other years under his leadership. Bruceville-Eddy High School has been rated as met standard (the states highest ranking) during his previous three years as principal there.

The school also received eight academic distinctions during the past three years.

Fulbright is attending Texas A&M University as he works to complete his doctorate in public school administration. He attended Tarleton State University and earned a Masters of Education degree in educational administration in 1995, and achieved his superintendent certification in 2008.

He also attended Stephen F. University State University and earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in communication in 1989.

He and his wife, Jennifer, reside in West.

Each of the region winners will be recognized during the Jostens Night of the Stars Awards Dinner on Tuesday at the Hilton Austin Downtown Hotel.
LAST WEEK: The four Johnson brothers  David, Woodrow, James and John  all served in the military, following in the footsteps of their father, who was in the U.S. Army during World War II.

The youngest of the Johnson brothers, Johnny, was drafted into the Army in 1968. The Waco native volunteered to train patrol dogs, thinking he would be attending to the needs of the dogs. Instead, he discovered his occupation was a ticket straight to Vietnam in February 1969 with the 37th Infantry, a

support battalion attached to the 82nd Airborne.

His patrol dog, Princess, was always by his side when he was in the field. We were the ones that went out first and looked for booby traps, Johnny said. Its a very dangerous job, because youre the target.

If the enemy was able to take out the handler, the dog wouldnt leave the masters side.

The bond between man and patrol dog is strong, especially given the nature of their work. She was the best digger I ever knew. She could dig a foxhole in a heartbeat, he said. She saved my life many times. They were partners for 10 months.

In August 1969, the 82nd Airborne went back to the States. Johnny went to the 1st Air Calvary, still working with patrol dogs. He and his K-9 partner had some serious brushes in the field, including a grenade attack and a deadly skirmish with two enemy soldiers.

Princess had alerted to something non-human and the cover man was sent in to inspect. It turned out to be a trip wire with grenades attached at each end. She heard the sound of the rain on the wire, Johnny said.

Johnny was discharged in April 1970. Three weeks later, he learned that Princess had been killed in action.

Many memories live on

One of Woodrow Johnsons most unforgettable experiences in Vietnam affected him deeply. Attached to the Seabees with the 82nd Special Forces, he met a man who was roughly the same age and expecting a daughter to be born around the same time as his own. He was out on patrol one morning and (the Viet Cong) got the whole patrol, Woodrow said. We had to go in and get them.

Woodrow was honorably discharged from the U.S. Navy in 1968.

After serving their country, all the Johnson brothers went on to successful careers in the private sector. One thing that bothered them most  and all agreed  was the way Vietnam veterans were treated upon returning to the United States.

People were very disrespectful. They called us baby killers, Johnny said. Woodrow added that someone spat on him when he arrived at the airport in the U.S.

No one wanted to sit next to you, said Woodrow. You learned to ignore it. The brothers agree that theres still a bit of lingering attitude even to this day.

No regrets about service

In spite of this, the Johnson boys agree theyre glad to have served. I wish I was back there and could do it again, David said. Id be aboard ship firing boilers.

Woodrow added, Theres a lot of young men listed on that (Vietnam) wall who never had the opportunity to come back to make a life for themselves.

The men also agreed that the military has changed significantly since the time they served.

But even though the Johnson brothers came home safe, they havent forgotten their experiences with the military  or the men who were left behind. They think of their comrades often.

We all came home, said Woodrow.

With our limbs intact, added David.

Today, the brothers by blood who served as brothers in arms remain close. As they go about their daily business, they live modestly and quietly within their communities.

Theyve earned the grateful thanks of a nation.

Voices of Valor, featuring stories about Central Texas veterans, publishes every Sunday in the Waco Trib. To suggest a story about a Central Texas veteran, email voicesofvalor@wacotrib.com. Voices of Valor is proudly sponsored by Johnson Roofing.
While over 500 Vietnam combat veterans, representing 175 Nebraska communities, traveled with their comrades June 6 on three charters to visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C., an entourage of 330 wives, family members and Homefront volunteers were transported in five buses from Omaha to enjoy a day in Lincoln.

In Washington, D.C., the Nebraska veterans also made stops at memorials honoring those who participated in the Air Force, Korean War, World War II and Iwo Jima. They were present for the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery.

The wives day began with a tour of Memorial Stadium, followed by a luncheon in the Lincoln Stations Great Hall. First Lady Susanne Shore was at the door, warmly receiving each guest. Additionally, Governor Pete Ricketts extended words of appreciation and welcoming remarks.

Following the luncheon, the women chose from activities that included a visit to the International Quilt Study Center and Museum, a tour of Wyuka Cemetery led by Ed Zimmer, shopping at SouthPointe Pavilions or a tour of the Nebraska State Capitol led by Roxanne Smith.

The day culminated with a wine tasting and dinner at Glacial Till Winery in Palmyra before the highlight of the evening, when the wives (along with 5,000 appreciative citizens) welcomed home their heroes at Eppley Airfield in Omaha.

Never did the veterans expect to return home to such an outpouring of love, support and loyalty. As a result, many found closure as tears were shed  humbling tears and tears of joy  as they were finally recognized and thanked for their service and sacrifice for their country.

Since 2008, Bill and Evonne Williams of Patriotic Productions have organized nine Honor Flights transporting 2,100 WWII and Korean Veterans to Washington, D.C. Since an estimated 15,000 veterans who served in Vietnam reside in Nebraska, Patriotic Productions has already begun work to organize and fund another Honor Flight in April 2017, possibly departing from the Lincoln Airport. The flight from Lincoln will become a reality with the support of Lincoln and donors statewide.
I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim These powerful words were penned by Nobel Peace Prize winner and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, who died last weekend at age 87.

Wiesel was a living memorial, having survived Hitlers infamous death camps, Buchenwald and Auschwitz. He witnessed as a young teen the deaths of his father, mother and sister and many hundreds of others at the hands of the Nazis who sprang to power on the backs of those who were their scapegoats. He dedicated his life to speaking out against intolerance and when, in 1986, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, the Nobel committee said he was one of the most important spiritual leaders and guides in an age when violence, repression and racism continue to characterize the world.

Thirty years have passed since that peace prize was given, yet violence, repression and racism thrive, perhaps more than ever. Have we learned anything? More than 70 years have passed since World War II, but mans inhumanity to man flourishes. From Virginia Tech to Sandy Hook and now from Orlando to Dallas, we witness the worst in human behavior. Did the vanquishing of the Nazi regime change Wiesels perspective? Given events of recent years, I think not. Based on his intense consistency in raising awareness of wrongs and his enduring presence as a social conscience for all, I believe that he never gave up his quest for and belief in human tolerance, kindness and fairness. As a modern-day Don Quixote, he continued to right the unrightable wrong.

The shame of what we witness throughout the world is that the flames of intolerance and violence have spread deep into the United States, still cherished by others seeking protection from injustice in their own countries. Must we turn aside the Emma Lazarus inscription on the Statue of Liberty?

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!

Again, I think not.

Strong men like Wiesel give us hope against the evils of men. We now witness a renewed battle against the ageless injustices that have plagued mankind throughout history. We must take up the battle, even in the absence of men like Wiesel, to eliminate the silence of despair and injustice of indifference. We cannot remain silent. In Wiesels words: Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.

Society cannot survive fragmentation. It is only with unified dedication to move toward improvement that we ensure the kind of world we want for our children and their children. We must continually support the good and protest the injustice. Perhaps at this time in history its critical to remember Elie Wiesel and heed his warning: There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.

We must protest against wrong and support what is right. Human beings cannot, will not and have never totally agreed on what is right in political and social justice. That is no reason, however, not to continue seeking tolerance, fairness, respect and goodwill while maintaining a heart of charity and caring.

Our protests in word, speech and action must be peaceful and with good intent. Violence in protest begets violent response. That type of protest doesnt promote progress toward respect and peace; it is instead an impediment to those very objectives.

Harry Harelik is executive director of the McLennan Community College Foundation.
For more than six decades, Luminant has had a presence in McLennan County as part of our deep commitment to meet the electric power demands of our growing state. A natural gas plant at our Lake Creek site near Riesel became operational in 1953. Another gas plant at Tradinghouse Lake went online in 1970. Both plants were important assets in powering Texas till they were retired six to seven years ago and the sites cleared.

Just like our predecessor companies that built those plants in the mid-20th century, Luminant shares the vision of planning for the future so our state has reliable affordable power to remain a great place to live, work and grow. Thats why were developing plans to potentially build new natural gas plants at Lake Creek and Tradinghouse. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has already granted air permits to build two 230-megawatt simple-cycle combustion turbines at each site for a total of 460 megawatts at both locations.

In 2015, Luminant applied to amend the Tradinghouse air permit to allow the option of converting the two simple-cycle turbines to whats called combined-cycle capability in which a common steam turbine is added at approximately 350 megawatts. Were also asking for the option there to potentially build two more simple-cycle turbines totaling about 460 megawatts that could run in combined-cycle with a second steam turbine of about 350 megawatts.

If all these units at Tradinghouse were to be built and running in combined-cycle mode, theyd produce approximately 1,620 megawatts of high-efficiency, low-emitting state-of-the-art natural gas-generated electricity. Thats enough to power about 810,000 homes in normal conditions.

McLennan County, the city of Waco and the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce have had questions about what impact nitrogen oxide emissions from the Tradinghouse plant, if built, might have on the areas ozone. Vehicles, certain industries and fossil-fueled power plants all release NOx that can lead to ozone forming on hot, sunny days. The national ozone standard is 70 parts per billion as set by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Waco area complies at 67 ppb. Understandably, the local governments and chamber want Waco to stay in compliance. So do we.

Their concerns stemmed from computer modeling by a consultant hired by the Heart of Texas Council of Governments. The consultant plugged in some mistaken assumptions on how the units could operate and the associated emissions impacts if we just ran the four gas turbines without the steam turbines at Tradinghouse. That kind of generation is neither realistic nor economical but wouldve been allowed under the permit amendment if approved.

However, the modeling showed if Tradinghouse ran in full combined-cycle mode as designed, and as it actually would, the ozone impact would be negligible. We shared with the county, city, chamber and Tribune-Herald why the consultant report overestimated the projected ozone impact of the plant because of these inaccuracies.

Were committed to being good neighbors. We listen. And we work together in the communities our plants call home. So, to address these concerns, we told the TCEQ in April to add a permit limitation that would allow only two of the gas turbines to run in simple-cycle mode at any given time.

Recently, an environmental activist wrote in the Trib opposing construction of the Tradinghouse plant, claiming Texas should no longer rely on fossil-fueled power plants, just renewable energy. Solar and wind have a place in the diverse energy mix thats powering Texas. But to rely on intermittent forms of generation isnt realistic. Just this spring, U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell told those who demand fossil fuels remain in the ground that to say we could shift to 100 percent renewables is naive.

In citing cities, such as Georgetown, that plan to purchase 100 percent renewable energy, what this activist doesnt mention is that such deals are possible only because of dependable generation such as natural gas. Even the mayor of Georgetown acknowledges when theres not enough wind or sun, his city must buy power from the ERCOT grid where almost 90 percent of the power comes from reliable fuels, such as natural gas.

Weve made no final decision to build these plants at Tradinghouse and Lake Creek. Market conditions driven by low wholesale power prices just dont financially support new generation. But more will be needed eventually and, by securing the needed air permits, Luminant wants to be in the position to quickly add new generation when conditions improve.

At Luminant, were proud of our stewardship of the air and water. All of our existing plants meet or exceed all the environmental rules and laws of our state and nation. And should we be granted the permit amendment were seeking and build at Tradinghouse, we can assure the people of McLennan County the affordable power generated there will use the best technology, emissions controls and, importantly, be dependable to keep up with the power demands of a growing Texas.

Brad Watson is senior director of corporate communications at Luminant, headquartered in Dallas. Luminant is the largest power generator in Texas with almost 17,000 megawatts of generation.
Texas Republicans who have long complained that President Obama never lets a crisis slip away without politically capitalizing on it have demonstrated theyre not above the same tactic. No less than Republican Congressman Roger Williams, who represents part of Central Texas, used five dead Dallas police officers for political ends to attack Obama, a Democrat, and in doing so further stirred a pot of percolating racial animosity at a time when a statesmanlike call for calm and conciliation was sorely needed. So much for leadership.

Referring to a Dallas massacre that will scar that grieving city for generations, Williams said that the spread of misinformation and constant instigation by prominent leaders, including our president, have contributed to the modern-day hostility we are witnessing between the police and those they serve. And Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick seemed to resent the crowd of mostly African Americans participating in a largely peaceful protest competently overseen by Dallas police before Thursdays deadly gunfire erupted  a protest about the presumably sacred lives of blacks lost at the hands of police in Louisiana and Minnesota.

All those protesters last night, they ran the other way, expecting the men and women in blue to turn around and protect them, Patrick said on Fox News. What hypocrites!

One wonders if Williams, Patrick and others were operating from a Republican playbook quickly dispatched to party rank and file in the dead of tragic night. Former U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh, an Illinois Republican, took the rhetoric to another level, tweeting: 3 Dallas Cops killed, 7 wounded. This is now war. Watch out Obama. Watch out black lives matter punks. Real America is coming after you.

Contrast all that with the dignified, inclusive approach of Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in his statement Friday: Texas is an exceptional state with exceptional people. Weve faced tough challenges in the past, but we have come together to overcome those challenges. In the coming days, there will be those who foment distrust and fan the flames of dissension. To come together  that would be the greatest rebuke to those who seek to tear us apart.

Why should it matter what politicians even say and do? Because in times of crisis, tragedy and confusion, theyre supposed to stand tall as leaders, restore public confidence in American ideals and set themselves above those who foment distrust and fan the flames of dissension. They are expected to comfort not only survivors of the dead and dying but remind all of us of what we have in common, even when strict party ideology increasingly depends on stressing our differences and vilifying our brothers.

As we reflect in horror at a snipers reported hate for white people and especially white police officers and his attack on a great American city just up the road that left five police officers dead and seven wounded, its crucial our leaders set the right tone. Its vital to stave off the toxic, truth-defying vitriol dominating both social media and talk radio. Lesser politicians might well be trying to bolster their positions for the inevitable battles over gun control or civil rights. They might be trying to bolster re-election prospects. (To his credit, Republican Congressman Bill Flores, who represents Waco, took the high road in his comments: This is a time to be united as Americans and stand together to mourn and to condemn this extremely tragic act of violence.)

Given his own divisive comments and actions of the past, Gov. Abbotts sincerity is indeed up for scrutiny. Words come easy, actions require far more effort, including political courage. If Abbott is sincere, we cheer his efforts at healing our people. If his words ring hollow, we must prepare for more division, more calamity.
Firefighters were dispatched to the call at approximately 1:14 a.m. A tenant in the upper unit discovered the fire and notified the tenants in the lower unit, according to the Fire Department. The Racine Fire Department was able to contain the damage to the upper unit. Red Cross is assisting the occupants.
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WATERFORD  Twenty-years ago, students walked the hallways carrying stacks of books in their arms, but the times have changed. More and more schools are looking at how technology can improve the quality of education and its already having an impact locally.

Digital skills are so important for students to be able to compete in a world market, said Ed Brzinski, superintendent of the Waterford Graded School District, adding that it helps the students become better digital citizens.

The Waterford district is purchasing Google Chromebook laptops for incoming third- and sixth-grade students, which will cost the district $81,200.

The 2015-16 school year was the first the district allowed Chromebooks in the classroom and the School Board Technology Committee approved the order for the devices.

From here on out it will be a normal budgeting item, Brzinski said, adding they will continue to purchase new Chromebooks for the third and sixth grades each year.

Brzinski said there are roughly 150 students in each grade, meaning about 300 laptops are going to be purchased.

With the recently approved purchase, the district will be buying 400 laptops from VPC Innovations for a total of $65,600 and also will be purchasing three-year warranties for each laptop from Technology Resource Advisors, Inc., for $15,600.

Brzinski believes its a good value that will only cost about $77 per year, per student.

The devices will go with the students as they move up through the different grade levels.

As technology becomes part of everyday life, Brzinski said that during the first year there werent any security issues.

Kannan Heath, Waterford Gradeds technology administrator, oversees the program and has a son who was part of the program at Evergreen Elementary last year with the third grade.

Hes been excited about it, Heath said of his son. Its teaching him the 21st century skills.

As a parent, Heath said he wasnt worried about how his son would handle the technology.

Its a digital world, Heath said.

A growing trend

Other school districts have been using Chromebooks for several years. The Union Grove Elementary School District is going into its third year using Chromebooks in the classroom. Like Waterford, Union Grove stared with the sixth grade and kept purchasing for each incoming class. This will be the first year in which the sixth, seventh and eighth grade students will all have Chromebooks they can take home.

Thomas Johnson, principal of Union Grove Elementary, said there are benefits to using Chromebooks for both teachers and students.

It frees them up, Johnson said of the teachers. They have the flexibility to set up lessons on their own.

Union Grove Elementary also used the Chromebooks for district and state testing.

Johnson added that they also have the devices for grades 3-5 but those remain in the classroom.

For Union Grove Elementary, students can email or message their teachers directly if they have a question about an assignment. It also affects how group projects are prepared.

All the students can log on, even though theyre not together, Johnson said. It allows access to information outside of the school day.

Johnson said there havent been any major security issues with the Chromebooks; however, there have been some incidents where a student viewed and or saved inappropriate material on their laptop. He added that those students had their computers taken away for the remainder of the quarter and moved to paper and pencil.

Johnson said those incidents are few and dont represent the behavior of the majority of students with the Chromebooks.

Its pretty minor when youre considering the number of Chromebooks we have, Johnson said.

There may also be a cost benefit to schools moving to Chromebooks.

By providing Chromebooks, we dont have to purchase hard textbooks, Johnson said. He said he wasnt sure how much money the school has saved since moving to Chromebooks.

Improving communication

Amy Ketter, a sixth-grade teacher at Union Grove Elementary, began using Chromebooks in the classroom last year and has noticed a big impact with how she communicates with students.

The biggest thing is their independence and their ability to advocate for themselves, Ketter said. Students are taking the initiative and sending their own emails  theyre not having Mom send an email.

Ketter said she uses the laptops a lot and it dramatically changed the way I teach.

Other than a few technical glitches, Ketter said there havent been any problems.

The Burlington Area School District also will offer Chromebooks for students in second through 12th grades.

Weve had a lot of devices in our classrooms already, said Connie Zinnen, assistant superintendent, adding that theyve used Chromebooks in the past along with iPads and PCs. Theyre cost-efficient. It allows us to purchase them and get them in the hands of our students.

Only students in high school will be able to take them home, Zinnen noted.

Zinnen said theyre excited to include technology in the classroom and learn from other school districts about the best use of Chromebooks.

Technology can enhance education. Its a tool, (but) it cant replace good teachers, Zinnen said. Well see how it goes this year.

Students are taking the initiative and sending their own emails  theyre not having Mom send an email. Amy Ketter, Union Grove Elementary teacher
Industry Minister Christopher Pyne has condemned MPs speaking out against Malcolm Turnbull's authority after the Coalition's electoral collapse, saying anonymous quotes about the Prime Minister's leadership were cowardly.

Speaking on ABC radio a day after Mr Turnbull declared victory in the July 2 election, Mr Pyne was asked about an unnamed conservative MP who warned the close result would see some conservative backbench MPs attempt to to dictate policy to Liberal moderates.

"His theory was to win and win comfortably so the conservatives would all have to kneel at the altar of Malcolm Turnbull; well, I think someone else will be kneeling at the conservative altar now," the MP told News Corp.
Pauline Hanson's One Nation party is on track to get almost $1.2 million in electoral funding from taxpayers.

The right-wing firebrand will get the cash no matter how many senators she ends up with and regardless of how much the party actually spent on campaigning.

The money will add to an estimated $6 million in public funding she and her party has received since first entering politics in 1996.
Madison Ashton became infamous after outing herself as Richard Pratt's escort and lover, now she's on her way to becoming as successful as her late associate.

Ashton, who is professionally known as Christine McQueen, rose to fame in 2012 after suing the late cardboard king's estate for a multi-million dollar claim. Her case was dismissed by the NSW Supreme Court and Court of Appeal last year.

Richard Pratt's former escort Madison Ashton has opened up about her career as a sex worker. Credit:Twitter

She has since risen from the ashes of the three-year legal saga to become one of the most successful sex workers in the country and an advocate for the adult industry.

Ashton credits her success to cosmetic surgery, having undergone a full labiaplasty and an "O shot"  a procedure where platelet-rich plasma is injected into the vagina to increase sensitivity. The technology has been a plot line on the Real Housewives of New York.
Australia made a huge mistake allowing Tasmanian-born Mary Donaldson to leave our shores, if her new Vogue Australia cover story is anything to go by.

Since marrying a Danish Prince 12 years ago, the 44-year-old mother of four is now one of the world's most pre-eminent voices for gender equality and social change.

HRH Crown Princess Mary of Denmark and her family were photographed in their kitchen by Mario Testino. Credit:Vogue Australia/Mario Testino

For her 2004 wedding she received a gift of 1 million Danish krone ($196,000). While most newlyweds put the contents of their wishing wells toward a holiday or new house, Crown Princess Mary of Denmark (who's wing of Amalienborg Palace was renovated in 2009 anyway) established The Mary Foundation. An initiative that focuses on community and reconnecting the isolated.

"Domestic violence, bullying and loneliness, they are our three focus areas," she said. "Those three areas were chosen because they all have links to social isolation and many of them are very taboo or overlooked. The abused woman, the bullied child and the lonely adolescent feel very, very alone in the world with their problems and will often never share them."
While much of the wider populace rolled their eyes when former model Christina Estrada attempted to justify in a London court recently why she deserved a $340 million-plus divorce settlement from her mind-boggingly wealthy ex-husband, because "money attracts money", she did have a point.

When one has more zeroes on their bank balance than there are people on the planet, it is only natural that one would find succour with like-minded people who find themselves in similar situations.

Hiddleswift (left) entertained friends at their Fourth of July party, as well as the rest of the world on Instagram. Credit:britmaack/Instagram

And super yachts and private islands don't come cheap either, darling. Yes, even for the ridiculously rich the "struggle is real".

Just take a look at the guest list aboard billionaire truckie Lindsay Fox's decadent 80th birthday celebrations to see how "money attracts money".
Ms Chen said she was ushered past two cats in Ms Liu's apartment and towards a single bed in one of the flat's bed rooms. A photo posted to WeChat advertising the services of an allegedly unregistered cosmetic practitioner. "She told me to pay first in cash. I paid $1500. Then she asked me to lie down." Ms Liu allegedly washed her face with water and a cotton cloth, injected an anaesthetic agent around her eyes and started suturing. Ms Chen's eye after the botched surgery.

"Three times she stitched my left eyelid, then pulled [the sutures] out, then re-stitched them. "I screamed at her ... I yelled out I need more pain killer injections." A still from a video posted on WeChat advertising the services of an alleged unregistered practitioner. The surgery lasted eight hours, Ms Chen said. "She'd do a stitch then she'd pick up her phone and open a door and leave the room," Ms Chen said. "Then she'd come back in and start stitching again without washing her hands.

Helena is suffering from a botched plastic surgery. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer "I was so angry. It's painful. It's really painful." When it was over, she told Ms Liu she didn't like the results, but Ms Liu said she would have to come back in a month for another session once the swelling had gone down, Ms Chen said. After seeing three cosmetic physicians, Ms Chen was told she would need to wait six months for her eyes to heal before they could properly assess the damage. "I was stupid to trust her," she said.

Cosmetic doctors are increasingly taking in women who have come away from black market cosmetic "clinics" with scarring, bruising and hard clumps of unknown materials injected into their faces. The unregistered operators, who predominantly target Asian Australians and recent Chinese migrants, allegedly inject clients with imported counterfeit fillers and perform cosmetic surgeries, including double eyelid suturing, nose lifts and liposuction, in their private residences. "They call themselves doctors or nurses but they don't have any qualifications," said Sydney cosmetic surgeon Zion Chan. "People don't know they are visiting unsafe and illegal practices. "It's getting much worse. I would say it is rampant in Sydney. "Every week I see a new patient with a complication. People with product injected into their face that was just a bad mimic [of approved fillers]. It would be lumpy or hard or move around [under the skin]."

Another Sydney-based cosmetic specialist clinician said he saw as many as five complications a week due to the handiwork of unregistered practitioners. "In terms of the really bad cases, like blepharoplasty [eyelid surgery], I'd see every two months  it's incredibly dangerous," said the physician with strong ties to the Chinese community who declined to be named. "They could have been blinded." Individuals found guilty of administering botulinum toxin (botox), hyaluronic acid (dermal fillers) and anaesthetic injections face $1650 in fines or up to six months in jail for each offence under the Poisons and Therapeutics Goods Act. For some prescription-only medications, the penalties can be up to $2200 or up to two years imprisonment. But some home clinics flout Australian laws and post videos of their procedures and before-and-after photos on the China-based social media platform WeChat.

"They can be quite blatant with their advertising," said Sydney CBD-based cosmetic physician Anthony Yap. "But the really clever operators are more subtle, just posting after photos and groups of girls sitting around living rooms having a good time." . Footage seen by Fairfax posted on WeChat shows cosmetic procedures carried out in carpeted living rooms on beds and couches. One video shows a cat passing behind a woman as she works on a client. Several WeChat posts show residential apartments full of young women who appear to be waiting their turn. "It's incredibly dangerous," said another cosmetic physician after watching footage of one operator using a syringe to pierce a woman's forehead. Separate vision shows a syringe pierce a woman at the temple. "There's a risk of haemorrhage  severe skin necrosis, and at worst blindness," he said. "There is no duty of care to the people they are treating."

Many alleged unregistered practitioners charge the same rates as legitimate clinics. "It's part of their strategy," the physician said. "They don't want people to suspect they're not real doctors. "Their clients' English is often very limited ... they won't be as vocal when things go wrong. They won't go to the authorities. They just want it fixed." Health authorities are investigating Ms Liu after raiding her Five Dock premises last week. Fairfax Media has attempted to contact Ms Liu. The apartment she allegedly worked from has been put on the market.

Backyard procedures are becoming increasingly common and the NSW Health Care Complaints Commission has issued a public warning and reported a rise in the number of complaints about cosmetic procedures being performed in residential properties by practitioners unqualified or unregistered in Australia. But once an in-home clinic is raided, some operators have simply moved to new locations, posting notices on WeChat informing their clients they will reopen in weeks, according to patients and WeChat posts. "The commission recognises the issue of displacement, hence its decision to issue a public warning on this matter," a spokesman for the HCCC said in a statement. NSW Health's director of health protection Jeremy McAnulty said the public should "absolutely avoid these places". "Infection control is our major concern," Dr McAnulty said.

"There's a risk of blood-borne viruses and other infections being transmitted from the environment, or from the person performing the operation, or between clients when equipment and vials are being reused. "Then there's the botched jobs. If something goes wrong  which can happen at the best of times with experienced surgeons  you can permanently have a deformed face. "Our message to the public is don't undertake these treatments lightly. Talk to your GP about being referred to an experienced clinician and, if you've had a botched procedure, report it to the HCCC and or [the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency]," he said. Individuals can check if a practitioner is registered in Australia via the AHPRA website. The NSW government recently introduced tougher laws regulating the cosmetic surgery industry to provide greater safeguards for patients.
One in six patients awaiting urgent elective surgery in WA is not being treated within the prescribed 30-day timeframe.

The Health Department figures prompted Opposition health spokesman Roger Cook to call on the state government to fix its "deteriorating" health services.

Ivan Broxton, 80, waited more than twice the advised waiting time for his foot surgery. Credit:Heather McNeill

Near-perfect waiting time figures for category one elective surgery in 2014 slipped, with 15 per cent of the 919 patients registered for surgery in May 2016 forced to wait longer than medically advised.

Mr Cook blamed the government's mismanagement of the budget and employment freezes for the debacle.
FBI Director James B. Comey announced on Tuesday that he would not be recommending charges against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Democratic Partys presumptive presidential nominee, for her use of a personal email system for sending classified information.

During his announcement, he started by explaining that the investigation looked at whether there was any evidence classified information was improperly stored or transmitted on a personal system, in violation of a federal statute making it a felony to mishandle classified information either intentionally or in a grossly negligent way, or a second statute making it a misdemeanor to knowingly remove classified information from appropriate systems or storage facilities.

Throughout this investigation, Clinton has repeatedly denied sending classified information on an unsecure network. At first she even made jokes about it. When that didnt work, she tried to downplay it.

Now there is no denying the facts.

As part of Comeys investigation, he said of the approximately 30,000 emails that Clinton provided, 110 emails were determined to contain classified information at the time they were sent or received.

Comey went on to explain, Eight of those chains contained information that was Top Secret at the time they were sent; 36 chains contained Secret information at the time; and eight contained Confidential information, which is the lowest level of classification.

Maybe this could have been forgiven if this was a one-time deal. Maybe it could be forgiven if she only used one device even.

That was not the case.

As Comey explained during his press conference, Secretary Clinton used several different servers and administrators of those servers during her four years at the State Department, and used numerous mobile devices to view and send email on that personal domain. As new servers and equipment were employed, older servers were taken out of service, stored, and decommissioned in various ways.

And this was all done openly in publicincluding in the territory of sophisticated adversariesmaking her an easy target for hackers.

While Comeys investigation could not prove she was successfully hacked because of the nature of the system, he said it was possible.

It was all part of a security culture in the State Department that was generally lacking in the kind of care for classified information found elsewhere in the government.

While no criminal charges were recommended, Comey concluded Clinton was extremely careless in handling very sensitive, highly classified information.

If she couldnt handle being secretary of state, how will she be able to handle being president?

Clintons extremely careless behavior certainly makes her a questionable candidate.
You can love Donald Trump. You can hate him. But what you cannot dispute is that the way he has run his campaign since sealing the Republican nomination two months ago has been absolutely disastrous.

Campaigns are complicated things. No one gets every piece of them right. Some candidates are great at big rallies. Some are good only at small events. Some are terrific TV communicators but bad on the stump. Some delegate well, and others don't. Some never waver from a message, while others can't seem to find one with a 10-foot pole. It's a high-wire balancing act every day with tens of millions of people watching.

But there are basic blocking and tackling elements of any campaign that are less complex - and absolutely necessary to do if you want to win. The most basic of all? If your opponent is having a bad day or a bad week, let them have it. Just get out of the way.
By West Kentucky Star Staff Jul. 10, 2016 | 01:37 PM | MCCRACKEN COUNTY, KY

Two people were arrested on drug charges Saturday and a third is being sought by police.

According to the McCracken County Sheriff's Office, deputies were patrolling the area of Metropolis Ferry Landing when they saw three people exit some nearby woods. Two of the suspects were identified as 26-year-old Alicia Morrison of Hickory and 28-year-old Darren Carroll of Arlington.

Deputies said the three appeared nervous and they gave conflicting stories. But because police had no evidence to detain them, the three were released.

After they left, deputies entered the woods and found a black bag that contained methamphetamine and items of drug paraphernalia, including needles, scales and glass smoking pipes. There was also mail addressed to Morrison in the bag along with family photographs of her.

The bag was collected and deputies started trying to locate the vehicle in which the suspects had left. It was found on BoBo Road and a traffic stop was conducted.



After interviewing Morrison and Carroll, they were both arrested and charged with possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia and tampering with physical evidence. They were taken to the McCracken County Regional Jail.

Police said the third suspect that exited the woods was not in the vehicle and has not yet been located. Deputies said the investigation is ongoing and other charges are possible.
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Three juveniles charged with robbing same Paducah store twice in one day
By The Associated Press Jul. 10, 2016 | 09:36 AM | BATON ROUGE, LA/ST. PAUL, MN

Authorities in Baton Rouge say more than 100 people were jailed in connection with the Black Lives Matter protests held in the Lousiana city over the weekend.

Spokeswoman Casey Rayborn Hicks of the East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office told The Associated Press on Sunday that 101 people were being held in the parish jail in connection with the protests. No information was immediately available on what charges they faced or whether some people were later released.

Among those arrested was DeRay Mckesson, who rose to prominence with the Black Lives Matter movement after the 2014 shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.

Tensions between black citizens and police have risen palpably over the past week or so amid police shootings of African-American men in Minnesota and Louisiana and the gunning down of five white police officers by a black suspect in Dallas in apparent retaliation.

Meanwhile, police have arrested about 100 people in St. Paul during protests of the recent police killings of black men, including one outside Minnesota's capital city.

Authorities say 21 St. Paul officers and six state troopers were hurt during the fracas late Saturday and early Sunday.

St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman and Police Chief Todd Axtell are condemning the violence. Axtell calls the pelting of officers with rocks, bottles and other objects "a disgrace."

The Star Tribune (http://strib.mn/29qNWkj) reports about half the arrests came during a blockade of Interstate 94 in St. Paul. About 50 arrests were made early Sunday in another part of St. Paul. The interstate reopened early Sunday morning.

The protest was among several demonstrations nationwide following the deaths of 32-year-old Philando Castile in suburban St. Paul and 37-year-old Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
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By The Associated Press

Jul. 09, 2016 | LOUISVILLE, KY

By The Associated Press Jul. 09, 2016 | 10:42 AM | LOUISVILLE, KY

Police in Metro Louisville will patrol in pairs until further notice in response to the fatal shootings of five officers in Dallas.



Police spokesman Dwight Mitchell told media on Friday morning that the decision was made to ensure the safety of officers. He said it would also give officers a chance to talk with a colleague about what happened and decompress.



Five Dallas police officers were fatally shot and seven others wounded during a protest over the deaths of black men killed by police this week in Louisiana and Minnesota. It was the deadliest day for U.S. law enforcement since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.



Dallas Police Chief David Brown blamed "snipers," but it was unclear how many shooters were involved in Thursday's attack.
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By Jim Waters

Jul. 10, 2016 | LEXINGTON, KY

By Jim Waters Jul. 10, 2016 | 11:36 AM | LEXINGTON, KY

While folklore about Davy Crockett is filled with stories of courage and daring, it's Horatio Bunce, a respectable farmer in the Tennessee district represented by Crockett in Congress  at least in the version found in Edward S. Ellis' biography about the larger-than-life "King of the Wild Frontier"  who's the hero of this story.



Ellis recounts how Crockett and several congressmen in their sympathy for victims of a fire that occurred near Washington on a cold winter's night not only scurried to the scene and helped extinguish the blaze but also supported rushing a $20,000 appropriation through Congress the following morning to aid the victims.



Who could argue with such a move?



Farmer Bunce, that's who.



When Crockett tracked Bunce down in his fields the following summer to ask him for his vote, the farmer took a break from plowing to tell the congressman he wouldn't support his reelection because of that vote.



"Well, Colonel, where do you find in the Constitution any authority to give away the public money in charity?" the farmer asked.



Crockett's response was one typical of most politicians who cast votes based on emotion and a do-gooder mentality rather than on constitutional principles.



"But certainly nobody will complain that a great and rich country like ours should give the insignificant sum of $20,000 to relieve women and children, particularly with a full and overflowing treasury; and, I am sure, if you had been there, you would have just as I did," Crockett told that farmer.



Bunce's response offers a template for the kind of pushback that Kentuckians should use when big-government Democrats want to expand social welfare programs like Medicaid and do-gooder Republicans desperately want to prove their compassion.



"It is not the amount, Colonel, that I complain of, it is the principle," Bunce responded.



That principle, he says, is based upon the fact that it:



-Involves disbursing revenue "not yours to give" to benefit government's chosen recipient "from thousands who are even worse off than he."



-Opens the fiscal floodgates to "fraud and corruption and favoritism, on the one hand, and for robbing the people on the other." After all, "if you have the right to give to one, you have the right to give to all."



-Violates the Constitution by usurping it in going way beyond the power granted to Congress by the people, which is limited to "collect and pay moneys (sic), and for nothing else."



-Infringes upon the "I'm my brother's keeper" principle by replacing individuals' charity with government dependency. In fact, Bunce strongly chastised Crockett for not personally helping out the fire's victims, arguing that the members of Congress could have raised more than $13,000 immediately by "contributing each one week's pay."



Bunce ended up supporting Crockett's successful reelection campaign after the congressman publicly acknowledged the unconstitutionality of his earlier vote, vowing never to repeat that mistake.



Crockett later stopped a bill headed for easy passage that appropriated funds to assist the widow of a distinguished naval officer, urging his colleagues to contribute a week's congressional pay instead.



He was willing to do it even though "I am the poorest man on this floor."



Ellis is accused of embellishing his 1884 account of Crockett. He probably did, which wouldn't have been unusual in telling the story of a bona fide American hero during that era.



Still, if we applied this lesson learned by a 19th century American hero to 21st-century policy  even if it was a parable taught by his biographer  there would be a lot more Crockett-like heroism as citizen helped citizen based on the constitutionally sound example portrayed by those in power and our federal government wouldn't be $19 trillion in debt.



Jim Waters is president of the Bluegrass Institute; Kentucky's free-market think tank. Reach him at jwaters@freedomkentucky.com. Read previously published columns at www.bipps.org.
55 tonnes of solid waste extracted from Bishnumati

As the Bishnumati Clean-up Campaign marked its 100th week, volunteers extracted around 55 metric tonnes of solid waste from different sections of the river on Saturday.
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 10/07/2016 (2300 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A victim of a deadly rooming house fire that killed two people was described Sunday as a wonderful human being and a kind-hearted woman who would have helped anybody.

She was very timid and shy  she would never raise her voice, Anna Vande Kerckhove said of 51-year-old Brenda Campbell, who died early Thursday in the Point Douglas blaze at 186 Austin St. N.

She was friendly, you could have a conversation with her. She knew a lot of people in the centre.

ARLEA ASHCROFT photo Above left: Officials investigate at the rooming house at 186 Austin St. North Thursday. Above right: The rooming house well involved with flames early Thursday.

She was a very genuine, lovable person, Vande Kerckhove said. She was just a tiny little human being.

Campbell was one of two people killed in the blaze at 186 Austin St. N., which broke out about 1:40 a.m. Thursday.

Firefighters rushed to the burning three-storey rooming house. The structure was well involved, and crews hit the exterior with large-volume water lines before entering, said a spokesman with the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service. When inside, firefighters located one man who was already dead. He was later identified by police as John McKinnon Bendon, 61.

Two other people inside the rooming house were taken to hospital and listed in stable condition.

On Sunday evening, Trevor Berg, pastor of Grace Point Church in Point Douglas, devoted much of his service to a discussion of the fire, ensuing media coverage, and community grief. A nephew of one of the victims was invited to speak, but was distraught.

For me, it was pretty hard  pretty hard to deal with that, Berg told congregants. Ive been in that house, maybe about a month and a half or two months ago For me it was hard, but thats just me right? Theres people who are much closer to that that maybe it hurts more.

Campbell was a staple at the North Point Douglas Womens Centre, where Vande Kerckhove is a volunteer. Vande Kerckhove said her death would be hard on the community.

I think it affects people different ways, she said. For me, I just cant seem to get over losing her, because, I mean, I knew her a little bit from coming to the centre. Its shocking, the way she died. She was innocent. Why should she have had to die in a fire that was really drastic like that?

For me, it was pretty hard  pretty hard to deal with that. Ive been in that house, maybe about a month-and-a-half or two months ago For me it was hard, but thats just me right? Theres people who are much closer to that that maybe it hurts more Grace Point Church Pastor Trevor Berg (left)

Vande Kerckhove said Campbell used a cane to walk, and had difficulty with stairs.

Its hard to grasp, you know? she said. Its so upsetting to me, to lose a person like that.

Another congregant, Thomas John George, saw the fire take place. George, who lives nearby, said he was sitting outside when he saw smoke and went to investigate.

Thats a heck of a thing, to see (the fire), he said Sunday. George said he had seen Campbell around the church and didnt know her or McKinnon Bendon well, but the deaths would be hard on his tightly-knit community.

Everybody knows everybody, he said.

Another church-goer, Natalie Dyck, also saw the smoke, but doesnt like to go out at night. She said she went to the site later with the Bear Clan to burn sage in honour of all the victims  the deceased, as well as the people who lost their homes.

Its my area, Dyck said of the emotional event.

In his service, Berg recalled feeling overwhelmed when he learned about the fire, and asked church-goers to share what they knew about its victims.

JOE BRYKSA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Police have a large perimeter set up around the scene of a fatal house fire in the 100 block of Austin Street North as fire officials investigate.

He also took a moment to critique media coverage of the event, criticising a media narrative he said reduced the area, and its people, to its problems, after reports last week noted the residence was a problem house.

Dont you know that these are real people? he said, describing his reaction to the reports. These are people, who suffered and died in that house. Someone died in that house (that) night, and all we can talk about is their problems, or the problems that happened around them.

As a roomful of heads nodded, Berg said, I understand that there were problems and there were things going on in this house that probably shouldnt have happened. I understand all that stuff. But in that moment, I dont really feel like thats the way to honour these people.

The Winnipeg Police Service homicide unit is continuing to investigate the incident. Anyone with information is asked to call investigators at 204-986-6508 or Crime Stoppers at 204-786-TIPS (8477).

aidan.geary@freepress.mb.ca
When Rachel Fishel went to school at St. Peters in Hokah, she knew she one day wanted to be a teacher there  which is exactly what she did.

Fishels been teaching at the Catholic school since 1993, and now shes been principal since 2001.

Its just like a big family, she said.

The church itself has 154 envelope holders; an estimated 300 to 400 parishioners overall.

This is where I wanted to be, Fishel said. This is where I was meant to be.

No matter what you go through in life, she said, you feel like people here are there for you.

Were all connected, she said.

Theresa Von Arx agreed. She knows a lot about the parish, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, but she doesnt consider herself its official historian by any means.

Im just very interested, Von Arx said.

Parishioner Carol Walcker spearheaded a compilation book of the churchs history in 1978, and another in 2006, which includes a detailed history of its origins, builders of the community of faith, parish priests, and church and school members.

My familys been part of this church forever, she said.

Von Arx was baptized there in 1981. Her maiden name was Tschumper, and her family connection goes back to the 1860s.

Its fitting to note, since the shadow is still being cast from St. Peters June 4 centennial celebration, which included Bishop John Quinn presiding over Mass, a potluck in the parking lot, two local bands, and kids singing; it lasted into the early evening.

It was actually 100 years of this building, Von Arx said. The history of our actual parish goes back further than that, but this building, the foundation was laid in 1916, completed in 1918. So we chose 1916 as our starting point.

In 1856, the first Catholic settlers came to Hokah, which puts the actual parish origins closer to 160 years.

Shes not only a member; Von Arx also teaches third and fourth grades at the churchs school, where her own children go. They represent six generation members.

There are 11 students in her combined teaching grades, with a total student body of 75 from preschool through eighth grade. There was even a high school until 1966.

It is a special feeling because you think of the hard work that our ancestors put into building this church, Von Arx said. A lot of them were farmers; they didnt have a lot of money, but they were able to raise $9,000 starting in 1913 to build a new church. Where did that money comes from? They gave everything, and then their time. They put in hours themselves helping to build this church.

Literally by hand. The men had to bring their teams of horses, and their plows and graders, to level off the hillside on which the church now stands.

They said it was like a living rosary, she said, going around and around.

The women were told to take care of their farms during the day while their husbands came to help build the church.

It is a neat feeling, she said, because you know that weve kept this going so long. People really think of this church as home. And a lot of people are related, but everybody feels like family.

She taught at the parish school in 2007 for two years, but then she was pregnant with her second child and took time off. Now, with three children, she returned to teaching last year when there was an opening.

Theres just this connection, Von Arx said.

She got a great education, both academically and as a person, at St. Peters, she said, and she knows this is where she wants to be.

I want to do that for the next generation of kids, she said. And for my own kids who go to school here.

Joseph Pfeffer, who lived in a nearby valley, arrived in 1856, and in 1858, he bought a flat-bottom boat to transport church-goers across the river to La Crosse, as there wasnt a church Hokah could call its own.

They were so adamant about going to church, and living their faith, that they took this boat to La Crosse once month, she said. One time, they go and a huge storm comes up and they barely made it back without being capsized.

That convinced Pfeffer they needed a church of their own, so on his farm, back in what is known as Pfeffer Valley, he built a small log church which no longer exists.

By 1867, he had decided to donate 200 acres of land for a convent to be built past Pfeffer Valley up on the hillside. It became known as The Convent, Church of the Blessed Sacrament. Its fate, however, was a sad one, Von Arx said.

The bishop at that time, she said, he never would fully recognize this as being like a parish church. Part of it, I think, is that it wasnt in town.

The other piece, she said, has to do with St. Peters mission, which from the very beginning included having a school to teach the Catholic faith to children. At the time of the convent, it was felt religion should be taught in the public school system. How, it was speculated, would the faith be brought into the public schools if it was being taught on its own?

But the people loved this place, Von Arx said of the convent. I mean, heart and soul.

The convent had a school and an orphanage, and even boarded kids who couldnt easily travel on a daily basis from area farms.

In 1904, the bishop forced the convent sisters to leave, but the local people wouldnt let go.

For a few years, they would get their own priest to come once a month and say Mass, she said.

The bishop sold the property, and the parish countered by leasing the land for a year, but eventually it was official: the convent was razed.

In 1878, while the saga of the convent was going on, the bishop decided a church should be built in Hokah itself. It was, and is, called St. Peters. It was up the street from the current location, and much smaller. Von Arx said the new church caused some members distress; they couldnt leave the convent site and would go up and pray the rosary there after it was torn down.

It just breaks your heart, she said.

A new vibrant priest, Father Wermerskirchen, provided the salve by mobilizing the people to build a new church. By 1916, the money had been raised and the current church was built.

The majority of the people who go here are descendants of these early people, she said.

Her own great- great-grandfathers name is in a book of donations and meeting notes on display in the churchs lobby.

Von Arx joins a long line of what she called great teachers who have taught parishioners to have fun, work hard and work together.

Hallmarks still exist  not only the book with Von Arxs great- great-grandfathers name, among many others, but a church bell dated 1863 on display in the lobby (which has its own unique history). Renovations happened in the 1950s, again in 2006, and most recently, a massive renovation effort totaling almost $240,000.

The congregation, which shares a priest in whats known as a cluster (including parishes in Rushford and Houston), still gets donations from members who no longer reside in the area. The connection to St. Peters is strong and forever.

I dont know how to explain it really, Von Arx said.

Parishioner Mike Ott, who is Fishels father, said an estimated $1 million has been raised since the turn of the 20th century in renovations alone, which have included new roofs, a playground, a parking lot, a new boiler, an elevator, and re-plastering the entire building.

All raised by the members and alumni of the school, Ott said.

He joined in 1962, when he came to attend ninth grade. He noted how good the acoustics are in the church; one member lived on Tschumper Ridge and the story goes that, in the 1920s and 1930s, you could hear the Von Arx family singing down in the valley just like The Sound of Music. Vocations have been spurred by that singing.

Mary Kay Sheehan, whose mother was one of the 14 Von Arx children, has her own special history with the parish.

Ive been here forever, Sheehan said.

Her mother was a year old when the building was built, she said, and she started school at St. Peters in 1952 and went there all 12 years.

She lived in the Twin Cities for 40 years and recently returned.

I was still quite active here, she said, because my parents were in town.

The reason for her continued presence is clear.

Its my home, Sheehan said. Its where I belong.

Theres a lot to do in the small parish, she said, and because its small, you can do lots. She was on the centennial committee, involved in the ministry by doing readings; stepping in, she said, wherever anybody needs help.

Help, it seems, is sorely needed.

I just think that, in this world, everyone is searching for a feeling of community, Fishel said, especially my generation. Theyre searching for something all the time. They dont know what theyre searching for, so theyre reading self-help books, and theyre going to yoga, and theyre trying meditation, and if they would just realize whats missing in their lives is a relationship with God, and Gods waiting patiently for them to figure that out.

When they do, the church in Hokah will be there. Its a community, they all agreed, that holds you up, cries with you, and shows a path of hope for the future.

St. Peters will never close, Sheehan said. I mean, it wont. It just wont happen. Its such a strong community.
The Winona Rotary Club is proud to announce the two scholarship recipients from the Rotary Clubs Student of the Month program: Nina Sugaya and Lucas Larson. Each winner was awarded a $500 scholarship to support their higher education. Congratulations to these winners and their families.
About 100 Winona-area residents gathered Saturday afternoon at Windom Park for a peaceful protest to support the Black Lives Matter movement and to condemn the killing of a black man by a police officer during a traffic stop earlier this week in the suburban Twin Cities.

Organizers Nicholle Ramsey, Mike Leutgeb Munson and Diane Leutgeb led the protesters on a march down Huff, Sarnia and Main Streets while carrying signs that had messages like Black Lives Matter and Solidarity.

Ramsey said she and fellow organizers were motivated to lead an event in Winona after attending a protest in St. Paul earlier this week after Philando Castiles death. His killing, the aftermath of which was recorded on cellphone video by his girlfriend, has drawn national attention and continues to be investigated.

Munson said he believed the march would show black Winona residents solidarity of support.

I think our black and brown (people) need to hear white residents say Black Lives Matter, Munson said.

Supportive drivers honked their horns as the protesters marched by, but not all community members were thrilled.

Chela Navarro yelled all lives matter out of her passenger window of a car Laurie Radawitz was driving as protesters marched by.

Navarro, Radawitz and their passengers returned a few minutes later to give the protesters a sign that read All Lives Matter, which protesters threw to the ground before chanting Black Lives Matter and continuing their march.

Im Cuban. Dont I matter? Its not just black people, Navarro said.

Radawitz, who said her son will soon become a police officer, said she believes the movement is not inclusive.

What about the five white cops murdered? Radawitz asked.

Radawitz was referring to the killing of five police officers in Dallas on Thursday evening during a protest, including one who was a Mexican-American, with the ongoing investigation focused on a lone, troubled former military member.

I would say that its not about Dallas, Ramsey said later of the gathering. Its about Philando Castile.

Its about his daughter, the 4-year-old who was in the car at the time of the shooting.

Ramsey added that the gathering was not meant to diminish the lives of anyone, that the phrase all lives matter is frequently and mistakenly used as a direct response to the Black Lives Matter movement, which also fights for equality for all but exists in response to inequality.

That statement should be true, and we want it to be true, Ramsey said. We have to uplift them. We have to make sure they have a voice, have a life.

After the march, attendees were given the chance to address the crowd and express themselves through essays, poetry and songs.

Those who spoke expressed fear regarding recent events in the U.S., but also hope through events like the gathering.

Munson, Ramsey and other community members who spoke said they planned on engaging more with the community through similar events.

I dont want this to be the end of the conversation in Winona, Ramsey said. This is our time to make a change, and we need to do that.

Our march is not an answer, Munson said before the walk. Its only a beginning.
About 100 people protesting late Saturday and early Sunday in a sometimes violent response to the police killing of Philando Castile were arrested, either during an hourslong human blockade of Interstate 94 in St. Paul or during a follow-up gathering elsewhere in the city, authorities said.

The violence perpetrated by some of the protesters against the police prompted denouncement in the strongest terms by St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman and Police Chief Todd Axtell, who called the pelting of officers with rocks, bottles and other items a disgrace.

Axtell said 21 of his officers were injured in the mayhem. The State Patrol said six of its troopers suffered minor injuries from what the protesters were throwing.

Roughly 50 of the arrests came during the freeway riot, which began shortly before nightfall Saturday and continued until police began taking people into custody shortly after 1 a.m., allowing the interstate to be reopened in both directions, said police spokesman Steve Linders.

The officers were hurt from demonstrators throwing rocks, bottles, fireworks and bricks, Linders said. The injuries were not considered serious, he added. Demonstrators were seen on a pedestrian overpass throwing objects including bricks and rebar at officers and dumped liquid on them.

At a hastily called news conference at police headquarters, the mayor called the violence shameful and said it doesnt honor anyones memory ... including Philando Castiles.

Axtell was even more blunt, starting his comments by holding up a piece of concrete as an example of what his officers were met with. He also held a bent metal officers badge in his hand, illustrating the force of what police absorbed from the demonstrators.

This is the first time in my 28 years we have observed this level of violence toward our public servants, Axtell said. Its really a disgrace.

The chief said the protesters turned into criminals. I am absolutely disgusted, [and] I am not going to tolerate it. ... I just cant believe this occurred. This is just something that doesnt happen in St. Paul.

As police advanced on I-94 near Lexington Avenue, some among the hundreds of protesters retreated up an adjacent hill and left the freeway. Some people began to march back to the governors residence, where demonstrators have kept a constant presence since shortly after Castiles death.

Another 50 or so arrests were made about 4 a.m. near Grand Avenue and Dale Street in connection with the uprising following the death of Castile, who was shot by a St. Anthony police officer who stopped the St. Paul man as he drove Wednesday. Those demonstrators were cited at the scene and released, Linders said. The freeway protesters who were arrested remain jailed, the spokesman said.

The moments after the killing, captured on video by his girlfriend sitting next him, has become a key chapter in the latest national narrative about police shooting black men.

Also, last week, a black man was fatally shot by police in Baton Rouge, La., then a black gunman who vowed to shoot white police killed five officers in Dallas during a demonstration in that city Thursday night, staged in protest to the killings in Minnesota and Louisiana.

The unrest in the Twin Cities has drawn the head of the national NAACP to Minnesota. Cornell Brooks is scheduled to meet with Gov. Mark Dayton sometime Sunday afternoon.

On I-94 Saturday night, the key east-west highway thoroughfare in the Twin Cities, dozens of police officers decked out in riot gear used smoke bombs, and eventually tear gas and pepper spray, to disperse the crowd that gathered mostly at the Lexington Avenue exits and spread east to Dale Street. State Patrol squad cars had the interstate blocked for 5 miles in both directions and entrance ramps sealed off from Hwy. 280 east to downtown St. Paul.

Around 11:15 p.m., police began arresting people one by one, escorting them to a re-purposed Metro Transit bus.

In the heat of the protest, as many as 300 people were spread across both the eastbound and westbound lanes. Many sat down on the asphalt roadway while others stood, the air filled with yelling and chanting. Protesters had moved a small pickup onto the highway and were broadcasting with sound equipment.

Around 10 p.m., officers had issued their 16th order to vacate the interstate, and protesters were not budging. At one point, two dozen officers in riot gear pressed on the crowd, a paddy wagon following behind.

Patrol Col. Matt Langer, joining the mayor and police chief at the Sunday morning news media briefing, said, The freeway is not one of those places where people on foot are allowed, whether for purpose of protest or under any circumstance. It endangers those on the freeway and the motoring public.

Those who marched to the interstate, some of whom having earlier demonstrated at the governors residence on Summit Avenue, were beating drums and chanting slogans, including Black lives matter.

About 9 p.m. on Twitter, Black Lives Matter Minneapolis posted: We shut down 94 for Philando. We are gonna need bail money. Please make a gift now.

The protest quickly grew into the days biggest and most disruptive demonstration in the Twin Cities, after a peaceful daylong gathering at the governors residence and a separate rally at Loring Park that spilled into the streets of downtown Minneapolis, where protesters briefly stopped traffic at 9th Street and Hennepin Avenue, blocked an entrance at the Basilica Block Party and marched past Target Center.

Castile, a 32-year-old school cafeteria worker from St. Paul, was fatally shot by a police officer Wednesday night during a traffic stop in Falcon Heights. The aftermath, as he lay dying in the drivers seat, was live-streamed on Facebook by his girlfriend sitting alongside him while her 4-year-old daughter sat in the back seat.

The girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, said Castile was shot for no reason. The officer, Jeronimo Yanez, has said through his attorney that Castile was displaying a handgun and was warned to comply with the officers orders.
AIIMS doctors visit Koirala at hospital

A team of doctors from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, visited ailing Nepali Congress General Secretary Shashank Koirala at Om Hospital in Kathmandu on Saturday.
Isabelle Izzie Timm is a vivacious, active person who has lived in Utica since 1957. She and husband Everett ran a beef and crop farm for most of their marriage. In 2011 the Timm Farm was one of the Century Farms honored at the Winona County Fair.

Their family included three children  Cindy, Barb (husband Michael Forsythe) and Craig. All three were involved in the Winona County Fair as 4Hers. Everett, who was also named to the Winona County Fair Hall in 1999, died in 2004, but Izzie knew he would want to her to keep busy with life.

When my husband died, I decided I was going to keep busy, Timm said. What better way than to be involved in your community?

Izzie was a 37-year employee of Herff Jones, a school photo processing company in Lewiston, but has also been involved in her local community. Those activities have included church, serving as a head election judge for Utica, auxiliary groups at both the Lewiston Villa and Speltz Assisted Living and the Utica Cancer group, who held various dinners to raise money for the Eagles Cancer Telethon.

Another passion is the Winona County Fair, where Izzie serves as an art exhibit superintendent, and is an amateur artist who has won numerous ribbons at the fair over the years. Timm credits former St. Charles High School Art Teacher Ron Buck, who taught a community art group and was a longtime art superintendent at the fair, for getting her started in art.

Prior to the fair she spends numerous days getting the Rentfrow Hall Building ready for the art and photography exhibits that come in the Monday of fair week. As Izzies Hall of Fame nominator Oliva Heim of St. Charles stated in her letter to the fair board, I see Izzie Timm helping with so many things at the fair.

Izzie loves singing, her favorite music being barbershop and also Elvis. She has been singing with Sweet Adeline choruses since 1973, and presently sings with the Twin Cities Show Chorus. Each Tuesday evening, she travels to the Twin Cities with Sweet Adeline friends for rehearsals. Over the years she has participated in International Sweet Adeline competitions with her chorus in Honolulu and Nashville, and in June 2017 the group heads off to perform in Branson.

I am very honored to be named to the Hall of Fame, and extend my sincere thanks to the fair board, Timm said.
Donald Trump has advertised that he plans to bring back winning. America will win so much, he says, that well get tired of winning.

But thats not what Americans need from our political leadership right now. We need someone who can bring back losing.

Specifically: the art of losing graciously.

The everyone-gets-a-trophy culture supposedly pervasive among millennials, and so often ridiculed by pundits, seems to have infected our political class. Politicians on both sides of the aisle  from Trump and Bernie Sanders on down  have apparently become accustomed to being told theyre right, righteous and victorious all the time.

Perhaps as a result, they have become unable to admit either defeat or even simple wrongness.

America, in short, is led by a coterie of sore losers.

Unhappy that the FBIs investigation into Hillary Clintons email server resulted in no indictment?

Dont acknowledge defeat and move on with your life! Instead, reverse your previous statements about accepting the integrity of the FBIs investigation, as Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, did, and pummel the agency director in a public hearing about his judgment, biases and secret agenda.

Or alternatively, take a cue from Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and threaten to shut down the entire federal government until you get your desired indictment.

Lost a states primary? Multiple state primaries, even? Then declare that the system must be rigged against you, as both Sanders and Trump argued for much of the past year. Nearly a month after the last primary, foreclosing him from the Democratic nomination, Sanders still cant bring himself to acknowledge his defeat and exit the race.

Trumps tantrums about the primary process have died down lately, given that he ultimately emerged victorious. But he and his advisers have found other occasions to whine about the unfairness of the system and to demand constant relitigation when things dont go his way.

He denies the veracity of any poll that shows him trailing Clinton  which is almost every poll. Once waxing rhapsodic at every rally about the beauty of randomized surveys, Trump now denounces them all as phony.

Likewise, if Trump disagrees with a judicial ruling, well, that judge is clearly unfair and exhibiting unwarranted bias toward Trump. New judge and new ruling, please.

If an analysis of his policy plans notes drawbacks, well, the outfit doing the scoring must be crooked.

If an anti-Semitic image he defended as harmless turns out to have been sourced from a neo-Nazi website, hes not in the wrong; his critics are, for ever suspecting him of impropriety.

Never back down, never admit mistakes, and never, ever, ever acknowledge defeat. After all, the worst thing on Earth a person can be, in Trumps view, is a loser.

Heres the thing.

Everyone, at some point in life, makes mistakes, gets things wrong, and, yes, even loses. That might include a bet, an election, a policy vote, a court case or even a verdict on the provenance of a Twitter image.

Losing is never fun; no one claims it is. But neither is it necessarily a sign of moral failing, or that the system is rigged against you. Sometimes the Yankees win, sometimes the Red Sox win. Thats just the way it goes. You pick yourself up and move on.

Maybe, convinced of the nobility of your cause, you get back on the field the next day and try, try again, hoping to learn from your loss and play better the next time. Bully for you if so.

But todays politicians are not exactly regrouping, restrategizing and reshaping their efforts whenever they suffer a defeat. Theyre whining, denying, relitigating and lashing out.

Our political leaders havent always behaved this way.

Look no further for evidence of a gracious, sportsmanlike loser than the Oval Office letter George H.W. Bush left his successor, Bill Clinton, in 1993. In that letter, which went viral recently, Bush wrote: You will be our president when you read this note, adding, Your success is now our countrys success. I am rooting hard for you.

Today such class and magnanimousness is almost unthinkable, especially after a bitter, nasty campaign.

Come Nov. 8, whoever wins, up to half of the country will find itself on the losing side of the White House race. (Actually, maybe even more than half, if 2000s popular vote is any precedent.) We voters will look to our leaders to learn how to process our loss (or win), accept it graciously and move forward with our lives.

So far our leaders are providing a poor example.
Breaking stereotypes

Oftentimes, we justify our prejudiced views as being just jokes
Col extradition may be affected

The delay in criminalising torture and establishing a special court to look into conflict-era cases is likely to jeopardise the governments effort to extradite a Nepal Army colonel, who is being tried in a UK court on charges of extrajudicial detention and torture.




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Lopez: If it doesn't feel good, then I stop it.

Jennifer Lopez says she has a rather simple outlook on romance and has no problem walking away if the relationship isnt fulfilling.

The 46-year-old actress has been married several times and has dated the likes of Sean Combs and Ben Affleck. Despite being happy with these men at the time, she insisted there were good reasons for ending the relationship.

Lopez, who is dating actor Casper Smart, explained to the Daily Mail Weekend magazine: I feel good in the moment, and if I feel good when Im with somebody thats great, and if it doesnt feel good, then I stop it. Its very simple.

With that said, the Live it Up hitmaker also admitted that breaking up is never easy, especially divorcing from former husband Marc Anthony.

Despite a busy schedule managing her perfume and clothing lines, as well as tending to various television duties, Lopez says that co-parenting her twin children with Anthony is the most difficult job.

She had previously revealed: When it comes to work I never get tired, but with personal failures I find it hard When my marriage to Marc ended it wasnt easy to find forgiveness. It wasnt the dream Id hoped for and it would have been easy to fan the flames of resentment, disappointment and anger. But although Marc and I are no longer together, he is the father of my children. So I have to work to make things right, and that is by far the hardest work I do.

Lopez is currently the star of NBCs detective drama Shades of Blue.
Couple in bed (illustration)

By: Feng Qian

A man was arrested after it was discovered that he was sleeping with his underage cousin.

27-year-old Nobert Chauke of Zimbabwe, who works as a taxi driver, said that he had consensual sex with his cousin.

Chauke told police that he was not aware that she was underage as ashe has big hips and she looks like a woman.a

Chauke, who is married and his wife is pregnant, admitted to having sex with his 15-year-old cousin, but said that it was consensual.

Chauke was initially charged with rape, but the charge was changed following evidence presented in the court. WhatsApp messages indicated that the two had a consensual sexual relationship.

Attorneys Matshobana Ncube and Kucaca Phulu, who represent the taxi driver, told the court that the girl was close to her 16th birthday when they had sex.

They also told the court that their client is a young and unsophisticated man, who assumed that the girl was of the age of consent because of her full-figured body and big hips.

Chauke pleaded guilty to engaging in sex with a young person under the age of 16 years when he appeared before Gwanda regional magistrate Joseph Mabeza.

Chauke will be sentenced on a later date.

His attorneys asked the judge to give Chauke a suspended sentence as he was willing to perform 420 hours of community service so that he can continue working as he is the sole breadwinner in the family.
A young man wanted to make a point about racism in the United States, but his plan backfired when he was exposed for a liar by police. 20-year-old Khalil Cavil of Texas was working at the Saltgrass Steak House in Odessa when he claimed he was discriminated against because of his Muslim name. Cavil took
Said Ahmed serves customer near robber

By: Chan Yuan

(Scroll down for video) Police in New Zealand, released a video, showing an armed robber being made into a fool.

The owner of a kebab shop stayed calm and messed with the mind of an armed robber when he finished serving his customers and then walked away without handing over money.

Surveillance footage released by the Canterbury police, shows Said Ahmed, preparing food for a customer at his Egyptian Kebab House in Christchurch, when the armed and masked robber entered his shop.

It was about 11:00 p.m., when Ahmed finished the order and handed it over to the customer. He then calmly turned around and walked to the kitchen, where he called police.

Shocked by Ahmedas actions, the would-be robber just left without taking anything. Police are asking people for help in identifying the armed robber.
Dont drag India into Nepals internal affairs, says Swaraj

India has expressed its displeasure for being dragged into Nepals internal affairs, particularly issues related to efforts to topple the CPN-UML-led government.
Police Listen To Our Diverse Communities Following EU Vote

This article is old - Published: Sunday, Jul 10th, 2016

Senior officers from North Wales Police have met representatives from the regions Polish and Portuguese communities to listen to their concerns and to offer reassurance in the wake of the vote to leave the European Union.

Following the EU Referendum some parts of the United Kingdom have reported a rise in community tensions and reports of hate crime.

North Wales Police say, The Force feels it important to reassure all of the communities across North Wales that any racial abuse and hate crime of any kind will not be tolerated.

Deputy Chief Constable Gareth Pritchard and Assistant Chief Constable Richard Debicki met Iolnanda Viegas, a representative of the Portuguese Council of Great Britain and Ireland and Jolanta Atkinson, chair of the Anglo Polish Society of Chester and North Wales.

The meeting centred on concerns felt among some Polish and Portuguese residents in recent days, especially reports of racist and abusive comments made by a small number of individuals to members of their communities.

The meeting also looked at ways in which the police can work in partnership to tackle the issue and to encourage victims to come forward.

Deputy Chief Constable Gareth Pritchard said; North Wales Police appreciates that there has been an increase in tension and it is important that we have early and regular discussions with representatives to provide reassurance and to let people know that we are here to protect all our communities.

Whatever peoples views on the referendum, we will not allow it to be used as an excuse for hate crime.

Assistant Chief Constable Richard Debicki said; It has been extremely useful to meet Iolanda and Jolanta to listen to what communities have been saying to them.

Hate crime is hurtful and shameful and will not be tolerated by North Wales Police.

I would encourage anyone who has been victim of any sort of abuse or harm motivated by hatred to contact us. People need to know that the full weight of the law will be brought against any offenders.

Jolanta Atkinson said; I feel reassured by this meeting. I want people to feel safe and to know that the police are listening and are here to help. The matter is not being brushed under the carpet.

Iolanda Viegas added; This has been an opportunity for us to work closer together. The Portuguese community should know that they are not alone and that there is no need to worry about going out.

Anyone in the Portuguese community in North Wales who has been the victim of hate crime should contact the police. If they have concerns please contact me too.

North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner, Arfon Jones said earlier in the week, There has not been an increase in hate related incidents in our area and it is important that we do all that we can to prevent any such incidents and protect people from this type of crime.

North Wales Police can be contacted on 101 or 999 in an emergency.

The hate crime self-reporting form is available on the North Wales Police website here.
Dr KC sits for 8th round of indefinite hunger-strike

Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH) professor and senior orthopaedic surgeon Dr Govinda KC began his indefinite hunger-strike from Sunday.
WORTH COUNTY, GA. (WTXL)-- Officials have located a body on Seabrook Drive in Worth County near Sylvester, Sunday.

No identity for the body has been given but the Georgia Bureau of Investigation was called in to assist Worth County Sheriffs with the investigation.

According to officials, the body of a African American male was found around 3 a.m. They say the body was at the location for a few days before it was discovered.

The body was taken to the GBI's Crime Lab in Macon where an autopsy will be performed to uncover the manner of death.

Anyone with information about the investigation is asked to call the Worth Co. Sheriff's Office at 229-776-8211 or the GBI Sylvester Office at 229-777-2080.
TALLAHASSEE, FL. (WTXL)-- Local Police have been finding notes on their cruisers thanking them for their service to the community.

Leon County Sheriff's Office has posted on social media accounts with pictures of notes sharing words of encouragement for the officers.

The notes come just days after the killing of five police officers in Dallas and offer phrases like, "Stay vigilant," and "you are appreciated."

LCSO gave it's own thank you for these notes on their twitter saying they love Leon County and America and posted the affectionate hashtag "United Leon."
VALDOSTA, GA. (WTXL)-- Young locals in Valdosta decided to show their support for recovering officer after ambush shooting in Valdosta Friday.

The group of young people gathered in support of Officer Randall Hancock, Saturday, after the events of Friday in which the officer was called to a scene and ambushed by Stephen Paul Beck, a 22 year old recovering drug addict. According to reports, Hancock's vest had taken some of the bullets but he was hit below it, in the abdomen.

The group had signs showing support for local police and wishing the officer a speedy recovery.
Dr KCs indefinite fast set to face furious protest

Dr Govinda KC, an orthopaedic surgeon at TU Teaching Hospital, is all set to start his indefinite hunger strike on Sundaythe eighth in the last four yearsand one of his demands is impeachment of Lok Man Singh Karki, chief commissioner of the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority.
Notes, flowers and other items decorate a squad car at a make-shift memorial in front of the Dallas police department on Saturday, July 9, 2016. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
This July 6, 2016 photos shows foam cups, left, are displayed on a shelf at a market in San Francisco on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Emma Watson praises Harry Potter and The Cursed Child

Emma Watson has praised the new Harry Potter play, which has just opened in London's West End.
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A 30-year-old man was wounded after being shot in a terror attack outside the settlement of Tekoa on Saturday night. He continued driving until he reached a juntion outside of the settelment where he was treated by IDF personnel.

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The victim sustained injuries to his hip and was subsequently evacuated to Sha'are Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem in light-to-moderate condition.

The car and bullet holes from the terrorist

Three bullets were found inside the car, indicating that the terrorist shot at the man from the side of the road.

Davidi Perl, Head of the Gush Etzion Regional council said, "We've had it up to here with the 'lone-wolf intifada.' We had a break, and now they have returned with firearms. The prime minister and defense minister need to make dramatic changes on the ground. We can't have a situation whereby the residents of Judea and Samaria feel like they're driving through a shooting range. There needs to be a change, and there needs to be an immediate return of security to every citizen of Israel."

Israeli security forces immediately launched a manhunt for the terrorist/s who committed the attack. On Sunday morning the IDF encircled the refugee camp of Al-Arroub and Sa'ir in Gush Etzion. Skirmishes reportedly broke out in Sair between Israelis security forces and young Palestinians.
Plans for the upcoming school year of 2016-2017 include efforts to increase proficiency in English among primary and high school students. The formulators of the initiative hope to increase the number of students eligible to be tested in advance levels of English in their matriculation exams.

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The new English reform aims to deal with two major factors: firstly, it seeks to afford more high school graduates the opportunity to continue to into higher education, which requires at least a Level 4 in the English exam. At present, this means that 41 percent of high school students do not meet the requirement, and have therefore been effectively blocked from attending university.

Secondly, Bennett's plan is designed to equip high school students with a better command of spoken English, as many graduates reportedly finish high school without a working knowledge of the language.





Education Minister Naftali Bennett (Photo: Shaul Golan)

Bennett's plan for better English education mirrors his other program to promote emphasis on math education, which was announced last year in an effort to increase the number of students eligible to take a Level 5 math matriculation exams.

"After succeeding in the field of math, we're going to take on English," said Bennett during a meeting of Education Ministry officials. "We've got students finishing Level 5 English who still don't know how to write an e-mail. We need to change the lesson structures to provide them with the skills they need in the modern world."

The first part of Bennett's English scheme will focus on improving communication skills through developing the students' vocabulary while improving their ability to write articulately and communicate with a greater degree of fluency through presentations.

Particular emphasis will be put on improving English education in Israel's periphery, particularly in light of the substantial differences which have been identified between those living in the center of Israel and those living outside it.

To this end, Bennett plans to augment the number of English teachers, create scholarships for students in the field of English education and provide English academics with an easier route to becoming English teachers.

Head of the English Department at Oranim College, Dr. Elisheva Barkon, expressed her hopes that the reform would shift the focus in English from more minute structural information to the necessary knowledge required in today's global setting.

"The current curriculum still places too much of an emphasis on grammar and literary analysis that does not necessarily reflect the modern English language," she said. The new plan will, accordingly, seek to broaden students' vocabulary, with a target growth from 3,200 to 5,400 words for Level 5 students.

Over the past several years, the current English education plan has attracted much criticism from educators who deem it cumbersome, exhausting to teach and felt that it undermined the students' own efforts. The proposed plan, therefore, is intended to switch the focus to spoken English and practical language skills that would be helpful to anyone in contact with the English-speaking world.
The Foreign Affairs Ministry has issued a statement saying that a serious car crash in northern California has caused the death of two Israelis, with a third Israeli remaining in moderate-to-severe condition.

Consulate General of Israel to the Pacific Northwest Gabi Dotan is en route to the hospital in the city of Chico, to which the Israelis were evacuated.
Upon returning from his Africa tour, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met on Sunday with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry to discuss the Egyptian initiative to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

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Shoukry's visit is the first of a top Egyptian official in Israel since 2007. After decades of wars followed by a cold peace, Israel has emerged as a discreet ally to Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi.

Shoukry is expected to raise the matter of the French initiative, which Netanyahu has opposed, in addition to the initiative laid out by al-Sisi, which Netanyahu found more agreeable. A second visit by Netanyahu to Egypt may also be in the works.

Netanyahu, right, and Shoukry meet in Jerusalem (Photo: Alex Kolomoisky)

"I welcome president al-Sisi's recent offer of Egyptian leadership in efforts to advance peace with the Palestinians and a broader peace in our region," Netanyahu said at the beginning of their meeting.

"Today I call again on the Palestinians to follow the courageous example of Egypt and Jordan and join us for direct negotiations. This is the only way we can address all the outstanding problems between us and turn the vision of peace, based on two states for two peoples, into a reality," the prime minister added.

"Today is a continuation of Egypt's longstanding sense of responsibility towards peace for itself and all the people of the region, particularly the Palestinians and the Israeli people, who have suffered for many decadse due to the perpetuation of the conflict between them," Shoukry told reporters before begining discussions with Netanyahu.

President al-Sisi, the Egyptian foreign minister said, is seeking to bring the long conflict to an end.

"Such a monumental achievement would have far-reaching, dramatic and positive impact on the overall conditions in the Middle East region," he said. "Egypt remains ready to contribute towards achieving this goal. We greatly value the trust of both sides and the international community in our commitment to peace, stability and justice."

Netanyahu, right, and Shoukry meet in Jerusalem (Photo: Alex Kolomoisky)

Shoukry asserted that "the vision of the two-state solution is not far-fetched" but rather required "steps to build confidence."

"It is no longer acceptable to claim that the status quo is the most that we can achieve of the hopes and aspirations of the Palestinian and Israeli peoples," Shoukry said.

The current state of affairs, said the Egyptian diplomat, "is neither stable nor sustainable".

He warned that worsening conditions for Palestinians threatened to undermine prospects for peace. "The plight of the Palestinian people becomes more arduous every day," Shoukry said. "And the dream of peace and security moves further out of the Israeli people's reach as long as the conflict continues."

Al-Sisi offered the 2002 Arab peace initiative as a potential way ahead. The initiative offered full recognition of Israel but only if it gave up all land seized in the 1967 Six-Day War and agreed to a "just solution" for Palestinian refugees.

Shoukry said Egypt was offering "all possible forms of support" to achieve peace and security in the Middle East.

"A multitude of ideas and initiatives have been proposed to make it a practical reality - particularly the Arab peace initiative," he said. "However, achieving this vision requires serious steps to build confidence, as well as a genuine will that does not waver or wane under any circumstance."

Netanyahu has said he would be willing to discuss the Arab peace plan but that changes would have to be made.

A senior Palestinian official said al-Sisi has been trying to arrange a meeting between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Netanyahu. The Palestinians have been resisting because the Egyptians have not set any parameters for the meeting, and because Netanyahu continues to build settlements, the official said.

Netanyahu, right, and Shoukry meet in Jerusalem (Photo: Reuters)

In a report published on July 1, the Quartet of Middle East peace sponsors - the United States, European Union, Russia and United Nations - hailed the Arab peace initiative's "vision for comprehensive settlement" of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Shoukry's visit comes as France leads a renewed push to put peace efforts back on the agenda with an international peace conference held on June 3. The French initiative seeks to bring the two sides back to the table by year-end and was welcomed by the Palestinians.

But Israeli officials have said only direct talks can end the decades-old conflict.

During their meeting, Netanyahu and Shoukry discussed regional issues and promoting of peace and security both in regards to the Palestinians and other regional countries.

Netanyahu also asked the Egyptian foreign minister for his country's help in returning the bodies of IDF soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin for burial in Israel as well as the release of two Israeli civilians, Avra Mangisto and Hisham al-Sayed. Shoukry said Egypt would lend its help on the issue.

Officials in the Prime Minister's Office also noted a favorable change in Egyptian attitude "seen in their willingness to publicly display their good ties with Israel."

The two are expected to meet again later in the evening for dinner at the Prime Minister's Residence in Jerusalem.

Agead of the meeting, as pokesperson of the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Abu Zeid, said that Shoukry and Netanyahu "will be to discussing the understandings that have already been reached, they will solidify trust between Israel and the Palestinians and renew negotiations, in an effort to arrive at a comprehensive and just solution to the conflict."

Abu Zeid added that as part this joint effort, Egypt is looking to help "establish a sovereign Palestinian state within the '67 borders, whose capital is East Jerusalem."

Two weeks ago, Shoukry met with Palestinian President Mahomoud Abbas in Ramallah. During their conversation, Shoukry reportedly transferred another "important," though secret, message from al-Sisi to Abbas regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Following al-Sisi's call for peace last May, Netanyahu expressed a willingness to engage in peace talks with the Palestinians, Egypt and other Arab countries wishing to take part in the initiative. This attempt, however, quickly stumbled upon a serious hurdle after Egypt expressed extreme displeasure at the appointment of the hawkish Avigdor Leiberman (Yisrael Beytenu) as defense minister . In an apparent attempt to appease the Egyptians, Lieberman stated during his inauguration ceremony that "Egyptian President al-Sisi's speech has created a real opportunity, and we must attempt to follow through on it."

Palestinian officials estimated that al-Sisi's influence on the Palestinian leadership coupled with his support for the initiative increase its chances of being adopted. Since Israel and Egypt share important security concerns, Israel will also find it difficult to reject the Egyptian initiative, especially after Netanyahu's recent statement that he is willing to meet and negotiate directly with Abbas.
The three boys, aged 16-17, are suspected of targeting cars en route to the West Bank settlement of Ma'ale Adumim, several kilometers east of Jerusalem.

Apart from throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails at the vehicles, they are suspected of raising funds meant to procure various flammable substances.
Two years after Operation Protective Edge in 2014 Hamas appears to have recognized that the main weapons which it employed in its last three offensives against Israel are losing their effectiveness and have become increasingly obsolete in the face of Israels Iron Dome missile interception system.

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On the eve of Operation Protective Edge in 2014, Hamas had reached the height of its military capabilities since its founding, equipped with an arsenal of self-produced rockets. Estimates say that at the outset of the operation, Hamas possessed thousands of rockets, most of which were capable of reaching short-distance targets and another 200-300 rockets with a range of between 45-160 kilometers.

Hamas tunnels exposed in April, 2016 (   ")

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In the underground sphere, 31 attack tunnels had been dug which had crossed into Israeli territory. While these tunnels were exposed and destroyed by the IDF, even at the time of destruction it was believed that other attack tunnels existed which had not yet been discovered. These suspicions were confirmed over the last few weeks when the IDF discovered additional tunnels on the border which were already ready for use during Protective Edge.

Hamas militants (Photo: EPA)

The opening strike of Hamas on the eve of the operation was supposed to include a wide scale penetration into Israeli territory via the tunnels by armed Hamas terrorists (likely into civilian towns parallel to the border), to inflict as many casualties as possible and a retreat back into the Gaza Strip with hostages. However, Israeli security had already been appraised of Hamas plans and took pre-emptive measures accordingly.

Israel Air Force attacks targets in Gaza Strip (Photo: EPA)

During the fighting, Hamas attempted to challenge the effectiveness of the Iron Dome system by launching multiple rockets simultaneously at the same target, a strategy which also ultimately failed.

However, Hamas was able to record two successes: First, the firing toward Ben Gurion Airport which resulted in civilian flight disruptions to Israel; second, mortar firing caused extensive damage to towns near the Gaza border and took a heavy toll on soldiers lives near the entrance points into the Strip. It is reasonable to assume that Hamas will not place all its hope in employing the strategies which yielded such successes during the next conflict. Undoubtedly, rockets will again be launched against civilian centers and central Israel and beyond.

Over the last two years, Hamas has managed to complete the rehabilitation of its forces obliterated in the 2014 operation. Mohammed Shabaneh was nominated to the position of brigade commander in Rafiah taking the place of Ra'ad al-Atar who was killed in Protective Edge. Muhammad Sinwar replaced the military commander of the southern border, Mohammed Abu Salameh. Sinwar, is the brother of one of the prisoners released under the Shalit deal.

It is likely that during the next round, Hamas will try to bring the fight to Israel inside Israeli territory by way of the attack tunnels which are constantly being dug. Even the training of commando units has intensified over the last two years as part of the effort to bring them into the next war, particularly given that their success in infiltrating into the Israeli coast near Kibbutz Zikim

Over the last two years, Hamas has succeeded in rehabilitating itself after the damage Israel inflicted on its militants and has also replenished its arsenal back to its level prior to Protective Edge.
When speaking of "war on terrorism" or "eradicating terrorism," the question arises: Is "terrorism" the enemy, rather than those who commit it? Is the war against "terrorism," as if it was a separate entity, independent of the conflicts it serves? Perhaps it is a disease to be treated, like the "war on AIDS" or "eradicating cancer."

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Terror is a weapon used to instill fear and panic, to undermine morale and to disrupt public order. Like all weapons, it is waved in the face of an enemy in the name of a specific purpose. Those who talk solely about terrorism while blurring the reasons behind it and the target in front of it, do not do so by accident. When they want to escape an embarrassing reality or a bitter truth, they attribute all to the abstract term, terrorism, and avoid addressing the fundamental problem.

Just as we are not fighting the gun itself but the person who shoots it, it is illogical to refer to terrorism as a target in and of itself, without referring to the question of what the terrorist is trying to achieve. When Obama is faced with the demand to blame Islamic extremism for terror attacks, he refuses. He knows that by calling a spade a spade, he will be forced to act against militant Islam, which he does not want to do for ideological reasons. Even if terrorism is comparable to a disease, so long as there is no desire to reach its origins, police and military methods such as the closure and encirclement of a village, demolitions and deportations, are little more than a band aid on a gunshot wound. And if terrorism is a weapon after all, we must convey to those who wield it that using this weapon will not help them achieve their goal.

Ma'ale Adumim (Photo: AP)

If we pose the question, therefore, what Palestinian terrorists want to achieve, any child could say that it is to destroy the Zionist enterprise: the state, the settlements, Jewish life - in Netanya and Sarona as well as in Otniel and Kiryat Arba. It is no coincidence that the Palestinians refer to Sderot as a settlement.

In Gaza and in the northern Samaria, the enemy, using terrorism, succeeded in achieving its goal: destroying the Jewish settlements and "cleansing" the area of any Jewish presenceboth military and civilian. The response, by the way, quickly came in true democratic form: Hamas won a landslide victory in the elections. The crowds in Ramallah and in Gaza rejoiced: Terrorism has won.

And now, would the leftists please explain to us why is it that what works for the Arabs does not also apply to the Jews? If demolishing settlements encourages terrorists, could the very oppositestrengthening the settlement enterprisenot decrease their motivation to carry out more attacks? Provided that it is done systematically, so they know that for every terrorista home, a street, or a neighborhood will be built in a settlement.

Hill 18 stands in Kiryat Arba, near to where Hallel Yaffa Ariel was murdered . This hill is included in Kiryat Arba's construction plans. Building permits have been delayed by a Supreme Court interim order for many years, and when it was finally determined that this was state land that could be built upon, Netanyahus settlement freeze policy came into effect. Attempts to hold onto the land with tents and caravans were crushed by riot police and the place remains desolate. This is well known to the Arabs living in the area, as is the fate of the plot adjacent to it, 26, which was also approved by the Supreme Court and even had a family living on it until the father, Nati Ozri, was murdered during a Shabbat meal in his home. His widow and children were subsequently removed from the area, late at night in the pouring rain. Since, that area also remains desolate.

The message this construction freeze policy sends to terrorists is catastrophic. By contrast, immediate construction on both hills, which have seen so much horror, will strike the murderous motivation of the terrorists. The peace camp's mockery of the Zionist answer demanded by the right is unfounded. Only the building of Jewish homes will provide the strategic answer and the political answer to terrorism.
Eitan Finkel, who was light-to-moderately wounded in a shooting attack in Gush Etzion on Saturday night, said Sunday did not notice his injury until driving away from the scene of the attack.

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"When we got to the junction, my wife and I saw a terrorist with a machine gun about two meters from us," Finkel recounted from his hospital bed.

"Half of his body was over the roof of the car, and he was aiming at us. We were waiting for the (sound of the gunfire), my wife was yelling and so was I. Why he didn't shootI don't know. We took a right turn at the junction and then we heard gunfire. The windshield exploded, I saw that I was still alive, thank God, and I hit the gas and got out of there."

Eitan Finkel at the hospital (Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg)

"About five minutes from the junction we saw a military jeep so I stopped," Finkel said of the moments after the attack. "While driving, I felt like I pulled a muscle on my left leg and realized I must've been hit. I felt my shoe filling with blood. I was afraid to lose consciousness. I stopped near the soldiers and told them I was shot in the leg.

"The soldier wanted to get me out of the car but I told him it was dangerous to stop there," Finkel continued. "He asked me if I could drive and I said 'yes,' so he told me 'Drive, there's an ambulance there.' It was a 10-15 minutes fast drive away. I got there and my wife told me, 'Drive, move a little further.' I said 'That's in, I can't go on anymore,' I felt like I was losing consciousness. I parked my car and my wife went to call the soldiers and they administered an arterial tourniquet."

How did the children react during the attack?

"They didn't understand what was going on. My oldest is seven years old. While driving, I called out to my wife 'What about the kids? Are they okay?' They didn't have time to sleep since but thank God they're already back to normal at kindergarten."

Do you know how many bullets hit your car or you?

"I was hit by one and the rest of the family came out without a scratch on them, it was a miracle. If the terrorist hit me, he could've hit everyone. That was his plan, to hit the driver, or the wheel to stop the car and then shot everyone."

Three bullet holes hit the driver's side.

Three bullet holes were found in the family's car, which were likely shot by a terrorist ambushing them on the side of the road.

After the attack, the military imposed a closure on the Al-Arroub refugee camp and on the nearby town of Si'ir as part of the search for the shooter. In Si'ir, IDF forces clashed with Palestinian rioters.
FNJ condemns Shakya threatening journalist Koirala

Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ), Kantipur Chapter, has expressed its objection over the incident of death threat to journalist Ashwini Koirala by one Anoj Shakya living in Japan.
It's a scene thats been burned into the Middle East's collective memory; then Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora is crying in front of the cameras during a meeting with the foreign ministers of the Arab League while talking about the destruction and casualties which the IDF caused to his country.

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"Rescue Lebanon!" he begged them.

His tears were a direct contrast to the triumphant speeches given by Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah as the war waged on. The differences in mood between the Sunni President and the head of the Shia terror group show the immense divides in public opinon 10 years after the Second Lebanon War.

Lebanese President Fouad Siniora cries during an Arab League conferece (Photo: CNN)

The summer of 2006 saw Nasrallah at the height of his rock star popularity. Perfume shops were selling Nasrallah cologne, and china shops were selling plates with Nasrallah's face on them.

He was able to unify the various sects in Lebanon through a process which academics would term "Lebanonization." Even before the war, Nasrallah was downplaying the Shia-Islamism and pro-Iranian agenda which his organization represented, and was highlighting his organization as a Lebanese national movement which only wanted to integrate into local politics. The Second Lebanon War was presented to the Lebanese people as a part of this framework.

According to Dr. Omri Nir, a researcher specializing in Lebanon at Hebrew University, Nasrallah stressed that Hezbollah and the Shia population sacrificed their lives and their homes to make sure that Lebanon wouldn't not be occupied by Israel.

"It gave Shia in Lebanon access to Lebanese society. The Lebanese Shia population was always treated as a population more loyal to Iran (than Lebanon -ed). And now, these are the people who paid with their own flesh and blood for the sake of Lebanon."

This war strengthened Hezbollah's standing for the very short term. This is because there was a second side to the war  the tangible effects of it; destruction, death, and mass casualties.

According to Dr. Nir, the people in Lebanon began to ask themselves if Hezbollah's evolution  from resistance organization to part of the government  would lead Lebanon to the brink of destruction.

Destruction in Hezbollah's stronghold in south Beirut (Photo: AP)

This question opened up a public debate which continues to this day, and there are more and more people who are coming to the conclusion that the Second Lebanon War was a tactical move by Hezbollah to try and take over the country.

"After 10 years, what stands out most in Lebanese society are the memories of the war, which have turned into a restraining factor," said Professor Nir. "For Hezbollah, it's not just a fear of Israel, but a fear that it will be viewed by the Lebanese public as a group which might lead to more violence in Lebanon."

$9.5 billion in damages

Little by little the results of the war are being exposed to the Lebanese population; 1,200 dead, thousands of injured, and hundreds of thousands who lost their homes.

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The majority of the approximately 30,000 buildings which were destroyed were located in the Hezbollah stronghold of Dahiya in the southern section of Beirut. Dozens of bridges were also destroyed, along with miles of roads and infrastructure. All of Lebanon's ports and its international airport were either hit or destroyed, as were a large portion of the factories in that country. The overall cost to the Lebanese economy was estimated to be $9.5 billion.

Fighting in Beirut (Photo: Reuters)

In 2013 University of Beirut economist Professor Jassem 'Ajafa said "We lost approximately $10 billion in the war in 2006, and the next war won't be any better." He urged Nasrallah to not drag Lebanon into a new war which will lead the Lebanese economy to the precipice of collapse again, especially during the summer tourist months which are critical for the Lebanese economy and GDP.

Despite marketing the war as a "divine victory," a sense supported by the feeling in Israel that it had failed militarily, Hezbollah doesn't come out blameless in its handling of the war or its results. It's important to remember that Nasrallah has been hiding in his bunker since August 2006.

Hezbollah forces went out of control

An Arabic news publication had a wide ranging examination which attempted to determine what kind of impact the Second Lebanon War had on Lebanese society and Hezbollah's standing in Lebanese society in 2011. The headline read "Five years after the war; divine victory or the legitimization of Hezbollah's weapons hegemony?"

A resident of the Dahiyah neighborhood of Beirut named Umm Husain was interviewed for the article. She lost her home, but had the chance to meet with Nasrallah. "He brought us divine victory," she said. "He has brought us pride amongst the Arabs."

Her neighbor Zeinab Aish added that "while it's true we lost our possessions, we were able to reconstruct everything, and now our houses are nicer that they were before. Hezbollah didn't forget about us."

But behind their statements lies a Lebanese and perhaps even international failure. The day after the ceasefire came into effect on August 15, 2006, Hezbollah representatives came with cash and handed out $12,000 to every family who lost their home. Dr. Nir suggests that "If the West would have handed out cash that quickly instead of Hezbollah, Hezbollah would have been remembered as the group which brought destruction to Lebanon."

Hassan Nasrallah stencil (Photo: AP)

These two women represent one side of the equation. In the same article, people who are opposed to Hezbollah from within the Shia community gave their negative opinions.

One of these people said that "the gulf that exists in Lebanon only got wider after the war and after Hezbollah turned into an uncontrollable force. The war gave Hezbollah an unusual amount of power because they believed that they had triumphed as no other Arab country had before."

The issue of "legitimizing Hezbollah's weapons" is one of the most pressing issues in Lebanon from the war. The issue's climax came following a trial two years after the war whereby Hezbollah engaged in street battles with Lebanese political factions who didn't want Hezbollah to be in control of Lebanese telecommunications. The battles lasted a week, and saw 11 people killed and 30 wounded in what would be known as the "2008 conflict in Lebanon."

In the Arab press article from 2011, a man who was involved in the battles said "Israel is everyone's enemy, but we hate it when they (Hezbollah) turn their weapons on Beirut as opposed to Israel."

'One eye on the south, the other on Aleppo'

Yet despite the lively public debate, not only can the fact that Hezbollah has amassed a huge arsenal of weapons be changed, but neither can the fact that these weapons are currently pointed at Sunni rebels in Syria as opposed to Israel. In a meeting with Hezbollah fighters, Nasrallah said in one sentence a very apt summary of the change in the organization's priorities. He said "one eye to the south (Lebanon), and one eye on Aleppo."

Nasrallah's effort to help his ally Bashar Assad was done in the hope of strengthening Hezbollah's position as a "defender of Lebanon" from the alleged Sunni extremist threat which might spill over into Lebanon. Dr. Nir said that "even Hezbollah's Christian rivals know that if ISIS comes to Lebanon that ISIS will slaughter the Christians. There are Christian villages in the Bekaa valley who are trying to buy weapons from Hezbollah."

There are an estimated 7,000 Hezbollah fighters in Syria. On the one hand, the organization is gaining valuable experience for its future war with Israel, all the while maintaining its rocket arsenal of over 100,000 rockets which can hit every city in Israel. On the other hand, Hezbollah has lost a lot of soldiers in Syria  approximately 1,400. This is double the number they lost in the Second Lebanon War.

However, despite Nasrallah's best efforts, the war in Syria is having an impact on both the Lebanese public's impression of the organization and on the morale of its fighters. Hezbollah's reputation as an organization which is resisting Israel is getting smaller and smaller, while it is getting a reputation for being a Shia agent for the Iranians is only increasing.

Hezbollah is aiming it's weapons at Syria instead of Israel

One can see in an op-ed published in the Hezbollah affiliated A-Safir on the 16th anniversary of the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon which said that the Takfiri groups  the extremist Sunni groups  are the organization's main priority, not Israel.

This criticism can also be seen outside of Lebanon. Hezbollah's reputation as the hero of the Arab world has taken a harsh hit following Hezbollah's involvement in Syria. The organization's low point was when the Arab League recognized the Shia group as a terrorist organization

Where will the Shia go?

The Shia population in Lebanon  the population which Hezbollah is supposedly most attuned to  hasnt accepted the reality of a new war with Israel, especially with the destruction of their houses in 2006 still fresh in their memories.

They are at a crossroads, and it doesnt seem like they will be ready for more war with Israel any time soon. Ten years have passed since the initial euphoria. The residents of southern Lebanonare depressed that they are losing their sons in Syria.

Hezbollah has always been worried; worried about what's going on in neighboring countries; from Sunni Jihadist groups; from the consequences of being an Iranian puppet; and from the bad economic situation in Lebanon. There are signs of stress which arent being shown publicly, and the criticisms aren't being said out loud. However, it is clear that Hezbollah's arrogance has significantly diminished.

Meanwhile, the organization is being affected by the demographic changes happening in Lebanon due to over a million Sunni refugees coming into the country from Syria . Additionally, the pre- 2006 rivalries between the various sects in Lebanese society still exist.

Funeral for Hezbollah terrorist who died in Syria (Photo: EPA)

In south Lebanon and Dahiya its impossible to see the devastation from 10 years ago. Its also impossible to see Hezbollah's enormous arsenal tucked away in Shia villages in southern Lebanon, waiting to be fired. While Hezbollah is preparing for more violence, the memories of the destruction from the last war are still fresh in the Lebanese collective memory.

Yet despite everything, ten years after the summer of 2006, Hezbollah is preparing for a third Lebanese war. The war can break out at any moment, even if neither side wants it.
The Israeli public trusts the IDF more than any other state institution while political parties received the lowest level of public trust, according to a survey conducted by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) last year and published on Sunday.

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The survey found that most Israelis do not have trust in the government or the Knesset, but still trust in the Israel Police and the justice system. Most of them don't believe they could influence the government or local municipalities' policies, and a third felt discriminated against.

The IDF received the highest level of support from the public82 percent. There was no difference between men and women, with 83% of men putting their trust in the military and 82% of women. Meanwhile, Jews had greater trust (93%) in the IDF than Arabs (32%), while college graduates (88%) trusted in the IDF more than the rest of the population (79%).

IDF soldiers in the West Bank (Photo: Reuters)

Orthodox Jews expressed more support in the IDF than ultra-Orthodox Jews97% compared to 72%, respectively. Among traditional Jews, 96% trust the IDF and 94% do among secularists.

It also appeared trust in the IDF increased along with one's age: 52% of 20-44 year olds have great trust in the IDF, 63% of 45-64 year olds and 73% among those 65 and older.

Almost two-thirds of the public (60%) trust the State Comptroller, and here too the level of trust is higher among Jews (64%) than Arabs (41%).

Most of the public trust the justice system (58%), with once again a higher rate among Jews (60%) compared to Arabs (41%). Here too, the more observant one is, the less trust they had in the justice system: 22% of ultra-Orthodox, 46% of Orthodox, 61% of traditional Jews and 70% of secularists. The rate of respondents who said they "do not trust the justice system at all" among ultra-Orthodox was 47% compared to 18% of Orthodox and 7% of secularists.

Among new immigrants, the rate of trust in the justice system is smaller53% among immigrants from the former Soviet Union (who came from 1990 onwards) and 43% among Ethiopian immigrants.

Meanwhile, over half of the public expressed trust in the CBS itself, with greater levels of trust among college graduates (62%) compared to those who aren't (51%).

70% of Ethiopian immigrants don't trust police

A little more than half of the public (53%) expressed their trust in the Israel Police. Jews (57%) were once again found to trust police more than Arabs (34%), and older people more than younger people. A high level of distrust of the police was found among Ethiopian immigrants, 70%, while immigrants from the former Soviet Union mostly do trust the police60%, compared to 34% who don't.

Ethiopian immigrants protest against police (Photo: Gil Yochanan)

Most of the Israeli population expressed distrust in the government, with only 40% expressing trust in it. Jews (42%) expressed more trust than Arabs (28%), while the Orthodox and traditional Jews expressed the most trust in the government, 60%, compared to 29% of ultra-Orthodox and 32% of secularists. Thirty-nine percent of ultra-Orthodox and 32% of secularists said they "don't trust the government at all," compared to 13% of Orthodox.

The Knesset received an even lower score, with only 38% of the public expressing trust in it, 40% among Jews and 25% among Arabs. When it comes to the individual political parties, only 22% of the public expressed trust in them, 24% among Jews and 15% among Arabs.

The Knesset (Photo: Gil Yochanan)

Trust in local municipalities was higher, with 61% of the population expressing trust in them. Among municipalities of over 100,000 residents, Be'er Sheva enjoys the most trust (75%) from its residents, followed by Netanya and Rishon Lezion (73%), Tel Aviv (71%), Rehovot (69%), Holon (68%), Bat Yam and Ramat Gan (64%), Bnei Brak (63%), Haifa and Ashkelon (57%), Petah Tikva (55%), Ashdod (54%), and Jerusalem (40%). Among Jerusalem's Jewish residents, 58% expressed trust in the municipality, while 36% said they did not trust it.

Trust in the media was also found to be low, with only 39% saying the trust the press. Young people found to be less trusting of the media than older citizens: 35% among 20-44 year olds, compared to 45% among 45 and older.

Most of the Israeli population (85%) said they did not believe they could influence the government's policies, while 75% don't believe they can influence their municipality's policies.

Thirty-one percent felt discriminated against over the past year because of age, nationality, ethnicity (15% overall; 10% among Jews and 30% among non-Jews), religion (13% overall; 27% among Muslims, 19% among Christians, 20% among Druze, and 10% among Jews), gender, sexual orientation, or physical/mental disability.

Among Jews, the more religious they were, the more they felt discriminated against: 41% of ultra-Orthodox, 16% of Orthodox, 8% of traditional Jews and 5% of secularists.
JUBA- Renewed fighting erupted in South Sudan's capital on Sunday and forces loyal to Vice President Riek Machar said his residence was attacked by the president's troops, raising fears of a slide back into full-blown conflict in the five-year-old nation.

There was no immediate response from the government of President Salva Kiir to the statement by Machar's spokesman. Earlier, Kiir's information minister, Michael Makuei, said the situation was under control and urged people to stay at home.

The two leaders, who fought each other in a two-year civil war that started in late 2013, had made a joint call for calm after clashes between rival factions broke out late on Thursday. At least 272 people have been killed in the fighting, a Health Ministry source told Reuters early on Sunday.
TEHRAN- Unknown gunmen killed two people and injured a lawmaker and a local governor in western Iran after opening fire on their car, an Iranian semi-official news agency reported.

The Tasnim agency reported Sunday that four gunmen blocked the car and opened fire. The driver and a local veterinary official were killed. Pro-reform lawmaker Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh sustained minor injuries, and the local governor of the Dalahoo district and a fishery official were also injured.

The gunmen fled toward the Iraqi border, according to the Tasnim report.
Operation Entebbe represents the essence of Zionism, said President Reuven Rivlin on Sunday evening in a state ceremony marking 40 years since the daring rescue operation.

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In 1976, an Air France plane making its way from Tel Aviv to Paris was hijacked by Palestinian and German terrorists and arrived at Entebbe. IDF commandos, led by Sayeret Matkal commander Yonatan Netanyahu, stormed the old terminal in Entebbe where the hostages were kept and released them, killing all of the terrorists and some 20 Ugandan soldiers who aided them.

Shimon Peres, Miri Regev, Sara Netanyahu, Benjamin Netanyahu, Reuven Rivlin and others at the ceremony (Photo: Alex Kolomoisky)

"'We came to take you home,' these simple words, which touched and still touch our hearts and souls, are what IDF commandos told the hostages," Rivlin said. "Simple words that encompass all of the hope, faith, strength, camaraderie and devotion of the IDF soldiers."

President Rivlin (Photo: GPO)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who lost his brother in the operation, said the operation was significant because "31 years after the Holocaust, we received an unequivocal proof of the importance of having a national home. When news that the Arab and German terrorists separated Jews from non-Jews arrived to Israel, memories of the Holocaust resurfaced."

Prime Minister Netanyahu (Photo: GPO)

"The daring rescue mission illustrated what a long way we've come from Auschwitz to Entebbe," Netanyahu continued. "We have strength, determination, unity and cohesion in times of crisis. Even before Entebbe, from Sabena (another plane hijacking in 1972) to Savoy (attack on hotel in 1975) we set the precedent that if we know where the hostages are, we will rescue them."

Both Netanyahu and Rivlin praised paratrooper Surin Hershko who was wounded in the operation and left paralyzed from the neck down.

"I salute you, Surin, to your exceptional bravery," Netanyahu said. "Surin, with his noble soul. We've been meeting you for 40 years and I am in awethere's no other wordevery time we meet, of your noble soul, the immense strength you have, your determination to continue living your life, to learn and create. We love you with all of our hearts."

Police chief Roni Alsheikh and IDF chief Gadi Eisenkot (Photo: GPO)

Sara Guter Davidson, one of the hostages, thanked Shimon Peres who was the defense minister at the time of the operation. "I thank the Israeli government and everyone who took part for the fact my family and I and everyone else who experienced this horrible witch hunt were able to return home and become free once more. Today I have the privilege of saying thank you to you, Shimon Peres, for doing all you could with vision, courage and creative thought."

Peres with one of the hostages (Photo: Alex Kolomoisky)

Rivlin also spoke of the five Israelis who were killed, including Yoni Netanyahu and four of the hostages.

The president went on to say that "this is an operation that gave and still gives moral validation to the State of Israel's continued fight against terrorism."
An advertisement for a German television documentary which will deal with how children in the Palestinian Authority are taught to hate and kill has caused an uproar for claiming that Israeli children are also taught to hate and kill Palestinians.

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The program will be aired on ZDF, a German television channel which is known for its anti-Israel slant.

The ad for the documentary, titled "teaching to hate?" asks the question "how do Israeli and Palestinian children learn to despise one another  and kill?"

The documentary makes the comparison between incitement to murder and hatred in Palestinian schools to the education and incitemetn to hatred which Israeli children alleged receive. This, despite the fact that the documentary clearly and explicitly proves that the education systems which spread incitement to kill and to hate is on the Palestinian side only.

An anti-Israel documentary will be aired on ZDF Germany

While the documentary doesn't claim that the Israeli education system teaches children to kill Arabs, it does say that Arabs are presented in a negative light in Israeli textbooks. An example of this "racist education" against the Arab population is that the majority of Israeli students, when drawing a picture of an Arab, draw the Arab sitting on a camel.

Following a wave of protests directed at ZDF, the station pulled the anti-Israel ad and ran an apology ad, saying "the wording of the documentary has caused misunderstandings. If someone was hurt by the wording, we ask for their forgiveness."

Nevertheless, the uproar following the advertisement is continuing, especially in light of the station's anti-Israel line.

The German newspaper Bild asks "was this was a mistake or intentional distortion of the facts with an anti-Semitic slant?"

Various research institutes have researched the content broadcasted on ZDF, and have found that it is consistently anti-Israel. The station avoided reporting on the murder of 13 year old Hallel Yaffe Ariel who was killed by a Palestinian terrorist in in her bed Kiryat Arba. The station did report on Palestinian injuries which occurred as a result of IDF operations following the girl's death however.
Fugitive VDC secretary held with Rs 2.4 million

Police on Saturday arrested the secretary of Malekpur VDC in Saptari district who had decamped with Rs2.39 million two months ago.
KIAF 2017 in the offing

The third iteration of the Kathmandu International Art Festival (KIAF) is scheduled to be held from March 24 to April 12, 2017 in the Capital. Organised by The Siddhartha Arts Foundation, the two-week festival will feature works by a host of Nepali and international artists.
KMC to launch drive to manage stray dogs

The Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) is all set to launch a drive to manage stray dogs in all the 35 wards of the city.
#KritiStoleBob: Filmmaker Neupane demands Rs 4 m from Kunder for defamation

Nepalese filmmaker Aneel Neupane held a press conference to bring in light the latest update regarding the BOB-Kriti controversy at Jhamsikhel on Sunday.
News

Washington, DC - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Department of Justice announced yesterday that the U.S. is returning approximately $1.5 million to Taiwan, the proceeds of the sale of a forfeited New York condominium and a Virginia residence that the U.S. alleged in its complaint were purchased with the proceeds of bribes paid to the family of Taiwans former President Chen Shui-Bian.

Executive Associate Director Peter T. Edge of HSI and Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Departments Criminal Division made the announcement.

According to the civil forfeiture complaints filed in this case, Yuanta Securities Co. Ltd. paid a bribe of 200 million New Taiwan dollars (equivalent to approximately $6 million U.S. dollars) to former First Lady Wu Shu-Jen in 2004, during former President Chen Shui-Bians administration. The bribe was allegedly paid to ensure that the president would use his power so that the Taiwan authorities would not oppose Yuantas bid to acquire a financial holding company. The former first family used Hong Kong and Swiss bank accounts, shell companies and a St. Kitts and Nevis trust to transfer the bribe proceeds needed to purchase the properties in Keswick, Virginia, and New York. The properties were owned by the former first family of Taiwan through two limited liability companies. In October 2012, U.S. District Courts in Virginia and in New York entered final forfeiture judgments against these two properties without opposition by the record owners. The U.S. then sold these two properties and obtained approximately $1.5 million in proceeds, which is being returned to Taiwan.

After many years of collaborative work, we are happy to return these funds to their rightful owners, said Edge. This is part of an ongoing effort by HSI to identify and seize illegal assets in the United States obtained by corrupt foreign leaders who abuse our financial systems in order to conceal the illicit proceeds of their crimes. HSI special agents in our 62 offices in 43 countries will continue to work with our domestic offices and international law enforcement partners to hold these individuals accountable.

The Kleptocracy Initiative was established to prevent corrupt leaders from using the United States as a safe haven for their ill-gotten gains, said Caldwell. We are committed to rooting out foreign official corruption and preventing corrupt officials from enjoying their spoils in the United States. We appreciate the cooperation of Taiwan law enforcement in this matter.

ICE HSI investigated the case, with assistance from the agencys attache in Hong Kong, HSI Miami's Foreign Corruption Investigation Group and the Taiwan Supreme Prosecutors Offices Special Investigations Division. Trial Attorney Jennifer Wallis and former Deputy Chief Linda Samuel of the Criminal Divisions Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section (AFMLS) prosecuted the case. The Criminal Divisions Office of International Affairs also provided valuable assistance.

The Justice Departments Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative is carried out by a dedicated team of prosecutors in AFMLS, working in partnership with federal law enforcement agencies to forfeit the proceeds of foreign official corruption and, where appropriate, return those proceeds to benefit those harmed. Individuals with information about possible proceeds of foreign corruption located in or laundered through institutions in the United States should contact federal law enforcement or send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

HSIs Foreign Corruption Investigations Group targets corrupt foreign officials around the world who attempt to utilize U.S. financial institutions to launder illicit funds. The group conducts investigations into the laundering of proceeds emanating from foreign public corruption, bribery or embezzlement. The objective is to prevent foreign derived ill-gotten gains from entering the U.S. financial infrastructure, to seize identified assets in the United States and repatriate these funds on behalf of those affected.
Arizona News

Phoenix, Arizona - Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced a State Grand Jury indicted Mahin Khan, 18, of Tucson, charging him with Terrorism, Conspiracy to Commit Terrorism, and Conspiracy to Commit Misconduct Involving Weapons. The indictment is the result of an investigation by the Phoenix Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Joint Terrorism Task Force, including agents from the Arizona Attorney Generals Office Special Investigations Section.

"The Attorney Generals Office remains committed to partnering with the FBIs Joint Terrorism Task Force and all federal and local law enforcement partners to keep Arizonans safe," said Attorney General Mark Brnovich.

"I want to commend the work of the Arizona Attorney Generals offices, Federal, State, and local law enforcement partners and the FBIs Joint Terrorism Task Force," said Michael DeLeon Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Phoenix Field Office. "Incredibly significant to this investigation were the citizens who came forward and alerted investigators to the suspicious behavior. The FBI and prosecutors work every day to protect those who assist with investigations."

The charges stem from an investigation into Khans alleged repeated communication and conspiracy with an individual whom he believed to be a fighter with ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and Syria) to obtain weapons including pipe bombs or pressure cooker bombs, and commit an act of terror at a Motor Vehicle Division office in Maricopa County.

Khan was arrested in Tucson on July 1, 2016 by agents from the FBI and agents with the Joint Terrorism Task Force. He is being held without bond in the Maricopa County Jail pending trial on the indictment.



The investigation into Khans alleged conspiracy and terror activities remains ongoing, but there is not believed to be a further threat from him or his activities at this time.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Arizona Attorneys General Blaine Gadow and Scott Blake.

All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Border News

Yuma, Arizona - Over a recent period, 11 individuals appearing before the magistrate judge recently were charged and convicted of re-entry after deportation. All 11 had been previously deported for illegally entering the United States and had lengthy criminal histories.

Ten felons received sentences ranging from nine to 35 months, followed by three years of supervised release. The eleventh received 120 days and three years of supervised release.

All 11 were aggravated felons, a term used to describe a category of offenses carrying particularly harsh consequences for those convicted. Some of their offenses included conspiracy, harboring aliens, grand theft auto, probation violations, and manufacturing, distributing or disbursing controlled substances. Regardless of their immigration status, non-citizens convicted of an aggravated felony are prohibited from any relief that would spare them from deportation, including asylum, and from being readmitted to the United States in the future.

Pointing to their complex enforcement environment, United States Border Patrol agents face many dangers from illegal cross-border activity. In 2016, virtually all crossings were facilitated by

Trans-national criminal organizations, said Yuma Sector Chief Patrol Agent Anthony J. Porvaznik. All who enter the United States illegally are breaking the law. Our goal is to provide the first line of defense for America and her people.
Border News

Douglas, Arizona - Customs and Border Protection officers at the Raul Hector Castro Port of Entry in Douglas, Arizona arrested a man from Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico, July 6 for attempting to smuggle nearly 308 pounds of marijuana into the United States.

After officers referred the 24-year-old man for a secondary inspection of his GMC truck, officers found close to 300 packages of marijuana, valued at nearly $154,000, in various locations in the vehicles interior and tires.

Officers seized the marijuana and vehicle, and turned the subject over to Immigration and Customs Enforcements Homeland Security Investigations.
Health News

Scottsdale, Arizona - Many types of intrauterine devices, or IUDs, are available. The specific kind that has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for treatment of heavy menses releases the hormone progestin. This type of IUD is safe and highly effective for easing periods that are heavier than normal. IUDs are not the only option for treating this condition though. Before you move forward, consider talking with your doctor about the range of treatment choices available to you.

Hormonal IUDs are small, T-shaped plastic devices placed in the uterus that release progestin over time. Typically, IUDs are used to prevent pregnancy. But, research has shown hormonal IUDs to be useful for easing heavy periods, too. Thats because they not only thicken cervical mucus to prevent sperm from reaching or fertilizing an egg, they also thin the lining of the uterus. That decreases menstrual blood flow and cramping.

One of the main benefits of using an IUD to reduce heavy periods is that, once placed, an IUD is effective for three to five years. The exact amount of time it can be left in place depends on the brand you choose. Little, if any, follow-up care is needed to manage the IUD during that time.

Side effects usually are minimal. Some women may notice headaches, acne, breast tenderness, mood changes and weight gain when they are using a hormonal IUD. There is a small risk of tearing the uterus when the IUD is placed. But, thats rare, particularly when the procedure is performed by an experienced physician.

If you prefer not to have an IUD, or if you would like to explore other possible treatment options, there are alternatives. Some women take birth control pills to manage heavy menstrual bleeding. This also can be an effective treatment. Keep in mind, however, that taking the pill is not a good choice if you smoke. Your doctor should review your medical and family history before you start taking birth control pills to make sure youre an appropriate candidate for them.

If, as in your situation, birth control is not needed, another option for controlling menstrual bleeding is to take a pill 10 to 12 times a month that contains only progestin. The medication reduces bleeding by correcting the hormone imbalance that usually contributes to heavy periods.

If treatment with an IUD or medication is not successful, a variety of surgical options also can be used to decrease menstrual blood flow. Most of these procedures can be done on an outpatient basis and do not require an overnight hospital stay.

Before you make a decision, it would be a good idea to take time to review all the possible treatment options with your doctor. Talk about your preferences, and discuss your medical and family background. Go over the risks and benefits of each option. That conversation can help you get a better idea of the treatment choice thats right for you and help you find the one that best fits your situation. - Dr. Bonnie Maffi, Gynecology, Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, Arizona
Latest News

Washington, DC - State and local spending on prisons and jails has increased at triple the rate of funding for public education for preschool through grade P-12 education in the last three decades, a new analysis by the U.S. Department of Education found.

Released today, the report, Trends in State and Local Expenditures on Corrections and Education, notes that even when population changes are factored in, 23 states increased per capita spending on corrections at more than double the rate of increases in per-pupil P-12 spending. Seven statesIdaho, Michigan, Montana, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, and West Virginiaincreased their corrections budgets more than five times as fast as they did their allocations for P-12 public education. The report also paints a particularly stark picture of higher education spending across the country at a time when postsecondary education matters more than ever. Since 1990, state and local spending on higher education has been largely flat while spending on corrections has increased 89 percent.

Budgets reflect our values, and the trends revealed in this analysis are a reflection of our nations priorities that should be revisited, said U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King Jr. For far too long, systems in this country have continued to perpetuate inequity. We must choose to make more investments in our childrens future. We need to invest more in prevention than in punishment, to invest more in schools, not prisons.

The report sheds light on the connection between educational attainment and incarceration. The United States has only 5 percent of the worlds population yet more than 20 percent of the worlds incarcerated population. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, two-thirds of state prison inmates have not completed high school. One study also shows young black men between the ages of 20 and 24 who do not have a high school diploma or an equivalent credential have a greater chance of being incarcerated than employed. Researchers have estimated that a 10 percent increase in high school graduation rates results in a 9 percent decline in criminal arrest rates.

Mass incarceration does not make us safer. Yet for three decades, our country has prioritized spending on prisons instead of classrooms, said Valerie Jarrett, senior advisor to President Obama. We can no longer afford this failure to invest in opportunity, only to lock up people once theyve dropped out of school and turned to crime. These misguided priorities make us less safe and betray our values, and it is time we came together as a country to invest in our people and their capacity to contribute to society.

The report comes after former U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan last September called on states and communities to invest in teachers rather than prisons by finding alternative paths for non-violent offenders outside of incarceration. The $15 billion that could be saved by finding alternate paths to incarceration for just half of non-violent offenders is enough to give a 50 percent raise to every teacher and principal working in the highest-need schools and communities across the country.

Key findings from the report include:

Over the past three decades, between 197980 and 201213, state and local expenditures for P12 education doubled from $258 to $534 billion, while total state and local expenditures for corrections quadrupled from $17 to $71 billion.

All states had lower expenditure growth rates for P-12 education than for corrections, and in the majority of the states, the rate of increase for corrections spending was more than 100 percentage points higher than the growth rate for education spending.

Even when adjusted for population changes, growth in corrections expenditures outpaced P-12 expenditures in all but two states (New Hampshire and Massachusetts).

Over the roughly two decades, between 19891990 and 20122013, state and local appropriations for public colleges and universities remained flat, while funding for corrections increased by nearly 90 percent.

On average, state and local higher education funding per full-time equivalent student fell by 28 percent, while per capita spending on corrections increased by 44 percent.

The United States spends more than $80 billion annually on corrections. The Departments new report suggests that a better path forward would be increasing investments in educationfrom early childhood through collegewhich could improve skills, opportunities, and career outcomes for at-risk children and youth, particularly if the additional funds are focused on high-poverty schools. Investing more in increasing school success for disadvantaged children and youth could reduce disciplinary issues and reverse the school-to-prison pipeline. In addition, educational programs for incarcerated youth and adults could reduce recidivism and crime by developing skills and providing opportunities.

The Obama Administration continues to shine a light on reducing recidivism and promoting reentry for formerly incarcerated individuals. Recently, the Department announced that nearly 12,000 incarcerated students will enroll in the new Second Chance Pell pilot program, which allows students incarcerated in federal and state penal institutes to access pell grants for postsecondary education and training programs. The Department, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Justices Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, created a $5.7 million grant program aimed at improving outcomes for students who have been involved in the criminal justice system by providing career and technical education, and released a toolkit providing guidance to educators and others to support a successful reentry system for formerly incarcerated youth and adults. The Education Department also recently called on colleges and universities to remove barriers that can prevent the estimated 70 million citizens with criminal records from pursuing higher education, including considering the chilling effect of inquiring early in the application process whether prospective students have ever been arrested.

A recent report from the Council of Economic Advisors titled Economic Perspectives on Incarceration and the Criminal Justice System shines further light on issues of incarceration and the criminal justice system. Additionally, the Administration has taken action to disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline through efforts like the Presidents My Brothers Keeper Initiative, which brings together partners from the federal government and almost every sector to improve opportunity for all young people, including young men and boys of color.
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Washington, DC - In connection with the latest monthly release of numbers of apprehensions on the southwest border, Secretary Johnson made the following statement:

In June 2016, apprehensions by the Border Patrol on our southwest border  an indicator of total attempts to cross the border illegally  decreased from the levels we saw in May and April. Year to date, apprehensions are somewhat higher than in FY 2015, but significantly lower than FY 2014 and FY 2013:

Month UAC Family Members All Apprehensions by the Border Patrol January 2016 3,091 3,145 23,759 February 2016 3,095 3,051 26,077 March 2016 4,214 4,451 33,319 April 2016 5,173 5,620 38,088 May 2016 5,617 6,782 40,349 June 2016 4,809 6,633 34,463

We must enforce our immigration laws, and we are doing so consistent with our enforcement priorities. Those priorities, revised as part of the Presidents executive actions in November 2014, more sharply focus our limited enforcement resources on public safety and border security. And, those priorities are reflected in actual results. Today, over 99% of those in immigration detention fit within one of these enforcement priorities; and around 85% are within the top priority for removal. In 2009 just 35% of those deported by ICE were convicted criminals; today that percentage is 60%.

We also continue to crack down on the transnational criminal organizations involved in the smuggling and exploitation of migrants. Last week, 41 individuals linked to transnational criminal organizations responsible for smuggling hundreds of migrants through South and Central America into the United States were arrested, with our support, by foreign partners in two separate multinational operations. These arrests were part of the ongoing Operation Citadel  a multi-country effort, supported by DHS Joint Task Force-Investigations. Likewise, DHS recently launched Operation All In, coordinated by our Joint Task Force-West, which targets individuals involved in smuggling along our southwest border. In the first 10 days of this operation, conducted last month, we made 30 criminal arrests and 19 administrative arrests of smugglers for immigration violations.

In May, I visited Central America for the third time in two years. We are cognizant that conditions in Central America push many to flee the region in search of a better life in the United States. We recognize the need to provide a safe alternative path to our country, and that many from the region should be regarded as refugees. Through our Central American Minors program, the U.S. Government continues to offer in-country processing in Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala for the protection of minors with a parent lawfully present in the United States. To date, we have accepted applications from 9,216 individuals and have approved 2,297 of these applications for refugee resettlement or parole. We are expanding other alternative paths to the United States for those who qualify for protection under our immigration laws.

We also recognize that the ultimate solution is a long-term investment in Central America, to address underlying conditions there. We are pleased with the $750 million in support Congress provided this year in aid to Central America, and generally are encouraged by the more recent proposals by some in Congress to take additional steps to address the humanitarian crisis in the region.
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Anchorage, Alaska - A Fort Wainwright Army sergeant pleaded guilty Friday to conspiracy to receive bribes and defraud the United States in connection with a scheme to steal fuel at a forward operating base (FOB) in Afghanistan.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Departments Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler of the District of Alaska, Special Agent in Charge Marlin L. Ritzman of the FBIs Anchorage, Alaska, Division and Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) John F. Sopko made the announcement.

Sheldon J. Morgan, 36, pleaded guilty in Fairbanks, Alaska, before U.S. District Judge Ralph R. Beistline of the District of Alaska to a one-count information charging him with conspiracy to receive bribes and defraud the United States. Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 21, 2016.

According to admissions made as part of this plea agreement, from May 2010 until May 2011, Morgan, then a specialist in the U.S. Army, was deployed at FOB Fenty, near Jalalabad, Afghanistan. FOB Fenty served as a hub for distribution of fuel to nearby military bases. Morgans duties included assisting in overseeing the distribution of fuel to the bases, he admitted.

Morgan also admitted that on two separate occasions in December 2010, he arranged for a translator employed by an Afghan trucking company to steal 5,000 gallons of fuel. The translator promised Morgan $5,000 per truckload and wired the money to an account outside of the United States that Morgan had his wife open in her name, according to the plea agreement. Morgan admitted that he and his wife used the money for their personal benefit. The conspiracy caused approximately $37,300 in loss to the U.S. government.

This is the eighth guilty plea for similar fuel theft/bribery schemes at FOB Fenty for U.S. military members and their associates who were assigned to the base between June 2009 and April 2012.

The FBI and SIGAR investigated the case. Trial Attorney Daniel P. Butler of the Criminal Divisions Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Cooper of the District of Alaska are prosecuting the case.
Malaysian companies look for alternatives

As the number of Nepali migrant workers coming to Malaysia has been decreasing despite rising demand over the last one and half years, there is a fear that employers here could start looking for alternatives to Nepalis.
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Minneapolis, Minnesota - A former Minnesota National Guardsman was sentenced Friday to 210 months in prison for inducing a 14-year-old girl to create and send to him sexually explicit photos over the Internet while he was deployed to Afghanistan, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Departments Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger of the District of Minnesota.

Andrew Schiller, 28, of Lakeville, Minnesota, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson of the District of Minnesota, who ordered that he also serve a lifetime term of supervised release and pay restitution to the victim. Schiller pleaded guilty to one count of production of child pornography on Sept. 10, 2015.

According to his guilty plea, between Sept. 23, 2013, and Jan. 12, 2014, while deployed to Afghanistan, Schiller contacted a 14-year-old female from Minnesota online and requested that she create and forward to him via the internet sexually explicit photos of herself. The victim did, in fact, send several images in response to Schillers requests, including at least one sexually explicit image. Schiller further admitted that he communicated online with numerous other minors and that he attempted to convince the minors to send to him sexually explicit videos or images of themselves.

The Army Criminal Investigative Division and FBI investigated the case. Trial Attorney Jeffrey H. Zeeman, formerly of the Criminal Divisions Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), and Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine T. Buzicky of the District of Minnesota prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.
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Notre Dame, Indiana - Calling recent insults to Mexico and its people churlish, insulting political theater, the president of the University of Notre Dame, Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., said Friday that he is dedicated to strengthening the Universitys presence in that nations academic, government, corporate and Church sectors.

Speaking in Mexico City at a meeting of business and university leaders, Father Jenkins compared the current attacks on Mexicans to the contempt directed at other immigrant groups in the United States in the past.

The vitriol directed at the Irish  and later the Italians, and other waves of immigrants to the United States, sadly is not a thing of the past; certainly not for Mexicans in the United States who have been slandered in extraordinary ways, as has Mexico itself, Father Jenkins said. It is churlish, insulting political theater, for certain. But it is not only that. It suggests that the United States distance itself from Mexico at just the time that our nations are most positively engaged with each other and poised to reap the benefits of robust trade, industrialization and entrepreneurship.

Father Jenkins announced the opening of a Notre Dame office in Mexico City as the first step in a planned expansion of ties between the University and Mexico. Similar to comments he made earlier this year in South America, the Notre Dame president said: Like many universities in the U.S., Notre Dame first looked east to Europe and more recently to Asia for valued partnerships. Let me assure you, the compass at Notre Dame now points south.

That orientation, he continued, is critical for understanding the changing demographics of the United States. It is critical for higher education. And it is critical for the future of the Catholic Church in the United States. It is also critical to confronting economic and social issues of the Americas North and South, and how Catholic educators in both hemispheres come to terms with providing the great equalizer  a good education  to rich and poor alike.

Notre Dame is excited by the promise of innovation and applied research in collaboration with Mexican businesses and universities. In the long run, all of that may very well buttress economies and help people out of poverty in both of our countries.

Father Jenkins quoted from Pope Francis, who early in his papacy said: We are a single human family that is journeying on toward unity, making the most of solidarity and dialogue among peoples in the multiplicity of differences.

As a Catholic institution guided by the Church and inspired by Francis, Father Jenkins said, Notre Dame celebrates the interdependence and unity of peoples and nations. It informs our outreach to our neighbor Mexico, in particular.

We recognize that Mexico has one of the most important economies in the world, that you are one of the United States most important trading partners, that you have a rich, enduring culture and faith, and some of the best universities in the world. In short, Mexico is indispensable. Our futures are joined at the border, not divided by it. Notre Dame knows it and wants to be a part of that future.

Father Jenkins was joined on his visit to Mexico by several other Notre Dame officials, including Thomas G. Burish, Charles and Jill Fischer Provost, and Nick Entrikin, vice president and associate provost for internationalization. The trip included a public event titled "Global Forum: Latin America":http://globalforum.nd.edu/, a meeting by Burish with Roberta S. Jacobson, the U.S. ambassador to Mexico, and with various academic and business leaders.
LIVE-2 Inning |27-31

PAKISTAN VS ZIMBABWE

PAK 109/6 VS 130/8 ZIM

Pakistan need 22 runs in 12 balls at 11 rpo
My sole motivation behind letting myself into that abominable prison house called school was the little white stick that my mother allowed me to grab and lick after the classes were over. I used to look with wishful eyes the attractive white box of ice cream walla who also had other varieties-the red tangy one that came in twenty five paisa, the slightly yellow one that came in fifty paisa and the expensive white creamy one that came in full one rupee. My mother had warned me against eating the orange one as she said it contained worms that came out if you sprinkled salt on it! So my childhood remained deprived of that one single taste that so often contented the appetite of my not-so-affluent friends. <BR><BR> When I went to college I read about globalisation, about the invasion of markets by foreign goods and of absolute wiping out of the local economy by organized production houses. But I could not understand these things till one day while crossing from near my school my eyes failed to spot that old ice cream walla whose presence had become such an inseparable part of the entire set up. It came as a rude shock to me that his place was now taken by three four colourful wheeled vans endorsing attractive logos and pictures of branded ice cream. <BR><BR> That changes are always for better or worse is like putting an emotion into plain black and white. I may have in my own personal way some attachment with the white stick ice cream or with the more expensive soapy, frothy softie of my school days but the accessibility, taste and variety that the present day ice cream industry is offering is no doubt incomparable. <BR><BR> Who would have thought barely a decade ago of eating ice creams made of real fresh fruits- a la Gelato Vittorio or a cool creamy liquid fried in hot boiling oil or what is called today the fried ice cream. <BR><BR> In India the ice cream industry took sometimes to catch the global cue because the country has an indigenous rich and well developed dessert market. What ice cream would stand in competition against Indian sweets? But no you cant say so just because you are born in the land of Kulfi. You will have the authority only when you taste Baked Alaska (an ice-cream sponge cake dish topped with meringue), Arctic roll (British dessert made of vanilla and flour), Adzuki (Japanese red bean ice cream) and Dondruma( a Turkish ice made of salep and mastic resin). <BR><BR> We Indians who generally go gaga over a handful of varieties that Baskin Robbins offers are unaware of the fact that the company actually makes 1000 flavours! What we get in India generally as branded ice cream is nothing but milk and corn flour seasoned with a few chemicals and packed in attractive cones, cups and cornettos. Our knowledge of Ice cream is so poor that we do not even know what cornetto is! Most of us think it is the name of an ice cream that Kwality offers. Update your dictionary- it is actually the registered name of an improved variety of waffle cone that does not become soggy and that was invented and patented by an Italian firm called Spica in 1960! <BR><BR> The world offers so much in shape of that delicate, cool, tender delight called ice cream that I being a lover of it feel choked with emotion at my own minisculeness and misfortune of not having tasted even a fraction of that tremendous, rich and inexhaustible treasure. What is thy life O mortal, my heart cries out, if thou hast not known the glories of the Australian Giant Sandwich Monster, the Manoco Bar, the Irish Scottish Sliders, the Argentine Helado, the Greek Kimaki and the Japanese Macha! <BR><BR> Sometimes I wonder whether there is an intricate connection between the survival of a race and its appetite for ice cream! Otherwise why would the Greeks, the Romans, the Chinese and the Persians survive the ravages of time and the Glorious Harappan civilization fade into oblivion? And let us be pragmatic and not blame some harmless ecology or innocent river for their decline. The reason I am sure was hidden in their food habits-they having failed to secure the divine blessings of the Gods. Yes, thats precisely what the ancient Greeks called ice cream! Imagine what foodies they must have been that nearly 4000 years ago they got for themselves ice houses constructed at the banks of Euphrates and as early as 5th century BC they began its marketing by selling ice cones mixed with fruit and honey. A honey flavoured cornetto.! <BR><BR> Roman emperor Nero (62 AD) was fond of fruit ice cream and hence sent his servants to fetch ice from mountains! The Falooda that we eat today is actually a Persian dish Faloodeh made from starch and has its origin around 400BC. The Chinese who claim to be the pioneers in almost everything -be it the first currency notes, the first stint with silk or the first to flood the markets of neighbours with cheap plastic goods-were not far behind in making ice cream too. They are credited to have invented a device that made quick ice using salt peter (no, it was not imported from Bihar, China had enough of it). <BR><BR> The unfortunate Charles I whom the world knows as an autocrat, a despot, a tyrant, an enemy of democracy and parliament was also a lover of ice cream! It is said that he made his chef keep the formula a secret so that it remained a royal prerogative. <BR><BR> Our great Mughals, we should not forget were the die hard lovers of food and all that is rich and luxurious in the modern Indian cuisine has a Mughal origin. So they too loved ice cream and they too enjoyed it in royal feasts and ceremonies. When they could get choicest fruits from Farghana and Samarquand and the best wines from Persia, why couldnt they send relays of horsemen to bring ice from Hindukush for their aromatic fruit sherbets? <BR><BR> But were sending horsemen to run and fetch ice or storing ice in underground icehouses near rivers, the only way of making ice creams in those days? Sadly, yes. And thats why the common man remained deprived of and unknown to its delectable taste. But lets thank Nancy Johnson of Philadelphia who first got the patent for a small hand run ice cream freezer. Gradually with the coming of electricity there also came a revolution in ice cream making. Thereafter Giant corporates like Howard Johnson, Dairy Queen, Baskin Robbins, Gelato Vittorio, Ben and Jerrys, Haagen Dazs and Carvel changed the concept of ice cream in the world. Soft serves, Sundaes and super premiums began to be offered by shops next door. <BR><BR> Thanks to globalisation, the world has really become a small place to live in. Today I can access any ice cream from the world over in my local confectionary shop. but among the confused tastes of multitudinous flavours I some how always try to find that one singular taste of the white stick ice-cream which trickled through my fingers and ran into my nursery uniformspoiling it but leaving an imprint on my memory which has failed to faint in all these years.
Manang upbeat with Yarthung festival (with photos)

A village in upper Manang is currently in a festive mood as it celebrates Yarthunga local horse racefrom last three days.
Washington: Hamza bin Laden, the son of former Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, has threatened to take revenge on the United States for the killing of his father and warned the Americans that they are accountable for the decisions of their leaders.

"Hamza bin Laden Threatens Revenge Against U.S. for Assassinating Father," tweeted the SITE Intelligence Group.

Hamza bin Laden Threatens Revenge Against U.S. for Assassinating Father https://t.co/HyNKv97WXn  SITE Intel Group (@siteintelgroup) July 10, 2016

Hamza, who is in his mid- twenties, is the next expected leader of the militant group.

The speculation gained momentum when an undated audio recording surfaced in May this year in which Hamza calls for unity among jihadi militants in Syria who currently fight under competing banners ranging from ISIS to Al-Qaeda, reported CNN earlier.

In the video, he also calls for jihad against Israel and its American backers to "liberate" Palestine.

The video was seen as an effort by Al-Qaeda to capitalize on the impact of the "bin Laden" name.

Being a young leader in an ageing group, he is now being considered as the young voice that could appeal to the youth, which Al-Qaeda has failed so far unlike the Islamic state.

One of the masterminds of the 9/11 attack, Osama bin Laden was killed on May 2, 2011, by the United States Navy Seal commandos in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

However, it is not clear whether Hamza bin Laden still has an operational role in planning Al-Qaeda attacks.

(With ANI inputs)
Dallas police headquarters were on lockdown on Saturday after receiving a threat against officers, police said two days after a gunman killed five officers in the Texas city.

"The Dallas Police Department received an anonymous threat against law enforcement across the city and has taken precautionary measures," to heighten security, Dallas police said in an emailed statement to media.

SWAT officers were deployed at the main building, local media reported.

The sight of a masked man caused police to go on heightened alert, the Dallas Morning News reported. "A man wearing a black mask was spotted in a parking garage behind the headquarters," the paper said.

Officers were reported to be searching the police parking lot.
Barack Obama began a shortened but symbolic first presidential trip to Spain Saturday, squeezing in a visit to a key ally before dashing home to deal with the aftermath of a wrenching shooting in Dallas.

Obama has cut a two-day visit to the Iberian peninsula down to one and cancelled a trip to Seville with city native King Felipe altogether, after a black army veteran in Dallas killed five white police officers.

Obama, who prides himself on his measured approach, is usually loath to alter carefully laid plans.

But the shooting -- just blocks from the place where John F. Kennedy was assassinated -- has pushed a country crackling with political tension to the edge.

Speaking in Warsaw just before Air Force One departed for Spain, Obama insisted the country`s divisions were overplayed.

This was not, he insisted, the crisis-ridden days of the 1960s, when US cities burned, the Vietnam War raged and the Kennedy brothers and Martin Luther King were slain.

But his decision to shorten the trip is a tacit acknowledgement that the United States faces a combustible mix of deteriorating race relations, hyper-charged election politics and seemingly never-ending gun violence.

In recent months, the emergence of videos of deadly mass shootings, or of white police officers killing black civilians have become routine. Yet the refusal of America`s first black president to scratch the trip to Spain entirely also reflects a determination to fulfill geopolitical goals.

"President Obama has long thought it important, given the close cooperation between our countries, for him to travel to Spain, which he has not had an opportunity to do during his time in office," said National Security Council spokesman Ned Price.

"Spain is a vital ally, partner, and friend to the United States," he added, citing the EU and NATO ally`s role in the fight against the Islamic State as well as historical ties.

Obama, who was greeted on arrival at Torrejon Air Base by King Felipe, will visit a US Naval Station at Rota, in southern Spain, addressing US personnel who have been stationed at the mouth of the Mediterranean since a deal with Spain`s former dictator Francisco Franco.

Since the time of the Greeks, Romans, Moors, Phoenicians and Visigoths, the Bay of Cadiz has been as a prime piece of geopolitical real-estate. Today, it has taken on renewed importance with the deployment of four US Aegis destroyers.

They form an integral part of a European missile defense system much despised by Russia. The transfer of the system to NATO control was a key part of an alliance summit in Warsaw which stressed deterring Moscow from destabilizing eastern Europe.Obama`s visit comes as Spain remains mired in a months-old political crisis, with two general elections resulting in no clear victor.

The two centre-left and centre-right parties that have dominated Spanish politics since the advent of democracy in the late 1970s have, in the face of insurgent leftists, so far been unable to form a government. Obama will meet acting premier Mariano Rajoy as well as opposition leaders.

He will also hold talks with King Felipe at the presidential palace, before heading back to the United States, a country that now seems as divided in its politics as Spain.

arb/cb
Warsaw: US President Barack Obama pledged the US long-term commitment to ensuring Europe`s security and defending allies, while participating in his last NATO Summit before stepping down next January.

During his solo press conference after the closing of Warsaw NATO Summit on Saturday, Obama said the Alliance was strengthening its deterrence and defense capabilities and it was sending a clear signal: it is going to protect any of its members, Xinhua news agency reported.

"What will never change, is the unwavering commitment of the United States to the security and defense of Europe," Obama said.

He reminded that the Alliance had agreed on reinforcement of its collective defense and on deploying forces in Poland and Baltic states.

Obama also referred to the situation in Ukraine, saying that "Our 28 nations are united in our view that there can be no business as usual with Russia until it fully implements its Minsk obligations", and reminding that NATO confirmed its support for Ukraine.

On Britain`s referendum to leave the EU, he expressed hopes that Britain`s exit from the block could be as sensible as possible, causing possibly least damage to economy.

As a friend, ally and trading partner of Britain, Obama wished to see an orderly negotiating process and as close a relationship as possible in future.
Morigaon (Assam): As Assam continues to reel under the devastating impact of floods, the Brahmaputra river has submerged 60 percent of the rhino habitat Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary located in Morigaon district near Guwahati.

The floods have also damaged around 50 per cent infrastructure of the Sanctuary which is the world's densest habitat of the Great Indian one-horn rhinoceros, said Forest Department officials here today.

Several link roads connecting to Pobitora WLS were submerged and even washed away in some places, they said.

The sanctuary authorities has tightened security system to combat poaching in the sanctuary during the floods.

However, due to non-availability of funds the patrolling mechanised boats as well as country boats used for protection of the wildlife could not be repaired.

Due to non-availability of mechanised boats, it has become difficult for guards inside the flood ravaged areas of Pobitora WLS to perform their duties effectively, they said.

Fund constraints for the last three months was also hindering repair works of its five anti-poaching camps - Kuchiyani, Kolabhuyan, Kukkari, Tuplung, and Nekera - that were destroyed by storm and flood causing the forest guards to face serious problems in anti-poaching operations.

Meanwhile, the flood situation in Assam continues to remain grim with over 1.35 lakh people affected in Lakhimpur, Golaghat, Morigaon, Barpeta and Jorhat districts, according to the Assam state disaster management authority.

Two persons - a man and his son - were washed away in Jorhat district yesterday.

The Brahmaputra is flowing above the danger mark at Nematighat in Jorhat and Dhubri town, while river Dhansiri at Numaligarh in Golaghat, it said.
New Delhi: Places are still available at top colleges of the University of Delhi (DU) even after the varsity released the third cut-off list -- with a marginal dip in eligibility marks -- on Sunday.

One of the most preferred colleges, the Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) still remains open for admissions with a cut-off requirement of 97.25 per cent to its Economics honours and B. Com honours courses.

At Hansraj College, admissions are still open for most courses like English, Economics, History (all honours) and B.Com honours.

While admission into courses like Economics and English are still open at Hindu College, it has closed admissions for courses like Sociology, Philosophy and B.A.

At the prestigious Lady Sri Ram College, students require 96 percent to study Economics and English.

Seats at off-campus colleges seem to be filling up faster with colleges like Deshbandhu College closing admissions to most courses barring honours in Sanskrit, Political Science and History.

Similarly, Mata Sundri College for women has closed admission to all arts courses barring Psychology, Sanskrit and B.A. pass.

Many evening colleges also remain open for admission into most courses, with percentage requirement ranging from 60 to 90 per cent.

Seats have been filling up fast in science courses with colleges like Gargi having closed admissions into Botany, Chemistry and Physics honours.

Similarly, Miranda House has closed admissions into Botany and B.Sc. Life Sciences.

Admission into undergraduate courses at the varsity were made completely online this year.

In a first, the DU has also decided to take out only five cut-off lists this year. More than 2.5 lakh students applied the varsity this year for admission into its various undergraduate courses.
Britain`s main opposition Labour faces a leadership battle after a challenger to Jeremy Corbyn finally stepped forward Saturday after a Brexit vote which caused political turmoil.

Senior lawmaker Angela Eagle is to stand against veteran socialist Jeremy Corbyn, the embattled head of the left-of-centre party, who has faced criticism for his lukewarm campaigning in favour of staying in the EU.

Eagle announced her bid following the collapse of talks aimed at resolving a deep rift in the party over Corbyn`s future which some commentators have suggested could prompt it to split.

"On Monday morning I will announce my candidature for leader of the Labour Party," she said.

Corbyn, who has lost the support of at least three-quarters of his lawmakers, had "failed to fulfil his first and foremost duty, that is to lead an organised and effective Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP)", added Eagle.

The socialist leader, who has strong support from grassroots Labour members, has vowed to fight on, insisting there was "no pressure on me".

Eagle, 55, was the shadow first secretary of state -- implying seniority over other front-bench spokespersons -- before she and a host of others quit the so-called shadow cabinet en masse last month.

If she wins the contest, she would be the first openly gay leader of a major political party at Westminster.Labour members of parliament staged a vote of no confidence in Corbyn on June 28, in which 17 percent backed him and 75 percent voted against him.

While the EU referendum raised fresh doubts, many centrist MPs had long been opposed to his leadership. Despite this, Corbyn has vowed to battle on as leader, citing a groundswell of support in the party membership.

"He will remain leader of the Labour Party and will contest any leadership challenge if one is mounted," his spokesman insisted.

Corbyn himself told the Durham Miners` Gala, a key date in the diary of Britain`s labour movement, that there was "no pressure on me, none whatsoever".

"Real pressure is when you don`t have enough money to feed your kids, when you don`t have a roof over your head," he said.

In the June 23 referendum, 52 percent of voters opted for Britain to leave the EU, with many traditional Labour heartlands voting out.

US President Barack Obama said he believed Britain would quit the EU at a NATO summit in Warsaw.

"I think we have to assume that a referendum having been passed with a lot of attention, a lengthy campaign and relatively high participation rates is going to stick," Obama said when asked if Britain could go back on the vote.

But anger among "Remain" voters lingers.

The British government on Saturday formally rejected a petition signed by more than four million people calling for a second referendum with a minimum 60 percent threshold and 75 turnout bar.

Around 200 people gathered for a picnic to oppose Brexit held in central London`s Green Park.The trade unions which provide significant funding to Labour have repeatedly urged respect for Corbyn`s authority as leader and the overwhelming grassroots mandate he received last year.

Len McCluskey, leader of Britain`s biggest union Unite, sharply attacked Labour deputy leader Tom Watson for the "sabotage" of talks designed to end the standoff.

"Should there have to be a leadership election, I must warn that any attempts to keep Jeremy Corbyn, elected just 10 months ago with an enormous mandate, off the ballot paper by legal means risks a lasting division in the party," McCluskey added.

In September, rank outsider Corbyn was elected Labour leader with 59.5 percent of the vote, made up of Labour Party members, members of affiliated unions and people who paid 3 ($3.90, 3.5 euros) to get a vote.

Labour is likely to face fresh ructions next month over the issue of Britain`s nuclear deterrent.

Parliament will vote on replacing the submarines which carry Britain`s Trident nuclear missiles on July 18, Prime Minister David Cameron announced Saturday.

Corbyn is opposed to nuclear weapons, though many Labour MPs are likely to support maintaining the deterrent.
Micro-insurance schemes made mandatory

An initial draft of the new Insurance Act prepared by the Finance Ministry has made it mandatory for both life and non-life insurance companies to launch micro-insurance schemes.
Britain`s thriving arts sector is in despair about the vote to leave the European Union, fearing that funding cuts and freedom of movement restrictions will have serious consequences.

In the aftermath of last month`s referendum result, performers and fans at the Glastonbury festival formed a heart in a pro-EU flash mob while musicians gave a spontaneous performance of Beethoven`s "Ode To Joy" -- Europe`s anthem -- in central London.

"I had a horrible dream in which I found out on a train that the Brexit vote had won, and yelled out in fury," top British cellist Steven Isserlis told Classic FM radio.

"I woke up, was relieved that it had been a dream, switched on my computer and saw, to my horror, that the dream had come true."

Josie Rourke, artistic director of London`s Donmar Warehouse theatre, wrote: "Canada?" on Twitter, apparently joking about where to move.

Top choreographer Matthew Bourne added that he considered the result to be "such a mess and not about the GB (Great Britain) I know and love".While it is too early to know the precise impact of Brexit on sectors from music to cinema, museums to theatre, most insiders are united in their pessimism.

Norman Lebrecht, a leading cultural commentator who runs the Slipped Disc classical music website, said freedom of movement has had a "regenerative" effect on British orchestras as talent from across the EU joined them.

"The whole atmosphere of orchestras has been changed by this. If you`re going to turn the clock back... I think you face stagnation," he told AFP.

Lebrecht also predicted that a plans for a new concert hall to house returning British conductor Simon Rattle and the London Symphony Orchestra could be axed due to lack of investment post-Brexit.

John Smith, general secretary of the Musicians` Union (MU), the trade union for 30,000 professional musicians, said his initial reaction to the vote was "profound depression".

"Over the years, MU members have benefited from open borders, a protective copyright regime and various directives which directly benefit them in their workplaces," he said.

Then there are the grants which many sectors receive from the EU.

Cinema has been a particular beneficiary, with funding from the MEDIA programme for Britain`s film, TV and digital industry totaling nearly 130 million euros ($145 million) since 2007.

Oscar winners "Slumdog Millionaire" and "The King`s Speech" got help with distribution from the fund before they were hits.Rebecca O`Brien, a film producer who set up London-based Sixteen Films with director Ken Loach, said the loss of distribution support would be a major blow.

"We`re talking about local films that are made by British filmmakers -- they are the most affected and the funding that comes in to pay for the American blockbusters, they can carry on fine," she told AFP.

European support has nurtured a fruitful crop of independent British films in recent years, she added.

"You can make a film in Britain without European participation, absolutely you can, but it really, really helps," O`Brien said. "Certainly in terms of the more innovative, creative productions, they`ve all been European partnered."

O`Brien, who supported the "Remain" campaign, was hopeful that filmmakers would find a way to cope but added that Brexit would "put hurdles in the way" of the already complex process of making a film.

Many also fear the uncertainty surrounding Britain`s future status until it actually leaves the EU.

The process is likely to take at least two years, a long time for a cluster of industries where projects require months or even years of advance planning.

Michael Ryan, chairman of the Independent Film and Television Alliance, which represents independents in cinema and TV worldwide, said the decision was a "major blow" to the creative sector.

"Producing films and television programmes is a very expensive and very risky business and certainty about the rules affecting the business is a must," he said.
French President Francois Hollande called Saturday for international action against an Al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria, warning that the recent losses sustained by the Islamic State group could embolden other jihadist groups.

"Daesh (the Arabic acronym for Islamic State) is in retreat, that is beyond dispute," Hollande said after a meeting with the leaders of the United States, Germany, Britain, Italy and Ukraine on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Warsaw.

But, Hollande added, "we must also avoid a situation whereby as Daesh becomes weaker, other groups become stronger."

Hollande singled out Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Nusra Front as particularly standing to benefit from the US-led military campaign against its arch-rival the Islamic State group.

Faced with a barrage of airstrikes and ground offensives by local forces, IS has lost territory in both Syria and Iraq in recent months.

"We must coordinate among ourselves to continue actions against Daesh but also... take effective action against Al-Nusra," Hollande said, directing his appeal at Russia and the US.

On Wednesday, US President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin agreed in a telephone call to "intensify" military coordination between their two countries in Syria.

Russia had in May proposed joint air strikes with the US against jihadist targets in Syria -- a suggestion that was rebuffed by Washington.

The White House reported that the two leaders, in their call this week, "confirmed their commitment to defeating ISIL (IS) and the Al-Nusra Front".

The two groups are excluded from a broader truce brokered by Moscow and Washington in February.
Lima: It may not be anyone's dream destination, but that's probably the point: Peru has opened a sprawling new prison high up in the Andes, with solar panels glistening in the bone-chilling cold. The country has a massive lack of prison capacity.

And the new facility launched yesterday at 4,100 metres (13,451 feet) above sea level in Cochamarca, in the Pasco area, will hold as many as 1,224 inmates.

That's just under the population of the entire town, where daytime temperatures hit highs around 10 degrees Celsius and overnight plunge to 14 degrees below zero.

However, the town is welcoming the correctional facility as a job creator. Many in the area are farmers for whom feeding animals in the colder seasons is extremely tough.

President-elect Pedro Pablo Kuczynski won office amid promises he would reduce the country's current shortage of 40,000 prison beds.

While the cold at the new facility is brutal, it could be worse for inmates there.

Outgoing President Ollanta Humala, whose term ends on July 28, turned down a request from a UN agency to consider shutting down Peru's remote and frigid prisons in Challapalca and Yanamayo, located even higher at more than 4,500 metres above sea level.
Hyderabad: Ten-year-old Hyderabad girl, who was on ventilator support after being hit by car allegedly driven by drunk student, died on Sunday.

The little girl was returning from her first day at a new school, along with her uncle and other family members when their car, driven allegedly by a drunk student, was hit in Banjara Hills area.

The i10 car was supposedly driven by 20-year-old Shravil. His car is said to have rammed the road divider and toppled onto Ramya and her family's Santro car.

Though Ramya was on the rear seat, she suffered multiple wounds in the accident. Ramya's uncle Rajesh, who was driving, died on the spot, while the girl was rushed to the hospital in critical condition.

Though doctors had declared her brain dead after she was admitted to the hospital, the girl was on ventilator support and succumbed to her injuries last night, Banjara Hills Police Station Sub-Inspector G Vinod Kumar said, as per PTI.



Ramya's mother Radhika, another uncle and grandfather had also suffered multiple fractures.

Shravil was arrested and booked under IPC section 304 (II) (culpable homicide not amounting to murder). The accused is currently in judicial custody.

As per media reports, the engineering student did not even have a driving licence. Five more friends were reportedly in the car with him. The car is said to belong to the father of one of his friends.
New Delhi: Captain Radhika Menon, first woman captain of the Indian Merchant Navy will receive IMO Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea, the government had said on Saturday.

"Menon, Master of the oil products tanker Sampurna Swarajya, is to receive the 2016 International Maritime Organisation Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea for her role in the dramatic rescue of seven fishermen from a sinking fishing boat in tumultuous seas in the Bay of Bengal in June last year," Shipping Ministry had said in a statement.

The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) is the United Nations specialised agency with responsibility for the safety and security of shipping and the prevention of marine pollution by ships.

"Captain Menon was nominated by the Government of India, for the rescue of all seven fishermen from the fishing boat Durgamma, which was adrift following engine failure and loss of anchor in severe weather," the statement had said.

Food and water had been washed away and they were surviving on ice from the cold storage.

The IMO Council, meeting for its 116th session in London, endorsed the decision of a panel of Judges that Captain Menon displayed great determination and courage in leading the difficult rescue operation, the statement had said.

"Through wave heights of more than 25 feet, winds of more than 60 knots and heavy rain, on 22 June, the second officer on the Sampurna Swarajya spotted the boat 2.5 kilometres away, off the coast of Gopalpur, Odisha. Captain Menon immediately ordered a rescue operation, utilising the pilot ladder and with life jackets and buoys on standby," it had added.

It took three arduous attempts in the lashing wind and rain and heavy swells before all seven weak and starving fishermen, aged from 15 to 50 years old, were brought to safety on board the ship.

Captain Menon is the first woman captain in the Indian Merchant Navy and will be the first woman to receive the IMO Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea.

The Awards ceremony is expected to take place at IMO Headquarters on November 21 at the end of the first day of the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC).

This annual Award was established by IMO to provide international recognition for those who, at the risk of losing their own life, perform acts of exceptional bravery, displaying outstanding courage in attempting to save life at sea or in attempting to prevent or mitigate damage to the marine environment.
Patna: Joining the chorus for a preservation of the Patna Collectorate, London-based Gandhi Foundation has appealed to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to not dismantle the historic building but instead celebrate the structure's iconic architecture.

In a letter to the Bihar Chief Minister, a copy of which has also been sent to the Chief Secretary, the Foundation has highlighted the architectural and cinematic legacy of the over 200-year-old building complex, where parts of the acclaimed film 'Gandhi' were shot over three decades ago.

"On behalf of the Gandhi Foundation, which exists to promote Mahatma Gandhi's life and message in the UK, we are writing to appeal to you to save the 200-year-old Patna Collectorate, a vital part of your state's architectural heritage, which is due to be demolished to make way for a high-rise development," the letter says.

The Ben Kingsley-starring biopic was shot partly at the Collectorate's Dutch-era Record Room, which was dressed up as a Motihari Jail, while the British-period DM Office was used for depicting the famous Champaran courtroom scene, a moment in history that turned Gandhi into the Mahatma for people.

"Preserving the buildings would also preserve these great memories and lend a greater significance to Patna as the place where he first came to during his maiden Bihar visit.

"Razing it would mean squandering the great opportunity Patna has in repositioning itself on the world tourism map," President, Gandhi Foundation, Lord Bhikhu Parekh, said in the letter.

Incidentally, the Bihar government has already initiated the Champaran Satyagraha centenary celebrations, and the UK-based foundation has suggested linking the heritage building with the Gandhi tourism circuit.

"Dismantling the building in the run-up to these centenary celebrations would therefore amount to erasing a piece of history, not just architecturally and culturally, but also the memories of Gandhi associated with the film and the hallowed presence of the building in history books, thanks to the filming at the location," the letter says.

"The Collectorate needs to be preserved, for posterity, not just as a signpost of history, but also as an enduring legacy of the Mahatma, thanks to the biopic by Lord Richard Attenborough. And, that's why we have appealed to the Bihar government," Foundation's Chair of Trustees, Mark Hoda, told PTI over the phone from London.

Earlier this year, the Bihar government had proposed to dismantle the Collectorate to make way for a modern high-rise complex.

After a public outcry over the move and appeals sent to the Chief Minister from the Dutch Ambassador in India as well as heritage body INTACH, the state government had constituted an ad hoc committee to seek the opinions of archaeologists and experts before taking a final call.

The Patna Chapter of the Indian National Trust for Art and Culture (INTACH) on April 6 had sent a strongly-worded petition to Kumar to immediately scrap the demolition plan, saying it would set a "very bad precedent and further jeopardise the fate of other heritage buildings in the city and eventually in the state".

A civil-society led online campaign 'Save Historic Patna Collectorate', started on April 3, is also garnering public support to save the building from the wrecking ball.

Nearly 900 people and counting, from Patna, other cities, and several foreign countries have joined the preservation drive.

US-based professional Twisha Chandra, who hails from Patna, and is also a member of the Executive Committee of Gandhi Foundation, said the Collectorate was as much a part of Patna's history and identity as the historic Golghar.

"One cannot even imagine it being gone. And, the Gandhi link to it due to the film's shooting there makes it even more imperative to preserve it. The building should be listed under the state archaeology department, restored and given to people to celebrate its history and heritage.

"A memorial plaque outside the building could be put up as part of an overall plan to bring the landmark on the tourism map," she said, adding, "I also wrote a personal plea to the Bihar chief minister and state Governor, appealing for its preservation."

The letter noted that the landmark was situated next to the famous Gandhi Maidan and enjoyed proximity to the Gandhi Sanghralaya as well as the old house of Dr. Syed Mehmood next to it, where Gandhi used to stay during his Patna visits.

"The Maidan also has the world's largest statue of Gandhi. And, it is not very far from the Gandhi Setu. All these can be weaved into a chain and linked to the Gandhi tourism circuit from Patna to Champaran," the letter says.

"The biopic on the Mahatma is still celebrated the world over, and in the UK and India especially. The Collectorate is thus part of the enduring memory of Mahatma Gandhi's connection with Bihar and Attenborough film that has done so much to introduce his life and message to new generations," it says.
Dhaka: It's a huge blow for Zakir Naik.

In a major setback to controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, Bangladesh government has banned his Peace TV.

Bangladesh has now completely banned the broadcast of Zakir Naik's Peace TV.

The decision to ban the Mumbai-based preacher's 'Peace TV Bangla' was taken during a special meeting of Cabinet Committee on Law and Order, Industry Minister AAmir Hossain Amu, who chaired the meeting said.

In the meeting, attended by senior ministers and top security officials, it was also decided to monitor the sermons given during the Friday prayers to check whether any provocative lectures are delivered, Amu told reporters

The government also appealed to the Imams in the country to deliver lectures in line with real Islamic ideology of denouncing terrorism and extremism, the minister said.

Also, BJP on Saturday had called for restricting broadcast of 'Peace TV', which telecasts sermons of controversial Indian Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, in Kolkata and urged for legal proceedings and prompt measures to limit "potentially communal and terror-evoking channels".

The controversy over Zakir Naik erupted in the wake of the recent attack in a Dhaka cafe.

It was reported that Zakir Naik's 'hate speeches' inspired one of the five Bangladeshi militants, who hacked to death 22 people at an upscale cafe in Dhaka's diplomatic enclave last week.

Also, Bangladesh had asked India to examine the speeches of Zakir Naik.

Earlier, on Thursday, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis had directed the Mumbai Police officials to initiate inquiry against Zakir Naik. The probe will include inquiry into his all public documents, speeches and social media posts.
Dar-es-Salaam: India and Tanzania on Sunday agreed to work closely in combating the twin threats of terrorism and climate change.

Being neighbours across the Indian Ocean, (Tanzanian) President (John Magufuli) and I agreed to deepen our defence and security partnership, especially in the maritime domain, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a joint press statement with Magufuli following bilateral discussions between the two sides here.

We agreed to work closely, bilaterally, regionally and globally, to combat the twin threats of terrorism and climate change, he said.

The Prime Minister also welcomed Tanzania as a crucial partner in the India-initiated International Solar Alliance.

He said India was already a substantial economic partner of Tanzania.

The whole range of our economic ties is healthy and on the upswing, he said.

Following the successful implementation of a water supply project in Dar-es-Salaam, Modi said India was working on more such projects in Zanzibar and 17 other cities.

Earlier on Sunday, Modi was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the State House here.

Modi also played on the drums along with Magufuli, adding a local touch to the ceremony.

Modi arrived here on Saturday night from South Africa on the third leg of his four-nation tour of Africa.

This is the first prime ministerial visit from India to Tanzania in five years since the visit of then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2011.

Modi will leave for Kenya later on Sunday on the fourth and final leg of his African sojourn.


Nairobi: Describing terrorism as one of the two major challenges facing the world, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that all forces believing in humanity must come together to defeat this "anti-humanity" menace.

Addressing the Indian diaspora at Kasarani Stadium in Nairobi, PM Modi said that India was marching towards economic progress despite the global recession and his government was aiming at over 8 per cent growth, up from the current level of 7.6 per cent.

PM @narendramodi : My intention and desire is to take India's growth rate to 8% and beyond pic.twitter.com/FXluGDE4rv  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 10, 2016

During his hour-long address amid repeated chants of 'Modi, Modi', he spoke on a number of issues, including the initiatives taken by his two-year old government for transforming the lives of common people in India and fulfill their "dreams".

Significantly, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta accompanied Modi to the Kasarani Stadium where he addressed the gathering of estimated 20,000 Indians and people of Indian origin, soon after his arrival from Tanzania.

PM @narendramodi greeting the people at the Community Reception event at Kasarani Stadium in Nairobi pic.twitter.com/CbJrOCJSZY  PIB India (@PIB_India) July 10, 2016

Talking about the challenges facing the world, the Prime Minister identified terrorism and global warming as the two problems.

"These are challenges to the entire humanity...The world needs to come together to deal with these," he said.

"Those believing in humanity must come together. The sooner they come together, the sooner terrorism can be ended... Therefore, those believing in humanity must join forces to defeat anti-humanity forces. We need this resolve," he said.

The world is facing 2 critical issues-global warming & terrorism.The sooner forces of humanity join hands,the sooner we can defeat terrorism  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 10, 2016

With regard to global warming, Modi said India can show the way when it comes to mitigating the problem of climate change.

Talking about domestic issues of India, he said in the run up to 2014 Lok Sabha elections, his critics would question as to what he would do by becoming the Prime Minister as he belonged to a "small state" of Gujarat.

"Several questions were raised," he said, pointing out that his critics even wondered whether he had any knowledge about foreign affairs.

"I have no complaints against anyone....It (questions) was correct also. I saw Parliament after becoming the Prime Minister," Modi said.

The Prime Minister then added that during the two years of his rule, India has seen "good governance" and implementation of announcements, unlike the past when "decisions were taken without anybody bothering as to what happened to them".

"The last two years saw less rainfall in many parts of India, so much that we had to run trains to ferry water...Apparently God also wanted to test me," he said.

"Also, the world was going through recession. Despite that India saw a growth of 7.6 per cent. This is a matter of pride. But we are not going to stop here. We have to move ahead, go higher and reach over 8 per cent growth," he said.

"We gave an impetus to good governance and to bring a positive difference in the lives of our citizens," Modi said amid repeated sloganeering like 'Bharat mata ki jai'.

Contending that India has started to change and move towards progress, he said whatever has happened is due to work being conducted in a planned fashion.

"The country is changing because of its 125 crore people and their resolve... I recognise the strength of 125 crore Indians who are determined to move ahead. This is the real public power," the Prime Minister said.

PM : The main driving force of India's steadfast march on the path of development is the resolve, desire and hard work of 1.25 crore Indians  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 10, 2016

He spoke about his resolves like ensuring toilets are built in government schools and making available electricity within 1000 days to 18,000 villages "which have remained without power for 70 years".

He also talked about Start-Up programme and the Mudra Bank to fund such initiatives, saying 'at least 3.5 crore people have been given Rs 1.25 lakh crore as loans without any guarantees under the programme'.

"Our youth have the initiative, innovation and energy. They just needed somebody in New Delhi to hand-hold them," he said, adding under the Start-up initiative, they would not only be getting employment for themselves but would also be giving jobs to others too.

PM @narendramodi :To tap into the energy of our 800 million youth, we have started a new campaign called Start Up India  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 10, 2016

He told the Indian diaspora that details of all the work done by his government could be obtained from 'Narendra Modi' and 'Garv' Apps.

There is a Garv App. This App will tell you about electrification of villages, a task we have been doing very diligently: PM in Nairobi  PMO India (@PMOIndia) July 10, 2016

Through the 'Narendra Modi App' you will get all details about what I am doing and you will also know about the Government: PM @narendramodi  PMO India (@PMOIndia) July 10, 2016

PM @narendramodi & Kenyan President Mr. @UKenyatta at the Community Reception event at Kasarani Stadium in Nairobi pic.twitter.com/ElOLMw5elN  PIB India (@PIB_India) July 10, 2016

(With PTI inputs)
Bengaluru: Asserting that elements in Jammu and Kashmir were creating disturbances after getting influenced by its 'neighbours', the Centre on Sunday warned Pakistan that India will have to re-think its policy with Islamabad if it does not stop 'aiding, abetting and sponsoring' terrorism.

In a message to Pakistan, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said that Islamabad must understand that its current ways would not help in sustaining healthy ties between the two nations.

"Aiding, abetting, funding, training terrorism is not acceptable at all. Pakistan should give up such tactics. They will not succeed in their attempts. PM Modi has given a signal that he would like to work with Pakistan and want to have friendship and long term understanding. But if Pakistan continues to do such things, then the government has to think its policy," Naidu said.

Meanwhile, Pakistan today released a statement condemning the killing of 'innocent Kashmiris in India-Occupied-Kashmir' and said that solving the Jammu and Kashmir dispute is only possible through an impartial plebiscite with the United Nation's support.

The statement comes as the security forces shot Wani, along with two of his accomplices in Kokernag area, earlier on Friday.

The statement released by Office of the Spokesperson on Sunday said the extrajudicial killing of Wani and scores of other innocent Kashmiris is deplorable and condemnable.

"Pakistan reiterates that the resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute is only possible by the realisation of the right to self determination of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, as per the UNSC resolutions, through a fair and impartial plebiscite under UN auspices," the statement said.

"Such acts are a violation of fundamental human rights of Kashmiris and can not deter the people of Jammu and Kashmir from their demand for the realisation of the right to self determination," it said.

Islamabad also expressed its concern over the detention of Kashmiri leadership and called upon New Delhi to fulfill the human rights obligations as per the United Nation.

"Pakistan also has serious concerns over the detention of Kashmiri leadership in Indian Occupied Kashmir and calls upon the Indian government to fulfill its human rights obligations as well as its commitments under the United Nations Security Council Resolutions," the statement said.

The Kashmir valley has been on a boil as widespread protests were carried out over Wani's killing with many separatists' calling for a shutdown.
Parliamentary committee endorses Sushila Karki as chief justice

A meeting of Parliamentary Hearing Special Committee on Sunday unanimously endorsed Chief Justice nominee Sushila Karki for the post.
Imphal: Manipur's road-link with the rest of the country was severely disrupted on Sunday as a landslide blocked National Highway 2 near the Nagaland capital Kohima.

"All available personnel and machinery are being used to remove the debris from the road," an official told IANS over phone from Kohima.

NH 2 and NH 37 are the two main road links between the state and the rest of the country.

However, it is feared that there may be fresh landlsides as heavy downpour continued to lash most of the northeastern states.

Many parts of Assam were reeling under water and thousands of affected villagers were taking shelter in evacuation centres put up by the state government.

In Manipur, a number of villages, paddy fields and public facilities in Chadong and Riha in Chandel and Ukhrul districts, respectively, were under water. Villagers said the overfull Mapithel dam was causing the inundation.

Some tribal villagers said: "Churches and schools are inundated and Chadong village is completely under water. Agriculture is ruined for now...."

However, government sources told IANS that the villagers have been paid Rs 15 lakh per family as compensation in the Chadong village. Besides, they have been given an alternative site for setting up a new village, the sources claimed.

Some villages and paddy fields in Imphal east district remained flooded as the breached river banks had yet not been repaired.

The Leilon-Leimakhong road in Sadar Hills sub-division of the Senapati district had suffered a number of damaged culverts with the result that vehicles cannot ply on it.

Since July 1, more than 30 villages in the sub-division have been affected by floods. The villagers were facing shortage of basic necessities and medicines.
Srinagar: Curfew was imposed in Kashmir Valley on Sunday due to violent protests against killing of Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Muzaffar Wani.

Here are all the LIVE updates:-

- Four more protesters, a police officer killed in Jammu and Kashmir today, raising death toll in violence sparked by the killing of Hizbul militant to 20 since Friday, police said.

- Unidentified men hurl grenades on deployed security forces in in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir, two jawans injured: Pulwama SP.

- Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday spoke to Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and assured of Central assistance to deal with the situation.

- Resumption of Amarnath Yatra depends on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir. Once the conditions are conducive, yatra will resume, says IGP Jammu Danesh Rana, on rising protests in the state over death of a Hizbul militant.

- Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Venkaiah Naidu expresses surprise for the soaring protests in Jammu and Kashmir over killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani, says how can any Indian have sympathy for such people.

- J&K on high alert for the next 48 hours

- Govt is looking into incidents where there has been disproportionate use of force: Naeem Akhtar, J&K Govt spokesperson

- Jammu and Kashmir's Cabinet met to discuss the current situation in the state, concerns were raised over loss of lives during clashes: Naeem Akhtar

-The death toll in violence in Kashmir Valley on Sunday rose to 17 after a youth was killed and four other persons succumbed to the injuries they sustained in Saturday's clashes with security forces. Also, a cop died when angry mob pushed the police vehicle into Jhelum.

- Pakistan reiterates that resolution of J&K dispute is only possible by realisation of right to self determination of J&K people: Pak MoFA

- 'Extrajudicial' killing of Kashmiri leader Burhan Wani and scores of other innocent Kashmiris is deplorable and condemnable: Pak MoFA

-Violent mob pushes police vehicle into River Jhelum in J&K's Anantnag district, 1 policeman dead

- If situation improves in the state, we'll try to restore services and resume Amarnath Yatra: ADG (CID) SM Sahai

- Damal Hanji Pura police Station was looted,some people fired upon us from those weapons. Our personnel got injured. One still missing: ADG (CID)

- We appeal public to control the youngsters. We must take J&K towards development: ADG (CID) SM Sahai

- Our aim is not to kill any militant, we want them to surrender or we make an arrest: ADG (CID) SM Sahai

- We must see to it that our youngsters go towards employment, education :ADG (CID) SM Sahai

- Home Minister Rajnath Singh asks Jammu and Kashmir government to ensure the safety of Kashmiri Pandits, say top MHA sources

- I reassure members of minority Kashmiri Pandit community that they're safe. There was some incident of stone pelting on the first day: MoS PMO

- Home Minister Rajnath Singh spoke to J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti over situation in J&K, assured her of all possible support, according to MHA top sources

- I am sure Amarnath Yatra will resume very soon, let security agencies take the final call: Jitendra Singh, MoS PMO

- Home Minister Rajnath Singh is keeping a close eye on the sequence of events, I am sure situation will come back to normal very soon (in J&K):Jitendra Singh,MoS PMO

-Latest - Death toll rises to 16

- J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti chairs a meet to review law and order situation in the tense valley

- Death toll rises to 15

- Home Secy, Joint Secy (Kashmir division), I&B Chief & senior MHA officials present at meet being held at HM Rajnath Singh's residence in Delhi

- Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh chairs high-level meet to review law and order situation in J&K following protests over Burhan Wani's killing

- The state cabinet headed by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti would meet in Srinagar on Sunday to deliberate on measures to ensure the law and order situation does not go out of hand and things are brought under control quickly.

- The UGC NET exam scheduled to take place on Sunday in Srinagar was postponed amid protests. The autonomous organization under the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development issued a press release in this regard. There are 16 examination centres in Srinagar in which 10,255 candidates are registered for UGC - NET July 2016. The next date of examination of UGC - NET for all these candidates will be informed in due course of time, the press release stated.

- Curfew was imposed in Kashmir Valley on Sunday to maintain the law and order situation

- Kashmir Divisional Commissioner Asgar Hussain Samoon told reporters that curfew has been imposed in the entire valley from midnight to maintain law and order. He also appealed to the people to help authorities maintain peace.

- Additional Director General (CID) S.M. Sahai and Inspector General of Police (Kashmir Zone) Syed Javid Mujtaba Gilani said that the violent mob on Saturday burnt four police stations, two minority police pickets and office of the tehsildar.

- The top police officers said three policemen were missing and 96 security personnel have been injured in Saturday's clashes.

- The number of civilian protesters injured is said to be at least 200 which include those suffered bullet, tear smoke and pellet injuries.

- Wani was buried in his native Shariefabad (Tral) village on Saturday where nearly 40,000 people gathered defying curfew restrictions to attend his funeral prayers.

- Violence erupted spontaneously in south Kashmir districts of Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian and Kulgam and later spread to other districts in the valley after security forces killed top Hizbul commander Burhan Wani and two of his associates in Bamdoora (Kokarnag) village of Anantnag district on Friday.

- The separatists have called for a valley-wide shutdown till Monday against Wani's killing.
New Delhi: Sedition accused JNU student Umar Khalid has once again sparked a major controversy.

This time, the sedition accused has compared slain Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani to Che Guevara.

Umar Khalid in a Facebook post wrote, "I don't care if I fall as long as someone else picks up my gun and keeps on shooting." These were the words of Che Guevara, but could have just been #BurhanWani's too. Burhan wasn't scared of death, he was scared of a life lived in subjugation. He detested it. He lived a free man, died a free man. Doomed is the occupation! Indian state, how will you defeat a people who have defeated their own fears? Rest in Power, Burhaan!

In complete solidarity with the people of Kashmir! (sic)."

JNU student Umar Khalid was arrested on the charge of sedition in February in connection with the controversial event and are out on bail.

Violence erupted spontaneously in south Kashmir districts of Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian and Kulgam and later spread to other districts in the valley after security forces killed top Hizbul commander Burhan Wani and two of his associates in Bamdoora (Kokarnag) village of Anantnag district on Friday.
Nairobi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Kenya from Tanzania on Saturday on the fourth and final leg of his four-nation African tour.

"Hello Kenya! Delighted to visit this friendly nation, with whom India has enjoyed close ties historically," Modi said on Twitter.

This is the first prime ministerial visit from India to this east African nation in 35 years since the visit of then Prime Minister India Gandhi in 1981.

Modi will address an Indian diaspora rally later on Sunday evening.

Kenya is home to around 80,000 people of Indian origin.

On Monday, the Prime Minister will hold bilateral discussions with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta.

He will also visit the University of Nairobi and interact with students there.

After concluding his engagements in Kenya, he will depart for India on Monday.

Apart from Kenya and Tanzania, Modi`s five-day trip to Africa also took him to Mozambique and South Africa.
Delhi: Controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, who is under probe by the Maharashtra government for his sermons that has kicked up a storm, is said to have collected large amounts of money in the name of his charity and later diverted it to his controversial propaganda channel Peace TV.

As per an investigation by CNN-News18, it has been revealed that that the money received by Islamic Research Foundation International, his NGO registered in the UK, were pumped into Peace TV.

The report further said that millions of pounds of money has been collected in the name of the UK based charity by IRF International.

At the same time, Mumbai-based Harmony Media supposedly prepares production content for Peace TV and both the offices are located in the same building.

Amir Abdul Mannan Gazdar is the director of both Harmony Media and IRFI.

The report added that the NGO was incorporated in 2007 in order to promote education and communal harmony. However, it turned out that its main purpose was to fund Peace TV.

Meanwhile, Naik is also facing probes by the Centre. The activities of the IRF came under the scanner of the Union Home Ministry amid allegations that funds from abroad received by it have been spent on political activities and inspiring people towards radical views.

A senior Home Ministry official had said on July 08 that an investigation had been ordered into the activities of IRF, which was registered under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), as per PTI.

On July 07, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had said that he had asked the Mumbai Police Commissioner to conduct a probe (into Naik's speeches) and submit a report. Everything, including Naik's speeches, his social media accounts, sources of funding would be looked into, Fadnavis (who also holds the Home portfolio) had said.

On the other hand, Naik had released a statement on July 08, saying that he 'totally disagreed' that he inspired the act of killing innocent people in Dhaka.

"There is not a single talk of mine where I encouraged one to kill another, whether Muslim or non-Muslim," he had said.

Naik's speeches are believed to have inspired some of the Bangladeshi militants, who killed 22 people, mostly foreigners, at an upscale restaurant in Dhaka last Friday.

(With PTI inputs)
Dar-es-Salaam: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday held talks with Tanzanian President John Pombe Joseph Magufuli on a wide range of issues. The talks were aimed at boosting ties in the African continent, particularly in the economic sphere.

PM Modi and President Magufuli first held restricted talks before holding delegation-level parleys.

Talking with Tanzania. PM @narendramodi and President @MagufuliJP in restricted talks following the welcome pic.twitter.com/EyIyFpGxmm  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 10, 2016

Reviewing the full spectrum of #IndiaTanzania relations. President @MagufuliJP and PM lead delegation level talks pic.twitter.com/DIodinhOG2  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 10, 2016

The Prime Minister, who arrived here late last night on the third leg of his four-nation Africa tour, was accorded a ceremonial welcome when he arrived at the State House here.

He also played the drum along with the Tanzanian President for nearly one minute.

A ceremonial welcome, the East African way. PM's Tanzania engagements begin at the State House in Dar es Salaam pic.twitter.com/vkkgb3jsSt  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 10, 2016

The visit will be aimed at giving an impetus to ties with Tanzania, a valued friend in Africa, PM Modi had said ahead of his visit.

He visited Mozambique and South Africa before arriving here. He will also visit Kenya.

The focus of the African tour is on deepening cooperation in areas of hydrocarbons, maritime security, trade and investment, agriculture and food.

(With PTI inputs)
Nairobi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses Indian diaspora at Kasarani Stadium in Kenya. Here are the live updates.

- It is our responsibility to conserve and preserve the nature for the coming generations: PM Modi in Kenya.

PM @narendramodi concludes his address by thanking the Indian community in Kenya once again. pic.twitter.com/8uB9fp3Tzw  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 10, 2016

PM @narendramodi greeting the people at the Community Reception event at Kasarani Stadium in Nairobi pic.twitter.com/CbJrOCJSZY  PIB India (@PIB_India) July 10, 2016

PM @narendramodi greeting the people at the Community Reception event at Kasarani Stadium in Nairobi pic.twitter.com/a4GDwr5BmP  PIB India (@PIB_India) July 10, 2016

- India's message for the world is that people who believe in humanity must come together to fight anti-human elements: PM Modi.

- Today, the entire world is facing two problems - global warming and terrorism. The sooner forces of humanity join hands,the sooner we can defeat terrorism, says PM Modi in Kenya while addressing Indian community.

World is facing 2 problems, today- Global warming & Terrorism: PM Modi in Kenya while addressing Indian community pic.twitter.com/PbBXKMqG7A  ANI (@ANI_news) July 10, 2016

- The world acknowledges the prowess of our space scientists who just launched 20 satellites in one go: PM Modi.

- To tap into the energy of our 800 million youth, we have started a new campaign called 'Start Up India'. Improving the quality of life for the ordinary Indian, that is the main task of my government, says PM Modi in Kenya: PM Modi.

- Youth in India are intelligent, they have the strength to 'turn soil into gold' in foreign land as well: PM Modi.

- There is a Garv App, which will tell you about electrification of villages, a task we have been doing diligently, says PM Modi in Kenya.

- Through the 'Narendra Modi App', you will get details about what I am doing and also know about the government, says PM Modi.

- I announced that in 1000 days, we will provide power to 18,000 villages. Within 400 days, 60 percent of these villages got power. They (people in opposition parties) said why is the PM talking about something so small. For years people have talked big from the Red Fort. I changed everything. I spoke about the common man: PM Modi.

Questions were raised when I announced from the Red Fort that 18000 villages will b electrified in 1000 days-PM Modi pic.twitter.com/lSfX6DAtL4  ANI (@ANI_news) July 10, 2016

- We have taken various measures to make government accountable, to make sure that there is no lag in implementation of schemes: PM Modi.

- Today India is transforming. It is because of the dedication and determination of 1.25 billion people of India: PM Modi. The main driving force of India's steadfast march on the path of development is the resolve, desire and hard work of 1.25 crore Indians: PM Modi.

- At a time when the world is going through an economic downturn, India is the only bright spot. Last two years, India faced drought like situation but despite this, we have been able to project growth rate at 7.6 %. My intention and desire is to take India's growth rate to 8% and beyond: PM Modi at Kasarani Stadium.

PM @narendramodi : My intention and desire is to take India's growth rate to 8% and beyond pic.twitter.com/FXluGDE4rv  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 10, 2016

- When I was Gujarat CM, I once visited Kerala. They organised a great feast when there was news of rains in Kutch. I was surprised as Kerala receives immense rains yet they did not enjoy till it rained in Kutch, such is the connection in India: PM Modi in Kenya.

- I have visited so many countries but never have I heard any complaint from governments about Indians living in their respective countries: PM Modi.

- India's real ambassadors are my Indian brothers and sisters spread all over the world. The external affairs ministry has limited power to unite Indians. The real power lies in every Indian. That is why when we talk about strengthening Africa-India ties, we also think of the well-being of the entire world: PM Modi.

- You have made this land your own and are contributing to this nation's progress. We hosted the India-Africa Summit where heads of state of African nations came to India: PM Modi.

PM @narendramodi praises the role of the Diaspora.You are the true Ambassadors of India, the living embodiments of India's eternal values.  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 10, 2016

- India does not believe in the narrow ideology of self interest alone. We believe in Vasudeva Kutumbakam,the entire world is our family: PM Modi.

- PM Narendra Modi speaks of India-Africa relations, says "We have nurtured and nourished each other in good times and bad."

PM @narendramodi speaks of India Africa relations. We have nurtured and nourished each other in good times and bad pic.twitter.com/ckHNTIqHrJ  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 10, 2016

- India is not a selfish nation, only bothered about ourselves. We believe in 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam': PM Modi.

India is not a selfish nation, only bothered about ourselves. We believe in "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam": PM Modi pic.twitter.com/nRvBUW5L8n  ANI (@ANI_news) July 10, 2016

- That is why when we talk about strengthening Africa-India ties, we also think of the well being of the entire world: PM Modi.

- We are those people who have considered the entire world as 'one family': PM Modi in Kenya.

We are those people who have considered the entire world as "one family": PM #ModiInAfrica in Kenya pic.twitter.com/9MFCh0WuOd  ANI (@ANI_news) July 10, 2016

- Whatever be the reason and compulsions behind your ancestors coming to Kenya; you made it your own land and worked for Kenya's progress: PM Modi.

- Recently, Indian-African summit took place in India. We hosted the India-Africa Summit where heads of state of African nations came to India. President of Kenya invited me to visit Kenya then: PM Modi in Kenya.

- When we came here, it feels like we have come to 'mini Hindustan': PM Modi at Kasarani Stadium.

- In Kenya, I have experienced the full diversity of India and all its fragrances. I salute the organisers for organising this event in such a fine way keeping minute details in mind. Decades ago, our ancestors came here (Kenya) as labourers, many may have not got an opportunity to come to India: PM Modi at Kasarani Stadium.

PM @narendramodi : In Kenya I have experienced the full diversity of India and all its fragrances. pic.twitter.com/CY5aqhoJq3  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 10, 2016

- I salute the organisers for organising this event in such a fine way keeping minute details in mind: PM Modi in Kenya.

- Today, after what I am witnessing here, people in India must be thinking, 'may this event had taken place in India': PM Modi at Kenya's Kasarani Stadium.

- For me and for India, and for Indians it is a great, great honour. Its a symbol of love and affection: PM Modi at Kasarani Stadium in Kenya.

- PM Modi addresses Indian diaspora at Kasarani Stadium in Nairobi, says "It is a matter of great privilege and honour for all of us that President of Kenya is also among us to grace this occasion."

- Glad that you accepted my invite to visit Kenya. There is clear indication of long standing cultural, economic ties that exits between India and Kenya: Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta to PM Modi.

Glad tht you accepted my invite to visit Kenya,clear indication of long standing cultural,eco ties that exits b/w India&Kenya- Kenya's Pres  ANI (@ANI_news) July 10, 2016

- On behalf of the people of Kenya, I take this opportunity to welcome you to our country: Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta to Prime Minister Modi at Kasarani Stadium.

PM Modi on behalf of the people of Kenya I take this opportunity to welcome you to our country: Kenya's President pic.twitter.com/CFIaadaDVu  ANI (@ANI_news) July 10, 2016

- Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta joins PM Narendra Modi for the Indian community event in Nairobi.

Kenya President Uhuru Kenyatta joins PM Modi for the Indian community event in Nairobi #ModiInAfrica (Source: PMO) pic.twitter.com/hDu0XR5CZe  ANI (@ANI_news) July 10, 2016

PM Narendra Modi and Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta arrive at the Community Reception event at Kasarani Stadium in Nairobi.

PM @narendramodi & Kenyan President Mr. @UKenyatta at the Community Reception event at Kasarani Stadium in Nairobi pic.twitter.com/BHSIs7m6te  PIB India (@PIB_India) July 10, 2016
Agra: In a regular case of 'saas-bahu' woes but with a twist, this tale from Agra has set tongues wagging as a Russian daughter-in-law has been sitting in protest against her mother-in-law at the doorstep of the family home, from where she has been kicked out.

Russian national Olga Efimenkova who married Vikrant Singh Chandel in 2011 has been sitting outside her in-laws house on a hunger strike, claiming that she, her husband and daughter have been barred from entering the house.

"I am from Russia and I got married to Vikrant Singh Chandel here in Agra in 2011. My problem is that my mother-in-law has thrown us out of the house and we have no other place to go. So now I am sitting here with my daughter at the gate of the house, as she (mother-in-law) is not letting me go inside," Olga told the media here.

Claiming that it's been almost a day that she has not eaten anything, she asserted that she will continue her protest until she and her family are given a place to stay in the house.

Olga further said that she was often meted with mental assault and torture for being a foreigner and also accused of not bringing a dowry with her

"I have gone quite often to the police station in New Agra and complained but the police refuse to lodge my FIR, saying that this is a personal matter and that they cannot be of any help. I have also called the embassy many time and complained," she said.

Backing his wife, Vikrant Chandel stated that his mother often physically assaulted Olga and kept asking for dowry and money.

"She has asked for 11 lakh rupees but I don't have that. She has opened an illegal school and I don't think she has the right papers for that. I went to new Agra police station, but they are not helping. I have been out here since 20 days and now I don't even have any money left," he said.

However, Olga's mother-in-law Nirmala Chandel has maintained that she herself is living in a single room and had gifted the house to her daughter. She has also alleged that her son and daughter-in-law often indulge in gambling and do not care about her well being.
Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir): The UGC NET exam scheduled to take place on Sunday in Srinagar was postponed amid protests over Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani's encounter.

The autonomous organization under the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development issued a press release in this regard.

There are 16 examination centres in Srinagar in which 10,255 candidates are registered for UGC - NET July 2016.

The next date of examination of UGC - NET for all these candidates will be informed in due course of time, the press release stated.

Normal life across the valley has been affected in response to a joint shutdown call by the separatists' against the killing of Wani and his two associates.

The militants were killed in an encounter in south Kashmir's Kokernag area of Anantnag district on Friday.

The Army and the Jammu and Kashmir Police have described his killing as 'blow to militancy and major success for the security forces'.

In view of the shutdown call by the separatists, the authorities have imposed curfew in Pulwama district and other areas in south Kashmir.

The restrictions are also in place in old city areas under six police stations in Srinagar.

The mobile - internet and train services have been suspended. The Amarnath yatra has also been suspended as of now.

Protests broke out yesterday as Wani's funeral was carried out despite the curfew.
Delhi: Nine teams from the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and other agencies are scanning controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naiks activities.

Media reports on Sunday quoted sources from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) as saying that four teams had been constituted to scan the video footages and CDs of Naiks speeches and three teams are scanning social sites, while two teams are monitoring his Facebook posts.

Also, as per initial investigation, it has reportedly been found that Naiks speeches and writings have been found to be provocative, objectionable and so is his writing.

At the same time, Naik's NGOs operations have also been branded as suspicious, reports said.

It has also been found that the funds sent for his 'charitable activities' are being misused and the MHA is also examining his Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) funding clearance and irregularities.

Besides his phone calls and emails, sponsors for his foreign trips and meetings are also under the NIA's scanner. Sources further state that Naik may be banned soon and the Centre has sought fresh legal opinion on the matter, as per ANI.

Meanwhile, on July 07, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had said that he had asked the Mumbai Police Commissioner to conduct a probe (into Naik's speeches) and submit a report.

On the other hand, Naik had released a statement on July 08, saying that he 'totally disagreed' that he inspired the act of killing innocent people in Dhaka.

"There is not a single talk of mine where I encouraged one to kill another, whether Muslim or non-Muslim," he had said.

Naik's speeches are believed to have inspired some of the Bangladeshi militants, who killed 22 people, mostly foreigners, at an upscale restaurant (Holey Artisan Bakery) in Dhaka last Friday.

Naik's 'hate speech' is reported to have inspired at least one of the five Bangladeshi militants involved in the Dhaka carnage.

One of the Bangladeshi attackers, suspected to be Rohan Imtiaz - the son of a politician of Bangladesh's ruling Awami League - ran a propaganda on Facebook last year quoting 50-year-old Naik, Bangladeshi newspaper Daily Star reported.

Naik, founder of Mumbai-based Islamic Research Foundation, in his lecture aired on Peace TV, an international Islamic channel, had reportedly "urged all Muslims to be terrorists".

He is banned in the UK and Canada for his 'hate speech' aimed at other religions. He is among 16 banned Islamic scholars in Malaysia.

(With Agency inputs)
Police make four swindlers public

Police here have made four swindlers, who were arrested on Friday, public today.
Srinagar: The death toll in the violent protests in Kashmir over the past two days following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani rose to 21 on Sunday, even as Union Home Rajnath Singh assured all possible help from the Centre to the state government to deal with the situation.

Violent protests continued for the second day today despite a curfew was clamped by the state administration in the Valley to thwart the protests.

Five more people, including a police officer, were killed in Sunday's fresh clashes, taking the toll to 20. The cop apparently died after an angry mob pushed his vehicle into the Jhelum river.

Also, some unidentified men hurled grenades on security forces during the protests in Pulwama district, injuring two jawans, the police said.

In one incident, protesters raided the Damal Hanji Pura police station and took away the police weapons, that were later used to fire at police personnel.

Meanwhile, the state has been put on high alert for the next 48 hours.

Earlier today, the state Cabinet held an emergency meeting to discuss the evolving situation. The issue of loss of lives during clashes was also discussed.

Government spokesperson Naeem Akhtar told reporters that the administration is looking into incidents where there has been disproportionate use of force.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh also spoke to Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on phone and assured Central assistance to deal with the situation.

On Saturday, protesters torched at least four police stations, and two police pickets in the Valley.

The whereabouts of three policemen who went missing after the clashes broke out, are still not known.

More than 90 security personnel and some 200 civilian protesters were injured in Saturday's clashes, as security forces opened fire and lobbed tear gas shells to disperse the crowd.

Burhan Wani was on Saturday buried in his native Shariefabad (Tral) village where nearly 40,000 people had gathered defying curfew restrictions.

Several areas of Kashmir, including Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian and Kulgam have been gripped with violent protests after the news of Burhan's killing by security forces spread. Besides Burhan, two of his associates were also gunned down by security forces in an encounter in Kokarnag village on Friday.

The separatists have called for a Kashmir-wide shut down till Monday.

Meanwhile, Jammu IGP Danesh Rana told media today that the Amarnath Yatra will resume once the law and order situation improves in the Valley.

Due to the widespread protests, the UGC has postponed its NET exam scheduled in Srinagar today. More than 10,000 candidates had registered for the exam in Srinagar.
Srinagar: The killing of Burhan Wani will inspire youth in the Valley to join the Hizbul Mujaheeden ranks since he was the icon of Kashmiri resistance, the Hurriyat said on Sunday.

Separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq in an interview with Hindustan Times, published on Sunday, described the Kashmiri youth who joined the militancy as symbols of resistance and said, These are young and educated Kashmiri boys and are part of the struggle at the indigenous level.

"They are not the ones going anywhere outside for trainings nor is anyone anchoring them from behind.

He said that due to the lack of political space they are picking up guns? Especially after 2010 when security forces quelled the street protests.

Today, we see Burhan not as a hardcore militant but as a symbol against them, knowing that he cannot beat the military might of India."Burhan not as a hardcore militant but as a symbol against them, knowing that he cannot beat the military might of India."

Mirwaiz said Wani's death will definitely inspire many people in the Valley to go that way.

The PDP-BJP coalition government in the state has added a huge dimension to the problem.

People feel India is trying to culturally, religiously and politically undermine our authority.

We want to keep the resistance political. But There is no scope for peaceful resistance. The coalition partners dont talk about self-governance any more, neither AFSPA. It is sad that CM Mehbooba Mufti is speaking against clerics, the Hindustan Times quoted him as saying.
New Delhi: Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday offered "all possible support" to Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti following the death of 16 people in clashes with security forces.

Rajnath Singh spoke on telephone to the Chief Minister after taking stock of the law and order situation in the Kashmir Valley, officials said.

Curfew has been imposed in the Kashmir Valley after widespread clashes between security forces and demonstrators protesting against the killing of a top Hizbul Mujahideen leader.

According to Home Ministry sources, Rajnath Singh also urged Mehbooba Mufti to ensure the safety of Kashmiri Pandits.

"The Home Minister is keeping a close watch on the events. I am sure the situation will come back to normalcy very soon," said Jitendra Singh, the Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office.

"I am sure the Amarnath Yatra will resume very soon, let security agencies take the final call," Jitendra Singh added.

"I reassure members of Kashmiri Pandit community that they are safe. There were some incidents of stone pelting (earlier)."

Meanwhile, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu lashed out at sympathisers of dead Hizbul commander Burhan Wani.

"The Centre and the state together will tackle the situation. The situation in Jammu and Kashmir will be brought to normalcy at the earliest.

"(Wani) was a Hizbul Mujahideen commander, how can any Indian have sympathy for such people?

"Really surprised to see that some people are trying to support those so-called protesters who are sympathising with a terrorist," said Naidu. "Terrorism and violence are not acceptable at all in any form."

Violence erupted in the south Kashmir districts of Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian and Kulgam and later spread to other districts in the valley after security forces killed Wani and two associates in Anantnag on Friday.

Wani was buried in his native Shariefabad (Tral) village on Saturday where thousands defied curfew restrictions to attend his funeral prayers.


Thiruvananthapuram: Seventeen men and women are missing from Kerala's Kasargode district, and a police officer said on Sunday they were probing reports that they may have joined the Islamic State.

Various central agencies are also engaged in determining the veracity of the reports.

The missing include at least 10 men and six women, mostly from Kasargode, in the extreme north of Kerala.

Officials from the central agencies have reportedly got in touch with families in Kasargode.

Kasargode police chief Thomson Jose told IANS that they have registered two cases.

"What we are told is there are 17 people missing from Kasargode. We have also come to know that officials from central agencies are also here. We will now register more cases in the coming days," he said.

Meanwhile, former Home Minister and Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala said Sunday that all missing persons cannot be linked to the Islamic State.

"Just because they are missing does not mean they all have joined the IS," he said.

According to published reports, most of the missing appeared to have had close links with 35-year-old Abdul Rasheed, an engineer by profession who has been missing since May.

Another person reported missing is a medical doctor, Ijaz Ahamed, who got his medical degree from China and till recently worked at a hospital near Kozhikode.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said that reports on the missing people, including women, was a serious matter and that police were doing their job.

On Sunday, MK Bindu, mother of a young woman Nimisha, called on Vijayan at his office here and sought help to locate her daughter.

Nimisha was studying at a college in Kasargode and got close to a young man, Eeza. Both are missing.


Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has asked Pankaja Munde to attend an international meet she wasn't inclined to.

Soon after news of her being relieved from the water conservation portfolio became public, Munde said she was to reach Singapore to attend a global water leader summit on Monday but won't do so as she was no longer the minister of that department.

Fadnavis, who is out of the country on an official tour, responded by saying that she must attend the event.

Reaching singapore tomorrow on monday there is world water leader summit i was invited but now wont attend since i m not minister incharge  PankajaGopinathMunde (@Pankajamunde) July 9, 2016

Of course you must attend WLS 2016.

As a senior Minister you would be representing 'The Government of Maharashtra'. https://t.co/czMYpLepMA  Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) July 9, 2016

Earlier, as the water conservation minister, Munde had courted controversy in April by posting a selfie online.

She had later said that she posted selfies on her tour of parched Latur on the weekend in appreciation of the work done there by the local administration for drought relief.

Opposition had then accused Munde of gross insensitivity.

Fadnavis had on July 08 expanded his council of ministers by inducting 10 new faces. The exercise raised the strength of the ministry to 41, of which 27 are from the BJP, 12 from Shiv Sena

(With PTI inputs)
New Delhi: Do you know about the last tweet of Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Muzzafar Wani?

You will be shocked to know that his last tweet was on controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik.

In his last tweet on 8th July, Burhan Wani urged people to support Zakir Naik.

"Support Zakir Naik or Time Will Come When Quran Recitation will be Banned (sic)," said Burhan Wani's last tweet.

Support Zakir Naik or Time Will Come When Quran Recitation will be Banned pic.twitter.com/pVfoSLnCEj  Burhan Bhai (@Gazi_Burhan2) July 8, 2016

Also, Burhan Wani had tagged 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed in his post.

Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday had directed the Mumbai Police officials to initiate inquiry against Zakir Naik. The probe will include inquiry into his all public documents, speeches and social media posts.

The controversy over Zakir Naik erupted in the wake of the recent attack in a Dhaka cafe.

It was reported that Zakir Naik's 'hate speeches' inspired one of the five Bangladeshi militants, who hacked to death 22 people at an upscale cafe in Dhaka's diplomatic enclave last week.

In a big blow to militancy in Jammu and Kashmir, Hizbul Mujahideen's poster boy Burhan Muzzafar Wani was shot dead on Friday by security forces along with two of his accomplices in Kokernag area, 83 km from here.
New Delhi: In order to honor the precious lives lost in United States shootings, Uber changed its smartphone app to reflect on gun violence. On Friday midnight the company made rides unavailable for a minute.

A message displayed on the phone screen of riders when they opened the app that reads: Our hearts go out to the victims of this weeks terrible gun violence. As a show of solidarity to all affected, youll see a peace sign in our app. As we move around our cities this weekend, lets take a moment to think about what we can do to help.

This deadly rampage happened earlier this week when two African-American men were shot dead by US police in the states of Minnesota and Louisiana. The matter again intensified when five policemen were killed in the Texan city of Dallas at a rally over the earlier killings.

In addition to the message, the American online transportation company also changed the icons of the Uber X cars to peace symbols.
New Delhi: Parents and schools can now actively monitor their children's movement enroute to school and home and also within the school premises, thanks to a smartphone app that Gurgaon-based software company Evoxyz Technologies developed.

The company showcased the app "Evoschool" at an event here on Saturday.

The event saw a gathering of school principals and representatives where ideas for providing better and secured future for children were exchanged.

"Through technology platform such as Evoschool, we can empower and strengthen the country's capability and response time to prevent and protect children from violence, exploitation, abuse and effects of conflict," said Shilpa Mahna Bhatnagar, CEO, Evoxyz Technologies.

The app offers secure communication which can be monitored only by an authorised parent or guardian.

It also provides a real time location of the bus on the map and enables the guardian to monitor activities and movements of the child.

The app sends notifications and alerts, enabling outdoor and indoor location tracking.
Dhaka: The bodies of five of the six Islamist assailants, who stormed an upscale Dhaka cafe on July 1 and left 22 people dead, were still at a mortuary here on Sunday as no one had come to claim them, police said.

The bodies of the terrorists -- who are claimed to be from the Islamic State terror group -- killed in the Holey Artisan Bakery attack were at the mortuary in the Combined Military Hospital in Dhaka, The Daily Star reported.

Five of the militants, mostly coming from affluent families, were identified as Nibras Islam, Rohan Imtiaz, Meer Sabeh Mubasheer, Khairul Islam Payel and Saiful Islam while another remained unidentified.

Police said that only Saiful's family wanted to take his body for the last rites but the law enforcers were yet to receive a written application in this regard.

Saiful Islam was working as a chef at the cafe, which the well armed young terrorists stormed on July 1 night shouting 'Allha hu Akbar'.

The terrorists, numbering at least seven, killed in all 22 people, including 18 foreigners and two policemen, shortly after taking hostage most of the diners and staff of the cafe in the Gulshan diplomatic enclave of Dhaka.

Ending the 12-hour siege the next day, security forces killed six militants and captured one alive.


Washington: The strength of the astronauts increased to six on the International Space Station (ISS) as three Expedition 48 crew members on Sunday joined the orbital laboratory to facilitate key research.

NASA astronaut Kate Rubins, cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin of Roscosmos, and astronaut Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) joined their Expedition 48 crew members aboard the space station when the hatches opened between their Soyuz MS-01 spacecraft and the ISS.

Expedition 48 Commander Jeff Williams of NASA and Flight Engineers Oleg Skripochka and Alexey Ovchinin of Roscosmos welcomed the trio aboard their orbital home.

In the coming months, the astronauts are scheduled to receive multiple cargo resupply flights delivering several tons of food, fuel, supplies and research, the US space agency said in a statement.

SpaceX's ninth commercial resupply services mission under contract with NASA is scheduled to launch to the space station no earlier than July 18 aboard the Dragon cargo spacecraft.

It will include experiments to test the capabilities for sequencing DNA, understand bone loss, track heart changes in microgravity and regulate temperature aboard spacecraft.

The first of two international docking adapters is also headed to station in Dragon's unpressurized trunk which will allow commercial spacecraft to dock to the station when transporting astronauts in the near future as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Programme.

Williams and Rubins are scheduled to install the adapter during a spacewalk later this summer.

Rubins, Ivanishin and Onishi are scheduled to remain aboard the station until late October.

Williams, Skripochka and Ovchinin will return to Earth in September.
Second Photo Kathmandu fest on Oct

Photo.circle, after the success of the first international photography festival in Nepal, Photo Kathmandu, last year, is now gearing up for its second iteration. The festival is slated to take place in Patan starting October 21 and will continue for two weeks.
New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Sunday urged Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav to help the Russian daughter-in-law, who has been sitting in protest against her mother-in-law at the doorstep of the family home in Agra from where she has been kicked out.

"Akhilesh ji - Pl help this lady. @yadavakhilesh," she said in a tweet.

Russian national Olga Efimenkova, who married Vikrant Singh Chandel in 2011, has been sitting outside her in-laws house on a hunger strike, claiming that she, her husband and daughter have been barred from entering the house.

"I am from Russia and I got married to Vikrant Singh Chandel here in Agra in 2011. My problem is that my mother-in-law has thrown us out of the house and we have no other place to go. So now I am sitting here with my daughter at the gate of the house, as she (mother-in-law) is not letting me go inside," Olga told the media.

My mother-in-law keeps on asking for money, says that I'm from poor family & didn't bring anything along: Olga pic.twitter.com/QLGodJwIok  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) July 10, 2016

The Russian lady said that she would continue her protest until she and her family are given a place to stay in the house.

Olga further said that she was often tortured for being a foreigner and also accused of not bringing a dowry with her.

"I have gone quite often to the police station in New Agra and complained but the police refuse to lodge my FIR, saying that this is a personal matter and that they cannot be of any help. I have also called the embassy many time and complained," she said.

Backing his wife, Vikrant Chandel stated that his mother often physically assaulted Olga and kept asking for dowry and money.

"She has asked for 11 lakh rupees, but I don't have that. She has opened an illegal school and I don't think she has the right papers for that. I went to new Agra police station, but they are not helping. I have been out here since 20 days and now I don't even have any money left," he said.

However, Olga's mother-in-law Nirmala Chandel has maintained that she herself is living in a single room and had gifted the house to her daughter. She has also alleged that her son and daughter-in-law often indulge in gambling and do not care about her well-being.

(With ANI inputs)
Moscow: Two Russian pilots died near the Syrian city of Palmyra when their helicopter was shot down by Islamic State fighters, bringing the total number of Russian troops killed in the Syrian conflict to 12, Moscow said.

The defence ministry said a Syrian helicopter flown by Riafagat Khabibulin and Yevgeni Dolgin "came under fire" from IS today and crashed. The jihadist group claimed responsibility for the attack, according to SITE monitoring group.

The pilots "had used up all their ammunition and were on their way back when they came under the fire of terrorists and crashed," the defence ministry said, adding: "The crew died."

SITE quoted an IS statement as saying: "Soldiers of the Caliphate downed a Russian assault helicopter when it attempted to attack their positions. This resulted in its destruction and killed those who were on board.
President Barack Obama assured a shocked America Saturday that the black army vet who shot dead five cops in Dallas was a lone wolf -- and that the country can overcome its racial divisions, as the groundswell of anger over police brutality surged on.

Fresh protests were planned in at least half a dozen cities to demand justice for two African-Americans whose fatal shooting by police triggered the Dallas rampage of an angry radical bent on revenge.

The nightmare scenes in Texas, where a peaceful protest turned to horror, left many fearing a new, dark chapter in America`s troubled race relations.

But as Dallas honored its slain officers, Obama sought to cut short that narrative.

"I firmly believe that America is not as divided as some have suggested," he told a news conference at a NATO summit in Warsaw. "There is sorrow, there is anger, there is confusion... but there is unity."

Obama described the 25-year-old gunman, Micah Johnson, as a "demented individual" who in no way represented the African-American community at large.

Dallas officials say they are now certain the atrocity was the work of a lone shooter -- killed in a showdown with police -- and not a group of co-conspirators as initially feared.

At Dallas police headquarters, people flocked to leave flowers and messages of sympathy for the slain officers amid an outpouring of support that saw crowds in the city line up to hug police officers.

After visiting the memorial Saturday, Mayor Mike Rawlings voiced hope that the shock from the killings could serve a purpose "in a grander plan to make us a stronger country, a stronger city, and a stronger world."The Black Lives Matter activist movement, which has spearheaded months of nationwide protests over police brutality, has demanded an end to the violence -- not an escalation.

As thousands marched in US cities overnight, there were nasty scenes in Phoenix, Arizona, where police used pepper spray to disperse stone-throwing protesters. And in Rochester, New York, 74 people were arrested over a sit-in protest.

But elsewhere -- from Atlanta to Houston, New Orleans, Detroit and Baltimore -- protests held over the fatal shootings of Alton Sterling in Louisiana and Philando Castile in Minnesota passed off without trouble.

Cities expecting new gatherings Saturday included Seattle, Indianapolis and Philadelphia -- where organizers called for a "Weekend of Rage."

Obama is to visit Dallas early next week in the effort to chart a way forward, while a raft of US politicians sought to appear as unifiers after a week of violence graphically highlighted America`s racial challenges.

"White Americans need to do a better job of listening when African Americans talk about the barriers they face," Democratic White House hopeful Hillary Clinton tweeted.

That message was echoed by prominent members of the Republican Party, which has often jumped to defend law enforcement amid accusations of racial bias.

"It is more dangerous to be black in America," Newt Gingrich, a Republican former House speaker tipped as a possible White House running mate for Donald Trump, said in an interview on Facebook Live.

"Sometimes it`s difficult for whites to appreciate how real that is. It`s an everyday danger."

Republican Florida Senator Marco Rubio had a similar message. "Those of us who are not African American will never fully understand the experience of being black in America," he said.

Trump himself put out a video statement, seated presidential-style behind a large desk, in which he acknowledged the Louisiana and Minnesota shootings and spoke of "how much work we have to do in order to make every American feel that their safety is protected."The Dallas ambush marked the single biggest loss of life for law enforcement in the United States since the September 11, 2001 terror attacks.

Police were set further on edge as it emerged that several officers had been targeted across the country by individuals apparently angered at the recent fatal shootings.

In Bristol, Tennessee, a man opened fire Thursday on a hotel, killing a woman, wounding several others and grazing a police officer with a bullet.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said the gunman "may have targeted individuals and officers after being troubled by recent incidents involving African-Americans and law enforcement officers."

And in Racine, Wisconsin, police said a 43-year-old man was arrested over threatening social media posts that read: "I encourage every Black man in America to strap up... I encourage every white officer to kiss there (sic) love ones goodbye."Described to police as a "loner," the Dallas gunman served as a US Army reservist for six years, including a tour of duty in Afghanistan.

Although the White House has ruled out any link between Johnson and known "terrorist organizations," his Facebook page ties him to radical black movements listed as hate groups.

He told negotiators before he died that he wanted to kill white cops.

Police found bomb-making materials and a weapons cache at his home and were scouring his journal and social media posts to understand what drove him to mass murder.
Dhaka: Bangladesh government today ordered all educational institutions in the country to give lists of students who have been absent for over 10 straight days following reports that some of the militants who carried out recent terror attacks joined militant groups after running away from home.

The decision to demand the lists of students was taken at a meeting of education ministry officials, chaired by Minister Nurul Islam Nahid, at the Secretariat.

The ministry later issued an order in this regard, which said the institutions will have to make the lists of the absentee students and submit them to the Upazila education officers, the bdnews reported.

The five militants who killed 22 people, including an Indian, after attacking an upscale Gulshan cafe on July 1 night and whose photos the Islamic State reportedly released, had been missing or not contacting their families for several months, their relatives have said.

The suspected attacker of Sholakia Eid gathering last Thursday, who was killed in a firefight, had also been missing since March, police said.

Four of these six youths were students of top English medium schools in Dhaka. Two of them were students of private North South University and another of BRAC University.

Security forces have also alerted parents to report their missing children.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has also asked people to inform police if any of the children in their families are missing.

After the cafe terror attack, parents of 10 more youths, who have been missing for several months, have sought police help to find them.
Dhaka: Bodies of six young terrorists who attacked a popular cafe here and killed 22 people on July 1 are still at the mortuary of a Bangladeshi military hospital as no one came to receive them, police said today.

Five of the six militants were identified as Nibras Islam, Rohan Imtiaz, Meer Sabeh Mubasheer, Khairul Islam Payel and Saiful Islam while another was unknown.

The bodies of the six attackers are kept at the Combined Military Hospital in Dhaka, The Daily Star reported.

Police said only Saiful's family verbally wanted to take his body but the law enforcers are yet to receive any written application from them.

Saiful Islam, who is also a FIR-named accused, was working as a chef at the popular Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka's diplomatic enclave.

Gunmen killed 22 people including 17 foreigners and two policemen shortly after taking hostage a number of diners at Holey Artisan Bakery on July 1.

Six militants were also killed when security forces stormed the cafe to end the hostage crisis incident on July 2.
Dallas: The gunman who killed five police officers at a protest march had practiced military-style drills in his yard and trained at a private self-defence school that teaches special tactics, including "shooting on the move," a maneuver in which an attacker fires and changes position before firing again.

Micah Johnson, an Army veteran, received instruction at the Academy of Combative Warrior Arts in the Dallas suburb of Richardson about two years ago, said the school's founder and chief instructor, Justin J Everman.

Everman's statement was corroborated by a police report from May 8, 2015, when someone at a business a short distance away called in a report of several suspicious people in a parked SUV.

The investigating officer closed the case just minutes after arriving at a strip mall. While there, the officer spoke to Johnson, who said he "had just gotten out of a class at a nearby self-defense school."

Johnson told the officer he was "waiting for his dad to arrive" and pick up his brother. No one else was apparently questioned.

On Friday, Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings described Johnson as "a mobile shooter" who had written manifestos on how to "shoot and move."

Authorities have said the 25-year-old gunman kept a journal of combat tactics and had amassed a personal arsenal at his home, including bomb-making materials, rifles and ammunition.

The academy website refers to one of its courses as a "tactical applications program," or TAP.

"Reality is highly dynamic, you will be drawing your firearm, moving, shooting on the move, fixing malfunctions, etc. All under high levels of stress," the website says. "Most people never get to train these skills as they are not typically allowed on the static gun range."

The TAP training includes "shooting from different positions," ''drawing under stress" and "drawing from concealment." Everman declined to specify which classes Johnson took.

"I don't know anything about Micah. I'm sorry. He's gone. He's old to us. I have thousands of people," Everman told The Associated Press on Saturday.

The two men, however, were friendly and talked in Facebook conversations in August 2014. Everman knew Johnson had been out of the country.

Army officials said he had been deployed in Afghanistan around that time. Everman suggested that Johnson "let me know when you make it down this way."
New Delhi: The deadly attacks in Dhakas diplomatic zone and the Sholakia Eidgah in Kishoreganj district were aimed at toppling the Bangladesh government, a minister said on Sunday.

On Saturday, the Bangladeshi authorities confirmed that banned Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen terrorist group was responsible for the attacks in which more than 20 people were killed, including an Indian.

Inspector General of Police (IGP) AKM Shahidul Hoque made the revelation after visiting the site of attack at Sholakia Eid prayer ground.

On reports regarding the involvement of Islamic State in the attacks, he said that IS claimed responsibilities of every attack but "We can't find any link.

Four people, including two policemen and a woman died, in a terrorist attack near the Sholakia Eidgah in Kishoreganj district, where hundreds of thousands had gathered for Eid congregation on July 7.

The Eidgah attack came just days after militants attacked the Holey Artisan Bakery in upscale Gulshan area of Dhaka and killed 20 people, mostly foreigners, including an Indian.
An international tribunal will hand down a ruling on Tuesday in an increasingly bitter dispute over the South China Sea, in a closely-watched case that risks ratcheting up tensions in Southeast Asia.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) -- the world`s oldest international arbitration tribunal -- will issue a written decision at 11:00 am (0900 GMT) after the Philippines challenged China`s claim over much of the strategic waterway.

Manila lodged the suit against Beijing in 2013, saying after 17 years of negotiations it had exhausted all other political and diplomatic avenues.

Angered by the move, Beijing refused to participate, adding it would not comply with the ruling by a tribunal with "no jurisdiction" over the issue.

Legal experts agree that after three years of deliberations, two hearings and nearly 4,000 pages of evidence, the court in The Hague is likely to find in Manila`s favour -- in a decision with far-reaching ramifications.

"An award from the tribunal that rejects some of China`s more dubious claims would provide support for the mainstream views of other states in the region," Cecily Rose, assistant law professor of Public International Law at Leiden University, told AFP.

"China is bound to comply with the award.

"But should it refuse to do so, the tribunal has no enforcement mechanism to which it can turn," Rose said.The judgement comes against the backdrop of frequent military brushes between China and its Asian neighbours the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan, which ring the waters believed to hold untapped oil and gas reserves.

The tensions have also alarmed the United States which has key defence treaties with many regional allies, and in a show of strength last week sent warships to patrol close to some of the reefs and islands claimed by China.

Washington on Friday "urged both parties to comply with the ruling and urge all claimants to avoid provocative actions or statements".

"Whatever the outcome, the case will not contribute to improved relations between China and other claimants in the South China Sea," Frans-Paul van der Putten, a senior researcher at the Clingendael think-tank, told AFP.

Newly-elected Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said he was optimistic of a favourable ruling, but offered to hold conciliatory talks with China. And he vowed he would not "taunt or flaunt" any favourable ruling.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay, also in a softening of Manila`s stance, said Friday the country was willing to share natural resources with China.

But China`s state-run media said Friday Beijing will not take "a single step back" in the waterway.

The Asian economic and military powerhouse claims most of the South China Sea, even waters approaching neighbouring countries, as its sovereign territory, basing its arguments on Chinese maps dating back to the 1940s marked with a so-called "nine-dash line".

Expert Joris Larik from The Hague Institute for Global Justice think-tank pointed out that Manila is aiming to "pierce" the nine-dash line, adding: "China`s position and credibility will be weakened if the arbitral panel finds against it."

But Chinese President Xi Jinping said Beijing was "not afraid of trouble" and state-run media urged China to prepare for "military confrontation" in the waters.

China launched drills in the sea on Friday, state media reported, with the navy carrying out combat exercises with live missiles according to the PLA Daily, the military`s official newspaper.Manila stresses it is not asking the court to resolve sovereignty or delimit boundaries, but is seeking decisions on some key points.

Referring to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, Manila contends the "nine-dash" line has no basis under international law and Beijing has no "historic" claim to the waters.

Manila has further argued that Beijing violated the convention by preventing it from exercising its fishing and exploration rights and that Chinese fishing boats have irreversibly damaged coral reefs.

The Philippine government also says some of the "islands" claimed by Beijing are merely rocks, and not entitled to a "territorial sea" or an exclusive economic zone.

Tensions between China and its neighbours in the sea have at times flared into open conflict including in 1988 when Vietnam and China fought a naval battle on Johnson Reef in the Spratly Islands which killed about 70 Vietnamese.

The sea`s shipping lanes connect East Asia with Europe and the Middle East, and over $5 trillion (4.5 trillion euros) in ship-borne trade passes through them annually.
Several hundred people protested in London Saturday after the killing of black men by police in the United States.

The "Black Lives" Matter" demonstration saw protestors march to a police station and block buses and traffic, an AFP photographer at the scene said.

Chanting and sitting in the road, demonstrators carried placards with slogans such as "Stop Killing Us" and "White Silence Costs Lives".

London`s Metropolitan Police declined to comment on the march in Brixton, south London, or give any information about the number of officers deployed.

The demonstration came after two black men were shot dead by police in the US this week.

Alton Sterling, 37, was killed Tuesday in Baton Rouge, Louisiana while Philando Castile, 32, died Wednesday in Minnesota.

On Thursday, a gunman opened fire during a protest in Dallas against police brutality, killing five police officers.

At least 123 black people have been shot dead by police in the United States this year, half of last year`s toll of 258, according to Washington Post data.

Rioting and looting erupted in London and other British cities in 2011 after Mark Duggan, 29, was shot dead by a police officer in the suburb of Tottenham.

The taxi Duggan was traveling in was forced to stop by police in an operation targeting gang violence, the Independent Police Complaints Commission later found.

An inquest into his death three years later found police acted lawfully when they killed Duggan although he had previously thrown away a weapon he was carrying. His family reacted with fury to the finding.
Tony Blair`s deputy as prime minister when Britain joined the invasion of Iraq has said he believes the war was illegal, days after a long-awaited report excoriated Britain`s role in the conflict.

John Prescott, number two in the Labour government when Britain took part in the US-led invasion in 2003, made the remarks in a piece to be published in the Sunday Mirror newspaper.

On Wednesday, the Chilcot report returned a damning verdict on Britain`s role in the US-led war, finding it joined the conflict before all peaceful options had been exhausted and that judgements about Iraq`s capacities were "presented with a certainty that was not justified".

It also disclosed Blair had written to then US president George W. Bush that "I will be with you, whatever" eight months before the invasion.

Prescott, now a member of the House of Lords, wrote: "I will live with the decision of going to war and its catastrophic consequences for the rest of my life.

"In 2004, the UN secretary-general Kofi Annan said that as regime change was the prime aim of the Iraq war, it was illegal.

"With great sadness and anger, I now believe him to be right."

Blair this week voiced "sorrow, regret and apology" over mistakes made in the conflict.

But he insisted the war was right and the world was safer without toppled Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

Current Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has apologised on behalf of the party for what he called "the disastrous decision" to go to war.

Some 150,000 Iraqi people were killed in the six years after British and American troops invaded, plunging the country into chaos and creating fertile ground for jihadist groups like the Islamic State.

A total of 179 British troops also died.
Semantics of calamity

The best way to fight calamity is not to become more calamity savvy but simple and optimistic
Beirut: Islamic State lost an area the size of Ireland - a quarter of its territory - to hostile forces in the last 18 months in Iraq and Syria and is likely to further step up attacks on civilians in coming months, IHS said in a report on Sunday.

The territory controlled by the ultra-hardline Sunni group shrank from 90,800 sq km (35,000 square miles) in January 2015, six months after it declared a caliphate in Syria and Iraq, to 68,300 sq km (26,370 square miles), the research firm said.

This has led the group to step up attacks on civilian targets in the Middle East and in Europe and this is likely to intensify, IHS said.

"As the Islamic State`s caliphate shrinks and it becomes increasingly clear that its governance project is failing, the group is re-prioritizing insurgency," said Columb Strack, senior analyst at IHS and lead analyst for the IHS Conflict Monitor.

"As a result, we unfortunately expect an increase in mass casualty attacks and sabotage of economic infrastructure, across Iraq and Syria, and further afield, including Europe."

The Iraqi military`s recapture of Falluja, an Islamic State stronghold just west of Baghdad, last month has led the insurgents to step up bombings on Shi`ite Muslim targets.

Nearly 300 people died when an Islamic State suicide bomber struck in a busy shopping district in Baghdad a week ago, in one of the worst such attacks by the group to date.

Islamic State lost control of the city of Ramadi at the end of last year, another key stronghold for the group which captured large swathes of Iraq in 2014.

The army is now gearing up to retake Mosul, the largest city in Iraq`s north and Islamic State`s de facto capital.

In Syria, the militants lost ground this year to both Russian and Iranian-backed forces supporting President Bashar al-Assad and to the U.S.-backed Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance.

In February the SDF captured the town of al Shadadi, a major logistics hub for the militants, and in March Syrian and allied forces backed by Russian air strikes drove Islamic State out of the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra and surrounding areas.

An SDF advance is underway to retake areas north of Islamic State`s de facto capital in Syria, Raqqa.
Tokyo: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe claimed victory Sunday for his ruling coalition in parliamentary elections, which came despite lukewarm public support for his economic policies and wariness over amending the country's pacifist constitution.

Abe, in power since late 2012, has yet to achieve a strong recovery in the world's third-largest economy through unconventional measures centred on massive easy money and other steps -- so-called Abenomics.

Voters have also expressed misgivings about his cherished dream of making changes to the country`s constitution, imposed by the United States after Japan`s defeat in World War II and which prohibits it from waging war.

But his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Buddhist-backed Komeito gained as public confidence in the ability of opposition parties was even lower.

Abe seized on the election results for half the seats in parliament`s upper house as a vote of confidence.

"I`m relieved that we were able to secure more than... half the seats contested," he told private broadcaster TBS television about two hours after polls closed at 8 pm (1100 GMT).

"I think (voters) told us to firmly accelerate Abenomics."

The LDP and Komeito were set to take at least 66 of the 121 seats up for grabs -- half the chamber`s total -- up from 59 previously, public broadcaster NHK said.

Its projection and similar estimates by other media were based on incoming results and their own analysis.

Final numbers were not expected until Monday at the earliest but the trend was clear.

The two parties control 77 seats from the other half of the chamber, which was not contested Sunday, meaning that they are set to increase their majority in the 242-seat body.

The House of Councillors, as the upper house is formally known, is the less powerful chamber in Japan`s bicameral legislature, and half its seats come up for election every three years.

NHK and other media also said the LDP was in reach of a majority on its own in the body which, if achieved, would be its first in 27 years.Shinichi Nishikawa, professor of political science at Meiji University in Tokyo, said the result, though undeniably a win, was no mandate.

"Considering the current negative signs for the economy, we can say many voters reluctantly voted for ruling candidates due to the weakness of the opposition," he told AFP.

"Voters passively approved Abenomics with no alternatives."

Abe went into the vote hoping that the coalition and a loose group of hawkish conservatives from smaller parties could grab a two-thirds majority in the upper house, which they already have in the lower chamber -- thus giving him the strength to start amending the constitution.

The House of Representatives, the lower chamber, sits for a four-year term unless dissolved early. The last election was held in December 2014.

Media analyses of Sunday`s vote said it appeared that the parties favouring constitutional revision could reach such a super majority in the upper chamber, though votes were still being counted.

The constitution is deplored by nationalists as a relic from Japan`s World War II defeat. But many Japanese staunchly embrace its pacifist ideal.

And while the LDP`s own draft amendment plan calls for keeping the war-renouncing spirit of the document, it wants to remove language it sees as infringing on the country`s means to defend itself.

Abe was bombarded by questions on TBS about what the election result means for any attempt at revision.

But he played down the issue, even suggesting any change was unlikely during his remaining time in office.

"I don`t think voters were asked to express pros and cons on the constitution in this election," he said.

"My term lasts for two (more) years, but it is also the goal of the LDP," he said of amending the country`s basic law. "We will sit down and tackle the issue."

Any legislation that mustered the two-thirds majorities needed to pass both houses of parliament, however, would face a national referendum, currently seen as a difficult hurdle to overcome.

The Japanese public is largely supportive of the constitution as it stands and will probably show resistence to attempts to tinker with it, said Sadafumi Kawato, professor of politics at the University of Tokyo.

"A two-thirds majority doesn`t mean that Abe`s government can tackle the amendment to the constitution immediately."
Tokyo: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling coalition won a landslide victory on Sunday in an election for parliament`s upper house, media exit polls showed, despite concerns about his economic policies and a goal to revise the pacifist constitution.

Some of the exit polls also showed Abe`s coalition and like-minded parties had won the two-thirds "super majority" needed to try to revise the post-war constitution for the first time, though others only said the threshold was within reach.

Abe`s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) won a simple majority for the first time since 1989, according to the voter surveys, a victory that will bolster the premier`s grip over the conservative party that he led back to power in 2012 after three years in opposition.

A push to ease the charter`s constraints on the military operating overseas could lead to tension with China, where memories of Japan`s past militarism still arouse anger.

Tomomi Inada, the LDP`s policy chief, noted that the party had already crafted a draft revised constitution. "Our party is one that calls for reforming the constitution," she told local television shortly after the polls closed.

In Japan, financial market players fear amending the charter will divert Abe`s energy away from reviving the stuttering economy. [nL4N19S1FP]

Some voters who backed Abe`s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) said the economy`s health was also their biggest concern.

"Especially since I see economic growth as the priority, I have little hope for the opposition parties," said Yoshihiko Takeda, a 36-year-old IT company employee.

Abe had cast the election as a referendum on his "Abenomics" recipe of hyper-easy monetary policy, spending and reform. With signs the strategy is failing, the government plans to compile a post-election stimulus package that could exceed 10 trillion yen ($99 billion).

But economists worry the government will choose big-ticket infrastructure projects rather than implement tough structural reforms. [nL4N19C1SC]

CABINET CHANGES

Abe is expected to reshuffle his cabinet after the election and speculation has emerged that Abe might replace Finance Minister Taro Aso, 75, among others.

His minister for Okinawa, Aiko Shimajiri, was set to lose her seat, Kyodo news agency reported, citing early results.

The loss is a slap at a U.S.-Japan plan to relocate a controversial U.S.-Marines airbase on the island, reluctant host to the bulk of America`s military forces in Japan.

A big win nationwide, however, will allow Abe to assert he has a mandate, but any such claim would be undermined if turnout in the election -- which received minimal media attention -- is low, as early estimates suggested. The voting age was lowered to 18 from 20 for the first time, another factor that could yield low turnout. [nL4N19N2E0]

The opposition Democratic Party linked up with three smaller parties including the Japanese Communist Party to try to stop the pro-constitutional reform camp getting a super majority.

Conservatives see the constitution as a humiliating symbol of Japan`s defeat in World War Two. Its admirers consider it the source of post-war peace and democracy. Revising the charter needs the approval of two-thirds in both houses of parliament and a majority in a public referendum.

But most voters see no need to revise the constitution and the LDP`s dovish partner is reluctant to change its pacifist Article 9.

Noriko Okada, a 66-year-old interior decorator, said she voted for a Japan Communist Party candidate to show her opposition to constitutional revision. "My ballot came from despair, rather than hope. I`m concerned about the Abe government," she said.
Beirut: Fierce clashes have erupted between rebels and pro-government forces around Syria's largest city, Aleppo, despite a proclamation from the Syrian military that it would extend its own ceasefire through tomorrow.

The military had declared a nationwide ceasefire for the Eid al-Fitr holiday on July 6, expiring July 8 at midnight, but it had little impact on the ground, as pro-government forces choked off the last supply route to opposition areas in the contested city of Aleppo on July 7.

Last evening, rebels launched a counteroffensive, leading with two car bombs to open the vital Castello road to eastern Aleppo, according to activists.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group, which gathers information from a network of informants across the war-torn country, said the cars were driven by two suicide bombers from al-Qaida's Syria affiliate, the Nusra Front, which fights alongside rebel groups against government forces.

Syrian journalist Ahmad Primo said one of the car bombs was driven by a militant from Ahrar al-Sham, another ultraconservative jihadist group fighting the government.

Rebels then launched a ground offensive on the government's newly acquired positions overlooking the supply route, according to the social media accounts for the Aleppo Conquest Operations Room and Levant Front, two rebel coalitions. Fighting for the Mallah farms continued into the night.

Two Russian airman, meanwhile, were killed in the country's central Homs province when their helicopter was shot down by Islamic State fighters, according to Russia's Defence Ministry. The Russian-Syrian government military alliance has had trouble securing the country's desert interior after forcing the extremist group out of the ancient city of Palmyra in March. IS militants promptly seized the nearby Shaer natural gas fields after that, and threatened to advance on Palmyra once again.

A Defence Ministry statement yesterday reported by the state news agency Tass said the incident occurred Friday east of Palmyra.

According to the statement, the two Russians were making a test flight in the Homs region with a Syrian Mi-25 helicopter that was carrying ammunition. It said IS fighters broke through Syrian forces' lines east of Palmyra at the same time.

The statement said the Syrians requested the crew help strike the IS fighters and the helicopter was shot down after the crew exhausted the aircraft's ammunition and were leaving the scene.
Centuries before international laws, pirates ruled the high seas, plundering and pillaging wherever they went.

Into this dangerous, unruly seascape steamed the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which will be the basis for a historic court judgement on Tuesday in a dispute between China and the Philippines over the South China Sea.

Here are the answers to four questions about the obscure convention known by its acronym UNCLOS:With at least 320 articles and nine annexes, the convention covers all aspects of regulating the planet`s vast oceans and maritime waters.

It is the authority on everything from national sovereignty over the exploitation of natural resources, navigation and disputes between nations. According to the UN website, the convention "lays down a comprehensive regime of law and order in the world`s oceans and seas, establishing rules governing all uses of the oceans and their resources."For many centuries the only law of the seas was brute force.

In the 17th century, a country`s rights over the seas were limited to "a narrow belt" extending from its coastline. "The remainder of the seas was proclaimed to be free to all and belonging to none," the UN says on its website.

But by the second half of the 20th century, new technologies, modern oil and gas extraction methods, and a booming population gave rise to growing tensions around lucrative fishing grounds and competing demands for the rights to precious resources.

In 1945, the United States unilaterally extended jurisdiction over all resources over its continental shelf, which led to similar moves by Argentina, Ethiopia, and Saudi Arabia as well as the scattered archipelagos of Indonesia and the Philippines.

By late 1967 the dangers were numerous -- from nuclear submarines plumbing the sea depths to ballistic missiles and increasingly frequent oil spills.

In the face of this "looming conflict that could devastate the oceans," Malta`s ambassador to the UN, Arvid Pard, called for "an effective international regime" over the seabed.The first conference on the Law of the Sea was held in New York in 1973. For nine years, delegates argued and bartered as they drew up the text.

The UN General Assembly finally adopted the convention in April 1982. Signed by 150 countries and ratified by 67, it entered into force in November 1994.The convention also established the Hamburg-based International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), which along with the PCA and the International Court of Justice can rule on matters brought under UNCLOS.

Among other cases, in 1999, ITLOS laid down annual quotas for bluefin tuna catches in a bitter dispute between Australia, Japan and New Zealand.

In 2015, the PCA ruled under the UN convention that Russia must compensate the Netherlands over the 2013 seizure of Greenpeace`s Arctic Sunrise ship during a protest against Arctic oil drilling.
Switzerland's central bank will react with "flexibility" to the shifting economic realities following Britain's vote to leave the European Union, its chief said in a newspaper interview published Sunday.

"The question for Switzerland is to figure out how to adapt in an optimal way," central bank chief Thomas Jordan told the Le Matin Dimanche weekly, adding that it was "a bit premature to speak about risks and opportunities."

"In the short term, Switzerland must react with flexibility to the changes affecting financial markets and the global economy," he said.

The Swiss National Bank has already shown its willingness to act swiftly.

Just hours after the results of Britain's June 23 Brexit vote became clear, the bank announced it had "intervened in the foreign exchange market to stabilise the situation and will remain active in that market."

The move was aimed at stabilising the strengthening Swiss franc, as investors fled from the tumbling pound to Switzerland's safe haven currency.

Jordan told Le Matin Dimanche that he and his staff had pulled an all-nighter that night, checking the exchange rates every 15 minutes.

- Franc 'considerably overvalued' -

"Our goal is to reduce pressure on the franc, which remains considerably overvalued," he said.

A stronger franc hits Swiss exporters, which are forced to squeeze costs and cut prices to remain competitive on an international market.

The Swiss central bank introduced a negative deposit rate early last year after it abruptly abandoned its three-year effort to hold down the franc's exchange rate against the euro to protect exports.

In the long term, once Britain has severed its ties with the EU, Jordan stressed the importance of Switzerland maintaining commercial relations with both parties.

"We will need to see what kind of adaption is necessary to continue our collaboration with the two partners," he said, stressing that "we must ensure that we have access to both markets. That is vital."

Story continues

Non-EU member Switzerland is concerned that the Brexit vote will take a toll on its own negotiations with the bloc.

The country saw its relations with the EU thrown into disarray when Swiss voters in February 2014 narrowly approved a referendum to curb immigration from the bloc.

Brussels reacted angrily, saying such curbs put in doubt a whole range of agreements Switzerland had signed with the EU, its main trading partner.

According to the Swiss constitution, the referendum decision must be put in place by next February, but so far no clear solution is in sight.

In Sunday's interview, Jordan also said he thought a range of structural reforms were needed within the EU to "improve its economic prospects", pointing in particular to the European labour markets.

"With around 10-percent unemployment in Europe, there must be more flexibility," he said, also calling for more investment in education.

"It is important that the big nations once again become locomotives for growth, instead of being breaks," he said.
The WTO has warned that protectionist mmeasures could affect industries including air freight and sea based cargo

The world?s top 20 economies will work to boost sluggish global trade despite growing protectionism, overcapacity concerns, and uncertainty over Brexit, G20 trade ministers said Sunday at a meeting in Shanghai.

"The global recovery continues, but it remains uneven and falls short of our ambition for strong, sustainable and balanced growth. Downside risks and vulnerabilities persist," the trade ministers said in a joint statement, adding that trade should remain "an important engine" to spur global growth.

The G20 nations, which account for 85 percent of global trade, admitted that protectionism has been rising since the financial crisis, and said that new trade restrictions in the group had reached the highest monthly average registered since the WTO began monitoring in 2009.

"We note with concern that despite the G20?s repeated pledge, the stock of restrictive measure affecting trade in goods and services has continued to rise" they said in the statement.

Ahead of the meeting, WTO chief economist Robert Koopman warned that restrictive measures could affect industries including air freight cargo, sea based cargo, automobile sales and production, electronics trade, and agricultural raw materials.

The world?s leading economies at the weekend pledged to oppose trade protectionism and reiterated a promise not to add new protective measures until 2018.

Global trade is expected to grow at a tepid 2.8 percent in 2016, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) said in April.

And this year is expected to be the fifth in a row where trade grew at less than three percent -- its weakest sustained level in 30 years, WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo said on Friday ahead of the talks.

To combat the global slowdown, the ministers said they agreed to improve global trade governance and to work towards easing and liberalising trade.

- Brexit, China concerns -

Concerns over China's production overcapacity in steel have led to trade disputes with the EU and US, and China's vice commerce minister Wang Shouwen said Sunday that the G20 economies "have realised the necessity to take global cooperation to handle the challenge caused by production overcapacity".

Story continues

But despite claims that China is dumping steel in foreign markets, he said "China?s effort in (handling) over capacity has been highly recognised" by the group.

"While some other countries are talking about how to cut down production, Chinese government has already taken measures which have been effective."

Meanwhile Britain?s referendum vote to leave the European Union has added new concerns for the recovery of global economic and trade growth.

"Britain leaving the European Union will definitely has some impact on global trade, especially short-term investment," China?s Wang commented on Sunday.

Britain?s trade minister Mark Price told the Financial Times in Beijing ahead of the weekend talk that tariffs would jump to an average level of at least three percent after its exit from the EU.

He said it?s time to "start exploring options" on trade agreements and "China is making very positive noises at the moment", the report said.
Police search seven properties in Madrid and the western city of Merida, seizing documents, jewellery, mobile telephones and over 60,000 euros in cash

Spanish police said Sunday they had broken up a crime group suspected of cheating over 8,000 people in over 70 countries of around 25 million euros ($27 million).

Twenty-one people were arrested in Spain over the scam which involved the sale of GPS trackers.

Another four suspected members of the group were arrested in Brazil, France and Portugal as part of the operation carried out with European Union law enforcement agency Europol, police said in a statement. The arrested were Spanish, Portuguese and Colombian nationals.

The group allegedly sold GPS trackers to investors. The investors were awarded points depending on the amount they invested which they could exchange for objects such as cars and luxury houses.

"A large part of the money invested by the group was destined to promote the scam, carrying out several events like free trips, concerts and meetings in major hotels where they convinced those in attendance to invest their money," police said in a statement.

"The scam has evolved since the first case was detected in Brazil in 2013, extending to Europe and Tunisia under different names," it added.

Police searched seven properties in Madrid and the western city of Merida as part of the operation, seizing documents related to "international pyramid scheme" as well as jewellery, mobile telephones and over 60,000 euros in cash, the statement said.

The documents revealed the group had over 50 bank accounts in several tax havens and may have had over 8,000 investors in over 70 nations, earning around 25 million euros in profit, it added.
South Sudan 'back to war', says VP spokesman

South Sudan is "back to war", a spokesman for the vice-president has told the BBC, as rival factions clash and hundreds have been reported killed.
Airbus A350 Qatar Farnborough

For Airbus and Boeing, the Farnborough Air Show marks the halfway point of the sales calendar.

Over the past few years, Farnborough, along with other midsummer air shows such as Paris and Berlin, has been a hotbed of sales activity.

It's where deals ranging from the two-to-200-plane variety are announced.

But this year, buzz has been quiet. And rumors of potential megadeals have been virtually nonexistent.

At a time when airlines are experiencing great profitability and with air travel expanding rapidly, it looks like sales of Airbus' and Boeing's next generation of airliners are facing two significant headwinds.

Fuel

The airline industry is a capital-intensive, high-cost, low-margin business. Airlines try to do whatever they can to cut costs. Generally, that means saving on their most significant expense  fuel. With state-of-the-art aerodynamics and fuel-sipping, high-bypass-ratio turbofan engines, Airbus and Boeing's next generation jets, such as the A320neo and the 737MAX offer airlines a way to do this.

However, they also require the airlines to make a significant financial commitment.

Boeing's most affordable next-generation jet  the 737MAX 7  carries a list price of $90 million, while the top-of-the-line 777-9X wide-body lists at $400 million. Airbus' low-end A319neo comes with a $98.5 million sticker price, while the top-end A350-1000 twin-aisle jet $355.7 million.

Even with significant bulk-order discounts common in major orders, the investment for an airline still runs in the billions of dollars.

Unfortunately for airplane makers, at just over $46 a barrel, oil is the cheapest it's been in years. All of the sudden, Airbus and Boeing's most important customers are reporting 40% to 50% reductions in fuel costs  much more than the roughly 20% improvement its planes could deliver.

Boeing 737 MAX Southwest Airlines

As a result, customers are shying away from booking new orders for the pricey, but more efficient jets. Instead, airlines are gravitating t0 less efficient, but more cost-effective, current-generation jets: the Boeing 737NG and the Airbus A330.

Weiterlesen

Last month, Southwest Airlines, the Boeing 737's largest and most important customer, pushed back the delivery of 67 737MAX jets by as long as six years  allowing the airline to delay spending $1.9 billion. At the same time, Southwest bumped up the delivery date of six current-generation 737-800 from 2018 to 2017.

Although Southwest will remain the 737MAX's launch customer when it enters service next year, the airline's decision is indicative of the hurdles airplane-makers face.

"With fuel where it's at, the current 737NGs are perfectly economical, and Southwest sees a way to boost profits and cash flows by a few billion dollars," Airways senior business analyst Vinay Bhaskara told Business Insider.

"Even though (Southwest CEO) Gary Kelly will bluster about the pilots and the 737 Classic issue being the rationale, this is the primary driver," Bhaskara added, noting the airline's ongoing labor dispute with its pilots and need to replace old aircraft.

Airbus seems to be encountering the same issues. While the A320neo is outselling the current-gen A320ceo 68 to 18 this year, the current-gen A321ceo is beating out the A321neo 52 to 21. At the same time, the current-gen A330ceo is outselling the next-gen A330neo 24 to 14.

Booming sales

Compounding the difficulties posed by cheap fuel, Airbus and Boeing may also be victims of their own success. Over the past few years, Airbus' and Boeing's sales teams have been firing on all cylinders  sales record after sales record has fallen.

Airbus A320neo

As a result, Airbus now has a 6,716-aircraft backlog, while Boeing's backlog currently sits at 5,693 planes. Even with Airbus and Boeing delivering a record-setting 635 and 762 planes respectively in 2015, customers will have to wait on their orders.

Based on last year's rate of delivery, it would take Boeing seven and a half years to clear its backlog. At the same time, it'll take Airbus more than a decade to work through its waitlist.

So airlines are becoming increasingly hesitant to tie up their cash in planes that will take up to a decade to arrive. In addition, carriers also run the risk of having the market, the economy, and demand for their services change drastically in the time between the order and delivery of aircraft.

While it is likely Airbus and Boeing will book orders at Farnborough in 2016, don't expect a repeat of the monster 100-plane deals that have become common over the past few years.

NOW WATCH: This supersonic plane could fly from London to NYC in 2.5 hours





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By Lisa Barrington BEIRUT (Reuters) - The family of American journalist Marie Colvin, who died in Syria in 2012, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit in a U.S. court, accusing the Syrian government of deliberately killing her. Colvin and French photographer Remi Ochlik were killed in the besieged Syrian city of Homs in 2012 while reporting on the Syrian conflict, now in its sixth year. The lawsuit, filed in Washington on Saturday and seen by Reuters, said Syrian officials deliberately targeted rockets against a makeshift broadcast studio where Colvin and other reporters were living and working. The Syrian Foreign Ministry, the target of the lawsuit, could not immediately be reached for comment. The Syrian ambassador to the United Nations could not immediately be reached for comment either. The suit alleges the attack was part of a plan orchestrated at the highest levels of the Syrian government to silence local and international media "as part of its effort to crush political opposition". The lawsuit included as evidence a copy of an August 2011 fax which it alleges was sent from Syria's National Security Bureau instructing security bodies to launch military and intelligence campaigns against "those who tarnish the image of Syria in foreign media and international organisations". Foreign governments are typically immune from U.S. civil lawsuits, but there are exceptions for countries designated by the State Department as sponsors of terrorism. Syria is currently one of three countries on the list, with Iran and Sudan. Lawyers who have brought civil lawsuits against those governments say they typically do not respond, resulting in default judgments for plaintiffs. The bigger challenge is usually enforcing the judgments and collecting damages, says Gary Osen, a New Jersey lawyer currently suing Iran. Osen said it was usually hard to identify seizable U.S. assets of those governments subject to terrorism suits, who often operate behind layers of intermediaries. "It could take you decades to find out they own an office building in downtown Boston or somewhere," he said. The family's lawsuit is seeking monetary damages but did not specify an amount. "This case is about carrying on Marie's work," plaintiff Cathleen Colvin, Marie Colvin's sister, said. "We are seeking truth and justice not just for her, but for thousands of innocent Syrians tortured or killed under the Assad dictatorship," she said in a statement released by U.S. human rights group the Center for Justice and Accountability (CJA) which filed the case for the Colvin family. Advocacy group Reporters Without Borders said it supported the lawsuit. The group's secretary-general, Christophe Deloire, said Reporters Without Borders "hopes these efforts will help to expose the truth, namely that these journalists were deliberately targeted and killed because they were providing information about the Syrian army's crimes against civilians." A murder and attempted murder investigation was launched in France in 2012 into the death of Ochlik and wounding of another journalist, Edith Bouvier, in the same attack. Reporters Without Borders, as an interested party in the case, said it will submit the Colvin family's U.S. lawsuit to the judge in charge of the French investigation on Monday. Colvin and Ochlik were both prize-winning reporters of wars in the Middle East, Asia and elsewhere. The Britain-based Colvin, who lost an eye while working in Sri Lanka in 2001, was working for the Sunday Times at the time of her death. (Reporting by Lisa Barrington; Additional reporting by Anthony Lin and Nate Raymond in New York; Editing by Adrian Croft and Sandra Maler)
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Team to leave for Kabul to assess security

The government has decided to form a team to look into the concerned aspects of the terrorist attack in Kabul that claimed the lives of 13 Nepali security guards last month and make an assessment of the potential security risk facing Nepali migrants in Afghanistan.
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Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull Sunday declared victory for the ruling conservatives after the Labor opposition conceded defeat, but faced a tough time ahead after the narrow mandate in the closely fought election. The declaration ended eight days of uncertainty about the new government's identity. A tight race between the two major parties left neither of them with the 76 or more seats required for a parliamentary majority following polls on July 2, with vote counting still ongoing. "We've won the election, that's what we've done," Turnbull told reporters in Sydney, adding that he received a call from Labor leader Bill Shorten congratulating him on his re-election as prime minister. But he immediately faced questions about whether he would be able to govern successfully, with Labor increasing its lower house seats and a higher number of minor party and independent senators to contend with in the upper house. Turnbull's ruling Liberal/National coalition is currently expected to secure 74 seats, and potentially two more, in the 150-seat House of Representatives, according to national broadcaster ABC's projections. But the Australian leader has won the support of three independent MPs on budget matters and on votes of no confidence, paving the way for him to form a minority government if necessary. Labor has won 66, and with five independents elected, the opposition does not have sufficient seats to govern in Canberra, according to the projections. - 'Vital that parliament works' - The need for Turnbull to court the support of those outside his party saw him stress that he valued every parliamentarian's contribution, even though he had warned Australians not to vote for minor parties and independents during the election campaign. "It is vital that this parliament works," Turnbull said, adding that Australia faced numerous challenges including a rocky transition away from a dependence on mining-driven growth. "Every member of the House and the Senate deserves respect because they have been elected by the Australian people." Shorten pledged earlier Sunday in his concession speech that his centre-left party wanted to work well with the government, amid concerns the close result and higher number of lawmakers not from the two major parties could cause gridlock. Even so, Turnbull faces an uphill task to get the Senate to pass two bills about restoring a construction union watchdog. He had used the Senate's blocking of the bills to trigger a double-dissolution election, but could now face an even more hostile upper house. There are also question marks over whether his multi-billion dollar plan to cut corporate tax announced in the May budget would get support from the smaller parties and independents, who were elected on more populist agendas. - Drawn-out count - The two seats the coalition hopes to pick up are among five in the balance, with the electoral commission still completing the painstaking task of counting postal votes and others cast outside people's normal electorates. Both Turnbull and Shorten said they supported an inquiry into electronic voting, amid the protracted counting process. "I have been an advocate of electronic voting for a long time... yes, this is something we must look at," Turnbull said. Shorten added earlier: "I will be writing to Mr Turnbull and saying, 'really, we're a grown-up democracy, it shouldn't be taking eight days to find out who's won and who's lost'." Turnbull lost the government's comfortable majority in the House of Representatives in last Saturday's election after his campaign on "jobs and growth" and "innovation" failed to resonate equally across the vast island continent. Australia's politics has been turbulent in recent years, with a "revolving door" of prime ministers in charge. Four different leaders have served since 2013 as parties removed sitting prime ministers. Turnbull became the nation's fourth prime minister since 2013 when he rolled Liberal leader Tony Abbott in a party vote last September.
Todays workplace has expanded beyond the confined, brick and mortar buildings to the entire world. Time and geographical barriers no longer pose problems in maintaining a global team of employees for businesses.

With uncompromising speed, security and access, businesses can operate from anywhere, thus bringing diversity into the equation. In the globally networked world of businesses, it has become increasingly common to have distributed teams.

Such a flexible workplace supports the working of employees from different locations. Not only does it support the rapidly evolving landscape of businesses but it is also highly beneficial from a financial standpoint.

That being said, managing a globally distributed team can be quite the challenge. How do you manage a team an entire time zone away? Lets take a look at a few ways that can make this task easy.

Tips for Managing Global Virtual Teams

Talent Acquisition



One of the major factors that restricted hiring the best talent for a company was geographical proximity. With remote workers in the radar of businesses, this is no longer a problem. The first step is to attract globally distributed candidates for the jobs. Creative hiring strategies have surfaced to make this process easy and distinctive.

Kuty Shalev, CEO and founder of a remote-based software development company pointed out, To attract top remote talent, start by rethinking your approach to job descriptions. I actually recommend making your job descriptions less descriptive. Instead, focus on using fewer words and incorporating more intrigue.

Stretching out the talent acquisition process to accommodate the employees requirements can help you achieve this.

Make the Most of Technology



To manage your globally distributed team efficiently, you will need to go all online. The money you save from investing in offices can be utilized to make use of the best technology to make collaboration with remote teams seamless.

Being tech-savvy is no longer an option or an added skill for todays workforce  it is a necessity. In fact, todays generation of employees does not switch off. With the advent of technology, employees can stay connected always regardless of the location or the time.

The BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) trend coupled with the easy accessibility of the Internet through WiFi facilities is highly beneficial to manage a team of remote workers. This trend has gained ground recently with 74 percent of the organizations already using this or in the process of adopting it.

Apart from that, there are numerous communication channels like video-conferencing etc. that can be used to interact with a remote team.

Global Team Building



Global team building is not much of a problem with the right tools and the right attitude in place. It is important to note that, with remote employees, the dynamics of the meetings are more social and the atmosphere is more relaxed. Conference calls and chat rooms can turn out to be quite effective in conducting these meetings. Real-time web conferencing is a boon in such situations.

One way to initiate a conversation and spark rapport is to start by asking about the weather condition or their culture or the latest news in their countries and so on.

A visual display showing each participant on the conference call along with their names and locations is an effective team building method. This allows everyone to see and get to know each other on their teams. This way, they would feel recognized.

It is important to gain the trust of your employees. In such situations, honesty and flexibility along with an interest to listen to and understand your employees doubts and queries matter considerably. Effective communication is key. That being said, you can also meet up with your team to build unison.

Keep Everything Documented



Supporting a remote staff may result in loss of valuable information unless everything is documented thoroughly.

It is advisable to make it an everyday routine to keep the records of your employees daily activities. Submission of detailed work reports will help in keeping you as well as the team informed about the progress of work while keeping the company fully operational throughout the day at all locations.

While having a worldwide network may have its fair share of challenges, it has many rewards. With these tips and a proper maintenance plan, you can easily manage a globally distributed team.
On May 18, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced final updates to the Fair Labor Standards Acts white collar overtime exemptions.

The new overtime rules (known as the final rule) increase the salary threshold needed to qualify for overtime exemption from $455 per week ($23,660 per year) to $913 per week ($47,476 per year.) and affect 4.2 million workers.

Also, the total annual compensation requirement needed to meet the highly compensated employee (HCE) exemption will increase from $100,000 per year to $134,004.

Any business that employs workers with salaries under the new threshold will need to consider their best course of action or face paying thousands in higher wages. They could also be subject to employee lawsuits for failure to comply with the rule. No business is exempt, regardless of size.

In addition to the salary threshold changes, the new overtime rules will:

Automatically update the salary threshold every three years, based on wage growth over time, increasing predictability;

Strengthen overtime protections for salaried workers already entitled to overtime;

Amend the salary basis test to allow employers to use non-discretionary bonuses and incentive payments (including commissions) to satisfy up to 10 percent of the new standard salary level;

Provide greater clarity for workers and employers.

The final rule goes into effect on December 1, 2016.

Regarding the changes, Mike Trabold, director of compliance with Paychex, an HR technology services provider, in a telephone exchange with Small Business Trends, said:

Historically, for individuals in certain job categories (including executive, administrative and professional), there was a longstanding salary threshold of $23,660 a year. If you had an employee in one of those categories  who makes over that threshold, you didnt to have to pay that individual overtime if that person was an exempt employee.

What happened over the years was an increasing concern with many of the employee advocacy groups that the $23,660 number was too low  and the practical ramifications of that was you had folks that might have been a manager at a restaurant earning $25,000 a year. But because they were designated as exempt they werent eligible for overtime. So we had people working 50-60-70 hours a week and not eligible for overtime.

To address advocacy group concerns, the Obama administration raised the salary threshold to $47,476 a year, more than double the existing limit, Trabold said.

Employee Payment Options Following New Overtime Rules Change

Employers have some decisions to make when it comes to paying employees under the new overtime rules, according to Trabold.

The exercise that a lot of employers are going through now is that they have people in that threshold between what it currently was and what it will be now, he said. Theyre going to have to make a decision whether to increase the salary of those individuals over the $47,476 threshold, so that they will not be eligible for overtime, or theyre going to have to designate them as an hourly worker and pay them for overtime if they work over 40 hours a week.

Limiting employees to no more than 40 hours per week could be challenging and result in a loss of productivity, Trabold said.

That potentially impacts the employer because a lot of folks that are currently exempt from a practical standpoint are working more than 40 hours a week, he said. You may have a body of work that is currently getting done that youre going to have to figure out how to address once the new rules go into effect.

9 Ways Employers Can Prepare for the Final Rule

Trabold provided the following checklist to help employers prepare before the new overtime rules go into effect December 1, 2016.

1. Determine the Final Rules Impact on Your Business

Employers should become familiar with the rules changes to determine their overtime situation.

Trabold said that recent research conducted by Paychex found that one out of five employers were not aware of the final rule, and 55 percent did not think it applied to them.

2. Conduct an Audit

Conduct an audit of the employees who are likely to be affected. Trabold advised beginning with a basic review of current staff, exempt status and compensation levels.

Employees currently classified as exempt from the overtime protections of the Fair Labor Standards Act need to meet the duties test for their exemption as well as the salary threshold.

Work with your accounting and HR teams to review your payroll and identify exempt employees with current salaries below or very close to the new proposed thresholds, Trabold said.

3. Track Exempt Employees Time

Employers should start tracking their exempt employees hours  those who make below the $47,476 threshold. Its critical that employers have accurate hourly data and a clear audit trail for when their employees have worked for a few reasons.

There will be a lot of employers that, to manage this expense, will move people who are currently exempt to hourly, Trabold said. That may make a lot of sense in terms of managing the economics, but will make it more important, obviously, since theyre now hourly employees, to very accurately track their time and the hours they work so theyre paid correctly.

Trabold also said employers need to track the time exempt employees spend working from home after hours, since it, too, would be compensable.

4. Determine Which Employees Will Transition to Non-exempt Status

Once employers identify the exempt employees who will be affected by the rule, they will need to decide whether to increase their salary levels to maintain exempt status or transition the employee to non-exempt status.

Employers who choose to transition employees to a non-exempt status will need to determine the basis for pay (hourly or salaried) and ensure they meet the minimum wage requirement for the number of hours the employee is expected to work, Trabold said. They should also consider whether overtime will be necessary and permitted. Consistency is crucial to mitigating exposure to discrimination lawsuits.

5. Develop a Plan

Look at your historical overtime payments and determine whether your costs are likely to increase due to hours worked, Trabold said. Conduct some scenario planning with your advisors and ask the following questions: Should you increase your budgets for essential staff? Should you consider hiring more staff or revisiting your compensation model for specific employees?

Looking at the impact of the new rules on the businesss financial picture will put employers in a better position to take the most appropriate form of action, he said.

6. Update Timekeeping Policies

Updating record keeping requirements and procedures can be critical to ensure full compliance, according to Trabold.

Review your time-tracking methods and evaluate if theres a need for more automation, he said. Should the new rule significantly impact the number of employees who need to track their hours worked, an alternative method of tracking, such as time and attendance software, may better suit your needs.

Trabold indicated that it was also important to establish clear, written employee policies for recording time worked and overtime.

7. Develop Training Procedures

Employers will need to educate staff on the company timekeeping and overtime approval procedure after updating record keeping and overtime policies.

8. Create a Communication Plan

The new rule on overtime pay is expected to impact a significant number of businesses this year. To combat the questions or concerns that arise, Trabold advised developing a communication plan for announcing the changes internally.

Businesses should clearly communicate changes to policies and procedures with employees, making sure that there is a lot of transparency about any changes and what any new expectations to employees are, he said.

9. Start Preparing Now

Employers with employees who may be affected should take the initiative now to evaluate the companys standing, look at how different scenarios will impact their bottom line and determine how they will move forward, to best avoid wage claims and other issues.

Employers need to start making plans now to ensure they understand what the regulations set means because the implementation date is not very far off, Trabold said.

He advised that employers consider working a professional HR consultant or compensation partner to understand better the potential impact of the rule changes and their options moving forward.

Print out this new overtime rules checklist to keep the most important considerations top-of-mind:

Download it Now!

Additional Resource

Review this resource to learn more about overtime.
You are probably familiar with the phrase, There aint no such thing as a free lunch, which means its impossible to get something for nothing.

Thats true about most things in life, including Internet technology. In the net tech world, free usually comes with a price tag, often in the form of advertising.

Facebook is free, but users have to contend with ads in the news feed and elsewhere. The same holds true for Twitter, though less obtrusively.

It also holds true for free text, data and VoIP phone apps such as Sideline, Textfree and TextMe, each of which incorporates advertising into its platform.

Do Free Mobile Services Apps Deliver on Their Promise?

Does the fact that an app utilizes ads to make it free to users  and small business users in particular  mean its less likely to deliver on the promise of quality communications? And what must users put up with in return? Is viewing and interacting with ads worth the hassle?

According to Julien Decot, TextMes chief financial officer and marketing head, who spoke with Small Business Trends, incidentally, via Skype, just because a technology is free doesnt make it bad necessarily, or less appealing. In fact, where small business is concerned, he says free can be a very good thing.

In describing the advantages his service provides small business, Decot says, TextMe offers small businesses a three-fold benefit: material savings, convenience and the ability to have multiple phone numbers.

Since TextMe is free, the cost is a moot point. Free certainly beats expensive traditional PBX systems, which dont offer SMS and data. And depending on the amount of funds available in a small business owners wallet, it can also be better than less costly cloud-based unified communications systems such as NetTALK and Vonage, which do.

Regarding convenience, Decot says TextMe provides the ability for users to work from their computer to send and receive SMS messages and phone calls, and then transition seamlessly to their mobile phone once they are on the move.

A companion app, TextMeUp, lets companies have multiple numbers  one for work and one personal. Also, companies that conduct business internationally can even have multiple numbers, one for each country, and never pay for an international call.

TextMe offers services a business would normally get from a mobile operator for free in exchange for users knowingly interacting with ads, Decot says describing the overall benefit people receive from using his app.

Its the knowingly part of his statement that carries the most significance. If a business owner is willing to make the trade-off between viewing ads and texting or calling for free, then to Decots point, free isnt all that bad.

Apps like TextMe may not be ideally suited for companies with multiple employees but can be helpful to single-person operations  particularly those where the business owner uses his mobile phone to make or receive work-related calls.

In that case, Decot says that having a number designated for work, which TextMe provides, can help the business owner keep his personal number private.

How Ad-supported Apps Work

Typically, users of these services will see ads appearing in their text message stream, such as in this example from TextMe.

Also, to make phone calls, users must accrue credits by watching videos, clicking on ads, completing surveys or installing third-party apps, which they then apply to minutes used during the call.

As an alternative, TextMe offers a companion app, FreeTone, which shows ads at the end of the call, enabling users to make as many calls as they like within the U.S. and Canada without ever incurring a cost.

Small business owners will have to draw their own conclusions regarding the worth of free apps like TextMe. For some, the decision to use them may relate to budget. For others, it may be the value of convenience that Decot describes. Ultimately, it comes down to whether they are OK with seeing and interacting with ads, to keep the service free.
The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed by unanimous consent H.R. 4139, the Fostering Innovation Act. If it becomes law, the bill would extend the current exemption for emerging growth companies (companies with annual gross revenues of less than $1 billion during its most recent fiscal year) from internal corporate financial control requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for an additional five years.

The bill is the result of bipartisan legislation introduced by Reps. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) and Michael Fitzpatrick (R-PA).

Fostering Innovation Act in Detail

Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 requires a publicly held company to hire an auditor to attest and report on the companys financial management and internal controls.

To help businesses manage the burden and expense of this auditing requirement, Congress passed the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (the JOBS Act) of 2012, which exempts certain EGCs making less than $1 billion from Section 404(b)s auditing requirements for up to five years.

According to Rep. Fitzpatrick, this exemption remains critical to ensure startups are not saddled with regulatory burdens they cannot afford during significant periods of financial growth.

Startups and emerging companies need to focus on creating jobs, not navigating red tape, Fitzpatrick said in a prepared statement. This bipartisan, common-sense reform to one-size-fits-all regulations allows growing businesses to compete better in critical research and development.

The one-size-fits-all regulation Fitzpatrick alluded to does not take into account the business model for research-driven companies, particularly those invested in medicine and bioscience.

The nature of the work conducted by these companies calls for longer development timelines and more capital to advance the research, development and marketing of vital products. The alternative is to spend that capital to implement costly and unnecessary auditing procedures to comply with new regulations.

After only five years under the current JOBS Act exemption, these companies simply cannot afford to divert their limited resources and pay upwards of a million dollars to hire auditors to comply with federal regulations, Fitzpatrick said.

He added that the Fostering Innovation Act is a solution that allows Congress the opportunity to remove unnecessary roadblocks that prevent growth and economic certainty for small businesses  around the country.

Fostering Innovation Act Support

The bill has received strong support from a variety of advocacy groups, including those in the biotech, venture capital and small business sectors.

Biotech

The JOBS Act has stimulated more than 180 biotech IPOs to date and is currently supporting a wide range of newly public companies for their first five years on the public market, said Jim Greenwood, president and CEO of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) in a press release. The Fostering Innovation Act would build on the success of the JOBS Act by acknowledging that many biotechs will remain pre-revenue even after the five-year EGC clock expires.

Investors

The ability of startups to access the capital markets to grow is critical to the U.S. economy, said Bobby Franklin, president and CEO of the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), in a letter of support to House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).

Franklin went on to say that the U.S. averages less than half the number of IPOs annually since the year 2000 as it did before.

The total number of public companies in America has dropped by half in only twenty years, which is partly due to a dramatic reduction in the number of IPOs, he said. Simply put, the U.S. public capital markets are no longer hospitable to startups seeking capital to scale into the successful firms of tomorrow.

Small Business

Karen Kerrigan, president of the Small Business Executive Council, said in a statement, The Fostering Innovation Act  sensibly extends an exemption allowed for in the JOBS Act to growing companies whose business models require more regulatory flexibility, and thus will enable greater success.

Conclusion

Cutting bureaucratic red tape, fostering job growth and making it easier for EGC companies in the medical, bioscience and other industries to focus on research are goals passage of the Fostering Innovation Act will achieve, supporters say.

Perhaps House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) summed up the bills purpose best when he said in a release, I believe most of us would agree that our economy works better for all Americans when small businesses can focus on creating jobs rather than navigating bureaucratic red tape.

Since passing the House, the bill has been received in the Senate and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, for consideration.

Fostering Innovation Act FAQs To what types of small companies does the bill apply? See Also: What Are Richest Fake Companies Worth? The bill applies to a small subset of emerging growth companies, primarily in the medical and bioscience industries, that has conducted an IPO or is in the IPO process. How small are the public companies that this bill affects? EGC companies with an average revenue of less than $50 million and less than $700 million in public float. What kinds of compliance regulations does the bill help ease? The bill extends the current exemption for EGCs, outlined in the JOBS Act, from Section 404(b) auditing requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for an additional five years. Does the bill make it easier for more small businesses to benefit from going public? The bill makes it easier and less costly for new emerging growth companies to enter the market. Rather than spend valuable resources on a costly and unnecessary external audit, EGC companies can focus on product research and development.
A bill now moving through the Senate is being hailed as a triumph for small business. The legislation, if approved, would make it easier for loan officers leaving a big bank to take a job with a small independent lender or start a brokerage.

The bill, H.R. 2121, referred to as the SAFE Transitional License Act of 2015, introduced by Rep. Steve Stivers (R-OH) in 2015, modifies the SAFE Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 by giving mortgage loan originators a 120-day grace period to obtain a new license when changing jobs so they can continue to originate loans.

H.R. 2121 in Detail  SAFE Mortgage Licensing Act Changes

The bills provisions apply to loan officers who move from a federally insured depository institution, such as a bank or credit union, to an independent mortgage bank or brokerage firm, some of these small businesses. It also provides transitional authority to mortgage loan originators who move from one state to another. To qualify, these individuals would have to be employed by a financial institution for the previous 12 months.

Loan originators employed by federally insured depositories must obtain a state license to become a mortgage loan originator at a non-bank institution. The process can take weeks or even months to complete due to stringent requirements that include pre-licensing and annual continuing education requirements, passage of a comprehensive test and criminal and financial background checks. They must also register with the National Mortgage Licensing System and Registry.

Because the SAFE Act of 2008 contains no transitional license provision, it inhibits job mobility and puts independent mortgage lenders at a considerable disadvantage in recruiting talented individuals, Stivers said in a press release announcing the bill.

Unless the new bill passes, loan officers who move from federally-insured institutions to a non-bank lender must sit on their hands for weeks, even months, while they meet the SAFE Acts licensing and testing requirements, he said.

H.R. 2121 is a simple solution that would allow these individuals to continue working and underwriting loans, while in no way weakening the consumer protections of the SAFE Act, according to Stivers.

H.R. 2121 a Small Business Jobs Bill

Both Stivers and Rep. Jeb Hensarling, Financial Services Committee chair, agree that this is a jobs bill that affects small businesses.

This is a jobs issue, providing qualified mortgage professionals more portability and a minimal amount of work disruption when making a change in an employer, Stivers said in a press release announcing House support for the bill.

In an email to Small Business Trends, he added, This bill reduces the regulatory burden on small businesses and lenders by ensuring qualified mortgage professionals can continue to originate loans during a work transition.



Hensarling, in a Financial Services Committee press release, said, I believe most of us would agree that our economy works better for all Americans when small businesses can focus on creating jobs rather than navigating bureaucratic red tape.

Support for the SAFE Act

Industry groups such as the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), Community Home Lenders Association (CHLA) and the National Association of Independent Housing Professionals (NAIHP) strongly support the bill. Leaders from each group made the following comments in a statement:

In todays dynamic mortgage marketplace, this bill addresses the need for true labor force mobility across state lines and between institutions, said MBA chairman Bill Cosgrove. It also offers no new regulatory burdens, and is well within the guardrails of current oversight by state regulators and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Following the passage of the SAFE Act of 2008, many broker lending officers went to work for the banks, said NAIHP president Marc Savitt.

The Stivers bill will make it easier for lending officers to return to the brokerage business, he said. We will welcome them back to the brokerage side.

CHLA executive director Scott Olson said his group is urging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to require consumer disclosures regarding a lenders adherence to the SAFE Act.

Such disclosures would show if lending officers are licensed and meet all the requirements of the SAFE Act, including an independent background check and continuing education courses, he said.

H.R. 2121 came out of the House Financial Services Committee and was co-sponsored by Representatives Terri Sewell (D-AL), Joyce Beatty (D-OH), Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) and Luke Messer (R-IN).

The bill recently won the support of the House and has now been passed along to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, for consideration.
Business practices are constantly changing. And if you want your business to succeed, you need to keep up. Members of the online small business community know just what it takes to update business practices regularly. Check out some of their top tips below.

Write Follow-up Sales Emails That Dont Suck

Email marketing isnt a new concept. But a lot of the techniques that people use when composing sales emails are no longer effective. To update your email marketing and write follow-up sales emails that dont suck, check out this Leadfeeder post by Peter Seenan. And then see what BizSugar members are saying about the post.

Effectively Convert Online Users

Getting people to click over to your website isnt enough to make your business a success. If you want to actually make sales, you need to learn how to effectively convert online customers. Ally Celones shares some tips for doing just that in this Carts Guru post.

Use a New Approach to Get Todays Top Talent

For your business to succeed, you need to be able to recruit the best talent. But if you keep using old recruiting techniques, you probably wont be able to get the best people. To update your techniques and improve your chances of reaching the top talent in your industry, check out this Marketing Innovators post by Rick Blabolil.

Crush It on Snapchat With These Marketing Strategies

Snapchat is growing in popularity among consumers and marketers alike. So if you want to stand out on the platform, you need an effective strategy, like the ones outlined in this WiseStamp post by Simcha Lazarus. You can also see input from BizSugar members.

Check Out Instagrams New Business Tools

If youre going to use Instagram as part of your marketing strategy, you need to keep up with all the different features and tools the platform offers. This Content Marketing post by Adam Gropman features some information about new tools that businesses can use on Instagram.

Use Google to Spot a Million Dollar Business Idea

Gone are the days where you need to completely develop a new business idea in your mind before getting started. You can actually use tech to help you come up with and develop new business ideas. This Noobpreneur post by Ivan Widjaya features some tips for using Google to spot million dollar business ideas.

Avoid These Digital Marketing Mistakes

Digital marketing is a constantly evolving field, which means you need to keep up if you want your strategy to be effective. However, there are some common digital marketing mistakes that businesses make, as David Lowbridge outlines in this Two Feet Marketing post. BizSugar members also share thoughts on the article.

Include These Five Modern Features in Your Business Website

Having a website is no longer optional for many businesses. That means that you need to work even harder if you want your website to actually stand out. This post by Andre Bourque of Social Marketing Fella includes some modern features that you should include in your website to make sure that customers can see and appreciate what you have to offer.

Try These Three Types of Remarketing Techniques

Remarketing is a growing tactic for businesses that want to build a real, loyal following online. To learn about three different types of remarketing campaigns you should be using, take a look at this Marketing Land post by Brett Middleton.

Learn From Dells Telecommuting Initiative

Many small businesses today still utilize outdated employment practices. But in this Dyer News post, Jonathan Dyer explains why small businesses can and should learn from Dells new telecommuting initiatives. And members of the BizSugar community discuss the post further in the community.

If youd like to suggest your favorite small business content to be considered for an upcoming community roundup, please send your news tips to: sbtips@gmail.com
By now, most small business owners and entrepreneurs have probably heard of the importance of social media for marketing your business. But social media can be a real time sink and many small business owners simply dont have the time or energy to it themselves.

Enter the social manager. Hiring the right social media manager can free your time while building your brand. But how can be sure youve chosen the right one? Different companies require different things from social managers. But there are a few warning signs you should look out for that could mean youve hired the wrong social media manager. Here are some of them.

Attributes of a Bad Social Manager

They Have No Social Media Presence

It should go without saying that your social manager should be good at managing social media. But too often, businesses rely on the fact that someone claims to be an expert, rather than looking at actual results. So if your social manager has about 40 followers on Facebook and no presence on any other platform, they should at least have some examples of work theyve done with clients on social media. If they dont, then how can you expect them to run your social media presence successfully?

They Dont Focus on the Right Social Networks

Even if someone is generally good at social media, that doesnt mean that theyre going to be the right fit for you. If youre trying to market to millennials on social media, you probably shouldnt go with someone whos really good at Facebook marketing but has limited experience with Instagram and Snapchat. There are social managers who focus on all different types of platforms, and some that have more experience in all of them. So consider your businesss needs and your target market carefully when looking into social media managers.

Their Strategy Isnt Aligned with Your Business Goals

Growing a social media following isnt just about numbers or a few set objectives. Different businesses have different goals for their social media marketing. And your social media manager should constantly have those goals in mind. So if your goal is to grow a following so that you can nurture those potential customer relations over the long term, but your social manager only ever posts links to try and get immediate traffic to your website, theres something wrong. If youre unsure about how something theyre doing relates to your businesss goals, ask them. And if they cant answer, they might just not know what theyre doing.

They Dont Communicate Effectively

Social media is all about communication. Although its a format that differs from many more traditional marketing channels, your social media manager still needs to be able to get messages across clearly. So if they communicate in a way that is confusing, unprofessional or just not on-brand, theyre probably not going to work for your social media strategy.

Their Voice is Off

In addition to just being able to get a point across, your social manager should be able to do so in a voice thats likely to resonate with your target audience, writes Nichole Beckett of Premier Content Source. So if youre trying to get a message across to moms, dont speak to them like they are children. And if youre marketing to millennials, you dont need to write like youre composing a term paper. If your social media managers voice is disconnected from whats going to appeal to your target audience, youve probably chosen the wrong manager.

They Make All Kinds of Spelling/Grammatical Errors

Regardless of who your social manager is talking to, their messages should usually be free of outright errors. In some cases, they might be able to get away with things like fragmented sentences or abbreviated words. But if they just constantly make errors that arent intentional, your audience is going to notice and not take your business as seriously.

They Dont Listen

Social media is a two-way street. So your social media manager shouldnt just be good at posting on social media, but they should also be good at listening to others on those platforms. For example, many customers use social media as a way to reach out to companies with questions or concerns. If your social manager ignores those posts or just deals with them in some generic way without actually listening, thats a bad sign.

They Only Do What You Tell Them to Do

Of course, you want your social manager to listen to your goals and requests for your companys social media strategy. And they should absolutely take that input seriously. However, if they only ever do what you tell them to do, then they arent actually adding anything to the position. A good social media manager should come with their own ideas and ways to turn your goals into actions. But if they only do exactly what you tell them to do and nothing more, they probably arent right for the job.

They Dont Bring You Results

Social media marketing is an ever-changing process. So its not necessarily going to bring your business overnight success. But over time, your social managers actions should bring you some kind of results, whether thats increased engagement, website traffic or even sales. And if they arent, then their efforts may not be worth the investment.
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Yelp (NYSE:YELP), the online review platform, is looking to make the availability of data and analytics even more accessible with the launch of Yelp Knowledge.

The new partnership program the company announced recently provides access to more than 102 million reviews as well as close to 12 years of historical data with highly structured location attributes, to deliver insights that will let you make informed critical decisions to move your business forward.

Last year, Yelp licensed data and reviews to Sprinklr, a company that helps marketers track what consumers say about them on digital platforms. Terms of the deal or any other specifics were not disclosed at the time, but the official launch of Yelp Knowledge with three new partners Medallia, Reputology, and Revinate indicates things probably went well with Sprinklr.

Yelp Data Provides Local Insights

The amount of data Yelp has at its disposal is truly massive, and highly granular when it comes to local businesses. With this information, companies will have a better understanding of what customers like and why they comeback, because they are the ones who have provided the information.

This program has been designed to push reputation management to a new level by integrating social analytics to produce even more valuable operational insights. Yelp is looking to have the data used alongside other social media sites so businesses can better understand what their customers are saying in each location.

This is very deep content which is location specific with insight gained from voluntary customer engagement. Yelp data brings the physical and digital world together in a way that produces valuable information so businesses can bring customers through their front door.

Mobile data is playing an increasingly important role here as well.

According to a recent Google research (PDF), there are more searches on mobile than on desktop, and more than half of all web traffic now comes from smartphones and tablets. That statistic clearly highlights the shift to mobile technology.

But the research provides an even more compelling reason why Yelp Knowledge will be valuable to businesses.

Google went on to say, 76 percent of people who search on their smartphones for something nearby visit a business within a day, 30 percent of all mobile searches are related to location, and 28 percent of those searches for something nearby result in a purchase.

As a small business making yourself available digitally and engaging with your customers can bring more people through the front door from your vicinity, as well as faraway places. The Yelp Knowledge platform is yet another digital technology that gives businesses of any size access to data that will make this possible.

If you would like to become a Yelp Knowledge partner and help build its data set into your platform, you can email Yelps Business Development team at knowledge@yelp.com for further details.
The human gut is a complex and amazing system, and the more we learn about it, the more amazed we are. It turns out
(Adds "elect" to headline as Kuczynski not yet president)

LIMA, July 10 (Reuters) - Peru's President-elect Pedro Pablo Kuczynski confirmed on Sunday that Fernando Zavala, the outgoing chief executive of the country's biggest beer company, will be his prime minister after he takes office July 28.

In an interview with local broadcaster RPP, Kuczynski praised Zavala, 45, as well-qualified for the job after holding positions in the finance ministry, the antitrust regulator and the private sector.

"He has broad knowledge of what's going on in Peru and knows how public administration works," Kuczynski said. "He's regarded as objective and I think his presence is going to be very positive."

Zavala said on Twitter (Xetra: A1W6XZ - news) that he was honored by the appointment and would strive to make Peru better.

Reuters reported on Friday that Kuczynski was planning to name Zavala as prime minister.

Zavala is leaving SABMiller (Xetra: BRW1.DE - news) 's Peruvian subsidiary Union de Cervecerias Peruanas Backus Y Johnston as it undergoes an acquisition by Anheuser-Busch Inbev.

One of Zavala's first challenges will be pushing Kuczynski's reforms through a Congress that will be dominated by opposition lawmakers, most belonging to the right-wing populist party of Kuczynski's defeated run-off rival Keiko Fujimori.

Kuczynski has said that he has tried unsuccessfully to reach Fujimori by phone but told RPP that he expects to speak to her in the coming days. "There are signs of that," he said.

Fujimori has said little in public since ceding defeat to Kuczynski last month after a divisive presidential race that many viewed as a referendum on the legacy of Fujimori's father, former authoritarian president Alberto Fujimori.

Kuczynski, a 77-year-old former investment banker and prime minister, won by only tens of thousands of votes.

The only other cabinet member that Kuczynski has announced is Alfredo Thorne, appointing the former JPMorgan Chase (Swiss: JPM.SW - news) director as his finance minister.

(Reporting By Mitra Taj; Editing by David Goodman)
From: If You Like Obama, Youll Love Trump by William Blum, 7/9/16 atBut if we look at what comes out of the mouth of The Barack is there any reason to castigate The Donald for his supposedly outrageous or weird way of expressing himself? Heres a sample: On May 28, 2012 the president declared that Vietnam was one of the most extraordinary stories of bravery and integrity in the annals of [US] military history. [Reposter: The War Against Vietnam resulted in the deaths of 3 million Vietnamese, 1 million Cambodians, 58,000 Americans, thousands of other people and to this day, Agent Orange damage of Vietnamese and Americans and their children to various parts of their bodies, partially or totally incapacitating them, all to maximize the profits of the oil companies and the munitions makers, the only reason the military exists. While it was similar to the mass murder by the US in Korea, 1950-1953, its scale made it the wake-up call to a generation, and no millionaire, fascist, war criminal president can turn back the clock. The draft cannot be implemented; we had a national civil war to stop the draft with every university campus protesting, until the draft ended in 1973. What the US did in Vietnam is only comparable to what the Nazis did in Europe.] On numerous occasions, in reply to a question about why his administration has not prosecuted the Bush-Cheney gang for mass murder, torture and other war crimes, former law professor Obama has stated: I prefer to look forward rather than backwards. Picture a defendant before a judge asking to be found innocent of any crime on such grounds. On other occasions, Obama, without apparent embarrassment, has stated that nobody is above the law. (A public figure can be labeled stupid not just for saying or doing stupid things, but for not even realizing that the public will SEE his words or actions as stupid.) Asked whether he would apologize for Washingtons role in Chiles 1973 military coup which overthrew the democratically elected government and replaced it with a dictatorship, Obama replied: Im interested in going forward, not looking backward. I think that the United States has been an enormous force for good in the world. (June 23, 2009) Question from CNN, 2008: Do you think the US should apologize for any mistakes that it has made in the past? Obamas reply: I dont think the US should ever apologize for anything. Obamas speech to the UN General Assembly on September 24, 2014 where he classified Russia to be one of the three great threats to the world along with the Islamic State and the ebola virus. After Turkey intentional shoot-down of a Russian warplane along the Turkish-Syrian border, instead of rebuking Turkey, a NATO member, for its absolutely reckless behavior - or expressing sympathy to the Russians - Obama asserted that Turkey, like every country, has a right to defend its territory and its airspace.(November 24, 2015) Turkey later apologized to Russia, but Obama didnt. In September 2013 Obama stood before the United Nations and declared: I believe America is exceptional. On March 9, 2015 Obama declared Venezuela an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States. Obama spoke of the principle that no country has the right to send in troops to another country unprovoked (March 3, 2014) (Do our leaders have no memory or do they think weve all lost ours?) Im good at killing. (Just imagine Trump saying this.) Obama has claimed the power to murder anyone anywhere by drone. Nixon had an enemies list, but this drone king has a personal kill list. Obamas use of drones against jihadist leaders, and anyone else who happens to be too close, has essentially rescinded the leading principle that was established in the Magna Carta 800 years ago  the presumption of innocence. Imagine also The Donald joking  as Obama did  about using a drone on his daughters boyfriends: Theyll never know what hit them. Obama, State of the Union speech, 2012: This generation of heroes has made the United States safer and more respected around the world. After taking over the White House in 2009, Obama called Afghanistan the good war Obama, explaining the US/NATO devastation of Libya in 2011, turning it from Africas highest standard of living into a desperate failed state, based on made-up reports about Ghaddafi carrying out atrocities: Some nations may be able to turn a blind eye to atrocities in other countries. The United States of America is different. (March 28, 2011) Said Obama: A US refusal to intervene in Libya would be a betrayal of who we are. (How true.) In March 2011, as the US/NATO bombardment of the people of Libya continued, day after day, the White House insisted that it was a limited humanitarian intervention, not war. All the forces that were seeing at work in Egypt are forces that naturally should be aligned with us, should be aligned with Israel  if we make good decisions now and we understand sort of the sweep of history.(March 4, 2011) Egypt quickly became a brutal dictatorship. State of the Union address, 2011: And weve sent a message  to all parts of the globe: we will not relent, we will not waver, and we will defeat you. Obama: Im not somebody who discounts the sincerity and worthiness of President Bushs concerns about democracy and human rights. (Washington Post, January 19, 2009) Obama: President Bush was right that Irans ballistic missile program poses a significant threat [to Europe and the US]. (September 30, 2009)I believe that Christ died for my sins and I am redeemed through him. That is a source of strength and sustenance on a daily basis. (Obama, Washington Post, August 17, 2008) June 22, 2009: Obama says America is fully prepared for any action by North Korea. (Thank god; after the nuclear attacks by China and Russia it was great to not have to worry about North Korea. But there was still Iran.) Obama, speaking about Russia, July 7: In 2009, a great power does not show strength by dominating or demonizing other countries. The days when empires could treat sovereign states as pieces on a chess board are over. During a visit to Baghdad April 7, 2009, Obama praised the US military for their extraordinary achievement in Iraq. Obama: To ensure prosperity here at home and peace abroad, we all share the belief we have to maintain the strongest military on the planet. (December 1, 2008) Speaking to a joint session of Congress: I can stand here and say without exception or equivocation that the United States does not torture. (Washington Post, February 24, 2009) There is no spying on Americans. We dont have a domestic spying program. (Obama on The Tonight Show, August 7, 2013) Just 18 days before the disastrous Gulf oil spill in 2010 Obama said: It turns out, by the way, that oil rigs today generally dont cause spills. They are technologically very advanced. (Washington Post, May 27, 2010) Obamas pep talk December 2010 to US troops in Afghanistan in which he lauded them as the finest fighting force that the world has ever known. (George W. Bush: the US military is the greatest force for freedom in the history of the world and the greatest force for human liberation the world has ever known.) Try and top those lines, Donald. As a presidential candidate in 2008 Obama lauded whistleblowers as part of a healthy democracy [who] must be protected from reprisal. In 2012, the campaign to re-elect President Barack Obama boasted on its website that he had prosecuted more whistleblowers in his first term than all other US presidents combined. Obamas claim that the U.S. has been For nearly seven decades the anchor of global security. (September 10, 2013) Any time bombs are used to target innocent civilians its an act of terror. (April 16, 2013); I was elected to end wars, not start them. Ive spent the last 4 1/2 years doing everything I can to reduce our reliance on military power as a means of meeting our international obligations and protecting the American people. (September 6, 2013); The bottom line is, nothing of significance, nothing of benefit results from destructive acts. (November 25, 2014)Thus spoke the man who carried out military attacks against Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Somalia, Libya, Yemen, and Syria. Obama (CBS News, February 13, 2013): I urge this Congress to come up with a bipartisan, market-based solution to climate change.Sam Smith asked: Does he also want, for example, a bipartisan market-based solution to cancer? In his book The Audacity of Hope Obama wrote: I serve as a blank screen on which people of vastly different political stripes project their own views.And if you like Barack Obama youll love Hillary Clinton.William Blum is the author of: Killing Hope: US Military and CIA Interventions Since World War 2, Rogue State: A Guide to the Worlds Only Superpower, West-Bloc Dissident: A Cold War Memoir, Freeing the World to Death: Essays on the American Empire. He can be reached at: bblum6 [at] aol.com . Read other articles by William, or visit Williams website at https://williamblum.org/
- Asari Dokubo claims President Buhari is planning a genocide against south east and south south people

- He declares his support for Niger Delta Avengers

- He insists he will not intercede on behalf of the government to dialogue with the militants

Asari Dokubo has said that he will not dialogue with members of the Niger Delta Avengers and declared his support for them.

The militant group has claimed responsibility for the bombing of oil and gas pipelines in the region which has affected the oil production and economy of the country.

In a statement via his social media page, Dokubo said he would not condemn the activities of the militants and claimed President Muhammadu Buhari was planning a genocide against the south east and south south region of the country.

Asari Dokubo

Read full statement below:

The public should note that I, Alhaji Mujahid Abubakr Dokubo-Asari,Alabo Edi Abali -Abala Buruburu 1 of Kalabari had not entered, directed, appointed or delegated any person or group of persons to negotiate or enter into dialogue with any president, vice president, governor, minister, national security adviser, any committee or institution in furtherance of the Nigerian states pretension to the pursuance of peace in the occupied Ijaw, Niger Delta Region and The United States of Biafra(USB).

READ ALSO: Chibok girls abduction and rescue is a scam  Asari Dokubo

Therefore, anybody who had presented himself/herself claiming to me or represent me in any manner of discussion, fora or conference in furtherance of this pretentious negotiation or dialogue is a fraud and therefore should not be accorded any recognition, as a person representing me, the Niger Delta Peoples Salvation Front and Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force.

I am convinced and firmly believe that the occupation gambari and their collaborators in the Nigerian state led by General Muhammadu Buhari is not interested in any or in any type of peace in Ijaw, the Niger Delta Region, In the Territories of the United States of Biafra or even in any part of Nigeria. The body language of General Muhammadu Buhari is to carry out a genocide and a pogrom against the Ijaw, Niger Delta and the United States of Biafra (USB).

Therefore, there is no way I will be hoodwinked to be part of any sham that the government of the Nigerian state led General Muhammadu Buhari is masquerading as negotiation or dialogue that will lead to peace in the aforesaid territories....The same way the bride Amnesty was introduced-which I and the volunteers rejected-was used to bribe the faint hearted amongst our compatriots, the cult gangs and fraternities, and the criminal elements in the Niger Delta to allow the our hydro carbon resources-which is our God given and exclusively belong to us- to be freely extracted to satisfy the extravagant and immoral appetite of the gambari and their collaborators...Today most of the recipients of the Amnesty bribe are full of regrets and wish that they turn back the hands of clock.

In furtherance to the above stated reasons, I have no cause to be part of any negotiation or dialogue in the present General Muhammadu Buhari contrived crisis in the Ijaw territories to give him an excuse to carry out his well thought out plan to execute his genocide and pogrom against us....since I am not a member of the Niger Delta Avengers or any of the other internet groups trying to obliterate the shine of the heroic explores of the Niger Delta Avengers....Some people had severally opined that if I am not an Avenger I should publicly disclaim them...Why should I do so? What is my business to be a busybody in this matter? Why should I take pannadol for someone else headache? I will never disclaim, denounce or condemn the Niger Delta Avenger....For I am a known advocate of this truism that for every action there must be an equal and opposite reaction....You can't sow to the winds and expect not to harvest a whirlwind in return.

READ ALSO: Anti-corruption campaign: Ijaw youths criticize Buhari

Finally, the public should know that I am not part of any negotiation or dialogue and had not mandated, nominated, appointed or authorized any person or group of persons to represent me in any dialogue or negotiation with the government of the Nigerian state led by General Muhammadu Buhari. My believe is that only a SOVEREIGN NATIONAL CONFERENCE with the resolution for a PLEBISCITE SUPERVISED BY THE UNITED NATION can lead to permanent peace in Ijaw, Niger Delta and the Biafran territories.

Thank you

Alhaji Mujahid Abubakr Dokubo-Asari

Alabo Edi Abali-Abala Buruburu 1-of Kalabari

Long live the Ijaw nation

Long live the United States of Biafra(USB)

Source: Legit.ng
By all accounts, 2016 has been a flaming rubbish tip of a year. It seems nearly everything that could go wrong at every level of society has, and most of us wish we could go back to the comparable wonderland that was 2015. It was a simpler time. A time before politicians co-opted memes, and when Pauline Hanson was only spoken about in the past tense.

Well, this right here is your weekly dose of good news. In fact, it could just be some of the best information youll hear during our planets current voyage around the sun: AIDS in Australia has been fought so well, and the number of deaths from the syndrome is now so low, that researchers have officially declared the epidemic over.

Thats bloody right. While around 1,000 deaths a year were recorded during the bastard diseases peak prominence in the 90s, advances in anti-retroviral medications means most diagnosed cases of HIV never progress to the full-blown immune deficiency syndrome. If they do, new treatments for AIDS itself can effectively combat the formerly-fatal diagnosis.

Speaking to the ABC, Professor Andrew Grulich of the Kirby Institute said these days we dont even monitor it, its a transitory thing for most people; people have AIDS, then they go on treatment and they dont have AIDS anymore.

Darryl ODonnell, CEO of the Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations added

AIDS is over in the way we knew it and community activism since the very early years of AIDS in the 80s and 90s has helped the efforts to fight it.

Its important to note this doesnt mean that HIV, the bastard virus that is is, has been eradicated. Oh no. While great strides are being made in the fight against AIDS precursor, theres still a lot of progress to be made on eliminating the virus from Australia and the rest of the world  especially in developing nations.

For the moment though, our nations experts saying AIDS has more or less been defeated is bloody grand. Eat that, 2016.

Source: ABC / Sydney Morning Herald.

Photo: China Photos / Getty.
Heart failure is a common endpoint for many cardiovascular diseases. This syndrome is characterized by reduced cardiac output that leads to dyspnea, exercise intolerance and later death. More than 20 million people worldwide are estimated to have heart failure and this situation will get worse since the prevalence of heart failure will rise as the mean age of the population increases.

Over the last years a lot of effort has been done to understand the mechanism involved in heart failure development. Despite heart failure seems to be a multifactorial syndrome, a common point observed by several studies was the accumulation of "bad" (or misfolded) proteins in cardiac cells of both humans and animals with heart failure. Proteins are like workers responsible for many chemical reactions required keeping our cells healthy. They are constituted by a sequence of amino acids that determines the protein "shape" (structure), which is critical for proteins function. During the evolution process, our cells developed a protein quality control system that refolds (when it is possible!) or degrades misfolded proteins, allowing them to keep only the "good" (correctly folded) proteins.

In the current study from K. G. Jebsen -- Center of Exercise in Medicine at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in collaboration with Professor Patricia Brum's research group at University of Sao Paulo, Luiz Bozi and colleagues discovered that misfolded protein accumulation in a rat model of heart failure was related to disruption of the cardiac protein quality control system. Since there is no pharmacology therapy targeting the protein quality control system, Luiz Bozi and colleagues investigated whether aerobic exercise training, an efficient therapy for prevention and treatment of a variety of cardiovascular diseases, would reestablish the cardiac protein quality control system and improve cardiac function of heart failure rats.

In fact, they verified that aerobic exercise training restored the cardiac protein quality control system, which was related to reduced misfolded protein accumulation and improved cardiac function in heart failure animals. These results suggest that heart failure development is associated with disruption of cardiac protein quality control system and reinforce the importance of aerobic exercise training as a primary non-pharmacological therapy for treatment of heart failure patients.
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Immunotherapy reduces cardiovascular risk in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, according to research presented today at Frontiers in CardioVascular Biology (FCVB) 2016 by Professor Aida Babaeva, head of the Department of Internal Medicine, Volgograd State Medical University, Volgograd, Russia.1 The combination of two extra-low dose anticytokine drugs reduced rheumatoid arthritis disease activity and cardiovascular events.

"Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease in which cytokines such as tumour necrosis factor (TNF) and interferon (IFN), which normally protect the body, attack healthy cells," said Professor Babaeva. "Patients have painful and inflamed joints. They are also at increased cardiovascular risk, particularly if their rheumatoid arthritis is not controlled."

Professor Babaeva's previous research showed that treatment with anticytokine drugs can decrease the activity of rheumatoid arthritis. Extra-low dose anti-TNF reduced levels of inflammatory mediators and cytokines including C-reactive protein (CRP), rheumatoid factor, TNF, interleukin-1 (IL-1), and interleukin-6 (IL-6). The effect was more apparent and developed earlier when patients were treated with a combination of anti-TNF and anti-IFN, both at extra-low doses.

The current study investigated the impact of the combination of drugs on cardiovascular events. It included 68 patients who had suffered from active rheumatoid arthritis for at least five years. Patients were randomised to receive the combination of anti-TNF and anti-IFN plus standard disease-modifying therapy (38 patients) or placebo plus standard therapy (30 patients). During the three year follow up period the investigators monitored rheumatoid arthritis disease activity and cardiovascular events.

Patients taking the combination of anticytokines had a lower rheumatoid arthritis disease activity score, as measured by the DAS28,2 and more dramatic decreases in IL-1, IL-6 and TNF than the group on standard therapy alone.

The incidence of cardiovascular events (unstable angina, severe hypertensive crisis, and deterioration of chronic heart failure) was more than double in the group on conventional disease-modifying drugs alone (37%) compared to those also taking the combination of anticytokines (13%).

Professor Babaeva said: "Our findings suggest that the decreased rheumatoid arthritis disease activity with the combination of anticytokines translates into decreased cardiovascular risk. Rheumatoid arthritis promotes the development of cardiovascular disease in a number of ways. Therefore, decreasing disease activity may also reduce cardiovascular risk by slowing down or halting these processes."

For example, rheumatoid arthritis is associated with dysfunction of the blood vessel lining (called endothelium), which leads to lipid accumulation in the artery wall, plaque formation and atherosclerosis. Increased disease activity is also linked with a pro-coagulant state in which patients are more prone to blood clots and thrombosis. Patients with active disease have an increase in molecules that promote inflammation, which has been associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

In patients with hypertension, target blood pressure was reached in 71% of those taking the combination of anticytokines compared to just 32% of patients on standard therapy alone.

Professor Babaeva said: "This doesn't mean that the two drugs directly impact on blood pressure. But the combination can improve endothelial function and it could be that blood pressure is more stable when disease activity is low."

"We found that the combination of two anticytokines containing extra-low doses of antibodies against TNF and IFN can improve the efficacy of standard rheumatoid arthritis therapy and decrease cardiovascular risk," said Professor Babaeva.

She concluded: "We do not think that all patients with rheumatoid arthritis should be treated with this combination. In patients with highly active disease, the standard biologics are better at preventing severe complications such as progressive joint destruction and/or systemic manifestations (vasculitis, uveitis, involvement of internal organs). We recommend this new approach for preventing cardiovascular events in patients with moderate disease activity who are not receiving the standard biologics and who do not have severe complications."
Tracing the movements of patients at a South Korean hospital has helped identify how Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus was transmitted from a single super-spreader patient in an overcrowded emergency room to a total of 82 individuals over three days including patients, visitors and health-care workers. The study, published today in The Lancet, maps the transmission of South Korea's first outbreak of MERS virus and the case of highest transmission of MERS virus from a single patient outside the Middle East.

The study demonstrates the potential for outbreaks of MERS Coronavirus (MERS-CoV -- the virus behind MERS) from a single spreader, as has been previously documented for SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome). The authors say that as long as the MERS transmission in the Middle East continues, governments and health-care providers should be prepared for emerging infections.

Since it was first identified in 2012, MERS-CoV has spread to 27 countries. Patients develop severe acute respiratory illness with symptoms of fever, cough and shortness of breath. Approximately 3-4 out of every 10 patients reported with MERS-CoV have died, most of whom had an underlying medical condition.

Previous studies have suggested that the potential for MERS-CoV to spread to large numbers of people was low. However, an outbreak in Saudi Arabia in 2013 saw one patient transmit the virus to seven others, raising concerns about so-called super-spreaders -- patients who infect disproportionally more secondary contacts than others also infected with the same disease.

In between May and July 2015, there was a MERS-CoV outbreak in South Korea, where 186 cases were confirmed within 2 months. The 'index patient' (where the outbreak originated) was a man aged 68, otherwise known as Patient 1, who had travelled to Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar between 18 April and 3 May 2015 before returning to South Korea. He first visited the Samsung Medical Center in Seoul on 17 May, and was isolated on 18 May under the suspicion of MERS and finally diagnosed with MERS on 20 May. However, before arriving at Samsung Medical Centre, Patient 1 had already transmitted the virus to several individuals in other hospitals, including another man (Patient 14), aged 35 with whom he shared a ward. Patient 14 was admitted to Samsung Medical Center with no information on possible exposure to MERS-CoV on 27 May -- and it was this patient who led to the hospital outbreak at Samsung.

Samsung Medical Center is a large 1982-bed hospital with an emergency room that sees more than 200 patients a day. The research team did a retrospective investigation of the outbreak at the hospital, including a review of closed-circuit security video footage and electronic medical records.

A total of 1576 people were estimated to have been exposed to Patient 14 in the emergency room and a total of 82 people -- 33 patients, 8 health-care workers, and 41 visitors -- were infected between 27-29 May (table 1). Exposed people were classified into different groups depending on their proximity to Patient 14. Patients staying in the same zone of the emergency room as Patient 14 had the highest risk of infection (20% [23/117 patients]), compared with 5% (3/58) in those with brief exposure to Patient 14 at the registration area or the radiology suite of the emergency room, and 1% (4/500) in other patients who stayed in different zones. The risk of infection was 2% (5/218) in health-care workers, and 6% (38/683) in visitors. Nine cases were not included in the analysis due to a lack of reliable data.

On average, the incubation period was 7 days but there was wide variation depending on the proximity to Patient 14 -- 5 days for patients in the closest proximity to Patient 14 (group A) to 11 days for patients further away (group C). There were no confirmed cases of patients or visitors who visited the emergency room on 29 May, after Patient 14 had been isolated, and who were exposed only to potentially contaminated environment.

In contrast, Patient 1 was in contact with 285 other patients and 193 health-care workers but no further transmissions occurred at the hospital between presenting to the emergency room on 17 May and being isolated on 18 May. However, Patient 1 had previously infected 28 other patients in another hospital. The authors say that the difference in transmissibility between Patient 1 and Patient 14 could be caused by a number of factors such as time from onset of disease, symptoms, duration of contact, pattern of movement and the spread of the virus itself.

Study authors Professor Doo Ryeon Chung and Yae-Jean Kim, Division of Infectious Diseases at the Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, South Korea, warn that the results of this study need to be interpreted with caution due to the retrospective nature of the analysis but say: "This study is the first to document the spread of MERS-CoV virus through a hospital by providing specific infection risk depending on the proximity of patients to the infected patient. Our results show the increased potential of MERS virus infection from a single patient in an overcrowded emergency room. Overcrowding is an important issue for this outbreak but also a common feature of modern medicine which should be of concern to governments and health-care providers in the context of future possible outbreaks. Emergency preparedness and vigilance in hospitals, laboratories, and government agencies are crucial to the prevention of further large outbreaks not only of MERS-CoV infections, but also other emerging infectious diseases."

Writing in a linked Comment, Professor David S Hui from the Department of Medicine & Therapeutics and Stanley Ho Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, China, says: "The data suggest that the location (and hence the timing) of exposure to Patient 14 was an important factor in determining the attack rate and incubation period. Several other predisposing factors to this superspreading event included failure to implement strict isolation of patients and quarantine of contacts at the first outbreak hospital (Pyeongtaek St Mary's Hospital), poor communication and knowledge of patient movement between hospitals, overcrowding in the emergency room, inadequate ventilation with only three air changes per h, and limited availability of isolation rooms in the emergency room... Failure in infection control and prevention in health-care facilities has resulted in large numbers of secondary cases of MERS-CoV infection involving health-care workers, existing patients, and visitors in Saudi Arabia and several other countries in the past few years. Common risk factors include exposure to contaminated and overcrowded health-care facilities, poor compliance with appropriate personal protection equipment when assessing patients with febrile respiratory illness, application of potential aerosol generating procedures (eg, resuscitation, continuous positive airway pressure, nebulised drugs), and lack of proper isolation room facilities."
New Zealand First deputy leader and spokesperson on Defence Ron Mark has asked Foreign Minister Murray McCully to reassure the New Zealand public the claim isnt true.

He cant because this government has forgotten that charity begins at home. Corruption is so widespread in Afghanistan that theyd win gold at Rio if it was a sport. This is all but confirmed by a 2016 United States Department of Defense report on Operation Freedom Sentinel.

On the Afghani Police, the US United States Department of Defense said: Problems include corruption, desertions, substantial illiteracy, and use of drugs. Additionally, because ANP [Afghan National Police] members serve the same communities in which they were raised, they often become improperly involved in local factional or ethnic disputes.

Some five per cent of the uniformed police arent even trained before we get to the cot-case that is the Afghan Local Police. A force where there are ghost police on the payroll lining the pockets of corrupt officials and warlords.

As for the Afghan National Army (ANA), the US United States Department of Defense adds: ANA manpower problems can be traced back to a significant attrition problem, which has multiple causes, including poor leadership, continual combat operations, shortages of individual equipment, and difficulty in travelling to and from home during leave. In others words, desertion.

In May Stars and Stripes reported that the US-led coalition had taken control of procuring uniforms and boots for the Afghan army and Afghan National Police Force due to widespread corruption and incompetence.

Its so bad that Stars and Stripes said: If first impressions really can be gleaned from footwear, Afghan security forces may be about as disjointed and ragged as a state-run military can get.

Why are New Zealand personnel still in this sideshow. It has long been obvious that it has been a no-win situation and as long as we have personnel deployed in Afghanistan there is always the possibility of even further mission creep.

The funding will extend the deployment until June 2018, but knowing the National government, this could well be extended.

Weve been in Afghanistan since 2003  thirteen years is long enough.

It is time New Zealand got out; our defence force does not exist to teach English or act as mentors, Ron says.

Source: Ron Marks office.
The Paris region is sending letters to British executives. German politicians have paid for billboards in London to promote Berlin. Dublin is planning an advertising campaign, and Milan wants to be home to Europes bank regulator.

After the U.K. voted to exit the European Union, major cities from across the blocs remaining 27 nations are intensifying their efforts to win business from London, long the dominant centre of finance in the region.

We must remain elegant: Britain is a great nation and our friend, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls told a gathering of financiers in Paris Wednesday. But lets not be naive. Were in a competition and we need to be of service to companies and their employees.

The remarks underline a widely held view that, whether or not businesses and executives are ready to move, governments have to try to lure them or risk seeing jobs go elsewhere. In the markets, the slide in the pound to a fresh 31-year low of $1.28 (U.S.) reflects pessimism about the U.K.s short-term prospects.

In Dublin, the Irish are gearing up for an advertising drive in Europe and the United States. The campaign wont explicitly refer to Brexit, but will underline the countrys advantages, such as the fact that business there is done in English.

An influx of city bankers would be a nice issue to be dealing with, Martin Shanahan, head of IDA Ireland, the state agency that seeks foreign investment, told reporters in Dublin. We will fight Irelands corner as hard as we can.

The IDA had pitched Ireland to companies including Standard Chartered even before Britains June 23 referendum, offering them help with contingency planning. Within hours of the result, it was in contact again, Shanahan said, adding it had seen heightened levels of activity since the vote. More than 1,200 foreign companies, including State Street Corp., Apple and Citigroup operate in Ireland already.

Similarly, the Paris region began preparing its effort long before the British went to the polls. Valerie Pecresse, who heads the regional government, sent letters to 4,000 executives at companies of all sizes on June 24, extolling the advantages of the French capital. Listing everything from location and infrastructure to a well-trained workforce and world-class services, her letter makes a case for them to move operations there.

In Londons financial district on Tuesday a truck was spotted carrying a billboard with the words Dear startups, Keep calm and move to Berlin. French and German politicians have sparred over whether Frankfurt or Paris should take over Londons euro-clearing business.

Paris Europlace, a lobby for the French financial industry, used its annual conference Wednesday to lay out the case for Paris over its competitors.

In a first for a French premier, Valls appeared at the groups banquet lunch, taking the stage with Pecresse and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo. Valls promised bankers a warm welcome and said he plans to extend Frances special tax regime for foreigners to apply for eight years from their arrival from five currently. Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau pledged at the conference that all bank license applications from other EU member states will be processed swiftly.

Frances smaller neighbour, Luxembourg, this month started a widespread promotional campaign wooing people from abroad to come and make your career in Luxembourgs financial industry.

With a population of about 550,000, Luxembourg has become the EUs richest nation in less than a century and is today the European base of multinationals such as Amazon.com Inc. and Microsofts Skype, and the worlds second-biggest fund market after the U.S.

Imagine this, says the countrys promotional agency, Luxembourg for Finance, in a brochure published July 1, highlighting the nations multi-culturalism, high salaries, and attractive tax regime. You have just received your paycheck. Youre happy to know that you get to keep more of your gross income than you would for instance in the U.K., Ireland, France, Belgium 

In Italy, as Prime Minister Matteo Renzi struggles to find a solution to Italys banking crisis, the city of Milan is seeking to become the new home of the European Banking Authority. Mayor Giuseppe Sala is meeting the agencys chairman, Andrea Enria, in London Wednesday. Sala also will pitch Milan as the new home of the European Medicines Agency  led by an Italian  as part of his effort to lure European bodies now based in London.

Spain, whose banking system were given a European bailout in 2012, is also offering to host the EBA and other agencies now based in the U.K. Spain is in an optimal situation to bid, acting Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria said.

Back in Paris, Pecresse estimates that about 30,000 financial sector jobs are up for grabs because of Brexit, with approximately 30,000 more possible posts to be won in other industries. For Pecresse, Pariss global size and stature should be touted as advantages despite Frances reputation for high taxes and heavy regulation.

Were the only truly global city seeking this business, she said in the interview. Frankfurt doesnt have our depth, Dublin is on Europes periphery.

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If the titans of the tech industry can get hacked, what hope is there for the rest of us?

That's the general conclusion after the news that Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and former Twitter CEO Dick Costolo have had some of their social media accounts compromised in the past few weeks.

For Zuckerberg, it was his Pinterest and LinkedIn accounts. Then, Costolo's Twitter account suddenly featured some questionable tweets. He clarified online that it was another social account that had been compromised.

Both men were actually targeted by a hacker group called Our Mine, who often pursue high-profile victims and brag about their skills online. In May, they also hacked the SoundCloud account of Canadian musician Deadmaus.

For Zuckerberg and Costolo, its believed that the hacks originated from LinkedIn's 2012 data breach. That breach was initially thought to be 6.5 million records, but now is believed to have consisted of more than 117 million records.

The pair were obviously targeted, but the truth is that despite the fact that they are high profile and tech savvy, they are human and their technology usage is just as haphazard as the rest of us.

"In the case of Zuckerberg, the problem is that he used a s--t password," said Troy Hunt, a regional director for Microsoft and security researcher who created haveibeenpwned.com, one of the go-to sites to check if your accounts have been part of a breach.

"Once they got his password, it was game over," said Hunt. "But it barely even enters the realm of what we considered hacked."

Hunt started his site as a project, as he noticed the same compromised accounts appearing in the data dumps he was researching.

"I thought it would be an interesting exercise just to see how broad the exposure is," he said. "Because I thought  and consequently it seems to be the case  that people are just not aware how far the data is being spread around the web."

The bigger issue is the incredible growth rate of these breaches. He said at the beginning of the year there were 200 million records on his site. With subsequent data breaches, the number is now in the 2 billion range. So the size of data dumps is getting into the eight or nine-figure range and they are happening more frequently.

Dave Ostertag, global investigations manager, investigative response at Verizon Enterprise Services, said his team investigated 526 incidents in 2015, up from 400 in 2014. Ostertags enterprise services team is one of the largest in the world that has responded to approximately a third of the enterprise data breaches in the world, and it recently released its 2016 Data Breach Investigations Report.

Through its research, the company has found that 89 per cent of breaches had a financial or espionage motive. Despite scary-sounding terms like social engineering, spear phishing, malware, ransomware and scripts, researchers know that these are not necessarily sophisticated attacks, though they may sound like it.

"If you look at the tools they're using, like the Zeus Trojan  that's 20 years old now, but we still see it . . . in some of the biggest attacks to try and steal credentials and get access to the network," said Ostertag.

"That's not sophisticated. That's simple, send an email with some malware to steal your credentials, he said.

Some of the malware is (sophisticated), but that's a commodity. You can find vendors that will sell you the malware, he said. So I don't need the technical expertise, I just need to buy it from someone else."

Hunt points to the TalkTalk data breach in 2015, where the European wireless company had 157,000 customer records compromised. The culprit ended up being a 15-year-old who found a free tool online to do the breach.

"One thing we don't focus on enough, is that every time one of these companies get hacked, they've made multiple really serious mistakes, which resulted in this happening," said Hunt.

"It's very rarely (that) this was really a sophisticated attack that took advantage of a company that did everything right. That just doesn't happen."

Even if a company does do everything right, and trains its employees not to open strange-looking emails with dodgy attachments, Ostertag says Verizon's research finds 13 per cent of people will still open any email attachment.

In some ways, that may explain how effective and more common incidents of ransomware are becoming. A recent Kaspersky Lab report shows that ransomware attacks have increased 5.5 times in the past two years, with 131,111 reported in 2014-2015 compared to 718,536 in 2015-2016.

In Canada, high-profile ransomware attacks have centred around hospitals, but in early June, it was reported that the University of Calgary paid $20,000 in order to free its data after an attack.

Meanwhile, the cost of dealing with attacks is increasing  from the cleanup costs, legal fees and the growing business of cyber insurance.

According to an annual global data breach study done by IBM, the average cost of a data breach in Canada is $6.03 million, based on a country-specific study in which 24 companies participated. That's slightly higher than the average $4 million (U.S.) cost in the U.S.

Due to those costs and ramifications, the frequency of large-scale breaches means that the problem is rising to the executive level, with many understanding how serious the issue is.

Hunt points to legislation in Europe due to come into effect in 2018 that could make the costs even bigger.

"One of the things that I'll be anxiously watching is this General Data Protection Regulation . . . it promises to fine organizations up to 4 per cent of their gross revenue if they have an incident like this," said Hunt.

What happens when the next company with billions of dollars in revenue screws up its data security and faces a $40-million fine?

"That would really put the fear of God in these guys," he said.

Which might be necessary, as with hacks, attacks and breaches happening with more frequency, many consumers may just become desensitized to these type of things.

"I think that is the reality of it, it's just become such an accepted state of affairs that sites are going to get hacked," said Hunt.

"I don't know that everyone proceeds with that assumption when they provide data to a website, but certainly we're seeing it so frequently in the press now, and we're just going 'oh, another site got hacked."

Under attack

Social Engineering: In information security terms, it refers to psychological manipulation of people into performing actions or divulging confidential information. Usually referrs to non-technical means of getting information, like cold calling.

Phishing: The attempt to obtain financial or other confidential information from Internet users, typically by sending an email that looks as if it is from a legitimate user or company. Also include Spear Phishing, which is similar, but is more targeted at a specific person.

Malware: Is the catch-all term used to refer to a variety of malicious programs, including computer viruses, worms, ransomware, spyware and more.

Ransomware: A form of hostile software that once it infects your computer, encrypts the data, and leaves instructions, usually costing a fee, to unlock the computer.

Scripts: A computer program that basically automates an repetitive action.

SQL injection: A computer attack in which malicious code is embedded in an application and then passed onto the database. It then causes the application to produce database query results or actions that should never have been executed, like collecting and sending the data or information to a third party. It's often the method behind huge data leaks with millions of records.

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Yes, its hard to to tell when one enters the city limits

Yes, they will make the city more inviting

Maybe ... does it really matter?

No, the signs in place are fine

No, it would be a waste of taxpayer dollars

Vote

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A painting that could either be worth millions, or be relatively worthless, is the subject of a court fight involving a retired Canadian correctional officer and a world famous artist who disavows the art work.

The unprecedented battle, set to play out in a Chicago courtroom next month, involves a claim by Robert (Bob) Fletcher, of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., that the canvas he owns was painted by Peter Doig in 1976.

Doig, whose works have sold for millions of dollars, argues the acrylic landscape was in fact painted by a Peter Doige, a man who once spent time locked up in Thunder Bay, Ont., for a drug offence. Doig further claims he has never been in the northern Ontario city and only began painting on canvas in 1979, according to his legal filings.

Fletchers suit alleges Doigs disavowal has potentially cost him millions, because auctioneers have refused to put the painting up for sale.

All we wanted to do is find out if its his or not so we could go ahead and sell this painting, Fletcher, 62, told The Canadian Press. We are so convinced that we have the right person that were going to go ahead with this.

The origins of the dispute, records show, date back 40 years, when Fletcher worked at the Thunder Bay Correctional Centre and also attended classes at Lakehead University. At the school, he met a teenager named Peter Doige, who ended up in jail for possession of LSD and, during art classes at the institution, painted the disputed work: An 86 cm by 105 cm canvas that depicts a desert scene with a pond. It is signed Pete Doige 76.

As his parole officer, Fletcher helped Doige find work, and, to help him out, bought the painting for $100.

It was only five years ago, Fletcher said, that a friend noticed the canvas.

He said, Bob, that guys a real famous artist, Fletcher said. He starts showing some videos of (Doig) and I said, I do recognize him  even though we didnt have the long hair we had back then. I said, My God, it is him.

Subsequent research turned up uncanny convergences between Doig and Doige: Both were born in the 1950s in Scotland; Doigs family immigrated to Canada when he was a child; and Doig has admitted to having dabbled in LSD as a teen.

The work has uncanny commonalities in composition and execution with known works by Doig, the claim, first filed in 2013, further states.

Fletcher and Chicago-based Bartlow Gallery allege Doig and his agents have wilfully and wrongfully interfered with their efforts to sell the painting.

The New York Times recently cited Doig, who calls the lawsuit a scam, as saying he had seen a photograph of the canvas and thought: Nice painting. Not by me.

Doig, 57, who says he splits his time between Trinidad and London, denies ever being in Thunder Bay or in a prison. He says he lived and attended high school in Toronto at the time in question  assertions his parents, brother and friends back in affidavits.

In addition, Doiges sister Marilyn Bovard, of Hinton, Alta., says she believes her brother, who died in Edmonton in February 2012, was the painter.

The desert scene appears to be from around the area in Arizona to which our mother moved, Bovard says in a court filing.

Fletchers lawyer, William Zieske, however, is unconvinced.

Every portion of Mr. Doigs life is documented in written official documents  from his teen years to his present day  except for an 18-month window (that) comprises almost all of 1976 and the first half of 1977, Zieske said from Chicago.

The case is unprecedented, Zieske said, in that its the first time someone has tried to impose authorship of a work on a famous artist, who has then denied the claim.

U.S. District Court Judge Gary Feinerman will hear the case starting Aug. 8.

Fletcher, who admits to losing sleep as the trial date nears, acknowledges he faces the prospect of having to pay court costs and possibly damages if he fails to prove Doigs authorship.

Theres a gamble, he said. But we are so convinced and positive that we are correct.

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KYIV, UKRAINEPrime Minister Justin Trudeau arrived in Ukraine after an emotional visit Sunday to the scene of one of the worst chapters in human history, the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, where he warned against intolerance and offered a message of love.

The blue skies and sunshine on Sunday were a sharp contrast to the history of the place as Trudeau walked past barbed wire fences and surveyed the gas chambers where more than one million people, mostly Jews, were killed in the Second World War.

Trudeau was stone-faced through most of the visit as he was escorted by one of the camps survivors, 88-year-old Nate Leipciger, now of Toronto. But the prime minister couldnt hold back the tears as he stood before the ruined gas chamber where Leipcigers mother and sister were killed 70 years ago.

The prime minister, who officials say requested the tour, didnt say much during the nearly three hours he spent walking through the camp. But he did leave a message in a guest book kept by the Auschwitz-Birkeneau State Museum.

Tolerance is never sufficient, he wrote. Humanity must learn to love our differences.

Today we bear witness to humanitys capacity for deliberate cruelty and evil. May we ever remember this painful truth about ourselves, and may it strengthen our commitment to never allow such darkness to prevail.

We shall never forget.

In an interview afterward, Leipciger, who has served on different Holocaust remembrance committees in Canada, said he didnt think he would survive Auschwitz, let alone show a Canadian prime minister around the concentration camp.

There was no way that I had any future, he said. My future was zero. And Im coming back 73 years later with the prime minister of a wonderful Canada. An articulate, new leader who is taking the country into a new direction.

Leipciger said that he tried to convey to Trudeau the tragedy of what men did to men, the hatred which drove on group of people to murder another.

Such hatred continues to exist in the world today, he said, with minorities still being discriminated against and murdered.

Leipciger said Trudeau received his message to remember the past while working for a better future.

He cried with me, he said. He shed tears with me. Thats the greatest expression of understanding and feelings that he could have done to me.

Trudeau is the third sitting prime minister to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau, after Jean Chretien and Stephen Harper. The stop came between this weekends NATO summit in nearby Warsaw and a trip to Ukraine, where Trudeau will spend the next few days.

The prime minister remained stoic through most of the visit as Leipciger recalled his experience at the camp, where he arrived in 1943 as an 11-year-old. One stop was in a darkened room where a mound of hair was on display: locks from women and girls killed by the Nazis.

This is the most difficult for me, Leipciger told the prime minister. Maybe my mothers and sisters locks are in there.

Trudeau was visibly affected on several occasions. At one point, he laid a wreath on behalf of Canada at a wall where the Nazis shot hundreds of prisoners. After pausing for a moment of silence, he went to shake Leipcigers hand but instead ended up hugging him before Leipciger kissed him on the cheek.

The prime minister also looked shaken as he walked through an intact gas chamber, which still bore fingernail marks on the cement walls where desperate prisoners tried to escape before they died.

But it was while standing before the gas chamber where Leipcigers mother and sister were killed, as Rabbi Adam Scheier from Montreal prayed, that Trudeau was forced to pull out tissue and wipe away tears. He also shared a few personal words with Leipciger and Scheier.

Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion and International Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland, who accompanied the prime minister, also wiped away tears at different points.

David J. Cape, chair of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, said Trudeau showed great sensitivity during his visit.

As Canadians, we must do more than remember  we must continue to care for the Holocaust survivors among us, speak out against anti-Semitism and hatred in all of its forms, and call for effective action to prevent genocide in our own time, he said in a statement.

After visiting Auschwitz-Birkenau, Trudeau flew to Ukraine where he was to express Canadas solidarity with the country and sign a free trade agreement. Trudeau spent Friday and Saturday in Warsaw, Poland, attending the NATO leaders summit. He returns to Canada following the six-day trip on Tuesday.

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The giddy laughter of neighbourhood kids in the bouncing castle underscored the message at the memorial for 14-year-old Lecent Ross, shot dead a year ago by an illegal handgun at a friends home.

Somethings got to change. This has to stop, said her mother Alicia Jasquith during a brief appearance, her voice trembling with grief. Too many lives lost for no reason.

At the Jamestown Cres. corner in northwest Toronto where Ross lived, community groups, police officers, politicians and neighbours gathered for a barbecue on the anniversary of the teens death and spoke about solutions to the continuing gun violence.

Coincidentally, community activists were meeting nearby for the same reason, spurred by the death of Candice Rochelle Bobb in May in the same neighbourhood. Bobb was five months pregnant when she was shot dead while sitting in a car with three other people.

The things we need to fix are not just municipal issues, said Dewitt Lee, one of the organizers. We need to focus on the probation system, on the jailing system  I think its very important we are talking about the full scale of issues.

Community engagement  like the group of officers who helped serve food and gently monitor the bouncing castle  is a priority for police, said Supt. Ron Taverner of Toronto polices 23 Division, which includes Rexdale.

Having the community feel they can approach officers, can talk about issues, whether its crime issues, social issues, community issues and be assured there will be some action taken, he said. We are trying to have a more visible presence. We have brought in more officers from other areas  and over the last month and a bit, its made a significant difference. Its not a telltale long-term sign but its a positive one.

Speaking to reporters, Mayor John Tory stressed the importance of having all levels of government, the school boards, community organizations and the police working together to put in place the infrastructure, supports and programs communities need.

There is lots to do here, we for years werent doing much, to be candid. I think now there is the focus, he said. These are deep-rooted social and economic problems, a lot of them having to do with lack of access to opportunity, some of it having to do with elements of discrimination that still do exist in our community, poor housing weve allowed to run down over a period of many years, lack of public transportation.

The memorial was organized, Etobicoke MP Kirsty Duncan said, because Rosss mother wanted to do something to make the neighbourhood kids happy. Hence the bouncing castle.

Other games were part of a campaign to promote childrens health, said Althea Martin-Risden, director of health at the Rexdale Community Health Clinic.

It is unfortunate that it is the anniversary of the passing of this young woman. But lets make some positives come out of it. We want to show all these young kids in our community that they are valued. There is nothing that is too good for them.

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Ontarios workers compensation board is standing by its controversial practice of using consultants to provide medical opinions on injured workers without actually examining them, saying the doctors it contracts to weigh in on benefits claims are being used appropriately.

Top officials at the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board recently concluded an internal review of the practice following widespread criticism from injured worker advocates.

A November report by the Ontario Federation of Labour and advocacy groups alleged the board was systematically disregarding the advice of injured workers own physicians in favour of so-called paper doctors  physicians who review medical evidence on a workers file without even meeting them. As first reported by the Star, a group of injured workers, labour groups, and health professionals subsequently launched a formal request to Ontarios ombudsman to investigate the WSIB for that and a range of other practices they say are unfairly kicking workers off benefits.

But the WSIBs internal review, whose conclusions were seen by the Star, says consultants and workers own doctors disagreed in just 15 per cent of the cases it analyzed. The review did not find any evidence of systemic disregard for the opinion of a workers medical practitioners.

The results of the audit have been shared with the provincial ombudsman, which has yet to decide whether it will investigate the WSIB. In a meeting Tuesday with the Stars editorial board, WSIB president Tom Teahen said he was open to working with injured worker advocates to make improvements, but defended the boards record on its use of medical consultants.

We do not have a systemic problem, Teahen said.

The review was conducted by top executives at the board, including its chief statistician who reviewed a random sample of 376 cases from 2014. Its findings were also assessed by the boards internal auditors.

David Newberry, an advocate with Toronto-based legal clinic the Injured Workers Consultants and co-author of the initial report raising numerous issues with the worker compensation system, said he was disappointed with the scope of the boards internal review.

The WSIB has unfortunately chosen to investigate only one symptom of a much broader problem, and is now attempting to use the results of its narrow investigation to discredit the system-wide critique, he said. The WSIB document appears to be a deliberate attempt to deflect the conversation and avoid engaging with a very serious set of allegations that were brought forward by a lot of concerned doctors and advocates.

In an ongoing investigation, the Star has covered wide-ranging concerns about board practice, including allegations that the WSIB has sought to unfairly cut benefit payments to injured workers as it seeks to reduce its unfunded liability, which sat at $12 billion in 2010. That figure now sits at $6.42 billion.

Teahen told the Star the reduction has been driven by better recovery and return to work programs for injured workers. Some 92 per cent of injured workers now get back to meaningful employment after an accident, according to WSIB statistics. Fiscal responsibility means more stability for employer premiums and worker benefits, Teahen added.

But critics argue the board has cut costs by failing to heed medical advice regarding readiness to return to work, insufficient treatment, blaming pre-existing conditions for ongoing disability, all despite the evidence of treating practitioners, Newberry said.

The boards internal review focused exclusively on its use of medical consultants, who it says are engaged in about 12,000 claims a year  around 2 per cent  to provide additional medical opinions to help case managers make decisions about files. Case managers are supposed to take the consultants advice into account, along with any other evidence provided by injured workers own health-care providers.

In only 8 per cent of cases, the claim file documentation revealed that the decision maker did not consider and assess the (medical consultant) reviewers opinion along with all other relevant information in the file in order to make the decision, the review said.

Newberry said that figure suggested that around one in 10 claims referred to medical consultants every year were still decided in full disregard of the additional information on file, and that conclusions are drawn in these cases using nothing but a report from someone who has never met the worker.

At least some of these medical consultant firms used by the WSIB, including the one referenced above, also function as claims management firms that work with employers to reduce their WSIB claims costs. This means that they have a conflict of interest resulting from their business orientation to employers seeking to oppose WSIB claims, he added.

As previously reported by the Star, a Hamilton-area doctor is currently suing the board and one of its private health-services contractors, claiming she was terminated after delivering a medical opinion that did not suit the WSIB. For its part, the WSIB said theres no truth to the allegations and denied acting wrongfully in any way.

Teahen said he had shared the results of the boards internal review with Ontario Federation of Labour head Chris Buckley and they would meet soon to discuss its finding.

The WSIB was designed to be a safety net for workers and the OFL is going to continue to ensure that safety net is there, Buckley said.

The November report criticizing the board cited 40 case studies of workers who were allegedly cut off benefits after medical advice was ignored. Teahen said he had requested the details of those files and was open to reviewing them.

Being open and transparent is important and part of my job, Teahen said. I think most things we get right. But that doesnt mean we get everything right.

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Its not a huge leap to go from representing constituents to representing patients.

But for former Whitby-Oshawa MPP Christine Elliott, who is now Ontarios first patient ombudsman, the big difference will be that her new job will come without the partisanship, heckling and drama that can overshadow life in politics.

Elliott, an MPP since 2006 when she won the riding previously held by her husband, the late Jim Flaherty, stepped down from her seat last August, just months after losing the Conservative provincial leadership contest to Patrick Brown. She had previously lost the 2009 leadership race.

I probably shouldnt have done it (run for leadership) the second time, Elliott says, taking a break during the first week in her new job as patient ombudsman.

Politics, she says, reflecting on her career, was something she fell into rather than chose.

I never expected to go into politics. I really didnt  there wasnt an opportunity before Flahertys seat opened up with his move to the federal scene, she says.

This time, the choice has been hers.

When this position came along, I was really excited, says Elliott, who has always been interested in health issues, as her partys health critic and also as a board member of numerous health organizations.

I thought, Well, if you want to change things, you have to step up to the plate.

Its a significant appointment, even for someone with a decade of experience in provincial politics. Elliott, 61, a Progressive Conservative all her life, was appointed by Liberal Health Minister Eric Hoskins, beating out almost 400 other candidates.

The patient ombudsman is a $220,000-a-year job set up by the provincial government in 2014. When patients arent finding success with formal complaints to their hospital or care facility, they can come to her, and she will decide which cases to investigate. The role encompasses hospitals, long-term-care homes and the provinces community care access centres (CCACs). She will also file annual reports highlighting trends and problem areas for patients.

Its a position that seems in line with Elliotts resume outside of politics. She has served as director or has sat on the boards of Durham Mental Health Services, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and the Lakeridge Health Whitby Foundation. She and her late husband co-founded the Abilities Centre in Whitby, which provides programs for people with disabilities.

Though she began preparations in February, her official start as ombudsman was July 1. Her office is planning a grand opening Sept. 19, when shes expected to move from a temporary office to permanent and accessible digs on University Ave.s hospital row.

As the first ombudsman, Elliott has a lot of leeway to define the position in her five-year term. But shes being cagey about her plans.

Its too early to say. We need a couple of months of calls before we really know (the issues), she says.

Elliott says her new job parallels her old one as health critic for the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario in many ways.

Im still getting calls from people that I know from either my community or people I interacted with as health critic.

Elliott started her career as a lawyer in 1980 at Gilbert, Wright and Flaherty, where her future husband was a partner. The two would later leave to found Flaherty Dow Elliott & McCarthy LLP, in Whitby. Flaherty would jump to provincial politics in 1995, and Elliott won his Whitby-Ajax seat when Flaherty moved on to federal politics in 2006.

But life in the spotlight has not always been easy; her public-facing side can seem uncomfortable. In an interview, Elliotts closed posture rarely varies. Her hands are always holding on to something, whether theyre gripping a coffee cup or locked into each other.

Outside of her dealings with media, those who work closely with her describe her as the exact opposite  warm, engaging, and full of open body language. Rob Adams, the executive director of Durham Mental Health Services, says he was struck with how approachable she was, even after leaving the agencys board for politics.

Shes got a good sense of humour. I could talk to her like any other colleague in the sense that I didnt talk to her like an MPP or someone you couldnt approach, Adams says, adding that Elliott is soft-spoken, but very confident.

There are moments in the interview when she opens up  her voice gets half a percentage point louder, and her hands release each other to express her words. It happens when she talks about her two failed bids to lead the Ontario Progressive Conservative party. She ran once in 2009, losing to Tim Hudak. She tried again in 2015, and despite the support of most of her caucus, she lost again, this time to Patrick Brown.

But those days are firmly behind her, she says. After losing to Brown, she took some time to think about what she wanted to do next. Then the call for applications for the new ombudsman position was announced.

Much of her interest in the health field stems from the challenges faced by one of her triplet sons, John, who developed a mental disability and other health issues after developing encephalitis from an insect bite as an infant.

That opened my eyes to the difficulties many families face when they have a child with special needs. That continues to be near and dear with me, she says.

Elliott acknowledges the last few years have been difficult for the family, especially in the wake of the sudden passing of her husband. Flaherty died April 10, 2014, from a massive heart attack, after battling a rare skin condition.

The family has been slowly recovering, she says. After the first year, she talked about the difficulty of completing all the firsts  birthdays, Christmas  without him. Now, a new routine is setting in.

The last few years have been difficult for all of us but I think were all much more settled now than we were a year ago, she says.

With the new job, and the tumult of the past few years behind her, Elliott says shes ready to look forward.

This is a new direction. I dont expect to go back to politics.

What awaits Elliott

Its still early in Christine Elliotts mandate as Ontarios new patient ombudsman, but here are some of the issues shell likely be tackling:

The CCAC system

Ontarios Community Care Access Centres have long been a source of complaints for patients. Though multiple reforms have been proposed, and Health Minister Eric Hoskins has promised to disband them, the $2.5-billion system still exists, and is plagued with issues such as long wait times for long-term health services.

Rehabilitation services in hospitals

In her 2013 annual report, the Ontario auditor general called for the Health Ministry to revamp its rehabilitation and outpatient services. In 2015, the new auditor general, Bonnie Lysyk, followed up on that report, and noted that the recommendations were still being implemented. Over the course of the next five years, Elliott will likely hear from many patients of rehabilitation or outpatient programs.

Long-term-care homes

Another issue highlighted by Lysyk in her 2015 report, long-term care homes will be a large part of Elliotts job. The complaint process for the homes works through a central office in the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. In 2014, they received 3,300 complaints, of which around 1,810 were investigated. Lysyks report noted a problem in the time it took between when a complaint was made and when an investigation took place.

Prescription medication

Before Elliott started her job, patients made complaints to the Ontario ombudsman directly. In the ombudsmans 2015 report, complaints are organized by ministry. For the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, the majority of complaints centre on prescription medication costs, and the various programs in Ontario that can cover them, such as the Trillium Drug Program.

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It started with the rain. Then came the floods. Over two days in July 1996, the region of Saguenay was covered in water. In Chicoutimi, entire neighbourhoods were swept away.

But one house stood firm. Even as its neighbours in Chicoutimi were carried away by the torrents, the small white house withstood the elements. Photos captured at the time show the building standing solitary while the surrounding landscape looks like a waterfall. Years later, its one of the most enduring symbols of the disaster that claimed 10 lives.

These days, the little white house is a museum preserving its own legacy, and that of the floods. The museums founder and owner, Sylvain Genest, is the grandson of Jeanne dArc Lavoie-Genest, the woman who lived in the house at the time of the flood.

Genest said he gets visitors from across the world who are interested in the story of the house. From June until October  when the museum is open  he said roughly 20,000 people visit.

Theyre really impressed by the floods and that the house survived these enormous floods, said Genest, speaking in French. They want to know how the area was before the floods.

Above all, visitors want to know how the house survived. He says there are two explanations: one spiritual, and one scientific. The spiritual reason, he says, had to do with a prayer his grandmother said as she was being evacuated.

She was a big believer. She asked St. Anne  St. Anne, Im offering you a rose. Please protect my house, he said.

The more spiritual tourists prefer that story. Others want to know the scientific reason, which Genest explained has to do with the homes foundations.

The owner at the time (the house was built), in 1950  he anchored the foundations right down to the rock, explained Genest.  So when the water arrived, the foundations acted as a sort of dam. The house also survived a major fire in 2002.

For those interested in what the neighbourhood looked like before the deluge (theres nothing left today), the museum also has replicas inside. Theres also an animatronic version of Lavoie-Genest, sitting in a rocking chair, who tells her story.

The renovations and work that Genest put into the museum cost him around $150,000, he said. Even though the house survived the floods, water still seeped in, and there was a lot of internal damage, he said.

Inside, there was a ton of mud, everything was broken, destroyed by the water. It wasnt habitable, Genest said.

But once the repairs were finished, he was able to open the house to the public in 2005, and has kept the museum going since then.

For his grandmother, the story ends a little less happily. At the time of the flooding, 81-year-old Lavoie-Genest had cancer. She died 30 days after evacuating her house.

She was in rough shape, but the floods probably accelerated her demise, Genest said. But his grandmother did live long enough to watch the floods happening on TV, and see that her house had survived. For her at least, the rose had worked its power.

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The UN was the institution the world set up to implement never again. Its historical tutor is the Holocaust. Yet it seems hardly to have been an eager pupil. Rosalie Silberman Abella Supreme Court of Canada judge

OSWIECIM, POLANDBill Glied leads a block of paraders, arm in arm with his daughter Tammy.

The landscape bursts with joy around them  chestnut trees wave their delicate blooms, lilacs perfume the air, birds sing and pirouette overhead. Natures beauty is a stark contrast to their marchs purpose: to retrace the Shoah  the Hebrew word for the Holocaust.

It should be raining ash.

Back then, seven decades ago when he was a slave labourer, Glied avoided being at the front of a pack like this.

There, he was exposed to both the knifing cold that cut through his thin, striped pyjamas and the violent outbursts of the kapos, or prisoner-guards.

You wanted to be in the middle, where you were hidden, he tells his daughter. When it was very cold, we would hug each other from front to back.

Now 85, Glied is among the dwindling Holocaust survivors who return every year to the sites of their own imprisonment and the murder of their family members. Their goal is to teach students about what millions of European Jews endured during the Second World War.

The annual, two-week pilgrimage that began in 1988 is called the March of the Living. The first week, the group visits the sites of Jewish death in Nazi-occupied Poland  ghettos, concentration camps and death centres. The second week, they go to Israel to celebrate Jewish life.

The name is symbolic, but the trip includes a three-kilometre march between two arms of the Nazis most notorious camp  Auschwitz and Birkenau. Some 1.3 million people were murdered here over five years, 1.1 million of them Jewish.

At its peak, 9,000 people were gassed to death daily in Birkenau, their bodies burned in adjacent ovens. It is considered the worlds biggest Jewish cemetery.

The parade is both sombre and joyful. People from as far as Japan and Chile carry letters for their lost relatives that they leave on the train tracks. They march hand in hand, their love a purposeful response to the Nazis hate.

Walking not far from Glied is another Torontonian, Nate Leipciger, linking arms with his 25-year-old grandson, Jason Green. Like Glied, Leipciger was imprisoned in Birkenau before being packed into a cattle car and sent to Germany. The last time he saw his mother and sister Linka was by the train tracks. They were sent to the gas chambers.

Near the end of the war, when the Allied forces were pushing in on two fronts, Nazi SS guards evacuated the slave labour camp where he was imprisoned with his father, and marched them for four days through the snow, without food or water.

It was the tail end of the march that frightened him, Leipciger recalls in his 2015 memoir, The Weight of Freedom. Straggling prisoners who sat down from exhaustion were shot in the head. Leipciger recalls the hollow sound made by the heads of dead inmates bouncing along the ground as he resentfully dragged them onto burning pyres. He was resentful because he wanted to save his strength for survival.

We lost our humanity, says Leipciger, 88.

Every year, he finds the journey more difficult, physically and emotionally. But, even after 15 years sitting on the international board of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, Leipciger thinks the march is the Shoahs best education program. Hearing the stories first-hand from a survivor, in the very place where they happened, has a chilling impact. He is determined to touch as many hearts as he can.

So when he got a call from the Prime Ministers office, asking that he accompany Justin Trudeau on his first visit to a Nazi death camp this Sunday, he agreed to return once again to Poland.

The death of Nobel Peace Prize winner and iconic Auschwitz inmate Elie Wiesel last weekend has heightened his sense of urgency. Survivors are running out of time to teach the marchs lessons: never forget and never again.

Never forget what happened to the Jews, for in Wiesels words, that would be to kill them a second time. Never again will Jews be slaughtered without a vigorous defence by Israel. And more broadly, never again should humanity stand by as innocent people are murdered by their neighbours, their occupiers or their government.

Except the world has stood idly by many times since the Holocaust. It stood by as Hutus slaughtered Tutsis in Rwanda, and it is doing so again as Syrian President Bashar Assad targets hospitals and primary schools with missiles.

Trudeaus government has been sensitive to the plight of Syrian refugees, bringing 25,000 to Canada within four months of his partys election last fall. But that number is minuscule compared with the more than one million refugees and migrants who poured into Europe last year alone.

But a backlash is growing. Last March, Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo publicly announced her country was closing its doors to refugees.

Openly racist and anti-Semitic groups parade in cities across Europe, while governments like Szydlos remain muted.

So what does the March of the Living mean in the face of rising xenophobia and nationalism  the Shoahs deadly twin ingredients?

Its a question Leipciger asks regularly. And which Trudeau may well ponder.

The world has not changed, Leipciger says. Thats the tragedy. We havent learned anything.

Justice through generations

Canadian Supreme Court Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella wrestled with the same issue the day before, standing at a wooden lecture in a gilded room of Krakows ancient Jagiellonian University.

The target of her sharp critique though was the United Nations.

The UN was the institution the world set up to implement never again. Its historical tutor is the Holocaust. Yet it seems hardly to have been an eager pupil. What was never supposed to happen again has again and again and again, she said.

Abella was delivering the keynote lecture at the Nuremberg Symposium  a daylong examination of both the Nazis Nuremberg laws, which codified racism in 1935, and the worlds legal response to the Holocaust, the Nuremberg trials.

Her voice cracked a few times. The subject and the setting were very personal to her.

Abellas father, Jacob Silberman, won a scholarship to study law at Jagiellonian University in 1930. He stood during first-year lectures, refusing to sit in the seats reserved for the few Jews permitted by a university quota system.

He was clearly brilliant  approved to become a judge before he had even practised law. But a month before his scheduled judicial exam, Hitlers troops invaded Poland. He and his newlywed wife, Abellas mother Fanny, survived three years in concentration camps. His parents, three brothers and their 2-year-old son were murdered at Treblinka.

Once admitted to Canada in 1950, Silberman learned he couldnt join the Canadian bar until he gained citizenship, a process that would take five years. He had a family to raise, so he became an insurance agent and never practised law again.

The moment she heard that story at age 4, she told the room, was the moment she decided to become a lawyer herself.

After the war, her parents had moved to a displaced persons camp in Stuttgart, Germany, where both Abella and her younger sister were born. Their father taught himself English and was hired by Americans as a defence counsel in preparation for the trials of leading Nazis.

I never asked my parents if they took any comfort from the Nuremberg trials ... but they would have preferred by far, that the sense of outrage that inspired the Allies to establish the tribunal at Nuremberg had been aroused many years earlier, she said in her speech.

The genocide that saw six million murdered because they were Jews should have inspired a desperate and unquenchable thirst for enforceable international norms that make human rights abuses intolerable, she said. But that has not been the case.

Consider some of the events that have occurred around the world since then, notwithstanding the most sophisticated development of international law, treaties and conventions the international community has ever known, all stating that rights abuses will not be tolerated, she continued.

Inaction from UN

What is the solution? Abella did not offer one in her speech. But she did say it is time to ask the hard questions about the United Nations.

It is a sentiment echoed by Irwin Cotler, the former Canadian justice minister and renowned international human rights lawyer, who once counselled Nelson Mandela and Natan Sharansky. Now 76, Cotler co-chaired the international legal symposium, which was funded in part by the March of the Living.

Cotler has been a vocal critic of UN inaction to protect Syrians against Assads security forces since 2012, months after an international commission confirmed the government was committing crimes against humanity. By 2013, when Assad began gassing his citizens with chemical weapons  a clear war crime  Cotler again cried for the UN to enact its Responsibility to Protect doctrine. However, even basic resolutions calling for economic and diplomatic sanctions against Syria died on the Security Council floor, vetoed by Russia and China.

By April, more than 4.8 million refugees had fled Syria, and the United Nations had raised only 22 per cent of the $4.5-billion (U.S.) annual budget needed to care for them.

We are living in the time of bystander leadership, Cotler said in an interview.

Cynicism, however, is anathema to Cotler. His formula for countering it is involvement. So at the end of the conference, he and all the participants signed a Never Again declaration  essentially a personal Responsibility to Protect pledge.

It committed the signer to never again ... be indifferent in the face of mass atrocity and impunity.

Cotler plans to circulate it to politicians internationally. He sent it to Trudeau again, in light of Sundays visit to Auschwitz.

Most Holocaust survivors on the March of the Living agreed with Cotler that Canada should take in many more Syrian refugees.

It was hard when we wanted to run and no one would let us in, says Reny Friedman, an 81-year-old born in Holland and hidden from the Nazis by French nuns. Were remembering the Holocaust  there are lots of holocausts going on in the world.

The day after the symposium, Abella and Cotler joined the 10,000 people marching from Auschwitz to Birkenau. Before the march, Cotler took two Rwandan Supreme Court justices who had spoken at the symposium through Auschwitz buildings that now serve as a museum.

They stopped before a jumble of 80,000 shoes, piled behind two walls of glass. Most were gathered outside the gas chambers, after their owners had carefully stepped out of them to go for what they thought were showers.

Some sit side by side, as if beneath the lip of the bed, waiting dutifully for the weight of familiar feet.

The view of those shoes is a chilling reminder: each statistic of genocide is personal.

That day gave Cotler another idea  to invite not just judges, but hundreds of elected officials from around the world to join next years march.

Visiting these Nazi sites, they might better understand the importance of not just saying never again but acting on it.

So far, he has commitments from legislators in the United States, France, Hungary, Norway, Britain and Canada.

Sometimes, said Cotler, you need to get a taste of injustice to have urgency to fight against it.

Haunting journeys home

OSWIECIMMax Eisen leafs through the giant pages of the Book of Life  16,084 pages listing more than four million identified victims of the Holocaust. He is looking for his mothers name: Ethel. She was killed in the gas chambers with his three younger siblings. The thought that haunts him is her anguish at not being able to protect them when the gas came on. This happened in the cultural world that was Europe. And hundreds of millions of people stood by, says Eisen, on his 20th March of the Living. Bad things happen when people are standing by and saying its not our business.

BIRKENAUWelcome to my home, says Nate Leipciger, standing in a wooden barrack at Birkenau. When he arrived here, he was 15  a little younger than most of the teenagers huddled before him, listening. That first night, a kapo told him life expectancy here was four months. Why was I here? I didnt have a trial, he says. His story, he tells the teens, has a price. Now youve heard it, you will have to retell it. Also, he asks each marcher to carefully put together a package of clothing to donate to someone in need. He wants them to become active citizens.

KIELCE You survived the war, where are you going to go? You go back home, says Michael Korolnek. His uncle found his home had been stolen by a Polish family, so he moved to nearby Kielce. The uncle was among the 42 Holocaust survivors who, a year after the war, were killed by a mob. The pogrom made international headlines, including a 1946 Yiddish newspaper his father brought to Canada from a displaced persons camp in Germany. He gave it to Michael days before he died. It is a symbol of remembrance, Korolnek says. Its all he had left of his brother.

WARSAWMarta Kornacka put her arm around Anita Ekstein, whose life her family saved during the war. Ekstein was a child; today shes 81. Shes like my grandma, says Kornacka, a 24-year-old Polish medical student. Her family hid Ekstein for three years. When soldiers arrived at the house one day, her grandmother threw Ekstein out the window. Had she been found, the whole family would have been shot. She survived by hiding in the outhouse. For me, she is a vivid reminder, says Kornacka, when you do good things, you can always get a good return.

LUBLIN Why are you a Jew? Bill Glied asks the teenagers, standing before a mound of human ashes at Majdanek, a former Nazi death camp. Its a question patients discussed in the krankenlager  sick camp  where he was with his father, who died from typhoid fever eight days before American soldiers arrived. Glied has thought about that question for 70 years. Im a Jew, he says, because I believe that all human beings are created in the likeness of God and therefore all racism is foreign to me ... because I have an obligation to help and be hospitable to strangers, to visit the sick ... and most of all, to make peace between people.

TREBLINKAThis was Sol Naymans first trip to Poland since 1939, when his family was sent by Soviets to a work camp in northern Russia. He trembled on the plane from Toronto. He dreaded most visiting Treblinka, my neighbourhood death camp, 35 kilometres from the town where I was born. Some 900,000 people were gassed to death here in just 13 months, most just two hours after arriving. Instead of breaking down again, Nayman was soothed by the marchs secret ingredient  unabashed affection. A group of Toronto teenagers prayed with him and hugged him at the tomblike rock marking his childhood village. I feel a big release, says Nayman, 80. Its the least (sad) Ive felt this whole trip because of these kids and their love and support.

TYKOCINEsther Fairbloom stands in the Lushowa Forest, encircled by three mass graves where the 2,250 Jews of nearby Tykocin were shot by Nazis in 1941. As a baby, she was given to a convent of nuns who hid her in the basement of a church, often in a chest. I lost the ability to walk and talk  malnutrition will do that to you, she says. No survivors knew her name, so she was renamed by an aunt who adopted her  in Jewish history, Esther means hidden. It took them years to be accepted to Canada, which closed its doors to Jewish refugees until 1948. One Jew was too many, she says. Its like a knife in my chest.

Clarification - July 20, 2016:This article was edited from a previous version to update a photo caption. The caption accompanying the photo at Majdanek death camp referred to the murder of 80,000 Jews, Roma, Soviets and homosexuals. The previous caption did not make clear that non-Jewish Poles were among those imprisoned and murdered at Majdanek.

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DALLASTwo more black men were gone for no good reason, and Ebony Gardner was incensed again at the police, sick and tired, she said, of yall coming into our communities and taking our lives and killing our children.

She clarified. She wasnt talking about the Dallas Police Department.

Ill be honest with you. For the most part, DPD is pretty cool, said Gardner, 29, at a restaurant in predominantly black South Dallas.

They make mistakes, but with respect to how they handle people and how they handle situations, the experiences that Ive had with the police department here: theyre helpful. Even if Ive been in the wrong, doing something I wasnt supposed to do, instead of taking my ass to jail, they might give me some help.

There is no appropriate city for a black gunman to kill white police officers. But the fact that Micah Johnson chose to take out his alleged anti-white, anti-cop rage on this force, of all forces, suggested to much of Dallas that the army reserve veteran had been motivated by personal demons or sheer bigotry rather than legitimate grievance.

Dallass top cop, David Brown, is a black man from the city. Before the rampage turned him into a national figure, he was known to advocates of police reform as one of Americas most progressive chiefs, an implementer of the kind of changes Black Lives Matter groups and civil libertarians have pleaded for without success elsewhere.

And he was known to much of South Dallas as an ally. In the type of lower-income, higher-unemployment black community where residents of other cities have complained of routine discrimination, it was easy Saturday to find residents who felt both furious at police behaviour around the country and thankful for the Brown-era Dallas department.

Overall, I think our police officers here in Dallas are real good. Real, real, real good, said Vietnam veteran Tyrone L. Jones, 60. A lot of the officers are interacting with the youth. Since Brown has been in, I think he has kind of gotten rid of the bad actors. He grew up in this area, so he has a feel for the pulse of the community.

Brown, whose own son killed an officer and was killed by an officer in 2010, has done his housecleaning with a level of transparency that appears unprecedented. The day before New Years Eve in 2013, he took to Twitter to announce the names of five officers he had just fired or disciplined.

These werent public controversies. Brown himself brought their identities and alleged misdeeds to Dallass attention.

He was defining the standards of the department: no, were not going to tolerate this, said Samuel Walker, a nationally recognized policing expert.

The department has a checkered history. The relationship between officers and South Dallas residents was poisonous through the crack epidemic of the 1980s, when the force had one of the countrys highest rates of officer killings. But it improved in fits and starts over the past two decades.

And then, many residents say, it has taken a sharp turn for the better under Brown.

Dallas officers had been required to do use-of-force training every two years. Brown has made it every two months, a frequency Walker said he has never heard of. After one of his officers shot an unarmed black man dead after a struggle in 2012, nearly triggering a riot, he issued an eight-point change plan Walker found so impressive that he added it to the opening section of his latest book.

I used that as an example of: departments can do this themselves. You dont have to wait to be investigated and sued, he said.

Brown has cut in half the number of traffic tickets, a significant source of black exasperation, by assigning officers to other beats. He has published an accessible database on officer shootings. This spring, he began releasing numbers even on officer use of weapons like pepper spray, an exceedingly rare level of openness.

The moves appear to have paid dividends. Between 2009 and 2014, resident complaints about the use of force fell by more than half. Officers shot 11 people last year and just one so far this year, down from 23 people in 2012. Crime declined to a historic low in 2014.

Browns policies, though, have not endeared himself to the officers themselves. National officer groups joined with the Dallas Police Association last year in a campaign to get him fired over what they said were unfair management practices and a broken department.

The department heightened security at its headquarters Saturday after receiving an anonymous threat. Officers searched the parking garage for a suspicious person in the early evening but did not find anybody.

A spike in violent crime last year and in the first half of this year has added to the political pressure on Brown, who has said he is serving on borrowed time. And far from everybody in the black community is impressed. Two young men in South Dallas, who would not give their names, alleged regular harassment.

Rev. Ronald Wright, an outspoken pastor who leads the Dallas civil rights group Justice Seekers Texas, said discrimination has become no less frequent under Brown. He noted that police shootings were common for much of Browns tenure, and that officers who kill black residents are literally never prosecuted.

In fact, not a single Dallas officer was indicted for an on-duty shooting between 1973 and 2014. Wright said he has long attempted to warn of an explosion of retaliatory violence.

God gave it to me to tell them: if yall dont stop this, its going to get out of control. And what happened on Thursday: I was not shocked, because God had already shown me that was going to happen, Wright said.

Felicia Rusk, 51, is on probation for a 2007 assault on an officer she insisted she did not commit. The department, she said, still has a long way to go. But even she called Brown a good commander, and she said she has seen real improvement.

Every opportunity I get, she said, I tell the officers in my presence: thank you for what youre doing. Regardless of what has happened to me, that doesnt keep me from knowing there are so many good public servants.

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The gunman who killed five police officers here studied the shoot-and-move combat tactic that he apparently used, writing about it extensively in a journal that detectives are poring over, a senior local official said Saturday. He also practiced military exercises in his backyard.

Investigators found the fairly voluminous journal in the home of Micah Johnson, the sniper who shot at officers Thursday night in downtown Dallas, the official, Clay Jenkins, Dallas Countys chief executive, said in an interview. While the journal did not specifically lay out plans for that assault, he said, it showed how the gunman planned to adapt the combat tactic.

The journal described what we call shoot and move tactics  ways to fire on a target and then move quickly and get into position at another location to inflict more damage on targets without them being able to ascertain where the shots are coming from, Jenkins said.

The tactic described reflects the approach Johnson used in Dallas, moving from one vantage point to another, leading the police to believe at first that there were multiple gunmen.

Its talking not only about how to kill, but how to keep from being killed, said Jenkins, who also said he had not read the journal, but that he had read and heard summaries.

Neighbours have told investigators that Johnson, a 25-year-old Army Reserve veteran who served in Afghanistan, had an interest in weapons, and officials have said that a cache of arms, ammunition, bomb-making material and body armour were found in his home in Mesquite, a Dallas suburb. After the shooting, he was cornered by police, who eventually killed him early Friday.

The journal shows that hes well prepared, said Jenkins, who as county judge is both the countys top executive and its director of homeland security and emergency management. He had an interest, according to his neighbours, in weaponry. He was doing military exercises, according to one neighbour witness, in his backyard for a couple weeks before this.

Johnson served in an engineering brigade, but he would have had combat training. During the attack, which left five officers dead, and seven officers and two civilians wounded, he used a semi-automatic SKS rifle  an old Soviet design  and a high-capacity handgun.

It appeared that he was an excellent marksman and was calmly shooting, as opposed to someone whos just holding a gun up and aiming it and pulling the trigger in the direction of where they think people are, Jenkins said.

David O. Brown, the Dallas police chief, has said that during the standoff with police, the gunman said he had set out to kill officers, particularly white ones.

A large part of downtown Dallas remained closed Saturday as investigators began a second day of piecing together the details of the attack, an investigation that has included more than 200 interviews. More than 20 square blocks remained cordoned off.

Two squad cars outside police headquarters have become memorials, covered in flowers, balloons, posters and handwritten notes. On Friday evening, as person after person slowly and quietly approached the cars to add their own tributes, a Dallas police sergeant wiped her eyes, and a handful of people gathered in a circle to pray.

I miss you already Brother, but you are home with the angels now, said a note about Officer Brent Thompson. The authors wrote, You were, are, and always will be our hero.

Thompson, who worked for the regional transit systems police department, is the only officer killed in the attack who has been publicly identified by authorities. But law enforcement officials and family members said Friday that Lorne Ahrens, Michael Krol, Michael J. Smith and Patrick Zamarripa had also been killed.

Were all human here, and I think that people feel each others pain, Mayor Mike Rawlings told reporters Saturday as he visited police headquarters. And thats what makes it great, thats what makes you hopeful that we can do this  that we can move from senselessness, absurdity thats like a Camus novel, to something that has redemption and hope in it. And thats ultimately what we need to do.

He stopped to speak with a woman kneeling by one police car, and told her, Pray hard, sister.

After the assault, which came amid a peaceful protest about police shootings, law enforcement officials had a protracted standoff with Johnson before killing him with a robot-delivered explosive device.

He had a choice: to come out and we would not harm, or stay in and we would, Rawlings said. He picked the latter.

The investigation may be lengthy, and is likely to disrupt daily life here in the coming days. In a memorandum to top Dallas officials, Eric D. Campbell, the assistant city manager, said that portions of the crime scene locations in the downtown area will remain closed to the public until Wednesday.

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ISTANBUL  Turkeys president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, strode onto a stage a month ago looking down upon a sea of a million fans waving red Turkish flags. They were celebrating the 15th-century conquest of Istanbul by the Ottoman sultan Mehmed II, the golden moment of Turkeys Muslim ancestors triumphing over the Christian West.

The conquest means going beyond the walls that the West thought were impervious, Erdogan said as the crowd roared. The conquest means a 21-year-old sultan bringing Byzantium to heel.

The spectacle, complete with a fighter-jet sky show and a re-enactment of the conquest with fireworks and strobe lights, projected an image of unity and command, of a nation marching together toward greatness, drawing on the achievements of a glorious past. But that soaring vision is being grounded by sobering realities.

Erdogan, who long professed a foreign policy of zero problems with neighbours, now seems to be mired in disputes with just about everybody and just about everywhere. Kurdish and Daesh militants have struck Turkey 14 times in the past year, killing 280 people and sowing new fears.

At the same time, Erdogan has become increasingly isolated, frustrating old allies like the United States by refusing for years to take on Daesh, also known as ISIS and ISIL. He has recently gotten serious about the militant group, but that appears to have brought new problems and more death: Turkish officials say they believe Daesh was blast that that killed at least 44 people in Istanbuls main airport late last month.

He has helped reignite war with Kurdish separatists in Turkeys southeast, leaving hundreds of civilians dead in fighting that began last summer. He alienated Moscow last fall by shooting down a fighter jet that he said had strayed into Turkish airspace.

He had grown so alone that he recently moved to make peace deals with Russia over the jets downing and with Israel over its killing of several Turkish activists on a Gaza-bound flotilla in 2010, after railing against both countries to voters.

I think this is an indicator of how desperate they are, said Cengiz Candar, a visiting scholar at the Stockholm University Institute for Turkish Studies.

Where Erdogan once held up Turkey as a model of Muslim democracy, he now frequently attacks democratic institutions. The editor-in-chief of Turkeys largest daily has fled the country, and another is on trial on charges of revealing state secrets. The president has grown intolerant of criticism, purging his oldest allies from his inner circle and replacing them with yes men and, in some cases, relatives. (His son-in-law is the energy minister.)

Erdogan hints darkly in near-daily speeches on Turkish television that foreign powers are plotting to destroy him, and he has moved from a modest house in central Ankara to a grandiose, Persian Gulf-style palace on the edge of the city.

Now he has set his sights on a new target: transforming Turkeys parliamentary system into a presidential one, a change his critics say could soon open the door to his seizing the title of president for life.

The ship is going very fast toward the rocks, said Ergun Ozbudun, a liberal constitutional expert who once defended Erdogan. Pray for us.

The story of how Turkey, a NATO member with the eighth-largest economy in Europe and a population the size of Germanys, ended up here is as much about Erdogan as it is about the countrys unlucky geography in a convulsing Middle East. While Erdogan has seemed to have nine lives, wriggling out of every crisis, he now finds himself cornered by conflicts on many fronts, including deep divisions in his own society that he has helped create.

Erdogan is still the most popular political leader, but there is unease in the population, said Soli Ozel, a Turkish columnist and professor at Kadir Has University in Istanbul. A lot of people are thinking this is an untenable situation.

Erdogan, 62, is one of the most talented politicians Turkey has ever known, rising from a poor neighbourhood in Istanbul to the heights of power, where he has won election after election since 2002.

In his early years as prime minister, the economy soared and, as incomes rose sharply, so did his popularity. But his critics  and even some of his admirers  say he became so absorbed in battling his enemies, both real and perceived, that he lost his way. He became distracted, they say, by delusions of imperial grandeur and in the process badly damaged institutions critical for a functioning democracy.

Even a former friend, who like others feared being identified, said he had known Erdogan for 40 years but no longer recognized him.

A political outsider, Erdogan helped found the Justice and Development Party, a diverse and inclusive grassroots political machine that turned out to be very good at winning elections, not because it cheated but because its members worked hard.

He really listened to his friends, said Dengir Mir Mehmet Firat, another of the partys founders. He was patient. He would consult with a rich and varied spectrum of people. When he saw violence, he knew how to step back.

To gain control of Turkeys bureaucracy, Erdogan struck an alliance with an opaque religious group led by an Islamic preacher, Fethullah Gulen, filling the ranks of the police and the judiciary with their highly educated members.

I told him I didnt think any part of the state should be left to the control of people with a certain ideology, said Firat, a Kurd who has since left the party. His answer was, We will not be harmed by those who look toward Mecca. We were not an Islamist party  we were a democratic party. But he was already drifting away.

That was because he could: With the military out of the picture, the major check on his power had been removed.

But Islam was not his undoing. Absolute power was. As Erdogan grew more popular, winning broad pluralities and even majorities in each successive election, he began to behave with a kind of Bolshevism, believing that he was the very embodiment of the people, former officials said.

Erdogans Achilles heel is the economy. His voters, while loyal, care about their pocketbooks more. Incomes have stagnated in recent years and foreign direct investment, a key indicator of economic direction, has been declining, not counting real estate purchases.

We have an ulcer, not cancer, Atilla Yesilada, a financial consultant in Istanbul, said of the economy. But all signs point toward sicker.

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Theres been a lifetimes worth of angst since people in the United Kingdom voted in their Brexit referendum to indeed exit the European Union. To believe some online petitions, even millions of Brits who voted to exit now believe theyve made a terrible mistake.

It looks as if it wont be long before a great majority in Great Britain issues a just kidding tweet and tries to forget the whole thing.

This may be the referendum that puts to bed, once and for all, the notion that, In a democracy, the people are always right.

You hear it a lot on election nights. Its what the loser says in an effort to appear to be humble, or a good sport. Greg Selinger said it a few months back when he was tossed from the premiers office in Manitoba. Stephen Harper said it last year as he lost the keys to 24 Sussex Drive.

Losers cant possibly believe the voters were wise to choose someone else, but it does sound like a noble sentiment.

The problem is it isnt true. The people are demonstrably not always right.

Lets quickly deal with the most obvious examples. The people elected Adolf Hitler. The people elected Robert Mugabe. They werent right.

In the United States, the people of the Confederacy fought a ghastly civil war because they believed slavery to be a cherished part of their society. And for at least another century, the people of the south elected ardent racists and segregationists every chance they had.

According to Gallup polls, in 1965 56 per cent of Americans supported Lyndon Johnsons handling of the war in Vietnam. In 2003, 71 per cent of Americans said George W. Bush was doing a fine job with the war in Iraq. All that thinking was eventually turned on its head.

Look at all the things the people were right about in Canada:

Executing 23 Canadian soldiers for desertion or cowardice during the First World War.

Imposing a head tax on Chinese immigrants from 1885-1923 and then banning them entirely until 1947.

Turning away Sikh refugees on the Komagata Maru in 1914.

Turning away Jewish refugees on the St. Louis in 1939.

Putting Japanese-Canadians in internment camps during the Second World War.

Taking aboriginal children from their families and sending them to residential schools.

Some will argue these were all government decisions, not direct choices of the people. But where was the dissent?

Just last month the Toronto police force apologized for raids on gay bathhouses in 1981 and a raid on a womens bathhouse in 2000. Humiliating homosexuals back then didnt seem wrong to the people.

If politicians truly believed the people were always right, theyd be forced to just go home.

In 2011, we had a provincial election in Ontario where 48.2 per cent of eligible voters cast a ballot. Put another way, most Ontarians decided they didnt want to vote for anyone. Perhaps the logical outcome of that election was the shuttering of Queens Park.

Thanks to Rob Ford, the last two mayoral elections in Toronto both had turnouts above 50 per cent but in the three before that we didnt reach 40 per cent. Who needs a mayor, anyway?

If the people are right about school trustees, wed surely never have any. There was a TDSB byelection in January of this year. Turnout was 11.35 per cent.

Were already hearing rumblings for a referendum if, and when, the federal government comes up with a proposal to change our electoral system. Proponents say its the only way to legitimize a new system. Even if its a bad system, well presumably live with it because it was ratified by the people. Who are always right. Except when they arent.

Correction- July 12, 2016: This article was edited from a previous version that misstated the first name of former Manitoba premier Greg Selinger.

Mark Bulgutch is the former senior executive producer of CBC News. He teaches journalism at Ryerson University and is the author of Thats Why Im a Journalist.

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Since 1993, Earth Networks has mainly sold weather data to the scientifically inclined. Co-founders Bob Marshall and Christopher Sloop traversed the country setting up more than 10,000 weather stations in individual neighborhoods and built a comfortable business selling the aggregated data to meteorologists, government research labs and a hodgepodge of private companies.

A few years ago the little Germantown-based company spotted a new market: giant utility companies looking for untapped cost efficiencies.

Earth Networks nabbed its first utility account in 2012 and has since expanded to a handful of states, a new revenue stream that is already in the millions of dollars, Marshall said.

[Earth Networks expands its global reach, product lines]

The most recent deal, a partnership with Northeast energy provider National Grid, was announced last month. The utility, which serves homes in New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, is looking to spot cost-savings opportunities by merging home thermostat data with hyper-local weather readings.

We feel this would really help customers not only to save money, but help us from a distribution perspective, said Carlos Nouel, National Grids New Energy Solutions chief.

The business relationship grew from a project National Grid was working on with researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The team at MIT had developed a mathematical model that could predict certain costs associated with specific weather events.

They quickly realized that it was much easier to accurately measure such costs for a home that sits within five miles of a weather station because neighborhood-by-neighborhood temperature variation can actually have a big effect on how much it costs to heat a home.

Fifty percent of [energy] usage in your home, especially in the Northeast, is driven by weather, said Nouel, citing National Grids internal data.

That matters to utilities because minor temperature variations from one neighborhood to the next can affect the rate at which different houses gain or lose heat.

You might be in D.C., but if youre in Arlington or somewhere else, the weather can be totally different, Nouel said.

Utilities pay Earth Networks for more than just weather data. What National Grid is really buying is the ability to unite home thermostat data with weather readings and to influence costs by taking control of peoples thermostats.

Earth Networks has a separate product called WeatherBug Home, a free system that lets homeowners manage energy costs in conjunction with whats going on outside. Opting into the app gives Earth Networks the ability to take control of the thermostat and make adjustments throughout the day. The goal is to avoid the costly energy peaks that the typical energy consumer experiences.

If a particular customer always cranks up the heat when he gets home at 6 p.m., for example, the system could slowly heat the apartment all day while hes away. The result would be the same 6 p.m. temperature level with a more evenly distributed use of energy, which is cheaper for the utility.

The proprietary weather sensor data allows the utility to measure and control how hyper-local temperature variations affect energy usage. That makes more than just a small impact, if studies released by Earth Networks are correct. A January pilot study using National Grids data cites a 16.5 percent electricity reduction associated with using the WeatherBug Home system.

Nouel would not say how much his company is paying Earth Networks under the new partnership, citing a nondisclosure agreement. Earth Networks charges the utility a flat fee with a variable rate that depends on how many customers enroll in the connected home system.

Earth Networks is chasing a pool of energy-efficiency spending that is driven by a combination of state regulations and customer demand. At National Grid, Nouel oversees a budget of about $500 million that his company has set aside for cost-efficiency programs. That spending goes to such things as in-home insulation meant to keep heat from escaping, financial incentives targeted at customers and analytical programs meant to spot inefficiencies.

This sort of spending has been a boon to at least one other local company. Across the Potomac River in Arlington, energy analytics start-up Opower rode utility sales to an initial public offering in 2014 and a $532 million buyout in May by software giant Oracle.
It all began here. Yes, on Feb. 11, 1964, two days after their famous appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, the Beatles played their first Stateside gig at the Washington Coliseum (now Uline Arena). The space hasnt been used for concerts for decades, but Paul McCartney, who just returned to America for the final leg of his One on One tour, still remembers it. We spoke with McCartney during a tour stop in Denmark.

Its been 52 years ago, but do you remember anything about that first show?

Jelly beans.

Paul McCartney at the One On One tour in Dusseldorf, Germany. (MJ KIM/MPL Communications )

What do you mean?

When you asked us kids, whats your favorite toothpaste or whats your favorite breakfast, what are your favorite sweets or candies . . . we said jelly babies or jelly beans. It was just a flippant remark, but the fans latched on to it and it went global. So what happened is they started throwing it at us. Which would sometimes hit you in the eye or would melt but worst of all, they would land on the stage and you would walk on them all and you would be walking through this glutinous mess of jelly babies. After that, we said, you know what, we dont like jelly babies anymore.

On this tour, youre playing A Hard Days Night and Love Me Do live for the first time as a solo artist. What made you hold off, and why now?

Normally, I used to resist something that wasnt sort of my song. I would do Drive My Car, but then I would avoid Help or something like that because I felt it was more John than me. But I happened to relax that theory, and Im just very happy to just do stuff that I think is a good song. I heard A Hard Days Night on the radio and thought, Wow, great song, and I realized John and I were both so excited about the song we both sang the lead vocal. Something that doesnt happen these days. And that chord is one of the most iconic chords in music.

There are whole seminars on how you learn to play that chord.

Its actually impossible. Theres a lot of archaeology involved.

Your last new album came out a couple of years ago. Do you have a songwriting routine? Do you sit down and write?

The thing is, because Im touring quite a bit this year, its a question of making time. We were in Sao Paulo, I think it was last year. [McCartney played two concerts there in late 2014.] I had a day off with absolutely nothing to do. My wife, Nancy, wasnt with me. I slept in late, got up, hung out and I suddenly had three or four hours with absolutely nothing to do. Thats the ideal time. So I wrote a song in that period.

Then theres turning that into a releasable song, right?

Sometimes I will go into my recording studio and look through demos. Because I have way too many little half-finished demos. With the luxury of being able to stick things down on a Dictaphone, make voice memos, thats actually a very bad thing. You make millions of half-finished songs.

Do you walk around with an iPhone and record bits when you get them?

Yeah, if you get a good idea. Or you see something. I either make a note in my notepad or do a little voice memo. Just to remind myself exactly the feel of the song. But it does mean you have a lot of fragments and youve got to figure out a way of piecing those together. So what Ive done with our promoter is Ive said, I think the last gigs are the end of October sometime. After that, I dont want to take any more engagements this year. Id like to get an album by next year.

What exactly are you working on in the studio?

Im working on a film project that Im writing some songs for. An animated film thing. The film thing, I dont like it. Because youre totally gung-ho and youre doing it and somebody rings you up and says, Well, its on hold. One of the characters in our film, Id rung up Lady Gaga and asked her to sing this song. It came out really good, but we cant do anything with it until the film gets made. You feel like sometimes youre walking in treacle. We made a start on it and once we get the go-ahead I will finish up the other songs and record them, and theres one more Id like Gaga to do.

Youve made music just sitting in a room by yourself playing all the instruments. I love your drummer for some reason. But youve also recorded with everyone from Kanye to Michael Jackson to Elvis Costello. Do you like one more than the other? Do you get into a different groove doing one or the other?

Im very lucky really. Rather than getting into a groove, you can get into a rut. I like to avoid that at all costs. So for me its the groove over the rut. Which happens when you do quite varied projects. I really had a great time working with Kanye. And I admire him as an artist and a producer. It was completely different from anything Ive ever done before, but I think we got some good music out of it. The Rihanna song, FourFiveSeconds. And then Ill come to work by myself. And Ill sit down as I traditionally have done with a guitar, and so that now is freshened up by the experience with Kanye, and then Ill go in the studio and work with [Adele producer] Greg [Kurstin] and that again is freshened up. And then Ill tour. I think all those inspirations rub off on each other.

Some people might say, why even worry about putting out new records? You had this funny thing happen where you and Beck couldnt get into that post-Grammys party and you said something like, We better start working on some new songs.

No, I said, We better come up with some hits. It was irony, I hope people understood. Because Beck, who I was hanging with, just got the Grammy for album of the year. And also we were hanging with Woody Harrelson, who was currently in The Hunger Games. It wasnt like I was with a gang of no-hopers. The truth about that story is, we werent even trying to get in that place. We were trying to establish whether that was Mark Ronsons party or not. It turned out not to be. But the bouncer didnt get it. I said, Look, all I want to know is this Mark Ronsons party. [He said:] You cant come in. I dont want to come in. Is this Mark Ronsons party? The thing is, the guy was a bit thick. And he didnt even see who anyone was. If you had flashed the big laminates hed been told to accept, then youd get in. And then suddenly, this is not the place and were talking to the guy and were just about to leave and what do I see, the ubiquitous TMZ camera focused on us.

I want to get to this new compilation you put out, Pure McCartney. What I like is that it feels like a mix tape.

That was the original thought. It was like a playlist. The ideal thing is if youve got a three-hour car journey and youve got the perfect thing to listen to, he said modestly.

How involved did you get in the song selection?

To tell you the truth, this was an idea that was put to me by one of my girls in my New York office, who I respect and is sort of a great music fan and connoisseur. She said, Ive been listening and putting together playlists and I think it would be great to do this. So she came up with the first playlist. Then I got involved.

Whats her name?

Her name is Nancy Jeffries.

I want to lodge just one complaint with Nancy Jeffries. Flowers in the Dirt. I could go on and on about whats wonderful about that album. And theres not a song from it.

You know why, because its about to be reissued. Its our next big box set. Were working on that at the moment. So she would avoid that.

Will it be released in its entirety? There are all those songs you wrote and recorded with Elvis Costello, many of them not officially released.

Thats one of the real exciting things. Those demos. Were releasing them as part of this package. Im not sure Im supposed to be telling you this. . . . Its great that youre a fan of Flowers in the Dirt. Cause youve got a real nice release coming out. We showed it all to Elvis, and he was just tickled pink.

I do have to ask you about Brexit. Whered you land? And are you having E.U. remorse?

I think like a lot people I was very confused. I was so confused that I couldnt vote.

You couldnt?

I was actually doing concerts and I physically couldnt get to it. But even if I had have been able to, I was so confused. You were hearing what seemed to be good arguments on both sides. I think I would have come down on the remain side because people like the governor of the Bank of England, a lot of financial experts, were saying that.

Paul, one last thing. My son, who just turned 6, asked me what I was doing today and I said I was talking to Paul McCartney. And he asked if I could ask you one question. And the question is . . . Wheres Ringo?

What was the question?

Wheres Ringo?

Oh, I believe hes out on tour. [Pause] You tell him, hes in Pauls heart.
What scares John Carpenter? Over his four-decade career, the self-described Master of Horror has directed so many classic big-screen thrillers  Halloween, The Thing, They Live  that you might imagine hes immune to fear. But when recently faced with the prospect of performing music in front of audiences for the first time, the 68-year-old admits, I was terrified!

Carpenters fear dissolved on the opening night of his current tour, in which he and his band play selections from his film scores alongside new songs from two recent albums. I started playing and I realized, This is easy!  he recalls. As a director, you stand behind the camera and you sweat and cry and scream for months. Performing, you play for an hour and half, and youre done! Its so fun.

Although Carpenter describes his live show  which comes to Washingtons Lincoln Theatre on Tuesday  as a career retrospective, its impetus came from a recent surprise. A few years ago, he started jamming habitually in his home studio with his 32-year-old son, Cody, just for fun. They improvised in the vein of Carpenters pioneering movie soundtracks, which he composed and played on synthesizer. The ominous tones and tense chords influenced film composers as well as underground musicians, who built on his innovations to create evocative instrumentals.

[Scared, kids? Thank John Carpenter, who wrote the Halloween theme.]

Not long after the father-son jam sessions began, a lawyer Carpenter hired to represent his soundtrack work asked if he had any new material to share. So I gave her the improvised music I had done with my son, and lo and behold, we got a record deal, he says. Adding his godson Daniel Davies (the son of Kinks guitarist Dave Davies) into the mix, Carpenter has made two albums for indie label Sacred Bones, Lost Themes and Lost Themes II. The latter gave rise to his first tour, with the trio accompanied by musicians who previously backed Jack Blacks Tenacious D.

Both Lost Themes volumes show that Carpenters powers as synth player and mood creator are undiminished. Using simple melodic lines and dramatic, repetitive notes, he crafts wordless narratives that, true to their name, sound like scores in search of images. Theyre soundtracks for movies that exist in your mind, he says. Everybody has something playing in there. My recommendation to you is to get in your car late at night, drive the dark city streets and put on Lost Themes. Youll experience it.

Music has filled Carpenters mind for even longer than he has made movies. His father, Howard R. Carpenter, taught classical music in Kentucky and played violin for the Nashville Strings, supporting Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash and Brenda Lee in studio sessions, some of which Carpenter witnessed as a child. John Carpenter eventually took his own stab at violin; he was never destined for that, he admits. Its a really hard instrument to learn. To sound good on violin is nearly impossible.

Instead Carpenter turned to keyboard and guitar, joining a high school rock group that played frat parties on weekends for extra cash. But his first love was film, which hooked him at 8, when he marveled at the 1956 science fiction movie Forbidden Planet. It was stunning to me. I had never seen anything like it, he remembers. It had an all-electronic score, no orchestration. Everything about the movie was transformative to me. It made me want to become a director.

When the time came to choose between music and movies, Carpenter followed his childhood dream, moving to Los Angeles to study film at the University of Southern California. Soon after graduating, he made a string of movies  1974s Dark Star, Assault on Precinct 13 in 1976 and one of the most successful independent films ever, Halloween in 1978  for which he created scores by improvising on his synthesizer while watching final cuts.

Carpenter made his own soundtracks out of financial necessity. As he puts it, I could only afford me. But his admittedly limited musical vocabulary was a good match for his storytelling style. Simple, repetitive themes are very effective, he says, citing the piano from Mike Oldfields Tubular Bells in The Exorcist and Bernard Herrmanns stabbing strings during the shower scene in Psycho. You want something that gets into the audiences mind, that starts working on them. Thats what its about.

Playing those soundtracks for the first time in decades has been less a nostalgia trip than a happy relief. The first thing I thought was, Thank God these are simple!  Carpenter confesses. I dont have the chops for anything more complicated. As he revisits these pieces nightly, with scenes from corresponding movies projected behind his band, hes amazed at the reception. Its great that people remember this stuff, he enthuses. Some of it is from before some audience members were born. But I guess many generations have listened to it, which is wonderful.

For Carpenter, this surprise second act is simply a bonus to a satisfying career, one that hes enjoying to the fullest. I never thought about doing something like this before, he says. I accidentally fell into it, and its unbelievable. I get to make music, man! Its a flowing, natural process, and it came at a great time in my life. Now that Im an old man, I love it.

John Carpenter performs Tuesday night at the Lincoln Theatre.
Dear Amy: My boyfriend and I (23 and 24) have been dating for the past seven months. We recently decided to move in together after being accepted into graduate schools in the same city.

My whole family is extremely happy for us. They love my boyfriend and want only the best for us. They have even offered to help us financially if we need it, though we hope we wont.

However, since we announced the move, his mother has become increasingly cold toward me. At first I ignored it and just tried harder to befriend her and bond with her.

On a recent trip to a cottage with his whole family, I noticed how rude and snappy she was being toward both of us.

Everything I did offended her or caused her to roll her eyes. Shocked and upset, my boyfriend confronted her about it after the trip.

She explained that she does not like me and continued to berate him about how controlling and manipulative I was, and how upset she was that my family had money to be able to help us out and she didnt (we have never expected nor asked for any financial assistance from her). She didnt have one nice thing to say about me.

My boyfriend and I are very upset about this. He completely disagrees with his mother and tells her she is being unfair by not giving me a chance.

I dont even feel welcomed in their home anymore (which is in a different city). We are still moving in together, as this situation hasnt affected our love or respect for each other. We just dont know how to react to his mothers dislike toward me (and perhaps soon-to-be dislike from other family members, as his mother is the dominating presence over his family).

I am scared of what the future brings; should I still try to communicate and fix things with his mother, or should I remain distant?

Worried

Worried: Your boyfriend did the right thing to confront his mother over her behavior toward you. You could try to fix things but only do so knowing that she might respond poorly.

You should always be polite toward her, and you should never initiate any criticism of her to your boyfriend. You two should also not discuss any financial matters with his mother, since she seems to take information innocently offered and turn it into ammunition.

The challenge here is for you to recognize that this puts your guy in a tough spot. If he is choosing you as his partner, he will have to defy his mother. You must let him do this in his own way. You should never compare your family to his, and you should be supportive of him through this challenge, without criticizing or harshly judging his family.

His mother might be passing through a tough transition of her own, as her son resolutely chooses his own path. Unfortunately, she is reacting in a way almost guaranteed to alienate him.

Dear Amy: My wife and I have a casual friend for whom weve recently done some nice things.

As a gesture of appreciation, he wants to cook dinner for us. He is a very good cook, so thats not the issue. Its just that we are busy and we cherish the few nights we get to have together. Also, we have friends we dont see as often, and wed rather spend that kind of time with them. Is there a polite way of declining this kind of very generous invitation?

Reluctant

Reluctant: I think you should take him up on his offer. Otherwise it will just hang there . . . forever. The time you spend dodging this generous payback invitation might as well be spent enjoying it.

It is a further generosity to let this gentleman thank you properly. Accept his invitation, have a nice time and pat yourselves on the backs for being nice people.

Dear Amy: I felt so sorry for Crier, who was trying to get through her sons wedding without being a blubbering mess.

I have the exact same problem! Fortunately, my doctor helped me out. I take a low-dose of Xanax, and it evens everything out for me. I no longer cry at Hallmark commercials or weddings.

Even-keeled

Even-keeled: I dont know if I would find life to be necessarily better with everything evened out, but Im glad this works for you.

Write to Amy Dickinson at askamy@tribune.com or Ask Amy, Chicago Tribune, TT500, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60611.
A woman holds a sign as she marches with hundreds of others on streets in the District as they mourned and expressed outrage about the killings of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge and Philando Castile in St. Paul, Minn.

July 10, 2016 A woman holds a sign as she marches with hundreds of others on streets in the District as they mourned and expressed outrage about the killings of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge and Philando Castile in St. Paul, Minn. Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post

Steps from where the shooting began, Dominique Alexander and Dominique Torres, leaders of the Next Generation Action Network, tried to make sense of how the Black Lives Matter protest they had planned had turned into a tragedy.

Twelve police officers had been shot, five fatally, at a protest they called for on their groups Facebook page. Strangers on social media were telling them it was their fault. The lieutenant governor of Texas had referred to protesters as hypocrites for looking to police for protection while protesting police brutality.

They were carrying an emotional weight that none had fully expected. And now they had to figure out how to keep going.

Alexander, 27, said he needed to mourn the deaths of the police officers, but he didnt want to obscure the larger issue of racial disparities in law enforcement.

This is not going to stop our movement, Alexander told reporters. In fact, we want it to strengthen it. No one deserves to get shot unjustly  not police officers, not black men. A shooting in Dallas doesnt mean the problem doesnt exist anymore.

People in Dallas, St. Paul, Minn., and across the nation grapple with how to move on from the deaths of two black men at the hands of police as well as the loss of five police officers all in one week's time. (Whitney Shefte,McKenna Ewen,Dalton Bennett,Ashleigh Joplin/The Washington Post)

[Fatal force: A Washington Post investigation of people shot and killed by police in 2016]

Black Lives Matter is a diffuse movement that started with a hashtag on social media three years ago this week. It has increased awareness of police killings of black people and led to reforms in how police behavior is monitored, including through data collection and body cameras. Now it faces its greatest challenge.

Activists associated with Black Lives Matter refused to retreat from their slogan this weekend, staging large protests in cities around the country, including Atlanta, Phoenix and San Francisco. Leaders decried the loss of life in Dallas and strongly rejected any ties between the gunman and their activism.

He wasnt a protester, said Johnetta Elzie, a St. Louis native who emerged as a leader of the movement during protests following the death of Michael Brown, an unarmed black man in Ferguson, Mo., in August 2014. People are conflating the message with being anti-police and its anti-police violence.

[Dont criticize Black Lives Matter for provoking violence. The civil rights movement did, too.]

Black Lives Matter was born as a cry of protest on July 13, 2013, after George Zimmerman was acquitted in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black youth walking home in Florida. That night, activist Alicia Garza wrote: We dont deserve to be killed with impunity. We need to love ourselves and fight for a world where black lives matter. Her friend Patrisse Cullors attached a hashtag to the words, and with a third woman they later founded a #BlackLivesMatter organization, although they dont try to control who uses the phrase.

The movement has had a huge impact despite not having a central leader. What started as a social-media phenomenon gained much more attention during the months of protests following Browns killing. Videos of police shootings now routinely circulate under the #BlackLivesMatter tag and go viral.

Protests took place in cities across the country on Friday to condemn police brutality. In Atlanta, some demonstrators blocked a highway and in Phoenix police used tear gas and pepper spray to break up a protest. People in Dallas gathered outside of the police headquarters to remember the five officers killed in an ambush. (Claritza Jimenez/The Washington Post)

None has evoked more emotion than last weeks live-streaming of the aftermath of a police officer shooting Philando Castile in Minnesota. Following his death, the outcry, which included a statement by President Obama, made clear that activists were succeeding in their mission of convincing the world that black people were being targeted by police because of their race.

Civil rights lawyer Judith A. Browne Dianis described last week as the week from hell for Black Lives Matter. First came the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile as the constant reminder of the work that we have to do, said Dianis, director of the Advancement Project, a liberal nonprofit organization that coordinates with groups in the movement. The shootings in Dallas followed and make it harder for us to continue on in doing the work of police accountability because it makes the narrative more complicated. . . . And in some ways it felt like the pain that we have felt [for the deaths of Sterling and Castile] was swept under the rug.

She sounded weary, as did a half dozen other Black Lives Matter leaders. In interviews, nearly all described themselves as tired.

What is happening is just so traumatizing, and my heart is just so heavy, said Clifton Kinnie, who organized high school students during protests near his home town of St. Louis. Being in the movement has caused me to get to a point where my heart is so heavy. Trayvon Martin. Michael Brown. Tamir Rice. Sandra Bland. . . . The past 72 hours my phone was on do not disturb. My spirit was not broken, but like many in the community I am tired.

[This 17-year-old is a rising voice in Baltimores Black Lives Matter movement]

As the Black Lives Matter anniversary approaches, activists involved have been reassessing their strategies. They will have to do so while contending with sharpened criticism of their movement. Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick said during an interview on Fox News that he blames people on social media with their hatred towards police for the shooting, and called protesters in Dallas hypocrites for running when the sniper opened fire and expecting men and women in blue to turn around and protect them. The Drudge Report posted a headline saying, Black Lives Kills Four Police Officers.

In a statement late last week, the official Black Lives Matter organization that Garza and Cullors founded, which has 40 chapters and represents a portion of the movement, predicted that there are some who would use these events to stifle a movement for change and quicken the demise of a vibrant discourse on the human rights of Black Americans.

The leaders of Black Lives Matter fear the negative commentary will weaken the movements influence on the national debate after a period in which activists had begun to feel more powerful. Since 2014, more than two dozen states have enacted laws addressing police violence, including the collection of data on police shootings, and more bills dealing with the issue are being considered. State leaders quickly remanded investigations of Sterlings and Castiles deaths to federal authorities, unlike Browns case.

There is an entirely new generation of black people on the front lines for justice and dignity and respect for black people. We have opened conversation in the political sphere, the art world, Hollywood, Cullors said. People have been really pushed to grapple with what it means to show up for black lives.

The Dallas protest began when Alexander and others in the Next Generation Action Network were driving back to Dallas from a protest in Baton Rouge, where they had visited the family of Alton Sterling. Then the video showing Castile, taken by his girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, started popping up on their phones. It added extra layers of urgency, outrage and mourning.

They drafted a news release and a Facebook announcement. We dont do a lot of planning, Alexander said. You just put something out there and wait for people to come.

More than 1,200 people checked into the protest on Facebook. And everything was peaceful  police officers posed for pictures with protesters, and some even shared hugs  until it wasnt.

Alexander emphasized that their relationship with these police officers was not adversarial. Police contact them whenever they have planned a protest, and the same officers show up to clear the streets and protect them from violence.

This is not about protesters versus the police, added Simone Bridges, 25. We want the police to be safe, and we want to be treated with dignity. We just want them to do their jobs.

Alexander and Torres had been so busy talking all day that they did not even see the photos of the officers who were shot. A reporter showed him photos of the officers, each a new revelation. Patrick Zamarripa: I seen him. Lorne Ahrens: He was the one leading in the front. I know him. Sad. Michael Krol: Ive seen him, too. Michael Smith: Hes out there all the time. Brent Thompson: Yeah. Him.

Alexander went quiet, and his eyes started to glisten.

I knew all five, he said, quietly. All five.

Were going to hope to be at the table to help the police get better, Torres added. But we know they need their space now, and they need time to mourn.

So did they.
An editor watches the live-streamed video that captured the aftermath of the police shooting of Philando Castile. (Agence France-Presse via Getty Images)

Youve heard of the accidental tourist. Now we have the reluctant news media.

Im talking about Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, among others. With the advent of live-streaming options  Facebook Live and Periscope, primarily  their already huge influence in the news universe has taken another stunning leap.

When Diamond Reynolds logged on to Facebook after her boyfriend, Philando Castile, was shot by a police officer Wednesday in Falcon Heights, Minn., her first words as she started recording were Stay with me. Millions did.

On the strength of that live video, Minnesotas governor brought in the Justice Department to investigate what might otherwise have gone unquestioned as a justified police action.

I call that news.

But Facebook doesnt see itself that way, even though two-thirds of its 1.6 billion users get news there  and even though they all now can be citizen journalists with live-broadcast cameras in their pockets.

In a recent blog post, Facebook executive Adam Mosseri reiterated Facebooks consistent position: We are not in the business of picking which issues the world should read about. We are in the business of connecting people and ideas  and matching people with the stories they find most meaningful.

Still, crucial decisions are constantly thrust upon Facebook. And they arent too different from those that news editors have always made: Should the newspaper print a photo of an assassinated ambassador? Should a TV network air a terrorist beheading?

Some social-media equivalents: Twitter decided to suspend 125,000 accounts that were associated with recruiting terrorists. YouTube chose to take down, and then put back up, video of Syrian security forces torturing a teenage boy. Reynoldss video was removed from Facebook for about an hour after it was posted and then restored.

Theres clearly an editorial process in which Silicon Valley companies are deciding what to put back up, often in response to protests from viewers, said Zeynep Tufekci of Harvards Berkman Center for Internet and Society. This sometimes happens after users have flagged an item as offensive, resulting in its being removed in the first place. She thinks that is what happened with Reynoldss video. Facebook has called it a technical glitch.

And, Tufekci told me, human involvement is always necessary: The worlds best robot cant do it. (Adrian Chen wrote in Wired about moderation warehouses, where thousands of low-paid workers worldwide make these determinations, as they view the worst of human nature.)

Facebook and others undoubtedly are struggling with what their outsize power has wrought.That cant be easy, as events keep coming ever faster.

It was a big deal last month when Twitters Periscope provided live coverage of a congressional sit-in over gun control after C-SPAN cameras were turned off. And only one day after Reynoldss video rocked the world, Facebook Live captured the scene in Dallas, where a sniper had mowed down police officers.

When Mark Zuckerberg unveiled Facebook Live globally early this year, he spoke (by live video, of course) about its potential. Curiously, he used the word raw  and spoke about the opportunity to observe baby bald eagles or a friends haircut.

Far more raw, though, was the 10-minute live stream following Castiles shooting, with the sound of a policemans screamed profanity, the clink of handcuffs, the victims blood-drenched shirt, and the surreally moving words of a 4-year-old girl comforting her mother: Its okay, Im right here with you.

These tools, no doubt, can bring great good. They certainly bring great challenges, too, including (as CNNs Hope King wrote recently) trying to stop criminals and terrorists from live-streaming their deeds.

Whats more, they increasingly put social media companies in a position that traditional news companies have long resisted  becoming an arm of law enforcement in criminal investigations. The traditional press sees itself as a counterweight to government, as the founders intended; social media platforms arent having any of that.

Facebook has for years complied with subpoenas, giving courts or law enforcement detailed information about its users  their friends, locations and posts. The company makes no secret of that.

And so, while Facebook may seem to be mostly about your cousins Cape Cod vacation, and Twitter may seem to be mostly about where journalists dined in Perugia, there are far bigger issues afoot. Its not exaggerating to say that, among them, are civil liberties and free speech.

Facebook spokeswoman Christine Chen pointed me Friday to the companys published community standards, and assured me that serious discussions have taken place ever since Facebook Lives launch: Were being thoughtful about this. She wouldnt talk about the technical glitch that Facebook cited after taking down and restoring Reynoldss video.

Yes, social media platforms are businesses. They have no obligation to call their offerings news or to depict their judgments as editorial decisions. They are free to describe their missions as providing a global town square or creating a more connected globe.

But given their extraordinary influence, they do have an obligation to grapple, as transparently as possible, with extraordinary responsibility.

For more by Margaret Sullivan visit wapo.st/sullivan
An architects rendering shows the entrance to the Academies of Loudoun, set to open in fall 2018. The building will have no wings and will feature large spaces for students from different magnet programs to collaborate. (Photo by Stantec)

On a swath of dirt off Sycolin Road in Loudoun County, school officials have broken ground on a new campus that will house a state-of-the-art building and a high-caliber math and science program that some hope will help keep the countys top math and science students in the school system while forging a new model for STEM education.

The $86.5 million Academies of Loudoun campus, which will serve 2,500 students and is set to open in fall 2018, will combine three magnet programs in a space designed to encourage interaction and collaboration among students. The district plans to relocate the Academy of Science, the Academy of Engineering and Technology and the Monroe Advanced Technology Academy, the countys vocational program, to the site. All three programs are part-time, meaning students take core courses at their base high schools and take specialty science, math and technical courses within their respective programs.

The new campus will allow the existing Academy of Science, now housed in a wing of Dominion High School, to double its capacity, offering more students the opportunity to take part in an elite science program close to home.

The move could keep Loudouns top students in the county rather than sending them to Fairfax Countys Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJ), a regional magnet and perennially one of the nations top public schools. TJ draws Northern Virginias top students to its rigorous program, and 99 percent of its graduates go on to attend four-year colleges. The school regularly sends graduates to elite colleges; the Class of 2015 had 191 of its students accepted by the University of Virginia, according to TJ.

Loudoun paid $3.3 million for 248 students to attend TJ last year, and that figure does not include the cost of transportation. Eric Hornberger, chairman of the countys school board, said he hopes to eventually stop sending Loudoun students to TJ so the local tax funds can be invested in homegrown programs instead.

If we have available space and capacity to accommodate students, why not take that money and invest it in our programming? Hornberger said.

Three years ago, the school board considered severing relations with TJ after the Fairfax County school system asked neighboring systems, including Loudoun, to chip in millions of dollars to help pay for a $90 million renovation of the high school. Loudoun board members said then that they hoped to build a similar program to keep top science and math students in the county.

[TJ renovation cost raises questions from surrounding school systems asked to chip in]

Thomas Jefferson Principal Evan Glazer said he does not believe expanding the Academy of Science will threaten the applicant pool at his school, where just 1 in 6 applicants is accepted. About one-sixth of the schools 1,800 students come from outside Fairfax, which is the 10th-largest school district in the nation and has a large local talent pool.

Offering a new program in Loudoun will provide STEM learning experiences for many more students, Glazer wrote in an email. (STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and math.) The highly qualified applicant pool for TJ is deep and if some students choose a new Loudoun STEM school as an alternate, there will still be excellent students attending TJ.

The Academy of Science, founded about a decade ago, is already immensely popular in Loudoun and turns away hundreds of applicants who want to take part in the programs project-based approach to math and science. This year, more than 800 students applied for 68 slots in the freshman class. George Wolfe, director of the academy, said many students apply to both TJ and the Academy of Science, and while he loses some to Fairfax County, some decide to stay.

Wolfe said he is excited to expand the program so more students can take advantage of the academys unique offerings.

For now, he is limited both by space and a desire to keep classes small.

Theres plenty of talented kids we could be taking, Wolfe said. The dilemma we run into is class size. In order to do research, we need relatively small class sizes.

The academy is housed in a single wing of Dominion High with 11 classrooms, and teachers have struggled to meet the equipment needs of its enterprising students. One teachers classroom is now dominated by a homemade wind tunnel, Wolfe said.

When the Academy of Science moves to the new campus, it ultimately will be able to offer twice as many seats. And students will have the opportunity to work on projects with students from the Academy of Engineering and Technology, started this year at Tuscarora High School, and the long-standing Monroe Advanced Technology Academy, the districts home for what is traditionally known as vocational education.

Monroe Principal Tim Flynn said the new campus will expand the possibilities for student projects. It could, for example, give students with training in building trades and welding to work with those designing contraptions and conducting experiments.

The students within those programs have the chance to work together to take research and to take ideas from a simple concept phase to a modeling phase to a phase where you can actually build it, Flynn said.

The campus represents a radical departure from a traditional high school building. There will be no wings. The school will have spaces with high ceilings and specialized maker spaces, where architects hope students will be inspired and enabled to build new projects. The school system broke ground on the building in late June.

The firm that designed the building, Stantec, drew inspiration from research campuses and rooted the design in the schools vision of integration and collaboration.

We were able to translate this vision that we had into this very cool building, architect Derk Jeffrey said.
Dear Mayor Bowser:

Your office says you will launch a nationwide search to find a replacement for D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson, who is stepping down. Please dont do that, Madame Mayor.

Nationwide searches for school superintendents are stupid, cliched and usually do not work. That is particularly true for low-performing but improving school systems like the Districts.

The quickest, cheapest and most effective way to find a new chancellor is to have a long talk with Henderson. After six years (plus three previous years as deputy chancellor), she knows better than anybody what the job is and who already working in D.C. Public Schools can do it best. Call in the people she suggests  no travel expenses or headhunter fees necessary  and pick the one you like most.

[D.C. Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson to stop down, leaving legacy of progress]

For many decades, big U.S. school districts have bought into the myth that somewhere out there is a genius who can solve their problems. They do nationwide searches for the same reason many rich people buy far more living space than they need: They would be thought peculiar if they did not.

The alleged stars hired in these fantasy adventures usually have little familiarity with the administrators, teachers, parents, students and power brokers in the school district or have little knowledge of its history. They lack trusted allies. Some of the most valuable people they must work with resent their presence.

For D.C. schools, that is a formula for disaster. Lets assume a new chancellor hired from the outside announces changes, awkward and incomplete because of unfamiliarity with the districts inner workings. That forces schools to dump programs that were beginning to work in favor of something in which they have little confidence.

This is an old story in urban school districts, Madame Mayor. It happens a lot. That does not mean your citys schools are fated to undergo the same tortuous cycle. Keep in mind that you have many talented educators, good financial support, hopeful families, a robust charter sector that Henderson encouraged and some high schools  such as Wilson, Banneker and the School Without Walls  that are already as good as what you would find in the wealthiest suburbs.

[With Kaya Henderson leaving, Bowser has a decision to make]

You have seen the improvements. Some critics say the gains that D.C. schools have shown on the National Assessment of Educational Progress exams are the result not of better teaching but of changes in student family background that correlate with higher scores. A new study by Urban Institute researcher Kristin Blagg suggests that is not true for the District. Its students are doing better than the demographic changes would predict.

One urban district  Cleveland  did not improve as much as was forecast, Blagg said. But D.C. schools were among the best of 11 urban districts in exceeding demographically related expectations from 2005 to 2013. The Districts schools added an average of eight NAEP points on top of a predicted gain of six points, Blagg told me recently.

Much work must still be done, but who in her right mind  and you seem quite sane to me  would want to mess with the changes Henderson and her team have been making?

The best charter-school systems do not conduct national searches. They usually promote from within. Doug Lemov, best-selling author of the Teach Like a Champion books and a leader of the Uncommon Schools charter network, notes that a district has the most data on inside candidates and preserves its culture by promoting them. Morale is also an issue in a district where you can never get to the top unless you move to a new place, he said.

As you know, Madame Mayor, Henderson herself was promoted from the inside. She had the longest tenure for any D.C. schools chief since Floretta McKenzie 28 years ago. If you choose Hendersons replacement from among the many talented people already on the team, you can have that person in place and working by September.

Sincerely,

Jay Mathews
BLOOD DONATIONS

BLOOD DRIVES Monday 2:30-7:30 p.m., Claude Moore Recreation Center, 46105 Loudoun Park Lane, Sterling, 800-733-2767; Saturday 9 a.m.-2 p.m., Leesburg Public Safety Center, 65 Plaza St., Leesburg, 800-733-2767; Saturday 8 a.m.-1 p.m., St. John the Apostle Church, 101 Oakcrest Manor Dr., Leesburg, 800-733-2767; July 27, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Loudoun County Sheriffs Office community room, 803 Sycolin Rd. SE, Leesburg, 866-256-6372; Aug. 5, 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m., Loudoun County Fire and Rescue, 801 Sycolin Rd., Leesburg, 800-733-2767; Aug. 5, 9 a.m.-2 p.m., Leesburg town offices, 25 W. Market St., Leesburg, 800-733-2767; Aug. 6, 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., Church Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 801 Balls Bluff Rd., Leesburg, 800-733-2767; Aug. 8, noon-5 p.m., Village at Leesburg, 1614 Village Market Blvd., Leesburg, 800-733-2767; Aug. 16, 3-7 p.m., Rust Library, 380 Old Waterford Rd., Leesburg, 866-256--6372.

INOVA BLOOD DONOR CENTER Mondays noon-8 p.m., Tuesdays 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Fridays 6 a.m.-4 p.m. and Sundays noon-4 p.m. Dulles Town Center, 45745 Nokes Blvd., Sterling. 866-256-6372 or inova.org/donateblood.

FIRST AID

FIRST AID/ADULT, INFANT AND CHILD CPR/AED Saturday 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Fauquier Hospital Medical Office Building, 500 Hospital Dr., Warrenton. 540-316-3588. $85. Registration required.

HEARING

DISABILITY RESOURCE CENTER Technical assistance through the Virginia Department for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and presentations to businesses, civic groups and schools. Third Tuesdays 2-5 p.m., Workplace, 205 Keith St., Warrenton. Call for an appointment, 800-648-6324; TDD, 540-373-5890. Free.

FREE HEARING TESTS Age 18 and older. Mondays-Thursdays 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m., Blue Ridge Speech and Hearing Center, 19465 Deerfield Ave., Suite 201, Lansdowne. 703-858-7620. Registration required.

HEARING LOSS, TINNITUS AND MENIERES SYNDROME SUPPORT For all ages, including parents of children with hearing loss. First Fridays at 2 p.m., Senior Center at Cascades, 21060 Whitfield Pl., Sterling. 703-430-2906.

NORTHERN VIRGINIA RESOURCE CENTER FOR THE DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING Age 18 and older, second Tuesdays 10 a.m., Carver Center, 200 Willie Palmer Way, Purcellville. 571-258-3400.

HEARING LOSS OUTREACH Free referrals. Fourth Thursdays 10 a.m.-noon, Loudoun County Workforce Center, 102 Heritage Way, Leesburg; third Thursdays 10 a.m.-noon, Senior Center at Cascades, 21060 Whitfield Pl., Sterling. Free appointments: 703-430-2906 or nvrcloudoun@aol.com .

MENTAL HEALTH

COUNSELING FOR SEXUAL VIOLENCE SURVIVORS Provided by Loudoun Citizens for Social Justice. 703-771-9020.

CRISISLINK Suicide and crisis intervention. The organization provides community education, has a volunteer crisis response team and offers CareRing, a daily telephone outreach program for the elderly and disabled. 703-527-6016, volunteer@crisislink.org or crisislink.org.

PIEDMONT CHAPTER, NATIONAL ALLIANCE ON MENTAL ILLNESS Serves Fauquier, Orange, Madison and Rappahannock counties. Support group, education classes and events for people living with mental illness and their family members. First Wednesdays 7-9 p.m. Fauquier Hospital, 500 Hospital Dr., Sycamore Room A, Warrenton. 571-426-8213.

NORTHERN VIRGINIA CHAPTER, NATIONAL ALLIANCE ON MENTAL ILLNESS A support group, classes and programs for people living with mental illness and their family members. naminorthernvirginia.org.

PREGNANCY, PARENTING

ADOPTIVE FAMILY PRESERVATION Adoptive families discuss common experiences; registration required. Third Tuesdays 12_2 p.m., Ashburn Library, 43316 Hay Rd. Call 703-941-9008, Ext. 23, or email jmellario@umfs.org.

BABY CARE ESSENTIALS July 21 from 6-8:30 p.m. Fauquier Hospital Family Birthing Center, 500 Hospital Dr., Warrenton. 540-316-3588. Register. $25.

BIRTHRIGHT OF LOUDOUN COUNTY Free pregnancy tests, baby clothing, transportation and support throughout pregnancy, 823 S. King St., Leesburg. 703-777-7272.

BOND BETWEEN US A nonprofit organization that offers support to birth parents when children have been placed for adoption. Fourth Tuesdays 7:30 p.m. Call for location. 703-771-7844.

BREAST-FEEDING SUPPORT Mondays 9:30-10:30 a.m., Fauquier Hospital Family Birthing Center, 500 Hospital Dr., Warrenton. 540-316-3588.

DAD SUPPORT New and expectant fathers share ideas. First Tuesdays 7 p.m. Inova Loudoun Hospital, 44045 Riverside Pkwy., Leesburg. 703-858-6360.

FOR THE CHILDRENS SAKE A group for separating or divorcing parents to share advice. Four-hour session weekly. Information : 703-391-8599 or fitsfoundation.org.

LA LECHE LEAGUE Mother-to-mother support and breast-feeding information. 10 a.m. second Wednesdays in Warrenton, 540-351-6103. Third Fridays 10:15-11:45 a.m., call for location, 703-444-7386. Second Fridays 10:15 a.m., Ashburn Library, 43316 Hay Rd., 703-431-3852; Thursdays 10 a.m.-noon, Panera Bread, 43670 Greenway Corp. Dr., Ashburn, email lllashburn@gmail.com. Third Fridays 10:15 a.m., Christ the Redeemer Church, 46833 Harry F. Byrd. Hwy., Sterling, 540-338-4637.

LOUDOUN FATHERHOOD PROGRAM Fathers discuss the joys and challenges of being a parent. Meets every other Saturday for two hours for four months; sponsored by Northern Virginia Family Service. 571-748-2796. Free .

LOUDOUN NURTURING PARENTING PROGRAM Positive parenting techniques; children attend with parents. Registration required. Call 703-771-3973, Ext. 27, or email nurturingprogram@lcsj.org . Free.

MOTHERNET/HEALTHY FAMILIES LOUDOUN Program links first-time parents with medical, social and educational resources to give children a socially and physically healthy start in life. Family support workers meet with participants in homes. English-Spanish translation provided. 703-444-4477, Ext. 217 , or inmed.org.

NEW MOTHERS SUPPORT Wednesdays 9:30-11:30 a.m. Inova Loudoun Medical Pavilion, 224 Cornwall St., Leesburg, main entrance. Babies welcome. 703-858-6360.

YOUNG PARENT SERVICES Support for teenage parents. Loudoun County Department of Family Social Services, 52 Sycolin Rd., Leesburg. Call for times. 703-771-5375.

ONLINE CHILDBIRTH EDUCATION PROGRAM Inova Loudoun Hospitals Web-based program uses animation, videos and interactive activities to guide users through the basics of childbirth, breast-feeding and caring for newborns. 703-858-6360. thebirthinginn.org/classes.

PARENTING ALONE GROUP For parents of school-age children who have lost a spouse or partner to cancer. Second Tuesdays 5:30-6:30 p.m. Inova Loudoun Hospital, Radiation Oncology Center, 44035 Riverside Pkwy., Suite 100, Leesburg. 703-698-2536 or email jennifer.eckert@inova.org .

PREGNANCY AND CHILDBIRTH SUPPORT Childbirth Solutions Resource Center, 8393 W. Main St., Marshall. 571-344-0438.

SENIORS

EXERCUSE EQUIPMENT: Weights, treadmills, bikes and a cardio-glide. Instruction provided. Age 55 and older. Weekdays 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Leesburg Senior Center, 102 North St. NW. 703-737-8039. Free.

FITNESS FOR PEOPLE 55 AND OLDER Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays 1-1:45 p.m. Carver Center, 200 Willie Palmer Way, Purcellville. 571-258-3400. $36, 12-visit card.

EYE CARE LensCrafters staff members will clean glasses and make minor repairs. Second Wednesdays 1-2 p.m. Senior Center at Cascades, 21060 Whitfield Pl., Sterling. 703-430-2397. Free.

INOVA LOUDOUN MOBILE VAN Blood pressure checks. Second and fourth Tuesdays 9:30 a.m.-noon, Senior Center at Cascades, 21060 Whitfield Pl., Sterling, 571-258-3280; first Wednesdays 9:30 a.m.-noon, Leesburg Senior Center, 102 North St. NW. 703-737-8039.

LAUGHING YOGA FOR SENIORS I mprove flexibility and balance. Thursdays 9:30-10 :30 a.m. Leesburg Senior Center, 102 North St. NW. 703-737-8039. Free.

LOUDOUN ADULT DAY CENTERS For seniors with physical limitations or memory loss, a safe and social environment, therapeutic activities, individualized care and respite for caregivers. Limited transportation. Sliding-scale fees. Weekdays in Leesburg, 7:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m., 703-771-5334; Purcellville, 571-258-3402; and Ashburn-Sterling, 571-258-3232.

SENIOR OUTREACH SERVICES Free and confidential assistance from an Area Agency on Aging case manager. Call for an appointment or sign up at the Senior Center at Cascades. First and third Wednesdays 11 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Senior Center at Cascades, 21060 Whitfield Pl., Sterling. 571-258-3280.

SENIOR OUTREACH SERVICES Free and confidential assistance from an Area Agency on Aging Elder case manager. Sign up in the Leesburg Senior Center lobby. Second and fourth Thursdays 11 a.m.-noon and 12:30-4:30 p.m. Leesburg Senior Center, 102 North St. NW. 703-737-8039. Free.

SENIOR OUTREACH SERVICES Free and confidential assistance from an Area Agency on Aging Elder case manager. Call for an appointment or sign up at the Carver Center. First and third Mondays, 12:30-5 p.m. Carver Center, 200 Willie Palmer Way, Purcellville. 703-737-8741. Free.

ZUMBA GOLD CLASS: For people 55 and older who are learning Zumba for the first time, or those who prefer a lower-impact version. The fitness program combines Latin and international music with dance.Thursdays 11 a.m. Senior Center at Cascades, 21060 Whitfield Pl., Sterling. 571-258-3280. $12.

TAI CHI Stretching and strengthening movements. Mondays 11 a.m. Leesburg Senior Center, 102 North St. NW. 703-737-8039. Free.

ZUMBA GOLD CLASS Age 55 and older. Wear rubber-soled shoes and comfortable clothing; bring water and a towel. Tuesdays 11 a.m., Tuesdays and Fridays at 1 p.m. Senior Center of Leesburg, 102 North St. NW, Leesburg. 703-737-8039. $24 per month.

SUPPORT GROUPS

AL-ANON SERVICE CENTER OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA A volunteer is available 24 hours with information for spouses, family members and friends of problem drinkers. 703-534-4357 or 877-339-8350. Mondays 8 p.m. Emmanuel Episcopal Church, 125 W. Washington St., Middleburg, 540-554-2747; Tuesdays 7:30 p.m. St. James Episcopal Church, 14 Cornwall St. NW, Leesburg, 877-339-8350; Fridays 8:30 p.m. Grace Episcopal Church, 6507 Main St., The Plains, 800-344-2666; Tuesdays 12:15 p.m. Warrenton Church of Christ, Route 29 N., 540-347-7448; Tuesdays 7 p.m. and Saturdays 8:30 p.m. Warrenton Presbyterian Church, 91 Main St., 800-344-2666.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS Various meeting times and locations in Loudoun County. 800-208-8649 or 703-876-6166. nvintergroup.org.

ALZHEIMERS CAREGIVER SUPPORT For those who care for people with Alzheimers disease and other forms of dementia. Fourth Wednesdays 4-5:30 p.m. The Villa at Suffield Meadows, 6735 Suffield Lane, Warrenton. 540-316-3800.

ALZHEIMERS CAREGIVERS SUPPORT For those caring for people with Alzheimers disease and other forms of dementia. Second Mondays 7-8:30 p.m. Galilee United Methodist Church, 45425 Winding Rd., Sterling. 703-430-9229. galileeumc.org.

ALZHEIMERS CAREGIVER SUPPORT Emotional, educational and social support for family members and friends of people with the disease. Third Saturdays 10 a.m. Loudoun County Area Agency on Aging, 20145 Ashbrook Pl., Ashburn. Call 703-771-5407 or email lesley.katz@loudoun.gov.

ALZHEIMERS CAREGIVER SUPPORT GROUP Fourth Thursdays 3-4 p.m. Carver Center, 200 Willie Palmer Way, Purcellville. 540-903-6831 or alz.org.

ALZHEIMERS SUPPORT First Tuesdays 10-11 a.m. Spring Arbor Assisted Living, 237 Fairview St. NW, Leesburg. 540-338-6520.

ALZHEIMERS SUPPORT First Wednesdays 4 p.m. Leesburg Adult Day Center, 16501 Meadowview Ct., Leesburg. 703-771-5334.

TALK ABOUT CURING AUTISM A nonprofit organization educating and supporting families affected by autism. tacanow.org.

AUTOIMMUNE SUPPORT Last Thursdays 6:30-7:30 p.m. Jackson Building, 209 Gibson St., Leesburg. Email autoimmunesupport@hotmail.com .

BEREAVED PARENT SUPPORT One-on-one counseling is available. Spiritual Care Support Ministry Center, 76 W. Shirley Ave., Warrenton. 540-349-5814. scsm.tv.

BEREAVEMENT SUPPORT For those experiencing loss because of the death of a loved one. Age 18 and older. Third Mondays 1 p.m. Fauquier Hospital Chestnut Room, 500 Hospital Dr., Warrenton. Sponsored by Capital Caring. 703-957-1800.

BREAST CANCER SUPPORT Fourth Tuesdays 7-8 p.m. Fauquier Hospital Tower, Chestnut Room, 500 Hospital Dr., Warrenton. 540-349-0588.

BREAST CANCER SUPPORT For those with new diagnoses or starting treatment. Register if attending for the first time. Fourth Mondays 5:30-6:30 p.m. Inova Loudoun Hospital Radiation Oncology Center, 44035 Riverside Pkwy., Suite 100, Leesburg. 703-858-8857.

BREAST CANCER SUPPORT For those who have finished treatment, have had a recurrence or metastatic breast cancer. Register if attending for the first time. Fourth Mondays 6:30-8 p.m. Inova Loudoun Hospital Radiation Oncology Center, 44035 Riverside Pkwy., Suite 100, Leesburg. 703-858-8857. Free.

BREAST CANCER SUPPORT ASSISTANCE FUND Loudoun County residents who have received a diagnosis or have undergone treatment in the past 12 months are eligible to apply for financial assistance. Areas included are wigs, bras, puffs and prostheses, mammograms and medical bills, food and help with utilities, rent or mortgage, and transportation costs. The Pink Assistance Fund has been established by the Loudoun Breast Health Network. lbhn.org.

CANCER SUPPORT Oncology nurses, social workers and spiritual care providers offer education and support to patients, families and caregivers. Second Mondays 5:30-6:30 p.m. Fauquier Hospital Sycamore Room, 500 Hospital Dr., Warrenton. 540-316-2273.

CANCER SUPPORT Life with Cancer, for patients, family members and friends. Second Thursdays 7 p.m. Ashburn Presbyterian Church, Room 202, 20962 Ashburn Rd. 703-729-2012. ashburnpresbyterian.org.

CAREGIVER SUPPORT AND RESOURCE GROUP Wednesdays 10:30 a.m.-noon (no meeting first Wednesdays), Spiritual Care Support Ministry Center, 76 W. Shirley Ave., Warrenton. 540-349-5814. scsm.tv.

CARING FOR AGING PARENTS Support group. Confidential. Fourth Wednesdays 7:30 p.m., Family Focus Counseling Service, 20-B John Marshall St., Warrenton. 540-349-4537.

CHADD PARENTS SUPPORT For parents of children with ADD/ADHD. Fourth Sundays 3 p.m. KinderCare, 44051 Ashburn Village Shopping Plaza. chadd.nova loudoun@gmail. com .

CHRONIC ILLNESS SUPPORT Tuesdays 10:30-11:30 a.m. Spiritual Care Support Ministries, 76 W. Shirley Ave., Warrenton. 540-349-5814 or scsm.tv.

COFFEE AND CONVERSATION: Support for those discouraged because of illness, bereavement, caregiving or a loved one in the military. Thursdays 10 a.m.-noon. Spiritual Care Support Ministry Center, 76 W. Shirley Ave., Warrenton. 540-349-5814.

COMPASSIONATE FRIENDS For parents who have experienced the death of a child. First Wednesdays 7:30 p.m. St. James Episcopal Church, 14 Cornwall St. NW, Leesburg. 540-882-9707.

CREATING AND CONNECTING Two-hour art therapy and relaxation workshop for cancer patients. Every other month, 12:30-2:30 p.m. Inova Loudoun Hospital Radiation Oncology Center, 44035 Riverside Pkwy., Suite 100, Leesburg. Call for dates. 703-858-8850.

DEPRESSION BIPOLAR SUPPORT ALLIANCE OF WESTERN LOUDOUN Saturdays 3 p.m. Purcellville Library, 220 E. Main St., Carruthers Room. Call 703-431-7160 or email kathy@dbsanca.org.

DROP-IN GRIEF SUPPORT For those coping with a death. Second and fourth Wednesdays 1-2 p.m. St. Davids Episcopal Church, 43600 Russell Branch Pkwy., Ashburn. Sponsored by Capital Caring. 703-597-1781.

FAMILIES OVERCOMING DRUG ADDICTION SUPPORT First and third Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. Fauquier Hospital Sycamore Room, 500 Hospital Dr., Warrenton. 540-316-9221 or email myfodafamily@gmail.com.

GAY, LESBIAN, BISEXUAL AND TRANSGENDER YOUTH AND PARENT SUPPORT A group in partnership with Metro DC PFLAG. Fourth Sundays 4-6 p.m. Unitarian Universalist Church, 22135 Davis Dr., Sterling. 703-328-6518.

GRIEFSHARE Open to anyone who has experienced the death of a loved one. Tuesdays from 7-8:30 p.m. Purcellville Baptist Church, 601 Yaxley Dr., Purcellville. Call 540-338-0918 or email caring@purbap.org. Workbook, $15.

GRIEFSHARE Nondenominational seminar and support group. Tuesdays 7:30-9 p.m., and Wednesdays, 1-2:30 p.m. Spiritual Care Support Ministry Center, 76 W. Shirley Ave., Warrenton. 540-349-5814. Free.

GRIEF SUPPORT Sponsored by Hospice Support of Fauquier County. Individual counseling available. First and third Thursdays 3:30-5 p.m. Hospice Support Office, 42 N. Fifth St., Warrenton. Registration required. Call 540-347-5922 or email hospicesupport@verizon.net.

GRIEF SUPPORT Wednesdays, 10:30 a.m.-noon, Spiritual Care Support Ministry Center, 76 W. Shirley Ave., Warrenton. 540-349-5814.

HOSPICE SUPPORT Free medical-equipment loan facility for Fauquier County residents. Especially needed are donations of wheelchairs, bedside commodes, rolling walkers, electric hospital beds, shower benches and chairs, adult diapers, lift chairs, Ensure and hospital bed mattresses. 540-347-5922.

LOOK GOOD, FEEL BETTER For women undergoing or emerging from cancer treatment. Every other month, 6:45 to 9 p.m. ,Inova Loudoun Hospital Radiation Oncology Center, 44035 Riverside Pkwy., Suite 100, Leesburg. Call for dates. 703-776-2820. Free.

LOUDOUN CHADD SUPPORT Led by Children and Adults With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Third Thursdays 7 p.m. Leesburg Town Hall, lower-level conference room, 25 W. Market St. 703-669-2445.

LOUDOUN INTERGROUP OF OVEREATERS ANONYMOUS Fellowship and support. For locations and times, call 571-420-2012. oa.org.

LYME DISEASE SUPPORT Fourth Sundays 2-4 p.m. Inova Loudoun Hospital, 44045 Riverside Pkwy., Conference Room A and B, Leesburg. Go to natcaplyme.org or email loudounlymeadvocates@gmail.com.

LYME DISEASE SUPPORT Third Thursdays 7 p.m. Warrenton Church of Christ, 6398 Lee Hwy. Access Road, Warrenton. 540-347-7265 or email lymeinfauquier@gmail.com.

LYME DISEASE SUPPORT First Tuesdays 7-8:30 p.m. Carver Center, 200 Willie Palmer Way, Purcellville. Email charphealy@yahoo.com.

MADD LOUDOUN VICTIM SUPPORT For those who have been affected by drunken driving. Third Wednesdays 7:30 p.m. 210 Wirt St., Leesburg. 540-338-6491.

MAN-TO-MAN CANCER SUPPORT Sponsored by Loudoun Cancer Care Center, for prostate cancer patients and their families. Second Tuesdays 6:30-8 p.m. Senior Center at Cascades, 21060 Whitfield Pl., Sterling. Call 703-858-8857 or email karen.archer@inova.org.

MENDED HEARTS Northern Virginia chapter, for heart surgery patients and families and friends of heart disease patients. Third Saturdays 11 a.m., Inova Loudoun Hospital, 44045 Riverside Pkwy., Leesburg (Patient Information Lounge) . 703-924-6244 or mendedhearts200.org.

MENOPAUSE SUPPORT Third Thursdays 6:30-9 p.m. Inova Loudoun Hospital, 44045 Riverside Pkwy., Leesburg (second floor, Patient Education Room). 703-858-8060.

MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SUPPORT Saturdays 10:30 a.m. Fauquier Hospital Chestnut Room, 500 Hospital Dr., Warrenton. 540-349-2826.

MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SUPPORT Last Sundays 2-4 p.m. Cascades Library, 21030 Whitfield Pl., Potomac Falls. 703-771-4256.

NAR-ANON FAMILY SUPPORT For those affected by loved ones with addiction. Meaningful Mondays, 7-8 p.m., Galilee United Methodist Church, 45425 Winding Rd., Sterling. 703-203-9792; Wisdom Wednesdays 7-8 p.m., St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church, 37730 St. Francis Ct., Purcellville, 703-606-7125; Serenity Thursdays, 7-8 p.m. Leesburg Presbyterian Church, 207 W. Market St., Leesburg, 703-606-7125.

PARKINSON'S SUPPORT Open to anyone with Parkinson's disease, family members and caregivers. First Tuesdays 1:30-3 p.m. Call for Ashburn location. 571-442-8851.

POST-PARTUM SUPPORT Second and fourth Wednesdays 1-2:30 p.m. Inova Loudoun Cornwall Campus, 224 Cornwall St., Leesburg. 703-909-9877. Email lamckeough@gmail.com. Registration required.

REACH TO RECOVERY Home visit program for mastectomy and lumpectomy patients. Temporary prostheses, exercise instruction and encouragement. 703-938-5550.

SEXUAL ASSAULT AND INCEST SURVIVORS GROUP COUNSELING Services provided by Loudoun Citizens for Social Justice and the Loudoun Abused Womens Shelter are free and confidential. 703-771-9020.

SEXUAL ASSAULT SURVIVORS EMPOWERMENT SUPPORT Sponsored by Sexual Assault Victims Volunteer Initiative. Child care available with 48-hours notice. Mondays; call for times and locations. 540-349-7720.

SPIRITUAL SUPPORT GROUP For cancer patients, family members and friends. Third Tuesdays 6:30-8 p.m. Inova Loudoun Hospital Radiation Oncology Center, 44035 Riverside Pkwy., Suite 100, Leesburg. 703-858-8850.

STROKE SURVIVORS AND CAREGIVERS SUPPORT Second Wednesdays 11 a.m.-noon, Inova Loudoun Hospital, 44045 Riverside Pkwy., Leesburg, second floor, Patient Education Room. 703-858-6667 or robynthomson@inova.org.

SUICIDE COUNSELING Third Wednesdays 7-8:30 p.m. Leesburg Town Office, Conference Room 2, lower level, 25 W. Market St., Leesburg. 703-587-1618 or survivorsofsuicidelossleesburg@gmail.com.

WOMENS SUPPORT Sponsored by Services to Abused Families. Tuesdays 6:30-8 p.m. Confidential location. 540-825-8876.

WIDOW AND WIDOWER SUPPORT Third Mondays 11 a.m. Leesburg Senior Center, 102 North St. NW. 703-737-8039.

WOMENS CANCER SUPPORT Woman to Woman, first Wednesdays 6:30-8 p.m. Inova Loudoun Hospital Radiation Oncology Center, 44035 Riverside Pkwy., Suite 100, Leesburg. Registration required. 703-858-8850.

MISCELLANEOUS

BRAIN TRAUMA SURVIVORS BROWN BAG LUNCH For survivors and caregivers, first Tuesdays, noon-1:30 p.m. Inova Loudoun Hospital, 44045 Riverside Pkwy., Leesburg, second-floor Patient Education Room. Call 703-737-3150 or email jberg@braininjurysvcs.org. Free.

CANCER RESOURCE, EDUCATION AND WELLNESS (CREW) Monday 5:30-6:30 p.m. Fauquier Hospital Chestnut Room, 500 Hospital Dr., Warrenton. For information, call Richard Shrout at 540-316-2273. Free.

CHILD DEVELOPMENTAL SCREENINGS For ages 2-5. Children may not be kindergarten-age-eligible. Sponsored by the Loudoun County public schools Child Find Center. 571-252 - 2180.

CHOLESTEROL SCREENINGS Weekdays 6 a.m.-8 p.m. Fauquier Health LIFE Center, 500 Hospital Dr., Warrenton. 540-316-2640. Registration required. $35.

COMMUNITY LECTURE Obesity Basics and Managaement July 20 at 7 p.m. Fauquier Hospital Sycamore Room, 500 Hospital Dr., Warrenton. 540-316-3588. Register. Free.

EMERGENCY FOOD SUPPLIES Loudoun residents who are in need can receive a free three-day supply of groceries. Supplies are distributed Mondays through Saturdays by Loudoun Interfaith Relief. 703-777-5911. interfaithrelief.org.

FAUQUIER FREE WALK-IN MEDICAL CLINIC Patients must call Thursdays from 12:30 to 1 p.m. to register for the clinic, which begins at 5:30 p.m. Patients are also seen by appointment Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Fauquier and Rappahannock residents only. Bring proof of address for the first visit. Patients cannot have Medicaid, Medicare or private insurance. Information: 540-347-0394 Tuesdays or Thursdays, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

FAUQUIER HOSPITAL BISTRO SENIOR SUPPER CLUB Nutritious meals and fellowship for people 55 and older. Tuesdays and Thursdays 4:30-6:30 p.m. Fauquier Hospital Bistro on the Hill, 500 Hospital Dr., Warrenton. 540-316-3588. $5.49.

GAMERS UNION FOR TEENS WITH ASPERGERS Youths 12 to 21 interact through gaming; their caregivers meet for networking. Second Tuesdays 6 p.m. Rust Library, 380 Old Waterford Rd., Leesburg. 703-777-0323. Free.

HEROES (Hometown Enabling Relationships, Opportunities and Empowerment through Support) is a program for military families. A trained volunteer provides support to military members and their families, from pre-deployment up to two years post-deployment. Assistance includes financial help, job placement, family care and mental health services. heroescare.org or email caring@purbap.org .

INOVA LOUDOUN HOSPITAL MOBILE HEALTH SERVICES BLOOD PRESSURE SCREENINGS July 18, 9-11 a.m. William Watters House, 22365 Enterprise St., Sterling; July 26, 9 a.m.-noon Senior Center at Cascades, 21060 Whitfield Pl., Sterling; July 27, 10 a.m.-noon, Lansdowne Woods, 19400 Leisure World Blvd., Leesburg; July 28, 10 a.m.-noon, Carver Center, 200 Willie Palmer Way, Purcellville. For information, call 703-858-8818 or go to inova.org/mobilehealth. Free.

LOUDOUN CARES INFORMATION AND REFERRAL HELPLINE Call for help in finding resources for county residents who are dealing with rent eviction, utility cut-offs, needed health care, employment and more. 703-669-4636.

MOTOR SKILL SCREENINGS Birth to 21 months. First Thursdays, Blue Ridge Speech and Hearing Center, 19465 Deerfield Ave., Suite 201, Lansdowne. Call for an appointment. 703-858-7620. Free.

NORTHERN VIRGINIA LONG-TERM CARE OMBUDSMAN Call for help in resolving complaints related to long-term-care facilities. 703-324-5861.

ROAD TO RECOVERY, for cancer patients who need rides to appointments. 410-781-6909. Email jen.burdette@cancer.org. Free.

REIKI SESSION July 27, 6-8 p.m. Fauquier Health Wellness Center, 419 Holiday Ct., Warrenton. 540-316-2640. Complimentary session. Appointments required.

SAFE SITTER CLASSES, For girls and boys ages 11-14. First Saturdays except for holiday weekends. 7:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Inova Loudoun Hospital, 44045 Riveerside Pkwy., Leesburg. To receive a Safe Sitter Certificate, students must pass practical and written tests on babysitting concepts and handling an emergency. Take a lunch from home or buy lunch in the cafeteria. $70, includes handbook and snacks during the day. Registration required. Call 703-858-8818 or email charlene.martin@inova.org.

SEVEN LOAVES FOOD PANTRY Individuals and families can receive a three-day supply of food, distributed Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays 10 a.m.-noon. 540-687-3489 or sevenloavesmiddleburg.org.

TREE OF LIFE FOOD PANTRY Serving western Loudoun County. Food is delivered Wednesdays and Saturdays. 703-554-3595.

 Compiled by Sandy Mauck

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Loudoun County and Fauquier County health calendar

Loudoun County and Fauquier County health calendar
Mostafa Hassoun, a 23-year-old Syrian refugee, rides his bicycle from work to his group house in Annapolis in December.

Dozens of Syrian refugees were settled in Maryland and Virginia in June, part of a sharp nationwide increase as the U.S. government scrambles to meet its goal of admitting 10,000 refugees in fiscal 2016.

The surge has come despite opposition from more than half of the nations governors, including Marylands Larry Hogan (R), all of whom say they are not satisfied with the federal governments assurances that refugees are carefully vetted and screened.

Nationwide, almost 2,400 Syrian refugees arrived in June, according to State Department data, nearly as many as the 2,800 brought here from October through May.

The Obama administration says it is on track to reach its Syrian refugee resettlement target, meaning that nearly 5,000 more will arrive by Oct. 1. Close to 5 million Syrians have fled their country during five years of civil war.

The pace of refugee resettlement has quickened in part because processing facilities in Istanbul and in Amman, Jordan, have been upgraded and more Department of Homeland Security teams have been deployed to interview refugees, a State Department official said.





We pushed all those things together so they would happen sequentially and more quickly, said Simon Henshaw, principal deputy assistant secretary of the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration.

[The lonely life of a Syrian refugee in Maryland]

In Maryland, 78 Syrians were settled in June  bringing the total to 115 since October. Sixty-seven arrived in Virginia last month, out of 87 resettled in the state this year. Fifteen of them have been placed in Roanoke, where the Democratic mayor attracted national controversy last fall for citing the internment of Japanese citizens as a reason to bar Syrian refugees.

No refugees have been brought to the District, according to the State Department data.

Advocates for refugees contend that its unreasonable to demand absolute guarantees that someone from Syria will do no harm  especially when such restrictions arent placed on other immigrants or refugees from other conflict-ridden regions.

Refugees are and continue to be the most thoroughly screened travelers to the United States, Henshaw said.

[Governors rush to slam door on Syrian refugees]





But after the Paris terrorist attacks in November, a group of mostly Republican governors and federal lawmakers said the federal governments vetting of refugees is inadequate and could allow terrorists affiliated with the Islamic State or other extremist groups to slip through.

No matter how many additional staff the Obama administration puts towards vetting, administration officials, including FBI Director [James B.] Comey, have stated that the U.S. government does not have the resources and dramatically lacks the necessary information to fully vet Syrian refugees, Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said in a statement.

[Senior Obama officials warn of challenges in screening Syrians]

At least two terrorists involved in the Paris attacks crossed into Europe claiming to be fleeing Syria. These individuals moving through European borders are in a different situation, however, than residents of refugee camps in Jordan and Turkey who are screened by the State Department and resettled in the United States.

The State Department says that about a dozen of nearly 785,000 refugees admitted since Sept. 11, 2001, were arrested or removed from the United States because of terrorism concerns dating to before their resettlements, although none were Syrian.

[Tracing the path of terrorists sent to Europe by the Islamic State]

Such assurances have not changed the minds of some governors, including Hogan, who reiterated last week that he does not believe refugees from Syria are sufficiently screened.

Hogan, like Goodlatte, pointed to past statements by Comey, who said its practically impossible to certify that a refugee  or anyone else  poses absolutely no risk, especially because U.S. soldiers havent been on the ground in Syria and have no access to government databases there.

Theyve got no background checks, they dont know anything about the people coming in, and thats not good enough for us, Hogan told The Washington Post during an appearance on the Eastern Shore last week. They were going to skirt the procedures and push these people in an emergency fashion without going through any procedures.

But the State Department says that no vetting steps have been skipped to accommodate the surge in Syrian refugees, and Comey says that screenings have improved since the Iraq War.

The process, which can take up to two years, includes in-person interviews and running fingerprints and names against government databases of international travel, encounters with immigration authorities, and intelligence gathered in Iraq and by the U.S. Counterterrorism Center.

Federal officials say theyve organized calls, held briefings and sent letters offering Hogan and other governors assurances about the vetting of refugees.

Hogans spokesmen declined to make him available for a formal interview or answer additional questions about why the governor finds such assurances insufficient, what specific assurances he wants and why he hasnt taken action to block Syrian refugees if he believes they pose a risk.

The resettlement process is managed by private agencies with federal funding. State officials do not play a direct role and have little power to intervene. But in seven of the 10 states with the highest number of Syrian refugees admitted this fiscal year  including Michigan, Arizona and Florida  governors are opposed to such resettlements.

States that have tried to actively block the arrival of refugees have been unable to do so.

Judges rejected attempts by Texas and Indiana to block refugee resettlements, while Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal (R) backed away from a plan to bar Syrian refugees and deny them aid after the states attorney general found that he lacked the authority to do so.

New Jersey withdrew from the federal refugee-resettlement program, but placements persisted, with nonprofit groups picking up the slack.

Refugee-settlement agencies say such opposition from elected officials sends a troubling message to a vulnerable population.

Its a very scary-sounding thing to someone who has already been forced out of their country by persecution, often by a government or a terrorist group, said Matthew Soerens, spokesman for World Relief, which has helped place nearly 500 Syrians.

Advocates say that many local communities and private individuals, in Maryland and elsewhere, continue to welcome refugees.

We have had hundreds and hundreds of phone calls from everyday citizens of Maryland offering their support, said Ruben Chandrasekar, executive director of the International Rescue Committees Baltimore branch.

Mostafa Hassoun, a 23-year-old refugee, says hes made many American friends since arriving in Annapolis last year, though he still encounters intolerance from some corners.

They fear all Syrians are terrorists, or something like that, said Hassoun, who fled to Turkey with his family when he was 18 and was the only one granted refugee status in the United States.

Im Syrian. I love freedom and democracy. I dont want to kill people.

Ovetta Wiggins contributed to this report.
A man was arrested in Washington D.C. after witnesses saw him open the gas tank of a parked patrol car, push what appeared to be sugar inside and attempt to light the car on fire. (Xzavier Lipford)

A man was arrested in Washington D.C. after witnesses saw him open the gas tank of a parked patrol car, push what appeared to be sugar inside and attempt to light the car on fire. (Xzavier Lipford)

A man was arrested in Washington on Saturday after witnesses saw him open the gas tank of a parked police patrol car and push what appeared to be sugar inside. One witness said he believed the man then tried to light the car on fire.

Kunle Shakir Henderson, 41, of Northwest Washington, was arrested and charged with destruction of property, said Officer Sean Hickman. Hickman said police do not believe the incident was connected to the recent turmoil over police shootings that have roiled the nation and led to widespread protests in recent days.

We dont believe the motive has anything to do with any of the recent police shootings, Hickman said.

[Obama says demented gunman who killed Dallas police officers doesnt represent black Americans]

Henderson could not be reached for comment Saturday. Prior to the turmoil around police shootings during the past week, a Facebook page that appears to be Hendersons carried several messages in May indicating anger toward police.

A screen grab from a video of a man arrested in Washington shows the man push what appeared to be sugar into a police cars gas tank. (Xzavier Lipford)

Witnesses on Saturday said a man, later identified as Henderson, walked up to the unoccupied police car at about noon in Mount Pleasant as it sat in front of a bustling farmers market. An employee of a nearby hardware store made a cellphone video of the man trying to tamper with the car while waiting for police to respond.

The video shows the man pouring a white powder into the vehicles gas tank and then pushing something else inside before using the tip of a long umbrella to force the material deeper. The video shows the man occasionally stepping away from the gas tank and walking around the car as pedestrians and bicyclists look on as they pass.

The hardware store employee, Xzavier Lipford, said he made the video as his co-workers dialed 911. Witnesses said the man was arrested shortly after police arrived on scene and that the vehicle was later towed away.

Lipford said the officer who drives the patrol car is well-known in the neighborhood and patronizes local businesses. The officer was not present during the incident, witnesses said.

Andrew Gonzalez, who owns Lezos Taqueria, also witnessed the man tampering with the car. He pulled up at about noon on Mount Pleasant Street and parked near the vacant patrol car. He saw a man putting something that looked like sugar in the gas tank of the car. Then he said he saw the man try to light the tank on fire using a lighter.

Gonzalez did not speak to police, who interviewed other witnesses and viewed Lipfords video. Hickman said police could not confirm whether the man attempted to set the gas tank on fire.

When police sirens neared, Lipford said he watched the man walk away. Lipford said officers arrested the man on a nearby street corner.

Though many believe that putting sugar in a cars gas tank can destroy the engine, that has largely been disproved because sugar doesnt dissolve well in gasoline and a cars fuel filters tend to prevent it from reaching the main engine. Discovery Channels MythBusters debunked the theory that sugar can hurt engines in a segment on the popular television show.

[Police nationwide order officers to ride in pairs after Dallas police ambush]

The incident took place less than two days after a man ambushed police patrolling a Black Lives Matter parade in Dallas, killing five officers and wounding seven other people. The attack added tension to the relations between the nations black communities and police following the high-profile deaths of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota at the hands of police officers last week.

The Dallas ambush also heightened anxiety among officers. Departments across the country, including in the District, deployed in pairs to enhance safety.
A man was shot to death early Sunday in Northwest Washingtons Bloomingdale neighborhood, police said.

Arount 4:50 a.m., police responded to reports of gunfire in the 2100 block of Flagler Place NW, just a few blocks away from Howard University. Police at the scene found a man suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, D.C. police spokesman Aquita Brown said.

The man, whose name has not been released, was transported to a local hospital where he later died, Brown said.

Police do not have a suspect, and the investigation is ongoing.
A Prince Georges County police officer sent to investigate a report of an armed man fired at a possible suspect in a confrontation Saturday but no one was hit, police said.

County Police Chief Henry P. Stawinski III said the officer fired after he perceived the individual displaying the weapon towards police.

Stawinski said a weapon was recovered that turned out to be a BB gun.

Police said one person was taken into custody. There was no immediate report of charges, and the man was not named.

Matters began when police received a report around 4 p.m. of a man with a gun in the area of Audrey Lane and Indian Head Highway. The site is not far south of the boundary between the county and the District.

A first search was unavailing, but after receiving a later call, police found a possible suspect and the confrontation ensued, according to authorities.

Stawinski said initial reports indicated that the officer may have fired twice.
Influential Dallas Pastor, T.D. Jakes, talks about the pain of the black community in the wake of fatal police shootings. (Ashleigh Joplin/The Washington Post)

Influential Dallas Pastor, T.D. Jakes, talks about the pain of the black community in the wake of fatal police shootings. (Ashleigh Joplin/The Washington Post)

It was Thursday evening, and Bishop T.D. Jakes was at home, laying out his clothes for the next day, when he saw the first live TV scenes of a sniper targeting officers working at a downtown rally against police violence.

By the time the rampage ended, five officers were dead and seven others wounded. And Jakes, pastor of the citys 30,000-member The Potters House megachurch, was devastated.

It took me back to the assassination of President Kennedy, he said, horrific bloodshed that occurred only blocks from where the presidents motorcade had passed more than a half-century before. It was deeply disturbing.

On Sunday, Jakes turned his regular service into a town hall, inviting into the pulpit Dallas Police Chief David Brown, Mayor Mike Rawlings and Saundra Sterling, the aunt who raised the 37-year-old black man who was fatally shot Tuesday by white officers in Baton Rouge, La.

Alton Sterlings death was captured on video. So too was the death of 32-year-old Philando Castile the next day in Falcon Heights, Minn.

Dallas pastor T. D. Jakes speaks as images of the five police officers killed late last week are displayed on a screen behind him during Sunday mornings service at The Potter's House church. (Carlo Allegri/Reuters)

Diamond Reynolds, Castiles girlfriend, who live-streamed the fatal shooting on social media, called in to the Sunday service, telling Jakes and the congregation that the police are supposed to protect us. . . . This shouldnt have happened.

Jakes prayed for both Reynoldss and Castiles family. Lord, let justice prevail. Wrap your arms around them, he intoned.

Yet he also urged prayers for the Dallas police force.

This was a peaceful demonstration that turned horribly tragic. These officers gave their lives protecting not just black people but white people, Latinos, people of all races. Lets praise God for these officers, Jakes said as people in the 10,000-seat, capacity-filled sanctuary jumped to their feet and applauded.

Hallelujah, many in the congregation of blacks, whites and Latinos responded. Amen, others called out. Ushers handed out tissues to many in the aisles. One woman comforted another next to her. Its going to get better, baby, she said. Its got to get better. The Lord will see to it.

[If we were not brothers before this, we certainly are brothers now, a Dallas imam tells a minister]

The 59-year-old preacher said many individuals, not just African Americans but all races, are distressed and finding various ways to express that. Most are turning to peaceful protest, but some are turning to violence, he said.

Were seeing it in real-time speed on social media, passing from community to community and 24-hour news cycles of constantly being inundated with images of bloody shirts and screaming children, he said. It is extremely traumatic. And until leadership of all colors sits down at the table and comes out of denial and says we have a problem, justice will wrongfully fall into the hands of those who are not mature enough nor stable enough to act in the stead of people who are able to but wont act.

Micah Xavier Johnson, a 25-year-old Army veteran, has been identified as the lone gunman in Dallas. According to sources, he was motivated by rage over the deaths of blacks by police and increasingly had been exploring black nationalism.

But Jakes blames Johnsons naivete for his deadly response. We are all tired, but we cant kill people because were tired. We were tired in the 60s. I think we are even more tired now, the pastor said.

[Dallas snipers neighbor says he just snapped]

He ticked off just a few of the fatal police shootings of unarmed blacks in the last two years, before Baton Rouge, before Falcon Heights, going back to Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old killed in Cleveland in 2014. Weve gone through the judicial system. In every case after case, the police officer is exonerated, he said.

We have not seen the weeping of black women like this since the days of Emmett Till, Jakes continued, recalling the Mississippi 14-year-old who was murdered in 1955 by two whites upset that the youth had reportedly flirted with one mans wife. Tills death  and the graphic images of his corpse published by newspapers  galvanized the civil rights movement.

[Americas current violence can be traced to Christians failures]

He said this racial tension is something the nation should have solved generations ago: This problem is too old. Were sitting here talking about race in an era where we ought to be talking about terrorism. We ought to be talking about biochemical warfare. . . . Were dealing with our grandfathers problems.

Why are we still dealing with a 200-year-old problem in a contemporary society? Jakes asked. Thats what we ought to be outraged about.

Jakes, who has served as an adviser to Presidents Obama, Bush and Clinton, thinks elected officials must be just as focused today on fixing issues of civil justice. Neither they nor the black community can just wait for another Martin Luther King Jr. to come along, he said.

Dr. King was masterful in that moment, critical at that time. But if there is not another Dr. King, that does not mean we cannot move our agenda forward, the preacher noted. You cannot think of one person who became a Dr. King for the LGBT community. And look at how much they changed the world. We are the people weve been waiting for. All of us have to do our part to get it done.
Dry weather is being blamed for the resurgence of the gypsy moth caterpillar across parts of southern New England. (Aaron Flaum/NorwichBulletin.com via AP)

Last years dry spring, coupled with a stretch of dry weather this year, has helped to fuel the resurgence of the gypsy moth caterpillar, a furry nuisance blamed for defoliating an estimated 9 million acres from Maine to Maryland in 1981.

Scientists say this years crop of caterpillars is one of the largest theyve seen in southern parts of New England since the 1980s. The critters are being blamed for stripping foliage from thousands of acres of trees in pockets across the region, often leaving behind barren branches. Some warn that next year could be even worse, considering that there has been no significant wet weather in recent weeks to spark a fungus that feeds on the gypsy moth.

I suspect were going to be facing a real issue next year, said Kirby C. Stafford III, Connecticuts chief scientist and state entomologist. Although oaks and other trees can often withstand a single defoliation, Stafford warned that after getting slammed two years in a row, well probably see a lot of tree mortality next year.

The Boston bureau of the National Weather Service recently tweeted satellite pictures from May and June showing that notable tree defoliation has occurred in southeastern New England, especially western Rhode Island.

In New Hampshire, forestry experts said this month that they have received reports of large numbers of gypsy moth and forest tent caterpillars, but so far no defoliation.
Jeronimo Yanez, seen here at a police memorial event in May, is the officer who fatally shot Philando Castile during a traffic stop last week in St. Paul, Minn. (St. Anthony Police Department/St. Anthony Police Department)

They were considered model students by their faculty, who thought the two young classmates showed the leadership and character for a career as police officers.

Jeronimo Yanez and Joseph Kauser received degrees in enforcement together in 2010 from Minnesota State University at Mankato, where they were each named among the top of their class, earning the Baton of Honor award. Yanez graduated cum laude.

Yet on Wednesday the two officers, four-year members of the St. Anthony police department in the Twin Cities suburbs, became central figures in the latest incident to spark national protest and criticism over the treatment of black people by police officers.

Shortly after the two officers stopped a vehicle, Yanez opened fire on the driver, Philando Castile, 32, who sat in the front seat. His girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, soon began broadcasting the final moments of his life on Facebook as her 4-year-old daughter sat in the back seat.

Reynolds said that Castile had told the officers during the stop that he had a gun with him that, according to family members, he had a permit for.

1 of 58 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  Protests in Minnesota and D.C. after a black man was fatally shot during a traffic stop View Photos Protesters gather in Falcon Heights, a St. Paul suburb, after the killing of 32-year-old Philando Castile. Caption Protesters gather in Falcon Heights, a St. Paul suburb, after the killing of 32-year-old Philando Castile. July 10, 2016 A woman holds a sign as she marches with hundreds of others on streets in the District as they mourned and expressed outrage about the killings of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge and Philando Castile in St. Paul, Minn. Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue.

I told him not to reach for it! Yanez can be heard shouting in the video. I told him to get his hands up.

Reynolds responded, He was just getting his license and registration, sir.

Castile was shot five times, his family said. Police report that a gun was recovered from the scene.

The Hennepin County medical examiner announced that Castiles death has been ruled a homicide, and in a statement, the Minnesota Department of Public Safetys Bureau of Criminal Apprehension announced that the incident is under investigation. Both Yanez and Kauser, who was also present during the shooting, have been placed on administrative leave.

The incident shocked Jeff Bumgarner, a former department chair at Minnesota State who taught Yanez in classes on policing. Bumgarner, who teaches at North Dakota State University, said Yanez was admired by his classmates and professors for his servants heart.

He was extremely polite, Bumgarner said. He had a real sincere interest in public service. He seemed to be going into law enforcement for the right reasons.

An example of his character, Bumgarner said, was the Baton of Honor, given each semester to the top students majoring in law enforcement.

He was extremely friendly and helpful to others, Bumgarner said. He was exactly what you want to see in someone going into law enforcement.

Bumgarner, a well-known criminal justice scholar, said he was not aware of the circumstances of the Castile shooting.

The notion that the reason for the shooting was racially motivated, Bumgarner said, just doesnt ring true about what I know about Jeronimo.

Thomas Kelly, an attorney representing Yanez, said that the officer had left town to be with his wife and child. Kelly said Yanez, who is Hispanic, is not a racist, and this incident had nothing to do with race and had everything to do with the presence of a gun, and the presence of that gun, permitted or not, was what led to the driver being shot.

Kelly said that when he met Yanez hours after the incident at the police department, the officer was still shaken.

He was very upset about this whole incident, and he remains that way, Kelly said. He was distraught, anxious and stressed and feeling the effects of his trauma.

Kelly said that Yanez has no disciplinary actions in his employee file at the department, and court records show he has not faced any civil lawsuits.

He is a sensitive and caring individual, and he has demonstrated that sensitivity and caring in his whole career in St. Anthony, Kelly said. Hes well liked by the community.

Kelly declined to go into detail about the case, but he did note that Castiles broken taillight was not the only reason for the stop. According to local news reports, Castile matched the description of a robbery suspect.
This election, a spokesman for Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) said Thursday, remains a dumpster fire. Well, yes, the two major-party candidates for president are historically unpopular. But if this election is unusually bad, it is not because both parties chose bad candidates. There is no equivalence between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton  as even responsible Republicans should be able to recognize.

Ms. Clinton is a knowledgeable politician who has been vetted many times over. She understands and respects the U.S. Constitution. She knows policy. She can cite accomplishments in the public interest, such as pressing through an important childrens health insurance program during her husbands administration. As a senator, she was respected by colleagues on both sides of the aisle. She completed four years as secretary of state to generally positive reviews. She began her presidential campaign by rolling out a series of serious policy papers.

[Former RNC chairman: Americans can choose better than Trump]

None of this means you have to like Ms. Clinton or believe she would be a good president. You may disagree with her views; we have done so often enough and will do so again when we think she is wrong. You may believe she was foolish to push for the Libya intervention, arrogant to keep her emails out of the official State Department server, greedy to take large speaking fees as a private citizen. But measured against other major-party candidates of recent times, Ms. Clinton is well within established bounds of competence, knowledge, commitment and integrity. She is not a dumpster candidate.

Mr. Trump, by contrast, has waged a campaign based on bigotry, ignorance and resentment. He has no experience as a public servant, and his private record of bankruptcies and exploitation should be disqualifying. He regularly circulates falsehoods. He has no discernible interest in or knowledge of policy. Just in recent days, Mr. Trump tweeted out an anti-Semitic image circulating on neo-Nazi websites and attacked the media for reporting as much. He called one sitting senator a loser and threatened another while proving that he lacks even a passing familiarity with the Constitution. He praised one of the most vile dictators of the 20th century.

A whole host of influential Republicans have decided not to attend July's Republican National Convention in Cleveland. (Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post)

[Henry Paulson: When it comes to Trump, Republicans must choose party over country]

Those Republicans with enough self-respect to be mortified by the man their party is about to nominate continually hold out hope for some magical transformation. Yet even if Mr. Trump flipped his agenda  not a problem for a man with almost no fixed beliefs  he would still be the candidate who mocked a disabled reporter, proposed banning Muslims from entering the United States, attacked a judge based on his ethnicity, celebrated violence at his rallies, demeaned women and promised to round up and deport 11 million undocumented immigrants . He would still be the candidate who vaulted to political prominence with race-based attacks on the incumbent president and launched his campaign by calling Mexicans rapists.

Mr. Sasse has proved to be a rare Republican official with the moral courage to speak as honestly about Mr. Trump after he clinched the nomination as he did before. Its not surprising that the senator would want to dismiss the whole campaign as a mess, and we dont doubt that he genuinely fears the direction in which Ms. Clinton would lead the nation.

But to equate the two candidates as indistinguishably unqualified products of a rigged or failed system only feeds public cynicism while blurring distinctions that should not be blurred. Ms. Clinton is a politician, long in the arena, whom you may or may not support. Mr. Trump is a danger to the republic.
THE EUROPEAN Union appears to be using its problematic deal with Turkey as a global model in its desperate efforts to curb migration. Earlier this year, the E.U. Commission promised the regime of Recep Tayyip Erdogan billions in aid as well as visa-free access for Turks to Europe in exchange for measures to stop a massive flow of refugees from the Middle East. Now it has proposed similar compacts with countries in Africa, potentially offering 62 billion euros of trade and aid incentives to nations that assist in preventing African migrants from making the treacherous journey to Europe, or that take them back. The carrots come with sticks: E.U. officials say there will be consequences for those who do not cooperate.

The commission has listed 16 priority nations; 13 are in Africa. In the case of democratic, relatively free nations such as Nigeria and Senegal, the collaboration could benefit both sides. But as with the repressive Erdogan regime, E.U. leaders also appear ready to cut deals with authoritarians in countries such as Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia. Such partnerships risk incentivizing the very repression that causes people to flee across the Mediterranean.

E.U. statements assure that the pacts will be in full respect of our humanitarian and human rights obligations. But Europe proposes to fund countries that routinely flout human rights norms. Under international law, people have a right to seek asylum in other countries. But the E.U. proposal would give authoritarian governments financial incentives to use force to keep people from leaving or transiting their countries.

The commissions proposal to directly assist countries with border security, for example, would hardly be constructive in Eritrea, which has a shoot to kill policy for citizens trying to leave the country and was recently the subject of a scathing U.N. report on human rights. The same is true for Sudan, which in May began cracking down on migrants, rounding up 900 Eritreans in Khartoum and deporting them back to Eritrea.

The E.U. has said that it will not directly fund government structures in such countries, but will employ nongovernmental organizations and other civil society groups. But this also seems to ignore reality: Intense repression in Eritrea, Sudan and Ethiopia has included harsh crackdowns on local and international NGOs. Eritrea has banned local NGOs almost entirely, and Ethiopias draconian laws severely restrict international funding. Without a strategy to press such countries to make space for civil society, E.U. money could not reach genuinely independent organizations.

E.U. nations cannot ignore their international obligations on resettlement and their commitments to support refugees in poorer nations. They should continue to pursue realistic efforts to find safe, legal means of allowing refugees and migrants to integrate into member states. And Europe cannot allow refugees and migrants to become bargaining chips for repressive leaders.
MEMBERS OF Congress, in case you missed it: Florida health officials confirmed on July 1 the largest count of people with new infections of the Zika virus, 10 on that day. Then, on July 6, 11 new cases. In all, at least 263 people in Florida have been infected since January, of which 43 have been pregnant women. In the United States, there are now 1,133 people who have been infected, including 320 pregnant women. The mosquito-borne Zika virus, for which there is no effective vaccine or cure, is mild in most people but can cause a serious birth defect known as microcephaly, as well as other fetal neural damage.

Florida is a bellwether, close to Latin America, origin of the current epidemic. Tom Frieden, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, warned July 6 that at current trends thousands of pregnant women in Puerto Rico will catch Zika. While so far all cases in the United States appear to have been brought by travelers, local transmission may begin soon. The virus also spreads through sexual contact.

Five months have passed since President Obama requested nearly $1.9 billion in emergency funds to help states fight Zika. After stalling for months, the Republican-controlled House approved a $1.1 billion Zika aid bill laden with partisan baggage, including restrictions on the use of money for birth control services, a backdoor way to defund Planned Parenthood, and $750 million in offsetting cuts from other programs, including Obamacare and the Ebola virus response effort.

The White House threatened a veto, and Democrats balked in the Senate. They had earlier brokered a clean Zika bipartisan compromise bill in that chamber, without restrictions. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who pledged to end partisan gridlock at the outset of this Congress, told Democrats on June 28 they had no choice but to accept the GOP version. There are some disadvantages to not being in the majority  you dont get everything exactly the way you want, he said.

Yet Mr. McConnell lacks 60 votes to get the heavily freighted GOP bill through the Senate. So another week of gridlock has passed, without action to combat Zika: helping states and local jurisdictions with the difficult mosquito eradication effort; researching new vaccines; improving diagnostics; and educating the public, particularly pregnant women, about the risks.

Now there is little time for Congress to act before it goes on summer recess, not to return until September. We agree with Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.): Stop wasting time on the Senate floor with political red meat. Now is the moment to set aside the maneuvering and blame-throwing and negotiate a truly bipartisan compromise  without poison pills, without cuts in other programs  to give public health officials the tools they need. The United States does not need or want a generation of brain-damaged babies. But Congress must act fast to keep that from happening.
The gunman who fatally shot five Dallas law enforcement officers appeared delusional, taunted police during extensive negotiations by singing and laughing at us and wrote cryptic messages on a wall with his own blood before he was killed by a bomb-equipped robot, Dallas Police Chief David Brown said Sunday.

The shooter, Micah Xavier Johnson, was determined to hurt more officers and would have done so if the pound of C-4 explosive carried by the robot had not ended the standoff Thursday, Brown said in an interview on CNNs State of the Union.

The chief also said that, based on evidence of bombmaking materials and a journal found at Johnsons home in Mesquite, Tex., were convinced that this suspect had other plans, possibly for a larger attack. He said Johnson had been practicing explosive detonations and possessed enough materials to have devastating effects throughout our city and our North Texas area.

The recent deaths of two African American men at the hands of police officers in Baton Rouge and Falcon Heights, Minn., may have prompted Johnson to fast-track his plans and use a Black Lives Matter protest in Dallas last Thursday as an opportunity to attack police, Brown said.

The additional details of Johnsons behavior came after a tense night marked by the arrest of a prominent activist in the Black Lives Matter movement and protests in Louisiana and Minnesota that resulted in more than 200 arrests, according to activists and police.

Micah Johnson, the gunman who killed five police officers at a Dallas protest sparked by police shootings of black men was described as a "loner." Here's what you need to know about him. (Victoria Walker,Ashleigh Joplin/The Washington Post)

[Black Lives Matter leader arrested]

In the CNN interview Sunday, Brown said of Johnson, I think that this killer obviously had some delusion. He cited quite a bit of rambling . . . thats hard to decipher in the journal recovered from his home and said investigators found some lettering in blood on a wall in the building where he was killed after apparently being wounded on his way up a stairwell.

He wrote the letters RB, Brown said. Were trying to figure out . . . what those initials mean.

Brown said Johnson, 25, an Army veteran who served in Afghanistan, apparently used his military training to ambush officers who were trying to stay ahead of a spontaneous, peaceful protest march.

Officers didnt know where shots were coming from, Brown said. They were in a funnel. And it ended up being a fatal funnel.

According to the FBI, Johnson was armed with an SKS semiautomatic rifle and was wearing ballistic body armor with plates. The SKS is a Soviet-designed military rifle that was first introduced in 1945.

At least five Dallas police officers were killed and seven wounded July 7, after a peaceful protest over recent police shootings. Here's what we know so far. (Deirdra O'Regan/The Washington Post)

During negotiations that lasted about two hours, Johnson insisted that he would speak only with an African American police negotiator, Brown said. And he just basically lied to us, playing games, laughing at us, singing, asking how many did he get and that he wanted to kill some more and that there were bombs there.

[Lone attacker kills 5 Dallas police officers]

Brown said Johnson was in a position where officers would have had to expose themselves to grave danger to get a shot at him. Therefore, he said, he approved a hastily conceived plan to detonate a bomb near the gunman and would do it again if presented with the same circumstances.

In a briefing Friday led by FBI Director James B. Comey, state and local law enforcement officials were told that Johnson was also armed with a handgun. After Johnson ran into the El Centro College building, police made two attempts to kill him with a robot bomb, the officials were told. The first attempt was unsuccessful for reasons that were not immediately clear. Johnson continued to fire during the first attempt.

At Johnsons house, the FBI later found pipes, wiring, BBs and other bombmaking materials, the officials were told.

Our hearts are broken for our brothers and sisters in Dallas, Comey told the group.

The Dallas police chief also sought to explain initial confusion that resulted in the arrests of three suspects who turned out not to be involved in the shooting.

He said 20 to 30 people, some of them wearing camouflage, showed up at the peaceful Black Lives Matter protest carrying AR-15 rifles and such items as gas masks, ammunition gear and bulletproof vests. Doesnt make sense to us, he said, but thats their right in Texas, where people can legally carry long firearms in public.

Those people began to run when the shooting started, Brown said. For our officers, they were suspects until any involvement in the deadly sniper attack could be ruled out, he added.

Two of the three detainees were subsequently released, including a woman who was running with people who were armed, Brown said. One man was charged with a misdemeanor because he was not legally allowed to carry a gun, the chief added, without elaborating.

[Violence claimed lives of people close to David Brown]

Asked by host Jake Tapper to express his views on whether it was too easy for individuals to get guns in this country, Brown demurred, saying that I wasnt born last night and that it was up to policymakers to resolve gun-control issues.

He stressed that Johnson had to be stopped because he was determined to hurt more officers, and without our actions, he wouldve hurt more officers. He strongly objected to what he described as second-guessing of the use of a robot-delivered bomb to kill the shooter  apparently a first in a domestic law enforcement case.

[Gunman studied military tactics, black nationalism]

We believe that we saved lives by making this decision, Brown said, adding that critics were not the ones on the ground and putting their lives at risk.

Brown said Dallas police acted courageously during the Thursday shooting, which also wounded seven people.

Officers exposed themselves to draw fire from the shooter so that other police marksmen could take aim at him, he said. This is really important . . . that we applaud the heroism.
Donald Trump seemed to praise Saddam Hussein at a July 5 rally, but it's not the first time the presumptive Republican presidential nominee said nice things about authoritarian leaders. (Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post)

Donald Trump seemed to praise Saddam Hussein at a July 5 rally, but it's not the first time the presumptive Republican presidential nominee said nice things about authoritarian leaders. (Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post)

You can love Donald Trump. You can hate him. But what you cannot dispute is that the way he has run his campaign since sealing the Republican nomination two months ago has been absolutely disastrous.

Campaigns are complicated things. No one gets every piece of them right. Some candidates are great at big rallies. Some are good only at small events. Some are terrific TV communicators but bad on the stump. Some delegate well, and others dont. Some never waver from a message, while others cant seem to find one with a 10-foot pole. Its a high-wire balancing act every day with tens of millions of people watching.

But there are basic blocking and tackling elements of any campaign that are less complex  and absolutely necessary to do if you want to win. The most basic of all? If your opponent is having a bad day or a bad week, let them have it. Just get out of the way.

For example: When Hillary Clinton found herself at the wrong end of a scathing report about her email practices delivered by FBI Director James Comey last week, Trump would have done well to, literally, talk about nothing other than that for the rest of the week  and maybe even the rest of the month!

Trump seemed to grasp that early in the day on Wednesday when he tweeted this: Convention speaker schedule to be released tomorrow. Let today be devoted to Crooked Hillary and the rigged system under which we live.

1 of 9 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  Takeaways from Hillary Clintons e-mails View Photos Clinton has come under fire for using a private e-mail address during her time as secretary of state. The emails are being screened and released in batches. Here are some things weve learned from them. Caption Clinton has come under fire for using a private email address during her time as secretary of state. The emails are being screened and released in batches. Here are some things weve learned from them. Top-secret information in e-mails Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has previously stated that classified information never traveled across her private server. However, the State Department has acknowledged that "top secret" information was in seven email chains sent or received by her. Richard Drew/AP Wait 1 second to continue.

That is absolutely, 100 percent the right thing to do. And not only that: Trump also released his June fundraising numbers  a surprisingly solid $51 million raised.

The daily story in the presidential race, as of Wednesday afternoon, was this: Clinton tries to change subject on tough email report; Trump rakes in cash. Pretty good for the presumptive Republican nominee!

Then Trump went to Cincinnati for a rally with vice-presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich. And it all fell apart.

Trump spent the first 20 or so minutes of his speech reading from prepared notes  hitting Clinton on her email practices and raising questions about her honesty and trustworthiness.

Then something snapped. He threw away the notes and lit into the media  and society, more generally  over two recent controversies: (1) his campaign tweeting out and then removing an image that looked suspiciously like the Star of David, and (2) his comments about how late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was so good when it came to dealing with terrorists.

I said: You shouldnt have taken it down. You know, they took the star down, Trump told the crowd. I said: Too bad. You should have left it up. I would have rather defended it  just leave it up and say: No, thats not a Star of David. Thats just a star.

But, wait! Theres more! I wake up, I turn on the television: Donald Trump loves Saddam Hussein. He loves Saddam Hussein,  Trump said. Thats not what I said. So, thats the narrative.

1 of 15 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  Memorable moments on the campaign trail with Donald Trump View Photos The GOP presidential candidates campaign has been far from ordinary. Here are some of the more memorable moments. Caption The GOP presidential candidates campaign has been far from ordinary. Here are some of the more memorable moments. Look at those hands Look at those hands, are they small hands?Trump said at a debate in Detroit hosted by Fox News Channel. And, he referred to my hands  If theyre small, something else must be small. I guarantee you theres no problem. I guarantee. Read the story Rebecca Cook/Reuters Wait 1 second to continue.

And still more! Once the event in Cincinnati was over, Trump took to Twitter to drive home his point about being unfairly maligned on the alleged Star of David tweet. He tweeted an image of a book version of Disneys Frozen movie that featured a six-sided star: Where is the outrage for this Disney book? Is this the Star of David also? Dishonest media!

Remember that good headline Trump looked headed toward? It got replaced by Trump says campaign shouldnt have deleted image circulated by white supremacists (The Washington Post), In a Defiant, Angry Speech, Donald Trump Defends Image Seen as Anti-Semitic (New York Times), and Trump Says Deleting Allegedly Anti-Semitic Tweet Was Mistake (Wall Street Journal).

Its hard to explain how bad that turnaround is for Trump. And how avoidable it all was. Whats even more remarkable is that he seemed to have the blueprint  read the speech, blast Clinton, get out of the way  for a good day. Instead, he voluntarily dipped into two issues  debating whether he was anti-Semitic and defending his praise for a brutal dictator  that are straight losers, politically speaking.

What happened this past week is far from an isolated incident. Think back to the end of May. The State Department released a brutal report lambasting Clinton for her email practices. It was an absolute gift for Trump and Republicans, a perfect illustration of the narrative of corruption and pocket-lining they had been telling about Clinton. Less than 48 hours later, Trump went to San Diego and delivered an 11-minute rant against a federal judge named Gonzalo Curiel, who the real-estate mogul said was biased against him because of Curiels Mexican heritage. (Curiel was born in Indiana, but his parents hail from Mexico.)

Trump spent the next two weeks, at least, trying to get out from under the Curiel controversy  a timeline extended by his unwillingness to simply apologize and move on. (Sound familiar?) Eventually, he said he had been misunderstood.

Malpractice is a harsh word. But theres no other word for taking a good day and turning it not only into a bad day but potentially a bad week or a bad month. Winning campaigns play up their strengths and play down their flaws. Trump seems committed to doing just the opposite.

This isnt the campaigns fault. The campaign  from manager Paul Manafort on down  is clearly telling Trump the right things to do. He just isnt willing to do them. The blame is his. Pure and simple.
President Obama in Warsaw for his last NATO summit, which was overshadowed by violence and angry demonstrations at home. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

President Obama, who had pledged to end Americas wars, described the landscape he was leaving to his successor as a state of quasi-war that could extend for years to come.

Obama, who was speaking Saturday to reporters at the NATO summit here, noted with pride that he has cut the size of the U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan from 180,000 troops to fewer than 15,000.

But U.S. drones and fighter jets are striking targets in seven countries on a regular basis, a span of geography that is virtually unprecedented in American history outside of major wars. U.S. Special Operations forces are still conducting dangerous raids in countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria.

[How Obama went from reluctant warrior to drone champion]

The president spoke forthrightly, and with a hint of frustration and regret, about the scope of the military campaign he is leaving behind.

As commander in chief of the most powerful military in the world, I spend a lot of time brooding over these issues, he said. I am not satisfied that we have got it yet. I can say it is better than when I came into office.

Obama was in Warsaw for his last NATO summit, which was overshadowed by violence and angry demonstrations at home in the wake of fatal shootings in Dallas, Baton Rouge and Falcon Heights, Minn.

He had been scheduled to return to Washington on Monday after two days in Spain, but he decided to curtail his trip and come back Sunday night because of the tragedies.

His last months in office will be dominated by the response to last weeks violence and the coming election.

[The burning question in Dallas: Why here?]

Obama also said he will be working in his final months to leave behind an architecture for this new kind of military fight that mixes drone strikes with local training and efforts aimed at repairing fractured societies in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Such a position falls short of all-out war, Obama said. Instead, he called it more of a hybrid approach necessary to deal with a different kind of low-grade threat  one thats not an existential threat but can do real harm and real damage to our societies and creates the kind of fear that can cause division.

As part of this effort, the White House earlier this month released a report on its drone program that concluded that between 64 and 116 civilians have been killed in the secret strikes over the past seven years.

[Why the White House claims on drone casualties remain in doubt]

Independent groups that track civilian deaths have produced far higher casualty rates. Obama acknowledged that the numbers were in dispute, but he described the report as an initial and imperfect effort by the government to hold itself accountable for its errors.

The drone report does not provide dates or locations for any of the strikes, making it impossible for outside groups to confirm the data.

There is an arc of insecurity and instability along NATOs periphery and beyond, leaders of the 28 NATO nations said in a joint declaration at the end of the summit.

Obama said Saturday that NATO leaders had taken important steps to address security far beyond U.S. borders, with deployments to Eastern Europe to defend against Russia and to the Mediterranean to handle migrant flows, as well as an extension of the Afghanistan mission to bolster shaky security there.

[NATO will expand security patrols in Mediterranean in response to ISIS threat]

Were moving forward with the most significant reinforcement of our collective defense any time since the Cold War, Obama said. At the NATO summit, Obama announced plans for a U.S.-led battalion of about 1,000 troops that will deploy to Poland. Three other battalions will be sent to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

As he heads toward his final months in office, Obama acknowledged a wide range of challenges to global security that will extend far into the future. The Islamic States territorial losses in Iraq and Syria in recent weeks could spur the group to launch global terrorist attacks, he said.

Obama praised the post-World War II legacy of NATO and other global institutions that have prevented wars between states and set off a period of unprecedented prosperity. He suggested that Britains decision to split from the European Union could hurt the global economy and said he was counseling Britain and the E.U. to split in a way that would cushion the economic blow.

Speaking of the legacy of global institutions such as the E.U., NATO and the United Nations, he said, We should be proud of that and preserve it.

But, he said, threats such as the Islamic State and al-Qaeda, which do not obey territorial bounds, could not be definitively defeated in traditional ways. Such groups guarantee that the United States will be waging at least low-level combat for years, possibly decades.

Because groups like the Islamic State are non-state actors, its very hard for us ever to get the satisfaction of MacArthur and the emperor meeting and a war being officially over, Obama said, referring to the U.S. general and Japanese leader at the end of World War II.
People wait to be registered as displaced persons in a South Sudan Red Cross compound in Wau on July 1. Renewed clashes saw United Nations compounds under fire on July 10. (Charles Lomodong/AFP/Getty Images)

South Sudanese forces struck two United Nations compounds as clashes between two factions continued for a third day, shattering a fragile peace agreement that was meant to end a bloody, 31-month civil war.

The United Nations mission here said in a statement that the two bases in Juba, the capital, have sustained impacts from small arms and heavy weapons fire.

That fighting on Sunday prompted about 1,000 internally displaced people to flee a designated protection site for civilians and rush to a compound where U.N. staff live and work, the statement said.

The violence between forces led by the country's president, Salva Kiir, and its vice president, Riek Machar, has spread across Juba since Friday, when members of the two groups clashed in front of the presidential palace. Radio Tamazuj, a local news outlet, reported on Sunday that as many as 271 people may have died so far. Col. William Gatjiath, Machar's military spokesman, told the BBC that hundreds of Machar's troops had died on Sunday. Many civilians are also expected to be among the dead.

South Sudan declared its independence from Sudan on July 9, 2011. But in December 2013, fighting in Juba between Machar and Kiirs forces triggered a civil war that consumed the country. Much of the conflict fell along ethnic lines, with Kiirs Dinka followers against Machars Nuer group.

Many feared on Sunday that violence might once again spread outside Juba, causing mass casualties and once again plunging the country into the throes of civil war.

About 160,000 South Sudanese live in displacement camps managed by the United Nations. But, as Sunday's fighting proved, those sites are not insulated from the country's violence. In February, dozens were killed at a displacement site in Malakal when military forces and other armed men fought for days, as U.N. forces struggled to get the situation under control.

Read more

Fighting erupts in fragile South Sudan on the eve of its independence day

South Sudan thought it solved its child soldier problem. It hasnt.

The U.N. says South Sudanese soldiers gang-raped girls

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world
In the Palestinian village of al-Mughayr, in the West Bank, remnants of flash bombs and sound grenades residents say have been tossed by Israeli settlers have been thrown to hang over wires. (Anne-Marie O'Connor/For The Washington Post)

Los Angeles native Aaron Katsof thinks it is absurd that even the Israeli government considers his Jewish village here an illegal outpost.

Our first trailers came from the Ministry of Housing, he said of the community of 230. You cant just bring water and electricity here without the army being involved.

Esh Kodesh, or Holy Fire, may not be authorized by the state of Israel, but it is served by Israeli infrastructure and protected by Israeli troops  and it has lots of company.

Since Israel came under increased international pressure in the 1990s to stop establishing new settlements, about 100 officially unauthorized outposts have been founded in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. These are in addition to the 120 established settlements, which are fully recognized by Israel  though not by the international community.

The European Union and the United Nations consider all settlements illegal under international law. The United States calls the settlements illegitimate and an obstacle to peace, a view Israel disputes.

Palestinian farmer Rabah Ali, 49, photographed in May, stands by a dead horse he said was dumped on his land in Turmus Ayya, in the West Bank, by settlers of Adei Ad, an unauthorized outpost behind him that is seeking legal status. (Anne-Marie O'Connor/For The Washington Post)

Now, as France leads a push for a new round of talks to produce a Palestinian state, the outposts are being subjected to growing scrutiny.

A report this month by the Middle East Quartet, a mediation group that includes the United States, said Israel has authorized 19 outposts in the past decade, with 13 more in the process of being approved, expanding the footprint of existing settlements, if not effectively creating new ones.

[Middle East Quartet faults Israeli settlement activity, Palestinian violence]

On Tuesday, State Department spokesman John Kirby cited the outpost legalizations as fundamentally undermining the prospects of a two-state solution.

Critics of settlement building see the outposts as a game of hide-and-seek, with Israel publicly disavowing the areas while using them to expand settlement on land claimed by Palestinians for a future state.

The message to the settlers is, whatever you build, the government will approve, said Hagit Ofran, director of the Settlement Watch project run by Peace Now, an Israeli group.

More than 400,000 Israelis live in Jewish settlements in the West Bank, and their conservative votes helped boost Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to victory in 2015.

Miri Maoz-Ovadia, a spokeswoman for the settlers Yesha Council, said all outposts should be authorized, because Israelis living in outposts deserve the same rights as their brothers and sisters.

The outposts tend to be smaller, younger and home to the most ideologically hard-line settlers. About 80 occupy some Palestinian-owned land, according to Yesh Din, an Israeli human rights group.

Esh Kodesh is one of five outposts seeking Israeli recognition as neighborhoods of the authorized settlement of Shiloh, Katsof said.

Their quest has been complicated by allegations that Shiloh outposts have been used as bases for Jewish extremists accused of crimes that include an arson attack that killed a Palestinian mother, father and toddler last year in the nearby Palestinian village of Duma.

[Jewish extremists torch Palestinian homes, killing toddler, authorities say]

The dusty road to Esh Kodesh winds past a red sign marking the outpost of Geulat Zion, or Redemption of Zion, where authorities dismantled the home of accused Duma arsonist Amiram Ben-Uliel.

Esh Kodesh started in 2000 with Israeli-supplied trailers, Katsof said as he showed visitors around the outpost recently, wearing jeans and a holstered Smith & Wesson pistol. The Israeli government also built their roads, he said.

A cellphone tower recently appeared on a nearby hill, but Israeli phone companies still balk at providing landlines to unauthorized outposts in the Wild West Bank, Katsof said  a reluctance he attributes to U.S. disapproval. Its like, Well, what would Obama say? 

Katsof, 32, moved to Israel when he was 18 and joined Esh Kodesh six years ago with his wife, who is expecting their sixth child. He tends his vineyard and builds playgrounds for Amana, the settlement group for which Israels Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel once worked.

Since 2000, the outposts east of Shiloh have grown from a few trailers to 250 families, with more than 1,000 residents, according to Katsof.

In that time, Shiloh outposts have become ringed with circles of violence, said Yesh Din spokesman Gilad Grossman.

Fires have been set in two local mosques. Settlers have clashed with Palestinians in their fields. Graffiti mentioning Esh Kodesh has been left at several vandalism sites.

One resident of Esh Kodesh was convicted of kidnapping and beating a teenage Palestinian shepherd and kicking to death his newborn lamb, according to Yesh Din. An Israeli court recently ordered him to move his vineyard off land owned by a Palestinian farmer.

Yesh Din said 91.6 percent of crimes against Palestinian people and property in the West Bank go unsolved.

Grossman of Yesh Din said settler attacks are designed to make Palestinians afraid to farm their land so it will be abandoned, declared to be under state ownership and turned over to settlements.

Settler ideology is that Jewish dominance of the land has to be total. You have to show whos boss, said Shlomo Fischer, a senior fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute in Jerusalem. So the outposts come looking for a fight, marching into Palestinian villages, destroying olive trees.

Katsof admitted that Esh Kodesh settlers have ventured into nearby fields  he said for defensive purposes  with one confrontation in 2011 ending with a Palestinian being shot dead by Israeli security forces.

Security-wise, you dont wait until they get to your doorstep, Katsof said. You stop them far away.

Last year, as U.S. diplomats visited the farmland of Palestinian Americans who complained that settlers were vandalizing their olive trees, residents of the Shiloh outpost of Adei Ad came and threw stones at staffers and their vehicles.

Wadi al-Qam, 63, a Palestinian American grandfather from the village of Turmus Ayya, said Shiloh outpost settlers are trying to block Palestinian access to 1,200 acres of local farmland  after seizing an equal portion outright.

Adei Ad spokesman Tzuri Amior declined to comment.

Tamina Nessen, 35, a Palestinian American mother of four who lives in Chicago and the Palestinian village of al-Mughayr, said her family owns land on which Adei Ad is built.

Nessen said settlers have beaten her cousin and elderly uncle, torched her car, destroyed olive trees and set fire to two local mosques.

In May, she said, settlers marched in at midnight, throwing military sound grenades and flash bombs, and one landed on her patio.

Its a lifestyle now, she said, a bad one.

Nessen said Israeli soldiers took their security cameras that recorded the attacks, woke her family for 2 a.m. identification checks and poured out olive oil, the livelihood of Palestinian subsistence farmers.

Settlers enjoy touting their biblical ties to a community they started with just a few trailers. But for Palestinians  who face an Israeli bid to confiscate hundreds of acres near Shiloh outposts, Yesh Din says  the appearance of a lone trailer is ominous.

See that trailer? Rabah Ali, 49, said, standing in his fields in Turmus Ayya, flanked by a dead horse and sheep he said were dumped by Adei Ad settlers, and a house he said they built on his land. Adei Ad started with just one trailer, too.

Read more:

Diplomats want Israeli-Palestinian peace talks by end of the year

Palestinian fatally stabs sleeping Israeli girl in West Bank settlement

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world
Japans ruling coalition was a clear winner in Sundays parliamentary elections, preliminary results and Japanese media exit polls indicated, paving the way for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to push ahead with his economic revival policies, but also possibly changing the nations postwar pacifist constitution.

Half of the seats of the less powerful upper house were up for grabs. There had been no possibility for a change of power because the ruling coalition, led by Abes Liberal Democratic Party, already controls the more powerful lower house, but the balloting was a key gauge of how much support Abes coalition has among the public.

According to the exit polls, the Liberal Democrats won 57 to 59 seats among the 121 that were contested. Coalition partner Komeito won about 14 seats.

Combined with other conservative politicians, the coalition may win a two-thirds majority in the upper house, which would be critical to propose a referendum needed to change the constitution. Japanese broadcaster NHK reported that the Liberal Democrats may clinch the majority on their own.

Final results arent expected until early Monday.

Abe showed up before TV cameras at party headquarters.

I am honestly so relieved, he told NHK, promising new government spending to help wrest the economy out of the doldrums in a total and aggressive way.

He declined to give the amount for the spending. He also said discussions should start on changing the constitution to work out details.

With their pro-business policies, the Liberal Democrats have ruled Japan almost continuously since World War II and, until recently, enjoyed solid support from rural areas.

Japans constitution, written by the United States after Japans defeat in World War II, limits its military to a self-defense role, although Japan has a well-equipped modern army, navy and air force that work closely with the United States, Japans most important ally. Many members of Japans military dont anticipate becoming involved in overseas wars, expecting that their work will be limited to disaster relief.

But some Japanese agree with Abes views on security because of growing fears about terrorism, the recent missile launches by North Korea and Chinas military assertiveness.

Sundays was the first major election since Japan lowered the voting age from 20 to 18, potentially adding 2.4 million voters.
Two men were killed by bulls during bullfighting events in Spain on Saturday, according to multiple reports.



One was professional bullfighter Victor Barrio, whose tragic death occurred in front of live spectators and television viewers during a competition in Teruel on Saturday afternoon, according to Reuters. The 29-year-old was killed when the bull's horn fatally pierced his chest, the BBC reported.



Barrio started as an apprentice bullfighter at Madrid's Las Ventas in 2010, according to the Las Ventas website. His death marks the first Spanish bullfighter to die in a ring since 2000, according to Reuters. The BBC confirmed, saying the last matador to die in a bullfight in Spain was Jose "Yiyo" Cubero in 1985.



Another Spanish man was killed during the famous running of the bulls in Pamplona at the age of 28. One bull's horn pierced his lung and heart while he was trying to come to another runner's aid. This man is the second person in two years to die during this specific event.







In addition to the Spanish man who died, three Americans and one Canadian man were gored during the bull run, which spans several days. The four men are reportedly expected to survive their injuries.
Cuba Gooding Jr. met one of the victims of the tragic Dallas shooting in February, when he stopped to pose for a photo with Dallas police officer Patrick Zamarripa.



And when the actor got word of Zamarripa's death just five months after the photo was taken, the actor admitted that he got very emotional.



"I cried today when I heard that," he told TMZ on Friday night. "I cried."



Zamarripa took to his Twitter account to express his excitement about meeting Gooding earlier this year.







"The great @cubagoodingjr," the 32-year-old Navy veteran wrote. "Thanx for taking the pic with my partner and I. Hope your stay in #Dallas was great sir!"





RELATED VIDEO: America Pays Tribute to the Dallas Victims





Zamarripa was fatally shot when a sniper killed him and four other officers,  and injured seven more people  during an otherwise peaceful protest on Thursday night.
Hiddleswift strikes again.



Taylor Swift and Tom Hiddleston were spotted out to dinner in Gold Coast, Australia, on Saturday.



After spending time with Hiddlestons parents in England, touring Rome and celebrating the Fourth of July with a star-studded extravaganza at Swifts Rhode Island estate, the new couple arrived Down Under on Friday.



They had dinner at Gemelli Italian restaurant. Taylor told the staff that Italian is her favorite food and she was very excited to try the food, a source tells PEOPLE. Taylor and Tom walked in hand-in-hand and left the same way. They spent several hours at dinner before returning to their hotel in a chauffeured car.



Swift wore a plunging floral midi dress and tan heels, and her beau wore a navy shirt and dark wash jeans.



A source also tells PEOPLE that the couple has been very friendly to the staff at their hotel, as well as the Hiddleswift lovers that have gathered outside.



They have encountered fans inside the hotel several times and have been very gracious, the source added.



Earlier this weekend, Hiddleston, 35, was recently seen going for a Swift-less jog on the beach with his trainer.



Swift and Hiddleston met in May at the Met Gala, and started dating shortly after Swifts 15-month relationship with DJ Calvin Harris ended that same month.
The U.S. Army says Chelsea Manning was briefly hospitalized this week, but few details have been provided.

Army spokesman Wayne Hall says the 28-year-old imprisoned transgender soldier was taken to a hospital on Tuesday near Fort Leavenworth and was later returned to the Kansas military base's prison, where Manning is now being monitored. Hall and other Pentagon officials didn't say why she was hospitalized.

On Wednesday morning, CNN and TMZ reported that Manning was hospitalized due to what is believed to be a suicide attempt, citing anonymous sources.

Manning's appellate attorney, Nancy Hollander, said she was unaware of the hospitalization until Wednesday and was "profoundly distressed by the complete lack of official communication about Chelsea's current situation."

Hollander, the lead attorney on Manning's defense team, added that she was "shocked" and "outraged" that an official at Leavenworth contacted the press with "private confidential medical information."

Read the full statement below:

We're shocked and outraged that an official at Leavenworth contacted the press with private confidential medical information about Chelsea Manning yet no one at the Army has given a shred of information to her legal team.

I had a privileged call scheduled with Chelsea at 2pm Leavenworth time yesterday, after the Army has now said she was hospitalized, but the Army gave the excuse - which I now believe to be an outright lie - that the call could not be connected although my team was waiting by the phone.

Despite the fact that they have reached out to the media, and that any other prison will connect an emergency call, the Army has told her lawyers that the earliest time that they will accommodate a call between her lawyers and Chelsea is Friday morning. We call on the Army to immediately connect Chelsea Manning to her lawyers and friends who care deeply about her well-being and are profoundly distressed by the complete lack of official communication about Chelsea's current situation.

Story continues

Manning, formerly Bradley Manning, was convicted in military court in 2013 for sending classified information to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks and is currently serving a 35-year prison sentence.

A Fort Leavenworth spokeswoman declined comment, citing medical privacy laws.

Read More: Chelsea Manning Faces Possible Solitary Confinement Over Caitlyn Jenner 'Vanity Fair' Magazine
(Reuters) - Sydney Schanberg, a former correspondent whose Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of the fall of Cambodia to the Khmer Rouge inspired the movie "The Killing Fields," died on Saturday at age 82, the New York Times and Newsday reported. Schanberg, who worked for both newspapers in his career, gained international prominence for his reporting on the atrocities accompanying the communist takeover of Cambodia. He suffered a heart attack earlier in the week and died on Saturday at Vassar Brothers Medical Center in Poughkeepsie, New York, his wife, Jane Freiman, told Newsday. His work helped to bring worldwide attention to the brutal genocide in Cambodia during the 1970s. A foreign correspondent for the New York Times, Schanberg and Cambodian journalist Dith Pran stayed in the country in 1975 as other Western journalists and leading officials fled the capital of Phnom Penh. Both were captured and threatened with death, the New York Times noted. Schanberg eventually was evacuated, and he returned to the United States, while Pran endured years of brutality as a prisoner in the country. Schanberg's writings about Pran's ordeal inspired the 1984 movie, "The Killing Fields." The actor playing Pran, Dr. Haing Ngor, won an Oscar for best supporting actor for the film. Sam Waterston portrayed Schanberg in the film. Schanberg, hired as a copy boy at the New York Times in 1959, spent 26 years at the newspaper in roles that included metropolitan editor and a columnist. He left the New York Times in 1985, after his column was discontinued, and joined Newsday, also in New York. He was a columnist and editor there for 10 years, Newsday reported. (Reporting by Letitia Stein in Tampa, Fla.; Editing by Diane Craft)
Beirut (AFP) - Syrian regime forces have repelled a fierce assault by opposition fighters seeking to reopen their only supply route into Aleppo city, killing at least 29 rebels, a monitor said Sunday.

The offensive sought to push regime forces back from the Castello Road that leads into the opposition-held eastern half of Aleppo city, which is now effectively besieged by government troops.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 29 fighters from the Islamist Faylaq al-Sham rebel group and Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front were killed in fighting or by mines laid by government troops.

The Britain-based monitor said there were also deaths among government troops, but had no immediate toll.

"The attack has ended and the road remains completely closed," Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said.

The Castello Road was effectively severed by government forces on Thursday when they seized a hilltop within range of the key supply line.

By Saturday, regime soldiers were within 500 metres (yards) of the road and firing on any vehicle trying to use it.

The Observatory said at least one car was targeted on the road early on Sunday, adding that it was unclear if it carried civilians or fighters.

The regime also shelled the road later in the day, it said.

On Friday, a man and his two sons were killed by regime forces on the road, the monitor said.

- Fears of long siege -

An AFP correspondent in eastern Aleppo said opposition factions were preventing civilians from using the route.

Ongoing government artillery fire and barrel bomb attacks were reported in the east of the city early on Sunday.

About 200,000 people remain in the eastern part of Aleppo, which has been divided between government and rebel control since shortly after fighting in the city erupted in mid-2012.

President Bashar al-Assad's forces have been trying to cut the Castello Road for more than two years in an attempt to pressure rebel forces in the city.

Their advance on Thursday has left residents of the east cut off, with supplies of basic items including food and fuel starting to run low and fears of a lengthy government siege.

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Syria's government has been accused of using sieges to pressure rebel forces, and the UN says nearly 600,000 Syrians live in besieged areas, most surrounded by government forces although rebels also use the tactic.

In the wake of the government advance, rebel forces on Friday retaliated with waves of rocket fire into the regime-held west of Aleppo, killing 45 people, according to Syria's state news agency SANA.

Residents there praised the regime advance but worried about rebel fire into their neighbourhoods.

"We're not leaving home, but even staying at home has become dangerous," 25-year-old Abdel Wahhab Qabbani told AFP.

In the west of the same province, air strikes by unidentified warplanes late on Sunday killed at least nine civilians including six children, the Observatory said.

- Regime 'targeted reporter' -

The latest violence came despite the army's announcement Saturday of a 72-hour extension to a nationwide ceasefire that began Wednesday but has produced little respite.

As well as the fighting in Aleppo, the Observatory said at least four civilians were killed in regime air strikes overnight on the rebel-held town of Douma, east of Damascus.

In the central province of Homs, regime air strikes killed eight civilians, including three children from the same family and a further three from another, the Observatory said.

More than 280,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict began in March 2011 with anti-government protests that sparked a deadly crackdown.

Among the dead have been dozens of journalists, including US reporter Marie Colvin, whose family has filed a lawsuit alleging she was deliberately targeted by Syria's government.

The lawsuit filed in a US court on Saturday claims the Syrian military intercepted Colvin's communications and killed her in Homs city in February 2012 to stop her from covering government atrocities.

The conflict has also seen large parts of the country fall under the control of the Islamic State group, which in 2014 declared a self-styled "caliphate" in territory under its control in Syria and Iraq.

A new analysis by the IHS research group said Sunday that IS had lost 12 percent of its territory in the two countries so far this year, after losing 14 percent in 2015.

The report said the territorial losses, as well as sinking revenues, would be likely to encourage IS to pursue "mass casualty attacks" in Iraq, Syria and further afield, including in Europe.
KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan forces are suffering rising levels of battlefield casualties this year after unprecedented numbers of police and soldiers were killed and wounded in 2015, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan said. U.S. Army General John Nicholson, in some of his first remarks since the United States last week scaled back its withdrawal plans, told a small group of reporters that the rising casualties were largely the result of Taliban attacks on fixed Afghan positions. "This year, we're seeing more tactical success (by the Afghans) on the battlefield but more casualties as well," Nicholson said late on Saturday when asked about how Afghan forces were faring this year compared with 2015. He did not disclose figures. A spokesman told Reuters on Sunday that Nicholson was referring to an increase so far in 2016 compared with the same period in 2015, and noted how fighting was more intense due to the milder winter this year. "It's when they're in a defensive posture, such as in checkpoints being overrun, is where the majority of the casualties are occurring," Nicholson said. More than 5,000 forces in Afghanistan were killed in action and over 14,000 were wounded in 2015, when the Taliban staged a series of attacks that upended U.S. assumptions about the ability of Afghan forces to secure the country after more than 14 1/2 years of war. On July 6, U.S. President Barack Obama scrapped plans to slash the number of U.S. forces to 5,500 troops from 9,800 before he leaves office, citing precarious security in Afghanistan. Obama now plans to leave around 8,400 U.S. troops. U.S. allies are also renewing their commitments, and NATO agreed on Saturday to help fund Afghan forces to the tune of around $1 billion annually over the next three years. Nicholson praised Afghan forces for being able to recruit new fighters and carry on, despite the casualty rates. He said their losses could be addressed, including by replicating successful efforts to rapidly reset and retrain Afghan forces in southern Helmand province after their dismal performance last year. Major General Moeen Faqir, the new commander of the 215th Corps in Helmand, told reporters his casualties were sharply down this year from 2015. Nicholson also suggested the Afghan Taliban were struggling after the U.S. killed their leader, Mullah Mohammad Akhtar Mansour, in a May drone strike across the border in Pakistan. Mansour had tight control of Taliban finances, Nicholson said. "So what we're seeing are some indications that some of the finances of the organization have been disrupted," he said. Nicholson suggested Mansour's successor, Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, had also alienated some fighters in the past. "So he's not a unifying figure within that organization," he said. (Reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Ryan Woo)
* Virgin Atlantic seen ordering A350s, cancelling A380s

* Germania deal could be worth over $2.5 bln at list prices

* UK PM Cameron expected to finalise Boeing deals - sources

* Boeing expected to relaunch smallest version of 737 MAX (Recasts with sources on Virgin deal, detail, background)

By Tim Hepher

FARNBOROUGH, England, July 10 (Reuters) - Airbus is set to announce a key order for 8-10 of its biggest twin-engined model, the A350-1000, from Virgin Atlantic after beating Boeing to a scarce order for big jets as economic and political uncertainties overshadow the Farnborough Airshow.

The order, worth some $3 billion at list prices, could perk up Monday's opening of an event clouded by geopolitical uncertainty, including Britain's decision to leave the European Union and concerns over the state of the global economy.

British Prime Minister David Cameron will attend the opening day, where he is expected to finalise multi-billion dollar deals with Boeing to buy nine P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol planes and to upgrade 50 Apache helicopters.

Industry sources said Airbus's A350-1000 deal with Virgin Atlantic provided a shot in the arm to a 366-seat model promising greater efficiency but whose sales have slowed as Boeing develops a larger version of its 777, prompting a game of leapfrog between the only two makers of long-haul jets.

Airbus declined to comment and Virgin Atlantic was not available to comment.

Airbus and Boeing have enjoyed years of strong demand, helped by rising airline travel particularly in Asia and the Middle East and new, more fuel-efficient planes.

But with the industry's order backlog standing at a record 13,500 planes at the end of 2015, or 9.6 years of production at current rates, analysts are worried that economic risks - from slowing growth in China to Britain's move to leave the EU - could see orders dry up and some even cancelled.

Larger, more expensive twin-aisle planes are likely to be most at risk. Indeed, industry sources said Virgin Atlantic, which has long deferred an order for six of Airbus's A380 superjumbos, looked set to finally cancel it.

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SINGLE-AISLE COMPETITION

Separately, industry sources said privately-held German airline Germania was close to placing an order with Airbus for around 25 A320-family jets, potentially worth more than $2.5 billion at list prices.

That deal for Airbus's top-selling single-aisle plane, if confirmed, would also be a disappointment to Boeing, which tried to wrestle back its former customer on the eve of the air show, the sources said, asking not to be named.

Germania operates both Airbus and Boeing jets but has said it aims to harmonise its fleet by switching to all-Airbus aircraft when it takes older Boeing 737-700s out of service.

Germania officials could not immediately be reached for comment. An Airbus spokesman said: "We do not comment on confidential talks which may or may not be happening with our customers."

Among other potential deals at Farnborough, Boeing is expected to firm up at least part of a deal for up to 20 747-8 freighters from Russia's Volga Dnepr, boosting its declining jumbo jet programme, and could announce a new Asian customer for its 737 MAX 200 jet aimed at low-cost carriers.

The U.S. company announced a preliminary deal with Volga Dnepr last year.

In a sign of growing competition in the single-aisle jet market, meanwhile, Boeing is expected to relaunch the smallest version of its 737 MAX series by adding more seats to make it more economical for airlines, after negotiating the change with buyers including Southwest Airlines.

Airbus is expected to talk up the recent sales success of its A321neo, the largest member of its medium-haul family, as Norwegian Air considers upgrading about 30 of the 100 A320neo it has on order to the larger 185-seat A321neo.

(Editing by Mark Potter)
* Germania deal could be worth over $2.5 bln at list prices

* Virgin Atlantic seen ordering A350s, cancelling A380s

* Boeing expected to relaunch smallest version of 737 MAX (Adds sources in paragraph 14, Boeing plans in paragraph 17)

By Tim Hepher

FARNBOROUGH, England, July 10 (Reuters) - German airline Germania is close to placing an order with European planemaker Airbus for around 25 A320-family jets, two industry sources said on Sunday, as aviation chiefs gathered for an industry summit clouded by economic worries.

The privately-held German carrier operates a mixed fleet of Airbus and Boeing jets but has said it aims to harmonise its fleet by switching to all-Airbus aircraft when it takes older Boeing 737-700s out of service.

The potential order, which could be worth over $2.5 billion at list prices, will disappoint Boeing which tried to wrestle back its former customer on the eve of Britain's Farnborough Airshow, the sources said, asking not to be named.

Germania officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

An Airbus spokesman said, "We do not comment on confidential talks which may or may not be happening with our customers."

Germania currently operates a medium-haul fleet of 10 Boeing 737-700s, as well as eight Airbus A319s and four A321s.

Swiss affiliate Germania operates three Airbus jets, according to latest statistics from the planemaker.

The airline first ordered Airbus jets in 2010, having previously operated mainly Boeing airplanes.

Chief executive Karsten Balke told Reuters last year it still had purchase rights for further Airbus aircraft and would use them "when we get the right price".

Berlin-based Germania focuses on Europe, North Africa and the Middle East and recently announced a co-operation with Spanish carrier Air Europa.

If confirmed, the order could be announced at the upcoming July 11-17 Farnborough Airshow, the sources said.

However, the showcase for order announcements, which alternates each year with the Paris Airshow, is expected to be quieter this year as airlines await direction from a faltering economy after several years of strong demand.

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Among other potential deals, Airbus was said on the eve of the show to be close to securing an order worth some $3 billion for 8-10 A350 jets from Virgin Atlantic.

But the same airline looks set to cancel a long-standing order for six Airbus A380 superjumbos, industry sources said.

Boeing is expected to firm up at least part of a deal for up to 20 747-8 freighters from Russia's Volga Dnepr, boosting its declining jumbo jet programme, and could announce a new Asian customer for its 737 MAX 200 jet aimed at low-cost carriers.

The U.S. company announced a preliminary deal with Volga Dnepr last year.

Boeing is meanwhile expected to relaunch the smallest version of its 737 MAX series by adding more seats to make it more economical for airlines, after negotiating the change with buyers including Southwest Airlines.

Airbus is expected to talk up the recent sales success of its A321neo, the largest member of its medium-haul family, as Norwegian Air considers upgrading about 30 of the 100 A320neo it has on order to the larger 185-seat A321neo.

(Editing by Mark Potter)
FARNBOROUGH, England, July 10 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister David Cameron is likely to finalise multi-billion dollar deals with Boeing on Monday to buy nine P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol planes and to upgrade 50 Apache helicopters, two industry sources said on Sunday.

Cameron is expected to announce the deals at the opening of the Farnborough Airshow in southern England.

Spokespeople for the prime minister and Britain's Ministry of Defence declined to comment.

Britain announced its intention to buy the submarine-hunting P-8A planes in November to plug a gap in its defences that has existed since 2010, when it ditched the Nimrod, built by Britain's BAE Systems.

Cameron said last month he would step down as prime minister once his ruling Conservative Party had chosen a successor, following a referendum in which Britain voted to leave the European Union. Cameron had campaigned for staying in the EU.

Britain's Minister for Defence Procurement Philip Dunne said on Friday the "Brexit" vote did not change the country's commitment to the NATO military alliance and that it was "not retreating into its shell".

(Reporting by Tim Hepher and Kylie MacLellan; Writing by Mark Potter; Editing by Adrian Croft)
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad told a visiting group of European parliamentarians on Sunday that western governments' support for opposition groups in Syria caused terrorism in Europe. "The problems Europe faces today of terrorism, extremism and waves of refugees are caused by some western leaders' adoption of policies which do not serve their people," Assad told a delegation of members of the European Parliament headed by Javier Couso, vice chairman of its foreign affairs committee. "Especially when those leaders give support and political cover to terrorist groups inside Syria," Syrian state news agency SANA said in a summary of Assad's comments. The Syrian government, supported by Iran and Russia, refers to all groups fighting it in the five-year-old conflict as terrorists. Of such groups, the U.N. classifies only Islamic State and the al Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front as terrorist. A range of countries provide financial, logistical and training support to the many armed opposition groups in Syria, including Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United States and the United Kingdom. Western and Gulf Arab countries which want Assad out of power blame him for the displacement of tens of thousands of Syrians, through air strikes on rebel-held areas that have killed thousands. Opposition groups accuse the government of deliberately targeting civilians and breaching ceasefires. United Nations-brokered peace talks broke down in late April as violence escalated, without a set date to resume. (Reporting by Lisa Barrington in Beirut and Suleiman al-Khalidi in Amman; editing by Andrew Roche)
Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull Sunday declared victory for the ruling conservatives after the Labor opposition conceded defeat, but faced a tough time ahead after the narrow mandate in the closely fought election.

The declaration ended eight days of uncertainty about the new government's identity. A tight race between the two major parties left neither of them with the 76 or more seats required for a parliamentary majority following polls on July 2, with vote counting still ongoing.

"We've won the election, that's what we've done," Turnbull told reporters in Sydney, adding that he received a call from Labor leader Bill Shorten congratulating him on his re-election as prime minister.

But he immediately faced questions about whether he would be able to govern successfully, with Labor increasing its lower house seats and a higher number of minor party and independent senators to contend with in the upper house.

Turnbull's ruling Liberal/National coalition is currently expected to secure 74 seats, and potentially two more, in the 150-seat House of Representatives, according to national broadcaster ABC's projections.

But the Australian leader has won the support of three independent MPs on budget matters and on votes of no confidence, paving the way for him to form a minority government if necessary.

Labor has won 66, and with five independents elected, the opposition does not have sufficient seats to govern in Canberra, according to the projections.

- 'Vital that parliament works' -

The need for Turnbull to court the support of those outside his party saw him stress that he valued every parliamentarian's contribution, even though he had warned Australians not to vote for minor parties and independents during the election campaign.

"It is vital that this parliament works," Turnbull said, adding that Australia faced numerous challenges including a rocky transition away from a dependence on mining-driven growth.

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"Every member of the House and the Senate deserves respect because they have been elected by the Australian people."

Shorten pledged earlier Sunday in his concession speech that his centre-left party wanted to work well with the government, amid concerns the close result and higher number of lawmakers not from the two major parties could cause gridlock.

Even so, Turnbull faces an uphill task to get the Senate to pass two bills about restoring a construction union watchdog. He had used the Senate's blocking of the bills to trigger a double-dissolution election, but could now face an even more hostile upper house.

There are also question marks over whether his multi-billion dollar plan to cut corporate tax announced in the May budget would get support from the smaller parties and independents, who were elected on more populist agendas.

- Drawn-out count -

The two seats the coalition hopes to pick up are among five in the balance, with the electoral commission still completing the painstaking task of counting postal votes and others cast outside people's normal electorates.

Both Turnbull and Shorten said they supported an inquiry into electronic voting, amid the protracted counting process.

"I have been an advocate of electronic voting for a long time... yes, this is something we must look at," Turnbull said.

Shorten added earlier: "I will be writing to Mr Turnbull and saying, 'really, we're a grown-up democracy, it shouldn't be taking eight days to find out who's won and who's lost'."

Turnbull lost the government's comfortable majority in the House of Representatives in last Saturday's election after his campaign on "jobs and growth" and "innovation" failed to resonate equally across the vast island continent.

Australia's politics has been turbulent in recent years, with a "revolving door" of prime ministers in charge. Four different leaders have served since 2013 as parties removed sitting prime ministers.

Turnbull became the nation's fourth prime minister since 2013 when he rolled Liberal leader Tony Abbott in a party vote last September.
Sydney (AFP) - Australia's Labor opposition leader Bill Shorten conceded defeat in national elections Sunday eight days after voters went to the polls, allowing the ruling conservatives to form a new government.

"It is clear that Mr (Malcolm) Turnbull and his coalition will form a government," Shorten told reporters in Melbourne.

"So I have spoken to Mr Turnbull earlier this afternoon to congratulate him and (his wife) Lucy and to wish them my very best."

Both Turnbull's ruling Liberal/National coalition and Labor remain short of the 76 seats needed to claim a majority in the 150-seat House of Representatives, with counting still ongoing.

But Turnbull has won the support of three independent MPs on budget matters and on votes of no confidence, paving the way for him to form a minority government if he does not win 76 seats.

The coalition is currently expected to secure 74 seats, and potentially two more, according to national broadcaster ABC's projections.

Labor has won 66, and with five independents elected, the opposition does not have sufficient seats to govern in Canberra, according to the projections.

The two seats the coalition believe it will pick up are among five still in the balance.

Turnbull lost the government's comfortable majority in the House of Representatives in last Saturday's election after his campaign on "jobs and growth" and "innovation" failed to resonate equally across the vast island continent.

Australia has endured a "revolving door" of prime ministers in recent years, with leaders removed at the ballot box and via internal party room coups.

Turnbull became the nation's fourth prime minister since 2013 when he rolled Liberal leader Tony Abbott in a party vote last September.
Multi-millionaire former banker and lawyer Malcolm Turnbull has clung to power in Australia, but the tech-savvy grandfather dubbed "Mr Harbourside Mansion" won only a begrudging victory with voters.

Turnbull called the election early, hoping to shore up his power after ousting fellow conservative Tony Abbott in a Liberal Party vote in September but the move appears to have backfired.

His declaration of victory on Sunday -- which came a protracted eight days after the July 2 polls -- gave the 61-year-old only a narrow victory, with uncertainty over whether he will form a minority or majority government.

The election reduced Turnbull's Liberal/National government's seats in parliament, and the ongoing vote count by the electoral commission has so far given the coalition 74 seats, two short of a parliamentary majority.

With a campaign slogan out of an American sitcom, Turnbull suffered criticism that he was out-of-touch with ordinary Australians as he pitched to retain the nation's leadership on his economic credentials.

His removal of a sitting prime minister alienated some voters, and Abbott's former staffer Peta Credlin dubbed him "Mr Harbourside Mansion" when he failed to do a street walk in one of Sydney's less affluent western suburbs.

-'Suave and sophisticated'-

Even a sentimental video highlighting his modest upbringing with a single parent dad, who did his best after Turnbull's mother left, failed to pierce this perception.

"Turnbull lacks the common touch," noted distinguished commentator Paul Kelly in The Weekend Australian after the election. "Too many people see him as an elitist."

Rich, suave and sophisticated, Turnbull has long been a public figure, and was seen as having socially progressive views on issues such as climate change and gay marriage before he took over from the hard-line Abbott.

As he enjoyed an early honeymoon in polls, he was seen as the conservative who could win over swinging left-leaning voters while at the same time implement the economic agenda needed to spur growth.

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But he presided over uncertainty on tax policy, which was compounded by the perception that even as prime minister he was constrained by the more conservative elements of his party, a charge he has disputed.

The nation's 29th prime minister shot to prominence in the 1980s in the "Spycatcher" trial in which he successfully defended former MI5 agent Peter Wright against the British government. A former journalist, he moved into banking and business before politics.

He had long been seen as prime ministerial material, and after months of meticulous planning was able to oust Abbott 54-44 in last year's dramatic Liberal Party room vote.

The silver-haired grandfather immediately pledged to provide economic leadership, while being a more consultative leader, restoring traditional cabinet government and ending policy-on-the-run.

But Turnbull has struggled to convince voters that his leadership was different to Abbott's, at one point explaining his government as providing both "continuity" and "change".

The line is uncannily like the "Continuity with Change" slogan used by the fictional politician Selina Meyer in the political satire "Veep", prompting the show's star Julia Louis-Dreyfus to say she was "dumbstruck" by the coincidence.

Although he has lived in Sydney's wealthy eastern suburbs his whole life, Turnbull's upbringing was difficult -- an only child reared by his hotel room broker father after his mother, a writer and academic, left.

He was educated at Sydney Grammar with the help of a scholarship and went on to be a Rhodes scholar at Oxford, before working as a journalist and then turning to the law.

From law he entered the corporate world, becoming a merchant banker with Goldman Sachs and then investing in technology start-ups, before spearheading a failed push for Australia to turn itself into a republic.

He entered parliament in 2004 -- and was a minister under both former leader John Howard and Abbott -- but he has endured a bumpy ride, being dumped as opposition leader for Abbott in 2009 after bitter debate on climate change.

Married to Lucy Hughes since 1980, with whom he has two adult children, the Turnbulls are a high-profile couple. Lucy was the first female Lord Mayor of Sydney.
By Manuel Mogato INFANTA, Philippines (Reuters) - For years, the fishermen of the sleepy Philippine town of Infanta cared little for politics, international diplomacy and centuries-old squabbles over sovereignty. That changed four years ago when China's coastguard swept in and seized the Scarborough Shoal, making it very difficult for the Filipino fishermen to get access to a tranquil South China Sea lagoon rich in fish stocks some 124 nautical miles off their shores. Since then, they've barely broke even. Many have found other jobs. But they're hoping a verdict on Tuesday by the International Court of Arbitration at The Hague in a case lodged by the Philippines will change that, and allow them to fish without the threat of being chased and rammed by Chinese boats or blasted with water cannon. "I hope we'll win the case so we can come back to Scarborough where there's abundant fish, and improve our lives," said Henry Dao, 45, as he watched his crew repair a wooden fishing boat on the shores of Pangasinan province, about 300 km (186 miles) northwest of Manila. "I have high hopes the court will favor us." What started as a standoff over six rocks poking above the seawater that were once a shooting range for the United States navy took on huge international significance when Manila angered Beijing by lodging the challenge under a United Nations' maritime convention in January 2013. The 15-point filing didn't ask for a decision on sovereignty, but sought to set the record straight on its rights of maritime access. In the bigger picture, it amounts to a David verses Goliath battle as the Philippines asked the court to decide the legality of China's claims to the South China Sea and its extensive building of islands on disputed reefs there. China's claims are expressed on its maps as the so-called nine-dash line, an ill-defined U-shaped demarcation drawn up after the defeat of Japan in World War II. China has said it will not recognize the court's decision, but there are hopes among some Filipinos that Beijing might be pressured to let them fish at the Scarborough Shoal, the only place within the Philippines' Exclusive Economic Zone where year-round, the waters are calm and fish keep reproducing. For the fishermen who make up a third of Infanta's 30,000 people, the 16-hour trip to the prized shoal, where they fish for 10 days at a time, are necessary but perilous journeys. CAT AND MOUSE Rubenado Querubin, who captains a new boat set to make its maiden voyage soon after the court rules, estimates the costs of each trip at 120,000 pesos ($2,500) and said his crew have no choice but to run the Chinese gauntlet, or suffer big losses if they return without the seven tonnes of fish they need to catch to make a trip worthwhile. "We are playing a cat-and-mouse game with the Chinese," he said. "They're preventing us from getting near the shoal and they have armed soldiers in rubber boats chasing us." The ruling will also have economic significance for the Philippines, where fishing accounted for 1.3 percent of gross domestic product in the first quarter. Domestic fish demand from a swelling population is rising. The clashes with the Chinese can get very dangerous and costly. Boat owner Antonio Gono said only last week a Chinese boat had rammed a Philippine vessel, breaking its outrigger. "We heard it over the two-way radio, they were seeking help," he said. "I think the crew are safe but their boat will have difficulty returning." There are moves by the Philippine authorities to mitigate the problem by pushing fishermen to head elsewhere and use aggregating devices to trap tuna and other large fish, but this technology is mostly in the hands of commercial fishing fleets. Luis Madarang, who heads the agriculture committee for the municipal authority of Infanta, is confident of a favorable ruling, but still wants to push plans to organize small Filipino boats into cooperatives to share equipment and boost their catch. "Win or lose, we will help our fishermen," he said. "It's very unfair for China to stay there or even share the resources in Scarborough Shoal because the Philippines owns that 100 percent." Some Infanta fishermen, however, don't mind sharing, as long as they can make ends meet. "We really do not care," said a man who gave only his first name, Lorenzo. "Before China came, we are doing our business alongside Chinese, Vietnamese and even some from Hong Kong. We even exchanged food, drinks and fish catch. Everyone was happy." (Editing by Martin Petty and Martin Howell)
Nassau (Bahamas) (AFP) - The government of the Bahamas has urged its citizens to be careful when traveling to the United States, citing tensions over the recent deaths of black men at the hands of police.

Most people in the Caribbean nation are black.

The foreign ministry said young Bahamian men in particular should exercise caution in their dealings with police in US cities.

"Do not be confrontational and cooperate," the ministry said in a statement.

Monday is a holiday in the Bahamas, so many people here were expected to use the long weekend to visit the US.

The travel warning is of the kind that the US State Department issues to Americans traveling to countries it deems dangerous.

Racial tensions are running extremely high in the United States because of the death last week of two black men at the hands of police, the latest in a series of such incidents.

Micah Johnson, the black gunman who killed five police and wounded seven others during a peaceful protest Thursday in Dallas, told police those earlier killings were the reason for his rampage. Police killed him by detonating a bomb carried by a robot.
Bay City Rollers guitarist Stuart "Woody" Wood announced Saturday (July 9) that the reunion show at Scotland's T in the Park Festival would be his last with the band.

The 59-year old guitarist shared the news shortly before the group -- which includes original vocalist Les McKeown and bassist Alan Longmuir -- took the stage at Strathallan Castle in Perthshire, Scotland.

"Hi All...just to say TITP is my last gig," he wrote on his Facebook page. "Disappointed is an understatement but outwith my control. Details will follow in due course...love as always,Woody x"

He further addressed rumors in another post Sunday, writing his exit has nothing to do with health or otherwise.

The band confirmed Wood's exit on Twitter, writing, "He played a blinderIt was definitely an emotional night!"

pic.twitter.com/f2vWkT04OK

- Bay City Rollers (@OfficialRollers) July 10, 2016

The three original Rollers reunited in December, and were reportedly working on new music with manager John McLaughlin, who produced music for ShaneMacGowan, Echo & the Bunnymen, Mick Jones of The Clash and X Factor alums Sam Callahan and Jade Richards.

News of Wood's departure was a shock to fans, who were expecting a new album and tour dates in Japan and the U.S. in 2017.

After his time with The Rollers, Wood went on to form the group The Passengers in South Africa. He returned to Edinburgh and found success as a producer, guiding X Factor alums The MacDonald Brothers to a No. 1 record on the Scottish charts and the No. 18 slot on the U.K. charts. Wood is the co-founder of The Music Kitchen, a joint venture he launched with partner Gordon Campbell.

In other Rollers news, McKeown is set to release a new collection of music, LesMcKeownThe Lost Songs, on Aug. 22 through iTunes and will continue to tour throughout the year with his group. Longmuir will continue to tour his stage show, I Ran With the Gang, performing Rollers hits with a full question-and-answer section for fans.

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The band's final show was a buoyant one, despite the pre-show tensions. In addition to the hits "Bye, Bye Baby" and "Shang-a-Lang," the band brought on the bagpipes for the traditional Scottish song "Loch Lomond." Wood was especially energetic and dynamic for several songs, including the upbeat "All of Me Loves All of You," a 1974 single included on the 2004 re-issue of the album Once Upon a Star.

In yet another treat, McKeown introduced "Saturday Night," which hit the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1976, with a nod to The Ramones. "The Bay City Rollers were very popular with a band called The Ramones," McKeown said. "They wanted to copy The Bay City Rollers, believe it or not."

He then led the crowd in a chant of "Hey, Ho! Let's Go" from "Blitzkrieg Bop," shouting "This is the song that inspired them!"

McKeown is telling the truth. Joey Ramone admitted that the punk icons were fans of pop music.

"I hate to blow the mystique, but at the time we really liked bubblegum music, and we really liked the Bay City Rollers," he said. "Their song 'Saturday Night' had a great chant in it, so we wanted a song with a chant in it: 'Hey! Ho! Let's Go!'. 'Blitzkrieg Bop' was our 'Saturday Night.'"

McKeown certainly enjoyed himself at the Scottish festival, which included appearances by the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Calvin Harris. The 60-year old took a moment to enjoy the heavy downpours that rained down from the heavens, "naked of course," reported The Scottish Sun. He was also still on a high from the performance Sunday morning, and took a moment to thank fans on Twitter.

On cloud 9 after the show at T in the Park, super impressive loyal fans support new fans singing the hits,another day in bay city paradise,

- Les McKeown (@LesMcKeownUK) July 10, 2016

Watch the final performance, filmed by Hev Vaughn, below:

LIVE on #Periscope: Bay city rollers at T in the park Saturday 9th July 2016 by Hev Vaughan yay raiding -- https://t.co/YExrGSv7jY

- Hev (@Hevmac) July 9, 2016
The New York Times

HOUSTON  Tony Earls hung his head before a row of television cameras, staring down, his life upended. Days before, Earls had pulled out his handgun and opened fire, hoping to strike a man who had just robbed him and his wife at an ATM in Houston. Instead, he struck Arlene Alvarez, a 9-year-old girl seated in a passing pickup, killing her. Is Mr. Earls licensed to carry? a reporter asked during the February news conference, in which his lawyer spoke for him. Sign up for The Morning newsletter
DeRay McKesson, a prominent activist in the Black Lives Matter movement, was among more than 100 people arrested in Baton Rouge late Saturday during multiple protests in the Louisiana capital, authorities said.

McKesson was charged with obstructing a highway of commerce, a Baton Rouge Paris Prison spokeswoman told the Washington Post, adding that more than 120 people were also arrested.

Now they're running after folks. https://t.co/wyWyJHcfc7  deray mckesson (@deray) July 10, 2016

His supporters on Sunday called for his release on social media, starting a trending #FreeDeray hashtag on Twitter, as several others donated to an online fundraising page set up to help those arrested in protests over the fatal police shootings of black men.

Mckesson live streamed the protest in a video that shows him and a group of demonstrators walking along the shoulder of the main road. A police officer in the video warns the demonstrators not to walk onto the road.

You with them loud shoes, I see you in the road. If I get close to you, youre going to jail, an officer can be heard saying.
In the two years since Michael Brown was killed by a police officer in Ferguson, Mo., there have been dozens of Black Lives Matter demonstrations in nearly every city in the country.

But for many of the protesters who flooded the streets of downtown Manhattan Saturday night, this protest was their first.

This is the new civil rights movement, and I wanted to be a part of it, says Lotoya Francis, a 16-year old student at Polytechnic High School in Brooklyn. Social media has made it so much easier to feel connected to the victims. Were way more angry this time around.

Francis and his friends came demonstrate for the first time on Saturday, horrified by the videotaped killings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile last week and undeterred by the violence against police officers at another protest in Dallas.

I want to be more than just an internet activist, explains Franciss friend Bryce Edwards, 15.

Francis and Edwards joined hundreds of other protesters for a march through downtown Manhattan Saturday night, guarded by lines of police officers who formed a human barricade to protect and contain the demonstration. The New York City event was less eventful than other demonstrations this weekend, including the Baton Rouge protest where Black Lives Matter leader DeRay McKesson was arrested, and the protesters seemed largely respectful of the police officers on duty, especially in light of the shootings in Dallas.

But the killings of Sterling and Castile seemed to have electrified a new generation of Black Lives Matter protesters, including many teenagers who would have been too young to demonstrate when the movement first formed two years ago.

It starts with one step, thats how you get things done,says Brian Buchanan, also 16, who wants to be an electrical engineer when he grows up. He condemns the violence in Dallas, but hes concerned the outrage over the murder of the police officers will overshadow the outrage at what he sees as pervasive racial injustice. The shooting in Dallas is a tragedy, but so is coming out of your own house and not feeling safe to walk down the street, he says.

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Buchanan was there with his sisters Bryanna, 21, and Accia, 13. They said this was their first protest because their parents hadnt allowed them to come before. But this time was different. I cant worry every time he walks out the door that he wont come home, Bryanna says of her brother.

Other first-time demonstrators said they felt exhausted by what they saw as the endless stream of police killings. Many said they were joining the movement not out of excitement, but out of fatigue.

Im tired, says Essence Dixon, 20. Im tired of wondering, what hate did you haven your heart that you had to kill that man?

Im tired of seeing our people slaughtered all over town, says her friend Xavier Brown, 19, also a student and first-time demonstrator. If I dont stand up, who will?

It hurts, rewatching those videos and knowing no conviction will happen, says Equanna Hines, 20, who was there with Brown and Dixon. It hurts, it makes you cry.

And while every protester condemned the shootings in Dallas, many voiced concern that the attack would complicate the narrative, making it more difficult for Black Lives Matter activists to effectively condemn police violence. Others were angry that many Americans didnt start paying attention to the violence until police officers were dying.

Its scary how that spoke to them vs. how many black people died, says Hines. Weve had 5 cops and 500 black people. She was referring to the Washington Posts tally of police shooting deaths, which records all the people of any race shot and killed by police officers so far in 2016. So far, 511 have been killed.

They had a decision to become a police officer, says her friend Essence. But I didnt choose which skin color I have. Alton Sterling didnt. And Philando Castile didnt.
Black Panther members arrived in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Saturday, July 9, to participate in protests in the wake of the police-involved shooting of Alton Sterling. The group spoke with those gathered at the Triple S Food Mart, where Sterling was gunned down on Tuesday, before participating in protests.

There were several protests happening throughout the city Saturday night, according to local reports. Police in riot gear confronted protesters in at least one location.

Video emerged on Tuesday not long after Alton Sterlings death showing police pinning down Sterling before shooting him. Protesters have been gathering outside the convenience store since the shooting.

A second police-involved fatal shooting in Minnesota, of Philando Castile, occurred on Wednesday evening, and the aftermath was broadcast live on Facebook by Castiles girlfriend. The two shootings have sparked protests throughout the country against police brutality. Credit: Instagram/mystrotbl
SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil's government will consider selling airports in Sao Paulo and Rio to help to reduce a large fiscal deficit next year, interim President Michel Temer told the Folha de S.Paulo newspaper on Sunday. The paper said that the previous government's objections to a potential sale of the Santos Dumont airport in Rio and Congonhas airport in Sao Paulo are not echoed by Temer, nor the government's economic team. "It is possible that we end up selling them... It would give us a good sum," Temer was quoted as saying. Congonhas is the second-largest airport in Sao Paulo behind Guarulhos, which has already been sold to private investors. Congonhas handles most domestic flights, including the busiest Sao Paulo-Rio route, which has Santos Dumont airport as its main destination. Brazil plans to sell several assets and award licenses for companies to build and operate infrastructure projects as it tries to revamp the economy and reduce a budget deficit estimated at 170 billion reais ($51.59 billion) this year. Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles wants to reduce the deficit to 139 billion reais next year and told the O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper on Sunday that the government will need 80 billion reais of spending cuts to reach that target. (Reporting by Marcelo Teixeira; Editing by David Goodman)
Within days of entering office, every British prime minister must carry out a grim task: writing letters of last resort to the commanders of the countrys nuclear-armed submarines. The letters are written out in long hand and placed in sealed safes in each of the nations four Vanguard-class submarines, all home-ported on the River Clyde in Scotland. The missives spell out the prime ministers orders in the case that he and other government officials have been killed in a nuclear attack on Britain.

But after a majority of Brits voted last month to leave the European Union, those letters  and with them the U.K.s nuclear arsenal  may become a relic of the past.

In Scotland, a whopping 62 percent voted to stay in the EU. As a result, the Brexit referendum has given fresh legs to another referendum on Scottish independence. The last time the Scots tried  in 2014  their bid for independence was defeated. But resentment of the British bolt from the EU runs deep in Scotland, and a desire to remain in Europe is bolstering support for independence.

And Scottish nationalists have made clear that if Scotland secedes, it will no longer play host to Britains nuclear-armed submarines at Faslane on the River Clyde.

Since 1969, Britain has maintained one ballistic missile submarine on patrol at all times. The silent subs each carry eight Trident missiles with a range of 7,500 miles and 40 atomic warheads that could wipe out another countrys cities. The Trident deterrent is supposed to protect Britain by discouraging an enemy from attempting a nuclear attack or nuclear blackmail through the threat of catastrophic retaliation. The U.K. joined the nuclear weapons club in 1952, making Britain just the third member after the United States and USSR. And since 1998, the subs have been Britains sole nuclear deterrent.

But the four submarines that make up the nuclear arsenal  the HMS Vanguard, Victorious, Vengeance, and Vigilant  all operate out of Faslane, and there is currently no alternative base to host the subs if Scotland chooses to kick them out.

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A 2012 parliamentary report concluded that it could take up to 20 years and cost 3.5 billion pounds to build alternative port facilities to accommodate the submarines south of the Scottish border.

That presents a dilemma for London and NATO with a resurgent Russia stirring up trouble in Ukraine, the Baltics, and the eastern Mediterranean. Britains submarine force plays a crucial role inside transatlantic alliance, guarding the so-called GIUK gap, the stretch of the North Atlantic from Greenland and Iceland to the United Kingdom itself  and the Russian Navys potential entry point into the Atlantic Ocean. British submarines are considered a first line of defense against potentially hostile Russian runs through the passage, according to Lisa Sawyer Samp, who served as the director of NATO and European strategic affairs at the National Security Council until last year.

Seeking to defuse speculation that the U.K. might have to relinquish its nuclear force, British Defense Secretary Michael Fallon told Parliament last month that the countrys allies can rest assured that our commitment to NATO, and our commitment as a nuclear power to NATO, is not altered by the result of the referendum.

Scottish secession would not necessarily mean scrapping the U.K.s nuclear arsenal, said Mark Fitzpatrick, a former senior U.S. diplomat now with the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

There are options. Theyre expensive, Fitzpatrick told Foreign Policy. It wouldnt mean the end of Britains nuclear deterrence. It would mean that it would become even more costly at a time when Great Britain would be a diminished economic power.

If London chose to construct a new base in England for the submarines, the vessels would need to be docked elsewhere while the work was carried out. That would mean negotiating a deal with Scotland to keep the subs in place for a number of years or to possibly park them at a naval base in another country.

One option could be the East Coast of the United States. Britain is the only country with which the U.S. shares nuclear technology and has enjoyed, since World War II, a special relationship with Washington. British subs could potentially dock at a U.S. submarine base in Kings Bay, Georgia. Or the sprawling U.S. Navy base in Norfolk, Virginia, the worlds largest, could provide a temporary holding ground for the British subs until London built another facility, said Samp.

But if the U.K. were to give up its deterrent, that would leave the United States as the sole nuclear guarantor for the NATO alliance.

More than anything, I think more of the burden would shift to the United States, so its exactly the wrong message at the most inopportune time, given the pattern of increasingly aggressive behavior by Russia, Samp said.

The Obama administration has said it hopes the U.K. retains its Trident submarines but has downplayed the possibility of Britain losing its base at Faslane.

The United States values the longstanding role of the United Kingdoms nuclear deterrent as a contribution to the overall deterrence and security of the NATO alliance, State Department spokesman John Kirby told FP.

It would not be appropriate to speculate on the outcome of a hypothetical Scottish referendum, he added.

Even before the Brexit vote, the fate of the nuclear deterrent had become the subject of intense debate in Britain. The current Vanguard-class submarines will need to be replaced sometime in the late 2020s, and funding needs to be approved this year to start work on a replacement fleet. The successor program would cost an estimated $22 billion to $30 billion, though critics insist the price tag would be far higher. For years, political parties have been postponing a decision on the issue.

The Brexit vote, by raising questions about the U.K.s place in the world, has prompted the British government to double down on its support for new nuclear-armed subs. London appears determined to show it is not retreating from the NATO alliance or the international arena. Defense Secretary Fallon told MPs last month the government is committed in our manifesto to replacing the four Trident submarines.

At a NATO summit on Saturday in Poland, British Prime Minister David Cameron  who campaigned unsuccessfully for Britain to remain in the EU  called the nuclear deterrent the ultimate insurance policy and announced a parliamentary vote on the issue on July 18.

The nuclear deterrent remains essential in my view  not just to Britains security but  as our allies have acknowledged here today  to the overall security of the alliance, said the leader of the ruling Conservative party, who has promised to step down in October due to the Brexit result.

Thousands of jobs are tied up in the Trident program. But opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn has called for rejecting funding for the new subs, questioning the high price tag, as well as the whole idea of planning for a nuclear doomsday in which Whitehall would order the destruction of dozens of cities.

The uncertainty over the future of Britains nuclear deterrent is matched only by uncertainty over its true utility, both as a weapon and as a geopolitical tool.

During the Cold War, the nuclear force was supposed to dissuade the Soviets from launching an attack on Britain, even if Moscow could somehow take out the United States. And from Britains perspective, the arsenal has helped buttress the countrys claim of being one of the worlds major powers and helped justify its seat as a permanent, veto-wielding member of the U.N. Security Council.

Skeptics say nuclear arms are a devalued currency in the battle for global prestige, especially in an era of insidious threats from Islamic State extremists. For Washington, the British nuclear force was never absolutely essential, as the United States has designed its own arsenal and strategy to safeguard both itself and its NATO allies, said former U.S. diplomat James Dobbins, a senior fellow at the Rand Corp. Germany, he said, has no nukes yet is considered the most important country in Europe.

I think it clearly would have some impact on Britains image of itself as a world power, but not on perceptions outside the country, he said.

Yet others argue that Britain could be more vulnerable to blackmail from a rogue state or terrorists if it lost its own arsenal. And Britains clout in the world, as it still clings to major-power status, would also take a hit if it lost its atomic punch, according to the pro-Trident camp.

In an increasingly unstable world, with threats seemingly proliferating from the Arctic to the South Pacific, Britains four nuclear hulls still play an outsized role.

The deterrent has strategic value for the U.K., for NATO, and for the U.S., said Elbridge Colby, a former senior advisor on arms control at the U.S. Defense Department who is now at the Center for a New American Security.

He added: It says to a potential opponent, if you are able to cut out the Americans, you still have to deal with London.

FP staff writer Paul McLeary contributed to this article.

Photo credit: ANDY BUCHANAN/AFP/Getty Images
Ten days after the Brits voted to leave the European Union (EU), many of them now think they erred and millions are pushing for a new vote. Such buyers remorse is forgivable, because the victorious Leave campaigners told some real whoppers  for instance, they exaggerated the amount of money the U.K. contributed to the EU and asserted, wrongly, that the return of these contributions would offset any Brexit-related losses. With astonishingly bald irresponsibility, the Leave campaigners took all this back right after the vote.

But my conviction that Brexit needs rethinking flows from more than these falsehoods. In fact, it reflects my whole personal history, from my student days through my professional life as a senior intelligence officer who dealt with British counterparts. My whole life through, Britain oriented itself globally and opened itself to the rest of the world. At the same time, Europe has tended toward integration and cooperation. What I learned over these decades about Europe and Britain is very much at odds with Britains decision.

As a graduate student in Italy in the mid-1960s, I studied with a cross section of Europes youth  including Brits, Germans, Italians, Dutch, Belgians, Austrians, French and Poles. They were all born during the darkest days of World War II, and a purpose of my school, the Johns Hopkins European campus, was to bring European youth together with Americans to help move past that hate-filled era. The nascent integration movement inspired my young European contemporaries, lifting their vision beyond the generations who had plunged the world into two global conflicts.

It worked. And the ever-present strategic backdrop came from the six countries then coming together in a free-trade zone called the European Community (EC)  the core of what became the 28-member EU. Many of our professors, some survivors of the Holocaust, had campaigned for federation from the day the guns fell silent. For them, and for many of us students  so conscious of a continent ablaze just 20 years earlier  the young EC had an almost religious significance.

Now comes the Brexit, with its potential to inspire other countries to flake on the EU. The British example is fueling similar sentiment in at least a half dozen countries. To be sure, the EU itself bears some responsibility because of its now overbearing bureaucracy and welter of regulations that are often insensitive to local preferences (Hands off our bangers! read one U.K. headline when, years ago, the EU issued some FDA-like sausage regulations). But that is a matter of reform rather than abandonment.

I say this because I believe Europe will inevitably fall back into some form of conflict if the EU breaks up. Probably not armed conflict  one can at least hope  but certainly heightened nationalism, resentments and clashing interests. Without the critical balance Britain provides, Germany will be the dominant power, and many countries will chafe under that, regardless of how wisely Berlin leads. That kind of Europe will not be as predictable and reliable a partner for the United States or easily held together in NATO. And this comes at a time when the U.S. desperately needs cohesion among its traditionally closest allies to deal with challenges from Europes backyard as well as the Middle East and global terrorism.

In other words, the EUs work is not done. Better to reform it than kill it.

In Britain itself, Brexit flies in the face of everything I came to admire about a bold and outward-oriented U.K. As an intelligence officer dealing with British counterparts, I came to know the U.K. as one of the few partner nations with an expansive and sophisticated global view  never one that backed away from a challenge or focused inward. It is not much of an exaggeration to say American intelligence learned much of our trade from Britain  remember, America had no national intelligence service before WWII. In the ensuing years, what made the so-called special relationship so special was the U.K.s insightful global perspective  making it one of the few countries that could valuably inform the thinking of American policymakers and intelligence officers.

If Britain persists along the Brexit path, it will not necessarily change the elements of a very strong intelligence partnership, tightly integrated over the years and embedded in a close alliance with three other English-speaking Commonwealth countries. But American officials can be forgiven if Brexit causes worry about whether Britains traditionally strong internationalism could weaken, or whether some long-standing elements of its foreign policy are changing. As Robert Kaplan recently observed, a wise British policy for centuries has been to oppose dominance by any one power on the European continent.

None of what Im saying is meant to censure Britains policymakers or voters. They represent an independent and sovereign country entitled to chart its own course. But it is also wrong to say this is none of our business, given our intertwined history and interests.

Britain gave us modern historys greatest statesman, Sir Winston Churchill. We cannot know how Churchill would have voted in 2016, but he did say in 1949 that Britains interests and the Commonwealths were in a United Europe. And I recall what Churchill in 1941 said to students at Harrow School:  never, never, never  give in.

Theres heart to be taken there for the millions of Britons who are demanding a reconsideration of Brexit: This is not the time to give in.

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By Prak Chan Thul PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - A critic of the Cambodian government was shot dead in the capital on Sunday at a time of rising political tension between Prime Minister Hun Sen and an opposition hoping to challenge his grip on power in elections as soon as next year. Kem Ley, 46, the head of a grassroots advocacy group, "Khmer for Khmer", was shot two times in a store at a gas station in Phnom Penh, police said. "Kem Ley was shot dead," Eng Hy, a spokesman for the National Military Police, told Reuters, but declined to provide further details. A 38-year old suspect has been arrested, and has admitted to killing Kem Ley in a dispute over money, Cambodia's Interior Ministry said in a statement. On social media, Hun Sen condemned the attack, ordered an investigation into the killing and urged authorities to clamp down on firearms and explosives. "I pay my condolences over the death of Kem Ley, who was shot by a gunman," Hun Sen said on his Facebook page. "I condemn this brutal act." Videos of the attacker's confession spread widely on social media soon after the killing. Reuters was unable to independently verify the video. In a news conference, police brought in the suspect before journalists. The suspect, who had blood on his head and shoulders, was identified as Chuop Somlap, which means "meet to kill". "It's hard to believe that this is his name, it may be fake," Phnom Penh's Police Chief Chuon Sovann said. "We continue our investigation into people who are behind this." A Reuters witness saw Kem Ley's body lying in a pool of blood on the floor of the store, with hundreds of onlookers gathered around it. A water bottle and a cellphone were strewn nearby. Kem Ley's pregnant wife, Pou Rachana, wept. "I don't know what happened, somebody just called me and said that he's shot," Pou Rachana told Reuters. "He's already dead," she added, as investigators kept her away from the body of her husband. Thousands of supporters formed a procession as Kem Ley's body was taken to a local pagoda inside his own car, covered with flowers, fruits and incenses. The United States embassy in Phnom Penh said Kem Ley was one of Cambodia's most prominent political analysts while Britain's envoy called his death a serious loss to the country. Political tension is growing between Hun Sen and the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), which wants to take on the prime minister in local elections in 2017 and a general election in 2018. A popular political commentator and researcher, Kem Ley was frequently critical of Hun Sen's administration, having most recently commented on a report by anti-corruption pressure group Global Witness. The report, which accused the prime minister and his family of having amassed $200 million in business interests, has been dismissed by a government spokesman as propaganda. (Reporting by Prak Chan Thul; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Ryan Woo)
London (AFP) - Jeremy Corbyn, the embattled head of Britain's main opposition Labour Party, is "hiding" and refusing to accept that his support among colleagues has vanished, leadership challenger Angela Eagle said Sunday.

Eagle, who will on Monday formally launch her bid to take over the left-of-centre party, said Corbyn was "not a leader" and she wanted to "heal" Labour's divisions.

Both Labour and Prime Minister David Cameron's ruling Conservative party have been plunged into turmoil by Britain's shock referendum vote to leave the EU last month.

Corbyn faced criticism from within the party for his lukewarm campaigning in favour of Britain staying in the EU.

In a vote of confidence on June 28, Corbyn received the backing of only 17 percent of his colleagues in parliament.

"I don't think he's been able to communicate with the electorate," Eagle, the party's former business spokeswoman, told ITV television.

"He cannot continue in the job because he's lost the confidence of the Parliamentary Labour Party and he's hiding behind a closed door, denying that this is a fact. That's not leadership."

Corbyn said he was "disappointed" by Eagle's challenge and urged her to "think for a moment" about her actions.

The leadership contest will hang on whether the party's National Executive Committee (NEC) decides Corbyn should have an automatic place on the ballot and does not require a minimum number of MPs supporting him -- something he would struggle to achieve.

There is debate within the party as to how its leadership challenge rules should be interpreted.

"I'm expecting to be on the ballot paper," Corbyn told BBC television.

He said if the NEC decided he needed nominations, "I will challenge that if that is the view they take", adding: "I've taken much soundings from lawyers".

Conservative party members will also vote later this year to elect a successor to Cameron, who announced he would quit after losing the EU vote.

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The choice between interior minister Theresa May and junior energy minister Andrea Leadsom means Britain will have its first female prime minister since Margaret Thatcher.

Corbyn also indicated he would back a motion to find Labour former prime minister Tony Blair in contempt of parliament over his role in the war in Iraq.

"Parliament must hold to account, including Tony Blair, those who took us into this particular war."

Asked if he would back the motion, he said: "I haven't seen it yet, but I think I probably would."
By Maher Nazeh and Saif Hameed BAGHDAD (Reuters) - More than half a million Iraqi children are estimated to be at work rather than at school as violence and displacement hurt the income of millions of families, according to the United Nations childrens' agency UNICEF. The number of children currently working, more than 575,000, has doubled since 1990, the year when Iraq attacked Kuwait, setting off a chain of events that led to the 2003 U.S.-led invasion and the sectarian strife that continues to this day. "I used to go to school and work here for half a day with a low salary,'' 12 year-old Ali Hussien Khudhair, who works the angle grinder in a blacksmith's shop in Baghdad, said. ``I quit school and started working full time here and he (the owner) gives me full wages," he told Reuters TV. UNICEF said since the beginning of 2014, almost 10 percent of Iraqi children  more than 1.5 million  have been forced to flee their homes because of violence. In 2014, the Islamic State group took control of large areas in northern and western Iraq. Nearly one in five schools is closed due to conflict and almost 3.5 million children of school-age are missing out on an education, UNICEF said in a report on June 30. In total, at least 3.6 million children in Iraq are at risk of death, serious injury, sexual violence, abduction and recruitment into armed groups, an increase of 1.3 million since the past 18 months, according to UNICEF. "I wish to go back to school and play with my friends,'' Khudhair said. ``I would be glad to go back and learn to read and write; I will be ashamed to have to say that I can't read when I grow up." About 4.7 million Iraqi children need humanitarian aid, while many families now face deteriorating conditions following military operations against Islamic State, according to UNICEF. "I'm working and learning the craft, it's better than school. What rights do graduates have? They are selling water on streets," 14 year-old Karrar Jaffar, who works in a car mechanic's shop, said. "The government does nothing. It's better for me to learn a craft," he said, his hands smeared with brake fluid. (Reporting by Saif Hameed. Editing by Jane Merriman)
* Chinese patients take on debt to fund rising medical costs

* Personal medical expenditure expected to hit $1.9 trln by 2025

* Public health insurance broad but shallow, so much not covered

* Patients liable for about half of total healthcare spending

* Consumer borrowing has tripled since 2010

By Adam Jourdan and Ben Hirschler

SHANGHAI/LONDON, July 10 (Reuters) - As China's medical bills rise steeply, outpacing government insurance provision, patients and their families are increasingly turning to loans to pay for healthcare, adding to the country's growing burden of consumer debt.

While public health insurance reaches nearly all of China's 1.4 billion people, its coverage is basic, leaving patients liable for about half of total healthcare spending, with the proportion rising further for serious or chronic diseases such as cancer and diabetes.

That is likely to get significantly worse as the personal healthcare bill soars almost fourfold to 12.7 trillion yuan ($1.9 trillion) by 2025, according to Boston Consulting Group estimates.

For many, like Li Xinjin, a construction materials trader whose son was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2009, that means taking on crippling debt.

Li, from Cangzhou in Hebei province, scoured local papers and websites for small lenders to finance his son's costly treatment at a specialist hospital in Beijing, running up debts of more than 1.7 million yuan, about 10 times his typical annual income.

"At that time, borrowing money and having to make repayments, I was very stressed. Every day I worried about this," said Li, 47, adding that he and his wife had at times slept rough on the streets near the hospital.

"But I couldn't let my son down. I had to try to save him," he said.

Li's boy died last year.

The debts will weigh him down for a few more years yet.

Medical loans are just part of China's debt mountain - consumer borrowing has tripled since 2010 to nearly 21 trillion yuan, and in eight years household debt relative to the economy has doubled to nearly 40 percent - but they are growing.

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That is luring big companies like Ping An Insurance Group , as well as small loan firms and P2P platforms, as China's traditional savings culture proves inadequate to the challenge of such heavy costs.

The stress is particularly apparent in lower-tier cities and rural areas where insurance has failed to keep pace with rising costs, said Andrew Chen, Shanghai-based healthcare head for consultancy Parthenon-EY.

"It's a storm waiting to happen where patients from rural areas will have huge financial burdens they didn't have to face before," he said, adding people would often take second mortgages on their homes or turn to community finance schemes.

ROOTS OF POVERTY

China's government has moved to ramp up rural health insurance, boost coverage for major illnesses and put pressure on drug companies to slash prices, but it is an uphill battle.

Official data show up to 44 percent of families pushed into poverty were impoverished by illness.

The Ministry of Health, which did not immediately respond to requests for comment, is currently investigating the impact of these costs on the country's labour force.

"Typically, what happens in China is the whole family contributes when someone gets a severe disease like cancer," Severin Schwan, chief executive of Roche Holding AG, the world's biggest maker of cancer drugs, told Reuters.

"When it comes to innovative medicines, the financial burden is just too much. Families can go broke."

Roche itself has schemes in China to make cancer drugs more affordable, including an insurance scheme developed with Swiss Re.

There are no reliable figures for total healthcare lending, as lenders do not usually advance the money for healthcare-specific purposes.

"If you want to use it for medical bills, cosmetic surgery or plastic surgery that's all fine," says Ping An Puhui, which advertises that its loans can "alleviate the pain of illness" and "bring new hope to sick families".

But there is plenty of anecdotal evidence from online lenders that it is a growing segment.

"Our loan numbers have risen steadily, and no small number of people have used these for medical purposes," said Li Jin, a customer service worker at peer-to-peer (P2P) lender ppdai.com.

"Healthcare costs are high, and lots of people don't have good state cover, so they need a loan."

China Minsheng Banking Corp has launched a healthcare loan scheme in the western city of Chengdu, while Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Holding Co Ltd rolled out a loan scheme in April to help patients access expensive drugs.

Some desperate patients are pawning their personal belongings.

"They use things of various value from jewellery to purses and even cars," said Chen Yi, an office worker at online lender minbaodai.cn.

"Previously the majority of people were looking for extra cash flow for their business, but last year and this we've seen a rise in healthcare loans." ($1 = 6.6696 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Additional reporting by SHANGHAI newsroom; Editing by Will Waterman)
With the unjust killing of five police officers in Dallas, Texas along with the deaths of several black men at the hands of law enforcement, America has been in a constant state of frustration, fear and sadness. And while many look for a way to cope, Christianee Porters Ms. Shirleen video have become the real life LOLs we all so desperately need.

When transforming into Ms. Shirleen, the Little Rock, AR., native dons a black wig, pearls, usually a calf or knee length dress and a pair of white shoes straight out of your grandmothers closet.

When Shirleen isnt preaching to the youth about the dangers of waist training, shes attempting to save her nephews relationship by purchasing his musty fiancee some bras, deodorant and fragrances.

For Porters hilarious videos, the Internet has responded with an over abundance of thank yous, and the go-to-crying laughter face emoji.

If youre in the mood to laugh, check out Ms. Shirleen bust a wicked two step below.
To the Catholic Church, French missionary Auguste Chapdelaine is a saint, martyred for his faith 160 years ago in China. To Communist Party officials, he is a devilish rapist, bandit and spy.

The finishing touches are being put to a new museum in Dingan, the village where he died, celebrating the "patriotism" of his execution and condemning the "spiritual opium" of religion.

Inside, Catholic vestments and chalices are displayed near a life-sized diorama of a white-robed Chapdelaine kneeling before the Qing dynasty magistrate who had him tortured and killed.

Outside, a six metre bronze mural shows the missionary confined in a cage designed to suffocate captives to death over several days.

The facility is part of a local tourism drive, but also fits into the ruling party's nationalist narrative and comes as increasingly assertive authorities in Beijing decry the influence of "Western values".

Chapdelaine, born on a farm in Normandy, was ordained in his early twenties and sent in the early 1850s to the southern Chinese region of Guangxi, where he was known as Father Ma.

In 1856 he was arrested with several Chinese believers in Dingan by the newly appointed magistrate, Zhang Mingfeng.

Foreigners were banned from entering the area and official suspicion of Christians was fuelled by the bloody Taiping rebellion, begun in Guangxi by a man claiming to be Jesus' brother and costing millions of lives.

Independent historians say Chapdelaine was accused of fomenting insurrection, refused to pay a bribe, and died aged 42 following three days of torture. He was posthumously decapitated and his head hung from a tree.

Chapdelaine's death was among the stated justifications for France's participation in the Second Opium War, which saw French and British troops loot Beijing's Old Summer Palace and burn it to the ground, one of the national humiliations the Communist Party emphasises to support its legitimacy.

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In 2000 the Vatican canonised Chapdelaine and two of his executed followers as martyrs.

In response, Chinese state media attacked the priest as a French spy and rapist of local women -- charges which scholars say have no historical grounding, but which have been given new life by the local government's publicity push.

"He was evil," said a middle-aged man working at the project site who refused to give his name. "He was the reason you invaded us."

- Spy games 

As well as the museum in Dingan, a dusty mountain village, local authorities mounted a poetry contest last year offering 1,000 yuan ($150) prizes for couplets to "boost patriotic spirit" and praise magistrate Zhang as an "iron-willed hero".

County officials have contracted a film company to produce a two-hour documentary on Chapdelaine for 3 million yuan ($460,000).

"Father Ma was not a simple missionary," the firm's CEO Liang Shuikang told AFP. "His so-called 'baptism' was taking other people's wives and sleeping with them first.

"We are going to restore the true story of history," he said, adding the documentary's goal was to have people remember China's sufferings and "make the motherland into a great power".

Some scholars worry that history is being abused.

There is no doubt Chapdelaine's death was exploited for imperialist gain, but Anthony Clark, China historian at Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington, said the ruling party's version of history was "largely contrived".

The ideas that Chapdelaine was "a lascivious womaniser" and spy in priest's robes were "unsupportable in any historical records", he added.

"China's official state rhetoric has grown progressively nationalistic in recent years."

Other scholars note that official records suggest Chapdelaine had been confused with a bandit, Ma Zinong, who shared the same Chinese surname.

Chinese historians are also concerned. Yuan Weishi, historian and retired professor at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, said Chapdelaine's killing violated Qing dynasty laws and was "a shame to China".

"Nationalist sentiment" had risen alongside China's economic growth and some academics felt obliged to follow official propaganda, he added. "They promote under the name of patriotism what they think are heroic deeds by China," he said, but doing so was "wrong and ignorant".

- Beleaguered believers -

In the cliffside village of Changjing, where Chapdelaine lived and preached a few kilometres from Dingan, the residents are still mostly Catholic and say they are puzzled by the publicity drive.

"They believe he's an evil man, but we don't see him that way," said a young farmer named Yang. "How could he be a spy?"

In Dingan itself, a priest named Father Wei leads a small, aging congregation of roughly 100 Catholics. Performing mass for 10 believers in a church on the second floor of a building a short walk from the new museum, he offered a prayer for Chapdelaine, asking for strength to keep the faith.

Local authorities were relentlessly hostile to the church, he said. "It's because it's an atheist country, he said. "They're tricking ordinary people."

Non-Catholics refuse to enter the church because of the stigma around Chapdelaine, he added.

"How could Father Ma be that bad? People think that just because of the propaganda, but it makes life difficult for us."
BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombian military and Marxist FARC guerrillas clashed over the weekend, in an incident just weeks after the government and rebel leadership agreed to a bilateral ceasefire as the two sides near a peace accord. The fighting happened 48 hours ago in southern Meta province when troops came upon a patrol of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and shots were fired, Defense Minister Luis Carlos Villegas said on Sunday. "There were some injuries," Villegas told reporters. The government has offered to provide medical attention in coordination with the International Committee of the Red Cross, Villegas said. President Juan Manuel Santos and FARC negotiators in Havana signed an historic accord on June 23 that ceased hostilities, effectively ending armed conflict that has stretched for more than 50 years and killed more than 220,000 people. The accord puts the two sides close - possibly a question of weeks - to signing a final peace agreement. In a statement, the FARC said the clash occurred because the military patrol broke protocols established in the ceasefire agreement. It did not elaborate on what those protocols were. (Reporting by Nelson Bocanegra; Writing by Helen Murphy; Editing by Sandra Maler)
GENEVA (Reuters) - Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) Chief Executive Tidjane Thiam congratulated all the bank's trading teams for the way they handled the aftermath of the Brexit referendum, he said in a newspaper interview published on Sunday.

"I was on the trading floor in London the day after the Brexit referendum. Some of our people worked 36 hours straight and at one point we had 27 times the normal daily trading volume," he told the NZZ am Sonntag newspaper.

"Our systems worked without a hitch. This was a real test of the strength of our organization."

Thiam said the chaos following the Brexit vote had also vindicated his decision to sell off illiquid positions and reduce the bank's risk profile.

"The day after Brexit we were all glad we didn't hold these positions any longer," he said.

Credit Suisse shares fell below 10 francs last week as the impact of Brexit compounded the pain of a major restructuring of the bank and concerns about its capital position.

Thiam, who has been at the helm of the Swiss bank for a year, said in the interview the bank had no problem with capital and would stick to its capital raising plans and profit forecasts.

(Reporting by Tom Miles. Editing by Jane Merriman)
GENEVA (Reuters) - Credit Suisse Chief Executive Tidjane Thiam congratulated all the bank's trading teams for the way they handled the aftermath of the Brexit referendum, he said in a newspaper interview published on Sunday. "I was on the trading floor in London the day after the Brexit referendum. Some of our people worked 36 hours straight and at one point we had 27 times the normal daily trading volume," he told the NZZ am Sonntag newspaper. "Our systems worked without a hitch. This was a real test of the strength of our organization." Thiam said the chaos following the Brexit vote had also vindicated his decision to sell off illiquid positions and reduce the bank's risk profile. "The day after Brexit we were all glad we didn't hold these positions any longer," he said. Credit Suisse shares fell below 10 francs last week as the impact of Brexit compounded the pain of a major restructuring of the bank and concerns about its capital position. Thiam, who has been at the helm of the Swiss bank for a year, said in the interview the bank had no problem with capital and would stick to its capital raising plans and profit forecasts. (Reporting by Tom Miles. Editing by Jane Merriman)
(Story deletes original para 4, corrected at source, Automobilwoche says Scheunert was not chief digital officer of PSA group before her China assignment.)

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Carmaker Daimler (DAIGn.DE) has hired the head of China operations of rival Citroen (PEUP.PA) to set up a new digitalization unit at its Mercedes-Benz brand, Automobilwoche magazine will report on Monday.

The German carmaker is to launch the unit on August 1 under Sabine Scheunert, who it hired on July 1, according to pre-publication extracts released by the magazine.

With future generations of cars needing to be equipped with the technology to connect electric motors to batteries, talk to smartphones or activate brakes when a radar system detects an obstacle, software - or digital - expertise has become a new battleground for manufacturers.

Daimler was not immediately contactable for comment.

(Reporting by Vera Eckert, editing by John Stonestreet and Adrian Croft)
Miami (AFP) - The Dallas ambush by a black gunman targeting white police is the latest spasm of fury that reflects what experts see as a rising tide of extremism and intolerance on the fringes of American society.

Fueling the country's polarization are racial tension, anger with establishment politicians and economic inequality, says the Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors racist and hate groups in the United States.

Micah Johnson, the 25-year-old army reservist who killed five police in Thursday's sniper attack, sympathized with black militant groups, the center said Friday.

Johnson told police negotiators before he was killed that he was acting out of anger at the deaths this week of two black men at the hands of police in Minnesota and Louisiana.

The SPLC has written about what it calls black separatists; it says they "typically oppose integration and racial intermarriage, and they want separate institutions -- or even a separate nation -- for black people in America."

These groups are "generally very small, but they are very anti-Semitic, very anti-white and also very anti-gay," said Mark Potok, a SPLC analyst who has written a study on the rise in hate groups over the past year.

Black separatists are very different from groups like Black Lives Matter, which arose in response to the many cases in America of recent years of unarmed blacks dying at the hands of police officers, often white ones.

But while not linked to the peaceful Black Lives Matter movement, they have benefited from its popularity, he told AFP.

"All of the anger out there about police violence against black people has helped the extremist black groups grow," said Potok.

For this reason, Black Lives Matter was quick to distance itself from the Dallas atrocity on its Facebook page Friday.

"Yesterday's attack was the result of the actions of a lone gunman," it wrote. "To assign the actions of one person to an entire movement is dangerous and irresponsible."

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On Facebook, Johnson followed the New Black Panther Party, the Nation of Islam and Black Riders Liberation. All of these are listed as hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

The New Black Panther Party blames Jews for the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, and argues that whites are planning a genocide against all non-white people, according to the SPLC.

The Nation of Islam is also known for virulent anti-Semitism and hatred toward whites.

- Nerves on edge -

The Dallas shooting gives pause to consider the rise of intolerant movements -- of many forms -- in the United States.

Groups identified online as militia movements, white supremacists, Islamist radicals, neo-Nazis and other kinds of extremists increased from 784 to 892 between 2014 and 2015, a 14 percent rise, the SPLC said.

The figure has doubled since 1999, when the SPLC identified 457 hate groups across the country.

The majority are racist groups -- with Ku Klux Klan-linked and black separatist movements accounting respectively for 21 percent and 20 percent of all hate groups.

Groups that identify as being affiliated with the KKK have risen from 72 in 2014 to 190 in 2015. Last year, a young white supremacist killed nine black worshippers at a church in Charleston, South Carolina.

At the other end of the spectrum, black separatist groups rose in number from 113 to 180 last year amid anger over the deaths of blacks at the hands of police officers.

President Barack Obama, referring to the deaths this week in Minnesota and Louisiana, said they were not isolated incidents.

"They are symptomatic of the broader challenges within our criminal justice system, the racial disparities that appear across the system year after year," Obama said.

Examples abound of how nerves are on edge all over America.

On Thursday, with the country already tense over the twin shootings of African-Americans, whose dying moments were captured in now-viral video footage, the body of a black youth appeared hanging from a tree in Atlanta.

Police ruled it a suicide. But local people reacted with wariness to a scene reminiscent of KKK lynchings decades ago.

For Scott Simpson, spokesman for the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the shrill tone of US political discourse has a lot to answer for.

A White House campaign notable for the anti-immigrant and racist rhetoric employed by the Republican frontrunner, Donald Trump, "creates an environment where extremism becomes more tolerable," he said.

"When hateful rhetoric is in the mainstream, it gives license to people with extreme points of view who may or may not want to discuss it in public otherwise," said Simpson. "It gives license to people to target communities."
DALLAS (Reuters) - When the bullet struck her leg during the protest in downtown Dallas, Shetamia Taylor's first thoughts were for her four sons. Taylor tackled the nearest boy to the ground then looked up to see a police officer racing to shield them from the gunfire. "That officer jumped on top of me and covered me and my son and there was another one at our feet, and there was another one over our head," Taylor told reporters on Sunday. "I'm thankful for all of them, because they had no regard for their own life." Pushed into the news conference at Baylor University Medical Center in a wheelchair and hospital gown, Taylor wept as she recounted seeing two officers shot in front of her. One was a tall, white, bald policeman. "As he was going down, he said, 'He has a gun. Run,'" she recalled. Police said a military veteran killed five officers on Thursday in a rampage that was the most deadly day for U.S. law enforcement since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Taylor, 37, said when she first heard the gunfire, she thought it might be fireworks left over from Fourth of July celebrations. She said the attack left her hurt and angry. "Why would he do that?" she asked of the gunman, identified by authorities as Micah X. Johnson, 25. Johnson launched his ambush during a protest against the killing by police of two black men in Minnesota and Louisiana, one of a string of demonstrations nationwide. Taylor had attended with her four sons, aged 12 to 17. "I was scared, I really didn't know what was going to happen," Jamar Taylor, 12, told reporters, breaking into sobs as he described becoming separated from his mother. Taylor said, in her opinion, the police were not all "out to get us" and that people should reserve judgment. "Please, just stop and think," she said. "I tell my kids all the time, you know, 'Closed mouth, open mind will get you a long way in life.' Sometimes, just be quiet and think first." Another of her sons, Wavion Washington, hailed the officer who shielded them as they escaped. "He was really selfless and he put himself in harm's way ... to protect us." Washington told the news conference. "So, we understand that there are a few bad apples out there, but they don't spoil the whole bunch." (Reporting by Reuters Television; Writing by Daniel Wallis; Editing by David Gregorio)
Dallas Police Chief David Brown on Sunday defended his departments decision to use a robot rigged with a bomb to take down a suspected sniper believed to have shot dead at least five police officers last Thursday.

During an interview with CNNs State of the Union, the police chief addressed criticism his department has been facing for using the controversial technology, which ended a two-hour long standoff with Micah Johnson. I approved it, Brown said. And Ill do it again if presented with the same circumstances.

Dallas police detonated an explosive device known as a bomb-disposal robot, while Johnson was holed up on the second floor of a building, laughing and taunting negotiators, Brown said Sunday. The 25-year-old gunmanan Army veteran who acted alonewas killed on the spot.

He just basically lied to us, playing games, laughing at us, singing, asking how many did he get and that he wanted to kill some more and that there were bombs there so there was no progress on the negotiation, the police chief said. And I began to feel that it was only at a split second he would charge us and take out many more before we would kill him.

Read More: When Can Police Use a Bomb Robot to Kill a Suspect?

Brown then told his officers to use your creativeness to come up with a plan to do it, he recalled on CNN. The robot, which was attached to about a pound of C4 explosive, likely saved more police officers from being killed, Brown said.

Johnson was clear of mind, determined to hurt more officers, the police chief said. Without our actions, he would have hurt more officers. We had no choice, in my mind, but to use all tools necessary.

Brown slammed critics, saying he doesnt give any quarter to critics who ask these types of questions from the comforts and safety away from the incident. Ive got former SWAT experience here in Dallas, and you have to trust your people to make the calls necessary to save their lives, he said. Its their lives that are at stake, not these critics lives who are in the comforts of their homes or offices.

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The suspected sniper appeared to have been planning a larger attack and left a message written in his own blood on a building before being killed, Brown revealed Sunday. Johnson scrawled the initials RB, which authorities are working to decipher.

Police also found evidence of bomb-making material large enough to have devastating effects throughout Texas and a journal full of ramblings during a search of the suspects home in Mesquite, according to Brown.

Were convinced that this suspect had other plans and thought that what he was doing was righteous, Brown said, adding that Johnson believed he was going to make law enforcement pay for what he sees as law enforcements efforts to punish people of color.

The police killings of Alton Sterling in Louisiana and Philando Castile in Minnesota sparked his delusion to fast track his plans of wreaking havoc on police officers, Brown said.
By Carlo Allegri DALLAS (Reuters) - Dallas police headquarters and surrounding blocks were cordoned off and SWAT teams were deployed on Saturday after authorities received an anonymous threat against officers across the city, but a search for a "suspicious person" turned up no one, officials said. The incident occurred as the city remained tense following Thursday night's fatal shootings of five Dallas police officers by a former U.S. Army reservist. Police asked news organizations to stop airing live video from the area as they carried out the search. Police said on Twitter that "out of an abundance of caution, officers searched the garage to ensure reports of a suspicious person (were) thoroughly investigated." Police said they used a shotgun to get through a locked door during the search. Before police sounded the "all clear," tactical officers dressed in protective gear and armed with rifles searched the three-story structure, police said. The department said there was no formal lockdown at the headquarters despite earlier media reports characterizing the incident that way. All streets around the building, however, were barricaded and vehicles were not allowed to enter the area, a Reuters eyewitness said. "The Dallas Police Department received an anonymous threat against law enforcement across the city and has taken precautionary measures" to heighten security, Dallas police said in an emailed statement. Before starting the sweep of the garage, officers pushed back reporters and camera operators who had gathered outside the headquarters in the Texas city's downtown after initial reports of the lockdown. (Additional reporting by Laila Kearney in New York; Writing by Frank McGurty; Editing by Sandra Maler and Will Dunham)
Dallas (AFP) - Police arrested scores of people in demonstrations overnight Saturday to Sunday in several US cities, as racial tensions simmer over the killing of black men by police.

Protesters led by the Black Lives Matter movement are demanding justice for two African-American men shot dead by cops, their dying moments captured in video that went viral online.

The demos also come after 25-year-old black army veteran Micah Johnson used a high-power rifle to kill five police officers and wound seven in a sniper attack at a protest in Dallas, Texas late Thursday.

Johnson told negotiators before police killed him that he wanted to murder white cops in revenge for the black deaths.

Dallas was still on edge Saturday. Following an anonymous threat, SWAT teams swarmed the police headquarters while officers investigated reports of a suspicious person -- finally giving the all-clear around two hours later.

The nationwide wave of protests was triggered by the shooting deaths of Alton Sterling in the southern state of Louisiana, and Philando Castile in the midwestern state of Minnesota.

Protesters held large and peaceful marches in several major US cities, including New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

However protests were unruly in Baton Rouge, where Sterling was killed, and St. Paul, where Castile died.

- Livestreaming an arrest -

Hundred protesters in St. Paul blocked a highway intersection for several hours late Saturday and hurled firecrackers, rocks and bottles at police.

The officers, equipped with clubs and gas masks, used smoke grenades and pepper spray to break up the crowd.

St. Paul police said on Facebook that protesters also threw a molotov cocktail, and someone "dropped a large chunk of concrete onto an officer's head from a bridge."

Five police officers were injured. "Thankfully the injuries were not serious," police said.

St. Paul police promised to provide details soon on the number of arrests. A jailer at the local detention center estimated that between 60 to 80 people had been detained.

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Separately in Baton Rouge, local media reported that several dozen people were arrested in at least two demos, including one where members of the New Black Panther activist group confronted police.

The sheriff's department would not confirm arrest figures when contacted by AFP.

One of those arrested reportedly included DeRay McKesson, a prominent activist in the peaceful Black Lives Matter movement.

"Police have been provocateurs all night," McKesson says as he walks on the side of a road, livestreaming the demonstration on Periscope. "We aren't blocking the street or anything."

"No justice, no peace, no racist police!" activists chant, as police cruisers follow the group.

Then suddenly the video is interrupted. "City Police. You're under arrest - don't fight me," a voice says.

Pictures on social media show McKesson with his hands behind his back being taken away by police.

A Louisiana state police officer told a reporter with The Advocate, a Baton Rouge publication, that McKesson was arrested because he had been blocking the road - even though in his video McKesson said there was no sidewalk.

"We wouldn't arrest people who are quietly protesting off the roadway," the officer told The Advocate in a video posted online.

An activist who was a witnesses told The Washington Post that McKesson was "clearly targeted."

Police across the country were on edge as it emerged that officers had been targeted in at least two incidents -- in Tennessee and Wisconsin -- by individuals apparently angered at the recent fatal shootings of black men by police.

Hundreds also marched peacefully Saturday in Los Angeles, including in South Central, the epicenter of violent 1992 riots following the acquittal of white police officers in the videotaped beating of black motorist Rodney King.

There were nasty scenes late Friday in Phoenix, Arizona, where police used pepper spray to disperse stone-throwing protesters. And in Rochester, New York, 74 people were arrested over a sit-in protest.

- 'Demented' gunman -

President Barack Obama tried Saturday to reassure a shocked country, insisting that the United States can overcome its racial divisions, and rejecting comparisons with the civil unrest of the 1960s.

Obama, scheduled to visit Dallas next week, described the gunman as a "demented individual" who in no way represented the African-American community.

"I firmly believe that America is not as divided as some have suggested," he said during a NATO summit in Warsaw. "There is sorrow, there is anger, there is confusion... but there is unity."

US politicians have sought to come across as unifiers after the week of violence.

"White Americans need to do a better job of listening when African Americans talk about the barriers they face," Democratic White House hopeful Hillary Clinton tweeted.

That message was echoed by prominent members of the Republican Party, which has often jumped to defend law enforcement amid accusations of racial bias.

"It is more dangerous to be black in America," said Newt Gingrich, a Republican former House speaker tipped as a possible White House running mate for Donald Trump.

"Sometimes it's difficult for whites to appreciate how real that is. It's an everyday danger."
By Ayesha Rascoe and Angus Berwick MADRID (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama met the king of Spain and acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Sunday, but the trip that was meant to show solidarity with Europe has been overshadowed by violent events in the United States. The visit is Obama's first to Spain as president. White House officials said it was important for Obama to make the trip, because Spain, which has been without a functioning government since December, was the only major European country he had not traveled to during his presidency. Obama was supposed to spend two days in Spain after attending a NATO summit in Warsaw where the United States, Spain and other allies pledged to stand united in the face of threats from Russia and fallout from Britain's vote to leave the European Union. But, after a sniper killed five police officers in Dallas on Thursday following the fatal shootings of two black men by police in Louisiana and Minnesota, the White House cut short the trip so Obama could go to Dallas. Plans for sightseeing in Seville and a town hall meeting with Spanish citizens were canceled. Instead Obama, who landed in Madrid late on Saturday night, squeezed in sessions with King Felipe VI and acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Sunday. He will also address troops at Naval Station Rota in the southern region of Andalusia, before heading back to the United States on Sunday night. Speaking alongside King Felipe at Madrid's royal palace, Obama said he wished he could stay longer in Spain, which he said he first visited just before entering law school in his 20s when he was backpacking across Europe. "We have had a difficult week back in the United States, so my trip is a little abbreviated but I thought it was very important for me to come here, given the extraordinary friendship and alliance between Spain and the U.S.," he said. King Felipe, who visited Obama in the White House last year with his wife Queen Letizia, said Spain was committed to the closest possible cooperation with the United States. In an interview with Spain's El Pais published on Saturday, Obama called Spain "an indispensable European partner." "Spain is a strong NATO ally, we're grateful for Spain's many decades of hosting U.S. forces, and we're major trading partners," Obama said in the interview. "That's why the United States is deeply committed to maintaining our relationship with a strong, unified Spain." Spain has been stuck in a near seven-month political stalemate since a national election in December stripped Rajoy of his majority and forced parties to negotiate, so far without success, about forming a coalition government. Rajoy's conservative People's Party (PP) failed to win a parliamentary majority in a repeat election last month, meaning the deadlock is set to continue with the possibility of a third round of elections in the future. "If we have to repeat the elections it would be a joke that would affect not only the Spanish economy but the credibility of our country both here and abroad," Rajoy told a news conference with Obama at his official residence. Obama said he wanted to see a "stable" Spain, but the relationship between both countries would not depend on which party was in power. He met with the leaders of the three largest opposition parties, the White House said in a statement. Obama also spoke about the violence in Dallas, warning that attacks on police over racial bias would hurt the anti-racism Black Lives Matter movement. (Additional reporting by Maria Vega Paul; Editing by Sandra Maler and Raissa Kasolowsky)
By Denis Dumo JUBA (Reuters) - Renewed fighting erupted in South Sudan's capital on Sunday and forces loyal to Vice President Riek Machar said his residence was attacked by the president's troops, raising fears of a slide back into full-blown conflict in the five-year-old nation. There was no immediate response from the government of President Salva Kiir to the statement by Machar's spokesman. Kiir's information minister, Michael Makuei, said earlier the situation was under control and urged people to stay at home. The two leaders, who fought each other in a two-year civil war that started in late 2013, had made a joint call for calm after clashes between rival factions broke out late on Thursday. At least 272 people have been killed in the fighting, a Health Ministry source told Reuters early on Sunday. A Chinese U.N. peacekeeper was killed, a U.N. official said. Two other peacekeepers were critically injured, said a spokeswoman for the U.N. mission, known as UNMISS. U.N. compounds in Juba had been hit by small arms and heavy weapons fire. "We're extremely worried about what appears to be the lack of command and control over the troops," U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power said on her way into a Security Council briefing on the situation, which the United States requested. "We have seen President Kiir and Riek Machar make statements calling for calm and then we have seen forces go out and attack civilians, attack U.N. sites," Power said. "These attacks are deplorable." U.N. peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous was briefing the 15-member council on the situation in South Sudan. A confidential note to the council on Sunday from the U.N. Department of Peacekeeping, seen by Reuters, said: "UNMISS has adopted a proactive posture, conducting patrols within and outside" its compounds and has reinforced the perimeter security to enhance protection for displaced civilians and U.N. staff. The note said the fighting between the rival troops "involved the use of attack helicopters and tanks" and that the U.N. compounds were in the cross-fire of the violence. 'DEEPLY FRUSTRATED' U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Kiir and Machar needed to take "decisive action" to regain control of the security situation in Juba and urged them to order their forces to disengage and withdraw to their bases. "I am deeply frustrated that despite commitments by South Sudan's leaders, fighting has resumed," Ban said in a statement. "This senseless violence is unacceptable and has the potential of reversing the progress made so far in the peace process." Residents of Juba's Gudele and Jebel districts reported heavy gunfire near the barracks where Machar and his troops have their headquarters. The Health Ministry source said 33 civilians were among those killed in the latest clashes, which have fueled fears about renewed conflict and raised concerns about the extent the two men can control their troops in the world's newest nation. "We have called for an arms embargo, we think that this (violence) absolutely underlines the need for that and we are prepared to look at any measures that are necessary in order to stop this violence," Britain's deputy U.N. ambassador, Peter Wilson, said on his way into the council meeting. Earlier this year, Security Council veto power Russia said it was opposed to an arms embargo because Moscow did not believe it would be helpful to the implementation of a peace deal agreed to by Kiir and Machar last August. The confidential U.N. peacekeeping note said some 3,000 civilians, including senior opposition officials, had sought shelter at one U.N. site, while 800 other civilians had entered a second U.N. compound. "Dr. Machar's residence was attacked twice today including using tanks and helicopter gunships. Helicopters from Kiir's side attacked the residence twice," Machar's spokesman, James Gatdet Dak, told Reuters by phone from abroad. He added that the situation in Juba had subsequently calmed, echoing comments from residents who said gunfire had eased later on Sunday after several hours of shooting. STAND-OFF The fighting first erupted on Thursday, when troops loyal to Kiir stopped and demanded they be allowed to search vehicles of Machar's loyalists. That stand-off led to clashes. Gunfire broke out again on Friday between the vice president's bodyguards and the presidential guard, while the two men were holding talks at the presidential State House to defuse tensions. Both men said at the time they did not know what had prompted the exchange of fire. "The European Union will join the international community and South Sudan's neighbors to ensure that peace is restored rapidly," the EU Commission said in a statement on Sunday. Kenya's presidency urged Kiir and Machar to move heavy weaponry and contingents of soldiers out of civilian areas in Juba. It said Kenya was ready to support law enforcement. Kenya Airways has suspended flights to Juba. Machar and Kiir spent months wrangling over details after signing the peace deal last year. Machar finally returned to Juba to resume his former position as vice president in April. Fighting since 2013 has left swathes of the country of 11 million people struggling to find enough food to eat. It has also disrupted oil production, by far the government's biggest source of revenues, leaving South Sudan mired in poverty. (Additional reporting George Obulutsa in Nairobi and Michelle Nichols in New York; Writing by Elias Biryabarema and Edmund Blair; Editing by Paul Simao and Peter Cooney)
Baton Rouge police arrested prominent Black Lives Matter activist, DeRay McKesson Saturday (July 9) during a peaceful protest along Airline Highway in Louisiana. DeRay, and other protesters who were live streaming the march, captured his arrest on Periscope.

If anything happens tonight, it was caused by the police. Everybody has been peaceful tonight but them. #BatonRouge, DeRay tweeted from his official Twitter account. The vocal activist on social media joined hundreds of protesters in Baton Rouge to march against the recent acts of police brutality in the wake of Alton Sterling and Philando Castiles deaths. DeRay live tweeted noting certain police officers and members of the SWAT team provoked violence the entire night. Many videos taken from the protest show policemen in riot gear.

DeRay was walking along the shoulder of of the main road, when he passed a Baton Rouge police station. One office reportedly flagged him down, and warned him that if he was seen in the street again, he would end up in jail, according to USA Today.

Watch the police, he said in a video. They are literally just provoking people. Moments later, the camera shakes, and an officer is heard saying, Youre under arrest, dont fight me. He appears to be brought to the ground as fellow demonstrators question the officers motives. DeRay was soon taken into custody, along with several others.

The hashtag, #freederay began circulating on social media since his arrest, but there is little word on if or when he will be released. The officers wont give their names, Brittany Packnett, one of Mckessons co-founders of the activist group Campaign Zero, told the Washington Post. He was clearly targeted.

.@deray was live streaming on #Periscope when he got arrested. Go to 4:00 https://t.co/q5JeQbPafJ  Alex Medina (@mrmedina) July 10, 2016

News of DeRays arrest comes just one day after his 31st birthday.
DeRay McKesson has officially been released from jail after he was arrested during a peaceful protest on Saturday evening (July 9) in Baton Rouge, La.

According to The New York Times, McKesson, 31, was one of over 200 arrested in Baton Rouge and St. Paul who marched on behalf of Alton Sterling. Three journalists were also jailed last night while documenting the march. McKessons arrest was seen on his Periscope account where he streamed the protest for followers.

Around 11:15 p.m, McKesson was confronted by a police officer who claimed he stepped over a reported line that separated protestors from the road. While his stream shows the activist within the confined lines, a police officer is heard saying, You with them loud shoes, I see you in the road. If I get close to you, youre going to jail.

Just got this text message from @deray, who has been arrested in Baton Rouge  says being held with 33 others pic.twitter.com/feLANYEdDs  Wesley Lowery (@WesleyLowery) July 10, 2016

The activist was charged with simple obstruction of a highway of commerce. After 17 hours in custody, he was released around 3:30 p.m. on Sunday (July 10). Lawyers are currently working on the release of 100 other protestors.

The Louisiana National Lawyers Guild, raised money to bail McKesson and the rest of the protestors who were unlawfully arrested. A Louisiana State Police spokesman told police they welcomed the presence of protestors, but defended the arrest of McKesson. Well, theyre clearly blocking the roadway, they said. We welcome the protests. We want them to voice their opinions. Thats what were here to do, to make sure theyre safe and theyre able to do that.

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Heres @LAStatePolice Maj. Cain answering Qs about why cops apparently rushing crowd unprovoked #altonSterling pic.twitter.com/9n4Ix89Zj8  Maya Lau (@mayalau) July 10, 2016

After his release, McKesson told reporters he was deeply disappointed with the treatment of protestors by the Baton Rouge Police Department.
Britains vote to ditch the European Union offers the chance of a new beginning  not just for the EU, and the U.K., but for Africa. Since most countries on the continent gained independence in the 1960s and 1970s, they have mindlessly mimicked Western political institutions. Rome has a basilica; so, too, must Yamoussoukro in Ivory Coast. France once had an emperor, so Jean-Bedel Bokassa spent $25 million on a coronation ceremony in the Central African Republic. The United States has a space center. Now Nigeria does too, at the cost of $89 million, though more than half its population lives on less than $1.25 per day. Of the putrid carcasses of failed foreign systems that litter the continent, none is more rancid than the African Union, which, as it happens, was modeled on the EU.

Since at least the start of the global financial crisis, and certainly since last months Brexit referendum, the EU has proved it cant work for Europe. African leaders should now admit that a meretricious caricature of it cant possibly work for Africa.

As the successor institution to the Organization of African Unity (OAU), the first pan-African body of the postcolonial era, the AU was founded in 2001. It was the brainchild of the late Libyan strongman Muammar al-Qaddafi, who, having previously crowned himself King of Kings, no doubt harbored delusions of becoming the continents first president. (He would have to settle for the AU chairmanship, which he held from 2009 to 2010.) The aim of the new body was to present a united African front in international affairs and to speed up the development of the continent. But the AU was hobbled from the start by its poor structural design, which was both too centralized and too weak to function as envisioned.

The AU concentrates decision-making authority in the AU Commission, an executive branch roughly analogous to the European Commission, which initiates policy proposals and implements decisions taken by the larger AU Assembly, among other AU organs. The AU Commission controls the purse strings, and member states have little influence over the drafting of proposals and initiatives. This level of centralization has proved unworkable in a continent of 54 countries and more than 2,000 distinct ethnic groups. The AU Commissions authority mostly serves to create suspicion and intrigue and ultimately to instill resistance in member states to the bodys dictates.

Equally misguided is the AUs preference for inclusivity. Unlike EU countries that had to meet certain political and economic benchmarks for membership, any rogue or deadbeat African country has always been allowed to join the AU. In fact, 18 countries should have been disqualified for not paying membership dues to the OAU, but Qaddafi paid off their debts so they could join. The AU also embraced a policy of noninterference in the affairs of member states, so as not to scare off those governments accused of war crimes or with abysmal human rights records. Every African country except Morocco is currently a member.

Not surprisingly, the AU has achieved spectacularly little in its decade and a half of existence. It is famous for its annual summits, where unrepentant despots sip champagne and applaud their own longevity while issuing preposterous communiques that nobody else in the world pays attention to. In 2011, as Libya descended into civil war, the AU sent its chairman, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea  Africas longest serving dictator  to resolve the crisis and smooth the transition to democracy. The body has yet to solve a single conflict diplomatically, and where it has sent peacekeepers  to Darfur, Somalia, and Mali, for instance  peace has yet to emerge. The continental body cant even seem to agree on a definition for democracy, certifying all elections as free and fair instead. (To condemn as undemocratic the recent jailing of opposition leaders in, say, Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo would be to violate the vaunted principle of noninterference.)

The AU has proved equally inept on the economic front. The body couldnt even afford to build its own headquarters, so China picked up the tab for its glitzy $200 million building in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Of course, any number of corrupt African dictators could have funded the headquarters. Sudans president, Omar al-Bashir, for one, is worth an estimated $9 billion. Even Isabel dos Santos, the daughter of Angolas president, could have built it with her personal fortune of $3.2 billion. But its what has happened  or hasnt happened  inside those headquarters that is the real disgrace. It was hoped that the AU could help spur industrialization by facilitating deeper economic integration and building much-needed infrastructure, including roads, railways, and telecommunications systems. It has failed spectacularly on both fronts.

One supposed bright spot on the AUs otherwise dismal record was the New Partnership for Africas Development (NEPAD), hailed at its unveiling in 2001 as Africas own economic plan  one not dictated from the outside by the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund. NEPAD called for $64 billion in Western investment, mainly for infrastructure development, without the onerous conditions typically imposed by international financial institutions. Despite being trumpeted as Africas own initiative, NEPAD was, in fact, modeled on the American Marshall Plan, which rebuilt Europe after World War II, with Western investors standing in for the U.S. government. Not surprisingly, what worked for postwar Europe did not work for Africa, since the continent was building new institutions and infrastructure from scratch, not repairing damaged ones. As Adebayo Adedeji, a Nigerian politician who served as the executive secretary of the U.N. Economic Commission for Africa, remarked in 2002, No Marshall Plan will work in Africas underdeveloped markets. Africa requires building anew, not rehabilitation or reconstruction.

In 2003, South African President Thabo Mbeki, then-chairman of the AU, conceded that NEPAD was in grave danger of failing because most African countries were not capable of effectively utilizing investments on the scale envisioned by the partnership. They simply lacked the capacity. Three years later, NEPAD was on its deathbed anyway, since most of the investments never materialized. NEPAD has failed, then-Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade, one of the partnerships chief architects, said at a press conference in 2006. NEPAD has not built a single mile of road.

A year later, in 2007, Qaddafi, the godfather of the AU, delivered a similarly damning indictment of the institution he helped build. Speaking in the Guinean capital of Conakry, he called the African Union a failure and argued that the current arrangement of individual states was unsustainable. Deeper integration was his suggested solution. Qaddafi proposed the formation of an African Parliament to be established in Tripoli at a time when Libya had no such body. Let those who are hesitating get out of our way, he said. For 40 years, all the summits have failed. Our microstates have no future.

Qaddafi may have been deluded and a tyrant, and his blithe proposal for a United States of Africa indicates as much, but his critique of the African Union was sound. Africa must stop blindly copying the West and look to its own indigenous heritage for models of political organization. The continent has a long history of effective institutions for good governance: loose confederacies, participatory forms of democracy based on consensus under chiefs, and free village markets, to name just a few. All of the ancient African empires  Mali, Ghana, Great Zimbabwe, and Songhai in what is now the western Sahel  were confederacies characterized by great devolution of authority and decentralization of power. Markets were likewise ubiquitous in precolonial Africa, and prices were typically determined by bargaining, not dictated by authorities.

Instead of a centralized but weak organization like the AU, Africa needs a looser style of confederacy that allows national actors to coordinate decisions with one another, rather than imposing choices on them. Such a confederacy should also have strict membership requirements, to ensure there is sufficient common ground for political and economic coordination and a common vision of the future. At a minimum, each member state should be democratic and respect Africas heritage of free markets, free enterprise, and free trade. Such a confederacy could begin with the 15 or so African countries that arguably qualify as democracies, and then add new members as they make the necessary reforms.

Brexit may foretell the end of the EU, but in Africa it should be seen as a new beginning. Like the long list of foreign imports that preceded it, the AU has proved it wont work. Fortunately, a better model can be found in Africas own backyard.

Pauline Dixon, a professor of international development and education at Newcastle University in England, contributed to this piece.

Image credit: CRIS BOURONCLE/AFP/Getty Images
Jerusalem (AFP) - Egypt's foreign minister met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday on reviving peace efforts with the Palestinians, the first such visit in nearly a decade and the latest sign of warming ties.

The trip came amid talk of renewing an Arab peace initiative and with Israel's military having recently saluted "unprecedented" intelligence cooperation with Egypt to combat the Islamic State group.

Speaking to journalists alongside Netanyahu before their meeting, Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said it was a "crucial and challenging juncture for the Middle East".

Resolving the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict would have a "far-reaching and dramatic and positive impact on the overall conditions of the Middle East region", he said.

"Egypt remains ready to contribute toward achieving this goal."

Shoukry also warned of the "constant deterioration" of the situation on the ground since the last round of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks collapsed in April 2014.

He said the current lack of process towards peace was "neither stable nor sustainable", and stressed the need for "serious steps to build confidence" toward the two-state vision.

Netanyahu welcomed Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's "recent offer of Egyptian leadership and efforts to advance peace with the Palestinians and a broader peace in our region".

He also called on Palestinians to engage in direct negotiations, as he has repeatedly done in the past.

- 'Real opportunity' for peace -

An Israeli official said that during the meeting, Netanyahu asked for Egypt's help in returning the bodies of two Israeli soldiers held by Hamas in Gaza, as well as two Israeli civilians detained by the Islamist movement in the Palestinian enclave.

Shoukry responded in the affirmative, the official said.

Netanyahu and his wife Sara later hosted the Egyptian foreign minister for dinner at their Jerusalem residence.

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Palestinian leaders say years of talks with Israel have not ended the occupation, and have instead pursued international diplomacy to promote their cause.

On June 29, Shoukry met Palestinian leaders during a visit to the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Sisi said in May there was a "real opportunity" for an Israeli-Palestinian deal that could lead to warmer ties between his country and Israel.

In 1979, Egypt was the first Arab state to sign a peace treaty with Israel after years of conflict, and it remains an influential player in the region.

However, ties have been formally cold over Israel's policies toward the Palestinians, and relations further soured after the June 2012 election of the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi as Egyptian president.

After president Hosni Mubarak's ouster in the 2011 revolution, protesters stormed Israel's embassy in September that year amid clashes with police.

Morsi was ousted in July 2013 by then army chief Sisi, who was elected Egypt's president in 2014.

In June, representatives from 28 Arab and Western countries, the Arab League, European Union and the United Nations met in Paris to discuss ways to help advance peace efforts.

Israel strongly opposes that initiative, which is being promoted by France.

Netanyahu has at the same time spoken of reviving a long-dormant Arab peace initiative dating to 2002.

That proposal essentially calls for Israel to withdraw from the occupied territories and resolve the issue of refugees with the Palestinians, leading to the creation of a Palestinian state, in exchange for normalised relations with Arab countries.

- 'Existential threat' -

But some analysts have questioned whether Netanyahu's comments were an attempt to fend off international critics over his appointment of hardline Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman and his opposition to the French plan.

Netanyahu has said he would seek changes to the Arab proposal. The Arab League has said the terms cannot be changed.

There have been repeated warnings that Israeli settlement building and Palestinian attacks are eroding the possibility of a two-state solution, especially with peace efforts at a standstill since April 2014.

Violence since October has killed at least 214 Palestinians, 34 Israelis, two Americans, an Eritrean and a Sudanese.

Most of the Palestinians killed were carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks, according to Israeli authorities.

Others were shot dead during protests and clashes, while some were killed by Israeli air strikes in the Gaza Strip.

Egypt and Israel have cooperated in other areas, particularly after jihadists in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula pledged allegiance in November 2014 to the Islamic State group.

In April, Israel's deputy chief of staff spoke of an "unprecedented level of cooperation" with Egypt, mainly regarding intelligence.

Shoukry said the situation in the Middle East was "becoming ever more volatile and dangerous, particularly as the phenomenon of terrorism continues to grow and proliferate, representing an existential threat to the peoples of the region and the world at large".
By Jeffrey Heller JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Egypt's foreign minister paid a rare visit to Israel on Sunday, offering Cairo's help to revive peace talks with the Palestinians, in a sign of strengthened ties between two countries sharing deep concern over regional unrest. Sameh Shoukry's visit was the first made by an Egyptian foreign minister in nine years and he traveled to Jerusalem for two meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. As Netanyahu looked on, Shoukry said the vision of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict "is not far-fetched" and he called for confidence-building measures that could lead to renewed peace negotiations that collapsed in 2014. "It is no longer acceptable to claim that the status quo is the most that we can achieve of the hopes and aspirations of the Palestinian and Israeli peoples," Shoukry said. The current state of affairs, said the Egyptian diplomat, who held talks in the occupied West Bank on June 29 with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, "is neither stable nor sustainable". In May Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi urged both sides to seize the opportunity to make a historic peace, offering Israel the prospect of warmer ties if this were achieved. Sisi offered the 2002 Arab peace initiative as a potential way ahead. The initiative offered full recognition of Israel but only if it gave up all land seized in the 1967 Middle East war and agreed to a "just solution" for Palestinian refugees. Shoukry said Egypt was offering "all possible forms of support" to achieve peace and security in the Middle East. "A multitude of ideas and initiatives have been proposed to make it a practical reality - particularly the Arab peace initiative," he said. "However, achieving this vision requires serious steps to build confidence, as well as a genuine will that does not waver or wane under any circumstance." Netanyahu has said he would be willing to discuss the Arab peace plan but that changes would have to be made. "BROADER PEACE" Greeting Shoukry on Sunday, Netanyahu repeated his call for Palestinians to resume direct negotiations with Israel, and welcomed Egypt's efforts to resolve that conflict and achieve "a broader peace in our region". Egypt was the first of a handful of Arab countries to recognize Israel with a U.S.-sponsored peace accord in 1979, but Egyptians' attitudes to their neighbor remain icy. However, cooperation between the two governments has strengthened under Sisi, with Egypt facing Islamist insurgents in Sinai near its eastern neighbor's border and both countries wary of Gaza's Hamas Islamist rulers. "The situation of the Middle East is becoming ever more volatile and dangerous, particularly as the phenomenon of terrorism continues to grow and proliferate, representing an existential threat to the peoples of the region and the world at large," Shoukry said. In a report published on July 1, the Quartet of Middle East peace sponsors - the United States, European Union, Russia and United Nations - hailed the Arab peace initiative's "vision for comprehensive settlement" of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Shoukry's visit comes as France leads a renewed push to put peace efforts back on the agenda with an international peace conference held on June 3. The French initiative seeks to bring the two sides back to the table by year-end and was welcomed by the Palestinians. But Israeli officials have said only direct talks can end the decades-old conflict. (Story refiles to modify headline.) (Additional reporting by Lin Noueihed in Cairo and Dan Williams in Jerusalem; Editing by Greg Mahlich)
Geneva (AFP) - Switzerland's central bank will react with "flexibility" to the shifting economic realities following Britain's vote to leave the European Union, its chief said in a newspaper interview published Sunday.

"The question for Switzerland is to figure out how to adapt in an optimal way," central bank chief Thomas Jordan told the Le Matin Dimanche weekly, adding that it was "a bit premature to speak about risks and opportunities."

"In the short term, Switzerland must react with flexibility to the changes affecting financial markets and the global economy," he said.

The Swiss National Bank has already shown its willingness to act swiftly.

Just hours after the results of Britain's June 23 Brexit vote became clear, the bank announced it had "intervened in the foreign exchange market to stabilise the situation and will remain active in that market."

The move was aimed at stabilising the strengthening Swiss franc, as investors fled from the tumbling pound to Switzerland's safe haven currency.

Jordan told Le Matin Dimanche that he and his staff had pulled an all-nighter that night, checking the exchange rates every 15 minutes.

- Franc 'considerably overvalued' -

"Our goal is to reduce pressure on the franc, which remains considerably overvalued," he said.

A stronger franc hits Swiss exporters, which are forced to squeeze costs and cut prices to remain competitive on an international market.

The Swiss central bank introduced a negative deposit rate early last year after it abruptly abandoned its three-year effort to hold down the franc's exchange rate against the euro to protect exports.

In the long term, once Britain has severed its ties with the EU, Jordan stressed the importance of Switzerland maintaining commercial relations with both parties.

"We will need to see what kind of adaption is necessary to continue our collaboration with the two partners," he said, stressing that "we must ensure that we have access to both markets. That is vital."

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Non-EU member Switzerland is concerned that the Brexit vote will take a toll on its own negotiations with the bloc.

The country saw its relations with the EU thrown into disarray when Swiss voters in February 2014 narrowly approved a referendum to curb immigration from the bloc.

Brussels reacted angrily, saying such curbs put in doubt a whole range of agreements Switzerland had signed with the EU, its main trading partner.

According to the Swiss constitution, the referendum decision must be put in place by next February, but so far no clear solution is in sight.

In Sunday's interview, Jordan also said he thought a range of structural reforms were needed within the EU to "improve its economic prospects", pointing in particular to the European labour markets.

"With around 10-percent unemployment in Europe, there must be more flexibility," he said, also calling for more investment in education.

"It is important that the big nations once again become locomotives for growth, instead of being breaks," he said.
By Lisa Barrington BEIRUT (Reuters) - The family of American journalist Marie Colvin, who died in Syria in 2012, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit in a U.S. court, accusing the Syrian government of deliberately killing her. Colvin and French photographer Remi Ochlik were killed in the besieged Syrian city of Homs in 2012 while reporting on the Syrian conflict, now in its sixth year. The lawsuit, filed in Washington on Saturday and seen by Reuters, said Syrian officials deliberately targeted rockets against a makeshift broadcast studio where Colvin and other reporters were living and working. The Syrian Foreign Ministry, the target of the lawsuit, could not immediately be reached for comment. The Syrian ambassador to the United Nations could not immediately be reached for comment either. The suit alleges the attack was part of a plan orchestrated at the highest levels of the Syrian government to silence local and international media "as part of its effort to crush political opposition". The lawsuit included as evidence a copy of an August 2011 fax which it alleges was sent from Syria's National Security Bureau instructing security bodies to launch military and intelligence campaigns against "those who tarnish the image of Syria in foreign media and international organizations". Foreign governments are typically immune from U.S. civil lawsuits, but there are exceptions for countries designated by the State Department as sponsors of terrorism. Syria is currently one of three countries on the list, with Iran and Sudan. Lawyers who have brought civil lawsuits against those governments say they typically do not respond, resulting in default judgments for plaintiffs. The bigger challenge is usually enforcing the judgments and collecting damages, says Gary Osen, a New Jersey lawyer currently suing Iran. Osen said it was usually hard to identify seizable U.S. assets of those governments subject to terrorism suits, who often operate behind layers of intermediaries. "It could take you decades to find out they own an office building in downtown Boston or somewhere," he said. The family's lawsuit is seeking monetary damages but did not specify an amount. "This case is about carrying on Marie's work," plaintiff Cathleen Colvin, Marie Colvin's sister, said. "We are seeking truth and justice not just for her, but for thousands of innocent Syrians tortured or killed under the Assad dictatorship," she said in a statement released by U.S. human rights group the Center for Justice and Accountability (CJA) which filed the case for the Colvin family. Advocacy group Reporters Without Borders said it supported the lawsuit. The group's secretary-general, Christophe Deloire, said Reporters Without Borders "hopes these efforts will help to expose the truth, namely that these journalists were deliberately targeted and killed because they were providing information about the Syrian army's crimes against civilians." A murder and attempted murder investigation was launched in France in 2012 into the death of Ochlik and wounding of another journalist, Edith Bouvier, in the same attack. Reporters Without Borders, as an interested party in the case, said it will submit the Colvin family's U.S. lawsuit to the judge in charge of the French investigation on Monday. Colvin and Ochlik were both prize-winning reporters of wars in the Middle East, Asia and elsewhere. The Britain-based Colvin, who lost an eye while working in Sri Lanka in 2001, was working for the Sunday Times at the time of her death. (Reporting by Lisa Barrington; Additional reporting by Anthony Lin and Nate Raymond in New York; Editing by Adrian Croft and Sandra Maler)
Bogota (AFP) - FARC rebels in Colombia have clashed with government forces in the center of the country, Defense Minister Luis Carlos Villegas said, as the two sides push to finalize a historic peace deal.

"This took place 48 hours ago in La Uribe. A FARC patrol unit came upon an army rapid response team patrol and engaged," Villegas said on Sunday.

"There was a number of injured," Villegas said without further details about the injuries. The rebels were offered medical assistance, he said.

And no troops or civilians were injured, an army statement added.

The injured rebels were members of a delegation that was due to travel to the ongoing peace talks being held in Havana.

The violence comes as a discouraging sign while the government and rebels are thought to be close to ending five decades of civil war.

And Carlos Lozada, who serves as a FARC negotiator in the peace process, charged on Twitter that "what happened there was not a clash by patrols bumping into one another."

"This was an attack on FARC delegates who were on their way to Havana," Lozada said, insisting that the army refused to evacuate by air the rebels who were injured, undermining trust at the negotiating table.

The FARC currently has about 7,000 members.

It signed a ceasefire and disarmament arrangement with the government last month at peace talks in Cuba.

The government said it hoped to move on to a full peace deal within weeks.

The Colombian conflict started in the 1960s as a rural uprising for land rights that spawned the communist FARC.

It has left 260,000 people dead, 45,000 missing and nearly seven million displaced, according to official figures.

The rebels signed a unilateral ceasefire in 2015; the government responded by de-escalating the conflict. A bilateral ceasefire only takes effect after the peace deal is signed.
Farnborough (United Kingdom) (AFP) - The Farnborough air show opens Monday in the face of turbulence from Britain's shock decision to exit the European Union.

The event held every two years southwest of London traditionally features a battle between US titan Boeing and Europe's Airbus for supremacy on the order books.

Organisers know there is little chance to beat the record $201 billion (181 billion euros) of business -- both firm airplane orders and commitments -- clinched in 2014, with the industry beset by major production backlogs.

Ahead of the meeting, some airlines have posted profit warnings linked to expected fallout from Brexit.

Britain's referendum to quit the 28-nation European Union has cast a shadow over the air show that runs from Monday until Sunday.

The vote sent financial markets tanking and sparked worries about global economic fallout that could weigh on demand for airline travel.

Brexit "is likely to have an impact over the medium term" on demand for new planes, independent aviation analyst John Strickland warned.

"Order books are currently full but if demand softens then ultimately this could lead to reduced orders or possibly some cancellations," he told AFP.

However, Argon Consulting analyst Jean-Louis Dropsy forecast Brexit would not affect the sector, arguing it relies more on keen demand from outside Europe -- and particularly from emerging markets.

"Brexit should have no impact on the global industry, which is driven mainly by air traffic growth, mainly in Asia, India and the Middle East," he said.

Removal from the single European airspace could however lead to airlines passing on higher taxes to passengers, in turn curtailing demand for aircraft in the long run.

Since the June 23 referendum result, British Airways owner IAG and British no-frills airline EasyJet have issued profit warnings.

And while incidents such as the recent EgyptAir plane crash and the terrorist attacks on Brussels and Istanbul airports have also taken their toll on the sector, ultra-low oil prices have slashed fuel costs for airlines.

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- 'Significant' production backlogs -

The aerospace industry is already being dogged by a record backlog for orders of planes, which -- alongside weaker demand from airlines -- contributed to a 30-percent decline in aircraft purchases last year.

"I'm not expecting any big orders this time around as most major airlines already have significant backlogs of already-ordered aircraft," noted Strickland.

Kepler Cheuvreux analysts noted that Airbus and Boeing could still deliver surprises.

"The consensus is that few new orders are expected at the show," they wrote in a note to clients.

"We are nevertheless wary of such a cautious view, arguing that Boeing celebrating its 100th anniversary at the show is likely to make a splash with some key orders.

"In response, we expect Airbus to have kept a few key orders for announcement at the show," they added.

Orders could feature also for Bombardier's fuel-efficient C Series jetliner as the Canadian firm looks to challenge the dominance of Airbus and Boeing in medium-range, single-aisle aircraft.

US-based Delta Air Lines in April placed an order for 75 CS100 Bombardier aircraft with an option to purchase 50 more in a deal worth US$5.6 billion.

Stephane Albernhe, analyst at Archery Strategy Consulting, predicted announcements from Bombardier at Farnborough.

"If they manage to save this programme, we will not have a duopoly," she said.

So far this year, Boeing is leading the orders race with Airbus, winning 276 firm orders since the start of the year compared with its European rival's 183.

It comes as the industry faces a record backlog of about 13,400 civilian aircraft orders -- 94 percent of which are for the world's two leading planemakers.

Whatever the outcome for orders, this week's show will be lit up by the F-35 fighter jet carrying out a flypast over Farnborough, two years after the world's most expensive warplane's appearance was cancelled owing to engine problems.
By Fayaz Bukhari SRINAGAR (Reuters) - Four protesters and a police officer were killed in India's northern Jammu and Kashmir state on Sunday, police said, raising the death toll in violence sparked by the death of a separatist militant to 20 since Friday. Protests erupted after security services on Friday evening shot dead 22-year-old militant leader Burhan Wani. His death came amid a rise in violence and separatist sentiment across the state, which has been at the center of a tussle between India and Pakistan for decades. [L8N19U3T8] The director general of Jammu and Kashmir Police, K. Rajendra Kumar, told reporters that 100 members of the security forces had been wounded and that three were missing. In addition, "miscreants threw a police vehicle into River Jhelum", south of the state's summer capital of Srinagar, killing the officer inside, he said. On Saturday, police had said that angry crowds set fire to three police stations and two government buildings south of Srinagar, and blocked roads. Kumar put the protestor death toll at 15, but a second officer, who asked to remain anonymous, said four more died on Sunday in clashes with security forces, raising the total number of deaths to 20. Confrontations continued on Sunday despite the authorities imposing round-the-clock curfew conditions on most of the Kashmir valley, the officer said. Wani was the leader of Hizb-ul Mujahideen, a group fighting Indian control of the Muslim-majority region. His social media videos show him wearing military fatigues and calling for jihad. Activists and separatist leaders have criticized the security forces' response to the protests, accusing them of using excessive force. "It is shocking and painful that Indian armed forces have yet again unleashed terror on the mourners and protesters, resulting in massive civilian casualties," Khurram Parvez, an activist with rights group the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition for Civil Society, said in a statement. The local government has appealed to the public and separatist political leaders to help calm the situation. (Reporting by Fayaz Bukhari; Editing by Tom Lasseter and Raissa Kasolowsky)
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain broke international law when it invaded Iraq in 2003, its deputy prime minister at the time, John Prescott, said on Sunday in the wake of a critical report on the decision to go to war. A seven-year inquiry concluded on Wednesday that former British Prime Minister Tony Blair's justification, planning and handling of the Iraq War involved a catalog of failures, but did not rule whether the war was legal. Eight months before the 2003 invasion, Blair told former U.S. President George W. Bush "I will be with you, whatever", eventually sending 45,000 British troops into battle when peace options had not been exhausted, the long-awaited British public inquiry said. Prescott, writing in the Sunday Mirror newspaper, said he had now changed his view about the legality of the war and criticized Blair for stopping his ministers from fully discussing in advance whether the war would be legal. "In 2004, the U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said that as regime change was the prime aim of the Iraq War, it was illegal. With great sadness and anger, I now believe him to be right," Prescott wrote. "I will live with the decision of going to war and its catastrophic consequences for the rest of my life," he added. Many Britons want Blair to face criminal action over his decision to take military action that led to the deaths of 179 British soldiers and more than 150,000 Iraqi civilians over the following six years. "The Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith, came to the Cabinet, verbally announced it was legal, but provided no documentation," Prescott said. "The timing of the decision was clearly designed to endorse an almost immediate action for us to go to war." Prescott added that he backed the decision by Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn -- a veteran anti-war campaigner and critic of Blair -- to apologize for the war on behalf of the party. Meanwhile, a cross-party group of lawmakers said they would seek next week a vote declaring Blair in contempt of parliament for misleading it in the run-up to the decision to go to war. "Saying one thing to George W. Bush in private and a totally different thing to parliament and people in public, that is the parliamentary crime, the offence, and it is time for parliament to deliver a verdict," Scottish National Party lawmaker and former party leader Alex Salmond told ITV television. The possible implications of such a vote were not immediately clear, but the Sunday Times newspaper said it could see Blair barred from public office or stripped of his membership of the Privy Council, a largely ceremonial body that advises Queen Elizabeth. (Reporting by David Milliken and Kylie MacLellan; Editing by Sandra Maler and Helen Popper)
Juba (AFP) - South Sudan's president and his estranged deputy ordered a ceasefire on Monday after a new day of heavy fighting in the capital that sent thousands fleeing and threatened a return to civil war.

President Salva Kiir's ceasefire order Monday evening was followed by a similar call from ex-rebel and Vice President Riek Machar, raising hopes of an end to three days of deadly fighting between the army and former rebels in the world's youngest nation.

"The president has reiterated his commitment to the continued implementation of the (peace) agreement in letter and spirit, and thus issues an order of cessation of hostilities with immediate effect," Information Minister Michael Makuei said on state television at 6:00 pm local time (1500 GMT).

Machar, a former rebel, then asked troops loyal to him to stop fighting.

"I inform all troops who have been fighting and have been defending themselves that they should observe the ceasefire and stay in position," Machar said on Eye Radio Juba.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon meanwhile called for an immediate arms embargo against South Sudan and also appealed to the UN Security Council for targeted sanctions against those involved in the fighting.

The UN mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) should also be strengthened with attack helicopters, Ban said.

UNMISS said "more than 7,000 people" had sought shelter at two compounds it runs for the displaced in Juba, while fighting was also reported in the south-eastern town of Torit where thousands fled to a UN base.

Eight people have been killed and 67 injured at the UN's so-called "Protection of Civilian" sites in Juba since Sunday.

"UNMISS compounds are caught directly between the fighting and continue to sustain impacts from small arms and heavy weapons fire," it said in a statement.

Intense battles were fought Monday with tanks and helicopter gunships deployed and artillery and mortar fire heard in parts of the city.

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Witnesses reported "very, very heavy fighting" in Juba with residents barricading themselves inside houses and aid workers holed up in bunkers. The US embassy warned of "serious fighting between government and opposition forces".

The only civilians on the streets scurried for shelter during lulls in fighting.

The United States also condemned the violence, with National Security Advisor Susan Rice calling it "senseless and inexcusable".

- Hundreds killed -

The current fighting between soldiers loyal to Kiir, a member of the Dinka tribe, and former rebels backing Machar, a Nuer, was triggered by a deadly altercation at a checkpoint Thursday night.

That was followed by hours of violent confrontations on Friday evening that left "over 300 soldiers" dead, according to Makuei.

After a pause on Saturday -- South Sudan's fifth anniversary of independence -- battles began in earnest on Sunday morning, continuing throughout the day in several parts of the city before subsiding overnight and resuming Monday.

It is unclear how many have been killed in the fighting since Sunday.

China, once the biggest buyer of South Sudan's oil, expressed serious concern over the flare-up which led to the death of two Chinese peacekeepers.

The clashes are the first between the army and ex-rebels in Juba since Machar returned to take up the post of vice president in a unity government in April.

The violence marks a fresh blow to last year's peace deal which has failed to end the civil war that broke out in December 2013, when Kiir accused Machar of plotting a coup.

- Economic collapse -

The war has been characterised by rape, ethnic massacres, attacks on civilians, the use of child soldiers, pillage, widespread destruction of property and displacement of millions.

Ministers from the regional IGAD bloc held a special summit in Nairobi on Monday after which senior official Tedros Adhanom urged "all the parties to engage in dialogue instead of violence".

Addressing the summit, Festus Mogae, a former Botswana president who leads a team of internationally-backed monitors, called for an immediate resumption of the ceasefire.

South Sudan has seen more fighting than peace since independence in July 2011. The August 2015 peace deal was supposed to end the conflict but fighting has continued.

Tens of thousands have died in the violence, with close to three million forced from their homes and nearly five million surviving on emergency food rations.

The humanitarian crisis has unfolded alongside an economic one with the currency collapsing and inflation spiralling out of control. The country's mainstay oil industry is in tatters and regional towns have been razed.
By Kylie MacLellan LONDON (Reuters) - Theresa May, the favourite to succeed David Cameron as British prime minister, will pledge on Monday to overhaul corporate governance rules if elected, including putting workers on company boards and making shareholder votes on pay binding. Cameron said last month he was stepping down after voters rejected his bid to keep Britain in the European Union. Interior minister May is up against junior energy minister Andrea Leadsom in a leadership contest due to be decided by Sept. 9 in a vote by the Conservative Party's 150,000 grassroots members. Launching her national leadership campaign, May, who like Cameron backed Britain staying in the EU, will say non-executive directors are not providing enough scrutiny of company boards because they are drawn from the same social and professional circles. "We need a bold, new, positive vision for the future of our country, a vision of a country that works for everyone, not just the privileged few," she will say during a speech in Birmingham, according to extracts released in advance by her team. "I want to see changes in the way that big business is governed ... So if I'm prime minister, we're going to change that system and we're going to have not just consumers represented on company boards, but workers as well." ANNUAL PAY VOTES May, who has portrayed herself as the candidate who can unite both the party and the country, will say Britain needs proven leadership to steer it through the economic and political uncertainty to come. Her rival Leadsom was little-known until she emerged as a prominant voice in the Brexit campaign. Setting out her plans for business after six years as interior minister, May will also announce she would enforce annual binding votes on both pay policy and specific pay packages of company directors. Investors in every UK company have a non-binding vote yearly on the firm's remuneration report, which details the pay and perks given to executive directors in the year under review. Shareholders are also guaranteed separate, binding votes at least once every three years on a firm's remuneration policy, which governs future payouts. Chief executives at British companies have come under increasing pressure from shareholders over salary and bonus payments that have risen much more sharply than their workers' remuneration. "We're the Conservative Party, and yes we're the party of enterprise, but that does not mean we should be prepared to accept that 'anything goes'," May will say. (Editing by Helen Popper)
Andorra Arcalis (Andorra) (AFP) - Reigning champion Chris Froome saw his rivals start to whittle away as Tom Dumoulin won the ninth stage of the Tour de France on Sunday.

A stage that began under a blistering sun and temperatures reaching 41 Celsius in Spain ended in Dantesque conditions with driving rain and even hail in Andorra.

Dumoulin attacked on his own from a breakaway group on the 10km hors category climb to the finish at Arcalis following a 184.5km trek through the Pyrenees.

"It's incredible, I cannot describe it with words. A few days ago if you'd said I would win the Andorra stage, maybe the hardest day in the Tour de France this year, I'd say you're crazy," beamed a shivering Dumoulin.

"I wasn't feeling so good but suddenly it all comes together. I had good legs, it was the right time to attack -- I'm so, so happy."

Portugal's Rui Costa took second 38sec back with Rafal Majka of Poland third.

Race leader Froome came home more than six minutes later alongside four rivals for the yellow jersey.

"It's still a very open race at this point. I'm really happy with how it's gone so far," said the 2013 and 2015 Tour winner.

Two-time former winner Alberto Contador was not among Froome's rivals having abandoned the race 80km into the stage.

Having injured his entire right side in crashes on the opening two stages, and woken up on Sunday morning with a virus, Contador was forced into quitting the Tour early for the second time in three years.

Briton Adam Yates started and finished the day second overall as he crossed the line alongside Froome to maintain his lofty position.

Only Colombian climber Nairo Quintana, Australian former team-mate of Froome's, Richie Porte, and Ireland's Dan Martin managed to stay with the race leader in the final few kilometres of the stage, after Froome accelerated.

"There were a lot of attacks on that final climb, I was hoping to gain a bit more time as well, but in the end there were a few of the contenders in front so I just made sure to close the gaps and finish in the same time," added Froome.

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Yates is 16sec back from Froome with Martin third at 19sec and Quintana fourth at 23sec.

Porte is outside the top 10 due to time he lost on the second stage after suffering a late puncture.

- Mountains battle -

A 20-man breakaway escaped on the first climb of the day and gradually built up a lead of more than 10 minutes.

Frenchman Thibaut Pinot and Majka were part of the group and set about battling for king of the mountains points over the five categorised climbs of the day.

Pole Majka had started the day with a one-point advantage over Pinot, but the Frenchman finished it in the polkadot jersey with a three-point lead after coming sixth on the stage.

He had the edge over Majka on every climb until the finish.

World champion Peter Sagan closed in on green points jersey wearer Mark Cavendish by taking honours at the intermediate sprint.

On the penultimate climb, Froome's Sky team started to crank up the pressure in the peloton, which duly thinned steadily.

Only 35 riders were still in the peloton by the time it reached the final 10km-long hors category climb to the finish.

Up front Dumoulin took advantage of some hesitancy in the breakaway to strike out alone.

Having sweated through Spain, the riders were met by an autumnal downpour in Andorra.

"One minute we're pouring water over ourselves, it's 35 degrees (Celsius), hot, humid -- we're suffering in the heat," said Froome.

"The next minute hailstones are falling on us, you're trying to ride face down so it doesnt hit your face.

"It was a pretty crazy change in temperature down to 10 degrees (Celsius)."

Finally, Froome accelerated halfway up the climb and the race was on with Quintana sticking to his wheel.

Porte came through to have a dig, as did Martin, but the top five all finished together as Italy's Fabio Aru, Romain Bardet of France and American Tejay Van Garderen lost time.
Arcalis (Andorra) (AFP) - Tour de France leader Chris Froome said he spent the final climb of Sunday's Pyrenean mountain stage waiting for an attack from Nairo Quintana that never came.

With two-time former champion Alberto Contador abandoning the race through injury and illness during the 184.5km ninth stage that started in blazing hot sunshine in Spain and finished in hail and rain in Andorra, Quintana is widely considered to be Froome's closest challenger.

The Colombian finished second to Froome in each of the Briton's previous Tour victories in 2013 and last year.

But Froome, 31, was surprised the Movistar leader never launched an attack on the 10km climb to Arcalis.

"In the back of my mind I was waiting for his attack all the way up to the last kilometre," said Froome.

"Into the last kilometre I thought, 'he hasn't attacked yet, maybe he's waiting for one big move'. But it never came.

"I'd like to think he was on the limit. It was a tough day out there but it just looks like he stuck to my wheel like glue."

Quintana's Movistar team-mate Alejandro Valverde defended his leader.

"Nairo did well to hang in there with Froome," he said.

"Is Froome unrivalled? Nairo is too. There's a long way to go left in the Tour, you must attack when you must attack.

"Nobody knows when that might be."

In his previous two Tour challenges, Quintana, 26, has always lost time in the first week before coming on strong in the third and final week.

Last year he lost time to Froome in the Pyrenees before gaining back more in the Alps, losing out in the end due to time he gave up on a cobbled flat stage.

This year he's lost only 23 seconds in the Pyrenees from Froome's daring downhill attack on Saturday's eighth stage.

- 'Biggest battle' -

The overall standings remain extremely tight with the top nine riders separated by less than a minute.

Quintana is fourth with Briton Adam Yates second at 16sec and Dan Martin of Ireland third at 19sec.

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Both of those, along with Australian Richie Porte, crossed the line with Froome and Quintana.

"I've said it a few times coming into this race, I feel this is going to be the biggest battle of my career, and that's what it's turning out to be," said Froome.

"The level is higher and I'm going to have to fight for every second I can."

One rider who is not yet ready to challenge Froome for overall glory is ninth stage winner Tom Dumoulin of the Netherlands.

Known as a time-trial specialist, Dumoulin showed he has more strings to his bow than just that by winning such a tough mountain stage.

"I still have to make another step, or two, or three to get to the level of these guys," he admitted.

"I wasn't feeling good in the first week so I couldn't have ridden for GC (general classification) anyway.

"Also, it's not worth it for me to ride for 12th place in GC. If I can get some time and win a stage like this, it's worth so much more.

"I don't think I'm good enough to ride in the top 10 now but I hope to make a few steps in the future and hope to try in the future.

"But for now, definitely not."
By Julien Pretot BAGNERES DE LUCHON, France (Reuters) - When Chris Froome took the yellow jersey with a brutal uphill attack in the 2015 Tour de France, he faced a barrage of doping insinuations but this year he seized control of the race in a descent and has been spared any controversy. Britain's Team Sky rider had humiliated his rivals with a stunning acceleration up to La Pierre Saint Martin last year, prompting a heated debate about his power data and the possible use of a hidden motor. Saturday's move in the final downhill section of the eighth stage, a 184-km ride from Pau, took his rivals by surprise, and probably Froome's critics as well. "No doubt people out there will be calculating my VAM (average descent speed) going down the last climb, and that it was off the charts," the defending champion, who has always vigorously denied doping, said with a smile. "I can't be happier to be in yellow again, it's an amazing feeling, I'm enjoying it." Froome, gunning for a third Tour title, attacked where his rivals were not expecting him to and gained 13 seconds on them, plus a 10-second time bonus for his stage win. He leads fellow Briton Adam Yates (Orica-Bike Exchange) and Spain's Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) by 16 seconds ahead of Sunday's uphill finish in Andorra Arcalis. Team Sky boss Dave Brailsford praised his rider, saying it "took some balls" for Froome to take such risks in the descent as he reached a maximum speed of about 90 kph. "I thought over the top let me just give it a go and see what I can do on the descent - I'll see if I can catch someone out," said Froome. "It was real old school bike racing. Maybe I spent a little bit too much (energy). Let's see, tomorrow is going to be a really hard day. Sixteen seconds is not a huge margin but I'll take every second I can at this point."It's just a really good feeling. The guys rode all day today so I felt like I owed something to them to really give it my all for the stage." (Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Ken Ferris)
Shanghai (AFP) - The worlds top 20 economies will work to boost sluggish global trade despite growing protectionism, overcapacity concerns, and uncertainty over Brexit, G20 trade ministers said Sunday at a meeting in Shanghai.

"The global recovery continues, but it remains uneven and falls short of our ambition for strong, sustainable and balanced growth. Downside risks and vulnerabilities persist," the trade ministers said in a joint statement, adding that trade should remain "an important engine" to spur global growth.

The G20 nations, which account for 85 percent of global trade, admitted that protectionism has been rising since the financial crisis, and said that new trade restrictions in the group had reached the highest monthly average registered since the WTO began monitoring in 2009.

"We note with concern that despite the G20s repeated pledge, the stock of restrictive measure affecting trade in goods and services has continued to rise" they said in the statement.

Ahead of the meeting, WTO chief economist Robert Koopman warned that restrictive measures could affect industries including air freight cargo, sea based cargo, automobile sales and production, electronics trade, and agricultural raw materials.

The worlds leading economies at the weekend pledged to oppose trade protectionism and reiterated a promise not to add new protective measures until 2018.

Global trade is expected to grow at a tepid 2.8 percent in 2016, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) said in April.

And this year is expected to be the fifth in a row where trade grew at less than three percent -- its weakest sustained level in 30 years, WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo said on Friday ahead of the talks.

To combat the global slowdown, the ministers said they agreed to improve global trade governance and to work towards easing and liberalising trade.

- Brexit, China concerns -

Concerns over China's production overcapacity in steel have led to trade disputes with the EU and US, and China's vice commerce minister Wang Shouwen said Sunday that the G20 economies "have realised the necessity to take global cooperation to handle the challenge caused by production overcapacity".

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But despite claims that China is dumping steel in foreign markets, he said "Chinas effort in (handling) over capacity has been highly recognised" by the group.

"While some other countries are talking about how to cut down production, Chinese government has already taken measures which have been effective."

Meanwhile Britains referendum vote to leave the European Union has added new concerns for the recovery of global economic and trade growth.

"Britain leaving the European Union will definitely has some impact on global trade, especially short-term investment," Chinas Wang commented on Sunday.

Britains trade minister Mark Price told the Financial Times in Beijing ahead of the weekend talk that tariffs would jump to an average level of at least three percent after its exit from the EU.

He said its time to "start exploring options" on trade agreements and "China is making very positive noises at the moment", the report said.
FRANKFURT, July 9 (Reuters) - Germany's Federal Office for Motor Vehicles (KBA) would not have approved the autopilot system installed on Tesla cars if the technology was still in a beta-phase version, it told German newspaper Welt am Sonntag.

Tesla's partial self-driving Autopilot feature has been thrust under the microscope since a fatal crash incolving a Tesla Model S sedan in the United States in May.

European approval for the autopilot system was gained in the Netherlands, but the view of KBA is significant because Germany is Europe's biggest car market.

"If the word beta-phase means an incomplete status of the software, the KBA would not authorise (such) a functionality," the newspaper quoted the KBA as saying.

A beta version generally describes a product that has moved from mere functional readiness but still requires improvements for full usability.

Tesla said on Friday that it is cooperating with the KBA, which reports to the Transport Ministry, to review components.

The Berlin ministry, for its part, said it was "clarifying technical issues" with Tesla but denied it was investigating the company for not sufficiently informing authorities, as Der Spiegel magazine reported on Saturday.

(Reporting by Vera Eckert; Editing by David Goodman)
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Germany's Federal Office for Motor Vehicles (KBA) would not have approved the autopilot system installed on Tesla (TSLA.O) cars if the technology was still in a beta-phase version, it told German newspaper Welt am Sonntag.

Tesla's partial self-driving Autopilot feature has been thrust under the microscope since a fatal crash involving a Tesla Model S sedan in the United States in May.

European approval for the autopilot system was gained in the Netherlands, but the view of KBA is significant because Germany is Europe's biggest car market.

"If the word beta-phase means an incomplete status of the software, the KBA would not authorize (such) a functionality," the newspaper quoted the KBA as saying.

A beta version generally describes a product that has moved from mere functional readiness but still requires improvements for full usability.

Tesla said on Friday that it is cooperating with the KBA, which reports to the Transport Ministry, to review components.

The Berlin ministry, for its part, said it was "clarifying technical issues" with Tesla but denied it was investigating the company for not sufficiently informing authorities, as Der Spiegel magazine reported on Saturday.

(Reporting by Vera Eckert; Editing by David Goodman)
BERLIN (Reuters) - Several German lawmakers said on Sunday the country's soldiers working at Turkey's Incirlik airbase should be brought home if Ankara continued to prevent parliamentarians from visiting the station. Turkey, angered by a resolution passed by the German parliament last month that branded the 1915 massacre of Armenians by Ottoman forces a genocide, has denied German lawmakers access to the base. Chancellor Angela Merkel said the parliamentarians must be allowed to visit the 250 soldiers at the base who are taking part in NATO operations against Islamic State militants in Iraq but she stopped short of threatening to withdraw the soldiers. Relations between Germany and Turkey, crucial partners in the effort to stem mass migration to Europe, have been strained in recent months. President Tayyip Erdogan was angered by the broadcast of a satirical song about him on German television and in April launched legal action against the comedian who wrote it. The Armenian resolution last month, which prompted Ankara to recall its ambassador, compounded the rift. A leader of Germany's opposition Greens, Cem Ozdemir, who is of ethnic Turkish origin, told ARD television the situation was unacceptable. "As lawmakers who send soldiers to places, we must know where they are, how they are and be able to talk to the soldiers. If that is not possible in Turkey then the soldiers must come back to Germany," he said. Lawmakers approve military spending and investment in infrastructure at the base. Asked if she would consider withdrawing troops from Incirlik if no agreement were reached, Merkel said she was focusing on resolving the matter by talking. "A way must be found for the lawmakers to visit the soldiers. We must continue to work on this, the solution is not yet there," she told broadcaster ZDF in an interview. Merkel met Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Warsaw on Saturday. She said the atmosphere was constructive but the differences remained. Andreas Scheuer, General Secretary of the Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU) who are part of Merkel's conservative bloc in parliament, said lawmakers had to be allowed to visit soldiers. "As a result of his behaviour, Turkish President Erdogan is risking the withdrawal of the German army," he told Monday's Tagesspiegel daily, according to extracts sent in advance. Turkey accepts that many Christian Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire were killed in clashes with Ottoman forces during World War One but it denies that up to 1.5 million were killed and that the killings constitute a genocide. It also says many Muslim Turks died in the clashes. (Reporting by Madeline Chambers; Editing by Gareth Jones and Raissa Kasolowsky)
By Madeline Chambers BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany expects Britain to trigger article 50 of the European Union's Lisbon treaty to begin the formal process of leaving the bloc once it has picked a new prime minister, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Sunday. Merkel also told German broadcaster ZDF in an interview that Britain would not be allowed to "cherry pick" what it wants to keep from its EU membership while jettisoning aspects of the relationship that it does not like. "The decision (of Britons to leave the EU) has been taken .. and the next step is -- and Britain will do this only when they have a new prime minister -- to invoke Article 50," said Merkel, Europe's most powerful leader who will play a key role in shaping London's future relationship with the EU. "I expect that to happen. I deal with reality and I firmly expect that application will be made," Merkel added when asked if she thought there was a chance that Brexit would not happen. British voters backed Brexit in a June 23 referendum. Prime Minister David Cameron has announced his intention to step down and has said it will be for his successor to invoke article 50 which will launch two years of divorce negotiations. Two women, interior minister Theresa May and junior energy minister Andrea Leadsom, are competing to replace Cameron. The new prime minister is expected to be chosen on Sept. 9. May, the current favorite, has made clear she will not rush to invoke article 50 as the tight timeframe it envisages could weaken London's bargaining hand. But British and EU firms and investors want clarity as soon as possible on future trade ties. "NO CHERRY PICKING" "We have spoken to Britain and made clear there will be no negotiations with Britain until they have made their application, and there will be no cherry picking," said Merkel. Many British voters backed Brexit due to fears over uncontrolled immigration from the rest of the EU, especially the much poorer member states of ex-communist eastern Europe. The 'Leave' campaign also homed in on voters' concerns about Europe's migrant crisis, which has seen more than one million people, mostly Muslims fleeing conflicts in the Middle East, move to the EU, especially Germany, over the past year. Asked if she felt she bore any responsibility for the Brexit vote due to her open-door migrant policy, Merkel told ZDF that Europe had a responsibility to protect migrants fleeing war. She also defended her decision to work closely with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in seeking to stem the flow of migrants via Turkey into the EU. Under a controversial deal, Turkey has agreed to take back migrants heading to Europe from its shores in return for accelerated EU membership talks and an end to a visa requirement for its citizens visiting the EU. "I cannot say I think everything that is happening domestically in Turkey is right ... but we have a mutual interest (in tackling the migrant crisis)," she said. Commenting on the parlous economic state of some euro zone member countries in southern Europe, Merkel repeated her call for structural reforms along with budget discipline, adding that not enough had been done to cut youth unemployment in the EU. (Reporting by Madeline Chambers; Editing by Gareth Jones)
The reviews of the highly anticipated female-led Ghostbusters directed by Paul Feig are now in. The film's trailer - which features Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones and Kristen Wiig along with Chris Hemsworth - received a wave of negative comments on YouTube but has recently opened to a mix of positive and negative reviews from critics.

The Hollywood Reporter's David Rooney writes in his review, "The fact is that an estrogen-infused makeover, particularly one with such a comedically gifted cast, was a promising idea. Sadly, that's where the inventiveness ended." Bottom line, Rooney calls the film "a bust."

"It's all busy-ness, noise and chaos, with zero thrills and very little sustainable comic buoyancy," he added.

Read what other top critics are saying about Ghostbusters below:

The New York Times' Manohla Dargis writes, "Sliding into theaters on a river of slime and an endless supply of good vibes, the new, cheerfully silly Ghostbusters is that rarest of big-studio offerings - a movie that is a lot of enjoyable, disposable fun. ... In other words, it doesn't have a lot of XY chromosomes and basso profondo voices, though its token hottie, played by a game, nimbly funny Chris Hemsworth, pulls his weight on both those counts. Otherwise, the redo is pretty much what you might expect from Paul Feig, one of the best things to happen to American big-screen comedy since Harold Ramis."

Read More: 'Ghostbusters' Premiere: Amy Pascal Says New Franchise Will Be "Endless"

Time's Stephanie Zacharek writes, "Feig's Ghostbusters is its own definitive creature, an affable, inventive riff on Ivan Reitman's proton-packing caper that exists not to score points, but only to make us laugh. For a summer comedy, there's no nobler purpose."

The Guardian's Nigel M Smith writes, "Rejoice! The new Ghostbusters is good. Very good, in fact. It had to be. No comedy has faced more advance scrutiny - even hostility - than Paul Feig's reboot of Ivan Reitman's beloved 1980s hit.

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"Most crucially, the mean-spirited reception to the film before anyone had seen it does not seem to have put a dampener on the movie itself. Fun oozes from almost every frame; likewise the energy of a team excited to be revolutionising the blockbuster landscape. Let's just hope everyone will enjoy the view."

Read More: 'Ghostbusters' Premiere: Tom Rothman, Kate McKinnon, Amy Pascal, Paul Feig Talk Importance of Female Writers

BuzzFeed News' Alison Willmore writes, "Like Star Wars: The Force Awakens, 2016's Ghostbusters is a movie both boosted by nostalgia and constrained by it, retracing the steps of its predecessor like someone who bursts onto a dance floor ready to show off slick new moves, only to get railroaded into doing the Macarena.

"It's a funny visual, and Ghostbusters is a funny movie, centered on four comedic performances too strong to pick a standout. But there's a pointedness to the moment that isn't accidental: The new characters are literally crushed under the weight of a holdover from the original film. ... The interesting part is in how these characters bounce off of one another along the way, these brilliant, awkward, hilarious women who come to find they need affirmation only from one another. It's a sight that's worth all the nasty comment sections the internet has to offer."

Vanity Fair's Richard Lawson writes, "Ghostbusters, quick and dull and weightless, offers very little to root for. It spends so much time doing battle with its legacy that it forgets to be its own movie, putting a talented cast to waste and marking another disappointment in this dreadful summer movie season."

Lawson continues, "A lot of hopes, and well north of $150 million, are pinned on Ghostbusters, and the film is smothered under those huge, quadrant-y expectations. Its climax is a muddled, overwrought mess, full of green-screen and senseless zapping. (McKinnon has a nice moment amidst all this, but it's cheaply telegraphed by an overeager music cue.) I am not a die-hard fan of the original Ghostbusters, but I can at least appreciate that it's more an admirably offbeat horror-comedy than it is an epic action movie. Feig's Ghostbusters tries hard to prove its place in the modern world, and in the summer blockbuster season, by turning itself into an aimless spectacular. That feels like a wrong read of Ghostbusters, and drowns out any wit and charm the movie has managed to create."

The Daily Beast's Jen Yamato writes, "Nevertheless, with a crackling sense of purpose and a surplus of reverence for their predecessors, new Ghostbusters Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy and Saturday Night Live standouts Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones plant their own flag on a beloved sci-fi comedy franchise - even if it'll still take a miracle from beyond to convert the hypercritical haters"

Read More: This Is What Leslie Jones Ended Up Wearing to the 'Ghostbusters' Premiere
The number of female scribes writing for female leads lately has been sparse.

There were no women writers credited for Neighbors 2, which featured female leads played by Chloe Grace Moretz and Rose Byrne. More recently, Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates, starring Zac Efron and Adam DeVine, has female lead counterparts in Anna Kendrick and Aubrey Plaza, but no female scribes. In fact, they're the same writers for the Neighbors sequel.

Read More: 'Ghostbusters' Premiere: Amy Pascal Says New Franchise Will Be "Endless"

And that's not all. The upcoming comedy Bad Moms, starring Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, Kathryn Hahn and Christina Applegate, was written and directed by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore. The film, fittingly about moms behaving badly, wasn't written by, well, moms.

Read More: 'Neighbors 2' Director Blames His Film's Lack of Female Writers on "Writers Guild Rules"

So, what about the Ghostbusters reboot starring Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones? They have Katie Dippold with Paul Feig behind them.

"If you have Katie Dippold, you're in good shape no matter what," producer Amy Pascal told The Hollywood Reporter at the comedy's premiere on Saturday.

"It's probably the most important thing. You need it," said McKinnon. "Other kinds of voices need to be given a chance, and Paul and Sony gave us all this opportunity. You just have to give people an opportunity and let them run with it."

Added Sony movie chief Tom Rothman: "It's important for female writers, directors, cinematographers. I think it's important for females, behind the camera talent, on any movie. Yes, maybe it's particularly relevant here, but I think it's a generalized imperative."

And writer-director Feig thinks it's crucial to have both men and women teaming up to pen the script.

"I really think it's important that women write for women, but I also think it's important that men and women work together, so you don't have one gender stereotyping the other one. What happens on my sets is we both are a system of checks and balances for each other and on top of it the actors, be they men or women, are saying, 'Oh I wouldn't do this, I wouldn't do that.' So if we listen to them, then we get a three-dimensional realistic portrayal."

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Read More: 'Ghostbusters': Film Review

Added Dippold: "I would like to think I could write male characters. So I can't beat down on men writing female characters. I tried to do the best I can. I love these women and this movie was really important to me. They did a lot of improv, especially Chris Hemsworth, which was surprising. That whole interview scene he was improvising left and right. He was the last character to get really fleshed out. He was at first a guy who was really apathetic, and then Chris came and brought this weirdness to it."

Dippold had Sony's full support, too. "They were pretty good," she said. "As far as it goes in the scriptwriting process, they were excited about the early drafts, so they weren't too hands-on."

Ghostbusters hits theaters July 15.
Bilbao (Spain) (AFP) - Luis Ortiz Alfau was 19 and working at a food warehouse when Spain's civil war began in 1936, as general Francisco Franco led an uprising against a democratically elected Republican government.

Today almost 100, Luis is one of the last surviving witnesses of the atrocities of that conflict, from the bombing of the Basque town of Guernica to the forced labour camps.

"I joined a battalion of the Republican Left in the first days of August in Bilbao," he recalls at his flat in his hometown of Bilbao in northern Spain, surrounded by his archives and his computer.

"As the son of a Republican I had to join because they would surely call me up and I wanted to defend freedom and the legal Popular Front government," adds Luis, wearing a traditional round Basque beret.

Hundreds of thousands of people died in the war, which pitted the elected leftist government against Franco's right-wing Nationalist forces, backed by Hitler and Mussolini.

"We would practise with brooms... we didn't have rifles or any war material," says Luis, a 99-year-old widower who lives alone.

- 'Collect the dead' -

Luis refuses to be presented as a brave hero and says he never fired a single shot during the three-year war that began on July 18, the most devastating conflict in Spanish history.

"I was lucky to be assigned to the transmissions section. I was a living phone. I would go from the battalion command to the trenches with an envelope," he recalls.

"The messages would ask for weapons, they would say, 'We can't hold on' or 'We have had many casualties.'"

His battalion was resting in a neighbourhood in the Basque town of Guernica on April 26, 1937 when German planes dropped dozens of tonnes of bombs -- an atrocity that shocked the world and was immortalised in Picasso's haunting anti-war painting that year named after the town.

"We had to go out and collect the dead and wounded, everything was burning and full of smoke, I had never seen so much blood," he said.

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Historians estimate as many as 1,600 people were killed when aircraft from Hitler's "Condor Legion" sent to Spain to support Franco's forces carpet-bombed the Basque town.

Franco blamed "red vandalism" -- a reference to Communists and other leftists -- for the destruction of the city.

- 'Eat raw lizards' -

In February 1939, Luis fled to neighbouring France where he experienced the hardships of the camps where Spanish Republicans -- deemed "undesirable" -- were confined.

Journalist Ander Izaguirre, who was asked by a Basque government institute to write a biography of Luis, says "what is impressive" about his life story is that he "passed through the most important places of the war and post-war".

When France entered World War II in September 1939 by declaring war against Germany, Luis -- like thousands of other Spaniards -- thought the time was right to return to Spain.

But he was arrested at the border and in June 1940 was sent to one of the 121 forced labour camps that were set up by Franco, according to British historian Antony Beevor, to punish the losing Republican side.

Luis likes to say that he is alive because he knew how to use a typewriter.

Thanks to this skill, he was assigned the job of scribe in the labour camp that was tasked to build a road through the valleys of the frosty Pyrenees mountains on the border with France in "inhuman conditions".

"I was privileged, I stayed with the officials in a small house, but the rank and file were in the outskirts in the barracks for livestock," he recalls.

"Some weighed just 38-40 kilos (83-88 pounds). They would eat vegetable peelings that were thrown to the pigs, even raw lizards."

- 'Slaves of the Franco regime' -

Luis said he still feels "shame" for having contributed, against his own will, to the hunger the prisoners endured when his corrupt lieutenant demanded that he hand over part of the funds meant to buy food.

When he finally returned to Bilbao as a free man in 1943, Luis quickly realised that jobs were reserved for "those who had fought with Franco".

He only found work after he bribed a civil servant to eliminate his record as a former Republican fighter.

Luis, who will turn 100 on October 13, says he is "wonderfully happy" and pleased that he has the chance to bear witness in the name of the former "slaves of the Franco regime".

An amnesty law passed in 1977 -- two years after Franco's death -- pardons crimes committed during the war and dictatorship that followed.

But a judge in Argentina has opened an enquiry into Franco-era crimes and Luis was able to outline "everything that dead Republican prisoners can never tell".
The Hague (AFP) - An international tribunal will hand down a ruling on Tuesday in an increasingly bitter dispute over the South China Sea, in a closely-watched case that risks ratcheting up tensions in Southeast Asia.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) -- the world's oldest international arbitration tribunal -- will issue a written decision at 11:00 am (0900 GMT) after the Philippines challenged China's claim over much of the strategic waterway.

Manila lodged the suit against Beijing in 2013, saying after 17 years of negotiations it had exhausted all other political and diplomatic avenues.

Angered by the move, Beijing refused to participate, adding it would not comply with the ruling by a tribunal with "no jurisdiction" over the issue.

Legal experts agree that after three years of deliberations, two hearings and nearly 4,000 pages of evidence, the court in The Hague is likely to find in Manila's favour -- in a decision with far-reaching ramifications.

"An award from the tribunal that rejects some of China's more dubious claims would provide support for the mainstream views of other states in the region," Cecily Rose, assistant law professor of Public International Law at Leiden University, told AFP.

"China is bound to comply with the award.

"But should it refuse to do so, the tribunal has no enforcement mechanism to which it can turn," Rose said.

- Military tensions -

The judgement comes against the backdrop of frequent military brushes between China and its Asian neighbours the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan, which ring the waters believed to hold untapped oil and gas reserves.

The tensions have also alarmed the United States which has key defence treaties with many regional allies, and in a show of strength last week sent warships to patrol close to some of the reefs and islands claimed by China.

Washington on Friday "urged both parties to comply with the ruling and urge all claimants to avoid provocative actions or statements".

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"Whatever the outcome, the case will not contribute to improved relations between China and other claimants in the South China Sea," Frans-Paul van der Putten, a senior researcher at the Clingendael think-tank, told AFP.

Newly-elected Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said he was optimistic of a favourable ruling, but offered to hold conciliatory talks with China. And he vowed he would not "taunt or flaunt" any favourable ruling.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay, also in a softening of Manila's stance, said Friday the country was willing to share natural resources with China.

But China's state-run media said Friday Beijing will not take "a single step back" in the waterway.

The Asian economic and military powerhouse claims most of the South China Sea, even waters approaching neighbouring countries, as its sovereign territory, basing its arguments on Chinese maps dating back to the 1940s marked with a so-called "nine-dash line".

Expert Joris Larik from The Hague Institute for Global Justice think-tank pointed out that Manila is aiming to "pierce" the nine-dash line, adding: "China's position and credibility will be weakened if the arbitral panel finds against it."

But Chinese President Xi Jinping said Beijing was "not afraid of trouble" and state-run media urged China to prepare for "military confrontation" in the waters.

China launched drills in the sea on Friday, state media reported, with the navy carrying out combat exercises with live missiles according to the PLA Daily, the military's official newspaper.

- No 'historic' claim -

Manila stresses it is not asking the court to resolve sovereignty or delimit boundaries, but is seeking decisions on some key points.

Referring to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, Manila contends the "nine-dash" line has no basis under international law and Beijing has no "historic" claim to the waters.

Manila has further argued that Beijing violated the convention by preventing it from exercising its fishing and exploration rights and that Chinese fishing boats have irreversibly damaged coral reefs.

The Philippine government also says some of the "islands" claimed by Beijing are merely rocks, and not entitled to a "territorial sea" or an exclusive economic zone.

Tensions between China and its neighbours in the sea have at times flared into open conflict including in 1988 when Vietnam and China fought a naval battle on Johnson Reef in the Spratly Islands which killed about 70 Vietnamese.

The sea's shipping lanes connect East Asia with Europe and the Middle East, and over $5 trillion (4.5 trillion euros) in ship-borne trade passes through them annually.
By Letitia Stein (Reuters) - Two Houston police officers fatally shot an African-American man who pointed a gun at them despite their commands that he lower his weapon, authorities said on Saturday, two days after five Dallas policemen were slain by a black military veteran. The two Houston officers, both Hispanic, encountered a man standing in the middle of a street with a revolver around 12:40 a.m. while on a routine patrol, police spokeswoman Jodi Silva said. The officers exited their patrol vehicle to speak to the man, who initially had the firearm pointed to the sky. The officers ordered him to lower the weapon, Silva said. "He instead deliberately and slowly lowers his arm and allows it to come to a stop at his waist," Silva said. "Now the gun is pointed directly at officers." Fearing for their safety and for nearby witnesses, both officers discharged their weapons, striking the man, she said. The man's motive remains unknown. The suspect, who did not fire his gun, died at the scene. His identity was not immediately released. The incident unfolded after police came under fire in at least three states on Thursday and Friday, as protests over police use of force against black people escalated around the country. A police officer in Ballwin, Missouri, remained in critical condition on Saturday, a day after he was shot during a traffic stop, St. Louis County Police said on Twitter. In Georgia, an officer was ambushed and shot on Friday, and in Tennessee a man grazed a police officer with a bullet on Thursday when he opened fire on a hotel and a highway, killing a woman and wounded several others. Authorities were not sure what prompted the shootings. In the Dallas rampage on Thursday, a black U.S. military veteran who opened fire at a protest said he wanted to "kill white people," killing five police officers and wounding seven others plus two civilians. The protest was organized to decry police shootings of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota earlier this week. In Houston, the officers were placed on administrative duty for three days, following standard procedure, Silva said. Both have a decade or longer of experience with Houston police. She said the department will investigate the incident, which will also be probed by a local district attorney. (This version of the story was refiled to fix headline.) (Reporting by Letitia Stein in Tampa, Fla.; Editing by Leslie Adler)
Berlin (AFP) - Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has blamed the European Commission for the crisis engulfing Europe and called for member states to take back powers from Brussels in a newspaper article due to be published on Monday.

In an editorial for Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Orban will call for the end of the "idealisation of the European project", pointing to Brexit as evidence of the Commission's failings.

He blames the crises engulfing the EU on the opening of the bloc's borders and excessive deficit spending by some member states "with the silent assent" of the Commission, which he claims should have prevented both.

The two greatest European achievements, the common currency and the single market which is protected by the Schengen free-movement area, have both been endangered, he writes.

He claims to have personally helped save Europe and the lifestyle of its people by closing Hungary's borders to migrants, adding that the balance of power within the EU should be altered to favour nation states over European institutions.

Orban drew the ire of Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker by refusing to accept his proposal for a system to resettle migrants arriving in Europe across the bloc via a quota system.

Orban has been the most vocal eastern European opponent to admitting Muslim migrants, saying in October that "Islam has never been part of Europe".
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Indian Kashmir protests after top rebel killed Supporters of Kashmirs main opposition National Conference (NC) party scuffle with Indian policemen during a protest against the recent killings in Kashmir, in Srinagar, August 8, 2016. (Danish Ismail/Reuters)

Government forces have arrested more than a thousand protesters in Indian-controlled Kashmir in an attempt to stem deadly anti-India demonstrations in the Himalayan region, a top policeman said Monday.

Inspector-General Syed Javaid Mujtaba Gillani said the arrests were made over the past two weeks in a bid to end a month of protests in which more than 55 civilians and two policemen have been killed and thousands injured.

Kashmir has been under a security lockdown and curfew since the killing of a popular rebel commander on July 8 sparked some of the largest protests against Indian rule in recent years.

Tens of thousands of people have defied the curfew and participated in street protests, often leading to clashes between rock-throwing residents and government forces firing live ammunition, shotgun pellets and tear gas.

On Monday, tens of thousands of troops patrolled streets ringed with barbed wire and enforced a curfew in most parts of Kashmir. Shops and schools were closed because of the security crackdown and a separatist-sponsored protest strike.

However, protests demanding the end of Indian rule over the region continued in several places, with reports of clashes between protesters and government forces in at least five locations. Seven civilians were reported injured.

Separatist politicians, who challenge Indias sovereignty over Kashmir, have called on residents to resist the crackdown and stage protests when troops raid neighborhoods to arrest young people. (AP)

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Tehran (AFP) - Several thousand cinema lovers joined top artists in Tehran on Sunday to bid farewell to renowned Iranian film director Abbas Kiarostami following his death last week in Paris.

Kiarostami, who won the coveted Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1997 for "Taste of Cherry", emerged from the Iranian New Wave of the late 1960s to become one of the world's most revered directors.

"Thank you for paving the tough road of globalisation for Iranian cinema," director Asghar Farhadi -- whose "A Separation" won the country's only Academy Award to date in 2012 -- told a morning memorial service.

"If there is any enthusiasm or curiosity toward Iranian cinema, it is owed to the steps that you took in those difficult times," Farhadi said.

"Thank you for not abandoning this land despite all the neglect and lack of gratitude," he said.

Kiarostami, who died in France aged 76, had been making films outside Iran for years due to restrictions and difficulties working in the Islamic republic.

Despite the global attention given to his films, Kiarostami did not enjoy official support and his films were rarely shown in Iranian cinemas or on state television.

Some at the memorial service held posters reading "First Welcome, Last Farewell" -- a reference to the lack of official attention Kiarostami received in his homeland.

In a speech at the memorial service, the head of the Iranian culture ministry's cinema department, Hojatollah Ayubi, thanked Kiarostami "for trumpeting the name of Iran in cinema and the world."

The event was held at Tehran's Centre for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults, where Kiarostami became head of the film department in 1969.

Many of those in attendance lamented the lack of official acknowledgement for the director's work.

"We can't ignore such influential figures," said Ebrahim Ghavamipour, 36. "To ignore Kiarostami is to ignore ourselves."

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"We want the world to know how much we value our artists like Kiarostami," said Helia Pakbaz, a 20-year-old theatre student.

Iranian director Jafar Panahi, an old friend of Kiarostami who is banned from working in the Islamic republic, was present at the service but did not make a statement.

Packed with well-known figures from Iran's art scene, the service was a serene event, after calls on social media for those in attendance to act respectfully and avoid taking selfies with celebrities.

Kiarostami's body, which was repatriated to Iran on Friday, was taken to Lavasan, a small town northeast of Tehran, for a private family burial.

Following his death Kiarostami was praised as a "towering figure" in world cinema for his poetic parables of ordinary lives, known for their modest style, dark realism and sly humour.
By Phil Stewart FORWARD OPERATING BASE FENTY, Afghanistan (Reuters) - An Afghan general leading the country's battle against Islamic State has noticed something peculiar about the militant group's fighters: They don't loot ammunition after raids against his forces. For Lieutenant General Mohammad Waziri, it is a clear sign that the militants are well financed. "They have a lot of money. Who's giving it to them? How (are) they getting funds? I don't know," Waziri, the commander of the Afghan army's 201st Selab Corps, told a small group of reporters on Sunday, speaking through a translator. The financing, the persistence of Islamic State attacks and the ease with which its forces are slipping back and forth across the Afghan-Pakistan border, are some of the reasons Waziri is not boasting too much about territorial inroads against the group this year. Many of those advances have been the result of U.S. air strikes against the group launched since U.S. President Barack Obama allowed the U.S. military in January to strike militants linked to Islamic State's offshoot in Afghanistan, known as Islamic State-Khorasan Province. General John Nicholson, the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, said the U.S. strikes had helped reduce the amount of territory where Islamic State has a presence in Nangarhar province to just two or three districts from a maximum of about nine last year. But Nicholson, too, was cautious. "Is it as large as it once was? No. Are we encouraged by the reduction? Absolutely. But we need to keep the pressure on," he told reporters. Militants linked to the Iraq- and Syria-based Islamic State have never made as much progress in Afghanistan. Here, the group is thought to consist mostly of disaffected members of other insurgent movements, including the Taliban, who have often battled Islamic State for control of areas in Nangarhar. Waziri acknowledged an Islamic State presence in Kowt, Achin and Dih Bala districts. Both Waziri and Nicholson, speaking separately, also warned about the group's presence along the border with Pakistan. Waziri said Islamic State militants had training centers and arms depots there and estimated the group had up to 2,000 fighters in the border area. "They come and they leave," Waziri said, speaking at U.S. Forward Operating Base Fenty in Nangarhar province. Nicholson said Pakistan's military leadership had also become concerned about Islamic State's recruitment of Pakistani militants on its side of the Afghan-Pakistan border. "These are the Taliban on the (Pakistan) side of the border who are fighting against Pakistan. Many of them have joined Islamic State," he said. (Editing by Helen Popper)
Jerusalem (AFP) - Israel's Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit said on Sunday he had ordered an "examination" into an unspecified affair involving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, after weeks of media speculation and rumours.

"After receiving information on matters pertaining, among others, to the prime minister," Mandelblit met police and justice officials, after which he decided "to order an examination into the matter," a justice ministry statement read.

"We stress that this is an examination and not a criminal investigation into the prime minister," it read.

The ministry provided no further details, but media said the suspicions involved a money transfer.

A spokesman for Netanyahu said that "as in all of the previous cases" of suspicions against the premier, "this will contain nothing too -- because there's nothing there".

Netanyahu last month acknowledged receiving money from French tycoon Arnaud Mimran, who was on Thursday sentenced to eight years in prison over a scam amounting to 283 million euros involving the trade of carbon emissions permits and the taxes on them.

The allegations against Netanyahu are the latest focused on his spending.

In May, the Israeli state comptroller issued a critical report about Netanyahu's foreign trips, some with his wife and children, between 2003 and 2005 when he was finance minister.
Jerusalem (AFP) - Israel's government on Sunday approved nearly $13 million in financing for the West Bank settlements of Kiryat Arba and within Hebron, officials said, following a wave of Palestinian attacks in the area.

The decision by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing cabinet will see some 50 million shekels ($12.8 million, 11.6 million euros) allocated to "strengthen" the communities.

"Government offices, I must note, have all been recruited to assist the residents who stand heroically in the face of vicious terrorism," Netanyahu said ahead of the approval.

The money will be allocated over three years and be designated to a variety of issues, including social, education and security services, and come from the budgets of the relevant ministries.

Kiryat Arba is a large settlement near Hebron, the largest Palestinian West Bank city, which is also host to several hundred Jewish settlers in a tightly guarded enclave.

The Hebron area settlers have been affected by the recent wave of violence that has rocked Israel and the Palestinian territories since last October.

At least 214 Palestinians, 34 Israelis, two Americans, an Eritrean and a Sudanese have been killed.

The army has said that around 80 of the attacks on Israelis have been carried out by Palestinians from the Hebron area.

Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are considered illegal under international law and major stumbling blocks to peace as they are built on land Palestinians view as part of their future state.

The United States, the European Union and many others in the international community have called for a halt to settlement building.

Netanyahu's government is considered to be the most right-wing in Israel's history, and key members of his cabinet are strong supporters of settlement building and opponents of a Palestinian state.

A similar decision, allocating 70 million shekels ($18 million, 16 million euros) to a variety of settlements, was announced last month. Two officials said Sunday's decision was about new monies.

Also on Sunday, hundreds of Israeli settlers marched between the Palestinian village of Tarama and the Israeli settlement of Otniel, south of Hebron in the occupied West Bank.

The marchers demanded more security for settlements following a wave of deadly attacks carried out by Palestinians in the area during the past week.
(Repeats to change case in dateline)

By Engen Tham

HANGZHOU, China, July 9 (Reuters) - Lawsuits and investigations are an opportunity for Alibaba Group Holding Ltd to be better understood, founder and executive chairman Jack Ma said in an interview on Saturday.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) launched a probe earlier this year into the Chinese e-commerce firm's accounting practices to determine whether they violated federal laws. Questions about Alibaba's growth rate and its relations with affiliated companies have dogged the firm for years.

"If you want to sue us, sue us," Ma said.

"It's an opportunity for us to let them understand what we're doing," he told Reuters, saying he had complied with SEC requests but did not know when the U.S. agency would respond with a finding.

Ma was speaking after the first day of a two-day philanthrophy conference hosted by the Alibaba Foundation, a charitable organization established by the group.

He said Alibaba had been transparent and provided the SEC with everything it had asked for.

In 2014, the now 51-year-old Ma and Alibaba co-founder Joe Tsai pledged share options worth about $3 billion at the time to a newly established charitable trust in the biggest donation of its kind in China.

It took the Jack Ma Foundation a year to register, said Ma.

China boasts more billionaires than anywhere else in the world, yet lags in public philanthropy as the wealthy prefer to keep a low profile.

Ma, who has a net worth of $21.8 billion according to the 2015 Forbes Rich List, said Chinese culture warns that nothing good will come of having a high profile, adding that his dad sent him a message on Friday advising him to keep his low.

Ma said that many private non-government organizations in China were not considered "authentic".

"We find the system does not work, so people stop and say what am I going to do, so sometimes people like us, we do it on our own," said Ma.

Critics say the environment in China for NGOs has become more restrictive this year.

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In new laws governing charities and non-government agencies brought in in the first half of the year, the government has sought to rein in groups that endanger national security, which commentators say gives Beijing the right to close groups as they wish.

In April this year, the founder of China's Tencent Holdings Ltd, Pony Ma, said he plans to donate 100 million company shares, worth more than $2 billion, to a new charity fund in the second biggest philanthropic pledge after Jack Ma's.

(Reporting by Engen Tham; Editing by John Ruwitch and Ruth Pitchford)
TOKYO, July 10 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Sunday it is too early to discuss specific revisions to Japan's pacifist constitution as more debate is needed among various parties.

"At this point, it's meaningless to say yes or no" over potential specific revisions to the constitution, Abe said in a TV interview as results were being counted from an election for the upper house of parliament.

"I have two more years to my term (as Liberal Democratic Party president) and this is a goal of the LDP, so I want to address it calmly," Abe also said.

Abe's ruling coalition and like-minded parties got the two-thirds "super majority" needed to try to revise the post-war constitution for the first time, some TV exit polls showed.

(Reporting by Minami Funakoshi; Editing by William Mallard)
TOKYO (Reuters) - Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Sunday it is too early to discuss specific revisions to Japan's pacifist constitution as more debate is needed among various parties. "At this point, it's meaningless to say yes or no" over potential specific revisions to the constitution, Abe said in a TV interview as results were being counted from an election for the upper house of parliament. "I have two more years to my term (as Liberal Democratic Party president) and this is a goal of the LDP, so I want to address it calmly," Abe also said. Abe's ruling coalition and like-minded parties got the two-thirds "super majority" needed to try to revise the post-war constitution for the first time, some TV exit polls showed. (Reporting by Minami Funakoshi; Editing by William Mallard)
* Ruling bloc, allies, obtain "super majority"

* Abe's LDP fails to get simple majority

* Investors fret over economic policy, charter revision

* Junior coalition partner undecided on constitution change (Adds details, paragraphs 2-3, 5)

By Linda Sieg and Minami Funakoshi

TOKYO, July 10 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling coalition won a landslide victory on Sunday in an election for parliament's upper house, despite concerns about his economic policies and plans to revise the nation's post-war pacifist constitution for the first time.

Final counts showed Abe's coalition, like-minded parties and independents had won the two-thirds "super majority" needed to try to revise the constitution's restraints on the military, a step that could strain ties with China, where memories of Japan's past militarism run deep.

Abe's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) fell one short of winning a simple majority, which would have increased its clout within the coalition. Earlier projections had shown it was within their grasp for the first time since 1989.

Nevertheless, the overall victory will still bolster Abe's grip over the conservative party that he led back to power in 2012 promising to reboot the economy with hyper-easy monetary policy, fiscal spending and reforms.

Abe's junior coalition partner, Komeito, fared well, winning 14 seats compared with nine before the election.

Any attempt to revise the constitution will still be politically fraught and LDP heavyweights have suggested that amending the pacifist Article 9 would not be the first priority.

Abe told a TV broadcaster it was too early to talk about specific revisions to the constitution and his No.2 in the party said separately that talks with the opposition were needed.

"I have two more years to my term (as LDP president) and this is a goal of the LDP, so I want to address it calmly," Abe said.

In Japan, some financial market players fear trying to amend the constitution could divert Abe's energy away from reviving the stuttering economy.

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"The key question will be whether he can carry out (economic) structural reforms," said Nobuhiko Kuramochi, chief strategist at Mizuho Securities. "If Abe fails to do so despite the political freedom he has gained, that will be negative for foreign investors' appetite for Japanese stocks."

Some voters who backed Abe's LDP also said the economy's health was their biggest concern.

"Especially since I see economic growth as the priority, I have little hope for the opposition parties," said Yoshihiko Takeda, a 36-year-old IT company employee.

HOW BIG A MANDATE?

Abe had cast the election as a referendum on "Abenomics". With signs the strategy is failing, the government plans to compile a post-election stimulus package that could exceed 10 trillion yen ($99 billion).

Abe declined to say how big the package might be. Economists worry the government will choose big-ticket infrastructure projects rather than implement tough structural reforms.

Abe said he would reshuffle his cabinet but did not say when or how. There has been speculation that Abe might replace Finance Minister Taro Aso, 75, among others.

His minister for Okinawa, Aiko Shimajiri, lost her seat, along with Justice Minister Mitsuhide Iwaki.

The loss in Okinawa is a slap at a U.S.-Japan plan to relocate a controversial U.S.-Marines airbase on the island, reluctant host to the bulk of America's military forces in Japan.

Abe said he had won a mandate for his economic policies in the election, although the assertion could be weakened by low turnout. "We were given approval for our mandate to powerfully pursue Abenomics. We'd like to continue with our efforts to achieve what we've promised," he said on TV.

Kyodo news agency put turnout at about 54 percent, a bit above the record low of 52.61 percent seen in the last upper house poll three years ago.

The opposition Democratic Party linked up with three smaller parties, including the Japanese Communist Party, to try to stop the pro-constitutional reform camp getting a super majority. Abe's coalition already has a super-majority in the lower house.

Conservatives see the constitution as a humiliating symbol of Japan's defeat in World War Two. Its admirers consider it the source of post-war peace and democracy. Revising the charter needs the approval of two-thirds in both houses of parliament and a majority in a public referendum.

"We think the constitution is something that puts limits on power, but sadly, that's not what the LDP's (revised draft) does," Yukio Edano, Democratic Party Secretary General, said on TV. "If there is no common agreement on this point, then there is no platform on which we can debate individual articles."

Surveys show most voters see no need to revise the constitution and the LDP's dovish coalition partner, Komeito, is reluctant to change its pacifist Article 9. The party's secretary-general, Yoshihisa Inoue, said on TV that views in the party on possible changes had "not come together" yet.

Still, Abe, whose deeper agenda has long centred on revising the U.S.-drafted charter, may be tempted to push ahead.

"With these numbers ... he (Abe) is going to want to see what he can achieve," said Columbia University professor emeritus Gerry Curtis. "That means less attention to the economy and a lot of spinning over the constitution."

($1=100.8700 yen) (Additional reporting by Megumi Lim, Izumi Nakagawa, Elaine Lies, Kiyoshi Takenaka, William Mallard, Leika Kihara, Hideyuki Sano; Editing by Gareth Jones)
Hungarian director Szabolcs Hajdu took home the Grand Prix Crystal Globe and a $25,000 cash award for his film It's Not the Time of My Life at Saturday's conclusion of the 51st edition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

The drama, an intimate study of two families forced to share an unusual apartment, impressed the jury with its taut performances and inventive production.

The director, who also stars in the movie, which draws faithfully from the work of John Cassavetes and Ingmar Bergman, also picked up a best actor award for his role.

A special jury prize of $15,000 was awarded to the second feature from rising Russian talent Ivan Tverdovsky, Zoology, an unusual story of a disillusioned middle-aged woman who grows a tail and embarks upon a thrilling new romance before reality catches up with her.

Best director honors went to Slovenia's Damjan Kozole for Nightlife, which focuses on the lives of a wealthy couple that are irrevocably changed by an accident.

Read More: Willem Dafoe, Charlie Kaufman to Get Karlovy Vary Festival Honors

Zuzana Maurery was named best actress for her role in The Teacher by Czech helmer Jan Hrebejk. There also were special jury mentions for Romanian director Catalin Mitulescu for By the Rails and for veteran Czech filmmaker Jan Nemec for his autobiographical feature The Wolf From Royal Vineyard Street.

In the festival's East of the West competition section, which focuses on films from central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, Georgian director Rusudan Glurildze won the main $15,000 prize for her haunting debut House of Others, which chronicles the fate of a family that moves into a deserted house after a bitter civil war.

Estonia's Triin Ruumet received a special jury prize of $10,000 for The Days That Confused, her debut about post-Soviet life in her country in the 1990s.

Best documentary honors went to Israeli director Alma Har'el for LoveTrue, a study of the nature of human love. There also was a special jury mention for Ama-san, Claudia Varejao's study of Japanese pearl divers.

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The audience award at Karlovy Vary, where thousands of young people ensure screenings are always packed, went to Captain Fantastic, directed by Matt Ross and starring Viggo Mortensen.

The 52nd edition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, hosted in the historic spa town west of Prague, is set to take place June 30-July 8, 2017.

Read More: Charlie Kaufman: "It Has Gotten Considerably Harder for Me" to Get Projects Made
LONDON (Reuters) - World number two Andy Murray produced a masterful performance to beat Canada's Milos Raonic in the Wimbledon men's singles final on Sunday, winning 6-4 7-6(3) 7-6(2). These are the keys to his victory. DEFUSING THE RAONIC SERVE Raonic slammed down a serve at 147mph on Sunday, the fastest in this year's tournament, but his most destructive weapon never intimidated Murray. While Raonic dropped serve just once, he won only 67 percent of points on his first serve, compared to his average of 83 percent en route to the final. Murray only failed to return 26 percent of Raonic's serves, meaning the Canadian had to work far harder than usual to hold serve. MURRAY'S RELIABLE SERVE Murray's first serve percentage was running at 70 percent for most of the match, dipping slightly to 67 percent by the end. Significantly the Scot won 87 percent of points on his first serve and 54 percent on the second serve -- the one area of perceived weakness in his game. Raonic was never able to apply any real pressure to the Murray serve, earning only two break points midway through the third set. MURRAY'S BASELINE DOMINANCE The pre-match thinking was that Raonic's best hope was to keep the points short by being aggressive. But Murray actually won more of the rallies of four shots or less than Raonic. Too often it was Raonic who was made to do the running as the statistics show. Murray covered 2,367 meters in the final, compared to the 2,430 meters Raonic ran. Murray gave nothing away either, making only 12 unforced errors to Raonic's 29. RAONIC NET GAME STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS While Raonic has definitely improved his forecourt game, there is still room for improvement if he is to really worry the likes of Murray and world number one Novak Djokovic. Of the 74 net points he played on Sunday, he won 46. Not a bad return, but not the kind of lethal volleying that could have swung the match. It let him down in the seventh game when he netted a forehand volley on break point -- handing Murray the momentum. (Reporting by Martyn Herman; editing by Ken Ferris)
Former Oasis frontmen Liam and Noel Gallagher cannot work together, and yet they cannot leave each other alone. Recently, Liam, 43, has been posting photos of his brother, 49, and calling him a potato. It began in May, and hes still at it, sending three spud tweets just yesterday. Theres no reason, besides the obvious: The Gallaghers are duty-bound to scorn one another, even if its 6:05 in the morning.

Pouting Potato LG x pic.twitter.com/K8y3AOFeYQ  Liam Gallagher (@liamgallagher) 29 juin 2016

Oasis fans know better than to pick sides, because each brother has spent a lifetime cultivating a specific kind of crude, contemptuous insult. For example: Liam recently withdrew a tweet that contained a homophobic slur. If Ive upset anybody with my tweets I apologise that includes you RKID as you were LG x, he said. RKID is the catalog prefix on Oasis LPs, and our kid is Northern England slang for brother. If you arent looking itll go right past you, but Liams apology for a tasteless gay joke is in fact another, subtler gay joke about Noel.

The elder Gallagher is only a bit less savage: Should he ever climb out of the where are they now basket and grant you an interview, ask him, he told a Toronto Star reporter who inquired about Liam, while simultaneously mocking the Kaiser Chiefs, Foo Fighters, Kasabian, and Coldplays Chris Martin. Back before Oasis broke up, Noel Gallaghers Wikiquote page had an entire section dedicated to poorly attributed digs at pompous arse Damon Albarn, frontman to Oasis Britpop archrivals, Blur.

Looking back now, plenty of the comments the Gallaghers have made over the years are unpleasant. They rarely have anything nice to say about women musicians or artists of color. Their words are full of casual incitements to violence and occasionally hint at a difficult childhood. Once in a while, an odd pop-philosophy gem creeps in, like this one from Noel: Progression is going forwards. Going backwards is regression. Going sideways is just aggression.

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Liam, presumably, understands how it feels to go sideways. These days, his properly sourced Wikiquote page only serves to remind you how very few Oasis songs he wrote. His latest band, Beady Eye, is defunct, while Noel Gallaghers High Flying Birds are currently in the midst of a well-received tour.

Its not difficult to figure out the probable source of Liams jealousy: Noel has turned out to be both Oasis Lennon/McCartney and their Paul McCartney and Wings, and the Gallaghers have never, ever wanted anything as badly as they wanted to inherit the Beatles legacy. They havent by any stretch of the imagination, but if either starts to feel down about it, he knows he can always take a few cheap shots at his brother.

Itll be okay, Liam. Hey, you wrote Songbird, and thats not even close to being the worst Oasis song.
By David Bailey MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) - The mayor of St. Paul, Minnesota and a protest leader on Sunday decried violence that erupted during a demonstration over the police shooting of a black motorist that blocked an interstate for hours and left 21 officers injured. "We will not tolerate the kind of shameless violence we saw throughout the course of the night," St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman said in a news conference. "This doesn't honor anyone's memory." About 300 protesters blocked traffic on Interstate 94 in St. Paul on Saturday night to protest last week's fatal shooting of Philando Castile, 32, in a St. Paul suburb. Officers were pelted with rocks, bottles, concrete, construction materials and fireworks, police said. Rashad Turner, leader of Black Lives Matter St. Paul and one of the protest organizers, told WCCO-TV on Sunday he was very disturbed by the throwing of rocks and bottles at officers, which he attributed to outside agitators from nearby streets, not the protesters on the freeway. "It's ridiculous. It cannot happen. It's not what we do here in St. Paul," Turner said. "It does not honor Philando Castile." Police arrested 50 protesters on the interstate and another 52 who were marching hours later on a street near the governor's mansion in St. Paul that has been the focus of protests since Castile was shot Wednesday night. "It's really a disgrace, St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell said. "Protesters last night turned into criminals. And I am absolutely disgusted by the acts of some, not all, but some." More demonstrations are planned in Minnesota on Sunday. Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton urged people to remain calm and peaceful and exercise their rights to protest lawfully. "The occupation and shutting down of Interstate 94 last night were unlawful and extremely dangerous," said Dayton, who praised police for repeatedly trying to resolve the situation peacefully and protest leaders "who were doing their utmost to stop this very dangerous escalation." Protests have erupted across the nation since the police shootings of Castile in Falcon Heights and Alton Sterling, 37, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The protesters have been undeterred by heightened safety concerns after a gunman killed five police officers during a demonstration in Dallas on Thursday. Police arrested 102 people in Baton Rouge on Saturday night and Sunday morning after confrontations between police and demonstrators that injured two officers, police said. Those arrested in Louisiana included activist and former Baltimore mayoral candidate DeRay Mckesson, officials said. (Reporting by David Bailey in Minneapolis; Additional reporting by Bryn Stole in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Editing by Paul Simao)
Micah Johnson/Instagram(DALLAS) -- The suspected gunman in the attack on Dallas law enforcement was accused of sexual harassment during his military deployment in Afghanistan, a military lawyer said.



Micah Xavier Johnson was a private first class in the U.S. Army Reserve serving in Afghanistan when he was accused of sexually harassing a higher-ranking female soldier in May 2014, military lawyer Bradford Glendening told ABC News. Glendening, who represented Johnson in the case, said the woman requested a military protective order against his client.



Johnson had been sent to Afghanistan in November 2013 but was sent back to the United States six months after his deployment because of the alleged harassment, Glendening said. The lawyer added that Johnson's chain of command recommended he be removed from the Army with an "other than honorable" discharge, the most severe administrative discharge. But, ultimately, Johnson was not discharged in this way, Glendening said.



Glendening told ABC News he got the sense Johnson was generally disliked by his unit and was viewed as not exhibiting respect for his commanders.



At least 12 officers were shot, and five of them killed, in downtown Dallas Thursday night, with the shots raining down during a protest against the fatal shootings earlier in the week week by police of two black men: Alton Sterling in Louisiana and Philando Castile in Minnesota. Some of the officers were shot in the back. Two civilians were also injured in the ambush-style shooting, police said.



Johnson, 25, was identified as the suspected gunman. After barricading himself inside a building, Johnson told hostage negotiators he was angry about recent shootings of black men by police and that he wanted to kill white people, especially police officers. He also indicated there were possible explosives in the area, police said.



After the hours-long standoff with law enforcement, Jonson was killed by officers who detonated a bomb delivered by robot, which appears to be the first time the tactic was employed.



The suspect had "plenty of options to give himself up peacefully," Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said Friday afternoon. "He had a choice to come out and we would not harm him, or stay in and we would. He picked the latter."



Jeppi Carnegie, owner of Touch of Kindness LLC, said Johnson had worked for the residential health care company since January 2015. He worked from his mother's home in Mesquite and cared for his 21-year-old brother, Carnegie told ABC News.



Carnegie described Johnson as a "good employee" and a "family man" who loved his younger brother. The company never had any issues with Johnson who was always volunteering to work more hours.



Although Carnegie said the company was aware that Johnson was, as Carnegie put it, "pro-black," he wasn't aware of his employee having any affiliations with militant, radical groups. He said he was "surprised and disappointed" when he found out Johnson was a suspect in the Dallas ambush.

Copyright  2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
CHICAGO  Abbott Laboratories has a new trick up its sleeve: the disappearing heart stent.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the companys Absorb stent that is designed to dissolve after treating a blocked blood vessel, Abbott said Tuesday. The technology is the first of its kind in the U.S.

The Absorb bioresorbable stent treats coronary artery disease without committing people to a permanent metal implant  giving them peace of mind and helping them get back to their daily lives without the concern of having a permanent metallic implant, Deepak Nath, senior vice president in Abbotts vascular division, said in a news release. Were very excited to bring the promise of Absorb to patients in the United States.

The device, already sold in more than 100 countries, has the potential to improve the fight against heart disease by reducing the bodys exposure to foreign substances. Stents are tiny mesh tubes designed to prop open clogged arteries. Traditional metal stents restrict vessel movement and limit future treatment options. Absorb is made of a degradable material, similar to disappearing medical stitches, that slowly disappears in about three years, Abbott said.

Absorb performed as well as a drug-coated metallic stent, also made by Abbott called Xience, in a human clinical trial of about 2,000 patients. But the study also found a slightly higher incidence of blood clotting, or thrombosis, in patients who received Absorb, which makes some cardiology researchers wary.

An FDA advisory panel overwhelmingly endorsed the dissolving stent in March, leading to regulatory approval. Dr. John Somberg of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, who was on the advisory panel and voted in favor of Absorb, said the benefits outweighed the risks.

The panel felt this could be a game-changer in terms of technology, and it performed essentially the same as the best in the field, Somberg said.

Patients who receive metallic stents have to take drugs to protect them from blood clotting. With Absorb, the hope is that patients will not have to take the anti-clotting drugs long term, Somberg said.

Coronary heart disease is responsible for about 370,000 deaths each year in the U.S., according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Heart stents are used on about 850,000 patients each year in the U.S. alone, according to The Associated Press.

The coronary stents market is largely dominated by a few key players, including Abbott, Boston Scientific and Medtronic. Abbotts sales of coronary devices, which includes other products, fell 7 percent last year, because of the negative effects of a strong U.S. dollar. Excluding foreign currency effects, sales rose 1 percent.

Abbott declined to disclose Absorbs price. A company spokesman said Absorb will be modestly higher priced than the companys conventional stents.
Mexico City (AFP) - There was no third time's a charm for Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.

Faced with rampant social media rumors of a third escape by the slippery Sinaloa drug cartel honcho, the Mexican government has released a picture of what looks like Guzman in prison in the northern city of Ciudad Juarez.

Interior Minister Miguel Angel Osorio Chong published the picture on his Twitter account late Friday, with the short phrase: "For the rumors, an image..."

The picture -- a screen grab from a computer -- apparently shows Guzman wearing a tan-colored long-sleeve shirt while sitting at a black table in what looks like an indoor common area with white walls. There are four doors behind him and prison officials whose faces are not pictured.

The National Security Commission also released a statement saying that "Inmate number 3912 is locked up in his cell in the maximum security wing of the penitentiary."

Guzman escaped from a high security prison in western Mexico in 2001 by hiding in a laundry cart.

He was captured 13 years later and escaped again in July 2015, this time fleeing through a 1.5 kilometer (one-mile) tunnel that opened into his cell's shower in the Altiplano prison near Mexico City.

Guzman, 59, was returned to the Altiplano prison after he was recaptured in January.

But he was unexpectedly transferred to the Ciudad Juarez penitentiary in May, with authorities saying it was part of a regular rotation of inmates and also due to a security upgrade at the Altiplano.

Guzman is appealing attempts to extradite him to the United States.
Washington (AFP) - The Minnesota police officer whose fatal shooting of a black driver this week helped prompt nationwide protests against racial prejudice reacted to the mans gun, not his race, his lawyer said.

Jeronimo Yanez, a police officer in St. Anthony, a Minneapolis suburb, "was reacting to the presence of a gun" when he shot Philando Castile, Minneapolis attorney Thomas Kelly told The New York Times.

Castile, 32, was shot Wednesday after he was pulled over in Falcon Heights, near Minneapolis, for a broken tail light.

Amplifying the horror was the video live-streamed in the shooting's aftermath by the slain man's girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, as she sat in the passenger seat. Her four-year-old daughter was sitting in the back seat.

Castile was shot after informing the officer that he had a gun and a permit to carry, and then reaching for his wallet, according to Reynolds.

He was the second black man in two days fatally shot by US police. They are the latest in a string of similar cases that have fueled outrage across the United States, from city streets to the White House.

Although Kelly provided the fullest account so far of Yanezs version of the shooting on Wednesday, many details remain unclear.

Yanez, who is Latino, is on leave while the state authorities are investigating the shooting.

"The shooting had nothing to do with race and everything to do with the presence of that gun," Kelly told the Times.

Castile "was not following the directions of the police officer," he added, declining to provide more details, the paper said.

There was "more than the reason for the equipment violation" to stop Castile's car, Kelly said, without specifying other reasons, the Times said.

Governor Mark Dayton, who met with protesters and black leaders, has expressed sympathy for the Castile family and concerns about the role of race in the shooting, infuriating some in law enforcement.

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"Would this have happened if those passengers  the driver and the passengers  were white?" he said Thursday. "I dont think it wouldve."

The fatal shooting of Castile and another black man, Alton Sterling, in Louisiana the previous day, prompted protests against police brutality toward African Americans under the banner of the Black Lives Matter movement.

During a protest in Dallas on Thursday, a lone gunman bent on revenge opened fire on police, killing five officers and wounding seven others, deepening divisions in a shocked country. The authorities identified the Dallas shooter, who was black, as an Army veteran who was later killed by police.

Fresh protests were planned on Saturday.
Moscow (AFP) - Moscow on Sunday slammed NATO for focusing on a "non-existent" threat from Russia at a leaders summit in Warsaw that saw fears over the Kremlin's expansionism high on the agenda.

"A preliminary analysis of the results of the meeting shows that NATO continues to exist in some sort of military-political looking-glass world," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

"Contrary to the objective interests of maintaining peace and stability in Europe... the alliance concentrates its efforts on deterring a non-existent threat from the East," the statement said.

NATO leaders united in Warsaw Saturday behind a "hard-headed" policy of deterrence and dialogue with Russia after launching the alliance's biggest military revamp since the Cold War to counter a resurgent Moscow.

Alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg said alliance leaders "stand together" on Russia, agreeing at a summit in Warsaw to bolster its eastern flank after Moscow's annexation of Crimea and the Ukraine conflict.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has opposed NATO's decision to put four battalions in Poland and the Baltic states, seeing the expansion into Moscow's Soviet-era backyard as a direct security threat.

"The alliance is united, we stand together," Stoltenberg said when asked about the leaders' talks on Russia.

"The united message is that defence and dialogue are what our relationship is based on."

NATO will hold fresh talks with Russia on July 13 in Brussels just days after the landmark alliance summit.
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Saturday that a NATO summit in Warsaw showed that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was focusing its efforts on containing a non-existent "threat from the East". At a meeting of the NATO-Russia council on July 13, Moscow will seek explanations for the alliance's plans, the spokeswoman for the foreign ministry, Maria Zakharova, said in a statement. Russia will also seek an explanation from NATO for a Finnish plan to improve air defenses over the Baltic Sea, she said in the statement. (Reporting by Polina Devitt; editing by Christian Lowe)
By Ju-min Park SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea fired a ballistic missile from a submarine on Saturday, but it appears to have failed soon after launch, South Korea's military said. The launch comes at the end of a week of sharply rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula, and only a day after the United States and South Korea pledged to deploy an advanced anti-missile system to counter threats from Pyongyang North Korea on Thursday warned it was planning its toughest response to what it deemed a "declaration of war" by the United States. The warning followed Washington's blacklisting of the isolated state's leader Kim Jong Un for alleged human rights abuses. South Korea's Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that the missile was launched at about 11:30 a.m. Seoul time (0230 GMT) in waters east of the Korean Peninsula. The missile was likely fired from a submarine as planned, but appears to have failed in the early stage of flight, the Joint Chiefs said. Japan, the United States and South Korea's military condemned the missile launch as a flagrant violation of United Nations sanctions. South Korea's Yonhap news agency said the missile's engine successfully ignited, but the projectile soon exploded in mid-air at a height of about 10 km (6 miles), and covered not more than a few kilometers across the water. The South's military declined to confirm those details citing its policy of not publicly commenting on intelligence matters. The missile was detected in the sea, southeast of the North Korean city of Sinpo, South Korea's military said. Satellite images indicate Pyongyang is actively trying to develop its submarine-launched ballistic missile program in this area, according to experts. The U.S. Strategic Command, whose mission is to detect and prevent strategic attacks against the United States and its allies, said it had detected what it believed was a KN-11 submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM). It was fired near Sinpo, the North's east coast port, and then fell into the sea between there and Japan, the command said in a statement. JAPAN CONDEMNS LAUNCH Reclusive North Korea and the rich, democratic South are technically still at war because their 1950-53 conflict ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty. The North regularly threatens to destroy Japan, South Korea and the South's main ally, the United States. The missile launch is a "clear challenge to U.N. Security Council resolutions," Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Saturday, according to the Kyodo news agency. "We should strongly condemn the launch by working with the international community," Abe told reporters, but said the launch did not gravely affect Japan's national security. The United States said it was monitoring and assessing the situation in close coordination with its regional allies and partners. "We strongly condemn North Korea's missile test in violation of UN Security Council Resolutions, which explicitly prohibit North Korea's use of ballistic missile technology," said Gabrielle Price, spokeswoman for the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs at the U.S. State Department. "These actions, and North Korea's continued pursuit of ballistic missile and nuclear weapons capabilities, pose a significant threat to the United States, our allies, and to the stability of the greater Asia-Pacific," she added. The North has conducted a string of military tests that began in January with its fourth nuclear test and included the launch of a long-range rocket the following month. The U.N. Security Council imposed harsh new sanctions on the country in March for its nuclear test and rocket launch. North Korea rejects the sanctions as infringement of its sovereignty and its right to space exploration. In late June, North Korea launched what appeared to be an intermediate-range missile to a high altitude before it plunged into the sea after covering 400 km in the direction of Japan, South Korean military officials said. That was widely seen as a technological advance for the North after several test failures. South Korea and the United States said on Friday they would deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system with the U.S. military in South Korea to counter the threat from nuclear-armed North Korea, drawing a sharp and swift protest from neighboring China, Pyongyang's sole major ally. China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Saturday that THAAD exceeded the security needs of the Korean Peninsula. "We have every reason, and the right, to question the real conspiracy behind this move," Wang was quoted by state news agency Xinhua as saying during a trip to Sri Lanka. Pyongyang last conducted a test of a submarine-launched ballistic missile in April, calling it a "great success" that provided "one more means for powerful nuclear attack," although it had not had a successful SLBM test flight. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Warsaw, U.S. Army General Curtis Scaparrotti, the top NATO commander and former commander of U.S. forces in South Korea, said he worried about North Korea's potential to hit the continental United States with a ballistic missile. "Kim Jong Un and his regime continue to test and work on their ballistic missile capability, and with every launch they're getting better and they're working out their problems," Scaparrotti said. "It's a serious threat." A report on 38 North, a website run by the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University, said that "even with frequent testing, North Korea's SLBM program still faces significant technical challenges and will likely require several years to deliver an operational system." (Additional reporting by Jack Kim in SEOUL, Taiga Uranaka in TOKYO, John Ruwitch in SHANGHAI and Yeganeh Torbati in WARSAW; editing by Ed Davies and G Crosse)
After a week of high-profile violence perpetrated both by and against police officers, leaders across the country issued ritual calls for calm and made broad declarations about the need for police officers and the communities where they work to come to some sort of mutual understanding. To stop talking past each other and to be partners in a conversation about the countrys racial tensions.

If it all sounds very familiar, thats because weve heard it before. In the wake of the Michael Brown shooting and the protests that followed in Ferguson, Missouri. After Eric Garners death after being placed in a chokehold by police and the protests that followed. After Freddie Gray. After Tamir Rice. After so many, many others.

Related: Tragic Shootings Bring Out the Best in Trump and Gingrich

Now weve begun to hear it again after five police officers guarding a protest against police violence against black Americans were gunned down in Dallas last week by a black man seeking to retaliate against white police. Then, on Saturday night, people were arrested by the scores in Minnesota and Louisiana, when protests of last weeks police shootings of two African American men turned violent or disruptive.

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, who was the Obama administrations envoy to the Sunday talk shows this morning, may have set a record for banality in his analysis of the situation.

Violence never solves anything, he said. An eye for an eye leaves everybody blind, and this is a time to heal, a time to come together, a time to mourn

Its all become so repetitive, in fact, that its a testament to the self-control of Cornell William Brooks, president and CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People that he didnt beat his head on the desk Sunday morning when Face the Nation host John Dickerson asked him to talk about what needs to be done. Because, as he explained, we already do know -- we just arent doing it.

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Related: Americans Cant Stop Watching this Car Wreck of an Election

Everybody on both sides is saying don't paint the other with a broad brush, Dickerson said. Help people understand how to talk about the changes you think need to be made in the police force, but then also respect these people who are brave and take risks and serve their community.

We're at a moment where we know what to do, Brooks said. The president has issued his task force -- recommendations from his 21st Century Policing Task Force. The NAACP issued a report called "Born Suspect." We have police departments that know how to get it right. We just have to develop the will to get it right.

Brooks mentioned a number of concrete steps, including passing, at the federal level, the End Racial Profiling Act and the Law Enforcement Trust and Integrity Act. He called for state level action to pass racial profiling laws, police body camera and dashboard camera laws, and establishing civilian police review boards.

The point being here is, we know what to do legislatively, Brooks repeated. We know what to do from a policy perspective. But at the end of the day, John, to bring about the kind of change we need, we need to ensure that every demonstrator is a voter and that we show up en masse and in the millions at the polls in November, because we need to bring about reform at the state and municipal and at the federal level, and, of course, call upon our presidential candidates to take racial profiling seriously and address it in their party platforms and in their campaigns.

Related: GOP Calls for Unity, but Trump Shows Just How Hard that Will Be

Given the state of the presidential campaign, that last hope may be in vain, but at least one member of the Senate said that he expects both the presumptive Republican nominee, Donald Trump, and the presumptive Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, to make an effort.

I think both of the candidates, their challenge over the coming weeks is to show that they can do that, and I think there is going to be a sincere effort in the Trump campaign to do so, said Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker. My guess is the same thing will be happening in the Clinton campaign.

I hope that both of these candidates candidly will rise to the occasion and on this particular issue bring people together, Corker said.

However, his Democratic colleague Sen. Corey Booker of New Jersey was skeptical, at least with regard to Trump, who has generally inflamed racial tensions with his rhetoric rather than cooling them.

Words matter, Booker said. When I hear a presidential candidate like Donald Trump gratuitously demeaning women, demeaning Muslims, demeaning Latinos, at a time when our country needs reconciliation? We need people that bind our wounds and build bridges across out chasms. To see someone so callously stoking hate and fear and inflaming divide...this is not the person to be president of the United States.

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Paris (AFP) - A drawing by Edgar Degas that was seized by Nazi Germany in 1940 and returned to its rightful owner in May fetched 462,500 euros ($511,000) at auction on Sunday, organisers said.

An Italian collector purchased the 1898 drawing, titled "Trois Danseuses en Buste" by telephone, according to the Osenat auction house in Fontainebleau near Paris.

The work had been valued at between 350,000 and 450,000 euros.

The drawing was confiscated in August 1940 from the Paris home of Maurice Dreyfus, a doctor.

It was found in 1951 in a closet of the former German embassy in Paris, and given to the Louvre Museum before it was identified as the property of the Dreyfus family.

"We received a gift from heaven when we learned that they found the Degas drawing," Dreyfus's daughter Viviane told AFP. "It's as if my father gave us a gift from beyond the grave. We are very moved."
PITTSBURGH  When the Pittsburgh Paid Family Leave of Absence passed in spring 2015, Chuck ONeill assumed the rule granting six weeks of paid leave for public sector employees applied only to mothers.

A few weeks later, he read an article about the policy and realized it included fathers as well.

Holy heck, this is amazing, he thought.

He soon figured paperwork was all that separated him from spending six weeks at his Summer Hill home with his son Mason, who was then a few months old.

ONeill had just begun his job as fleet contract manager for the City of Pittsburgh. Thats why he chose to take his leave later in the summer, when hed be settled into his job and his son could go on day care summer recess. On Aug. 1, 2015, ONeill went on paid parental leave.

Across much of the country, a parental leave crisis looms. Only about 12 percent of private sector workers in the U.S. have access to paid family leave through their employers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The 2014 National Study of Employers, a private study of large employers, found 58 percent reported providing some pay during maternity leave, but only 14 percent reported providing some paid paternity leave.

A Department of Labor survey shows 9 out of 10 fathers take some time off work for their newborn, but 70 percent take 10 days or fewer.

In Pittsburgh, just nine of 3,377 city employees cited a new child as the reason for taking unpaid leave in 2013.

For many Americans, the costs associated with taking time off of work mean that paid leave  a rarity  is the only way they can afford to do it.

Having a baby is one of the most financially significant times of your life and can result in serious financial hardship, said Ashleigh Deemer, chief of staff for Pittsburgh Councilwoman Natalia Rudiak. Rudiak introduced the legislation giving city employees six weeks of fully paid leave. For a lot of people, unpaid leave may not be an option.

A growing number of corporations  many of them large  have implemented paid leave policies in the past year. Facebook has extended its leave program from four weeks to four months. Amazon is up to six weeks from zero. Twitter has doubled its leave time from 10 weeks to 20.

Yet while the concept of a more balanced work-family life is gaining recognition, the U.S. remains the only developed nation without a federal parental leave policy.

Were very, very behind the 8-Ball in terms of supporting both parents for paid leave nationally, said Beth Brascugli De Lima, CEO of HRM Consulting, a San Francisco human resources consulting firm.

Had the Pittsburgh policy not been passed, ONeill, 36, said he wouldnt have gotten the six weeks with his son that, as he said, changed his life. During their time together, he took Mason, now 20 months old, to the park. They swam in the family pool in the backyard. Instead of waking up at 5:45 a.m. to spend nine hours a day at day care, Mason could sleep in, hang out in his pajamas and play with his dad.

The leave capped an emotional year and a half for ONeill and his wife, Liz.

When Liz ONeill was 24 weeks pregnant, doctors said Mason was at risk of being born early. She visited the doctor three days a week. Her stress levels rose to the point where her blood pressure was 170 over 110.

Cramps when she was six months pregnant began to hamper her ability to stand or walk. So she went on bed rest, only to find out later that those cramps were contractions. For the month leading up to Masons birth, she was in the hospital.

Mason was born Oct. 10, 2014, six weeks premature. After a month in the hospital, ONeill had only two weeks of paid leave left. Mason had to go to day care at 8 weeks old, weighing just 4  pounds. He had a rare condition in which the neck muscles contract, causing the head to twist to one side.

Every day I struggled with, Why am I working? ONeill said. I wanted to stay at home but I couldnt. So for Chuck to be able to do that was just awesome. Mason deserved that.

I thought about what it would have been like if I hadnt had (the time off), ONeill said. I cant answer that, I dont know. He and I know each other a lot better, exponentially more than we would have if I hadnt had those six weeks.

It made me realize just how important it is to be there for him on a day-to-day basis. It made me realize hes the No. 1 priority in my life. If something seems like its not going well at work, or my team didnt win a game, it makes all that seem much more meaningless.

As for Mason  a year removed from a time when he was on neither the height nor weight percentile chart  hes caught up physically with the rest of kids his age. At 20 months old, hes right where he should be.
London (AFP) - Britain's Angela Eagle was set Monday to launch a bid to unseat Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the main opposition Labour Party, part of the fallout of last month's Brexit vote.

Corbyn, a veteran socialist who has been in the job since November, has been under pressure to resign over his lukewarm campaigning in favour of Britain remaining in the EU.

On June 28, 172 of 230 Labour members of parliament approved a non-binding motion of no confidence in him, while 40 backed him to remain on as Labour leader.

Following are the stages involved in choosing a new leader:

- Candidates step forward -

To launch a fresh leadership election, an MP must have the nominations of at least 20 percent of the party's MPs and Members of the European Parliament.

There are currently 230 MPs and 20 MEPs, meaning a candidate in the current race must have 50 nominations.

If Corbyn stepped down, contenders would need 15 percent support, or 38 nominations.

Angela Eagle is presenting her candidacy on Monday. Other candidates could potentially come forward.

The terms of the contest will be decided by the party's ruling National Executive Committee (NEC).

- Corbyn on the ballot? -

Corbyn has said he will stand again in the event of a leadership contest. He insists that, under party rules, his name would automatically be on the ballot. But other senior party figures suggest he will need to get 50 nominations too, which could prove very difficult.

If the NEC decides he is not automatically on the ballot, Corbyn has said he will mount a legal challenge.

Len McCluskey, general secretary of Unite, Britain's biggest trade union and Labour's biggest financial backer, warned Saturday that "any attempts to keep Jeremy Corbyn, elected just 10 months ago with an enormous mandate, off the ballot paper by legal means risks a lasting division in the party".

- New election -

Once the candidates are known, party members and other categories of supporters can place their vote by post or over the internet, subject to restrictions set by the NEC.

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Labour had around 400,000 members in January 2016, up from 200,000 in May 2015.

The surge has largely been attributed to Corbyn, who said Sunday the party now had half a million members.

If there are more than two candidates, voters rank them in order of preference.

If no candidate gets more than 50 percent, then the one with the fewest votes is eliminated until someone does.

If Corbyn himself is a candidate, he could be comfortably re-elected, opening the possibility of a split in the party, with moderates leaving the fold, as happened in 1981.
By Philip O'Connor (Reuters) - Brazil's Amanda Nunes stunned the mixed martial arts world with a first-round submission win over Miesha Tate to claim the women's bantamweight title at the UFC 200 event in Las Vegas. Despite its brevity, the fight at the sold-out T-Mobile Arena easily lived up to its billing as the main event. Tate was rocked early by punches from strike specialist Nunes, who switched her attention to submission attempts when the fight went to the mat and quickly finished Tate with a rear naked choke after 3:16 of the first round. It was the same submission Tate used to claim the title from Holly Holm in March, and the belt has now changed hands three times in nine months since Holm beat Ronda Rousey. "Oh my God, 10 years of my life working for this moment! I feel amazing!" an elated Nunes said after being presented with the belt. In the other title fight on the card, Nunes' fellow Brazilian Jose Aldo took a step closer to reclaiming the featherweight title he lost to Conor McGregor at UFC 192 by beating Frankie Edgar in an unanimous decision. Having been stopped by McGregor in just 13 seconds last December, the fleet-footed Aldo put on a clinical display of counter-punching to outpoint the aggressive but ineffective Edgar to claim the interim title. The defeat put an end to Edgar's five-fight win streak that stretches back to his previous defeat to Aldo in February 2013, which also was a unanimous decision. "Frankie's a great guy and I respect him, but I have one goal and that's to beat this guy (McGregor)," Aldo said. McGregor is due to face Nate Diaz, who he lost to in March, in a welterweight bout on Aug. 20 and after that he is expected to drop down two weight classes to meet Aldo. The bout between Tate and Nunes was elevated after a positive doping test saw light heavyweight Jon Jones withdraw from his title fight against champion Daniel Cormier. Cormier was instead pitted against former middleweight champ Anderson Silva, widely regarded as one of the greatest fighters in the sport, who stepped in with two days' notice. Former Olympic wrestler Cormier wasted no time taking the fight to the mat where he utilized his skills to dominate his 41-year-old Brazilian opponent on the way to a comfortable victory on the scorecards. Popular former UFC heavyweight champion and current WWE wrestler Brock Lesnar returned to the octagon after a four-year absence to defeat Mark Hunt after three tough rounds. In the other heavyweight bout on the card, Cain Velasquez scored a TKO victory over Travis Brown, the referee calling a halt with just three seconds left in the first round. (Reporting by Philip O'Connor in Stockholm; Editing by Greg Stutchbury)
WARSAW (Reuters) - President Barack Obama, at his last NATO summit before stepping down next January, pledged the United States' long-term military commitment to ensuring security in Europe and defending all its allies. Obama said the Western defense alliance had agreed on the most significant reinforcement of its collective defense since the Cold War by agreeing to deploy forces in the Baltic states and Poland in response to Russia's seizure of Crimea from Ukraine. "What will never change (is) the unwavering commitment of the United States to the security and defense of Europe, of our transatlantic relationship and the commitment to our common defense," he said. His comments came against the backdrop of a U.S. presidential election campaign in which presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump has called NATO "obsolete" and suggested Europeans should take care of their own defense. Obama sought to turn more U.S. strategic attention to Asia during his presidency but has been dragged back to Europe and the Middle East by conflicts in Ukraine and Syria. The president said NATO had halted its long-term collective decline in defense spending after many years and was starting to increase military budgets in response to an array of threats from terrorism, a resurgent Russia, and instability on its southern rim. Noting that next year will mark the 100th anniversary of the first deployment of U.S. troops on European soil during World War One, he said: "In good times and in bad, Europe can count on the United States, always." The United States still has some 60,000 troops deployed in a dozen European countries, although force levels are far below the 300,000 level during the Cold War, which ended in 1989 with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union. (Reporting by Paul Taylor and Robin Emmott; editing by Andrew Roche)
Washington (AFP) - President Barack Obama will travel Tuesday to Dallas where he will address an interfaith service in honor of the five officers shot dead in the Texas city during a protest against police brutality, the White House said.

"On Tuesday, July 12th, at the invitation of Mayor Rawlings, the President will travel to Dallas, Texas to deliver remarks at an interfaith memorial service at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center," spokesman Josh Earnest said in a statement.
U.S. President Barack Obama will travel to Dallas, Texas on Tuesday to deliver remarks after a sniper killed five police officers in the city, the White House said on Sunday.

"On Tuesday ... the President will travel to Dallas, Texas to deliver remarks at an interfaith memorial service at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said in a statement.
By Ayesha Rascoe and Ernest Scheyder WARSAW/DALLAS (Reuters) - President Barack Obama, seeking to soothe raw emotions after a former U.S. soldier killed five policemen in Dallas and high-profile police shootings of two black men in Minnesota and Louisiana, has urged Americans not to view the United States as being riven into opposing groups. "First of all, as painful as this week has been, I firmly believe that America is not as divided as some have suggested," Obama, who will cut short his European trip on Sunday to visit Dallas, told a weekend news conference in Warsaw. "When we start suggesting that somehow there's this enormous polarization, and we're back to the situation in the '60s, that's just not true," Obama added. "You're not seeing riots, and you're not seeing police going after people who are protesting peacefully." Authorities named former U.S. Army Reserve soldier Micah Johnson, a 25-year-old African-American, as the lone gunman in Thursday night's sniper attack in Dallas, which came at the end of a march by hundreds of demonstrators decrying the fatal police shootings of black men days earlier. Officials said Johnson had embraced militant black nationalism and expressed anger over shootings by police as well as a desire to "kill white people, especially white officers." Dallas remained on edge on Saturday, with police headquarters and surrounding blocks cordoned off and SWAT teams deployed after police received an anonymous threat against officers across the city. Police searched a headquarters parking garage for a "suspicious person" but no suspect was found. Thursday's deadly rally in Dallas followed the fatal police shootings of Philando Castile, 32, near St. Paul, Minnesota, on Wednesday, and Alton Sterling, 37, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Tuesday. Obama said "Americans of all races and all backgrounds are rightly outraged by the inexcusable attacks on police, whether it's in Dallas or any place else." He added they also are rightly saddened and angered about the deaths of Sterling and Castile, and about "the larger, persistent problem of African-Americans and Latinos being treated differently in our criminal justice system." Obama, the first black U.S. president whose term in office ends next January, said he hopes he has been able to get all Americans to understand the nation's difficult legacy of race. Obama said Americans cannot let the actions of a few define all. "The demented individual who carried out those attacks in Dallas - he's no more representative of African-Americans than the shooter in Charleston was representative of white Americans, or the shooter in Orlando or San Bernardino were representative of Muslim-Americans," Obama added, referring to a string of mass shootings in the past year. Seven other police officers and two civilians were wounded in Dallas. Johnson was killed by a bomb-carrying robot deployed in a parking garage where he had holed up and refused to surrender during hours of negotiations with police. PROTESTS CONTINUE While Thursday's attack stunned Dallas into mourning, it did not stop demonstrations on Saturday against killings by police, with protesters blocking major roads in various cities. Hundreds of protesters shut down I-94, a major thoroughfare linking the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Protesters, warned to disperse, threw rocks, bottles, Molotov cocktails and construction rebar at officers, injuring at least three, St. Paul police said. Police began making arrests and used smoke bombs and marking rounds to disperse the crowd. Protesters at the scene said police fired tear gas and rubber bullets. In Baton Rouge, scuffles broke out between riot police and demonstrators. About 30 arrests were reported. There were protests in other cities including Washington, San Francisco, Nashville, Tennessee, and Indianapolis, Indiana. About a thousand demonstrators turned out in New York, where they stymied traffic on busy Fifth Avenue and shouted chants such as "No racist police, no justice, no peace," leading to about a dozen arrests. Police use of force, particularly against African-Americans, has come under intense scrutiny in the past two years because of a string of high-profile deaths in cities from Ferguson, Missouri, to New York. GUN CONTROL Obama, who has been blocked by the Republican-led U.S. Congress in his bid for new gun-control measures, expressed new frustration over lax firearms laws in the United States, saying it is unique among advanced countries in the scale of violence it experiences. "With respect to the issue of guns, I am going to keep on talking about the fact that we cannot eliminate all racial tension in our country overnight. We are not going to be able to identify ahead of time and eliminate every madman or troubled individual who might want to do harm against innocent people. But we can make it harder for them to do so," Obama said. Illustrating the divide among Americans over gun rights, Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton told Reuters that men like the Dallas gunman "are not going to be confined by a gun law that we pass." Paxton, whose state has among the most permissive gun policies in America, added, "Our goal here in Texas is to protect law-abiding citizens. And since we cannot have a police force that guards every person, we want people to be able to protect themselves." Dallas Police Chief David Brown on Friday said the gunman cited his anger over police killings during his protracted negotiations with police after the shootings. Johnson had served in the U.S. military in the Afghan war. A search of his home just outside Dallas found bomb-making materials, ballistic vests, rifles, ammunition and a personal journal of combat tactics, though he had no previous criminal history, police said on Friday. (Additional reporting by Adam DeRose, Jeff Mason and Arshad Mohammed in Washington, Bryn Stole in Baton Rouge, Elizabeth Barber in New York, David Bailey in Minneapolis and Mark Hosenball in London; Writing by Frances Kerry and Will Dunham; Editing by Mary Milliken, Sandra Maler and Chris Michaud)
The mining economy isnt where River Steel Owner Tim Brennan hoped it would be when he expanded his company nine years ago.

The manufacturer has contracts with companies such as Caterpillar to supply components for large mining shovels, and in the past had been hoping to have contracts on 16 or more shovel projects each year. The company only has one shovel lined up for 2016, so Brennan said he made the decision in recent weeks to list the companys 1115 Industrial Drive facility and headquarters for sale or lease.

River Steel will continue to operate out of its French Island location, which it has owned since 1968. The West Salem expansion was completed in 2007 and became the companys headquarters after staff moved in in 2008.

An online listing says the asking price is $4.3 million for the 55,390-square-foot property on slightly more than 10 acres in West Salems Lakeview Business Park. Brennan said there might also be a possibility of continuing to use or lease some of the space in the building, depending on need and demand.

La Crosse Technical Consultants, a spinoff steel detailing firm that has become and independent company, will continue to lease its space in the building.

River Steel employs about 75 people, and Brennan said there are no plans to decrease the workforce. Instead, he said the company is currently looking to add up to 10 more employees.

Mining hit an upturn in 2010 and lasted for several years, Brennan said, resulting in the company at one point having contracts on more than 30 shovels. Now the mining economy is in a slump, he said, due to low energy and commodity prices for materials such as coal and steel. While Brennan is confident the market will cycle back, he has decided to look at all of his companys options.

The demand is down, and the prices are down, Brennan said. As a result, the mines are not expanding.

River Steel also supplies products to the fabrication industry and construction projects, such as the new Minnesota Vikings stadium in Minneapolis or hospitals and office buildings. The company is seeing growth in that side of the business, Brennan said, and hopes that will continue.

The company has also become three or four months behind on payments to the La Crosse County Economic Development Fund, the countys industrial development agency, for loans totaling $350,000 La Crosse Community Development Specialist Brian Fukuda said. In May, company officials told the funds board members they hoped to get current by the end of the month; on Tuesday, Brennan said he hoped to be current sometime in the next several months.

River Steel has been a campaign stop during both Gov. Scott Walkers 2014 re-election bid and Ohio Gov. John Kasichs failed bid earlier this year for the White House. Over the decades, the company has made steel components such as wall panels, cabs and roofs for more than 250 large-scale mining shovels that are used in everything from iron and copper mining to the oil industry in countries all over the world.

Were putting some feelers out, Brennan said of the decision to list the facility. We just have more capacity than we need right now.
By Brian Thevenot and Erwin Seba

DALLAS (Reuters) - The U.S. military veteran who fatally shot five Dallas police officers was plotting a larger assault, possibly using explosives, and he taunted police and wrote on a wall in his own blood before being killed, authorities said on Sunday.

Instead, Micah X. Johnson improvised and used his military training to gun down officers during a demonstration on Thursday evening, Dallas Police Chief David Brown told CNN. It was the deadliest day for U.S. law enforcement since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

"We're convinced that this suspect had other plans," said Brown, adding that the recent deaths of two black men at the hands of police in Minnesota and Louisiana led the Texas shooter to "fast-track" his plans and launch his attack.

Johnson, 25, a black veteran who served in Afghanistan, took advantage of a spontaneous march that began toward the end of the protest over those killings. Moving ahead of the demonstrators in a black Tahoe SUV, he stopped when he saw a chance to use "high ground" to target police, Brown said.

He said a search of Johnson's home turned up signs the gunman had practiced using explosives, and that other evidence suggested he wanted to use them against law enforcement targets.

Before being killed by a bomb-equipped robot, Johnson sang, laughed at and taunted officers, according to Brown, telling them he wanted to "kill white people" in retribution for police killings of black people. "He seemed very much in control and very determined to hurt other officers," the police chief said.

SURPRISE ATTACK

Speaking at a local hospital, 12-year-old Jamar Taylor told reporters how he was separated from his mother and lost his telephone when the bullets began to fly.

"I was scared. I really didn't know what was going to happen," a sobbing Jamar said. His mother, Shetamia Taylor, was shot in the leg. A stranger helped the boy to safety.

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Brown said police had been caught off guard when some protesters broke away from Thursday's demonstration, and his officers were exposed to the gunfire as they raced to block off intersections ahead of the marchers.

Johnson's military training helped him to shoot and move rapidly, "triangulating" his fire with multiple rounds so that police at first feared they were facing several shooters.

Brown vigorously defended the decision to use a robot to kill the gunman, saying "about a pound of C4" explosive was attached to it. And he said Johnson scrawled the letters "RB" in his own blood on a wall before dying.

"We're trying to figure out through looking at things in his home what those initials mean," the police chief said.

At the Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe in downtown Dallas, Roman Catholic parishioners gathered on Sunday for their weekly service and to remember the fallen officers.

Reverend Eugene Azorji based his sermon on the Biblical tale of the Good Samaritan, which chronicles the life-saving actions of a stranger to a man in need.

"I would like you to join me and asking, 'Who is my neighbor?'" Azorji, who is black, told the congregation. "Those who put their lives on the line every day to bring a security and peace, they represent our neighbor."

A candlelight vigil is due to be held at 8 p.m. on Monday in Dallas City Hall plaza.

PROTESTS AND ARRESTS

The mass shooting amplified a turbulent week in the United States, as the issues of race, gun violence and use of lethal force by police again convulsed the country.

Even as officials and activists condemned the shootings and mourned the murdered officers, hundreds of people were arrested on Saturday as new protests against the use of deadly force by police flared in several U.S. cities.

Particularly hard hit was St. Paul, Minnesota, where 21 officers were injured as police were pelted with rocks, bottles and fireworks, officials said.

Three countries have warned their citizens to stay on guard when visiting U.S. cities rocked by the protests.

"Young males are asked to exercise extreme caution in affected cities in their interactions with the police. Do not be confrontational and cooperate," the Bahamas government said. Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates also issued advisories.

Speaking in Madrid during a European tour, U.S. President Barack Obama said attacks on police over racial bias would hurt Black Lives Matter, a civil rights movement that emerged from the recent police killings of African-Americans but has been criticized for vitriolic social media postings against police, some of them sympathetic to Johnson.

"Whenever those of us who are concerned about failures of the criminal justice system attack police, you are doing a disservice to the cause," the United States' first black president told a news conference.

Some people would always make "stupid" or "overgeneralizing" comments, Obama added, but well-meaning activists could not be held responsible for everything said at a protest.

(Additional reporting by Ernest Scheyder, Jason Lange and David Bailey; Writing by Daniel Trotta and Daniel Wallis; Editing by Frank McGurty and Paul Simao)
LIMA (Reuters) - Peru's centrist President-elect Pedro Pablo Kuczynski said on Sunday that he would strive to cut the Andean country's poverty rate by more than half to leave it at no more than 10 percent at the end of his five-year term. Outgoing President Ollanta Humala had set out to lower the rate to 15 percent before a drop in prices for Peru's key mineral exports hit economic growth. The poverty rate inched down 1 percentage point to 21.8 percent last year. "I want the poverty rate to be no more than 10 percent" by the end of my term, Kuczynski said in an interview with broadcaster RPP, noting that his target is lower than the current poverty level in the United States. At the start of the century, a majority of Peruvians were living in poverty, according to statistics agency Inei. But weaker growth at the end of a decade-long mining boom has slowed the once-swift gains in poverty reduction. Kuczynski, a septuagenarian former investment banker and World Bank economist, has proposed new infrastructure projects and lower taxes to boost Peru's annual economic growth rate back to at least 5 percent, from 3.3 percent last year. Kuczynski said the government must also do more to help new members of Peru's middle class, many of whom work in the informal economy. "The people who entered the middle class are hanging on by their fingernails, any economic tremor could push them out," Kuczynski said. (Reporting By Mitra Taj)
Paris (AFP) - Portugal's man of the match Pepe said that his team had been inspired to beat France in Sunday's Euro 2016 final after talisman Cristiano Ronaldo was forced off by injury.

Real Madrid superstar Ronaldo was stretchered off to a standing ovation in the 25th minute at Stade de France after jarring his knee in a challenge by Dimitri Payet.

But he returned to the touchline in extra time to see substitute Eder net an 109th-minute goal that earned Portugal a 1-0 victory and a first major tournament success.

"It was tough to lose our main man, the man who could at any moment score a goal," said Pepe, who overcame a thigh injury to play at Stade de France.

"He could make the difference, but we were warriors on the pitch. We said we would win it for him and we managed to do that."

Portugal rode their luck at times, notably when France substitute Andre-Pierre Gignac hit the post in stoppage time, but hit the woodwork themselves in extra-time through Raphael Guerreiro's free-kick.

"There was a lot of suffering. It was a very intense game," added Pepe, who won the Champions League alongside Ronaldo with Madrid in May.

"We fought very hard. We had to work very hard and be more humble than the other team. We left it all out there. It's the only way to win.

"We represented Portugal, a beautiful country of immigrants, and we represent every one of them. This goes out to them."
A handful of potential vice presidents publicly auditioned on the Sunday talk shows, tackling key issues facing the country and discussing how the U.S. should respond following the police shootings of black men and the deaths of five Dallas police officers.

Retired General Michael Flynn, Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin and Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, who are all supporters of presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, discussed his qualifications while Labor Secretary Thomas Perez made the case for Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Flynn, a former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency who is being vetted as a possible running mate to Donald Trump, struggled through an interview on ABCs This Week in which he was grilled on his stance on abortion, same-sex marriage and immigration.

Abortion, I think its a thing for women, he said, taking a pro-choice stance that would hurt him among many Republicans. I think women have to be able to choose what they  you know, that  the  sort of the right of choice. But I think that thats a  thats a difficult legal decision that  and I think that women are so important in that  in that decision-making process.

They are the ones that have to make the decision because theyre the one thats  ones that are going to decide to bring up that child or not, he added.

Flynn, who noted that he grew up in a very strong Democratic family, attempted to dodge answering whether he agrees with same-sex marriage. What people do in their private lives, Im not  these are not big issues that our countrys dealing with that are  that will cause our country to collapse, he said.

Perez weighed in on the conclusion of the FBI e-mail investigation into Clinton, in which FBI Director James Comey did not recommend criminal prosecution, during an interview with Fox News Sunday.

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He said Clinton made a mistake, adding that the former Secretary of State now acknowledges that she has to earn the trust back of Americans.

Sessions, also speaking to Fox News Sunday, praised Trump for his frankness and directness, calling the real estate mogul a strong man who is not a timid wallflower. He criticized Clinton over the e-mail scandal and said Clinton does not understand really how jobs are created.

Fallin, the co-chair of the Republican National Convention Platform Committee, said Trump was a racial healer and added that she has not been asked by Trumps campaign for specific documentation for possible vetting.

Its certainly a great honor to be mentioned with numerous other people across our nation. But I have not been asked to provide information, she said.

When asked to address Americans skepticism that Trump has what it takes to fix the racial divide plaguing the country amid tensions between black communities and police, Fallin said Trump is trying to campaign as a racial healer.  I think that has been part of his message, she said. I trust him with his words. And I think we all need to move toward being compassionate, loving, healing, but yet also respecting our law enforcement.
LE BOURGET, France  Newt Gingrich says that he thinks Donald Trump is a necessary candidate who reflects a global anti-establishment sentiment, but that he wouldnt automatically say yes to an eventual proposal to become Trumps running mate.

In an interview Saturday with The Associated Press, the former House Speaker also said a test should be devised to check the safety credentials of Syrian refugees based on Sharia, or Islamic law.

Its a very important way to vet Muslims if you believe in Western civilization, he said.

Gingrich said that he thinks Trump will make his choice on a running mate late next week  Thursday or Friday  so they go into the weekend with the new vice presidential candidate as a positive story leading into the convention Monday.

Gingrich said he has been vetted for the job, but he has yet to decide whether to partner with Trump were he to be asked.

I think we would want to talk it through and make sure we knew what the job was and what he had in mind because its not an automatic yes, he said.

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie are other possible Trump running mates.

While Gingrich may be reflecting about his own choice, he said in the interview that Trumps presidential candidacy is not happenstance.

I think hes a necessary candidate, Gingrich said.

The British vote to leave the EU, and electoral successes in Europe by populists, is part of a worldwide movement toward really being angry at the establishment, really feeling cheated by the establishment, really feeling that government has failed and I think Trump is part of that worldwide movement, he said.

Trump is perceived as divisive only in the sense that the establishment is faced with a popular uprising and the establishment doesnt want to give up all of its perks and all of its power, Gingrich said.

Do I think Donald Trump is perfect? No. Do I think compared to Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump would be a radically better president? Yes. Hillary Clinton is a nightmare, he said.

Gingrich was one of numerous former U.S. officials and international dignitaries attending a giant annual gathering of the Peoples Mujahedeen of Iran outside Paris. The exile opposition group calling for regime change in Iran is based in France.

Gingrich said he counts them as modern Muslims but has less tolerance for some Syrian refugees and other Muslims.

I think particularly with regard to Syrian refugees it is just plain a lie for the United States government to suggest that they have any ability to vet who these people are, Gingrich said. Officials dont know their loyalties, he claimed, and lack intelligence capabilities in Syria to find out.

A test on whether or not a person believes in Sharia law would be revelatory because belief in Islamic law is incompatible with secular law, he said.

He didnt elaborate on how such a test would be administered.

Gingrich also reiterated remarks made a day earlier on CNN about racism in the United States, saying white parents cannot know the fears of black parents.

Its an objective reality that if you are a white parent with teenagers you have dramatically less fear of the police walking up to them than if youre a black parent with black teenagers, Gingrich said.

And until we can have an open conversation both of how do you protect the police but also how do you protect the innocent I think were not going to solve this problem, he said.

The issue came into focus again following fatal police shootings of black men in Minnesota and Louisiana and the slayings Thursday of five Dallas police officers guarding a protest march over those shootings.
A prominent Cambodian political analyst known for his trenchant criticism of the government was shot dead Sunday morning at a convenience store, police said.

The daylight slaying of Kem Ley comes at a time of heightened tensions between strongman premier Hun Sen and the country's political opposition, who accuse the prime minister of launching a fresh crackdown against them.

Police said Kem Ley, a popular commentator and grassroots campaigner, was gunned down as he drank coffee at a convenience store attached to a gas station in the capital Phnom Penh.

"He was shot dead at a mart just before 9am," Kirt Chantharith, national police spokesman, told AFP.

A suspect was arrested nearby and confessed to killing the analyst over an unpaid debt, Kirt Chantharith said.

"But we don't believe him yet. We are working on this case," he added.

Cambodia has a long a tragic history of rights and labour advocates being murdered with their killers rarely brought to justice.

An AFP photographer at the scene said Kem Ley's body lay in a large pool of blood below a metal table inside the convenience store.

His heavily pregnant wife rushed to the scene and could be seen sobbing outside the store.

Hundreds of onlookers gathered as police cordoned off the area, some crying, others visibly angry as they refused to let police remove the body.

After a standoff lasting many hours, Kem Ley was eventually taken in his own car to a nearby Buddhist temple flanked by hundreds of supporters for the start of funeral rites.

Local media also showed pictures of the alleged suspect being taken into custody. He appeared to be injured with blood running down the left-hand side of his face.

- Simmering tensions -

The killing will do little to lower already simmering tensions inside the impoverished Southeast Asian nation, which has been dominated by Hun Sen for the past 31 years in a reign marred by accusations of corruption, electoral fraud and rampant rights abuses.

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Scores of government critics and rights workers have been arrested in recent months while others have been tied up in ongoing legal cases.

Phay Siphan, a government spokesman, described the assassination as "a vulgar and cruel act that is unacceptable".

"His killing will further deepen the complexity of the political situation," he told AFP, adding that all sides of Cambodia's political divide needed to remain calm.

The opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party described the murder as a "heinous" act and called on the authorities to bring those involved to justice.

Hun Sen also described the killing as "heinous" and called on police to better enforce gun laws.

Kem Ley was critical of both the government and opposition parties, advocating for a new era of clean politics in a notoriously corrupt nation which is expected to hold a general election in 2018.

But the bulk of his criticism was aimed at Hun Sen's ruling party.

The prime minister, a former army commander who defected from the Khmer Rouge, has held power alongside a small but powerful coterie of political allies that have become enormously wealthy.

A report published by Global Witness last week detailed how Hun Sen's family alone had amassed a multi-million-dollar business empire spanning the impoverished country's most lucrative sectors during his rule.

Last week Kem Ley gave a lengthy radio interview welcoming the report, saying it would enable both local voters and foreign investors to have a better idea of how Cambodia's political elite have become so rich.
Protesters interrupted the Taste of Chicago on Saturday, July 9, staging a die-in in a demonstration against police brutality. Local reports state that the protesters entered the event, which draws more than a million people per year, and chanted before staging the die-in. Protesters had staged a similar die-in on Friday at President Barack Obamas Chicago home. They then left the event and continued marching through downtown.

Its not the first time Chicago protesters have disrupted events in the city. Protesters disrupted Black Friday shopping in the Magnificent Mile days after the dashcam video showing the fatal police shooting of Laquan McDonald was released.

The protests in Chicago and across the country come in the days after two fatal police-involved shootings killed Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Philando Castile in Minnesota. Video showed police pinning down Sterling before shooting him. Castiles girlfriend broadcast the aftermath of his shooting on Facebook. Credit: Instagram/kathleennicolex
By David Bailey MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) - A Minnesota police officer who fatally shot a black motorist during a traffic stop this week was reacting to the presence of a gun, not the man's race, his lawyer said on Saturday. The fatal shooting of Philando Castile, 32, on Wednesday night in a St. Paul suburb has sparked days of protests in Minnesota and cities around the United States, intensified by a video of the bloody aftermath Castile's girlfriend Diamond Reynolds streamed live on the internet from the car. "This incident had nothing to do with the race of the driver," said attorney Thomas Kelly, who represents Officer Jeronimo Yanez, who fired the fatal shots. "It had everything to do with the presence of a gun." Castile was killed a day after Louisiana police fatally shot a black man during an arrest and the day before an African-American man killed five police officers and wounded seven others during a protest march in Dallas. Yanez and Officer Joseph Kauser of the St. Anthony Police Department stopped Castile's car in Falcon Heights, a suburb of St. Paul the department patrols. Both are on administrative leave, which is standard practice after an officer-involved shooting. Reynolds said in the video officers told them Castile was stopped for a broken tail light and was getting his license and registration when he was shot. Authorities have not confirmed the reason for the stop. "The use of deadly force here was necessitated by the actions of the driver of the vehicle," Kelly said. Kelly said Yanez could see a weapon in the car. He declined to discuss details of the investigation. Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton has said he did not believe Castile would have been shot dead had he been white, remarks which were criticized by state law enforcement groups. Rashad Turner, a Black Lives Matter St. Paul leader, said he believed police racially profiled Castile, which led to his shooting. "For this guy's lawyer to say it's not a race problem, after the governor admitted it was a race problem, after the president had addressed the race problem in the country - it's an attempt to remove responsibility away from the officer," Turner said. Yanez, who is of Mexican descent, is cooperating fully with the state's investigation into the shooting, Kelly said. "He's terribly saddened by the death," Kelly said. "He's sad for the family of the decedent and his loved ones." Protesters have focused on the Minnesota governor's mansion in St. Paul since shortly after the shooting. More rallies and marches are planned for Saturday and Sunday. Dayton also called for the U.S. Department of Justice to open its own investigation, but the department said on Thursday it would assist the state investigation as necessary. Ramsey County Attorney John Choi has not decided whether to present the state findings to a grand jury or have his office determine if charges are warranted. Choi said on Friday law enforcement in Minnesota and nationwide must improve practices and procedures to prevent future such tragedies. (Additional reporting by Kristoffer Tigue, editing by G Crosse and Diane Craft)
By David Bailey MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) - A Minnesota police officer who fatally shot a black motorist during a traffic stop this week was reacting to the presence of a gun, not the man's race, his lawyer said on Saturday. The fatal shooting of Philando Castile, 32, on Wednesday night in a St. Paul suburb has sparked days of protests in Minnesota and cities around the United States, intensified by a video of the bloody aftermath Castile's girlfriend Diamond Reynolds streamed live on the internet from the car. "This incident had nothing to do with the race of the driver," said attorney Thomas Kelly, who represents Officer Jeronimo Yanez, who fired the fatal shots. "It had everything to do with the presence of a gun." Castile was killed a day after Louisiana police fatally shot a black man during an arrest and the day before an African-American man killed five police officers and wounded seven others during a protest march in Dallas. Yanez and Officer Joseph Kauser of the St. Anthony Police Department stopped Castile's car in Falcon Heights, a suburb of St. Paul the department patrols. Both are on administrative leave, which is standard practice after an officer-involved shooting. Reynolds said in the video officers told them Castile was stopped for a broken tail light and was getting his license and registration when he was shot. Authorities have not confirmed the reason for the stop. "The use of deadly force here was necessitated by the actions of the driver of the vehicle," Kelly said. Kelly said Yanez could see a weapon in the car. He declined to discuss details of the investigation. Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton has said he did not believe Castile would have been shot dead had he been white, remarks which were criticized by state law enforcement groups. Rashad Turner, a Black Lives Matter St. Paul leader, said he believed police racially profiled Castile, which led to his shooting. "For this guy's lawyer to say it's not a race problem, after the governor admitted it was a race problem, after the president had addressed the race problem in the country - it's an attempt to remove responsibility away from the officer," Turner said. Yanez, who is of Mexican descent, is cooperating fully with the state's investigation into the shooting, Kelly said. "He's terribly saddened by the death," Kelly said. "He's sad for the family of the decedent and his loved ones." Protesters have focused on the Minnesota governor's mansion in St. Paul since shortly after the shooting. More rallies and marches are planned for Saturday and Sunday. Dayton also called for the U.S. Department of Justice to open its own investigation, but the department said on Thursday it would assist the state investigation as necessary. [nL1N19T08X] Ramsey County Attorney John Choi has not decided whether to present the state findings to a grand jury or have his office determine if charges are warranted. Choi said on Friday law enforcement in Minnesota and nationwide must improve practices and procedures to prevent future such tragedies. (Additional reporting by Kristoffer Tigue, editing by G Crosse and Diane Craft)
Actress Rashida Jones found herself facing unexpected criticism early Sunday after she tweeted a #FreeDeray message of support to arrested Black Lives Matter activist DeRay Mckesson.

Mckesson, a prominent leader in the BLM movement, was detained during a Saturday night protest in Baton Rouge, where the death of Alton Sterling has inflamed tensions. Mckesson had used Periscope to document the event. He was later charged with simple obstruction of a highway of commerce, according to documents posted online. Saturday was Mckessons 31st birthday.

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He was released late Sunday and told the New York Times he believed he was arrested unlawfully.

But before he was released, the hashtag #FreeDeray quickly trended on Twitter, with a photo (pictured) of a steely-eyed Mckesson becoming an instant meme.

At least one of your tweets today should include #FreeDeRay https://t.co/7R3YPQjQQX  JohnGotty (@JohnGotty) July 10, 2016

Jones, a former star of NBCs The Office, joined in with her own thoughts.

I wish people would protect the First Amendment with the same fervor as they have the Second Amendment. #FreeDeray  Rashida Jones (@iamrashidajones) July 10, 2016

Her message was retweeted more than 15,000 times.

But it also led to a virulent backlash, some of it evidently from pro-gun partisans who took exception to Jones mention of the Second Amendment. Others bashed BLM and indulged in race-baiting.

@iamrashidajones Deport him to Africa and send all the BLM savages with him. He cannot assimilate into American culture.  Dean Dekay91 (@KasraDean) July 10, 2016

@iamrashidajones The First Amendment doesnt cover violence and illegality any more than the 2nd cover tanks and missiles.  Davis (@DavisFox118) July 10, 2016

@iamrashidajones I wish ppl wld use better judgment when invoking their #1A rights, by not standing in the road & disobeying lawful orders.  Kevin Thiele (@KevinBThiele) July 10, 2016

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BOSTON -- David Price knows he hasn't lived up to expectation with the Boston Red Sox this year, but the former Tampa Bay Rays ace can begin to turn things around against his former team on Sunday.

Boston (48-38) is 10 games above .500 for the first time since June 19 but needs a classic Price start against Tampa Bay (34-53) to enter the All-Star break with six wins in seven games.

The five-time All-Star southpaw and 2012 Cy Young Award winner has been mediocre at best in the first season of a seven-year, $217 million contract with Boston, going 8-6 with a 4.64 ERA in 18 starts.

Price was a hard-luck loser last time out, giving up only three runs and eight hits while striking out 10 in eight innings in a 7-2 loss against Texas on Tuesday at Fenway Park.

"I'm tired of this," a weary Price shared after losing for the fifth time in his last seven starts, despite notching his eighth game with eight-plus punch outs. "It's not me. I've got to get better."

Against the Rays, Price is 0-1 with an unsightly 10.80 ERA in two starts this season. He's 1-3 with a 6.51 ERA lifetime in five outings against Tampa Bay.

Curt Casali has been a nightmare matchup for Price, going 6-for-11 (.545) with three home runs and five RBIs against him.

Evan Longoria is 3-for-15 (.200) with a home run and three RBIs against his old friend, and Steve Pearce (6-for-20, .300) has a home run and four RBIs.

The Rays, meanwhile, are spinning their wheels after losing for a franchise-worst 21st time in 24 games after Saturday's 4-1 loss to the Red Sox, which puts them in danger of losing six in a row heading into the break.

"We know what we're capable of doing," Rays left-hander Matt Moore said after taking the loss on Saturday. "Regardless of what just happened the last month, that sounds like a victim attitude. I don't think anybody in here is going to admit to that -- I know I won't."

Jake Odorizzi (3-4, 4.33) has had his share of struggles against the Red Sox, going 2-2 with a 4.07 ERA against them in nine starts.

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The right-hander has faced Boston once already this year, lasting only four innings while allowing five runs and eight hits in an April 21 no-decision, a game the Rays won 12-8.

His numbers at Fenway aren't much better, going 1-2 with a 6.21 ERA in six starts at the ballpark.

Xander Bogaerts has proved to be a tough out for Odorizzi, going 7-for-16 (.438) with three walks while driving in two runs off him. David Ortiz is 3-for-20 (.150) with five strikeouts against him.

Boston could have used the bat of Brock Holt, 4-for-15 (.267) with a homer and four RBIs against Odorizzi, but the utility man is day to day with a left ankle sprain he sustained Friday.

The Rays and Red Sox will meet 10 more times in a span of 35 days from Aug. 22 to Sept. 25 to complete the 19-game season series between the American League East rivals.
He was born Jan. 3, 1949, in Winona, to William and Florence Elizabeth Betty (Ayers) Green. The family later moved to Taylorville, Ill., and then moved back to Winona after Bills father passed away. Bill was a 1967 graduate of Winona Senior High School. He also was a Vietnam veteran, serving in the U.S. Marine Corps until July of 1971. Aug. 28, 1971, Bill married Mary Jane Rorex of Harrisburg, Ark., and they lived all their married life in the Winona area. Bill attended Winona State University, graduating with a Bachelors of Science, and then attended Saint Marys University, Winona, graduating with a masters degree. He worked as a wildlife biologist for many years, and later with computer networking at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Onalaska, retiring in 2004. Bill was an avid fisherman, and a gun and bow hunter. He also loved photography and traveling. From 2000 to 2001, Bill served as commander of Roy L. Vingers American Legion Post 52, La Crosse, where he enjoyed working with fellow Legionnaires for many years. He was especially proud that he and his friend, Fran Murphy, were able to lay a wreath on the water outside of Baltimore Harbor from the SS John Brown WWII Liberty Ship. Bill was a wonderful son, husband, uncle, brother-in-law, and friend to many.
Getting our training on! The Glossary at the Bookstore. Come check it out! #theglossarycosmetics #smashbox A photo posted by William & Mary Bookstore (@wmbookstore) on Mar 2, 2016 at 7:31pm PST







Bliss, Burts Bees, Butter London and books sitting side-by-side?

Barnes & Noble thinks its a winning comboat least on college campuses.

As reported on by Racked, the chain is trying out a new brick-and-mortar concept storeknown as The Glossaryin several of its college bookstores, and its every beauty lovers dream.

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The Glossary Launch party is on! #theglossarycosmetics #williamandmary #smashbox A photo posted by William & Mary Bookstore (@wmbookstore) on Mar 16, 2016 at 5:01pm PDT







So far, Emory University, Southern Methodist University, Tulane University and the College of William & Mary are counting their campuses in, stocking brands such as Smashbox, Living Proof, Philosophy, Maybelline, LOreal and CoverGirl (and thats just for starters). Next stop is a location at University of California Riverside.

What also makes The Glossary a little different (besides the choice of location) is the focus on self-service browsingthink less Sephora, where a consultant might help you, and more do-your-own-thing. But like Sephora, we hear theres plenty of samples, testing and some very serious-looking goodie bags.

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KAMPALA (Reuters) - The residence of South Sudan's vice president and former rebel leader Riek Machar was attacked on Sunday by forces loyal to President Salva Kiir, but the situation in the capital Juba has calmed down since then, Machar's spokesman said, speaking from outside the country. "Dr Machar's residence was attacked twice today including using tanks and helicopter gunships. Helicopters from Kiir's side attacked the residence twice," he told Reuters, adding that he was not in South Sudan but was in contact with Machar. He said Machar's forces, who had fought a two-year civil war against troops loyal to President Kiir, had repelled the attack. "As we speak it's a little quiet, there has not been fighting in the last moments," he said by telephone. (Reporting by Elias Biryabarema; Writing by Edmund Blair. Editing by Jane Merriman)
Rev. Al Sharpton has been an influential voice in the fight for the acquisition of equality and civil rights for African Americans for decades. Sharptons activism reaches back to the late 1960s, and he has demonstrated his political endurance in nationally impactful cases such as Trayvon Martin and Eric Garner.

The recent deaths of Alton Sterling in Louisiana and Philando Castile in Minnesota, both at the hands of police officers, has ignited outrage throughout the nation. These uprisings reached a fatal climax when five officers were killed during a protest in Dallas, Texas earlier this week by a sniper who has been identified as Micah Xavier Johnson. When asked by TMZ how he felt about the eruption of violence in Dallas, Sharpton referred to the shooting as a despicable act. The Brooklyn native also had a few choice words he wouldve liked to tell Johnson, who was killed by police shortly after the attack.

Not only is what you did morally reprehensible, and not only what you did antithetical to Dr. King and others that fought to put us here, youve also in many ways hurt a movement that is saying We are against killing and violence, and youve prolongedyouve taken this whole movement to where weve got to deal with you and what youre doing rather than to keep our focus on the victims that we feel should have never been killed, Sharpton said.

The reverend is definitely in the running for most powerful read of the year.
No one has to love Paul Feigs new Ghostbusters, or even like it. But anyone who continues to stand against it on principleMy childhood has been defiled! I dont like its stars! The trailer was bad!is an unimaginative schmuck. Because Feigs Ghostbusters is its own definitive creature, an affable, inventive riff on Ivan Reitmans proton-packing caper that exists not to score points, but only to make us laugh. For a summer comedy, theres no nobler purpose.

Like their 1984 counterparts, the new GhostbustersKristen Wiigs no-nonsense yet vaguely daffy physics whiz Erin, Melissa McCarthys screwball scientist Abby, Kate McKinnons deadpan gearhead Jillian and Leslie Jones fervent Manhattan history nut Pattyare all classic New York City eccentrics who need to find their place in world of nonbelievers. (Their dimwitted but hunky receptionist, Chris Hemsworths Kevin, helps out too, but mostly hes just ridiculously enjoyable eye candy, a form of gentle revenge for years of stereotypical sexy secretaries.) When Erin, Abby and Jillian spot their first real ghosta nutso turn-of-the-century murderess, now a listless, translucent jellyfish of doomthey jump and squeal with delight, a spontaneously girly reaction for which they make no apologies. But later, when the ghostbusting gets toughafter a squadron of nasty ghouls descend upon an unsuspecting Manhattanthey wield their ectoplasm blammers with Rambo-like authority.

Its all presented with a winktheres nothing heavy-spirited or assaultive about this Ghostbusters. Feig, who co-wrote the script with Katie Dippold (The Heat), has clearly taken great care with the movies toneits as delicately balanced as the wings of a spectral butterfly. He honors the spirit of the original: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson and Annie Potts all have cameos, and a gleaming bronze bust of the late Harold Ramis graces the hallowed halls of Columbia University, where part of that Ghostbusters, like this one, takes place. Yet theres little thats nostalgic, in the musty sense, about Feigs reimagined ghostbusting universe: The movie glows with vitality, thanks largely to the performers, who revel in one anothers company, and not in a self-congratulatory, Oceans Twelve-style, Were awesome movie stars, together way. Some of their dialogue has a loose, loopy, unscripted vibe, a la Bill Murrays poker-faced asides in the original. When the heroines take time out from their heavy-duty citizen-saving for an impromptu Patrick Swayze reverie, theyre inviting us right into the crystalline goofiness of the moment.

Theres visual glory here, too: The finale takes place in a dazzling Times Square mashup of past and present, a place where contemporary digital news tickers share space with ghost establishments like Regal Shoes, Nathans and an RKO National theater showing Bruce Lees 1972 Fists of Fury. In one of the most stunning moments, the women face down a phalanx of sinister vintage Macys Parade balloonsfloating along, theyre a kiddie nightmare come to life, glowing and gorgeous even as they advance with menacing intent. Their macabre beauty stops the movie for a moment. Theyve come from the past to shake their fists at the presentmaybe they dont like remakes either, but thats their problem. Happy or not, theyre part of the here and now. This is the kind of movie you make when you aint afraid of no ghosts.
BUCHAREST, July 10 (Reuters) - Romania's government is in talks with two leading carmakers about the possibility of opening a production plant in the European Union state, Economy Minister Costin Borc said on Sunday.

The Romanian auto industry is a big contributor to the eastern European country's economy, with Ford and Renault-owned Dacia drawn by a skilled labour force and a flat 16 percent tax on profit. Romania is also home to many car parts manufacturers and research centres.

"There are discussions about a third production plant in Romania by a large international automaker," Borc told television station Digi24.

He did not reveal names but said that the government was in discussions with a European producer and another from outside the continent.

(Reporting by Luiza Ilie; Editing by David Goodman)
Palace Mobile Home Park in St. Petersburg, Florida, operates much like any cooperative living facility. Its 120 residents benefit from a community environment in which the neighbors know one another by name, work together to maintain the grounds, and throw the occasional barbecue. The residents at the park have one thing in commonall have been convicted of sex crimes.

The documentary Pervert Park, which airs July 11 on PBS, combines footage of the residents daily lives with one-on-one interviews that allow viewers to see the former offenders beyond the crimes they committed.

Before we went there, we hadnt really questioned what a sex offender was, Frida Barkfors told TakePart of the film she codirected with her husband, Lasse Barkfors. We had completely bought into what the mainstream media portrayed, she said, noting that much of that narrative focuses on strangers lurking in alleys ready to pounce on any unsuspecting child.

Some of the residents featured in Pervertlike Patrick Naughton, who kidnapped and raped a five-year-old girlfall into this category. But the Scandinavian couple also met residents who were labeled sex offenders for a broad range of other offenses, including possession of child pornography, agreeing via the internet to meet a teen for sex, and public urination.

Anyone convicted of any one of nearly two dozen sex offenses in Florida is required to register as a sex offender for his or her entire life. As their names, addresses, and personal information are readily available for public access, they are also required to live a minimum of 1,000 feet away from places that children frequently gather, such as schools and day care centers. Thats why Nancy Morais created Florida Justice Transitions, the nonprofit that runs a residence program at the trailer park. Her son struggled to find a place to live as a registered sex offender.

In 1996, Congress passed Megans Law, which requires states to produce a public registry of those who have committed sex crimes. Twenty years later, there are more than 800,000 registered sex offenders in the U.S.though, as TakePart documented last year, the registries are riddled with errors.

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The effectiveness of the databases and the restrictions associated with them have long been called into question. In 2007 Human Rights Watch called for the elimination of residency restrictions, arguing that they infringe on basic human rights. Multiple studies have found that sex offender registries do not reduce recidivism rates.

Pervert Park focuses on what does appear to be workingtherapy. In group counseling sessions, the residents talk about underlying anger issues and personal traumas.

Several of the offenders were sexually abused as children. As a child Tracy Hutchinson was habitually raped by her father. She went on to sexually abuse her son, who then went on to abuse a three-year-old. Florida Justice Transitions counselor Don Sweeney believes that proper therapy for both Hutchinson and her son could have broken the cycle of abuse.

Offenders will continue to act out until theyre stopped and they understand their behavior, he explains in the film. Treating one offender might prevent 10 more victims from being created.

With help from Sweeney, the residents create their own support system and hold one another accountable. Fewer than 1 percent of the residents at Florida Justice Transitions recidivate, according to the organizations tally.

But the Barkfors are hesitant to say that its an ideal living arrangement for sex offenders.

If they could choose, they would not be there. They want to live with their families. They want to heal. They want to reintegrate into society, Frida Barkfors said. Theyre not able to do that because of the registry and because of all the restrictions that you have to live with as a sex offender.

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MADISON  State job vacancies that have been linked to weak regulation of pollution began climbing again last year after falling from a 14-year high after Gov. Scott Walker took office.

One in five state Department of Natural Resources positions was unfilled in July 2011, the highest vacancy rate in the 2002-15 period covered by staffing data the DNR provided to the Wisconsin State Journal.

Vacancies fell from 2012 through 2014, but by last summer the DNR had held off on filling enough positions for the rate to rise to 14.2 percent, surpassing the average for the 14-year period.

The state Legislative Audit Bureau last month detailed more than a decade of deficient enforcement of water quality laws and called on the DNR to end its practice allowing vacancies to occur in positions responsible for minimizing pollution from large animal feedlots that reaches lakes, streams and drinking water.

DNR budget director Joe Polasek said managers leave positions vacant throughout the department to ensure it doesnt overspend its budget allocation.

In 2015, based on contacts with legislative offices, the agency left a larger-than-usual 365 full-time equivalent positions unfilled in anticipation of cuts elected officials were considering for the budget enacted that summer, Polasek said.

You never know quite what to anticipate, but you dont want to be in a bad situation, Polasek said.

Because the DNR maintained so many vacancies across the agency, elected officials were able to specify staffing reductions in several areas  including positions in science services, forestry, education and communications  without forcing layoffs.

Walker had proposed reducing the DNRs authorized workforce of 2,647 full-time equivalent positions by 67. The Legislature increased the cut to 92 positions before Walker signed the final budget.

Over the past 20 years, the DNR full-time workforce has been reduced 15 percent. Meanwhile, the DNR data show, hundreds of authorized positions have been left vacant each year.

Conservationists point to the large number of Wisconsin waters that are impaired by pollutants and say they are concerned that the states natural resources arent being protected.

The DNR needs more positions, not fewer, said George Meyer, a former agency secretary who now leads the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation.

Current DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp has said that in August the department expects to unveil a plan to curtail unnecessary department activities and shift resources to bolster the agencys core mission, which she said includes environmental protection.

Audit cites vacancies

The significance of unfilled jobs was highlighted in a June state audit of the DNR water quality protection programs that found deficiencies in inspections and writing permits that spell out legal limits for discharges into lakes, streams and groundwater.

Enforcement was also a problem. The agency wrote notices of violation to municipal and industrial polluters in only 33 of the 558 cases where its policy called for them, the Legislative Audit Bureau said.

Auditors said major contributing factors were too few workers doing too many jobs and high employee turnover that left the agency with inexperienced employees in critical positions.

It can take two to five years to fully train a new employee to properly handle highly technical pollution regulation jobs. Members of the DNRs policy board asked Stepp why new employees werent hired early so that they could begin training sooner. She said budget constraints and state work rules made that impractical.

Meyer said the department could seek permission from the state Department of Administration to make early hires of critical regulatory personnel to eliminate or at least shorten the time that positions are vacant and to allow veteran employees time before they retire to train newcomers.

The DNR has received permission for temporary surplus positions in order do early hiring of replacements for retiring conservation wardens and foresters because those positions require specialized training, Polasek said. Wardens are hired in groups of 10 to 12 to attend a law enforcement academy, Polasek said.

On the water (pollution regulation) side we havent done that because the training requirements are different, but the finances are an issue too, Polasek said.

Creation of surplus positions cant be used so frequently that it is seen as circumventing the Legislatures intent about the size of the state workforce, Polasek said.

Vacancies began increasing in 2002

DNR job vacancies generally increased starting in 2002 as state budget woes worsened.

In 2008, then-Gov. Jim Doyle, a Democrat, announced a statewide hiring freeze among measures aimed at constraining spending. The freeze was one of several factors that may have contributed to increasing vacancies during that period, said Matt Frank, who was appointed to head the DNR by Doyle from 2007 through 2010.

The budget problems put the department in a squeeze as the number of large animal feedlots grew rapidly, requiring administrators to shift workers from other areas to oversee the new businesses, Frank said.

Turnover and high vacancies are not good for any agency, said Frank, who also served as secretary of the Department of Corrections and now works at a Madison attorney. Any business that wants to be successful wants to keep their employees.

Department administrators shifted employees to the highest priority areas, such as drinking water quality, spoke out publicly about problems, and put in place strict new rules to protect lakes, streams and groundwater, said Todd Ambs, who directed the DNR water division from 2003 to 2010.

The DNR won approval for rules limiting phosphorus discharges by sewage plants and factories and constraining manure spreading by large dairy operations, said Ambs, who now is campaign director for Healing Our Waters  Great Lakes Coalition.

After Walker and a Republican majority took over in 2011, DNR job vacancies swelled to their high point for the 14 years covered by the DNR data.

It started with a huge wave of retirements that swept through state government after the 2010 election and into 2011 as elected officials eliminated most public sector union rights. The 246 retirements at the DNR in 2011 left the department a vacancy rate exceeding 20 percent.

Retirements at the department decreased in 2012 before rising again for the next three years, reaching 216 in 2015, according to data from the Department of Employee Trust Funds.

While recommending filling certain vacancies, the auditors measured the problem in terms of turnover, saying it increased from 6.2 percent in the 2005-06 fiscal year to 19.7 percent in 2014-15 for staff overseeing municipal sewage plants and industrial sources of water pollution, auditors said. Turnover among staff regulating concentrated animal feeding operations rose from 6 percent of 21 percent over the period.

Overall water program turnover peaked at 22 percent in the 2010-11 fiscal year. The DNR data showed that last July there were 78 water program vacancies, or about 12 percent of 649 budgeted positions. The average vacancy rate in the water program for the last 14 years was 11 percent.

From 2005 to 2011, the water program dedicated most of its staff time inspections and enforcement, auditors said. After Walker took office, more time was spent on writing permits that spell out legal limits on discharges. Businesses have complained about delays in the issuing of permits, which are required before they can operate.

Walker spokesman Tom Evenson said the governor was faced with a budget deficit his first year in office, so all departments were directed to fill only the highest priority positions after receiving approval from the state budget office.

Now other factors contribute to vacancies, Evenson said.

State agencies actively seek to fill needed positions, Evenson said. Wisconsins low unemployment rate and high labor force participation are not only making it difficult to hire for the state, but many employers as well.
Peter Pan's utopia was one in which boys never grew old. The alleged Neverland-like frat mentality of Silicon Valley may be among the most challenging work environments to grow old in. With roughly equal-sized populations of 75 million in both the Baby Boomer and Millennial cohorts, this demographic conflict deserves some perspective.

This past week, the EEOC joined a probe behind a federal class action lawsuit against filed last month, charging that the search giant engaged in a systematic pattern of discrimination against applicants over the age of 40. The suit, expanding upon a related case filed earlier this year, cited data from Payscale that placed the median age of Googles @google workforce at 29, with a margin of error of 4%. By contrast, the media age for U.S. computer programmers is 43.

This mindset is echoed by word and deed around Silicon Valley. At a 2011 Bangalore tech conference, venture capitalist Vinod Khosla warned, "People under 35 are the people who make change happen. People over 45 basically die in terms of new ideas."

If the accusations against Google are true, the company has clearly offered exemptions to its 40-something founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin and its 64-year-old executive chairman Eric Schmidt.

While Silicon Valley seems to have cast off the over-40 set, we have some of the oldest national political leaders in history. The average age in the U.S. Congress is 57 in the House and 61 in the Senate, with several octogenarian elected officials, including Diane Feinstein and John Conyers. The Supreme Court has vital octogenarians like Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Anthony Kennedy, with Stephen Breyer soon to join the club. Hillary Clinton would be 69 if she takes office in January, Donald Trump is 70, and Bernie Sanders will turn 75 in September. No one would deny that Trump and Sanders are disruptors.

This month, 77-year-old Mavis and 75-year-old Bob Dylan performed 30 rousing songs before a packed house of thousands that spanned several generations at the Tanglewood Music Center in Lenox, Mass. Paul McCartney, at 74, also mesmerizes crowds with representatives of many different age groups. Last April, for a Robin Hood Foundation event, he filled New York's enormous Javits Center with an even mix of Baby Boomers, Millennials, and Gen Xers with an energetic rendering of 35 songs back-to-back with breaks only to replace the guitars he wore out.

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Peoples opinions about the abilities of the aging and the elderly tend to evolve as they themselves grow older. When he was 48, the acerbic New York Times columnist William Safire condemned the 1980 Age Employment Discrimination Act that protected people from mandatory retirement at 65. He lamented: "Old people get older and usually less productive and they ought to retire so that business can be better managed and society more economically served. We should treat the elderly with respect, which does not require treating them as if they were not old."

Safire continued to write his twice-weekly column for the Times almost until his death. He worked for roughly another 30 years beyond his 1980 commentary about aging. And former United Auto Workers boss Douglas Fraser confided to me in 1985 that he regretted coauthoring, as an ambitious rising union leader, the policy forcing out union bosses at 65.

Research by Northwestern University economist Benjamin Jones indicates that Nobel laureates since 1985 created their prize-winning work at an average age of 45, the same age at which most inventors had their great achievements. Copernicus offered his general theory of the universe at age 70. Virtually no physicist or chemist has won the Noble prize for work done in their 30s or earlier in their lives.

Alfred Hitchcock directed his masterpiece Vertigo when he was 59; Frank Lloyd Wright built Fallingwater when he was 68. And Benjamin Franklin co-authored the Declaration of Independence at 70.

The great pianist Claudio Arrau commented in his 80s, "Age is biological, but psychologically when I am playing I feel like a young man. My muscles have acquired a wisdom of their own and I think they are working better than ever."

Northwesterns Jones found that while some IT breakthroughs have come from a few young people, this has not been case for life sciences, chemical engineering, nanotechnology, or clean energy. Commenting on this in The Washington Post, Stanford's Vivek Wadhwa quipped, "It may well be the only people who are really set in their ways and keep falling back on old habits are Vinod Khosla and the old-time VCs. The rest of us aren't too old to take risks or innovate."

Older workers have greater sales skills, interpersonal savvy, and only modest declines in physical dexterity. Research on age and risk in engineering found that older managers in this particular field were only somewhat less willing to take risks. Older managers took longer to make decisions, but they were better able to appreciate the value of new information.

Youth is no guarantee of brilliance and age does not ensure wisdom - nor dementia. I've seen many students and clients burn out in their 30s and septuagenarians champing at the bit for adventure. Sure, Viacom's 93-year-old Sumner Redstone is not at the top of his game, but his much younger successor Philippe Dauman has been failing in office for over a decade.

Such entrepreneurs as Sam Walton of , Bill McGowan of MCI, and McDonald's Ray Kroc, among many others, did not launch their maverick businesses until after their fifth and sixth decades. Henry did not introduce the Model T until after he was 45. Alibaba's Jack Ma is 51. Zhang Ruimin, the CEO of China's Haier, led his company to global dominance at age 67. And Steve Jobs most successful innovations, including the iMac, iTunes, iPod, iPhone, and iPad, were developed after age 45.

At our most recent Yale CEO Summit, where our theme was "disruption," we did not celebrate Silicon Valley wunderkinds but rather a set of inspiring septuagenarians and octogenarians, such as venture capitalist Alan Patricof, former NBC chief David Stern, former CEO James Robinson, and former SEC chairman Bill Donaldson--all of whom are still active champions of new enterprises. Our chief frustration is that we missed our chance to honor 60 Minutes Morley Safer, who recently died at 84 but continued to produce brilliant journalism until a week before his death.

Finally, this past week, Elie Wiesel died at 87, having never retired from his campaign for social justice and human rights. Perhaps it is better to never "act your age."

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld is a senior associate dean and professor at the Yale School of Management as well as the author of The Hero's Farewell (Oxford University Press). He is also a past board member of the AARP and the National Council on Aging.

See original article on Fortune.com

More from Fortune.com
It is a remarkable picture. A single woman stands in the roadway, feet firmly planted. She poses no obvious threat. She is there to protest the excessive force which Baton Rouge police allegedly deploy against the citys black citizens. She stands in front of police headquarters, on Saturday. And she is being arrested by officers who look better prepared for a war than a peaceful protest.

There are images that are impossible to forget, searing themselves into our collective consciousness. One man staring down a column of tanks in Tiananmen Square. A high school student attacked by police dogs in Birmingham, Alabama. This is such a photo.

Once seen, it cannot be unseen.

The Baton Rouge police department lists the virtues it seeks to instill in its officers. Protection. Obligation. Leadership. Integrity. Courage. Excellence. I wonder what these officers thought about as they hauled her away. (Update: As explained below, there were multiple agencies on the scene; the officers in the picture were apparently Louisiana State Police.)

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Were working to gather details about the moment it captures, to find her name. If you were there, or know her, please write to us: hello@theatlantic.com. This story will be updated as we learn more. (Update: Her name is reportedly Ieshia Evans; more details in the second update below.)

Update: Thanks to the many readers whove written in to share what they know. Several have provided us with a name that were working to confirm.

I also spoke with Jonathan Bachman, the New Orleans-based freelance photographer who snapped the photo for Reuters. He arrived in Baton Rouge on Thursday, and returned again on Saturday. I asked him to describe what hed seen:

A group of demonstrators had formed a blockadeblocked Airline Highway, which runs in front of Baton Rouge Police headquarters. So law enforcement came out, consisting of several departments within Louisiana  they had come out in riot gear to clear the protestors off to the side of the road. In that attempt, they arrested three to four people as some of the demonstrators confronted the line that the police had created, but for the most part they were able to move everyone off to the side of the road. I had my attention on people confronting the police on the side of the road  I had turned to look over my right shoulder, I think that I had heard this women say something about she was going to be arrested, and I saw this woman, and she was standing in the first lane in that road. It happened quickly, but I could tell that she wasnt going to move, and it seemed like she was making her stand. To me it seemed like: Youre going to have to come and get me. And I just thought it seemed like this was a good place to get in position and make an image, just because she was there in her dress and you have two police officers in full riot gear. It wasnt very violent. She didnt say anything. She didnt resist, and the police didnt drag her off. Its representative of the peaceful demonstrations that have been going on down here. I understand that officers have been hurt in other cities, but down here its remained peaceful.

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Ive also heard from a number of readers, upset at the invocation of what they regard as fundamentally dissimilar events. My aim was not to equate their moral weight, but to point to other iconic images of protest. Many were equally upset that I had not spelled out that the protestor was violating the law by obstructing a highway and refusing to comply with instructions to move to the side of the road. And some felt that, after Dallas, the deployment of tactical units was not only justified, but prudent. Ill leave readers to draw their own conclusions about that.

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But I do want to note two other things. At the time of this arrest, which came relatively early in that days protest, both the demonstrators and the officers had avoided physical confrontation. (As Bachman notes, there were multiple law-enforcement agencies on the scene on Saturday; the ones making this arrest were apparently from the Louisiana State Police.) There were, Bachman said, some protestors who offered harsh words. But at the time of the arrest, the protest itself had stayed peaceful.

But if it started entirely peaceful, it did not stay that way through the night. Heres a statement issued by the Baton Rouge Police Department:

The protest last night at Baton Rouge Police Headquarters organized by individuals from outside our Baton Rouge community resulted in 102 arrests. In addition to the arrests, 3 rifles, 3 shotguns and 2 pistols were confiscated. A Baton Rouge Police Officer had several of his teeth knocked out as a projectile was thrown from the protest. It appears the protest at Baton Rouge Police Headquarters have become more violent as out of town protesters are arriving. Any protest which becomes violent will be immediately dispersed.

Thanks to all who wroteparticular those who wrote to voice their vehement objections. Ill update this post again as I learn more.

Second Update:

Several media outlets, led by the Daily Mail, are now reporting that the woman in the photograph is Ieshia Evans. That name also appears on the list of the 102 protestors arrested on Saturday, charged with obstructing a highway. A social-media profile apparently associated with Evans included an update posted last night:

I just need you people to know. I appreciate the well wishes and love, but this is the work of God. I am a vessel! Glory to the most high! I'm glad I'm alive and safe. And that there were no casualties that I have witnessed first hand.

The published accounts offered conflicting personal details; a status update on the social-media account said of the Daily Mails reporting, This story has holes. A few hours later, another update read:

To all of my friends and acquaintances please don't do any interviews about me. If they want my story, I am here. I would like the opportunity to represent myself! Thank you. Peace, love, blk power! #blacklivesmatter

Rather than relay unconfirmed, and potentially unreliable, details published elsewhere, Ill update this again if Im able to speak directly with Evans and confirm her identity, or if other outlets are able to offer her own account, in her own words.

Read more from The Atlantic:

This article was originally published on The Atlantic.
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - The sister of South African Paralympic star Oscar Pistorius, who was sent back to jail for six years on Wednesday in what many viewed as a lenient sentence for murdering his girlfriend, said on Sunday that she was "grateful" to the judge. Judge Thokozile Masipa has been criticized by women's and other rights groups for accepting the defense argument that a lesser sentence than the 15-year minimum term sought by prosecutors was appropriate for the 2013 murder of Reeva Steenkamp. "The thing I'm most grateful (for) and the thing I really appreciate is the emphasis she made to distinguish a difference between the facts and the truth in terms of this is not a gender-based violence situation," Aimee Pistorius said in an interview with the eNCA television news channel. "It's a terrible accident where Oscar had no intention of shooting Reeva," she said. Paralympic gold medalist Pistorius fatally shot his girlfriend four times through a toilet door at his Pretoria home and has already served 12 months in prison, but the original manslaughter conviction was increased to murder by the Supreme Court of Appeal in December. Pistorius says he fired four shots into the toilet on Valentine's Day 2013 in the mistaken belief that an intruder was hiding behind it. The track star, who had the lower part of his legs amputated when he was a baby, was freed from prison last October after almost a year behind bars. He was to serve the remainder of the original five-year term under house arrest at his uncle's house in a wealthy suburb of the South Africa capital. (Reporting by Ed Stoddard; Editing by David Goodman)
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Four South Africans attempting to fly to Syria have been arrested in Johannesburg and will face charges related to terrorism, police said on Sunday. "We stopped them from flying to Syria and the airline concerned was also informed and they were refused access," said Hangwani Mulaudzi, spokesman for the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, widely known as "the Hawks." The arrests were made on Saturday and the three men and one woman will appear in court on Monday, two in Johannesburg and two others at the Kagiso Magistrates Court west of Johannesburg, Mulaudzi said. Foreign nationals have flocked to Syria to fight for or against Islamic State, an ultra-hardline Sunni group that has also carried out deadly attacks worldwide. Security officials say there are no known militant groups operating in South Africa, but Britain and the United States warned in June of a high threat of attacks against foreigners in the country's shopping malls. Some analysts say economic hardships could be a catalyst for radicalizing South Africa's small Muslim population. (Reporting by Ed Stoddard; Editing by Helen Popper)
Johannesburg (AFP) - Two South African brothers appeared in court Monday accused of plotting to blow up the US embassy in Pretoria and Jewish institutions, and planning to join the so-called Islamic State, police said.

The 23-year-old twins, Brandon-Lee and Tony-Lee Thulsie, were arrested over the weekend in a first for the country involving allegations of IS membership.

"It is alleged that they wanted to bomb the US embassy and Jewish facilities in the country," Hangwani Mulaudzi, spokesman for South Africa's elite police, the Hawks, told AFP.

"Although we have had people stopped from travelling abroad, this is the first time we have arrests linked to Islamic State," he said, after the pair appeared briefly in a Johannesburg magistrate court.

The United States and Britain warned last month of possible imminent attacks by Islamic extremists in South Africa's major cities.

The US warning said attacks could target sites frequented by US citizens, including high-end shopping malls in the economic hub of Johannesburg and Cape Town, which is popular with tourists.

The two men, who are accused of planning to join the Islamic State (IS) group in Syria, were remanded in custody and will return to court on July 19 to allow for further investigation.

"They had been on our radar since 2015. They tried to leave the country twice, through OR Tambo airport and through Mozambique (to join IS)," Mulaudzi said.

- Radicalisation in S.Africa? -

According to court papers, the brothers "conspired to commit the crime of terrorism by planning to cause explosions at a mission of the United States of America and Jewish institutions."

The suspects were also accused of inciting others to "aid and abet them", according to the provisional charge sheet.

"The incitement was to further the political, religious or ideological motives and objectives of... the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)," it said.

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Two other suspects also arrested on Saturday were reported to be linked to the brothers. But the prosecution said they faced unrelated charges and were due to appear in a separate court later Monday.

Muslims account for only 1.5 percent of South Africa's 53 million people and the country has so far escaped the jihadist attacks staged in several countries on the continent.

"We have got fairly verifiable evidence of South Africans going to the geographical Islamic State (in Syria)," Nick Piper of Signal Risk, a Cape Town-based security consultancy, told a press briefing recently.

"There is radicalisation happening within South Africa. There is a strong possibility that if an incident does happen, it will be a South African."

The US embassy declined to comment.
Madrid (AFP) - Spanish police said Sunday they had broken up a crime group suspected of cheating over 8,000 people in over 70 countries of around 25 million euros ($27 million).

Twenty-one people were arrested in Spain over the scam which involved the sale of GPS trackers.

Another four suspected members of the group were arrested in Brazil, France and Portugal as part of the operation carried out with European Union law enforcement agency Europol, police said in a statement. The arrested were Spanish, Portuguese and Colombian nationals.

The group allegedly sold GPS trackers to investors. The investors were awarded points depending on the amount they invested which they could exchange for objects such as cars and luxury houses.

"A large part of the money invested by the group was destined to promote the scam, carrying out several events like free trips, concerts and meetings in major hotels where they convinced those in attendance to invest their money," police said in a statement.

"The scam has evolved since the first case was detected in Brazil in 2013, extending to Europe and Tunisia under different names," it added.

Police searched seven properties in Madrid and the western city of Merida as part of the operation, seizing documents related to "international pyramid scheme" as well as jewellery, mobile telephones and over 60,000 euros in cash, the statement said.

The documents revealed the group had over 50 bank accounts in several tax havens and may have had over 8,000 investors in over 70 nations, earning around 25 million euros in profit, it added.
The ever-difficult gun issue creates potential pitfalls for both major-party candidates in Wisconsins U.S. Senate race.

For Republican Sen. Ron Johnson, the problem is public opinion, which runs counter to his opposition to gun-control measures being debated in Congress.

For Democrat Russ Feingold, its his mottled record on guns, which appears out of step with a Democratic Party thats increasingly unified in favor of new gun restrictions.

Recent mass shootings in Orlando and San Bernardino have pushed the issue back to the national forefront, said UW-Madison political scientist David Canon. He commented last week before a gunman shot and killed five police officers in Dallas and wounded several others  another event that could accelerate the debate over guns.

Johnson, R-Oshkosh, played a key role in a recent Senate debate on whether to bar gun sales to people on federal terror watch lists, including the no-fly list. That, like other gun measures that recently have come before Congress, appears unlikely to become law.

Gun-control groups are targeting Johnson for opposing that and another measure to expand background checks to all gun sales. Polls show both measures are broadly popular.

In an interview with the Wisconsin State Journal, Johnson blamed Democrats, the minority party in both houses of Congress, for inaction on guns.

Republicans are the ones trying to get a result, Johnson added. The party that is politicizing the issue is the Democrats.

Feingold, meanwhile, faces a political challenge. He has tried to straddle the line on guns throughout his career, making pro-gun-rights statements while casting votes on both sides of the issue.

Such a nuanced position may be more difficult to maintain in light of a growing sentiment among Democrats, including presumptive presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, to mount a full-throated push for gun control.

Feingold, D-Middleton, speaking to the State Journal, said his record shows his independence on guns. Feingold said Johnson, in contrast, simply does the bidding of the National Rifle Association, the nations leading gun-rights group.

Johnson is an extremist on this issue, Feingold said. People deserve an independent voice on this issue, and thats what I provide.

Johnson: More checks a slippery slope

The unique challenges faced by both candidates may be tempering their tones in publicly discussing guns, Canon said. Meanwhile, he said Congress is likely to remain at an impasse on guns.

I think it will continue to be deadlocked, Canon said.

The gun issue recently caused friction between U.S. Senate Republicans, with Johnson at the center of the scrum.

Last month, GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who authored a measure to bar gun sales to people on either of two federal terror watch lists, blamed Johnson personally for blocking its passage. Collins plan called for allowing the U.S. Justice Department to block sales to people on the federal no-fly and selectee lists, according to a Politico report.

Support for the measure is due in part to the fact that Omar Mateen was on a federal watch list for a period of time before he shot and killed 49 people in an Orlando nightclub last month.

Johnson sponsored an alternative to Collins proposal that she said likely lured some Republican senators away from backing her plan. Johnsons amendment called for delaying, rather than directly halting, gun sales to people on the federal watch lists, during which time law enforcement could investigate if the buyer is involved in terrorism.

Some other Republicans facing tough re-election fights, including Sens. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, Mark Kirk of Illinois and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, supported Collins proposal.

Johnson, in an interview with Wisconsin Eye last week, said he thought his amendment could have passed if a vote hadnt been taken so quickly, before he could sell his colleagues on it.

Nobody wants to see a gun or any weapon get in the hands of a terrorist or a would-be terrorist, but we need to be extremely cautious, Johnson said. Dont you think you need some due process to be able to get off that (watch) list if youre going to be denied any kind of constitutional right?

Johnson told the State Journal that his proposal was not part of an attempt to block Collins proposal. Instead, Johnson said he was trying to reach accord on a measure that could pass both the Senate and the House.

Johnson also dismissed expanding background checks as going down a slippery slope, saying theres no need for such checks on gun transactions between family members or friends.

Feingold bills himself as independent

Feingold slammed Johnson for his role in halting Collins no-fly proposal, calling it shameful.

It was one of the few public statements Feingold has made about guns since he launched his campaign more than a year ago  even as other Wisconsin Democrats, such as Sen. Tammy Baldwin and U.S. Reps. Mark Pocan and Gwen Moore, publicly clamored for new gun restrictions through a sit-in on the U.S. House floor last month.

But Feingold wont say if he would have voted for the Collins measure that he criticized Johnson for thwarting. Unlike most Democrats, Feingold has voiced reservations on civil-liberties grounds, questioning if people are allowed due process when theyre added to or removed from the list.

Feingold said in the interview he wouldve worked with Sen. Collins rather than destroy her effort had he been in the Senate last month.

My goal wouldve been to find a way to vote with her, Feingold said. The actual decision to vote or not, thats for somebody whos in office.

Feingold supports other gun measures such as expanding background checks and restricting purchases of high-capacity gun magazines that hold large amounts of ammunition.

Feingolds voting record on guns was mixed during his three terms in the U.S. Senate. He was one of just a few Democrats to vote against extending the federal assault-weapons ban in 2004, calling it a largely arbitrary and symbolic measure. A decade earlier, he voted to put the ban in place.

Rhetorically, Feingold has been more pro-gun than most Democrats, saying in 2010 that he had been one of the true leaders in fighting for a greater right to bear arms. He has said the Second Amendment provides an individual right to gun ownership, a point that some liberals contest.

But the political tide on guns is turning for Democrats. Once mindful of appeasing centrists from conservative states where gun control is unpopular, Democrats now are increasingly united and more vocal in pushing for gun control measures.

Meanwhile, outside campaign groups have started to wade into the race with ads about guns.

Everytown for Gun Safety, the gun-control group launched by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, is hammering Johnson for opposing the background-checks measure.

The National Rifle Associations political committee has spent only a small amount in this campaign on Johnsons behalf. But it spent heavily in his favor during the campaign leading up to Johnsons first election to the Senate in 2010, and its involvement in other competitive Senate races in this cycle suggests it will rally to his aid again this year.
NEW YORK (AP) - Sydney H. Schanberg, a former correspondent for The New York Times who was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of the genocide in Cambodia in 1975 and whose story of the survival of his assistant inspired the film The Killing Fields, has died. He was 82.

The Times reported Schanberg died Saturday in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. The newspaper cited Charles Kaiser, a friend and former Times reporter, who said Schanberg had a heart attack on Tuesday.

"Sydney Schanberg was an historic and courageous correspondent," Dean Baquet, executive editor of the Times, said in a statement. "He was part of a generation of war correspondents who made America understand what was truly happening in Vietnam and Cambodia."

When Communist guerrillas overran the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh in the spring of 1975, the Times said, Schanberg and his assistant Dith Pran refused pleas by their editors to evacuate.

Schanberg and Dith were briefly captured by the guerrillas, but later fled to the French Embassy. Dith then was expelled and joined civilians fleeing into the countryside. Two weeks later, Schanberg evacuated to Thailand, reporting on massacres and the displacement of millions of people along the way.

Read More: Bill Cunningham, New York Times Fashion Photographer, Dies at 87

Dith was not heard from for several years until he escaped to Thailand in 1979. After being reunited in New York, Schanberg wrote a cover story for The New York Times magazine about Dith's harrowing experience, surviving beatings, starvation and backbreaking labor.

That story was later turned into the 1984 film, The Killing Fields, starring Sam Waterston and Dr. Haing S. Ngor as Dith. Ngor, a Cambodian who also survived the horrors, won an Academy Award for best supporting actor.

With Schanberg's help, Dith was hired as a photographer for the Times. Dith died in 2008.

"I'm a very lucky man to have had [Dith] Pran as my reporting partner and even luckier that we came to call each other brother," Schanberg said after Dith's death, according to the Times. "His mission with me in Cambodia was to tell the world what suffering his people were going through in a war that was never necessary. It became my mission, too. My reporting could not have been done without him."

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Schanberg joined the Times in 1959 as a copy boy and remained there for 26 years. He later wrote a column for Newsday.

Besides the Pulitzer, Schanberg won two George Polk Memorial Awards, two Overseas Press Club Awards and Sigma Delta Chi's distinguished journalism prize.

See More: Hollywood's Notable Deaths of 2016
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Thyssenkrupp <TKAG.DE>, Germany's biggest steelmaker, confirmed on Sunday that it is in talks with India's Tata Steel <TISC.NS> about a consolidation of beleaguered European steel mills that are hit by overcapacity, weak demand and cheap imports.

Tata Steel said on Friday it had suspended the process of selling its troubled UK arm while it held talks with potential partners, including Thyssenkrupp, about alternative and more sustainable solutions for its entire European business. In addition to its UK operations Tata Steel Europe also owns the former Hoogovens steel plant in the Netherlands.

Thyssen spokeswoman Nicola Roettger, contacted by Reuters, said on Sunday her company has long said it believes that a consolidation of the European steel industry is necessary, due to the extremely difficult economic situation.

"We have also said already that in such a situation, everybody's talking to everybody else. Among other (conversations), we are also talking to Tata Steel," she said.

She said it was to be left open for now if, when, and with whom further steps would be taken. More specific statements would be made only if decisive progress towards consolidation could be made.

Tata had said in a statement on Friday that the talks, which could include a possible joint venture, were at a preliminary stage and the European approach was in addition to its attempts, launched in March, to sell its main British steelmaking operations, which include its Port Talbot blast furnace plant in southern Wales.

The firm said the British vote to leave the European Union, and the outcome of the UK government's consultation on Tata Steel UK's British Steel pension scheme, had prompted a rethink on the sale.

"Consequently, Tata Steel has now entered into discussions with strategic players in the steel industry, including Thyssenkrupp," the Indian company said.

However, Thyssenkrupp has said in the past it is not in a position to spend cash on a merger.

(Reporting by Matthias Inverardi and Ralf Banser, writing by Vera Eckert; Editing by Greg Mahlich)
MADISON  Young Wisconsin companies drew at least $209.5 million from investors in 2015, a sharp drop from the $346 million raised by early-stage companies in 2014, a report by the Wisconsin Technology Council says.

But the money was spread over a larger number of startups in 2015. And the 2014 figures are skewed by one huge investment: $127.4 million to SHINE Medical Technologies in debt financing, which often involves borrowing money that might later be converted to stock ownership.

SHINE, of Monona, is building a plant in Janesville to make a key medical isotope used in diagnostic tests.

The 2016 Wisconsin Portfolio, compiled by the Tech Councils Wisconsin Angel Network, says at least 128 Wisconsin companies raised money from venture capital groups and individual angel investors last year, up from 113 in 2014. The results are based on data disclosed in public announcements, regulatory filings and a survey of investor groups. Angel networks declined to participate.

Tom Still, president of the Tech Council, said the dip in total funding is not a reason for concern.

Angel and venture capital, as a class, is pretty lumpy, Still said. There are some natural peaks and valleys. Sometimes, it has to do with when the deals are completed at year-end and reported to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Wisconsin companies that scored the three biggest deals in 2015 were all from Madison: ablation device maker NeuWave Medical, $25 million; mobile restaurant meal ordering EatStreet, $15 million; and influenza vaccine developer Flugen, $12 million.

Other key survey results:

The number of $1 million-plus deals continues to rise: 27 in 2013; 38 in 2014; 46 in 2015.

Women-led companies made up 14 percent of the startups that landed investments in 2015.

Out-of-state investors took part in at least 20 percent of the investments charted in 2015.

Getting out the word about what Wisconsin has (to offer) has been a slow but steady process and I think its starting to pay some results, Still said.

Still said there are encouraging trends  more companies getting some amount of funding, and more at the million-dollar level; more investors taking advantage of tax credits; and deals in diverse industry sectors.

And 2016 could be better. Through the end of May, 39 deals have been made public worth a total of $135 million.

I think all of that, together, suggests Wisconsin generally remains on an uphill climb, Still said.

Nationwide, young companies received about $59 billion in venture capital in 2015  the second highest year on record, according to the National Venture Capital Associations annual Yearbook.
Tehran (AFP) - Prominent Iranian sculptor Parviz Tanavoli said Sunday he stood accused of disturbing the public peace, the ILNA news agency reported, after he was prevented from leaving the country last week.

"I learnt this morning in court that the police had accused me of publishing false information and disturbing the public peace," he told ILNA, after visiting Iran's special court for culture and media.

"They told me my sculptures are examples of disturbing the public peace," the 79-year-old said, although the police did not immediately confirm this.

The authorities confiscated Tanavoli's passport last week as he attempted to fly to London for the launch of his new book, "European Women in Persian Houses".

The book, a study of images from Iran's Safavid and Qajar eras, contains some nudes -- the display of which is banned in the Islamic republic.

"I have worked for 50 years and so far none of my works have had any problems," Tanavoli said, adding that the accusations came after his works had been on display at several venues around Tehran.

Iran's ultra-conservatives criticise Tanavoli because he had ties to the Pahlavi monarchy before it was overthrown in the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Tanavoli is one of Iran's most expensive artists and his art is in major museums worldwide including the British Museum, as well as New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art and Museum of Modern Art.
The rules of refined courtship, Victorian-style, were practiced to perfection by many a young lady in late-19th-century Canada. Miss Adelaide Hunter happened not to be one of them.

Instead of batting her eyes, Miss Addie gave her well-heeled suitor, according to the man himself, a bat on the nose  an approach that won his heart and transformed the Ontarian farm girl into a Victorian socialite and, ultimately, a world-renowned domestic campaigner.

The death of her youngest child fueled a lifelong dedication to domestic science education  helping wives and mothers apply science to support their familys health.

Rising above her class did not appear to be on Addies list of priorities. Id rather ride a wheelbarrow with a man I love than a yacht with one I didnt, she told her daughter Muriel, according to Cheryl McDonald in Adelaide Hoodless: Domestic Crusader. But rise she did  by smacking John Hoodless, the well-to-do son of a furniture magnate, during what historians speculate was a heated discussion. She might have won the argument, but he won her hand in marriage, before they settled in Hamilton, Ontario, to raise a family. This was the 1880s  a time when Victorian moms had to guard against the threats of diphtheria, tuberculosis and what they referred to as the deadly summer complaint if their children were to reach adulthood.

Sadly, this last disease, caused by drinking contaminated milk, claimed Addies fourth child in 1889, when he was just 14 months old, and the tragedy changed the course of her life. It was a typical female response: Was it something I did or didnt do?  says Maggie Wilson of the Adelaide Hunter Hoodless Homestead National Historic Site, referring to the likelihood that Hoodless blamed herself for her sons death. This fueled a lifelong dedication to domestic science education  helping wives and mothers apply science to support their familys health.

Cue feminist eye rolls. True, Hoodless was anti-suffrage and a proponent of traditional female roles. But this was two decades before the vacuum  meaning housework was bloody hard. Done poorly? It could be deadly.

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Already involved with public life as a socialite, Hoodless soon became president of her local YWCA, where she pushed for and taught home-economics-style classes. After attending a national conference in Chicago in 1893, she was inspired to launch a national Canadian YWCA. Letter-writing campaigns and speeches about boosting womens scientific know-how of household management put Hoodless on the governments radar at a time when leaders feared unhappy rural women would drive their husbands from the farms and into the cities. They therefore applauded Hoodless efforts to make homes clean and safe: If women were happier with rural life, they figured, the breadbasket of the nation would then be safe, says Wilson.

Adelaide hunter hoodless, canadian advocate for women and children

Adelaide Hoodless was an activist for the Victorian home front.

Source: Public Domain

In 1897, the Ministry of Education asked Hoodless to pen the Public School Domestic Science textbook  a tome covering hygiene and frugality that became known as the Little Red Book. That same year, a talk Hoodless gave about women applying science at home, just as men did on the farm, grabbed the attention of Erland Lee, a leader in the Farmers Institute. He asked Hoodless to speak at his groups ladies night, where she suggested that women get together to socialize and discuss domestic science. A week later, a crowd of 101 showed up, forming what became the first branch of the Womens Institute, which spread throughout Canada and, in 1915, to the U.K., where its still going strong.

Though Hoodless helped found the Womens Institute, she didnt stay involved, says social historian Joanna Rickert-Hall. Hoodless, she says, was a seed planter who preferred to channel her energies into education. Just after the turn of the century, Ontario introduced domestic science education into its schools  so Hoodless turned her sights to university-level coursework.

An indefatigable networker, Hoodless lobbied Sir William Macdonald, a wealthy tobacco manufacturer, for money to launch a university-level effort. When he responded, according to Wilson, with something like If I do it for Ontario, Im gonna have to do it for Quebec as well, Hoodless said she saw no problem with that, and soon enough, Macdonald was funding programs in both provinces.

In 1910, Hoodless died suddenly during a speaking engagement a day before her 53rd birthday, leaving an impressive legacy of advocating for change. Her imprint is visible today in the Womens Institutes focus on family and community and a host of legal changes the group campaigned for and won over the years, from slow speed zones to railroad-crossing barriers.

For feminists who would take issue with Hoodless home-centric objectives, Rickert-Hall says, her focus on the strength within the family was progressive for its time and should be heralded still for its timeless importance.

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By Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is giving consideration to retired Lieutenant General Michael Flynn as a potential vice presidential running mate, a Republican source familiar with the process said on Saturday. For weeks Trump has conducted a high-profile canvassing of Republican political stalwarts as part of his running mate search, but he has also made clear he is looking at what a military leader would bring to the ticket. The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Flynn has emerged as a possibility, confirming reports in the New York Post and The Washington Post. The Trump campaign had no comment. The thinking is that Flynn, who has been a foreign policy adviser to Trump, would be able to help Trump in the area of national security at a time of challenges abroad like the threat from Islamic State militants. Trump is also considering a more conventional political choice for his running mate, such as former House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich, Indiana Governor Mike Pence or New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. Flynn was chief of the Defense Intelligence Agency under President Barack Obama from 2012-2014. He has spoken in the past about wanting the United States to work more closely with Russia to resolve global security issues. Flynn told Russia Today in an interview published on Dec. 10 that the United States and Russia should work together to resolve the Syrian civil war and defeat Islamic State. Flynn has a book coming out next week, co-written with Michael Ledeen, titled: "The Field of Fight: How We Can Win the Global War Against Radical Islam and Its Allies." (Reporting by Steve Holland; Editing by Leslie Adler)
By Arshad Mohammed WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States said on Sunday it had transferred a Yemeni inmate from the Guantanamo Bay prison to Italy, bringing the number of detainees at the U.S. naval base in Cuba to 78. Fayiz Ahmad Yahia Suleiman was approved for transfer nearly six years ago by six U.S. agencies - the Departments of Defense, State, Justice and Homeland Security, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "The United States is very grateful to the Government of Italy for its continued assistance in closing the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay," said Lee Wolosky, the U.S. special envoy for Guantanamo's closure, describing the effort to shut the prison as a "shared goal." A Pentagon spokesman declined comment on whether the man would be subject to detention in Italy and referred that question to the Italian government, which said it was taking him on "humanitarian grounds" but provided no further details. The Yemeni man was arrested by Pakistani police and transferred to U.S. custody in December, 2001, meaning he had been in U.S. detention for more than 14 years, according to U.S. military documents posted online by the WikiLeaks website. U.S. President Barack Obama, who had hoped to close the prison during his first year in office in 2009, rolled out his plan in February aimed at shutting the facility. But he faces opposition from many Republican lawmakers as well as some fellow Democrats. Most of the 78 prisoners who remain at Guantanamo have been held without charge or trial for more than a decade, drawing international condemnation. The Guantanamo prisoners were rounded up overseas when the United States became embroiled in wars in Afghanistan and Iraq following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington. The facility, opened by Obama's Republican predecessor, George W. Bush, came to symbolize aggressive detention practices that opened the United States to accusations of torture. Obama's plan for shuttering the facility calls for bringing the several dozen remaining prisoners to maximum-security prisons in the United States. U.S. law bars such transfers to the mainland. The United States has struggled to persuade other nations to accept the prisoners because of concerns they could launch attacks and by America's unwillingness to accept them on the U.S. mainland. (Reporting by Arshad Mohammed; Additional reporting by Crispian Balmer in Rome and Matt Spetalnick in Washington; Editing by Mary Milliken and Peter Cooney)
By Arshad Mohammed

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States said on Sunday it had transferred a Yemeni inmate from the Guantanamo Bay prison to Italy, bringing the number of detainees at the U.S. naval base in Cuba to 78.

Fayiz Ahmad Yahia Suleiman was approved for transfer nearly six years ago by six U.S. agencies - the Departments of Defense, State, Justice and Homeland Security, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

"The United States is very grateful to the Government of Italy for its continued assistance in closing the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay," said Lee Wolosky, the U.S. special envoy for Guantanamo's closure, describing the effort to shut the prison as a "shared goal."

A Pentagon spokesman declined comment on whether the man would be subject to detention in Italy and referred that question to the Italian government, which said it was taking him on "humanitarian grounds" but provided no further details.

The Yemeni man was arrested by Pakistani police and transferred to U.S. custody in December, 2001, meaning he had been in U.S. detention for more than 14 years, according to U.S. military documents posted online by the WikiLeaks website.

U.S. President Barack Obama, who had hoped to close the prison during his first year in office in 2009, rolled out his plan in February aimed at shutting the facility. But he faces opposition from many Republican lawmakers as well as some fellow Democrats.

Most of the 78 prisoners who remain at Guantanamo have been held without charge or trial for more than a decade, drawing international condemnation.

The Guantanamo prisoners were rounded up overseas when the United States became embroiled in wars in Afghanistan and Iraq following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington.

The facility, opened by Obama's Republican predecessor, George W. Bush, came to symbolize aggressive detention practices that opened the United States to accusations of torture.

Story continues

Obama's plan for shuttering the facility calls for bringing the several dozen remaining prisoners to maximum-security prisons in the United States. U.S. law bars such transfers to the mainland.

The United States has struggled to persuade other nations to accept the prisoners because of concerns they could launch attacks and by America's unwillingness to accept them on the U.S. mainland.

(Reporting by Arshad Mohammed; Additional reporting by Crispian Balmer in Rome and Matt Spetalnick in Washington; Editing by Mary Milliken and Peter Cooney)
Former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar made a successful, if uneventful, return to the Octagon at UFC 200: Tate vs. Nunes on Saturday night in Las Vegas, taking a win over No. 8 ranked heavyweight Mark Hunt.

Lesnar, currently a WWE Superstar, took this fight at UFC 200 because he couldnt live with wondering what could have been if he hadnt suffered from a severe intestinal disorder during his first run through the promotion. Hunt took this fight because, well, hes Mark Hunt. Hell play punchy face with anyone.

Not surprising anyone, Lesnar maintained a safe distance from Hunt for the first couple minutes of the fight, and Hunt tried not to get into takedown range.

Lesnar eventually took a chance and shot on Hunt, chasing him across the cage to do it, but eventually took him to the canvas, where he landed some heavy right hands and a knee to the ribs. Hunt got up, but Lesnar took him back down, landing a few more punches.

RELATED > UFC 200: Tate vs. Nunes Full Live Results and Fight Stats

Hunt got up again late in the round, winging some big punches, but that left him open and Lensar took him down again, immediately moving into full mount. With only a few seconds left in the round, Hunt held on to survive the round.

The second frame wasnt really a good one for either man. Although Hunt landed a couple punches in the round, they werent the big power blows that hes known to knock people out with.

Lesnar seemed to tire a bit in the frame, finding much less success with his takedowns.

The final frame was all Lesnar. Though he ate a couple heavy punches early in the round, Lesnar took Hunt down with about four minutes left in the fight. He didnt relinquish top position for the duration.

Once in control, Lesnar dropped punch after punch after punch on the head of Hunt. He couldnt find a way to put the Super Samoan away, but the domination over those final minutes secured the victory. All three judges gave the nod to Lesnar, scoring it 29-27 for the WWE Superstar.

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It took me a little while just to get acclimated, Lesnar said about his surprise return to the Octagon following a five year absence.

Though beating a heavyweight like Hunt puts him right in the thick of the heavyweight division, the WWE said this was a one-off opportunity for Lesnar, and Lesnar has been hesitant to commit to anything beyond UFC 200.

He did little to indicate anything more on Saturday night.

One day at a time. Im so happy to be in here.

During a time of rampant unrest in America, Lesnar did, however, take a minute to try and pull people together.

America, a shout out to the men in uniform that protect and serve this country, he said, tipping his hat to the recent divide over Americas police forces. From sea to shining sea. From one white boy to all nationalities, we got to stand together people.

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Former champions Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar fought for the interim featherweight title at UFC 200 on Saturday, and the result was the same as their first fight.

The two previously fought at UFC 156 in February 2013 with Aldo winning by unanimous decision. He did the same on Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Edgar pressured Aldo throughout the fight, but the Brazilian was too elusive and too fast. Edgar was unable to take Aldo down a single time, and was forced to stand with the striking standout.

Aldo landed the cleaner strikes, opening up a cut above and below Edgar's right eye and bloodying the former lightweight titleholder's nose.

RELATED > UFC 200: Tate vs. Nunes Full Live Results and Fight Stats

It was Aldo first Octagon appearance since losing the 145-pound belt to Conor McGregor in December. It was his first loss in a decade. McGregor was sitting in the front row at the event, and after the fight Aldo told the Irishman, you're next. During his post-fight interview, Aldo also turned his attention to McGregor.

Frankie's a great athlete. I respect everyone, but I have one goal, and that's too beat this guy (McGregor). You can bet the next time I come in here I'm going to beat him, he said.

McGregor is scheduled to face Nate Diaz in a rematch at UFC 202 in August in a welterweight bout. He's expected to move back down to the featherweight division and face Aldo in a unification fight following the Diaz match.

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By Gabriela Baczynska WARSAW (Reuters) - Ukraine won promises of continued support at a NATO summit on Saturday but the prospect of Kiev's eventual membership of the U.S.-led military alliance seemed as distant as ever as the West seeks a tentative rapprochement with Russia. NATO agreed during the two-day Warsaw summit to boost its eastern flank in response to Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine and Moscow's subsequent backing for rebels fighting Kiev troops in east Ukraine. But after more than two years of Western sanctions on Russia, some in NATO and the European Union are pushing for a softer stance toward Moscow and growing impatient with what they see as sluggish progress in modernizing the economy and fighting corruption in Ukraine. Speaking at a joint news conference with Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Russia must stop its "political, military and financial support for separatists" in east Ukraine. "Allies are united in their support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity," he said. "We do not and we will not recognize Russia's illegal and illegitimate annexation of Crimea and we condemn Russia's deliberate destabilization of eastern Ukraine." He restated NATO's political support for Ukraine and said the alliance would help Kiev tackle risks from improvised explosive devices on top of other assistance aimed at improving Ukraine's military capabilities that had been agreed before. "These decisions demonstrate that NATO stands firmly for Ukraine," Poroshenko told the presser. "Now we have to make the necessary reforms" "They will bring us closer to the criteria and then the people of Ukraine will decide what we'll do further," he said of the prospect of Ukraine's eventual NATO membership, which had been promised to Kiev in 2008 but is now off the table. PEACE AND REFORMS For all the friendly rhetoric, Kiev has come under increased pressure from the West in recent weeks to devolve power and hold local elections in the east Ukraine, where a truce is patchy. The broader peace plan for the eastern Donbass region, negotiated in Minsk between Ukraine and Russia by Germany and France, has stalled for months. Paris and Berlin have now renewed efforts to implement it in full. That means Kiev should also grant Donbass a special legal status and decentralize the country through a constitutional reform. Moscow is obliged to help Kiev regain control of Ukraine's eastern border, and both sides must withdraw heavy arms to ensure an effective ceasefire in east Ukraine. The leaders of the United States, Germany, France and Italy met Poroshenko separately on the sidelines of the summit to express support for Ukraine, a White House official said. "The leaders agreed that Ukraine has made considerable progress on political, economic, and anti-corruption reforms, but that more work must be done," the official added. Poroshenko and French President Francois Hollande both said the six leaders worked on a 'roadmap' of security steps needed in Donbass to permit elections there in the coming months. In Germany, the head of Chancellor Angela Merkel's junior coalition partner said the West should return to the negotiating table with Russia and he had "strong doubt" whether increasing NATO's military presence in eastern Europe would help that. "I'm not in favor of us constantly escalating the relationship with Russia," Vice-Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel, leader of the Social Democratic Party, said in Nuremberg. In another sign of a cautious thaw with Moscow, NATO and Russian envoys to Brussels will meet for the second time since Crimea on Wednesday, including to discuss Ukraine. Ukraine's deputy prime minister said NATO would benefit from Kiev's experience of fighting "a hybrid war" against Russia on its soil, which she said included the deployment of troops with no insignia and a massive disinformation campaign. Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze defended Kiev's record on reforms and vented frustration with the criticism from the West. "Lack of prospective NATO membership for Ukraine has a negative impact on the security environment in the region," she said. "The West needs to make a very strategic, long-term choice and not look for any excuses today to turn away from Ukraine." (Additional reporting by Justyna Pawlak, Wiktor Szary, Sabine Siebold and Paul Taylor, Writing by Gabriela Baczynska,; Editing by Paul Taylor and Andrew Heavens)
DALLAS (AP)  The gunman who killed five police officers at a protest march trained at a private self-defense school in Texas, a school official said Saturday at the academy that teaches firearm tactics, including shooting on the move, a maneuver in which an attacker fires and changes position before firing again.

Micah Johnson, an Army veteran, received instruction at the Academy of Combative Warrior Arts in the Dallas suburb of Richardson about two years ago, a person who said he was in charge of the organization told The Associated Press. The man refused to answer additional questions and would not give his name.

The mans statement was corroborated by a police report from May 8, 2015, when someone at a business just a short distance away called in a report of several suspicious people in a parked SUV.

The investigating officer closed the case just minutes after arriving at the scene in a parking lot behind a strip mall. While there, the officer spoke to Johnson, who said he had just gotten out of a class at a nearby self-defense school.

Johnson told the officer he was waiting for his dad to arrive and pick up his brother. No one else was apparently questioned.

On Friday, Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings described Johnson as a mobile shooter who had written manifestos on how to shoot and move  and he did that.

The academy website refers to one of its courses as a tactical applications program, or TAP.

Reality is highly dynamic, you will be drawing your firearm, moving, shooting on the move, fixing malfunctions, etc. all under high levels of stress, the website says. Most people never get to train these skills as they are not typically allowed on the static gun range.

The site says TAP training includes shooting from different positions, drawing under stress and drawing from concealment.

People could be seen training Saturday at the school in a nondescript shopping center, but the doors were locked.

When asked about Johnson, a man who answered the door said, He trained two years ago. ... I dont know anything about Micah. Im sorry. Hes gone. Hes old to us. I have thousands of people.

Earlier in the day, President Barack Obama called Johnson a demented individual who does not represent black Americans any more than a white man accused of killing blacks at a church in Charleston, S.C., represents whites.

The president planned to visit Dallas in a few days and to convene a White House meeting next week with police officers and community and civil rights activists.

It was the third time in as many days that Obama has spoken about the fatal police shootings of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota that were immediately followed by the sniper attack in Dallas. In addition to the five slain officers, seven officers and two civilians were wounded.

Johnson donned a protective vest and used a military-style semi-automatic rifle, officials said.

He was killed by a robot-delivered bomb Thursday after the shootings, which marked the deadliest day for U.S. law enforcement since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

In all, 12 officers were shot just a few blocks from where President John F. Kennedy was slain in 1963.

The 25-year-old gunman had amassed a personal arsenal at his home in the Dallas suburb of Mesquite, including bomb-making materials, rifles, ammunition and a journal of combat tactics, authorities said Friday.

He followed black militant groups on social media, including one that posted a message Wednesday encouraging violence against police.

Johnson was a private first class with a specialty in carpentry and masonry. He served in the Army Reserve for six years starting in 2009 and did one tour in Afghanistan from November 2013 to July 2014, the military said.

When Johnson was accused of sexual harassment by a female soldier in Afghanistan, he was sent back to the U.S. with the recommendation he receive an other than honorable discharge, but he later got an honorable discharge, said Bradford Glendening, a military lawyer.

The attack began Thursday evening while hundreds of people were gathered to protest the police killings of Philando Castile, who was fatally shot near St. Paul, Minnesota, and Alton Sterling, who was shot in Louisiana after being pinned to the pavement by two white officers.

Video showed protesters marching along a downtown street about half a mile from City Hall when shots erupted and the crowd scattered, seeking cover.

Marcus Carter, 33, was in the area when people started running toward him, yelling about gunshots. Carter said the first shot sounded like a firecracker. But then they proceeded in quick succession, with brief pauses between spurts of gunfire.

It was breaks in the fire, he said. It was a single shot and then after that single shot, it was a brief pause, followed by many shots in quick succession.

After shooting at the Dallas officers, Johnson tried to take refuge in a parking garage and exchanged gunfire with police, authorities said.

During negotiations, he said he wanted to exterminate whites, especially white officers, the police chief said.

Elsewhere in Texas, police shot and killed a man early Saturday after he was spotted standing in a Houston road with a revolver. Authorities said officers told the man to put down the weapon, but he instead pointed it in the air, then at the police.
United Nations (United States) (AFP) - The UN Security Council pressed South Sudan's neighbors to help end renewed fighting in the capital, asking for additional peacekeepers.

In a unanimous declaration, the council's 15 member countries on Sunday also demanded that President Salva Kiir and his Vice President Riek Machar "do their utmost to control their respective forces, urgently end the fighting and prevent the spread of violence."

It called for the two rivals to "genuinely commit themselves to the full and immediate implementation of the peace agreement, including the permanent ceasefire and redeployment of military forces from Juba."

The battles are the first between the army and ex-rebels in Juba since rebel leader Machar returned to take up the post of vice president in a unity government in April, under an accord to end a bloody civil war.

The council's statement "condemned in the strongest terms" the battles that began on Thursday, stressing that attacks against civilians and UN personnel and facilities may constitute war crimes.

It also urged accountability, warning of sanctions.

Council members also urged unspecified "countries in the region," the African Union Peace and Security Council and the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development, to "continue firmly engaging with South Sudanese leaders to address the crisis."

The statement pressed countries in the region to "prepare to provide additional troops" as needed.

"The members of the Security Council expressed their readiness to consider enhancing UNMISS to better ensure that UNMISS and the international community can prevent and respond to violence in South Sudan," it added.

The statement followed a council meeting behind closed doors on the fighting.

On the way into the meeting, Britain's deputy permanent representative Peter Wilson said "we have called for an arms embargo, this situation underlines the need for that."

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France's UN Ambassador Francois Delattre also voiced dismay.

"We are extremely worried about the situation... it is a result of a lack of political will on the side of the parties... The key word is pressure, to urge the parties to take their responsibilities."

- 'Shocked and appalled' -

UN peacekeeping mission chief Herve Ladsous earlier informed the council members about the situation on the ground.

The UNMISS mission was caught in the exchange of fire. A Chinese peacekeeper was killed and several others were wounded.

However, Ladsous cautioned, "we cannot be sure of the figures."

"The conclusion is that command and control does not really work in this country," he said, referring to Kiir and Machar's failure to completely control their forces.

Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said earlier he was "shocked and appalled" by the fighting between government and former rebel forces in Juba, and urged both sides to halt the violence.

South Sudan has seen more fighting than peace since winning independence from Sudan in July 2011. Civil war broke out in December 2013 when Kiir accused Machar of plotting a coup.

An August 2015 peace deal was supposed to end the conflict. But the peace process has stalled while fighting has continued despite the establishment of a unity government.

This week's clashes are the first between the army and former rebels in the capital -- where the war broke out -- since both established positions there in April as part of the peace agreement.

"This senseless violence is unacceptable and has the potential of reversing the progress made so far in the peace process," Ban said.

South Sudan's leaders must take "decisive action" to restore security in Juba and keep the violence from spreading to other parts of the country, Ban said.

The violence comes a day after the world's youngest country marked its fifth independence anniversary.
Istanbul (AFP) - The UN's cultural agency met on Sunday in Istanbul to consider adding over two dozen new sites to its prestigious global heritage list, and called for a strong global response to the threats posed by extremism.

The meeting of the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO comes less than two weeks after the main airport in Istanbul was hit by a triple suicide attack that left 47 people dead.

The strike was blamed on Islamic State (IS) jihadists who have already destroyed irreplaceable heritage in Turkey's neighbours Syria and Iraq.

UNESCO director general Irina Bokova told the opening ceremony of the 11-day session that world heritage was under threat in countries riven by unrest from Mali to Yemen.

"Our response should be strong on the ground and also strong in a moral sense," she said.

Bokova said the fact the committee was holding the meeting in Istanbul -- a city for centuries controlled by Christian Byzantines and since the Ottoman conquest by Muslims -- was a "strong symbol" of support to Turkey.

"The fact we are here... in a city which is a bridge between East and West... is an important message to share with the world when we see violent extremists target human rights and cultural diversity," she said.

She said ancient sites such as the remains around Palmyra in Syria and Mosul in Iraq -- ravaged by IS jihadists -- had been "destroyed and laid waste for military goals."

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said in a video message that at a time when cultural heritage and values were being destroyed by war "an even greater responsibility and bigger task falls upon UNESCO."

Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus meanwhile told the ceremony UNESCO could work in a "more effective way" to protect global heritage.

- 'Healing wounded memories' -

Bokova paid tribute to those who had risked their lives to preserve cultural heritage, in particular the expert caretaker of Palmyra in Syria, Khalid al-Assad, who was murdered by IS in 2015.

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"It reminds us that human beings are not only made of flesh and blood but also values to be transmitted. And this is transmitted through heritage."

The Committee will examine proposals to inscribe more than two dozen sites on UNESCO's World Heritage List.

Natural sites under consideration range from extinct volcanoes in France, to an underwater marine reserve in Sudan.

Cultural sites include works by the Franco-Swiss architect Le Corbusier, the historic centre of Panama City and mediaeval tombstones in the Balkans.

A closely watched candidate from the host country is the once great but now ruined Armenian city of Ani which lies just inside eastern Turkey opposite its closed border with Armenia.

Turkey has no diplomatic ties with Armenia due to the dispute over the mass killings of Armenians in World War I.

"What is at stake is more than adding new sites on the lists," Bokova said.

"It is about affirming human values and human rights. It is about healing wounded memories, harnessing heritage to regain confidence, to recover and to look into the future."

The World Heritage List today has 1,031 sites in more than 163 countries.

The process has often caused diplomatic friction and this year is no exception, with Britain annoying Spain by proposing grottoes in its overseas territory of Gibraltar which is claimed by Madrid.
MUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian spirits maker United Spirits Ltd (USL) said an additional inquiry into its past financial statements has uncovered actual and potential fund diversions linked to its former chairman Vijay Mallya.

The internal inquiry revealed actual and potential diversions of about 9.1 billion rupees ($135.5 million) and other potentially improper transactions amounting to about 3.1 billion rupees involving USL and its subsidiaries between October 2010 and July 2014, the company said in a filing to stock exchanges after a board meeting on July 9.

USL said that some of the transactions appeared to have been initiated before that period. The company, a unit of Diageo, also said that independent experts had been engaged to assist in the inquiry.

"These improper transactions identified in the additional inquiry involved, in most cases, the diversion of funds to overseas and Indian entities that appear to be affiliated or associated with USL's former non-executive chairman Dr. Vijay Mallya," the company said.

Mallya is wanted by Indian authorities for questioning and the government says that his defunct Kingfisher Airlines owes banks $1.4 billion. Mallya flew to Britain in March and in an interview with Reuters last week said that the amount owed is probably half of what is being reported.

The 60-year-old beer baron's diplomatic passport, which he carried as a member of the Indian parliament's upper house, was revoked in April, with a judge in Mumbai issuing a non-bailable warrant for his arrest.

USL said that only a court or regulatory authority would be in a position to determine fault or culpability in relation to the transactions it investigated, adding that it would send copies of its findings to concerned authorities immediately and cooperate with any inquires.

The overseas beneficiaries of the funds were companies where Mallya has a material direct or indirect interest, while Indian recipients include, in most cases, now defunct Kingfisher Airlines, the company said.

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In a statement on Sunday, Mallya described USL's allegations as "surprising and unfortunate".

"I can only reiterate that all transactions were legal, above board and approved by USL auditors, the USL board and shareholders. Over and above this, Diageo conducted extensive due diligence on USL prior to acquiring shares," he said.

In the interview with Reuters, Mallya said he was willing to answer questions about his business dealings but was reluctant to return to his homeland "unless assured of a fair trial in India, if at all there needs to be a trial".

Mallya agreed in February to give up his chairmanship and board position at United Spirits.

The company said at the time that it would continue to pursue a claim for the recovery of 13.37 billion rupees of loans to former group company United Breweries Holdings Ltd (UBHL).

United Spirits said on Saturday that it would make a further provision of 217 million rupees in light of the additional findings and take action against employees named in the inquiry.

($1 = 67.1500 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Abhirup Roy and Devidutta Tripathy; Editing by Tom Lasseter and David Goodman)
Washington (AFP) - The Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad targeted and killed US reporter Marie Colvin in February 2012 to stop her from covering government atrocities, according to a lawsuit filed in US court on Saturday.

The Syrian military intercepted Colvin's communications and unleashed a barrage of rocket fire on her in the besieged city of Homs, according to documents filed in US district court in Washington.

Colvin, a longtime war correspondent for the British newspaper The Sunday Times, was killed with French photographer Remi Ochlik. British photographer Paul Conroy, French reporter Edith Bouvier, and Syrian media defender Wael al-Omar were wounded in the same attack.

The lawsuit is based on information from captured government documents and defectors. It names several Syrian officials, including Assad's brother Maher.

- 'Targeted' rocket attack -

The suit alleges that Syrian officials, acting "with premeditation... deliberately killed Marie Colvin by launching a targeted rocket attack" against the makeshift broadcast studio in the Baba Amar neighborhood of Homs, where Colvin and other reporters were based.

The night before the attack Colvin made audio broadcasts via satellite dish from Homs to CNN, BBC News, and Britain's Channel 4 News.

"There are rockets, shells, tank shells, antiaircraft being fired in parallel lines into the city," she told CNN, according to the documents. "The Syrian Army is simply shelling a city of cold, starving civilians."

After a female informant confirmed Colvin's presence at the site, Syrian artillery units "deliberately launched salvos of rockets and mortars directly at the improvised media center.

"Using a targeting method called 'bracketing,' multiple rockets were launched to either side of the Media Center, drawing closer with each round," the suit states.

Survivors who fled into the street "were immediately detected by an aerial surveillance aircraft circling overhead. Syrian artillery units quickly adjusted their target away from the Media Center and towards these survivors," the document says.

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The journalists "were non-combatant civilians... No armed rebels were present at or near the Media Center at the time of the attack."

- Conspiracy to silence the media -

Senior Assad regime officials conspired "to surveil, target, and ultimately kill civilian journalists in order to silence local and international media as part of its effort to crush political opposition," the suit says.

In late 2011 and early 2012, the regime launched a massive military operation in Homs, Syrias third largest city, laying siege to defectors and civilians in opposition-held neighborhoods including Baba Amr.

The suit was filed on behalf of Colvin's sister Cathleen Colvin and other surviving family members by the non-profit human rights group Center for Justice and Accountability.

Colvin, who was 56, covered many of the world's bloodiest conflicts from the 1980s onwards. She wore a black eye-patch after losing an eye in a grenade blast reporting on Sri Lanka's civil war in 2001.

Homs is "a city of the cold and hungry, echoing to exploding shells and bursts of gunfire," Colvin wrote in her final piece for The Sunday Times, the paper where she had worked for 25 years.

"On the lips of everyone was the question: 'Why have we been abandoned by the world?'"
Washington (AFP) - The United States has transferred Saudi-born Yemeni inmate Fayiz Ahmad Yahia Suleiman to Italy, the Pentagon announced Sunday, as President Barack Obama seeks to close the reviled American military detention center in Cuba.

The 41-year-old, who was recommended for transfer in January 2010 by the Guantanamo Review Task Force, was originally brought to Guantanamo Bay in January 2002.

"In accordance with statutory requirements, the secretary of defense informed Congress of the United States' intent to transfer this individual and of the secretary (of defense)'s determination that this transfer meets the statutory standard," a Pentagon statement said.

"The United States is grateful to the government of Italy for its humanitarian gesture and willingness to support ongoing US efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. The United States coordinated with the government of Italy to ensure this transfer took place consistent with appropriate security and humane treatment measures."

A total of 78 inmates now remain at Guantanamo, which Obama took action to begin closing in one of his first acts as president. Yemenis account for the biggest group of detainees.

Obama has been unable to fulfill his long-held campaign promise due to opposition from the Republican-held Congress, concerns at home over plans to hold one-time terror suspects on US soil and the reluctance of allies to take in the prisoners.

Some of those concerns have crystallized in recent days after the disappearance of a former Guantanamo inmate in Uruguay, where he had been resettled in 2014 along with five other ex-detainees.

Jihad Diyab -- a 44-year-old Syrian -- went off the South American country's radar several weeks ago after apparently evading border controls and crossing into Brazil.

According to US government statistics, about 13 percent of prisoners freed from Guantanamo since Obama began his first term have returned to violent extremism or are believed to have done so, down from 35 percent under his predecessor George W. Bush.

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Paul Lewis, the Pentagon's special envoy for Guantanamo closure, said that 14 ex-prisoners have gone on to participate in attacks that killed Americans.

In February, with less than a year left in his term, Obama released a last-ditch plan to close the facility, hoping to speed up the resettlement of all but 46 of the remaining prisoners, for whom he hopes to find alternate, secure detention centers in the United States.

All those he is seeking to resettle abroad have been deemed eligible for transfer.
Cucuta (Colombia) (AFP) - Thousands of Venezuelans poured across the border into Colombia on Sunday to buy essential goods during a brief opening of the border that's been closed for nearly a year.

After ordering the border closed last August for security reasons, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro authorized a maximum 12-hour opening of the pedestrian bridge that connects Tachira, Venezuela and Cucuta, Colombia.

Economically ravaged Venezuela has suffered food and medicine shortages for months, a ripple effect from the falling price of oil, the country's primary export. Critics also blame grave mishandling of the state-led economy.

Some 500 desperate Venezuelans illegally stormed the border earlier this week in search of basic goods.

"There's no medicine for children; children are dying," Tulia Somaza told AFP as she eagerly shopped among the masses in this border city. "People don't even have soap to wash clothes."

Some people even spent the night in parked vehicles to get a good spot in line for the early 6:00 am (1000 GMT) opening.

According to a tweet from William Villamizar, governor of the Norte de Santander department that includes Cucuta, some 25,000 people surged in within the first seven hours.

- 'Serious humanitarian situation' -

"Thank God!" was the motto of the day as Venezuelans stocked up on flour, oil, toilet paper and shampoo.

"Thank you for this welcome, the people of Venezuela are experiencing a serious humanitarian situation," said Jose Gregorio Sanchez, a resident of the border town of Urena.

"The Venezuelan government halted the industries that supplied the population," Sanchez told AFP, noting that the devalued Venezuelan currency does make it more expensive to shop in Colombia, but it's "much cheaper" than the Venezuelan black market.

Shortages as high as 80 percent followed the global dip in oil prices, a devastating blow to a South American country whose oil and gas reserves account for 96 percent of its exports.

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Colombia deployed 300 police officers to Cucuta to monitor two of the city's largest supermarkets following reports of shoving early Sunday.

Many arrived by car after crossing into Colombia, but some were transported from the border in security vehicles sent out for the occasion.

Maduro, an elected socialist, has blamed an "economic war" caused by "right-wing bosses" for the mass shortages.

In a sign of Maduro's concern at mounting social unrest, the president on Thursday replaced the head of the National Guard.

The Venezuelan opposition launched its efforts to remove the president after winning control of the legislature in January. But Maduro has challenged his rivals through the Supreme Court, which they accuse him of controlling.

Maduro ordered the border shut in August 2015 after former Colombian paramilitaries attacked a Venezuelan military patrol and wounded three soldiers, causing a diplomatic row between the neighboring countries.

The two ministers of defense from both countries met last week to discuss potentially reopening border gates on the 2,000-kilometer (1,250-mile) stretch separating the countries.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and his Foreign Minister Maria Angela Holguin also visited Cucuta last week to push for a reopening.
Republicans summoned FBI Director James Comey to Capitol Hill on Thursday to question him about his determination that Hillary Clinton did not break the law with her use of a private email server. They termed it an emergency hearing, and their questions were correspondingly urgent.

Have you seen the Broadway production Hamilton? Rep. John Mica of Florida, the most senior Republican on the House Oversight Committee, asked Comey.

The witness looked puzzled at the line of questioning: Was Mica going to challenge him to a duel?

Not yet, Comey replied.

Mica explained that Hamilton had won the Tony for best choreography, which, in the lawmakers fertile mind, makes the musical just like Comeys statement recommending no prosecution of Clinton: A case of choreography, he alleged, between President Obama, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Attorney General Loretta Lynch, and Comey.

Mica displayed a Clinton Timeline, with photos, to tie his conspiracy together. There is something fishy about this, Mica announced, between clicks of his tongue. Im not a conspiracy theorist, but there are a lot of questions on how this came down.

Comey, who otherwise endured nearly five hours of questioning with patience and calm, denounced the insinuation Mica had made and told him what he should tell his constituents: Look me in the eye and listen to what Im about to say, the FBI chief said. I did not coordinate that [statement] with anyone. The White House, the Department of Justice, nobody outside the FBI family had any idea what I was about to say. I say that under oath. I stand by that. There was no coordination, no.

Republicans didnt just disagree with Comeys decision, or demand new investigations, which is their right. They alleged that the justice system is rigged and corrupt. This doesnt hurt Comey or even Clinton as much as it undermines a building block of civilized society: the rule of law.

Until now, nobody questioned the probity of Comey, a longtime prosecutor and former No. 2 official in George W. Bushs Justice Department. House Speaker Paul Ryan had said his integrity is unequaled. Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, chairman of the oversight panel, had said he and his Republican colleagues would probably accept his recommendation because in all of government, he is a man of integrity and honesty.

But now Ryan is saying Clinton got preferential treatment, Chaffetz says Comey made a political calculation, and presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump alleges the attorney general was bribed.

Republicans could simply accept the political gift Comey presented them. He said Thursday that Clinton met the very definition of negligent in her mishandling of classified information. And he portrayed her as a Luddite who lacks basic familiarity with the treatment of classified material and didnt even have a computer in her office.

They could also use the occasion to fix a system that classifies too much but still doesnt protect the most important secrets. Clinton is hardly the only one to mishandle government secrets. In the same hearing room four years ago, Chaffetz publicly exposed the existence of a CIA facility in Benghazi. The Obama administration has repeatedly complained that members of the committee have divulged the names of U.S. government informants, airport-security details and information from a sealed wiretap warrant.

Instead, several Republicans attempted to impugn the character of a model public servant. Obviously, this is very suspicious, just the optics of it all, charged Rep. Jody Hice, R-Ga., tying Comeys announcement to Secretary Clinton is flying around in Air Force One with the president. Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Ga., said an inside the Beltway mentality was keeping Comey from bringing charges.

Comey, who delivered his opening statement and fielded questions without notes, calmly explained that to prosecute Clinton, the government would have to rely on a 1917 statute of dubious constitutionality that has only been used once in 99 years.

Comey said that his all-star team of 15 to 20 people who didnt give a hoot about politics was unanimous after their year-long probe that Clinton shouldnt be charged. He said they couldnt prove that she knew she was receiving classified information or retaining it on her server.

And, because the facts in the case wouldnt be used to prosecute a John Doe, he said, trying to prosecute Clinton with these facts would be celebrity-hunting.

That, of course, is what Republicans wanted Comey to do. Instead, he showed integrity. In my experience, which is three decades, no reasonable prosecutor would bring this case, he said. I know that frustrates people, but thats the way the law is.
The Hague tribunal in the much-discussed South China Sea arbitration case between China and the Philippines has notified the world that it will issue a final verdict on July 12. Many Western countries seem to think they already know the result of the arbitration  that China will lose. They have already started urging China to accept the ruling. But Beijings position is clear: no acceptance, no participation, no recognition, and no implementation. There is solid international legal basis for China to oppose this case. And by doing so, China is not only safeguarding its national interests, but also protecting the integrity and legitimacy of the international maritime order.

Why does China refuse to accept and participate in the proceedings of this tribunal, being heard at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague? Because China, as a sovereign state, is entitled to choose its preferred means of dispute resolution  a legitimate right under international law. Moreover, the Philippines case is inherently flawed and illegitimated by such irregularities as the countrys abuse of the dispute settlement procedures, its distortion of concepts, and its deliberate disguise of the real nature of the disputes.

The Philippines arbitration relates to the dispute over the sovereignty of islands and reefs in the South China Sea, and to maritime delimitation. But these territorial issues are not regulated by  and therefore beyond the scope of  the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). And in 2006, China declared it would exclude disputes concerning maritime delimitation from compulsory arbitration, under Article 298 of UNCLOS. Second, the Philippines unilateral initiation of compulsory arbitration did not meet UNCLOS preconditions for such initiation. The no arbitration without the existence of a dispute principle requires that before resorting to compulsory arbitration, there must have existed a real dispute between the parties. However, China has not yet presented specific claims with individual islands: Instead, it has always treated them as part of its Zhongsha Islands or Nansha Islands in the South China Sea.

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UNCLOS also stipulates that the Philippines must exchange views related to the arbitration over the dispute with China. But the Philippines has never consulted with China on the subject matters of the arbitration. And it was not telling the truth when it reported an impasse with China in the bilateral exchanges and the great many subsequent exchanges. In fact, it was China that tried in vain to engage in meaningful dialogue with the Philippines.

Therefore, the Philippines unilateral initiation of arbitration has fallen short of meeting the UNCLOS conditions. Besides, by unilaterally initiating the arbitration, the Philippines has violated an earlier agreement it reached with China: Both countries previously stated their commitment to bilateral negotiations and consultations as the means to settle disputes.

Why does China find it impossible to recognize and implement the tribunals upcoming decision? Although Article 288(4) of UNCLOS stipulates that the tribunal should decide whether it has jurisdiction, the application of this provision is not unconditional. Indeed, there is no such thing as absolute power in international law. This tribunal, whose authority and power are conferred by states, is an international dispute settlement mechanism under UNCLOS. If the tribunal abuses its power, China  along with any other members in the international community  would have the right to reject its decisions. And in this case, the tribunal has acted in a reckless and arbitrary fashion. In doing so, it has violated the basic principles of international rule of law and undermined Chinas and other nations faith in UNCLOS.

We dont yet know the outcome, but we do know that the tribunal failed to fully understand and investigate the real dispute between China and the Philippines. It disregarded the essence and purpose of the Filipino claims in filing the case, deliberately regarding it as a mere issue of the interpretation and application of UNCLOS  but in fact, the submissions handled are far beyond this scope. There is deep concern in China that the tribunal is failing to consider the specific geographical framework and situation in the South China Sea where the maritime claims of the two countries potentially overlap.

I hope it is not hard to understand why China has decided not to recognize and implement the tribunals ruling. More than 60 countries have voiced their support for Chinas position on resolving the South China Sea issue through negotiations and consultations. China, as a state party to UNCLOS, supports and respects the treatys principles and spirit. What China opposes is not UNCLOS and compulsory arbitration, but the tribunals abuse of power in handling the case.

Today, most disputes are resolved through negotiations between the countries directly involved. The prerequisite for such negotiations, whether bilateral or multilateral, is the agreement or consent of those countries. Chinas claim and position in the arbitration case are consistent with the basic spirit of international law, as well as state practice in international relations.

This arbitration cannot resolve the disputes between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea. Instead, it will only increase tensions and undermine peace and stability in the region. If the coastal countries in the South China Sea region do not intend to aggravate tensions, they have to return to the path of seeking resolution through negotiation. China and the countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have agreed to handle the issue through a dual-track approach  in other words, to resolve disputes through peaceful negotiations. Consultations on the code of conduct in the South China Sea region are making progress. The momentum should not be interrupted.

As President Xi Jinping said, China is committed to upholding international justice and is opposed to forcing ones will upon other people. The handling of the South China Sea issue has a bearing on justice as well as peace and stability. Countries in this region need to work together to build rules-based cooperation. The international community should support the efforts made by China and other littoral states to manage and resolve disputes in a peaceful manner, respect Chinas choice of using negotiations as the means to settle disputes, and protect the legitimacy and fairness of international mechanisms  especially UNCLOS.

Image Credit: VCG/VCG via Getty Images
If there is a heart to the scattershot Never Trump movement, it is probably in Utah.

Former Gov. Mitt Romney has been the spokesman for Republicans who reject Donald Trump, while Sen. Mike Lee is one of the more vocal critics of his campaign in Congress. Trump had one of his worst showings in the Beehive State primary, while a June poll by the Salt Lake Tribune had him basically tied with Hillary Clinton in a place that hasnt gone for a Democrat since 1964.

Experts say that Trumps troubles in Utah stem from the religious values of the states Mormon population and the candidates personal style.

What is making Donald Trump popular in other states is exactly whats making him somewhat unpopular here in the state of Utah, said Jason Perry, director of the Hinckley Institute at the University of Utah. That straight-talking brashness that has made Donald Trump popular in many parts of the states  is not the kind of politician we usually see in the state of Utah.

Trumps problems date back to at least December, when he called for banning the entrance of Muslims into the U.S. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints responded with a statement reaffirming its support for religious freedom.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is neutral in regard to party politics and election campaigns, the statement said. However, it is not neutral in relation to religious freedom.

For now, it seems unlikely that Trump could actually lose Utah. The Tribune poll showed 13 percent support for former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, who is running on the Libertarian ticket, but pollsters are wary of surveys showing strong third-party support, as voters often stand by their party in the privacy of the ballot booth.

Johnsons campaign is based in Salt Lake City, but he told TIME that was largely because his Ron Nielson, who ran his gubernatorial campaigns, set up shop there. For now, he hasnt made a serious effort to target the state, though he said that may change.

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I think that that will be a strategy that unfolds going forward, but so far there is no strategy, Johnson told TIME during a recent visit to Washington. That will change.  I have no doubt that there will be a Utah strategy.

Two of the three major presidential forecasters, Larry Sabatos Crystal Ball and the Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report have downgraded the state from a sure-fire Republican win to a likely one, though the Cook Political Report still lists it as solid red state. Neither the Clinton or Trump campaigns are putting resources into organizing the state right now.

Perry said that Johnson has the potential to disrupt the Utah vote in November, though its not yet clear how that could tilt the outcome.

Every vote that Gary Johnson starts to get hurts both of those candidates, he said. Its not completely clear at this stage whether that helps Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump the most.
By Eric Auchard FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Technology investors seeking refuge after Brexit are picking companies delivering instant access to services for Web and mobile customers or firms mainly doing business globally which can benefit from the pound's fall. They are shying away from hardware makers or e-commerce suppliers with sizeable UK sales, which count for less after currency swings driven by Britain's vote to leave the EU. Shareholders are also wary of software and services firms getting caught short by budget freezes by customers scrambling to reassess their businesses and resulting slowing economic growth. Second-quarter results begin this week and run into August. The STOXX European technology index fell 10 percent after the June 23 vote, but has since regained 6.6 percent. It is down 10.5 percent so far this year, weighed by slowing global smartphone growth and concerns about the world economy. Brexit is playing into a deeper trend where established tech firms supplying traditional hardware, software or services are losing ground to cloud-based businesses, as corporate spending and consumer appetites shift to the web and mobile phones. "There will be a lot of companies that are poorly positioned for the cloud that are going to call out Brexit as a timely excuse for their own problems," said Ben Rogoff, a fund manager with Polar Capital in London. "Let's be clear here: This uncertainty is taking place against a backdrop of growth that has been disappointing anyway. These firms will blame Brexit for their own misexecution". A survey of chief information officers in the United States and Europe by Morgan Stanley in June - before the Brexit vote - showed buyers already paring back 2016 spending plans for hardware and technical services. Cloud, big data and security software remain top spending priorities, it found. After the vote, global market research firm Gartner slashed its tech spending outlook for Britain by 3 percent this year and by 5 percent in 2017. SAFE HAVENS Two UK-based safe havens are ARM Holdings , which licenses chip technology used in most smartphones worldwide, and Sophos , driven by demand for its computer security software and services, most financial analysts say. U.S. names like Salesforce.com and Red Hat , with long-term subscriptions for Internet-delivered software and little direct exposure to Britain, are safe bets, said Silicon Valley-based analyst Trip Chowdhry. Amazon.com and Apple , while active in Britain, enjoy strong brands and have sticky subscription business models likely to insulate them from any UK slowdown, he said. Globally focused ASML of the Netherlands benefits from spending on its advanced chip-making tools by Intel and Taiwan's TSMC <2330.TW>, together with the positive effects of selling products in dollars, but booking them in euros, Morgan Stanley says. Similarly, Europe's biggest software maker, SAP , remains insulated by long sales cycles and an entrenched, multinational customer base, with little direct exposure to Britain, although the Brexit shock in the final week of June could prove to have delayed some new software licensing deals. Baader analyst Knut Woller expects SAP later this month to reaffirm its full-year 2016 financial targets: "If SAP can meet the consensus for flat license growth in the second quarter, that would be seen as a relief" and send the stock higher, he said. LEFT VULNERABLE But UK online advertising and ecommerce sales by other big U.S. Internet names are set to take an eventual hit from slowing economic growth and translating pounds into U.S. dollars for reporting purposes, Deutsche Bank analyst Ross Sandler said. These include eBay , with 16 percent of revenue from Britain; travel site Priceline with an estimated 15 percent; Google with 9.5 percent and Facebook with an estimated 7 to 10 percent tied to Britain, Sandler said. Eastern European software services firms EPAM and Luxoft , which count heavily on contracts from financial service and media clients in Britain and Western Europe, are some of the tech shares hardest hit in the region by worries about how Brexit may undermine economic growth. Both stocks are down 15-20 percent in the past month. Financial software providers Temenos of Switzerland and UK-based Fidessa may struggle to close contracts in the second half of 2016 as banks reconsider their UK positions, UBS said. "While we do not think the UK's 'leave' vote is analogous to the Lehman collapse, we do think it is likely to impede decision-making in Europe as banks consider the possible implications," UBS software analyst Michael Briest said. Dutch car navigation supplier TomTom's stock has plunged 20 percent in the past month: British consumers account for 13 percent of sales, with three-quarters of overall revenue coming from Europe, Barclays said. "We foresee challenging times ahead for TomTom based on its exposure to the UK consumer market and the negative impact foreign exchange should have on TomToms gross margins," said Barclays analyst Andrew Gardiner. TomTom faces a double hit because most of what it sells is priced in dollars, making purchases more costly in Britain. (Editing by Ruth Pitchford)
Americans who once believed that Obamacare would deliver are long past being disillusioned.

President Barack Obama promised people lower premiums and deductibles and the ability to keep their current health plans if they liked them; the opposite happened. Under Obamacare, Americans received higher premiums and deductibles and encountered insurers that dropped their plans.

Americans are understandably wary of another solution.

Late last month, Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., presented the comprehensive Republican alternative to the presidents conglomeration of failed promises. The plan, A Better Way to Fix Health Care, is the product of the speakers campaign to formulate attack plans for complex issues facing Congress.

One of the most desperate needs the American people have is for access to affordable health care. The president had promised that decreasing premiums would lead to more affordable health care for all, but that plan failed.

The GOP health care plan combats these broken promises, first with a proposal to help Americans pay for health care by expanding health savings accounts (tax-advantaged accounts) and providing a tax credit for individuals who dont receive insurance through their employers.

The tax credit would be available at the beginning of every month and adjusted for age so that older Americans (who tend to pay more for insurance) would be able to purchase adequate coverage; it would also grow over time. Ryan described the credit as a sort of backpack because of its portability and the way one can use it as a tool to buy whatever coverage makes the most sense (instead of being limited to prepackaged products designed by a bureaucrat). Providing support for Americans in this way unleashes the power of the free market to provide the best product possible while helping those who struggle to afford health insurance.

Another issue the Republican health care plan tackles is preexisting conditions. Americans deserve to have peace of mind when seeking coverage and not to worry that they will be turned away by insurers because of a preexisting problem. The GOP Health Care Taskforce, which created the Republican plan, recommends a policy to ensure that no American can be denied coverage by a health insurer. Additionally, our blueprint specifies that if an individual experiences a serious medical issue, insurers cannot charge him or her more than standard rates.

A third major issue our plan addresses is Medicare. With an aging baby boomer population, this health insurance system for seniors will face shortfalls if not substantially reformed. The $800 billion that the presidents health plan stole from the programs funding made things much worse.

The GOP plan advises first getting rid of the highly unpopular Independent Payment Advisory Board Obamacare created to ration care and then prescribes more systematic changes to guarantee Medicares survival. The plan proposes combining Medicare Part A and Part B, increasing the flexibility of Medicare Advantage plans so that seniors have more health care choices, and removing certain constraints that limit health care providers decisions about how to treat Medicare patients.

The health policy roadmap Ryan unveiled doesnt just stop at fixing problems inherent in Obamacare, though; it includes new initiatives Republicans have been working on to ensure that America remains on the cutting edge of health care innovation.

One initiative is the 21st Century Cures Act, championed by Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., of the House Energy and Commerce Committee (a committee on which I serve). The strategy is to promote the discovery and development of new treatments and cures, which will ultimately help decrease health care costs overall. The initiative, which the House passed a year ago, would break down certain barriers blocking Food and Drug Administration approval of groundbreaking treatments, modernize the clinical trial process, and provide incentives to repurpose drugs for patients with rare diseases.

The working document on health care that the speaker rolled out provides a solution to what ails America about Obamacare and then some. No longer can individuals brandish the claim that Republicans dont have a plan for health care; we do, and its here in the comprehensive plan Ryan rolled out last month.
SPARTA  A judge on Thursday sentenced a Sparta sex offender who raped a young girl to three consecutive life sentences in prison.

A jury in Monroe County Circuit Court on June 29 convicted Harland Swenson Jr., 50, of three counts of sexual assault of a child for assaulting the 10-year-old girl in 2014.

Something precious was taken from her and that was her childhood innocence, Judge Mark Goodman said. Her life has changed forever.

A life sentence was mandatory because of Swensons prior conviction for assaulting a child, but District Attorney Kevin Croninger argued that consecutive life terms sends a message to the victim that police and the jury heard her voice and gives courage to other victims who havent stepped forward.

Sexual assault of children is a heinous and disgusting act, he said. Our society has no room for people who engage in that type of conduct.

Attorney Russell Hammer said the prosecutor did not prove his case and that Swenson will appeal. Swenson did not make a statement, and no one spoke on his behalf.

The investigation was led by detective Andrew Kuen of the city of Sparta Police Department.

"I am extremely proud of the work that both law enforcement and the Monroe County District Attorneys Office do to fight for justice for victims of crime," Croninger said. Every victim deserves justice, and every sexual predator belongs in prison."
Anger seems to have become the American currency. We are equal opportunity haters: we can hate up the economic ladder and down the economic ladder. We are angry with wealthy businessmen and we are angry with poor immigrants. And the media loves it. Angry stories about injustices sell much better than feel-good stories about human kindness.

Anger is too often paired with blame. Then we are swept into the eternal cycle of retribution, and eye for an eye, the Im not going to let you get away with that! response. This is a classic American reaction; maybe it has grown out of our Wild West days when real men shot each other in the street or brawled with each other in bars.

Anger is actually a very unproductive emotion. The ancient Greeks and Romans considered it unmanly, childish and weak. Only when it is channeled into positive change does it serve any good purpose. Martin Luther King, Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and leaders of their caliber took anger, their own and the communitys, and turned it into movements for change.

Bernie Sanders, for all his arm waving and ranting, is trying to use anger as fuel for social change. The things he is angry about are what he would call social ills, injustices that could and should be corrected. He is not angry with any specific group of people, except possibly our ineffective Congress. Sanders is angry about the fact that 20 percent of American children live in poverty. He is angry that many people cannot afford either health care or college.

The looming danger in this country is that the American people will vote out of anger this fall, and thereby wound our basic principles such as Liberty and justice for all. We can watch the result of a vote spurred by anger in Great Britain. Their vote to leave the European Union is already surprising them with its unfortunate consequences.

I think that anger is generated by feelings of helplessness, and by fear. Often, what we fear, we hate. Many Americans, particularly middle class and poor people, feel helpless to make a good life for themselves and their children, and that stirs anger in them and anger looks for who to blame. If we will only let our anger transform into an attitude of Lets do something about this! instead of seeking to attach blame somewhere, we will make America stronger, more compassionate and with equal opportunities for all. I think Martin Luther King would say, Brothers and sisters lay your anger down. We have work to do!

Mimi Wuest teaches sociology and psychology at Madison Area Technical College in Reedsburg.
Mankind has a savage history.

Alexander the Great. The sacking of Rome. Genghis Khan. The 100 Years War. The French Revolution. The American Civil War. World War I. The Russian Civil War. World War II. The Holocaust. The Killing Fields ... just to name a few.

So consider our collective despair over the deaths of seven people who lost their lives last week to gunshot wounds as evidence of human advancement.

The shooting deaths of two men by police officers in Louisiana and Minnesota and five Dallas police officers by one or more snipers dominated the news cycle last week even though humanity, both in America and worldwide, is enjoying a remarkably peaceful era. Mankinds most dangerous activity, war, has declined to historic lows, and worldwide battle deaths per 100,000 people are a tiny fraction of what they were in the 1940s or even the 1980s. Its easy to forget that 4,000 Allied soldiers died in less than 24 hours storming the beaches at Normandy or that Poland lost nearly one-fifth of its population during World War II or that the Russian civil war killed eight million people, and that was before Stalins Great Purge slaughtered nearly a million more.

Its not just battlefield deaths that have declined. Americas murder rate has fallen in half since 1993, and the rate of nonfatal firearm victimizations has declined at an even sharper rate. Victims of fatal police shootings in America number fewer than 1,000 a year, and the vast majority are justified and often save the lives of others. As for the war on police? Police officer deaths in the line of duty have plunged since the 1970s, and 2013 was the safest year for police in recorded history.

What accounts for the reaction to the events of last week? The common explanation is the media coverage of violence. Thanks to the Internet, what would once have been local stories in Baton Rouge and the Twin Cities are now nationalized. Statistical reality gets buried under negative headlines and constant television images.

But theres a more hopeful explanation. Rather the seven deaths symbolizing a coarsening of culture, our spasm of national grief represents cultures elevation. Our culture cherishes human life and recoils when it ends in a violent and utterly unnecessary manner. People have become accustomed to a prosperous world that is relatively free of war and other violent confrontations. The overwhelming majority of the worlds population has a stake in keeping it that way.

Is it possible to overreact? Yes. The editors of the New York Post, who printed an ignorant July 8 headline that screamed Civil War. cant distinguish between an actual American Civil War that killed 620,000 people and three tragedies in three days that killed seven people, and their ignorance isnt without consequence; it blinds their readers to the progress against deadly violence and the political, social and economic arrangements that made it possible.

Mankind will never perfect itself, but it has turned a significant corner against violent conflict. Grief and historical perspective are appropriate and necessary as we seek to understand the events of last week. Both make the world a safer place.

Tomah Journal
Almost every day, we hear about a new development in the world of driverless technology. But how will this technology change our lives when cars no longer need humans to drive them?

Major automakers are now researching and testing driverless cars.

Technology companies like Apple, Google and Uber are also working to bring driverless technology to market.

James Anderson is a senior behavioral scientist at the RAND Corporation. He is also an expert on driverless transportation. He said the first stage of the technology is already here. The technology allows cars to change lanes, control speed and warn drivers of hazards.

The idea is that drivers first use these, and then become more confident to use the technology more, he said. But the risk of that is that research suggests people tend to over rely on the equipment, and may or may not be able to jump back in and take over on short notice.



Setback for driverless technology

In May, a driver was killed while using the Autopilot feature on a Tesla car. It was the first known U.S. death involving a car operating in self-drive mode.

Officials said the crash happened in Florida when a tractor-trailer turned in front of the Tesla Model S. Investigators said it appeared the cars cameras failed to differentiate between the large white side of the tractor-trailer and the brightly lit sky.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it is investigating the accident, as well as the design and performance of Teslas Autopilot system.

The driver of the truck told the Associated Press the driver of the car was playing Harry Potter on the TV screen before the crash.

The Florida Highway Patrol confirmed it found a portable DVD player in the car after the accident. But it could not confirm whether a movie was playing at the time of the crash.

Teslas founder, Elon Musk, expressed condolences for the accident. Tesla said it was the first known death in more than 200 million kilometers driven with its Autopilot system.

Autopilot allows the car to steer itself in a lane, change lanes, and speed up or slow down based on nearby traffic. Tesla said the system is designed only to assist drivers, who must manually turn it on.

The company tells drivers that even when using Autopilot, they need to keep both hands on the steering wheel at all times.

Autopilot is getting better all the time, but it is not perfect and still requires the driver to remain alert, Tesla said.

Despite these dangers, autonomous cars are expected to greatly reduce accidents. Currently, about 90 percent of crashes are caused by human error.

James Anderson said the big automakers have pledged to add anti-crash devices on all vehicles within five years.

Driverless technology leads to disruption

Even though few accidents is good, Anderson said this would cause a lot of economic disruption. Theres a whole crash economy that is dependent on the regular occurrence of automobile crashes. He said job losses would come in the insurance industry and in hospitals where crash victims are treated.

In addition, other driving-related jobs would be hurt. There are millions of truck drivers, delivery drivers, taxi drivers, and other driving-related jobs in the U.S. A lot of those jobs are likely to disappear, he said.

A California company already has plans to sell driverless kits for tractor-trailer trucks. The company, Otto, was started by former Google engineer Anthony Levandowski.

Just the thought of an 18-wheel truck speeding down the highway fully loaded with cargo makes many drivers nervous. But Levandowski said the technology is very safe. He says the goal is to make trucks drive as much like humans as possible, but with the reliability of machines.

How will technology change our lives?

Carlo Ratti heads the SENSEable City Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The lab studies how digital technologies are changing cities and how this will change how people get around in the future.

The most exciting thing about a self-driving car is not really the fact that you dont need to keep your hands on the steering wheel. For us, the most exciting thing is that its going to have a profound impact on mobility in our cities.

Ratti said cars are now only being used about 5 percent of the time. Most of the time they are parked and using up valuable city space.

In the future, a self-driving car could give you a ride to work in the morning. But then the same car could be used throughout the day to take other people around the city. This car-sharing model would blur the lines between private and public transportation, Ratti said.

We could potentially share cars and rides better. That means a city where you could theoretically make everybodys destination in Washington or New York, or Singapore  a big city or a small city  with 20 percent of the cars we have today.

He said another major change could be the removal of traffic intersections. At that point, you could think about autonomous intersections. Intersections where vehicles dont need to stop at a junction, but they can keep going and simply avoid bumping into each other.

Ratti said he believes driverless technology will lead to more efficient and sustainable transportation. But it will also leave questions about who will truly benefit.

When you think about building a shared infrastructure, the question is, whos going to charge or bill other people? Whos going to enact different transportation policies? So it really becomes much more about how were going to distribute the benefits of this new transportation system across society.

Another big question is how ready the public is, or will be, to use driverless technology.

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania are reporting positive results with self-driving vehicles.

Lead researcher, Professor Raj Rajkumar, said it really does not take long for people to trust the car enough to let go of the wheel.

They begin to see that the vehicle is exact, very rational, drives safely, and then they begin to relax, he said.

U.S.-based Local Motors has even used 3-D printing technology to produce self-driving vehicles. It recently introduced a new minibus called Olli that can carry up to 12 people.

The vehicle allows passengers to call for rides with a mobile app similar to Uber. The company says about 75 percent of the entire vehicle can currently be 3-D printed, and it can be fully assembled in 11 hours.

Im Bryan Lynn.

And I'm Anne Ball.

Bryan Lynn reported this story for VOA Learning English. Additional information came from the Associated Press and VOANews.com. Hai Do was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Would you trust a self-driving car enough to take a ride? Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.

________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

tractor-trailer  n. large truck with a trailer attached to the back

disruption  n. an interruption in normal progress

blur  v. to make unclear or confused

theoretically  adv. related to something that is possible, but not yet known to be true

sustainable  adj. able to be maintained at a certain rate or level

rational  adj. based on facts or reason and not emotions or feelings


On July 18th, Republicans begin a four-day meeting in Cleveland, Ohio, to choose their partys candidate for president.

The following week Democrats choose their presidential candidate in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

These two conventions are likely to get more public attention than any in the past 40 years.

Not much doubt about Trump and Clinton

Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is the likely Democratic nominee. And businessman Donald Trump has enough delegates to win the Republican nomination.

An effort by Never Trump Republicans to deny him the nomination faces long odds. I think everybody understands that they lack the kind of support to pull off what they started out to do, Bruce Ash told CNN. He is a member of the Republican convention rules committee.

Pete Hatemi, a political science professor at Penn State University, believes Trumps trouble winning over the Republican establishment will bring more interest in the Republican convention.

And, if as expected the dump Trump effort fails, Hatemi said people will watch to see what kind of speech he gives.

Trump, who is running his first campaign for elected office, generally does not read prepared speeches. He mostly says what he thinks. Trump also uses colorful language and almost always promises to make America great again.

For the Democratic convention, Hatemi said people will watch to see if Clinton can win over loyal supporters of Bernie Sanders, the Vermont senator.

Sanders delegate not sure he will support Clinton

I can honestly say that I dont know if Ill vote for Hillary Clinton, said Shane Assadzandi, 27, of West Virginia, and a Sanders delegate. It will be his first national political convention.

Assadzandi said he knows he will vote in November and that it wont be for Trump. But he has doubts about Clintons position on issues important to him, such as campaign finance reform.

I volunteered for Bernie for the better part of a year now, Assadzandi said. He really walked the talk and really spoke to our concerns on the issues we care about most. By walk the talk, he means somebody whose beliefs and actions matched his speeches.

A strong endorsement from Sanders might persuade him, he said. Sanders confirmed reports he will endorse Clinton before the Democratic convention.

11th convention for Republican delegate

In Cleveland, Gary Lavine will attend his 11th Republican convention.

Lavine, an attorney in Syracuse, New York, said the Cleveland convention will be among the most important he attended. Trump needs to have a successful convention to win the presidency, he said.

Trump has to persuade people he is a serious candidate, said Lavine, who supported former Florida Governor Jeb Bush for the Republican nomination.

Trump has to roll out a solid running mate [his vice presidential candidate] and deliver a speech that says he will take care of our nation and government and this isnt just, well, another casino deal, Lavine said.

Unity is important

Coming out of the convention with unity is important for both candidates, said Casey Dominguez, a political science professor at the University of San Diego in California.

History seems to indicate that a divisive convention can hurt the party's standing going into the general election, Dominguez said.

The 1976 Republican and 1980 Democratic conventions were the last to have serious fights for party nominations.

At the 1976 Republican convention, Gerald Ford defeated Ronald Reagan for the nomination. But he lost the 1976 presidential election to Democrat Jimmy Carter.

In 1980, Carter blocked a strong challenge from Ted Kennedy for the Democratic nomination. But he went on to lose the 1980 election to Ronald Reagan.

Both candidates have high negatives

Ahead of the 2016 Republican and Democratic conventions, a majority of voters have negative views of both Trump and Clinton, said Hatemi of Penn State University.

The conventions will give them a chance to improve their standing with voters, he said.

Trump drew new criticism last week for praising the late Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. He said Saddam was a very bad guy, but very good at killing terrorists and this was a good thing.

And the U.S. FBI director criticized Clinton for using a private email server as secretary of state. James Comey, the director, said Clinton and her aides were extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information. But he added, No charges are appropriate in this case.

What goes on at a political convention?

At the conventions, there will be speeches from people saying nice things about their candidate and bad things about the opposing candidate. Trump has said he will try to build excitement with music and unusual speakers, such as sports stars and entertainers.

These political conventions play a very important part in our democracy. They build unity and enthusiasm for candidates, said Lavine, who attended his first Republican convention in 1968.

Angela Gialloreto has been to every Democratic convention since 1976, when Jimmy Carter was nominated.

Conventions create enthusiasm and makes me feel so good that someone I believe in is willing to take the presidency and all the challenges that go with it, she said. It makes you feel like you really and truly are part of a great country.

I'm Bruce Alpert.

And I'm Dorothy Gundy.

Bruce Alpert reported this story for VOA Learning English. Hai Do was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section and share your views on our Facebook Page.

_____________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

establishment -- n. the people in business, government, etc., who have power over the other people in a society

endorsement -- n. to say someone supports a person for office or some other contest

mate -- n. a person who works alongside someone

deliver -- v. to say something in public

casino -- n. a building where people gamble

sensitive -- adj. needing to be handled in a careful or secret way in order to protect someone or something

classified -- adj. kept secret from all but a few people in the government

enthusiasm -- n. strong excitement about something
London: A day after United Spirits disclosed Rs 1,225 crore fund diversion by the erstwhile promoters to entities linked to Vijay Mallya, the embattled businessman on Sunday said all transactions were "legal and above board" and the company was now making "unfounded allegations".

He said that Diageo, to whom Mallya-led UB Group had sold majority control in United Spirits Ltd (USL) in 2013, had conducted an extensive due diligence before buying the shares and it was "surprising and unfortunate" that these allegations were being made now.

"I have absolutely no knowledge about this purported enquiry by E+Y nor the suggested allegations. Surprisingly, neither USL nor E+Y have given me any details of the allegations or any opportunity to respond," Mallya said in an emailed statement sent though his public relations manager.

"I can only reiterate that all transactions were legal, above board and approved by USL Auditors, the USL Board and shareholders. Over and above this Diageo conducted an extensive due diligence on USL prior to acquiring shares. It is surprising and unfortunate that unfounded allegations are now being made without any reference to me whatsoever," he said.

In a stock exchange filing on Saturday, USL had disclosed fund diversion and improper transactions worth Rs 1,225.3 crore involving entities linked to Mallya, including Kingfisher Airlines and his Formula One team.

The company also made it clear that the earlier settlement reached with the Indian businessman would not absolve him of the claims arising out of the latest findings of an internal 'Additional Inquiry'.

While USL did not name 'E+Y' among those that conducted the enquiry, it said that the company's CEO had engaged "independent experts with specialised forensic skills" to assist in the inquiry and provide inputs and expert advice.

Mallya, who has been in the UK for months evading an arrest warrant in India while several banks have declared him 'wilful defaulter' for non-payment of dues worth over Rs 9,000 crore by his now-defunct Kingfisher, had struck a settlement with USL in February.

Under the 'sweetheart deal', he was promised an over Rs 500-crore payout to leave the company and was also absolved of any 'personal liability' at that time.

As per USL's statement, its Board yesterday discussed findings of the 'additional inquiry' it had ordered to plug gaps found in an initial probe launched in April 2015 that showed improprieties in loans worth Rs 1,337 crore given by USL to the entities linked to Mallya.

"The additional inquiry prima facie reveals further instances of actual or potential fund diversions amounting to approximately Rs 913.5 crore (using exchange rate as on 31 March, 2015) as well as other potentially improper transaction involved USL and its Indian and overseas subsidiaries amounting approximately Rs 311.8 crore," USL said.

The transactions occurred during the review period covered by the additional inquiry -- from October 2010 to July 2014 -- although certain transactions appear to have been initiated in years prior to the review period, it added.

USL said it will be reporting the findings of its additional inquiry spearheaded by its Managing Director and CEO Anand Kripalu to concerned authorities for further action.

An USL spokesperson said the findings of the additional inquiry relate to "historical matters before Diageo consolidated the USL business in July 2014" and ruled out any further financial burden to the company.

Mallya is currently wanted in India and is facing charges of money laundering.

Last month the Enforcement Directorate had attached assets worth Rs 1,411 crore belonging to Mallya and one of his companies in connection with its money laundering probe in the the alleged IDBI bank loan default case.

His passport has been revoked by the Indian government. He has been indicating against any imminent return to India in the wake of various legal and regulatory troubles.
New Delhi: In fresh troubles for Vijay Mallya, his erstwhile group firm United Spirits on Saturday disclosed Rs 1,225.3 crore worth fund diversion and improper transactions with entities associated with the beleaguered businessman including Kingfisher Air and his Formula One team.

Making it clear that the settlement reached earlier with Mallya would not cover the latest disclosures that came to light after an 'Additional Inquiry', United Spirits -- now controlled by global liquor giant Diageo -- said the former Chairman would be liable for claims over the amount.

Mallya, who has been in UK for months while evading arrest warrant in India, had reached a settlement with USL earlier this year under which he was promised an over Rs 500-crore 'sweetheart deal' to exit the company, including as its Director and Chairman.

Several banks have declared him 'wilful defaulter' for failing to pay back loans amounting to thousands of crores.

At a meeting today, USL Board discussed findings of the additional inquiry it had ordered to plug gaps found in an initial probe launched in April 2015 that showed improprieties in loans worth Rs 1,337 crore given by USL to the entities linked to its erstwhile promoters, Mallya-led UB Group.

"The additional inquiry prima facie reveals further instances of actual or potential fund diversions amounting to approximately Rs 913.5 crore (using exchange rate as on March 31, 2015) as well as other potentially improper transaction involved USL and its Indian and overseas subsidiaries amounting approximately Rs 311.8 crore," USL said in a BSE filing.

The transactions occurred during the review period covered by the additional inquiry -- from October 2010 to July 2014 -- although certain transactions appear to have been initiated in years prior to the review period, it added. These were the periods when UB Group had control over the company.

"These improper transactions identified in the additional inquiry involved, in most cases, the diversion of fund to overseas and Indian entities that appear to be affiliated or associated with USL's former non-executive Chairman, Vijay Mallya," the USL filing said.

The company said its mutual release agreement with Mallya in February this year under which Diageo agreed to pay him $75 million dollars will not cover matters arising out of the additional inquiry.

While the matter is already being probed by markets regulator Sebi and Corporate Affairs Ministry among others, the latest findings of the internal probe are also being reported to the concerned regulators for any further action.

"The USL Board has directed the management to pursue recovery from the relevant companies and individuals and undertake any action, including legal and regulatory as deemed necessary. It should be noted that the February 2016 agreement did not release the former Chairman (Mallya) from any claims arising out of the additional inquiry," a company spokesperson said in an e-mailed statement.

There were no immediate comments from Mallya on this.

USL said the overseas beneficiary or recipients of the diverted funds include entities such as Force India Formula One, Watson Ltd, Continental Administrative Services, Modall Securities Ltd, Ultra Dynamics Ltd and Lombard Wall Corporate Service Inc "in each of which Dr Mallya appears to have a material, direct and indirect interests".

The Indian beneficiaries or recipients of the funds identified by the additional inquiry included, in most cases, Kingfisher Airlines (KFA), USL said.

USL said it will be reporting the findings of its additional inquiry spearheaded by its Managing Director and CEO Anand Kripalu to concerned authorities for further action.

"In light of these findings, and based on the expert advice received, including from senior counsel in India, the board directed that copies of the MD and CEO's report (including the additional inquiry report) be provided to concerned authorities," the company said.

This is being done forthwith and the board has resolved that the company would cooperate with all relevant authorities in relation to these matters, it added.

USL spokesperson said the findings of the additional inquiry relate to "historical matters before Diageo consolidated the USL business in July 2014" and ruled out any further financial burden to the company.

"Based on our understanding as of today, we believe there will be no further material financial implications to USL," the spokesperson added.

Mallya is currently wanted in India and is facing charges of money laundering. A consortium of 17 banks lead by SBI has been trying unsuccessfully to recover dues of over Rs 9,000 crore from now defunct Kingfisher Airlines, which was promoted by him.

Last month the Enforcement Directorate had attached assets worth Rs 1,411 crore belonging to Mr Mallya and one of his companies in connection with its money laundering probe in the the alleged IDBI bank loan default case.

Mallya is currently staying in the UK after leaving India in March this year. His passport has been revoked by the Indian government. He has been indicating against any imminent return to India in the wake of various legal and regulatory troubles.
New Delhi: In mounting troubles for embattled Vijay Mallya, markets regulator Sebi has stepped up its probe into alleged fund diversion from his erstwhile listed group firms to other entities, including some abroad and his various sport ventures.

With the latest disclosures taking total suspected fund diversion at United Spirits alone to over Rs 2,500 crore, Sebi is also referring to the matter for further action by other agencies including SFIO (Serious Fraud Investigation Office) under the Corporate Affairs Ministry, a top official said.

"We have taken note of the latest disclosure by USL and have begun looking into suspected violation of various securities market regulations including those relating to related party transactions, corporate governance and diversion of funds by promoters and top management," he said.

"Also under the scanner are Mallya's close confidantes and others who were at senior levels at various listed companies of the group, as also some former auditors at certain group firms," the official said.

Action is already underway for violation of listing agreement by some group companies, he added.

The matter of fund diversion would also need to be looked into by SFIO, while ED would also come into the picture as the funds are suspected to have been diverted to entities abroad, the official said, adding that necessary assistance would be sought from foreign regulators including in the UK and the US, where his overseas brewery firms and other ventures are based.

Mallya and his group firms are already facing a probe by Enforcement Directorate for alleged diversion of loans taken by long-grounded Kingfisher Airlines.

Sebi has also received complaints about the alleged use of overseas instruments in violation of norms for movement of funds and the matter is being separately looked into.

In a statement, Mallya denied any wrongdoing as alleged by USL, in which he had sold the controlling stake to UK-based liquor giant Diageo in 2013 in a multi-billion dollar deal, and said all the transactions were 'legal and above board'.

Serving a fresh blow to Mallya, USL yesterday disclosed fund diversion and improper transactions worth Rs 1,225.3 crore involving entities linked to the former Chairman, including Kingfisher Airlines and his Formula One team.

The company also made it clear that the earlier settlement reached with the Indian businessman would not

absolve him of the claims arising out of the latest findings of an internal 'Additional Inquiry'.

Mallya, who has been in UK for months evading an arrest warrant in India while several banks have declared him 'wilful defaulter' for non-payment of dues worth over Rs 9,000 crore by his now-defunct Kingfisher, had struck a settlement with USL in February. Under the 'sweetheart deal', he was promised an over Rs 500-crore payout to leave the company and was also absolved of any 'personal liability' at that time.

USL Board had ordered an 'additional inquiry' to plug gaps found in an initial probe launched in April 2015 that showed improprieties in loans worth Rs 1,337 crore given by USL to the entities linked to its erstwhile promoters.

"The additional inquiry prima facie reveals further instances of actual or potential fund diversions amounting to approximately Rs 913.5 crore (using exchange rate as on 31 March, 2015) as well as other potentially improper transaction involved USL and its Indian and overseas subsidiaries amounting approximately Rs 311.8 crore," USL said.
Jammu: Amarnath yatra remained suspended for second consecutive day on Sunday from Jammu in the wake of the violence following the killing of a top Hizbul Mujahideen commander in an encounter with security forces in Kashmir Valley.

"The yatra is suspended for the second consecutive day today from Jammu. No fresh batch of pilgrims has been sent from Jammu," Deputy Commissioner Jammu, Simrandeep Singh, said.

He, however, said the yatra from the base camps in Kashmir is on.

The yatra was suspended from Jammu yesterday following violence after the killing of Burhan Wani.

Mobile and Internet services also remained suspended in Jammu as a precautionary measure.

1,18,747 pilgrims have so far paid obeisance at the cave shrine in the Kashmir Himalayas.

A state government release said 15,684 yatris paid obeisance at the Amarnath shrine on the 8th day of the pilgrimage.

"The yatra convoy did not proceed from Jammu for the two base camps today because of law and order considerations," it said.
New Delhi: The Centre has asked the states to ensure that cable operators do not broadcast the TV channels that are not permitted to downlink in India, like Zakir Naik's Peace TV.

The advisory from the Information and Broadcasting Ministry to the states follows the government's announcement that an investigation is being carried out into all matters concerning controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik's speeches on Peace TV.

"Zakir Naik had applied for a television channel in 2008 and in 2009 it was rejected. Now it has come to light that certain people are unauthorisedly violating rules, telecasting and downloading his speeches. Action will be taken from my side on whatever is unauthorised," Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu told reporters.

"It may be noted that the role of state government(s) in this regard is crucial in preventing any broadcast or transmission of such non-permitted channels by the cable operators," said the advisory from the ministry to chief secretaries and district collectors.

Naidu also said action will be taken for telecasting unauthorised content.

Citing reports that content "aimed at inciting communal and terrorist violence" is being broadcast through private satellite TV channels, such as Peace TV, the advisory to the state governments said such telecast is "not permitted" by the ministry for downlinking into the country.

Telecasting of such content is a "clear violation of the Cable TV Rules under Programme code and needs to be acted upon immediately."

"In case of violations, necessary prompt action must be taken by the authorised officers in the district against the defaulters to stop transmission of these channels," it said.

The two-page advisory said that in case of violations, necessary prompt action must be taken by the authorised officers in the district against the defaulters to stop transmission of such channels.

Besides other penal provisions, the equipment of such cable operators can be seized by the district authorities, the advisory said.

Official sources said Peace TV does not have the required permission to be broadcast in India despite which it is distributed by some cable operators.

"Transmission or re-transmission of any TV channel in violation of the Cable TV Act is an offence which attracts action against the operators by the authorised officers. As per cable TV Act, if any authorised officer has reasons to believe that various provisions of the Act are violated by any operator, he has the powers to take against that operator," the advisory said.
Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir government on Sunday appealed to separatist Hurriyat Conference, besides mainstream parties, to assist in its efforts towards restoring normalcy in the state, which has been rocked by violent protests following the killing of militant commander Burhan Wani.

"The cabinet appealed to all political forces who have expressed concern for people's lives  be it National Conference, Congress, CPI(M) or other components of the mainstream or those people who are not in the mainstream...those who are really concerned as much we are concerned which includes leaders from the Hurriyat....

"We appeal to them that if they want peace in the state and steps taken by government for saving lives of people succeed, we need their support also," Education Minister Naeem Akhtar said.

Akhtar, who is also the government spokesman, was briefing the media about the cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti where the situation in Kashmir Valley was reviewed.

Chief Secretary BR Sharma and Director General of Police K Rajendra Kumar briefed the cabinet.

Akhtar said the Cabinet expressed anguish on the deterioration of the situation which resulted in the death of some youths.

"It was unfortunate and regrettable development," he said, adding there were a number of attacks on police stations and security force camps which forced the law enforcement agencies to use weapons.

"If you see, how many police stations were set ablaze and how many camps were tried to be overrun.... As a society, we should not take protests  whether required or not  to a level where the forces are forced to use their weapons," he said.

He, however, added that if there was any instance of disproportionate use of force, it will be investigated.

"We will go to the bottom of it and find out why it happened," he said, cautioning people not to become tools in the machinations of instigators of violence.

The minister said the parents of young children also have a responsibility to keep an eye on their wards.

"If you see the footages you have, small kids who do not know why but are still having stones in their hands," he said.

The minister said if any of the injured requires to be taken out of the state for treatment, the state government will bear the expenses.

The Education Minister left the press conference after a reporter asked if the Mehbooba government will quit as the ruling PDP had made a similar demand when Omar Abdullah was the chief minister during the 2010 summer agitation in the Valley that left 120 persons dead.

Earlier, referring to the violence, the minister said that such a situation has developed in the past as well.

"Properties have been damaged. But loss of property can be compensated. The lives lost cannot be compensated.

"Government is siezed of its responsibilities. It was resolved (in the cabinet) that all steps will be taken for ensuring safety of life and property of the people. It was also resolved that forces exercise maximum restraint and try to avoid collateral damage," he added.

Akhtar also warned people against the designs of people with vested interests.

"Often we have seen that people come out (on roads) being overcome by emotions but few instigators indulge in violence by hurling a petrol bomb or stones. The youth then become victims of the reaction to the action (of instigators)," he said.

He dismissed media reports about shortage of blood or medicines in government hospitals.

"There is no shortage of blood or medicines in hospitals," he said

He said efforts were on arrange additional flights for tourists stranded in the Valley while arrangements are afoot to ensure their safe movement to the airport.

Akhtar said the Amarnath Yatra was still suspended from Jammu.

"We are making efforts to resume it as soon as possible," he added.
New Delhi: Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday reviewed the situation in Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of protests over the killing of a top Hizbul Mujahideen commander and spoke to Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, assuring her all possible help from the Centre.

During a 30-minute meeting, the Home Minister was briefed on the law and order situation in Kashmir Valley following the killing of Burhan Wani in Kokernag area, 83 km from Srinagar.

He had also telephoned Mehbooba on Saturday and assured her all central assistance, a Home Ministry official said.

At the meeting, the Home Minister directed officials to ensure that paramilitary forces in Kashmir provide all assistance the state government for restoration of peace and normalcy in the Valley as early as possible.

The official said Amarnath pilgrims stuck in Srinagar have been escorted out and taken for the yatra. Those who were stuck in higher areas were escorted back, he said.

The yatra remained suspended for the second consecutive day on Sunday from Jammu.

"The yatra remains suspended for the second consecutive day today from Jammu. No fresh batch of pilgrims has been sent out from here," Deputy Commissioner, Jammu, Simrandeep Singh said.

Mobile and Internet services also remained suspended as a precautionary measure.

The Home Minister said that all steps should be taken for ensuring safety of Amarnath pilgrims as also that of Kashmiri Pandits. Houses of some Kashmiri Pandits had been attacked in some parts of the Valley, the official said.

The Home Minister said that security forces should be deployed in sensitive places and additional paramilitary personnel be sent to the state if required.

Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi said the situation in the Valley is under control.

The meeting was attended by Mehrishi, officials of the Home Ministry, paramilitary forces and intelligence agencies.

The Home Minister had on Saturday appealed to the people of the state to remain calm and maintain peace.

In a big blow to militancy in the state, Wani, the 21-year-old poster boy of Hizbul Mujahideen, was shot dead on Friday by security forces along with two of his accomplices in Kokernag area.
The recent spate of terror attacks in various parts of the world, with one being in neighbouring Bangladesh, has once again alerted Indian security agencies. Analysts have started pointing out the looming threat of Islamic State hovering over India. This is especially in the light of India sharing a porous border with Bangladesh.

However, above all, there has been an unequivocal demand coming from all sections of the society that Muslims should come out and condemn this killing. This was my biggest fear while I witnessed terrorists taking hostages of customers at the upscale cafe in Dhaka on television sets, apart from the safety of those inside the cafe. I knew that this attack would once again give a strong edge to Hindutva elements in propagating Islamophobia, this will once again make it easy for them to pursue their politics and mobilise the masses in India against the dangers of Islamic radicalisation. Within no time after the Dhaka hostage crisis, it was visible on social media, even the liberals who are otherwise champions of minority rights in India, took to writing about how Islam is not a religion of peace, as if violence and Islam are inseparable entities.

It reminded me of Sam Harris, the loudest voice of new atheism in the world and his claim that most Muslims are utterly dangerous. Little that these people know that today, the biggest victim of terrorism are Muslims themselves, it is they who are being targeted by this menace of Islamic State and it is they who are there at the forefront of the battle against it, be that in Syria or Iraq. It would not be difficult to point out the forces responsible for the creation of Islamic State and the rise of Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi for their strategic interest in the entire West Asian region. But that will be a different debate altogether.

Indian Muslims have already started feeling the heat of all this. There has been news every day about intelligence agencies busting an ISIS module in the country, the discourse of terror in the country has shifted to Islamic state from Indian Mujahideen. There have been subsequent arrests of alleged members of the so-called Islamic State from different parts of the country, all on charges of having allegiance to the most well-armed terror outfit or being its sympathisers. Amidst this, IM, which was responsible for every blast in the country in the past and hatching conspiracies for the same, has ceased to exist. It has vanished from the scene. But now since there is Islamic State, there are also debates around radicalisation and de-radicalisation of Muslims, especially Muslim youths in the country. Skeptics have started pointing out the need to make Indian Muslims go through the process of de-radicalisation to avoid its adverse effects on the security apparatus of the country.

However, what is missing from the debate is what could actually be the factors leading to extremism among Indian Muslims. Why is nobody talking about the terror unleashed by the fringe Hindutva elements and feebleness of the state to protect its minorities against them as a dangerous trend, something which carries the potential of breeding extremism among Indian Muslims? It seems we as a society, as well as a nation, have collectively lost the ability to comprehend the basic proposition of cause and effect relationship.

If we are really concerned about the growth of religious extremism among Indian Muslims, the Indian state should make sure that it deals with majority extremism with an iron fist and acts according to the principles of justice, essential for the survival of a modern nation state.

Above all, unwanted witch hunting of Muslim youths in the name of terrorism should immediately come to a halt, and so should the politics around it. We have seen in the past how people like Mohammad Amir Khan and many unknown individuals have spent more than ten years in jail for no crime of theirs. In most of the terror cases, the court has acquitted Muslim youths after they spent years in jail. But most importantly, what is imperative is that we head towards a more inclusive state, where minorities, essentially Muslims too can reap the fruits of development and are not left confined to their ghettos.

(Asad Ashraf is a journalist based in Delhi and has worked for organizations like Centre for Equity Studies, DNA, and Tehelka.)
Srinagar: As unrest continued in Kashmir, the state police on Sunday said it would like to avoid the killing of the youth and urged protesters not to resort to violence, saying it does not bring the right consequences.

Additional Director General of Police (CID) SM Sahai again urged people to restrain their youngsters from participating in the protests that have erupted in the aftermath of the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen's poster-boy commander Burhan Wani on Friday.

"The situation as of now is better than yesterday. At some places, people have come out and we are dealing with it. We would like to control the situation to avoid the killings of the youth," he said.

Insisting that that violence does not bring the right consequences, Sahai urged people to restrain youngsters from violent protests and confine them to homes.

"Whether they have to protest or not, but they should not resort to violence.It does not have right consequences," he said as the toll in the clashes since yesterday rose to 16 dead and over 200 injured.

Sahai defended the use of force which resulted in civilian casualties, saying the security posts were attacked by the unruly mobs.

"Militants fired upon security personnel from among the crowd. Weapon-snatching was also reported. Some of our personnel were injured," the police official said.

He admitted that police had been unable to anticipate the areas of trouble after the killing of the militant

commander.

"We admit that our focus was not on some areas. We are are seeing how it happened," he said.

"We faced trouble from the outline areas. Government buildings, police stations, and army camps were attacked in the areas we least expected trouble," he said, adding the areas police expected trouble were put under control.

Around 96 security personnel were injured in the clashes.
When I was a boy, at the cusp of the new millennium, superheroes were still very much a subculture. There was no internet yet, and the only place to buy comics in Bombay was to go lurking about the roadside book-wallahs near Flora Fountain, searching for tattered volumes of old Golden Age titles. Occasionally, lending libraries like Metsons and Shemaroo managed to get their hands on disjointed issues of the X-Men and the Justice League and the Legion of Super-Heroes which you could borrow briefly if you were a member, for three bucks a pop.

It was here that I first encountered Superman and Batman, Spider-Man and the Hulk. This was the Post-Crisis Era, the age of the Brave and the Bold, before reboots and cross-overs became the fashion. Batman had only just begun to retreat into darkness, and Superman was still the eternal boy scout, fighting for truth and justice against Luthor and Braniac and the very silly Mister Mxyzptlk. Guy Gardner was the Green Lantern of Earth, and Keith Giffen was doing very odd things with the JLI. Characters like Blue Beetle and Booster Gold, Lobo and Ambush Bug, were changing the very notion of what superheroes were meant to be, not merely one-dimensional, omnipotent beings, but rather bumbling, argumentative individuals who were in the end, altogether human.

My one lament, I remember, was that we had no Indian superheroes as such. Perhaps it was the fact that India was a relatively young country, and the shadow of our national heroes stretched long and far, Gandhi and Nehru and Patel, standing monumental in the public consciousness, seemingly as insurmountable as titans. Perhaps it was the preponderant popularity of Bollywood that had crippled our collective imagination, the personality cults of the Bachchans and the Khans that made superheroes seem somewhat demode. Or maybe it was the enduring presence of history and religion, those two bastions on which the Indian way of life is built, that made paper heroes seem utterly flimsy.

Sure, there were characters like Nagraj and Doga but they seemed amateurish at best when compared to what the Americans were churning out, month after month. Mandrake and Tarzan and the Phantom were part of our lives, but they weren't quintessentially Indian. Neither was Tintin or Asterix, or Rip Kirby or Modesty Blaise. No, what was missing was a truly sub-continental protagonist, a 'brown' hero who epitomised the very essence of India, who made each of us believe that we could be more than ordinary, even if we were dark skinned, even if we were not American.

That changed on 27 September 1997. That Sunday, at 12 pm sharp, the first episode of Shaktimaan was broadcast on Doordarshan. It chronicled the adventures of Pandit Gangadhar Vidyadhar Mayadhar Omkaar Naath Shastri, a bespectacled, buck-toothed nerd who masters his yogic shakti and is infused by the five elements after a Kundalini ritual, thus becoming able to transform into a very Vedic Ubermensch, blessed with super-speed, super-strength, invulnerability, telepathy and telekinesis, not to mention whatever other powers the writers of the show decided to give him that week.

It was obviously a copy of Superman, right down to his susceptibility to kryptonite, which in this case was a celestial crystal called 'papmani'. The end result was rather tacky, from the lame costume which made Mukesh Khanna look like an extra from an Ed Wood film, to the truly dreadful special effects. Nevertheless, in spite of the plot holes and the inane acting, we found ourselves drawn back week after week, quite simply because it let us, as children, escape for a few minutes, retreat into the realm of pure imagination. Also, it had Kitu Gidwani starring as a very comely reporter, and for a teenager trapped in the throes of puberty, that was reason enough to tune in.

A year later, in 2008, Ketan Mehta, always original, reinvented Flash Gordon as Captain Vyom. Much as I hate to admit it, I was about as ardent a Vyom-ite as you can imagine. This was Ketan Mehta's frizzy haired madness at its finest. You had Milind Soman running about channelling William Shatner, hamming it up with a devil-may-care grin while waving an over-sized NERF gun about shamelessly. But it was the villains that made Vyom so much fun, stellar actors like Rahul Bose who played an interstellar super-sociopath with almost Websterian blood-thirstiness, not to mention Madhu Sapre and Nethra Raghuraman strutting about clad in extremely tight cosplay outfits. True, just like Shaktimaan, the storyline was shaky and the SFX amateurish, but Vyom had an addictive campiness to it, a Harryhausen quality not unlike the Sinbad films or Adam West's Batman, which kept viewers glued to the screen. It was rather terrible, but in a marvelously unabashed way, like Shakespeare in Punjabi, strange and outlandish but still undeniably entertaining.

Fast forward some 20 years later, and superheroes are now very much en vogue. What was once dismissed as a primarily American preoccupation by our parents have become part of the global zeitgeist, and a massively profitable one at that. Marvel and DC blockbusters gross billions each summer. On television, shows like Arrow, Gotham and The Flash are watched by hordes of eager fans each week, and Disney's merchandise earns more than the GDP of most third world nations.

As for superheroes of South Asian origin, there are now three X-Men of Indian origin. Neal Shaara, codenamed Thunderbird, is a powerful pyrotechnic who can transform his body into solar plasma. Karima Shapandar, better known as Omega Sentinel, is a police officer who was tranformed into a cyborg and can fly and project eloctrostatic forceblades from her hands. Timeslip (Rina Patel) is a mutant who can swap her consciousness with any of her past or future versions, thus travelling through time. There are even a couple of Pakistani superheroines, most noticeably Kamala Khan, the new Ms Marvel, whose adventures won the Eisner, Hugo and Harvey Awards in 2015.

In the DC Universe, Kiran Singh (Solstice) fights crime side by side with the Teen Titans. Aruna, a shapeshifter of Dalit origin, first made an appearance in Batgirl, and Celsius (Arani Patel), arguably the first Indian Asian superheroine to appear on the pages of a comic book, has been a key member of The Doom Patrol since 1977. Perhaps the most famous indian DC character is Jinx, a sorceress who can manipulate the elements and prefers to use her magical abilties not for good, but for evil.

On the big screen too, the Indian superhero is slowly but surely making his presence felt. After somewhat unsophisticated experiments like Krissh and Ra.One, it seems at last that movie-goers are soon to be greeted by a spate of homegrown supermen. Shaktimaan is due to make his big comeback very soon, and if rumor is to be believed, Milind Soman will be making a requiem performance of Captain Vyom in a reboot of the series. Anurag Kashyap is said to be working on a Doga film, and Stan Lee's Chakra the Invincible is being scripted as a movie by Vikramaditya Motwane of Lootera fame. Most exciting of all, it seems Mr India will soon return to the big screen, in the aptly titled, Mr India Returns.

What remains to be seen is whether these characters will be able to compete with American icons like The Avengers and Batman. Not only do they have a 50 year head start, but their mythologies have become firmly entrenched with Indian audiences, making the obstacles faced by Indian filmmakers seemingly insurmountable. As Imtiaz Ali, a prominent director, said in an interview a few months ago, it is dismaying that Indian children are relating to Hollywood superheroes more readily than to Indian ones. The only way that this can be changed is by breaking away from the hackneyed tropes that have become so well established and inventing a generation of authentic, original characters that reflect the ideologies and values of 'New India', not serve merely as pale imitations of Western conventions.

A fine example of how Indian mythology can be infused with popular culture is Sanjay's Super Team, a Pixar short directed by Sanjay Patel, where he reinvents Hindu gods as superheroes in a stunning blaze of bold imagery and vivid animation. Not only does this Oscar-winning short film pay homage to classical animation with great aplomb, but it also manages to showcase exactly how effectively the rich tapestry of Indian myth can be translated into compelling cinema. If only Indian filmmakers can find a similar, albeit elusive balance between the epic and the mundane, then it is only a matter of time before the long awaited otaku dream of an Indian Justice League or a desi Avengers will finally manage to come alive as well-scripted, glossy reality.
Warsaw: US President Barack Obama pledged the US long-term commitment to ensuring Europe's security and defending allies, while participating in his last Nato Summit before stepping down next January.

During his solo press conference after the closing of Warsaw Nato Summit on Saturday, Obama said the Alliance was strengthening its deterrence and defense capabilities and it was sending a clear signal: it is going to protect any of its members, Xinhua news agency reported.

"What will never change, is the unwavering commitment of the United States to the security and defense of Europe," Obama said.

He reminded that the Alliance had agreed on reinforcement of its collective defense and on deploying forces in Poland and Baltic states.

Obama also referred to the situation in Ukraine, saying that "Our 28 nations are united in our view that there can be no business as usual with Russia until it fully implements its Minsk obligations", and reminding that Nato confirmed its support for Ukraine.

On Britain's referendum to leave the EU, he expressed hopes that Britain's exit from the block could be as sensible as possible, causing possibly least damage to economy.

As a friend, ally and trading partner of Britain, Obama wished to see an orderly negotiating process and as close a relationship as possible in future.
Sydney: Australia's Labor opposition leader Bill Shorten conceded defeat in national elections on Sunday, eight days after voters went to the polls, allowing the ruling conservatives to form a new government.

"It is clear that Mr (Malcolm) Turnbull and his coalition will form a government," Shorten told reporters in Melbourne. "So I have spoken to Mr Turnbull earlier this afternoon to congratulate him and (his wife) Lucy and to wish them my very best."

Both Turnbull's ruling Liberal/National coalition and Labor remain short of the 76 seats needed to claim a majority in the 150-seat House of Representatives, with counting still ongoing.

But Turnbull has won the support of three independent MPs on budget matters and on votes of no confidence, paving the way for him to form a minority government if he does not win 76 seats.

The coalition is currently expected to secure 74 seats, and potentially two more, according to national broadcaster ABC's projections.

Labor has won 66, and with five independents elected, the opposition does not have sufficient seats to govern in Canberra, according to the projections.

The two seats the coalition believe it will pick up are among five still in the balance.

Turnbull lost the government's comfortable majority in the House of Representatives in last Saturday's election after his campaign on "jobs and growth" and "innovation" failed to resonate equally across the vast island continent.

Australia has endured a "revolving door" of prime ministers in recent years, with leaders removed at the ballot box and via internal party room coups.

Turnbull became the nation's fourth prime minister since 2013 when he rolled Liberal leader Tony Abbott in a party vote lastSeptember.
Dallas: The gunman who killed five police officers at a protest march had practiced military-style drills in his yard and trained at a private self-defence school that teaches special tactics, including "shooting on the move," a maneuver in which an attacker fires and changes position before firing again.

Micah Johnson, an Army veteran, received instruction at the Academy of Combative Warrior Arts in the Dallas suburb of Richardson about two years ago, said the school's founder and chief instructor, Justin J. Everman.

Everman's statement was corroborated by a police report from 8 May, 2015, when someone at a business a short distance away called in a report of several suspicious people in a parked SUV.

The investigating officer closed the case just minutes after arriving at a strip mall. While there, the officer spoke to Johnson, who said he "had just gotten out of a class at a nearby self-defense school."

Johnson told the officer he was "waiting for his dad to arrive" and pick up his brother. No one else was apparently questioned.

On Friday, Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings described Johnson as "a mobile shooter" who had written manifestos on how to "shoot and move."

Authorities have said the 25-year-old gunman kept a journal of combat tactics and had amassed a personal arsenal at his home, including bomb-making materials, rifles and ammunition.

The academy website refers to one of its courses as a "tactical applications program," or TAP.

"Reality is highly dynamic, you will be drawing your firearm, moving, shooting on the move, fixing malfunctions, etc. all under high levels of stress," the website says. "Most people never get to train these skills as they are not typically allowed on the static gun range."

The TAP training includes "shooting from different positions," ''drawing under stress" and "drawing from concealment." Everman declined to specify which classes Johnson took.

"I don't know anything about Micah. I'm sorry. He's gone. He's old to us. I have thousands of people," Everman told The Associated Press on Saturday.

The two men, however, were friendly and talked in Facebook conversations in August 2014. Everman knew Johnson had been out of the country. Army officials said he had been deployed in Afghanistan around that time. Everman suggested that Johnson "let me know when you make it down this way."
Dhaka: Bodies of six young terrorists who attacked a popular cafe here and killed 22 people on 1 July

are still at the mortuary of a Bangladeshi military hospital as no one came to receive them, police said on Sunday.

Five of the six militants were identified as Nibras Islam, Rohan Imtiaz, Meer Sabeh Mubasheer, Khairul Islam Payel and Saiful Islam while another was unknown.

The bodies of the six attackers are kept at the Combined Military Hospital in Dhaka, The Daily Star reported.

Police said only Saiful's family verbally wanted to take his body but the law enforcers are yet to receive any written application from them.

Saiful Islam, who is also a FIR-named accused, was working as a chef at the popular Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka's diplomatic enclave.

Gunmen killed 22 people including 17 foreigners and two policemen shortly after taking hostage a number of diners at Holey Artisan Bakery on 1 July.

Six militants were also killed when security forces stormed the cafe to end the hostage crisis incident on 2 July.
BEIRUT The family of American journalist Marie Colvin, who died in Syria in 2012, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit in a U.S. court, accusing the Syrian government of deliberately killing her.

Colvin and French photographer Remi Ochlik were killed in the besieged Syrian city of Homs in 2012 while reporting on the Syrian conflict, now in its sixth year.

The lawsuit, filed in Washington on Saturday and seen by Reuters, said Syrian officials deliberately targeted rockets against a makeshift broadcast studio where Colvin and other reporters were living and working.

The suit alleged the attack was part of a plan orchestrated at the highest levels of the Syrian government to silence local and international media "as part of its effort to crush political opposition".

The lawsuit included as evidence a copy of an August 2011 fax which it alleges was sent from Syria's National Security Bureau instructing security bodies to launch military and intelligence campaigns against "those who tarnish the image of Syria in foreign media and international organisations".

Foreign governments are typically immune from U.S. civil lawsuits, but there are exceptions for countries designated by the State Department as sponsors of terrorism. Syria is currently one of three countries on the list, with Iran and Sudan.

Lawyers who have brought civil lawsuits against those governments say they typically do not respond, resulting in default judgments for plaintiffs. The bigger challenge is usually enforcing the judgments and collecting damages, says Gary Osen, a New Jersey lawyer currently suing Iran.

"This case is about carrying on Marie's work," plaintiff Cathleen Colvin, Marie Colvin's sister, said.

"We are seeking truth and justice not just for her, but for thousands of innocent Syrians tortured or killed under the Assad dictatorship," she said in a statement released by U.S. human rights group the Center for Justice and Accountability (CJA) which filed the case for the Colvin family.

Advocacy group Reporters Without Borders said it supported the lawsuit.

The group's secretary-general, Christophe Deloire, said Reporters Without Borders "hopes these efforts will help to expose the truth, namely that these journalists were deliberately targeted and killed because they were providing information about the Syrian army's crimes against civilians."

A murder and attempted murder investigation was launched in France in 2012 into the death of Ochlik and wounding of another journalist, Edith Bouvier, in the same attack.

Reporters Without Borders, as an interested party in the case, said it will submit the Colvin family's U.S. lawsuit to the judge in charge of the French investigation on Monday.

Colvin and Ochlik were both prize-winning reporters of wars in the Middle East, Asia and elsewhere. The Britain-based Colvin, who lost an eye while working in Sri Lanka in 2001, was working for the Sunday Times at the time of her death.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry, to whom the lawsuit was addressed, could not immediately be reached for comment. The Syrian ambassador to the United Nations also could not immediately be reached for comment.

(Reporting by Lisa Barrington; Additional reporting by Anthony Lin and Nate Raymond in New York; Editing by Adrian Croft and Sandra Maler)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
WHY DONT YOU READ THESE?
BERLIN Several German lawmakers said on Sunday the country's soldiers working at Turkey's Incirlik airbase should be brought home if Ankara continued to prevent parliamentarians from visiting the station.

Turkey, angered by a resolution passed by the German parliament last month that branded the 1915 massacre of Armenians by Ottoman forces a genocide, has denied German lawmakers access to the base.

Chancellor Angela Merkel said the parliamentarians must be allowed to visit the 250 soldiers at the base who are taking part in NATO operations against Islamic State militants in Iraq but she stopped short of threatening to withdraw the soldiers.

Relations between Germany and Turkey, crucial partners in the effort to stem mass migration to Europe, have been strained in recent months. President Tayyip Erdogan was angered by the broadcast of a satirical song about him on German television and in April launched legal action against the comedian who wrote it. The Armenian resolution last month, which prompted Ankara to recall its ambassador, compounded the rift.

A leader of Germany's opposition Greens, Cem Ozdemir, who is of ethnic Turkish origin, told ARD television the situation was unacceptable.

"As lawmakers who send soldiers to places, we must know where they are, how they are and be able to talk to the soldiers. If that is not possible in Turkey then the soldiers must come back to Germany," he said.

Lawmakers approve military spending and investment in infrastructure at the base.

Asked if she would consider withdrawing troops from Incirlik if no agreement were reached, Merkel said she was focusing on resolving the matter by talking.

"A way must be found for the lawmakers to visit the soldiers. We must continue to work on this, the solution is not yet there," she told broadcaster ZDF in an interview.

Merkel met Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Warsaw on Saturday. She said the atmosphere was constructive but the differences remained.

Andreas Scheuer, General Secretary of the Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU) who are part of Merkel's conservative bloc in parliament, said lawmakers had to be allowed to visit soldiers.

"As a result of his behaviour, Turkish President Erdogan is risking the withdrawal of the German army," he told Monday's Tagesspiegel daily, according to extracts sent in advance.

Turkey accepts that many Christian Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire were killed in clashes with Ottoman forces during World War One but it denies that up to 1.5 million were killed and that the killings constitute a genocide. It also says many Muslim Turks died in the clashes.

(Reporting by Madeline Chambers; Editing by Gareth Jones and Raissa Kasolowsky)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Islamabad: Alleging human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan on Sunday demanded "a fair and impartial" plebiscite to resolve the Kashmir dispute.

The Foreign Ministry said the "extrajudicial killing" of Hizbul Muajahideen leader Burhan Wani "and scores of other innocent Kashmiris" violated the fundamental human rights of Kashmiris.

This, a statement from the ministry said, "cannot deter the people of Jammu and Kashmir from their demand for the realisation of the right to self determination".

It said a resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute was only possible by the "realisation of the right to self determination of the people, as per UN resolutions, through a fair and impartial plebiscite".

The statement followed the Friday killing of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani, which triggered widespread clashes between security forces and
Islamabad: Alleging human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan on Sunday demanded "a fair and impartial" plebiscite to resolve the Kashmir dispute.

The Foreign Ministry said the "extrajudicial killing" of Hizbul Muajahideen leader Burhan Wani "and scores of other innocent Kashmiris" violated the fundamental human rights of Kashmiris.

This, a statement from the ministry said, "cannot deter the people of Jammu and Kashmir from their demand for the realisation of the right to self determination."

It said a resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute was only possible by the "realisation of the right to self determination of the people, as per UN resolutions, through a fair and impartial plebiscite."

The statement followed the Friday killing of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani, which triggered widespread clashes between security forces and pro-Wani demonstrators leaving at least 16 people dead.
New Delhi: Faced with resistance in disclosures by those named in the Panama Papers, the Income Tax department has made foreign references to about a dozen countries in order to obtain actionable evidence against such Indian entities.

Officials said a special wing under the Central Board of Direct Taxes has made multiple requests to their counterparts in foreign nations as part of the Income Tax department's tax evasion probe against those named in these leaks.

They said that the taxman, in numerous cases in this list, was faced with non-cooperation and and non-acceptance of their accounts as revealed in the Panama papers and hence the department had to approach the foreign jurisdictions including Switzerland, British Virgin Island and the UK among others.

"The Income Tax department has approached close to a dozen overseas jurisdictions in order to obtain actionable evidence and legal material to act against those who has been reported to have stashed black money abroad as per the Panama Papers disclosures.

"In many cases, the department has reported, that those named in the list are refusing to be the beneficial owners despite the taxman getting some evidence that they actually are the ones who were involved in creating these assets," a senior official said.

India has tax treaties with 137 countries at present. SIT Chairman Justice (retd) MB Shah, in a recent interview to PTI, had said investigating agencies are facing "difficulties" in reaching to the bottom of the matter as they are not getting specific account numbers and people named in the list are also "not disclosing" the details to the taxman.

A Multi-Agency Group created to probe these cases has already submitted four reports to the government and to the Special Investigation Team on black money in this regard.

The department already had sent a detailed questionnaire to a number of individuals and entities figuring in the list of those allegedly holding offshore assets in tax havens.

There are about 500 Indians named in the list which includes prominent businessmen, film celebrities and those belonging to lucrative professions.

The government has created a Multi-Agency Group (MAG) of probe agencies to go into these cases, comprising the Income Tax department (CBDT), its foreign tax wing, the RBI, Financial Intelligence Unit and the Enforcement Directorate.

The names were released by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) with 'Indian Express' newspaper in India.

The ICIJ added a disclaimer that there are also "legitimate uses for offshore companies".

The 'Panama Papers' leaks contain an unprecedented amount of information, including more than 11 million documents covering 2,10,000 companies in 21 offshore jurisdictions.

Each transaction spans different jurisdictions and may involve multiple entities and individuals.
Dar-es-Salaam: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday held talks with Tanzanian President John Pombe Joseph Magufuli on a wide range of issues aimed at boosting ties in the African continent, particularly in the economic sphere.

The Prime Minister was accorded a ceremonial welcome when he arrived at the State House.

"A ceremonial welcome, the East African way. PM's Tanzania engagements begin at the State House in Dar-es-Salaam," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted.

The Prime Minister, who arrived here late last night on the third leg of his four-nation Africa tour, also played the drum along with the Tanzanian President for nearly one minute.

"New beats to the #IndiaAfrica rhythm! PM @narendramodi and President @MagufuliJP play the drum," Swarup said.

Prime Minister Modi and President Magufuli first held restricted talks before holding delegation-level parleys,.

"PM @narendramodi and President @MagufuliJP in restricted talks following the welcome," Swarup tweeted.

The visit will be aimed at giving an impetus to ties with Tanzania, a valued friend in Africa, Modi had said ahead of his visit.

He will also be meeting 'Solar Mamas', a group of rural women solar engineers from Africa who have been trained under Government of India-supported programmes to fabricate, install, use, repair and maintain solar lanterns and household solar lighting systems in their villages.

He visited Mozambique and South Africa before arriving here. He will also visit Kenya.

The focus of the African tour is on deepening cooperation in areas of hydrocarbons, maritime security, trade and investment, agriculture and food.
Last week had more than its share of sleepless nights for Americans. Especially for those who are parents of police officers.

Cheri and Gary Italiano, 55, stood with eyes glistening at a candlelight vigil Saturday night in Fenton for five police officers slain Thursday in Dallas. A lone gunman, a black man, targeted the officers at the end of a march by hundreds of demonstrations decrying the fatal shootings by police of black men earlier in the week.

As the names of the five Dallas officers were read, and their photos displayed on three giant video screens, it was hard not to picture the face of their own son, Tyler Italiano, 29, a Florissant police officer who has previously worked for Pagedale and Velda City. He was the first in his family to go into law enforcement.

I sent him a text this morning, said Cheri Italiano, who lives with her husband in south St. Louis County. I wrote that you are the best person ever.

The Italianos were among about 125 people who attended the vigil at Life Church organized by the St. Louis Police Officers Association, the St. Louis County Police Association and area law enforcement support groups. About two dozen were active or retired police officers, and a handful were politicians. Most of the rest were parents or family of cops.

We could all see ourselves standing in the shoes of those Dallas police officers, said St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson. There is not an officer in this room that hasnt been at a protest or a demonstration or at a march.  We could all see ourselves, we could see our loved ones in those positions. Those men and women in Dallas were doing what we do every day.

Jeff Roorda, business manager of the St. Louis Police Officers Association, noted that he had invited protesters to the vigil. Mourning the murdered police officers, he said, could have been common ground.

Ive spent a lot of time talking to African-American leaders, protest leaders.  Did anyone from the protest movement show up tonight? No offense. I hope they saw the invitation as being sincere. I hope they know they would have been welcome if they came.

He said the videos from the shooting scenes of people killed by police officers last week in Minnesota and Louisiana were gut-wrenching.

Its a difficult thing were dealing with, but any of these confrontations could end with a cop dead on the street. Thats why we have to figure out a way to get away from these high-risk, high-profile confrontations because theyre going to end badly every time.

Jim Campbell, 41, a master sergeant for the Missouri Highway Patrol, one of four troopers who attended in uniform, said he appreciated the support after a roller coaster week.

I think people on both sides of the argument need to come together and talk and realize there is some common ground out there.

He said he felt most people supported the police. If some feel that blacks are treated unfairly by law enforcement, I know in my mind that doesnt factor into what I do. But I cant speak for every officer out there.
The Afghan interior ministry says police casualties in the country have dropped around 40 percent compared to last year.

Interior ministry deputy assistant General Mohammad Salem Ehsas told VOA's Afghan service that police reform has played vital role saving the lives of Afghan men and women serving in uniform.

Reforms in local police force, paying attention to the importance of training and providing required [lifesaving] equipment are the reason for 40 percent reduction in police causalities, said Ehsas.

A 2015 Pentagon report says casualties among Afghan national defense and security forces rose 27 percent from Jan. 1 to Nov. 15, compared with the same period in 2014. But the commander of ALP (Afghan local police) General Ali Shah Ahmadzai told VOA Afghanistan that 66 police officers were killed between late March and late June, compared to 78 in the same period last year.



Ahmadzai added that besides training and equipment, the removal of under-age soldiers  13 to 17 year-old- and and men over the age of 55 has also played a great role in the reduction of police causalities.

International human rights groups haveslammed the recruiting of under-age children in the Afghan police force.



Afghan interior ministry spokesperson Sidiq Sidiqi told VOA Afghanistan that a new MOI report confirms the causality drop, however, more equipment and trainings are needed, he said.


American analysts and investors are taking a closer look at an ambitious plan to transform Saudi Arabias economy and society following a two-week tour by the schemes youthful architect and chief promoter  Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Analysts say the plan, which calls for the biggest shake-up the kingdom has ever attempted, has the potential to modernize one of the worlds most socially conservative societies while liberating the country from its long-standing reliance on oil. It also runs the risk of destabilizing the desert kingdom with unforeseeable consequences.

One of biggest challenges facing Vision 2030, as the project is known, is its prohibitive cost.

"Its expensive, said Karen Young, a senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. It requires spending money rather than saving. In order for the plan to work, the government has to outlay a lot of funds and find public-private partnerships.

A December study by McKinsey Global Institute, the research arm of consultancy McKinsey & Company, estimated that Saudi Arabias economic transformation would cost about $4 trillion. (A longtime consultant to the Saudi government, McKinsey is said to be a lead adviser on Vision 2030.)

Another risk? Rising oil prices, which in the past have undercut similar albeit less ambitious reform initiatives undertaken by Persian Gulf oil-producing countries.

But the biggest risk is that resistance from a host of vested interests could upend the Saudi monarchy, destabilizing Saudi society and with it the whole Middle East.

Mohammed bin Salmans vision is grand and, yes, disruptive enough that it is important to consider the consequences of Vision 2030s failure, not just for the man but Saudi Arabia and the Middle East more broadly, Steven Cook, a Middle East expert at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, wrote in a recent blog post.

Cook compared Prince Mohammed, known as MBS, to another Arab disruptor with an affectionate nickname, Gamal Jimmy Mubarak, the son of former Egyptian strongman Hosni Mubarak, whose own reform project ultimately proved destabilizing for Egypt.

No patience for bureaucracy

But other experts say that if anyone has a chance to succeed, it may be the 30-year-old, Saudi-educated deputy crown prince  a quick decision-maker with no patience for bureaucracy. In the short span since his fathers accession to the throne in January 2015, he has been given unparalleled power and used it unfailingly to advance his political and reform agenda.

As defense minister, he has pursued a spirited regional policy and led Saudi Arabia into a controversial war in Yemen. As chair of the Council of Economic and Development Affairs, he has cut government spending and, to the vexation of many Saudis, generous subsidies on gasoline, electricity and water.

And as head of two bodies overseeing state oil giant Saudi Aramco and Saudi Arabias sovereign debt fund, he controls the kingdoms vast oil and investment operations.

The reform is being driven by the personality of the deputy crown prince, who has taken a strong hand and assembled a strong team, said David Callahan, a vice president at the U.S.-Saudi Arabian Business Council.



MBSs meteoric rise to power came as plunging global oil prices cut into Saudi Arabias economic growth and caused a $100 billion budget deficit last year, reversing a decade of prosperity fueled by a surge in prices.

Uncharacteristically for Saudi Arabia, MBS disclosed details of his biggest reform initiative in an April interview with the financial news service Bloomberg before formally announcing it several days later. On June 6, Saudi Arabia launched the National Transformation Program, setting targets for the program through 2020.

Among these are cutting public sector salaries and government subsidies, increasing the private sectors share of economic activity, removing barriers to investment, boosting transparency and accountability, and creating more than 450,000 private sector jobs.

Largest publicly traded company

The centerpiece of the economic overhaul initiative is the proposed public listing of Aramco to make it the worlds biggest publicly traded company and the development of its investment fund into a $2 trillion behemoth. With those initiatives, the governments non-oil revenue is forecast to climb astronomically, making Saudi Arabia vastly less reliant on oil.

But Vision 2030 isnt just about diversification. It includes an array of social initiatives, including doubling the number of women in the workforce, increasing the number of women in top government posts to 5 percent from 1.2 percent, and developing national parks (quadrupling the area per capita) in a bid to promote domestic tourism.

Thats what makes it expansive and wider in scope, Young said of Vision 2030s social goals. Investing in amusement parks is one way of job creation, but its also about giving people outside-of-work activities and ways and places to mix together.

With much of the plans success resting on foreign investment, Prince Mohammad spent two weeks barnstorming through the United States last month in what was a cross between a road show and meet-and-greet with power brokers.

He had a rare Oval Office meeting with President Barack Obama and met with House Speaker Paul Ryan. While his meetings with official Washingtons heavy hitters dominated press coverage, a larger focus of his visit was Wall Street and corporate America.

Whether in Washington or Silicon Valley or New York, the prince met with business titans and used every opportunity to pitch Vision 2030 to them.

U.S. business community

In Washington, he met with CEOs and business leaders representing energy, defense, health care and IT industries at an event organized by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. In Silicon Valley, he met (clad in jeans and a sport coat in place of his royal robe) with Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. In New York, he met with businessmen, including former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and CEOs of major Wall Street firms clamoring for a piece of the huge stock and bond offerings for which the Saudis will need advisory and underwriting services.

Clearly, meeting with the U.S. business community was a priority, because so much of Vision 2030 and the National Transformation Program centers on economic transformation, said Steve Lutes, executive director of Middle East affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, who attended the Washington meeting with MBSs delegation. Understanding that, it makes sense that the lions share of the outreach would center on the U.S. business community.

To underscore its commitment to attracting foreign investment, Saudi Arabia, during MBSs visit, granted operational licenses to chemical giant Dow Chemical and manufacturing conglomerate 3M and signed memorandums of understanding with Microsoft and IT leader Cisco.

The Saudis are really putting their best foot forward, and I think investors and businesses alike here in the U.S. see opportunities across the spectrum, Lutes said.

But others said investors and businesses are taking a wait-and-see approach.

Its hard to make business decisions based on a plan, Young said. This is still a period of anticipation.

Business deals aside, how the Saudi populace reacts, after having grown accustomed to easy-to-get government jobs and generous government benefits, is another question mark hanging over the plan.

Hes going to have to be very cautious because Saudi Arabia is, in essence, a conservative society that doesnt like fast change, said Allen Keiswetter, a former State Department official now with the Middle East Institute in Washington. Wed have to see what finesse and political skill and the speed with which its implemented. Id be surprised if the speed is as rapid is some people imply.
iStock/Thinkstock(ROCHESTER, N.Y.) -- Police arrested 74 people, including two African American reporters, one whom was arrested on live TV, during a protest in Rochester, New York, Friday night.



Rochester police officers clad in riot gear tried to move dozens of protesters out of an intersection downtown where the crowd had started gathering around 9:45 p.m. Police began making arrests when demonstrators continued to block the street and refused to move.



The protesters were demonstrating against police brutality in the wake of officer-involved shootings of black men earlier in the week in Louisiana and Minnesota and the mass shooting at a march in Dallas that left five law enforcement officers dead.

Two African American reporters from ABC Rochester affiliate WHAM-TV, Carlet Cleare and Justin Carter, were briefly detained and released. WHAM-TV posted live coverage of Carter's arrest on social media.

Welp, that was interesting. Cuffed by RPD while cover protest in downtown ROC. Was never told I wasn't supposed to be on sidewalk -  Carlet Cleare (@ccleare) July 9, 2016

Rochester Police Chief Michael Ciminelli and the city's mayor, Lovely Warren, have both apologized for the detainment of the two reporters, WHAM said.



Ciminelli said the department was prevented from responding to nonemergency calls during the protests because of the need for a beefed-up police presence at the demonstration. Some protesters threw rocks at the officers, Ciminelli said during a news conference early Saturday morning.



Rochester Mayor Warren said during the press conference that no tear gas, batons, tasers or weapons were used by law enforcement at the protest.

Chief Ciminelli and Mayor Warren have apologized for the detainment of two 13WHAM reporters #13WHAM  13WHAM (@13WHAM) July 9, 2016

Copyright  2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
A landmark ruling on an arbitration case filed by the Philippines that seeks to strike down Chinas expansive territorial claims in the South China Sea will be a test for international law and world powers. China, which demands one-on-one talks to resolve the disputes, has boycotted the case and vowed to ignore the verdict, which will be handed down tomorrow by the U.N. tribunal in The Hague.

Whats the case about?

After years of diplomatic negotiations ended nowhere, the Philippines brought its dispute with China to international arbitration in January 2013, despite Beijings warnings of a diplomatic and economic backlash.

China wants to negotiate directly with the Philippines and each of the four other claimants in an arrangement that would give it leverage for its sheer size and influence. Beijing has steadfastly opposed bringing the disputes to an international arena, which could provide the U.S. a chance to intervene.

The Philippines asked a tribunal of five arbitrators to declare as invalid Chinas vast claims, known as nine-dash lines for the dashes that demarcate virtually all of the South China Sea as Chinese territory, under the United Nation Convention on the Law of the Seas, or UNCLOS. China and the Philippines are among more than 160 signatories of the 1982 convention, regarded as the constitution that governs and stipulates the rights of countries in using the worlds oceans.

With Chinas sprawling claims, the Philippines stands to lose a huge chunk of off-

shore territory, said Antonio Carpio, an associate Supreme Court justice who has made extensive studies on the conflicts. This Chinese aggression is the gravest external threat to the Philippines since World War II, he said.

The Philippines also asked the tribunal to classify whether a number of disputed areas are islands, low-tide coral outcrops or submerged banks to determine the stretch of territorial waters they are entitled to under the convention. It also wants China to be declared in violation of the convention for carrying out fishing and construction activities that breached the Philippines maritime rights. The convention does not deal with sovereignty questions, which the Philippine government says it did not raise.

How did it start?

Although the disputes have simmered for decades, they gradually escalated under former Philippine President Benigno Aquino III and culminated in 2012 when China took effective control of the disputed Scarborough Shoal after a tense standoff.

U.S. officials brokered an arrangement for Philippine government vessels and larger Chinese maritime surveillance ships to simultaneously withdraw from the tiny shoal, a deal which Aquino said he followed. Chinese ships never left.

Chinese coast guard ships also surrounded another disputed area, the Second Thomas Shoal, which has been guarded by Filipino marines on board a grounded rusty warship. The Chinese coast guard has tried to block Philippine vessels from bringing food, water, medicines and other supplies to the marines, sparking dangerous cat-and-mouse chases at high seas.

The Philippines said it had no other choice but to elevate the dispute to international arbitration.

Will the arbitration change anything?

Any ruling will be final and legally binding on China and the Philippines. Chinas decision to ignore the case and the arbitration tribunals lack of enforcement mechanism, however, have blunted the Philippines move.

Former Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario, who spearheaded the filing of the complaint against China, said that a favorable ruling on any of the 15 issues raised by the Philippines, especially the demand to declare Chinas claims invalid under UNCLOS, would be a major blow to Beijing and a moral victory that could be harnessed by the Philippines to its advantage.

The Philippines, Filipino diplomats said, could work with Washington and other countries to demand Chinese compliance in diplomatic forums worldwide, including before the United Nations.

If it doesnt comply, China risks being seen as a rogue nation at a time it expands its political and economic influence on the world stage.

Carpio painted a dire picture if the tribunal fails to rule on the validity of Chinas sprawling claims, saying Beijing would enforce its nine-dash territorial lines as its national boundary. The U.S. military would intensify its patrols to promote freedom of navigation, China would try to push the Americans back and the claimants engage in an arms race.

The only defense of coastal states will be to acquire warships, warplanes and anti-ship missiles, Carpio said. Tensions will increase. It will be a turmoil in the South China Sea.

Why did China refuse to take part in the case?

China has argued that the tribunal does not have jurisdiction to handle the Philippine case, because it says it involves sovereignty issues, which are outside the tribunals legal purview. While masking its case as an effort to clarify maritime rights under the U.N. convention, the Philippines is actually trying to undermine Chinas indisputable sovereignty, according to Chinese officials.

They ask, for example, how the Philippines can say that Chinas claims are excessive without first determining Beijings territorial limits.

China also regards the disputes as a purely Asian problem that outsiders like the U.S. have no right to meddle in.

Philippine officials say China refused to join the arbitration knowing that the historical basis it cites for its territorial claims has long ceased to be recognized under modern-day treaties like the UNCLOS.

What are other countries saying about it?

Countries have generally taken a position on the arbitration case depending on whether theyre aligned with the U.S. or China.

The diplomatic tug-of-war has put smaller countries and regional blocs in a dilemma, including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, whose four member states are claimants.

A Philippine push for the 10-nation bloc to issue a joint statement calling for China to respect tomorrows ruling has stalled with Cambodia and Laos backing the Chinese position. Besides the Philippines and Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore have also been wary of China.

The regional group has a bedrock principle of deciding by consensus, meaning just one member state can stall any group effort.

The U.S., Britain and the rest of the EU support the arbitration.

China claims support of some 40-60 nations, including many landlocked African nations and Pacific islands where Beijing has economic clout. Jim Gomez, Manila, AP
Negative headlines triggered by the so-called Panama papers scandal earlier this year may have created an opportunity to buy the Central American nations sovereign bonds, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.

The bank raised its recommendation on the country to overweight from marketweight, saying that the bonds have under-performed this year, even as the economy remains a top performer.

The real economic consequences of this fiasco are not going to be all that severe, said Franco Uccelli, an emerging market analyst at JPMorgan. Everything else that has been sustaining growth in the country is very much there, and is there to stay. If the bonds have underperformed as a consequence of some risk aversion related to the Panama Papers scandal, then you should be buying Panama.

The leak in April of offshore financial records exposed billions of dollars in assets hidden in tax havens around the world, setting off a global scandal that embarrassed political and business leaders worldwide. Still, Panamas economy is set to grow 6.1 percent this year, the fastest pace in Latin America, according to a forecast from the International Monetary Fund.

The recent inauguration of the expanded Panama canal and the construction of Panama Citys metro line will also help the countrys growth, according to JPMorgan. The nations dollar bonds have returned 9.8 percent this year, compared to 12 percent for emerging markets in the Bloomberg USD Emerging Market Sovereign Bond Index. Matthew Bristow, Bloomberg
TWIN FALLS  The community will gather for a vigil at 7 p.m. Sunday in City Park.

It will be a chance for people to stand alongside local law enforcement and pay tribute to the five Dallas Police officers who were killed by a sniper on Thursday night as well as to those who were injured.

The shootings in Dallas came during a demonstration against the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile at the hands of police officers earlier this week.

Winnie Christiansen, an organizer of the vigil, said violence should never be normalized.

Theres so much violence in the country right now, she said. We just stand in solidarity with all the families that have been affected.

The vigil will take place next to the bandshell. Candles will be provided but people are encouraged to bring their own.
KIMBERLY  This years Twilight Tour planned July 20 at the University of Idahos Kimberly Research and Extension Center is going deep, six feet to be exact, as part of a fun-filled evening of science geared to families.

Soil scientists will dig a soil pit at the research center and invite visitors to learn more about the soil that sustains agriculture and Idahos economy.

The Twilight Tour, the seventh held at the Kimberly center, will run from 5 to 8 p.m. The event drew an estimated 525 visitors to Kimberly in 2014. It will again feature a free catered dinner and fun activities.

University of Idaho President Chuck Staben and College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Dean Michael Parrella are scheduled to attend the event.

Student enrollment and alumni representatives will attend to offer information about educational opportunities for prospective students and social events for UI alumni and friends.

The free field day functions as a science fair for children and adults who live nearby and for those who work in agriculture.

The tour illustrates the range of research conducted by College of Agricultural and Life Sciences faculty and staff. The event alternates between the Aberdeen Research and Extension Center and Kimberly.

This years event also will feature research projects based at the UI Twin Falls, Aberdeen and Parma research centers, and the nearby Hagerman Fish Culture Experiment Station near Twin Falls.

In addition to the soil pit, researchers will offer interactive exhibits and demonstrations focused on potatoes, dry beans, sugar beets, weeds, insects, plant diseases, soils, irrigation management, waste management and other topics.

The universitys new plant disease expert based in Parma will be available to answer questions.

More information is available from Don Morishita, the Kimberly centers superintendent at 208-423-6616 or don@uidaho.edu.
BOISE  Ann Coulter might think Mike Crapo would make a good vice presidential pick, but as far as Idahos senior senator knows, he isnt being considered for the position.

We have not been contacted, said Lindsay Nothern, spokesman for U.S. Sen. Crapo, R-Idaho. We have not been asked by Trump about any spot in his administration.

Donald Trump, the Republican Partys presumptive nominee, was in Washington, D.C. on Thursday to meet with Senate Republicans, and Crapo was in the meeting, Nothern said.

There have been no discussions about any VP slot, Nothern said.

The well-known conservative author and commentator Coulter wrote a column published Wednesday titled My VP Prediction: Trumps First Mistake, in which she said Trump should name someone who would back his views on immigration and who is smart and courageous and not in love with his own press notices.

Among the possibilities Trump ought to be considering are people like Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown, North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory and Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo (the latter two are up for re-election this year, but perhaps they can run for both offices simultaneously), Coulter wrote.

Crapo didnt endorse anyone in the primary, but said after Trump locked up the nomination that he would back him. Crapo spoke in support of Trump and against Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton at the Idaho GOP convention a month ago, calling the election a choice between a caretaker society and an opportunity society, and also saying U.S. Supreme Court rulings recognizing an individual right to bear arms would be in jeopardy if Clinton appoints the next judge.

A little after the convention, Crapo joined many other Republican elected officials in calling on Trump to withdraw his comments that the judge in the Trump University case couldnt judge him fairly because of his Mexican parents.

Crapos Democratic opponent, Jerry Sturgill, put out a statement Thursday agreeing that Crapo would be a good VP pick for Trump.

So we agree that choosing Mike Crapo as his running mate would be a safe move for Trump, said Sturgill campaign spokesman Joel Coon. Trump can count on Sen. Crapo to have his back as he attacks religious minorities and scoffs at people of faith like he did Governor Romney. This is a centerpiece of Trumps campaign, so he needs someone like Crapo who, after 25 years in Washington D.C., has forgotten Idaho values.
MALTA  On Monday, work will begin on installing a cable barrier along two miles of Interstate 84 over Sweetzer Summit in southeast Cassia County.

The $244,000 project to locate the cable barrier in the median will help prevent traffic from crossing into oncoming traffic in the winding mountain pass.

The interstate has several curves following Meadow Creek. There the median is as narrow as 14 feet. The pass becomes even more of a safety concern during winter weather conditions and heavy snowfall.

The high-tension cable rail being installed is similar to ones already used on highways in northern Utah and in other parts of the country.

It will be the first tension-cable system on an interstate in Idaho.

During installation, a 65 MPH speed limit will be in effect in the construction zone. The left lane and median shoulder will be closed in both directions through the construction zone as well.
BURLEY  Work will begin Monday to install a cable barrier on a two-mile stretch of Interstate 84 over Sweetzer Summit in southeast Cassia County. The cable barrier will be located in the median and is designed to prevent traffic from crossing into the opposite lanes of traffic in the winding mountain pass. During installation, the left lane and median shoulder will be closed in each direction through the construction zone. A 65-mph speed limit will be in effect. Work will include clearing vegetation from a portion of the median, drilling and setting the support posts in concrete, and pulling the cable before applying tension. Similar high-tension median cable rail is common in urban areas of northern Utah and other areas of the country. This is the first application of a tension-cable system in interstate median in Idaho. The area over the mountain pass has several curves as it follows Meadow Creek and has a narrow median  as little as 14 feet  to separate the two lanes of traffic. Winter weather conditions and heavy snowfall increase safety concern for cross-median crashes. Railco LLC, of Meridian, is the contractor for the $244,000 project. Work is expected to be completed in early September. ITD and the Idaho State Police advise motorists to slow down and pay attention when driving in work zones, where increased speeding fines and other penalties apply. Motorists are encouraged to plan ahead and dial 5-1-1 or visit 511.idaho.gov for information on the state highway or interstate system.
TWIN FALLS  Although it hasnt maxed out its capacity, Twin Falls is stepping up efforts to secure rights to more water.

Over the past 60 years, the citys wells have been declining in their ability to pump. And because obtaining rights and permissions to pump water can take years, not to mention the money required for infrastructure, Twin Falls Water Superintendent Robert Bohling is planning ahead now.

But the city isnt the only user with an interest in the areas groundwater.

Its not an infinite source, Bohling said. Were in the process of developing new areas where we can get water from.

Protested rights

One area of conflict is south of Rock Creek Canyon, where the city already has water rights. Since 1995, the College of Southern Idaho has protested those rights, due to foreseen effects on the colleges Walter R. Priebe Fish Hatchery.

The fish hatchery, which began in the early 1930s as an early conservation hatchery, is fed by water diverted from irrigation seepage tunnels, said Terry Patterson, instructional dean for the colleges Office of Instructional Administration. He started CSIs aquaculture program in 1977.

Idaho water rights are first in time, first in right, meaning older rights have priority. The college has had its rights in that area since 1928 and 1937. The citys water rights were obtained later, giving CSI the right to protest them.

As farming practices change, less water is entering the seepage tunnels, Patterson said. Sprinkler irrigation doesnt saturate the soil as deeply as flood irrigation, and irrigation canals are sealed better than before, meaning less leakage into the tunnels.

While drought has been a factor, development may be equally so. Several years ago, farmland along the canyon rim above the hatchery was sold, to be replaced with a housing subdivision. That meant less irrigation water in the seepage tunnels.

The hatchery saw an annual average of 3.53 cubic feet per second between 1985 and 1995. Now, that average is down to 3 cfs.

Clearing the protest on the rights south of Rock Creek would allow the city to use 14 cfs, Bohling said. But that will take collaboration.

I think wed rather collaborate with the city and the college to meet both our needs, Patterson said.

Bohling agreed that conversations need to continue, and the city may be willing to compromise by providing the hatchery with water during periods of low flows. Because flows rely on the irrigation season, they typically decline in November and December, Patterson said.

CSI intends to work with the city through open dialogue, he said.

Seeking new rights

During summer, the majority of Twin Falls potable water comes from the north side of the Snake River. To meet future demand, the city has set its sights on gaining rights to collect 27 million gallons per day from Sunnybrook Springs. The city has applied to purchase the rights from the Idaho Department of Water Resources.

New water rights over there are very difficult, Bohling said.

Thats because the state ordered a moratorium on new non-domestic wells being put into production throughout the Snake River Plain. However, Bohling said, because Twin Falls would only intercept whats coming out of the aquifer already, from a spring-fed source, it would not be drilling any new wells that would be hindered by the moratorium. Still, Water Resources may award the city less than it applied for.

Another user downstream could be impacted by the citys rights: Idaho Power, whose Swan Falls hydroelectric plant requires a certain water flow.

The city puts some water back into the river and would not be allowed to affect more than 2 acre-feet (or roughly 652,000 gallons) per day.

Twin Falls submitted its application in 2008.

I think were probably a year, maybe less, from getting it settled, Bohling said.

Even if these rights are granted, the city would need to build the collection vault with pumps  a project that could cost between $20 million and $60 million. Bohling estimated that could be 16 to 20 years in the future.

Industry and demand will drive that, he said.
On the day of his arrival in 1968 as the U.S. ambassador to Bonn, West Germany, Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. dropped a bombshell. Lodge said he believed everybody was entitled to one idiosyncrasy, and his was that at the end of the workday, all papers on his desk, including classified documents, should remain undisturbed until he returned the next morning.

At the time, I was a State Department special agent assigned to Bonn as part of a three-person team of regional security officers providing personnel and physical security for the embassy, all U.S. consulates in West Germany and the U.S. Mission in West Berlin.

We had good reason to be stunned.

West Germany in the 1960s was near ground zero in the Cold War. Few European countries had been more penetrated by foreign spies. American diplomatic missions were key targets.

Lodge, nonetheless, prevailed.

Superiors in our chain of command did not order the ambassador to follow security rules. The word from on high: Make do; dont let classified information fall into the wrong hands.

And it didnt.

Security processes were enhanced to accommodate Lodges work habits: juggled Marine security guard assignments, rigged physical security devices and a few sleepless nights, all to ensure that materials deemed sensitive from the standpoint of national security were not compromised.

We were relieved to see Lodge go home in 1969.

Which brings us to Hillary Clinton and the FBI investigation into her personal email system when she was secretary of state.

By using her own, unclassified email servers to communicate and store highly sensitive government informationas the FBI establishedClinton, as with Lodge before her, placed personal interests above the obligation to properly protect classified information.

The difference is that, unlike in Lodges case, no one tried to save Clintonand by extension, national securityfrom herself.

To the contrary, Clinton had enablers.

A May State Department inspector generals report on email records management and cybersecurity during Clintons tenure said: Two staff in [Clintons executive secretariat] reported . . . that, in late 2010, they each discussed their concerns about Secretary Clintons use of a personal email account in separate meetings with the [director of the executive secretariat].

According to [one] staff member, the Director stated that the Secretarys personal system had been reviewed and approved by Department legal staff and that the matter was not to be discussed any further, the report said.

The Office of the Inspector General,it said, found no evidence that staff in the Office of the Legal Adviser reviewed or approved Secretary Clintons personal system.

The OIG also reported that the other staff member who raised concerns said the director stated that the executive secretariats mission . . . is to support the Secretary and instructed the staff never to speak of the Secretarys personal email system again.

Whats more, unlike with Lodge, classified information in Clintons custody could have been compromised.

The FBI found that hostile actors (read: foreign sources) gained access to private email accounts of people with whom Clinton was in regular contact through her personal account, and that she used her personal email overseas in the territory of sophisticated adversaries (read: Russia and China). Its not far-fetched to think that her system may have been compromised.

Robert Gates, former defense secretary and CIA director, said as much. Noting that the Pentagon has acknowledged getting hacked about 100,000 times a day, Gates assessed the odds as pretty high that the Russians, Chinese and Iranians had compromised Clintons server.

Im in no position to second-guess the FBIs recommendation that, based upon the evidence, no criminal charges should be brought regarding Clintons handling of classified information.

But as FBI Director James Comey stated at his news briefing, people who have engaged in similar activities have been subject to security and administrative sanctions.

I know of such cases.

A Foreign Service officer sat in my office in Bonn with tears in his eyes because he feared that discovery of the latest in his string of security violations, albeit none willful, might result in the loss of his top-secret clearance and continued diplomatic service. He feared correctly.

Clinton and her colleagues, Comey said, were extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information. Now that the Justice Department has decided to turn the page on Clinton, the State Department said it will reopen an internal review of the handling of classified information and her email use.

Spoiler alert: Some career employees will be reprimanded.

Clinton and her inner circle, however, face no serious consequences, as they are no longer federal employeesuntil, perhaps, Inauguration Day 2017.

Donald Trump as an alternative is unthinkable.

My expressed view that Trump is a dishonest, egotistical, vulgar, mean-spirited bully who resorts to foul religious and racial scapegoating and insults to cover his own insecurities is irrevocable.

But that doesnt mean Clintons disregard for proper security isnt deplorable. She set a dreadful example for the national security community she seeks to lead.

Can she learn from this?

We live in hope.

What else have we got?
This appeared in Saturdays Washington Post.

--

Hard to believe, but a court in Perm, a Russian city near the Ural Mountains, recently convicted Vladimir Luzgin, 37, and fined him 200,000 rubles, or about $3,100, for posting a simple and true historical fact. Luzgin wrote on Vkontakte, a Russian social media platform like Facebook, that the Soviet Union collaborated with Nazi Germany to invade Poland in September 1939. He was prosecuted under a law signed by President Vladimir Putin in May 2014 against rehabilitation of Nazism, a law that declared its intent was to oppose glorification of Nazism but that human rights activists say was intended to discourage historical debate.

The Soviet Union long tried to hide the secret protocols to the 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, which divided up Poland and the Baltic states between Germany and the Soviet Union. Moscow admitted the protocols were genuine only in Mikhail Gorbachevs glasnost years. More recently, a motif of Putins rule has been to buff Stalins legacy and fuzz up his collaboration with Hitler. Last year, Putin openly defended the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, saying it was necessary for the times; culture minister Vladimir Medinsky called it a colossal achievement of Stalins diplomacy.

Luzgins posting might have gone unnoticed but for the desire of the Russian authorities to make an example of him. As Professor Mark Galeotti of New York University wrote recently, Putin has not reinstated mass repressions like those of the Stalin era, but rather relied on a relative handful of well-publicized spectacles of brutish state persecution. This makes everyone wary all the time, Galeotti wrote, carrying a little censor, a micro-Putin around with them.

For those not carrying a micro-Putin, the Kremlin has other means. On July 7, Putin signed a law requiring telecom operators to store recordings of customer phone calls and text messages for six months for perusal by the security services, and messaging services such as Facebook and Telegram to provide encryption keys to the authorities on demand. In todays Russia, Big Brother is watching, again.

In China, which blocks sites such as Facebook and Twitter that are outside its Great Firewall, social media inside the country had, at first, confounded the authorities. Disasters such as the Wenzhou train wreck in 2011 were robustly reported by witnesses, whose posts often defied government censors. But in the past year or so, the screws have tightened. The Cyberspace Administration of China, a powerful censorship agency, took yet another step July 3 when it issued new rules to punish websites that publish unverified content, rumors, hearsay, conjecture and fake news. Unverified in this context means unapproved, and the real significance of the announcement is to warn websites that news is not whats trending, but what the Communist Party bosses say it is, period.

Both Russia and China seek to tame the wild and free nature of the Internet, sharing a dangerous and illiberal vision that information should be a ward of the state.
Thursdays shooting of 12 police officers in Dallas suggests spiraling violence: The cops were shot during a protest against the shooting of black men by police. A vicious circle of retribution would be something new for the U.S. where, unlike in other developed countries, killings by police far outnumber officer deaths in the line of duty.

The point that police kill more people in the U.S. than in European countries has often been made. Its intuitively understandable: American cops must deal with armed criminals more often because guns are more widely available, and the dominant culture is pro-gun, so people have less of a problem using weapons. For all that, however, relatively few officers get killed.

FBI statistics of justifiable homicide by law enforcement officers indicate that in 2010-14, the average number of fatal shootings by police was 428 per year (the number has been hovering around 400 for much longer than that). Also according to the FBI, about 50 officers per year are killed in the line of duty. Thats already a rather high ratio of inflicted to suffered casualties  and it disregards the insufficiency of the justifiable homicide data; The Washington Post, for example, calculates that 965 people were fatally shot by police in 2015.

In countries where killings of every kind are not as frequent  in fact, so infrequent that it even makes little sense to correct the statistics for factors such as population or number of officers  the ratios are much lower.

In Britain, a total of 250 officers have been fatally shot since 1945. Thats fewer than four per year. Police, who are usually unarmed, shoot even fewer civilians. Since 1990, they have killed a total of 60 people  a little more than two per year.

In Germany, officers are usually armed. Last year, they shot eight people  about the average number for the last 10 years. Between 1945 and 2011, some 392 German police officers died in the line of duty  about 6 per year, although there have been fewer deaths in recent years.

In France, theres a dearth of statistics on police killings. By one count, 54 people were killed by officers between 2005 and 2015, about five a year; and between six and 13 officers have died in the line of duty each year in 2008-15.

With absolute numbers so small, its difficult to make statistical comparisons with the U.S. Rather, one could say that the killings of and by officers are extraordinary incidents in western Europe, and comparable, small numbers of cops and suspects die at each others hands.

Whats at stake in the U.S. is the all-important preservation of police legitimacy  a key concept in todays criminology concerning trust in law enforcement and the perceived obligation to obey the police. Any diminution would produce a precarious situation.

In the wake of the Dallas shootings, it would be a normal human reaction for U.S. cops to get even tougher, to avenge their fallen comrades. Yet whats needed is a de-escalation. There will still be crazed criminals who kill cops  but perhaps in time a less violent culture will develop as a basis for strengthened law-enforcement legitimacy.
From the Lewiston Tribune:

Idaho used to have a teacher shortage.

Now it has a teacher famine.

Thats how Madison School District Assistant Superintendant Randy Lords described it recently to Idaho Education News Devin Bodkin.

Whats the difference?

With a shortage, a district might have trouble finding people in hard-to-fill slots such as higher-level math or special education.

In a famine, you suddenly have problems locating someone to teach American history and PE.

When theres a shortage, a school might have a shallow pool of applicants.

With a famine, there are no applicants at all.

With a famine, youre stuck putting more teachers on overtimewhich means students may have a more frazzled instructor in the fifth and sixth periods.

With a famine, you crowd more kids around the smaller number of teachers.

With a famine, you hire teachers who may have an academic and professional expertisebut will learn on the job how to communicate with children.

With a famine, special ed teachers are so bogged down with caseloads, testing and paperwork that they begin to doubt their effectiveness.

And a teacher famine is where Idaho finds itself. As Bodkin noted, Idaho now ranks just above West Virginia for having a shortage of qualified teachers.

More than five years ago, Idaho could draw upon 11/2 newly certified teachers for every one that left the classroom. Now the state is losing teachers twice as fast as it is replacing them:

During the 2009-10 school year, 1,380 teachers left while 2,001 new teachers were certified.

By the 2011-12 school year, 2,401 teachers quit while only 1,883 replacements had been certified.

In 2013-14, Idaho lost 1,979 teachers and gained only 934.

The flow of people into Idahos teacher training programs dropped from 8,393 in 2009 to 5,397 in 2013. Bad as that was, the stream of experienced teachers moving into Idaho from out of state has been choked offfrom 898 in 2007-08 to 68 in 2013-14.

Money is one reason. Since 2000, Idahos political leaders have chosen to cut the share of personal income devoted to public education by more than 25 percenta loss of more than $500 million a year. Thats dropped Idahos per pupil expendituresand teacher compensation packagesinto the nations basement.

If you want to teach, youll probably make more money working outside the Gem State.

At the same time, the political class chose to wage war on its teachersusing testing as a weapon to punish low-performing schools or impose merit-based pay. A series of punitive reformsdubbed the Luna laws after former state Superintendent Tom Lunawere passed over the objections of educators, and repealed by the voters.

All of which led the Legislatures Office of Performance Evaluations to declare in 2013 that Idaho faced a strong undercurrent of despair among teachers who seem to perceive a climate that disparages their efforts and belittles their contributions.

A year ago, Highland School Superintendent Brad Baumberger echoed those sentiments by telling the Tribunes Mary Stone: There is no attractive reason to become a teacher in the state of Idaho because of the pay, because of the process just to get into the classroom and because, when you get in the classroom, the poor evaluation process you have to go through to stay in the classroom.

Propping up this fragile system is a cadre of baby boomers still teaching in Idahos classrooms. What happens when they retire? Who will replace them?

If Idahos GOP-dominated Legislature thinks two consecutive healthy school budgets will fix the problem, it is delusional. The state spent 15 years digging itself into this hole.

Theres no telling how long it will take to get out.
Its easy to take water for granted. Turn on the faucet, and the water comes out.

But we live in a desert, where just 9 inches of rain fall each year and the aquifer on which we rely for drinking water is at its lowest point in 100 years.

Couple that with a population surge, plans to build hundreds more homes in Twin Falls alone and a booming regional food-manufacturing industry, and cities are right to worry just how much larger we can get before there isnt enough water to support it all.

Thankfully, most cities saw the growth coming and planned ahead. Taxpayers helped support expanded sewage plants (they have to worry about the water that goes out, not just the water that comes in), and cities locked in water rights long ago that will sustain growth in the Magic Valley for decades.

But then theres the glass-half-empty view.

Twin Falls, the regions largest city, must obtain additional water rights if it wants to keep growing at the same pace. As youll read in todays edition, the city is pursuing more water rights, but theyre not a lock  especially if Idaho Power thinks the citys acquisition threatens the historic Swan Falls agreement that guaranteed a minimum water flow in the Snake River to support the companys hydroelectric plants.

Water availability directly affects growth. Thats why economic development leaders like new companies, but they love so-called dry industries  those that dont require huge volumes of water to do business.

Local elected officials are also asking business to help pay their own way when it comes to water, such as requiring some companies to pretreat wastewater to take the burden off of city systems.

Conservation will also continue to play a key role in balancing the water issue. Twin Falls has been a leader  by expanding pressurized irrigation into new subdivisions and ordinances that limit water for lawns, the city has cut usage by as many as 7 million gallons a day, even as the population has increased and new and bigger businesses settled in.

For their part, water groups that for years saw each other as adversaries are beginning to behave more like partners. Surface- and groundwater groups struck a landmark deal last summer to help begin to restore the aquifer. And the state is committing more money to recharge  dumping water back in the aquifer  than ever before.

This collective foresight and teamwork means Idaho isnt likely to find itself in dire straits  like California did last year  unless climate change or politics derails the current course. By working together, planning ahead and growing with purpose, there should be plenty of water to keep us happy, healthy and growing for years to come.
Boeing Co. recently cut a deal with Iran Air to sell it 100 Boeing 737s and 777s worth about $25 billion, which is a nice contract for Boeing and its employees.

Unfortunately Iran Air has used passenger and cargo planes to transport military equipment to Syria and other Middle East countries, and there is nothing to prevent them from continuing this practice. Some of the military shipments included materials for advanced weapons, and rockets and missiles. Furthermore, it is possible these planes could be used to move troops and could possibly be converted to bombers

The U.S. could revoke the license to sell the aircraft if Iran violates the agreement, but Iran would have control of the previously delivered aircraft at that time.

Congress should not approve this contract. If it is approved, delivery of the aircraft should be stretched out over an extended number of years. Additionally, we should install back door disabling software in each aircraft which we can energize at our discretion.

Donald Moskowitz

Londonderry, NH
Morocco could re-open its diplomatic mission in Tripoli and re-establish flights between the two countries as Rabat seeks to cement ties with the Faiez Serraj-led Government of National Accord.

Both countries mulled plans during a visit by Moroccan top diplomat, Salaheddine Mezouar, to Prime Minister Faiez Serraj in Tripoli last Thursday.

Moroccos embassy in the Bin Ashour area of Tripoli came under attack last year in April after a bomb device went off at the gate of the mission, damaging cars and shaking the building. No one was reported injured in the attack claimed by the Islamic State group.

Rabat earlier in February announced suspension of air links between the two countries citing security concerns. Moroccan authorities also closed the Moroccan airspace to Libyan planes.

Morocco had offered ground for talks between Libyan rivals. It also hosted the signing of the Libyan Political Accord in December.

During Thursday talks, Libyan authorities urged Rabat to ease visa procedures to Libyans but Libya Herald reports that no concrete agreement was reached.
Policy Think Tank, the African Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) on Friday said Ghanas oil sector is under threat ahead of November general elections in the West-African nation.

The think tank said the level of exploitation in the sector is worrying and must be checked.

It noted that increasing depletion of the current oil reserves is not the best for the countrys economy.

Given the current level of inactivity on Ghanas exploration map, we are worried about the future of the oil industry in Ghana. We are currently depleting reserves without replacing them at the same level, the Executive Director of ACEP, Mohammed Amin Anta told a press conference in Accra.

In his words, even as we deplete without replacing them at the same level, there are oil companies that are holding inactive petroleum.

Oil giant Tullow earlier predicted tough times ahead for the oil industry in the coming months, when prices of the commodity on the world market started declining.

The price of a barrel of the commodity earlier fell below 40 dollars, the lowest since 2009, while the price of Brent Crude fell 5.3% to 40.73 dollars a barrel.

Note that, the steep decline in the price of petroleum products on the global front during the 2015 business year has impacted negatively on Ghanas economy, with a loss of $470.59million in total petroleum receipts from the countrys hydrocarbons sector.
The African Union has deployed a Short-Term Election Observation (STO) Mission of 25 observers to oversee Sao Tome and Principes presidential election scheduled for July 17, the continental body said in a statement.

Headed by Armando Emilio Guebuza, the former President of the Republic of Mozambique, AU observers will be deployed in Sao Tome and Principe from 8 to 22 July 2016 to observe the voting, counting and announcement of election results, the AU Commission Chairperson, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, said.

In her words, the observers were drawn from members of the Permanent Representatives Committee of the African Union, the Pan-African Parliament, African Election Management Bodies, Civil Society Organizations working in the area of democracy, governance and elections in Africa, Think Tanks, AUC staff and independent election experts.

Dlamini-Zuma said the mission has a mandate to observe and report on the credibility and transparency of the election process and will operate in accordance with relevant AU instruments for election observation.

The tiny country is located in the Gulf of Guinea offshore from Gabon. It has 19 oil exploration blocks in its exclusive economic zone and an additional joint exploration zone with Nigeria.

Despite being in the centre of a resource-rich region, it has yet to find any commercially viable oil.

In 2015, coffee was the third most exported product from Sao Tome and Principe on a list headed by cocoa, which is still the main driver of the Sao Tome economy, accounting for around 93 percent of all annual revenue.

According to IMF forecasts, the countrys economy will grow five percent this year, up from four percent last year.
@PatriciaMazzei

Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine was the only one to publicly crack a joke Saturday about the limited air conditioning at Hillary Clinton's new Wynwood office. Men sweated through their long-sleeved shirts. Women pulled old-fashioned abanicos out of their handbags. Staff handed out bottles of water.

"Does anybody want me to turn the A/C down?" Levine said shortly after stepping behind a lectern at the opening of Clinton's South Florida headquarters.

He wasn't joking: Levine actually owns the building.

Miami-Dade County property records show the 8,318-square-foot warehouse at 2215 NW 1 Pl. belongs to Baron Wynwood, a corporation registered in Levine's name. He's a Clinton friend, surrogate and rumored candidate for Florida governor in 2018.

The heat "drove me crazy," Levine told the Miami Herald in a text message following Clinton's event. "2 new massive units being installed next week!!! I want it like a refrigerator."

No word on how much the mayor is charging the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate for rent.
Montana Precision Productsan industrial- and aerospace-parts manufacturer located just outside Butte on Rick Jones Wayhas plans to grow by 80 to 100 employees by 2020, says company general manager Chris Eurich.

According to Eurich, the expansion will be thanks to a new piece of equipment Montana Precision purchased last month from KEA Automation  a company from Telford, U.K., that makes automated systems for the casting industry.

Euirch said the $1.5 million piece of equipment will be an aerospace shell line that includes a humidity-controlled environment and a robot than can automate various parts of the casting process.

In case youre not privy to world of casting, Montana Precision Products makes parts for jet engines and industrial equipment in a process that involves, among other things, molding, casting and (the best part) pouring liquid-hot metal.

Montana Precision was created in 2013 when SeaCast Inc. and General Electric formed a 50-50 joint venture for the purpose of building tubes, ducts and other small structural casts for GEs jet engines.

Butte natives and brothers Bert and Mike Robins owned SeaCast at the time, and they continue as the owners of Montana Precision today.

Currently the folks at Montana Precision Products are creating parts for a new generation of engines from GE called LEAP.

GE rolled out plans for the new LEAP line about four years ago, Eurich said, and at the end of last year the first of the three engines in the series became commercially available.

In the years ahead LEAP engines are expected to be installed in Airbuss A320neo, Boeings 737 MAX, and the C919 from Comac.

Eurich said what sets LEAP engines apart are their fuel efficiency.

He said the engines are 15 percent more fuel efficient compared with todays engines and can save more than $1 million in fuel over the course of the engines lifetime  which matters a lot, he said, in the increasingly competitive world of commercial aviation.

When you look at the airlines, whats the competitive edge? said Eurich. Fuel savings.

Eurich said the new equipment from KEA will allow the company to increase production at the facility, which he said already produces millions of parts and generates $17 million in sales each year.

And to increase production and meet the demand for LEAP engines, Montana Precision will have to hire more employees.

He said he anticipates the companys machine shop and tube and duct department will grow two times and that staff devoted to casting will increase by three.

He added that the jobs available will require a variety of skill levels, thus making local people eligible for many of the positions.

And the most important part, Eurich said, is that employees will be able to move up in the company.

We dont have jobs here  we have careers, said Eurich, noting that he envisions the company lasting a long time and boasting generations of workers.

It will be their kids and their grandkids and so forth, said Eurich. Thats what were focusing on.
HELENA  Montana officials on Friday touted a new pricing plan negotiated with the state's largest hospitals that could save $25 million over the next two years in health care costs.

But there could be an unintended consequence: Higher out-of-pocket costs for state workers who don't use a participating hospital.

The new pricing system, which went into effect July 1, is tied to rates already established under the Medicare system, the federal insurance program that serves the nation's elderly.

While the state's health insurance administrator, Missoula-based Allegiance, negotiated lower rates for medical services at nine of the state's largest hospitals, those lower reimbursements would also apply at non-participating hospitals, said Sheila Hogan, the director of the Department of Administration, which oversees the state's health plan.

Hospitals that haven't signed on to the plan could seek payment from the patient for the difference between what the state's health plan will pay and what the provider charges. The practice is known as balance billing.

In announcing the new pricing structure on Friday, state officials said the changes would provide better transparency in pricing, allowing state workers and their families to better plan for their health care spending. In some cases, costs for hospital services can vary wildly. Knee-replacement surgery could cost about $25,000 in one Montana hospital, but a similar procedure could cost more than $100,000 at another hospital, state officials said.

Benefis Health Systems in Great Falls is the major exception to Allegiance's new pricing contracts with the state's largest hospitals. Allegiance said negotiations are underway with other facilities. About 90 percent of what the state pays on hospitals goes to the 10 largest facilities, state officials said.

New pricing contracts are based on reimbursement rates set by Medicare, with Montana hospitals reimbursed at least double the federally negotiated rates.

While state officials call the new plan "transparent pricing," finding out the cost of a specific health services is still a relatively complicated exercise for most consumers. Later this summer, Allegiance is expected to release a health-care pricing blue book that will help members more easily comparison shop for medical services.

Gov. Steve Bullock, who is running for re-election, announced the plan during a visit to Billings Clinic.

The state is self-insured and has been looking for ways to reduce health care costs. Montana spends about $135 million every year to provide health care to its 31,000 employees and their dependents, according to Budget Director Dan Villa.

The $25 million savings is the reduced amount of payouts until the end of 2018 because of lower costs for hospital services.

"This change in reimbursement method is game-changing for the state of Montana," Ron Dewsnup, the president of Allegiance, said in a statement.
America forsakes its own, Shann Ray writes in "American Copper," his carefully rendered portrayal of the human experience in early 20th century Montana. This line, delivered in the final third of the novel, refers to the manner in which the powerful claim their power: by climbing on the backs of the downtrodden. This is the hierarchy that built West, and it provides the backbone for this powerful novel, which last month was named a finalist for the High Plains Book Awards.

"American Copper" dedicates chapters to individual characters and many are focused on in this way, but as the novel carries on, three clear protagonists emerge: Evelynne, the daughter of an immensely rich Butte copper baron with an explosive temper; William Black Kettle, a Cheyenne and an award-winning team roper; and a horse trainer named Zion, nicknamed Middie.

Each life gleams in contrast to the others. Evelynne's existence is that of a forced spinster, locked away in her father's mansion where she writes poetry in decadent solitude. Her life is vastly different from those of Middie and Black Kettle, who roam Montana separately, earning their livings from rodeos and underground fighting rings. As expected, the threads of these three lives do entwine, but the intersections of their lives are in fact merely pinpoints of the larger story told.

The novel, spanning many years, allows each character to be built independent from the other with complicated, unique backgrounds. The three main characters house nicely juxtaposed traits. For example, while Middie (the fighter) is certainly a tough man, and believably so, the reader is treated to his feelings about his mother and to his tender insecurities around women. He is also one of very few allies to Black Kettle and his partner, while most other white men scorn them.

In braiding together these three very different characters, Ray paints a picture of an early Montana that is so much like what we've all read before, but it's laced with kindness and care. Of course, tragedy is not hard to come by in novels such as this. The individuals within it, however, reveal humanity in the birth of our state not always explored.

Every single word in "American Copper "has been carefully picked by a master of the craft. Ray creates sentences that read like small poems, forcing slowed, careful reading. At times, however, the story skips through time at a high clip  a whole life can be built and destroyed without having turned a page.

While these painstaking sentences are undeniably gorgeous, they at times create an unnecessary distance between the characters and the reader. Through the beauty of his words, Ray gilds the rugged backcountry and hard truths of early Montana, creating an unnerving imbalance. As in the works of Cormac McCarthy, whom Ray has deservedly been compared to, terrible things happen in this book. They are written in such a way that instead of feeling the terror, however, we are spun into a cocoon of prose.

"American Copper" is a book for those who want a clarified image of what life was like for those who didn't profit in the making of Montana. Here is a portrayal of the women, the Native people, and the uneducated folks merely getting by while the barons in their mansions drank themselves to sleep. It is an expansive and beautifully crafted novel for the rest of us.

***

Tess Fahlgren is a freelance writer who teaches art and creative writing in Nashua.
We hope that you will visit, from time to time, our archived columns at americanlifeinpoetry.org, where you may find other poems by the poets we feature. Today's is the third we've published by Sharon Chmielarz. a Minnesota poet with several fine books in print, including The Widow's House, just released by Brighthorse books.

Fisher's Club

A roadside inn. Lakeside dive. Spiffed up.

End of a summer day. And I suppose

I should be smiling beneficently

at the families playing near the shore,

their plastic balls and splashes and chatter.

***

But my eye pivots left to a couple;

he is carrying her into the water.

He's strong enough, and she is light

enough to be carried. I see

how she holds her own, hugging

his neck, his chest steady as his arms.

***

I have never seen such a careful dunk,

half-dunk, as he gives her. That beautiful

play he makes lifting her from the water.

***

And I suppose I should be admiring

the sunset, all purple and orange and rose now.

Nice porch here, too. Yeah, great view.

***

But I have never seen such a loving

carrying as he gives her. Imagine

***

being so light as to float

above water in love.

***

We do not accept unsolicited submissions. American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation (poetryfoundation.org), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright 2015 by Sharon Chmielarz, Fisher's Club, from The Widow's House (Brighthorse Books, 2015). Poem reprinted by permission of Sharon Chmielarz and the publisher. Introduction copyright 2016 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006.
LOLO  There are no wallflowers when accordions are present.

By mid-afternoon Saturday, 16 musicians and 74 attendees were signed in at the Five Valley Accordion Association's annual picnic/dance at the Lolo Community Center.

"It's the only instrument that you can play that's next to your heart," said Renie Patterson of Grantsdale.

The nonprofit, founded by Les and Ruth Gilfellan, has officially existed since 1987, though there was some debate over when the group started meeting. Some thought 1985, others 1986.

"It started with a group in the Kalispell area and then they came down here and started this group," said FVAA President Helen Brady of Missoula.

Now, they hold dances on the second and fourth Sundays of the month at the Rustic Hut in Florence, from 1 until 4 or 5 p.m. It's a good midpoint for the group, since many members didn't want to drive to Hamilton or Missoula.

On Saturday, there were six accordions at the front of the community center, as well as a banjo and guitars. The drummer wasn't there (she had to take care of an injured husband). Most dancers were about 65 years old or older, said Brady, who's 81.

Patterson was one of those accordion players, jamming on an electric Roland accordion that her granddaughter won at a competition.

She's on a scholarship committee that's helping to bring in world-renowned Canadian accordion player Beverley Fess on July 30. Fess will give lessons for a week.

"She's one of the best in the world," Patterson said. "She does internet lessons through Skype. My granddaughter took lessons from her for eight years. That's how we got her."

***

Patterson started playing when she was 10 years old, but stopped when she was 14. "It wasn't cool," she said. But she picked it up again later in life.

Club members want people to do just that: dust off those accordions in their closets  they call them "closet players"  and come to a dance. And they want newbies to come take lessons. You don't need an accordion to start; they have instruments they'll loan.

"We're wanting to revive the accordion and have more players," said Jean Roberts of Hamilton. "But we desperately need teachers."

If you're interested in getting involved, call Roberts at 406-363-3206.

"We used to have more members, but we're dying off," Brady said. "We're in that age group, you know."

She joined FVAA in 1989.

"I just love the music," she said. "My parents were German and Danish, so I danced when I was young. When I went back to Minnesota when I was 18 the first time, and 20 the second time, I danced with the big bands there.

"Dancing has been my passion since I was ..." she said, trailing off as she watched couples scoot around the floor.

***

The dances are often misunderstood, with many people thinking it's just one style, but "accordions can play anything," Brady said, so dancers can do the jitterbug, swing, waltz, polka, two-step, triple-step, cha-cha and more.

"There's music like this all over," she said. "There's so much that people don't know about."

Two of Ethel Harris' uncles were members of the club when it started. When her father died, her mother said, "Let's go to the accordion jam."

"I've never missed a beat since," said Harris, who lives in Victor. "It's just like a big family."

Roberts and Patterson played the room decked out in black "Accordions Rock!" T-shirts.

"Don't knock it 'til you try it," Brady said.

She then strolled away, sprinkling dance floor wax during a break.
Recently a writer expressed concern that letters about the Citizens United decision published in the Missoulian did not mention labor unions. I cant speak for the writers who may not have mentioned labor unions.

Today, there are approximately 2,593 corporate political action committees compared to 272 PACs for labor unions. In the 2010 election, business outspent labor in soft money contributions 97 to 1. Im glad Montana is the leader in campaign finance reform and I hope this movement spreads.

Lobbying expenditures follow the trend in the widening gap between what business spends and what labor spends on the business of government. According to the Center for Responsive Politics Lobbying Database (based on data from the Senate Office of Public Records, January 31, 2011), from 1998 to 2010 business lobbying expenditures were $28.5 billion (yep thats billion) compared to $0.5 billion in labor lobbying expenditures. In all, business groups accounted for 85.71 percent of total lobbying expenditures and labor for 1.48 percent for those 12 years.

Sadly, in our current legislative environment, those who spend the most seem to get the most support from candidates who end up in state, local and federal government elected positions. Im not sure that its good for Montana, America and our future when those that spend the most get the most, regardless of their ideology and intent.

Tom Stockburger,

Missoula
After that, her column misinterprets the 10th Amendment when it says that the states are only obliged to obey the laws and principles as laid down in the original document. In contrast, the Constitution gives Congress the power to make laws and the 10th Amendment says the separate states shall obey those laws. Also, the laws governing unions and their political activities allow individual members to direct the union not to use their funds for political activities. And I agree that "times have changed." Polls of citizens show strong support for background checks for gun buyers, the licensing of automobiles and the reversal of Citizens United, non of which were covered by "the original U. S. Constitution." And, if Islamic nations have poured money into current private campaigns in this country I would like to see the proof. If we are to have intelligent conversations in this paper we need to deal with facts and realities.
NEW YORK  Since the birth of the Black Lives Matter movement three years ago, many white Americans have wrestled with how to respond. Some chose racist-tinged ridicule. Others, by word or deed, sought to show solidarity as blacks protested the deaths of fellow blacks in encounters with police. Still others, untouched personally, watched from a distance in silence.

This past week, as graphic videos portrayed two more such deaths and five police officers were slain at a march in Dallas protesting the killings, whites have joined blacks in forceful calls for unity that cut across color lines. Some see hope of a turning point from these tragedies, that this might be the eyes-wide-open moment that moves white America from apathy or remorse to action in pursuit of racial reconciliation.

"I definitely think there's a change in the atmosphere," said Johnetta Elzie, a black activist from St. Louis who believes the events have galvanized more white people to confront issues that afflict blacks. "I hate the fact that it is this way, but with every police violence victim story that goes national, more and more people wake up."

***

The Black Lives Matter movement began in 2013, inspired to a large degree by the killing the previous year of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin by a neighborhood watch volunteer in Florida. It soon grew into both a national battle cry and phenomenon after a series of killings of blacks and other minorities by police.

Over the course of the campaign, black activists have had mixed feelings about the response from whites  commending those who have supported the effort yet decrying what they perceive as disinterest or hostility from a majority of whites.

"Yes, White people are standing with us in response to these killings and we value that, but we need more Whites to tackle the systemic racism and discrimination that Blacks are subjected to," San Francisco activist Javarre Wilson said in an email response to questions. "White people don't have to worry whether their child will be at the receiving end of a cop's baton or handgun. White people don't have to worry about whether they will be pulled over in their cars and aggressively harassed by racist cops."

To be sure, whites, Latinos, Asians and others have joined black Americans in decrying the shooting deaths of Alton Sterling in Louisiana and Philando Castile in Minnesota, made all the more palpable because videos capturing the incidents were widely shared for all to see on social media and across the Internet. The officers involved were placed on leave and investigations continue.

"My heart is in a million pieces," Rachel Hockett, a white theater director in Ithaca, New York, wrote in a Facebook post. "I can't even begin to imagine how it feels to be African-American in this country. But I certainly care, to my toes, and I know how I would feel if my son or daughter were gunned down in this way."

"All #blacklivesmatter. Unconditionally," Nellie Fitzpatrick, director of Philadelphia's Office of LGBT Affairs, declared on her Facebook page.

***

But words are not enough, in the view of many black activists. They argue that most whites have been too slow to speak out when injustices occur and that, once they do, such expressions rarely equate to meaningful change.

"It makes the killings worse to know that your disapproval of them has spared your reputations and not our lives," Michael Eric Dyson, a professor of sociology at Georgetown University, wrote in an op-ed in the New York Times after the deaths of Sterling and Castile. He addressed his piece to "white America."

"You will never understand the helplessness we feel in watching these events unfold, violently, time and again, as shaky images tell a story more sobering than your eyes are willing to believe: that black life can mean so little," Dyson wrote. "You do not know that after we get angry with you, we get even angrier with ourselves, because we don't know how to make you stop, or how to make you care enough to stop those who pull the triggers."

Matthew Shaw, a black law and public policy analyst at the American Bar Foundation, said too many white Americans lack empathy with blacks, and need to find ways to develop that.

"If you see someone being shot while sitting in a car with his family, and you don't have some empathy, you've got some work to do," he said in reference to Castile's death. "Work on your friends, your family, people in your neighborhood."

He urged whites to get active in campaigns to improve police practices and promote racial justice.

"Violence is the worst response," he said. "Throwing your hands in the air and saying nothing can be done is a close second."

***

Some whites have indeed taken steps to build support for the Black Lives Matter movement among their fellow whites, and they say they are making progress.

Dara Silverman is the national coordinator of Showing Up for Racial Justice, a network launched a year and a half ago. She said it has grown from a dozen local groups to more than 150, expanding the base of whites committed to fighting racial inequality.

The network encourages white activists to hold house parties and conduct door-to-door canvassing in an effort to attract more supporters. A statement issued after the deaths of Sterling and Castile also urged direct protest action.

"Join us in the streets," it said. "Now is the time for white people to be visible, courageous and relentless in our public opposition to racism and the state-sanctioned murder of Black people."

Many white politicians, including top Democratic and Republican leaders, appealed for tolerance and unity in the aftermath of the deadly incidents. Hillary Clinton, in an interview with CNN, called on white people "to put ourselves in the shoes of those African-American families who fear every time their children go somewhere." House Speaker Paul Ryan implored Americans to "not lose sight of the values that unite us, our common humanity."

There were harsh comments as well. Joe Walsh, a former Illinois congressman, tweeted in response to the slayings of the officers in Dallas by a black Army veteran: "This is now war" and "Watch out black lives matter punks." The perpetrator, who was killed during an ensuing standoff with authorities, told officials he was upset about the police killings of Sterling and Castile and wanted to exterminate whites. He said he acted alone and not in concert with any groups.

Diana Bass, an author who specializes in American religion and culture, urged white people to speak out against racism  even if seen in those closest to them.

"With the exception of my mother and her father, I knew no adult who ever said anything good about any black person," she recalled of her childhood years in a Facebook post. "I disavow their beliefs. I utterly, completely reject their racism. They were wrong and used race to keep others down in order to try and protect their own fragile egos and privilege."

The Rev. Russell Moore, a white evangelical who heads the Southern Baptist Convention's public policy agency, wrote an essay on his personal website that put the latest incidents into historical perspective  making references to slavery and to the era of segregation in which his denomination resisted black civil rights.

"African-Americans have lived with trauma from the very beginning, the initial trauma being the kidnapping and forced enslavement of an entire people with no standing whatsoever before the law," he wrote. "For the black community, these present situations often reverberate with a history of state-sanctioned violence, in a way that many white Americans  including white evangelicals  often don't understand."

Moore's essay ended on a note of hope: "We can work for justice in the public arena as we learn to love one another in the personal arena, and vice versa."

***

But there also were voices of despair.

"It's overwhelming to see what we are up against, to live in a world where too many people have their fingers on the triggers of guns aimed directly at black people," Peter Staley, a white AIDS/HIV activist in New York City, wrote on his Facebook page.

"I don't know what to do anymore," he said. "I don't know how to believe change is possible when there is so much evidence to the contrary."
Western Montanans should expect no name changes now that hospitals in Missoula and Polson are part of a newly formed, larger health system, but they can anticipate an added emphasis: Mental health care gets a serious shot of funding.

And thats a good direction to move in this area, said Jeff Fee, western Montana regional executive for Providence Health & Services.

Mental health across the U.S. has been in a developing crisis for a number of years. Its certainly very acute for us here within our ministries in Providence and in the communities we serve, Fee told the Missoulian on Friday in a telephone conversation.

Providence Health & Services, based in Washington state, has joined with California-based St. Joseph Health under a new umbrella organization that allows the systems to share a common governance structure and a common sponsorship structure, Fee said. The new system is called Providence St. Joseph Health.

The deal means that the new Providence St. Joseph Health has a presence in seven states through its 50 hospitals  including facilities in Missoula and Polson.

In an email to the Missoulian, Fee said business will continue as usual at those hospitals under the names people already know.

I want to clarify: Providence St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula and Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Polson remain part of the long-standing, not-for-profit Providence Health & Services ministry which began in the West in 1856. Now that we have partnered with the CA-based health care system, the only thing that has changed is the formal parent company name  Providence St. Joseph Health, Fee wrote.

Later, in a phone conversation, Fee said forming the larger health system is good for business.

Its a big deal. Youve got two large organizations coming together to form a much larger organization. It better positions in a lot of the key markets, certainly it better positions us in southern California, to create better systems of care for people in those communities that we serve, he said.

***

A spokeswoman for the health system earlier this week told the Missoulian the larger health system, official as of July 1, 2016, may make it easier to make some health care services available in some locations.

Fee added in his telephone interview and email that one of the immediate changes is that the new health system has formed a new institute and foundation to specifically work on improving mental health care. The Institute for Mental Health and Wellness, with oversight from the Foundation for Mental Health and Wellness, will have initial funding of $100 million. Through a formal grant process, entities within the Providence St. Joseph Health system and other organizations in communities served by its member hospitals can put some of those funds to work.

But the $100 million will have to stretch over an area served by hospitals in Alaska, California, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas and Washington.

This pool of money, although its large, is meant to serve as a catalyst for us working together with other key partners in our communities, Fee said. Really, addressing mental health in the communities we serve takes a village  it takes a collaborative effort across many different functions, many different settings, including the schools.

Providence St. Pats has always been a leader in providing behavioral health services, Fee said, but there is unprecedented demand and opportunity for expanded services in western Montana. We hope to collaborate with other organizations to develop solutions.

Under the new umbrella organization, Providence will continue to advocate for Montana state legislation to improve mental health, he said.

We support the direction our legislation is taking on community-based services, and hope to be a part of developing both legislative and non-legislative strategies aimed at finding and implementing meaningful solutions, Fee wrote. Our partnerships will continue to reflect the concept of community-based services and making a fragmented system more functional for all Montanans.

"We also need to work toward not only more services, but also to understand more fully why Montanans are in this crisis  what is driving our friends, neighbors and family members to reach a crisis point in their mental health.

Fee noted that although Montanans dont consider Missoula to be rural, it is what the federal government considers a health professional shortage area for psychiatry  and the needs are even greater in more rural parts of the state. The new emphasis on mental health care within Providence St. Joseph Health may indeed be the catalyst for change for those areas, he suggested.

Were going to have to come up with creative solutions, Fee said. We are in the process of deploying telepsychiatry through the use of telemedicine infrastructure in some of the rural communities. So there are technological ways we are getting at it, but I think we are going to have to be really creative in deploying appropriate technology so that people in rural communities can access it.

The fact that Providence St. Joseph Health is taking the lead with its new institute and foundation, Fee said, is part of a growing realization in the health care industry and the larger society that mental health cant be segregated from overall physical health.

We as a society have treated mental health differently than we treat physical ailments," Fee said. "Mental health and physical health are inextricably linked. We have to stop treating them as separate and distinct."
Missoula City Council

When: 7 p.m. Monday.

Where: City Council Chambers, 140 W. Pine St.

Agenda: Take public comment on Missoula Mercantile building.

***

Seeley Lake Community Council

When: 5:30 p.m. Monday.

Where: The Barn.

Agenda: Todd Garrett, fairgrounds director, will discuss plans for the Missoula fairgrounds and answer questions. Also, there will be an update on the Traffic Project, which proposes lower speed limits in Seeley Lake and better-marked pedestrian crossings.

***

Bonner Milltown Community Council

When: 7 p.m. Monday.

Where: Bonner School library, Highway 200.

Agenda: Consider a letter to the commissioners requesting clarification about freely distributing to any party council correspondence to the commissioners which has been approved at a regular or special council public meeting.

***

Hellgate Elementary Board of Trustees

When: 7 p.m. Monday.

Where: School board room, 2385 Flynn Lane.

Agenda: Discuss school facility expansion.

***

Missoula Conservation District

When: 7 p.m. Monday.

Where: USDA Service Center Conference Room, Suite 106, 3550 Mullan Road

***

Parks and Recreation Board

When: noon Tuesday.

Where: Headwaters at Currents, 600 Cregg Lane.

***

Local Emergency Planning Commission

When: 1:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Where: Missoula County Administration Building, B14, 199 W. Pine St.

***

Missoula County Public Schools Board of Trustees

When: Special meeting at 5 p.m. Tuesday followed by regular meeting at 6 p.m.

Where: Business Building boardroom, 915 South Ave. W.

Agenda: View at mcpsmt.org.

***

Target Range Sewer and Water District Board

When: 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Where: Community Medical Center, 2820 Fort Missoula Road, Meeting Room H.

***

Missoula Rural Fire District Board of Directors

When: 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Where: MRFD Station No. 1, 2521 South Ave. W.

Agenda: Introduction of new firefighters and new lieutenants.

***

Partnership Health Center Executive Finance Committee

When: 10:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Where: 401 Railroad St. W.

***

Missoula County Board of Commissioners

When: 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Where: Administration Building, B14, 199 W. Pine St.

Agenda: Hearing on petition to establish Donovan Creek Road as a public road; hearing to adopt county subdivision regulations chapters 1 and 2 as amended.

***

Design Review Board

When: 6 p.m. Wednesday.

Where: City Council Chambers, 140 W. Pine St.

***

Missoula County Parks & Trails Advisory Board

When: 1:30 p.m. Thursday.

Where: 323 W. Alder, second floor.

Agenda: Consider design to manage storm water runoff and remove playground equipment in East Missoula Lions Park.

***

Tourism Business Improvement District/Destination Missoula

When: 3 p.m. Thursday.

Where: MSO Hub Conference Room, 101 E. Main St.

***

Open Space Advisory Committee

When: 4 p.m. Thursday.

Where: Headwaters at Currents, 600 Cregg Lane.
Charlotte Alberta Matkin passed away early Saturday morning while in the Genesis Nursing Facility for only a short while. She was born on December 12, 1925 in Bigfork, MT to Rachel & Tom McEvoy. She was one of six children, all of which were delivered by a midwife at their log cabin home. It was Charlotte's Great Grandparents, Carl & Inger Rost, that were the first settlers in the Swan River and Charlotte's Great Uncle, Ludwig (Happy), was the first white baby born in the Flathead Valley after Montana became a state.

After growing up (picking and selling strawberries from the family farm to the people in Bigfork) among all the other normal farm chores; Charlotte then went to Fullerton, CA to help with the WWII effort by assembling war planes in a factory there. Upon returning home to the Swan River Valley, she became the only one of her siblings to go unto college and graduate from the College in Dillon receiving a degree in teaching.

She met Loren R. Matkin, home on leave from the Seabees, in Columbia Falls at the Blue Moon Dance Hall. They later married in the McEvoy family home on Christmas Day, 1947. She then used her degree by teaching all twelve grades in a single room classroom in Somers, Camas Prairie and in Rollins. While in Kalispell, they had their first two of three children; Gary L. Matkin and Laurie A. (Matkin) Cook. Later her husband, working for the Montana Highway Dept. in bridge engineering, was transferred to Superior and then to Miles City and lastly to Butte, MT where they had their last child, Roberta C. (Matkin) Lord.

Charlotte & Loren accepted the Lord at a Lowell Lundstrom Crusade in Nov., 1972 and immediately were baptized and became faithful members of the Floral Park Baptist Church (until his death in 1997 and now hers) where Loren served as an usher and she was the Church secretary for awhile. She also was an Avon Lady whereby she was in the Presidents' Club (most sales) for numerous times and stayed with Avon for over 15 years. She was an avid seamstress and was called upon on several occasions to make wedding dresses, evening gowns and draperies for homes. Later on she went on to do embroidery work and crewel embroidery which she enjoyed immensely; giving away most of her work as gifts.

Charlotte & Loren were married close to 50 years (his passing was in March of the 50 yr. mark) but she held a celebration of their life of 50 years together anyway on December 25, 1997 in their home of approximately 42 years on 1815 Whitman Ave. in Butte. She later married Bill Robb and they would summer in Wasilla , Alaska (where they would deep sea fish for halibut and also fish out of the Copper River for salmon) and spend their winters in Arizona. This marriage ended after five years whereby she came to live with her daughter, Laurie Cook, for the last ten and one half years until May 30, 2016 when she went to St. James Hospital and later to Genesis Rehabilitation Ctr.

Charlotte was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Loren; her daughter, Roberta C. Lord; her parents; siblings: Billy, Jimmy, Sarah Lockwood, Dode Jangula; and her niece, Angela (Matkin) Cotte; son-in-law Stephen Cook. She is survived by her son & daughter in law: Gary & Gloria Matkin of Tooele, Utah along with their four sons and families: Gary Mike & Barbara Matkin, Robert & Souad Matkin, Jeremy & Suzette Matkin, and John T. & Katie Matkin. Also she is survived by her daughter and companion: Laurie A. Cook and her three daughters and families: Courtney & Kody Varnes of Billings, Kodi & Adam Arriero of Eagle, Idaho, and Ashley & Ben Moser of Butte. Also surviving is Roberta Lord's children and families: Elysha & Nabil of Portland, OR and Kirby Lord of Idaho Falls, ID she is survived by numerous grandchildren, great grandchildren, nieces and nephews. Also surviving is Charlotte's last living sibling: Peggy Moulton of Illinois.

The family would like to take this time to give a great big Thank You to Belmont Senior Center, her home away from home! Also, her dear family at Floral Park Baptist Church; plus all the wonderful people at St. James and Genesis. Thank you for your great care of our dear sweet Mom who never complained about anything or anyone. She was a beautiful woman inside and out. Heaven is opening its doors to truly one of God's greatest daughters--our loss; Heaven's gain. Until we meet again, Mom, we send you off on the wings of angels. We love you forever and ever.

Mrs. Matkin's remains are in Wayrynen-Richards Funeral Home where friends may call Monday evening between 5 and 6 o'clock. Funeral services will be conducted Tuesday morning at 10 o'clock in Floral Park Baptist Church and interment will be in Sunset Memorial Park. Express condolences at www.wayrynen-richards.com.
BOULDER  Mary Giulio went to be with her mother Kate, her father Ben, and her sisters Wava Mae and Olive Ann on 8 July 2016. She was born to Ben and Kathlyn Wood on 16 June 1940 and was raised in Chinook, Montana until the age of 16. She moved to Boulder with her mother and stepfather in 1957. Mary graduated high school in 1958 and worked at Varner Cafe where she met the love of her life and soulmate Gordon.

Mary and Gordon made their home at High Ore between Boulder and Basin where they raised their children; Rusty, Bruce (Lisa) and Steve (Tina) of Boulder, Sherri of Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Jennie (Brian) of Jefferson City.

Mary is survived by her husband Gordon, her five children, and as Mary would say a whole damn bunch of nieces and nephews, as well as a roll-off truck full of grandchildren (20) and great grandchildren (20). Mary spent the majority of her life taking care of her family and others while working out of the home and keeping the books for their family business, Giulio Disposal Service. She had several vocations to include working at Fran's Cafe and the High Ore Health mine where she got her children hooked on Days Of Our Lives.

Mary loved people and never met a stranger. Although she had many hobbies such as cooking, baking, sewing, upholstery, and taking care of others, cleaning was not one of them. She did however keep the entire community supplied with cinnamon rolls.

Mary never missed a single sporting event or extracurricular activity of either her children or grandchildren. She was a huge supporter of the Boulder community and is a lifetime member of the Jefferson High School Booster Club. She will be missed!

Funeral Services will be 10AM Tuesday (Tomorrow) July 12th at the United Methodist Church of Boulder. The family will receive friends one hour prior to services at the church.

Cremation will take place after services and committal services will take place at a later date. K&L Mortuary~Boulder has charge of arrangements.

Memorials can be made in Mary's name to the Jefferson High Booster club P.O. Box 1032 Boulder, MT 59632.

Express condolences at www.mtstandard.com.
BILLINGS  A controversial bill that likely would keep genetically modified ingredients from being listed on food packaging has divided Montanas U.S. senators.

Democratic Sen. Jon Tester, the Senates only farmer, blasted his peers late last week for crafting a federal bill that makes it difficult for consumers to know what theyre eating. He also called the bill a threat to independent farms.

Plants with DNA altered by genes from other plants or animals are gentically modified organisms, or GMOs. The biotechnology is most commonly used to create resistance to herbicides or disease.

Testers position was opposite that of Montana farmers and researchers who see merit in GMO sugar beets and corn modified to survive exposure to weed killers like the Monsanto herbicide Roundup and 2, 4-D Amine. Those farmers rallied around Republican Sen. Steve Daines.

The bill makes it optional for food wrappers to list genetically modified ingredients, but does require that a toll-free telephone number or scan code be published so shoppers can track down the ingredients with their smartphones.

Tester said it was absurd to think that a shopper with children in tow would have time to scan food wrappers with a smartphone in order to be redirected to a website where GMO ingredients could be found. And if the grocery store had poor cellphone reception, no information would be obtained, he said.

Hiding basic information behind bar codes and 800 numbers is totally unacceptable. The United States Senate should not be in the business of hiding information from consumers, Tester said. When I grew up, I was told that consumers were always right. We should be empowering those consumers, those American consumers, with more information about the food they purchase, not with less. Dont take it from me, 9 out of 10 consumers say they want labeling required for GMO food. Whats the problem with that? Its already done in 64 countries.

The problem, say the bills supporters, is that theres no proof that genetically modified crops are any different than those that arent modified. Sugar from beets modified to withstand sprayings of Roundup herbicide contain nothing that would identify the beets GMO traits. Soybean oil and corn syrup also have been proven safe to eat. Without a legitimate GMO health concern to warn consumers about, proponents say identifying the ingredients unfairly scares shoppers away from GMOs.

There are at least five different genetically modified crops raised on Montana farms; sugar beets, corn, canola, alfalfa and soybeans. The sugar beet industry contributes about $70 million a year to the Montana economy with 45,000 farm acres and sugar factories in Billings and Sidney.

States like Vermont, Washington and California have considered their own GMO labeling laws in the absence of federal policy. Vermont has a labeling law that starts in 2017. A major reason for the federal law now being debated is that it would prevent individual states from acting independently.

The Senate labeling bill is considered a compromise between consumer groups worried about GMOs and agribusiness friendly lawmakers who oppose all GMO labeling

Theres no reason that Vermont and Bernie Sanders should dictate our way of life in Montana, Daines said. In fact this compromise that I voted for today will protect Montana jobs, prevent baseless discrimination against Montana agricultural goods and its going to avoid higher prices in the grocery line.

Wednesdays vote limited discussion of the bill to 30 hours, setting up a vote as early as late Thursday.

The American Sugar Beet Growers Association told Montana Lee newspapers last week that their group and others dependent on biotechnology demanded compromise bill. The alternative was dealing with a patchwork of individual state labeling laws, which would have been costly.

Montana organic producers said they were ambivalent about the compromise proposals effect on their businesses, mostly because certified organic labeling is an established marketing tool. They werent certain consumers would be helped by the Senates plan.

Tester said there was plenty for organic farmers to be concerned about, including bill language that would allow GMO corn and GMO soybeans to be considered organic if they were grown under the right conditions.

The easy answer Tester said, was to list GMO ingredients on food wrappers and let consumers decide whether the food was worth buying.

Im not asking for a skull and crossbones on the package. This isnt about safety, or health of these products. Its about transparency, its about the publics right to know, its about putting families before corporations, its about valuing consumers right to know over lobbyists and their slick suits and their influence here. Theyre denying consumers an easy-to-read national GM standard. Why? Theyre denying people the information they need to know to make the best decision for their family. It makes no sense to me.
Congress could improve wildfire response before, during and after burns if it would get some legislation passed, U.S. Sen. Jon Tester said Friday.

Montanas senior senator, a Democrat, visited the Neptune Aviation hangar with an update on three bills hes pushing that are designed to change the way the U.S. Forest Service pays for firefighting, how seasonal firefighters can get better job opportunities and how fire-hit communities can get money for rehabilitation and future fire prevention work.

The first bill awaits committee action, the second has passed the Senate but is awaiting a House vote and the third should be introduced to the Senate next week.

The congressional work comes as the 2016 fire season appears headed for trouble. Neptune President Ron Hooper said his retardant-dropping planes flew 540 hours by this date in 2015. This year, theyve logged about 1,050 hours.

Tester said a bipartisan Wildfire Disaster Funding Act that would provide insurance-like emergency funding for Forest Service firefighting expenses was sitting in the Senate Budget Committee.

The measure is a way of paying for forest fires without fire-borrowing from the rest of the Forest Services annual budget for other activities such as trail maintenance, timber harvest and weed control. Last year, the Forest Service spent 52 percent of its budget fighting fires, compared to 16 percent 20 years ago.

The frustration I have is we continue to put patches on things but dont look at the long-term impacts, Tester said. We dont do what we need to do at the federal level to manage our resources better.

The Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act is a fix for a previous Tester bill that was signed into law but hasnt had the expected effect. The act allows seasonal workers whove served their annual 1,039-hour contracts to compete for full-time government jobs with the same status as current full-time workers.

Bob Beckley, a U.S. Forest Service project leader and member of the National Federation of Federal Employees union, said the bill approved last year was misinterpreted by the federal Office of Personnel Management.

Its easier to bring these seasonal employees back to compete for full-time positions than it is to train new people, Beckley said. These are the supervisors, the engine captains whove reached journeyman level. If we cant give them the opportunity to compete, theyll go to work for a municipality or a state agency that can give them full-time benefits.

The new bill Tester expects to introduce in the week before the Senate starts its seven-week summer recess is the Wildfire Mitigation Assistance Act. The bill would allow Federal Emergency Management Agency funds to be used for post-wildfire restoration or salvage work  something that currently doesnt qualify for that kind of assistance.

Tester said the bills could find a late-year vote in what he called a fairly active lame-duck session after Election Day.

There are a lot of folks in denial that our climate is changing, Tester said. We arent treating fire any differently than we did in the 1980s. Its a different fire season than it was in the 80s.
Six South African high school learners are currently participating in the 57th International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) in Hong Kong, which is running until 16 July.

The competition dates as far back as 1959 when Romania hosted the first ever IMO. Today there are over 100 countries from five different continents participating.

In this Olympiad questions testing advanced thinking skills are chosen from mathematical topics including Geometry, Combinatorics, Number Theory and Algebra.

The South African team has been selected based on the results of last years South African Mathematics Olympiad (SAMO), followed by an intensive training programme.

The learners listed below are representing South Africa at the IMO in Hong Kong:

Nicholas Kroon from St Andrews College in Grahamstown

Andrew McGregor from Rondebosch Boys High School in Cape Town

Mohammed Yaseen Mowzer from Fairbairn College in Cape Town

Sanjiv Ranchod from Westerford High School in Cape Town

Bronson Rudner from South African College High School in Cape Town

David Broodryk from Westerford High School in Cape Town

For the first time in South African IMO history the same team that participated in 2015 (as grade 11 learners) was selected again.

This will mean that they are much more familiar with the type of questions that are asked at the IMO and have gained valuable experience.

In 2015 South Africa was ranked in the 55th position, having moved up by 9 positions. The team will be accompanied by Dr Dirk Basson (leader) and Phil Labushagne (deputy leader).

More on mathematics

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Effective Measure has released its website traffic statistics for June 2016, revealing that News24 is the largest South African website  with 5.9 million unique local browsers.

Effective Measure is the official traffic measurement partner of the IAB South Africa, and provides accurate traffic and demographics statistics for SAs top websites.

Gumtree was ranked second with 4.4 million local browsers, followed by TimesLive with 3.4 million.

The table below shows the top 20 websites in South Africa, based on South African unique browsers.

It should be noted that only IAB-affiliated websites running Effective Measures tracking code are included in the table.

A comprehensive look at South Africas websites and their visitor numbers is available here: South African Internet Map

Top 20 South African Websites Rank Website Unique Browsers Page Views 1 news24.com 5,970,621 66,471,978 2 gumtree.co.za 4,427,214 151,090,808 3 timeslive.co.za 3,407,859 20,905,816 4 iol.co.za 2,627,884 25,896,861 5 msn.com 2,394,581 61,604,566 6 channel24.co.za 1,630,505 6,602,311 7 ewn.co.za 1,618,273 7,797,268 8 mybroadband.co.za 1,595,240 6,812,277 9 fin24.com 1,571,446 6,808,688 10 BBC.com 1,569,042 11,270,559 11 soccerladuma.co.za 1,521,169 60,954,487 12 sowetanlive.co.za 1,502,000 16,224,347 13 sport24.co.za 1,456,118 11,643,618 14 netwerk24.com 1,412,250 9,892,479 15 pnet.co.za 1,332,516 24,465,914 16 enca.com 1,322,244 4,735,386 17 Careers24.com 1,301,756 19,584,561 18 supersport.com 1,257,585 20,545,903 19 autotrader.co.za 1,245,899 63,294,140 20 dstv.com 1,134,333 7,518,723

Top online publishers in South Africa

Effective Measure also measures statistics for online publishers, showing the total reach of a publishers websites.

24.com dominated the South African online market, with over 14 million unique local browsers in June 2016. Times Media is ranked second, followed by Gumtree.

The table below shows the top online publishers in South Africa, ranked according to local readership.

Top 20 Online Publishers in South Africa Rank Online Publisher Unique Browsers Page Views 1 24.com 14,617,885 354,924,993 2 Times Media LIVE 5,576,227 48,742,404 3 Gumtree 4,427,214 151,090,808 4 Kagiso Media Limited 4,195,979 87,863,125 5 Caxton Digital 3,999,434 22,419,839 6 Independent Online 2,781,856 27,621,465 7 DStv Digital Media 2,539,476 30,344,685 8 MyBroadband 2,228,785 9,312,157 9 Primedia Online 2,194,434 13,183,229 10 Sabido 1,606,718 7,986,047 11 BBC Sites 1,569,050 11,270,571 12 Soccer-Laduma 1,521,246 60,956,660 13 PNet 1,337,339 24,484,822 14 Auto Trader 1,316,523 67,858,079 15 Perform Sports Group 1,188,110 31,078,007 16 Cars.co.za 1,112,681 37,465,393 17 South African Broadcasting Corporation 1,081,828 4,652,683 18 Maroela Media 1,028,077 7,777,429 19 Blue Sky Publications PTY Ltd 971,114 1,931,169 20 Mail & Guardian Online 801,347 2,954,523

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The developer of the Calistoga Family Apartments in Calistoga recently received an international award for its energy design and use, and was lauded for providing low-income housing from a building industry group.

You may start with the LEED Platinum Standards, the simple charming design elements, site limitations and the comfortable neighborhood feel, said the Gold Nugget Award judges statement.

Given the focus on affordable and low-income clients, it is all the more impressive (what) the project team was able to accomplish. When you add the primary goal of the client profile that it make a significant contribution toward meeting the housing needs of local farm labor, the overall accomplishment of this design group is truly astounding.

Justin Hardt, executive vice president for Corporation for Better Housing, the developer of Calistoga Family Apartments, said it is an honor just to be considered for a Gold Nugget (Award), let alone win for special excellence.

We felt that we deserved it, but competing with other highly, highly sophisticated developers as well, made it all that more special, Hardt said. We are on cloud nine because of this.

Corporation for Better Housing (CBH) received the Gold Nugget Awards Judges Special Award of Excellence for Calistoga Family Apartments Net Zero Energy Design.

What really set our development apart was the design, the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum Standards, and the projects ability to create as much energy as it consumes onsite, Hardt said. And what made it unique was that it was geared toward agricultural workers.

This adds to the list of successes that weve had and aside from winning this particular award, which is special and unique, and difficult to get, it is really building up our LEED green acumen, he said.

Were really pushing the environmental consciousness by participating in these certification programs, he said.

The city of Calistoga is partnering with CBH, which is a nonprofit organization, on a new apartment project on lower Washington Street that will house low-income senior citizens. The city owns the land for the senior apartment project, but had no financial involvement in the Family Apartments at 1713 Washington St.

Planning department staff believe that (Calistoga Family Apartments) is an excellent example of a development project that not only addresses a significant community housing need but does so with an attractive design that is well-integrated into the neighborhood, said Lynn Goldberg, planning and building director.

We look forward to the construction of the Calistoga Senior Apartments by the same developer in the near future.

Hardt said the senior apartment building at 611 Washington St. is expected to break ground at the end of this year, or early 2017. They are in the process of securing funding for the project.

Winning awards such as the Gold Nugget, CBHs first, and the success of the Family Apartments  it is 100 percent occupied  helps to build and solidify the companys credibility that it delivers on its promises, Hardt said.

The Gold Nugget Awards, which has been presented for 53 years is sponsored by Builder Magazine and given by PCBC, which is the nations largest regional conference and trade show for the real estate development field. PCBC was an acronym for Pacific Coast Builders Conference but as the show grew and started drawing attendees from all over the U.S., Canada, Mexico and more than 25 other countries, it simplified the name by going with the acronym.

The awards honor architectural design and planning excellence with entries from throughout the U.S. and internationally.
On the downtown block where the Napa Valley Register has reported the news and printed papers for 50 years, a developer has edged closer to building townhouses and retail space  and possibly a new home for a downtown bookshop.

Vesta Pacific Development, which last year bought the Registers earthquake-damaged building at 1615 Second St., won the city Planning Commissions support last week for its $40 million project on the site.

After the newspaper moves to its new Soscol Avenue quarters July 18, the San Diego-based developer plans to create 51 housing units on the property and on a smaller lot west on Third Street, together with 6,200 square feet of commercial space along Second Street. Construction may begin as early as October and last 10 months, pending approval from the City Council, according to Katherine McComic, spokeswoman for the developer.

The details of the plan became public in March, but on Thursday Vesta Pacific announced its targets for filling the Register sites ground-floor commercial zone. At the top of the builders want list is the Napa Bookmine, which opened in 2013 on Pearl Street and whose founders this spring unsuccessfully bid on another downtown building, at 1201 Main St.

Talks are underway between the developer and Bookmine owners Naomi Chamblin and Eric Hagyard for the bookstore to lease 3,100 square feet in the new Second Street building, half the available area, McComic announced.

We thought a bookstore would be a great new feature of the downtown landscape, she said of the Bookmine, whose husband-and-wife owners first reached out to the developer about seeking a new home after the City Council bypassed their bid on the old Napa Firefighters Museum building in May.

Other businesses expected at the site will include a co-working center to provide office and meeting space to small businesses, as well as a locally owned cafe and bakery, McComic added. These would occupy the commercial portion of a main building finished in a red-brick facade, intended as an homage to the Register buildings brick exterior.

But while that part of the complex is mostly unchanged from earlier drawings, the developer on Thursday unveiled a major redesign of the townhouses facing Third Street  substituting a Craftsman-style look for an earlier, modernist design that some homeowners attacked for clashing with the historic architecture of homes near Fuller Park to the south.

Vesta Pacifics readiness to overhaul its housing designs was the major key to winning residents support, said Elizabeth McKinne, a Napan and local preservation advocate who had criticized the earlier design.

We were pleased to see changes that made this a better overall fit with the (Napa Abajo-Fuller Park) Historic District, she told commissioners. If this experience is any indication of things to come, I look forward to any other projects (Vesta Pacific) may bring to Napa in the future.

Its wonderful when we have a developer whos willing to work with the neighbors, said Commissioner Paul Kelley, who joined the other four members in supporting the plan. Its a perfect example of a developer and neighbors pulling together to get the highest and best project.

Thirty-two of the townhouses would be placed above the commercial space and a parking structure facing Second Street, the north side of the Register block. On the opposite, south side along Third Street would be a pair of five-unit, three-story residential buildings along with private two-car garages. Three triplex homes are planned on the west, at Third and Seminary streets.

Lee Enterprises Inc., parent company of the Register, sold the Napa papers headquarters to Vesta Pacific in September 2015 for about $5 million. The building has been mostly dormant since the earthquake of Aug. 24, 2014, which damaged the press and forced most employees to move their offices into temporary trailers in the parking lot.

The scrapping of the press in January, combined with the Register contracting its printing operations to the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, made the 21,000-square-foot Second Street property expendable. Lee Enterprises executives have said the sale proceeds would be used to pay down company debt.

Remaining Register offices at Second Street will close after Thursday, July 14. To the east, a new office at 1615 Soscol Ave. at the corner of Vallejo Street will open Monday, July 18.
As Napa tries to pull together millions of dollars to build more downtown parking, the city may drop on-site parking requirements in a neighborhood at the edge of its core.

An extension of a special zone farther north on Main Street, up to and just past the Clinton Street crossing, won the Planning Commissions unanimous support last week. The border shift would absorb six new parcels into a district where builders can pay into a city fund for future parking construction, rather than try to squeeze room for vehicles onto parcels and reduce their buildable space.

The expansion, which requires the City Councils final approval, is meant to help Napa add to its reserves for a future garage intended to soak up an increase of visitors as hotels, restaurants and stores continue opening downtown. A parking structure with 350 to 400 slots is expected to cost at least $12 million, and Napa is looking for commitments to fill an estimated $3.4 million gap.

Officials also are weighing a major increase in the parking impact fees Napa charges developers for each additional space required  from the current $7,500 per vehicle to $20,000 or more.

One of the six newly parking-exempt properties is 1300 Main St., a vacant lot where the Wiseman Co. of Sacramento won city approval last month for a three-story office and retail complex slated for completion in the spring of 2017. That plan included a separate condition that Wiseman pay the city for 57 future garage spaces rather than build the same number on-site, a step the builder said would have been unworkable.

Also entering the special district are a vacant building that once housed a furniture store and a Salvation Army thrift shop, as well as another building that formerly housed Nor-Mar Fabrics. Shackfords appliance store, the 1313 Main Street wine bar and Toy B Ville are the other properties gaining the parking exemption.

The six parcels are the only sites zoned for downtown commercial uses that lack the exemption.

Napas first expansion of the parking-exempt zone in more than a decade affects an area at the northern edge of downtown, where taller buildings like the three-story home of the AUL insurance company stand close to older, low-slung storefronts just north and private homes to the east.

During the two-year city review of the 1300 Main St. building, several homeowners and shop owners spoke out not only against that project but against freeing any new construction from parking requirements, predicting that unchecked development would worsen street congestion near their homes and leave residents competing with visitors for curbside parking.

Some of those opponents again shared those fears at Thursdays commission meeting.

Napa is a national jewel, and what you do now will affect the future of your community, Harris Nussbaum told city planners. When you overcook food, you spoil it. I fear that if you overcook Napa, you will spoil this jewel.

Despite such concerns, commissioners called the change necessary to fund parking expansions as soon as possible  and prevent employees and visitors from locking up prime vehicle spaces on busy streets and in residential districts.

I am sensitive to the (fear) of going too quickly, Beth Painter said before the vote. But weve got to move quickly to collect fees for a garage. The garage is something that has to be built.

This will help provide the resources  i.e., the money  to alleviate the tension for these neighbors, added Commissioner Michael Murray.

Napa is working to boost and reallocate its parking supply while it seeks more garage funding. In June, it opened a temporary 147-vehicle lot off West Street, at the site of the demolished Cinedome theater, and Economic Development Manager Jennifer LaLiberte said the city also may carve out 70 more interim spaces off Third Street near the Napa Valley Wine Train tracks.

In addition, city staff is working toward creating a paid-parking system for downtown streets and lots starting in mid-2017, in hopes of nudging all-day parking toward the more distant garages and increasing the turnover of busier curbside spots.
YOUNTVILLE  Serenity swept over the grounds as beating drums accompanied the gourd dancers blessing the grounds of the Veterans Home of California in Yountville on Saturday, kicking off the Suscol Intertribal Councils 23rd annual Pow-wow.

The Pow-wow, which is open to everyone, including non-Natives, is a time of celebration and sharing, said Charlie Toledo of the Suscol Intertribal Council. Tribes from near and far shared their traditions and culture with each other as well as the Napa Valley community.

Part of the Pow-wow is people sharing their tribal culture, Toledo said. Traditionally, she explained, people would meet, gather, exchange gifts, share food and maybe even meet their future spouse during a Pow-wow. It also was a way for people to know who survived a harsh winter or, later on, colonialism, she said.

Nowadays, it is still about the Native American community coming together and connecting, but it is also about educating people, Toledo said. Although the Suscol Intertribal Council has been having Pow-wows since 1992, Toledo said that many people still do not understand what a Pow-wow is, and even some Native Americans dont come out of fear.

We still have to be careful, she said, because harassment of Native Americans still occurs. We need support of non-Native people to survive. Its important to acknowledge what has happened in the past, she said, but it is also important to move past the trauma.

The spirit of healing and celebration could be felt throughout the day as everyone showed off their different dances and joined together in intertribal dances, which are open to the public.

The dancing is a big part of the Pow-wow, said Tashina Bercier whose daughter, Raven, 9, was one of the lead dancers at the Pow-wow. Everyone dances.

Bercier, who lives in San Jose, said they have been to this Pow-wow before. Although it isnt close to home, they came to honor her grandfather-in-law who was staying at the Veterans Home of California in Yountville but recently passed away.

Its an opportunity for reuniting with family you dont see all the time, Bercier said.

It was Peter Guzmans first time at a Pow-wow, and he loved it, he said.

Oh, weve been enjoying it so much, he said of he and his wife, Alice. I like the culture, I like the traditional dances that they do and the arts and crafts.

Guzman also appreciated that the event was drug- and alcohol-free.

I come here every year, said Bert Ruiz, a craftsman and vendor at the Pow-wow. Ruiz said he travels to Pow-wows all over California. Although this one is smaller than some others he goes to, the people are really nice.

I like it, he said. They treat us (the vendors) well.

The Pow-wow continues from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. on Sunday. Its free and people are encouraged to bring chairs or blankets to sit on.

Guests are also asked to dress modestly. Women planning on participating in any dancing in the arena during the intertribal dance traditionally wear longer skirts or dresses.

For information, visit suscolcouncil.org.
As the use of deadly force by police once again roils the nation, the number of fatal shootings by officers has increased from 465 in the first six months of last year to 491 for the same period this year, according to an ongoing two-year study by The Washington Post. This year has also seen more officers shot and killed in the line of duty and more officers prosecuted for questionable shootings.

Two years after a white police officer shot and killed a black teenager in Ferguson, Mo., the pace of fatal shootings has risen slightly while the grim encounters are increasingly being captured on video and stoking outrage.

On Tuesday, two white police officers in Baton Rouge shot and killed a black man whom they had pinned to the ground outside a convenience store. The event was captured in a video that went viral online., and within hours The U.S. Department of Justice launched a civil rights investigation. On Wednesday, an officer in Falcon Heights, Minn., shot and killed a black man during a traffic stop. The aftermath of the shooting also was captured on a video that has received widespread attention.

"I feel change is not coming," said Porsche McCullough, whose 29-year-old black female cousin was shot and killed by an Asian San Francisco police officer in May. "The community is tired. They are tired of seeing black people shot, poor people shot, people with substance-abuse problems shot."

A Post database that tracks fatal shootings by police shows a 6 percent increase in the number of such deaths during the first six months of 2016 compared with the same period last year. Details of the fatal encounters so far this year remain strikingly similar to shootings in all of 2015: Blacks continued to be shot at 2.5 times the rate of whites. About half of those killed were white and about half were minorities. Fewer than 10 percent of all those killed were unarmed. One-quarter were mentally ill.

But there are notable differences: More of the shootings were captured on video, from 76 to 105 in the first half of each year. And the number of fatal shootings of black women, such as Nelson-Williams, has risen. Nearly the same number of black women have been killed so far this year as in all of 2015 - eight compared with 10.

Last year, The Washington Post began to log every fatal police shooting in the nation and then analyzed more than a dozen details about each event. The project revealed that in 2015, nearly 1,000 people were fatally shot by police, more than twice the average annual number reported by the FBI in previous years.

The Post has expanded the effort in 2016, culling media reports and filing hundreds of public-records requests to obtain the names and work histories of officers involved in fatal shootings - information that is not tracked by any federal agency. More than 360 officers' names have been added to the database, and more names will be included as The Post obtains additional information.

As was the case in 2015, in most fatal shootings this year officers were confronted by subjects armed with guns.In half of these cases, they fired at police, prompting officers to fire their own guns to defend themselves or to protect bystanders. In the first six months of this year, 20 officers were fatally shot in the line of duty, compared with 16 in the first six months of 2015, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page.

Officials representing rank-and-file officers say it is criminals who make it hard to reduce the number of fatal shootings by police.

"Police are dealing with a lot of violent individuals," said Jim Pasco, executive director of the Nashville-based national Fraternal Order of Police. "And the criteria for using deadly force hasn't changed essentially, so why would the numbers change?"

After Ferguson, pleas for reforms focused on reducing certain types of shootings, such as those of individuals who are unarmed or experiencing mental-health crises as opposed to violent criminals who initiate shootouts with officers.

What followed was a White House task force that called for teaching officers new skills to de-escalate volatile encounters. Hundreds of police chiefs also pushed new policies for dealing with the mentally ill. And thousands of departments began outfitting officers with body-worn cameras, hoping this would curb the use of excessive force.

The FBI also vowed to improve its data collection on the fatal use of force by police. The agency said that in January 2017, it would start to compile a more accurate tally and would collect dozens of details about the incidents in order to analyze the events.

But widespread compliance with the FBI's initiative by police associations and departments isn't expected until 2019. The agency is seeking unanimous consent from numerous police groups regarding what data should be collected, a process that is still underway. And thousands of departments will need to build the software that will allow them to properly track and report the data. Even then, reporting will not be mandatory.

Training reforms, which the White House and police chiefs have embraced, also are rolling out in a slow, scattershot fashion. There are about 18,000 police departments in the nation,many with their own training academies and unions, making it impossible for them to move in lock step.

There will be a "lag time" before there is a measurable drop in deaths, even among the departments that are earnestly embracing reforms, said James Alan Fox, a criminologist at Northeastern University in Boston.

"It takes time to get everyone through training," Fox said. "It takes time to change a culture."

The nation's focus in 2016 shifted away from fatal shootings by police and toward a historic and often bizarre presidential campaign - in which policing policy has received little widespread attention. Dozens of shootings, however, continued to generate outrage in local communities.

In San Francisco, Porsche McCullough's cousin, Jessica Nelson-Williams, died on a foggy May morning as she tried to flee from San Francisco police down a dead-end street driving a stolen Honda Accord. Sgt. Justin Erb fired a single shot into the car, striking Williams, killing her.

It was the third fatal shooting by police over the past seven months in the city. All of the dead were homeless; all of them minorities. Within hours, a makeshift memorial sprouted on the spot where Nelson-Williams died - the familiar jumble of flowers and candles that has marked the scenes of police shootings in cities across the nation.

The local protests have rarely led to the nationwide demonstrations that turned past police shooting victims such as Brown, Tamir Rice in Cleveland, and Walter Scott in North Charleston, S.C., into household names.

"Are we becoming anesthetized to these violent events? Are they happening so often we no longer feel moved?" said Cedric Alexander, a police chief in DeKalb County, Ga., and member of the White House Task Force on 21st Century Policing.

This week's fatal shootings by police of Alton Sterling in Louisiana and Philando Castile in Minnesota have brought back the national outrage. How long it lasts remain to be seen.

In 2016, fatal shootings by police are increasingly captured by cameras, a Post analysis shows. In the first six months, at least 105 shootings have been recorded in whole or in part by police-worn body cameras, surveillance cameras, cameras mounted on patrol cars or bystanders' smartphone cameras.

At this point last year, that number was 76.

The biggest shift has been in the use of body-worn cameras: 63 of the shootings have been captured through June, compared with 34 for the same period in 2015.

The videos have been a linchpin for prosecutors, activists and city mayors who want to hold police chiefs and officers accountable for questionable shootings.

Graphic video of fatal shootings has led to the firing of several police leaders, including Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy in December. On May 19, Police Chief Greg Suhr stepped down at the urging of the city's mayor, Ed Lee, hours after Nelson-Williams was killed in San Francisco. Although Nelson-Williams's killing was not captured on video, San Francisco police were recorded in the preceding months fatally shooting two homeless men.

In the past 18 months, murder and manslaughter charges brought against officers in fatal shootings have tripled, while the presence of video evidence in these cases has doubled, a Post analysis shows.

From 2005 to 2014, 47 officers were criminally charged in fatal shootings, with 15 of those cases involving video evidence.

In 2015, 18 officers were criminally charged, with 10 of the cases involving video. And, so far this year, seven officers have been criminally charged, with five involving video evidence.

"With video, it no longer comes down to the word of police against people who are dead or against people who could be easily discredited," said Philip M. Stinson, a criminologist at Bowling Green State University in Ohio who studies arrests of police.

In Mesa, Ariz.,prosecutors said they charged an officer after video contradicted his account of what led him to shoot and kill an unarmed man at a hotel.

On Jan. 18, Officer Philip Mitchell Brailsford of the Mesa police responded to a 911 call from a La Quinta Inn where guests spotted someone pointing a rifle out of a fifth-floor window. Police traced the incident to a room where 26-year-old Daniel Shaver was drinking rum shots with a woman. When officers arrived, they ordered the two of them into the hallway.

Brailsford later told investigators that Shaver became uncooperative, made a "furtive movement" toward the waistband of his shorts, and that he feared Shaver was attempting to retrieve a gun. Brailsford shot Shaver five times. Brailsford is white and so was Shaver.

But Shaver was unarmed when shot, and the woman told a story that was different from the officer's. She said that seconds before being shot, Shaver was crawling toward officers, crying and saying, "Please don't shoot me."

Prosecutors said video from Shaver's body camera supported the woman's version of events. "Shaver was audibly sobbing as he crawled" toward officers, a police report said, adding that Shaver said, "No, please don't shoot me."

Brailsford was carrying an AR-15 rifle, with the phrase "You're F--ked" etched into the weapon. The police report also said the "shots were fired so rapidly that in watching the video at regular speed, one cannot count them."

The video also showed Shaver's shorts were falling off as he crawled, and, according to the police report, he may have reached toward his waistband to pull them up. Brailsford shot just as Shaver's empty hand moved back in front of him toward the ground, the report said.

Seven weeks later, Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery filed a felony second-degree murder charge against Brailsford. During a private meeting with Shaver's widow, he said, "Your husband didn't do anything wrong. He didn't. He was trying to comply," according to an audio recording made by Shaver's widow and posted online.

Brailsford was fired by the department March 21. His case is expected to go to trial next year.

Brailsford's attorney, Mike Piccarreta, told The Post he thinks the body camera footage will clear his client. "It demonstrates that the officer had to make a split-second decision when [Shaver] moved his hands toward the small of his back after being advised that if he did, he'd be shot."

After her son's death on Aug. 9, 2014, Michael Brown's mother began pushing for all police departments to equip their officers with body cameras. She has said the cameras may provide answers to grieving families, such as hers, when there are conflicting eyewitness accounts. Civil rights groups and police associations that also support police use of the technology think the presence of video will change how officers respond and will drive down the number of police shootings.

FBI Director James B. Comey said as recently as May that he believes a "viral video effect" has changed officers' behavior, making them wary of confronting suspected lawbreakers.

However, The Post's analysis suggests that the ubiquitous nature of video has not yet had the deterrent effect that police and civil rights groups have predicted - at least as it applies to fatal force.

On March 13, in Lenoir City, Tenn., police officer Tyrel Lorenz activated a police camera on his chest as he responded to a call from a Ruby Tuesday's restaurant.It was just before 1 a.m.,and three apparently intoxicated people had just driven away in a Dodge Dakota pickup truck.

Lorenz, 29, found the trio across the street at a Bimbo's convenience store and began questioning the passengers, who had stepped out of the truck to pump gas. Joshua Grubb, 30, remained behind the steering wheel and, as Lorenz began to handcuff one of the passengers, Grubb started the engine and began to drive away.

Videos from the body camera and from surveillance at the convenience store show that Lorenz abandoned the passenger he was handcuffing and jumped into the bed of the pickup truck. He screamed two warnings: "Stop the car! Stop the car!"

Then Lorenz fired nine bullets through the back window of the truck. One struck Grubb in the back of the head, killing him, causing the unmanned truck to drift into oncoming traffic and ultimately crash into a utility pole, according to videos and a police report. Lorenz is white and so was Grubb.

Toxicology tests later showed that Grubb had both methamphetamine and twice the legal limit of alcohol in his system when he died.

The local prosecutor declined to charge Lorenz with a crime, saying that once the officer was in the bed of the truck, he had reasonable fear for his life and the lives of other motorists. But in a news conference announcing his decision, the prosecutor called the shooting tactically "problematic." Lorenz, who had been a police officer for six years, resigned. His attorney had not responded to questions from The Post by time of publication.

Police departments are increasingly banning officers from shooting into vehicles because bullets can ricochet off the metal and kill bystanders. Also, if a driver dies or becomes disabled, the multi-ton vehicle creates a traffic hazard, as was the case with Grubb's drifting Dodge Dakota.

Fox, the criminologist from Northeastern University, said he is not surprised that the rise of video has so far had no impact on the number of fatal shootings. He thinks cameras may affect police behavior in "routine, calmer situations," such as during interactions with motorists who are complying with traffic stops, but not in more intense encounters.

"Once an officer feels they are in danger, or their emotions get elevated, then video is not paramount in their mind," Fox said. "Then, they would tend to act more instinctively than deliberately."

Pasco, the executive director of the national Fraternal Order of Police, said he thinks video will never alter rates of fatal shootings.

"There's a lot of hoopla surrounding the idea that body-worn cameras and the ubiquitous nature of social media would dramatically change the number of instances of deadly force," Pasco said. "Unfortunately, this is not driven so much by police but by the aggressive criminal behavior of suspects."

In January, The Post began collecting additional details about officers who fired fatal shots, including the total years of service they had with their departments at the time of the shootings. So far, The Post has obtained that information in more than half of the shootings, or for 453 officers. Some shootings involve multiple officers.

Rookies were rarely the ones to pull the trigger in fatal shootings over the first six months of 2016.Only 19 percent of the officers had been with their departments for two years or less.

The largest group, 41 percent, had a decade or more on the force. The remaining officers fell between, with three to nine years' experience.

Police experts and criminologists said senior or veteran officers may be firing the fatal shots more often because of the types of job assignments they receive.

"Older officers may be assigned to gang units, or criminal investigation units, or they work traffic," said Samuel Walker, a national expert on police training. "So their seniority sometimes puts them in some of the most dangerous assignments."

Walker said senior officers also often ask for traffic assignments, a job that involves issuing tickets and citations, and provides lucrative overtime pay for court appearances. Traffic stops can often turn deadly: About 10 percent of fatal shootings by police over the past two years began as traffic-related interactions.

But assignments do not fully explain the pattern. Rookies also are often assigned to dangerous jobs in high-crime areas, responding to 911 emergencies, typically on the night shift.

Walker said one of the stark differences between today's rookies and veteran officers is the type of training they have received. Most training academies now emphasize de-escalation tactics, encouraging officers to take cover, speak calmly to suspects, and use less-than-lethal means to bring them into custody. Veterans may have gone through academies when training emphasized moving in quickly, barking orders and using force if suspects did not immediately comply.

"They may be stuck in the old ways," Walker said.

In one Texas neighborhood, community leaders were surprised to learn that a senior officer with a decade of experience was the one who shot and killed a naked, unarmed teenager.

About 10:30 a.m. on Feb. 8, Officer Geoffrey Freeman of the Austin police responded to a 911 call about a teenager chasing someone through an apartment complex.

When Freeman arrived, he found 17-year-old David Joseph lying naked in the middle of a residential street. An autopsy would find that Joseph had marijuana and Xanax, an anti-anxiety drug, in his system.

"Stop right there," Freeman can be heard saying calmly on a video captured by a camera mounted to his dashboard. Joseph looked up and began to run in the direction of the officer, who yelled: "Don't move, stop, stop, stop!"

On the video, the naked teen runs up the street, past the view of the camera. Moments after he exits the frame the microphone captures the crackle of two shots from Freeman's gun. Joseph was shot in the chest and thigh and died at the scene. Freeman is black and so was Joseph.

Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo fired the officer - a rare punitive step for officers who kill in the line of duty - arguing that the shooting was avoidable and that approaching Joseph alone without backup was a violation of department policy.

"If there is no consequences, we'll continue to have incidents where deadly force is used as a result of the abandonment of smart tactics, and cases where officers are injured or killed as a result of the abandonment of smart tactics," Acevedo said in an interview with The Post.

At protests and rallies, local clergy and civil rights groups demanded Freeman's firing and later his indictment. They argued that the teen was not a threat. Prosecutors declined to file charges.

"A 17-year-old boy, who was naked, was shot by a 10-year police veteran. That's ridiculous," said Fatima Mann, 29, a local activist with the Austin Justice Coalition, one of the protest groups. "An officer with that much experience should have known better."

Freeman's attorney did not respond to calls and emails from The Post.

Two of the three fatal shootings over the past seven months in San Francisco also involved senior officers.

Sgt. Erb, who shot Nelson-Williams in San Francisco in May, has worked for the department for 15 years.

And the April 7 shooting of Luis Gongora, 45, involved two senior officers, one with 17 years of experience and the other with 13 years. The Dec. 2, 2015, shooting of Mario Woods, 26, involved five officers who have between one and nine years of experience.

Edwin Lindo, who serves on the San Francisco Bar Association's Criminal Justice Task Force and took part in a hunger strike to protest Gongora's and Woods's deaths, said older officers are not being properly retrained. Yet these senior officers are typically paired with rookies to provide them with on-the-job training, he said.

"The new recruits come out of the academy with new training. But the old guard tells them, 'That's nice what you've learned about de-escalating things, but you need to shoot before they shoot you,' " Lindo said. "The old guard corrupts the new rookies."

The police killing of Nelson-Williams followed months of turmoil in San Francisco over officers' use of deadly force and the department's relationship with minorities in the city.

In December, a bystander's video recorded Woods, a homeless black man, moving slowly down the sidewalk with a knife at his side as five officers fired at least 20 bullets into him, several after he slumped to the ground. In January, Mayor Lee asked the U.S. Department of Justice to conduct an independent review of the San Francisco Police Department, including its use of force. Lee also announced his own overhaul.

Ten weeks later, Gongora was shot. This time, surveillance video revealed that the homeless Hispanic man was killed after officers fired four beanbags and seven bullets at him within 30 seconds of stepping out of their patrol vehicles.

Then in an April 29 news conference, Chief Suhr disclosed for a second time in a year that some of his officers had exchanged racist messages. The latest messages involved three officers who referred to Latinos as "beaners" and blacks as "niggas" and "wild animals."

Lindo and four other activists, known as the "Frisco 5," began a hunger strike that lasted 17 days, demanding that Suhr be fired. But the mayor stood by Suhr -until Erb shot and killed Nelson-Williams.

Erb was assigned to auto-theft detail that day and "came across" Nelson-Williams, who was sitting in a parked white Honda Accord that had been reported stolen, according to a police report.

The pregnant mother of four tried to drive away, crashing the Honda into a parked utility truck. As she powered the car back and forth, trying to dislodge it from the truck, Erb fired into the car, records show. She was pronounced dead a short time later at a local hospital. Erb's attorney declined to comment.

Seven hours after Nelson-Williams was shot, Suhr stepped down.

"She was unarmed. She was in a car. She was female and it appears she was stuck and going nowhere," said Jennifer Friedenbach, executive director of San Francisco's Coalition on Homelessness. "Policymakers wanted to respond quickly. They wanted to make it look like change is happening."

San Francisco Police Association President Martin Halloran described Suhr's forced departure as a political move meant to "appease a knot of noisy troublemakers." In a statement, he added that the three fatal police shootings "resulted from a failure to comply with lawful commands" and that officers "were simply doing their jobs the way they were taught."

Still, the fatal shooting of Nelson-Williams has not sparked the fiery national demonstrations that followed other deadly police encounters in 2015.

The public response seems tepid, local officials said, even for San Francisco. Nelson-Williams died a mile from where police decades before fatally shot an unarmed black man, triggering five days of rioting. In 1966, Matthew "Peanut" Johnson, 17, was shot in the back by an officer after he fled police in a stolen car and then attempted to run away.

"More than 40 years have passed," said John Burton, a lifelong resident of San Francisco, former congressman and current chairman of the California Democratic Party. "And it all sounds the same."
Ishaan Tharoor

On a day when Britains dizzying political wheel turned once more and when America was forced to reckon yet again with its problem of police brutality and gun violence, TV cameras in Washington on Thursday were all focused on a very different story.

FBI Director James Comey delivered testimony at a five-hour House committee hearing where congressional Republicans grilled him on his agencys decision not to recommend criminal charges against Hillary Clinton for her use of a private email server while serving as secretary of state.

GOP politicians were hoping for the presumptive Democratic nominee to be indicted, a move that would cast a cloud over the U.S. presidential election race.

The question of Clintons emails has sucked up a huge amount of oxygen in the American news cycle over the past year. While Comey has stated that Clinton and her staff were extremely careless in their handling of classified information, its still unclear to what extent Clintons email activities compromised national security.

Nevertheless, judging from the GOP outrage, it appears the emails and what Clinton may or may not have done with them will be a recurring issue in the election cycle. Its interesting to consider the attention on the matter in a week when a very different investigation on the other side of the Atlantic finally came to light.

On Wednesday, the findings of the Chilcot report, a seven-year investigation into Britains conduct of the Iraq War, were released. The voluminous report proved damning reading for boosters of the 2003 invasion, especially former British prime minister Tony Blair, who was singled out for criticism by the British press.

The short of its findings: President George W. Bush and Blair, a willing accomplice, participated in a rush to war that wasnt justified by evidence on hand at the time, and presided over an occupation of Iraq that was disastrously ill-planned. Iraqis and everyone else live with the consequences of the invasion to this day.

On Thursday, Britains senior-most diplomat linked the policies of the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq, which included the wholesale dismantling of the state of ousted Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, with the rise of militant extremism in the region, particularly the jihadist Islamic State.

Many of the problems we see in Iraq today stem from that disastrous decision to dismantle the Iraqi army and embark on a program of debaathification, said Philip Hammond, Britains foreign secretary, referring to Saddams Baath party.

That was the big mistake of post-conflict planning. If we had gone a different way afterwards we might have been able to see a different outcome, he said. It is clear a significant number of former Baathist officers have formed the professional core of [the Islamic State] in Syria and Iraq and have given that organization the military capability it has shown in conducting its operations.

Last year, The Washington Posts Liz Sly wrote a lengthy piece on how former Baath party cadres occupied prominent roles within the Islamic State. Even with the influx of thousands of foreign fighters, almost all of the leaders of the Islamic State are former Iraqi officers, she reported.

The legacy of the invasion, which was overwhelmingly approved by Congress (including by Clinton, then a senator representing New York) despite significant mass protests, is in American politics still a matter of debate, rather than investigation. Neocon supporters of the war have pinned Iraqs failures and dysfunctions not on the decision to take out Saddam, but on the Obama administrations supposedly premature moves to disentangle his nation from the conflicts of the Middle East.

Yet, as the Chilcot report shows, senior intelligence officials had been warning the British and American leadership of the dangers of intervention for years. It cited Eliza Manningham-Buller, head of Britains MI5 security agency from 2002 to 2007: Our involvement in Iraq radicalized, for want of a better word . . . a few among a generation . . . [who] saw our involvement in Iraq, on top of our involvement in Afghanistan, as being an attack on Islam, she said.

Meanwhile, a recent Brookings poll found that a majority of Americans, especially millennials, saw a connection between the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the ongoing Syrian refugee crisis.

This raises the question: Where is the American Chilcot inquiry? The British, after all, were junior partners in the whole thing yet they produced a huge, authoritative study of the war, far greater than any such inquiry commissioned in the United States. To be sure, there have been a couple of investigations into the war, including a 2008 Senate intelligence committee report that found that the Bush administration exaggerated the threat posed by the Iraqi regime, from the presence of banned weapons of mass destruction in the country to its tenuous links to militant group al-Qaida.

But there has been nothing so far on the scale of the Chilcot report, and certainly no inquest into the Iraq War has captured the American publics attention the way the British inquiry did at home.

In both her writings and public statements, Clinton has offered something of a mea culpa for her support of the war. Last year, she called her 2002 vote in favor of the war a mistake and in her 2014 book, Hard Choices, admitted that she got it wrong. But there is an entire world of pro-war establishment politicians and experts who have yet to face the intense scrutiny heaped on Blair across the pond.

That includes Bush himself, who remains a prominent figure in public life, as Guardian columnist Trevor Timm notes:

[Bush] is an in-demand fundraiser for Republicans not named Donald Trump, and he gets paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to speak at corporate events. The chances of him ever saying in public, I express more sorrow, regret and apology than you can ever believe, as Blair did on Wednesday, are virtually non-existent.

Its also curious given the extent of time House Republicans and some media organizations have spent on what took place on one day in the Libyan city of Benghazi, when four American personnel were killed in a terror attack on U.S. facilities in 2012. There have been six investigations into the incident, which occurred while Clinton was secretary of state, over the course of four years.

Last month, Slate jokingly calculated that if the American lives cut short in Iraqsome 4,500 personnelare worth as much attention as the lives cut short in Benghazi, House Republicans would have launched 6,750 investigations of the Iraq war to have been conducted over the course of 4,500 years.

Tharoor writes about foreign affairs for The Washington Post. He previously was a senior editor at TIME, based first in Hong Kong and later in New York.
MELBOURNE, Florida  A Black Lives Matter march will be held on Sunday, July 10, 2016 at 4 p.m. in Melbourne, Florida.

The march will organize at the Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church of Melbourne located at 2729 Lipscomb Street, the same church where a funeral was held just last month for 25-year-old Clarence Mahogany X Howard after he was shot and killed by Brevard County Sheriffs Deputy Yousef Hafza following a road rage incident while Hafza was off duty. The deputy was later charged with second degree murder.

After the participants gather, the march will begin at 5 p.m. and proceed to the Melbourne City Hall. Organizers have emphasized the the march will be peaceful.





The march comes on the heels of similar Black Lives Matter marches across the country following the shooting deaths of other young black men that were captured on video and posted on social media. The most infamous Black Lives Matter march occurred in Dallas, Texas where Dallas police officers were gunned down by a lone sniper in retaliation for the shooting deaths of black men by police.





Clarence Mahogany X Howards name has been added to a list of black men killed by police that is being circulated nationwide on social media by the website Killed By Police 2016 and other variations of the same list under the heading Black Lives Still Matter.




CHANGSHA -- A dike in a county in Central China's Hunan province breached around 11 am Sunday, one hour after local authorities began the urgent evacuation of residents.

Residents were being transferred when the breach happened at a flood detention basin called Xinhua by local residents in Huarong county, according to an official with Hunan Provincial Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.

Judging from the current water level, substantial casualties are not expected, said the official.

The Xinhua flood detention basin covers 4,400 hectares and is home to over 27,000 people.
Andhra Pradesh will sign a MoU with Kazakhstan's capital Astana to work together on building new state capital Amaravati, an official statement said on Sunday. This was decided when Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, who is currently on a visit to Kazakhstan, met Astana Mayor Asset Issekeshev. The MoU will be signed in a few months, said a statement from the chief minister's office here. It was decided to set up a joint working group with members from both the sides. Andhra Pradesh's working group will be headed by Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister P. Narayana. The working group will have four more members. Both the groups will work closely and share their experiences to build a world-class capital. The mayor showed keen interest to share their experiences in building Astana as the new capital. Astana became a new capital of Kazakhstan in 1997, replacing Almaty. "We will share where we did well and where we went wrong so that you can learn from our experience and avoid mistakes and improve your performance," said Issekeshev. Naidu told him that Prime Minister Narendra Modi who visited Astana suggested to him that he take a cue from this futurist city of symbols. "I am very impressed seeing how Astana is built. I have seen almost the entire city and found it very beautiful," the chief minister said, asking the mayor to share details of their architects, designers, and builders involved in the construction of Astana. Issekeshev informed him that more than 150 architects have worked for 10 years on the project. Stating that this relationship will be beneficial to both, the mayor said that Kazakhstan has a lot of opportunities for business people from Andhra Pradesh. To increase the tourist traffic between Kazakhstan and the south Indian state, the mayor promised to speak to their transport minister to introduce a direct flight from Amaravati. Earlier, the delegation led by Naidu met Kazakhstan Defence Minister Imangali Tasmagambetov in Almaty. They discussed the difficulties faced in building the new capital city. The defence minister recalled that they had to float a global tender and pool investments from government, foreign companies, and private companies as well for formulating a city design. --IANS ms/vd ( 383 Words) 2016-07-10-21:24:00 (IANS)
Like most celebrities, Evelyn also enjoys posting selfies on the digital platform.

Asked about the art of taking a selfie, Evelyn told IANS over phone from Mumbai: "You should love yourself and post selfies that show yourself. Don't photoshop them. Discover your own beauty."

The actress, who has featured in commercials, was one of the judges of the Mumbai model auditions for the prestigious Lakm Fashion Week Winter/Festive 2016.

On the films front, she is looking forward to the release of her next Bollywood film with "Kai Po Che!" fame actor Amit Sadh.

--IANS nn/dg

( 123 Words)

2016-07-10-13:38:02 (IANS)
Bhopal, Raisen, Vidisha, Hoshangbad, Sehore and Betul district are facing flood-like situation after last night's torrential rains.

Most of the major and minor rivers including Narmada, Betwa, Barna are in spate, as Narmada is nearing the danger mark at Hoshangabad and Nemawar.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan reviewed the situation at a meeting held in Bhopal yesterday, where he said that the situation is under control.

Chouhan postponed a meeting to be held near Bhopal with his ministerial colleagues.

He has instructed ministers to be present in their respective areas to monitor the situation.

The state government has issued an emergency help line number 1079 for any kind of assistance.

Meanwhile the Met Department has predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated place in Bhopal, Raisen, Hoshangabad, Betul, Chindwara, Dewas and Narsinghpur.

Eight rain related deaths have been reported in different parts of the state so far.

Normal life has been badly affected in over half a dozen districts including Bhopal after heavy rains.

The road connectivity has been adversely hit in these districts specially in rural areas.

Bhopal received about 25 cm rainfall during last 24 hours. Not only low lying areas, several posh colonies were also inundated in the city. Boats were used to rescue people in some residential localities.

Relief camps have been set up in government schools for affected people.

Chouhan visited some affected areas to take stock of the situation in Bhopal. (ANI)
Train service in the Kashmir valley remained suspended for the second day today, as separatist organisations have extended strike for two more days against the killings of civilians in security force firing during demonstrations yesterday. The separatists had called for a general strike yesterday in protest against the killing of top commander of Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) in an encounter with security forces in south Kashmir district of Anantnag Friday evening. Burhan Wani, most wanted commander of HM, carrying a reward of Rs 10 lakhs and two other militants were killed by security forces in Kokernag area in south Kashmir, evoking massive spontaneous protests in the valley. All trainsrun between Srinagar-Badgm- Baramulla in north Kashmir and Badgam-Srinagar-Anantnag-Qazigund in south Kashmir to Banihal in Jammu regions remained suspended for security reasons for the second day today. As there was apprehension of trouble during the strike, rail service has been suspended, a railway official said. He said in the past protestors attackeded and damaged railway property, including trains causing massive loss. There was also risk to passengers so the trains have been suspended today, he added. Resumption of rail service tomorrow will depend upon the overall situation in the valley, he said.UNI BAS ADG RK0955 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0153-828019.Xml
Chia crop, which gave good returns to farmersin parts of this district last year has become a talking pointamong the farming community, not just in south Karnataka but also inthe Northern districts. The Raitha Mitra Farmers' Producers' Company, which is in theforefront of promoting this crop of Mexican origin that is known forits high nutritional value, has been flooded with enquiries fromfarmers in north Karnataka who have been hit hard by successive droughts. Chia has been described by food scientists as a 'super-food' because of its high-energy ingredients. The Raitha Mitra Farmers' Producers' Company, an entity of farmers founded in Mysuru, encouraged over 100 farmers to grow the crop last year. More than 10 tonnes of 'white chia' variety was grown and sold to food processing companies that had entered into purchase agreements with the company. Each farmer got an assured Rs.24,000 a quintal. Last year, we sold Chia worth Rs.19 lakh. This year, we have plans of producing 30 tonnes by engaging 300 farmers. Already, many companies have comeforward to buy the produce. CFTRI (Central Food TechnologicalResearch Institute) has supported us with its agro-technology forchia, said Raitha Mitra founder Kurubur Shanthakumar, who alsoheads the Sugarcane Growers' Association. He told UNI that as many as 1,000 farmers from places such asDavangere, Belagavi, Yadgir, Chitradurga, Bagalkot and otherdistricts, which are in the grip of an agrarian crisis, have soughtseeds and support to cultivate the drought-resistant chia, whosecost of cultivation too is low. We cannot assure all the farmers marketing support as we are alsonew in this business and gradually making progress. We are treadingcarefully as we don't want to take major risks and create a crisisas the 'Black Chia' grown by H D Kote farmers had remained unsold(last year), he said. Chia is known for its nutraceutical values as its seeds contain30-35 per cent of oil that is a rich source of Omega-3 fatty acids.Raitha Mitra company has set up a processing plant at Hootagallinear here to ensure that farmers get the best price. Two high-yielding varieties CHIAampion W-83 and CHIAmpion B-1 have been developed by CFTRI.UNI BSP CS 1047 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0284-828101.Xml
Amarnath pilgrims remained stranded for the second day today at Jammu, Baltal and Nunwan Pahalgam base camps, as authorities have suspended yatra traffic on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway for security reasons, following strike call by separatists for two more days from today in protest against the killing of civilians in security force firing in the valley yesterday. However, yesterday the separatist had called for strike in protest against the killing of top Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) commander in an encounter with security forces on Friday evening in south Kashmir. Burhan Wani, carrying a reward of Rs 10 lakh and two other militants were killed in an encounter with security forces in Kokernag area of Anantnag district. All the pilgrims, who had paid obeisance at the holy Amarnath cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas during the past three days have been stopped at Baltal and Nunwan Pahalgam base camps for security reasons. Similarly those who had arrived at Jammu base camp from different parts of the country, have been stopped there. Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) S M Sahai said in view of the prevailing situation in the Kashmir yatra was temporarily stopped. He said the yatra from Jammu will be resumed as soon as situation improves. He said the yatra from Jammu to Srinagar was suspended yesterday as a precautionary measure for security and safety of pilgrims. "Yatra will be resumed as soon as we can ensure security of the pilgrims," he added. All yatris are safe and are being provided all facilities at base camps, officials said. However, yatra from Baltal and Pahalgam base camps to shrine was going on smoothly. So far about 1.20 lakh pilgrims have paid obeisance at the cave shrine since the commencement of 48-day-long pilgrimage from July 2. UNI ABS PY ADG RK1030 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0433-828064.Xml
A Ward Councillor of the ruling AIADMKwas hacked to death by a three-member gang in the northern Chennai suburb of Manali last night. Police sources said AIADMK Ward 21 Councillor R Mullai Gnanasekar, who had also served as Chairman of Manali Municipality for a decade, was standing near the Manali bus stand, when the armed gang hacked him to death. The gang members, who came in a two-wheeler, have masked their faces by wearing helmets. They barged into a shop where Gnanasekar was sitting oppositeto Manali Bus stand and attacked him brutally, much to the shockof several people and passersby. The victim, who sustained multiple cut injuries, was first rushed to private hospital and then to Government Stanley MedicalCollege Hospital, where he was declared brought dead. Tension prevailed in the locality following the murder asthe shopkeepers downed their shutters fearing backlash. Police have collected CCTV footages from the spot and havelaunched special teams to nab the culprits. Police suspect previous enmity and business rivalry as thereason for the killing. Police pickets were posted in the area to prevent any untowardincident.UNI GV CS 1148 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0275-828188.Xml
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh today reviewed the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir, in aftermath of violent clashes between protesters and the security forces that left 11 people dead with over 200 injured. The meeting held at the official residence of the Home Minister was attended by Home Secretary Anil Goswami, Joint Secretary (Kashmir division) Gyanesh Kumar, Intelligence Bureau (IB) Chief Dineshwar Sharma and other senior officials of the Home Ministry. The meeting took stock of the situation in the state in the wake of killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani. Separatist leaders of the Valley had given a call for shut down, while the state administration has decided to impose the curfew in many parts, in order to control the situation. Expressing his deep anguish over the loss of lives in the clashes, Mr Singh has said the Centre and the State Government were in close touch to cool down the situation. "I appeal to the people of J&K to remain calm and maintain peace. Centre is working with the State government to bring normalcy in Kashmir valley," he said in a tweet. UNI MK PY ADG 1135 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0298-828165.Xml
Swaraj Abhiyan leader and SupremeCourt senior advocate Prahsant Bhushan described the Aam Aadmi party as prototype of BJP and Congress and never wanted its model in Indian politics. Addressing a workshop organised jointly by Karnataka State RaithaSangha, Jana Sangram Prishat, Karnataka Janashakti and KarnatakaSarvodaya party, he said AAP didn't delivered goods much to the expectationsof the people. Though Aam Aadmi Party came to power at Delhi with an intention of eradicating wide-spread corruption as an offshoot of nationwide movement launched by Social Activist Anna Hazare, at a later stage it proved yet another political party with no particular ambition. He said that there has been an urgent need to find an alternative political system with an intention to fulfill the expectations of the common mass and corruption free governance. As part of this, there was a need to organise a large scaleNationwide movement by uniting various organizations. AAP came into existence as a result of nationwide movement fewyears ago and people felt that it could be an alternative to alreadycorrupt political parties. But Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has behaved muchagainst the expectations of those who voted him to power and beliedthe hopes of masses, he alleged. Even the NDA which came to power capitalizing the failure and corruptpractices of UPA governance also failed to fulfill the hopes of thepeople. It has been trying to destroy all institutions workingagainst corruption, he said. He also gave a call that such a movement should start from placeslike Dharwad, Shimoga, Raichur and other places instead of Delhi.UNI XC HVB CS 1100 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0284-828114.Xml
Majority of senior separatist leaders, including chairmen of both the factions of the Hurriyat Conference (HC), remained under house arrest in the Kashmir valley, where separatist organisations have extended strike for two more days till tomorrow in protest against the killing of 11 civilians and injuries to scores of others in security force firing. A general strike was called yesterday in protest against the killing of a top commander of Hizbul Mujahideen(HM) by security forces in an encounter in south Kashmir on Friday evening. Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Mohammad Yaseen Malik, who was arrested on Saturday night, also remained lodged in police station Kothibagh. Burhan Wani, carrying a reward of Rs 10 lakhs was killed by security forces in Kokernag area of Anantnag district last evening, evoking massive protests in the valley, including summer capital, Srinagar. Chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani and General secretary Shabir Ahmad Shah remained under house arrest since their return from Delhi in May, a spokesman for the amalgam Aiyaz Akbar said. He said both the leaders could not even offer Friday or Eid prayers in mosques because of restrictions. Mr Akbar said he too was also put under house arrest since last evening. Security forces and state police personnel remained deployed outside his Maloora residence. A number of other HC leaders, including Mohammad Ashraf Sehrayee, Peer Saifullah, Mohammad Ashraf Laya, Raja Mehrajuddin and Nayeem Ahmad Khan have also been put under house arrest, he said. A spokesperson for the moderate HC Advocate Shahidul Islam said chairman Mirwaiz Moulvi Omar Farooq has also been put under house arrest since Friday night. He said large number of security forces and state police personnel have been deployed outside the Nigeen residence of Mirwaiz, who was released on July 7 evening after remaining under house arrest since July 6 morning, Eid-ul-Fitr day. '' I and some other leaders have also been put under house arrest,'' Advocate Islam said.UNI BAS SV GC1220 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0433-828093.Xml
Manipur's road-link with the rest of the country was severely disrupted on Sunday as a landslide blocked National Highway 2 near the Nagaland capital Kohima. "All available personnel and machinery are being used to remove the debris from the road," an official told IANS over phone from Kohima. NH 2 and NH 37 are the two main road links between the state and the rest of the country. However, it is feared that there may be fresh landlsides as heavy downpour continued to lash most of the northeastern states. Many parts of Assam were reeling under water and thousands of affected villagers were taking shelter in evacuation centres put up by the state government. In Manipur, a number of villages, paddy fields and public facilities in Chadong and Riha in Chandel and Ukhrul districts, respectively, were under water. Villagers said the overfull Mapithel dam was causing the inundation. Some tribal villagers said: "Churches and schools are inundated and Chadong village is completely under water. Agriculture is ruined for now...." However, government sources told IANS that the villagers have been paid Rs 15 lakh per family as compensation in the Chadong village. Besides, they have been given an alternative site for setting up a new village, the sources claimed. Some villages and paddy fields in Imphal east district remained flooded as the breached river banks had yet not been repaired. The Leilon-Leimakhong road in Sadar Hills sub-division of the Senapati district had suffered a number of damaged culverts with the result that vehicles cannot ply on it. Since July 1, more than 30 villages in the sub-division have been affected by floods. The villagers were facing shortage of basic necessities and medicines. --IANS il/kb/dg ( 295 Words) 2016-07-10-13:58:00 (IANS)
Any move to change India's financial year from April-March to any other permutation and commutation would serve no purpose but cause a huge avoidable disruption at a big cost for the country's trade and industry, apex industry body ASSOCHAM today said. ''In any case, different countries follow different financial years and there is no standard accounting practice for the world. So, change to any other calendar would not result into India aligning itself with the world," the chamber Secretary General D S Rawat said. "Besides, even within the domestic economy, there is no tangible reason for the unnecessary change for which the government has set up a committee to deliberate whether there is a need for a shift," he said. According to the chamber, change in the financial year from April-March which has been in vogue for well over a century, would not only mean a change in book-keeping. Instead, the entire infrastructure in terms of accounting software, taxation systems, HR practices would have to undergo a shift involving costs hundreds of crores of rupees, if not more, for the big and small industries. It said the argument that the current FY does not allow budget makers to have assessment of the Monsoon does not hold good since the agriculture sector contributes less than 15 per cent to the country's GDP. Besides, even if the FY is changed to January-December and the Budget is presented some time in October, the Monsoon effect would be clear only for the running year but then, the Budget is done for the next year for which dependence would continue on the weather forecast. "The move to change the fiscal year is akin to a situation where the government in its own wisdom decides to change the Indian driving system from right hand driving to the left hand without realizing that it would require changing the entire road and street infrastructure along with changes in the design of the automobiles. "Besides, it is the mind set issue. These systems have grown over the psyche of the citizens. The fiscal year is even made co-terminus with the academic years in schools and many universities..Suddenly, we must not bring in such changes which have no apparent advantage," the ASSOCHAM pointed out. The chamber said, the feed back from its members suggest that it is an ill-advised move and should be done away with straight away. "Under no circumstances, the move would lead any improvement in ease of doing business. Instead, it would create unnecessary hurdles and bureaucratic and systemic delays. At this point of time, India cannot allow any such disruptions," it said.UNI BM PY GC1322 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0298-828176.Xml
Jammu and Kashmir government chief spokesperson and Education Minister Naeem Akhtar said the driver of a police mobile bunker drowned when it was pushed into the river from a bridge at Sangam in Anantnag.

The body is yet to be fished out from the river, Mr Akhtar said, adding that three policemen are still missing since yesterday after a police station was attacked by a mob at D H Pora in south Kashmir district of Kulgam.

With this, the number of people, including a policeman, killed since violence erupted in Kashmir valley in the last 48 hours, following death of top Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani, has risen to 17.

Meanwhile, more than 200 persons, half of them security and state police personnel, have been injured. About 50 civilians have received bullet and pellet injuries. UNI ABS AE SB AN1544

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Stating there are 11 Cabinet Ministers, who are tainted and charged under corruption cases, Nirupam said Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis should have dropped them during the reshuffle.

Nirupam further stated the helpless Chief Minister is unable to act against them.

"It seems that the Maharashtra Government, BJP and Shiv Sena, who used to shout against corruption, have adopted corruption," he told ANI.

Earlier on Friday, Fadnavis inducted 11 ministers in his Cabinet. Two leaders from the Shiv Sena were also sworn-in in the 39-member Cabinet. (ANI)
In the complaint, AISF Telangana President M Venu, Assistant Secretary R N Shankar and Hyderabad North Zone Secretary M Sriman stated that Sri Chaitanya Educational Institutions Academic Director Ms Sushma issued an advertisement in all the Telugu dailies yesterday by saying that 60 per cent of the fee will be returned if the student failed to get a seat in National Eligibity cum Entrance Test (NEET).

They said that the advertisement is against AP Public Examination Prevention of Malpractices and Unfair Means Act-1997,(GO Ms No 180, Higher Education (IE-II) 2nd December 2005) and also cheating of the government, students and parents.

The AP Intermediate Board also issued notice to the Sri Chaitanya Educational Institutions in this regard, they reminded.

They requested the police officials to register a criminal case against the educational institutions and arrest Academic Director Ms Sushma.

Narayanaguda Police Station Sub-Inspector Nagarjuna Reddy assured that a case will be registered after consulting with higher officials.UNI VV CS 1805

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A court here today sent MLA Nand Kishore Maharia's son Siddharth to 14 days Judicial custody in the BMW hit and run case.Investigating officer Kawal Prakash produced the accused Siddharth at Metropolitan Judge official residence as his police remand got over today. The State police asked for the extension of the remand of MLA's son for two more days, which was dismissed by the magistrate and instead the accused was sent to 14 days judicial custody.Siddharth Maharia, son of MLA from Fatehpur, Rajasthan on July 2 was allegedly driving his BMW car at a very high speed under the influence of alcohol. The car rammed into an autorickshaw and later hit a PCR van nearby.Three people lost their lives and five, including four policemen, injured. All the deceased were traveling in the autorickshaw.UNI XC PS RP1617 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0421-828555.Xml
Member of Parliament and Chairman of the Poll Campaign Committee of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Bhagwant Mann today alleged that Badal Government has hurt the religious sentiments of Sikhs by making political use of the religious film "Char Sahibzade" and condemned the transfer of a Woman Officer, when she objected to using film in the 'Propaganda Vans" of Akalis. "Once this honest woman officer objected to the blasphemous act of Badals, she was immediately transferred," Mann said while terming it highly 'condemnable and deplorable'.Badals should understand now that people are fed up with them and they don't want to get trapped by them any more, by them, Mann said alleging that now Akalis were attempting to attract people on the pretext of showing them the religious movie "Char Sahibzade". "Is it not an act of hurting the religious sentiments of Sikhs by Akalis, who are using religion for political gain? Mann taunted.Badals claim for their achievements. What are their achievements, is it an achievement that unemployed youth are forced to climb water tanks to demand jobs, Govt is unable to pay salaries and their dues on time. Besides, is suicide by farmers on almost every day due to heavy debt is an achievement of Govt, deteriorating law & order in state is an achievement?, Mann quipped.When people were fed by watching Badals 24x7 on PTC Channel, they turned to use of the famous religious movie "Char Sahibzade", Mann said conveying to CM Badal "Mukh Mantri Saab, hun tuhadi hatti band hon wali hai, kyoki loki changi tarah samajh chuke ne tuhade challe" (CM Sahib, now the time is ripe to close your shop, as people have already understood all your schemes".Block Development and Panchayat Officer (BDPO) Baljit Kaur Dhillon was transferred to the state headquarters after she objected to SAD leaders' picture with "har Sahibzade" (four sons of Guru Gobind Singh) on vans used in the screening of the movie with the same name. She had raised an objection through a Facebook post. The pictures were displayed on vans used in the screening of the movie at Burajmuhar village by the Public Relations Department recently.UNI XC SB BD1738 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0293-828640.Xml
Jammu and Kashmir Cabinet today appealed to mainstream political parties and separatists organisations, including both the factions of Hurriyat Conference (HC), to support the state government in restoring peace and save lives of youth in the Valley. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has also called for restraint and sought people's support in restoring normalcy in the Valley. Jammu and Kashmir government chief spokesperson Naeem Akhtar, while addressing a press conference here this afternoon said incidents where disproportionate force was used to control protestors will be inquired into. "We will inquire under what circumstance, did it happen. But you see how many police stations have been burnt and how many security force camps were tried to run over by the mob," he said. However, he said most of the times law enforcing agencies are forced to use their weapons. "But we as a society should ensure that we should not take it to that level. Whether protest is required or not, is a secondary question, but protests should not be taken to that level where security forces are forced to use their weapon," he added. Asserting that the government knows its responsibilities and is committed to restore peace in Kashmir valley, Mr Akhtar said, "The Cabinet was briefed about the situation in the Valley by Chief Secretary B R Sharma and Director General of Police (DGP) K Rajendra Kumar." The Cabinet directed law enforcing agencies to restrain its actions and try to avoid collateral damage. "Small kids are being used by people with vested interests to pelt stones. Then such people use petrol bombs and other things to create violence. They are trained in escaping from the spot, so after creating violence, they leave and it is the innocent youth who get killed when security forces retaliate," he said. "The Cabinet unanimously decided to appeal to all political parties, who have expressed concern over the killing of youth, like National Conference (NC), Congress, CPI (M) and other independent MLA, and also separatists leading, including Hurriyat Conference (HC), to support government in restoring peace in the valley so that lives of youth is saved," he said.MORE UNI ABS AE SB AN1705 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0433-828535.Xml
Dublin City University (DCU) has announced it will be offering a programme in sexuality and sexual health education for the first time in September, the Independent reported.

According to the institution's website, the course's content will focus on developing knowledge around the diversity of sexualities, culture and sexual health education and promotion.

The programme will also work to equip participants with "appropriate, accurate, evidence-based, up-to-date knowledge, and free from discrimination, gender bias, and stigma."

DCU said the launch had come shortly after a national sexual health strategy highlighted how the importance of promoting sexual health, wellbeing, and reducing negative sexual health outcomes could only be achieved by "high-quality training for relevant professionals."

DCU programme chair and lecturer in sociology and sexuality studies, Dr Mel Duffy, told the Irish Examiner: "When we talked about the education the students had, they reported having had very minimal sexual education at second level."

Denise Proudfoot, a lecturer in Nursing at DCU, added: "The course will deal with everything from STIs to contraception and cervical smears."

Dr Duffy also acknowledged how society has changed "enormously" in the last number of decades, adding: "But significant work still remains with regards to discussing our sexual health, sexual identity, and gender identity in an open and transparent manner. (ANI)
The death toll in violent clashes between protesters and the security forces rose to 17 and more than 200 injured in Jammu and Kashmir after the slaying of a top militant even as Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh today reviewed the security situation in the state.The state Cabinet appealed for support in restoring peace in the aftermath of the violence. The meeting in New Delhi, held at the official residence of the Home Minister, was attended by Home Secretary Anil Goswami, Joint Secretary (Kashmir division) Gyanesh Kumar, Intelligence Bureau (IB) Chief Dineshwar Sharma and other senior officials of the Home Ministry.The meeting took stock of the situation in the state in the wake of killing of the Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani.Separatist leaders of the Valley had given a call for shutdown while the state administration has decided to impose curfew in many parts, in order to control the situation.Expressing his deep anguish over the loss of lives in the clashes, Mr Singh said the Centre and the State Government were in close touch to cool down the situation."I appeal to the people of J&K to remain calm and maintain peace. Centre is working with the State government to bring normalcy in Kashmir valley," he said in a tweet.Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti also called for restraint and sought people's support in restoring normalcy in the Valley. J and K government chief spokesperson Naeem Akhtar, while addressing a press conference here this afternoon, said incidents where disproportionate force was used to control protestors will be inquired into."We will inquire under what circumstance, did it happen. But you see how many police stations have been burnt and how many security force camps were tried to run over by the mobs," he said. However, he said most of the times law enforcing agencies are forced to use their weapons."But we as a society should ensure that we should not take it to that level. Whether protest is required or not, is a secondary question, but protests should not be taken to that level where security forces are forced to use their weapons," he added.More UNI BAS RSA RP1816 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0104-828728.Xml
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and his delegation arrived at Almaty and held their first meeting with Defence Minister of Kazakhstan Imangali Tasmagambetov, where both discussed at length on the difficulties, faced while building a new capital city. An official statement here said Mr Tasmagambetov told Mr Naidu that he greatly admires India and its culture. He also informed the Chief Minister that when Kazakhstan became independent, their President decided to build a new capital. Observing the similarities Astana and Andhra Pradesh have, Mr Naidu told the Defence Minister that just like Kazakhstan came out of Soviet Russia, Andhra Pradesh too was a bifurcated state and in the process it was constructing a new capital city. Stating that he was instrumental in constructing a new city called Cyberabad 10 years ago in Hyderabadwhen United Andhra Pradesh is in existence, the Chief Minister told the Minister that again he had got an opportunity to build a new capital city called Amaravati.MORE UNI DP CS 1836 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0275-828868.Xml
The tireless efforts made by government of Himachal Pradesh culminated in starting of Palliative Medicine outpatient department (OPD) in Dr. RP Government Medical College, at Tanda. Principal, Dr. Anil Chauhan today told UNI here that after getting approval from Government, an MOU was signed with "Pallium India, Trivandrum" and "Tata Memorial Trust" who trained the faculty and nurses from DRPGMC Tanda in Palliative Care and who will help establish the center for next two years. The Palliative Medicine OPD was started in the college yesterday. Palliative Medicine includes symptomatic treatment of patients who are suffering with life threatening diseases and for whom curative treatment strategies have been exhausted. Physical, Psychological, Social and Spiritual, all kinds of problems of these patients areaddressed in Palliative Medicine. Dr Anil Chauhan said through the Palliative Medicine OPD, efforts will be made primarily to improve the quality of life of those patients who are nearing death, by giving them treatment for their symptoms and by counseling the patients and their families. Medical Superintendent of the DRPGMC Tanda Hospital issued Office Orders yesterday to start the facility in Super specialty Block (Radiotherapy department) of Institute and the OPD will be functioning from 1000 hrs to 1400 hrs daily. Prof Dr Parveen Sharma, who underwent training, will coordinate the functioning of the Palliative Medicine center at Tanda Medical college. He said that more doctors and nurses will be trained in future to strengthen the department to provide a succor to those who are nearing death and need a support at that crucial phase of life.UNI XC RSA SB VN1845 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0293-828735.Xml
Bindu Sampath, mother of Nimisha alias Fathima, lodged a complaint with the Chief Minister, and revealed more details of her daughter to ADGP R Sreelekha.

The Chief Minister assured her to take action on the complaint, she told newspersons.

She said her daughter married Buxon Vincent of Palakkad when she was pursuing BDS at Century Dental College of Poinachi in Kasargod.

Later, they converted to Islam and changed the names as Fathima and Eeza.

After few days, she went to meet her daughter. But, she didn't agree to return home. Later, the girl informed her mother that she was going to Sri Lanka.

After that the mother could contact her through WhatsApp only. However, it was also stopped after the mother filed a complaint before ADGP Sreelekha on June 4, Bindu said.UNI DS CS 1855

-- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0275-828910.Xml
Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel today contacted Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to ensure that 4,547 pilgrims from different places of Gujarat on Amarnath Yatra in Jammu and Kashmir are safe and to arrange for their safe passage. Ms Patel convened a high-level meeting to convey the government's concern over the safety of devotees stranded at Pahalgam and Baltal on way to Amarnath due to disturbances in the valley. She also asked the officials here to contact Principal Secretary PK Mishra in the Prime Minister's Office to extend all possible help. Security forces have arranged the worshippers' stay in hotels and dharmashalas at Srinagar and Jammu. Efforts are on to get their contact numbers through the Gujarat government's Resident Commissioner in Delhi. The Chief Minister also called for the safe passage of pilgrims returning from the yatra from Pahalgam and Baltal up to Jammu under full security protection, for their return to Gujarat.UNI ND CJ RJ 2120 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0400-829034.Xml
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar today announced that villages excelling in sanitation will be rewarded with Rs one lakh prize money. A competition in terms of maintaining sanitation will be organised among villages of the state.Mr Khattar was addressing a function in Gurgaon, organised to unveil the first of phase of free wi-fi zones and launch of green Gurgaon Campaign. With the unveiling of first phase, four locations of Gurgaon city have got free wi-fi facility. These are Sadar Bazar, Village Sarhaul, Leisure Valley park area of Sector 29 and MG road. This facility is being provided by MCG, with support of Airtel.The Chief Minister said that Gurgaon is the Icon of Haryana and for developing this city into a Super Smart City, such facilities are required. He said with free wi-fi facility, one can avail e-services at his home. He congratulated Bharti Airtel for initiating this service and said it should extend this free wi-fi facility to other big cities of the state like Faridabad, Panipat, Rohtak, Panchkula, Hisar and Karnal.Giving presentation on how the free wi-fi facility will work, CEO of Airtel Delhi NCR Dhruv Bhagat said the wi-fi is open to all users, provided they have compatible device. A user has to enable wi-fi in his device settings and search for 'MCG powered by Airtel'. Users will be able to enjoy a free daily quota limit of 30 minutes per day per device. One can continue to use the wi-fi services after 30 minutes also, for which they will be charged a nominal amount. He said in the second phase, this facility would be extended to Cyber city, Galleria Market, Sector 14 and Mahavir Chowk-Bus Stand. Referring to the Green Gurgaon Campaign, Mr Khattar exhorted the people to contribute in Swachh Bharat Campaign. He said in order to involve and motivate the general public, the Government has also started numerous schemes. He said the Haryana Government has also announced a prize of one lakh for the villages, which become open defecation free (ODF) and maintain good sanitation. The government has fixed target of making eight districts ODG out of 21 districts by coming November 1, 2016 and Gurgaon is one of them. He elaborated on the ill-effects of defecating in open. The Chief Minister also launched Green Gurgaon Campaign by planting a sapling in the premises of Apparel House in Sector 44, under which the Multinational Companies will maintain and beautify the green belts and 100 meters of their surrounding areas. On the behalf of MNCs, Executive Director of Dell Deepak Ohlyan gave a presentation on Green Gurgaon Campaign. Additional Commissioner of MCG Amit Khatri and Additional Deputy Commissioner Vinay Partap Singh also addressed the gathering. The Chief Minister also presented a Tamra-patra to Mr Bhardwaj, in recognition to his services for the restitution of democratic rights during the emergency period.UNI JS CJ RJ 2132 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0293-829032.Xml
All the staff members of Government Medical College (GMC), Srinagar and its associated hospitals have been directed to report for their duties immediately in the wake of the large number of casualties in different parts of the Valley. Chief Medical Officer Anantnag has urged people to let ambulances to ferry injured without any hindrance. An official spokesperson here this evening said the Principal GMC, Srinagar has asked the staff members to report to their duties immediately. In case the staff members face any difficulty in getting transportation, they may reach the nearest District Hospital or Sub-district Hospital, where from they shall be provided the necessary transportation facility. "People should allow ambulances carrying injured to move without any hindrance so that precious lives could be saved," the CMO, Anantnag said. However, people are alleging that security forces have damaged ambulances and thrashed its drivers for ferrying injured from various districts to hospitals in Srinagar. UNI ABS YSS AE SB BL2015 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0433-828968.Xml
Jammu and Kashmir government has decided that identity cards of government employees would be treated as curfew passes in the Kashmir valley, where restrictions have been imposed at several places to prevent any law and order problem. An official spokesman said here this evening that Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir Dr Asgar Hassan Samoon reviewed the overall situation in Kashmir at an officers' meeting here today. He also got first hand appraisal of situation through Video-Conference with Deputy Commissioners of various districts and district Police Chiefs. It was informed that all essential services are in place and no shortage of essential commodities is reported from any district of the Division. It was decided that police shall treat identity cards of employees of essential services as "curfew passes" wherever restrictions are imposed by District Magistrates. Among others, Deputy Commissioner Srinagar, Principal Government Medical College, Srinagar and Director Health Services, Kashmir also attended the meeting and apprised Divisional Commissioner about the ground situation. In the onset of meeting, the Divisional Commissioner expressed grief and sorrow over the loss of innocent lives. The Divisional Commissioner was informed that the civilians injured in clashes are being provided treatment at Associated and District Hospitals. The Divisional Commissioner directed the Deputy Commissioners and District Senior Superintendents of Police (SSPs) for keeping close vigil on the situation. He asked the concerned for deploying duty magistrates at all police stations to coordinate with Police and paramilitary forces dealing with the law and order situation. He also asked the Deputy Commissioners for keeping liaison with the members of Civil Society, saying that it would also go a long way in restoring normalcy at the earliest. The Divisional Commissioner directed for ensuring round-the-clock availability of doctors and paramedics, besides availability of life saving drugs and ambulances at all dispensaries and hospitals to meet any exigency. He asked the concerned for ensuring essential services like power and water supply, availability of ration, LPG and K.oil so that people do not face any inconvenience. The Divisional Commissioner appealed the general public to assist local administration in maintaining peace and normalcy in their respective areas. He also requested the parents to counsel their wards not to take law in hands and indulge in ransacking of public property. UNI ABS CJ RJ PM2034 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0433-828985.Xml
Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and All India Congress Committee general secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad on Sunday expressed profound grief and sorrow over the untimely death of more than 19 people during the violence in various parts of the Kashmir Valley. He also expressed his heartfelt condolences to the members of the bereaved family in this hour of grief. Expressing deep concern on the deteriorating law and order situation in the Valley in which irreparable collateral damage took place, Azad said, "The need of the hour is to ensure that the law and order is restored at the earliest without any further loss of lives." Azad also wished speedy recovery of those more than 200 civilians and security personnel who were injured during the violence. (ANI)
Local pro-environmental NGO Mansi Ashar constituted a fact finding team about the disturbing revaluation about the eviction of 35 yrs old slum settlement in Dharamshala claimed that it submitted report to National Human Right Commission on Saturday, press communique issued by the NGO said. WSS (Women Against Sexual Violence and State Repression) and Delhi Solidarity Group recently carried out a fact-finding to investigate and ascertain if violations of law and human rights had taken place handed over the report ot NHRC as team had visited to met with the affected community, concerned officials and civil society activists in Dharamshala and Palampur. The communique said that report sent to the NHRC, condemns the eviction as "an inhuman, insensitive and irresponsible act." The report points out that, as the local face of the state government, the municipal corporation and the district administration are legal duty-bearers who cannot sidestep their accountability for the welfare of citizens regardless of their economic or social status or their place of birth. The report also points out that the authorities allowed 35 years to go by without notifying the area as a slum, and without making even token gestures towards improving the miserable living conditions. This suggests a deliberate attempt to render the residents invisible and deny their humanity while continuing to take advantage of their labour. The fact-finding team finds reason to conclude that the decision to summarily "clean up" the Charan Khad area was taken to sidestep the comparatively humane provisions of the HP Slum Act (2005). The report also charges the MCD with violation of the Supreme Court ruling against evictions being carried out during the monsoons. This ruling in the Bombay pavement dwellers case is a landmark judgement affirms the right to shelter as a part of the Constitutional right to life and livelihood. The eviction also violates the guidelines laid down under international agreements to which India is a signatory.MORE UNI ML CJ RJ VN2154 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0292-828244.Xml
Congress Legislature Party chief Charanjit Singh Channi today alleged that the government school education system in Punjab was being sabotaged, as part of the conspiracy by first giving the impression of its heading towards failure. This was evident from the results of the entrance test for admission to the meritorious students in which the success rate is just about 50 per cent this year. He pointed out that this had to be seen in the context of the basic qualification to appear for this test that is 80 per cent marks in Class X of the Punjab School Education Board. The students were to get just 50 per cent marks to be qualified to get admission in these select meritorious schools. "It is shocking that 50 per cent students who have cleared Class X exams of the Punjab School Education Board with 80 per cent marks and appeared for the admission test failed to even qualify leading to 1500 seats being vacant. This betrays bankruptcy of the system. The Board authorities had shown better pass percentage by awarding 27 grace marks", he said. The CLP chief alleged certain forces in the government were working for the total collapse of the government education system that cater mainly to be students from weaker sections in an attempt to encourage further privatization in this sector. The private education system had proved to be too exploitative that a student from ordinary family can't afford. He said there have already been protests against arbitrary fee hikes by the private schools. He said the students from Punjab were getting phased out of the highly competitive system as they fail to qualify. This was adding to the staggering number of unemployed as majority of those being produced by the so called professional colleges that in fact are teaching shops were not being considered to be employable. He pointed out that students from even a state like Bihar that was considered backward now dominate in even all India competitive exams including for elite services while Punjab's performance was the worst. He promised that after coming into power, the Congress would overhaul the school education system to shape up the students for the competitive world.UNI JS CJ RJ 2214 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0293-828888.Xml
The Haryana Government has decided to solve the 85-year-old problem of Ther Mound in Sirsa, a creation of the previous governments. It has started the process to de-notify the protected area of 'Ther Mound'. A public notice in this regard has already been issued by the state government. Thousands of harried and helpless people, residing on 'Ther Mound' in Sirsa district for decades,can now heave a sigh of relief. They no more face the threat of being dislodged and displaced, theirdwellings pulled down, and their source of livelihood snatched from them. Stating this here today, Political Advisor to Chief Minister Jagdish Chopra, said that the Ther Mound problem had been lying pending for decades. A notification had been issued about 85 years ago under which Ther Mound of Sirsa was declared a protected area by the Archeological Department. Due to the negligence of previous governments, many people had migrated to this place from Western Pakistan in 1947. They have no place and no means of livelihood. Some of them started living on Ther Mound, and gradually the economically backward people who did not get a place anywhere, had made houses on Ther Mound. Besides, there was another section of the society which had made their houses despite financial crunch. He said at present Ther Mound had more than 3,000 houses with a population of 15,000 to 20,000. A PLI petition was filed and nine years ago in the Punjab and Haryana High Court and the court gave verdict against the Ther Mound residents. The court had ordered the government to vacate Ther Mound site but no previous government cared a bit for the people. Mr Chopra said when the matter of Ther Mound came to the notice of the BJP Government after its formation the government deeply studied all the aspects. The government thought of filing an appeal against the high court verdict but the time to file an appeal was over. It could not be filed after nine years. The government constituted a committee having one member each from the Archeological Survey of India (ASI), Archeology Department, Haryana, and Archeology Department, Kurushetra University. The committee went into all aspects and submitted its report to the government. The committee had unanimously accepted that so many people resided on Ther Mound and just a short area had been left which cannot be utilized for the purpose of archaeological excavations. After getting report of experts, a meeting was held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar. After in-depth deliberations, it was decided that it would be impossible to utilize this land for archeological purposes and that the land should be de-notified and the ASI informed accordingly. It was also decided that a public notice should be given that the Haryana Government would de-notify Ther Mound area. Mr Chopra expressed the hope that people will get rid of the long pending problem after de-notification.UNI JS CJ RJ 2156 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0293-828989.Xml
Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president and former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh today rejected Aam Aadmi Party claim that Congress had used pictures of Golden Temple on its posters. Talking to media people after paying tributes to Fatehgarh Sahib Congress MLA Kuljit Singh Nagra's mother Kartar Kaur, Capt Amarinder Singh said there is no truth behind AAP spokesperson Sukhpal Singh Khaira's charges against the Congress that used pictures of Golden Temple. He said people of the state are wise and they know reality. It may be mentioned here that Sukhpal Singh Khaira during a press conference in Chandigarh on Saturday accused the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Congress of having used photos of the Golden Temple with party symbols on their posters. Capt Amarinder Singh said Khaira's move was to please Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal but Kejriwal policy is use and throw away. He alleged AAP want to get political milege by hurting sentiments of people. He refuted the reports of his difference with senior congress leader Sunil Jakhar over SYL canal issue. On ticket distribution, Capt said tickets for assembly election will be allotted on merit and after consulation of party workers and leaders. UNI XC JS CJ RJ VN2157 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0293-829016.Xml
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will today hold talks with Tanzanian President John Magufuli, after which the two countries are expected to sign several agreements. ''Reached Tanzania. Am very optimistic about this visit and I am confident it will usher in a new era in India-Tanzania relations,'' the Prime Minister tweeted on his arrival here last night, on the third leg of his four-nation Africa tour. Mr Modi will also be meeting 'Solar Mamas' -- a group of rural women solar engineers from Africa who have been trained under India-supported programmes to fabricate, install, and maintain solar lanterns and household solar lighting systems in their villages. Besides, India is also training the youth of Tanzania in IT skills, enabling them to meet the challenges posed by the industry as well as the new age. The Prime Minister will also meet the Indian community in Tanzania. UNI XC NAZ PY ADG 1100 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0298-828112.Xml
Ukraine won promises of continued support at a NATO summit today but the prospect of Kiev's eventual membership of the US-led military alliance seemed as distant as ever as the West seeks a tentative rapprochement with Russia.NATO agreed during the two-day Warsaw summit to boost its eastern flank in response to Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine and Moscow's subsequent backing for rebels fighting Kiev troops in east Ukraine.But after more than two years of Western sanctions on Russia, some in NATO and the European Union are pushing for a softer stance towards Moscow and growing impatient with what they see as sluggish progress in modernising the economy and fighting corruption in Ukraine.Speaking at a joint news conference with Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Russia must stop its "political, military and financial support for separatists" in east Ukraine."Allies are united in their support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity," he said. "We do not and we will not recognise Russia's illegal and illegitimate annexation of Crimea and we condemn Russia's deliberate destabilisation of eastern Ukraine."He restated NATO's political support for Ukraine and said the alliance would help Kiev tackle risks from improvised explosive devices on top of other assistance aimed at improving Ukraine's military capabilities that had been agreed before."These decisions demonstrate that NATO stands firmly for Ukraine," Poroshenko told the presser. "Now we have to make the necessary reforms""They will bring us closer to the criteria and then the people of Ukraine will decide what we'll do further," he said of the prospect of Ukraine's eventual NATO membership, which had been promised to Kiev in 2008 but is now off the table.PEACE AND REFORMSFor all the friendly rhetoric, Kiev has come under increased pressure from the West in recent weeks to devolve power and hold local elections in the east Ukraine, where a truce is patchy.The broader peace plan for the eastern Donbass region, negotiated in Minsk between Ukraine and Russia by Germany and France, has stalled for months. Paris and Berlin have now renewed efforts to implement it in full.That means Kiev should also grant Donbass a special legal status and decentralise the country through a constitutional reform. Moscow is obliged to help Kiev regain control of Ukraine's eastern border, and both sides must withdraw heavy arms to ensure an effective ceasefire in east Ukraine.The leaders of the United States, Germany, France and Italy met Poroshenko separately on the sidelines of the summit to express support for Ukraine, a White House official said."The leaders agreed that Ukraine has made considerable progress on political, economic, and anti-corruption reforms, but that more work must be done," the official added.Poroshenko and French President Francois Hollande both said the six leaders worked on a 'roadmap' of security steps needed in Donbass to permit elections there in the coming months.In Germany, the head of Chancellor Angela Merkel's junior coalition partner said the West should return to the negotiating table with Russia and he had "strong doubt" whether increasing NATO's military presence in eastern Europe would help that."I'm not in favour of us constantly escalating the relationship with Russia," Vice-Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel, leader of the Social Democratic Party, said in Nuremberg.In another sign of a cautious thaw with Moscow, NATO and Russian envoys to Brussels will meet for the second time since Crimea on Wednesday, including to discuss Ukraine.Ukraine's deputy prime minister said NATO would benefit from Kiev's experience of fighting "a hybrid war" against Russia on its soil, which she said included the deployment of troops with no insignia and a massive disinformation campaign.Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze defended Kiev's record on reforms and vented frustration with the criticism from the West."Lack of prospective NATO membership for Ukraine has a negative impact on the security environment in the region," she said. "The West needs to make a very strategic, long-term choice and not look for any excuses today to turn away from Ukraine." REUTERS AKC 0040 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0432-827969.Xml
NATO allies agreed today to help fund Afghan security forces to the tune of around 1 billion dollar annually over the next three years, despite public fatigue in Western countries about their involvement in the long-running conflict.Fifteen years since the United States invaded to topple the Taliban rulers who had harboured al Qaeda militants behind attacks on the United States, the West remains entangled in a costly effort to stabilise a country facing resurgent rebels.US President Barack Obama said completely withdrawing from Afghanistan risked seeing the country collapse and then having to send American troops back in again to deal with a new threat."We have an option of ... pulling out and potentially then seeing a country crumble under the strains of continued terrorist activity or insurgencies," Obama told a news conference at the end of a NATO summit in Warsaw.He defended his decision, along with other NATO allies, to reverse plans to sharply reduce troops levels, saying Afghan forces still needed training, funding and support."The Afghans are fighting. They are much more capable now than they were when I came into office, but they still need support because it is a really tough territory and it is a really poor country," Obama said.NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said he had won almost 3 billion dollar in commitments from allies to help the United States pay for the Afghan military until 2020, which now has ground forces but still needs to develop an air force.A senior US official said, on condition of anonymity, that the allies had made pledges that put them at more than 90 per cent of the funding levels agreed to at a 2012 NATO summit in Chicago.The United States has been keen to secure the target of one billion dollars annually from other countries to support more than 350,000 Afghan security forces as it draws down its own military presence in the country.The Pentagon has budgeted 3.45 billion in annual US funds to pay for the Afghan forces, with the Kabul government providing an additional sum of around 420 million, for a total yearly budget of nearly 5 billion.For the United States, the stakes are high as it seeks to prevent Afghanistan from once again becoming a haven for groups hostile to the West, including al Qaeda and Islamic State, also known as ISIL, which has made some inroads in the country."We know there are al Qaeda and ISIL components in Afghanistan and if we fail there, we know that it'll be a safe haven for those," US Army General Curtis Scaparrotti, the top NATO commander, told reporters on the sidelines of the summit.RESOLUTE SUPPORTObama announced this week that the United States was shelving its plans to cut the US force in Afghanistan nearly in half by the end of 2016, opting instead to keep 8,400 troops there till the close of his presidency next January. That still implies a 1,400-troop reduction.There are currently about 13,000 US and international troops serving in the NATO mission, called Resolute Support, in Afghanistan, with Germany, Turkey and Italy as the biggest non-US contributors. Their role is to train the Afghan forces.The United States has additional troops in Afghanistan focusing on counter terrorism operations.Stoltenberg said it was too early to say what troop levels the NATO allies would maintain in 2017 and said those decisions would be made in the autumn.A senior US official said the non-US allies would collectively contribute about the same number of troops to the mission as they do now, although individual countries' numbers may vary. The size of the NATO mission is on track to be more than 12,000 troops after the adjustments, US officials said.Afghanistan faces a number of crises, including a faltering economy, a government weakened by infighting between rivals and endemic corruption. Both President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, Ghani's runner-up in the 2014 presidential election, attended the NATO summit.A US official said the United States and its allies were encouraged by the fact that some cabinet-level appointments had recently moved through the Afghan parliament, that the government was doing better in collecting tax revenues and that Ghani had diligently pursued anti-corruption measures."We expect they (Afghan leaders) will step up their efforts to fight corruption and to implement reforms," Stoltenberg said. REUTERS AKC 0044 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0432-827970.Xml
US President Barack Obama said today he was concerned about how the State Department handles classified information but cast this as part of a government-wide challenge in the age of email, texts and smartphones.FBI Director James Comey on Tuesday recommended against prosecuting Hillary Clinton or her aides for their "extremely careless" handling of classified information on the private email server that she used as secretary of state.Comey said the FBI had found evidence that "the security culture of the State Department in general, and with respect to use of unclassified systems in particular, was generally lacking in the kind of care for classified information that's found elsewhere in the US government."Asked about the FBI director's assessment, Obama told reporters in a news conference: "I am concerned.""The advent of email and texts and smart phones is just generating enormous amounts of data," Obama added, saying that this, in turn was "putting enormous pressure on the department to sort through it, classify it properly."Obama said that if one classified too much, the benefits of the information evaporated because it took too long to process. "It reflects a larger problem in government," he added. Clinton has said her use of a private email server was a mistake.REUTERS AKC 0119 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0432-827973.Xml
President Barack Obama pledged today to seek ways to calm racial tensions and reduce divisions between police and minorities during his final months in office, but he warned that easy access to guns nationwide exacerbated the problem.Obama spoke at the end of a week in which five policemen were killed by a sniper in Dallas and two black men were killed by police in Minnesota and Louisiana. He said he would bring together civil rights and law enforcement leaders for talks at the White House next week after returning from a trip to Europe.Obama, the first black US president, has spoken out on racial issues throughout his time in the White House. He has also tried but failed to reform American gun laws, stymied by Republicans in Congress who have opposed any measures that they seen as impinging on the Constitutional right to bear arms, despite a series of mass shootings in recent years.Obama said the Dallas police force reduced murder rates and community complaints by taking the issue of race and police conduct seriously, and said he hoped that would inspire "constructive actions" in the coming weeks."That's the spirit that we all need to embrace. That's the spirit that I want to build on," he said during a press conference in Poland.But the divisive issue of gun control could not be separated from the tension between police and local citizens, he said.Obama noted that Dallas police on Thursday had to protect themselves and citizens from sniper fire while deciphering who had guns among those taking part in a protest decrying police shootings of black men.The presence of a gun in the car where Philando Castile, 32, was killed by police in Minnesota on Wednesday contributed to that event, he said."In Minneapolis, we don't know yet what happened, but we do know that there was a gun in the car that apparently was licensed, but it caused, in some fashion, those tragic events," Obama told reporters."We can't just ignore that and pretend that that's somehow political ... it is a contributing factor - not the sole factor - but a contributing factor to the broader tensions that arise between police and the communities where they serve."Obama is very unlikely to succeed in reviving major gun control reform before he leaves office in January.Lawmakers in Congress have fought over three rival gun measures since the June 12 mass shootings at a gay nightclub in Orlando. Democrats promised to put pressure on Republicans next week to win votes for measures to expand background checks and allow the Justice Department to block gun sales to people on government watch lists.Obama said today he hoped his legacy on the issue of race would be one of urging Americans to listen to each other and understand the country's difficult relationship with race."The legacy of slavery and Jim Crow and discrimination didn't suddenly vanish with the passage of the Civil Rights Act or the Voting Rights Act or the election of Barack Obama," he said.He said he hoped his words as president had conveyed "that things have gotten better, substantially better, but that we've still got a lot more work to do."REUTERS AKC 0238 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0432-827981.Xml
A trade deal fight led by US Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders failed to fully materialize as rival and presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton announced a compromise to expand mandatory healthcare funding over the next decade.Yesterday at a meeting of the Democratic Party draft platform committee in Orlando, Florida, supporters of Sanders were unable to influence the committee to adopt strong language opposing the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade pact, marking a powerful blow to the efforts by the US senator from Vermont to push the party further to the left."We did everything we could to win that vote," said Sanders policy adviser Warren Gunnels. "It was very disappointing."Instead of a condemnation specific to the TPP, the committee reached language saying they would oppose "trade agreements that do not support good American jobs."Sanders has headed the effort on the US left to oppose the TPP and trade deals like it, which he says are unfair to American workers. Clinton has also come out as opposed to the agreement.Despite Clinton having already secured the requisite delegates to clinch the party's nomination at the July 25-28 convention, Sanders remains in the race to be the party's nominee.He has indicated that he would hold off on endorsing Clinton for the November 8 general election fight against Republican presumptive nominee Donald Trump until she adopted policies and campaign language that more closely resembled his own more liberal tone."I would like to say that while this vote was disappointing, we have won some tremendous victories," Gunnels said, including securing language in the draft supporting a federal 15 minimum dollar wage, another trademark issue for Sanders.On the same day, the Clinton campaign announced changes to its healthcare policy proposal, including increasing mandatory healthcare funding under the Affordable Care Act by 40 billion dollar over the next 10 years, highlighting the significant influence Sanders still yields over the party."We have more work to do to finish our long fight to provide universal, quality, affordable healthcare to everyone in America," Clinton said in a statement that included her intention to give Americans the choice of a public-option insurance plan and allow for individuals aged below 55, the age for Medicare, the US federal program that pays elderly Americans' hospital bills, to opt in to the program.Sanders has made combating healthcare costs a rallying cry of his campaign and often battled with Clinton during the primary race on how best to reach their shared goal of universal healthcare.Yesterday, Sanders praised the updates to Clinton's proposal as a step in the right direction to "save lives and ease suffering," indicating, along with the more liberal tone in several parts of the 2016 platform draft, a growing compromise between the two camps.For Clinton, an endorsement from Sanders - seen as a champion of the progressive left - could open the door to many of his supporters who have been reluctant to support the more moderate Clinton."The proposal brought forth today by Secretary Clinton, working with our campaign, is an important step forward in expanding healthcare in America - and expanding health insurance and healthcare access to tens of millions of Americans," he said in a statement."I congratulate Secretary Clinton for this extremely important initiative."The New York Times reported on Thursday that an endorsement is imminent, and Sanders is expected to officially throw his support behind Clinton, a former US secretary of state, at a campaign stop in New Hampshire early next week. REUTERS AKC 0446 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0432-827994.Xml
Hours after security levels were raised following an anonymous threat at the police headquarters in the north Texan city of Dallas, the police have given the all-clear, media reports said. Two days after the killing of five police officers by a black US army veteran Micah Johnson during a protest rally in Dallas, a nearby parking lot was searched on Saturday for a "suspicious person" but no one was found. SWAT officers were earlier deployed at the main building, BBC reported. Two deaths during the week of Philando Castile in Minnesota and Alton Sterling in Louisiana have led to nationwide protests against the killing of black men by the white-dominated police. Dallas Police said its officials -- using dogs -- searched the parking lot but the hunt turned up nothing. Earlier on Saturday, the Dallas Police Department heightened security after it received an anonymous threat against law enforcement across the city. The police asked the media to stop all live feeds around HQ "for the safety of our officers", the BBC reported. Johnson, who was himself killed during the assault, supported black militant groups who encouraged violence against police. Dallas Police chief David Brown said Johnson had told a negotiator that he wanted to kill white people, especially police officials, because he was angry about the recent shootings of black men. US President Barack Obama said the US was "not as divided as some have suggested" in the wake of the shootings involving African-Americans. He said Americans of "all races, all backgrounds", including many of those who were protesting, were outraged by the Dallas killings. Johnson, 25, who acted alone, was killed by remotely detonated explosives that were sent into a car park where he had taken refuge after the shootings. He was a member of the US Army Reserve from 2009 to 2015 who had served in Afghanistan. Bomb-making material, rifles and a combat journal were found at his home in the Dallas suburb of Mesquite. A number of gun attacks involving police officials and civilians have occurred in other parts of the US in the aftermath of the deaths in Minnesota and Louisiana. Leaders of the Black Lives Matter organisation have condemned the Dallas killings but said planned marches, including a "Weekend of Rage" in Philadelphia, will go ahead as planned. --IANS py/dg ( 393 Words) 2016-07-10-12:00:01 (IANS)
A new film project from Nepal on the Maoist revolution, that gave birth to democracy in the Himalayan kingdom in the last decade, has drawn attention of the global film industry at the 33rd Jerusalem International Film Festival.'The Whole Timers' by debutant filmmakers Pooja Gurung and Bibhusan Basnet is an account of the final three years of the civil war in Nepal seen through the eyes of a 15-year-old guerilla. The film is one of the 11 entries from around the world in the Sam Spiegel International Film Lab at the Jerusalem film festival that began on Thursday. Other entries include 'Life is Anywhere Else', about social tensions in new Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory, and 'Dolores', an Argentinian project on a young girl whose life is turned upside down by the sudden murder of her close friend."Our film is about a young guerrilla who replaces his gun with a camera to understand the chaos of the civil war that rocked Nepal from 1996 to 2006," says Nurung, who is participating in the fifth edition of the Sam Spiegel Film Lab this year.Nurung and Basnet have already developed the script of 'The Whole Timers', which will be the first feature film of the Kathmandu residents. The project has already found a collaborator in French producer Les Films du Tambur, which produced 'Degrade', a dark comedy set in Gaza directed by Palestinian twin brothers Arab and Tarzan Nasser. The film had premiered at the Critics Week of the Cannes film festival last year.Notable film projects that have participated in the Sam Spiegel Film Lab include this year's Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language film, 'Son of Saul', by Hungarian debutant director Laszlo Nemes."During the civil war in Nepal, people of our age were given guns and told that it would change our lives," says Basnet and Gurung, who were studying in a Kathmandu boarding school during the uprising."We want to talk about the sacrifices made by people during the civil war. There was a truth in their fighting," Basnet said.The filmmakers are hoping to start shooting in October next year or in March the following year."The civil war in Nepal has inspired several filmmakers in the country," says Charles Tesson, the film lab's jury member and head of the Critics Week at the Cannes film festival, referring to 'Black Hand' and 'White Sun', both feature films on the same subject. 'The Whole Timers' had also participated in the Cannes film festival's L'Atalier programme for film projects seeking international co-production this year.The film revolves around Kuprey, a 13-year-old who joins the revolutionaries to look for his father who had been abducted by the army. Once a revolutionary, he leaves his gun away and takes up a camera to record the life around the revolution."There were so many video footages about the war shot by the guerrillas themselves," says Basnet. "We were able to discover some of them during our research for the film," he adds.Launched at the 2011 edition of the Jerusalem film festival, the Sam Spiegel International Film Lab aims to foster development and production of feature films by promising young talents from around the world. The lab ranks among such initiatives like the Sundance film lab in the United States and the Torino film lab in Italy. The lab also provides assistance to the film projects through the participation of well known film editors and scouts for finding co-production partners."Nearly 75 per cent of the participating projects at our lab have gone on to become full-length feature films," says Renen Schorr, the chairperson of the lab's steering committee, who also heads the prestigious Sam Spiegel Film School in Jerusalem. The jury of the fund this year include Katriel Schory of the Israel Film Fund, Roberto Olla, Executive Director of Eurimages, which manages Europe Union's film fund, and Kirsten Neihuus, who heads film funding at the German film funding institution, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg.The 33rd Jerusalem film festival, which opened on Thursday evening with Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar's new film 'Julieta' based on Canadian Nobel Literature Prize winner Alice Monroe's three short stories, will run up to July 17.UNI XC PY -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0298-828171.Xml
The statement was issued late last night in wake of the criticism made by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani at a Nato summit in Warsaw, against Pakistan, daily Dawn reported.

"Islamabad will continue to make every possible effort to help Kabul. Both of the countries have a genuine interest--bringing peace in Afghanistan," the PFO said.

Earlier, the Afghan President while addressing a Nato summit in Warsaw, had blamed Pakistan for continuing to make a distinction between ''good and bad Taliban".

" We have expectation from Pakistan. Despite clear commitments to a quadrilateral peace process, their dangerous distinction between "good and bad Taliban" is being maintained in practice," he said.

Mr Ghani urged the world community to help develop his country and its neighbours "to collective security and harmony".

"Unfortunate that Aghanistan always blame Pakistan for all its failures in the country," the PFO stated.

Both the countries for the past decade and a half had tensed their relations due to differences over mutual distrust and counter terrorism strategies.UNI XC DS 1245

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President Barack Obama, seeking to soothe raw emotions after a former US soldier killed five policemen in Dallas and high-profile police shootings of two black men in Minnesota and Louisiana, has urged Americans not to view the United States as being riven into opposing groups."First of all, as painful as this week has been, I firmly believe that America is not as divided as some have suggested," Obama, who will cut short his European trip on Sunday to visit Dallas, told a weekend news conference in Warsaw."When we start suggesting that somehow there's this enormous polarization, and we're back to the situation in the '60s, that's just not true," Obama added. "You're not seeing riots, and you're not seeing police going after people who are protesting peacefully."Authorities named former US Army Reserve soldier Micah Johnson, a 25-year-old African-American, as the lone gunman in Thursday night's sniper attack in Dallas, which came at the end of a march by hundreds of demonstrators decrying the fatal police shootings of black men days earlier.Officials said Johnson had embraced militant black nationalism and expressed anger over shootings by police as well as a desire to "kill white people, especially white officers."Dallas remained on edge yesterday, with police headquarters and surrounding blocks cordoned off and SWAT teams deployed after police received an anonymous threat against officers across the city. Police searched a headquarters parking garage for a "suspicious person" but no suspect was found.Thursday's deadly rally in Dallas followed the fatal police shootings of Philando Castile, 32, near St. Paul, Minnesota, on Wednesday, and Alton Sterling, 37, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Tuesday.Obama said "Americans of all races and all backgrounds are rightly outraged by the inexcusable attacks on police, whether it's in Dallas or any place else."He added they also are rightly saddened and angered about the deaths of Sterling and Castile, and about "the larger, persistent problem of African-Americans and Latinos being treated differently in our criminal justice system."Obama, the first black US president whose term in office ends next January, said he hopes he has been able to get all Americans to understand the nation's difficult legacy of race.Obama said Americans cannot let the actions of a few define all."The demented individual who carried out those attacks in Dallas - he's no more representative of African-Americans than the shooter in Charleston was representative of white Americans, or the shooter in Orlando or San Bernardino were representative of Muslim-Americans," Obama added, referring to a string of mass shootings in the past year.Seven other police officers and two civilians were wounded in Dallas. Johnson was killed by a bomb-carrying robot deployed in a parking garage where he had holed up and refused to surrender during hours of negotiations with police.PROTESTS CONTINUEWhile Thursday's attack stunned Dallas into mourning, it did not stop demonstrations yesterday against killings by police, with protesters blocking major roads in various cities.Hundreds of protesters shut down I-94, a major thoroughfare linking the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul.Protesters, warned to disperse, threw rocks, bottles, Molotov cocktails and construction rebar at officers, injuring at least three, St. Paul police said. Police began making arrests and used smoke bombs and marking rounds to disperse the crowd. Protesters at the scene said police fired tear gas and rubber bullets.In Baton Rouge, scuffles broke out between riot police and demonstrators. About 30 arrests were reported.There were protests in other cities including Washington, San Francisco, Nashville, Tennessee, and Indianapolis, Indiana. About a thousand demonstrators turned out in New York, where they stymied traffic on busy Fifth Avenue and shouted chants such as "No racist police, no justice, no peace," leading to about a dozen arrests.Police use of force, particularly against African-Americans, has come under intense scrutiny in the past two years because of a string of high-profile deaths in cities from Ferguson, Missouri, to New York.GUN CONTROLObama, who has been blocked by the Republican-led US Congress in his bid for new gun-control measures, expressed new frustration over lax firearms laws in the United States, saying it is unique among advanced countries in the scale of violence it experiences."With respect to the issue of guns, I am going to keep on talking about the fact that we cannot eliminate all racial tension in our country overnight. We are not going to be able to identify ahead of time and eliminate every madman or troubled individual who might want to do harm against innocent people. But we can make it harder for them to do so," Obama said.Illustrating the divide among Americans over gun rights, Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton told Reuters that men like the Dallas gunman "are not going to be confined by a gun law that we pass."Paxton, whose state has among the most permissive gun policies in America, added, "Our goal here in Texas is to protect law-abiding citizens. And since we cannot have a police force that guards every person, we want people to be able to protect themselves."Dallas Police Chief David Brown on Friday said the gunman cited his anger over police killings during his protracted negotiations with police after the shootings.Johnson had served in the US military in the Afghan war.A search of his home just outside Dallas found bomb-making materials, ballistic vests, rifles, ammunition and a personal journal of combat tactics, though he had no previous criminal history, police said on Friday.REUTERS RSD GC1319 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0435-828148.Xml
A critic of the Cambodian government was shot dead in the capital today, at a time of rising political tension between Prime Minister Hun Sen and an opposition hoping to challenge his grip on power in elections as soon as next year.Kem Ley, 46, the head of a grassroots advocacy group, "Khmer for Khmer" was shot three times in a store at a gas station in Phnom Penh, police said."Kem Ley was shot dead," Eng Hy, a spokesman for the National Military Police, told Reuters, but declined to provide further details.A 38-year old suspect has been arrested and admitted to killing Kem Ley in a dispute over money, Cambodia's Interior Ministry said in a statement.Videos of the attacker's confession spread widely on social media soon after the killing. Reuters was unable to independently verify the video.A Reuters witness saw Kem Ley's body lying in a pool of blood on the floor of the store, with hundreds of onlookers gathered around it. A water bottle and a cellphone were strewn nearby. Kem Ley's pregnant wife, Pou Rachana, wept."I don't know what happened, somebody just called me and said that he's shot," Pou Rachana told Reuters. "He's already dead," she added, as investigators kept her away from the body of her husband.Supporters gathered at the gas station to prevent police from taking away the body, as some of them wanted to carry it on a march through the streets of the capital.The United States embassy in Phnom Penh said Kem Ley was one of Cambodia's most prominent political analysts while Britain's envoy called his death a serious loss to the country.Political tension is growing between Hun Sen and the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), which wants to take on the prime minister in local elections in 2017 and a general election in 2018.A popular political commentator and researcher, Kem Ley was frequently critical of Hun Sen's administration, having most recently commented on a report by anti-corruption pressure group Global Witness.The report, which accused the prime minister and his family of having amassed 200 million dollars in business interests, has been dismissed by a government spokesman as propaganda. REUTERS RSD GC1356 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0435-828372.Xml
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on his first visit to the African mainland, on Sunday lavished praise on the Indians living in African countries for preserving their age-old culture and traditions. During his interaction with the Indian community here, Prime Minister Modi called on the people of both India and Africa to serve the entire world. "The Indians, who migrated to African countries generations ago, have preserved their culture and it is a commendable feat. They have preserved their language, eating habits etc. because of which there is this amazing warmth which I can sense over here," he said. "It is because of your blessings that India is making progress at such a rapid rate. But we have to take this much forward. The love and respect that I have got here is truly invaluable. This was my first visit to the African mainland and I have received immense love here, tomorrow I will be going to Kenya," he added. He also called on the citizens of both India and Africa to do a great service in the coming days, not only for their respective countries, but for the whole world as well. Prime Minister Modi was earlier today accorded a ceremonial welcome at the State House kicking-off his first engagement in Tanzania. He met with a group of 'Solar Mamas', the women from developing nations who have been trained in harnessing solar energy at the Barefoot College in Tilonia village of Rajasthan's Ajmer city. Later this evening, the Prime Minister will interact with around 50,000 members of the Indian community in Tanzania before leaving for Kenya on the fourth and final leg of his tour. He landed at Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar-es-Salaam earlier in the day as part of his four-nation Africa tour aimed at enhancing ties with the continent, particularly in the economic sphere. (ANI)
Pakistan today condemned the death of Hizbul Mujahideen militant commander Burhan Wani by the Indian Army."The extra-judicial killing of Kashmiri leader Burhan Wani and scores of other innocent Kashmiris is deplorable and condemnable," Pakistan Foreign Office Spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said.He added that "such acts are a violation of the fundamental human rights of Kashmiris and can not deter the people of Jammu and Kashmir from their demand for the realisation of the right to self determination".Mr Zakaria also expressed Pakistan's concerns over the detention of Kashmiri leadership and called upon the Indian government to fulfil its human rights obligations as well as its commitments under United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions, Pakistani daily Dawn said.''Pakistan reiterates that the resolution of the Kashmir dispute is only possible through the realisation of the right to self-determination of the people of Kashmir, as per UNSC resolutions, through a fair and impartial plebiscite under UN auspices,''Mr Zakaria said.Wani and two other members of his group were killed in fighting yesterday after the Indian Army, acting on a tip-off, cordoned a forested village in the Kokernag area of south Kashmir.UNI XC PR RP1752 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0105-828732.Xml
The policy chief of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party today called for changing the nation's pacifist constitution after the ruling coalition won a landslide victory in an election for parliament's upper house.Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling coalition and like-minded parties also got the two-thirds "super majority" needed to try to revise the post-war constitution for the first time, some TV exit polls showed, although others only said it was within their grasp."Our party is one that calls for reforming the constitution," said Tomomi Inada, policy chief of the leading Liberal Democratic Party, after the polls closed."Our party has already submitted a draft for reforming the constitution." REUTERS SDR BD1659 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0431-828623.Xml
Hamza bin Laden, the son of former Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, has threatened to take revenge on the United States for the killing of his father and warned the Americans that they are accountable for the decisions of their leaders. "Hamza bin Laden Threatens Revenge Against U.S. for Assassinating Father," tweeted the SITE Intelligence Group. Hamza, who is in his mid- twenties, is the next expected leader of the militant group. The speculation gained momentum when an undated audio recording surfaced in May this year in which Hamza calls for unity among jihadi militants in Syria who currently fight under competing banners ranging from ISIS to Al-Qaeda, reported CNN earlier. In the video, he also calls for jihad against Israel and its American backers to "liberate" Palestine. The video was seen as an effort by Al-Qaeda to capitalize on the impact of the "bin Laden" name. Being a young leader in an ageing group, he is now being considered as the young voice that could appeal to the youth, which Al-Qaeda has failed so far unlike the Islamic state. One of the masterminds of the 9/11 attack, Osama bin Laden was killed on May 2, 2011, by the United States Navy Seal commandos in Abbottabad, Pakistan. However, it is not clear whether Hamza bin Laden still has an operational role in planning Al-Qaeda attacks. (ANI)
Prime Minister Modi, who received a rapturous farewell at the Julius Nyerere International Airport, took to Twitter to thank Tanzania.

"Thank you Tanzania. This was a remarkable visit and the ground covered during the visit will benefit our two nations immensely," he tweeted.

"The hardwork and dedication of the Solar Mamas impressed me. Enjoyed interacting with them," he said in a series of tweets.

Prime Minister Modi was earlier today accorded a ceremonial welcome at the State House kicking-off his first engagement in Tanzania.

He met with a group of 'Solar Mamas', the women from developing nations who have been trained in harnessing solar energy at the Barefoot College in Tilonia village of Rajasthan's Ajmer city.

The Prime Minister also interacted with around 50,000 members of the Indian community. (ANI)
A group of 30 "solar mamas" from Tanzania and a few other African countries demonstrated their skills in fabrication, repair and maintenance of solar lanterns and household lighting systems -- learnt surprisingly from India -- to Prime Minister Narendra Modi today. The confident ''solar mamas'' also presented their honey-extraction and stitching practices and sang the US Civil Rights protest song "We Shall Overcome". The rural women solar engineers from six African countries have been trained under India's developmental support for harnessing solar energy at the Social Work and Research Centre, widely known as the Barefoot College which is a voluntary organisation working in the fields of education, skill development, health, drinking water and women empowerment, based in remote Tilonia in Rajasthan, founded by Bunker Roy. SWRC has been promoting and training rural women solar engineers (solar mamas) from Africa in fabrication, installation, use, repair and maintenance of solar lanterns and household solar lighting under Government of India supported programmes. They have set up a Barefoot women vocational training college in Zanzibar Islands of Tanzania and other countries in Africa for imparting solar electrification skills (training) and distributing solar kits to trainees. These colleges also support various entrepreneurial skills such as bee-keeping and tailoring. The solar mamas -- some of whom are illiterate and even grandmothers -- have fabricated and installed solar kits, repair and now maintain these solar lanterns and household solar lighting systems in their communities, in many cases ushering in light to dispel the dark. They have been trained at Barefoot college in Tilonia village or the centre in Tanzania. ''Celebrating the Solar Mamas!PM interacts with women trained in vocational skills under India's developmental support," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted.UNI XC-SD RSA SB 1818 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0005-828782.Xml
Terming India as the fastest growing economy in the world, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said India will achieve the growth rate of eight per cent, as the government is taking various steps in this regard."In the last 2 years, India faced drought like situation despite this we have been able to project 7.6 per cent growth rate. But we won't be stopping here, we have to attain eight per cent growth rate, for which we are taking various measures. The world is facing an economic crisis but India is growing at a quick pace," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said while addressing over 20,000 Indian origin at Kasarani stadium complex in Nairobi. The Prime Minister said that government has taken several steps to make the system responsible, accountable and transparent."We have taken measures to make the government accountable, to make sure that there is no lag in implementation of schemes. We gave an impetus to good governance and to bring a positive difference in the lives of our citizens," Mr Modi added. The main driving force of India's steadfast march on the path of development is the resolve, desire and hard work of 1.25 crore Indians, he said.Mr Modi listed that his main priority is to improve the quality of life for the ordinary Indian.UNI ASH CJ RJ 2300 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0400-829159.Xml
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said his detailed discussions with Tanzanian President John Magufuli today covered the full gamut of bilateral partnership, which would lay the foundation, on which a 21st century partnership would be constructed. He assured that Tanzania would find a reliable and trusted friend in India. Delivering the banquet speech, he said as the African country modernised agriculture,expande education and health care system, industrialised its economy and built its capacities and institutions it would ''find in India a reliable friend'' willing to share experiences, expertise, capacities and technology with Tanzania. India emerging as the World's fastest growing large economy and Tanzania as one of the most important economies on this continent, he said the comprehensive agenda of cooperation was driven by ''our key development priorities and our common security needs.'' India and Tanzania had for centuries harnessed the favourable winds to trade across waters of Indian Ocean. In the eighteenth century, the Mandvi port of Gujarat and Zanzibar were considered inter-dependent ports, he said pointing out that literature talked of merchants in Mandvi port in Gujarat eagerly awaiting the arrival of Swahili boats. Mr Modi said early Indian migrants to the country were mainly from his home state, Gujarat. ''Today, the Indian origin community in Tanzania is an important link between our people in the fields of business, healthcare, and education.'' He also referred to late President Julius Nyerere, the shared values, common struggles, and a strong desire for the progress and prosperity of the two peoples that had defined Indo-Tanzanian ties. UNI XC-SD CJ RJ 2331 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0400-829194.Xml
A picture taken on July 3, 2016 shows the damaged building of the Coral Julia Dumna Hotel in the government-controlled side of the divided northern Syrian city of Aleppo. (Xinhua/AFP)

DAMASCUS, July 9 (Xinhua) -- The general command of the Syrian army announced Saturday an extension of a recently declared truce for additional 72 hours, state news agency SANA reported.

The nationwide ceasefire was initially established for 72 hours on Tuesday, the first day of the Muslim feast of Eid al-Fitr.

The announcement of the ceasefire didn't stop the battles in Syria's northern city of Aleppo, where the army was advancing till becoming so close to cut off the only remaining rebel supply route in Castello in northern Aleppo.

The regime of silence also didn't stop the rebels from raining down on government-controlled areas in Aleppo with tens of improvised rockets, which killed 40 people and wounded over 300 others on Friday.

SANA said the new extension will start as of Saturday afternoon till midnight Tuesday.
UNITED NATIONS, July 9 (Xinhua) -- The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said on Saturday that it was "deeply alarmed by the renewed violence in South Sudan" and called on all parties to "respect humanitarian principles and provide unrestricted access to civilians in need."

The UN agency said in a statement that "After nearly three years of war, civilians are bearing the brunt of the conflict in South Sudan, with women and children facing the greatest dangers and hardships."

"As the country marks its fifth year of independence, the lives of millions of children continue to be marked by suffering and upheaval," the statement said.

"Children and their families in South Sudan have suffered enough from violence, displacement and killings in this brutal conflict. It is time that peace becomes more than agreements on paper, but a reality for those who are most vulnerable," said the UNICEF regional director for eastern and southern Africa, Leila Pakkala.

At the United Nations' Protection of Civilians site in Juba, which was impacted by the outbreak of hostilities on the night of July 8, UNICEF and partners continue their support to the displaced population.

"Teams on the ground are scaling up efforts to provide access to health and nutrition services, drinking water and sanitation to existing and newly displaced families," the statement said.

The UNICEF statement came after the renewed fighting left five soldiers killed and two others wounded late on Thursday in Juba, the capital of the world's youngest country.

The events in Juba took place shortly after escalation of conflict in other parts of the country in recent weeks, disrupting lives and livelihoods.

In Wau, where fighting has displaced at least 70,000 people since the end of June, UNICEF and partners are working around the clock to provide assistance to children and their families, the statement added.

South Sudan has canceled this year's independence celebrations due to the economic crunch resulting from more than two years of civil conflict. It won independence on July 9, 2011 from Sudan after more than two decades of war that ended in a bitter divorce.

The country again plunged into conflict in December 2013 after President Salva Kiir accused his deputy Riek Machar of plotting a coup, which the latter denied, leading to a cycle of retaliatory killings.

President Kiir and former rebel leader and now first Vice President Machar signed a peace deal in August that paved way for the formation of the transitional unity government to end more than two years of civil conflict. Enditem
WASHINGTON, July 9 (Xinhua) -- The percentage of U.S. citizens who feel "extremely proud" to be Americans has slipped to a new low at 52 percent, finds a newly-released Gallup poll.

This was down from 57 percent in 2013 and 70 percent in 2003, an indication that American patriotism keeps declining in the past two decades, according to the June 14-23 poll.

Americans' patriotism spiked after the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, peaking at 70 percent in 2003, but has declined since, including an eight-point drop in early 2005 and a five-point drop since 2013, Gallup said.

"Americans' declining patriotism is likely related to broader dissatisfaction with the way things are going in the U.S.," Gallup said in a report.

In January 2004 when 69 percent of Americans were "extremely proud," 55 percent were satisfied with the way things were going in the U.S., but the percentage of being satisfied has mostly held below 30 percent since 2007.

Americans' patriotism stayed relatively flat from 2006 through 2013, but it has declined further in the past three years, Gallup said.

Since 2003, all major subgroups have shown significant declines in the percentage saying "extremely proud," with the largest decline in young adults aged 18-29, from 60 percent to 34 percent, according to the poll findings.

Political liberals (36 percent) join young adults as the least patriotic major subgroup today. Independents, Democrats, nonwhites and college graduates also show below-average patriotism, Gallup said.

Americans' continued frustration with national conditions -- likely tied to their concern about the economy and lack of faith in public institutions -- is probably one reason patriotism is at a recent low point, explained the polling company.
WARSAW, July 9 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama on Saturday pledged the U.S. long-term commitment to ensuring Europe's security and defending allies, while participating his last NATO Summit before his stepping down next January.

During his solo press conference after the closing of Warsaw NATO Summit, Obama said the Alliance was strengthening its deterrence and defense capabilities and it was sending a clear signal: it is going to protect any of its members.

"What will never change, is the unwavering commitment of the United States to the security and defense of Europe," Obama said.

He reminded that the Alliance had agreed on reinforcement of its collective defense and on deploying forces in Poland and Baltic states.

Obama also referred to the situation in Ukraine, saying that "Our 28 nations are united in our view that there can be no business as usual with Russia until it fully implements its Minsk obligations", and reminding that NATO confirmed its support for Ukraine.

On Britain's referendum to leave the EU, he expressed hopes that Britain's exit from the block could be as sensible as possible, causing possibly least damage to economy.

As a friend, ally and trading partner of Britain, Obama wished to see an orderly negotiating process and as close a relationship as possible in future.
WINDHOEK, July 9 (Xinhua) -- In Namibia every week, not less than 10 people die in violence-related incidents fueled by alcohol abuse.

The worst time this year was from July 1 to 3 when 19 people died in three days.

Following the incident, police spokesperson Rauna Shikwambi advised people to avoid alcohol abuse.

On Thursday some parliamentarians also voiced great concerns over alcohol abuse in the country and called for a referendum on the matter.

The poverty eradication minister Retired Bishop Zephaniah Kameeta called for stricter measures to control alcohol use.

Most worrisome is that those abusing alcohol are the youth and the workforce. In 2014, the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs established that about 80 percent of Namibian youth aged between 14 and 15 were drinking heavily.

Another report, the Global Status of Alcohol on Health, compiled by the World Health Organization in 2014 ranked Namibia the third country with the highest number of alcohol abusers per capita in Africa.

The report says Namibian men drink an average 16.7 liters per capita, while women 5.4 liters.

In its own study done in 2015, the health ministry concluded that Namibians are also into heavy binge drinking during which they can drink up to 78 beers per week.

All the parliamentarians said the high rate of alcohol consumption poses a threat to the country's development objectives, including poverty eradication.

Kameeta said alcohol abuse was shameful, pathetic and scary,"I believe now is the hour for this parliament to make a change," Kameeta said.

Deputy lands, Bernadus Swartbooi urged the National Assembly to change the law so that alcohol abuse is contained.

"I think time has come to take a strong stance and test the reality out there and deal with the matter not in a halfhearted fashion but in a decisive manner," Swartbooi said.

Justice Minister Albert Kawana said the referendum would look at banning the operating of shebeens in residential areas.

"Under no circumstances will a license be issued to a shebeen that operates in a residential area," Kawana said, adding that the referendum will also seek opinion on abolishing potent home brews.

"The potent home brews are poisoning our people," Kawana said.

Some Namibians who cannot afford distilled beers brew their own alcohol commonly known in the country as tombo that claims lives from time to time.

At one time, six farmworkers died on the spot after drinking tombo at a farm near Grootfontein town about 460 kilometers from the capital Windhoek.

In May 2015, 14 villagers from the north of the country were rushed to hospital after drinking tombo, while cases of children whose parents feed them tombo have been reported in the country.

No date has not yet given for the referendum. Enditem
SALAHUDIN, July 8, 2016 (Xinhua) -- A burned doll is left at the explosion site in the town of Balad, some 80 km north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, Iraq, July 8, 2016. The death toll from the suicide bombing attack at a Shiite shrine in Iraq's central province of Salahudin early on Friday rose to 35 and more than 70 others were wounded, a provincial security source said. (Xinhua/Khalil Dawood)

BAGHDAD, July 9 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi people demand apologies from the U.S. and Britain for their war crimes against the country, as the 2003 invasion has left hundreds of thousands of civilians killed and millions displaced, experts said Saturday.

A long-awaited report by Sir John Chilcot was released on Wednesday, which revealed that the invasion led by the U.S. and Britain was planned on flawed intelligence and lack of adequate preparation for the post-war governance.

In response to the highly critical report, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair said he felt "deeply and sincerely the grief and suffering of those who lost ones they loved in Iraq," referring to 179 British personnel killed in the war, and will "take full responsibility for any mistakes without exception or excuse."

"He expressed his apology to Britain, its military and people, but what about the victims of the Iraqi people?" Sabah al-Sheikh, an expert on politics based in Baghdad, told Xinhua.

"There is no clear apology by Blair or any American official to the Iraqi victims as hundreds of thousands of innocent people were killed and millions displaced both inside and outside the country," he added.

The country has seen deepening ethnic and sectarian divisions, broken health and education facilities, displacement and indiscriminate killings, and massive bomb attacks against civilians during the past 13 years.

LIES AND STRATEGIC FAILURE

Britain followed the U.S. to invade Iraq in March 2003 on two allegations: first, the war on former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was a reaction to the 9/11 attack as Saddam had relations with the al-Qaida; second, Saddam was developing weapons of mass destruction (WMD) which could threat the Middle East and the whole world as well.

However, the seven-year inquiry by the British team and similar investigations conducted by U.S. experts after 2003 concluded that there was no evidence of Saddam possessing any WMD.

Former U.S. President George Bush and Blair admitted the fact, blaming "intelligence failure." However, Chilcot's report revealed that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had reported to the UN. Security Council "there was no indication that Iraq had resumed its nuclear activities."

However, the U.S. and British authorities refused to recognize the IAEA report. Blair said in his speech on March 18, 2003, one day before the invasion, "We are asked now seriously to accept that in the last few years - contrary to all history, contrary to all intelligence - Saddam decided unilaterally to destroy those weapons. I say that such a claim is palpably absurd."

The report also cited several assessments of Britain's Joint Intelligence Committee, which said "there is no evidence Usama Bin Laden's organization has ever had a presence in Iraq" in 2011 and "there was no intelligence of current cooperation between Iraq and al-Qaida" in January 2003.

"Chilcot confirms what millions of us knew in 2003 that the war on Iraq was not a right decision. It was an unnecessary conflict, waged on the basis of flawed intelligence and with no sound legal basis," Sabah al-Sheikh said.

"The U.S.-led invasion on Iraq has cost hundreds of thousands of lives of innocent people, and made both the Middle East and the wider world less secure," Sheikh said, adding that the bloodshed in the country perhaps would continue for decades.

Bush also said he wanted to set the Iraqi people free and secure them from the "evil" of Saddam Hussein, "but is it true? We have seen that Iraq itself as a state was the target of the invasion," Sheikh said.

DEVASTATED CONSEQUENCES

"The invasion and subsequent instability in Iraq had, by July 2009, also resulted in the deaths of at least one hundred and fifty thousand Iraqis - and probably many more - most of them civilians. More than a million people were displaced. The people of Iraq have suffered greatly," Chilcot said after he published his report.

However, according to Iraqi government data, hundreds of thousands of civilians were killed in conflicts after the 2003 invasion, while unofficial tallies put the toll from military actions and sectarian strife at over one million.

The war also left some 3.4 million people displaced inside Iraq and more than two million outside a country with a population of over 34 million.

The invasion completely destroyed the system in Iraq, and the hasty withdrawal of U.S. and British forces created a power vacuum exploited by terrorist groups.

On July 3, three days before the British reported was released, the Islamic State (IS) group conducted a suicide bombing attack outside a shopping center in Baghdad, killing at least 292 people and wounding 200 others, the deadliest terrorist attack in Iraq since 2003.

There are some 40 organizations classified by the U.S. as terrorist groups, and more than half of them appeared after the U.S.-led invasion.

Compared with the al-Qaida, IS appeared to be more powerful and brutal, Sheikh said, adding that the terrorism of IS spilled over the whole region and the world and we are witnessing terrorist attacks in several European countries, Middle East and other areas across the world.

Chilcot said "despite explicit warnings, the consequences of the invasion were underestimated. The planning and preparations for Iraq after Saddam Hussein were wholly inadequate ... The government failed to achieve its stated objectives."

Najib al-Jubouri, an analyst on politics based in Baghdad, told Xinhua "there were no clear plans and preparations on how to oversee Iraq after the invasion, including the involvement of the United Nations, the control of Iraq's oil money, in addition to the mistake of dismantling of Saddam Hussein security apparatus and army."

"We only can hope that such report would let the world reconsider such decisions of invading any country, and have the bravery to admit mistakes," he said.

"The U.S. administration is demanded to apologize to Iraqi people on its policy toward the country, because the Americans are responsible more than the British for the tragedy of Iraqis," Sabah al-Sheikh said.

Related:

Commentary: There should be a war crimes tribunal for Iraq invasion

BEIJING, July 8 (Xinhua) -- The long-awaited report of Britain's official inquiry into the war on Iraq confirms what has long been suspected, but it fails to take notice of an inconvenient truth by not mentioning that it was a war waged illegally.x There should be a war crimes tribunal for the perpetrators of the war that left hundreds of thousands dead and millions homeless and had been at the root of the wave of refugees plaguing Europe years later.
MOSCOW, July 9 (Xinhua) -- The Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday that two Russian military pilots were killed when a Syrian Mi-25 helicopter was downed by the Islamic State (IS) militants near Palmyra in Syria.

The two pilots, Yevgeny Dolgin and Ryafagat Khabibulin, came under fire from the IS militants on Friday while on their way back from an air strike mission against the armed extremists, the ministry said in a statement.

Their plane was hit and fell into an area controlled by the Syrian government forces, and the two crew members died, it added.
MOGADISHU, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Somalia's Security forces have arrested several people and seized a cache of weapons in the southern region of Gedo bordering Kenya.

Mohamed Hassan, a police chief in the Bardhere town in Gedo, told reporters the security forces launched an operation early Saturday.

"We have arrested suspects and recovered weapons in their possession. We are still carrying our investigations to establish their intentions," said Hasan.

Hassan did not give details about the weapons seized in the operation but said police were following up the matter.

Islamist militant group Al-Shabaab was flushed out of Bardhere last year by troops of the Africa Union Mission in Somalia. The town, with a largely agricultural economy, was a source of supplies for Al-Shabaab.

Al-Shabaab militants frequently carry out attacks in Somalia. Enditem
MADRID, July 9 (Xinhua) -- The leader of the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE), Pedro Sanchez, repeated that his party will not support acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's attempts to form a coalition government in the wake of the June 26 general election, according to party sources.

Although Rajoy's Peoples Party "won" the election claiming 137 seats in the 350 seat Congress, that is still a long way short of the 176 needed for majority and Sanchez's words open the door to Spain continuing without a government over the summer and perhaps even for a third election.

"Rajoy should look for other allies," said Sanchez in his speech at Saturday's meeting of the PSOE's Federal Committee of regional leaders, adding that "Rajoy should not count on us" to support him.

The Socialists won 85 seats in the election and their abstention in an investiture vote would allow Rajoy to form a minority government if the PP were able to reach agreement with center-right force Ciuidadanos, who won 32 seats, but Sanchez remained true to previous declarations in which he insisted the PSOE would not aid the PP "either actively or passively."

Sanchez said the PSOE would "carry out firm and responsible" opposition "as an alternative to the right wing", and commented that Rajoy should look for "other allies, among which he will not have the PSOE."

Rajoy could still reach a majority, but as well as Ciudadanos he would also need to reach agreement with either Basque or Catalan nationalist parties, although that is unlikely given his government's rejection to the Catalan independence movement. Enditem
MADRID, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Federico Trillo, the Spanish Ambassador to the United Kingdom, has said that information over supposed weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in Iraq ahead of the Iraq war of 2003 was "neither complete nor true".

Trillo, who was the Spanish Minister of Defense in the government of Jose Maria Aznar when the Iraq war began in 2003, spoke to Spanish radio station Onda Cero on Thursday in the wake of the publication of the Chilcot Report, which criticized the then UK government of Tony Blair for many failings, such as starting the conflict before "everything possible had been done to avoid war."

The former Spanish defense minister insisted that "the weapons (of mass destruction) were there, but they were not in Iraq," which he insisted, "is where they told us they were."

"The Russian minister, who everyone knows was not in favor of the war in Iraq, said to me later, 'I don't understand the debate there is now: they didn't find the weapons, but they did exist," said Trillo, who also denied that Spain had taken part "as a combatant" in the Iraq war.

The declaration comes despite the fact that 1,300 Spanish troops spent 10 months in Iraq and suffered 11 deaths, while two Spanish journalists Julio Anguita and Jose Couso lost their lives in the conflict: the last of the two when a U.S. tank fired a shell into the Bagdad hotel where he was staying.

Meanwhile Spain's El Pais newspaper also published images of Spanish soldiers supposedly mistreating Iraqi prisoners in their base of Diwaniya.

Former Spanish prime minister Aznar was a prime mover for the war along with Bush and Blair and took part of a three-way meeting in the Azores on March 16 2003, just four days before the invasion of Iraq began.

The Chilcot report shows Aznar to have been close to Bush, while also working to persuade Chile and Mexico, UN Security Council seat holders at the time, to support the war, adding that Aznar and Blair worked on a communications strategy to show they were doing everything possible to avoid a conflict.

Trillo insisted Spain had only "given humanitarian aid" and support to the allies.

"We didn't fire a shot and neither did we do anything behind Parliament's back," said Trillo.

The Spanish Congress, which in 2003 was controlled by a majority government of Aznar and Trillo's People's Party, voted to support Aznar's position over the war with the opposition of every other party and with public opinion in Spain firmly against the conflict.

"Spain decided not to be a combatant but it did decide to give aid to its allies," said Trillo, who admitted the conflict had produced "very serious direct, but not collateral damage." Enditem
HELSINKI, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Finnish Defense Minister Jussi Niinisto and his British counterpart Michael Fallon signed on Saturday in Warsaw a protocol on defence cooperation between the two countries.

Finnish media quoted Niinisto as describing the document as "a declaratory expression of intent".

The protocol does not bind Finland and Britain to give mutual assistance in the event of a crisis, but rather sets the framework for cooperation. The document was signed in connection with the NATO Summit.

Contacts will be strengthened in training, maneuvers and in crisis management. Finnish national broadcaster Yle listed as key areas repelling chemical and biological arms, exchange of information and standardization.

Niinisto said the Finnish Defense Forces are totally compatible with NATO standards these days. He said that in fact the level of compatibility exceeds that of some "new" NATO member countries.

Finland is not a NATO member, but is an enhanced companion of the military organization based on an agreement signed in 2014.

The arrangement with Britain was disclosed by the Finnish Defense Ministry a week ago. The news caused some consternation among Finnish parliamentarians as even most members of the security related parliamentary committees had received no advance information and they heard of it first from media.

However, Niinisto said on Saturday the protocol "does not have such level of foreign policy importance" that an advance notification to parliament should have been necessary.

Finland follows Sweden in intensifying defense cooperation with Britain. Sweden and the UK agreed on cooperation in 2014.

Niinisto said earlier Finland and the United States would also sign a defence protocol, probably during this year. Enditem
MEXICO CITY, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Armed men killed 14 members of two families in two separate attacks early Saturday in Ciudad Victoria, in the northern Mexican state of Tamaulipas, the state government announced.

Herminio Garza, Tamaulipas' Secretary of the Interior, released a video message, saying that the attacks came 45 minutes apart in two homes in the northeast of the city.

The first attack happened around 7:00 a.m. when armed men burst into a house in the neighborhood of Adolfo Lopez Mateos and killed 11 people, including five children, according to Garza.

The second attack happened at 7:45 a.m. in the neighborhood of Revolucion Verde, where one man and two women were killed, while four other people of the same family were injured.

Garza specified that initial investigations had given rise to suspicion that the two attacks were linked to gang rivalry in Ciudad Victoria.

He added that state and federal agents have already begun investigation to find those responsible.

Tamaulipas, on the border with Texas, is facing a rising tide of violence as two cartels, the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas, face off for control of the local drug trade. Enditem
MEXICO CITY, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Mexican coffee production is beginning to get back to its full potential after having had half of its crops destroyed by stem rust spores since 2013, said Felix Martinez, president of the National Association of the Coffee Industry (ANICAFE).

"We have touched the bottom. The most likely situation is that the curve will now begin to turn upward," Martinez told Xinhua in a recent interview.

Production fell from 4.5 million bags of 60 kilograms in the 2012 production cycle to just 2.3 million bags in the current cycle, due to stem rust.

ANICAFE now predicts that production will reach 2.7 million bags in 2017 and will return to 2012 level over the next three years.

"However, the goal is not to stay at that level. It is to produce more," Martinez told Xinhua during the 2016 Latin American Coffee Summit, which is being held in Mexico City from July 7-9.

ANICAFE also plans to reach 10 million bags of 60 kilos within ten years. For this milestone to be reached, the states of Chiapas, Veracruz, Oaxaca, Puebla and Guerrero will be crucial, since they combine to provide around 80 percent of Mexico's coffee crop.

Stem rust, which has battered Mexico and Central America harder than usual in recent years, infects the outer layers of the coffee stalk, reducing their productivity or even killing them. An infection just three weeks before harvesting can turn a healthy coffee crop into almost nothing.

Martinez said that stem rust caused up to 500 million U.S. dollars in losses for each harvest in recent years. However, he was buoyed by the fact that producers and the government have teamed up efficiently to create new mechanisms and fight it.

Over the last year, the Ministry of Agriculture has launched programs to strengthen innovation and technological development for coffee production, create plants which are resistant to stem rust, replant thousands of hectares and provide financial assistance to coffee growers.

Furthermore, the Ministry has announced the creation of a Mexican Coffee Institute in order to ensure policy continuity across different governments.

"The issue now is innovation and renovation. The coffee plantations are being renovated with more varieties and more resistant plants but the most important thing is that the number of plants per hectare is increasing," concluded Martinez.

Mexico is one of the world's top ten coffee producing countries. In 2015, it produced over 234 million kilograms of coffee beans. Enditem
MONTEVIDEO, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Uruguay was jubilant on Saturday after the news that the country had won a case brought against it by Philip Morris International (PMI) after the tobacco company sued the country over its anti-tobacco laws.

After Friday's announcement about the victory, Uruguayan newspaper El Observador called it "a global precedent" and a "very important moment" for the country.

El Pais, a leading daily, also called it a triumph for President Tabare Vazquez, who pioneered the country's anti-tobacco laws in 2006.

PMI had argued that Uruguay's requirement that graphic warnings take up 80 percent of the surface of cigarette packaging was in violation of intellectual property rights. Instead, it said that each pack should only have a single warning.

However, The World Bank's International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) ruled on Friday that Uruguay's laws were keeping with international standards and dismissed the case. Furthermore, it ordered that PMI pay Uruguay 7 million U.S. dollars in compensation for legal costs.

Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez made a televised speech to announce the news, saying that "the attempts of the tobacco companies have been roundly rejected. It is not acceptable to prioritize commercial considerations over the fundamental right to health and life."

During Vazquez's first term as president, in 2006, Uruguay became the first Latin American country to ban smoking in closed public spaces. In 2008, the country also demanded that cigarette packs must bear health warnings covering 80 percent of their surface.

This led PMI, which has its operational headquarters in Switzerland, to launch a lawsuit in 2010, saying that these lawsuits devalued their brands and broke the bilateral investment treaty between Uruguay and Switzerland.

After ICSID announced its decision, the tobacco company said it would comply with the ruling. Marc Firestone, PMI's general counsel, issued a statement saying that "we have never questioned Uruguay's authority to protect public health."

The World Health Organization (WHO) also congratulated Uruguay on the win, stating that this was "a recognition of Uruguay's continuous efforts to protect its population against tobacco consumption."

Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York, whose foundation provided legal and financial support on the case, added that this decision "shows countries everywhere that they can stand up to tobacco companies and win. No country should ever be intimidated by the threat of a tobacco company lawsuit, and this case will help embolden more nations to take actions that will save lives."

The victory was also seen as significant since PMI, whose brands include Marlboro, Benson & Hedes, and Chesterfield, accounts for 15.6 percent of cigarettes sales worldwide outside the U.S. It had annual revenues of 80.1 billion U.S. dollars in 2014, far larger than Uruguay's GDP of 57.47 billion U.S. dollars.

Data from the Uruguayan Health Ministry data showed that the proportion of smokers in Uruguay fell from 35 percent in 2005 to 22 percent in 2014.
RIO DE JANEIRO, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Brazilian striker Alexandre Pato has rejected an offer to join Lazio, the Italian Serie A club's sporting director Igli Tare said on Saturday.

The 26-year-old is said to have been one of the targets of Marcelo Bielsa who quit as Lazio manager on Thursday, just two days after accepting the job, due to an alleged contract breach regarding new signings.

"I spoke with Pato and he said that he wanted to stay at Corinthians until December for personal reasons. Right now he doesn't want to leave Brazil," Tare was quoted as saying by Brazil's Globoesporte news portal.

Pato returned to Corinthians at the start of the month after ending a six-month loan spell at Chelsea.

The forward made just two appearances for the London club, scoring on his debut in a 4-0 Premier League victory over Aston Villa in April.

Pato has not played for Corinthians since December 2013, having joined the club from AC Milan 11 months earlier in a deal worth 15 million euros.

The Brazil international was then loaned out to Sao Paulo, where he netted 38 times in two seasons before joining Chelsea.

He has six months remaining on his Corinthians contract and is already free to sign a pre-contract with another club.
YANGON, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar President U Htin Kyaw will pay a visit to Mongolia and attend the 11th Summit of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Ulan Bator, according to an official announcement on Sunday.

It will be U Htin Kyaw's reciprocal visit to that of his Mongolian counterpart Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj to Myanmar last month and the ASEM will take place on July 15-16.

During his last stay in Nay Pyi Taw, President Elbegdorj held talks with U Htin Kyaw on boosting bilateral relations and cooperation and friendship between the two countries through cultural exchanges.

A memorandum of understanding on cultural cooperation was signed.

Elbegdorj also met with State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and a Mongolia-Myanmar Business Council was then launched.

The two countries established diplomatic ties in 1956 and this year marked their 60th anniversary of the establishment.
SALAHUDIN, July 8, 2016 (Xinhua) -- A burned doll is left at the explosion site in the town of Balad, some 80 km north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, Iraq, July 8, 2016. The death toll from the suicide bombing attack at a Shiite shrine in Iraq's central province of Salahudin early on Friday rose to 35 and more than 70 others were wounded, a provincial security source said. (Xinhua/Khalil Dawood)

LONDON, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Former British Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott said on Sunday that he now -- 13 years later -- believes that Britain's decision to invade Iraq was illegal in the wake of a report criticizing the British government's decision to go to war.

Prescott, who served as a deputy to Prime Minister Tony Blair when Britain joined the U.S.-led Iraq War in 2003, wrote in a piece published in the Sunday Mirror newspaper that he has now changed his view on the legality of the war.

"In 2004, the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said that as regime change was the prime aim of the Iraq war, it was illegal. With great sadness and anger, I now believe him to be right," he wrote.

"A day doesn't go by when I don't think of decision we made to go to war. Of the British troops who gave their lives or suffered injuries for their country. Of the 175,000 civilians who died from the Pandora's Box we opened by removing Saddam Hussein," he went on.

"I will live with the decision of going to war and its catastrophic consequences for the rest of my life," he added.

He disclosed that Blair had written to then U.S. President George W. Bush that "I will be with, whatever" eight months before the invasion.

Prescott also criticized Blair's way of running his cabinet, saying that it was given "too little paper documentation" to make decisions.

"The Attorney General, Lord Smith, came to the Cabinet, verbally announced it was legal, but provide no documentation," Prescott said. "The timing of the decision was clearly designed to endorse an almost immediate action for us to go to war."

A seven-year inquiry, chaired by Sir John Chilcot, concluded that the Blair government's estimates of the threats posed by so-called Iraqi "weapons of mass destructions" were "presented with a certainty that was not justified."

"At the time of the parliamentary vote of March 18, diplomatic options had not been exhausted. The point had not been reached where military action was the last resort," the report said.

Blair this week voiced "sorrow, regret and apology" over mistakes made in the war. But he insisted that the war was right.

But many British people want Blair to face criminal action over his decision that led to the deaths of 179 British soldiers and thousands of hundreds of Iraqi civilians over the following six years.

Related:

Commentary: There should be a war crimes tribunal for Iraq invasion

BEIJING, July 8 (Xinhua) -- The long-awaited report of Britain's official inquiry into the war on Iraq confirms what has long been suspected, but it fails to take notice of an inconvenient truth by not mentioning that it was a war waged illegally.x There should be a war crimes tribunal for the perpetrators of the war that left hundreds of thousands dead and millions homeless and had been at the root of the wave of refugees plaguing Europe years later.
LHASA, July 8, 2016 (Xinhua) -- The Forum on the Development of Tibet concludes in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, July 8, 2016. The two-day forum, with the participation of more than 130 researchers, officials and correspondents from over 30 countries and regions, passed the "2016.Lhasa Consensus". (Xinhua/Liu Dongjun)

LHASA, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Foreign researchers and journalists attending the Forum on the Development of Tibet have been awestruck by what they have seen in the regional capital Lhasa.

The Tibetan miracle is the result of massive effort by the Chinese government to foster productive enterprises, said Mewati Sitaram Bholaram, a senior correspondent with India's Mumbai Messenger.

Infrastructure in Tibet has reached a level which allows the area to become an integral part of the Chinese and global economies. Tibet has steered itself into the fast lane of development together with the rest of China, he said.

More than 130 researchers, officials and journalists from over 30 countries and regions attended the two-day forum on Thursday and Friday.

Hosted by the State Council Information Office and the Tibetan regional government, the forum focused on entrepreneurship and industrial modernization in Tibet, preserving tradition, environmental protection, regional infrastructure and poverty relief.

Russian editor Maksim Belov of the Beijing-based China Pictorial magazine described the development of Tibet as almost beyond imagining. Amazing achievements have been made in the education and health systems despite the harsh climate and rough terrain. Tibetans, including rural Tibetans, enjoy satisfactory living conditions, he added.

Stefano Vernole, a researcher with Italy's Eurasia-Mediterranean Study Center, said that Tibet is completely different from how it was in 1950s. The Tibetan people have freedom, equality, dignity and enjoy the fruits of modern civilization. Development and progress in the region reflect the common aspirations of all ethnic groups in Tibet, he added.

Farhana Paruk, a researcher at the University of South Africa, said economic and social development has turned Tibet into a developed region from a rural community, creating a better standard of living for the average Tibetans.

In 2015, the per capita disposable income of urban residents in the region was 25,457 yuan (3,807 U.S. dollars), compared with 565 yuan in 1978, and that of farmers and herdsmen last year was 8,244 yuan, representing an average annual increase of 12 percent, according to government statistics.

Some foreign experts also made suggestions on the future development of Tibet.

Christine Davis, vice president of the U.S. Asia Society, said Tibet could play an important part in the Belt and Road Initiative since it connects other provinces in China with South Asia, Central Asia and other regions.

Thanong Khanthong of the Thailand National TV Station, said the government should put more emphasis on sustainable tourism. "This will not only increase the incomes of Tibetans but will promote regional economic growth," he said.

His view was echoed by Maksim Belov who took Russia as an example. An increasing number of Russians want to visit Tibet but there are no direct flights linking Moscow and Lhasa.

"Currently, tourists from Russia have to fly to Beijing and change planes to reach Lhasa," Belov said. "I hope a direct flight from Moscow to Lhasa will open soon."
PHNOM PENH, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian political analyst Kem Ley was shot dead on Sunday near a gas station in Phnom Penh, local media reported.

"The victim was Kem Ley," Heang Sareth, deputy police chief of Chamkarmon district, was quoted as saying by the Fresh News service.

He said police had arrested a suspect and seized a pistol soon after the shooting.

It was too early to determine the motive of the crime as investigation was underway.
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe (R) meets with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 9, 2016. (Xinhua/Yang Meiju)

COLOMBO, July 9 (Xinhua) -- The relationship between China and Sri Lanka has returned to healthy and stable development after the change of Sri Lankan government, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Saturday.

Wang told the media that his visit is aimed at expeditiously implementing the consensus reached by top leaders and fully reviewing cooperation between the two countries.

Both sides have agreed to inherit traditional friendship, consolidate political trust and deepen pragmatic cooperation, he said.

China and Sri Lanka could take the opportunity to give full play to the complementarity in their economies and improve infrastructure and port industrial development with mega projects such as Port City and Hambantota Port, with a view to enhancing the independent development capacity of Sri Lanka.

Both countries will hold celebrations marking the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations and the 65th anniversary of the historic Rubber-Rica Pact next year, he said.

Since Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the Belt and Road initiative, the construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt has been booming. The 21st Century Maritime Silk Road should develop at an equal pace, Wang said.

China hoped Sri Lanka could be an important cooperation partner for jointly building the Maritime Silk Road with its unique geographic advantage.

Through the maritime Silk Road, China will support Sri Lanka in becoming a shipping, logistics and even financial hub in the Indian Ocean.
YANGON, July 10 (Xinhua) -- An ethnic summit of Myanmar will be held in northernmost Kachin state on July 26 in preparation for the government-sponsored 21st Century Panglong Ethnic Conference planned for late August, local media reported on Sunday.

The three-day summit is to be held in Mine Kyar Yan controlled by the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO).

The decision was adopted at a meeting in Chiang Mai, Thailand, on Friday involving representatives of eight signatories and other non-signatories to the Nationwide Cease fire Accord (NCA).

The non-signatory armed groups are represented by the United Nationalities Federal Council's (UNFC) Delegation for Political Negotiation (DPN).

Such ethnic summits were held in Laiza, headquarters of the KIO, Law Khee lar of the Kayin National Union (KNU), and Pansai of the United Wa State Army (UWSA) in the course of the peace process over the previous years.

Before the summit, Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi is set to hold talks with representatives of non-signatory armed groups in Yangon on July 17, according to the Preparatory Committee for Holding the 21st Century Panglong Ethnic Conference.

The committee decided to allow the NCA non-signatories to join the Panglong Conference to ensure access for them to political dialogue.

Suu Kyi has outlined the policy guidelines for the peace process which include allowing non-signatory groups to the Nationwide Cease fire Accord (NCA) to join the Panglong Conference, relaxation of restriction on inviting political parties that do not hold a parliamentary seat to the conference and functions of the National Reconciliation, and Peace Center (NRPC) in dealing with international donors and their assistance to the peace process.

The 21st Century Panglong Ethnic Conference is set to be held in Nay Pyi Taw by the last week of August.

The Myanmar government and eight ethnic armed groups out of 15 signed the NCA on Oct. 15, 2015.
TIRANA, July 10 (Xinhua) -- The deployment of the THAAD missile system on the South Korean soil by the United States is not conducive to peace on the Korean Peninsula, a former Albanian deputy minister said Sunday.

"Whatever security concerns that South Korea has due to the increased activity of missile tests of North Korea, it does not justify these recent approval," said Dorian Ducka, former deputy minister of energy and industry of Albania.

South Korea and the United States on Friday announced their final decision to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) in the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) despite continued opposition from neighboring countries.

They announced the advanced U.S. missile defense system is aimed at tackling the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s nuclear and missile threats.

"Diplomacy and dialogue have been sidelined from the politics of fear and lack of vision and leadership throughout some of advanced and powerful countries, combined with the irrationality of certain leaders and regimes," said Ducka in a written interview with Xinhua.

According to the former minister, South Korea's security interests must be safeguarded but not at the expense of peace and stability on the peninsula.

He said that the deployment of the THAAD System in the long term will poison the trust of parties concerned for stability in the region. "I'm convinced that the system will not help at all a nuclear free Korean peninsula," he noted.

Ducka said the role of China, an active promoter for peace on the Korean Peninsula, and a strategic and business partner to the economic growth of South Korea, should be ensured in helping stabilizing the peninsula.

"I believe that the only answer to stability of the region is dialogue, diplomacy, economic diplomacy and not missile systems diplomacy and rocket diplomacy," he said.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Saturday in Colombo during a visit to Sri Lanka that the planned deployment of the U.S. THAAD anti-missile system in South Korea far exceeds the Korean Peninsula's defense needs.

The foreign minister told reporters that China had the reasons and rights to question the behind-the-scenes motives of this move, and any excuse for the deployment would be unjustified.

The Chinese top diplomat also called on the South Korean side to be cool-headed and think over what the deployment could actually bring for its security, for the realization of peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, as well as for the settlement of the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.

Related:

S.Korea, U.S. decide to deploy THAAD despite opposition from neighbors

SEOUL, July 8 (Xinhua) -- South Korea and the United States on Friday announced their final decision to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) in the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) despite continued oppositions from neighboring countries.

The military authorities jointly made an official announcement to deploy the advanced U.S. missile defense system in the USFK stationed on the Korean peninsula to tackle the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s nuclear and missile threats. Full story

News Analysis: Decision to deploy THAAD in S.Korea triggers controversy over regional tension, effectiveness

by Yoo Seungki

SEOUL, July 8 (Xinhua) -- The decision between South Korea and the United States to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) on Friday triggered various controversies as it causes regional tensions and strong oppositions from people living in candidate sites amid remaining doubts about its military effectiveness.
UNITED NATIONS, July 9 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council on Saturday "strongly condemned" the fighting in Juba, capital of South Sudan, between soldiers loyal to the president and the first vice president of the world's youngest country.

"The members of the Security Council acknowledged the formation of an investigation committee and urged the Transitional Government of National Unity to quickly investigate these attacks, take steps to end the fighting, reduce tensions, and hold those responsible for the attacks to account," said a press statement issued by the 15-nation UN body.

The council statement came after the renewed fighting took place on July 7-8 between soldiers of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) and the SPLA in Opposition in Juba, reportedly leaving at least 110 soldiers killed.

The fighting broke out after escalation of conflict in other parts of the country in recent weeks, disrupting lives and livelihoods.

"The members of the Security Council stressed the importance of members of military forces being held accountable for their actions and emphasized the importance of command and control," the statement said.

The council members called on the SPLA, the SPLA in Opposition and all other armed actors to cease hostilities and to allow the UN Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS) and humanitarian actors access to civilians in need, said the statement.

"The members of the Security Council expressed deep concern over the parties' lack of serious commitment to implementation of the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan and called upon the parties to work together in the Transitional Government of National Unity to resolve their differences in the spirit of cooperation," the statement said.

Meanwhile, the Security Council welcomed the joint statement made by the president, first vice president, and vice president appealing for calm, the statement said.

"The members of the Security Council demanded the parties expedite implementation of all aspects of the Agreement, including key provisions on transitional security arrangements, as a means to restoring peace in South Sudan."

"On the fifth anniversary of South Sudan's independence, the members of the Security Council urged South Sudan's leaders to demonstrate leadership that will bring lasting peace and security to South Sudan," the statement said.

South Sudan has canceled this year's independence celebrations due to the economic crunch resulting from more than two years of civil conflict. It won independence on July 9, 2011 from Sudan after more than two decades of war that ended in a bitter divorce.

The country again plunged into conflict in December 2013 after President Salva Kiir accused his deputy Riek Machar of plotting a coup, which the latter denied, leading to a cycle of retaliatory killings.

President Kiir and former rebel leader and now First Vice President Machar signed a peace deal in August that paved way for the formation of the transitional unity government to end more than two years of civil conflict.
QUEZON CITY, July 1, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte (3rd L), accompanied by Philippine National Police Chief Ronald dela Rosa (1st L), during Ronald dela Rosa's assumption of command ceremony in Quezon City July 1, 2016. (Xinhua/Rouelle Umali)

by Xinhua Writer Liu Yang

BEIJING, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte Friday said U.S. intervention caused the bloodshed in the Middle East, reaching a conclusion that offers timely wisdom in dealing with the ongoing dispute over the South China Sea.

In pointing out the correlation between Washington's meddling in regional affairs and the trail of unrest that ensues, Duterte has taken a bigger leap forward than the previous government, which had jumped to invite the United States into the strategic body of water.

Being wary of the United States' hidden agenda is not enough, and Manila should reverse its past action of seeking to use the United States and an arbitration tribunal as a leverage to extract territorial gains, which is counterproductive as they are dangerous moves.

It is a common sense in international politics that regional affairs should stay in the region, with countless cases proving that foreign intervention will only escalate and complicate regional disputes, instead of producing any constructive solution.

Some Philippine politicians may hope that Washington can tip the playing field in their favor, but such a short-sighted calculation has obviously overlooked the cases of Afghanistan and the Middle East, which were devastated as a result of notorious U.S. involvement.

Instead, the Philippines should return to the negotiation table with China to seek a bilateral agreement acceptable to both sides.

The choice between a path of confrontation, conflict and economic risks and a road of friendship, peace and prosperity is a simple one.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay's comments saying Manila is looking forward to establishing direct talks with Beijing is a good start, as it's in line with a past agreement between the two countries to resolve disputes through dialogue.

A consensus between Beijing and Manila not to make any "provocative statements" is another optimistic sign that the two countries are switching their trajectory of animosity to one of dialogue.

China has always firmly stood by its previous commitment to resolve the dispute through bilateral negotiations, and believe that only by keeping out foreign intervention can the solution reflect the will and interests of both countries.

Now that China and the Philippines both acknowledge the threat of U.S. meddling, the decision to ward off foreign intervention and keep the South China Sea a sea of peace and prosperity should be as resolute as ever.

Related:

South China Sea arbitration to set "serious, wrong and bad example": Chinese ambassador

LONDON, July 9 (Xinhua) -- The South China Sea arbitration unilaterally initiated by the Philippines will set a "serious, wrong, and bad example" if it is allowed to go through, Chinese Ambassador to Britain Liu Xiaoming said.

In a recent interview with Reuters, Liu said China will not participate in the arbitration and China believes it is illegal for a tribunal to handle this case. Full Story

China will not be "forced" into accepting South China Sea arbitration decision

BEIJING, July 8 (Xinhua) -- China on Friday dismissed the United States plea to accept any decision in the South China Sea arbitration to be announced next week.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague is set to announce its final decision next Tuesday in territorial disputes between China and the Philippines. Full story

Spotlight: Truth about South China Sea should not be misrepresented by Western media

BEIJING, July 8 (Xinhua) -- On the South China Sea issue, some Western media have spared no efforts to make "news", tapping lies to cover the truth and misguide public opinions thereon, which is considered by experts and scholars to be unfair and misleading.

"Beijing says 60 countries back stance on international tribunal; only 8 have publicly stated support," wrote the Wall Street Journal in a recent article sub-title. Full story

Commentary: China will not negotiate with Philippines based on arbitration ruling

BEIJING, July 8 (Xinhua) -- China will not negotiate with the Philippines on the basis of any ruling in the case of arbitration unilaterally initiated by the Philippines against China on South China Sea disputes, regardless of whether it will be "in favor of the Philippines."
CANBERRA, July 10 (Xinhua) -- The leader of Australia's Liberal-National Party (LNP) coalition, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, claimed victory in the federal election on Sunday eight days after polls closed.

Turnbull's victory speech came hours after the leader of the center-left oppositon Labor Party Bill Shorten rang the premier to concede his party would not be able to form a government.

"This is a great day today," Turnbull told a press conference in Sydney.

"We have resolved this election and have done so peacefully. It's something we should celebrate and not take for granted."

The coalition is on track to win at least 74 seats in the lower house of Australian parliament, the House of Representatives, and remains confident that it can win at least two of the five seats still in doubt to obtain the majority required to form a government.
JIUQUAN, July 10 (Xinhua) -- China's second orbiting space lab Tiangong-2, which may enable two astronauts to live in space for up to 30 days, has been delivered to Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.

The lab was sent from Beijing Thursday by railway and reached the launch center Saturday, marking the start of the Tiangong-2 and Shenzhou-11 manned spacecraft missions, said a statement issued by China's manned space engineering office.

Assembly and tests will begin at the center ahead of the lab's launch scheduled for mid-September, the statement said.

According to the statement, Tiangong-2 will be capable of receiving manned and cargo spaceships, and will be a testing place for systems and processes for mid-term space stays and refueling in space.

It will also be involved in experiments on aerospace medicine, space sciences, on-orbit maintenance and space station technologies.

China's first space lab Tiangong-1, which was launched in September 2011 with a designed life of two years, ended its data service earlier this year. It had docked with Shenzhou-8, Shenzhou-9 and Shenzhou-10 spacecraft and undertook a series of experiments.

The manned space engineering office said in March this year that the orbit of Tiangong-1 would descend gradually in several months until the orbiter eventually burn up in the atmosphere.

With two capsules for conducting experiments and holding resources, Tiangong-2 features major improvements from its predecessor, including an improved propel sub-system.

The new space lab will also carry three experiments designed by the winners of a Hong Kong middle school design contest, the statement said.

Carrier rockets to launch Tiangong-2 and Shenzhou-11 will be transferred to Jiuquan next month.

Shenzhou-11, which will carry two astronauts to dock with Tiangong-2 in space, has passed initial tests, and its crew members are undergoing intensive training, the statement said.
by Matt Goss

CANBERRA, July 10 (Xinhua) -- The leader of Australia's Liberal-National Party (LNP) coalition, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, claimed victory in the federal election on Sunday eight days after polls closed.

Turnbull's victory speech came hours after the leader of the center-left opposition Labor Party Bill Shorten rang the premier to concede his party would not be able to form a government.

"This is a great day today," Turnbull told a press conference in Sydney.

"We have resolved this election and have done so peacefully. It's something we should celebrate and not take for granted."

The coalition is on track to win at least 74 seats in the lower house of Australian parliament, the House of Representatives, and remains confident that it can win at least two of the five seats still in doubt to obtain the majority required to form a government.

If the LNP is unable to win at least two of the five seats then the party will be forced to negotiate with members of parliament from minor parties and independents in order to form a minority government.

Turnbull emphasized the importance of Australia's two major political parties working together in parliament for the good of the country.

"It's vital that this parliament works. It is vital that we work together and as far as we can try to find ways upon which we can all agree," he said.

"We are trustees for future generations. Everything we do is about the future."

Speaking in Melbourne earlier in the day Shorten conceded that even though counting continues there is no doubt that the coalition will for either a majority or minority government.

Shorten promised that his party will cooperate with the LNP as much as possible in order to give Australians a functioning parliament but added that the Labor will continue to fight for its key election policies.

"I understand we need to make this parliament function and we'll be up for that," Shorten said.

"And as I said, I wish Malcolm Turnbull well in what the future holds. But we also have to stand up for Medicare to make sure schools are properly funded and to prioritize Australian jobs."

Shorten also used the opportunity to flag his support for electronic voting systems in Australia to deliver faster election results in the future.

"We're a grown-up democracy, it shouldn't take eight days to find out who's won," Shorten said.

Vote counting continues in the electorates of Cowan, Herbert, Hindmarsh, Flynn and Capricornia with the LNP forecasted to win the latter two.

Despite the election loss it is believed that Shorten has the support of the Labor to continue as leader of the party due to the Labor winning as many as 69 seats compared to 55 in the 2013 election.
KABUL, July 10 (Xinhua) -- The Afghan security forces have killed 39 militants in five of the country's 34 provinces since early Saturday, the Defense Ministry said on Sunday.

"In past 24 hours, the army, police and intelligence service personnel conducted several operations to clear some of the areas from terrorists and enemies of peace and stability in Nangarhar, Ghazni, Kandahar, Takhar and Helmand provinces, killing 39 armed insurgents and injuring four others," the ministry said in a statement.

Some 31 militants of the Islamic State (IS) group were among the killed, the statement added.

The joint forces supported by army's airpower also destroyed two IS militants' bunkers besides seizing several rounds of light and heavy ammunition.

The statement also confirmed loss of two army personnel in the military operations.

The Afghan security forces have beefed up security operations against militants recently as spring and summer known as fighting seasons are drawing near in the country.

The Taliban outfit and IS militant group have yet to make comments.
SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir, July 10 (Xinhua) -- The death toll of civilians in clashes between protesters and government forces in Indian-controlled Kashmir has risen to 15, police said on Sunday.

Over 200 people, including policemen, were injured in the ongoing clashes.

The violent clashes broke out Saturday after a top militant commander of Hizbul Mujahideem (HM) Burhan Muzaffar Wani was killed in a gunfight.

"Yesterday late evening the number of killings was 11 but during the night four more succumbed to their wounds and toll reached to 15," an official said. "Over 200 people are injured and majority of them have fire arm wounds."

Police officials said over 90 policemen suffered injuries in the clashes with protesters, who tried to attack police stations.

Authorities have imposed curfew in all the major town of the Muslim majority ares of the restive region. The curfew restrictions in Srinagar city continued for the second straight day on Sunday to prevent clashes.

Hundreds of policemen in full riot-gears and carrying automatic rifles were seen enforcing restrictions in Srinagar.

"The restrictions have been imposed to maintain law and order," a senior government official Asghar Samoon told the media. "We appeal people to cooperate in maintaining the peace."

Local newspaper reports said at various places people defied curfew and started protests against the killings on Sunday.

Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh has appealed for calm and expressed anguish over the killings.

"I appeal to the people of Jammu and Kashmir to remain calm and maintain peace. Centre is working with the State government to bring normalcy in Kashmir valley," Singh wrote on Twitter.

Reports said federal government has rushed additional reinforcements to the region to contain the backlash following militant commander's killing.

Protests in the region began Friday evening soon after news about Wani's killing. However, it grew violent on Saturday with irate youth throwing stones and brickbats on government forces, who responded by firing tear smoke shells, pellets and bullets.

The 22-year-old Wani was poster boy of of HM, a regional, indigenous militant outfit.

The fresh killings are likely to fuel further anger in the volatile region. Separatist groups have extended shutdown call for two more days to protest what they described "killing spree" at the hands of police and paramilitary.

Indian-controlled Kashmir's Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti said "disproportionate force" was used on to control crowd.

A separatist movement and guerrilla war challenging New Delhi's rule is going on in Indian-controlled Kashmir since 1989. Gunfights between militants and Indian troops take place intermittently across the region.

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. Enditem
HUARONG, July 10, 2016 (Xinhua) -- An aerial photo taken on July 10, 2016 shows inundated areas after a dike breach in Huarong County, central China's Hunan Province. A dike in Huarong county breached around 11 a.m. Sunday, one hour after local authorities began the urgent evacuation of residents. Residents were being transferred when the breach happened at a flood detention basin called Xinhua by local residents in Huarong County, according to an official with Hunan Provincial Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters. The Xinhua flood detention basin covers 4,400 hectares and is home to over 27,000 people. (Xinhua/Li Ga)

CHANGSHA, July 10 (Xinhua) -- A dike in a county in central China's Hunan Province breached around 11 a.m. Sunday, one hour after local authorities began the urgent evacuation of residents.

Residents were being transferred when the breach happened at a flood detention basin called Xinhua by local residents in Huarong County, according to an official with Hunan Provincial Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.

Judging from the current water level, substantial casualties are not expected, said the official.

The Xinhua flood detention basin covers 4,400 hectares and is home to over 27,000 people.
DAMASCUS, July 10 (Xinhua) -- At least 29 rebel militants were killed during battles against the Syrian government forces near a key route in the northern Aleppo city, a monitor group reported on Sunday.

The slain Jihadi rebels, including those with the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, were killed during a failed overnight attempt to re-open their last remaining supply route in the northern countryside of Aleppo, after the Syrian army cut it off Thursday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The Nusra Front announced on Saturday evening a battle for regaining the Castello road, the last route connecting rebel-held areas in the northern countryside of Aleppo with rebel-controlled areas in the eastern part of Aleppo city.

The announcement came after the army forces severed the road on Thursday, following a week-long offensive.

Aleppo, strategically located near the borders with Turkey, is Syria's largest city and once an economic hub. It has been a focal point of clashes between the Syrian army and the rebels.

In the summer of 2012, thousands of armed militants stormed residential districts of Aleppo from its countryside, striking the economic nerves of the Syrian government, which has repeatedly accused Turkey of supporting the rebels for undeclared interests in Aleppo.

The rebels captured several districts in eastern Aleppo city and tried repeatedly to expand their presence to government-controlled areas in the west.

The rebels laid siege to western Aleppo districts after cutting the international road to Aleppo in 2014, a siege broken later by the Syrian army, with the help of Hezbollah.

Military experts say the initial aim of the new Syrian army's battles in Aleppo is to lay a siege on the rebel-held areas and cut off their supply lines to force a surrender.

Another aim is to ensure the security of government-controlled areas and to prevent the militant groups from blocking the main road connecting Aleppo with the Syrian coast and other provinces in central and southern Syria.

Observers say the Syrian military campaign also aims to recapture areas in the northern and southern countryside of Aleppo in the face of Turkey's perceived attempts to establish a safe zone in northern Syria.
Smoke billows in the rebel-held Salihin neighbourhood of the Syrian northern city of Aleppo following a reported air strike on July 9, 2016. (Xinhua/AFP)

DAMASCUS, July 10 (Xinhua) -- At least 29 rebel militants were killed during battles against the Syrian government forces near a key route in the northern Aleppo city, a monitor group reported on Sunday.

The slain Jihadi rebels, including those with the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, were killed during a failed overnight attempt to re-open their last remaining supply route in the northern countryside of Aleppo, after the Syrian army cut it off Thursday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The Nusra Front announced on Saturday evening a battle for regaining the Castello road, the last route connecting rebel-held areas in the northern countryside of Aleppo with rebel-controlled areas in the eastern part of Aleppo city.

The announcement came after the army forces severed the road on Thursday, following a week-long offensive.

Aleppo, strategically located near the borders with Turkey, is Syria's largest city and once an economic hub. It has been a focal point of clashes between the Syrian army and the rebels.

In the summer of 2012, thousands of armed militants stormed residential districts of Aleppo from its countryside, striking the economic nerves of the Syrian government, which has repeatedly accused Turkey of supporting the rebels for undeclared interests in Aleppo.

The rebels captured several districts in eastern Aleppo city and tried repeatedly to expand their presence to government-controlled areas in the west.

The rebels laid siege to western Aleppo districts after cutting the international road to Aleppo in 2014, a siege broken later by the Syrian army, with the help of Hezbollah.

Military experts say the initial aim of the new Syrian army's battles in Aleppo is to lay a siege on the rebel-held areas and cut off their supply lines to force a surrender.

Another aim is to ensure the security of government-controlled areas and to prevent the militant groups from blocking the main road connecting Aleppo with the Syrian coast and other provinces in central and southern Syria.

Observers say the Syrian military campaign also aims to recapture areas in the northern and southern countryside of Aleppo in the face of Turkey's perceived attempts to establish a safe zone in northern Syria.
RAMALLAH, July 10 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian government on Sunday called on the international community to lift the "siege" imposed by Israeli forces on Hebron, south of West Bank, since July 2.

"We call upon international community institutions and legal orgazniations to intervene immediately to force Israel to lift its unjust siege on the governorate of Hebron, through which it is prosecuting, detaining and torturing unarmed civilians," government spokesperson Yousef Al-Mahmoud said in an emailed press statement.

Al-Mahmoud described the actions of the occupation forces as "collective punishment" which is "part of the official Israeli government policy," adding that it is the cause of tension and instability in the area.

Israeli forces clashed with Palestinians in the southern West Bank towns of Hebron on Sunday, without reporting any casualties.

Palestinian sources said that tersely army troops continue to impose a restricted siege surrounding the city of Hebron and several nearby towns, villages and refugee camps and storm into homes searching for "wanted Palestinians."

Israeli public radio reported that an Israeli settler in his thirties was injured lightly Saturday night after his car was shot at near the Gush Etzion settlement bloc south of Hebron.

The radio said at six Palestinians were arrested in different areas in the West Bank for different charges.

Israeli army announced a siege around Hebron Governorate on July 2, after a Rabbi was killed and three others of his family were injured after being shot at in their vehicle in southern Hebron.

Mounting tensions between Palestinians and Israel since last October have left over 200 Palestinians and 35 Israeli killed, according to official reports.
CAIRO/JERUSALEM, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry was heading to Israel on Sunday in a visit to push forward the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and discuss bilateral ties and regional issues, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Shoukry would hold talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, focusing on reviving the peace process with the Palestinians, Ahmad Abu Zeid, spokesperson of the Egyptian foreign ministry, said in a statement.

This is the first visit by an Egyptian foreign minister in Israel since 2007.

The visit targets resuming peace negotiations and putting the Palestinian cause into international focal interests after a period of stalled peace process, the statement added.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu explained at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday the importance of the visit, indicating the warming relations between the two countries, and reiterated his support by comments made by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in May about the importance of renewing peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

Al-Sisi said then there's a "real chance" for peace between Israel and the Palestinians, with the mediation of Arab states -- led by Egypt -- and based on the 2002 Saudi Peace Initiative.

Netanyahu and other Israeli officials have expressed their appreciation of al-Sisi's statements and stressed the importance of involvement of Arab states in the region in attempts to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in recent months.

These statements are made amid a French peace initiative to hold an international conference later this year to restart peace talks between the parties, an initiative which Israel rejects.

International pressure to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict comes after 10 months of ongoing violence which claimed the lives of 34 Israelis and 215 Palestinians. The last round of talks fell apart in April 2014 without results.

Israel and Egypt signed a peace treaty in 1979. The two countries had since cooperated on security and diplomatic affairs.

However, relations soured in 2012, when Israel embarked on a military operation in the Gaza Strip enclave, ruled by the Hamas Islamist Group. Egypt, then ruled by Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammad Morsi, recalled its ambassador from Israel in protest of the country's activities.

The situation changed since al-Sisi took power, and a new Egyptian ambassador presented his credentials to the Israeli president in February.
by Xinhua writer Xue Yanwen

BEIJING, July 10 (Xinhua) -- He said he had no problem with "taking advantage of" his connection to the president of the United States when it comes to addressing, what he calls, neglected social problems, such as domestic violence.

"People would not pay attention to these problems if I was not in the Obama family, so I'm happy to use that influence," said Mark Obama Ndesandjo, U.S. President Barack Obama's half-brother, on Saturday during the launch for the Chinese edition of his latest book in Beijing.

The English memoir "An Obama's Journey: My Odyssey of Self-Discovery across Three Cultures" was ranked second by Kam Williams' Top Ten Black Books of 2014 List. The Chinese edition was recently published by the People's Literature Publishing House, providing a window into the Obama family, the president, and the Chinese dream of a U.S. citizen born in Kenya and living in China.

It is Ndesandjo's second book after his semi-autobiographical novel "Nairobi to Shenzhen: A Novel of Love in the East," which was published in English and Chinese in 2009.

Both books reveal domestic violence at the hands of Barack Obama Sr., the father of the U.S. president and Ndesandjo. Ruth Baker, Ndesandjo's Jewish-American mother and the third wife of Obama Sr., later divorced Obama Sr. and married a man with the surname of Ndesandjo.

"I had to tell the story because it's important to talk about domestic violence. Up to 30 percent of families worldwide suffer from violence," said Ndesandjo. "I want to show the world even a president's family has such a problem, but we were able to solve it."

"It took great courage for Mark to lay bare his past," said Wang Ruiqin, the Chinese editor. "I see a frank person in this beautifully written book."

In the eyes of Ndesandjo, the two brothers were two very different sons. "My brother tried to realize our father's dream, while I tried to correct his mistakes," he said.

"The book is not just about bad things. I also talk about good things in our family and my own mistakes," said Ndesandjo.

Featuring rare family photos, the author recounts how his grandfather, Hussein Onyango Obama, left a remote Kenyan village for the frontline of the two world wars, how his father Barack Obama Sr. became one of the first Kenyans to study in the United States, and how his brother Barack Obama Jr. was elected as the first African-American president of the United States.

"Ndesandjo's depiction of the three generations' striving to succeed is compelling and inspiring," said Wang. "That's why we decided to change the subtitle of the Chinese edition to 'endeavor of a person and a family'."

Ndesandjo also revealed his complex relationship with his brother, including their meeting in Beijing when the U.S president visited China in 2009.

LOVE IN CHINA

Ndesandjo has lived in Shenzhen in south China for 14 years and he proudly calls himself a global citizen.

After the Sept. 11 attacks, Ndesandjo felt life in the United States had changed and started to look east. He sold his house and car, and moved to Shenzhen, a booming city bordering Hong Kong.

The accomplished pianist established the "Piano+1" program to send pianos and music teachers to schools in China's poverty-stricken areas.

"Music helps them become more confident" he said. Six pianos had been sent to six schools in southwest China's Sichuan Province last month.

Ndesandjo fell in love with Chinese culture. Having mastered the language, he wove Chinese poems, idioms and proverbs throughout his recent publication.

He has also tried his hand at Chinese calligraphy. During the election campaign in 2008, he gave his elder brother a carefully chosen piece of Chinese calligraphy: "Tian Ya Zhi Chi" (so close yet so far; so far yet so near). He also wrote a piece to readers attending Saturday's book launch, "Bai Ji Qian Xin" (try everything).

"Being free is a very American concept, but I feel much freer now I am in China," he said. "I have become more American in China," he said.
DHAKA, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Bangladeshi government on Sunday decided to close down Peace TV which is a Mumbai-based TV channel run by controversial Islamic Preacher Zakir Naik's Islamic Research Foundation.

"We've decided to stop airing the channel across the country," said Amir Hossain Amu, Industries Minister, after attending a cabinet committee meeting on Sunday.

After July 1 terror attack at a Spanish restaurant in Dhaka's diplomatic enclave Gulshan, a leading Bangladeshi English newspaper reported that two of the five attackers who killed some 20 hostages including 18 foreigners at the cafe were inspired by the Islamic orator's speeches.

India Friday said it is examining and analysing the speeches of Naik and appropriate action will follow.

"We have taken cognisance of Zakir Naik's speeches and necessary instructions have been issued in this regard," Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh told the media in New Delhi.

Naik, who is based in Mumbai, has, however, said that he "totally disagreed" that he had inspired the terror attack in Dhaka.

"There is not a single talk of mine where I encouraged one to kill another, whether Muslim or non-Muslim," he has said in a statement.
PHNOM PENH, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen on Sunday condemned the killing of a prominent political analyst and ordered the authorities to thoroughly look into the case.

Kem Ley, 46, director of the Organization for Social Development, was shot dead on Sunday morning in a mini-mart near a gas station in Phnom Penh, where he was having a coffee.

"I'd like to express my condolences over the death of Mr. Kem Ley, who was brutally shot dead by a gunman," the prime minister wrote on his Facebook page. "I condemn this barbaric act."

"The competent authorities must take a firm action on this case and make strenuous efforts to control weapons and explosive in order to strengthen security and safety for the people across the country," he said.

Speaking at a press conference on Sunday afternoon, Phnom Penh Municipal Police Chief Gen. Chuon Sovann said the victim suffered two shots on his head and chest.

He said a 38-year-old male suspect, whose shirt was stained with blood, was arrested with a Glock pistol soon after the crime.

"Based on the autopsy and the material evidence confiscated from the perpetrator, we conclude that the suspect is the killer who shot Kem Ley to death," Gen. Chuon Sovann said, adding that an investigation is still going on to find out the person(s) behind the murder.

The suspect told police that his name is Chuob Samlab, he said.

National Police spokesman Gen. Kirt Chantharith said earlier that the suspect confessed to the crime, saying that he got furious with Kem Ley, who owed him 3,000 U.S. dollars, but did not repay him.

"We do not believe his confession yet, as an investigation is still going on," he said.

On Sunday afternoon, the corpse of Kem Ley was moved from the scene to a pagoda in a parade that took part by hundreds of sympathizers.
TORONTO, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Coffee lovers who like to attend rock music concerts or work at airports should be cautious now as a recent study indicates that caffeine causes serious impact on hearing.

According to a research by the McGill University in Canada, regular caffeine consumption can greatly impede hearing recovery from loud noise, even making the damage permanent.

"When the ear is exposed to loud noise, it can suffer from a temporary hearing reduction, also called auditory temporary threshold shift. This disorder is usually reversible in the first 72 hours after the exposure, but if symptoms persist, the damage could become permanent," Dr. Faisal Zawawi, an otolaryngologist at McGill, told a press release.

The researchers found this impact through an experiment on guinea pigs. They grouped the pigs and tested them in environments of noise without coffee, and noise with coffee.

The noise the animals were exposed to for one hour per day is similar as what people hear at a rock concert. After eight days, significant difference of hearing loss is recorded between the two groups, according to the research team.

In 2015, the European Food Safety Authority published an advice that caffeine intakes from all sources up to 400 mg per day and single doses of 200 mg might be safe for adults in the general population.

But the McGill research suggests that exposure to loud noises coupled with daily consumption of 25 mg of caffeine may have a clear negative impact on hearing recovery.
MEXICO CITY, July 10 (Xinhua) -- The United States should stay away from the South China Sea issue and avoid repeating its history of military intervention and political manipulation in the Caribbean in the past century.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague will announce its award on Tuesday in an arbitration case filed unilaterally by the Philippines against China on disputes over the South China Sea.

Looking back at the drama, it's not difficult to see that the United States has played an important role in disturbing the once peaceful waters since it adopted a "pivot to Asia" strategy.

And it's not the first time for the nation to do so. Having been regarding Latin America as its backyard, the United States has never stopped making waves in the Caribbean.

Cuba is one of the biggest victims. The United States occupied the country during the 1898 American-Spanish War and forced it to sign a contract to indefinitely lease Guantanamo Bay, which later became the first overseas military base of the United States and has never been returned.

Later on, the United States dispatched troops to Cuba three times after the establishment of the republic in 1902, and has adopted a hostile attitude toward the country ever since the victory of the Cuban revolution in 1959.

After failing to topple Cuba's regime in April 1961 by sending over 1,500 mercenaries, the United States started imposing economic and financial blockade and trade embargo on Cuba, which have not been completely lifted as of today.

In 1903, the United States instigated Panama's independence from Colombia, and forced the new government to sign an unequal treaty on building the Panama Canal.

Over half a century later, in a bid to seize control over the canal, the George H.W. Bush administration sent an army of 26,000 to Panama on Dec 20, 1989 in the name of "protecting American lives there from political instability." The same reason had been used to justify the U.S. occupation of Haiti from 1915 to 1934.

In August 1926, U.S. Marines invaded Nicaragua to bolster the pro-American conservative government when a civil war torn the small central American country apart. While in April 1965, when a civil war broke out in the Dominican Republic and overturned a U.S.-installed government, the United States sent nearly 40,000 troops to "restore order" in the country.

The same tragedy also happened to Grenada, one of the smallest countries in the Caribbean. In October 1983, the Reagan administration sent 5,000 Marines to Grenada to topple its Communist regime. In little more than a week, the government was overthrown.

Throughout the 20th Century, the United States has been incessantly cruising its warships on the Caribbean waters, trying to assert its influence over the region.

Its interference that blocked the path of independent development for Caribbean countries, and resulted in long time of turmoil as well as social stagnation in some of the countries.

Obviously all the military operations, political interference and economic sanctions made by the United States are only for one purpose -- defending, if not wanting more, its interests in the region.

As former U.S. President Ronald Reagan once put it, "the Caribbean region is a vital strategic and commercial artery for the United States."

Since it began to enjoy a rapid rise of political eminence at the end of the 19th century, the United States has been driving wedges in the Caribbean countries so that it could gain dominance over the entire region.

And now it is using the same strategy in the Asia-Pacific, specially, the South China Sea.

Since a U.S. strategy shift in 2009 toward Asia-Pacific, tensions and disputes between countries in the South China Sea have been increasing dramatically.

Recently the situation has been worsened due to a string of provocative actions made by the U.S. Navy under the banner of "free navigation."

U.S. warplanes and warships have been patrolling dangerously close to Chinese territory, emboldening some nations, even though the region is thousands of miles away from the U.S. homeland.

It seems like a habitual behavior of the United States to boss around. However, the South China Sea is not the Caribbean and U.S. hegemony will not work there.

This is not only because China's claim of sovereignty over the islands in the South China Sea is legitimate, but also because China has always been a firm advocate for peace and prosperity in the region.

With regard to the current disputes in the South China Sea, China proposes a "dual-track" approach, namely peacefully and properly handling the disputes through direct talks between the parties involved and jointly maintaining peace and stability in the South China Sea with the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

There has been peace and prosperity in the South China Sea for most of the time in past centuries and will prevail in the future unless outside forces come to interfere.

So the United States should stop treating the South China Sea as the next Caribbean and quit the habit of meddling in other countries' business.

Related:

African countries back China's approach to South China Sea dispute

NAIROBI, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Many African countries have recently voiced their support to China over the Philippine-initiated arbitration on the South China Sea dispute, calling for parties involved to resolve disputes through friendly negotiations and consultations.

The Philippines filed a compulsory arbitration against China at The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in 2013. Full Story

China will not be "forced" into accepting South China Sea arbitration decision

BEIJING, July 8 (Xinhua) -- China on Friday dismissed the United States plea to accept any decision in the South China Sea arbitration to be announced next week.
TEHRAN, July 10 (Xinhua) -- An Iranian security official reiterated on Sunday that the Islamic republic will not give up its military advisory support for Iraq and Syria until the full elimination of terrorism, Press TV reported.

Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, made the remarks in a meeting with the visiting chairman of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq Ammar Hakim in Tehran on Sunday.

Shamkhani hailed the recent victories of the Iraqi forces against the militants of the Islamic State (IS), saying that the victories show "internal unity and domestic capacities serve as a successful and reliable experience in the process of fighting terrorism."

The Iraqi government can further take advantage of the local capacities in the liberation of the city of Mosul from the IS occupation, he said.

Iran "will keep up its advisory cooperation and assistance to the Iraqi and Syrian governments until the threat from terrorist groups in the region is completely eliminated," Shamkhani stressed.

For his part, Hakim briefed the latest developments in Iraq and hailed Iran's support for his country in its fight against the IS.

Since the eruption of civil war in Syria and Iraq, Iran has dispatched military advisers to those countries in the support of the governments.
TOKYO, July 10, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Media workers wait for interviews at the headquarters of Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in Tokyo, capital of Japan, on July 10, 2016. Voting for the Japanese parliament's House of Councillors, or the upper house, kicked off on Sunday with the main focus on whether or not the constitution-amending forces could take an overwhelming majority in the 242-member chamber. (Xinhua/Ma Ping)

By Yan Lei, Fang Yixiao

TOKYO, July 10 (Xinhua) -- "I cast two ballots, one for a Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) member, the other for an independent candidate, just because they looked competent on TV," said 30-year-old office worker Shibata, at a polling station in Shibuya Ward in Tokyo on Sunday.

"I am against amending the constitution, because it's likely to drag Japan into war. But I still voted for the LDP, because I don't like the opposition parties either. People say that the LDP is going to change the constitution. I really don't know what to do," she said, seeming at a loss about the future.

Shibata's words were echoed by Yamaguchi, a 20-year-old company employee who voted for the first time on Sunday. "I don't know much about these candidates. And I don't know what constitutional amendment really means to us," she told Xinhua after casting her ballots.

Sunday's election has 121 seats of Japan's 242-member House of Councillors up for grabs. Each voter is required to cast two ballots, one to choose the electoral district representatives for 76 of the 121 contested seats, the other under a proportional representation system to fill the remaining 45 seats with parties' listed candidates.

One of the main focuses is whether the pro-constitutional amendment camp, mainly comprising Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling LDP, its coalition ally Komeito Party, and two other small opposition parties, will secure enough seats to take a two-third majority in the chamber, a prerequisite for revising the constitution.

Abe and the LDP candidates, for their part, called the election a referendum on the prime minister's over-three-year-old economic policy mix dubbed "Abenomics," stressing economic "achievements" in their campaign and pleading for more time, while evading topics about constitutional revision.

Katsuya Okada, President of the main opposition Democratic Party, called what Abe has been doing "underhanded," according to earlier reports, as it was only a strategy aimed at disarming voters such as Shibata and distracting them from the threat to the pacifist constitution, instead of giving up on the plan of revising the constitution.

But for Yamagami, a male voter in his 30s, Abe's campaign strategy failed to work. "I don't see any positive effects of the Abenomics. And I'm specifically against Abe's plan to revise the constitution. We should not stay quiet about such a scheme which could cause danger to the whole nation," he said.

"Abenomics, though pushing up the stock prices with its monetary policies, is meaningless and unhelpful to the common people as we ordinary Japanese people don't like buying stocks. So I voted against the LDP," said another middle-aged voter at the Shibuya polling station, requesting anonymity.

For Shibata, however, the problem is, if she did not vote for the LDP, who could she vote for, as in her eyes, the opposition parties seemed to have also failed to offer feasible solutions to the problems that Japan is faced with.

Sunday's upper house election also came at a time when Japan has lowered the voting age from 20 to 18, which increased the total number of the eligible voters in the country by about 2.4 million.

"The ruling party, in order to gain more votes, lowered the voting age. But giving voting power to teenagers who do not know much about politics could be dangerous to Japan," said the anonymous middle-aged voter in Shibuya.

"But on the other hand, young people, who are fearless and eager to voice their opinion, could bring new blood to Japan's politics," he added.
ANKARA, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Six Turkish soldiers were killed and 15 others injured in two bombing attacks in southeastern Turkish provinces of Hakkari and Van on Sunday, according to Dogan News Agency and official statements.

On Sunday noon, four soldiers were killed when a roadside bomb in the rural area of Semdinli district in Hakkari province hit their car, the report said.

Earlier on Sunday, two soldiers were killed and 15 others injured in a Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) bombing attack at the security control in Van province, Turkish General Staff stated on its website.

Over 470 members of Turkish security forces and thousands of PKK members have been killed in confrontations inside Turkey and in northern Iraq since last July.

More than 40,000 people have lost their lives in clashes with the PKK since 1984, when the group first started anti-government attacks.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union and Turkey.
File photo taken on July 9, 2011 shows a large crowd waving the flag of the new Republic of South Sudan during a ceremony celebrating the independence of South Sudan from Sudan in the capital Juba. (AFP photo)

JUBA, July 10 (Xinhua) -- The UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has condemned renewed fighting in South Sudan over the week which has resulted in numerous casualties.

In a statement received on Saturday as South Sudan marked the fifth independence anniversary, the UN mission called on the authorities to probe clashes in the course of this week in Juba, Wau and Bentiu.

"UNMISS reiterates its calls on all parties to put an end to the ongoing fighting and refrain from inflicting further violence against innocent civilians," it said in a statement.

Ellen Margrethe Loej, head of the UNMISS, urged all parties to cease from engaging in violence and to focus on the implementation of the peace agreement for the benefit of all the people of South Sudan.

The UN mission said it remains resolved in fulfilling its mission in South Sudan and supporting the implementation of the Peace Agreement for a peaceful and prosperous country.

The UNMISS statement comes as clashes took place in the center of South Sudan's capital on Friday evening.

Sudan People's Liberation Army-In-Opposition (SPLA-1O) spokesman William Gatjiath confirmed on Saturday at least 115 people killed after Friday's shooting.

However, the circumstances under which the shooting erupted remain unclear.

Aid agencies have warned that despite renewed hope after the peace agreement was signed in August 2015, violence continues to drive people from their villages and disrupts their lives.

The agencies said insecurity threatens communities all the way from Kajo-Keji in the south to Malakal in the north.

In recent days, fighting in Wau has torn the previously calm city apart, and forced an estimated 60,000 people to seek shelter in churches and makeshift camps.

The volatile security situation in many parts of the country has worsened an already dire humanitarian situation.

According to the agencies, over six million people need humanitarian assistance -- more than half the population. Some two million people have been forced to flee their homes.
Salva Kiir (R) and South Sudanese first Vice-President Riek Machar (L) sing the national anthem in Juba, capital of South Sudan, April 26, 2016. Riek Machar was sworn in as South Sudan's first vice president, hours after his return to the capital Juba on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Denis Elamu)

Juba, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Heavy exchanges of gunfire erupted early Sunday in South Sudan's capital Juba, barely two days after clashes between rival army factions killed more than 100 people.

James Gatdet Dak, a spokesperson for First Vice President Riek Machar said Machar-led forces had been attacked by troops of President Salva Kiir.

"Our forces have been attacked at Jebel base minutes ago. Sporadic shooting is going on now," he said.

"President Salva Kiir's forces were bombing Jebel site with helicopter gunships and shelling it with heavy artilleries and using tanks. But our forces have defeated them on the ground and pushed them back from different directions," Dak said.

He also confirmed there were heavy fighting at Juba International Airport.

UN sources reported heavy gunfire near their camps in Jebel and a large UN Protection of Civilian (PoC) site nearby.

Helicopter gunships were seen hovering over the city amid reports of artillery shells landing near the UN base in Jebel.

There are also unconfirmed reports of casualties on UN staff and internally displaced people living in the UN PoC site.

Hundreds of civilians were seen fleeing to the two UN bases located in Jebel and Tong Ping respectively, while others were running to the outskirts of Juba.

The two leaders -- Kiir and Machar -- have not commented on the latest round of fighting, which came after clashes outside the presidential palace left more than 100 soldiers dead on Friday.

Friday's gun battle was the most serious fighting since the reconciliation between President Kirr and former rebel leader Machar in April.

The two men on Friday evening called for calm following the deadly clashes. They said they were holding a meeting at the presidential palace when the battle took place.

The renewed violence has raised fears that the war-torn country could descend into conflict again as an August 2015 peace deal failed to ensure stability.

Civil war broke out in South Sudan in December 2013 after fighting between forces loyal to President Kiir and his then sacked deputy Machar in Juba. Machar denied he was planning a coup but then mobilized a rebel force.

Tens of thousands of people were killed and around 2.3 million displaced in the civil war.

The deal signed by the two men last August under UN pressure led to the formation of a national unity government in April, with Machar returning to his old post.

However despite the peace deal, conflict and instability persist in parts of the country and have spread to previously unaffected areas in the Greater Equatoria and Greater Bahr-El-Ghazal regions.

Last month, deadly clashes in Wau in the northwest killed more than 40 people and displaced about 35,000.
SINGAPORE, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Singapore's President Tony Tan Keng Yam on Sunday announced the release of the country's Climate Action Plan at the joint opening ceremony of the World Cities Summit, Singapore International Water Week and CleanEnviro Summit Singapore 2016.

According to the joint release by National Climate Change Secretariat of Prime Minister's Office, Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources and Ministry of National Development, the Climate Action Plan is explained in two documents.

The first document entitled "Take Action Today: For A Carbon-efficient Singapore" spelt out the key strategies that Singapore would be taking to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to fulfill the pledge it made in support of the Paris Agreement.

Singapore has set a goal of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions intensity by 36 percent compared to 2005 levels by 2030. The city state is also working towards stabilizing its emissions with the aim of peaking around 2030. These are ambitious targets, given Singapore's limited options for renewable energy.

The joint release revealed that improving energy efficiency will continue to be Singapore's key strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and plans have been made to expand the scope of current initiatives across all sectors, namely the power generation, industry, buildings, transport, household, waste and water sectors.

The second document entitled "A Climate-resilient Singapore: For A Sustainable Future" explained how Singapore may be affected by climate change and the Whole-of-Government strategy to prepare for them.

Singapore government has already started to strengthen the country's defence against climate change.

At the same time, given that climate science and projections continue to evolve, Singapore government will continue to review the adaptation plans to ensure that optimal solutions has been put in to protect the country and its people.

Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister, Chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Climate Change Teo Chee Hean said they hope more people will understand Singapore's comprehensive strategy to address climate change, and more importantly how they can play a part with the release of the plan.

"Our goal of building a more carbon-efficient and climate-resilient Singapore can only be achieved when the community and businesses work together with the government in making climate-friendly habits and practices a way of life," said Teo.

The 7th Singapore International Water Week, co-located with the World Cities Summit and CleanEnviro Summit Singapore, will be held in city state until Thursday.
MANILA, July 10 (Xinhua) -- "Wartime sex slavery happened. The victims have come forward to tell their brutal stories. So, we want their stories, written or in art form, to be remembered forever," said Rechilda Extremadura, director of a Philippine organization for wartime sex slaves.

Extremadura, executive director of the Lila Pilipina (League of Filipino Women), a nongovernmental organization assisting the elderly former Philippine "comfort women," said her group, along with other support groups of former sex slaves from China, Japan and the Netherlands have jointly asked the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to include documents related to wartime sex slavery in the UN body's Memory of the World Register.

"These documents must be registered on the UNESCO list. This will preserve the official records and prove that Asian women were indeed forced into Japanese military brothels during World War II," she told Xinhua.

"We should not allow Japan to delete its wartime aggression in Asia. We did not make this up. Sex slavery existed and these documents will prove their existence in the Philippines, the Korean Peninsula, China and Indonesia," she said.

The group took two years to collate the necessary data. "The process was tedious and meticulous," she said.

Extremadura said the group has decided to keep the idea under wraps to make sure that Japan will not do anything to derail the plan.

"We had to do it very discreetly because we expect Japan to thwart our move. No announcements were made; no press releases. (Tokyo) only learned about it when we filed the application," she said.

Japan is a major donor to UNESCO. Last year, Tokyo threatened to halt or slash its funding to the UN body after UNESCO included China's documents about the Nanjing Massacre in its Memory of the World list.

Extremadura stressed the significance of the move, saying most of the victims are dying.

"Many of them are getting sick. Time is running out," she said, adding that many of the victims are now in their late 80s and 90s. "Many have passed away without seeing justice."

According to Extremadura, it's very important to preserve the memories of those women who suffered under the hands of the Japanese imperial army during WWII. If those documents will make it to the list then it will be accessible to those people interested in the subject.

"When these documents are registered, the memory of comfort women will last forever. This will ensure that these significant records will last even beyond the times of the Lolas (grandmothers)," she added.

Talking about the Japanese government's official and continuous denial of the existence of a "comfort system," Extremadura said: "After being victims of Japanese war crimes, comfort women are now being made victims of historical distortion."

Accusing the Japanese government of "sweeping the comfort women issue under the rug to deny their existence altogether," the director emphasized that people, especially parties concerned, cannot allow Japan to distort history.

"The scar of war is there. We cannot allow Japan to simply erase that scar and pretend the war crimes didn't happen," she said.

"There may not be many comfort women left to hear the apology or personally receive compensation should Japan, by a miracle, suddenly agree to it. But historical inclusion will give justice even to the Lolas who have died fighting for their cause."

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Interview: Japan's attempts to hamper application of "comfort women" documents to UNESCO set to backfire

JAKARTA, June 28 (Xinhua) -- Japanese government's poor efforts to resolve "comfort women" issue will become a "boomerang" to its political position in the Asia Pacific region, an Indonesian expert told Xinhua in a recent interview.
TEHRAN, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Iranian foreign minister urged solidarity among Iraqi political groups as the key factor to defeat terrorist groups in the Arab state, Press TV reported on Sunday.

Mohammad Javad Zarif said Iran would stand by the Iraqi nation until the Arab nation is fully cleaned of terrorist groups.

Zarif, who was meeting with the visiting chairman of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq Ammar Hakim in Tehran on Sunday, hailed the recent victories of Iraqi army and allied fighters against the Islamic state, saying that the ultimate defeat of the terrorists depends on a strong unity among different Iraqi political groups

He censured the recent wave of terrorist bomb attacks in the Iraqi cities against the innocent people, expressing sympathy with the Iraqi nation and government.

Also, an Iranian security official reiterated on Sunday that the Islamic republic will not give up its military advisory support for Iraq and Syria until the full elimination of terrorism, Press TV reported.

Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, made the remarks in a meeting with the visiting chairman of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq Ammar Hakim in Tehran on Sunday.
MADRID, July 10 (Xinhua) -- US President Barak Obama stressed the importance of a united Europe in an interview published in the Spanish El Pais newspaper on Sunday.

The interview coincides with Obama's brief visit to Spain and his meeting with King Felipe VI of Spain and Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy in an atmosphere colored by the meeting of NATO leaders in Warsaw at the end of last week and the recent decision taken by voters in the UK to leave the European Union.

Obama said he believed an integrated Europe was "one of the greatest political and economic achievements of modern times," but warned it should not be taken for granted as "the project of European integration is being tested like never before."

"This is not the time for complacency. The flow of migrants and refugees into Europe has focused new attention on EU border policies and the ability of EU countries to work together to address a shared challenge," he said.

Obama said the recent economic crisis and austerity policies in Europe had left "too many Europeans, especially young people, unemployed and frustrated... We saw many of these forces on display in the vote in the UK to leave the EU and we ignore them at our peril."

He made a call for governments and institutions to "show that they are connected and responsive to the daily concerns of citizens instead of trying to stop trade or engage in protectionism - which isn't even possible in a global economy."

"All our countries, including the United States, have to do a better job of making sure that globalization, integrated economies and trade create jobs and opportunity for everyone," commented Obama.

He also spoke of the need for education and training to help raise levels of equality, but stressed the need to "reject the 'us' versus 'them' mentality that some cynical politicians are peddling."

"We have to stay true to the enduring values that define our diverse, vibrant societies and... our commitment to democracy pluralism, inclusion and tolerance," commented Obama.

Obama spoke of the good relations between Spain and the United States, highlighting Spain's "continued contributions to the campaign against ISIL and to counter-terrorism efforts."

He did, however, say he believed that the leadership of the United States was "indispensable to the security and prosperity of the world."

"That's why we're leading the global coalition to destroy ISIL, working tirelessly for a diplomatic solution to the Syrian civil war, contributing more humanitarian assistance than any other nation, and mobilizing a global refugee summit this fall to mobilize new commitments," he concluded.

Related:

Obama confident about Britain's orderly transition out of EU

WASHINGTON, June 24 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama said Friday that he is confident that Britain is committed to an orderly transition out the European Union.
JERUSALEM, July 10, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Archaeologists and volunteers work at the archaeological site in the Ashkelon National Park, Israel, on June 28, 2016. Archeologists said on July 10, 2016 they discovered the first Philistine cemetery in Israel's southern Mediterranean shore, hoping the discovery would solve the longstanding biblical question: Where did the ancient Philistine come from? The cemetery, dated to the 11th-8th centuries BC, was found in the coastal city of Ashkelon in southern Israel, once one of five city states of the Philistine in a region which is nowadays the Palestinian Gaza Strip and southern Israel. (Xinhua/Gil Cohen Magen)

JERUSALEM, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Archeologists said Sunday they discovered the first Philistine cemetery in Israel's southern Mediterranean shore, hoping the discovery would solve the longstanding biblical question: Where did the ancient Philistine come from?

The cemetery, dated to the 11th-8th centuries BC, was found in the coastal city of Ashkelon in southern Israel, once one of five city states of the Philistine in a region which is nowadays the Palestinian Gaza Strip and southern Israel.

The discovery, hailed by the researchers as "groundbreaking," was made as part of a 30-year excavation work in the Ashkelon National Park by the Leon Levy Expedition, which was organized by Harvard University, Boston College, Wheaton College and Troy University in the United States.

Scholars, who study the ancient Mediterranean, have long been puzzled by the elusive origins of the Philistines. The discovery of the cemetery could offer a key to this mystery, the archeologists told a press conference in Jerusalem on Sunday.

They said they are now running DNA and radiocarbon tests on samples taken from the site in order to help ascertain the Philistines' origin.

The plethora of findings in the cemetery includes ceramics, jewelry and weapons, as well as the remains of 145 individuals.

"That's going to give us the ability to talk about men and women and children, how their lives were similar and different," co-director of the expedition Daniel Master of Wheaton College in Illinois told Xinhua.

"We're getting a feel for the Philistines that we've never had before. We're finally seeing them face-to-face," Master said.

The ancient Israelis saw the Philistines as their archenemy, and accordingly, the Hebrew Bible depicts them as uncivilized people.

But the researchers say the Philistines' bad reputation as savage people is unjustified.

"One of the things that we know from the Hebrew Bible is that the Philistines were looked down upon by the Israelites. They were thought to be the worst of the worst," said Master.

But that is only what their enemies said about them, Mater noted. "Now we get a chance to hear their side of the story... By hearing their story directly from them and not from their enemies, we're learning a whole bunch about them," he said.